[PS3] Demon Souls

[patsu]

So many things I still don't know about this game. I didn't even know you could zoom with the bow until yesterday when I was like 40 hours in! I also didn't know the Thief ring was so useful till I went back and picked it up just today.

Wow, playing without the Thief Ring. I never take it off. you must be pestered by the monsters frequently.

I've only been invaded twice so far. Probably because I spend most of my time in Soul form. First time was when I was going after the Monk, but I died due the environment and never even saw the guy. Second time just was today, and I killed him. Luckily he was a melee character like me. He had a Tower shield and some kind of buff I don't know about that made him glow white. But even so, I definitely had the upper hand over him the whole time. Took care of him pretty quickly. It was a bit laggy though.

That would be Warding (or "Total Protection" in Japan). Reduce physical damage. So your weapon has magic, poison or fire damage ? If not, you must be an excellent melee guy.

I'm in the low 60's now. But I think I can beat my first game soon. I only have 5 bosses left to defeat now. At least according to the trophy list. Mostly in 4 and 5.

I started as a Priest class. But I primarily use melee weapons. The only Miracles I use are Evacuate and Heal. Vitality, Strength, Endurace are all up there around ~30. Faith and Dex has some points in it. But my Intelligence is low, I only have 90 mana-- enough to cast Heal 3 times or Evacuate to leave the level quickly. Magic and Luck I have never spent points in. My Luck is still only 8.

Dex is useful for Sticky bows, and 1-2 unique weapons.

Magic and Faith is good for magic damage.

Intelligence/Will is useful too if you want to cast higher level spell (like Warding).

Endurance is not so useful for better equipment, if you have good melee skills. As long as your stamina bar is long enough for your style, you're good to go. At higher level, the armor may not protect you much. My Endurance is the highest just because I want to wear certain vain armor. And also because I'm inconsistent, so the longer stamina bar allows me to make some mistake and still back off quickly.

 

[tha_con]

So, I started a game as a thief...and I'm thinking maybe I made a mistake? I'm getting owned really hard. Any recommendations for classes to help me not get my butt kicked?

 

[specwarGP2]

So, I started a game as a thief...and I'm thinking maybe I made a mistake? I'm getting owned really hard. Any recommendations for classes to help me not get my butt kicked?

Knight, Temple Knight. They both start with good armor so your survivability is much better. Starting class only matters in the beginning of the game because it determines what gear you start off with. After 1-1 you can build your character however you want and you have the chance to acquire all the gear of the different starting classes right after you beat 1-1.

edit: Actually I was thinking... starting class does matter if you're trying to build a PvP character. There's basically two build types, magic and melee. So if you're going to be a melee character you should start off with a class that has as few magic points as possible, otherwise you're just wasting levels. If you're going to be a magic user you shouldnt devote any points to faith. You always need to have some points devoted to strength and dex. Also you dont want a class that has levels devoted to luck which is completely useless for pvp

 

[patsu]

It's ok. The Royal has a starting Soul level of 1. So the points in Magic are essentially free. I think all the starting classes have the same total stat points (Could be wrong though).

 

[specwarGP2]

Royal has to start off at level 1 because that class is extremely weak to begin with and needs to be able to purchase stat points at a cheaper soul cost. Knights and Temple knights can start farming 4-1 right away after the phalanx boss and level up quickly, but a royal would have an extremely difficult time because of the lack of armor, physical defense and stamina. If a skeleton rolled into a low level royal you're basically dead.

If you grind 4-1 farming souls for a few hours and get your character slvl to 25 (like I did with my temple knight), the game becomes significantly easier (NG). I'd also play through 2-1 and 2-2 to get ores so you can upgrade your weapon as well.

 

[patsu]

I checked the guide quickly. I was wrong. A starting Royalty (Soul Level 1) has 3 fewer stats points from a beginning Temple Knight (Soul Level 4).

So it depends on your play style. Even without a strong armor, I didn't have much problem with a Royal in 1-1, 1-2 and 4-1 using ranged attack (Fire and run away !). The skeletons require careful maneuver but it is very satisfying to defeat them once you figure out their moves.

I managed to melee the 5-3 boss the other day. Definitely more satisfying than ranged attack.

 

[Yemeth]

specwarGP2, I am at 133 now but in NG++ and in Europe (don´t know if you are in NA or somewhere else)...

You can add me to your PSN friends, if you want, maybe we see each other online...

About the starter class etc., I still stand by my old thoughts that the starter class/origin usefullness depends on the playstyle of the player.

tha_con, if you want to read my beginner hints, go to: http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?p=1353850#post1353850 . Good luck!

Cheers...

 

[patsu]

Interesting articles on Demon's Souls:
http://www.siliconera.com/2009/12/02/dragon-quest-ix-demons-souls-are-hot-on-google-japan/

Dragon Quest IX topped Japan’s list of fastest rising search terms according to Google’s yearly zeitgeist report.

...

It wasn’t the only game on the charts. Demon’s Souls ranked number six topping Japanese drama Zenigeba and Kamen Rider Decade.

Why did these games make the list? Not completely sure, but players searching for guides probably helped both terms.

This writer tries to talk about Demon's Souls "story":
http://bitmob.com/index.php/compone...3-demons-souls-telling-story-through-gameplay

He claims that the player's action is part of the whole demonization story. Not sure if I agree with him. All I felt was I needed to be more agile, or I need more stones. (and get away from me, Black Phantoms, when I was farming).

However, I do love the atmosphere.

Demon’s Souls does not impart this narrative through cut-scenes or dialogue choices. It doesn't have a morality or karma system. To completely experience the game, players are encouraged to become demons themselves. By taking advantage of specific game mechanics encouraged by the game itself, player actions further the story of Demon’s Souls.

Do you really have to

Spoiler

assassinate NPCs to get all colorless souls ?

 

[specwarGP2]

patsu - re: your spoiler. yes, and also if you want to get a particular trophy you do.

yemeth - unfortunately I'm in NA, so unless you're playing the NA version we'll never encounter each other. It sure is lonely once you reach 145+. I hardly ever get invaded now and havent seen a blue sign in a while. maybe I should find someone to help me delevel.

 

[patsu]

Heh, gaming site still write about Demon's Souls ?
http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9011722

In all, Demon's Souls is one of the most intriguing games I've played all year. I feel like I could spend another month writing about it, just because it's so hard to quantify what exactly makes this game great. I suppose I'll leave you by paraphrasing Potter Stewart -- I know a great game when I see it, and right now, Demon's Souls is my game of the year.

 

[obonicus]

Well, that's an RPG blog.

 

[patsu]

Okie... I see they have a preview and a review for the game. At this stage, it would be cool to find out more about post-Demon's Souls activities, or in-game tips.

I am happy he (she ?) wrote a Demon's Souls article coz it's one of my most favorite games, but I wish the author write down what's on his/her mind here:

I feel like I could spend another month writing about it, just because it's so hard to quantify what exactly makes this game great.

It'd be much more entertaining and informative than yet another summary.

 

[inefficient]

I'm tearing my way through NG+. Just the maiden and false king left standing. I want to do the pure black character path this time. But no one wants to fight me! I keep getting disconnecters when I am summoned by the Monk in 3-3. I don't actually have the heart to use the black stone.

Tomorrow I think I will just start killing vendors to get pure black CT. All I want is the Foe's ring, so I can get the trophy. Then I will just move on to NG++.

 

[patsu]

Heh heh, NG+ is easy for me too (False King and Penetrator left).

I am missing the Foe ring and one of the Prayer rings. This time I will take the bad ending regardless.

I thought the Japanese servers have lot's of Black Phantoms. May be it's starting to get on people's nerve. I fought 3-3 boss offline in NG and NG+ because I wanted pure white WT.

 

[patsu]

I am happy he (she ?) wrote a Demon's Souls article coz it's one of my most favorite games, but I wish the author write down what's on his/her mind here:

It'd be much more entertaining and informative than yet another summary.

Someone posted this on GAF:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/acz2t/let_me_tell_you_about_demons_souls/

Let me tell you about Demon's Souls. (self.gaming)
[size=-2]submitted 2 hours ago by Ciserus[/size]
Demon’s Souls is a game that will make you into a man...

Some of the comments are rather funny. I lol'ed.

 

[Yemeth]

yemeth - unfortunately I'm in NA, so unless you're playing the NA version we'll never encounter each other. It sure is lonely once you reach 145+. I hardly ever get invaded now and havent seen a blue sign in a while. maybe I should find someone to help me delevel.

Hello, sorry for the very late reply... I own the NA version, but I asked more about your geographical/timezone location as my timezone prevents me for easily playing with you guys in NA... If you want to add me as a friend, my PSN username is Yemeth, just drop me a line if you see me online. But, a warning, I am only an average player who is mostly in the wimpy pure white WT, so I am everything but a DS pro (not to mention my great block/hit tactic, Sun Tzu would be proud to see such perfection). For example,

Spoiler

the golden skeletons are still mega though for me etc.

The other day I got the miracle that banishes BP invaders and it is utterly useless, seems that the DS shield is countering it so the invader killed me 2-3 times while I was running around and screaming "just let me banish one BP to see how it looks and what happens, then we will fight in your next invasion!". Strangely he killed me without caring for it .

I think I am in NG++, but as I have rushed through NG+ (no PB WT et al) I am missing most of the trophies. A few days ago, killed my first primeval demons and only one dropped the colourless soul . !

patsu, thank you for that link, that was hilarious. Some comments where even in the same league as the original (e.g. search for the DS experience "read it with Christopher Walken´s voice")...

Cheers...

 

[specwarGP2]

Yemeth, what lvl are you now? I'm 167 I think. I just beat world 5 in NG+, and boy was it frustrating. I think it's because my character has been built more for PvP... which even in body form I rarely get invaded these days. hopefully we're close enough in levels that we can play together (and trade stuff too!)

 

[inefficient]

I am lvl 175 now and just started on NG+++ this will be my final one.

I only need 2 more trophies to get the platinum. I need one more chunk of Marrowstone to get my final weapon trophy. And I need to beat Worlds 3 & 5 to get the final 2 spells I need for the Sage's trophy. Then I can finally put this game to bed!

 

[specwarGP2]

I am lvl 175 now and just started on NG+++ this will be my final one.

I only need 2 more trophies to get the platinum. I need one more chunk of Marrowstone to get my final weapon trophy. And I need to beat Worlds 3 & 5 to get the final 2 spells I need for the Sage's trophy. Then I can finally put this game to bed!

I have marrowstone chunks... if I give you one, will you let me hold your +5 marrowstone weapon so I can get the trophy?

 

[inefficient]

I have marrowstone chunks... if I give you one, will you let me hold your +5 marrowstone weapon so I can get the trophy?

It might be hard to catch me online. But sure, I don't mind.

Edit: I got Platinum now!