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El Capitano Gatisto
October 5th, 2011, 5:43 PM
I'm getting a bit excited about this game. Anyone else getting it? It's the follow-up to Demon's Souls (but not a direct sequel) and is out on the Sex Box too this time round. I'm still playing Demon's Souls now and attempting to complete the game and get hold of all the unique weapons. Dark Souls is supposedly a billion times bigger and has a thousand times more weapons and spells to discover.

I'll try to get the trailer vids and all that when my internet isn't so slow but I'm sure you can find them yourselves.

It sounds like the genius multiplayer has been refined. In Demon's Souls you could summon 2 people to help you clear a level, either from the start or just before fighting the boss, which can be helpful if another player has specific abilities which you lack and give an advantage for particular enemies. Also, players could invade your game (or you invade other players) with the express purpose of seeking you out and eliminating you, which could be immensely frustrating but also makes for a unique gaming experience (players were roughly level-matched to make sure things weren't unfair). You can call more people to help you in Dark Souls, I think, and in terms of invading people's games, it sounds like you have to opt in to be able to invade and be invaded (only gaylords would not opt in and it was fun beating up gaylords, not so sure this is a great idea). This gives the game massive replay value in order to explore areas with other players to get risk-free boosts for your own character and then have duels with high-level players with different combat tactics to your own later on in the game.

Reviews are up on the internet and seem to be pretty great, although they all mention how bastard hard this game is even in comparison to Demon's Souls, which was fucking hard. Probably an acquired taste.

Olympus
October 5th, 2011, 10:37 PM
I've put about 10 hours into it. Simply put, if you liked Demon's Souls, you'll love this. It's got the same mood/feeling/atmosphere, but it has a great new coat of paint and new features.

It's definitely harder than Demon's Souls. Maybe things will continue to get discovered, but right now, there doesn't appear to be any "cheap" tricks to beating bosses/demons like there were in Demon's Souls. Just about every demon had a cheap way to be defeated. For example...

The Red Dragon in 1-2 of Demon's Souls could be killed easily with a couple hundred arrows at the very beginning of the game. This led to a bunch of great items right away. There's a very similar dragon in Dark Souls, but I pumped a couple hundred arrows into him before I realized he kept healing. I'm pretty sure you have to kill him legitimately.

Awesome game so far. It most games, when I get frustrated, I just want to quit. This game, I want to get EVEN.

The Rogerer
October 6th, 2011, 4:57 AM
I might ask for this for Christmas. I can imagine myself eating Quality Street and shouting FFS by a roaring fire. I'm on the look for a cheap copy of Demon's Souls in the meantime, but I've got 2 (really 3) games this week so I may put that on hold.

I'm pleased that it's sold so well.

Olympus
October 6th, 2011, 7:34 AM
There was a serious distribution problem with the Collector's Edition in the States. Only certain parts of the country got it on day 1 through Amazon.com, and my region was not one of them. I ended up going out and buying the standard edition plus the hardcover guide. I got my CE in the mail the next day, posted it on Amazon for sale for $99.99, and it sold in about 3 minutes. I'm not sure whether or not there will be a second run of them, but even if there isn't, I'm still glad I sold it sooner than later, and I'll take a 33% return any time.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 6th, 2011, 11:19 AM
My Limited Edition copy has been dispatched by Amazon (it's not out until tomorrow here). Should get it in a few days. I'm going to try to finish my current NG+ in Demon's Souls before then.

I like the sound of them eliminating cheap tactics from the game. I think on my first playthrough of Demon's Souls I had to cheap my way through it quite a bit (Maneater mainly, I still can't actually beat the Maneater on my own without the arrow exploit). Sounds like grinding isn't really possible either at early stages, which is interesting, alongside the idea of not being able to get cheap early wins over bosses to level up a bit, it definitely sounds like it be much more of a bastard.

Olympus
October 6th, 2011, 8:28 PM
The first demon (non-tutorial) that you take on took me 7 or 8 tries, I think. Even the "easy" way of beating him is kind of tricky.

There are some spots you can grind. Depending on how far you want to stray from your bonfire, you can pick up 700-800 souls per trip. Just don't do what I did and spend 5000 souls to buy arrows to try and kill that stupid dragon.

Pete Cash
October 6th, 2011, 11:35 PM
I am detoxing and need a massive time sink. Might pick this up.

Pete Cash
October 7th, 2011, 5:49 AM
Ok I have played a few hours. It is quite fun. Wasn't sure what I was expecting but it is very very hard but fun. So far I can handle most of the monsters if I get them one on one. There was a little bit where some jerk fuck skeleton thing was shooting me with arrows from a platform while three of his chums were rushing me on the level below. So I had to run past them and get my back to the wall under the archer and fight them without moving from my little safety spot.

Fun game.

EDIT

Keep in mind I am pretty terrible at games and I enjoy it because it makes sense the way it punishes you. It doesn't cheat you it just holds you to what you do. Don't swing a big sword in a narrow corridor for example.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 7th, 2011, 7:58 AM
The first demon (non-tutorial) that you take on took me 7 or 8 tries, I think. Even the "easy" way of beating him is kind of tricky.

There are some spots you can grind. Depending on how far you want to stray from your bonfire, you can pick up 700-800 souls per trip. Just don't do what I did and spend 5000 souls to buy arrows to try and kill that stupid dragon.

Yeah I got murdered more than a few times by Phalanx before I realised what to do. Now in NG+ I just go after him with the Large Sword of Moonlight and he runs away from me. That first level on NG+ gives you a false sense of being able to sweep through the game with all your goodies, though, as you go on to the other worlds and all the baddies have become ultra-hard bastards again.

Olympus
October 7th, 2011, 12:27 PM
Ok I have played a few hours. It is quite fun. Wasn't sure what I was expecting but it is very very hard but fun. So far I can handle most of the monsters if I get them one on one. There was a little bit where some jerk fuck skeleton thing was shooting me with arrows from a platform while three of his chums were rushing me on the level below. So I had to run past them and get my back to the wall under the archer and fight them without moving from my little safety spot.

Fun game.

EDIT

Keep in mind I am pretty terrible at games and I enjoy it because it makes sense the way it punishes you. It doesn't cheat you it just holds you to what you do. Don't swing a big sword in a narrow corridor for example.

You can climb up the tower and kill that archer guy before you go to the lower level. :yes: I usually leave a note there saying "Try up," and it gets rated really highly.

Pete Cash
October 8th, 2011, 4:22 AM
This game is just deadset kicking my arse. :lol:

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 5:40 AM
Yeah. I thought it was rather comfortable getting to the first demon, but once you get into the Parish, play time is pretty much over. I'm going to really grind to start getting my dexterity and endurance higher.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 8th, 2011, 1:25 PM
Mine has arrived. Slightly afraid to play it. I ignored Demon's Souls for ages because I was afraid of fighting the False King final boss.

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 4:32 PM
He's not too tough compared to some of the others. In my first playthrough, I actually beat him very cheaply by accident. The second I walked through the fog I started pelting him with arrows and he did absolutely nothing to me. About 60 arrows later he was dead.a

Then in NG+ I decided to melee with him. Big bastard stole a couple of my soul levels, but I still managed to take him down.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 8th, 2011, 5:11 PM
I made the silly mistake in Demon's Souls for a long time of wearing heavy armour, which is pointless against the bosses especially. When I went after the False King with the Saint's Garb on I meleed him fairly easily (although he pilfered a few soul levels off me the first time I beat him).

Played through the tutorial of Dark Souls there and did a bit of exploring. It's taking a bit of time to get used to, the non-linearity of the world is a big change because the temptation is to look absolutely everywhere, like in the previous game. The combat is much more hefty as well, timing is even more key. No bad thing, I'm guessing attack speed may increase with strength or dexterity, otherwise heavy weapons will be very difficult to use.

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 5:32 PM
What class did you start with? If you're building a melee character, I would put your first 20 or so soul levels into either strength or dexterity, depending on what kind of weapons you want to use. Even if you do a strength build, you'll want to put some points into dex so you'll be able to use a bow.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 8th, 2011, 5:37 PM
I started with Cleric, but I wasn't happy with the speed of the mace attacks, so I decided to be a bit cautious and go Warrior for my first playthrough to learn the ropes. I've put my first four levels into Vitality, Endurance, Strength and Dexterity. I usually boost dextterity up a fair bit anyway because the bonuses tend to be better. For Strength, in Demon's Souls at least, the benefits never really seemed to arrive beyond getting enough to wield the Purple Flame Shield so I'm guessing it'll be much the same here.

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 5:53 PM
Not sure if you consider decent item locations as spoilers, but I'll tag it just in case.
If you sprint into the Graveyard in Firelink, you'll find a sword called Zweihander which a friend of mine is using and says it's an absolute beast. I think it takes 24 strength to use. You'll also find a winged spear off to the right, which I'm using in my dexterity build currently. Don't bring too many souls in there though, because you probably won't make it back out alive. The little skeletons are bad enough, but the jumbo guys near the items won't stand for you being there.

Judas Iscariot
October 8th, 2011, 6:05 PM
Just watched a review that said the game is so dark and malicious that it can begin to affect your mental well-being after while.

I shall pick this up as I like a good mind fuck.

Don't have a PS3, so will I be missing out on anything having not played Demon's Souls?

Pete Cash
October 8th, 2011, 6:07 PM
I haven't got a PS3 either. Just don't treat dying like a huge thing. I am also grinding the hell out of the game. Don't know if thats considered cheap or anything but I basically have a course I am just going through over and over again farming monsters to level up.

Pete Cash
October 8th, 2011, 6:11 PM
ALSO there is a pretty decent community wiki that covers the massive gaps left in the instruction manual

http://darksouls.wikidot.com/stats

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 6:13 PM
You won't be missing anything, other than the mentality of how to play it. The game is not for someone that demands instant gratification.

I went a different way this afternoon and spent a good 20 minutes chipping away at this giant ass guy at the bottom of the tower near the first boss demon. I had him down to about 10% health and then I lost my focus and he killed me in one fucking shot.

Bastard...

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 6:16 PM
http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/

There's also this one. I prefer the first, but they both have good info.

Pete Cash
October 8th, 2011, 6:42 PM
This is what I have learnt so far as a new player in the first 5 hours.

1. Range is everything. You need to basically know the range of your weapon and have a pretty good idea of the range of the enemies. Hanging just outside range with your shield up ready to dash into range when they commit to an attack is a good strategy. The enemies tend to have set attacks so if you just target them you can work it out. It plays rather like Zelda on the N64 in that way.

2. Wait scratch that endurance is actually everything. The little green bar underneath your health determines if you are able to block, attack, roll, cast spells, etc. If you just go mental and destroy your endurance and there are enough enemies around you will be destroyed.

3. Don't bother hoarding souls. Spend them on stat increases and things. While the game KINDLY gives you one shot at getting your souls back if you die (basically you have to make it back to where you died and find the floaty green thingy) if you die again before getting your souls back they are gone for good.

That is just the general tips I have learnt so far.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 8th, 2011, 7:08 PM
I am having to adapt to this game having played Demon's Souls. As Pete says, timing is everything but even moreso in this game. You cannot button mash and hope to succeed. Endurance costs also seem to be a bit higher. So I don't think it'll be an enormous disadvantage having not played the previous game, it has no link in storyline at all.

I grinded the shit out of the game in Demon's Souls. It was the only way forward, you would get literally creamed on even early levels if you didn't level up a bit, so I don't consider it cheap. This game in particular, with the non-linear map, will fuck you over by placing enemies in early parts of the game that you will have no chance of defeating at a low level. I wandered over to those fucking skeletons in the graveyard by the massive crow 5 minutes into the game and realised I could barely tickle the bastards. But as Olympus says, there may be items behind those bastards that make progress much easier. In Demon's Souls there was a class sword (Crescent Falchion) that made the early game much, much easier just sitting behind an absolute bastard of an enemy who is never easy to beat, you just had to run past him and try to grab it before he ended you. I imagine this game is much the same, it's about chipping away at the difficulty level by boosting your character and picking up great items and then you'll be strong enough to make some real progress, until you meet another bunch of bastards.

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 8:24 PM
Yeah... both of these games are so hard... I take what the game gives me. It's nice that you can grab an item, die immediately afterwards, and keep the item. There's some pretty decent items down near a sleeping dragon in a lower level that you can grab, but then the dragon wakes up and basically flicks you with his finger, which is of course a one hit kill.

One thing I really miss is the Thief's Ring. In Demon's Souls, you could snipe guys from afar and they would stand around and wonder what is going on. In this game, if you try that whomever you shot will start rushing you, and he'll usually bring a few of his buddies along with him.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 8th, 2011, 8:29 PM
I'm glad they've still got the lovely shortcuts to open when you battle your way through a level. Those always lift my spirits immensely, like little victories.

Beat the first demon in about 4 seconds too when the silly bastard fell to his doom trying to attack me.

Olympus
October 8th, 2011, 9:40 PM
Nice. You don't get his item when that happens I wouldn't think, but it's definitely enjoyable and humorous. Did you get the Demon Greataxe? It's pretty much only useful for a pure strength build.

Pete Cash
October 9th, 2011, 12:05 AM
You won't be missing anything, other than the mentality of how to play it. The game is not for someone that demands instant gratification.

I went a different way this afternoon and spent a good 20 minutes chipping away at this giant ass guy at the bottom of the tower near the first boss demon. I had him down to about 10% health and then I lost my focus and he killed me in one fucking shot.

Bastard...

Is that the black knight in Undead Burg.

I had been monster farming in Undead Burg and decided to give him a go because he is literally guarding that ring you can get a first shot with a firebomb at him, so I threw a firebomb and started back peddling, throwing them every time he swung at me.

Then I eventually got up to section that has that locked door that leads to the treasure chest that has the lightening in it (handy to use on your weapon to kill the first boss)

So we started melee fighting and it was painful. Basically I am playing as a warrior so what I would do is just circle him until he would do the attack where he signals with his shield first. He does a shield swipe and sword thrust. When he does that there is enough time to hit him with my weapon and then back to circling ignoring every other attack he would make besides the shield thrust combo.

Good times. The ring he is guarding is pretty cool but its a shitload of effort. You could just in theory lure him out and run behind him and pick it up I suppose but there is the risk he kills you and you end up with your bloodstain right near the bastard.

Pete Cash
October 9th, 2011, 6:28 AM
FUCK THIS ROBOT PIG THING

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 6:45 AM
Is that the black knight in Undead Burg.

I had been monster farming in Undead Burg and decided to give him a go because he is literally guarding that ring you can get a first shot with a firebomb at him, so I threw a firebomb and started back peddling, throwing them every time he swung at me.

Then I eventually got up to section that has that locked door that leads to the treasure chest that has the lightening in it (handy to use on your weapon to kill the first boss)

So we started melee fighting and it was painful. Basically I am playing as a warrior so what I would do is just circle him until he would do the attack where he signals with his shield first. He does a shield swipe and sword thrust. When he does that there is enough time to hit him with my weapon and then back to circling ignoring every other attack he would make besides the shield thrust combo.

Good times. The ring he is guarding is pretty cool but its a shitload of effort. You could just in theory lure him out and run behind him and pick it up I suppose but there is the risk he kills you and you end up with your bloodstain right near the bastard.

I wasn't talking about the Black Knight. He's a right bastard to begin with though. I killed him with five regular firebombs + five black firebombs. Luckily my last one got him otherwise I was screwed. I was just about to try running past him when I thought of using all my firebombs.

I was talking about the giant golem guy that is at the bottom of the stairs going through the door in the tower where the Taurus demon is. When you first enter the room, instead of going left and up you go straight through the door and down. You might need the master key, now that I think about it.

Giant armored boar got me a few times too. There's a set of stairs over to the right. He can't get you up halfway up the stairs and sometimes he'll walk into the big bonfire, which damages him. Also, you can shoot him in the ass with arrows from there, or sneak up behind him and backstab him.

Pete Cash
October 9th, 2011, 6:58 AM
There is another black knight just randomly chilling at the top of the tower near the robot pig.

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 7:03 AM
I poked my head up there and quickly ran the other way. Luckily he didn't follow me.

Pete Cash
October 9th, 2011, 7:13 AM
hahaha just beat the pig by luring it out and hiding back in the alley

M. Bison "Yes Yes!" Widescreen HD reupload - YouTube

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 7:28 AM
When I first got under the bridge with the big dragon, I didn't realise there was a shortcut back to the bonfire, I went through the door to the Undead Parish and got poisoned by the giant rats but had nothing to heal myself with. So I desperately sprinted around the Undead Parish trying to find a new bonfire, ended up running up the stairs for ages only to be impaled by the big fucking knight as soon as I emerged at the top.

I might try to get myself summoned to explore risk free for a while, although I'll be fairly useless for actually helping anyone so could get a few bad ratings.

Olympus, I didn't get the drop from the Taurus demon. Do the bosses drop souls just where they fall?

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 11:13 AM
One thing I really miss is the Thief's Ring. In Demon's Souls, you could snipe guys from afar and they would stand around and wonder what is going on. In this game, if you try that whomever you shot will start rushing you, and he'll usually bring a few of his buddies along with him.

Jesus Christ yes. I am getting repeatedly raped right at the fucking start of the Undead Parish because the soldiers ALL come after me when I go up the stairs. It's absurd. The spear soldiers are intensely annoying, especially if there's ranged attackers nearby.

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 2:07 PM
Most bosses drop souls, but he doesn't. He drops his big ass axe that I think needs 32 strength. Maybe it's 42.

You definitely need a bow to get those guys to chase after you one at a time. If you shoot one of them only he sprints towards you (in that spot). You can buy a bow from the vendor in the Burg for 500 souls, I think.


When I first got under the bridge with the big dragon, I didn't realise there was a shortcut back to the bonfire, I went through the door to the Undead Parish and got poisoned by the giant rats but had nothing to heal myself with. So I desperately sprinted around the Undead Parish trying to find a new bonfire, ended up running up the stairs for ages only to be impaled by the big fucking knight as soon as I emerged at the top.


This is such a brutally typical Demon's/Dark Souls story. Poison is no fun.

The first time I used that shortcut, I forgot to kick the ladder down, and I was pissed when I realized I couldn't get back up.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 2:37 PM
I made a good bit of progress there. I switched up to using a spear so I could attack faster, get more range and hide behind my shield. Fought my way through the Undead Parish and beat the gargoyles with the help of a phantom and that NPC guy you can summon. It took a long time because the spear doesn't do much damage to any of the larger enemies but it's an excellent low-risk tactic with a good shield. I went back and bought myself a bow.

As for this game's Crescent Falchion-style weapon for making the early game a bit less stressful:

I got the Drake Sword by attacking the dragon's tail from under the bridge with arrows. Took a bit of time but eventually his tail falls off and you get the sword. It one-hits most routine enemies and even makes the black knights manageable. It also fires a shockwave-style attack a la the Storm Ruler if you two-hand it and use the heavy attack. Very useful. It makes the skeletons in the graveyard manageable too, but the giant skeleton is still a bastard.

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 2:59 PM
Make sure you watch its durability. As you use the two-handed R2 attack, its durability shrinks very rapidly.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 3:49 PM
Noticed that. I think I read somewhere also that in this one, if a weapon breaks it's gone forever rather than just useless until you repair it. Not sure if that's true or not.

Judas Iscariot
October 9th, 2011, 4:12 PM
I love how fucking long it took me to figure out how to fucking equip my sword and shield. I'm running around like an asshole punching people in the face 60 times to kill them before I realize how big of an asshole I am and that it's just the D-pad.

Hardest part of the game so far; that and not having the fucking key to open this fucking door in the first level and not knowing what the fuck is going on.

I'm starting over as either the thief or taking the Master Key as my gift, because I'm a retard and can't deal.

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 5:28 PM
Noticed that. I think I read somewhere also that in this one, if a weapon breaks it's gone forever rather than just useless until you repair it. Not sure if that's true or not.

I'm not sure either. I haven't let one get that low. I needed to run and buy repair powder once though.


I love how fucking long it took me to figure out how to fucking equip my sword and shield. I'm running around like an asshole punching people in the face 60 times to kill them before I realize how big of an asshole I am and that it's just the D-pad.

Hardest part of the game so far; that and not having the fucking key to open this fucking door in the first level and not knowing what the fuck is going on.

I'm starting over as either the thief or taking the Master Key as my gift, because I'm a retard and can't deal.

:nono: The fact that you made it somewhat far by just punching people is pretty good. It'd be interesting to see someone do a run of this game with no weapons. It's gotta be impossible.

You can also equip two things in each hand and switch between them. In Demon's Souls, I would put a shield and a bow in my left hand, but unless I seriously blanked out, you can't go into aiming mode unless your bow is in your right hand and triangled, so it'll be bow/spear in RH and shield/catalyst in LH unless I think of something better.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 6:35 PM
There's vids on YouTube of people invading in Demon's Souls as black phantoms and using only fists. Tickles me pink.

You can first-person aim with a bow in the left hand. I don't know if you're on PS3 but it's the same as Demon's Souls. I've always worked with bow in the left hand, I never really use weapons buff spells.

Judas Iscariot
October 9th, 2011, 6:46 PM
There are these skeletons that keep kicking the shit out of me. I walk through this arch where there's this water and they just keep kicking the shit out of me, the two by the ledge, and then if I get back up enough away from the ledge, two more come and join in on kicking the shit out of me.

I'm a warrior now. No idea where to get weapons from, and I really just want the skeletons to leave me alone.

Also there's a giant bird just chilling out.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 6:52 PM
Those skeletons are complete pricks. I finally got a sword good enough to kick the fuck out of them and they don't even give any souls when you kill them. Then, when I beat up 5 or 6 of them, a big fucking giant one popped up and smashed me, nearly one-hitted me so I turned and ran away. Fuck that. I suggest you go right at the bonfire and head up the steps around the hill, it takes you up to the Undead Burg which seems to be the beginner's level. This game explains virtually nothing so I would use the Wikis for tips.

I don't know whether it's because this game is more popular than Demon's Souls but the message system isn't as good right now. People can't seem to help themselves leaving shit messages everywhere, with only the odd gem.

Judas Iscariot
October 9th, 2011, 7:07 PM
I try to go up the right and as I'm killing the third fucker on the bottom, this other guy's hurling fireballs at me.

So I think, OK, I'll just run up the stairs and take him out, and then these two other fuckers come after me, one of them being a knight or some shit, and they fuck me up, too.

It's better/easier to go that way than the skeleton way?

The skeletons are assholes, anyway, fuck them.

I'm, what, 45 minutes into this game and I've died , last count, 742 times.

And yet I can't stop playing, and when I turn it off I wind up thinking about it and having to play it again.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 9th, 2011, 7:20 PM
Yeah it's much easier to go that way. I've fought my way through that whole section and I still can't really deal with the skeletons comfortably. If there's a crowd of guys, the best idea is to try to draw them out to a section where you can deal with them one by one or at least so they are queued up directly in front of you. Charging in and getting surrounded is suicide in this game, at least before you have levelled up and found some strong weapons. You will die over and over if you can't find some patience.

Olympus
October 9th, 2011, 11:46 PM
You definitely want to go the non-skeleton way. Those guys are absolute bastards.

The key with that stairway is to engage each guy at the bottom and then draw them out away from Mr. Fireball. Then run up the stairs and try to push him off the cliff before that guy with the big axe gets involved.

Once you get up the stairs and into the Burg, you can start grinding, getting a better shield (the guys with spears drop a good shield sometimes) and you can get a bow as well, which helps against more of those fireball fuckers across the bridge near the first bonfire.

Judas Iscariot
October 10th, 2011, 5:35 PM
Well the Taurus Demon eliminated me.

I jumped on him three times and then got stuck and he nailed me as I was running back up the ladder.

Never found the bonfire in the undead burg or whatever, so I had to make my way back. Now I'm grinding, found a guy who sold me a bow and arrows and I mean business.

The Taurus Demon is fucked.

Between him and the dude in the Asylum, the bosses don't seem to be too massively difficult compared to a group of normal enemies, though I'm sure that'll change.

Olympus
October 10th, 2011, 6:08 PM
You did find the bonfire, right? It's in a room to the left right before the bridge with the three fireball guys. That room eventually becomes a shortcut between that area and the next one after you beat Taurus.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 10th, 2011, 6:13 PM
The only boss/mini-boss enemy I've had real trouble with so far is the guy made out of stone at the bottom of the tower that leads up to the Taurus demon. Nothing hurts him and one hit of his club is doom. Although the Taurus demon did suicide himself when I fought him and I had the help of two phantoms when fighting the Belfry gargoyles.

I ventured down below the blacksmith, fuck sake, fought and killed a massive electricity firing, hammer wielding scorpion thing with no head before going into an area called the Darkroot Garden. There's a pile of Ent things that are easy to deal with, but then there's 3 fucking stone giants with enormous swords on one path, on the other path there's a massive fucking multi-headed Hydra snake thing off in a massive lake that spews poison across the whole landscape when you get within a mile of it. Then when I ran away from that, I bumped into another black knight armed with a halberd who trapped me on a narrow path and then proceeded to fuck me off it. Seems to be a very good place for grinding though, as the Ents give 100 souls each and are a piece of piss to murder, plus there's crystalline monster things that are relatively simple to kill that give a decent amount of souls too.

I'm levelling up a falchion I got as a drop from one of the graveyard skeletons, it was my favourite weapon in Demon's Souls, excellent speed of attack and causes bleeding and has bonuses for strength and dexterity.

Judas Iscariot
October 10th, 2011, 6:38 PM
I did find that bonfire eventually.

My xbox is being a cunt, though. When I start the game (or any game) it disconnects from Xbox Live, which means I don't get any of the messages/ghosts/whatever that's supposed to make the game even more awesome.

Read something about clearing the cache, but another account on the same xbox has no problems. I'll give it a shot, though.

Is there any way to call your friends in as a phantom or is it totally random?

Olympus
October 10th, 2011, 7:31 PM
It's still pretty unclear on that. In Demon's Souls, you could usually summon your friends if you were on the same server, but in Dark Souls, there's a rumor that you may not be able to summon someone on your friends list at all. And on the 360, party chat is disabled while you are in the game. If you try to enable it, it kicks you back to the main menu.

I personally think that they made the right choices regarding multiplayer connection and communication. Being able to summon specific people and then talking with them seems to diminish and weaken the whole Demon's/Dark Souls universe. I understand why people are griping about it though.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 12th, 2011, 5:46 PM
The Darkroot Basin is the area behind the door that massive stone knight is protecting at the bottom of the tower which leads to the Taurus demon. I found this out by opening the door from the Darkroot Basin side, not realising where it was going, to get immediately smashed by his hammer in one hit. I went back up and proceeded to beat the bastard to death. Took a while to do, but best way is to dodge his heavy swings and backstab him a few times. It would take all day to kill him normally, but only takes about 5 backstabs. I whipped off all the armour to move faster and unequipped my shield, since it's all useless against him anyway.

Judas Iscariot
October 12th, 2011, 5:54 PM
I killed the Taurus Demon, but what's this about some other area?

I assume it's later in the game.

Pete Cash's robot pig killed the shit out of me, but he seems like he'll be pretty easy to beat.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 12th, 2011, 6:45 PM
In that tower that leads up to the Taurus demon, in the initial room you go into, to your left are the stairs up to the Taurus demon but if you look over to the other side there are stairs leading downwards with this big stone knight bastard guarding the door at the very bottom, after 2-3 flights of stairs down. I killed him, he drops a nifty ring that boosts your equip burden by 50%, so you can use heavier armour or weapons without a massive stamina or roll handicap.

In the Darkroot Garden I tried to fight a massive insect boss called the Moonlight Butterly, it proceeded to destroy me in about 3 seconds. It has homing magic that I couldn't dodge and my shield couldn't block it.

Tugboat
October 13th, 2011, 5:23 AM
I heard a rumour that there is no Stockpile Thomas in Dark Souls. This immediately put me off.

Judas Iscariot
October 13th, 2011, 1:49 PM
Here's another retarded question:

How the fuck do I drop items? My guy's walking around really slow now and I assume it's because I've got dozens of useless items in my possession.

Also, I have a DRAKE SWORD. Fucking shit up like a BOSS now.

Olympus
October 13th, 2011, 8:52 PM
There is no stockpile Thomas. There is an item to put your stuff in though, I believe.

I don't think you can drop items. Your guy is walking slowly because your equip burden is too high or you're using a weapon/shield that you don't have the stats for. You either need to get your stats up, raise your endurance to get your equip burden higher, or equip lighter stuff.

Olympus
October 13th, 2011, 8:53 PM
Or kill the enemy that Capt. is talking about to get the ring that raises your equip burden. He's not too difficult to kill, it just takes forever, even with the Drake Sword.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 13th, 2011, 9:33 PM
You can drop items, go into your inventory and hit whatever the action button is, it should then list an option to drop the item you have highlighted. Apparently dropped items can become black phantoms in other player's worlds. But yeah its one thing I find a bit disappointing that there is no overall item burden. That was a vital ingredient of Demon's Souls in terms of planning for maps and enemies.

I have levelled up enough to use the Black Knight's longsword, it mashes everyone.

Olympus
October 13th, 2011, 10:00 PM
How is the durability on it? The 2-handed R2 attack with the Drake Sword can pretty much annihilate anyone, but you can only use it a few times before the weapon poops out.

Pablo Diablo
October 15th, 2011, 5:58 PM
Since I'm too skint to pick this up I picked up demon souls for under $20. I've lost probably about 10k souls and I'm at the third demon and let me just say I hate the cthulu like monster things. Waste so much of my time trying to kill them just to get back to the demon...who then kills me in no time at all.

Judas Iscariot
October 15th, 2011, 11:46 PM
This game reminds me a LOT of Ocarina of Time, which Pete Cash already pointed out from a combat stance.

But I remember spending so much fucking time on that game getting through dungeons and in boss fights.

And games since then have seemed to get progressively more geared towards story telling (which it has become incredible at) that they've lost that as you just sort of work through the story to get to the end.

I don't think this is the hardest game of all time.

I just think that it goes back to things like Ocarina of Time and other Legend of Zelda games where you had to work at EVERYTHING and any time you got through a temple or advanced it was like, "Holy shit! I did it!"

Also, all of the enemies respawned there, too, before respawning was a term.

This evil bastard of a game just brings me back like 15 years or whatever to when a game was a game and it drove you fucking crazy because it took you DAYS to figure out the Water Temple and these days it takes you minutes to respawn and tackle that boss fight that highlights its weaknesses on the screen.

Matthew
October 16th, 2011, 11:32 PM
artical from joystiq on a speedrun of this game: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/16/dark-souls-speed-run-is-a-tour-de-force-of-tolerance/ (doesnt say much) someone has posted a video of their runthrough in less than an hour and a half. spoilers are most likely involved:

DARK SOULS (??????) RTA(Speedrun) #1 Player:twilight(1:26:28) - YouTube

Judas Iscariot
October 17th, 2011, 2:20 PM
Electrifying his axe is brilliant. I've never used any items like that. Maybe I should and stop being so stupid.

Olympus
October 17th, 2011, 6:06 PM
I cannot beat the FUCKING Capra Demon. One of two things happens...

1. He kills me with his very first swipe.

2. I roll past his first swipe, one of his dogs hits me, and then he kills me with his second swipe.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 17th, 2011, 6:39 PM
Are you still on a pretty low level? I dealt with him pretty quickly earlier, he nailed me the first time I ran in and then the cunting dogs finished me off but I got him second time round. Shield up when running in, then up the stairs to take out the dogs a bit easier and get away from him. If you drop down from the ledge and he falls too, he's stunned for a second or so which lets you get a couple of easy hits in. You can also jump down on him from above and get that strong dropping attack in. A sword with a wide arc helps with the dogs too.

Olympus
October 17th, 2011, 9:45 PM
I ended up getting him. I was at SL 27 when I faced him, so not too low at all. The problem was I could barely ever get past that first initial hit. Eventually I got to the stairs unscathed and managed to take out the two dogs. I thought I was safe on that stone archway, but eventually he was able to lunge and nail me. When he did that, it took about half my life away, but I was able to plunge down on him, run back up the stairs, drink an estus, rinse, and repeat.

I felt like it was a lot harder than it was supposed to be, though. Most people I've talked to didn't seem to have much of a problem. I think I need to raise my endurance more.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 18th, 2011, 3:05 PM
I beat the massive dragon in The Depths where you go after beating the Capra Demon. I had to get the help of two other players to manage to beat the big bastard. Took 3 efforts with 2 helpers each time, luckily the last time I got a guy with strong projectile magic and he helped enormously.

Also managed to wander in to fight a fucking giant wolf with a sword in its mouth in the forest without realising. He killed me in about 4 seconds.

Olympus
October 18th, 2011, 4:05 PM
Interesting. I had a hard time with Capra and you said he was easy, whereas I thought that dragon in the Depths was the easiest boss so far. I just beat him and was just about to come on here and post about it.

Cool game. Character creation and customization really does make all the difference, creating a different experience for everybody.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 18th, 2011, 4:08 PM
My guy is pure melee. It made it difficult vs. the dragon because his attacks were very strong and there was hardly any window to attack him back without getting smacked about very badly. I was lasting a long time against him but doing very little damage until I got the other guy with a magic orientated character to help out.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 20th, 2011, 6:25 PM
The co-op in this game is inspired. I only really got that tonight when I was trying to figure out how to get some humanity so I could recruit some guys to help me fight the giant wolf (it keeps beating the shit out of me). I realised the best way to get both humanity and souls is to help another player beat a boss. I levelled up 3-4 times in an hour (at around level 40) by helping other people beat the wolf and the massive dragon and stored up plenty of humanity too. Then, in turn, the best way to beat a boss in your own game is by getting help from other players. It makes the game so much easier if you can call on someone who has a different character build. There is a massive incentive to help others and for others to help you. I think everyone is figuring this out now, I'm seeing a lot more people wanting to be summoned, last week there were hardly any.

Olympus
October 20th, 2011, 6:34 PM
I rarely play in human form, so I never have anyone join my game, but I definitely join others. It gives you a chance to see how a boss behaves without risking much, plus you pick up souls/humanity along the way.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 20th, 2011, 6:56 PM
In Demon's Souls there was little incentive to help out others, other than just for the sake of it of course, as you could farm souls quicker on your own and playing as a human just asked to be invaded. The system in this game is much more beneficial to both parties to play co-op, there's more in for you to help due to how rare humanity is.

The Rogerer
October 23rd, 2011, 1:43 PM
I got this from Lovefilm to see how I felt. I played it last night and was in a terrible mood about half way in. Then things started to turn around and I'm definitely buying it when I get the chance.

I found it quite strange that I wasn't sure if I was going the right way, but I happened upon that Undead Burg or whatever and it seemed to be it. I was reassured when I came in here and seeing people have the same problems as me. Now that I found a merchant thanks to a note and he isn't too far from a bonfire, I feel I have my bearings and can start to make a strategy for the game. I'll just concentrate on getting myself kitted out before I go any further.

You go through a range of emotions as games don't treat you like this, but it's doing all those things that you think other games are silly for not doing. The fights are as fair as you're going to get, it's the only game that it makes sense that you're killing hundreds of things because you know every one of them has a fair shot of killing you too.

Pablo Diablo
October 23rd, 2011, 1:51 PM
So I'm still here playing Demon's Souls. And I realize I suck at this game. I've faced off against the Adjudicator about 15 times. And I don't know what's wrong with me but I just cannot beat him. I've gotten him down to 1/3 of his health but one hit from his sword and I'm dead. I know when it's coming and I roll out of the way but I always end up at one point getting stuck in his body or against a pillar. I know it's something I'll eventually get, but man is it eating at me. On the plus side this game is definitely going to take the longest for me to beat, which is what I wanted. So there is that.

People who have done NG+'s I salute you.

Olympus
October 23rd, 2011, 2:39 PM
I think if you keep rolling to the right against Adjudicator, there's no way he can hit you. It's been awhile since I fought him though.

Pablo Diablo
October 23rd, 2011, 3:12 PM
No that is the right tactic, and I do it. But I end up hitting some pillar or am greedy and try to get an extra swipe in. I'll get him. I'll come in triumphantly once I beat him.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 23rd, 2011, 3:13 PM
I made a good bit of progress in Dark Souls until I got to Anor Londo. Christ it's a fucking slog of a level. The enemies are all massive and impossible to stagger, so timing has to be perfect. I got to the boss and decided to return to the Undead Parish before I had a go to work up a bit of levelling and humanity by helping fight some bosses.

Got through Blighttown fairly quickly and beat the big spider witch woman with help from a couple of other players then made the Fury Sword with the soul, it's a nifty weapon.

Olympus
October 23rd, 2011, 3:41 PM
greedy and try to get an extra swipe in.

Bingo. Dozens of my deaths have been caused by this. Patience is a virtue.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 23rd, 2011, 3:48 PM
The Crescent Falchion makes short work of the Adjudicator, I think magic weapons do him a lot of damage. Be patient on working on his side, then when he flops over just go to fucking town on his head like there's no tomorrow. Summon some help too, always a good idea.

Olympus
October 23rd, 2011, 4:51 PM
I had a fuck of a hard time with Blighttown. Those big club guys at the beginning got me three or four times before I even got past them. The giant parasite thing on the wall was piss easy though.

Fighting the boss tonight.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 23rd, 2011, 5:47 PM
The boss of Blighttown is one of the easier ones, but in saying that I had help from two other players and have taken it on as a helper myself.

The bosses of Anor Lando are ridiculously hard. I've been trying to help others beat them so I can work up some humanity but I've had 4 goes now as part of a trio and been smashed every time.

Olympus
October 23rd, 2011, 5:55 PM
Which boss is it?

El Capitano Gatisto
October 24th, 2011, 2:17 PM
Blighttown Boss is the woman attached to a spider. Anor Londo is Executioner Smough and Dragonslayer Ormstein. Two bastards. When you manage to kill one, the other's health bar resets and he powers up with the abilities of the dead one.

Olympus
October 24th, 2011, 5:07 PM
Oh yeah, a buddy of mine called them Tweedledee and Tweedledum. He said it's easier to kill the little one first.

Or maybe it was the big one...

Oh well. I'm still not through Blighttown. I just don't have as much time to play as I like to.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 24th, 2011, 5:36 PM
Yeah it's easier to kill the small guy but then the big guy turns into a complete and utter bastard, he's almost impossible to melee. Still haven't beat them in multiple tries as part of a trio.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 24th, 2011, 5:57 PM
Well that was good, I had a first go on my own game at fighting them alongside a couple of other guys I summoned and we made pretty short work of them. Both guys I summoned had good ranged magic attacks, I dealt with the small one first then they picked off the big guy.

Pablo Diablo
October 27th, 2011, 1:14 PM
Finally beat that motherfucker, also beat another Demon I was stuck on. Must say the forced Pure Black tendency is making it a bit tough on me thankfully it'll end October 31st.

Judas Iscariot
October 27th, 2011, 1:17 PM
Started a new game as a Wanderer since I'm back online again.

Most likely restarting again as a Warrior. I've got zero finesse.

Judas Iscariot
October 28th, 2011, 2:03 PM
Started again as a bandit. Not feeling him, either.

I can't find someone I can CONNECT with.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 28th, 2011, 2:26 PM
It doesn't really matter who you start with, you can level up whatever you want and go in any direction with your character. Basically your starting class can make certain parts easier at the beginning depending on your style of play (melee, ranged magic).

You will find full sets of all armours and weapons for every character as you go through the game too.

Judas Iscariot
October 28th, 2011, 3:51 PM
Started AGAIN as a warrior, which seems to work best with me.

Since getting back online, the hints other players left are great and make a good deal of the game easier.

Also makes parts of it slightly more terrifying as the warnings leave you waiting, waiting, waiting for something that's going to kick your ass.

I opened the door at the base of the tower of the Taurus Demon. Never thought to do it before.

Walked and walked, and some motherfucker at the bottom utterly destroyed me with one hit. Every hit I got in on him did 3 damage.

I've come to the conclusion that he can't be beaten. I'll return with the Drake Sword and see if that helps.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 28th, 2011, 4:37 PM
That's Havel, the guy I posted about earlier in the thread. You should use the co-op as much as possible, both you helping others and get help any time you see someone's soulsign on the ground. You have to be in alive human form to summon help. Its the best way to progress.

Olympus
October 28th, 2011, 4:55 PM
There's a cheap way to beat him. I'll share if you desire.

Judas Iscariot
October 29th, 2011, 3:38 PM
I beat him by taking all my clothes off so I could doge him and smashing him in the back with the Drake sword.

BOOM.

Just killed robot pig. Apparently there's a way to get a sick helmet from him, but alas I did not.

I did kill the black knight guarding the ring and he dropped his sword. Booyakasha. Can't wield it, though.

Olympus
October 29th, 2011, 3:58 PM
Fucking BLIGHTTOWN is pissing me off. I've yet to successfully get to the bottom and be safe after traversing the fog. I really want to get to that second bonfire.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 29th, 2011, 4:18 PM
Blighttown is the shits. You really, really need the rusted ring that lets you run through the poison swamp unhindered. You get it back at the Undead Asylum somewhere if you haven't got it already.

I was very pleased to totally clear out that area, no need to go back again. Everything about it is shite.

Olympus
October 29th, 2011, 5:39 PM
I thought about getting that ring... but then I FINALLY made it down to the second bonfire. I think I'll just blow through the area, beat the boss, get back to Firelink, and then clean out that area later when I have weapons that can actually handle all the enemies.

Seriously... the small section when you're climbing down to the swamp was easily the most frustrating part of the game so far. I probably lost 20,000 souls total after repeatedly dying.

Dying was bad enough, but I died twice thanks to the game mechanics failing... namely the targeting. There was one of the spiders at the bottom of the last ladder that was kind of behind the ladder, and the game couldn't R-lock on to him. But he could it me, and him plus the four mosquitos surrounding me messed me up.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 29th, 2011, 5:45 PM
That level is a bit of a mess with slowdown and all sorts. It's basically the Valley of Defilement in Demon Souls, which I also hated.

Olympus
October 29th, 2011, 6:05 PM
This has been infinitely more frustrating for me, for some reason. I just think I'm using the wrong weapon. I have my spear, which is good for the spiders and big knife guys, but terrible for the mosquitos and those damn fire dogs.

El Capitano Gatisto
October 29th, 2011, 6:08 PM
I went through it with the Black Knight Sword +1, it killed pretty much everything in two hits. Once you get through Blighttown and ring the second bell, you can get some pretty powerful weapons. Sen's Fortress opens up (another massively frustrating level) and you can get a lightening spear there, which makes short work of almost everyone.

Olympus
October 30th, 2011, 3:12 PM
Lightning spear = dream weapon.

Judas Iscariot
November 2nd, 2011, 2:53 PM
Right so I leveled up and am using the black knight sword now instead of the Drake sword.

Packs a fucking WHALLOP, but the attack speed is a good deal slower.

I brought it to +1. Does it increase in attack speed? I suspect my strength needs to move up.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 2nd, 2011, 3:00 PM
No it just does more damage. Don't waste anything on upgrading it any further, like I said it should be enough to take you through to Sen's Fortress where you can get the lightning spear, which makes short work of a good deal of the game's enemies.

I also made Quelaag's Fury Sword from a +10 Falchion and the soul of the spider witch woman thing, it is tremendous. Humanity level multiplies the damage, it has pretty fast attacks and every enemy seems to have problems dealing with the fire effect from it.

Judas Iscariot
November 2nd, 2011, 3:20 PM
Thanks for the advice.

Question: how many of you, after you finish this marathon, are going to wind up playing the whole fucking thing over again with a different class?

Because I already want to start again as a thief (after settling on warrior) and then again as some sort of magic wielder.

(How many of you... I mean the two of you, since Pete Cash seems to have dropped off...)

(Watch, now he'll come in and say, "I already beat it 6 times with every class... Faggot...")

El Capitano Gatisto
November 2nd, 2011, 3:29 PM
I wouldn't mind playing it through again with a more magic-based build. I am guessing it would mean going through the game in a completely different order.

There is also NG+, basically you start the game again with your current character as soon as you finish. The enemies are much tougher but you get more souls for defeating them and you keep everything you earned/collected from the previous playthrough. This continues through successive playthroughs.

rockhawk84
November 2nd, 2011, 3:30 PM
I doubt I play through it with a different class just because there isnt really anything that sets them apart once you get to a high enough level. That said I have enjoyed it quite a bit more than demon's souls. Also as far as weapons go if you can make the great sword of artorias, from a broken sword hilt i believe, and level it up and pair it with a leveled up crystal ring shield it makes the game a joke. Had a friend on new game plus, maybe plus plus, 3 shot the final boss with the L2/LT attack using the shield. The downside is that it degrades the weapon super fast. The actual sword makes quick work of almost every enemy in the game. It does take away a bit from the enjoyment though so Id reccomend what I do and only use it in situation where i get my ass handed to me time and time again.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 2nd, 2011, 3:44 PM
I have the Great Sword of Artorias but don't even have close to the stats to wield it. I put nothing into my magic-based attributes until I got to above level 60. I've bumped up attunement and intelligence, but Faith is still at 10.

Olympus
November 4th, 2011, 7:22 AM
I'm definitely sticking with my main character and going for the platinum. It'll probably take me a couple months, but hey, I've got time.

Made it into Anor Londo last night. The Iron Golem beat me a couple times, but then the big bastard fell off his bridge and died. A friend of mine keeps telling me to watch out for the boss fight at the end of this place. As hard as Quelaag was for me, I'm pretty worried about this one.

rockhawk84
November 4th, 2011, 9:56 AM
Orenstein and Smough arent alot of fun. Best tips I can give you are to focus on only one of them til he's dead as one's death heals the other. Magic/ranged battle also helps alot but they can be killed using melee. If you have the pyromancy iron flesh and a shield that blocks lightning damage I would suggest using them. Also I think you can summon solaire before that fight if you are human. He dies rather easily but is useful as a tank for a while

El Capitano Gatisto
November 4th, 2011, 10:10 AM
I'm definitely sticking with my main character and going for the platinum. It'll probably take me a couple months, but hey, I've got time.

Made it into Anor Londo last night. The Iron Golem beat me a couple times, but then the big bastard fell off his bridge and died. A friend of mine keeps telling me to watch out for the boss fight at the end of this place. As hard as Quelaag was for me, I'm pretty worried about this one.

That's the double boss I was talking about earlier in the thread. They are complete bastards. I've only beaten them once and that happened to be in my own game, thankfully.

Olympus
November 7th, 2011, 11:53 PM
I beat Smough and Ornstein tonight. I spent about three days farming so I could get my strength and endurance high enough to use Havel's Shield. After I got that, the boss became significantly easier.

I also got my lightning spear to +3, which is quite the efficient weapon.

Killed the Stray Demon tonight too and explored Undead Asylum. What does the Peculiar Doll do? I just got it from in there.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 8th, 2011, 7:33 AM
It opens up an optional level in Anor Londo. You know the big cathedral thing, fight your way to the big painting at the back of it (where the chandelier that you cut down has dropped) and it gives you an option to examine the painting. If you have the peculair doll, you get sucked in to another world. You can't leave until you go through the level but it's worth going for the goodies there.

Olympus
November 8th, 2011, 8:26 AM
Cool... sounds like fun. I'll give it a try later.

Mozar
November 8th, 2011, 2:40 PM
It opens up an optional level in Anor Londo. You know the big cathedral thing, fight your way to the big painting at the back of it (where the chandelier that you cut down has dropped) and it gives you an option to examine the painting. If you have the peculair doll, you get sucked in to another world. You can't leave until you go through the level but it's worth going for the goodies there.

its also a great area to farm souls and large titanite shards. i spent 7 hours in the area and lvled up from 61 to 81 in that time.

Olympus
November 8th, 2011, 6:11 PM
I need me some Titanite Chunks. A buddy of mine said you can get them from the enormous Anor Londo guys, but I don't think I can recall getting any, even with the item discovery ring on.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 8th, 2011, 6:43 PM
I need some of those as well, I have my lightning Iaito and I want to make it stronger so it becomes a beast of a weapon to take on any cheeky black phantoms.

I'll never seen a chunk dropped by those guys, and I have about 17 humanity and the covetous ring.

Judas Iscariot
November 8th, 2011, 6:47 PM
The black knights seem to drop titanite chunks all the time.

Do you guys go human often? Because I think I've only done it once.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 8th, 2011, 8:06 PM
Yeah if there is a tough boss on the horizon, I'll definitely go human so I can get some help. I also like to kindle the bonfires for extra estus flasks, just got the item that lets you kindle 3 times for 20 flasks too.

I joined the Gravelord covenant, so now I can be a bastard I think and curse people to make their games harder. Someone did it to me once but they must have died before I found them, I got a message about disasters taking place in my world then one later about them being removed, had to look it up on the wiki to see what the fuck it meant, still not really sure but it sounds fun.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 9th, 2011, 8:40 PM
I cleared the skeleton areas (Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants) and the Demon Ruins over the past couple of days. The Demon Ruins has about 20 Taurus and Capra demons (maybe more). Again I demolished the bosses pretty quickly with the help of co-op, one guy pretty much murdered the Centipede Demon boss on his own for me because he could walk on the lava.

I don't think I have much of the game left to do. It's tough to level up now and it's slightly annoying just how many items are way beyond my capabilities, even with a serious bit of grinding. I have a good balanced character but you really need to pour levels into one particular stat if you want to use the really powerful stuff dictated by it.

I finally killed that fucking dragon too. Three arrows from my upgraded Dragonslayer's Greatbow took him out, so I got to join the Sunlight covenant and get free miracles I will never be able to use because I didn't bother levelling Faith.

El Capitano Gatisto
November 9th, 2011, 8:40 PM
.

Olympus
November 14th, 2011, 7:08 PM
A buddy of mine has started a video series that he's calling "Beginner's Guide to Dark Souls." He's basically going through each area giving tips, advice, etc... things he wished he knew when he started the game.

Starting class and Asylum Demon

Dark Souls Character Creation, how to defeat Asylum Demon - YouTube

Taurus Demon

Dark Souls: How to defeat the Taurus Demon - YouTube

Getting the Drake Sword + Farming Spots

Dark Souls Drake Sword and Early Game Farming - YouTube

El Capitano Gatisto
November 14th, 2011, 7:18 PM
I joined the Darkmoon Covenant and spent a few days just invading people who are in the Book of the Guilty. There's a few too many annoying tactics available in PvP in this game (Ring of Fog) that I understand will be patched, but had a few enjoyable fights and racked up plenty of Souvenirs of Reprisal.

I think I only have one more area boss, in the ghost town, to beat before finishing the game too.

Judas Iscariot
March 21st, 2012, 4:11 PM
Right, so having come to HATE Skyrim because it's a boring shitfest I'm going to play this again because there's nothing else I could be bothered with playing.

Played as a straight ahead warrior meat head last time and want a different class. Any recommendations?

I tend to HATE playing any character that's related to magic, so I just might force myself to focus on that.

Olympus
March 21st, 2012, 10:10 PM
I'd say go with a stealthy thief. It forces you to become really good at the parry/riposte move. Once you master it, you can dominate enemies faster than a high strength melee guy.

El Capitano Gatisto
March 22nd, 2012, 2:31 PM
I started a new game recently after my PS3 died on its arse, I went for a Faith build so I picked the Priest class to start. I've just defeated Seath again, am at level 93 and strolling about in Velka's gear. I've been floating about Anor Londo invading people, helping people out, levelling up and crafting useful weapons and will go on to Izalith soon. I did things a bit differently this time, such as levelling up in various covenants to get benefits.

Judas Iscariot
March 23rd, 2012, 3:19 PM
BOOOOOOOO

Had to download an update and now it says "VICTORY ACHIEVED" instead of "YOU DEFEATED."

BOOOOOOO I loved the Engrish.

The thief is an effing blast killing machine.

El Capitano Gatisto
March 23rd, 2012, 4:15 PM
I just defeated the Four Kings, that's all the bosses smashed and the end game level opened up. I haven't been to the Great Hollow or Ash Lake yet so I'm going to explore there first before I take on the final boss.

Olympus
March 23rd, 2012, 10:06 PM
Ugh... Great Hollow... I hated that place. So easy to get cursed, and the lizards are impossible to get. It's also hard to get up once you've gotten down. Good thing you can warp out of Ash Lake.

El Capitano Gatisto
March 24th, 2012, 10:48 AM
I had the curse protection ring from New Londo Ruins and I could one-hit the frogs no problem, so ended up being a cakewalk. So all I really have left to do is finish the last boss. I tried him but he obliterated me in about a minute. It's a very similar boss battle to the False King at the end of Demon Souls, except if anything Gwyn is a little more relentless. Now I'm just invading people with the Darkmoon covenant and trying to take them on with a parrying shield and Priscilla's Dagger. Not going too well, PvP can be incredibly laggy in this game.

I may start a new character after this and go for an absolute Strength build so I can use some of the mega weapons. However, I like being mobile and dodging rather than tanking stuff so it might not last long.

Judas Iscariot
April 13th, 2012, 1:16 AM
COMING TO PC

With some new shit and presumably a correction of what I'm doing right now, the Blighttown bullshit.

Not that I mind it. In a game that says, "Fuck you, and you will like it when I say fuck you," it's like a, "Fuck you, MOTHERFUCKER."

Maybe consoles will get DLC of what's coming to PC in August?

Preferably some DLC that gets rid of "Victory Achieved," and turns it back into "You Defeated."

Judas Iscariot
April 13th, 2012, 1:22 AM
Also, I found this funny. While he's deliberately playing like shit, things like this crossed my mind so many times:

Rage Quit : Dark Souls - YouTube

Alf
April 13th, 2012, 6:20 AM
That was brilliant. I'm having a shit and I literally just pissed laughing.

Olympus
April 13th, 2012, 11:19 AM
I hope I'm not the only one that didn't find that funny.

The Rick
April 15th, 2012, 3:20 AM
COMING TO PC

With some new shit and presumably a correction of what I'm doing right now, the Blighttown bullshit.

Not that I mind it. In a game that says, "Fuck you, and you will like it when I say fuck you," it's like a, "Fuck you, MOTHERFUCKER."

Maybe consoles will get DLC of what's coming to PC in August?

Preferably some DLC that gets rid of "Victory Achieved," and turns it back into "You Defeated."




Gamers rallying against Dark Souls PC using Games for Windows Live
By Eddie Makuch
gamespot link (http://www.gamespot.com/news/gamers-rallying-against-dark-souls-pc-using-games-for-windows-live-6371507)


More than 13,000 gamers have signed an online petition asking Namco Bandai to ditch plans to use Games for Windows Live in the upcoming PC game Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, or at least offer a Steamworks version.

The group's petition posted to Change.org has more than 13,000 signatures as of press time. It decries Games for Windows Live as "unpopular," "inconvenient," and "difficult to use."

"After anxiously awaiting a PC release for this fantastic game it feels like a real slap in the face hearing Dark Souls will use Games for Windows Live," reads the statement.

The petition asks Namco Bandai to consider using Valve's Steamworks for digital rights management, claiming it is "easier to use, less intrusive, more reliable, and more accepted among PC gamers."

The Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition includes everything found in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the 2011 role-playing game, as well as new content. This includes new bosses, areas, enemies, weapons, and armor, as well as a PVP online matchmaking system.

Judas Iscariot
April 15th, 2012, 3:56 AM
Yeah, I saw that.

Another reason why I have to take console over PC, so I don't have to deal with that bullshit as well as having to spend a console's worth of cash upgrading my video cards and RAM so I can run a damn game.

And yeah, I'd prefer PC over everything else otherwise, but there's so much hassle over little things that I can't be bothered.

Olympus
April 15th, 2012, 5:33 AM
Will consoles see the new content as DLC?

Judas Iscariot
April 16th, 2012, 12:51 AM
Damn well better. We're the reason it's on PC.

El Capitano Gatisto
April 16th, 2012, 9:11 AM
From Software always said they would never do DLC for Demon Souls or Dark Souls because they believed the completed version of the game is what you should be paying for, but it would pretty annoying if they included extra stuff restricted to the PC version of the game.

Hlebsfall
April 16th, 2012, 10:04 AM
I've decided to buy this. This despite the fact that I have no patience and get angry at things very quickly. I can forsee my controller being smashed into a thousand pieces by the end of the week.

Olympus
April 16th, 2012, 2:42 PM
Exactly. It'd be like Dark Souls 1.5. I'd gladly pay $10 for a couple new bosses though.

Bert
June 1st, 2012, 10:39 PM
http://store.steampowered.com/app/211420/


Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition will include an untold chapter in the world of Lordran where the player must stop the spread of darkness at all costs by facing and defeating the Dark Knight Artorias.

New Bosses – Including Artorias of Abyss, Chimera of Tomb, and more
PVP Online Matchmaking System – Quick matching for co-op or PVP
New Areas – Including Oolacile Tomb, Old Ruins and more
New Enemies – Including Abyss Guard, Chained Prisoner and more
New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough and more
New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs


Never played either game. Will probably buy for co op.

The Rogerer
October 8th, 2012, 5:36 PM
I have finally bought this game. I rented it on release, at a very rough time and the unflinching assault of this game was too much. I find I'm much less impatient now. I've only done an hour and am hanging around the Undead Burg, taking advantage of what I remember and levelling myself up every chance I get.

Rip
October 8th, 2012, 5:47 PM
I picked it up last week, finally.

I'm at the 'burg as well, I made the mistake of dong my usual and 'just sticking it on for an hour' when I first got it.... Hells Teeth it's unforgiving!

I wandered up some stairs and a bloody dragon sat on my head!

Olympus
October 8th, 2012, 7:28 PM
Yeah. Cut off his tail by shooting it with arrows, and you'll get a handsome sword.

Judas Iscariot
December 9th, 2012, 4:48 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rPJaJ5ys_G0

El Capitano Gatisto
December 9th, 2012, 5:19 PM
Getting it. Hope it's a totally new game again even though they've kept the Dark Souls title with no explanation of what the fuck's going on or why.

Judas Iscariot
December 9th, 2012, 5:33 PM
Would you expect them to explain it?

This one's supposedly going to be more straight forward with an actual purpose, but I wouldn't be surprised if that purpose is, "Beat the game. That's all you need to know."

El Capitano Gatisto
December 9th, 2012, 5:53 PM
Nah, but the fact they're keeping the title means they probably want to build on momentum. I'd have preferred it if they came up with some other Souls name and a totally new game again with all this mysterious bullshit and random characters. Although I would like if they brought back the stockpiling element that made the Demon Souls game a bit more strategic i.e. you had a maximum carry burden as well as an equip burden, so you had to have a chat with Stockpile Thomas every time you were going out into the scary world to have the best gear for the job.

The Rick
December 9th, 2012, 7:21 PM
Nah keeping the same title just means that Sony doesn't own the IP, and they can further build their brand. I've only played Demon Souls at this point, but will play it over the Christmas break(company is forcing employees to take days off).

The Rick
December 12th, 2012, 1:26 AM
Dark Souls II Wii U petition kicks off
gamespot link (http://www.gamespot.com/news/dark-souls-ii-wii-u-petition-kicks-off-6401374)
By Eddie Makuch December 11, 2012 4:32AM PST



Dark Souls II Wii U petition kicks off
Online petition to bring From Software's role-playing game to Nintendo's first HD console begins; 3,000 signatures netted thus far.

On Friday night, Dark Souls II was announced for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, but not the Wii U. Now, gamers have launched an online petition at Change.org to bring the role-playing game to Nintendo's first high-definition console. It has netted 3,204 signatures thus far.

The creator of the Dark Souls II Wii U petition cites a couple of reasons the Wii U and its GamePad controller could benefit the game. The first, he said, is by using the GamePad to manage inventory. Controlling the inventory this way, players would not have their vision obscured on the TV itself when searching for items, he said.

The second major reason Dark Souls II should come to the Wii U, he said, is the console's "affordability" relative to the PC and PS3, as well as online fees associated with Xbox Live. Online access for the Wii U is free, with the exception of a 50-cent charge for minors.

Dark Souls II will feature a new hero, a fresh storyline, and an "unfamiliar" setting. "Epic battles with gruesome enemies" are promised, as well as a revamped server-based multiplayer mode that aims to "put a distinct Dark Souls II twist on the concept of playing with others."

Dark Souls will also be "more straightforward and more understandable," according to new director Tomohiro Shibuya.

Pete Cash
November 28th, 2013, 11:01 PM
I've started a new build. A slow lumbering warrior with no magic at all. I'm still fairly low level but the capra demon was a bitch to beat because my character is so fucking slow but I got him. The gaping dragon was an absolute pile of piss despite it costing me many souls in gold pine resins. Now to grind my way to strength 50

Judas Iscariot
April 7th, 2016, 4:57 PM
Haven't picked up 3 yet, but I enjoyed this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okBG7oz_Gto

El Capitano Gatisto
April 7th, 2016, 5:22 PM
I've pre-ordered. Sounds pretty great, Dark Souls 2 was still good but a bit of a letdown compared to the 2 previous games but this does sound like a return to form.

Atty
April 15th, 2016, 5:08 PM
I asked this a while back in the ramble thread and didn't get an answer. Is this a series where you have to play all the games to know what's going on? I got Dark Souls II on a holiday deal and haven't touched it but am getting ready to give it a go at some point. Also interested in the third game. To go back and play the original I'd have to dust off the 360 and would rather just dive into the second if it won't be confusing that way.

El Capitano Gatisto
April 15th, 2016, 6:55 PM
No, there's a very loose, abstract narrative that is so arcane that it's possible to completely ignore it. They can all effectively be seen as standalone games but if you play them all you'll recognise characters and themes. The games are spiritual successors rather than a narrative series.

Dark Souls 2 is easily the weakest game of the series. My Dark Souls 3 has come with a full Dark Souls download. Demon Souls is very much worth playing too, I completed it again last year 5 years after first getting it and it was still great. I think it's still PS3 only though.

I've played a bit of Dark Souls 3 and it's been a tough start so far. Pretty punishing learning curve, I feel very under-levelled for the first area so have been helping other people out to get souls.

Atty
April 15th, 2016, 10:41 PM
Good to know. I'll be giving them a go soon. May start with 2 for the simple fact that I have it sitting on the shelf for PS4, but do intend to do the first one eventually. Probably whenever I next have Windows on my computer or see it for cheap on 360.

El Capitano Gatisto
April 16th, 2016, 3:38 PM
Dark Souls 3 is great. I can feel myself being immersed in it again. It's punishing but rewarding.