flashburn

The Drake Sword is so powerful and you can get it so early, it's almost game breaking. Not to say I'm not using it too though, . Luckily since you can't improve it, you'll find someone better probably a few hours later.

MoviePage

Yeah, the repair kit is the same way. Buy one, use it for life. I agree that the quantity thing is confusing, and I've been unsure several times of whether it was safe to use an item I had found or bought. The common sense answer is usually the correct one, though, and if you look at the item's description in your inventory it can help you figure it out.

On a related note, I'm not sure if it has been mentioned already in this thread, but one of the best tips I'd offer a newer player is that if you find an item called Fire Keeper's Soul, DO NOT USE IT. Save it and give it to the right person, and it permanently boosts your Estus Flasks' healing power. The item description almost makes it sound like it will have that effect if you consume it, but if you do that, it's gone forever, and there are only a very limited number of them in the game. I made that mistake with the first one I found.

The Drake Sword is indeed pretty amazing. It's been the only weapon I've used through the whole game, and I'm level 54 now. I finally found a better weapon that I can actually use just last night...right after using a rare resource to upgrade the Drake Sword twice, naturally.

Oh, and for those confused about the whole weapon upgrade/ascension thing that's done using Titanite, someone put together this extremely handy chart.

Poink

The only reason I feel like I'm cheating a bit by using the Drake sword is because I probably wouldn't have thought to sit there and pepper that dragon's tail with arrows for 15 minutes.

So far I'm enjoying the hell out of the game. I'm having a somewhat easier time with bosses than I did in Demon's Souls. In both, I started with a Knight Class, but in Demon's I built him up to be fairly well rounded so I could use melee, bows, and magic. Which was fine for getting through the Worlds, but for 90% of the bosses I had to play it safe / cheap and keep my distance and use Soul Arrow or whatever it was called.

This time around, I'm focusing much more on Strength, Endurance, and Vitality so far. It felt really good dispatching those two Gargoyles with my sword rather than sniping one through the fog and then poking the other one through the fire pit / brazier with a spear like I did in the much similar Demon's Souls encounter.

MoviePage

Quick summary of the game for anyone who's still on the fence:

mewmartigan

That's a pretty good summary...they just need a banner that says "oh by the way, you just lost everything you had on you and 2 hours worth of progress in the game "

I really like the online feature in this. I haven't invaded anyone or been invaded but seeing the real-time ghosts around me and seeing others at the bonfires is really cool.

Poink

Yeah, the online system is probably the most innovative implementation in this generation. Although I certainly don't seem to see quite as many "ghosts" and notes around as I did when I played through Demon's Souls. Probably because Demon's Souls had been out for a year or so before I played it. The notes were often VERY helpful. Although this time around, they seem to be a bit more vague and lack some of the more comical uses, as anyone who's ever seen "Beware of Bleeding Ahead" or "Sticky White Stuff" near a female NPC can attest.

Invasions are neat, but I've never had it happen yet, because I tend to just stay "dead" or Hollow or whatever they call it in this one. The game is hard enough without worrying about other players coming and destroying you while you're otherwise doing good. There was a cool part in Demon's Souls where one of the bosses was actually another player that was summoned, unless no one was available or you were offline. Then it was just a default Black Phantom.

For selling stuff:

OrangeLazarus57

There's a guy that repairs your equipment (and upgrades them also) inside of a jail cell by some descending stairs. He's in the first area of New Lando Ruins (right after you exit the elevator) where the undead seem to be in agony and don't attack you for some reason. If you go to the far right there's a descending staircase with a cell to the left.

Noonan

Being cursed sucks hard. I think I found out who I have to go to for the item that cures it but that doesn't do too much good when I'm knee deep in the Depths. Do I leave and get healed or try to tough it out with only half life?

Does anyone know how I can avoid being cursed down there?

fujishig

Finally played enough to get to the point where you can get the sword, and yeah, it is game breaking considering the stats of the weapons you get up to that point. But that'll probably just get me overconfident enough to die horribly a few hours down the road. Also, the taurus boss dropped his hammer, which takes something like 45 strength to use, so I don't think I'll ever be able to use it.

So yeah, when you're starting out it's pretty important to get your dexterity up to 12 so you can use a short bow (bought from the first merchant), even if you're a melee build, so you can get the sword.

mewmartigan

Yeah I bought a bow and burned through the arrows pretty quick....haven't made it back to buy more.

I also went all the way through ringing the first bell without having any magic....the soul arrows would have helped quite a few times! The Drake Sword certainly helped though...once you've been through an area 20 times, its nice to be able to cut down enemies in one hit.

flashburn

The Bell Gargoyles were such a joke using the Drake Sword. I didn't even need to use any strategy. I think I killed them in 3 hits each (well one swing hit both of them).

MoviePage

I wouldn't recommend trying to get through the Depths boss, or the next area that the Depths leads to, with half health. They're difficult enough with full health.

Since you're cursed already, now might be a good time to back out and venture into New Londo Ruins since you need to be cursed to get through that area anyway. Be warned though, it's tough.

Bonus: you can also find a ring there that will increase your curse resistance quite a bit, for when you return to the Depths. There are several kinds of clothing in the game that will bump up this stat as well, but they're probably not located anywhere that's convenient for you right now. The best way to avoid the curse, besides adding resistance, is to kill those frogs quickly! (Easier said than done, I know.)

Also, if you want to go ahead and buy a cure, don't spend 6,000 souls with the zombie lady behind the sewer grate. Climb back up to the church belltower, and the guy that appeared there after you rang the bell sells the same item for 3,000.

Fun side note: apparently the crystallized people you see sometimes in the Depths and other curse-prone areas are other online players who've been cursed and died. They'll be in whatever pose they were in when it happened.

Noonan

Good advice; thanks. How do I get to New Londo Ruins? I'm at the Firelink Shrine bonfire. I should be okay level-wise. I'm at 30 now and wasn't having any trouble in the Depths...until I got cursed & died.

MoviePage

Go down the stairs beside the first guy you see at Firelink, and around to the elevator. That will take you straight down to New Londo.

Noonan

Thanks again. I haven't even ventured down that stair case yet. I guess I'll be doing that tonight.

wlj

Noonan

That's what he gets for keeping his shield down...First rule of Dark Souls, never let off the L1 button.

Poink

Yeah, Curse is a pain. It doesn't bother me TOO much since in Demon's Souls anytime you were dead / a "Phantom" -which was likely 90% of the game- you only had half health (well, 3/4 with a certain near-mandatory ring), so I'm just used to running around at less than full health.

I personally just fought onwards and killed the boss while still cursed. I didn't want to waste the time and resources going to cure it since it could easily happen again down there. The boss of that area will practically one-shot you even at full health unless you're jacked up with like 900+ HP. Its moves are fairly easy to avoid once you see how it behaves. So unless you're having a tough time surviving the level itself, I recommend at least giving the boss a few tries. Although I would cure the Curse before even thinking about going to Blightown aka Poison City.

If coughing up 6000 souls to cure it seems a bit excessive (it was for me at that point), here's a way to get two cure items for free:

You can go back to the Undead Asylum (the start of the game) from Firelink Shrine. Look it up if you need to know how, but basically you take one of the elevators near the Miracle trainer that go up to the Church (where the the heavy armored Knight was at). Halfway up the ride, walk out of the door onto the platform. Go around to the right a bit and you'll see a square wooden post with a narrow plank. Do a run / jump onto this, and follow it up, ascending the stairs, etc. You'll find a bird's nest. Stand in it, "curl up" and wait. After maybe a minute or less, the huge bird will come and carry you back to the Asylum.

Once there, over on the left side about half way down the 'hill' there's a smaller birds nest. You'll hear the legendary "Snuggly" the Crow talking; saying "Give me warm give me soft." You can trade items with him. For the Curse cure, you need to give up one Red Eye Stone (the player invasion item). To make the trade, stand in the nest and "Drop" one. Then without going anywhere, exit out of the game. When you load, you'll be right where you were, and the item on the ground will be two Curse cures. Go back to the large nest and the bird will take you back to the Shrine. (Don't recommend exploring the rest of the area; it's a pretty tough place now, and optional as far as I can tell).

I believe you can only make the trade one time, so don't waste the items or you'll be stuck having to pay. If nothing else, just wait to use it when you know you won't be seeing those frogs again; like once you've made it to the boss area and have the shortcuts open. So far the only other time I've seen those things is in The Great Hollow, which is almost a "secret" area and non-essential (so far, at least).

You're most likely going to want to come back to the surface eventually to stock up on the poison cures for Blightown, and to meet with the Pyromancy trainer that you can free in the Depths. He gives you the basic pyro weapon and the combustion spell is a nice and cheap little addition to the arsenal if you're playing a melee class and occasionally need some fire damage. Unless you're already a pyromancer.

Poink

Been doing nothing else the last few days other than playing, so I've gotten pretty far since picking it up Friday. Right now I'm in Andor Lando; the castle, not the underworld / Ruins. Picked up an amazing weapon there, a Crystal Halberd. The thing destroys. Unfortunately, what I didn't know is that it has a durability of 20, and cannot be repaired. So if you find any Crystal weapons, don't waste them like I did... although it was helpful on these rock-hard knights and drakes.

Finally got a Black Night Sword which has eclipsed the Drake Sword for me. Although I still prefer medium speed swords over the slower Greatswords. It's a beast when used two-handed though.

Noonan

Is level 33 too low for Sen's Fortress? I'm only doing about 60 damage to those snake guys with a hard attack. Unless I save up 20K for the key to that area in the forest, I don't know of anywhere I can collect a decent amount of souls to level up more.

Poink

Did you complete the Depths and Blightown already? As much as I hated those places, they're better than going at Sen's Fortress and beyond unprepared. I was probably about the same level when I started there, but was doing probably 60-ish with my regular attacks. You may want to search around for some better weapons, or upgrade what you're already using if you haven't. The upgrades don't cost much, and you should have quite a supply of materials by this point (and you can buy the basic ones from the Blacksmith). Backstabs / parrying is probably the way to go if getting powerful weapons isn't an option.

Sen's Fortress isn't too bad, though. Those lizards take a beating, but there aren't too many of them in there, and they're mostly faced alone other than at the gate. The area is more of a trap / obstacle course than a hard fighting place. Even when traveling back, I was surprised at how much the lizard guys resisted a quick death, and I'm doing 100-140 a swing now.

I really haven't done any Soul Farming up to this point. I wouldn't recommend spending 20,000 souls just to open up that area in the forest. I guess it opens up "for free" later on, and the 20,000 souls you would pay to open it now could be better used for just leveling naturally / upgrading things. Right now, in Anor Lando, I'm at a bonfire that makes a good farming spot for me. Now that the boss shortcut is open, there's 4 Knights I can take out quickly for 900 souls each, and reset and repeat, netting me just under 4000 souls in less than a minute. Might not work for everyone, since depending on class those knights might not be "easy" enemies to dispatch. They have a a pretty nonchalant aggro range though, so even if you die, recovering your souls is easy, as you can walk right up to most of them before them attacking. And at least you have to put some effort into actually fighting instead of just letting some guys run off a cliff like the forest spot.

I guess it's hard to recommend a weapon not knowing your stats and playing style, but here's how to get some awesome armor at the point you're at (assuming you've defeated the Spider Lady in Blightown):

MoviePage

Yeah, that armor is really overpowered, especially for being light. I think everyone's using it after they find it, just like the Drake Sword. But I'm not complaining, I still have some pieces of it equipped.

I farmed a little bit in the forest area, and I'd definitely recommend spending the money to open the door if you really want to do that. Pre-Anor Londo, it's definitely the best place in the game to farm for buying stuff or levelling up (I can't speak to Anor Londo or beyond, because I'm just about the venture there for the first time myself, at level 70). Just a personal preference, but you can get 7,000 souls in about 2 or 3 minutes each time. I fought legit each time, no pushing anyone off cliffs.

Noonan

Yeah, I've done both the Depths and Blighttown. No way of getting into Sen's without ringing the bell. Right now I'm using mostly that crimson armor and the drake sword. I have a longsword +5 but but it's still weaker than the 200 with the drake. I'm using a thief so my strength isn't very high; 18 right now I think. My dex is 21.

I'm pissed at myself; I fully intended to buy the 20K crest after taking out the gaping dragon (I did the Depths after Blighttown thanks to the shortcut from the Valley) but I ran back and leveled up in my excitement of getting through the fight on my first try. So now I need to find another way to farm 20K. I don't think there are any bosses left I can tackle, other than going to Sen's.

MoviePage

I had great success at that point in the game in leaving my summon sign right outside the stairs to the Gaping Dragon's door. I helped at least 4 other people beat him at 12,500 souls (and 1 Humanity) per run. Fun!

xmiyux

I never played Demon Souls so this whole genre is new to me... But I am totally hooked.

It hits all the same spots with me that Nethack and other roguelikes hit. Normally I get really frustrated with games but this one for some reason doesn't aggravate me as much.

Still pretty early though. I am in the Burg and have hit some tower where there is a big spiral staircase and a blacksmith or something at the bottom. At the top there was a big demon that I defeated.

So, am I still super far from ringing a bell? My character is only like level 15 and I am still using really basic equipment. I think my sorcerer is using a short sword.

As for leveling, I have been working on the intelligence (thinking it would boost my spells) and the stat that lets me carry more weight. Is this a good plan?