From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[Heresiarch]

With DSFix, setting both the internal and external resolution to 2560*1440, the graphics is IMO 3X better than say, Skyrim. The details on monsters, lighting in the dungeons, textures on all kind of shit are bar none.

Control wise, you can use the mouse fix, or just buy a cheapo controller. Be warned though, DS more or less require precise multidirectional control, which means even with mouse fix it's difficult to pull off some of the more precise controls (which may or may not be lethal gameplay wise). Rebinding all the keys is also a PITA.

 

[Aothan]

in retrospect the mouse and keyboard, which I initially started with, was not so difficult. Assuming the mouse can orientate the camera. I had troubles with a gamepad because the right stick which I believe was used for mobility also had a function if the stick was pressed. Which typically lead to me inadvertently selecting the pose menu at critical times where it would be much more prudent to dodge or block.

 

[Elwro]

Hi, Codex!

I haven't really had much time for gaming last year, with all the work, new girlfriend* and stuff. After turning 30 I decided it's no longer a shame to buy a console. I visited a friend in Bristol who had an Xbox and a friend in Utrecht who had a PS3 (oddly, none of my Polish friends have consoles) and was convinced by PS3. I bought it and, uh, it turned out I couldn't really find great games for it. (The best one I found, Red Dead Redemption, was fun until it started to demand killing hundreds of Mexicans... ) I finished Dungeon Siege 3 to become acquainted with the gamepad, but eh, the game wasn't exactly stellar. I knew Dark Souls: Prepare to Die edition was coming out, but it was really expensive....

... and my new girlfriend* bought it for me as a present. Boy, did I get hooked! (We both did -- she enjoys watching me play.) I started with a wanderer, not really knowing anything about the game and being a newbie to console gaming. Even finishing the tutorial was a feat, and when I beat the Taurus Demon I felt like a king. (The game of course put me back in my place after 30 seconds, after I got to the bridge ) I played the wanderer for about 40 hours and only got to Queelag, invested in Resistance, but explored a lot of the available areas and found many goodies. I traversed Blighttown to get to the swamps; boy, was that a nightmare! I lost ALL my humanity trying to kill Queelag, then came back up only to see you-know-what at the Firelink Shrine. (As for bosses, I tried quite a few times to tackle the Gargoyles before I managed, and more than 10 to finally beat the Capra Demon) That's when I decided to try again with a different character, a bulky knight.

With this character (and his Master Key which I chose as a gift) I did all my previous char did (save for exploring the Blighttown) at least 4 times faster: I reached the Gargoyles in, like, 3 hours or sth, and when it comes to bosses, I killed most of them on the first try (even the Capra Demon, the Hydra, and Sif, without reading about the last two). I'm now about 20-something hours in, I put the Lordvessel where it belongs and I just killed Sif. The knowledge of the game (how it works in general and the knowledge of areas) can make some segments if not a breeze, then just cheerfully manageable. (I have amassed about 20 points of humanity in items.) The most important lesson for me, and a tip I would like someone to have given me at the start of the game, is:

* don't always stay hollow, as summoning other players can be of GREAT help, not only against bosses, but just for helping you explore the area;
* to safely explore an area, get summoned and help someone!
* do not overlevel because you will be destroyed in PvP when in human form by people who leveled up more efficiently; spend souls on upgrading your equipment first;
* using a homeward bone does not make you gay.

The challenges of the game are weird. I KILLED S & O ON MY FIRST TRY with help of a single phantom (well, technically, I killed them once as a phantom, helping another player, so I knew what they looked like and how they behaved), and now when I wanted to farm the slugs at the swamps I got killed by the fucking mosquitoes because I was careless and forgot to switch my armor to Black Leather. (Even the poisonbite ring and spider shield didn't help.) Eh, always be careful...

(My toughest moment so far was in Anor Londo, when I got sucked into another world before I even got to the main building with S&O. I spent quite a few hours figuring out that wintery world.)

The game is fantastic in how it offers you varied challenges -- I cannot rely on a single set of armor or 'the best' weapon, you have to think what to use in different areas / when facing different opponents. And the area design is simply amazing. The atmosphere and the idea of parallel worlds with other players manifesting as phantoms works brilliantly.

A great game overall!



* Yes, for those who'd like to update their elwro.txt, after my previous gf left me (9 years of relationship), I now have a new girlfriend, and boy, is she the love of my life!

 

[felipepepe]

First experience playing Dark Souls is something magical. I've must have played around 200-250 hours of it, it's still a wonderfull game, but that sensation of awe, of fearing each enemy, never knowing what will come next simply can't be tasted again...

 

[Jasede]

Oh no, Elwro bought a console?!

Quickly, Codex-elite, call him a "consoletard" and laugh at the PhD who also happens to be one of our top 0.1% posters!

 

[Elwro]

Hi Jasede!

Well, I kinda moved in with my girlfriend, and she had a hugeass TV but no DVD player, so I thought "well, maybe I will buy a DVD and BlueRay player which accidentally can also play some games" :D It even was a valid excuse because we really do watch films using the console.

Nice to see you still posting here!

 

[Jasede]

Oh, I'm very happy to see you too! I always enjoy reading anything you write. And I'm glad you can enjoy a console for what it is. If you ever need some good game recommendations we're sure to help you out.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Elwro is back

 

[Harg Harfardarssen]

I guess I'm definitely a newfag, as I don't have the the console hate. PC and console games are different birds with different strengths. For games that require micromanagement (RPG, Strategy, etc.) and aiming (FPSs) the variety of inputs and precise selection of a single point by the mouse and keyboard is superior. For games that have more maneuver based gameplay, which require precise and fluid control of your character, the console control pad is superior. Sure you can hook up a control pad to the PC, but games have to be designed for the control pad in the first place.

 

[Zlaja]

I KILLED S & O ON MY FIRST TRY with help of a single phantom

You cheesed them on your first try? Not cool.

 

[curry]

I've tried to play this shit twice on my PC. Both times didn't get too far because the controls are clumsy and frustrating.

 

[Elwro]

I KILLED S & O ON MY FIRST TRY with help of a single phantom

You cheesed them on your first try? Not cool.

Cheesed them? I'm playing by the rules. By going human I was risking an invasion, and yes, I got invaded and had to defend myself. But I also got the possibility of summoning help to fight the bosses. The game revolves around summoning other players, I don't see why using a defining feature of the game is "cheesing". Sure, if you want additional challenge, you can solo the bosses... but for my first playthrough the challenge the game itself gives me is enough

 

[Admiral jimbob]

I killed them on my first try with my first character (Pyro) because Ornstein decided to leap forward and eat a chaos fireball that almost instantly killed him. With my melee character it took me literally days to get past the fuckers. That's something I really love about this game; different battles and enemies go so differently depending on your character.

 

[Elwro]

Stuck at the Demon Firesage, goddamnit. I got summoned and killed him as a phantom together with some magic-wielding guy. But myself I cannot summon anyone -- I see no summoning signs (as a human of course). Alone I've been trying to run around him in the Painting Guardian robe because this gives me the highes magic resistance. I can avoid his buttslam, I can sustain 2 of his long-range physical hits if I fail to dodge them, and due to the Painting Guardian Robe I sustain 5 of his magical AoE hits -- but they make me fall down and I don't really have time to heal. I put on the Spell Resistance Ring and the Physical Resistance Ring.

Any pointers? (38 End 29 Vit, 21 Str, using a Lightning Claymore +3. I also have a Black Knight's Sword +4, but since I switched to the claymore I didn't bother putting points into Str.)

 

[Surf Solar]

Shouldn't Ravels armor be much better against him due to the high protection against his fire attacks? It's been awhile since I played, but I remember having no problems at all against fire attacks when wearing the armor.

 

[Elwro]

The Wiki says it's a magic attack, not a fire attack. (Talking about the Firesage here, I know his name suggests fire, but I tried the Gold-hemmed set for huge Fire Resistance and his attack dealt a lot more damage than when I'm in the Painting Guardian set.)

edit: but OK, I will try Havel's Armour and attempt a slow-but-steady approach since the roll-like-hell approach hasn't really worked for me.

 

[Jaedar]

Try wielding a bigger weapon.

 

[Damned Registrations]

The black knight sword will rape him, since it does bonus damage to chaos demons. Generally what you want to do is always stay behind him, since one of his AoE magic attacks hits mainly in front of him, so it's impossible to dodge unless you're already behind him.

 

[praetor]

you can try and bleed him to death if you have a weapon with bleed that suits your stats (the spikey longsword, for example... although the bandit's knife is probably the best since it's the fastest.. but you have to farm for it unless you get lucky). and try to back him into a corner/against a wall and then stay in front of him; this way he'll always do the buttslam attack after which he's vulnerable to 3 hits from your bleeding weapon. result: over in no time

 

[Elwro]

Thanks, guys. Will try these suggestions later on.

 

[Zlaja]

Sure, if you want additional challenge, you can solo the bosses...

But soloing the bosses is the only way to be challenged by them at all. As long as the phantom you've summoned in your own world is somewhat competent than there's zero challenge to be had. Wanting some help after getting beaten & bruised 5-6 times is one thing but getting help before even trying to take them on on their own equals (at least to me who values a good challenge) cheating yourself out of a fun experience.

 

[Average Manatee]

Yeah... just as fighting more than one enemy at a time is 10x as hard, using two players to fight a boss is just pissing over the difficulty of the game. And people call this game hard, if it weren't for the fact that the online matchmaker is so unreliable a toddler could finish it.

Know what would be interesting? A game with a permadeath system, but letting you phantom in with other players to practice without risk of permadeath. Being able to change at will between the hardcore/non-hardcore modes at the beginning of a stage, but to progress to the next stage you must beat the level in hardcore mode, 1 life, no help from others.

 

[Zlaja]

And people call this game hard, if it weren't for the fact that the online matchmaker is so unreliable a toddler could finish it.

I actually think that the hole matchmaker fiasko at the game's launch was a blessing in disguise.

One good way of balancing the hole summoning thing could be to make sure that the host gets zero souls while having help. Phantom gets half the souls of defeated bosses but the host gets nada. Doable with a simple patch.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

The funniest thing I've experienced in this game so far occurred the other day. I got summoned at the beginning of the DLC area, at the sanctuary. The host and his sun-bro phantom seem reasonably competent. He heals us when we take damage and we rip apart the giants and the gardener dudes, rapidly making our way down to the area right before Artorias.

This is when I had my first hint that the host maybe didn't know what he was doing, as he attacked the gentleman with the cheshire grin. Of course, when summoned or invading, you can't directly affect NPCs. The sunbro and myself spend about 5 minutes using the shrugging emote and watching our host flail around, almost dying several times. Finally he prevails. All right, I think, let's go fuck up Artorias. But he heads for the valley instead. Hm, hopefully he's just looking to collect the loot.

But of course, he and the sunbro continue further down. I get the sinking feeling they are heading for the dragon, and frantically begin emoting we should head back the way we came. They don't know what's down there! But I can only watch, as they instead slide down the ladder. I assume they are doomed, and stand on top of the waterfall, watching. They don't appear to notice or care about my refusal to enter the valley floor.

Then I hear him, Kalameet the Black Dragon. He bursts through the valley, spewing flame everywhere. The sunbro and host are clearly taken by surprise; both get one-shot, and the sounds of their phantoms dying echo the valley as Kalameet swings back around for another pass. I can only shrug as I return to my own world, but in front of my computer, I can't help but cackle.

 

[Elwro]

Thanks DR and SS -- I finally bested the Demon Firesage, solo, in Havel's Armour and using my Black Knight Sword + 4. It really did at least twice as much damage than my Lightning Claymore. I didn't think it would, I knew it had some bonus damage against demons, but never thought it would be so high.

The key thing was to always stay close to him. When he did his buttslam, I had time to use one estus flask. And I was always trying to get around him which was enough to minimize the damage from the AoE attack.

The next guy's raping me, though. Is summoning Solaire also cheesing out? I thought this could affect the 'plot' somehow so I don't want to miss that...