Demon's Souls - Catch All

Ulairi wrote:

I am going through the hint book that comes with the deluxe edition of the game. It seems really deep and also a game that a few wrong choices at the start can really screw up the game in the long run. But, it really reminds me of games like Diablo and the old Mordor games from the PC.

May I ask what are the basic things you don't want to screw up during your first run of the game?

Can't wait. Already pre-purchased at Gamestop. Pick it up tomorrow!

Baaspei

So I played a bit today and I had a lot of fun, but I'm left with a fundamental question that is just killing me. Why do I want to return to physical form?

Spoiler:

My job is to fight these demon soul's and I'm capable of doing so already dead. Is it something like your one chance to fight through a level with full health or what? The connection between life and death in this game confuse me. My only guess is that you want to always be alive, but death is kind of your fallback point since you can't save.

CptGlanton wrote:

I went with Knight this time and made it through the first boss (or miniboss? the slime thing) without dying. Much, much easier. IMO, the Temple Knight's halberd is too long to be effective in the enclosed areas (and there are way too many of those for the class). As a TK, I was constantly banging my weapon into the walls.

Yeah, I think I stuck with the Knight. Certis, I believe, liked the Temple Knight, but I also found the Halberd to be unwieldy. I started out with the Royal cause the internets told me it was the easiest. It was, if you spammed your magic attack, but I had next to no health and I didn't learn anything by killing from a mile away. Once I settled on a more melee focused character things went more smoothly as it was just a hell of a lot more satisfying to spar with the enemies.

Hockosi wrote:

So I played a bit today and I had a lot of fun, but I'm left with a fundamental question that is just killing me. Why do I want to return to physical form?

Yeah, it's all about health, really. Sure you get the cling ring early in the game and it allows you to have 75% of your health in phantom form, but as you progress through the game and get more rings, the cling ring is using up valuable space (you can only wear two). Plus, every little bit of health means you're one or two extra hits from dying, which in boss fights is usually the difference between beating the boss or not.

CptGlanton wrote:

I went with Knight this time and made it through the first boss (or miniboss? the slime thing) without dying. Much, much easier. IMO, the Temple Knight's halberd is too long to be effective in the enclosed areas (and there are way too many of those for the class). As a TK, I was constantly banging my weapon into the walls.

I picked up the Temple Knight first with the English version. The key to halberd is all about switching stances. About the only perk with the one hand stance is the defense from shield. Two hand stance offers a quick, long range poke and a 360 sweep with superb coverage. It's an excellent outdoor weapon, especially against a horde. Once you've had some experience with the Knight, I'd recommend picking up a halberd for a second look.

EDIT: Certis, are you going to double dip with the American release?

Naw. Without easy ways to play coop with friends (which I don't mind for this game) I don't see much reason to.

Mmmm. Tough game. I'm wondering around the Boletaria Palace... and I keep trying to kill the spear guy on the upper level... but one stab and I'm squished! I should go somewhere else... but I keep almost killing him.

I didn't manage to instantly die in the tutorial level, a first for a From Software game.

checkm-8 wrote:
Ulairi wrote:

I am going through the hint book that comes with the deluxe edition of the game. It seems really deep and also a game that a few wrong choices at the start can really screw up the game in the long run. But, it really reminds me of games like Diablo and the old Mordor games from the PC.

May I ask what are the basic things you don't want to screw up during your first run of the game?

Worried I'll spend the demon souls incorrectly.

Tyrian wrote:

Mmmm. Tough game. I'm wondering around the Boletaria Palace... and I keep trying to kill the spear guy on the upper level... but one stab and I'm squished! I should go somewhere else... but I keep almost killing him.

I didn't manage to instantly die in the tutorial level, a first for a From Software game.

You don't need to go there now. Walk away man, walk away!

Spoiler:

If you really have to, try to lead him down to the large, fiery pit you came across earlier.

I have been having a hard time taking him out too. I think it might be best to skip him and go the other way. There is a tough MOB, but he is managable.

I have been having difficulty swings with this game. Part of the level I find easy (yet still fun) and other parts I find extremely hard (yet still fun). Hopefully I will eventually figure out how to get out of this first level so I can start buying things and leveling up.

Thirteenth wrote:
Tyrian wrote:

Mmmm. Tough game. I'm wondering around the Boletaria Palace... and I keep trying to kill the spear guy on the upper level... but one stab and I'm squished! I should go somewhere else... but I keep almost killing him.

I didn't manage to instantly die in the tutorial level, a first for a From Software game.

You don't need to go there now. Walk away man, walk away!

Yeah, I know I shouldn't go there... but it's fun to try.

I will definitely not be finishing this before Brutal Legend next week.

Clocked in a couple hours. I like it! Granted, I'm very early in the game but the toughness seems to primarily stem from figuring out how the bad guys work and their weaknesses. Most things seem not too bad as long as I approached slowly. I've died a couple times. Once to the first red knight-- avoiding him for now. Once to controller fumble (accidentally switched to my bow fighting a blue knight in close quarters). I managed to score a nice ring and some other bits in my first play session. I started with a hunter. The shield is invaluable, and I love the sweeping area effect of the axe.

Several things still confuse me:

* Can you sell items? I have quite a collection of crap already.

* Arrows seem expensive. Should I save my souls for any reason? The manual seems to indicate you need them for levelling.

* It appears that I can save anywhere and pick the game back up by just quitting. Is that so?

* What is the actual penalty for dying in soul form other than dealing with the enemies again? Both times I managed to get some souls (all of them?) by getting back to the place I died.

* What's the deal with the fog doors?

Tyrian wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:
Tyrian wrote:

Mmmm. Tough game. I'm wondering around the Boletaria Palace... and I keep trying to kill the spear guy on the upper level... but one stab and I'm squished! I should go somewhere else... but I keep almost killing him.

I didn't manage to instantly die in the tutorial level, a first for a From Software game.

You don't need to go there now. Walk away man, walk away!

Yeah, I know I shouldn't go there... but it's fun to try.

You can't kill him until your soul level is much higher. Stick to the blue knights, but the red ones will kill you until you're much, much stronger. Or you can use the trick Thirteenth mentioned.

Played for almost 3 hours last night. Made it through a few parts of Boletaria Palace. Killed Phalanx, made it across that huge bridge. Found 2 rings and some new weapons.

I don't know if my short first go-round with the game is a sufficient barometer, but I really didn't find the game as difficult as the Internets seem to portray. I rolled a Soldier and predominantly used the broadsword/shield and 2-hand broadsword stance. With riposte/counters being essentially 1-hit kills, I've been working on that tactic and manage to kill most things with 1 hit. It's all about the timing. Even in groups of 2-3 melee type monsters, the riposte/counter works because during the animation of the thrust, you can't be hit. So the other monsters attack you, not hitting, and just as their attack animation finishes up, you recover from your riposte/counter animation and have a split second to attack the next monsters before they start attacking again.

I've found that what seems to be the key to this game is patience. This is no Diablo or Serious Sam or Dynasty Warriors. You're not going to blaze through this game taking out massive hordes of enemies. I've found myself, while playing this, asking what I would do? As I move down a corridor and notice the faint indication of a corner, I consider the possibility of an enemy hiding there and take appropriate measures - shield up and a slow walk forward. I'm enjoying playing like this without any time limits or insane hordes of monsters.

Also, I've found that all of my deaths have been through my own fault. My deaths have either been through falling off of things or from the dragon spewing fire on the bridge. In both cases, if I had paused a second to watch where I was going or make a better mental note of where the dragon's fire is hitting, I could have progressed without dying. I did die once on the bridge to a cluster of 4 crossbowmen but it was my fault for taking them head-on instead of looking for cover or using my spear to hit several at once.

I really enjoyed the Phalanx boss battle too. It actually felt like a BATTLE. It took me a good 10 minutes to finish.

Spoiler:

At first I looked around for some easy way to kill the boss - like in some games how knocking a pillar onto a boss helps kill it, or how some weapon lying on a dead characters body is exactly what's needed to kill a boss. No gimmick here. You have to actually fight this thing. I did see a note on the ground which said to use fire but I had no fire bombs on me and there were none anywhere in the room. So it looked like I just had to figure out this boss and use my smarts to beat it. As a soldier, all I have is weapons. It wasn't until I ran around the room a few laps making mental notes of the room outlay and how the boss moves that I realized what I had to do. So I moved the Phalanx into the pillars which caused the individual blobs to splinter off and killed them all off one-by-one by running behind them and attacking their unshielded back. The main blob was then left unprotected and it went down easy. Done without dying or any special tricks - just through patience and cunning.

I'm really, really liking this game. I've always played a warrior in MMO's and RPG's and usually play an "all guns blazing" style in FPS games but Demon's Souls has required me to be patient and cautious and use perception and cunning over brute force. I love how it takes me out of my realm of comfort and rewards me for playing in a style that is not natural to me. I like how it's forcing me - whether through game mechanics or my own perception of what "works" in this game - to play in a whole new way. And as garion said, the way the game makes long weapons ineffective in cramped quarters is awesome. I'm tired of enormous weapons passing through walls during swings.

I give Demon's Souls 4 out of 5 Big Ass Thumbs. The only thing preventing me from giving it 5 is the horrible save system and the inability to sell surplus weapons and items for souls.

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Hockosi wrote:

So I played a bit today and I had a lot of fun, but I'm left with a fundamental question that is just killing me. Why do I want to return to physical form?

You receive a penalty to your soul collection rate in spirit form. I forgot the percentage but where being in physical form nets you 100% of the souls you would get from a kill, spirit form nets you like 75% or 50%. I forget which.

Orphu wrote:

Several things still confuse me:

* Can you sell items? I have quite a collection of crap already.

* Arrows seem expensive. Should I save my souls for any reason? The manual seems to indicate you need them for levelling.

* It appears that I can save anywhere and pick the game back up by just quitting. Is that so?

* What is the actual penalty for dying in soul form other than dealing with the enemies again? Both times I managed to get some souls (all of them?) by getting back to the place I died.

* What's the deal with the fog doors?

1. No. You just store them. Many items can be used in forging. You can sell the soul pieces you find (Uknown Soldier's Soul, etc.). DO NOT sell souls you get from bosses.

2. Arrows are expensive in the early game. Once you get past the first couple of areas you'll have plenty of souls to spend. And yes, the souls are how you gain levels. You buy the levels. After you beat 1-1 (where you start after the tutorial) you'll be able to.

3. Yup.

4. If you die before you reach your bloodstain you lose all those souls. It hurts when you have 30,000 and lose them all. That's the only "real" penalty.

5. Yeah, I don't know what's up with them. They're just there.

Thanks!

garion333 wrote:

1. No. You just store them. Many items can be used in forging. You can sell the soul pieces you find (Uknown Soldier's Soul, etc.). DO NOT sell souls you get from bosses.

Hmm... So I noticed I can "use" the soul bits to gain a bunch of souls. Is it better to use them in the field or save them for the nexus? Are they worth more one way?

Orphu wrote:
garion333 wrote:

1. No. You just store them. Many items can be used in forging. You can sell the soul pieces you find (Uknown Soldier's Soul, etc.). DO NOT sell souls you get from bosses.

Hmm... So I noticed I can "use" the soul bits to gain a bunch of souls. Is it better to use them in the field or save them for the nexus? Are they worth more one way?

It doesn't matter where you use them, but if you're out in the wild and you use it, it turns into souls, so when you die, those souls stay with the blood stain. You don't lose items when you die, so sometimes when you die and go back to the nexus, you can use the soul shards in your inventory and up your stats/repair armor/etc. before heading back into the level.

Short form: Hang on to them until you get back to the nexus and you plan on using them. They are not worth more one way or another, just safer to hold in your inventory until you plan on using them.

The Demon's Souls wiki has a lot of great info and it's set up so you can read about the basic concepts without the game being spoiled.

http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

Ulairi wrote:

I am going through the hint book that comes with the deluxe edition of the game.

I'm curious to hear more about this as you go, whether it's worth the extra $10. I don't have this game now but I'm pondering it at some point.

beeporama wrote:
Ulairi wrote:

I am going through the hint book that comes with the deluxe edition of the game.

I'm curious to hear more about this as you go, whether it's worth the extra $10. I don't have this game now but I'm pondering it at some point.

I think it is, it's a seemingly full strategy guide from double fine who make fantastic strategy guides but it has a pretty good amount of info, if you can get the deluxe edition, I would say go for it, I don't regret it.

Checked my local game stores and didn't have it in stock/sold out. So I placed an order on amazon today, one day shipping for the deluxe edition. I have a bunch of gift cards so it was at no cost to me! <3

I think what sold me over waiting for fallout 3: GotY was something Sean said last year about Fallout 3 being 'for the masses.' Something along the lines of it was a good game, but it didn't make it epic for him.

From what I'm reading up on DS, the Shadow of the Colossus-like battles, the gameplay where the loss of life is on your mistakes, the feeling that the enemies are not there for you to kill...but to kill YOU, and the innovate 'multiplayer' (thrill of someone invading your realm or getting assistance) sold me.

Besides, 11.10.09 is approaching and Uncharted 2 is next week...that's enough gunplay for me. This game should tide me over until FF13 comes out as they keep delaying the damn thing.

This is a good time to post some tips for the new players. Minimal spoiler alert.

1. Remember to deposit items often. That is especially true for forge stones. They can be heavy, and are not required to be in your backpack even during forging. Now that you’ve been warned, don’t come crying to me when you end up being forced to choose between passing on the shiny new broad sword and abandoning your trusty spear.
2. Bring a few different weapons with you. There’s always a right one for a specific occasion.
3. Be sure to chat with the NPCs. Sometimes you may open up valuable quests.
4. Do not use the boss demons’ souls for simple souls points. Seriously, don’t use them in the inventory. They are often used for more valuable purposes, such as learning a unique spell or forging a rare weapon. Sometimes they can be used for multiple things, so be sure you know what you want.
5. There are paths to forging a weapon, and sometimes choosing one path may close off others. Even though Quality Dagger may look nicer than regular old Dagger +3, don’t hastily make choices you may regret later on.

I'm a dirty, filthy skimmer. Is this co-op at all, and if so, does it require one machine each over PSN, or is there a local option? I'm at work so I can't info dive at the moment.

Swat wrote:

I'm a dirty, filthy skimmer. Is this co-op at all, and if so, does it require one machine each over PSN, or is there a local option? I'm at work so I can't info dive at the moment.

Dude, that's not just skimming, that's asking people to be your Google butlers.

No, there's no coop in the classic sense. It's all random online encounters.

Certis wrote:
Swat wrote:

I'm a dirty, filthy skimmer. Is this co-op at all, and if so, does it require one machine each over PSN, or is there a local option? I'm at work so I can't info dive at the moment.

Dude, that's not just skimming, that's asking people to be your Google butlers.

No, there's no coop in the classic sense. It's all random online encounters.

http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

or more specifically

http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/online

Awesome game. Damn hard, like all have said. I played the first part of the castle 3 or 4 times with different classes last night, liking the thief and the hunter so far for the bow skills. anyone trying the magic classes yet? This game seems so well tuned for melée, I'm hesitant to veer from the classes that hit things.

Certis wrote:
Swat wrote:

I'm a dirty, filthy skimmer. Is this co-op at all, and if so, does it require one machine each over PSN, or is there a local option? I'm at work so I can't info dive at the moment.

Dude, that's not just skimming, that's asking people to be your Google butlers.

No, there's no coop in the classic sense. It's all random online encounters.

It's those damn Evony ads! I'm scared to leave GWJ! Each one is more booby than the last!

checkm-8 wrote:

I think what sold me over waiting for fallout 3: GotY was something Sean said last year about Fallout 3 being 'for the masses.' Something along the lines of it was a good game, but it didn't make it epic for him.

I would definitely get Fallout 3 as well eventually it was my game of the year last year and if I could make it my game of the year again I would

I love that game and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, it's such a great game and well it has some for the masses stuff, it has tons of stuff that you can search for that many people might not see.

I've been playing it most of today, and it's a pretty amazing experience.

Things I love:
The areas feel deliberately crafted. There's no level designer hitting copy-paste here - each part is specifically designed to engage the player. I know that I'm going to remember the castle layout for years to come.

The bleak atmosphere. There's none of the usual Japanese concessions to ha-ha-isn't-this-game-so-silly humor. This world is dying and pretty much no one expects that you'll be able to do much about that. That isn't something you see very often in games.

Very little is left to chance. If you're not succeeding, then you're doing something wrong. You need to go to a different area, learn how to defeat the enemy correctly, change/improve your weapons, make sure your shield is up before you come around that corner, etc. It's the same feeling that others described when playing Ninja Gaiden, but only here does it make sense to me.

Replayability is off the charts. Each class has strengths and weaknesses that are going to make that character play very differently than any other class, and require new strategies to succeed.

The controls work well. When you're lumbering around in heavy armor and a two-handed polearm, you feel exactly as cumbersome as you should. The combos are simple and reasonably easy to pull off, even for a controller-challenged person like myself.

Things I don't love so much:
What is the Japanese obsession with butt-ugly fonts? They look like something from an early PS2 game. It's the HD era, people. Time to move on.

It seems kind of difficult to compare items against each other, but maybe I'm missing something. Having to back out of the sales screen and go into the inventory to compare stats by memory is a pain.

Incredibly unwelcoming to new players. There's virtually no help in the game to figure out what you're doing, or how you could be doing it better. I'm okay with that now, but it's going to turn off a lot of people before they have enough time to get into the game.

It's easy to miss extremely important items and people. Your light seemingly shines about half an inch in any direction, ensuring that only on repeated playthroughs will you find everything you should have found the first time around. After getting all the way through the castle, I found out that I'd missed what the strategy guide considers to be

Spoiler:

the most important ring in the game.

Going all the way back to where I'd missed it is currently providing me with many opportunities to see the loading screen.

No pausing. Even in the inventory screen or when talking, the world is still going on around you. As an adult with a house, pets, etc. to manage, this is a huge pain. Unless I'm in a co-op/PVP situation, what's the point of disallowing me from pausing the game?

I picked it up. I got my first pay day at my new job so I rewarded myself with a game Eurogamer describes as "developing a devotion to Demon's Souls has been the gaming equivalent of falling in love with an emotionally stunted, occasionally violent sociopath."

I doubt I'll get to play tonight. My ps3 has been updating for like an hour and is at %50. It only does everything so long as you update it every time you turn it on. I have a 3 day weekend coming up so I should get some good play time in then.

Anyway, I don't think this has been posted yet, but Atlus gives some newbie tips here.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/...