Be Excellent To Each Other

D'oh! Did you not grab the loot next to the sleeping dragon in The Valley of Drakes? One is a sword that kills ghosts without the curse. It also kills the skeletons from the graveyard permanently! You might need to level up your Faith to use it though if you haven't been levelling it.

The thing about this game is every time you die, you learn something new. Even if that is 'stop being complacent/spacky-handed/gullible' most of the time.

I just met the Taurus Boss, got owned, then got mullered by the first enemy next to the bonfire. Cocky=Dead.

One thing that takes getting used to is the complete lack of signposting. You can walk past important stuff, like bonfires or merchants without realising.

I can get the big special edition for 33
Worth getting now or waiting?

Had a quick go last night after GoW3. It's a harsh game but it already feels wonderful. Need to read up now.

Dammit! I only managed to grab one of them at the time and it was the Dragoncrest Shield! Who knew the other item was so valuable! Bloody hell, back I go...

Bit of a strange thing happened last night too. I spoke with the guy (the first one you meet with the bowl hair cut) at the Firelink Shrine after I'd rang the second bell who was moaning that he might have to get off his arse and do something now I'd done all the hard work. I walked into Londo Ruins and he's running about and wants to stab me up? I nailed him of course with the Raw Halbert +3 (man that thing is sexy) and he keeled over and died. It just left me wondering what the hell was that all about. Anyone come across that?

Could do with a bit of a guide for what everything means (thanks LoveFilm for never sending manuals). For a start what's the deal with being hollow/human?

The manual tells you nash all. It's all for you to discover yourself. But basically when you're human, you can interact with 'other worlds'. i.e. you can summon and be summoned, be invaded, etc. Both hollow and human have pros and cons. The Dark Souls Wiki will soon be your friend. It's getting more comprehensive as time goes on. Also, read all of this thread because we've fathomed a lot of the early questions out amongst ourselves already, which may help. And watch that Giant Bomb vid I posted!

ordered, damnit

Are you sure about that sword (asterol sword or something) since it didn't work on the ghosts for me. Fortunately one of the ghosts has dropped the Ghost Dagger which does kill them without the curse. They're still sodding nails hard though. And you get loads of the bastards. Attacking at once. I haven't made much progress down there at all, have you? Valley of the Drakes is off limits too as the dragons are way too tough at the minute. I can't decide to perserve with the ghosts or try the skeleton route

Do you have the required amount of Faith?

Oh, and I don't think Londo Ruins is recommended any way until later on in the game!

Edit: Looking at the contents of the strategy guide I yarr'd, it's pretty close to the end of the game according to them. Also, I'd say we're about a third of the way through the game at best. 60 hours looks to be about right for a completion time. At least I'd say.

Started again as the Pyromancer. Found him much better to play as than the Knight.

I was trying to be super cautious but still made some silly mistakes. The session ending on my part last night was jumping off some stairs to my death while trying to avoid a burning barrel.

This is a fucking brilliant game.

Never felt so tense facing weak enemies, there's just so much to loose.

Managed to get past the dragon on the bridge now I've had chance to play it again. He didn't flame until I reached the middle, just like the first few times I got across, so fuck knows why he was swooping as soon as I set foot on the bridge last time.

And then I fell off a ledge directly onto the metal boar and promptly got fucked. Oops.

What Class did you go for, Malabelm?

Pyro

We are like Gayme Brothers!

I want to go home and play Dark Souls.

I've just verified this. You lied to me Bulge, the Astora Straight Sword only perma-kills skelebones! You owe me 15,000 that I lost because of that*.

I'll take a cheque.

*may actually been because I fell off cliff twice trying to rush about.

Ah really? I read it somewhere, sorry!

Found a brilliant way to spam Ceaseless Discharge where you lure him to throw down just in near down the alley the other side of where he starts. You back up as soon as he starts his move just round the corner and then get four goos hits in till he pulls away and then you walk forward where he can see you before he starts the move again etc etc. Went down in about a minute. Aces.

Then there's seven or eight massive bulls to fight... Jesus, it doesn't let up does it. If you just stay out of reach (taking one at a time) and immediately throw down after their attack, they ain't too difficult.

Hhhhnnnnnnngh!!!!!!!!!

Fucking hell this game is a bitch. Made very little progress distance wise, but managed eventually to get slaughtered by the Taurus Boss. Next time I decided to go downstairs (via master key door) and got mullered by big bone guy. Oh and also got fucked over by the black knight down the corridor a few times. So I still have all those to beat.

Decided to head back to the starting area for a change of scene. Killed the whining knight guy by the fire just for the sake of it and only got souls for the trouble. Went to see the cleric again and this time he let me join his gang, so I did.

Fancied having a look at the graveyard again with those bastard skeletons, managed to kill one (reverted back to fragments on floor) by luring it up the steps into the water in front of the Mother and child statue! Only used my plain mace and used heavy strikes with the trigger button. Went to lure another one in... and the fucking game froze.

Turned it off.

I'll be back though.

I watched the Giant Bomb Quick Look video you linked to, Bulge. Didn't really tell me anything that I didn't know but I'll be tackling the Taurus Demon the way he did.

You have all made me want this game but I'm trying to be realistic and remind myself that I wouldn't have time for it and there are too many other games coming out that I want. Hopefully I remember about this game when I have finished everything I get at Christmas (might be a while, I still have Assassins Creed Brotherhood unopened from last year) and then I can buy it cheap.

I don't think it's for everyone but I'm completely hooked now.

I was thinking about getting this, but if Z likes it I'll probably get Batman instead.

Don't get me wrong, it's no Bayonetta.

Pah, the original DMC and Ninja Gaiden are better.

I love Ninja Gaiden but I'm afraid Bayonetta has nicer chesticles, and shoots Angels with her feet.

Anyone finding the AI a bit flakey? I sometimes get mobbed to death despite not doing anything different to the last time I tried the section, when I successfully engaged all the enemies one at a time.

Not really flakey, but yeah I've seen groups of undead attack in a rush rather than an ordered queue.

I find my own flakiness to be more of an issue.

Maybe I should use Head & Soldiers.

Since the Bayonetta debacle I pretty much use him as a weathervane in the same way.

I use your Mum as a weathervane.

Looks wet and windy again.

Bayonetta was ace.

o/

\o

Another day of progress. Went through the Great Hollow and Ash Lake, joined a dragon covenant and killed a massive Hydra. Then I farmed large titanite shards to upgrade my katana to Raw +10, then I bossed my way through Sens' Fortress right to the top. Stopped at the fog before what I assume is a boss.

This game continues to be fucking awesome. At the top of Sens' Fortress you can see the Undead Parish roof off in the distance where you fought the Gargoyles, as well as the path through the trees leading to the fortress gates, and up above you is the walls of that place you're trying to get into and below is the Undead Burg. Genuinely breathtaking.

Oh, and I've clocked 25 hours on this character so far. Plus five or so on my first character before I restarted... As far as I'm aware I'm about 40% through the game. Then there's New Game+! And all of the multiplayer invading malarky I'm yet to do!

Bloody hell! I'm 14 hours in and I've only just killed the gargoyles.

That's probably about right! See, those five hours I spent with my first character took me about an hour with the second one, so technically I ought to add four hours to my playtime for a more realistic view.

I'm 32 hours in and I've just reached the boss on the bridge of Sen's fortress! I was messing around with those ghosts for a while and also in Demon's Ruins before deciding both ways were too hard.

That view from Sen's Fortress is magnficient, looking down at everywhere you've been and the land beyond the castle walls. But if you look upwards you can see another castle high up the rock face too. It reminds me of Ico's castle truely taken into the next gen.

Sen's fortress has stopped fucking me off too now I've managed to find the bonfire (thanks to whoever put that message there) (it's just off to the right of where the first bomb explodes - anyone who comes that way next) and I've searched and cleared most of the upper parts taking out one of the rock monsters. I'll finish the one dropping the balls next time. Oh and that was terrific too: having these giant balls flying at you for an hour or so making your way through the fortress to find someone loading the balls in! It was a nice touch. And then you can murder him to stop the balls altogether. Even better.

I read a perceptive comment on [url="http://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls"]/r/darksouls[/url] about how they haven't felt this way about a game since he was nine playing Zelda on the nes.

Which really hits the nail on the head doesn't it?

It's a big, connected real world that is still positively 100% a game. And you can explore it, but it's bastard hard to do, and it makes you care.

I was running around the parts of the game I've got really familiar with whilst looking for where to go next, when I realised I had a key to open a door now. I went through the door and found a bloody long ladder and actually, physically became nervous. The unknown was back.

Each step into the unknown is nerve-janglingly.

And so each step is won.

My favourite console disk game since Mirror's Edge. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Agreed! I'm waiting to complete it before really going all out, but this is something very special indeed. Finding it difficult to compare to anything!

Demons Souls. Easy.

True, WTB, it may become wankophon or something later on, but as it stands now I've loved it. Even if I never complete it.

And Mr Dave that requires a PS3 silly!

It's better than that, Dave! No hub world for a start. Just a complex interconnected map of awesome!

Only silly people discount on grounds of platform. (Plus I'm fairly sure Mr Rob has such a device)

Oh I completely agree, I was just being silly. Demon Souls is the number one reason I want a PS3. Although having Dark Souls has taken the wind out of the PS3 budget.... for the moment.

In fact I almost bought a copy of Demon Souls to sit next to my copy of God Hand for when I finally get a (backwards compatible) PS3.

(.)(.)

I bet WTB is feeling mighty silly now he didn't listen to me in the Demon's Souls thread...

And did I really write