Requesting a Dark Souls 2 Mentor

[joest01]

You should get the free estus shard in majula. hit the rock by the well. and have whatshername by the main bonfire upgrade your flask. then, as stated above, run through Heides Tower (might want to take your clothes off), take the left path and drop the bridge. You will get killed in the process. Run back there and get the ring.

Then practice with the old knight who killed you for a while. There is a bonfire right next to him. He is really easy to predict but should give you a good feeling for the combat. Also gives you some nice souls and very good (if very fragile) early game gear.

Then start going through the forest. Make sure to get the fire sword. It's a bit hidden. google it. But it scales on magic and you will want it.

Otherwise have fun. And dont get frustrated. The game is not that difficult. You WILL get better. Promised.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Wow...you sound exactly (and I mean that literally) like I did when I first started Dark Souls. Couldn't figure anything out, couldn't get the hang of magic, didn't know where to go...all that stuff. I asked for help and I got mocked. It got so bad that eventually I quit the game for several years.
So I know exactly how you feel in terms of helplessness and frustration.

I would offer advice, but reading through the other posts, it seems the advice has been given and that you have picked it up. All I can say is keep at it, stay away from that pit in Majula until you get the ladder--you'll know when you do--and you are going to have no idea what is going on until you beat the game. And even then, you'll probably be confused as hell unless you played the first Dark Souls.

I suggest picking up the three DLC expansions if you find yourself enjoying the game once you get the hang of it. They are well worth it.

 

[Mister K]

Well, I only played its spiritual predecessor (i.e. Demon's Souls), but the core experience is the same (judging by LP's I've watched), so maybe I can give you some bits of help.

Firstly, every character stat upgrade is more expensive than the previous one. On later stages even the fattest of enemies will not give you enough souls and grinding becomes kind of boring even compared to japanese standarts. So, um, pick a "class" you want to be and specialise.

Having better equipment is a lot more important than having big stats.

Playing as mage is a wee bit easier, true, but it is also boring. You'll have a lot more fun as a close combat fighter. I am not saying that you should avoid spells and miracles completely, but they shouldn't be your primary source of damage.

Try to never overburden youself with equipment, as rolling is really important and it is impossible to properly roll in heavy armor.

Don't be affraid to die. Every death will teach you something. Except for ones when you simply fall down.

Always be cautious. If you think that you are safe anywhere besides Majula then you are wrong.

Also, you may want to check wikies if some enemies give you trouble. Or you want to know what kind of weapon/armor you can make with the boss soul you acquired.

 

[iLikeHippos]

From what I can tell, you want to know two things;

1. How the controls, inventory, mapping and items work.

2. The easy way to play Dark Souls II.

Well, the first one should explain themselves in time as you continue playing and experimenting. But I can tell you the basics to reach that point easier. This will also serve to help making the game easier, so it covers number 2 as well.

First, a controller is necessary, otherwise you are just shooting yourself in the foot. Second, get armor and health, so you are allowed to make more mistakes in battle (upgrading Vigor and Vitality is great for this). Thirdly, your magics mean nothing when you are out of casts, so get a melee weapon that you think looks interesting, (at least as a back-up, if anything) but only if you can use it. Lastly, upgrade everything you can see yourself using for a good amount of time; in fact, make it part of your mission.

It's also worth noting that dark souls isn't really all that hard - it's a game that punishes ignorance and rewards information. As long as you find out what you need to defeat or overcome this or that, the amount of skill required from your end isn't that insanely high.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Not a lot I can add at this point, but I'd suggest reading Yahtzee's guide to Dark Souls [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/11045-A-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Dark-Souls-7-Steps-to-Sucking-Less]. Despite it being made for the first game, the majority of things in it are no less true for the second instalment.

Hog all the Human Effigies you can find, but use them only if your health bar has been reduced below 70%. Especially in the beginning that's often the tipping point where you start dying from less than three hits. If you don't want to waste your Effigies, write down your summon sign (go to the inventory, find the White Sign Soapstone, select "use"). Defeating the area boss in another person's game will revive you back to Human, and you'll be able to summon help into your game as well.

Master dodging and always keep an eye on your stamina gauge. It's the most vital thing in the Souls games, and exhausting your stamina too fast is the surest way to defeat. Don't rely on blocking too much, since shields that have 100% physical damage protection aren't common in the beginning, and if your stamina is depleted completely while blocking, you will be stunned, and if more than one enemy is around, you're screwed.

Another very, very, very important thing is always talk to everyone and exhaust their dialogue all the way through. You will deprive yourself of vital NPCs, powerful items and important backstory by ignoring the "talk" option. There's a specific merchant NPC who will give you a very useful item, but only after you've spent more than 10k souls at his shop.

I'm told (via Extra Credits) that one of the ways you can make DS2 easier is by starting out as a Sorcerer.

WHAT? That is so untrue. Playing as a Sorcerer is regarded as being specifically for advanced players, as they're often soft, weak and require quite precise rolling and mastery of cast times to be used effectively. It is true that magic classes most times end up curb-stomping pure melee builds, but that does not mean they make the game easier, and playing as one is the last thing I'd recommend to a newcomer. I'd suggest starting over with a straightforward melee class, learning the ins and outs of combat, and only on later levels expanding into magic.

 

[ultrabiome]

Lots of great feedback.

Demon's Souls & Dark Souls 1 vet, in my first run of Dark Souls 2.

My suggestion for a starting class is the cleric.
Clerics start with a Mace, which is a good enough weapon to use for quite a while. The mace is one of the best starting weapons due to its type and highish poise break, which can stun a lot of enemies. Make sure you add at least one point to strength though, as it's required strength stat is one higher than what clerics start with.
Clerics start with a healing spell and a chime to use it. It's not a combat spell, as with about 2/3-3/4 of miracles, so clerics will still rely heavily on melee damage. Clerics can learn spell timing from learning when it's best to heal (best really when nothing around, they can be fairly slow to cast) as offensive spells are similarly slow so it will teach spacing. Back off from enemies and/or deflect their attacks with obstacles in the environment in order to get casts off while avoiding damage.

TLDR: Clerics provide extra protection and healing while still relying on melee damage - teaching new players both melee techniques (attack timing, blocking, dodging) while also providing fundamentals of casting that will help if the player decides to be a caster (cast timing, backing off/using environment to safely heal).

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Lots of great feedback.

Demon's Souls & Dark Souls 1 vet, in my first run of Dark Souls 2.

My suggestion for a starting class is the cleric.
Clerics start with a Mace, which is a good enough weapon to use for quite a while. The mace is one of the best starting weapons due to its type and highish poise break, which can stun a lot of enemies. Make sure you add at least one point to strength though, as it's required strength stat is one higher than what clerics start with.
Clerics start with a healing spell and a chime to use it. It's not a combat spell, as with about 2/3-3/4 of miracles, so clerics will still rely heavily on melee damage. Clerics can learn spell timing from learning when it's best to heal (best really when nothing around, they can be fairly slow to cast) as offensive spells are similarly slow so it will teach spacing. Back off from enemies and/or deflect their attacks with obstacles in the environment in order to get casts off while avoiding damage.

TLDR: Clerics provide extra protection and healing while still relying on melee damage - teaching new players both melee techniques (attack timing, blocking, dodging) while also providing fundamentals of casting that will help if the player decides to be a caster (cast timing, backing off/using environment to safely heal).

As someone who has actually played Dark Souls 2 I would say to completely ignore all of this advice.

Yes, the mace is a great starting weapon, but you don't have to start with it because the black smith in majula sells a mace for 1200 souls.

Yes, the cleric gets healing spells, but those are actually kind of useless in Dark Souls 2 because of life gems. The only good use for healing spells is that you're able to group heal summons if you all stand right next to each other, but considering the healing spells are slow they're basically useless in combat. Not worth it.

Offensive miracles also got nerfed to shit so faith isn't really worth investing in unless there's a very specific build you have in mind, so starting with a cleric leaves you with a lot of points in a mostly bad stat.

 

[SnakeTrousers]

REALLY BASIC MELEE GUIDE:

It took me longer than I'd like to realize this, but you do have more moves than your basic light/strong combos. There are specific moves that can be used while coming out of a roll (hit light attack right after or right before coming out of roll) and sprinting (hit light attack while sprinting, or after a back-step) and what these moves entail can vary greatly between weapons. My advice: any time you're thinking about using a new weapon, try it out in a safe place so you can learn all the moves. Make sure to test it both 1 handed and 2 handed. Against larger, slower enemies 2-handing can make a world of difference.

When dual wielding, the weapon in your left hand works exactly like it would in your right, only using the left bumper/trigger. This means that if you use two different weapons you can greatly expand your moveset. Often it's good to have some kind of stabbing weapon for more claustrophobic environments, as your attacks can bounce off walls. Also, if you have 1.5X the stat requirements for both weapons, you can enter a dual wielding stance by holding Y. While in this stance, using your left weapon will attack with both left and right at the same time. Note that this doesn't apply to rolling/sprinting attacks.

Generally, don't overuse the dodge. A lot of the time it's more effective to simply step out of attack range, as dodging uses up your stamina and can leave you vulnerable for a brief period. This will also make it easier to get back into striking distance once the enemy is open.

 

[ultrabiome]

Lots of great feedback.

Demon's Souls & Dark Souls 1 vet, in my first run of Dark Souls 2.

My suggestion for a starting class is the cleric.
Clerics start with a Mace, which is a good enough weapon to use for quite a while. The mace is one of the best starting weapons due to its type and highish poise break, which can stun a lot of enemies. Make sure you add at least one point to strength though, as it's required strength stat is one higher than what clerics start with.
Clerics start with a healing spell and a chime to use it. It's not a combat spell, as with about 2/3-3/4 of miracles, so clerics will still rely heavily on melee damage. Clerics can learn spell timing from learning when it's best to heal (best really when nothing around, they can be fairly slow to cast) as offensive spells are similarly slow so it will teach spacing. Back off from enemies and/or deflect their attacks with obstacles in the environment in order to get casts off while avoiding damage.

TLDR: Clerics provide extra protection and healing while still relying on melee damage - teaching new players both melee techniques (attack timing, blocking, dodging) while also providing fundamentals of casting that will help if the player decides to be a caster (cast timing, backing off/using environment to safely heal).

As someone who has actually played Dark Souls 2 I would say to completely ignore all of this advice.

Yes, the mace is a great starting weapon, but you don't have to start with it because the black smith in majula sells a mace for 1200 souls.

Yes, the cleric gets healing spells, but those are actually kind of useless in Dark Souls 2 because of life gems. The only good use for healing spells is that you're able to group heal summons if you all stand right next to each other, but considering the healing spells are slow they're basically useless in combat. Not worth it.

Offensive miracles also got nerfed to shit so faith isn't really worth investing in unless there's a very specific build you have in mind, so starting with a cleric leaves you with a lot of points in a mostly bad stat.

My level 70 Cleric (DSII) takes offense to that. I remember what it was like starting Demon's Souls, dying a lot, and after that, barely making it out of fights alive and wanting to heal myself up in between each enemy, blowing my souls on crescent moon grass over and over again. You have estus flasks in DSII, but only a couple to start. Yeah, there are life gems, but they do take time to both activate and receive healing and they don't reset if you rest at a bonfire. Much easier to progress when you can heal without consequence in between most fights, at least when you're still learning and getting hit all the time.

I like spending my souls on more permanent things, like levels, spells and weapon upgrades, not life gems.

 

[Benpasko]

I made you a control map, in case you're still having any controls issues.

Spoiler

Edit: Damn, didn't see the controls spoiler'd up above. I made this because I couldn't find a visual control mapping of the ds2 controls on google images in the top results