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IGN review diary part 2

Truth is, Dark Souls isn't fun, 95% of the time. It's the other 5% that you play for.

IGN... seriously? People take their tests into consideration... really?

 

[I'm an expert]

Really like the way they handle the leveling up screens. You can instantly switch between all your stats/items/spells to see the effect on all of them before actually accepting the stat changes. Don't remember if DS had them set up so easy to see. I think it did..

 

[Drewfonse]

Sticking with my pyro. Tutorial done. But man..not liking how you perform kick/jump attack. It rarely comes out.

More feedback concerning Pyro class specific features would be appreciated.

 

[jyx]

Do anybody know how many rings one can obtain in Dark Souls?

 

[I'm an expert]

Pyro seems to be the battle mage starter. You get slow/powerful spells and decent melee stats. Perhaps he is the royal of this game? Only 8 initial charges on your beginner spell.

And within the first 10 seconds of reaching the beginning of the game I've had a ton of questions answered regarding certain things. Really awesome..for those who want to know:

Spoiler

Essentially right at the beginning is a guy offering a covenant to learn miracles, so it seems every class can learn magic but perhaps it's limited by your current covenant as there's a warning saying your other covenants will be overwritten.

 

[kyubajin]

Another thing that really disappointed me in the original DS was crossbows, they were so ridiculously slow and inferior in every way to bows that using them was like playing Very Hard on top of the other shit. I really hope FROM treated them more graciously this time around and they are a viable long rage alternative to bows. I always pictured a heavy armoured knight using a heavy crossbow for long rage rather than a longbow.

 

[I'm an expert]

Oh man enemies come at you hard in this game. They see you from afar and just run right at you. I'm talking starter stuff. Love it.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Damn I'm getting mad shoutouts still.

1.5 more weeks

 

[Drewfonse]

Pyro seems to be the battle mage starter. You get slow/powerful spells and decent melee stats. Perhaps he is the royal of this game? Only 8 initial charges on your beginner spell.

And within the first 10 seconds of reaching the beginning of the game I've had a ton of questions answered regarding certain things. Really awesome..for those who want to know:

Spoiler

Essentially right at the beginning is a guy offering a covenant to learn miracles, so it seems every class can learn magic but perhaps it's limited by your current covenant as there's a warning saying your other covenants will be overwritten.

Can you replenish charges with potions? Only bonfires? I'm confused about the limited use of spells.

 

[The_Monk]

For anyone playing: can you get a bow/crossbow early in this game? Because I want to go melee all over again (don't know what's wrong with me) but I would like to have some ranged attack to grab the enemies attention.

 

[Orayn]

Can you replenish charges with potions? Only bonfires? I'm confused about the limited use of spells.

Charges are just that; depending on the spell and your stats/level, you can cast each of your memorized spells a certain number of times. As far as we know, resting at a bonfire is the only way to replenish them.

 

[chris-013]

Xbox 360 preview video : first area

http://www.jeuxvideo.com/gaming-liv...-les-premiers-pas-du-pyromancien-00004257.htm

It seems to run well.

 

[Orayn]

Glad to hear there aren't any performance/technical issues yet!
Also, a friend of mine told me that he saw Dark Souls on a torrent site and the disc image was only 4.some GB, confirming what the guy with the preview build said.

Do anybody know how many rings one can obtain in Dark Souls?

Two at a time, just like Demon's Souls. I'd assume the overall number of rings in-game is higher.

 

[Roklie]

I'm so bad at deciding which starting class too choose. For a melee character should I go with a Knight or thief?

 

[BobM]

Really pumped for this game. Demon Souls is one of my fave games this gen so far. Will be going w/ PS3 version, but really happy 360 only folks will get an opportunity to get in on this beast of a game.

We are getting close!

 

[DCharlie]

Been a long long time since i did this, but - from screen photo returns!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcharlie/sets/72157627609099397/

Only an hour or two in - so far so awesome, as expected.

From Software - BRINGING IT this gen

 

[Zeliard]

In other words, betrayal is going to be a bitch, lol. Even more diabolical threats stacked upon the insanity that is already there.

Some of the shit sounds so cool. Like there's a stone you can eventually get and bust out that will

Spoiler

infect someone else's world (apparently up to three others), adding Black Phantoms and other enemies and generally making it tougher (Black WT style), but then that person is able to take direct revenge on you.

I don't know if it's the only method, but one way you can apparently remove the curse is by finding the sign the other guy put down, invading their world and killing them. Presumably there are other ways though because having to hunt around for a sign every time doesn't always seem viable, unless they make it relatively easy to know where it's located.

Presumably all of this has to do with the Gravelord Servant covenant.

They're taking the "single-player with multiplayer features" concept and just fucking running with it.

 

[Orayn]

I'm so bad at deciding which starting class too choose. For a melee character should I go with a Knight or thief?

Thief is going to be awfully squishy and won't be all that powerful, so it will teach you how to retreat, dodge, and sneak.
Knight has a buttload of HP and is more of a straight up melee combatant. The armor makes you less likely to flinch when you get hit, but also hampers your ability to dodge.

Knight is probably more beginner-friendly, Thief would be a trial by fire.

 

[Canova]

Oh man enemies come at you hard in this game. They see you from afar and just run right at you. I'm talking starter stuff. Love it.

This is Ninja Gaiden RPG

 

[I'm an expert]

Wow..so..I just did exactly what I did in DS with Patches on two seperate runs..hit a fucking npc by mistake. Coming around a corner, see some boxes, swing, NPC behind them, instantly attacks me and the game saves. There goes that file down the drain! This is super in the beginning but holy shit I am gonna have to restart. If there's one thing I hate about these games..it's this. The instant auto save gives you no chance whatsoever. Sigh.

The good news is all the stuff up until that point is outrageously hard. If I hadn't played DS I'd be like wtf at the starter section.

 

[jyx]

Bigger, harder, more loot, more of everything!!!! I hope From Software make this kind of games for many years to come! Fingers crossed for a big success!!!! Any salesleaks from Japan?

 

[The_Monk]

This is Ninja Gaiden RPG

Haha, nice.

If I didn't have so many great titles on October and November I would had considered to buy a second controller for this game. Simply because I spent 99% of my time pressing the L1 button on Demon's Souls..

Spoiler

True story

 

[Zeliard]

The good news is all the stuff up until that point is outrageously hard. If I hadn't played DS I'd be like wtf at the starter section.

Delicious tears will be shed by those weaned on weak games.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Haha, nice.

If I didn't have so many great titles on October and November I would had considered to buy a second controller for this game. Simply because I spent 99% of my time pressing the L1 button on Demon's Souls..

Spoiler

True story

Because you had a Quality Knight Sword +5 equipped in your left hand, right?

 

[astroturfing]

Thief is going to be awfully squishy and won't be all that powerful, so it will teach you how to retreat, dodge, and sneak.
Knight has a buttload of HP and is more of a straight up melee combatant. The armor makes you less likely to flinch when you get hit, but also hampers your ability to dodge.

Knight is probably more beginner-friendly, Thief would be a trial by fire.

no kidding, i remember getting Demon's Souls and starting with Thief.. and as i am not the greatest player, it took me a WEEK to beat the first level i don't know if i can pick Thief again. i might though.

 

[Roklie]

Thief is going to be awfully squishy and won't be all that powerful, so it will teach you how to retreat, dodge, and sneak.
Knight has a buttload of HP and is more of a straight up melee combatant. The armor makes you less likely to flinch when you get hit, but also hampers your ability to dodge.

Knight is probably more beginner-friendly, Thief would be a trial by fire.

Okay I will probably start off as a knight then, it would've been my first choice anyway (I played as a temple knight in DS).

 

[Drewfonse]

Pyro seems to be the battle mage starter. You get slow/powerful spells and decent melee stats. Perhaps he is the royal of this game? Only 8 initial charges on your beginner spell.

And within the first 10 seconds of reaching the beginning of the game I've had a ton of questions answered regarding certain things. Really awesome..for those who want to know:

Spoiler

Essentially right at the beginning is a guy offering a covenant to learn miracles, so it seems every class can learn magic but perhaps it's limited by your current covenant as there's a warning saying your other covenants will be overwritten.

Have you felt like you are running out of spell charges frequently? I'm concerned about limited spell usage, and I may end up playing as a Knight, but the Pyromancer just sounds so right up my alley.

 

[mrklaw]

Wow..so..I just did exactly what I did in DS with Patches on two seperate runs..hit a fucking npc by mistake. Coming around a corner, see some boxes, swing, NPC behind them, instantly attacks me and the game saves. There goes that file down the drain! This is super in the beginning but holy shit I am gonna have to restart. If there's one thing I hate about these games..it's this. The instant auto save gives you no chance whatsoever. Sigh.

The good news is all the stuff up until that point is outrageously hard. If I hadn't played DS I'd be like wtf at the starter section.

shit... I thought someone said NPCs won't hate you forever like they did in DS? So you might be ok..

 

[HamPster PamPster]

They're taking the "single-player with multiplayer features" concept and just fucking running with it.

My question is what happens if

Spoiler

you enter the other person's world and can't kill them. Are you just stuck with the curse the rest of the game?

Hopefully there are other ways to end it or maybe you can summon someone from your covenant to fight for you

 

[oracrest]

Can people that have the game already post pictures of their packaging?

 

[Backfoggen]

Never gonna enter that spoiler thread.

 

[I'm an expert]

Have you felt like you are running out of spell charges frequently? I'm concerned about limited spell usage, and I may end up playing as a Knight, but the Pyromancer just sounds so right up my alley.

I'm actually using my heals/spells like crazy because I know I can replenish them at the bonfires. Of course, it depends on how close you are to a bonfire. But not having to rely on item management in the form of herbs and mp drinks makes it much easier to say eff it and use your skills.

So yeah, file remade, took 5 mins to get back to the start. I adore the starter area. Big contrast from the Nexus. Lush and green. Now not to hit any NPCs..

 

[chris-013]

Stats change some gameplay element :

Spoiler

dex > 35 you can backflip like a ninja !

 

[oroboros]

For anyone playing: can you get a bow/crossbow early in this game? Because I want to go melee all over again (don't know what's wrong with me) but I would like to have some ranged attack to grab the enemies attention.

Depending on the class you play you get a bow during the beginning tutorial. I'm playing hunter class and I got a bow a few minutes in as starting gear. Also got a crossbow drop around an hour and a half in. I think the thief and a couple other classes might start with a bow also.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Stats change some gameplay element :

Spoiler

dex > 35 you can backflip like a ninja !

That is so awesome.

 

[Corky]

Stats change some gameplay element :

Spoiler

dex > 35 you can backflip like a ninja !

OMG WHY....whyyyyyy did I highlight this. Game ruined.

 

[The_Monk]

Depending on the class you play you get a bow during the beginning tutorial. I'm playing hunter class and I got a bow a few minutes in as starting gear. Also got a crossbow drop around an hour and a half in. I think the thief and a couple other classes might start with a bow also.

Good to know, thanks for answering.

 

[Orayn]

My question is what happens if

Spoiler

you enter the other person's world and can't kill them. Are you just stuck with the curse the rest of the game?

Hopefully there are other ways to end it or maybe you can summon someone from your covenant to fight for you

I think that spell only lasts as long as

Spoiler

its caster is alive and online. Also, the spell infects multiple worlds, so everyone is freed from the curse if just one person manages to counter-invade and kill the caster. It's possible to have everyone affected dogpile into the caster's world, too.

 

[teh_J0kerer]

Man this game is so good. Playing in Japanese is ok for me for the most part.. I understand enough to get the idea of what most messages are trying to tell me, and most basic stats.

But there's a lot of stuff that's a bitch and I just don't get. Like the covenants. I've met some characters who tell me they want to make a covenant or something, and then there's a bunch of info in japanese that I cant figure out. Also I have no idea what a lot of the items do . I need a guide for this kind of stuff, but I also don't want any spoilers...

 

[Canova]

OMG WHY....whyyyyyy did I highlight this. Game ruined.

pre-order canceled!!

 

[Urban Scholar]

I'm thinking of a way to see if I could get dark souls release date off work but I don't see it happening. I wish you guys better luck!

 

[Corky]

pre-order canceled!!

I'm way ahead of you buddy, already made a steam-community group.

 

[Zeliard]

Okay I will probably start off as a knight then, it would've been my first choice anyway (I played as a temple knight in DS).

Knight should end up a good starter mix of offense and defense though you lose out on mobility.

If you want high attack and high mobility at the expense of physical defense, Thief or Wanderer are probably a better bet to start with. Both of those seem like very similar classes since they are melee-oriented characters that start with very high dexterity.

Ultimately though the classes once again seem to be mostly just about starting gear and stats, affecting the early game but not much after.

My question is what happens if

Spoiler

you enter the other person's world and can't kill them. Are you just stuck with the curse the rest of the game?

Hopefully there are other ways to end it or maybe you can summon someone from your covenant to fight for you

One of the videos that talks about the

Spoiler

Gravelord mechanic says that you can also kill a "Gravelord" in your world to remove the curse. Presumably that's the other method.

I don't know if the whole "invade the player's world to remove the curse" is even 100% confirmed since they don't mention it in that vid, but I've seen it a bunch of other places.

 

[BLagiver]

Where the combat was for me in demon souls was a mixture of melee, magic, and bows. Are weapons from demon souls in this game like dragon long sword and dark knight shield and such and how does the forging weapons work this time?

 

[I'm an expert]

Man this game is so good. Playing in Japanese is ok for me for the most part.. I understand enough to get the idea of what most messages are trying to tell me, and most basic stats.

But there's a lot of stuff that's a bitch and I just don't get. Like the covenants. I've met some characters who tell me they want to make a covenant or something, and then there's a bunch of info in japanese that I cant figure out. Also I have no idea what a lot of the items do . I need a guide for this kind of stuff, but I also don't want any spoilers...

Is there something particular you need help with? I'm super early in the game but I guess that lessens the chance of me spoiling something. If there's something you want translated just PM me or something. From what I've seen from the first covenant character it basically says previous covenants will be overwritten, if that's what you're referring to.

 

[Orayn]

Where the combat was for me in demon souls was a mixture of melee, magic, and bows. Are weapons from demon souls in this game like dragon long sword and dark knight shield and such and how does the forging weapons work this time?

There are some returning weapons, but we don't know just how many. I would expect the

Spoiler

Sword of Moonlight to be in, because it IS a From Software RPG and it draws from King's Field even more than Demon's Souls.

Generic weapon (and armor!) upgrading can be done at a bonfire with a toolkit. Adding new qualities to gear requires you to track down one of the game's blacksmiths; each one offers different upgrades.

 

[razgriz417]

OMG WHY....whyyyyyy did I highlight this. Game ruined.

If you want to see it in action, come to the stream thread vxds is baller with it

 

[I'm an expert]

If you want to see it in action, come to the stream thread vxds is baller with it

Yo...keep the stream stuff in the stream thread. Don't bring stuff you see there in here, even if you spoiler tag it it's obviously stuff well ahead in the game. There's a stream thread, use it.

Also the mobs in the beginning are are holy shit. They don't even drop souls! Game of the forever confirmed.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=446072 the thread

 

[Zeliard]

Haha like I said, looks like no more early 4-2 mass soul farming.

No doubt it's still possible to farm souls to some degree but it's good that they're at least putting a limit to it. Was a bit too easy in Demon's Souls to soul-grind your way through, especially with the Evacuate spell.

 

[PuppetMaster]

I don't want to sound like a pussy here... but this game is hard!!

I need a break.