I got the Drake Sword and made my way to the Undead Parish. Tons of possibilities are open now, I can quickly go back to the Firelink, there's the Garden and the Forest behind also I could probably find this bell somewhere. With the Drake Sword I feel much more self-confident and I think that in few upcoming hours it will be me to dictate the terms of the game
I cleared Anor Londo and opened the areas blocked by the yellow seals. I have a feeling that some brutal beatdowns will be in near my future. I really wish I had more titanite chunks. I did find that darkwraiths in lower New Londo occasionally drop them, although I hate going down there. You can't see much, and the enemies are strong. I'm using the ring that increased drop rate, but I need a ton of chunks. I wish you could buy them. I bought that crest to open the path in Dark Root Forest. The enemies are very tough in that area.
I am using that area to farm souls, 6000 per run with a bit of a cheating method. As you go in you will see you go down some stairs, to the left of those stairs is the edge of a cliff. Go into the forest and agro some guys and run back to the ledge (right into the corner), turn around and hold up your shield. The chaps wont come down that way, they always go up the stairs and then try to fall down on you. Doing so makes them bounce off your shield and they fall and die. I can usually get 3 of them and go back to the bonfire outside so 2000 x 3 = 6000 souls in 2 minutes. The firekeeper died because I freed that chap in the church. He killed her and now I can't use her to increase my flask abilities, wish I had never freed him now. I took down the stray demon and to be honest he was pretty easy. I used my Dark Knight Sword +4, 2 handed and ran behind him, took a swing and rolled back when he tried his AoE attack. I was doing 400+ damage with each hit so he didn't take too long and once I got it down he never hit me. The 2 black knights in the area dropped different colours of Tantanite. I also killed who I think is called Havel in undead burg at the bottom of the tower where the taurus demon was. He gave me a ring which massively increases my equipment load so I can wear the elite knight armour + the dark knight sword and still be super fast. He was still able to one hit me so I just had to be fast, again I did it 2 handed so he went down as quickly as possible. I also killed the Hydra so I guess I am going to have to go to Sens fortress now. When I went there before I grinded a few levels the lizard people took me out pretty easily so hopefully now I am soul level 49ish I can do it a lot easier.
I killed Lautrec and revived her. You can invade Lautrec using an item where the firekeeper died. He's tough and has two companions. Don't use the firekeeper's stolen soul on your estus flask or she's gone for good. I've had Havel's Ring equipped for quite awhile. It's permanent gear for me. I have a Lightning Spear+4 and Lightning Zweihander+3. I wish I had more than a single titanite slab. The only one I found was for killing the Stray Demon. I'm in a painted land right now. These harpies and spiked wheels are wretched, but the rest has been easy. I'd recommend clearing Anor Londo first because I don't think you could escape this place without completely clearing it. You can warp between certain bonfires after Anor Londo. Great Hollow also appears to be a dead end, which is why I retreated when I got to the area at the bottom. I officially HATE those rock worms after getting grabbed by the pincer attack. Gross.
I can confirm that the Tommy Wiseau-look-alike Darkwraiths in lower New Londo do rarely drop titanite SLABS. I found one today and then fully upgraded my Lightning Spear and Lightning Zweihander to +5 with my two slabs. I'm not sure what to do with my Halberd+10.
I finally reached the blacksmith for Fire weapons. I must say they are pretty awesome. It's not quite as deadly as Lightning weapons, as fewer enemies have resistance to Lightning, but Fire weapons are still extremely potent. I have a Fire Great Axe+8 that pounds the daylights out of enemies with any weakness to fire. The harpy creatures in Anor Londo go down in one single-handed chop. I can also kill the big stone knights in Darkroot Forest with one strike.
Did you create the fire weapon from Quelaag's soul, that looks pretty good. Not far enough in the game to make it myself yet. As I said in other thread been a bit busy lately so not had any time to do Sen's Fortress. Did venture into the great hollow and got some nice titanite but some big mushrooms killed me when I ran into 3 at once.
Most of the boss soul weapons/gear seems to be boosted by DEX or DEX/Magic. I think I made the Lifeseeker Scythe or whatever it is, but that's DEX boosted as well and takes a HUGE chunk of life off of YOUR CHARACTER if you use it to kill several enemies rapidly. I nearly croaked and lost a ton of souls because of that. STR-heavy characters seem to do best with the heavy weapons taken through some upgrade path. The gems of my current arsenal are my Lightning Zweihander+5, Fire Great Axe+8, and Lightning Spear+5. I've decided to cap STR for now at 32 for the Great Axe and concentrate on elemental upgrades and building up VIT and END. So an elemental/ tank/ Pyromancer for now. I would guess that stat scaling + buffs eventually would overtake elemental damage at a high soul level. My fully upgraded elemental weapons will never increase in power, so at some point I'll need to switch to stat-boosted weapons. I'm also working on upgrading a Lightning Composite Bow currently. I have a Claymore+10, but I don't know what to do with it. I'd go with fire, but I'm limited on red titinite after getting up to +8 with the Fire Great Axe, but that was well worth it. The Great Axe is still pretty awesome in Dark Souls. Raw upgrades seem to suck unless you're very early in the game. It seems like Raw upgrades would be quickly outpaced by other upgrade branches.
Ash Lake is at the bottom of The Great Hollow. I'd be cautious about saving there at the bonfire. I retreated when I got there because I was afraid of getting stuck in a tough area, but I imagine I would be fine now that my character is much stronger. If the mushrooms are too hard, you might want to avoid the dragon-type creatures I saw in Ash Lake for now.
I am making progress at my own pace. I've killed these gargoyles and the butterfly in the garden and got the key to the tower. On my way back to the blacksmith in the garden I saw the path leading to the left and down below along the cliff but I haven't explored that. Rather, I got back to Undead Burg, opened the shortcut crate and now I am able to go to the lower section of the burg.
I think I'm getting close to the end. I'm in a dark tomb filled with tough skeletal creatures. I haven't reached the boss yet. After this is over I think I'll be down to the final boss. I fully upgraded my Fire Great Axe to +10, which hits for approaching 800 damage. It's an awesome weapon. I also created the Great Artorius Shield, which is pretty decent overall and features great stability. BTW, the creatures that drop red titinite chunks and slabs are pretty wretched monsters. Avoid melee with them. They can grab for a possible insta-kill or break you weapons/ gear with acid. Nasty things.
God those archers in Anor Londo did my head in but I finally made it to the second bonfire without smashing my controller. I also have a +10 weapon to make into Quelaag's Fury Sword when I get to the giant blacksmith so I am look good all round.
God those archers in Anor Londo did my head in but I finally made it to the second bonfire without smashing my controller. I also have a +10 weapon to make into Quelaag's Fury Sword when I get to the giant blacksmith so I am look good all round.
That blacksmith is extremely close. He makes lightning and soul weapons. Also, it might be a good idea to carefully look through the immediate area in the other rooms near the bonfire. Never know where hidden areas might be. Maybe even a false wall on that floor... BTW, I got slaughtered in the boss encounter a few times. It's not the easiest battle, especially if your soul level is a bit low. I've seen people list this boss encounter and the last boss as the toughest in the game.
I know its a dual boss battle, that is why I was so keen to have everything ready to make Quelaag's Fury Sword before I got to the giant blacksmith. I am soul level 55 so not too bad. I am assuming there will soon be a shortcut I can open up so that I can get back to the start of Anor Londo and vice versa easier? I wouldn't want to have to get past those archers every time I want to visit this blacksmith. On the bridge near the 2 giants I noticed there was a gate on the left so I assume it is that way? I also didn't do the painted world yet. I again decided it would be best to have my new sword first.
And I was being careful with my wording to not spoil that it was a dual boss encounter. Shame on you for looking that up!!! Anyway, they are tough and will probably beat you down at least a couple of times. I think I cleared it in maybe the 2nd or 3rd try. I got pretty savagely beat down on the first try (similar to my first encounters with the Capra Demon and Stray Demon) because I wasn't expecting to immediately be charged by two tough bosses that way. Anyway, it matters which you kill first. I killed the smaller, faster one first, so the soul and the armor of the bigger guy became available to me. I'll have to take out the larger of the two first in NG+, which I'm predicting will be a nightmarishly difficult task. Don't mess with the painting yet. Just concentrate on finishing with Anor Londo so you can open things up and warp between certain bonfires. You can get from one side of Anor Londo to the other within maybe a couple of minutes. You'll be surprised how fast you can run through that place after everything has been opened. As a general rule, it seems like fire damage is potent in that Anor Londo. One chop from my Fire Great Axe kills the harpies. Maybe 2 or 3 strikes takes down the giant knights. Now that I've played through everything but the final boss, I think I found the Tomb of Giants to be the least pleasant place followed by the underworld hell past the Demon Ruins. I'm satisfied with my build, which is highest in VIT, END, and STR. I love the larger weapons like the Great Axe and Zweihander, and Lighting and Fire damage are superb for the first run or two through the game. It also seems like a DEX build would be excellent if you preferred smaller weapons, and DEX builds aren't crippled in Dark Souls by the incredible rarity of Pure Bladestone ores as they were in Demon's Souls. Most of the Demon weapons are boosted by DEX. My DEX, Magic, Faith, and Resistance are all pretty low currently.
At the moment I am more of a STR build (36 points in STR) but I am going to have to dump some points into DEX now that I have Quelaag's Fury Sword. It is E/B/-/- and my DEX at the moment is around 22 so I might do a bit of grinding to help that on its way. It is doing pretty decent damage already but it would be nice to really boost it up. The sword is fire based and quick so its nice to have so I now have a nice mix with a fast fury sword +3 and lightning spear +4 and a hard hitting but slower black knight sword +5. I have enough Demon Titanite to level the fury sword to +5 but I didn't have the souls available last night to do it so that may be my next job. I opened up the shortcut near the giant blacksmith so that makes things a lot easier. As for armour I am using a mix of the gold hemmed set (cloak and gloves) and the elite knight set (boots and chest) with both of these at +5. Its such a shame the gold hemmed stuff can't be upgraded as its a pretty nice set of armour.
I'm still using the Gold Hemmed pants and occasionally the hood if I'm using a really heavy weapon or shield. I will try the DEX weapons with a different build eventually. There's too big of a gap for me to try them now. My STR (and VIT and END) are approaching 40 and my DEX is at around 14. Did you find the unique bow above the blacksmith's shop? In the big room near the boss, go upstairs and out the broken window.
I was down to 1 estus flask and 1 heal spell by the time I had gotten past all of the silver knights, I was only interested in finding the blacksmith and a way to a bonfire at that point. I did notice the window but am going to have to go back for it, along with a room with 2 silver knights in.
I've bought this Official Strategy Guide from FuturePress (was discounted to 13$ on Amazon) and I must admit that it's a solid stuff. There is a lot of useful information plus it's a great souvenir.