Dark Soulsis the world-famous RPG from legendary Japanese developer FromSoftware. Set in a dying fantasy world,Dark Soulstakes players on a journey exploring magnificent locales and facing off against foes of exceptional difficulty. It’s a dangerous business going into this world. If entered unprepared, there’s no knowing where the player may end up.
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Entering into this world may seem a daunting task for one new to theDark Soulsuniverse. There are plenty of ways to play the game, and many more things to learn about the game’s mechanics. But what are the best tips to know before delving into one of the greatest adventures?
10Some Areas Aren’t Meant For Players Early
Dark Soulsis all about the adventure that comes through overcoming fierce enemies and exploring strange new areas. However, not all of these areas are safe to traverse early on in a playthrough. Find a particularlydifficult section with enemiesway too strong and cause way too much damage even though leveling has been pretty steady? An area not suitable for the players level and gear may have been stumbled onto early.
If this happens don’t feel bad about leaving and coming back later when at a higher level with better armor and weaponry.Dark Soulsis about assessing a situation and adapting accordingly. Come back later.
9Starting Class Is Only For The Early Game
When selecting New Game onDark Soulsthe player is greeted with the character creation screen. Selecting a class is the first thing players should look for.But which class is best?The answer is: it doesn’t matter too much. Every class can be morphed into any other with enough leveling.
However, classes are important primarily for the early game. Worried about dying and feeling weak? Take the Knight or Warrior class for good armor and Vitality/Endurance. Feel the need to social distance and take enemies out from afar? Pick the Sorcerer class for maximum damage at maximum range.
8Experiment With Weapons Before Dumping Points Into Certain Stats
Unsurewhich weapon is the go to?Dark Soulshas a plethora of weapon types to choose from, and many weapons within those types as well. Trying out the moveset and figuring out the speed, angle of attack and stamina cost is crucial to finding the weapon that benefits the player the most.
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Does sweeping across the battlefield with a humongous Zweihander, wiping out all in sight work? Maybe the quick, nimble movement of a Rapier or Uchigatana, get in, get out strategy seem more enticing? Or perhaps keeping far away and spamming off Soul Arrows with a Catalyst ad nauseam bring out heaps of joy? Whatever the preference, trying out each of these methods will allow a more comfortable experience.
7Check Weapon And Armor Stats
Before selecting a weapon or piece of armor to equip, making sure that the right stats are leveled beforehand can spare the player some unneeded embarrassment. Desperate to use that Greatsword?Make sure the Strength stat is high enoughto equip it otherwise every swing will feel slow and sluggish.
Going into an area with plenty of enemies that do poison damage? Check the poison stat of each armor piece to be prepared and avoid being sick to death. The same goes for areas with a lot of lava. Fire resistance is crucial against certain enemies in these areas. Be smart and don’t go into an enemy encounter unprepared.
6Dodging And Parrying Is Very Useful
If the player has the patience to learn yet another key component ofDark Soulscombat it may be prudent to learn how to dodge enemy attacks, and if feeling really brave, learn how to parry. Dodging is crucial for all playthroughs ofDark Soulsand is incredibly useful against enemies with attacks that cannot be blocked or for simply saving stamina compared to blocking.
Parrying on the other hand is very useful against enemies that attacks may be too fast/powerful to consistently dodge or block. Practicing this against early-game hollows is perfect, as their attacks vary in speed and angle of attack. Adding these skills to your arsenal and this supposed difficult game can be done without any deaths.
5Poise Is OP
If dodging and parrying is too difficult, or thetactic of the weak, poise is the players new best friend. Poise inDark Soulsis incredibly overpowered. Very high physical resistance with armor sets such as Havels or Giants can trivialize the gameplay very quickly.
Taking hits and barely losing health and rarely getting staggered is truly a wondrous experiment in trivializing a typically very difficult game. Turn the Smough and Ornstein into a pair of Hollows by tanking their heavy hitting attacks like they’re nothing. Remember: Endurance is key to wearing heavy armor effectively, so don’t neglect it.
4Big Shield, Big Win
If heavy armor with high poise still isn’t enough to turnDark SoulsintoFable 3difficulty wise, then how about adding a humongous Greatshield to the equation? Havel’s Greatshield, Giant Greatshield, Stone Greatshield. These monstrosities coupled with similarly scary looking armor can block out even the sun.
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This strategy is perfect for first time players because of the initial difficulty of learning to parry and dodge. Blocking everything with a 100% Physical shield and high Stability allows for a form of ‘turtle’ gameplay for players to experience. Put that shield up, block the enemy attack, and then respond in kind.
3Pick Certain Stats And Stick With Them!
There’s no redo in Dark Souls. Once a stat is confirmed on a level-up it is final. Knowing this going in allows players to specify their build beforehand. Have that desire to crush enemies with a greatsword? Focus on Strength and Endurance. Prefer to use of the Estoc or Rapier? Dexterity is the way to go out achieving this.
Stats that should always be leveled up no matter what for first time players are Vitality and Endurance. Health and Stamina are crucial in survival. Health allows for mistakes to not be harshly punished by a quick death and Endurance allows for that extra swing to deal the killing blow to a tough opponent.
2Learn Boss Moves (Dying Is Learning)
InDark Soulsbosses are a time to learn as much as they are an exciting video game encounter. Every boss (minus a few reskins) have a unique moveset that sets them apart from each other. Move sets that, once learned, can give the player that killer edge over thatpesky boss causing them major damage.
Learn obvious animation cues that show a boss is about to attack and capitalize on these with a quick dodge and follow up with a swift counter. Mastering this can lead to very satisfying boss and enemy encounters throughout the players playthrough ofDark Souls.
1Don’t Expect To Win Every Fight
In many games, it is possible to overcome bosses and almost any combat encounter on the first attempt. InDark Souls, however, every encounter is a new opportunity to learn something, and it isn’t always nice as it will take many attempts to bring down an opponent.
Even if the enemy seems like pushover, you shouldn’t even get near them for fear of a painful death, or that they aren’t worth the time it takes to press the attack button and should be skipped. Learning this allows for exploration or backtracking to be a much smoother experience during an initial playthrough.
Dark Soulsis available to play on Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch.
