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[MoonsaultSlayer]

So having completed Sen's Fortress, I went back to Firelink and wandered into the catacombs. I've reached a bondfire and made it through a white light door.

Should I be here or am I in trouble? And how do I defeat the constantly reviving skeletons? Sometimes they just stop after a while but I'm not sure why or how.

And damn troll telling me there's an illusory wall. I'm not sure if I'm missing it or if they wanted me to walk into the obvious trap that clearly an illusory wall wouldn't be near...

 

[Ridley327]

So having completed Sen's Fortress, I went back to Firelink and wandered into the catacombs. I've reached a bondfire and made it through a white light door.

Should I be here or am I in trouble? And how do I defeat the constantly reviving skeletons? Sometimes they just stop after a while but I'm not sure why or how.

And damn troll telling me there's an illusory wall. I'm not sure if I'm missing it or if they wanted me to walk into the obvious trap that clearly an illusory wall wouldn't be near...

It's OK to be in the Catacombs; there's nothing blocking you off from doing that area, and the boss is both incredibly easy and he gives you an immensely useful item.

The skeletons themselves can be put down with a weapon imbued with divine properties; even the necromancers won't be able to resurrect them once you put them down that way. The enemies that you REALLY need to watch out for are at the bottom.

 

[KennyLinder]

Finally managed to take down S+O on NG++ Anor Lando. That was not an easy task. Luckily I summoned a player who was very handy with a large sword. He buffed with with something to give it a crazy electric attack (I think it was electric). There was a large ball of light first, then the sword got its effect. Any ideas what I could be? I probably have it, but since I fell in love with my Lightning Claymore I didn't really get into buffing.

Game is so good still, can't wait for PS3 DLC.

 

[ArynCrinn]

Finally managed to take down S+O on NG++ Anor Lando. That was not an easy task. Luckily I summoned a player who was very handy with a large sword. He buffed with with something to give it a crazy electric attack (I think it was electric). There was a large ball of light first, then the sword got its effect. Any ideas what I could be? I probably have it, but since I fell in love with my Lightning Claymore I didn't really get into buffing.

Game is so good still, can't wait for PS3 DLC.

He was buffing with Sunlight Blade.

 

[Dr. Acid Avatar]

Any suggestions on a good site to use for importing the PTD edition from the UK? I've come across Zavvi but have read some mixed reviews. Are there better options?

 

[Himself]

Quick question. I finished ringing the two bells and haven't entered Sens Fortress yet. Is there a point of no return in this game? Or can I continue exploring after I "beat" the game (or whatever). I remember Demons Souls just dumping me into NG+, but I'm wondering how it works with the open world.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ciastek3214]

Quick question. I finished ringing the two bells and haven't entered Sens Fortress yet. Is there a point of no return in this game? Or can I continue exploring after I "beat" the game (or whatever). I remember Demons Souls just dumping me into NG+, but I'm wondering how it works with the open world.

Thanks in advance.

You'll know when there'll be final boss ahead so don't worry, you can take him any time you want, and yes, after final boss it dumps you right into NG+.

 

[JeTmAn81]

You'll know when there'll be final boss ahead so don't worry, you can take him any time you want, and yes, after final boss it dumps you right into NG+.

I'm on the PS3 version of this game, so the DLC isn't out yet. I'm down to the final boss as far as major gameplay milestones, but I'm thinking that if I finish the game and get automatically launched into NG+, this will make the DLC areas a lot more difficult, right? So I really need to wait to beat the game until after I've gotten through the DLC. Am I correct in this?

 

[Mxrz]

Yeah. If you go into NG+ now, you'll face NG+ DLC on that character.

I'm thinking i might try a blind run of the DLC on a NG+++ character for the hell of it. You only get that fresh experience one and all.

 

[Himself]

I'm using the Drake Sword, strength level 18. Leveling up my strength attribute does not seem to affect the stat when I have the Drake Sword equipped. Should I no longer bother dumping souls into Strength or will my Strength level eventually begin to raise the Drake Sword's attack?

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

I'm using the Drake Sword, strength level 18. Leveling up my strength attribute does not seem to affect the stat when I have the Drake Sword equipped. Should I no longer bother dumping souls into Strength or will my Strength level eventually begin to raise the Drake Sword's attack?

Drake sword does not scale with stats.

 

[Himself]

Thank you. Bless the Souls community.

 

[RockTurtle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdliu3JOSYQ

new lore video!

 

[Audioboxer]

Does anyone know if the DLC is fixing/patching anything with the game or is it simply going to be content lumped on top of what we have?

 

[Ridley327]

Does anyone know if the DLC is fixing/patching anything with the game or is it simply going to be content lumped on top of what we have?

The PC version had a lot of rebalancing and bug fixes, including the removal of the Bottomless Box glitch.

 

[Audioboxer]

The PC version had a lot of rebalancing and bug fixes, including the removal of the Bottomless Box glitch.

Awesome, I really hope they are all included for us.

Want to get that day 1 Dark Souls feeling back again, without BB glitchers and other stuff that breaks the game early on. Of course the BB glitchers will all have their save files already done, but I guess it prevents new players doing it.

 

[Ridley327]

I strongly suspect that a game patch will be released independent of the DLC as to not break compatability with non-AotA owners, and that it will include all the rebalancing and bug fixes.

You'll no longer have to fear ninja-flipping full Havels!

 

[Johnas]

While waiting for the DLC to hit, I started a new character last night and killed the Asylum Demon at the first encounter with the sword hilt.

I was hoping for more than a weapon I couldn't use right now, but it was still fun. At first I thought it was a little strange that the designers still make you go through the whole place afterwards, but then I remembered you have to talk to the guy in the cell to get the estus flask, so they gave him the Big Pilgrim's Key.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

Hi all.

Can I get some opinions on what weapon I should upgrade..

I've been using the Drake Sword, because yes, I'm a noob. I just beat the Capra Demon, and am heading to the Depths. I kind of want to ditch the Drake Sword and upgrade a weapon to +5, but I'm not sure what.

I kind of like spears, since you can hide behind cover and attack, but.. long swords are pretty cool, too.

My stats right now are 16STR, 14DEX, 20 VIT, and 24 END

Any thoughts on what might be good for this point in the game?

(Balder Side Sword, maybe? I've heard good things.)

 

[ArynCrinn]

Hi all.

Can I get some opinions on what weapon I should upgrade..

I've been using the Drake Sword, because yes, I'm a noob. I just beat the Capra Demon, and am heading to the Depths. I kind of want to ditch the Drake Sword and upgrade a weapon to +5, but I'm not sure what.

I kind of like spears, since you can hide behind cover and attack, but.. long swords are pretty cool, too.

My stats right now are 16STR, 14DEX, 20 VIT, and 24 END

Any thoughts on what might be good for this point in the game?

I have to recommend a Halberd if you like the distance game of spears, they scale really well and hit relatively hard from distance. Choose between the regular Halberd and something like Gargoyles Halberd/BKHalberd. They have different movesets.

For longsword's, I'd say go ahead and upgrade one to +10 if you like the moveset, you can get into a couple straight swords later on too. This is also where you need to make the decision to go Strg or Dex, or balance the two with strg slightly ahead (this is a long term strategy though). Because the Balder Side Sword and a couple curved swords are really good for Dex/balanced builds.

But really, it's just about you liking to move set and just upgrade a couple you enjoy, and also upgrade a couple "necessary upgrades" like a bow or crossbow.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I finally beat Ornstein and Smough on NG+. I had to summon Solaire, and he kept Smough occupied while I smashed Ornstein with the Zweinhander. After you kill O, the battle is really easy since you only hide behind the pillars and wait for opportunities to attack.

But it's kinda weird than on my second playthrough I still didn't get any loot from defeating these two.

 

[Ridley327]

I finally beat Ornstein and Smough on NG+. I had to summon Solaire, and he kept Smough occupied while I smashed Ornstein with the Zweinhander. After you kill O, the battle is really easy since you only hide behind the pillars and wait for opportunities to attack.

But it's kinda weird than on my second playthrough I still didn't get any loot from defeating these two.

Only Ornstein drops anything other their soul, and you only need one. If you're talking about anything else, you'll have to seek out Domnhall, who will sell the armor of the one you've defeated in that playthrough.

 

[Audioboxer]

I'm a huge DS fan and I don't even know the answer to the question I'm about to ask haha....

How does the DLC integrate? Is their a level cap or is it like the Painted World?

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

I'm a huge DS fan and I don't even know the answer to the question I'm about to ask haha....

How does the DLC integrate? Is their a level cap or is it like the Painted World?

Like painted world so there are conditions to meet in the form of a quest to open the areas.

 

[jimi_dini]

I'm currently replaying Dark Souls and currently I'm at the boss of Sen's Fortress as level 7. Someone wanna help me and is lowlevel as well? (I'm on PS3)

 

[BadWolf]

Just beat the last of the

Spoiler

bosses you need to beat to get to the final boss area

, guess I'll stop here for now and wait for the DLC to hit.

Did quite a bit of item and weapon hunting. Got a good sword (Baldur Swag +15), katana (Uchi +14), heavy sword (Murakumo +14), spear (Silver Knight +5) and bows (Pharis +14 and Composite +14). Might get a Scythe of some sort but other than that I think the arsenal is pretty much fleshed out if I do a second playthrough. As luck would have it pretty much all of them scale with DEX nicely.

For armor I've mostly been using Havel with a Havel ring. I'd like a nice light armor as well though, any suggestions? I have 40 END, 40 VIT and 37 DEX. What do you guys think of the combo Mask of Mother/Wanderer gloves/Dingy chest/Maiden skirt?

 

[Mxrz]

Hi all.

Can I get some opinions on what weapon I should upgrade..

I've been using the Drake Sword, because yes, I'm a noob. I just beat the Capra Demon, and am heading to the Depths. I kind of want to ditch the Drake Sword and upgrade a weapon to +5, but I'm not sure what.

I kind of like spears, since you can hide behind cover and attack, but.. long swords are pretty cool, too.

My stats right now are 16STR, 14DEX, 20 VIT, and 24 END

Any thoughts on what might be good for this point in the game?

(Balder Side Sword, maybe? I've heard good things.)

About any one-handed +5 weapon with resins will stomp most enemies up until the lord areas. You're 2 areas or so from the Lightning Spear chest. Upgrading that to 2-3 will melt about everything until your well into NG+, or can save the chunks and make a better lightning weapon. A Winged Spear has much better range, I believe.

You can more or less make an elemental weapon, and just level Endurance & Vit until you decide on what type of damage build you want.

Just beat the last of the

Spoiler

bosses you need to beat to get to the final boss area

, guess I'll stop here for now and wait for the DLC to hit.

Did quite a bit of item and weapon hunting. Got a good sword (Baldur Swag +15), katana (Uchi +14), heavy sword (Murakumo +14), spear (Silver Knight +5) and bows (Pharis +14 and Composite +14). Might get a Scythe of some sort but other than that I think the arsenal is pretty much fleshed out if I do a second playthrough. As luck would have it pretty much all of them scale with DEX nicely.

For armor I've mostly been using Havel with a Havel ring. I'd like a nice light armor as well though, any suggestions? I have 40 END, 40 VIT and 37 DEX. What do you guys think of the combo Mask of Mother/Wanderer gloves/Dingy chest/Maiden skirt?

Outside of PvP, its mostly a personal choice. In PvP its basically "Do you have 70poise? No? Stunlock!"

I always dug my mage's look, Painting guarding chest, black tights, crown, and dark sorc gloves. All rogue'ish.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

About any one-handed +5 weapon with resins will stomp most enemies up until the lord areas. You're 2 areas or so from the Lightning Spear chest. Upgrading that to 2-3 will melt about everything until your well into NG+, or can save the chunks and make a better lightning weapon. A Winged Spear has much better range, I believe.

You can more or less make an elemental weapon, and just level Endurance & Vit until you decide on what type of damage build you want.

Thanks for the input.

I decided to go with a Dex build, I think. Picked up the Iaito, upgraded it to +5, and have gotten through the Depths and Blight town. Been helping people kill Quelaag for souls, so I can upgrade my pyro glove to (hopefully) +15 and buy a bunch of pyromancy spells from Quelaana. I'm soul level 47 now and I'm getting a good rate of summoning at Quelaag, so I'm reluctant to level past 50, I don't want it to slow down too much.

I feel like I took my endurance and vitality too high, too early, so my Dex is still at 21'ish, I think.

 

[BadWolf]

Outside of PvP, its mostly a personal choice. In PvP its basically "Do you have 70poise? No? Stunlock!"

I always dug my mage's look, Painting guarding chest, black tights, crown, and dark sorc gloves. All rogue'ish.

In that case I'll go with what looks cool, not really interested in PvP.

Thanks man.

Thanks for the input.

I decided to go with a Dex build, I think. Picked up the Iaito, upgraded it to +5, and have gotten through the Depths and Blight town. Been helping people kill Quelaag for souls, so I can upgrade my pyro glove to (hopefully) +15 and buy a bunch of pyromancy spells from Quelaana. I'm soul level 47 now and I'm getting a good rate of summoning at Quelaag, so I'm reluctant to level past 50, I don't want it to slow down too much.

I feel like I took my endurance and vitality too high, too early, so my Dex is still at 21'ish, I think.

The great thing about the Lightning Spear is that it doesn't scale with Dex or Str so you can do great damage even if you didn't put much souls into those stats. Until I got 40 End and Vit I didn't bother with any other stats and this weapon served me well for a lot of the game.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

Wow, I just realized there are two Dark Souls threads.

And I've been posting in both of them, thinking they were the same.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I kind of like spears, since you can hide behind cover and attack, but.. long swords are pretty cool, too.

Best of both worlds is the Estoc. Found right at the start of New Londo Ruins, so a weapon you can get right from the beginning of the game.

It's like a cross between a rapier and the Balder side sword, and you can attack whilst guarding.

 

[B-Genius]

Yet another amazing PvP experience:

I was co-oping with a friend on PS3 (while communicating through Skype) and we entered through the glowing door to Darkroot Forest. While waiting for another friend to join us, we were invaded by first one, then another forest protector.

They must have noticed our relatively poor gear and fretful dancing around the steps because they generously unequipped their weapons/shields and engaged us in what was to become the most epic Dark Souls punch-up I've ever seen.

The four of us must have been duking it out for a good 5-10 minutes, with no one doing any real damage despite making full use of the arsenal. There were kicks, parries, ripostes, back-punches, not to mention plenty of dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodging.

As funny as it was, eventually the novelty wore off, and my bud and I signaled that we were switching to our regular weapons. Due to the difference in upgrades/levels/skill, we were still doing negligible damage, and they obliged by equipping broken short swords and the like. We would have died several times over during the ensuing brawl.

Even after several attempts to cheese them (using Force, kicking to the edge, etc.) we still couldn't win. They were being really good sports, so we decided to go out with a bang. The plan was forged on Skype, before being carried out in perfect unison:

1. Remove weapons and strip totally naked
2. Simultaneous bow gesture towards our baffled opponents
3. Synchronised run and launch off a nearby cliff

We cracked ourselves up, but to add to the hilarity, in typical Dark Souls fashion, the two promptly followed us, taking their lives as well, thereby rewarding everyone involved with a respectable amount of souls.

Never change, Dark Souls... Except for when I get the DLC this week - then you can change a bit, but still be the same. If you know what I mean. You know what I mean, right? I love you.

 

[Soulhouf]

^ Haha that's awesome.

 

[Wowbagger]

Patch out in the US, apparently. No more ninja-flipping tanks!

No patch for EU yet, though.

 

[The Henery]

Patch out in the US, apparently. No more ninja-flipping tanks!

No patch for EU yet, though.

I'm in the uk and just got it. Is there a list I can see of the changes?

 

[Wowbagger]

I'm in the uk and just got it. Is there a list I can see of the changes?

Yes, if you can speak Japanese.

http://darksouls.fromsoftware.jp/online/


edit: Can use Google translate to mixed results.

· Immediately after receiving the fatal blow, modified to not accept a fatal blow in a row.

Sounds like they've done something to make it harder (impossible?) to chain backstabs.

 

[Prezhulio]

where is the earliest place you can buy/find a bow? (i want the drake sword )

 

[Wowbagger]

where is the earliest place you can buy/find a bow? (i want the drake sword )

The merchant in the Burg sells the short bow.

 

[Audioboxer]

New patch?

Wooooooooo!

Can't wait to get some Dark Souls on the go again. Bottomless box glitch fixed?

 

[Red Liquorice]

What are the PvP arenas like? I haven't really seen anyone talk about them at all ever since the PC version came out - do people use them or not?

 

[NBtoaster]

What are the PvP arenas like? I haven't really seen anyone talk about them at all ever since the PC version came out - do people use them or not?

You chose what kind of fight you want (1v1, 2v2, or FFA), the arena, and whether you want to be host or not. Then you just wait while the game matchmakes you. You need to beat the second boss of the DLC to access it, which kind of limits it's activity, but it'll probably be popular on console for a while.

 

[Audioboxer]

How will the console DLC act between players that have it and players that don't? I assume players that have it will still be able to invade players that don't (with all their DLC equipment) ?

 

[Red Liquorice]

You chose what kind of fight you want (1v1, 2v2, or FFA), the arena, and whether you want to be host or not. Then you just wait while the game matchmakes you. You need to beat the second boss of the DLC to access it, which kind of limits it's activity, but it'll probably be popular on console for a while.

Ahhh, I see so it's kind of late game-ish any way.

I was just thinking with the BB glitch gone that online activity might die down. I know people are glad of the fixes, but I think once people have done with the DLC levels that might be the end of heavy online activity - I can't see everyone scrimping on humanity and running back and forth to buy arrows etc all the time. Complaints about infinite divine blessings etc are certainly fair, but I think the BB glitch has kept online play alive all this time.

From what little I've seen the arenas seem quite small and enclosed so it's more about swordplay and close combat - so without the attraction of the level designs and range of consumables and long range stuff, that might be the place to go for online activity? Just a wild guess.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

The patch must've been Prepare to Die balance changes.

The Lightning Spear has been nerfed.

Down to 144 from 160.

 

[Wowbagger]

How will the console DLC act between players that have it and players that don't? I assume players that have it will still be able to invade players that don't (with all their DLC equipment) ?

I assume so. The patch is apparently fairly large, probably includes the DLC gear.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

The patch must've been Prepare to Die balance changes.

The Lightning Spear has been nerfed.

Down to 144 from 160.

Ohhhhh can yor report the Eagle shield and DWGR.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

Ohhhhh can yor report the Eagle shield and DWGR.

No idea on the ring, I don't have it... will report on shield in a moment.

Edit: Shield is down to 95% physical reduction. 70 stability still.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

No idea on the ring, I don't have it... will report on shield in a moment.

Edit: Shield is down to 95% physical reduction. 70 stability still.

Then I'd assume DWGR nerf in too. The age of Havel flips are over gentlemen. Anew era of Souls begins.

 

[krakov]

Ahhh, I see so it's kind of late game-ish any way.

I was just thinking with the BB glitch gone that online activity might die down. I know people are glad of the fixes, but I think once people have done with the DLC levels that might be the end of heavy online activity - I can't see everyone scrimping on humanity and running back and forth to buy arrows etc all the time. Complaints about infinite divine blessings etc are certainly fair, but I think the BB glitch has kept online play alive all this time.

From what little I've seen the arenas seem quite small and enclosed so it's more about swordplay and close combat - so without the attraction of the level designs and range of consumables and long range stuff, that might be the place to go for online activity? Just a wild guess.

I think most people whining over the loss of the bb glitch has prepared a bunch of characters already.

 

[Audioboxer]

Then I'd assume DWGR nerf in too. The age of Havel flips are over gentlemen. Anew era of Souls begins.

This is a good thing.

The nerfs are glorious, I always hated that towards the 'end' of Dark Souls everyone was running around in similar builds that would rape you if you didn't conform.

I think most people whining over the loss of the bb glitch has prepared a bunch of characters already.

I shake my head at anyone whining about it, it's a shitty exploit that needed fixed. It's annoying it can't be retroactive on saves, but at least no one can exploit the DLC equipment. I felt especially sorry for anyone who summoned help for the gargoyles or any other earlier bosses just to see them steamrolled with +10/+15 end game weapons. Took the challenge away completely.