Dark Souls is on Steam

chockomonkey said:
...I'd also like a nice sword that's faster than the Zweihander but still big and awesome. Any recommendations in this regard?
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THE CLAYMORE! It's got good power, it has both slash and thrust attacks. It's reasonably fast and not too heavy. It can be reasonably wielded one or two handed. And you can get it early, it's on the bridge with the Drake after the Taurus Demon boss in undead burg. One of the best spears you can get is the Silver Knight Spear in Anor Londo. It does very high physical damage but yet has the divine modifier, so it kills skeletons dead.
 
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The Claymore is really solid in both Dark Souls games. It might not be the strongest, but it has a really good moveset.

The sword I enjoyed the most in Dark Souls 1 was the Man-Serpent Greatsword. It isn't much to look at, but it's strong and quick.
 
Hmm okay, I forgot that the claymore was right on the bridge. I'll have to figure out a way to get over there to it. I've gimmicked the guy off the bridge in all my playthroughs, so i never know what's going to happen.

Is there a surefire way to get to that bonfire without dying by fire?
 
chockomonkey said:
Hmm okay, I forgot that the claymore was right on the bridge. I'll have to figure out a way to get over there to it. I've gimmicked the guy off the bridge in all my playthroughs, so i never know what's going to happen.

Is there a surefire way to get to that bonfire without dying by fire?
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There is...I somehow managed to get through it on my first time by luck. Check online? I think you have to dash towards the dragon and sit by his foot or something silly like that...
 
from the stairs, go up, run to the opposite side, fire will blow, wait for dragon to start flying down. once he does, book it to his right and keep on going. don/t stop at the bonfire, run out the door on the right where solaire's alter is. from the back, run to the scorch mark, run back to the door, dragon should come and blow fire. you can then run safely to the stairs.
 
eh, dude had already activated the bonfire so he was able to sit. Others would have to light it first, and probably get burned up in the process
 
daemonmf said:
Yeah, you can bait the hellkite to jump down to the bridge, then you can hack at it or run past it like this.
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that guys such a high level for that area, no? Also, that's a lot of vitality, holy shit.

I can't remember how I got him to come down, but I was able to run by him like that, then duck left near the lever and avoid the flame. So, yay claymore! Unfrotunately as I get more and more cool weapons, I can't ever settle on one.

I keep mixing it up between the Halberd (which I'm definitely getting better at), Spear, Pike, and Claymore. I need so much more Titanite to level all these weapons up lol

Also got the Winged Spear last night. It seems to simply be an upgrade of the spear?
 
Once you're strong enough to complete the New Londo Ruins, that's a great farm area. You can get chunks galore and Darkwraiths give you a decent enough amount of souls so you can buy the lower-end titanite pieces. You even occasionally get a slab to drop, although sometimes that can take forever. The New Londo run and killing the humans in the forest are the best places to grind in the first game...at least that I can recall.
 
yea I spent a lot of time farming the forest for souls early on and then the babies for humanities


- the beginning game I used the fire drake on the bridge to farm an easy amount of souls too - run on the bridge (from the shortcut) - instant souls - bonfire - rinse repeat
 
chockomonkey said:
I can't remember how I got him to come down, but I was able to run by him like that, then duck left near the lever and avoid the flame. So, yay claymore! Unfrotunately as I get more and more cool weapons, I can't ever settle on one
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that area is weird early in the game...I usually only unlock that bonfire towards the end...if I try it early on in the game the dragon is not as easy to bait down to the bridge but later on in the game he's very easy to bait and run past
 
Where might have the first pyromancy trainer gone? He's not in firelink any longer, and he's not in the room where he was originally locked up. It's possible I didn't talk to him after freeing him, could that have made him never get to firelink?
 
Okay thanks. I never got the flame from him or anything so I was sad hr was gone.

The guy you find locked up near the first bell is also missing from firelink but the firekeeper is still there. Ive never seen that before, usually they both leave together dont they?
 
Okay thanks guys. What about Knight Lautrec of Carim being absent? From what i read online, even if I don't free him, he should still show up in town and take the firekeeper with him at one point. He's not in the cell, not in town, but the firekeeper is still there. Have I somehow messed up that questline too? I really wanted to go save her, because I never have before.
 
I can't tell any difference between Camera Auto Wall Recovery ON and OFF. Does this setting do anything on PC?

Is this the setting that makes it damn near impossible to turn the camera around to look behind you while running through a tunnel?
 
no Steamworks transition news yet?...seems like they're going to miss their November date
 
chockomonkey said:
I can't tell any difference between Camera Auto Wall Recovery ON and OFF. Does this setting do anything on PC?

Is this the setting that makes it damn near impossible to turn the camera around to look behind you while running through a tunnel?
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Stand with your back to a wall and swing the camera behind you.
Note how it reacts when you "hit" the wall. OFF will keep you from accidentally walking off a cliff if the camera gets stuck on a wall.

polonyc2 said:
no Steamworks transition news yet?...seems like they're going to miss their November date
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Whats that saying, you wanna under promise and over deliver? Like, I tell you, I'll be there in 15 minutes, but I show up in 5.
Nobody does that anymore... I suppose the month isnt over, but .... Yeah. That...
 
Time is ticking for their migration. Hopefully it happens soon. I'd like to see easier summons.

A couple things I've learned on this latest playthrough though!

- If you put your summoning sign in the right place, you actually can stray quite a bit away and do some farming.

- To get backstabs on enemies with their back turned, walk slowly up to them, then intentionally walk fast and immediately after you throw the left thumbstick forward, press RB.

Y'all probably know this shit already, but it just shocks me how I always seem to learn something new.
 
Ryom said:
There should be an achievement for getting past the &*%# archers in Anor Londo without dying. Or at least without smashing your controller.
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I always set my save file to "read only" before this part. This and the Bed of Chaos fights are the only parts in the game I do this...

chockomonkey said:
So in anticipation of the steam switch-over I've started a new character. So far I've got 24 Str and 24 Dex. I'm not planning on any casting, so my int/faith/attunement is all sub 10.

So far I've been mainly using the regular Spear, which actually surprised me as to its usefulness.

However, it doesn't have a moveset that varies enough for my liking. I've tried the Pike and the Halberd too. The pike's power attack seems weird and hard to land, and the halberd's power attack while having good range and coverage seems too slow to get off reliably.

What are some other weapon options for a hybrid build? What are you opinions on the halberd and/or pike?

I'd also like a nice sword that's faster than the Zweihander but still big and awesome. Any recommendations in this regard?
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Washing Pole :D. If memory serves, katanas are great for hybrids. The Washing Pole is also big and awesome (I would say it's literally an e-peen ;)), and swings a lot faster than the Zweihander. You just need to carry around a stack of Repair Powders with you.

chockomonkey said:
I can't remember how I got him to come down, but I was able to run by him like that, then duck left near the lever and avoid the flame. So, yay claymore! Unfrotunately as I get more and more cool weapons, I can't ever settle on one.
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You have to run to the wall ahead of the staircase that goes down and wait there for around 30-45 seconds. That will force her to come down. As soon as you see her leave her perch, run like mad toward the gate. It helps if you completely unequip yourself beforehand to run faster.

Protip: You can actually have a normal fight with Hellkit if you stand right outside the gate. Stand behind the low wall to the left and its flame attacks can't hit you. Eventually she will walk toward the gate and you can swing at its face. You have to run out of cover at the right time, though. Too early and she'll do a flame breath attack. Too late and she'll jump back.

Many people feel that this was the way it was designed for players to "properly" engage Hellkite.

chockomonkey said:
I keep mixing it up between the Halberd (which I'm definitely getting better at), Spear, Pike, and Claymore. I need so much more Titanite to level all these weapons up lol
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Pike is probably the best weapon for most trash encounters in the game due to its length, base power, and strength scaling. Halberd or Claymore is probably the best for bosses, just choose whichever one scales to your strongest primary stat. I would stick to no more than 2 weapons to save resources and keep your inventory clean.

chockomonkey said:
Also got the Winged Spear last night. It seems to simply be an upgrade of the spear?
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Pretty much. IIRC it has the best DEX scaling for a spear-type weapon in the game when upgraded, and it might also be the fastest. Beyond that it has the same moveset.

Domingo said:
Once you're strong enough to complete the New Londo Ruins, that's a great farm area. You can get chunks galore and Darkwraiths give you a decent enough amount of souls so you can buy the lower-end titanite pieces. You even occasionally get a slab to drop, although sometimes that can take forever. The New Londo run and killing the humans in the forest are the best places to grind in the first game...at least that I can recall.
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Farming the Darkwraiths in New Londo is still the best. I believe they nerfed the Souls gained from killing the NPCs in the forest in one of the patches.

chockomonkey said:
- To get backstabs on enemies with their back turned, walk slowly up to them, then intentionally walk fast and immediately after you throw the left thumbstick forward, press RB.

Y'all probably know this shit already, but it just shocks me how I always seem to learn something new.
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Parry + Riposte > Backstab :cool:. I'm pretty sure every enemy you can backstab you can also parry, including those big-ass guys with the big-ass clubs in Blighttown. It's pretty hilarious parrying those guys. Oh, and you can even parry Gwyn, contrary to what the official guide says ;). It's so satisfying :D.
 
Armenius said:
I believe they nerfed the Souls gained from killing the NPCs in the forest in one of the patches.
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Unless this was a PS3 thing, those guys have always given 7000 souls per run. I find it a waste to try and coral them off the cliff, its faster to just go up to each one and whoop their ass and ignore the axe/spider shield guy cause he is at the far back and never dies quick.

I do it like this,
Run toward the sorcerer, duck behind a tree if he gets a shot off, then rush him. Kill him.
Go towards the right for the invisible thief, kill him.
With both these guys, try to make sure you kill them quick and not move around too much, so you don't agro more than one at a time.
Now for the last guy, miracle/club man, you wanna kite him over to the open space in between the invisible thief and sorcerers initial position and take him out there.
Forget about axe/spider shield guy. He's only worth 1000 and sometimes puts up a damn fight.

If I remember correctly, around lvl 80 or so, that area becomes useless.
Farm skeleton apes in Tomb of Giants after that.
 
Armenius said:
I always set my save file to "read only" before this part. This and the Bed of Chaos fights are the only parts in the game I do this...
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How does the game respond to this?
Armenius said:
Washing Pole :D. If memory serves, katanas are great for hybrids. The Washing Pole is also big and awesome (I would say it's literally an e-peen ;)), and swings a lot faster than the Zweihander. You just need to carry around a stack of Repair Powders with you.
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Awesome, thanks! I'm glad you mentioned this, because I love Katanas and would have otherwise missed this one had i not read up on how to get it.

Armenius said:
You have to run to the wall ahead of the staircase that goes down and wait there for around 30-45 seconds. That will force her to come down. As soon as you see her leave her perch, run like mad toward the gate. It helps if you completely unequip yourself beforehand to run faster.

Protip: You can actually have a normal fight with Hellkit if you stand right outside the gate. Stand behind the low wall to the left and its flame attacks can't hit you. Eventually she will walk toward the gate and you can swing at its face. You have to run out of cover at the right time, though. Too early and she'll do a flame breath attack. Too late and she'll jump back.

Many people feel that this was the way it was designed for players to "properly" engage Hellkite.
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Great info, I will try this when i'm feeling frisky.

Armenius said:
Parry + Riposte > Backstab :cool:. I'm pretty sure every enemy you can backstab you can also parry, including those big-ass guys with the big-ass clubs in Blighttown. It's pretty hilarious parrying those guys. Oh, and you can even parry Gwyn, contrary to what the official guide says ;). It's so satisfying :D.
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Yea i still can't ever backstab or parry anyone in the middle of a fight. The timing really screws with me. I'm also typically using two-hands with my weapon.

I've watched videos on both even, and still can't ever seem to pull them off right :(
 
chockomonkey said:
Yea i still can't ever backstab or parry anyone in the middle of a fight. The timing really screws with me. I'm also typically using two-hands with my weapon.

I've watched videos on both even, and still can't ever seem to pull them off right :(
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Oh but there's no greater feeling of badassitude in DS1 or DS2 than a successful parry. It's worth the practice. I remember the first time I parried a Black Knight in DS1, I thought I was Neo in the Matrix. Time stood still. Air felt clean again. Then he killed me.
 
DPI said:
Oh but there's no greater feeling of badassitude in DS1 or DS2 than a successful parry. It's worth the practice. I remember the first time I parried a Black Knight in DS1, I thought I was Neo in the Matrix. Time stood still. Air felt clean again. Then he killed me.
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Oh no doubt! I'll have to try some parrying practice one of these days when i'm not so attached to my humanity and souls lol

Speaking of parrying, how does one know when a shield will parry or bash? I looked on the wiki, and it seems like if you equip a shield in your right hand it will bash and left hand will parry?
 
chockomonkey said:
Oh no doubt! I'll have to try some parrying practice one of these days when i'm not so attached to my humanity and souls lol

Speaking of parrying, how does one know when a shield will parry or bash? I looked on the wiki, and it seems like if you equip a shield in your right hand it will bash and left hand will parry?
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Yeah left hand is the parry hand. Also different weapons/shields have different parry windows (parry window = the number of frames you have to trigger the parry) so it helps to learn the gear that has the bigger parry windows. My thinking is so readjusted to DS2 that I'm foggy on DS1 gear now. In DS2 for example, a curved sword was a good "trainer" for parrying since it has one of the biggest parry windows. Smaller shields like bucklers also usually have the biggest parry windows (but being a small shield, you're trading parry for less protection).

Edit: Read this. http://darksouls.wikidot.com/parry
 
Thanks DPI. Are there any builds which use shield bashing? Can't say I've ever seen someone with a shield in their right hand.
 
chockomonkey said:
How does the game respond to this?
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read only mode works great. the only thing is it will not save any progress until you change it back so you can possibly lose. It is useful for getting to an area, loading up the gear and then turning on read only until you complete the section. Note, you have to exit game to the menu screen and reload in order to get back your saved game, otherwise you continue as normal.

also note, if you do this go into the menu and swap a piece of gear, this will force a game write, otherwise it may save your game at some point way before.

Note, this will not work at all for DS2, it will not run with a read only game file, but you can save a game and exit to menu then restore it,

I know all this because I am a shitty player and it was the only way for me to get through some sections
 
:p
DPI said:
Oh but there's no greater feeling of badassitude in DS1 or DS2 than a successful parry. It's worth the practice. I remember the first time I parried a Black Knight in DS1, I thought I was Neo in the Matrix. Time stood still. Air felt clean again. Then he killed me.
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Totally. Made me lol
 
chockomonkey said:
Oh no doubt! I'll have to try some parrying practice one of these days when i'm not so attached to my humanity and souls lol

Speaking of parrying, how does one know when a shield will parry or bash? I looked on the wiki, and it seems like if you equip a shield in your right hand it will bash and left hand will parry?
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Every shield that isn't a Great Shield should be able to parry from the left hand. Example of a Great Shield is the Eagle or Tower Shields. Great Shields will bash from the left hand if you heavy attack. You can also parry with certain weapons, like the Parrying Dagger and Painting Guardian's Sword. Once you get good it feels and looks badass parrying with the latter. The window is smaller, but it is also faster than parrying with a shield. Both of these qualities, though, make parrying more difficult in PvP situations due to lag, so I would stick with a shield for that.

chockomonkey said:
How does the game respond to this?
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It doesn't. You can change the file properties in real-time without the game throwing a fit. As mentioned, just remember to change it back so you don't lose progress.

jiminator said:
read only mode works great. the only thing is it will not save any progress until you change it back so you can possibly lose. It is useful for getting to an area, loading up the gear and then turning on read only until you complete the section. Note, you have to exit game to the menu screen and reload in order to get back your saved game, otherwise you continue as normal.

also note, if you do this go into the menu and swap a piece of gear, this will force a game write, otherwise it may save your game at some point way before.

Note, this will not work at all for DS2, it will not run with a read only game file, but you can save a game and exit to menu then restore it,

I know all this because I am a shitty player and it was the only way for me to get through some sections
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Simply entering the game menu and exiting will force an autosave. That is literally all you have to do. I know it works because this is what I do myself before setting read-only. The game saves when you see the bonfire flame in the top-right of the screen.

Yeah, unfortunately you have to make backup copies in DS2. It's not as streamlined.
 
You can actually copy, paste, and do whatever you feel like with the Dark Souls savegames. For instance, you can just alt+tab out of a battle right in the middle, copy the save file to another directory, and then copy it back at a later date. The game will save your state almost as cleanly as an emulator.

The game doesn't care, Steam doesn't care, and GFWL doesn't care. I did that with several sections just as a fun way to see what killing different characters or doing different things would do. Since there's no way to test things out in DS without the game saving the results, that's really the only option.

I also admittedly full-on exploited this with the Bed of Chaos. Fuck that thing ;)
 
Domingo said:
You can actually copy, paste, and do whatever you feel like with the Dark Souls savegames. For instance, you can just alt+tab out of a battle right in the middle, copy the save file to another directory, and then copy it back at a later date. The game will save your state almost as cleanly as an emulator.

The game doesn't care, Steam doesn't care, and GFWL doesn't care. I did that with several sections just as a fun way to see what killing different characters or doing different things would do. Since there's no way to test things out in DS without the game saving the results, that's really the only option.

I also admittedly full-on exploited this with the Bed of Chaos. Fuck that thing ;)
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That's what I did until I discovered it worked with read-only. It is a lot faster and less cumbersome, so this trick even works for PvP invasions ;).
 
Just stumbled across this crazy tree-zone in the swamp. Kinda scared to see how deep this rabbit-whole goes :eek:

Found the Cloranthy ring though, woot!
 
Don't fight the guys at the bottom if you know what's good for ya. Just keep moving. Surprise awaits!
 
Has the door to the Demon Ruins always been there open like that? and I just completely missed it last time I was here? <_<

Damn this place looks cool as hell.

So I didn't try it, but I take it the lava here will kill me?

I did pull one of those guys out of the lava and battled with him for a bit, but he clearly didn't want me there so I left lol

They're a lot bigger than I expected when I pulled him.

Also, this place reminds me of molten core :cool:
 
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Remember the 3 doors the game showed you after Anor Londo? That was one of them.
The lava will kill you, stupid quick. Keep going and get ready for 2 boss fights. One of them has what you are looking for. (But do explore the ruins first. The items will benefit a Pyro)
 
LeviathanZERO said:
Remember the 3 doors the game showed you after Anor Londo? That was one of them.
The lava will kill you, stupid quick. Keep going and get ready for 2 boss fights. One of them has what you are looking for. (But do explore the ruins first. The items will benefit a Pyro)
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I remember that cutscene, but i don't recall what the doors looked like. I just rang the second bell last night on this character, so I haven't even gone to Sen's yet... but i'm mainly surprised that this door has been here the whole time and I'd never noticed.

Between that Demon area and the Hollow thing, that's two areas in Blighttown I happened to just stumble upon last night that I had no idea existed. Just when you think this game is huge, it gets bigger :cool:
 
chockomonkey said:
Just when you think this game is huge, it gets bigger :cool:
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Wait 'til you try #2 if you haven't already. The areas don't link up quite as neatly, but the game is more than 2x as large out of the box and maybe 3x as large with all of the DLC.
 
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