Dark Souls -- Will I Like It?

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 1:37 pm

msduncan wrote:I do like the depraved starting stats though... I think it gives you a large starting boost.

Why is that? Because you have more control of the starting stats?

e1123 wrote:What level are you? Don't go in there without at least one person. It's a good place to pimp yourself out as a phantom if you need some humanity.

I'm level 21 or 22 I believe. I tried to get someone to join, but every time I summoned (tried 10-15 different people) the game waited a bit and then said "Summoning Failed". Except once, someone actually joined, but he didn't fair too well in the fight, to say the least.

How do I become a phantom? You mean put my own summons out? I need to be human to do this, yes?

And thanks for the tip on Firelink, I'll check it out. I thought I went down those stairs and cleared everything out. Hmmmm....

e1123 · Post by **e1123** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 2:44 pm

Inverarity wrote:
msduncan wrote:I do like the depraved starting stats though... I think it gives you a large starting boost.
Why is that? Because you have more control of the starting stats?

e1123 wrote:What level are you? Don't go in there without at least one person. It's a good place to pimp yourself out as a phantom if you need some humanity.
I'm level 21 or 22 I believe. I tried to get someone to join, but every time I summoned (tried 10-15 different people) the game waited a bit and then said "Summoning Failed". Except once, someone actually joined, but he didn't fair too well in the fight, to say the least.

How do I become a phantom? You mean put my own summons out? I need to be human to do this, yes?

And thanks for the tip on Firelink, I'll check it out. I thought I went down those stairs and cleared everything out. Hmmmm....

No, you don't need to be human to be summoned. It's a good way to get humanity and then return to bonfire and reverse your hollowing. Your level is about where I was, so there should be people to join you. Sometimes it takes a bit to get someone, but would you rather wait for a while or keep making the trek from the bonfire?

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:07 pm

msduncan wrote:Hmmm... I was using the pyro spells to get past some of the mobs and bosses. Will be tough to do without the spells for that long. I do like the depraved starting stats though... I think it gives you a large starting boost.

It's a BAD DEAL actually.

It starts you at a higher level than the other classes, which means your first level you pay for will be much more expensive than the other classes. Pyro is the only class that starts at Level 1, and I recommend trying to pick a class that starts at a low level overall. The first few levels are trivially cheap, so why skip them?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:19 pm

I should not have entered this thread. I had no interest in Dark Souls. In fact I had been skipping this thread since it was made. But I decided to come in and read the first few poats about it and leave again. I couldn't stop reading. Now I want this game. It sounds awesome. Shit.

EDIT 4 player co-op??? holy shat.

EDIT2 LOL I thought I was in the PC section. Damn. At least it's on Xbox 360. Can PS3 folk play with 360 folk?

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:32 pm

Daehawk wrote:Can PS3 folk play with 360 folk?

Does Microsoft still own the Xbox brand? Yes? Then players from the two consoles can't play together. This isn't going to change for any game, except maybe EA games (though I seriously doubt it).

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:41 pm

TiLT wrote:
Daehawk wrote:Can PS3 folk play with 360 folk?
Does Microsoft still own the Xbox brand? Yes? Then players from the two consoles can't play together. This isn't going to change for any game, except maybe EA games (though I seriously doubt it).

I prefer microsoft's approach to ea's where multilayer only lasts a year or so.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 7:46 pm

Thanks Chris... never thought of that.

Ok then I'm restarting AGAIN with a Pyro. I'm going to be more careful of how I spend my points.

STR
DEX enough to work the bow well
Attunement enough to get two slots?
then Stamina after that for future PVP lasting power?

What do you think?

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:48 pm

e1123 wrote:but would you rather wait for a while or keep making the trek from the bonfire?

I don't know, I think I'm suffering from the same problems Chris described on page 2. I have spent the past two hours waiting to see a single summons sign and I haven't - so that's even worse than what I experienced last night. And yes, I'm human. I've even tried disconnecting / reconnecting to see if it put me on a different server. I've further tried to get summoned and I've yet to have someone pick me. I joined the white covenant with hopes it would induce more summons. Nope.

Growing impatient (2 hours is a significant amount of time to do literally nothing) I have managed to die a couple more times when I tried the fight alone and waste all my humanity in the process. Maybe I'm too high a level? I dunno. I've seen lots of ghosts go running by me and into the boss fight, but no one wants hang with me.

Regardless, MP is not exactly working for me.

Edit to add: HA! I killed that bitch!!!! Got him good. Finally. I'd say 25, maybe 30 tries later. Who needs help?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:31 pm

I haven't had any issues finding people to join my games except when it's really late at night. I finally beat that darn demon and then blasted through the lower area and just beat the dragon. Grabbed two people to help me and it was a pretty easy fight that way. Now I'm heading down towards blighttown.

FYI I totally forgot the other cheesy boss from the first game. The dragon drove me f'n nuts. I must of died there a million times. Anyway I'm back on track and having a blast.

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:50 pm

msduncan wrote:Thanks Chris... never thought of that.

Ok then I'm restarting AGAIN with a Pyro. I'm going to be more careful of how I spend my points.

STR
DEX enough to work the bow well
Attunement enough to get two slots?
then Stamina after that for future PVP lasting power?

What do you think?

I'd get 3 attunement slots. That gives you enough spells to get through most areas. Past that, I think you can determine your own path.

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:46 pm

I just made it to Blighttown. Wow, what a journey. The last boss - the one that got me the key for blighttown - turned out to be rather easy. I got him on the 2nd try. Blighttown is making me pay for it though.

I love how Firelink Shrine comes into and out of the gameplay experience. I started there, then left it for awhile while I did the Undead Burg, then returned to it during the Parish, then used it for awhile as I completed the Burg & Parish, and now it's out of sight while I deal with the Depths and Blighttown. As a result, it really feels like I'm out adventuring better than say, using a quest book or a "chapter 3" pop up.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:17 am

Dark Souls speed run

Under 2 hours.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:49 am

Dear God, I could watch that entire thing.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:39 am

Is there somewhere online that has a decent description of the game mechanics? I bought the game this weekend and the instruction manual tells me nothing. I have no idea what humanity is or when I want to use it. I don't know what some of the stats affect. What do the different values for armor and weapons mean? I just need some of this basic manual-like stuff laid out for me.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:09 pm

Read This

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I have no idea what humanity is or when I want to use it.

Here

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I bought the game this weekend and the instruction manual tells me nothing.

Dark Souls is a game that does very little handholding, especially when it comes to explaining certain game mechanics.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to just play. Don't worry about stats. You can pretty much play a big chunk of the game at low levels with low gear.

The most important thing about DS is learning how to control your character and the environment.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:29 pm

And your anger.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:01 pm

To answer the original question: Dark Souls -- Do I Like It?

Yes, a lot, but I may not finish it. I thought that that understated (to put it generously) storyline would be a turn-off, but it turns out that I enjoy atmosphere more than story, and Dark Souls has atmosphere in spades. It's up there with World of Goo, Team Fortress 2, and Stalker in the atmosphere department.

I don't mind the difficulty. It's tough as nails, but for the most part it's a fair kind of tough, challenging the player to rise to the occasion. I'm confident that if I were to start a new game from scratch, I could fly through sections that had me quaking in fear the first time around, because Dark Souls has forced to me to become a better player.

Of course, sometimes Dark Souls isn't fair at all (jump through these swinging blades! on this tiny ledge! while someone shoots lightning at you!). I've made judicious use of wikis and forum spoilers to keep my frustration to a minimum in those sections.

The problem, if it can even be described as a problem, is that the game is very long, two-hour speed runs notwithstanding. I don't mind frequently dying and retracing my steps, but it makes for a very long game. I'm at 45 hours or so, with many more to come. But I can't keep monopolizing the TV in my home every evening. Pretty soon I'll have to set Dark Souls aside for a few days, and past experience tells me that when I take a break from a game (or book, or TV show), it often becomes a permanent separation.

But enough about the future. Right now, I'm going to stay focused on getting through

Spoiler:

if it kills me. And it will. Over and over again.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:17 pm

It took me a better part of a year to get to through the first game. Since it was on the PS3 and I don't have access to it all the time it makes it hard to get a lot of time with it. Now the new one I'm probably going to melt my 360. I've been playing 4-5 hours a pop and only drag myself away because I have to. The game is so addictive because there's always something else that needs to be explored. It's crazy how gigantic this game is.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:07 pm

Funny AWS. I was going to eventually ask you to answer your question. I suspected you would like it. Interestingly, for all my fanboi love of the series, I never actually finished Demon's Souls. I put many many many hours into it and was 1 world away from finishing (basically 1 boss) until my PS3 started freezing all the time. I now have a new PS3, but will probably not go back to finish it. It doesn't diminish the experience though, for the enjoyment of this game truly is in the journey.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:14 pm

The ending isn't really much of anything to be honest. In fact the final boss I beat on the first try.

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:51 am

Tonight was the first time I made literally no progress.

Spoiler:

Still my game of the year, though.

Covenant72 · Post by **Covenant72** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 8:54 am

A tip to make that fight easier

Spoiler:

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:22 am

I finally got past that part. I don't have much luck with summoning, but one actually worked and the three of us (including an NPC) were able to win. All told, it took over 30 tries, 10 humanity, and 40,000 souls for the cause. By far the hardest boss for me. Not sure why since it doesn't seem many others had the same difficulty, but there were a lot of one and two hits kills. What a relief to get past it.

Covenant72 · Post by **Covenant72** » Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:07 am

I had horrible luck with her actually as well. The first time I faced her, I got her down like 90% so I figured "awesome, I'll get her next time or soon thereafter". Unfortuantely, my main weapon picked that exact moment to get low durability, and stupid me hadn't bought the repair box yet (hey, there's always a blacksmith nearby right?) All my other weapons were non upgraded junk so it took forever to finally get her. The reduced damage made the fight last a whole lot longer.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:00 am

Jag wrote:Read This

That was helpful, thanks.

One more question: I don't understand the merchant screen. When I look at an item (say, for example, the heal spell the dude at the beginning sells), I see four or five different soul values on the right side of the screen. Usually, it descends from high to low souls (I think the heal spell one starts at 8,000 in the top right box and the lowest box on the right says 2000). Which one is the price of the item? And what do the other numbers mean?

TiLT · Post by **TiLT** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:38 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
Jag wrote:Read This
That was helpful, thanks.

One more question: I don't understand the merchant screen. When I look at an item (say, for example, the heal spell the dude at the beginning sells), I see four or five different soul values on the right side of the screen. Usually, it descends from high to low souls (I think the heal spell one starts at 8,000 in the top right box and the lowest box on the right says 2000). Which one is the price of the item? And what do the other numbers mean?

They correspond with the item to their direct left, so it's just the individual price for each item. It's logical, so it's strange that it's so hard to understand. I struggled with it at the beginning too.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:58 am

TiLT wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
Jag wrote:Read This
That was helpful, thanks.

One more question: I don't understand the merchant screen. When I look at an item (say, for example, the heal spell the dude at the beginning sells), I see four or five different soul values on the right side of the screen. Usually, it descends from high to low souls (I think the heal spell one starts at 8,000 in the top right box and the lowest box on the right says 2000). Which one is the price of the item? And what do the other numbers mean?
They correspond with the item to their direct left, so it's just the individual price for each item. It's logical, so it's strange that it's so hard to understand. I struggled with it at the beginning too.

Ah, that makes sense. I guess I'm just used to seeing the price of only the item I have highlighted. Thanks!

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 9:49 am

What's my next boss after the Taurus Demon? I've got the Drake sword and cleared through to the Blacksmith where my current hearth is. I've seen the Gargoyle on the roof, a demon with some dogs and another glowy screen where the trees are in the garden (also killed that demon before the garden). I'm about level 15 I think, but I'm not sure what the boss order should be in terms of difficulty. The gargoyle fight was pretty hard and I didn't beat him, although I managed to get the crappy axe from his tail already.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:12 am

Jag wrote:(also killed that demon before the garden).

That guy has been kicking my ass repeatedly. I've tried keeping my distance and using my pyro attack, but even though it does 100+ damage for each hit it barely seems to make a dent in his health. If I try to get up close, my battle axe barely hurts him (and puts me at much greater risk). Is there something I'm missing here? Should I have found better weapons by this stage (I think I'm level 8 or 9)?

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:16 am

Jag: Most people go for the gargoyle at this point, although you may want to see what's waiting for you in the garden if you're feeling brave.

Ralph: If you just want to get to get past that demon, you can actually run right by him and save him for later.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:37 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
Jag wrote:(also killed that demon before the garden).
That guy has been kicking my ass repeatedly. I've tried keeping my distance and using my pyro attack, but even though it does 100+ damage for each hit it barely seems to make a dent in his health. If I try to get up close, my battle axe barely hurts him (and puts me at much greater risk). Is there something I'm missing here? Should I have found better weapons by this stage (I think I'm level 8 or 9)?

The Drake sword is insanely overpowered at early levels and you can get it without fighting. I can tell you how to get it below if you want:

Spoiler:

My Pyro double handed the Drake sword and was able to take out the demon in a few hits by circle strafing and rolling away.

One of the things I love about DS is you need to develop new fighting strats so often. I usually run around hiding behind my shield, but in those fights where a shield won't help, you need to learn how to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:44 am

Jag wrote: The Drake sword is insanely overpowered at early levels and you can get it without fighting. I can tell you how to get it below if you want:

Spoiler:
From the first merchant, buy a bow and about 50-60 cheap arrows. You should have the ladder now to climb under the bridge where the dragon is. On the right side (under the bridge) you can see his tail swinging like a cat. You need to shoot that tail enough times until the drake sword just appears in your inv. You will need to shoot and scoot after every shot since the dragon will attack each time he's hit. It takes some time, but the payoff is worth it. You need 16 str for the sword which is only 3 more points for a Pyro.

Overpowered. I like the sound of that.

Now I just need to remember where the merchant is....

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:18 am

From the Undead Burg, go right (past the xbow archer), down the stairs where the 2 Knights are standing next to each other (you can just pyro them down). There is a stair to left, the merchant is down there. You can farm some guys in this area for souls. I think the bow was 1000 IIRC. Remember to use the zoom button to aim.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:09 pm

Ya that sword is crazy good. I was using a +3 longsword before I got that and it just trounces it in terms of the damage it hands out.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:21 pm

Octavious wrote:Ya that sword is crazy good. I was using a +3 longsword before I got that and it just trounces it in terms of the damage it hands out.

Is Drake the best sword/weapon in the game? When should I think about ditching it for something else?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:41 pm

I haven't looked up the other weapons in the game as I like to be surprised when I find something, but I highly doubt that's the strongest weapon in the game. It's too easy to get for that to be the case.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:23 pm

It's definitely not the strongest in the game. There's an extensive upgrade system that can eventually create some very powerful weapons.

And unlike most weapons, the Drake Sword doesn't scale up with your stats. For example, my current weapon does about 200 damage -- the same as a Drake Sword. But it also gets about a +55 damage bonus from my stats, which the Drake Sword does not.

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:32 pm

Octavious wrote:I haven't looked up the other weapons in the game as I like to be surprised when I find something, but I highly doubt that's the strongest weapon in the game. It's too easy to get for that to be the case.

It's the most powerful weapon in the game for players with low stats.

It has no modifiers, so it's equally powerful at level 5 as it is at level 150. That makes it a great early weapon, but later on you want something that modifies based on your player stats.

Inverarity · Post by **Inverarity** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:42 pm

I've just reached Sens Fortress and I think the Drake Sword has served its usefulness. I had been using it only as a boss sword until I went to Blighttown, when it became my must-use weapon. Now I'm trying to get enough points into strength to wield the Black Knight's Greatsword.

I don't think I did a great job with point placement, having put too many to Vitality. Right now I"m like soul level 38 or 39 overall, my strength is 27, my endurance is 25, my Dex is 17 and all other stats (besides Vitality) are at their default, bandit-level. Which means I have no slots for magic. And no intelligence, but that would be obvious for anyone reading my posts these past 12 years.

Speaking of Blighttown, I was incredibly happy to get out of there. So much so that I skipped....

Spoiler:

Covenant72 · Post by **Covenant72** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:02 am

Spoiler: