Dark Souls

Last I remember I was on NG+++ (4th Playthrough) with a level 200+ STR and INT character. My first play through was mostly strength based, but after that I switched focus to INT and being a high level spell caster in this game is the most OP thing ever for PVE.
 
Ive only played it through 2 before the DLC. Once as a heavy armor and two handed sword user, slugging it out hit for hit with most of the bosses and the other as a Pyromancer. Never tried fast dex builds though. Just were not my thing.

Im incredibly tempted to do a great bow play through though just so I can shoot things with Goughs Greatbow. Seems like it would be pretty challenging to.
 
My friend talked me into a silly challenge and, being the masochistic DS addict that I am, I accepted. The challenge is to play through the game at SL1, without leveling up once. Ive made it to Artorias so far and have been bashing my face against his steel plated arms stone Colosseum walls for days.

I have to beat it though... I cant just leave a challenge started unfinished.
 

Walter

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I've received a few questions about how to best play Dark Souls on PC, so I'm putting together a mini-guide. As great as the game is, the out-of-the-box experience is terrible. It is without a doubt one of the worst console ports in PC gaming history. However, once it's properly configured, it plays like a dream, and is widely regarded as THE BEST version of the game available.

There are two important steps to achieve this:

STEP ONE: DSfix This is a user-made configuration hack that will unlock the graphics resolution and framerate. This is what makes the game look its best. You really wouldn't want to play the game without this.

1) Grab it here: http://skullknight.net/images/DSfix201.zip
2) Extract the files to your Dark Souls directory. If you got it via Steam, the directory is in ...Program Files/Steam/steamapps/common/Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition/DATA
3) Open DSfix.ini there are instructions inside, but all you want to do here is scale the settings to accommodate the power of your PC. If you want to simply run it with the settings that I use, here's that file: http://skullknight.net/images/DSfix.ini . Just replace yours with it. Runs too slow? Scale down the resolution. Simple.

STEP TWO: Use a Controller
While the game is playable with keyboard and mouse, it is far from optimal. Even the game's description in the Steam store recommends you use a controller.

What I did was just purchase an XBox 360 controller for Windows. It worked with zero configuration requirements.

However, if you have another controller, you'll want to download x360ce (click the one marked x360ce.App-2.1.2.191.zip ) and extract that into the DATA directory listed above in the DSfix instructions. What this does is emulate a 360 controller's performance, and allows you to bypass the in-game configuration process, which blows.
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
some interesting cut content from Dark Souls! really well done video. (and he has other great dark souls videos as well. if you guys haven't already seen them)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RkLstvjmUk
 

Walter

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Truder said:
some interesting cut content from Dark Souls! really well done video. (and he has other great dark souls videos as well. if you guys haven't already seen them)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RkLstvjmUk
Neat stuff he cobbled together, but I can totally understand why it was cut. Had Oscar remained in the game as intended, the ending sequence would be rather anti climactic.

With this material, the parallels between Oscar and Ostrava in Demon's Souls are pretty apparent.
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
Truder said:
(and he has other great dark souls videos as well. if you guys haven't already seen them)

His lore videos are fantastic. There's a certain amount of speculation to fill in some holes here and there but they are incredibly thoughtful and stay true to the information given by item descriptions. Really awesome when you want to refresh or need a bit of clarity on a character.
 
Since I've had is game for quite a while ,but didn't really have time to get into it. My vacation will start today and Dark Souls is what I want to finish until GTA V, Anyway I am starting with Knight and wondered if anyone could give some tips like what should I stuck up on or what should I look out for. Also about Artorias of Abyss dlc, are the new zones are available from start?
 

Walter

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Lukis said:
Anyway I am starting with Knight
Knight is a solid start. Gives you survivability. You should know though that the class you choose doesn't necessarily determine how you will play out the rest of the game. The more important choice for that comes each time you level up, and where you choose to spend your stat upgrades.

If you want to play a melee guy invest in strength, endurance and vitality. Depending on the weapon you choose, alternate strength and dexterity.

like what should I stuck up on or what should I look out for.
A lot of this game is about being observant, both with the environment for traps and direction, and observation of enemy patterns and weaknesses. You are going to die. Don't worry about that or get too frustrated. You are going to lose thousands of souls from dying twice. Don't worry about that either. You will never lose anything you can't get back with some basic farming. Don't think of death as a punishment, or that you "lost" progress. You were just taught how NOT to play on the next run.

Probably the thing I love most about Dark Souls is that you're always getting better. There's a very high skill ceiling. You feel yourself getting better at the game over time, and a huge part of that is learning from mistakes.

The other challenge of the game is execution. Pick a weapon type you like, and stick with it for a while so you are familiar with its range, speed, different attack patterns based on whether you are one or two handing the weapon, etc. If you're starting out, I think the Longsword will carry you quite a long way, and you can get that relatively early in the game.

Be vigilant about upgrades, and learn the system that allows you to upgrade them at blacksmiths. Essentially you will need to collect Titanite Shards of varying quality through enemy drops or purchases from vendors. Then take those to a blacksmith and have him upgrade your weapons. It gets more complicated later on, but that's the gist. I didn't fully grasp the weapon stats and the upgrade system until my second playthrough... So it's not vital, but certainly helps.

Also about Artorias of Abyss dlc, are the new zones are available from start?
Nope. You wouldn't want to do them immediately anyway. Access to them will unlock after the Lordvessel. But getting to the area isn't straightforward at all. Just uh... when you get to the Lake, explore it pretty thoroughly (but don't fall in...!). That will do for now. There's another step, but that's the KEY one.
 
Thanks for tips Walter ,tomorrow will be fun day I suppose :ganishka: . I will probably visit this thread a lot in coming days.
 

Walter

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Two spoilerish screenshots for those who haven't yet beaten the DLC. I recently finished it with my Guts character build. Here are two funny shots from that adventure:

1 (Note his health. And mine)
2

Gotta say, I've found a pure strength weapon build pretty boring overall. I had a lot more fun with dexterity. More rolling required, more risk/reward. I can tank pretty much everything with Guts, and end up killing normal enemies in 1-2 hits. Too easy. The fact that this is technically my fourth playthrough might also be a factor though...
 

Walter

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Skeleton said:
That shot is great. :guts:
Hehe thanks. I almost always do that with bosses. I just forget to take screenshots. I found him pretty damned easy... considering the circumstances.
 

Walter

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Vampire_Hunter_Bob said:
Grave Lord Nito is more like Lame Lord... Um... Lame-o.
I was also pretty disappointed with him, given the build up and his character design.
 
Finally got around playing DS over the weekend, ah those memories of losing thousand and thousands of souls in Undead Parish. Kinda stuck atm. I am trying to farm as much as I can to decently lvl and have already saved quite a few Titanite Shards for blacksmithing and proceed with executing Black Knight but I always mess something up and I end up losing souls ;_;. I'm still not sure if I lack in executing parry at right time(no idea when that is) or just there's some small input lag. Also does anyone know where could I find Bonfire after that Boar mini boss? That underground passage with those zombies,is annoying as hell.
 

Aazealh

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Lukis said:
Also does anyone know where could I find Bonfire after that Boar mini boss? That underground passage with those zombies,is annoyand as hell.

There's a bonfire not too far before the mini-boss, but it requires you to have slain the dragon on the bridge. If you haven't done that, then you must press forward through the underground passage (the enemies there aren't very strong, they only rely on surprising you but if you're careful they're no trouble), and then after that through a few hallways where two or three knights are roaming. Passed that you'll find an open court with a huge knight and a few skeletons in it. On the right side of that court, opposite the cathedral, is a path going far back and then down into a building. There's a bonfire there, just above a blacksmith.
 
Aazealh said:
There's a bonfire not too far before the mini-boss, but it requires you to have slain the dragon on the bridge. If you haven't done that, then you must press forward through the underground passage (the enemies there aren't very strong, they only rely on surprising you but if you're careful they're no trouble), and then after that through a few hallways where two or three knights are roaming. Passed that you'll find an open court with a huge knight and a few skeletons in it. On the right side of that court, opposite the cathedral, is a path going far back and then down into a building. There's a bonfire there, just above a blacksmith.
I still haven't slayed the dragon ,it's enough for me just to appear on bridge and I'm close to dying from his fire attack. I will try getting there. Also is it possible to get to the blacksmith from that bonfire ,like stairs or something? Because since bonfire I'm tied to atm is near stairs from which I can get up to Undead Parish and closest accessible Blacksmith is long waaaay off near Firelink Shrine.
 

Walter

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Aazealh said:
There's a bonfire not too far before the mini-boss, but it requires you to have slain the dragon on the bridge.
That bonfire is accessible regardless of the Wyvern. I've certainly never beaten that guy. Got his tail, of course. He'll fly off once you get past him and/or use the bonfire.

Lukis said:
I still haven't slayed the dragon ,it's enough for me just to appear on bridge and I'm close to dying from his fire attack. I will try getting there. Also is it possible to get to the blacksmith from that bonfire ,like stairs or something? Because since bonfire I'm tied to atm is near stairs from which I can get up to Undead Parish and closest accessible Blacksmith is long waaaay off near Firelink Shrine.
Like Aaz said, there's another bonfire further into Undead Parish. It's really not too far from that bonfire behind the Wyvern. Up stairs, past the area with the boar, through (or around, two paths) the Chapel and to the right is a long pathway surrounded by trees. You won't miss it. Down there is the next bonfire. Takes only a few minutes to run to, if you're desperate.
 
Also, it sounds like your current bonfire has stairs you can't climb up Are you at the bonfire before the taurus demon in undead burg. You did find the shortcut under the dragon bridge right? There is a ladder you can kick down so that from that bonfire, you can just climb up the ladder and be right at the dragon.
 
Jaze1618 said:
Also, it sounds like your current bonfire has stairs you can't climb up Are you at the bonfire before the taurus demon in undead burg. You did find the shortcut under the dragon bridge right? There is a ladder you can kick down so that from that bonfire, you can just climb up the ladder and be right at the dragon.
I'm at bonfire where there are stairs next to exit which lead up to Undead Parish and that tower with Black Knight on top of it. I know only about that way under bridge which leads to those rats. I did some research and found out about Drake Sword ,I will probably try to get that tommorow since stat wise it's almost 3x stronger and requires measly stats.
 

Walter

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Lukis said:
I know only about that way under bridge which leads to those rats.
The first bonfire you found in Undead Burg can be accessed under the Wyvern bridge if you kick down a ladder. It's a good shortcut in the early game if you're trying to get back to Firelink.

I did some research and found out about Drake Sword ,I will probably try to get that tommorow since stat wise it's almost 3x stronger and requires measly stats.
Drake Sword will serve you well in the beginning, but it's somewhat double-edged, because it's powerful and quick, but doesn't scale well (on top of base damage, most weapons scale with your stats, from A-E, check the item description). So by the time you'll need more power and switch to another weapon, you'll find that (almost) every other sword in the game is slower, and requires more finesse to use.

Still, my rule of thumb on weapons in this game is to fuck dps—use whatever weapon you're comfortable with. Each one has a different moveset and different weight/feel. So get comfy with one and stick to the ones you like. If you end up liking a weapon but find it to be not powerful enough, then it'll force you to get better. :guts:

Personally, I've always loved the dexterity weapons like falchions. I just like the moveset and the ability to attack and move around quickly. Though I quickly realized during my strength build playthrough that strength weapons turn most bosses into a joke.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
That bonfire is accessible regardless of the Wyvern. I've certainly never beaten that guy. Got his tail, of course. He'll fly off once you get past him and/or use the bonfire.

Well, yeah, having beaten it if you prefer, same thing. The bonfire is only accessible once you get past it, whether it's by dodging/killing/etc.

Walter said:
Still, my rule of thumb on weapons in this game is to fuck dps—use whatever weapon you're comfortable with. Each one has a different moveset and different weight/feel. So get comfy with one and stick to the ones you like.

Objectively though the Drake Sword is completely overpowered on a first playthrough and there's hardly a better choice at that point in the game.
 
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