[Game On] Dark Souls/Demon's Souls Thread Borked, Check New Thread

DoctorArch

Shamelessly stolen from Shorn Scrotum Man.

If you want me to add your Gamertag/PSN Name PM Me, that way I won't miss it.

Previous thread here: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/149649/game-on-dark-soulsdemons-souls.-a-veritable-buffet-of-souls/p1

I know everyone is going to be excited to talk about this game, but please don't spoil it for others. Please use the spoiler tags and please label your spoilers with something appropriate so people will have an idea of what they are about to see.

[/center]

Woah, what? What the hell is Dark Souls?

Dark Souls is the "sequel" to Demon's Souls. I put sequel in quotes because it's not a true sequel that takes place in the same world with the same characters, etc., shit that a sequel normally has, but it's the same vein of Demon's Souls in that it's a dark, medieval world, hard as fuck, and just as awesome. Japanese gaming rag Famitsu had an article about it.

- This is the official title of what was previously Project Dark
- This time they want to increase the amount of field exploration in the game.
- All fields are seamless, so whatever you can see, you can reach and explore. If you see a fortress or castle walls in the distance, you can eventually get there.
- There will be no map display in the game, just a position display marker.
- They aim to make the game just as challenging than Demon's Souls, but also just as rewarding when you succeed. The sense of achievement is important.
- The gameplay will be similar to Demon's Souls in concept, where it's about trial and error and learning from your mistakes to play better.
- The game does not share the same world and story as Demon's Souls.
- The game will not use the same format as Demon's Souls in terms of having 5 worlds connected via a hub.
- Instead all maps in the game will be linked seamlessly in a connected world. The pace of the game will feel more about exploration and discovering locations, which you can then go inside into a dungeon or whatever and explore the interior further.
- There will be more complex level designs in the game using more vertical design in areas and such.
- The world setting is based on medieval dark fantasy, and will contain themes like "high fantasy of kings and knights", "death and the depths of the earth", and "the flames of chaos".
- The character creation process will not be class based.
- The play style of the player character will have much more freedom this time.
- There will be many more spells and items, and the animation and uniqueness of weapons will also be increased.
- The online elements are very similar to Demon's Souls. There is cooperative and PvP.
- You can still leave messages, and see players who died at various places.
- There will be no Soul Tendency this time because they don't want to have to use dedicated servers to handle that shit again.
- Instead this time there will be more features allowing players to engage in "mutual role playing" which they say are still under wraps. They'll reveal more when it's time.
- The difficulty has been increased greatly over Demon's Souls.

Here are some videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekqkHjfw9Z0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93LFz_j5fQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HobdMOegik

Is there anything else?

We've got screenshots too!

















! Dark Souls PSN List !
PA Name - PSN ID

Shorn Scrotum Man - sojakfa
YamiNoSenshi - YamiNoSenshi
Sarganym - RagingKermit
NailbunnyPD - NailbunnyPD
taliosfalcon - TaliosFalcon
mr weenis - Mr_Weenis
Nitsua - Darkhawk16
MonkeyConQueso - Aubvry
El Fantastico - ArcticArctos
Frei - Chace8625
Dignified Pauper - DignifiedPauper
Farangu - Farangu
Zombiemambo - MEGARAD3000
Mostlyjoe13 - Mostlyjoe
Stragint - Dash_Dashel
GMaster7 - SKI2000G

! Dark Souls XBox360 List !
PA Name - Xbox360 ID

Spawnbroker - Xenacity
DoctorArch - DoctorArch
Dyvion - Dyvion
Aistan - Aistan
Sirialis - Sirialis
Peff - Savage Oxygen
Marslo - Mars on the bar

DoctorArch

Saved for Dark Soul's FAQ.

DoctorArch

Demon's Souls is a recent PS3 exclusive title from developer From Software, already known for the Armored Core series, Chromehounds, the Tenchu series and Ninja Blade. Demon's Souls is a third person action game in the vein of From Software's old, old franchise King's Field. King's Field was know to be ludicriously hard and huge learning curve. Demon's Souls keeps that tradition pretty damn well.

So what's the big deal with this RPG that put's it above the others?





Demon's Souls "ain't yo mamma's RPG". It certainly takes keys from a lot of other well know games before it, like King's Field (naturally), Monster Hunter, and we'll throw in one you know like TESIV: Oblivion. It's not just another JRPG that is turned based, has that same menu in every JRPG ever made. For a gaming coming from Japan, it's distinctly Western. It has a very dark European background, full voice acting and some of the best environments that can be found in a game today.

Equipment comes in all kinds of forms, from long swords to katanas to a Pyramid Head-esque meat cleaver. Enemies range from zombies to dark knights to dragons. Bosses? Gigantic and intimidating. Giants mechanical knights, fire breating spiders (yes, you just read that), a veritable God. Pretty much every imaginable baddie is out for your ass in this game.

Did I mention how this game is hard? This game is hard. Like, fucking hard. I cannot emphasis the difficulty of this game. Now, it's not what I like to call "Ninja Gaiden Hard", where the game is difficult to the point of hindering the player (*coughfuckingterribadcameracough*). It is such a well crafted difficulty to the point where the game is never cheap. Your death is always your own fault. And you will die. And there are heavy consequences for that death.

There is no long and arduous tutorial. No quick time events. No button mashing. No pop-up hints. You will get mobbed by monsters. You will fight bosses that could very well kill you in one hit. You'll fall of ledges because you didn't watch where you were stepping. There isn't even a pause button! You'll fight tooth and nail to get past each and every level. But God damn it, does it feel rewarding once you do.

Ok, you've got me now. This game have a story?





While the story in Demon's Souls is simple, the world that is created around it is very interesting. It takes place in the fictional European-inspired kingdom of Boletaria, where a corrupt king summons "the Old One" and uses unholy powers to bring unrivaled prosperity to his lands. Prosper it did, but then fell victim to his own vices and traps and abused his power to cause great destruction, causing a great fog to cover the country and summon countless demons to devour the innocent. This is where you come in! You are a lone adventurer who quests into the depths of Boletaria to put a stop to the fog and bring peace to the land, not even death itself can stop your pursuit!

That's it. You play the part of a random adventurer out to find your fame. No girl to save, no friend who betrayed you. Just you, the legions of hell, and victory on the other side of them.

So how does it play?





Demon's Souls plays in real time from the third person perspective. You name and design your character yourself and use a system similar to Oblivion's face creation to get your look. There is a vast amount of weapons and armour and two kinds of magic: Spells (mostly offensive attacks) and Miracles (mostly defensive and healing abilities). And you need to take into account your environment. Yeah, you have an huge sword that smacks monsters around, but will it really be of any use in a narrow hallway?

Bring aware of your surroundings is key. Every new enemy you come upon will act differently. The most important piece of advice is move slowly, attack carefully. If you just waltz around playing like it's Ninja Gaiden, your liable to fall off a cliff or become stunlocked by an enemies attacks.

You have your tipical Health and Magic, but Demon's Souls also takes hint from The Elder Scroll's and implements and Stamina system for sword attacks and blocking with shields. Every action takes away a certain amount of Stamina, but it's always regenerating. The heavier the attack, the more Stamina you will use. The more hits you take behind your shield, the more Stamina will be drained.

Demon's Souls has over a dozen starting "classes", but in actuality it is a classless game. All equipment is dependent on your character stats, so even if you start as a cloth wearing Royal, you can still pick up and use the same heavy armor the Knight has if you have the right statistics. There are certain advantages and challenges from picking each starting class tho. As a Royal, you are well equipped to use magic but don't have a lot of armor or health. As a Thief, you can backstab easier because of your dagger. As a Knight, you have heavy armor and are well equipped for melee combat but roll slowly and have no magic. It is a very well set system.

Leveling up is done by the games only currency, Souls. Souls are everything. They will get you higher stats, buy you equipment, potions, increase the effectiveness of your gear, are needed to craft new weapons. If you die, you lose all your Souls, and this is one fact that makes Demon's Souls so punishing. Now, you do have one chance to get them all back from a bloodstain you leave behind in your death, but if you die before you touch that bloodstain, all those Souls are lost.

The entire game is based around deep, complex dungeons that take ages to fully explore. Your only refuge from the monsters is the "Nexus" which is the hub or "town" of Demon's Souls. Here you can talk to the locals, level up, learn new magic spells, repair or buy new items and equipment, and store your unwanted junk. Don't think though you've got it all down, New Game+ provides even more to see at the Nexus!

Oh yeah, there is a New Game+. Playing in New Game+ raises the difficulty even more! It's a whole new ballgame when you enter your second time around. But it doesn't end after that. You can start a New Game++, and keep going. Every new game raises the difficulty more.

Is there multiplayer?





Oh yeah! Demon's Souls has some of the coolest and original multiplayer interaction ever.

Co-Operative
Players can utilize a special item called the "Blue Eye Stone" to set a marker on the ground that acts as a gateway to a multiplayer Co-Operative game. There's no lobby or matchmaking system. Other players online can see your marker and invite you into their world, and soon enough you and two other adventurers will be on your way to slaying some monsters.

All three players can receive Souls for their hard work, and they can team up to take out the Boss Demons with better efficiency! As your game together ends, players can grade the host adventure on a scale from D to S and this grade carries with the Host so other players know how good or bad a player they are.

Competitive
Don't like playing nice? With the use of the "Black Eye Stone," players with evil intent can literally force themselves into another player's world! Taking the role of the "Black Phantom," the player must hunt out and kill the invaded player to receive a special Souls bonus! However, if the invading Phantom is killed then you lose all your Souls and he gets a big reward for killing you.

If you want to join someone in co-op or kill someone by invading, you will only have access to those within 10 levels of you. No picking on newbies, and no getting sent to fight someone much higher than yourself.

Educational
Uh...what? Hang on, let me explain this one. Demon's Souls offers a special method of communicating with other players in other worlds, to help (or deceive) other players about events that may be coming up in around that corner, or across that dark bridge. By utilizing a wide selection of stock messages and phrases, players use a bizarre Twitter-esque system of leaving messages on the floor for others to read. These messages can be read by anyone, and can even be graded on their usefulness! Players who leave helpful or nice messages are rewarded with a full health restore!

The Pantheon
But wait! There's more! Demon's Souls taps into the desires of envy and jealousy by providing its own Leaderboards. Players can visit The Pantheon at the very top of The Nexus to see who the greatest Boletarian adventurers are. Ever wonder who has the most PKs? Who's played the longest? Who's got the most souls or the most Trophies? The Pantheon tells all.

Ok, I want this game. As in right now. How do I get it?





For the longest time you would have to import the Asian version, but not any more! As of October 2009, Atlus has published Demon's Souls here in the US!

Demon's Souls was also released in the EU by Namco-Bandi on June 25, 2010.

All versions have their own online servers. EU cannot play with US, Asian cannot play with EU, etc.

I live off review scores.

Fine. Be like that. Demon's Souls has gotten very positive reviews since it's asian release in January 2009.

Famitsu: 9 / 7 / 7 / 6
Dengeki: 95 / 85 / 85 / 85
Eurogamer: 9 / 10
RPGFan: 84%
GameSpot: 9.0
Gamer Limit: 9.5
GamesRadar: 9
GameTrailers: 8.9
IGN: 9.4
GameSpot 2009 Game of the Year


Now, slayer of demon's...go forth!


Helpful Links!

Below are several helpful links for those who need specific info regarding the game. Personally, I'm telling you not to use any of these on your first game because it ruins the fun, but if you really have to, go for it.

Demon's Souls Wiki - A comprehensive Demon's Souls wiki, started thanks to the people at SomethingAwful. This is the most comprehensive Demon's Souls resource there it. Maps, weapon, armor, upgrades, character builds...it has it all.
Ultimate Demon's Souls PvP Guide - Possibly all you wanted to know about PvP. What weapons to use, what builds to play and how to play them. A very good guide if you want to maximize in PvP.
Demon's Souls Ventrilo - This is a Ventrilo chat server maintained by the guys who run the Demon's Souls wiki. People hang out here throughout the day/night/whenever and talk shop. Some of the best DS players are on here and everyone is always up for a friendly duel. Not a lot of microphones, but everyone is usually in chat. Note: Pretty dead now.
Demon's Souls Forum - Another product of the great people who maintain the Demon's Souls wiki! If I need to tell you what a forum is about then you have some issues. Note: Still active![/quote]

! Demon's Souls PSN List !
PA Name - PSN ID (Region)

Shorn Scrotum Man - sojakfa (USA)
Mostlyjoe13 - Mostlyjoe (USA)
Folken Fanel - folken_PA (USA)
cj iwakura - cj_iwakura (USA)

---

Demon's Souls Soul Farming Guide!

Garret Dorigan wrote: »

Soul Farming from slowest method to fastest method.

Slowest
Number 2
Number 3
Fastest

Well, if you don't count glitching...

Mifio

Fuck the Capra Demon.
This thread has now been christened with hate.

Graviija

So I just found like 7 Capra demons in lava in the Demon Ruins. I drew one over with an arrow, started to fight it, and then fell into lava (yay). When I respawned, all the Capra demons gone. Is that supposed to happen?

DoctorArch

Mifio wrote:

Fuck the Capra Demon.
This thread has now been christened with hate.

Let me put up the obligatory "Fuck this game!"

Aegeri

The Capra demon is the single worst boss in the game. Others are more bullshit or more difficult, but the Capra demon is the only one decided by 10 seconds of luck right at the start. Get past those ten seconds and it's ridiculously easy. Don't get past those 10 seconds and it's time to try it again! Best bosses in the game were Anor Londo, the first "true" boss, Tomb of Giants (best of the "final" bosses in the game by miles) and the secret boss.

JihadJesus

I think I just murdered some dude. Like, a vendor not someone who deserved it. Fuck.

Got a new sword though, need to grind a couple STR to use it though.

Shen

I've died less than five times across seven odd characters to the Capra demon. I guess it must be hard if you don't have a 100% shield and 15 endurance?

Anor Londo (Dragonslayer) and New Londo Ruins are the bosses I found most challenging, Tomb of Giants took two attempts.

Maddoc

Capra demon is a bad boss because the entire fight revolves around whether you can get out of that initial doorway for some space (however small) to maneuver.

It's not even the demon that constitutes the difficulty, it's the incredibly small and narrow room you fight him in.

Also fuck attack dogs forever.

DoctorArch

Re: Capra Demon.

This may have been said, but I'll put this here from the strategy guide:

The Attack Dogs move much faster than the Capra Demon, and you will need to use this to your advantage. Any time the Demon gets close to you, run to the opposite side of the area to create space. Since the dogs will reach you first, you can always get some hits in before the Demon catches up. The staircase on the left of the room can also be used to your advantage, because it allows you to reach the top of an archway that the Demon cannot access. While you are on this platform you will only have to contend with the dogs, as the Capra Demon tries to attack you in vain from below.

Gilder

Aegeri wrote:

The Capra demon is the single worst boss in the game. Others are more bullshit or more difficult, but the Capra demon is the only one decided by 10 seconds of luck right at the start. Get past those ten seconds and it's ridiculously easy. Don't get past those 10 seconds and it's time to try it again! Best bosses in the game were Anor Londo, the first "true" boss, Tomb of Giants (best of the "final" bosses in the game by miles) and the secret boss.

Tomb of Giants would have been okay if you didn't have to take so much goddamn fall damage before the fight even starts. That's horseshit, with 18 or 20 vitality that I had at that point I shouldn't have had to lose 35% of my life bar just from entering the fight, and I wasn't going to go get rid of my pyromancy to open up a slot for fall control because that shouldn't be necessary. Other than that I thought it was okay. I just would keep getting caught in a loop of healing the fall damage to make sure I didn't die in one hit from the big guys in back while trying to get rid of them, but healing the fall damage would usually give time for the death spike in the back from across the arena.

Hiryu02

Henceforth, Blighttown will now be known as Fucktown. It's to the left of Scarytown and south of DoubleHell.

The_Spaniard

I hear if you post in the first page of the new thread, you will die.

Wait a minute... Aww shit!

Jephery

Hiryu02 wrote:

Henceforth, Blighttown will now be known as Fucktown. It's to the left of Scarytown and south of DoubleHell.

Real estate prices are skyrocketing!

seabass

So, I'm sort of at a brick wall, not sure where to go next. I've managed to ring both bells and go pretty far into the path that open up.

I've been to new andor londo, but I can't get past those two freaking archers, so I've turned tail to explore the rest of the game. I know there are two areas past the swamp I need to explore, there is a single fog door in the woods (past the shrooms) that I haven't used yet, there is another elevator in new londo ruins I don't know how to turn on, and I found a glowy orange impass in the tomb of giants. Who wants to suggest a next place for me to check out?

Jakorian

I'm not sure where to go in Sen's Fortress. I made it into the pit of titanite demons and went to the roof and killed the giant but I don't see where to go from there.

seabass

Jakorian wrote:

I'm not sure where to go in Sen's Fortress. I made it into the pit of titanite demons and went to the roof and killed the giant but I don't see where to go from there.

So it turns out there is another roof, go to where the

boulder trap

is and explore a bit. You'll find another path upwards.

Gilder

seabass wrote:

So, I'm sort of at a brick wall, not sure where to go next. I've managed to ring both bells and go pretty far into the path that open up.

I've been to new andor londo, but I can't get past those two freaking archers, so I've turned tail to explore the rest of the game. I know there are two areas past the swamp I need to explore, there is a single fog door in the woods (past the shrooms) that I haven't used yet, there is another elevator in new londo ruins I don't know how to turn on, and I found a glowy orange impass in the tomb of giants. Who wants to suggest a next place for me to check out?

Well while you won't like to hear it, you probably should head back to the archers. That's the easier path, because the other areas have enemies more scaled towards what you'll be after Anor Londo. That or they require you to finish Anor Londo. Someone said invisibility got them by the archers, so maybe try that if you can't make it? If you don't know where to get it and want to know

Go kill the Hydra in the Darkroot Basin. After that leave the area. Come back, and head behind where the Hydra was. There should be a gold golem. Kill it and talk to the person it becomes. Say you'll accept their help. Look for the summon sign back near the edge of the lake. Summon her and purchase invisibility.

Also don't get near her with golems around. If she gets hit once she goes away forever and she's the only one who sells those spells.

seabass

Gilder wrote:

Well while you won't like to hear it, you probably should head back to the archers.

Well balls.

Shen

Any time an archer knocks you off the ledge, just quickly quit out of the game via the menu while you're falling. When you reload you'll be back on the platform and the enemies will have reset to their default locations.

seabass

Shen wrote:

Any time an archer knocks you off the ledge, just quickly quit out of the game via the menu while you're falling. When you reload you'll be back on the platform and the enemies will have reset to their default locations.

I'll keep that in mind, but I'll probably give invis a try first.

Maddoc

The only part of Blighttown that makes it a really honest to god terrible fucking area is the frame rate. Well, and I guess if you don't take the time to farm some trees for moss the poison and toxins could be annoying.

Otherwise, it's absolutely no worse than 5-1 or 5-2 in Demon's Souls.

Aegeri

Yeah, Blighttown would be fun and interesting if it wasn't for the poor FPS.

Jephery

The frame rate in Blighttown is fine when you're not looking off into the distance. I just kept my camera looking mostly at the floor unless I wanted to take in the scenery.

The_Spaniard

Wee fuck you game, thanks for crashing my entire console one stroke away from defeating a boss. I appreciate that you turd.

Maddoc

Jephery wrote:

The frame rate in Blighttown is fine when you're not looking off into the distance. I just kept my camera looking mostly at the floor unless I wanted to take in the scenery.

My experience was that turning the camera at all, even focused on the floor, caused the frame rate to stumble pretty badly.

Fortunately I made sure to get all of the items in the entire area, so I basically never have to spend any time in upper Blighttown ever again aside from the short trip down to the swamp via Valley of Drakes.

-Bramble

Coming home drunk at 2 a.m. and firing the game up was not a good idea.

"Don't worry Big Hat Logan, I'll get you out of there!"

WHACK

You think that just because I am old that I can't defend myself? Have some sorcery!

"wait ... no ... fuck ..... FUCK"

Schide

I kind of want to play this eventually. But I have a feeling it would frustrate me quickly, and so much that I'd probably chuck it against the wall. So I'll wait to get it cheaper.

I mean, it says right in the OP, harder than Demon's Souls, and that looked way too hard. I haven't been able to play that because no PS3.

Preacher

I'm the worst dark souls player ever, like it took me forever to kill the miniboss outside of the blacksmith, tried to take on the bell gargoyles and yeah its not going so well.

Maddoc

Preacher wrote:

I'm the worst dark souls player ever, like it took me forever to kill the miniboss outside of the blacksmith, tried to take on the bell gargoyles and yeah its not going so well.

If you're having trouble with the Gargoyles, there are two easy options

1) Go there as a human, there will be a white message on the ground in front of the entrance to summon an NPC to help you. He'll basically kill them by himself if you give him enough time to do so.
2) Buy a shortbow and a bunch of arrows from the merchant in Undead Burg, and shoot off the drake's tail from the platform underneath the bridge to get the Drake sword. It's a horrendously powerful weapon for that stage in the game, and it'll shave off roughly 10% of the Gargoyle's health per hit, IIRC.

Preacher

Option two sounds like a good plan. I like having a great weapon.

Evil Multifarious

So I just FINALLY beat Ornstein and Smough and saw the Amazing Chest and got the big Plot Item.

Now everything went from "fairly easy besides bosses" to "what the fuck hard" again - those goddamn armoured boars, scaled up to my level, the Tomb of Giants with annoying darkness and knockback from enemies i can usually kill easily, and Ceaseless Discharge who does SO MUCH damage. Hmmm.

Baroque And Roll

What's the most sinister looking shield in the game?

Halibut

Fuck yeah! Finally beat Capra Demon!

Upgraded my hollow knight shield to +5, and cast magic shield. Blocked his attacks like a champ. And once the dogs were dead, it was easy.

Imperfect

Thinking of rerolling because man FUCK Thief.

What class is most FUN to play?

Baroque And Roll

Classes don't really matter except for early in the game. You can spec out however you want as the game progresses. I initially started a pyromancer that I wasn't really having fun with, though. Restarted with a wanderer and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

LordNibbler

Yeah, all you need to do is equip some armor you can find/buy and start putting stats into things you want.

Indie Winter

man I wish I knew about the NPC black phantoms before. sad I missed out on some Experiences.

I did get through the painted world (FUCK. HARPIES.) and got the red soapstone. Also joined the Darkmoon. What's a good place to put in a red summon sign for level 40?

Stragint

Capra Demon is so much easier with another person and I love how the Black Knights drop their weapons for my Dex character instead of my Strength Pyromancer. So cool.

Turkey

A few dozen thousand souls richer, I'm gonna give Vagina Dragon what-for.