So, I finally got my platinum a few weeks ago but I almost gave up completely. Why you ask (or maybe didn't)? Because the evil eye/dark lord convenant online item is completely broken!

It is supposed to be that while you are online and so is someone in that convenant, he "infects" your (and 2 other people's) games with "disasters" which are black phantom version of normal enemies. This gameplay element as a concept is ok as the disasters are supposed to go away when either you go offline, the "dark lord" goes off line or you invade the "dark lord"'s game and kill him.

Unfortunately this is freaking broken. I'm not sure if it is always this way or not, but someone summoned black phantom versions of the skeleton dogs in the tomb of giants and, after dying a few times, I went to bed. Turns out that those damn things stayed in my game for a few more weeks even if I played offline. Luckily after leveling a bit and being very, very careful I made it through. Needless to say I never played online ever again.

Honestly, I'd probably recommend the same thing for anyone until this bug is fixed. Perhaps I got unlucky or it is a very rare glitch, but it pretty much made the game unbeatable to me for a few weeks. If I was less persistent or had less patience I would have given up.

So, I finally finished the game for the first (and probably only) time, after I took and extended leave from it (finished Bayonetta, played GT5). I was at the 4 kings fight. It turned out to be MUCH easier than i thought it would be. I ended up 2 handing each apparition quickly. If I was lucky, I would kill the king before he would kill me with a magic attack (extremely strong) of a lucky sword thrust. Then I would just heal up and wait for the next one. I had to kill 3 and get a good hit on the fourth, which proved more trickier as I got excited and careless, but I managed to not get killed and dodge a thrust attack and get in the final blow. I was not tanking, I was in my lightest mode and I was not using the shield. Kill of be killed :). Then I went on tot he Lord Vessel and with the help of two summoned guys (I thought that the first one failed, so I ended up with two), dismissed of the last guy.

Question: what's up with the spirit of an ancient dragon that one can summon by touching a pile of ash? I only did it once, killed me easily. Does it drop something good?

Interesting, I platinumed this game and I don't remember this at all. I remember a dragon at Ash Lake, but I don't remember summoning him nor him attacking at all. Where were you at?

What is the best weapon for a DEX build character?

I had a Dex build character (Wanderer FTW!!!) and I used the Chaos Blade Using Queelag's soul. It might not be the BEST weapon for a high dex build, but I believe it had an A rating for dexterity, plus its high fire damage. I destroyed many an enemy with this weapon. My 2 weapons were the Chaos Blade +5 and Lightning Spear +5, switching between the 2 when required. Of course I used other weapons too, but these 2 were my main stays!

Good job! I put on havel's armor, the wolf ring, double-handed my Chaos Blade, and went to town on them. I would rush the first king and beat him to a bloody pulp before the next one spawned. Basically, I never had to deal with more than 1 king at a time. It was probably the easiest boss fight cause of this method, but I can imagine those without the armor, or using different methods having great difficulty in defeating this boss. I like that you went with light armor, and dodged his attacks. That's pretty G!

I finally beat this game for the first time a week or 2 ago. It is so fucking brilliant! I linked the fire, although the Dark Lord ending I watched on youtube was far cooler. At least it was more of an ending that the fire linking crap ending you get.

Anyway, Dex build (Wanderer), Chaos Blade +5, Lightning Weapon +5, and an array of shields depending on the situation. Killed every single boss, missed a couple of phantoms. Got to level 94 or so. Then started PVPing before I beat the Lord of Cinder in Kiln of the First Flame.

Bosses that beat my ass before I defeat them:

1. Capra Demon (was weak when I faced him, low poise/stability/stamina, narrow area, 2 fucking dogs, this guy sucked!!!)
2. Smough & Ornstein: I wanted Ornsteins soul/armor, so I had to endure the more difficult route of beating Smough first. What a fucking hassle this boss fight was.
3. Quelaag: The spider-witch beat my ass a few times.
4. Gwyn, Lord of Cinder: This guy was so tough at first, I couldn't even land a single hit in before he would decimate me with his ridiculously long sword putting shame to Sephiroth's sword. But then I figured him out, and basically light armored myself and danced around him and the rock columns waiting for moments to step in and stab him in the throat. It was a fantastic duel!

Worst levels:
1. Ruins of New Londo: (First time I visited, I was doing alright, then I enetered a room where 6 ghosts came out of no where and shred me to pieces, so I left and came back much later on. Now with the Jagged ghost blade, I figured this would be the best method, but after having so much difficulty, I found out the best way to kill these losers was to curse myself, and use the chaos blade, I would kill them in one or two hits (can't remember) - but once I realized actually how small this area is and that no ghosts reside in the lower area after letting the water out I was relieved and this place became piss easy. But figuring it all out was such torture.
2. Tomb of the Giants: What horseshit this place was! No lights, had to switch back and forth between skull lantern and shield, thus taking damage, or falling into pits. This area was so frustrating. But again, once you get the hang of things it eases up, and then the 2nd half of the level is lit. What a relief. I got the sunlight maggot helmet thing after I beat this level, hahaha coulda seriously used it!

This is some of the most fun I have ever had playing a game. The level design is brilliant, the combat mechanics are flawless, its just immense fun!

Also, I started NG+ just to check out the difficulty, and the first Boss you fight in the Undead Asylum was piss easy! I was expecting him to murder me, but I guess I was pretty beefed up from my last playthrough, I just killed him in a few hits with the chaos blade. I wonder if that level of diffculty remains like that or if they get exponentially harder.

So I just purchased the Artorius of the Abyss or whatever expansion, and learnt quickly that I have to do a lot of things I SWORE I wouldn't have to do again.

After I got my plat I left the game for dead...but then I realised I have to go through Anor Londo again. Among many other things really, but Anor Londo really pains me. Ornstein & Smough. Fuckin' yuck, yo.

lol, ornstien and smough were my favorite.  i got soo good at them.  i was able to solo the at level 17 in NG+.  god that took forever.

anyhoo, how is the dlc?  i've been thinking about getting it but i'm also a bit wore on the game.  worth going back for?  what do you mean you have to redo stuff? do you have to start over to play the expansion?  is it not just a new area?

Well after all my complaints there, I ended up beating them in two tries. Guess playing them all those times b4 paid off indeed (You solo'd them in NG+ at level 17? Are you mad?)

You basically have to gain access to Duke's Archive to open the warp gate to the new area. I had to google it because it's actually not that easy at all to find. There are one or two things that could screw you until your next playthrough, too.

As for the expansion itself, it's a typical DS affair. I'm on my 2nd boss, but I'm getting my ass handed to me throughout, in typical fashion. Got some new enemies and armor, haven't reached far enough to tell what else.

I'm a bit like you though; tired of the game after so much overkill...so I ain't exactly rushing to play it. It's still good, though.

Has a pretty fucking annoying glitch though, where I would just randomly drink from my estus flask when pressing entirely different buttons. It has gotten me killed numerous times already. Oh From, why?