[Sunnii Bebiieh]

Vitality and Endurance, in that order of priority. The first gives you more health, the latter will allow you to equip more schwag and get more stamina. Your Strength and Dexterity are good for the time being.

Thanks. Also, should I be using the http://darksouls.wikidot.com/elite-knight-helm or the http://darksouls.wikidot.com/gargoyle-helm?

[danni Marchant]

I see, so it's not that the combat is necessarily more challenging than other games, but you really have to try hard to avoid dying or there are severe penalties.

Dark Souls' combat is certainly one of its best features. While it's not difficult, timing and precision is key to success with any weapon type (even large heavy weapons that in most games are simply swung haphazardly, are exactly the opposite in Dark Souls and require some of the best timing). So the game's difficulty come not only in the form of avoiding the penalties of death, but of avoiding death from the start. Enemies can one-hit kill (or at least severely maim) you even well after you've become good at the game and are a high level. Though likewise, you are equally as powerful.

Edit: Sufca, wear whatever the hell you think looks cool, honestly. Unless you're purposefully trying to tank something (in which case you'd put very heavy armor on, like Smough's), it's much more beneficial to wear something light or just what you prefer to look at for hours. So basically, unless you're wearing very heavy armor, tanking isn't a great tactic (and it isn't even great then). Avoiding damage in the first place is key.

[Antonio Gigliotta]

Thanks. Also, should I be using the http://darksouls.wikidot.com/elite-knight-helm or the http://darksouls.wikidot.com/gargoyle-helm?

Eh, whichever one you like better. I'd carry them both and switch to whichever one has better resistances to whatever it is you're facing (Gargoyle Helm has better resistances to poison, bleeding, and fire, for example). If you feel the need to equip less weight, then stick with the Gargoyle Helm as it's slightly lighter. Either way you go though, the effects one piece of armor will have over the other is pretty slight.

[LijLuva]

I've played monster hunter freedom unite solo. I got to the g rank quests before I finally had to yield due to simple time. Anyone who has any knowledge of that game knows how hard those level of quests can get. One hit kills are common if your not prepared. Two to three hits can easily do you in. If you die you lose all the items you used on the quest and money. Not to mention having to start from the very beginning. You also only have 50 minutes or less per quest to kill these gigantic boss monsters. Trust me, I know difficulty. I've heard debates over which series is harder. Dark Souls or Monster Hunter. Fans on both sides are ardent theirs is. So 50/50 split. Meaning they're likely on the same level of skill/difficulty.

Edit
G-Rank quests were meant to be played online with 4 people to finish them. I've managed to finish a few of them solo.

[Laura Wilson]

It really isn't easy. Believe it when people say it's hard. It really is. Recall Battletoads and the original Contra? Around that level of hardness. Halo on Legendary and Gears of War on Insane are a walk in the park to Dark Souls. Hell, today's games aren't even hard compared to the oldschool ones of the NES era. Dark Souls is a throwback game in terms of difficulty.

As long as you know what you're doing, it's easy as a pie.

About the PC version, I really wonder how the controls will look like


Edit: About the game in general: I loved my very first playthrough of Dark Souls a lot. It was extremely fun to not have a clue of what I was supposed to do, so I ended up helping out a lot of random players while gathering up a few levels under my belt before going onwards in the game. Oh the fun I had in all those different places... Your first playthrough of dark souls is guaranteed to be a great one, as long as you go in completely blind

Edti2: Btw this is Dark Souls discussion thread #10

[Kahli St Dennis]

I'll definently try to pick this up on PC, I'm sick of developers passing over PC because of financial viability.

[DAVId MArtInez]

.. but i don't get why the PC Version get's to have added content. Why is that? .. Console gamers. Especially the PlayStation 3 Gamers supported From Software first. They should at least be getting some type of reward or something for free. Or DLC. I mean .. ok i have nothing against the PC Port, but come on. Added Content? ..

[Ash]

I'm sitting at 19 vitality, 16 endurance, 20 strength and 12 dexterity. What would be my best bet to increase? (Level 25 knight)

Your vitality is fine, you should concentrate on raising endurance and strength for now. Endurance will allow you to do more attacks, block more hits, and wear/wield heavier armor and weapons. Make sure you use weapons that scale best with strength.

Don't forget the poise stat, which is important if you don't want to get stunned from hits. 53 poise will resist a 2-handed claymore hit, 76 poise will resist a 2-handed great axe/zweihander swing. Never increase poise beyond 76, it's not worth it. Many players forgo poise in favour of armor style, depends how good you are really. Never touch resistance, it's a trash stat.

[Destinyscharm]

Your vitality is fine, you should concentrate on raising endurance and strength for now. Endurance will allow you to do more attacks, block more hits, and wear/wield heavier armor and weapons. Make sure you use weapons that scale best with strength.

Don't forget the poise stat, which is important if you don't want to get stunned from hits. 53 poise will resist a 2-handed claymore hit, 76 poise will resist a 2-handed great axe/zweihander swing. Never increase poise beyond 76, it's not worth it. Many players forgo poise in favour of armor style, depends how good you are really. Never touch resistance, it's a trash stat.

I wouldn't level up strength that early. 16 is more than enough, and he already has 20. Instead, he should make sure to find some non-scaling weapons, such as lightning weapons, the drake sword, fire weapons or chaos weapons. Only if you make a PvP toon should you go for scaling weapons.. And even then it's actually better to use a high vitality lightning build that a low vitality strength build.

[Bird]

I wouldn't level up strength that early. 16 is more than enough, and he already has 20. Instead, he should make sure to find some non-scaling weapons, such as lightning weapons, the drake sword, fire weapons or chaos weapons. Only if you make a PvP toon should you go for scaling weapons.. And even then it's actually better to use a high vitality lightning build that a low vitality strength build.

It sounds to me like he's on his 1st playthrough and still low lvl which is why I didn't mention elemental weapons. But yeah, get the drake sword, it's good for low lvl. He'll probably pick up the lightning spear in Sen's soon enough anyway.

And don't encourage any more vit gouge/ele wep builds, they're boring

[Laura Samson]

.. but i don't get why the PC Version get's to have added content. Why is that? .. Console gamers. Especially the PlayStation 3 Gamers supported From Software first. They should at least be getting some type of reward or something for free. Or DLC. I mean .. ok i have nothing against the PC Port, but come on. Added Content? ..

You got to play it first.

[josie treuberg]

.. but i don't get why the PC Version get's to have added content. Why is that? .. Console gamers. Especially the PlayStation 3 Gamers supported From Software first. They should at least be getting some type of reward or something for free. Or DLC. I mean .. ok i have nothing against the PC Port, but come on. Added Content? ..

Extra content is pretty common for late ports. Besides, it's not like everyone bought Demon's/Dark Souls just to line From's pockets with monies; their "reward" was the game.

[Chantel Hopkin]

Guys .. i have a feeling there is no PC version. It's going to be a huge DLC for Console gamers. .. sorry but that's what i think it's going to be.

[Emma Louise Adams]

Guys .. i have a feeling there is no PC version. It's going to be a huge DLC for Console gamers. .. sorry but that's what i think it's going to be.

Don't be alarmed, but I'm http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yQmtDLMNm1c/TjgKEva6E9I/AAAAAAAAAcY/z0oG-mHCbuk/s1600/mentok_the_mindtaker.jpg your mind. I'm going to go with it's pretty much confirmed. If you do turn out to be correct you get one free mock Gamgee ticket. And I don't hand these out too often.

[Jeff Turner]

.. but i don't get why the PC Version get's to have added content. Why is that? .. Console gamers. Especially the PlayStation 3 Gamers supported From Software first. They should at least be getting some type of reward or something for free. Or DLC. I mean .. ok i have nothing against the PC Port, but come on. Added Content? ..

I know the feeling, it annoys me when a specific platform gets exclusive content for a game, however small it may be. More often than not that exclusive content doesn't amount to much but still it's annoying when you're a fan of a game and want to do everything. Maybe they'll release that new content as a patch for console gamers in the future? Anyway, I'm still really happy that game's being ported to pc, added content or not

[patricia kris]

Guys .. i have a feeling there is no PC version. It's going to be a huge DLC for Console gamers. .. sorry but that's what i think it's going to be.

That would be against from-software's "golden rule" so to say, but it is what the fans want.

[Emma Parkinson]

That would be against from-software's "golden rule" so to say, but it is what the fans want.

I highly doubt they will go with the wishes of a relatively secure consumer base rather than making a foray into a new market.

At least I hope not.

[Toby Green]

I highly doubt they will go with the wishes of a relatively secure consumer base rather than making a foray into a new market.

At least I hope not.

Well, financially a DLC for consoles could be more profitable than a port to PC. -could-.

[Hilm Music]

Well, financially a DLC for consoles could be more profitable than a port to PC. -could-.

I'm no expert but I don't think a PC port would take all of their developing power, they could do both, and then port the DLC to PC and make even more money.

[Stat Wrecker]

If they allowed you to summon people specifically from your friends list and introduced ingame chat, it would probably be the best game ever. Not that it isn't already a damn good game.

I'm using the BB glitch to try out new builds for fun. I made a level 10 troll invader with fist weapons and the Xanthus crown. I die a lot but it's hilarious to punch people to death. I also made a quality build with 40/40 str and dex. It's pretty fun to be able to wield almost every weapon in the game and do good damage without relying on buffs.

[louise hamilton]

If they allowed you to summon people specifically from your friends list and introduced ingame chat, it would probably be the best game ever. Not that it isn't already a damn good game.

I'm using the BB glitch to try out new builds for fun. I made a level 10 troll invader with fist weapons and the Xanthus crown. I die a lot but it's hilarious to punch people to death. I also made a quality build with 40/40 str and dex. It's pretty fun to be able to wield almost every weapon in the game and do good damage without relying on buffs.

It's low damage, and with low health Lightning all the way... Or moonlight sword, since you can infinite stunlock with it. The mirdan hammer of dark souls..

[tegan fiamengo]

It's low damage, and with low health Lightning all the way... Or moonlight sword, since you can infinite stunlock with it. The mirdan hammer of dark souls..

I'm sl lvl 123 with 1686 hp without mask. Uchi does 420, washing pole 426, Murakamo 564 and the demon great machete 637. That's pure physical damage which only has to go through one resistance. All of those will do more damage to an opponent than their elemental counterpart. Elemental has higher total AR but because of the dual resistances will do lower overall damage. It's a trade-off. I guess I could have 90+ vit and use a lightning bandit knife or rapier for uber parries and backstabs but it's all down to personal choice. I'm not saying this is an ideal PvP build by any means, it's just something I'm trying for fun.

Having said that, I did find my experience with it to be painful I'm no pro pvp'er by any stretch of the imagination but I generally win more than I lose. Almost every time I got owned with this build was from a one-hit KO backstab. So maybe the extra hp could come in handy. I just get bored with everyone using lightning weapons and fishing for backstabs.

[Holli Dillon]

Snip.

I just get bored with everyone using lightning weapons and fishing for backstabs.

That's the reason I don't play Dark Souls anymore. Demon's souls is a lot better. Yeah sure, there's many more backstabs in that game, but they do no damage more often than not.

But for PvP in dark souls, 1800 HP is the minimal you should have... Mask or not. Preferably reach 1800 without using the mask. You simply cannot get enough power by spending those vitality points into something else. It just isn't worth it.

[Shelby McDonald]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-11-dark-souls-pc-release-date-announced-games-for-windows-live-support-confirmed

I don't like it, you probably don't like it, yet it's still disappointing to see so many people instantly swear off the game they were petitioning and begging for because of something that's a minor inconvenience at best.

• New Bosses - Including Artorias of Abyss, Chimera of Tomb, and more
  
• PVP Online Matchmaking System - Quick matching for co-op or PVP
  
• New Areas – Including Oolacile Tomb, Old Ruins and more
  
• New Enemies – Including Abyss Guard, Chained Prisoner and more
  
• New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough and more
  
• New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs

More details to be revealed...

http://www.preparetodie.com/en/preorder/

[Jesus Sanchez]

I can't wait. Definitely getting this game for the PC. Sure, GFWL svcks but I've wanted this game on the PC ever since it first came out.