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Demon's Souls |OT2| Soulsuckingly brilliant RPG full of Demon's Crack

EasyMode

Member
I've been sitting tight at SL 9 and it's tough enough. That level 1 stuff is madness :p. Although, it's nice having so many souls to spend on stuff. Now I'm off to face Maneater... this should be fun :/
 

Zeth

Member
Wow. I wish I'd never even stumbled upon the item dupe trick. It almost ruined the game for me. It started simple enough. I couldn't decide on Homing Soul Arrow or Insanity Catalyst with my Yellow Demon's Soul and thought, "Hey, I could use two of these and that'd be nice. It's not gonna break the game or ruin my enjoyment."

So I went through with it only to find out you end up with over 1,000 of the item chosen. It's funny how quickly certain brutal frustration can warp your gaming morality. Ended up using a handful of the extras to level up from 61-70 and now I really regret it. I guess it's not too bad, it's something I could've done grinding over the weekend, but something about it tarnishes the purity of the Demon's Souls experience. Oh well. Just my thoughts.

This has quickly become my game of this gen. I can't wait to play more of it, just hope I can get enough in before the release of Dark Souls without burning myself out on the genre... If that makes sense.
 

oracrest

Member
I'm still trying to figure out my network issues. I was able to connect at home to the store, and then after that (after my password got saved from logging in it seemed,) the internet connection test worked, so I will try it later, and see if I can capture the online stuff I need to do.

In the meantime, my youtube account allowed me to upload more than 15 minute videos, so I am uploading the SL1 vids at a better resolution, and archstones completed in a single video.

Also, I started the "SL9 barbarian challenge," which I just learned about from some guys that had done it over at the wiki forums. It consists of playing through as the Barbarian at the default level of 9, and just using the starting equipment, no upgrading :/ (Canova, you reading this?)

We'll see how that goes...
 

Goredrinker

Neo Member
For those new to the game who want an easy start and an idea where to go after defeating Phalanx try this.

Go to 5-1, right after the first couple of monsters there is a Mace, grab it and exit. Equip the mace and upgrade it to +2 if you have enough hardstone. Go to 4-1 and you should have no trouble killing the skeletons.

You'll be able to gain some soul levels quickly. If you are a caster grab the +1 crescent falchion past the black skeleton.

If you are still in body form you'll be able to pick up a blue phantom or two and breeze through the level to open up 4-2. Once you get here you'll be able to farm loads of souls at the start of the level especially if you have a bow.
 

Shadybiz

Member
Played some more last night. I think I'm starting to "get" the game more. Had one frustrating moment though: The red-armored demon in 1-1 killed me, so I ran back to get my lost souls. I ran from him after getting the souls, and he chased me relentlessly. Then I fell into that hole in the floor, and died again. It was one of those rare moments that was frustrating and funny at the same time.

I had one moment where I engaged with the blue-glowing armored demon, and insta-killed him after a single parry. That felt good.
 
Oh ffs this stupid lizard in 3-2 just wont give me a pure a moonlight stone. <_< Gah I should have learned about the whole reload thing earlier instead of mindlessly killing the lizards. >_>
 

genjiZERO

Member
Shadybiz said:
Played some more last night. I think I'm starting to "get" the game more. Had one frustrating moment though: The red-armored demon in 1-1 killed me, so I ran back to get my lost souls. I ran from him after getting the souls, and he chased me relentlessly. Then I fell into that hole in the floor, and died again. It was one of those rare moments that was frustrating and funny at the same time.

I had one moment where I engaged with the blue-glowing armored demon, and insta-killed him after a single parry. That felt good.

don't even worry about him. You don't need to defeat him to beat the level.
 

Zeth

Member
SonicX_Zero said:
Oh ffs this stupid lizard in 3-2 just wont give me a pure a moonlight stone. <_< Gah I should have learned about the whole reload thing earlier instead of mindlessly killing the lizards. >_>

If you still have an unkilled boss in world 3 killing him will add one respawn to each of the lizards. (If you've already cleared it I guess this post is useless) Kill yourself in world 3 repeatedly reviving with ephermal eyes or whatever method you prefer to get the world to pure plack tendency. That will increase the likelihood of the Pure drop. I just did this myself this week for my Moon Spear +5. Another tip to remember is when you loot the lizard don't click X if you didn't get what you want. Only after you click X does it confirm and save. You can even quit out to the dashboard before confirming loot.
 

oracrest

Member
Zeth said:
If you still have an unkilled boss in world 3 killing him will add one respawn to each of the lizards. (If you've already cleared it I guess this post is useless) Kill yourself in world 3 repeatedly reviving with ephermal eyes or whatever method you prefer to get the world to pure plack tendency. That will increase the likelihood of the Pure drop. I just did this myself this week for my Moon Spear +5. Another tip to remember is when you loot the lizard don't click X if you didn't get what you want. Only after you click X does it confirm and save. You can even quit out to the dashboard before confirming loot.

Yeah, for pure's, you really want to go black tendency. It helps a lot. You will notice a marked increase of rare items that are dropped.

What's your SL? I have a 108 with a pure moonlightstone.
 

Raide

Member
oracrest said:
Yeah, for pure's, you really want to go black tendency. It helps a lot. You will notice a marked increase of rare items that are dropped.

What's your SL? I have a 108 with a pure moonlightstone.

Is there any benefit for going pure white?
 

oracrest

Member
Raide said:
Is there any benefit for going pure white?

pure black is great for farming. Like he already said, pure white is good for specific events only unlocked with it, and it also weakens enemies (but in return, they drop less, and give less souls.)
 

Johnas

Member
oracrest said:
pure black is great for farming. Like he already said, pure white is good for specific events only unlocked with it, and it also weakens enemies (but in return, they drop less, and give less souls.)

Don't the crystal lizards have a higher chance of dropping pure stones in PWWT? Maybe it's just my anecdotal experience, but on my last playthrough the second crystal lizard in 1-4 dropped a pure hardstone almost every time I killed it, and the one just past the blue dragon dropped a pure sharpstone twice. I also got my only pure moonlightstone in PWWT.

I may just be extremely lucky.

EDIT: I've also been raising my luck stat the past few SLs, maybe that's it.
 

oracrest

Member
/\ yeah, sounds like you were just lucky! I've heard of people getting pure bladestone on their first attempt :/


I just started a new fun character "Weapon X" heh. I'm SL 9 now, but will be going up a bit, but I wanted to get some claws ASAP. They are pretty far in the game though. Does anyone have some extra they could give me?

PSN: sonofmaneater

I'm playing right now for a little bit.
 

one85x

Member
1-4 is a special case since it's the only x-4 level in the game. For the most part:

x-1: Shards with a low chance of chunks
x-2: Chunks with a low chance of pures
x-3: Chunks with a moderate chance of pures
x-4 (only world 1): Chunks with a high chance of pures

The next level up would probably be guaranteed pures.
 

Johnas

Member
oracrest said:
/\ yeah, sounds like you were just lucky! I've heard of people getting pure bladestone on their first attempt :/


I just started a new fun character "Weapon X" heh. I'm SL 9 now, but will be going up a bit, but I wanted to get some claws ASAP. They are pretty far in the game though. Does anyone have some extra they could give me?

PSN: sonofmaneater

I'm playing right now for a little bit.

Aren't there some in 3-1 in one of the cells? I just played that level last night and I'm almost sure I found some there.

I'd give you mine but I've never played online, and I have to leave in a little while.

one85x said:
1-4 is a special case since it's the only x-4 level in the game. For the most part:

x-1: Shards with a low chance of chunks
x-2: Chunks with a low chance of pures
x-3: Chunks with a moderate chance of pures
x-4 (only world 1): Chunks with a high chance of pures

The next level up would probably be guaranteed pures.

This is interesting. So basically, I should farm for pure bladestone in 4-2 instead of 4-1. I'll be doing that soon and I dread it.

I've had a fairly rough time trying to get cloudstone chunks in 4-3, but I think I was at PWWT then, which would make it harder.
 

RyanDG

Member
So would gaf be interested in a possible pvp last hurrah tournament for gaf members only in Demon's Souls? With Dark Souls coming out soon, it may be interesting to organize something together (and giving enough people to build up a character if they have not done so yet)?

oracrest said:
Also, I started the "SL9 barbarian challenge," which I just learned about from some guys that had done it over at the wiki forums. It consists of playing through as the Barbarian at the default level of 9, and just using the starting equipment, no upgrading :/ (Canova, you reading this?

I like this challenge a lot. But I'm going to cheat a bit. When the Great Club becomes available in 2-1, I'm going to abuse the heck out of it. ;)
 

Joei

Member
I want to go back and replay this game so badly cause it's so awesome, but I have so many other games sitting here. I'm trying to finally get through Chrono Cross (I've had it since release and can never finish the game), I picked up Castlevania: LoS for pretty cheap, and still need to finish Valkyria Chronicles. But DS wants to pull me back in. This game will always have a special place in my heart.
 

oracrest

Member
oracrest said:
I just started a new fun character "Weapon X" heh. I'm SL 9 now, but will be going up a bit, but I wanted to get some claws ASAP. They are pretty far in the game though. Does anyone have some extra they could give me?

got em, thanks one85x!!
 

BitchTits

Member
I still don't really understand the World Tendencies - I've read the wiki and instruction booklet, but it doesn't feel like it plays a big part in the game, maybe later on it does?

Just had a mammoth DS session, time really runs away with you, still too scared to tackle the Temple Knight, so I had a crack at 2-1 just to grind somewhere different than the first level - got as far as the giant cobwebs and big wooden lift elevator in the floor and decided that might be a clue that something scary lay ahead, so went back to the Nexus to lvl up. :D
 

Johnas

Member
BitchTits said:
I still don't really understand the World Tendencies - I've read the wiki and instruction booklet, but it doesn't feel like it plays a big part in the game, maybe later on it does?

Just had a mammoth DS session, time really runs away with you, still too scared to tackle the Temple Knight, so I had a crack at 2-1 just to grind somewhere different than the first level - got as far as the giant cobwebs and big wooden lift elevator in the floor and decided that might be a clue that something scary lay ahead, so went back to the Nexus to lvl up. :D

World tendency has some fairly significant influences if you're really going for completion, but you can just ignore all that on your first playthrough if you want. I did and didn't have any real trouble, apart from the usual bottlenecks. As for those, you'll find out soon enough. :p

The wiki is really very clear about it all, just play the game more and I think you'll get a better sense of it.

About those spiderwebs, I'll recommend you get a decent shield if you don't have one already. I won't spoiler anything else for you there, you're probably doing good to level up a little like you mentioned.

Also, that boss in 1-2 is Tower Knight, Temple Knight is one of the classes you can choose. /nitpick
 

CvGz

Neo Member
theta11 said:
Hope you enjoy it! If you got any questions feel free to ask here.
I just cleared 1-1 and I am hooked. I should of taken the dive sooner. Fantastic atmosphere and gameplay.
 

oracrest

Member
BitchTits said:
I still don't really understand the World Tendencies - I've read the wiki and instruction booklet, but it doesn't feel like it plays a big part in the game, maybe later on it does?

Just had a mammoth DS session, time really runs away with you, still too scared to tackle the Temple Knight, so I had a crack at 2-1 just to grind somewhere different than the first level - got as far as the giant cobwebs and big wooden lift elevator in the floor and decided that might be a clue that something scary lay ahead, so went back to the Nexus to lvl up. :D

Haha, if you have enough to level up, and want to, you should go back and do it, because if you question it, you'll usually die.
 

theta11

Member
BitchTits said:
I still don't really understand the World Tendencies - I've read the wiki and instruction booklet, but it doesn't feel like it plays a big part in the game, maybe later on it does?

Just had a mammoth DS session, time really runs away with you, still too scared to tackle the Temple Knight, so I had a crack at 2-1 just to grind somewhere different than the first level - got as far as the giant cobwebs and big wooden lift elevator in the floor and decided that might be a clue that something scary lay ahead, so went back to the Nexus to lvl up. :D

Best way to farm levels early on is 4-1, the silver skeletons give nice amount of souls to start, just make sure its not pure black world tendency.
 

oracrest

Member
Raide said:
Is there any benefit for going pure white?

I should add the caveat of pure white is that it's much harder to get to than black. White takes a calculated determined approach, and black is always attainable, unless you kill a certain merchant...
 
You have got to be kidding that the dragon on the tower in 1-5 comes back after you knock it off the perch. I spent like half an hour getting it to move /cry
 
Zeth said:
If you still have an unkilled boss in world 3 killing him will add one respawn to each of the lizards. (If you've already cleared it I guess this post is useless) Kill yourself in world 3 repeatedly reviving with ephermal eyes or whatever method you prefer to get the world to pure plack tendency. That will increase the likelihood of the Pure drop. I just did this myself this week for my Moon Spear +5. Another tip to remember is when you loot the lizard don't click X if you didn't get what you want. Only after you click X does it confirm and save. You can even quit out to the dashboard before confirming loot.
It wasn't until I recently that I learned about that and about the lizard respawn count. =( My world 2,3,4 & 5 are all in PBWT so I was hoping my chances of getting a pure stones would fare better but then I realized that the 3-2 lizard was the only one with a respawn left. >_<;;

Anyway I decided to set aside moonlight for now and went for 4-2 for pure darkmoon and bladestone and by the Gods the PBWT does nothing.lol I went from SL 118 to 130 and still no pure. Gah! Does NG+ increase the chances of getting better drops or is it still the same?
 

theta11

Member
mikespit1200 said:
You have got to be kidding that the dragon on the tower in 1-5 comes back after you knock it off the perch. I spent like half an hour getting it to move /cry

You can kill it's hanging from the wall over the archway, not before then. :p

SonicX_Zero said:
It wasn't until I recently that I learned about that and about the lizard respawn count. =( My world 2,3,4 & 5 are all in PBWT so I was hoping my chances of getting a pure stones would fare better but then I realized that the 3-2 lizard was the only one with a respawn left. >_<;;

Anyway I decided to set aside moonlight for now and went for 4-2 for pure darkmoon and bladestone and by the Gods the PBWT does nothing.lol I went from SL 118 to 130 and still no pure. Gah! Does NG+ increase the chances of getting better drops or is it still the same?

NG+ speeds up farming Pure Bladestone because you have access to Soulsucker but that about it.
 
What's the best order for levels? I'm just not sure if there is a systematic way I should be doing this. So far I've done 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 5-1. Do I just continue the way I'm doing it (i.e. 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, etc.)? Or is there certain weapons/armor needed for these levels and I should go out of order.
I was cruising through this game until 4-1 and 5-1 kicked my ass. Great feeling once I beat 5-1 boss, I literally stood up and yelled "fuck you!" at my television. This game puts you through a emotional roller coaster like no game has done for me before.
I don't think I've ever taken so much abuse from a game and yet enjoyed it. With limited gaming time in my life, I usually don't put up with games that kick my ass like this like I use too. Anyway, thanks for the help.
 
theta11 said:
You can kill it's hanging from the wall over the archway, not before then. :p



NG+ speeds up farming Pure Bladestone because you have access to Soulsucker but that about it.
Thanks. I'll most likely go farming for a few more hours before giving up and moving on to NG+.
 

theta11

Member
Proposed Law said:
What's the best order for levels? I'm just not sure if there is a systematic way I should be doing this. So far I've done 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 5-1. Do I just continue the way I'm doing it (i.e. 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, etc.)? Or is there certain weapons/armor needed for these levels and I should go out of order.
I was cruising through this game until 4-1 and 5-1 kicked my ass. Great feeling once I beat 5-1 boss, I literally stood up and yelled "fuck you!" at my television. This game puts you through a emotional roller coaster like no game has done for me before.
I don't think I've ever taken so much abuse from a game and yet enjoyed it. With limited gaming time in my life, I usually don't put up with games that kick my ass like this like I use too. Anyway, thanks for the help.

That order is fine, remember though you won't have access to 1-3 until you kill an Arch Demon. Really it's all about what you are comfortable with, 5-2 is probably the hardest level for beginners but it's got a lot of treasure as well, there's nothing wrong with going to a level, collect treasure and leaving.
 

CvGz

Neo Member
Goredrinker said:
Go to 5-1, right after the first couple of monsters there is a Mace, grab it and exit. Equip the mace and upgrade it to +2 if you have enough hardstone. Go to 4-1 and you should have no trouble killing the skeletons.

You'll be able to gain some soul levels quickly. If you are a caster grab the +1 crescent falchion past the black skeleton.

If you are still in body form you'll be able to pick up a blue phantom or two and breeze through the level to open up 4-2. Once you get here you'll be able to farm loads of souls at the start of the level especially if you have a bow.
Are you talking about the Morningstar or the Blessed Mace in 5-1?
 

Zeth

Member
I want to do a melee based PvE only character now but I don't know how. Strenght + Endurance or dexterity? All three plus vitality? I want all the badass armor my mage can't wear. I want some huge, awesome weapons.
 

one85x

Member
CvGz said:
Are you talking about the Morningstar or the Blessed Mace in 5-1?
He's talking about the morning star, but both will work.

Zeth said:
I want to do a melee based PvE only character now but I don't know how. Strenght + Endurance or dexterity? All three plus vitality? I want all the badass armor my mage can't wear. I want some huge, awesome weapons.
Vit, endurance, and strength or dexterity. Strength builds mainly utilize the slow, heavy weapons like the claymore, great axe, and dragon bone smasher, but also have speed options in the knight's sword and mirdan hammer. Dexterity builds use the katanas, curved swords, rapiers, and spears.
 

Johnas

Member
Just playing through 3-2 on NG+++ and I get a gargoyle crossbow as a drop, according to the wiki it's very rare, but doesn't appear to be all that great.

Still cool I guess, yet another item I didn't know existed.
 

theta11

Member
Johnas said:
Just playing through 3-2 on NG+++ and I get a gargoyle crossbow as a drop, according to the wiki it's very rare, but doesn't appear to be all that great.

Still cool I guess, yet another item I didn't know existed.

This was the last item I got in the game, funnily enough also in NG+++. The devs made crossbows scale terribly so no one uses them, a shame really.
 

oracrest

Member
theta11 said:
That order is fine, remember though you won't have access to 1-3 until you kill an Arch Demon. Really it's all about what you are comfortable with, 5-2 is probably the hardest level for beginners but it's got a lot of treasure as well, there's nothing wrong with going to a level, collect treasure and leaving.

Yeah, 5-2 is pretty treacherous. Probably one of my favorite levels though. In many ways, it's the exact opposite of the way the rest of the game is laid out. The way I recommend playing it is to focus on getting through the level first, and then go back and collect all the treasure. When the small treasure light points are still there, they provide a good way to help figure out where you are, like stars in the sky in an open ocean.



Anyways, the Weapon X build is some of the most fun I have had with the game in a long time!! double claws has the left attack being the quickest, and the easiest to start a chain with, which feels wierd. No shield means I have to be incredibly aggressive (wolverine style, heh.)

abdb14a2.jpg


Right hand: Claws +6
Left Hand: Claws +6
Regenerator Ring
Thief Ring
Wizards Boots
Black Gloves

I got the two claws really early, and immediately went for the Regenerator ring in 4-1, to wear permanently. I have a shield and broadsword ready for any crystal lizards to dispatch. While on the quick run for the ring, I get invaded by a BP, and instinctively switched to the shield/sword, before saying fuck it, I have to do this double claws or nothing at all. It was a pretty good fight. I was able to rush in and get some good backstabs before noticing a blue haze on the ground, so I rushed over, and summoned him. He came in, and we ended up fighting the guy all the way up to the top of the stairs, dealing with all the skeletons left unkilled as well. After a while, we took him down, and continued to just finish off the whole level together in short work. "Just going to go in a get the ring real quick." haha.

Good times :)
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Fucking beautiful.
 
Demon's Souls-GAF, this is my pathetic story. I just got this game in the mail yesterday and was ready to sink my teeth into something deep and satisfying. So I spent a little over three hours grinding souls in the first level because of all the notes left behind stating not to go near the dragon until I was stronger. So I had gone through the whole level around four times from dying so much and killing respawned enemies, and amassed over 7,000 souls. Thanks to Soul Arrow, I was able to quickly find my lost souls without dying again.

Excited to do something different, and bored of unintentionally grinding, I walked all the way back from the dragons' nest to the Nexus to spend some souls on armor and weapons. Then I decided not to buy anything because the merchant's menu didn't tell me which stats would go up or down. I'm thinking, "Awful menu system for a game so dependent on stats upgrades and such." Totally confused and frustrated, I went back to the level and am horrified to see that the enemies have all respawned. I didn't think this would happen if I voluntarily went back to the Nexus instead of dying. Meh.

Now I am too lazy to redo the level, so I reluctantly trudged through that first set of enemies...and fell into that conveniently placed chasm near the first archer enemy. Annoyed beyond belief and oozing bloody, blinding rage, I proceed to sprint through the enemies, only to get cornered (since the whole level is chasing me now) and die, losing all those 7,000+ souls all because I was too impatient to kill the enemies again. I never even got to fight the boss, and now I feel no motivation to do so after losing an entire afternoon's worth of progress. It's like I never even played at all.

GAF, I need help! If I could so easily quit this early from frustration (not from dying, but from losing stuff I can't get back), should I even bother continuing? I barely have time to play games, so should I devote what little I do have to a game so eager to pretend I never put in any time into at all?
 

BitchTits

Member
Leona Lewis said:
GAF, I need help! If I could so easily quit this early from frustration (not from dying, but from losing stuff I can't get back), should I even bother continuing? I barely have time to play games, so should I devote what little I do have to a game so eager to pretend I never put in any time into at all?
I've only recently started playing myself, but it sounds like you're trying to go through the game doing each level only once. I must've gone through that first level, 1-1 about 30-40 times at least whilst I was getting souls to level up and upgrade weapons.

As I understand it, this is the game - you'll be going through levels many, many, MANY times to grind, farm, whatever. I know there are some crazy 'I beat DS without lvling up' youtube videos - but generally the only way to progress is to upgrade weapons and level up your character - the currency is souls, and the only way to get them is by killing enemies in levels - the same levels over and over.

At least I hope that's how the game is meant to be played or I just had a totally wasted weekend!
 

Reilly

Member
Leona Lewis said:
Demon's Souls-GAF, this is my pathetic story. I just got this game in the mail yesterday and was ready to sink my teeth into something deep and satisfying. So I spent a little over three hours grinding souls in the first level because of all the notes left behind stating not to go near the dragon until I was stronger. So I had gone through the whole level around four times from dying so much and killing respawned enemies, and amassed over 7,000 souls. Thanks to Soul Arrow, I was able to quickly find my lost souls without dying again.

Excited to do something different, and bored of unintentionally grinding, I walked all the way back from the dragons' nest to the Nexus to spend some souls on armor and weapons. Then I decided not to buy anything because the merchant's menu didn't tell me which stats would go up or down. I'm thinking, "Awful menu system for a game so dependent on stats upgrades and such." Totally confused and frustrated, I went back to the level and am horrified to see that the enemies have all respawned. I didn't think this would happen if I voluntarily went back to the Nexus instead of dying. Meh.

Now I am too lazy to redo the level, so I reluctantly trudged through that first set of enemies...and fell into that conveniently placed chasm near the first archer enemy. Annoyed beyond belief and oozing bloody, blinding rage, I proceed to sprint through the enemies, only to get cornered (since the whole level is chasing me now) and die, losing all those 7,000+ souls all because I was too impatient to kill the enemies again. I never even got to fight the boss, and now I feel no motivation to do so after losing an entire afternoon's worth of progress. It's like I never even played at all.

GAF, I need help! If I could so easily quit this early from frustration (not from dying, but from losing stuff I can't get back), should I even bother continuing? I barely have time to play games, so should I devote what little I do have to a game so eager to pretend I never put in any time into at all?

You need to first realize that 7,000 souls actually isn't very much at all. :)

For your first playthrough I would just enjoy the game and don't worry much about soul farming. Demon's Souls is more about learning the game and its enemies than getting better equipment and leveling up. Save that for later. Once you've memorized the areas and where all the enemies are, the game is quite easy. Just don't try and do everything in one playthrough because you can't.

For the equipment issue, I believe hitting Square will bring up the comparison chart. I wouldn't buy anything from shopkeepers because you'll be able to find better items in the world. I think the game is easier without much armor since being able to roll is very effective for survival.
 

genjiZERO

Member
Leona Lewis said:
Demon's Souls-GAF, this is my pathetic story. I just got this game in the mail yesterday and was ready to sink my teeth into something deep and satisfying. So I spent a little over three hours grinding souls in the first level because of all the notes left behind stating not to go near the dragon until I was stronger. So I had gone through the whole level around four times from dying so much and killing respawned enemies, and amassed over 7,000 souls. Thanks to Soul Arrow, I was able to quickly find my lost souls without dying again.

Excited to do something different, and bored of unintentionally grinding, I walked all the way back from the dragons' nest to the Nexus to spend some souls on armor and weapons. Then I decided not to buy anything because the merchant's menu didn't tell me which stats would go up or down. I'm thinking, "Awful menu system for a game so dependent on stats upgrades and such." Totally confused and frustrated, I went back to the level and am horrified to see that the enemies have all respawned. I didn't think this would happen if I voluntarily went back to the Nexus instead of dying. Meh.

Now I am too lazy to redo the level, so I reluctantly trudged through that first set of enemies...and fell into that conveniently placed chasm near the first archer enemy. Annoyed beyond belief and oozing bloody, blinding rage, I proceed to sprint through the enemies, only to get cornered (since the whole level is chasing me now) and die, losing all those 7,000+ souls all because I was too impatient to kill the enemies again. I never even got to fight the boss, and now I feel no motivation to do so after losing an entire afternoon's worth of progress. It's like I never even played at all.

GAF, I need help! If I could so easily quit this early from frustration (not from dying, but from losing stuff I can't get back), should I even bother continuing? I barely have time to play games, so should I devote what little I do have to a game so eager to pretend I never put in any time into at all?

4-1? don't sweat it. It's part of the learning process. And DS takes some learning. That's not that many souls. After you beat that level there is a single enemy who will give you 4500 at the beginning - and he's really easy to kill if you know the trick. 4-1 is a fairly difficult level. Actually, if you learn how to run properly you can get to the boss with only having to fight . . . 4 guys . . . (tip: fire for the samurai skeleton). The games gets a lot easier, but expect to still die quite a bit.
 

oracrest

Member
Leona Lewis said:
GAF, I need help! If I could so easily quit this early from frustration (not from dying, but from losing stuff I can't get back), should I even bother continuing? I barely have time to play games, so should I devote what little I do have to a game so eager to pretend I never put in any time into at all?


Keep playing.

The secret to this game is that lost souls aren't a big deal. Only once you have played through do you see that in retrospect. The single most important thing to improve on is your own knowledge of the level layout, and combat timing. That's it. So in that respect, you are never losing the most important thing when you die.

As far as replaying each level over verbatim. there are things you do in every level that are permanent activations. Opening doors, gates, and things like that, will stay open forever, or remain in the state you left them in last, in the case of elevators and such. Almost always, these act as shortcuts, so getting deep into the level from the beginning is much easier when done. (for light spoiler example,
the portcullis door right before that pesky chasm can be opened, and an incredibly valuable item recovered inside, and this will allow you quick access up to where the blue knight is, surpassing much of the traditional route there.
) So, tackling parts of the level, rather than the level entirely, is a great way to approach them. Take your time, and be patient when playing. Every corner, turn, hallway, and area is crafted with great care and detail, and you must play with a similar mindset to enjoy it most.

And when exploring levels, almost disregard your souls. You really just want to be learning. The levels aren't especially big, so if you got that far, you can make it back no problem. If you really don't want to deal with replaying to that point, then find the level merchant, and stock up on something. If you feel that you have a lot, run back and level up, repair your gear, or stock up on items with them. I recommend saving the soldier/hero souls for the special times when you really need some herbs and don't have any souls, or your just shy of getting another soul level from maiden.

It's a game that certainly challenges expectations, but once it "clicks," it's incredible! good luck, and share your stories! Ask if your stuck on something. Demon's SoulsGAF is incredibly helpful and new player-friendly. :)
 
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