Dark Souls - First Impressions

Thanks for the detailed answers DeepO, much food for thought! :)

However I've reached a point where I'm seriously considering taking a short sabbatical from this game (not unlike SpoonFULL did) as I'm getting regularly pounded by these two partners of melee strife, Smough and Ornstein, and don't seem to be coming up with many ideas to counter them.
My last wild strategy, flee, dodge and black-bomb like crazy, isn't working. :D

I don't want to kill my enjoyment too much by the hazy repetition of eliminating the same obstructing enemies leading up to the fight, only for that to be over very quickly indeed, which is where I think some frustration does come in to play.

Maybe I'll gather some souls, some more humanity and head back to the merchant at Sen's Fortress for that ring of lightning defense, which might help, then possibly look for a better shield that has some lightning protection. I've also since ascended my mace into a lightning mace.

I'm also sure that I haven't completed everything possible within the New Londo Ruins, so maybe now that the Anor Londo Keep door is open, going back there and dickering about is a good idea.
Anything to temporarily get me out of these Anor Londo tower staircases. :)
 
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That was my understanding. I have to motivate myself to take the challenge. Its pretty inexpensive these days - saw this for $19 yesterday in a store. How much for a controller and which is best?

I've been using the Xbox 360 controller on the PC. Works brilliantly for the game.
 
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However I've reached a point where I'm seriously considering taking a short sabbatical from this game (not unlike SpoonFULL did) as I'm getting regularly pounded by these two partners of melee strife, Smough and Ornstein, and don't seem to be coming up with many ideas to counter them.
My last wild strategy, flee, dodge and black-bomb like crazy, isn't working. :D
The game´s signature boss fight I´d say.
I´d be quite surprised if these dudes wouldn´t win every "Dark Souls´ hardest boss fight on first playthrough" poll out there :).
I don't want to kill my enjoyment too much by the hazy repetition of eliminating the same obstructing enemies leading up to the fight, only for that to be over very quickly indeed, which is where I think some frustration does come in to play.
You don´t have to eliminate anyone on the way to them, just run :).
A tip for when you decide to go at them again:
In case you haven´t noticed, you can summon Solaire to help you in the fight. His sign is on the stairs leading to the archer knight.
Also, there´s a (not sure if intended) shortcut involving a jump from the spiral staircase leading from the bonfire.
I'm also sure that I haven't completed everything possible within the New Londo Ruins, so maybe now that the Anor Londo Keep door is open, going back there and dickering about is a good idea.
Anything to temporarily get me out of these Anor Londo tower staircases. :)
Speaking of dickering about,
are you sure you have explored Firelink Shrine thoroughly? ;)
For what it´s worth, on my first playthrough O&S prompted me to do a world tour of sorts as well :).
At any rate, it´s an amazing encounter imo.

P.S.: If you think I´m spoiling too much, better say it, somehow I´m finding it hard to resist this stuff.
 
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Thanks for the detailed answers DeepO, much food for thought! :)

However I've reached a point where I'm seriously considering taking a short sabbatical from this game (not unlike SpoonFULL did) as I'm getting regularly pounded by these two partners of melee strife, Smough and Ornstein, and don't seem to be coming up with many ideas to counter them.
My last wild strategy, flee, dodge and black-bomb like crazy, isn't working. :D

I don't want to kill my enjoyment too much by the hazy repetition of eliminating the same obstructing enemies leading up to the fight, only for that to be over very quickly indeed, which is where I think some frustration does come in to play.

Maybe I'll gather some souls, some more humanity and head back to the merchant at Sen's Fortress for that ring of lightning defense, which might help, then possibly look for a better shield that has some lightning protection. I've also since ascended my mace into a lightning mace.

I'm also sure that I haven't completed everything possible within the New Londo Ruins, so maybe now that the Anor Londo Keep door is open, going back there and dickering about is a good idea.
Anything to temporarily get me out of these Anor Londo tower staircases. :)

It took me a while to beat these two - but I finally have :)

I really wanted Dragon Slayer Ornstein's armor so I wanted to beat him last, but that didn't work out so well as Super Ornstein always kicked my butt religiously.

Here is what I did to beat them:

1) Leveled up Pyromancy all the way to +15 and then ascended the Pyromancy Flame in the swamp in Blighttown. (NOTE: This takes a while to accomplish but is well worth the investment).

2) Equipped lighter armor so I could move faster. Heavy armor slows you down too much for this fight and you will get hit because of it.

3) Took down Ornstein with melee as fast as possible.

4) Used the Fireball pyromancy to take down Super Executioner Smough.

When finishing off Executioner Smough with fireballs stay behind the pillars and wait until he does his move and then step in and let a fireball launch. It is crucial to always keep a pillar between you and Smough (this is where the light armor really comes into play). He won't be able to hit you with his sweep attack and you can easily back up from the hammer smash or butt slam. Keep circling the pillar as he tries to engage you. You will get the idea when you try it out.

Hope that helps!
 
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Man, Smough & Ornstein on the first playthrough is a pain in the ass. I still have nightmares on that fight... But just 'cause I didn't know what to do. Anyway, some tips:

- Ornstein is vulnerable on Fire, while Smough on Lightning: bring some Pyromancies and the Lightning Spear from Sen's Fortress, upgrade it at the Giant Blacksmith and that should be more than enough (ofc you need decent VIT and maybe the Eagle Shield which gives +80 def against Lightning);

- Stay behind the pillars at all costs when you need to heal: also, iirc there's still a possibility to stuck one of the two guys at the column, which gives you extra time to heal/dodge/recover from staggering;

- One final word: go in human form, because in the big room before the boss fight there's Solaire summoning sign. He'll give a big hand on them, especially during the first phase. Consider him your 'meat shield' :D.
 
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Wow, thanks guys for the encouraging words, interesting ideas and tips for overcoming this pesky pair. (Kudos to Dagar too!) I think I'll back pedal and acquire some more resources (humanity, lightning ring, some more upgraded items) before returning to Anor Londo for another crack at 'em.

Sounds like the summoning alone will have a noticable impact and considering I've been hollow in my last few tries (last humanity was taken by an invader) going back seems to be the best option.
 
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Ahh, thank you once more gentlemen. Mission accomplished. :thumbsup:

I used the covetous serpent ring to farm some humanity in a general back pedalling assault upon the 'Burg and Depths. Then I decided to upgrade my holy robe and temporarily ditch my elite knight armour, which proved to be a good decision. It's remarkable how reflexes can compensate for the lack of strong armour. Whilst melee errors are dealt with more harshly now, the extra movement speed and overall extra agility definitely appear to make up for it.

I also upgraded my lightning mace, switched to the Eagle Shield (thanks for the tip Ballsy!) and upgraded it, bought more black bombs, green herbs for stamina and even some dung pies if it got desperate. :)

The fight was much more dynamic with the Solaire summoning, with lots of different movements and positional advantages depending on who's attacking who. I went toe to toe with just Ornstein and got him down half way, then somehow we managed to switch opponents.

I'd almost smashed Smough down to a quarter of his health when Solaire finally polished off Ornstein. I got a bit dismayed/concerned when that golden Buddha of Bludgeon got his health back and got a case of spark possession, but with a curse we went back at 'im.

Using sequenced and timed attacks after Solaire's strikes (team work!) we whittled him down to about half way before his lightning-out-of-the-ass jump move sadly finished off Solaire. At this point, I thought I was a goner, with only a couple of estus shots left :D (now upgraded to +3).

This is where the black bombs came in handy; as using the same simple method I used against Sif, I knocked him down bit by bit, fleeing each time to hide behind what was left of the pillars. A couple more well timed side-hacks with the mace and he finally zapped into non-existence. :)

Easily my most intense boss-fight thus far. Interesting to see what else the game has in store…as progress implies the difficulty will yet rise even further? After reaching the next bonfire, I decided to to light it and take a rest. *whew!*
 
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I'm curious.. I've seen very little mention of the online aspects being mentioned here. No stories of another player invading your world and making off with some of your hard-earned souls. Are most of you guys playing in offline mode?
 
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I'm curious.. I've seen very little mention of the online aspects being mentioned here. No stories of another player invading your world and making off with some of your hard-earned souls. Are most of you guys playing in offline mode?

Depends on what you mean by offline. If you mean GFWL offline mode, this means that you cannot use the online aspects of the game (PvP, co-op/being invaded) and of course you have different save files from the online mode. With GFWL online, you can use the multiplayer aspects of the game, and if you are Human then you can summon online players to help you in your fights, or you can get invaded by other players who can kill you and take you souls and humanity. If you are Hollow, you will not be invaded even in online mode.

I mostly play hollow, but tried human few times just for fun and been invaded about 3 times, and won the fight each time winning considerable souls which was exciting!
 
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So I assume you can also be summoned by other players to help with a fight? I wonder how that works exactly. Are you just chosen randomly, and can you decline the summoning?

What happens if you die in their world while helping someone fight a boss? Do you lose all the souls you were carrying without a chance to retrieve them?
 
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See post 86. :) I've had souls/humanity stolen a few times.

I'm not really a fan of the pvp aspect, as I've been quite unceremoniously slaughtered at low level a few times during a period when I've not fully understood how the humanity mechanic operates. The way it works is interesting though and I certainly appreciate the idea and the design.
I play mostly offline now, saves the hassle.

Basically if you wish to be summoned, you leave a mark/sign for other players to see, often near a bonfire. I've tried to summon a few times, but they can fail, so players must be able to decline. I assume that if you lose as a summoned phantom in a co-op battle, you're merely destroyed and sent back to your own world without soul loss, (which is what happened to me in Anor Londo and the black orb) but if you invade and go PvP and then die, loss of souls/humanity occurs. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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Ok, so it's possible to switch from online to offline at will without affecting your current playthough? I wasn't sure if the saves were compatible.

I heard there are several points in the game where you can still be invaded by AI controlled NPCs.
 
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Ok, so it's possible to switch from online to offline at will without affecting your current playthough? I wasn't sure if the saves were compatible.

I heard there are several points in the game where you can still be invaded by AI controlled NPCs.

On the PS3, you can switch without problems; on the PC version things are not so simple, because of the reasons explained above (GFWL uses different saving slots).
To answer your question,

yes, there are certain Black Phantom NPCs: they invade you at certain points at the game but only BEFORE the boss encounter in the zone. They are needed for the unique weapons trophy.
 
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Offline mode for me.
I don't need no stinking help ;)
….or hassle!
 
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Started playing yesterday - thanks again for the mod tips, the Mousefix is an absolute necessity. Still struggling with the controls (M+KB), primarily because a lot of moves seem to be context driven - e.g. the same button does different things if you are moving or standing, if you are locked on or not, if you are in defense or not, 2-handed or not - it's just a lot of variables to consider. Is there an overview chart available somewhere?
Any recommendations for which class ito take?
 
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Started playing yesterday - thanks again for the mod tips, the Mousefix is an absolute necessity. Still struggling with the controls (M+KB), primarily because a lot of moves seem to be context driven - e.g. the same button does different things if you are moving or standing, if you are locked on or not, if you are in defense or not, 2-handed or not - it's just a lot of variables to consider. Is there an overview chart available somewhere?
Any recommendations for which class ito take?

I don't know about controls because I've always preferred the 360 pad; anyway, regarding classes, you can pick up whatever you wish, it doesn't matter: you can be everything and acquire every piece of gear. E.g. Starting as a Pyromancer doesn't prevent you to go for a full STR build.
 
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I found the manual in the meantime, which has a near complete list :embarrassed:
Also found some more tips on the net.
If I can't get comfortable I'll probably get a controller - have been meaning to get one for some time, but in the end couldn't bring myself to spend the money.
 
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We'll see. I'd have to get used to the controler too, I haven't played a game with a controller in ages.
 
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