Stoke the fire
Call me bad, but I actually foundDark Souls IIIa little harder thanDark Souls IIandBloodborneat first blush. Maybe I was just rusty, but my first few hours with the game were brutal. It took me more tries than I’d care to admit to beat the tutorial boss (uh oh), I had trouble dealing with some of the early undead gangs (eek), and the first Lothric Knight put me in the dirt enough times that I was sure I was going the wrong way and was supposed to come back to him later (shameful!)
After hearing howDark Souls IIIis supposedly the most accessibleSoulsgame to date, dying so often in the first few hours was a pretty sharp kick to the ego. Of course, it didn’t have to be. As always with theSoulsgames, stepping back, adjusting your strategy, and picking up a few key items can dramatically improve your odds so long as you’re willing to keep an open mind. My problem was just rushing in and assuming my familiarity with the series would carry me through without looking at the changes inDark Souls IIIand the new options available.
If you’re having trouble getting started, I have a few tips that can steer you in the right direction. (Obviously, there will be some very minor location and enemy spoilers below.)
Assembling some decent gear fast
A big problem I had early on is that my gear seemed pathetically outclassed right out of the gate. As a Pyromancer, the free fireball was nice — the tissue paper shield and flimsy armor were not. Not to mention it felt like it took eight or nine chops from that stubby little hand axe to take down basic enemies. However, good gear is available within the first thirty minutes of the game if you know where to look.
Quality-of-life tips and a few tricks
There are a few things I wish I knew at the start of the game that I only figured out a week and change into things. Benefit from my hard knocks.
