Dark Souls(Demon's Souls successor)

[osmosisch]

The mosquito are the worst part. A lot of weapons can't hit them, they respawn endlessly, mess up your camera and get stuck on geometry.

Not anymore! They used to spawn infinitely and give no souls. Now they stop spawning after 7 or so kills and give actual souls.

[Trip Hazard]

I still thought it was infinite. Might as well be infinite, though: 7 cycles is too many when they are no fun at all.

[Roderick]

I loved Blighttown from the minute I stepped in it. It's incredibly tense and super dangerous, and feels like Resident Evil 4. Everything I play in Dark Souls 2 is put next to the Blighttown-o-Meter to measure its worth.

[Griddlelol]

So I managed to get some DS in today! Got annihilated by the centipede demon though. I did not realise that lava would hurt so much and it would just not leave the lava!

 

Unfortunately I had to repair my main weapon and now I really don't feel like walking all the way back there from the depths warp point. It's a frustratingly long way to go. Is there any short cut? I feel like all the short cuts to this place probably take longer when you realise you have to clear out certain enemies first (cough, drakes).  

[osmosisch]

There's an elevator up to the daughter of chaos bonfire from just behind the demon firesage if memory serves.

e: and there should be a bonfire just before the centipede gate as well actually.

[Griddlelol]

There's definitely a fire before the centipede, you just can't warp to it. I suppose I'll be walking the long way.

[eot]

Did you miss the hidden bonfire after

Quelaag?

[Gormongous]

Beat Quelaag and the Stray Demon today. Pissed away a ton of time and souls hunting for a way back to Firelink and thence to Oswald because I attacked Eingyi. Now I'm in the catacombs and finding it all a little frustrating. Not the skeletons or pyromancers really, just the twisting paths, dead ends, and spike traps. Is it all difficult-to-navigate areas from here on out?

[Bjorn]

Beat Quelaag and the Stray Demon today. Pissed away a ton of time and souls hunting for a way back to Firelink and thence to Oswald because I attacked Eingyi. Now I'm in the catacombs and finding it all a little frustrating. Not the skeletons or pyromancers really, just the twisting paths, dead ends, and spike traps. Is it all difficult-to-navigate areas from here on out?

 

Well, not going to lie, the area after the Catacombs is...difficult.  The first time I ever reached there is the closest I have come to rage quitting the game.  You really need to have picked up one of 2 items (or one spell) to navigate it.  But the Catacombs themselves actually have a fairly straightforward path through them once you've flipped all the bridges and become familiar with the layout. 

[eot]

The Catacombs is probably the most confusing area in the game. There are many different paths through it and lots of places where you fall through the floor and get lost.

[Gormongous]

Well, not going to lie, the area after the Catacombs is...difficult.  The first time I ever reached there is the closest I have come to rage quitting the game.  You really need to have picked up one of 2 items (or one spell) to navigate it.  But the Catacombs themselves actually have a fairly straightforward path through them once you've flipped all the bridges and become familiar with the layout. 

 

Do you think I'm at the catacombs too early? I rung the second bell and all I've done is peek into the New Londo Ruins and visit the Undead Asylum again. I know I need to return to the areas near the blacksmith at the Undead Parish soon, but I'm not really clear when will be most optimal.

[Bjorn]

Do you think I'm at the catacombs too early? I rung the second bell and all I've done is peek into the New Londo Ruins and visit the Undead Asylum again. I know I need to return to the areas near the blacksmith at the Undead Parish soon, but I'm not really clear when will be most optimal.

Oh, shit, yeah, go explore other places. The Catacombs themselves aren't terribly difficult in terms of most enemies, but the next area won't even be able to be completed for awhile. I almost just spoiled some stuff about the Catacombs, but much better for you to find it yourself.

For others who've played it:

 

Just thinking about Bonewheels makes me want to scream. Like fuck those guys. Hard.  With a *********.

[Gormongous]

Oh, shit, yeah, go explore other places. The Catacombs themselves aren't terribly difficult in terms of most enemies, but the next area won't even be able to be completed for awhile. I almost just spoiled some stuff about the Catacombs, but much better for you to find it yourself.

 

Thanks! I figured, but I couldn't think of where else I wanted to go at the moment. I aced those skeletons easy when I was back in the Firelink Shrine, so I assumed that'd be where to go next.

 

I also am really happy with how I've matured as a player in Dark Souls. I beat Quelaag on the first try just by being careful, watching her movements, and using the length of my weapon to keep me safe, the lattermost of which I haven't done well thus far. The Stray Demon was so much harder, but I persevered with only one rage breakdown and beat him after about a dozen tries, again by learning and being smart. It's really an experience like nothing else, no game has asked it of me in nearly the same way.

[Bjorn]

You actually could finish the Catacombs, there is no harm in it and the skeletons/sorcerers are manageable even at low level.  It's just that it's rather pointless backtracking, since you would just have to go back through it later on.  But there are some items/secrets in there that can be really useful to you at this point. 

[JonCole]

I just got back from my honeymoon (and thus a decent break from Dark Souls) and have decided to put aside Darkwood Gardens for now. I tried out the Elite Knight Set, but my endurance isn't high enough for me to feel comfortable using it since it slows me down a lot. I poked my head around the Depths and got myself into some trouble, fought a bunch of things I wasn't familiar with, found a fog door that I promptly headed the opposite direction from, and eventually found myself at a bonfire so I could level up a couple times. I had no idea what direction is right, but I guess that's what this game is all about. Looking forward to exploring the area from this point, worst case scenario is I can farm souls a bit while slowly moving outwards in all possible directions.

[Bjorn]

Congrats on the honeymoon!  Hopefully it didn't have an Dark Souls moments in it.

[Griddlelol]

I found the catacombs quite easy because I had brought along a Divine Long sword. Didn't know it was going to be useful, but it really, really was.

 

I actually really liked the catacombs, not sure why...

 

Where did you find the stray demon? I'm pretty sure the titanite slab is somewhere around there but have no idea how to get there.

[N1njaSquirrel]

Just thinking about Bonewheels makes me want to scream. Like fuck those guys. Hard. With a *********.

I really don't get this. They aren't that hard. I have suffered more deaths to the archers than these guys.

[Larsen B]

40-something hours into my SL1 run and I've beaten every vanilla boss apart from Gwyn and the two black dudes from the DLC.

 

It's weird that I really found myself struggling with the "- Demon" bosses, like Stray and the Firesage, when they were the easiest ones I remember from my original playthroughs. I used to always roll a Dex character so effectively having such little endurance has affected my playing style more than anything. Also not having a bow and always requiring melee distance in combat has been a change.

 

If you were like me and put in 100 hours into Dark Souls, you really should try a SL1 run. It's fun!

[N1njaSquirrel]

40-something hours into my SL1 run and I've beaten every vanilla boss apart from Gwyn and the two black dudes from the DLC.

 

It's weird that I really found myself struggling with the "- Demon" bosses, like Stray and the Firesage, when they were the easiest ones I remember from my original playthroughs. I used to always roll a Dex character so effectively having such little endurance has affected my playing style more than anything. Also not having a bow and always requiring melee distance in combat has been a change.

 

If you were like me and put in 100 hours into Dark Souls, you really should try a SL1 run. It's fun!

 

I am also doing an SL1 run. Currently trying to defeat the 4 Kings. Any hints? I am also trying to be an SL1 Dark wraith, so I guess it makes this fight harder?

[Larsen B]

Becoming a SL1 Darkwraith was my main objective, other than finishing the game, and I too thought Four Kings were excruciating.

 

Until!

 

I did what I did before, which was just tank them wearing Havel's set.

 

Slightly more detailed tips:

Add any equipment that boosts pyromancy (the Crown of Dusk also helps you to be under max. equipment load), eat stamina grass, use the Crest Shield, rush the first one and hope you get lucky that they don't throw the homing blue stuff. After that it was actually pretty easy and only took a couple of tries. Not the purest way to play but all's fair, etc.

 

Never give up hope!

 

[Griddlelol]

Soul Level 1 run sounds horrendous. I take it you're not using a melee build, because I couldn't imagine how little damage you'd do with weapons. It seems like you're talking about literally hours to kill certain bosses!

[Roderick]

Not if you use the right weapons and abuse the right weaknesses, I'd think? Dark Souls is built such that your level isn't that dramatically important if you play it flawlessly.

[Griddlelol]

I think that's one of my major weaknesses when playing DS. I feel like I'm cheating if I'm using weapon enhancements. I rarely apply the pine buffs but I know I shouldn't worry about it!

I'm at a soul level now that I feel I'm not going to progress much further (I think Vit/End/Dex are all about 36 and I heard that they hit diminishing returns hard at 40) in my build. So I guess those buffs are what will affect how I play, plus it's not like I need the souls anymore.

[Larsen B]

40 hours is mainly due to idling, backtracking, indecision, fear, stupidity and forgetfulness. I think most experienced players can/do it in 10 to 20.

 

Damage output has never been an issue - pyromancy is amazingly powerful and levelled up equipment is seemingly way more important and effective than stat boosts. The elemental damage on upgraded weapons picks up a lot of the slack and most bosses have a weakness to either fire or lightning. I've actually only discovered using the spell buffs like Power Within and that was with about 5 normal/DLC bosses left.

 

Basically you need to try and avoid being hit more than anything or good at endurance management which is what my play style is based around.