Dark Souls

[Sigfried1977]

I failed to kill 4 different bosses today.

And I also failed to get an item drop for the 4th time from the

Spoiler

black knights.

I need to find my favourite Demon's Souls weapons badly.

One of my few complaints with the game right threre: unique weapons just aren't really worth it this time around. Just use whatever you feel comfortable with and upgrade it with lightning (this is possible early one) or fire (much later). You will outdamage anything unless you are in the soul level range of 150 or higher, which is where the modifiers will probably start to make a small difference. Just about anything in the game is weak to lightning. Hell, the two best weapons for their respective areas and level ranges are outdamaging just about anything without any upgrades, they don't have high requirements at all, they don't scale, and they can be aquired very easily too. I'm at Soul Level 54 at the moment and so far all the points I have pumped into strength were a big waste of souls. Should have pumped those points into resistance, vitality and endurance instead. Those are really the only stats that seem to matter for melee builds. The Pyromancer ability doesn't even depend on stats, so even as a pure melee class you can have strong magic backup without ever bothering with magic or faith.

 

[Cornsnake]

Heh heh, I reckon it won't be easy after the honeymoon level.

Which

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black knight

are you referring to ? From the guide, it seems that there are at least

Spoiler

2. The second one is more powerful because he wields a better weapon.

I found those 2 in a secret area. Which you may be able to find soon enough.

You mean the Claymore ?

Spoiler

I saw one on the bridge where Hellkite roams. I can't reach it though.

Yes. I knew it's there, I just can't reach it either.

I think sorcery will solve my problem with a few of the bosses. Which is disappointing because Demon's Souls never forced me to do anything like that. Meanwhile pyromancy is so useless even my own character just throws it at the floor.

 

[patsu]

Why did From mess up the invade/summon mechanic? In order to invade or summon you have to be in unhollowed form. In order to be unhollowed requires you to spend humanity points. Since humanity points are rare and there's no real benefit to being uhollowed people just hoard the points and stay in uhollowed form (unlike demon's souls where you got a lot more hit points when you reverted baack to human).

Is Humanity unlimited ? Eventually when people get bored with the regular enemies (i.e., when they over-leveled, dudes may start to go after each other's throat. ). Right now, honestly, I'd scream if people invade me.

 

[patsu]

One of my few complaints with the game right threre: unique weapons just aren't really worth it this time around. Just use whatever you feel comfortable with and upgrade it with lightning (this is possible early one) or fire (much later). You will outdamage anything unless you are in the soul level range of 150 or higher, which is where the modifiers will probably start to make a small difference. Just about anything in the game is weak to lightning. Hell, the two best weapons for their respective areas and level ranges are outdamaging just about anything without any upgrades, they don't have high requirements at all, they don't scale, and they can be aquired very easily too. I'm at Soul Level 54 at the moment and so far all the points I have pumped into strength were a big waste of souls. Should have pumped those points into resistance, vitality and endurance instead. Those are really the only stats that seem to matter for melee builds. The Pyromancer ability doesn't even depend on stats, so even as a pure melee class you can have strong magic backup without ever bothering with magic or faith.

What about DEX ? It seems to increase right hand weapon stat and resistance. Endurance also increases the resistance stats, but it also affect total equip weight. Strength is good for wielding powerful weapons right ? I reckon after 20 or so, it should pump the points elsewhere. Haven't checked the guide, just a gut feel now.

I heard there is a good unique sword (

Spoiler

Drake's Sword ?

). I'm using a Scimitar now. I like it because even though the swing is wide (good for hitting multiple enemies), it's also usable in a narrow corridor. When I wielded a long sword, I could swing/slash well, but I kept getting blocked by walls if the environment is narrow.

 

[patsu]

Yes. I knew it's there, I just can't reach it either.

Spoiler

So you went under the dragon too ? Guide says it's possible to lure the dragon to the bridge and then run towards the tower. I tried once and the dragon got me.

I think sorcery will solve my problem with a few of the bosses. Which is disappointing because Demon's Souls never forced me to do anything like that. Meanwhile pyromancy is so useless even my own character just throws it at the floor.

I'm looking for a good bow. I think these have longer range than weak sauce firebombs. I landed a bunch of them on the floor too. May be if my STR is higher, I can throw further ?

Also crossbow is a waste. It doesn't seem to allow me to lock-on to "far" objects. Like Demon's Souls, regular long bow is the best me think.

 

[Sigfried1977]

What about DEX ? It seems to increase right hand weapon stat and resistance. Endurance also increases the resistance stats, but it also affect total equip weight. Strength is good for wielding powerful weapons right ? I reckon after 20 or so, it should pump the points elsewhere. Haven't checked the guide, just a gut feel now.

I heard there is a good unique sword (

Spoiler

Drake's Sword ?

). I'm using a Scimitar now. I like it because even though the swing is wide (good for hitting multiple enemies), it's also usable in a narrow corridor. When I wielded a long sword, I could swing/slash well, but I kept getting blocked by walls if the environment is narrow.

Every soul level increases all resistance stats by 1 point. It's just that the Resistance attribute does it by a factor of 2-3. DEX only increases your right hand weapon stat because the Scimitar you are probably wielding with your right hand has a DEX modifier. It works exactly like in Demon's Souls. Neither Strength nor DEX have direct effects on weapon damage unless the weapons have modifiers for the respective attribute. Their primary function is to enable you to wield the desired weapon one-handed. That unique sword you are talking about requires 16 in strength and I0 in Dex I believe. Having more strength or dex than is required does not effect the damage dealt however because that sword has no modifiers in strength, dex, magic or faith. That's why it will become obsolete sooner or later. I used it for more than 35 hours by the way. It's indeed a decent weapon. Your Scimitar will do more and more damage as you keep pumping up your DEX attribute, and Dex is especially useful if you are using bows. Bows are the only weapons in Dark Souls with S ranks in DEX (or any S rank for that matter) I believe. If you want to know how much added damage you get with your attributes check the numbers next to the weapons base damage in brackets. It's usually not an awful lot unless the weapons have at least a B rank.

Spoiler

I think it's best to get your dex and strength (and maybe also faith and magic, because there are weapons with requirements in those categories as well) to the point where you can wield the desired weapon (32 strength for a Black Knight Great Sword for example, or 20 in dex for the Laito), then level up the weapons to +5 with the black smith in Undead Parish, then modify it with lightning (which has a negative effect on the weapons modifier. My Laito went from B to D once I turned it into a devine weapon, but at the very least it gained a D in strength and faith) to deal the weapon's base damage in both physical and lightning form, then bring it all the way up to +15 for a really beastly weapon with low requirements. This way you can spend your precious souls on attributes that help you live longer (which is very important since those bosses hit hard. Way harder than they did in Demon's Souls)

Also of utmost importance: shields. Preferably with 100% physical protection and lots of stability. More stability means less of an impact on endurance if you block. Like in Demon's Souls there are also lots of shields for specific situations like poison, fire, lightning and magic resistance (magic covers both magic and faith based attacks I believe)
A new statistic in Dark Souls is Poise (usually comes with heavy armor). More Poise means your swings won't get interrupted so easily. very important for slow and heavy weapons.

 

[Cornsnake]

Spoiler

So you went under the dragon too ? Guide says it's possible to lure the dragon to the bridge and then run towards the tower. I tried once and the dragon got me.

I'm looking for a good bow. I think these have longer range than weak sauce firebombs. I landed a bunch of them on the floor too. May be if my STR is higher, I can throw further ?

Also crossbow is a waste. It doesn't seem to allow me to lock-on to "far" objects. Like Demon's Souls, regular long bow is the best me think.

Spoiler

I'm waiting until I find a good bow, and then just kill that dragon. The Drake Sword is pretty good early on, but I am looking to replace it.

A bow is nice, but it's still useless in direct combat. Really wish crossbows weren't so useless. It seems like it could have been a good alternative to ranged magic, but not like this.

 

[patsu]

Cool ! very useful and general info.

I'm splitting between DEX, END, STR and VIT so far. I may stop STR @ 20, and continue with the rest.

 

[Cornsnake]

I just beat another boss.

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The Moonlight Butterfly.

I'm not sure if that thing was optional, but it was well worth it.

And finally opened up a door in the base of a tower in Undead Burg. Killed

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what looks like as small version of the Tower Knight

, also well worth it.

I love ignoring the main quest, and just doing whatever I feel like.

 

[patsu]

A bow is nice, but it's still useless in direct combat. Really wish crossbows weren't so useless. It seems like it could have been a good alternative to ranged magic, but not like this.

I want a bow to target and lure specific enemy out one by one. It's more predictable to play that way. Also good for shooting enemies from far ('specially from behind).

I just beat another boss.

Spoiler

The Moonlight Butterfly.

I'm not sure if that thing was optional, but it was well worth it.

And finally opened up a door in the base of a tower in Undead Burg. Killed

Spoiler

what looks like as small version of the Tower Knight

, also well worth it.

I love ignoring the main quest, and just doing whatever I feel like.

That sounds like

Spoiler

Havel the Rock ?

The starting master key led me to him. Got chased by him. Fortunately he turned back. Too strong for me at this point.

 

[Comstedt]

I want a bow to target and lure specific enemy out one by one. It's more predictable to play that way. Also good for shooting enemies from far ('specially from behind).



That sounds like

Spoiler

Havel the Rock ?

The starting master key led me to him. Got chased by him. Fortunately he turned back. Too strong for me at this point.

He's quite easy, try getting as close to him and possible and circle around with your shield up, when he attacks he usually misses when you do this or you block it, after that since he wield a huge weapon it leaves him open for attack and you can get on blow in on him, and just repeat, I only got hit once by doing this

 

[patsu]

He's quite easy, try getting as close to him and possible and circle around with your shield up, when he attacks he usually misses when you do this or you block it, after that since he wield a huge weapon it leaves him open for attack and you can get on blow in on him, and just repeat, I only got hit once by doing this

Yeah the guide says

Spoiler

he's slow and all his attacks are blockable and telegraphed. However he has high damage and lot's of health.

. Does he have good drops ? I may try him today if he's as easy as you say twisted since my bonfire is nearby.

 

[Cornsnake]

Yeah the guide says

Spoiler

he's slow and all his attacks are blockable and telegraphed. However he has high damage and lot's of health.

. Does he have good drops ? I may try him today if he's as easy as you say twisted since my bonfire is nearby.

That's the one. And yes, kill him, it's easy and he'll drop something great.

 

[joker454]

If you are familiar with Demon's Souls, you should not die too much at the beginning. You'll need to be proficient at melee, and also running away. ;-)

Guess I'll find out, just picked it up today to see what all the hubub is about. Who knows maybe I'll like it, if not new controllers are relatively cheap anyways.

 

[patsu]

So far, all the mini-bosses and bosses have a relatively easy way out if you use your wits. Not as cheap/easy as Demon's Souls. ;-)

If you find out from people where not to go, then the game should be pretty "safe". The difficulty may pick up later. I think the only red flag is to stay away from

Spoiler

dragons

, just like Demon's Souls.

EDIT: I guess I can go find out what happened to my CoD friend. XD

 

[Sigfried1977]

If you just want a bow to lure enemies away from a pack you can simply buy one at the merchant in Undead Burg. Search around the first bonfire (not the one at the shrine) in case you didn't find him already.

Other decent bows:

Spoiler

If you feel up to a suicide run through New Londo you can pick up the compound long bow, the best bow in the game, but the ghosts will most likely wreck you.

Another one is a drop from an NPC in the Darkroot Gardens, but there's a lot of pretty fierce opposition there too, including a couple of golems, a big-ass hydra and lots of high level, non-respawning stealthed enemies you can't target.

Oh, and the difficulty will pick up.

 

[patsu]

I need to double check, but I think that merchant sells cross bow instead of short bow.

EDIT:
I checked with my CoD friend. He's still hanging tight in Undead Burg like me. ^_^

He said he died like 50 times and lost a lot of souls. He forgot to level up his character all this time (until yesterday).

Anyway, looks like he'll make it through Undead Burg once he level up his character.

 

[patsu]

I need to double check, but I think that merchant sells cross bow instead of short bow.

Sigfried is right. That merchant does sell a short bow. Unfortunately, I lost all my souls. ^_^

He's quite easy,

Spoiler

try getting as close to him and possible and circle around with your shield up, when he attacks he usually misses when you do this or you block it, after that since he wield a huge weapon it leaves him open for attack and you can get on blow in on him

, and just repeat, I only got hit once by doing this

Yap ! That's a very effective technique against Havel. Too bad I lost my concentration. I could only hit him for 9 points (24 if I managed to backstab him). Takes a long *ss time to wear him down. I'll upgrade my DEX a few times to increase my damage.

 

[Cornsnake]

Yap ! That's a very effective technique against Havel. Too bad I lost my concentration. I could only hit him for 9 points (24 if I managed to backstab him). Takes a long *ss time to wear him down. I'll upgrade my DEX a few times to increase my damage.

Spoiler

I used the Drake Sword instead. 127 damage for a backstab.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Played this last night with two friends taking turns. Novel, weird (Dark sprites in your bosom?!), though felt very much like Dragon's Age and similar so not groundbreaking that regard. There's no way I could bare it play solo - the repetition of doing the same bit over and over would do my head in! And that seems inevitable. You can work your way through some encounters where it's your fault if you die or not, but then you meet some big-ass dude and you're dead before you can figure out what the possible strategies are. Then you have to go through all that again to have another try. I like the idea of death having a penalty and being a deterrent as that focuses gameplay on being cautious and tactical, but this has overshot the mark IMO and turns the entertainment into a chore. Though when you can tag another player in, it works well. We can shout advice and complaints and discuss strategies. Couch-coop makes any game good!