-----
Comp 1
Prof. ----
10/12/--
Wut r u? Casul? How to Git Gud at Dark Souls
	Almost everyone in the land of Lordran has a bone to pick with you, do you have what it takes to rekindle the first flame and save humanity? To have a successful run in Dark Souls, there are a lot of things you must grasp about the game world and mechanics. Hundreds of articles on Wiki websites have been written detailing the expansive pool of knowledge needed. However there are a few core concepts that are absolutely necessary for your long-term investment in Dark Souls to pay out, these being a firm understanding of leveling up and basic builds, parrying and riposte, and most of all acceptance of death. Without these things your time in Dark Souls will be a frustrating trudge through the ever-increasing pool of your own carcasses.
	For your first few saves in Dark Souls, your best bet is to avoid sorceries and miracles and stick with basic melee characters. This means there are two main branches to choose from, and two main stats to consider. The first is Strength, which is for weapons with STR scaling and for character builds based on dealing high amounts of damage per hit with relatively slow attacks. Strength is a good idea for brand new players as it doesn’t require much finesse and generally less precision with large, sweeping attacks leaving multiple enemies stunned. On the other hand there is Dexterity, the stat associated with DEX scaling weapons. DEX weapons are usually faster, lighter, and flashier weapons; sacrificing damage for speed and maneuverability allows for low armor builds and a more acrobatic play style. When it comes to deciding which to spend your hard earned souls on to level up it depends on your favorite weapon in the first parts of the game. It’s a good rule of thumb that if you find yourself feeling slow and clunky you should use Dexterity, and if you feel like you don’t deal enough damage you should use Strength.
	Many people play through their first runs without knowing how to parry for a good portion of the game, and subsequently have a pretty hard time once tougher and tougher enemies show up. To parry an enemy attack, a few conditions must be met. First you must be equipped with an item capable of parrying in your off-hand, so a small or medium shield, parrying dagger, or rapier. Second, the enemy must be a humanoid who is relatively close to your size and uses a weapon instead of magic. Third, you must be as close as possible to the enemy regardless of their weapon size. With these requirements satisfied, the process of parrying is deceptively simple. You must time your parry to begin at the moment the enemy attack begins its damaging frames, meaning you have to wait until after they wind back their hit to begin your parry. It will take a lot of practice, and each type of parrying item (small shields, medium shields, specials, thrusting swords, fist weapons, katanas, and curved swords) has slightly different timing to memorize . Try practicing your parries on the enemies in Undead Burg until you get it down. Once it clicks in your head you will start to see the window for parrying on most enemies, but don’t be afraid to look up help for particular enemies on the internet.
	Dark Souls is a difficult game, and death is inevitable. It’s easy to feel discouraged after being gang-banged by skeletons for the umpteenth time in a row. If you wish to succeed you will need to become okay with seeing YOU DIED a mind numbing number of times. Death itself is a core mechanic of the game, causing you to drop all your collected souls at the spot of death and turning your character Hollow, which essentially means you can’t use the online elements of the game until you Reverse Hollowing at a bonfire. Some important things to keep in mind about death in Dark Souls are: you can always regain your souls, being Human and online-capable is not necessary for completion of the game, and that it’s just a game. If you find yourself totally stuck in one place try going to an earlier area and grinding out a few levels, or simply take a break for a while and get some fresh air. Sometimes all it takes to win is a moment to step back and think about your situation without the stress of being in-game.
	Over the course of your stay with Dark Souls you will come across many challenges that will force you to adapt and improve yourself. The information here may be enough to get you on your feet but you will learn many more aspects simply by playing long enough. Don’t be afraid to try new builds and strategies. If you find your build to be insufficient, or can’t hold your own in PvP combat, you can always build for GiantDad , the most overpowered build in the game. With luck, knowing these basics will give you a leg up in Lordran, and you can Prepare to Die a little less.