Late to the party

[God'sFist]

So I just recently bought the first Dark Souls and I was thinking about what tips may be good in order to keep my number of deaths down a few digits. Yes, I am late to the party of Dark Souls because I'm a cheep bastard but hey.

captcha: way to go thanks captcha for the support

 

[Maximum Bert]

I have recently also just bought Dark Souls prepare to die edition for PS3 and am enjoying it although I am unsure whether I prefer it to Demons Souls yet.

Obviously being new to the game I have little advise but I am about 10 hours in and have finished Demons Souls (back before the series was cool the best advise I can give is to take your time rushing will get you killed also pay attention to your surroundings oh and upgrade your weapon when you get one you like. You will still die ofc but the game isnt that hard its got a good balance mostly imo just like Demons had.

My biggest issues with the game so far are a quite shockingly bad framerate in certain areas and in certain conditions (and its bad if I start complaining about frame rate as usually I dont care) and even worse sometimes the controls have major major lag which has actually gotten me killed a few time. You press attack and nothing, enemy recovers 1 second later your attack comes out you get twatted by an enemy and die. The gargoyles fight was a nightmare with these two issues as soon as that second gargoyle appeared bam real bad frame rate and dysfunctional controls thanks game, luckily it hasnt been as bad elsewhere except on rare occasions im not looking forward to blight town though as apparently it has issues there.

 

[Liquidprid3]

I'm not the most experienced player, but I've beaten the game once, and am about to finish a second play through, so I'll give you some advice.

1. Explore everything. Don't be afraid to look around. You might die a little bit more, but you can find some useful stuff in the process.

2. Use a walkthrough sometimes. Even of you're against this kind of stuff, it made the game a bit more enjoyable for me, and it didn't take away the challenge. Look up good builds, or where certain items are located.

3. Figure out all the mechanics. There is a shit ton of stuff in DS that the game doesn't explain. Go to the Dark Souls wiki and research that stuff. Stuff like pyromancy not scaling with intelligence, Sif not being the fifth boss, and that leaving covenants does no harm got me on my first play through, even with a little bit of research.

4. Don't get too attached to your souls. There will be those times where you die, go to get your souls, and fall off a cliff in the stupidest way possible. That will happen, and it will be extremely frustrating, but you can always get more souls.

5. You will die. A lot. A loooooooooooooooot. Even on subsequent playthroughs you will die. And the best part is, it isn't the game's fault. When I die, I realize I made a stupid move there. There are BS moments, but most of the time it isn't the game's fault

And last, but not least, remember to have fun. This is a game, remember? If you aren't have a good time, just put the game down for a bit. It took me a few months to beat Dark Souls, and there were times when I put the game down for a couple weeks. Don't push yourself with this game. Take your time. Indulge yourself in the world of Lordran, and have a nice stay

Good luck.

 

[God'sFist]

Thanks everyone for the advice keep it commin anything helps really. also strategies for bosses (without the spoils of course) would be appreciated.

 

[DeadProxy]

One good thing to think about is how you plan to play the first time. You get plenty of options for fighting, sword and board, dual weapon, 3 kinds of magic and a couple other options too. So it wouldn't hurt to look at the Dark Souls Wiki and check out the weapon types and see what you like.

Weapons and magic can also only be used when your stats are at or above the requirements, so it's not a good idea to level up without putting some thought into your choices. For melee characters, you'll only really care about the Endurance, Vitality, Strength, and Dexterity, with swords and shields relying more on the strength stat and spears and bows on the dexterity stat. Magic users will have to focus on the Intelligence or Faith, but since magic has a limited number of casts between checkpoints, you'll probably still have to put some levels into your strength or dexterity to be able to use a weapon in an emergency.

The weight of the armour you wear also matter's, because if you're wearing more than 50% of what you can handle, you get what people call a "Fat roll" which is a horribly slow dodge roll. You want to be under 50% if you actually want to use a dodge roll instead of a shield, since you get invincibility frames which is always useful. Under 25% is a much faster dodge roll if you want to be a really quick moving character.

 

[Zac Jovanovic]

Follow the recommended path. It's not a hard game unless you go somewhere you're not ready for, and it lets you.

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

Thanks everyone for the advice keep it commin anything helps really. also strategies for bosses (without the spoils of course) would be appreciated.

That's one of the trickiest parts of the game right there. My advice would be to put your summon sign down before you encounter each boss you fight, so you can hopefully get to see how the boss operates while you're helping someone else. It's low-risk if you die, and gives you an opportunity to learn it's move-set before you square off with it yourself. That's my overarching advice for the bosses, but I'll try to give you specific pointers that could be helpful on certain bosses. I haven't played it in over a year, and this is all from memory so it won't be flawless, but it's something at least.

Taurus Demon- There's a ladder behind you, make sure you use it.

Havel the Rock- Just toss your shield aside altogether, rolling and backstabbing is his only weakness.

Capra Demon- Kill his dogs first, they'll be a problem later.

Bell Gargoyle's- Just try to move around as much as you can, you should be able to sidestep most of their attacks.

Seathe the Scaleless- You won't even be able to harm him until you destroy the crystal thing he keeps at the back of his room.

Bed of Chaos- That one is hardly even a boss fight, more like a checklist. you may just have to look that one up.

Gwyn- Invite some friends.

I know that list is incomplete, but that's all I can remember.

 

[jademunky]

So I just recently bought the first Dark Souls and I was thinking about what tips may be good in order to keep my number of deaths down a few digits. Yes, I am late to the party of Dark Souls because I'm a cheep bastard but hey.

captcha: way to go thanks captcha for the support

Do not try anything too exotic on your first attempt. I am very partial to a shield and spear combo since the spear lets you attack while still keeping your guard up (although this is a big drain on stamina so make sure to allocate points to it). Do not overburden yourself with armour, being able to dodge and block is imho far more valuable than taking a few extra hits.

Also beware the Capra Demon.

 

[God'sFist]

this is great advice also the advice isn't just for me it's for others as well. (point of the thread) and again the advice is much appreciated also certain builds you found fun don't hurt neither.