Dark Souls is on Steam

SPARTAN VI said:
Thanks Smythe.

In certain areas I can't use my white soapstone to place a soul sign (e.g. in the Duke's archives just before the white fog gate where you first see Seath the Scaleless), does this also mean I can't be invaded in such areas while human?
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Certain areas are PVP/Co-op free. These areas include the Asylum, Great Hollow, Ash Lake, Duke's Archives until you escape from prison, New Londo until you drain it, and Firelink.

Drakenfeng said:
Just beat the game on my first character after 40 hours but I know I missed a ton of content. I didn't turn human once so I missed all the npc phantoms and pvp. I was using the heal/regen miracles so the lack of flasks didn't really bother me.

Pretty sure I got the bad ending.

As brutal as the game was it makes me want to play it again. Maybe with a guide this time so I don't miss everything :). I'm hoping the PC version sells well enough for them to warrant porting their next game too.
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I hope it has sold and continues to sell well too. This was the big game to come out after I had decided to give up console gaming and I managed to stick to my convictions and not play it on a console. I was very pleased when the petition worked and the game was coming to the PC. Say what you will about the graphics and control (both of which can be fixed) making it a bad port, but from a stability and bug standpoint the game is superb. I have not played a game this stable and bug-free in years and honestly I'd rather have that then uber-graphics and bug ridden games that constantly crash that so many love anyways. Dark Souls for PC was also the first game I bought on day one in many years and I do not regret it one bit. It's my current #1 game played on Steam now.

GOD'SlittleSERVANT said:
This game fucking pisses me off. Never have I got so pissed off at a stupid game.

I can't beat the god damn first boss, WTF?

I Drop from the top, take about half of his health, then just suck all kinds of shit and die.
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As Drakenfeng said you need to learn to dodge. Depending on what class and gift you chose can make this fight even easier. The Knight gets a very good shield and the Pyromancer gets the fireball spell. Also you could choose the black firebombs as a gift. Still though, you're going to want to learn how to dodge eventually so just stick with your current character and learn the Asylum Demon's attack pattern and timing.
 
Smythe said:
Certain areas are PVP/Co-op free. These areas include the Asylum, Great Hollow, Ash Lake, Duke's Archives until you escape from prison, New Londo until you drain it, and Firelink.



I hope it has sold and continues to sell well too. This was the big game to come out after I had decided to give up console gaming and I managed to stick to my convictions and not play it on a console. I was very pleased when the petition worked and the game was coming to the PC. Say what you will about the graphics and control (both of which can be fixed) making it a bad port, but from a stability and bug standpoint the game is superb. I have not played a game this stable and bug-free in years and honestly I'd rather have that then uber-graphics and bug ridden games that constantly crash that so many love anyways. Dark Souls for PC was also the first game I bought on day one in many years and I do not regret it one bit. It's my current #1 game played on Steam now.



As Drakenfeng said you need to learn to dodge. Depending on what class and gift you chose can make this fight even easier. The Knight gets a very good shield and the Pyromancer gets the fireball spell. Also you could choose the black firebombs as a gift. Still though, you're going to want to learn how to dodge eventually so just stick with your current character and learn the Asylum Demon's attack pattern and timing.
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I'm trying :( I'm the knight but chose the gods heal thing.
 
Drakenfeng said:
Sounds like you need to work on your dodging. Most of his attacks are easily dodged by rolling to the left/right. Also many of the larger enemies turn slowly so if you stay close and try to circle them they usually can't get any good attacks off.

Another useful tip on some of the larger enemies is that you can roll forward between their legs to dodge their attacks - like the second (minotaur) boss.
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I'm always dodging but still get hit. The knight rolls super slow. Lol maybe I'm just not cut for this game
 
Get your equip burden to <25% of your total to be able to fast roll. Take off your shield if it's not allowing you to block any of his attacks (IIRC it can block some though) then take off your helmet, gloves, leggings, and finally chest armor in that order until you hit the 25% goal.
 
To extend on that point - a few of the mechanics aren't actually explained in game, equip burden being one of them.

Endurance determines your equipment weight stat, which in turn determines how agile your character is. There are four separate tiers of agility, 0-25% burden, 25-50% burden, 50-100% burden and over 100% burden.

With each tier your dodge animation and movement speed change.

At 0-25% your dodges are very quick and are much lower to the ground, several enemies require you to be in this range to actually dodge their attacks. This tier limits you to the lightest weapons and armor, especially until you get Havel's Ring. You are also able to easily circle around behind many enemies due to the faster movement speed.

25-50% is medium burden, and in general is what you want to go for if you plan on dodging effectively while wearing armor or using heavy weapons.

Over 50% dodges are extremely slow and must be timed very accurately to get any effect at all. Knights are actually one of the hardest classes to start out the game with because of this. Your armor doesn't really absorb enough in the beginning to warrant the hit to your dodge effectiveness. Many guides suggest starting with one of the lighter melee classes and then transitioning to heavy armor (if that was your original intention) once you are able to get more endurance / equip load rings.

Over 100% you cannot dodge at all and can only walk. One of the pyromancy defensive spells puts you into this state as well.
 
eh, heavy armor is going to be a waste of time, as for the most part it is not going to block enough damage to counter the deficits. you may want to try a bandit instead or a pyro mage. The basic patterns for many of the big enemies is that they attack, you are dodging or jump back, then jump forward and attack. repeat til dead. They also have a cool feature that borderlands ripped off. When @ about 10% of their health, they are 'winded' and they put up little resistance for the kill.
 
jiminator said:
eh, heavy armor is going to be a waste of time, as for the most part it is not going to block enough damage to counter the deficits.
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*GASP*

Heavy armor is plenty doable. I played probably 90% of the game in heavy armor with Havel's Ring (+%50 equip burden) and the Ring of Favor and Protection (+HP/STAM, +20% eqip burden). By the end of the game, I was still under 50% burden (to roll) and rocking Havel's Shield, 2x Havel's Armor, and swinging around huge STR based weapons. Beast mode :eek:
 
ocellaris said:
*GASP*

Heavy armor is plenty doable. I played probably 90% of the game in heavy armor with Havel's Ring (+%50 equip burden) and the Ring of Favor and Protection (+HP/STAM, +20% eqip burden). By the end of the game, I was still under 50% burden (to roll) and rocking Havel's Shield, 2x Havel's Armor, and swinging around huge STR based weapons. Beast mode :eek:
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yeah, that's not really what I meant. If you are just learning the game all the enemies are going to f you up anyway, the armor just adds encumbrance and not enough protection of later armors. Other stuff, like the pyro outfit is probably a better choice.
 
When I first started playing Demon Souls and now Dark Souls, I seem to always gravitate toward medium armor sets with 1H and shield. My coop buddy started with a light armor sorcerer build and was the epitome of "glass cannon." Even the minuscule amount of poise you get in the earlier sets is enough to mitigate frustrating stun locks from most early mobs. Unless you stack on a ton of vitality early on, it would also seem bosses have no problem 1 or 2 shotting you in anything less than medium armors.

In early PVP, all things equal, you're also mobile enough to maneuver with agile back stabbers and still roll dodge soul arrows. The fact is, if you're new to Dark Souls, you're going to get hit regardless of how fast you are. So in my opinion, might as well survive a few more hits (i.e. 1 to 3 more hits) and return the pain with medium armors. This isn't to say that evasion is worthless, I just found it a bit difficult being a light armor evasive build when learning the game, its mobs, and their moveset/patterns.

Anyhow, finally decided to test out Tranquil Walk of Peace today to deal with pesky invaders. Oh my lord! I see why so many people hate this miracle. I'm a slow moving cleric/tank with a lightning zweihander +5, so you can imagine how easy it is for dodgy ninjas to roll around and backstab me if I miss just one of my slow attacks. Not anymore.. I went 3-0 against invaders last night. All of them were caught off guard; it's like the moment they realize they can't roll/dodge, they try to run away, which leads to a great 2-handed zweihander backstab. I can see why it's considered cheesy, but really, if someone's pulling me into PVP against my will, you'd better know how to parry a zweihander 'cuz you're sure as hell aint dodging it.
 
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So should I restart the game? Or maybe take off my shield and helmet and other stuff until I hit the 25%?

Will i be able to have the 25% later if I have all heavy armor on? Do you "level up" in this game?
 
GOD'SlittleSERVANT said:
I feel like one of those little kids playing WoW, asking all kinds of stupid questions, lawl.
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You can take off the helmet and the gloves and see if that gets you under 50% equipment burden (also make sure you only have one item in each hand's slot, as having both slots filled takes up equipment burden), but you should be able to defeat the Asylum Demon by staying behind it and attacking its legs, ass or tail. Keep a close eye on your stamina...make sure you don't get it too low or the Asylum Demon's blows will break your guard and damage you.

Once you reach Lordran (right after defeating the Asylum Demon) you will be able to level up at bonfires.
 
Plague_Injected said:
You can take off the helmet and the gloves and see if that gets you under 50% equipment burden (also make sure you only have one item in each hand's slot, as having both slots filled takes up equipment burden), but you should be able to defeat the Asylum Demon by staying behind it and attacking its legs, ass or tail. Keep a close eye on your stamina...make sure you don't get it too low or the Asylum Demon's blows will break your guard and damage you.

Once you reach Lordran (right after defeating the Asylum Demon) you will be able to level up at bonfires.
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Sweet, thanks dude.
 
In this game you don't really lose a lot if you start a new character, esp at the beginning. you might think the game is about leveling up, like other games, but it is really not. you may want to level up to use certain items that have level requirements, otherwise for PVP you are better off with a lower level and fully upgraded items (since you fight +/- 20 level chars). When you learn to fight enemies it is not really going to be your level that allows you to succeed, it will be more about knowing the enemy patterns and the items you are using. Once you know the patterns you can start a new char and breeze through all the sections that previously took you hours to get through. Hell, there are videos of guys fighting bosses naked and winning.
 
jiminator said:
In this game you don't really lose a lot if you start a new character, esp at the beginning. you might think the game is about leveling up, like other games, but it is really not. you may want to level up to use certain items that have level requirements, otherwise for PVP you are better off with a lower level and fully upgraded items (since you fight +/- 20 level chars). When you learn to fight enemies it is not really going to be your level that allows you to succeed, it will be more about knowing the enemy patterns and the items you are using. Once you know the patterns you can start a new char and breeze through all the sections that previously took you hours to get through. Hell, there are videos of guys fighting bosses naked and winning.
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Very true. At one point I made up 50 hours of progress in 6 hours when I started over with a new character. I was just blasting through content once I knew how to play and handle various situations.
 
daemonmf said:
It's recommended that you don't go that way first. Find the stairs a little way past firelink.

You CAN keep going down the path with the skeletons, but ... there's a bunch of graves there for a reason. :p
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lol I was going to say the same thing. Don't go that way lol.

It reminds me of the cazadors in Fallout New Vegas. Why did the devs put such difficult enemies at the very fucking beginning of the game right outside the starting area? The only difference is those skeletons get easier. Cazadors were always a bitch no matter what lol
 
Caelum Atra said:
lol I was going to say the same thing. Don't go that way lol.

It reminds me of the cazadors in Fallout New Vegas. Why did the devs put such difficult enemies at the very fucking beginning of the game right outside the starting area? The only difference is those skeletons get easier. Cazadors were always a bitch no matter what lol
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Because level scaling defeats the entire purpose of an RPG, and open world games should have dangerous areas!
 
if you want goodies you can rush past the skeletons and collect loot, there is a great spear and one of the best swords. you will probably die but it won't matter.
 
Plague_Injected said:
OMFGJWIWFINQC<QWFELFWEFNIWCNEWI(*&^(#*(@

...Initial reaction over, I'm now interested to see what direction they go in story-wise. The game seemed pretty well self-contained and didn't really suggest a sequel.
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A sequel doesn't have to continue a story. It can continue the same themes, atmosphere, mechanics, etc.

Legal issues aside, Dark Souls could easily have been Demon's Souls II.

Since it seems the premier video has been taken down, you can still check it out at gametrailers.com in their VGA video. It's at around the 47 min mark.
 
daemonmf said:
A sequel doesn't have to continue a story. It can continue the same themes, atmosphere, mechanics, etc.

Legal issues aside, Dark Souls could easily have been Demon's Souls II.

Since it seems the premier video has been taken down, you can still check it out at gametrailers.com in their VGA video. It's at around the 47 min mark.
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Trailer is in this video:
http://www.gametrailers.com/full-ep...part-4---character-of-the-year--dark-souls-ii

Kermit_3b29b2_663204.gif
 
Plague_Injected said:
OMFGJWIWFINQC<QWFELFWEFNIWCNEWI(*&^(#*(@

...Initial reaction over, I'm now interested to see what direction they go in story-wise. The game seemed pretty well self-contained and didn't really suggest a sequel.
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the previous games in the series were all remakes or spiritual successors so this will be the first true sequel in the series...I'm guessing this will be released in 2014 but based on that trailer they might have been working on this at the same time as Dark Souls
 
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Demons Souls took place in a different land in the same universe. There is no reason they can't keep a similar theme.
 
polonyc2 said:
the previous games in the series were all remakes or spiritual successors so this will be the first true sequel in the series...I'm guessing this will be released in 2014 but based on that trailer they might have been working on this at the same time as Dark Souls
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Dark Souls II will be as much a sequel as Final Fantasy VIII is a sequel to Final Fantasy VII. that is to say, previous comments are correct. It will have similar gameplay concepts, difficulty, sinister atmosphere, but embodied in a whole new "world" complete with new mythology.

Demon's Souls was a completely new, completely original game. It was not a spiritual successor to King's Field. From makes King's field and it is true that the director has said that they wanted to carry over the difficulty and explorative aspects into a new game type. But that does not a successor make. Its more like how core atmospere and gameplay for Devil May Cry devoloped accidentally, when Capcom was testing ideas for Resident Evil 4.
 
I REALLY REALLY wish they'd step up Dark Souls 2 and make it a true open-world game , but keep the art style/darkness it is known for. What I mean is have it be more "open" and not so linear pathway designed, like a lot of the world was in Dark Souls. Actually allow you more freedom to just head off and explore all over without the world being so restricted feeling down linear pathways. More open area's, forests, dungeons that are open, etc.

That CGI trailer they did for the premiere, it looked great and had some good atmosphere. It'd be sweet if it was true open world and you really could see that huge castle and go to it like in the trailer.
 
chameleoneel said:
Dark Souls II will be as much a sequel as Final Fantasy VIII is a sequel to Final Fantasy VII. that is to say, previous comments are correct. It will have similar gameplay concepts, difficulty, sinister atmosphere, but embodied in a whole new "world" complete with new mythology
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hopefully they will keep those core elements intact and won't dumb down the difficulty or try and make it more 'accessible' to mainstream gamers...I remember the creative director talking about adding a less difficult mode into Dark Souls a few months back but then he backtracked and said he was misquoted...I'm not so sure the new game will have a new world and mythology as they are calling it Dark Souls 2 which implies a continuation of the current story

EDIT: or maybe not...here's the official word from Namco and Tomohiro Shibuya...

"It is slated to come out for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms with a new story and locations in addition to a revamped multiplayer mode"

http://www.examiner.com/article/first-dark-souls-2-platforms-multiplayer-and-other-details-revealed

I'm glad to see the PC included right from the get-go this time :)
 
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So the taurus demon, can i keep running to the ladder and jumping off each time for the plunge attack? or will he catch up to me each time i try to make it to the ladder? I get to do it once, but the second time he catches up and hits me off.

I kinda got his moves down now. I almost had him then i miscalculated his hit and he finished me off. So frustrating.

Edit - Also, how do I put an item in my top slot? I have my health potions in my bottom slot and i want to put my fire bombs in my upper slot so I can use both during the boss fight. Or is that impossible? I hate how i can't pause the game and switch them out at will, lol.

Edit x 2 - Also, how do you lock onto a target? Or is that only in the console versions? I can't aim worth shit with my bow.
 
The one thing I love about this game is the "open endedness"...not only in the direct sense of the word, but in the way that you're just kind of forced to figure even the most rudimentary shit out on your own.

Which brings me to a pertinent question:

I've seen people mention that this game has a "co-op" feature? How in the hell do you play with your friends? I just purchased this game for a good buddy of mine and we want to run through the game together. Is the "co-op" feature in this game not a straight forward "join" so and so?

Looking forward to a day of Dark Souls none the less!!!
 
GOD'SlittleSERVANT said:
So the taurus demon, can i keep running to the ladder and jumping off each time for the plunge attack? or will he catch up to me each time i try to make it to the ladder? I get to do it once, but the second time he catches up and hits me off.

I kinda got his moves down now. I almost had him then i miscalculated his hit and he finished me off. So frustrating.

Edit - Also, how do I put an item in my top slot? I have my health potions in my bottom slot and i want to put my fire bombs in my upper slot so I can use both during the boss fight. Or is that impossible? I hate how i can't pause the game and switch them out at will, lol.

Edit x 2 - Also, how do you lock onto a target? Or is that only in the console versions? I can't aim worth shit with my bow.
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Yes, you can do the plunge attack over and over again on the Taurus Demon.

The top slot is only for spells. The bottom slot is only for items. You can equip up to 5 items. Spells slots are determined by your attunement skill. Switch between items using the 'f" key or down on the dpad of a controller. Lock-on is with the "o" key or right thumbstick. Any other keys you want to know just look them up in the key settings part of the game and rebind them if you wish.

erf said:
The one thing I love about this game is the "open endedness"...not only in the direct sense of the word, but in the way that you're just kind of forced to figure even the most rudimentary shit out on your own.

Which brings me to a pertinent question:

I've seen people mention that this game has a "co-op" feature? How in the hell do you play with your friends? I just purchased this game for a good buddy of mine and we want to run through the game together. Is the "co-op" feature in this game not a straight forward "join" so and so?

Looking forward to a day of Dark Souls none the less!!!
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Co-op requires an item from an NPC you can meet after the Taurus Demon. The rules of co-op:

1. Host must be in human form (reverse hollowing at bonfire)
2. Players that want to be summoned need to place their sign in a place the host can see
3. Players must be within a certain soul level (SL) range to join eachother's game
4. Only two white/gold phantoms may assist a host at any time.

The SL range is determined with the formula SL +- 10 +- 10%SL

So a SL15 player can co-op with players ranging from SL4 - SL27.

Note that even though 15+10+1=26 because 27-10-2=15 a SL27 can join a SL15.

Also if anyone requires help with anything I have characters at multiple SL and areas that would probably be able to help.
 
Smythe said:
Yes, you can do the plunge attack over and over again on the Taurus Demon.

The top slot is only for spells. The bottom slot is only for items. You can equip up to 5 items. Spells slots are determined by your attunement skill. Switch between items using the 'f" key or down on the dpad of a controller. Lock-on is with the "o" key or right thumbstick. Any other keys you want to know just look them up in the key settings part of the game and rebind them if you wish.



Co-op requires an item from an NPC you can meet after the Taurus Demon. The rules of co-op:

1. Host must be in human form (reverse hollowing at bonfire)
2. Players that want to be summoned need to place their sign in a place the host can see
3. Players must be within a certain soul level (SL) range to join eachother's game
4. Only two white/gold phantoms may assist a host at any time.

The SL range is determined with the formula SL +- 10 +- 10%SL

So a SL15 player can co-op with players ranging from SL4 - SL27.

Note that even though 15+10+1=26 because 27-10-2=15 a SL27 can join a SL15.

Also if anyone requires help with anything I have characters at multiple SL and areas that would probably be able to help.
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Thanks! Figured this all out before i read this :)

Had to figure out how to use my bow to shoot that stupid red dragon for the drake sword. I hit him with all 60 arrows that I had and he still didn't fly away. I'm taking off now to my parents for the fights, so all of that time wasted for nothing. Next time, I'll buy 100 arrows. NEED that drake sword!
 
GOD'SlittleSERVANT said:
So the taurus demon, can i keep running to the ladder and jumping off each time for the plunge attack? or will he catch up to me each time i try to make it to the ladder? I get to do it once, but the second time he catches up and hits me off.

I kinda got his moves down now. I almost had him then i miscalculated his hit and he finished me off. So frustrating.

Edit - Also, how do I put an item in my top slot? I have my health potions in my bottom slot and i want to put my fire bombs in my upper slot so I can use both during the boss fight. Or is that impossible? I hate how i can't pause the game and switch them out at will, lol.

Edit x 2 - Also, how do you lock onto a target? Or is that only in the console versions? I can't aim worth shit with my bow.
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For the Taurus demon, just keep moving to stay between his legs and he can't hit you at all (after you plunge attack him once). If you keep trying to climb the ladder, he can get potshots on you while you climb.
 
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