Some information regarding the boss fight in that area.

Giant's Halberd is actually a Strength weapon. No use to this character, but my Str/Vit gouged guy might make use of it if I learn more about the weapon type on this one.

finally beat quelag (part of that is from lack of trying, havent played much the past few days) and when I did I did it without getting hit at all. was very satisfying.

Also got my estus flask at +2 now.

But do have a question. I am down in the lava area. but there doesnt really seem like much to do. i went off and got the gear stashed in the corner, and the big guy attacked me. but he doesnt appear to be blocking my path at all. and since I already rung the 2nd bell I need to head back up, so I suppose I could probably just back track. though there is probably a shortcut. so either killing this guy opens a path, or there is a shortcut i should be looking for.

also how is the frame rate on the ps3? cuz its kinda bad in certain environments on the 360

PS3 framerate can drop in a few areas but nothing that dampens the experience.

DON'T go in the demon ruins, you want to go back to firelink shrine and go to sen's fortress I believe, demon's ruins has some tough enemies and is supposed to be for late game imo. There is no point going there until you are up to the appropriate part of the story.

In short, you can kill that guy now, and it will open a path, but the path is short for now.
If you want to go back up more quickly, then go play with the wheels near the Blighttown bonfire.I assume if your flask is +2 that you've already used them once, but the way up is there. Just not quite where the Firekeeper Soul was.

As Mitch says, your next stop to progress is Sen's Fortress. You should have seen the giant guy raise the gate in a cutscene. Head back to that tower by the church. You can find your way from there.

Unless you'd like to go play in Firelink and find the way back to the Asylum first, of course. There are a few other places where that ring I mentioned would be useful, as well as other goodies to be had if you can take them.



Getting there on my build. Got the Anor Londo boss fight done. Nearly ready to open up the DLC, but I also want to keep the Darkwraith covenant as a possibility, so I've gotta do that stuff first.
Also having trouble deciding which miracles to use, and which covenants to join to get them. Gotta do some research for that stuff.

well I went down the hollow, and got cursed while getting off a ladder.

I could deal with everything down the hollow pretty easily aside from the damn giant mushroom enemies. those are just tedious. they dont leave an opening big enough for more then 1 attack, and getting hit almost killed me before I got cursed.

Well, that area is optional so don't feel forced to go down. I would definitely head back to firelink shrine now.

Read below for help in lifting the curse

Spoiler:

If you'd like to know how to get uncursed there are a couple ways I can share.

But I feel I should warn you that now is not the best time to go down the Hollow. From there there is no shortcut back up, so if you rest at the bonfire down there the only way out is up. Getting back out isn't the most difficult thing in the world, but it is annoying.

im actually enjoying being cursed. it provides an interesting challenge. plus it provides an interesting dilema in regards to estus flasks. when I die in 2 or 3 hits do I use it after I get hit once since I will likely die in another hit or not. when your flasks heal more than your full health they will always be wasted to some degree

plus now that I am cursed I can fight the ghosts in new londo right? (plus thats one way to cure the curse anyways)

Fighting the ghosts won't do anything for you, but New Londo Ruins does contain one method by which to cure yourself if you can make it far enough in.

There is a useable item that the ghosts themselves drop that will allow you to fight them without being cursed.

I meant that I can finally kill the ghosts allowing me to properly explore the place. plus I hear new londo contains the only blacksmith that has a use for the boss souls.

Wrong Londo.
That's Anor Londo.
New Londo Ruins does have a blacksmith, but he's the one that makes Magic weapons that scale off Intelligence.

eh, still feel like exploring the place

EDIT: btw how viable is pure sorcery? I made a raistlin majere character that was sorcery, but seems like you wouldnt be able to only rely on spells

You can't really do pure sorcery. Too many enemies, not enough spells.
Well, I suppose you could attempt to run from enemies, but that generally ends up just getting you mobbed.
Very deadly against most bosses though.
For everything else you'd be better off making a Magic or Enchanted weapon to scale off of your INT stat. For example, my sorcery using character is a heavy weapon mage. Hardly any armor, but an Enchanted Claymore in one hand and a high end Catalyst in the other makes for a fun to play combo.

Sorcery is much more viable in PvE than PvP though. Most Sorceries can be dodged easily. Different story with Pyromancies and Miracles. You can still dodge them, but it requires more careful timing that the "walk slowly to the left" tactic that defeats Sorcery.

btw any downside to overleveling as far as PVe is concerned? kinda feel like killing drakes for lots of souls.

also any advice on which stats to level?

Im currently level 39 with

vit 15
attunment 12 (2 slots)
end 17
str 16
dex 30
res 13
int 11
faith 8

Depends on what direction you want to take the character. You're usually best off finding a weapon you like, seeing what stats it scales with, and raising those. Don't bother taking anything over 40-45 though (since that's when scaling falls off), except if you need to to meet a requirement for a weapon or spell you like.
The exception here is that if you want to use an Elemental weapon of Fire or Lightning, making a weapon into one of those removes its stat scaling. These are often more powerful than scaling weapons until you get to higher levels.

You should take Endurance to 40 no matter what build you want. That's when it stops granting Stamina, though it will continue to raise your equip load. The higher that is, the better armor you can wear and still move freely. In general, you don't want to go over 50% of your Equip Load since that reduces your movement significantly.

You seem to be raising Dex primarily, so you might want to look into spears, scythes, or katanas. The Uchigatana you already have is a good choice, though there are a couple other katana type options.

I think I mentioned it before, but a higher Dex also somewhat increases cast speed, so not having at least some Pyromancy is a bit of a waste.
The next Attunement Slot is at 14, btw. I think it slows down after that though. 3 slots is more than enough for anyone but a dedicated mage.

15 Vit is pretty low, but I've seen lower. 25-30 is average though.


The only downside to leveling up is the one that's in nearly any game with levels downside. Namely, that you outlevel the curve and reduce the challenge.
Now, this is Dark Souls so it won't vanish completely. But if you want the challenge, then I wouldn't level too much in one area. If you want to anyway, or just want to farm souls to buy spells, improve weapons and armor, or something, then I will say that there are things worth more than those Drakes. You generally get more souls more quickly by pressing on too.

sorry, thought I had mentioned how I was playing enough you'd know so I didnt mention it again...then again it has been a while. im going with a nimble dexterity heavy character. i've been using dexterity focused weapons. been using the uchigatana for ages. its at +10 but what do i need to do to be able to ascend it further? Also I just found a Shotel, seems like a good back up weapon vs shield users.

curently my flame is at +3.

I kinda like having low vitality with a high dexterity, gives me real high attack while forcing me to stay mobile. also I make sure I am below 25% capacity.

Ah. I was a little thrown because you'd asked about Sorceries.

I'm actually building something very similar, except also pumping Faith to be able to cast Miracles. Currently level 66. Getting my basics down, so I haven't actually pumped Faith yet. Next on my list.

Shotels are pretty nice, but their moveset takes some getting used to.

To further upgrade a Normal weapon will require another specific Ember.

ah, yea I can see how you could be confused it was a different character I made while I was annoyed in the swamp

Quote :

btw how viable is pure sorcery? I made a raistlin majere character that was sorcery, but seems like you wouldnt be able to only rely on spells

that was referring to my 2nd character.

i've really been loving the katanas super vertical attack swing. great for narrow corridors. only one spot where it was annoying. but whats so hard to get used to about the shotel? I did notice the kick is replaced with the same move as the scimitar has

that ember I need, is it in an optional section or part of main quest? main quest I assume

EDIT: does attempting to open a mimic result in an unavoidable death?

With your Vitality? Yes.
Just remember that they are enemies even before you open them.
Also, there are certain signs to tell what is and isn't one.

Its reach is a little weird, but that's not quite what I meant. I misspoke. It's difficult to get used to countering its moveset. That memory is from my first character though, and it was the first thing I encountered that could flat out go through my shield. It was an eye opener.

You can find that ember during the main quest, but it does require some thorough exploration. Nothing too difficult though.

thats what I was wondering, if it was just my health or not. and dealing with mimics in this game arent any different then most other games. just gotta attack them 1st. after I ran into my 1st one I had been attacking several chests out of paranoia, but where they placed that 2nd one I was not expecting it there. and im sure there are some differences, but I dont see mimics enough to check the differences yet. though I have a feeling that chain might be a clue. (dont answer that)

just wanna make sure I dont accidentally miss the ember. I am in londo now. fighting those lightning fiends.

It's not just that your health is so low. You have to have a *lot* of health to survive that initial bite.

As long as you don't complete the game, very little is missable. The NPC invasions/summons and their drops is about it.

I'm actually hanging out in the Anor Londo bonfire room right now. lol Got my summon sign down so I can help others with the boss to get Sunlight medals. I know you're not looking to summon though, and I'm probably outside your range anyway. You're around the 40-50 mark now, I guess?

I want to hear how nobody does with Anor Londo's boss, toughest in the game imo if you are unprepared, although certain builds/ equipment makes the battle much more manageable.

I think his build will handle it fine once he gets the timing down. Of course, living long enough to get it down might be a problem.

by miss something I meant walk past it. I want to get it as soon as I can.

and not only am i probably outside of your level (high 30s) but I am also outside of your system (Im on 360)

@mitchell, not sure what the proper equipment would be for fighting it, but I will be using uchigatana (and possibly the crystal halberd I found) with light armor (using the gold hemmed black something or other) also not sure how closely youve been reading the topic, but I've only got about 15 points in vitality

Oh, yeah.
Well, we could always hope that the next title gets cross-platform play. (Not holding my breath on that one.)