To be frank, as much as I love the Souls games, I consider the ability to just run into areas you aren't prepared for and grab as many goodies as possible until you die a pretty big design flaw. Use up all your souls and humanity until you have a trivial amount left, then go kamikaze for loot. In that way the risk of overextending yourself and losing everything you've gained on the way, as in standard RPGs, is nearly eliminated. At any given time you're never able to lose anything but numbers that can be obtained again anywhere in the game, you always get a second chance to get them back (and with judicious use of Rings of Sacrifice, many more chances), and if those numbers are at zero, you risk absolutely nothing. So in a certain sense, Dark Souls is "easier" than other games, since your only real enemy is your patience.
To be fair, you won't know where all those items are unless you have played through the game at least once anyways. And most people are just using them to go through the game with a specialized build in a manner that they like.
There aren't many overpowered weapons anyways, most are pretty balanced with some exceptions. And those that would be are kinda tough to find for a brand new player.
I have heard of a couple people stumbling on the Zwei near Firelink and just destroying the first half of the game with it.
Played the game for the first time last night for 1 hour and had to turn it off, its ridiculously hard and unforgiving. I have the beginner shield so its hard to block and when i try to time the parry I just get ganged up on. I started off as a wanderer and took the master key, no idea why.
Played the game for the first time last night for 1 hour and had to turn it off, its ridiculously hard and unforgiving. I have the beginner shield so its hard to block and when i try to time the parry I just get ganged up on.
Nice i need to find a video of this. I got to the part after the bird took me away and went up some stairs and got ganged up on after i went through the first white mist.
Played the game for the first time last night for 1 hour and had to turn it off, its ridiculously hard and unforgiving. I have the beginner shield so its hard to block and when i try to time the parry I just get ganged up on. I started off as a wanderer and took the master key, no idea why.
Don't try to parry. Not yet. It's just not worth it. Some players are great at it, but unless you can do it reliably, you're just going to get mauled.
Mainly try to take on enemies one on one, and circle strafe them to avoid hits. Certain weapons - spears and rapiers - allow you to attack while blocking, so maybe try those. You can get a rapier class weapon very easily by
taking the elevator down from Firelink Shrine - there's an Estoc lying around somewhere in the area before New Londo Ruins.
Master Key is the best item to take as a beginner (though I can make a good argument for Black Firebombs, too). If you're only an hour in, you might go back and start as a Pyromancer. You can still build your character however you like, but you'll start the game with access to Fireball, which helps a beginner character a lot.
Nice i need to find a video of this. I got to the part after the bird took me away and went up some stairs and got ganged up on after i went through the first white mist.
It may have changed since Oct 11, but EpicNameBro's vids on YouTube used to be the best. I don't recommend watching many, though, it will spoil the whole game. Just watch the first few to see how he plays (I recall he had a few tips videos, too). And don't try to parry like he does.
got Dark Souls for Christmas (my wife must hate me ).
I've never been 'scared' to start a game, but by god I was with this one.
To my surprise, I'm pretty decent at it so far. I guess learning patterns and being patient, as well as watching YouTube playthroughs of it this past year, is helping me out a lot.
I'm playing as a Knight (yeah, I know, boring) and after about 8 hours I finally found some armor that is better than my starter gear. I just can't decide what weapon to build up. I used a one-handed Broadsword for the first few hours, then was able to wreck guys with a two-handed Halberd (at the expense of my defense, unfortunately). Now I'm using that kitana-like sword that I got from killing the zombie merchant in the Undead Burg. Gotten that up to a +2 and the heavy-thrust comes in handy.
I got the Drake Sword... and it's awesome, but I can't one-hand it and after a few two-handed usages it starts getting damaged.
I've been mostly raising the following: Dex, End, & Vit.
Should I be pumping up Str or Res?
I also get my ass kicked when trying to solo bosses. Normally have to go in with help. Is this normal for a noob player?
Drake Sword is great, but don't bother with the special ability. Also, don't upgrade it, it will get outclassed pretty fast. Edit: the requirements to one-hand the drake sword aren't too bad, but honestly, you can get through the game w/o it. Get a nice dex weapon and just do normal upgrades.
If you've been pumping DEX to any extent then you probably need to commit to being a dex fighter and forget about STR. My DEX char put points in dex, end, and vit, and was fine. I like the katana class weapons. Can't remember the stats on yours, but basically you're looking for weapons that have A or S ratings for dex. Pump end and vit more than dex until later in the game.
You can solo bosses as a dex char. Just need patience (
Don't try to parry. Not yet. It's just not worth it. Some players are great at it, but unless you can do it reliably, you're just going to get mauled.
Mainly try to take on enemies one on one, and circle strafe them to avoid hits. Certain weapons - spears and rapiers - allow you to attack while blocking, so maybe try those. You can get a rapier class weapon very easily by
taking the elevator down from Firelink Shrine - there's an Estoc lying around somewhere in the area before New Londo Ruins.
Master Key is the best item to take as a beginner (though I can make a good argument for Black Firebombs, too). If you're only an hour in, you might go back and start as a Pyromancer. You can still build your character however you like, but you'll start the game with access to Fireball, which helps a beginner character a lot.
It may have changed since Oct 11, but EpicNameBro's vids on YouTube used to be the best. I don't recommend watching many, though, it will spoil the whole game. Just watch the first few to see how he plays (I recall he had a few tips videos, too). And don't try to parry like he does.
I might look into this as some kind of med-long distance attack would be preferable. These enemies are brutal, unlike some games that you can run away for the most part the damn things hunt you down tirelessly .
Drake Sword is great, but don't bother with the special ability. Also, don't upgrade it, it will get outclassed pretty fast. Edit: the requirements to one-hand the drake sword aren't too bad, but honestly, you can get through the game w/o it. Get a nice dex weapon and just do normal upgrades.
If you've been pumping DEX to any extent then you probably need to commit to being a dex fighter and forget about STR. My DEX char put points in dex, end, and vit, and was fine. I like the katana class weapons. Can't remember the stats on yours, but basically you're looking for weapons that have A or S ratings for dex. Pump end and vit more than dex until later in the game.
You can solo bosses as a dex char. Just need patience (
returning to the Undead Asylum and fighting that fat bastard (after you break through the floor). His patterns seem easy enough, but I'm just not doing nearly enough damage and his area-flame move is just killer. I also don't want to waste a humanity kindling the bonfire because after I beat him I can't imagine ever having the need to return to the Asylum.
I figure I'll just jack my weapon strength up and wear something more flame resistant.
One thing I like/hate about this game is the open world nature.
I appreciate the fact this game doesn't hand-hold and tell you where to go, but I waste a lot of time just running around, fighting the same enemies, trying to figure out where to go next.
I also get invaded basically any time I reverse my hollowing (usually within like 4-5 minutes) and never stand a chance against the shitheads invading me, so there goes another wasted humanity fairly quickly. :/
My favorite game of this generation, I also consider it the true 3D Castlevania sequel(the similarities are all there, just needs some bats).
1000/1000 the game, played a few new characters, did a lot of co-op, and began losing interest. So I'm currently doing a solo SL1 run, soloing O&S was a fantastic experience, no joke. In a way it's quite liberating to not have to worry about leveling up or losing souls. Having so little health also made you appreciate the level design and enemy placement even more, it's almost like the game telling me "last time your level 100 character managed to brute force through this area, but this time that lone bowman up there is going to kick your ass."
The game does have its flaws in terms was executing its concepts (Lost Izalith, netcode), but simply from a game design standpoint, I think this game is pretty much perfect in terms its atmosphere, narrative, difficulty curve, and mechanics. The covenant system is an absolutely brilliant idea that is flawed in practice, but A+ for creativity.
Every time I watch a Dark Souls related video I want to play it again, very few games can do that to me.
I might look into this as some kind of med-long distance attack would be preferable. These enemies are brutal, unlike some games that you can run away for the most part the damn things hunt you down tirelessly .
returning to the Undead Asylum and fighting that fat bastard (after you break through the floor). His patterns seem easy enough, but I'm just not doing nearly enough damage and his area-flame move is just killer. I also don't want to waste a humanity kindling the bonfire because after I beat him I can't imagine ever having the need to return to the Asylum.
I figure I'll just jack my weapon strength up and wear something more flame resistant.
One thing I like/hate about this game is the open world nature.
I appreciate the fact this game doesn't hand-hold and tell you where to go, but I waste a lot of time just running around, fighting the same enemies, trying to figure out where to go next.
I also get invaded basically any time I reverse my hollowing (usually within like 4-5 minutes) and never stand a chance against the shitheads invading me, so there goes another wasted humanity fairly quickly. :/
LOL. I hate that guy. You may be too low level to do enough damage to him right now, and you won't need the item he drops for a long while anyway. Main thing with him is always, always, always stay behind him, and be ready to dodge the one move he has that hits behind.
If you join the Way of the White that will reduce invasions (though you should already be in that covenant as a Knight...did you leave it?)
It's a decent action RPG, with solid controls, fantastic enemy design, and a wonderful atmosphere.
But it's too damn unforgiving for me. I can't be on with trudge though the same areas over and over again, only to be killed. Again. And have to start again. Again.
Plus, I think it's well overhyped, particularly on GAF.
"The pinnacle of gaming, nothing comes close."
Come on now, it's a well designed, and constructed hack and slack with light RPG elements. It's not the second coming of Christ.
But it's too damn unforgiving for me. I can't be on with trudge though the same areas over and over again, only to be killed. Again. And have to start again. Again.
LOL. I hate that guy. You may be too low level to do enough damage to him right now, and you won't need the item he drops for a long while anyway. Main thing with him is always, always, always stay behind him, and be ready to dodge the one move he has that hits behind.
If you join the Way of the White that will reduce invasions (though you should already be in that covenant as a Knight...did you leave it?)
There it is. I think I accidentally left the covenant when I talked to the weird guy in the bell tower post-Gargoyle fight. I guess it's time to make friends with that bowl-cut knight again.
Also- the chunky onion knight that is always saying he's "closed".
This guy:
There it is. I think I accidentally left the covenant when I talked to the weird guy in the bell tower post-Gargoyle fight. I guess it's time to make friends with that bowl-cut knight again.
Also- the chunky onion knight that is always saying he's "closed".
This guy:
You should ignore Res. Str is a closer question. If you've put a lot of points into Dex already, then you probably want to stick with Dex as your main damage scaler. In that case you would only consider raising Str enough to access a shield you like, but since the small/medium shields you'd be wearing as a Dex build have very low Str requirements, I think you could safely ignore Str all together.
Of course, this is just advice for a first playthrough. Advanced players do all kinds of unconventional builds that don't necessarily rest on one scaling stat.
So Dex, End, and Vit are good stats for now. I tend to think that if someone doesn't know what to do with a point, there's nothing wrong with dumping into End. End is good for just about everything you'll want to do in the Souls games.
You should also look into pyromancy when you get a chance. You'll get access to powerful mid and close-range attacks, and you can upgrade their damage independent of your soul level. Pyromancy can make your first playthrough much easier. EDIT: To be clear, unless you rolled a pyromancer, you won't have access to pyromancy until you've freed Laurentius from the Depths (very easy to do right after Capra).
Depends on your soul level and what you're trying to do. The early-game bosses are not bad to solo on your first playthrough (although Capra will kick your ass the first time no matter what), but there are any number of reasons why a noob might struggle against them. Make sure you have a 100% damage reduction shield, and feel free to ask for strategy advice on specific bosses.
I love that pic so much I had to make an avatar out of it, hope you don't mind. He has a quest that plays out if you help or talk to him each time you meet, so better not to kill him.
Sometimes the game really is that good. Dark Souls is not overhyped.
One of the reasons many of us like it is that it's not designed to be accepted by everyone who picks up a controller. Some people will dislike the slow, measured pace required to win and Dark Souls just doesn't care.
I play the game solo with no summons and fighting the 4 kings is easily the hardest challenge within the game especially now that I'm in ng+++. Also is there a better light armor than a fully leveled Paladin set?
It's a seriously amazing game... until Blighttown. The quality just takes a huge dip at that point, slightly gets back up after it but not anywhere near pre-Blighttown level.
DS is one of those games where a bad level pulls down the entire game.
I understand the Blighttown console framerate complaints of course but the zone is fine. From really nails the diseased shithole aesthetic! See: Demons' Souls swamp
It's a decent action RPG, with solid controls, fantastic enemy design, and a wonderful atmosphere.
But it's too damn unforgiving for me. I can't be on with trudge though the same areas over and over again, only to be killed. Again. And have to start again. Again.
Plus, I think it's well overhyped, particularly on GAF.
"The pinnacle of gaming, nothing comes close."
Come on now, it's a well designed, and constructed hack and slack with light RPG elements. It's not the second coming of Christ.
It's a decent action RPG, with solid controls, fantastic enemy design, and a wonderful atmosphere.
But it's too damn unforgiving for me. I can't be on with trudge though the same areas over and over again, only to be killed. Again. And have to start again. Again.
Plus, I think it's well overhyped, particularly on GAF.
"The pinnacle of gaming, nothing comes close."
Come on now, it's a well designed, and constructed hack and slack with light RPG elements. It's not the second coming of Christ.
The game has to played with the strategic mind set of defense and offense if you wanna rush through it like you would on lets say Dynasty Warriors or God of War you will get beaten. The game itself its constructed to be played carefully and not rushed. Learn to play by the book or with tactics that actually work on the design than trying to go full rush mode. Your deaths mostly are for rushing out or not thinking out well how to tackle the problems. You can make some kill themselves some are easy to backstab and some simply ignore and move forward. Light RPG element not really since you can notice big changes depending your stats, inventory etc.
Sometimes the game really is that good. Dark Souls is not overhyped.
One of the reasons many of us like it is that it's not designed to be accepted by everyone who picks up a controller. Some people will dislike the slow, measured pace required to win and Dark Souls just doesn't care.
The game appeal its more limited sure but you can probably try making it clear what is the appeal and how he might find a way enjoy the game more. If not liked fine he or she tried and if liked you worked your magic perfectly. Using the excuse of its not for everyone its a pretty much safe thing to say to not go full detail on how its enjoyable and maybe help him/her get the ropes of how things work into a more enjoyable environment. Try to make em feel more welcome than simply saying oh well its not for everyone.
Sometimes the game really is that good. Dark Souls is not overhyped.
One of the reasons many of us like it is that it's not designed to be accepted by everyone who picks up a controller. Some people will dislike the slow, measured pace required to win and Dark Souls just doesn't care.
i find this to be a BS hipster like argument.
i'm sure developers design a game knowing its not going to appeal to everyone, but its another thing to design a game with the intent of alienating a lot of potential users.
Anyway, lets not ruin the thread, which is now serving the purpose of trying to help those of us jut trying to get into the game.
It's a seriously amazing game... until Blighttown. The quality just takes a huge dip at that point, slightly gets back up after it but not anywhere near pre-Blighttown level.
DS is one of those games where a bad level pulls down the entire game.
I strongly disagree. Performance issues aside, Blighttown is a great area (and if you don't like it, you can skip it), and afterward you've got Sen's Fortress, Anor Londo, and the Painted World - three of the best areas in the game.
I play the game solo with no summons and fighting the 4 kings is easily the hardest challenge within the game especially now that I'm in ng+++. Also is there a better light armor than a fully leveled Paladin set?
i find this to be a BS hipster like argument.
i'm sure developers design a game knowing its not going to appeal to everyone, but its another thing to design a game with the intent of alienating a lot of potential users.
It's not so much alienating a group of people as designing specifically for another. Just like Star Citizen is designed specifically for people into space sims rather than the potentially larger audience of simpler games like Rogue Squadron. It is often the case that appealing to EVERYONE results in a weaker product.
The best advice I have for people trying to get into Dark Souls is to get used to creeping forward with a shield raised. And it wouldn't hurt to be a Pyromancer for that boss-killing ranged attack. Once you get beyond the first boss, you'll have a better handle on the game.
I strongly disagree. Performance issues aside, Blighttown is a great area (and if you don't like it, you can skip it), and afterward you've got Sen's Fortress, Anor Londo, and the Painted World - three of the best areas in the game.
sens fortress feels like a MASSIVE troll area though. cheap traps everywhere, armored suits that LOOK like silver knights all over the place without there e actually being any, that damn mimic...the list is endless
I was watching this parody music video earlier today and it reaffirmed my decision never to play this game. It just doesn't seem like fun playing through something that pointedly difficult.
I think it's really disappointing that people think that Dark Souls is fun because of the difficulty. Difficulty doesn't make the game fun, it's the combat, the atmosphere, the enemies and the general systems of the game. People need to understand this and give the game a try. It, along with Demon's Souls are the best games to have come out in the last 6 years, hands down.
It's not so much alienating a group of people as designing specifically for another. Just like Star Citizen is designed specifically for people into space sims rather than the potentially larger audience of simpler games like Rogue Squadron. It is often the case that appealing to EVERYONE results in a weaker product.
Naa I want this as a SP experience, plus the idea of being invaded and killed by some asshat isn't appealing in the least, the game is hard enough as is.
Naa I want this as a SP experience, plus the idea of being invaded and killed by some asshat isn't appealing in the least, the game is hard enough as is.
It is very easy to avoid invasion. Just commit suicide on the rare occasion that you're actually alive. It's worth doing this just to be able to see the user messages and bloodstains since they're a lot of fun.
I personally have never summoned a co-op partner but I wouldn't even consider playing offline.
Much Appreciated, I don't have much time to game these days but if I get in a bind I will take you up on your offer.
Will send you a PSN friend request later if you have space on your list.
The game becomes unforgiving for me when I think about rushing ahead. It always punishes me for thinking I can run through an area I have done a hundred times before...and I love it.
Recently jumped back in playing at 60fps and while it does not change the fundamental feel of the game, there is something about it. Things move at a pace where they actually seem more deadly but then I can parry with more efficiency.
Recently found New Londo Ruins and my god that place is chock of atmosphere. Glad I watched a few videos to know what to use but that is one creepy ass place.
I would kill for a next-gen version of Dark Souls with the Durante Edition added.
sens fortress feels like a MASSIVE troll area though. cheap traps everywhere, armored suits that LOOK like silver knights all over the place without there e actually being any, that damn mimic...the list is endless
The timing to make it up to the boulder-directing contraption is pretty tight, but I don't think I'd call other traps "cheap." Pressure tiles are visible, as are the bolt-shooting devices on the wall. The elevator could catch you off-guard, but I don't think I even used it until I was intentionally trying to scour every inch of the fortress. You're right that the knight statues are pretty trollish. They scared the hell out of me.
Much Appreciated, I don't have much time to game these days but if I get in a bind I will take you up on your offer.
Will send you a PSN friend request later if you have space on your list.
Hopefully Dark Souls 2 maintains the same puzzle solving aspect. The amount of work to even get to The Painted World is astounding for this kind of game, and I'm sad that I missed out on the communal discovery of stuff like this when the game first came out.
Hopefully Dark Souls 2 maintains the same puzzle solving aspect. The amount of work to even get to The Painted World is astounding for this kind of game, and I'm sad that I missed out on the communal discovery of stuff like this when the game first came out.
).
