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New Roadmap for 1000


The BEAst in I
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Nothing against II OE II but I felt that a better more detailed roadmap was needed for the game.

 

Overview

Estimated achievement difficulty: 8/10

Offline: 41 (1000)

Approximate amount of time to 1000: 80-120 hours

Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 full, 1 partial

Number of missable achievements: 26 (optional bosses, item crafting/hunting, covenants)

Do cheat codes disable achievements? No cheats

Does difficulty affect achievements? No

Glitchy achievements: No

Unobtainable achievements: None

Extra equipment needed? None

Introduction:

Welcome to Dark Souls, a game legendary for being difficult. Prepare to die, as it will happen a lot. From being too low level to handle something to accidently falling off a cliff this game will kill you a lot. If you persevere through the first couple hours of the game and actually start to learn how the game operates it becomes much more manageable. Overall for the 1k it will take you roughly a minimum of 80 hours and you should max out around 125 hours on the high end of the spectrum. You will need to do 2 full playthroughs including the 2 optional bosses (Gwyndolin and Priscilla) and then a partial playthrough up through a portion of Anor Londo so that you can reach the giant black smith.

 

Missable achievements:

I am not going to list them all off, but I will tell you what kind of achievements are missable so that you know what to watch out for. I would recommend following a guide for the sorceries, pyromancies, miracles and rare weapons. A lot of the items for each achievement are quite missable. First NEVER swing a sword or use a damaging sorcery/miracle/pyromancy around any of the people that sell you these items as they will turn hostile until your next playthrough. All of them have something you need so BE CAREFUL. If you do happen to hit one of the people need to buy stuff from, just run, don't kill them. If you get away, go and talk to Oswald in the bell tower. You can pay him absolve your sins and make that person you accidentally hit not hostile anymore. The cost of absolution is 500 souls x your level, so it does get pretty costly especially later in the game.

 

I recommend buying the pyromancies, sorceries and miracles on playthrough 2 only really getting what you need for your character build. As you get many more souls on NG+ for killing enemies and bosses. This also allows you to focus your energy on leveling and getting the gear that you need for your build. This of course is optional, you can get all the pyromancies, and sorceries on your first run as long you make sure to follow the guide. Especially pay attention to your sorceries, as some of Big Hat Logan’s spells are missable. A critical mistake that can be made that makes pyromancies missable is saying no to the egg carrier right before the chaos servant covenant leader, make sure to say YES and do not kill him he sells you unique pyromancies. For miracles, make sure to follow through Onion Knight’s quest line through at least Anor Londo and pay close attention to the cleric quest line surrounding Petrus and the Tomb of Giants. This is covered more in depth in each achievements respective section.

 

You also need to get max reinforcement with each weapon type, these are not highly missable like miracles and sorceries are, but don’t forget to take care of them at some point during either full playthrough. You will need all the embers and at least 1 of each kind of slab (you can dashboard to get it back)

 

All the Covenant achievements are technically missable since you’re never forced to join or find one for the story. The major one to look out for with this one is the Dark Wraiths. Do not talk to Frampt (Ugly snake thing that shows up after ringing the bells at fire link shrine) at all if you want to find the Dark Wraiths. Continue with the story beating Smough and Ornstein to get the Lord Vessel and then beating the four Kings (You need to have killed Sif to do this fight). Once you beat the four Kings and if you haven’t talked to Frampt, you will meet Dark Stalker Kaathe who will allow you join the Dark Wraiths.

The other two missables would be for killing Priscilla Crossbreed and Gwyndolin. Both bosses are optional and are not required to complete a playthrough. Priscilla gives you an option to leave without fighting, do not do this, and fight her. I would recommend waiting to fight Gwyndolin until you have received the item for reaching level two in his covenant so that you don’t have to worry about it later.

 

Playthrough 1:

Pick your class and gifts. For your gift get the master key unless you’re a thief, this will make your playthrough slightly simpler. On this playthrough I would recommend focusing on your build and not worrying too much about collecting everything. You can grab all the sorceries and pyromancies in this playthrough if you desire. You can get all but 1 miracle this run and over half of the rare weapons. The only rare weapons you can’t get this run involve having multiples of boss souls which there are only 1 of each per playthrough. If you want to you can grind out the loot drop rare weapons during this run or the next but make sure to get the covetous snake ring from Sen’s Fortress before attempting the loot drop based rare weapons.

 

Make sure to kill Priscilla, The moonlight butterfly and Gwyndolin at some point during this playthrough. I recommend saving Gwyndolin for very late in your playthrough for reasons mentioned in the missable achievements section.

 

There are 2 soul grinding spots in the game that are early enough in the game to really help out new players, which are posted here. The first one is really super early in the game and is a good way to level up for the twin gargoyle fight and get enough souls so you can access the grinding spot in the second video.

 

 

Playthrough 2: This run will be significantly easier and shorter than your first run as all your gear and level transfer to each subsequent playthrough. The enemies are all higher levels but you will breeze through the early parts with little to no issues. The main thing to watch out for difficulty wise is the Smough and Ornstein fight and the four Kings fight. If you didn’t find the Dark Wraiths in your first run then do so this run and make sure to join them at some point to get the rare weapon Dark Hand.

 

In fact, everything you didn’t pick up or find in your first playthrough needs to be done this run to save you the heart ache of doing more than you need to in your 3rd partial run. All the rare weapons need to be forged and found (minus the one you can’t get this run since you need a 3rd copy of Sif’s soul). All pyromancies, sorceries, and miracles collected. Everything! Also, make sure to pick the ending that you didn’t pick in your first playthrough so you can get the achievement for that ending.

 

Partial Playthrough:

This partial run should only take a few hours maximum; you should only need to do two major things. Forge Gwyn’s souls to a weapon or offer it to the Sunlight Covenant and kill Sif for a third time. After you have gotten Sif’s soul for the third time, you will need to get the Giant Black Smith in Anor Londo so he can forge the soul into a compatible weapon. Given that you have done everything else this should unlock your last two achievements and give you the completion.

Conclusion:

While this game is challenging and relentless at times it is completely doable as long you are willing to give it your attention and your time. If you’re just starting out, good luck and have fun. You can do it if you just stick with it and don't give up.

Edited by KillerBEA
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Hiya, good job on the update. Just a couple things I thought I'd mention, the name of the Primordial Serpent who functions as the covenant leader for the Dark Wraiths is Darkstalker Kaathe. While you will receive a Dark Hand as a join item, you can also receive one as a drop from the Darkwraiths you have to fight on the way to the Four Kings in New Londo Ruins (fairly rare, unless your item discovery is pretty high when you are going through).

 

And as far as the NPCs going hostile if you attack them, you can absolve your sins by paying Oswald of Carim (the guy who appears in the belfry after defeating the Gargoyles and ringing the first bell in the Undead Parish). As long as you don't kill the NPC, you can pay him 500 souls x your current Soul Level to clear your sin. This will make the NPC non-hostile and will keep you from having to wait until the next game cycle to speak to them again, if you mess up and attack them.

Edited by XperimntNterror
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Thanks for information man, especially the absolving my sins thing. I had just made the mistake myself in the pc version, I had accidentally hit Quelana, luckily I just ran. I killed Bed of Chaos already so that screws me til next run anyways.

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Looks pretty good, all the important information seems to be there. The only comments I have are nitpicks.

 

 

You might want to run through it again and add some commas in the longer sentences.

 

I recommend buying the pyromancies, sorceries and miracles on playthrough 2 only really getting what you need for your character build. As you get many more souls on NG+ for killing enemies and bosses. This also allows you to focus your energy on leveling and getting the gear that you need for your build.

 

This is kind of awkward sounding, might want to try rephrasing it.

Edited by Merch
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Looks pretty good, all the important information seems to be there. The only comments I have are nitpicks.

 

You might want to run through it again and add some commas in the longer sentences.

 

This is kind of awkward sounding, might want to try rephrasing it.

 

Commas are my main weakness. I will go through it again to double check and make sure.

 

I will try to rephrase it to make it sound better.

 

Thanks. :)

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I had no idea I could absolve my sins.. would have come in handy when I accidentally hit Rhea.. but I can get it next playthrough to get the rest of the miracles.

I just hit the Kiln.. so farming some stuff.. now I need 2 white slabs for my last 2 weapon achievements (divine, occult).

I'm SL110 on my first playthrough.. is that kinda high? I did a ton of research before jumping into this game.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

Putting these here to reference in the roadmap.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKbjTaRJ3pk]Dark Souls - Early Game Grind Location - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaJ5dWJPNlo#t=17]Dark souls Grind Spot-Over 60k Souls In Ten Minutes - YouTube[/ame]

You will need to utilize the earlier one so that you can access the other one quicker.

Edited by KillerBEA
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the 1st grind spot, well a better way to grind souls for the crest is, once you have kicked the ladder that leads to the bonfire in your 1st video, you run up the ladder and up the stairs to the bridge with the dragon on it then head straight back to the bonfire, on the way back to the bonfire the dragon will kill all the enemies on the bridge and you get about 400-500 souls if i recall correctly, rest at bonfire, go back up and do same again and on and on until you have enough souls for what you need

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the 1st grind spot, well a better way to grind souls for the crest is, once you have kicked the ladder that leads to the bonfire in your 1st video, you run up the ladder and up the stairs to the bridge with the dragon on it then head straight back to the bonfire, on the way back to the bonfire the dragon will kill all the enemies on the bridge and you get about 400-500 souls if i recall correctly, rest at bonfire, go back up and do same again and on and on until you have enough souls for what you need

 

I agree. I found this early on in the game and painfully got myself up to level 40 before ringing the first bell. I wasn't the best at the game, so not having to fight a bunch of enemies was nice for me.

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I thought to join the Dark Wraiths, you don't talk to Frampt AFTER getting the LordVessal?

 

Everything I've read says it's fine to interact with him before getting that.

 

I accidentally killed the Smith in the Catacombs, stupid Wheel Skeletons got close to him, and I misjudge my swing. He died in one shot.

 

So I'll have to do his weapons in the second playthrough.

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I thought to join the Dark Wraiths, you don't talk to Frampt AFTER getting the LordVessal?

 

Everything I've read says it's fine to interact with him before getting that.

 

I accidentally killed the Smith in the Catacombs, stupid Wheel Skeletons got close to him, and I misjudge my swing. He died in one shot.

 

So I'll have to do his weapons in the second playthrough.

 

If I recall from when I did my first playthrough in december/january, I was stuck with Frampt after talking to him once before I even had the lord vessel. Thats what I was going. When I did it on the PC version I just avoided talking to Frampt at all, just to be safe.

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If I recall from when I did my first playthrough in december/january, I was stuck with Frampt after talking to him once before I even had the lord vessel. Thats what I was going. When I did it on the PC version I just avoided talking to Frampt at all, just to be safe.

 

Doesn't the guy who takes you into the Darkwraiths Covenant only spawn if you don't talk to Frampt?

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If I recall from when I did my first playthrough in december/january, I was stuck with Frampt after talking to him once before I even had the lord vessel. Thats what I was going. When I did it on the PC version I just avoided talking to Frampt at all, just to be safe.

 

Alright thanks, I'll completely avoid him on Playthrough 2 then.

 

I just don't talk to him right? I can still go near him? Have to pass him to get to the Catacombs.

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Alright thanks, I'll completely avoid him on Playthrough 2 then.

 

I just don't talk to him right? I can still go near him? Have to pass him to get to the Catacombs.

 

Yeah just don't talk to him, you can pass right by him.

Edited by KillerBEA
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Doesn't the guy who takes you into the Darkwraiths Covenant only spawn if you don't talk to Frampt?

 

Very hazy memory, but I am pretty sure you are correct. To make sure you get Kaath(sp) to let you join don't talk to frampt at all.

 

Also, don't feed frampt your Grass Cress Shield like the noob I was. I just wanted a few extra souls and when I found it it was like the best shield I was sad :/

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Best shield huh? Guess maybe I should start using it then.

 

Been using the Tower Shield for most of the game now.

 

Crass Crest is really good, since it has the extra endurance regeneration. But personally I always used the Black Knight or Silver Knight shields. Both do 100% physical damage block (as long as you have the endurance to eat the attack) and have good poise. Crass crest had either 90 or 95% physical block. Depends on your character build, since I was strength build wearing Havel's armor (heaviest armor on the game) + Black Knight Sword and Havel's ring + Ring of Favor and protection; a shield from a black or silver knight made the most sense for me.

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Congratulations!

 

This Roadmap has been reviewed by Guide Team Staff member THE DEADLY DOG and has been published as the Official x360a.org Roadmap! The link to the Official Roadmap is here:

 

Official x360a.org Dark Souls Roadmap

 

Please post any updates within the Update: Guides & Roadmaps thread.

Also, please check the Award Tracking: Guides & Roadmaps forum to make sure we are up to date.

You may request for those to be edited/updated within that forum as well.

 

We look forward to your future submissions!

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And there we got, just got the Silver Shield to drop, looks to be a great shield.

 

I really like it, it is what I have used in all my playthroughs. The fire defense is slightly better in the Black knight shield, but overall the Silver Knight shield has better resistances otherwise. The only thing its not that good at blocking is magic. It blocks 75% fire and and 65% lightning.. The Black knight shield has 95% fire block and 25% magic. I only switched to the black knight shield during the final fight, because his attacks are physical and fire. Making the black knight shield a great choice for him.

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  • 4 weeks later...
...

 

And as far as the NPCs going hostile if you attack them, you can absolve your sins by paying Oswald of Carim (the guy who appears in the belfry after defeating the Gargoyles and ringing the first bell in the Undead Parish). As long as you don't kill the NPC, you can pay him 500 souls x your current Soul Level to clear your sin. This will make the NPC non-hostile and will keep you from having to wait until the next game cycle to speak to them again, if you mess up and attack them.

That saved me once which lead me to a huge mess up. Was on my second character I was making for pvp. Was buying spells from Big Hat Logan and accidentally hit him. No biggie, I'll just resolve my sins. Go back to him and buy his spells. Then kill him early. By doing so I had to go through another playthrough because I didn't get the Tin. Cryst. Cat. from him.

 

I had no idea I could absolve my sins.. would have come in handy when I accidentally hit Rhea.. but I can get it next playthrough to get the rest of the miracles.

I just hit the Kiln.. so farming some stuff.. now I need 2 white slabs for my last 2 weapon achievements (divine, occult).

I'm SL110 on my first playthrough.. is that kinda high? I did a ton of research before jumping into this game.

SL100 is on the high side, yeah

 

Crass Crest is really good, since it has the extra endurance regeneration. But personally I always used the Black Knight or Silver Knight shields. Both do 100% physical damage block (as long as you have the endurance to eat the attack) and have good poise. Crass crest had either 90 or 95% physical block. Depends on your character build, since I was strength build wearing Havel's armor (heaviest armor on the game) + Black Knight Sword and Havel's ring + Ring of Favor and protection; a shield from a black or silver knight made the most sense for me.

 

Yeah, I've been trying it, but since it doesn't block all damage, looks like I'm gonna stick with the Dragon Crest Shield till I find something better.

Grass Crest. Shield blocks almost all the damage. Not sure how much HP exactly it would take off but it was such a small amount that the regen. effect of the shield made using it so worth it.

Edited by Dog Face
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  • 2 months later...

For slightly faster completion, it should be noted that you should leave completing the miracles achievement until Playthrough 3.

 

By using a certain soul to get Great Lord Greatsword in playthrough 2, you won't have to go all the way to Anor Londo in playthrough 3 to craft it. The Altar of Sunlight, where you can offer that soul in exchange for the Sunlight Spear miracle, is much more accessible than Anor Londo.

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