Dark Souls

[briareos_kerensky]

@Supergoal: haven't you got to complete Artorias of the Abyss DLC to unlock PvP?

IIRC not complete but

->Open Spoiler<-

defeat Artorias and access the colosseum just after him

.

[Golgo]

Fair enough BK. The answer to Supergoal's question, then, is there is no 'easy way' to unlock PvP

[briareos_kerensky]

Unless invading as a Black Phantasm, no.

[S3M]

Got the English translation for the official artbook which arrived from Amazon this morning, same book as the Japanese version just with the interview now translated into English. It's not the best artbook I own however as it's only 129 pages and there isn't much text detailing the design behind much of the game or notes on the look of the artwork, just the interview at the back, which is a nice 12 pages long.

A lot of the artwork is only in small windows and a number of Unused Material images from the small artbook you got with the limited edition version of the game is missing. There is no content for the DLC but some images in the 4 pages of Unused Material section are from it. Nice hardback cover and outer sleeve however.

If you're a Dark Souls collector it's worth a pick up, otherwise I'd give it a miss.

[Supergoal]

Finally finished the game since having it from original release. Madness.

[Golgo]

What did you think of your ending? A 10 second cut 'good' or 'evil' cutscene depending on which direction you arbitrarily walk. I 'chose' (stumbled into) evil. I expected more of a reward after the many dozens of hours of grief, to be honest.

[Supergoal]

Yeah I was surprised at the short conclusion but I was just happy to have got though it. I instantly restarted a NG plus game and was invaded by some twerk only for him to get whacked by my pretty decent magic character. Hehe.

The last boss I did was the fire tree thing where you have to hit the roots then the middle bit. I was close to rage quitting. I must have died two dozen times in quick succession trying to get to that middle bit before the roots swiped me off.

[Finsbury Girl]

So played about 26 hours according to Steam - this is a great game though super rage inducing! I've learned to chillaxe and not care about dying though and that has made it a lot more enjoyable. Graphics on PC are atrocious but I'm addicted to this game no end. Could easily see myself plugging a million hours into this. I still have no idea how magic is supposed to work, the manual for this game is non-existent!

[darkangel]

Magic only works if you choose to level up the stats requried for magic. So it's good to decide what sort of build you are going for early on in the game. Faith and Intellgence are the ones required for magic. But then you have to decide what kind of magic you want to do, what armour is best for that type of magic, and the best weapons to cast the type of magic you want to play with. I personally always go for a dark magic/ tank build, but for that I have to be well into NG++ for the stats to be where I need them to be for that build. If your enjoying DS1 on Steam you really should consider DS2: Scholar of the first Sin on PS4, it's a great community. I am on there usually every day, but I would not be able to help you out if you needed, as my Soul Level is waaaaaaay to high for early players for me to connect with. I'm NG+++ right now.

[darkangel]

There is also no manual really because From Software have designed the Dark Souls series in such a way that everything is purposely vague, so that the community comes together and discovers things on their own. It really has brought DS players together in a great way. Also, with DS2 and PvP, if you do decide to do that, then there are certain unwritten 'fight club' PvP etiquette which is important to learn. But thats' for later, and only if you discover two secret PvP convents and choose to join one of them, each giving a unique type of PvP and rewards.

[Finsbury Girl]

Magic only works if you choose to level up the stats requried for magic. So it's good to decide what sort of build you are going for early on in the game. Faith and Intellgence are the ones required for magic. But then you have to decide what kind of magic you want to do, what armour is best for that type of magic, and the best weapons to cast the type of magic you want to play with. I personally always go for a dark magic/ tank build, but for that I have to be well into NG++ for the stats to be where I need them to be for that build. If your enjoying DS1 on Steam you really should consider DS2: Scholar of the first Sin on PS4, it's a great community. I am on there usually every day, but I would not be able to help you out if you needed, as my Soul Level is waaaaaaay to high for early players for me to connect with. I'm NG+++ right now.

Cool - was going to ask about DS2 for PS4 - might pick that up before Bloodborne.

I think I just wasted 3 or 4 levels upping my intelligence for Remedy spell, still doesn't bleeding work

Oh well I'll keep plugging away....need to build my strength to 50 to wield the cool dragon sword I just got.

[briareos_kerensky]

For Remedy you need a minimum of 16 Intelligence and one spell slot, stat-wise. You gain spell slots with the Attunement stat; the first spell slot is a 10 Attunement, then 1 every two levels in Attunement until level 16.
You can attune spells at a bonfire. Then you need a staff to cast sorceries; like all weapons, staffs have minimum requirements.

[darkangel]

Cool - was going to ask about DS2 for PS4 - might pick that up before Bloodborne.

I wouldn't bother with Bloodbourne if I were you, the general consensus amongst the Dark Souls community is that it's a poor man's Dark Souls tbh. I would see Bloodbourne as an experiment in using game mechanics for Dark Souls 3, some which are being carried over but some which are not. Plus, compared to Dark Souls 1 and 2, it's piss easy. Anyway if you get DS2, and need help message me on PSN and I'll help you out, my friend has multiple characters on DS2 to help out newcomers within various connect ratios as per Soul Level. So I can always get her to help if you need.

DA

[darkangel]

What build are you going for in DS? Because whatever it is, I would personally invest your souls into those relevant stats. Don't bother with Vitality as your HP will upgrade when you level up other stats, however what you NEED to do is make sure you have a huge stamina bar. Remember this: If you can't defeat a boss, roll, roll and then roll again.

With rolling you can do anything. But you need enough stamina to carry that off, and if your serious about it learn hit windows and frames per second on rolls, both so you know how much space you have to roll under a bosses weapon and calculate when to do those game saving rolls.

Personally, I only start to invest my souls into secondary stats on NG++. But everyone has their own way of playing this. Enjoy!

Oh, and this is your new best friend.

http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+Wiki

Hope that all helps!

[Finsbury Girl]

Thanks for the help peeps - it seems I'm not holding a catalyst, that's why my spell won't work! I'm playing a thief at the moment, using light armour to keep my speed with Black Knight Sword and Shield.