DARK SOULS II

DARK SOULS II

38 Achievements

1,000

Xbox 360
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Smith for Life

Smith for Life

Inherit Steady Hand McDuff's equipment

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How to unlock the Smith for Life achievement in DARK SOULS II - Definitive Guide

This Achievement is for "inheriting" Steady Hand McDuff's equipment. McDuff is a blacksmith located in the Lost Bastille. To reach him, start from the first bonfire you come across in the Bastille after leaving No Man's Wharf. Go down to the lower level and follow the path until. You should come across a closed gate that needs to be opened with a switch, and a set of stairs shortly after that. McDuff can be found in a room just to the side of those stairs, but it takes another step to reach him.

If you look up the stairs, you'll notice one of those giant mummies standing just behind a powder keg. You need to go up the stairs and push the powder keg down back down the way you came, so it hits the wall at the bottom. This will open a hole in the wall, thereby giving you access to a new bonfire. McDuff is in the room right next to this, sitting on top of a treasure chest. You'll want to light a torch at the bonfire and use it to light the brazier in McDuff's room. Warp away from here and come back, and he'll have moved off of the chest and gone back to work at his anvil.

Your work is only just beginning, though. In order to get McDuff to work on your equipment, you need to find the Dull Ember. This is found in the Iron Keep. From the first bonfire in the keep, just follow the path until you get to the open outer area with what appears to be a very large furnace in the middle. Lower the bridge with the nearby lever, then cross over to the other side. Take a right once you get there, then line yourself up so you can jump across to the nearby platform. The ember is on a corpse right at the edge here.

Now with the ember in your possession, you can head back to McDuff. Hand it over to him and he'll offer to upgrade your equipment. To earn the Achievement, you must spend at least 50,000 souls at his shop, with at least 10,000 going towards infusing weapons. Take any five weapons you like and infuse them with whatever stones you have available (fire, lightning, magic, bleed, etc). Just make sure to use a different type of stone for each weapon, or else the Achievement won't pop. Now speak to McDuff again using the "Talk" option and he'll give you a free titante slab. Achievement unlocked!

If for whatever reason you don't have five stones on hand, Stone Trader Chloanne will begin selling them at her spot in Majula towards the end of the game.

-EDIT-

There appear to be a lot of conflicting reports on how to unlock this one. At the very least, this solution can be used as a guide for anyone who doesn't know how to locate McDuff and / or the Dull Ember. I'll update it again once the exact requirements for the Titanite Slab have been figured out.

-EDIT-

User KetchupKleenex has added that this might require you to spend 14k souls on upgrades in order to get this to work. Souls spent in his shop do not appear to count towards this total.
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16 Mar 2014 23:15

30 Comments
Just to note, you need to use 5 different stones. I had infused 7 weapons using only 4 different types of stones and it wasn't until I used a 5th that the achievement popped.
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By Sliktor on 19 Mar 2014 02:54
Very good to know, thanks! I'll add that to the solution.
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By Silent Fanatic on 19 Mar 2014 02:55
This solution is incorrect in its current form. Infusing five weapons will not be enough to get the achievement. I did that and the achievement did not unlock. You have to spend 50k souls on his wares in total, with at least 10k of those souls spent on weapon infusions.
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By I Ebon Hawk I on 19 Mar 2014 20:04
Thanks for the tip, I'll update accordingly.
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By Silent Fanatic on 19 Mar 2014 20:05
Great guide, i love how you call it a free titanite slab when its the most expensive one in the game :)
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By Spakon on 19 Mar 2014 21:35
Thanks! It's amazing that anyone is still playing this game so far out from the initial release.
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By Silent Fanatic on 16 Mar 2024 23:37
Definitelly don't need use 5 different stones, because my achievement popped after i used only two fire stones.
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By Tornad0s on 20 Mar 2014 07:11
I spent less than 50k souls on this guy and got the achievement. I started with 5 different infusions (10k), then bought 15k of items, then spent 5k on other upgrades.
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By JORAX on 20 Mar 2014 19:33
This is very confusing!
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By Silent Fanatic on 20 Mar 2014 19:37
Also, it isn't a Raw Ember, its a Dull Ember :)
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By JORAX on 21 Mar 2014 06:03
Durr...not sure what I was thinking there. Thanks for pointing that out, I've corrected the terminology.
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By Silent Fanatic on 21 Mar 2014 06:08
Spent 75k souls, infused 12 different weapons with an assortment of stones, talked his ear off.

No achievement.

Extremely disappointing
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By ArmaggedonPSA on 21 Mar 2014 22:35
Maybe the Achievement is glitched? It does sound like a lot of people are getting different results with this one. Sorry it didn't work for you. As soon as I find decisive info for this, I'll update the solution again.
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By Silent Fanatic on 21 Mar 2014 22:41
Maybe that's where people are tripping up? I actually had a similar problem when I was going for this. You have to choose the "Talk" option, not just press A next to him. I think I spent something like 75k souls at his shop before I figured that part out.
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By Silent Fanatic on 22 Mar 2014 18:56
I spent 50k buying large titanite shards from him and then infused 5 weapons..nothing happened. I came back with more souls and decided to upgrade my weapons with him with about 10-15k souls and after doing so and talking to him he gave me the slab and the achievement unlocked.
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By Brianstormed on 24 Mar 2014 04:04
I only infused ONE weapon. I got the achievement after talking with him. However, I spent quite a bit 30k+ (?) REPAIRING my ring of life protection with this guy. I also upgraded weapons too.

My guess is that you need to...
1) repair
2) reinforce
3) buy
4) infuse
5) talk
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By BLUEBERRYPETE on 24 Mar 2014 06:33
Spent 14K using each of his services and nothing. Guess I need to spend a bit more...
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By on 25 Mar 2014 18:13
Spent another ~40K, talked and pop. I infused just 2 weapons.
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By on 25 Mar 2014 19:29
Yeah Idk what the problem is with you guys but I spent 14k AFTER giving him the ember and he gave me his items. Did not infuse anything just bought the uchigatana and upgraded it to +10.
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By on 25 Mar 2014 20:50
Just got the achievement. What I did was buy the Uchigatana and then reinforced it fully for the Supreme Weapon achievement. After that I repaired a ring that was broken and infused 1 weapon with a raw stone. All that put me over the 14k and the achievement popped after I talked to him. You probably don't have to buy the Uchigatana, just something from the shop, and then reinforce whatever you like.
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By Tizzight0 on 26 Mar 2014 18:41
Just got the achievement. I think that you absolutely need to upgrade a weapon bought at his shop. I spent over 20k, infused a weapon with lightning but it would not pop. I got it when I bought the Uchigatana, upgraded it once with titanite shard, then talked to him.
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By XxPaRaNoIaCxX on 28 Mar 2014 22:12
Bought a lot of Large Titanite Shards from him. Upgraded a bunch of weapons and armour. Got the achievement with zero infusions. I only wish I'd tracked the amount I'd spent.
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By JadedJonty on 01 Apr 2014 01:31
I upgraded a lot of things as well and got the achievement without any infusions. I also didn't have to purchase any weapons from him. I didn't track my expenses but I bought a whole bunch of large titanite shards to upgrade things.
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By SurudoiKen on 01 Apr 2014 14:32
I tried spending 50K with 10K on infusions and 40K on items just as the guide said, but when I spoke to him countless times it didn't work. I went and got about 20K more souls, repaired a couple of Rings of life, bought an uchigatana as others suggested and upgraded it to +6 with the Large Titanites I bought from him earlier and then when I talked to him I got the Titanite Slab and the achievement popped. I don't know if this will help anyone, but this is how it worked for me. Thanks for the very detailed guide, though!
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By Smasher39 on 29 May 2014 10:04
I just got it. Spent tons of money buying shards from him first, with no luck. Infused one weapon, reinforced one weapon, repaired one weapon, still no luck. Reinforced a bunch more, and it worked! My current best guess is that you need to spend the 14k souls on repair/reinforce/infusion. Souls spent buying items do not count.
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By KetchupKleenex on 25 Aug 2017 00:08
Ah, that might just be it. Thanks for the tip!
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By Silent Fanatic on 25 Aug 2017 16:14
Weird? I unlocked it a few weeks ago but Iv just noticed TA hasn't scanned it!!!!
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By Flattmeister on 07 Aug 2018 18:17
I know this is pretty old, but I bought the Uchigatana, upgraded to +9, put bleed infusion on it. Talked to him and got the slab & achievement on my other account.
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By Disturbed Shawn on 16 Mar 2024 05:28
That's only partially true. If you have the Ring of Life and Restoration, it wouldn't take very long at all if you have him repair if after each time you die. At 3,000 souls a pop, it could add up very quickly, and he'd just be doing what the other blacksmith would have done anyway.
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By Silent Fanatic on 19 Mar 2014 21:41
Quoted directly from the official guide:

"After finding the Dull Ember in the Iron Keep, give it to Steady Hand McDuff in the Lost Bastille to gain access to his shop menu. Once you've spent a total of at least 14000 Souls for his various services, select the talk option in his menu. He will give you an item as thanks and you will unlock the Achievement/Trophy."

Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be correct as I've easily spent 14k souls and his dialogue hasn't changed. I've probably spent 30-40k on him including imbuing 5 different weapons with different stones but still no luck. Guess I'll buy a bunch of large titanite shards and see if that does the trick.
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By Catatonic Nali on 22 Mar 2014 18:43
View all 30 comments Show less comments
Buy the uchigatana for 5,000 souls.
Upgrade using titanite shards, large titanite shards and a few titanite chunks.
Upgrading it to its max should get you above 14k being spent in his shop.
Go to the talk option after, you may need to keep using the talk option and the achievement will unlock.
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23 Comments
worked for me
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By on 28 Mar 2014 23:13
That's what I'm saying, the solution above isn't right. You don't have to infuse any weapon to get it. I have the book and it says nothing about spending 50,000 souls.
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By on 28 Mar 2014 23:38
I didn't have a problem, I did what the book said and it popped.
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By on 31 Mar 2014 17:43
This method only works for the Ones who has the book :-)
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By Adeusz on 02 Apr 2014 19:05
Worked for me. +1
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By Page Daemon on 13 Apr 2014 13:43
Glad to hear it! ((:
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By on 13 Apr 2014 16:34
I bought the Uchigatana, upgraded it to +10 and nothing. I then infused it with a RAW stone, talked with McDuff again and the achievement unlocked :)
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By SiegfriedX on 18 Apr 2014 06:53
Well Idk what to tell you because the book says nothing about infusing to get the achievement. Just going by the book.
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By on 18 Apr 2014 06:56
Can I ask about this book? What the hell are you speaking about, guys?!?!? What book??? shock
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By DeadBardt on 18 Apr 2014 18:32
The dark souls 2 strategy book...?
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By on 20 Apr 2014 04:26
Sadly didn't work for me :\ Neither has the other method. Might just be kinda buggy or something unlisted that nobody knows yet. Won't downvote though.
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By XXRPGGAMEMANXX on 24 Apr 2014 01:34
I tried, this worked for me. Did you make sure to talk straight after sometimes you gotta keep going into that option.
And thank you for not disliking it. (:
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By on 24 Apr 2014 01:38
I tried. I eventually got it after buying all his items then having him reinforce two separate weapons from 1-10 and infusing 2 or 3 weapons. I think it's just a little buggy overall.
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By XXRPGGAMEMANXX on 24 Apr 2014 09:24
That's crazy it should not have made you do all that. You'd think they would've fixed it by now.
I'm sorry my solution didn't help you. I just posted what I did to get the achievement to pop.
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By on 24 Apr 2014 09:32
I had the same problem as SiegfriedX, bought and upgraded the Uchigatana to +10 and nothing, then infused to Raw and talked and got it right away.
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By James917 on 24 Apr 2014 23:42
I simply upgraded a Blacksteel Katana to +7 and finished off my Hunter's Blackbow from +6 to +10 and talked to him before exiting dialog and it popped. Free slab eh. Infusing sucks cuz the scaling gets diminished.
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By Giff the Stiff on 25 Apr 2014 23:00
I tried to help. I'm sorry it didn't work for you.
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By on 27 Apr 2014 09:19
Thanks for the help. I bought the Uchigatana and upgraded it to +10....then achievement unlocked.
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By RF117 on 27 Jun 2014 17:49
Upgraded random weapons then blackbow from 3-7 and got the achievement....
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By BaronVoNewman on 01 Jul 2014 01:06
Hmm...also spent over 30k souls and nothing happened...fcuk this shit, i'm gonna try it again later
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By Damir Malice on 21 Mar 2015 16:45
Supposedly its glitched. I just posted what I did and it worked. I think I either got it offline or before any updates. I'm not sure. I'm sorry it didn't work. Have you spammed talking to him?
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By on 21 Mar 2015 17:52
Oh ok now it worked. +1 baby
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By Damir Malice on 21 Mar 2015 18:21
No you don't have to but, there are problems with unlocking this one. Ive spent more then 100k souls at him trying to unlock it. Both buying items and upgrading and infusing them. Just trying to unlock this one.
I have plenty of souls to spare but still its a bit ridiculous.
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By SuperXeroTTV on 31 Mar 2014 17:37
View all 23 comments Show less comments
Adding to the above guide, this trophy seems to be unlocking for people spending 14,000 souls on infusing weapons. Many have spent 14,000 souls on services (i.e. buying goods, repairing, etc.) and still not gotten the trophy. Once the souls have been spent pick the "Talk" option until he gives you a Titanite Slab and the trophy should pop.
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05 Apr 2014 21:05

This blacksmith is found in The Lost Bastille.

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24 Mar 2014 02:14

Adding on to both of the above, I can confirm that repairing and buying doesn't count towards the total, but upgrading weapons does.

So you don't need to waste rare ore to infuse weapons, pair this trophy with Supreme Weapon and simply do a few of your later game weapon upgrades at McDuff, then talk to him and he'll give you the Slab and the trophy will pop after a couple seconds.
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09 Apr 2014 07:04

All i did when i got this was buy 100 arrows + 10 greatarrows and upgrade Varangian Sword from basic to Lightning +8, after that he gave me the slab when talking. Not sure how much it came to but that was enough for me.
Hopefully that helps!
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22 Aug 2014 00:06

After finding the Dull Ember in the Iron Keep, give it to Steady Hand McDuff in the Lost Bastille to gain access to his shop menu. Once you've spent a total of at least 14,000 Souls for his various services (Edit: 'Various services' is incorrect. It was only after I infused with him using at least 12,000 Souls that he provided the item and achievement.), select the talk option in his menu. He will give you an item as thanks and you will unlock the Achievement.
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01 Jan 2015 19:46

McDuff can be found in the Lost Bastille (from the tower where Lucatiel is found just go straight ahead down the steps and his cell is at the bottom on the right) either by using the Bastille Key (found in Belfry Luna) to open his cell or by using the explosive barrel at the top of the stairs nearby to blow open the wall to get in. Once there speak to him repeatedly and light the torch in here to get him to move off the chest he is sat on. You now need the Dull Ember from Iron Keep.

To get it (no enemies are listed here, so be careful) go to the Threshold Bridge bonfire at the Iron Keep and cross over it. Enter the building and go up the small stairs ahead and then the larger ones in the right corner. Go through another small room that has three foes in it and out into a large area with lava. Go down the path on the left until you get to some steps going down. Head down and pull the lever here to partially lower the bridge above (don’t open the door). Go back up and cross the bridge. At the end drop off and go right, jump a gap that leads to a chest but look right before reaching it. You’ll see a corpse with an item that you can jump to. This is the ember.

Take it back to McDuff and he will then be able to infuse your weapons (if you have the correct stones). You then need to spend at least 14k worth of souls with him (I chose to use it all on infusion which some people state is required, but equally people have had it unlock by just buying items/arrows) and then chose the regular talk option. He will give you a Titanite Slab and the achievement is yours.

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First you will need to find McDuff in The Last Bastille. He is shortly after you encounter the Heide Knight in The Lost Bastille, you head down the ladder beat the wolves and his room is the locked door you encounter after that before heading up some stairs. You can use the Bastille Key to unlock his room or have an enemy roll the explosive barrel down the stairs and blowing open the wall revealing a bonfire and granting you access to McDuff. From there you will get the Dull Ember from the Iron Keep which is just before the Smelter Demon boss at the other end of the walkway from the fog door you will need to make a jump to a platform.

After you can use McDuff you will need to just keep spending souls on his equipment/smithing/infusing. I know I got this trophy after I spent 50,000 souls on smithing, some 20,000 souls on equipment and over 10,000 on Infusion. Reports are varying but just keep spending souls at this smith and keep talking to him after you spend a lot and you will get the trophy.

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Be careful, I killed the blacksmith, the trophy didn't drop
I'll have to tackle this trophy on NG+
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19 Mar 2014 19:35

2 Comments
McDuff, after he becomes available as a blacksmith, needs to spend 14,000 souls on his services. After selecting the conversation option, he will give you the item and the trophy is yours.
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By AllexxiL on 03 May 2014 10:27
Incorrect hint above, you need to spend 14k souls on hardening or strengthening, and not just buy something from him.
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By TbI6JIoko on 16 Jan 2016 21:52
The easiest way is to simply kill this blacksmith in the Forgotten Fortress and take his hammer. Then you can give it to the blacksmith in Majula and receive another reward.
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12 Mar 2014 21:02

2 Comments
If you don’t want to kill an NPC, then after you can improve his weapons, spend about 14k souls on improvements (buying things does not count). Then, after the conversation, MacDuff will become generous and give you his equipment along with the trophy.
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By Tramp on 18 Mar 2014 12:51
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By Sub_zero12 on 19 Mar 2014 14:28