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I got Dark Souls. Now what?

Odrion

Banned
Also the WASHING POLE.

Learn how to get the vendor for it, buy it (hell buy multiple copies of it for crafting) and love it. It has poor stat ratings, but that can be fixed by making it elemental/magical/whatever.

All the long range awesomeness of a large weapon, with the speed of a small weapon. Not to mention how great the heavy attack plunge is (and how much of a bad ass you feel when you use the heavy swing with two hands.)
 

akira28

Member
I started out as a Deprived in my first run, and headed straight for the graveyard, was there for hours wondering why I wasn't getting anywhere at all. Just getting my ass kicked in by giant skeletons. I did get a pretty useless shield out of the endeavor though. And a cool spear. I was like "fuck. this game is too hard." Then I decided to try the opposite direction, up the hill, and then I'm like "ohhhhhh. This game doesn't suck after all." I did get the estoc early, from the elevator beneath Firelink, but I knew if I couldn't handle those skeletons, no way was I going to handle invincible ghosts. I was also glad to get some damn clothes. My zombie dude's diseased and purple skin was definitely off putting.
 

MMaRsu

Banned
I started out as a Deprived in my first run, and headed straight for the graveyard, was there for hours wondering why I wasn't getting anywhere at all. Just getting my ass kicked in by giant skeletons. I did get a pretty useless shield out of the endeavor though. And a cool spear. I was like "fuck. this game is too hard." Then I decided to try the opposite direction, up the hill, and then I'm like "ohhhhhh. This game doesn't suck after all." I did get the estoc early, from the elevator beneath Firelink, but I knew if I couldn't handle those skeletons, no way was I going to handle invincible ghosts. I was also glad to get some damn clothes. My zombie dude's diseased and purple skin was definitely off putting.
Why start off as a deprived?
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Sank a couple of more hours into the game today. Leveled from 5 to 21 but proceeded exactly nowhere. Still fun though, even when killing just the same enemies over and again.

The core gameplay loop seems to be to try and reach a boss from bonfire flawlessly without losing enegry, fail by getting hit on the (long) way there and repeat.

Struggling to tell which bosses I should fight and which not, all of them are hard.
 

Orayn

Member
Sank a couple of more hours into the game today. Leveled from 5 to 21 but proceeded exactly nowhere. Still fun though, even when killing just the same enemies over and again.

The core gameplay loop seems to be to try and reach a boss from bonfire flawlessly without losing enegry, fail by getting hit on the (long) way there and repeat.

Struggling to tell which bosses I should fight and which not, all of them are hard.
Where in the game are you right now? Certain bosses are easier to punch through than others for purposes of progressing through the story.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Most levels have shortcuts from the bonfire>boss
Summon help for bosses, as there's usually summon signs right around them
 

Dunan

Member
I made a ton of progress today too. All the way from the Undead Parish to the bonfire
and blacksmith
at the end of it, then beat the Titanite Demon after about 20 tries (but learned something each time; finally figured out his patterns, and beat him). Experimented with becoming human at just the right time -- as soon as I did this, messages started appearing with people offering to assist me. I took one at the top of the church and had a human help me knock off those two gargoyles. Beat them, and
rang the bell
!

Explored a little of the Darkroot Garden and Basin but I haven't really decided where to go next. This game really does reward perseverance and patience. I've died a hundred times but never have I wanted to throw the controller against a wall or anything.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Sank a couple of more hours into the game today. Leveled from 5 to 21 but proceeded exactly nowhere. Still fun though, even when killing just the same enemies over and again.

The core gameplay loop seems to be to try and reach a boss from bonfire flawlessly without losing enegry, fail by getting hit on the (long) way there and repeat.

Struggling to tell which bosses I should fight and which not, all of them are hard.

You know you can heal yourself, right? The game is not as demanding as your statement makes it out to be. Though I certainly agree that it's normal to play through an area a lot of times before you can navigate it with ease, enemies and all.

Explored a little of the Darkroot Garden and Basin but I haven't really decided where to go next. This game really does reward perseverance and patience. I've died a hundred times but never have I wanted to throw the controller against a wall or anything.

Dying is a part of life in this game. The sooner a person can adjust their perceptions of death in the game, the sooner they can love it. Frankly, I get more pissed at Arkham City failing a stealth room than I ever did in Dark Souls. Except maybe at the infamous Anor Londo archers.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
You know you can heal yourself, right? The game is not as demanding as your statement makes it out to be. Though I certainly agree that it's normal to play through an area a lot of times before you can navigate it with ease, enemies and all.



Dying is a part of life in this game. The sooner a person can adjust their perceptions of death in the game, the sooner they can love it. Frankly, I get more pissed at Arkham City failing a stealth room than I ever did in Dark Souls. Except maybe at the infamous Anor Londo archers.

Right, just learned that, haven't yet figured out how to get more of the heal items though. I have five.

Agreed on that dying is not frustrating in this game. You just try again.
 

Coxswain

Member
Your Estus Flasks (healing items) restock for free whenever you rest at a bonfire. The bonfire in Firelink Shrine comes pre-kindled, so you'll get ten whenever you rest there, but you'll only get five from other bonfires. You can kindle them if you're in Human form, though, at the cost of one Humanity, and then you can fill up to ten flasks at any bonfire you find.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Right, just learned that, haven't yet figured out how to get more of the heal items though. I have five.

Agreed on that dying is not frustrating in this game. You just try again.

The game never really explains it, but you want to kindle a bonfire (which costs 1 humanity) to increase the number of Estus flasks it replenishes. You have to be human to kindle, so you have to reverse hollowing first, which also costs 1 humanity.

For now, you can kindle a fire once, which will give you 10 flasks. That should make your runs to the boss easier!

edit: damn it Coxswain!
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
The game never really explains it, but you want to kindle a bonfire (which costs 1 humanity) to increase the number of Estus flasks it replenishes. You have to be human to kindle, so you have to reverse hollowing first, which also costs 1 humanity.

For now, you can kindle a fire once, which will give you 10 flasks. That should make your runs to the boss easier!

edit: damn it Coxswain!

Wait, what?! I have gone through the game so far without using one, thinking they are some kind of a prized treasure since no enemy seemed to drop any.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Wait, what?! I have gone through the game so far without using one, thinking they are some kind of a prized treasure since no enemy seemed to drop any.

Holy shit. Every time you rest at a bonfire they are restored. You must have thought this game was really fucking harsh. But why wouldn't you? That's what everyone says about it.

Enjoy playing on "normal" mode instead of "insane." :)
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Holy shit. Every time you rest at a bonfire they are restored. You must have thought this game was really fucking harsh. But why wouldn't you? That's what everyone says about it.

Enjoy playing on "normal" mode instead of "insane." :)

That's the thing, you have no idea of what's normal due all the stories of the game being so hard.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
That's the thing, you have no idea of what's normal due all the stories of the game being so hard.

Same reason you can't really blame a person for heading straight to the graveyard in the beginning, getting destroyed by skeletons, and saying, welp, I better try that 40 more times.

While I love the open and unexplained world, I had no reservations about doing a lot of research on the internet. I didn't feel like it spoiled my personal sense of discovery or accomplishment at all. I really like to know what my goals should be, or at least what goals are available to pursue at any given time.
 

Booshka

Member
Pure melee is a blast, I've played this game far more than anyone ever should, and I am having the most fun on a character that has 0 attunement slots, thus, no magic. I even tried a speed run on my fourth NG+ with the guy, beat the game in ~100 mins without any magic. It's a game you can obsess over, or you can just get to the end of Anor Londo and quit there and be satisfied. The last third of the game takes a dive in quality, but it's still worth beating for NG+'s and PvP/Co-op reasons.

Overall, take it slow, upgrade your gear more than worry about constantly leveling, and play online, there is so much awesome stuff you miss out on when you aren't playing online.
 

hadar

Member
Quick question since I'm actually thinking about buying a ps3 and this might just be my first game.
Can you have a fully working dw rogue like character that isn't crap?
 
Quick question since I'm actually thinking about buying a ps3 and this might just be my first game.
Can you have a fully working dw rogue like character that isn't crap?

I'm trying to decipher what "isn't crap" means.

Do you mean can you run through the entire game as a thief, backstabbing everything and hiding in shadows your first run through?

Probably not. You'll get owned mercilessly if you don't switch up your tactics now and then.
Pro's who kicked ass at demon's souls? maybe. On your second or third run through? maybe.
 

hadar

Member
I'm trying to decipher what "isn't crap" means.

Do you mean can you run through the entire game as a thief, backstabbing everything and hiding in shadows your first run through?

Probably not. You'll get owned mercilessly if you don't switch up your tactics now and then.
Pro's who kicked ass at demon's souls? maybe. On your second or third run through? maybe.
Guess I exagerated a bit. I only meant if it was viable (a challenge is actually a pretty awesome plus)
 
I am currently in The Depths. I've recently had fights with HUGE angry and very hard butchers, picked up Green Titanite pieces from slugs and got cursed in the sewers from bizarre bugs. I've died so many times and each time I manage to do a bit more, get a bit further with more health and find something new. Love this game and absolutely love the Dark Souls world, it's like nothing I've ever played before. Made of the special stuff for sure.

Having to leg it back to Oswald with 1/2 health after being cursed was an exciting and scary experience. All the health you've built up slowly is sliced in half until the curse is lifted. Bought two Purging Stones from him; one for now and a spare, think I'll need it!

Fucking RAD game.
 

Badgerst3

Member
That's the thing, you have no idea of what's normal due all the stories of the game being so hard.

Always try to be human before a boss fight, and look for players names glowing on the ground who want to join the game. Click on their name to summon them into your game.

They are usually at a white fog gate, before most boss battles,

This was the only way I made it past the first 3 bosses. Gotta be human though.
 

Zeal

Banned
you got Dark Souls? great, because pretty much every other game is now obsolete and you will no longer be able to enjoy anything after it.

sorry, it is just true. it has fucked up my gaming life something fierce.
 

Raziel

Member
I find myself in the same boat as the OP. I just got Dark Souls too, and I'm completely lost on how to proceed from here. I've tried looking at the game/box, touching it, sitting on it, reading about it, even posting on GAF about it.. still nothing :(. This has been one of the most baffling and uneventful games I've ever purchased.
 
you got Dark Souls? great, because pretty much every other game is now obsolete and you will no longer be able to enjoy anything after it.

sorry, it is just true. it has fucked up my gaming life something fierce.

Felt the same way. Skyrim & Skyward Sword were RUINED for me by Dark Souls.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
I find myself in the same boat as the OP. I just got Dark Souls too, and I'm completely lost on how to proceed from here. I've tried looking at the game/box, touching it, sitting on it, reading about it, even posting on GAF about it.. still nothing :(. This has been one of the most baffling and uneventful games I've ever purchased.

The box doesn't actually ever tell you this, but if you open it up, there's a disc inside. You have to remove the plastic wrap first, though, so you'll need scissors or a sharp fingernail. You can get scissors in your kitchen or home office. Failing that, they can be purchased at the store for a few souls.

Felt the same way. Skyrim & Skyward Sword were RUINED for me by Dark Souls.

I'm pretty sure Dark Souls made me much less impressed with Uncharted 3 and I stopped playing Arkham City like 3/4 of the way through until just last night. Neither one was half as absorbing as Dark Souls, and I don't even play RPGs, generally.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
The box doesn't actually ever tell you this, but if you open it up, there's a disc inside. You have to remove the plastic wrap first, though, so you'll need scissors a sharp fingernail. You can get scissors in your kitchen or home office. Failing that, they can be purchased at the store for a few souls..

daaaaamn they weren't joking when they said game is hard
 

bob_arctor

Tough_Smooth
you got Dark Souls? great, because pretty much every other game is now obsolete and you will no longer be able to enjoy anything after it.

sorry, it is just true. it has fucked up my gaming life something fierce.
haha ain't that the goddamn truth. thank god for fighters. just got KoF XIII and plan to finally whip gwyn's ass tonight (was busy upgrading tons of armor since twinkling titanite became available to buy).
 
you got Dark Souls? great, because pretty much every other game is now obsolete and you will no longer be able to enjoy anything after it.

sorry, it is just true. it has fucked up my gaming life something fierce.

im glad this wasnt just me. when i finished demons souls (havent finished dark souls yet) i couldnt get into any other games for a while. i eventually played vanquish and while it didnt scratch the demons souls itch, it was compelling enough to ease me back into gaming.
 

Raziel

Member
The box doesn't actually ever tell you this, but if you open it up, there's a disc inside. You have to remove the plastic wrap first, though, so you'll need scissors or a sharp fingernail. You can get scissors in your kitchen or home office. Failing that, they can be purchased at the store for a few souls.
That's like a baby's toy.
 

mxgt

Banned
I bought it last week and almost all my free time has been spent playing it, it's an incredible experience and made me stop playing Skyrim (for now)
 
you got Dark Souls? great, because pretty much every other game is now obsolete and you will no longer be able to enjoy anything after it.

sorry, it is just true. it has fucked up my gaming life something fierce.

Glad I'm not the only one. Haven't touched UC3 in weeks. I have no desire. From bitch slapped every other developer with their game.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Quick question since I'm actually thinking about buying a ps3 and this might just be my first game.
Can you have a fully working dw rogue like character that isn't crap?

I assume by "dw" you mean dual-wielding. It's possible, I've done a Dexterity and Faith-centric dual-wield character wearing light armor. The lack of a shield is an issue in PvE, in high-level PvP shields are rarely used and the lack of one is no real disadvantage. There's a dagger available near the beginning of the game if you know where to look that's intended to be used as an off-hand weapon, and it served my character well for the entire game. I didn't really have an inordinate amount of trouble getting through the game with that character, but it was my third rather than my first and I already had a pretty good idea where all the trouble spots would be without a shield and prepared for them in advance. I imagine doing it with your first character would be significantly more frustrating.
 
don't worry too much, and enjoy the atmosphere.

- at the start (fire link shrine) if you head into a graveyard with skeletons, turn around. That area is really hard and so save it for later. You want to go up the stairs towards the bridge. You'll have a great time, just explore

Dark Souls came in a few days ago, I finally had the chance to play it. Got out of the tutorial area. I went downstairs and got destroyed by some ghosts. I didn't feel upset at all about dying and wasting an hour amount of time.

Guess, I'm not supposed to be in that area yet. Time to find this bridge...

Also, I went warrior, I'll mix this up with pyromancy when I find it.
 

kaioshade

Member
I am still trying to determine if i like Dark Souls or not. First run did a thief and completely screwed my stats, couldnt get past the Capra Demon to save my life.

Now restarted as a Pyromancer and steamrolled through everything, and then.....Gargoyles. Now i beat them as a thief and yet cant touch them.

This game seems so random sometimes.
 

bob_arctor

Tough_Smooth
I am still trying to determine if i like Dark Souls or not. First run did a thief and completely screwed my stats, couldnt get past the Capra Demon to save my life.

Now restarted as a Pyromancer and steamrolled through everything, and then.....Gargoyles. Now i beat them as a thief and yet cant touch them.

This game seems so random sometimes.

It's not really that random at all--except maybe the Centipede later on which is just a clusterfuck of bad camera and cramped space.

You are simply giving up. Learn and beat it. It's really that simple.
 

kaioshade

Member
It's not really that random at all--except maybe the Centipede later on which is just a clusterfuck of bad camera and cramped space.

You are simply giving up. Learn and beat it. It's really that simple.

You must have missed the part where i said i beat them once already.
Thats why i said its random. First playthrough i have tons of trouble going through undead burg, but massacre gargoyles, this time i massacre undead burg and get slaughtered by gargoyles. Something seems off in my opinion.

And never said i was giving up, have no idea where that came from.
 

bob_arctor

Tough_Smooth
You must have missed the part where i said i beat them once already.
Thats why i said its random. First playthrough i have tons of trouble going through undead burg, but massacre gargoyles, this time i massacre undead burg and get slaughtered by gargoyles. Something seems off in my opinion.

And never said i was giving up, have no idea where that came from.

maybe different builds play differently/yield different results? i was pure melee so i would be totally lost dismantling areas and bosses using a thief or magic user. are the gargoyles resistant to fire maybe?
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Well all the starting characters have different weapon and armor attributes. Some work well for some and poor for other and vice versa.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
So I have reached my first severe frustration point. Two gargoyles on the roof. Pretty easy to get the first lose half of its energy. Then when the other appears I am f'ed. Another one of them stays far spitting fire, while the other is close. Using potion is impossible because takes too long, as do other items - if I use them close they whack me, if far they torch me.

Have probably tried 15 times at least.
 

Dresden

Member
So I have reached my first severe frustration point. Two gargoyles on the roof. Pretty easy to get the first lose half of its energy. Then when the other appears I am f'ed. Another one of them stays far spitting fire, while the other is close. Using potion is impossible because takes too long, as do other items - if I use them close they whack me, if far they torch me.

Have probably tried 15 times at least.
Two tips:

1: a quick weapon with gold pine resin wrecks them.

2: summoning help via going human (either the NPC summon there or human help) makes it a breeze.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Become Human and you can summon help right before the fog gate. All you really have to do is concentrate on the first one and throw firebombs at it before the second on comes. Don't try to fight them both at once.
 
You must have missed the part where i said i beat them once already.
Thats why i said its random. First playthrough i have tons of trouble going through undead burg, but massacre gargoyles, this time i massacre undead burg and get slaughtered by gargoyles. Something seems off in my opinion.

And never said i was giving up, have no idea where that came from.

Go human and summon help. That's the only way I could beat them as a Pyro.

And to the others talking about how this game ruins you for other games, I kind of agree. From what I hear about Skyrim, it's almost challenge-less. Now, I'm not one to ask for tons of challenge in my games, but this just doesn't seem fun to be able to just waltz through with no penalties. I can't imagine RUNNING through a game level anymore! It's just unheard of now, but most games allow you to do it. Who needs em?
 

Dresden

Member
I am still trying to determine if i like Dark Souls or not. First run did a thief and completely screwed my stats, couldnt get past the Capra Demon to save my life.

Now restarted as a Pyromancer and steamrolled through everything, and then.....Gargoyles. Now i beat them as a thief and yet cant touch them.

This game seems so random sometimes.

It's because the bandit knife wrecks them - quick strikes + bleeds owns the gargoyles. Pyros are going to have a bit more difficult time if you just relied on the axe and fireballs.
 
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