# Dark Souls!



## mechanical

I realize this is my first post but that's okay. Dark Souls is worth it. It also helps explain my avatar. (Mask of the Father. Wooo)
   
  Anyway, are there any other masochists out there getting their faces kicked in by this game? I recently started playing it again and now know why I was feeling so empty - I wasn't getting my face owned anymore.
   
  Share you Dark Souls experiences here! Or Demon Souls, Dark Souls twisted but maniacal brother.


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## MorbidToaster

I played it quite a bit after release but have since sold my console. I plan on buying the PC release day one though. Fantastic game. Once you get the rhythm down it's not all that hard...except certain bosses.


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## Paganini Alfredo

I, at last, beat the game for the first time this week. I'm on new game plus and enjoying it even more. Man Gwyn was really a tough final boss!!! I was a HUGE Demon's Souls fan and played it over and over... this game undoubtedly is leaps and bounds better, and holy cow this game has awesome atmosphere in abundance.
   
  I don't play games that much anymore but this one has been a real treat. I now look at video games in a new light, one that is called Dark Souls and every other game that isn't.


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## inobobo

Love this game  can't wait till they release all the extra content by the end of this year 
  (PS3 owner)


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## evilhippie

Dark Souls is coming to the PC on the 24th of august, right now it is listed as coming soon on steam, though not available for pre-order yet.  With all the great things I've heard about this game, I really can't wait to play it...  I'm just hoping that it will be a quality port unlike so many other console to pc titles. 
   





   
  Looking great!


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## kalbee

Oh man. Dark Souls experience...
   
  So I kept hearing how people said Dark Souls was ridiculously hard. I start the game... and reach Firelink (okay so far). They talk about the two bells, one above and one below. For some reason I only saw two paths that time: Cemetery and New Londo.
   
  Tried so hard on either places and GOSH I surely did say to myself that this game is SO FREAKIN HARD.
  Then in all the despair my brother walks by and asks me why I don't go up the cliff-side to the bridge. Only then I saw the other path that is to the Undead Burg LOL
   
  Still hard, but definitely wasn't as hard as going either to the cemetery or new londo first thing after reaching firelink.


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## griggmt

Has Namco-Bandai said what the price will be for the PC version yet?  I would hope it's not a full pricer since it's a delayed release - either way I'll have to get this.


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## MorbidToaster

Delays usually don't change prices unfortunately. I could easily see a full priced game because of the added (and exclusive at first) content they include.
   
  I'll be getting it no matter what. Amazing game.
   
  Quote: 





griggmt said:


> Has Namco-Bandai said what the price will be for the PC version yet?  I would hope it's not a full pricer since it's a delayed release - either way I'll have to get this.


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## SoupRKnowva

Its available for pre order on Steam now


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## My3uka

Preordered it from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Souls-Prepare-Die-Edition/dp/B007X1458W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343977652&sr=8-1
  I feel this game is much superior to Skyrim - atmosphere, art, gameplay, combat mechanics - just another level of experience.


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## l337m4573rpyr0

Going through the cemetary as soon as you hit firelink... dear god... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  Yeah, Dark Souls and Demon Souls are the only games I've played where I can go into an area I beat with little issue when I was 10 levels lower and still get my ass handed to me if I make just one dumb mistake.  Love it.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Quote: 





kalbee said:


> Oh man. Dark Souls experience...
> 
> So I kept hearing how people said Dark Souls was ridiculously hard. I start the game... and reach Firelink (okay so far). They talk about the two bells, one above and one below. For some reason I only saw two paths that time: Cemetery and New Londo.
> 
> ...


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## MegaMushroom

This should be a fun game.  I will look forward to eventually getting it on PC.  Need a challenging game.


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## poe8130

yes!!! i was hoping it would come to the pc.


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## Paganini Alfredo

Ok come on guys... anyone else loving the crap out of the new content? I had to summon two other guys to even beat Knight Artorias. Yikes and my character was level 148 and I considered him to be quite good 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  But then again I was just anxious to get past him and never really figured out his weakness or patterns...


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## TMRaven

I've played the dlc off and on for the past couple months on pc.  Artorias was very tricky until I just realized I could hit him enough to never allow him to power up.  I was level 52 and used lightning claymore 2h.


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## p13rr0t

Completed this game 2 times on my xbox - totally worth it =)
On of the best RPG experiences in last couple of years


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## cb2222

I recently picked this up for my Xbox 360. It's brand new and still in the package as I don't have a ton of time until the Christmas holidays. What kind of time investment will I need to put into? 

Looks like an awesome game...


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## My3uka

Quote: 





cb2222 said:


> I recently picked this up for my Xbox 360. It's brand new and still in the package as I don't have a ton of time until the Christmas holidays. What kind of time investment will I need to put into?
> Looks like an awesome game...


 
  Probably all your time


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## tdockweiler

I've been playing this game for the last week. I really like it, but it's a bit annoying sometimes.
  There are a few cheap deaths here and there. Another problem is that somehow I've missed two of the bonfires, so some sections took three times longer than they should.
  At one point I didn't want to get too far into this because I'd probably end up destroying a controller. Luckily it hasn't been that bad yet.
   
  It does feel like it goes super slow for me, but no big deal.
   
  Right now i'm only at the Gargoyles. I gave up after the 2nd death and will need to kill it when I have my next day off.
  I'm not looking forward to it. I don't have any really good gear yet. Level 19 or 20 or so and still have most of my starter gear. Ugh.
  It seems like by this point everyone else has very good gear and decent items. Not me!


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## kalbee

I was terrible at the gargoyles too, with gear or not.

Did you snipe the drake (or was it wyvern) tail for the sword? It helps for damage but is slower than most one hand swords.


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## tdockweiler

Quote: 





kalbee said:


> I was terrible at the gargoyles too, with gear or not.
> Did you snipe the drake (or was it wyvern) tail for the sword? It helps for damage but is slower than most one hand swords.


 

 I'm so terrible at those gargoyles that I must have died a dozen times. Ugh.
  I have only the Longsword+2 and some armor that has DEF+37 or so. Everything else is basically starter gear.
   
  I think perhaps i'm not doing enough damage as quickly as needed. I think i'll try adding lightning damage to my weapon.
  I don't really want to call a NPC if I can avoid it.
   
  Maybe i'll level up some more an upgrade my weapon further. Right now i'm at level 21.
   
  I think problem is that i'm using my shield too much and not recharging my stamina enough. When the 2nd gargoyle comes out I always get double teamed and knocked down.
   
  I could try killing the first ASAP with a better/upgraded weapon and using it with 2 hands.
   
  I don't have the drake's sword, but I should try to obtain it. Know exactly where to go etc.


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## kalbee

tdockweiler said:


> I'm so terrible at those gargoyles that I must have died a dozen times. Ugh.
> I have only the Longsword+2 and some armor that has DEF+37 or so. Everything else is basically starter gear.
> 
> I think perhaps i'm not doing enough damage as quickly as needed. I think i'll try adding lightning damage to my weapon.
> ...



Having good stamina regen rates in this game is so important!
If anything after your next soul spending spree, you can try to get that shield in the forest. Sorry I forgot the name, but from the blacksmith run into the forest, and do a right turn at your first opportunity. Along the path down somewhere there will be a path to turn right (on the left are crystal golems and stuff you don't want to mess with yet) and there is a halberd black knight and a corpse nearby. The shield is with the corpse.

Dozen of times sounds about right when I was playing too haha. Attacking with two hands and switching to shield if I really need to block. Slashing off the tail helps a bit.


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## tdockweiler

Quote: 





kalbee said:


> Having good stamina regen rates in this game is so important!
> If anything after your next soul spending spree, you can try to get that shield in the forest. Sorry I forgot the name, but from the blacksmith run into the forest, and do a right turn at your first opportunity. Along the path down somewhere there will be a path to turn right (on the left are crystal golems and stuff you don't want to mess with yet) and there is a halberd black knight and a corpse nearby. The shield is with the corpse.
> Dozen of times sounds about right when I was playing too haha. Attacking with two hands and switching to shield if I really need to block. Slashing off the tail helps a bit.


 

 I finally killed those gargoyles. I ended up upgrading all my weapons/armor and getting the Drake's Sword. For the boss I feel like I cheated because I used a NPC to help. Oh well.
  Right now i'm in Darkroot Garden and just got the Wolf Ring. Now I need to fight the giant butterfly and try not to get killed.
   
  I'm only at this point and i've played 9 hours already total. I'm so slow..


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## kalbee

tdockweiler said:


> I finally killed those gargoyles. I ended up upgrading all my weapons/armor and getting the Drake's Sword. For the boss I feel like I cheated because I used a NPC to help. Oh well.
> Right now i'm in Darkroot Garden and just got the Wolf Ring. Now I need to fight the giant butterfly and try not to get killed.
> 
> I'm only at this point and i've played 9 hours already total. I'm so slow..



Yay!
Dat butterfly is the easiest boss.
I played the game mostly in phantom mode to avoid invaders and I pretty much never summoned a NPC lol.

I DID get lucky and get a black knight halberd which is quite strong when used correctly...


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## RoMee

This game has been in my backlog for about 4 months now, wish I have some time to play it.
  And it looks like Dark Souls 2 is on it's way. 
  http://www.gamespot.com/news/dark-souls-2-on-the-way-6401283


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## tdockweiler

It seems i'm getting a little better at this game. Only took about 8 hours...
   
  Ok, so I beat the giant butterfly on the 1st try. Barely...when I killed it I had maybe 10% HP left.
  I ended up just rolling a lot and switching to 2 handed. My rolling is in slow mo and I run slow too...
   
  Not sure how, but I killed Capra Demon on the 2nd try. How the heck do I manage that and get killed by the Gargoyles like a dozen times without a NPC...
   
  The hardest part about the Capra Demon is the camera in this small area.
   
  I'm hoping though that the game doesn't suddenly get 20x harder all of a sudden. It's already hard enough.
   
  Now on to "The Depths". I have tons of that moss collected if I get poisoned too much there.
   
  I love all these little shortcuts you find. Reminds me a bit of Super Metroid.
   
  BTW if I find a boss and it requires magic or ranged attack only, i'm in big trouble.
   
   
  EDIT:
   
  Just beat the Gaping Dragon and Hydra.
   
  Gaping Dragon I fought with a NPC, but the NPC did NOTHING to help me. I died 2 times due to going to fast and doing stupid mistakes. I won when I took my time and kept my stamina up.
   
  Only thing hard about the Hydra is getting to him. I got one-shotted from water blasts standing to close with my shield even up. Oops. Once you actually get to him he's easy. Just takes awhile.
  I died a bunch of times trying to get to him because I didn't realize my shield would block the water 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Now I'm on to Blighttown.
   
  BTW getting cursed stinks. I got hit with it twice when going too fast. This game moves at a snail's pace for me.


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## tdockweiler

Nobody cares, but I just beat Dark Souls!!!!!!!!!!
  I can now cross this off my bucket list.
   
  After than Ornstein fight I didn't have any major problems at all. In the Tomb of Giants I had some minor frustration with those skeleton dogs going crazy on me.
  Somehow Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith were fairly easy for me. I did die to Demon Firesage 3 times because I had no strategy and just went off and started whacking him.
  Most everything in there went down in 1 hit. I think Firesage killed me only because my weapon was degraded.
   
  Centipede Demon died on the first try. Seath the Scaleless killed me because I just ran in there and had a train of enemies behind me. Oops.
  I was kind of baffled by how easy he was the 2nd time. I'm not even that skilled.
   
  I also almost flung my controller in Crystal Cave due to falling off the cliff like half a dozen times in a row.
   


Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!



 
  For the end boss all I did was run up to him with my best 2 handed weapon and start hitting him as fast as possible. When he was staggered I had to use my Flask or else it'd be too hard to get one to go off.
  I wish I used that tip for not getting under 50% HP. I'd say he took me about 3-4 tries. Never moved around for cover or something.
   
  It seems the most important thing in this game is to upgrade your weapons as fast as you can.
  In the end I preferred the Dark Knight Halberd+5 and Claymore+14.
   
  I always hated my lightning weapons and never had to use those or fire weapons. I think in the Catacombs I used a Divine Club+5.
   
  I think during the game I balanced out STR, END, VIT and then DEX. DEX was stuck at 24 by the end since I got lazy.
   
  The difficulty is about the same as some of those old NES games. Some parts remind me of Zelda II and Castlevania. Not too hard and not too easy. Ornstein for me was a bit unfair! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  I remember trying for weeks when I was a kid to kill the Grim Reaper in that game..wish I would have known about using Holy Water. Oops.


   
  Oh yeah..and I'm glad to say I only cheated my way through 3-4 levels. I did that trick in the forest for a few levels, but that's it. I can't say that's cheating because a few levels later I could kill them easily without the cliff trick.
   
  I took my time and finished at level 80 in 80 hours!!! 80 hours...wow.
   
  BTW it's funny to think that I actually quit this game for a month due to those stupid Gargoyles. I could probably beat them on my first try now..or maybe not.
  Ornstein took me at least 15 tries...I had to upgrade my Black Knight Halberd and get super fast. I think the difference maker was being able to 1 hand that and carry a good shield.
   
  This experience reminds me of soloing my way through Final Fantasy XI with my old Beastmaster job. Back in the old days it was much tougher. I think at my low levels I spent 4 hours for -8000 experience points.
  Back during that time it took some people 3 years to get to level 75. Especially if you were a Monk or Dark Knight.
   
  If you think some people are obsessed with Dark Souls, wait until you see some FFXI players..
   
  I think i'll avoid part 2. Too much of a time sink!


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## Nixon

Tried it and loved it. Had to get rid of it in the end as I was worried I would throw the controller at the TV in anger.


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## Paganini Alfredo

Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> Nobody cares, but I just beat Dark Souls!!!!!!!!!!
> I can now cross this off my bucket list.
> 
> After than Ornstein fight I didn't have any major problems at all. In the Tomb of Giants I had some minor frustration with those skeleton dogs going crazy on me.
> ...


 
   
  Good job. I thought Gwyn was a hard boss, don't know how you beat him the way you said you did but good job. I just hide behind a pillar and take shots at him.
   
  PvP is really starting to hold my own attention now, once you start being able to use higher level sorcery and miracles it gets to be a lot of fun. It used to just make me mad and I wouldn't ever do PvP cause I'd get slaughtered. One spell has seemingly made it more fun and gives me a fighting chance. Well two factors really... invading using the blue eye orb and using wrath of the gods. Blue eye orb ensures I invade people lower level than I (some WAY lower) and that makes it so i can fight like a jerk, swinging my sword every chance i get and not getting clobbered on the rebound. And Wrath of the Gods just throws anyone and everyone within its radius unsteady so i can attack and do some serious damage while their guard is down.


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## kalbee

Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> Nobody cares, but I just beat Dark Souls!!!!!!!!!!
> I can now cross this off my bucket list.
> 
> After than Ornstein fight I didn't have any major problems at all. In the Tomb of Giants I had some minor frustration with those skeleton dogs going crazy on me.
> ...


 
  Grats!! Did you end up lighting the fire or leaving it? I've yet to see the ending if I did not light the flame... I know I can just youtube it xD
   
   
  @PVP
  Gah! Hate PVP :/
  I don't know how people just do soooo much damage.
  Not to mention everyone that invades me just lags to much that I really can't do anything. This left me to play Demon Souls & Dark Souls on solo in phantom mode. Hence missing all the NPC summoning too.
   
  Waiting for DS2  even though I probably won't have time to play.


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## Paganini Alfredo

My favorite thing to do now is start a new game and run through it in human form and see where it takes me... A much fuller, satisfying experience I think. It teaches you a lot about Pvp though for sure. I'm a lot better at PvP as a result. More at lower levels cause I don't have to fight those annoying guys who just circle you to backstab you or use some tactic that's ridiculously cheap. There was one guy I kept fighting over and over who would camp in Tomb of the giants, using Wrath of the Gods to knock you off the edge. You could not see this guy in the spot he was in, only when you knew what spot he used could you see it. I had to creep up on him, it was pretty intense lol. I felt like I was on a big game hunt. o Ha, but i was able to keep invading him, I did like four or five times, each time he was in a new spot and blasted me off the edge. But he kept using the same spot soon and I caught him and lit him up with pyromancy.
   
  I've never had problems with lag. Sometimes someone is else is but it's rare. Do you have a bad internet connection?


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## kalbee

I don't know, I might. Or just that invaders are all connecting from further away than most blue phantoms. Or they're doing it on purpose...
  The problem wasn't as bad with Demon's Souls.
   
  Though if I play other games my internet connection is pretty good even on fighters, to people in the US.


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## tdockweiler

Kind of annoyed. Wish I could have backed up my character to another slot before finishing the game. My mistake..
   
  Feels like someone took my character and deleted it. Don't want to do NG+ since I missed out on a lot of areas...oh well.
   
  Hate having to open all the shortcuts and getting the blacksmith upgrades again...


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## Paganini Alfredo

Has anyone beaten Kalameet? I'm trying to and he's giving me the hardest time, very difficult. I need the slab of titanite he has in his lair but now I just want to kill him. He has so much HP and deals such strong attacks, just a monster. I've gotten him down to less than ten percent HP but he always gets me somehow. I myself am pretty beaten up by then too.
   
  Supposedly Dark Souls 2 will have a LOT more dragons in it. I myself am starting to feel not so excited by that fact.


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## tdockweiler

Somehow NG+ is a lot easier for me.
   
  Beat the Gargoyles on the 2nd try. Capra Demon took 4 tries though somehow. For me I had to just go crazy, which is a bad idea 99% of the time. All I did was hit him with my Black Knight Halberd+5 with high poise gear as fast as possible. He was dead in seconds. The longer I run around in his room the harder it is in NG+ it seems.
   
  Now i'm on to the The Depths and then Blighttown. For that area I usually run through Valley of Drakes.
   
  Still haven't gotten STR and DEX to 40 yet. The only weapons that increase in damage right now are those that are rated C in both.
   
  Too bad you have to go back and get all the embers for weapons..
   
  Still can't figure out why lightning weapons are so awful for me.


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## Paganini Alfredo

Properly leveling up is confusing. This go around I'm leveling up in a functional sense... If there's a spell I want I level up to the required faith/intelligence and the stop. Or a certain strength level (I'm trying now to get to 40 for a certain weapon). I've stopped with endurance cause stamina doesn't increase and equip load doesn't improve hardly at all after I think 30. I was leveling up other stats (such as resistance) cause they were giving me improvements in defense but now aren't for some reason. So now I'm just increasing my faith to use the darkmoon talisman. It's so much fun to invade and just mess with people using the environment in long, drawn out cat and mouse type battles. I know for a fact I'm pissing a lot of people off but it's fun. It makes me feel better cause I used to and still do get pissed off at the generic duel pvp battles where all they do is try to get behind you and backstab. that gets so boring and not fun.
   
  My character is just going into overkill for only being at ng+ at level 170. My previous character was 150 and I was probably in ng++++ I think. Maybe that's why I got stuck with four kings and couldn't beat them in that game, my character was so low in levels that I would need some serious soul farming and leveling up that it just wasn't worth it so i had to start a new game.
   
  Finally beat Kalameet. Didn't chop off his tail like I maybe should have to get the Obsidian sword. Not even sure if that's a good weapon or not... Still using my lightning claymore which deals out decent damage and handles extremely well.

 Unless you explore each environment you'll miss the embers. I've had a habit of brushing through areas on repeat playthroughs and missing stuff like that and have to backtrack to get them again.


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## tdockweiler

Stuck at Ornstein and Smough on NG+. Wow, they totally one shot you! Crazy.
  I don't know how people kill them at level 1 with just a club. I think I need to level up Pyromancy to get anywhere.
  I think I need to just get faster than I already am and use way less gear.
   
  It's kind of funny to me how in NG+ I flew through most areas.
  Actually Blighttown was pure hell for me because I took the path through the Abyss. Not a good idea!
  After beating Queelag I was rushing and got out of there without ringing the bell. So stupid!
   
  I got past Sen's Fortress on the 2nd try. I got way up to the very last section where a lizard flings lightning bolts at you while you cross a walkway with all those blades.
  After that I managed to get through Anor Londo with zero deaths. I even impressed myself there.
   
  I think for Ornstein I will just call a NPC. I don't need to punish myself since i'm only playing for fun. I plan on quitting the main game just before the last boss.
   
  I don't know why everyone says Tomb of Giants and Duke's Archives are so difficult.
   
  The hardest area for me was the first run through Sen's Fortress and then Anor Londo. Now they're easy.
   
  I absolutely hate going to Blighttown because of all the poison/toxin.
   
  Oh yeah, the last part of New Londo Ruins was harder than Tomb of Giants for me. Mostly just more annoying with those giant blob things and the Dark Wraiths.


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## Paganini Alfredo

Is your equip load less than 25%? Are you using ring of favor and protection? I use that pretty regularly when focusing on PvE, especially a new character. That way you can equip some nice stuff while still being able to move fast. Stack that with Havel's ring and you're set.
   
  Senn's fortress was a lot of fun playing through the first time. Or meant to say, it was fun once I got through it lol. Exploring it wall to wall is fun.
   
  I think the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants levels are the best in the game. All those evil Necromancers and crazy skeletons.


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## tdockweiler

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> Is your equip load less than 25%? Are you using ring of favor and protection? I use that pretty regularly when focusing on PvE, especially a new character. That way you can equip some nice stuff while still being able to move fast. Stack that with Havel's ring and you're set.
> 
> Senn's fortress was a lot of fun playing through the first time. Or meant to say, it was fun once I got through it lol. Exploring it wall to wall is fun.
> 
> I think the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants levels are the best in the game. All those evil Necromancers and crazy skeletons.


 
   
  Yeah for Ornstein fight I get to under 25% or whatever it is to walk fast. I also use the poise ring and Havel's Ring.
  The Ornstein fight is driving me crazy. I called Solaire for it 3 times and died every time. Don't ask me how. I then tried it solo on NG+ like 5 times in a row and I still died. I didn't even get Ornstein to under 50%. I usually keep getting cornered somehow.
   
  It's pretty stupid how this boss makes the last one look super easy. I guess i'll need to get a gold live account just to get some help for it.
   
  I'm using Dark Knight Halberd+5 with an Eagle Shield because everything else is worthless or too slow.
   
  The rest of the game is very well balanced and not difficult, but I ALWAYS have issues with these two. Even the Four Kings I beat on the first try..


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## kalbee

Tomb of the Giants was particularly difficult or, say, annoying for me as the giant skeletons kick me/push me off the cliffs all the time haha.


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## tdockweiler

I'm officially a quitter!
  I can't beat Ornstein on NG+ at all ever. I don't think I have the skill.
  After maybe a dozen tries AGAIN, I got Ornstein to maybe 30% HP.
   
  I even tried going without any gear and just a shield, so that I could be super fast.
   
  It almost seems like Smough got super fast and spams me with his strongest attack.
   
  My only remaining idea is to level up Pyromancy and see if that will do it.
   
  The only weapon that does well enough in there is the Dark Knight Halberd+5. Everything else is bad, even Queelag's sword.
   
  I wish I could cheat and reduce the difficulty temporarily 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  I don't even want to imagine what it's like on NG+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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## Ferr

Queelag Sword+5 did wonders to me. They are weak to fire, so piromancy is an option too. Use the pillars to your favor, you can use them to block their attacks, absolutely summon Solaire and fight the oposite one he is fighting, trying to kill him fast enough (because Solaire will end up dying anyways). Othar than that not sure what more I can say other than lvl up more, they are def. the hardest boss in the game.
   
  The bump from NG to NG+ is high, but after that is more maneagable.


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## Paganini Alfredo

^^^ Agreed about using those pillars. Make sure to just block and not roll for any attacks by Smough. Kill Ornstein First cause the big version of Ornstein is a tough mofo. And yeah use pyromancy.

 Oh hell, just summon two guys to help you. Should be over pretty quickly. I did that on my recent NG+ playthrough.

 Kalameet is the hardest boss in my opinion after my first battle with him. Must have spent HOURS figuring him out. He's ruthless. I literally screamed at him after I beat him lol.


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## kalbee

Kalameet is in the "expansion", right? I didn't get that one since I don't have a English PSN account and my game is the US/CAN version :/
   
  I always killed Smough first. Somehow I just have so much trouble with him, not that Ornstein was easy in any way...
  That said, I did cheat through my game ^^; with the dragon stone.
  Though what I did like about this game is that even with "cheats" it's still relatively hard. Don't think I did NG+ but I should, for nostalgia if I have to put it that way.
  ...when I get more free time >_< gotta first beat Tales of Vesperia...


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## tdockweiler

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> ^^^ Agreed about using those pillars. Make sure to just block and not roll for any attacks by Smough. Kill Ornstein First cause the big version of Ornstein is a tough mofo. And yeah use pyromancy.
> 
> Oh hell, just summon two guys to help you. Should be over pretty quickly. I did that on my recent NG+ playthrough.
> 
> Kalameet is the hardest boss in my opinion after my first battle with him. Must have spent HOURS figuring him out. He's ruthless. I literally screamed at him after I beat him lol.


 
   
  Lots of useful tips from everyone here. I have the Queelag's sword but I figured it'd be worthless since I have nearly no humanity left. My DEX is also stuck at 33 or so. I think next I should level my VIT past 35 or whatever it's at. I've heard Queelag's sword still may be useful against them. I think the Dark Knight Halberd+5 is just too slow. I used that to beat them the first time. That thing is really powerful with my character. It kills those Silver Knights in only 3 regular hits or so. Actually my Greataxe seemed to do better with those, but it's range is so short. Zweihander is so awful vs those silver knights due to how slow it is.
   
  I also realized that the Eagle Shields stability increases with upgrades. At +1 it doesn't change, so I wrongly assumed it didn't. I think upgrading it for extra stability might help. I can't use any other shields with 85 stability because they're too heavy.
   
  I could have swore that Smough's attacks went through my shield, but maybe not. Maybe it was just his most damaging attack that did. Where he smashes his hammer down.
   
  I'll also upgrade the Furysword to +5. I also have Claymore+14.
   
  I also spent forever trying to get the Balder Side Sword, but with my setup, it's so awful! I have balanced STR/DEX mostly. Guess I need to upgrade it past +7. Silver Straight Sword is much better right now due to better stat scaling.
   
  Oh yeah, I also think I should upgrade my Flasks past +4. That really helped the first time around. Using them out in the open is almost a guaranteed loss on NG+ for me though. Have to go behind a pillar of course. I wish they had a Gravity spell like in FFXI you could use on Ornstein 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  I never tried killing Smough first, so maybe that's worth a try.
   
  I feel stupid for saying this, but I destroyed my copy of Dark Souls. The next day I wanted to play it. my punishment is that nobody sells it so i need to order it online. First game I officially destroyed. I don't even have a bad temper, which makes it even harder to believe. I was just planning on quitting. Didn't last long. Luckily my controllers are perfectly OK!
   
  I no longer feel Dark Souls is terribly difficult, except this boss is such a pain for me. I guess it requires a much different style of play. Guess i'll level Pyromancy, but I may just get help, but what fun is that?


----------



## Ferr

Quote: 





> I also realized that the Eagle Shields stability increases with upgrades. At +1 it doesn't change, so I wrongly assumed it didn't. I think upgrading it for extra stability might help. I can't use any other shields with 85 stability because they're too heavy.
> 
> I could have swore that Smough's attacks went through my shield, but maybe not. Maybe it was just his most damaging attack that did. Where he smashes his hammer down.


 
   
  Eagle Shield got nerfed in the last patch, so is not 100% block damage reduction anymore.
   
  Also, if a hit have more damage that what your stamina can take it when blocking, you will eat some damage too.
   
  A Claymore+15 (or 14) is an awesome weapon. Take in mind though that it needs bot DEX and STR scaling to get its max. potential.
  A lot of weapons really shine with dedicated builds.
   
  Luckily I never broke any game or pad, when I get mad I just yield and punch something lol


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> Eagle Shield got nerfed in the last patch, so is not 100% block damage reduction anymore.
> 
> Also, if a hit have more damage that what your stamina can take it when blocking, you will eat some damage too.
> 
> ...


 
   
  I'll have to check through all my shields and pick a good one with the highest stability.
   
  One idea I have is that I kind of went a bit quicker than I should have to reach Anor Londo. Maybe From Software know this and expect me to be leveled up more to make it seem easier. Then again people fight them at SL1!
   
  I know that when I fought them on NG upgrading my Flask from +2 to +4 helped. I also went out of my way to go back and get the Eagle Shield. I think I also upgraded my DK Halberd from +3 to +5 I think. It required me being patient and getting faster with less heavy gear.
   
  I'm sure at some point I'll find them stupid easy and wonder why I ever had problems with them. Those gargoyles took me only 2 tries on NG+ and I didn't use solaire.
   
  I think i'll try hard to make better use of the pillars. Maybe not do a thing until Smough is behind one. I think Smough one-shotted me once with his hammer smash. I'll have to see if maybe I had my shield down when he did that..
   
  Right now I have about 37 STR and 33 DEX. I thought I'd have them at 40/40 by the end of NG, but no such luck. I think I should level up endurance and VIT. Right now the weapon with the highest damage is the Zweihander, but I still prefer DK Halberd+5. Claymore+14 is my second favorite. I'm hoping to eventually get a regular sword that doesn't take me forever to kill something. Silver Knight Sword is the best I have right now that's not a great sword.
   
  I got another copy of Dark Souls now. In my city only 1 place had it. Had to drive a bit out of the way. I didn't really get mad until about my 12th death. It's funny how many games i've beaten on Very hard and hard, but yet Ornstein I have so many problems with...


----------



## Ferr

IMO, Endurance should be your first stat to level up, the stamina is your biggest thing, bot attacking and defending. You can stop at 40, because after that the stamina bar doesnt increase.
  Vitality doesnt cap, but it start to low at 40 and get really disminishing returns at 50
   
  Also, you probably know, but Resistance is totally worthless, dont waste any point on that.


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> IMO, Endurance should be your first stat to level up, the stamina is your biggest thing, bot attacking and defending. You can stop at 40, because after that the stamina bar doesnt increase.
> Vitality doesnt cap, but it start to low at 40 and get really disminishing returns at 50
> 
> Also, you probably know, but Resistance is totally worthless, dont waste any point on that.


 
   
  I have Endurance at around 37 I think.
  I tried Ornstein again and unfortunately the Queelag's furysword for my build seems to be worthless. First hit was like 50dmg!
   
  I think my main enemy here is the camera. When I get boxed in everything goes downhill. Rolling as much as possible when I'm near Smough seems to be best. For Ornstein, blocking is ok. 
   
  I got lucky and killed Ornstein with my Zweihander+14 in just maybe two rounds but then right after that Super Smough was too close to me and I died.
  Don't ask me why I used the Zweihander! It was with less gear though so I could move around fast.
   
  I tried the Gravelord Sword+3 and it does probably the best out of any weapon. Not sure how. Silver Knight Sword+5 is also good. With my big heavy weapons my stamina just goes down way too fast.
  This sword is fairly slow still, but seems more like a regular sword.
   
  What really helps me is to constantly make sure I don't run out of Stamina. The Grass Crest shield for faster stamina recovery seems to help.
   
  Oh and the 2nd time I killed Ornstein, we both died at the same exact time..figured.
   
  I think i'll upgrade the gravelord sword to +5 and increase endurace to 40.
   
  Actually I might just say screw it and call Solaire. Ran out of Humanity though.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

My personal strategy for those guys is constantly doing a backward clockwise retreat around the whole room. That way Smough gets trapped behind some pillars and leaves you opportunities to hurl whatever pyromancy you have at Ornstein, and when you run out sneaking in R2 attacks with my claymore until he dies. I can take care of Smough pretty easily by himself after that.
   
  And Resistance is worthless? Not for PvE (according to the wiki)... it's done a lot for my defense stats. It would bump all of my defense stats by 2 usually when I leveled up. But that increase in my defense stopped doing that after I got it up to like 35 however. But the weird thing about it was that it would only do it if I also gradually leveled up Vitality and Endurance as well. So i did a kind of round robin of leveling up other stats and Resistance.
   
  I still need to max out my vitality to around 50. Working on my Faith right now so I can use the Darkmoon Talisman effectively. I never thought when I started this character he'd be a Faith based build. Or maybe that's just the kind of play I've recently been using during PvP. When I'm doing PvE I tend to be mainly using pyromancy. Ascend your flame to +5 from that gal in the blightown swamp, wear the bellowing dragoncrest ring and you're a god. Having 8 great fireballs and 4 chaos fireballs can dish out a huge amount of damage. And if you wanted to get aggressive cast Power Within before. I still need to learn how to cast pyromancy effectively in PvP as I've heard it can be deadly.


----------



## tdockweiler

I think this game hates me! Got Super Smough down to under 30% and then I die.
   
  I got to Super Smough the first time by using Silver Knight Straight sword+5 and only switching to 2-handed when Ornstein was open. I died many times overdoing it without backing off. 
  Silver Knight SS is worthless on Super Smough.
   
  Second time I used my Black Knight Halberd+5 with Eagle Shield and that works much better against Super Smough due to it's range. This Halberd never seems slow to me for some reason.
   
  You know I really hate how I roll away and it always rolls me in the wrong direction. Stupid camera! I've said it before, but I think the camera is my enemy for this fight. It seems if I remove lock on when Smough is too close I do a lot better.
   
  Smoughs hammer smash usually one shots me if my shield is down You know I once even got killed 30 seconds after I entered the fog...
   
  Probably my imagination, but I did a bit better after getting STR capped at 40. I think once I upgrade my flasks I'll be able to beat them. I thought it was at +4, but it's only +3. Yuck!!
   
  VIT and END are at 37. I should have upgraded those instead but they didn't really increase much.


----------



## kalbee

That battle's difficulty is definitely a large part due to the camera. The times I get killed by attacks in my blind spots...
  I think in the end I was waiting for chances to strike, and simply two-hand Atk2 with the black knight halberd, and roll off. That move is awesome aimed & timed properly, which aim shouldn't be much of an issue considering the size of these bosses.


----------



## Ferr

Yeah, camera is an enemy here. You should not constantly lock on on them. I just locked them to allienate myself to them and then undo the lock for movement, this way is easy to evade them.
  When you learn to play with the lock on system (do ar undo depending your needs) it gets better.
   
  So bad you dont have Live, that place is usually filled with peple helping and PvPing.


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> Yeah, camera is an enemy here. You should not constantly lock on on them. I just locked them to allienate myself to them and then undo the lock for movement, this way is easy to evade them.
> When you learn to play with the lock on system (do ar undo depending your needs) it gets better.
> 
> So bad you dont have Live, that place is usually filled with peple helping and PvPing.


 

 Yeah for Ornstein I usually try to lock onto him sometimes when he flies across the room at me. When I'm in a corner, the camera being locked can usually lead to death in NG+
   
  I usually keep moving in a clockwise pattern, but maybe I should avoid the outer edges.
   
  Rolling instead of blocking sometimes helps me a lot.
   
  I did buy an Xbox live gold account a few days ago. It's mostly a waste for me since I only play maybe 2 games a year and don't use any Xbox 360 services. $25 for 3 months isn't too bad though. I actually went 75% of the way through Dark Souls with no online access. I think the Crystal Cave would have been twice as easy!
   
  I hate the idea of calling help, but I might do that eventually. Don't you get humanity from helping someone beating bosses? I can't call a NPC until I get more humanity. I don't think I can get any in Anor Londo without leaving.
   
  I still haven't done any PVP things..I need to. Online players are usually 1000x better than me. At least in 1st person shooters.
   
  Oh and to make matters worse..my controllers shield button has been sticking a lot. That doesn't make it even easier. At random my shield would go down. Since i'm rolling a lot more for ornstein, it's not needed as much.
   
  BTW sometimes on the way to Ornstein those silver knights go nuts on me. I swear that sometimes I kill them without a single issue and then the next time one actually kills me. SOMEHOW. Zweihander is very good for them though and so is Black Knight Halberd+5.
   
  I kindled the bonfire near the bosses to save me some time.
   
  I'm sure most people have no issues with these guys, but it's officially the hardest boss (for me) in any game i've encountered. Even worse than the Grim Reaper from Castlevania 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I think in NG I would have killed them several times by now..
   
  Have any Dark Souls fans played FFXI? I think there's some stuff in there that is way tougher. Even soloing as Beastmaster in that game was more difficult at lower levels. I was just probably terrible at it. The game is much easier now. In that game you also lose experience if you die. You know... I don't want to imagine what an MMORPG of Dark Souls would be like.
   
  I wasted so much of my life in Final Fantasy Online that I'll never play any more MMORPGs!


----------



## Ferr

What level you are? Maybe I could help you with the fight if im in your level range (I think I have a character at lvl 100, others are 120-130).
  For helping you get humanity and souls. You need to be in human form for summoning. You can get humanity by killing enemies in the area you are UNTIL you defeated the boss (you didnt, so you are good). You can only summon players around 20% (up and down) of your level.
   
  Oh, I played FFXI a ton, 3 years maybe. On server Ragnarok, PLD 75, NIN 75.
   
  Agree on the last part, I tried FFXIV, but after wasting so much time and (literally) life on FFXI, i cant bring myself to play MMO for more than a couple weeks. I ocasionally play PSO2, because is more light-content and you can play half and hour and make progress.


----------



## tdockweiler

Finally beat them on NG+ last night!
  This is how strange this game is..on my first try I was running around and died before taking off any of their HP. Don't ask me how...
  Second time I was able to beat them. I feel like I cheated though by using the pillars way too much vs Super Smough, but I don't care.
   
  I used all Elite Knight's Armor +7 or better for speed. I also upgraded my Eagle Shield to +5, but most of the time i'd roll out of the way, but keep it up anyway.
   
  Super Smough took FOREVER. Each hit from my Black Knight Halberd+5 only took off 400 damage. That's with 37 DEX and 40 STR.
  Just when I got him down to 5% I almost died.
   
  I think what helped me was upgrading my Eagle Shield and upgrading STR to 40 and DEX by another 4 points.
   
  Previously if you could believe this, even those "easy" Silver Knight's would give me problems at random. Don't ask me how. The best weapon against them seems to be Greataxe +15. It seems to go straight through their shield and armor!
   
  I also finally helped someone against the bosses. Can't believe how stupid easy it was with me as a helper and Solaire. Ornstein went down in seconds and SS in no time. I ended up not even getting hit once. The 75000 souls is nice too!
   
  BTW I've not yet been invaded. I'll have to look up how this PVP thing works, but I haven't done it yet.
   
  Think i'll get my other ember so I can upgrade my weapons past +10 (lost it in NG+). I think the Longsword+15 might be even better than the Silver Knight Sword+5 (it's cap).


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> What level you are? Maybe I could help you with the fight if im in your level range (I think I have a character at lvl 100, others are 120-130).
> For helping you get humanity and souls. You need to be in human form for summoning. You can get humanity by killing enemies in the area you are UNTIL you defeated the boss (you didnt, so you are good). You can only summon players around 20% (up and down) of your level.
> 
> Oh, I played FFXI a ton, 3 years maybe. On server Ragnarok, PLD 75, NIN 75.
> ...


 

 FFXI is much less of a time sink now. People can get to 75 now in a matter of days with "Grounds of Valor". I'm not sure if you've played it since they came up with that. I think one time I went from 36 to 70 in just one night. Too bad it's just against "Easy Prey" mostly.
   
  Abyssea leveling also makes everything stupid easy.
   
  I actually only soloed as Beastmaster due to not having enough time...you can get exp and then logoff at your camp.


----------



## tdockweiler

Stupid question, but what weapon would have the highest damage with 40/40 STR/DEX?
  I was thinking it might be the Black Knight Greatsword+5 or Zweihander+15.
   
  I finally got one to 597 or so, but DEX isn't capped yet! Black Knight Halberd+5 is now finally feeling much weaker than before!
   
  Right now my most used weapons are the BK Halberd+5 and Claymore+14. I also love the Silver Knight Straight Sword+5, but it's stat bonuses aren't as good.


----------



## Ferr

Quote: 





> Finally beat them on NG+ last night!
> This is how strange this game is..on my first try I was running around and died before taking off any of their HP. Don't ask me how...
> Second time I was able to beat them. I feel like I cheated though by using the pillars way too much vs Super Smough, but I don't care.


 
  Congrats mate! Did it feel good? 
   
  Dont feel like cheating. IMO is not cheating, but strategy, the pillars are there for something!
   
  Now that you have GOLD, try to help people defeat boss, not only is damn fun but it will give you a lot of souls to level up. Onrsteind and Smough really isnt that hard in COOP. COOP wise the hardest boss IMO is Four Kings, they have more HP in COOP and also the Kings spawn faster. In NG+ they are easier solo than in COOP IMO, unless your partner really knows what to do.
   
   
  Quote: 





> FFXI is much less of a time sink now. People can get to 75 now in a matter of days with "Grounds of Valor". I'm not sure if you've played it since they came up with that. I think one time I went from 36 to 70 in just one night. Too bad it's just against "Easy Prey" mostly


 
  Yeah I heard its a lot easier with Abyssea (I left before it). But I really coultnt bring myself to return. Is not because of leveling up, is the endgame the reason I left. I really killed everything possible except Absolute Virtue before leaving, and it was really a stupid waste of time (3 hours doing NOTHING in Dragon Aery waiting fo ra stupid dragon pop, really? just for seeing some ********* friend of the LS leader getting rich... it was not worth)
   
   
  Quote: 





> Stupid question, but what weapon would have the highest damage with 40/40 STR/DEX?


 
  I really dont know. If im not mistaken Zweindhader levels up bot with STR and DEX, so it would be an option. CLaymore does less damage, but is faster (IMO I like Claymore more). Strongest weapon in the game is Artorias Greatsword, but you need a TON od STR level up to make it profitable, so is not worth it unless you go for really high levels (making single player easy anyways and PvP obsolete because no one goes to such high levels).


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> Congrats mate! Did it feel good?
> 
> Dont feel like cheating. IMO is not cheating, but strategy, the pillars are there for something!
> 
> ...


 
   
  Yeah it felt good to finally beat them. I'm ashamed to say it took me about 20 tries. Oh well. I know I said this before, but it did feel that just leveling up my STR and DEX to near 40 helped a ton. I didn't really do anything else except for leveling up. I used the same exact setup as the first time. I really do think I should have not rushed through NG+. I skipped many areas I played through previously and even skipped the Hydra.
   
  It's funny how easy NG+ was for me up until these two. I mean only 2 tries for Senn's Fortress is good for me. I also got to the end of Anor Londo on the first try too. Got lucky with those archers that knock you off.
   
  I actually don't know why i'm playing through NG+ since I don't feel like going through NG++. Sounds stupid, but I want to try every weapon and level them up. I also missed a ton of optional area.
   
  Oh and i'm SL101 or so now I think. STR is at 40, but VIT/END/DEX are at around 37 or so. Actually dex might be at 35 or so. What's stupid is that I don't even have a slot for pyromancy yet. Yuck. I think I need two more levels for that.
   
  Ok, now off to New Londo Ruins... can't wait to see much tougher the Dark Wraiths are.
   
  BTW I wish they had a Fable game this complex and difficult. I love Fable II, but it's stupid easy. Those wraiths reminded me of the Banshees in the swamp. Fable III was just awful and dumbed down so much.
   
  I do think that one reason people think this game is harder than it really is, is possibly because they don't level up their armor and weapons enough! I used a Londsword+3 for about the longest time. Got lazy.
   
  For some reason all elemental (fire and lightning) have all been horrible for me. Even the Lightning Spear was awful for me. I think i'll get another Claymore and try making a Fire Halberd or something. I guess they're better for those that don't have higher STR/DEX.


----------



## tdockweiler

Wow Co-Op vs Ornstein is annoying. Helped so many people and most of them are way too aggressive and die before the helpers do. So no souls of course.
  I think 90% of them don't realize we can't use our flasks when we help...
   
  I think one time we finished both in record time with 3 total people.
   
  Another time, everyone died I think with 3 people. WOW. Felt like just 2 minutes!
   
  Then you have people that summon you and keep switching back and forth between both of them for some reason. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  At least I got 4 levels today. SL108 right now and so close to having my main stats at 40. 
   
  This is the first day I did any Co-Op or online stuff. 90 hours in too..how sad..


----------



## Ferr

Thats weird, I would assume the vast majority of players are experienced with the game and they are just making new characters for try different builds. Guess not 
   
   
  Quote: 





> For some reason all elemental (fire and lightning) have all been horrible for me. Even the Lightning Spear was awful for me. I think i'll get another Claymore and try making a Fire Halberd or something. I guess they're better for those that don't have higher STR/DEX.


 
   
  Elemental weapons are the best for the lower levels, but at high levels the normal ones are better. Not only the normal weapons have stats scaling, elemental weapons have to go though 2 defenses in enemies (normal defense and elemental defense).


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





ferr said:


> Thats weird, I would assume the vast majority of players are experienced with the game and they are just making new characters for try different builds. Guess not
> 
> 
> 
> Elemental weapons are the best for the lower levels, but at high levels the normal ones are better. Not only the normal weapons have stats scaling, elemental weapons have to go though 2 defenses in enemies (normal defense and elemental defense).


 
   
  Haha, I was bored and browsing the internet with Dark Souls up and waiting to help people. Out of maybe 6 fights, only 2 of them won. That's just sad!
  I've found a few good weapons that flew under the radar I think will be good. One is the Lightning Gargoyle's Halberd+5. This has 550dmg overall and requires very little stamina per hit. I must be the only one who loves Halberds.
  It even outdamages the Black Knight Halberd+5 (my favorite weapon).
   
  I also noticed for my build, the Lightning Uchigatana+5 will do more damage than a Longsword+15 and Baldur Side Sword+15. About 50 more damage, but it's slower.
  Due to my stats, the Uchigatana+15 is actually worse. I can't understand why people love the Balder Side Sword except for it's speed. Mines only +12 right now and those Silver Knights murder me when I use it.
   
  Found this useful calculator:
  http://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/
   
  Queelag's Sword still stinks for me. Supposed to have 400dmg or so, but I think maybe most of the stuff in Anor Londo is strong vs Fire or something.
   
  Once I actually get a Titanite slab i'm getting Claymore+15. Stuck at 14 for awhile. It's one of the few greatswords that doesn't seem slow.


----------



## kova4a

I didn't expect to find a Dark Souls thread on head-fi - nice! I've been a huge fan of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls for quite some time - actually, when the first review of Demon'Souls came out it was the main reason I bought a ps3. Anyway, I've spent hundreds of hours on both - I also have Dark Souls both for my ps3 and pc, so a huge fan. I have to say that for pure PvE I think that an endurance/intelligence build is the easiest way to beat the game fast - you just destroy everything hard from distance and make an enchanted PGS or washing pole for close encounters. I don't even spend one point to raise my vitality in NG. I have to say that I'm kinda annoyed that they made the game easier with the additional bonfires for warping and selling twinkling titanite but that's just my opinion. Demon's Souls is still a lot harder on NG+ and beyond, especially Old King Allant in comparison to the hilariously easy Gwyn. I do have to give props to the devs for Kalameet as I've always wanted a proper dragon fight and he was pretty hard - took my like 30 tries to slay him, which is impressive as on my pc run I already knew what stats I need and what I need to get and upgrade, so the other bosses in NG and beyond were pretty easy.
   
  edit: their are some very useful sites for DArk souls info on everything like http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/


----------



## tdockweiler

Man I must have done thousands of google searches for this game. I think without the internet it might be even harder or i'd get lost. The Wiki helped a ton.
  Playthrough videos on Youtube help, but I NEVER go further than I am in the game when viewing them. I don't want anything ruined.
   
  After beating Ornstein I went through new Londo Ruins. I died on the first try due to stupidity. I ran through there and got surrounded by ghosts when my Transient Curse ran out.
   
  I even got up to getting my Very Larger Ember, killing all the Wraiths and giant slime things. I've still yet to see a Titanite Slab. I got some items for farming so that'll help when I go back.
  I can't fight Four Kings until I do some other stuff first.
   
  I've never played Demon's Souls yet. I owned it, but it sat on the shelf forever because I was worried it'd be too hard!
   
  I actually found the game kind of hard early on when I was new, but that mostly was due to me figuring out the game. That area with the giant boar gave me troubles. Then it took me awhile to get to the first Blacksmith somehow.
  It's amazing how many Bonfires and shortcuts I missed so that it made it even harder!
   
  Compared to all the old NES games, this game isn't any more difficult than the average game. Back then games were so much tougher. Some of them almost impossible to beat (like Battletoads i've read).
   
  Towards the end of Dark Souls i've glad it didn't suddenly get 10x harder.


----------



## kova4a

Well, you can get one titanite slab for sure each playtrough when you go back to the asylum and defeat the Stray Demon. Also, you can trade with people if you're lucky - I was dong some PvP a week ago on the pc version and the guy who I invaded in the forest sent me a message for trade coz he was looking for titanite slabs and I gave him one in exchange for one blue titanite slab - a good deal for me.


----------



## AbsoluteZero

Defeating the Stray Demon will surely net 1 titanite slab. Also, I don't mind farming Dark Wraiths for the slabs, they produce a good amount of exp especially in NG+/NG++.


----------



## Ferr

Theres also that quest for the onion head knight, but is tedious as hell.
   
  I never played Demons too, I only have a 360. I really want to, and hope someday I can (I heard Demons is darker in tone and slightly harder).


----------



## AbsoluteZero

Yeah, the Siegmeyer storyline. Forgot about that one.
  I did the quest with a FAQ in fear of missing an event in the storyline.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

Quote: 





kova4a said:


> I didn't expect to find a Dark Souls thread on head-fi - nice! I've been a huge fan of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls for quite some time - actually, when the first review of Demon'Souls came out it was the main reason I bought a ps3. Anyway, I've spent hundreds of hours on both - I also have Dark Souls both for my ps3 and pc, so a huge fan. I have to say that for pure PvE I think that an endurance/intelligence build is the easiest way to beat the game fast - you just destroy everything hard from distance and make an enchanted PGS or washing pole for close encounters. I don't even spend one point to raise my vitality in NG. I have to say that I'm kinda annoyed that they made the game easier with the additional bonfires for warping and selling twinkling titanite but that's just my opinion. Demon's Souls is still a lot harder on NG+


 
   
  I was huge into Demon's Souls and just played it so much I haven't touched it since Dark Souls came out. No scratch that I did do one playthrough some months ago. I like it but largely prefer Dark Souls, although I could see how someone could like Demon's souls better. I think the game is just so much better in how they set up things this time. Things like the Bonfire, the way magic works, interconnecting worlds, environments, etc.
   
  Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> Man I must have done thousands of google searches for this game. I think without the internet it might be even harder or i'd get lost. The Wiki helped a ton.
> Playthrough videos on Youtube help, but I NEVER go further than I am in the game when viewing them. I don't want anything ruined.
> 
> After beating Ornstein I went through new Londo Ruins. I died on the first try due to stupidity. I ran through there and got surrounded by ghosts when my Transient Curse ran out.
> ...


 
   
  Ha I kind of assume anyone who has internet access to use the wiki. I use it a ton just to look at stats of different weapons, armor and stuff like that. As far as using it as a guide my first playthrough only used it so i wouldn't accidentally go into an area that I wasn't supposed to be in and just wasting my time. I remember getting all the way through the catacoms and tomb of the giants one time only to suddenly realize you needed the lord vessel to beat tomb of the giants. Yeesh and then I had to backtrack ALL THE WAY to firelink shrine lol.
   
  I'd say those old SNES and NES games that were hard were "technically" hard. Like having to have perfect timing, hit buttons so fast etc. Dark Souls isn't hard like that. Its difficulty is the steep learning curve on virtually all enemies you encounter throughout the game. Go and have a roll in the hay with Kalameet though, he's pretty hard.
  Quote: 





absolutezero said:


> Yeah, the Siegmeyer storyline. Forgot about that one.
> I did the quest with a FAQ in fear of missing an event in the storyline.


 
   
  I had to use the Wiki to finish his storyline... I never was able to figure out on my own to kill that crystal golem in The Duke's Archives and save his daughter to move the storyline on.
   
  I was finally able to get 6 castings of Wrath of the Gods... just love that for PvP. I would have 9 if I had gotten it on my first playthrough  I'm on NG++, level 180 and still lose most of my PvP battles just cause I'm still figuring out how to be an effective pyromancer which will destroy anyone in PvP if done right.


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## kova4a

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> I was huge into Demon's Souls and just played it so much I haven't touched it since Dark Souls came out. No scratch that I did do one playthrough some months ago. I like it but largely prefer Dark Souls, although I could see how someone could like Demon's souls better. I think the game is just so much better in how they set up things this time. Things like the Bonfire, the way magic works, interconnecting worlds, environments, etc.


 
  Well, I agree as far as I like the complete package that is one interconnected world with great variety in the environment but I really liked the Demon's Souls for the world tendecies with the higher difficulty, the Black Phantoms, who made me **** my pants in the beginning and the Primeval Demons. It was just a harder game overall - you either kill the boss in the world or you die and start over while in Dark Souls there are so many shortcuts, drop shortcuts and bonfires that even if you die you can literally reach the area boss in few minutes. It was super cool how the devs made certain days super hard by changing the world tendency for everyone - one day you're on white tendency and the other you're pulverized by black phantoms on each step.And I won't even mention all the farming to upgrade the items coz in Dark Souls you can pretty much buy most of the stuff and the only hard thing to get is the slabs. I do remember also reaching the tomb of giants without the lord vessel and I was literally going to start the game all over coz I couldn't find the way back to firelink shrine - that was hard. I also remember that on my first play of Dark Souls I never paid attention to the Onion knight's quest - I just finished it by chance coz I explored everything. I also don't like how they nerfed a lot of stuff just coz of the PvP like with the hollow shield which was awesome for INT builds and I spent so much resources to upgrade just to wake up one day and have a ton less stability. Also INT builds were super weak for PvP in Dark Souls, which I didn't like at all and thankfully they realized that and added the Dsrk Sorceries which are just destroying in PvP if you time the spells right


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## Paganini Alfredo

Ahh yes those dark sorceries do split you in half... That's why I always carry my trusty crest shield which is top dog for lighter shields reducing magic damage. I can at least take a solid hit from whatever the spell is which shoots out like ten dark balls and still have 3/4 of my hp left anyway.
   
  Also figured out that poise is very important in PvP.


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> Ahh yes those dark sorceries do split you in half... That's why I always carry my trusty crest shield which is top dog for lighter shields reducing magic damage. I can at least take a solid hit from whatever the spell is which shoots out like ten dark balls and still have 3/4 of my hp left anyway.


 
  Well, it's all about timing. If I hit you with Dark Bead right at the moment you're swinging at me when you're opened without any protection - you're dead. I got a ton of messages saying that's cheap but it's not when it's just good timing like backstabbing - now double backstabbing - that's cheap.


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## Paganini Alfredo

I love PvP cause since I'm in the darkmoon covenant. if i come across a player who's using some random cheap tactic i just reinvade over and over and kill him using whatever counters his stategy the best. The best example; I was invading in Kiln of the four flames and a guy was camping and just as the character invasion animation finished he would backstab you and you'd be dead cause he had some ridiculous high damage weapon for backstabs. And he did that stupid gesture where they shrug over and over and over, which made me mad (warning to future players, this is just a cheap tactic to make you infuriatingly mad, don't get too worked up about it if you're in Blade of the Darkmoon). So the next time i invaded (and always do ever since this happened) i had wrath of the gods ready to go so I knocked him down which gave me some time to run. I ran all the way halfway down that huge valley, and those idiots never kill the black knights so I get him to chase me all the way down to the narrow walkways after I let him kill the black knights in peace. keep in mind i have a good lead on him and he can't see around that corner that leads to those cliff walkways. So i used chameleon and hid behind one of the pillars and he couldn't see me, he kept going, all the way down to where the boss is, killing all the knights on the way. I go out in the center of the walkway disguised as whatever those little pillar things are with spikes on them, and when he comes back to look for me he runs right by again and I used wrath of the gods to knock him off the cliff. It was a personal victory for me, since I've always considered myself a poor PvP player, but Dark Souls gives you options in how to fight battles.


----------



## kova4a

Well, I never joined the darkmoon covenant seriously I either just destroy intruders in the forest covenant or do PvP in the dragon covenant in Kiln
   
  Edit: btw, I've seen a ton of cheap strategies - the latest was a guy using hidden body in the forst and placing an item next to the abyss and he was just shooting people down  with the Dragonslayer bow. He killed me the first time and after that I just destroyed him and he had the impudence to send me a message that using crystal magic was cheap even though he was the cheapest player I've seen in quite some time.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

Darkmoon can be fun if you invade in the right places. In the Kiln during certain times you can invade someone before you get to the first black knight. I also like to get invaded by Darkwraiths, only if I'm prepared though. Nothing's worse being invaded with your pants down your ankles. Then that familiar panic sets in. I always get a rush when invading someone, no battle is ever the same for me. 

 I usually ignore people that send messages as bait for further trash talking. Those couple of gestures you can do after killing someone are suffice enough for trash talking I think. I tried to blow a guy off a cliff once and didn't hit him right with my blast, then I started sprinting after him and accidentally fell off the cliff and he messaged me like "haha noob lolz" or something. I mean I guess if you do fall off a cliff and die that way it's impossible to see them do a gesture (I always try to bow but have my moments, only if the guy was being disrespectul. I don't understand why some players do not bow before combat starts.), so maybe that's why he messaged me. What a troll.


----------



## kova4a

Well, I also ignored messages but I have to agree occasionally I'm surprised bu people who want to trade. I was so happy when this one guy wanted titanite slabs and demon titanite and offered me blue titanite that I gave him 10 demon titanite for free. I usually like to PvP in the forest covenant coz I can be anywhere and just get summoned and it happens relatively often. I prefer this way more than just sitting in the Arena waiting for players to come. It's also nice that a lot of people just stay in the forest for PvP, so I can get rematches. I have to admit though that being invaded in Dark Souls doesn't scare me at all - I might just die while in Demon's Souls it was way scarier - going more towards black tendency, which was pretty hard and no bonfires and shortcuts around.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

I didn't like PvP in Demon's Souls at all. Maybe I just never got the hang of it or never learned any strategies besides simple dueling but I always had my ass handed to me and it just wasn't enjoyable. It's a crapshoot with Dark Souls. If I sense I'm gonna lose a match I switch tactics and try and surprise my opponent which maybe half the time works. I've successfully killed off teams of gankers this way. That always feels satisfying.
   
  Blade of the Darkmoon also has a ring that will summon you from anywhere to someone's Dark Anor Londo (only happens when you kill Gwynevere or Gwyndolin). I really like the setting and atmosphere of Anor Londo, especially dark, so I'm gonna have a hard time joining another covenant. I mean ALL of Anor Londo is avaialable for you to use. And I like it cause you can invade literally anyone, no matter what level they are. I was part of the forest hunters but that was a while ago and didn't really think outside the box about PvP. I've been thinking of trying other covenants. The gravelord servant intrigues me.
   
  Also, why are the majority of people's names in Dark Souls, 2838Hjerry1234 or some nonsense? Do they not fill in proper usernames? I really don't know if the name that appears on screen whenever you invade or are invaded is the name for your specific character or the account username for your ps3 account. I guess if they automatically use the ps3 username it's understandable as people just probably type in gibberish or one is made up for them by the ps3.


----------



## Ferr

Thats the name of the PSN ID/ XBL Gamertag


----------



## tdockweiler

Have you ever tried the Balder Side Sword? I remember leveling that up some and feeling that it was weak and pretty bad overall.
  Got it to +14 and got my STR/DEX to 40 and then it got really good. Probably one of my favorites now despite it being only 393 dmg or so.
   
  It destroys those Dark Wraiths on NG+ so easily at +14. Even easier than using the Zweihander+14. No backstab required.
   
  I also got a Titanite Slab (FINALLY) and upgraded it to +15. I think Longsword+15 might be close to being as good, but much shorter.
   
  It also took me forever to realize Giant's armor is much better than Havel's for my play style. I got the body upgraded so it has 115 DEF instead of like 92 for the Havels.
   
  Most disappointing weapon for me was getting the Lightning Gargoyle Halberd+14. It uses less stamina than the Black Knight Halberd+5, but seems much weaker despite having the same damage rating.
   
  Thinking of getting the Lightning Winged Spear to +5 next.
   
  Any other good weapons that are very overlooked?
   
  I wonder if there's any weapon that can killed those Dark Wraiths on NG+ with one hit..probably not. I mean without backstab etc.
   
  I read on Youtube that slabs/chunks drop more often when you're in human form. Do you agree with this?


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> Have you ever tried the Balder Side Sword? I remember leveling that up some and feeling that it was weak and pretty bad overall.
> Got it to +14 and got my STR/DEX to 40 and then it got really good. Probably one of my favorites now despite it being only 393 dmg or so.
> 
> It destroys those Dark Wraiths on NG+ so easily at +14. Even easier than using the Zweihander+14. No backstab required.
> ...


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

You'll get more drops when your item discovery is increased. Wearing the gold serpent ring or wearing that evil treasure chest thing (stacking with both doesn't increase it) will bring it up to 300 I think, then holding 10 humanity (undead or human) will bump it up to a max of 410. I do this when farming for humanity in Tomb of the Giants with those baby skeletons.
   
  Derp, did you just mean the chance it will randomly be a slab? Don't know if having a higher item discovery would do that.


----------



## Ferr

Balder Side Sword is a really good weapon. Is it recomendend a lot because it does good damage and is fast,
   
  I tend to prefer Uchigatana,  I like its moveset more, but Balder is good too. When wearing Uchi/Balder type swords I usually go for DEX/INT builds. Uchigatana-+Crystal Magic Wapon =  Boss Killer.
   
  For PvP im more confortable with Claymores though.


----------



## tdockweiler

Today I finally stopped farming and went to kill Sif. This didn't really go as planned on NG+. The first time I tried to kill him on my first playthrough and he died before he even got a chance to jump out of the way. This time I seriously didn't even know the whole strategy yet, so it took me two tries. That huge sword on NG+ like cuts my stamina in half with one swing. Finally killed him with Black Halberd+5. I tried a regular sword at first but that was a complete fail. Actually it took me 3 tries. I died within 20 seconds the first time. Don't ask me how! 2nd time I had him down to like 5%.
   
  On Four Kings on NG+ I figured i'd be stupid and use my Baldur Side Sword+15 for "fun". On the first one it was going badly, but I wasn't moving around as much as I should have it seems. His worst attack hits me pretty hard. Somehow I killed them on the first try again, but yet Ornstein kills like 30 times in a row on NG+. On the first playthrough I was down to my last flask and this time I had 4 left, but I accidentally spammed them during the fight.
   
  I did have +5 full Giant's armor, so that might have helped a bit.


----------



## AbsoluteZero

On NG+ , killing Four Kings are much more pain than on New Game. Should have heed the warnings on the forums.
   
  My trusty Murakumo+15 really does the job throughout the NG+, only Kalameet and Gwyn to beat and I think I'm finishing Dark Souls. Dead Space 3 and SimCity coming my way and I know they will eat lots of my gaming hours!


----------



## tdockweiler

It's weird, I didn't think ANY areas were that much tougher on NG+ (except for bosses) until I got to the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants.
  In the Catabombs on my first playthrough I could EASILY kill any of those skeletons with my Divine Club+5 (so they remain dead), but this time doing that with a group of 3 is a bad idea.
  I had to put more of an effort into killing the enemies in the area that makes them respawn.
   
  Catacombs was kind of frustrating this time for some reason. The skeletons go down fast with any weapon, but not with my crappy Divine Club+5. Should have made a better one.
  I swear it took like 10 hits for each one to die. With my main weapons, just two.
   
  Tomb of Giants is a bit tougher, but only slightly. I can no longer kill those Giant skeletons in 2 hits.
  I also realized that the first time through I had totally missed the 2nd bonfire! Oops.
   
  Killing the Gravelord Nito is just a messy affair for me. Half the time I don't know what the heck i'm hitting and I just spam flasks when needed until he's dead. Most of the time I'm out of stamina (which is capped).
  Nito and Pinwheel I killed on the first try on NG+.
   
  I have to say that I HATE getting invaded. I've only gottan invaded twice so far and it's when I least expect it and end up dying.
  I think people who invade me must be the types who know how to parry and backstab every single opening without error. Probably people on NG++++++ with 7000 hours.
  I lost each time. I was on my way to fighting Nito and was half dead and it just had to happen. I ended up pulling my Wi-Fi out. I just want to play offline danggit and not be bothered!!
  I'll get revenge someday and invade others just to annoy them. Maybe i'll actually win.
   
  Oh and I also found out Richard's Rapier is kind of fun to use. Going to cap it at +14. I also got Murakumo to drop twice in a row in tomb of giants. This was after farming for it in the graveyard a ton of times.
   
  I think I need to find another game to spend my time in. Sometimes I think I'm too engrossed in trying out all the weapons and upgrading them...I'm definitely NOT doing NG++.
  It would be interesting to start over and see if I can beat the gargoyles on my first try. I bet i'll fly through everything the 2nd time around (with a completely new game).
   
  Maybe i'll try Farcry 3 also...
   
  Sadly this game makes me miss Final Fantasy XI (online) only a bit... that game is an even worse time sink though. It's a good thing they have released the new online final fantasy for the PS3 yet..


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## KamijoIsMyHero

Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> It's weird, I didn't think ANY areas were that much tougher on NG+ (except for bosses) until I got to the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants.
> In the Catabombs on my first playthrough I could EASILY kill any of those skeletons with my Divine Club+5 (so they remain dead), but this time doing that with a group of 3 is a bad idea.
> I had to put more of an effort into killing the enemies in the area that makes them respawn.
> 
> ...


 
  try the pvp out first, its one of the main reasons why online servers stay alive and keep the game exciting, look at demon souls, that game is still alive even though its so old already


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## Paganini Alfredo

Agreed. I'm not really interested in playing the actual "game" anymore, every once in a while I set aside some time to get a few good PvP battles in on the weekend.
   
  I find it odd that I'm just now realizing some weapons are better once you hit a certain level. I wish to dear god I had more strength now cause I want to wield the beast that is the Grant, something I unwittingly picked up from Paladin Leroy when I killed him Tomb of the Giants. Its weight's 24, have to have a 50 strength, heaviest weapon in the game save for Smough's Hammer. And evidently has a special R2 attack similar to Wrath of the Gods but better. Want.


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## KamijoIsMyHero

High faith requirement too, but atleast it scales high


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## Earsopenmusicon

Maybe I play Dark Souls too much... logged over 200 hours, multiple 200+ lvl characters, every achievement and can run through the game in like 4-5 hours with a friend .  I've just been sooo addicted to it and the fact that I PVP all the time like a fiend.  Gets to be tons of fun when you get good.


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## Smeckles

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> I find it odd that I'm just now realizing some weapons are better once you hit a certain level. I wish to dear god I had more strength now cause I want to wield the beast that is the Grant, something I unwittingly picked up from Paladin Leroy when I killed him Tomb of the Giants. Its weight's 24, have to have a 50 strength, heaviest weapon in the game save for Smough's Hammer. And evidently has a special R2 attack similar to Wrath of the Gods but better. Want.


 

 Use it 2-handed, so you only need the 34 Strength.  Problem is, you also need  a 30 Faith stat to use it.
   
  If you cut off the tail of the Gaping Dragon back in the Depths, the Dragon King Greataxe has the same stats: a 50 strength requirement and the same AOE special attack that's similar to the Wrath of the Gods Miracle.  But it also ups your Magic and Fire defense simply by having it equipped.  The Grant doesn't have those defense bonuses afaik.


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## Earsopenmusicon

Okay, so I see a lot of people on here that seem like they are getting into the swing of things on Dark Souls.  Let me offer some advise to anyone who wants to listen to it .  Okay so first and foremost, any player can do well as long as he knows the rules of combat.  Soul level 1 play throughs are possible with correct item raising etc.  This illusrates the importance of combat tactics, learn your parrys and dodges!
   
  Secondly, decide on what type of character you want and stick with it.  Balanced characters are nearly impossible if you want to ever beat an invader, or invade for that matter.  Make a DEX build, STR, or INTE respectively, FAITH is another good class choice if you incorporate divine/occult clubs, the same is true of intelligence builds with enchanted things.  These give you the capability of killing things at close range as well as kicking butt with sorceries/miracles.  CHOOSE WISELY!
   
  To go along with my previous point, make your choice and wear the according armour.  If you are a light build wear light armour unless you have excessive endurance.  Medium, medium armour etc.  The same is true of the weapons, which should fit into place anyways, seeing as most scale.  If for instance though, you love faith, but want to cast sorcery, you can grab the tin dark moon catalyst.  Velkas talisman is the reverse, for intelligence users that want faith.
   
  In PVP, do not be a jerk, people will tend to respect you if you respect them and don't backstab fish or spam wrath of the gods etc.  Never ever, ever, ever sit and spam the regular attack at an invader, any compitent person will have you parried and dead in seconds.  Use your environment, gain separation if you need to, use drop attacks, kicks, but avoid aggroing coms.
   
  Lastly, take the time to explore everything, and I mean everything.  Always spend souls when you can, and never hoard them unless you are very experienced/need to save for an item.  This game is unforgiving to the point of being torturous to people who do not manage humanity or souls well.  AND ABOVE ALL ELSE STAY CALM AND COMPOSED.  Most deaths in Dark Souls will happen when you panic, just be chill and enjoy the ride and absorb the amazing story that is Dark Souls.


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## tdockweiler

140 hours into this game and only 1 character on NG+. Finally getting sick of it, but most likely i'll try to make a completely different character. In all the RPGs i've played, I've never liked magic based characters but I guess it's worth a try.
   
  For a whole week I just wasted time right after finishing off the Four Kings on NG+.Just leveled up all my weapons and right now I somehow have 5 +15 weapons. Got lucky with Slab drops one day.
   
  I love the Halberd+15 the most, but on some enemies it's totally worthless. I also found out that the Falchion+14 and Butcher Knife+14 are really good and better than expected.
   
  What I can't figure out is why my Halberd+15 does way more damage than even my Greataxe+14 (606 damage). I hit Dark Wraiths for like 344 damage per hit (not in chain) and with the Great Axe it's much less.
   
  I also found out I can easily kill the toughest Giants with even a Broadsword +15 with chain attacks (whatever they call them in this game). I switched to a slower weapon and it's a little tougher and more time consuming.
   
  I'm at level 130 or something right now and there is not much worth leveling.
   
  Oh I finally decided to advance in NG+ further and got through Duke's Archive rather easily. Only died once through the Crystal Cave. Seath the Scaleless is ridiculously easy for me.
   
  It'll be interesting starting up with a new character to see how much easier it will be. Who knows..maybe it's harder at the start and gets easier and easier.
   
  Maybe I should just go buy Farcry 3..
   
  Hard to believe I have 140 hours into this game! Skyrim only had 100 and this is much better. I probably have several hundred into Fallout 3. Love that game..


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## KamijoIsMyHero

Quote: 





tdockweiler said:


> 140 hours into this game and only 1 character on NG+. Finally getting sick of it, but most likely i'll try to make a completely different character. In all the RPGs i've played, I've never liked magic based characters but I guess it's worth a try.
> 
> For a whole week I just wasted time right after finishing off the Four Kings on NG+.Just leveled up all my weapons and right now I somehow have 5 +15 weapons. Got lucky with Slab drops one day.
> 
> ...


 
  there is more than one type of physical attack and return more than one type of physical defense, darkwraiths are like weak to thrusting attacks


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## Ferr

Quote: 





> 140 hours into this game and only 1 character on NG+. Finally getting sick of it, but most likely i'll try to make a completely different character. In all the RPGs i've played, I've never liked magic based characters but I guess it's worth a try.


 
  You can try a DEX/INT character. A mixture of both sides. Main weapon are fast ones like katanas, and you can enchant them for a lot of damage, and also you have some good spells.
   
  I dont like mages character but this one is reliable and fun.
   
   
  Quote: 





> It'll be interesting starting up with a new character to see how much easier it will be. Who knows..maybe it's harder at the start and gets easier and easier.


 
  It will be a lot easier. And a lot shorter too!


----------



## tdockweiler

Started a new character today and picked Thief since it had a nice balance of INT and DEX and I wanted the master key.
   
  Man it stinks as a starter character! Each skeleton takes me like 6 hits with that awful Thief's knife. Taurus Demon actually took me 3 tries with the crummy knife and weak shield. I ran through the graveyard for a better weapon but they required too much STR for my weak character.
   
  At level 21 I beat the Gargoyles after 3 attempts. Definitely not as hard as the previous try. I just had to make sure to keep a ton of space between the two of them. I only had the Longsword+5, but I ran through the forest for some Elite Knight's Gear. The butterfly is just stupid easy now.
   
  I have to say one of my least favorite bosses is the Capra Demon. Just an annoying hassle mainly due to the camera.
   
  BTW I actually got killed several times from skeletons double teaming me at low levels..pretty funny. That's what I get for being in a hurry.
   
  So much quicker to get through this game when you know your way around it.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

^ I did the exact same thing on the character I have right now. First thing i did was go and grabbed Astora's straight sword as it's accessible right off the bat in a new game and with a brand new character you need a decent weapon. Plus you can he-man your way through the catacombs and get the rite of kindling right off the bat with that sword cause it has a blessing that kills those skeletons without having to kill the necromancer first.
   
  Then you can get 20 estus flasks very early on and that helps a ton for me.


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## Paganini Alfredo

Quote: 





earsopenmusicon said:


> In PVP, do not be a jerk, people will tend to respect you if you respect them and don't backstab fish or spam wrath of the gods etc.  Never ever, ever, ever sit and spam the regular attack at an invader, any compitent person will have you parried and dead in seconds.  Use your environment, gain separation if you need to, use drop attacks, kicks, but avoid aggroing coms.


 
   
  Have to disagree with you about "spam"-ing or whatever the hell it's called. What's wrong with using this spell to kill people? I've worked long and hard to get that miracle to strike as hard as it does and it makes me feel so awesome to use it cause I'm not a very good at PvP otherwise. I mean I sneak it in and use it for a very effective mix of combat but is that frowned upon?
   
  Keep in mind this is, after all, Dark Souls. There are no rules. People forget this.


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## KamijoIsMyHero

bad pvp'ers will try to make up rules to make up for their weaknesses, good players know how not to get hit with any form of attack


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## Paganini Alfredo

Exactly. I've gotten my ass handed to me plenty of times trying to "spam" wrath of the gods. They do it right back and get me. So then you gotta change tactics. Or people know how to roll dodge it which is pretty easy if you know how. The key to that spell is to use it creatively, preferably when the other guy has no way of knowing you're casting it. Then go after him with a claymore.
   
  I got into a huge hate mail match with a guy who just couldn't get over the fact he didn't know how to counter the miracle. Kept calling me cheap and noob and then started with juvenile namebashing after which I just ignored him. But then again I'm a Darkmoon and he was the host in dark Anor Londo so he coulda been like level 50 and i'm a 212 level with a faith of 52 wearing the crown dusk and ring of the firstborn casting with the darkmoon talisman. I guess he didn't like losing, but you've gotta expect that with blue phantoms. Sorry pal, lol.


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## kova4a

Yeah, I'm always laughing at hate mail - that's a game and there aren't any written rules or some sort of knight's honor. With that said, the morons in Anor Londo who just camp on the rafters above the hall with the painting to the world of Aramis are seriously annoying. They just wait for you to start crossing the rafters and shoot you down with a great bow - I'm sorry but that's not PvP - that's just being a jerk. I've seen some compilations online of guys who probably think that's cool but it's not. Or something like that - I've never had this happen to me but this is a class A jerk. It's easy being a jerk with 2 black knights with greatbows as backup and a narrow edge for your target


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## KamijoIsMyHero

even that's still part of the game, honestly though, lvl 50 anor londo is the most fun to pvp/invasions, not a whole lot of strong characters in that SL


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## kova4a

Well griefing is a part of a lot of games but that doesn't mean it's fine. That's pretty much the only thing that can make me angry in PvP - anything else like spell and miracle casting and back stabbing is a legit strategy that depending on the build you're using.


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## tdockweiler

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> ^ I did the exact same thing on the character I have right now. First thing i did was go and grabbed Astora's straight sword as it's accessible right off the bat in a new game and with a brand new character you need a decent weapon. Plus you can he-man your way through the catacombs and get the rite of kindling right off the bat with that sword cause it has a blessing that kills those skeletons without having to kill the necromancer first.
> 
> Then you can get 20 estus flasks very early on and that helps a ton for me.


 
   
  I thought I'd be flying through the game but I got "stuck" temporarily on the Capra Demon and had to level my skills some. Then I realized it takes forever to level up with only 200xp per kill and not doing the Dragon Fire "cheat". I must have killed about  a hundred wraiths and not a single large titanite drop. My weapons right now are stuck at +5. No big deal. Guess i'll farm slimes since I just realized the wraiths in Undead Parish don't drop them..no wonder I wasn't getting any!
   
  Capra Demon gave me issues so I ended up cheating and getting the Drake Sword. I went in there and just started swinging like a crazy man and he was dead with only 1 flask being used. I staggered him a ton with 2-handed attacks and that's the only reason I probably didn't die. My most powerful weapon that isn't too heavy is just the Longsword+5 (a whole 150dmg!) and Winged Spear+5. VIT is stuck at level 9. Maybe I should level that some 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Winged Spear is addicting at low levels though...
   
  BTW it stinks not being able to use all the Elite Knights Armor without being able to walk fast. I need to level up my endurance past 20 or get Havel's Ring. I always get 1-shotted by that guy..


----------



## tdockweiler

Pretty funny, but my VIT is so low I was getting one shotted by the Gaping Dragon yesterday.
  It took me FOUR attempts even with Solaire. How sad...it was stuck at 9 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  I got him to 5% and he eats me and I'm dead instantly.
   
  The AI for him is kind of stupid. I think I could wander around inside his room for an hour and not get hit as long as I'm far away from him.
   
  It also seems like Spears are worthless about 50% of the time. Oh well...I still like them.
  I can now fully understand how using the Drake Sword earlier on makes everything too easy...
   
  Think I'm only at SL25 or so and should level up a little before going to Blightown. Hate that place..


----------



## Earsopenmusicon

I don't disagree with using the spell, but when people make the game unenjoyable by exploiting cheap tactics (they are cheap, even though I agree they are part of the game and can be used freely) and then proceed to act like dicks it can ruin the game for other people.  I use wrath of the gods and I do back-stabs, but I do them as part of fights when it actually is part of the session.  I don't try to only use back-stabs or wrath of the gods like some people do.  Ideally I keep my WOG until double teamed, then I abuse it for good reason.  But I see where you are coming from, I'm just insinuating that people should fight honorably because it makes the game more fun for all!  Cheers!


----------



## tdockweiler

Stupid question, but what weapon do you all use for Senn's Fortress?
   
  I swear that this time it was 10x harder to kill those stupid lizards. At one point I just kept running past them because I know my way around very well.
   
  At this point I only had Drake's Sword, Longsword+8 and Winged Spear +8. I know they're strong against physical attacks, but it took me like at least 8 hits to kill each one. Kind of ridiculous. I think on my last two playthroughs I used Dark Knight Halberd and they were much easier.
   
  I'm upgrading regular Halberd to +10 soon, so that should work.
   
  It's about time I'm getting more than 100 souls per kill.
   
  You know what was really aggravating? I fell off the cliff against the Iron Golem like 5 times in a row. How is that possible?! Obviously I'm fighting him all wrong. I killed him with the Longsword+8 and it took about..forever. I guess I need to force myself to upgrade some really strong weapons like the Claymore and Zweihander.


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

Parry and riposte with a +10 is more that enough


----------



## kova4a

Well, on first run I always use a uchi in senns and maybe the lightning spear for the rest on the fortress once I get it coz it's pretty strong even after all the nerfing. The Iron Golem is like one of the easiest bosses in the game - just roll between his legs hit one leg and get him on his knees. Even a simple Longsword +5 will do a decent job as it spends a little less stamina on hit, especially when 2-handed.


----------



## Rossinator

Dark Souls is hard. I played it until I got to the second boss and then took a break after about 10 failed attempts to kill it. I spent some time leveling up but it didn't make things any easier. I'm not sure I'm going to return to it.


----------



## kova4a

Well, it's not that hard - you just have to get used to the fighting mechanics and go for one build instead of spreading your points among all attributes. Dark Souls is a great game and it just needs a chance. 10 failed attempts is nothing - you should *prepare to die* 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 to quote the game.You can check the wiki on info on all the areas and enemies and stuff and also dome good advice for boss battles. I


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





rossinator said:


> Dark Souls is hard. I played it until I got to the second boss and then took a break after about 10 failed attempts to kill it. I spent some time leveling up but it didn't make things any easier. I'm not sure I'm going to return to it.


 
   
  Taurus Demon or the Gargoyles? I didn't know what I was doing at first and died to the gargoyles so many times. I ended up calling Solaire while in human form. That made it a lot easier. I've now beaten them two more times without NPC. The latest time was even when they teamed up on me.
   
  The game gets easier once you find the right weapons and upgrade them. You can first do this just before the Gargoyles.
   
  I got the Dark Knight Halberd and when upgraded it makes the game stupid easy. OK, not really, but a lot easier.
   
  The game gets easier the more you play it.
   
  You can also get the Drake Sword to make things a bit easier if needed.


----------



## Ferr

Quote: 





> The Iron Golem is like one of the easiest bosses in the game - just roll between his legs hit one leg and get him on his knees.


 
  And summon that NPC for the fight. He can almost solo the Golem.
   
  For Sens I do use uchi or clay both +15, lizardw are really easy to backstab.


----------



## tdockweiler

Quote: 





kova4a said:


> Well, on first run I always use a uchi in senns and maybe the lightning spear for the rest on the fortress once I get it coz it's pretty strong even after all the nerfing. The Iron Golem is like one of the easiest bosses in the game - just roll between his legs hit one leg and get him on his knees. Even a simple Longsword +5 will do a decent job as it spends a little less stamina on hit, especially when 2-handed.


 

 I think how easy a boss is varies with each person. For example, I must be lucky and have yet to die against the Four Kings in NG+ or NG, Gravelord Nito or Pinwheel. I also seem to rarely have any issues with Queelag.
   
  I remember when I first fought the Iron Golem on my last playthrough I died 3 times and then the next time he was dead within a minute and used zero flasks. I still don't have the strategy perfected and I this time around I'm never able to make him fall down by hitting his legs. With Longsword+5 it seriously takes like a million hits but I got it done.
   
  Ornstein and Smough usually makes me want to fling my controller, but I figure that eventually I'll be able to kill them very easily without a NPC.
   
  Right now I'm all the way through  Anor Londo. Those stupid archers killed me 4 times in a row, but I got past them.I feel sorry for people that bother to stop and kill everything on their way to them!
   
  My character is so weak right now that those Silver Knights can take off half my health with one hit! I need serious armor upgrades. I think I was lazy and only have all +3 and +4 Elite Knight armor


----------



## kova4a

Well, yeah, I agree about boss difficulty. I have finished the game on both my ps3 and pc quite some times, so I never use NPCs and already know all their move sets, tells, and weak spots. I remember when I first fought Ornstein and Smough I was really frustrated. Now I can see through all their actions and I know what they'll do and the fight seems so easy. Iron Golem seems just hilariously slow when you know the timing of all his attacks - I can dodge him all day long but he's a PITA if you don't know what to do. As far as armor - I almost always go for the Black Iron but I do pile a what of points on endurance and zero on vitality. If you're not going to dodge all the time then just get a high stability shield. They did nerf the hollow soldier shield a lot but you can still roll with the Eagle Shield which has 84 stability when maxed out and it's the lightest greatshield and even though it doesn't have 100% damage reduction it's not a problem until new game++. The armor is mostly for poise but you should really learn to dodge and hold your weapon with both hands or parry to make the game easier. Also, a lot of people forget that they can kick, which is always a nice move to lower the shield of an enemy or kick them to the abyss. The silver knights are pretty easy to backstab or they just stagger when they hit your high stability shield


----------



## kova4a

Btw, as I had to reinstall windows on my pc and was wondering why the game didn't look as good I remembered that it wasn't just the dsfix but also the FXAA Injector, so if someone wants to try Dark Souls on their pc with my FXAA Injector settings I can give you the files. I've altered it just enough to give it better texture sharpness and grittier colors.


----------



## TMRaven

A shameless plug on my behalf:


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> A shameless plug on my behalf:


 
  LOL That's a hilarious idea. And 2 against 1 - that's what moves you up in the Most Wanted list of the Blades


----------



## TMRaven

The darkmoonblades are the lowest of the scum of all dark souls factions.  They're the only people who can invade others lower level than them, and there's no lower and upper level limits since the 1st patch hit way back when.


----------



## Ferr

hilarious


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





ferr said:


> hilarious


 
  LOL The silver knight without pants almost killed me. I think the guy only used clips with some total noobs though coz it's very easy to tell apart all those enemies which a re big are taller and a player in that armor. I can't believe he though he would ever pass for a royal sentinel and surely enough he didn't LOL


----------



## tdockweiler

Sure wish they had Demon Souls for the Xbox 360..Do you think they'll ever port it?
  Doesn't make sense with Dark Souls 2 coming out...
   
  For those that have played Demon Souls and Dark Souls, is Dark Souls really harder? Highly unlikely.
   
  Never played Demon Souls since i've sold my PS3 a few months ago.


----------



## TMRaven

Dark Souls is indeed way harder.  I was a seasoned Demon's Souls vet, and I came into Dark Souls dying quite a bit-- although I was very sick when I first got the game and started playing it.  In general, the enemies are harder and the weapons less powerful in Dark Souls.  The bosses aren't as easily cheesed either-- you can cheese quite a bit of the  Demon's Souls bosses.
   
  Make no mistake though there's still moments of Demon's Souls that are classic in difficulty, such as 3-2, 4-2 and 5-2.
   
   
  Most of my deaths in both games have come from gravity, though.


----------



## kova4a

I consider Demon's Souls harder. There is changing world tendency, black phantoms and you have to pass the whole area without dying to get to the next one. In dark Souls the way the bonfires are positioned, the shortcuts and all the intersecting areas in the game make it quite easier to progress. You pretty much can get to the certain area boss in the location for like 2 minutes if he kills you. In Dark Souls the harder places are the ones with cheap deaths like with the archers in Anor Londo. And the bosses are as predictable. Also, the old king Allant was a way more challenging final boss (of course, I'm talking about taking him on in a fair fight without all the cheap tactics)than the super easy Gwyn that you can kill in like one minute.


----------



## TMRaven

World tendency isn't an issue if you play as a phantom.  You only lower your world tendency if you die  as human.  Beating bosses only whitens the tendency.


----------



## kova4a

Well, it's always easier not playing in human form but that's not the point. Also, back in the day there were certain days when the world tendency would be pure black for everyone who's playing online. Now probably there aren't events and stuff like that as the game doesn't have the same support if any at all. And still is harder than Dark Souls - it's way harder and slower to farm and upgrade your stuff and most of all for some weirs reason or just not as good physics engine there are a lot more falling deaths than in Dark Souls. They did make Dark Souls a lot easier when the added the option to buy twinkling titanite which was a PITA to farm and when the added the additional locations for warping. I don't know, I might be biased coz when Dark Souls came out and I started playing it I already had hundreds of hours on Demon's Souls, so I was quite used to the mechanics of the game, which might have made it easier for me but still I think that all those intersecting worlds, shortcuts and stuff made it too easy. On Demon's Souls I was always worried that I'll die before reaching the boss and it did happen often while on Dark Souls it's pretty easy to avoid any fighting and reach the boss in no time. Just look at the speedruns. Yeah, it's a little bit trick but the simple fact that it's possible to get it down to around 1 hour (which is pretty close to the Demon's Souls speedruns even though Dark Souls has a lot more content and area to cover) just proves my point.


----------



## TMRaven

The 1 hour Dark Souls speedruns made use of a horribly game-breaking glitch that utilized a falling death and quick save/load to get directly into the final area.  It's not really a component of Dark Souls' lack of difficulty.


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> The 1 hour Dark Souls speedruns made use of a horribly game-breaking glitch that utilized a falling death and quick save/load to get directly into the final area.  It's not really a component of Dark Souls' lack of difficulty.


 
  Well, I did say around 1 hour but there are a bunch of speedruns for under 2 hours without the kiln glitch, so pretty impressive when you take into consideration that's with all the loading times which are a lot more than on Demon's Souls with the linear separate worlds. And still I'm not saying Dark Souls lacks difficulty it is difficult just a tad less than Demon's Souls


----------



## TMRaven

And I don't really understand what twinkling titanite has anything to do with difficulty.  All the best weapons are upgraded through regular titanite.  Titanite upgrades armor, shields and some special enemy weapons, but almost all the enemy weapons are bad.
   
  The teleporting thing I don't really see as an argument either.  Demon's Souls provides you with the nexus-- which conveniently warps you to the start of every world you want.  It's not like a lot of the worlds in Demon's Souls don't have shortcuts either, and those shortcuts certainly don't get reset.


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> And I don't really understand what twinkling titanite has anything to do with difficulty.  All the best weapons are upgraded through regular titanite.  Titanite upgrades armor, shields and some special enemy weapons, but almost all the enemy weapons are bad.
> 
> The teleporting thing I don't really see as an argument either.  Demon's Souls provides you with the nexus-- which conveniently warps you to the start of every world you want.  It's not like a lot of the worlds in Demon's Souls don't have shortcuts either, and those shortcuts certainly don't get reset.


 
  Because with twinkling titanite you can upgrade the black knights' weapons like the halberd which are pretty much the base of every Dark Souls speedrun. But yeah armor too as the Black Iron set is pretty nice on +5 and the lightest of the good heavy armors bunch. 
  I have no issues with the Nexus. My point is that from a certain bonfire in Dark Souls to the boss in that area you can almost always get in under 2 minutes. I'm not referring to cheap shortcuts like in the Duke's Archives elevator or like the rolling drop in 4-1 on Demon's Souls etc. It's just that in half an hour you can pretty much try fighting every given boss in Dark Souls if he kills you at least a few times while on Demon's Souls it's way harder to even reach the boss as due to the level design it's way harder to just avoid enemies or getting randomly hit and killed before opening a shortcut if any.


----------



## Kerblooy

Almost broke my keyboard the first time I played it in frustration..took about a 2 month break and decided to pick it back up and it's awesome!
  I can't play it as much as other games because it does have a higher tendency to anger me and it's definitely not one of the games I play to relieve stress at the end of the day..but still really good!


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





kerblooy said:


> Almost broke my keyboard the first time I played it in frustration..took about a 2 month break and decided to pick it back up and it's awesome!
> I can't play it as much as other games because it does have a higher tendency to anger me and it's definitely not one of the games I play to relieve stress at the end of the day..but still really good!


 
  You shouldn't frustrate when playing Dark Souls - you should just laugh at the stupid deaths. Although I can guess why you almost broke your keyboard - because you played the game with a keyboard in the first place LOL


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

yea dont play with a keyboard


----------



## Shazzam6999

Demon's Souls is going to be free on PS+ for April. I loved Dark Souls but only recently got a PS3 and I've been thinking about buying Demon's Souls so I'm pumped. Feel like all my time spent on Dark Souls should have me pretty prepared too.


----------



## Kerblooy

Quote: 





kova4a said:


> You shouldn't frustrate when playing Dark Souls - you should just laugh at the stupid deaths. Although I can guess why you almost broke your keyboard - because you played the game with a keyboard in the first place LOL


 
  Well, it's actually rather embarrassing...lol I didn't start playing until I got a PC controller but I just kept DYING and I made the mistake of playing after a bad day so I was already mad and then I finally was like NO JUST NO I'M DONE and closed the game and when my friend asked how my time in dark souls was, angrily typing is what almost broke my keyboard.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

Quote: 





shazzam6999 said:


> Demon's Souls is going to be free on PS+ for April. I loved Dark Souls but only recently got a PS3 and I've been thinking about buying Demon's Souls so I'm pumped. Feel like all my time spent on Dark Souls should have me pretty prepared too.


 

 Operation mindblow commencing in 3, 2, 1...
   
  Your username looks familiar, have i played you in pvp before? My username is the same name as my darksouls name or whatever you call it.


----------



## Shazzam6999

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> Operation mindblow commencing in 3, 2, 1...
> 
> Your username looks familiar, have i played you in pvp before? My username is the same name as my darksouls name or whatever you call it.


 
  I played Dark Souls on the PC a lot a few months after it was first released but it's been a couple months since I hopped on so I don't really remember any names, I did PvP almost all the time. I think I'm going to pick Dark Souls up for the PS3 after I beat Demon's Souls, just so I can try it out on the PS3 and get all the trophies (I put so many hours into Dark Souls I deserve a platinum trophy).


----------



## TMRaven

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/10/dark-souls-2-gameplay-reveal-coming


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/10/dark-souls-2-gameplay-reveal-coming


 
  Nice. I was expecting next-gen but I guess the rumors were false. Hopefully we'll get it sooner because of that. I just can't wait to play it.


----------



## TMRaven

Who knows.  After going through the video twice I get the hint that they're still early in development, and given that next generation platforms are very pc-like in their architecture, that they could easily scale the graphics up on dark souls ii to make it a next-gen looking game.  I'd personally be disappointed if From Software didn't make use of the ps4/xbox.


----------



## kova4a

Well, I don't think they are that early. We didn't get gameplay videos for Demon's Souls or Dark Souls that early and they all came in the fall. And especially when you consider that the game comes out for Japan first and we wait for the international version even more. It's weird though coz they clearly used an xbox controller and judging by the graphics it's probably xbox gameplay, which is odd to show for a franchise that started as a ps3 exclusive. Anyway, it could be also a pc gameplay when you take into consideration that Dark Souls' pc version has pretty much console graphics if you don't use dsfix and FXAA injector. Honestly, I don't think they 'll be manage to pull off next-gen graphics this early and possibly we'll have a completely different game for next-gen in a couple of years. If they do though it will be nice but I doubt that any devs we'll be able to make full use of the new hardware of both the ps4 and the new xbox for a couple more years. The games will just look like current gen pc but not like next-gen.


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

I still haven't done the fix for PC, dark souls looks weird when things have too much detail

Anyway lol at the guy trying to run away from that beetle-like enemy only to run into another


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





kamijoismyhero said:


> I still haven't done the fix for PC, dark souls looks weird when things have too much detail


 
  LOL The only weird thing was going back to the ps3 version and I thought my eyes were messed up. Even without other tweaks and the FXAA injector the game looks so much better on full hd.


----------



## TMRaven

I have a strong hunch that games will be taking full advantage of ps4 etc very soon.  Keep in mind the ps4 isn't like the ps3, and that its architecture is basically a pc.  No proprietary cell processor, just straight up radeon 7000 series and an x86 cpu.  The games should be quite easy to port from pc and so forth.  There are already games on the market that max high-end computers out, but it will be the graphics engines that are developed in the future that will really bring games to a new age of realism.  Basically what I'm trying to say is that current gen pc IS next gen console hardware wise.  
   
  Might be a good thing that they're developing on the xbox as well, since it more closely resembles an actual pc.  If they developed the game for the ps3 they'd probably have a problem on their hands.
   
  From Software's Armored Core series comes out in Japan months before the rest of the world, but the Souls series has been good about universal releases-- Japan usually only gets 1-2 weeks advance.
   
   
  Release date for Dark Souls II is 'december 31st 2013' which is most likely just a placeholder-- indicating the game will be released in 2014 some time in the 1st quarter or 2nd.  I hope the from software team was selected to be one of the developers to already be working with the ps4 hardware, and I hope they can make Dark Souls II scale up graphically to the ps4-- if not just for higher resolution and aa/af.  Demons Souls is beautiful looking by itself with just the higher resolution. An older article did mention that Dark Souls II was visually on par with a couple of 'next gen' games, so part of me still wants to believe they're hiding something.  I'm only hoping and grasping at straws though.


----------



## Shazzam6999

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> I have a strong hunch that games will be taking full advantage of ps4 etc very soon.  Keep in mind the ps4 isn't like the ps3, and that its architecture is basically a pc.  No proprietary cell processor, just straight up radeon 7000 series and an x86 cpu.  The games should be quite easy to port from pc and so forth.  There are already games on the market that max high-end computers out, but it will be the graphics engines that are developed in the future that will really bring games to a new age of realism.  Basically what I'm trying to say is that current gen pc IS next gen console hardware wise.
> 
> Might be a good thing that they're developing on the xbox as well, since it more closely resembles an actual pc.  If they developed the game for the ps3 they'd probably have a problem on their hands.
> 
> ...


 
  Ugh, 2014 feels like a long time.  Dark Souls is going to be one of the games that sells me on whether or not I buy a PS4 right away or wait for a few releases. If Dark Souls is actually released December '13 or early '14 I will probably buy a PS4 right after release, otherwise I'm going to wait and see what other titles emerge.


----------



## Ferr

Developers confirmed in an interview today at CVG that the game is coming to current gen consoles and they're not aiming to next gen platforms.
  They said they considered the option of a next gen port but that would take so much time.
   
   
  Quote: 





> *"Discussions of next-gen did actually come up briefly," admitted Tanimura. "But if we were to develop for next-gen we wouldn't be able to deliver the game for a lot longer. We wanted to deliver something to fans as soon as possible.
> 
> "We still feel there's potential and ability for us to express a little bit more than what we did with Dark Souls, even on current-gen consoles. We hope to elaborate on what we were able to communicate with Dark Souls."
> 
> ...


----------



## TMRaven

That's disheartening.  A port would have been so cool.  Then again, these are the guys who couldn't even be bothered to give the option for upscaled resolution on Dark Souls PC version, something that was solved in a matter of hours by modders.


----------



## Ferr

Quote: 





tmraven said:


> That's disheartening.  A port would have been so cool.  Then again, these are the guys who couldn't even be bothered to give the option for upscaled resolution on Dark Souls PC version, something that was solved in a matter of hours by modders.


 

 Well, they said the lead platform is now PC, so its not going to be a bad port like DS1.


----------



## TMRaven

Where did you see that?  I would be glad if it was the lead platform, but I didn't see that in the cvg article.


----------



## Ferr

Its in gamekult
   
   
  Quote: 





> Q: The demo presented during the event ran on PC. This means there is also a PC version developed in-house?
> 
> A: The version shown before the interview actually ran on PC. *If the first Dark Souls was adapted from consoles to PC, this time, it's the opposite. The PC version serves as a base from which the warranty is adaptations consoles.* Clearly, the game is being developed simultaneously on different machines directly internally.


 
  http://www.gamekult.com/actu/zoom-dark-souls-ii-A108297.html
   
  its in french. I took the translation from NeoGAF


----------



## Ferr

Its in the Q&A of gamekult
   
   
  Quote: 





> Q: The demo presented during the event ran on PC. This means there is also a PC version developed in-house?
> 
> A: The version shown before the interview actually ran on PC. *If the first Dark Souls was adapted from consoles to PC, this time, it's the opposite. The PC version serves as a base from which the warranty is adaptations consoles.* Clearly, the game is being developed simultaneously on different machines directly internally.


 
  http://www.gamekult.com/actu/zoom-dark-souls-ii-A108297.html
   
  its in french. I took the translation from NeoGAF


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

I don't get it... where does this improvement with the frame rate of the pc version come into play? Why can't the ps3 version have the same visual quality, is the problem with the ps3 itself? And why couldn't they do a mod like they did with the pc version for a better frame rate?
   
  The new game looks primo. Another long wait for a Souls game.


----------



## kova4a

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> I don't get it... where does this improvement with the frame rate of the pc version come into play? Why can't the ps3 version have the same visual quality, is the problem with the ps3 itself? And why couldn't they do a mod like they did with the pc version for a better frame rate?
> 
> The new game looks primo. Another long wait for a Souls game.


 
  I don't understand what you mean by improvement with the frame rate of the pc version. The pc version of Dark Souls is better frame rate-wise compared to the ps3 version if you have a good pc but is still a straight up port with sub-par optimization. Still I have it maxed out with all possible mods and it it looks way way better on my pc than on my ps3 and almost doesn't lag aside from some pvp matches the usual Blighttown hiccups (still pretty rare compared to the ps3 version). 
  As far as graphics - it's pretty obvious why - because the ps3 is old and even though most games on it have acceptable graphics, (especially if they are exclusives) the hardware is just very old. You don't get full hd resolution, all the superior anti-aliasing techniques, AO and all the fancy DX10 and DX11 features and etc. 
  And modders can't perform miracles and in their free time fix and optimize a game that a whole team of programmers can't or are too lazy to bother with.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

I've never seen what Dark Souls looks like on a high running PC so I'm just wondering why everybody is saying it looks so much better. I figured with HD tv's and current gaming platforms it doesn't get much better. I'm 28 and grew up with PC's always being superior to consoles, but just wondering what the edge is now... If the frame rate is all that's slowing down the console version of Dark Souls why can't that be fixed on consoles?


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

The PC doesn't really offer anything different to console, you can still get insta-kill with a hammer to the face. I played roughly 600 hrs on console and saw no frame rate drop.


----------



## Paganini Alfredo

Well I mean, if you pan around using the right analog camera control button and take a good look at your environment like you do a million times playing this game, does it "look" better on the PC? And why?
   
  I always notice the visual quality degrades in certain places (blighttown) while "on the move." is this where the improvements are?


----------



## KamijoIsMyHero

Quote: 





paganini alfredo said:


> Well I mean, if you pan around using the right analog camera control button and take a good look at your environment like you do a million times playing this game, does it "look" better on the PC? And why?
> 
> I always notice the visual quality degrades in certain places (blighttown) while "on the move." is this where the improvements are?


 
  oh blighttown...
   
  totally forgot about that place, the lag from console is gone, yes
   
  with graphics fix, it will "look" better:
   





   
  the fix makes it more detailed and shinier too which I am not a fan of


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## kova4a

Well, it looks better because of several factors one being the higher resolution and the sharper textures. When I go back to the ps3 version now and it looks pretty blurry  and jagged in comparison
   
  edit: and actually the above video doesn't show how it looks the best as with FXAA injector you can make textures even sharper and reduces even more any jagged lines and blurriness in the distance and I personally changed the colors a bit to make it look grittier


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## TMRaven

In short, the resolution plays the biggest role.  Modern HDTVs aren't really higher quality than any good modern LCD computer monitor, especially considering that often times they employ too many types of post-processing that can otherwise alter the image from its original state (think coloring the sound for hi-fi terms)  The thing is that ps3 and xbox360 play most games in sub-hd resolution, usually only 960x540.  Whereas something like my computer can play the game at 2560x1440.  That's literally 7x the detail and information I can get for the same monitor.  Here are some comparisons with a couple of the game's bosses (best to make these 100% zoom):
   
Gaping Dragon 960x540
Gaping Dragon 2560x1440
   
   
Quelaag 960x540
Quelaag 2560x1440
   
   
Artorias 960x540
Artorias 2560x1440


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## kova4a

Yeah, in this case resolution makes the biggest difference as obviously the pc version as a simple port has only anti-aliasing and motion blur on and off settings and lacks all the fancy settings pc games have and dx10 or dx11 support. So Full hd resolution or upscaling above it make quite the difference, especially on big screens as Dark Souls just like 99% of the other ps3 games has 1280x720 resolution.


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## TMRaven

It's been a good 3 years since I last touched Demon's Souls, so I decided to give it a runthrough a couple days ago to refresh myself.  Tower of Latria was always my fav world but I forgot how cool Stonefang Tunnel was.
   
  4 hours in and got through 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1.  Will probably do 3-2, 4-2 and 5-2 in my next two hour segment.


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## Paganini Alfredo

I'll always have a huge space in my heart for Demon's Souls *sniff* And yeah Stonefang Tunnel is absolute genius level design. The whole area with Patches and that underground tunnel with the bearbugs is awesome.


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## kova4a

Yeah, Demon's Souls is special alright. I remember reading all the opinions and reviews on it and how many people wanted an international English release coz at the time everyone was importing it from Japan and I just bought a ps3 just for it. Anyway, 20 minutes ago I decided to give it a go as I also haven't played it for years and it brought back memories. I remembered how scared I was in the beginning (probably way more than I should have been due to all the warnings for the high difficulty, which made me very wary). I remember how Vanguard destroyed me with a couple of hits sending me to the Nexus. Now it was a piece of cake - he died very quickly. He just seemed so slow and predictable. That just shows how much Demon's Souls and Dark Souls have improved my skills as a gamer. That's just an awesome franchise that teaches you to think before rushing into battle; to analyze the enemies' movements and predict them and search for their weaknesses; and most of all teaches you to become a patient gamer that keeps his cool no matter how many times you die in a stupid manner. Now whatever game I play I just laugh when I die in comparison to all the angry and frustrated people who pollute the voice chat with curses and send hundreds of messages acting like its the end of the world if they die.


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## anoxy

Sub'd!
   
  Been playing this game a lot lately. Slept on it when it first came out but now that I have a capable gaming PC I am addicted.
  Just got to Anor Londo last night. Left off trying to get up to those archers that shoot you from the balcony.


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## Ferr

Started again (for the 4th time) after some months without playing it. This time I went with a DEX/FAITH. Still much fun.
   
  Hope to play Demon's someday (Xbox only user here)


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## kova4a

Are you going to participate in the Dark Souls 2 shield design contest? I was thinking to join in but after seeing some of the designs and the head start they have in votes I kinda lost my enthusiasm.


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## KamijoIsMyHero

Always wanted a shield similar to Ancient Spartan soldiers', closes thing to looks was the stone greatshield but too heavy. But whatever pans out will probably be good anyway, bloodshield and sactus was pretty good, never found much use with the effigy.


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## kova4a

Well, I wasn't a big fan of the Dark Souls shield design. Although after the Hollow Soldier Shield was nerfed and I moved to the Eagle Shield's look kinda grew one me (aside from the fact that it has 84 stability when maxed out and is the lightest greatshield at only 6 weight).


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## Paganini Alfredo

What???? The Crest Shield is like the coolest looking shield I've ever seen.


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## embreal

paganini alfredo said:


> What???? The Crest Shield is like the coolest looking shield I've ever seen.




+1


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## tdockweiler

Anyone playing this game lately?
 It seems that it's now easier to find and in almost every store for $20.
 Before you'd be very lucky to even find it.
  
 This time around it's much easier. I restarted over and deleted my NG+ or whatever character. Haven't played it in maybe 6 months. Got back into Final Fantasy XI (Monstrosity mostly)
  
 Last night I got to Capra Demon and SOMEHOW killed him on the first try. Got down to about 1% HP though. Usually when I fight Capra it's just a bunch of button mashing and when I get done i'm all confused and thinking "What the heck just happened?". Feels like i'm fighting more against the camera.
  
 The Gargoyles were also much easier..
  
 Right now I'm still going with a STR/DEX build and haven't try much of anything else like a FAITH or INT build..
  
 I'm using the Halberd+5 and believe it or not it's a very good weapon but can be annoying for some to use. Sadly I didn't get the Dark Knight Halberd as a drop (yet).
 I also have Claymore +5 but never use it.
  
 I'm not far enough into the game to find any Large Titanite Shards yet.
  
 Any builds you've tried that make the game stupid easy? INT build with dark magic looked interesting but I don't want to have to access DLC content.
  
 Here is something I hate to admit...I went through the game almost twice without having even the HEAL spell. Not sure if that's a common thing but it sure can save my butt a few times.
  
 I'm only at level 28 or so now I think. I will be killing the Gaping Dragon and then Queelag soon.
  
 Honestly the only boss in the game that gives me issues is Ornstein and Smough. Somehow i've yet to die by the Four Kings but I guess i'm lucky.
  
 March for Dark Souls II seems so far away...


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## gamefreak054

I havent played this game for a while. A couple of months ago I did start a mage character and flew through the game up to blight town. Then I remembered how much I hate blight town, and quit. Nearly nothing gave me trouble though until the giant trolls in blight town which my magic was not strong enough.
  
 As for game breaking things, the only thing I know of was the steel skin ability (not sure the correct name). It makes the 4 kings ridiculously easy, which imo is the hardest boss in the game. I struggled with that boss more than Ernstein and Smough. However I had no magic abilities on my first character. The 4 kings had no where to hide while Ernstein and Smough you could figure an attack plan without using some cheap ability.


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## tdockweiler

gamefreak054 said:


> I havent played this game for a while. A couple of months ago I did start a mage character and flew through the game up to blight town. Then I remembered how much I hate blight town, and quit. Nearly nothing gave me trouble though until the giant trolls in blight town which my magic was not strong enough.
> 
> As for game breaking things, the only thing I know of was the steel skin ability (not sure the correct name). It makes the 4 kings ridiculously easy, which imo is the hardest boss in the game. I struggled with that boss more than Ernstein and Smough. However I had no magic abilities on my first character. The 4 kings had no where to hide while Ernstein and Smough you could figure an attack plan without using some cheap ability.


 
  
 I HATE blightown too. Everytime I go there I make sure to go in from the Valley of the Drakes or by using the master key from Lower Londo Ruins.
 If you come in from the Depths it's just frustrating and annoying! This time around I did that and ended up dying twice on my way to the bottom because of those stupid giants.
  
 Overall the game is much easier for me after nearly 3 playthroughs.
  
 Senn's Fortress was super easy this time since I know my way around it. I also managed to fly through Anor Londo somehow, which is rare.
 Ornstein and Smough are a nightmare for me but mostly due to my playstyle I think. I actually cheat on Super Smough and keep him behind a broken pillar. Somehow I got him on the 2nd try.
  
 I have Crystal Caves and Giant's Tomb coming up and despite them not being incredibly hard, it feels like it's going to be a chore.
  
 I hate the invisible floors in the Crystal Caves and those dang Skeleton Dogs that take off half your life in Tomb of Giants.
  
 BTW right now i've found the best weapon for me is the Lightning Gargoyle's Halberd+4. All the other lightning weapons do crappy damage but this one is very good.
 Previously I was addicted to the Black Knight Halberd but I didn't get it this playthrough.
  
 Right now i'm about level 60 and on my way to being able to equip all the Havel's gear with the Havel's Ring. Right now I can only use 2 pieces to be a 50% weight burden.
  
 Also..one thing i've noticed about this time is that there has been times i've died vs bosses within 2 minutes of entering, yet the 2nd try it's stupid easy. Don't ask me how but Gaping Dragon killed me on the first try within 2 minutes. Never thought this was possible. I somehow got stuck underneath him.


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## kova4a

IMO an INT/END build is the easiest to play - once you know what you're doing and a lot of bosses can't even touch you. I tend to pile a bit of END points when leveling up before I start putting points on INT or other stats when the equipment requites it. 
 I have finished Dark Souls two times with that build without increasing at all my starting health. As far as equipment, I like Black Iron a lot but I never use the whole set coz I want to keep my movement speed. Add a good stability shield + good dodging skills and you're set. For weapons I prefer katanas (you got slash and thrust and decent range), especially given how easy and early you can get the uchi. But my favorite is the washing pole - for an INT build I prefer it above anything else - an enchanted washing pole +5 and good amount of INT and you're set for those one on one encounters when you don't want to waste your spells. The best shield IMO, after they nerfed so much the hollow soldier shield, is the Eagle Shield as it's the lightest great shield by quite a margin and starts at 70 stability and is easy to upgrade to a decent level and even if not maxed out there aren't many enemies that can break your guard.
  
 As far as locations - I'm not fond of Lost Izalith and the Tomb of Giants. Blighttown is pretty easy if you get the master key when starting the game and the rusted iron ring before going there - you can pretty much reach Quelaag without fighting at all. 
  
 And I don't really have particular problems with any bosses after finishing the game so many times as I know all their patterns and tells for the attacks they'll use and how to avoid them. There's only one boss who always gives me trouble - Kalameet but as it's an optional encounter in the DLC I can always skip him if I want but I like that battle and the challenge from the fight with a real dragon unlike Gaping Dragon, which is like so stupid that the game should glitch or lag for him to kill you, which makes him the second easiest boss in the game. The first one is Pinwheel - at my first ever playthrough I remember someone had mentioned there's a cool boss at the end of the Catacombs but when I got there, I shot 2 soul spears and he was dead in less than 5 seconds and I was ??? - I couldn't even get a good look at him as he was dead like 3 seconds after the battle started and I didn't even get near him.


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## SammyJr

Can't believe I missed out on this game for so long. It's pretty awesome, and I prefer this to any ps4/X1 game out now. I just killed the gargoyles and am at the moonlight butterfly now..


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## tdockweiler

sammyjr said:


> Can't believe I missed out on this game for so long. It's pretty awesome, and I prefer this to any ps4/X1 game out now. I just killed the gargoyles and am at the moonlight butterfly now..


 
  
 I remember playing this for the first time and it was 10x harder back then. Best advice is to upgrade your weapons and get the best ones you can find.
 After 3-4 playthroughs i've found that I love the Gargoyle's Halberd, Halberd or something like the Silver Knight Sword or Baldur Side Sword.
  
 I usually go from Elite Knight's Armor to eventually Full Havel's as long as I don't do the "fat roll".
  
 On my first playthrough "Andor Londo" was pretty rough for me. Heck, even Senn's Fortress was a challenge then.


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## tdockweiler

kova4a said:


> IMO an INT/END build is the easiest to play - once you know what you're doing and a lot of bosses can't even touch you. I tend to pile a bit of END points when leveling up before I start putting points on INT or other stats when the equipment requites it.
> I have finished Dark Souls two times with that build without increasing at all my starting health. As far as equipment, I like Black Iron a lot but I never use the whole set coz I want to keep my movement speed. Add a good stability shield + good dodging skills and you're set. For weapons I prefer katanas (you got slash and thrust and decent range), especially given how easy and early you can get the uchi. But my favorite is the washing pole - for an INT build I prefer it above anything else - an enchanted washing pole +5 and good amount of INT and you're set for those one on one encounters when you don't want to waste your spells. The best shield IMO, after they nerfed so much the hollow soldier shield, is the Eagle Shield as it's the lightest great shield by quite a margin and starts at 70 stability and is easy to upgrade to a decent level and even if not maxed out there aren't many enemies that can break your guard.
> 
> As far as locations - I'm not fond of Lost Izalith and the Tomb of Giants. Blighttown is pretty easy if you get the master key when starting the game and the rusted iron ring before going there - you can pretty much reach Quelaag without fighting at all.
> ...


 
  
 Once I got past Anor Londo I would say that the game for me became slightly easier. The only boss that gives me headaches is Ornstein/Smough. The Crystal Caves with the invisible bridges killed me a few times.
  
 For Pinwheel, Gravelord Nito and The Four Kings I usually have one strategy. Run up to them and hit them as hard and as fast as I can! Obviously this doesn't work for everyone but I usually do a STR/DEX and Endurance build. I tried this recently vs Four Kings and died twice in a row without Havel's. I think my Gargoyle's Halberd wasn't as powerful as the Black Knight Halberd I used before. Pinwheel is definitely the easiest boss IMO. People say Gaping Dragon is, but he's one-shotted me before.
  
 With Nito I finally realized I could kill his skeletons first with a divine weapon and not have them respawn 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 Believe it or not on my first 2 playthroughs I never realized there was a 2nd bonfire in Tomb of Giants!!
  
 I almost never use magic in the game and should finally do this..
  
 This game is so much easier now when you know your way around and keep your weapons/armor upgraded.
  
 Sticking with really weak weapons makes the game harder than it should be. I think I probably had only a Longsword+2 or something by the time I got to the gargoyles on my first playthrough!


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## kova4a

Yeah, the first playthrough is always the hardest and was also for me even though I came straight from Demon's Souls and had pretty good idea what I'm doing. It just takes time to find the equipment that scales good with your build and to get accustomed to the enemies' and bosses' attacks. After that its get easier and easier. I picked up Dark Souls a few months ago after not playing it for several months and I thought it would be a bit harder but no, I killed almost all bosses at the first try. Also had no issues beating to a pulp the Asylum Demon with bare fists. Yeah, nice weapons make the game easier but once you know how the enemies attack and learn how to dodge it's pretty easy aside from places like Se's fortress where you don't have much space to dodge but once you get the lightning spear it becomes easy too. 
 And magic is pretty nice for most bosses - it's like soul spear, soul spear, soul spear and the boss is down. Now, obviously with the limited number of spell uses they incorporated you definitely need a magic or enchanted weapon coz you can't just walk around like on Demon's Souls,use magic and replenish you points but in a good chunk of the game the enemies are pretty weak to magic, so you can do pretty good damage with an enchanted weapon too.


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## tdockweiler

After 4 playthroughs and almost never using any kind of magic I finally started with an INT/DEX build as a mage/sorcerer.
 It's hilarious because I died 10 times getting from the first poison rats to the the blacksmith room..just pathetic.
 I'd usually get hit with poison from the rats because I wasn't doing enough damage or fast enough. Yep I know how to block!
  
 9/10 times on my regular build I get through here with usually no problem.
  
 Now what's funny is that I upgraded to heavy soul arrows and finished the gargoyles stupid easily. Usually they give me some problems as a melee character and I call Solaire.
  
 Every enemy that gave me issues as a melee character were now twice as easy it seems, especially bosses.
  
 I have a feeling Capra Demon will be painful as a mage character.
  
 Right now I only have the Winged Spear+5 but will get something better later on. I only have 13 STR due to the requirements of the winged spear.
 My dagger was so worthless it would take 10 hits to kill a skeleton..
  
 Sorry, i'm bored..


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## kova4a

tdockweiler said:


> After 4 playthroughs and almost never using any kind of magic I finally started with an INT/DEX build as a mage/sorcerer.
> It's hilarious because I died 10 times getting from the first poison rats to the the blacksmith room..just pathetic.
> I'd usually get hit with poison from the rats because I wasn't doing enough damage or fast enough. Yep I know how to block!
> 
> ...


 
 You might wanna try an enchanted uchi or better yet washing pole but at least you can get the uchi in the beginning of the game from the undead merchant. The uchi is also great for an INT/DEX build if you give the DEX edge in the leveling up and just enchant the uchi. A +15 uchi is pretty good with that build and maybe move on to a great scythe later on for the NG+ and especially for PVP. And yeah, bosses are pretty easy with a magic build and especially easy if you go get the dark sorceries early. If you though the gargoyles were easy you should go strat to Quelaag - you can stagger her with soul arrows and the fight is very easy - the same goes for a bow.
  
 Btw, I already preordered Dark Souls 2 Black Armour Edition for my ps3. I kinda got tempted to preorder the PC version instead coz my local vendor had cut it 50% off and the PC Black Armour edition is like $33 but that rumored 31th May ETA killed my enthusiasm, so I opted for the console version as it's due in like 3 weeks. I was even kinda tempted by the collector's edition but $110 is a bit steep even for a die hard Souls fan like me.


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## Music225

I'm just a casual gamer but Darksouls still catches my eyes simply because of that wide range of armors and weapons . It's really detailed, cool , badass , power unique , like no other games , at least on PC , the best thing is the way camera works really helps admire your hard earned trophies

 I come to game just for entertainment , so I play this one with some cheat on but even then the game is still extremely enjoyable without feeling like an almighty god casually walks the earth . Really recommend to anyone that was shied away because of the unforgiving difficulty , just use some cheat/save editor selectively , seriously , what's the big deal , it's just a game , neither a job nor a competition to feel ashamed of, especially when the difficulty is simply wasting time until you remember everything . Never cheating in any game doesn't reward you with "The Best Human Ever" achievement either in real life or online world , so whatever floats your boat , dont miss this gem and also the next one .


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## KamijoIsMyHero

IMO, cheaters are the most fun on PVP once you are done playing and learning about the game's mechanics. I don't really care much if people cheat to beat the game but cheating on PVP is a no-no in the forms of glitch one-hit kills. Otherwise cheat all you want, it will be fun to try and kill you or just dodge every attack you try against me, I quite literally amused myself to about 40 mins of this until the host or invader quit the game lol. It is harder against invaders that cheat and know how to play the game but that is quite few of em.
  
 My only question is the logic in using full stone armor with negative health applied and still use greatshield up and back up when attacked. I ended up just poking this one host with a spear for fun at this ridiculousness.


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## Music225

May be because those armors dillude them into feeling too tough to make a move without thinking they might end up getting poked to death : )) srly , the designers in this game really know how to make armors and weapons look so badass , and powerful


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## kova4a

I have to say that probably the best thing about Dark Souls 2 right now is the crazy amount of people playing. The PvP is insane - I fight like 20 guys per hour, which never happened before. And the Bell Keeper Covenant is ridiculous if I don't take off my ring I get summoned like every 2 minutes.


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## SammyJr

^by the time I play it, there will probably be a lot less ppl playing .. I still want to beat DS 1 first, and I'm at the moonlight butterfly still


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## kova4a

sammyjr said:


> ^by the time I play it, there will probably be a lot less ppl playing .. I still want to beat DS 1 first, and I'm at the moonlight butterfly still


 
 Nah, don't worry - the majority of the pvp is only covenant based as most people still haven't finished the game and you'll rarely be invaded or participate in any pvp with actually good players. There will be quite some time till people complete the game, get to know DS2's gear as well as DS' and proper pvp begins. I'm also calling it from now - with the ability to manually aim your spells (hexes) now instead of relying on lock on at close distance, there will be a lot of INT build griefers killing you from distance with souls spears and such.


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## TMRaven

I see a lot of people trying to use the great thunderbolts in pvp.  When they hit, they do a lot of damage-- around 1000hp.  So far the seem easy enough to roll through though.  
  
 I still don't see magic being a good enough viable option for dark souls 2 pvp.  The most dangerous type of magic build for any souls game has been the hyper-mode firespray mage in demon's souls, and nothing in the latter two souls games has lived up to that amount of potential just yet.


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## kova4a

The issue with manual aim of spells is that you can get hit from a distance without expecting it and it's pretty much a one-shot kill. I already was killed a couple of times like that by invaders in certain areas while I was fighting enemies. Also on DS2 you have a delay when rolling and side rolling is also harder, add to that that some hexes and miracles have wider area of effect and it gets harder to dodge than in DS1. Also scaling sucks in DS2 and most people find it more viable to get into a INT or FTH build a lot earlier then before even if their main idea was to make STR or DEX build. I'm seeing that more and more - you'll rarely find a purely melee build. With the option to relocate points I have to admit that I'm also kinda considering it as right now most of my points are in DEX and STR, so I can dual wield the weapons I want.


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## tdockweiler

I take back what I said about Dark Souls 3 being easier than the first!
 The levels are easier overall but some of the bosses are HARDER.
 The regular enemies in Dark Souls 3 are sometimes harder to kill too and often require more than standing behind a shield.
  
 I had no major problems with any bosses until I got to Dancer of Boreal Valley.
 I'm level 70 now with a Hard Longsword +7 and have died about 20 times now.
 It seems I do best when I roll around non-stop like an idiot and focus on hitting her in the butt!
 Sometimes I think I'm not fighting her but the camera. I should try to not lock on.
  
 I also actually do OK when I use a great shield, but on the 2nd phase I can never do much damage.
 I think I should roll away from her more and less to the sides.
  
 My Vigor is  25 so I will level that up some and try to equip stronger armor without doing the FAT ROLL.
  
 Even Pontiff Sulyvahn I killed on the first few tries and I did not look up a strategy first.
 Aldrich gave me MAJOR problems until I spent a good half hour reading strategies.
 Once I did that I did pretty well.
  
 Here's a video I posted of the Aldrich kill after dying 6 times to it:
  

  
 I made a few stupid mistakes and the camera messed me up a few times.
 LOL I should probably use an Ember being fighting the Dancer. It might help 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




 I think this is the first time in years I have actually thrown my controller!


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## David Lucman

Got this game after getting platinum on bloodborne, but I couldn't play it because I got used to the mechanics of bloodborne. Might give this game a try again someday.


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## BunnyNamedCraig

David Lucman said:


> Got this game after getting platinum on bloodborne, but I couldn't play it because I got used to the mechanics of bloodborne. Might give this game a try again someday.


interesting- I JUST got a PS4 so I started playing Bloodborne after I beat Dark Souls 3 on Xbone. After feeling out the mechanics on Bloodborne I can totally see why it would be more difficult for you. Bloodborne encourages a faster gameplay and is less about taking forever to make precise actions (What you have to do in Dark Souls 3). I am so jumpy playing these games to begin with, that moving to Bloodborne's mechanics fit my desire to "just cut the dude already!" ha.


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## tdockweiler

Anyone playing Dark Souls Remastered?
I no longer have a PS4 so I started playing DS1 over again after not having played it for maybe 4-5 years.
I did a LOT better this time around since I've already beaten it 2 times and played through Part 2 and 3.

I noticed that with the Gargoyles I died 2 times in a row, but mostly due to lag.
I switched my Longsword to the 2-handed attack and did much better and beat them without using many flasks.

It seems that 1 handed weapons are much weaker in this game compared to DS2 and 3.

I also SOMEHOW also beat the Capra Demon on the first try using a 2 handed sword.

Got to Ornstein and Smough and died the first 2 times, but got them on the 3rd try.
The only change was that I switched to 2-handed Claymore instead of 1 handed.
I also made sure to only attack Ornstein if Smough was behind a pillar.
Taking my time and constantly moving away from them worked well for me.

Somehow I almost got past those archers on the 1st try.
The first try the archer fell off the ledge, but before he did I swung my sword and fell off with him 

Right now it's definitely nowhere near as fun playing it as part 2. It's kind of boring and can't say I like the level designs much.

I finished part 2 about 3 times now and it's probably one of my favorite games.

It's the easiest in the series but there are a few regular enemies that give me problems.
I hate how they too often seem to put a dozen enemies right near the boss doors.

Dark Souls 3 to me has the hardest bosses by far IMO.
Hate to admit it but the Dancer of the Boreal Valley took me maybe 10 tries to beat.
The last boss about 20 tries. I guess i'm just bad at memorizing their attack patterns.
Maybe sticking to a 1-handed Longsword makes them even harder.
The two brothers also took me a long time to beat.


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## SteezyRayVaughan

I've been debating on picking up the remaster. My buddy has it on pc and I've been watching him play it occasionally. Overall it looks pretty good, I just hate how they changed the way bonfires look. At least they fixed the Blighttown frame rate issues.


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## tdockweiler

Still playing Dark Souls 1. I made it past Andor Londo on July 15th and I've only now gotten past "Duke's Archives" and the Crystal Caves.
It's just no fun to load up the game and play sometimes. Past Anor Londo I just really HATE the levels.
I guess I did finish New Londo ruins, which is usually a pain. This time I only died once because I forgot about all those ghosts in one room.

Overall I still find Dark Souls 2 and 3 WAAAAAY better in almost every single way and a lot more fun to play.
I'd actually rank Dark Souls 2 as better than part 3! 

It's also the easier though. Dark Souls 2 is probably a 7.5/10 in terms of difficulty. Dark Souls 1 maybe a 9/10 if you were a new player.
Anyone remember VERY EARLY Final Fantasy XI (Online)? That would get a 10/10.
It used to take many players years to get to level 75. Now you can get to 99 cap in a few days.


PS I finally played through "Painted World of Ariamis" in DS1.
I think that level was harder than Anor Londo. Stupid zombies with the exploding heads that poison you!
Took me a while to figure out the level, then somehow it all seems easier.


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## BunnyNamedCraig

tdockweiler said:


> Still playing Dark Souls 1. I made it past Andor Londo on July 15th and I've only now gotten past "Duke's Archives" and the Crystal Caves.
> It's just no fun to load up the game and play sometimes. Past Anor Londo I just really HATE the levels.
> I guess I did finish New Londo ruins, which is usually a pain. This time I only died once because I forgot about all those ghosts in one room.
> 
> ...


I SUCKED at Dark souls 1. I was a lot better at Dark Souls 2, but maybe it was because I understood the mechanics more? Dark Souls 2 is too dang good... I'm so excited for whenever the next installment is. Bloodborne was really good, but I am more in the mood for another Dark Souls.


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## tdockweiler

MTMECraig said:


> I SUCKED at Dark souls 1. I was a lot better at Dark Souls 2, but maybe it was because I understood the mechanics more? Dark Souls 2 is too dang good... I'm so excited for whenever the next installment is. Bloodborne was really good, but I am more in the mood for another Dark Souls.



Dark Souls 2 is considered the easiest in the series and I definitely agree.
For those new to the series it could still be extremely difficult.

I actually played Dark Souls 2 a few years ago and got frustrated and quit at the Ruin Sentinals. Turns out that I just didn't level the correct stats. For example, my HP was way to low.
Dark Souls 2 has a few hard parts and seems the hardest at the very beginning of the game.

I remember going to Heide's Tower of Flame with a 1 handed Longsword and it took me FOREVER to finish the area.

Dark Souls 2 is now one of my top 5 favorite games and i've played through it about 3 times now.
It's a lot more fun than Dark Souls 1 and easier to level up.

I also played Scholar of the First Sin and the Vanilla version. Turns out the remake is actually easier most of the game.
I  can't think of any area that is actually harder. One reason it's easier is that you can upgrade your weapons a lot faster too.

PS I find Dark Souls not much fun and really slow.
It seems most people want to stop playing after Anor Londo.
The remaining levels are really not very good (Does anyone actually like "Tomb of Giants"? Not me).

Dark Souls 3 is also good, but some of the later bosses IMO are harder than anything in Dark Souls 1.


----------



## BunnyNamedCraig

tdockweiler said:


> Dark Souls 2 is considered the easiest in the series and I definitely agree.
> For those new to the series it could still be extremely difficult.
> 
> I actually played Dark Souls 2 a few years ago and got frustrated and quit at the Ruin Sentinals. Turns out that I just didn't level the correct stats. For example, my HP was way to low.
> ...


I feel like how you level up is half the battle. You could be a high number but if the specific stats don’t jive you could be wasting a ton of time.... the dark souls series really rewards you for thinking, being patient and remembering what weaknesses are. When you get good, you feel so great for outsmarting everyone ha


----------



## noper

Dark Souls 2 has a truckload of problems... check out Matthewmatosis on YouTube. He gives an incredibly detailed analysis.

I really didn’t like Dark Souls 2 but I couldn’t really figure out why... this guy nails it.

Next game seems unlike anything in DS or BB, so I’m hyped!


----------



## BunnyNamedCraig

the new one looks fun! Cant wait for it. Talk about a great developing team.


----------



## KaiserTK

I’m excited that Sekiro will have that vertical level design, but I’m nervous that it’ll end up feeling too tacky. 
I enjoyed DS1 and DS2, but DS3 world design was the most unappealing for me out of the three.
I hope Sekiro will go back to DS1 like world design with multiple choices of “roads” to take at several points throughout the game.
Either way I trust Miyazaki to deliver a great game!


----------



## loopy.s

There was a separate team working on DS2, and you can tell when you play. It feels like a game trying to be Dark Souls rather than just being a Dark Souls game in my opinion.

I'm super stoked for Sekiro though. I've been playing the series since Demon's Souls. I hope that they bring back the fast paced combat of Bloodborne. I think BB had the most exciting combat in the series


----------



## kova4a

loopy.s said:


> There was a separate team working on DS2, and you can tell when you play. It feels like a game trying to be Dark Souls rather than just being a Dark Souls game in my opinion.
> 
> I'm super stoked for Sekiro though. I've been playing the series since Demon's Souls. I hope that they bring back the fast paced combat of Bloodborne. I think BB had the most exciting combat in the series


Yeah, DS2 was way too derivative for me. It's like they lacked any imagination and just reskinned the DS1 enemies, especially the bosses. Though I have to admit that the weapon selection and the stance system greatly improved the gameplay variety - that's why to date I still prefer the DS2's pvp - I've spent hundreds of hours on the iron keep bridge.


----------



## noper (Oct 16, 2018)

DS2 has so many problems. The PvP matching system based on total Souls collected required them to make enemies unfarmable, thus requiring all upgrade items to be eventually available at merchants (who cannot leave or die for story reasons, significantly making them less compelling than Dark Souls NPCs).They added a stat that changes how your character handles, meaning consistency is thrown out the window. Enemies that track you mid-swing means you cannot predict trajectory. Couple with the need to upgrade your roll and you have clunky-ass combat. The way locations are connected makes no sense. The pirate cove should be below sea level according to its adjacent zone. You go underground then suddenly are traversing cliffs at extremely high altitudes. Dark Souls was dark and brutal. Its difficulty was for the sake of forcing you to pay attention. Dark Souls 2 tries so hard to convince you how hard it is. Its difficulty was for the sake of being hard. Etc.

Sorry guys, rant over. I still played through all of Dark Souls 2, so it’s not like it’s a horrible game. Just whining, mostly haha.


----------



## waveSounds

I just began my initiation in the Souls' series with number 3. As it turns out, my body wasn't ready...


----------



## waveSounds

This game is kicking my ass. Spent about an hour farming shards and grinding 3500 souls around the high wall of lothric only to die, then fall down an elevator shaft on my way back to collect them.


----------



## fonkh

I started with DS2, big pause in between..and then finished it. Got DS3 for PS4 and got pissed at the second boss already, again a big pause. Then i got it for PC with DLC and finished it, guess the dancer and NK took me about 2-3 hours alone, god i hated them both so much. Sister Friede was one of the best boss fights ever for me, also took some tries, but not as much as dancer / NK. Last boss in DLC took about 5-6 tries to my surprise. Next will be DS1 Remastered.


----------



## Playstation (Feb 18, 2019)

platinumed in this order 

demon's souls 

bloodborne 

dark souls 3

dark souls 2

never got the plat for dark souls 1


order of best pvp 

demon's souls

dark soul 1

dark souls 3

bloodborne 

dark souls 2


order of best pve 

bloodborne 

dark souls 3

dark souls 

demon's souls

dark souls 2 


order of difficulty 

bloodborne

dark souls

demon's souls 

dark souls 2

dark souls 3 


order of overall hours played 

demon's souls 

dark souls 

dark souls 2 

bloodborne

dark souls 3


----------



## Playstation

It is better to spend time leveling then going into areas under-leveled. In the end i believe it saves time.

Imo, hp is the most important stat to level first and you cannot go wrong doing so.


----------



## kova4a

Nonsense! The most important stat that I always level up first is endurance. Raising your hp implies that you intend to get hit, which is directly against the idea of the Git gud principle - you should get hit as little as possible. And having more stamina to dodge (or absorb hits with your shield if one is still in the noob phase) is the essence of this mantra. I usually start investing points in vitality in NG+ and above. And the best PVP is in DS2 by a mile if you take into account the way more diverse options the stances and combinations of weapons give you


----------



## Playstation

If i recall correctly i only really ever leveled stamina in demon's souls then less and less with each new title


----------



## KaiserTK

If DS3 had the level of armor choices and great dual wield combos of DS2 (like Doritos Smelter swords), I would’ve played it much longer. PvP ganking/ganked just got stale so quick.


----------



## kova4a

Playstation said:


> If i recall correctly i only really ever leveled stamina in demon's souls then less and less with each new title


 That's noob talk. Raising the hp instead of the stamina means you expect to get hit 
a lot and that's not the point of the game.



KaiserTK said:


> If DS3 had the level of armor choices and great dual wield combos of DS2 (like Doritos Smelter swords), I would’ve played it much longer. PvP ganking/ganked just got stale so quick.


 Yeah, they oversimplified ds3 way too much. I don't really like any of the weapons aside from the killer thrall axe


----------



## Playstation

Oh. Well i guess i have always been prepared to die. 
I don't have a problem with being a noob


----------



## kova4a

Playstation said:


> Oh. Well i guess i have always been prepared to die.
> I don't have a problem with being a noob


Nah, one prepares to die in order to git gud and not get hit, so on the contrary - you weren't prepared to die.


----------



## Playstation

I don't know. If i was preparing to get hit i was just delaying the inevitably of dying. 

Does one get good from always getting hit, never properly utilizing a shield or dodge functionality? 
Therefore i am a noob.


----------



## Playstation

I can still beat you in pvp regardless


----------



## kova4a

Playstation said:


> I can still beat you in pvp regardless


 Maybe, I haven't played any Souls games in more than a year, so I'll need some time to get my groove back


----------



## Playstation

same here xD


----------



## kova4a

Playstation said:


> same here xD


 Yeah, times have changed. I barely have any times for games nowadays - at least not like before. Hell, I've spent more than 1500 hours on the Souls games. And it all started from seeing a guy in Japan playing Demon's Souls. That was the only reason I got a ps3 - I bought one as soon as the game became available internationally. I was scared from everything when I started playing it. It was crazy back then with From changing the world tendency on random basis and basically turning the game into a living nightmare. 

Then came Dark Souls 1 which I still consider the best game ever created. I've plated it so much, even used to do speedruns. Personally for me DS1 is the best game overall, DS2 was way too derivative with most of it just being a reskin of DS1, especially the bosses, but the pvp on the bridge in Iron Keep was so entertaining, especially with all the stances and crazy variations one could use. DS3 should have used the best parts of 1 and 2 but instead it got way too simplified. At least they made pvp less of a hassle with the arena. And that thrall axe, schiit, once you master it almost no one can hit you, I've won more than a 1000 matches and probably more half of them were with it alone. I sure miss the twinblades from DS2 though


----------



## KaiserTK

Man, Dark Souls. I still remember the exhilaration of beating the bell gargoyles for the first time and the frustration of not being able to get out of blighttown. 

Can’t think of any other game which made me feel so immersed into their fantasy world.


----------



## Playstation

Fond memories for sure. Now a new ip is about to drop. More great experiences incoming in the near future. Also i know nothing about Sekiro which will make it even more surprising. Can we expect any online elements? I really hope so


----------



## kova4a

Yeah, it was so good. All those moment of desperation, all those moments of finding a shortcut and realising how everything is interconnected. And it never got old for me, I've finished DS1 so many times. I still remember my first playthrough, which took my at least 90 hours even after Demon's Souls. I just had to discover every secret, I didn't want to miss anything. And then with hundreds of deaths and the help of the wiki I got better and better - counting iframes, stat scaling of all weapons with different upgrade paths, different builds. By the time I stopped playing it I was consistently finishing the game in 3-4 hours. Yeah, nowhere near a world record but I still had a life outside of the game lol


----------



## kova4a

Playstation said:


> Fond memories for sure. Now a new ip is about to drop. More great experiences incoming in the near future. Also i know nothing about Sekiro which will make it even more surprising. Can we expect any online elements? I really hope so


 Yeah, can't wait even though it will be nothing like the Souls games. It won't have any multiplayer but I hope it'll be still fun to play. Unfortunately, I have a doctoral thesis exam on the 25th and immediately after that I'll be going on a trip to Petra, so I'll have to pretend being Indiana Jones for a few days before having the opportunity to play the game. I'll surely take another week off work as soon as I get back home though, no other way around it.


----------



## Playstation

No multiplayer? 

Then i can wait to get the ccomplete game when it's $20


----------



## tdockweiler

I just finished Dark Souls 3 again recently. This is after about a 1 year break.
I actually found it harder early on and then it kept getting easier and easier.
I find that DS3 really increases the difficulty of the bosses later on in the game.

Dancer of the Boreal Valley is the hardest boss for me because I can't seem to get used to the camera and dodging correctly.
I beat it on the first try SOMEHOW, but I was level 70 and took it very slow and waiting for openings.

The Twin Princes gave me problems and it was making me mad. Tried 4-5 times in one night and kept dying.
The next day they were stupid easy (well, not quite). I just had to only attack them less and take my time.

Second hardest boss for me is the final boss. I found it easier to avoid fighting him during specific stages where I do terrible (when he uses the long spear).
I also found it easier to spam attack on him when he switches to using spells.

I'm also one who seems to have no problem with Pontiff. I died on the first try this time because I was too defensive.
I don't like this boss because I can kill them easier if I just spam attack as fast as possible.

When I beat the game again I had no interest in playing it any more.
I played through it maybe 3-4 times and that's enough for me.

Dark Souls 2 is still easily my favorite and the most fun.
When I finish it I immediately start over and keep playing. I've made so many characters.
It's not easy, but the easiest in the series for me.
I must have about 300 hours into it at least.
That's a record possible for any video game.
Only game getting that many hours is Fallout 3 and Final Fantasy XI (online).

I actually found Bloodborne to be the most difficult.
I got sick of that game on the last level and never bothered to finish it.

These days I can't stand DS1 and find it to be no longer fun.
There's a lot of artificial difficulty in that game. Just look at the bosses...
And does anyone actually like continuing after Anor Londo? Not me.


----------



## waveSounds

tdockweiler said:


> I must have about 300 hours into it at least.
> That's a record possible for any video game.
> Only game getting that many hours is Fallout 3 and Final Fantasy XI (online).



You've clearly never been lured by the siren's song that is Football Manager. These are my times on those, with many of the previous iterations (not pictured) that I spent longer on which pre-dated the hours being clocked.


----------



## kova4a

waveSounds said:


> You've clearly never been lured by the siren's song that is Football Manager. These are my times on those, with many of the previous iterations (not pictured) that I spent longer on which pre-dated the hours being clocked.


 LOL That's nothing. When Diablo 3 came out I spent about 100 hours on it and gave the account to my father. He moved on to Path of Exile this year but he has 12000+ hours on D3


----------



## waveSounds

@kova4a That's... 500 days of continuous play time. He wins.


----------



## Playstation (Mar 15, 2019)

stay sunny, bros


----------



## TLAS43

I miss PvP in the square within Undead Burg on the PS3.


----------



## L0rdGwyn

TLAS43 said:


> I miss PvP in the square within Undead Burg on the PS3.



How did I never know there was a Dark Souls thread.

Many sweaty-palmed nights were spent doing battle there.  What a classic.


----------



## L0rdGwyn (Aug 11, 2019)

Okay, I have a PVP story.  No one will probably read this thread for months, but whatever.

My main PVP build used the Large Club and the Grass Crest Shield, Mask of the Mother, min-maxed for damage and health.  I loved it, tons of fun bashing people and poisoning them.

I am trying to invade for some Undead Burg PVP and keep ending up in the same room, where I am immediately double-teamed and killed.  Now, these two were not playing the campaign, they were waiting for PVPers to come in, then gang up on them for pleasure.  So dishonorable.  No bow of acknowledgement, nothing.  This happened maybe four or five times in a row.  Considering I was looking for some honest competition, I was starting to get PO'd.

The player whose game it was (not summoned) was spamming R1 with the Dark Silver Tracer while his friend kept rounding for back stabs.  I invaded once again, this time with a plan......

As I entered their game, I immediately ran across the bridge in the Burg where the dudes are throwing firebombs so as to take them single file.  Some back and forth dancing went on with Silver Tracer guy.  Then before our next exchange, I pretended to go AFK.....

He tested it a few times with a quick stab-stab, and I just stood there and tanked the damage, lulling him into a false sense of security, thinking I had walked away from the game.....

It worked, feeling confident my character was left there to die, he resumed his mindless R1 spamming as I tanked the hits, standing motionless.  Then all of the sudden, BOOOOOM PARRY FOR A OHKO, FACE SMASHED, ON HIS KNEES WHILE HIS FRIEND LOOKED ON HELPLESSLY.

I spammed the shrug gesture over and over to him and his friend as I faded away, so satisfied having ruined their scheme.

The End.


----------



## KaiserTK

Sounds like most DS1 PvP in a nutshell.
At least there was less ganking than DS3.


----------



## L0rdGwyn (Aug 11, 2019)

KaiserTK said:


> Sounds like most DS1 PvP in a nutshell.
> At least there was less ganking than DS3.



Yeah, it has all the main parts, the ganking, back stabs, gesture spamming.

DS1 PVP was not perfect, but it was all we had at the time.  Roll backstabbing was pretty broken.

I was really into Bloodborne PVP, never really got into DS3 PVP.


----------



## KaiserTK

L0rdGwyn said:


> Yeah, it has all the main parts, the ganking, back stabs, gesture spamming.
> 
> DS1 PVP was not perfect, but it was all we had at the time.  Roll backstabbing was pretty broken.
> 
> I was really into Bloodborne PVP, never really got into DS3 PVP.



I was a big fan of DS2 PvP, and DS1 was played pretty much exclusively offline. As janky DS2 lore and map design was, I loved the fashion souls, parry timing, and more methodical mechanics. 

Was never able to play BB much, but I just finished Sekiro recently and it’s a solid Fromsoft title. Lack of PvP really does suck tho.


----------



## L0rdGwyn

KaiserTK said:


> I was a big fan of DS2 PvP, and DS1 was played pretty much exclusively offline. As janky DS2 lore and map design was, I loved the fashion souls, parry timing, and more methodical mechanics.
> 
> Was never able to play BB much, but I just finished Sekiro recently and it’s a solid Fromsoft title. Lack of PvP really does suck tho.



Bloodborne is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion, I platinumed it.  I actually think it is my favorite From game.  Sekiro is great, but I have not beat it yet.  I was partway through, then didn't have time to play because of life stuff.  Now the idea of picking it back up is so intimidating!  The action can be short, but your adrenaline goes from 0-60 instantly.

I know it will never happen, but I wish they would release Bloodborne on PC.


----------



## tdockweiler

I seriously don't think i'll ever get sick of Dark Souls 2. 
I checked my characters and I'm probably up to 500 hours now maybe.
I always seem to just get to the end and then start over because it's so much fun and not too difficult.
I think it's in my top 5 favorite games list (even the Vanilla version).

I'm a casual player and these days I can probably get halfway through the game without dying. Not impressive I know.
There are a few areas I still find difficult.
One of the areas I have problems with is the walk up to the Executioner's Chariot. I also don't think I do very well against that boss.
I always skip him.

The only part that makes me want to stop playing is the Gutter areas (drop down the well). Not hard, just annoying.

Shrine of Amana is terrible too, but at least the boss is easy.

Iron Keep can be somewhat hard at times because of my lack of patience. I can't stand all those ranged enemies trying to kill me.

Don't laugh, but the Guardian Dragon has killed me the most times.
He's stupid easy, but somehow I always get murdered by his flames. Normally I just spam my attack button and he's dead.

PS I mentioned this before, but I think Dark Souls 1 has harder levels, but DS3 has the hardest bosses (at least towards the end).
I still can't consistently kill Dancer of the Boreal Valley. I always wait to i'm level 70 (!!).

I think I need to try harder to ALWAYS stay behind her!
Final boss took me a long time to beat too. I think it was the spear phase that gave me problems.
First playthrough took me easily 20 tries or more. Second time through maybe 5.

You know those Twin Princess? One night I died like 10 times in a row and wanted to quit the game.
Next day I went slower and attacked less and got them on the 1st try EASILY.
I guess attacking them 3 times in a row with a mace is a good way to die faster.

PS I'm terrible at Bloodborne and found it to be the hardest game in the series by far.
I gave up on the last level because I felt I wasn't doing enough damage and lost interest.


----------



## protoss

All dark Soul fans, what you guys/girls think about Sekiro?


----------



## kova4a

protoss said:


> All dark Soul fans, what you guys/girls think about Sekiro?


Well, I shared my thoughts here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rat...rrently-playing.138124/page-406#post-14896757
I only completed it in NG and NG+ but I just don't see myself putting more time into it. It severely lacks any incentive for replayability.


----------



## Rattle

Loved sekiro I platinumed it on PS4 pro


----------



## L0rdGwyn

I like Sekiro a lot, but I haven't finished it.  I was gung-ho for a week when it came out, then I got really busy with school and work.  After building all that gameplay momentum and having to take a month hiatus, I've had a hard time picking it back up, feels like I need to relearn the game, except I'm almost half way through.

Then I started playing Bloodborne again and can't put it down.  So Sekiro will have to wait


----------



## tdockweiler

Been playing Demon's Souls finally after finishing DS1, 2 and 3 many times.
I'm surprised to find that it's actually not easy and kind of hard so far.

I'm finding the Tower of Latria harder than any single level in DS3 or 2. 
I've died so many times vs those stupid Mind Flayers. I've got the Crescent Falchion but the magic is kind of worthless against them.
What makes this harder is that the area is so poorly lit on the PS3 version. I have my brightness increased a ton of my TV.
On the PS5 version the lighting is perfect.

I'm not joking in that i've fallen to my death in this level from a hole in the round at least 4 times!
Plus I end up running around because the place is so confusing.
Luckily I know how to get to the boss easily now but I forgot to turn off the ballista.
That's another annoying thing about this game...the runs to the bosses. No bonfires and just shortcuts!
In total i've gotten like zero levels and zero souls from this level. That's a first for any game in the series.
Annoying also to have to go back and farm grass.

I'm working on a better weapon. Thinking of just maxing the Crushing Claymore even though it's moveset is worse than in DS1.
Maybe even a Longsword would be fine. Claymore in this just seems way slower than in DS1.

Also, unlike in DS1 ranged weapons seem super important.
It makes the Mindflayers way easier. Sometimes you can kill them with 2 arrows.

Anyway, it could turn out to be like DS1, someday it might feel 10x easier for me.


----------



## SilverEars (Dec 16, 2022)

tdockweiler said:


> Been playing Demon's Souls finally after finishing DS1, 2 and 3 many times.
> I'm surprised to find that it's actually not easy and kind of hard so far.
> 
> I'm finding the Tower of Latria harder than any single level in DS3 or 2.
> ...


I found it pretty hard at times as well.  People say it's the easiest of the Souls series, but I disagree.  The bosses are the easiest, but not the levels.  They place bonfires very distanced that you have to start over again from scratch a lot.  Also, Valley of Defilement is way worse than Blight Town.  I won't spoil it, but they purposely make certain areas super difficulty to get through.  They have well placed ambushes in this game.

Trying to get the Large Sword of Moonlight was so difficult.  I died so many times because I didn't have the sodden ring.  When you are poisoned in the swamp, you can't roll, and you get a beating and die.  Miyazaki trolls the hell out of you in this game.

The first two worlds are fairly easy, and then it gets a little annoying after.  Tower of Latria has traps for the first timer. lol.  On replay it's easy once you know the traps.

Also, you have to be aware of world tendency, which is annoying feature in the game.


----------



## SilverEars (Dec 16, 2022)

L0rdGwyn said:


> I like Sekiro a lot, but I haven't finished it.  I was gung-ho for a week when it came out, then I got really busy with school and work.  After building all that gameplay momentum and having to take a month hiatus, I've had a hard time picking it back up, feels like I need to relearn the game, except I'm almost half way through.
> 
> Then I started playing Bloodborne again and can't put it down.  So Sekiro will have to wait


Once you get through the pain of the first playthrough, you gain so much knowledge that subsequent playthroughs becomes a cakewalk.  My first playthrough was such a pain (Sekiro was my first Soulborne I set my mind into completing). I did a lot of research and learned a lot, and know I recall all I learned in subsequent playthroughs because the pain of learning makes me recall them. lol.


----------



## DenverW

Hey I found a fun thread!  I've played through dark souls and demon souls in the past on the ps3/4 and got half way through dark souls 2 before getting distracted.  I've recently picked it back up from the beginning; playing as a caster for the first time.  In the past I'd always done dex builds. 

I really need to play bloodborne.


----------



## tdockweiler

I'm making like zero progress in Demon's Souls. Possibly the most annoying and frustrating game ever made.
You know how in DS1 you had those ghosts ganking you in New Londo? Well here, I have that frustration in like every level.
I seriously think they must have made this game to be played with a character with not just melee, but magic damage also.

So I got to 2-2 in the Tunnel City. Most enemies are not too bad, but then you get the Fire bug things that take an eternity to kill.
Then if that wasn't bad enough there are bigger ones in tunnels and those take 10x longer to kill. Luckily I found that there are ways to bypass them.
None of the enemies here are hard just are annoying to fight and take FOREVER to kill.

Strangely enough there are worms that pop out of the ground that take like only 17dmg from my Crushing Claymore, but die in a few hits from my Crescent Falchion!

So I end up getting lost in the tunnels. I backtrack to the "bonfire" and use my souls. Turns out there was a cliff I had to jump off of to get to the Flamelurker.

I watched a video of that fight and now I don't even want to continue playing the game lol.

4-1 Shrine of Storms is more annoying.
The regular skeletons die super fast against just my fists. Then I got to the yellow/gold ones and they are capable of 1-shotting me. They did nearly twice in a row. Killing them wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have flying things hovering over my head shooting harpoons at me. Not a good time to be without arrows or magic.

I get to the final fog gate (I think) but it was a challenge, but then I get destroyed by a red skeleton with 2 katanas.

#1 most annoying thing of this game is spending 20 minutes to get to an area and then dying. No other Dark Souls game had that issue.

#2 is having to farm grass. I always run out.

#3 is  not enough shortcuts and only 1 main bonfire.

So I think my problem now is that my weapons are just not good enough. I only have a Crescent Falchion and Crushing Claymore+1.
I'm going to just get a Longsword and max that as far as I can. I also made a Crushing Battleaxe to see how that does.

I think this game may just force me into using magic more. Seems like a must.
I've got a compound bow +6 but always run out of arrows.

I don't parry much so it may be a good idea for me to upgrade from the Heater Shield to something else.
Currently using only the fluted armor too but I can medium roll at least. I couldn't with the Temple Knight gear.

My stats probably are screwed up too.
Right now I have 20 VIT, 20 END, 28 STR, base DEX (15 I think) and other stats at the default.
Maybe not raising DEX up more was a huge mistake. Plan though was to convert all weapons to Crushing (except Longsword).

So far this is the hardest DS game i've played.
Believe it or not Bloodborne was the toughest for me before this and my least favorite.
I disliked that game so much I stopped playing at the very last level since I was so severely under-leveled.
Never played Elden Ring or Sekiro yet.

It's weird how the opinions on what's the hardest varies so much. 
I even saw a video on youtube saying Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin was the 2nd hardest.
I actually thought that one was even easier than the vanilla version (way easier to upgrade weapons in the remaster).

I actually find DS2 the most fun and not frustrating at all. 
In the entire game the only boss that I need to prepare for is the ruin sentinels. Mostly I just have to have the right stats and bring a club.

I remember my first time playing that game and tried to kill them too early with bad stats. Got frustrated and quit for 6 months!
Turns out my Adaptability and END were too low. I think ADP is the one stat I cap first. Think if I remember right it only needs to be at 25 or something.


----------



## SilverEars (Dec 19, 2022)

tdockweiler said:


> I'm making like zero progress in Demon's Souls. Possibly the most annoying and frustrating game ever made.
> You know how in DS1 you had those ghosts ganking you in New Londo? Well here, I have that frustration in like every level.
> I seriously think they must have made this game to be played with a character with not just melee, but magic damage also.
> 
> ...


Lol, welcome to Demon's Souls.  It's best to play as Royalty, and use magic.  Makes the game easier, but also can make you OP.  Non-magic build would make the game a bit challenging.  I recommend Sekiro for a different kind of experience, and a good challenge.

Young and upcoming Miyazaki trolled us real good. lol.

I'm currently doing a faith build run, and it's not so bad.  The problem is, all my applicable weapons and upgrades are in the valley of defilement.  It's a pain in the azz to go through that area so early to pick up the weapons.  Faith is not as useless as in other souls games.  Large Sword of Moonlight scales with faith, which is odd.  In Dark Souls, it scales with magic.  My first play was frustrating also, and now I don't find it all that bad. I see it as well thought out challenges that I don't see in later Miyazaki games.  He added more bonfires in later games, and estus flasks replenish.  But, something about the those feature missing and long journey to the final bonfire makes it an interesting challenge I now accept.  Some of the pitfalls that Miyazaki came up with in this game is quite clever I find.  Bosses, not so much.

I find the game impressive since it's Miyazaki's first Souls game, and so much fresh ideas were in the game.  I thought some of the roadblocks (the parts that make you die a lot) he put in the game is quite clever.  The PS5 version is up there as my top 3 Souls games along with DS1 and 3, if I count out Bloodborne.  And Sekiro is not a souls game.


----------



## tdockweiler

Last's night's game was like a night and day difference in difficulty. Way easier. Still had a lot of stupid deaths (mostly from 4-2 projectiles).
Turns out that my issue was that Crescent Falchion just isn't that great. Better than maybe a starter weapon at least.

I found that the Dragon Longsword destroys nearly all those 4-1 skeletons in like 2 hits with just the +2 version (maybe +4, but can't remember)..
It adds more base damage and fire damage too. I was using my fists against those skeletons! Now I know why I was having issues.
Fists vs them at low levels is pretty good and even better than the Crescent Falchion.

That Dragon Longsword even kills those Mind Flayers so fast they don't even have time to react and stun me.

It seems that unlike in DS, the weapon type is even more important in this game. 

I got to the Abjudicator boss without knowing his strategy. He kept hitting me through the floor and I was sure i'd be dead. Once I realized I had to run to the floor ASAP he was easy. As long as you stayed behind him or to the right when he swings, he can't even hit you! Sort of reminded me of a slower and easier version of The Rotten from Dark Souls 2.

One enemy that has given me many deaths is.. those stupid elevators in 2-1.
One wrong step and you go flying off them and die. 
Something that should be so simple, is just so buggy.
I'm sure they fixed that in the PS5 version.

Tomorrow I will at least get soul arrow. I had to get my magic from 6 to 10. I need it for those projectile flinging flying things.
I've found many of them can be avoided in 4-2 just by using a thief ring.
Having a starting class with a free soul arrow would have saved me a LOT of pain.

I'm hoping I can cheese Flamelurker and he won't cause me too many deaths.
It may take me a few tries to memorize all his moves.
I'll probably need to get some flame resist gear before I fight him though.

I still need to go back and kill Fool's Idol. I got it to 5% and got stunned and died because I was out in the open.
Might be a good idea to bring arrows this time.

Surprised there is still quite a high learning curve on this game (for me) even after playing all the Dark Souls games.

I'm starting to enjoy the game even more now, but there is so much stuff that is just so extremely annoying and it doesn't really need to be like that to be difficult.
It makes me appreciate even more all the improvements they added to Dark Souls 1,2,3.
I have to admit i'm not a fan of the way to pick levels. Prefer the slightly more open world of the later games.

Right now i'm working on maxing a Longsword. Got it to +6 so far I think. Might be good as a backup when a magic weapon isn't needed.
I was surprised the Claymore was so bad in this game. Too slow for me unlike the one in DS1.
It might be worth going back to my starter weapon the Halberd and upgrading that some too.
I never really liked it for huge groups of enemies.


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## SilverEars (Dec 20, 2022)

tdockweiler said:


> Last's night's game was like a night and day difference in difficulty. Way easier. Still had a lot of stupid deaths (mostly from 4-2 projectiles).
> Turns out that my issue was that Crescent Falchion just isn't that great. Better than maybe a starter weapon at least.
> 
> I found that the Dragon Longsword destroys nearly all those 4-1 skeletons in like 2 hits with just the +2 version (maybe +4, but can't remember)..
> ...


I melted flamelurker with my Faith build.  With my Mirdan Hammer, he was history.  I might have been a tad OP since I first visited the valley of defilement first to get the best weapons and upgrades. lol

Spider boss on the other hand was a nuisance.   My first playthrough, flamelurker was such a pain in the azz.  You just need the right weapon to melt him. lol


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## SilverEars (Dec 22, 2022)

To add my thoughts to Demon's Souls as I play the PS5 version.  To me, Demon's Souls world feels really dreadful, and it's the most dreadful world I've experienced of Souls games.  Tower of Latria and Valley of Defilement.  It can't get any worse. lol.  Just fantastic!

I get the most emersion from Demon's Souls world.  Dark Souls 1 world feels more fantasy, but Demon's Souls world is just really creepy.  Best atmosphere of all of Souls games IMO.  It just feels the most real in terms of expressing dread.  This is why Demon's Souls is one of my top three Souls RPG games (Along with DS1 and 3).  Bloodborne is also up there when it comes to emerisive atmosphere.  Bloodborne is amazing in the way it makes you feel the world.


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## SilverEars (Dec 22, 2022)

I'm OP as **** right now!  Faith build with Mirdan Hammer that regens hp.  Also, adjudicator Shield that regen hp.  The OP as **** armor than tanks everything.  I just take hits since the armor is so good and my hp regens.  Easy mode! lol  Well worth the struggle at the Valley of Defilement early on.


----------



## KaiserTK

Demon’s Souls remake looks so good. 
Wish Bluepoint would remake the rest of the soulsborne series. Also I’m still waiting for Bloodborne to come out on PC…


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## SilverEars

KaiserTK said:


> Demon’s Souls remake looks so good.
> Wish Bluepoint would remake the rest of the soulsborne series. Also I’m still waiting for Bloodborne to come out on PC…


Yeah, the fidelity is amazing.  The sound and vibration feedback helps with deeling the weight is each strike of the various weapon types.  I luv how the parry sounds.  The PS5 version is a must for any Fromsoft fan.

Bloodborne would looks amazing becausr the design is so incredible.  I hope they are working on a remake.

Faith build in Demon's Souls is really fun.

One mistake I made is upgrade my blessed Iron Knickles to +5 hopinng that having it on my off hand or have it on the ready while two handing my Mirdan Hammer would stack two blessed +5 hp regen perperties.  Unfortunately, two +5 blessed weapons hp regen does not stack.  The weapon level must be different to stack.  So, one has to be +4 the highest.  

+5 would give +6 hp/sec.  Adjudicator shield on the other than would give a whopping +8 hp/sec fully upgraded with demon souls.  I made a mistake of using demon souls to upgrade my Moonlight sword, which is weaker than blessed Mirdan Hammer +5

If I were to do thia again, I'd stack  Adjudicator shield maxed out with blessed Mirdan Hammer +5, and regen ring. This cobo would max out regen.


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## tdockweiler

Feels like i'm moving at a snail's pace still in the game.
Instead of advancing i've been farming a lot and upgrading all my weapons.
Currently have Crescent Falchion +2 and Dragon Longsword+4.
The Dragon Longsword+4 seems to work better vs most things.
I made a Longsword+7 but the damage is so bad it hardly feels worth using.

So I noticed there is a Dragonstone Chunk +2 in Flamelurker's area. Figured i'd grab that and die fast and get out of there.
Beat him on the first try and was sort of surprised how easy he was. I was dreading that fight due to everyone saying he's super hard.
He actually seems easier than Smelter Demon in DS2.

I think it was due to using the Purple Flame Shield and the flame ring.
You can actually block all his attacks. A few of them would nearly drain all my stamina though.
Crescent Falchion +2 only did 98 dmg per single hit but he's pretty easy when you block all his attacks and stay far away.
I'd bait a slam attack and then walk in and hit him twice then back away. That worked well.
It feels like half the time he wants to go off and do his own thing lol.

I guess the real reason he was easier is that I was level 48 already. Most fight him at level 20 or 30 maybe.

Still so annoying having to do so much running in this game. Miss the bonfires.
Annoying to die in Tunnel City while farming and then have to run a mile back to camp.
Even the "shortcut" to Flamelurker takes awhile.


----------



## SilverEars

This guy is probably the most pain in the azz enemy early game.


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## tdockweiler

1-3 Inner Ward in Demon's Souls is sadly the first really fun level in the game i've visited so far.
I got through the whole level without dying which was a surprise. 
What made it way easier is that I took it slow and felt like a sniper and used ranged attacks a LOT.
The Thief's Ring helped a ton on this level too. You can pull all those enemies one at a time leading up to the boss fog.
Reminds me too of all the traps found in some of the Dark Souls 2 levels.

It's sort of funny seeing playthroughs of this level after I completed it.
Many people just spam attack against shielded soldiers, deplete their own stamina and get nearly murdered and have to retreat.
Surprised how much grass they use. To me it just seemed a little excessive?!
Baiting their attacks first nearly always seems to work best.

The level design reminds me a little of Undead Burg and Lower Undead Burg from Dark Souls.

Demon's Souls really has too many poorly lit zones. Not an issue for the PS5, but definitely a problem on the PS3 version.

So for those that never played Demon's Souls, ranged attacks of some sort is a must. Will make your life so much easier.

I've delayed going through the swaps in world 5 (5-2 I guess). Not looking forward to that.

The Leech Boss should be easy since I have a good fire weapon.

I'm probably close to halfway through this one and so far it's my least favorite in the Souls series (so far).

I'm sure on a 2nd playthrough i'll fly through the game with no issues.
No way i'm picking Temple Knight again!

Oh yeah, killed Dragon God on first try. I guess it helps to know which direction he's facing before running and to stand behind the pillars 
Luckily I killed him before running out of grass. I didn't even notice him once shooting me with flames. Weird.

So far the bosses seem comparable in difficulty to those of Dark Souls 2.


They sure made TONS of improvements in DS1 and D2 compared to Demon's Souls. Making it slightly less annoying and more fun to play.


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## tdockweiler

LOL accidentally cleared 1-4 halfway through the game. Didn't realize it's the last area   
I had to cheese the red NPCs and some of the other red eye enemies.

Strangely there is no shortcut for the ladder or gate near the final blue dragon on the PS3 version.

It's so funny watching PS3 footage of the game after seeing so many walkthroughs of the PS5 version.
Such a night and day difference. 

Here's one of them:


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## SilverEars (Dec 25, 2022)

tdockweiler said:


> 1-3 Inner Ward in Demon's Souls is sadly the first really fun level in the game i've visited so far.
> I got through the whole level without dying which was a surprise.
> What made it way easier is that I took it slow and felt like a sniper and used ranged attacks a LOT.
> The Thief's Ring helped a ton on this level too. You can pull all those enemies one at a time leading up to the boss fog.
> ...


Temple knight is usually for Faith builds.  The PS3 version has poor lighting.  Bloomy and just really dull looking, lacking definitions.  However, the modeling is really good for it's time.  I think the modeling is better than DS1.  Knight armors causes fat roll in this game, so not ideal.  I don't do knight armor unless I can tank hits. When you do Faith build with stacked regen, you can tank hits with heavy armor.  I wouldn't even bother rolling.  It's like walking around with Havel set.

Two of my least fav runs is "The Ritual Path," and "Swamp of Sorrow."  Those are the two I struggled with the most.  I guess 5-1 is bad too, especially if under-leveled.  Once you figure out Tower of Latria, it's a predictable gimmick (but, excellently crafted with the key system and causing confusion as where to go, which really adds the dread), although the atmosphere is still creepily excellent.

Havel's armor is weak.  What the hell?! What's the point?  I know some people has trouble with slow weapons like great swords, etc.., but the strategy with them is to wait until enemy attacks and then you have plenty of time to do your slow swing that would one shot them.  That's the advantage.  I enjoy one shotting enemies with great weapons.


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## SilverEars (Dec 25, 2022)

I moved onto *Bloodborne* after getting bored of Demon's Souls remake.  This is my 2nd playthrough and it's so much easier than I recall.  Parry is super easy to do like in DS1, and the weapons are so fast that enemies are easy to kill.  I'm playing a skill build this time around, and I take down the early bosses first attempt.  I think it's because I'm better aware of weapon upgrades.  Weapon upgrades are really important in this game.  This game feels very spammy, but in a good way.  As a skill build, I'm using Saw Spear, and I just spam L1, and there's so much stamina that I never get winded before taking down enemies with my L1 spam.  Definitely the easiest combat to master.  Combat is fast paced, and dodge is quick.  It's the fastest paced Souls game next to Sekiro.  Sekiro requires much greater skill to master the combat.

Bloodborne's combat is so damn easy, but it also feels good.  I think it's the beasts you are hitting is so satisfying and the blood splatter. lol.


----------



## tdockweiler

Wow, 5-2 in Demon's Souls really is a nightmare. Got through 5-1 on first try with no issues and didn't fall to my death luckily.
Even the boss is a joke with a Dragon Longsword +4 (Fire). Reminded me of the Prowling Magus fight in DS2. One of the easiest fights ever.

So lesson learned, don't go through 5-2 without a map or no clue where to go. Not fun. I ended up getting to a giant and he depletes all my stamina. I can't roll or run away quick lyenough (swamp slows you down) and he murders me. Bad time to have no arrows and a weak soul arrow. I tried again...dead again.

On the third try I sneak behind him to the fog door. Not even sure if it's the right one.
I got lost in the swap so much. Had no idea where to go.

Luckily I made it to the boss and somehow I killed him without dying and having no clue to the strategy. Rolling behind him for attacks seemed to work. Not my best moment because I was fat rolling during his fight. Oops. I came close to dying so many times. I only had really weak grass left.

So glad to never have to visit this hell hole again. It's 10x worse than Blightown. 
The poison is way weaker though here.
The issue was not knowing where to go and it's nearly completely dark on my PS3.

I don't think I did that well too because I used nearly all my grass and I had like 30 of them. Oops.


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## SilverEars (Dec 26, 2022)

*Bloodborne*, what a game!

So, with the skill build, my weapon of choice early game is Saw Spear.  It's just like Saw Clever, but with a pointier end and it pokes.  It provides bonus damage against beasts, namely the serrated damage.

I found out that, the Saw weapons work better for me than the Axe.  I understand Axe outputs greater damage, but it's slower, and the game's pace is fast.  This is why Saw Spear worked so much better for me this playthrough.  I actually even like the speed of the cane better.  Non-tricked, the speed is faster than the Saw weapons.  But, the damage output is less until you max out your skill points I believe.

This game is on easy mode due to this.  I melted both Blood Starved Beast, and Vicar Amelia.  Vicar Amelia is easy to get visceral attacks.  She went down easily with constant visceral.

I enjoy Bloodborne much more 2nd playthrough.  I think the game has high replay value that's why it's growing on me.  FromSoft games have high replay value generally because they put in a lot of secrets, and you notice them in the consecutive playthroughs.  Also, the amount of depth to builds/customizability makes it replayable.  You can try out various build types on consecutive playthroughs.

It's amazing how much depth there is to damages on enemy types.  Very technical game.




Also, Bloodborne is a PS4 title, so no VRR. The hell?!  I hate Sony PlayStation for this BS.  I was ready to upgrade my OLED for VRR, but it will have to wait.


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## SilverEars (Dec 27, 2022)

After melting Vicar Amelia with crippling her legs over and over again (LOL), I dreaded having to fight Shadow of Yharnam, the trio.  Surprisingly. I beat them in first try this time.  I think I'm good at multiple bosses vs me fights because I got trained real well on God of War Ragnarok in the hardest mode (LOL).

One fight I really dread is Rom.  I just hate this fight since my first playthrough, either the spiders or Rom would one shot me, and I'd start over and over again.  This time I would ignore the spiders, and just hit 2-3 times and then run away.  Avoid AOE, and repeat.  This worked well.  I hate Rom.  It's such an uninteresting boss, and is unnecessarily difficult.

Vicar Amelia fight looks so sexy on video when fighting her with fire paper.  I luv the sound of the fire burning when fire paper is activated.  It sounds like a torch.  Also, "Prey Slaughtered" is cool.


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## tdockweiler

Almost done with Demon's Souls. Maybe 75% of the way through? Only level 60 though.
I finally went back to kill Fools Idol with ranged.
This game's AI is just the most broken thing ever.
You can sit there with Thief's Ring at the far left pillar and use ranged attacks on her the whole fight.
Zero damage taken at all.

In Upper Latria 3-2 I find the level is pretty easy. The only thing that could kill me at level 60 was gravity.
I get almost to the 2nd spot to break the chain and attack a gargoyle on the stairs and accidentally fall off.
Frustrating since it took me probably 20-25 minutes of exploration to get there.
The Gargoyle's AI is so stupid you can safely ignore most of them.

Another thing that can kill me is the darkness. The lighting is just so bad on the PS3.
Sometimes I just get ambushed by enemies that are on the screen but can't see well.

I then get to the boss finally and find that he's by far the hardest boss in the game so far (without ranged).
I get double teamed by his clone gargoyle and can't use grass in time (stunned).
Next try gravity kills me.

I died like 3 times in a row. Oops. One reason is that I had used up all my arrows. Would have made it easier.

So on the 4th or 5th try my best weapon breaks just before the fight and I have to use my weaker Crescent Falchion +3.

I ended up cheesing him most of the fight and end up getting the 2nd gargoyle to appear with the first one still out.
I had to use the fire pit a lot to block his damage. Sometimes he'd go off and fly away and ignore me for the longest time.
Safest strategy seemed to use my super weak soul arrow to take off 60dmg per hit (!).

IMO he's harder than any single boss in Dark Souls 2 (if you do melee only). Feels way harder than the DS1 Gargoyles.
Maybe slightly less hard than Ornstein and Smough? I bet with ranged though Maneater would be WAY easier.
It's possible too that he's super easy with a giant 2 handed Greatsword.

I'm finding this game's difficulty just all over the place. They don't seem to increase the difficulty much in later levels.
By far the hardest level for me was 3-1 at lower levels mainly due to having only a Crescent Falchion +0 at the time.
At early levels I had to be in stealth mode for that area.

Getting the Dragon Long Sword and upgrading that made the game way way easier and I don't even know if that weapon is anything special.
It just works though.

It's definitely not as hard as I originally thought. For ME it had a VERY steep learning curve.

It also just seems to crank up the annoyances and make some things harder than they should be. Artificial difficulty.

I think my favorites from best to worst are now:

DS2 (vanilla) > DS3 > DS1 > DemS > Bloodborne (never played the rest)

DS2 is BY FAR the easiest for me and the most fun.
DS3 had the hardest bosses by far. I still probably couldn't kill Dancer of the Boreal valley on the first try.
I'd always get to level 70 before I had any chance of beating her.
There's also a few levels I'm terrible at and always dread going through.
It's Irithyll Dungeon and Boreal Valley.

The final boss on DS3 also took me nearly 20 tries lol.
Second playthrough just 2!

In terms of difficulty right now it's probably from easiest to hardest like (as a melee player only):

DS2 > DemS > DS1 > DS3 > Bloodborne

I'm just not good at Bloodborne at all.

DS3 really cranks up it's difficulty on the bosses in the last few levels.

Demon's Souls had the steepest learning curve so that's why originally I thought it was much harder than it is now.

PS one thing that makes DS2 so much easier is that in addition to Estus Flasks it gives you life gems.
There is a merchant in the hub area that sells them.

Maneater fight. It's a pretty cool looking fight IMO.


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## SilverEars (Dec 29, 2022)

Bloodborne is so damn easy, you should give it another shot.  Enemies stagger so easily when you spam R1.  There's no need to dodge because, there's a mechanism that lets you get your health back after you get hit, if you hit them again  Probably the easiest combat of all Souls games. Hardest is Sekiro.

With the big guys, try parrying.  Visceral is OP.  Easy to parry the big guys that swing slow.

The game gets less and less interesting as you get further.  The world gets weirder and weirder as well.  I think this is generally the case with FromSoft games.  The beginning of the game is super interesting and then it gets less interesting as time goes on.  Boss fights are not so interesting because beasts uses the same tactics.  Stife, and hit, hit, hit. Strife, and hit, hit, hit. etc.. etc... You just level up your weapon and just melt them.  Really simple.

I think the only game that gets more interesting as you play is Sekiro.  It gets better and better as you play.


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## SilverEars (Dec 29, 2022)

For those that want to learn more about the mechanics of Bloodborne, and how deep the mechanics are (ridiculously nuanced).  This guy is amazing.  He did his research.


My most pain in the azz fight so far.  Ludwig.  I recall my first playthrough I beat him on first try, but this time, I was struggling.  One approach to beat him is real aggressive (the game rewards you for being aggressive), which works for me.  The issue with this boss is, he's got moves that one shots you.  what a pain...


----------



## tdockweiler

Played some more Demon's Souls last night. 
I was dreading finishing 4-2 so I took a break for a few days.
Turns out the 2nd group of Reapers you don't even need to kill to get past them.

The last 3 bosses (before final) were so majorly disappointing!
Got to Old Hero and he's such a joke. You equip the thief ring and stand behind him.
He can't see you so you just hit him a few times and walk/roll away. 
Zero damage taken and no real skill needed.

The Storm King fight was kind of fun, but not much challenge. Just grab that special sword, run to the house and then kill him with ranged attacks (from the sword).

Now this is how stupid this game can be at times. I run to the fog door to Old Monk and a flayer 1 shots me! What the heck? How is that even possible? I was using Fluted Armor and the black armor body for fast roll.  Does anyone actually upgrade their armor? I don't. 
I think in DS3 I did some, but definitely upgraded my shield.

The flayers are harder than the actual boss lol.
Apparently you can snipe them so that when they use ranged attacks on you it hits the wall instead.

I didn't prepare and look up strategies first. I'd just constantly walk to my right or left with Old Monk targeted.
I'd bait an attack and then hit him 2 or 3 times and back off. 
Took my time but I probably didn't need to. 
Not even rolling is really needed!
He's really really aggressive and rarely lets up. 
I did use quite a few grasses though.

Of course this was probably easier since I was on the PS3 and he can't summon a human player.

Now all that's left is the Maiden fight and the final boss.

I already cleared 4-3 and just need to run to the boss. Somehow there are no shortcuts to him on the PS3 version.
There is one on the PS5 version. You pull a lever and it opens a ladder I think.

Definitely my least favorite Souls game for sure. I just don't find it as much fun as it should be.
I bought a PS3 for it (and Gran Turismo) and still sort of glad I did.

I think it's safe to say i'd prefer the PS5 version due to it's WAY WAY better lighting.
The PS3 version has so many levels that are way too dark!
It just ruins the experience.

I really do imagine that if I started up as a new character (like royalty) i'd fly through the game with no issues.
I'd probably just skip Tower of Latria first until I could get a better weapon.

I actually used the Dragon Longsword +4 for the entire game. Not the best but it worked fine.
Some levels the Crescent Falchion is required though (like for the Fire Bug level).
Having a bow and arrow will save you from a HUGE headache.

The only real frustration from the game came from just a few things:

1) The flying manta ranged attacks. Didn't realize you can just use a thief ring and they will ignore you sometimes. Early on I had no soul arrow to 1 shot them.
2) The confusing Tower of Latria combined with the stupid dark PS3 version. Those flayers killed me so many times at low levels. One round of my attacks wouldn't kill them at low levels.
3) 5-2 and not having the Sodden ring for faster walking. Plus not knowing where to go. The PS3 version's darkness makes this level even harder I think.
Without a map this is one of the hardest souls levels IMO.
4) On the first level I didn't realize right away too when exactly I could run across bridges to have the dragon kill all those enemies.
5) Attempting to clear 4-1 at early levels without a really good weapon. I attempted this with only my fist. Not suggested.

Only really challenging boss was Maneater. He's at the DS1 boss level of difficulty. Imagine the DS1 Gargoyles but having to fight them on much smaller platform (without the fire). Give them more HP and make them even more annoying.

With flame gear the Flamelurker isn't too bad. Get the Purple Flame Shield and the ring.
I died a few times vs the level 1 giant, but that's because I was dumb and stood in front of him and he 1shot me. Oops.

BTW I didn't look up any guides or playthrough videos ahead of time. That possibly would have made it easier! That just seems to ruin games like this. I did that though a lot after clearing each level.

PS anyone played Final Fantasy XI (online) back in the day?

That is one of the RPGs that comes to mind that was once as hard as our first Dark Souls game.
It used to be so hard you couldn't even solo past like level 30. Only specific jobs like Beastmaster (charming pets) could.
The game is still alive in 2022 but it's a huge time sink but super fun when you can get into a static group or good linkshell.
I quit in February 2022 after playing since 2004! Events got repetitive. Felt like I kept doing Odyssey C runs over and over...
What kept me going in the game is how much I loved the Puppetmaster and Dancer jobs. So much stuff to learn and remember!
Puppetmaster was nice because you could use your puppet/robot as a tank, backup healer or damage dealer.
You could use it's 1hr (special) ability to "zerg" tough enemies/bosses (called "Notorious Monsters" in game).

They now have private (free) servers that let you experience the game like how it was at level 75 cap.


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## SilverEars (Jan 3, 2023)

I decided to go NG+ so that I can finally try all the weapons has to offer. I barely had enough usage of the Rakuyo since DLC is accessed at the end. I really luv the Rakuyo.  I luv the speed and fast combo that staggers enemies.  Pain in the azz to get.  The two sharks, my lord!  They are the bosses of the game!


I also I really like how boom hammer hits.  I luv to ignite it with fire and R2, and kabooom!!! lol  Just awesome when the enemies falls from the explosive hit.

I want to Git Gud to the point of playing the whole game and beating it with only Boom Hammer. lol  Look how fun it looks.  Like I said earlier, when you use weapons slow like this. You look for opportunities to strike.  Wait for their attack, dodge, and then your turn.  You can't tell me this weapons isn't the coolest.  Bloodborne has so many cool weapons.  I think the fun of the game is using all these cool weapons and just beating the crap out of the beasts.  I luv the dust off gesture at the end.  Very cool!

Bossfights with strength weapons are not easy, well except for the pizza cutter and the axe.  Vicar Amelia just melts with Rakyo, but the Kirkhammer is slow.  Also, I think this guy just sucks at dodging and timing hits.  Actually, blunt damage doesn't do jack to Amelia.


It's pretty sad that Sony owns such a great IP. I'd say the best lore of all Fromsoft games. 

What game has a wheel as a weapon?  The executioner outfit is the coolest!  I did Alfred's quest, and it was so awsome!


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## tdockweiler

Stopped playing Demon's Souls right at the last level. Just no interest in bothering with the last boss. I'm sure i'll try eventually.
So what did I do? Started a 2nd character as the Royalty class.

I thought i'd fly through the game now but not even close. The experience is sort of the same, but slightly different.
Still feels slow for me to advance. Unable to just fly through the levels like DS1 and DS2.
Royalty definitely feels WAY weaker at the start!

First castle I found that my armor is like made out of paper or something and a few hits can kill me. Plus it takes me like 6 hits to kill some enemies.
I was stupid and attacked one soldier on the stairs and end up falling to my death. I know better!

Death 2 was when I get blown up by those flame guys coming at me all at once and stunning me. Just before the shortcut.
No idea why I didn't use soul arrow on them or run away. Stupid mistakes get you killed.
Have to admit though the ones in DS2 are WAY worse! They even jump at you before blowing themselves up!

Death 3 was when I ran to the 2nd boss (the Giant) and get murdered by a blue eyed knight and some archers.
Those archers can actually take off huge chunks of your health.
I think my main issue was just low stamina. Even had the Crescent Schimtar already.

Somehow this run I found the giant stupid easy. Now that I know to just stand behind him.

I then went straight to 2-1. LOL I have no idea how but I got killed by a fat officer TWICE in a row.
First time I found out he can 1shot me! Not only that but I get to the spider boss and... 1shot!
Kind of stupid to get killed by an officer that doesn't even need to be killed. Can just run past him!

Plan is to buy a ton of arrows and do the ranged method for the boss. 
Somehow on my first playthrough I did the Zerg method and have no idea how I survived.

People say armor doesn't matter, but my character is so weak now. I need to get the fluted armor again.
Going to raise END and VIT up a LOT before anything else.

Right now everything feels like deja vu. Had the same experience sort of on playthrough 1!

I think my original score of 8/10 is pretty fair and accurate. 

I bought my PS3 with this in early December along with 6 games. Still haven't played any of them other than this!
Guess I should try Gran Turismo 6 next.


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## KaiserTK

I really wish BB and other Souls games had better mastered soundtracks. The tracks themselves are phenomenal, but unfortunately they sound muddy and compressed.


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## SilverEars (Friday at 4:07 PM)

I just beat Laurence on NG+. It was intense. Damn near impossible on NG+.  He sometimes one shots you.  Very scary.  It took awhile to figure out how to deal with him.  He is one of the hardest boss in the game.

I realized that the only weapon I can beat him with is the saw spear.  It does the most damage since I haven't put points into arcane.  Untricked, it's the most damaging and affective.  I may try with boom hammer in the future when I get cocky.

I have to play up close with him.  I cannot fight him distanced like this guy because I don't know when to go in for the hit.  I just stay up close to his nuts and whack away.  You have to dodge at the right timing when he does sweeps, or you get sucked into it and get staggered and get 2 shotted.  2nd phase was a real nightmare.  He keeps stomping his hand with the hugest hitbox, and sometimes it will one shot you if you get hit wrong.  And then you can't get close because you can get staggered by the lava or his hits, and get 2 shotted.   Distanced or close, you lose either way. lol.  It's hard to figure him out.  Staying at the center and circling along side him while timing the dodges of his hand stomps works perfectly.



This guy has a good guide.  He tells you exactly what is going on and what to avoid, and why.


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## SilverEars (Sunday at 3:13 PM)

I got to try majority of the weapons and It's not a surprise what weapons are highly regarded.  I tried the Logarius wheel and it's kinda meh.  Boom hammer is fun, but not easiest weapons to use due to it's timing. It will be difficult to fight bosses that hits quickly.  You have to time the hits really well then.  However, it's very practical for crowd control.  When ignited, and using charged R2, hitbox is ridiculously large that it will take out multiple enemies within that humongous hitbox.

In terms of most practical weapons besides the obvious ones (pizza cutter and the Ludwig Holy Sword), Church Pick, Saw Spear, and Rakuyo would be my top picks.

If you are fighting kins, definitely the Church PIck.  It melts kins.  Saw Spear untricked is my best choice for Laurence.

If you find that lots of weapons are too slow for Orphan of Kos, I highly recommend Rakuyo.  Rakuyo is so fast that you don't have to wait for attack animations to finish for a long time, and dodge comes up immediately. Most weapons have too much of a delay after you commit to an attack that you see Orphan's hit coming to you before you can even dodge due to weapons being too slow.  This is the weapon I could beat Orphan of Kos on NG+,  I struggled with other weapons. Orphan of Kos can be beat easily if you parry, but that wasn't my strategy.

And we all hate Winter Lanterns with a passion.  They do a grab I really hate.  You can actually stagger their grab with the right weapon, the Church Pick.


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## SilverEars

Oh my gawd, this is hilarious.   There's people having trouble with blood starved beast, and people are saying follow Beyonce.  I had know idea what that meant until I saw this vid.


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