You begin this level in a fancy lobby, faced with a couple of tough-looking security guards. Surprisingly, they’re friendly! Don’t attack them unless you’re desperate for more XP. Instead, walk past them, past the left side of the desk, and turn left to enter a reception area. On your left against the wall is the Art Auction Board item. Then go back towards the desk, turn left, and enter the open elevator. You can choose to fight the enemies here, and it will net you some extra XP, but there’s a number of tough foes and you risk losing a life or two early. If you do end up fighting here, the left-hand elevator should open once everyone is defeated. Note the right-hand elevator is your shortcut to The Rift once you receive the Elevator Keycard later in this level.
If you walked into the elevator without starting a fight, the guy in there will attack you once the doors close. Handle him and then exit the elevator. You’ll be called over to the CEO’s desk — head that direction, and after a brief monologue, she’ll ring a bell and disappear. Walk around her desk and inspect the computer to make sure you get the Jinfeng’s Computer board item — you can now return to The Club and go to the sound room to get the Hacker’s Key, which will in turn open Jinfeng’s Computer. Accessing the computer with the Hacker’s Key will open a safe — inside is the Guardian’s Vows Board item as well as the Artist’s Key, which unlocks the locked room on the 4th floor of the Museum.
Enemies were slowly approaching while you goofed around on the computer, so come out from behind the desk and face them. If you stay on the white marble floor, only the toughest enemy (one of the Juggernaut-lites) will engage you at first — take advantage of this and try to eliminate them quickly. Once you take care of all 3 enemies, go through the glass double doors that are to your left when you’re facing the elevators.
The way forward
In the next room, you’ll need to jump down over the handrail to your right in order to progress. Look before you leap, and try to jump down near someone who is isolated. Use the bottles on the tables — as well as the tables themselves — to your advantage while dispatching the enemies here. Make your way forward (with where you jumped down behind you), sticking to the right side of the room, and turn right into the open doorway. There will be more enemies here; fight them in the doorway and back up into the hallway to keep them from surrounding you.
Once all these foes are down, go to the elevators on the right side of the room they were in and open the left-hand elevator door and drop down into the shaft. Open the panel on the “floor” (you’ll need to make sure you’re standing on the side with the handle) and jump into the elevator. The doors will open, and you’ll find yourself in a kind of control room. The room will go dark momentarily, and when the lights turn back on, you’ll have enemies coming at you. Meet them at the top of the stairs — try to legsweep one of the ones with a weapon so you can steal it. Keep moving and take advantage of elevation changes to avoid fighting too many baddies at once — note that you can jump from the balcony to the ground below.
It’s always best to reposition if you’re facing multiple foes
Next, head through the glass doors on the first floor of the far right end of this space (relative to where you entered via the elevators). Make your way down the subsequent hallway and into the next room, where you’ll hear some enemies discussing how to best handle you — rush in and attack the speaking woman for a free finisher. Use the many vaults in this area to keep your foes separated, and take them all down. Once that’s finished, grab the Board item The Sanctuary from the bench under the projector screen. From the board item, turn around and go through the door in the left corner of the room (a white circle should be visible on it from where you are).
Go down the stairs and through the next door, and you’ll be in a long hallway. At the far end of it is a Shrine; the second door on your right is the way forward. Use the shrine and the skill tree if able, then turn around and head through the glass door.
The shrine is at the end of the hall; the way forward is the second door on the right
Look to your right as you enter to find the elevators — you’ll open the left-hand elevator door to progress. Just past the elevators is a broom you should grab before you open the elevator doorway. You’ll need to sprint through the doorway to reach the elevator across the shaft.
After a brief delay, a Juggernaut will join you on top of the elevator. Take him down, and two tough enemies will crawl over the sides — naturally, you’ll need to take them down as well. Three’s a crowd in such a small space, so try to parry their attacks and then throw them into each other; Leg sweeps and Focus Attacks can also help even the odds.
Once you defeat them, the elevator will continue to drop, and you’ll end up in The Rift, at the edge of a bottomless pit. Turn left and forward, down the stairs, and then left into the doorway there. You can also go straight and drop off the ledge here, which will cost you a single death but lets you avoid the upcoming fight — this is also the way to get the achievement “Take damage to save time”.Not recommended, but if you find yourself dying multiple times in the fight to the left, feel free to jump off to the right instead.Note that there are multiple instances in The Rift where you can go right instead of left and fall to your death, skipping a fight but paying with your life. To avoid falling, simply stick to the left, and always turn left into doorways, each time you find yourself back at the bottomless pit area.
Continue forward and drop off the ledge, then turn right and drop down once more. Two enemies will jump down at you from your left, and two more will drop from behind. After the level warps and smoke appears, a few more enemies will spawn, including one with a sword — take down or disarm this one first. Use dodge and parries to stay alive, and take care of business. Once the last enemy is down, you can leave the room via the elevator door.
Getting the machete for yourself ASAP will help you win this fight cleanly
Continue forward and you’ll once again drop down off a ledge. Keep going and you’ll find a woman inspecting a wall full of notes. Jump down and engage her — she’s a Dancer enemy, so block, dodge, or parry her first move in each combo. She will frequently leg sweep as the final move in her 3-move combos, so dodging her third attack is usually safer than avoiding. After defeating her, make sure you use the Shrine that sits in the middle of the wall she was inspecting, then turn right and head through the elevator door.
You’ll be back at The Rift now. Turn left and continue over the vault, and then dropping down into your next fight (though you can once again go right and drop down, dying and skipping the fight instead). This fight’s second phase is very challenging; there is a Dancer enemy, a Juggernaut-lite, and a regular enemy with a machete. Take out the machete-wielder first and take their weapon, then retreat from the other two enemies and attack them only when it’s safe and they’re separated. Use the vaults to keep away from them and dodge their attacks.
Getting the sword in hand quickly will help against the two tough foes in this fight
Once you defeat the final enemies here, head through the elevator door and continue forward. You’ll meet yet another mini-boss, this one a staff-wielding enemy. There are a number of weapons scattered around this room, including a sword on the wall to the right. This enemy is much weaker once disarmed, so try to use a throw, push, or sweep early in the fight. Once she’s been defeated, you’ll receive the Elevator Keycard — you can use this on the right-hand elevator in the lobby at the start of the level to skip straight to the rift. Grab a fresh weapon of your choice, then head through the elevator door.
You’ll need to drop down a number of times as you circle the room, and you’ll eventually be given one more chance to trade a death in exchange for skipping a fight. This time, it’s definitely not worth it, since there’s only one more not-that-tough enemy you avoid by falling to your death. You’ll be attacked at one point by a pair of enemies while jumping down the ledges, so be ready and take them out. Then continue forward and drop down a few more times. When confronted with what seems like a long drop, look left and head that way instead, where you’ll find the final enemy.
Don’t jump off here — it’s not worth it. Instead, take the left turn and hop down the safe way.
Keep the wall to your left and continue forward. After another few drops you’ll find a Shrine, at which you should grab the Focus Regain if you haven’t already — make sure you spend your skill points as well. Then you can turn around from the shrine and drop into the darkness to face the CEO Jīnfèng, the Tower’s boss.
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
