How To Farm Vertebra Shackles in Dark Souls 3

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You can farm Vertebra Shackles with both offline and online methods. The best ones are as follows:

  • Farming Gravewarden Skeletons in the Catacombs of Carthus (offline method)
  • Invading and killing other players as a purple phantom (online method)

We’ll give you an exact walkthrough for both methods down below.

 

Farming Gravewarden Skeletons (Offline Method)

 
Gravewarden Skeletons, the targets of the farm / Dark Souls 3
Gravewarden Skeletons, the targets of the farm
 

The fastest way to collect Vertebra Shackles offline is by repeatedly killing Gravewarden Skeletons in the Catacombs of Carthus.

Before you get started with this method, you should find the right gear to make farming as fast as possible.

It’s vital that you equip gear that boosts your item discovery, the stat that controls how likely enemies are to drop rare items.

 
The completed farming build / Dark Souls 3
The completed farming build
 

For a complete rundown on gear that speeds up farming, check out our Dark Souls 3 farming build guide.

Once you’ve put together a suitable build, warp to the Catacombs of Carthus Bonfire to get started.

 
The Catacombs of Carthus Bonfire / Dark Souls 3
The Catacombs of Carthus Bonfire
 

From the Bonfire, walk forward up to the corridor with the rolling Skeleton ball.

When it’s safe to do so, turn right and then make a left to enter a tight corridor.

At the end of this corridor is a room with two Gravewarden Skeletons, the targets of the farm. Get their attention, then run back into the Skeleton ball corridor.

If done correctly, the Skeletons will follow you into the corridor with the Skeleton ball. Stay alive in this corridor until the ball returns and strikes the Skeletons, killing them in 1-2 hits.

 
The dead Gravewarden Skeletons / Dark Souls 3
The dead Gravewarden Skeletons
 

With the Skeletons dead, loot their corpses and hope that they’ve dropped a Vertebra Shackle.

Once they’re looted head back to the Bonfire and sit down to respawn the skeletons, ready for another run of the farm.

 

Killing Other Players as a Purple Phantom (Online Method)

 
Celebrating after successfully invading another world / Dark Souls 3
Celebrating after successfully invading another world
 

If you’re playing on consoles, you’ll have access to Dark Souls 3’s online features.

The fastest way to gain Vertebra Shackles is by using these features to invade and kill other players while taking the form of a purple phantom.

To become a purple phantom, you’ll need to join the Mound-makers Covenant and equip their pledge. If you already have the Mound-makers pledge, skip ahead to the section titled ‘Invading Other Players’.

 

Joining the Mound-makers Covenant

 
Hodrick, leader of the Mound-makers Covenant / Dark Souls 3
Hodrick, leader of the Mound-makers Covenant
 

There are two different ways to find the leader of the Mound-makers and collect their pledge.

Which method you’ll use depends on whether or not you’ve faced the Curse-rotted Greatwood in the Undead Settlement.

 
The Curse-rotted Greatwood / Dark Souls 3
The Curse-rotted Greatwood
 

If you haven’t yet fought the Greatwood, here’s how to join the Mound-makers:

  1. Warp to the Undead Settlement Bonfire and follow the path through the dark house
  2. Turn right once you reach the group of praying hollows
  3. Before you reach the house ahead of you, turn right to access a side-path
  4. Take the upper path and climb the ladder at its end
  5. Walk to the right edge of this rooftop to see a cage-carrying enemy below
  6. Drop down to the enemy and don’t hit it – it won’t attack you
  7. Run up to the cage and interact to be teleported to a large cavern
  8. Speak to the NPC at the edge of the cavern to join the Mound-makers
  9. You’ll now be given the Mound-Makers Pledge
 
The Mound-makers Pledge, proof of your allegiance to the Covenant / Dark Souls 3
The Mound-makers Pledge, proof of your allegiance to the Covenant
 

If you’ve already killed the Greatwood, joining the Mound-makers is much more complicated:

  1. Complete Sirris of the Sunless Realms questline up until Anor Londo
  2. Defeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods in Anor Londo
  3. Head to the Greatwood boss room, and find Sirris’ summon sign on the ground
  4. Interact with it to join her in killing Hodrick, a hostile NPC
  5. You’ll join the Covenant and gain the Pledge upon Hodrick’s death

If you need a breakdown for Sirris’ questline, you can find a detailed walkthrough on the Dark Souls 3 Wiki.

 

Invading Other Players

 
Watching as a PvP battle unfolds in the distance / Dark Souls 3
Watching as a PvP battle unfolds in the distance
 

Once you’ve acquired the Mound-makers Pledge, equip it to join the Covenant. Once you’ve joined the Covenant, you’re now free to invade other players’ worlds in search of Vertebra Shackles.

You’ll need an item to enable you to invade. The most popular item for this is the Red Eye Orb, dropped by the Darkwraith underneath the Tower on the Wall Bonfire in the High Wall of Lothric.

 
The Red Eye Orb’s item description / Dark Souls 3
The Red Eye Orb’s item description
 

With the Pledge equipped and the Red Eye Orb in your quick menu, you can use the Orb to start the invasion process.

Due to Dark Souls 3’s increasingly empty servers, this may take a while.

I recommend heading to Anor Londo or Irithyll for the best chances at finding a match.

 
Successfully finding a match in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley / Dark Souls 3
Successfully finding a match in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley
 

Once you’ve successfully invaded another world, you’ll take the form of a purple phantom. To get a Vertebra Shackle, you’ll have to find the Host of Embers in this world and kill them.

This can be tough, but with a decent build and some practice, you’ll be gathering Vertebra Shackles in no time.

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Jack Salter

Jack is a writer from the UK that spends too much time Nuzlocking the Pokémon series. After a crushing defeat, he relaxes by rewatching Attack On Titan in the hope that it'll make the final season come out sooner - It never does.