Demon's Souls

[MrPopo]

Shields are still quite good in Demon's Souls. It's just easier to have your guard broken.

[Xeogred]

The spear very much favors a cautious playstyle. It's a good way to get introduced to how enemies fight, as you don't have to drop your guard to engage them. But I always found I'd switch off for something with a better attack animation that covered a wider area or did more damage.

Yeah...I have found I need to lock onto an enemy if I want to hit it with my spear. It is my "tight spaces" weapon, but I always switch back to the falchion if I have some room to move.

You should try the Bastard Sword / Claymore.

I ran through Demon's first with a spear as well and regret it when I look back on that. , it's just so much more fun with more offensive weapons.

That and the size of the Claymore in Demon's is hilarious.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Shields are still quite good in Demon's Souls. It's just easier to have your guard broken.

I grabbed a purple shield from the dragon's nest last night. I strongly suspected that I would die trying to get it - and I did - but I spent all of my souls buying arrows and equipment before I went in there.

This is a great game, BTW. I can't wait to play it some more tonight.

I ran through Demon's first with a spear as well and regret it when I look back on that. , it's just so much more fun with more offensive weapons.

That and the size of the Claymore in Demon's is hilarious.

I have upgraded my Falchion to +3 right now, and I am cutting down enemies really fast. It is a lot of fun, and I can't wait to find some better weapons.

[MrPopo]

I ended up switching to the Bucher's Cleaver once I acquired it. That thing was tons of fun to use.

prfsnl_gmr, once you beat the next boss (Tower Knight) you unlock the ability to visit the other pillars. In fact, it's recommended you start doing the other areas at that point since the difficulty in Boletaria ramps up massively in the third section and you can't even enter the fourth section until you've cleared the other areas.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I ended up switching to the Bucher's Cleaver once I acquired it. That thing was tons of fun to use.

prfsnl_gmr, once you beat the next boss (Tower Knight) you unlock the ability to visit the other pillars. In fact, it's recommended you start doing the other areas at that point since the difficulty in Boletaria ramps up massively in the third section and you can't even enter the fourth section until you've cleared the other areas.

I can actually visit the other pillars now. I am going to make a run at the next section of Boletaria castle pretty soon, however. I want to upgrade a bit more first.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Demon's Souls is so much fun! My Soul Level is currently 31, and I defeated the Fool's Idol last night. I have now beaten 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, and 3-1, and I still plan on doing with a DEX build once I get all of my base stats up a bit. (Currently, I am 14/14/16/18/19/10/8/13.) My equipment is a Soldier's Shield +5, a Viscous Compound Short Bow +2, a Falchion +5, a Sharp Winged Spear +1, black leather armor, the assassin's mask, the thief ring, and the cling ring. I am switching over to an Iron Shield now that I am strong enough to use it, and I plan on farming some shards in 2-1 this evening so that I can upgrade it. After that, I will probably try to tackle 4-1 and 5-1. (I have already slain Vanguard.)

[MrPopo]

I'm going to warn you right now: 5-2 is a giant ball of hatred for you, the player.

[Exhuminator]

Out of curiosity... were either of you guys into the Souls' franchise's predecessors; the King's Field or Shadow Tower series?

[MrPopo]

I was never aware of either; I first heard about Demon's Souls when Atlus advertised it as "you aren't hardcore enough for this game" and I took it as a challenge.

[Exhuminator]

I was never aware of either

I am genuinely surprised to hear that, considering how well versed you are in RPGs.

You should give them a shot someday though. Unless you're not hardcore enough. ;p

On topic I do own Demon's Souls and both Dark Souls games. (I swore to myself I wouldn't play them until I finished the KF and ST series first though... I'm getting there.)