Part of the insane, fantastic experience that is Dark Souls 3 is stumbling across its dread secrets and holy weaponry by yourself and the elation or terror that comes with each discovery, but if you get fed-up, feel like you need a little boost, or even if you’ve already completed it and are looking for some tips on how to get a quicker run, jump right in and enjoy. I strongly recommend you try playing it blind first of all.
But – beware of some mild early game spoilers, all ye who enter here.įirst things first.
That’s why I have died for you, so you don’t have to – hit the jump to learn everything you need to know to get the best start in your Dark Souls 3 life. It’s a big, chunky, obtuse game, and everyone needs a little help every once in a while. Maybe you’ve just started and you’re just a bit too lost, a bit too unfamiliar with how Dark Souls works and that’s okay. Maybe you’ve died one too many times and now, you’re prepared to win. Equip only the weapons you currently need to get this ratio down and you'll be much more manoeuvrable.The old adage when it comes to the Souls/Borne games is that you should ‘prepare to die,’ and on a blind playthrough of the new Dark Souls 3… yeah, that’s going to happen. Bear in mind that if your Weight Ratio (displayed in the top right of the Equipment screen) is below 70% then you'll roll faster and further, and that any weapons equipped in the 1-3 slots of either hand count towards this weight - but items carried in your inventory do not. When you perform a roll, you have a brief period of invulnerability during the animation, so practice this technique during combat and work on your timing, as this is particularly useful during boss fights. All enemies have standard attack patterns, so be patient and study their moves so you can judge when best to strike. Where possible, try to combine this lock with sidesteps or rolls to get behind your foe as they attack, then perform a standard attack from directly behind to execute a backstab to deal much greater damage. Keep Rollingĭuring combat, you can click the right stick to lock on to the enemy in front of you, and flick the stick left and right to switch between enemies if there's more than one. When equipped, this gives you more Souls for every enemy you kill, helping you level up quicker. Walk to the end and drop down to the area below, where you'll find a chest containing a Covetous Silver Serpent Ring. Now head to the far side, along the rafter opposite where you entered and above the largest throne, and carefully strike or roll into the illusory wall ahead to reveal a secret passage. Once up on the roof, follow it clockwise until you find an opening leading to the rafters then carefully walk over them to grab the item on top - an Estus Shard to give you an extra flask use.
Opposite the entrance to the tower, run at the tree then jump over to the rooftop ledge - you may need to reduce your Weight Ratio below 70% to make the leap. However, there's a little shortcut in this area you can use to reach the rooftop of the shrine and find some valuable items. Heading up through Firelink Shrine and outside at the higher level, you'll find a locked tower which can only be accessed by purchasing the Tower Key from the Shrine Handmaid for a cool 20,000 souls.