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Dark Souls |OT4| Victory achieved for Scamco, text defeated

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Numpt3

Member
So I started playing it on PS3 tonight. Holy shit it's like night and day compared to the 360 version (for me anyway), I've only made it to the undead parish so far but there are summon signs all over the place! :D
 

Dresden

Member
So I started playing it on PS3 tonight. Holy shit it's like night and day compared to the 360 version (for me anyway), I've only made it to the undead parish so far but there are summon signs all over the place! :D

I did the same thing today. Feels much more active.
 
I have a few questions. After I rang the second bell I
went to Darkroot Garden and beat the Moonlight Butterfly. I went through the door after you beat him but turned around when I saw a message saying beware of a tough enemy. What was up there? Also the guy that normally sits at Firelink Shrine is missing and the bonfire is out and when I try to light it it tells me I can't because the Fire Keeper is absent? What does that mean?
And the last thing I wanted to know is how to upgrade your weapons past +5 and armor past +3. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I just started this game recently, but does anyone else switch to two-handed to get back to their blood stain? I am playing a Wanderer and it seems like I am able to get back to where I died if I just start swinging, usually I barely get hit but there are some occasions where I need to use a flask to get back.

Also, are there specific stats I should be working on with a Wanderer? I've been putting points into Dexterity and Strength with 1 or 2 points put into Vitality. I'm not a high level, so I'm trying to get an idea if I've messed up my character or not. If it helps, I am in the Undead Parish and I kill the fully armored enemies with relatively no problem.
 

CatPee

Member
I have a few questions. After I rang the second bell I
went to Darkroot Garden and beat the Moonlight Butterfly. I went through the door after you beat him but turned around when I saw a message saying beware of a tough enemy. What was up there? Also the guy that normally sits at Firelink Shrine is missing and the bonfire is out and when I try to light it it tells me I can't because the Fire Keeper is absent? What does that mean?
And the last thing I wanted to know is how to upgrade your weapons past +5 and armor past +3. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Go up there for your own good. Check the cell where Anastacia the Firekeeper lies. You need to find a Large Ember for further normal upgrading.
 

mxgt

Banned
Also, are there specific stats I should be working on with a Wanderer? I've been putting points into Dexterity and Strength with 1 or 2 points put into Vitality. I'm not a high level, so I'm trying to get an idea if I've messed up my character or not. If it helps, I am in the Undead Parish and I kill the fully armored enemies with relatively no problem.

Starting class really means nothing except for the gear and stats you start with. You can shape it however you want, there is no right or wrong way really. You can start as a sorcerer and end up as a heavy armour wearing tank for example.
 
Starting class really means nothing except for the gear and stats you start with. You can shape it however you want, there is no right or wrong way really. You can start as a sorcerer and end up as a heavy armour wearing tank for example.

Well, I'm enjoying 1-Handed swords with a shield. Knowing that are there any stats I should avoid? I am guessing Intelligence, but this game never really tells you what each stat does.

Is there anything I should do look out for? I really would hate it if I was screwed late-game because of early-game choices.



Quick Edit:
What does the Faith stat actually do? The wiki seems to suggest it effects spellcasting or something related to a spellcaster.

Also, can you have two characters in this game? Or will selecting New Game delete your first? (I would try this but I am currently no where near my console.)
 

CatPee

Member
Well, I'm enjoying 1-Handed swords with a shield. Knowing that are there any stats I should avoid? I am guessing Intelligence, but this game never really tells you what each stat does.

Is there anything I should do look out for? I really would hate it if I was screwed late-game because of early-game choices.



Quick Edit:
What does the Faith stat actually do? The wiki seems to suggest it effects spellcasting or something related to a spellcaster.

Also, can you have two characters in this game? Or will selecting New Game delete your first? (I would try this but I am currently no where near my console.)

Hit Select/Back on the character stats page...
 
I just saw an enemy I've never seen before, in anor londo. It was some weird glowing crab thing with spines coming out of its back. Fairly small. It was in the room before o/s on the top level near the windows. I killed it and it dropped a humanity.
 
Well, I'm enjoying 1-Handed swords with a shield. Knowing that are there any stats I should avoid? I am guessing Intelligence, but this game never really tells you what each stat does.

Is there anything I should do look out for? I really would hate it if I was screwed late-game because of early-game choices.



Quick Edit:
What does the Faith stat actually do? The wiki seems to suggest it effects spellcasting or something related to a spellcaster.

Also, can you have two characters in this game? Or will selecting New Game delete your first? (I would try this but I am currently no where near my console.)

Vitality is your health. Nothin' too special, but you'll want to bring this up some unless you want to be 1-hit killed left and right later in the game.

Endurance is your most important stat. This determines your encumbrance load, how many swings with your weapon in a row you can take, how much damage you can block with a shield before staggering, how far you can run before tiring out...basically, if you are at a loss what to increase, bring up Endurance.

Resistance is the only stat that's absolutely worthless. That said, you'll want to dump most of your points into Vitality, Endurance, and whatever stat fits your playstyle:

Intelligence governs sorcery- basically, anything that you need a catalyst (stick) to cast. Most of these are offensive spells.

Faith is for miracles, cast with a talisman. Most of these are buff/debuff and utility type spells, with exception of Wraith of God and the lightning bolts, which are high-level spells (WoG is really, really good in PvP, and the thrown lightning is good in PvE but sucks PvP)

Strength is for the big, heavy weapons- greatswords, clubs, axes, etc.

Dexterity is bows, daggers, and katanas, and also slightly speeds up magic cast times.

For example, if you want to wear heavy armor and use a club, pour your points into Endurance, Vitality, and Strength, with just enough points into dex to use the weapons you want.

(Pyromancy isn't stat dependent in any way)
 

Sullichin

Member
Well, I'm enjoying 1-Handed swords with a shield. Knowing that are there any stats I should avoid? I am guessing Intelligence, but this game never really tells you what each stat does.

Is there anything I should do look out for? I really would hate it if I was screwed late-game because of early-game choices.



Quick Edit:
What does the Faith stat actually do? The wiki seems to suggest it effects spellcasting or something related to a spellcaster.

Also, can you have two characters in this game? Or will selecting New Game delete your first? (I would try this but I am currently no where near my console.)

Some weapons have minimum requirements in Strength and Dexterity to use effectively. Base your leveling around what weapon you plan on using.

However, not all weapons have damage that scale with stats. For example, some weapons will scale with Strength. This means that every time you increase strength, it will up your attack rating - for that weapon ONLY (and other weapons you have that scale with strength, of course)

However, if you make a weapon fire/lightning, the stat bonuses are removed. So it might be a complete waste of time to upgrade to 40STR, and then use a lightning claymore that will not benefit from this at all.

Take this battle axe for example:
http://darksouls.wikidot.com/battle-axe

It has "C" scaling for strength and "D" for dexterity. That means it scales with strength and dexterity skills, but it does more so with strength. You can see this for yourself in the game. When viewiing the item, press square to see the detail display, You'll see "stat bonuses" or something like that, with icons. S is the best, E represents only a little bit of scaling.

Now also notice the 'requirements' for that battle axe. The wiki is a little hard to read at first, but the 12/8/0/0 means you need 12 strength, 8 dexterity, 0 intelligence and 0 faith to effectively wield this weapon.

...Now look at all the upgrade paths. They either change (usually reducing) the scaling, or get rid of them all together. For example, a lightning battle axe with 40 strength will do the exact same damage as a lightning battle axe with 12 strength because it no longer scales with your strength stat. BUT you will still need the 12 strength to effectively wield the weapon.

It's confusing, and I probably didn't even explain it well. The game should probably explain this stuff better, it took me a while to understand.

The FAITH skill affects the power of miracles (which are spells that you can use with a tailsman), and divine and occult weapon upgrade paths also scale damage with your stat in faith. And just like weapons have str/dex requirements, a miracle might require you to have 30 faith to use it.

And yes you can have multiple characters. There's 10 save slots. My first character's stats were a mess because I barely understood all this. It'll start to make sense.

I agree with Thagomizer that Endurance is probably the most important stat, and the go-to if you're not sure what to level. Never hurts to have more stamina or equip load.
 
Sorry to be a pest, but can anyone confirm that you need to perform all three kills as opposed to being in a winning party for one or two in the forest to get
the fog ring?
 
So after ringing the first bell, where should I go now? I ventured to the start of a few places but never commited. New Londo, the catacombs, went down a set of spiral stairs in the undead parish and got one hit killed by a knight. Defeated moonlight butterfly but didn't do much else in darkroot.
 

chunk3rvd

Member
Still only have Four Kings down out of the lord souls at 165 hours in my first playthrough! Have been having so much fun being a Sunbro, then later a Darkwraith, that I've been in no rush to finish the game. Starting to think about my final build now though and I have the following stats planned for my DEX/INT build:

STAT current level > planned level

VIT 15 > 35
ATT 12 > 16
END 15 > 35
STR 16 > 20
DEX 24 > 40
RES 12 > 12
INT 15 > 40
FAI 8 > 8
SL 34 > 123

I want to take DEX & INT to 40 for scaling purposes. I want to take STR up to 20 so I can muck around with the Dragonslayer Greatbow and 1-hand the Washing Pole as I'm thinking at +15 with CMW it would kick some ass? I also want to lift ATT to 16 to bring me to 4 magic slots

That leaves me with 40 points to split between VIT and END which is the only bit I'm unsure about. I'm thinking that real men don't get hit so I'd be better going with 30 VIT and 40 END rather than balancing the 2? Does anyone have any other comments or suggestions on this build? Anywhere I'm going wrong or wasting points?
 

mxgt

Banned
So after ringing the first bell, where should I go now? I ventured to the start of a few places but never commited. New Londo, the catacombs, went down a set of spiral stairs in the undead parish and got one hit killed by a knight. Defeated moonlight butterfly but didn't do much else in darkroot.

Head to the Capra Demon and then The Depths. You should have come across the Basement Key which unlocks the door where you first meet Solaire and encounter the dragon
 

Booshka

Member
Still only have Four Kings down out of the lord souls at 165 hours in my first playthrough! Have been having so much fun being a Sunbro, then later a Darkwraith, that I've been in no rush to finish the game. Starting to think about my final build now though and I have the following stats planned for my DEX/INT build:

STAT current level > planned level

VIT 15 > 35
ATT 12 > 16
END 15 > 35
STR 16 > 20
DEX 24 > 40
RES 12 > 12
INT 15 > 40
FAI 8 > 8
SL 34 > 123

I want to take DEX & INT to 40 for scaling purposes. I want to take STR up to 20 so I can muck around with the Dragonslayer Greatbow and 1-hand the Washing Pole as I'm thinking at +15 with CMW it would kick some ass? I also want to lift ATT to 16 to bring me to 4 magic slots

That leaves me with 40 points to split between VIT and END which is the only bit I'm unsure about. I'm thinking that real men don't get hit so I'd be better going with 30 VIT and 40 END rather than balancing the 2? Does anyone have any other comments or suggestions on this build? Anywhere I'm going wrong or wasting points?
This
 

one85x

Member
Sorry to be a pest, but can anyone confirm that you need to perform all three kills as opposed to being in a winning party for one or two in the forest to get
the fog ring?
You still get credit for the kill if someone else kills them. You'd still get credit even if they jumped off a cliff to their death.
 

Booshka

Member
So what covenant is good for a pvp noob? Or is there one?

I think a better way for you to get your feet wet for PvP is to go to an area with active 2v2 PvP (Dark Anor Londo, Forest, Kiln) and just put your summon sign down. You can then get summoned and just hang out with the host while you fight off invaders. It is level dependent, and depending on your gear people may or may not summon you. Otherwise, I would just say to try any of the PvP covenants, Darkwraiths are good because you lose nothing, you just can keep trying with no consequence.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
So what covenant is good for a pvp noob? Or is there one?

I'd hesitate to call any of the covenants noob-friendly, but you've got three main options:

Forest Hunters - Basically a PvP arena, you put on a ring and when someone enters the forest in human form you get called to automatically invade them. Lots of people hang out in the forest in human form to basically farm invaders, and there's no level limit so the people you're invading could be soul glitched level 700+ griefers. Probably not the best introduction to PvP, even though it's the first PvP-dedicated covenant you're likely to encounter.

Darkwraiths - Pretty much the go-to PvP covenant, it's what the overwhelming majority of invaders are. Use the stone, invade somebody at your level or higher in human form, rinse and repeat. You're pretty much always at a disadvantage unless you suppress your level and get kickin' fully-upgraded gear and invade low-level areas. Unsurprisingly this is what most invaders tend to do.

Blades of the Darkmoon - Probably the best recommendation I could make for a first PvP covenant, it's kind of a combination of the Forest Hunters and the Darkwraiths. You've got an invasion stone like the Darkwraiths which lets you invade any players who have sinned (which, due to the way sin is given out, is a shitload of people) with no lower level limit. In other words, you can invade people weaker than you without having to build your character from the word go with the intent of gaming the system. You also have a ring that summons you to fight human-form enemies in
Dark Anor Londo
, though that area also serves as a PvP campground similar to the forest. It's not too hard to alternate between stone and ring invasions as a Darkmoon, which is why I'm pretty fond of it.

The Path of the Dragon covenant is technically a PvP covenant, but it's basically a red soapstone that you need to be in a covenant to use. Non-covenant means of PvP, of course, are the red soapstone and good old-fashioned jolly co-operation. Since hosts need to be in human form both to summon co-op buddies and to be invaded you'll tend to get a lot of PvP action in co-op if you throw your sign down near bonfires. Red sign soapstone activity is most popular in the final area and the Painted World in my experience, though I once saw several red signs in the Tomb of Giants, which seems like a pretty masochistic place for dueling. I suppose it's no surprise that there's a contingent of Dark Souls fans who enjoy pain.
 

Booshka

Member
so what weapon should i be looking at in NG+

still wielding my lightning spear +4, anything better than that?

Anything, depending on if you are focusing on Dexterity or Strength, just experiment with more weapons and upgrade them. You need to be more proactive in upgrading and experimenting with gear. Try different forms of weapon reinforcement and weapon styles. Lightning Spear is a good Drake Sword replacement, after that, you should be making better weapons yourself.
 

Sullichin

Member
so what weapon should i be looking at in NG+

still wielding my lightning spear +4, anything better than that?

I really dislike the moveset of spears. It's all poke poke poke. I'm a fan of halberds/scythes, and katana (iaito/washing pole/uchigatana) weapons. But there's plenty of cool weapons in the game. I wouldn't really consider spear/lightning spear one of them.

With that being said... I recently made lightning shotel +4, very good for invasions, low stat requirements, bypasses shield, fast attacks.. seems like a great weapon.
 

Booshka

Member
So, if I lay down a red summon sign I get summoned to help someone in PVP or I just get summoned into a 1v1 fight?

You get summoned as a Dark Spirit into another player's game, they can still gangbang you though with other phantoms, but usually it is 1v1.
 

J-Roderton

Member
You get summoned as a Dark Spirit into another player's game, they can still gangbang you though with other phantoms, but usually it is 1v1.

Okay. So, when I invade and see two players together how does that work? How can they group up and fight invaders? I guess they are just using a white summon sign or something?
 

Quikies83

Member
Anyone on PS3 want to help me out? I'm trying to make it through blight town to quelaags domain.. Right now my closest bonfire is in the Depths. I'm level 30.
PSN: NotSureifSiris
 

J-Roderton

Member
Stuck at Seath.

No use in trying to block anything. Two-hand attack him and just avoid his AoE curse attack. I stayed to the right of him and just hacked away when I had a chance, circling around with him.

Make sure you take out that little pillar or else he won't take any damage.
 

Booshka

Member
Okay. So, when I invade and see two players together how does that work? How can they group up and fight invaders? I guess they are just using a white summon sign or something?

Yep, you will see a Host, then up to two Phantom player(s), who will have a White or Orange sheen to them, they can all attack you. If you invade a game with a Blue player, they are hostile to the host, and potentially you. If you see a red invader and you are a red invader, then one of you entered the game through a soapstone, and one through a Red Orb. Sometimes red soapstone invaders will invade a friend to organize trade and experiment with PvP game mechanics, I have done this with a couple friends of mine.
 

Sullichin

Member
Anyone on PS3 want to help me out? I'm trying to make it through blight town to quelaags domain.. Right now my closest bonfire is in the Depths. I'm level 30.
PSN: NotSureifSiris

Just FYI, you won't be able to find any summon signs in the depths if you already beat that area. Try the beginning of blighttown, but I'm not sure how popular that is. I'd help but I don't have any characters near 30.
 

Quikies83

Member
Just FYI, you won't be able to find any summon signs in the depths if you already beat that area. Try the beginning of blighttown, but I'm not sure how popular that is. I'd help but I don't have any characters near 30.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that about not seeing summon signs since I've taken out the boss in the area.. I've been invaded both times that I've entered blight town -- seriously right as you face the 3 big club uglies.
 

malfcn

Member
I find him in the Archive and all he does is an AoE shards that kill me. I can't touch him. Looks like I am missing a side room that leads to a Cave?
 

Lost Fragment

Obsessed with 4chan
I'd hesitate to call any of the covenants noob-friendly, but you've got three main options:

Forest Hunters - Basically a PvP arena, you put on a ring and when someone enters the forest in human form you get called to automatically invade them. Lots of people hang out in the forest in human form to basically farm invaders, and there's no level limit so the people you're invading could be soul glitched level 700+ griefers. Probably not the best introduction to PvP, even though it's the first PvP-dedicated covenant you're likely to encounter.

Darkwraiths - Pretty much the go-to PvP covenant, it's what the overwhelming majority of invaders are. Use the stone, invade somebody at your level or higher in human form, rinse and repeat. You're pretty much always at a disadvantage unless you suppress your level and get kickin' fully-upgraded gear and invade low-level areas. Unsurprisingly this is what most invaders tend to do.

Blades of the Darkmoon - Probably the best recommendation I could make for a first PvP covenant, it's kind of a combination of the Forest Hunters and the Darkwraiths. You've got an invasion stone like the Darkwraiths which lets you invade any players who have sinned (which, due to the way sin is given out, is a shitload of people) with no lower level limit. In other words, you can invade people weaker than you without having to build your character from the word go with the intent of gaming the system. You also have a ring that summons you to fight human-form enemies in
Dark Anor Londo
, though that area also serves as a PvP campground similar to the forest. It's not too hard to alternate between stone and ring invasions as a Darkmoon, which is why I'm pretty fond of it.

The Path of the Dragon covenant is technically a PvP covenant, but it's basically a red soapstone that you need to be in a covenant to use. Non-covenant means of PvP, of course, are the red soapstone and good old-fashioned jolly co-operation. Since hosts need to be in human form both to summon co-op buddies and to be invaded you'll tend to get a lot of PvP action in co-op if you throw your sign down near bonfires. Red sign soapstone activity is most popular in the final area and the Painted World in my experience, though I once saw several red signs in the Tomb of Giants, which seems like a pretty masochistic place for dueling. I suppose it's no surprise that there's a contingent of Dark Souls fans who enjoy pain.

Thanks. Appreciate all the detail.
 

Sullichin

Member
I find him in the Archive and all he does is an AoE shards that kill me. I can't touch him.

You have to
break the crystal behind him before you can do any damage
. Also, DONT LOCK ON, especially when he's filling up the room with curse crystals. It makes it impossible to see where you should be headed.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
Ok, what am i missing here....How the hell do i control what consumable items appear in the quick access menu (when you press down on the d-pad to cycle through them)???
 

CatPee

Member
Ok, what am i missing here....How the hell do i control what consumable items appear in the quick access menu (when you press down on the d-pad to cycle through them)???

Same page you equip armor/weapons/rings/etc. Just select a slot, and then pick an item you want to appear in quick selection.
 

Booshka

Member
Ok, what am i missing here....How the hell do i control what consumable items appear in the quick access menu (when you press down on the d-pad to cycle through them)???

Go into your equipment menu, top of the menu should have 5 slots with items, press X/A on one of those items, then select which item you want to put there, rinse and repeat for more items/slot
 

Massa

Member
Just noticed that there's a fire hound in the elevator in Blightown, kind of like a mouse in a wheel. This game is just amazing.
 
Head to the Capra Demon and then The Depths. You should have come across the Basement Key which unlocks the door where you first meet Solaire and encounter the dragon
I forgot to mention that the Capra demon is already taken care of. Where are the depths? Is that the spiral staircase down to the knight that one hit killed me?
 
I randomly bought a magic sword or whatever and don't know how to use it. It has "five uses" but it remains greyed out. Also I tried doing something with it at the bonfire and don't know what that was either haha.
 

mxgt

Banned
I forgot to mention that the Capra demon is already taken care of. Where are the depths? Is that the spiral staircase down to the knight that one hit killed me?

That's probably Havel

The Depths is the door around to the right after you come out of the Capra Demon room.
 
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