Dark Souls (0)

Overview

Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action-RPG for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC developed by . It is the to one of the company's previous titles, . The game's working title was "Project Dark". It is the second game in the franchise.

FromSoftware self-published the game's Playstation 3 version in Japan, where it was released September 22, 2011. The Xbox 360 version was not released in Japan. is the publisher for both versions of the game in Western territories. They released the game in North America on October 4, 2011, and in Europe October 7, 2011. The Asian version of the game with English voice-acting and English and traditional Chinese subtitles was released on October 19th, 2011. In April 2012, a German game magazine preview surfaced, revealing a PC version with new Bosses coming in August of the same year. The Prepare to Die Edition was released worldwide for the PC on August 24th, 2012. The additional content, Artorias of the Abyss, came to consoles as downloadable content on October 23rd, 2012 for North America and a day later for other regions.

The game (as with its predecessor) is known primarily for its difficulty, including very high combat lethality and scarce information provided to players. Dark Souls director, , has said that the primary "concepts behind Dark Souls are 'sense of achievement' and 'surprise of discovery' with difficulty merely being a means to these ends. Players who exercise patience and critical-thinking are rewarded. Dark Souls intentionally does not conform to many established game design conventions, such as maps and designated objectives, contributing to the game's divisive reputation.

Influences

In his , creator mentioned the influence of several classic on his game designs for Dark Souls, including , , and . In another interview, he also cited of the early games on Dark Souls. It was also influenced by 's own series.

Legacy

Dark Souls has had a strong influence on a number of action RPG titles and the video game industry in general. Developers of games such as , and have Dark Souls games as an influence. The innovative multiplayer of Dark Souls also games such as and the development of the .

Gameplay

Dark Souls offers a large, seamless world for players to explore. Compared to Demon's Souls, the game is longer, larger, and features more complex level design, as well as more enemies, spells, and equipment to discover. The various regions of the world are interconnected by many routes, some overt and others hidden, and lacks a fixed hub similar to in Demon's Souls. Players will often find that they can access multiple areas at once, and will have to rely on their own instincts and experience to decide where to go.

Saving

Dark Souls includes a system, meaning the game automatically saves itself every few seconds. Players never lose progress due to having to load an earlier saved game, as when the player dies, the game continues on by automatically the player at the last visited bonfire with death penalties (see below). The game only uses one save slot per character, with no option for the player to save to additional slots, which makes every action the player takes carry the weight of permanence (as there is no "earlier save" to reload).

Dying

Dark Souls uses a kind of "two strikes and you're out" system for deaths. When a player dies, the player drops all currently held Humanity and souls, and, if in human form, changes to "hollowed" form (see multiplayer below). On the spot where the player died, a bloodstain will appear, containing all of the player's lost humanity and souls. If the player is able to return to that spot and touch their bloodstain without dying again, the player will reclaim all of their lost humanity and souls. However, if the player dies again before touching the bloodstain of their first death, that bloodstain will vanish forever along with all of the humanity and souls it contained, and a new bloodstain will be created containing only the humanity and souls held by the player at the moment of their second death. In this way, the play can have no more than one bloodstain in existence at any one time.

Multiplayer

By default, Dark Souls is played online at all times. While a player is playing alone, they will encounter indirect traces of other players playing in parallel in their own games. These traces come in three forms:

• Messages can be placed on the ground by players to warn, cajole, or even misdirect other players who happen by and see it. These messages can only be constructed out of a fixed selection of words and phrases, which allows for players worldwide playing in any language to see localized versions of any message. Players can also rate up or down the messages of other players, granting another player humanity in the process.
• Bloodstains can be seen on the ground that, when interacted with, will produce a ghostly replay of the last 5 seconds of another player's life before they died in that place. By witnessing another player's demise, a player may be able to learn directly from others' mistakes.
• Apparitions of other players that appear for a few seconds showing a real-time glimpse of what another player is doing at that very moment.

Players can also directly impact others' games by summoning other players to engage in cooperative play or by invading another's game to assassinate the host player. All direct multiplayer interaction is governed by level ranges, that vary depending on the type of interaction that occurs (e.g. for cooperative play, only players who are within 10 levels +10% of the host player's soul level can join the host's game).

Cooperative summoning requires both the summoner and the summonee(s) to voluntarily initiate the partnership. Players who wish to be summoned can be in either human or hollowed form and must place their summon sign (a white label with their name) on the ground where they think a potential summoner will see it and then wait. A player who wishes to summon others must first be in human form in order to see the placed summon signs of other players and must be in a level in which the main boss is still alive (since the goal of coop is to kill bosses together) and may then interact with a summon sign of their choice to attempt to summon that player. Up to two players may be summoned at one time (making for a 3-player team).

Players who are summoned into a host's game are known as phantoms and special rules apply to them. Phantoms cannot use their Estus Flasks, cannot leave the level that the host is in, and cannot interact with NPCs or objects (like doors, fog walls, or levers). When the host uses an Estus Flask, all phantoms are healed by it as well as the host (making the host responsible for healing his helping phantoms). For every enemy that is killed for any reason, the host gets 100% of the souls and all phantoms also get 50% of the souls. If the host and phantoms manage to kill the level boss, the host gets the standard full rewards, the phantoms get 50% of the soul reward and gain one point of humanity before being returned to their own worlds. If a phantom dies for any reason, he returns to his own world, keeping any new souls they earned and does not suffer any death penalty whatsoever. If the host dies, all phantoms are sent back to their own worlds and the host suffers the full death penalty, dropping all humanity and souls into a new bloodstain and reverting to hollowed form, meaning the host cannot summon new phantoms without first spending humanity to reverse hollowing.

Invasions are another form of joining a host's game, but without their permission and for the purpose of PvP. To invade another's game, a player must be in human form and standing in the level they wish to invade in, then use a red eye orb item. A target is any player in human form who is within the correct level range of the invader. Level ranges for red eye orb invasions are different from cooperative summoning in that the player being invaded is limited to 10% of the invader's level below, but unlimited above. (For example, a level 50 invader can invade anyone level 45 and above). If these conditions are met, the invading phantom will appear in the host's game, and the host will receive a message warning them that an invader has arrived.

As an invading phantom, special rules apply, similar to being a summoned phantom: the invading phantom may not use Estus Flasks, leave the level, or interact with NPCs. Because the conditions for a host to get invaded are the same as those for a host to be able to summon cooperative phantoms, the host may summon phantoms to help them to fight against the invader. If the invading phantom is killed, they return to their own world still in human form, but their bloodstain will be wherever they were when they joined the other player's world. The host that defeated the invader will receive a number of souls (dependent on the level of their invader), and can also touch the bloodstain left by the invader to receive one point of humanity. If the host dies for any reason while the invading phantom is in their game, the host suffers the standard death penalty and the invader returns to their own world with a bonus of souls and one extra point of humanity.

If the invaded player dies and has an item called an Indictment, they can choose to indict the invading player to give them a point of sin, which is recorded in a kind of online leaderboard called The Book of the Guilty. Players recorded in The Book of the Guilty can be targeted for invasions by members of the Blades of the Darkmoon covenant, who use the Blue Eye Orb and Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring items to invade a host's world as a "Spirit of Vengeance". Darkmoon Blade Covenant invasions differ from all other forms of multiplayer, in that a Spirit of Vengeance can invade players who are at a substantially lower level than they are (50 levels +20% of their level lower, instead of 10% lower).

Further into the game, it is possible to acquire an item (Red Sign Soapstone) in The Painted World, which allows players to place down a summon sign on the ground to engage in optional PVP combat. Unlike the white sign soapstone, this summon sign gives off a reddish hue to distinguish itself to other players. Should a player accept the duel, a hostile phantom will enter their world to engage in a battle to the death. A maximum of 3 phantoms may be summoned, all of which can attack one-another. If a red phantom dies in a host's world, any other players present will receive souls for their death, but only the host has the opportunity of gaining a humanity point, by touching the bloodstain left behind by the red phantom that was killed. A Red Sign Soapstone can be seen by anyone 10 +10% levels lower than the player who placed the sign, but unlimited above (for example if a level 50 player placed a Red Sign Soapstone, it would be visible to anyone level 35 and above).

Another form of optional PVP combat is available for players in the Path of the Dragon covenant. Upon joining the covenant, the player receives a Dragon Eye item. When using the item, a summon sign is placed on the ground that will appear in other player's worlds. When another player interacts with this sign, they will show up in the summoning player's world as an invader. The winner of the duel will receive one Dragon Scale and an amount of souls relative to their opponent's soul level. This Dragon Scale is not taken from the losing player's inventory, there is no penalty at all for losing a duel initiated in this manner. Dragon summon signs appear for players within the normal co-op range of 10 +10% of the summoner's soul level.

Players in the Gravelord Servant have the ability to initiate invasions in a different form from the other multiplayer options. If they are human and in an area where they have not yet defeated the boss, they are able to use consumable Eye of Death items to "infect" three other player's worlds. Players eligible for this infection are any within a range of 10 +10% of the Gravelord player's level. If the infected player is on their first playthrough of the game this has no effect. However, if the player is on a New Game+, black phantom versions of enemies will appear in addition to the regular enemies in their world. The black phantom versions of enemies deal more damage, and have more health than regular enemies. The Gravelord Servant player's summon sign appears in the infected worlds as well, and in order to remove the black phantom enemies, those players must find the sign and interact with it to invade the Gravelord Servant's world. Upon the death of the Gravelord Servant, or the Gravelord Servant leaving the area or quitting the game, the infected player's worlds are returned to normal.

Battle of Stoicism

The Artorias of the Abyss DLC also added a battle arena to the game for more direct PVP confrontation. There are three modes of play: 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, and 4 player .

Players will be grouped into 1 of 4 tiers automatically. Soul levels 1-50, 51-100, 101 - 200, and 201+ will all be grouped into matches together.

Unlike all other forms of PVP, no souls, humanity, or covenant items can be gained from winning Battle of Stoicism matches. Instead, players are rewarded with a place on an in-game leaderboard called the Plaque of Legends.

Story

Long ago the world was a gray, lifeless place covered in fog and dominated by dragons. Then, fire appeared, and creatures emerged from the dark, finding souls of Lords within the flames: , first of the dead; and her daughters of chaos, , the Lord of Sunlight, and his knights; and the easily forgotten Furtive Pygmy. They challenged the dragons. With Nito's powers of disease, the witches' firestorms, Gwyn's powerful bolts and the aid of , a dragon who betrayed his own kind, they succeeded, vanquishing the dragons and starting the Age of Fire.

Over time, the flames started to fade and darkness began to spread. The world is plagued by hollows, the undead that have gone mad from being resurrected. So the lords have captured the undead and imprisoned them. But you are the chosen undead to leave the Asylum and make your way to Lordran and fulfill the prophecy.

DLC Access

In order to access the new content, one must have (along with purchasing the DLC or owning the PC version):

1. Saved from the golden crystal golem behind the hydra in Darkroot Basin

2. Acquired the Lordvessel from

After doing this, you must place down the Lordvessel (whether it be with or ) to open up the golden fog gates throughout Lordran.

You now must enter The Duke's Archives and take the elevator up. There will be a crystal golem in the right side of the balcony up the stairs. Killing him will reward you with The Broken Pendant.

Now backtrack all the way back to Darkroot Basin, to where you originally saved Dusk. There will be a black orb. Touch it to be transported to Oolacile Sanctuary.

DLC Additions

The addition of the Artorias of the Abyss content includes a whole new area in the Dark Souls universe. Being transported to this area also takes you back in time to when the people of Oolacile still existed (though in a deformed manner). The new content explores the story of , the legendary walker. This content includes an area that is visibly recognizable as the in its past form.

There are 4 additional bosses from the new content, several new non-playable characters, and new weapons, armor, and spells. The new bosses are intended to challenge even the most experienced Dark Souls players. The conclusion of the new content rewrites the history of Knight Artorias, as the player kills the famous knight after being heavily weakened by the Abyss. The player character takes the place of Knight Artorias as the Abysswalker, defeating Additionally, the character will take down one of the few remaining Dragon's in Lordran, .

Stats

Vitality

Governs the player's maximum health points.

Attunement

Governs item drop-rates and the number of spell slots.

Endurance

Governs stamina, maximum equipment burden and resistance to bleeding.

Roll and run speed will vary based on the percentage of maximum burden used by equip weight.

• Equip weight ≥ 100% of Equip Burden makes rolling and running impossible.
• Equip weight ≥ 50% of Equip Burden sets movement speed to slow and disabled rolling.
• Equip weight < 50% of Equip Burden sets movement speed to medium and rolling speed to slow.
• Equip weight < 25% of Equip Burden sets movement speed and rolling speed to fast.

Strength

Governs attack power for weapons that scale with strength and decides whether or not the player can properly wield heavier weapons.

Dexterity

Governs attack power for weapons that scale with Dexterity and increases casting speed for most spells.

• Casting speed is only effected by Dexterity in the range of 35-45. Anything below 35 and there will be no change in casting speed.

Resistance

Governs physical and flame defense, and resistance to poison.

• Physical and flame defense are also affected by your total level and the diminishing returns stack, causing resistance's effectiveness at higher levels to become negligible.

Intelligence

Governs the power of sorcery, resistance to curses, attack power with weapons that scale with intelligence and decides whether or not the player can cast more advanced spells.

• Pyromancy spell power does not scale with intelligence. The Pyromancy Flame (catalyst) can be upgraded to scale with intelligence, however this only affects the Flame's melee attack.

Faith

Governs the power of miracles, magical defense, attack power with weapons that scale with faith and decides whether or not the player can cast more advanced miracles.

• Faith is also a requirement for the Warriors of Sunlight covenant (see below).

Classes

There are ten classes for players to choose from:

Warrior

Warriors are weapon experts with great strength and dexterity.

Starting gear: Longsword, Heater Shield, Standard Helm, Hard Leather Armor, Hard Leather Gauntlets and Hard Leather Boots.

Starting stats:

• Level: 4
• Vitality: 11
• Attunement: 8
• Endurance: 12
• Strength: 13
• Dexterity: 13
• Resistance: 11
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 9

Knight

Knights have a high HP stat. They are heavily armoured and hard to knock down

Starting gear: Broadsword, Tower Kite Shield, Knight Helm, Knight Armor, Knight Gauntlets and Knight Leggings.

Starting stats:

• Level: 5
• Vitality: 14
• Attunement: 10
• Endurance: 10
• Strength: 11
• Dexterity: 11
• Resistance: 10
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 11

Wanderer

Wanderers are dexterous, scimitar-wielding characters.

Starting gear: Scimitar, Leather Shield, Wanderer Hood, Wanderer Coat, Wanderer Manchette and Wanderer Boots.

Starting stats:

• Level: 3
• Vitality: 10
• Attunement: 11
• Endurance: 10
• Strength: 10
• Dexterity: 14
• Resistance: 12
• Intelligence: 11
• Faith: 8

Thief

Thieves come equipped with master keys and excel at critical hits.

Starting gear: Bandit's Knife, Target Shield, Thief Mask, Black Leather Armor, Black Leather Gloves, Black Leather Boots and Master Key.

Starting stats:

• Level: 5
• Vitality: 9
• Attunement: 11
• Endurance: 9
• Strength: 9
• Dexterity: 15
• Resistance: 10
• Intelligence: 12
• Faith: 11

Bandit

Bandits are very strong and wield heavy battle axes.

Starting gear: Battle Axe, Spider Shield, Brigand Hood, Brigand Armor, Brigand Gauntlets and Brigand Trousers.

Starting stats:

• Level: 4
• Vitality: 12
• Attunement: 8
• Endurance: 14
• Strength: 14
• Dexterity: 9
• Resistance: 11
• Intelligence: 8
• Faith: 10

Hunter

Hunters are skilled with bows, but weak to magic.

Starting gear: Shortsword, Short Bow, 30 Standard Arrows, Large Leather Shield, Leather Armor, Leather Gloves and Leather Boots.

Starting stats:

• Level: 4
• Vitality: 11
• Attunement: 9
• Endurance: 11
• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 14
• Resistance: 11
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 9

Sorcerer

Sorcerers cast a variety of soul spells learned at the Vinheim Dragon School.

Starting gear: Dagger, Small Leather Shield, Sorcerer's Catalyst, Sorcerer Hat, Sorcerer Cloak, Sorcerer Gauntlets and Sorcerer Boots.

Starting spell: Soul Arrow.

Starting stats:

• Level: 3
• Vitality: 8
• Attunement: 15
• Endurance: 8
• Strength: 9
• Dexterity: 11
• Resistance: 8
• Intelligence: 15
• Faith: 8

Pyromancer

Pyromancers from the Great Swamp cast fire magic and wield small axes.

Starting gear: Hand Axe, Cracked Round Shield, Pyromancy Flame, Tattered Cloth Hood, Tattered Cloth Robe, Tattered Cloth Manchette and Heavy Boots.

Starting spell: Fireball.

Starting stats:

• Level: 1
• Vitality: 10
• Attunement: 12
• Endurance: 11
• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 9
• Resistance: 12
• Intelligence: 10
• Faith: 8

Cleric

Clerics cast healing miracles and wield maces.

Starting gear: Mace, East-West Shield, Canvas Talisman, Holy Robe, Traveling Gloves and Holy Trousers.

Starting spell: Heal.

Starting stats:

• Level: 2
• Vitality: 11
• Attunement: 11
• Endurance: 9
• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 8
• Resistance: 11
• Intelligence: 8
• Faith: 14

Deprived

The deprived come equipped with nothing but clubs and old wooden shields. Starts with well-balanced stats.

Starting gear: Club and Plank Shield.

Starting stats:

• Level: 6
• Vitality: 11
• Attunement: 11
• Endurance: 11
• Strength: 11
• Dexterity: 11
• Resistance: 11
• Intelligence: 11
• Faith: 11

Gifts

When creating a character, the player gets to choose one of the following items as a starting gift:

• Divine Blessing - A consumable item that restores HP and removes detrimental status effects.
• Black Firebomb - A type of firebomb that's more powerful than regular Firebombs. The player gets ten of these.
• Binoculars - An item that lets the player get a closer look at distant objects. Can be used as many times as the player wants.
• Pendant - An item with no known use.
• Twin Humanities - A consumable item that grants 2 humanity.
• Master Key - A key that can open simple locks. Can be used as many times as the player wants, but only works on certain locks.
• Tiny Being's Ring - An equippable item that increases the player's maximum health by 30. (Does not recharge health, as the game initially claims.)
• Old Witch's Ring - Allows dialog between the player and a witch later in the game.

All of these items can be obtained later in the game either by purchasing or finding them scattered around. Some are more easily obtained than others, however.

Humanity

Humanity is a unique character stat that can change frequently, unlike other stats. It cannot be leveled up like other stats and when a player dies, they drop all of their humanity into their blood stain along with their souls.

Obtaining humanity:

• Humanity can be earned by killing enemies who drop it as an automatically gained item, or as a consumable item. Consumable humanity items are not lost when killed.
• As of patch 1.05 all bosses award at least one humanity item when killed.
• Humanity can also be gained by killing a set number of enemies in an area where the boss is still alive. Dying/Resting at a bonfire does not reset the counter.
• Being summoned into another player's game and helping them kill a major boss will reward the player with one point of humanity.
• Red Phantoms killed by the player will leave a bloodstain, which can be touched by the player for 1 point of humanity. If the host dies while the player is in their world as a Red Phantom, they will receive 1 point of humanity.
• Humanity (in consumable item form) can also be bought from Undead Merchant (Female), Patches the Hyena, and Marvelous Chester, though they only have a limited quantity.
• Having a hint sign up rated by another player grants one Humanity.

Using humanity:

• At a bonfire, players can spend one point of humanity to change from hollow form into human form, known as "reverse-hollowing".
• Humanity can be used to kindle bonfires when the player is human, increasing the maximum number of Estus Flasks that that bonfire can replenish. It costs one point of humanity per kindling.
• Humanity that is held passively increases item drop rate and resistance to curses. The more humanity held, the greater the increases, as shown in the table above.
• Chaos-enchanted weapon and chaos spell damage scales with humanity. Maximum damage at 10 humanity.
• Using a consumable humanity item will restore the player's health completely (in addition to obviously granting one point of humanity).

Losing humanity:

• Although all held humanity is lost upon death, it is stored in a bloodstain along with all of the players souls. If the player can get back to and touch their bloodstain without dying again, the player reclaims all lost humanity and souls.
• Dying in human form transforms the player back to hollowed form upon respawning at the last visited bonfire. To re-assume human form, the player must spend one point of humanity at a bonfire to "reverse-hollowing".

Some credit for this information goes to Darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com

Bonfires

While resting at a bonfire, a player may perform any of the following actions, provided its conditions are met:

• Rest - Resting at a bonfire refills Estus Flasks (see "Kindle" below) and spells, but respawns all enemies (except bosses and minibosses). Bonfires cannot be accessed while a player's world is invaded or while enemies are in very close proximity.
• Level up - This is the only way that players can increase their character's soul level. To gain a level, the player must spend souls currently held. Each additional level costs more souls to gain than the last.
• Reinforce Weapon - After obtaining a Weapon Smithbox, players can spend crafting materials and souls to upgrade their weapons in various ways.
• Reinforce Armor - An Armor Smithbox is required to upgrade armor similarly to weapons.
• Repair - With a Repairbox, players can spend souls to repair the durability of their weapons and armor.
• Attune Magic - Once spells have been learned, players can choose which of their known spells they would like to have equipped for usage.
• Bottomless Box- After acquiring it, players can store items in it. There is no limit either to the number of items players can hold in their inventories or the number of items that the Bottomless Box can hold, so using the Box is a strictly organizational choice.
• Kindle - Kindling bonfires increases the maximum number of Estus Flasks that the bonfire will replenish. Each bonfire must be kindled separately. A bonfire can be Kindled to replenish a maximum of 10 Estus Flasks, until the player acquires the Rite of Kindling, which allows the amount of times a Bonfire can be kindled. Kindling requires that the player be in human form and expend one point of held humanity per kindling. Every time a bonfire is Kindled, it increases the number of Estus Flasks replenished by 5, up to a maximum of 20 total.
• Reverse Hollowing - Reverts player from hollowed form back to human form at the cost of one point of humanity.
• Warp - Once the in-game item, the Lordvessel, is acquired, the player can warp from any bonfire to any of several specific bonfires in the world. Each destination bonfire must have already been discovered by the player in order to be able to warp to it.

Certain bonfires are tied to Firekeepers who will provide the service of reinforcing Estus Flasks in exchange for a Firekeeper Soul. If a Firekeeper is killed, its corresponding bonfire is extinguished permanently.

Magic

There are three types of magic: sorcery, which is powered by the caster's Intelligence stat; miracles, which which are powered by the caster's Faith stat; and pyromancy, which is powered only by the strength of the casting implement. Each class of spells has a corresponding casting implement that is required to cast any of those spells: sorcery spells require an equipped catalyst, miracles require require a talisman, and pyromancy requires a Pyromancy Flame. Every spell and miracle has a certain number of uses before it can no longer be used without replenishing it at a bonfire. Each sorcery and miracle also has a minimum stat requirement that must be met in order for a character to learn that spell. Spells can be acquired in the same ways that items can: finding them, being given them, buying them, or starting out with them.

Covenants

There are nine covenants the player can join, each associated with different characters and factions in the game. Honouring the rules of a covenant will lead to the acquisition of various rewards, while breaking its rules will lead to hostility from that covenant's members as well as other penalties.

Way of the White

One can enter this covenant by speaking to Petrus of Thorolund, or Reah when she is in the Undead Parish church. Players who choose Way of the White come closer to each other on the network, simultaneously increasing the likelihood of a miracle resonance and decreasing the likelihood of hostile world invasions. The Knight and Cleric classes start the game as members of the Way of White.

Blade of the Darkmoon

A pact with , Gwyn's youngest child. Players who enter this covenant are tasked with hunting down players who have sinned by breaking covenants or invading and killing other players, or those who have attacked Gwynevere. To join this covenant, players must take the central elevator in Anor Londo all the way to the bottom and walk down the central stairs whilst equipping the Darkmoon Seance Ring. Then they are given an opportunity to kneel and join the covenant.

Princess' Guard

A pact with , daughter of Gwyn, who wishes for players to help thwart her father's plans for the future by destroying him and obtaining his soul. Players who enter this covenant gain the ability to cast sunlight miracles, and become more likely to be matched with members of Princess' Guard, Way of the White and Warrior of Sunlight in online play.

Warrior of Sunlight

A pact with the sun. This covenant originally required 50 faith in order to join, however as of patch 1.04 the requirement has been lowered to 25 to increase accessibility. Assisting other players defeat bosses as a phantom reduces the requirement by 5. Players who enter this covenant appear as gold phantoms in co-op, and become more likely to be matched with members of Princess' Guard, Way of the White and Warrior of Sunlight in online play. When a gold phantom helps someone defeat a boss, everyone in the party gets a Sunlight Medal.

Forest Hunter

A pact with , a giant cat. Players who enter this covenant are given a white pearl ring. Alvina uses this to send them into the worlds of players entering her forest, who they must then kill. Up to three forest covenant members may invade a player at one time. The champion is awarded souls and a random upgrade material item, helpers are also awarded an upgrade material item. One of the rewards for honouring this pact is a ring that renders the wearer transparent, making him harder to detect. One breaks the pact by killing any creature of the forest. At 5 kills, Alvina will ask the player to kill the .

All previously-hostile enemies at the entrance of the Dark Forest become friendly. Shiva of the East opens a store under the waterwheel in Blighttown, providing unique dexterity-heavy weapons.

It is recommended to engage in pacifism within the Dark Forest once the player joins this covenant as there is a strong chance of unknowingly breaking the pact. Killing Great Grey Wolf Sif will not break the covenant.

Chaos Servant

A pact with one of , who can be found behind an illusory wall near the elevator linking Quelaag's Domain to the Demon Ruins. One honours this covenant by giving the Daughter of Chaos, who has suffered ever since she consumed the great Blight Pus, humanity to ease her pain. The rewards one can gain range from a variety of powerful pyromancy spells to a shortcut bypassing the Lost Izalith. This shortcut is also helpful for saving the NPC , which makes him summonable for the final boss.

Gravelord Servant

A pact with , god of the dead, that can only be entered when in an undead state. Grants the Gravelord spell, as well as a variety of poisonous, disease-spreading equipment and magic. Upon using Eyes of Death players can infect other players worlds causing enemies to be harder and half of their souls going to the Gravelord. Find this covenant by going into an empty coffin in the room with the Titanite Demon in the Catacombs. The player must have an Eye of Death in their inventory in order to reach Nito to join the covenant.

Path of the Dragon

A pact with The Everlasting Dragon. One honors this pact by collecting Dragon Scales, which can be acquired either by defeating certain enemies, finding them throughout Lordran, or by killing the host of a world as a Dragon Spirit. Joining the covenant rewards the player with the Dragon Head Stone, giving a the player a dragon's head that breathes fire, as well as an item that will search for players with scales in their inventory to invade. Upon handing in 30 scales, the player can turn their entire body into a dragonoid form.

Dark Wraith

A pact with , a Primordial Serpant that wishes to consume the world. Players who enter this covenant are given the Dark Hand, a piece of equipment allowing them to steal other players' humanity. The rewards for honouring this pact include the Red Eye Orb, the Dark Sword and the Dark Armor. To join this covenant, the Four Kings must be defeated before placing the Lordvessel in the Firelink Chamber. In order to traverse the Abyss to kill the 4 kings, the Covenant of Artorias is required (a ring that is earned by killing the Great Grey Wolf Sif).

Kingseeker Frampt Exchange Rate

appears at the after both bells of Awakening have been rung. He is a large serpent like creature that can be fed items and crafting materials in exchange for souls and other items.

Exchange Rate for Items

1 Large Titanite Shard = 5 Titanite Shards

1 Green Titanite Shard = 5 Titanite Shards

1 Titanite Chunk = 3 Large Titanite Shards

1 Blue Titanite Chunk = 3 Green Titanite Shards

1 White Titanite Chunk = 3 Green Titanite Shards

1 Red Titanite Chunk = 3 Green Titanite Shards

1 Titanite Slab = 2 Titanite Chunks

1 Blue Titanite Slab = 2 Blue Titanite Chunks

1 White Titanite Slab = 2 White Titanite Chunks

1 Red Titanite Slab = 2 Red Titanite Chunks

The player can also feed Frampt any item, weapon, or armor piece. Souls awarded range from1-15,000 souls (depending on the item that is fed to him).

Snuggly the Crow

Snuggly the Crow's nest can be found at the cliffs of Undead Asylum. He asks the player to give him an item (by dropping it into his nest) and when given the right one (he'll tell you if it isn't), he'll exchange it into some other, most of the time more valuable, item. The exchange only happens when leaving and returning to the Undead Asylum (quitting and reloading your game will also complete the transaction). Each item can only be traded once per playthrough. If you drop two of the same item, you will not get two of the item you were trading for.

Upgrading Weapons

Credit for image goes to Otaku_Oyabun & Mud_Chan from gamefaqs.

Weapons

Base Damage: Physical / Magic / Flame / Lightning / Critical

ParamBonus & ReqParam: Strength / Dexterity / Intelligence / Faith

Daggers

Straight Swords

Greatswords

Ultra Greatswords

Curved Swords

Curved Greatswords

Katanas

Thrusting Swords

Axes

Greataxes

Hammers

Blunt Weapons

Great Hammers

Name	Base Damage	ParamBonus	ReqParam	Durability	Weight	Misc
Dragon Tooth	290/0/0/0/100	D/-/-/-	40/0/0/0	999	18.0	Found in Anor Londo behind illusory wall in a fireplace.
Demon's Great Hammer	138/0/0/0/100	B/-/-/-	46/0/0/0	600	22.0	Drops from Asylum Demon (must defeat demon during first encounter). Obtained by trading Sack to Snuggly.
Grant	125/130/0/0/100	B/-/-/A	50/0/0/0	600	24.0	Drops from NPC invader Paladin Leeroy in Tomb of Giants (must be in human form).
Great Club	135/0/0/0/100	B/-/-/-	28/0/0/0	250	12.0	Found in Blighttown.
Large Club	120/0/0/0/100	A/-/-/-	26/0/0/0	250	11.0	Drops from Infested Barbarian (club) in B Dark Souls gameplay (0) Dark Souls tips, tricks, strategy guide (0) Dark Souls walkthrough (0) Dark Souls secrets and easter eggs (0) Dark Souls - others (0) Games Action games Action-adventure games Adventure games Role-playing games Simulation games Strategy games Sports games Other notable genres Gamespedition.com   Video games are entertaining. A simple but truthful statement. Since the golden age of the arcade, various types and genres of video games have brought millions of people the entertainment that could never be matched. With technological advancements, the gaming systems, game mechanics and game engines improved, bringing a broader variety of entertainment to gamers worldwide. We, at gamespedition, thrive to further enrich that entertainment. On our web page you will find various tips, walkthroughs, trailers, news and other things related to your favorite video games. Here, you'll find new and entertaining ways on how to beat that annoying boss, how to complete that difficult objective or how to get that achievement. Gamespedition – user generated content, for users.     × Login form Login with Facebook Login with Google Remember me Log in Forgot your username? Forgot your password?