YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIGN IN. You are allowed to make anonymous edits. Please be respectful and only edit the workbook if you intend to add yourself to the list. This is not a universal member name > gamertag list for entire site. Only list your name if you own Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls I, Dark Souls II, or Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, or plan to, this way members of the site can coordinate playing together, matchmaking, etc.
After you click the link, the only thing you'll need to do is click "EDIT IN BROWSER", then add your FORUM name, then the gamertag/username for the platform you play the game on. Please do not copy and paste a cell, this will cause borders to look weird and I'll have to open it up to fix it.
This thread was created, by request, to promote discussion of Dark Souls. I'll be updating the OP with various resources, video links, upcoming news, character builds, PvP matching, and so on as users post.
Character Builds
Character builds can be either PvP, PvE, or both. You can specify which if you wish, but I'll be listing any builds posted in this topic here. Use the Dark Souls Character Planner linked above to create a link to your build for others to view.
New Bosses - Including Artorias of Abyss, Chimera of Tomb, and more
PVP Online Matchmaking System - Quick matching for co-op or PVP
New Areas – Including Oolacile Tomb, Old Ruins and more
New Enemies – Including Abyss Guard, Chained Prisoner and more
New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough and more
New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs
I'll try my best to update the OP with any information posted in this topic.
I've actually only played demons souls but if this is any bit of fun (read: tear your hair out screaming and crying in a corner) I'll buy it just cause I love these games that don't just let you waltz through the game.
After playing I would suggest that if you crave for difficulty then (obviously) don't upgrade your weapons and armor too much.
Basically, upgrade as you need it and limit yourself from researching any information during your first playthrough (unless you're seriously stuck and have no idea what to do next).
The game definitely can be crazy hard if you make it, but it never will be a waltz even if you upgrade everything unless you know exactly what you're doing at every single moment.
Because of the Low HP, I really really have to avoid being back stabbed. I can take a few hits otherwise and I can generally win if it comes to a slug-fest if I have Darkmoon Blade up. I also have enough poise to take a hit from a Claymore/Man-Serpent Greatsword/Moonlight Greatsword without getting staggered. Allows me to roll away or get behind them and punish with a back stab.
I may end up tweaking the primary weapons. A Washing Pole will out perform Silver Knight Strait Sword in every category except for weight and that'll force me to find a weapon that weighs 2 units lighter than my Claymore, but outputs roughly as much damage.
Or maybe I should consider a Rapier or Bandit's Knife. I find I have a lot of issues with people who decide to wait out my Darkmoon Blades duration. If they do so, I really don't have it in me to feel bad about back stabbing them to hell. :|
I'll probably look into getting Sunlight Blade to use as backup. Greater Heal, or any other healing miracles for that matter, are entirely impractical in battle.
Gonna fool around with that calculator a bit (which I didn't know about until now, it's amazing, thanks!) and do a little optimizing.
I met a guy last Thanksgiving who said something along the lines of "Dark Souls? they made a second one? I played the first one and was like 'this game is trash..threw it away.'"
Translates to: Demon Souls kicked my ***, therefore it is a bad game.
As for making the game challenging: Low level playthrough. I'm currently doing one myself as a Pyromancer.
Class is literally stuck to Hand Axe or Battle Axe and Pyromancy flame for weapons. Light Armor is a must, even Havels Ring doesn't make for much compensation. In fact, Ring of Steel protection is probably a much better option overall.
About to go play with Smough and Ornstein. Haven't lost to a boss yet, though!
Posted it in OP already, but this news was released early today:
From Software "having a tough time" porting Dark Souls to PC, frame rate issues remain
By Fred Dutton Published 7 June, 2012 Plus, Vita/Wii U Souls games ruled out for now.
Dark Souls developer From Software is having a torrid time getting its beloved action RPG up and running on PC and has confirmed it isn't including any optimisations for desktop gamers.
Producer Daisuke Uchiyama told Eurogamer that it had underestimated how tough it would be to port the game across.
"To be completely honest, we're having a tough time doing it due to our lack of experience and knowledge in terms of porting to PC. First we thought it would be a breeze, but it's turned out not to be the case. We're still developing right now - we're crunching right now.
"In Japan there's not much of a PC market and we haven't really taken into consideration that audience before. That's one of the reasons why we haven't been able to step up on the PC platform until now."
Uchiyama went on to confirm that it hasn't fixed the frame rate problems that had hobbled certain parts of the game on consoles.
"In terms of the frame rate for say, Blighttown, From Software sincerely apologises for that happening [in the console version]," he said.
"In terms of the PC version, the quick answer is no, [we won't be fixing the frame rate problems]. Because we wanted to get the PC version out as soon as possible, it's more strictly a port from the console version. We haven't been able to step up into doing any specific optimisation for PC.
"However, in exchange for that, we have prioritised adding new content for both original players and new players."
Happily, that new content appears to be very substantial. Uchiyama estimated that it should take a reasonably skilled player around 10 hours to get through the new areas.
What's more, it'll be fully integrated into the game rather than siphoned off from the main menu. Console gamers who buy it as DLC will be able to use their existing character, though they'll need to have progressed quite a way through the story before they can access the extra areas.
"We have three new venues, four new bosses and additional weapons," he explained.
"Accessing the new content is a little bit complicated. Depending on where you are in the storyline it may differ in terms of how it's integrated.
"There will be a certain point in the game that you'll have to surpass to access the new content. It won't be right from the beginning - the new content will be accessible more in the later half of the game."
The added narrative focuses on the character Artorias, referenced throughout the original release but never seen.
"In the console version only the name of Artorias has been brought up, but in the new content you'll actually see him as a character," revealed Uchiyama.
"The story itself is going to take place in the past. The player will be dragged into the past, 300 years back when Artorias was not a legend but actually existed."
Finally, Uchiyama touched on the future of the franchise, insisting that there are currently no plans for ports to other platforms or a full sequel.
"We are fully concentrating on delivering the PC version and DLC. There has not been any discussion about anything past that. So there's nothing in the works right now," he said.
"Speaking from the developer's perspective, even considering the new Wii U features or the Vita, because they are so specific to those platforms, if we were able to do something on those systems the game would be designed to fit those platforms rather than just be a port from the PS3 or 360."
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition launches for PC on 31st August, with the new content the landing on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as DLC towards the end of the year.
Bought a copy 2.5 weeks ago and cannot wait to play it on the weekends when I have time. VERY HARD, VERY much able to fully customize your player, the replay value is through the roof, and the aspect in which the game manages the world is unreal.
Every time you die, you start back in the Northern Undead Asylum, your humanity, souls, gear all lost. Your bloodstain is still where you died with everything on it. Thing is... when you die and return to Undead Asylum, the new enemies will have replaced the old ones just like they would when you revisit it, and you'll have to break out just like you did before (except running for your life).
:O I wanna play that version! .-. too bad it's not real
I got through most of Demon's Souls without any deaths (not first playthrough of course...), so Dark Souls might be feasible... things like Bed of Chaos would make me pull my hair out though.
Every time you die, you start back in the Northern Undead Asylum, your humanity, souls, gear all lost. Your bloodstain is still where you died with everything on it. Thing is... when you die and return to Undead Asylum, the new enemies will have replaced the old ones just like they would when you revisit it, and you'll have to break out just like you did before (except running for your life).
:O I wanna play that version! .-. too bad it's not real
With any luck will be able to take the game apart and mod it like the fallout series I'd love to play a truly hardcore version myself.
Necro Bump Detected!
[37 days between previous and next post]
Necro bumping with an update on it but I had a question about this.
Why do people hate Games for Windows Live? I tried to search up on why people hate it and basically read that it forces you to be connected to the internet at all times otherwise you cant load or save your game progress. So if you d/c in the middle of playing a game you aren't able to save. Also I read that you have to have an xbox live account, so you have to own an xbox? I'm not sure if that is true or not either.
Would like to know the real reasons as to why this is really bad news to most people.
---
If the internet thing is true, then you wouldn't be able to play the game in offline mode and be constantly at risk at being invaded, which I would understand to be a bad thing to a lot of players.
it forces you to be connected to the internet at all times otherwise you cant load or save your game progress.
combined with
"Some routers routers/gateways may not be compatible with the LIVE service. Most routers are compatible; all of the routers/gateways with Vista compatible stickers as well any with Xbox Live compatible stickers are guaranteed to work with LIVE. The hardware compatibility list can be found here."
equals
:(
The service has a lot of stability issues for lord knows what reason. With the connection going in and out it is just a horrible experience, kind of like diablo 3 since you can't play that offline either. They just put very little effort into the program and it shows in a lot of ways. Steam is generally accepted because you can play offline if you've loaded the game once.
I guess they are doing it for an easier port to PC
I have no idea the reason, I have it on ps3 and absolutely love the game. I was going to get it on PC since it had extra stuff and I love supporting the series, I have 2 copies of Demon's souls one is Chinese which i imported because it was released earlier and had English VAs(God bless whoever decided the ps3 should be region free), but I really don't want to be pigeon holed into using GFWL again so I'll probably just wait for PS3 DLC or something.
Love ENB. Didn't know Power Within gave stamina regeneration too. Might try to work it into my DMB build
Finished my SLv 1 run. The Fire Sage and Centipede Demons were really really annoying fights. Four Kings was actually pretty easy. I've got Bed of Chaos down pretty well.
Especially once I found out you could quit the game after killing part of it and reload outside the Fog Wall with the part still destroyed. And that you can shoot the left section with an arrow from a safe place. I still occasionally miss the landing for the last bit though. :|
I've found that Undead Burg is a really good PvP spot. Very rarely do you get teamed up on. And if they try, friendly fire is a possibility. Most people will bow and let you put buffs up before they begin. Backstab fishing isn't very common. Skilled players will take advantage of a mistake though.
Also, Dragonslayer Spear is an amazing and completely underused weapon. Unlike other thrusting weapons, It doesn't bounce of shields. At all. And it's impossible to parry unless you're practically hugging them. And it's a great weapon to use when DMB wears off because of the high Faith (and Dexterity, in my case) scaling.
The hardest part is the beginning, which isn't that difficult at all. It's interesting fighting the tutorial boss though, with your limited arrows you receive at the start. Make your way to the first merchant and then it's quite easy from there.
Some interesting news I came across, I don't know anything about this group though.
Ren Martin Interview:
Talking About Dark Souls: Unsung Written by Connor Beaton, published 20th July 2012, 01:34 PM
When Parallel Digital first announced their Dark Souls fan series, Dark Souls: Unsung, I saw a variety of responses: some derisive, others supportive, but in particular the latter from the game’s community. The crowdfunded production will start shooting soon, so we spoke to Ren Martin from the team about the series and where the idea came from.
“We love making films, and love video games, so the pieces just fell into place,” he told me through an email correspondence. “Also, with how unique the world is, we felt that it would be an incredible challenge for us. We were inspired by the game’s unique approach to a Western-style fantasy, and feel that we can somehow bring that vision to life.”
When they talk about challenge, that doesn’t mean they haven’t embarked on a project of this calibre before; these are the men behind an original film festival entry called The Prophet, and a fan film called Assassin’s Creed: Parallel, which was recognised and appreciated by members of the Ubisoft development team themselves.
Like with Assassin’s Creed: Parallel, the team are trying to keep their story “within the world of the game”, without trying to retell the game’s story. “The series will lead up, and connect to the beginning of the game,” Ren clarifies. “At the moment, we are about two weeks away from our first day of production. We are just waiting on a makeup artist.”
Left: The lead character’s costume, inspired by the Elite Knight set of armour.
Right: A location to be used in the film’s shoot.
The costumes are what are generating the most buzz for this project so far. The group have been “collecting all sorts of mediaeval gear over the years, hoping to put them to good use”, and judging by the pictures of their lead character’s outfit, inspired by concept art of the Elite Knight set of armour from the game, they certainly have.
A good chunk of their budget went to costuming – and, Ren tells me, “custom tabbards, a sword and shield, a DSLR slider, steadicam, and a few more tools”. Costumes shared on reddit have been complimented as “amazing”. Fortunately, at this stage in production, the props and costumes are “90% complete”, and the scripts and locations have been finalised.
I ask how they have gone about scouting for locations at which to shoot, and Ren explains: “Members of our team are avid hikers, and explorers. Every location that we have in the film is a place that at least one of us has previously explored. We also talk to others that may have been to cool places and if we hear about an amazing location in our area, we are there!”
Of course, being an unofficial fan project opens up a big vulnerability in the form of a potential legal response from publisher Namco Bandai. While Parallel Digital were working on their Assassin’s Creed fan film, they were watched by Ubisoft Montreal community developer, Gabe Graziani, the whole way through production.
“Once it was released, we were featured on their website, where they told us how much of an inspiration we were to the team,” he enthused. “We are hoping for the same response, and that they see how much fan created material actually helps their product. Or no response at all works too! As long as we don’t get a cease and desist, we are happy!”
The series’ reception could, in fact, determine the team’s future. Pursuing fan productions again “depends on what happens after this series’ release”, and while they would like to do more original work, fan films have always held their interest. “If time and funding permitted, we’d love to take on all sorts of titles, ranging from Ninja Turtles to Thief! Our fandom knows no boundaries!”
The team are now seeking an additional $600 of funding through Indiegogo, the same service through which they surpassed their initial funding goal of $1,200. You can find their campaign page here, and find out more about the team and their fan series on their Facebook page here.
I hope a section is included with a red phantom appearing, the protagonist drawing their weapon and running towards them ... and then suddenly the red phantom is behind them, and has just disemboweled them with a teleport backstab.
I've kind of been looking for a skyrim replacement because my skyrim game was destroyed and Im too lazy to go through the whole thing again. I just want a fantasy dungeon crawly experience with nice graphics. Can you play online and does it have a decent amount of gameplay hours? Will this fill my empty game-less void?
You can play it online or offline for PS3. The game is absolutely amazing, frustrating, difficult, fun and rewarding! There is plenty of replay value. Here's one of my favorite areas in the game. The music and scenery are amazing.
I've kind of been looking for a skyrim replacement because my skyrim game was destroyed and Im too lazy to go through the whole thing again. I just want a fantasy dungeon crawly experience with nice graphics. Can you play online and does it have a decent amount of gameplay hours? Will this fill my empty game-less void?
I don't normally play a game more than once. Some of my favorite games I play through 2-3 times maybe, and might pick them back up again for another round years later.
I've played dark souls 4 times so far (finished the game from start to finish, I've played part way through with different builds 6-8 times) with a variety of character builds. It starts you off with types of classes, but you can change it up as you level and a world of opportunities and possibilities are open to you. Want to do something a certain way? That's fine, because the game will let you. Want to stay level 1 the whole game for extra challenge? You can. Each new game+ makes the game progressively stronger, although the ones after the first NG+ aren't as much of an upgrade but it goes up to NG+7.
The game is very rewarding, and if you like PvP it has it. If you like PvE it did well making them tough. Make yourself the strongest thing in the land over powering anything and everything, or make yourself a weak level 1 player that has to struggle to survive til the end. The choice is yours, the game will let you do just about anything you want and that is why I love it.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIGN IN. You are allowed to make anonymous edits. Please be respectful and only edit the workbook if you intend to add yourself to the list. This is not a universal member name > gamertag list for entire site. Only list your name if you own Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls I, Dark Souls II, or Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, or plan to, this way members of the site can coordinate playing together, matchmaking, etc.
After you click the link, the only thing you'll need to do is click "EDIT IN BROWSER", then add your FORUM name, then the gamertag/username for the platform you play the game on. Please do not copy and paste a cell, this will cause borders to look weird and I'll have to open it up to fix it.
This thread was created, by request, to promote discussion of Dark Souls. I'll be updating the OP with various resources, video links, upcoming news, character builds, PvP matching, and so on as users post.
Character Builds
Character builds can be either PvP, PvE, or both. You can specify which if you wish, but I'll be listing any builds posted in this topic here. Use the Dark Souls Character Planner linked above to create a link to your build for others to view.
New Bosses - Including Artorias of Abyss, Chimera of Tomb, and more
PVP Online Matchmaking System - Quick matching for co-op or PVP
New Areas – Including Oolacile Tomb, Old Ruins and more
New Enemies – Including Abyss Guard, Chained Prisoner and more
New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough and more
New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs
I'll try my best to update the OP with any information posted in this topic.