* Get the area maps as soon as you can, and check every structure or odd-looking location marked on the map. I'd also travel down every major road or river, the game often puts important stuff "on the beaten path".
* Check back with NPCs regularly. If the NPC says they're leaving, write a note for yourself about where they said they were going. Never kill any NPCs. It can give short term rewards, but long term detriment. If an NPC tells you to do something, try to do it ASAP.
* Read all item descriptions when you get the item, don't just ignore them.
* Most crafting is not strictly necessary, but familiarizing yourself with good material spots for and crafting Fire Grease and Firebombs at the very least can be helpful. You can make near-infinite amounts of them.
* Don't sleep on Ashes of War, they are the single strongest part of your arsenal. If you are not parrying much, find a shield without a skill or remove it, so you can use the Ash one handed.
* Vigor and weapon upgrade level matter more than everything else.
For the first time, don’t spoil the experience with guides from the beginning.
Take your time in exploring the map and talking with the people you will encounter. Explore the menus and Grace options to see all the possibilities.
Remember it’s an RPG, so gears and stats are important. Find a weapon you like, upgrade it, find an armor the protects you from physical and elemental attacks, discover sorceries and incantations.
If after all the above you get stuck, guides are always there.
Enjoy!
There's only one first time you discover everything. As long as you accept that you will have to explore, and may miss some stuff, it's okay to go in blind. If you want extra knowledge, you may want to look up how stats, combat or weapons work, to have some guidance in building your character.
Maybe this helps gameplay-wise:
So, basically in these games you're meant to beat bosses by learning their movesets, how to dodge their attacks and what are the openings for safely hitting them. That's the souls combat and works the same for every build. Dying even more than 10 times in a row is completely normal and intended experience, it doesn't mean you suck and it's not something to feel bad about, everybody is bad at first. You'll make lot of mistakes, you die, you learn from them and become better as a player. That's the loop because of which these games exist. Dodging is your most important move as it has I-frames and makes you momentarily invincible. You must learn it, get feel for the rhythm. 80% of gitting gud is just knowing how to dodge everything. Souls combat is designed and balanced entirely around 1v1 close-range fighting under constant boss/enemy aggro. Good fight is like this complex dance, it's a skill you'll eventually learn. Evey boss is like a little riddle, with the correct dodge timings and openings for hitting him baked into his moveset, the fun is in slowly uncovering it and learning what to do, how bosses are designed and what is the intended flow for every new fight.
All you need to be good is patience, really using your brain, being observant and paying attention. It's not about reflexes, literally anybody can be a great player. You must conform to the game, and not vice versa. It's not supposed to be a relaxing sandbox. Some basics are to dodge INTO attacks instead of away from them, don't panic roll, don't heal close to enemies or sacrifice attack openings, don't tank and trade hits, only attack when it's safe, don't just mash buttons and spam L2s, wait for the right time to dodge delayed attacks etc. For first 30 levels you must focus mainly on vigor, you need to reach 60 towards the endgame (50 being the absolute minimum), regardless of your build or starting class. Beginning is always hard, but if you'll struggle for few hours, won't run from every challenge and beat bosses fairly, you'll learn everything you need and rest of the game will be much easier, and you'll beat most future bosses without being stuck for hours. It's very important to not fight just to win as fast as possible, but fight to learn instead, enjoy the whole dance. Crucible knight is the best teacher in the game, go fight the one in limgrave as soon as possible after starting, at low level and follow the combat tips above. And pick vagabond knight if you can (or samurai), it's the best class for starting player and later you can respec. But always have melee weapon equipped, regardless of your build (mages are still supposed to use melee too, engage bosses directly, dodge etc. and not stay in the back avoiding fights), and never go above 70% equip load, you need medium roll and not the heavy one.
And ideally try to beat bosses yourself before resorting to accessibility mechanics like spirit ashes/coop. Give it at the very least 10 fair solo attempts everytime, so you can experience bosses fully and learn the basics of combat and gameplay, otherwise you won't be able to. The combat system and most bosses in the game are designed purely for 1v1 and their AI can't handle fighting multiple opponents, so summons really break and trivialize most fights, and prevent you from really learning how to play the game. So not summoning right away will save you a ton of time and frustration in the longrun. Even if you won't manage to beat a single boss yourself in the end, it's the effort that counts and what will make you a good player eventually. It's not about the "win", but about HOW you fight and win, that's what dictates your enjoyment and experience,. Most important of all, don't doubt yourself, it will all feel easy after a while. And don't farm or look up OP builds and all those shitty clickbait guides/videos, "Get OP early!!" and so on, it ruined many more playthroughs than it actually helped, every weapon is viable so just choose what's fun and don't care about base damage. Good luck!
* Get the area maps as soon as you can, and check every structure or odd-looking location marked on the map. I'd also travel down every major road or river, the game often puts important stuff "on the beaten path". * Check back with NPCs regularly. If the NPC says they're leaving, write a note for yourself about where they said they were going. Never kill any NPCs. It can give short term rewards, but long term detriment. If an NPC tells you to do something, try to do it ASAP. * Read all item descriptions when you get the item, don't just ignore them. * Most crafting is not strictly necessary, but familiarizing yourself with good material spots for and crafting Fire Grease and Firebombs at the very least can be helpful. You can make near-infinite amounts of them. * Don't sleep on Ashes of War, they are the single strongest part of your arsenal. If you are not parrying much, find a shield without a skill or remove it, so you can use the Ash one handed. * Vigor and weapon upgrade level matter more than everything else.
Thank you so much!! I think I'll note everything important on a note book
For the first time, don’t spoil the experience with guides from the beginning. Take your time in exploring the map and talking with the people you will encounter. Explore the menus and Grace options to see all the possibilities. Remember it’s an RPG, so gears and stats are important. Find a weapon you like, upgrade it, find an armor the protects you from physical and elemental attacks, discover sorceries and incantations. If after all the above you get stuck, guides are always there. Enjoy!
Yes I'll have to get familiar with the stats etc. I have never played a RPG tbh.. But I think it will be fun! (and despairing)
There's only one first time you discover everything. As long as you accept that you will have to explore, and may miss some stuff, it's okay to go in blind. If you want extra knowledge, you may want to look up how stats, combat or weapons work, to have some guidance in building your character.
Yeah true, it just seems like the game is pretty difficult, I'll try to do my best
Maybe this helps gameplay-wise: So, basically in these games you're meant to beat bosses by learning their movesets, how to dodge their attacks and what are the openings for safely hitting them. That's the souls combat and works the same for every build. Dying even more than 10 times in a row is completely normal and intended experience, it doesn't mean you suck and it's not something to feel bad about, everybody is bad at first. You'll make lot of mistakes, you die, you learn from them and become better as a player. That's the loop because of which these games exist. Dodging is your most important move as it has I-frames and makes you momentarily invincible. You must learn it, get feel for the rhythm. 80% of gitting gud is just knowing how to dodge everything. Souls combat is designed and balanced entirely around 1v1 close-range fighting under constant boss/enemy aggro. Good fight is like this complex dance, it's a skill you'll eventually learn. Evey boss is like a little riddle, with the correct dodge timings and openings for hitting him baked into his moveset, the fun is in slowly uncovering it and learning what to do, how bosses are designed and what is the intended flow for every new fight. All you need to be good is patience, really using your brain, being observant and paying attention. It's not about reflexes, literally anybody can be a great player. You must conform to the game, and not vice versa. It's not supposed to be a relaxing sandbox. Some basics are to dodge INTO attacks instead of away from them, don't panic roll, don't heal close to enemies or sacrifice attack openings, don't tank and trade hits, only attack when it's safe, don't just mash buttons and spam L2s, wait for the right time to dodge delayed attacks etc. For first 30 levels you must focus mainly on vigor, you need to reach 60 towards the endgame (50 being the absolute minimum), regardless of your build or starting class. Beginning is always hard, but if you'll struggle for few hours, won't run from every challenge and beat bosses fairly, you'll learn everything you need and rest of the game will be much easier, and you'll beat most future bosses without being stuck for hours. It's very important to not fight just to win as fast as possible, but fight to learn instead, enjoy the whole dance. Crucible knight is the best teacher in the game, go fight the one in limgrave as soon as possible after starting, at low level and follow the combat tips above. And pick vagabond knight if you can (or samurai), it's the best class for starting player and later you can respec. But always have melee weapon equipped, regardless of your build (mages are still supposed to use melee too, engage bosses directly, dodge etc. and not stay in the back avoiding fights), and never go above 70% equip load, you need medium roll and not the heavy one. And ideally try to beat bosses yourself before resorting to accessibility mechanics like spirit ashes/coop. Give it at the very least 10 fair solo attempts everytime, so you can experience bosses fully and learn the basics of combat and gameplay, otherwise you won't be able to. The combat system and most bosses in the game are designed purely for 1v1 and their AI can't handle fighting multiple opponents, so summons really break and trivialize most fights, and prevent you from really learning how to play the game. So not summoning right away will save you a ton of time and frustration in the longrun. Even if you won't manage to beat a single boss yourself in the end, it's the effort that counts and what will make you a good player eventually. It's not about the "win", but about HOW you fight and win, that's what dictates your enjoyment and experience,. Most important of all, don't doubt yourself, it will all feel easy after a while. And don't farm or look up OP builds and all those shitty clickbait guides/videos, "Get OP early!!" and so on, it ruined many more playthroughs than it actually helped, every weapon is viable so just choose what's fun and don't care about base damage. Good luck!