Dark Souls I, II and III

[James]

Apologies for the triple post, but this needed it's own space!

Today I have defeated Red Dragon, Tower Knight, Storm King, and Penetrator. I also helped Biorr, Yuria and Ostrava (twice). Suddenly I don't seem to be that far from the end; I have 1-4, 3-2, 3-3, 5-2 and 5-3 to go (and whatever comes afterwards). No small undertaking, I'm sure, but I'm feeling good about my (now level 60) Royalty character.

Any advice on where to go next? Obviously I'm limited to 1-4, 3-2 or 5-2. Any easier options?

[Sean]

Some suggestions:

When you head to 1-4, at the start, you should definitely summon some help. There are 3 black phantoms in the very first area. A dragon later, and, then, probably the second hardest boss in the game. I still can't really get through this area on my own, and, I've completed the game 5 times, now. Even if you get through the level on your own, you'll almost definitely need help for the boss. He has an attack that can drain your soul level and most likely kill you in one hit.

3-2 is a fun level, but, the boss can be really difficult. Think the bell gargoyles from Dark Souls, only with a much higher probability of falling to your death.

5-2 is the worst level in the game. Almost the entire area is covered with poisonous goo, so, bring lots of Royal Lotus with you. This area suffers from the worst framerate in the game, as well. Not as bad as Blighttown, but, it's close. It's also one of the longer areas in the game. Every time I play Demon's Souls, I always dread 5-2. It's probably one of the more infuriating levels. Boss isn't too hard, though.

They're all pretty difficult, though, generally speaking. Not sure which I'd recommend starting with. Maybe 1-4, actually, since, once you beat it, you'll have a crazy amount of souls. Every time I play it, once I finish the level myself, I always go in and try to help others. Tons of souls to be had, that way.

[James]

I've just taken down Maneater. Firestorm worked a treat, though I screwed up the first time and let it get the jump on me. It seemed a little tougher to pick a gap in the attack routine of this boss as it pounces so quickly.

I'm going to see if I can finish World 3 and then I think I'll take your advice and go to 1-4. Boletarian Palace is my favourite setting in the game, so even if I'm having my backside used as a mop I'll still enjoy the view.

Thanks for the advice, Sean. I'll let you know how I get on.

Update: Two invasions in 3-3 have convinced me to take on Old Monk offline. It's tough enough to beat him without outside interference.
Once again I find that multiplayer is not for me.

[James]

Credits just rolled on Demon's Souls. I can't quite marshal my emotions right now; triumph, relief, joy and sadness are all muddled together. Suffice to say that this was something quite special.

I cannot wait to get rolling on Dark Souls again.

[aidopotato]

congrats iwattt!

Haven't played Demon's but played Dark on and off since it came out; still only up as far as Ornstein & Smough. (playing as a bandit). I'd agree that the game is unwaveringly 'fair' rather than cruel in terms of its mechanical difficulty; but sometimes (such as the point I'm at now) it's dementedly frustrating re: the distance you need to travel between respawning and hitting the 'hard part'. This is what puts me off committing more time to the game than i do- the amount of time I spend not actually tackling the part I'm stuck at.

That, as they say, is Dark Souls.

[James]

Demon's Souls is much the same; several of the levels require a long period of play before reaching the boss. As you said, aidopotato, that's the nature of the beast. Hopefully you're not necessarily losing out by replaying the same section over and over - should be plenty of items to collect at least.

I've started as a Pyromancer and have arrived at the Firelink Shrine. No deaths so far (in the whole 20 minutes I've played!), which makes me reluctant to leave and spoil that run.

I still think Dark Souls looks worse than Demon's Souls. The Humanity counter and health/stamina bars don't help in that regard - they stand out like a sore thumb. But it's like there's a general sheen/filter over everything giving an effect somewhere between edge enhancement and film grain.

[Sean]

That weird skeleton face that pops up with messages is also really unappealing to look at.

[Nekemancer]

I still think Dark Souls looks worse than Demon's Souls. The Humanity counter and health/stamina bars don't help in that regard - they stand out like a sore thumb. But it's like there's a general sheen/filter over everything giving an effect somewhere between edge enhancement and film grain.

I'd agree it looks a bit worse on console, probably has something to do with the more open-world style if I had to guess. On pc, with a few tweaks on the UI and running at a proper frame rate/resolution... mmmm. Dark Souls is a truly beautiful game.

[FollowMyRuin]

I need to throw my hands up and seek some advice. I'm absolutely stuck on my first play through at Anor Londo, unable to make it past Smough and Ornstein. I need some help because its probing to be such a ballache that the game has ceased being fun and I'm ready to put it down.

The way I see it is that I'm perfectly levelled to do this boss/es because surely the mobs running up to the bosses themselves are indicative of how prepared you are to fight them, ie: if your not struggling to fight the mobs, your ready. But by god, I can't do it and I have no idea why.

I've finished demon's souls and dark souls has not been hugely challenging so far so I feel I've got a good grasp of the mechanics, and I'm fully aware that my inability to do this might be my fault.

I'm playing melee, which I gather is my first problem given that the bosses are weak to fire and lightning. I'm level 54 with a good health and stamina, plenty of strength and dexterity and my usual play style is medium speed and armour and a sturdy shield. I have levelled heavy armour and light armour respectively to provide some change of speed and resilience where needed, I'm using a black knight halberd +2 which affords some 252 damage I think with nice range and speed. But I can't get anywhere close to doing this.

Can anyone provide some sound advice or tactic because hiding behind the pillars is all well and good by its not a perfect strategy or I'd have done he boss by now. Any help welcome. I'm ready to leave this game in completed for a few months now if I can't do this.

[Rich]

They are tough. Who are you going for first? I personally found it much easier to take out the little guy first as it takes a bit longer for Smough to catch you to you if you're off fighting Ornstein.
You know you need to go all out on one of them? Whoever's alive after you get your first kill goes super and gets all his health back. Smough is much easier in that form as he's still quite slow but Super Ornstein is huge and fast

The pillars worked for me so I don't know what other advice to give. Have you watched any youtube videos of the fight?
ENB is a really useful resource for the Souls games but I doubt I need to tell anyone that. http://youtu.be/pNxXcwcVvdo

[dezm0nd]

Oh man, fuck these two guys. They kicked the shit outta me and has to resort to friendly commenting on twitter.

[James]

I'm playing melee, which I gather is my first problem given that the bosses are weak to fire and lightning. I'm level 54 with a good health and stamina, plenty of strength and dexterity and my usual play style is medium speed and armour and a sturdy shield. I have levelled heavy armour and light armour respectively to provide some change of speed and resilience where needed, I'm using a black knight halberd +2 which affords some 252 damage I think with nice range and speed. But I can't get anywhere close to doing this.

I'm not there yet so this is pure conjecture based on the info you gave, but it might make sense to get yourself a lightning melee weapon; weapon upgrading seems much more important than in Demon's Souls. I found a Lightning Spear in Sen's Fortress that does 160 Physical and 160 Lightning damage. The Physical may well be mostly negated by their resistance, but if they are indeed weak to Lightning then 160 damage might have an impact.

[dezm0nd]

Can't you apply a thing to a weapon to make it buzzing with electric damage?

[Rich]

Can't you apply a thing to a weapon to make it buzzing with electric damage?

Gold pine resin. You can get that from the darkroot garden mushroom parents. It's a 100% drop rate from my experience and you can never have enough of it. They are slow but hit pretty hard and have a lot of HP so be careful.

Or you an buy an unlimited supply of charcoal pine resin from the dirty woman near fire link if that helps.

[FollowMyRuin]

Friendly advice. The dark wood grain ring really was a godsend. After struggling for days I followed a short guide. The dark wood grain ring negated the difference in movement speed which seemed to be my main issue. It allows you to manoeuvre around them in such away that it was easier to divide the two bosses and land more substantial attacks.

[James]

Friendly advice. The dark wood grain ring really was a godsend. After struggling for days I followed a short guide. The dark wood grain ring negated the difference in movement speed which seemed to be my main issue. It allows you to manoeuvre around them in such away that it was easier to divide the two bosses and land more substantial attacks.

I know the Dark Wood Grain Ring used to provide high dodge speed up to 50% equip load, but I thought that was patched? I'm reluctant to massacre the Forest Hunters if the DWGR isn't going to afford me extra equip load. I'd be interested to hear more about your equip load and how the ring helped. Also, which version are you playing?

I'm currently sticking with the base Pyromancer armour and am running at 16.5/108.0 equipped. Havel's Ring and the Ring Of Favor And Protection [sic] are both equipped, so I have to be careful about which rings I use if I want to stay at the low burden level. I'd love to be able to switch to a sturdier armour without sacrificing maneuverability though.

[FollowMyRuin]

Admittedly, I am playing pre-patch, though its nothing sinister. The sizeable update coupled with the white-hot 0.4meg a second broadband speed we command here in Northumberland has meant I could probably complete the game before the patch would download.

However, I have suffered from no easy access to curse removal (added in the second patch) and done a fair chunk of the game at 1/4 health. Never fun.

As I understand they nerfed the effectiveness that I've enjoyed of the dark wood ring so that it adjusts the dodge animation at sub-25% of your maximum equipment load. However, given the success I experienced I imagine that it's still a viable option for this boss. I did the boss with a dark knight halberd +1, havels ring, steel ring of protection and the white painting guardian armour to ensure I was as low in armour as possible and it worked first time. Having been thrashed for days my first attempt with the rings manoeuvrability worked and I could progress. Now I'm at he 4 kings, and loathing every minute of it.

[FollowMyRuin]

Oh and to clarify, I can't profess at being an expert in any sense of the word. But my difficulty in Ornstein and Smough came from dividing the two bosses to launch an effective assault. When they were in close proximity to one another they complimented each other and I found that they had a wide array of linear, circular and horizontal movements as opposed to simply linear from ornstein and circular from smough 'almost' exclusively. This seemed to make landing hits difficult without sustaining heavy or repeated damage.

The ring as I understand makes the rolling mechanic more immediate and increases the amount of frames where your avatar is invincible. The added agility meant that I was able to flik-flak around the arena and Ornstein would keep pace this leaving him susceptible as Smough fought to close the ground. The second part of this fight was a bit more bread and butter and to my mind didn't necessitate any additional dexterity.

[James]

Ah, okay. I'm currently studiously keeping myself under 25% equip to maintain fastest movement. I'm on PC so I can't play without the nerfed DWGR - which means I'd only be able to make good use of it if I stick with my current armour. The extra frames and immediacy might be nice, but I don't want to end up with a slow exit from rolling. I'm also still torn as to whether or not to take out Pharis for her bow as I don't want to break the covenant I entered on a whim.

In other news, I'm going to spend this weekend being summoned into either Iron Golem or the Forest to get some souls and other trinkets for weapon upgrading. The Drake Sword has lasted until Level 43, but I'd be better off with a weapon that scales with my Str and Dex now. I reckon Claymore is a good shout and I want to upgrade that Lightning Spear, any other weapons that people want to recommend?

[Rich]

Ah, okay. I'm currently studiously keeping myself under 25% equip to maintain fastest movement. I'm on PC so I can't play without the nerfed DWGR - which means I'd only be able to make good use of it if I stick with my current armour. The extra frames and immediacy might be nice, but I don't want to end up with a slow exit from rolling. I'm also still torn as to whether or not to take out Pharis for her bow as I don't want to break the covenant I entered on a whim.

In other news, I'm going to spend this weekend being summoned into either Iron Golem or the Forest to get some souls and other trinkets for weapon upgrading. The Drake Sword has lasted until Level 43, but I'd be better off with a weapon that scales with my Str and Dex now. I reckon Claymore is a good shout and I want to upgrade that Lightning Spear, any other weapons that people want to recommend?

I loved that bow and I've used it on both of my playthroughs. The forest covenant never did anything for me!
My favourite quality weapon is the Silver Knight straight sword but my first run was mostly dex so MY weapon was the Ughikatana.
It kills me that I can't use my bow or my katana in my current SL1 playthrough.

I like the move set for the Silver sword but if you're not there yet grab a Broad sword from Andre it's got C/C scaling and it's a lot lighter than the silver and you have a lot more options for upgrading.
I always say that getting the Drake Sword is a mistake as I found me down in actually learning to play the game. I got it my first time through but I've skipped it ever since.