Dark Souls Catch-All

I have problems with the parry for the first swipe Gwynn makes on his normal attacks. So I block the first hit and parry the back hand swipe he makes.

On my low level character it was tough because he hits hard and without a strong enough shield taking the hit so I could parry the 2nd was a little risky if I didn't let my stamina get high enough.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I have problems with the parry for the first swipe Gwynn makes on his normal attacks. So I block the first hit and parry the back hand swipe he makes.

On my low level character it was tough because he hits hard and without a strong enough shield taking the hit so I could parry the 2nd was a little risky if I didn't let my stamina get high enough.

I'm watching youtube videos about the timing of his attacks. Looks like you have to parry very late. Also, I had no idea you could parry his leap attack.

Here is how I've seen really good players handle Gwyn

Spoiler:

You can parry his jumping attack but the timing on that is tricky. Stand next to him and he'll do one of four attacks. Avoid his grab and kick attacks. If he swings his sword at you with both hands then that's the easiest attack to parry. If he's swinging with one hand then it's best to block the first attack and parry the second attack in this combo. If you need to heal then you can Estus once after a riposte or after dodging a grab.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

Seen these before They're great condensations of the lore for DkS. Show the dark and sorrowful history of the world and its inhabitants.

Awesome video.

Cross post from the picture thread.

Eldon_of_Azure wrote:

Goodbye my brothers:
IMAGE(http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/213/7/3/_leonardo__goodbye__my_brothers____by_deadpea-d6g63j0.jpg)
IMAGE(http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/116/7/5/goodbye___my_brothers__by_deadpea-d4xmjh4.jpg)
IMAGE(http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/142/f/a/goodbye___my_brothers__2_by_deadpea-d50rw8s.jpg)
IMAGE(http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/166/6/9/_michelangelo__goodbye__my_brothers____by_deadpea-d53kjhw.jpg)

These pictures give me a real Dark Souls vibe. It would be awesome to have a TMNT game in the vein of Dark Souls.

Got to Level 30 with my Hunter and opened the Forest Gate, but I screwed up with some of the rare consumables, and my 360 controller arrives tomorrow, so I think I'll start over. I chose the Hunter because I figured I'd be able to snipe my way through the game, but nothing seems further from the truth. You gotta get up in them guts and CUT DUDES.

That said, I'm wondering that class I should roll next. I enjoy the combat speed of the Hunter, but since I end up blocking most attacks with a shield, it doesn't seem to matter very much. Haven't dabbled in magic users because they seem way too fragile for my liking. Blowing sh*t up is always fun though.

Currently leaning toward a Warrior, Hunter (again), or Pyromancer.

Class in Dark Souls means nothing other than starting equipment and initial skill point distribution. The beginning skill points are so low that unless you're shooting for a very specific level range in your finished build there's really not any reason to prefer one over the other.

Basically play whatever floats your boat, because they can all do the exact same things in the long run.

What Elycion said.

Deadmonkeys wrote:

Got to Level 30 with my Hunter and opened the Forest Gate, but I screwed up with some of the rare consumables, and my 360 controller arrives tomorrow, so I think I'll start over. I chose the Hunter because I figured I'd be able to snipe my way through the game, but nothing seems further from the truth. You gotta get up in them guts and CUT DUDES.

That said, I'm wondering that class I should roll next. I enjoy the combat speed of the Hunter, but since I end up blocking most attacks with a shield, it doesn't seem to matter very much. Haven't dabbled in magic users because they seem way too fragile for my liking. Blowing sh*t up is always fun though.

Currently leaning toward a Warrior, Hunter (again), or Pyromancer.

What Elycion said, but also... your character is only as wimpy as you make it. If you choose to buff up your strength enough for some decent shields and your endurance high enough to use some heavier armour without being encumbered, you will be as 'tough' as anyone else. Protip: not getting hit is far more valuable than absorbing a hit, regardless of you spec your character.

EDIT: added a missing sentence fragment!

Pyros are both a popular starting class (because you get fire!) and also seen by some as something of an easy way out for dealing with the various difficulties of the game.

I like them though. The armor set is also one of my favorites for its various resistances that come in handy in the early game.

Their only downside might be that if were planning on pumping a particular stat (faith, int, etc) you are starting from a lower base. But that's not a huge deal in practice.

I'll also echo the sentiment that blocking or dodging a hit is more effective, in general, than trying to build a character that can tank one. Bosses will generally 2 or 3 hit kill you no matter what you are wearing.

Starting class is important if it is your first playthrough. The percentage of souls you will bank and actually use will be ridiculously low compared to a veteran player. Thus, leveling and upgrades will have a lower effective cap and that will have an affect the things available to your player.

The advantage of min-maxing is that you level fast, upgrade a lot, and have a much easier time getting to a very high level. You can farm souls to make up for it, but that is not very fun.

Thus, pick a class for the first time that most closely resembles the character you want to become. It will help alleviate the the inefficiency of the first Dark Souls playthrough. You will loss a ton of souls, even if you a using a wiki.

Good tips from heavy there.

Got the Capra demon finally. I had to roll left and let the dogs attack me while I was down from the first hit, but I recovered fast enough to get up the stairs and managed from there.

Hopefully I'll get to put in some time this weekend.

heavyfeul wrote:

Nice things

Yeah, but, what about fire!

manta173 wrote:

Got the Capra demon finally. I had to roll left and let the dogs attack me while I was down from the first hit, but I recovered fast enough to get up the stairs and managed from there.

Hopefully I'll get to put in some time this weekend.

Well done! That fight is a big barrier for a lot of people, but the right gear, strategy, and above all, confidence, really make it less of an issue.

psu_13 wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

Nice things

Yeah, but, what about fire!

Pyromancer is always a good choice. No stat restrictions beyond Attunement. The Pyro glove does not even add to your equipment burden.

Finally started this even though I don't have a controller. With the mouse fix it seems to work okay except the tooltips being completely non-functional (both in-game and in menus). Pressing 'end' to get to a menu to get to the options? Ugh. How about 'escape' next time.

Anyway, I know it's been asked a million times but I'll ask it again: how much stuff is worth looking up? Just from osmosis I knew to pick the Pyromancer and the key, but that's about it. Do I need to look up what 'kindling' is or can you figure the game out on your own without screwing yourself?

kyrieee wrote:

Finally started this even though I don't have a controller. With the mouse fix it seems to work okay except the tooltips being completely non-functional (both in-game and in menus). Pressing 'end' to get to a menu to get to the options? Ugh. How about 'escape' next time.

Anyway, I know it's been asked a million times but I'll ask it again: how much stuff is worth looking up? Just from osmosis I knew to pick the Pyromancer and the key, but that's about it. Do I need to look up what 'kindling' is or can you figure the game out on your own without screwing yourself?

I'd play a while before looking at a guide so you get a sense of how the game's mechanics work, then start over with a guide. You'll fly through the first couple of hours.

FYI, during my first attempt, I missed a whole bunch of areas because of the open-world nature of the game. I was forced to fight enemies way above my level, which honed my skills considerably.

kyrieee wrote:

Anyway, I know it's been asked a million times but I'll ask it again: how much stuff is worth looking up? Just from osmosis I knew to pick the Pyromancer and the key, but that's about it. Do I need to look up what 'kindling' is or can you figure the game out on your own without screwing yourself?

Deadmonkeys is right. You should explore and use a guide if you feel lost, however...

This is a great (besides the awful intro with unnecessary swearing and "cool talk") video that goes over the basics of stats, combat, and bonfires very quickly. No spoilers for bosses or cool zones. Watch this and get to exploring.

And seriously consider getting a wired 360 controller.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

And seriously consider getting a wired 360 controller.

I know, I know. Not having one is the reason I held off playing the game, but I heard from someone who'd played a lot that there's a mod that makes the kb+m controls work okay. I thought I might as well give it a try.

kyrieee wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

And seriously consider getting a wired 360 controller.

I know, I know. Not having one is the reason I held off playing the game, but I heard from someone who'd played a lot that there's a mod that makes the kb+m controls work okay. I thought I might as well give it a try.

Keyboard and mouse is fine once you apply the fixes. I even found some of the moves more reliable on keyboard than on the controller (kick + jump attack).

Yeah I'm finding it to be okay now that I've figured out most of the controls. If it were an FPS it would be unplayable, but with the lock-on it's fine. I didn't want to be a pyro and I also heard that taking the master key on your first playthrough was actually a bad idea, so I restarted as deprived. Last night I think I played something like 9 hours straight and rang the first bell after getting slightly frustrated by the boss guarding it. I haven't been this hooked on a game in ages. The lack of direction is refreshing, but I did run around in the lower Undead Burg getting my ass kicked for a while before I went back to the Undead Parish and found the blacksmith.

Also:

Spoiler:

1. That giant bull, I just shot him with my bow which was kinda cheap. Is there a real way of killing him?

2. I've been putting a lot of points into dex (I'm at 20) but I've heard that late game weapons don't scale with those stats, so is it a waste to put more?

kyrieee, Take a look at page 240-241 of the thread for some tips/hints about stats and equipment. It might help clarify some things around that concept.

I finally installed DSfix last night. What have I been doing with my life?

kyrieee wrote:
Spoiler:

1. That giant bull, I just shot him with my bow which was kinda cheap. Is there a real way of killing him?

2) I've been putting a lot of points into dex (I'm at 20) but I've heard that late game weapons don't scale with those stats, so is it a waste to put more?

1) I assume you mean the metal boar. You can stab him in the small, unarmored spot on his butt, shoot him from afar, or lure him into suicide by fire. In general, if it looks like there is a super cheap way of killing an enemy, don't be afraid to use it. It is probably working as intended.

2) General concensus is to only level STR and DEX to meet equipment requirements, not for damage. You'll increase your damage mostly via weapon upgrades. You don't really start seeing big jumps in weapon damage from stat boosts until very late in the game. That 20 points you have put into DEX is fine though. You'll be able to use a few cool weapons that you might not have otherwise.

The best stats to focus on for a first playthrough are END and VIT. There are explanations as to why all over this thread. We can reiterate the reasoning if you're interested. Once you get to about 18-20 Vit, ignore it for a bit and get endurance up. Every point of endurance is incredibly useful all the way until it hits 40.

That said, if you want to focus on a heavy DEX build, it's entirely viable. It is just a more difficult approach for someone that isn't very familiar with the game.

Gaping dragon has killed me 5 times in a row... random summons and using both Soltaire and Laurtec (sp?) have little benefit. I keep getting cornered just once and it's over.

I'm level 30, and using the drake sword and the starter pyro armor due to weight. I try fire orbs and balls, but I think my aim is a little off and they are just so short range.

I guess I need to head off in another direction before I finish him. Have to go get the armor mentioned earlier.

manta173 wrote:

Gaping dragon has killed me 5 times in a row... random summons and using both Soltaire and Laurtec (sp?) have little benefit. I keep getting cornered just once and it's over.

I'm level 30, and using the drake sword and the starter pyro armor due to weight. I try fire orbs and balls, but I think my aim is a little off and they are just so short range.

I guess I need to head off in another direction before I finish him. Have to go get the armor mentioned earlier.

You just need to learn his patterns. Armor isn't that important in Dark Souls.

What platform are you on? I have a 360 character near GD.

Btw, dragons are weak to lightning.