Matt’s Rules For Dark Souls

By: AAOG’S Community Manager Matt Turiano

Hi I’m Matt and I have played a lot of Dark Souls over the years, so I wanted to write out some of the wisdom I’ve gained over the decade or so these games have been coming out for new players. So in no particular order here are some of Matt’s rules for Dark Souls. I say some because I am absolutely going to think of others as soon as this goes up. 

You are going to die: This is the one everyone knows, hell prepare to die is the tagline of one of the games. But it’s true and bears repeating, you are going to die a lot, you will lose all your souls and you’re going to die again trying to get them back. Death is a setback, you are an undead, or unkindled, and that means you are to storm the fortresses of the games boss like an undying scourge. You will die and come back more knowledgeable than before, every death teaches you more about the game, about your enemies. Death to you is merely a setback.

Don’t get greedy: There will be times when you are sure that a boss or tough enemy has one last hit, and you will swing instead of blocking or dodging. And you will die for your greed, the enemy is going to start a combo and knock you out of your attack or a strong attack is going to deal way more damage then you thought. Don’t get greedy, take your time and be methodical. 

Anything Can (and will) Kill you: Never underestimate low level enemies, a group of low level hollows can take down an endgame character who isn’t paying attention. “Oh I’m just gonna run through this area and grab that item I missed,” wrong you’re going to get ganked by 10 hollows with broken swords. 

Find Every Item: This rule might be more about me than a dark souls rule but it’s my list so it goes on. Go out of your way to find every item, you never know what weapon or ring is going to introduce you to a new fun play style. Plus all the lore is on item descriptions, so if you really want to understand what’s going on with the game story better pick up every scrap of armor in the game. Or just do what I did and watch a lore video. 

Go places your not ready for: This rule breaks two of my rules and combines the other two. In the beginning of DS1 you have two opportunities to run into zones you are not ready for yet, and you can get some great gear early there. Why would I suggest this clearly greedy activity? Because you are going to die anyway, just make sure you don’t have a lot of unspent souls and run in and grab everything you can before you die. This can make the early game a lot easier, and is just part of my normal run.

Shields are Useful but…: Shields are great aren’t they, they block damage and save you from archers. But they can also lock you into a less fun play style, I encourage people to try two handed weapons or trying dual wielding in Dark Souls 2 and 3. Some of the most fun runs I’ve had are with dual wielding maces or Cestuses. 

Dark Souls is a Multiplayer game: This might feel silly to mention, but I think it’s easy to forget that when you play online you are playing with other people. Some players like to solo all the bosses in the game and more power to them. But to me Summoning is an intrinsic part of the game, there are whole covenants in the game based around helping other players fight bosses. There is also invading which isn’t my favorite part of the game, but if pvp is your bag their are plenty of builds and covenants for you as well. 

That’s all I’ve got for you today, so good luck, have fun, and Vereor Nox.

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