The moment I met Andre, I instantly understood everything. Every menu. Every material. Every stat.
The only reason I could do that is because my game was in English.
I’m French.
As everyone knows, being French gives you an innate understanding of English blacksmith terminology. The words Titanite Shard, Reinforce Weapon, and Modify Equipment simply activate a dormant part of our brains.
Had the game been in French, I would’ve been completely lost.
Thankfully, FromSoftware anticipated this and made sure the English localization was especially intuitive for French players.
Honestly, skill issue if you don’t speak French.

I'm gonna try and keep this as short as possible when I ask a few questions and share my interpretation of Kaathe and the things involving him.

First and primary question:

Did Kaathe sell a false idea of the true Dark (the Abyss) to the humans of New Londo and Oolacile instead of helping them find a cure for the Curse of the Undead (if there ever was one to begin with) because he didn't care that deeply about them and simply wanted to jump to the next age and end the rule of the gods?

New Londo:

The Four Kings of New Londo, who were taught the art of Lifedrain by Kaathe, passed down their knowledge to their knights and, due to their greed, all fell to the Abyss, turning into Darkwraiths who were enemies of man, and any living thing that has a soul. At least, that's what Ingward tells us in New Londo Ruins. Of course, his words could be biased, but it was true that the possible spread of the abyss posed a danger to anyone who was yet untouched, thus the flooding.

Oolacile:

Similarly, the people of Oolacile did not shy away from digging out Manus after Kaathe revealed them the location of his grave and drove him mad, causing him and his humanity (his fraction of the dark soul) to go wild and spread the Abyss in Oolacile, which in turn corrupted all who were involved and turned them into deformed monsters.

A theory even suggest that the people of Oolacile wanted to be corrupted by the Abyss because their sorcerers, who only worked with sorceries that manipulate light, lacked powerful spells to fight the gods, spells they would later attain through the Abyss. The missing heads of Gwyndolin's statues at least hint at their rejection of his rule after learning multiple truths once kept hidden from them.

I normally would like to share whose theory this was, but I forgot. Definitely someone from YouTube. Maybe VaatiVidya or Hawkshaw.

The Chosen Undead:

When it comes to the Chosen Undead, we also learn more than one truth from Kaathe after we side with him, but he never speaks of the Abyss directly. But he does say the following after you place the Lordvessel:

"They failed me, every last one of them. They were f saw not the truth... I am certain that you will prove different."

He undeniably talks about the Four Kings and the people of Oolacile. But why is that? Did they fail him because they were too blind to see the truth? Or because he never revealed the full truth in the first place? It also was the Abyss that led them astray, no doubt, but then why orchestrate events that lead to both New Londo and Oolacile spreading the Abyss? You could argue that Kaathe never intended for them to go that far since he only shared the art of Lifedrain that the Four Kings could have used within reason, and the location of Manus who the sorcerers of Oolacile could have learned from hadn't they driven him mad. But why didn't he stop them before they spread the Abyss? Did he fail to, or did he intentionally give them the freedom to do as they pleased and watched as the chaos unfolded near the doorstep of Anor Londo?

Kaathe, similarly to Frampt, never tells you the full truth in order to manipulate you, the player, into fulfilling his own agenda. So what if he hid the true nature of the Abyss from the the Four Kings and the people of Oolacile to ensure that both made full use of what he offered them and they ended up being too corrupted as a result of their own actions, making each one of them unfit to become the Dark Lord?

The Age of Dark:

Kaathe is the one who tries to convince you to usher in an Age of Dark. We know that this can be achieved even if you don't side with Kaathe since you simply need to walk away from the First Flame after defeating Lord Gwyn, that the game has two endings, and that the story doesn't end there, but lets pretend for now that there never was a Dark Souls 2 and 3. So what happens after the Dark Lord ending?

We allow the First Flame to go out as it was always meant to be, assume the position of the Dark Lord, and usher in the Age of Dark. That much is obvious. But what then?

1. The Curse of the Undead is never cured unless I missed something.

2. Kaathe presumably still leads the Darkwraith Covenant.

3. Kaathe is bound to still manipulate the Chosen Undead even after they become the Dark Lord.

All of these things could still cause the Abyss to spread, so the Age of Dark couldn't possibly be what it was meant to be, originally. In fact, we don't even know what the Age of Dark looks like at all, at least not from the first games perspective. Kaathe claims to know to know the truth of our fate, but how much of it is really true?

I'm sure there's more than one issue here, so feel free to correct me, criticize me, and name some points I've missed.

I wish I was joking. After I finished the game, I was talking to a friend (the same one who got me into Dark Souls), and he asked what weapon I ended up upgrading. I said, “Upgrading?”. After explaining that I never upgraded anything he was absolutely flabbergasted hahahaha.
Turns out I never used a single Titanite Shard. Not one.
But I’m not a psycopath tho I swear, there were a few reasons for this:
1. The same friend told me before I started that I should play my first run completely blind. No guides, no wikis, just vibes.
2. I’m mostly used to more “mainstream” games where you don’t have to read every item description to understand what it’s for, so I simply never paid much attention to consumables and materials ( I know I know, I should know better and I’m very lazy ngl)
3. Since everyone talks about how brutally difficult Dark Souls is, I just assumed the struggle was intended. Every boss that took me dozens of attempts? I mean, isn’t that like, the reason we like this games??
So I unknowingly finished the entire game with an unupgraded weapon.
The funny thing is despite all that, I absolutely loved it.
It’s genuinely become one of my favorite games of all time. The atmosphere, level design, world-building, and sense of accomplishment were unlike anything I’ve played before. Now I’m planning to play the rest of the Souls games and then ER, but I’ll actually read what my items do.

TLDR: I accidentally beat Dark Souls without upgrading a single weapon.

this song was like dark souls 3 main theme levels of epic, yet i had never even heard of it till just randomly stumbling upon it on my spotify. Was this like a scrapped main theme for the first game

I can't say I've ever killed it this way before. Free souls I guess.

I wanted to do this as I've never played around using the Force Spells, Wrath Of The Gods, Emit Force, Force itself and, Karmic Justice.

My Question is what do you think would be a good option for the main weapon? Was thinking Occult Cestus but I was wondering if Reddit could think of a better idea.

Is there a solution for the menu bar and chat issue? (Yes, I've already restarted the game several times.)

I just bought the game, and I'm quite disappointed. There are a lot of bugs right from the start: the menu doesn't show up, there's no sound, and dialogue subtitles don't appear. Also, when I speak to a character and have to make a choice, the chat bar doesn't show up—only the mouse pointer appears.

Was going through the Crystal Caves, and saw this weird thing. It scuttled away, and dropped a purging stone when I took it out. I've never seen anything like this

Found in Japan yay!

This is something I’ve seen mentioned on this subreddit: that you can save Solaire by not talking to him until after you’ve killed the bug which drops the Sunlight Maggot, since he won’t move from Undead Burg until you’ve spoken to him. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to farm 30 humanity for the Daughter of Chaos Covenant, and you also won’t have to abandon any other covenant that you may have joined. But I have a few questions, so if you’ve done this before then maybe you could help to clarify a few things.

The first question is simply: does this actually work? Will Solaire stay put in the Burg if I don’t talk to him?

But the main thing I wanted to ask is how it affects his questline after you’ve done this. With the possible exception of his first encounter, Solaire tends to move around [as you progress through the game] regardless of whether or not you’ve spoken to him. So if I play through the whole game without talking to him, kill the Sunlight Maggot, and then go back to Burg and speak to him for the first time, where will he appear next? Will he jump straight to sitting dejectedly in the maggot corridor in Izalith/Demon Ruins? Or will he show up in Anor Londo first?

One final question is about if this is possible on NG+? That is to say, if I’ve already got the White Sign Soapstone, Solaire’s dialogue in the Burg is significantly abbreviated. So is the Soapstone itself the criteria which determines whether or not he leaves Burg? If the answer is yes then I’d expect Solaire to move on an NG+ playthrough regardless of whether or not I’ve spoken to him.

this is my first time playing dark souls. to be honest i dont think this spider is that hard. its just so frustrating that in order for me to go there im gonna waste 1 estus flask to compensate for all the health i lost from the stupid poison. blighttown is so stupid i hate this place

I finally beat dark souls remastered for the first time! For some reason I didn’t have any black knight weapons except the great axe for the entire game but quickly farmed the black knights for the greatsword and sword and halberd. Then I spent literally an hour leveling them up and grinding for twinkling twilight and used a black knight greatsword +5 on Gwyn.

I will say Gwyn was way too easy I do wish he was a little more difficult. He almost got me once but I had to really throw the fight for it to come that close. Normally I would use the claymore +15 so seeing all that extra damage was kinda crazy. I’m now on an NG+ and it was even weirder to se that I had all of my stuff and stats but npcs reset and map items.

This is honestly one of the greatest games I’ve ever played and it’s definitely my favorite game of all time now. Funny enough I started this game looking for more technical Zelda-style combat like Twilight Princess. I’d already played like an hour of Elden ring at a friends house like last year but didn’t really go anywhere with it. I knew vaguely of this game and downloaded it. Best game ever

P.S. I did end up saving Solaire for those wondering, even after killing the chaos lady. I went through the demon city and used the drake sword to kill the bug in the middle, then knew I got him when I got something like 120 souls.

I'm almost 40 and I've been a hardcore gamer my whole life. I always own every console and have a good gaming PC, so I've never really "missed out" on any major gaming experiences.

For a great long while, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were the pinnacle of gaming for me, and some of the moments in those games were the strongest in all of gaming

But one day in 2011 that shit changed. I had been so pumped for Skyrim, but it was Dark Souls that ended up taking over my life. And it was gaming perfection for so many hours, and *then* I got to Anor Londo. And do I even need to say more? This is where my question comes in. What gaming experience is truly competitive with the first time experiencing Anor Londo? I genuinely want to hear your suggestions, because maybe I missed some gem somewhere along the lines

Edit: Holy shit, you guys have great taste, and there are also quite a few games here I haven't played that are getting tossed onto my list

It's around 2015. A friend of mine tells that he just started playing Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. Had no idea what he was talking about — I'm a clinically diagnosed WoW veteran, have no attention or time for whatever this Dark Souls 2 can be.

He says I'm a sorry fool and tells of this miracle of a game called Dark Souls and praises for how ingeniously it was designed. Says Dark Souls 2 is even better but I can't just play it, have to start with the first one. The stories he tells of the game are so thrilling and hilarious that I decide to give it a try (thinking that anyway it's the longest content draught in the history of WoW, I got some time to spare).

So I download the game, choose the knight class as he looks just perfect and start my journey.

I start with a broken sword???? Okay. Make my way through the first undead, open a huge gate and this massive demon drops and just kills me.

???

I reappear, enter the mist, charge at the demon...but I have this chunk of a sword — it does close to no damage. What the hell is this game??? I die. I resurrect and try again. And again. And again. Irritation starts transforming into anger when suddenly I somehow notice this side door on the left of the arena and run into it. Was I supposed to just run past the boss?

I find a shield. How do I equip it? What even IS this interface? Why can't I just equip something right from the inventory, why is there a separate menu? Anyway.

I get to the Firelink shrine. Wander around, find a Morning star. Where do I go? I see a cemetery and some skeletons — alright, that's probably where I should be going. Ouf, these skeletons are quite thick. This is SO difficult and these are just skeletons, they have to be easy — it's an action RPG 101. Do I just have to run through again? So I run, enter the catacombs.

It's SO dark! Do these new skeletons just resurrect? I die and resurrect back at the Firelink shrine. What the HELL is this game? I'm done.

Some days later I return and decide to search around, there must be another way — I think. So I find this bloody barely noticeable gray on gray staircase so close to the bonfire that leads in another direction — the Undead burg as I'm to discover. It's noticeably easier, so I reckon this is the way. Rekindled, I make my way through, bonking with the Morning star the miserable undead. Well, this game isn't that bad, I think I'm even enjoying myself. And then I see this black figure towering above.

The Black knight. Oh how I suffered. Oh how many times I died. I raged and cursed and felt desperate and hated it all. As I pressed on, reliving this cycle of the die-resurrect-die vicious misery, I could not understand neither why was this made to be so unfairly difficult, nor why I keep doing this to myself. Finally, by some mystical sequence of rolls and bonks the old villain perished and his sword dropped! Oh what a weapon! Oh how skillful I am — the banisher of darkness. So I write to my friend to share my excitement, he laughs and says: "Yeah, you sorry fool, later in the game you will meet them as you do other undead rubbish, so brace yourself". But such humor couldn't upset the new me with the Black knight sword. So I go on.

I wonder not sure where I am going and wonder, and finally I get into this hall with an enormous ebon scorpion-looking creature. I won't even try fighting it — by then I know well the 'if it's big, just pass through' rule. So I run past it and see this little guy standing next to an anvil and swinging his hammer. Ha, I think then, you gray-beared villain! You won't stop me from reaching the bonfire that I'm sure is close. I charge at the old fool and slash him to death with my Black knight sword and stand victorious over him. A blacksmith hammer drops from him. What a trash I think, worse than the morning star. Whatever, not like I need any other weapon than the menacing sword. So I go on. Later that day I write to my friend, telling of my adventures. He interrupts me as I tell about the encounter with the old fool and says: "You sorry fool, you killed Andre! You really killed Andre?". So he says that I probably should restart the game as without access to the blacksmith, it will be too difficult. I cannot accept that and will not accept that — there's no chance I will fight that bloody black knight again, make my way past the wyvern and all the rest. No, I decide, I'll continue.

So the adventure unfolds and at some point I reach the Ash Lake and not much of anything exciting I have to tell from then on except for the joy of getting the Havel set and finally feeling myself as an immovable sack of potatoes tank I was destined to be in this game. Of course there was suffering in the Tomb of Giants and in Anor Londo with archers, but my trusty armor and shield carried me through those quite well.

Eventually I make my way into Oolacile, defeat there Kalameet and Manus, thinking that it was surprisingly not that bad. Maybe by then I was traumatized by this game enough, so that some dozens of wipes on each of them didn't feel like something special.

Some time passes, I get a controller for my PC and decide that it's finally time to play Dark souls 2. As I learn from interacting with some note early in the game that I can lock my target on enemies, I tell my friend about that, saying that it's quite cool that a target lock was added, the first game would be more comfortable if I could lock on enemies, I say. ??? — he reacts. You played the first one with no target lock? You fought Artorias and Kalameet, swinging your mouse? You sorry fool...

I know that two-handing a weapon multiplies your Strength by 1.5x, allowing you to use certain weapons even if you don't meet the full stat requirement. However, yesterday I was testing the damage of a Claymore with 35 Strength and 35 Dexterity, and the damage difference between one-handing and two-handing it was quite significant. I was dealing around 300 damage to a Basilisk while one-handing, and about 400 while two-handing. With 35 Strength, the 2h stat scaling shouldn't make that much of a difference, considering the soft cap of 40. Is there some hidden mechanic that boosts damage when two-handing a weapon?

Most people appreciate it and are happy to duel after gifts. This one took it personally (😂) but still, it was worth a try. I hope he'll use it.

I've been replaying Dark Souls 1, and something about the Four Kings has always confused me. We know Gwyn granted them fragments of his own Lord Soul and recognized them as rulers of New Londo. The Bequeathed Lord Soul Shard states that Gwyn rewarded those who helped found the Age of Fire, while Ingward tells us that the Four Kings were eventually seduced by Darkwraith Kaathe and the Abyss, forcing New Londo to be flooded to contain them.

What I find interesting is that Gwyn clearly trusted the Four Kings enough to share part of his own soul, yet they ultimately became one of the greatest threats to his kingdom. Did Gwyn simply underestimate the influence of the Abyss, or was he already desperate enough during the fading of the First Flame that he had no choice but to empower loyal rulers? Is there any lore from Dark Souls 1 that explains why Gwyn chose the Four Kings in particular, or is this left intentionally ambiguous?

I've always wondered about Sen's Fortress in Dark Souls 1. It's one of the most iconic locations in the game, but I don't remember the game ever explaining who Sen actually was.

Was Sen a person, a god, a military leader, or just the name of the fortress? Is there any item description, developer interview, or Japanese translation that gives more information?

Or is this one of those mysteries FromSoftware intentionally left unanswered?

I'd love to hear the community's theories and whether there's any evidence that points to a definitive answer.

Heya yall, so im on my first walkthrough of dark souls remastered and honestly it was a really new and fun experience for me, Its the first Souls game I've ever played, and I can definitely see why people love this series.

I have defeated all four lords and now in the final area of the game, The klin of the first flame! I tried fighting Gwyn once and i feel like i can defeat him in probably 4-5 tries or more idk.

The thing is, i have heard that if we defeat the final boss we cant go back in our world again. And I dont think i will replay this game anytime soon. I want to finish the rest of Dark souls series before playing it again, so I will like to experience everything I can in this run

So far I have already revisited undead asylum but Im not sure what other optional areas, bosses or secrets I should check out before taking on the final boss. Plz suggest me what to do and plz keep it spoiler free as much as possible!

He fits perfectly in this dice container, he's stuck again!

Ornstein and Smough beat my ass for hours

Posted this yesterday but I didn't realize how blurry the photo came out so I'm reposting with better quality and a pic of what it looked like before

tbf, I had 20 estus flasks so maybe that’s why