Advantages/Disadvantages of using humanity

Hey everyone, firstly I'd like to apologise for not updating in so long. I have been playing a few other RPG games, but recently started a new game as a cleric in preparation for the DLC. Today I wanted to discuss the benefits of being human in Dark Souls. There seems to be rather a lot of confusion online and I have seen several comments on forums claiming things that are later proven wrong.
Before I begin new players should note that I (and presumably most players) will spend the majority of the time playing hollow. This means that you look a bit like a zombie because you either a) haven't used any humanity since escaping the Undead Asylum at the start of the game, OR b) you died whilst human and reverted back to a bonfire [thus] as an undead. There are a couple of main reasons that most players spend a lot of time playing hollow:

1. Humanity if relatively hard to come by (though each boss now drops 1 humanity, and they have increased its drop rate from the system update)
2. Even when you have humanity you may not want to use it due to its rarity, and instead will save it for later points in the game (this can be wise)

So, why would you want to use humanity in the first place? Well there are a number of reasons which I will list below, some of which may mean the difference between life and death in some battles; and others being cool features of the game which you would otherwise have no way to access.
Beginners should note that in order to become human you must have used humanity (so that a number is visible in the circular humanity pool in the to-left beside your health bar) and then visit a bonfire to become human once more. Therefore using humanity and being human are two separate things. Also, not all benefits of using humanity require you to actually be human. Beginners should also beware that if you die after using humanity, unless you can reach your bloodstain before dieing again, you will loss the humanity alongside any souls you may have had.

Advantages:

• You can kindle bonfires (as long as you have obtained the rite of kindling) whilst human, therefore receiving extra estus flasks when resting at that specific bonfire. Note: Kindling carries through to your new game plus, and so forth, so it would be a good idea to at least kindle some bonfires before completing the game to make your second playthrough slightly easier.
• Summoning (co-op): Summoning is one of the coolest features in dark souls, and is ONLY available when you are in human form. You will be allowed to view other players white soapstone marks and summon them to your realm to fight up to, and against, a boss with you. Note: players do not have to be human in order to leave their own white soapstone mark. 
• Item drop rate is increased. Each time you use a humanity you will see your item drop rate will be increase slightly in your stat menu. This benefit is maxed out at 10 humanity (or 210 item discovery), and you do NOT need to be human to gain from this, just to have used humanity so that it is visible in your pool in the top-left of the HUD.
• As well as being able to summon other online characters, you can also summon NPCs to help you fight a boss. Their white soapstone marks are sometimes left just outside a boss chamber before traversing the white mist, and vary depending on which boss you are facing. For example Solaire's summon sign will be seen much more than others.
• You can invade other online players, and leave your red soapstone sign down for other players to accept duels. In order to invade you need a cracked red eye orb, red eye orb, or the aforementioned red soapstone (however the latter requires other players to accept, therefore more like a duel).
• Physical and elemental resistances increase gradually with the use of humanity, and curse resistance is also significantly increased (maxes out at 30 humanity).

Disadvantages:

• You are at risk from losing used humanity when you die.
• Risk from being invaded by other players. You can be invaded in any area (except, possibly, for the Undead Asylum), however this is likely to be more frequent in the forest behind the door in darkroot basin (after using the crest of artorias) as this is where members of the cat covenant will invade you. Other frequent areas of invasion are the Kiln of the First Flame, Tomb of the Giants, and the Duke's Archives - so beware of being human in those areas if you don't want to be invaded.
• Risk of invasion by NPC black phantoms (dark red in colour). In fact these battles are actually fairly easy and once you beat the NPC you will be able to summon them in certain battles to fight for you, and get extremely rare equipment from them which is otherwise unavailable. I almost put this in the advantages section because being invaded by a NPC phantom only happens once (as long as you defeat them) and yields rare rewards.

So that's about it really. There may be a couple of things I missed and I didn't want to be too specific with stat bonuses such as defence and resistance increases as it would have caused this article to be much more exhaustive! Hope that helps clear things up for players who were unsure, and beginners getting used to the game.

Dark Souls DLC: Artorias of the Abyss, and Prepare to Die edition announced!

Hi everyone, as promised I've been keeping an eye on the updates about the Dark Souls DLC, and made a search today and discovered a new articles giving specific details on the first DLC - Artorias of the Abyss, and a new edition of the game called 'Prepare to Die' edition. There will also be a re-vamped PVP mode making it easier for online players to organise battles against one another. The DLC will be available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 later this Winter for 1,200 Microsoft points (or equivalent for PS3 users), and is already available in the form of the prepare to die edition for PC users. The prepare to die edition also includes a few new collectible items with the game, newly designed case; and supports Games for Windows capability.

Video: Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition (available now for PC and steam):

According to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki there will be 3 to 4 new areas within the DLC, 3 to 4 new boss battles, and more NPCs. The equipment of those NPCs will also be available for the player to wear (though if this means you need to murder those NPCs to gain their gear is unknown - knowing DS it probably will, unless of course they are merchant NPCs). Miyazaki also stated that the new area will fit in around the middle of the story, and after Sen's Fortress, and will feature completely new content, though they did have the idea when they were developing the game but it wasn't taken seriously. This leads me to believe it could be something to do with the huge door, blocked by rubble after you defeat the Iron Golem boss at the top of Sen's Fortress - though this is completely sceptical. This would seem like an appropriate point to place something like this, especially as the way you progress to the next area is by air, and the fact that Miyazaki specifically stated it will be 'after Sen's Fortress'.

It has also been confirmed that there will be no ability to create mods on the PC release; unlike, for example, the creation kit in Skyrim. There will also be limited support for the keyboard and mouse, as the PC release is a straight port from the console version, therefore any PC players should probably use a joypad as having precise control over your character in this game is vital.

A full version of the article can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/apr/17/dark-souls-pc-dlc-news

The video below also shows some E3 2012 gameplay coverage for the new edition, including a new boss battle - some of you may recognize this enemy from the original limited edition artwork book.

Greatshield of Artorias Guide

Today I'm going to write a guide for obtaining the Greatshield of Artorias, arguably the best shield in Dark Souls. Firstly you will need to ascend any ordinary shield to +10 at the blacksmith (preferably not a rare one like a black knight shield, just go for a wooden shield or something common like that), and secondly have the soul of Sif - the giant wolf. The easiest way to get the soul of Sif is to travel to the first blacksmith (near the Undead Chapel) and purchase the crest of Artorias from him. This will grant you access to the sealed door in Darkroot Basin (which can be found on your way to the Moonlight butterfly area, and right next to an illusionary wall) - it's the blue glowing door, you can't miss it!

Beware when entering through the door however, there are a number of strong NPCs in there who belong to the cat covenant, and some have the invisibility spell active. Don't hesitate to kill these NPCs as they will respawn next time you visit a bonfire (apart from a couple who give you a greater number of souls, and some unique items - but you will end up killing them anyway probably). Alternatively you can sprint past these characters if you are too weak to fight them, or want to save time. Immediately after you enter the first area bare left along the cliff edge being careful not to slip down and you will find a broken stone room on the top of a small hill (there is a cleric outside who will attack you). Inside you will find Alvira - the leader of the cat covenant (Note: you can join the covenant here if you wish, and this will stop the NPCs on the way in being aggro'd) - and a stony bridge. Follow the bridge and just keep going through the woods until you see a massive door emitting white light in the distance - this is your target!

Travel all the way to the door and once inside you will be in Sif's boss area. Approach the giant sword in the ground in front of the gravestones and Sif will attack you. Once you've beaten him you will get his soul and the ring of abyss walking. Now travel to the blacksmith in Anor Londo with your +10 ascended shield and soul of Sif and go to create new weapons. Navigate across to the boss soul category in the forging menu and you will see the Greatshield of Artorias ready to be created. Note: ONLY the smith in Anor Londo can forge unique weapons from boss souls, so don't try and make them elsewhere.

Personally this is my favourite shield in the game. It has a great balance of weight and protection so you can still move quickly, and it also has a very high stability meaning you will not be knocked around as you're fighting. As a result of this combination of stats, you lose far less stamina when blocking, and if you have a high endurance you can block and absorb massive hits from most enemies. Dropping your shield between blows means you can recharge stamina, and consistently block all attacks coming at you. Just remember to raise your shield at the right time, or perhaps a little earlier with fast-attacking enemies.

Be careful when using the soul of Sif, as it can be used to forge 3 unique items: 2 swords and 1 shield. So if your going for the 'Knights Honour' achievement/trophy, it will require a minimum of 3 playthroughs to forge all of these items. Fortunately this is the only boss soul which goes into making 3 unique items, nonetheless it means getting all the achievements takes quite a long time.

Good luck and if you have any questions leave a comment.

Dark Souls DLC rumour

Hey everyone, today i read online about a rumoured DLC for Dark Souls and thought i'd share it on this blog to raise the awareness of it. Apparently the DLC is reaching finalisation and is due within the next few months, a reliable source told egmnow.com (http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/exclusive-dark-souls-dlc-exists-coming-soon/). This is very exciting as FromSoftware originally announced that there would be no extra content for Dark Souls, and if this rumour is true then it would seem they have done a great job to keep the development of this DLC quiet.
There are some disputes going around online that the DLC is almost compulsory for the game but will obviously come at an extra cost, and others claiming that the game itself was unfinished. To be honest i think that it absolute rubbish, the game was perfectly fine as it shipped and any balancing issues have already been resolved in the update, likewise extra features added. Personally i am very pleased to hear about the DLC, and perhaps FromSoftware realised it might be a good idea after the sales for Dark Souls became very high, not only in Japan but elsewhere around the globe.

I will keep my eyes peeled for any more updates about this, and add them to my blog to keep you informed.

Souvenir of reprisal - update

I just went online to collect some more souvenirs of reprisal and i can confirm after the latest update the drop rate has been massively increased, so please ignore the rarity emphasised in my previous post. After less than half an hour of solid grinding i had the 4 remaining souvenirs i needed to donate to the darkmoon blade covenant, and i saw one more fall off the edge of the map.

I don't know if this is just pure chance but when i used to farm this item it took me a lot of runs before i even found one, and in just one run earlier i found 3! Prior to the update i hadn't heard of 3 dropping in a single run anywhere on the internet so something has obviously been changed.

In case you're wondering how to check if you have the latest update the easiest way is to visit a bonfire and see whether the required amount of souls to your next level are displayed (they will be highlighted in red if you don't have enough). If you can see that text in your game it means you have the latest update installed. You have to use this method because the update doesn't show the conventional 'update' screen when you put the game into the disc tray and launch it.

Thanks a lot to From Software for making this pain staking grind a lot easier. I'm not sure whether the update will automatically install for Xbox live silver customers but if not I would definitely recommend at least connecting to Xbox live to find out, because this will seriously save you a lot of hours.