From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[Caim]

I like this game so far, but I'm sort of lost regarding where to go at next.

I'm at the bonfire just above the Blacksmith, after the cathedral full of knights and that one magic dude. I defeated the Bell Gargoyles and rung the bell, but what's next? I've done some exploring and backtracking: I've seen the catacombs under the graveyard all the way in the beginning with the exploding skulls that wipe half my health bar, I've been to the underground ghost city and managed to get a knife that can actually hurt them, though I lack the anti-ghost items and the weapon's a bit weak compared to my dragon sword and gargoyle halberd, I've seen Carpa and immediately got one-shotted by it, I've walked around in the plant area with the evil bushmen (and I can dodge that lightning demon but for the love of me cannot kill it) and can go from there, and I've been killed plenty by that big knight in the tower right before that boss fight on the wall. Where to next?

And for that matter, I've discovered that you can rest at that first bonfire to buff up your Estus flask (and gave the soul from the Gargoyles to the woman in the cage), but are there any other ways to gain more uses from it?

Oh, and where can I find me some new armor? I think the chainmail I got from that working class British zombie is starting to get a bit weak compared to what I'm facing now.

 

[ghostdog]

I like this game so far, but I'm sort of lost regarding where to go at next.

I'm at the bonfire just above the Blacksmith, after the cathedral full of knights and that one magic dude. I defeated the Bell Gargoyles and rung the bell, but what's next? I've done some exploring and backtracking: I've seen the catacombs under the graveyard all the way in the beginning with the exploding skulls that wipe half my health bar, I've been to the underground ghost city and managed to get a knife that can actually hurt them, though I lack the anti-ghost items and the weapon's a bit weak compared to my dragon sword and gargoyle halberd, I've seen Carpa and immediately got one-shotted by it, I've walked around in the plant area with the evil bushmen (and I can dodge that lightning demon but for the love of me cannot kill it) and can go from there, and I've been killed plenty by that big knight in the tower right before that boss fight on the wall. Where to next?

And for that matter, I've discovered that you can rest at that first bonfire to buff up your Estus flask (and gave the soul from the Gargoyles to the woman in the cage), but are there any other ways to gain more uses from it?

Oh, and where can I find me some new armor? I think the chainmail I got from that working class British zombie is starting to get a bit weak compared to what I'm facing now.

For starters Kill Capra, he drops a very important key. The moonlight butterfly, after a while of shooting lightning, will land close to you and you'll be able to hit her a couple of times. Sorcery also works pretty well here. The easiest way though is to summon that witch to help you, her sign can be discovered just before the boss, it's a bit hidden (remember, you need to be in human form to do so). Also have in mind the butterfly does only magic damage.

As for armor, in the garden before the butterfly, where the sleeping giants are, you can find the elite knight set, it's a very good piece of armor. Just run and grab it if you can't face the giants yet.

 

[Gozma]

If you really want spoilers, you probably missed

Spoiler

The Wolf ring, which gives you 40 poise for zero weight. By comparison the knight armor chest piece gives 20 for like 11 weight and that's one of the better weight/poise ratios in the game aside from super heavy stuff. You can find the Wolf ring in an area hidden behind a big killable tree in the vicinity of the Moonlight Butterfly that I completely missed on my first playthrough because no one left an orange message there. It lets you faceroll through light mooks and trivializes the Capra fight.

 

[Caim]

For starters Kill Capra, he drops a very important key. The moonlight butterfly, after a while of shooting lightning, will land close to you and you'll be able to hit her a couple of times. Sorcery also works pretty well here. The easiest way though is to summon that witch to help you, her sign can be discovered just before the boss, it's a bit hidden (remember, you need to be in human form to do so). Also have in mind the butterfly does only magic damage.

As for armor, in the garden before the butterfly, where the sleeping giants are, you can find the elite knight set, it's a very good piece of armor. Just run and grab it if you can't face the giants yet.

The butterfly kicked my ass: its laser beams have to be blocked the moment it charges its magic, and the slow attack cannot be blocked. And my stats are too crappy to do magic, so I guess it's melee. Plus, the loot you get from it does not seem all that useful (souls are always welcome, but I can already get to that place with the big knight). And I found the armor: the stone knights are not much of a threat to me one-on-one (if they start off with that curse attack I can shave off 80%+ health before they start swinging).

If you really want spoilers, you probably missed

Spoiler

The Wolf ring, which gives you 40 poise for zero weight. By comparison the knight armor chest piece gives 20 for like 11 weight and that's one of the better weight/poise ratios in the game aside from super heavy stuff. You can find the Wolf ring in an area hidden behind a big killable tree in the vicinity of the Moonlight Butterfly that I completely missed on my first playthrough because no one left an orange message there. It lets you faceroll through light mooks and trivializes the Capra fight.

And I found the wolf ring, I think this will be very useful. But will it be that good against Capra? I think there's more to that fight than not being one-shotted.

And I found out that you need to fork over 20k souls for that sigil that allows you to reach the wolf boss. Is it worth it, or should I go to the Darkroot Basin for a bit?

 

[LivingOne]

There's also a second boss in the Darkroot Forest.It can be a p. cool fight at low levels.Keep exploring.

Edit:

And I found out that you need to fork over 20k souls for that sigil that allows you to reach the wolf boss. Is it worth it, or should I go to the Darkroot Basin for a bit?

Nope,you can do without.As I said keep exploring.

 

[Athelas]

Soul Arrow requires only very low INT, so you might be able to use it. Be sure to equip magic resistant armor and use a shield with good magic reduction, if you haven't already.

 

[Caim]

There's also a second boss in the Darkroot Forest.It can be a p. cool fight at low levels.Keep exploring.

I know the one, but I need those 20k souls for that.

Soul Arrow requires only very low INT, so you might be able to use it. Be sure to equip magic resistant armor and use a shield with good magic reduction, if you haven't already.

I don't have any anti-magic armor I believe (I do have some cloth stuff I found prior to Capra), but I'll see if I can find Soul Arrow. But where can I buy it?

 

[LivingOne]

Edited my post while you were replying too,see above about the crest.

 

[Gozma]

Poise doesn't help you being one-shotted, it helps you not be stunned and put into that reeling animation when you get hit. You can run right through an attack that doesn't break your poise - you take damage, but it won't interrupt whatever you're doing. So, having both fast roll and good poise lets you tank/ignore the dogs (as their hits won't stun you, even two hits won't IIRC) to focus on evading the demon's attacks while you take them out. It is the kind of thing (with the wolf ring) that you can do first shot without hesitation on a replay.

 

[Athelas]

There's also a second boss in the Darkroot Forest.It can be a p. cool fight at low levels.Keep exploring.

I know the one, but I need those 20k souls for that.

Soul Arrow requires only very low INT, so you might be able to use it. Be sure to equip magic resistant armor and use a shield with good magic reduction, if you haven't already.

I don't have any anti-magic armor I believe (I do have some cloth stuff I found prior to Capra), but I'll see if I can find Soul Arrow. But where can I buy it?

I believe a merchant in the New Londo Ruins sells it (right under Firelink shrine). As for armor, just check which has the highest magic defense and equip that.

 

[Caim]

Well, I got a shield with decend magic defence (42%) and the sorcerer's outfit in the area before Capra, so that should be easier.

But magic supposedly has limited uses: is that per recharge at a bonfire or total uses?

 

[Athelas]

Every spell has a limited use that resets when you rest at a bonfire. I.e. Soul Arrow has 30 uses (I think?) and takes up one of your magic slots (raise the Attunement stat for more such slots). Attuning 2 Soul Arrows gives you 2 x 30 uses, taking up 2 slots. The slots can be used for all types of magic: Sorcery, Pyromancy and Miracles. Each school of magic requires you to equip a 'weapon' to use magic: Catalyst, Pyromancy Glove and Talisman respectively.

It's basically like resting to recover spells in D&D.

 

[Caim]

Yeah, all I need to do know is grind a few thousand souls so I can get my Attunement high enough to actually equip spells...

Nope,you can do without.As I said keep exploring.

Then Darkroot Basin it is.

Edit: NOPE, the hydra murders you when you try to climb the ladder.

 

[subotaiy]

And for that matter, I've discovered that you can rest at that first bonfire to buff up your Estus flask.

You can buff estus to 10 (15 later) at any bonfire, you need to kindle while you're human.

 

[LivingOne]

Yeah, all I need to do know is grind a few thousand souls so I can get my Attunement high enough to actually equip spells...

Nope,you can do without.As I said keep exploring.

Then Darkroot Basin it is.

Edit: NOPE, the hydra murders you when you try to climb the ladder.

Kill it then.It's not as hard as it looks,once you get close.Mini-bosses don't respawn.

 

[Correct_Carlo]

Beat it!

It started out crazy hard, but got really easy towards the end. I did most of the final 4 bosses in one try.

Maybe it's because I was a melee tank. I was lucky enough to have the Black Knight Sword drop right at the beginning of the game, so I basically upgraded and used that the entire game. I didn't realize it was one of the strongest swords in the game, but it kind of confused me as I expected to find all sorts of awesome swords as the game progressed, but they all sucked compared to it.

I didn't mind most of the places people say suck (Blight town was easy, for example). The hardest, most frustrating part of the game for me was the section with no light (can't remember what it was called). I had to carry the lantern in my shield hand and kept getting charged by those skeleton dogs. So finally I just memorized the route and went through with my shield and no light (which was way easier).

I liked it enough that I'm totally getting Dark Souls 2 now.

 

[Silva]

Congratulations Juan_Carlo.

Remember that, as someone said above, DaS1 difficulty depends very much on yourself. If you feel your melee-tank made the game too easy, try another playthrough with a different build. My last playthtough was with a Thief/Dex build based on dodging/parrying and bleeding/poisoning and it was awesome in that it felt a nice challenge (used the Bandits Knife until pretty far in the game). Another interesting thing could be trying full casters, like mages, clerics or pyromancers (though pyromancers felt really overpowered to me in DaS1).

 

[DragoFireheart]

I liked it enough that I'm totally getting Dark Souls 2 now.

Dark Souls 2 is more of the same. It's a solid game: just don't hype yourself up over it.

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS I WENT THROUGH ALL HE FAGBOX ACHEEVEEMENTS TODAY I FEEL ACCOMPLUISHED

LOLOLOL I PLAYED THROUGH LIKE NG PLUS PLUS PLUS WITH A STRENGTH FAITH BRO THEN USED A CASTER

BROS THE INT CASTER WITH ENCHANTED UGI FUCKED SHIT UP ORNSTEIN AND SMOUGH WERE EASY AS SHIT ACTUALLY HAD MORE TROUBLE GETTING USED TO THE SILVER KNIGHTS WITH THR NEW BUILD

THE FAITH STRENGTH HYBRID TOOK UNTIL SL 120 TO 130 TO FEEL GOOD TO ME WHILE MY INT BUILD FUCKED SHIT UP AT 70

 

[Murk]

And for that matter, I've discovered that you can rest at that first bonfire to buff up your Estus flask.

You can buff estus to 10 (15 later) at any bonfire, you need to kindle while you're human.

20, actually.

The hydra is surprisingly easy to kill -- don't let its size and powerful projectile make you think otherwise. The real trick is getting in close and then a battle of attrition for that last fucking head.

It's been suggested that the BK sword + the easy 2 easily found crystal lizards are basically nub helpers -- the drake sword as well. It's kind of a "if you get lucky" or "if you are willing to risk a bit" you can get a weapon that'll get you through either a huge chunk of the game if not the entirety. Tho the claymore is always there, waiting... waiting.

 

[Damned Registrations]

TBH the bonus damage vs demons from the black knight weapons prolly makes them the best for PvE anyways if you can't be assed to use resins/buffs. Most things besides capra/taurus demons and bosses can be one shot or stunlocked effortlessly anyways. I suppose the tomb of giants would be the big exception.

 

[Caim]

The hydra is surprisingly easy to kill -- don't let its size and powerful projectile make you think otherwise. The real trick is getting in close and then a battle of attrition for that last fucking head.

It's been suggested that the BK sword + the easy 2 easily found crystal lizards are basically nub helpers -- the drake sword as well. It's kind of a "if you get lucky" or "if you are willing to risk a bit" you can get a weapon that'll get you through either a huge chunk of the game if not the entirety. Tho the claymore is always there, waiting... waiting.

So for the Hydra it's a matter of getting close so it won't try to two-shot you with its water breath, or do you need good magic defence against it?

And while I got the Drake Sword and it serves me well, what's the best way to get one of those Black Knight weapons? They sound really useful.

 

[LivingOne]

So for the Hydra it's a matter of getting close so it won't try to two-shot you with its water breath, or do you need good magic defence against it?

The former.

And while I got the Drake Sword and it serves me well, what's the best way to get one of those Black Knight weapons? They sound really useful.

Killing black knights.

 

[Correct_Carlo]

The hydra's are all bark and no bite. It seems like it wouldn't be the case, but you can actually block all the damage from their head slam attacks with a decent shield (and only a minimal stamina hit). So you can let them wail on you almost indefinitely provided you have decent armor. The water attacks suck, but if you get in close enough they will only do them occasionally. The battle ends up being more tedious than difficult, just because you have to chase after the last couple heads to hit them, which might take a bit before you understand their patterns.

Black Knight weapons are dropped by black knights. But they don't respawn, which sucks (except in the very last level, but by then it's too late to bother). You have two chances to get most of the weapons throughout the game. Black Knight sword can potentially drob in Undead Berg and the Halberd in Dark Root Basin, so those are the earliest. If you don't get either of those drops, it's probably better to just focus on something else. Zweihander can be upgraded to be as strong or nearly as strong as the Black Knight weapons. Plus, it's in the middle of the cemetery next to the firelink shrine so you can get it right away (it requires 24 strength, but that shouldn't be hard). It should be faily easy to level up early game, too, as it just requires titanite, which is pretty plentiful compared to upgrading Black Knight weapons (which require twinkling titanite, much harder to come by early on).

I'm not an expert, but if you are going for a melee/strangth build, just upgrade the Zweihander straight on up to level 15, rather then going to 10 and then enchanting it. I'd guess that if you are pure strength, the bonus strength stats on a level 15 zweihander would beat out the stat penalties you have to take with enchantments. Plus, when fully upgraded, the Zweihander and Black Knight Sword are essentially the same (Black Knight Sword is only 5 points stronger, base damage). Although, if you don't want to invest as much in strength, enchanting it with Fire would be fine too.

 

[Gozma]

The black knight sword isn't an ultra-greatsword class like the zwei - just a greatsword, so it has a moveset that's similar to the claymore or bastard sword. The zwei moveset is slow as hell and most of the time it's just for riposte/backstab. I really don't recommend using it for a first playthrough - too gimmicky. The BKS on the other hand is probably too good - every boss before O&S will just evaporate to it, and O&S themselves will be semi-facerollable.