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Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen |OT| deep down darkness

Blinck

Member
Hey can anyone give me a quick tip?

I'm fairly early on in the game, just after the hydra. While going to the capital city I explored a bit and ended up in the Watergod's Temple. I've killed everything in here and now I have these ancient tablets.
I didn't know what to do so I went online and found out this was supposedly part of a quest that I had not undertaken yet.

So what should I do now? These tablets are extremely heavy and honestly this is a bit bullshit since how was I supposed to know if there was a quest here or not before exploring the temple?
Is the quest still doable? Is there any sort of chest where I can keep these tablets?

Thanks for the help :)
 

BadWolf

Member
Hey can anyone give me a quick tip?

I'm fairly early on in the game, just after the hydra. While going to the capital city I explored a bit and ended up in the Watergod's Temple. I've killed everything in here and now I have these ancient tablets.
I didn't know what to do so I went online and found out this was supposedly part of a quest that I had not undertaken yet.

So what should I do now? These tablets are extremely heavy and honestly this is a bit bullshit since how was I supposed to know if there was a quest here or not before exploring the temple?
Is the quest still doable? Is there any sort of chest where I can keep these tablets?

Thanks for the help :)

You'll get to this quest later so you saved some time for yourself in the future.

You can store items at inns.
 

vehn

Member
Started playing this today... Is it wrong to get infinite level pawns or pawns that are level 170 from friends? They seem to one shot most things!
 
Started playing this today... Is it wrong to get infinite level pawns or pawns that are level 170 from friends? They seem to one shot most things!

I'm not that far into the game yet, but personally I'd reccomend using pawns that are your level, just to give you a challenge. I don't think enemies scale in level either, so until you get further into the game and find stronger enemies the ones you're fighting now won't get stronger.
 

Laughing Banana

Weeping Pickle
Started playing this today... Is it wrong to get infinite level pawns or pawns that are level 170 from friends? They seem to one shot most things!

The exp gain for your Arisen & Main Pawn will be severely hampered down, so for the most part don't use pawns with levels much higher than you.
 
Just started playing this again yesterday after a break of about six months. Love the game but I've forgotten how a lot of the systems work, and I seem to be a bit lost. I've got about 12 or 15 active quests, but most of them are clearly side-quests and I need to work out which must be completed next for the story to continue. I've seen all of the map and done hours of exploring, and I feel like cheating now and using the Eternal Ferrystone to travel around. I've laid down one Port Crystal at Cassardis and I have one more in my inventory, so I need to decide where to lay it (possibly at the encampment near Devil's Grove, as I want to take down the dragon there). Is there a use for Rift Crystals other than summoning pawns? I have about 350,000 RC, but nothing really to spend them on as I'm happy with my current party. I think I'm level 44, with 26-ish hours played.

EDIT - were I to push on through the story, would I be ready to battle Grigori at around, say, level 50? I've seen some people saying they're going to tackle Bitterblack at around level 80.
 
Been thinking about replaying this. Anyone been successful with a Warrior? It didn't seem viable from what I remember, mostly because of the lack of defensive abilities.
 
Just started playing this again yesterday after a break of about six months. Love the game but I've forgotten how a lot of the systems work, and I seem to be a bit lost. I've got about 12 or 15 active quests, but most of them are clearly side-quests and I need to work out which must be completed next for the story to continue. I've seen all of the map and done hours of exploring, and I feel like cheating now and using the Eternal Ferrystone to travel around. I've laid down one Port Crystal at Cassardis and I have one more in my inventory, so I need to decide where to lay it (possibly at the encampment near Devil's Grove, as I want to take down the dragon there). Is there a use for Rift Crystals other than summoning pawns? I have about 350,000 RC, but nothing really to spend them on as I'm happy with my current party. I think I'm level 44, with 26-ish hours played.

EDIT - were I to push on through the story, would I be ready to battle Grigori at around, say, level 50? I've seen some people saying they're going to tackle Bitterblack at around level 80.
You don't need a port crystal at Cassardis since there is one there already if you have Dark Arisen.
Rift Crystals are used for purifying BBI gear, and upgrading your gear to gold dragonforge. Rarely do I see people spend RC for rents though.
Just add them on your friend list if you want to use their pawn. Just be warn that high level pawns give you a huge exp penalty if your at a much lower level.
Its very doable at level 50 to take on the dragon. Bring an unholy weapon to make it faster. If you want him dead in seconds, use the Maker's Finger. All your current equipped gear will be instantly dragonforged and you'll get one of the dragon weapons based on your weapon.
 
I have a question about Reynard's quest. The wiki says to not complete his quest until you are about to finish the game, but what part counts as finishing his quest, is it just doing the final thing
giving him the journal entries
? Also, when should (and does it matter when) I start the quest?
 
I have a question about Reynard's quest. The wiki says to not complete his quest until you are about to finish the game, but what part counts as finishing his quest, is it just doing the final thing
giving him the journal entries
? Also, when should (and does it matter when) I start the quest?
Giving him all of them will finish his questline. Its recommended to do that at stage 6 so his inventory is upgraded to the max and it remains for subsequent playthroughs. Check for all the rusted weapons if they are there for each class.
 
Giving him all of them will finish his questline. Its recommended to do that at stage 6 so his inventory is upgraded to the max and it remains for subsequent playthroughs. Check for all the rusted weapons if they are there for each class.

Righteo.
Are the rusted weapons actually decent/worth buying then?
 
I beat my first dragon last night; the one near Devilfire Grove. It took about 10 minutes and was a pretty epic battle. I nearly died a couple of times and had to revive my entire party more than once, but we got there in the end. I now have a dragonforged cloak, although none of my other equipment seems to be dragonforged. I seem to be out of story quests to follow now, so I'm going to go back and visit the duke or one of his aides to see if they issue me with a quest.
 

schlynch

Member
So I began the game yesterday and arrived in the capital before I had to quit the game. There I bought some new armor and a weapon. I think today I will explore the first zone more since I triggered the whole Hydra thing by accident. I'm already hooked and excited to see what comes next.
 
Just finished another monster session, and going to bed at 2am. I've got to be up for work in five hours, but it was worth it. I seem to be only a handful of quests from the end now; just completed The Wyrmking's Ring. The boss battle at the end was pretty disappointing, as I took him down in two volleys of arrows. Anyone able to recommend a good place to grind and level up for a level 46ish character?

I now have two port crystals. Going to lay one near the camp at Devilfire Grove and the other near the northern stronghold past the hillside with the chalk drawing on it. Unless they're useful to keep for Bitterblack?
 
Just finished another monster session, and going to bed at 2am. I've got to be up for work in five hours, but it was worth it. I seem to be only a handful of quests from the end now; just completed The Wyrmking's Ring. The boss battle at the end was pretty disappointing, as I took him down in two volleys of arrows. Anyone able to recommend a good place to grind and level up for a level 46ish character?

I now have two port crystals. Going to lay one near the camp at Devilfire Grove and the other near the northern stronghold past the hillside with the chalk drawing on it. Unless they're useful to keep for Bitterblack?

BitterBlack Isle is one big area with lots of rooms, so port crystal is not needed there.

If you already been to the area, I would recommend putting one down near the camp at the upper far left. There is a good grinding spot there. You could find a clip on youtube on that grind spot.
 

schlynch

Member
Game is great so far.

Found Selene in the Witchwood yesterday and did the Lure to the Abyss mission in Gran Soren. After the ogre threw me down into the center of the hall he fell there by himself in the second attempt. Karma I guess. Only letdown so far is the fact that the Lost and Found quest got bugged cause I also started Adoros escort quest. Did the original release already contain these two quests? How can something like that not get fixed within an extended re-release? After looking for a solution I read that now some follow quests also won't trigger. Great. Non-party NPC dialogues and the clunky menu are also kind of a disappointment. Anyway... great game and fun to play so far. Can't wait to get home.
 
BitterBlack Isle is one big area with lots of rooms, so port crystal is not needed there.

If you already been to the area, I would recommend putting one down near the camp at the upper far left. There is a good grinding spot there. You could find a clip on youtube on that grind spot.

Thanks; I'll check out YT for this and other places to grind in.

Game is great so far.

Found Selene in the Witchwood yesterday and did the Lure to the Abyss mission in Gran Soren. After the ogre threw me down into the center of the hall he fell there by himself in the second attempt. Karma I guess. Only letdown so far is the fact that the Lost and Found quest got bugged cause I also started Adoros escort quest. Did the original release already contain these two quests? How can something like that not get fixed within an extended re-release? After looking for a solution I read that now some follow quests also won't trigger. Great. Non-party NPC dialogues and the clunky menu are also kind of a disappointment. Anyway... great game and fun to play so far. Can't wait to get home.

A few of the quests get glitchy like this. To my knowledge Quina is not an essential character, but you may be able to finish this quest once you've finished escorting Adaro (are you taking him to the Shadow Fort? It's a really long trek with a lot of hard enemies along the way, so be careful!).

I recommend using the Wiki a lot, as there's so much depth and content it genuinely does come in useful. Also, if you have an active quest which appears to be time-limited, then best to assume you can fail it and finish it ASAP (for example, collecting evidence for something, delivering a flower; that kind of thing).
 

schlynch

Member
A few of the quests get glitchy like this. To my knowledge Quina is not an essential character, but you may be able to finish this quest once you've finished escorting Adaro (are you taking him to the Shadow Fort? It's a really long trek with a lot of hard enemies along the way, so be careful!).

Nope, not yet. I think I will do this today. Tome-Quests with the bandits is in this direction too. And yeah, got surprised the first night I was playing by those bandits. I hope they will be easier right now since I got a few levels more (and new pawns with higer level).

Thank for the wiki link. This is were I took a look regarding the Adoro quest yesterday. I hope that you were right, but I think the wiki said it will not be possible to finish the quest even after the escort is finished. I'll give it a try later.
 
Nope, not yet. I think I will do this today. Tome-Quests with the bandits is in this direction too. And yeah, got surprised the first night I was playing by those bandits. I hope they will be easier right now since I got a few levels more (and new pawns with higer level).

Thank for the wiki link. This is were I took a look regarding the Adoro quest yesterday. I hope that you were right, but I think the wiki said it will not be possible to finish the quest even after the escort is finished. I'll give it a try later.

Good luck with that quest. What level are you at? As a word of advice (spoilered if you don't want it) I'd recommend
sticking to the pathways as there is, off the top of my head, lots of traps, a gryphon, a cyclops, falling boulders and a drake (small dragon)
in that area. There's
also an encampment where you can rest and buy items
about 3/4 of the way through your journey.
 
Right, a general question for those more experienced than me: is it possible to use EXP buff items at the last possible moment in a battle to ensure you get an XP boost? For instance, if I go back to Devilfire Grove and fight the drake again, can I use a Veteran's Periapt when it's got a tiny slither of health left and guarantee a double haul?

Also, is it possible to forge the Blessed Flower after it has wilted and still get the Weal effect from it?
 

ZenaxPure

Member
Right, a general question for those more experienced than me: is it possible to use EXP buff items at the last possible moment in a battle to ensure you get an XP boost? For instance, if I go back to Devilfire Grove and fight the drake again, can I use a Veteran's Periapt when it's got a tiny slither of health left and guarantee a double haul?

Also, is it possible to forge the Blessed Flower after it has wilted and still get the Weal effect from it?

Not sure about the blessed flower, but, as long as you get the xp buff going before the mob dies it will work. Your strategy is basically what I always did in the past on the final BBI boss who is prone to one shotting me with one of his attacks. It's good if you aren't confident you will kill an enemy before the buff runs out or they will kill you.
 
Just finished another big session, going to bed at 2.15am and I've got to be up in less than 4 hours. Ugh, I'm gonna feel rough tomorrow.

But I've done all of the quests now, have completed the
Salvation
plotline and
Grigori has challenged me to fight him
if I am ready. Holy shit, he is huge. I thought the drake was large, but seeing Grigori up close in a cutscene and the thing looks practically invincible! Just turned level 50 so I might try to grind a bit more before moving on.
 
Just started this yesterday. I was planning to go mage into sorceror and focus solely on magic, but a lot of things I've read said to dabble in the other vocations for increased survivability. Will I regret sticking with mage/sorceror exclusively? I was planning on making a fighter pawn to tank for me...
 
Just started this yesterday. I was planning to go mage into sorceror and focus solely on magic, but a lot of things I've read said to dabble in the other vocations for increased survivability. Will I regret sticking with mage/sorceror exclusively? I was planning on making a fighter pawn to tank for me...

From what I understand you level up different attributes/stats at different rates depending on your vocation, so more physical classes will increase your defence more per level, while magic classes will increase magic attack for example. Also, you can give your character up to 6 augments, and these can be from any class. The fighter for example has an augment that increases how much you can carry, and you can use this with any class once you unlock it.

I'm only around 26 hours in now, and not that far in the story yet, but my plan is to max mage and sorcerer, move onto warrior and max that to get my attack and defence up, possibly move onto fighter to get the carry limit augment, then move onto mystic knight.

There's nothing stopping you from going purely magic based, but there's no penalty in swapping classes minus the DP it takes to unlock them, and the gold it costs to buy equipment for each class.
 
From what I understand you level up different attributes/stats at different rates depending on your vocation, so more physical classes will increase your defence more per level, while magic classes will increase magic attack for example. Also, you can give your character up to 6 augments, and these can be from any class. The fighter for example has an augment that increases how much you can carry, and you can use this with any class once you unlock it.

I'm only around 26 hours in now, and not that far in the story yet, but my plan is to max mage and sorcerer, move onto warrior and max that to get my attack and defence up, possibly move onto fighter to get the carry limit augment, then move onto mystic knight.

There's nothing stopping you from going purely magic based, but there's no penalty in swapping classes minus the DP it takes to unlock them, and the gold it costs to buy equipment for each class.
Ok that explains a lot thanks. I might go for the weight limit augment first, then switch over to mage/sorceror now that i know it won't cripple me down the line.
 
Entered BBI at 47, killed ur dragon, finished BBI at 72.

Have mixed feelings about this game.

On one hand I loved the pawn system, I love the armor design and I liked the story somewhat.

On the other hand, the lows are so so low...

Pawn AI is horrific. Even with adjusting in the Inn using the chair, your pawn is dumb as hell. I've spotted my pawn numerous times just sitting there not casting anything even when the skills are full slotted or 1-2 slotted. Furthermore, the commands seem useless. I've been attacked by man eaters and requesting help and they'll just sit there, staring at the maneater eating me. They also did nothing when I requested to go, and seem to have no concept of positioning.

Classes are horribly unbalanced. I started the game as fighter, which was ok, then switched to warrior which was terrible. Low single target damage, no ranged attacks, and super super bad abilities with long wind ups. This could be forgiven if your pawns had half a brain and could fufill other roles while you tank, but they don't. Especially against something like Ur Dragon where you have to manually target the wings with ranged attacks. The game was 100x better for me the moment I switched to assassin.

The difficulty spikes are horribly unbalanced in DA. The game is incredibly vague about when you should start BBI, so after a few hours in everfall I headed there. So just about anytime a creature was summoned by corpses or Death showed up I would just run past it, even though I was able to kill the all the bosses. It was incredibly stupid how things like the minotaur are just impervious to magic, and you either need to switch to sorceror just for the part (they respawn), or rely on your pawns, who like I said earlier, are incredibly stupid. Putting it plainly, the bosses are easier to kill than the mini bosses you encounter throughout BBI. I wouldn't mind this if they were optional and secluded in their own arena (like the confined gorecyclops), but most of them are directly in your path.

Then there is just numerous, extremely tedious things like the weight system (still in heavy with sinew and emptying all materials and excess armor), the godawful travel time by running everywhere in the base game (even with portcrystals it takes forever to get anywhere). Being soaked is probably the dumbest status affliction, not being able to use your lantern for a period of time is just annoying (one of the final sections in DA is a pitchblack waterway, so if you roll or get knocked into the water, you're soaked). Which leads into the inventory system being cumbersome, especially bring it up in the middle of combat.

The reason I write so much about this game is because I like a lot of the ideas it had, and if it had some refinement we could have a solid game on our hands.
 
Entered BBI at 47, killed ur dragon, finished BBI at 72.

Have mixed feelings about this game.

On one hand I loved the pawn system, I love the armor design and I liked the story somewhat.

On the other hand, the lows are so so low...

Pawn AI is horrific. Even with adjusting in the Inn using the chair, your pawn is dumb as hell. I've spotted my pawn numerous times just sitting there not casting anything even when the skills are full slotted or 1-2 slotted. Furthermore, the commands seem useless. I've been attacked by man eaters and requesting help and they'll just sit there, staring at the maneater eating me. They also did nothing when I requested to go, and seem to have no concept of positioning.

Classes are horribly unbalanced. I started the game as fighter, which was ok, then switched to warrior which was terrible. Low single target damage, no ranged attacks, and super super bad abilities with long wind ups. This could be forgiven if your pawns had half a brain and could fufill other roles while you tank, but they don't. Especially against something like Ur Dragon where you have to manually target the wings with ranged attacks. The game was 100x better for me the moment I switched to assassin.

The difficulty spikes are horribly unbalanced in DA. The game is incredibly vague about when you should start BBI, so after a few hours in everfall I headed there. So just about anytime a creature was summoned by corpses or Death showed up I would just run past it, even though I was able to kill the all the bosses. It was incredibly stupid how things like the minotaur are just impervious to magic, and you either need to switch to sorceror just for the part (they respawn), or rely on your pawns, who like I said earlier, are incredibly stupid. Putting it plainly, the bosses are easier to kill than the mini bosses you encounter throughout BBI. I wouldn't mind this if they were optional and secluded in their own arena (like the confined gorecyclops), but most of them are directly in your path.

Then there is just numerous, extremely tedious things like the weight system (still in heavy with sinew and emptying all materials and excess armor), the godawful travel time by running everywhere in the base game (even with portcrystals it takes forever to get anywhere). Being soaked is probably the dumbest status affliction, not being able to use your lantern for a period of time is just annoying (one of the final sections in DA is a pitchblack waterway, so if you roll or get knocked into the water, you're soaked). Which leads into the inventory system being cumbersome, especially bring it up in the middle of combat.

The reason I write so much about this game is because I like a lot of the ideas it had, and if it had some refinement we could have a solid game on our hands.
The Eliminators are weak to magic, specifically ice. Are you talking about Elder Ogres?
Being drenched is pretty annoying.
Yep, classes aren't really that balanced. Warriors are at the bottom. Practically irrelevant in BBI.
You gotta adjust your pawns inclination. Sorcerers I seen are either Challenger/Utilitarian for more support or Challenger/Mitigator to assist. If they're a mage, then either Medicant/Mitigator or Challenger/Medicant.
The worst inclination is Guardian. They'll just follow you around and people don't realize by giving the Come Here! command repeatedly slowly sets their pawn to guardian.
 

ZenaxPure

Member
Yeah, pawns are fine once you get the inclination set up. The ones I typically rolled with were great about killing nearly every type of enemy (though some stuff like elder ogres they are almost always useless on). It's not the best system, but, you can make pawns pull their weight with enough work.
 
The Eliminators are weak to magic, specifically ice. Are you talking about Elder Ogres?
Being drenched is pretty annoying.
Yep, classes aren't really that balanced. Warriors are at the bottom. Practically irrelevant in BBI.
You gotta adjust your pawns inclination. Sorcerers I seen are either Challenger/Utilitarian for more support or Challenger/Mitigator to assist. If they're a mage, then either Medicant/Mitigator or Challenger/Medicant.
The worst inclination is Guardian. They'll just follow you around and people don't realize by giving the Come Here! command repeatedly slowly sets their pawn to guardian.

nah I meant impervious to physical.

I probably would have been fine if I grinded up a bit and maximized all my augments/dragonforged my new daggers, but after Bravely Default my toleration for grinding has dropped a bit.
 

Ratrat

Member
Dumb question. Im playing the vanilla version and bought the weapon pack dlc. Its supposed to show up in storage or in one of the stores but no dice. Am i missing something?
 

Prototype

Member
I played and loved DD when it first came out and thinking of playing this again for the Dark Arisen content. It's been while since I played so when I do i'll be starting over from scratch. Is the new content considered end-game? That is, should I beat the main game first before heading to the new stuff? Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm just looking for games to play as there really isn't any thing on PS4bone that is remotely interesting yet.
 
Dumb question. Im playing the vanilla version and bought the weapon pack dlc. Its supposed to show up in storage or in one of the stores but no dice. Am i missing something?
Check Montebank at the Black Cat.
I played and loved DD when it first came out and thinking of playing this again for the Dark Arisen content. It's been while since I played so when I do i'll be starting over from scratch. Is the new content considered end-game? That is, should I beat the main game first before heading to the new stuff? Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm just looking for games to play as there really isn't any thing on PS4bone that is remotely interesting yet.
You can do BBI at level 50 or so. Yep, its post game content.
 

Prototype

Member
You can do BBI at level 50 or so. Yep, its post game content.

OK, cool.

Man, reading the thread here I never knew Warrior was considered so bad lol. My first time playing the game I only used a 2 handed swords and no magic. This time I plan on trying something different and mixing some magic in, but it wasn't overly hard melee only. Maybe the new content is where the difficulty comes in?
 

ZenaxPure

Member
OK, cool.

Man, reading the thread here I never knew Warrior was considered so bad lol. My first time playing the game I only used a 2 handed swords and no magic. This time I plan on trying something different and mixing some magic in, but it wasn't overly hard melee only. Maybe the new content is where the difficulty comes in?

It's just the warrior really, the other melee classes are fine. Warrior though just doesn't get the damage return for how long it takes to attack and it lacks tools the other melee classes have. I'd say the damage is fairly noticeable even in the main story, but, yeah BBI is where it can be annoying.

That's not to say it's impossible, warrior can do all the content in the game, it's just slower.
 
Just started playing this. I really love what they did with the pawn/quest system. I feel more compelled to finish quests as the quest markers are not always present most of the time which motivates the player to talk to the NPCs or scout for pawns first.
 
Just got back from a week's holiday so I haven't played this much recently, but the last couple of nights I've been doing a bit of cleaning up before taking on Grigori. I'm about level 52 now and I'm just on my way back to The Greatwall via Soulflayer Canyon to put down a Portstone for future use. I encountered a Gryphon yesterday near Hillfigure Knoll and I tried to engage it but the bastard didn't land, and then it flew off. I looked around but I couldn't find it again.

Been reading the Wiki a lot and I'm looking forward to giving the post-game content a whirl. I don't think I can get any better weapons for the moment as I've failed quite a lot of side missions, so I'm gonna go and finish up tonight so I can get to the Everfall.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Guys, I am going to buy this to have something lined up for when I finish Dark Souls (still probably at least a month off). I will probably go for the 360 version thanks to the better performance, however, I dont have Gold, so do I miss out on any cool multiplayer stuff by going 360? Thinking about stuff like in Dark Souls or something other interesting. Thanks in advance!
 
Guys, I am going to buy this to have something lined up for when I finish Dark Souls (still probably at least a month off). I will probably go for the 360 version thanks to the better performance, however, I dont have Gold, so do I miss out on any cool multiplayer stuff by going 360? Thinking about stuff like in Dark Souls or something other interesting. Thanks in advance!

The online component of the game revolves around pawns, who are warrior sidekicks that can be loaned between different people's games. When you begin playing you have to create both your main character and your pawn, and everyone else playing can borrow your pawn (for a small fee, or free if they're on your friends list), and then return them afterwards with an optional gift and knowledge of new missions, enemies or tactics. Although when I say 'borrowed', your master pawn never leaves your game, and you receive any new items when you save the game and contact the server. It's a really neat system and your base party is two people, allowing you to borrow another two pawns. I have a Fighter as my main pawn, my main character is a Magick Archer (daggers & a magic bow, with the option to use a staff and cast spells), and I have backup from two good magicians who I rely on to heal me during battles and cast attacking spells.

So there's technically no online play, although there's also at least one post-game enemy who the community can take down accumulatively. I don't know how bastardly MS are with Gold, but I suspect these features probably are locked off behind the subscription. I would recommend playing online, if you have a PS3 on which to buy the game instead.

EDIT - ironically, I'm going to play Dark Souls once I finish this! Got to Blighttown and never made it further, but once I've finished DD:DA I'll probably play a short linear game and then get back to Dark Souls, and its sequel sometime thereafter.
 
Just beat Grigori. What a fantastic, bloody epic battle. It took me ages on the final stage, but with a little help from the Wiki I learned I could
grab on underneath where he couldn't remove me, so I could attack his heart.
I also consumed a potion so my stamina wouldn't drop, and another to increase my strength and once I was in the right position he fell pretty quickly.

Now I think I'll go on to the Everfall and then Bitterblack. Anything in particular I need to know, or something I should do first?
 
Just beat Grigori. What a fantastic, bloody epic battle. It took me ages on the final stage, but with a little help from the Wiki I learned I could
grab on underneath where he couldn't remove me, so I could attack his heart.
I also consumed a potion so my stamina wouldn't drop, and another to increase my strength and once I was in the right position he fell pretty quickly.

Now I think I'll go on to the Everfall and then Bitterblack. Anything in particular I need to know, or something I should do first?

Probably my favorite boss battle of last gen. So immensely epic.

Regarding your question, expect two very distinct difficulty spikes. One after beating Grigori and another when you enter BBI.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
The online component of the game revolves around pawns, who are warrior sidekicks that can be loaned between different people's games. When you begin playing you have to create both your main character and your pawn, and everyone else playing can borrow your pawn (for a small fee, or free if they're on your friends list), and then return them afterwards with an optional gift and knowledge of new missions, enemies or tactics. Although when I say 'borrowed', your master pawn never leaves your game, and you receive any new items when you save the game and contact the server. It's a really neat system and your base party is two people, allowing you to borrow another two pawns. I have a Fighter as my main pawn, my main character is a Magick Archer (daggers & a magic bow, with the option to use a staff and cast spells), and I have backup from two good magicians who I rely on to heal me during battles and cast attacking spells.

So there's technically no online play, although there's also at least one post-game enemy who the community can take down accumulatively. I don't know how bastardly MS are with Gold, but I suspect these features probably are locked off behind the subscription. I would recommend playing online, if you have a PS3 on which to buy the game instead.

EDIT - ironically, I'm going to play Dark Souls once I finish this! Got to Blighttown and never made it further, but once I've finished DD:DA I'll probably play a short linear game and then get back to Dark Souls, and its sequel sometime thereafter.

Thanks alot for this very nice explanation, will probably go with the PS3 then if stuff really is locked behind Gold. Would anybody else care to chime in on that? Also, have fun with Dark Souls, that game is amazing. I would also play Demons Souls if you have the chance, as I actually tend to find that game even better!
 
Thanks alot for this very nice explanation, will probably go with the PS3 then if stuff really is locked behind Gold. Would anybody else care to chime in on that? Also, have fun with Dark Souls, that game is amazing. I would also play Demons Souls if you have the chance, as I actually tend to find that game even better!

I loved Demon's Souls; have the Platinum on it! I got Dark Souls on launch but didn't got on with it so well and didn't finish it, and now I've bought Dark Souls II I figure it's time to go back and finish Dark Souls so I can then move on to the sequel and clear down the big games in my backlog before I look to getting a PS4 in the future.
 

Slygmous

Member
Thanks alot for this very nice explanation, will probably go with the PS3 then if stuff really is locked behind Gold. Would anybody else care to chime in on that? Also, have fun with Dark Souls, that game is amazing. I would also play Demons Souls if you have the chance, as I actually tend to find that game even better!
Last I heard, the pawn features are one of the few MS didn't lock away behind Gold, probably because it would ruin the game to have to use the premade pawns.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Thanks for many answers! So this basically means I could get te 360-version right? Since it runs better as well (according to DF), I think i will get that.

Wish you luck with Dark Souls Triggerhappytel!
 

ZenaxPure

Member
Thanks for many answers! So this basically means I could get te 360-version right? Since it runs better as well (according to DF), I think i will get that.

I haven't played the 360 version, but, I can't imagine it's so much better that it still doesn't absolutely suck in the same places as it does on the PS3 version (basically a few specific fights).

Something else that might be worth considering though is I think most people in this thread have the PS3 version and a lot of us have nearly perfect or perfectly geared max level pawns that are great for hiring at the end game. I'd honestly trade slightly better performance for some of the amazing pawns from people I ran with in this thread at end game.

Then again if you don't plan on spending a lot of time in the end game dungeon it's less of an issue.
 
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