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Dark Souls Community Help Thread | Both humans and hollow are welcome!

duckroll

Member
This thread will be moved to the Community forum in about a week.

Welcome to the NeoGAF Dark Souls Community Help Thread!

Purpose of Thread

This thread is for players of Dark Souls to help each other in the game. It is also specifically for players to ask for help or advice. There is a mini-FAQ below covering many basic questions which newer players might have, so try to avoid asking redundant questions which are already answered. Basically if you need any specific help or advice, and you don't want to wander into some wiki site which might have more spoilers than you would like, this is the thread for you!


Ground Rules

- Mark spoilers according. Spoilers in this case can be defined as story progression, hidden treasures, hidden secrets, and any other "surprises" the game springs on players which are meant to be experienced the first time.

- Read the OP carefully before you ask a question. The answer might already be here, and if so there is no need to ask the question again just to pad the thread.

- Be respectful to other players. Some people are clearly not as skilled as others, but there's no need to put them down or make fun of them. Be patient when helping people who are having problems. If you have nothing good to say, don't say it. Trash-talking is not encouraged in this thread.

- Have fun, stay safe, and don't you dare go hollow on me!


Beginners FAQ

Tutorial
Is it possible to kill the boss with the starting weapon?
Yes, you get strong armor if you do it.

Starting out/general questions
Where should i go first?
Up the side of the cliff near the well, it leads to the starting area.

Why do i sometimes absorb green energy for no apparent reason?
someone rated one of your messages positively or kindled a bonfire near you.

How do i play with a specific friend?
You cant, not intentionally anyway. It appears to be a design decision by From.

whats the best starting gift?
Open for debate, but probably either the pendant or the master key. Some people will say that it only gets you into places you shouldnt be, but this is not always the case and it can lead to some nice shortcuts.

can i sell items?
Yes,
after you ring the second bell


Area 1
Undead Burg
Wheres the
merchant
here?
Right before the first bonfire, to the side are some armored soldiers. Theres a hidden staircase here.

can you kill that black knight?
maybe around SL 21ish. Hes guarding a ring that is decent but not amazing.
how do i kill
Havel
in the tower behind the locked door?
Circle strafe/backstab or lure him out the door at the bottom, fet 1 hit, let him reset, repeat

Tips for killing the boss?
Method 1:
when he spawns, truck it back to the entrance, climb up the ladder, and get a plunging attack. Repeat
Method 2:
fight him up close without locking on and roll away from his attacks.
Method 3:
get his back against the crack in the bridge and he will fall off

Area 2
Undead Parish
How do you get past that
dragon
?
First, make sure to go down the stairs and kick the ladder to thr bonfire so you have a shortcut.
Method 1:
Below the bridge, there is a door you can walk out to go under the bridge / up the sewer.
Method 2:
Once in the center of the bridge, wait in the crevice on the side until he jumps down right next to you. When he jumps back up, hug the wall and run. You will take a few fire hits but you will probably survive since you are on the edge of the flame.
Rare Item:
If you shoot the dragon's tail off from a distance with arrows, it will yield an extremely powerful / rare weapon. Some say overpowered, so use this with caution.

How do you kill that boar?
Stand on the stairs so that the fire thing is between you and the boar. He should run into it and die.

That gate keeps closing on me after I open it. WTF?!
The gate stays open as long as all aggressive enemies in the area are dead when you leave the area, if you leave hostile enemies around the gate and run off, they will pull the lever to close the gate again.

Is there a bonfire here?
Instead of going in the front of the church, take the makeshift bridge around to the right and then go down those stairs leading off to the side.

Tips for the boss?
Note: It's recommended to try the boss a few times with no help, and no consumables other than Estus Flasks just to get a good feel for it so you don't waste your hard-to-come by items.
Tip 1:
Use Gold Pine Resin on your blades, since they are weak to lightning
Tip 2:
Once the second one comes out, throw firebombs.
Tip 3:
Use a shield with high fire resistance like the Dragon Crest Shield (if you have the master key) or the Hollow Solder Shield / Heater Shield if not.
Tip 4:
Summon an NPC like Solaire or another player to help you.

Where do you go after killing the boss?
Hint 1:
When you were in Undead Burg, did you notice it looked like there was an inaccessible area down below? Try to find a way down.
Hint 2:
You got a new key while you were in Undead Parish, try to find a place to use it.
Answer:
At the beginning of the dragon bridge, right next to Solaire, was a locked door. You can go down it now.

Area 3
Lower Undead Burg

How do you open that door with the talking guy?
The merchant in Upper Undead Burg sells a key

Tips for the boss?
Tip 1:
The dogs are the only thing that make this difficult. Pause at first, wait for them to close in, and try to roll under the initial attack and run up the stairs. You should get a better chance to kill the dogs here.

Tip 2:
When it's 1-on-1 vs. the boss, you can block most of his attacks except when he brings both his swords together and pulls them over his head. So just go face to face with him and back up when he does that.

Tip 2:
Summoning another player makes this fight extremely easy.

Thanks goes to cpp_is_king for writing up this FAQ.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
:D Enjoy! GJ Ducky and cpp!
 
Here's a few things I've found over on the other thread that'll help with crafting

Weapon Upgrades
Zzoram said:
Normal goes up to +15 and is the best for STR/DEX builds, can use resins/magic weapon spell
Raw is a shitty upgrade path, it's just fast and cheap, can use resins/magic weapon spell
Divine goes up to +10 and is for FAITH builds, no resins/magic weapon
Occult goes up to +5 and is better for FAITH builds, no resins/magic weapon
Magic goes up to +10 is for INT builds, no resins/magic weapon
Enchanted goes up to +5 and is better for INT builds, no resins/magic weapon
Fire goes to +10 and adds fire dmg, no stat scaling, no resins/magic weapon
Chaos goes to +5 and scales with humanity
Lighting goes to +5 and adds lightning dmg, no stat scaling, no resins/magic weapon
Crystal goes to +5 and is strong, but you can't repair (so it's worthless)

Crafting Farming Locations
1stStrike said:
Okay, for those that want to craft stuff - here's your farming guide:

Titanite Shard -
purchasable/sewer slugs

Large Titanite Shard-
purchasable/sewer slugs/Swamp Leech

Green Titanite Shard -
purchasable/Swamp Leech

Titanite Chunks -
Knights in New Londo

Titanite Slab -
Knights in New Londo

Red Titanite chunk -
Octopus Enemies in Lost Izalith

Red Titanite Slab -
Octopus Enemies in Lost Izalith

Blue Titanite Chunk-
Ice Golem in root basin

Blue Titanite Slab - ?

Demon Titanite -
Headless Titanite Demon in Lost Izalith

White Titanite -
Tomb of Giants Skeletons

Twinkling Titanite -
Clams in Great Hollow

Dragon Scale -
Dragons in Dragon Valley

Not complete, but it's a start.


Boss Soul Weapons Spoilers!
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/606312-dark-souls/60558195/674170871

Another question that gets asked alot pertains to the Forest
When you talk to Alvina the first time, if you say no, she will NOT let you join her covenant. That means you'll have to absolve your sins for 2000 Souls * your Level back at the church. So read carefully when NPCs talk to you.
Rule of thumb, its usually better to say yes to NPCs than to say no
 

Audioboxer

Member
Trying to kill the
Hydra
in Ash Lake.

Apparently has a sweet spot where he can't hit you. I know if
you go as close as you can get without falling through the water he can't hit you
, but he repositions himself against me :(

Maybe he was patched to do that? Any other tips?
 

Brannon

Member
That gate keeps closing on me after I open it. WTF?!

THIS IS INTENTIONAL.

Start from that bonfire in front of the armored boar area, and run your ass off to that gate; you will see a hollow book it to the lever to close the gate and trap you. Sometimes he will have already done it, and there is nothing you can do about that, but most of the time, you have to haul ass to the other side before he gets there first.
 

devenger

Member
Ok, I only get to play a bit here and there, so I haven't even made it to the first boss yet. Just kind of bopping around undead berg and leveling up here and there. My BIG question.

I don't get humanity. I read the OT on the last thread and still don't really grasp it.

Why do I want to spend it on myself, to become human? It sounds like the first time I die, its gone again, and I still die about every seventh or eighth run from the bonfire.

I also have humanity points, but they fill HP, so I assume I'm to use those "on the run" out and about.

I am digging the game, I totally get the mechanic, and I have no problem exploring at my own pace and trying out different weapons. But I haven't spent any humanity becasue I still don't quite get it.
 
This should prove helpful:

weaponupgradepath.jpg
 

devenger

Member
Second question, I started out Wanderer, so as far as I know, I have no magic.

What's my first best step to using magic as a Wanderer?
 
I have a Longsword +10, how and when can I upgrade it to +15? Currently it doesn't hold a candle to
Quelaag's Fury
sword +3 but I like the look of the long sword and I'm hoping that at +15, it'll do what I need it to.
 
Felix Lighter said:
I have a Longsword +10, how and when can I upgrade it to +15? Currently it doesn't hold a candle to
Quelaag's Fury
sword +3 but I like the look of the long sword and I'm hoping that at +15, it'll do what I need it to.
You need the
Very Large Ember from the New Londo Ruins.
Once you get it give it to the blacksmith in
Undead Parish
.
 
Where's the best place to farm humanity in the undead parish? Is it those three rats, and should I just keep dropping down the ladder to kill them and come back up?
 
can i sell items?
Method 1: Yes, after you ring the second bell
Method 2: After The Great Hollow/Ash Lake
wat

I have already fulfilled the criteria for method 1, where exactly can I sell?
 

TP

Member
Trying to kill the
Hydra
in Ash Lake.

Apparently has a sweet spot where he can't hit you. I know if
you go as close as you can get without falling through the water he can't hit you
, but he repositions himself against me :(

Maybe he was patched to do that? Any other tips?

I stood behind a rock which was behind a tree which was next to an item in front of the lake.

No damage + Bow = easy win
You can shoot through the tree but you can't see well, turn up the sound to make sure you're hitting the heads.

Nevermind: you're talking about a different boss
I didn't know
there are two
 

Lombax

Banned
fludevil said:
Second question, I started out Wanderer, so as far as I know, I have no magic.

What's my first best step to using magic as a Wanderer?

just in case spoiler tagging this:


you may want to consider getting soul arrows. There is a sorcerer trainer that you can free in undead burg [as you make your way to the Capra demon. once he is free he will show up at the firelink shrine.
His location is behind a door to the right of the bottom of the stairs you take to get down to the ally with the dogs / thieves.
You can buy 30 souls arrows from him. The soul arrow is a fast cast with decent damage.
 

Brannon

Member
fludevil said:
Ok, I only get to play a bit here and there, so I haven't even made it to the first boss yet. Just kind of bopping around undead berg and leveling up here and there. My BIG question.

I don't get humanity. I read the OT on the last thread and still don't really grasp it.

Why do I want to spend it on myself, to become human? It sounds like the first time I die, its gone again, and I still die about every seventh or eighth run from the bonfire.

When you become human, you get decent stat boosts and resistances, you can also summon other players and be invaded by others.

I also have humanity points, but they fill HP, so I assume I'm to use those "on the run" out and about.

They do that, but for each Humanity you have in your counter on the top left, you gain even more resistance curses and the like, and you'll have a much easier time discovering items. The more humanity you have, the more stuff you'll be able to get, and the stronger you'll be.

I am digging the game, I totally get the mechanic, and I have no problem exploring at my own pace and trying out different weapons. But I haven't spent any humanity becasue I still don't quite get it.

Have them in your counter or spend them to enhance bonfires; you'll be able to get as many as you want later in the game anyway.
 

orion434

Member
If I want to specialize in Enchanted weapons do I have to make them Magic Weapons first or can I just take a normal weapon, upgrade it then make it Enchanted?
 

oracrest

Member
Nice, hopefully this spreads the OT out a bit, and I can actually manage responses to posts without having to dig through 35 pages going back.
 
rayner said:
If I want to specialize in Enchanted weapons do I have to make them Magic Weapons first or can I just take a normal weapon, upgrade it then make it Enchanted?
Check out the weapon upgrade path image I posted above. You need a Magic +5 weapon to start on the Enchanted path.
 

LProtag

Member
fludevil said:
Second question, I started out Wanderer, so as far as I know, I have no magic.

What's my first best step to using magic as a Wanderer?

Pyromancy. There's a trainer later on in a barrel. ROLL to break him out. Never attack someone you need to free, always roll. All you have to do is buy spells and upgrade your glove with souls. The only stat required will be Attunement if you want more spell slots. Best way for a melee character to have some sort of magic.
 

Home

Member
Revolutionary said:
wat

I have already fulfilled the criteria for method 1, where exactly can I sell?

When you return to firelink, in the small area with a bit of water in it on the way to the tougher skeletons, a large serpent should be there now. Keep talking with him an eventually a menu will come on, select 'feed items'. He will exchange souls for your gear.
 
fludevil said:
Ok, I only get to play a bit here and there, so I haven't even made it to the first boss yet. Just kind of bopping around undead berg and leveling up here and there. My BIG question.

I don't get humanity. I read the OT on the last thread and still don't really grasp it.

Why do I want to spend it on myself, to become human? It sounds like the first time I die, its gone again, and I still die about every seventh or eighth run from the bonfire.

I also have humanity points, but they fill HP, so I assume I'm to use those "on the run" out and about.

I am digging the game, I totally get the mechanic, and I have no problem exploring at my own pace and trying out different weapons. But I haven't spent any humanity becasue I still don't quite get it.

When you die, you will become hollow and you need to spend one of those humanity points to reverse hollowing. This lets you kindle bonfires, summon others for help (npc and ppl) and invade others, it also boosts your resistances to poison and such when you are human. The more humanity you hold (the counter on the top left), the better your item drop rate becomes.

edit: lol beaten
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Lombax said:
sorry to ask but can someone please put this chart into context. I kind of get what i am looking at but not really.

each weapon upgrade requires different materials to upgrade and different prerequisites. if you learn the materials (mats) required to do the upgrade and where you can get or farm them then you know what you need to do to upgrade the weapon

edit: http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/Upgrades
 

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
duckroll said:
Area 2
Undead Parish
How do you get past that
dragon
?
First, make sure to go down the stairs and kick the ladder to thr bonfire so you have a shortcut.
Rare Item:
If you shoot the dragon's tail off from a distance with arrows, it will yield an extremely powerful / rare weapon. Some say overpowered, so use this with caution.


can I do that
upon first seeing him from the edge of the bridge, or do I have to go below first to get close enough?
 
Z

ZombieFred

Unconfirmed Member
What's the best upgrade route for the bandit's dagger, if you wish to do good damage to most enemies effectivly?
 
Sometimes I just randomly get humanity. Is this when other players reverse their hollowing at a nearby bonfire? Also sometimes I get an extra estes flask refill near a bonfire, is this from other players kindling the bonfire?
 

orion434

Member
The_Darkest_Red said:
Check out the weapon upgrade path image I posted above. You need a Magic +5 weapon to start on the Enchanted path.

This is gonna be rough for my charcater, don't want to raise DEX or Strength beyond 20. Myabe I'll rely on a Lightning weapon until I can go Enchanted.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Help on which Covenants clash with which, and the downsides to joining them (ie: can't farm them for items while joined, what happens if you leave, etc).

Looking to get stuff from Dragon, Chaos and Forest covenants.
 

Brannon

Member
Confidence Man said:
Sometimes I just randomly get humanity. Is this when other players reverse their hollowing at a nearby bonfire? Also sometimes I get an extra estes flask refill near a bonfire, is this from other players kindling the bonfire?

Die enough times and the game will grace you with a drop of humanity, presumably so you can become human at a bonfire and enlist help or find items.
 

Orayn

Member
Confidence Man said:
Sometimes I just randomly get humanity. Is this when other players reverse their hollowing at a nearby bonfire? Also sometimes I get an extra estes flask refill near a bonfire, is this from other players kindling the bonfire?
Random gains of humanity happen. Random Estus flask charges happen whenever someone gives one of your messages a +1 or kindles a nearby bonfire.
 

devenger

Member
Thanks to Brannon for the detailed response.

razgriz417 said:
When you die, you will become hollow and you need to spend one of those humanity points to reverse hollowing.
edit: lol beaten

That's ok, you can get the follow up!

See I just run around hollow, and besides some defences and some item finds, it sounds like you're just asking for invasion.

BUT, I only have 5 estus flasks now, and I'm constantly running back, so I suppose this is where I need to kick in that kindle mechanic and start having longer adventures away from the bonfire.
 

V_Arnold

Member
ZombieFred said:
What's the best upgrade route for the bandit's dagger, if you wish to do good damage to most enemies effectivly?

-Divine/Magic upgrades render your dexterity useless when determining damage. They add their own magic damage bonus, though. If you are a hybrid, this is a viable alternative even for you. If you are a pure caster, this is godlike (as they tend to increase damage by faith-divine/int-magic)
-Raw upgrades make the item have a basic higher base BUT makes them scale worse.
I had the impression that it is better to go to +10 or higher with an A-scaling weapon than to turn it into a raw one with C or D scaling.
-Normal upgrade just makes it stronger in its own way. If it scales already perfectly with your stats, go for it. If you need something different, then... one of the above.

There are weapons where I would go the Raw way (That have amazing movesets/damage but bad scaling initially, like C/C or D/E, or C/E, or "D").
 
Lombax said:
sorry to ask but can someone please put this chart into context. I kind of get what i am looking at but not really.
Basically this chart shows the upgrade paths for standard weapons. When you first get a weapon it is essentially a "Weapon +0." When you take the weapon to a blacksmith you can upgrade it to a "Weapon +1", "Weapon +2" etc. using upgrade materials that can be found and purchased throughout the world. Each time you upgrade the weapon it increases the amount of damage that it can do.

The chart shows all of the different paths that you can choose to go with when upgrading a weapon. Different types of weapons are beneficial to different builds. For example, if you have a melee focused character with high strength but low magic abilities then it is probably best for you to avoid the "magic" and "divine" paths since those paths create weapons that do more damage with higher magic stats. On the other hand, many "normal" weapons get a nice stat bonus from strength so it's probably a good idea to keep your weapon on the "normal" path to take advantage of that.

In order to cross from one block on the chart to another you need to acquire embers from around the world. There are different types of embers and each one allows "ascension" from one group of blocks to another. For example, when you give the "Large Ember" to a certain blacksmith you can "ascend" weapons that are currently +5 to +6 and continue the path from there. Once the weapon gets to +10 you will need another ember to "ascend" to the next block, which allows upgrading from +11 to +15. Embers are not one time use items so once you give them to a blacksmith new upgrade paths will be permanently opened to you.

Not every blacksmith is capable of upgrading weapons using any path. Here is what each blacksmith is capable of (from the wiki):

Blacksmith Andrei Special: Raw Weapons to +15; Divine Weapons to +10; Occult Weapons to +5

Blacksmith Rickert of Vinheim Special: Magic Weapons to +10; Enchanted Weapons to +5; Crystal Weapons to +5

Giant Blacksmith Special: Lightning Weapons to +5, Uses Boss souls to create Unique Weapons.

Blacksmith Vamos Special: Fire Weapons to +10; Chaos Weapons to +5
 

duckroll

Member
Lombax said:
sorry to ask but can someone please put this chart into context. I kind of get what i am looking at but not really.

Okay, basically, when you first reinforce a weapon, you are only able to use Titanite Shards to upgrade it to +1, +2, +3, etc. This goes up to +5. Once it hits +5, you need to use "Modify Weapon" at a Blacksmith to decide the next upgrade path for the weapon. You need to max out the upgrade tier of a path before you can jump to the next path.
 

Brannon

Member
A Halberd is a good weapon for Raw pathing; it starts at "D" and stays at "D", so it's a nice backup while you properly scale up another weapon.
 

Carbonox

Member
InsertNameHere said:
Pyromancy. There's a trainer later on in a barrel. ROLL to break him out. Never attack someone you need to free, always roll. All you have to do is buy spells and upgrade your glove with souls. The only stat required will be Attunement if you want more spell slots. Best way for a melee character to have some sort of magic.

You fucking serious? I killed him as well, without realizing. Fuck sake, that's him and the Undead Burg merchant now that I've killed. :| REALLY tempted to start again now, haha.

What are the best stats to boost with a Pyromancer?
 

hamchan

Member
So should I generally go lightning with my weapons or just follow the normal path for stat scaling? I hear scaling is nerfed in this game?
 

Orayn

Member
hamchan said:
So should I generally go lightning with my weapons or just follow the normal path for stat scaling? I hear scaling is nerfed in this game?
I hear scaling is still worth it if you go nuts and pump a ton of points into DEX/STR, but Raw and Elemental are much easier.
 

Zeth

Member
Any point in pumping dex AND str? I'm level 46 with 34 dex but there are many more cool STR weapons, would it be dumb to put 10 or so points in STR to get to 26?

Edit: using Laito +10 is great. Is Quelags sword better? I have her soul. And it looks like chaos blade is the new Hiltless and dmgs you with each hit, any good? Or just go Laito +15?
 

Xanathus

Member
hamchan said:
So should I generally go lightning with my weapons or just follow the normal path for stat scaling? I hear scaling is nerfed in this game?
Yeah just go with either fire or lightning. Scaling is completely broken.

Zeth said:
Any point in pumping dex AND str? I'm level 46 with 34 dex but there are many more cool STR weapons, would it be dumb to put 10 or so points in STR to get to 26?
Only put your Dex and Str to the minimum requirements for using a particular weapon. You could spread them across Dex and Str but just know that you'll be wasting points.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Eye for an eye, so...

Tip:
To beat that black knight guarding the ring in the first Burg, a trick is to lure him out, then run back up the stairs you came down, hang that left, go back up those stairs you came down to that area with the spiral tower. On the left is that metal ladder, climb it and the BK wanders around beneath the ladder. At this point, he's weak to fire so you can firebomb/pyromance/shoot arrows, etc, and you can take him out early. I did it on SL 5, my fires were doing like 99 damage so it only took a handful or so to take him out. Early kill!

Question:
So I'm playing as pyro and realize I can't do the early melee game that well, having been spoiled with Royal/Soul Arrow in the first game. So, I need it back. I'm still in Undead Burg and SL 9 Pyro, what's the fastest/most efficient way for me to get Soul Arrow? I don't have the spell or a wand to cast with. My Int is only 9 at this point.
 

EasyMode

Member
Xanathus said:
Yeah just go with either fire or lightning. Scaling is completely broken.
Is scaling just broken for Strength and Dexterity? Or is it also nerfed for Intelligence and Faith?
I was thinking of making a spellsword character.
 
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