Board Thread:Dark Souls/@comment-30229193-20161014211451/@comment-3236835-20161015002520

You can get the Lordvessel (and the armor) and still be able to join the Darkwraith, as long as you don't place it for Frampt. Once you have obtained the vessel, the next time you meet Frampt at Firelink Shrine, he will automatically 'warp' you to the Kiln of the First Flame and force you to place the vessel for him. However, if you use Homeward or a Homeward Bone, you will be able to warp back to the last bonfire outside you rested at and Frampt will return to provide his usual services (feed items for souls and Titanite breaking). This way, you will be able to access both Primordial Serpents' (Frampt and Kaathe) services for a while.

At one point, however, you will have to choose between one serpent or the other in order to remove the orange fog doors that give access to the Duke's Archives, the second part of the Demon Ruins (and Lost Izalith) and the second part of the Catacombs.

In any case, I would recommend you to favor speed over defense when fighting the Four Kings. That means removing almost all armor until your total weight is under 25% and you can attain the maximum speed available and rolling length. Bring the Crest Shield, which has the best Magic reduction of all medium shields, just in case, but try to avoid blocking any magical attacks as much as you can. Stamina management (as usual) is key for this fight. Oh, and do not summon any NPC phantoms (Beatrice) as the fight will become much harder.

Good luck!

Regards.