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[Laurentius]

Whoa.

Spoiler

I love how the Four Kings fight totally disorients you. I sat there swinging at one of them for half a minute before I realized he was a lot farther away then I thought he was. Made me feel a little sick, to be honest. Awesome, though.

 

[ArynCrinn]

Wow, never really used Hammer of Vamos until my SL1 no-upgrade run, surprisingly effective weapon. It'll come in handy quite a lot. Thought about making this a no-elemental run, but fuck that for a SL1 no-upgrade, I'll use whatever makes sense for now. I'm guessing for Nito this Hammer is the best option while trying to avoid his respawning skeletons, correct?

...thinking of saving the Red Dragon until I get the Giant Blacksmith Hammer, then Red Tearstone it. Or, should I do the annoyingly tedious method of Reinforced Club?

Could you expand on 1 and 2?

With 1 do you mean

Spoiler

That there is no bonfire in there to save at or does the area change in some way that makes it more difficult to get out of?

He just means that the area in very labyrinthine (sort of) and once you are all the way down and have done everything, you'll have to climb back out the way you came. Which for a new player can get confusing. But it's really something you need to experience as a first timer, feeds into the exploration nature and you'll likely come across new secrets doing so.

And for 2

Spoiler

Exactly how is the boss fight only easy the first time? It just sounds like these 2 areas would be somewhat easy for me and it would be nice to be done with all things Blighttwon related

Spoiler

By easy, he means that when you enter the boss fog, at the opposite end of the map there is a gear pickup which "activates" the boss. And the easy way to kill him is to simply wait for him to do a attack which misses if you stay where you are at the gear, then run all the way back to the original boss fog. He'll do a jump toward you and fall and try to grab onto something with his tentacle, so you attack it until his entire health bar goes away...instant win.

If you die or need to retry the boss again, you have to run back to where you grabbed the gear to reset the event which is sometimes a bit trickier. But that's the plan.

 

[ThaddeusMcGee]

Just got cursed because my sword caught the wall swinging at a basilisk. FML

Any Gaping Dragon advice? I summoned Lautrec and Solaire but they didn't do much except run around getting hit. I'm on my first playthrough, SL34, using Drake sword mostly. How are those crystal weapons? For magic I have soul arrows and magic shield.

 

[Arjen]

Just got cursed because my sword caught the wall swinging at a basilisk. FML

Any Gaping Dragon advice? I summoned Lautrec and Solaire but they didn't do much except run around getting hit. I'm on my first playthrough, SL34, using Drake sword mostly. How are those crystal weapons? For magic I have soul arrows and magic shield.

Wait for his charge attack, you get free hits everytime he does that. It's really one of the easiest bosses

 

[Laurentius]

Just got cursed because my sword caught the wall swinging at a basilisk. FML

Any Gaping Dragon advice? I summoned Lautrec and Solaire but they didn't do much except run around getting hit. I'm on my first playthrough, SL34, using Drake sword mostly. How are those crystal weapons? For magic I have soul arrows and magic shield.

The room is so big, and his attacks are pretty predictable, so it's not too hard. Wait for him to stick in the ground, hit him a few times and then run away. It helps a lot to cut off his tail early in the fight so that isn't swinging around hurting you, and then I liked to hit his legs (as that's the best position to avoid getting hurt when it charges again).

 

[ThaddeusMcGee]

Nice, thanks guys. He killed me after I'd just ganked 12,000 souls from an invader. Then I got cursed on the way back. Sadness.

 

[Red Liquorice]

For Gaping Dragon his head is his weakspot especially, so when does the attack where he lurches up and comes down you can get a few 2-handed shots at his head before running before he retaliates. Also, that you get the large ember in the Depths, that's From tell you to get your weapon up to +6 at least (you might be able to get it up to 7 or 8 without farming depending on your drops so far). Drake Sword is going to cause more problems than help very soon any way, so look at what other weapons you'd want to use instead.

Other than that, Solaire is totally useless, so if you want to summon, use human x2 or Lautrec.

He just means....

Exactly what I meant, all of it - thanks

 

[Raide]

Just got cursed because my sword caught the wall swinging at a basilisk. FML

Any Gaping Dragon advice? I summoned Lautrec and Solaire but they didn't do much except run around getting hit. I'm on my first playthrough, SL34, using Drake sword mostly. How are those crystal weapons? For magic I have soul arrows and magic shield.

After his main smash attack, only hit a few times and then dodge left or right. If you hang around in front of him, he will walk right through you and it usually means death. Soul Arrows should do a good amount of damage if you have your INT up. Spoiler here if you want some other help.

Spoiler

Weak to Lightning.

Also, get as far away as you can from the puke. It damages your weapons and armour.

 

[oracrest]

Well if you want to boost strength don't let me stop you...it is worht it for the pole...you will end up doing what's called a 'quality' build with even dex and str modifyiers for damage. You will want to get the dragonslayer great bow if you go this route....it has a 20 requirement for both str and dex similar to the pole.



No shame iin that....I had to get soulhof who was also SL1 (no upgrades) to help me out...I can barely solo them with upgrades let alone nothing....my personal preference just to get through is to off ornstein asap. The floating into me with poor stability was hard to take even at SL 30 or so the last time I did it with my melee only knight weapons quality build. Pyro will be the way to go with your SL1 if you allow it. If you wan tto play on edge go red tearstone with the dusk ring to increase uses of base fireballs ( the half health hit don't matter with tearstone!!!)....although the damage is less per shot, with 24 uses the base fireballs do more damage overall than 16 orbs or only 8 chaos fireballs.

Cool, another SL1 runner. Good luck!

I just started the DLC area today on my SL1 character. I'm pretty scared, since the DLC bosses are the ones I am least familiar with, and the toughest ones are resistant to pyro. All other areas in the main game are cleared.

O&S weren't so bad for me because pyro works well on them, and I've fought them enough to know how to dodge most of their moves.

Spoiler

Four Kings

was the boss that gave me the most trouble, because I usually just cheesed them with heavy armor. Other difficult bosses for this run were

Spoiler

Stray Demon

(that aoe) and

Spoiler

Ceaseless Discharge

, which surprised me because he usually doesn't give me much trouble.

I am trying to use no pyro on this run. I'll use it sparingly if I need to get back to some souls to get through an annoying enemy, but not on the bosses. I have almost gotten Ornstein down, but have yet to kill one of them. I'm also not summoning any help. It's pretty hard. This is the first bottleneck for sure.

 

[chunk3rvd]

My pad had just stopped working with Dark Souls for no reason

Running a PS3 pad, emulating a 360 controller through MotioninJoy but haven't had any problems before this. Checked Hotline Miami and Magical Drop and it works as normal for those. It shows up as a 360 controller in the device manager as well and all the buttons and sticks etc all work as normal. It just doesn't control anything in DS

Has anyone had anything similar before and does anyone have any ideas I can try?

Edit: Forgot to mention - the home key still brings up the GFWL menu so it's definitely still recognising the pad

Still no luck fixing this. Was hoping to play some Souls before bed but it's not looking likely :/ The fact that it works for every other game is making most of the advice I find online pretty redundant so the only thing I can think of is reinstalling the game

If I use that Game Save Manager detailed earlier in the thread to backup my save, reinstall the game then reload the backed up save will I be ok for not losing any progress?

 

[Sullichin]

I am trying to use no pyro on this run. I'll use it sparingly if I need to get back to some souls to get through an annoying enemy, but not on the bosses. I have almost gotten Ornstein down, but have yet to kill one of them. I'm also not summoning any help. It's pretty hard. This is the first bottleneck for sure.

Here's how I beat them on my deprived run if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REcaF817-h0&t=58m38s

Same strategy applies at SL1 because the reinforced club has the same move set. My strategy was to make a bunch of dumb mistakes and heal constantly. And use the 2HR2 attack whenever possible. It does a lot of damage when Ornstein is dashing around. It was definitely a huge bottleneck for me, I probably died more than when I fought them on my very first playthrough. I'm going to resume this run soon but I'm stuck at Four Kings and Artorias. Maybe I'll try one of the easier lordvessel bosses.

Still no luck fixing this. Was hoping to play some Souls before bed but it's not looking likely :/ The fact that it works for every other game is making most of the advice I find online pretty redundant so the only thing I can think of is reinstalling the game

If I use that Game Save Manager detailed earlier in the thread to backup my save, reinstall the game then reload the backed up save will I be ok for not losing any progress?

Is there anything else plugged in that might be recognized as a controller? I'd also try out different USB ports. I think when you switch USB ports with MotionInJoy you have to reinstall the drivers, which might help

 

[chunk3rvd]

Is there anything else plugged in that might be recognized as a controller? I'd also try out different USB ports. I think when you switch USB ports with MotionInJoy you have to reinstall the drivers, which might help

When I go on the Game Controller Panel where it lists the 360 controller it also lists NINTENDO RVL-CNT-01. I had a Wii remote connected to the same bluetooth dongle the other day so it seems like that's somehow still attached to my device. That's the only thing I can think of that could be causing this but there is no option to delete or remove the device and I can't find anything in the control panel

Edit: NM - worked out how to remove it. Thanks for your help. Praise the sun!

 

[J-Roderton]

Holy hell. I'm stuck on S&O. My second playthrough. I managed to take down the fat guy, but I died at the exact same moment. Keep getting invaded whenever I am human and try to summon. Fuuuuck.

 

[Seanspeed]

Met O&S for the first time!

Died pretty quickly.

Wanted to take a few more stabs at them just to learn some things but I'm having trouble even getting to them.

Also, the archer problem - maybe I haven't encountered the worst of it, but they've been pretty simple to deal with overall. Not sure what the fuss was about. The big giant guardian dudes are much more difficult, especially 2 on 1.

 

[I H8 Memes]

I just stumbled upon the Dark Souls 2 CGI trailer from the VGA's and now I'm wondering why the next game is coming out for 360/PS3 at all. It's obviously so far out that they cant show us any footage or even suggest a release date yet. The new consoles will definitely be released before it comes out so why not target that hardware and get the most out of the PC release. Artistically the game is gorgeous, but the textures are mostly bad. A game like this could really use the extra resources.

 

[2AdEPT]

Wow, never really used Hammer of Vamos until my SL1 no-upgrade run, surprisingly effective weapon. It'll come in handy quite a lot. Thought about making this a no-elemental run, but fuck that for a SL1 no-upgrade, I'll use whatever makes sense for now.

don't forget to use the occult club downgraded to divine...this was allowed for me...if you find it you can use it....I didn't even k now about the hammer on my run but the divine club was the winner for most of the playthrough....if you already killed the b;acksmiths you can't down grade though.

Met O&S for the first time!

Died pretty quickly.

Wanted to take a few more stabs at them just to learn some things but I'm having trouble even getting to them.

Also, the archer problem - maybe I haven't encountered the worst of it, but they've been pretty simple to deal with overall. Not sure what the fuss was about. The big giant guardian dudes are much more difficult, especially 2 on 1.

use the stairs to kill both giants....you can jump on their head...depending on what you use (washing pole +15 with buff recommended, the reach is useful here as it covers more area with which to hit them directly in the head) you can one shot them this way.....if you are lucky...one will get oneshotted whiel the other takes big damamge all in one jump. Also you can get them to follow you up the stairs...tehn you fall down the other side...when they jump down they have a huge recovery animation prime for thwarting during....when they lean forward you can also lock on to their head...a direct hit there from a projectile does extra damge.

If you can come to this fight properly prepared weapons wise it will be much shorter and hence easier....need fire, magic, or straight damge from black kinghr weapons....lightning only slightly helps on smu....orn is resistant to lightning ..it ill hurt you to use it on him as ther weapons will give you x2 the damage.

 

[VirtuaMuser]

started playing this (prepare to die) for the first time last week, got around 15 hours and so far it's been quite enjoyable. Hopefully there's a few more here playing it for the first time, will be frequenting here.

 

[I H8 Memes]

A bloodstain at Firelink shrine? But how? So I touch it and see someone get up from the fire, run past the well on the right hand side, and slip over the side of the cliff right next to the tree. They turned around at the last second trying to save themselves but it was too late. Ouch. Hope they were just resting there and didnt have any souls out there that they were going to reclaim.

 

[Red Liquorice]

The big giant guardian dudes are much more difficult, especially 2 on 1.

With either pair you can always aggro one at a time. I tend to strafe around them until they do the shield slam, then slash away behind them. Usually they get up and attempt to heal, which is when you go in for the kill.

 

[Soulhouf]

A bloodstain at Firelink shrine? But how? So I touch it and see someone get up from the fire, run past the well on the right hand side, and slip over the side of the cliff right next to the tree. They turned around at the last second trying to save themselves but it was too late. Ouch. Hope they were just resting there and didnt have any souls out there that they were going to reclaim.

People tend to suicide after kindling the bonfire to avoid being in human form. That's very common and I always see many blood stain in Firelink on PS3.

Did you play Demon's Souls? In the Nexus you will see dozens of bloodstains because of world tendency and the fact that you revive automatically after beating a boss.

 

[Next]

I'm thinking about getting this but I can only play it with keyboard/mouse or wii's Classic Controller Pro. Can anyone give input on the CCP?

 

[krakov]

I'm thinking about getting this but I can only play it with keyboard/mouse or wii's Classic Controller Pro. Can anyone give input on the CCP?

I can't remember if the CCP has four shoulder buttons or not. You'll want that. Otherwise it should work fine.

 

[Next]

It does, thank you.

 

[oracrest]

Here's how I beat them on my deprived run if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REcaF817-h0&t=58m38s

Same strategy applies at SL1 because the reinforced club has the same move set. My strategy was to make a bunch of dumb mistakes and heal constantly. And use the 2HR2 attack whenever possible. It does a lot of damage when Ornstein is dashing around. It was definitely a huge bottleneck for me, I probably died more than when I fought them on my very first playthrough. I'm going to resume this run soon but I'm stuck at Four Kings and Artorias. Maybe I'll try one of the easier lordvessel bosses.




Is there anything else plugged in that might be recognized as a controller? I'd also try out different USB ports. I think when you switch USB ports with MotionInJoy you have to reinstall the drivers, which might help

Good battle! I had my reinforced lightning club maxed out for this fight. I had to farm the super knights, and run back to the Undead Asylum to nab a titanite slab.

I managed to beat O&S last night. The first time I took down Ornstein, I was able to beat Smough as well. I learned that when he does his rushing upswing attack, you can back away and rush in with a jumping attack after his swings. He always jumped back afterwards. He didn't do his electrical stomping attack at all during the fight.

Feels good! I tried Sif a few times, but he wiped the floor with me and I called it a night.

 

[I H8 Memes]

I'm thinking about getting this but I can only play it with keyboard/mouse or wii's Classic Controller Pro. Can anyone give input on the CCP?

I'm playing using keyboard and mouse (using dsfix and dsmousefix) and the games controls are awesome.

 

[ParityBit]

I am having the worst time trying to get summoned to help people. No matter where I got (that I have open)

 

[Arjen]

I am having the worst time trying to get summoned to help people. No matter where I got (that I have open)

Maybe your level is to high or to low for the place you want to get summoned?

 

[ParityBit]

Maybe your level is to high or to low for the place you want to get summoned?

Level matters? I am level 47. I am in Blighttown, just farming large shards so I can upgrade some random stuff. My new armor I cant upgrade with the shads which stinks.

 

[Arjen]

Level matters? I am level 47. I am in Blighttown, just farming large shards so I can upgrade some random stuff. My new armor I cant upgrade with the shads which stinks.

As far as I can remember you have to be 10 procent above or under the level of the one summoning you. So if you're high level in early game areas you probably won't get summoned.

 

[ParityBit]

As far as I can remember you have to be 10 procent above or under the level of the one summoning you. So if you're high level in early game areas you probably won't get summoned.

Damn, I guess that is why. Maybe I wont level anymore ... but I hate holding so many souls. Where is a good place to go after Blighttown?

 

[Arjen]

Damn, I guess that is why. Maybe I wont level anymore ... but I hate holding so many souls. Where is a good place to go after Blighttown?

You rang Both bells? Sens fortress baby, the start of the real Dark Souls.

 

[ParityBit]

You rang Both bells? Sens fortress baby, the start of the real Dark Souls.

Haha. OK, but what about all the other places like the Basin, Hallow and stuff? Seems like I open them and end up going someplace else But if that's next, that's where I will go!

 

[Arjen]

Haha. OK, but what about all the other places like the Basin, Hallow and stuff? Seems like I open them and end up going someplace else But if that's next, that's where I will go!

I would save those areas for later. You could try new londo ruins if you'd want though.

 

[6for8]

Level matters? I am level 47. I am in Blighttown, just farming large shards so I can upgrade some random stuff. My new armor I cant upgrade with the shads which stinks.

You need to be within 10 levels + 10% (+/-) of the hosts level. With a 1 you can summon a 12 (never been able to summon a 1 with a 12 though).
For a level 47 your range would be 32 to 61. For quick summons you will need to put your sign down in AnorLondo and beyond.

For the last few days I have been a 40 and had occasional action in TotG and non-stop action in NewLondo. Beat the boss in NG+++ and did a little victory jump.

 

[ParityBit]

I was trying to farm Large T shards. Man they barely drop when killing the slugs

 

[Sullichin]

I was trying to farm Large T shards. Man they barely drop when killing the slugs

Sen's is where you want to go then. There's some large titanite shards that you can pick up there, some of the enemies have a chance to drop them, and there's a merchant that sells them. You'll probably want a +10 weapon heading into there though

 

[Nobodyspatzy]

I was trying to farm Large T shards. Man they barely drop when killing the slugs

There is an item in Sen's Fortress that is VERY helpful for that!

 

[ParityBit]

Well my Iaito is +9. So I guess I will head that way!

I am assuming it is the gate I saw open in the movie.

 

[so1337]

Oh, the humanity!

Let me preface this by saying this is my first Souls game and I'm only about 8 hours in.

I cannot seem to defeat those blasted Gargoyles in Undead Parish. I can deal with one of them just fine but as soon as the other one shows up pretty much the entire roof is engulfed in flames. I can't block their fire breath and they very rarely give me time to use a flask.

I've tried grinding and upgrading my resistance but it's not making a huge difference so far.

 

[dsvoid]

Oh, the humanity!
I cannot seem to defeat those blasted Gargoyles in Undead Parish. I can deal with one of them just fine but as soon as the other one shows up pretty much the entire roof is engulfed in flames. I can't block their fire breath and they very rarely give me time to use a flask.

Have you tried using up one humanity to become human at a bonfire? From there, you can summon Solaire before the boss room to help you with the battle if you met him before.

Otherwise, try lightning attacks.

 

[ParityBit]

So I walked into

Spoiler

Sen's Fortress and proceeded to die multiple times by boulders and serpents, etc. Is there a GOOD map of this place? Its not very easy to get to where I keep dying! I have no idea where the fire is either!

 

[Seanspeed]

So I walked into

Spoiler

Sen's Fortress and proceeded to die multiple times by boulders and serpents, etc. Is there a GOOD map of this place? Its not very easy to get to where I keep dying! I have no idea where the fire is either!

Dark Souls

 

[phantomspiker]

Dark Souls

What he said, you just need to be real patient in that place. You won't find a bonfire until you're outside and even then it's kinda hidden.

 

[oracrest]

So I walked into

Spoiler

Sen's Fortress and proceeded to die multiple times by boulders and serpents, etc. Is there a GOOD map of this place? Its not very easy to get to where I keep dying! I have no idea where the fire is either!

Try tilting the camera to look straight down when navigating through the swinging blades. It helps get your bearing on just when you are in their path, and when you are in a safe spot.

 

[Sullichin]

Oh, the humanity!

Let me preface this by saying this is my first Souls game and I'm only about 8 hours in.

I cannot seem to defeat those blasted Gargoyles in Undead Parish. I can deal with one of them just fine but as soon as the other one shows up pretty much the entire roof is engulfed in flames. I can't block their fire breath and they very rarely give me time to use a flask.

I've tried grinding and upgrading my resistance but it's not making a huge difference so far.

First, never ever put points into resistance. The stat is virtually useless, and those points are always spent better elsewhere.

Second, try to roll *through* their attacks instead of blocking. This goes for every other boss too, really. Roll through its halberd swing or tail swipe, and counter attack. When it does the flame attack, back up out of range, and then circle around it and attack while it's still in the animation. The boss fights are all about learning the attacks. Intuitively knowing when to use lock on or not is also crucial, you don't necessarily want to be locked onto one gargoyle when he's in mid air while the other one is about to set you on fire.

If you picked up the gold pine resin from the burg, you can make quick work out of them by adding lightning damage to your weapon. However, you only get 3 of them, so you might want to practice learning their attacks a bit. You can also summon 2 NPCs to help you if you are in human form.

What weapon are you using?

So I walked into

Spoiler

Sen's Fortress and proceeded to die multiple times by boulders and serpents, etc. Is there a GOOD map of this place? Its not very easy to get to where I keep dying! I have no idea where the fire is either!

It's one of the best areas in the game because it completely destroys you on your first playthrough, and then when you know it it becomes much easier and you can actually run through it in 2 minutes. I have a video where I run straight to the bonfire if you're interested, but I skip a lot of the goods you can find by exploring. I suggest taking it slow. Another beautiful thing about this area is that almost all, if not all, of the serpent men can be killed or at least knocked out of your way by the same traps keep killing you. There's not a bonfire until you get to the upper area outside.

 

[ParityBit]

Try tilting the camera to look straight down when navigating through the swinging blades. It helps get your bearing on just when you are in their path, and when you are in a safe spot.

Actually I found this part really easy playing in 3D. Its those damn rolling balls. Oh, and getting knocked off the walkways from monsters swinging at me!

It's one of the best areas in the game because it completely destroys you on your first playthrough, and then when you know it it becomes much easier and you can actually run through it in 2 minutes. I have a video where I run straight to the bonfire if you're interested, but I skip a lot of the goods you can find by exploring. I suggest taking it slow. Another beautiful thing about this area is that almost all, if not all, of the serpent men can be killed or at least knocked out of your way by the same traps keep killing you. There's not a bonfire until you get to the upper area outside.

It seems really cool. Minus all the deaths! I try to look down hallways to see if I can find an alcove or something to run to, but most of the time there isn't one!

 

[Red Liquorice]

The balls are all timed so the running distances are safe between each ball. Once you know the area, Sen's is a joy and so fun to co-op/invade/be invaded.

Sen's is easily one of the best areas in the game, the design is magnificent, I'd love to read an interview with the level design team and see what they say about it. I really hope we see something along the same lines in DS2.

 

[so1337]

First, never ever put points into resistance. The stat is virtually useless, and those points are always spent better elsewhere.

I see. It seemed reasonable considering I got burned to death most of the time.

Second, try to roll *through* their attacks instead of blocking. This goes for every other boss too, really. Roll through its halberd swing or tail swipe, and counter attack. When it does the flame attack, back up out of range, and then circle around it and attack while it's still in the animation. The boss fights are all about learning the attacks. Intuitively knowing when to use lock on or not is also crucial, you don't necessarily want to be locked onto one gargoyle when he's in mid air while the other one is about to set you on fire.

My roll is really slow and uses a lot of stamina, that's why I'm scared to use it.

If you picked up the gold pine resin from the burg, you can make quick work out of them by adding lightning damage to your weapon. However, you only get 3 of them, so you might want to practice learning their attacks a bit. You can also summon 2 NPCs to help you if you are in human form.

Have you tried using up one humanity to become human at a bonfire? From there, you can summon Solaire before the boss room to help you with the battle if you met him before.

Otherwise, try lightning attacks.

Oh, I didn't know you have to be human to call Solaire. I thought his summon marker shows up at random.

Still have all my Lightning resin. Might try that.

What weapon are you using?

Broadsword.

edit: Well, that was quick. Used the Gold Pine Resin and summoned Solaire. They didn't stand much of a chance.

 

[Red Liquorice]

My roll is really slow and uses a lot of stamina, that's why I'm scared to use it.

Your equipment load is too high then, try taking off an item of armour or two. It's a trade off between between defense and speed. The fastest roll @ 25% equipment load is the best for speed and avoiding hits. There are equippable items you will find that help with equipment load and raising the stamina stat will increase it too.

 

[AgentP]

I finally started the PC version. Well just like the PS3 version, people invade you that are so far from a fair fight it is laughable. They should control the match-up better of just get rid of invading and just have duels.