VERY quick tips for Dark Souls owners

[I've gotten a few requests to share my Dark Souls post with the community - so here goes! I completed the game at Soul Level 77, after 37 hours and 10 minutes of play - for reference, I beat Demon's Souls at Level 76, at 22 hours and 30 minutes of play. Dark Souls is a considerably longer, and harder game. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below and I'll do my best to answer them! <3 you guys]

That’s right, the supposed “too hard for school” action-RPG Dark Souls has officially hit retailers, and I have no doubt that many people will play it for a few hours, and promptly give up.

But that’s a shame. Despite how hard the game may seem, there’s always (repeat: always) a solution to your problem. Dark Souls was masterfully crafted to the point where once you figure it out: you become God, and engage in one of the most rewarding gaming experiences of all time. I’m going to provide some very brief tips for you, in hopes that you’ll have that eureka moment just like myself.

Here is a typical Dark Souls first session:

0:05 – Oh wow! Easy training monsters! Have at you, fiends!
0:15 – FFFFUUUUUUUU I died in a hit?!
0:20 – Ok…no town…where do I buy anything…
0:35 – FFFFUUUUUUUU this game is impossible I quit.

Tame non-story spoilers incoming. I’d recommend saving this article if you get stuck, and need a quick reference:

Basic Tips:

*Your starting class doesn’t necessarily matter, unless you want the Thief’s Master Key without having to waste a gift, or you want to start as a Pyromancer to allocate as many stats as possible at an early level. After the first 6-8 hours all classes start to blend, and everyone can use anything they have the stats for. Every gift outside of the master key can be obtained in the game.

*I’ve heard a lot of things about the master key – about how it’s not good, because it will only confuse you after you unlock secret pathways to very late-game areas. This is partially true, but I still urge you to take it if you trust your instincts. You can get some pretty amazing suicide loot by way of the master key shorcuts (suicide loot, like Demon’s Souls, is obtained when you run, usually naked, through a really hard area in search of drops and items).

*If you beat the first tutorial boss without running through the door to the left, you’ll earn a special weapon (it takes a TON of strength to use however) – if you take the black firebombs gift, you can take him down pretty easily.

*The first merchant is right near the start of the Undead Burg – go up two flights of stairs – then look right – see the two lance skeletons? Break those boxes and head through the outside door there. You can most notably buy firebombs and arrows, which will help with the next two boss encounters.

*If you want to cheap-out the Tauros boss [the first real boss], grab around 10 Firebombs and just chuck them at him at a safe range – he’ll go down easy. You can also get him to jump off the area, or you can climb the ladder and do a falling strike.

*You will need to grind in Dark Souls. The first grind spot is above the Undead Burg bonfire, right where the dragon appears. Simply go up the ladder you kicked down after the Tauros boss, walk up the stairs, then quickly walk back down – repeat for an easy 300 souls per run.

*Once you make it to the Red Dragon, grab a bow and ~100 arrows – head to the bridge below him and aim for his tail – keep shooting – after some time, you’ll earn the Drake Sword – one of the best starting weapons in the entire game. Note that it doesn’t scale with your strength/dexterity statistics, so you will want a plan B.

*Your first order of business is to ring the two bells of awakening. One is in the Undead Parish, in the church past the iron boar mini-boss. The other is in Blighttown – a really hard area that you should tackle second – you can get into Blighttown from the Sewers, or the cave in the Valley of Drakes.
If you get cursed, head to the top of the belltower at the Undead Parish – the NPC there will sell a cure for 3,000 souls each (post day one curse patch).

*Personally, I like to save my humanity pickups for special occasions. What I do is accumulate them, and when I’m at a bonfire with a boss fight I know I can beat, but need more Estus Flasks for, I use two humanity at the fire to kindle it and get that little extra boost.

*Press Circle (PS3) or B (360) to slide down ladders (shoutout to GameFAQs for that one).



The easiest way to blow through the first few hours (new character guide):

*Start a Pyromancer – pick the master key.

*Use fireball repeatedly on the Asylum boss after completing the tutorial to easily take him down.
Start heading for Undead Burg – level up vitality twice to help against the Tauros boss just in case you get hit.

*Buy 5-6 Firebombs from the merchant to use on Tauros.

*Run from the first Undead Burg bonfire all the way to the Tauros spirit door – you can make it without getting hit. Clear the two archers on top of the tower.

*Use the firebombs and your fireball spell (you should have full charges) on the Tauros demon – run away, throw/cast, run away, throw/cast, repeat. Kindle the fire using two humanity if you need 10 flasks to beat the Tauros demon.

*Run over the Dragon’s bridge, found after the Tauros demon- go down the first flight of stairs you see to the right – kick down the ladder and use the dragon grinding method above to level up to 12 dexterity, buy the 1,000 soul bow from the merchant, and buy around 75 arrows (you can also buy these earlier if you’re worried about losing your souls due to death).

*Go up the ladder near the bonfire, and go under the dragon – clear the two skeletons out just in case. Aim at the Dragon’s tail – wait for him to stop throwing a tantrum, and repeat – eventually you will get the Drake sword (it will pop into your inventory automatically).

*Grind strength using the dragon grinding method until you can wield the Drake sword at 16 strength. You should be able to breeze through the next few areas with it. In fact, after upgrading it, I beat the final boss of the game while two handing it.



Massive Spoilers incoming – only read if you need help completing the game

Advanced Tips:

*Need to grind even further than 300 souls per run? How about 7000? First you need to purchase the forest key from the blacksmith below the Undead Parish for 20,000 souls (it’s a good idea to buy this after a boss fight). Then, head to the forest using the entrance next to him; keep going straight until you pass 4 tree monsters, and get to the magically sealed door. Open it, and note the very small pathway near the cliff. Run over to the left and gather the four enemies (the sorceror, the templar, the clear thief, and the warrior) – corral those enemies back to the entrance, and head to the utmost point of that path near the cliff – all the enemies will run up the ledge, and dive over you to their doom. You may need to bait them a bit, but it works.

*After you ring the two bells, if you’re lost, keep reading: head over to Sen’s Fortress – it’s the place where the Onion Knight was sitting at, near the Undead Parish blacksmith. Complete the fortress and kill the Iron Golem. That will lead you to Anor Londo – the next area.

*Once you’re in Anor Londo, head to the middle area, and take the first beam on the bottom floor into the cracked window. Make your way around the building catwalks to the main castle, and enter in from the right side. Once you’re there, you can open up a few shorcuts, grab some amazing loot, then head in for one of the most challenging boss fights in the game.

*After completing Anor Londo’s main castle, you will obtain the Soul Vessel – this is a story item that will allow you to complete the game by stealing four Lord souls, which unlocks the final boss fight (for the standard ending). The location of the four Lords (un-named, to prevent spoilers) are as follows:
One is on the side path of Anor Londo – go straight as soon as you head into the area by way of the gargoyles, and head all the way down that path.

*One is in the Tomb of Giants – past the Catacombs, after Pinwheel.

*One is in the Old Londo Ruins, after you drain the water (you need the abyss ring from the Wolf Sif to fight this boss).

*One is past the Demon Ruins, after Queelag in Blighttown – beat the Ceasless Discharge and two more bosses, then fight it.

*Another special enemy is in the painting, in the Anor Londo building with the white ninjas – to enter the painting you need the peculiar doll – obtain the doll by re-visiting the tutorial area using the crow’s nest in Firelink Shrine.

If you own Dark Souls and have any tips for newcomers, feel free to leave them below.