Giving this another go. I had another account and I remember getting stuck on the flame lurker as a soldier. I had some of the best armor, yet that thing took me out in about 2-3 hits. Unbelievable. Starting off again as a knight because of that sick ass fluted armor. Any tips? Can anyone recommend a leveling path, like, what level in each different stat should I be before taking on certain worlds (e.g. 2-1. 2-2, etc..)  

LOL Im doing the exact same thing.  Played about a year ago but got stuck on the Flamelurker and put the game down but am giving it another go starting just this weekend.
 
Im playing my same character (Wanderer) but instead of tackling FlameLurker again Im pacing myself through world 4 Shrine of Storms.
 
So I think I have 1-1, 1-2 and 2-1 completed and now going for 4-1 at lvl 32 but I was lvl 26 when starting up again and havent had too much trouble, just going slow.

Use ranged attacks on the Flamelurker. Soul arrows work well. Just keep dodging (make sure your equipment is light enough that you can roll properly) and firing. 

That's it, really. You don't need any special leveling paths or anything like that.

I've always played as melee heavy characters, and the flame lurker is a bitch to fight that way.  It's kind of cheezy, but I've always taken him out by using an upgraded spear.  I used a purple flame shield, fire resistance band, and the spear... unequipped all other armor for speed and dodging.  I would use the pillars to keep distance between us, and when he landed from a big attack (pressed up against the other side of the pillar) i would stab him with the spear through the safety of the pillar (it clips through it a bit since it has such a long range.) 
 
I usually used the red-eye knight to level really early on.  Not the most productive, I'm sure, but always worked for me

Put all your points into Strength and only use heavy swords.

The path I took is pretty straight forward.   1-1 1-2   ->   2-1  2-2 2-3 2-4(dragon god) ->  3-1 3-2 3-3(old monk) ->  1-3 1-4 ( which i'm currently on right now, i'm about soul level 54)   I killed 4-1 boss somewhere in between because he was easy.

It varies from play styles to play styles but I found sticking to light armour is the best since it allows quick rolls which is worth practising since it doesn't make much of a difference with stronger armour anyway. But that's just how I play the game.

Use ranged attacks on the Flamelurker. Soul arrows work well. Just keep dodging (make sure your equipment is light enough that you can roll properly) and firing. That's it, really. You don't need any special leveling paths or anything like that.

I found that the light armor sets were easier to use in general. Dodging worked best for me. As for Flamelurker, ranged attacks and magical attacks, and patience. Best of luck to you.

Some nice responses for the Flamelurker, thanks guys! 
 
Still going to wait to take him out though, he scares me >.>

Some nice responses for the Flamelurker, thanks guys!   Still going to wait to take him out though, he scares me >.>

My character was a pure melee tank knight with some support spells/miracles and I just went toe to toe with that motherfucker. It was such an epic battle. Purple Flame Shield is a must (for a melee character), besides that armor makes no difference. Roll, Roll, Roll.

@evilhomer said:

Some nice responses for the Flamelurker, thanks guys!   Still going to wait to take him out though, he scares me >.>

You can beat the flamelurker in 2 minutes without getting hit, if you hide behind the big bone to the left of the door.

Yay just beat Adjucator =]
 
He was kinda easy though lol, killed me once with his tongue before I got off the top floor than the next time I destroyed him.

@kingzetta said:

@evilhomer said:

Some nice responses for the Flamelurker, thanks guys!   Still going to wait to take him out though, he scares me >.>

You can beat the flamelurker in 2 minutes without getting hit, if you hide behind the big bone to the left of the door.

A reason I havent is that I had the short-cut memorized back when i was playing it originally (down the chasm) but that was a year ago so I figured I would prefer doing something different first instead of learning that part again.  I will go after him after I beat 4-1 but I kinda like fighting Flamelurker straight up instead of cheesing him =P

@kingzetta: LOL I probably will if he ends up killing me the first couple times...but now I got to remember how to get down that big hole first.  Dont want to waste my shiny new body jumping to my own death =P

I recommend studying the wiki for a bit, deciding how you want to play, and then just go for it.  A lot of people feel like they need to come to others to figure out the right way to play, but there really isn't a right, or best, way to play Demon's Souls.

Well that was awesome I beat Flamelurker on my very first try XD  
 
I didnt have the purple flame shield before so I had to go get that than level up strength so I could use it, ended up lvl 41 when I beat him (Didnt take long to level in 4-1).  Did it all straight up face-to-face and was locked onto him the entire fight.  Dodged away from his attacks than mashed him with my spear, rolled away to recover stamina and health (went though about 12 Full Moon Grass during the fight) than back to more dodging and attacking.
 
Im seriously stoked about how that went down, couldnt have been better and was a ton of fun to fight him like that and win  =]

@H2Oyea: I actually just beat the Flamelurker today. I two-handed my axe and put some sticky white shit on it and rolled around until he attacked with his big AOE flame attack. Then, I just ran in, took about 3 swipes at him and just repeated the process until he fell. I found it best to stay in front of him, though. He tends to jump back quite a bit.  Just wait until you face the archdemon of that world. God, I've never been so freaking nervous in my entire life.