Demon’s Souls Leveling Tips
Without a doubt, Demon’s Souls is the most difficult game I’ve played in quite some time. I would expect for a game with this caliber of difficulty to aggravate me and cause me to punish my controller, but there’s something about this game that keeps me coming back for more.
The reason I can’t put this game down is because regardless of how difficult a segment may be, I always have the option of improving my character’s stats by farming souls or crafting materials to improve my weapons. So when I am put in the position where an enemy can take me down in just two hits, I know it’s time to focus on my stats for a little while before attempting to continue.
The different worlds within Demon’s Souls keeps the game very open-ended, giving you five distinct areas to explore in any order you please. If I am getting sick and tired of getting dominated by the Tower Knight in World 1-2, I can play my chances elsewhere.
The point of this article is to provide some early leveling tips for the struggling beginners. I can’t call myself a veteran by any means, but I have about 20 hours clocked into this game so far, so I will share what I have learned.
Upon beating the Phalanx at the end of World 1-1, I felt overwhelmed by all the areas that opened up to me. Demon’s Souls, living up to it’s hardcore name, doesn’t make any of these five levels a breeze, and there is probably a very small chance that you will be able to beat any of them without putting in some mega time and effort. Ultimately, after spending some time exploring your new set of levels, I would expect that the majority of people fall to the conclusion that they are not powerful enough yet to progress any further. Yeah, that’s right. You beat just a single level (and not easily, I might add) and have already hit a big roadblock.
You may have also noticed that each time you level up, you don’t exactly become a whole lot stronger. Molding your character in Demon’s Souls takes a lot of work. My character is a Royal, meaning that I started at soul level one. The second area of the game that I beat was World 1-2, and it wasn’t until around level 30. I would estimate that this amounted to about 40,000 souls, which consisted of the souls I used to level up, repair my gear, purchase items, purchase spells, and upgrade my weapons. This number does not include the thousands of thousands of souls lost due to death.
This may seem like a lot, and it definitely is (at this point in the game), but there are some good places to get souls rather quickly. And don’t be discouraged by the idea that you will be spending a lot of time focusing on leveling up. You will find that the time you put into leveling up doesn’t have to be all that repetitive.
I would recommend that the first place you go to begin your grinding is World 1-2. You are placed in the same room where you fought the Phalanx, and you’ll see that the world is actually continuous, where you are free to backtrack into World 1-2 seamlessly. Anyways, proceed into the level and you will quickly enter a cave filled with mini-phalanx enemies. I believe there are five of them in total, and they grant about 60 souls apiece. Get into the routine of killing them, then returning to the Nexus. Repeat the process as much as you like for a decent 300 souls per run, which takes only three minutes.
This experience will be good for some time, but there are places better. I should also note that these mini-phalanx drop Hard Stones, Sharp Stones, Large Hard Stones, and Large Sharp Stones; all of which can be used to upgrade weapons and shields. Check the vendor in the Nexus to see what you need; I was able to get my Winged Spear to +5 before continuing to the next place of interest. My shield also received a plus five upgrade. Place some stat points into your Luck attribute if you are not getting good drop rates for the large stones.
On occasion, go ahead and try to actually beat the level. You should easily be able to predict how much more leveling up needs to be done judging from how well your battling performance is.
The second good place to get experience is in World 3-1. If you have a good ranged attack, then this will be an easy task for you. Upon entering the level, you are in a prison cell. Exit the cell to the left and follow the path. You will see prisoners (enemies) reaching their arms out of their cells begging to escape. They can’t hurt you from inside, but once you open the doors to the cells, they will be permanently open every time you re-enter the level. No problem. These enemies are easy to defeat much like the hungerers in World 1-1.
The real pot of gold is the hovering enemy that patrols the opposite side of the prison. This lady-like enemy packs a powerful punch. Rather, she casts a stream of magic at you that will probably kill you in a single hit unless your Vitality is around 14 or more. The plan is to attack her with your ranged attack before she sees you, as she casts her magic very rapidly, making it hard to get a chance to return the favor. For me, it took two shots to take her down. Any more than that and it would make things difficult, as it is easy to get two shots in before she can even attack once.
This kill is worth around 650 experience, making it a great place to execute one-minute runs in and out of the level for quick experience. Even once your soul level reaches the twenties you should find yourself leveling up every five to ten minutes before it really starts slowing down. If you are really daring, venture a bit farther into the level and there will be a second enemy similar to her, but uses electric magic instead. This can make you 1300 souls in a short time.
Don’t forget about the Soldier’s Souls that you have been collecting throughout the game. They appear in your inventory, where you can use them to immediately gain a large number of souls. At this point in the game you will find them to be worth 200, 400, 600, or 800 souls. I would recommend using them only if you are going to spend them right away. Otherwise, you might as well hold onto them.
Back in World 1-1, the Red Eyed Knight yields over 2000 experience points per kill. This enemy can easily kill you in one hit, and will put up a long fight. You can find this enemy near the first room that had a fog seal over it. Go to the far side of that bridge, fighting the enemies along the way, and enter the room. To your left is another much shorter bridge with a glowing red enemy at the other side. That’s your target. The Red Eyed Knight is good with his shield, and has a devastating piercing attack that can and will kill you. Be prepared for him to attempt to shield bash you, then proceed with this piercing blow while your character is regaining balance.
If you can defeat him, it’s well worth the 2000 souls. At this point you should essentially be able to level up every one or two runs. I should mention one more trick to defeating this enemy. Instead of fighting him, lure him way back across the large bridge and into the room with the very long spiral staircase. Don’t get too far ahead of him, but keep a distance as you descend the stairs. At some point the knight will turn a corner too tight and fall down, placing him in his eternal resting place, and awarding you with 2000 souls for simply running away (in the direction of the Nexus, making it even faster to do runs).
The last point of interest that I have found is in World 1-2. Past the mini-phalanx room described earlier is a long bridge with dragons circling around, breathing fire in the only path for you to go. You have to have good timing, and starting running across the bridge as soon as the dragon passes by. If you are wearing heavy armor, it’s recommended that you take it off so you can run faster.
When you reach the first tower, fend off the easy enemies that guard it, then climb on top. Believe it or not, you can kill that dragon. You can only kill it once, and as long as you are on top of that tower, it can’t do anything to hurt you. The reward is around 7000 souls, and a Demon’s Soul called the Small Flame Scale, which can be instantly used to reward you with an additional 10,000 souls. Thus, 17,000 souls are acquired for killing this dragon, not to mention the perks. The perks? Oh yes, with the Red Dragon defeated, he will no longer patrol the bridge, making the level much easier to complete. Additionally, you can backtrack to the dragon’s nest in World 1-1 where he used to rest. You will find a ton of items and gear hidden in that nest.
In order to kill the dragon, you need a ranged weapon to shoot at it when it approaches. I would recommend getting around 150 arrows. With each pass, use your compound bow (which you should have found in this area) to take a shot at it. It may be hard to tell if you are hitting it or not, but you will occasionally see some blood. After fifteen minute (give or take), the dragon will be slayed and the Demon’s Soul will be yours for the taking. You should be able to level up four or five times off of this single enemy. Not bad, eh?
I hope this has helped you on your epic journey through Demon’s Souls, which is currently my favorite game. Feel free to leave a comment with your own leveling tips so we can expand our knowledge together.
