Patrick starting Dark Souls

@bisonhero: That was sorta my point. When you follow the advice of picking up the Drake Sword you have no reason to figure that stuff out (either through a wiki or in-game). It's very easy to get the Drake Sword and go "my damage is no problem, but I'm dying a lot, so I'm just gonna pump vit".

@ares42: Anyone relying on the Drake Sword usually starts to get their comeuppance around Sen's Fortress when they realize they can no longer dispatch enemies in a hit or two.

@dudeglove said:

I suppose theoretically the Master Key can cause confusion in new players by giving them access to things "out of order." Meeting Havel and Infested Barbarians that early in the game can be super discouraging.

@ares42 said:

I guess? I'm not sure that directly follows, because even with the Drake Sword, a player would have to be really clueless when it comes to common RPG mechanics if they think that at no point will they need to consider investing points in a stat that correlates to damage (whether it be strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc.).

@bisonhero: Well, look at it this way. Some RPGs operate with a "requirement" system. Your stats doesn't really do anything other than allowing you to use better gear. You get better loot, and to use that loot you need better stats. And if you look at the system presented in Dark Souls that's exactly the kinda system that seems apparent. You can very easily see what stats a weapon requires (and you will see weapons with higher and higher requirements and damage early in the game), while it's not very apparent how stats add damage (especially before they added explenation button on the char screen). Gear also has no stats, hinting at a system where you get stats through levels and gear through stats.

Again though, I'm only talking about my own experience, and I definitely fell in that trap. I remember loading up my first character after having beat the game a few times, looking at his character sheet and thinking "what the hell was I thinking?". I've also seen plenty of other new-comers struggle with similar issues.

@ares42: Fair enough. I can see how that could happen.