In Dark Souls, an important element of gameplay is utilizing the items the player has. A well-rounded player will have at least basic knowledge of variable items to incorporate into traversing the world. With that said, there are hundreds of items throughout the game and different categories of some I won’t touch on here. The basic inventory menu and HUD, estus flask, and other items are a good start to an aspiring Dark Souls player.

Every player has an inventory with no item or carry limit that can be accessed through a menu at any time. Items are picked up off the ground from killing enemies, finding chests and looting them, or purchasing them from any of the NPC vendors scattered throughout the world that the player may run into in almost every area. Armor items and weapons are also accessed through the inventory menu alongside all other items.

The HUD for the on-screen equipment is very simple and intuitive. On the left and right are any shields or weapons equipped; up to two of each can be equipped at any one time and cycled through. The bottom slot has quick use items the player can cycle through 5 or less. The upper slot is for equipped scrolls of spells, pyromancies, or miracles that can be cast by the player, but only if you have the necessary stats to cast these things! The number of these that can be equipped varies with stats, even 0 is possible. Accessing an in-game menu will allow the player to change which items are equipped for armor, weapons, and the quick use slots. Any casting spells can’t actually be changed at any time through the menu; these must be changed at a bonfire! So if you’re a spellcaster, choose the ones most effective for which enemies you’ll be facing.

At the start of the game, the player begins with a health container called an “Estus Flask”. This is your health potion container, and “estus” is the fluid that heals you. Every player begins with enough to drink 3 full flasks, so if you encounter an enemy that starts besting you in battle or just finished defeating a tough boss, take a drink of the estus flask and it’ll heal most of your health! A number next to the flask will deplete by 1 every time you take a drink, so use them wisely. Drinking estus takes a couple seconds, so try to be out of range of enemies since the player will be vulnerable to attack. Later, it’s possible to upgrade the amount of health the estus heals the player and also how many a player can hold at one time. This is the most common quick use item usually instantly ready, but there are times the player will need other items too!

Other important items for quick use in the game can:

• cure poisoning: drains health until healed or runs out (about 20 seconds, varies with stats)
• break a curse: player has halved health, even after death, ONLY cured with an item
• stop excessive bleeding: an effect of certain weapons, drains health slowly until cured or runs out
• boost stamina recovery: lasts about 20 seconds, great for boss battles or quick enemies!
• write messages on the ground: for online play, write useful hints for other players traversing the world (no item necessary to read them though)
• weapon buffs: temporarily apply fire, lightning, or poison to currently equipped item!
• Homeward bone: return to the last bonfire rested at without dying or losing souls, great if you’re super lazy or in a really tough area you want to return to later

Hopefully this gives you a good idea about what to expect in the game. Any Dark Souls wiki has hundreds of pages devoted to the in-game items and what they do, but this is meant to be a very, very rough summary of what’s incorporated. Next time we’ll take a look at gear sets and weapons!

In the mechanics of Dark Souls, combat strategy is vital to staying alive. Many have played hack and slash games where button mashing is the key to success and the player is rewarded with lots of gorey graphics and satisfying creature deaths. Dark Souls incorporates the gorey bits and satisfying deaths, but lacks the button mashing requirement. Combat strategies in the game boil down to timing varying attacks and how to guard well in combat! Together, mastering these two can make a player extremely formidable.

Timing attacks is the key to winning a duel whether it’s a small creature, another player, or a boss. All weapons have a primary and secondary attack that should be used in various situations, as well as a special two-handed capability. For example, a longer staffed weapon (a halberd or spear) may have a stab or jab motion for a primary attack, something quick and simple. The secondary attack though can vary depending on the weapon class (more on those later), and may be a longer charged stab, a swinging motion, or a variation of the two. Knowing when to use these can mean the difference between disposing of a foe efficiently or not. Typically, the secondary weapon attack is a longer, charged attack, so naturally it would make sense to use it on an enemy that is slower or who has a large window between attacks. Typically, an attack should be placed either 1) before a creature attacks when it’s first discovered, or 2) between the creature’s own attacks when its guard is down.

In addition, one alternative is to two-hand hold a weapon. This means the player puts his shield away in order to perform more powerful attacks with the same weapon while two-handing it. This is useful for heavy swords, for example. In this case, the primary and secondary attacks are both more powerful and can vary from the one-handed counterpart attacks. It can also break a creature’s guard down if it’s powerful enough! Each enemy has its own playing style and attacks that can be timed well once encountering it the first time, so just be observant. Interestingly enough though, guarding is more important than attacking in combat strategy.

Guarding can be the difference between life and death, and should be taken more seriously than attacking, something other games don’t incorporate enough.  Guarding can be done with a shield on the non-attacking hand or it can be done with a weapon itself while two-handing it. Typically, guarding is more successful when using a regular shield because it absorbs more damage. The trick with guarding is the player can’t indefinitely absorb attacks. A meter on the screen measures “stamina” and depletes slowly as a player sprints, attacks, and/or absorbs an attack from an enemy with his guard. The meter replenishes slowly after depleting, but in a duel the timing for attacking and guarding is vital. If the meter is completely depleted, the player won’t be able to attack or sprint, and getting hit while attempting to guard will result in being staggered and losing health from the attack!

One other caveat, if the player is actively guarding, the stamina meter replenishes at a much slower pace. This adds to the difficulty of the game: in battle a player should be keeping track of the enemy’s attacks and timing any open windows to attack, but also keeping track of his health and stamina meter, knowing when to attack and when to drop his guard to charge up his stamina at the optimum rate. It might seem difficult at first, but after a couple duels, it all comes down to observing the enemy and timing when to drop your guard or to attack. There are other combat strategies a player can master once these basics are practiced, but hopefully these will help a prospective player get their foot in the door! Next we’ll be taking a look at how items and loot can aid in your journey throughout the world.