LogFAQs > #931441550

Shields are OP. hide like a coward behind one is too legit of a strategy. Related, you may want to look into the defensive rating of various shields. If you find one with a reduction of 100 on physical attacks you don't take any damage from blocking (assuming the damage is physical in nature of course.) Personally I looked to keep such a shield as my primary because it lets you not worry about taking some scratch damage even as you block. OTOH, when on offense, it's good to switch to two handing for the extra damage and then swapping back to one hand/shield when you're going to have to be defending. Sounds obvious, but yeah.

The amount of weight you have equipped affects your movement and dodge animations beyond the obvious overencumberance. There are breakpoints at 25% and 50% IIRC. I tried to stay under 25% personally for the faster movement and fastest dodge but going into the 25-50 range happened from time to time and was fine. But this goes into your playstyle and if you prefer heavier armor/weapons then by all means do it.

Upgrading your weapons is massive. If you just arrived at the church then you're right next to a blacksmith if you haven't seen him yet. A straight run from the Firelink elevator through the church should bring you to a building with him in it. Upgrading weapons is way more significant than levels IMO so if you ever feel stuck (you're also next to perhaps my most hated boss of the game, I played Dark Souls a few months ago) and upgrading played a key role in my finally winning. (There's another blacksmith you should be able to get to as well but since you're already at the church may as well use this dude, he's in a convenient location going forward.)

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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?