From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[Average Manatee]

I had 375 physical defense and it reduced damage by about a third vs. Gwyn in testing.

 

[Fryjar]

Mhh, just wondering if I made the game too easy by equipping the Black Knight's Sword I got from the Burg knight.

Beat the Gargoyles with my trusty Zweihander after a couple of tries which felt like a satisfying and challenging fight. Right afterwards I could equip the Black Knight sword and beat the Capra Demon on my first try with it (Died 2 times with the Zweihander before killing the Gargoyles).
In the area right after I'm one or 2 shotting all the bush enemies and I get the feeling the game is far less challenging than it is supposed to be.

So the question for the more experienced players: Does the weapon break the game or does it remain properly challenging with it?

 

[Jaedar]

So dark souls has level scaling? Interesting.

 

[Average Manatee]

So dark souls has level scaling? Interesting.

Nah, I don't think so. Hence the trollface.

Mhh, just wondering if I made the game too easy by equipping the Black Knight's Sword I got from the Burg knight.

Beat the Gargoyles with my trusty Zweihander after a couple of tries which felt like a satisfying and challenging fight. Right afterwards I could equip the Black Knight sword and beat the Capra Demon on my first try with it (Died 2 times with the Zweihander before killing the Gargoyles).
In the area right after I'm one or 2 shotting all the bush enemies and I get the feeling the game is far less challenging than it is supposed to be.

So the question for the more experienced players: Does the weapon break the game or does it remain properly challenging with it?

hahahaha.

Keep going. Finding a weapon you use well is part of the game. You just got a nice drop early in the game, nothing more.

Keep in mind it's a unique which means it only gets 5 upgrades. Weapons that go up to +15 can nearly triple in power

 

[Damned Registrations]

Mhh, just wondering if I made the game too easy by equipping the Black Knight's Sword I got from the Burg knight.

Beat the Gargoyles with my trusty Zweihander after a couple of tries which felt like a satisfying and challenging fight. Right afterwards I could equip the Black Knight sword and beat the Capra Demon on my first try with it (Died 2 times with the Zweihander before killing the Gargoyles).
In the area right after I'm one or 2 shotting all the bush enemies and I get the feeling the game is far less challenging than it is supposed to be.

So the question for the more experienced players: Does the weapon break the game or does it remain properly challenging with it?

Black knight weapons are pretty fucking overpowered early on. I have no idea why they ramped up the droprate so much on them so that people can get them from the random knights that are supposed to act as minibosses. Super late /PvP they're balanced by the fact that you can't enchant them, but until you're like past the lordvessel nothing else in the game is going to be anywhere close.

They also do bonus damage against demons btw, making that particular boss (and several others) especially easy.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I had 375 physical defense and it reduced damage by about a third vs. Gwyn in testing.

Most if not all of Gwynn's damage is fire, it's really obvious if you use a shield with 100% phys blocking.

Artorias' might just be some non typed pure damage or something, the new spells seem to be like that too (they definitely aren't physical like the description says.)

(Actually my shield could block all the damage, unlike vs the spells, so I have no idea.)

 

[Tommers]

Parry him.

Trust me, I've been trying. :D

 

[Average Manatee]

I had 375 physical defense and it reduced damage by about a third vs. Gwyn in testing.

Most if not all of Gwynn's damage is fire, it's really obvious if you use a shield with 100% phys blocking.

Artorias' might just be some non typed pure damage or something, the new spells seem to be like that too (they definitely aren't physical like the description says.)

(Actually my shield could block all the damage, unlike vs the spells, so I have no idea.)

Yeah, but my vs. fire was well over 300 still. I don't think more than half of his damage is fire, based on my shield blocking 75% fire and his hits definitely being a lot more than 4x stronger when I didn't block.

I'm through the two bells with my lvl 1 character, I'll get to this point eventually and check.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Update on my adventures, cleared out darkroot garden and basin (Was it basin? Can't remember). Butterfly was a pain in the ass since I have 0 ranged but the witch summon is for idiots like me I guess. Hydra was really cool even though he was absolutely pathetic when I got to melee range, he never even damaged me at that point. +5 claymore is doing pretty good for me, at some point I should upgrade it more. I've been advised to just keep adding + to it since I'm going STR primarily. Wearing elite knight armor pieces with eastern armor chest and gargoyle hat, lots of heavy armor but with Havel's ring I'm ok. The black knight in the basin was hilariously easy, amazing how much easier the game gets when you have a feel for the combat.

Starting Blighttown now and managed to lose 20k souls because I didn't spend them like the fool I am and one of those fat shit ogres or whatever they are knocked me down a pit since I wasn't paying enough attention to my position. Game continues to be cool but Darkroot was less interesting than undead burg and the depths. Haven't played enough Blighttown to judge it yet but I'm wallowing in poison cures and have the poison resist ring because of lots of bros warning me before I got here so I AM PREPARED.

 

[Serious_Business]

Black Knight sword is definitively OP. I got the true Greatsword of Artorias, I have the stats to weild it, but it still does less dmg than BK sword. I guess that'll change if I get to higher levels, but right now I see no reason to change weapons.

This is my first playthrough (I do intend to play a lot more, I love this game) and I'm using a armor build with greatswords. It's working alright, although I don't know how easier it'd be with a light build. I can tank a lot of shit. I did the O & S fight by just rushing in, taking the hits, and bashing them with my two hander. It took about 7-8 hits to take one down. Then I take the other one with some dodging, but armor isn't all that worthless. With enough poise they can't mess around with you, unless you just line up to take the big hits.

I'm usually a big fan of swords in medieval games. Maybe it's the phallic imagery or I just like Berserk (the manga) too much. I really like two handers, even though historically these weapons were used to counter very particular types of armors. I like that this game is making me feel silly for using a greatsword all the time. I would definitively be better served to switch weapons, but I don't ever do it. It's a question of style, baby. Style is fucking silly.

Wearing the full set Black Iron armor, not sure if I'm ever going to switch up. This is exactly what I want my guy to look like, that armor is the shit. I keep hesitating for my shield and weapon though. BK sword will run its course eventually. Hmmm.

Progressing right now, I am using a walkthrough for some shit. I would have never discovered the Great Hallow & Ash lake without a walkthrough. Are you kidding me? Two entire optional areas hidden behind a double secret passage? This game has some balls, it's not messing around. These areas were really beautiful too. I love the art in this game. It reminds me a lot of the first Diablo - also the way the plot is told, how minimalistic the narrative is. It's a shame there's not more music though.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Yeah, that area is really well hidden. Only reason people found it is because of paranoid people checking for mimics.

 

[Fryjar]

Forget what I said about the game becoming too easy:

Famous last words:

"You have been cursed"

and

"Good Job, now go straight ahead"

I got to admit both moments were some of the greatest wtf moments I had in a game. In a good way.

Although I have to echo Serious Business here, discovering the "secret area" where you can break the curse without spending 6k souls seems almost impossible to find on ones own. That you are then even additionally unexpectedly rewarded by quite a bit of new content that probably only a small fraction of the players base will find makes this pretty rewarding though (...and will boost sales of game guides).

The game really exceeded my expectations by far.

 

[Average Manatee]

Yeah, that area is really well hidden. Only reason people found it is because of paranoid people checking for mimics.

The chest is behind a wall though, all you see at first is a corpse and item. Either there's a rare pre-placed hint or someone must have gotten into a PvP fight there or something.

 

[felipepepe]

Yeah, that area is really well hidden. Only reason people found it is because of paranoid people checking for mimics.

The chest is behind a wall though, all you see at first is a corpse and item. Either there's a rare pre-placed hint or someone must have gotten into a PvP fight there or something.

The item is a shitty board shield... It's so shitty and unusual that it makes you take a second look around for something more.

 

[Average Manatee]

Yeah, that area is really well hidden. Only reason people found it is because of paranoid people checking for mimics.

The chest is behind a wall though, all you see at first is a corpse and item. Either there's a rare pre-placed hint or someone must have gotten into a PvP fight there or something.

The item is a shitty board shield... It's so shitty and unusual that it makes you take a second look around for something more.

So every time you get a drop you don't like you just start hitting walls out of rage? That's kind of funny actually.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Walls also disappear if you roll into them, it's entirely possible someone rolled towards the item and bumped the wall.

 

[Bruticis]

Awesome, even unplugging my G13 isn't enough to fucking let me use the 360 controller. I seriously have to do a 100% uninstall of every piece of my Logitech G13 software to get the game to recognize the 360 controller.
EDIT: Looks like I was about to just unplug the device then disable it in device manager and everything is working. Not as bad as uninstalling everything but come on, I shouldn't have to do all that crap when a in-game simple selection would have resolved the problem

 

[made]

Awesome, even unplugging my G13 isn't enough to fucking let me use the 360 controller. I seriously have to do a 100% uninstall of every piece of my Logitech G13 software to get the game to recognize the 360 controller.
EDIT: Looks like I was about to just unplug the device then disable it in device manager and everything is working. Not as bad as uninstalling everything but come on, I shouldn't have to do all that crap when a in-game simple selection would have resolved the problem

idk if that applies to your problem, but there's the dinput8.dll that comes with x360ce; the readme states:

"Put this in the game directory to stop the game from finding
your controller and conflicting with XBOX 360 Controller Emulator.

This dll will force GAME CONTROL devices only to be used by xinput*.dll,
keyboard and mouse support should still work in game.

Racer_S"

 

[SerratedBiz]

Haven't actually done that fight because I'm on PS3 and DLC, but I also used to be very skeptical of these things until I tried out the challenge myself. Used an SL1 character to beat the game until the Four Kings and it really is much more a matter of proper preparation + skill than it is of soul levels.

Point is, there is no preparation, the guy is naked!

There's definitely something odd going on. I watched that guy do a fight naked I did in full stone knight armor, and he took half as much damage from the same attacks. Maybe some attacks just deal damage based on your max hp.

Not sure how the dude in the stream did it (or whether he's cheating or not somehow), but I just did the math in a character planner and a SL1 Pyro with Ring of FaP and Dark Wood Grain Ring can put on Havel's Helm and Gloves for 53 poise (which is more important than armor, the breakpoint for 2h swords is somewhere around that unless I'm mistaken), Queelag's sword, Pyro hand and a shield, and still have some 4 pounds extra for adjusting weaponry or adding more armor.

Not for 4 Kings of course, since you need the Covenant Ring, but then again they shouldn't hit you if you're trying this challenge out.

As for Gwyn, I never tried to kill him with my SL1 since the purpose of doing that character was to inflict some painful griefing upon newbies in newbie areas. Being SL1 meant I could PVP anywhere I wished and certain places would almost assure me instant invasions and easy humanity. Killing Gwyn would take me to the endgame and make me lose access to all areas for PvP, which would've been counterproductive. Incidentally, I got bored of ganking newbies which is why I then switched to SL120 PVP and dumped the SL1 char.

 

[made]

check this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku1ZBwB7Ghs

apparently sound is also fucked in the PC version but most people don't even notice. Easily fixed though here at least.

 

[damicore]

check this:

apparently sound is also fucked in the PC version but most people don't even notice. Easily fixed though here at least.

What do you mean by the sound being fucked? easily fixed through were exactly?

 

[made]

forgot the link. it's all in the vid, including instructions

 

[Manjuice Nutella]

damn I was supposed to uninstall this sadistic PoS, but I found myself strangely captivated by the gameplay and the subtlety of this dark, melancholic setting.

The difficulty is sometimes fun, but I found this game to be struggling with balance. It obviously struggles with magic/pyromancy, and I felt that sometimes the game resorted to cheap "lol we'll spam your way to the Boss with trivial but hard-hitting Trash Mobs, and respawn them after you die to troll you, that's hardcore/catharsis isn't it?" I've beaten Bell Gargoyles earlier today, which was impossible without in 2nd phase / trivial with that summon of Soltaire knight or whatever he was called from Undead Burg. I've also soloed all of Black Knights, and gotten myself nice set of Elite Knight Armor from Darkroot Garden. I found it also to be very similar to World of Warcraft in many aspects (dungeon clearing, gearing etc). Somehow, it was supposed to be a compliment.

Still so far Any suggestions on some kind of 1H sword? I'm using Broadsword +5, no drops from Black Knights.

 

[felipepepe]

apparently sound is also fucked in the PC version but most people don't even notice. Easily fixed though here at least.

Hum, some of the areas in the video sound better, while the others just introduce some weird heavy rain noise that makes no sense... anyway, just made the change here, will try it now.

I found it also to be very similar to World of Warcraft in many aspects (dungeon clearing, gearing etc).

What is this, I don't even....

Somehow, it was supposed to be a compliment.

...oh wait... what, I still don't...

 

[Manjuice Nutella]

I found it also to be very similar to World of Warcraft in many aspects (dungeon clearing, gearing etc).

What is this, I don't even....

Somehow, it was supposed to be a compliment.

...oh wait... what, I still don't...

I just find Dark Souls similar to dungeons/raids in WoW. The whole trash mob packs -> boss level design in which you have to adapt to different situations endangered by wipe, learn patterns of enemy attacks and counter their weaknesses with relevant tactics, and the joy of leveling, gearing up and overall watching your character getting more poweful to handle more difficult situations.