Board 8 > Andy plays the Dark Souls of video games

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have never played a Fromsoft game before now despite all the hype, partially because whenever I've seen clips of them the combat looks slow and clunky and the worlds just look so grimy, and partially because I am simply not good at video games (especially action games [especially 3D action games]) and these have a reputation for being very difficult. But I have been curious how I'd find them and I've seen enough people rave about them (and Elden Ring in particular) that I decided to give one a go. But I'm starting with Dark Souls 1 on 360, because I bought it over a year ago and never got around to it, and because I like to do things in order (let's pretend Demon Souls doesn't exist).

I actually started playing this yesterday, not intending to make a playthrough topic, but I can see already that this is the kind of game where there's plenty to talk about. So here we go, catchup time!

*progressive spoilers will follow throughout the topic*

I picked the Wanderer class because it looked cool and I chose the Tiny Being Ring gift- I was tempted by the Master Key but I figured it's probably best for a beginner like me not to wander off the beaten path too much. The opening narrations were neat if vague, the premise alone was interesting enough to get me into the vibe of things right away. The asylum was a fine tutorial, my first death was due to me looking over the platform at the Asylum Demon below for too long, and it jumping up and smashing the platform and me with it. Well, that'll teach me. A few tries later I realised I missed one of the tutorial scratchings and learned to downward strike, then a giant crow carried me to the land of ancient lords, Lordren. Cool! Was Asgore from Undertale behind the naming system of this world?

I'm not really sure how the hollow/humanity/kindle system works yet, but I assume it'll make more sense to me as I go. The skybox of the main world already exceeded my aesthetic expectations for this game, so that's good. Skipping ahead somewhat, I spent a pretty long time getting through the Taurus Demon, eventually cheesing it by repeatedly climbing the ladder and dunking on it from above. I then tried to talk to the friendly dragon on the wall ahead of me before being swiftly reminded that this isn't that kind of game. I've shoved a sword through a hog's backside (ouch), rolled off of bridges, attempted to run away from mean looking enemies to de-aggro them (hasn't worked once yet >_>), ducked past a knight to get a defence ring, swore at the game several times, and most recently I was parried and insta-killed by an enemy. I didn't know they could do that!

That's the rough summary of where I'm up to, updates will be less rushed in future. Overall I'd say I'm having fun about half the time- the world itself is good, the NPCs are all surprisingly friendly, the level design seems nice and open, and the game is pretty intuitive in lots of ways. I like that each enemy has their own attack pattern to figure out. My main problem so far has been with the famous 'lose souls upon death' system. I'm familiar with this concept and have played and enjoyed games that borrowed this system (Hollow Knight chief among them), but idk it seems a little harsh here. I sometimes get into a good groove with the game, dying but learning and inching forward a little more each run, but then I'll get impatient/lazy and die twice before picking up my souls and humanity, and I'll just get really frustrated with the game/myself and start failing over and over.

Hopefully this is just a case of me getting used to how the game works- when I die a long way from a bonfire I try to rush back to where I was, but even the easy enemies here can catch you off guard if you're not focussing properly. Right now I've gotten a bit sick of redoing the same path, there's this skeleton dude under the bridge that is on a really narrow path and sometimes doesn't want to move off it and it gets me unreasonably annoyed. And occasionally I'll get poisoned by the giant rats which lasts an absurdly long time. I might try to go elsewhere for a bit, or maybe I should plow on, I've beaten the parrying enemy once before being promptly taken out by the regular enemy next to it >_>

Before starting this game I wondered if it maybe wasn't gonna be super hard and only got that reputation because it reached a wider audience than expected. Now I'm not so sure.

I think I'm entirely unspoiled on anything beyond this point now, all I knew of the game beforehand was Solaire being a meme and everybody hating Blighttown. So yeah, that's about everything! I'm eager to hear any thoughts about the game, tips or advice any of you have, just don't spoil anything for me pls. I don't like to drop games once I've started, so I'm pretty determined to see this through regardless of how hard it gets, but we shall see how it goes. I hope this will be an enjoyable experience for all!

The game is very flexible in how you play it, so even though someone might say "this weapon is op, you should use it," just know that the op thing is whatever feels best for you personally to use. Some weapons are obvious joke items, but other than that you should feel free to experiment with anything you come across.

Especially in the early game, offensive stats are a lot less meaningful than defensive ones. If you can carry a weapon, then your stats for it are fine.

Don't worry about losing souls too much. And just have fun with it, however you choose to do so.

You (mostly) stop caring about losing souls on death eventually. It still kinda sucks but you'll come to realize that an extra point in Dexterity or whatever means nothing compared to personal improvement.

Also, the #1 skill to learn is patience.

KamikazePotato posted...

You (mostly) stop caring about losing souls on death eventually

This and This:
KamikazePotato posted...

Also, the #1 skill to learn is patience.

Losing thousands of souls early on is definitely soul crushing, but then at some point you'll find yourself looking back wondering why you were so concerned about it. (because you could end up like me and lose millions of souls because you didn't realize a certain item drained your health even at a bonfire)

Patience is key for basically anything in the Souls game. It'll be tempting to try to finish off a boss with only a few hits left but you could die in an instant by being greedy.

Don't be afraid to put the game down for a bit too if you aren't into it right away. Plenty of stories (me included) of people who just couldn't get into it, gave up, and then came back later and it clicked together.

It took me over a year to finally get past the first area and it has become my favorite game of all time. It's just very easy to bounce off it due to frustration, but persevere!

KamikazePotato posted...

You (mostly) stop caring about losing souls on death eventually. It still kinda sucks but you'll come to realize that an extra point in Dexterity or whatever means nothing compared to personal improvement.

Also weapon upgrades. If you feel you aren't doing enough damage, it isn't because of your stats, but your weapon level.

Patience is definitely most important though, I will agree. 90% of my deaths are from getting too careless or impulsive -- can't tell you how many times I've fallen to a boss when only one attack away from defeating it -- don't get greedy. The other 10% are from not minding my footing.

Stupid gravity.

Thanks for all the tips! I'm trying to focus on defence and uh, patience. Good life skill too >_>

I took my time today and started taking more notice of how the world maps out, it's clear that everything fits together neatly so I was hoping to use that to figure out where to go next. I was half tempted to start actually drawing out a map myself lol. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, not rushing ahead and not getting too frustrated when things went south, until my controller's battery died and the lack of pause screen meant I had to sit and watch my dude die with a full stock of 10 potions unused :( How cruel. I don't get why there's no pause button tbh, I'm not even playing online!

But I persevered and stole a fire blessing from a black knight, and later managed to go back and actually kill the thing (I wound up leading it down the staircase and it seemed to not want to go past the castle gates, so that made things easy). Down the elevator we wound up back at Firelink Shrine, yay! No more Undead Burg shrine for us! I took a proper look around this time and found a mute woman behind a gate (who powered up my potion), and another elevator at the bottom which led to a strange area with many ghosts and not so many frames per second. I don't know why I expected hitting the ghosts with a sword to work. Something to note for another time.

Back up top, I beat an intimidating looking summoner thing and freed a knight from a cell. He promised me a reward then started talking about going back to work and chuckled maniacally. What a nice man! Through some more white mist we found ourselves on the roof in a fight against a Bell Gargoyle. Unlike the previous boss fights I played this one defensively, dodging whenever possible and trying to learn its attack patterns. Again I was feeling pretty proud of myself and even considered the notion that I might beat it first try. Ha ha ha. Then another gargoyle joined the fray and I panicked and died. I don't know if that was time based or health based, but there's like six other gargoyles around the roof and I now assume/dread that I will have to face them all D: Not today!

I'm trying not to worry too much about the lost souls and tbh it is pretty freeing, it's allowing me to experiment with different combat strats and explore more when I feel like it. But it is still annoying to lose several thousand souls due to a silly mistake. I'm a bit worried about this boss fight, partially because the path up there is already a bit annoying (the parry/counter enemies still trip me up). But I'll see what tomorrow brings! I definitely felt a bit more comfortable with the world today, but I definitely feel like I still haven't 'cracked' the combat.

One of my favorite things about Dark Souls is the way its world is designed. It obviously has some faults in some sections/areas later on, but the way everything is connected and keeps you in a linear path while still allowing you to really branch off and do things in a completely random order is great. It's a great use of natural blockades. You aren't blocked by a giant boulder blocking a path, or y'know other video gamey stuff. You are usually only blocked(sans needing keys for things) by the enemies themselves and whether are not you are good/strong enough to get past them. It's really fantastically designed.

Bell Gargoyles is the first true test! But don't be afraid to use summons. You'll need to restore your humanity at a bonfire and a sign will show up around boss doors that you can summon. Either NPC's or actual human players. Some Souls fans like to clown on people who use summons, but fuck that noise. Enjoy the game how you want to!

Also, I know you don't want spoilers so I'll keep this as more of a tip, but feel free to upgrade your weapons as much as you want early on - its really only toward the late game that you'll want to pick a weapon and commit to it since later upgrading items are rarer (and you can buy the low level materials pretty easily at a certain point). Won't say anything else but this tip might be useful soon!

Also, the NPCs in this game have very vague questlines you can lock yourself out of advancing if you miss a step. None are super important but I'm sure their are some kind of spoiler free guides if that's your thing.

i was playing it on PC for the first time earlier this year but stopped coz all the online servers went down.
Was enjoying it, lived up to the hype asides from that goat with the dogs.

malyg posted...

i was playing it on PC for the first time earlier this year but stopped coz all the online servers went down.
Was enjoying it, lived up to the hype asides from that goat with the dogs.

Here you go. Spoilers I guess andy
https://images.app.goo.gl/TkeVPUcTkHweodDF9

Update from yesterday: I spent a long time banging my head against a wall with the Gargoyles. I could get the first down to half health in my sleep, but as soon as the fire showed up it became impossible- I'd either get aggressive and be burned while getting a hit in, or play it defensively and never get a hit at all because one was always breathing fire through the other one towards me >_> I got a tail axe but wasn't strong enough to wield it properly. Despite Sorozone's advice, I really wanted to get through this without using a summon, if only to boost my confidence going forward. But I was getting nowhere, so I just started murdering random skeletons around the church.

...Then I noticed a path I had somehow entirely missed before, which led me to a blacksmith! I had barely any souls to upgrade with so I took a look around the area- one path led to a dead end gate with a friendly helmeted guy who was also stuck, the other led to a big monster with some limbs missing. I wasn't strong enough to take it out (I can hit it well enough but it has a lot of health), so I just ran past it and entered Darkroot Garden. There were some easy tree enemies here to fill my souls up. One path led down the basin to some frosty golems, another to a mean knight, and another eventually led to a glowing door and some creature that appeared to cast Slow on me. I got what I came for so I ran away from all of these back to the smith, and spent my Titanite Shards to upgrade my sword as much as I could.

And wouldn't you know it, my damage output doubled and the Gargoyles went down in no time at all! And there were only two of them in the end, hooray! Not only that, but we got 10k souls and rang one of the two bells. I guess that isn't going to be a game-long quest like I first thought lol. I raced back to Firelink to heal and save, and that's where I left things. I don't know where to go next- treeland seems like it's maybe the natural way forward, but the dude by the fire has told me the second bell is down in Blighttown, so that's probably pushing me towards ghostland (but I can't hit the ghosts). I also have a key to the basement in Undead Burg but I haven't found a door that fits it. Decisions, decisions!

Sorozone posted...

One of my favorite things about Dark Souls is the way its world is designed. It obviously has some faults in some sections/areas later on, but the way everything is connected and keeps you in a linear path while still allowing you to really branch off and do things in a completely random order is great. It's a great use of natural blockades. You aren't blocked by a giant boulder blocking a path, or y'know other video gamey stuff. You are usually only blocked(sans needing keys for things) by the enemies themselves and whether are not you are good/strong enough to get past them. It's really fantastically designed.

Yeah this is great, despite my frustrations with the combat (or more accurately my lack of skill at the combat) I really appreciate the world design so far. If the game gets too tough this'll be a good incentive for me to keep going, before starting I wasn't aware how much there was to this game beyond the combat. I'm coming around on the item/equipment systems too now, seeing how useful they can be. And I should pay more attention to the lore and the names of the NPCs, I enjoy the worldbuilding but most of my mind has been too focussed on the battling so far.

Aecioo posted...

feel free to upgrade your weapons as much as you want early on - its really only toward the late game that you'll want to pick a weapon and commit to it since later upgrading items are rarer (and you can buy the low level materials pretty easily at a certain point). Won't say anything else but this tip might be useful soon!

This was useful advice indeed, probably sooner than you expected >_>
Aecioo posted...

Also, the NPCs in this game have very vague questlines you can lock yourself out of advancing if you miss a step. None are super important but I'm sure their are some kind of spoiler free guides if that's your thing.

This is the kind of thing I would usually look up but I'm trying to not be so anal about this stuff in games these days, so I'll let things go as they go! I expect freeing that laughing knight in the cell may have negative repercussions, but *shrug*. The NPCs have all been remarkably friendly so far considering how dire the world is, they're full of laughter!

Random q, no need to answer if it's spoily: what is the deal with the white mist? I thought it indicated a boss gate but half the time it just... doesn't. Is this some weird disguised loading screen or is there actually a reason for it?

Glad you're enjoying the exploration, it's honestly what makes this particular entry one of my favorites. Finding new areas and shortcuts is just so rewarding. It's honestly really good that you're avoiding spoilers for that very reason too.

andylt posted...

Random q, no need to answer if it's spoily: what is the deal with the white mist? I thought it indicated a boss gate but half the time it just... doesn't. Is this some weird disguised loading screen or is there actually a reason for it?

For the most part it is a boss gate, but I think the ones in the levels are used as barriers for PVP.

andylt posted...

This was useful advice indeed, probably sooner than you expected >_>

Nah, I knew what I was doing. Was hoping you'd run into him before bashing your head against the gargoyles some more.

Fog gates are normally bosses but it's also some clever loading screens and also used to create some anticipation when you move from one big area to the next

Also one more tip, but always read item descriptions, especially keys or unique items you find along the way. That can help point you in the right direction if you ever get lost.

There's an "easy" way to beat the gargoyles, but it's tedious and doesn't really pay dividends in the long run. (No plot spoilers) Remember that dragon on the bridge? You can shoot its tail with like a million arrows until it breaks and gives you a badass sword. But the sword stops being useful very soon after the gargoyle fight. Probably for the best that you figured out your own way to beat them!

andylt posted...

everybody hating Blighttown.

I liked Blighttown! I played on the Switch where there's little-to-no slowdown though

Yeha Blightown is totally fine. Dont get me wrong, due to its design the severe fps drops definitely would hamper anyones experience and would likely lead to deaths that normally probably wouldnt occur.

I think its the best of its type of level in all of soulsbourne games tbh.

Tag

Tag

I played DS for the first time earlier this year and I loved it. It did take me time to get used to it though. I actually ended up restarting after like the 5th major boss just because I didn't really "get" how to play the game well until then and wanted a redo. It was worth it; my new character was stronger and I ended up back where I had left off much faster than it took me the first time.

Congrats on defeating the gargoyles your way. Upgrading weapons is super strong and you get plenty of materials to do it regularly. Dark souls wants you to succeed!

andylt posted...

Random q, no need to answer if it's spoily: what is the deal with the white mist? I thought it indicated a boss gate but half the time it just... doesn't. Is this some weird disguised loading screen or is there actually a reason for it?

They usually indicate bosses, but I think some of the times they're there for no reason just to psyche you out. That feeling of apprehension and tenseness when you see one come up is something not many games can give you.

Ha, thanks for all the answers, I like that everybody offered a different explanation for the gates.

Aecioo posted...

Nah, I knew what I was doing. Was hoping you'd run into him before bashing your head against the gargoyles some more.

It is much appreciated!

First up today I head back into Darkroot with my shiny upgraded weapon. I carve through the trees without a problem (one of them even jumps off a cliff, glad it's not just me that does that), and I take out one of the time manipulating things and get a Stone Greatsword. Through some white mist we find our next boss, though it's pretty different from the ones we've seen up until now. Instead of some beastly monstrosity, it's an elegant, beautiful Moonlight Butterfly with some haunting vocals behind it. The atmosphere for this is great, it's a shame I'm incapable of long range attacks >_> I have no magic yet, a crossbow but no bolts, and arrows but no bow. Ah well, another time! (I checked later on and I actually did pick up a Longbow at some point without realising, so I may go back to this tomorrow)

I check down the basin next, and somehow I had previously missed the giant 8 headed dragon sat in the lake firing beams of something or other at me. Welp! It's not even a boss, but I know when I'm outmatched. See you another day, Darkroot!

Aecioo posted...

Also one more tip, but always read item descriptions, especially keys or unique items you find along the way. That can help point you in the right direction if you ever get lost.

Unsure what to do next, I reread this post. Initially I thought you were referring to the basement key for Undead Burg. But I scanned through all my items and sure enough, the Transient Curse told me how to hit the ghosts in New Londo. Into the depths we go!

OK, these ghosts are very annoying. They come out of the walls, float up and sink down whenever they feel like it, have ridiculous range, and there's so many of them! Worst of all, the Transient Curses are limited. I ran out of the first two I had and spent many attempts down there looking for some more before finding a couple in a barrel. The ghosts drop them but it's at a very inconsistent rate, and I'm burning through at least one each trip down there so it's a constant worry.

Right now I'm pretty stuck in a large building with multiple floors. I think the way forward is up the ladder in the middle but there's no way I can climb it without killing the ghosts beforehand, and I can't lead the ghosts out of the building and pick them off one by one because it involves climbing a staircase and they're really unreliable when I'm moving between heights. I'd experiment running around a bit first but as said I'm limited with the curses. I'll have a think on this.

Other things of note today: I found a blacksmith down below. Golden Knight has made his way to Firelink and gave me a way to summon him, I guess he's just a harmless sweetheart with a creepy laugh. (I don't think I'd mentioned previously but Solaire has given me a summon too a while back) I heard some snoring in the water area of Firelink but couldn't find the source. I purchased some key items from the first smith, and saw that for 20k souls I can open that door in the forest. Not gonna try for that yet though!

A question for today: how important is weight? I've been finding a bunch of armour and stuff but it's all heavier than my regular gear, does it slow down attacks as well as rolls? I should probably just experiment and see what feels best I guess >_>

Kenri posted...

There's an "easy" way to beat the gargoyles, but it's tedious and doesn't really pay dividends in the long run. (No plot spoilers) Remember that dragon on the bridge? You can shoot its tail with like a million arrows until it breaks and gives you a badass sword. But the sword stops being useful very soon after the gargoyle fight. Probably for the best that you figured out your own way to beat them!

That's pretty cool, props to whoever figured this out legitimately. It's almost a shame that this kind of info is so readily available, ruins the mystique in a way lol.

>.>

Personally I like rolling and dodging so I prefer light loads. You can definitely create a tank character if you want though.

I dont believe it affects weapon speed. Just rolls.

Yeah I like speedy lightweight stuff, but every piece of armour I find is heavier than the default wanderer gear lol.

Aecioo posted...

>.>

I'm sure I will feel very silly once I figure out what this is referring to!

There are artificial caps on your light/med/fat roll. I think in original dark souls your weight changes from green/yellow/red to indicate when you get to the next tier, so you can in theory equip heavier armor and still be fast as long as you are under the cap. You can also spend levels to increase your total weight limit which in turns raises those caps

The color change might only be in later souls games I dunno the mechanics all blend together

Yeah the fast roll experience is keeping your starting rags on for a loooong time in these games.

Though IIRC in Dark Souls 1, the same stat that increases your equip load also raises your stamina meter. So you will get value out of buffing that.

Speaking of stats I haven't seen it mentioned but don't level up Resistance. It's a trap. (I don't think it's an intentional trap, but it's just very bad)

Your Equip weight determines your movement speed (both walking and running), how long your dodge roll takes, how many invincibility frames your dodge roll has, and how fast your stamina recharges.

There are three speeds. If your Equip Weight is less than 25% of the maximum you'll have Fast speed. If it's between 25% and 50% you'll have Medium speed. If it's over 50% you'll have Slow speed.

Having lighter weight makes it a lot easier to outright dodge enemy attacks with rolls and strafing. Having heavy weight doesn't provide any real benefits on its own, but aside from having higher defenses, most heavy armors have high "Poise" stats, which works like Super Armor; preventing you from flinching when hit. Most heavy weapons deal high Poise damage, staggering enemies when you hit them.

While the way you fight will change significantly depending on whether you go light or heavy, I would say neither is better than the other, it just depends on your play style. I'd say try out both to see what feels better for you. The only recommendation I have is try to do one or the other. Medium weight never felt great to me, you don't feel as fast or as sturdy to make it worthwhile. But play what feels best for you.

EDIT: Also, to make it clearer, because these systems are tied to stats, it doesn't always need to be an "either or" situation. If you're very clever with your build you can make a character who can equip heavy, high Poise items while still being lightweight. This is the mentality behind the memetic "Giant Dad" build; where you could essentially shrug off any attack while still being fast as hell.

The thing with souls is there are 2 modes of gameplay that you're usually in. Progress, and grinding. If you're progressing in the world, then souls don't matter at all, so you don't need to worry about losing them. If you're grinding then souls are all that matters. So you can play it safe near a bonfire and there's basically no way to lose your stash. But if you try to progress and grind at the same time, you'll probably get disappointed.

andylt posted...

Is this some weird disguised loading screen

Yes

andylt posted...

I assume it'll make more sense to me as I go

lol

I'm by no means good at DS but I think I went heavy armor all game and just made sure to stay a hair under the heavy threshold (which felt to me more like a penalty for being overencumbered than a legit option). Lots of people will disagree but I never felt like I got any real advantage out of trying to stay lightweight.

The moral of the story is, yes, just try things and figure out what works for your play style lol

Kenri posted...

but I never felt like I got any real advantage out of trying to stay lightweight.

I would say the exact opposite of this after having played all 7 Souls games multiple times. The amount of damage you negate with heavy armor in Souls games pales in comparison to using light armor which gives you faster rolls and more iframes and faster stamina regen which is really understated yet makes a difference between night and day against bosses that are relentless. The sooner you learn this the better.

Dark souls 1 is by far the most accepting of a pure tank build, but you need to commit.

I dunno, I always play light or medium weight roll-based defense, but I have friends who always go heavy. They still get the iframes from rolling, they just can't spam it. And they do just as well or better than me in DS3 and ER at least. These games are pretty damn balanced. They make you feel like your build is the only viable one.

Dark Souls 1 on release had Havel's + Wood Grain Ring which was the most broken build in the series' history, and it was technically a tank build!

Peace___Frog posted...

Dark souls 1 is by far the most accepting of a pure tank build

This is true. There's even a boss in this game where the cheese strategy is tanking all its attacks.

But the following games gradually get less lenient. To the point where being over encumbered for sure is a huge hindrance. Learning to effectively dodge roll or even just using a shield are generally the better tactics. That said, I always go with medium load since fashion souls is most important and rolling is still plenty fast enough.

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

I would say the exact opposite of this after having played all 7 Souls games multiple times. The amount of damage you negate with heavy armor in Souls games pales in comparison to using light armor which gives you faster rolls and more iframes and faster stamina regen which is really understated yet makes a difference between night and day against bosses that are relentless. The sooner you learn this the better.

I mean I'll preface again by saying I'm definitely not good at DS (and that I'm only talking about DS1 here) and that many, many people disagree with me, but again -- my personal experience was that I could not take advantage of the faster rolls and extra iframes from being lightweight. It didn't help me avoid attacks I had trouble avoiding. But hulking up in the heaviest armor I could get while staying just barely under heavyweight at least gave me a few extra hits. *shrug*

KamikazePotato posted...

Dark Souls 1 on release had Havel's + Wood Grain Ring which was the most broken build in the series' history, and it was technically a tank build!

Ohhh yeah I was definitely using Havel's Ring lol

My experience when I first played was that I didn't realize there were multiple speeds and thought there was just being regular weight and "burdened", so I stayed at Medium weight for a long time. Most of the times when I tried to roll through attacks I'd get hit, and at the time I just assumed that Dark Souls simply had a really strict timing window for that. When I found out there was a Lightweight roll, I tried it out and it made a world of difference. Possibly because I had a lot of experience playing Monster Hunter, but having those extra i-frames made it much easier to get through the game by dodge rolling through attacks. The downside to this playstyle is that without Poise you can get stunlocked to death by big groups of enemies, but I usually had enough HP to take two or three hits even in Light Armor which was enough to escape from a hit and heal if I could (I think leveling HP can carry you a lot even with low defenses).

One other thing to mention is that a part of "tanking" attacks and having good defenses is having a sturdy shield to block attacks. The Stability stat on shields determines how well you can shrug off blocking attacks and heavy shields will use less Stamina on blocking and have higher damage mitigation. Of course, there are shields in the game that have high stats in those areas while still being lighter than other heavy shields, so pay attention to your equipment stats. The weapons and armor in Dark Souls don't increase in quality linearly as you progress through the game and find them like in most RPGs; they all have distinct properties that are unique from each other that you'll want to pay attention to when deciding what to use. Even equipment found at the very beginning of the game can be used all the way to the endgame since it's about their stat spreads rather than them continually increasing in "strength". So pay attention to their stats and use whatever fits the gameplay style you want to use.

I've always found medium rolling is best for newcomers. It's a good way to learn the mechanics while giving yourself enough defenses to tank a couple of hits, especially from mobs.

Fast rolling becomes a lot more useful once you know boss patterns and have a better understanding of what to expect from Souls games.

Wow thanks for all the tips! I've checked my weight, and I'm at 20/58 capacity. It's easiest for me to stay at medium for now, I'd have to take off a bit more than I'm comfortable with to reach the 25% threshold. It seems that reinforcing weapons/armour doesn't affect their weight, so I'll just have to hope for some light loot somewhere! FWIW I spend more time blocking (with the Knight's Shield) than rolling, but I will try to find a safe-ish space to experiment with the different weights.

Grand_Kirby posted...

The Stability stat on shields determines how well you can shrug off blocking attacks and heavy shields will use less Stamina on blocking and have higher damage mitigation

I hadn't even noticed 'stability' lol (or poise). This game has too many sets of numbers, how am I supposed to know which ones are important!!

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

Speaking of stats I haven't seen it mentioned but don't level up Resistance. It's a trap. (I don't think it's an intentional trap, but it's just very bad)

Oops, I have been putting points into Res. It was mentioned earlier that I should focus more on defence than offence at this point, and I thought that was the right place to put it >_> But no more! I have been boosting Endurance too though.

foolm0r0n posted...

The thing with souls is there are 2 modes of gameplay that you're usually in. Progress, and grinding. If you're progressing in the world, then souls don't matter at all, so you don't need to worry about losing them. If you're grinding then souls are all that matters. So you can play it safe near a bonfire and there's basically no way to lose your stash. But if you try to progress and grind at the same time, you'll probably get disappointed.

This is a good way of framing things, thanks. I am realising that gaining souls really isn't too difficult at this level.

Anyway, today's update! We start things off in Ghosttown, and eventually manage to kill every ghost in that massive building (church?) by luring them out a handful at a time. It took some time and I had the Transient Curse run out at a very inopportune moment, but luck was on my side for once. Phew. I collect all the items in, on and around this place, and climb the ladder to the rooftop where I see a really cool Yojimbo-looking dude with an ill-fitting voice. This is Ingward, guardian of the seal (or some title similar to that, I forgot to write it down). Ingward provides some lore, and offers to sell us a curse breaking thing and some Transient Curses. And... that's it. What?? Was this not the way forward? Oh dear, is that why Aecioo made that face >_>

I spend far too long running around here, really hoping to find the answer to progress. There's a reflection of some white mist underneath the water somewhere, but I can't get to the equivalent door above ground. There's a couple of contraptions that don't work and a locked door I don't have the key for, and after looking everywhere I take a risk and jump into a circular hole with water at the bottom, hoping that's the way. It is not. Welp. I was told the second bell was down below and the guy at Firelink specifically directed me to New Londo in a very unsubtle manner, so I'm sure this is the place to be. I must have missed something, it is very dark after all, but I don't feel like going back and doing all that again right now so I leave it for the day. You win this time, ghosts.

For a change of scenery I head back to try Moonlight Butterfly with my new Longbow. Unfortunately I can't use the shield and bow at the same time, and I'm not adept enough with the shooting yet to quickly back out in time to dodge its attacks. Another fail for the day, after dying I experiment a bit and see that the crossbow works one-handed, so I stock up on bolts after gaining souls later on. You will also have to wait another day, butterfly!

Finally, I scour my unique items again thinking maybe that's what Aecioo was making that face about, and realise that the key to Undead Burg gives me explicit directions to the door to use. Lol, oops. We head down and are honestly pretty overleveled for the thieves and dogs here. It's kind of nice to be OP for once. We unlock a couple of gates (I continue to be really impressed seeing how everything connects to everything else), and find a self-described unhollow saleswoman who also wants to sell us Transient Curses (and mosses, which I'm stocked up on thanks to the trees in the garden). Every NPC in this game so far has been very friendly, and almost all of them have a bizarre laugh.

I try the Capra Demon here once and get jumped by its dogs. This will also have to wait til tomorrow, but tbh this one seems pretty doable. If the dogs are finite, it should be easy. If not... well, let's hope they are.

Capra Demon dogs are finite.

It's also the second-most reviled boss in DS1, so if you can get past it you'll be good on that front for a while.

I didn't find the Capra Demon terribly difficult but I might have just gotten lucky.

Capra Demon isn't the toughest per se but it's really frustrating for some people. I was one of them. Dogs have been the bane of my Souls existence from Demon Souls up to and including Elden Ring.

Elden ring dogs had to be nerfed and they're still too strong

Resident Evil dogs are always a huge pain. Have dogs ever not been annoying enemies in video games?

Yeah my face was to you going to ghost village and not reading the key, lol. I'm trying to be vague and I felt bad that was how you took my tip lol.

Also feel free to now look at the gif I posted post 11, it's a Capra demon meme.

By the way, sorry for misguiding you with the "defense" comment. I honestly forgot that resistance was even a thing. I had hp and armor sets in mind.

No worries at all! Without your advice I'd still be pummeling points into attack >_>

Aecioo posted...

Also feel free to now look at the gif I posted post 11, it's a Capra demon meme.

lol. I appreciate you being vague with your hints btw, that one was on me.

I know shielding and dodging are the two most effective methods of defending against enemies and bosses but strafing is hugely overlooked especially during your first souls experience. The amount of attacks that you can simply avoid by strafing left or right (depending on the enemy) can be a game changer. And dodging is most complimentary when used with strafing in those games.

I got through the main game my first time around without knowing any of this and I struggled a lot with bosses that I can practically kill in my sleep now. And Dark Souls wasn't even my first Souls experience, it was Demon's Souls. The DLC really taught me how to use those mechanics in your favor and if you wanna struggle less, I suggest you experiment with those.

Resistance STAT is a trap. Resistance on ARMOR/SHIELDS is way more important.

Actually, is Resistance ever *not* a trap in FromSoft? Asking as someone who could've really used more Magic Resist in 2.

Shield up as soon as the fight starts against Capra Demon. Dodge rolls aren't reliable because you have to deal with 3 hit boxes there. After shielding the initial onslaught, run up the stairs and try to kill one of the dogs. Drop back down, Capra and the other dog will be likely separated. Use the stairs again to your advantage. Kill off the other dog. And there you have him one on one. Also remember that drop attacks from higher ground deal a ton of damage to enemies.