So Dark Souls remastered is out today and i've been seeing a lot of comments on Nlife about how they are put off by the difficulty. Personally I think Dark Souls is a fantastic game, yes it can be challenging but it's atmosphere, exploration and sense of reward are always worth it.
I will concede though that Dark Souls can be overwhelming for newcomers, the First one in particualar is guilty of this as the player gets a few signs on the ground telling them the controls and then just leaves the player to it, and for some players this can be extremely offputting.
I would love to see Dark Souls have a healthy community on the Switch, so here are a few tips to help you in the early stages of Dark Souls.
1-Class selection
A knight is the best for beginners, high health and defense and can deal a fair amont of damage, the first two bosses you will encounter, the Asylum demon and the Taurus demon only do Physical damage so it is a handy class for those two. The Knight doesn't know any Pyromancy but that can be obtained not too far into the game (after visiting the depths), do try and get a ranged weapon as soon as you can though.
2-Firelink shrine and where to go
After defeating the Asylum demon you will arrive at Firelink shrine where multiple paths are available to you. Way back when, the first time my Brother played Dark Souls he went the wrong way and because of Dark Souls reputation, he though that was just how hard Dark Souls is supposed to be, so for clarity's sake you'll want to go to the Undead Burg first of all. Don't go into the graveyard with Skeletons and do not head down towards Blighttown, especially if you picked the Master Key as your starting gift.
3-Taurus Demon
Plunging attacks are your friend in this fight when you first enter there is a ladder right next to you, climb up and take out the two Archers, make your way across the arena and the boss will jump down, run back to the ladder climb up and plunge attack the Taurus demon when he gets close. Lure the Taurus demon away and rinse and repeat for an easy victory, don't dawdle at the top of the ladder because the Taurus Demon will jump up and attack you.
4-The Fang Boar
This is an Armoured Pig and there is a really easy way to defeat him, you'll enter an open space and the Boar will charge at you, you should notice a staircase just ahead of you to the right, go up the stairs defeat the archers and acquire the Alluring Skulls, throw them into the fire below and hey presto, dead pig. If you have them, you can use firebombs from this position too. Even better the Fang Boar doesn't respawn after he's been killed.
5-The Bell Gargoyles
This is an unreasonably hard fight for this early on so just Summon. Two options are available here, Solaire and Lautrec, after defeating the Taurus Demon you will come across Solaire praising the Sun, talk to him and exhaust his dialogue options and he will be available to summon for the Gargoyle fight. To get Lautrec you'll need the mystery key by a corspe in a room near the Fang Boar. You can also use the Master Key. Free him, return to Firelink shrine (there is a lift in the church area that will take you directly there) and talk to him and he will be available to summon. Summon one of these two (or both) and this fight becomes a walk in the park. Remember you can only summon when human and their summons signs are just before the Fog gate leading into the Bell Gargoyle fight.
After this fight you will ring the first bell of awakening and the real Dark Souls starts here, two more general tips for the rest of the game. The trick to defeating any boss is Patience and learning how they telegraph their attacks, the quicker you adapt the better time you'll have with the game. The second tip is there is no wrong way to play Dark Souls, want to summon against every boss? that's absolutely fine, you are not cheesing it, you are using the tools given to you by the game. Hopefully this will be of some use to newcomers interested in playing Dark Souls on the go, but who were a little put off by the difficulty, give it a go and you may just discover a new passion. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and i'll answer them as soon as I can.
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Topic: Dark Souls: A beginners guide for getting started.
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