Dark Souls- PS3, Xbox 360, PC

[Zaarock]

Yup, and 1hk the first four with chaos fireballs :/ Gonna be a bitch on NG+

[CMoon]

Damn, got to Sen's Fortress today. No impasse yet, but steep learning curve. At least I grabbed the lightning spear.

[Moniker]

Just started this bad boy with a Pyromancer. One mechanic is troubling me though: how the hell do you aim fireballs with any precision? Unless you're up close/have the high ground, the thing seeks the nearest wall and detonates.

[evil_ash_xero]

Damn, got to Sen's Fortress today. No impasse yet, but steep learning curve. At least I grabbed the lightning spear.

Save your Titanite Chunks and a Titanite Slab for this thing, so you can level it up to 5. It's a great weapon.

[CMoon]

Gotta lock on. Keep in mind you can move around a bit while you are casting. Pyromancy is super awkward, but very useful in some spots. Combustion and Iron Skin are probably the two spells you absolutely must get.

[CMoon]

Damn, got to Sen's Fortress today. No impasse yet, but steep learning curve. At least I grabbed the lightning spear.

Save your Titanite Chunks and a Titanite Slab for this thing, so you can level it up to 5. It's a great weapon.

This or some other weapon I like more? Admittedly, giving me a lightning weapon saves me a lot of shards/chunks, but is the spear really the way to go?

[evil_ash_xero]

That's a tough one. You just don't get many Titanite Chunks in the game, and you gotta pick.

A Winged Lightning Spear is good also.

The game for me was this= some crap weapon early on, Drake Sword, Lightning Spear, Moonlight Butterfly Shield(not actual name),Fire Bastard Sword(didn't use it a whole lot, but I killed the last boss with it), and a whole lot of pyromancy. The shield sucks...as a shield, but it's a killer weapon. Wiping out strong enemies with one shot.

Invest heavily in pyromancy. Don't forget to up your pyromancy hand, from that guy you save, in the sewers. AND get spells from that woman, who is hidden in plain sight, in Blight Town. Great Combustion makes Nito and Seath a joke. Learn Iron Flesh, for sure.

I mean, towards the end, with those demons, in the Demon Ruins...even the Taurus ones were dying from 2 or 3 shots from Great Fireball.

And get a decent bow, and up it(like a composite bow). You'll need it for Lost Izalith.

After the patch, though, a lot of other weapons might help you more than that spear. But for me, it was great. Especially at +5.

[Sumez]

Damn, got to Sen's Fortress today. No impasse yet, but steep learning curve. At least I grabbed the lightning spear.

Funny, I always considered Sen's Fortress a nice breather after the insanity that is Blighttown.
You die a lot in Sen's, but once you die once from the traps, you learn where they are. And the enemies are easy enough (especially after you pick up the lightning spear).

Not to scare you off, but the game is going to get a lot more difficult after Sen's.

[Sumez]

This or some other weapon I like more? Admittedly, giving me a lightning weapon saves me a lot of shards/chunks, but is the spear really the way to go?

I'm at the end of the game, and still using this spear (upgraded, of course). The other weapons that scale with your stats don't start doing much of a difference until NG+

[Sumez]

The shield sucks...as a shield, but it's a killer weapon. Wiping out strong enemies with one shot.

Thanks for the recommendation, I didn't know the shield had that ability. Really difficult to find info on the boss weapons anywhere.

[Weak Boson]

Gosh darn it. Got to Anor Londo but didn't realise there was anywhere to go so I spent about ten hours wandering around the Tomb of Giants, fighting things in the Demon Ruins and exploring New Londo Ruins, only to be met by locked doors or impassable light whenever I thought I was making progress. Well, I'm on the right track now at least.

[Sumez]

Heh I haven't even seen those lights anywhere else. I never even discovered the presence of the catacombs until after beating both Anor Londo, The Duke's Archives and New Londo Ruins.
Where do the tracks end in Tomb of Giants when you haven't completed Anor Londo yet?

Also, aren't the four kings available to fight even before finding the lordvessel? As far as I remember, returning it only opens three orange fog gates.

[Weak Boson]

The orange light at the end of the Tomb of Giants is just after you get out of the dark, on a narrow path on a cliff. I don't think there was anywhere to go in New Londo either. There were some lifts but the levers didn't work. It wasn't all bad, though, when I finally got back to Anor Londo I suddenly noticed I had about 50k worth of lost soul items stashed in my inventory.

[Sumez]

I usually keep those souls around for when I come across a merchant I wanna buy stuff from and I don't have just enough souls. When I want to level up, I just play that area in Darkroot anyway, as there's no other place in the game that gives you that many souls so fast, even near endgame.
Keeping them for too long will just make them worthless though, like a 500 souls item is worthless when you need 10,000 to buy anything good.

[sjewkestheloon]

Damn, got to Sen's Fortress today. No impasse yet, but steep learning curve. At least I grabbed the lightning spear.

Sen's Fortress has had me cussing like a trooper! Got to the bonfire last night and plan on having a session in there later tonight. I almost raged when I got to the lift after the mimic...

[Zaarock]

Getting into pvp a lot now at SL 90. Got the darkwraith covenant and as I guessed there are far more unwilling opponents than those who accept my red sign :p I have to get some twinkling titanite to upgrade various armors though.

That's a tough one. You just don't get many Titanite Chunks in the game, and you gotta pick.

You mean slabs? Titanite chunks become the easiest thing to get in the end.

[Jeneki]

Gosh darn it. Got to Anor Londo but didn't realise there was anywhere to go

Same thing happened to me. The correct path in Anor Londo is ... not very obvious. I found all three orange doors before I discovered the way to unlock them.

[CMoon]

I don't know why I'm treating this thread like my dark souls journal, but anyway. Had two hours to play tonight, kept banging my head against Sen's Fortress. Explored a bunch of hidden areas and found a few extra items. Killed all the headless demons on the lowest floor and then killed a giant. I know where the bonfire is, but I've only made it to that area a few times, and one time rolled past it to my death, the two other times I was killed by explosions (anyway to disable those before going to the bonfire?)

At this point (and perhaps why I'm more frustrated with this portion than Blighttown) it is starting to feel like Pitfall. I can see exactly what I need to do, and I can do it, but navigating all the traps and the enemies without getting killed, and doing so at the end of a long day can be tiring. Man, the weekend can't get here soon enough!

Oh, I killed a giant on the roof. I had to go through a secret door--any significance to that?

[Sumez]

Same thing happened to me. The correct path in Anor Londo is ... not very obvious. I found all three orange doors before I discovered the way to unlock them.

Typical Demon's Souls stuff, really. Dark Souls does, in some intangible way seem more polished and mainstream friendly than Demon's Souls, but that detour in Anor Londo seems like a throwback to the b-game impressions from Demon's Souls and especially King's Field.
I really thought I was headed for some hidden area/treasure when I found it, since I hadn't explored the complete area before heading up the arches, and figured the correct way would have taken me to the floor below (which is only accessible later).

Btw, I really love this sort of stuff in the game.

[Sumez]

but I've only made it to that area a few times, and one time rolled past it to my death, the two other times I was killed by explosions (anyway to disable those before going to the bonfire?)

Not really, but you only need to pass two of them to get to the bonfire. There's a pretty obvious drop from the second explosion area, which takes you to it, and I bet it's plastered with hints from other players.
The explosions really aren't that bad as soon as you know where to go. As long as you just run ahead, the giant who's bombarding you with explosive barrels won't be able to keep up where you are, and target the previous explosion areas instead, giving you plenty of room to take your time.
You can "disable" the explosions by killing the giant on the top of the tower, pretty close to the obvious boss door.

Oh, I killed a giant on the roof. I had to go through a secret door--any significance to that?

I never figured this either, it was one of the first things I did in the area. He drops some neat titanite but that's that. Never went back to check if he respawns (like the one who's loading the rocks for the traps)

[Leader Bee]

Is that the giant you see in the opening cutscene (when you've rang the second bell in blight town) that opens up the portcullis to Sen's Fortress?

I've not been to his area yet I don't know where that secret door might be.
Also not been to the lowest floor either, one because it looks like a nasty drop to get there and 2 because I have trouble killing one titanite demon, nevermind 3 at once.

Also managed to reach anor londo last night, where exactly do you go?

[Sumez]

The Titanite Demons below Sen's Fortress are pretty easy (well the first two are, the next two are a little tougher, I waited with those), and you only have to fight one at a time, unless you're really stupid.
But remember to equip your rusted iron ring. You might also start out jumping down from the shallow bridge near the other bridge that goes over it, to land on an area lifted from the rest of the lower floor. That way you'll take less falling damage, and be able to take out the magician serpents who're trying to ruin your fight with the titanite demons.

Anyway, you need to get to the lowest floor in order to find that giant, which is the one from the cut-scene, yes. The hidden doorway is pretty obvious, and as already stated, killing it seems pointless.

[Sumez]

Also managed to reach anor londo last night, where exactly do you go?

From the area where you kill a bell gargoyle, look to the left next to the stairwell. There's an arch going up to the windows of another building. You want to go there.

[Leader Bee]

Should I bother with Anor Londo just yet? I still have the Great Hollow, Ash lake, darkroot Basin/Garden and great grey wolf sif to finish off; And I think it's new Londo ruins to visit back in Lordran. I've been putting off going there because I only have a handful of transient curses, is there anywhere I can buy more?

[Leader Bee]

The Titanite Demons below Sen's Fortress are pretty easy (well the first two are, the next two are a little tougher, I waited with those), and you only have to fight one at a time, unless you're really stupid.

They're not easy when you're melee only

[Sumez]

New Londo should be easy at your point, but there's no reason to bother going there until after Anor Londo (but do go there before heading into the orange door that opens in Anor Londo once you beat the boss there!). You really only need one Transient Curse in order to get a ton more from the ghosts there, since they drop fairly often with the gold serpent ring on (and always 2 at a time), but you can buy them from the lady in the sewers near Firelink, I think.

You can do Darkroot now, should also be fairly easy, but it can wait if you want to. Just be sure to do it before New Londo Ruins.

Great Hollow and Ash Lake are pointless places, you don't get much from going there, so you can wait with that for as long as you want, as well. The biggest reason to go there is for a bunch of dragon scales.

Anor Londo is a bit of a tough place, but it's not gonna get any easier by postponing. The biggest issue here should be the boss, and I highly recommend summoning some helpers for that fight.

[Sumez]

They're not easy when you're melee only

Actually I always take them melee, I find that a lot easier, since my magic is so slow I can't avoid their lightning while casting.
Your shield (providing it's 100% physical) can block just about all of their attacks, and their combos are slow, so take down your shield shortly between each attack, to regain stamina faster, and try to get behind them as often as possible. The biggest issue I have with them is that annoying jump attack where you lose the lock-on to them.

If you're having a hard time with a titanite demon, just come back later anyway. You aren't forced to kill any of them at the point you first run into them. I think the one in Anor Londo is still alive in my game, because it seems to be stronger and more aggressive than most of the others.

[linko9]

Just want to express my love for this game. 120 hours in (currently in NG+), and still loving every minute of it. This is just such an amazing improvement in almost every way over Demon's Souls (the main exceptions being framerate and treatment of melee weapons... fire and lighting are way overpowered, and scaling doesn't give as much of a boost as it should). I hear the sales are very good in all regions, that very encouraging, I guess another sequel is almost guaranteed. Also, the story is actually pretty interesting if you bother to piece it together by reading item descriptions and such.

Edit: As for that Titanite Demon in Anor Londo, you can just stand outside the door and shoot it to death with arrows. It won't even move.

[Leader Bee]

This is just such an amazing improvement in almost every way over Demon's Souls

Except for maybe the PVP: Demons souls had this right whereby you invaded to regain your human form, not you had to be human to invade, what's the point in that? Plus the limited use items such as cracked red eye orbs and this covenant bullshit.

Why cant I have the blye eye stone to help and the black eye stone to invade? What if i don't want to wait to near endgame when you can join the darkwraiths for some pvp, perhaps I want to try this rigth off the bat when i first get to firelink shrine?

Furthermore i started a 2nd character to make use of those cracked red eye orbs and I used them the second i got to firelink (i was about level 7 when i used them) someohow i seemed to be matched up with people I can only assume were on NG+ because they had lightning weapons already and armours you don't get until late game.
it seems broken to me.

[linko9]

Oh... I've never much cared about PvP in either game. I've only had positive experiences in this game. As in, someone invades, I kill him. That pretty much the extent of my experience with PvP.