I think Pyromancer is the "Royal" in Dark Souls. Decent gear and stats. You can do like I did and quickly get some Souls Arrows (occasional use fireball in special situations...can do big damage). I preferred it to the Sorcerer build I made initially. If you're not interested in magic, some of the other melee classes might be better. Wanderer seems nice. Of course, like Demon's Souls, it won't make a huge difference what class you start out with.
Yeah, I used to back up my saves periodically... once as a whole-system backup, and again as individual saves (the full-system backup is nearly useless anyway since, again, it's tied to a single PS3's motherboard). The fact is, unless you keep an external drive plugged into your PS3 always, it's just something most people won't realistically do very often. But back on topic... I can't believe I haven't played this yet. It's sitting on my shelf. I'm still occupied with Monster Hunter Tri (late to that party) and FIFA 12 came out right before this. But when I do play this I'll probably lose sleep from playing obsessively, just like Demon's Souls... :grin:
I don't have a Wii, so I can't play Monster Hunter Tri, but I do have Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP. Kick-ass game. Monster Hunter's combat is probably the closest you're going to get to the combat of Demon's Souls/Dark Souls. It lacks the exploration element and doesn't really have a story, but there's lots you can do to improve yourself, and the combat is about the best you'll find in a video game. Plus, it's basically just a game of boss fights, with little to no filler/throwaway creatures to kill on the way, which I sort of like as a concept. And the kicker: Monster Hunter might even be harder than Dark Souls, at least at the higher ranks. In any case, if you like Dark Souls, you should definitely at least try one of the Monster Hunter games... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IX1Zo4_yn2E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Just got through Blighttown. Framerate does suck. Probably the most annoying level so far in the game (although some good parts still), and happens to have the worst framerate. Though to be fair, I guess it didn't hurt me too badly. I got some more pyromancy spells and leveled up my glove. At this point, definitely MUCH more useful than before. I used to use more Soul Arrows and melee, but my fire spells are so powerful now that it is easier/better to use them to wipe out enemies. A lot of enemies/bosses are weak to it too. Can do some massive damage for pretty early in the game (and you don't need 40 INT or whatever...can still focus on melee skills). As mentioned before, some of them are slow and require timing, but the Combustion spells are pretty quick (almost like a melee attack). One use of it can wipe out some enemies completely (I was using it to farm items from Slimes quicker/easier). Basically allows for "battlemage" playstyle I guess. Still going to try some ranged spellcasting as I unlock some more Sorcery spells (and improve my INT) though. Probably wont' get to 50 INT though, so might miss out on some stuff (until my subsequent playthroughs anyway). Did some exploration of some other areas. Got me a Lightning Spear, and yeah, it is pretty ridiculous. I think it has been mentioned that unless you have insane DEX/STR (40 or 50+ I think?), it is better to put lightning/fire (maybe lightning more so since more enemies are weak to it) on a weapon than to try to level it up normally and have it scale based on those attributes. A Lightning +5 weapon would likely do more damage than a Normal+15 weapon (or whatever). Definitely seems that way. I'm still indecisive on my armor. I've mostly been rocking my starter armor since it isn't too bad leveled up. OK (not great) regular def, good magic/fire/etc. defense, low weight (I try to stay <25% for my burden). I do have some nice armor, but can't upgrade it at the moment (some of my leveled up armor is slightly better). May eventually give in and go with some heavier armor, for <50% burden.
How far am I in the game? Just ran the first bell. The only bosses I killed so far is the first one, gargoyle, and the one big guy with two dogs. Lev 21 and trying to find a place to farm souls so I can buy more spells.
Good times. I do like the Combustion and Great Combustion spells. They pretty much are melee attacks, but that doesn't really bother me. They come out fast and do lots of damage. I'd be using them if my right-hand slots weren't already taken up by a catalyst and a melee weapon. Yeah, Blight Town is the place where most people complain about the frame rate. I actually though it was worse in some places in the Duke's Archives, but that's a bit later on in the game, after finishing Anor Londo. In any case, I didn't think Blight Town was actually that bad when you take into consideration that the blowdart guys stay dead when you kill you. The other enemies in the area aren't exactly easy, but without those blowdart guys they're manageable. The armor question is interesting. In the previous game, I think virtually no one used heavy armor because it was always better to have more mobility. But in Dark Souls they've added a "poise" rating to buff heavy armor, which decreases the chances that a hit will interrupt/stagger you, so you can just tank through stuff. I've mostly been sticking with the light armor, but I think I may start experimenting with the heavy stuff now that I've already made it through the game once... just to try beating it with a different style. There is some really good light armor (the "gold-trimmed black" set) right after you kill Quelaag, the boss leading to the second bell. You run down a hill past some egg-heads and through a fog gate, and the armor's there on a pedestal. Once you grab it, a boss called "Ceaseless Discharge" attacks you, and will probably kill you, but the armor is worth doing a suicide run for. It can't be upgraded, but has high stats to begin with. It basically makes you look like a Naazgul from LOTR... old tattered black robes. I used that set for quite a while. Now I'm using a weird mish-mash: Crown of Dusk, Sage Robe, Black Sorcerer Gauntlets, and Antiquated Skirt.
You're not very far. A quarter of the game at best, and probably not even that. As far as a soul-farming spot goes, the generally accepted best place is through the locked door in the forest. Only problem is that you need to buy a key from the smith to open it, and the key costs 20,000 souls. But once you do that, there's a way to get three enemies to walk off a cliff without needing to fight them, for a gain of 6,000 souls every time that can be repeated as often as you like. This video will show you how: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kKVB4sL4Sxg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Note that the bonfire he's resting at is behind a false wall. Strike the wall with your weapon to reveal the bonfire.
I just saved all my Soul consumables and then killed the HellKite Dragon with a LongBow +5, 21 Dex and 350 Standard arrows. Did it from the area with the three rats. 20,000 was exceeded easily. The Official Stategy Guide is online. I'll let yall google it. But the one item I wish I chose as a gift was the master key. Saves a ton of time. It's my first ever experience playing and I chose Depraved class.
Are you talking about the red drake? He glitched and instantly died for me. Easiest 10k souls in my short Dark Souls career.
They fixed that glitch with the 1.03 patch on PS3. He now disappears when up the tower and reappears when near/on the bridge.
I missed that. Just went straight to Sen's Fortress after that. Stuck in Anor Lando right now, but going to finish up soon I think. I'll check that out later.
So I keep losing Humanity. I don't kindle because I'm Hollow so how is it possible? No one online is killing me and I think thats the only two ways. I should have at least ten now but its zero. Including the boss humanity received. I had one before going back to the Asylum and i kept dying to the Black Knights and Stray boss. I just beat all of them but my lone humanity is gone. Can anyone explain
You lose them when you die "offline" too (can regain them if you get back to your bloodstain, like your souls). Guessing your died and didn't make it back to your bloodstain, so you lost all humanity you had gained prior to your death. Just finished Anor Lando. Got some good armor now too. Not sure what I want to tackle next.
Yeah, there's the static "Humanity" and "Twin Humanity" items that stay in your inventory with death, but once it is "spent" (and appears in the counter next to your life and stamina bars), then it can be lost along with your souls on death. As far as "kindling" goes, you do indeed need to be human to do it, meaning that you must spend a point of humanity to "reverse hollow" at a bonfire before kindling it. Basically this encourages you to stay alive so you can maintain your human status, in order that you can kindle bonfires without needing to spend an extra point of humanity every time just to "reverse hollow." Note that you eventually get an item which allows you to kindle bonfires up to 20 Estus Flasks, instead of just 10 (the "Rite of Kindling"). Also note that kindled bonfires stay kindled on successive playthroughs. This certainly makes the notion of kindling more attractive. I have no idea if you had this problem or not, but for a while I was confused about what to do after I got the Lordvessel. Turns out you need to go and talk to Kingseeker Frampt back at Firelink, and this will cause the "golden" fog gates to be unsealed. I guess I had sort of missed that at first. Hopefully you figured it out with less aimless running around than I did. After that, it really is pretty open in terms of what you should do next. You need to collect the four Lord Souls to fill the Lordvessel (that is, beat four specific bosses), but they can be done in any order you choose... I'm not sure that there's really any suggested order. If you haven't gone through the graveyard behind Firelink (the "Catacombs"), you might try that area next. The boss at the end awards you the previously mentioned "Rite of Kindling," which is always nice to have as an option... the key is to kill the necromancers who are constantly resurrecting all the skeletons. The area also contains one of the four smiths in the game (this one makes fire and chaos weapons), and after beating the Catacombs boss leads to the Tomb of the Giants, where you can fight Gravelord Nito.
What spear do I upgrade or where do I find the lightning spear and what curved sword do I upgrade to make the Fury sword?
I haven't even had enough time to think about it. I've avoided some areas (Hollows, Ash Lake, Painted World, Forest, etc.), so I was thinking about going through some of those areas. And the Catacombs, like you mentioned. Really would like the Rite of Kindling. I have the official guide, although haven't been following it too closely on the walkthorugh portion (mostly avoiding it unless I need it...mostly been using the guide for knowledge on items drops, upgrade paths, etc.). Forgot what it wanted me to do after Anor Lando. Lightning Spear is in Sen's Fortress. Can also make lightning weapons with Titanite Chunks I believe (might need an ember and a special blacksmith...haven't really made one yet, just using my spear still). Fury sword uses Quelaag's soul and any normal curved sword IIRC (Falchion, Scimitar, etc.). Some Wiki's have info on that stuff: http://darksouls.wikidot.com/weapons http://darksouls.wikidot.com/rare-weapons http://darksouls.wikidot.com/upgrade I'm just going to post this without saying anything: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x9ymysN3qQ8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> (see part 2, 3, 4, etc.)
Some patch info. Linking to a NeoGAF post from a mod who translated the original text: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=31887751&postcount=18607
Yeah, I saw the patch info last night, although this is the best translation of the notes that I've seen. It sounds like they're addressing all of the most important bugs and balance issues that people have been complaining about. 1. Everyone complained about the Fog Ring because it prevented lock-ons, meaning that magic builds were basically useless in PvP. It seemed like roughly 80% of invaders were using it... obviously a completely unbalanced item. Looks like it will keep the stealth effect but lose the anti-lock-on effect. 2. The infinite item/spell glitch had to do with the Dragon Head Stone that you get for joining the Path of the Dragon covenant. There was an exploit you could do with the head that made you either use a spell continuously and infinitely, or (worse) use a soul item infinitely, meaning you could give yourself as many souls as you wanted, leading to people simply giving themselves millions of souls and maxing out their characters. 3. People also justifiably complained that the current weapon damage scaling wasn't good enough. Even at very high levels, you were almost always better off taking a non-scaling but high-damage lightning weapon rather than a weapon with lower base damage but higher scaling. 4. Lastly, people complained that the online matchmaking conditions were too difficult, so that there wasn't enough interaction with other players. For my money, these were really the only game-breaking glitches and balance problems. Reading the patch notes, it looks like they're all being addressed. Kudos to From Software.
