Though Dark Souls was most well-known for its high difficulty curve, fans of the series know that the weapons and armor in the game are some of the biggest stars of the game. Each weapon in the game had a specific move set, and the detail on some armors was extremely intricate. As this summer’s shield design Facebook contest demonstrated, the upcoming Dark Souls II will also have intricately designed gear.

Now, Namco Bandai Games has gone the extra mile, promoting the game’s signature look by having real armor forged. The publisher gave reference art to the blacksmiths at Armedia, a 40-year old forge located in France that creates period armor and weapons for TV and movies. The master blacksmith at the forge took months painstakingly re-creating developer From Software’s vision, hammering out a breastplate and linking chain mail by hand. The helm alone took six weeks to complete.

The entire process is documented in a video Namco Bandai released today. The forging is made more interesting by the combination of modern technology and time-honored techniques used by Armedia:

Dark Souls II is still set for a March 2014 release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. A beta for the PlayStation 3 version of the game has been announced for October.

(Image courtesy Namco Bandai)