• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Dark Souls |OT5| Definitely better than the sequel

I'm thinking of going for the claw weapon, but I've read conflicting comments on other sites saying that they're bad. What would be the best way to go about optimizing them? Should I make them magic or go down another upgrade path? I've read that a dex/int build is pretty good.

This is for single player, btw.
 

Booshka

Member
I'm thinking of going for the claw weapon, but I've read conflicting comments on other sites saying that they're bad. What would be the best way to go about optimizing them? Should I make them magic or go down another upgrade path? I've read that a dex/int build is pretty good.

This is for single player, btw.
Dex/Int is good if you plan on buffing a +15 weapon with Crystal Magic weapon. Takes a lot of Levels to be good with Claws, but doable. Claws do low damage, low poise damage, and have terrible range. They are tough to use, but pretty much everything is viable in DkS1 with talent and dedication, so go for it.
Those things scales with dex right? Looks like the best path is for lightning according to some wikis
Lightning upgrade path removes all stat scaling.
 
Dex/Int is good if you plan on buffing a +15 weapon with Crystal Magic weapon. Takes a lot of Levels to be good with Claws, but doable. Claws do low damage, low poise damage, and have terrible range. They are tough to use, but pretty much everything is viable in DkS1 with talent and dedication, so go for it.

Lightning upgrade path removes all stat scaling.
Aren't crystal weapons extremely fragile and un-repairable? Sounds like I would have to spend more time stocking up than anything.

I'm also thinking of doing a toxic build, maybe also fit in bleed if it's doable. Saw a video about a toxic build that seems real fun, and I think I remember reading somewhere that poison and bleed also scale with dex.

Going by this chart, it looks like Claws+15 from the basic upgrade path has the best damage and scaling for a more dex-oriented build if I don't want to worry about crystal weapons, but the magic one looks good for a dex/int build, maybe even stronger than Basic+15 with enough int and dex. I might go for basic first. My PS3 just broke down yesterday (seemingly losing its memory and the little progress I made in the process) and now we have to get it fixed, so at least I have time to think it over.

EDIT: Okay, fortunately, I we had a PS3 Slim in the living room that wasn't getting any use, so I can use that. I even caught up to where I left off already.
 
I was thinking of getting the thorn gauntlets for the 10% boost to fist weapon damage, but I already missed one of the encounters needed for them and now I have to wait until NG+ to get them. I want to know whether or not they're worth it. How does that 10% work? Is it 10% of damage with or without taking scaling into account? If I use them with Occult Claws, will it boost both physical and magic damage or just physical damage?
 

laxu

Member
So I bought this on Steam and after about 5 hours I feel like giving up.

I am at the Depths and it is such a miserable level, I hate fuckin sewer levels and they have no place to be in any game if you ask me. The Capra Demon I fought before going to the sewer was also such a horrible boss design in a barely manouverable areana it made me want to punch the developer who came up with that fight.

Can't say I enjoy the sickening green and gray tone pervading the game as a whole either. I thought I'd give this a try after DS3 since it was on sale in Steam but I really don't feel like wasting any more time with this one.
 
So I bought this on Steam and after about 5 hours I feel like giving up.

I am at the Depths and it is such a miserable level, I hate fuckin sewer levels and they have no place to be in any game if you ask me. The Capra Demon I fought before going to the sewer was also such a horrible boss design in a barely manouverable areana it made me want to punch the developer who came up with that fight.

Can't say I enjoy the sickening green and gray tone pervading the game as a whole either. I thought I'd give this a try after DS3 since it was on sale in Steam but I really don't feel like wasting any more time with this one.
You're probably doing the right thing, since the next areas is even more sickly green and brown.
 

Soulhouf

Member
You're in the Depths after only 5 hours and you're complaining?
I don't know how to interpret this post TBH, if it's a joke or you're serious...
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
So I bought this on Steam and after about 5 hours I feel like giving up.

I am at the Depths and it is such a miserable level, I hate fuckin sewer levels and they have no place to be in any game if you ask me. The Capra Demon I fought before going to the sewer was also such a horrible boss design in a barely manouverable areana it made me want to punch the developer who came up with that fight.

Can't say I enjoy the sickening green and gray tone pervading the game as a whole either. I thought I'd give this a try after DS3 since it was on sale in Steam but I really don't feel like wasting any more time with this one.

the depths i thought were a really short area and the boss is quite pathetic. you'll be out of there in no time if you stick with it. the capra demon fight is poorly designed due to the small area and easily restricted camera view. if you can deal with that and dispatch the dogs quickly then the boss fight itself is very simple as you would find out later in the game when it makes a reappearance (in a completely open area with no dogs!).

I'd suggest sticking with the game and getting through Blighttown. i feel the game really gets going after that. some of the best boss fights in the game happen once you get out of there. Ornstein & Smough, Sif, Four Kings, and Gwyn.
 

llehuty

Member
Yay, finally got the 2nd bell. Minimal non tagged early spoilers from this point forward.

So finally I killed the witch, it was an ok fight, I'm still annoyed that I haven't managed to defeat any boss on my first try, when I managed to do that a couple of times in Bloddborne (my first Souls game). So then I rang the bell by accident (I though it was a switch for an elevator, lol), I investigated the following area, but seems that for the momennt it's only a dead end.

Anyway, the misterious gate next to the church is now open, so I went directly there. Killed the 2 lizzards in the intro... and that was it (one of my roomates wanted to use the TV). I have the feeling that this area is going to kick my ass hard. And still wondering what do I have to do to revive my firekeeper with that orb that I cannot use for the moment :/ It does say something about Londo, so I guess I have to progress around the ghost area? We will see...

So,now I'm here sitting, hoping I can give a spin at the new area :p

So, so far I'm around 21 hours in, with a Scimitar +9 and one level away of being able to try the katana I got recently *.*

TO DO LIST:

*Check new area
*Maybe trying the ghosts in New Londo

NOPE LIST:

*Check the catacombs
*Dark forest basin ice gollems
*Interior of the tree
*Down the tower at the end of undead burg (forgot about this area with the guy that one shots me)
*Tutorial area
*Sleeping dragon
*Bridge Dragon

I DON'T KNOW LIST:

*The lava place after Blighttown

It's quite impressive all the different paths available, although I don't see most of them as viable options, lol.
 

Mistel

Banned
I was thinking of getting the thorn gauntlets for the 10% boost to fist weapon damage, but I already missed one of the encounters needed for them and now I have to wait until NG+ to get them. I want to know whether or not they're worth it. How does that 10% work? Is it 10% of damage with or without taking scaling into account? If I use them with Occult Claws, will it boost both physical and magic damage or just physical damage?
I believe its a 10% increase based on AR of the weapon but Booshka probably knows if its it contrary to that or not.
 
Anyway, the misterious gate next to the church is now open, so I went directly there. Killed the 2 lizzards in the intro... and that was it (one of my roomates wanted to use the TV). I have the feeling that this area is going to kick my ass hard. And still wondering what do I have to do to revive my firekeeper with that orb that I cannot use for the moment :/ It does say something about Londo, so I guess I have to progress around the ghost area? We will see...
Sen's Fortress where you are now is so fun, I wish I was going in their blind again! And about the Firekeeper, read the description on the black eye orb again, the place it mentions is not New Londo.
 

laxu

Member
the depths i thought were a really short area and the boss is quite pathetic. you'll be out of there in no time if you stick with it. the capra demon fight is poorly designed due to the small area and easily restricted camera view. if you can deal with that and dispatch the dogs quickly then the boss fight itself is very simple as you would find out later in the game when it makes a reappearance (in a completely open area with no dogs!).

I'd suggest sticking with the game and getting through Blighttown. i feel the game really gets going after that. some of the best boss fights in the game happen once you get out of there. Ornstein & Smough, Sif, Four Kings, and Gwyn.

Yeah I kept continuing. Got the Crest of Artorias after taking out the demon at the bottom of the asylum and used it on the door but the assholes in the forest keep taking me out. Took out the first two but can't take the others when one of the mages keeps healing them and my trusty +6 Claymore doesn't do enough damage on one hit to them.

On another note, the game would be downright unbearable without DSFix. It stutters like hell in what is supposed to be the 30 fps mode but runs fine at 60 fps. It seems the game performs a little differently too because I can't make the crow's nest jump/roll without turning the 30 fps limit on.
 

laxu

Member
Farmed the shit out of the human enemies in the forest and beat Sif then ran thru New Londo Ruins to get any items I could until not being able to progress due to not having keys. I guess it's the dreaded Blighttown next!
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
Yay, finally got the 2nd bell. Minimal non tagged early spoilers from this point forward.

So finally I killed the witch, it was an ok fight, I'm still annoyed that I haven't managed to defeat any boss on my first try, when I managed to do that a couple of times in Bloddborne (my first Souls game). So then I rang the bell by accident (I though it was a switch for an elevator, lol), I investigated the following area, but seems that for the momennt it's only a dead end.

Anyway, the misterious gate next to the church is now open, so I went directly there. Killed the 2 lizzards in the intro... and that was it (one of my roomates wanted to use the TV). I have the feeling that this area is going to kick my ass hard. And still wondering what do I have to do to revive my firekeeper with that orb that I cannot use for the moment :/ It does say something about Londo, so I guess I have to progress around the ghost area? We will see...

So,now I'm here sitting, hoping I can give a spin at the new area :p

So, so far I'm around 21 hours in, with a Scimitar +9 and one level away of being able to try the katana I got recently *.*

TO DO LIST:

*Check new area
*Maybe trying the ghosts in New Londo

NOPE LIST:

*Check the catacombs
*Dark forest basin ice gollems
*Interior of the tree
*Down the tower at the end of undead burg (forgot about this area with the guy that one shots me)
*Tutorial area
*Sleeping dragon
*Bridge Dragon

I DON'T KNOW LIST:

*The lava place after Blighttown

It's quite impressive all the different paths available, although I don't see most of them as viable options, lol.

Once you are in Anor Londo and get to a certain point then you will unlock the area after Blighttown and have the chance to revive the Firekeeper. This area is the one after Sen's Fortress which is where the 2 Serpent Soldiers you fought were. You will have a lot of fun in Sen's Fortress!

I'd suggest doing Darkroot Garden before heading into New Londo since there is an item you get from the boss that will be of use in New Londo. My route was Sen's > Anor Londo > Darkroot Garden > New Londo. Also, stock up on some Transient Curse before going into New Londo. It'll help with the ghosts.
Yeah I kept continuing. Got the Crest of Artorias after taking out the demon at the bottom of the asylum and used it on the door but the assholes in the forest keep taking me out. Took out the first two but can't take the others when one of the mages keeps healing them and my trusty +6 Claymore doesn't do enough damage on one hit to them.

On another note, the game would be downright unbearable without DSFix. It stutters like hell in what is supposed to be the 30 fps mode but runs fine at 60 fps. It seems the game performs a little differently too because I can't make the crow's nest jump/roll without turning the 30 fps limit on.

The Claymore is a good weapon but you might get better results with the Zweihander. It will set you up for the rest of the game if you keep upgrading it. Claymore + Zweihander were the only weapons I used throughout the entire game. You can find it in the cemetery area next to Firelink Shrine. Just run in and out real quick if you don't want to deal with the Skeletons.
 

llehuty

Member
I'm here at work and your are hyping me up for Sen's fortress. I already activated one trap at the beginning, and I'm suspecting that's going to be the theme of the place. I also want to see again the onion head dude.
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
I'm here at work and your are hyping me up for Sen's fortress. I already activated one trap at the beginning, and I'm suspecting that's going to be the theme of the place. I also want to see again the onion head dude.

his name is Siegmeyer of Catarina and you will see him again. he's inside the fortress and if you stick with his story then he will appear another 5 times during the game.
 

laxu

Member
The Claymore is a good weapon but you might get better results with the Zweihander. It will set you up for the rest of the game if you keep upgrading it. Claymore + Zweihander were the only weapons I used throughout the entire game. You can find it in the cemetery area next to Firelink Shrine. Just run in and out real quick if you don't want to deal with the Skeletons.

I tried Zweihander but felt it was just too slow for my play style, the Claymore was more up my alley. Strange considering I use Ultra Greatswords a lot in DS3.
 

strafer

member
I'm here at work and your are hyping me up for Sen's fortress. I already activated one trap at the beginning, and I'm suspecting that's going to be the theme of the place. I also want to see again the onion head dude.

Sens Fortress is my favorite place.
 

Booshka

Member
I tried Zweihander but felt it was just too slow for my play style, the Claymore was more up my alley. Strange considering I use Ultra Greatswords a lot in DS3.

Claymore is a fantastic weapon with a great moveset, both 1 handed and 2 handed. Zweihander is pretty much only ever worth using 2 handed, as the name suggests. It's a beast, and staggers almost everything first hit, but the wind up is pretty slow, if you get your spacing and timing down right though, and mix in some overhead R2's it will beat up everything.
 

mulac

Member
Ok, so...

Blight-town Done and beat the boss (Quelag?) - kept on through and ended up at the Demons Ruins but realized i hadnt been back to Firelink for a while...so ran back (long way up a big wheel) and when i got back to Firelink Shrine...cant light the bonfire?? WTF?

So i figure now my options are:

1. Sens Fortress - that big gate near Darkroot Garden(?)
2. Old Londo Ruins below Firelink; i had a go down there at an earlier point but kept getting killed by the ghost things that floated at me across the water...

What's the "natural" progression next? Or do I go back to Demons Ruins?
 

Unai

Member
Ok, so...

Blight-town Done and beat the boss (Quelag?) - kept on through and ended up at the Demons Ruins but realized i hadnt been back to Firelink for a while...so ran back (long way up a big wheel) and when i got back to Firelink Shrine...cant light the bonfire?? WTF?

So i figure now my options are:

1. Sens Fortress - that big gate near Darkroot Garden(?)
2. Old Londo Ruins below Firelink; i had a go down there at an earlier point but kept getting killed by the ghost things that floated at me across the water...

What's the "natural" progression next? Or do I go back to Demons Ruins?

Sen's Fortress is the way to go. New Londo Ruins is not a good place to go right now because there's no bonfire there, you have to use the one in Firelink Shirine. You can't complete Demon's Ruins until you progress more in the main quest.
 

mulac

Member
Sen's Fortress is the way to go. New Londo Ruins is not a good place to go right now because there's no bonfire there, you have to use the one in Firelink Shirine. You can't complete Demon's Ruins until you progress more in the main quest.

Ok got it thanks.
Should I be worried that my bonfire at Firelink is out now? I think the Firekeeper was killed(??).
 
Ok got it thanks.
Should I be worried that my bonfire at Firelink is out now? I think the Firekeeper was killed(??).
You should've picked up an item with her outfit, the Black Eye Orb - you can use it at a later stage in the game to avenge her, the game will tell you where and when, you can't miss it. For now you have to use somewhere close like the Parish bonfire above Andre as a base, but since it's outside Sen's Fortress, it's the natural place to do so.
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
Ok, so...

Blight-town Done and beat the boss (Quelag?) - kept on through and ended up at the Demons Ruins but realized i hadnt been back to Firelink for a while...so ran back (long way up a big wheel) and when i got back to Firelink Shrine...cant light the bonfire?? WTF?

So i figure now my options are:

1. Sens Fortress - that big gate near Darkroot Garden(?)
2. Old Londo Ruins below Firelink; i had a go down there at an earlier point but kept getting killed by the ghost things that floated at me across the water...

What's the "natural" progression next? Or do I go back to Demons Ruins?

The Firekeeper disappears when the second bell is rung in Blighttown or you take the Firekeeper soul from the area. Someone you met in Undead Parish is responsible and you will meet them again later in the game where you will have the chance to have the Firekeeper return to Firelink Shrine.

Sen's Fortress is definitely the place to go. I would leave New Londo Ruins until a bit later. My route was Blighttown>Sen's Fortress>Anor Londo>Darkroot Garden/Basin>New Londo Ruins. If you have already defeated the boss in Darkroot Garden then you can just head straight to New Londo Ruins after Anor Londo. You need an item that the Garden boss drops to reach the boss in New Londo. As for the Ghosts in New Londo, stock up on some Transient Curse.
 

mulac

Member
Game is beaten as of 10minutes ago.

Basically been playing nonstop the last few days except for sleep.

MAN WHAT A GAME.

I went with the Link The Fire engine as my own internal lore plays nicely to how I completed Dark Souls 3.

Now over to the PS4 to start on Scholar of the First Sin.

Thanks for the help DarkSoulsGaf!

I rated DS1 an 8.5/10 vs DS3 10/10 and BB 11/10 incase anyone is wondering.
 
Game is beaten as of 10minutes ago.

Basically been playing nonstop the last few days except for sleep.

MAN WHAT A GAME.

I went with the Link The Fire engine as my own internal lore plays nicely to how I completed Dark Souls 3.

Now over to the PS4 to start on Scholar of the First Sin.

Thanks for the help DarkSoulsGaf!

I rated DS1 an 8.5/10 vs DS3 10/10 and BB 11/10 incase anyone is wondering.
Nice! I love DS1.

BB was my first souls game, which I guess I would give an 8/10. DS1 a 10/10. I'm only 8-10 hours into DS3 now, so we'll see how that goes. And then SOTFS... maybe I should pick that up while it's on sale, hm.
 

Manu

Member
I thought this was worth sharing. We recently held an art contest on a Facebook Souls community I'm in, and this was the winning entry:

13450167_10209468341566146_7995216946471835534_n.jpg
 

tebunker

Banned
So First off, glad I found this thread. Subbed.

Second. I am currently muddling my way through my first play through.

I beat Demon Souls for the first time earlier this month, and instead of a NG+ decided to hop in to Dark Souls on PC instead.

I am hopelessly addicted.

I am up to Sen's Fortress at the moment. I am SL 52, rocking a Bastard Sword +10, Armor of the Glorious ( I had to have this once I saw it ), some elite knight gear and a stone helmet. Thank god for Havel's Ring. I've had some mixed results, smashing some bosses first time through, suck it Gaping Dragon and Gargoyles and the Witch among others, but I had struggles with others, looking at you Stray Demon and well the reason I sought out this thread.


I had an idea about the boss I fought tonight
Great Wolf Sif
. I have seen things posted earlier, when I had no intentions of playing this game.

However I don't think I was prepared for the last 10% of that fight. I almost cried. I was literally on the verge of tears. This boss had handed me my ass 3 straight times, cost me 12+ humanity and 20k+ souls. I started off angry, and ended up legit sad.

I think that's what makes this game so great. It can just lead you through some serious emotional valleys with out the pandering or bs cutscenes etc.

This game is legit awesome. I mean I can't wait to push through this fortress and just crushing through to the end. I know it is a ways away.

Next goal is to go join the Chaos covenant, after a lot of reading I think this is what I want, I like having back up pyro when needed. Smash through the Fortress and proceed through Anor Londo with maybe some other small side stops. I also want to figure out what back up weapons I want to continue upgrading. I have a +5 Balder Side sword and +5 Reinforced Club, going to end up with a 40 str / 40 dex build so I can wield darn near everything. Will have a +15 Bastard sword as my main though. Using grass crest shield because it's damn near OP. I have the Uchi, and Iaito, or a maybe a Falchion to get some of the demon gear, sitting on several boss souls. So that's that.
 

laxu

Member
I've just cleared Anor Londo and gone to the Abyss (died on the Four Kings boss). Took out Ornstein and Smough on my third try. Went to get the
Cloranthy Ring
from the Great Hollow (fuck that level too, so many accidental deaths) and whittled the Ash Lake hydra to death with about 215 arrows. I seriously have no idea how to defeat dragons or bosses that reside in a fuckin' lake using just my sword in this game.

I've been rocking the +10 Claymore because it has a really nice moveset and a combination of Eastern armor and Elite Knight gear with the Grass Crest Shield.

I'm glad that they've cut some of the bullshit from DS3 like ledges that are just so tiny that even blocking something sends you tumbling to your death or the inability to warp to any bonfire.

It's strange that the 30 fps lock button in DSFix makes my game stutter but if I cap the framerate in DSFix settings to 30 fps it works fine (apart from being a miserable framerate). Without DSFix the game stuttered too. I only really use the 30 fps lock button when I need to make rolls that otherwise just won't go far enough at 60 fps.
 
whittled the Ash Lake hydra to death with about 215 arrows. I seriously have no idea how to defeat dragons or bosses that reside in a fuckin' lake using just my sword in this game..
The Hydra in Ash Lake hits harder than the one in Darkroot, but it's the same fight just stand close enough to bait the heads to come down then cut off the heads one by one. If you're too far away it will only do projectile magic, so stay in range and don't lock on (well, I lock on for blocking the heads coming down, but don't stay locked on to attack the heads).
 

rahji

Member
just bought Dark Souls in the recent steam sale. played 8 hours so far and I am enjoying it. Right now I stand before the capra demon. what a sucker.
But I think the graphics are just plain bad. Perhaps it is the high resolution of a PC or the DSFix. I think it looks worse than Demon's Souls which I played half a year ago. I fiddled a litte bit with the DSFix configs and the best setting I could come up with is with no DSFix activated at all.
 

laxu

Member
just bought Dark Souls in the recent steam sale. played 8 hours so far and I am enjoying it. Right now I stand before the capra demon. what a sucker.
But I think the graphics are just plain bad. Perhaps it is the high resolution of a PC or the DSFix. I think it looks worse than Demon's Souls which I played half a year ago. I fiddled a litte bit with the DSFix configs and the best setting I could come up with is with no DSFix activated at all.

You should at least raise the framerate to 60. The only drawback afaik is that rolls don't go as far which is only relevant in a few places where you have to roll across a gap.

There's also a high res texture pack available from Nexus Mods. I think the game looks acceptable with it. The lighting is pretty bad but otherwise the game looks fine considering it's about 5 years old.
 

zma1013

Member
just bought Dark Souls in the recent steam sale. played 8 hours so far and I am enjoying it. Right now I stand before the capra demon. what a sucker.
But I think the graphics are just plain bad. Perhaps it is the high resolution of a PC or the DSFix. I think it looks worse than Demon's Souls which I played half a year ago. I fiddled a litte bit with the DSFix configs and the best setting I could come up with is with no DSFix activated at all.

The higher resolution actually lets you see more detail in the texture work and shaders than none at all, so I don't think ignoring DSfix improvements is the way to go. You lose a lot of the details dropping down to 720p. Hell I didn't even know the hollows eyes even flickered until I played in high res on PC, that's how much is lost at lower resolutions.
 

rahji

Member
yeah you are probably both right. Did some testing yesterday and now I go with DSFix, but with 30 fps. It is hard to describe but it feels just better for me than 60 fps.

got to test that high res texture pack though.
 

tebunker

Banned
Made it to Anor Londo. Honestly the boss of Sen's Fortress was kind of a breeze.

I would have no hit him if I had waited to see all of his animations, but I quickly discovered charging him and going between his legs and standing at his knees, like fighting all the Giants, worked really well. However, and I know I got lucky, at 50% of his life he reached between his legs and grabbed and slammed me. Almost threw me off the bridge. I made sure to pay attention a little better to catch that animation and stoned him.

Grabbed the ring and landed in one of the more stunning vistas in the game so far.

I've decided I really like the Lightning Spear you find in Sen's, and it is my go to when I need more reach in my animations. Trying out the Black Knights sword right now, and I don't like it as much as the bastard sword in terms of effectiveness, but I like the hard attack stab animation, and it hints at having power against chaos demons. So going to hold on to one.

I'd like some advice though, I want to make my Estus Flask stronger,
I know that I need the Fire keeper Souls, I got one earlier in the game in the Parish, so I decided to check a wiki. It looks like you can't get all the upgrades in a first run unless you want to give up the firelink shrine. Well I killed Lautrec when I met him because I thought he was a shifty mfer and I was still deciding what kind of character I was going to play. But my question is should I kill the Anor Londo fire keeper? So I spoiled myself and found out I can get one back in Blighttown too.
I really think I need to upgrade this thing because I am at 1300+ Hp and have to use 3 flask pulls get back to safety hp.

Any way, it is my understanding too that I am not too far from those notorious bosses, should I attempt it solo first and then summon later? Or try to summon someone or two and make it easier on myself?
 

laxu

Member
I've decided I really like the Lightning Spear you find in Sen's, and it is my go to when I need more reach in my animations. Trying out the Black Knights sword right now, and I don't like it as much as the bastard sword in terms of effectiveness, but I like the hard attack stab animation, and it hints at having power against chaos demons. So going to hold on to one.

Any way, it is my understanding too that I am not too far from those notorious bosses, should I attempt it solo first and then summon later? Or try to summon someone or two and make it easier on myself?

The Black Knight Sword is pretty boss when you get to Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith. Even though its R2 is super slow it's pretty effective against many enemies as they often just run into it.

Definitely give the duo a try on your own first. They aren´t that bad if you just manage to separate them a bit and stay around the pillars.
 

Unai

Member
I'd like some advice though, I want to make my Estus Flask stronger,
I know that I need the Fire keeper Souls, I got one earlier in the game in the Parish, so I decided to check a wiki. It looks like you can't get all the upgrades in a first run unless you want to give up the firelink shrine. Well I killed Lautrec when I met him because I thought he was a shifty mfer and I was still deciding what kind of character I was going to play. But my question is should I kill the Anor Londo fire keeper? So I spoiled myself and found out I can get one back in Blighttown too.
I really think I need to upgrade this thing because I am at 1300+ Hp and have to use 3 flask pulls get back to safety hp.

Any way, it is my understanding too that I am not too far from those notorious bosses, should I attempt it solo first and then summon later? Or try to summon someone or two and make it easier on myself?


There's a firekeeper soul very early in New Londo Ruins. You can get it with a suicide run (or using a homeward bone if you don't want to die) as soon as you arrive in Firelink Shirine for the first time.

You can kill the Firekeeper in Anor Londo, but I would wait until you kill the boss there just for convenience. You can also kill the Fair Lady when she you are not interested in her covenant.

About the bosses, I prefer to solo them or use NPC summons only at least once. When I kill a boss with help I always regret because I think it would be fun to try to beat it alone. YMMV.
 

tebunker

Banned
There's a firekeeper soul very early in New Londo Ruins. You can get it with a suicide run (or using a homeward bone if you don't want to die) as soon as you arrive in Firelink Shirine for the first time.

You can kill the Firekeeper in Anor Londo, but I would wait until you kill the boss there just for convenience. You can also kill the Fair Lady when she you are not interested in her covenant.

About the bosses, I prefer to solo them or use NPC summons only at least once. When I kill a boss with help I always regret because I think it would be fun to try to beat it alone. YMMV.

Yeah in my research I see that I could try to run to the one in New Londo, so that's an option. I am kind of scared to try it, but might be worth it instead of killing a bunch of keepers atm.

I was going to go Chaos so I need the sister. :-|
 

laxu

Member
Ok, I'm off to do the DLC and then take out the last boss. This game has had so many terrible levels though. Basically anything with swamps and narrow walkways is awful as it's so easy to fall off just by blocking an enemy. There are some design choices that are downright idiotic like not being able to warp to any bonfire or having to remember to rest at the bonfire after warping.

If this game had less downright depressing levels it would be better as the level designs themselves are often pretty great when they don't involve the afore-mentioned deadly drops. In its credit I actually liked the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants levels, they are a lot better than what you find in DS3.

If it were up to me, From Software would never make any lava levels ever again. They are complete shit in DS1 just like in DS3.
 

tebunker

Banned
Ok, I'm off to do the DLC and then take out the last boss. This game has had so many terrible levels though. Basically anything with swamps and narrow walkways is awful as it's so easy to fall off just by blocking an enemy. There are some design choices that are downright idiotic like not being able to warp to any bonfire or having to remember to rest at the bonfire after warping.

If this game had less downright depressing levels it would be better as the level designs themselves are often pretty great when they don't involve the afore-mentioned deadly drops. In its credit I actually liked the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants levels, they are a lot better than what you find in DS3.

If it were up to me, From Software would never make any lava levels ever again. They are complete shit in DS1 just like in DS3.

As someone who just took about 15 tries to make it past the Silver Knight Archers on a narrow ledge. I can empathize with the frustration of the ledges. I think at times it works well, like in Sen's, but other times it feels cheap like in Anor Londo.

Just to update, I beat the painted world, but didn't get the dagger. Then I beat O&S last night on the first try. I did summon ole sun bro, but he went in the battle with 1/2 life because I didn't kill the sentinels before summoning him.

He did help just enough though because he distracted Smough enough for me to lay the beat down on Ornstein. Smough was just a batlle of patience as I used the columns to shield myself and gave him a face full of arrows from the Black Bow. It felt cheap and amazing at the same time.

I will be totally honest that I was not prepared for how long this game really is. It is huge. It also takes way to long to get the warping function. As if I hadn't proven myself enough in the game by that point. Having to clear those two was kind of insulting.

So I can already see the improvements that were made in 2, Bloodborne and DS 3. As well Demon Souls has a lot of little stuff that I liled better, I honestly liked the hub and warp system a lot, and the game, while unrefined, just has a better general feel. Like for Dark Souls they felt they had to amp it up just for power creep sakes.

Anyway, my point is that I am sad they said no more Dark Souls. I could see another Bloodborne, but honestly I'd like to see one last take that truly tries to take the best of elements from all of the games and combines them into one Magnum Opus.
 
Top Bottom