Dark Souls

danthefan

In my first attempt at DS (I got to O+S) I went under a strict no attacking NPCs rule, I just didn't think it was worth it.

marko93

Thanks for clearing that up lads! Never even know they dropped weapons or anything like it, so I shall carry on playing like I was.

Zombrex

marko93 wrote: »

Can ask about the importance of NPCs and what happens if you attack them?

I think generally it is not a good idea to attack them unless you know they have something you really want (or you know they are not longer useful). A lot of NPCs are connected to the wider story and can turn up later in the game where they provide services or further stuff to buy.

PandyAndy

Keep them all alive before you kill the last boss. Then kill them all.

Logical_Bear

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

This game is HARD.

and dont feel guilty for getting cheap kills,if you can trap enemys on the envoironment etc go for it,fuk knows the game can kill you cheaply too:pac:

Danonino.

Early game firebombs are your friend too Trap a group of dudes and blast em with a firebomb. The first few black knights and many of the larger groups are all cheaply killed with firebombs from nearby ledges, or even far away ledges if you run .

Sgt Hartman

The firebombs are great alright for those pesky zombies in the burg and the Painted World:)

PandyAndy

Boom! All achievements done.

CrabieCrawford

PandyAndy wrote: »

Boom! All achievements done.

How many runthroughs and hours you reckon?

PandyAndy

118ish hrs and 3 runs ( 2.5 runs really, just went to the giant blacksmith on the 3rd run and killed O&S for the craic) I also spent a shít load of time just invading people as a darkwraith.

You can get all the achievements bar 3 on 1 run because it's just discover covenants etc and get all the sorceries and pyromancies.

Knights Honour needs 3 runs because you need 3 Sif Souls for 3 different weapons.

Miracles achievement needs Gwyns soul for one miracle which you can get on NG+. (Gwyns souls is also required for Knights Honour too so you need to kill him a second time)

Zombrex

Phew!

Just completed Dark Souls, after what seems like weeks playing. Best 19 euro I've spent on Steam in a long time.

Now, what to do next. My three options are

1. Continue with New Game Plus, playing the game again but with my super bad ass character (40 Vit, 40 End, 40 Dex)
2. Start a proper new game and play through again with a different build (maybe magic this time rather than dex)
3. Go play Demon's Souls which has been released on the PlayStation Store and is only 19 euro (before the servers are closed down)

Thoughts...?

YouSavedMyLife

Zombrex wrote: »

Phew!

Just completed Dark Souls, after what seems like weeks playing. Best 19 euro I've spent on Steam in a long time.

Now, what to do next. My three options are

1. Continue with New Game Plus, playing the game again but with my super bad ass character (40 Vit, 40 End, 40 Dex)
2. Start a proper new game and play through again with a different build (maybe magic this time rather than dex)
3. Go play Demon's Souls which has been released on the PlayStation Store and is only 19 euro (before the servers are closed down)

Thoughts...?

I never really had much fun with the NG+ in Dark Souls. The damage levels of yourself and the mobs are just way over the top making armour type builds useless and bosses becoming a joke when your able to 2 shot some of them. Starting a new character is always my preferred method of playing Dark Souls when i have been away from it for a while.

You should play through Demons Souls in my opinion, it will feel alot more fresh than another run of Dark Souls and when you do finally finish Demons Souls then Dark Souls will feel fresh all over again.

On another note i really hope they swap up the placement of enemies in each NG+ for Dark Souls 2. Would really make the each playthrough alot more of a challenge instead of "Oops i ****ed up and the mob one shotted me" hard

noodler

CrabieCrawford wrote: »

How many runthroughs and hours you reckon?

Just under 2.5

PickledLime

Zombrex wrote: »

Phew!

Just completed Dark Souls, after what seems like weeks playing. Best 19 euro I've spent on Steam in a long time.

Now, what to do next. My three options are

1. Continue with New Game Plus, playing the game again but with my super bad ass character (40 Vit, 40 End, 40 Dex)
2. Start a proper new game and play through again with a different build (maybe magic this time rather than dex)
3. Go play Demon's Souls which has been released on the PlayStation Store and is only 19 euro (before the servers are closed down)

Thoughts...?

I'd NG+ it, to me that's when the game really started.

Do grab Demon's Souls too though! They share enough DNA to be a similar experience, but different enough to warrant playing both (I'm currently on NG+++ on Dark, and my first playthrough of Demon's and loving both).

Cravez

Completed dark souls twice (had two different characters in tandem). Was a little disappointed with the endings considering the time spent playing but I won't judge harshly because it's probably one of the best games iv ever played.

I also have a SL 2 Darkwraith - killed O&S + 4 Kings. Going to try complete the game as a SL2

Zombrex

So bought Demon's Souls on PSN, its weird playing it after DS, its like one of those funny sci-fi movies where things are the same but different. Kept looking for my bonfire

The graphics are noticeably of lesser quality (though still good), but I hope that means less slow down. There are sections of Dark Souls that are nearly unplayable on my PS3

tonydude

Zombrex wrote: »

So bought Demon's Souls on PSN, its weird playing it after DS, its like one of those funny sci-fi movies where things are the same but different. Kept looking for my bonfire

The graphics are noticeably of lesser quality (though still good), but I hope that means less slow down. There are sections of Dark Souls that are nearly unplayable on my PS3

Demons souls is also harder imo, Dark souls was a breeze to play compared to Demons, mostly due to knowing the mechanics of the game . Might be opposite for u now

Cravez

Just Gwyn left to do now on my SL 2 character and did most of the DLC bosses except for Kalameet and Manus. There is apparently a bow glitch to kill Manus but couldn't be arsed and don't see any benefit in killing Kalameet as the ring is useless.

Artorias was the hardest, probably tried about 30 times before I got him finally.

Zombrex

tonydude wrote: »

Demons souls is also harder imo, Dark souls was a breeze to play compared to Demons, mostly due to knowing the mechanics of the game . Might be opposite for u now

Only at 1.2 in Demon's Souls, but I kinda wish I had played Demon's Souls first. Playing it now I can see how Dark Souls built upon it, and the enemies and areas that are clear references to Demon's Souls. There are probably even more as I go on.

Oh well, live and learn :pac:

ykt0di9url7bc3

I bought Dark Souls for PC on Monday, I needed a new game as I'm avoiding Bioshock Infinite (Long story short: I'm just not ready for it )

I had friend that played a lot of Demon Souls and got a few of the PS3 players to pick up Dark Souls when it was launched and they raved about it. I had an xbox at the time and they desperately tried to convince me to buy it. I didn't buy it and to be fair I'm very frugal for the games I pick and when I buy them. Battlefield 3 was released the same month and I put serious hours into that, I skipped Star Wars the Old Republic in favour of Guild Wars 2, etc.

I heard a year later that it was going to be released on PC and I saw it got a 9/10 from Eurogamer and I was intrigued, then I saw the fps issues, the need for a 360 joypad, etc. That disappointed me and I forgot about it.

Earlier this month I saw that there was a video of Dark Souls 2 and I read then a week ago that the PC was going to be the lead platform. This got me interested in Dark Souls 1, I assumed that it must have done well on PC to warrant a sequel and then I read this:

The PC version was the second most played Games for Windows Live title in 2012

After reading all about the PC port issues I was now really interested to check this game out. I check the system requirements and I was way above par so I bought the game and installed it and it ran at 30fps.

I spent the next hour downloading fixes and dlls and configuring them, downloading a mod that showed the keyboard and mouse buttons on control tips. It took me another hour to beat the first boss.

I bought this game at 9:45pm and by 1am I was ordering a Xbox controller receiver for the PC. I got an email not an hour ago from Gamesplanet say that the game is half price... I'm not even mad. A game I bought four days ago is now ~€20 cheaper and I am so happy I got it sooner. I have logged 22hours since Monday night, and its been the best €40 I have spent in a long time. The only reason I'm not playing it now is because I am shattered and I dont want to miss anything about this game. For sure I'll be starting again tomorrow.

I can see why people are raving about it but it so hard to put into words the Dark Souls experience so I am going to try, in my own words, to explain it to anybody on this forum that has not had the joy of this game.

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die for PC
Remember Streets of Rage on the Megadrive? Final Fight in the Arcade? Bushido Blade on the PS1? These games were hard, but they were fair. You really had to concentrate and keep your focus. Any enemy could do serious damage but you had all the tools capable to finish the game. There is no pausing to look through your loot. This is no quick save to quick load. There are no quick time events, as you see an enemy swing and if you don't have the reflexes to duck, just the dose of reality. There is no Command HQ following your every move by satellite, warning you about every little enemy nuance, and guiding your path.

As much as I can figure out about the plot after 22 hours, is that I was alive but now I'm not, I have escaped and I'm told to ring two bells, one bell up high, one down low. After 17 hours I've rang the high bell. The loneliness, the random music, the merciless enemies, my cadavers littering the obvious traps like dead leaves, and proper balls to the wall boss fights. I've been gaming since the C64 and its been a long time since a game has surprises in store for me. I have not been this enthralled since Half-Life 2, AvP (2000), or the original Tomb Raider.

The hack and slash weapon play is divine with layers of depth and skill. After a few hours the mouse and keyboard does the job, I'll have to wait till I try it with the controller when the receiver arrives. The level design is wonderfully interwoven where curiosity is rewarded in many ways. The animations look crisp and the enemies look and act menacing. The characters you do interact with have some great lines and great performances even if its very minimal. The atmosphere is something special.

I have only played it for 22 hours and while I was streaming it today, people were chatting and giggling about my virgin playthrough, my rookie mistakes, and all the while reminiscing about their experiences using those little abbreviations that are only known to seasoned Dark Souls players. I feel like I haven't scratched the surface of this game. This abyss is calling me.

So it runs at 50-60fps when it wants to, otherwise I'm stuck at 30fps. Every so often the negative accel on the mouse camera movement has me in a tizzy. Half the time I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. I could say that I would forgive Dark Souls for these but I'd be lying. I just don't give a shite about these issues.

I have screamed at my monitor, I have looked around for something to smash, I have cursed my keyboard, and I have cursed myself. I have Died over and over again and it has been enraging but every time I light up a new bonfire I think "What a game!"

What an amazing game
10/10

Its on gamesplanet.com for £14.99, the key activates on Steam, you need a Games for Windows Live account (same as an Xbox Live account iirc) Offer is until the 21/04, while keys supplies last
I have an i5 760 @ 3.2Ghz with 8Gb of 1600Mhz Ram and a 2Gb Radeon HD6950

Why didn't I buy this sooner...

penev10

Welcome to your new life of edifying torment!

Harps

Bought this earlier today and just after playing through the tutorial, I'm totally confused and overwhelmed by everything so far so a lot of reading ahead by the looks of it. Only died twice and I'm liking the combat so far, seems easy enough to get used to though I'm sure I'll be having trouble soon enough

Is it worth having the online features for the game? Playing on xbox and don't have a gold subscription but I've heard that the online integration was supposed to be well done

2Mad2BeMad

Harps wrote: »

Bought this earlier today and just after playing through the tutorial, I'm totally confused and overwhelmed by everything so far so a lot of reading ahead by the looks of it. Only died twice and I'm liking the combat so far, seems easy enough to get used to though I'm sure I'll be having trouble soon enough

Is it worth having the online features for the game? Playing on xbox and don't have a gold subscription but I've heard that the online integration was supposed to be well done

depends
do you think you will need help? ( you most likely will if its your first time around )

if i was you i would buy 1 month live suscription or even try and get a 2day free trial run to see what its like
its worth it i think
but i wouldnt bother getting anymore then a month if your not into playing online games
but this game has its uses for online as technically its always online if your connected to your internet

penev10

Harps wrote: »

Is it worth having the online features for the game? Playing on xbox and don't have a gold subscription but I've heard that the online integration was supposed to be well done

It's very handy if you are stuck on a boss as you can summon helpers and it adds longevity if you indulge in the PVP elements. The PVP is fairly broken tbh but it is fun trying out the different scenarios and being invaded adds a unique type of tension to playing.

Harps

Well I went ahead and bought a 4 month subscription, only double the price of 1 month for some reason so can't complain, I'm playing through ME3 at the moment as well so I should get enough use out of it

Making steady progress so far anyway, on my way to a bell tower to do something I can't actually remember, plenty of deaths needless to say but I haven't had any major difficulty up to now. Have to say I'm surprised at how scary the game is, not in the usual horror sense but I've had a few moments already where I had thousands of souls collected, no health left and been chased down by a knight while I desperately tried to get back to the bonfire, really gets the heart beating! Loving it so far

2smiggy

Definitely worth playing online.really adds to the game IMO. I started a faith character , breezing through the game this time. All I have to do is demons ruins and lost izarth. I must also pass the painted world , manus and the return to the asylum if I will bother with them.

Wooden Jesus

Was playing earlier on xbox and invaded someone, i got slaughtered but managed to pick up an item. It was 99 souls of Gwyn so when i used one i got 20,000 souls so i managed to pick up 1980000 souls. I presume its boss souls, was this some sort of glitch or known hack?
Feels cheap to use them on my first playthrough so through the temptation ill hang on to them until the end. Just wondering how someone acquires this many souls or is it common for higher level players

AnCapaillMor

Xbox and PC save is unlocked so you can pretty much give yourself 99 of everything if you know how to.

Cravez

Hacking is the one letdown of the game. Generally alot of people you encounter are Legit and skillful but you get the odd few where once you start fighting them you know there some bullsh!t happening. Example I experienced was getting backstabs during rolling even though the invader was to my side and not behind me. Usually once I think someone is hacking I check their GFWL profile and they have 2 things:
1) Low Rep
2) Only have Dark Souls as their game, or they may have GTA IV also (which is also a highly hackable game)

I generally just put these players on avoid but it doesn't really do much and you'll probably encounter them again.

I posted a while back about encountering a player and getting 870k souls for killing him. I think he was a legit player, but probably on a high NG+. You'll encounter the same people when invading and you can potentially fight someone in NG+7 even if you are only on the first playthrough

AnCapaillMor

The back stab thing sounds like lag, you'll get that a lot with Japan or aus players.