... What ?

Are you kidding me. How ?

What do you mean "how"? The upgrade goes like this:

+0 to +5, shards.
+5 to +10, large shards.
+10 to +14, chunks.
+15 a slab.

... Damnit for some reason I ended up using a slab to upgrade... I think it was a raw weapon thouhgh, looking back im not sure.

Nope, a raw weapon uses only large shards. It might have been a piece of armor, a crystal weapon or a lightning weapon that you upgraded. (the final on them that is, so an armor to +1, crystal to +5 and lighting to +5)

The enemies do not level with you.They are at a set strength and thats it, so it gets easier to deal with them when you get stronger yourself.The Capra demon is no problem when you face him over level 30.Just aim to kill those dogs as quickly as possible, using the stairs to divide the attention of the enemies.

Don't give up dude, you have much more to see in this game.Every victory will boost your confidence and teach you to be better at combat.Watch this guy beat the Capra demon if you still need help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56jCZNTEyoc
You might want to skip ahead to the fight.

Hmmm. Maybe it was my gass crest shield.

On the topic of shields. Whats better than the grass crest shield ? I used it most of the game.

So I am lost now, again I rang the bell in the church which was easy(everything has been easy now that I have this Drake Sword). I need to ring the second bell..in blighttown...which is where? Is there some map feature I am not using or something? I went through the graveyard and cleared out all the skeletons a few times and tried to go through new londo but I don't have any curses so I can't fight the ghost.

I think it's more of a pvp shield for people who want faster stamina regeneration while two handing a weapon. You can stack it with the a few other stamina regen boosting items.

Downside of the shield is that it doesn't have 100% physical dmg resistance, 95% IIRC, so you're always losing some health on block. The other resistances aren't exactly amazing either.

I think some of the notable light shields are the hollow soldier shield and I believe the blood shield is fairly popular as well. Both have low STR requirements, 100 physical dmg resistance. I think magic, lightening, and fire resists are O.K. but I'm unsure on the stats. I believe both have very good stability when fully upgraded

Personally, I went with the black knight shield on a faith character for the 100% physical resist, and 95 % fire resist which is a great counter counter when pvping a pyro. 16 STR to wield, 73% stability when upgrades.

Physical resist and stability are your primary concern if you're using the shield for blocking.

Don't know much about heavy shields.

I found the Hollow Soldiers Shield very early on on my first playthrough. 11 Strength required to wield iirc. I upgraded it to +15, 88 stability. Weights only 3.5. Very good shield, only down side is the magic defence which is 20%.


As for blighttown, you can fin it by going to the forest with after a blacksmith near the gargoyle tower area. Following a path that goes down takes you to darkwood basin with crystal foes, don't go there though. There's a sort of "hidden" path that goes to the opposite direction, still down though, with a black knight blocking it (sam place as you find the stamina speed-up shield). From there, you should find a tunnel leading to a bonfire and an elevator down to valley of drakes. Follow the valley without fighting the drakes and you'll eventually come to blighttown.

Or, you can go through depths and beat the capra demon and gaping dragon to get access to blighttown from there.

Just finished the game, and I must say I am impressed by its length over DeS.

Does anyone else think this game becomes a joke when playing co-op?

I mean....

I played my first playtrough without ever summoning someone to help me clear an area or defeat a boss. I did everything by myself. I think this is the pure Dark Souls experience. When I started a new game I wanted to play with other people I quickly found out this game is a total joke when playing in co-op. Bosses don't stand a chance and are defeated within mins...

As I already cleared the entire game all by myself I want to give co-op a shot. I am basically playing everything in co-op now. As it feels like a new experience, but also it shows me just how easy the game becomes.

Opinions?

Co-Op is actually harder than in DeS because enemies get stronger the more phantoms you have and the phantoms have limited healing compared to basically infinite healing in DeS.

As for the total length of Dark Souls, I think it's not actually that much longer than DeS once you know what you are doing.

Funny. Everytime I summon phantoms for help, enemies seems to be as weak as always.


And what comes to length, of course you can play Dark Souls as fast as Demons Souls if you know what you are doing. But first playthrough you play much slower
due constant fear of rushing into something horrid.

The enemies do get tougher, I've yet to notice a single co-op session where the enemies wouldn't have gained more HP compared to normal. Without a phantom I can backstab an enemy to death, with two phantoms I can't: they survive it. You may think it's as easy because you have extra firepower with you, but compared to demon's souls it is harder.

Co-op might be harder than in DeS, but I find the game to be really easy when playing with phantoms.

Well it's nothing compared to demon's souls arch-demons, let's list them shall we?

Dragon God, a puzzle. Just like bed of chaos, but much easier.
Old monk's summon, a claw NPC! He doesn't have anything that can hurt you and can be killed with base SL with base gear easily.
Storm King. Yeah, there's a sword and a camp place that can be abused so you never get hit. At base soul level at that.
Maiden astrea. It's just an NPC to kill and that's it. Meh.
The only archdemon that actually was even remotely great to fight was the false king allant and he is basically just as easy as gwyn, easier actually.

Yes those Archdemons from DeS were even easier...

But still, my point was that they are too easy in Dark. Don't you agree? They were supposed to be these great lords ruling over the lands, yet they are the easiest to defeat and don't make up a challenge at all.

IMO, they are challenging enough At the point we reach them, we are supposed to be no longer a lost undead, but an undead warrior who is an equal with the lords. We are, after all, the Furtive Pygmy, one OF the great lords according to fan speculation.

Alright, Dark Souls is on its way from Gamefly.

I never played Demon Souls, so I'm going into this completely blind. All I know is its hard. Tips? Suggestions? How should I start?

Playing blind will be alot of fun, but lots of weird game mechanics that you might not pick up on in the first few hours.

The game auto saves ALL THE TIME. Most choices you make have a way of sticking. Think twice before killing NPC, but know that some may have to be killed.

Talk to NPCs more than once, seriously. Talk to them after in game events like clearing an area

Use the messaging system. Rate other peoples messages. These are little notes that can help or hurt other online players.

Vitality & Endurance are usually solid investments.

Think twice before spreading out your stats. Usually stat spreading is the best way to kill a build.

Do not add points to STR or DEX until you find a weapon which you like. Get by on what you have until you're ready to commit. Upgrading weapons takes a variety of precious resources, so make sure you like a weapon before investing.

Also, each weapon has a dmg multiplier (or a lack of) based on certain stats. Understanding this system will greatly influence which stats you invest in.

If you are new to the series, having a bow or at least some type of ranged attack (crossbow, magic, pyro, consumables) will make certain area much easier.

When faced with a pvp situation, assume your enemy will exploit any tactics they can to win. Being new to the game, I suggest doing the same. Beware the trolls. :biggrin:

Have fun!

Ceaseless Discharge here I come!

I'm gonna cheese him from the little passage I failed to notice before he he he.

Edit - Oh no I am in trouble now.I defeated the gargoyle near the first bonfire in Anor Londo.I saw a message to the left of the bridge, on a sloping skinny roof thing.I wanted to read it so I stepped off, not realizing you can't get back up to the bridge.I then had no choice but to climb the slope, where I ended up in the ceiling of a large hall.I had to balance on the rafters and take out some guys in white robes.I have no idea which is the safest way to go from here...

I guess by the time Gorbad reads this it will be too late to advise me and I will be dead and minus 50k souls...doh!

Anor Londo is beautiful though.Such a contrast to the Undead Burg!

Edit 2 - Thank Christ...made it back, survived another Gargoyle...That was all worth it for how good it feels to survive.Ah Dark Souls, you and I have a good thing going here. :clap:

Congratulations on your survival skills Crashdown! Did you not have a homeward bone on you? Those things come in handy.

After fifteen minutes of whittling away at her with the Zweihander for fear of accidentally killing her, I managed to cut off Crossbreed Priscilla's tail. She then died in about five seconds once I equipped the Furysword.

Damn I did have a bones, I have never used one.Must keep those things in mind next time.

Funnily, after my ordeal I went back and touched that painting...and you know where im stuck now, making my way to Priscilla.I was not ready for this place but it seems doable.Have to come back to it after some sleep.Thanks to your post I now know to chop her tail off first.Weapon drop I presume?

Yeah, you get Priscilla's dagger. It's not that amazing, but I'm going for the Knight's Honor achievement so I needed it. There are quite a few interesting items of note in the painted world, actually. You might want to take a look at this http://darksouls.wikidot.com/painted-world-of-ariamis on the wikidot site.

If you feel you are under powered, Priscilla will give you a chance to just walk away and leave. You can then later come back and take her out.

So is dex any good ? I had a thief, but found dex useless. Strength and endurancewere more important. Shame really, defeats the point of playing thief/wanderer aside from the master key.

It really depends on the weapons you use. My character uses a mix of both Dexterity and Strength. Since I use my bow a lot, it comes in handy.

So, while in ridiculous pitch black Tomb of the Giants I accidentally struck Rhea while fighting her former escorts. I'm absolutely screwed now until NG+ aren't I? Will she be guaranteed to turn un-hostile if I farm (god, I really do not want to do this at all) 140,000 souls to "repent?"

Would it have really been that much of a bother to implement a yield option to NPCs?