Game Theory: We SOLVED Dark Souls 3! + Dark Souls Giveaway

[@GameTheory]

Dear Angry Commenters: 1. I didn't delete VaatiVidya's comment. I NEVER delete comments. KZbin refreshes comment threads all the time to show more recent ones. His is probably buried in the 55,000 others the video has. 2. Sorry we showed Patches' head on Siegward. The editors do a lot of Google Image searching, especially for franchises they're not as familiar with, and while I thought it was weird to see Siegward's face (I didn't remember it from my playthroughs and was something that, as I was giving notes gave me a red flag), I had forgotten that Patches steals his armor and didn't fully check it out. But one minor mistake like that shouldn't discount the theory, undermine my enthusiasm for this franchise, or prompt the rage you guys are sending. 3. Yes, a lot of this is basic -- but I can't assume people know ANYTHING about Dark Souls and I want everyone to appreciate the lore of the series. The next episode gets REALLY deep, so I had to start everyone on the same level so next week's follow-up will make sense.

[@scledbcknislted8018]

I side with MatPat lol

[@hadewun9190]

Loved this video! Can't wait till the next one!

[@archer3398]

The Game Theorists thanks

[@Spellfork]

Aaaw, and I was hoping for some major mindblow due to the Patches/Siegward thing :/

[@tylerh8756]

I'm a little surprised (though I shouldn't be) that this many people got all fired up about the Patches thing.

[@AstonishingRed]

MattPat: I have an interesting theory about Dark Souls Lore! Vaatividya: Hold my Estus Flask

[@mariliasilva1391]

Vaatividya: let me just steal someone else's ideas and make them my own

[@AstonishingRed]

Marilia Silva Well Vaati has certainly never taken credit for making Souls lore his own. He simply expounds on it the same way Mattpat has opened up FNAF for many ppl.

[@jovan9989]

Papa Hawkshaw would have to say something about that.

[@SirDankleberry]

@@mariliasilva1391 Get out.

[@mr.whiskers6411]

What did he say

[@doomer2electricboogaloo730]

"...99% of players will never really appreciate the lore." The entire Dark Souls fanbase: Do you even know who I am?

[@littlemoth4956]

You mean the guys that watch VaatiVidya once? Yeah okay

[@tvlivingroom6626]

@@littlemoth4956 and You think VaatiVidya is working alone to find out the lore? yeah okay.

[@sumbody694]

@@littlemoth4956 You realize Vaati has tons of videos on his version of the lore and its work that he got help with from many sources. Vaati gives the most based and realistic vision of how the lore plays out and people like it because based on what the game gives us its the most likely way the lore actually went about.

[@ILoveLuhaidan]

I am a dark souls fan and I never understood the lore so yea

[@CesarGarcia-nd5xz]

I think you seriously underestimate the souls borne community; we are one of the most dedicated out there.

[@gavinburrows7891]

In defense of reptitive plot it’s supposed to show a cycle that keeps repeating but needs to end it actually does a good job of telling that if you see the story of all the npcs

[@submarinesailor5140]

Siegward doesn’t get summoned. He just walks in with you if you did all his quest stuff

[@jmorel42]

Exactly

[@takikarin2330]

“Why is there no long dialogue?” Miyazaki: “You wouldn’t get it.”

[@mythoclass_]

Matpat didn’t have to look that far into hawkwood, since the item description of his weapons and armour say that he was a deserter from the undead legion

[@masterklaw4527]

Say what you will about these videos, but this is how I got into Dark Souls.

[@spicecooking]

Me too

[@TrueApexMusic]

I got into it from Austin’s video on the music

[@KagekiriToriko]

Same. This theory is actually the backstory I settled on for my character. I view the corpse atop the Castle as a diversion. Whoever that turned out to be wasn't the true 3rd Blackhand in my headcanon; it was someone the King sent up there to stall the tougher Winged Knights

[@josephcirrincone9596]

Same here

[@God46400]

Same

[@thepruld]

10:50 - ouch!

[@shiroyasha7324]

Oh hi pruld :)

[@HAOSxy]

Non preoccuparti, si sono resi conto dell'errore

[@parrymegundyr]

Welcome Pruld!

[@parrymegundyr]

ikr

[@electricboogaloo6917]

WHERE IS THE THIRD EPISODE OSCAR?!

[@baccea-3766]

THUMBS UP FOR PATCHES FOOLING MATPAT INTO THINKING HE'S THE ONION KNIGHT.

[@soulbiscuit6850]

Baccea - it was bothering me too. Makes me question how much this guy actually paid attention to the game.

[@Bricktor]

Actually Patches fooled the editors.

[@ThePteropterus]

don't mention it or you'll get your comment deleted like vaati imgur.com/a/9qLGV

[@BB-eg2ji]

Don't bother, he's deleting all the comments pointing out he's wrong, even Vaati himself. imgur.com/a/9qLGV

[@baccea-3766]

Wow. Is this real life?

[@petervasz3739]

Lol you don't realize the community you just walked into.

[@nickkeller9143]

For real tho

[@apolloniuspergus9295]

Git gud

[@negativitronprime]

Oh man i had to go to the comments after that one😂

[@Error0101]

@submalevolent grace It's a closely knit fanbase

[@PhoenixDemon94]

MatPat walked up to the community, shirtless and with open arms... only to get punched into oblivion by a giant mushroom man

[@sirrrrrrrrr]

This theory gives me conniptions.

[@connorshort2308]

Conniptions

[@connorshort2308]

I love that phrase

[@entermyvbuckgiveaway4787]

Can’t even die right

[@dexterityisbetterthanstren8961]

Who said that

[@Bevsworld04]

@@dexterityisbetterthanstren8961 the guy who likes to talk about the abyss watchers in firelink

[@tailsfox45]

"Magical fire" in dark souls is just called "fire"

[@OnytoC]

why is Gwyndolin the god of the moon ? . . . Because hes not a very good sun *kill me

[@CJ00014]

He is not a god, he is the son of a god and was treated as a woman because he did not worship the sun, but the moon...

[@rubbishh2637]

=3 i get it

[@chromepaintaddict9787]

CJ00014 He's also the original gaming Trap

[@stefanprugnaud4719]

Realy. Dude realy BAD pun ... I Love it

[@Lucien-xy2fs]

That...That.....Was amazing

[@monkeyman3537]

Hawkwood's shield also, ya know, just straight up tells you he is a deserter. You don't even have to look at his name or armor. Item Description of Hawkwood's Shield: "Shield that belonged to Hawkwood, a deserter from the Undead Legion. The unique swordsmanship of the Watchers does not normally allow for the use of a shield, and Hawkwood's very possession of it was telltale of his defeat.

[@Mordoras1379]

Andrew Ryan i also noticed that someone skiped a few item descriptions!!! but really though what research are you doing if you don't even read about the armor set of the character you are researching?

[@monkeyman3537]

Pretty much sums this episode up. I know everyone has to start somewhere, but this is still a pretty shallow theory. He's talking about this when my shower thoughts are questioning whether or not Aldrich ate Nito. You know, light stuff.

[@Mordoras1379]

I thought that Aldrich dreamed of nito thats how he has the gravelord sword

[@monkeyman3537]

Panagiotis Doxopoulos Probably, but I like to think he ate Nito. It makes him cooler.

[@Mordoras1379]

Yeah after all it's plural so... Maybe he ate him

[@drifterax7731]

I’ve done some deep thinking since this video and come to a conclusion. (My theory implies this videos theory is correct which I believe to be true so take this with a pinch of salt.) If the player is the third black hand that’s cool but what bothers me is “what was his name?” If you type “Black Hand..” into the character creator name slot you’ll notice you have 6 spaces left (1 for a gap so 5) This means the player characters name was 5 letters long. Black Hand Gotthard’s name means: “as strong as God” Black Hand Kamui’s name means: “Gods authority” Judging by this theme then the third Black Hand has a 5 letter name meaning something to do with god. I did a seriously ridiculous amount of time searching names related to god and found few that fit the 5 letters and “God’s ...” guideline, so I gave up. Months later I chose to replay Dark Souls 2 (Forgive me..), throughout the game you can summon an NPC called Drifter Swordsman Aidel. My name is Drifter so I see him as a brother of sorts, anyway I chose to google his name and it means “God’s gift” 5 letters long and means something to do with god The name of the third Black Hand and possibly the player character is most likely Aidel. This opens a new question: is Drifter Swordsman Aidel the Dark Souls 3 protagonist many years before he became a Black Hand member??? Thank you if you read this far, you’re awesome and I hope you liked my theory

[@therealviejo2516]

That’s awesome

[@gedewahyu.p]

This is a better theory, thank you.

[@drifterax7731]

@@gedewahyu.p thanks man :)

[@niallmul97]

"Siegward is my favourite character" >Shows a picture of Patches

[@videogeek33]

*Gif of Jim looking into the camera from The Office*

[@sMAXtie]

Did he even play the game?!

[@videogeek33]

media.giphy.com/media/ud5CWQ1Q7nzgs/giphy.gif

[@lindelanintshingila207]

sMAXtie lol. probably not

[@justrightgaming3333]

He's not the one that edits the videos so it's possible the editor doesn't know the difference between the two; I think matpat only does the voice-overs

[@FormantVEVO]

>Siegward of Caterina *YOU JUST GOT PATCH'D*

[@joshzeller808]

“My favorite character”

[@fishteo4297]

I hate these unbreakable patches

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

Squidward of the cafeteria?

[@scaredandconfused2743]

Patches helped you you Dark souls 3?

[@Keroseyn]

Lol

[@christopher6632]

I'm curious to what VaatiVidya wrote now.

[@parrymegundyr]

VaatiVidya would hate this video.

[@WisdomCatto]

@@honeycrisp3084 now i know

[@libertyprime7448]

Makes you wonder, why matpat don't just collap with the famous people of the specific niches. Here with Vaati and for the for honor 1v1v1 fight with stallagrim. Would've eased the nerds and the normies wouldn't've cared either way.

[@Alexander59059]

Above you

[@captainbongwater7790]

Vaati says "yikes."

[@npc_N8]

I laugh every time someone says Dark Souls is hard. Then they laugh when I tell them how I'm laughably bad at Mario games...

[@_-7734]

Cant relate cuz im master in both

[@erlonbrunosouzamiranda8525]

I'm on the same boat, man

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

I managed to beat the dancer of the boreal valley on my third try and I can’t get pass the first zone of classic Sonic. :p

[@bungiecrimes7247]

2 completely different games with different kinds of difficulty

[@barkerbarks2537]

@@RandomPerson-cm2wg I am embarrassed to say that is the same for me...

[@betterwithage3864]

Who would win The entire dark souls plot line Or Sum wood

[@Mitchtits]

@Kyle Fratini wood, burning, kindling, lighting the fire

[@willdeschane6206]

Wood

[@willdeschane6206]

Wood

[@willdeschane6206]

Wood

[@dragonslayerornstein2361]

Wood

[@Jason-ty4dl]

Matpat that's not Siegward of Catarina, that's patches someone who is in every dark souls games and trolls u. In dark souls 3 he steals Siegward's armour who is somebody your character trusts and trolls u by that identity. You can actually find Siegward later on in the game in a hole where u can give back his armour and then later on he helps you defeat Yorhm the giant which they have a cool back story together but I'm not gonna say every detail cause this message would be really long.

[@aajjeee]

Jason hes not in every dark souls, they are different people that happen to share a first name and general manners

[@samuelshaw8856]

Barnesrino Kripperino he's in every damned one. I know from experience he is even in demon souls...

[@aajjeee]

samuel shaw they are different patches

[@NeiradNeuCifer]

Patches is in every FromSoft game as far as I know. A character named Patches anyway, and he's always a dick

[@DarthSnugglePuss]

Neirad Shiruani Patches isn't in Dark Souls 2.

[@cyrrusdragheskjold5573]

Theory - What if VaatiVidya is actually Miyazaki?

[@aliekexie8467]

A much better theory than in this vid.

[@jayrae17]

Cyrrus Dragheskjold who it's like you read my mind

[@parkerhix1057]

VaatiVidya is that op dark souls player I always see pwning people on streams right?

[@x-x1viiq]

Anri is actually not necessarily a she, Anri is always the opposite gender of the player.

[@jacoblister3244]

I've only ever encountered Anri as a dude, I'm not dissagreeing, just proving your point

[@1opforremaining774]

Jacob Lister Have you played as a male? Because ive played as both for different runs and cosplays and challenges and it does completely go on the gender of your player.

[@xenaioaks5363]

He voice is hot as male. The world will darken and they shall be my husband/wife/partner

[@GavinWilliamson13]

ye because of the wedding

[@peenyyt4921]

The model is always female

[@MegaZapptv]

My theory is that once I get this game, I can play it and come up with my own theory.

[@crockpotstadium7887]

LOL

[@millios3592]

Megazap22 good attempt

[@gbot7438]

Remember to roll

[@Cpg443]

CrockpotStadium w

[@Cpg443]

You CrockpotStadium a

[@CdrChaos]

The Lords of Cinder aren't just people who Linked the Fire; they're people who were strong enough to SURVIVE the process and became protectors of the First Flame. All the others who Linked the Flame died in the process.

[@MentalMarc]

CdrChaos a little late, but yeah, that’s the point. Everyone in the game is basically dead, they got revived

[@Gerno_]

The people who died remain as chosen undeads/ashen ones

[@majeedmamah7457]

That's not entirely right. The Lords of Cinder were strong enough to REACH the first flame. Almost anyone can link it, it's the journey there that's hard. No one else linked the fire besides the Lords and the chosen undead. Those who died, died because the were defeated by the Lord of Cinder.

[@CoasterIdiot802]

@Juggled Lotus she might just be rosaria

[@spookytimejunction]

The chosen undead is a prime example of this, so you shouldn't have needed to say this.

[@kristerslogins1374]

my theory: youre actauly drunk at a party next to a fireplace and you fell asleep. boom its just a dream

[@christophernorth1400]

Krixx L 'Tis but a hunters dream all along...

[@mossco.2727]

Matpat: If darksouls *was* a tv show its called berserk

[@idirbouchdoug1567]

Yeah , dark souls took heavy inspiration from berserk.

[@pillbox2235]

Read the manga you heathen

[@FranTheMan78]

Put your grasses on

[@skiffy8121]

@@pillbox2235 i dont read manga but i aint watching such a butchered port of spmething i know is good

[@LordAoGuang]

@@skiffy8121 manga usually comes first. Then the anime. The anime leave out a lot of things FROM THE MANGA.

[@MrSkyerGaming]

The Main character of Dark Souls 3 is me, because I am also dead inside.

[@thegreatwolf4526]

MrSkyerGaming XD SAME BRO SAME!!!

[@jeffjeff1717]

F

[@seanmurphy3430]

Okay, this is bothering me: the image you keep showing for Siegward isn't Siegward. It's Patches wearing Siegward's armor.

[@chichirocket]

Thank you! It's a minor thing, but it was bugging the crap out of me.

[@sebawilliamson4987]

THANK YOU! I stated that aloud

[@ItsSkyVRC]

\*-*/

[@jermonster4718]

Yeah it kept bugging me the whole time

[@EpicJosueJedi]

yeah siegward is a handsome fella with nice hair not that double crossing rat patches

[@zhuang4804]

After a scanthrough of the lore of the dark souls universe (Vaati videos), I have concluded that the identity of the ashen one does not matter. In fact I would argue that the identity of the ashen one is deliberately left anonymous by Fromsoft to enhance the immersive atmosphere of Dark Souls. Take into account the description of the starting classes you choose at the start of dark souls 3. The Knight reads: "An obscure knight of poor renown who collapsed roaming the land. Sturdy, owing to high vitality and stout armor." - Source: Fextralife wiki (since I didn't pay attention to the class descriptions when I chose my class and instead looked for best armour). Aside from this all other information that directly links with the player character is in the descriptions of the starting gifts, and they are even more vague than the misc. items you discover throughout the game (Worker's trousers has more lore than these). Hell, even the NPCs of the souls games belittles the player character, take into account Eygon of Carim. When you first meet him he is not even remotely courteous to you, instead saying things like: "All you faceless Undead, behaving as if you deserve respect." By giving us little lore about our own characters and giving so many hints and references to the bosses we slay and the npcs we meet increases the opressive atmosphere of the game and raises the presence of the bosses. That is unlike games such as WoW, your character is no hero, and no chosen one. Rather than being told you are great you start as the bottom feeders of the barrel that is the souls universe, and you claw your way up and when you finally beat the challenges the game throws at you, it just feels that much sweeter. -Note to the people you clicked read more: Oh you poor souls, don't read it, it doesn't make that much sense. I'm gonna re-write it when I feel like it. Are you cold? Oh, good hunter. And Patches isn't OnionBro, what is this blasphemy? Do you even praise the sun?

[@aa391212]

you have obviously got this all wrong especially this section "By giving us little lore about our own characters and giving so many hints and references to the bosses we slay and the npcs we meet increases the oppressive atmosphere of the game and raises the presence of the bosses. That is unlike games such as WoW, your character is no hero, and no chosen one. Rather than being told you are great you start as the bottom feeders of the barrel that is the souls universe, and you claw your way up and when you finally beat the challenges the game throws at you, it just feels that much sweeter." it us sounds like rambling, of course the main character(s) has a level of importance in the game because if not, you have to ask yourself, why did Oscar pick you? you meant something to the world of lordran in order for him to select you to carry the torch.

[@zhuang4804]

psst, the point is that it makes no sense

[@eliasgalindo5578]

@@aa391212 Technically,Oscar didn't choose you. He just picked whoever was left in the Asylum.

[@malym9494]

You should say don't read at the start

[@rekitted]

*THATS ACTUALLY PATCHES THE UNBREAKABLE BUT IM NOT TRYING TO START TROUBLE*

[@danielramirez8695]

Krispheos V1 omg thank you for saying that I was getting mad at these comments bc no one was saying anything

[@rekitted]

@@danielramirez8695 Yea thanks for the extra sarcasm man i rlly needed this notification at 6:36 in the morning

[@danielramirez8695]

Krispheos V1 I was being fr....

[@benjaminjobe8100]

Hey I just wanted to post here because it's 2:40 am and you kinda acted like a donkey toward Daniel. Hope you notifications are on :p

[@JamietheEmperor]

SINCE WHEN DOES EITHER OF THEM WIELD THE STORMRULER DKSKDKSKDKKDKSKSKSKSKSKKFMEFXJFJHIHSDVIHBFSNDRIHFRS

[@themaddhatter8157]

The main character is obviously Bill from accounting.

[@codyh4486]

No it's Jake. From Statefarm.

[@jzargo4866]

The Madd Hatter: no it's flo from gico

[@cinnamonswerl7456]

No it's the Gieco lizard

[@judem1807]

its bill from state farm

[@brazen_categories9755]

Cody H damnit you beat me to it

[@jaymee5610]

My theory is that you play as a guy that has simply nothing to do... He just sits on the couch bored, when one guy came up and was like "Hey, you think you can assassinate someone for me" to as which he replied with "Yeeh" and he got up dusted the Cheeto dust off his coat and left for adventure. Please Mat I'm broke.

[@brianlogan6582]

J'bril Johnson This guy right here deserves a copy😂

[@kidcosmic1431]

I think the main character is me because I'm actually dead inside

[@lunar_arcus]

I love Vaatividya. I love MattPat. It's so weird seeing people get mad about other people loving a video game.

[@izawa9211]

Lets not talk about his fnaf theorys where he uses book

[@coenx1]

@@izawa9211 Oh you mean those things that are actual canon?

[@cacaplastica]

In a Taiwanese interview with Miyazaki, he defines unkindled as those who: "didn't succeed in linking the fire and becoming cinder, but failed and burned to nothing. Unkindled is born out of their remaining ashes". The Ocelotte theory is nice, but considering this..it doesn't really make sense. Considering your timeline, I doubt you could even say Ocelotte took on the soul of cinder and failed. Some other commenters are rightly pointing out that Orbeck has a connection to the Twin Princes, as he can be summoned for their fight and can die in the Archives, and is probably Unkindled. eh - Vaati

[@evancosman5039]

Juan Tenorio this will probobaly be deleted too

[@wavyflac]

My theory is that your character is actually reincarnated Solid Snake. How, you ask? I will explain but I must give a fair warning as there are LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! First of all, in the level where you team up with Eizo and Luke Skywalker to hunt the Xenomorph attacking your ship, the Normandy, you can find the "not so hidden" perk that allows you to use a cardboard box, a staple of the MGS franchise. There is also the part where you, Master Chief, and Doomguy, all go back in time with The Doctor to kill the Kraken before it sunk the Titanic. The battle is *very* difficult and if you die, Chief starts to yell, "Snake? Snake?! Snaaaaaaakee!!!" before fading to black MGS style. By the way, a great way to beat the Kraken is to call the Avengers from your Codec, another justification why you are actually Solid Snake. The dialogue that takes place before you are about to begin the boss battle against Ganondorf in the Mushroom Kingdom's world 8-10 is also an important piece of evidence. You are assisted by Dragonborn and Batman, who says, "you're pretty good" if you use Mortal Kombat Scorpion's "get over here" Kunai during battle. If you didn't already know, you can pick up his Kunai using the portal gun to teleport you to hell in the side quest in which you uncover G-man's identity with Gordon Freeman. (You can also see Jar-Jar Binks being tortured as an easter egg when you portal to Hell.). Still not enough to convince you that you are playing as Solid Snake? Well, if you complete the National Pokedex (much easier since you can fly to every region) and then talk to Harry Potter in Liberty City, he will give you a map to Mother Base, your home base in MGSV. I loved this game, what was your favorite part? I had _way_ too much fun writing this. Please like this comment so that more people can see it. Edit: Thanks to each and every one of you all for the nice comments!

[@uncreativename9936]

Bump

[@bissy97]

I have a different theory. As you know, Frodo Baggins has the important role of summoning a portal with the one ring to the upside-down world where you encounter James Bond, who can provides you with the quest to find and defeat Captain Jack Sparrow where you are given the compass as the reward. It has the power to locate dinosaurs from Jurassic world. Where after defeating the zombie Indominus rex you are rewarded with a dragon skin armor that reads, 'he who carries the circle object, while wearing this armor and points the compass north, west, north shell be able to carry the fire' all narrated by Morgan Freeman. Or you are right that it is Solid Snake.

[@ranikaminitz5612]

this guy deserve to win.

[@boylogan1011]

where is the part when peter pan turns into spider man

[@VelmiArtrid]

Thanks man I finally get it now

[@Mxnecromancer]

11:58 that...that's not Siegward. the man in the cutscene taking off his helmet is Patches pretending to be Siegward.

[@ahzidag394]

Matt probably just made the research and recorded the audio! Maybe the guy that edits made the mistake... But hey, is just a theory...

[@MrAbenavides]

Havoc Zephyr mat pat said that he played through the game at least once. I'm assuming he put the picture of patches because he just wanted a picture, while there are no pictures of seigward

[@Walou_]

The Generic An EDITINNNG THEORY thanks for reading...

[@Hotch_ip]

Matpat has a habit of pretending to like series he actually knows nothing about. He does his research, but just enough to get away with the farce.

[@BoxWizard]

StinStin you do realize that the video is edited by someone else and not Matt right? You sent really that stupid I hope.

[@retrofruit_1264]

Everybody: Focuses on the dude talking about lighting a fire. Me: Why is he playing league of legends with a controller

[@TheBoundFenrir]

11:59 ummmm....Matpat...that's not Seigward. That's Patches, wearing Seigward's armor. He steals it from Seigward outside the chapel of the deep. The real Seigward never takes his armor off through the entire game, so you can't see his face without glitching the camera inside his helmet...

[@TheAlfa127]

TheBoundFenrir Finaly someone!

[@basinox]

TheBoundFenrir neither does Anri but he used glitches to get that. quite a shame to not show us that handsome stach.

[@donda2111]

I knew a pleb like him would make that mistake.

[@xxxnicepersonxx9672]

TheBoundFenrir ikr. this guy has no idea

[@DavidisEepy]

he even mixed up "Seigward" with Ani's placement at 14:09

[@kylekashi3320]

I'm sorry I "have" to correct you, MatPat, but! the character at 11:57 is NOT Siegward himself! It's actually the character Patches in disguise, after he stole Siegwards armor.

[@NeumaghAnon]

Kylekashi MatPat's favorite character huh

[@blados360]

Kylekashi You can get Siegwards armor back

[@chinkywinky7266]

Kylekashi

[@K1LL3Rm0nkay]

Blados360 im sure he knows that. but that is patches

[@Wunglebergjunior]

Kylekashi it's sad he did all this research and still messed that up.

[@boulderblockOD]

The picture of siegward that he used is a picture of patches!

[@weirdlyfroggy]

he also used the cutscene of patches after he stole siegward's armor and then takes off his helmet and waves

[@hannahkellaway]

Yo it's 2020, y'all can read the pinned comment. We know it isn't Patches.

[@brokenprogram5346]

What it’s 2020 man I did NOT know that

[@EmoRaynbo]

THANK YOU 🙌

[@dimlydumbor934]

Doesn’t excuse it

[@NoNoDontTouchMeThere]

@@dimlydumbor934 it does

[@darknessscythe1]

That wasn't Siegward... that's Patches in his armor.

[@asdman-gb2nt]

darknessscythe1 THANK YOU!

[@oskartheguy2105]

darknessscythe1 That does look like something he WHOULD look like!

[@shotgunmasterQL]

Rocky The guy I would never expected a hyena like, vaseline covered bald sly guy to sound bombastic and silly like Siegward...

[@King._crow]

Correct

[@xstonedsnailxbox]

THANK YOU!!

[@wagtatou]

14:10 GOD DAMN IT EDITOR, YOU HAD ONE JOB!

[@adamstaubin8708]

Potatou-san hahahahahah funny 😂😂😂

[@fredwilson1448]

what?

[@0DepressoExpresso0]

i dont get it too

[@declang2684]

The lords of cinder are not correlated to the correct NPCs.

[@olivierhutter5074]

lol

[@aresgodofgaming2309]

I like how you parallels from hawkwoods armor and name, but just playing the game will tell you for certain he was an abyss watcher and you fight him at the abyss watcher bonfire

[@carsonrobert6063]

Mat you walking into the dark souls community is great but i mean, why not go talk with Vaati and compare notes? also praise the sun \[T]/

[@turtlebomb4418]

Or just.......anyone in the community at least

[@Nem1606]

Read the pinned comment

[@littlemoth4956]

turtle bomb You both really need to shut up.

[@Freelancer837]

Idk why Dark Souls fans think everything that talks about any lore/story/theories about Dark Souls needs to be discussed through Vaati and no one else.

[@eliasgalindo5578]

@@Freelancer837 exactly. But I'm not hating on Vaati because he helped me understand some of the lore

[@Vattsu]

Siegward your favorite character? Good job not even realising that's not him

[@i3670]

Hey, you're not a cleric are you? There are some trinkets that I'll share with you in that hole. Friend.

[@scrub-lord]

And Patches has fooled yet another one, just more loot to add to the pit I suppose.

[@bugraaltuntas9047]

I want to give him a high five because of that... with a chair.

[@oranweaver3033]

+VC12x I don't know how people still don't know this, but MatPat doesn't edit his videos. It was most likely an editor's mistake, especially since they used Artorias from the DS1 box art as a stand-in for the main character.

[@Shade400]

I wonder how many people will point out that you showed patches not sig.

[@tformerdude6788]

Too many to count. . .

[@AJ-lw9kp]

I found that when he mentioned that all three unkindled have bosses related to them, he swapped Yhorm and Aldritch.

[@liamjobark53]

i would if i didnt see this comment

[@jacobpatton1737]

a lot

[@Spookiec]

Sieg* you filthy Zelda casual

[@bedtimegames]

I have to say, as a huge Dark Souls player, I'm kinda annoyed at my community. So he got a couple things wrong, so his theory isn't correct, so what? Freaking VAATI is wrong sometimes. With lore this dense and so difficult to piece together, it's bound to happen. It doesn't matter. The theory is the fun part. Matt should be able to try digging into the lore if he freaking wants to. I bet every single one of you have been wrong about Dark Souls lore before. And as he says at the end of every video, it's just a theory. Chill the heck out guys.

[@Nithraniel]

I have a theory that if he adds video annotations saying "this part is wrong, it's actually...", he'll get a LOOOOT less hate.

[@coupleoflosers627]

A theory, is a thought. It's not wrong. It just what he thinks. This isn't even the theory video,

[@coupleoflosers627]

Nvm I read what you said wrong.

[@DeltonX0]

Trueee

[@aestheticleviathan7028]

VIKING wym?

[@overlorde7526]

I personally prefer the idea that we’re connected to Ludleth. Ludleth is always nice to us, so to be honest it’s nice to imagine. But also, he was the only one who stayed upon being reborn, similar to us, because we are the only one of the unkindlsd we see who’s goal never wavers. Much like Ludleth, we are almost a nobody, a extra, a blank slate that managed to fill a vacuum, yet will die a colossus. Also, if I’m not mistaken The Brothers aren’t technically lords of cinder in the sense of the rest, because their twisted soul was never sacrificed to the first flame. Anyway that’s my two cents, and it’s mostly based off of headcannon

[@kerkdeller822]

I'm pretty sure Mat put Patches face in place of Siegwards. In the game Patches steals Siegwards' armour and tricks the player. You never actually are able to see Siegwards' face in the game at all.

[@T9C1PSayWha]

Kerk Deller yep, they FUCKED UP

[@PsychoTech29]

Jerry Sosa this triggered me.

[@Cultprayers]

Kerk Deller I noticed. It bothered the hell out me.

[@cordisdie1913]

Kerk Deller you can see his face through his helmet, he looks like ken bone.

[@willcarter1052]

Probably the animator, who might not have played darksouls, google imaged it, and found one of patches.

[@KaneTBane]

Showing a picture of Patches when talking about Siegward...damn matt you fucked up

[@diaspcd]

the video was cool and gave me some tidbits I didn't know about but yeah...the picture fuckup with Patches being rubbed on my face over and over and over again really put me off this episode.

[@FilmAcolyteReturns]

Especially when you can clip the camera through Onion Bro's helmat.

[@thespycrab8305]

I could not stop screaming in my head.

[@aina.iv6]

Its not patches either

[@KaneTBane]

Of course it's Patches what are you talking about? The picture used in this vid is from the cutscene when Patches traps you in the Catheral of the Deep. Qick google search will prove it to you

[@DVDMurder]

Hey, MatPat. That picture you have of Seigward is actually Patches, reoccurring dillweed and merchant, wearing Seigwards armor.

[@thereare2genders155]

Dont bother, he's deleting all the comments pointing stuff like this out. Even Vaati himself. imgur.com/a/9qLGV

[@juanb201]

There are 2 Genders wow seriously he is going that petty

[@Paladin_Ryan]

Wait did he actually delete Vaati's comment?

[@Bricktor]

Blame their editors, Matpat would've known better.

[@TheBlueReverb]

I really want those damn dark souls notes

[@wegil6095]

u made me laugh man I was just thinking about that line

[@farhanisraq5102]

Nice pfp

[@dodgetruck8255]

Open notepad, turn on captions, from the beginning, copy down every line of subtitles.

[@fdawer116]

the player in dark souls three are all the players who never finished the first two games

[@HeyzDexy]

The unkindled is no mere hollow. The unkindled is somebody who linked the fire yet failed to contain its might, and was turned to ash. Therefor, it would be a player who completed the game.

[@fdawer116]

so then it was the people who couldn't handle the might of winning such a hard core game just kidding

[@michaelp1630]

The origins of your unkindled one is never explained. he/she is however awoken by the tolling bells signifying the age of fire. Why? Because you are Ash, unfit even to be cinder of the first flame. Try to Stay with me. From the first Dark Souls we know that prior to the emergence of the First Flame the world was void with 'humans' and ruled by the Everlasting Dragons. This period was known as the Age of Ancients. There is not much information about the relationship between Humans and Dragons during the Age of Ancients. But when the first flame came about and humans came from the Dark and ascended as Divine beings by the Lord Souls, the Balance of the world shifted and the Age of Ancients came to an End. So began the Age of Fire. I bring all this up because you play as Ash, unfit even to be Cinder in Dark Souls 3. And Dark Souls 3 takes place around the coming end of the Age of Fire, but it's still currently the Age of Fire. Now I ask, what purpose does an unkindled have in the world during the Age of Fire? If you think hard about it, there's nothing an unkindled is good for in a world that revolves around the flame. For an unkindled cannot prolong the flame as they are ( unless they attain Soul of Cinder*final boss* ). An Unkindled in summary is born into the world as an Undead, with the same humanly ambition to burn for the first flame( which is why The journey of an Undead has always traced the bonfires - description pulled from estus flask ), but ultimately your existence serves no purpose. This is made evident throughout the game as you burn an ember to enkindle yourself, but after death you lose that state. And because the Ashen one Longs to burn but cannot, his/her awakening for the events of Dark Souls 3 serves him/her an opportunity, the opportunity to finally serve a purpose by taking on the responsibility of being a Lord of Cinder by taking on the Soul of Cinder. The Unkindled in specific are awakened because they can finally serve a purpose, their Thirst for the first flame DRAWS them to the Lords of Cinder. They are pretty much hounds, set loose by the nature of the world. All in hopes to restore the balance of power in the world. Which is what you end up doing in Dark Souls 3. You WILL find the Lords of Cinder whether or not you choose to speak to specific NPCs ( Lord specific questlines ). You WILL face the Soul of Cinder. Then you will choose whether to Burn as a Lord of Cinder, Utilize that power to become the Dark Lord, Allow the Firekeeper to tend to the ember until the ember reignites the world, Or Smite your Firekeeper and take the last ember of the Age of Fire for yourself and consume it like any other consumable ember throughout your Journey as the Ashen One. Doing so would leave no trace of the First Flame remaining in the world for you are first and foremost Ash unfit even to be Cinder and your burn doesnt last long, bringing a final close on the Age of Fire.

[@DeJai237]

he answered this in the 2nd video with greater detail lol

[@azarelputra2883]

Nicicoolio The coolest i almost finished the 2n one but sudenly my xbox broke

[@LordnuggetorxD]

My theory (think its pretty good): There's something about Wolnir that's been bothering me. Like a lot of things in Dark Souls, there are tons of descriptions relating to Wolnir that seem to be dead-end fiction, but the other enemies all have explanations as to their presence (The Abyss Watchers follow Artorias' footsteps, the Old Demon King is the last remnant of the Chaos Flame, the Nameless King may or may not be the son of Gwyn who fell from grace, etc.). Meanwhile, Wolnir and the entire area related to him just kind of feel like a stepping stone for getting to other places. Even the Smouldering Lake has deeper Lore than the Catacombs of Carthus. You encounter a big scary skele-man, break his things, then move on. There's almost no impact from the fight other than "Surprise!" But reading anything I could find about Wolnir revealed some subtleties that make me think of Dark Souls 2. Given some of the descriptions and implications, it's got me thinking that Wolnir might be the Protagonist from Dark Souls II... Here's the breakdown of what's got me thinking this: In Dark Souls 2, the Protagonist is motivated for almost entirely selfish purposes: To resolve their curse of undeath. Which is unlike the Protagonists of Dark Souls 1 and 3, where it's more ambiguous as to motivation for your character (Rekindle the flame, extinguish the flame, etc.). The Curse of Undeath is largely the central focal point for Dark Souls 2, and NPCs like Vendrick and Aldia put emphasis on controlling the curse as well as harnessing the Dark, rather than outright curing it. Effectively granting immortality with no downsides, but such things are never truly without penalty. This brings me to the first bit of lore we get in Dark Souls 3 regarding Wolnir and Dark Souls 2: Soul of High Lord Wolnir: * "Lord Wornir of Carthus sentenced countless souls to gruesome deaths, keen to outlive them all." Wolnir has killed, or is responsible for killing, a lot of people. Which pretty much sums up any character in a Souls game. But the important bit of that description is the "keen to outlive them all" portion. Wolnir wanted to live forever. He wanted immortality. That is what harnessing the Curse of Undeath would bring. The most important and telling piece of lore for Wolnir in Dark Souls 3, however, lies in his crown: Wolnir's Crown: * "Crown of Wolnir, the Carthus conqueror." * "Once upon a time, such things were bequeathed judiciously to each of the rightful lords, until Wolnir brought them to their knees, and ground their crowns to dust. Then the crowns became one, and Wolnir, the one High Lord." What that description implies is pretty simple: Wolnir defeated Kings and took their crowns, whether directly or in roundabout ways is left ambiguous, but regardless, he did EXACTLY what the main character does in Dark Souls 2. He collected Crowns, and these Crowns, when brought together (and with a little help from King Vendrick's memory) effectively negate the negative aspects of the Curse of Undeath: you will no longer be affected by hollowing. After gaining this power, Wolnir ground up the crowns and created his new crown from their material. In fact, you could argue that Wolnir's Crown takes visual clues from the four crowns of Dark Souls 2. With his new crown and right to rule, Wolnir may have come to found the land of Carthus. Carthus is a relatively new addition to Dark Souls lore, as far as I'm aware. It's not like Astora or Anor Londo. It's never been touched on. Nor is it ever really established as "ancient", such as with places like the Profaned Capital or Drangleic. With the wonky flow of time going on in the Souls universe, Carthus could have been made between the events of Dark Souls 2 and 3. However, while Wolnir may of overcome the hollowing effect of the curse, he could not overcome what lies in the hearts of all men: Darkness. The Abyss. And so, while he may have been immortal, he was not immune to the grasp of the Dark: Wolnir's Holy Sword: * "A holy sword eroded by the Abyss. When Wolnir fell to the Abyss, he was gripped by a fear of true darkness, and pleaded to the gods for the first time." * "This holy sword, together with three armlets stripped from the corpses of clerics, gave him some semblance of comfort." Wolnir was now immortal, but was a prisoner of the Abyss, the deepest Darkness. The Circlets he wears are what keep him from plummeting completely into the Darkness, and thus, why breaking all three will end his fight and result in him falling beyond the reach of light (Literally, as he slides down the slope into the Abyss when defeated). Notably, he's one of the few bosses in the entire Souls series who doesn't "dissolve" upon defeat, but rather, simply leaves the arena. That's pretty much it, as far as direct lore connections go, but there is one other thing that's interesting regarding Wolnir and Carthus: The Shield of Want. The Shield of Want is a faded, corroded version of the "King's Shield" from Dark Souls 2, AKA, King Vendrick's Shield. A Shield the Protagonist creates through using the Soul of the King (Vendrick). There aren't a whole lot of items, gear-wise, that survived over from Dark Souls 2. And I mean DIRECT copies of things from Dark Souls 2, not things that are similar. There's Lucatiel's and Creighton's gear which serve as nostalgia fodder, and the Fume Ultra Greatsword, which is one of the biggest, heaviest, and most demanding weapons ever in any Souls game. There are also things like the Drakeblood set (The Drakebloods revered Dragons and their blood, explaining their appearance in Archdragon Peak) and the Faraam Set (The signature armor of Dark Souls 2), which make sense, as well as a couple great rings which survived over (Rings rarely often have a justification as to their obtain-ability). But why is an item as specific and unremarkable as the Shield of Want in Dark Souls 3? and why is it the only item that has visibly aged, as if from use? And why is it in a place with no explanation as to how or why it got there? The Shield is found in the smouldering lake, in the same area where the "Carthus Sandworm" lives. And the Sandworm fell from Carthus into the lake, as seen in the description for the "Yellow Bug Pellet": * "The grave wardens of Carthus used these to repel a great sand worm. The worm tumbled to the catacombs and proceeded to dominate its new home in the Smoldering Lake." So it's entirely possible that the shield fell from Carthus as well, but why would it have been there to begin with? What if Wolnir had it and either discarded or lost it, where it then fell into the Smouldering Lake? Like I said, it's not as clear a connection as the other information, and that stuff isn't all that clear to begin with (Such is the beauty of Dark Souls lore), but the implications can't really be denied either. That's all I've got on the subject, but until it's outright denied by FROM or a specific contradiction is revealed in-game, I'm sticking to my guns on this one.

[@JVescuso]

Lordnuggetor xD fairly strong argument you've got and a great thinking process. You are correct He is the only boss to not disappear after being killed, because he is still immortal but he's slowly being drug down into the darkness.

[@kingnro1]

Lordnuggetor xD Great read, thanks!

[@emmanuelconstantinidis2151]

Also, dark magic was OP in dark souls 2, if Wolnir was the protagonist of Dark Souls 2, it would make sense he would abuse it!

[@blaize00]

Actually, hollowing is the outcome of losing one's hope and goals in life. If you lose that which drives you to achieve your dreams, you hollow. If you succeed in making your dream a reality and think to yourself: "Well... that's cool. Now what?" You hollow.

[@prxnce6588]

Why am i not hollowing then.....

[@dylanasiata9785]

Mikaela Yuu too real... PepeHands

[@codyrisling1718]

_ TheBlaiZe actually it’s not...having a goal and something to fight for just slows the hollowing process. It’s even stated by by onion knight in dark souls 1, and then the idea is re-affirmed in the lucatiel story in dark souls 2 and then in dark souls 3 after helping siegward kill Yhorm he dies regardless of the fight. Not because he instantly hollows, he has hollowed during his own journey to get to thorn and when yhorm finally dies and that being siegwards finally purpose he does as well.. so the idea of having a “goal” or purpose has been stated since ds1 so SLOW the process but never stop it.

[@Shadowtheheartbroken]

You may succeed .... but in your victory you will find no manner of success within your heart.

[@will_danz]

If you want to talk in reality, then you are wrong, success in goals will find you ultimate relief from hollowing if you have found the right goal, if you chase the goal you are not whole heartedly going for and yet manage to succeed, you feel fooled by your success and empty because what you want hasn't come to fruition. Victory to the right goal, your ultimate purpose will give you success in your heart, and when you succeed at that, you will have succeeded in everything else you could possibly want, you are content and nothing will be able to gnaw at your conscience...

[@PotatoeGamerLP]

I think giving the firekeeper her eyes and summoning her, that ending is strangely comforting...

[@tsukinoyuuki6778]

All the Unkindled are related to one boss that is a Lord of Cinders (Hawkwood -The Abyss Watchers, Siegward - Yhorm, Anri and Horace - Aldrich) so the main character might be related to Lothric - The Younger Prince, they might be a scholar that influenced Lothric making him think that linking the flame is a mistake. Later, he might have been punished by the royal family and was tasked with linking the flame which we undoubtedly failed at.And now we're resurrected to right the past and link the flame. Also, we find The Ashen Estus Ring in the location of your grave in the Untended Graves (the past) supporting the theory that we were related to the royal family in someway but most likely not a member of the family since there are no mentions about another son in any item descriptions, which leaves the possibility that we might have been the one of the scholars that taught Lothric.

[@CptnSaltyBeard]

True and lets all think back to Dark Souls one. We can all remember a certain knight that was pushed away from being a part of the royal family correct. perhaps our character has a similar role. Maybe we were erased from the annals of history like the great sun knight long ago.

[@Bound2m8]

Yuuki Tsukino sirris goes with the twin princes

[@Razkunn]

+Solid Steven Orbeck. Summonable, later dead in the library.

[@Razkunn]

+Yuuki Tsukino Well, this is as plausible as the video. Point is, your character could have been a slave knight, a seeker of knowledge, a merchant, a wanton murderer, a knight, a barbarian, a naked guy with a stick. The backstory is in your head. You create the character, you give them a class, scars, tatoos, blind eyes, you set them up to match your vision, and in that time you are creating where they came from. But, to enter this world, and for your character to be able to play out the personality you have given them, you need a bridge - Miyazaki's quote. It's basically the "why is my character here". The game never forces a backstory for you, it only gives you the tools to play out the character. Still, I feel like your take on your character might have been fun to play out, so kudos. :-) The only thing that connects us, the moment you drop your character, and deleted/never played them again, they have lost their will, and they have become hollow.

[@gastongabrielsosa8968]

The unkindled one related to Lothric and Lorian is, in fact, Orbeck of Vinheim. He's sent as an assasin, and you can summon him before the twin princes fight. He's not from Dark Souls 1, the son of Gwyn. That one is the Nameless King.

[@Afanasii_Kamenkoi]

>Siegward >Shows Patches

[@mitchelswanson1380]

Afanasii Kamenkoi my thoughts exactly

[@PlatinumYuri]

Afanasii Kamenkoi That bugged me the entire video.

[@GayFroge]

Yeah that triggered me a bit too

[@un-capital3666]

He's actually a man in a rabbit suit

[@garrett8707]

The editors (not Mat tho) weren’t familiar with the game. They picked a picture of Patches in Siegward’s armor. They didn’t know

[@JamuThatsWho]

Interesting theory, except there's one NPC you've forgotten about. One that could be seen as opposed to Lothric and Lorian. A Scholar, not unlike the ones who tutored the young Prince, who was perhaps sent to make amends for the mistakes of his peers by helping you subdue the final Lord; Orbeck of Vinheim. All of Lothric's family are steeped in Sorcery; Oceiros is attempting to follow in Seath's footsteps, the Grand Archives are geographically located atop the old Duke's Archives and Lothric himself uses a unique form of Faith-based Crystal magic. He shares a physical resemblance to Priscilla, Seath's crossbreed daughter with Gwynevere from the first game, who also represents a melding of Faith and Sorcery. What you first meet Orbeck, he has set up a makeshift study in the swamp, and immediately after finding him, you encounter the Crystal Sage boss, an enemy later found in the Grand Archives. The Crystal Sage seems pretty out of place in the swamp, unless it was attempting to track down and stop Orbeck at the behest of the other Scholars. When you meet Orbeck at Firelink Shrine, he says; "No matter the victim's stature, every killing has a consequence..." He specifically mentions that the victim's status doesn't matter, whether it's a commoner or even a member of the Royal Family. He also confesses to being more of an Assassin than a Sorcerer. His armour, the Clandestine Coat, states; "These were covert agents who excelled at manipulating sound", maybe hinting that Orbeck's aural Sorcery and training as an Assassin makes him a prime candidate to kill the largely handicapped Royal Family of Lothric; Oceiros is blind, Lorian is lame and Lothric is frail, and all of them have their eyes obscured in some way, meaning they would most likely rely on sound, something Orbeck can use to his advantage. It's also interesting that the only fight you can summon him for is Lothric and Lorian. Further, Yuria of Londor, who wants the Fire to fade, tells you to kill Orbeck, perhaps because it was Orbeck's task to subdue the Prince, just like it was Anri, Siegward and Hawkwood's task to topple their respective Lords. She goads you by telling you he threatens your position as Lord of Hollows. If you trust Yuria and kill Orbeck, that's perhaps one less person to persuade you to link the Fire, allowing Yuria's, and by extension the Lords of Cinder's, plans to come to fruition instead.

[@bambumpret]

JamuThatsWho the crystal sage you found at farron keep wasnt there to kill orbeck it simply there because one of the crystal sage is siding with farron undead legion (you found the other one in grand archives) its stated in the coal you found in farron keep (forgot the name of the coal). also orbeck is too minor for a character to influence lothric.he was a sorcerer but not a scholar (it is stated in some item that the one who influence lothric is a scholar from grand archives) orbeck said this himself

[@JamuThatsWho]

I remember seeing something about the Sage teaching Sorcery to the Farron Legion, but it's not the Farron Coal description, it's the Soul of the Crystal Sage, which says he allied with Farron. Also, that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't also there to stop Orbeck as a secondary mission. Perhaps he even taught Sorcery to the Farron Legion to help stop the Ashen One and Orbeck? Since none of them want the Fire to be kindled. He isn't an Archive Scholar, but perhaps he was sent by Vinheim, since maybe the end of the Age of Fire means the end of the ability to study Sorcery.

[@eyedeebee_4394]

JamuThatsWho I was going to read this but then I clicked "read more"

[@JamuThatsWho]

I don't blame you honestly.

[@thecorniestlemur7969]

JamuThatsWho Okay, but why would he suddenly decide "Yep, I want to kill him and link the fire now?

[@wyattben123]

You didnt mention that at the end of hawk woods questline he fights you with the farron greatsword.

[@coloneljihad7874]

My theory is that your character DS3 is your character from DS2. If you look at the ending of scholar of the first sin, your character, an undead, decides to leave the kiln behind (based on the new ending added by SOTFS edition) and chooses instead to walk away seeking a more permanent solution to the undead curse, essentailly becoming the Dark lord (the one who brings about the age of Dark, which is meant to natrually follow the age of fire, before gwyn created the cycle of having to relight the fire, which basically broke the balance of nature by keeping the age of fire going and creating a loop in which no progress could be made as everything was in a state of constant and unnatural creation and destruction). Whats the third ending of Dark souls 3 that also involves the undead? (not unkindled, difference is very important for those who havent played the game). Wresting the power of the flame from the kiln and taking it unto yourself, becoming the Dark lord of the Sable church of Londor. But if we go back to what the video says, unkindled are those who failed to link the fire and essentially burnt away. Your character in Dark souls 2 goes on a long journey to try and find answers. He/she obtains three crowns and in the process gains the knowledge to show them that linking the fire is not the correct choice as it just keeps repeating the cycle. But, if you dont link the fire, some other undead who was resurrected likely would, as they would have no knowledge of the damage they are causing, thus restarting the cycle and burning away your character. But the unkindled are those undead brought back, with all their previous knowledge intact. SOOOO if your character from DS2 is brought back, he/she would know that linking the fire is bad, and with the flame as weak as it is, then they would know to accept the dark sign they were free of by being reborn as an unkindled back into themselves, making them a full fledged hollow again, and this time being able to take in the power of the first flame as they are now a being of both fire and dark (two sides of the same coin, yin and yang basically), and can thus let the age of Dark come about as there is LITERALLY NO FLAME FOR ANY OTHER UNKINDLED TO RELIGHT. The only way to do it would be to maybe kill your character and make a new kiln out of their corpse using a coiled sword. But considering how God tier strong your character would be by then, having slain all the Great Souls of Drangleic and then being reborn to slay the Lords of Cinder, along with having an army of undead, including anri, at your service and two of the three sisters of the Sable church as well? Nah, I dont think anyone, gwyn included could, espescially considering you basically killed gwyn by beating the Souls of Cinder boss (his last form is Gwyn mode). So the age of fire dies, and you go off with your wife anri (who you "marry" to get this ending), forming a new kingdom of Londor and ushering in the age of Dark. There, rabbit hole thoroughly jumped down.

[@1Nostrand1]

ColonelJihad I hope you're one of the winners, one of the more comprehensive theories I've seen.

[@TheAceswilde]

So... You're saying it's yah manz?

[@theboommaster1447]

ColonelJihad this, by far, is one of the best theories I've ever seen about Dark Souls 3. Bravo! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@jonathangeter6614]

It's a solid theory with a good foundation and a lot of thought put into it, but one thing that you may have overlooked is that DS2 is not a canon part of the same timberline as DS1 or DS3. Most people who played the first game would wonder why your character from the first game isn't in this one since they were able to link the flame, but they are in the game. The character you play as in the first game, if you choose to link the fire becomes part of the final boss of the third game(The soul of cinder), guarding the dying flame. Almost nothing from DS2 is in the third one, the main thing from the second game I could find is Gilligan's body in the Profaned Capital surrounded by gold and silver. I'd love to be proven wrong, and I do hope your theory is right if I am.

[@collinbradford8866]

the only missing link for the theory is whether you succeeded or not in linking the flame in dark souls 2

[@unscblackbeltgi5893]

So let me start off by venting some steam: *Please everybody stop using the character on the box art of DS1 to represent the player-character, everybody who knows the lore knows it's Artorias* Anyway, theory time. There's a HUGE gap here, and something that I hope you address in the next video. I know that it may seem like we were resurrected specifically to fight Lothric - but if that's the case, and with the other characters seeming to make direct beelines to their target while ignoring any other Lords, why do we bother to go around killing the other Lords? Wouldn't it make more sense, from a story perspective, to set you rabidly pursuing Lothric - only to realize once he's dead that there's a far larger struggle going on? Remember that every Unkindled is someone who "tried and failed" to link the fire - you're a last line of defense against the Age of Dark, and an extension of the Undead Curse. How are you a last line of defense? When "the Lords go without thrones," the Unkindled are animated in order to hunt them down - except, something doesn't make sense. There's very little mention of these characters in item descriptions, in conversations - Anri, Horace, Siegward, and Hawkwood are barely mentioned other than their actual appearances and their own armor. Granted, Siegward "made a promise long ago," but that doesn't explain why he'd be resurrected and not one of the humans that was killed when Yhorm destroyed his kingdom by linking the fire? Why Anri and Horace, and why both of them together? Why is Hawkwood an Unkindled, and not a Lord, when the Abyss Watchers as a whole linked the fire? The answer is that they all tried and failed to link the fire - that's important. Any character that was strong enough to even get to the Kiln must be formidable indeed, and yet none of them are strong enough to complete their tasks alone. Why is it that you improve when they do not? I do not know. The obvious fact is that you tried to link the fire and failed - but the big question is *when.* The fact is that your character can be from one of any of three eras - the first era of DS1, the second era of DS2, and the third era of DSIII. I tend to believe that your character dates back to at least DS2, as the linking of the fire was a more well-known ritual at that point. But it doesn't necessarily mean that your character is targeted specifically at Lothric. Lothric, in particular, is a "worthy Lord." But what does that entail? What about him makes him a Lord? We get a hint from Hawkwood when he speaks about Aldrich (a subject he seems to know a lot about) - "And they made him a Lord, not for virtue, but for power." Why would he be able to link the fire alone when your character, who is obviously "mighty" enough to defeat him, needs the embers from all five lords? The answer is he wouldn't. There would be other Lords. The Thrones were carved far, far before you existed - only the names on the plaques change. The Fire is fading, faster than ever. The Souls that are given are no longer sufficient. And it takes the strength of six Lords (yes, six, you marvelous Unkindled you) to relight the flame. The Lords abandoning their thrones is not unprecedented. Clearly there are contingencies in place. "When the fire fades, and the Lords go without thrones..." There's even a ritual associated with it that is known to the Firekeeper. The problem is, your character does NOT have a specific identity. This is purposeful. Your character can have all sorts of conflicting information just in their starting item descriptions - in one life, you might start as a Sorceror, with ties to the Dragon School of Vinheim; you might be a Knight with armor hailing from Astora; you may even be a Pyromancer hailing from the ever-mysterious Great Swamp. All the other Unkindled have names, and are reborn not only with some measure of their former strength but also with knowledge of their purpose, up to and including memories involving those they hunt. Why don't you have any memory of Lothric? Hell, we don't even see Lothric and Lorian in the opening cutscene. Your character starts off with knowledge of the other three Lords that abandoned their thrones - but not of Lothric and Lorian, those who were intended to link the fire in this age? That's fishy, especially when you're clearly claiming that we were the specific unkindled designated to hunt down those two. I will grant you, the one thing that does lend itself towards your theory is that the one place we seem to be able to "poof" to initially is the High Wall of Lothric. But where in Lothric do we spawn? In the outskirts. The edge of the High Wall. That's important because I believe that space where we spawn is a hidden shrine to the Gods and the linking of the Fire - blasphemous beliefs that have been outlawed in Lothric at large. With all this, if you did select a single "character" as being our Unkindled, then by the simple argument of "then why don't you always start off as ___" we can shoot it down. I cannot stress enough that your character does NOT have a specific identity; this is a player-insert. Your character is "your character" and nothing more, nothing less. What "backstory" you have is determined by your starting class and equipment. You don't necessarily associate with any of the Lords. And if you do, what's to say that the Unkindled associated with Lothric already failed his/her quest and fled, and you were initially intended to hunt down the meek (and obviously fearful) Ludleth should he decide to cut and run? It would fit. Every other Unkindled has either failed or given up. You may not know him personally, but who's to say your character isn't from the Courland that Ludleth speaks so fondly of? Even if you simply say "we were a person, maybe a sorceror, maybe a priest, maybe a warrior, in the service of Lothric" - well that answer is so general as to be laughable. We're a backup of a backup. In the event that the Unkindled specifically designated to kill a particular Lord fails or takes too long, we were summoned - "not for virtue, but for power." For all we know, Hawkwood's refusal to carry out his duty as an Unkindled may have been the trigger for our resurrection. We're not targeted, we're not specifically designated, and that makes sense - Lothric has condemned the fire-linking as a curse; who under his rule would dare attempt such a feat? The fact that we have so many questions surrounding our character's identity is a masterstroke by FromSoft - it keeps us asking, keeps us guessing. And they will only ever be answered by us, in our own unique ways. That is the main quality that makes Dark Souls an excellent game; that your character could have been literally anyone in a past life, could have done anything, and rises from being a human who is normal except for the fact that they can't die, to a being capable of bringing down dragons and gods. Such is the Curse of Fire.

[@unscblackbeltgi5893]

Actually, it is Artorias stepping into the Abyss on the original release box art; it's been known to the fans since forever, as he clearly has the Shield of Artorias on his right arm, and is wielding some sort of sword (believed to be Artorias's Greatsword) in his left, opposite what any Dark Souls character would - Artorias, though, is now known to be left-handed, so his shield would be on his right. I believe the one who pointed this out to me initially was VaatiVidya in one of his videos, although which one I can't honestly remember right now. *ahem* Get it right before you try to shoot people down on the Internet otherwise no one will bother to read what you have to say. also, instead of debating something that has to do with my theory, which is for certain rather nebulous and open for discussion, you instead nitpick at the one thing that I'm actually certain about?

[@wodnyrak]

An amazing theory! *applause*

[@grr157]

Hey UNSC. I agree generally with your rebuttal, but with regards to MatPat's statement on Hawkwood, I think you missed his point. It wasn't the clearest statement and he kind of glossed over the point, but it sounded to me like MatPat was saying that Hawkwood deserted the Abyss Watchers right BEFORE they went to try and light the flame. Solid rebuttal though. I'm curious to see what MatPat has to say in the continuation of his theory.

[@i_burn_heretics9175]

UNSCBlackBeltGI longest comment ever

[@peytonporter6207]

UNSCBlackBeltGI when i read your theory i thought of mine and laughed

[@shiebert1]

Excuse me sir, The face you keep using for Seigward of Catarina is actually the face of Patches. Patches appears in previous Dark Souls game as 'the character that always tricks you' and he also appears in other Miyazaki games. Just making sure you are aware.

[@MeMoTie]

that's definitely his editor's mistake not him

[@cameronguyote4240]

Josh Ringling I noticed that too, dude. Minor mistake in my opinion. It was the closed you could get to a face for him.

[@CoralPallet]

Thanks for the awareness, but I think thats the point. In dark souls 3 Patches tricks you into thinking he is Seigward, same as the editor here. (Or maybe Patches made a fool of the editor, that would be sooo fiting).

[@mattischastan7967]

6:24 When you now know that it's not your character on Dark Soul 1 jacket.... but Artorias himself.... Cannot be unseen....

[@eclipticfunk]

Damn it Marat. That's not siegward, that's patches. C'mon man.

[@ruudklepper]

Sebastian Blackheart Damn it Sebastian. That's not Marat, that's MatPat. C'mon man.

[@bill_goldenjw8023]

Patches: I'm Siegward of Catarina. --OK.

[@jackdaniel1362]

Right?

[@joshiifive]

Obviously its Samurai Jack

[@zeno8094]

Josua Thurnheer no dude its Genji

[@FandomEnforcer]

Josua Thurnheer I thought he can't die anyway.

[@FandomEnforcer]

Corrupted Xeno Does that mean we might see Mercy resurrecting him?

[@capnz15]

he finally learned to jump good

[@imnullandvoid1224]

2:06 playing LoL with an xbox controller .... interesting technique XD

[@frelancer8640]

BoxBox did it with a Ps4 controller so its possible

[@a.m.6138]

Ha, you haven's seen chile's news channels.

[@uberdiabarb]

must be a yassuo main

[@ismaelnehme379]

Lol try using a mouse and keyboard

[@PeachyBunz]

This a god tier comment

[@gorf_sama3896]

Where is the vaati cameo???!?

[@ryanpooransingh7203]

Lol

[@messidiminuto]

The Blazer Mister He better make one on Part 2.

[@morgankarnes5440]

Plus he already hinted the same theory stated in this video, just a year earlier.

[@MathMasterism]

THEORY: OMG! I finally puzzled it out guys. The identity of the Champion of Ashe is (drum roll please) drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Ocelotte... Wait, wait don't leave. I have evidence. For those who are unaware Ocelotte is a dragon hybrid and the third and final child of the former King and Queen of Lothric. The other two being princes Lorian and Lothric. So already Ocelotte fulfills the criteria of being connected to Lothric, but it goes further. Item descriptions tell us that “the Lothric bloodline was obsessed with creating worthy heir” and that it was Lothric that was “destined” to be that heir even before he was born. However, when Lothric was born, unlike his strong older brother, he was ill and frail; a stark contrast to what the Chosen Undead was in DS1. The Cinders of a Lord item also tells us that after Lothric was found to be unworthy of inheriting the flame, the royal family “resorted to unspeakable means.” Given this I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that Ocelotte was suppose to be Lothric’s replacement, the actual heir to the first flame, but things didn’t go as planned. Ocelotte failed and was subsequently burned to ash, only to be resurrected when his older brothers rejected the fire. Also, Ocelotte’s gender is intentionally never stated in any item description or piece of dialog, and given that Queen of Lothric very likely peaced out with her youngest child shortly after their birth, it’s not crazy to think she changed Ocelotte’s name to hide him from the King Oceiros who is madly obsessed with them. Therefore having Ocelotte as the Champion of Ashe’s true identity preserves character customization. Now, you’re probably thinking that this theory is BS since our character is clearly isn’t part dragon, but you’d be surprise how strongly connected to dragons our player is. We actually get called a dragon by two separate NPC’s. Yorshka asks if we are a dragon when we tell her we can fly, which on its own mean nothing, but it is interesting that of all the winged creatures, a dragon would be the first one she’d go to. Hawkwood also says “I shall take what makes you dragon” at the end of his quest line. I always thought he was referring to the dragon torso stone, but now I see that that can't be it, since even if he takes it from you, he continues to attack you, saying “This is no petty theft… I shall take what is rightfully mine.” And if that doesn’t convince you then just look how you obtain the twinkling dragon torso stone. In previous Dark Souls games you had to join a covenant and prove yourself in that covenant to receive the stone, but in DS3 you just get it and are immediately able to use it. This is because we don’t need to prove that we are worthy of being a dragon, because we are already part dragon. And for those of you who think I can’t be right since our character does not have any physical dragon features, remember that Oceiros, the Consumed King is only part dragon by experimentation and birth. There is no reason to assume his child would inherit any physical characteristics of a dragon. To put it simply, we have essence of dragon in our blood, rather than full dragon blood. But hey, that's just a theory, a game theory. Thank for reading.

[@supremetaco3383]

Angus Jameson it is a possibility because (I forgot the bosses name) has been looking for ocelot when fighting this boss he is enraged and screams ocelot throughout the battle who said souls couldn't be put into different bodies you could be ocelot but with a different soul

[@supremetaco3383]

Angus Jameson also the boss could have realized this thinking the only way to get his ocelot back is by killing you and could also explain using the dragon stones so easily being able to meditate and be sent there with no consequences (except for enemies)

[@obamalama2895]

Angus Jameson damn gut that's very legit theory

[@dxrmn7561]

Nice theory!

[@philipschorr5145]

wow, thats a pretty good one. I still prefer the idea of ocelotte being present during the ocerious boss fight but you might be onto something with this one.

[@TheMbmdcrew]

I personally think that lesser dog was kidnapped and forced to try to light the fire. He escaped, but he injured his neck in the process, so it wasn't insanely long anymore. He then went back after training with Obi Wan Kenobi to reclaim his honor, but died while lighting the fire. The fire burned away his fur and molded him into a human shape, to be resurrected and take on the role of the main character.

[@crispynapkin1042]

Yes this is the most accurate theory ever

[@MEklelty]

TheMbmdcrew Makes sense

[@jetset3199]

That wasn't siegward, that was patches in seigwards armour

[@PotatoeGamerLP]

Lol 😂

[@rumocrytuf72]

But... that's... Patches. Siegward has hair... and a mustache. Theory? I don't think the PC has anything to do with the Twin Princes. If the PC did, don't you think it would warrant a response to the ash that has come back to kill the Twin Princes? Another thing, they're not actually Twins. Lorian is the Older Brother of Lothric. But they share a twin soul which explains why they can't link the fire. In every concievable circumstance, the Soul of the Lord of Cinder who linked the fire was sacrificed as part of the linking (Thanks Gwyn, for ruining everything.) Also, Hawkwood. He does try to become a "Dragon" and Archdragon Peak. I don't know the full ins and outs of it, but it is worth mentioning. He's called a deserter, but I don't think that's truly the case. If you recall back to Dark Souls 1, in Ash Lake (which confused the life out of me.) There is the Dragon Covenant. Said covenant allowed the player to become a dragon. I believe that the Dragon Covenant is the reason Hawkwood left. Because to him becoming a dragon was better than becoming a Lord of Cinder and enduring that torment of having to link the fire (and to be honest, can you blame him?) Should I win, PS4 please :D One last minor thing, with the Abyss Watchers, you actually join their legion (though you don't get the Lord of Cinder status because you weren't there when it happened). Hawkwood makes mention that joining the Legion requires extinguishing of 3 flames (the same flames you extinguish to get to the Watchers.

[@ReignOfError]

It ... kind of makes sense, in that there is a parallel of a missing unkindled for the Princes. While Sirris and Orbeck are summon-able, Sirris only shows up because she's sworn loyalty to you, and Orbeck because you've befriended him - neither have real investment in the fight, but are there because (presumably) they think you do. This makes it odd that they don't show up for the fights with the other lords of cinder, or for the fight with Soul of Cinder. Of course, this could be easily explained as simply something you were tasked to do by Emma - one of the earliest guiding NPCs - when it becomes clear that the ashes of the other three lords of cinder won't be enough. It's not necessarily any connection to our past. Especially, since we don't seem start out in Lothric (though the eerie parallel Untended Graves is) having to warp there via bonfire/lord vessel. Yeah, after thinking it over, I'm with you on this one. I don't think the ties to the Lothric princes are legit with just what I can think of off the top of my head, but I'll have to wait and see what comes of the next episode.

[@MrExDArte]

I don't really think that the MC is connected to the prince. When you enter the throne room, Lothric states: "Oh dear... another dogged contender". You are not even the first one to get to him. He further states that he isn't interested in becoming a Lord of Cinder, so he knows why did you come. Again, this confirms that you are not the first unkindled one who came for his ashes. Hence we can't make an assumption that we are linked to him in any way just because we encounter and defeat him. If I were to go with something, I would state that all the characters you mentioned were pretty much reincarnations of the characters from the first DS: Anri is a reincarnation of Oscar of Astora, Siegward is a reincarnation of Siegmeyer, and Hawkwood is a new Crestfallen Warrior. It fits the theme of the series with the endless cycles and souls getting new incarnations (see DS 2). Pretty much all of the characters from the first game were reincarnated save for one, who was instead replaced by a secret boss. A secret boss who is an entirely different person. Yes, I'm talking about Solaire, the guy who participated in slaying Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. The only memo of him that we get is his armor which can be obtained by trading a Siegbräu with Pickle Pee - which indicates that there are absolutely no clues of him being in the game since his items are more or less secret. Of course, you can get his set relatively early in the game so that you could cosplay as him, but maybe that was not the intention of the designers? Maybe they thought that if you are diligent enough you can figure out how to play the game correctly - as Solaire himself? TL;DR: You are Solaire, so praise the Sun

[@TheGothGaming]

pretty much. it is well known that you are supposed to be a nobody. just a random guy that has to prove his worth or disappear into oblivion. in DS 1 the crestfallen warrior says it, you are just "another one". a fool that believes he can succeed where countless others have failed. in DS 2 you are just one of many trying to find a cure that doesnt exists for the curse. in DS 3 as you said, you are just another loser who failed in his time and is now resurrected just because every other option failed. you are not even plan B, you are like plan Z pretty much. unfit even to be cinder. there is no secret connection to the princes. this is what dark souls has always been about.

[@CrystalBulger]

*For those of you who don't want to sit through the 15 minute long video:* _In Dark Souls 3, the main character is actually Ness._

[@CrystalBulger]

you're welcome

[@PawlikPlaysGames]

XD

[@audjohn2000Gaming]

funny but I kinda hate you for making that joke

[@Meanlucario]

Now he's going to get hate for his theory of who X is again. Let just hope the fans aren't as harsh as the games.

[@colindoyle6245]

Wait so if the main character is ness that means... Dark souls three main character is sans confirmed.

[@HereticalCustodian]

I feel like I should say this so.... the reason hawkwood deserted the abyss watcher(BTW my favourite boss) was because they laughed at him for using a shield instead of fighting with the more fast paced and crazy fighting style they adapted after drinking the great wolfs blood

[@great_red_beard8357]

Hey, not leaving a theory, just corrections. Aldrich isn't the man (yes, it is a man) but the slug eating him. The face you showed for Sigwurd is actually Patches the traitor when he steals the armor to trick you. Still, great video, love you! I just tought I had to say it

[@Phyllo9]

Great_red_beard Ah ah ah. It's not Patches the traitor but "Unbreakable Patches" the scavenger

[@Bubbxs]

Great_red_beard bro chill out man your hitting the mans with some hard facts my theorist

[@thereare2genders73]

Don't applaud him just yet, he's been deleting comments like Vaatividya's that prove him wrong. imgur.com/a/mw7J7

[@lllXanderlll]

There are 2 genders Damn dude that's actually really uncool if he did delete the comment.

[@Orbzul]

Dude, find any comment that points out a flaw in the video and it will be gone within an hour.

[@raybradley1408]

Damn MatPat is getting torn up for putting Patches as Siegward

[@coldcoin1304]

atleast i'm not the only one who noticed that

[@Thatguypat]

I think your character is actually tied to Ludleth instead of Lothric. Lothric isn't a "real" lord of cinder, since he wasn't reanimated from linking the fire in the past, but rather is a human tasked with linking the fire for the first time and refused. Ludleth is the only Lord of Cinder left without an unkindled being tied to him. Ludleth is from a land called Courland, a place that no other NPC is from and which is known for its soul transposition, but soul transposition is viewed as a somewhat dark art by the people in the dark souls universe, even those living in Courland. Ludleth is known is "Ludleth the exiled" which leads me to believe that he was kicked out of his home for mastering the forbidden art of soul transposition. Ludleth drops the Skull Ring upon death which references a "Soulfeeder" in its description. Stating that the ring itself is a soul item previously derived from the soul of this "Soulfeeder" similarly to how boss souls get broken down into weapons or rings. Since Ludleth is the only character we know of who can perform soul transposition, and since he's the one with the ring, it can be assumed that he's the one who made it. The Skull Ring also briefly describes what the Soulfeeder was, describing it as "a beast that insatiably absorbed souls to feed its own power" and that the stench of all its' collected souls "left the air permanently stained" even after its corpse was burned. Who do we know that fits that description? Someone who continuously collects and absorbed souls before being burned to death and leaving it's souls behind. It's the main character. You are the reanimation of this "Soulfeeder" that Ludleth transposed into his ring. Perhaps you were meant to hold a grudge against Ludleth for using your soul, but when you get to Firelink shrine you find him awaiting you patiently, having already accepted his fate, and leaving you free to pursue the other lords of cinder instead.

[@nikoanagnostou7891]

Patrick Jolly I hope you didn't write this on mobile device. But good theory

[@chronobit937]

Patrick Jolly now I like this idea

[@axiras]

I also agree that you are linked to Ludleth. But I doubt you are the Soulfeeder, every Undead (including Ashes) can absorb souls and do so to try and reach their goal to get strong enough to link the flame (or in your case to bring the lords to their thrones). Also: Ludleth does not drop a soul upon death, and HE uses/feeds on souls to transpose items. I think Ludleth himself is the Soulfeeder and used his own soul after being exiled to make the ring.

[@matteoar]

Patrick Jolly It is a really good theory, and it was also my guess. Lothric is related to Orbeck, in fact. Too bad you posted it first, you have my upvote :)

[@GraveKing3473]

I think the way the Soulfeeder is mentioned, it is something Ludleth fought. I think it might be accurate to say it is his Unkindled, whether that's the player character or not. It might also be an enemy he fought on his way to becoming lord, much like the dragons for Gwyn or the giants for Vendrick. Like wise the abyss for the Abyss watchers, the Profane Flame for Yorn. Aldritch is an exception, since he was the evil one. As Hawkwood says 'made a lord for might, not virtue.' Not saying you're wrong, mind ya. Just saying that they are both possible. Miyazaki isn't really known for making 'facts' in the lore.

[@peepock7796]

I feel the need to point out that the age of fire continuing is against the will of the gods, it was supposed to move onto the age of dark but Gwynn worried about the fire dwindling and sought to rekindle it, thus committing the first sin.

[@Sebastian-wv6uw]

Not Important but that wasn't a picture of siegward that was patches

[@CLopez_CL]

Sebastian Pott that was patches

[@catiex8826]

hmmmmmm...

[@NobuTea]

This bothered me so much T.T

[@SoulShrowden]

Gives me conniptions.

[@CLopez_CL]

Someone call vaati

[@The_Ragman]

GLHF Matpat, you're playing with fire with this franchise.... My theory is that the main protagonist is actually linked to Ludleth. Each unkindled matches a lord of cinder, being someone who successfully linked the fire, not just a prospect to do so...and we do meet one other undead who failed in their quest, Gundyr, who depending on your interpretation may or may not have been after Lothric shirked his duty. Regardless, as the intro states, "Ash seeketh embers"... Embers that Lothric doesn't possess. He lacks the power of the first flame. His fire is demon fire, from his previous battles with demons. Add to that the fact that neither Lothric recognizes us as anything but another unkindled coming after them, and I don't think the connection holds. Ludleth may not need sought after, he came willingly... but the fire itself revived us. The fire is indiscriminate in all things, it is a force of nature, the only scrap of sentience we see out of it has little to do with the flame itself, and much more to do with the undead who've previously linked it, or what's left of them. Ludleth is old, even by Dark Souls standards. Look at his dialogue if you talk to him with a certain set of eyes in your possession. He pre-dates one of the most basic institutions/traditions of the world, He saw what the eyes saw, and sacrificed himself to prevent it. He's... more or less resigned to his fate being in your hands, and is suspiciously okay with whatever intent you have for the fire. Why would he trust you? Is he simply fed up after seeing his sacrifice ultimately didn't matter? Or does the little lord have a better reason for trusting the Champion of Ash? But hey, that's just a theory, my lame theory.

[@avissabyss883]

Corey Finney Better than whatever Matpat has to say, I'm sure. Very well thought out.

[@khm3r80y7]

I said basically said the same you said but I also included that Gundyr could have been sabotage when he was on his way to make Lothric link the flame. Because when you think about the first time you meet him in your world he had a coiled sword stabbed in him and the sword basically absorbs and uses fire as fuel. And since he is unkindled he has fire in him when he failed to link the flame and is now one with it essentially. So basically he's in a coma or a never ending life and death cycle since the flame is trying to revive him when he dies but the sword is draining all the fire from him killing him until we get revive and pull the sword from his body freeing him than killing him out of self defense which sends him to his world which is completely dark now and he also returned back to who he used to be when he was revive for the first time Champion Gundyr whom we also kill again

[@armourawesome9507]

I agree with your Ludleth connection to the main character.

[@loaf7061]

The main character is actualy Dovakin from Skyrim.

[@joseph1142]

Lofarian S. Illuminati confirmed

[@shebehere2452]

Lofarian S. lol

[@doctorc8852]

Lofarian S. no its the link from majors mask

[@PropaneAndAccessories]

Lofarian S. Half life 3 confirmed.

[@itsmymiddlelane7046]

I was about to say that

[@Grey-The-Skeleton]

10:48 "Siegward of Catarina" **Shows Patches**

[@IronkinCrows]

Vaati has all ready said stuff about each person be linked to one of the lords

[@StainlessPot6]

Yeah. Isn't it funny that we already have had at least two people Vaati and Silver Mont talk about everything to do with the lore. We already have our resident experts in Souls lore researching things.

[@xXTheCrazedWolfXx]

yet we watch mat because he always pulls a spin on things that we never thought about, so I'm really interested in some of the things he will say.

[@everettgaspar3482]

Alfred Lowe tru

[@samyoutube4325]

Jonah Keiffer Yeah, I hate how MatPat keeps getting away with taking theories from the Internet and presents them like he "cracked the code" without acknowledging or crediting where he got it from. The Game of Thrones videoes on the Film Theory channel are the worst offenders were most of the theories he presented like he discovered them were almost 20 years old! Like Jon Snows parentage was theorized correctly after the second book and some quick googling shows you that...

[@someonebackslashevry]

it is still more interesting this way

[@jackrubino1916]

Talking about siegward and showing patches makes me die a bit inside

[@jackrubino1916]

Also it's a wide known fact that Hawkwood was part of the undead legion, he says it himself. Where's the theory in that? what's the breaking news?

[@kianellis7440]

Jack Rubino same

[@andrju3916]

Jack Rubino A lot of the things in this episode were pretty easy to know through just playing the gamr

[@TheAnimeProducations]

i feel u bro :}

[@Jaydaniellewis]

Jack Rubino same

[@Guitarplayer2455]

The fact that Matpat belives that Patches is Siegward, makes me think that he didnt actually play the games. Maybe someone else wrote the script, and he only voiced it

[@angelcardenas2711]

what makes you think he thought that?

[@Darksoul274]

I think he did but not his editor

[@yunyunpilled]

Firefox4242 oh you seem sane

[@dawsonzutz7503]

Firefox4242 or someone edited it and got it wrong

[@guardingassgaard8314]

he probably watches them before he uploads them. but yes i agree. saying Siegward is his favorite character and putting patches there is kinda strange

[@Xynoune7242]

14:10 Who saw the editing mistake?

[@Doss3332]

Me

[@clancy9774]

I did

[@justsomechairwithoutamusta8275]

Oh god I didn't notice that well I did but I didn't think it was a mistake I thought he did it on purpose

[@ds2isntbad]

@@Doss3332 me

[@xypheran3311]

Theory: The main character is just the main character and this theory will end up leading nowhere.

[@cobrakinggaming2487]

My theory is that fromsoft purposefully doesn't tell you your backstory so you can make it up for your self like all good rpgs do

[@ninjalite7882]

Antwain Jackson It is an RPG.

[@rusenkonoshi1013]

Antwain Jackson its a textbook rpg in every way except story telling lmfao

[@lucasnadamas9317]

CobraKing Gaming 24 it does though

[@arynashryver61]

You have multiple choices for your backstories. Either the one Matt presents, or your very own. I went with a mix of Matt's and the idea that the Dark Souls universe is a Limbo of sorts, Lords of Cinder going to a better afterlife while those who don't become Lords suffer, and the Lords being brought back is them being dragged through the gates to heaven/hell/oblivion/wherever to redo what they did to pass on because whatever revived them began to get desperate. The Ages are just the beings who determined when they could move on, age of the Ancients were the dragons_ who desired eternal servitude from mortals, age of fire is Gwyn/the gods_ who wants to keep the fire alive to prevent the dragons from taking over again, and the age of dark/hollows would be the humans_ Who would pass on rather quickly.

[@InfamousArmstrong]

Except that no good rpg actually does that. It's impossible to tell a compelling story about a person with no history.

[@NecroticFarron]

TL;DR : You are worth as little as the dirt you rise from. You want power? Identity? Purpose? Earn it. Ooooooooooo boy... All the characters of the Dark Souls/Bloodborne(I know it's not relevant, but I like to give it credit) have always been unique and interesting. Literally each incarnation of the Dark Souls protagonist had slight differences that quickly escalate as you play throughout the games. For example, Dark Souls' The Chosen Undead was intended to be their exact namesake, the Undead who could successfully link the first flame under their own will, or leave the world to darkness. They are perceived to be the only candidate and their hollowing, as it is revealed, is special because their health doesn't deteriorate in the same way his appearance does, but at the same time, doesn't this make them tolerant enough to identify as a Lord of humanity? In truth, the outcome is that it does not matter. You are not THE chosen one, but A chosen undead, under the influence of the serpents whispering in your ear: Frampt, and Kaathe. (This would take up a video in itself, so let's move on. Would appreciate theory responses though.) Dark Souls II's The Bearer of the Curse is even more strange, They're accursed, their curse is stronger and progresses very deliberately; the more you die, the more health you lose and the more their appearance deteriorates. Given time, the pus of dark has festered the curse, in a way I could presume is similar to locations such as Oolacile in Dark Souls. In contrast to the previous game's protagonist, no one really thinks the protagonist has any chance of success. The Fire Keepers mock the Bearer of the Curse's chances in the beginning, and even the Emerald Herald doesn't think the hero will succeed at first since she's seen so many Undead try and fail in the past. This may be due to the Lords and Man itself realising that the cycle cannot be so easily broken(There is actually also a theory of this character becoming Wolnir in Dark Souls III, due to their stark similarities, but I digress.) If one obtains all the lost crowns from the DLC and brings them to Vendrick, who will use his magic to make so that wearing them makes you completely immune hollowing and thus grant Complete Immortality, and chooses to walk away from the Throne after defeating Aldia, the argument could be made that, as the only Undead now removed from the cycle of Light and Dark, you have the potential to finally find a way to end the cycle once and for all, something that no other being before you had the means or will to do. Perhaps they was the one to set Dark Souls III into motion? This is the first sign of progression in the cycle for an unprecedented amount of time!

[@NecroticFarron]

Finally Dark Souls III's Ashen One, a being born from the ashes of those who failed to link the flame. In Dark Souls II, there was a location known as Brume Tower, where we were first introduced to the concept of "Ashen Undead" the unique variant that can reconstitute at will, literally rising from the ash. In the crown DLCs we were introduced to this new variant of Undead and i think the use of an Ashen One as the main character was meant as a convenient excuse to further expand upon that relatively unique plot point, but the point I want to divert your attention to here is that the Ashen One isn't a new idea, Dark Souls II had Ashen Undead in the DLC, it's been a debate since the reveal of Raime's character to be honest, though not quite in the same way. The Ashen Undead and the Ashen One is practically similar to comparing dogs to wolves. They died and were buried in the Cemetery of Ash, only to be resurrected as an Unkindled Lord of Cinder by the Bell of Awakening. They differ from the Undead seen previously in the series in that while Unkindled are branded by the Darksign, they do not Hollow, and don't require Humanity. Instead, they can briefly become a Lord of Cinder by consuming Ember, which is a new resource introduced in this game. Via an optional choice however, you can be branded with the Dark Sigil and Hollow like previous protagonists. Miyazaki further clarified what separates the Undead from the Unkindled; simply put, an Unkindled is someone who had the capacity as an Undead to Link the Fire but lacked the force of will and strength to do so and were consumed by it instead. Thus, they weren't even fit to be kindling for the Flame and are only being summoned because the Lords of Cinder who could Link the Flame are in no fit state to do so. Or so we think. If the Soul of Cinder is in fact the corporeal form of the Soul of Lords, the combined consciousness of all who have linked the fire given physical manifestation, why would it attempt to prevent the Ashen One from bearing the last few cinders and the souls it collected on its quest as a kindling? The Soul of Cinder should welcome us with open arms, effectively. At the game's finale, When the Ashen One goes to meet the Soul of Cinder, the very first thing they do is attack us. Why is this the case? Well, most of us theorists assumed they were testing the Ashen One in order to judge their worth, and whilst tests of worth are usually noble and somewhat enlightening, Soul didn't even so much as give an introduction sequence. There is legitimately no context to their presence there aside from pure speculation, perhaps a vague line of description, but nothing concrete. What little snippets of lore we have on Soul shows us that, they too are an Ashen Undead, but of an extremely high calibre, top notch brand, whilst our Undead is born from the unkindled ash, Soul's was born from the ashes of the first flame, and they're not even technically a real or individual character, but an impression of every single lord merged into one vessel and given life through an avatar of ash, their clothes are a simulation of every lord's apparel merged into one, their appearance is the result of countless undead who linked the fire. Let's consider a few reasons as to why the Soul of Cinder wants us to fade away.

[@NecroticFarron]

-Ashen Ones are empty vessels which are unique in that they can capture and carry Souls of many Great beings, even those of Lords, without ever being twisted by them. Effectively, the Ashen Ones are an indestructible, non-hollow container that can transport cinders. The issue is once the Cinders go in, they're also unable to be removed. -Herein lies the initial reason why the Soul of Cinders attacks you. It needs the cinders to link the fire again, but while they're stuck in you, they remain insulated from the First Flame. Should the last remaining cinders stay locked into the Ashen One, the Fire cannot be linked, and the world would then break down further with no progress to be made. -So how do you get the Cinders out then? Simple: the Ashen One must become a true Undead. To do so, they must submit themselves to the Curse of the Darksign. But suddenly this raises a new dilemma. What if the once Ashen One now Chosen Undead decides against linking the First Flame. Two sets of Royal twins have already studied history and concluded in rejecting to link the fire based on the circumstances of their time.(Thanks Scholars) -Thus, the "better" endings occur. The Soul of Cinder attacks us because it is trying to absorb you directly, just as you have done to the souls of all the bosses in each game. Upon defeating it and absorbing the Soul of Lords, you are now left with the decision to either squeak out one more cycle from the last few cinders left, or finally be the Undead to break the cycle and stamp out the flame, bringing on the Age of Dark. The reason I come to this conclusion is because each game has continually further explained that while the First Flame could be linked with a Lord Soul, the kindling needed to ignite said soul was humanity itself. This is why the Way of White and the Chosen Undead Mythos was invented, and what Aldia speaks about in Scholar of the First Sin. In Dark Souls III, the dilemma is failing to complete the Yoel/Anri questline means the player character is not a human undead. Thus, there is no Humanity as the initial kindling to assist the now nearly used up Lord Cinders from burning, instead they are blanketed in a protective and impenetrable blanket of Ash. However, they are merely still ash themselves, an Ashen avatar hell-bent on defending the first flame... from you. The Ashen One, made of ash. And ash does not burn. Ash does the exact opposite of burning. Ash, in truth, silences fire, like a refined dirt. The Soul of Cinder doesn't have to worry about this, they already linked the fire a thousand times over, but their "presence" is entirely due to the Ashen One. They're not a contender for linking, they're not there to bestow the burden, but they're there to prevent the Ashen One from doing their duty because if they do it'll bring ruin to the first flame. Because ash. Doesn't. Burn. It holds embers at most,perhaps the last fragments of hope for another Chosen Undead to link the flames, it's just a harmonious settlement for embers to smoulder quietly until a newer, better source of fuel comes along to ignite them once more. The Soul of Cinder is already that bed of ash given life. As for you, the Ashen One, are not undead, not one that can viably burn the bonfire, even the Lords of Cinder who held embers are themselves, no longer fit to link the flame because they too are soon nothing but ash, aside from the myriad of countless other personal problems afflicting their decisions, it's entirely possible that all save Ludleth saw the futility of using ash to kindle a fire and decided to quit while they were sane. Although, you gotta hand it to him: Not only did Ludleth drag his charred corpse without any legs to reach his throne, it's heavily implied throughout the game he broke time in an attempt to save the dying flame, quite literally forcing himself to become a Lord of Cinder through sheer willpower.. The reason he became a Lord of Cinder is due to this. The firekeeper of his time saw a world of endless darkness, and to stop that future from coming to pass, he chose to link the fire. Interestingly, even when the Ashen One acquires the Firekeeper's eyes, he's quite content to tell them the details in a factual and straightforward way, with absolutely no attempt to discourage the Ashen One from ending the Age of Fire and render Ludleth's previous efforts for naught. He even says "choose thy fate alone. Seize it with thine own hands. All the more, should thy fate entail such foul betrayal." Granted, it's not like Ludleth has much choice in the matter, since he's going to die anyway whether he likes it or not, but he seems awfully accepting of letting the Ashen One making such a choice. But as for you, who haven't even been properly kindled, have you no choice? Must you have to prove that you're worthy? Must you have to take those embers for yourself and turn them to flame? The truth is that the "linking of the fire" ending is considered the 'bad'(EVERYTHING in these games is ambiguous and dependant on the player's attributes and other subjective terms such as a moral compass, but who are you to decide what is right or wrong? This is a world where ironically yet naturally, Light and Dark has created Grey.) ending this time around because what the player is seeing is the Ashen One choke out the first flame, the Ashen One doesn't choose not link the fire, they CAN'T link the fire. They never could. The only reason they're there at all is because they grew stronger, but they can't properly burn because they are not a proper undead, just already ash. You are already a failure, you are not the last resort. You. Are. Nothing. Your only default option is Link the Fire like those before you, but if you find a hidden item and present it to the Fire Keeper, you can either have the Fire Keeper snuff out the First Flame, with the promise of a new Age of Fire beginning some day, or instead using the first flame as it was intended, by storing the embers so that they can be used for their own gain, but uncaring in the process. In the 'Betrayal' ending, the Unkindled strikes down the Firekeeper in cold blood, and then grinds her face into the dirt with their boot before taking the First Flame's embers from her trembling hands. It's yours now. Perhaps you wanted the fire to die. It's the only way to break the cycle. In the "usurp the fire" (Personal favourite ending, but let's not be bias) ending, on a truly cosmic scale, you become an Unkindled that can accept a Dark Sigil and gain access to Humanity, you become the first being ever that can harness the First Flame and the Dark Soul in tandem to finally destroy the cycle like Vendrick tried to in Dark Souls II. By choosing the Usurp the Fire ending, you can basically screw the cosmic order of the universe and everything that that entails, becoming the lord of Hueco Mundo, sorry, Londor, and a Lord of hollows. You bring forth the dark and the cycle ends, as nature should have done. Don't even get started on Yuria's involvement. She's manipulated, or attempted to, every event that is encountered throughout the game. She's been manipulating events behind the scenes to create a "marriage" between the Ashen One and Anri of Astora. "Marriage", of course being a ceremony in which the Ashen One stabs Anri in the face with a matrimonial sword. The purpose of the "marriage" is purely to create a Lord and Lady of Hollows who can together Usurp the First Flame. At least Anri is ok, right? Right? ;_;

[@NecroticFarron]

The point is, our hero, the Ashen One, CANNOT link the first fire, at most they can store the fire's embers away for their own use, damning them to a stasis while they usurp the power. This isn't because the fire is fading (though it is) but because Lothric ran out of options, the Prince refuses to link the fire, if he had gone to the kiln, he'd never have met the Soul of Cinder because the first flame wouldn't be in any danger. Only the normal undead can link the flame, an Ashen Undead is, by their very nature, not a suitable asset for linking the fire, especially if they already tried and failed as a mere undead. So, finally, what ARE you? Nothing. Just Ash. Another tragic reboot of a cycle that will never cease. You have no concrete origin. Each and every class has a different backstory to each other: -The Knight class states they were an obscure knight of poor renown who collapsed in their travels. -The Mercenary class states they were a veteran soldier-for-hire who masterfully wielded dual-scimitars. -The Warrior class states they were descended from northern warriors famed for their brawn. -The Herald class states they were a former herald undertaking a quest. -The Thief class states they were a pitiful military deserter who turned to petty thievery. -The Assassin class simply states that they stalk their prey from the shadows and offers no further details. -The Sorcerer class states they were a loner who left formal academia to pursue further research. -The Pyromancer class only states they come from a foreign region. -The Cleric class states they were a wandering cleric who died of exhaustion. -The Deprived class states they were either an unimaginable fool in life or had their grave robbed There will always be ones before you, ones after. Time and space is a convoluted thing after all. If only Gwyn wasn't such a cockwaffle. The only way to prevent this is to let it die. -Also, I am going to add some additional, potential insight: Hawkwood says something like "we lack the mettle to link the fire". This, presumably, means that you have no chance, as he has also taken upon this quest and failed. Perhaps this is why he is the Deserter? Believing in a higher purpose, or just to get away form the Abyss Watchers, mocking him for his use of a shield when they usually offhand a dagger(Downplayed in that, vanity aside, the Legion was a legitimate, if overzealous, force of good in the world, and Hawkwood himself gives up whatever claim to personal honor he has in his quest to gain the power of a dragon.)? He will ditch his shield and go back to the Farron's Undead Legion trademark moveset of Ultra Greatsword in one hand and an atypical dagger in the other in the final part of his questline, fighting you in Farron Keep to take the other part of the Twinkling Dragon Stone. At the end of his questline, Hawkwood says this to the Ashen One. He aims to transcend humanity and become a true dragon, and if he defeats you he will loot the Twinkling Dragon Torso Stone from your corpse. He is an Ashen One with a goal. A purpose. What was he doing before this time? Hawkwood is my main example of this, as he was present in the video, but like I said in the beginning, each and every character is interesting and can be interpreted towards your quest or not. Please, share your ideas of a few characters and influences? Credit to: Tvtropes, /u/Iruk_SNAFU.

[@NecroticFarron]

Enjoy.

[@pedrogmix]

UP

[@lilflax0396]

6:52 Aldrich's design is a bit misleading. The editing here makes it look like Gwyndolyn is Aldrich when it's actually the sludge monster that he's stuck in.

[@willbobaggig8191]

Be wary dear KZbinr within the comments thy kind will find only the abyss. So return'st where thou'st came'st and ne'er return.

[@jamesmartin6851]

Like Artorias, I will tread the abyss of the comments. Farewell, fellow Undead, and may the flames guide thee.

[@agreebledcube2715]

And I will free you if thou ever are consumed my freind

[@MoonWave-]

Willbo Baggig Avert your eyes father, I will stump out this comment for good.

[@ShaqNasty557]

Willbo Baggig good thing i like the dark

[@loukas371]

Wise words

[@Max9183]

my theory is. the main character is an angry youtube commenter.

[@momotech7648]

but the main character is capable of performing brain functions at a basic human level and it's okay to feel bad when your character gets screwed over.

[@goldenhardt750]

Someone calls Vaati please, I can't take this any longer !!

[@kennythefatnord]

true. Leave Vaati the the lore.

[@Kinda_Venty]

Vaati's theories are kinda meh, go watch hawkshaw

[@chloeevans6510]

MatPat: *Mentions Undertale* Me: When was this made? Description: 2017 Me: ...I’m very late