Dark Souls - I'm Prepared To Die (Again)

[Xprimentyl]

It's a difficult game to get into. You basically have to play through the whole thing before you actually understand it. The advantage is that, once you play one game, you pretty much know what to do for all the others. Everyone's first build tends to be a mess. Once you get the hang of it, though, it's pretty versatile. I'll never forget the time I watched a Lets Player get dominated by a build that centered around smacking people with a shield.

Make sure you look up story secrets after you finish the game. Some of the best plot points are well hidden. Dark Soul's definitely requires you to break rules that you typically take for granted in order to get the full story.

Exactly this. While the idea of an uber-implicit game is indeed clever, unique and rewarding for those who have the time for and/or are willing to go through multiple playthroughs to peel back every layer of the onion, it does leave a significant number of gamers out in the cold. Well, no, ?out in the cold? sounds intentionally cruel; let?s say it?s a testament to Souls? niche appeal that most gamers aren?t willing to trudge through likely +100 hours of hardcore surviving by the skin of their teeth just to discover they missed 80% of the implicit content and start all the way over with a NG+.

the games could be enhanced with an in game guide of sorts for upgrades. It would even be cool if the blacksmiths and other vendors had some more helpful words of wisdom as to what does what; even if it was in riddles it would be better than having to break immersion by going to a wiki, which most time-conscious people end up doing as it is.

If that's TMI, then a more robust menu system would've sufficed, where you can more efficiently preview what X item would do for stat Y.

In any case, this is a handy chart for materials upgrades -

Man, where was that chart 35 hours ago?!? Thank you!! Basically, yes, I needed someone to draw me a picture!

And I agree with you, especially about a more robust menu system. But, in keeping with the spirit of the game, most of the NPCs already speak in riddles, it would have been great had they included some clues, hints or lore as to how certain stats and upgrades affect one another, similar to how the Big Hat Logan won't teach you any sorceries if your INT stat is too low or how Petrus(sp?) reminds you that miracles require "faith." It'd be nice if the blacksmiths hinted at the implications of certain upgrade paths or how your current stats affect your choice of upgrade path.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Hey hey OP!

How is your progress going so far? Any preferred weapons/armour sets?

I've played a crap-ton of Dark Souls 1 with a variety of builds, but my bread & butter is a strength build with a focus on heavy weapons that reward timing and such. (Plus I like to punish my enemies.) Played Dark Souls II to a lesser extent, about 1 and a half playthroughs. And I've done about 3 playthroughs (Minus the numerous restarts...) of Dark Souls III with an exclusive focus on melee from a variety of weapon classes.

Anyway! I don't have anything to add really, since everyone else here has mentioned some pretty solid advice. All I wanted to say was that it's super cool to hear about someone's first playthrough!

I wish you all the best and remember:

You, and I am speaking directly to you as a person, don't you dare go hollow!
Even when it seems impossible and the frustration borders on hair-pulling and cursing like a sailor, don't give up. Don't become like those mindless undead that were driven mad by their obstacles.
You may be cursed, but your willpower and sheer determination is what separates you from those that refused to continue.
So don't you dare go hollow.

[Jolly Forum Cooperation!]

I?m progressing, slowly but surely! Despite being a little over 40 hours in, I haven?t really experimented much with different armor sets; as I?ve yet to perfect the dodge-rolling, I just go for armors with better stats (where applicable) that don?t add too much weight. Right now, I?m using the Silver Knight set and Havel?s Ring allows me to include the Silver Knight Shield and my newly +3?d Black Knight Halberd.

And I shall NOT go hollow; I promise you! I may take a pouting break or two (if only for my sanity,) but I will power through. I?m facing O&S next, and from what I hear it?s a fairly easy battle, but even if I have to summon help, I WILL crest this infamous hill! Thank you for the words of encouragement!

 

[Evonisia]

I?m progressing, slowly but surely! Despite being a little over 40 hours in, I haven?t really experimented much with different armor sets; as I?ve yet to perfect the dodge-rolling, I just go for armors with better stats (where applicable) that don?t add too much weight. Right now, I?m using the Silver Knight set and Havel?s Ring allows me to include the Silver Knight Shield and my newly +3?d Black Knight Halberd.

And I shall NOT go hollow; I promise you! I may take a pouting break or two (if only for my sanity,) but I will power through. I?m facing O&S next, and from what I hear it?s a fairly easy battle, but even if I have to summon help, I WILL crest this infamous hill! Thank you for the words of encouragement!

Oh my. Prepare to run instead of dodging for this boss fight in that case. That might help if you want to bait Ornstein into doing a decent attack you can exploit.

 

[Dalisclock]

And I shall NOT go hollow; I promise you! I may take a pouting break or two (if only for my sanity,) but I will power through. I?m facing O&S next, and from what I hear it?s a fairly easy battle, but even if I have to summon help, I WILL crest this infamous hill! Thank you for the words of encouragement!

I wouldn't call those two an Easy fight(unlike Pinwheel, who feels like he should be in a different game altogether) but a lot of it depends on how you approach it. The hardest things about that fight is that it's two on one(so it's very much advised to summon someone to help, unless you're really good at soloing), they cover each others weaknesses(and will never give you time to take them on one by one) and Orestein can hit you from across the damn room. Also, the fight gets a bit complicated once you kill one of them(and it differs depending on which one you kill first).

At the time I felt it was a hard fight, though in retrospect I keep remembering how awesome it was. I also enjoy creating amusing names for those two. Biggie Smalls is the one I use the most but hardly the only one.

 

[Terminal Blue]

And I shall NOT go hollow; I promise you! I may take a pouting break or two (if only for my sanity,) but I will power through. I?m facing O&S next, and from what I hear it?s a fairly easy battle, but even if I have to summon help, I WILL crest this infamous hill! Thank you for the words of encouragement!

For me, O&S was one of the hardest fights in the game, to the point I once scared my flatmates by doing a proper Darth Vader "noooooo" after dying for the god-knows-how-manyeth times. That said, I really wanted the Dragonslayer spear, which you can only get by killing Smough first. This seems to be generally considered the harder option.

If you do summon help, it will be a lot easier. Try splitting them up while your summoned phantom distracts whichever one you're not fighting. On their own, they're just standard big dude in armour boss fights.

 

[Dalisclock]

And I shall NOT go hollow; I promise you! I may take a pouting break or two (if only for my sanity,) but I will power through. I?m facing O&S next, and from what I hear it?s a fairly easy battle, but even if I have to summon help, I WILL crest this infamous hill! Thank you for the words of encouragement!

For me, O&S was one of the hardest fights in the game, to the point I once scared my flatmates by doing a proper Darth Vader "noooooo" after dying for the god-knows-how-manyeth times. That said, I really wanted the Dragonslayer spear, which you can only get by killing Smough first. This seems to be generally considered the harder option.

If you do summon help, it will be a lot easier. Try splitting them up while your summoned phantom distracts whichever one you're not fighting. On their own, they're just standard big dude in armour boss fights.

To add to this and to make the game a bit easier, if you summon Solaire, he will usually start fighting Orstein, and on a good day can solo him if you can keep Smough from helping him. So for the first half of the fight, all you really have to do is keep Smough off Solaire by keeping him busy until Orstein is dead and then you can deal with Smough.

 

[Fox12]

O&S? I typically summoned assistance for that fight. If you use a heavy weapon then you can typically stagger Smough, though, which can be useful for interrupting attacks. This is good if you want to get Ornsteins soul.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Welp, let?s just say that O&S have proven? difficult? So difficult that I?m not even mad or frustrated.

The first attempt went really well; I was completely ready to come in here and brag that I did it on my first try, but alas, no. I did summon Solaire, and he and Smough got into a furious melee almost immediately which left Ornstein to me. Like a BOSS, I took him down pretty easily after finding that my stamina was able to take his blows with minimal effect. With the quick one down, I was ready to breeze past the lumbering behemoth of Super Smough. However, after making quick work of what was left of Solaire, Smough jumped on my ass with the white hot fury of a thousand suns. I tried to keep the pillars between us, but being a melee build (see me using the lingo? #1337,) I have to close that gap to do my damage, and that?s when Smough is all like ?oh, hey! I know you; you were that guy on the other side of that pillar I just fucked up. Wanna see my hammer???

YOU DIED​

2nd attempt: more of the same, but he caught me with his Lightning Ass attack which, fun fact, if you?re locked on when he does it, you?re forced upon you a glorious view of said ass. I managed to survive it, but before I could flask up, he did his charge attack, and that upward swing he finishes it with is the hardest I?ve ever been hit in Dark Souls; my entire body literally went about 20 feet airborne?

YOU DIED​

3rd attempt: decided to try taking down Smough first (for some insane reason,) but Ornstein wouldn?t leave his lover?s side for all the souls in Lordran, and was more than a little peeved whenever I hit his man; he let me know this by giving me the pointy bit of that shaft I?m certain Smough is so fond of?

YOU DIED​

There were a few more half-hearted attempts, a couple I even tried going solo because that was a thing to do, but mostly dumb mistakes led to demises so premature, I didn?t even have time to learn anything from them. I?ve decided it?s not happening without Solaire, but I?m bleeding humanity like nobody?s business, so instead of continuing to throw my life away, I?ve opted to farms souls from Silver Knights to pump up my Stamina and Vitality; maybe if I live longer in there, I can learn more? I?m also convinced Ornstein has to go down first. Why? 1.) I can pull that off sometimes and 2.) frankly, the idea of a Super Ornstein terrifies me.

One question: is there any scaling insofar as enemy and bosses damage intakes/outputs based on player Soul Level? I ask because the Silver Knights are capable of diminishing a third to a half of my stamina with one or two attacks, damn near the WHOLE bar when they do that little shield bash, while an first phase Ornstein attack does a quarter to a third damage to my stamina. Seems counterintuitive that a boss might be weaker than the fodder leading up to him?

 

[Xprimentyl]

as I?ve yet to perfect the dodge-rolling,

Oh my. Prepare to run instead of dodging for this boss fight in that case. That might help if you want to bait Ornstein into doing a decent attack you can exploit.

Yeah, trust and believe, I'm running for my life in there. I don't know what it is, but I cannot dodge roll for SHIT. It seems like the roll always takes me in some unexpected direction whether I'm locked on or not. I see in videos people dodge rolling towards enemies and taking no damage whereas when I roll, I always seem to catch the full impact.

EDIT: I CAN dodge-roll backwards fairly well (with the exception of the Anor Londo Sentinels whose attack radius is so wide, I'd have to dodge NOW to avoid an attack coming TOMORROW,) but that's not very helpful when the idea is to capitalize on enemies' whiffed attack vulnerability frames.

 

[Xprimentyl]

O&S? I typically summoned assistance for that fight. If you use a heavy weapon then you can typically stagger Smough, though, which can be useful for interrupting attacks. This is good if you want to get Ornsteins soul.

I'm using the Black Knight Halberd, but I've not swung enough on Smough to see if it's weighty enough to stagger him. And frankly, I don't care whose soul I get; I just them both DEAD.

 

[Xprimentyl]

It's worth finding a strategy to beat them without summoning. Try the Thunder Stoneplate ring and use the highest poise equipment you have with <50% burden. Try getting the Wolf ring if you haven't already. Your weapon should do decent damage. I had a fairly upgraded Gravelord sword and Caduceus Kite shield for new game.

Remember to use the pillars for a breather, and bait them into attacks that will leave you an opening.

 

[Glongpre]

Smough is the easier of the two supers, however, I did beat super Orn pretty easy once I figured out the optimal distance (the sweet spot, he'll just keep doing his jumping thrust which is really easy to roll through and get 2 hits in with a fast weapon).

Super Smough should be easy though, all his attacks can be rolled through, and you can pretty much stay right beside him. Just roll into his attacks and you are golden (not the butt slam though).

I found that keeping the camera unlocked makes this fight a lot easier. You can keep an eye on both Orn and Smough a lot easier, and during the super forms, it makes it a lot easier to change direction (say when you have to run away from the butt slam of doom).

Solaire makes this fight too easy. He will kill Orn by himself.

Use the pillars as a barrier whenever you need to flask, even when they are broken they still work (projectiles sometimes go through depending how close Orn is to the pillar).

When Smough uses the charge attack, wait for him to get close and pull the hammer back, then roll away. If you roll too soon he will continue to run and get you with the uppercut.

Patience is key, don't force anything. Just keep running around the outside until the situation favours you, and you can get some hits in.

Also, during the super forms, watch out after their lightning attacks. Sometimes they will leave invisible lightning clouds which will hit you. It is kinda humorous, it doesn't happen too often. Can get you killed though.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Yeah, trust and believe, I'm running for my life in there. I don't know what it is, but I cannot dodge roll for SHIT. It seems like the roll always takes me in some unexpected direction whether I'm locked on or not. I see in videos people dodge rolling towards enemies and taking no damage whereas when I roll, I always seem to catch the full impact.

Dodge rolling is a bit tricky and I only got it recently after many hours of failure. The key thing is that when you dodge, regardless of which direction you dodge, there are a few frames in the middle of the dodge where you are invincible (these are sometimes called iframes). How long this window lasts depends, at least in dark souls 1, on how encumbered you are. If you're below 25% encumbrance, you actually have nearly half a second of invincibility every time you dodge, which is why you see people rolling through attacks and things.

What I would guess you're doing is dodging too early. If you're dodging as soon as you see an enemy wind up for an attack, then it's only going to work if the attack is very fast, or if it's one of those ones which is "locked in" to a particular direction once it begins (a lot of very large enemies work this way, so they're easy to dodge). Some enemies will however be able to turn around and stay locked on mid-attack, so you can't dodge them that way. Try watching the timing and dodging very late so that you'll be mid-roll when the strike would connect.. it might be hard at first but you'll probably find you have more success.

 

[Xprimentyl]

...he'll just keep doing his jumping thrust which is really easy to roll through...

...all his attacks can be rolled through... Just roll into his attacks...


...wait for him to get close and pull the hammer back, then roll away. If you roll too soon...

Sounds like the key is going to be me smartening up and learning to dodge-roll? *sigh* You've not led me wrong thus far, so I will yet again defer to your advice. I've tried getting some practice in on the Silver Knights, but those are some ruthless SOBs.

Some enemies will however be able to turn around and stay locked on mid-attack, so you can't dodge them that way.

^This. Between favoring <50% encumbrance and enemies "locking on" and catching me on the back end of my rolls, I've had marginal success dodging, particularly against the Silver Knights I mentioned above; I might eke through one attack, but as I'm recovering, I get walloped by the second and third attacks in the enemy's attack animation!

 

[Glongpre]

particularly against the Silver Knights I mentioned above; I might eke through one attack, but as I'm recovering, I get walloped by the second and third attacks in the enemy's attack animation!

Practice rolling against the big royal knights who guard the doors, and the demons with the lightning spears.

For the first you want to roll between it's legs, especially when it shield slams. I always have a problem with these guys though, because their wind up takes a long time but once they unleash the attack it is really fast, so they would always hit me while I was trying to anticipate the attack coming. You have to roll a little bit earlier.

For the demon guys, you just wait for them to do a thrust then just roll through it.

I find against the silver and black knights that blocking, and just sidestep around them until you can backstab is the easiest. They don't have any attacks that you can roll through and then capitalize on, except the running stab. I mostly just wait for them to whiff by dancing in front of them if I don't have a shield.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Practice rolling against the big royal knights who guard the doors, and the demons with the lightning spears.

For the first you want to roll between it's legs, especially when it shield slams. I always have a problem with these guys though, because their wind up takes a long time but once they unleash the attack it is really fast, so they would always hit me...

Yes, yes, YESSSSS!!! So much ^this!! If I had a dollar for every time they cheap-shotted me when I tried to roll past them trying to break left to get to the blacksmith, I could buy From Software and force the programmers to put in an "Easy" mode and a pause function!!

But I will take your advice and practice on them. As it stands, I get well out of their aggro range and pick them off with my Longbow. a dozen deaths and a quarter-million Large Arrows later, it just feels cheap and tedious; your way sounds better.

 

[Seishisha]

Surprising realy after reading alot of the comments i notice almost no one has mentioned the usefullness of a ranged weapon, even if you only ever use it to pull enemies from range then finish them with melee, it is still an near indispensable tool for breaking ambushes and sometimes outright killing enemies before they become a problem.

My recomendation is to get the short bow, the stat requirments are fairly low and most equipment will have you over those requirments anyway, unlike the crossbow it can be aimed, if as above you just use it to pull then wooden arrows and no upgrades is totatly fine.

Here are ten locations in the game i think can be made much easier with a bow or other ranged attack, i'll put it in spoilers for the sake others who dont want to read it, i have tried to be vague aswell just for spoilery reasons.

Spoiler: The ten locations list

(1) Undead burg, i can think of atleast three locations using a bow to lure single enemies instead of groups, you can also shoot the fire bombers and the barrel rolling guy.

(2) Undead parish, the channeler on the upper floor can be sniped from below, the titanite demon can be cheesed if you are having trouble in melee.

(3) Sen's Fortress, the lightning shooting snake women, particularly the one at the top near the last swinging blade trap, can also be used to kill the giant putting balls into the trap. (kinda pointless though since there is nothing there, you can jump to him aswell if you realy want to)

(4) Anor londo, the painting guardians can be knocked off the rafters or atleast weakend before they get to you, the ones in the catherdral below tend to agro in groups if you get too close so ranged pull is advantageous.

(5) Painted world, the toxic hollows and the fire shooting ones are realy nasty and always in groups, pulling individuals or just outright ranged killing them is a good tactic.

(6) Blighttown, the parasitic wall hugger can cometimes be difficult to hit in melee, likewise the mosquitos in the second half are somtimes hard to hit, also the area with the toxic dart blowers and fire breathing dogs that guard the firekeeper soul is made easier with range.

(7) The catacombs, in some sections necromances can be seen and killed at range before hand, making the skeletons much easier to deal with.

(8) Tomb of the giants, second half past the lordvesel barrier has a very narrow ledge with two skeletons at the end one archer and one melee to the side, killing the archer first makes the encounter easier.

(9) Crystal Cave, the 'crab clams' infront of the boss fogwall are very dangerous, well placed arrows can save you the trouble of group attacks.

(10) New londo ruins, after draining the water there is a certain room with a large 'slime' and several darkwraiths pulling individuals is again very useful.

 

[Dalisclock]

Surprising realy after reading alot of the comments i notice almost no one has mentioned the usefullness of a ranged weapon, even if you only ever use it to pull enemies from range then finish them with melee, it is still an near indispensable tool for breaking ambushes and sometimes outright killing enemies before they become a problem.

My recomendation is to get the short bow, the stat requirments are fairly low and most equipment will have you over those requirments anyway, unlike the crossbow it can be aimed, if as above you just use it to pull then wooden arrows and no upgrades is totatly fine.

Here are ten locations in the game i think can be made much easier with a bow or other ranged attack, i'll put it in spoilers for the sake others who dont want to read it, i have tried to be vague aswell just for spoilery reasons.

Spoiler: The ten locations list

(1) Undead burg, i can think of atleast three locations using a bow to lure single enemies instead of groups, you can also shoot the fire bombers and the barrel rolling guy.

(2) Undead parish, the channeler on the upper floor can be sniped from below, the titanite demon can be cheesed if you are having trouble in melee.

(3) Sen's Fortress, the lightning shooting snake women, particularly the one at the top near the last swinging blade trap, can also be used to kill the giant putting balls into the trap. (kinda pointless though since there is nothing there, you can jump to him aswell if you realy want to)

(4) Anor londo, the painting guardians can be knocked off the rafters or atleast weakend before they get to you, the ones in the catherdral below tend to agro in groups if you get too close so ranged pull is advantageous.

(5) Painted world, the toxic hollows and the fire shooting ones are realy nasty and always in groups, pulling individuals or just outright ranged killing them is a good tactic.

(6) Blighttown, the parasitic wall hugger can cometimes be difficult to hit in melee, likewise the mosquitos in the second half are somtimes hard to hit, also the area with the toxic dart blowers and fire breathing dogs that guard the firekeeper soul is made easier with range.

(7) The catacombs, in some sections necromances can be seen and killed at range before hand, making the skeletons much easier to deal with.

(8) Tomb of the giants, second half past the lordvesel barrier has a very narrow ledge with two skeletons at the end one archer and one melee to the side, killing the archer first makes the encounter easier.

(9) Crystal Cave, the 'crab clams' infront of the boss fogwall are very dangerous, well placed arrows can save you the trouble of group attacks.

(10) New londo ruins, after draining the water there is a certain room with a large 'slime' and several darkwraiths pulling individuals is again very useful.

Crap, I'm actually kind of ashamed to have forgotten this. This was how I usually used the bow. To add to this: Poisoned Arrows. There are some enemies you can snipe(especially once you have the binoculars), poison them with 3 or so arrows and then wait for them to die or the poison to wear off(in which case do it again). It doesn't work on every enemy but some of them it does, particularly that bomb throwing asshole on top of Sens Fortress(who doesn't respawn).


It's also a nice way to deal with the Archers in Anor Lando. Archers are vulnerable to poison. There's one spot where you can shoot the right archer and he can't hit you(at least in my game there was). Problem pretty much solved.