Dark Souls yay or nay?

[Andromeda]

In the end classes don't mean a lot. It is only early game where you don't have as much open to you. So what class you want should be more based on what early game equipment or spell you want. Since later on you can build yourself anyway you want. I started as a Pyromancer but I'm more sword sorcery now, not a huge leap, but still a fair one.

[Imposter]

So wait a sec, is the valley of the drakes and darkroot optional locations or places you'll eventually reach in the story? The only reason I haven't explored other places was because I figured you would end up there eventually.

[Andromeda]

They are purely optional. There are many places that are not required for you go and option bosses that are not required as well. Because the game is open world there is a lot of optional stuff in there that you can miss if you do not take the time to do it. A lot more so than there were in Demon's Souls.

[Gummy]

Oh, that's pretty cool. I like the idea of optional locations. Warrior makes sense for me now since I've decided I wanna be able to equip all the cool stuff without being slowed down like the Knight was at the start. I think I wanna end up pretty tanky, whilst still having a reasonable physical damage output.

[Imposter]

Frig...The Great Grey Wolf Sif! I had like a stock of 14 thousand souls and wasn't able to recover before he killed me. Anyway that is where I'm at now. Level 38 and still wielding the drake sword. I'm upgrading other weapons though to replace it eventually.

Any tips for Sif? Still haven't been a client yet, it is getting kinda frustrating because none of the servers seem to be populated or I'm just never close to people my level...

[Andromeda]

I've been thinking about fighting Sif for a little while, but I've been going to other areas. I've read that the best way to deal with him is to stay under him as much as possible. Also if you can wound one of his legs enough he'll start to limp and become very easy to deal with since most of his speed will be cut at that point.

I've been going all solo and even when I was in human form for a bit I haven't seen any soul mark placed down to co-op with. But so far I haven't felt so out classed that I could not beat any boss with the right tactics and patience.

I just finished Blight Town, Qualuaa's Domain and the first segment of the Demon Ruin. The first segment basically being killing Ceaseless Discharge and then deciding to leave when I found a Capra Demon running around like a normal monster and what I think was 6 Taurus Demons in the distance. Needless to say I don't think I'll be bothering with them.

I did get some good armor from Demon Ruins though, but it doesn't look like I can improve them or if I can I need a better blacksmith. Which is totally possible.

I'm 62, only increased a level. So you're getting closer to me. If you're in the Way of White you would be able to find me possibly.

[Gummy]

- when he does he spins with his sword back away
- run in when he does he does his simple slashes. Unless your gear is poo, you should be able to block all the damage from his basic slashes.
- either get under him and stab him, if you find the attacks not reaching you can him in his front legs.
- I used a couple of black bombs I had kicking around since the start whilst under him. Speeds things up a little.

If you have patience and reasonable amour you should be fine! Hint: there's a chest of really good (but heavy amour) on your way to him. Once you get across the bridge, and down the steps, go left around the wall. Under the bridge is the chest.


Good luck!

[Imposter]

I'm playing on the 360 Andro are you too? I'm not Way of the White though I'm Chaos Servant. Farming humanity to level it up. Maybe my covenant is my problem?

Thanks for the tips on Sif, can't wait to grab his soul for ascension purposes. Had to take a break though the rage was building from Sif killing me so much. Didn't realize how important dex was until I grabbed some new weapons pretty much every level is going into it.

Is the Demon ruins optional too? I beat that big flaming poo guy to enter but went towards Sens fortress but got slaughtered at the gate haha.

[Andromeda]

No, I'm on the PS3, which is probably one of the possible problems you're having trouble finding people. The PS3 had a stronger base for this game since Demon's Souls was on the PS3. So I'm pretty sure there are more people playing PS3 side than 360 side. There are still probably plenty on the 360, but that might explain the reason you're not finding a lot of people.

My current guess is that the Demon Ruins are optional, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I haven't ventured too deep as I said, there were bosses running around like they were normal monsters. Which is not really good news.

I finished up the Undead Asylum and got the Black Knights Sword among other things. The Stray Demon was a pain in the neck and I ended up cheating him. He got stuck on some geometry and couldn't reach me with any of his attacks, but my magic was still just inside damage range. So I pelted him with Soul Arrows until he died. He killed me like 20 times, so he had it coming.

As an update, I defeat Sif now. If you have Sorcery, which I did, it made the fight really easy. Just keep out of his range and fire soul arrows. When he does get in range just stay underneath him. And it all worked out for me.

[Gummy]

Finally finished the game this morning. It seemed to take an awfully long time, so it's certainly worth the money in that regard. I know it took me over 60 hours. ^^;

[Judge Magistrate]

It wasn't my favorite game, but it definitely wasn't my least favorite. I had fun playing it, but to me, the story line was a bit lacking. I know I know you probably think I'm weird, but I like my games to be very stroyline driven. To me this game was not that. I liked the difficulty of the game though, that was a fun challenge.

[Gummy]

Demon's Souls didn't have much story either, but what it did have was nice (I though so, anyway. Dunno if many people liked it), but did anybody else just cringe listening to that intro on Dark Souls? Ouch...
Feel the same as you. Not my favourite, but hardly the worst of games.

[Andromeda]

Congrats on completing the game. The story is certainly minimalistic, most of it has to be pieced together by talking to different npcs a lot and cobbled together from taking in the world. Even still you probably won't find a ton there. I didn't have any problems with the intro, not really sure what was wrong with it.

I haven't been playing Dark Souls as actively as I wish, but I've got the Lordvessel now. So I'm getting closer to the end. There are still some things I want to do before I complete the game though.

[Gummy]

Thank you. I dunno...It's just like "in a world unformed" then it shows you all these things...um...forms. Then it lists a few of the big monsters names but doesn't really tell you why. It seemed like a random mess to me. Maybe I need to watch it again.

You seem to need a lotta spare time to finish the game. If you really wanna explore, anyway. Good luck in sending those monsters packing.

[GypsyElder]

So, I'm reviving this thread because I have Dark Souls now, but so far it honestly feels much easier than Demon's Souls.

The enemies are bigger a**holes and tougher enemies are present earlier in the game when compared to Demon's S. , but that by no means makes it harder.

It also seems much more forgiving than Demon's S. I don't get half health in hollow form and although you are offered limited health with the Estus flask, it is extremely easy to farm for souls because of the bonfires, and those alone serve as checkpoints that Demon's S. did not offer.

Also, weapons and armor are thrown at you in this game. I remember going through almost all of my first play through in Demon's S. with the same Wizard's cloak and sword. you really had to go out of your way to either find unique gear or go even more out of your way to find materials to forge them.

I haven't gotten far enough to have a solid opinion, but honestly with just those few changes it feels like a weight has been lifted. Also someone tell me if there's a particular boss I need to watch out for haha ^^;

I did slightly cringe to the opening too haha I can't say why. Despite that long intro, the game seems to have even less story. (Goshdamit..I just swallowed my gum...another 7 years...)

I'm taking my time with this one because my goal is to platinum after a few playthroughs. Demon's S. took me a while to platinum mainly because of stone farming and forging all the special weapons.

My only pet peeve with Dark S. is that it's almost as if the developers expect you too look stuff up online. There are so many items/miracles/ events to miss otherwise. There's also verrrrry little explanation for anything in the game (including mechanics) for the amount of stuff it has.

[Gummy]

IF I'm remembering right: you are a bit tougher when alive. There is another benefit, but I don't wanna spoil nuthin' for you.

There's a boss pretty early one you'll probably get into trouble with, he appeared to one-shot me on my first try, he made me give up on the game for a few days. But as usual, he isn't so bad once you figure out a few things.

How far in are you? It's definitely more cruel than Demons Souls later on, sorry to tell ya.

Oh lawdy, that intro. xD It seemed like they just wanted to sound good rather than caring if it was well written or not. From Software can do a good story, so I dunno why they decided to skip out so much with it.

But yeah, good luck, man. You may just need it....

Just shoot over any questions you may have. I'll do my best to remember the answers. Completed & Platted the game over a month ago, so I should be able to help some. :>

[GypsyElder]

Haha! oh god.

I honestly hope it gets harder. I just don't feel as stressed as I was playing Demon's S. starting off. I'm really not that far in at all. I'm killing that 7 headed hydra in Darkroot. That mini boss is really glitchy @_@ his last head keeps going into the cliff on the right and I can't hit it haha.

And I'm sure in a week I'll be back in this thread crying and complaining XD. I just wish I had more time to play. I took the day off from work today, so I'm just going to splurge 8D

[Gummy]

You should be able to coax the head into plopping down into a hittable spot. Just keep harassing it and eventually it should co-operate.

If not, there's always bow & arrows.

[Andromeda]

There were definitely some moments in Dark Souls that were rough, but it really did not feel as bad as Demon's Souls did to me in challenge. I actually solo'd the entire game except for one boss where I happened to be human and it was after the patch that fixed matchmaking so I had someone join when I saw the writing on the floor.

I just figure that since I already played Demon's Souls that I was ahead of the curve for me when Dark Souls came out. It definitely feels more forgiving in some respects, but there are definitely those moments of the game just ganged up on you or something.

[GypsyElder]

I'm going to Sen's Fortress (Will probably go to Ash Lake and the Catacombs first) but I'm not sure what weapon I should bring. The Drake Sword is not as dominant at this point. I know the Lightning spear is good but I'll need something to use until I find it in the Fortress.

Any suggestions??

[Andromeda]

I ended up going more sorcery and with doubling up the soul arrow spells. You can get Heavy Soul Arrows and Heavy Large Soul Arrows, I think the names are close. They ended up being able to do deal with most of the problems that I had and then I finished with the Drake Sword. Since I was a mage type the Drake Sword was really good until I got the Lightning Spear.

I know someone that played used the Uchigatana a lot by the point that you're at. I think he might have even upgraded it to being Lightning, which you might be able to do with either the right farming or materials.

It is true that the Drake Sword won't be as good depending on your builds, but if you get some scales to improve it. You should be able to make it stronger and survive through the fortress.

I also went in with a lot of arrows through the fortress. Since there a ton of traps in the place you can use that to your advantage and kill many of the enemies just be luring them around. When you can't lure, you just pick them off at a distance. It is how I made through most of the fortress for the first time.

[GypsyElder]

Yay another bump from meee.

okay what the eff.

I'm trying to summon Solaire for the final boss fight with Gwyn.

I killed all 9 sunlight bugs and got the Sunlight Maggot Helm.

What I did was:

I opened the shortcut to Lost Izalith, Killed all 9 bugs (had no idea that by doing this I would save Solaire ...I was farming sunlight medals to level up in his covenant ) Did not enter Lost Izalith before killing all bugs. Killed Firesage Demon> completely skipped the Centipede Demon > beat the Bed of Chaos.

I returned to the shortcut, and he was not there hollowed, so I'm assuming he is saved, but I read online that you either encounter him after the Centipede Demon at a bonfire, or he shows up at the shortcut door that you open from leveling up in the Chaos Servant Covenant. He hasn't shown up for me and his summon sign is not appearing for me before Gwyn...so..I'm assuming I HAVE to kill the Centipede Demon? I can still kill it, but I just wanted to completely ignore it, because I don't get anything from him but the charred ring (Which does not carry over to NG+ and I already sprinted over the lava for the ember lonnggg ago before I even rang the second bell.

It's not a big deal. I just thought I would ask, since I wanted to summon Solaire this play through and let him hollow on the next, then I kill him for his equipment.

[Andromeda]

I tried to do the stuff for getting him as summonable for Gywn, but I didn't have any success either. But I also did not summon him at any point before then. I did interact with him when I found him on a couple of occasions so I thought I was fine. However, I suspect that if I didn't summon in the other battles then he would not show up for the final one. I also don't know if order matters on dealing with the shortcut versus the clearing out of the Demon Ruin bosses. Depending on how you dealt with things in your playthrough you may be in the same situation as me.

[GypsyElder]

I didn't summon him for any other boss fight either haha. I did speak to him at every location he migrates to like you did lol!

Well then...

I might try killing the Centipede Demon and see if I can get him to spawn at the bonfire or shortcut for his final dialogue.