[Pakkidis]

Thank you both for the response, that was very helpful. This game is very intimidating for newbies. I was under the false impression I could avoid death if I just took my time but getting to know the controls and how things work is proving to be a bit challenging.

My first death was at the very first boss in the tutorial level..lol. I tried to fight it, I was like this is so unfair I don't even know what to do :P Luckily, I ran away the second time.

[sixghost]

Thank you both for the response, that was very helpful. This game is very intimidating for newbies. I was under the false impression I could avoid death if I just took my time but getting to know the controls and how things work is proving to be a bit challenging. My first death was at the very first boss in the tutorial level..lol. I tried to fight it, I was like this is so unfair I don't even know what to do :P Luckily, I ran away the second time.

Learn when to block and when to roll or just back away. Each hit you absorb with your shield takes a chunk out of your stamina meter, and that meter charges extremely slowly when your shield is raised. So if you are fighting 3-4 enemies at once, and all you do is just hold your shield up, you will eventually run out of stamina and get guard broken, or just not have enough stamina to attack once your opening arrives. You can accomplish the same thing as a block by lowering your shield and taking a few steps back so you are out of their attack range. Their attack will whiff, your stamina will recharge much faster, then you can hit them.

[ihearthawthats]

makes me feel a little bit better that i'm not the only one who went skeletons to ghosts, not realizing there is a 3rd path. i honestly have no idea why they'd make you face your back to the area you're supposed to actually go when you arrive.

Thank you both for the response, that was very helpful. This game is very intimidating for newbies. I was under the false impression I could avoid death if I just took my time but getting to know the controls and how things work is proving to be a bit challenging. My first death was at the very first boss in the tutorial level..lol. I tried to fight it, I was like this is so unfair I don't even know what to do :P Luckily, I ran away the second time.

going slowly can certainly help, but no matter what you probably will die a few times. dark souls likes to pull off as many cheap tricks as they can to kill you. sometimes the orange messages can help you be prepared for a lot of the cheap stuff, so be sure to read them. though be careful as some of them are trolls.

Learn when to block and when to roll or just back away. Each hit you absorb with your shield takes a chunk out of your stamina meter, and that meter charges extremely slowly when your shield is raised. So if you are fighting 3-4 enemies at once, and all you do is just hold your shield up, you will eventually run out of stamina and get guard broken, or just not have enough stamina to attack once your opening arrives. You can accomplish the same thing as a block by lowering your shield and taking a few steps back so you are out of their attack range. Their attack will whiff, your stamina will recharge much faster, then you can hit them.

most enemies attack pretty slowly. if you decide to go the shield route, try to time your blocks rather than holding it up indefinitely. this way you can recover stamina inbetween blocks much faster.

[Saargabath]

I am finally getting better at pvp. Unlocked backstabbin feels so good!

[Sullichin]

The design works book I ordered from ebay is now only one state away, I should be getting it next week :D

[Mxrz]

I've been doing Darkmoon invasions in the Painted World. Easy kills, but most people weren't worth more than 2000'ish souls. Occasionally the game would glitch out and send me in as a Darkwraith and I'd snag humanity and around 10k souls for a host. - Darkmoon invasions feel closer to Demon's Souls style invading than Dark Wraiths for some reason. Seems like I find more invasions, and more people are actually fighting through the level instead of just sitting around with two phantoms at the spawn point.

Great Magic Blade is really nice. 198 AR for 15 INT with the Oolacile catalyst, and 3 casts. Not seen much mention of it compared CMW.

[soultron]

most enemies attack pretty slowly. if you decide to go the shield route, try to time your blocks rather than holding it up indefinitely. this way you can recover stamina inbetween blocks much faster.

You also regain stamina faster when you lower your shield. Keeping this in mind, knowing when you're out of range of an enemy's furthest-reaching attack means you can safely drop your shield to recharge stamina quickly before heading back into fighting range. As you get better/further at/into the game, you'll also generally get a feel for when you can drop your shield (and go two-handed) on some enemies. This usually involves learning their attack patterns though; trying to go shield-down and two-handed against an enemy you've not yet fought can sometimes be a quick way back to the bonfire.

I'm a shield player (regular size, parrying preferred) and the Crest Shield was something I took with me through nearly the entire game. The passive ability to recharge stamina faster that it came with was invaluable to me. I think mine's currently +8 right now as well. Working on getting it up to +15.

[Pakkidis]

Alright, I started a new game because I wasn't satisfied with how I was playing the first time. Went pyromancer again, the flame spell has been a huge help, with 8 charges I feel like that's 8 enemies dead with little danger to me.

I made it to the second bon fire in the undead region, and have been exploring the area, most paths seem to lead to dead ends however some path's have led me to some really nasty monsters that I know I have no chance of beating.

I reached the bridge where the large troll drops down, I just KNEW something was going to come given the size of the bridge so I was prepared to turn around and climb the ladder and reach the top. I thought I was safe to plan my next move but the fucker jumps up and I knew I was a goner. :P This game really holds nothing back, I kinda like that.

I also leveled up my character a few times, mostly just putting it into endurance and vitality for now. I'm still using the handaxe from the beginning level as I haven't found anything else.

Edit: Do I have to use spoiler tags because I've noticed other people have not....?

[soultron]

Alright, I started a new game because I wasn't satisfied with how I was playing the first time. Went pyromancer again, the flame spell has been a huge help, with 8 charges I feel like that's 8 enemies dead with little danger to me. I made it to the second bon fire in the undead region, and have been exploring the area, most paths seem to lead to dead ends however some path's have led me to some really nasty monsters that I know I have no chance of beating. I reached the bridge where the large troll drops down, I just KNEW something was going to come given the size of the bridge so I was prepared to turn around and climb the ladder and reach the top. I thought I was safe to plan my next move but the fucker jumps up and I knew I was a goner. :P This game really holds nothing back, I kinda like that. I also leveled up my character a few times, mostly just putting it into endurance and vitality for now. I'm still using the handaxe from the beginning level as I haven't found anything else. Edit: Do I have to use spoiler tags because I've noticed other people have not....?

It's kind of up to you if you want to spoiler tag certain things. The game's been out long enough now but there are definitely new people still getting into it.

A general rule is if something was shocking or surprising, spoiler it so new players aren't expecting it. :P One thing to remember when using spoiler tags is put some sort of indication, before the tags, so people know whether or not they can look at it. If I were to put something like, "I was in the Kiln of the First Flame end game spoilers." You'd know not to read the spoilered stuff because you've not yet visited the Kiln.

Acronyms also help when you want to post something relatively unspoilery and non-specific, "I was in the UP (Everyone who's played will know this is the Undead Parish) yesterday and the enemies there were brutal!"

[2AdEPT]

Playing other games now but I wrote a bit about Dark Souls as a (hopefully temporary) send-off.

Only thing I disagree with is disliking Demons....I can't understnad why if you like the combat and the style of thinking the developers were thinking for Dark (enough to give it GOTY), why Demon's would not be your second favourite game then?....I like alot of the additions and changes made for Dark, but Demon's is so similar and no other series comes close that i don't even differentiate much between the two games as far as status...I'm liking The witcher series...but after only one playthrough of TW2 and only half a charcter of Skyrim I'm back for another round of Dark....still so many different ways to do it....will admit that I havve done everything there is to do with Demon's pretty much...may try SL1 runs on both soon.

Alright, I started a new game because I wasn't satisfied with how I was playing the first time. Went pyromancer again, the flame spell has been a huge help, with 8 charges I feel like that's 8 enemies dead with little danger to me. I made it to the second bon fire in the undead region, and have been exploring the area, most paths seem to lead to dead ends however some path's have led me to some really nasty monsters that I know I have no chance of beating. I reached the bridge where the large troll drops down, I just KNEW something was going to come given the size of the bridge so I was prepared to turn around and climb the ladder and reach the top. I thought I was safe to plan my next move but the fucker jumps up and I knew I was a goner. :P This game really holds nothing back, I kinda like that. I also leveled up my character a few times, mostly just putting it into endurance and vitality for now. I'm still using the handaxe from the beginning level as I haven't found anything else.Edit: Do I have to use spoiler tags because I've noticed other people have not....?

starting over is wise....there is no reason not to particualrly if you didn't like your character or killed the vendor etc. If you die you start at the beginning of the first level anyway! ;p

the bolded on weapons...there are other weapons around...and although poeple are dissuading you from going inot tight areas htey just mean don't go there to expect to finsih the level and beat the boss (alhtough you could do this if you wish as when there is a will there is away in this game) BUt DO conisder running through areas that seem tough to find the items that are laying around...olften these are the best in the game....the developers expect people to do this...its not cheating. Also, just becuase the vendor sells them doesn't mean they are bad...these can be upgraded and will do pretty well deep into the game...agreed the axe is clunky...my favourite early game weapons are the astora sowrd, winged spear, regular spear (less dex requirement), eventhe plain old longsword or halberd is better than that axe. For whatever reason I am not a claymore guy...but many people upgrade this and use it the whole game....it is available in the burg....although you will have to get creative in order to get a dragon to allow you access to it.

NOt really spoilers but highly recommended:

take the master key as a gift. I would easily recommend starting over if you haven't ists available later on but by that time the thrill of early game exploration in the one and only world of Souls games is done prety much....and this is pretty much the best part.

find some treasure chests by exploring and getting creative around FIrelink...use the items you find there (homeward bones in particular) to run around into areas you don't thinkk you are supposed to be yet and get the equipment. oNce you get a bunch of this stuff to choose from you will find the love of your life that will help you feel great in the game and this is different for everyone....No one I know has ever loved the starting weapons that much and the developers purposely give each starting character a crap weapon..your glove on the other hand is an extrememly powerful tool once upgraded so hold on to it...and get anohter one if you ever have the opportunity for trading.

bows help early on...get a bow but watch your equip burden as it is more importnat to be mobile than powerful at all points in the game.

Search everywhere before killing bosses...there are special NPC events and friends that can only be experienced prior to clearing the level usually...instead drop your summon sign and help others in theeir world to fiuther learn abou tthe game and your surroundigns, without screwing up your own world. SOme say to forget about this stuff until your 2nd playthrough...I disagree. This stuff is what separates a virgin experinece of a gmae from all the others out there...you only get one virgin run through....and more than several of us on this site live mostly for the virgin playthrough moreso than the subsequent plays...alhtough these are a close second.

[NaturalHigh]

NOt really spoilers but highly recommended: take the master key as a gift. I would easily recommend starting over if you haven't ists available later on but by that time the thrill of early game exploration in the one and only world of Souls games is done prety much....and this is pretty much the best part.

As a new player if you do this remember if you can't kill something you can probably still run past it. And if you pick up an item and die, you still have the item. So exploration can both be challenging and rewarding. I get excited just trying to run past enemies and snatch up items in an area way above my level.

[FatCat]

Well I just got into this game this week after much hesitation.
I've had it in my collection for over 2 months and wasn't sure I could handle the difficulty that everyone was rambling on about.

...No one was definately lying about the difficulty, that's for sure. I was so angry with the tutorial level that I switched off the console and went to sleep. However I did give the game another chance the day after.

I've now beaten the gargoyle and I'm regretting nothing. There's definately a huge learning curve for newbies. However the whole world is so enchanting that I keep coming back to it and after 2-3 hours you do get used to the controls and unconvential mechanics (humanity? what?).

Its a really rewarding game, will update when I get a bit further into the game :-)

[systemfehler]

Damn clerics, I arrived too late at the altar and WoG will have to wait until NG+

[Pakkidis]

Some updates:

This game is brutal! I lost over 10,000 souls already :( I was playing careless but I learned some lessons. I beat the demon troll on the bridge and made it past the dragon on the bridge by going underneath it :P. I am now all the way in the church bon fire :) I explored around a bit in the forest area and stopped.

I am guess I need a better weapon at this point. Right now I'm using the battle axe as its my best weapon right now. I found a halberd but my strength and dexterity are too low to equip it. I upgraded my endurance and my vitality mostly. I was thinking of upgrading those two and upgrade the other stats only when needed.

I did choose the master key as the gift :)

Going back for more punishment :)

[weekend_warrior]

Damn clerics, I arrived too late at the altar and WoG will have to wait until NG+

Same here. I bought all her other miracles, but my faith was too low at the time to use Wrath of God so I figured I wait until later to buy it, then she disappeared. So frustrating. Oh well, should be able to get it pretty early in NG+.

[Zertez]

Some updates: This game is brutal! I lost over 10,000 souls already :( I was playing careless but I learned some lessons. I beat the demon troll on the bridge and made it past the dragon on the bridge by going underneath it :P. I am now all the way in the church bon fire :) I explored around a bit in the forest area and stopped. I am guess I need a better weapon at this point. Right now I'm using the battle axe as its my best weapon right now. I found a halberd but my strength and dexterity are too low to equip it. I upgraded my endurance and my vitality mostly. I was thinking of upgrading those two and upgrade the other stats only when needed. I did choose the master key as the gift :) Going back for more punishment :)

Early on you can shoot the dragon tail off with arrows for a decent sword or pick up a claymore that is laying on the dragon bridge. Both are solid weapons and can last you for most the game if you want.

[Thagomizer]

Early on you can shoot the dragon tail off with arrows for a decent sword or pick up a claymore that is laying on the dragon bridge. Both are solid weapons and can last you for most the game if you want.

It's also a crutch that'll hurt you in the long run as it gives you a wider margin of error and allows you to be more careless in combat.

I got it my first game

[Mxrz]

This game, grr. Logged on this morning thinking I'd do some quick co-op for souls. Didn't have much luck anywhere. Seath is the only really active place at this characters level, but that's a long trip for 30k and half the time the host falls off the bridge. I ended up killing the forest NPCs, took a little over a minute to kill the npcs and run back. Dull as can be, but it works.

[Soulhouf]

Early on you can shoot the dragon tail off with arrows for a decent sword or pick up a claymore that is laying on the dragon bridge. Both are solid weapons and can last you for most the game if you want.

Definitely use the Claymore and ignore the drake shit sword.
Claymore is a weapon that can stay with you forever if you upgrade it. It's good for both pve and pvp and will never let you down.

[Pakkidis]

Alright, I made it to the lower undead berg and finally beat the boss there. That was a terrble designed boss,probably died close to 20 times before I could finally take him down. The boss is bad enough but why the hell did they have to add two undead dogs with him...seriously that was one of the most frustrating things I have experienced so far, probably the only time where it was more about luck than skill.

On a side note, I love how everything is connecting to together, the more shortcuts I unlock the more and more I like the design.

Right now I got the claymore from the bridge, is their any way to kill the dragon now or do you have to be super powerful, one or two shots of his fire breath and I'm done. I basically waited for the dragon to come down and made a mad dash for the items on the bridge. I am not going for the drake sword because I generally don't want to get anything I can't figure out on my own for my first play through.

Ok, so after I beat that piece of shit boss, I made my way down to the depths. Holy shit, I have NO idea where I am, I beat some butcher dude and started to destroy some crates and fell down some shaft and met some gigantic rats and some frogs that spew something out, I kill them before they have a chance to do any damage to me. I made my through and found a bonfire in a dead end room :). I stopped playing for now...

I am playing in offline mode and yet I was invaded?!? I assume the game randomly invades you with npc's? I killed him :) and got a humanity point :)

Whats the point of playing as a human vs hollow? and when can I start kindling bon fires, it says I am missing something?

I upgraded my claymore to +5 and its sooooooo much better than the battle axe. The long reach makes such a massive difference, the game feels much easier now. I assume I can upgrade it further, with the right ingredients?

I am lvl 20 right now, I have been focusing on endurance and vitality mostly. I don't see anything else worth while. I got the sorcery stuff and can cast soul arrow but it just doesn't seem worth it.

My final thought is that this game really is one of the best survival horror games this generation. Every time I enter a new area, tensions run high. The more I play the more I understand this game...the more I like....except for crappy bosses :P

[sixghost]

Alright, I made it to the lower undead berg and finally beat the boss there. That was a terrble designed boss,probably died close to 20 times before I could finally take him down. The boss is bad enough but why the hell did they have to add two undead dogs with him...seriously that was one of the most frustrating things I have experienced so far, probably the only time where it was more about luck than skill. On a side note, I love how everything is connecting to together, the more shortcuts I unlock the more and more I like the design. Right now I got the claymore from the bridge, is their any way to kill the dragon now or do you have to be super powerful, one or two shots of his fire breath and I'm done. I basically waited for the dragon to come down and made a mad dash for the items on the bridge. I am not going for the drake sword because I generally don't want to get anything I can't figure out on my own for my first play through. Ok, so after I beat that piece of shit boss, I made my way down to the depths. Holy shit, I have NO idea where I am, I beat some butcher dude and started to destroy some crates and fell down some shaft and met some gigantic rats and some frogs that spew something out, I kill them before they have a chance to do any damage to me. I made my through and found a bonfire in a dead end room :). I stopped playing for now... I am playing in offline mode and yet I was invaded?!? I assume the game randomly invades you with npc's? I killed him :) and got a humanity point :) Whats the point of playing as a human vs hollow? and when can I start kindling bon fires, it says I am missing something? I upgraded my claymore to +5 and its sooooooo much better than the battle axe. The long reach makes such a massive difference, the game feels much easier now. I assume I can upgrade it further, with the right ingredients? I am lvl 20 right now, I have been focusing on endurance and vitality mostly. I don't see anything else worth while. I got the sorcery stuff and can cast soul arrow but it just doesn't seem worth it. My final thought is that this game really is one of the best survival horror games this generation. Every time I enter a new area, tensions run high. The more I play the more I understand this game...the more I like....except for crappy bosses :P

Seems like you've been figuring things out for yourself then. You can only kindle bonfires when you are human. Advantages of being human are some higher resistances and the ability to summon other players(even if you are offline, you can summon some NPCs), and be invaded.

The claymore definitely is badass, good choice. If you keep upgrading it, it will be better than the Drake Sword very soon, and the drake sword kind of ruins the game early on by making things too easy.

[2AdEPT]

Alright, I made it to the lower undead berg and finally beat the boss there. That was a terrble designed boss,probably died close to 20 times before I could finally take him down. The boss is bad enough but why the hell did they have to add two undead dogs with him...seriously that was one of the most frustrating things I have experienced so far, probably the only time where it was more about luck than skill.

capra requires skill...the fact that you can easily do this boss without losing even one health point means that there was something you could have done differently....granted I felt the same way at first...we all did....but then we got to thinking......there must be something else I haven't tried...and there was. obviously the stairs are key, but counterintutively roll right first to draw everyone away form the stairs landing; roll past capra as he swings, dash for the stairs tothe top. Use a stable shield with a spear (spears allow you to attack while still holding sheild up) kill dogs, Drop on capras head with weapon drawn and r1 pressed. Kill capra without losing one health.

On a side note, I love how everything is connecting to together, the more shortcuts I unlock the more and more I like the design. Right now I got the claymore from the bridge, is their any way to kill the dragon now or do you have to be super powerful, one or two shots of his fire breath and I'm done. I basically waited for the dragon to come down and made a mad dash for the items on the bridge. I am not going for the drake sword because I generally don't want to get anything I can't figure out on my own for my first play through.

When there is a will there is a way...arrows used to work if you had enough of them....but the dragon does heal herself (i think) so this can be hard and patches may have stopped glitchy dragon killins which I did do with arrows my first playthrough at launch.there is a cheap spot under the LEFT SIDE part of the bridge just outside the rat room where magic and (my favourite) lightning bolts from the sunbro covenenant will also work at low level.You will have to help 5 or so people out on gargoyles to get into sunbro though.

Ok, so after I beat that piece of shit boss, I made my way down to the depths. Holy shit, I have NO idea where I am, I beat some butcher dude and started to destroy some crates and fell down some shaft and met some gigantic rats and some frogs that spew something out, I kill them before they have a chance to do any damage to me. I made my through and found a bonfire in a dead end room :). I stopped playing for now...

the frogs spam curse fog at you....as long as you have decent curse resist from the armour you wear you should be resilient enough not to get cursed....which sucks...so wear good armour....the tattered set you get from the pyromancer start is good for curse though (that is why you are still happy and not rage quittting right now ;p)

I am playing in offline mode and yet I was invaded?!? I assume the game randomly invades you with npc's? I killed him :) and got a humanity point :) Whats the point of playing as a human vs hollow? and when can I start kindling bon fires, it says I am missing something? I upgraded my claymore to +5 and its sooooooo much better than the battle axe. The long reach makes such a massive difference, the game feels much easier now. I assume I can upgrade it further, with the right ingredients?

and don't forget the pine resin from the burg....if you missed it go back.....it makes your claymore pretty boss for 60 secs.

I am lvl 20 right now, I have been focusing on endurance and vitality mostly. I don't see anything else worth while. I got the sorcery stuff and can cast soul arrow but it just doesn't seem worth it.

don't be afraid to add a couple points here and there to hold certian weapons...obviously its not worth it to add 10 points of strength unlesss that's what you wan tto focus on....but a couple dex to get the winged spear is not unforgivable......spears are awesome tools and although most prefer a sword for their main weapon, I never just use one weapon the whole game.....spears are great as they allow you to hoold your sheild up and attack atthe same time....yes you heard right.....adn the earlier you practice with them the better you will do with them later when you are forced to be creative, or for example, if you find a supper pwerful one laying around!

My final thought is that this game really is one of the best survival horror games this generation. Every time I enter a new area, tensions run high. The more I play the more I understand this game...the more I like....except for crappy bosses :P

there are crappy bosses but capra is not one of them.....there are porrly designed, and replica bosses later where they ran out of ideas or time deadlines or something....capra was well thought out.


and yes...being human is great....being invaded is fun and thrilling...and there are ways to prevent losing a lot by being invaded....but it costs nothing but your time to lay your sign down and assist others.....often you are rewarded with souls, humanity, and gifts form your host. ......this is one of the best parts of the game for me.

[ihearthawthats]

capra requires skill...the fact that you can easily do this boss without losing even one health point means that there was something you could have done differently....granted I felt the same way at first...we all did....but then we got to thinking......there must be something else I haven't tried...and there was. obviously the stairs are key, but counterintutively roll right first to draw everyone away form the stairs landing; roll past capra as he swings, dash for the stairs tothe top. Use a stable shield with a spear (spears allow you to attack while still holding sheild up) kill dogs, Drop on capras head with weapon drawn and r1 pressed. Kill capra without losing one health.

agree and disagree. stairs seems like the obvious way to beat it, but in a way the boss gets kinda glitchy when you do, so it seems like borderline exploitation to me. i would still say the boss fight is poorly designed.

When there is a will there is a way...arrows work if you have enough of them....there is a cheap spot under the LEFT SIDE part of the bridge just outside the rat room where magic and (my favourite) lightning bolts from the sunbro covenenant will also work at low level.You will have to help 5 or so people out on gargoyles to get into sunbro though.

i found an extremely cheap way to beat him (i guess i'll spoiler it): hide behind the left wall as usual until he jumps down towards you, aim for his head when he swoops down (kinda takes practice, don't use the lock-on. also kinda dependent on your weapon). when you land the hit (or miss) run down the stairs to avoid the fire and he'll fly back to the gate. wash, rinse, repeat. depending on how good your damage is, it takes maybe 10-15 reps or so (i had the bk sword at the time i and i think it only took me maybe 5 or 6 reps.

[Robot Pants]

Finally getting the hang of PvP. I made a new character just for this, only upgraded to SL45 so far, spent the rest of my souls on equipment and such. Just joined the Darkmoon covenant and had a blast invading in Sen's Fortress. Killed 10 in a row.
One time there was a team of 3 guys who had their own rule set. As soon as I joined I got a message that said, "Duels: 1v1, Gift you 30 humanity to start, then 30 more after the first guy, and then 30 after the 2nd before you fight the final guy. Total of 90 humanity. No healing during combat, if you heal, all three will attack you at once."
Paraphrasing but that's the jist. I killed all three of them. One of them by the skin of my teeth (jumping attack). But came out with 99 humanity. Was awesome.
Probably going to join DarkWraith now.

So funny cause on my first run through the game I was TERRIFIED of carrying large soul amounts around with me incase I died and lost them.
Now I'm carrying around 12 humanity and 200k souls all the time like it's no problem haha.

[ihearthawthats]

so i just beat the game. spoilers ahead... or not, since as far as i'm concerned there was no ending, and therefore nothing to spoil lol. i was waiting out the end of the credits for the 'real ending' which a lot of games do. and i was like yay a real cg... or not since thats just the intro cg for new game+ lol. can someone explain the ending to me please? or even the overall story in general? i was confused for most of the game about the story. i don't know if it was just because i didn't play demon soul's or i just didn't talk to enough npcs, but i really had no idea what was going on. just killing a bunch of monsters for no real reason?

anyways, despite the lack of story, it was definitely an amazing game. already looking forward to starting a new character for a 2nd playthrough.

oh, and quick question on trophy hunting: do i have to obtain all the rare items on a single character utilizing new game +? or can i get them across multiple characters and it still counts?

[weekend_warrior]

so i just beat the game. spoilers ahead... or not, since as far as i'm concerned there was no ending, and therefore nothing to spoil lol. i was waiting out the end of the credits for the 'real ending' which a lot of games do. and i was like yay a real cg... or not since thats just the intro cg for new game+ lol. can someone explain the ending to me please? or even the overall story in general? i was confused for most of the game about the story. i don't know if it was just because i didn't play demon soul's or i just didn't talk to enough npcs, but i really had no idea what was going on. just killing a bunch of monsters for no real reason? anyways, despite the lack of story, it was definitely an amazing game. already looking forward to starting a new character for a 2nd playthrough. oh, and quick question on trophy hunting: do i have to obtain all the rare items on a single character utilizing new game +? or can i get them across multiple characters and it still counts?

You have to get them all with one character.

[Ghost_Protocol]

Anyone ever look at the paintings in Anor Londo castle? There's a room with 4 paintings with people in them I haven't been able to identify. Gwyn's children maybe?

[Saargabath]

I am growing tired of my uchigatana! I want to go with a claymore now, should I stick with lightning or go chaos? Humanity is not an issue!

[KennyLinder]

Lightning Claymore is amazing, it's my weapon of choice and have been using it for many, many hours. It's awesome. Also, try the Bastard Sword, very similar but with a different heavy attack. I have a Fire Bastard and it's cool.

I just solo'd Ornstein and Smough on NG+. It was EPIC! I had to attempt it 8 or so times before managing to beat them though. I wanted to kill Ornstein last to get his soul, and I think he's definitely tougher in his 2nd form that Smough is. He hates fire though, so my max'd out Pyro glove and Fire Bastard +9 finished him off. The fucker.

[Robot Pants]

Yea Ornstein sucks. So much harder than Smough on the 2nd form.

[Soulhouf]

I am growing tired of my uchigatana! I want to go with a claymore now, should I stick with lightning or go chaos? Humanity is not an issue!

Chaos is stronger if humanity is not an issue for you.

[KennyLinder]

Just fought someone in The Depths (NPC Invader), Knight Kirk, and he dropped a Barbed Straight Sword. Looks and feels sweet, might upgrade it a bit, although I wasn't intended to get any embers other than the Large one to create all the boss weapons for the final trophy in NG++

I am still tempted to start the game again afterwards and going for a 50 INT build, some of the magic is awesome and I haven't used it at all.

[Robot Pants]

Just fought someone in The Depths (NPC Invader), Knight Kirk, and he dropped a Barbed Straight Sword. Looks and feels sweet, might upgrade it a bit, although I wasn't intended to get any embers other than the Large one to create all the boss weapons for the final trophy in NG++ I am still tempted to start the game again afterwards and going for a 50 INT build, some of the magic is awesome and I haven't used it at all.

The magic is awesome, but I found out of the main three (pyromancy, miracles, and magic) magic was the weakest one of the bunch. And weapons that scale with Intelligence are generally pretty weak as well.

[Dresden]

The magic is awesome, but I found out of the main three (pyromancy, miracles, and magic) magic was the weakest one of the bunch. And weapons that scale with Intelligence are generally pretty weak as well.

what

Magic is insane, yo. Much better than Pyro and only reason Faith edges it out is WotG and the Darkmoon Blade.

Enchanted is also good, problem is that the best int weapon is the Moonlight Greatsword with the S scaling in int and pure magic damage.

[systemfehler]

I am a bit disappointed by the 50INT spell from Logan aside from more uses it is rather weak and slow to cast. Thought I get "the bomb" from Logan but I rarely use it.

[krakov]

The magic is awesome, but I found out of the main three (pyromancy, miracles, and magic) magic was the weakest one of the bunch. And weapons that scale with Intelligence are generally pretty weak as well.

Sorcery is probably the most powerful path. No weapons scale with pyro and faith scaling is as shitty as magic scaling. Soul spear, Crystal soul spear, Homing soulmass and Crystal magic weapon are all really powerful. Moonlight butterfly horn and Moonlight greatsword are both pretty great for magic scaling weapons. Also, almost any weapon + CMW is great.

[Zertez]

Sorcery is very powerful, but you have to commit to it fully and have the right gear setup unlike pyro. It isnt like pyro when you can buy some spell slots, upgrade a glove and you are good to go. While magic is more powerful in Demons Souls, it is still very nasty in Dark Souls. White Dragon Breath seems like it is hate/love spell with most people. Some use it a lot, while others dont even bother to take up a spell slot with it. Personally I find it very useful in several situations. Some mobs seem weak to it as well, once you find out what they are, chances are you will start to love it. I think the biggest thing with Sorcery is learning the right spells to use in different scenarios. You need to change things up depending on the circumstances, and not keep the same spell lineup for everything.

[AEGISX]

Spells have limited cast. I wonder how many points you put in att? For a int build

[H_Prestige]

If I have 50 int and 50 faith, is there any reason not to use Velka's Talisman? I never got the Darkmoon Talisman, which is the only one that's better AFAIK.

[Zertez]

Spells have limited cast. I wonder how many points you put in att? For a int build

It depends on if you are going to rely on just magic or use other methods to deal with smaller trash mobs. Personally I find 23 is fine for attunement. You get 6 slots for spells which I normally fill with the two spear spells, homing spell shield, magic weapon, winters breath or a soul arrow with a lot of charges to deal with trash mobs and a utility spell like hush, fall control, heal, cast light, etc. depending on the situation. Some builds call for 28 points for 7 slots, but I find 6 spell slots enough. Bonfires are everywhere, so it is easy to refill instead of spending the points on another slot.

If I have 50 int and 50 faith, is there any reason not to use Velka's Talisman? I never got the Darkmoon Talisman, which is the only one that's better AFAIK.

Velka's has the same magic adjust as Canvas Talisman. Ivory, Sunlight and Darkmoon Talisman are all better than Velka.

[Mxrz]

Spells have limited cast. I wonder how many points you put in att? For a int build

4 slots felt like plenty for me.

PvP past 60-80 feels silly.* Everyone has 40 Vit & Endurance without any sacrifices. I think I've done my last high sl character. I'm going to stop my new Strength character around there too.

* Actually sl60-80 feels silly too compared to 30. Where you'd basically have enough stats for one thing and that's about it. Might give it a whirl next.

[MoonsaultSlayer]

After a while of not playing, I tread through the blighttown swamp, through 2 illusory walls to a bonfire, notice a giant tree with traversible limbs, make my way to an area where it seems I can no longer climb back up, get attacked by frogs, and now I'm cursed. Haven't played in over a week because of that. Where does that area lead to? Can I get back up? Worth it/not worth it?

[Red Liquorice]

Playing a new sorcerer build today, blasted through the game to Sen's Fortress just to get to Logan, and discovered the third giant for the first time. This game can still surprise me new discoveries even now!

After a while of not playing, I tread through the blighttown swamp, through 2 illusory walls to a bonfire, notice a giant tree with traversible limbs, make my way to an area where it seems I can no longer climb back up, get attacked by frogs, and now I'm cursed. Haven't played in over a week because of that. Where does that area lead to? Can I get back up? Worth it/not worth it?

That is the Great Hollow, which leads to Ash Lake. Not needed to complete the game, but definately worth it to explore/do everything, and Ash Lake has a mini-boss, Siegmeyer story event/reward and a covenant.

You can climb back up the Great Hollow from anywhere along the way top to bottom, the lower levels there are mushroom steps and ladders and tree branches further up. There is also a very useful ring in the Great Hollow that you can get by making a fall not very far at all from the bonfire at the top (comes in handy if you mess up the fall).

[Pakkidis]

Update: Warning profanity incoming

So I FINALLY went through blight town. fuck this piece of shit, who designed this level. First lets make it difficult to navigate and get lost with no clue where to go, second lets put enemies who surround you and third, oh what the fuck, lets put a big giant poisonous swamp at the very bottom where your walking speed is reduced and then add big ass mother fuckers who throw boulders at you.... AND then fight a giant spider boss lady just to fuck with you further.... There, I got that off my chest... I feel much better now. BTW was it my imagination or does the game get very choppy when you enter blight town?

Ok so I just finished that boss, after dying many times, keeping my shield up is a huge must.

Some more questions. I am using the claymore +5 right now but I want to upgrade it further, what do I need, how do I get it and where do I need to go to make it happen.

Armor, I'm still finding some of my pyromancy set from the beginning to be better than most of what I find. I know that some armor is situation but should I start upgrading my armor too, and if so then what?


Every time I come across a new enemy, its a wild new adventure :P

Very good game, but it is very unforgiving. I know this is a VERY unpopular opinion but I wish the game did a better job of directing you on 1) where the bonfires are locating, 2) where to do in general because I am using a walkthrough to guide me to the next location without it I have no idea where I would end up.

[Seraphis Cain]

Man. I hadn't played this since quite a while before the big patch. Popped it in yesterday and took out Demon Firesage and Centipede Demon within an hour. :lol Guess I've still got it. :D

[Cloudius12]

Update: Warning profanity incoming So I FINALLY went through blight town. fuck this piece of shit, who designed this level. First lets make it difficult to navigate and get lost with no clue where to go, second lets put enemies who surround you and third, oh what the fuck, lets put a big giant poisonous swamp at the very bottom where your walking speed is reduced and then add big ass mother fuckers who throw boulders at you.... AND then fight a giant spider boss lady just to fuck with you further.... There, I got that off my chest... I feel much better now. BTW was it my imagination or does the game get very choppy when you enter blight town? Ok so I just finished that boss, after dying many times, keeping my shield up is a huge must. Some more questions. I am using the claymore +5 right now but I want to upgrade it further, what do I need, how do I get it and where do I need to go to make it happen. Armor, I'm still finding some of my pyromancy set from the beginning to be better than most of what I find. I know that some armor is situation but should I start upgrading my armor too, and if so then what? Every time I come across a new enemy, its a wild new adventure :P Very good game, but it is very unforgiving. I know this is a VERY unpopular opinion but I wish the game did a better job of directing you on 1) where the bonfires are locating, 2) where to do in general because I am using a walkthrough to guide me to the next location without it I have no idea where I would end up.

The framerate drops to around 15~ fps.

[NaturalHigh]

BTW was it my imagination or does the game get very choppy when you enter blight town? Some more questions. I am using the claymore +5 right now but I want to upgrade it further, what do I need, how do I get it and where do I need to go to make it happen. Armor, I'm still finding some of my pyromancy set from the beginning to be better than most of what I find. I know that some armor is situation but should I start upgrading my armor too, and if so then what?

Yes blighttown is known for crappy framerates.

For +6 upgrading you need an item from the room with butcher in the Depths. Give it to the undead parish blacksmith and select modify equipment. You will need large titanite shards.

Its more important to upgrade weapons than armor but if you want to upgrade it just go to +5 or so until you feel that you are going to be wearing that piece for awhile.

[Akainu]

Does the eye of dead still curse players if you leave the area you didn't beat the boss and go to a place you did?

[weekend_warrior]

Finished all the Lord Bosses and doing some clean up (ie killing NPCs and grinding chunks) before I move my Faith Melee build into NG+. I decided to bump my strength to 34 so i could use the Grant, I just really want to try the WoG special it has. That will leave my character at level 80 which is about 15 points higher then i wanted. Hope its worth it.

Does anyone know how summoning works in regards to NG/NG+? I really hope I get summoned into more NG+ or higher games this time around.

Also going to start a new build- Crossbow/longbow user, maybe with pyro backup. Don't see a lot of bow users online, might be interesting.

[Mxrz]

It is still based on level. If the host is still in NG it'll summon you into NG. But Generally people 100+ are in higher cycles. But its fun when you stay lower level and summon unsuspecting low level players and watch them get butchered.

If I remember right, the gravelord curse wears off as soon as you leave that area, or the game. If you curse someone, and they log off or leave that area while cursed, and then you leave, the curse will remain on them until they kill the boss - I think.

I'm so sick and tired of farming humanity on each new character. Going to look into the bb-glitch for future ones. Just too much hassle for something like that. Maybe if I weren't so obsessed about maxing out every bonfire. My 4 or 5 of my old characters could still use farm/items, but bleh. Not about to restart them.