I just purchased Demons Souls and before I start, I would be greatly appreciate it if anyone would be willing to give me a few tips that would be useful for a beginner. Ive played some Dark Souls so I have a basic understanding of the gameplay. But as far as choosing the right class for a beginner and any leveling strategies, I am completely lost. So if anyone has a few good tips or can give me a link to a useful guide please do so.

Thanks!

There's a weapon called the Crescent Falchion in World 4-1 that basically acts as this game's Drake Sword, a powerful tool even in the hands of new players, except it is arguably more versatile and will get you through more of the game as opposed to the Drake Sword in Dark Souls which lost its overall effectiveness in battle after about a fifth of the way through the game.

There's a defensive spell you can acquire called Warding from an NPC (I won't spoil who or how you get to them), that, in my honest opinion, is broken. Imagine pre-patch Iron Flesh from DaS except without the mobility restrictions and perhaps even better still. If you are struggling to much, I suggest that as a last resort, crutch to fall back on.

Level order is a bit of a grey area, since different people will prefer tackling the game in different orders. My own path is generally 1-2, 2-1, 4-1 and from there I kind of just go with the flow.

Stat wise, this game operates in a similar fashion, complete with a useless stat alignment (luck), weapon scaling etc. Just know what build you want to make before getting too deep into levelling, otherwise you'll end up with average stats across the board and no real strengths, but still plenty of weaknesses (it's a Souls game after all). If you're stuck, let your class choice determine what kind of character you plan on going for.

Of course, most of the above is merely opinion based rambling, so if nothing I said matches other consensus, that's probably why. Anyway, good luck, grit your teeth and may the world be mended.

Luck isn't useless it scales with some weapons and I think might increase the drop rate.

You can't store all your equipment in your inventory like in Dark souls. You get a certain amount you can carry and some rings let you carry more.

Also good luck in the poison swamp lol.

although i did read up on the bosses as i was playing, cos bossfights in general i find tiresome, i winged it re class and route, and got along fine, i used an archer, pumped my dex, and i think once you stick to a typical build you won't go far wrong. i would encourage players to find their own way as the game is intensely atmospheric, and worth absorbing as an explorer.

I would say make a faith build. Its really powerful b/c blessed weapons (which scales with your faith) actually regens your health at a ridiculously fast rate. Its honestly broken but helpful for a new players.

The Royal is the easiest class to start with. This is due to the fact that you start off right away with a useful magical spell and a ring that regenerates your MP. No matter what kind of build you end up going, starting with the Royal is by far the path of least resistance for level 1-1.

Note that the game will not allow you to level up until you complete 1-1. Once you're finished, specialize your Royal however you want. Starting class only really matters at low level.

Don't worry about world tendency. It isn't really relevant for early game first playthrough. Look up an FAQ on it if you're curious what it means.

It is important to purchase a shield that blocks 100% of physical attack damage. You can buy one called the Heater shield from the items guy. Yes, it is worth it to spend money on this.

In general you will want to either use the Royal's soul arrow or a bow to draw out single enemies from groups. This is the key to making it through many of the tricky bits of the game.

I agree that going with Royal will be the easiest but it also breaks the game a little. Royal completely trivializes some of the early areas and even both fights. If you play a melee based character the game will be a lot more difficult but you will learn to play it better I think.

Also if you start hearing the music from the Nexus everywhere you go then don't worry, thats normal after prolonged Demons Souls gaming.

I don't think there is value to hitting your head against the wall repeatedly in 1-1 with a melee class while you try to learn how the game is played. My biggest criticism of Demon's Souls is the inability to make any level progress until 1-1 is cleared. Game is still plenty challenging after that. Royal class gives you flexibility to try different play styles early before committing to one particular build direction.

Roll a Royal, find the Cling Ring in 1-1. Then whatevs. Thief Ring is a great second ring for reducing aggro range, and a bow is all but required in this game, enemy placement and level layout in Demon's is WAY more dickish than Dark Souls, generally.

Totally disagree on mob placement. Demon's Souls mob placement can be tough, but other than one enemy you should always see them coming and be able to plan first. Also there is not a single place in the game where you are pigeon holed into only one approach route etc. Not quite true in Dark.

Otherwise what this guy said. Get a good bow, learn to use it. Understand that patience is even more important in this game than Dark, like wayyyyy more. Levels actually have more secrets so search around. Do not ... I repeat.... do not consume the souls of bosses. They are far more useful this time, one of them is downright critical in fact.

I would advise taking levels in this order generally.... 1-1, 2-1, either 3-1 or 1-2, 4-1 (you may want to visit early even if you don't try to clear it), 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 1-3, 5-1, 5-2, 1-4.

World 5 tips... The secret is the enemies and all the pretty lights and paths.... are a trick. The best and safest way through 5-2 for example requires you never kill more than .... maybe 6-8 guys, tops. I suggest leaving it last because frankly there is nothing in it anyone ever "really" needs and most people find the place frustrating. If you REALLY need help with the place just ask here and someone can post an easy mode walk through of the place.

If you need to grind some souls the best place is the beginning of 4-2.

EDIT: Oh yeah... the red eye knight in 1-1... leave him alone until you are way higher level. When you are a souls game bad ass feel free to try killing him as a level 1 or something but until then it isn't worth the risk or time investment.

Grab a spear and shield and it should be enough for most enemies. My class was archer, so I upgraded a bow to the Lava Bow by defeating the Armored Spider. Those three weapons were usually the only ones I used before I got bored in 4-2 and gave up on that game.

This is probably a tad too basic, but the two most important things you should know before embarking into a Souls game is firstly to ignore your soul counter. Try to look at souls this way; getting through a level will give an adequate amount of souls no matter what and any souls gained from dying over and over and getting back to your bloodstain is just a bonus. Also bosses alone give more than a significant amount of souls, and you will almost always find that once you progress to a new area your former soul-gain will seem completely insignificant.

Secondly, upgrading is more important than levelling, and understanding how stats and gear work together is paramount. I would highly suggest reading up on exactly what every stat does and how weapon scaling works before progressing too far into the game. The levelling curve is very front-loaded and making bad choices early in the game can easily make the game way harder than it needs to be.

If you want hints for best builds in my experience going for an armored magic-user is easily the best build for both games, but it's sorta boring and can ruin your enjoyment of any consecutive playthroughs. You will find a lot of people who swear by dodging, but if you ask me learning to use a shield properly is way easier and will get you through the games just fine. I would suggest going Temple Knight on your first playthrough (ignoring faith and levelling str, dex or both depending on weapon). It will give you some of the best armor in the game, a good shield and extra healing giving you great fortitude, although their starting weapon is sorta unwieldy but it can easily be replaced quickly.