Dark Souls yay or nay?

[Imposter]

It comes to NA the first week of next month and I heard a lot about demon souls and am thinking I'll pick this up for the 360. Those of you that played the predecessor is dark souls going to be worth it?

Also if any of you with 360's are picking it up I hear the multiplayer is pretty niffty and such.

[GypsyElder]

LOL I just made a topic for Demon's Souls. I have it for PS3. Dark Souls is similar in game play, but it's not a sequel. I'm not sure how different they'll be from each other. If Dark Souls is harder..then holy hell.

Demon souls is pretty hard, but I think it will be worth your money if you get it, just be prepared to want to rip your hair out. It's frustratingly-addictive haha...in a good way

Multiplayer is interesting. So far all I know is that you can summon a "phantom" which is when you're in a specific area when a person places a request. Once you accept it, then you get to help that person through a boss or what ever it is and, if that person is in soul form, they get revived. If you play with someone online it's fun because you can plan it out. It sucks when people invade you and try to steal your souls though.

[Unknown Entity]

Dark Souls is a spiritual successor, so not necessarily a sequel. It'll also be much harder, so if you're ripping your hair out now, you'll have to start ripping your scalp off when you get this one.

I have a copy pre-ordered for release. Multiplayer isn't the main focus of me wanting to get it though - if it's anything like Demon's Souls, I'll only be able to play with people in my regions servers, which sucks. As for being invaded? Ahahahaha. I turned my console off when I was invaded. They didn't know what hit them.

[Gummy]

One of my favorite things about Demon's Souls was the superb multiplayer, but apparently people can steal your precious items in Dark Souls so I guess it's offline only this time. D:<

Anyway, not gonna pick it up day one, but probably will get it at some point.

I believe the severs are region-free this time? I think I read that, but could be wrong!

[GypsyElder]

I've been watching a walkthrough of the game and, it seems more violent for some reason haha.

I probably won't buy it until I get some opinions from people that I know; I'm not one to buy games on their release date anyway. Plus, I'm broke

It looks like in this one you start out as undead?

[Josh_R]

I went to the midnight release last night, and picked it up. So far it is a pretty good game, hard as f*ck. Pretty sure I have died like 400 times, and i'm not even very far into it yet.

[Imposter]

Just eating supper before I start. Decided I am going to play the bandit class. I am soo prepared to die! Collecters edition didn't cost anymore than the preorder and I got the preorder free on some trades so can't wait to get into it.

Expect an edit in a few hours or a new post!

[GypsyElder]

I'm debating buying Dark Souls right now. I'm literally across the street getting food. I might stroll over to Game Stop and just peek at the price.

[Imposter]

So a few hours in and I've beat about two bosses, which isn't really that far but this game has definitely proved its difficulty a few times over now! I like it though the feeling of beating or getting to a place you haven't yet is super satisfying!

[Gummy]

Didn't like the very start/tutorial bit. But loving everything after thus far. Started as a Knight, not had any major problems with it yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it kicks my butt.

All the group fights are more exciting than I thought they would be. Expected them to be annoying rather than fun.

And lmao....one of the first bosses killed ITSELF when it still had half its life bar left.

If the game keeps up this standard I think I'll enjoy it more than Demon's Souls. It's just a shame about that dribble they put over the opening FMV....I was like...wut?

[LocoColt04]

The biggest issue with Knight is the low starting dexterity!

I started as a Wanderer this time around, though Bandit also looked like a pretty good class. I like the slightly better resilience of the Wanderer.

This game is tough. Really tough. Unfairly tough. And awesome.

[Andromeda]

Dark Souls is definitely worth getting if you enjoyed Demon's Souls. I've got about 8 or 9 hours into the game, defeated 3 bosses (tutorial boss not included) and rang one of the bells so far. It is definitely more of the same from Demon's Souls. It has all of the surprises and the rough, but fair difficulty to the game. Obtaining the Drake Sword though has made everything far more manageable all around.

The whole open world with no levels or break points makes things very interesting and a different dynamic from Demon's Souls. It also sounds like you can keep a co-op game going for as long as you want since I don't think defeating bosses will send your companions back, with it no longer being level based. I can't confirm that since I haven't done any co-op yet.

[Gummy]

Aye, I dumped my Knight, it was annoying you can't roll properly in your starting gear.
Is anybody else hardly seeing any ghosts about? I tried to start co-op, but nobody picked up, and there doesn't seem to be much evidence of other players in general.

[Imposter]

Yes, it is just the luck of being put on a server hardly anyone is one. You can chance it by rebooting your console and you might get switched to a better server. I`ve played co op on my second char (warrior) and the party disbanded after defeating a boss. So I guess if you may be able to get quite far with a party if you just go around farming humanity or something and fight mini bosses.

Starting gifts? The completionist in me has already started irking me because I have no idea if I'm missing any sorta side quests or anything.

[Gummy]

Oooooh, I had no idea it connects you to a random sever! How are you supposed to co-op with buds, then? :s

[Imposter]

Your not more or less, there is a review here that touches on how difficult it is. I think the games difficulty is suppose to inspire people just to be willing to help out so you don't have to rely on people you know to get passed a certain boss or whatever. However the two guys eventually fell on the same server and once you do that as far as I know you won't jump servers till you reboot your machine so you should be able to just replace your signpost after you beat a boss and keep adventuring.

I still haven't found out if you can get drops when you are a WS helping out someone yet though...would be nice to know because I know that I missed breaking a piece of the boss at the first belltower.

So I'm not very far in with any of my characters, more or less I'm just experimenting with them all. Bandit is a sweet class and is pure offensive, then my warrior has scored some sweet drops off of some bosses, mini bosses but the stat requirements are huge, and I started a pyromancer and just got out of the asylum with him. Magic is limited but pretty stellar.

[Gummy]

Wow, thank you! I was so confused about this. What a crappy decision! There are several people I was really looking forwards to playing with, and the online was one of the things that made Demon's Souls stand out.

[Andromeda]

Yeah, don't know if it is Namco who set the servers up like that or From Software purposely. Though there is something on the FAQ that says that if you join the Covenant Way of the White, then you are more likely to be grouped with your friends and less likely to be invaded. I don't know if you all need to be in the Covenant, but it may improve your odds. I probably will check to see if they are on and put you in that server or vice versa. I can't confirm this actually functions that way, but that is what I read.

[Zargabaath]

I was and possibly still am thinking about getting this game. Didn't get in the Demon's Souls action. But after reading about the co-op I decided to hold off. I believe how the servers were done was decided by From Software and I can understand where they're coming from, from a design point. Read that it was easier to connect with friends in Demon's Souls. Which kind of makes it crummy. If co-op is an important feature, or at least has some weight, they would make it not inconvenient.

I as well read that rebooting was the way to try to get on the same server as your friend(s) in Dark Souls. Though why that would affect my decision is kind of silly. I don't know anyone who has the game, so who would I purposefully try to co-op with? Sure, co-oping with someone from TFF is possibility. I mean, I'm not that unappealing right? Right?

[GypsyElder]

I'm holding off on Dark Souls's because I'm still having fun with Demon's souls. I want to wait a few weeks, even a month to see what others say before I get it.

I died a little inside when I read about the online aspect of Dark Souls since Demon's Soul's online is awesomely fun. Having to reboot seems unnecessarily tedious imo.

I've been watching a few people play, and so far, I like that the majority has been kept the same, but I don't quite understand the hollowed VS human form since there isn't a world/ character tendency. Are the forms used more as a utility depending on what you're fighting?

[LocoColt04]

I would not be surprised to see some sort of patch that would prioritize finding your PSN friends and throwing you on their server at game startup.

[Andromeda]

Hollowed versus human ends up having a different impact on the game and world than soul and human in Demon's Souls. There are some NPCs that won't even give you the time of day unless you're a human and there are others that will have more options if you're human. You can only kindle bonfires as a human. I also believe that drop rates are increased while you're human. I haven't been human yet, but my guess is that the HP drop that you experience as a soul in Demon's Souls does not exist.

So in general, you get more options if you're in human form, but unlike in Demon's Souls. You have to spend humanity to return to human form, killing a boss does not do it automatically. Which means you can change whenever you want. But humanity is also something that you lose when you die like with souls and unless you pick them up back up after you've die they are gone just like souls.

According to one thing I read, if you drop a lot of humanity it will end up spawning monsters in someone else's world. The same the item that does it would. I don't know if this is true, but that's what I read from a reviewer.

It is certainly true that the co-op being difficult is annoying. If From did it, then it was a design choice by them to further the isolationist feeling of the game and not being able to rely on friends, but the help of strangers. There is a lot of cooperation in the game, but from strangers and not friends. So it would make sense if that it why. Still pretty annoying though.

[Imposter]

I've also noticed that I take a bit more damage as a hollow than as a human it isn't a super significant amout but it is more. I try to play as a human as much as possible especially fighting minibosses and bosses because I want those sick drops.

Played part of yesterday and got to the entrance of Blighttown with the key in my hand. The most terrifying thing I've encountered so far is curse. It will kill you and then cut your hp in half. Luckily I scored a purging stone before attacking a certain npc. Also was invanded for the first time yesterday, when it happens you really get pretty nervous but Knight Kirk was a joke and he vanquishing gained me a humanity.

I think the next time I play I'm going to do some white sign posting because I'd like to farm some humanity and help some people out. I'm in the way of the white covenant currently so hopefully that will help. Speaking of summon signs I've managed to find two npcs that will offer there services, used the them for the last boss I had but they didn't even help out. I think you get less souls on killing bosses with them too.

[Andromeda]

Yeah, I've thankfully avoided the curse, but I knew about the frogs before hand. So when I saw them I got really panicked and scared and just blasted them at a range. Thankfully, curse like poison and bleed out are a meter that has to build up, which I think is actually a very smart system. It makes sense that you may not be immediately poisoned, but repeatedly exposed to it will eventually get to you. For a game that is built as been tough, it is probably one of the more friendlier system. Doesn't mean you won't get poisoned, and poison is really rough.

So far I've made it back the Gaping Dragon as the last boss I defeated. I've been staying away from the New Londo Ruins and Catacombs, but I'll probably venture then eventually. Since I have the Blighttown Key and access to it, I may go there. Still don't know how far into the game I am, but haven't rang the second tower bell yet. But I'm level 61 now I think. Ended up switch from Pyromancy to Sorcery because I found the Sorcery npc and not the Pyromancy npc, which was hiding in The Depths. I've already built so much into Sorcery I don't think I'll go back.

[Imposter]

Your lvl 61 and at the same spot I am? I'm like 24 hahaha. Where on earth are you getting your souls to lvl up!? I've just been playing through as my warrior and am pure melee, my only ranged is the short bow to pull enemies.

However I have found the pyromancy npc so maybe I'll pick up some pyromancy attunements. I also am going to start setting out my sign post because I heard that being a client helps gaining the sunlight warrior covenant.

[Gummy]

I feel like I'm dong something wrong, or missing something. My brother told me to summon help for the boss in the area I was in (basement of Dragon's Bridge ~ after ringing the first bell), so I did, thank goodness.

I summon a guy just outside of what I guessed was the boss gate/fog, really big beefy looking dude enters my game. Huge-looking set of armour, giant sword, and massive shield, this guy looked really badass.

Anyways, went through the gate, the boss dashes over and almost one-shots me even with my shield up (I think it was simply called 'Knight's shield'). Beef-cake comes along and just destroys the boss in seconds. He was really taking massive chunks out of it, like it was nothing.

Sadly I was too busy running away to heal my injuries to see exactly what he did, but wow...I want that kind of power!

I'm just wondering how he could be so darned hunky at what must be around the same level, and even as a Knight I was really lame next to this guy. xD

Maybe I just suck.


Also, is there any way to reward random players for being awesome? Seems like the rating system was removed.

[Andromeda]

Oh they removed the rating system? That's disappointing, it was a nice way to learn if you were getting a good person or a bad one. Where you fighting the Capras Demon, I think that's it name? He probably picked up one of the really good weapons that you can get early on like the Drake Sword or the Black Knight sword.

As for why I'm 61, that's because I did a lot of soul farming in the room behind the gate in the Darkroot Garden. There are 4 guys back there that are worth a total of 7k. So I farmed them for a while. There's a bug present there that allows you to make them fall off a cliff and die. So it is really fast souls.

Though even without it, I probably would be about 35. It could because I've explored more areas than you, because being at The Depth and 24 seems a little low. I've completely cleared the Undead Burg, Parish, Darkroot Garden and Basin, Valley of the Drakes and The Depths. I've stepped into the Catacombs, but I haven't gone in yet.

[Imposter]

Oh gotcha haven't gone through valley of the drakes, darkroot garden/basin. I'm 37 now and have rung the second bell, also took out a certain ceaseless refuse.

So I've decided to veer off from the main story and do some farming. Found a couple neat weapons that I'd like to use but require dex and faith which I have little to none of. I still am having a horrible time finding people who will summon me to a game, I keep my post down but doesn't seem like anyone is around.

What class are you playing Andro? Gummy you say you are a knight?

Capra Demon can be a huge tool, being in such a small space with those two dogs.

[Andromeda]

Jumped way ahead of me then moving on to Blighttown and got the next bell. But it does sound like you've been going straight for the story and I've been exploring. I've been trying to find all of the treasures around the world.

But I started out as a Pyromancer, but once I saved the man that teaches Sorcery I switched to that. Since I still focus sword, I'm more like a Magical Swordswoman. I carry bow whenever I find something out of my magics range.

[Gummy]

Yeah, or at least as far as I can tell they have. Cheers for the tips! This thread has helped clear a fair bit of confusion. I picked up the drake sword, it is very nice. <3

I started again as a warrior. Enjoying it more than the other classes I tried (knight & Sorcerer).