Beginner Thread

So guys, got questions that need answering about Dark Souls? Want to know what the hell to do, where to go? No idea what a certain item does or where to find it? Ask away! The kind souls of Giant Bomb are more than happy to help, as this thread has already proven.

No questions to ask? Then why don't you help out! We're getting all sorts of questions in here, and they need good answers!

ORIGINAL POST: So, if you've just bought the game like me and have never played Demon's Souls, you probably haven't a clue what's really going on. Covenants? Humanity? I know what these things are now, but I'm sure some don't. I was thinking that perhaps veterans of the series could come in here and just drop in some useful tips for people to come on over and have a look at. Any classes you recommend? Places you recommend going? Secret areas you can tell us about? That sort of thing.

I'm just about to re-roll as a Wanderer, seems cool. I've heard Pyromancer is pretty decent?

SUPER EDIT: After about ten plus pages of awesome advice, questions that people thought were dumb, and great people answering said question- the Beginner Thread is now a thriving sub-community for everything Dark Souls on Giant Bomb! I'm going to try and list some advice below and update it. If I don't credit your name, it's basically because I've forgotten to add it in the edit, so don't panic!

@Timing said - Here are some random tips:

• Get a good shield. By good I mean one that blocks 100% physical damage. You can tell how much percent of each type of damage a shield blocks by pressing Square (PS3)/ X (360) when the shield is highlighted in the menu. Only three of the ten classes start with a 100% physical block shield (Warrior, Knight and Bandit). If you're not one of those I suggest saving up 1000 souls to buy a Heater Shield from the merchant in Undead Burg. You'll find better ones later on, but for very early on in the game this shield is pretty good.

• Once you have a good shield, keep it up at all times when exploring new areas. Also, don't sprint when you don't have to.

• Always
attack a treasure chest before opening it. You'll thank me later.

• Don't ever attack an NPC who is in any way useful to you. They won't talk to you anymore for the remainder of the playthrough once they're no longer on your side.

• Use the drop down attack (R1/Right Bumper in the air) as often as you can, as it is incredibly powerful. Just be careful not to walk off anything too high while trying to do it.

• Listen to the environment. There's a reason there's no music during most of the game. If you listen carefully you will often be able to hear breathing or footsteps before actually seeing the enemy. Many enemies will await you right around corners, so being able to hear them first will greatly increase you chances of survival.

@TheSeductiveMoose said -

• Remove your fingers from the triggers whenever you are near a friendly NPC and don't put the controller down on the table (the R2 and L2 triggers have a tendency to get pressed when you do so).

• Play online. The tip system is usually a great help.

• Always try to battle as few enemies as possible at a time.

• As far as I've seen this isn't Demon's Souls. You can go both light and heavily armoured without losing to much of an advantage. (I'm playing as a knight and I haven't had a problem so far)

• Pick the Master Key as your starting gift, the others are pretty useless and can be obtained later.

• Bows are great for luring single enemies out of a group.

• It is important as shit that you keep track of your stamina meter.

• Explore every nook and cranny of the areas you visit. There's no telling what might be hiding there.

• The Drake Sword is overpowered as fuck and will make the early stages of the game ridiculously easy. (If you're playing a melee oriented character)

@Viney212 said - "Spend your souls often! Don't hoard them, unless you're saving up for something specific.
People make a big deal about losing your souls when you die and can't get back to your bloodstain, but if you're upgrading and spending often it won't be a big deal when you die and lose a small stash."

@LordXavierBritish said - "Cut the tail off everything."
"...using your Estus Flask heals white phantoms..."

@imsh_pl said - "Either roll a lot or use your shield a lot."

@BuckFitches said - "If you have trouble moving around fast enough with equipment, here's a protip. There's a door in Undead burg, in the same tower right before you face the Taurus Demon, that leads to a spiral staircase down to a guy named Havel The Rock. You can unlock the door with a Master Key, but perhaps also with other keys.
He's tough as nails, instantly hostile, and hits like a truck, but his swings can easily be avoided by stepping back. When he tries to raise his mace again, that is when you strike.
He drops "Havel's Ring" when killed, which boost your maximum equipment burden. With this ring, I now equip a full set of armor and equipment while still being under the 25% burden range, so I can dodge and run at maximum speed."

Dont get too hung up about class. Its pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things as you can get all the class starting stuff throughout the game.

Covenants are like worshipping in nethack. Theres 9 covenants, you know the drill, ranging from lawful good to chaotic evil. They largely only affect your online experience so dont feel too worried about them.

Humanity allows you to become human. When you're human your item drop rate increases, you can kindle bonfires (allowing for 10 flasks, not just 5) and if you find someones white scribbles on the floor you can someone into your game for help. On the downside though, you can be invaded.

Ill tell you the worst kept secret - the drake sword. Its not going to make sense now but after you run across the bridge and avoid the dragons breath you can go under the bridge to see his tail. Make sure you have atleast 12 dex, equip a bow and some arrows (obtained at the male merchant for 1000s + ammo) and shoot the dragons tail. Do this about 20 times and it'll break giving you the drake sword. It requires 16 STR and 10 DEX (however you need 12 to use the bow to do damage, so you'll have more then enough). It is totally awesome, i used it for like 15 hours.

@JoeMarsden: I'd pretty much reinforce everything that was already said. Few more things. Never rush back to your souls when you die. You'll just make mistakes. Secondly never assume that your going to beat anything on this game in one try. If your in a new area be cautious but most of all observant so you know how to navigate the area.

Lastly, firebombs are you friend early on. Many early bosses and enemies will go down quick to firebombs early on always keep a couple around.

Here are some random tips:

• Get a good shield. By good I mean one that blocks 100% physical damage. You can tell how much percent of each type of damage a shield blocks by pressing Square (PS3)/ X (360) when the shield is highlighted in the menu. Only three of the ten classes start with a 100% physical block shield (Warrior, Knight and Bandit). If you're not one of those I suggest saving up 1000 souls to buy a Heater Shield from the merchant in Undead Burg. You'll find better ones later on, but for very early on in the game this shield is pretty good.
• Once you have a good shield, keep it up at all times when exploring new areas. Also, don't sprint when you don't have to.
• Always attack a treasure chest before opening it. You'll thank me later.
• Don't ever attack an NPC who is in any way useful to you. They won't talk to you anymore for the remainder of the playthrough once they're no longer on your side.
• Use the drop down attack (R1/Right Bumper in the air) as often as you can, as it is incredibly powerful. Just be careful not to walk off anything too high while trying to do it.
• Listen to the environment. There's a reason there's no music during most of the game. If you listen carefully you will often be able to hear breathing or footsteps before actually seeing the enemy. Many enemies will await you right around corners, so being able to hear them first will greatly increase you chances of survival.

@Immuniity said:

Ill tell you the worst kept secret - the drake sword. Its not going to make sense now but after you run across the bridge and avoid the dragons breath you can go under the bridge to see his tail. Make sure you have atleast 12 dex, equip a bow and some arrows (obtained at the male merchant for 1000s + ammo) and shoot the dragons tail. Do this about 20 times and it'll break giving you the drake sword. It requires 16 STR and 10 DEX (however you need 12 to use the bow to do damage, so you'll have more then enough). It is totally awesome, i used it for like 15 hours.

That's an awesome tip, thanks! I heard a lot of people saying mobility over power/defence. I take it that's down to playstyle, or would you definitely recommend going one way or another? The Knight looks appealing due to his heavy armour, but that also looks like it could be a massive drawback.

I have given a few characters a try, I might recommend the Cleric to start. The extra healing spell is nice, so you have a little longer before having to return to a bonfire and refill your flask. This characters mace is not a bad starter weapon, it's pretty powerful. If you decide to join the Way of White covenant at the fireside (?) bonfire, he sells miracles any you already have a start. I would also recommend speed over power. I find a quick character with a good shield is much more beneficial than heavy armour.

Hi i Have DarkSouls for ps3 im trying help some friends in my list and i dont see their sing in the floor we r in 10 lvl of diferenece without convenant what we need for play and i am in human form ??? somebody know???

• Remove your fingers from the triggers whenever you are near a friendly NPC and don't put the controller down on the table (the R2 and L2 triggers have a tendency to get pressed when you do so).
• Play online. The tip system is usually a great help.
• Always try to battle as few enemies as possible at a time.
• As far as I've seen this isn't Demon's Souls. You can go both light and heavily armoured without losing to much of an advantage. (I'm playing as a knight and I haven't had a problem so far)
• Pick the Master Key as your starting gift, the others are pretty useless and can be obtained later.
• Bows are great for luring single enemies out of a group.
• It is important as shit that you keep track of your stamina meter.
• Explore every nook and cranny of the areas you visit. There's no telling what might be hiding there.
• The Drake Sword is overpowered as fuck and will make the early stages of the game ridiculously easy. (If you're playing a melee oriented character)

@WarriorSoul1988 said:

Hi i Have DarkSouls for ps3 im trying help some friends in my list and i dont see their sing in the floor we r in 10 lvl of diferenece without convenant what we need for play and i am in human form ??? somebody know???

Everyone isn't in the same world in Dark Souls. It's not server based with everyone in the same place, so it's possible that you and your friends are just in different worlds. You can't really set up a co-op session anymore unless you get lucky.

So I take it dying the first time I fought the Taurus Demon, though nearly taking him down, isn't a terrible thing?

@JoeMarsden: class doesnt matter so much, but yeah a pyromancer is a good starting class.

I'm going around with 10 humanity on me, aside from becoming human, (I really don't want people invading my game) or kindling bonfires, (I bought the healing miracle so I'm not running out of heals so far) is their anything useful I can spend it on or should I just keep accumulating it for the drop rate increase?

Cut the tail off everything.

Either roll a lot or use your shield a lot.

@JoeMarsden said:

That's an awesome tip, thanks! I heard a lot of people saying mobility over power/defence. I take it that's down to playstyle, or would you definitely recommend going one way or another? The Knight looks appealing due to his heavy armour, but that also looks like it could be a massive drawback.

The knight can be made faster, at the beginning of the game I took off my helmet and gauntlets, and didn't equip quick-change weapons. After that I was holding the knight's shield and a sword or spear, and I was under the half-weight mark and could move and roll fast enough. I suppose once you get your VIT and END up, and get some better armour, doing the slow 'fat roll' won't be as much as a problem, but right at the beginning I would shed a little weight to keep movement brisk.

I'm 9 hours in and didn't pick the Master Key. Is that a big enough deal for me to start over. I'm level 20 (though I could probably get to where I am in half the time my second time through), but I really don't feel like doing all I've done over again (I've already been grinding the same location for a while now), but if it's that big a deal then I guess I might try a new character and not fuck up as much as I have done already. Any suggestions?

If you have trouble moving around fast enough with equipment, here's a protip. There's a door in Undead burg, in the same tower right before you face the Taurus Demon, that leads to a spiral staircase down to a guy named Havel The Rock. You can unlock the door with a Master Key, but perhaps also with other keys.

He's tough as nails, instantly hostile, and hits like a truck, but his swings can easily be avoided by stepping back. When he tries to raise his mace again, that is when you strike.

He drops "Havel's Ring" when killed, which boost your maximum equipment burden. With this ring, I now equip a full set of armor and equipment while still being under the 25% burden range, so I can dodge and run at maximum speed.

I accidentally wasted my Master Key on a door to Drake Valley or something heh I went into a cave and saw some huge figures in the distance, then took off.

Spend your souls often! Don't hoard them, unless you're saving up for something specific.

People make a big deal about losing your souls when you die and can't get back to your bloodstain, but if you're upgrading and spending often it won't be a big deal when you die and lose a small stash.

@Buckfitches said:

If you have trouble moving around fast enough with equipment, here's a protip. There's a door in Undead burg, in the same tower right before you face the Taurus Demon, that leads to a spiral staircase down to a guy named Havel The Rock. You can unlock the door with a Master Key, but perhaps also with other keys.

He's tough as nails, instantly hostile, and hits like a truck, but his swings can easily be avoided by stepping back. When he tries to raise his mace again, that is when you strike.

He drops "Havel's Ring" when killed, which boost your maximum equipment burden. With this ring, I now equip a full set of armor and equipment while still being under the 25% burden range, so I can dodge and run at maximum speed.

I killed him today. Took me a few tries since he kills me with one two-handed attack. I just circled around him with and stabbed him in the back with the Drake Sword 5 or 6 times.

@MideonNViscera: The master key gift isn't consumable. You can use it again and again.

Havel is really easy to backstab, you just have to live long enough to get the chance.  The door he guards (if you come from the Burg) leads into Darkroot so it is a great shortcut.  He's much easier to deal with if you come from the Burg.  I first entered from Darkroot and as soon as I entered the doorway he oneshotted me with that damn club.

@Gargantuan said:

@Buckfitches said:

If you have trouble moving around fast enough with equipment, here's a protip. There's a door in Undead burg, in the same tower right before you face the Taurus Demon, that leads to a spiral staircase down to a guy named Havel The Rock. You can unlock the door with a Master Key, but perhaps also with other keys.

He's tough as nails, instantly hostile, and hits like a truck, but his swings can easily be avoided by stepping back. When he tries to raise his mace again, that is when you strike.

He drops "Havel's Ring" when killed, which boost your maximum equipment burden. With this ring, I now equip a full set of armor and equipment while still being under the 25% burden range, so I can dodge and run at maximum speed.

I killed him today. Took me a few tries since he kills me with one two-handed attack. I just circled around him with and stabbed him in the back with the Drake Sword 5 or 6 times.

I don't have the master key so where is the key that opens that door?

@Gabriel: He can be reached either through the Darkmoon Forest, or from the Undead Burg with the "Undead Burg Basement Key" which can be found on the petrified corpse of a blacksmith, after defeating the Moonlight Butterfly

i would recommend using the pyromancer as a starting class, his fireball is INCREDIBLY lethal on early stages and gets refilled every time you go to a bonfire. I managed to take down all the early bosses no problem thanks to it (even havel)

Blighttown will be fairly awful without the spider shield

Poison blow dart things don't respawn in there either, so no matter how many times you die to hilarious toxic/posion damage, as long as you get a dart guy down with it, progress!

Don't expect to ever kill a boss first try, save maybe the butterfly thing. Take your time to learn the tells, most have extremely obvious tells, or extremely long "staggers" after a big attack.

Don't fuck with black knights(dark brown/goldish armor with giant black weapons) until you get something like the Drake Sword that can off em in a few swings/backstabs

If you suck at aiming like I do, you can get the drake sword slightly easier by clearing out the rats in the area slightly past the normal spot, shooting the dragon once in the head to get him to fly down, and get maybe 2-3 more arrows in him before he flies back to his perch

A few bosses have weapons you can only acquire by smacking their tails enough time(first Gargoyle, Gaping Dragon, Crossbread Percila)

Stone Knights in Darkroot cast a slow on themselves and on you, only last maybe 15-20 seconds best to kite it off

If you took the masterkey as your gift, you can get a 100% physical damage blocking shield with decent fire res right at the start of the game. Go into the Vally of Drakes from Firelink and make your way down the path until you see the thing that looks like a giant dead tree. Without really spoiling it, loot as much as you can as fast as possible.

If you're unsure what stats to level rushing End to 40 for the max stam bar is a "safe" bet, since you'll most likely be using the drake sword which has no scaling of any kind, the lack of leveling str/dex won't matter, for the early part of the game

Whenever you see NPCs trapped in barrels, never attack the barrels to free them. Roll into the side of them to safely free them without them wanting to murder you

When fighting giant bosses its often better to not stay locked on to them, as it makes running behind them a bit harder when you need to avoid frontal cones/smashes

At some point in the game you will get an NPC who buys shit off you

Mainly for Pyromancers, but when you get past the spider boss, don't attack the egg guy in front of the door. He's friendly and IIRC sells pyromancer spells

Not sure if you can actually "use" Firekeeper Souls, but never do. Take them to the girl locked in the cage at Firelink. She'll increase how much the Estus potion heals by 100 per Firekeeper Soul

Some of this might be rehashed from what others have said, but yeah.

@OroJackson said:

I'm going around with 10 humanity on me, aside from becoming human, (I really don't want people invading my game) or kindling bonfires, (I bought the healing miracle so I'm not running out of heals so far) is their anything useful I can spend it on or should I just keep accumulating it for the drop rate increase?

Are you getting a lot of good drops? Or more frequent drops? Is that worth it?

Don' think I've had more than 2 Humanity at a given time. I've used Humanity for kindling which doubles your health liquid thingy for that particular bonfire. I did this to a few bonfires without really knowing what I was doing so I probably wasted it in a couple of areas that I really didn't need more health.

I also recommend everyone to play the game in human form, and online. When you have a humanity in your counter? Go to the fire and Reverse Hollow.

Being human gives you a boost in stats, and makes it possible to summon other players (white scribbles on the floor) to play a zone cooperatively. It's a ton of fun, and can really help you out in tough areas or difficult bossfights. After dying for hours on a single boss, it's nice to be able to roll up on it with 2 fellow players at your side.

Likewise for players with zero humanity, just drop a summoning sign when you are in a certain area. If you get summoned and help someone beat a boss there, you get humanity, sun medals and plenty of souls. You also won't lose your souls if you die trying, and will just respawn where you left off.

It seems people are avoiding the feature for fear of invaders, but those are very, very rare seeing as there's a book of the guilty and a whole lot of other covenant restrictions regarding PVP. And you will also always be a higher level than your invader, and I had no difficulties killing the 2 invaders I encountered in my 20 hours of play. Even if they kill you, you don't lose your souls either.

I have a question for the thread. I got the Drake Sword and killed the first Black Knight I came across in Undead Burg. Would it be a good idea to spend the souls raising my stats to be able to equip the sword I got from defeating that guy? (I think it's like 20 STR and 16 DEX.)

@D_W: Strength and Dexterity are both vital stats for melee users, and you are going to need both stats for higher level weapons, so I suggest you spend souls in them either way.

The Drake sword also does not scale with level, so will eventually be useless, while the black knight sword will be way easier to upgrade.

Try to wield it, see if you like the moveset.

@Buckfitches said:

@MideonNViscera: The master key gift isn't consumable. You can use it again and again.

Sweet.

I fought the big rock dude while I had another player with me, but I didn't know he could one-shot me and I died right before he was about to. The other player did help me kill that guy down in the alleyway who guards the ring that ups your defense when your HP is low though.

Get the Ring of Favor and Protection.  Best ring ever.  
 
The part about the bridge is wrong, I got mine off of Lautrec.   You can cheese him pretty easily after you free him, as he does hit pretty hard.  In the church There's a drop down into the middle, and the staircase goes back up.  You can just drop repeatedly and both you and him will take damage, but he won't heal and will just be chipped to death.  Killing him early means you won't get his armor, but file that one under "who gives a shit ?" in my book.  Besides, this game begs for a second playthrough, so get it then. 

I'm actually still a little confused about the stats and some of the other mechanics.

I'm at work right now so some of these questions might be a bit vague:

• Under the stats for a weapon there is an additional section with stats like "ParaBonus" with icons beside of them. What does this do? Someone said it allows the weapon to scale with your stats. Does that mean a weapon with an "A" scales better than a weapon with a "D"? If sword #1 has the exact same stats as sword #2 but sword #2 has a better class of "ParaBonus" for STR does that mean #2 will have a higher ATK bonus if your strength is above average?
• Beside the stats for weapons there is a set of brackets with "+" and a number in them. Is this the "ParaBonus" that I mentioned above? For some reason I was thinking in terms of something like D&D and imagined it was a "off-hand" bonus or penalty.
• The benefit of weapons like a club or an axe isn't very clear to me. Is it just a a different set of attributes attached to them or do they do something unique the other doesn't other than animate attacks differently. For example, can a club break a shield, etc.
• I'm still confused on what I should be doing with my character's base stats. Someone mentions that END is a safe bet because of the Drake Sword "not scaling" (ParaBonus?). As much as I love to play stealthy and agile characters it seems like a big ass bulky character is really the only way to go. Does anyone actually duel wield daggers or something like that?
• Humanity seems pretty difficult to come by. I don't think I've unlocked the ability to play in other people's games just yet so any time I do something idiotic like roll off a cliff (shut up!) I have to spend a good deal of time waiting and hoping. When I do finally get a point it seems like it comes out of thin air. I don't seem to pick it up or it drops. Huh?

I've actually scoured the internet looking for some of the answers to these questions but I've had no luck so far. Their instruction manuel was the first trap I fell victim. I wanted to play Demon Souls so bad it hurt but I only had a PS3. I didn't realize the base game was so in-depth.

Quick question about miracles and such: I haven't bought any yet as I see they have a limited number of uses. Does these uses replenish when resting at a bonfire? I play as a thief, so haven't gotten the chance to try any magic yet, and I am not that many hours in.

Also, do I need to learn how to parry, or is that something you can manage without?

@Durandir said:

Also, do I need to learn how to parry, or is that something you can manage without?

I wouldn't mind knowing this, too. Parrying (so far) has been impossible for me to land, though I haven't tried it many times in fairness. Something to master, I assume?

Hasn't mattered for me so far and i'm 15 hours in.

Parrying does incredible amounts of damage, but the timing window is very small, and varies per enemy.

Still, managing to parry and basically one-shot invaders is so, so worth it. Try it out on low level hollow knights at the Parish, once you get a feel for it, it's not too hard to pull off.

Here's something I've noticed. The large rats just outside the red bridge dragon seem to pretty frequently drop Humanities. Maybe I'm just lucky though. My Item discovery isn't even all that high.

Lil question.
 
Upgraded the scimitar to +5, then made it into a divine scimitar.
Cleared the entire sewers and gaping dragon with it.
Is it worth to keep upgrading it or is there a better weapon with a style like it?
I really like its attacks and style and unless there's a weapon that is loads better (or better upgradeable) I prefer not to lose it.
Its really working out for me, usually take down stuff in 3 hits, 1 if 2handed (fuck you damn torch zombies, feel my wrath!) 

Tips?

Here's something I've noticed. The large rats just outside the red bridge dragon seem to pretty frequently drop Humanities. Maybe I'm just lucky though. My Item discovery isn't even all that high.

@TaliciaDragonsong: No curved swords scale naturally with faith, so it's probably best to stick with your Schimitar. The Falcion is the only similar weapon and it will end up with a higher attack in the end but it would be a fairly minuscule difference anyways.

Any tips for taking out the Boar in the Undead Parish? The drake sword seems to only do 20 damage to it!

@D_W said:

Any tips for taking out the Boar in the Undead Parish? The drake sword seems to only do 20 damage to it!

Bait him to charge you and when he does run back to the staircase building. When the boar starts to head back, backstab him for an instant kill.

@D_W: I sniped the boar from the staircase building to get its attention, and after that, I ran up the side of the staircase to give enough room for a plunging attack. I don't remember if it was after one or two plunging attacks, but the boar started to walk sluggishly back to his original point, which left me beat on him until it died.

Initially, I tried the backstab method, but I missed and was trampled afterward.

@Nekromantix87:

THAT WORKED! I killed him in one shot too! Funny thing is that I was kind of glitching out on top of him for a while before it registered my attack.

@TaliciaDragonsong: No curved swords scale naturally with faith, so it's probably best to stick with your Schimitar. The Falcion is the only similar weapon and it will end up with a higher attack in the end but it would be a fairly minuscule difference anyways.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

@Chop said:

@TaliciaDragonsong: No curved swords scale naturally with faith, so it's probably best to stick with your Schimitar. The Falcion is the only similar weapon and it will end up with a higher attack in the end but it would be a fairly minuscule difference anyways.

Huh? Where'd that faith thing come from? I'm going mostly dex (think its at 20 now) over str (16 I believe). I think I saw Dex improving its damage by two-three points, while str only did one. So, Dex is the way to go when I want to keep using a scimitar right? I love those things and no other weapon had the same flair yet.

You said you modified your sword into a divine version. Doing that makes it so that the swords damage scales primarily with the faith stat, rather than dex. When you check a weapon out, you should notice some letters near the bottom of the screen. The higher the letter, the more the damage scales based on whatever stat the letter is beside.

Your best bet at this point would be to reset your Schimitar back to +5 at the black smith. From there, I'd suggest keeping the Schimitar normal, as curved swords already have a B in dex.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

@Chop said:

@TaliciaDragonsong: No curved swords scale naturally with faith, so it's probably best to stick with your Schimitar. The Falcion is the only similar weapon and it will end up with a higher attack in the end but it would be a fairly minuscule difference anyways.

Huh? Where'd that faith thing come from? I'm going mostly dex (think its at 20 now) over str (16 I believe). I think I saw Dex improving its damage by two-three points, while str only did one. So, Dex is the way to go when I want to keep using a scimitar right? I love those things and no other weapon had the same flair yet.

You said you modified your sword into a divine version. Doing that makes it so that the swords damage scales primarily with the faith stat, rather than dex. When you check a weapon out, you should notice some letters near the bottom of the screen. The higher the letter, the more the damage scales based on whatever stat the letter is beside.

Your best bet at this point would be to reset your Schimitar back to +5 at the black smith. From there, I'd suggest keeping the Schimitar normal, as curved swords already have a B in dex.

Any tips for taking out the Boar in the Undead Parish? The drake sword seems to only do 20 damage to it!

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

@Chop said:

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

@Chop said:

@TaliciaDragonsong: No curved swords scale naturally with faith, so it's probably best to stick with your Schimitar. The Falcion is the only similar weapon and it will end up with a higher attack in the end but it would be a fairly minuscule difference anyways.

Huh? Where'd that faith thing come from? I'm going mostly dex (think its at 20 now) over str (16 I believe). I think I saw Dex improving its damage by two-three points, while str only did one. So, Dex is the way to go when I want to keep using a scimitar right? I love those things and no other weapon had the same flair yet.

You said you modified your sword into a divine version. Doing that makes it so that the swords damage scales primarily with the faith stat, rather than dex. When you check a weapon out, you should notice some letters near the bottom of the screen. The higher the letter, the more the damage scales based on whatever stat the letter is beside.

Your best bet at this point would be to reset your Schimitar back to +5 at the black smith. From there, I'd suggest keeping the Schimitar normal, as curved swords already have a B in dex.

Yeah sorry, I forgot about the divine part. I heard talk about needing it to kill zombies in the catacombs or something so I'll just up another Scimitar to +5. Its not worth doing anything with it past that? Can't you make it go to +10? Or any of the other elements?

Oh, it's worth upgrading the sword to 15+ and you should definitely work on doing that. The divine weapon is recommend for the skeletons in the catacombs, it's not something you have to bother with for quite a while. If you do plan on keeping the divine Schimitar in your back pocket and upgrading a second one, go with a Falcion instead. It's the exact same sword but with a higher base attack. You should be able to find one at the very start of blightown, the area right after the sewers.