Gravelord mechanics

Oh_Quelaag
Posted 1/24/2012 6:17:27 PM
Gravelording is unadulterated Survival Mode PvP. If you don't like dying, waiting or fighting off constantly invading phantoms, this covenant isn't for you. This is very TL;DR so ctrl+F is your friend if you’re looking for anything specific.

The Gravelord Servant Covenant
Join by taking a run down to the Catacombs and making your way to the end of the corridor with the Titanite Demon. Just before him on the left is a coffin that will give you the "Nestle in coffin" command with X. You need to stay in there for a while and also have at least 1 Eye of Death in your inventory (there are three behind the Titanite Demon). You will be taken to Nito's chamber where you join the covenant.

To Gravelord effectively, the boss in your world for that area of the game needs to be alive and you need to be in human form. You need to be invadable. Your victims' bosses need not be alive as they invade you via your sign and they can be either hollow or human. You can use the eye if the boss is dead, but no curses will be deployed and you won't be invaded in that area. Ever.

Take note: You will not be kicked out of the covenant for killing Nito. It is a game requirement that you kill him, so killing your boss will have no effect on your covenant membership. The only penalty is that you cannot offer Eyes of Death to level up the covenant for that playthrough.

Level Ranges
The level ranges of worlds you curse are the same as with normal co-op: your level +- 10% + 10. For example, an SL 10 Gravelord Servant can curse people between SL 1 and SL 21 and an SL 100 Servant between SL 80 and SL 120. Darkwraith ranges are as usual.

Covenant Item
Eye of Death - Farmed from Basilisks (curse frogs) in the Depths or in the Great Hollow.
Fun Fact: The Eyes of Death are actually the "eye" appendages on top of the Basilisks' heads and generate the curse mist that the Basilisk spits. Gravelords channel the power in these eyes to other worlds to spread their own brand of curse, collecting the eyes of their cursed victims to continue the cycle.

The Basilisks' real eyes are two white dots just above their mouths (see for yourself by equipping Ring of Fog and Slumbering Dragonquest Ring and use binoculars or on any idling Basilisk. Cute aren't they?).

Gravelording
Use an Eye of Death to curse the worlds of three players in the same area as you. Cursing worlds is an outcome, not the objective of Gravelording. The objective is to lure those phantoms to your world so that you can fight them and harvest their eyes along with the constantly incoming Darkwraiths.

Think of the blue phantoms as the "powerup dropping" enemies and the Darkwraiths as the standard footsoldiers. Really really varied and powerful footsoldiers...

The trickiest part of Gravelording is finding an area with people to curse. You need to be at the right place, at the right time and at the right Soul Level. Before using an eye, scout out the area to look for any summon signs (Red, White, Gold or Dragon). Any sign you see is a world you will very likely curse, so if you see two or more signs around the level (especially at bonfires or in front of the boss fog), you’re good to go.

While an eye is active, you cannot summon phantoms to help you and your invasion timer is automatically reset after the defeat of an invader, so this ensures a constant stream of people that want to kill your cursing ***. When more than one Gravelord Servant is active in an area, their signs become visible to each other, which means that you can invade to help or duel a fellow Gravelord Servant.

Show your fellow Gravelordism by waving the Gravelord Sword or dropping an Eye of Death.

Oh_Quelaag
Posted 1/24/2012 6:18:40 PM
The game area you Gravelord is important too since low traffic areas at a wrong Soul Level are pointless. Not recommended areas are Anor Londo, Lower Undead Burg, the Depths, Blighttown and Lost Izalith.

My personal favourite areas:

- Just outside the first bonfire in Undead Burg
- The Hellkite Dragon bridge
- The area with the drop down to the hidden bonfire at the top of Sen’s Fortress
- The bonfire hall and Mimic room in Duke’s Archives
- The arena at the base of the Crow people tower in Painted World of Ariamis
- Just outside the Darkroot Garden bonfire
- The second bonfire in Demon Ruins (past the Capras)
- The second bonfire in the Catacombs (great for bridge lever games)
- The first bonfire in Tomb of the Giants (Gravelording down there is just mean. Do it)
- Just outside the elevator door in New Londo ruins

Since you probably won’t listen:
- The hall in front of where Domhnall sits in the Depths
- The bonfire room in Anor Londo
- The tunnel and the combat pit at the bonfire at the bottom of Blighttown

Don’t bother with lost Izalith. Seriously.

This idea is also very very good: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/606312-dark-souls/61713531

Your sign will appear in the worlds of the cursed as a larger than normal white sign with a black smoke effect. when touched, the victim will invade your world as a Spirit of Vengeance. The sign moves around with the Gravelord Servant so it's recommended that you keep near to bonfires and keep in open areas where it will be clearly visible. Be patient. It takes a while for the curses to drop sometimes but once they're active the invasions will begin (anything between 1 and 3 minutes. You can also be invaded between curse placements). You can actually watch your curses being spread using the white soapstone. If it becomes unusable in your usable item slot and you don't get invaded it means a curse is being placed. Once it's done this three times, you know it's on.

If you do not see any online activity in 5 minutes at the most, move on.

You can be Gravelorded while you Gravelord and use of this covenant’s miracles are at your discretion. I’ve never had any luck with them.

Invasions & Invaders
There are 3 invasion slots that open when you're Gravelording: 1 for a Darkwraith and 2 for Spirits of Vengeance (either from Darkmoons or invasions via the sign or both). If an invading Darkwraith kills a Spirit of Vengeance, the Gravelord Servant and the Darkwraith will receive an Eye of Death. This not only makes for efficient Eye farming, but dark side jolly cooperation or duel hosting!

If a Gravelord Servant kills a Spirit of Vengeance, they receive an Eye of Death and souls. If a Spirit of Vengeance kills the Gravelord Servant, they receive an Eye of Death and are sent home with a humanity and souls. Darkmoon Blades that invade as Spirits of Vengeance will not drop an Eye of Death if killed.

Spirits of Vengeance lose nothing when they die in an invaded world, so be a sport and invade your neighbourhood Gravelord Servant when you see their sign.

Side note: Using the Dried Finger while Gravelording is not advised. It causes failed invasions and does absolutely nothing as having an Eye of Death active constantly resets the invasion timer anyway.

Cancelling the Effect
The Gravelording effect will be cancelled if you:

- warp from a bonfire.
- use a homeward bone or the Homeward miracle
- die
- exit the game or sign out of PSN

It will not be cancelled if you rest at a bonfire or move to another area by foot.