Demons Souls looks interesting...

[Emotional Vampire]

faggots.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Not as hard as NG2 and more fun? Damn, I'm sold. I think I'm going to have to get this today. And yahtzee, like most game reviewers, tends to not be very good at games. im not sure why this trend exists, but it appears to be true. same thing with developers. watching a journalist or a dev play a game usually incites incredible vibes of deferred success.

The NG games are too different to compare really. They're balls out non stop action games, with one of the deepest, fluid, combo based combat systems ever created. Whereas DS, being an ARPG/Hack'n Slash, is much more deliberately slow moving and sombre. You have to take your time and assess every situation and try not to take on more than one enemy at a time.

As Castanova mentioned, you can make DS a bit easier by farming souls and leveling up your skills before heading into new, more difficult areas. Can't really do that sort of thing in Ninja Gaiden - only thing that helps there is practice :D

Both are fantastic in their respective genres though.

 

[Secretninja]

Been playing this for the past week or so and really enjoy it. Very frustrating at times, but when you kill a giantfuckingmeatcleaverthatsbiggerthanyourentirebody boss an intense FUCK YEAH sets in. I will probably restart next week when I go back to school and can hook it up to the interwebz, since I think I am at a point where the black phantoms who invade me would be able to roflpwn me since I'm fairly high level and don't know what to do against other players.
Also, much much more fun than dragon age.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Yeah, I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I have a feeling I kind of gimped myself by going with a soldier class though. magic/faith seems like it would make a lot of these bosses a lot easier. the game has one of the most interesting online interactions ive seen. you can leave/read messages to/from other players, watch phantoms fight in parallel, and laugh as others die horribly, usually by running or dodging off a cliff. i got invaded by some dude with a special spear that rapes your gear. cost me 10k+ souls just to fix everything (i hadn't gotten far enough to farm 4-2) - needless to say he killed me pretty easily.

 

[Oarfish]

Yeah, I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I have a feeling I kind of gimped myself by going with a soldier class though. magic/faith seems like it would make a lot of these bosses a lot easier.

Get your dex up to 12 and grab the composite longbow from 4-1 (at the end of one of the battlements), whack all the hardstone you can on it. Don't make it vicious unless you want to have to pump your dex. Bow sniping is effective against many bosses. Doesn't even feel cheesy, given the game is so fucking hard.

Also when playing a soldier class - dump / swap out for lighter your armour so you can roll for some fights - the bloody skeletons in 4-1 are a pain otherwise. Your equipped weight must be less than half of your max. Heavy armour is just not as useful as the ability to roll. Many high strength attacks do so much damage that armour makes very little difference.

i got invaded by some dude with a special spear that rapes your gear. cost me 10k+ souls just to fix everything (i hadn't gotten far enough to farm 4-2) - needless to say he killed me pretty easily.

Scraping spear fags are a nightmare in pvp (you can make one with lead demons soul and a spear, once you have killed the 2-2 demon). The only good counters are unblockable weapons (the str 30 two handers or sword of moonlight ).

 

[Secretninja]

It only takes 30 dex for the spiderstone bow to be best. If you want a decent bow to tide you over, the white bow is in 4-2 I believe, and you can trade some stuff for it from the crazy raven bitch in 4-1. The class you pick at the beginning affects nothing but starting equipment, and some classes start with a spell or two. The royal starts at level one, the others are 4-9. So by the time you are soul level 9, a royal could be the same as a wanderer, except he has a pretty cheese spell and a ring that regens mana. The classes that start with heavy armor are likely the best, but I started out royal and am using leather armor after upgrading my endurance(?) so I can still roll without getting all lazy.

I think that if you drop the telescope that you get for saving that douche in 1-1 can be dropped by the raven lady to trade for the mana regen ring if you want one and don't want to start over. wikidot has a list of all the shit she will trade.

I have been keeping str and dex fairly equal, and both are at about 25 right now. For basic playing I have been sticking to my purple flame shield, which is at +7, and a +3 quality falchion. I found a +1 dragon sword, which is pretty decent against everything, since half its damage is fire, but I can't find any mats to upgrade it. Its somewhat ridiculous that you can get the purple flame shield in the first level with some quick footwork, I even figured out how to grab it without killing the dragon and without looking on the interwebz.

 

[Oarfish]

Crescent weapons are pretty awesome for magic builds - damage scales well with magic stat and you get mana regen when in CC mode. Means you can ditch the fragrant ring.

My favourite starting class for warrior build is the temple knight - the Halberd is fucking mean if you use it two handed with the health regen shield.

 

[Damned Registrations]

If you can get to 1-3, the Great Sword you find there is basically the strongest weapon in the game 9once you customize it. A Dragon or Moon version will have more total attack power than anything else potentially, and the range on your swings is insane.

Though I still prefer a faster weapon for bosses. A Halberd or Mirdan hammer is ideal (Especially dragon versions), since you have good range, crazy damage, and can swap your shield on and off with a button for when you need to block something anyways. I never actually used a bow for any boss fights except the one fight where there's literally no other way to reach the bastard. (Which was annoying as hell and took WAY too many arrows.)

I recommend against raising your damage dealing stats until your stamina maxes out. Having those extra swings, dodges and blocking ability makes all the difference in the world. Upgrade your shields too. Makes a big difference.

As far as what classes are best, figure out what your dump stats will be and pick a class that has them lowest. All classes have the same amount of total points by level N, so the only way to have an advantage is to be using more of your points. I went with a Templar Knight because they start with garbage for int and magic, which I didn't intend to use all game. They start with a nice weapon and a heal spell too, though you can only cast the heal spell once and I never used it after the first stage. Got myself a blessed mace later and it was a smash fest for a long time afterwards.

 

[Overweight Manatee]

I picked a Royal. Seems to be one of the stronger classes. Starting at level 1 doesn't hold you back really, it just means that you get to distribute the 3-8 points that other classes already have. The Fragment ring's regeneration effect is pretty much an I-Win button for most of the early game when combined with Soul Arrow. Picked up the Purple Flame Shield from the dragon's horde and found a nice spear, so I'm a stealthy (thief ring) armored wall with a weapon range about 2x most enemies. Soul Arrow is still pretty useful for softening up a few groups of enemies, letting magic power slowly regenerate during the easy fights. I figure I'm going to go for a magic build with one of the magically customized weapons that adds your magic to damage and regenerates mana.

Difficulty has been fine so far. Well balanced combat that punishes you for being dumb. The area design is very good and varied. Lots of traps and pitfalls, which can be observed before hand by a cautious person. The online note system and the dead ghosts are also great for warning people of what happens. Also, its hilarious to see how many shitty players are dieing in ridiculously easy areas . Wish the hint system was a little more expansive so you could be more precise when talking about things though. But I managed to survive all of 1-1/1-2/2-1/2-2 with 0 deaths by simply playing carefully at all times, taking hints and stuff, which feels very rewarding.

Haven't had a chance to play with other people. Maybe its just because there aren't that many people on, but the system in the first place is kinda bad unless there are tons of people at all different soul levels online at the time you play. You have to be either in soul or body form, and the other player needs to be the opposite. Then you can only be together if you are rather close in soul levels (+-10 at beginning, expands a bit much later on). Then you can only play together if you are also adventuring in the same area. Not just the same area, the body player has to walk over where you left your mark. Then, and only then, can you group together. I can imagine literally thousands of players being online and none of them satisfying these requirements. Keep in mind that characters can level all the way up to 700ish, and the gameworld is huge. And of course, not every player is going to be wanting to group up in the first place. Maybe the online aspect will get more interesting when I find one of the black eye stones that let you force your way into other worlds. Would be far easier to find players if they went ahead and let you summon people in the nexus.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Yeah I've got like a +4 or +5 composite longbow of quality, and my dex is at least 18. i blew a couple points in the faith and magic (10 each total, just enough for 1 spell/miracle) just to see what they did. i keep a wand around for the occasional soul arrow spam. that's interesting about the low equip level == better dodge, i hadnt put that together, since i had platemail from the very beginning. ive been rocking doom armor or brushwood armor for awhile now. i've also got a winged spear thats moonlight +1, dont know if that was the best choice now, though. definitely like spears the most because of the range advantage you get on everyone, along with the ability to attack behind a shield.

to clarify, i think im soul lvl 43, and ive cleared 1-1, 1-2 (dragon + tower knight), 2-1, 2-2 except boss, 3-1, 3-2 except boss, 4-1, and 5-1.

 

[orao]

I picked a wanderer to start.
I went with a dex build, and spiderstone compound longbow + sharp uchigatana (I think that's the dex prefix).
Does decent damage even on skeletons.

 

[gothemasticator]

I spent the weekend with my brother who has a PS3 and got to try this game finally. I really enjoyed it.

First rpg in quite a while in which it is worth time studying various stat choices and weapon details, weighing the advantages/disadvantages of spending souls on leveling or upgrading equipment...

The difficulty is quite satisfying. Dumb mistakes are punished.

Level design is good - varied and interesting to work through. The fixed enemy locations worked well, because the strategy is all about finding out through trial and error what lies ahead and then going back to prepare better for it.

A little annoying that you can't sell loot.

Dragons are cool.

I'll play it more when the opportunity arises.

 

[Bloodeyes]

I played the remake recently. Can't comment on the original or an differences but it was pretty dope. I made a build for level 90 (which is kinda high level as playthrough 1 finishes are 60-70). Its not very active but I finally got someone. Here's my first DeS invasion (old monk invasion!).

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Eh, I don't think it's a JRPG at all. Unless I'm mistaken, JRPG refers to a style of game, not that it's just an RPG from Japan.

If only more Codexers would have realized that, they wouldn't have missed out on what is arguably the best Action RPG of all time.

Soul of the mind, key to life's ether.
Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel.
Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended.
So the world might be mended.

 

[SharkClub]

I can't believe this thread from 2009 is in the wrong subforum.

 

[janior]

I can't believe this thread from 2009 is in the wrong subforum.

the jew wasn't arouind to move threads

 

[Sibelius]

Thanks to arch-necromancer Bloodeyes for necroing this thread, really enjoyed reading through the original Codex reactions to Demon's Souls. Many anti-console, anti-Japanese and anti-action game comments as expected , and great to read the early experiences of those actually playing and loving the game!

 

[Baron Dupek]

PC port please.

PS3 emulation for this game is in already really good state.
Can confirm you can beat the game on PC.

 

[Bloodeyes]

Can anyone point me to a resource with the actual formulas for how damage resistances work and how much damage gets added by buff spells like enchant weapon and light weapon? I'm specifically interested in doing damage to players and despite this game having about 4 wikis none of them are adequate.

 

[D_X]

Can anyone point me to a resource with the actual formulas for how damage resistances work and how much damage gets added by buff spells like enchant weapon and light weapon? I'm specifically interested in doing damage to players and despite this game having about 4 wikis none of them are adequate.

Idk the actual formula for damage reduction but don't bother, armor is crap in des. Even wearing the Brushwood which weighs a metric fuckton has minimal damage reduction. As for your other question about the buff spells, check wikidot - http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/light-weapon

• Damage added is equal to Catalyst's MagAdjust * 1.3
• Adds 208 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using a Silver Catalyst
• Adds 234 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using a Wooden Catalyst
• Adds 221 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic and 99 Faith using the Talisman of Beasts
• Adds 299 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using an Insanity Catalyst

You'll also want cursed weapon instead of light if you can get it and can live with the hp drain - http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/cursed-weapon idk if the "cracked catalyst" thingy still works in the demake or not.

 

[Bloodeyes]

Can anyone point me to a resource with the actual formulas for how damage resistances work and how much damage gets added by buff spells like enchant weapon and light weapon? I'm specifically interested in doing damage to players and despite this game having about 4 wikis none of them are adequate.

Idk the actual formula for damage reduction but don't bother, armor is crap in des. Even wearing the Brushwood which weighs a metric fuckton has minimal damage reduction. As for your other question about the buff spells, check wikidot - http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/light-weapon

• Damage added is equal to Catalyst's MagAdjust * 1.3
• Adds 208 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using a Silver Catalyst
• Adds 234 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using a Wooden Catalyst
• Adds 221 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic and 99 Faith using the Talisman of Beasts
• Adds 299 magical damage to a weapon with 99 Magic using an Insanity Catalyst

You'll also want cursed weapon instead of light if you can get it and can live with the hp drain - http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/cursed-weapon idk if the "cracked catalyst" thingy still works in the demake or not.

The reason I want to know about resistances is because there's no downscaling of high level phantoms in this game. So if I make a level 40 character to invade the mid game I'll be fighting level 200 password phantoms with their full resistances and HP.

From what I've been able to gather armor/level based resistances are somewhat like damage threshold. If your damage number for a given damage type is lower than the resistance then your damage is greatly reduced, but if it is higher then it is barely reduced. My only source on this is reddit, but like I say there's not much good info out there on Demons Souls.

I do have a curse weapon build. It uses a cracked talisman of beasts to cast the spell so I only take 1hp per second damage and I have blessed iron knuckles offhand which give me 6hp regen per second. Curse weapon is better for big, high damage weapons as it multiplies damage by 1.5. My build uses Dragon Bone Smasher and I have been one shotting hosts and invaders alike with it.

Light weapon is better for fast, lower base damage weapons like straight swords which is why I'm looking at that now. If I have a 40 with a +10 standard knight sword at 14 str and cast light weapon on it with the insanity catalyst with 23 magic stat I should (after pure black character tendency and foe's ring modifies are applied) be hitting hard enough on both my damage types to go through the resistances of a max level player in the best armor. Such a build would not be a one shot machine, but would be viable to fight against all comers.

If I correctly understand how resistances work which I'm not sure I do.

Here's an early prototype light weapon build. He's mainly a PvE character that I'm taking to very high level to try out spells and stuff and learn more about how things work. The PvP version will be more focused. He's 60 in this clip and yet to invest anything in his damage dealing stats.