Tips for Noob

[FranciRoosters]

Hi, a friend of mine and I are planning on starting this, but, even if he's a bit more experienced than me with the saga, I'm not at all. We were planning on going for the Platinum together, but I've read that you first need to beat the Taurus boss before you can have people join your game. Is that true? Can I decide who I want to include in my game and make it private? Also, how difficult does the game become when it's played with two people? Does the difficulty rating go down or is it still an 8/10? Any other useful tips to give to someone that's new to the franchise? Thanks!

[MMDE]

To co-op, you use an item that place a mark in a level you haven't beaten the boss in yet on the floor for anyone else to see. They can then see this mark and join your game and help you beat the level.

 

http://darksouls.wikidot.com/co-op

 

As you can see, they must also be within your level range.

Edited June 2, 2018 by MMDE

[Redgrave]

Yes, you won't be able to summon someone until you beat the Taurus Demon because you will need Solaire to give you the White Sign Soapstone and he is just after that boss fight.

 

There is a password system in place so as long as you and your friend are using the same password you should be able to meet up easier. It used to be that there would be a level restriction but the Remaster removed that, so you don't have to worry about levels anymore. Be aware though that this won't stop invasions from other players. As far as the difficulty of the game, having another player makes things easier, especially if they are a higher level and have better equipment. One thing I'm not sure about and I don't know if this is tied to your level or anything, but when me and my friend did co-op, his Estus Flask count would fluctuate for some reason. So if you're summoning your friend it's a good idea to make sure they have a healing Miracle handy just in case they don't get enough Estus Flasks.

 

Adding on to the invasion part, if you are Human you are open to being invaded by other players. The bright side to this is if you die you don't lose your souls but you do lose Humanity. However, invaders do have a cooldown timer for invasions, so you shouldn't be invaded back to back by the same person unless they use a specific item I believe. To avoid invasions you either go Hollow or play offline, but since you're wanting to co-op with a friend neither of those options are really viable since you can't summon while Hollow. But it is something to keep in mind during moments you play alone.

 

Another thing I should mention is that if you have already beaten the bosses in an area, you can't summon anyone until NG+. Also you won't be able to summon in some areas right away. In New Londo for example, you will have to lower the water level before being able to summon anyone, and I believe most other areas require you to at least find the first bonfire. The other thing is summoning costs Humanity which is somewhat finite but you can farm it in some areas early on. The sewers before Blighttown is one of those areas. You also gain Humanity by beating bosses or assisting other players in co-op with a successful boss battle.

 

I recommend keeping an eye on your armor weight so that way you can do better rolls to evade attacks easier. A good roll is when you are able to do a sort of dive, a mid-roll is where you roll on the ground, and a fat roll is where you barely roll at all and is not a good idea to have since this will likely get you killed. Weapons also have weight, but it's mainly greatswords and large shields that have weight issues. You can fix this by putting points in Endurance and Strength, but once you get those stats at 30, don't bother putting anymore points into them because there is a soft-cap where you won't get much out of it when you put points into them. The same goes for Vitality and I'm sure the rest. I definitely recommend putting points into Vitality, Endurance, and Strength though. But if you are going to be a Magic user, then you will want to put points into Faith and Intelligence. I wouldn't really bother with Resistance or Attunement. 

 

For your starting class, I say just go with whatever sounds cool to you, but for a starting gift pretty much everyone recommends the Master Key because it unlocks most doors through the game. It doesn't unlock every door, but it's definitely nice to have for areas like Blighttown.

 

The game also likes to use Mimics. I won't say where and when they appear, but I'm going to paraphrase something I saw in a comment section regarding treasure chests. The key is to look at the chain of the chest on its side. The phrase goes "If it's shaped like a U, treasure is in view. If it's straight, this is bait." However killing a Mimic also gives you decent items, so you may want to fight them. But you can always go back to them later if you don't feel up for it at that moment. You can also use a Lloyd's Talisman to put them to sleep and get the item that way.

 

I believe that covers everything that was relevant. I'm sure others will bring up other things that I either don't know about or forgot.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Redgrave

[Skadoki]

It has to be done...

 

[Hokupe]

You only need to beat the tutorial Boss alone. As soon as you are in Firelink summoning is possible in general. I know this because I helped other beginners with early Bosses. You can only summon your friend if you wish (use password for this), but you can be invaded by anyone regardless. If YOU want to help your friend, as in being summoned, the others are right, for that you would need the White soap stone.

And about difficulty: the Boss gets more health with more people, BUT everything is a lot easier. Why? Because every enemy, and Bosses too of course, can't focus only on you. They switch focus, attack other players, so you have time to attack their back or heal or whatever. If you would play alone, you would have to block or evade all on your own.

 

So, have fun with your friend!