Only look up when you're seriously stuck.

Don't look at boss strategies.

I used it to find items for crafting.

I pretty much use wikis to see if a certain weapon will be useful for me to upgrade without having to waste souls and upgrade items. At least that's how I've been going with my first run.

It's probably a lot more fun if you don't use a guide, but there are a lot of things that I think could be really frustrating (missing bonfires or shortcuts, etc) if you were trying to do a complete playthrough with no assistance whatsoever. Theoretically that's what the in-game messages are for, but in my experience they've been much less helpful than they often were in Demon's Souls.

After you beat the game the first time, it's probably okay to fully spoil yourself before you go back for another playthrough. There are entire covenants (that you might really enjoy) that you could easily not even know exist unless you read about them somewhere.

I use a guide for gear because I don't want to waste a bunch of materials. Never use it for Boss fights though, that ruins the fun of learning the fights.

I usually look up items that are vague in their descriptions to see if they are useful. This led to me going to Oolacile, which I would not have figured out on my own had I not looked it up.

Nay , never , nope , not once.

I would say to only use it when you're stuck, at least on your first play through. I think it's fair game on NG+ or on a second play through, though. I thought it was fun going back and finding all the stuff I missed my first time through. It also led to a lot of face palm moments, at least for me haha.

It really depends what your goal in the game is. I probably 50/50 used a guide and didn't for stuff, but my goal was always for end-game PvP stuff.

When Dark Souls II comes out I'll probably not use one at all until NG+. (still undecided to get it on PS3 or wait for PC)

There is no wrong way to play this but there also isn't a correct way either. Use a guide or don't. I think this game has issues that necessitates seeking help outside of the game.

It is illegal and punishable by life in prison to use a guide before completing the game once.

Frampt and Kaathe are meaningless unless you need someone to be the pinnacle of "sides" when there really is no sides. That is their purpose, though, which is completely meaningless.

I will admit I have played this game twice, though, and only recently figure out why Frampt keeps leaving at that part where you place the lordvassel. Apparently if you do that without talking to him first he's offended and thinks you're working with Kaathe- which is weird since you don't meet Kaathe until way later. That part was very much so designed poorly. Being that you're afraid of angering NPCs, how could you ever know to attack him to wake him up? haha it's so nonsensical but that's Dark Souls and again it doesn't really matter anyway unless you want exposition dumps.

I used a wiki (you say guide, but who buys guides anymore? haha) to figure out where I wanted to go next. I also used it to compare weapon stats and buff stats and what not, stuff like that. That's it.

I had to look at a guide because i didn't know how to get out of Blighttown :(

I'd say it depends on what you want to get out of the game, like the pure Demons/Dark Souls experience is one of not knowing something, on testing your gathered skills and knowledge and what lays ahead, whatever it may be, and you may get through it, or it may kick your ass to the bonfire and back. So a guide might take away a good portion of that feeling of "okay game, show me what you got."
Basically think of Dark Souls as that scene in Jurassic Park where the hunter is tracking the Raptor, has her in his sites, thinks he has her, but then all of a sudden another one pops out beside him "Clever girl"
So basically you have to ask yourself if you are okay with the "Clever Girl" moments being spoiled or not, and if you are I guess go for the guide but I'd say try not using it for a little while and see how you get on.

This is a great way to describe the game.

Only if I'm stuck and have been banging my head against a certain part for a long time.

Is there a guide for like easily missed stuff?

I dont find wandering around aimlessly to be fun, so when in lost I look up where to go.

The way I played Dark Souls the first time was to use a guide only to tell me the best area to go to next. I didn't use it to navigate the area or find items, just a basic list of the order to do the areas in.

The first time I played Dark Souls I had no idea where to go on the Anor Londo bridge, when you have to climb up the buttressing. Had no idea how to stop dying every time I went to fight the Four Kings.

Other than that, I mostly use wikis for stat comparisons when character-building.

i think it depends on what you are going for. I don't have a lot of time so I use a guide as a guide, I don't follow it word for word and I do plenty for extra exploring but I know Dark Souls is a massive game and while I would like to think I could do it all in a reasonable about of time I know if I want to stay interested and don't want to burn out on it I need the guide. I don't like it but I think the game has plenty to offer even when using a guide.

I think it ruins the fun of the game, much of the fun that comes from games like Dark Souls and games like it that are essentially focused on exploration is diminished if you just look things up. Many bosses especially have a trick to them that if you know it, essentially makes it a breeze.

I would use it if I was stuck for a long time but that rarely happens. Both in Demon's and Dark Souls the much of the fun was finding stuff out by myself. I had a friend that played it with a guide and just breezed through it, but I doubt it would be much fun like that. At least for me.

I think it's all where you draw the line. For me, some of the exploration, experimentation, and surprise is fun - like making it through new areas for the first time, finding hidden weapons, and discovering how to beat bosses or enemies. Other parts of it are not fun - wasting souls on useless stats, a lack of clarity how the upgrade or scaling mechanics work, well-hidden bonfires that can make already hard areas ten times more excruciating, and entire plot points or side areas that get lost without the Internet. For the latter, I have no qualms about consulting the Internet.

But that's just me, and I'm sure the fun frustration line will be different for each person. The game itself is challenging and still requires combat skill even if you use a guide throughout, so I don't begrudge someone for using a guide for whatever they want to, especially if you don't have much time to play and can't afford to waste hours banging your head or building a terrible character.

I made the mistake of staying up late into the night reading the Demon's Souls wiki instead of actually playing Demon's Souls. On the one hand, I avoided a lot of frustration and annoyance Yurt the NPC murdering Hunter. But then that also meant I missed out on the wonder of figuring out boss encounters and the way the world would surprise you again, Yurt the NPC murdering Hunter. I intend on not doing that again with Dark Souls, and just not worrying about it. That said, from what you mentioned, yeah I'll probably use a guide of I get stuck somewhere.

I played through the first few hours with a guide and still had a blast! I eventually went on my own and only looked at them when I was really stuck.

Nobody should feel bad for using a guide so if you need to use one, use one!

I would have never bothered to get past the early parts of Demon's Souls if it wasn't for the wiki, and that would likely have been the end of my experince with the franchise. I tried to figure out stuff on my own more when I jumped into Dark Souls, and lean more toward "only when stuck", but stuff like weapon forging is still a pain in the ass without the help of a guide.

I'll never understand why this issue has become such a point of contention recently. One of the best things about the series since Demon's Souls was how the community came together to figure stuff out and help eachother by pooling knowledge. This whole "do everything yourself or you suck and shouldn't bother playing" attitude that has cropped up recently is complete bullshit and is not at all what the series is about. There's nothing wrong with doing that if that's what you enjoy, but it's not the only or "right" way to enjoy these games.

I used the Wikidot pages too often the first few times. I feel I robbed myself of a lot of the discovery and problem solving. I want to play the sequel without any help and without a starting gift.