If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Dark Souls 3 "skeleton with hat" explained

Dark Souls 3 contains a bewildering number of skeleton enemies, each more mysterious than the next. Spoilers ahead.

dark_souls_3_catacombs_of_carthus_to_abandoned_tomb

Dark Souls 3 "skeleton with hat" explained

One of the most frequent questions asked about Dark Souls 3 the past week is "what's up with that skeleton with the hat?"

What, indeed. Skeletal mages are encountered just twice in the Catacombs of Carthus, but both times they are bad news. It's not that our bony friends are that difficult to beat: it's that they are positioned near by friends who are.

First of all, the two skeletal mages are each responsible for one skeleton boulder. If you kill the mage connected to a boulder, it will collapse and die the next time it hits the wall at the lower end of its patrol route, usually dropping a decent goodie.

(For some reason, there's a crab inside the skeleton boulder. Players have spent a long time trying to work out why this is, and whether there's some secret connected to it, but no luck yet. It may just be a joke.)

The first skeletal mage is right by the first boulder. At the bottom of the ramp it rolls along, you'll enter a narrow archway lined with coffin alcoves. The skeletal mage is tucked just inside the entrance, on your right. It won't move until you approach or attack, but once you do, it merrily legs it around the corner. (It would be funny if it were not so deadly.)

The good news is this mage can be damaged by the boulder. The bad news is the corridor it flees down is home to a very nasty ambush composed of multiple skeletal warriors, and tackling them while the boulder blocks your escape route is tricky. Be careful, and for best results don't let the mage does a runner.

The second skeletal mage is up on a balcony above the rat-filled sewer at the bottom of the second boulder's route. You can snipe it very easily from the opposite side of the room before you descend to the Catacombs of Carthus bonfire, but the boulder will of course respawn if you rest at the bonfire before exploring further.

Should you want to melee the second skeletal mage, you're in for a tough battle, as the area upstairs is home to multiple shotel skeletal knights. It's not a good time! There's some good loot up there, including a couple of key items, so get it done at least once.

I hope this answers all your questions about Dark Souls 3's skeleton with hat. If someone would like to explain to me why everyone is so interested in this topic all of a sudden that would be rad.

If there's anything missing from our Dark Souls 3 guide and walkthrough that you'd like to see covered, just let us know and we'll do our best to assist. Please do not ask me any questions about the skeletal wheels. I have no answers for you. Just roll with it, ahem.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

In this article

Dark Souls

PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Dark Souls III

Video Game

Related topics
About the Author
Brenna Hillier avatar

Brenna Hillier

Contributor

Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.

Comments