The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[megladon8]

Finally beat Havel. Took about 30 tries. Yes, being naked worked.


Now I'm having a heck of a time with the Capra Demon in the Undead Burg.

I really cannot figure out any pattern at all to the dogs' attacks. Often my health is down to next to nothing before I even get to the room with the Capra Demon (and the two dogs :frustrated because the total of 5 I encounter just before then drain my health so much.

Every other enemy has a pattern to their attacks, but the dogs seem to just attack and dodge purely at random. If I beat them without taking damage, it's just luck.

Anyways, the Capra Demon is hard as hell. I am, similarly, trying to figure out what pattern there is to his attacks, as well as how in the hell I dodge them. My guy cannot seem to jump far enough in any direction to get out of the way of his two enormous blades.

[megladon8]

Woo-hoo! Beat the Capra Demon and his two demon bitches!

But then I got cursed in The Depths. Freaking half HP? WHAT?? That sucks!!

Oh and that guy in The Depths who is stuck in a barrel and wants your help? I kicked the barrel to try to get him out, but of course the kick went right through to him and he killed me.

Something tells me The Depths is where I'll be for the next 15 hours or so :lol:

[megladon8]

Paid 3000 souls to get rid of the curse, but now I'm terrified to re-enter The Depths. And it's not even the poisonous, curse-inducing frog things that have me scared - I don't want to run into Mr. Pyro again and have my ass handed to me, because he got so pissed off at me for accidentally kicking him in the nuts while trying to rescue him from his barrel of doom.

[Sycophant]

Bummer about your barrel dude. Maybe you can obtain absolution to get him to forgive you (I think that works)? But that costs 2,000 souls x your soul level. Unless you want to play around with pyromancies later in the game, you may need to just kill him, which should be quite doable.

Curse frogs can be dealt with pretty easily. They're easy enemies with low HP but a powerful attack. Just stay out of their clouds. Not being human also increases your curse resistance significantly. Not a terrible idea to keep a handful of purging stones on your person when you go, though.

[megladon8]

Was the barrel dude someone who would help / hinder me significantly in the game?

I'm just wondering if I should avoid that area until I get absolution, or if I should just go kill him?


And man, purging stones are pricey. Gonna have to do some grinding to get a handful of them :lol:

[Sycophant]

He gives you a pyromancy casting item and sells you pyromancies when he's saved.

[megladon8]

Ah, well then yes I will definitely get atonement.

Man, is the Great Axe I got from the tail of the Gaping Dragon useful to anybody? When a weapon alone has a weight of 24 I can't imagine it being very practical.

[D_Davis]

This is how I beat everything.

Hey-oh!

[D_Davis]

I think The Depths were my least favorite part of the game so far. Luckily, it's pretty short.

[D_Davis]

Beat Pinwheel in the Catacombs tonight, then got about 30 steps into the Tomb of Giants before getting destroyed in the darkness. Holy crap - F that area. Went back to Sen's Fortress and killed the four Titanite Demons at the bottom in the tar pit, and then started exploring the New Londo Ruins. Getting there - I can see the end in sight.

[Morris Schæffer]

I remember asking some time back whether this has a save anywhere feature and the answer was "yes.". But i get the distinct impression one can only save at bonfires.

Edit: yikes! That was a big dragon!!

The hell, I lit a bonfire atop the undead burg, but for some reason, after dying, restart at a previous bonfire at the foot of the burg.

[Sycophant]

The game auto-saves everywhere you go, with everything you do. You don't ever manually save. Bonfires just set your respawn point and refill your health recovery items and spells.

Of course, this means you can't just fail a boss, and then load your game right outside the boss's door (unless there's a bonfire right outside the boss's door (there isn't)).

[D_Davis]

I remember asking some time back whether this has a save anywhere feature and the answer was "yes.". But i get the distinct impression one can only save at bonfires.

Edit: yikes! That was a big dragon!!

The hell, I lit a bonfire atop the undead burg, but for some reason, after dying, restart at a previous bonfire at the foot of the burg.

You have to rest at the bonfire, not just light it.

Also, the game is constantly saving - like every 5 seconds. If you select "Quit" from the options menu, when you load your game you will start exactly where you are.

[Morris Schæffer]

You have to rest at the bonfire, not just light it.

Also, the game is constantly saving - like every 5 seconds. If you select "Quit" from the options menu, when you load your game you will start exactly where you are.

Meaning at the last bonfire or wherever I am at any given point?

The vistas are breathtaking!

[Morris Schæffer]

This is tense! Does every item have meaning? Usefullness? I just found something called "rubbish."

[D_Davis]

Meaning at the last bonfire or wherever I am at any given point?

The vistas are breathtaking!

Exactly where you are.

The vistas are amazing. The best I've seen in a game. There have been at least a dozen moments thus far where I've just stopped and looked. DS has enough atmosphere for a dozen other games.

[D_Davis]

This is tense! Does every item have meaning? Usefullness? I just found something called "rubbish."

I do not know the use for the rubbish. You might be able to trade it with the crow egg back at the Undead Asylum. Not sure. Or you might be able to "sell" it later....

[megladon8]

I'm having a heck of a time trying to find the one bonfire in The Depths.

It's a pain in the ass to work my way all the way back to the Gaping Dragon every time I die. I'm using the Dark Souls Wiki page, but its description of where the bonfire is is not helpful at all.

I mean, I've followed their directions to a T and it doesn't lead me anywhere.

This is frustrating. I want to find the bonfire before I attempt to take on the dragon again.


EDIT: Found it! Man, the Dark Souls Wiki map is a mess.

On to the Gaping Dragon once again...

[D_Davis]

There is also a shortcut from the beginning of The Depths to the boss. Go to where the first butcher was. Behind his meat table is a hole - drop down. Then you are above where you fought the giant rat. Drop down. Go to the waterfall, and slid down the left hand side. You will then by the boss area, and the place where you will eventually enter Blighttown.

Good times to come!

[megladon8]

Yes! Beat the Gaping Dragon! Once I figured out how you can actually "control" the pattern in which it attacks, it was fairly easy. I just needed to be patient and not try to get an extra strike in when there wasn't time enough to do it successfully.

Saving these 25,000 souls to put towards my atonement. I think I'll just grind for the next bit back in Undead Burg / Undead Parish until I get the 44,000 souls required.

[D_Davis]

Make sure you grab the spider shield in the Depths before heading to Blighttown.

[megladon8]

Yep I got it.

The only shield I really use is my +1 Heater Shield, but I understand that the Spider Shield is pretty necessary for that section of the game.

I'm almost at the required 44,000 souls. I think I have like 8,000 to go.

Man, it would REALLY suck to lose all these.

[Morris Schæffer]

I'm almost at the required 44,000 souls. I think I have like 8,000 to go.

Man, it would REALLY suck to lose all these.

Required for what?

[D_Davis]

Required for what?

He has to have his sins absolved so that an NPC he attacked will stop hating him.

Pro-tip: if you find someone in a barrel or other such obstacle needing rescued, break the barrel or other such obstacle by rolling.

[Morris Schæffer]

"Oh you little fucker."

My reaction when I saw one of the undead take a swig from a life-extending potion, prompting me to skewer him all over again. Very, very amusing and not at all what I've learned from the past twenty years of gaming.

Another topic then. The issue of exploiting. I was let down that the very first real opportunity to exploit ended in dissapointment. Right before reaching the Undead Burg (yes, I haven't gotten far yet) there's an undead throwing fire bombs down the mountain and there's another foe on the same level as me. So I lured him towards me in the hope that his idiot companion would firebomb his even stupider buddy into oblivion. Alas, the fire didn't even make a dent.

Unfortunate.