First Playthrough

I was speed running a new character to anor londo last night and got there in under an hour (Not a proper speed run I might add, just wanted to get into the darkmoon cov asap). I was amazed at just how easy the game is when you know what your doing and where your going, however on my first play-through it took me nearly 40 hours to get there, WITH help!

Did anyone GENUINELY complete their first play-through without the use of the wiki/guide or any help?

I just cant see how it would be possible, but if there are people that have done this, hats off to you!

i never used a guide or wiki until i finished the game the first time... i don't like being spoilered or know what weapons and armors are in the game until i found it out by myselve.
and the funny part: i'm still using my first and only character to play with since 2 days pre-release and i'm very satisfied with my own Build (could be better but i'm still winning 4 out of 5 PvP Battles)

so... it's definately possible ^^

Well done lol , what was your playtime upon completion?

can't really remember because it has been a while ago now... i think it was something around 100 hours... i i did a lot grinding and farming stuff, exploring areas and secrets, pvp and everything u can imageine
i really love to take me some time on my first playthroughs and exploring everything u can and revealing secrets so the game doesn't get boring too fast ^^

I have to admit I used the wiki for several things, mostly the NPC fights, some boss strategies to get tail weapons, and pretty much all of upper Blight town just cause it scared the crap out of me that I was going to mess up and fall if I went the wrong way. Oh and Reah's storyline cause I wanted WoG.

I only used the Wiki to help me with some of the boss fights..

you know who im talking about.

Im still on first gameplay and i am SL222
The pvp in kiln as host is sooo intresting

My first play through I spent 142 hours on and managed to get to lost izalith. I have since finished the game with 2 other characters.

Hali, I'm loving the last quote in your signature XD

@serious - thanks dude! Best advice I can ever give some who comes to me looking for a job

although i just noticed shouldnt the long/short be swapped round?

Ah-hahahaaa... Yes duelly noted and corrected. Apologies, my dislexia it is

Took me 60~ hours first playthrough without a guide, I was just exploring everywhere and most of it was just spent farming forest npcs I think. This was pre-1.04-5 so it was the only way to get decent souls.

400+ hours, sad really, but the weather is crap, so I don't feel too bad

having said that, it's also because I was playing 4 characters simultaneously and seeing which ones worked best in each situation. Part of the fun is exploration and the suspense of not knowing where the enemies are and what the lay of the land is. I took my time and enjoyed every minute

I summoned a phantom sometimes, but thats part of the experience of playing your first time is it not? I went through 100 hours before I finished for the first time.

I must have restarted about 5 or 6 times before finally completing it lol. Even my run where i did actually complete the game was 40+ hours, and that was using the wiki! A lot of that time was pvping in the garden though.

In my first playthrough I used the wiki to save Solaire, opening the Izalith shortcut, Ornstein and Smough tactics, Ceaseless Discharge tactics, and how to get to Ash lake. I died a lot in the great hollow..

My 1st character missed a ton of things like Kirk armor, Darkwrait covenant ect since i didn't read the Wiki.
It also took me about 80h to finish the game.
Now i breeze through it

Still havnt finished game lol, but I'm going back and forth between different toons. When I finish an area I start it with another toon.

Yeah, to me using wiki/guides on your first playthrough of a game like this is just completely missing the point, really. The best part about this game is the first time you encounter everything, that's where most of your memories come from at least! IMO using a guide or youtube to get past certain areas just ruins the experience.

I agree w/ Animus. I would resort to the wiki or youtube only after dying a bunch, but usually I'd figure out my tactics for bosses by getting summoned. The levels absolutely require you to learn how to tackle them and learn from your mistakes, so the guides aren't as helpful there IMO

It's not even necessarily that they aren't helpful, I just feel like you're robbing yourself of a great experience. It's like going to New York City and eating at TGI-Fridays.

I missed a LOT of stuff I'm sure, but I did it without guides. I had a rule that I only read wiki pages about content/areas I had already completed.

Got to say that I've probably logged 400+ hours on this game and so far the furthest I've gotten is killing Sif after defeating Blighttown. I know that sounds real lame, but I cant help it. I love to try new builds. I'm close to settling on one right now though.

One day a few months ago I was bored at work and watched the entire speed run where the guy finishes the game in 93 minutes or whatever. Immediately up to that point I was having SO much fun with the game and after watching that I literally didnt play it again until about a week and a half ago. It ruined it for me that badly. when i watched it I was still tooling around in darkroot, wondering what was behind that fog across the bridge, which i now know leads to Sif. I acutally felt true mystery and intrigue at that point as that view of the fog from standing within the forest demands it.

man.. i still wish i could undo watching that speed run! But, I have drank enough beer and slept enough times to where most of it is fuzzy now The game truly commands good replay value.