The Dark Souls Thread!

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Godsmack

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Sep 11, 2013
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This topic is all about Dark Souls and any game in the Souls series. This is a place to ask for help or advice or just to discuss your favorite souls games.

The souls series is renowned for its unforgiving difficulty, intense combat, outstanding creature/enemy design, and rewarding gameplay experience.

Feel free to discuss any of the following games:

Demon's Souls

For the PS3 only, this is the first game in the souls series. All levels are accessed via a central hub in the Nexus unlike Dark Souls which is open world. Although to be fair, once you get the Lordvessel in Dark Souls, you'll be warping back and forth anyway.

The game features some different movesets for weapons and a few different game mechanics.

Notable differences:

Soul form: health penalty, more stealthy, other subtle effects
Magic: pyromancy is part of magic, a magic stat is used in addition to intelligence
Faith weapons regenerate health
Grass is used to heal and can have 99 of each

I consider this game better than Dark Souls in a few ways. One, the multiplayer is a bit more fair and challenging. In Dark Souls, it usually boils down to poise-fests and lightning weapon spam. There is still some cheese to be had here, but overall I like it better.

I also think Demon's Souls had a bit more charm.

While I do find myself missing some of the Dark Souls improvements, Dark Souls will never replace Demon's Souls for me, and I will continue to play both.

Next up, the follow-up game:

Dark Souls:

The second souls game, Dark Souls, now makes its way to Xbox 360 and PC in addition to PS3. With new features and improvements, Dark Souls is basically a sequel to Demon's Souls whether they want to call it a sequel or not. The game does reuse some sounds and weapons from Demon's Souls with a few changes here or there.

So, call it a "spiritual successor" call it a "sequel," call it what you want. The main thing is, does it live up to the original? My answer is...YES!

It is by all means a worthy successor to Demon's Souls. Like I said, there were a few changes I didn't like, such as some things that can be exploited in PVP, but overall they added some nice changes.

New additions:

New weapons, armor, enemies, environments, and movesets
Can slide down ladders and jump while running
Plunging attack added
New "open world" design
Bonfires added to create sort of a checkpoint/rest area
Estus flasks replace grass and are always refilled at bonfires
New types of weapon upgrades
Covenants added
Armor poise
Soul form no longer gives health penalty

Things I wish they didn't add:

Elemental weapons are way too easy to exploit (though there were still fire weapons in Demon's Souls)
Pyromancy scales outside of character level (can be exploited in PVP)
Certain weapon moveset changes (I liked some of the movesets in Demon's Souls better)
Some weapon/item balance skewed (though some were fixed in patches)

Overall, both Dark Souls and the DLC are very well done and lead to some intense gaming sessions. It's nice to see a developer stay true to the game series and not dumb it down for casuals.

Dark Souls 2

The upcoming multi-platform game Dark Souls 2 looks to continue the pain and excitement of the souls series. Will it stay true to the series and become a worthy successor? So far, it looks to be that way!

I will not be posting much about Dark Souls 2 since I am trying to avoid spoilers and surprises. However, feel free to discuss the game if you hear anything worth posting. Please use spoiler tags if we have them.

I will edit this post to make it more in depth when I get more time.
 
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GS,
I read your post over at Teamxbox. I'm sure you'll be able to edit your initial post to your liking soon.

Well, I think I'm going to start up with a new character in Demon's Souls soon just like I said previously. Almost time to dive back in the the Souls series.
 
Cool, if you have any questions about fun builds or weapon choices, just let me know.

Crap, and I already see a typo where I said human form no longer gives health penalty when I meant soul form. Bleh! I hope the ability to edit old posts comes soon.
 
Hey man,

Don't forget to let everyone know you migrated. I think it's in the off topic lounge. I really hope this forum becomes a great place for us.
 
Sweet, we can edit now. I'll be updating the first post to make it more spiffy as time goes on. I'll have to call it a night soon.
 
I tried to like dark souls. I really did. I just raged so much. I beat a boss and I was no where near the requirements to wield the weapon. I lost all interest after that :(
 
Dark Souls is one of the best games of this generation, and one of my personal favourite games of all time!

I too will soon be joining Razor in the "New PS3 Owners Club" and can't wait to finally play me some Demon's Souls. It's going to be epic. I hear it's more linear, but I don't even mind that AT ALL. In fact I may even prefer it in some cases (I did feel there was a little too much inconvenient 'travel' and backtracking in Dark Souls). I've also heard that the combat isn't quite as good (??) . Either way, I'm excited to see all the new and different content the game has to offer. There's nothing quite like your first journey through a Souls game...
 
Dark Souls is one of the best games of this generation, and one of my personal favourite games of all time!

I too will soon be joining Razor in the "New PS3 Owners Club" and can't wait to finally play me some Demon's Souls. It's going to be epic. I hear it's more linear, but I don't even mind that AT ALL. In fact I may even prefer it in some cases (I did feel there was a little too much inconvenient 'travel' and backtracking in Dark Souls). I've also heard that the combat isn't quite as good (??) . Either way, I'm excited to see all the new and different content the game has to offer.

I wouldn't say Combat isn't as good. Dark Souls is just a little more refined. Which should be expected from a sequel.

As good as Dark Souls is, I think I prefer Demon souls.
 
I tried to like dark souls. I really did. I just raged so much. I beat a boss and I was no where near the requirements to wield the weapon. I lost all interest after that :(

Stave,

Do you still own the game? You are on the right place if you need help. If you can get by the initial learning curve and difficulty adjustment I bet you'll end up loving it.

Unless you are not a patient person. There really is nothing like the Soul's games.
 
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I tried to like dark souls. I really did. I just raged so much. I beat a boss and I was no where near the requirements to wield the weapon. I lost all interest after that :(

Well, the game is very long, and it you'll probably end up between level 60 and 100 by the time you beat it. This is plenty of time to get all the stats you need to use weapons. Not all weapons are meant to be used straight away. They might even be overpowered. Now, some weapons are mainly for certain builds. For example, a weapon that needs high strength would not be practical (or necessary) for a magic build. There's tons of stuff in the game, and some of it is designed for different builds. The game is meant to make use of multiple builds so you are not using the same weapons each time you play it.

I've also heard that the combat isn't quite as good (??) . Either way, I'm excited to see all the new and different content the game has to offer. There's nothing quite like your first journey through a Souls game...

I quite like the combat in Demon's Souls. I may even say I like it better in some ways.
 
I quite like the combat in Demon's Souls. I may even say I like it better in some ways.

Wow, awesome. If I end up liking Demon's even more than Dark (as if that's even metaphysically POSSIBLE), I'll bloody-well think I've died and gone to heaven! ... or hell, as the case may be :p
 
Stave,

Do you still own the game? You are on the right place if you need help. If you can get by the initial learning curve and difficulty adjustment I bet you'll end up loving it.

Unless you are not a patient person. There really is nothing like the Soul's games.

Nah just rented it for 2 weeks.
 
Wow, awesome. If I end up liking Demon's even more than Dark (as if that's even metaphysically POSSIBLE), I'll bloody-well think I've died and gone to heaven! ... or hell, as the case may be :p

The atmosphere in Demon's souls i especially enjoyed. I would suggest looking up the World and character tendencies before playing, its the one thing that really throws off new players.
 
Wow, awesome. If I end up liking Demon's even more than Dark (as if that's even metaphysically POSSIBLE), I'll bloody-well think I've died and gone to heaven! ... or hell, as the case may be :p

Yep, some of the movesets are different, so you may like some of them better. I like the halberds (and mirdan hammer) better in Demon's Souls. I just about beat the game easily two-handing halberds.

I like the great axe as well. Try a two-hand rolling r1 attack for some fun!

Also, dual wielding is viable now. With a dexterity weapon in your left hand (like katana, falchion, kilij, etc) you get a faster attack with your left hand weapon. It ties into some combos as well.
 
The atmosphere in Demon's souls i especially enjoyed. I would suggest looking up the World and character tendencies before playing, its the one thing that really throws off new players.

Yeah, it's a good idea to have a peek at the wiki to understand how the world tendency and stone upgrades work since it's all different from Dark Souls.
 
Good to see you Krause. Nice avatar btw.

I really liked playing the melee character in Dark Souls. What character class do you suggest for me again? I can't remember. And you can legitimately dual wield in Demon's Souls?
 
Stave,

Do you still own the game? You are on the right place if you need help. If you can get by the initial learning curve and difficulty adjustment I bet you'll end up loving it.

Unless you are not a patient person. There really is nothing like the Soul's games.

I had Demon Souls when it first came out, tried it, thought it was too hard so I sold it. I hesitated about getting Dark Souls because of that very reason but when the price went down I decided to give it a try and was so glad I did. Was tough in the beginning but once you figure out stuff it was a blast. Played the hell out of that game and then went and bought Demon Souls again and this time absolutely loved that too and wished I hadn't given up on it so quickly. Just loved them both!
 
I really liked playing the melee character in Dark Souls. What character class do you suggest for me again? I can't remember. And you can legitimately dual wield in Demon's Souls?

Hmm, as far as class goes, it depends on what kind of weapons you want. A lot of people dig the temple knight because of its good starting stats, equipment, and a free heal spell. You'll have to drop the chest plate to roll fast, but it can be replaced with leather armor later for mobility. Honestly, you don't need to roll that much at the start anyway.

Other classes are good too, feel free to make a quick character and fire up the tutorial for a test.

As far as dual wielding, as I said just make sure you get a "proper" weapon for you offhand. I don't have a list of weapons that work, but dexterity weapons all work (katana, scimitar, falchion, kilij, etc.). You'll know if it works if it has a fast attack. That's the whole reason to dual wield. The offhand attack is actually faster than the main attack.
 
Good to see you Krause. Nice avatar btw.

I really liked playing the melee character in Dark Souls. What character class do you suggest for me again? I can't remember. And you can legitimately dual wield in Demon's Souls?

Like Godsmack said, it really depends what weapon(s) you want to use.

I am a big fan of the pole weapons in Demon's Souls. I tend to use the Mirdan Hammer quite a bit and typically carry a fire weapon as well.
 
Sticky Long Compound Bow +5
Magic Sword "Makoto"
Offhand the Morion Blade (Across your back as the Bow is drawn)
Clever Rat Ring

45 Dexterity

Let HP drop below 30%, proceed to one hit everything in the entire game (Even on new game +++ I was able to drop the final boss in 9 shots). I used this toon during the 4-3 encounter. I had some very upset players, lol. Demon's Souls lets you become so much stronger than in Dark Souls.

Although [in Dark Souls] a 50 Strength build with a Large Club +15 can do upwards of 1000 damage. In PVP I hit a player in full Silver Knight Armor for 1200.. I think I had Power WIthin on though when I slapped him, lol. Roll Forward + R1 is an incredible fast attack for the hammer, recommended!
 
Yeaaa fresh Dark Souls thread! Even though the TXB thread was an epic source of info and experience there were so many pages to sift through.

Haven't played in a while was a bit turned off from blighttown. Just so hard to navigate and get through, once i get to the bonfire i should find it easier.
 
Yeaaa fresh Dark Souls thread! Even though the TXB thread was an epic source of info and experience there were so many pages to sift through.

Haven't played in a while was a bit turned off from blighttown. Just so hard to navigate and get through, once i get to the bonfire i should find it easier.

The sad thing is that I had a ton of lengthy tutorials in that thread, but they all got buried and never to be seen again...

As for Blighttown, just take your time. The biggest threat is getting overwhelmed by multiple enemies. Take them out one at a time if possible. Blow dart snipers to not respawn, so always try to get them out of the way (have some blooming purple moss to cure toxic). You'll need a decent weapon. At worst, I think a Drake sword will work, so at least aim for that. But depending on your build and weapons, you can do better. Pyromancy works as well.
 
epic fail, on my part, i didn't see this thread over here and created a thread in the xbox forum. *facepalm*

:eek:
 
The sad thing is that I had a ton of lengthy tutorials in that thread, but they all got buried and never to be seen again...

Can't you just copy+paste all those lengthy tutorials that you wrote? You might want to think about saving them to a Word document or something...
 
Can't you just copy+paste all those lengthy tutorials that you wrote? You might want to think about saving them to a Word document or something...

Well, the biggest issue is just digging through the 6,000 posts in that thread to find my worthwhile tutorials. They are really spread out, so it may be best to look at my post history or something, but even then, I'd have to sort through a bunch of smaller, less important comments to find the ones that I really wanted to save.
 
I need to get back into dark souls again - I was in the midst of a level 1 run, I think I was at Senn's Fortress when I got sidetracked.
 
Godsmack I started going back thru that thread looking for your posts & copying/pasting into a Word document. I swear you've got your own wiki in there. Yeah but like I bonehead I didn't just search by your posts. And Krause contributed a ton as well. You two guys are DS to me.

Good to see WLJ and Bullzeye migrated!!!
 
Cool, I don't know if there is anyway to attach files here. I'm still getting used to it. It would be handy. It's probably too much stuff to post directly into the thread.
 
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