Topic: Demon's Souls - Update: Remaster is coming to PS5 and PC

[K-man]

Tower Knight was intimidating, but I was able to kill it without even being hit.

Most important thing is to take care of the archers first thing.

[Quemaqua]

Actually, the most important thing is to know what the hell you're supposed to do in the first place.  His pattern is weird, and when he jumps he can end up in weird places.  For me he ended up on the back stairs numerous times, which seemed sorta' broken.  I had no idea how I was supposed to handle it until dying a couple of times and figuring out his attack pattern.  Same thing with the first boss of the mines.  That one was pure pattern recognition and knowing what to do for each step (or, apparently, just having a shitload of arrows).

[iPPi]

I'm having difficulty with Tower Knight right now in NG+.  A single hit is your entire life bar.  I might have to use ranged strategy altogether against him.

[iPPi]

Yahtzee's review

Not so much a review but rather his experience and playthrough of the tutorial, 1-1, and 1-2.

[Quemaqua]

Haha, that's pretty hilarious.  He actually died more than I did by quite a lot, apparently.  Dragon didn't kill me, dogs didn't kill me, and guards at the end didn't kill me.  I'd have loved to hear his reaction if he'd gotten past that and to the big tower knight boss after that.  Or even better, to the fucking fire boss that killed me a dozen times the other day.

[iPPi]

Christmas event for the game is starting tomorrow.  All worlds will have Pure White World Tendency, which means enemies will be slightly easier, and PWWT events will be available (for example, Satsuki in 4-1 will be waiting for you to fetch a sword, and the 1-1 executioner pathway will open).  I think it will last until the end of the week.

[Schlotzky5]

I normally play with pure white, and the game is still damn hard.

[MysterD]

Yahtzee's review

Not so much a review but rather his experience and playthrough of the tutorial, 1-1, and 1-2.

Kick-ass review. Cracked me up.

[ScaryTooth]

Oh, christmas events you say? I think it may be time for that second play through.

[iPPi]

Oh, christmas events you say? I think it may be time for that second play through.

Indeed.  I'm stuck on my 2nd playthrough right now.  Tower Knight is TOUGH on NG+.

[K-man]

the path that opens up in 1-1...am I wasting my time going in there with a soul level of like 25?

[ScaryTooth]

Execution grounds?

[K-man]

Yeah

[ScaryTooth]

If you have white or black WT Executioner Miralda appears there. She has a pretty dope axe. And Past that there is the brushwood armor. Which is nice. She had a lot of hp though.

[Schlotzky5]

I get the feeling like I'm not playing the game right. I just always seem like I dont know what to do with my souls, and I'm advancing through the game really slowly. The only levels I've completed are 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1.

Any tips?

[iPPi]

You spend your souls to level up; depending on build and stuff, vitality and endurance are probably the most important stats.  DO NOT put any into luck.  It's a waste of points and souls.  The _most_ useful spell in this game is Soul Arrow (you need a catalyst and 10 Intelligence and 10 Magic for it though).  It will help a lot. 

It's tough to actually get going though.  When I started I had tons of problems... after 1-1 and 2-1 I tried experimenting around and didn't really get far in other worlds until I actually started to level up a little more. 

Here are some tips:
For 2-2, make sure you have a weapon that does magic damage, several enemies there are nearly indestructible without magic damage.  It will help a lot.  The 2-2 boss is tough though so bring lots of grass. 

The two best shields in the game are Purple Flame Shield (90% flame resist) and Dark Silver Shield (100% magic resist/70% flame resist).  Purple Flame Shield is obtainable in 1-1 by the dragon's nest.  You can try and run up to the first dragon and get it.  Alternatively, go to 1-2 and bring about 150-200 arrows and kill the red dragon, and then go back to 1-1 and pick it up.  Since the Christmas Event is on right now, with PWWT, the dragons will also be absent.  Dark Silver Shield is from the 5-3 boss' bodyguard.

Do NOT use the 2-2 boss' Demon Soul.  Instead bring it to the blacksmith (he is below the elevator right at the start when you go up the stairs) in 2-1... keep talking to him until he mentions to the Red Hot Demon Soul.  Then you can give it to him.  Once you do, he will upgrade your weapons, much more so than what the blacksmith in the Nexus is able to.  For that matter, you should NOT use ANY of the Demon's Souls.  They are used to upgrade weapons and purchase miracles and magic.  Unless you're on a second or third playthrough and are certain that Demon Soul has no further use, consuming it will typically mean you just lost the chance to obtain an item/spell/miracle.

To farm for souls for either buying items/upgrades or for leveling -- early one, zone into the 1-2 archstone, turn around and kill the two elite knights and archers for a good amount of souls.  Otherwise, zone into the 4-2 archstone and run down and kill the reaper for a good amount of souls as well.

The two most useful rings in this game are the Cling Ring and Thief's Ring... both are found in 1-1.  Cling Ring gives you an additional 20% HP while in soul form, and Thief's Ring allows you to get closer to enemies before they notice you... a must have in most cases.  Since you spend most of the game in Soul Form (at least at the start... thinking about it I probably spent most of the last half of the game in Life Form), Cling Ring is usually a must have.  If you want the game to be easier, you could always consume a Stone of Ephemeral Eyes to come back to life, but if you die, it will affect World Tendency, and you can be invaded while alive.

For me, I found 1-3, 2-2, 3-1, 4-2 to be very, very tough to get to the bosses there.  Easy bosses to kill - 2-3, 3-1, 3-3 (depends), 4-1, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3.

Rescue NPCs. 
-Ostrava in 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 can be rescued.  Doing so will net you rewards in 1-4.  If you kill him early though you can get a key from him to unlock the Mausoleum in 1-1 and get a very powerful sword, and very powerful armor if you kill King Doran. 
-Biorr in 1-3.  He will help you in 1-3 boss and 1-4 Dragon.
-Yuria the Witch in 1-3.  She will teach you magic in the Nexus after rescuing her.
-Saint Urbain in 4-2.  He will teach you miracles in the Nexus after rescuing him.
-Sage Freke in 3-1... I forget his name.  He too will teach you magic in the Nexus after rescuing him.  He teaches different magic than Yuria.
-Patches in 2-2 and 4-2.  He will trick you into traps, but if you activate both and survive, he will appear in the Nexus and become a vendor there.

---SPOILERS---
-Yurt in 3-2.  Rescue him, then kill him when you return to the Nexus.  If you do not kill him he will start killing named NPCs in the Nexus.  Alternatively, do not rescue him.  It is your choice.

[Quemaqua]

Holy hell that information is useful.  I was wondering where to get the Purple Flame Shield... I haven't consulted the guide at all.  That'll be a huge help.  I feel like a need a little bit of an edge in this game lately.  Mostly because of the Flamelurker boss.  That dude just raped the hell out of me until I gave up in despair.  I've been pretty good about persevering until him.  He just slaughtered me.

[K-man]

Well shit

If you have white or black WT Executioner Miralda appears there. She has a pretty dope axe. And Past that there is the brushwood armor. Which is nice. She had a lot of hp though.

She didn't drop an axe for me.  Just her armor and some ring

Also, I found the guy with the brushwood stuff.  unfortunately i only had enough burden left to grab the shield.  no problem I'll just go back to the nexus and offload some shit.

bad idea.  Armor was gone.

[iPPi]

Well shit
She didn't drop an axe for me.  Just her armor and some ring

Also, I found the guy with the brushwood stuff.  unfortunately i only had enough burden left to grab the shield.  no problem I'll just go back to the nexus and offload some shit.

bad idea.  Armor was gone.

Heh, brushwood armor is pretty useless.  The burden is too high to equip without a TON of endurance and strength.  Anyway, Biorr (from 1-3) wears Brushwood as well.  If you kill him you can get the rest of your set as well.

[Schlotzky5]

I think I messed up my character. It might be easier to just start over than to have to deal with it. Do you think its best to specialize or to go the well rounded path?

[iPPi]

I don't think you need to restart your character unless you accidentally killed important NPCs like Stockpile Thomas or one of the blacksmiths.

Stats are just stats.  My character is well rounded.  My character can do everything -- bow, sword+shield, magic, and miracles.  My magic is the weakest... I just had enough stats to learn  and use it.  Since my character's starting class was a priest I have a higher faith rating (also because for the miracle Second Chance (+50% more HP)).  Strength and Dex are high enough to use all my gear.  Everything else I put into Vitality and Endurance.

Hell, in NG+ I found out Vitality is pretty useless.  Most enemies take off 50-70% of your HP regardless of your armor, so it's just important to have high stamina and a good shield.

[Ghandi]

I really enjoy reading this thread even though I have no idea what anyone is talking about. I've been following it for weeks now.

[Pugnate]

I really enjoy reading this thread even though I have no idea what anyone is talking about. I've been following it for weeks now.

[K-man]

As an aside, the game's controls aren't nearly good enough to force you to walk out on beams like that to obtain items.  I died like 3 times trying to get out of there with all my souls intact.

[Schlotzky5]

I beat the flamelurker on my first try(yay for me) and I gave the blacksmith his soul. He told me he would make me a special weapon, but I havent gotten anything or any further instructions.

I put a few points towards magic/intelligence and put a catalyst in one of my non shield slots and wow did that ever make a difference.

Also, I was cruisin around 4-1 just trying to get some souls and some items and I ran into the dude in the jail. Awesome, another guy who's gonna give me something or help me in some way. Then, I rested the controller on my leg while he was talking and boom, R2. I had no choice but to fight and kill him and get a crappy ring.

[iPPi]

He's just a vendor in 4-1 and 4-2... not too much of an important person, though he does sell cheap arrows (10souls/arrow vs. 20souls/arrow Blacksmith in Nexus, as well as some crafting stones).

For the blacksmith in 2-1, you'll need to upgrade your weapons with the stones you get.  Finding out the upgrade path can be difficult if you are after a unique weapon though.

For example, one of the best bows in the game is the Lava Bow -- upgrade a normal short or long compound bow to +7, and the 2-1 blacksmith will use the Armor Spider's Demon Soul and upgrade it to the Lava Bow.  The other really good bow in the game is the White Bow from a black phantom in 1-4, but it requires high stats to use.

Here's the weapon upgrade path for Demon's Souls

[Schlotzky5]

Yeah, I get the stuff about upgrading weapons, but when I gave him the soul from the flamelurker I didnt get anything. I think its called the red hot soul or something like that. Do I have to upgrade a weapon to a certian point before he'll make something out of it?

[iPPi]

Giving him the Red Hot Demon Soul will allow him to craft unique demon soul weapons for you.  You don't get anything from Red Hot Demon Soul otherwise.  For example, if you upgrade a bow to +7, he will offer you an upgrade to the Lava Bow, which would otherwise be unavailable if you did not give him the Red Hot Demon Soul.  Make sense?  By giving him that Demon Soul he will now craft unique weapons for you for other Demon's Souls, but you'll need the appropriately upgraded weapon, which is where the wiki comes in handy.

He will also upgrade weapons using ore like Dragonstone, or Bladestone, etc. once given the Red Hot Demon Soul.  The blacksmith in the Nexus will only upgrade weapons using Hardstone, Sharpstone and Clearstone -- these stones only give more physical damage.  You'll need weapons that deal magic and fire damage as you progress.

[Schlotzky5]

I feel like my newfound use of magic has put me over the 'hump'. Its like in GT games when you have to grind it out on frickin sunday cup for days, then all of the sudden you get over the hump and the whole game opens up. I feel like I can hold my own in most of the worlds and I am picking up cool items and weapons like crazy. I mean, I'm dying a lot, and getting pounded pretty good, but in a good way, not in a fuck you demons souls way.

Do crystal geckos spawn a limited amount of times? I feel like once I learn where they'll be, they don't show up anymore.

[ScaryTooth]

I don't think they do. They are there every time you enter the level.

[K-man]

I killed the crystal gecko in the execution grounds 3 times, then it stopped appearing.

If i'm not mistaken, if you scare one off it's gone for good

[Quemaqua]

I haven't been able to figure that out.  I scared off the one on 2-1 and never got it again until another visit like weeks later, but then another one in 2-2 I got several times in a row until I eventually killed it.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Isn't there that place in 2-2 that has a room full of crystal geckos that respawn whenever you exit the level and come back?

[iPPi]

Crystal geckos, wherever they spawn, have an individual counter.  When you kill a boss, the gecko in that world will spawn.  When you kill it or if it runs away, decrease the counter by 1.  If the counter reaches 0, the gecko will no longer respawn.  So if a certain gecko in say world 2 was left alone and you killed all the bosses in world 2, you would have 4 tries to kill it.

World tendency also affects geckos' drops.

[Pugnate]

I want this game so badly, but to get it, I have to pay about 90USD.

[Quemaqua]

If you like it, it's worth it.  I mean, if this is the sort of game that appeals to you, I'd just suck it up and do it.  That's a tough call if you aren't sure, though, because you could end up spending a lot of money on something you'll find frustrating.  Definitely know if it's the game for you before you do it.

They don't have a cheap Asian release?

[Pugnate]

For some reason cheaper Asian releases are more on the PC. I guess that's because piracy is so rampant in this part that they are glad to get anything.

I can get Demon's Souls from Hong Kong for about 40 pounds incl. shipping, but the manual and everything is in Chinese. I am sorta worried that I may end up on Chinese servers, though I suppose it doesn't matter with this.

Yea I'll get it. I am sure I will love the game... an insanely difficult RPG sounds very inviting.

[Quemaqua]

As long as the language in-game is English, it won't matter, as all the messages you can leave and read are pre-constructed (I imagine so people don't span "DICK" and "I LIK BOOOBIES" every time you turn a corner).  You can probably find the manual somewhere.  I don't know that it's super important, but there are a few things it would be handy to have explain (like what the different damage type symbols actually mean, etc.).

[Pugnate]

The language can be switched to English without issue. I noticed that it says on wikipedia that the US version of the game has a newer translation of the text. I wonder if that is really that important or not.

[Schlotzky5]

Its actually a little annoying playing the US version because the names people use online are different from those in game. For example, my game calls an upgrade 'sticky' where online its described as 'viscous'. Why they needed to change that of all things, I have no idea.