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[Razek]

A challenge for me is simply beating a game in the first place. This just gets in the way.

I dont really care about other people feeling good about walking over hot coals.

I did the same thing as you (except I didn't fight the dragon, I just missed the next fire) and felt really frustrated. The game isn't so bad once I realized they are pretty nice with the save point placement. Think of the respawing enemies as more of 'levels' that you must retry than an open world. That's what it's trying to mimic anyways from Demon Souls. You don't even have to fight the enemies most of the time. If you're quick, you can run past almost all the enemies between fires.

(I'm pretty much a first time player here too Tess)

 

[ironcreed]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

Good luck acquiring enough souls running through a barren world devoid of any challenge. The level design is such that you are going to be going through the same areas over and over again and respawning enemies not only keeps you on your toes, but allows you to gain souls to both level up and purchase items with.

As for taking away half the enemy damage and being able to keep your souls after you die? Hell no, man. The difficulty and risk is what put the series on the map with Demon's Souls. It beats you over the head without compromise until you learn what to do. The game forces you to learn and get better. The way in which you see yourself improving is what makes the series one of the most rewarding gaming experiences ever. You are basically asking to strip the game of what made it such a hit to begin with.

 

[Revoh]

Remember the bridge with

Spoiler

the red dragon? There's a locked door there you should have the key to now.

You're right, I completely forgot about that part.

 

[EternalGamer]

A challenge for me is simply beating a game in the first place. This just gets in the way.

I dont really care about other people feeling good about walking over hot coals.

Enjoying getting better at games is not the same thing as being a masochist. If you want to just zone out when you play games, that's cool. But just because others dont and like the feeling of improving their skills and having a game that demands their full attention doesnt mean they have psychological problems or fetishes. That's a ridiculious characterization.

Dark Souls is a fair game 95% of the time. When you fuck up it is your fault. I hate twitch games and I love Dark Souls because it doesnt demand that I have amazing reaction time, it just demands that I pay attention, have patience and, most importantly play smart.

You need you assess situitions before just running into the middle of a room. Sometimes you need to cut your losses and run. Sometimes you have to figure out where to position yourself or really think about which enemy to take out first and why. Sometimes you need to stand your ground and wait for any opening. It is the exact opposite of the God of War model of run into a room and start trashing everything. It is al,ost like imagining yourslef in a real life situition and taking similar precautions.

When you see a new enemy type in Dark Souls it should intimiate you. You dont know what these fuckers do, but you gotta try to push forward. This kind of intensity makes the moment to moment gameplay so much more meaningful than al, the thousands of games where you just zone out during combat and then run and heal.

 

[Tess3ract]

I don't like twitch games like counter strike or whatever, but yes. I don't like casual shit, but I pretty much zone out when playing games. Maybe that doesn't make me the best player, but I'm pretty much not competitive in games. (unless I'm winning then I try to keep up but otherwise I don't give a crap)

You need you assess situitions before just running into the middle of a room. Sometimes you need to cut your losses and run. Sometimes you have to figure out where to position yourself or really think about which enemy to taje out first and why. Sometimes you need to stand your ground and wait for any opening. It is the exact opposite of the God of War model of run into a room and start trashing everything. It is al,ost like imagining yourslef in a real life situition and taking similar precautions.

When you see a new enemy type in Dark Souls it should intimiate you. You dont know what these fuckers do, but you gotta try to push forward. This kind of intensity makes the moment to moment gameplay so much more meaningful than al, the thousands of games where you just zone out during combat and then run and heal.

Yeah I am not interested in any of that shit. It doesn't have to be god of war, it just has to be less...this.

I already feel like that in the second paragraph, but the very "oh you fell down? well I'm just gonna keep attacking you while you can't do anything, oh you died. Deal with it!" mentality doesn't jive with me. no fuck YOU dark souls! *breaks controller*

 

[Ridley327]

Any suggestions on where I should be focusing on after ringing the bell in the Parish? I've been wandering around the rest of the world, getting some shortcuts figured out along the way, and I'm at a bit of a loss on where I'm needed.

Spoiler

It seems to me that they want me to defeat the Capra Demon in the lower Undead Burg, but Darkroot Forest is pretty doable for me right now, outside of the Moonlight Butterfly (my ranged game kinda sucks :/ ).

 

[Igo]

In order of backstab goodness

1) Rapier (hidden bonus)
2) Bandit's Knife
3) Estoc (hidden bonus)

The Bandit's Knife isn't really good outside of backstabs though, the Rapier is also the best for riposte damage, but the Estoc is best for regular combat. All of them are pretty close for backstab damage.

Rapier and Estoc can attack while your shield is up and have better range than the Bandit's Knife. Estoc has the best range/normal damage of the 3 options so for enemies you can't riposte/backstab, the Estoc is better.

Thx. What would you consider the all-round sword? Something for those bastards who just refuse to be backstabbed.

 

[Zzoram]

I don't like twitch games like counter strike or whatever, but yes. I don't like casual shit, but I pretty much zone out when playing games. Maybe that doesn't make me the best player, but I'm pretty much not competitive in games. (unless I'm winning then I try to keep up but otherwise I don't give a crap)

This isn't quite a twitch game, but the combat is very timing based. You just have to learn the patterns and timing windows. Most attack animations are slow so you have plenty of time to respond.

 

[Razek]

Question: Does the stamina bar have a limit very early like in Demon Souls our can I keep increasing it for as long as I want?

 

[Zzoram]

Question: Does the stamina bar have a limit very early like in Demon Souls our can I keep increasing it for as long as I want?

Endurance at 40 will max out the stamina bar. When I play melee, I always just rush for 40 END.

 

[EasyMode]

Question: Does the stamina bar have a limit very early like in Demon Souls our can I keep increasing it for as long as I want?

Yeah, once you reach 40 Endurance your stamina bar is at max.

 

[Revoh]

Can somebody explain me what Humanity & Hollow means?
Also when I rest at a bonfire, what does Kindle do?

 

[lantus]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

Eww no thank you.

 

[Vorg]

Tess3ract just give it another shot. Every change you're proposing would make it a lesser game.

 

[ixix]

Any suggestions on where I should be focusing on after ringing the bell in the Parish? I've been wandering around the rest of the world, getting some shortcuts figured out along the way, and I'm at a bit of a loss on where I'm needed.

Spoiler

It seems to me that they want me to defeat the Capra Demon in the lower Undead Burg, but Darkroot Forest is pretty doable for me right now, outside of the Moonlight Butterfly (my ranged game kinda sucks :/ ).

You can get an AI helper for the

Spoiler

Moonlight Butterfly

. To summon her,

Spoiler

turn human at the bonfire then head to the tower with the stairs leading up to the boss fog. On the ground floor of the tower there's a small bush underneath the stairway that's concealing a summoning sign. Touch the sign to summon Beatrice, who does enough damage with Sorcery to pretty much solo the Moonlight Butterfly.

Summoning Beatrice for the butterfly also makes her available for summoning for another boss later in the game.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

It's so great to see a bunch of new people jumping into Dark Souls. This game can't get enough attention.

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

Haha, to me this just reads as, "take away everything that makes this game different and special."

 

[ironcreed]

I don't like twitch games like counter strike or whatever, but yes. I don't like casual shit, but I pretty much zone out when playing games. Maybe that doesn't make me the best player, but I'm pretty much not competitive in games. (unless I'm winning then I try to keep up but otherwise I don't give a crap)

I'm telling you, and others will attest to this. If you are patient, learn how to play and take the time to find your groove/style, then the game actually becomes almost too easy in some parts. It's just a matter of plowing through it the first time and learning through many, many deaths, but the immense satisfaction and feeling of growth afterwards is what it's all about. There is a pattern to everything and it's really all about pacing yourself. Once you get to the end of the road in this game you will feel like you have been through hell, and former enemies that used to have you shitting your pants and ripping your hair out will become a cakewalk all in good time. Keep playing this game, man.

 

[bistromathics]

I wanna do a str/faith build, but I'm not sure when I should start dropping points into faith.

I don't really need any miracles the first guy sells (i started with heal), but i'm like SL20-something and just got to blighttown. I'm thinkin about trying to get summoned for other people's Gaping Dragon for a bit and then going to join the Sunbro's covenant for lightning spear. When do other useful miracles start becoming available?

I've totally neglected faith so far and just got str up enough for zweihandler. But I'm starting to think that may have been a waste, since 1h-ing this thing kinda sucks. Coulda spent some of those points in faith so I could at least use the lightning spear when I get it.

 

[Vorg]

Does anyone know how long does it take to beat the new areas and bosses?

 

[Finalow]

since I took the retail GFWL version, what are the problems with GFWL?
I also assume I can't use steam to play it.

 

[Ridley327]

You can get an AI helper for the

Spoiler

Moonlight Butterfly

. To summon her,

Spoiler

turn human at the bonfire then head to the tower with the stairs leading up to the boss fog. On the ground floor of the tower there's a small bush underneath the stairway that's concealing a summoning sign. Touch the sign to summon Beatrice, who does enough damage with Sorcery to pretty much solo the Moonlight Butterfly.

Summoning Beatrice for the butterfly also makes her available for summoning for another boss later in the game.

Spoiler

I don't believe I've met her yet; do you need to find her to be able to summon her, or is summoning her how you meet her in the first place?

 

[EasyMode]

Can somebody explain me what Humanity & Hollow means?
Also when I rest at a bonfire, what does Kindle do?

When you're in human form you can: Kindle bonfires, summon co-op partners, and be invaded. A hollow can't do any of that (which is a plus if you don't wanna be invaded). Kindling increases your Estus Flask count by 5.

The counter in the top-left represent humanity available to use. There's also an item called humanity which increases that counter when used.

 

[maniac-kun]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

The subtitle is prepare to die. This should be a hint.

 

[Grief.exe]

What do you guys recommend to do to get through the massive poison and toxic damage of blight town?

And for you guys calling for this game to be homogenized. Please, just go play another game, too many games now are dumbed down specifically for the lowest common denominator. Go play one of those, there are plenty for you to choose from.
Its refreshing to have a game like this, though I've only been playing for two days its been amazing.

 

[Tess3ract]

I'm telling you, and others will attest to this. If you are patient, learn how to play and take the time to find your groove/style, then the game actually becomes almost too easy in some parts. It's just a matter of plowing through it the first time and learning through many, many deaths, but the immense satisfaction and feeling of growth afterwards is what it's all about. There is a pattern to everything and it's really all about pacing yourself. Once you get to the end of the road in this game you will feel like you have been through hell, and former enemies that used to have you shitting your pants and ripping your hair out will become a cakewalk all in good time. Keep playing this game, man.

I hear what you're saying, but I am not patient with anything. If I hit a proverbial wall, every bone in my body tells me to give up. I can get about 2-3 "deaths" before I'm too frustrated and stop playing.

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.



Of course when a game that looks like dark souls comes along, I want to play it because it's so unique, but this is never going to be the kind of game I want to play. I don't like being punished and would rather restart immediately after fucking up, or simply stop playing.

 

[Finalow]

I wanna do a str/faith build, but I'm not sure when I should start dropping points into faith.

I don't really need any miracle the first guy sells (i started with heal), but i'm like SL20-something and just got to blighttown. I'm thinkin about trying to get summoned for other people's Gaping Dragon for a bit and then going to join the Sunbro's covenant for lightning spear. When do useful miracles start becoming available?

I've totally neglected faith so far and just got str up enough for zweihandler. But I'm starting to think that may have been a waste, since 1h-ing this thing kinda sucks. Coulda spent some of those points in faith so I could at least use the lightning spear when I get it.

if you wanna focus on str you can switch to pyromancy, it doesn't require int/faith or anything and still some spells are fucking strong.
but if you wanna stick with faith just pick the heal and then wait to get Wrath of the Gods, it needs 28 faith.

 

[Ridley327]

since I took the retail GFWL version, what are the problems with GFWL?
I also assume I can't use steam to play it.

You can add it to Steam as a non-Steam game and be able to use the Steam overlay and other related functions.

And so far, the only issues I've seen is that summoning online phantoms is a real crapshoot.

 

[ixix]

Spoiler

I don't believe I've met her yet; do you need to find her to be able to summon her, or is summoning her how you meet her in the first place?

Spoiler

There's not a requirement to summon her, other than being in human form. There are a couple other phantoms who work that way and just sort of show up. They've all got stories that you can learn by finding their equipment and reading the item descriptions, but they're long dead by the time the game starts.

 

[Zzoram]

I hear what you're saying, but I am not patient with anything. If I hit a proverbial wall, every bone in my body tells me to give up. I can get about 2-3 "deaths" before I'm too frustrated and stop playing.

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.

I hope that's not how you roll in school.

If you want to veg out, just do endless forest farming runs and grind up to an insanely high level to make the game easier.

 

[Lumination]

I hear what you're saying, but I am not patient with anything. If I hit a proverbial wall, every bone in my body tells me to give up. I can get about 2-3 "deaths" before I'm too frustrated and stop playing.

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.

Honest question, why did you buy this game? It seems like you couldn't have picked a worse game to suit your wants.

 

[Finalow]

What do you guys recommend to do to get through the massive poison and toxic damage of blight town?

search for the rings in the wiki if you really have to, you can tho finish the level without any protection, just care about those guys with a blowpipe, those are the ones that can kill you very quickly. you can also farm the cure in the gardens killing trees.

 

[Zzoram]

What do you guys recommend to do to get through the massive poison and toxic damage of blight town?

And for you guys calling for this game to be homogenized. Please, just go play another game, too many games now are dumbed down specifically for the lowest common denominator. Go play one of those, there are plenty for you to choose from.
Its refreshing to have a game like this, though I've only been playing for two days its been amazing.

Spider shield blocks the toxic darts 100%, farm lots of poison/toxin cures in the forest, avoid standing in the poison water

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

I hear what you're saying, but I am not patient with anything. If I hit a proverbial wall, every bone in my body tells me to give up. I can get about 2-3 "deaths" before I'm too frustrated and stop playing.

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.



Of course when a game that looks like dark souls comes along, I want to play it because it's so unique, but this is never going to be the kind of game I want to play. I don't like being punished and would rather restart immediately after fucking up, or simply stop playing.

You basically have two choices:

1. Continue to play the game and try to adapt to something that's outside of your comfort zone in hopes of eventually realizing what makes the game so special or,

2. Play a different game.

That's how I see it anyway. Stick with number 1.

 

[Ridley327]

Spoiler

There's not a requirement to summon her, other than being in human form. There are a couple other phantoms who work that way and just sort of show up. They've all got stories that you can learn by finding their equipment and reading the item descriptions, but they're long dead by the time the game starts.

Ah, thank you. Getting to the

Spoiler

Moonlight Butterfly

is a walk in the park (so to speak), so I'll make sure to restore my Humanity and blitz through it.

 

[Finalow]

And so far, the only issues I've seen is that summoning online phantoms is a real crapshoot.

well this ain't the GFWL version, it's just the game.

 

[Apdiddy]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

There's things I don't like about Dark Souls and I wouldn't think any of these would be good ideas.

 

[EasyMode]

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.

So was I, hence my name. I gave up on Demon's Souls my first time through because I hit a brick wall and quit in frustration. I came back to it months later and the combat finally *clicked*. After that it quickly became my favorite game.

 

[scitek]

You can also already jump. Hold down run for a few seconds then tap it again. You actually need it to get it a few areas.

Basically he wants a game that is easier and woth no consequences when you fuck up. That would indeed ruin Dark Souls.

Darksouls is a game that demands your attention amd builds off the tension of trying to get back to your souls when you fuck up and the stakes increase the more souls you have. It is no exageration to say removing that tension would ruin a lot about what makes the game special.

This is not a zone out game you play while getting hammered or stoned and just mash buttons. Every other game lets you do that. This is a game about concentration, precision,strategy, tension, frustration, and rewarding sense of accomplishment.

It feels like Ninja Gaiden Black or something along those lines to me. You can get to the point where you are skilled and can move relatively quickly through some parts, but every enemy can potentially kill you so you need to always be aware. I like it, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't yelled at it several times already.

Also, I restarted the game as a Wanderer or whatever. I was playing as a knight before, and he was waaay too slow for my tastes. New character's MUCH better.

 

[Zzoram]

It feels like Ninja Gaiden Black or something along those lines to me. You can get to the point where you are skilled and can move relatively quickly through some parts, but every enemy can potentially kill you so you need to always be aware. I like it, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't yelled at it several times already.

This game is NOWHERE near as stupidly cheaply hard as NGB. You don't constantly die from offscreen ranged attacks.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

I like it, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't yelled at it several times already.

But that just makes the victory yells that much more satisfying.

 

[Visceir]

What's the button for locking on to enemies? Can't seem to figure it out

 

[bistromathics]

Can somebody explain me what Humanity & Hollow means?
Also when I rest at a bonfire, what does Kindle do?

When you're in human form you can: Kindle bonfires, summon co-op partners, and be invaded. A hollow can't do any of that (which is a plus if you don't wanna be invaded). Kindling increases your Estus Flask count by 5.

The counter in the top-left represent humanity available to use. There's also an item called humanity which increases that counter when used.

The humanity count in the top left also increases drop rates for stuff.

What's the button for locking on to enemies? Can't seem to figure it out

push in right stick

 

[Bedlam]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

All of these are terrible ideas.

 

[Capell]

Finally had my first invasion in Anor Londo...aaaaand I died.

I have to say, after you encountered

Spoiler

the first Mimic and get the lightning spear

in Sen's Fortress, combat is a lot easier.

 

[Tess3ract]

I hope that's not how you roll in school.

If you want to veg out, just do endless forest farming runs and grind up to an insanely high level to make the game easier.

Unfortunately, I do

 

[ironcreed]

I hear what you're saying, but I am not patient with anything. If I hit a proverbial wall, every bone in my body tells me to give up. I can get about 2-3 "deaths" before I'm too frustrated and stop playing.

I'm also that guy who plays every game on easy, even though he can play on harder difficulties simply because he doesn't want it to be challenging. I want to mindlessly slash at things and have them die while I zone out and drool comes out of my mouth and fills up the room making a swimming pool.

Make no mistake, this game will piss off even the most determined. I can't tell you how many times it made me want to stick my head through a wall, and I'm usually a pretty laid back guy, lol. It was the same with Demon's Souls for me, and that is why I knew that once I overcame, the feeling of accomplishment would be unlike any other. A victory hard won is what makes it so satisfying.

At any rate, do what you want. But I still think that if you truly love gaming, then you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by giving up. Not many games this gen can match the feeling of growth and accomplishment that the Souls series provides to the patient. I'll just leave you with that.

 

[scitek]

This game is NOWHERE near as stupidly cheaply hard as NGB. You don't constantly die from offscreen ranged attacks.

Yeah, that's good. So if I liked that game with its difficulty, this one shouldn't be much of a problem.

But that just makes the victory yells that much more satisfying.

Yes, I spent a long time yesterday in the one area before the Taurus Demon, and finally managed to beat him this morning. It's pretty funny how bad I am at this game at this point, but it felt good to get past him and be able to enjoy the scenery with the new DOF fix for a short time.

 

[Finalow]

Finally had my first invasion in Anor Londo...aaaaand I died.

I have to say, after you encountered

Spoiler

the first Mimic and get the lightning spear

in Sen's Fortress, combat is a lot easier.

yes that weapon is pretty good, you can even finish the game with just that one and the dragon sword.

 

[TheContact]

just bought this for $32 with the promo code from green man gaming. =) thanks for that. Can't wait to play this.

 

[theta11]

Man I wish they allowed modding. Some things I'd fix after playing for 3 hours:

- Remove only saving at bonfires
- quicksave
- remove respawning enemies after using bonfire
- add a fucking jump button
- remove having to find your souls after death
- cut all enemy damage in half, remove every single instakill instance

and before you ask, I'm not trolling or joking. I couldn't be more serious.

I don't think I would bother playing the game if these things were implemented.