Dark Souls II Walkthrough, Part Twenty-Eight: Shaded Woods - Scorpioness Najka

The Shaded Woods are just getting better and better, and the Shaded Ruins continue the trend of bad becoming worse. Not only is this next area full of lion-like demons, it's populated by two estranged scorpion people who are having a bit of a tiff. Namely, they're trying to kill each other. Will you be the one to finally take down the crazed Scorpioness Najka and restore order to their once happy relationship...?

Shaded Woods - Shaded Ruins

- Near the Bonfire is a ramp. Go up it to reach the roof of these ruins. A corpse up here carries a Radiant Lifegem.

- Drop back to the Bonfire's level and walk into the ruins. There's a chunk of stone plowed out of the ground to your left; beneath is a ramp leading to a chest. It contains ten Magic Bolts.

- Run into the ruins back on the Bonfire's level, beneath the treasure chest. You'll begin to hear the telltale chuckling of a curse. Rush down and to the left of the next ledge before the curse sticks.

- There's an incline ahead. Run up it and you'll see an enormous lizard creature with huge eyes ahead. Don't engage it immediately - there are two husky axe-wielders nearby who will chase you. They're slow and they have a ridiculously short range, but they hit hard and take little damage on impact. Be careful.

- This next area is full of curse pots. Kill off the giant lizard from afar - it won't bother with you unless you get close, and it drops a Petrified Dragon Bone - and look in the broken arch to your immediate right. There's a gap in the floor leading to the chest you saw earlier. Destroy the cursed pot to your left, then leap over. The chest contains a Titanite Chunk and a Petrified Dragon Bone.

- Straight ahead is the base of a long-gone building. Enter through the remains of the right door and you'll find another axe-wielder. Lead him away and take him out, then enter the left section. Climb the stairs here to find a corpse carrying a Pharros' Lockstone and a Soul of a Brave Warrior.

- Head left. There's another soldier over here. Wipe him out and look around the side of the ruined building ahead. There's a corpse behind a tree that carries a Flame Butterfly and three Torches.

- Enter the building and swiftly go down the stairs to your left. Bash up the barrels down here to find a curse pot. There's also a corpse down here with a Soul of a Brave Warrior and a Pharros' Lockstone. Snag them and go through the nearby door.

- Back outside. Take out the pot in the tiny maze of ruined corridors to your left, then go through the nearest archway. There's a crystal creature to bash on the other side of the wall to your left; kill it to find two Titanite Shards, a Titanite Chunk, and a Boltstone. There's also a chest in here containing a Dark Scythe.

- Now for the central pit. There's a big half-man half-scorpion creature down here, and it seems a ripe target. Don't attack him. He won't speak to you normally, but if you buy the Ring of Whispers (5,800 souls) from Sweet Shalquoir in Majula he'll gladly chat. His nam is Tark, and he wants you to kill his beloved, Scorpioness Najka. You can summon him during the battle with her, which can help make the fight significantly easier. Return to him after beating the Scorpioness and he'll give you a Fragrant Branch of Yore, as well as teach you the Warmup gesture.

- There's a passage leading into the wall nearby. Go down it and you'll find another guard in the next room, to the left. Take him out and turn right; there's a large doorway out here, and beside it a corpse that holds a Torch.

- Through the next large portal and to the left you'll find another stoned creature blocking a pathway. Thaw it, kill it, and continue onward. (Or don't. Judge for yourself below. I didn't find this cache of prizes to be worth the Fragrant Branch of Yore it cost.)

- There's a building to your right. Enter it and kill the big-eyed creature within. A corpse here carries a Soul of a Proud Soldier and a Twilight Herb.

- Back on the path you'll find a bridge leading to the underside of the ruins where the nearest Bonfire burns. Leap over the gap and into the doorway. Down here you'll find a Black Knight Halberd in a chest.

- Make your way back to the building and up to the open area.

- Look to the right of this area. You'll see a clearing with another axe-wielder and two curse jars. Shoot the soldier from afar - he'll reveal a big hole in the ground. Fight him off and check the corpse on the edge of this hole for a Lifegem.

- Ignore the hole for a second and approach the building in the distance. Take out the guard out front, and check the towers to find a ladder. At the top is a corpse carrying a Soul of a Brave Warrior and a Skeptic's Spice.

- Drop down into the hole. A pack of four big-eyed creatures will flood out of a hole to your left; try to kill them quickly here, as there's yellow liquid down here that will break your equipment. Avoid this irritating substance at all costs. Search the hole the lizards came from for a Twinkling Titanite, then drop through the hole in the wall in the next room. You'll come out next to the building where the Bonfire waits. On the way back into it you'll find a statue; you can use a Fragrant Branch of Yore on it to release its prisoner - which will attack. Kill it to receive a Fang Key.

- Get back into the hole and use the Fang Key on the door near the beginning of the hole. Inside is a strange bird-like creature called Ornifex; she invites you to visit her at her home. How nice. Check the corpse in her room for an Estus Flask Shard.

- Back to the Bonfire. Return to the two busted-up towers by the hole and pass through the middle of them. There's a long slope ahead, and at the top you'll find a huge mist door waiting. You know what that (usually) means.

Scorpioness Najka

The Scorpioness is a fierce enemy, but not so bad if you have a decent magic defense. She splits her attacks between the physical and the magical, and is pretty good at both:

- As far as the physical goes, Najka has a somewhat mediocre range. If you're close she'll either jab at you with her spear, swipe at you with a pair of small front claws, or bring her twin tails down to spear you. Rolling is sufficient to escape pretty much all of these attacks.

- Magic is more dangerous. Najka has three attacks, all of which rely on Soul Arrows. The first is a standard Soul Arrow across the room. The second consists of five Soul Arrows, charged up over time and launched at you. Quite often Najka will charge at you to ensure they hit, and may launch a second volley immediately after. The third, similar to the second, launches a volley of fast Soul Spears that will home in on you. In all three cases, it's best to sprint to one side - not roll, sprint - to avoid getting hit.

- Najka also likes to go underground occasionally. When she does this she'll burrow about until she's right underneath you, at which point she'll burst up and knock you back. You can tell where she is by the puffs of dirt she kicks up in her wake. She takes a little while to recover after this, so dodging Najka when she gets close enough to burst up and sweeping in for a hit is a good idea. If you want to avoid the risk altogether, stand on the lump of masonry jutting out of the floor. She'll avoid you and eventually resurface unsuccessfully.

Aside from dodging the magic, this is a pretty standard fight. Stay on Najka's side as much as you can, picking at her defenses and avoiding her tail attacks. If you have a sufficiently strong sword you can cut her tails off, as well, though getting impaled by them is not a huge danger anyway. The only real danger to staying close comes if you get right behind Najka, at which point she'll just slam her tail down and flatten you. Keep picking away and defending as necessary and you will, eventually, wear her down.

If you have trouble beating Najka, summoning Manscorpion Tark and bringing him into the battle helps. His summoning sigil is right outside Najka's lair. Fire is also quite effective against the Scorpioness.

- Defeating the Scorpioness will earn you the Scorpioness Najka Soul. It also opens the way to a new area, Doors of Pharros. We'll explore it soon enough.