Dark Souls is on Steam

[chameleoneel]

page after page, someone volunteers specific information about how to get that or beat that or go there etc. After someone else posted about some frustration. Not asking for specific help, just commenting about the game.



Guys, half the fun in this game is figuring this stuff out. Stop giving the experience away, especially when people are not asking for it.

*Many situations in this game have more than one solution. Some of them are more work than others. Some of them require a lot more preparation. All of it requires paying attention. Learning from each encounter. Playing with your skills and movements. Learn their timings, learn their reach. Not everything needs to be blocked with a shield, etc etc.

I don't have a problem with the style of game (i.e., challenging combat, etc.) and I'm not expecting it to be Skyrim, but the controls just felt sluggish to me and I felt like while I was fighting the first "boss", I was fighting the controls more than anything. Maybe you're supposed to feel slow and crappy at first but it's not a great way to introduce your game other than by saying "you are going to be constantly frustrated playing this game".

The controls are not bad. They are actually pretty straightforward and quite well mapped for controller. Yet there are some interesting subtleties, such as ripostes, whiff counters, back stabs, execution times, movesets, etc.

Yes, it feels "slow" and weighed down. That's the way it is. You don't move at the flick of your imagination like in many other games. You don't regenerate health. You cannot spam a move over and over or combo the hell out of something and then parkour away. You grit your teeth and push forward, into whatever awaits. You tread lightly and limit encounter as much as possible. You pay attention and you figure out your "windows" of opportunity. whether its to block, dodge/roll, attack, heal, etc.

As for the "hand-holding"...again, I'm not saying it should be Skyrim, but this is basically the polar opposite in terms of user friendliness, and not necessarily in a good way IMO. For instance, when I got to the first area after the "starter" area, I had new options at the fire pits and none of them were explained in any sort of way. Sure, I can go on the Internet and look it up, but I shouldn't have to do that.

Its true, one of the most important flaws with the Souls games is that they barely teach you how to utilize your basic controls/movesets and certain gameplay features important to game progression. Its a known problem, echoed in the community. In interviews so far, Dark Souls 2 seems to be making efforts to fix these shortcomings. Demon's Souls actually did a better job than Dark Souls did, with teaching you basic gameplay mechanics. Dark Souls doesn't try so hard to hide away its upgrade system, like Demon's Souls did. But its still unexplained and complex enough that many players probably wouldn't get the fullest use of it all.

It's debatable on exactly how much those sorts of things should be explained. But again, it is a basic, known and admitted problem.

 

[jiminator]

The main problem I see with the game is that it takes a long time to get to the bosses, and many of them can instakill you until you figure them out. The distance from bonfire serves no real purpose. You can easily run past all the enemies, but some, like artorius, 2 minute run, 5 seconds and you are dead. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I'd rather that if you die, you spawn outside the boss gate,. from which you can either retry or homeward bone. You should be safe until you move away, and that will aggro any nearby enemies. You can beat the bosses with finesse, but many people do not because it is easier to have vitality across the screen and tank them.

 

[polonyc2]

replaying the game for the 2nd time (not NG+, just another 'new' game) and I was easily able to dispatch Havel right from the beginning with just my Zwiehander and no armor...so the primary difficulty with this game is the initial playthrough...I'm sure NG+ games are difficult but not as killer hard as the first time through

** it still took me multiple tries to get by Capra Demon...that guy's a total PITA...even if you do everything correctly the chances of getting blocked in by the dogs is crazy high before making it to the stairs...in my opinion he's the only cheap boss in the game as it requires a bit of luck as well as skill

 

[MavericK]

The controls are not bad. They are actually pretty straightforward and quite well mapped for controller. Yet there are some interesting subtleties, such as ripostes, whiff counters, back stabs, execution times, movesets, etc.

Yes, it feels "slow" and weighed down. That's the way it is. You don't move at the flick of your imagination like in many other games. You don't regenerate health. You cannot spam a move over and over or combo the hell out of something and then parkour away. You grit your teeth and push forward, into whatever awaits. You tread lightly and limit encounter as much as possible. You pay attention and you figure out your "windows" of opportunity. whether its to block, dodge/roll, attack, heal, etc.

Fair enough, I guess. To me personally it feels clunky, but if it "is the way it is" then that's how it is...I don't have to like it.

Its true, one of the most important flaws with the Souls games is that they barely teach you how to utilize your basic controls/movesets and certain gameplay features important to game progression. Its a known problem, echoed in the community. In interviews so far, Dark Souls 2 seems to be making efforts to fix these shortcomings. Demon's Souls actually did a better job than Dark Souls did, with teaching you basic gameplay mechanics. Dark Souls doesn't try so hard to hide away its upgrade system, like Demon's Souls did. But its still unexplained and complex enough that many players probably wouldn't get the fullest use of it all.

It's debatable on exactly how much those sorts of things should be explained. But again, it is a basic, known and admitted problem.

Glad to hear, because based on some of the posters in here you'd think the game was flawless. To me this is a huge glaring flaw, hopefully one that Dark Souls 2 will improve upon as you said.

There are definitely some cool things in the game, like:

Spoiler: game

I was running around just beyond the starting area after the "tutorial", and came across this massive dragon corpse...I went up to loot near it and HOLY FUCK IT'S ALIVE, RUN LIKE HELL

But a lot of the time I felt like I was running around aimlessly with no idea what I was doing or how I was supposed to progress. You spend a lot of time going to areas, encountering new enemies that kill you instantly, and then having to backtrack ALL THE WAY BACK to recover your souls. To me that is not a whole lot of fun, but maybe others feel differently. If the game was just a smidge more guided I think I could deal with it, but as is you are thrown in with virtually no idea where you are supposed to head or what you're supposed to be doing.

 

[polonyc2]

Glad to hear, because based on some of the posters in here you'd think the game was flawless. To me this is a huge glaring flaw, hopefully one that Dark Souls 2 will improve upon as you said.

I think most people readily admit the game's flaws...mainly the fact that it was a straight port...graphics are not up to today's standards and the controls are clunky...but that being said the gameplay is one of the best ever...easily on my Top 10 games of all time

 

[stevedave]

Why are the controls clunky?
Why are the bonfires far from the bosses?
Why doesn't the game explain how to play it?
ect....

Because fuck you that's why.

 

[CreganTur]

^ Dark Souls logic.

 

[Domingo]

Disregarding the port - I just think the game could do a better job of explaining pretty much everything. They seem to have intentionally wanted you to play using trial and error and I think that too often that just comes down to a lot of wasted time and effort. I still think the plot borders on a drug induced hallucination as well.
Still, I do enjoy the gameplay. I think it feel slow to some people just because compared to most other games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden it is.

 

[Ed Lin]

I still think the plot borders on a drug induced hallucination as well.

Funny you should say that. The first several nights of playing this game, I don't want to say I had nightmares but close to it. Weirdest experience. The way the game looks, the repetition, the dead consistently coming back to life, the dialog -- it does seem like someone's nightmare in game format or some kind of drug induced hallucination.

 

[stevedave]

People only think they know whats best for a game.

Not explaining anything could very well help out a game. Having a community come together to figure out and share information could very well be a 'secret sauce' of a game. I personally enjoyed figuring out every little nook and cranny of this game.

I know I HATE mandatory game tutorials and if this game had one I think it would diminish the over game experience.

I am in no place to critique anything about the game as it is likely my favorite game of all time....asking anything more than what was already provided in this amazing game would just seem greedy and ungrateful.

 

[MavericK]

No one is saying the game is bad, but forcing players to use online sources and a community to figure out the basics of the game is poor game design...let's be real here.

The only reason a game could get away with having zero tutorial is if it's so completely intuitive that it doesn't need one. Dark Souls does not fall into this category in any way, shape or form.

I understand the challenge aspect and the "trial and error", but as Domingo pointed out, a lot of that just ends up being wasted time and effort. To me it feels like the game actually punishes you for exploration. Is that fun for some people? Maybe, but not for me when I already have limited gaming time.

 

[yourgrandma]

Meh dark souls isn't for everyone and im completely fine with that. I did my entire first play through with no guides and in offline mode and i found out everything i needed to know to complete the game by myself. Everything else is just extra fluff really and not necessary but adds another layer of depth for those who choose to pursue it. I wouldn't change anything really other than the damn capra demon.

I went the wrong direction a few times (ok more then a few) and ended up at dead ends but to me that is part of the experience and is fun to me. Brilliant part about dark souls is that even if you go the wrong way you usually obtain a item that will help you greatly in another area of the game so it never feels like a waste.

 

[override367]

I'm so glad dark souls 2 seems to be getting good attention for the pc version

 

[polonyc2]

forgot just how difficult Quelaag was solo...during my 1st run I used the NPC summoner Maneater Mildred but decided to try her solo and she's definitely a handful (mainly because of that crazy shockwave move which wipes out nearly my entire Health with 1 blast)

so far the game is definitely easier the 2nd time...I was able to solo the Bell Gargoyles whereas the 1st time I needed Knight Solaire's help

 

[Plague_Injected]

Because fuck you that's why.

One answer to rule them all.

 

[Domingo]

My experience with NG+ was pretty unique in that the first 2/3 of the game was a total breeze. However, the later sections and especially the bosses and unique enemies were horrendously hard. The Artorias areas were especially rough and Kalameet might be the single dirtiest boss of all time when played solo.
I think it's just a matter of the later enemies scaling better to your additional damage, while dealing 1-hit kill damage at the same time. If you haven't mastered strafing and avoiding hits (instead of blocking them), you certainly better!

 

[stevedave]

My experience with NG+ was pretty unique in that the first 2/3 of the game was a total breeze. However, the later sections and especially the bosses and unique enemies were horrendously hard. The Artorias areas were especially rough and Kalameet might be the single dirtiest boss of all time when played solo.
I think it's just a matter of the later enemies scaling better to your additional damage, while dealing 1-hit kill damage at the same time. If you haven't mastered strafing and avoiding hits (instead of blocking them), you certainly better!

This holds true though all the +'s I pretty much quit at ++++++ level 230ish. You can skip much of the easy parts of the game. Blast past the entire first part enter blight town from the back ring da bell then bell up the other one and move to Sen's fortress from that point it retained its hard factor for the most part.

I started a new game as a Sorcerer and capped myself at level 25 and its pretty dam fun....I get enjoyment out of welcoming new players to Dark Souls. Pretty easy even at level 25 so far due to using magic. Using magic is kind of like easy mode.

 

[Stereophile]

I'm so glad dark souls 2 seems to be getting good attention for the pc version

Hopefully Dark Souls 2 doesn't have as many shit levels like Lost Izaleth or Dukes Archives.

 

[polonyc2]

I'm having a strange issue...after reverse hollowing and getting invaded I'm seeing some doors and entry ways now blocked by fog doors (doors that should not be blocked by fog)...are some invading factions able to do this?...for example the elevator shortcut in Undead Parish that leads down to Firelink Shirine are both blocked by fog with no way of entering them...this only happens when playing in Human form and not hollowed...is it a hacker?

screenshot of what I'm seeing in Undead Parish elevator area...

 

[stevedave]

I'm having a strange issue...after reverse hollowing and getting invaded I'm seeing some doors and entry ways now blocked by fog doors (doors that should not be blocked by fog)...are some invading factions able to do this?...for example the elevator shortcut in Undead Parish that leads down to Firelink Shirine are both blocked by fog with no way of entering them...this only happens when playing in Human form and not hollowed...is it a hacker?

screenshot of what I'm seeing in Undead Parish elevator area...

Nope that is how the game works all invaders block off exits to the specific area.

Hopefully Dark Souls 2 doesn't have as many shit levels like Lost Izaleth or Dukes Archives.

By shit I'm assuming you mean Tree boss and the boss that you can't kill and it forces you to die then go to jail? Other than that Lost Izaleth and dukes archives were pretty cool.

 

[polonyc2]

Nope that is how the game works all invaders block off exits to the specific area

you're 100% positive on this?...I completed the game before and don't remember invaders ever blocking off exits

 

[LeninGHOLA]

Being invaded does block certain doors, yes.

 

[chameleoneel]

exits from the area are blocked so that you can't just run all over. You can however, run to the boss door. It forces you to either confront your invader or confront the boss. and since you are relatively boxed in, it gives the invader a chance to catch you before you make it to the boss door.

 

[stevedave]

exits from the area are blocked so that you can't just run all over. You can however, run to the boss door. It forces you to either confront your invader or confront the boss. and since you are relatively boxed in, it gives the invader a chance to catch you before you make it to the boss door.

Or just quit the game.....sadly I have done this. Got invaded just before a boss and he was between me and the door....Just quit and started back up.

 

[Stereophile]

Nope that is how the game works all invaders block off exits to the specific area.



By shit I'm assuming you mean Tree boss and the boss that you can't kill and it forces you to die then go to jail? Other than that Lost Izaleth and dukes archives were pretty cool.

I didn't like the tree boss or anything else about lost lzaleth. It was a simple boring map and the enemies were weird. The thing with a bunch of eyes that breathes gas was alright but the t rexes were stupid enemies. Demon ruins wasn't the best level but the bosses were good. I liked crystal cave and the boss but the dukes archives was an annoying level. The music box thing was alright but the prison section was gimmicky didn't like the library either. And losing all your souls in the unwinnable first encounter was cheap, although I was at the point where 20,000 souls wasn't that big of deal.

I loved most of the other levels. I thought the depths were cool and genuinely scary. Blight town was like replaying world 5 of demons souls so the only thing I hated was the lag. Catacombs and Tomb if giants were both good. New Londo ruins was cool but kind of easy after Sen.'s and Anor Londo. Loved the painted world, the hollow tree pissed me off like no other level, I died at least 10 times. Ash lake was kind of boring. The dark root garden and basin were nice places to explore but the bosses were all easy.m, the whole area was easy but I never went past the sealed door until after getting the Lord vessel. Didn't see much of valley of the drakes until it wasn't that chalenging.

 

[polonyc2]

but even when I'm not getting invaded I'm seeing certain exits fogged out (especially in that Undead Parish elevator area)...I then move around a bit and come back to the door and the fog is gone...I was thinking that maybe DSfix was causing this issue...I never saw that before when playing

 

[stevedave]

but even when I'm not getting invaded I'm seeing certain exits fogged out (especially in that Undead Parish elevator area)...I then move around a bit and come back to the door and the fog is gone...I was thinking that maybe DSfix was causing this issue...I never saw that before when playing

As soon as someone attempts to invade it will fog up even if the invasion fails.

 

[polonyc2]

is it still necessary to disable in-game Motion Blur with the latest version of DSfix (2.01)?...it doesn't mention it in the ReadMe file...in earlier versions it specifically stated to disable AA and Motion Blur

I would love to see some stats on other players showing things such as longest playthrough without resting at a bonfire, number of attempts before killing every boss, weapons used etc

 

[chineseman]

Stumbled across this little gem yesterday. Always nice to see some people have fun in an otherwise dark game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc_r5N-qQv0

 

[polonyc2]

I just finished another playthough of Dark Souls and thought the Sif DLC encounter was really well done by the developers...if you free him in Oolacile and summon him during the boss fight with Manus before fighting Sif in Darkroot Garden you get a new cutscene before that fight which was really well done

Sif seems to recognize you and feels bad for having to fight you to the death...the look in Sif's eyes was excellent stuff...bravo to the developers for that!

I also went after the Avelyn crossbow (in Duke's Archives) after hearing it was the best crossbow in the game but it's totally overrated...the Heavy Crossbow deals much more damage (especially at +15)...the only only good thing about the Avelyn is that it fires 3 bolts at once but it makes no difference because the Heavy Crossbow still deals more damage overall

 

[chameleoneel]

is it still necessary to disable in-game Motion Blur with the latest version of DSfix (2.01)?...it doesn't mention it in the ReadMe file...in earlier versions it specifically stated to disable AA and Motion Blur

I have been using DSfix for quite awhile and have never disabled motion blur.

I just finished another playthough of Dark Souls and thought the Sif DLC encounter was really well done by the developers...if you free him in Oolacile and summon him during the boss fight with Manus before fighting Sif in Darkroot Garden you get a new cutscene before that fight which was really well done

Sif seems to recognize you and feels bad for having to fight you to the death...the look in Sif's eyes was excellent stuff...bravo to the developers for that!

I also went after the Avelyn crossbow (in Duke's Archives) after hearing it was the best crossbow in the game but it's totally overrated...the Heavy Crossbow deals much more damage (especially at +15)...the only only good thing about the Avelyn is that it fires 3 bolts at once but it makes no difference because the Heavy Crossbow still deals more damage overall

Avelyn is more about control and intimidation. You also have an arguably better chance of hitting them at all. and lastly, it's a fairly uncommon weapon to encounter. So it is likely that whoever you are fighting may not have a lot of experience evading it.

 

[polonyc2]

I have been using DSfix for quite awhile and have never disabled motion blur.

Avelyn is more about control and intimidation. You also have an arguably better chance of hitting them at all. and lastly, it's a fairly uncommon weapon to encounter. So it is likely that whoever you are fighting may not have a lot of experience evading it.

I don't understand that...yes it's an uncommon weapon but if it's not that great damage-wise then it won't matter that your opponent hasn't seen it before...I don't see it as intimidating...plus you can block all 3 of its shots with a normal shield...I could understand if it delivered some magic/fire/lightning damage but it's just a regular crossbow that fires 3 shots at once...I'll take the weapon that deals out more damage any day

thanks for the info about DSfix and Motion Blur...for my next run-through I'll enable it

for my 2nd run, none of the bosses gave me too much trouble except for Kalameet...damn I don't remember him being this tough during my 1st playthrough...he was a handful (solo with no summoning)

 

[Poordevil]

I've been cursed and it is a real pain. I hope DS 2 does away with this gameplay feature entirely. Being cursed the only thing about the game I really don't like. I was cursed at half health when I beat the Gaping Dragon down in the sewers. Then I got cursed a second time while hunting for my statue cutting my health in half again. Then i went back for the second statue with 1/4 health, found it, broke it, but I am still cursed at 1/4 health. I dunno what happened to the first statue, I can't find it anywhere. I thought Breaking the second statue would lift the curse or at least restore half my health, but no. It didn't restore any health at all.

So I went to the wiki and found out that snuggly will trade curse lifting scrolls for those red eyes you find in the chests under the dual lifts at Firelink. Cool, so I make it to snuggly's nest along with all my souls for killing Gaping Dragon, like 28 thousand or something, but I can't figure out how to drop the items for trade. I know it is something simple cause I've done it before and I am starting to get out of patience and pissed off and then I hit X on my controller my mistake, jump backwards and fall off the edge of the cliff to my doom, That was it. I shut the game down and quit. That's my Dark Souls tale of woe,lol

 

[polonyc2]

I've been cursed and it is a real pain. I hope DS 2 does away with this gameplay feature entirely. Being cursed the only thing about the game I really don't like. I was cursed at half health when I beat the Gaping Dragon down in the sewers. Then I got cursed a second time while hunting for my statue cutting my health in half again. Then i went back for the second statue with 1/4 health, found it, broke it, but I am still cursed at 1/4 health. I dunno what happened to the first statue, I can't find it anywhere. I thought Breaking the second statue would lift the curse or at least restore half my health, but no. It didn't restore any health at all.

So I went to the wiki and found out that snuggly will trade curse lifting scrolls for those red eyes you find in the chests under the dual lifts at Firelink. Cool, so I make it to snuggly's nest along with all my souls for killing Gaping Dragon, like 28 thousand or something, but I can't figure out how to drop the items for trade. I know it is something simple cause I've done it before and I am starting to get out of patience and pissed off and then I hit X on my controller my mistake, jump backwards and fall off the edge of the cliff to my doom, That was it. I shut the game down and quit. That's my Dark Souls tale of woe,lol

lots of ways to avoid or get rid of curses...buy Purging Stones to break curse...use the Cursebite ring to get a higher curse resistance...Bloodshield...talk to Oswald of Carim in the belltower etc

as for Snuggly...you drop the item in the nest (only 1 at a time)...exit the game and next time you restart your traded item will be in the nest

 

[Poordevil]

I must be playing an unpatched version of DS on the PS3. the wiki says "Curse won't stack, so being cursed again will kill the player, but the health will stay at half. (patch 1.05)" Not so. My health was cut in half yet again the second time I was cursed. I need to hook this PS3 up to the internet and update the game.

 

[polonyc2]

I must be playing an unpatched version of DS on the PS3. the wiki says "Curse won't stack, so being cursed again will kill the player, but the health will stay at half. (patch 1.05)" Not so. My health was cut in half yet again the second time I was cursed. I need to hook this PS3 up to the internet and update the game.

you can also try switching weapons to something with a longer reach like the Lightning Spear...that way you won't have to get up close where they can poison/curse you

 

[Poordevil]

you can also try switching weapons to something with a longer reach like the Lightning Spear...that way you won't have to get up close where they can poison/curse you

Aw those guys are not that difficult, I was just asleep at the wheel and they got me. Actually I had forgotten that those creatures down in the sewers could curse, so I wasn't being careful. That was the problem. The second time I got cursed I was hunting for my statue and fell through a well in the floor right into a group of them. I was cursed again before I could do much of anything.

I did patch my PS3 game to the latest version. I noticed all my bonfires were unkindled! On top of that when I tried to kindle Firelink I was told I needed some special item I know nothing about. The other change I noticed was the total lack of blood. In the unpatched version when you execute the backstab or parry a load of blood would splash out from the wounds. Now there is none, just shows clean attack animations. I was kinda bummed about that, the blood was a great feature! Is the PC version bloodless as well?

 

[Vertigo528]

I did patch my PS3 game to the latest version. I noticed all my bonfires were unkindled! On top of that when I tried to kindle Firelink I was told I needed some special item I know nothing about. The other change I noticed was the total lack of blood. In the unpatched version when you execute the backstab or parry a load of blood would splash out from the wounds. Now there is none, just shows clean attack animations. I was kinda bummed about that, the blood was a great feature! Is the PC version bloodless as well?

Right now, there's a graphics bug on the PS3 that causes effects like fire and magic to flicker or not show up at all (Moonlight Butterfly gets interesting). Playing in offline mode should fix it, but there will have to be a patch to resolve it in online mode.

 

[polonyc2]

I'm at Level 95 with a strength build (40 Endurance/Strength) and I realized that I pretty much have to build a new character to play PvP...my current character is a tank in PvE but I'm getting my ass handed to me too much in PvP...everyone seems to be some crazy magic/miracle/pyromancer character with magical weapons...I'm guessing I need to build a new sorcery type of character exclusively for PvP

so a straight strength build sucks for PvP?

 

[LeninGHOLA]

so a straight strength build sucks for PvP?

Not really, you just need to have the right gear loadout and weapon progression. Tanky types are a bit of a pain in PvP, but that doesn't mean you have to equip tanky armor. If you are pure physical damage, that's going to be a problem in most fights.