A Newbies Tale

I'm inexperienced with RPG's and thought i's give one a go and leave my MW3 and Forza 4 for a while. Reading reviews and playing the demo i was going to wait for the Reckoning but decided to opt for Dark Souls cos i liked the setting (like a woman, saying i want a blue car - lol).
I've played Oblivion and a couple of the spin offs on the PC years ago which was fun but Skyrim seemed "same'y" so opted for a change.
Now guys, I read alot of posts on the forums and you all seem far more advanced, i dont understand Humanity (yet) PvP - which i assume is peer vs peer and PvE ??? i haven't got a clue so for now i'm basically playing a "offline" game but online.
At first it was as hard as hell but with alittle persistance i'm progressing. I'm currently a level 28 with a balanced strength and dexterity and weild a +5 Claymore with a +5 Helyard (axe'y thing on a long pole) both seem to do a good job and make short work of the general killing fodder.
I still cannot defeat the Bell Tower gargoyles - yes i can cut off their tails and have a new axe but victory eludes me - its so annoying when in the parish and the bell tolls - mmmm - someone else has managed to kill 'em.
I've attempted to explore the area with the water and the phantoms (down the stairs and the circular lift) but the ghosts tear me apart, i have a crystal which is supposed to banish them but for now its just a rock in my bag - haven't a clue how to use it.
Yesterday i posted on a thread that i couldn't kill any black knights, oooo the progress you can make in one night, got that bad boy ticked
For now, cos i can now actually kill the Skeletons in the graveyard i have found the Catacombs so i spent a good few hours trying to explore down there. Standing and fighting isn't an option (soon realised that!!) so RUN.
Basically the moral of my post for Newbies like me is bear with.... I know i'm very early in the game, it doesn't seem like it to me.. but luckily just when i think "this is rock hard and i'm getting nowhere " i have a break through, usually by working on my stats and weapons.
Onwards and Upwards...... head up... and battle on...
Love the Site by the way

The black crystal is for the online portion, when you are summoned in someone elses world it takes you back to yours and will banish other players helping you back to theirs. Leaving someone elses world will give you sin which can get you invaded by Darkmoons. To kill the ghosts you need to be cursed, there are little hands you can find that will give you a temp curse and let you fight them, you'll get more from their bodies at random.

Other than that welcome to Dark Souls and glad to see you persisting! If you have any questions at all feel free to ask and also check the wiki~

Stay strong and game on

It sounds like you're going through what everyone playing Dark Souls for the first time experiences, namely dying a lot (that doesn't change by the way, I'm still dying a lot and I'm on my second play through). For example, I had a lot of trouble with the Bell Gargoyles too on my first playthrough, I honestly thought I would never defeat them and I was on the verge of giving up because, for a relatively early boss they were rock hard. I think I died falling off the roof as often as they killed me proper. The trick is to keep on trying. Yes it's disheartening to die yet again after you've killed all those hollows but the genious of Dark Souls is that each time you fail you learn something. Think of the Bell Gargoyles as a kind of training session. I think it's put there early on on purpose so that the player is forced to hone their skills.

As for the rest, you will find everything you need to know on this wiki and I reccommend you read as much as you can and the support and help you can get from other players is second to none.

Hi undead lee,

I've been coming to this forum for a while to read what others had to say without creating myself an account. I have been playing for Dark Souls for a while now, but I never completed one play through yet; mostly due for my need of perfection where I start a new game 15 to 20 hours of game play.

I decide to create an account on the forum to give you a few more tips and answer your questions, cause I had a lot of them when I first started playing.

Just to clarify, PvP means Player versus Player and PvE is Player versus Environment. So basically, online versus single player for most games, but dark souls is different in many ways.

Humanity
Humanity, among many thing like scaling damage on certain weapons and item discovery rate, basically allow you to regain humanity which is extremely important for co-op and online play.When your humanity count (upper left corner of your screen) is 01 or more, you may regain your humanity when resting at a bonfire and selecting "Restore Humanity" (or something like that). Being human will allow you to invite player to your game to help you out (co-op) by summoning white soapstone signs on the ground. Those white marks are normally around bonfires and near boss' fog wall. If you regain humanity, you should be able to see a few of those soap marks around the Bell Tower Guardian, for example. The white soap stone will also allow you to put down your white mark on the ground for someone else to summon you. You don't need to regain humanity for another player to summon you, just put your soapstone sign down.

If you regain humanity, BE CAREFUL! this will also allow other players to invade your world in order to kill you. If you get killed, you start at the bonfire like any other death no big deal, they steal a few souls and you are once again a hollow (You can't get invaded if you're hollow). If you summoned another player to your world, they may help you if you get invaded, but from what I saw on this forum, they don't always feel it's "Fair" to help out a player who is being invaded. I saw screw that, if I get summoned, I help in any way I can! Enough about humanity, you'll figure out the rest I'm sure if you didn't already know it.

Happy Path
You did manage to find the Burg on your first play through, kudos on that. On my first play through I had the master key and headed toward Blight town and I was wondering why the game was so freaking hard.

What I recommend to you, is to stay as far away from the elevator that brings you to the New Londo Ruins and don't even think of going in the catacombs (that place still scares the crap out of me). Even if you don't want to kill the Bell Tower Guardians right away, you should of acquired the basement key. That key will allow you to access Lower Burg. Remember the Dragon that spits fire on the bridge just after you killed the first boss "Taurus Demon"? Well there is a door that you may open with the basement key. I don't want to give you too much details as it is the fun of the game to discover these things, but once you go down there is an easy shortcut that brings you back to the first bonfire in the Burg. Good Luck!

You have a lot of easy places to visit (Lower Burg, Darkroot Garden, Darkroot Basin, The Dept, Blightown, Sens Fortress, etc.) before you even thing of going back to the Catacombs and New Londo Ruins. Of course, this game has very few mandatory bosses and paths, so you are free to explore which ever way you want!

Weapons
Lastly, the weapons! Good job upgrading your weapons right away. Later in the games you will have a lot of souls to buy titanite shards, so don't be scared to use them early in the game if you can. What I have learned while experiencing Dark Souls' weapons is that there are no best weapon. Every weapons works as good as you can use them. The Claymore and Halberd are good weapons, but are heavy and make you stumble around after each hit. In other word, they are slow to recover which leave you open against fast enemies (like the Bell Tower Guardians). You can always take the cheap route and use the Drake sword, but real men don't use that sword in the early game. If you want a good fast weapon, kill the Undead Merchant in the Burg, He drops a Uchigatana, which is quick and scales very well with the amount of Dex you have. Won't hit as hard as your Claymore, but you will get a lot more hits in before you have to get the hell out. I still use a +5 Lightning or +15 Uchigatana late in the game.

Anyway, best part of Dark Souls is the feeling you get after accomplishing something you've been dying over and over again. Experiencing with everything is key in this game!!

Sorry if I gave information you already knew, but hopefully a few things in here will help you out.

Now that is one long first post...
Long live Dark Souls!

MAC

As with the above mentioned, PvP is player versus Player. The common level which PvP is done at for proper duels/etc is 120. PvE is player versus environment, that is you against all of the regular enemies in the world outside of anything from the online portion.

As a new player I know it is hard, but there are tricks to certain bosses. If you maybe told us how you are approaching the Gargoyles we can help you out more. One trick I find is that having stamina is a must have for that boss since you'll get very little breathing room. Never let it deplete unless you are skilled at dodging already. Block the hits with a 100 mitigation shield, and hit in between. Killing the first gargoyle as fast as possible is also a must, so you'll want a heavy hitting weapon or use spells that hit hard. Also if the fire of the second gargoyle is giving you a lot of trouble and you get cornered by it, in the valley of the drakes between New Londo is a Dragon Crest Shield. It can block 80% of a fire attack, so you should pick it up. Just follow that path away from Blighttown until you see a dead dragon. It is actually Undead and will attack, but you can pick up the shield and sword and run away, or just take the death provided you have no souls or humanity on you. Blocking the hits of the Gargoyles is very important, as well as keeping your stamina up for when you need to suddenly block, dodge, or make a strike of your own. I hope this helps, Praise the Sun and good luck!

If you play as human you can summon solaire to help w/ the gargoyles. You can do it offline to prevent the gankers from invading your run. Makes the fight easy peasy.

Excellent post littleMAC +1.

Few things to add:

1) The more humanity you have, the greater chance of item drops, the greater curse resistance you have, and the greater damage SOME weapons do. Note though that, like souls, you stand the chance of losing your humanity upon death. You obtain humanity through defeating enough enemies, using humanity items, or killing other players/helping other players defeat bosses,

2) If you cannot beat the bell gargoyles, try summoning Solaire (if you want to summon at all on your first playthrough). While normally a bumbling oaf of an npc, his extremely high health can help you tank the first gargoyle before the second one becomes an issue. An alternative path to fighting the gargoyles is, as littleMAC recommened, either the lower Burg or the Darkroot Garden, note that both are challenging when you are not used to fighting those enemies, take your time and avoid attacks.

3) Unlike littleMAC, I do not recommend killing the merchant in the Undead Burg UNLESS you have found another merchant.

Hope you continue to enjoy the game.

berkut wrote:Excellent post littleMAC +1.

Few things to add:

1) The more humanity you have, the greater chance of item drops, the greater curse resistance you have, and the greater damage SOME weapons do. Note though that, like souls, you stand the chance of losing your humanity upon death. You obtain humanity through defeating enough enemies, using humanity items, or killing other players/helping other players defeat bosses,

Humanity also adds to your defense. at lower levels having high humanity is a HUGE boost....

....but of course you run the risk of losing it all if you die and cannot make it back to your bloodstain.

Welcome to the world of Dark Souls

my advice is do not take advice. Avoid using this site at all costs and do a completely blind playthrough, the whole experience is far better for it

but if you are driven to near insanity by this game then give us a call and we'll happily assist you

Nice to hear stories of persistence. Keep plugging away, my friend. Once the game gets its hooks in, it will change your life. Don't ever give up. Lots of people here who will help you out with anything in your way.

Serious_Much wrote:Welcome to the world of Dark Souls

my advice is do not take advice. Avoid using this site at all costs and do a completely blind playthrough, the whole experience is far better for it

but if you are driven to near insanity by this game then give us a call and we'll happily assist you

The only problem with that is that I wouldn't be surprised if every player went insane playing this game, especially if you try the Catacombs on your first play through before ringing the first bell.

If you look at any video games, around 90% of the people don't finish games they buy. I don't even want to know what the percentage is for Souls games, Haha.

I have to say, you do have a point, the experience in Dark Souls is much better if you go in blind. Good Job to anyone who was able to go through the whole game blind!

However, no matter how experienced I will become with the game, I will alway be scared to death when I carry a large amount of souls and humanity, and I don't think nothing will ever change that!!

I remember when I first started playing, I just arrived to the firelink and without knowing anything I walked to the cemetery and the two first skellies showed up. I was like ... Oh ok, two skellies, no biggy. Then, slash, slash... I was death right away. I wasn't able to understand why I wasn't able to kill the first to enemies I was facing ( now I know they are actully really tough for the level and skill you have when you first arrive at the firelink).

LittleMAC already explained most of the 'need to know' basis so you can get and idea and continue experiencing it on your own.

Don't give up, stay strong, eat your fruits and vegetables and with time and effort you'll get to the end of this incredible adventure.

When you think you are lost and don't know where to go, come here as here there are a lot of people that will gladly help you.

Tip: about killing dark knights, just time their attacks, circle them and strike them with backstabs. Try to avoid direct contact. When they hit you it hurts a lot and and might even almost one hit kill you.

Good hunting my friend.

LittleMAC wrote:
The only problem with that is that I wouldn't be surprised if every player went insane playing this game, especially if you try the Catacombs on your first play through before ringing the first bell.

this is exactly what I did the first two hours of playing. I thought that was where you were supposed to go so I had to fight those skeletons with a Battle axe +0 and minimum soul level.
Then I saw the aquaduct...

Haha, my first time through the game I was still stuck thinking it was demons souls.. SO, I went to the graveyard as a wanderer with basic gear and scrimitar and got my butt handed to me... Then I found the mace near the undead burgs elevator "alright, a blunt weapon is super effective right?! Just like in demons souls, this is what I needed!" nope .... I didn't do much more damage but atleast it knocked them over for awhile. Man, those skeletons were tough.

Dont even get me started on the ghosts in new londo, jeez.

When you think about it, Dark Souls has a lot of gatepost enemies that are designed as progress markers for an area. If you get frustrated and die a lot from those enemies, it's a hint that you shouldn't go that way. I'm sure those skellies were put there to show people what they could expect further on. Like anything in Dark Souls, you can still push forward if you're up to the challenge, but at least they warn you about what's ahead.

The game seems to steer you in subtle ways toward the Depths, then Blighttown (aside from just telling you to ring the bells). Think of the treasures: the Spider shield is in the depths, and helps you contend with blowdards in Blighttown; the Eagle Shield is in Blightown, and provides a huge upgrade to just about anything you're using at that point. With the eagle in hand, the skellies in the catacombs can't break your guard like they were with smaller shields.

I remember in Demon's Souls, the first time I ventured into world 4 and had that first grey skelly attack me at a low level. The experience shocked me, and for a long time I didn't want to go back there.

Many thanks guys for all you help - especially LittleMac - cheers mate.
Well over the weekend i managed to defeat the Bell Tower Gargoyles - Halberd +5 plus some resin stuff which made my weapon firey.
I then could repent my sins and get the white soapstone from the knight of solitaire so i'm a happy chappie.
one thing i have noticed, usually too late as usual, is that the master key seems to be high on the list of "must haves" - you've guessed it - it wasn't my starting gift.
Most of the places you guys are suggesting to go i dont know where they are, the the game is leading me to go defeat the boss in the basement, ooohh and by the way them thieves are a nightmare, nimble, back jumping, throat cutting ninjas :affraid:
I have a few objectives - the dark knight in the parish is one of them, so hopefully give me a few days and i'll be rockin and rollin again.
JUST TO REPEAT MYSELF - MANY THANKS FOR ALL YOUR REPLIES. THERE A GREAT HELP TO A NEWBIE LIKE ME AND I'M SURE MANY OTHERS.

OK - to continue.
Last night i obtained the Drake sword looks cool but cannot add the pine resin to it and haven't tried to reinforce it yet but i wouldn't be suprised if that can't be done either. The strong attack is awsome and managed to defeat the black knight in the parish another objective in the bag.
So off to the Lower Berg, dogs and thieves despatched and got massacred by the boss.
Mmmmmm i'll have another go tonight.
ooohh and for the first time..... i wasn't hollow lol its the first time i've seen myself as human.

the drake sword uses dragon scales for upgrades and costs 10,000 souls per upgrade, and it doesn't get stronger with your stats, good early on but you'll want other stuff later.

The drake sword should be more than enough to get you to sen's fortress, but personally I would switch it out as soon as you can afford to make a +5 anything else.

Well another night of DS and i seem to be heading for a another "gargoyles issue" as i dont seem to have many options.
I have been warned not to venture into the catacombs or Londo (i'm an inexperienced SL30) and can breeze through firelink, undead burg, undead parish and part of the lower burg.
BUT - if i attempt to take on the boss in the lower burg he destroys me in two hits.
So back i went to collect souls and level up my armour, my weapons are already at +5, and whilst i was collecting i thought i'd have a go at killing the red Wyvern on the bridge. 400 arrows later and his life is half gone (yes, my fingers hurt - no pain no gain). I dont know if once despatched i'll get anything to help me with the lower burg boss, maybe i just have to level up my stats, but my options seem limited and what must be done, must be done.
Am i been narrow minded? have i other options?

undead lee wrote:Well another night of DS and i seem to be heading for a another "gargoyles issue" as i dont seem to have many options.
I have been warned not to venture into the catacombs or Londo (i'm an inexperienced SL30) and can breeze through firelink, undead burg, undead parish and part of the lower burg.
BUT - if i attempt to take on the boss in the lower burg he destroys me in two hits.
So back i went to collect souls and level up my armour, my weapons are already at +5, and whilst i was collecting i thought i'd have a go at killing the red Wyvern on the bridge. 400 arrows later and his life is half gone (yes, my fingers hurt - no pain no gain). I dont know if once despatched i'll get anything to help me with the lower burg boss, maybe i just have to level up my stats, but my options seem limited and what must be done, must be done.
Am i been narrow minded? have i other options?

For the Capra demon dodge to the left up the stairs, turn around and kill the dogs at the top of the stairs. Drop down from there to bait Capra and then use the falling attack off the stairs over and over until he's dead. Takes some practice, but you should be at a good enough level to handle it.

Also, you can't take out the wyvern w/ arrows only.

Your also at an appropriate point to take on the Forest (near the blacksmith). Be careful if you enter there, the enemies can be vicious.

If you go to the black smith in the parish you could go into the forest and defeat the boss on the straight path there, that will get you a weapon upgrade you can use to make your way through the catacombs, I think by now there should be some new NPC's in firelink shrine for you to talk to near the priest. And they hint that you should go to the catacombs. It'll be a tough fight, but if you are already having some time with the demon in the lower burg it wouldnt hurt to try. Just go prepared with a divine weapon +1 or more.

EDIT: also in the forest, you could go down the lower path into an area called drake's valley. If you explore in there you can open up a new area as well called blight town. Just be careful because a LOT of stuff changes once you activate that area, you might want to talk to all the NPC's in firelink, especially the one golden guy you saved from the parish.

Cheers for the info guys.
I defeated the Wyvern last night with about 200 standard arrows and 200 wooden arrows. It took abit of time but i didn't lose a single life.
The Capra Demon is giving me some greif but as Aceluby suggests i have been trying to use the stairs (its not easy) - more attempts tonight.
As for the Forest. I assume its to the left of the blacksmith in the Parish - I've taken a brief look down there and there's a big Boss who throws lightening at me so i've given him a wide bearth.
I'll take a look tonight....
Thanks guys for all your advice

That Demon can be dodged and blocked, though he will eat through your stamina if you don't have the stability. The trick is usually to dodge/strafe to the right and hit him from the side. Be careful, as his tail actually hits you as he swings.

As for Capra, it might do good to find yourself a summon, or use force if you have the faith. You can actually Force the dogs away at first then run for the stairs. Do not try to block Capra's jump attack, it will just slam you into the ground. You just need to kill those dogs, as soon as they're dead you'll notice the fight is pretty easy.