What makes Dark Souls so Good and what are some tips for playing it

[Ironbat92]

Well, ever since Yahtzee did his review of Dark Souls and said that he enjoyed it, I just wanted to know what else makes Dark Souls so good. Also, what are some pointers you can give a newbie who's going into Dark Souls, especially since the game is said to be so Brutally Challenging.

 

[Qvar]

Actually, he never review Dark Souls. He reviewed Demon Souls, which is the first game of the franchise and I hear quite similar to Dark Souls, but not exactly the same and wasn't made by the same developer.

That said, everything Yahtzee said about Demon Souls could be also applied to Dark Souls, and I highly recommend playing it.

Some tips:

1. NEVER assume that you've mastered a certain area or enemy. The moment when you try to just run past a group of enemies because they are beneath you, it's when you will get killed (again). Always act with extreme caution and pacience. Take your time to learn routines, patterns and how to better beat each monster.

2. Much like in EVE online, always keep in mind that "if you fly it, you've lost it". You WILL die. It's not about the if, it's about when. Those tens of thousands of souls and humanity you have on you? You've already lost them, you just don't know yet, so better start getting over it.

3. You are not supposed to beat everything the first time you encounter it. If it looks too badass for you, it probably is.

4. Beware chest

5. Read all the messages left on the floor by players. Be paranoid about trusting them (ex. messages telling you to jump off a ledge are probably lying. Probably)

6. If there's a chance something bad may happen, it probably is going to.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Read a guide and it eliminates a lot of annoyances, combat is hysterically broken, you can tank everything as a warrior type build, or just spam spells and 1-2 hit pretty much any enemy right off the bat.

So far my experience (only 4 kings and nito left). Has been hold block wait till they do one of their easily telegraphed moves step back and press the trigger. Boom enemies dead. Started a mage type character and its worse target lock press r1 congrats you win. Or if its a black knight or something r1 backpedal a bit then r1 again.

I enjoy the game but the combat isn't the tough part fighting the camera framerate drops falls and 1hko's are. Everythings pretty simple sif killed me with some guardbreaking move, and ornstein and smough killed me twice cause they keep porting through each other, oh and the archers in anor londo got me once till i just cheaped out and poisoned them. Rolled off the edge in tomb of the giants and havn't touched it since cause its just not worth it to run 5 min through the catacombs.

tldr its not difficult its just obnoxiously punishing, ie you'll probably only die once or twice per area but it feels worse cause there's usually a slog of cannon fodder to go through to get back to where you where. example if you die against gwendolin instead of spawning you at the bonfire you rested at last (right before boss door) it kicks you to the top of anor londo where you have to make a long ass run through a pita highrise tightwalk section just to get back. or quelaag you have to make a long ass trek across blightown through a swamp that no joke drops into single digit fps ugh the game has so much potential just killed by nonsensical stuff.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Make sure you upgrade your weapons frequently. Upgrade your armour too but it's less important than weapons.

Stat basics:
Vitality = Health
Endurance = Stamina, equip load
Attunement = Spell slots (how many spells you can hold)
Strength and Dexterity = Weapons do extra damage based on these (weapons are graded on how much stats affect them)
Intelligence = Effectiveness of sorcery spells
Faith = Effectiveness of Miracle spells
Resistance = Useless, ignore it completely

For single player there isn't really such thing as a bad build but I'd recommend sticking with one offensive stat (strength/dex/intelligence/faith) and put lots of points in vitality and endurance. Although faith by itself will be difficult, people usually go strength/faith. Definitely avoid trying to make a jack of all trades character, you'll spread yourself too thin.

Make good use of pyromancy. It requires no stat investment apart from a few points in attunement.

and weren't both games developed by From Software?

Yes. People often attribute Demon's Souls to Atlus but they just published it in North America.

 

[Droppa Deuce]

My Tips:

1. If you get stuck (as mentioned above) go online and look at a walkthrough guide, BUT JUST for your area. Just becuase it tells you what to do, doesn't mean it will be easy; but it can make the experience more enjoyable.

2. Try and play this at night/rainy days, when you can get a good 3+ hour session in. You'll get more out of the game.

3. Be patient.

4. If you feel the adrenalin rush and you want to take on a Boss/make a run for it/fight 3 enemies at once. Then do it. If you are victorious you will feel like a hero.

5. There is NO shame in retreating.

6. Remember it is only a game. Don't take it too seriously!

 

[MysticSlayer]

Actually, he never review Dark Souls. He reviewed Demon Souls, which is the first game of the franchise and I hear quite similar to Dark Souls, but not exactly the same and wasn't made by the same developer.

He just reviewed Dark Souls last week and was very positive towards the game. Sort of surprising considering he was very critical of Demon's Souls and he made a point to poke fun at Dark Souls during his 2011 GOTY video.

Anyways...

To me, the game mostly shone in how it manages to keep you alert. You really can't pull yourself away from the engagement, as it requires constantly being aware so that you can overcome each battle. However, it is a very fair game when you remain aware, which makes it worthwhile to not just sit back and relax but become truly engaged in its gameplay. So, ultimately, the difficulty was just done very, very well. Never really cared about anything else.

As for tips:

1. Be wary of your surroundings. The game likes throwing ambushes, hidden enemies, and traps your direction. Also think about how the environment can aid you, but be warned that it will more than likely harm you. Also look for alternative routes if the current one is too difficult.

2. Be on the lookout for hidden passageways. Destroy stuff if you need to. Sometimes you'll need to roll into a "wall". Normally the game gives you a hint if you have to do anything outlandish, but you'll have to pick up on the hint on your own since it won't make it very obvious.

3. Read the messages but try to be smart about it as well. If someone tells you to jump off a cliff, you can probably ignore them. If the message makes no sense, try to figure out why someone may say that. If the message says "Praise the Sun," then it is likely completely useless.

4. Don't fret about class selection. It'll all balance out however you want it to in the end.

5. Just have fun, explore the world, and learn from your mistakes. If you do all that, the only way the game will potentially fail you is if you just don't enjoy the time investment.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Don't get too attached to your souls
And you'll need to consult the internet to find out what to do.

 

[Zac Jovanovic]

Best pointer I can give is go nowhere near the PC version.

 

[loa]

One big reason it's so good is the metagame of looking stuff up online and constantly finding new ways to beat that certain area in ways you never thought of even if you've already been playing the game for well over a hundred hours.
That is intended and reinforced by the ability to write down messages for othere players to see in-game.
It's an exploration game.

 

[DeadProxy]

It helps to decide early on what your combat style is going to be, whether it's a classic sword and shield combo, 2 handed heavy weapon, magic and a spear, or whatever floats your boat. Just remember that there are 4 main ways to deal damage that stats apply to. Faith, Dexterity, Strength, and Intelligence. It's certainly not wise to spend a bulk of your points in more than 2 of those on a character, and weapons will show you on their stat screen what stats will boost them, from an E grade up to an S I believe.

After doing some research on what you want to use, I suggest playing on the Offline mode, since Invasions are horrible and ruined by people "gaming the system" in order to have end game weapons at newbie levels. You wont get many white phantoms for assistance since the NPC ones are usually hidden off to the side, but the game, when played invasion free, isn't "punch you in the balls" unfair, it just has really good enemy placement in area's to surprise you.

And personally, I would say look through a guide when you need help with a boss or where to decide to go, or decide on what to upgrade, and where to grind for upgrading materials, unless you REALLY want to go into Dark Souls spoiler free, because if you don't know what you're doing, or where you're going, it's just a painful and long experience.

 

[bunnielovekins]

I'd recommend going for the pc versioin with dsfix to ramp up the resolution and of course a controller - like a console but slightly better.

As for tips:
Don't use the wiki for locations. You'll have more fun struggling through and it'll be more satisfying.
Don't get the drake sword, it makes the game too easy.
Try to stay within the role of your starting class, it makes things more interesting.
Explore a lot, even if you end up dying you could still grab a few items.
If you're having trouble, get yourself a spear of some kind; you'll be able to block and attack at the same time.
If you're having trouble with a boss, de-hollow before you go to it and there's a good chance there'll be some summon signs outside the boss door. If you do some specific ones, there'll even be a summon for the last boss.
If you want humanity, go to an area where you haven't beaten the boss and keep killing enemies, you'll get humanity for some of them. Once you reach the depths, rats have a chance of dropping humanity regularly.

 

[lapan]

Best pointer I can give is go nowhere near the PC version.

Unless you happen to own any controller, then it's just as good as the console versions/even better with dsfix and dark souls connectivity fix

I enjoy the game but the combat isn't the tough part fighting the camera framerate drops falls and 1hko's are.

There are very few actual one-hit kos. The second breath attack of the bridge drake, ceaseless discharges tentacle slams, traps in sens fortress and anor londo archers if they push you off. the camera was never an issue for me with a controller.

Some other tips: The framerate drops in blighttown and new londo are mostly caused by flies/ghost following you through the terrain. If you kill them regulary their areas will become much easier.

There are very quick shortcuts in the catacombs, so if you die in tomb of giants and look those shortcuts up (they involve dropping down to the wheel skeletons from 2 specific points) it will take you 2 minutes at most. If you get far enough in tomb of giants there will also be a bonfire.

You actually only have to defeat few enemies, so if you die somewhere and know the enemy placements usually you can just run past them, shortening backtracking by a lot, depending on how much you want to make sure not to many enemies are following you. They will lose interest after a specific distance.

You should only fight Gwendolyn after you beat Ornstein and Smough, that way you can just warp back directly in front of his boss chamber.

 

[sXeth]

Well, ever since Yahtzee did his review of Dark Souls and said that he enjoyed it, I just wanted to know what else makes Dark Souls so good. Also, what are some pointers you can give a newbie who's going into Dark Souls, especially since the game is said to be so Brutally Challenging.

For most of the enemies, you just need to lure them off one by one (kiting), oft times achieved by shooting them with a bow). Dodge or simply walk backwards out of their attacks until they do a big wind up style attack, then hit them in the recovery point. Slightly more advanced is to watch for them doing the attack, parry it away, and critical stab them.

The other minority are large bosses, most of whom have a giant hole in their attack pattern where you can stand and stab with impunity.

If the terrain is ill suited for the above hit and run stuff, you can usually find a handy ledge to kick enemies off, or trick them into lunging themselves off.

Patience and exploiting the dumb AI are your best friends, more or less. Fighting straight up is basically the death ticket,

 

[renegade7]

Actually, he never review Dark Souls. He reviewed Demon Souls, which is the first game of the franchise and I hear quite similar to Dark Souls, but not exactly the same and wasn't made by the same developer.

He reviewed Dark Souls just last week

I second that you should avoid using strategy guides. The reward for defeating the struggle is half the fun.

But the most important thing is to be cautious and aware. The greatest threat is often going to be things that jump out at you. Progress through new areas slowly and carefully, trying to rush it will cause nothing but headaches. ALWAYS be on the lookout for the signs of something lying in ambush: if it looks like it can come to life and kill you, it probably can.

But also be on the lookout for secret passages and hidden treasures and in general new ways to get past problems.

You will die. And die. And die and die and die and die. So much, in fact, that Miracle of Sound wrote a song about Dark Souls specifically titled "YOU DIED". Don't get frustrated, that's when you'll start to really lose. In fact, in a number of places the only way to get certain treasures is to do things that will almost surely kill you.

Try to go for a certain build, but don't worry about class. Weight is a key factor. Heavy and light armor builds are both advantages in different situations. If you're up against a lot of weaker enemies, you want heavy so you can hack through them. Against single stronger enemies, you can't match them for power and defense, so go for speed. I tend to keep two builds in my inventory and switch out as needed.

Play in offline mode at first. When you're online people can randomly invade your world for PVP ("Invasions") and it can be ridiculously unbalanced.

Finally, remember it's an exploration game like Metroid, not a fantasy action game like Skyrim. You'll do well to remember that the slow, careful, and curious approach will serve you much better and really bring out the best parts of the game.

 

[Cyberdelic]

I love Dark Souls. I've spent over 500 hours in the last year playing the game so have quite a bit to say on the subject but will try and keep my thoughts and fan-w**king concise.

Avoid strategy guides. Why ruin a game for yourself by having the game explained and hand-held for you? I'd argue that strategy guides are a waste of a game anyway but in Dark Souls (DS) case I think it's imperative you avoid knowing what's coming next. The uncertainty and push for self-exploration is what kept the game feeling fresh and alive, feeling more like a world then a place. You will be thankful of a satisfaction you gain by figuring it out for yourself.

Explore. There is a LOT going on in this game with entire levels/parts being completely hidden.

Read the Lore. Each item gives you a scrap of info about the world you are in, you learn along with your character about the world through this and character interaction.

DON'T BE ATTACHED TO THE SOULS YOU ARE CARRYING. Once you've become detached from this you will find the game more enjoyable and easier to play. Obviously the game encourages you to care - a LOT. But when you've dropped 20,000 souls because you were not paying attention whilst grinding/killing boss' you will feel that STRESS of needing to pick it all back up before something kill you.

Stats give you lower increases once they've reached level 40. Therefore, avoid my mistake and start upgrading a new stat once the one you might be working on reaches 40. Also, Endurance is a KEY stat along with Health and whatever stat you put up for combat damage (Str, Dex, Int, Faith).
ALSO OF NOTE: Dex increases Pyromancy and Miracle cast times by 40% once the stat has reached lv 40.

Stick with Way of the White coven for your first play-through or until you feel you know the game well enough. This is the first 'guild' you can join and it increases your chances to summon other players to your world to help you. After your first play through - go have fun exploring and joining new covenants. In addition to this, play online. Being invaded and invading others is half the game.

Upgrade your weapons and armour whenever you can. I would argue that this is more important then upgrading your characters stats. Also, for your first play through - LIGHTNING. Get it. Love it. Thank me later.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Learn the eb and flow of the stamina bar. Apart from your health bar, it's the most important thing on your HUD. There's many games with stamina bars, but Dark Souls is one of the few if only games where it genuinely impacts the experience.

Only raise your shield when you're anticipating an enemy attack. You'll be tempted to keep it up at all times, but this drastically slows your Stamina regen.

The lock-on mechanic is a bit of a *****, and if not careful can easily drag you to your doom if a locked-on enemy happens to fall off a ledge.

Your Strength, Dexterity, Faith, and Intelligence accounts for your weapon's attack power. Some weapons grant a bonus for Strength, others for Faith, and some for both. That's why, if say, you have a sword that does 100 damage, the damage is multiplied depending on how high you Strength or Dexterity is. You also won't be able to use a lot of weapons if one or more of these skills don't reach the required amount.

And get a Repair Box from the merchant in Undead Burg is soon as you can. All your equipement can and will break if you don't maintain it. And when it breaks it's gone forever.

 

[bunnielovekins]

ALWAYS be on the lookout for the signs of something lying in ambush: if it looks like it can come to life and kill you, it probably can.

Seconded. Anywhere an enemy could possibly be hiding, there probably is one; and if there isn't it's to distract you from somebody coming up behind you or something

Try to go for a certain build, but don't worry about class. Weight is a key factor. Heavy and light armor builds are both advantages in different situations. If you're up against a lot of weaker enemies, you want heavy so you can hack through them. Against single stronger enemies, you can't match them for power and defense, so go for speed. I tend to keep two builds in my inventory and switch out as needed.

Also seconded. Weight is one of the most important factors, but I'd say in the first run-through go for a medium sort of weight; there are four levels of speed: quick, normal, slow, and barely moving. Normal is probably a better idea at first. And remember poise: it's very useful if you have some. You get none from light armour.

 

[Qvar]

example if you die against gwendolin instead of spawning you at the bonfire you rested at last (right before boss door) it kicks you to the top of anor londo where you have to make a long ass run through a pita highrise tightwalk section just to get back.

You didn't think of using the Lordvessel did you?

ACTUALLLLLYYY his latest review was Dark Souls

and weren't both games developed by From Software?

Oh :3 I have to watch that. Yes, maybe I was mistake. Oh comes they changed the name then and they aren't doing it for Dark Souls 2 then?

He just reviewed Dark Souls last week and was very positive towards the game. Sort of surprising considering he was very critical of Demon's Souls and he made a point to poke fun at Dark Souls during his 2011 GOTY video.

Critical? Demon Souls was the softest review I've seen him make. You could tell that even if he was complaining about it, he did enjoy the game.

 

[MysticSlayer]

He just reviewed Dark Souls last week and was very positive towards the game. Sort of surprising considering he was very critical of Demon's Souls and he made a point to poke fun at Dark Souls during his 2011 GOTY video.

Critical? Demon Souls was the softest review I've seen him make. You could tell that even if he was complaining about it, he did enjoy the game.

At least to me, he seemed to have more fun recounting his challenges than he did actually facing them. The fact that he made a point that challenge isn't automatically good and compared the game to breaking down a wall with your face seems rather critical to me. Also, his Demon's Souls review came across as a lot harsher than those of games we know he enjoys such as Silent Hill 2, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Portal, Psychonauts, BioShock, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.