Blade of the Darkmoon

Video Cred to Codemanster0

The Blades of the Dark Moon is the in-game covenant that serves Dark Sun Gwyndolin, the last remaining deity in Anor Londo. By joining this Covenant, you agree to serve Gwyndolin as a dispenser of justice (or assassin), doling out punishment to those who break the rules of their respective covenants or otherwise earn Sin sufficient to open them up to being invaded by Covenant members. The Blade of the Darkmoon's primary objective is to assassinate other players who have betrayed their covenant or been indicted for killing other players, by using a list of names found in the "Book of Guilty" item. As the book's description explains: "The goddess of Sin Velka oversees this list of the guilty, who have disrespected the Gods or their covenants, and shall one day face the wrath of the Blades of the Darkmoon." Covenant members are empowered to invade the worlds of the guilty in two primary ways: (1) by using their Blue Eye Orb to invade any area of the game open to multiplayer interaction, or (2) by wearing the Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring to be summoned by Gwyndolin into the Dark Anor Londo world of a sinner. In either instance, the Covenant member will appear as a blue phantom, and the victim will be informed that they have been invaded by "spirit of vengeance" followed by the Dark Moon Blade's user name. Successfully punishing a sinning player by killing them can (but does not always) result in the Darkmoon Blade obtaining a Souvenir of Reprisal, which is used to rank up within the Covenant. To aid his followers, depending on Covenant rank Gwyndolin will also give a Covenant member a powerful Talisman and weapon buff miracle, as discussed further below.
Players who are not in the Covenant are nonetheless encouraged to carry and use Indictments on players who invade and defeat them, as the resulting accumulation of Sin by their attackers will expose those attackers to being invaded in turn by vengeance-seeking Dark Moon Blades. Unlike Sin obtained from killing NPCs or betraying covenants, indictment-based Sin cannot be removed by speaking with Carim, and will forever mark the player as a target for the Dark Moon Blades.


Joining
Joining Video Walkthrough
1. You must have the Darkmoon Seance Ring, found in the Catacombs, in your possession. You must also have access to Anor Londo.
2. Go to the large rotating elevator in the middle of Anor Londo. Move the lever so that it makes the elevator go all the way down and continue down the stairs to reach the Darkmoon Tomb bonfire. (Note: This requires that you have the ability to move the elevator).
3. Equip the Darkmoon Seance Ring and the nearby statue will vanish. Go through the opening and down the stairs towards the fog wall, but do not enter. As you approach the fog wall you will hear Gwyndolyn speaking and when he is finished you will be able to kneel on the carpet in front of the fog wall in order to access the Darkmoon Blades covenant. ( Side note: You do not actually need to have the "Kneel" Gesture, this is a context kneel, just press A / X and you'll kneel.)
4. Accept and join the covenant.
5. You will receive a Blue Eye Orb and Blade of the Darkmoon ring that you can use for invading other players.

Note: If you ever enter the fog you will be attacked by Gywndolin. Doing so constitutes betraying the Darkmoon Blades if you are a member of the covenant, meaning you will be kicked out. Regardless of whether or not you were in the Darkmoon Blades when entering the fog you will be unable to rejoin the covenant until you absolve your sin with Oswald of Carim. If you kill Gwyndolin the Darkmoon Blades will be unavailable for the rest of the playthrough. Also pays to note that you can kill Gwynevere, absolve your sins, and still join the the covenant. After absolving your sins the firekeeper will still remain hostile, but despite the dialogue "Gwyndolin, this man is a threat" when you kill them, this does not break the covenant.

Effects of covenant

• Players can use the Blue Eye Orb to invade players who have sinned by betraying covenants. This method of invasion does alert the target and may be used in any area where multiplayer is permitted, not just Anor Londo.
• Players with the Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring equipped will be summoned to invade another player's sunlight-less Anor Londo (Like with the Cat Covenant Ring, you do not have to be in Anor Londo to be summon and invade). This method also alerts the target of being invaded.
• The invaded player can still challenge the area boss. If he does this you will fail and be sent back to your world.
• You can still be invaded by members of the Darkmoon Covenant.
• You do not have to be in human form to use the Blue Eye Orb
• You can use the Blue Eye Orb in any area, even if you have already killed the boss
• The host is alerted by a message when you invade using the Blue Eye Orb.
• Darkmoon Blade members invade as a "Spirit of Vengeance", and appear as a blue phantom.
• The Blue Eye Orb and Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring share level restrictions based on the invader's level. The formula is:
  • Lower Level Limit: x - (50 + 20% of x)
  • Upper Level Limit: x + (10 + 10% of x)
  • This means a level 100 Darkmoon can invade others who are levels 30 - 120.
• To be eligible to be invaded by a Darkmoon, you must have Sin. Sin is typically acquired by:
  • Attacking/Killing NPCs (there are a few exceptions to this);
  • Betraying a Covenant (there are also some exceptions to this); or
  • Being indicted by a player that you invade and successfully kill.
• Sin that results from being indicted is NOT removed by Requesting Absolution from Oswald. As discussed above, this Sin also exposes the sinner to higher and higher level Dark Moon Blade invasions as it accumulates.
• Unconfirmed: I have a character with no sin (according to Oswald) and I was recently invaded by a Darkmoon spirit of vengeance while in Sen's Fortress. My account has 0 sin (I've never successfully invaded, and the book of the guilty lists me at 0 sin) I did abandon the forest hunter covenant improperly with this character, however, I requested absolution from Oswald since then. I suspect that abandoning a covenant improperly flags you for Darkmoon and that absolution from Oswald does not clear this. Can anyone else confirm 0 sin invasions? (PC: PTD edition)

Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring (pvp functionality)
This ring is gained by joining the Darkmoon Blade covenant. When wearing this ring you may be summoned into other players' dark Anor Londo as an invader.

Rank Requirements
The Blade of the Darkmoon covenant requires Souvenir of Reprisal to level your rank. This drops from people you kill that are listed in the Book of the Guilty, but however, it is not a guaranteed drop. Souvenirs of Reprisal will also drop rarely from Harpies in the Painted World of Ariamis.
Note: The increase of damage of Darkmoon Blade Miracle during Rank +2 and Rank +3 seem to be the same.
Betrayal Conditions

• Crossing the fog into the Darkmoon Tomb

Betrayal Penalties

• If you betray the Darkmoon Blades you will be evicted from the covenant.
• You will also lose the ability to use Darkmoon Blade, but will still retain the spell.

Note: Even if you have already killed Gwyndolin and Gwynevere, you can still be invaded in Dark Anor Londo.

Tips and Strategy

Blue Eye Orb Invasions

The Blue Eye Orb can be used to attempt to invade sinning players in any area that permits multiplayer (i.e., not in the Northern Undead Asylum, Valley of the Drakes, the Great Hollow, or Ash Lake). An excellent place to invade is Tomb of the Giants.

• It is completely dark, which requires the host to either give up their shield (for Skull Lantern), their helmet (for Sunlight Maggot), or have at least 15 Intelligence (for Cast Light). So this can immediately put you at an advantage.
• There are very strong enemies there. The Skeletal Dogs in particular are very dangerous for the host.
• There are numerous cliffs and narrow ledges after exiting the cave, and also the area around both bonfires is small with a large cliff. If you have at least 28 faith (which is very common for a Darkmoon Blade build, since you need 30 faith for Darkmoon Blade), Wrath of Gods or Force can easily push someone off of the cliff to their death.
• You can go to the room with the Skeleton Babies and farm humanity while waiting to invade. For even more invasions, wear the Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring.
• Tomb of Giants is fairly late in the game; by this point, most people have acquired some sin and are thus eligible to be invaded by Darkmoons.

Another excellent place to invade is Sen's Fortress, especially around level 50 or so.

• Most high level players avoid returning to the place due to the fact there is not much to farm there plus previous experiences with the fortress could leave them "Traumatized" and unwilling to return and run through the traps a second time.
• It is reasonably dark and elaborate, with plenty of places to hide. (Conversely, this can make finding your target a pain)
• If you're experienced enough, you can use the traps to your advantage, adding another layer of danger for your target to deal with.
• It's late enough in the game that, chances are, some of the players there have acquired some sin.

Invasions in the Undead Burg or Parish at all levels (including both low level and up to 120 and beyond) can also be very effective.

• Due to certain intentional user glitches related to the Bottomless Box, many "new" characters in the area will retain the sin of prior characters or playthroughs, exposing players to Dark Moon Blade invasions even if they just started a new game. The ability to punish those glitchers via invasions adds another dimension to the role of the Dark Moon Blades as enforcers of the Gods' will and laws.
• Many players now intentionally leave the Taurus demon alive to preserve the Burg for higher level coop when nearing endgame, allowing for high level Dark Moon Blade invasions, and victims that likely have accumulated Sin in their playthroughs.

Sunlit Anor Londo is also a popular place to invade. In addition to being themely for Dark Moon Blades to punish sinners in Gwyndolin's city, it has high player foot traffic at the right levels, and high levels of PvP.

• This means that a Dark Moon Blade has a good chance of encountering hosts that have already used up a lot of spells, Estus, and resources dealing with the challenging computer enemies and other invaders, and spirits of vengeance may also be assisted by other invaders (such as Darkwraiths).
• In addition, many hosts die repeatedly due to the computer enemies and level design hazards, resulting in a free win.
• Finally, the level has many areas for ambushes or open fights depending on your preferred play style, and many dangerous enemies that a Dark Moon Blade can use to slow down the host and their summons, or get breathing room to heal (such as the Titanite Demon).

Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring Invasions

Often times there will be people farming Dark Anor Londo invaders. You will often find yourself in a 1v2 or 1v3 when you arrive to Dark Anor Londo. There are a couple of ways to even the odds:

• You can lure the host + phantom(s) to nearby enemies. There are only a couple of good spots to run to from the spawn point:
  • If the rotating bridge hasn't been moved to a different floor, run across it and up the steps, into the room before Smough & Ornstein. There are 2 NPC enemies there, you can use them to help you
  • If the rotating bridge has been moved, you will have to go up the flying butress into the room with rafters containing the Painting Guardians. Walk along the rooftop rafters there, climb down the ladder, and take the rotating bridge back to the middle level.
  • Another excellent spot to run to is the area with the 2 Silver Knight Archers. This is one of the hardest spots in the game for many, and that's without an invader! You can use the archers to your advantage to kick the players off or use Wrath of the Gods or Force to knock them to their death.
• You can run and wait for a 2nd invader to join in. The rooftop before the 2 archers is a great place to run to, since most players won't follow you there.
• Darkwraiths can also invade players in Dark Anor Londo, as the sinning player must still be in human form to be invaded. Although it is possible for Darkwraiths and Dark Moon Blade phantoms to harm each other, each can still serve as a reinforcement for the other. It is also possible to have two Dark Moon Blades and a Darkwraith at the same time, further evening the odds. However, on occasion a Darkwraith and Dark Moon Blade may fight each other first before the victor goes after the host.
• Rarely, when you be summoned with Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring, you appear as a White Phamtom (Occurred to me two times by FakeJust)
• If possible, run to the rotating bridge. There, backstabs and ripostes are impossible to perform. Cast Iron Flesh and hope that your opponents expire before you do.

The Blue Eye Orb has level restrictions.

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