Wind's Howling
Member
I so want to play this game more but the summer heat is killing the fun for me. I prefer to sit outside and enjoy the summer breeze instead of cooking in my room when my console and TV is on.
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Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition |OT| Durante Does In 23 Minutes What From Can't
- Thread starter indigo-cyclops
- Start date
You don't have to lock on. You can aim without it, but it requires practice.
Red Liquorice
Member
It isn't that bad actually since you can attack with your shield up which helps with the dogs. You just have to remember to keep an eye on your stamina bar (green), it refills very slowly with your shield up and if you are attacked when the bar is near-empty it will lead to a stagger - which is death in this fight.
Once the dogs are dead, Capra is a breeze, all but his two-handed attacks can be blocked, but it's easier to roll dodge.
Go to the depths and farm the rats near the bonfire.
The One Who Knocks
Member
No spoilers are below. In addition, one thing I do want to say beforehand is that I was initially hesitant to reply as the game is not for everybody and it is possible you won't enjoy it but just in case, I hope this is, somewhat, helpful in explaining the allure of the combat.
EDIT 2 (this used to be at the very bottom of the post but thought it was important at the beginning so you are aware I wasn't just typing a wall of text to harshly criticise your view of the combat which is what this post is mostly about): I realise this is a long post, and I have written it under the assumption that you genuinely do wish to understand why people enjoy the combat. I haven't broken down everything (that would take far too long) but it should definitely be enough to see the appeal. I understand that you may read all of this post and think "what a load of nonsense" based upon what you've played but if you get much further and encounter more varied enemies or play PvP (which is where I feel the mechanics and depth of the combat only really becomes truly visible) you'll see that it's no exaggeration and your apptitude in the combat will grow gradually until later on you return through a completed area and bypass it in literal minutes as opposed to hours (ie ringing the two bells can easily be done in an hour and a half if you know what you're doing but on a first playthrough that can take thirty hours or more). I had the same initial thoughts as you (admittedly I only felt that way for maybe an hour and it was when I started Demon's Souls multiple years ago as opposed to Dark Souls) but there came a time when all of the mechanics simply clicked and it became wonderful to play through; I hope the same 'moment of realisation' occurs for you.
First and foremost, you've already made mention that you are comparing it to action games with a heavy combo focus and claimed that the Souls series' combat is not a unique snow flake in gaming. While I would not go that far, it is quite unique and is extremely different from the vast majority of games of this genre, whether or not you agree, and is not really comparable to games with the heavy combo focus. In it, battles are primarily concerned with item management, movement, and punishments; movement likely being the cornerstone to the combat. Most fights, as I'm sure you've seen by now, are won or lost based upon one or two hits (boss fights an exception in that you won't win them based upon one or two hits but you can certainly lose them by that). There is no need for large, fancy combos because extreme amounts of damage are both given and received from one or two attacks. As a result, there is a large amount of risk and reward to the combat. It isn't possible to simply rush in and spam R1, you absolutely need to think of when you're going to attack and which enemy you wish to attack; if you don't you're either going to get hit, lose all your stamina (and subsequently get hit), die, or leave yourself extremely vulnerable to an attack, a mistake will cost you. Similarly, weight (both your weight, the weight of the weapons, and enemy weight) plays an extremely important part of the combat. The animations are driven by the weight of the weapon. If you have a massive, unwieldy hammer equiped your attacks are going to logically be either slow to start and slow to recover from or fast and very slow to recover from while crushing the opponent. Likewise, a small, tiny dagger is going to have a very fast speed, focus on slashes and have a short recovery window. Your movement has to accomodate the weapon your holding and you need to balance the weight of the weapon well. Every weapon can be used well (this was moreso the case for Demon's Souls than Dark Souls but even still the vast majority have some use and if you play PvE you should be fine with anything) but you can't use every weapon in the same manner. Ranged attacks are available in multiple forms (spells, pyromancy, miracles, items, archery and even some melee weapon secondary attacks) to further place an emphasis on movement and space but using them carries the risk that if an opponent rushes you and you use them at the wrong time you're going to be either backstabbed or trapped in one of the basic combos (depending on the weapon speed). Even in defending you have offensive option with the parry or spears but at the trade-off of stamina drain, higher equip burden, inability to one-hand the weapon and poor movement. Your armour is also a risk-reward system as if you wear too much you'll end up with a slower roll and cripple your movement by sabotaging your inability to roll. If you're playing against the computer, this may not bee too problematic, but against a human opponent this is going to get you absolutely slaughtered.
All of this pertains to the very basics of the combat and some of the risk-reward schemes noticeable by the absolute bare minimum of the mechanics; focusing heavily on what the combat emphasises as opposed to any specifics.
Now, some reasons it is fun/enjoyable to others: The weapons, briefly touched upon in the above, are all based upon the weight and size of the weapon (with some exceptions). There are unique animations for each type, unique moves, unique playstyles and unique upgrade paths. Almost every single weapon is viable (as mentioned, I prefer Demon's Souls and feel it manages the weapon balance far better than Dark Souls but it also has a smaller selection) and, for PvE (Player Versus Enemy as opposed to PvP, Player Versus Player) every weapon is viable. Each weapon type provides a different playstyle (if you use an Uchigatana the same way you use the Zweihander for example you're playing terribly) and this allows for a large amount of diversity and different playstyles to master. If we take the very basic enemies in the Undead Burg for example (I don't want to spoil anything, even names, that can be seen later), with a dagger, you can very literally run to them and use the basic attack to deal with them; it's fast enough that you should be able to interrupt attack animations and while attacking you'll have enough stamina to dodge incoming attacks, move towards an enemy, and continue your barrage. If you try this with a longsword though you might as well just jump off the steps up to the Undead Burg over and over again, you'll need to dodge through the enemy's attacks, punish them, and quickly roll to avoid any other aggrivated enemies. Similarly the spacing is much different; with the dagger you're required to get up very close, you're putting yourself more at risk to being hit for a faster damage output whereas with the long sword you're not going to want to be as close, making dodging easier, but it's going to be slower making it easier to be overwhelmed and if you mess up the dodge or attack you'll be more vulnerable. With item specific effects (a certain sword that has the heavy attack shoot a shockwave at enemies for example) and weapon specific effects (bleed build up and poison immediately springing to mind) in addition to each weapon of a certain type having a particular nuance (for example, there are multiple types of rapiers since you've mentioned acquiring that but some rapiers are more suitable to certain builds than others) combined with a diverse array of advantages and disadvantages (e.g. the stamina drain andthe ability to drain opponent's stamina), and you have an incredibly diverse array of tools available to utilise and master, if you wish (personally, I mostly hate archery and very rarely use the bow and arrows or crossbolts but I know there are people who do which is just as valid a playstyle).
The moves (this should be included in the above paragraph since it pertains to the weapons but I decided it was important enough to warrant its own specifically since you've commented on this) are menacingly simplistic. The appearance they give when you start playing is precisely as you've commented, that is that the basic R1 attack appears to easily be the best and the others are pointless. The truth of the matter is that this could not be further from the truth. Now, each weapon type has its own movelist but the very basics which you'll see through just playing are the two/three R1-press string, roll+R1, dodge+R1 (this is different in that you press dodge without any direction), forward+R1 (this is a kick with most weapons I believe), sprint+R1, and heavy attack. There are also two-handed specific attacks (these alter the standard R1-string and the heavy attack) and hand-specific moves; ie holding it in the left hand as opposed to right hand (or vice versa, I can't remember but I think that's correct) but I'm going to ignore these for simplicities sake since most weapons will go in your right hand and only one or two useful in the other slot. Because each of these moves change depending on the weapon and I don't often use the rapier I'm going to comment on them in relation to the katanas and hope that the attack description is enough to apply universally. Everything is situational. You've commented that they leave you more vulnerable than the standard and in some instances this is true, but it's really only the case if you use the move incorrectly. The standard attack string is basic enough for both variants so we'll move on. The roll+R1 is extremely useful in two primary scenarios; the first is if the opponent has a slow weapon and has begun attacking whereby you can roll through the attack with good timing and punish them with the attack before they recover and the second is if the opponent has close the distance between the two of you, you can roll+R1 to increase the distance and prevent them from immediately closing the gap with the attack. The dodge+R1, despite the similar input, is used in a completely different manner (for the katanas anyway, as I've mentioned every move's utilisation is weapon type specific). For the katana, this move is a quick jump back (the standard dodge input without movement) followed by the player character dashing forward and initialising a stab with a very large reach. This allows you to avoid attacks before interrupting them with a devastating stab that leaves you a safe distance away, entice the enemy to rush forward and surprise them with the attack's reach and it also allows you to, once again, punish attacks (but the invinicibility frames, if any, on this move seem to be much lower than a dodge; I've not checked this out so perhaps this isn't actually the case). The kick is a low stamina consuming move that allows you to break the enemy's defence and push them back (this keeps them trapped in an animation which can leave them vulnerable to attack). The sprint+R1 attack is used for the sole purpose of rushing the enemy down (for the katana) but any more specifics are going to require an examination of the weapon itself as the speed of the attack has a big impact on how to use it; generally it has a pretty big reach, leaves you relatively safe, and is pretty fast. The heavy attack, again, depends on the specific weapon; sometimes this move possess item specific powers (as is the case for a certain shield, sword, and a large, blunt weapon for example). The plunging attack I'm going to disregard since it's a constant and the use should be obvious but it is worth noting it can be used from small drops as well where you would think it couldn't be. The moves are all situational allowing for dynamic application; there is no need for huge combos, landing two or three of these will kill most of the enemies. However, they cannot be abused, they're all risk-reward based. Rather than go through each of them (again) briefly, incorrect use can very often get you punished very badly; if the running+R1 attack is dodged and doesn't track the enemy can simply hit you from the side/do a roll+R1 attack while you're still doing the animation as an example. I'm going to ignore the parry and backstab but this is more so so that I am not typing all day. As a result, with such a large diversity, it is no surprise that people find at least this aspect of the combat enjoyable; there is simply a huge amount available to you and you can play however you want.
All of the above (pertaining to weapons) would be useless without fast and responsive movement and thankfully the game has this in spades (although, not to harp on about it but I do think Demon's Souls handled movement slightly better).
The extremely responsive controls (the animations may be slow for the weapon or specific action but there is very clearly a near-immediate, if not immediate, response to your inputs) make this a pleasure. Rolling provides enough invincibility that it allows you to dodge through nearly any enemy attack, if you know what you're doing and master the timing, but not enough that it can be abused or easily performed (initially anyway). Even after you have the timing known it is balanced by the stamina consumption. It's a fast, safe method of traversal but if you keep on using it in a battle you're not going to be able to exploit the enemy should he end up unleashing a barrage of attacks and wasting his own stamina meter. With attacks that close distance, attack at range, varying weapon lengths, attacks that maintain distance (or create distace), items that lower movement (the player defending using shields for example but there are offensive spells and if I remember correctly and an item-specific move that can also cripple the enemy's), a balance between player defense (in the form of armour and equipment) and movement, and the responsive controls which bolster the four basic ways to traverse the environment (falling, running, standard walking, and rolling) all make movement (in combat) a large, enjoyable part of the game which is incredibly difficult to master despite its apparent simplicity.
The large number of builds available to make in the game, no class restricted to any of them (although some classes are obviously more suited to some than others due to less wasted soul levels), provide even more of a reason to enjoy the combat in the game as your character is your character (but of course templates do develop over time as people try to find builds with the least wasted soul levels); if somebody uses the same weapon as you and has your grasp of the movement you both could still play in completely different ways based upon how you built your character (as a general rule though, most people do not go above 40 or 50 in a stat unless it is a very specific type of build). Somebody that focused primarily on Vitality and neglected Endurance is going to be able to take more hits than you but is going to have much more difficulty maintaining assaults and dodging attacks; they can afford to make more mistakes however. Somebody who puts everything in Dexterity/Endurance or Strength/Endurance, and uses a weapon that benefits form this, while neglecting Vitality is likewise going to play differently; likely they'll be much more offensive and dodging is going to be their primary form of movement as they can't afford to make a mistake. The diversity in builds is more apparent with (I feel) sorcerers (I don't mean the class, I mean the builds' magic users) and faith-builds (miracle users) wherein even two identical players on paper can play differently due to the amount of spells available that are either used to attack at range, cover an area, hide, chip away at defenses, barrage the opponent and track them, improve melee weapons with buffs or simply to utilise a weapon that relies upon the intelligence stat (note that all of this isn't to say that magic users are the best or the most diversive, but I do think they are a good way to highlight just how many playstyles can be found based upon the items available alone [ignoring stats and skil]).
One final thing that makes it enjoyable is that it is 'realistic'. Now, let me preface this paragraph by stating that I really hate arguing for realism within games; what I mean by this is that you are what you are framed to be in the game's world. In Dark Souls, you are a human. You are not some harbinger of death, you aren't the last mixed witch with a special, mysterious birth, you are not a vengeful demigod, you aren't the clone of the world's most talented soldier; you're a bog-standard human that decides to undertake a perilous journey that will put you up against people and creatures that are vastly more deadly and experienced than you are. This isn't just specific to the combat as every single element of the game works in unison to support this idea. The delivery of the majority of the plot (the lore) is through background information such as item descriptions and character interactions, the quests are given by talking to characters and listening to what they say (seeking to aid them, seeking revenge, trying to catch up with them), your objectives delivered by talking to people and finding out information this way (ie at the beginning to find out where to go), the sound and graphical design, the minimal explanations (found through experimentation, checking the help menu which is a necessary concession, and talking to characters), the combat of course, and even the item placements. At the beginning of the game, you are not anybody noteworthy in any form, the world is not built for you as a playground for you to pillage and plunder, you're thrown in and you set off on your quest, as a human being. Every single facet works in unison to maintain this; anything other than a grounded (within reason obviously) combat system would not work.
There are even more contributing factors in the form of things like spells, buffs (note that this is a huge, huge part of the combat), items, miracles, pyromancy, defenses/weaknesses, and rings, but that goes through the most basic components that have a contributing factor of the enjoyment of the melee system (and core combat mechanics) alone. You do not have to play the game slowly. If you want to, that's your prerogative, but don't complain that the combat is too slow because you choose to do so. If you want to play it quickly you're more then capable of equipping a weapon, removing your shield, two-handing the sword (for increased damage) and running/dodging everywhere (my preferred playstyle). Yes, it's far more risky, but (to me) it's much more rewarding and quickly teaches you to become competant. The game is not overly difficult as, say, Ninja Gaiden 2 on Master Ninja is; it just punishes mistakes harshly. Ultimately, you are only constrained by your own skill with the mechanics (which are anything but clunky; unless you weigh yourself down and are a walking behemoth in which case you are logically clumsy) and that has a large appeal to many people due to the tight underlying mechanics that provide a large amount of depth while being easily accessible,
EDIT: Also, I highly advise you not to use a Wiki/guide/forums (too much) and to play it blind for your first playthrough.
Umm...you can do this without aiming. Actually it's probably worse to aim as the focus will be on hitting one enemy. Practice, and consider moving back a bit if you're too close.
indigo-cyclops
Member
Thanks for picking up my hiccup. Undead Parish, adjacent to the Burg, houses the Blacksmith.
Some great advice, though, from the last few posters.
The combat in this game can be very frustrating if you approach it with the wrong mindset. I am not trying to say "it's not the game, it's you" per se, but the way it handles it's fighting system is almost another world from fast paced games like Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta (and pretty much every fighting game out there, really.)
Whereas those games try their best to deliver combat that is right at your finger tips, and instant response to your input, Dark Souls takes the approach of a more weighted, real world approach to it's combat. That being said, you have to approach the game with the idea that you need to be cautious and predictive of your actions, and not just reactive. After playing through both Demon's Souls and this using just a level 1 character, I can say that the combat IS incredibly refined. It primarily hinges on the players understanding of the timing, and not as much on stats. A good enough player could start the game with a default character and not level up anything at all, and beat the game without taking a hit. Not too many games are designed that well. The swings and attacks may appear sluggish at first, but once you get into the meat of the game, and are using the roll dodge to its full advantage, the timing and precision come down to fractions of seconds. You don't really get into those tight timings until you start to get good at the system, so on the surface you don't see it. When you are at the point where you are rolling INTO an attack because you know the enemy's weapon will be just shy of hitting you, as opposed to a back or side roll that will put you right in the way of their swing, that's when there is so much satisfaction in the combat.
It's versatile. You have your light and strong attack, or your running attack, jumping variation. All of these can be tried single handed, or dual wielding. OR, you can equip two different weapons on your guy and abandon a shield altogether. You can parry enemies attacks for a devastating riposte attack, or block. All of these factor into your amount of stamina available. How much stamina alone will make dramatic outcomes for the length of combos you may execute back to back, or leave you with an option to roll away or dodge, and not just be tired at the end of it.
On top of that, almost every weapon plays and feels differently. It's not just a generic art swap and damage adjustment to try a different weapon. It's a whole new moveset to learn altogether!
I will say that many people sink a little bit of time into these games before they "click" and once that happens, the game becomes incredibly fun and addictive, and not just slow and frustrating. A lot of people also can't get into it, so it might not be your thing.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I don't understand the camera complaints. I think the Souls games probably have the best camera in any 3D game I've played. It only rarely annoys me, and when it does it's usually because I'm completely cornered anyway. Are you playing with a mouse and/or keyboard? Cause that might explain it. Get a gamepad ASAP.
Also a tip that may help: turn off the "auto wall recovery" option. If I understand correctly, this makes the camera swerve around you when you are too close to a wall, but it may make you change direction and fall off a cliff. I always turn it off.
Use lock on, or manually aim. Either way, it's not "poor" unless you're, ah, not very good, or not using a controller.
Dude you got the PC version and bitch about FPS? Read the second post of this thread, yo: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=41302102&postcount=2
GAF is right and you are wrong. ^_^
It's not, you can manually aim, I've destroyed many groups of enemies with firebombs and fireballs.
Nitpicking this: your Dodge+R1 and Sprint+R1 are the same movement, actually. I call them both "running r1". You can initiate the "running" by, well, running and then pressing r1, or by tapping circle (dodge) before hitting r1, but the weapon swing that will come out is identical.
The One Who Knocks
Member
The attack (that occurs) is the same (for the Uchigatana) but the situational use is different (eg. you can lure opponents using the dodge+R1 once they notice the jump back but there's no way you'll manage to do so with the sprinting one which seems to primarily exists for rushing the enemy) which is why I included it as a different move. I was not aware that it is the same move for every weapon however so thanks for that aspect.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Yep, it was like that in Demon's Souls too. And sure the situational (why does Firefox highlight that word, is it not a real word? xD) use and the "trigger" context is different, but the weapon attack ends up being the same. Not that I mind, I think it works well enough for now, but I do kind of hope Dark Souls 2 will have yet a different weapon swing, that could make combat even more interesting.
I should note that I agree with the rest of your post (I almost read it all, too xD I did skim some parts, sorry... it was long...), I was just nitpicking on this particular aspect.
I think the most crucial aspect to summarize is that, like you said, each weapon has its own playstyle. You can't play with a zweihander the same way you play with a katana. On my most recent playthroughs I've been experimenting with the black knight weapons, and now I'm rocking a bkgaxe+5 (jesus christ that thing is strong!), but while I routinely ohko even strong enemies, I still get killed, because I put so many points in dex and str to wield it that my normally high VIT and END are now on the uncomfortably low side (and that bkgaxe does consume stamina fast so I can't spam it the way I can an uchi or a falchion). It's also a pretty heavy weapon, so I'm resorting to mid-roll instead of fast roll (I could probably wear uber-lite armour but I do like having some poise and a shield), which can be scary against the likes of S&O (still got them on my first try though, with a few close calls, w00t).
So I'm like a glass canon that needs to really time my hits. When they connect, they are devastating, but when they whiff, I get severely punished. A very rewarding and exciting way to play, and very different than my usual favoured ninja-like dex play.
I love this game so much.
I should note that I agree with the rest of your post (I almost read it all, too xD I did skim some parts, sorry... it was long...), I was just nitpicking on this particular aspect.
I think the most crucial aspect to summarize is that, like you said, each weapon has its own playstyle. You can't play with a zweihander the same way you play with a katana. On my most recent playthroughs I've been experimenting with the black knight weapons, and now I'm rocking a bkgaxe+5 (jesus christ that thing is strong!), but while I routinely ohko even strong enemies, I still get killed, because I put so many points in dex and str to wield it that my normally high VIT and END are now on the uncomfortably low side (and that bkgaxe does consume stamina fast so I can't spam it the way I can an uchi or a falchion). It's also a pretty heavy weapon, so I'm resorting to mid-roll instead of fast roll (I could probably wear uber-lite armour but I do like having some poise and a shield), which can be scary against the likes of S&O (still got them on my first try though, with a few close calls, w00t).
So I'm like a glass canon that needs to really time my hits. When they connect, they are devastating, but when they whiff, I get severely punished. A very rewarding and exciting way to play, and very different than my usual favoured ninja-like dex play.
I love this game so much.
I fucking love you guys!!!
Thanks for keeping my head in it... I was pretty, um, altered last week, and I totally forgot I found the Gaping guy, and he scared the shit out of me and I never went back... I was exploring the depths more, like you told me to and I wrecked him and found the entrance to Blighttown! Thanks so much.
I got the spider shield. Its hidden in the depths (I think). Its very helpful.
As Glix said, hopefully you picked up the Spider Shield from the Depths, as it's invaluable in Blighttown.
If you're struggling in Blighttown it may be worth it to go back and get that shield if you haven't, along with some purple mosses (regular and bloom), both of which you can buy from the Undead Female Merchant in Undead Burg (the handsome lady in the aqueduct near Firelink). The Bloom variation reduces toxic build-up.
Bit of good news: the blow dart snipers don't respawn if you kill them, and the Spider Shield blocks their toxic darts fully so long as you're pointing in their direction.
Best post I've read on this page, incredibly to the point and provides substantial insight. Great post! And I agree fully. Took me about 10 hours for everything to truly "click" back in Demon's Souls.
You can farm TONS of mosses in the Darkroot Garden, right next to a (hidden) bonfire.
Oh, thanks. I will go and get that.
Found a sign that helped me find that bonfire and I noticed that the trees dropped a lot of moss. Might do some farming there then.
He can summon you without the white soapstone, he just needs to be in Human form, in an area with a Live Boss and near your Soul Level. He of course needs a White Soapstone to put his sign down, but he will see summons whether or not he has one himself.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
It's useless. If you equip it in your left hand you can attack with it, but why would you ever do that? Use a shield that has a good ratio of stability, attribute blocking (physical being the most important, 100% block is best) and weight. I recommend the any of the crest shields if you have them. If not, any kite shields are good (sold by Andre). Balder looks cool, but it's 1 unit heavier than most good shields, I use it only on one of my toons because it fits his look. xD Knight shield is garbage, many better shields are lighter, ditch it as soon as you can.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Yeah I'm using balder shield because it looks cool with chainmail. Now I have level 4 chainmail and balder gauntlets, level 5 balder shield and level 5 halberd, which I just leveled up strength to use. This halberd is very different, but will probably be better against black knights with their long range swords. I also beat cadre demon with rapier, you pretty much just have to know which way to run right at the start to avoid the him+dogs wombo combo.
Sounds like you are getting the hang of it and in the groove of upgrading items and experimenting with different weapons. Halberd is an amazing weapon, you just have to make your swings count. 2 handed light attacks can stagger most enemies quickly, the strong attack is great for wave clear, and a great wakeup attack when 2 handed. It also does very high critical damage because it gets a thrust attack bonus for criticals.
Go Balder Shield, trust me. Fully upgraded the stability to weight ratio is among the best in the game.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I have a question about PC Dark Souls. Do the crystal lizards in the Great Hollow not respawn in the PC version? I just tried on two lizards, not those with the random spawns but the fixed ones (one on a branch shortly before the hollow with the 3 basiliks, near the beginning, for example). My stupid bkgaxe swing whiffed and they faded, but reloading the game does not seem to work to respawn them. I used the reload trick for one of the lizards in the Catacombs (the place where you drop down and there are pike-trapped statues) and it worked, but so far no luck in the Great Hollow. WTF?
Edit: something else happened today that was weird. I am signed in GFWL, see my friends and all (well they're my Xbox 360 friends hah), but I see about zero online activity. No messages, no bloodstains. I can drop a white summon sign but never get summoned (tried level 66 in post-AL areas such as the Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith), and I don't get invaded or see white signs anywhere either. I saw like ONE message, straight in the middle of Queelag's boss room (warped to Daughter of Chaos bonfire to go to the Great Hollow so I crossed that room) saying "imminent happiness...", and that's it. What gives?
Edit: something else happened today that was weird. I am signed in GFWL, see my friends and all (well they're my Xbox 360 friends hah), but I see about zero online activity. No messages, no bloodstains. I can drop a white summon sign but never get summoned (tried level 66 in post-AL areas such as the Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith), and I don't get invaded or see white signs anywhere either. I saw like ONE message, straight in the middle of Queelag's boss room (warped to Daughter of Chaos bonfire to go to the Great Hollow so I crossed that room) saying "imminent happiness...", and that's it. What gives?
I have a question about PC Dark Souls. Do the crystal lizards in the Great Hollow not respawn in the PC version? I just tried on two lizards, not those with the random spawns but the fixed ones (one on a branch shortly before the hollow with the 3 basiliks, near the beginning, for example). My stupid bkgaxe swing whiffed and they faded, but reloading the game does not seem to work to respawn them. I used the reload trick for one of the lizards in the Catacombs (the place where you drop down and there are pike-trapped statues) and it worked, but so far no luck in the Great Hollow. WTF?
Edit: something else happened today that was weird. I am signed in GFWL, see my friends and all (well they're my Xbox 360 friends hah), but I see about zero online activity. No messages, no bloodstains. I can drop a white summon sign but never get summoned (tried level 66 in post-AL areas such as the Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith), and I don't get invaded or see white signs anywhere either. I saw like ONE message, straight in the middle of Queelag's boss room (warped to Daughter of Chaos bonfire to go to the Great Hollow so I crossed that room) saying "imminent happiness...", and that's it. What gives?
I've had similar problems with getting Crystal Lizards to respawn on all versions of the game. Sometimes you have to quit and reload multiple times, if that doesn't work, Homeward bone, then quit and reload. Every so often they are just real finicky about respawning.
As for GFWL, it has a lot of weird problems like that, lately I have been having invasion ques fail, then have dead bonfires all over the world for several minutes. I either have to homeward bone or quit out to reset it, or just wait it out. I'm not sure what happens but the online functionality just craps out every so often, or you are put into a dead lobby when you sign in, so failed invasions all the time, no summons, and messages and bloodstains are few and far between. Quitting and reloading sometimes works, but usually you have to close the game down and reboot through Steam, and login again to fix it.
If you notice the online aspects of the game are just not functioning properly, just close it down and reboot it.
lazorexplosion
Member
I found user made dsmfix.dll that greatly improves the camera, enjoying it more now. smh at this port quality.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Recent adventures:
Hit em where it hurts!
Spoilery: Trololo and yes he just stood there and took it till he died. I actually killed one normally before and found out they respawn. After this I fought the other one to clear the way to the item but I was reckless and got double zapped.
Found a nice helmet that covers my hideous face. Not as cool as a thief mask tho, and the clothes aren't either. Maybe I'll find some strong thiefy things that match chainmail defense.
Why is my magic slot greyed out?
I can't believe how strong this halberd is, but then it is needed to keep the pace of the game up.
Hit em where it hurts!
Spoilery: Trololo and yes he just stood there and took it till he died. I actually killed one normally before and found out they respawn. After this I fought the other one to clear the way to the item but I was reckless and got double zapped.
Found a nice helmet that covers my hideous face. Not as cool as a thief mask tho, and the clothes aren't either. Maybe I'll find some strong thiefy things that match chainmail defense.
Why is my magic slot greyed out?
I can't believe how strong this halberd is, but then it is needed to keep the pace of the game up.
Red Liquorice
Member
You don't have a talisman equipped?
Heal is a miracle, so you need the appropriate level in Faith for that spell and a talisman equipped to use it. There's a free one in a chest around Firelink if you look around.
Different spell types use different items to cast:
Sorcery - Catalyst
Miracles - Talisman
Pyromancy - Pyro flame
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
So I found a new bonfire after searching for an hour, it wouldn't let me light it. That's weird. OOPS YOU ARE INVADED and my equipment barely scratched the guy with a direct hit and I lose everything.
Edit: I guess it was part of an in-game "feature" of red phantoms or whatever. How the fuck am I supposed to beat that guy? My magic-mode level 5 halberd was doing 18 damage with a direct hit. My rapier would have done a better job in the fight since he seemed to have very high poise and was in my face with a poison dagger, but it probably would have been doing 2 damage.
I get the clear message of "do not kindle this fire" so I have less estus in this area or whatever, but so far the game has been perfectly reasonable for someone who treads carefully with a keen eye. Losing so much progress in a new area because of a completely untraceable/unforeseeable and massively overpowered ambush is not "challenge" it is dickhead design.
Edit: I guess it was part of an in-game "feature" of red phantoms or whatever. How the fuck am I supposed to beat that guy? My magic-mode level 5 halberd was doing 18 damage with a direct hit. My rapier would have done a better job in the fight since he seemed to have very high poise and was in my face with a poison dagger, but it probably would have been doing 2 damage.
I get the clear message of "do not kindle this fire" so I have less estus in this area or whatever, but so far the game has been perfectly reasonable for someone who treads carefully with a keen eye. Losing so much progress in a new area because of a completely untraceable/unforeseeable and massively overpowered ambush is not "challenge" it is dickhead design.
Wind's Howling
Member
Guess I am not missing much for not having any online functionality on my 360.
Red Liquorice
Member
That was another player invading. You can't access bonfires when other players (good or bad) are in your world. There are NPC invaders in specific scripted events/areas, and they give unique weapon and armour drops, so look out for those if you want the goodies.
Yeah, you get low-level invaders that are dicks on purpose, you will catch up to them in terms of gear soon enough (unless they're hackers obviously) - If you don't like invasions, stay hollow except for when you want to kindle or summon co-op - You can still be summoned yourself for co-op whilst hollow.
But don't let these early OP invaders turn you off the online part of the game - it's a big part of the draw, co-op, invaders and invading yourself, it's all in good fun!
Yeah, you get low-level invaders that are dicks on purpose, you will catch up to them in terms of gear soon enough (unless they're hackers obviously) - If you don't like invasions, stay hollow except for when you want to kindle or summon co-op - You can still be summoned yourself for co-op whilst hollow.
But don't let these early OP invaders turn you off the online part of the game - it's a big part of the draw, co-op, invaders and invading yourself, it's all in good fun!
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Nonono.
See, didn't you get an overwhelming sense of dread when the invade message popped and latter despaired at your own weakness?
That's Dark Souls.
lazorexplosion
Member
This Capra Demon fight....
"Let's put a big demon and his fast minions in a tiny walled room. That way, the camera can keep getting backed up against the wall so the player can't see anything when he's trying not to get surrounded."
"Don't forget to put pillars and a tree and shit for the camera to get stuck on also"
"Yes, this will be the best game ever. More paint thinners, anyone?"
"Let's put a big demon and his fast minions in a tiny walled room. That way, the camera can keep getting backed up against the wall so the player can't see anything when he's trying not to get surrounded."
"Don't forget to put pillars and a tree and shit for the camera to get stuck on also"
"Yes, this will be the best game ever. More paint thinners, anyone?"
You'll have to resummon him. But you can't just summon everywhere. There will be cases where he'll have to progress through his own game in order to access your summon sign. Also, your friend will have to stay in range of your soul level in order to be able to join his game.
This page might be handy in terms of soul level ranges and the mechanism of summoning: http://darksouls.wikidot.com/co-op
Capra is fun to fight two-handed with a base-SL Knight, with Ring of Fog to not aggro the dogs. Just fight him in the corner near the fog gate. If your good enough or have Red Tearstone you can stagger him easily and open a can on him.
Use the stairs. You can go up to the top and then just walk down by the tree. It will give you some breathing room and a chance to heal. Then he will jump down and do an attack, just avoid it and hit him some. Focus on killing the dogs first though.
So atm I'm getting souls by killing the Forest Protectors in the Darkroot Garden but every time I try to leave the garden to go back to the bonfire the exit is fogged off and I have to wait like a minute for the fog to go away, is this because someone keeps failing to invade or something? It's getting really annoying.
Yes. Try to do it in offline mode, or while Hollowed.