Be Wary of Mimics
Treasure chests are exciting to open, but not when they’re actually monsters just lying dormant, waiting to gobble you up. Mimics are back in Dark Souls III, and they’ll catch you when you least expect them. If you open up a Mimic chest, the Mimic will grab you with its jaws and chomp on you until you’re dead. Even if you’re at full health, and in Cinder form, opening a Mimic chest means instant death.
Thankfully, there’s a pretty good way to tell the Mimics apart from the real chests in Dark Souls III. Whenever you see a chest lying around, look out for the silver chain hanging from the right side of the chest. If the chain is curled away from you, it’s safe to open. However, if the chain is pointed towards you, it’s a Mimic waiting to mess you up and give you a bad time. Once you’ve identified the Mimic, there are two ways to deal with it. One, you can hack away at it with your sword and try to kill it. This is inadvisable, especially for lower leveled or inexperienced players. Mimics have a lot of health, and they also have a grab attack that will kill you instantly even if you have your shield up.
Instead of fighting the Mimic head on, buy some Undead Charms from the Shrine Maiden back at Firelink Shrine, and toss them at the Mimic. These Charms are typically used in PVP to stop players from using their Estus Flasks, but here, they’ll actually put the Mimic to sleep, allowing you to safely grab whatever item they were housing. Also, using a Charm on a Mimic will grant you a chance of looting the Symbol of Avarice, which is basically a Mimic head helmet that drains your HP slowly. It’s a good item for the collectors.
