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I got Dark Souls. Now what?
- Thread starter Chittagong
- Start date
Absolutely. I played through the first time offline.
Attackthebase
Member
I'm happy this thread was created. When Dark Soul hits the $35-40 range again, I'll purchase it for my PS3. I'll also follow the advice given here to fully enjoy the game. :-D
lastendconductor
Put your snobby liquids into my mouth!
My only advice is; try to stay human.
Agreed with everything except for the Drake Sword bit. If you compare that thing to the other weapons you could reasonably have at the point in the game, it is so much better by such a huge margin that I think it's hard to argue that the sword should be used at that point.
It's cool that it's in the game, but it should really only be used as a last resort if you are really struggling with the game. The first half of that game just isn't balanced against the Drake Sword in the hands of a competent player. You really shouldn't be killing enemies in one hit like that.
As someone else already stated, it retards your development in the game, and once you get to Sen's Fortress, if you've just been plowing through the game with the Drake Sword, you are going to be in for a fucking rude awakening if you haven't learned to really function within that combat system.
KennyLinder
Member
Ohh, why?
Risk Breaker
Member
You can interact with the world in different ways, so to speak.
indigo-cyclops
Member
Play it, relish in death, and don't forget to back-up/sync your save. Trust me, I put 100 hours into the game and I played so much it blew up my PS3.
Also, light armor!
Also, light armor!
oooomg yoshi :lol
OP, don't buy too much into the "difficulty" hype. And try not to expect one thing or another. Just dive right in, and form your own impressions.
Many of the amazing subtleties of the game are lost when thinking about it as simply really difficult.
In the end, much of the game relies on player skill. For example, I was able to play through Demon's Souls entirely with the default barbarian, who wields a shitty wooden club and shield and no armor. I didn't level up any of my gear, or character level.
It just goes to show how well the mechanics and systems are designed.
Many of the amazing subtleties of the game are lost when thinking about it as simply really difficult.
In the end, much of the game relies on player skill. For example, I was able to play through Demon's Souls entirely with the default barbarian, who wields a shitty wooden club and shield and no armor. I didn't level up any of my gear, or character level.
It just goes to show how well the mechanics and systems are designed.
SpaceBridge
Member
I have a quick question: Hows the level of exploration in Dark Souls. I wasnt a big fan of the hub world in Demons Souls. I read that in Dark Souls, its one seamless world with lots to explore. Is this true? And are there parts where you can explore at your leasure without the fear of being mauled, tortured or killed?
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Pretty much every inch of the game has enemies, but they're not too bad once you learn how they move and attack.
H_Prestige
Banned
Everything is connected and fully seamless. I haven't encountered anything like a "zone" except for
sen's to anor londo
As long as you're well equipped, you can explore any place you want whenever, even if you're not "supposed" to be there. It comes down to your own skill and confidence. It's amazing how much this game levels you up in that regard.
SpaceBridge
Member
How're the diversity of the environments? Other than ruined castles, is there a nice variety of places to explore? And are there some NPC's to interact with, and lore to learn?
Poimandres
Member
Here's a question: I'm a Blighttown now, how far into the game am I?
Less than half.
There's one point at which the 'main' game world is split into two - other than that, everything is connected, often in multiple ways, and discovering all the different shortcuts between areas really lends itself to a feeling that you're "mastering" the game world. There are also a couple of areas that are separate from the 'world', and they're both completely optional areas that you need to explore to find the entrances to (there are two more optional areas that are connected to the game world but still require exploration to find).
For my money, it's definitely the best exploration game of this generation - not in the sense that there are hundreds of mostly-identical, mostly-forgettable locations, like in a Bethesda game, but in the sense that everything you find has a purpose, and when you find something new, it's either going to be extremely useful to you, or feature a bunch of things that you've never seen before. The environments are incredibly varied - it'd really be a shame to spoil them by listing them off, but you go from snow-covered, mountainous castles to underground volcanic hellscapes, and pretty much everything in between.
As for being able to wander around without fear of being killed... Not exactly. But most of the game's really tough enemies don't respawn once you've killed them, and once you've cleared the tough enemies, lit the bonfires, etc, the normal enemies that are left behind never seem particularly scary.
Poimandres
Member
Well god damn! It's taken me dozens of hours to get this far.
Diversity is great. The castle branches into some pretty crazy places after the first two big bosses. NPC interacting is pretty simple, but there are a handful of them you can rescue, and there are little bits and pieces of lore all over the place in NPC dialogue, item descriptions, and the design of the levels and enemies themselves.
H_Prestige
Banned
Environments are pretty diverse but not many places are bright and colorful. It's a beautiful fantasy world, but it is bleak.
SpaceBridge
Member
Wow, thanks dude. You've really sold me on this. I was looking for an RPG, with a big world to explore, epic lore and story and unique enemies to overcome.
But that's where you get the replacement for the Drake Sword anyway. And the replacement can take you to the end of the game if you're so inclined.
I don't think there's anything wrong with using the Drake Sword. It's really pretty terrible in the grand scheme of things, but it's got a high starting attack power, reasonable stat requirements, and it's readily available quite early in the game. You can get your hands on more powerful weapons if you know what you're doing, but the alternatives aren't as convenient and so lack the appeal of the Drake Sword.
Probably the biggest danger it poses -- judging from posts in the official thread, at least -- is of getting too attached to it and not replacing it when its useful life has ended.
I decided to jump into Demon Souls again before I venture into Dark Souls. Beginners guide is a must for these games. I started off as a thief the first time I played DS not knowing that the higher the Soul level was actually a bad thing if you want to have more control over your growth early on while spending less souls to do it. I didn't know that Class in DS was more of a title and beginning stat configuration than an actual profession that you build upon. These are things I wish I knew the first time I played. I'm not even going to mention the hidden treasures that make beginning play a lot less frustrating.
Consult a beginners guide at Gamefaqs message board or Gamershell. That is my advice to anyone playing these games for the first time. You will not be sorry.
Consult a beginners guide at Gamefaqs message board or Gamershell. That is my advice to anyone playing these games for the first time. You will not be sorry.
Phonomezer
Banned
Don't be disheartened by the seeming lack of story at the beginning, it all comes together if you care to pay attention; it's all in the details.
Go get it, immediately
SpaceBridge
Member
Don't be disheartened by the seeming lack of story at the beginning, it all comes together if you care to pay attention; it's all in the details.
Go get it, immediately
Any suggestions on what class of character to create for a beginner?
Beginning Class really doesn't matter that much. Generally people suggest Wanderer/Warrior/Bandit/Cleric. Those classes will make you comfortable with the melee combat, which is the absolute most important thing in the game.
Unless you have your heart set on some specific build like dex or magic, then you could pick a class that starts you off in the direction wanderer or magician. No starting class will really screw you off the bat except Deprived.
I'd say focus on Vitality/Endurance. Those are the two most important stats in the game, and will let you get away with more mistakes than you would with a low vit/end build.
SpaceBridge
Member
You can still learn spells with those classes, right? Someone suggested earlier in the thread to learn pyromance asap.
SpaceBridge
Member
Based on impressions of the PS3 version, Im keeping clear.
Yeah, read the item descriptions if you want lore.
Even with all the item descriptions there isn't much there.
and before anyone asks, yes I know the entire story
the game is definitely still worth playing
Yeah, spells need casting implements and have stat requirements, but your class is just a starting point and can be adapted to do anything you want it to.
Yep, you can eventually use magic with any class. Certain classes just start you closer to get there.
The reason people are so high on pyromancy is that it requires, and is attached to, none of your actual stats(besides the stat that controls the amount of spells you can equip).
To contrast, Magic requires you to invest points in Attunement and Intelligence(ATT gives you more spell slots, Intelligence increases the power of spells and unlocks the use of higher level spells). Miracles work the same way, except they need points in ATT and Faith(the Intelligence equivalent for miracles).
So basically, as long as you spend some souls upgrading your Pyromancy flame and buying some spells from the pyro trainer, pyromancy will make you much more formidable with hardly any stats invested, which is awesome.
VERY IMPORTANT:
if you see a person trapped in a barrel. ROLL into the barrel to break it, don't use your sword.
LowEndTorque
Member
Sorcerer.
The spell that it gives you to start off with will make things a LOT easier in the early going once you find a sorcerer's catalyst.
well, not necessarily since you will end up just replacing the Drake Sword with the Lightning Spear once you get into Sen's =p
There are many different ways to go about the game, and using powerful, devastating weapons is certainly one of them. I don't think it retards your development at all, nor do I believe that there is a "right" or "wrong" way to play Dark Souls .
SpaceBridge
Member
One more question, is there any hindrance to buying this used? I mean, is there any cool DLC ill be missing, or an online voucher pass?
Shin Kojima
Banned
You won't be missing anything, but I feel the developers deserve your money for this.
What the other two said. It might sound a little paradoxical, but you should buy new because From and Namco-Bandai didn't burden the game with any of that stuff. And yeah, it's one of the best games of 2011 and probably the entire console generation.
Definitely play offline. The signs do not add anything to the experience - for me they did not, at least - and the bloodstains become uninteresting after you open the 3rd or 4th one. So within minutes. And there is no need to be afraid when you are in human form just that a glitcher can come and get you
Community is still here on GAF, you can still ask questions, we will answer it. But the exploration is better for the first time to be as uninterrupted as you can get, imho.
Community is still here on GAF, you can still ask questions, we will answer it. But the exploration is better for the first time to be as uninterrupted as you can get, imho.
Honestly, Skyrim has "more content" in terms of, like, the sheer amount of space in the world and the number of marked locations, but compared to Dark Souls, most of it feels like it was basically randomly generated, despite Bethesda "hand crafting" everything. It's like 20 McDonald's hamburgers compared with one really nice steak.
Pyromancer is the easiest in terms of having both melee and out-of-melee options. Pyromancy can be leveled up without increasing your soul level, so it's easy to make it stronger. What's more, starting with Pyromancer and then getting Sorcery is easy - you can buy a catalyst and the starting spell as soon as you get out of the tutorial if you grind a little bit. This gives you ranged options at the very beginning.
Plus you start with Soul Level 1 with more stat points, as compared to others who start at a higher level with lesser stat points. Which means you have more freedom in stat allocation, and have an edge over the other classes.
The reverse is tougher - getting Pyromancy after having chosen anything else is tougher because the guy who will give you the glove/spells is deeper in the game.
Later on in the game, though, Sorcery is nigh-all powerful, as it improves very fast with increasing intelligence, at least as far as single-player is concerned.
Melee is always challenging, dictated by your weapon strength and upgrades, and pyromancy is different - you can make it strong early on, get further boosts to it mid-game, but because it doesn't scale with stats, you won't get the kind of returns sorcery gets.
Dark Souls does not ask you to be a great gamer, only a patient gamer that can get over having to retry things. Accept that you are going to die, accept that you'll have to restart from a far away check point. Accept that you have to learn layouts, enemy patterns and animations. When you get it, you get it.
I've just finished Ash Lake so I'm off to Sen's Fortress and Anor Londo. I know those areas will try my patience. But I'ma make it yo.
I've just finished Ash Lake so I'm off to Sen's Fortress and Anor Londo. I know those areas will try my patience. But I'ma make it yo.
Misterinenja
Member
Truth. And Skyrim has nothing to do with this thread or Dark Souls for that matter.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
This sums up my experience with both games quite nicely. I would also add that the steak is cooked to a perfectly tender medium-rare and is supplemented with a bottle of your favorite steak sauce.
Here's another way to put it. I just bought at least 10 games in the last month or so (Skyrim, Skyward Sword, tons of Black Friday deals) and every time I see this thread I try to convince myself to stay away from it because it honestly just makes me want to play more Dark Souls.
Misterinenja
Member
I love farming in Dark Souls and I don't care if it breaks the game. Since post patch, the dragons in Valley of the Drakes now drop dragon scales more regularly. My Drake Sword is about to be a +5. I kill most average enemies in 2-3 hits
You cleared Ash Lake before Sen's? Wow that's crazy. It was the last area for me on my first playthrough. But it's cool that this game allows it.
I'm getting some serious Dark Souls cravings once again.
Mechanized
Member
If you want to have a fairly easy time I would suggest using sorcery. Get int to 40-50 then worry about the other stats.
Once you get homing soul mass you will laugh at most enemies. And then crystal homing soul mass? Bosses become your bitch.
There is always danger, but as a sorcerer you feel so powerful, just strolling through certain parts of the game.
If melee discourages you at all, definitely make a sorcerer as your second character. People are right in saying you can turn your class into whatever you want, but if you specialize early on it's easier to capitalize on the rewards. Plus if you start as a sorc, once you cap your int at 40-50 you can then pump str or dex and make a sorc/melee combo, combined with weapons that have magic affinity you'll be a beast with all that int.
Once you get homing soul mass you will laugh at most enemies. And then crystal homing soul mass? Bosses become your bitch.
There is always danger, but as a sorcerer you feel so powerful, just strolling through certain parts of the game.
If melee discourages you at all, definitely make a sorcerer as your second character. People are right in saying you can turn your class into whatever you want, but if you specialize early on it's easier to capitalize on the rewards. Plus if you start as a sorc, once you cap your int at 40-50 you can then pump str or dex and make a sorc/melee combo, combined with weapons that have magic affinity you'll be a beast with all that int.
TheMan
Member
More like Skyrim is 20 awesome burgers made at home on a charcoal grill, and Dark Souls is a well-marbled, 1.5 inch thick, aged cut of ribeye with glass shards in it.
MMaRsu
Banned
Both games are amazing..wtf
Felix Lighter
Member
Skyrim and Dark Souls are so different in the areas that they excel and what each seem to set out to do, I feel like it's pointless to compare. I know they are both action rpgs set in open worlds but I wouldn't necessarily expect someone who loved Skyrim to enjoy Dark Souls and vice versa. I loved them both but for completely different reasons.