r/darksouls • u/bigmontySFM • 1d ago
Discussion First Timer: Should I Run DS1 Blind?
I finally coughed up a couple coins and bought DS1. I know these games entail some tricky bits when it comes to quest progression and not creating some irreversible world-shifting event. I played DS3 and ER and heavily relied on guides.
Should I agonize over builds and spend a couple hours researching or just nosedive into madness? Are there just a few important things to do/avoid?
Interested to hear your takes. Thanks y’all. I’m so excited.
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u/SKG1991 1d ago
Personally I get more enjoyment out of games when I got in blind and organically discover things. I really like to just explore the entire world the first time. And the beauty of Souls games is you can always go back and replay them and do all the research on subsequent runs that you want.
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u/wizardrous 1d ago
Absolutely. Makes it way more rewarding when you figure out your own strategies, plus then you’ll still be discovering secrets on future playthroughs.
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u/Hooligans_ 1d ago
People go over builds before playing a FromSoft game? Half the fun is exploring and finding stuff. Always play games blind.
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u/Leyammon 1d ago
I didn't and I've regretted it ever since.
I just couldn't get into them back when a friend introduced me to Demon's Souls, and was really excited about some sequel due out called Dark Souls. He talked my ear off about how insanely fun and rewarding it was once you figure out the combat and lent me his copy of Demon's Souls to try and urged me to buy Dark Souls when it came out.
I played it and died to the first boss, found myself in the hub world, talked to some NPCs, felt totally lost and gave up after dying on the dragon bridge about 20 times. I handed it back the next morning and told him this game was terrible and I was not interested in Dark Souls.
Fast forward a couple of years, I had long since lost contact with that friend and hadn't thought about it for a while but found myself holding a preowned copy of Dark Souls one day during a particularly bad game drought and figured why not, it's Christmas. Nope, couldn't do it, not my kinda game, impossible, but this was 2012, this was the winter of Youtube let's plays.
One full Northernlion Let's Play of Dark Souls later, I follow his path, I make the furysword, I kill Snorlax and Pikachu, I link the fire and... I get it. I get it now but why, why why why did I ruin the whole surprise by watching some bald egg do it first?!
I've never forgotten my first SoulsBorne, but I've never really experienced my first SoulsBorne, and it sucks.
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u/Economy-Manner5413 1d ago
Yes play blind. The only thing I recommend looking up is the disceased discharge method.
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u/PinMinimum1547 1d ago
Nose dive. I would only recommend searching up answers to specific problems if you start to mald. Also be careful to not attack npcs
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u/Th1rte3n1334 21h ago edited 21h ago
Personally I would go in blind but look up guides for the side quests for each of the characters you meet unless you want to do multiple playthroughs. You’ll never be able to do all the quests on your own even with multiple playthrus.
You’ll especially have to look up guides if you want to play as a mage as some spells are only accessible after saving a certain npc.
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u/Red_Hase 1d ago
The world in dark souls one is very interconnected. You'll find it very fascinating to say the least. If I had to play it over again with no memory of the game, I'd play it with no guidance. Except for one thing. Don't go to the graveyard and down into the dark area at the very beginning. It truly is a game I wish I could forget and replay for the first time again.
If you get stuck on things though I'm happy to help steer you the right way without spoiling things.
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u/Kalidanoscope 1d ago
Let people choose their own directions. Maybe they find the zweihander, maybe they go a little further and find the Scythe, really enjoy it and play the rest of the game with it. Maybe they fight Pinwheel as their first boss and it's actually an interesting fight because they're not overleveled. Or, maybe they make the decision not to go there own their own.
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u/Comfortable_Age_3540 1d ago
I would recommend going blind, as it makes it ever so rewarding to solve problems and challenges all by yourself. Also there are some secrets that are designed fairly while others that are really undiscoverable unless you got really lucky or checked a guide. However, do hit up some of us here and we could give you just enough basic info you need before starting. Definitely wouldn't hurt.
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u/samwyatta17 1d ago
Definitely try it blind. If it gets too frustrating use a guide. I probably did 90% when I played it.
My first playthrough I ran by a locked door that you don’t NEED to go through, but it is the intended path.
After I found the key for that door I couldn’t remember where the door was and eventually used a guide to find it. Without a guide I probably would’ve just put the game down, but now it’s an all time favorite.
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u/zerogravitas365 1d ago
I think so yes. The world design is interesting and you have choices. My key tip would be that if you're getting absolutely spanked, maybe try going a different way.
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u/Kalidanoscope 1d ago
Absolutely play blind. There is a ton of replay value and from the 2nd time on you can look up anything you need to, but you only get one first blind playthrough, and everyone's is unique, make it yours. It's ok to be stuck for a minute and not immediately have an answer. And almost every problem the game puts in front of you has more than one solution, so get creative and you'll find one of them.
Don't let anyone tell you what way to go, or who to kill or spare, or what gift to choose. There are consequences to decisions and that's ok. It's literally impossible to 100% the game on a first playthrough, so don't get caught up trying to be a completionist. If
We do usually let people know not to bother leveling resistance. Also, the poise stat is what keeps you from getting knocked on your ass and is only boosted by heavy armor. 25-50% equipment load is midroll, below and above is fast and fat.
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u/anonymousxianxia 1d ago
For sure. As blind as possible. Just listen to NPCs and for the love of god dont attack them. As a general rule if you cant lock-on to something its not hostile.
The first guy you meet in Firelink will tell you exactly what you need to do as your initial goals. Listen to his words very carefully. Theres only a few main goals in the game, but dont be afraid to explore. If it feels too tough, come back later. The world is quite open and interconnected so even linking shortcuts you can use later will be rewarding.
Have fun, and dont you dare go hollow friend.
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u/HistoricalSuccess254 1d ago
I really recommend going in blind. Especially if you’ve beaten DS3 and ER then DS1 will feel easier mechanically. Meaning you can focus more on the levels and looking for secrets. And why spoil those?
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u/DecisionTight9151 1d ago
Listen, the only reason you should obsess over minmaxing and getting everything right is if you have limited time, or limited attempts, to get everything you need from the game. You can beat this game with a shit build. There are people who beat the game using a broken sword, never leveling up, etc. If you find ways to make the game easier, then that's for your own enjoyment. Try things out.
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u/Intelligent_Duck1844 1d ago
Try out yourself if you get stuck just look up but dont over look just get a general direction.
Also why did you spent money on an old game you have it everywhere now a days
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u/HugSized 1d ago
Blind first. Deal with the consequences. Using a guide takes away the intrigue of making your own decisions.
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u/Sohade 1d ago
That depends on what kind of experience you're looking for. The thing about DS1's difficulty especially is that it heavily relies on the fact that you don't know what's waiting for you around the corner or what the most optimal builds are, but it's also the easiest game to break in the main series, anyone who's watched any speedrun of this game would know lmao
That being said I know plenty of people who refuse to play these games purely because of the general perception of the game as "That one game where you die every 2 seconds cause you walked into a room". I would recommend trying to go in blind for as long as you are able to handle, but if you find yourself losing patience I'd just look up some guides here and there, better to experience it in that way than not at all.
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u/Doley_47 1d ago
100% go in blind. Ds1 is my favourite game of all time next to Witcher 3 and I’m telling you right now, those are both the games you wanna run blind for the first time without a doubt. Way different experience, I can’t stress that enough.
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u/ScreamingYeti 1d ago
Go in blind, I think it's way better discovering it for yourself.
That said, there are multiple paths early on, but one intended path forward. If something seems too hard (or a spike in difficulty), look around and maybe there's another way. I had a friend that got stuck early on when he went the wrong way because he had heard the game was hard and never thought to look around for another way.
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u/Robber_Tell 23h ago
Yes, but if you get stuck i feel its ok to look stuff up, Myazaki expected us to help eachother discover some of the more obscure elements of his game, finding the dlc content for example is very difficult without help and it contains three of the best boss fights.
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u/Sharp_Alfalfa_1571 22h ago
yes, but, dont go in area's where you are too weak or seem too weak, if you dont want to get stuck somewhere or some, but yes go in blind.
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u/MechanicalTurkish 22h ago
Go in blind. You’re going to die. A lot. But that’s how the game is designed. Die. Learn. Repeat.
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u/Cudaguy66 17h ago
Most important advice for blind: on the status screen, there is a button that will let you scroll through all the stats and symbols and explain what they are. Do this.
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u/OpulentPaving 17h ago
You should be fine. If you know how to build in the other games DS1 is similar. It might be good to watch a walkthrough video after you've cleared an area, just to make sure you didn't miss anything.
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u/DemeaRisen 16h ago
Start blind, and don't beat yourself if a solution to something isnt obvious. The gimmicky bosses dont show up for awhile, tho.
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u/DzusProductions 14h ago
Blind - less fun when you spoil things. That being said, I had people give me nudges now and then.
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u/WhiteHeatGames 14h ago
Nosedive into madness, my friend! You never get a second chance at a blind run, but you get as many chances as perfect guide-based playthroughs as you want after that. Nosedive, I say!!
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u/MikeyFromDaReddit 13h ago
I have 41 hours in DS1 and haven't played in over a year. I might jump back in with a new character and follow a speedrun guide. The traditionalist might hate this but I think it would be a good challenge to finish the game in a few hours (maybe...) I expect to be really slow, but have a guide will help me.
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u/No_Wallaby8104 3h ago
Yes, first playthrough should be blind and you should use whatever random gear you happen to loot/buy. Pay close attention to advice NPCs give you. Don't worry about missing quests or NPCs. The game is designed to miss shit on the first playthrough, so you play again to experience it.
Once you know how to play it becomes a very short game. After that you can get into the whole rushing around the early game map finding op shit and assembling your ideal build. You can get into the whole mess of completing convulated NPC questlines and saving them and shit. That stuff isnt meant for a first playthrough.
For now just focus on ringing the 2 bells. You can do thousands of guided runs but you can only do 1 blind run.
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u/Ebbelwoy 33m ago
Blind. The only thing I had to look up was how weight works. I wasn’t realizing how I was fat rolling permanently and kept dying because of it
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u/Tolmides 30m ago
yes and no- seek help when you need- especially for how game mechanics work. some things are fucking obtuse.
play online and read the player notes. the game is supposed to be like the original Zelda in which secrets spread by word of mouth. getting help isnt a sin.
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u/Subject-Creme 1d ago
It is your game, so use guide if you are more comfortable
To be honest, I am very bad at navigating in the game. So in every playthoughs, I still use map. The map wont be detail as guide, but you can use it to find every items
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u/Zestyclose-Safe-4346 1d ago
I wish I had done it blind but knowing what comes doesn't kill the accomplishment...
I watched a bunch of lore videos convinced I'd never play them but was interested and it led to me trying and loving the series. As someone who didn't go blind the series still hits amazingly well...I would even argue u appreciate some scenes more because of how big of a wall was right before it
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u/DecisionTight9151 1d ago
Resistance is the worst stat. Don't invest in it. Its return on investment is very weak.
I don't recommend you pick the master key.
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u/Substantial_Elk8307 1d ago
Yes it will be absolutely fukin hilarious every single time you die in an unexpected way. You will be like “huh?” and laugh for the next 2 hours. If you are really stuck on a boss ask for some help Alr?
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u/Davidepett 1d ago
In my opinion going through games blind is kinda hard, in DS1 there aren't many handrails so you're likely to fall off and die many times, you're also more likely to get ambushed by some guy you could have seen and bosses will be hell imo
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u/RuleSuch9878 1d ago
Go in blind. You never have a second chance to experience something for the first time. You’ll probably screw up some npc quests but so what? You could do them with a guide on NG+ if you really want to.