so my love / hate relationship with Dark Souls continues, and after trying a few of the starting classes, I finally managed to kill that goddamn double gargoyle boss(es) and ring the first bell... but now what? A little history before I continue:

I first was playing as the Wanderer class, and I was actually really enjoying it, I like the simitar attack animations, it wasnt too slow, I was digging it. Until I got to the dual gargoyles and I just couldnt beat them for the life of me. 1 on 1 it was fine, but when the second popped and was off screen most of the time breathing fire on me or whatnot, it just eventually fucked me everytime. So I decided to try a sorceror (which I actually made before the Wanderer, I made a bunch of characters) because I knew that at least it had a ranged spell, and Im digging it, and finally killed the boss by spamming it with those Soul Bolts.

But now i feel like im incredibly underpowered for the next zone, I went down to the graveyard and it takes me like 6-7 Soul Bolts to kill 1 skelleton, and you only have 30. And because Ive been pumping points into INT (and a bit of VIT and END), my sword attacks dont actually hit for shit. I know theres magical weapons that hit based on your int, but I aint got any of that. I also dont have any other spell yet, and all the armor I find is so heavy it bogs down my sorceror (or I cant even use because I dont have enough STR...hell I even put 1 point into STR at one point to use the Knights Shield you (always?) find).

So what do I do guys? Start another character and go melee again, and hope I can kill that gargoyle boss? Make a hunter so I finally have a bow (none of my characters have found bows as drops, nor have I seen one for sale) so I can cheese-kill the bridge Dragon for the rape Drake Sword that I hear makes the early game much easier? Make a Bandit because they look awesome (lol)?

Such a weird place with this game... I really dont think it plays very well (you can defend it all you want but some of the stuff in here, like the camera, is atrocious), it certainly doesnt look very good (even with the DSfix) but something about it man, I just keep going back in, I dont even know why but I just want to play more. Any tips / advice / secrets / whathaveyou?

@Rhaknar: The next area you're supposed to go to is the Depths and then Blighttown - underground. Skeletons you should fight with holy weapons or else they will keep respawning, and blunt weapons are more effective than others at taking them down. Although I'd advise against spamming things with spells if you really want to progress in the game. Relying on pure magic can make the game a bit easier but ultimately will be a detriment down the road when you have trouble with bosses that require a more hands on approach.

Yeah, you're going the wrong way.  

The graveyard is usually meant for people in the 40+ Soul Level range during a normal game. If you happen to run into a dark flooded city with ghosts that you can't hit or block you are also in the wrong area.

Keep in mind that these are "wrong areas" because you are new to the game. Veteran players will usually go to the "wrong areas" to pick up some special items and/or abilities.

I strongly recommend you save the graveyard for later. It's a place people go to after getting over midway through the game. Go where _Chad said to go, and buy/farm purple moss and blooming purple moss clumps when you can.

Also, I recommend you buy a few melee weapons from Andre and try them out. Even as a pure sorcerer, this game involves a lot of melee combat and in the end you're going to want something that doesn't have a finite amount of uses to hit dudes with.

Lastly, don't worry about ending up a jack-of-all-trades character or a character whose specialties are all over the place. A ton of first time players end up like that, and it's a totally fine way to complete the game.

I just assumed the graveyard was the place to go for the second bell... hmm, do I go to the stairs next to the NPC, where a lady in a cell upgraded my health flasks? Dont see any place else to go :/

It also looks like you missed the first weapon vendor. Remember that bonfire right before you cross that stone bridge with fire bombs raining down on you? If you go back there you'll see a and undead with a crossbow and stairs going down. Go down the stair and then head left where you have two undead wielding shields and spears. Kill them and then roll into the boxes to reveal some stairs. Go down the stairs, watch out for that guy jumping out of a shelf, and then go outside and you'll see a dude sitting down. He will sell you some nice things including a bow and all the arrows you could want.

@Rhaknar said:

I just assumed the graveyard was the place to go for the second bell... hmm, do I go to the stairs next to the NPC, where a lady in a cell upgraded my health flasks? Dont see any place else to go :/

There was an undead next to a big gate. As you enter the church look left and you'll see several undead warriors with their backs towards you. Kill them and go through there to see the lone undead next to the gate. Kill him and get a key. You'll need to cross the bridge guarded by the dragon to the side that has Solaire. Right next to the bridge is a door you need to unlock with that key.

EDIT: I should point out that the starting classes don't mean anything. You can get every spell and every weapon. It doesn't matter what you choose as your starting class. Everything can either be found in a predetermined spot, bought from a vendor, or dropped by a specific type of enemy (via their death or cutting off a boss's tail).

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

I just assumed the graveyard was the place to go for the second bell... hmm, do I go to the stairs next to the NPC, where a lady in a cell upgraded my health flasks? Dont see any place else to go :/

There was an undead next to a big gate. As you enter the church look left and you'll see several undead warriors with their backs towards you. Kill them and go through there to see the lone undead next to the gate. Kill him and get a key. You'll need to cross the bridge guarded by the dragon to the side that has Solaire. Right next to the bridge is a door you need to unlock with that key.

EDIT: I should point out that the starting classes don't mean anything. You can get every spell and every weapon. It doesn't matter what you choose as your starting class. Everything can either be found in a predetermined spot, bought from a vendor, or dropped by a specific type of enemy (via their death or cutting off a boss's tail).

wait, so after i ring the bell, i DONT take the shortcut back to the starting area they give you? see, how is one supposed to know that :(

and classes might not mean much, but the stats you pump into them surely do, and I already have 20 int on the sorceror, barely any dex or str >_>

@Rhaknar: 20 Isn't that much of a commitment, you can do a hybrid spellcaster/melee character and It'll probably work pretty well. You could even enchant a weapon to base their damage on your intelligence.

Oh and btw, the single best way to get damage for melee is to upgrade your weapon at the blacksmith, it gives waaaaay more than putting points in strength/dex. So you can do good damage with a weapon just by getting it up to +5. I also highly recommend that you do this, sorcerer or not. Having a stable sidearm is a pretty good idea.

EDIT: Oh and btw, the key you pick up at the gate that Golguin mentioned, the description more or less tells you where to go. Generally, reading the stuff on key items will help guide you a bit.

EDIT2: Also, there is no "right way to go" actually you could probably get stuff done in the forest as well if you want to, and that might be a good idea just to stock up on antidote items. It's located downstairs from the blacksmith, just run past the big miniboss dude.

Up to you, lower undead burg should be by far the easiest next area.

You should've picked up a key just in front of the church where you fight the gargoyle bosses, if you read the description it would tell you that it is a key to the locked door on the dragon bridge. Also, go buy the Residence key from the undead merchant in the first area, you'll need it to save a sorcerer who will sell you better magic, he goes back to Firelink shrine after you save him. Good luck with the next boss, dodge and use the stairs.

I restarted with a Hunter, going pretty much balanced str/dex/vit/endu so far and really enjoying it, a lot more than the pure caster. Picked up a battle axe from some monster and its great (I already liked the axe when I tried a Bandit), and you get up to the gargoyles so fast when you know the way that its no big deal. Stupid boar didnt drop the helmet tho, which annoys me because I love how it looks lol (dropped for my sorceror >_>). Im also finding some paths I never took and forgot about them because there was big ass mobs blocking the way, I might have to try those.

Of course this will all come crumbling down when I cant kill the gargoyles with just melee, but we'll see :P

man, you guys werent kidding about upgraded weapons. Got my battle axe to +4, killed the gargoyles on my second try :D hell on the kill I killed the first one before the second was even on me, the axe hit so fard heh. Now a dilemma, I managed to cut his tail and the gargoyle axe dropped, which looks awesome, but its weaker than my current upgraded one. should i try to farm shards to upgrade the gargoyle one? it seems to give some bonuses but im not sure what.

this game man...

From what I understand, the Gargoyle Ax is pretty similar to the one you have, stats-wise. The main difference is that once you start to level it up fully (ie +10-+15) it gets a "B" rating in dex scaling. Which basically means you'll get bigger attack bonuses just by having a high dexterity value. Its worth seeing what weapons scale well with the kinds of stats you are levelling most, and ideally you'll be upgrading weapons that have a B, an A or an S rank in scaling.

But really though, just pick a weapon if you think it looks cool and you like its moveset. Unless you're a crazy person that needs to use very specific PvP builds, most of the weapons are perfectly usable once you start upgrading them. If you need another choice, the Baldur Side Sword (dropped from the knights in the parish) is a really nice all-round dex sword that's worth using.

The way you're supposed to go is down below Undead Burg, but I ended up going through most of the Darkroot Garden after I cleared the burg. Lower burg is probably the better choice though, especially when there is a dude down there who will sell you more sorcery spells.

@Smithers said:

From what I understand, the Gargoyle Ax is pretty similar to the one you have, stats-wise. The main difference is that once you start to level it up fully (ie +10-+15) it gets a "B" rating in dex scaling. Which basically means you'll get bigger attack bonuses just by having a high dexterity value. Its worth seeing what weapons scale well with the kinds of stats you are levelling most, and ideally you'll be upgrading weapons that have a B, an A or an S rank in scaling.

But really though, just pick a weapon if you think it looks cool and you like its moveset. Unless you're a crazy person that needs to use very specific PvP builds, most of the weapons are perfectly usable once you start upgrading them. If you need another choice, the Baldur Side Sword (dropped from the knights in the parish) is a really nice all-round dex sword that's worth using.

im never doing pvp, and yeah this gargoyle axe scales with dex (as opposed to the normal one which scales with str) so i like it because dex goes with bows too :D game is starting to "click", killed one of those black knights and got a ring, that felt nice (black knight dropped a sword that is stronger with no upgrades than my +5 gargoyle axe, but needs alot of str to use 1h, so hmph), should i try to kill the other black knight up on the tower, I heard thats how you kill the dragon, from up there (I also heard it doesnt work anymore so /shrug)

1-shotting skellys with this gargoyle axe feels good tho, how can I upgrade it higher than +5, the blacksmith didnt do it

@Rhaknar: I'll make it eaiser on you...

In your inventory you should have the Basement key. If you don't then you'll find it on the stairs leading up to the Church in Undead Parish. It's on the body near where the lever is.

That key opens up that locked door that's on the start of the bridge where that loving red Dragon is. BTW, if you offer it a flower you'll then become friends. I kid, I kid.

Once you open that door you'll then be way on your way to the next area you should go.

That is unless you have the Master key which you can then circumvent that area completely.

You need to find specific embers to do new upgrades. You'll get the one that takes you up to +10 soon enough - its in the Depths somewhere I think. Take it back your your buddy in the Parish and he'll upgrade to +10. There are other blacksmiths hidden in the world - they do different things and you can unlock fire/lightning/magic etc upgrade paths by giving them the appropriate ember.

Don't worry about trying to kill the dragon, but the black knight will be easy enough if you clear out the courtyard area first and lure him out into the open. Or you can cheese him to death by making him chase you into the fires in that area.

@Rhaknar said:

wait, so after i ring the bell, i DONT take the shortcut back to the starting area they give you? see, how is one supposed to know that :(

and classes might not mean much, but the stats you pump into them surely do, and I already have 20 int on the sorceror, barely any dex or str >_>

No you take the shortcut. Going the way he suggested is considerably more dangerous. Once you have the key from the dead guy by the gate just double back to firelink and progress like you are going to where you fought the Taurus Demon. When you get to the landing where you found Solaire the first time you want to open the door that was locked before. The way he suggested is "faster" but unless the dragon is dead it is considerably more likely to get you killed. That is the trick to Dark (and Demon's) Souls. Never choose the "faster" route through anything, always choose the safer one. If you can stand a mile away and snipe some dude with arrows over the course of 10 minutes that is what you want to do because it takes forever, but you face 0 risk doing it. Minimizing risk is how you navigate the game and slowly learn the tricks of the trade until you can safely start trying more "aggressive" tactics.

well the deeper depths, or whatever its called (door in dragon bridge etc) was pretty easy... until I got to something called a Capra Demon which just ripped me apart in 2 seconds lol. time for a break methinks :P Still loving my gargoyle axe, and i got a ninja-style armor "set" (doesnt seem to have any mmo-style set bonuses tho) which looks badass

Just pour hours into it, you'll be okay.

@Rhaknar: While it doesn't have obvious "mmo-style" bonuses. It does have really strong poison resistance, "you will thank me for knowing that later" and good physical resist while being lightweight. So it still fills it's purpose for a rogue. ^^

Capra can be a bitch. As long as you survive the first few seconds, run up the stairs and kill his dogs. Then you should be fine. Those first seconds though... Good luck.

@Rhaknar said:

I restarted with a Hunter, going pretty much balanced str/dex/vit/endu so far and really enjoying it, a lot more than the pure caster. Picked up a battle axe from some monster and its great (I already liked the axe when I tried a Bandit), and you get up to the gargoyles so fast when you know the way that its no big deal. Stupid boar didnt drop the helmet tho, which annoys me because I love how it looks lol (dropped for my sorceror >_>). Im also finding some paths I never took and forgot about them because there was big ass mobs blocking the way, I might have to try those.

Of course this will all come crumbling down when I cant kill the gargoyles with just melee, but we'll see :P

Don't waist your souls on trying to level up all the stats equally, for some weapons it is better to level up Dex, for others it is Str. Check the weapons by pressing square or X and check out the ParamBonus, it basically means how the weapon will scale with your stats, a weapon with A bonus to Strength and D for Dexterity means that by leveling up strength damage would go up say +4 but leveling Dex will only increase its damage by +1. Focus on leveling Vit till you have at least 1000 HP, and then level up End and either Str or Dex depending which weapons you want to use. Upgrading your equipment is more useful than leveling your stats unless you want to use another weapon and you don't meet the requirements yet.

Str focused weapons are generally slower and usually better held in 2 hands, 2 handing your weapon gives you 50% bonus to strength, if you have 12 strength and a weapon needs 18 strength to use it, you can wield it 2 handed, it also adds to the scaling so you'll do more damage. Dex weapons are generally faster but you need at least the minimum requirements to Dex to wield it properly.

the starting classes don't really matter because you can change any class to use anything you want, there are no real classes beyond what your stats are, they only influence how you start the game.

fuck, whats the closest way to cure Curse in the sewers? >_> had no idea what those ugly fuckers did, now I have half health, and that maw dragon shit 1 shots me :/

@Rhaknar:

You need a Purging Stone for that.

You can buy some from either the Oswald of Carim (dude hanging out in the gargoyle belltower) or the female undead merchant in the waterway leading from Firelink to the Depths.

@Ravenlight said:

@Rhaknar:

You need a Purging Stone for that.

You can buy some from either the Oswald of Carim (dude hanging out in the gargoyle belltower) or the female undead merchant in the waterway leading from Firelink to the Depths.

thanks dude, got it from the sewer chick, didnt even see her there the first time, also a nifty shortcut back to the homebase place as I call it. now to remember how to get back to the fucking dragon. Any tips in advance for that shit, this is one game I dont mind all the help I can get lol

@Rhaknar said:

@Ravenlight said:

@Rhaknar:

You need a Purging Stone for that.

You can buy some from either the Oswald of Carim (dude hanging out in the gargoyle belltower) or the female undead merchant in the waterway leading from Firelink to the Depths.

thanks dude, got it from the sewer chick, didnt even see her there the first time, also a nifty shortcut back to the homebase place as I call it. now to remember how to get back to the fucking dragon. Any tips in advance for that shit, this is one game I dont mind all the help I can get lol

The dragon is very slow and you can wait to attack him after he charges at you and gets stuck. You should hit him around his tail and cut it off. Once its cut you don't need to worry about him flailing it around anymore.

@Rhaknar: I envy you so much. You have this whole game ahead of you.

@Rhaknar said:

Any tips in advance for that shit, this is one game I dont mind all the help I can get lol

The Gaping Dragon is easymode. He has such long pauses between attacks, you can get some really meaty hits in. Just wait for him to attack, get close, take a few swings, and back off when he gets back up. Remember to chop his tail off if you want a greataxe you won't be able to use for awhile.

If you have some bad luck and get frustrated, summoning someone to help you tag-team the Gaping Dragon can make the fight go a lot more smoothly.

@Ravenlight said:

@Rhaknar said:

Any tips in advance for that shit, this is one game I dont mind all the help I can get lol

The Gaping Dragon is easymode. He has such long pauses between attacks, you can get some really meaty hits in. Just wait for him to attack, get close, take a few swings, and back off when he gets back up. Remember to chop his tail off if you want a greataxe you won't be able to use for awhile.

If you have some bad luck and get frustrated, summoning someone to help you tag-team the Gaping Dragon can make the fight go a lot more smoothly.

yeah I got a greataxe (and greatsword, from a black knight) drops and the strenght requisite for them is so high, I think Ill stick with my dex gargoyle axe and keep upgrading it (I think I just got the thing that can make it go above +5 in the depths), so not really bothered if I cut his tail or not. I havent really tried it for realsies yet, I went in once cursed, shot a arrow at it, and he walked over me and 1 shot me lol :P but if you guys say hes easy I'm less worried

@Rhaknar: There is a bonfire in the depths hidden behind a wall. In the hallway where there are a bunch of enemies on the ceiling and one hollow torch bearer attack the wall behind the torch bearer. There should also be a shortcut that unlocks so you can quickly move between the bonfire and the dragon & merchant. Also, all dragons are weak to lightning, so the pine resin that the merchant sells can be very helpful.

@Rhaknar:

For your various characters:

Wanderer (dex build): get the estoc by taking the elevator down from firelink shrine to new londo. It's right around there, before the ghosts. If you upgrade it, it's a very good weapon for dex builds. For your stats, focus on dex, vit and endurance. Don't bring any stat over 40 ever.

Sorcerer (int build): Free the guy who sells you spells, he's in the lower undead burg but you'll need the residence key from the marchant near the bonfire of the undead burg. When you free him he'll go to firelink shrine and you can buy a bunch of usefull spells from him (magic weapon, heavy soul arrow) Now find a weapon you like and upgrade it to +5. Put some points into attunement and you should be good to go. From +5 you can turn your weapon into a magic weapon (good for int builds) if you get a green shard from a slime in the sewers. The blacksmith that does that is near the estoc in new londo (no nead for ghost fighting). He's behind barres in a wall near the botom of broken stairs.

Hunter (balanced build): if you put points into str and dex you'll be able to weild greatswords and some other exotic weapons.

@Rhaknar said:

@Ravenlight said:

@Rhaknar said:

Any tips in advance for that shit, this is one game I dont mind all the help I can get lol

The Gaping Dragon is easymode. He has such long pauses between attacks, you can get some really meaty hits in. Just wait for him to attack, get close, take a few swings, and back off when he gets back up. Remember to chop his tail off if you want a greataxe you won't be able to use for awhile.

If you have some bad luck and get frustrated, summoning someone to help you tag-team the Gaping Dragon can make the fight go a lot more smoothly.

yeah I got a greataxe (and greatsword, from a black knight) drops and the strenght requisite for them is so high, I think Ill stick with my dex gargoyle axe and keep upgrading it (I think I just got the thing that can make it go above +5 in the depths), so not really bothered if I cut his tail or not. I havent really tried it for realsies yet, I went in once cursed, shot a arrow at it, and he walked over me and 1 shot me lol :P but if you guys say hes easy I'm less worried

If you talked to Solaire -- dude with the sun on his armor and shield -- you can summon him to help fight the Gaping Dragon. His summon sign appears on the floor above the fog gate. Same with Lautrec, assuming you rescued him from his cell in the bell tower. Having either one with you in battle will make an easy battle even easier.

you guys werent kidding, Gaping Dragon was really easy. Cant say I mind tho :P Axe from cutting his tail needs 50 STR good lord >_>

so...the famous Blighttown I guess? there better be a bonfire at the start of it :(

edit: Blighttown is maze-y as shit. No framerate issues here tho (on PC), was it bad on consoles from the start (rackety wood planky area) or later on?

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

@Rhaknar said:

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

The bonfire you want is at the bottom of the swamp. Your goal is at the bottom of the swamp. You will see these troll looking things with giant rocks near a big web in that poison swamp. That is where you want to go. From the sounds of things it seems you reached the swamp, went back up and got into the tunnel that leads back to firelink shrine (you would have entered the Valley of the Drakes for a moment, opened up a gate, landed in New Londo Ruins for a second, and then ride on up to Firelink) as a shortcut. The dart guys are protecting a Fire Keeper Soul that is given to a Fire Keeper (like the mute girl at Firelink Shrine behind the steel bars) to power up your Estus Flask so you heal more when you drink it.

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

The bonfire you want is at the bottom of the swamp. Your goal is at the bottom of the swamp. You will see these troll looking things with giant rocks near a big web in that poison swamp. That is where you want to go. From the sounds of things it seems you reached the swamp, went back up and got into the tunnel that leads back to firelink shrine (you would have entered the Valley of the Drakes for a moment, opened up a gate, landed in New Londo Ruins for a second, and then ride on up to Firelink) as a shortcut. The dart guys are protecting a Fire Keeper Soul that is given to a Fire Keeper (like the mute girl at Firelink Shrine behind the steel bars) to power up your Estus Flask so you heal more when you drink it.

fuck in that case i really need to do that poison dart pit then >_< and I didnt see anyware safe to walk in the actual swamp, kept getting poisoned fast in the water, so I went up assuming that was the way :(

@Rhaknar: stability = how much stamina you lose when you block. The higher, the better. Pretty important stat =)

@Ares42 said:

@Rhaknar: stability = how much stamina you lose when you block. The higher, the better. Pretty important stat =)

cool cool. Any blacksmiths soon, really cant be arsed to go back to the undead parish one and I want to upgrade my black knight sword :(

@Rhaknar said:

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

The bonfire you want is at the bottom of the swamp. Your goal is at the bottom of the swamp. You will see these troll looking things with giant rocks near a big web in that poison swamp. That is where you want to go. From the sounds of things it seems you reached the swamp, went back up and got into the tunnel that leads back to firelink shrine (you would have entered the Valley of the Drakes for a moment, opened up a gate, landed in New Londo Ruins for a second, and then ride on up to Firelink) as a shortcut. The dart guys are protecting a Fire Keeper Soul that is given to a Fire Keeper (like the mute girl at Firelink Shrine behind the steel bars) to power up your Estus Flask so you heal more when you drink it.

fuck in that case i really need to do that poison dart pit then >_< and I didnt see anyware safe to walk in the actual swamp, kept getting poisoned fast in the water, so I went up assuming that was the way :(

Just a little tip, but if you want to get that Fire Keeper Soul near the dart guys (they don't respawn when you kill them) right now you should do that before you encounter your next boss. Get that Fire Keeper Soul and give it to that girl at Firelink. The shortcut from the bonfire at the bottom involves riding that water wheel up and getting back to that tunnel with the trolls wielding wooden clubs. Also, don't worry about the poison from the swamp as it drains you pretty slowly. The toxic from the dart guys will kill you pretty fast though.

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

The bonfire you want is at the bottom of the swamp. Your goal is at the bottom of the swamp. You will see these troll looking things with giant rocks near a big web in that poison swamp. That is where you want to go. From the sounds of things it seems you reached the swamp, went back up and got into the tunnel that leads back to firelink shrine (you would have entered the Valley of the Drakes for a moment, opened up a gate, landed in New Londo Ruins for a second, and then ride on up to Firelink) as a shortcut. The dart guys are protecting a Fire Keeper Soul that is given to a Fire Keeper (like the mute girl at Firelink Shrine behind the steel bars) to power up your Estus Flask so you heal more when you drink it.

fuck in that case i really need to do that poison dart pit then >_< and I didnt see anyware safe to walk in the actual swamp, kept getting poisoned fast in the water, so I went up assuming that was the way :(

Just a little tip, but if you want to get that Fire Keeper Soul near the dart guys (they don't respawn when you kill them) right now you should do that before you encounter your next boss. Get that Fire Keeper Soul and give it to that girl at Firelink. The shortcut from the bonfire at the bottom involves riding that water wheel up and getting back to that tunnel with the trolls wielding wooden clubs. Also, don't worry about the poison from the swamp as it drains you pretty slowly. The toxic from the dart guys will kill you pretty fast though.

oh I assumed it was the same toxic as those fucking dart dudes, so I never even risked staying in the water until poisoned. And yeah, like you (and the dude a few posts up) said, seems when I was going up I was getting the shortcut to Firelink (without knowing)...damn it, should have taken it :/ oh well.

another question for you experts... can I dump the shadow set after im done in blighttown, it seems the big advantage of it is the poison resist, if I dont need that in other places I want to use that crimson set :)

@Rhaknar: Poison and Toxin are two different things. Purple moss cures poison and blooming purple moss cures both. I never used any poison resistant gear down there other than the ring that you can buy from Oswald and the rusted iron ring. So as long as you have something to cure poison then you can choose armour that has other strengths, like fire resistance perhaps.

@mosespippy said:

@Rhaknar: Poison and Toxin are two different things. Purple moss cures poison and blooming purple moss cures both. I never used any poison resistant gear down there other than the ring that you can buy from Oswald and the rusted iron ring. So as long as you have something to cure poison then you can choose armour that has other strengths, like fire resistance perhaps.

THATS why the purple one never works on the fucking dart poison, thanks.

@Rhaknar: There is no such thing as playing wrong! Find something you like and use it! Oh and you don't really have to ditch the shadow armor, since there is no inventory limit. Other than the poison resist, it's also the lightest set in the game. So you can use it with stupid giant weapons and still do the quick roll.

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

@golguin said:

@Rhaknar said:

man, does this game have the most severe heartbreaking moments or what >_> just completely deflated at the moment, after dying in Blighttown and the last bonfire is way back down in the swamp area (I had made it through all the way up, past the cartwheel etc)...im sure in retrospect its not that long, but man, yeah... just crushed atm lol. Especially because I died in what seems like a optional place, the main way seemed to be a tunnel with a bunch of fatties I killed, then I decided to backtrack to this pit area I had seen, and theres a fuckton of poison dart dudes around the edge of it and it just obliterated me (between them and the dogs at the bottom, I couldnt even cure poison or heal). I assume theres some goodies down there?

On a positive note, the game is just throwing gear sets at me all of a sudden, after what I killed the ninja-style set, I got another one that is ACTUALLY a ninja set (shadow I think is the name) with even more poison resist than the last, and I found a mage-style red outfit which looked badass. I also pumped 3 points into strenght to use the black knight sword, and its awesome, hits harder than the gargoyle axe, and you hold it on your shoulder like a boss :p I also got a shield (Eagle Shield?) with high stabillity, im not sure if thats important, but it looks cool. Now im a ninja with a giant sword and shield >_> Im sure im playing this all wrong, but shit is dying and im having fun, so /shrug

again...this game man. What the fuck

The bonfire you want is at the bottom of the swamp. Your goal is at the bottom of the swamp. You will see these troll looking things with giant rocks near a big web in that poison swamp. That is where you want to go. From the sounds of things it seems you reached the swamp, went back up and got into the tunnel that leads back to firelink shrine (you would have entered the Valley of the Drakes for a moment, opened up a gate, landed in New Londo Ruins for a second, and then ride on up to Firelink) as a shortcut. The dart guys are protecting a Fire Keeper Soul that is given to a Fire Keeper (like the mute girl at Firelink Shrine behind the steel bars) to power up your Estus Flask so you heal more when you drink it.

fuck in that case i really need to do that poison dart pit then >_< and I didnt see anyware safe to walk in the actual swamp, kept getting poisoned fast in the water, so I went up assuming that was the way :(

Just a little tip, but if you want to get that Fire Keeper Soul near the dart guys (they don't respawn when you kill them) right now you should do that before you encounter your next boss. Get that Fire Keeper Soul and give it to that girl at Firelink. The shortcut from the bonfire at the bottom involves riding that water wheel up and getting back to that tunnel with the trolls wielding wooden clubs. Also, don't worry about the poison from the swamp as it drains you pretty slowly. The toxic from the dart guys will kill you pretty fast though.

He can't, assuming Latrec is alive. As soon as he grabs that soul or rings the bell in Blighttown, Lautrec will kill the Fire Keeper at the shrine. He either has to backtrack to Firelink and kill Lautrec now while he can or grab the soul and just use it with the Fire Keeper under the bell in Blighttown.

in a weird funk tonight where I just keep dying in stupid spots, think Ill leave it for another day. Those worms in the ant-hill / cocoon thing in the swamp are imcredibly annoying, died several times form just falling (lol) going up again to the firelink shortcut, died to a huge undead dragon in a cliff, died to the big guys with rocks in the swamp in combination with flies, running out of arrows... yeah, just one of those days when you just keep fucking up over and over again, bumming me out so I think its best I leave it for today :P

and I did save Latrec from the jail in the Parish if thats who youre talking about...he goes around killing people I need you say? well fuck lol

edit: on a positive / funny note, was invaded for the first time and kinda destroyed the invader... I imagine it was some kid who had no idea what he was doing because he kept swinging his meat cleaver on the ground giving me tons of time to circle around and backstab him. Was fun tho, got 3 humanity and about 10k souls, and his meat cleaver thing (thing its the one those butchers dropped)

@Rhaknar said:

edit: on a positive / funny note, was invaded for the first time and kinda destroyed the invader... I imagine it was some kid who had no idea what he was doing because he kept swinging his meat cleaver on the ground giving me tons of time to circle around and backstab him. Was fun tho, got 3 humanity and about 10k souls, and his meat cleaver thing (thing its the one those butchers dropped)

Sorry to say, but that's one of the NPC invaders.

@Rhaknar said:

in a weird funk tonight where I just keep dying in stupid spots, think Ill leave it for another day. Those worms in the ant-hill / cocoon thing in the swamp are imcredibly annoying, died several times form just falling (lol) going up again to the firelink shortcut, died to a huge undead dragon in a cliff, died to the big guys with rocks in the swamp in combination with flies, running out of arrows... yeah, just one of those days when you just keep fucking up over and over again, bumming me out so I think its best I leave it for today :P

and I did save Latrec from the jail in the Parish if thats who youre talking about...he goes around killing people I need you say? well fuck lol

Have you successfully used the shortcut? The undead dragon on the cliff leads to another area in the Valley of the Drakes. The shortcut is right in front of you coming out of that tunnel in blight town. You cross that little bridge in front of you and then open up the steel gate.

Lautrec will kill the firekeeper, but you can bring her back to life later. It doesn't really matter that she dies at that point because after you beat the boss in that cocoon (you can ignore all the enemies inside the cocoon and the praying guys will leave you alone) you wont be going back to firelink for a long time.

IMPORTANT

Don't ever kill the guys crawling on the ground with sacks on their backs who occasionally pray. You might accidentally kill a very important NPC. They are too slow to pose a threat and most will completely ignore you. The only ones who will even try to attack are in a fire/magma place.

@Rhaknar: Just want to say the real Dark Souls starts here :P Glad you are liking it and no there is no wrong way to play (well only if you try to play it as an action game) Keep at it duder ... deaths are part of the learning process and yes Blightown is always frame rate shitty on consoles :(

How did you like the episode last night?