The Escapist Presents: 5 Early Game Tips For Dark Souls
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Eh, drake sword isnt bad.
Another thing you can try to do is suicide run into the catacombs and join Nito's cult. ((Covenant of the Gravelord or something)) You get the "Gravelord Sword" which is more powerful then the Drakesword, causes poison damage ((extremely useful against bosses)) and does level with your stats, all be it poorly. You also get an extremely powerful 2 use spell called "Gravelord Sword Dance", which can clear out groups of low level enemys with ease.
The run might not be the safest, or the easiest for someone new to the game, but if you think you can complete it ((or know you can)) then its a great way to start the game. Along the way, if your quick, you can also nab some of the souls along the way to help level your armor early game.
Another thing you can try to do is suicide run into the catacombs and join Nito's cult. ((Covenant of the Gravelord or something)) You get the "Gravelord Sword" which is more powerful then the Drakesword, causes poison damage ((extremely useful against bosses)) and does level with your stats, all be it poorly. You also get an extremely powerful 2 use spell called "Gravelord Sword Dance", which can clear out groups of low level enemys with ease.
The run might not be the safest, or the easiest for someone new to the game, but if you think you can complete it ((or know you can)) then its a great way to start the game. Along the way, if your quick, you can also nab some of the souls along the way to help level your armor early game.
The Demon's Great Hammer is also a trade item from Snuggly the Crow.
The two butchers in the Depths have a chance of dropping a sack, you can trade this sack for the hammer.
The sack isn't a guaranteed drop though, so it depends on how much you want the hammer.
Resistence is also a completely useless stat.
Between raising Vit or Res, always go for the option that also raises HP.
The two butchers in the Depths have a chance of dropping a sack, you can trade this sack for the hammer.
The sack isn't a guaranteed drop though, so it depends on how much you want the hammer.
Resistence is also a completely useless stat.
Between raising Vit or Res, always go for the option that also raises HP.
My Top 5
1 Starting Class is important if you're a perfectionist. The pyro and Wanderer start with the highest base stat points. Never pick the sorcerer.
2 Bosses/Minibosses hit hard, and often through your shield. Play tag with them by hitting and stepping back out of range whenever possible. Noone likes a tagback.
3 The best starting gift is the master key. That great hammer can be gotten later, and is useless until you can actually properly wield it. Don't use weapons you can't wield properly.
4 Pyromancer spells can be used by anyone after you free the pyromancer trainer from his barrel in the depths. Located across from the fireshrine. If you skip the dephs like a pro you will miss the trainer + the +10 weapon ember.
5 Remember to upgrade your gear! Adding pluses to your armor or pyro glove can be way more helpful then adding levels.
1 Starting Class is important if you're a perfectionist. The pyro and Wanderer start with the highest base stat points. Never pick the sorcerer.
2 Bosses/Minibosses hit hard, and often through your shield. Play tag with them by hitting and stepping back out of range whenever possible. Noone likes a tagback.
3 The best starting gift is the master key. That great hammer can be gotten later, and is useless until you can actually properly wield it. Don't use weapons you can't wield properly.
4 Pyromancer spells can be used by anyone after you free the pyromancer trainer from his barrel in the depths. Located across from the fireshrine. If you skip the dephs like a pro you will miss the trainer + the +10 weapon ember.
5 Remember to upgrade your gear! Adding pluses to your armor or pyro glove can be way more helpful then adding levels.
One that I found useful was the as stated in the video you will collect bombs anyway, however I used them against the boar mini boss from a ledge.
Best advice:
Start as a pyromancer with the master key (Pyromancers have the easiest first few levels)
As soon as you reach Firelink Shrine take the lift down to New Londo, turn right once you're down there to the other stone structure, it has a locked door that can be opened with the master key.
Once you open this door you come out into the Valley of the Drakes, walk out over the wooden plank bridge you'll see and just run along down the cliffside. Over another bridge you'll come to a scary looking dead dragon, it WILL kill you after you approach it, but you have enough time to loot some very nice items.
1) Dragon Crest Shield. Possibly the best shield you'll find earlygame.
2) Astora's sword. Comparable to Drake sword, but deals magic damage and requires faith. This sword is great if you want to make an early run into the catacombs as skeletons there killed by it will not be resurrected by their necromancer.
The easiest type of character build is a high Str, high End and moderate Dex character who uses a Black Knight Great weapon, I prefer the axe, but the sword and halberd are fine choices too.
The Asylum Demon hammer is crappy, by the time you have 46 strength you should have far better weapons. (Black Knight Great Axe is stronger with only 36 strength required and also scales with your stats)
Edit: Try and keep your equip load <50% at all times, rolling/cartwheeling(if you get the best ring in the game lol) is too strong.
Start as a pyromancer with the master key (Pyromancers have the easiest first few levels)
As soon as you reach Firelink Shrine take the lift down to New Londo, turn right once you're down there to the other stone structure, it has a locked door that can be opened with the master key.
Once you open this door you come out into the Valley of the Drakes, walk out over the wooden plank bridge you'll see and just run along down the cliffside. Over another bridge you'll come to a scary looking dead dragon, it WILL kill you after you approach it, but you have enough time to loot some very nice items.
1) Dragon Crest Shield. Possibly the best shield you'll find earlygame.
2) Astora's sword. Comparable to Drake sword, but deals magic damage and requires faith. This sword is great if you want to make an early run into the catacombs as skeletons there killed by it will not be resurrected by their necromancer.
The easiest type of character build is a high Str, high End and moderate Dex character who uses a Black Knight Great weapon, I prefer the axe, but the sword and halberd are fine choices too.
The Asylum Demon hammer is crappy, by the time you have 46 strength you should have far better weapons. (Black Knight Great Axe is stronger with only 36 strength required and also scales with your stats)
Edit: Try and keep your equip load <50% at all times, rolling/cartwheeling(if you get the best ring in the game lol) is too strong.
Sorry dude, pyro starts at level one, giving you the LEAST base stat points. I will agree sorcerer is effectively hard-mode version of the pyromancer though.godofallu said:
I guess I should post some tips too.
1 Explore everything. while sometimes the things you find won't necessarily help you, more often then not the rewards are worth the effort.
2 Learn to 2-hand ASAP. With certain builds the damage increase is monstrous, as well as giving most weapons a superior attack animation. This is in concert with developing your ability to roll well, something that is all too easy to fail to do.
3 Plot your build. Try to figure out which weapon and armor your going to use early, as they will be what define your target stats (I say this because I level to 135, the estimated 'standard' pvp level). Additionally don't splurge on stats just to use a weapon.
4 Kill every crystal lizard you find. A fully upgraded special set of armor takes a whopping 44 twinkling titanites. While you can farm them from man-eater clams, the drop rate is dismal, making it so that without major time investment you generally only have access to 25 or so chunks (lizards can drop two).
5 Have fun, its an amazing game.
Uhh, the Asylum Demon hammer has the highest base damage in the game for a standard weapon, as well solid scaling. While I can't compare the RATE of scaling atm, saying the axe is inherently stronger is misleading. Also, black knight weapons can't be enchanted, giving them a major disadvantage.Tyras612 said:
That being said the axe is awesome due to its excellent attacks, not for its damage.
Edit: Trimmed the quote.
The axe has ~80 higher base damage, roughly the same strength scaling along with moderate dex scaling. The bonus damage from enchanting would only be relevant against bosses, however against most endgame bosses I feel even with an enchantment the Axe still has higher dps due to it's attack speed and faster hit points.MrLumber said:
Using the Great Axe upgraded to +5 two-handed led to me killing most end-game bosses in 4-12 attacks (lol Painted World)
Edit: By hit points I mean the duration between starting the swing and actually hitting. Damage point may be a more correct term.
Yeah no Pyro has the same starting stats + is level 1 which is a HUGE ADVANTAGE. You want to keep your level as low as possibly for a set stat build. Pyro allows you to generally be 2-3 levels lower then almost every other build with the same stats. Aside from the occasional wanderer/dex build.MrLumber said:
I guess its what you consider base damage, personally I only consider fully upgraded weapons, seeing as how relevant upgrades are. Asylum Hammer at +15 has 345 damage with B scaling (372 at +5 crystal, although that's very risky), where as the BKA has 319 damage at +5, also with B scaling. Enchantment is extremely relevant for pvp. Additionally you can be a meta wank and make it into a lightning or fire weapon which gives it a total damage of 772, although that's rather deceptive due to how defense works.Tyras612 said:
Also E dex scaling doesn't really count as moderate, and is fairly irrelevant on str builds to begin with.
Huh that's odd, I kinda hope they patch that because it really limits your starting options for an optimal build, although the difference in level/stats is quite minimal (as far as I can tell within 1 point with most others).godofallu said:
I'm not sure what the upgrade comparison is, but the Greatsword counts as the largest class of sword, making it slower by a good margin. Its advantages come in superior scaling and a very wide hitbox. It can also knock people down quite easily.Fagotto said:
The best advice I can think of would be:
1. If you plan to have a low level character make a lightning, fire or chaos weapon. I suggest a katana, or a long sword. (Personally the Dark Sword is my favorite weapon in the game.)
2. Don't go straight into Lost Izalith join the chaos covenant offer 30 humanity and use the shortcut, it will save you hours of frustration.
3. If you plan to play a NG+ get the master key.
4. Don't go into the Tomb of the Giants without Cast Light or a Sunlight maggot, falling in the dark and having to trek through the catacombs is not fun.
5. The Kiln of the First Flame is a pvp hotbed have fun there before fighting the last boss.
On weapon choice I would say get a katana (Iaito, Uchigatana, Washing pole) , or Quelaag's Furysword as soon as possible. Also high damage large weapons are usually heavy and attack slowly not a good choice for a low level character (SL below 120-135).
1. If you plan to have a low level character make a lightning, fire or chaos weapon. I suggest a katana, or a long sword. (Personally the Dark Sword is my favorite weapon in the game.)
2. Don't go straight into Lost Izalith join the chaos covenant offer 30 humanity and use the shortcut, it will save you hours of frustration.
3. If you plan to play a NG+ get the master key.
4. Don't go into the Tomb of the Giants without Cast Light or a Sunlight maggot, falling in the dark and having to trek through the catacombs is not fun.
5. The Kiln of the First Flame is a pvp hotbed have fun there before fighting the last boss.
On weapon choice I would say get a katana (Iaito, Uchigatana, Washing pole) , or Quelaag's Furysword as soon as possible. Also high damage large weapons are usually heavy and attack slowly not a good choice for a low level character (SL below 120-135).