[glossolalia]

goddamnit i forgot to preorder and now no store in the area has any non-preorder copies in stock what am i gonna do guys :(

is it too risky to wait a week to see if any of the preorders are still there? should i just bite the bullet and buy it for $70 on amazon?

[Bennett]

If you get a dagger that does magic damage, you can ditch all your armor and still have a chance of beating these heavily armored dudes. Just go behind them and backstab them six times.

[another god]

This isn't Street Fighter! Home court advantage plays a big role (living with full health and 2 ring slots vs. you), so you're going to have to be a little sneaky about it. Treat it more like a pincer attack. Push your victim into badguys. You'll force them to fight the badguys or force them to fight you - either way it's your game.

Sneaky sneaky. (Watch youtube vids of stalker phantoms. Phenomenal stuff)
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interdimensional

[LandRoverAttack]

Thanks for tips! I have tried a bit to get them tangled with enemies, with small successes. Also it seems like the invadees are generally more patient than I am, content to wait around for me in a place they have cleared out. It'll help as I get more used to the areas, I'm sure. I'll check out some vids of it, thanks. I'll try to get in some backstabs too!
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[gooktime]

if anything other than you kills an invader, they lose levels

l o l

[Cryo]

After beating 1-1 and 1-2, just started diddling around in 3-1 and 4-1. Oh my god, the guys with the cthulhu heads in 3-1 are hella creepy, and the black skeletons in 4-1 are so fucking tough if not kept at range. Dude fucking bisected me on my first trip through the level.

[SuperWes]

I got through all of 2-1, and have no idea how to even touch the boss. I'm thinking my strategy will probably be to get to every boss, but not actually fight it. This way I'll have access to a lot of useful items for when I actually decide to take them on. I'm scared!

-Wes
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[secret character]

Try going to right before a boss and using the blue eye stone to get summoned to another player's game. If you die as a phantom, you'll just be teleported back to where you were summoned from. If you kill the boss as a phantom it doesn't count in your game, but you get some souls and some practice.
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☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹
☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☺
☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹☹

[another god]

Conversely, if you're alive you can summon other blue phantoms into your game before the boss fight. Chances are whoever drops a blue summon sign before a boss has already played the boss/can kill it (hopefully).
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interdimensional

[zombieman000]

If you equip the thief's ring and stick to the far left or right of the tunnel, you can just spam arrows at the 2-1 boss. Fighting it at close range is a little rough because the camera doesn't track too well in small spaces.

[username]

Yeah if you are a long range attacker you can defeat the 2-1 boss without ever getting touched if you want to cheap it out. If you are melee you should hug the left side of the tunnel and get to the safe spot then charge when it is not firing fireballs. When you get close go on the defensive and wait for the spider to do an attack that causes it to fall downwards onto the floor (stay a few steps away so that you don't have to block this attack). At this point charge in and get a few slashes before backing off and repeating. When it starts to charge up for a massive fireball run far away and regroup before starting again from the beginning.
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http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castlevania-sotn/clip1.mp3

[Isfet]

ok, so i finally got this two days ago. i'm playing through as a thief (which i what i generally pick in games like this), so i might be making the game a bit harder on myself. but generally i prefer speed/dex/luck type characters over brute force.

loving the experience thus far, but a few things still elude me. for example, are there experience levels in this game? or do i just find/upgrade/buy new weapons and armor? i see something in the status menu that's like "soul level" or something and it says 9. and some messages that people have left in the game suggest that i be a certain soul level before i venture into that area. so what, exactly, is the deal with that?

on 1-2 right now at the giant shield knight thing and really loving the sense of tension this game creates.

[boojiboy7]

Talk to the chick in black when you get back to the nexus. you buy new stats from her with souls, which raises your soul level.

I just beat the Towering Knight last night. Good fight doing it with a sword.

[LandRoverAttack]

It seems that your first time through, going in light armor will make things more difficult, but train you better for the long run. My friend just started his second cycle, having spent the entirety of the first in heavy armor, with the high burden. He's having a bit of trouble so far. The armor at that point seems largely irrelevant, since most things will kill you in one or two hits regardless. Learning to block and dodge properly is key.

Also invest in a nice bow or some ranged magic. It helps a lot with crowd control, being able to pull individual enemies from groups (Thief's Ring helps a lot too, which you can find in 1-1). Some bosses practically require ranged attacks, though honestly some felt a little too easy with ranged. That'll probably change the second time around.

This game has been incredibly good. Very surprised to see it getting recognition in mainstream press.

I've been considering starting a second character and keeping my soul level as low as possible, possibly to kill people in PvP...
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[belthegor]

PROTIPS

1. armor is practically useless. it only weighs you down. go with the light stuff so you can roll and run quickly.

2. royal is the #1 best starting class if you want to beat the first level easily, due to soul arrow and the fragrant ring. i'd rank the knight as #2, his stats are pretty well-balanced and he starts with a good sword and shield, but he doesn't have any magic.

3. your starting class ONLY matters for the first few hours of gameplay. class determines starting stats, starting gear and starting magic. after you get out of 1-1 you're free to branch out and do whatever you want. that's why i recommend picking the class that you have the easiest time beating the first level with.

4. every character starts off with soul arrow, you just need to talk to the magic trainer guy after beating level 1. be sure to memorize it. and you get a wooden catalyst like 30 seconds into 1-2, so basically every class can be a spellcaster early on. (EDIT: oops, not every class starts with this. i could've sworn my knight did the first time i played, though. weird. oh well, you have to buy it like every other spell. this should be the first spell you buy.)

5. the luck stat is useless, never put points into it. (okay this is semi-hyperbolic but usually the stat point is better spent somewhere else.)

6. using a winged spear and a purple flame shield is kind of like playing easymode, so i recommend getting those items early and using them a lot. the shield is found in the first level, where the dragons hang out. the spear is found early in 1-2. upgrade the spear to +6 with sharpstones, then stop. once you get some moonlightstones, turn it into a moon winged spear. (the blacksmith in 2-1 is the one that offers neat upgrades like moon weapons)

7. get the evacuate miracle as soon as you can afford it. you can find a talisman of god early on in 4-1 or 5-1 if you know where to look.

8. the cling ring and the thief's ring are your two best friends as far as rings go. always wear the cling ring while in soul form and always wear the thief's ring, period. playing the game without the thief's ring is actually kind of like playing on hard mode. (p.s. both of these rings are found right in the first level)

9. this should be obvious, but don't consume the unique souls gotten from bosses! save them for special weapon upgrades and the purchasing of magic and miracles.

Anyone who hasn't added me yet, I'm belthegor on PSN.

[sethsez]

This is the best game this generation.

[gooktime]

i've been telling people this since february

now more of my friends are importing the US version and understanding my froth

[demand]

[Faithless]

Game is sold out. Atlus is printing more. Good design rewarded by sell-through; game industry races to take away the wrong lessons.
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my website

[Riskbreaker255]

Sup guys. I've been lurking this board for a while and have only posted a couple of times but I'm absolutely enamored with this game (aaaawkard introduction go). I'm currently around soul level 70 so if you're within 10 levels that means you can co-op with someone (provided you work out where and when you'll be meeting up and if you can grab their soul sign in time). Feel free to add me to PSN if you want. It's my username.

I've only got to take on 1-4, 5-2, and 5-3 and I'll be onto the next cycle and I can't wait to do it all over again. I'm going to do some grinding and kill some Crystal Lizards to prep myself beforehand, though. This game is so well-designed, immerse, addicting and... fun it makes me wonder why I've bother playing some games in the past at all. It's constantly surpassing my expectations, and it has easily become a massive void in my life taking away all my free-time and making me it's personal bitch where I'm willingly going out of my way to talk this game up at the drop of a hat to anyone who will give me the time of day. I think I now know how relegious zealots feel. But I'm ok with that, because this isn't guilty pleasure grind--it's genuine honest to goodness AAA title that has some brilliant design and is an absolute blast to play through and isn't afraid to kick your teeth in when you start to feel cocky.

Everyone here owes it to themselves to buy it because it's by all means a generation defining experience for people like "us". I'd encourage people to play through your levels without summoning blue phantoms to help them your first time through, though. Chances are if you summon a blue they wanna kill the boss to restore their body and have been through the level before so they'll rush through the level killing everything and ruining any element of surprise or discovery. But if a boss is relentlessly murdering you over-and-over again, then by all means call some reinforcements.

[analogos]

[jack klugman]

[another god]

Should I buy the American version if I already have the Asian version?
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interdimensional

[SuperWes]

Having not played the Asian version I'd say no. I can't think of anything in the localization that would be worth it. But from the perspective of showing Sony they were idiots not to bring it out themselves I'd say maybe. It seems to be working itself out though.

What the hell do I do at the talking tree in 4-1?

-Wes
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[belthegor]

[Riskbreaker255]

[LandRoverAttack]

It's worth noting that the American version supposedly has a lot of the glitches ironed out, so you won't be seeing people with min/maxed 'sploited stats and all that. Not yet, at least.
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[belthegor]

[Isfet]

haven't had a chance to play recently, but the giant shield knight thing in 1-2 is murderous. if he slams on my directly, it's instant kill. :(

i'm thinking i'm probably going to have to do this the cheap way and stock up on a lot of arrows and then shoot that son of a bitch from safe zones.

[boojiboy7]

Isfet, he's all about timing, dashing in, hitting the back of his ankles (fuck his achilles tendons up enough, and he drops so you can wail on his head), and running the fuck away. It took me awhile to take him down as a soldier, but I did it.

[zombieman000]

Run between his legs when you have the chance, and keep behind him as you slash at his ankles. If you need to heal, that courtyard is spacious enough to run to a safe distance.

[Ashura]

I designed the guide for this. The cracks on the front cover are from my driveway.

[LandRoverAttack]

The ink from the cover of the guide has rubbed off really quickly. Especially on the spine, but also on the front and back where hands have touched it the most. I'm sure this isn't your fault, just thought I'd mention it. I suppose it is to be expected of what amounted to a $10 guide, which is otherwise pretty nice! I still have had to supplement my playing with the Demon's Souls wikidot, however.
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[GcDiaz]

Just copped this at the local GS. One problem is that I'm unable to take my PS3 online at the moment, so I'm stuck doing it bachelor style. From everything I've read here and elsewhere, this game sounds like the second coming of Vagrant Story. Some of you might know how much I love that game, and how much FF12 disappointed me when it betrayed its heritage.

[glossolalia]

woah. this game. i was actually a little put off during the tutorial, not grasping the depth of it yet and i guess expecting it to be a little more polished in some respects than it is, but the game in earnest, man. in three hours i've gotten pretty much nowhere - well, about to that first dragon in boletaria palace that fries those rows of guys on the bridge, but i've lost probably four times more souls than i've saved - but not a second of it felt wasted. i don't have anything of substance to add yet, but i really admire that the game demands you take it seriously, and rewards you, not with meaningless trophies or just numbers going up, but an intense and memorable experience.

[diplo]

i am fascinated by the weapons rebounding off of walls. there are other games that do this as a way to acknowledge the player's presence in an environment, but i've not played any where it factors into combative success. there's a lot of emphasis on space, relating to both the distance between you and an enemy and the immediate setting you and they occupy. i like that. wish i had a ps3, but i can't spend however much money on that for one game.

[analogos]

Hitting walls and such even contributes toward diminishing your weapon's durability!

[boojiboy7]

So, I'm a bit stuck. I've beaten 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1, but can't get very far in any other levels. I am working on 4-1 though, and making a bit of progress there. I love this game, but I can only take it in bursts, or I get frustrated, but that is not anything against the game. I figure I will be alternating between it and Forza 3 for a good long time.

[SuperWes]

[LandRoverAttack]

[Lymojo]

Worth buying PS3 for this game?