Dark Souls

[Ghambit]

 

[Falconeer]

Uh, you kick the ladder down first rather than going down the broken steps.  It leads to the old bonfire, but then you can climb back up to where you were before.

...

 

Note that this is not as subtle as it sounds.  If you approach the ladder you get a prompt 

"Kick the ladder down?" X

I haven't seen any ladder, and I passed by that spot about 5 times. I guess I need to crank up the brightness on my screen.

[Yegolev]

Real Dark Souls begins now!

Even if I hadn't seen it when I explored the room, I did see a PC ghost climb up it before I had kicked it down.

Also, I noticed the large bridge overhead and deduced that if I came across the top that I might find a way down.

[Falconeer]

Now that I mastered "advancing", how do you "go back"? Meaning, is there any way to instant travel? I would say no, given that the world has no teleports and such, but (for example) how do I go back to the merchant inthe first area if I want arrow, or to the blacksmith later on in the game if I am knee deep in something else?

What ladder I am not kicking this time?

[Quinton]

Generally this works by opening up various short-cuts to allow easier access to areas you've been before, but I don't think there's any kind of instantaneous fast travel.

[Falconeer]

I only think it sucks merchant and blacksmith wise so far. How are you managing to upgrade your weapons in your game so far? Or there are multiple blacksmiths scattered around?

Also, has anyone seen the strategy guide? How is it? Nice? Useful? Crap?

[Velorath]

I only think it sucks merchant and blacksmith wise so far. How are you managing to upgrade your weapons in your game so far? Or there are multiple blacksmiths scattered around?

The Firelink Shrine is essentially the main hub.  There is an elevator that serves as a shortcut between there and the blacksmith.  You can get to the Undead Burg easily from the Firelink Shrine also to get to the merchant there.  Things start to branch off a lot beyond that, but since the Firelink Shrine, Undead Burg, and the Parish connect to just about all the zones in some way or another, getting anywhere is fairly quick once you've unlocked the right shortcuts.

[Falconeer]

Thank you. Got it. Back to simply loving the game like no other.

[ffc]

Don't forget there is a consumable item Homeward Bone that will warp you back to your last bonfire (there's also a miracle that does the same).  So if, for example, Blighttown has beaten you so badly you have to leave crying to get supplies, you can warp back if you don't save at another bonfire on the way out.

[stu]

New Londo is tough. I'm gonna have to hang somewhere else for a while.

[ffc]

The amount of secrets in this game is incredible.  Hidden walls to whole areas.  NPC's coming and going and changing.  I explored an area and now I have something growing out of my head. 

I'm glad the game strongly hints at what areas to travel to through finding keys, dialogue and cut-scenes or I'd be completely lost instead of mostly lost.

[bhodi]

Update!

[Nerf]

Update!

I'm level 63 now with a dex/end heavy build (40/26 right now iirc) and a +8 black bow of pharis.  Sen's Fortress suuuuucked until Further in Sen's Fortress:
Before you kill the boss, make sure you have this loot:
Lightning spear, fromCovetous serpent ring (boosts item find to 300) from: Boss strategy that worked for me:
Different strat I read after I killed him:
After you kill the Sen's Fortress boss: (Spoilering, but you should probably read it)
I've got some schoolwork shit to grind out before I'm picking it up again, but hopefully I'll be done with that this evening and can make some more progress.  Anor Londo is *gorgeous*.

[Velorath]

In response to your last spoiler:

[Nerf]

In response to your last spoiler:

Welp, just call me Falconeer.

[ffc]

Anor Londo is PvP city.  Invasions non-stop when I was human to get help for the boss fight and when I put down my white message to help others.  I would not be able to do lots of these boss fights if I didn't have help in the form of players or NPCs so you guys soloing bosses are pro.  

I made that curved sword weapon using Quelaag's soul and I'm underwhelmed.  Part of that might be when I do co-op, I see other players flinging some kind of buzz-saw spell that travels along the ground at monsters and I question my decision to go melee.  I also find its particle effect distracting.  Probably going to try the weapon using the Moonlight soul next.

Two tips I wish I knew earlier:  1) Torches in Blighttown indicate ladders, 2) Holding O on a ladder will let you slide down the ladder.  Damn ladders.

[Arinon]

Anor Londo is PvP city.  

I discovered this last night in a big way.  I generally kindle any bonfires that look to be in a good spot and every time I went human in Anor Londo I was invaded within about 3-4 minutes.  My success rate for sending these guys home hasn't been that great but it's neat to see how various people build characters.  The Ornstein/Smough fight has been the best one yet.  I was tempted to call for help but it seemed likely I wouldn't live long enough to do so.  So glad I didn't as that fight was cool to learn. 

I'm barely holding to my walkthrough/information blackout but weaponcrafting and this Covenant stuff has me sorely tempted.

[Velorath]

Was grinding out some souls in Anor Londo and wearing my Cat Covenant ring to occasionally get summoned to the forest for some PVP.  Had some wins and some losses.  Usually a win will net me between 5000-7000 souls.  Then one time I get summoned and there's another phantom on my side already there, but we can't find the guy we're supposed to kill.  We keep wandering all over the forest eventually splitting up.  After a while I can see the enemy's health bar flash in the distance meaning my partner is in combat with him.  Come in on the end of the fight and manage to get a few hits in.  We kill the guy, and I'm shocked to notice that for some reason this time it nets me 770,000 souls.  I don't know if it's based on how many souls the guy had on him at the time, his level, or how many people he'd killed before we finally got him, but it was enough souls to take me from level 57 to level 83.

[Margalis]

Is the PS3 version supposed to be noticeably better than the 360 version?

No, I did not read the whole thread.

[Nerf]

Was grinding out some souls in Anor Londo and wearing my Cat Covenant ring to occasionally get summoned to the forest for some PVP.  Had some wins and some losses.  Usually a win will net me between 5000-7000 souls.  Then one time I get summoned and there's another phantom on my side already there, but we can't find the guy we're supposed to kill.  We keep wandering all over the forest eventually splitting up.  After a while I can see the enemy's health bar flash in the distance meaning my partner is in combat with him.  Come in on the end of the fight and manage to get a few hits in.  We kill the guy, and I'm shocked to notice that for some reason this time it nets me 770,000 souls.  I don't know if it's based on how many souls the guy had on him at the time, his level, or how many people he'd killed before we finally got him, but it was enough souls to take me from level 57 to level 83.

There's apparently some soul duping glitch in the game, I was watching the little chat applet on one of the wiki's and this exact subject came up.  You get their souls when you kill them, so he had either 770k or 1.5m souls on him and they got split.

[Khaldun]

Finally had a free night and got back into game, starting up again with a Wanderer. Got through Undead Burg to Taurus Demon, killed it this time w/several plunging attacks, moved on to bridge and got the Drake Sword.

Holy shit what a difference that thing makes.

[MisterNoisy]

Is the PS3 version supposed to be noticeably better than the 360 version?

No, I did not read the whole thread.

Eurogamer's Digital Foundry couldn't find much difference between the two.

In the final conclusion, image quality on both platforms is ostensibly identical, while performance is an apples and pears situation. Neither the 360 or PS3 version can definitively claim to have an absolute edge here, with Sony's machine taking volumetric effects in its stride, and Microsoft's handling destructible elements more convincingly.

...

For the deciding vote, it's close enough for us to recommend either controller preference or the PS3 version's larger range of supported audio formats as more crucial points for consideration.

[ffc]

I'm barely holding to my walkthrough/information blackout but weaponcrafting and this Covenant stuff has me sorely tempted.

This chart I'm spoilering is pretty awesome if you want details on upgrade paths without other spoilers like area walkthroughs.  Avert your eyes from the lower left side if you don't want to know which boss souls are used for which weapons.  I'm refusing to grind so my weapon upgrades are based on whatever materials I have or can readily buy but the chart is still neat to see. 


About covenants, just know if you want to switch covenants but you think you want to rejoin the one you are leaving, then leave the covenant by talking to the guy after the gargoyles fight so you won't have to pay him later to rejoin the covenant you are leaving.

I also found a nifty map showing which areas are connected.

[Arinon]

I haven't found any real advantages to any of the Covenants but then again I haven't been looking.  Once I get around to a second play-through I'll game the shit out of that stuff.  This first run I've joined several with no real guidance.  Hitting the forest area now after Anor Londo which, judging by the lack of difficulty, I should have hit earlier. 


That weapon chart is what I'm looking for, thanks.  I just don't want to waste anything that's a bitch to farm or that you only get one of. 

[stu]

I just joined the forest covenant yesterday. I checked the wiki which highly recommends quitting out of the game immediately after joining them. If not, a bug may cause your happy tree friends to attack you on site rather than accept you as one of their own. You might be screwed on that front.

In other news, and I think this is a carry over from the last game, bosses wail like The Thing upon death, which I never get tired of. 

[ffc]

If a covenant is mad at you for leaving, or for hitting-but-not-killing an NPC, or just bugged, talk to the guy after the gargoyles.  He will cleanse your sins for a hefty soul price (I think it's 2000 x lvl) and the covenants won't be mad at you anymore.  

[Arinon]

It's too late for that now!  Next time I fire the game up I'll be seeing what loot those punks drop.

[Velorath]

To start with, unless you talk to a particular NPC (forget his name) to leave a covenant before joining a new one, I think you're betraying your previous covenant.  Some Covenants have merchants who will only sell to members of their covenant.  Some give you items (got a ring of fog from the Forest Hunters covenant for killing other players who had entered the forest).  Some get exclusive Miracles.  

Which covenant you've joined also determines how you PVP.  Forest Hunters wear a ring that summons them to the Forest when non-members enter it.  Darkmoon Blades can invade people who have sinned (betrayed their covenant, killed certain NPC's, and certain kinds of PVP) without the game notifying the person being invaded.  Gravelord Servants get the Eye of Death which will cause stronger enemies to appear in someone else's world until they find your sign and invade your world to try to kill you.  Path of the Dragon places your sign in someone else's world allowing them to invade your world and fight, with the winner getting a dragon scale.  There are some others as well.

[Ghambit]

There needs to be a Nobel Prize for game design.

[Falconeer]

Gaaah. Boss insta-cursing you is making me want to do very bad things to people.

Also, I wonder if this is a European thing or what, but I've been sitting in front of a few bosses with my soul sign down hoping to be summoned and the average wait is 15-20 minutes. That's quite depressing, and I wonder if it's because the game just got released, if it's because it's not such a popular game, or due to the mechanics of humanity being a depletable resourse people are soloing as much as they can.

What's your experience or your average waiting time for summons, and where do you live?

Also, Game of the Year, please.

[schild]

There needs to be a Nobel Prize for game design.

They got it for the first one when I called it game of the year (and best Console Game Ever, and Best Zelda Game Ever) before any other website had even played it. If Nobel can be a dick and be remembered for his prize, so can I.

[stu]

Summoning two kind souls to walk me through Anor Londo probably just saved me a full day of screwing around. I had no idea what a massive place that castle would be.  Also saved me from getting pummeled within two seconds of entering the boss gate.

[ffc]

If you have long wait times to get summoned, keep putting down your summon message.  Apparently there are different servers so wait times can vary but if you put down your summon message multiple times your message hops servers.  Friends are able to link up by repeatedly putting down one message until the other one sees it.  For myself, I wait a few minutes and then drop the sign again.  I think Demon's Souls had 1 server per region so matchmaking was faster.

Speaking of the good ol' days, the boss fights thus far don't feel as clever as Adjudicator, Maiden Astrea, Old Hero, Storm King, etc.  And I'm still disappointed I don't see any 60+ rated messages (even 5+ is rare). 

I do, however, laugh at the statues I see after Nonentity explained what they are earlier in the thread.  I like these more than bloodstains.  Look how close they are to the ladder, hahaha.

[bhodi]

What the fucking shit am I supposed to do with two skeletons firing knockback sword-javelins at me on a tiny ledge in anor lando as a melee. Monumentus bullshit, that is. I lost track of the number of times I ran only to die over and over again to a goddamned knockback. Even if I get in position to block one, the other one hits me in the back.

[Velorath]

What the fucking shit am I supposed to do with two skeletons firing knockback sword-javelins at me on a tiny ledge in anor lando as a melee. Monumentus bullshit, that is. I lost track of the number of times I ran only to die over and over again to a goddamned knockback. Even if I get in position to block one, the other one hits me in the back.

You're going to have to head towards the one on the right, try doing a roll without falling off the ledge to get into melee range with him, and either try to kick him off the ledge, or block his swings and hope he falls off.  But yeah, that part is a pain in the ass.