Today I'm going to explain where you can fairly easily farm twinkling titanite and demon titanite shards for upgrading your weapons and equipment. Both of these are pretty rare drops, so don't spend them carelessly earlier in the game as you might find a better set of armour you want to upgrade later on. Demon titanite usually only drops from titanite demons such as the one near the first smith near undead chapel, whilst twinkling titanite drops from those rare blue lizards you sometimes encounter crawling around.
Note: i know i mentioned this before but in case you didn't read that post - if you see a rare blue lizard but it vanishes before you can catch it you can go to exactly where you saw it, save and quit, then load again and it should have re-appeared for you to kill.
Anyway, onto the farming!
1. Twinkling titanite:
Great little material, used for upgrading most sets of advanced armour and all of the black knight gear. My favourite place to farm this material is just outside Seath the Scaleless's final boss battle room. It drops from the large clams in the room directly prior to fighting Seath for the last time, although it is a rare drop so expect to grind for a little while. Also - these clams don't give you many souls so don't expect to be levelling up quickly from them.
If you wear the golden serpetous ring it will increase the drop rate, and you can use the bonfire in the boss battle arena to respawn the clams each time. Beware they have a pretty annoying attack where they throw you into their mouth if you get too close and munch you up - deals a lot of damage but more importantly, deals HUGE amounts of damage to your durability on your equipped gear so be wary of that!!
Note: in case you missed them earlier there are 2 rare blue lizards in the crystal cave area near the clams. If you progress up the invisible crystal staircase, they are located in this rather large chunk of crystals about half-way down the cave in a small, narrow tunnel. As theres two of them one will probably escape so use the save and quit method i mentioned before.
2. demon titanite:
first donate 30 humanity to the chaos mistress to open the shortcut to Lost Izalith. Once you reach the shortcut (before the firesage boss battle) you'll get to a bridge with a titanite demon about halfway along. Luckily he's facing the other way so you can sneak up on him for extra damage or just get the first hit in. The great thing about this titanite demon is that he respawns, though this may seem a bit of an inconvenience for getting to the area boss later on, you CAN still run past him fairly easily.
Anyway, he drops 2 demon titanites each time and 5000 souls! so is definitely worth stopping off to kill. the demon titanite shards are great for upgrading weapons forged from unique souls such as the moonlight butterfly, or quelag's soul.
Hope that little guide helps some of you, and enjoy upgrading your gear to be ridiculously powerful!! :D
Monday 31 October 2011
Chaos shrine, Quelag's lair - BEWARE OF HOSTILE NPCs!!
Right, so yesterday a friend told me about the NPC who appears in Blighttown to help you - man-eater Mildred. Personally i had never heard of him before, nor did i know you could recruit him to help you but apparently the NPC is a bit of a nutter!
He helped my friend to defeat the area boss - Quelag, and then afterwards followed him through the illusionary wall in the next area and into the Chaos shrine. However at this stage Mildred started attacking the NPCs inside the shrine, more specifically the crawling man with the eggs on his back.
You want to be really careful here as engaging these NPCs could ruin your chances of joining or progressing with the servant of chaos covenant, therefore making your later trip to Lost Izalith a much bigger pain in the ass. Just in case you were wondering - the shortcut to Lost Izalith opens after you donate 30 humanities to the lady of chaos, it may seem like a lot but if you use the baby skeleton grinding method i explained earlier in this blog with the golden serpetous ring equipped humanities drop pretty quickly!
Thanks to Gary for alerting me to this possibly massive problem as the chaos covenant is great to join - you get a sick chaos fireball, a shortcut to Lost Izalith; and another new pyromancy spell after donating 30 humanities.
He helped my friend to defeat the area boss - Quelag, and then afterwards followed him through the illusionary wall in the next area and into the Chaos shrine. However at this stage Mildred started attacking the NPCs inside the shrine, more specifically the crawling man with the eggs on his back.
You want to be really careful here as engaging these NPCs could ruin your chances of joining or progressing with the servant of chaos covenant, therefore making your later trip to Lost Izalith a much bigger pain in the ass. Just in case you were wondering - the shortcut to Lost Izalith opens after you donate 30 humanities to the lady of chaos, it may seem like a lot but if you use the baby skeleton grinding method i explained earlier in this blog with the golden serpetous ring equipped humanities drop pretty quickly!
Thanks to Gary for alerting me to this possibly massive problem as the chaos covenant is great to join - you get a sick chaos fireball, a shortcut to Lost Izalith; and another new pyromancy spell after donating 30 humanities.
Friday 28 October 2011
GAME COMPLETE!!! - YES!!!
Ok, so after about 30 attempts, innumerable 'F**KS', and launching my controller from one end of the room to the other i finally defeated Lord Gywn, the Lord of cinder. I'd like to say thank you and sorry to Gary for putting up with my ongoing rage over the last few days as i fight my way through the final bosses in the game to my great desperation and despair, but as always with Dark Souls - I HAD to beat them. Funnily enough, this was my last attempt at the final boss before i had to go and catch a train - and when i say 'last' i actually meant last as i hadn't packed etc. Well all i can say is *MASSIVE, MASSIVE sigh of relief* *tear to the eye* and *fist pump*.
The absolute key to this battle is parrying and ripostes. Unfortunately this is the hardest technique in the game and its quite appropriate that you have to master it to defeat the final boss. As ripostes are VERY important in this battle its good to wear the hornet ring as this significantly increases your damage with critical attacks, i.e. counter-attacks/ripostes. The flame stoneplate ring can also play an important role in this battle as Gywn uses a huge flaming sword, Although you will mainly want to focus on not taking any hits at all although resistances are handy when he [inevitably] breaks through your guard.
You will need a strong set of armour with high resistances across the board, especially flame and physical; and don't try to use a lightning weapon such as the lightning spear which i previously blogged about as he has resistance to lightning weapons. Personally i used the Quelag's furysword, forged from the soul of Quelag in Anor Londo, as it has high fire damage and OK physical damage. Ironically Gywn is actually fairly weak against fire damage so that's where this sword comes in handy - especially with the bonus the hornet ring grants.
As soon as you enter the battle he will BE ON YOU LIKE A BI*** NON STOP!!!! He won't leave you alone for the entire fight unlike pretty much all of the other bosses in the game, and avoiding his attacks doesn't give you any respite either so forget about trying to run away to regain stamina/heal - he's on your ass and its scary as f*** (excuse the large amount of curses but its important to emphasise the difficulty of this boss).
In case you were wondering it is possible to sprint past the black knights outside of the arena where Gywn is, although its not easy - you'll get a knack for it as you'll probably be doing this trip quite a lot but if you want to learn how to do it well just watch the speedrun video on youtube. These black knights are great for farming every type of titanite chunk (all colours), so you can upgrade all your weapons to level 9, although you will need the slabs to reach level 10 and ultimately get the achievements/trophies - rumour has it that there is only one of these slabs per playthrough so be careful when allocating them.
In order to break down Gywn's attacks I've listed them below, but i would recommend just going against him again and again in order to learn them and master them for yourself, most importantly don't stay at a distance from him as he will do his most devastating attack, and make sure to exploit the riposte!!
1. Leaping down-slash attack: He does this as his first move after you enter the arena. Don't stay too far away from him (if you get the chance after entering the arena) as he will execute this on you. In order to dodge it try rolling at the last minute sidewards (?).
** It's really important to dodge roll this first attack of his as if he strikes you he will get you down and from there on it's difficult to regain your poise and get back into the fight properly!
2. 3/4-hit combo: When you're right up close to Gywn he will either do his grab technique or this devastating 3/4-hit combo. This is by far his most powerful attack as it will no doubt break your guard and most times kill you. It's important to have a LOT of stamina and a shield which has 100% physical and high flame DEF. This is your best/only chance to SMASH HIM!! so get your LT/L2 buttons at the ready!! When he's swinging the sword from side to side you can time it right and parry him, immediately after it makes the *whoosh* noise (you have probably already heard this), give him the riposte! - again, hornet ring will significantly increase this damage - and if you have the +5 furyblade it will deal around 700 damage.
** After successfully executing the riposte, it's your best time to heal (quickly) or get your pyromancer hand out, circle around behind him, and spam him with ONE supremely powerful fireball (probably the great chaos fireball fully upgraded - +15). then get your sword straight back out. Doing so, will hit over 1000 in combination with your counter-attack and severely hurt Gwyn.
3. Grab: When your really close Gywn will try grabbing you. He pulls back his hand quite far and lunges down to grab you, i noticed he generally tries to do this when your behind him or just after he recovers from the riposte. Avoid this attack by rolling backwards out of the way, he sometimes does this multiple times in succession so be careful of that, sometimes you have to suffer the first blow of his 3/4-hit combo to realise he's changed his attack type again.
There are a number of different strategies to defeating Gywn, and some include using a greatblade to slash him through the pillars, some include using the iron flesh pyromancy spell and spamming him with fireballs - keep these in mind and whether they will be easier for you, but in my opinion the riposte strategy is the easiest and you will eventually get it - just don't give up! (and don't use a precious controller as it may end up getting smashed). If you're getting in a bad mood try to take a break, or at least a break from fighting this boss - maybe farm some shards from the black knights, you can also get their weapons from them occasionally; or go farm souls in the forest or something to pile a few more points into endurance.
Hope this has helped guys and invite me to chat if you need any more help, just remember - this isn't an easy boss and I'm sure everyone who has fought him has struggled so don't worry, take the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the world, collect hidden/rare items, forge, and clear up any areas you haven't discovered yet. I will continue be posting to this blog, and I'll be uploading more item locations, covenant tips, and other stuff that i may deem helpful/cool. Now that I've completed it though it would be great to hear your feedback and comments, so please comment on some posts if i have left anything out.
Good luck, and take no mercy!!!
The absolute key to this battle is parrying and ripostes. Unfortunately this is the hardest technique in the game and its quite appropriate that you have to master it to defeat the final boss. As ripostes are VERY important in this battle its good to wear the hornet ring as this significantly increases your damage with critical attacks, i.e. counter-attacks/ripostes. The flame stoneplate ring can also play an important role in this battle as Gywn uses a huge flaming sword, Although you will mainly want to focus on not taking any hits at all although resistances are handy when he [inevitably] breaks through your guard.
You will need a strong set of armour with high resistances across the board, especially flame and physical; and don't try to use a lightning weapon such as the lightning spear which i previously blogged about as he has resistance to lightning weapons. Personally i used the Quelag's furysword, forged from the soul of Quelag in Anor Londo, as it has high fire damage and OK physical damage. Ironically Gywn is actually fairly weak against fire damage so that's where this sword comes in handy - especially with the bonus the hornet ring grants.
As soon as you enter the battle he will BE ON YOU LIKE A BI*** NON STOP!!!! He won't leave you alone for the entire fight unlike pretty much all of the other bosses in the game, and avoiding his attacks doesn't give you any respite either so forget about trying to run away to regain stamina/heal - he's on your ass and its scary as f*** (excuse the large amount of curses but its important to emphasise the difficulty of this boss).
In case you were wondering it is possible to sprint past the black knights outside of the arena where Gywn is, although its not easy - you'll get a knack for it as you'll probably be doing this trip quite a lot but if you want to learn how to do it well just watch the speedrun video on youtube. These black knights are great for farming every type of titanite chunk (all colours), so you can upgrade all your weapons to level 9, although you will need the slabs to reach level 10 and ultimately get the achievements/trophies - rumour has it that there is only one of these slabs per playthrough so be careful when allocating them.
In order to break down Gywn's attacks I've listed them below, but i would recommend just going against him again and again in order to learn them and master them for yourself, most importantly don't stay at a distance from him as he will do his most devastating attack, and make sure to exploit the riposte!!
1. Leaping down-slash attack: He does this as his first move after you enter the arena. Don't stay too far away from him (if you get the chance after entering the arena) as he will execute this on you. In order to dodge it try rolling at the last minute sidewards (?).
** It's really important to dodge roll this first attack of his as if he strikes you he will get you down and from there on it's difficult to regain your poise and get back into the fight properly!
2. 3/4-hit combo: When you're right up close to Gywn he will either do his grab technique or this devastating 3/4-hit combo. This is by far his most powerful attack as it will no doubt break your guard and most times kill you. It's important to have a LOT of stamina and a shield which has 100% physical and high flame DEF. This is your best/only chance to SMASH HIM!! so get your LT/L2 buttons at the ready!! When he's swinging the sword from side to side you can time it right and parry him, immediately after it makes the *whoosh* noise (you have probably already heard this), give him the riposte! - again, hornet ring will significantly increase this damage - and if you have the +5 furyblade it will deal around 700 damage.
** After successfully executing the riposte, it's your best time to heal (quickly) or get your pyromancer hand out, circle around behind him, and spam him with ONE supremely powerful fireball (probably the great chaos fireball fully upgraded - +15). then get your sword straight back out. Doing so, will hit over 1000 in combination with your counter-attack and severely hurt Gwyn.
3. Grab: When your really close Gywn will try grabbing you. He pulls back his hand quite far and lunges down to grab you, i noticed he generally tries to do this when your behind him or just after he recovers from the riposte. Avoid this attack by rolling backwards out of the way, he sometimes does this multiple times in succession so be careful of that, sometimes you have to suffer the first blow of his 3/4-hit combo to realise he's changed his attack type again.
There are a number of different strategies to defeating Gywn, and some include using a greatblade to slash him through the pillars, some include using the iron flesh pyromancy spell and spamming him with fireballs - keep these in mind and whether they will be easier for you, but in my opinion the riposte strategy is the easiest and you will eventually get it - just don't give up! (and don't use a precious controller as it may end up getting smashed). If you're getting in a bad mood try to take a break, or at least a break from fighting this boss - maybe farm some shards from the black knights, you can also get their weapons from them occasionally; or go farm souls in the forest or something to pile a few more points into endurance.
Hope this has helped guys and invite me to chat if you need any more help, just remember - this isn't an easy boss and I'm sure everyone who has fought him has struggled so don't worry, take the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the world, collect hidden/rare items, forge, and clear up any areas you haven't discovered yet. I will continue be posting to this blog, and I'll be uploading more item locations, covenant tips, and other stuff that i may deem helpful/cool. Now that I've completed it though it would be great to hear your feedback and comments, so please comment on some posts if i have left anything out.
Good luck, and take no mercy!!!
Thursday 27 October 2011
How to get to the painted world
Possible spoilers so if you wanna find it for yourself don't read on.
Basically last night on my second return to the undead asylum to kill the black knight hanging around outside the beginning cell i found the strange doll. Btw, you get a red titanite chunk of each of the black knights when you go back there. Anyway, i looked at the description for the strange doll and saw that it mentioned a painting - well i remmbered seeing a large painting in Anor Londo so i thought 'what the heck' and gave it a try. Travelled back to Anor Londo and turned the wheel to gain access to the lower half of the chapel on the left-hand side of the Great Hall. Inside you beat up a bunch of painting guardians who are pretty weak and usually drop throwing knives or painting guardian sword - what i thought were pretty rubbish!? Then you progress onto the end of the hall to examine the huge painting.
Note: in the chapel you can strike the chain of the chandalier at the top to make it fall and get the loot from on top of it.
I entered the painting after the cutscene like 'WTF!?' and ventured on. I won't say too much here as its just a matter of exploring the place for yourself - although there are some tough harpies inside who can execute a jumping piggyback attack and almost 1-hit kill you, angry face >:(
You should also note that there is a stone dragon on the bridge which is defeatable - best to stay back and used ranged attacks for a while, although the second sleeping stone dragon cannot be killed. Theres also a few pyromancy spells scattered around the place and a dark ember which can be given to the blacksmith near the undead chapel. Don't forget to climb the ladder down into the well in the courtyard and beware of spear throwers.
Hope that was helpful and let me know what you think.
Peace.
Basically last night on my second return to the undead asylum to kill the black knight hanging around outside the beginning cell i found the strange doll. Btw, you get a red titanite chunk of each of the black knights when you go back there. Anyway, i looked at the description for the strange doll and saw that it mentioned a painting - well i remmbered seeing a large painting in Anor Londo so i thought 'what the heck' and gave it a try. Travelled back to Anor Londo and turned the wheel to gain access to the lower half of the chapel on the left-hand side of the Great Hall. Inside you beat up a bunch of painting guardians who are pretty weak and usually drop throwing knives or painting guardian sword - what i thought were pretty rubbish!? Then you progress onto the end of the hall to examine the huge painting.
Note: in the chapel you can strike the chain of the chandalier at the top to make it fall and get the loot from on top of it.
I entered the painting after the cutscene like 'WTF!?' and ventured on. I won't say too much here as its just a matter of exploring the place for yourself - although there are some tough harpies inside who can execute a jumping piggyback attack and almost 1-hit kill you, angry face >:(
You should also note that there is a stone dragon on the bridge which is defeatable - best to stay back and used ranged attacks for a while, although the second sleeping stone dragon cannot be killed. Theres also a few pyromancy spells scattered around the place and a dark ember which can be given to the blacksmith near the undead chapel. Don't forget to climb the ladder down into the well in the courtyard and beware of spear throwers.
Hope that was helpful and let me know what you think.
Peace.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Blighttown secret areas and covenant - possible spoilers!
Sorry to keep posting 'possible spoilers' in my post titles, it's just i know a few of you reading aren't as far as Blighttown yet and definitely don't want to spoil anything for you as it's a great area. If you have already reached it or just don't mind about potential spoilers then continue reading...
Right, so when you enter Blighttown you want to get all the way down to the poison pit and go left. Make sure you either have purple blossom or the remedy sorcery to heal your poison as you'll need to run through the poison for quite a while to reach the secret area. The rusty iron ring found in the return to the undead asylum speeds up your travelling across treacherous areas like the poison pit too - so that may also be an option!
Go all the way (e.g. the complete opposite side of Quelag's domain) until you see a climbable tree trunk. Around this area is the server sword which grants you HP restoration each time you make a kill, a full set of the pyromancy class starting robes, and some souls etc. but beware there are some poison worms down here (they aren't too tough) and the mosquito type bugs will be pestering you all the while too - angry face! >:(
Progress up the tree trunk until you reach a circular room with a corpse in the middle, loot this for the plank shield (its terribad) and then hit the illusionary wall behind that chest. Continue along this path and strike another illusionary wall when you reach the dead end. You'll find a bonfire and a large hollow area where you will begin your descent down the inside of the giant tree. Theres lots of items in this area visible from other trunks, i can't provide exact details of all the items here and how to get to them as it's just something you kind of have to figure out for yourself, just try to be careful not to fall off (although it's not much of a big deal if you do as theres a bonfire right at the top anyway). However there is one ring i would definitely point out - its on the shining body of that corpse in the raised centre area about half way down the main trunk (difficult to describe!), you can reach it from jumping off the spiraling branch above it. The ring is great as it speeds up your stamina restoration rate - and we all know how important stamina is!! :D
Get all the way to the bottom of the trunk, working your way down, also note there are lots of RARE sparkling lizards in this area some in hard-to-reach places. If you can manage to get to where you first spotted them but they have already dissapeared then quit game (this saves and loads automatically where you were before) and they should have re-appeared - kill them for some nice forging materials including sparkling titanite.
When you reach the ash beach at the bottom there is a bonfire just on right as you come in, you kind of have to go back on yourself to get to it; and a hydra in the water on the left. You can just run past it, or fight it if you wish, it's no different to the other one i wrote the strategy for and if you get close enough he starts to expose his weaknesses again with the headslam technique. Theres a large broken tree trunk half way between the entrance and the ash beach leading away into the woods ahead. in here you will find a couple of weak enemies and see a shining corpse on the other side elevated above the mushrooms. To reach the corpse you must go out of the other entrance and follow the spiraling branch down a little way, but not so far you reach the beach again. If you keep your camera peering over the waterside-edge you'll see another bit of broken branch sticking out. Jump down onto this and continue through the tunnel which leads out right next to the corpse. Can't remember what is on it but i don't think it was bad loot so definitely worth adventuring for.
If you continue along the narrow ash beach path you'll get to the woods and then see the next upcoming covenant - you can't miss it! just be careful not to assume to attack anything in this area as you could mess up your application ;)
I won't say too much about the covenant as i want to leave the excitement to you but personally i think it's an incredible covenant!!!
That's all for today, I've got to go play the game myself now! Hope your all enjoying the blog and to remind you all - please 'follow' - you can do this easily if you already have a google account as it's linked to blogspot, or you can sign up for e-mail notifications :) would appreciate that, and also comment if you want to know anything more or make corrections!
Thanks a lot to Mike for all this info and showing me the way through the illusionary wall(s)! Cheers!
Right, so when you enter Blighttown you want to get all the way down to the poison pit and go left. Make sure you either have purple blossom or the remedy sorcery to heal your poison as you'll need to run through the poison for quite a while to reach the secret area. The rusty iron ring found in the return to the undead asylum speeds up your travelling across treacherous areas like the poison pit too - so that may also be an option!
Go all the way (e.g. the complete opposite side of Quelag's domain) until you see a climbable tree trunk. Around this area is the server sword which grants you HP restoration each time you make a kill, a full set of the pyromancy class starting robes, and some souls etc. but beware there are some poison worms down here (they aren't too tough) and the mosquito type bugs will be pestering you all the while too - angry face! >:(
Progress up the tree trunk until you reach a circular room with a corpse in the middle, loot this for the plank shield (its terribad) and then hit the illusionary wall behind that chest. Continue along this path and strike another illusionary wall when you reach the dead end. You'll find a bonfire and a large hollow area where you will begin your descent down the inside of the giant tree. Theres lots of items in this area visible from other trunks, i can't provide exact details of all the items here and how to get to them as it's just something you kind of have to figure out for yourself, just try to be careful not to fall off (although it's not much of a big deal if you do as theres a bonfire right at the top anyway). However there is one ring i would definitely point out - its on the shining body of that corpse in the raised centre area about half way down the main trunk (difficult to describe!), you can reach it from jumping off the spiraling branch above it. The ring is great as it speeds up your stamina restoration rate - and we all know how important stamina is!! :D
Get all the way to the bottom of the trunk, working your way down, also note there are lots of RARE sparkling lizards in this area some in hard-to-reach places. If you can manage to get to where you first spotted them but they have already dissapeared then quit game (this saves and loads automatically where you were before) and they should have re-appeared - kill them for some nice forging materials including sparkling titanite.
When you reach the ash beach at the bottom there is a bonfire just on right as you come in, you kind of have to go back on yourself to get to it; and a hydra in the water on the left. You can just run past it, or fight it if you wish, it's no different to the other one i wrote the strategy for and if you get close enough he starts to expose his weaknesses again with the headslam technique. Theres a large broken tree trunk half way between the entrance and the ash beach leading away into the woods ahead. in here you will find a couple of weak enemies and see a shining corpse on the other side elevated above the mushrooms. To reach the corpse you must go out of the other entrance and follow the spiraling branch down a little way, but not so far you reach the beach again. If you keep your camera peering over the waterside-edge you'll see another bit of broken branch sticking out. Jump down onto this and continue through the tunnel which leads out right next to the corpse. Can't remember what is on it but i don't think it was bad loot so definitely worth adventuring for.
If you continue along the narrow ash beach path you'll get to the woods and then see the next upcoming covenant - you can't miss it! just be careful not to assume to attack anything in this area as you could mess up your application ;)
I won't say too much about the covenant as i want to leave the excitement to you but personally i think it's an incredible covenant!!!
That's all for today, I've got to go play the game myself now! Hope your all enjoying the blog and to remind you all - please 'follow' - you can do this easily if you already have a google account as it's linked to blogspot, or you can sign up for e-mail notifications :) would appreciate that, and also comment if you want to know anything more or make corrections!
Thanks a lot to Mike for all this info and showing me the way through the illusionary wall(s)! Cheers!
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Excellent humanity grinding area - Tomb of the Giants
On my way to fighting Gravelord Nito last night I discovered an excellent area for grinding humanity. You may have noticed it if you passed, however for those who haven't visited the area yet it could be a useful place to grind.
[possible spoilers]
Firstly you will need the lordvessel to open the orange covered door past the giant skeletons crypts. This area is a bit of an ass to get to as the giant skeletons are pretty tough so try using pyromancy. Otherwise learn the 'cast light' sorcery and use this in combination with some protective armour and powerful weaponry. Make sure you rest at the bonfire prior to entering through where the orange door was before - you can come back here later to spend your earned souls and humanity.
Progress through the previously sealed door defeating the giant skeletons on the way. You'll reach the area just before traversing the white light to fight the Gravelord. In this area are about 4 or 5 black magicians (they look similar to the Pinwheel boss) casting powerful spells at you and a pool of shallow water beneath. Kill the black magicians first then go down into the water. Baby skeletons will start jumping up out of the water and attacking you. Make sure you have some spare blooming purple blossom in case they poison you but try to avoid their attacks if possible.
I used a divine club to kill them as the skeletons appear to be more susceptible to divine weaponry, this should kill them in one hit although they're pretty weak anyway. Keep killing them and earning souls, and returning to the water's edge to spawn more. You can usually kill about 4 or 5 with each stroke earning about 200-300 (may be more in NG+ etc.) souls and occasionally humanity. I believe the humanity drop rate was greatly increased with an earlier update, so you should get at least one humanity per wave of skeletons. I noticed that sometimes after killing the skeletons, their corpses seem to shine white briefly but when I tried to loot them there was nothing there. This may have been because the corpses were disappearing as more enemies spawned, so be sure to loot anything you see quickly.
[possible spoilers]
Firstly you will need the lordvessel to open the orange covered door past the giant skeletons crypts. This area is a bit of an ass to get to as the giant skeletons are pretty tough so try using pyromancy. Otherwise learn the 'cast light' sorcery and use this in combination with some protective armour and powerful weaponry. Make sure you rest at the bonfire prior to entering through where the orange door was before - you can come back here later to spend your earned souls and humanity.
Progress through the previously sealed door defeating the giant skeletons on the way. You'll reach the area just before traversing the white light to fight the Gravelord. In this area are about 4 or 5 black magicians (they look similar to the Pinwheel boss) casting powerful spells at you and a pool of shallow water beneath. Kill the black magicians first then go down into the water. Baby skeletons will start jumping up out of the water and attacking you. Make sure you have some spare blooming purple blossom in case they poison you but try to avoid their attacks if possible.
I used a divine club to kill them as the skeletons appear to be more susceptible to divine weaponry, this should kill them in one hit although they're pretty weak anyway. Keep killing them and earning souls, and returning to the water's edge to spawn more. You can usually kill about 4 or 5 with each stroke earning about 200-300 (may be more in NG+ etc.) souls and occasionally humanity. I believe the humanity drop rate was greatly increased with an earlier update, so you should get at least one humanity per wave of skeletons. I noticed that sometimes after killing the skeletons, their corpses seem to shine white briefly but when I tried to loot them there was nothing there. This may have been because the corpses were disappearing as more enemies spawned, so be sure to loot anything you see quickly.
Boss battle strategy: Ornstein & Smoug
OK, before i start on the strategy for this boss(es) battle I'd to highlight a couple of things I've been informed of which are important to know before you start the fight and a possible glitch which I've experienced too.
So, apparently the order in which you kill the bosses affects which items you receive afterwards. For example defeating Smoug first grants you much better loot than vice versa. If you do manage to defeat Smoug first apparently you get Ornstein's armour, however defeating Ornstein first gets you the Leo ring (which increases your counter attack ability - not quite sure how this works yet!). GLITCH(?): When i went in i managed to kill Ornstein first and ran to his corpse to loot the Leo ring however i got killed by Smoug afterwards but i kept the ring. I later returned for round 2, again killing Ornstein first and got ANOTHER Leo ring - possibly worth exploiting although I'm not sure how precious or valuable the Leo ring is.
Defeating Smoug first is very difficult in my opinion as he's by far the slower of the two and you'll have Ornstein sweeping around stabbing you in the back the whole time with his speed and reach, therefore this strategy will be advising you to do it in the reverse order, however if you're really keen on getting the Ornstein armour it may be advisable to try and do it, i just didn't know about it at the time.
On with the strategy! -
Preliminaries:
You will want to equip yourself with some very good armour before entering this battle and i wore the Havel's armour set. You can find this in the fireplace near the bonfire after you fall through the glass when making it past the two pain in the ass archers outside. There's an illusionary wall and when you hit it you will go down into the basement behind the fireplace. Be weary of mimicry chests here, a good tactic for checking each chest is to hit it first then back away, try to do this a couple of times on each chest as your first hit may not make contact and the mimicrys generally kill you in one with their first attack.
The Havel's armour will blunt Ornstein's attacks quite a lot however, and Smoug's hammer blows but ideally you will want to be dodging the latter all together as they're very devastating! The armour itself is very heavy, and it's a good idea to wear it in conjunction with the Havel's ring - i explained where to find and loot this as part of my Hydra guide. Make sure you have enough stamina for running around and deflecting Ornstein's hits using your shield - you can do this by eating the green blossom mentioned in my capra demon guide or equipping the grass crest shield.
Secondly make sure you're stocked up on arrows before you enter and have you're bow equipped as a secondary. You can buy some sweet arrows from the giant smith in Anor Londo but they're f***ing expensive for what they are if you ask me! - i generally go for standard arrows and spam but i guess for this boss battle it might be worth splashing your souls on some sweet magic arrows, just be careful not to waste them! Also note that the dragonslayer arrows are only usable with the dragonslayer bow which can be found outside the Anor Londo great hall roof, accessible by jumping through the broken glass on the top floor and looting the shining skeleton corpse visible on the roof. Haven't tried this bow myself yet, but it looks awesome and very powerful!!
Strategy:
Start off by running behind a pillar so you position Smoug behind it. You'll want to keep your eyes on Smoug for most of the battle as hes got the stronger attacks, always hide behind the pillars from him and Ornstein will generally come around to get you - these are your best chances to attack him. I used pyromancy on him which killed him in around 4 spells but if you don't have that try some strong sorcery spells or even pure strength attacks - whatever you go for, just go all out on him to finish him quickly. Once you've killed Ornstein, grab his Leo ring and again, position a pillar between you and Smoug.
Smoug's hammer is now powered up with lightning making it even more powerful so stay out of the way of those blows!! Keep a pillar between you and him at all times by running round in circles, and use ranged attacks to kill him. He's greatly exposed just after he comes up from his long sweeping attack, use spells or arrows on him now into his belly. He doesn't have too much health and without the help of his buddy Ornstein is a bit useless!
Victory!
Once you defeat him go up either of the lifts and explore the top floor before going through the large door beyond the bonfire as theres some nice armour up there!
Hope that helped and you now have one of the most annoying boss battles out of the way! :D
Thanks to Andy for the info on the order of the bosses.
So, apparently the order in which you kill the bosses affects which items you receive afterwards. For example defeating Smoug first grants you much better loot than vice versa. If you do manage to defeat Smoug first apparently you get Ornstein's armour, however defeating Ornstein first gets you the Leo ring (which increases your counter attack ability - not quite sure how this works yet!). GLITCH(?): When i went in i managed to kill Ornstein first and ran to his corpse to loot the Leo ring however i got killed by Smoug afterwards but i kept the ring. I later returned for round 2, again killing Ornstein first and got ANOTHER Leo ring - possibly worth exploiting although I'm not sure how precious or valuable the Leo ring is.
Defeating Smoug first is very difficult in my opinion as he's by far the slower of the two and you'll have Ornstein sweeping around stabbing you in the back the whole time with his speed and reach, therefore this strategy will be advising you to do it in the reverse order, however if you're really keen on getting the Ornstein armour it may be advisable to try and do it, i just didn't know about it at the time.
On with the strategy! -
Preliminaries:
You will want to equip yourself with some very good armour before entering this battle and i wore the Havel's armour set. You can find this in the fireplace near the bonfire after you fall through the glass when making it past the two pain in the ass archers outside. There's an illusionary wall and when you hit it you will go down into the basement behind the fireplace. Be weary of mimicry chests here, a good tactic for checking each chest is to hit it first then back away, try to do this a couple of times on each chest as your first hit may not make contact and the mimicrys generally kill you in one with their first attack.
The Havel's armour will blunt Ornstein's attacks quite a lot however, and Smoug's hammer blows but ideally you will want to be dodging the latter all together as they're very devastating! The armour itself is very heavy, and it's a good idea to wear it in conjunction with the Havel's ring - i explained where to find and loot this as part of my Hydra guide. Make sure you have enough stamina for running around and deflecting Ornstein's hits using your shield - you can do this by eating the green blossom mentioned in my capra demon guide or equipping the grass crest shield.
Secondly make sure you're stocked up on arrows before you enter and have you're bow equipped as a secondary. You can buy some sweet arrows from the giant smith in Anor Londo but they're f***ing expensive for what they are if you ask me! - i generally go for standard arrows and spam but i guess for this boss battle it might be worth splashing your souls on some sweet magic arrows, just be careful not to waste them! Also note that the dragonslayer arrows are only usable with the dragonslayer bow which can be found outside the Anor Londo great hall roof, accessible by jumping through the broken glass on the top floor and looting the shining skeleton corpse visible on the roof. Haven't tried this bow myself yet, but it looks awesome and very powerful!!
Strategy:
Start off by running behind a pillar so you position Smoug behind it. You'll want to keep your eyes on Smoug for most of the battle as hes got the stronger attacks, always hide behind the pillars from him and Ornstein will generally come around to get you - these are your best chances to attack him. I used pyromancy on him which killed him in around 4 spells but if you don't have that try some strong sorcery spells or even pure strength attacks - whatever you go for, just go all out on him to finish him quickly. Once you've killed Ornstein, grab his Leo ring and again, position a pillar between you and Smoug.
Smoug's hammer is now powered up with lightning making it even more powerful so stay out of the way of those blows!! Keep a pillar between you and him at all times by running round in circles, and use ranged attacks to kill him. He's greatly exposed just after he comes up from his long sweeping attack, use spells or arrows on him now into his belly. He doesn't have too much health and without the help of his buddy Ornstein is a bit useless!
Victory!
Once you defeat him go up either of the lifts and explore the top floor before going through the large door beyond the bonfire as theres some nice armour up there!
Hope that helped and you now have one of the most annoying boss battles out of the way! :D
Thanks to Andy for the info on the order of the bosses.
Monday 24 October 2011
Defeating the Hydra demon: tips and strategy
Today I will be writing some tips on how to defeat the Hydra demon in Darkroot Basin. While this boss is optional, it will drop some fairly rare items, and it may be useful for characters to clear the area so they can gain safe access to the shortcut ladder behind it (leading to the wood near Sif). There are 3 ways to reach this boss which I will outline below.
1. Access through the lower door in the tower before the Taurus demon boss using the Undead Burg basement key OR the master key. In this area you will find Havel - he's wearing heavy armour and wields a large club. The easiest way to defeat him is to lure him back up to the top of the tower and fire projectiles at him. Alternatively you can face him in close quarter combat as he is very slow and quite easy to backstab. He will drop Havel's ring which is a personal favourite of mine as it gives you much greater movement speed and improves your equipment load. Follow these stairs down and you will emerge in Darkroot Basin, the Hydra is on the right-hand side as you come into the area quite a distance away - but be careful as he can fire long range water spells at you. These spells cause splash damage so are very powerful and difficult to avoid, but can also kill the golems in the area.
2. Approach from the first blacksmith near the Undead Chapel:
Follow the path away from the large room with the titanite demon in and turn right once you reach the first pool (where the road forks) which leads you down the cliff face.
Firstly make sure you have rested and have plenty of estus flasks available. You can do this by kindling one of the nearby bonfires - either the one above the smith or the one at the bottom of the cliff path near the black tower knight and grass crest shield in the cave. This will give you 10 estus flasks which will be useful later on.
Secondly try wearing some protective armour to absorb his attacks as when you get closer to him he will attempt physical attacks. Magic defence is not really necessary for this battle as you should be able to dodge most of his long-range attacks, and once you are close enough he will stop using the water breath attack completely.
Defeat all the ice golems in the area first as you don't want to have them attacking you in the back as you try and deal with Hydra. Pyromancy works well against them or you can position them between hydra's water spells to kill them in one. They're quite resistant to physical damage and cannot be staggered, they also have a relatively powerful AoE attack.
Once you have cleared all the golems run towards the Hydra dodging from side to side to avoid his water breath. You will see a set of rocks on the right-hand side of his large pool, very close to him. When you're close enough he will begin using physical attacks by slamming his heads into the ground. Raise your shield to protect against his attacks and go to work on the heads one by one. Each time he uses the head slam technique the heads will remain on the ground for a while giving you a chance to either attack or heal. If you need to heal its a good idea to use the rocks on the right to hide and drink.
Once you have defeated him you'll get a load of souls and some nice items, and another access to the hidden forest behind the sealed door in Darkroot Forest. This can be found by passing the waterfall on the left-hand side of the area and climbing a long ladder up. Beware there are some tough enemies in the following area and you can also be invaded by other players quite frequently who are part of the forest hunter covenant, although this is also your chance to discover that covenant and join it if you wish.
1. Access through the lower door in the tower before the Taurus demon boss using the Undead Burg basement key OR the master key. In this area you will find Havel - he's wearing heavy armour and wields a large club. The easiest way to defeat him is to lure him back up to the top of the tower and fire projectiles at him. Alternatively you can face him in close quarter combat as he is very slow and quite easy to backstab. He will drop Havel's ring which is a personal favourite of mine as it gives you much greater movement speed and improves your equipment load. Follow these stairs down and you will emerge in Darkroot Basin, the Hydra is on the right-hand side as you come into the area quite a distance away - but be careful as he can fire long range water spells at you. These spells cause splash damage so are very powerful and difficult to avoid, but can also kill the golems in the area.
2. Approach from the first blacksmith near the Undead Chapel:
Follow the path away from the large room with the titanite demon in and turn right once you reach the first pool (where the road forks) which leads you down the cliff face.
Firstly make sure you have rested and have plenty of estus flasks available. You can do this by kindling one of the nearby bonfires - either the one above the smith or the one at the bottom of the cliff path near the black tower knight and grass crest shield in the cave. This will give you 10 estus flasks which will be useful later on.
Secondly try wearing some protective armour to absorb his attacks as when you get closer to him he will attempt physical attacks. Magic defence is not really necessary for this battle as you should be able to dodge most of his long-range attacks, and once you are close enough he will stop using the water breath attack completely.
Defeat all the ice golems in the area first as you don't want to have them attacking you in the back as you try and deal with Hydra. Pyromancy works well against them or you can position them between hydra's water spells to kill them in one. They're quite resistant to physical damage and cannot be staggered, they also have a relatively powerful AoE attack.
Once you have cleared all the golems run towards the Hydra dodging from side to side to avoid his water breath. You will see a set of rocks on the right-hand side of his large pool, very close to him. When you're close enough he will begin using physical attacks by slamming his heads into the ground. Raise your shield to protect against his attacks and go to work on the heads one by one. Each time he uses the head slam technique the heads will remain on the ground for a while giving you a chance to either attack or heal. If you need to heal its a good idea to use the rocks on the right to hide and drink.
Once you have defeated him you'll get a load of souls and some nice items, and another access to the hidden forest behind the sealed door in Darkroot Forest. This can be found by passing the waterfall on the left-hand side of the area and climbing a long ladder up. Beware there are some tough enemies in the following area and you can also be invaded by other players quite frequently who are part of the forest hunter covenant, although this is also your chance to discover that covenant and join it if you wish.
Sunday 23 October 2011
Sen's fortress secret areas!!
Just now I was running through Sen's Fortress en route to Anor Londo when I was hit by one of the swinging axes and knocked into the water below. As this had never happened to me before I was surprised when I landed alive and surrounded by titanite demons! There are 4 titanite demons in this area which will drop demon titanite shards. These shards are quite rare, and there are also some souls to be looted from corpses in this area. In the corner of the room nearest the side you entered from you will see a few steps leading to a ladder. Climb this and when you reach the top hit an illusionary wall to climb another ladder. Have you ever seen that giant in the distance on the battlements of Sen's Fortress and wondered how to reach him? Well this ladder will lead you straight to him. He's relatively slow so you shouldn't have much trouble defeating him! a nice easy 3000 souls.
Using orange soapstone to earn humanity
A friend brought to attention the fact that using the orange soapstone etching can earn you humanity today. By writing something witty/helpful that other players will rate +1 (also using their soapstones) apparently you can earn +1 humanity each time. Humanity earned in this way goes directly into the pool in the top-left of the HUD, therefore if you die you will lose it unless you can reach your bloodstain without dieing again.
In case you didn't know the orange soapstone is available from the first merchant in undead burg at a cost of 100 souls or something very cheap.
Thanks to skunylager for letting me know! :]
In case you didn't know the orange soapstone is available from the first merchant in undead burg at a cost of 100 souls or something very cheap.
Thanks to skunylager for letting me know! :]
Lightning spear
Right, so yesterday i finished Sen's fortress but whilst i was in there i found something VERY cool - the lightning spear. If you haven't reached Sen's fortress yet then stop reading here as there are spoilers, but if you have completed it then continue reading.
When you're running around on the boulder tracks with boulders following you from behind you'll come to a part where a boulder has gotten stuck in the floor and lodged in. At this point you turn left into a small room with a few large jars and a treasure chest. This chest is a decoy and is actually a monster (known as a mimicry). I killed it and it dropped the lightning spear for me, an amazing weapon which has a strong combination of lightning and physical damage - even more powerful than the later demon spear (which basically does the same thing). It's the first weapon i've found which is more powerful than the drake sword which i can use (for example, it doesn't need a high strength/agility to wield), and can be upgraded using titanite chunks - which can be found or bought from specific merchants pretty easily. Note that if you ascend the lightning spear to it's maximum ascension of +5, you will receive an achievement/trophy. However the final material is very hard to come by - titanite slab.
When you're running around on the boulder tracks with boulders following you from behind you'll come to a part where a boulder has gotten stuck in the floor and lodged in. At this point you turn left into a small room with a few large jars and a treasure chest. This chest is a decoy and is actually a monster (known as a mimicry). I killed it and it dropped the lightning spear for me, an amazing weapon which has a strong combination of lightning and physical damage - even more powerful than the later demon spear (which basically does the same thing). It's the first weapon i've found which is more powerful than the drake sword which i can use (for example, it doesn't need a high strength/agility to wield), and can be upgraded using titanite chunks - which can be found or bought from specific merchants pretty easily. Note that if you ascend the lightning spear to it's maximum ascension of +5, you will receive an achievement/trophy. However the final material is very hard to come by - titanite slab.
Shiva location (outside of forest)
Just in case you didn't know Shiva actually appears outside of the forest in Blighttown. Hes underneath the massive turning wheel near the bonfire in the sewery part near the stairs which go up to the wheel. He's usually leaning against a wooden bar but might not be there all the time as i was returning from somewhere yesterday and he had dissapeared, although this might have had something to do with me leaving the forest covenant temporarily...
Anyway he sells some pretty cool weapons for fighting armoured opponents and shielded opponents, and also has a ring on offer for 15k i think which increases the durability length on equipped weapons - this would be particularly useful if you wanted to use the crystal weapons available from the [Welsh]merchant in the depths near the rats as they only have one use then break.
Anyway he sells some pretty cool weapons for fighting armoured opponents and shielded opponents, and also has a ring on offer for 15k i think which increases the durability length on equipped weapons - this would be particularly useful if you wanted to use the crystal weapons available from the [Welsh]merchant in the depths near the rats as they only have one use then break.
Saturday 22 October 2011
KILL the red dragon!! - DING! - 10,000 souls
OK, so i was playing a couple of days ago and something VERY strange happened.. i think i KILLED the red dragon in undead burg. Basically i approached the area from behind (taking the darkroot basin>chapel>underneath the portcullis), killing the skeletons along the way and then i got to the staircase which leads to the top of the turret with the tower knight on (the same area you can climb down a ladder and fight 3 poisoned rats in the sewery bit). At this point i climbed the stairs and stood atop the turret, from here i could CLEARLY see the dragon perching on the castle from behind - he had no idea i was there. He wasn't far away at all so i decided to get out my bow and fire an arrow at him, not sure if it matters but here was the equipment i was using for it at the time:
1. composite bow found in new londo ruins at the end after passing the church.
2. standard arrows bought from the merchant in undead burg.
He flew away, like properly away not just onto the bridge, and didn't come back. I thought nothing of it and continued back down the stairs but when i got to about the ladder which leads to the rats i suddenyl received 10,000 souls and the dragon was GONE!! He hasn't returned since, i've read online some people experiencing the same glitch and it's an easy way to receive 10,000 free souls.
N.B. i think approaching the area from behind is probably the key to this so you can get behind him without him noticing you as hes transfixed on the bridge the whole time...
1. composite bow found in new londo ruins at the end after passing the church.
2. standard arrows bought from the merchant in undead burg.
He flew away, like properly away not just onto the bridge, and didn't come back. I thought nothing of it and continued back down the stairs but when i got to about the ladder which leads to the rats i suddenyl received 10,000 souls and the dragon was GONE!! He hasn't returned since, i've read online some people experiencing the same glitch and it's an easy way to receive 10,000 free souls.
N.B. i think approaching the area from behind is probably the key to this so you can get behind him without him noticing you as hes transfixed on the bridge the whole time...
Capra demon tips
As we all know the capra demon battle is a total pain in the ass, as soon as you traverse the white light hes charging at you with his two little hounds, i'm going to try and provide some useful tips here on how to defeat him and the tactic i used.
As its a primarily close range battle you will have to forget about using sorcery or pyromancy as you just don't have time to cast it, therefore you should grind a bit and put some skill points into strength, dexterity and endurance to improve your stamina, hp and power. The stamina is especially important here and you will need a good shield to blunt his attack as he's got two huge swords and can pretty much drain your entire stamina bar in up to two hits.
1. Go to the dark root basin and collect the following two sets of items:
i. elite knight armour: this is amongst the woods where all the sleeping grass giants are - it's on a dead body in the right hand corner of that area, you'll see the white light emitting from the soul when your in the right place, you should be able to run in and grab it but beware there are a couple of trees which pop out of the ground and can cause you some trouble, alternately you can fight your way through the giants - your choice.
ii. in the same area as you enter turn right, youll see an illusionary tree - attack this and youll start down a narrow descending path. in the next area youll encounter some red lizards, kill quite a few of these and collect the green grass (cant remember what its called off the top of my head) which greatly restores your stamina in battle. If you keep following the path up through the tree after defeating the lizards and giant you will find the wolf ring which improves your poise. This could be helpful in battling the capra too as i believe poise increasing your maintenance of a stance, however i'm not 100% how effective it is but if you don't have two other decent rings for the battle then it may be worth grabbing it whilst your here.
2. ok now back track a while to near the area where the demon who fires lightning at you is (before you reach the blacksmith coming from darkroot basin side), and youll see a path which leads left out onto a cliff face. traverse this path all the way down but beware there is a tower knight somewhere around that area if you haven't already fought him. youll reach the bottom of the path if you keep going down and there should be a cave on the left leading to a bonfire (and further on valley of drakes), whilst on the right there will be a corpse with the grass crest shield on - this is a great shield and also greatly restores your stamina which is useful for blunting capra's attacks.
Ok so now you have a few methods of improving your stamina recovery rate - what i would class as the most important thing in this battle because as soon as your shield has been knocked down he will kill you extremely quickly, regardless of whether you have a lot of hp or upgraded armour (like most bosses). Try to take out the hounds as soon as possible and stay at a medium distance from capra as then hes less likely to do his double blade overhead smash attack!! AKA the one which will knock your shield back in a single hit. Wait for him to swing uncontrollably and this will give you time to use an estus flask if your feeling brave or attack one of his hounds if you havent already had the chance - just DONT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HIM!!
Hope that little guide helps, the items which are included in it will be useful in general too, especially the elite knight armour which you can upgrade for pretty cheap which makes it incredibly better.
As its a primarily close range battle you will have to forget about using sorcery or pyromancy as you just don't have time to cast it, therefore you should grind a bit and put some skill points into strength, dexterity and endurance to improve your stamina, hp and power. The stamina is especially important here and you will need a good shield to blunt his attack as he's got two huge swords and can pretty much drain your entire stamina bar in up to two hits.
1. Go to the dark root basin and collect the following two sets of items:
i. elite knight armour: this is amongst the woods where all the sleeping grass giants are - it's on a dead body in the right hand corner of that area, you'll see the white light emitting from the soul when your in the right place, you should be able to run in and grab it but beware there are a couple of trees which pop out of the ground and can cause you some trouble, alternately you can fight your way through the giants - your choice.
ii. in the same area as you enter turn right, youll see an illusionary tree - attack this and youll start down a narrow descending path. in the next area youll encounter some red lizards, kill quite a few of these and collect the green grass (cant remember what its called off the top of my head) which greatly restores your stamina in battle. If you keep following the path up through the tree after defeating the lizards and giant you will find the wolf ring which improves your poise. This could be helpful in battling the capra too as i believe poise increasing your maintenance of a stance, however i'm not 100% how effective it is but if you don't have two other decent rings for the battle then it may be worth grabbing it whilst your here.
2. ok now back track a while to near the area where the demon who fires lightning at you is (before you reach the blacksmith coming from darkroot basin side), and youll see a path which leads left out onto a cliff face. traverse this path all the way down but beware there is a tower knight somewhere around that area if you haven't already fought him. youll reach the bottom of the path if you keep going down and there should be a cave on the left leading to a bonfire (and further on valley of drakes), whilst on the right there will be a corpse with the grass crest shield on - this is a great shield and also greatly restores your stamina which is useful for blunting capra's attacks.
Ok so now you have a few methods of improving your stamina recovery rate - what i would class as the most important thing in this battle because as soon as your shield has been knocked down he will kill you extremely quickly, regardless of whether you have a lot of hp or upgraded armour (like most bosses). Try to take out the hounds as soon as possible and stay at a medium distance from capra as then hes less likely to do his double blade overhead smash attack!! AKA the one which will knock your shield back in a single hit. Wait for him to swing uncontrollably and this will give you time to use an estus flask if your feeling brave or attack one of his hounds if you havent already had the chance - just DONT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HIM!!
Hope that little guide helps, the items which are included in it will be useful in general too, especially the elite knight armour which you can upgrade for pretty cheap which makes it incredibly better.
Friday 21 October 2011
WARNING PYROMANCERS & OTHER PLAYERS!! - BEWARE OF PYROMANCER NPC
Ok so today after much hand shaking and sweating i defeated the Capra Demon. Once i received the key from him i entered the 'depths'. In the first area you will find several hounds, and weak undead (some wielding torches as weapons), and a butcher! he's fairly tough but you can trick him by standing at the top of the stairs so he continually falls into the water, after a few strong spells and possibly a couple of strikes from the drake sword he'll die. You'll then progress a little bit to the next area, you'll be in close combat fighting the second butcher after coming to a sort of cross-road. If you turn left after defeating him you'll enter a room full of crates and boxes and hear someone crying for help from the corner.
Now this is the important part *weep* - be EXTREMELY careful when freeing him from the crate, don't hit it with a sword or anything as once you've attacked him he won't stop fighting back. If you do accidentally attack him you can go back to the gargoyle bell tower and pay the man at the bottom to absolve your curses. Unfortunately i did neither of these and accidentally KILLED the first pyromancer NPC so now, no doubt, i will have to wait a long time until meeting the second pyromancer NPC to improve my pyromancy, or worse - i won't ever be able to improve it :'(
oh well... even more excuse to pursue the knight path...
Now this is the important part *weep* - be EXTREMELY careful when freeing him from the crate, don't hit it with a sword or anything as once you've attacked him he won't stop fighting back. If you do accidentally attack him you can go back to the gargoyle bell tower and pay the man at the bottom to absolve your curses. Unfortunately i did neither of these and accidentally KILLED the first pyromancer NPC so now, no doubt, i will have to wait a long time until meeting the second pyromancer NPC to improve my pyromancy, or worse - i won't ever be able to improve it :'(
oh well... even more excuse to pursue the knight path...
drake sword - how to get it
Of course everyone knows about the drake sword but in case you haven't seen the videos or tutorials yet heres my own:
First you have to beat the taurus demon then you will encounter the red dragon perching at the end of the bridge shortly after. Before you try running across the bridge make sure you have bought the bow from the merchant earlier in the undead burg (i think its about 1000 souls) and plenty of arrows (around 50).
The way you reach the dragon is by running directly across the bridge and then half way across right next to the enemies there is a staircase leading down to the right. You should be able to dodge the enmies attacks and then run straight down the staircase whilst the dragons flames burn the enemies granting you 300 free souls :)
Inside the room you've just entered is another staircase leading down, here you can kick a ladder and go back to the undead burg bonfire easily. Once you've done that go back up the ladder and beat the two skeletons underneath the bridge. Then position yourself on the right side underneath the bridge so you have a good view of the dragon's tail. From here you can fire on his tail taking off about 20 damage each shot (if your not doing this amount it means you don't have the necessary stat requirements - so you'll either need to level up your dexterity or strength in order to use the bow properly). Then after a certain amount of shots his tail will fall off and a screen will appear granting you the DRAKE SWORD!!
This is the best weapon in the game for quite some time and doesn't have too high stat requirements so most players should be able to wield it fairly easily. MAKE SURE you don't let the sword break, you'll reach a smith not long after obtaining the drake sword so you can have him repair it for you or alternatively if you can't find him you can buy repair dust from the first merchant for a price of 500 souls each. Using the two-handed power attack on the drake sword also uses up its durability pretty quickly so try to avoid doing that too much, the fast attack should suffice for most enemies anyway :)
So there it is, hope thats helpful and enjoy destroying your foes with the power of dragonsteel!!!
First you have to beat the taurus demon then you will encounter the red dragon perching at the end of the bridge shortly after. Before you try running across the bridge make sure you have bought the bow from the merchant earlier in the undead burg (i think its about 1000 souls) and plenty of arrows (around 50).
The way you reach the dragon is by running directly across the bridge and then half way across right next to the enemies there is a staircase leading down to the right. You should be able to dodge the enmies attacks and then run straight down the staircase whilst the dragons flames burn the enemies granting you 300 free souls :)
Inside the room you've just entered is another staircase leading down, here you can kick a ladder and go back to the undead burg bonfire easily. Once you've done that go back up the ladder and beat the two skeletons underneath the bridge. Then position yourself on the right side underneath the bridge so you have a good view of the dragon's tail. From here you can fire on his tail taking off about 20 damage each shot (if your not doing this amount it means you don't have the necessary stat requirements - so you'll either need to level up your dexterity or strength in order to use the bow properly). Then after a certain amount of shots his tail will fall off and a screen will appear granting you the DRAKE SWORD!!
This is the best weapon in the game for quite some time and doesn't have too high stat requirements so most players should be able to wield it fairly easily. MAKE SURE you don't let the sword break, you'll reach a smith not long after obtaining the drake sword so you can have him repair it for you or alternatively if you can't find him you can buy repair dust from the first merchant for a price of 500 souls each. Using the two-handed power attack on the drake sword also uses up its durability pretty quickly so try to avoid doing that too much, the fast attack should suffice for most enemies anyway :)
So there it is, hope thats helpful and enjoy destroying your foes with the power of dragonsteel!!!
first things first
I'm a pyromancer currently level 23 so have gotten pretty far into the game already therefore will be posting some tips up to where i currently am. My play style usually involves fighting with heavy armour, drake sword and grass crest shield (those items i will explain how to get later in the blog), however i use a combination of magic too. I usually cast my spirit arrow attacks whilst holding a shield in my left hand, and when those spells are depleted i turn to pyromancy - not because i prefer spirit arrows, just because i like to save pyromancy for tighten situations and be resourceful with it.
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