sells Uchi's doesn't he? If you wanted one right now but keep the Undead Merchant alive, that's the way. Plus you get the best gesture in the game from his
The DLC content is standard in the PC edition. You're not able to access it yet as where you are, a bit later on.
He does.
A few days ago 2adept and I both made characters to rush Shiva/forest covenant and get the washing pole as soon as possible. I never knew until he told me that you can climb up the ladder in the darkroot basin without killing the hydra. So, unlocking shiva as a merchant can really be one of the first things you do in the game, and then you have a really nice selection of great weapons. When you know the game, there are
so many ways to get strong weapons early on. Even if you're a new player it's worth trying out, if you don't mind suicide runs (I know you're not new to the game Red Liquorice, just saying in general
)
For new players, here's a few ways to get really strong weapons early (2adept already mentioned some of these earlier in the thread):
Shiva's Wares
- Master Key
- Rush to darkroot basin via firelink shrine -> New londo Ruins -> Valley of Drakes -> Darkroot Basin, climb the ladder by the hydra, run to forest covenant, join. Talk to Shiva, he'll be the new guy in the forest wearing cool armor.
- Homeward bone, then do something easy like the undead burg and rack up 20K souls (only 5K if you just want the uchi)
- Head down to blighttown through the back door and down to the swamp, buy washing pole from Shiva. Maybe farm some large titanite so you're ready when you get the large ember later.
- Alternatively, as discussed in this thread you can just get the uchigatana if you kill the first merchant in the burg. In a beautiful display of balance, this guy is the only guy for QUITE some time that sells repair powder, and the uchigatana has very low durability. You'll want to have the bonfire repair box at least before killing him.
Black Knight Weapons
- This one might take some restarts to get the weapon you want as they are random drops from black knights. They are also pretty difficult to kill when you have a shitty weapon and you're new at the game!
- There's three black knight weapons in early areas: Black Knight Halberd, dropped by the knight in the Darkroot Basin, the Greatsword, dropped by the one on the tower in the Parish, and the regular Black Knight sword dropped by the one in the undead burg.
- Stock up on humanity early, as this increases your item discovery stat (max at 10 humanity + gold serpent's ring, but you won't have this ring yet - try to get 3-5 humanity in your counter). Then go after the BK(s) whose weapons you want. From the very start of the game you can try to get the Halberd. It will be a while before you have the stats to use it, but remember that you only need 22STR to 2 hand this bad boy.
- With the master key, firelink -> new londo entrance -> valley of drakes -> darkroot basin, and you'll run into this knight. Try to lure him off the edge. Don't worry if he falls, the drop is automatically given. If you're lucky you'll get the halberd.
- The one in the burg is the easiest of the 3 to kill. If you have a phantom with you it should be cake. Chance of sword drop. The one in the parish isn't too bad either.
Gravelord Sword
- This one doesn't require the master key.
- Rush to the graveyard from firelink - yup, that graveyard, and into the catacombs. There's a bonfire very early on. Run past the enemies and rest there. Push the switch in the bonfire room and kill that first necromancer.
- Run up to the first bridge, turn around and look below. Drop down onto a ledge far below. Heal immediately and roll away from the exploding skull thing. Head to the right.
- Scary ass titanite demon at the end of the hallway. You need to run past him and grab the eyes of death that are behind him. Then, in the same hallway approach a coffin that is open and sticking out. You'll have the option to lie in the coffin. Do so. The titanite demon will slowly approach you... but he won't get to you before a cutscene interrupts and you're taken into Nito's lair. Here's a random video I found on YT showing this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKIiqUIezQ
- Join the gravelord covenant for the gravelord sword and miracle. Homeward bone, then run back up to firelink and start the game proper.
- Bonus: Kill the boss in the catacombs (very easy) for the rite of kindling, and enjoy being able to have up to 20 estus flasks at any bonfire.
Easier graveyard run - Zweihander, Winged Spar
- Run to the graveyard, you'll find two large skeletons. One is guarding the zwei and the other the winged spear. Grab them and don't mind if you die. You'll want to upgrade these like a normal weapon as they're not OP "out of the box", but they are good for early game stuff.
Claymore
- Again, not incredibly over powered but better than most unupgraded weapons. It's on the bridge with the dragon. Pick it up and burn to death or keep running and survive.
For mages - Tin Banishment Catalyst
- The tin banishment catalyst doubles nicely as a melee spear weapon that can take out most early enemies in one shot. You'll eventually replace it with a better weapon for sure, and it's not the best catalyst either, but it's very good early on in the game.
- Master key. Back entrance of blighttown via New Londo Ruins -> Valley of Drakes.
- Explore a bit on the upper level (no need to drop into the swamp), and you'll find a chest with the catalyst and the crimson set.
- On your way back in New Londo ruins, head down a broken staircase and find Rickert. Buy some more soul arrows and heavy soul arrows if you can afford them. Then you'll have plenty of casts.
I <3 The Reinforced Club
- A staple weapon in a SL1 playthrough, but just a very good weapon honestly! It does great damage when upgraded, and unupgraded it's a great weapon for the early game. Buy it from the undead merchant in the burg. 2 hand that, the R2 attack is excellent, you leap forward which helps because the weapon has bad range. It also inflicts bleed.
Drake Sword
Lol just kidding
Good early armor/ring: Wolf Ring + Elite Knight Set
- If you're having trouble with the capra demon especially, and you haven't tried the wolf ring, try it. It adds 40 poise which prevents you from getting stunned from enemy attacks so easily. As a bonus, the elite knight set has good defense and offers even more poise.
- Using the methods described above rush to darkroot basin and then up into darkroot forest. Here's a video showing where the wolf ring is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lOEJ5FgBo8
- As a bonus, going this way allows you very early access to Andre (blacksmith) and undead parish. So you can upgrade your weapon and unlock the shortcut back to firelink.
Some of these options might be more trouble than they're worth for a new player. But the point is, you have more options than you might expect right from the start of the game. I always see posts asking "what's a good build for a new player", and there's no one answer to that.
