gazel_ministry

It is super broken (comparatively to Demon's Souls). Been that way since launch. PS3 and Xbox are a tad better. Best advice I could give if your trying to summon/be summoned would be to spam your sign every 30 seconds. It also depends on what area your trying to summon. The forest can be just about impossible. As for the PC open these ports on your router, this has worked pretty well for me. Good luck.

Gold for nerds:

Part 1

Part 2

Better netcode for invasions/summoning. Aside from that I'll be happy with just more Dark Souls.

@StarvingGamer said:

@Rohok: Games take money, and ambitious games take a lot of money, and he's not going to be able to conjure enough.

It seems this is more of a fishing expedition than an actual fund raiser. He and the "real money contributors" are looking to see who is interested.

On his website he gives a little insight into this:

This game is ambitious. If we can raise between $2 to $4 million we have investors that have agreed to contribute the balance we need to complete this game as long as we can validate that there is a demand for a high end PC space game.link

So he knows it's going to take more than $2 million to fund this. He just needs to prove to his investors there is a demand for it. I suppose a contribution would cement buyers better than an online petition. Just a guess. I'm a little skeptical myself and having never played any of his games I (like yourself) am trying to view this venture objectively. It does look ambitious and I don't think I've seen enough to convince me to throw down $50 or $100 to end up with a game that in the end is a disappointment or for that matter never brought to market. So I'm considering giving him a $15 spot. That way if the game is a disaster I can walk away without any real loss. I'm also curious to see how close to the goal he gets.

@Scrawnto said:

I clearly don't know much about this game. What constitutes PVP gear that differentiates it from PVE?

Most (really good) PvP players rely heavily on melee and use only a handful of spells. Great Combustion, Crystal Soul Spear, Wrath of God (though some would argue against wog) etc. If you PvP long enough you learn how to time the magic attacks and can avoid them a good 90% of the time. I usually only die from magic when I'm fighting two or three at a time and it's usually because my stamina ran out and I can't get out of the way, or I just got caught. Happens.

High poise is also another thing that isn't really necessary in PvE, but could get you killed pretty quickly in PvP when your opponent stunlocks you with a Black Knight Greataxe (good tip: when you get stunlocked switch to your other weapon. If timed right it could break the stunlock). Some gear, like Havels and fully upgraded Giant's Armor give you a good amount of poise. Players who do nothing but fish for backstabs usually keep their poise high so they can walk through your attack and get the backstab. Other items like Wolf/Hornet ring are generally best for PvP, though I personally don't use them (a lot of tournaments ban them). For PvE however, magic is amazing and you'll coast through most of the game without a problem. That's really the only major difference. Magic builds if done right can be the best of both worlds because there are some really good melee weapons that scale well to a high Intelligence. Moonlight Greatsword, for example.

Congratulations! Just hope you don't become as addicted to it as I am.

No. It won't reset. You just won't gain anymore souls.

If you were playing the game for the first time I would recommend doing it in hollow form but if you're just looking to build a new character, then summon two phantoms at the beginning of the level. Some phantoms are just as powerful as the invaders. Trick is finding them (hint, don't summon the guy with the Drake sword). I have a level 21 character I use just for the purpose of taking on the griefers. Most griefing invaders are rather easy as they just have op equipment with no PvP skill whatsoever. Most of my losses are when the summoner takes it upon himself to run past me and fight the invader. 1-hit and dead. Dark Souls is a pretty easy game with two phantoms at your side.

I'm by no means an expert at PvP (win roughly 60% of the time) but here are a few tips I can offer to help you get better:

1. Dark Wood Grain Ring - Get it. If you don't, then don't bother PvP. It's a severe disadvantage not to have it equipped. Some can survive without it. I'm not one of them. Doesn't hurt to get Havel's ring either. They compliment each other perfectly.

2. Pick a build. Like big weapons, go with a Strength build. Like curved swords, go with a high Dex/Faith build. Magic weapons = high Intellect. Your build will depend a lot on the weapons you choose and how they scale to each stat. The last thing you want to do is waste time leveling up on one build and then try switching to another midway. Never works in PvP. You want to be able to dedicate the rest of your leveling to getting your Vitality and Endurance up to or very close to 40.

3. Upgrade your weapons/armor. Most of the low level PvP is a kind of rock, paper, scissors match. They usually come with lightning or fire. Lightning dominates the lower level PvP matches for the most part. Most new PvP players usually lose due to their equipment being lousy. A +10 Claymore is alright. A +5 Lightning Claymore, that's more like it. A +15 Claymore with Darkmoon Blade, amazing! And don't forget to upgrade your armor, unless you like being 1 hit. Doesn't hurt to have your Humanity maxed to 99 for PvP as it will increase your defense as well.

4. Learn how to backstab it you haven't already. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpZeX-RCat8. Everyone backstabs in PvP. Get used to it. And everyone gets lagstabbed at one time or another. That's the moment when you're right in front of the guy and the next moment you see him slamming his sword into your back. Unavoidable. People with the best connections still complain about lagstab. All I can say about backstab is the best defense is a good offense. If your opponent keeps trying to backstab, do the same. They will either get the hint or die...or kill you. Backstabs are lethal.

5. Magic is a great weapon, but don't expect to beat a good PvP player with magic alone. I don't know how many players I've gone up against who depend solely on magic and come into a match doing nothing but casting Soul Arrows and Fireballs. Unless I'm cornered, there is no way I'm going to be hit. A quick roll to the right or the left and their magic is worthless. Some magic/miracles are fantastic in PvP (Wrath of the Gods in particular) but again don't depend solely on magic to win a match.

6. If you're level 8-50, go to the forest. Plenty of PvP there. If you're level 80 and want to take a stab at the Kiln, go right ahead. Most of your really good players fight between soul lvls 120 and 130. I wouldn't recommend you rushing to 120 however. Most of the people at that level don't fall for chained backstabs or Tranquil Walk of Peace. Most...

And finally. Here are some good streams to get some tips.

Soulinvader - He eats,sleeps (literally) and breathes Dark Souls. Plays on the 360 and streams almost daily. Very good at answering any questions you may have.

D_Invader - -This guy just puts on a clinic on how to dominate in PvP. Plays on the PS3. Usually just plays music on the stream but watching it has definitely helped me improve. He just recently started talking on a mic.