Dark Souls 3 is not only available in Japan, but playable to anyone with an Xbox One. This has allowed us to get some hours in early. We've learned a few things along the way that we wish we knew before we began our adventure ahead of its official North American and European release.
There's a lot to Dark Souls 3, and it shows no mercy. In the gallery below you can get an idea of what to expect as well as gain critical knowledge on one of 2016's biggest RPGs.
Top 10 Things We've Learned About Dark Souls 3 From Early Access
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Bosses are flashier, regular enemies are tougher
Boss encounters are a delightful spectacle; they are set on brilliantly designed stages, are varied mechanically, and offer a great challenge. That said, they seem a bit more welcoming in difficulty than what was included in Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, perhaps allowing some players to be less reliant on co-op for progression.
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rnIn this regard, the game has taken a hint from Bloodborne. If anything, it's the normal enemies that are the toughest and will result in the most deaths by players. Lothric Knights in particular are going to make your life living hell. -
A huge selection of infusions
There is a wide variety of infusions available, more than in any Souls game has seen before. These essentially allow you to augment an a weapon, altering its offensive capabilities. Below are most of the infusions you will find in the game:rn - rn
- Blessed - Slightly decreases weapon base damage, decreases STR/DEX scaling, weapon physical damage now scales also with FAITH, adds slow health regeneration. rn
- Crystal - Adds magic damage to a weapon, adds INT scaling to weapon, reduces STR/DEX scaling, moderate reduction of weapon base damage. rn
- Deep - Adds dark damage, Increases weapon base damage, removes all scaling from weapon. rn
- Fire - Adds fire damage, Increases weapon base damage, removes all scaling from weapon. rn
- Heavy - Increases weapon STR scaling, removes DEX scaling, slightly reduces weapon base damage. rn
- Hollow - Slightly decreases weapon base damage, decreases STR/DEX scaling, weapon physical damage now scales also with LUCK. rn
- Poison - Adds poison effect to the weapon, reduces weapon scalings, slightly reduces weapon base damage. rn
- Raw - Increases weapon base damage (about 40%), removes all scaling. rn
- Refined - Evens STR and DEX scaling, like Quality path in Demon Souls (Weapon with scaling A/C/-/- after refined infusion will have B/B/-/-), slightly reduces weapon base damage. rn
- Sharp - Increases weapon DEX scaling, reduces weapon STR scaling, slightly reduces weapon base damage rn
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Average Souls game length
There are three people we have spoken to who have completed the game, and they have stated that the game length is very similar to previous Souls games. You can expect to beat it in around 25 hours if you're an expert, or 35 - 40 hours if you die often and explore the world. There is also a lot of extra content, including PvP, to keep those who beat the game and enjoy it coming back for more. -
Strong item and weapon variety
As you might suspect, there are numerous items to be found in the game world ranging from magic to equipment and even mysterious items. Unlike Bloodborne, there are lots of equipment treasures to be found, and a strong variety of weapons to choose from.
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rnOne feature new to the Souls franchise that provides great diversity are unique abilities, which are secondary offensive and defensive uses for each weapon. For example, the Estoc can pierce enemy shields with Shield Splitter, the Winged Spear can allow you to charge at foes, and the Greataxe can temporarily boost your Attack using Warcry.
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rnTo view a list of the items in the game, visit this webpage. -
Never before seen movesets
Souls has a tendency to repeat weapon design from release to release. While many weapons in Dark Souls 3 will be familiar to fans it provides a ton of new modes of attack. As seen in this video, there are some flashy and powerful attacks that are sure to excite fans. -
How multiplayer works, from PvP to co-op
Dark Souls 3 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors with a system similar to Dark Souls' Humanity and most closely Dark Souls 2's Effigy systems. Upon using a stackable item that is found throughout the game world called Ember you enter Lord of Cinder mode. While in this mode your health is increased by 40%, and you become available for multiplayer PvE and PvP.
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rnThe health boost makes progression easier, and also allows you to summon other players. Co-op summons are performed using the White Sign Soapstone, and can make conquering bosses much easier. Though, you'll want to be careful as you'll be exposed to PvP invasions from players who use a Red Eye Orb. These players can force their way into your lobby and try to kill you, resulting in you dropping your souls.
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rnIt's worth noting that there is an invisible timer that allows you to only be invaded every so often, preventing multiple back-to-back invasions. The only way to circumvent this is through the use of an item called Dried Finger, which cancels your current timer and puts you in priority queue for any invading phantoms. -
Increased ring variety
There have been more than three dozen confirmed ring types in the game. A few of them are what you'd expect with stat increases, but there are several that are more fun in nature.
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rnTake for example the Horsehoof Ring, which boosts the effect of your kicks. You can use this make your kick much more viable in combat. There's also an Untrue White Ring that allows you to change your appearance to a phantom, and a Knight Slayer's Ring which absorbs Stamina from enemies when you are hit while under guard. -
The Starting Classes (click image for full size)
There are 10 starting class options, each with very different beginning stats and equipment. Several of the options will be familiar to Souls fans, but there are a few new offerings.
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rnOne of the greatest qualities of Dark Souls 3 versus prior releases in the franchise is it has more viable styles of play. If you want to play as a Thief, the game's new mechanics and greater equipment diversity will allow you to play as one without feeling gimp for the first dozen hours. The same goes for spellcasters. For those who were disappointed by Bloodborne's lack of shields, you'll be glad to hear that shields are back! -
Introduction To the Stats (click image for full size)
Dark Souls 3 brings back the same stats as prior games. You'll be able to increase one of nine attributes as you level up, and will increase your HP, equip load, defense, and resistances by equipping armors and weapons.
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rnYou'll want to very carefully choose what type of character you want to build early on. Later levels are hard to come by, and your success throughout your journey will be partially dependent upon the effectiveness of your build. -
You can trade in co-op
We can confirm that you can trade both equipment and items while in co-operative lobbies. All you need to do is drop the corresponding item, and have the other player collect it.
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rnNote that upgraded items can't be traded, and some items can't be dropped.
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rnTo get in a co-op lobby with someone to trade, you will need to have one player use an Ember to enter Lord of Cinder mode. That player will then need to click on the corresponding summon sign from the other player, who has used a White Sign Soapstone.
