Dark Souls(Demon's Souls successor)

[BadHat]

Endurance is life and stamina regenerates faster if you lower your shield.

 

I'm not sure if you meant this literally, but vitality is the life stat, enduarance is stamina/encumbrance. Personally I would totally prioritize stamina over HP at a certain point, though.

[eot]

Haha, no sorry, I didn't mean it literally. That was a dumb sentence

[JonCole]

So, I played just a little bit last night until I got crushed by this Taurus Demon thing at the top of a tower. I wasn't quite in the mood to play more, so I put it down after just that little bit. However, I had to drive someone to the airport early this morning so I had a couple hours of time available and decided to jump back in. Got crushed by the Taurus Demon one more time for good measure before giving that a rest, then got crushed by this Black Knight thing under a bridge thing. Then I found this guy at the bottom of the tower that literally killed me in one hit, except for sometimes when I'm blocking he reduces me to 1HP then takes me out after I stumble and he gets a second shot in. I tried to beat that dude a couple times, realizing that he can't leave the tower but returning to his spawn if you leave it. I decided that the easiest way to proceed between these two minibosses and one boss was probably to cheese that dude at the bottom of the tower, so I got very familiar with wiping the Burg that far and buying all the firebombs and bolts I could afford from the merchant. I got really close to killing him that way, but I think it was just too early in the morning to reliably perform the same action something like thirty times to kill a guy.

 

In other words, I got destroyed by a few dudes like 20 times and only gained a couple levels in the process. Without belaboring this story further, am I on the right track? Is my firebomb and crossbow method of cheesing him the easiest way to beat him? Will beating him even take me in the "right" direction? I'd rather not "waste" another two hours trial-and-erroring this section, if I can help it.

[dibs]

Ignore the knights. Kill the cow! The knights seem to be there just to tantalise you. Later you will have the skills and experience to kill them.

[eot]

You don't have to fight either of those two right away. You definitely can but it's meant to be a real challenge. The guy in the bottom of the tower is only accessible to you because you have the master key, so most players would fight him later. If you think you can take him though then definitely do it! Firebombs not at all cheesy compared to some of the other ways to beat him, which I won't go into. Another thing you could try though is backstabbing. Make sure you're below 25% equip load so you dodge fast (as he'll 1-shot you anyway), dodge right when he swings and get behind him while he recovers, you need to have your shield down to backstab. It's actually the best way to beat the Black Knight too, if you lure him to a more open area you can just keep circle strafing to the right of him and when he attacks you can get behind him (block the attack!). Don't spend too much time trying this, but the guy in the tower is also fairly easy to parry compared to a lot of enemies, but if you miss you're dead. Buy the Buckler from the merchant in the Burg, run down to the guy and get right up in his face. When he swings and his club has come over his shoulder and is pointing slightly forward is about when you want to parry. Backstabs are a better idea practice them on regular hollows

[Roderick]

You went up against Havel the Rock? I assume then that you went with the master key as your starting gift? Haha, that'll give you a pretty unique and rough Dark Souls experience!

[BadHat]

The knight is pretty easy to cheese with some black firebombs and a few lucky hits early on, Havel (the dude at the bottom of the tower) not so much.

[JonCole]

"Havel the Rock" seems to jive with what he looks like, so yeah. I was able to cheese him down to 20% health using just firebombs and a crossbow, it's just that having to repeat the same set of actions (pulling him, going outside his attack range, firebombing him, firing a crossbow before he runs down the stairs, running forward to pull him again, etc) 30 times over just gives me so many opportunities to get sloppy.

 

In everything I've heard about the master key, I've definitely detected that it's a double-edged sword in terms of usefulness vs opening up areas that I'm sure to be unprepared for. That being said, I think I can handle this guy given enough attempts. Firebombs and crossbow bolts are cheap, I can get the ~30ish bombs I need after clearing the small part of Burg I'm in just one or two times. However, it didn't occur to me that since I opened that door, Havel wasn't... necessarily meant to be an avenue to choose in proceeding with the game. I might take him out, spend his presumably nice soul payout on leveling, and give the Taurus Demon another shot.

 

Might give the backstabbing a go too, saw a bunch of writing on the ground suggesting it but I haven't been able to do it very reliably (nor parrying, which I've done right maybe... twice ever).

[N1njaSquirrel]

The Master Key is useful when you know what you are doing. It certainly helps on new builds. 

 

As for Havel, he's pretty easy. He only has 2 attacks and they're really easy to read. He has a sweep and a over-the-head-swing to the ground. Both are really slow, giving you more than enough time to roll behind him and give him a backstab, as when he starts his animation, he can't change direction. Be careful when he duel-wields the club, as it has a longer range and he can turn mid-swing.

 

Finally, there's a Dark Souls cafe opening in the new year to promote Dark Souls 2. I need to eat here.

http://www.darksouls.jp/pc/darksoulscafe/

[Reyturner]

And the best stat to level up is Resistance.

Is primary damage stat advisable? I'm working on the assumption that param bonus is the most important aspect of a weapon after its animation / move set.

EDIT: I some how missed a whole page of comments, so I'll just add that the purpose of the Taurus Demon is a tutorial boss to teach you that there is no such thing as "cheesing" in Dark Souls

[Dewar]

The Master Key is useful when you know what you are doing. It certainly helps on new builds. 

 

As for Havel, he's pretty easy. He only has 2 attacks and they're really easy to read. He has a sweep and a over-the-head-swing to the ground. Both are really slow, giving you more than enough time to roll behind him and give him a backstab, as when he starts his animation, he can't change direction. Be careful when he duel-wields the club, as it has a longer range and he can turn mid-swing.

 

Finally, there's a Dark Souls cafe opening in the new year to promote Dark Souls 2. I need to eat here.

http://www.darksouls.jp/pc/darksoulscafe/

 

I'd be afraid of whatever they'd serve you.

[JonCole]

Is primary damage stat advisable? I'm working on the assumption that param bonus is the most important aspect of a weapon after its animation / move set.

EDIT: I some how missed a whole page of comments, so I'll just add that the purpose of the Taurus Demon is a tutorial boss to teach you that there is no such thing as "cheesing" in Dark Souls

 

Ah, I knew that to be true from hearsay but it's good to know that the game more or less makes that clear through experience. I already have an idea of how to potentially "cheese" him if I remember the layout of that area correctly, now that I think about it.

[jmbossy]

I might take [ havel ] out, spend his presumably nice soul payout on leveling, and give the Taurus Demon another shot.

 

depending on your level, his payout in souls isn't game changing (in the way a true boss would be). The real prize is his drop, which is an item a lot of the ds community use through the end game (purists will argue its actual 'usefulness' but they tend to over-argue).

 

if you're looking to defeat him for the sole purpose (heh..) of leveling you will be disappointed. The true path is past the Taurus demon and for now it'd be my advice to focus your cheesing efforts in that direction.

 

also, before entering the Taurus fog wall there are some wooden barrels behind you. You may find something interesting if you look hard enough

[Dewar]

I'm thinking about starting a new game as a Strength/Faith bruiser using a two handed hammer or club of some sort.

[Trip Hazard]

I started a new game of DaS yesterday, going for a dexterity based build. I'm going to roleplay a ninja! Fast and light, but massively damaged when attacked and very easy to stagger. It should be an interesting experiment, 'cos the first (and only) time I've beaten DaS was as a Warrior, with Black Iron armour.

 

I parried the first black knight to death on my first try, so was chuffed about that. Heart in mouth stuff, tho.

 

 

 If you think you can take him though then definitely do it! 

 

 

This is excellent advice. If you think you can kill an enemy, always try your best to do it. The tougher they are, the bigger sense of achievement you'll have on finally taking them apart. I remember taking on the

Titanite Demon behind the blacksmith

even though he scared the shit out of me and I already knew I didn't want to go that way, just to see if I could. 

 

(I could )

[Dewar]

I really loved using the Rapier group of weapons with my Dex sorcerer. Nice long range attacks and you don't have to worry about hitting the walls with your swing.

[jmbossy]

I plan on replaying before DS2, and i'll definitely give Dex a try. Right now i'm finishing up AotA with a high stregth, fast roll, kind of build (requires a lot of endurance, but i like it).

Maybe i'll give the great scythe a try, as I think it scales with Dex if memory serves (and, of course, because Scythes are absurdly badass)

 

Also, after week of bashing my head into him, I finally beat Artorias! I only play DS when I listen to podcasts (which means 5 times a week, plus a 6th time for Tone Control) so it took me a while. I finally beat him when my friend came over complaining about the Bane fight in batman arkham asylum (he's going through his backlog) and I told him "you think that's" a hard boss? Let me show you what i've been fighting."

 

Oolacile here I come!

[Dewar]

The DLC really teaches you how to dodge. Pretty much everything in there would break my block in one shot and usually finish me off shortly after. It was really fun for me as I started the game playing with lots of dodging, but somewhere in the middle I started to rely on my shield and gave up both parrying and dodging.

[jmbossy]

I don't ever remember doing a parry on any enemy besides the low level hollows. I fear that i'll go to parry and get hit, not knowing whether the attack was un-parry-able or if I just didn't time my swing right. I feel the parrying stuff was one of the more poorly taught mechanics.

[Reyturner]

This is excellent advice. If you think you can kill an enemy, always try your best to do it. The tougher they are, the bigger sense of achievement you'll have on finally taking them apart. I remember taking on the

Titanite Demon behind the blacksmith

even though he scared the shit out of me and I already knew I didn't want to go that way, just to see if I could.

(I could )

Or shoot (literally) hundreds of arrows at them

suck it, bridge dragon

[N1njaSquirrel]

I don't ever remember doing a parry on any enemy besides the low level hollows. I fear that i'll go to parry and get hit, not knowing whether the attack was un-parry-able or if I just didn't time my swing right. I feel the parrying stuff was one of the more poorly taught mechanics.

Most of bosses and bigger enemies that aren't humanoid shape aren't parryable, to my knowledge. There is one big exception however,

Gwyn, Lord of Cinder - makes it a cinch!

[Trip Hazard]

I'm currently replaying this, and finding it harder than I remembered...

 

I'm level 12, and just beat the Gargoyles after about 6 or 7 tries. If anybody would like to team up, for help or to help me, that'd be great. I'm Sepulchrave 76 on Xbox Live

[Rakombo]

Dark Souls,prepare to die edition specifically is my favorite game of all time.Unlike many fans the difficulty was never a bid draw for me,I always looked at it as something that is worth overcoming so you can experience this sweet sweet game.  

 

After hundreds of hours with the game it's hard for me to remember the feelings of wonder I had when I first played this game .I still remember that when the first things that went through my head was:"WTF am I supposed to play now?"  

 

The biggest draw for me and the thing that kept me coming back is the combat and leveling system  of the game,both of which I consider to be the best I ever encountered in any rpg.

[N1njaSquirrel]

Dark Souls,prepare to die edition specifically is my favorite game of all time.

 

After hundreds of hours with the game it's hard for me to remember the feelings of wonder I had when I first played this game .I still remember that when the first things that went through my head was:"WTF am I supposed to play now?"  

I totally agree with these two statements. It is my best game of all time too. I shall never forget my amazement when I saw Anor Londo.

 

Dark Souls has had a similar effect on me too (when I finished it). It's even started a trend with me and my missus by saying 'it's no dark souls' when asked how good a game is. 

[Squid Division]

I'm at the Anor Londo archers. Guuuh. There's probably more than just the first two isn't there?