[mickcenary]

So, I bought Dark Souls maybe 4 or 5 months ago. The sheer amount of praise it garnered made me bite, but there were a few caveats that I knew I had to overcome/be open-minded about:

1. I've never played a modern RPG. I hate the 'jack of all trades, master of none' philosophy that usually governs them. I'm talking half-baked mechanics and shitty animation, usually synonymous with Bethesda (please correct me if I'm wrong here).

2. I'm not too hot on Fantasy settings. Spells and wizardry are not my bag.

Anyway, long story short, I lasted a few hours. The difficulty was definitely a factor, yes; I also may have been biding my time waiting for another release, but I'm not quite sure. That being said, I still saw and felt some magic. Even considering my very brief time with the game, I could tell that point #1 was not prevalent; quite the opposite, actually.

Since then, the intrigue has never left me. I feel like I owe it to myself to slog through this game, but I feel like I need to know what to do and how to approach things to minimise frustration/difficulty, i.e. best type of character for an RPG noob, etc. And this is where you guys come in.

Basically, tell me things that will stave of complete and utter feelings of FUCK ME, THIS IS OVERWHELMING. Should I just get a game guide?

Cheers for any advice!

[grendelrt]

If you are a Melee character, get the pyro glove it helps a lot. Make sure you go to the correct areas first. First area should be a castle area with zombie dudes above where you start. Find a good grinding spot so when you get stuck you can grind some levels. Me personally I always went with a fast melee character able to roll and it worked for me especially with the pyro glove.

[cj_iwakura]

Don't be afraid to get a guide. I platinumed Demon's Souls and used the strategy guide to help me along. But use it as a companion, not a crutch.


Bows and spells are your friend. Getting up close is for veterans. Use spells and bows to make it easier on you, then use melee when you get skilled. Summon whenever you can, too.

Nothing like watching a vet tear up a boss to make you want to learn how to do the same thing.

[patsu]

Go co-op helps a lot too.

[Man]

Never ever rush attacks. Only strike/attack when the opportunity is fully there. It might be tempting to blast in a few chops after the enemy has made one attack but often they are able to counteract you somehow.

Approach every enemy as if it is a PVP battle. Respect your opponent. Try to only fight one at a time, separate target from group. Block and roll a lot. Kill close.

[double jump]

1. start game as pyromancer (with key)
2. use wiki guide
3. shield always up
4. ???????
5. souls

[Felix Lighter]

If you start as a pyromancer you'll be in good shape early on and you can focus your character anyway you choose later on. When you first reach Firelink Shrine go up not down. If you find yourself fighting skeletons, you went the wrong way. That should give you an ok start.

[The Xtortionist]

Read the wiki to learn the some of the more advanced mechanics (Humanity and its uses, upgrading equipment, magic/miracles/pyromancy, etc...)

[Felix Lighter]

If you don't want to look too much up, read item and spell descriptions. I tried to limit guide use to things like the crafting system.

[abstract alien]

Don't fight the skeletons after you beat the intro boss and get dropped off by the crow.

[Tomat]

Go co-op helps a lot too.

Seriously, summon folks if you need help. I cannot recommend this enough.

[MYE]

Pyromancer

Go, Go, Go.... and by 'Go' I really mean go slowly. This isnt a fast paced action game.

[Paranerd]

I looked up how to get the Drake Sword, and that was helpful early on. I went as a knight originally, but eventually I got some pyromancy spells. Also, I abused that one soul farming thing in the forest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yht9zsh02CI

[Haunted]

I don't really understand what you're saying with 1).


Anyway, I greatly recommend using a wiki, the game isn't very good at communicating a lot of its elements and mechanics. I think you'll have more fun with a guide or at least reading up some stuff on the wiki.

[Ardenyal]

Should I just get a game guide?

The game is basically designed to be played with a guide, no shame in using one. So much stuff that you would never realize without a guide.

[gdt]

Wiki/guide is fine, though Dark Souls is muuuuuuuuuuch better in that department than Demons Souls.

Trust me, the game will click after awhile and you will be hooked, thats what happened to everyone during Demons Souls.

[emb]

In general, play really patiently. Treat every enemy like it matters. Be really mindful of your stamina too. Let your shield down to recover stamina, and stop attacking a little early so you have enough stamina to block.

To start with, it will help if you have some sort of ranged attack. Pyromancer are good for this, and I'm guessing the magic classes work fine too. I know first hand that pyromancy is indispensable early on, and pretty useful throughout, where as I'm kind of assuming that having a catalyst for soul arrows and such would help.

For the Taurus Demon (first boss after the tutorial area), try climbing up and jumping on him a few times. Much easier than trying to go toe to toe with him.

After that, make sure you get the Drake Sword and grind up enough strength to use it. Grabbing that really softens up some of the beginning of the game. You basically need to buy a bow and some arrows, then at one point you'll end up under the bridge the dragon sits on, with a safe shot at his tail. Shoot the tail a lot.

When you reach the Capra Demon, make sure to take out his dogs first.

There's a pyromancy trainer you can save in the depths. Make sure you find and save him, especially if you don't have any magic/ranged attack yet.

A little further down in the depths, be sure to watch out for the holes you can fall into. You can easily get cursed down there, and that doesn't go away after you die. If you need to fix it, you can go back to where the first bell was and buy a cure item.

I was kinda in a similar situation at first. I gave the game a shot, liked it ok, but wasn't motivated to go through it. By the time I did all the stuff above and got to the next boss, the game sucked me in, and now it's one of my favorites. Getting pyromancy + the drake sword definitely made the game manageable. Good luck, and have fun.

[abstract alien]

Pyro is fun as all hell to play as. I liked it at first, but I started over to try a new character and picked Pyro. Never looked back. It's also good to play this and ask questions in the community board.

[revolverjgw]

I haven't played it since near launch, but back then the balance was kind of broken or something, because I chose the pyro class and trounced the game without breaking a sweat. It shreds through bosses. I know I'd have a much harder time if I had to depend on swordplay, but I was fine with what felt like inadvertently breaking the game because I was in it mainly for the atmosphere and exploration. Lots of awkward, janky design in the gameplay, especially in the second half of the game.

[Rygar 8 Bit]

roll sorcerer get the dragon tail sword, then the spear from the mimic, and lastly tail weapon from the crystal dragon with those weapons and crystal soul spear and homing crystal soulmass youve beaten the game nothing can stand in your way

[Mattakuevan]

Wait what? Did that many people really play with a guide?

I don't think the game was meant to be played with a guide unless you're trying to 100% it. One of the main draws to the game is figuring out how you're supposed to get past an insurmountable obstacle.

[Zabuza]

I'll use these tips when I play DS later this year. After I finish Demon's Souls... If I finish Demon's Souls.

Pyro it is!

[gdt]

Wait what? Did that many people really play with a guide? I don't think the game was meant to be played with a guide unless you're trying to 100% it. One of the main draws to the game is figuring out how you're supposed to get past an insurmountable obstacle.

Not so much the bosses, but the inherent gameplay systems arent even explained in Demons Souls (less so in Dark Souls). For example, I don't think anyone knew that you could use boss souls in a different way in DeS. No one!

[gdt]

I'll use these tips when I play DS later this year. After I finish Demon's Souls... If I finish Demon's Souls. Pyro it is!

Eff that shit. Go melee bro. Pryo is still OP I think, plus is much more tense/fun to slice/stab these huge bosses to death.

[sixghost]

Eff that shit. Go melee bro. Pryo is still OP I think, plus is much more tense/fun to slice/stab these huge bosses to death.

Pyro is a great first playthrough class. Forcing yourself to be in melee range to do all your damage can be really overwhelming for new players.

My advice for the OP:
Start with Pyro, put most of your points into END and VIT to make you as durable as possible, pick a one-handed weapon so you can also use a shield, upgrade your shield, weapon, and bigger armor pieces(chest/legs) once you find ones you like.

Some misc. points:
-if you're having trouble in a certain section, kindle your current bonfire. The extra estus will help you a ton.
-when you come up against a new enemy, take a few minutes baiting out their attacks by moving in and out of their attack range to learn the tells for their different attacks. Learning to do this in the middle of a fight is a huge part of the combat, since you won't take the stamina hit or the block stun that you get when you block an attack.
-seriously, upgrade your stuff. Don't just spend all your souls leveling up.

[gdt]

Pyro is a great first playthrough class. Forcing yourself to be in melee range to do all your damage can be really overwhelming for new players.

Its overwhelming at first, but the game is overwhelming at first until you settle into your groove. Its overwhelming no matter what, I think.

[njean777]

Play it one sitting at a time, it is ok to turn it off if you die and you feel angry. I just took my time and played it slowly. No reason to rush through. Progress a bit then turn it off for the day if you feel like it, dont push yourself.

[mickcenary]

Don't fight the skeletons after you beat the intro boss and get dropped off by the crow.

Ha. This tip I can vouch for personally.

Eff that shit. Go melee bro. Pryo is still OP I think, plus is much more tense/fun to slice/stab these huge bosses to death.

In general, as a gamer, I definitely gravitate more towards melee styles of play in any game, but I'm getting a pretty solid Pyro vibe. Hmm.

Anyway, great stuff in here. Many thanks.

[Zabuza]

Eff that shit. Go melee bro. Pryo is still OP I think, plus is much more tense/fun to slice/stab these huge bosses to death.

I was planning on a melee/pyro build. I love melee.

[MrSerrels]

I'm in the same boat as you. I played for an hour when it first came out, felt like I didn't have the time to invest, and bailed.

Decided to really commit to playing it this month, and I've totally fallen in love with it. I think the key for me was accepting that there will be times when you spend two hours with the game and make no tangible progress whatsoever. At that point I was just like, fuck this, because I'm so conditioned to being spoonfed reward.

'Oh, you did this thing, here are your achievement points... here is your checkpoint, here is your new weapon, blah blah blah'.

Dark Souls isn't like that. You may have spent time playing it with nothing to show for it, but -- as a friend said to me -- you've progressed in your understanding of the game, and that will come to feel just as rewarding.

[Mattakuevan]

Not so much the bosses, but the inherent gameplay systems arent even explained in Demons Souls (less so in Dark Souls). For example, I don't think anyone knew that you could use boss souls in a different way in DeS. No one!

Ha ok, that's a good point. I more meant people using a guide like a crutch.

I can't blame people for looking up general gameplay mechanics. The game isn't forward about much.

[Gexecuter]

Pyro is a good starting class like everyone says, i chose it when i bought the game like a month ago and it has worked wonders for me thanks to their fire spell. Here's a few random tips from a relative newbie to dark souls:

- If you are going for a mostly melee build focus you leveling up into END, STR, DEX, VIT. Raise STR or DEX depending on weapons requirements, raising END is a must for hitting more, VIT is not so necessary but it's more life it's always welcome. Even tough i'm mostly melee i do use spells so i level up my Attunement my faith for miracles. Lately i raised my INT for use rather usefull spells.

- Try to get a Black Knight Sword if you can, i have been playing over 30 hours and that thing has never not become useful, it kills almost everything in a few hits. Upgrading it it's a must.

-Kill that golden fuck in the prison located in the undead parish, his ring will make everything better trust me.

- The Elite knight armor set is awesome, not only you look like a badass you take hits like one. sure other armors sets are way better at glance but most of all are super heavy and i didn't like them. Upgrading the set is also more easy compared to the rare alternatives at least in the beginning.

[Mr_Appleby]

upgrading gear is generally more effective than upgrading your stats.

[mickcenary]

I'm in the same boat as you. I played for an hour when it first came out, felt like I didn't have the time to invest, and bailed. Decided to really commit to playing it this month, and I've totally fallen in love with it. I think the key for me was accepting that there will be times when you spend two hours with the game and make no tangible progress whatsoever. At that point I was just like, fuck this, because I'm so conditioned to being spoonfed reward. 'Oh, you did this thing, here are your achievement points... here is your checkpoint, here is your new weapon, blah blah blah'. Dark Souls isn't like that. You may have spent time playing it with nothing to show for it, but -- as a friend said to me -- you've progressed in your understanding of the game, and that will come to feel just as rewarding.

Your article is totally why I made this thread, dude (you are actually Mark Serrels, right?).

And thanks for the comprehensive tips, emb at al.

Jesus. I've been such a mothered gamer all this time.

[Gr1mLock]

Not all games are for everyone. Being methodical and smart goes a long way in DS.

[Felix Lighter]

Ha. This tip I can vouch for personally. In general, as a gamer, I definitely gravitate more towards melee styles of play in any game, but I'm getting a pretty solid Pyro vibe. Hmm. Anyway, great stuff in here. Many thanks.

Pyromancy is a set of spells any build can have access to. Pyromancer as a class just gives the weapon you need to use the spells out of the gate. You can still focus completely on melee if you want but having pyro early gives you a ranged option.

[Mattakuevan]

Pyro is a good starting class like everyone says, i chose it when i bought the game like a month ago and it has worked wonders for me thanks to their fire spell. Here's a few random tips from a relative newbie to dark souls: - If you are going for a mostly melee build focus you leveling up into END, STR, DEX, VIT. Raise STR or DEX depending on weapons requirements, raising END is a must for hitting more, VIT is not so necessary but it's more life it's always welcome. Even tough i'm mostly melee i do use spells so i level up my Attunement my faith for miracles. Lately i raised my INT for use rather usefull spells. - Try to get a Black Knight Sword if you can, i have been playing over 30 hours and that thing has never not become useful, it kills almost everything in a few hits. Upgrading it it's a must. -Kill that golden fuck in the prison located in the undead parish, his ring will make everything better trust me. - The Elite knight armor set is awesome, not only you look like a badass you take hits like one. sure other armors sets are way better at glance but most of all are super heavy and i didn't like them. Upgrading the set is also more easy compared to the rare alternatives at least in the beginning.

Wasn't there a game breaking glitch if you actually kill "that golden fuck" in the actual prison? It was best to wait till he went back to the firelink shrine.

[Allonym]

Get the Drake Sword then bait the Black Knight near the ladder in the undead burg where the zombies throw fire bombs; climb the ladder drop down doing a plunge attack use that to kill him, then you'll acquire the Black Knight Sword. Once you're leveled enough to wield it you'll essentially be untouchable and then couple it with some twinkling titianite and you're set. I made it through the game without any miracles or spells and purely a melee character build

[TheSeks]

Pyromancy is nice (I kinda prefer it to Magic/Sorc) but it's usefulness drops off later in the game when most bosses are fire immune (note: Not all but most) and it's damage kinda drops off compared to Magic/Faith spells since there's no "stat" that governs it.

Go Melee and maybe Faith with Pyromancy/Dex stats upgrading for when you need the fire damage/spells.

Honestly, the game isn't that "hard" until you get to S&O which is pure bullshit that I've already stated numerous times in other Dark Souls threads and people tell me I'm crazy for hating a boss-fight that is basically "LOL BUMRUSH YOU AND HAVE THE LOCK-ON FREAK OUT. TROLLOLOLOLOL." when the rest of the game isn't like that.

Really, though "builds" are pretty useless in Dark Souls since you want to pump Vit/End/Dex and STR and/or Faith and/or Intelligence and build like you're building for PvP.

[mickcenary]

Pyromancy is a set of spells any build can have access to. Pyromancer as a class just gives the weapon you need to use the spells out of the gate. You can still focus completely on melee if you want but having pyro early gives you a ranged option.

A-ha. My utter RPG noob status is shamelessly on display here.

One thing that I recall from my time with the game (I started a new game twice) is that my first character could roll... And my second could not. I found the inability to roll very crippling. Is it an important maneuver to have?

[Mazzo]

Pyromancer is really the way to go? Usually I like to focus on melee characters... Perhaps they will balance the game for the PC version?

[RiverBed]

Okay, I literally just gave Demon's Souls a last shot just hours ago. I have both Souls games and I REALLY tried to get into them.

The games are stupidly broken: I don't have a problem with difficulty; I do however have a problem with designing annoyances for he sake of difficulty.
The souls games have horrid controls, Ninja Gaiden level of silliness excuses for 'difficulty' (re-spawning enemies and horrid backtracking).

If a game was difficult based on skills, then I am fine with it- I welcome it, even. But being 'difficult' by repetition and bad controls? Fuck that shit.




PS. I have the PS3 versions of these follwing games and I will trade them for almost ANY other games (if anyone is interested) because these games are appalling:

Dark Souls
Demon Souls
FF13

I couldnt, for the life of me, last more than a few hours playing any of these pieces of shit excuses for a 'game'.
PM me if you are interested (all US versions).

[Mattakuevan]

Okay, I literally just gave Demon's Souls a last shot just hours ago. I have both Souls games and I REALLY tried to get into them. The games are stupidly broken: I don't have a problem with difficulty; I do however have a problem with designing annoyances for he sake of difficulty. The souls games have horrid controls, Ninja Gaiden level of silliness excuses for 'difficulty' (re-spawning enemies and horrid backtracking). If a game was difficult based on skills, then I am fine with it- I welcome it, even. But being 'difficult' by repetition and bad controls? Fuck that shit. PS. I have the PS3 versions of these follwing games and I will trade them for almost ANY other games (if anyone is interested) because these games are appalling: Dark Souls Demon Souls FF13 I couldnt, for the life of me, last more than a few hours playing any of these pieces of shit excuses for a 'game'. PM me if you are interested (all US versions).

Is this really the thread to be doing this?

[Orayn]

Okay, I literally just gave Demon's Souls a last shot just hours ago. I have both Souls games and I REALLY tried to get into them. The games are stupidly broken: I don't have a problem with difficulty; I do however have a problem with designing annoyances for he sake of difficulty. The souls games have horrid controls, Ninja Gaiden level of silliness excuses for 'difficulty' (re-spawning enemies and horrid backtracking). If a game was difficult based on skills, then I am fine with it- I welcome it, even. But being 'difficult' by repetition and bad controls? Fuck that shit. PS. I have the PS3 versions of these follwing games and I will trade them for almost ANY other games (if anyone is interested) because these games are appalling: Dark Souls Demon Souls FF13 I couldnt, for the life of me, last more than a few hours playing any of these pieces of shit excuses for a 'game'. PM me if you are interested (all US versions).

What, specifically, do you think is wrong with the controls? Also, there aren't respawning enemies in either game unless you die or use a bonfire.

[Nyphestus]

Here are some tips coming from a Demon's Souls vet:

I would say that the best piece of advice for tackling Dark Souls is, as it was for Demon's Souls, to be patient. Take your time. Explore. Move slowly, but methodically and with a purpose. While the enemies and bosses may appear insurmountable, mastering a simple mechanic such as waiting for the right moment to attack will mean the difference between victory or defeat.

The second bit of advice is to understand, and accept, the games' tagline: Prepare to Die. You will die. However, the more you face an enemy, the more you will learn about said enemy, and over time, you will be able to easily defeat these enemies. All enemies have a weakness, and it will be up to you to take advantage of that fact. But you will die, and you will lose souls, perhaps tens of thousands. Don't lose hope for there are always more souls.

Third, you must, and i mean MUST, learn to be aware of your surroundings when fighting enemies and rolling. I guess this is two pieces of advice; master environment awareness, and master the roll. We've all had those moments of badassery, only to roll off a cliff a second later. I've had those moments several times in one sitting in fact. You can make the environment work to your advantage though, and send enemies over cliffs by kicking them, or you can use environmental traps to damage your enemies. You will find these traps while you play so try and keep note of where they are located. Now the roll is a different story because if you time it wrong you are putting yourself in a bad position, but when used correctly you will be in an advantageous position to inflict some much needed damage. Rolling will be paramount to avoiding heavy hitting attacks later on, so its best to practice early and often.

Fourth, I'll echo others advice to go Pryo, although for me I found it somewhat easy, at least easier than my pure melee playthrough on my Wanderer. However, for someone new to the series, Pyro is probably the all around best class to start as. If you detest melee than you can straight up level the Pyro Glove and wreck anything that stands in your way.

Other random tidbits: summons are great for passing difficult obstacles, running away is a valid strategy as sometimes enemy pathing will put them toppling over a cliff, level your stats wisely and look up how to get the Drake Sword to make the early game much easier, beef up your Estus. To make things easier somewhat early on, I would suggest to kill Lautrec, it will save you a headache later on, but you will miss a pretty cool event.

And good luck. May the spirits guide you.

[Jigsaw]

delete all patches and follow this?

http://www.ign.com/wikis/dark-souls/...manity_Exploit

[ipitydatfu]

if the idea of putting your shield down is scary, use a spear and turtle behind shield if you like to melee

[ipitydatfu]

What, specifically, do you think is wrong with the controls? Also, there aren't respawning enemies in either game unless you die or use a bonfire.

he probably hates the idea that every weapon has its own unique "weight" to it.

[RiverBed]

The controls are typical 'Japanese clunckiness': when your avatar does things out of the blue, you know you have bad controls- i.e., slipping and falling off of cliffs because you were doing a jumping attack or something. You can literally SEE your avatar fucking SHIFTING in space like a fucking balloon animal. Other JPN games had great control like DMC, but certainly not the Souls series.

Also, and I can't emphasis this enough: difficulty for 'difficulty's' sake is a cheap design model. Difficulty based on pure skill and understanding of the laws of the game is fair. The Souls series subscribes to the first school of that that is seriously flawed.

[Gexecuter]

Wasn't there a game breaking glitch if you actually kill "that golden fuck" in the actual prison? It was best to wait till he went back to the firelink shrine.

Oh man i hadn't heard that at all, having a game breaking glitch would fucking suck, i'm gonna think about that every time i play now, thanks for ruining something i love asshole! *cries*

seriously now game breaking glitches are not fun, thanfully i patched the game before i played it for the first time so i'm probably safe right guys?