Support NeoGAF

[Soodanim]

You can level up to 11 (or 12?) and still be able to help SL1, and it also allows you to help SL20 players. SL 15 to 25 is a good fork for many of the early game bosses.
Unless you're doing an SL1 playthrough, there's little point in staying there.

You can level up little and get the knights greatsword to destroy some key bosses. Its not like you need to stay in SL1 to help people anyway.

Thank fuck for that. A hand axe, 2 clubs and a morning star do not a fun game make.

I've been lucky enough to have a black knight sword and shield drop from the first two, so I'll probably level for those.

Coming back to the game has reminded me just how well designed it is. You have so much freedom in what you can do from the moment you set foot in the Firelink Shrine, which is amazing. I can't think of many other games where you can do as much and only be limited by your knowledge and skill.

If you want to make it interesting, you could try a SL1 challenge run. I did that with both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls and it was pretty fun.

Dark Souls 2, on the other hand, is pretty fucking hard at level 1. Partly due to i-frames being delegated to AGL and the only SL1 class being the deprived.

I would, and it crossed my mind when I started, but I don't know if this will be a long term return to the game. Besides, I'm already bored with the weapon selection available at SL1. I haven't yet had the pleasure of playing 2 yet, so I don't know if what you said is ultimately good or bad. Of course it's bad for sl1, but what about in general? I let myself stay blind after the first couple trailers/videos came out but I'm curious.

 

[ObbyDent]

Of course it's bad for sl1, but what about in general? I let myself stay blind after the first couple trailers/videos came out but I'm curious.

You mean how hard is it in general? Eh... I'd say if you don't pussy out and summon anyone through your first playthrough, you'll definitely be just as challenged as you were in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

 

[v1perz53]

Coming back to the game has reminded me just how well designed it is. You have so much freedom in what you can do from the moment you set foot in the Firelink Shrine, which is amazing. I can't think of many other games where you can do as much and only be limited by your knowledge and skill.

The weapons you can use at SL1/low SL go up by a large number if you are willing to 2H your weapon, because you only need 2/3 of the strength requirement if you are 2Hing it (eg only need 16 str to wield Zweihander in 2H even though it says it needs 24 str).

Also, I know what you mean when you say freedom. I only recently realized that you could (with the master key) go to the Valley of Drakes and then go to Darkroot Basin and fight the Hydra as your first boss, which is totally doable because of how that fight works. You can go up to the parish from there and fight the bell gargoyles without ever setting foot in Undead Burg. That was one thing that Dark Souls 2 was really missing, despite having "four paths" to go towards at the start, it feels so much more linear than the first game.

 

[ObbyDent]

Coming back to the game has reminded me just how well designed it is. You have so much freedom in what you can do from the moment you set foot in the Firelink Shrine, which is amazing. I can't think of many other games where you can do as much and only be limited by your knowledge and skill.

The problem with that freedom is it only comes with the Master Key. If you don't grab it right off the bat in the character creation, you had to go the normal route which is pretty boring until Anor Londo and the lordvessel. Unlike in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 2 where you can pick upwards of 3+ areas in the beginning of the game.

 

[v1perz53]

The problem with that freedom is it only comes with the Master Key. If you don't grab it right off the bat in the character creation, you had to go the normal route which is pretty boring until Anor Londo and the lordvessel. Unlike in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 2 where you can pick upwards of 3+ areas in the beginning of the game.

Psh, Dark Souls 2 has no freedom at all. You can do areas in any order, but they end with a dead end and you have to go back to the start and pick a new road. There is only one path you can take to the Rotten, to the Old Iron King, and to Freja. Lost Sinner technically has two paths, but you have to do Heide either way for Licia's key so that sucks. Sure, you need the Master Key to get any freedom in Dark Souls 1, but in Dark Souls 2 you only have the illusion of freedom, in the end you still have to go down the same hallways with the only variation being the order you do them in.

 

[ObbyDent]

Psh, Dark Souls 2 has no freedom at all. You can do areas in any order, but they end with a dead end and you have to go back to the start and pick a new road. There is only one path you can take to the Rotten, to the Old Iron King, and to Freja. Lost Sinner technically has two paths, but you have to do Heide either way for Licia's key so that sucks. Sure, you need the Master Key to get any freedom in Dark Souls 1, but in Dark Souls 2 you only have the illusion of freedom, in the end you still have to go down the same hallways with the only variation being the order you do them in.

???

You can apply the same logic with Dark Souls.

 

[v1perz53]

???

You can apply the same logic with Dark Souls.

Not at all. You can get to the Gargoyles by going Undead Burg to Parish, or you can first head to Valley of Drakes and come up to them from Darkroot Basin, skipping Burg completely and forever. You can go through the Depths to Blighttown and Quelaag, or you can take the shortcut down from New Londo Ruins, cutting out large areas and never seeing the Depths. Almost no part of Dark Souls 1 ends in a dead end, and certainly nothing like Dark Souls 2 where you have 3 linear areas resulting in a dead end. DkS 1 becomes more linear after Sen's for sure, but I appreciate the freedom at first. I am talking about outright skipping areas or taking different paths to the same end goal.

I absolutely love that you can skip whole areas in Dark Souls 1 if you are a veteran player that knows what they are doing, especially at the start because that is the content you have seen the most. I also love that you can go right away to places you clearly don't belong, like Catacombs and Tomb of Giants, to get cool stuff quickly. Too much of Dark Souls 2's world is gated or locked off, really would've liked a Master Key in that game.

 

[ObbyDent]

Again, ONLY if you get the Master Key. Which, is one option out of ten for gifts in the character creation screen. Freedom isn't really freedom if you only get it with a special item that you can easily miss before the game even starts.

 

[v1perz53]

Again, ONLY if you get the Master Key. Which, is one option out of ten for gifts in the character creation screen. Freedom isn't really freedom if you only get it with a special item that you can easily miss before the game even starts.

Yea, but freedom isn't necessarily useful on your first playthrough. As a game designer, you don't want someone who is fresh and new to accidentally wander into the wrong places, you want to bring them along a path as they get used to the game. But for veterans and subsequent playthroughs, when people realize the worth of the master key (and absolute uselessness of every single other starting gift), it opens up freedom. I actually think this is rather elegant. And anyway, I will take partial Master Key freedom over the no real freedom at all I get in DkS 2.

As to that point, I actually think one of the worst things about Dark Souls 1 is how the most obvious path forward once you get to Firelink is to the skeletons and the catacombs. I know the first time I played I spent 30 minutes getting destroyed by those skeletons thinking I was headed to blighttown, and I know many people who did also. I love it as an option now, but I wish it was maybe a little off the beaten path as opposed to the most obvious way forward, because I remember what it was like to be new at the game, and how not enough guidance almost ruined my impression of the game.

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

Not at all. You can get to the Gargoyles by going Undead Burg to Parish, or you can first head to Valley of Drakes and come up to them from Darkroot Basin, skipping Burg completely and forever. You can go through the Depths to Blighttown and Quelaag, or you can take the shortcut down from New Londo Ruins, cutting out large areas and never seeing the Depths. Almost no part of Dark Souls 1 ends in a dead end, and certainly nothing like Dark Souls 2 where you have 3 linear areas resulting in a dead end. DkS 1 becomes more linear after Sen's for sure, but I appreciate the freedom at first. I am talking about outright skipping areas or taking different paths to the same end goal.

I absolutely love that you can skip whole areas in Dark Souls 1 if you are a veteran player that knows what they are doing, especially at the start because that is the content you have seen the most. I also love that you can go right away to places you clearly don't belong, like Catacombs and Tomb of Giants, to get cool stuff quickly. Too much of Dark Souls 2's world is gated or locked off, really would've liked a Master Key in that game.

Yeah I really love that. Dark Souls 1 had an intricate web of a level design, being able to go around areas you don't like, or skipping areas altogether etc.

Spoiler

You didn't even need the master key to skip the depths, you could just go to the forest past the first Titnite Demon, go towards the Grass Crest Shield, go to the bonfire, go down the elevator, past the Valley of The Drakes, and tada you're at the entrance the Blighttown it was much safer and easier with master key, but fact of the matter is due to the level design it was still accomplishable. Tarus Demon can be skipped in the same way, just you need the Master Key. You go down from Firelink towards Blighttown, go through Valley Of The Drakes, up the elevator, and make your way back toe the black smith. It did however become more liner though after Anor Londo though in terms of the route you can take to get to the boss, the order which you can do it, however, branched out. Which is nice, at the beginning you started out having to fight bosses in somewhat order, but have multiple routes you can take to achieve it, then at mid point it get's turned on its head, you can fight the bosses in whichever order, but the routes are more liner.

 

[Mistel]

As to that point, I actually think one of the worst things about Dark Souls 1 is how the most obvious path forward once you get to Firelink is to the skeletons and the catacombs.

What made you think the graveyard would be the most obvious path? Wouldn't it be natural to travel the one of least resistance first?

 

[KittenMaster]

I believe you can still get to other areas without the master key because Dark Souls 1 does nothing to stop you from going to New Londo and de-flooding the area other than having a large difficulty barrier (which can be bypassed with skill) and then accessing Valley of Drakes by going through the bottom of New Londo.

As to that point, I actually think one of the worst things about Dark Souls 1 is how the most obvious path forward once you get to Firelink is to the skeletons and the catacombs.

I always thought the path to Undead Burg was the most obvious to me. It was pretty much right in view from the bonfire and had enemies similar to what I was already fighting.

 

[v1perz53]

What made you think the graveyard would be the most obvious path? Wouldn't it be natural to travel the one of least resistance first?

When you first land in Firelink, you are facing in a direction such that the path up to the Burgh is behind you and kind of off to the side, while the catacombs path is through an obvious door to your right. My natural course of exploring brought me there, and I honestly totally missed that an upward path to the Burgh even existed. If you found the path to the Burgh, you can never go back and experience it fresh to see if you could have missed it, but googling and watching around 8-10 of my friends play Dark Souls for the first time, it is a very common issue that people head to the graveyard first.

I can't really go back and understand how I saw the world when it was new to me, but I had to watch a video online to even see that the path up to the Burg existed at all, I went down to New Londo and over to the Catacombs before seeing that path at all.

 

[Soodanim]

What made you think the graveyard would be the most obvious path? Wouldn't it be natural to travel the one of least resistance first?

When I first played, I looked around the Shrine, then out of the little side door you go down some steps and enemies appear. I think that's closer than the first undead enemy, although I'm not sure. The stairs/hill to Burg are way off in the distance, they didn't jump out at me.

You mean how hard is it in general? Eh... I'd say if you don't pussy out and summon anyone through your first playthrough, you'll definitely be just as challenged as you were in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

I meant the i-frames being linked to Agility, but I'm glad the challenge is still there!

The weapons you can use at SL1/low SL go up by a large number if you are willing to 2H your weapon, because you only need 2/3 of the strength requirement if you are 2Hing it (eg only need 16 str to wield Zweihander in 2H even though it says it needs 24 str).

I know, but it feels limiting to only have 2 handed moves. Besides, I'm too rusty to dodge everything and too impatient to die too often. I need a shield!

Again, ONLY if you get the Master Key. Which, is one option out of ten for gifts in the character creation screen. Freedom isn't really freedom if you only get it with a special item that you can easily miss before the game even starts.

You could make an argument for that being good design, because you lose the chance at a decent early item like black firebombs or twin humanities so that you can do the experienced thing of breaking the standard area order (ignoring the thief class).

As to that point, I actually think one of the worst things about Dark Souls 1 is how the most obvious path forward once you get to Firelink is to the skeletons and the catacombs. I know the first time I played I spent 30 minutes getting destroyed by those skeletons thinking I was headed to blighttown, and I know many people who did also. I love it as an option now, but I wish it was maybe a little off the beaten path as opposed to the most obvious way forward, because I remember what it was like to be new at the game, and how not enough guidance almost ruined my impression of the game.

Ha, I had the exact same experience. Coming from Demon's I thought I was experienced enough, then those skeletons tore me apart and it did sour me on the game until I found (or Googled, I don't remember) the route to the Burg.

 

[ObbyDent]

I meant the i-frames being linked to Agility, but I'm glad the challenge is still there!

Ah. Basically, you're going to want to invest in some ADP (which raises your AGL, which raises your i-frames and the speed of which you use consumables) by the time you reach the latter half of the game. Certain bosses will clip through your roll if you don't.

 

[Sulik2]

I beat the Capra Demon on my first try and didn't even realize I was at a boss battle! Squee! This game is incredible. Went back and fought the skeletons in the graveyard and schooled them. The way you see your skills improving being directly reflected in what you can take on is so incredibly rewarding.

And the level design. That way everything seems to just be one door away even if you don't realize it. So good, so very very good. If only it wasn't so stressful. I can't play it more than a couple of hours at a time.

 

[Orochinagis]

I beat the Capra Demon on my first try and didn't even realize I was at a boss battle! Squee! This game is incredible. Went back and fought the skeletons in the graveyard and schooled them. The way you see your skills improving being directly reflected in what you can take on is so incredibly rewarding.

And the level design. That way everything seems to just be one door away even if you don't realize it. So good, so very very good. If only it wasn't so stressful. I can't play it more than a couple of hours at a time.

Thats because He wasnt a boss, the game have a pretty good reward the more you play it and return to old areas to find something new

 

[Soodanim]

Thats because He wasnt a boss, the game have a pretty good reward the more you play it and return to old areas to find something new

It bloody felt like it pre-patch! I'm tempted to delete all game data and start a new save to see how different it was.

 

[Booshka]

Capra Demon in Lower Undead Burg is most definitely a boss. Poise check, level design awareness and quick thinking are all thoroughly tested during that fight. Plenty of players early on hit a difficulty wall at that fight, so getting past it is an accomplishment.

 

[ObbyDent]

If the an enemy has a name and a HP bar at the bottom of the screen, and when you kill it it says "YOU DEFEATED", then yes, the Capra Demon is definitely a boss.

Of course, it gets demoted later on but that doesn't make it any less of a boss in the beginning.

 

[Tarkus]

He is a boss. If you kill him, you can no longer be invaded or summon at Lower Undead Burg.

 

[Donos]

- turned on my PS3 and loaded up my NG+ "road to Platinum trophy" save
- warped to Tomb of giants to get to Vamos
- died on the way to him because of stupidity (wheel skeletons are no joke when ganging up on you)
- respawned at ToG bonfire and hit O a few times to leave bonfire menue quickly and get back to my bloodstain fast
- because of hitting O to often i backstepped and there was nothing to step on behind the bonfire so i fell to death... lost 10 humanity and a couple hundred thousand souls
- turned PS3 off

all this in 5 minutes. I need a Dark Souls break.

Thanks Obama !

 

[Mogwai]

- turned on my PS3 and loaded up my NG+ "road to Platinum trophy" save
- warped to Tomb of giants to get to Vamos
- died on the way to him because of stupidity (wheel skeletons are no joke when ganging up on you)
- respawned at ToG bonfire and hit O a few times to leave bonfire menue quickly and get back to my bloodstain fast
- because of hitting O to often i backstepped and there was nothing to step on behind the bonfire so i fell to death... lost 10 humanity and a couple hundred thousand souls
- turned PS3 off

all this in 5 minutes. I need a Dark Souls break.

Thanks Obama !

/there there

Everybody can have an off-day.

 

[Donos]

/there there

Everybody can have an off-day.

What i like in the souls games is that, because of the "lack" of (forced) quests and story, they are really good to just jump back in.

 

[Soodanim]

Loaded up my unfinished sorcerer save.
Realised Bed of Chaos is the only thing left.
Currently doing it now. It's so fucking shit I don't know how it got in the game. I took the time to give up 30 humanity for the Izalith skip, too.

Oh for fuck's sake! Just got back to it after doing yet again, and the arm brushed me off know oblivion just as I jumped for the stupid branch. What happened to the design of the first half of the game? Where did those devs go?

And again. Cunting arm just flapped in front of me mid-air.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Oh for fuck's sake! Just got back to it after doing yet again, and the arm brushed me off know oblivion just as I jumped for the stupid branch.

There's no need to jump across the gap there, just block/avoid the two sweeps then drop down, the branch below extends safely enough just to drop down.

Also a high stability shield helps a lot for blocking the sweeps. I rarely have the STR to use one, but I can always two-hand the Eagle Shield (equip in your right hand), since you don't need a weapon for this fight I equip any stamina regen stuff I have and two hand the Eagle Shield.

 

[Mogwai]

What i like in the souls games is that, because of the "lack" of quests and story, they are really good to just jump back in.

Exactly, and the save system is brilliant as well. It saves so often meaning you can quit almost whenever you're not into combat and return to whatever point you reached. This is why I don't understand that people complain about not being able to pause the game.

Actually had a similar experience today, for DkS2 though. Was on my SL1 character on my way to Lost Sinner. Died at the elevator and said 'fuck it' and shut off the PS3. Feeling pretty burned out on Souls games atm. Crossing my fingers that the new DLC for tuesday will be good.

 

[Orochinagis]

- turned on my PS3 and loaded up my NG+ "road to Platinum trophy" save
- warped to Tomb of giants to get to Vamos
- died on the way to him because of stupidity (wheel skeletons are no joke when ganging up on you)
- respawned at ToG bonfire and hit O a few times to leave bonfire menue quickly and get back to my bloodstain fast
- because of hitting O to often i backstepped and there was nothing to step on behind the bonfire so i fell to death... lost 10 humanity and a couple hundred thousand souls
- turned PS3 off

all this in 5 minutes. I need a Dark Souls break.

Thanks Obama !

Rushing is bad, always bad. playing other games breaks yous the self awaranes you had in this game. the same happened to me when I returned to NG+++ anyway

Loaded up my unfinished sorcerer save.
Realised Bed of Chaos is the only thing left.
Currently doing it now. It's so fucking shit I don't know how it got in the game. I took the time to give up 30 humanity for the Izalith skip, too.

Oh for fuck's sake! Just got back to it after doing yet again, and the arm brushed me off know oblivion just as I jumped for the stupid branch. What happened to the design of the first half of the game? Where did those devs go?

And again. Cunting arm just flapped in front of me mid-air.

For me is a break of "go kill that dude and evade" this one is go a experience playing Ninja Gaiden 1 part with the eagle.

 

[Sulik2]

Took down my first dark knight in straight combat and the Demon Boss back at the Undead Asylum. Where should I go next? I am farming titanite pieces currently to get my bow and shield up to +5. I am thinking the garden? Blighttown scares me.

 

[Mistel]

Took down my first dark knight in straight combat and the Demon Boss back at the Undead Asylum. Where should I go next? I am farming titanite pieces currently to get my bow and shield up to +5. I am thinking the garden? Blighttown scares me.

If you've not rung the second bell you should head to blighttown but no harm in exploring the garden and picking up some of the nice stuff there.

 

[v1perz53]

Took down my first dark knight in straight combat and the Demon Boss back at the Undead Asylum. Where should I go next? I am farming titanite pieces currently to get my bow and shield up to +5. I am thinking the garden? Blighttown scares me.

On my first playthrough I was similarly scared of blighttown, so I did the Garden first. It is totally feasible to clear Darkroot Garden and the boss there before blighttown, though blighttown ended up not being as bad as I expected. There is actually a massive benefit to doing the garden first as it will give you a good supply of purple moss. One piece of spoiler free advice to avoid frustration once you do head down to blighttown, the top of every ladder is marked with a torch, so if you are having trouble finding where to go next look for torches.

 

[Orochinagis]

Took down my first dark knight in straight combat and the Demon Boss back at the Undead Asylum. Where should I go next? I am farming titanite pieces currently to get my bow and shield up to +5. I am thinking the garden? Blighttown scares me.

You can go to lower undead burg or goig to the dark root garden to unlock a shortcut to the undead burg

 

[Sulik2]

Thanks for the advice. I did the Garden first to get a bunch of moss. Fun enemies there too. Got a new set of armor and a great ring so I think it was the right choice. Next up Blighttown.

 

[turbocat]

(Semi)Pro Tip: Once you acquire the

Spoiler

Rite of Kindling

, go to

Spoiler

The Depths

and farm

Spoiler

Humanity

so that you can

Spoiler

max out the Estus on bonfires

. I did this, and it made the fight with

Spoiler

The Four Kings

and

Spoiler

farming Darkwraiths for Titanite Slabs

much easier on me.

 

[Ruuppa]

(Semi)Pro Tip: Once you acquire the

Spoiler

Rite of Kindling

, go to

Spoiler

The Depths

and farm

Spoiler

Humanity

so that you can

Spoiler

max out the Estus on bonfires

. I did this, and it made the fight with

Spoiler

The Four Kings

and

Spoiler

farming Darkwraiths for Titanite Slabs

much easier on me.

If you have the DLC, you can farm Humanities super easy in there.

Spoiler

Oolacile Township Dungeon has dozens of monsters that have a high chance to drop Humanities and Twin Humanities.

Thanks for the advice. I did the Garden first to get a bunch of moss. Fun enemies there too. Got a new set of armor and a great ring so I think it was the right choice. Next up Blighttown.

Use the Spider Shield on the way down. It's worth its weight in Lord Souls in that place

Spoiler

, unless you take the shortcut

.

 

[Vodh]

So I've just played Dark Souls for the first time.

I've played Demon Souls before, but as I've been counting days down to release of Diablo 3 I never finished, and when I tried to come back I found out I forgot everything and just didn't feel like it.

I don't know why I was under the impression that From fixed the PC release, but dsfix works fine so I guess no major issue here.

Of course, I went down first, slaughtered some undeads and got absolutely murdered by some ghost dudes.

Then I worked my way up for a while, got to the bull guy and dodging one of his attacks I rolled off to my death. Bull guy decided to follow, so I guess I killed him? Will never know, because in fear of losing all my souls including whatever I got from him I alt+F4'd and the game didn't save any progress.

No biggie, turns out on second try he was easy, and so far I have to say I'm enjoying the game quite a bit.

Love the bonfire system, the flask thing is also so much better than managing different kinds of grass. I guess the quality of life improvements put the game above Demon's Souls, but I can't help but feel like it's just not got the same magic. I think I'll go back to Demon's Souls and then beat Dark once I'm done with Demon's.

 

[Orochinagis]

So I've just played Dark Souls for the first time.

I've played Demon Souls before, but as I've been counting days down to release of Diablo 3 I never finished, and when I tried to come back I found out I forgot everything and just didn't feel like it.

I don't know why I was under the impression that From fixed the PC release, but dsfix works fine so I guess no major issue here.

Of course, I went down first, slaughtered some undeads and got absolutely murdered by some ghost dudes.

Then I worked my way up for a while, got to the bull guy and dodging one of his attacks I rolled off to my death. Bull guy decided to follow, so I guess I killed him? Will never know, because in fear of losing all my souls including whatever I got from him I alt+F4'd and the game didn't save any progress.

No biggie, turns out on second try he was easy, and so far I have to say I'm enjoying the game quite a bit.

Love the bonfire system, the flask thing is also so much better than managing different kinds of grass. I guess the quality of life improvements put the game above Demon's Souls, but I can't help but feel like it's just not got the same magic. I think I'll go back to Demon's Souls and then beat Dark once I'm done with Demon's.

I heard demon souls is a completely different game while dark souls have some of DS mimicks but stands an its own identity which is great.

 

[thespot84]

so do i

Spoiler

cheese the silver knight archers in anor londo with poison arrows (i have to go all the way back to parish to buy some)

or fight it out like a man? The third option os blowing up my pc out of unadulterated rage, I'd rather it not get to that point.

 

[BrokenIcarus]

so do i

Spoiler

cheese the silver knight archers in anor londo with poison arrows (i have to go all the way back to parish to buy some)

or fight it out like a man? The third option os blowing up my pc out of unadulterated rage, I'd rather it not get to that point.

It's really not that hard just roll through the arrows to get to the left one, the right one can't hit you there, then kill him and move on to the next.

 

[turbocat]

so do i

Spoiler

cheese the silver knight archers in anor londo with poison arrows (i have to go all the way back to parish to buy some)

or fight it out like a man? The third option os blowing up my pc out of unadulterated rage, I'd rather it not get to that point.

I was brutally murdered by these guys...6 or 7 times. You need a combination of sprinting, turning to block at the right time, rolling, and luck. Genuinely one of the most frustrating tiny encounters of the game for me. You can do it though. Good luck.

 

[v1perz53]

It's really not that hard just roll through the arrows to get to the left one, the right one can't hit you there, then kill him and move on to the next.

What you must not fail to mention is that it really isn't that hard to fast roll through the arrows to get to the left one. My first time through the game at this point I still thought heavy-ish armor was worth using and and that mid roll was my best bet, and it is very challenging rolling through those arrows your first time to that point in the game with a mid roll.

My current preferred method (thanks to watching Kay's playthrough) is to use hidden body, you can run all the way to the left one without either firing a single arrow. Of course, you need some int but still very fun to do on a sorc.

 

[thespot84]

What you must not fail to mention is that it really isn't that hard to fast roll through the arrows to get to the left one. My first time through the game at this point I still thought heavy-ish armor was worth using and and that mid roll was my best bet, and it is very challenging rolling through those arrows your first time to that point in the game with a mid roll.

My current preferred method (thanks to watching Kay's playthrough) is to use hidden body, you can run all the way to the left one without either firing a single arrow. Of course, you need some int but still very fun to do on a sorc.

I'm a noob, but i'm a thief with shadow armor, does that mean i'm doing fast roll? not sure what fast/mid are...

 

[Red Liquorice]

I'm a noob, but i'm a thief with shadow armor, does that mean i'm doing fast roll? not sure what fast/mid are...

Fast roll is below 25% of your total equipment load. Once you go fast you never go back!

 

[v1perz53]

I'm a noob, but i'm a thief with shadow armor, does that mean i'm doing fast roll? not sure what fast/mid are...

Yea, as said above, divide your total equipment load by 4, you really want your equip weight to be below that. Endurance increases your max load (and stamina), so increasing that is another way to get faster rolls. You should be fine as a thief with shadow armor depending on your weapon.

Good way to tell is take off all your gear and try to roll around naked. The animation then is a fast roll. If it is the same with your gear on, you are good to go.

One of the most unintuitive things about Dark Souls is that sometimes it is beneficial to actually take off armor to get to fast roll, because it is so much better than the slower rolls.

 

[thespot84]

Yea, as said above, divide your total equipment load by 4, you really want your equip weight to be below that. Endurance increases your max load (and stamina), so increasing that is another way to get faster rolls. You should be fine as a thief with shadow armor depending on your weapon.

Good way to tell is take off all your gear and try to roll around naked. The animation then is a fast roll. If it is the same with your gear on, you are good to go.

One of the most unintuitive things about Dark Souls is that sometimes it is beneficial to actually take off armor to get to fast roll, because it is so much better than the slower rolls.

k i can definitely see the difference now. got super lucky on my first run on the archers today and the guy on the left just walked off, then i dodged the arrows and parried the archer on the right until he fell off. hands are still shaking...

 

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

You can make a chump out of anybody/ every situation when you know what to do in this game. Especially when you figure out that sword Silver/ Black Knights have the easiest attack in the game to parry.

 

[v1perz53]

k i can definitely see the difference now. got super lucky on my first run on the archers today and the guy on the left just walked off, then i dodged the arrows and parried the archer on the right until he fell off. hands are still shaking...

This is what I love about Dark Souls. A moment like this is pure triumph, not many feelings like it. Just wait to see how you feel after beating the next boss.

 

[Kaleinc]

Fast roll is below 25% of your total equipment load. Once you go fast you never go back!

I'm draining souls into END to fast roll with ultra great sword.

 

[Mistel]

I'm draining souls into END to fast roll with ultra great sword.

Using havel's ring and the ring of favor and protection will help you accomplish that.

 

[Tarkus]

I'm draining souls into END to fast roll with ultra great sword.

That's why I have 61 END.