From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

Maybe Furysword?. You can craft it at a blacksmith using a +10 scimitar with Quelaag's soul, and it has a fire enchantment on it as well as doing additional damage if you're holding 10 humanity. Same moveset as most other curved swords, and has the same kick attack as scimitar.

 

Sure, but there are definitely weapons that are worse than others. The falchion I just got, for example, seems to be the exact same as scimitar but with more damage and range. Damage bonus is almost nothing but any range increase is a godsend.

You have to tap forward and attack/heavy attack at the same time. Practice a bit an it's not that hard.

 

Yeah, there are some like that but, for example, falchion is heavier than a scimitar IIRC.

Some weapons are better than others though.

 

Does weight have any effect outside of encumbrance? 1kg doesn't mean much, I'm sitting at 12.3/66. Swing speed seems to be the same, and if weight affects the stamina hit from defending then high weight is a bit of a bonus.

 

I think it's just encumbrance but I might be wrong.

Bigger weapons cause more stagger (vs your poise) but I think that might just be separate for each weapon - rather than linked directly to weight. A falchion isn't going to do much anyway.

 

By stagger you mean the stamina hit from blocking, or the chance to interrupt attacks? Or are those basically the same?

 

I mean that if you have low poise and are hit with a big weapon like a greatsword or something you will be stunned and any action you're taking will be stopped. If your poise is high you're able to complete your action despite being hit.

Bigger weapons do also cause more stamina loss when blocked - which also varies according to your shield stability.

 

Yeah, so the interrupt chance. I was wondering if the stamina damage you do to an enemy when they block your attack is based off the same thing.

 

Basically the same, in that both are based on weapon type and your attack power. (a dagger won't stagger as easily as a mace even if the dagger user is so strong he does the same damage). The type of attack matters too, some attacks cause staggering very easily.

Poise determines your immunity to being staggered- if your poise is too high for an attack to stagger you, there'll be a flash when you get hit and you just shrug off the stun. Very useful for 2 handed sword users, or people that are just shit at fighting.

Another thing about weapons: Some of them are faster than others. It's often almost unnoticeable, but in some cases it can be the difference between stunlocking a target for 3 hits or 4 (or longer, sometimes you're only limited by your stamina.)

One handed spear + shield was what I went through most of the game with, it's very effective and easy to use, since you can jab with the spear while still blocking. Rapiers can do that too, but are shittier in many ways and better in ways that are not well suited to a heavy ass shield.

Bandit knife is also extremely good- it has a bleed effect that is very easy to apply and quite powerful on big fleshy enemies, aside from being good for backstabbing. Of course, enemies vary and the knife will be shit against some.

There are a ton of weapons in the game anyways, some of them quite exotic in one way or another. Just find something you like. The fancy exotic shit isn't necessarily better. Sometimes the cool shit they do is really ineffective and replaces something with good utility a normal version of the weapon has.

 

Thanks, Bro.

 

Shields in general make the game pretty easy as long as you take a huge one and get a big-ass stamina bar, which is why I'm trying to play without one. Got invaded by a spear + shield guy and the only thing I could do was spam Magic Weapon a few times which went right through.

 

Wow, never saw anyone playing with those. That's one of the big plus of the game, everyone plays differently. Personally, I go spellsword style using a magical Rapier.

 

I've always wanted to try this but the things are so damned weak. I don't know how you kill anything you can't parry/backstab. Well, with the spells I guess. But I always wanted to play a more melee focused rapier build, theres a lot of cool rapiers.

 

I did one playthrough as a black Knight - using only their equipment. It was good and a divine lucerne goes through the catacombs like a knife through bony butter.

 

Having never played Demon's Souls or Dark Souls...

This game is fuck as fuck, but very frustrating. I don't really like the "I Wanna Be the Guy" style moments where a flaming barrel will roll down the stairs at you and you wouldn't know it was going to happen unless you died to it already. The other IWBTG style mechanic, having to redo the entire section if you die, gets a bit old, too.

I've found a few areas off the beaten path with enemies I had no hope of killing, which is actually pretty cool. I'm sure that if you're better at the game you can probably manage to kill them even with a low-level character, but I sure as hell couldn't. That's probably my favorite part of RPGs: areas with cool items and shit that are very hard to get through unless you're highly levelled or highly skilled at the game.

I'm pretty clueless about character development, and needless to say, holding onto your skill points like I'd do in other games doesn't work too well in DS. Oh well, reading up on character builds ruins half the fun of these kinds of games, anyway.

I'm trying to play completely blind, but I have a question: should you always aim to be "alive" as opposed to "hollowed"?

 

Hmm... Is it just me or is rolling with a keyboard horribly unresponsive in certain directions?

 

It depends on how you feel about the multiplayer. You can't summon other players or be invaded while you're hollow, but these are also things that I think are an important part of the game. I spent most of the game hollow the first time I played and human the second time, and although I was attacked more, it was a better and more dangerous experience. If you don't like player interaction at all then I'd recommend going hollow, but give being human a try.

 

At the moment I'm raging because the controller scheme makes it impossible to roll while running. so many times against black hydra.

Alive means you can summon other players to help you as long as you haven't killed the big boss of the area. The other players need to be within a certain level range and need to have put down their summoning sign. 1 or 2 extra players tends to make the game pretty easy, assuming they don't get overconfident and zerg rush everything. If you trigger certain events with NPCs you can also summon them right before a few bosses, and they tend to absolutely demolish said bosses (at least from what I've seen). Keep in mind that the level range is pretty small, you almost certainly won't find help going into high level areas as a low level character.

Alive also means you can be invaded. This usually isn't too big of a problem though. There are also a few scripted NPC invasions.

Hollowed means nothing invading you, but also nothing coming to help you.

Aside from this, there is your humanity score. It gives a large item find bonus up to 10, so it's not a bad idea to try and keep it that high. Also a decent curse defense and small general defense bonus for each, though those taper off rapidly.

 

Well said! They should put that on the box.

 

Well cant launch the shit, when i need to log to GWFL crap i cant click or write a damn

 

Vekna's Rapier does good damage and have nice combos for mid-game, end game a enchanted rapier scales nicely with you INT and has 110 critical damage, so it's a pretty sweet weapon. But yeah, some bigger enemies are a pain in the ass and magic is the only way...

I personally fin the BK Great Axe the best strenth weapon in the game, is fast, powerfull and scales.

 

Taurus Demon was easy as cake, but that fucker down at the bottom of the tower just before is an invincible piece of iron.

 

I shat it the first time he chased me up the stairs.

Brilliant.

 

Yeah. Definitely. Playing black Knight wasn't much of a problem, apart from the catacombs!