Console player giving helpful tips to PC newbs.

Alright, I know many of us console players are buying the PC version, but there are probably a handful of new players who haven't gotten the game yet and are either on these forums or ghosting it.

So, from an avid fan of Dark Souls, let me give you some helpful tips (None of these are spoilers, nore am I going to tell you about good weapons for right off the bat, figure those out on your own ):

1) If you get invaded by a Greifer, DO NOT play their game. A Common Grief is that they will have you chase them to an NPC, hoping you will attack them, which will force you to kill that NPC. DON'T FALL FOR THAT. Seriously, just leave the Invader, and the NPC, alone. Too often I see people think they have to kill the invader to move on, when really you can just go to the boss and kick them out of your game.

2) (Player Skill >) Equipment > Levels. Levels don't do jack in this game, that's how greifers can grief; they go through the game at level 1, start a NG+, and kill people on their New game with all the gear they acquired. If you have to choose between upgrading your chosen weapon and leveling your Soul Level, go with the equipment, UNLESS you're upgrading your level to use better equipment.

That's really all I have, if other people want to add in more/berate me for either of those, go right ahead. But this is really all you "Need" to know that the game doesn't explain to you.



Oh, and

3) Don't die

Dark Souls is a game in which anything can be used essentially. For instance, at high levels I still use the knight set, which you can start with. Now, at the start it's very simple armor with some decent poise compared to its weight. But, with nearly every piece of equipment in this game, weapons, shields, armor, etc, you can upgrade it. Now I commonly go around in +9 armor, which with the poise, fairly light weight compared to other sets, the defense is decent to go with it. So rather than having to give up a set you really love, upgrade it. Always remember everything can be used as you go on, as long as you build your character to use said items, scaling on weapons, you'll be able to progress with them. You can beat the game in the warrior set with a heater shield and long sword. Just always remember, upgrade. In fact often spending souls on upgrading your gear is much more important than leveling up.

You guys forgot the most important tip: Patience.

Be patient. I've only gotten to Gravelord Nito, but without patience I would have never made it past the Taurus demon.

This is the best advise anyone will ever give you on this matter.

Read the wiki

You're welcome

FEAR NO KATANA.... eventually they become extremely easy to parry.... thy may seem great at first but dont let thier Japanese charm trick you.

Also if PC gamers didnt know this handy wee tip.... killing human like enemies in the stage.... over and over again.... like hollows etc nets you humanity.

I used to wonder how I got so much when I played ... soon I was shown the truth!

Indeed Rona, patience is important. But I'd say the most important thing is experimentation. A great example comes in with weapons, and armor. Figure out what you want for each area. Sometimes lightning defense over physical defense will help you out. Certain areas, you know where, you'll be giving up heavier armor with better defense, for poison resistance. There are many armor sets in the game with different strengths and it helps to wear the appropriate attire. Even when it comes to thrust, strike, slash, and regular damage. If you notice enemies hitting you hard with thrusting weapons, try out seeing if you have an armor set with better resistance against that damage type.

On the flip side, find out what your enemies are weak to. It helps to have weapons with different damage types. A common one I do is Rapier, Mace, Longsword, and Claw. Rapier for thrust, Mace for strike, Longsword for regular, and Claw for slash. As well with such a variety you can also try different upgrade paths, meaning you will get multiple damage types on the weapons. For instance, if an enemy is weak to say both divine and strike, making a divine striking weapon is a good idea. There are a lot of really neat combos, and if you ever wonder about what might do more damage just try to think logically. Is it armored? Well slashing won't do as much damage probably, but thrusting will. Because that is what thrusting is best against. Lightly armored and fast? Well with sweeping slashing weapons you'll have a better chance to hit them, so why not give them a try. Think logically and try to adapt your build to what you are up against.

Though as Fed said, checking the wiki is a good idea too.

In a bit I'll bring up Weapon animation, in case anyone wants to add to this part.

no the most important thing is to not charge at the bed of chaos like a moron god i sucked on my first character

My tip is going to be logical: Don't play with tips - it ruins your experience.

My tip for the new players: shield is your best friend on the first walkthrough, so learn to use it.

Further to experiment with, animations. Whenever you get a new weapon the first thing you should do is test it out. Equip it and try every single combo with the weapon. R1, R2, two hand it, jumping attack, kick, running attack, rolling attack, etc. As well switch it to your left hand, and see what you can do with it there. Some enemies will be weak to not just damage types, but animations. Learn when to use weapons with certain ranges. In tight areas weapons with short swings or thrusting attacks are fairly good. In wide areas, sweeping attacks to catch dodging enemies are useful. One of the simplest methods is out ranging your enemy, always get used to how far your weapon swings and how fast. Figure out also if there are attacks you can bait enemies into. A slow charge up attack you can start out of range, and when the enemy moves into it they get slammed by it for a lot of damage.

This goes for spells also, always find out how long it takes for you to cast a spell, the damage type, and the range. Some spells take longer to cast but have knockback. Some deal no damage but have some interesting effect. Test them out in different situations, you might find some very interesting uses.

Also of course another important one, read everything. Every single item you have will have a detailed description, so you should read it. Especially if you are interested in story. Found a dirty key? Don't just let that sit in your inventory, give it a read!