Dark Souls

[Aftrunner]

Go to lower Undead burg. Kill the Capra demon, get the key to the depths. Then watch the video I posted above to get the Large Ember. That will let you upgrade your weapon to +10.

 

Only then go to Sen's fortress.

 

I am starting a Faith build for the first time. I tried it sometime ago but abandoned it midway to go for STR. This time I will focus mostly on Faith and get a Divine or Occult weapon.

[pbpoovannagamer]

Haven't you already been to Lower Undead Burg yet? It seems like you broke the sequence and went to Blighttown using the Firelink/Valley of Drakes shortcut.

 

I honestly wouldn't recommend sequence breaking in the first playthrough.

WHAT sequence ?? there is no such information in game !! NPCs dont tell anything at all!! except the guy in firelink shrine he tells me ring the 2 bells and i did that!! the black smith shared some info about dark root garden and the catarina knight, blacksmith refers his suit of armor to an onion, undead merchant talks about some invisble pet and he spoke about the taurus demon!! THATS IT!! have i ruined the game for myself ??

should i navigate like the pic says ? beginner's route ?

Edited February 10, 2013 by pbpoovannagamer

[Tyler]

The Master Key breaks the sequence. You cannot go to Blighttown without finishing Lower Undead Burg and The Depths if you don't have the Master Key.

 

You get the key to The Depths from Capra Demon and the key to Blighttown by defeating the Gaping Dragon (boss of The Depths). But if you have Master Key you can very well skip both areas and bosses and go straight to Blighttown via the shortcut. It's definitely not recommended for a first playthrough. The Depths is actually a pretty cool area and has some useful loot/farming spots. Even Lower Undead Burg has some loot which is helpful for beginners.

 

Also skipping Depths means missing the Large Ember and that means you cannot upgrade weapons.

 

 

@Afty, yeah I'm running a faith build for the first time as well. Need to farm sunlight medals... it requires a lot of patience

[Aftrunner]

@pbpoovannagamer You already did the sequence in your last playthrough. That path just leads you back to Blighttown the way you did it the first time before you restarted the game. So dont bother. Just get the large ember like it shows in the video (the ember is right at the beginning), go back to undead parish bonfire, upgrade your weapon to +10 and move on to Sens fortress.

Even if you didnt go to Depths in the last playthrough, dont bother going there. All you can farm there are rats for humanity (which takes a long a*s time) or the slimes for shards (which also takes a long a*s time), easier and cheaper to just buy shards. And the way will lead you back into Blighttown anyway.

Oh and did I mention the Depths are full of curse frogs.

@Ty He got to blighttown the long way the first time he played. He restarted the game cause he put a f**kton of points into resistance and killed the blacksmith in Undead parish.

Edited February 10, 2013 by Aftrunner

[Tyler]

Oh okay. Killing Andrei and investing points in Resistance is more than enough reason to restart the game lol...

 

In that case yeah, do what Afty says.

 

 

BTW you aren't using Pyro or Magic spells are you? If yes it might be a good idea to visit Depths or Lower Undead Burg for rescuing the trainers.

Edited February 10, 2013 by Tyler

[pbpoovannagamer]

@pbpoovannagamer You already did the sequence in your last playthrough. That path just leads you back to Blighttown the way you did it the first time before you restarted the game. So dont bother. Just get the large ember like it shows in the video (the ember is right at the beginning), go back to undead parish bonfire, upgrade your weapon to +10 and move on to Sens fortress.

 

Even if you didnt go to Depths in the last playthrough, dont bother going there. All you can farm there are rats for humanity (which takes a long a*s time) or the slimes for shards (which also takes a long a*s time), easier and cheaper to just buy shards. And the way will lead you back into Blighttown anyway.

 

Oh and did I mention the Depths are full of curse frogs.

 

@Ty He got to blighttown the long way the first time he played. He restarted the game cause he put a f**kton of points into resistance and killed the blacksmith in Undead parish.

curse frogs gonna go prepared with purge stones

 

 

 

 

[Tyler]

If you're going there just for the ember no need to worry about curse frogs.

 

 

In other news, continuing my SL1 run... Gargoyles and Capra are down. Time for the Depths.

 

SL1 is a great experience. I'm finding myself using items and gear I never really cared for in normal playthroughs.

Edited February 10, 2013 by Tyler

[meaNmachine]

If you're going there just for the ember no need to worry about curse frogs.

 

 

In other news, continuing my SL1 run... Gargoyles and Capra are down. Time for the Depths.

 

SL1 is a great experience. I'm finding myself using items and gear I never really cared for in normal playthroughs.

 

What is this SL1 playthrough and how is it different?

[Tyler]

SL1 means Soul Level 1. Basically a self-imposed challenge where you don't level up any stats... only upgrade gear. That way you stay at soul level 1 throughout the game. You can even go one step further and do a no-upgrade SL1 too.

 

Doing SL1 runs is quite popular in the Dark Souls community.

[Aftrunner]

Goddamn now I remember why I hate faith builds so much. They are completely useless. Divine weapons have shitty damage and terrible scaling. You have to farm in the Tomb of the Giants to get White chunks. 90% of the spells are useless. The other 10% require way too many stat points to justify the kind of assistance they give.

 

Its not that the game becomes difficult. I could still Pyro and Lightning my way out of any fight without breaking a sweat. But its just soooooo..............pointless. The Soul Levels I put in faith, I might as well have put into Resistance for the good they do.

 

Times like these, I really wish there was some way to respec the levels you put in. I am in Anor Londo, SL 50 and I think I will just ditch this character and go back to something else.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Aftrunner

[R a g h u]

Faith Dex builds are damn very good for PVP. That could be the only reason why people including me preferred a Faith build (Darkmoon Blade).

[Tyler]

Yeah Darkmoon Blade is the primary reason for a Faith build. Other than that it seems to be pretty boring and unecessarily tedious.

 

Afty just ditch it. I don't think I'm going back to my Faith character either. Might try a DEX ninja next.

[pbpoovannagamer]

are there any dire consequences for killing Griggs of Vinheim ? it was a mistake!! swung my claymore at the barrels for treasure and he got caught in the swing, i had to finish him. why does this keep happening to me

 

now i have a nice stealth ring to sneak up on enemies

[Rhythmthief]

Any advice for someone who is just starting the game ??

 

Im at Taurus Demon

[meaNmachine]

are there any dire consequences for killing Griggs of Vinheim ? it was a mistake!! swung my claymore at the barrels for treasure and he got caught in the swing, i had to finish him. why does this keep happening to me

 

now i have a nice stealth ring to sneak up on enemies

 

He sells Sorcery related items only. So if you are not into Sorcery then nothing to worry. You kill NPCs by mistake a lot Instead of swinging your sword try rolling through the barrels. That way the NPCs trapped won't be hostile.

 

Need some help. I returned to Firelink Shrine and that pyromancy guy asked me about the new pyromancy skill i have. I answered yes to his question and he dissapeared the next time i visited firelink shrine! Does that mean i lost him and can't upgrade pyromancy again?

Edited February 11, 2013 by meaNmachine

[zen]

Any advice for someone who is just starting the game ??

 

Im at Taurus Demon

Dont go through guide videos. I know the temptation will be incredibly hard, and you will die more often than not, but the best time i have ever had with this game is when i did not know what would happen next, surprising a sleeping dragon, walking suddenly into a beautiful forrest, seeing a large monster writhing far away, only to find out its a giant hydra when you get closer.

I did go through many videos on my first playthrough for certain areas, and the experience was less meaningful when i played through the level afterwards.

[zen]

Need some help. I returned to Firelink Shrine and that pyromancy guy asked me about the new pyromancy skill i have. I answered yes to his question and he dissapeared the next time i visited firelink shrine! Does that mean i lost him and can't upgrade pyromancy again?

You will find him in Blightown.....but he may not like you as much as he did. Luckily there is Queelana to sell you fire spells (but she only shows up after you reach +10 pyromancy, correct me if I'm wrong here guys).

[Ne0]

Thinking of giving this game another try .... any beginner tips on class/quests etc ?

[meaNmachine]

Any advice for someone who is just starting the game ??

 

Im at Taurus Demon

 

 

Thinking of giving this game another try .... any beginner tips on class/quests etc ?

 

You can start with any class as there is no restrictions with skills. If this is your first playthrough then don't choose the Master Key as your starting gift. You will get confused where to go and all as master key can open any doors. So sometimes you might end up in an area where enemies are much much stronger than you. Anyway if you choose the Master key then the advantage is that you can access important areas early in the game.

 

Go through the Getting started section of Gamespot's guide. Covers all basics. There will be many things that you won't understand later in the game but nothing to worry, just refer to any DS wiki or ask in this thread.

[Tyler]

Any advice for someone who is just starting the game ??

 

Im at Taurus Demon

 

 

Thinking of giving this game another try .... any beginner tips on class/quests etc ?

 

General tips...

 

- Start with Pyromancer. Pyro spells are pretty strong and don't scale with INT. So you can use magic as well as become really good with melee weapons (which is necessary). Pyro is almost like choosing an "easy" difficulty while starting.

 

@Ne0... there are no "quests" per se. The game is a dungeon crawler. You have to complete an "area" and fight an end boss, which in turn opens up other areas. However the game is designed as one big open world and you can get from one place to another without loading screens. They are all logically connected. The game has some exceptional level design IMO.

 

- DO NOT invest in Resistance while leveling up. It's useless.

 

- Be extremely careful around NPCs. A slight swing from your weapon could make them hostile. You may end up killing important NPCs.

 

- Don't start with Master Key. It will break the sequence of progression. Even if you do, see the point below.

 

- When you get to Firelink Shrine. You have to go up towards the aqueducts (to Undead Burg). Going any other way will lead you to tough enemies and lots of frustration.

 

- Humanity is an important resource. Allows you to summon others to help you. Also used to kindle bonfires (for more estus flasks instead of the default 5). Kindling isn't explained too well in the game. In fact I learnt it quite late in my first playthrough.

 

- DO NOT use these items directly from inventory - boss souls and Firekeeper Souls. They have specific uses.

 

- A lot of people will tell you to get the Drake Sword asap. However I STRONGLY recommend against this. It may make some of the early areas easier but it will become obsolete by the time you reach Sen's Fortress. Instead choose a weapon that you feel most comfortable with and keep upgrading it at the blacksmith. Upgrading is a little obtuse as well but you can always ask the pros here.

 

- Do not ignore upgrades. Dark Souls favors upgraded gear more than player levels.

 

- Learn to block. In most games it's more or less optional but in Dark Souls it is almost mandatory (until you master rolling). Keep your shield up as much as you can.

 

- Don't worry about losing souls when you die. You can farm an unlimited number of souls in the game.

 

- Also don't give up if you can't progress past a certain area or a boss. Ask for tips here. Everything can be beaten without being a pro at the game. If all else fails grind souls and outlevel the enemy.

 

- If you're new to the game try playing in hollow form as much as possible. You won't get invaded that way.

 

- And lastly - the most important tip - If you cannot understand something ask others. The game is designed for community interaction. Everything from the MP elements to the in-game message system is designed around people working together even if it feels like a solitary experience.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Tyler