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Dark Souls |OT5| Definitely better than the sequel

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Is there a preferred order to tackle things after getting the Lordvessle?
Depends on your build. Here's what I'd suggest:
- if sorcery/int build, go to Duke's Archives straight away;
- if pyromancy build, go to Demon Ruins;
- if faith build, go to the Tomb of the Giants.
- if pure melee, go to New Londo Ruins if you haven't already, to pick up the Very Large Ember. That said if the boss is too hard you can go do the other areas first after you do that and come back later.

After you are done with all of those, go to the DLC area.

Also, if you don't care about the spells etc. much, I'd suggest finishing Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith first. Simply because it's the worst part of the game so it's good to get it out of the way. :p

It is also often preferable to do Lost Izalith before Tomb of the Giants, since you find a useful item there that is really helpful for the Tomb of the Giants, but it's not strictly necessary.

The rest of the order doesn't matter much beyond whichever you do first, IMO.
 

.Anema

Member
Is there a preferred order to tackle things after getting the Lordvessle?

Not really, but you should go for the Very Large Ember to upgrade your weapons to +15 and kill the Four Kings in New Londo.

In my opinion:

- New Londo: Grab the Very Large Ember, kill the Four Kings and join to the Darkwraith Covenant (Don't talk or get closer to Frampt (the serpent) in the Firelink Shrine before kill the Kings). You should be fine at SL 55-65 to kill the Kings, just equip the Havel's armor for high poise and go for them!
- Catacombs/Tomb of the Giants to kill Pinwheel and then Nito. Killing Pinwheel will let you grab the Rite of Kindling to upgrade your Estus to 20 uses in the bonfires.
- Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith to kill the Centipede Demon.
- Duke's Archives/Crystal Cave to kill Seath the Scaleless.

Also, at this time I'm at SL 108 in NG+ (only one trophy for the platinum and not going to level up anymore), if someone needs some Boss Souls just send me a message!
 

dickroach

Member
just started my first Souls game; first game I've ever played like this, and boy oh boy is it rough. if I can't make it to this second bonfire after another hour I'm gonna need some good youtube videos or something to see how to actually play this game
 
just started my first Souls game; first game I've ever played like this, and boy oh boy is it rough. if I can't make it to this second bonfire after another hour I'm gonna need some good youtube videos or something to see how to actually play this game
First advice, dont use guides
Take you time, see your sorroundings, everyone died in that área. Use the broken sword and good luck
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
just started my first Souls game; first game I've ever played like this, and boy oh boy is it rough. if I can't make it to this second bonfire after another hour I'm gonna need some good youtube videos or something to see how to actually play this game

are you in the tutorial area? or have you reached firelink trying to get to the bonfire after that?
 

dickroach

Member
are you in the tutorial area? or have you reached firelink trying to get to the bonfire after that?

yeah. I breezed thru the tutorial area. after I didn't die on that boss I was like "hell yeah, I can't believe all the people that say this game is hard" and then... -_-
I'm using a bandit/axe. dunno if that's a good starter weapon but whatever ill stick with it.
 

gaugebozo

Member
just started my first Souls game; first game I've ever played like this, and boy oh boy is it rough. if I can't make it to this second bonfire after another hour I'm gonna need some good youtube videos or something to see how to actually play this game

Do you mean the second bonfire that's up through the waterway? Don't go through the graveyard or down the elevator yet.
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
yeah. I breezed thru the tutorial area. after I didn't die on that boss I was like "hell yeah, I can't believe all the people that say this game is hard" and then... -_-
I'm using a bandit/axe. dunno if that's a good starter weapon but whatever ill stick with it.

what way are you going? firelink shrine is the main hub of the game and you can access late game areas from the beginning so if you're going the wrong way you're gonna have a bad time. i did it too by trying to go through the graveyard. you're gonna want to head upwards from firelink to the undead burg area.
 

dickroach

Member
Do you mean the second bonfire that's up through the waterway? Don't go through the graveyard or down the elevator yet.

I realized through the waterway wasn't the way to go after I literally died 12 times before getting a hit into one of those skeletons. there was a big rat (easy kill), and then a few chests, and then the graveyard which was terror

what way are you going? firelink shrine is the main hub of the game and you can access late game areas from the beginning so if you're going the wrong way you're gonna have a bad time. i did it too by trying to go through the graveyard. you're gonna want to head upwards from firelink to the undead burg area.

I think I'm going the right way. like hang right immediately and go up that staircase.
gonna dive back in in a few. hopefully I can get back to where I died last. I had a bunch of souls and a few humanities in that corpse :(
 
You're going the right way, the next bonfire is SUPER close. :)

Just take it slow and keep an eye on your stamina, the green bar. Stamina management is crucial, it governs everything - running, swinging your weapon and blocking enemy hits which drains stamina. If you don't have enough to absorb the hit you will get guard broken and stunned leaving you open, and even trash mobs in this game can kill in 2 or 3 hits, every enemy is dangerous!

Just approach new areas slowly with your shield up, look around to see what's ahead and don't rush in. And try not to worry about dying and losing souls at the start, a couple of thousand seems like a lot to lose early on, but it soon becomes peanuts.
 
I realized through the waterway wasn't the way to go after I literally died 12 times before getting a hit into one of those skeletons. there was a big rat (easy kill), and then a few chests, and then the graveyard which was terror



I think I'm going the right way. like hang right immediately and go up that staircase.
gonna dive back in in a few. hopefully I can get back to where I died last. I had a bunch of souls and a few humanities in that corpse :(

Graveyard have a good two hand weapon if you are fast enough to get it and run away. Save some humanity just in case and be careful of fire out there
 

Chris R

Member
Well, I did Seath first, since I KNEW that area was blocked off and recognized it when the cutscene showing doors opening played.

Area was interesting, boss sucked though, until I got my pure melee strat down of just running straight at him, hit him twice, chug an estus charge and repeat. Almost got cursed but killed him before that happened.

Now going through the demon area below Blighttown. First time my computer is having issues keeping 60fps, thinking it's because of the lava.
 
Well, I did Seath first, since I KNEW that area was blocked off and recognized it when the cutscene showing doors opening played.

Area was interesting, boss sucked though, until I got my pure melee strat down of just running straight at him, hit him twice, chug an estus charge and repeat. Almost got cursed but killed him before that happened.

Now going through the demon area below Blighttown. First time my computer is having issues keeping 60fps, thinking it's because of the lava.

Did you find issues on brightown?
 

Caja 117

Member
Reached Bed of Chaos, Im not even sure how To hit that Boss, already lost 40k souls in one try....Shit.

On a side note, I havent played too kich Demon, But from DkS 1,2 and 3, In my opinion This is the best one, the open world and conection betwen places is just so perfectly made that it doesnt have any real competition .
 
Reached Bed of Chaos, Im not even sure how To hit that Boss, already lost 40k souls in one try....Shit.

On a side note, I havent played too kich Demon, But from DkS 1,2 and 3, In my opinion This is the best one, the open world and conection betwen places is just so perfectly made that it doesnt have any real competition .
Yes, ds1 have the best world layout of the series.

You are supposed to look for the boss cores to deal damage
 

Caja 117

Member
Yes, ds1 have the best world layout of the series.

You are supposed to look for the boss cores to deal damage

i got one but the second core it seems imposible to get to as the floor is broken up.

Edit; got it, actually is probrably the easiest boss in the game. now I will finish Astoras of the Abyss and then the game.
 

tebunker

Banned
i got one but the second core it seems imposible to get to as the floor is broken up.

Edit; got it, actually is probrably the easiest boss in the game. now I will finish Astoras of the Abyss and then the game.

And yet it had some of the cheapest deaths in the game. Getting swiped off the ledge by a branch, when you have 100+ Poise is obnoxious.

It was very satisfying destroying the last part.
 

rahji

Member
beat the game yesterday. last boss was ok-ish. jumped right back into ng+. defeated the asylum demon right the first time when I encountered him. Half an hour later I rang the first bell. I guess it won't stay that easy.
 

Booshka

Member
beat the game yesterday. last boss was ok-ish. jumped right back into ng+. defeated the asylum demon right the first time when I encountered him. Half an hour later I rang the first bell. I guess it won't stay that easy.

It's pretty easy until Anor Londo, and if you have the DLC, then it will actually be pretty damn challenging.
 

Chris R

Member
Did you find issues on brightown?

No, I had 60fps the entire time in Blighttown.

Bed of Chaos done, thank goodness it saves state between deaths. Took me 6 tries but I finally got it down. Used that nifty shortcut, hated that area so much, might go back to pick up the items tho.
 
No, I had 60fps the entire time in Blighttown.

Bed of Chaos done, thank goodness it saves state between deaths. Took me 6 tries but I finally got it down. Used that nifty shortcut, hated that area so much, might go back to pick up the items tho.

Did you met Kirk already? he appears nearly right in front of the boss door as a invader.

And
siegmeir
sidequest ends there if you are not careful
 
beat the game yesterday. last boss was ok-ish. jumped right back into ng+. defeated the asylum demon right the first time when I encountered him. Half an hour later I rang the first bell. I guess it won't stay that easy.

I found NG+ to be really easy until New Londo (I'm going there after Anor Londo/fighting Sif). The ghosts there were screwing me over big time, and I've not been back to the game since.

4 Kings were one of the easiest bosses for me on NG, so I'm not expecting them to be much harder, but getting to them is a pain in the ass.
 
4 Kings were one of the easiest bosses for me on NG, so I'm not expecting them to be much harder, but getting to them is a pain in the ass.
Are you using the shortcut, where the first two ghosts are there's a drop off to the lower part of the level, then just run past everything.

The tedious part is a lack of bonfire. Given the amount of bonfires in 2 and 3 I think today they would've at least put one at the start where Rickert is so you don't have to travel the Firelink elevator every time.
 
Are you using the shortcut, where the first two ghosts are there's a drop off to the lower part of the level, then just run past everything.

The tedious part is a lack of bonfire. Given the amount of bonfires in 2 and 3 I think today they would've at least put one at the start where Rickert is so you don't have to travel the Firelink elevator every time.

I've not managed to get to Ingward yet/drained the lower area. That's how bad the ghosts were screwing me over. Thankfully I managed to find that drop off point during my first playthrough eventually.

But yeah, they should have put a bonfire in there, especially when other areas have bonfires so close together.
 
You can always kill Ingward with arrows to get the key, a couple of headshots will aggro him and keep him running against the railing on the roof so he doesn't go out of line of sight.

Alternatively if you run through the ghost house and through to the ledge leading to the lever most of the ghosts in the house will follow you, I find it easier to deal with them there with pyro, firebombs, arrows or just melee. It leaves just a couple to deal with in the room where the ladder up to Ingward is avoiding that whole gankfest inside!
 

Chris R

Member
Did you met Kirk already? he appears nearly right in front of the boss door as a invader.

And
siegmeir
sidequest ends there if you are not careful

Nah, I've only been human like 3 or 4 times the entire game (right after I kindle a new fire for my 10 charges)
 

Caja 117

Member
Try to kill Kalameet, couldn't even touch him, he is fast with his swipe attack, so I just went on and went to kill Gwin, was not that Hard to do, Im guessing there is different ending to this game? Myne was just lighting a bonfire and at he same time my character going in flames.
 

Unai

Member
Try to kill Kalameet, couldn't even touch him, he is fast with his swipe attack, so I just went on and went to kill Gwin, was not that Hard to do, Im guessing there is different ending to this game? Myne was just lighting a bonfire and at he same time my character going in flames.

Yes, there are 2 endings.
 

Molemitts

Member
Hey, I still don't know what the rules are for self-promotion on NeoGaf, but I wrote this blog post about the Estus Flask in Dark Souls and why it's such a good system and thought I could at least post here. If any of you are interested, check it out. I love talking about and discussing Dark Souls with other so any responses or ideas are welcome!

Here's an excerpt:
For what Dark Souls does, the Estus Flask works perfectly as a healing system. It prevents unnecessary grinding, stops the player from having far more healing than is needed, creates a kind of dynamic difficulty setting and fits in perfectly as an element of Dark Souls’ combat. It’s one of the biggest improvements moving from Demon’s Souls to Dark Souls. I can confidently say it’s the best system of healing in any game that I’ve played.

https://molemitts.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/dark-souls-estus-flask-the-best-healing-item/
 
Hey, I still don't know what the rules are for self-promotion on NeoGaf, but I wrote this blog post about the Estus Flask in Dark Souls and why it's such a good system and thought I could at least post here. If any of you are interested, check it out. I love talking about and discussing Dark Souls with other so any responses or ideas are welcome!

Here's an excerpt:


https://molemitts.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/dark-souls-estus-flask-the-best-healing-item/
Nice write up and I agree - DS1 had the most elegant and concise healing system of all the Soulsborne games imo.
 
Can I dodge the 4 Kings purple attack?
Which one?

The AoE ground blast can be dodged, roll 3 times backwards same for avoiding the grab. The slow shadowy one that homes in will not hit you if you are right in their face. The spread missile one disperses if you're far enough away iirc and they won't do it if you're close any way.

If you have a high magic block shield it's often easier to just block the projectile type ones. The crest shield has 80% magic and 100% physical.
 

Chris R

Member
The ground blast thing.

I'll just have to try it a few more times, the depth perception there wasn't great to begin with, plenty of swings I thought would connect just wiffed.
 
Yes it can be a little like that because of the arena, similar to NK in DS3. 3 rolls back will definately get out of range of the ground AoE (fast roll at <25% equipment load that is).

They have very few melee attacks, it's worth learning to dodge them because it makes the fight relatively trivial and you feel like a total badass! For a long time I would just chuck on the stone armour and tank the whole fight, but learning to dodge the attacks means you can use RTSR for the fight and melt them in seconds, usually in 3 Kings only.
 

Chris R

Member
Yes it can be a little like that because of the arena, similar to NK in DS3. 3 rolls back will definately get out of range of the ground AoE (fast roll at <25% equipment load that is).

They have very few melee attacks, it's worth learning to dodge them because it makes the fight relatively trivial and you feel like a total badass! For a long time I would just chuck on the stone armour and tank the whole fight, but learning to dodge the attacks means you can use RTSR for the fight and melt them in seconds, usually in 3 Kings only.

Ah ok, I'm at like 40% load right now (3 piece dragon armor from the lightning boss and the red skirt)
 
If you want to keep the armour for defense, put on even more up to the next breakpoint (70%?) and tank the fight. With 20 Estus flasks and grass crest shield, munch some green blossom for stamina, just go to town on them, two handing your weapon and tank hits, chugging when needed, just block the AoE.

4 Kings is either/or to me - either tanky and heavy and dodgy and light.
 
So I'm in ng+ and still wearing the black knight sword +5 which gives me exactly 500 attackpower with my current stats. But I can't buff my sword and putting more points into strength only increases the attackpower slightly. As a conclusion I'm looking for a new weapon.
I'm aiming for something like this:

30 Vit
27 Str
18 Dex
40 Int
18 Atu
15 Faith

Would a weapon with a magic / enchanted upgrade be more worthwhile? Or is the BKS +5 good enough to get the platinum trophy? I'm a bit concerned that I won't do enough damage in late game ng+ oder ng++. Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Would a weapon with a magic / enchanted upgrade be more worthwhile? Or is the BKS +5 good enough to get the platinum trophy? I'm a bit concerned that I won't do enough damage in late game ng+ oder ng++. Any suggestions are welcome.
From memory I don't think magic or enchanted are worth it. What about the MGS? Heavy claymore type magic damage etc.
 

Unai

Member
So I'm in ng+ and still wearing the black knight sword +5 which gives me exactly 500 attackpower with my current stats. But I can't buff my sword and putting more points into strength only increases the attackpower slightly. As a conclusion I'm looking for a new weapon.
I'm aiming for something like this:

30 Vit
27 Str
18 Dex
40 Int
18 Atu
15 Faith

Would a weapon with a magic / enchanted upgrade be more worthwhile? Or is the BKS +5 good enough to get the platinum trophy? I'm a bit concerned that I won't do enough damage in late game ng+ oder ng++. Any suggestions are welcome.

Try the Velka's Rapier too! It's one of my favorite weapons and your DEX and INT are enough to use it and it will scale with both. It won't do as much damage but it's so elegant, light and fast! Here's when I fought Ornstein & Smough in NG+++ (I think) using it.

Damage wise, I believe a normal +15 weapon with Crystal Magic will do even more damage than the Moonlight Greatsword, so you could, for instance, have a Claymore +15 / zweihander +15 / etc to buff and use against bosses and Moonlight Greatsword / Velka's Rapier to everything else.
 

Raging Spaniard

If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
Not a Dark Souls thing, but you guys are such big fans that you can tell me if Im headed in the right direction. Im building a new art portfolio and one of my new projects is something that should fit right at home with Diablo/Dark Souls. Im starting with some monster designs, this being the first and I wanted to see what the reactions are, you think a monster like this would fit in the game or is it a little too much on the cartoony side?

tumblr_obeukzO3qy1qed0geo1_1280.jpg
 
Not a Dark Souls thing, but you guys are such big fans that you can tell me if Im headed in the right direction. Im building a new art portfolio and one of my new projects is something that should fit right at home with Diablo/Dark Souls. Im starting with some monster designs, this being the first and I wanted to see what the reactions are, you think a monster like this would fit in the game or is it a little too much on the cartoony side?


That monster is more like a parasite living on a human host , you can see some of the in Dark Souls 3 with no real explanation.



I dont think it fits the design, the dark is within humans and humans true form is being hollow but humans feeding from other people humanity makes them big, strong, shiny soul but dark thoughts and stress can transform the humans into big , deformed dark creatures like Manus, the dark is inside them and grows according to the strongest feeling the host is having in that moment.


Darklurker


Covetous demon (not fully awakened, just lust transformation)

 
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