How To Aim In Dark Souls 3
Crossbows may be fired, but not aimed, from a single hand. You must aim manually (though this is normally impractical) or use auto-aim to fire them this way. This is a primary benefit over bows. To aim, you must use it in both hands. You can also have a crossbow in each hand, and power stance two crossbows. This usually allows you to fire both. New Dark Souls 3 Mod Will Allow Players To Control Bosses. A few hours ago, a dedicated Dark Souls 3 fan shared a new video which showcases a mod he has been working on recently. Thanks to this mod, players will be able to control bosses during the game, with the aim to introduce an offline two players arena mode with controllable bosses.
The land of Lothric is a deadly place, and Dark Souls 3 doesn’t go out of its way to lend a hand. I’m here to help. What follows is a combination of tips for people who are new to Dark Souls.
After watching a youtube video I realised three things:
- That console players can aim, and lock on targets. Can PC players,and if so, how?
- That you can switch between weapon sets with thepress of a single button. As with 1 - how can I do that on PC.
- That my idiocy/ignorance may have been making things unnecessarily hard on myself. Is there help available for that?
Currently I pretty much walk around cowering with shield up at all times. I wait for something to attack so that I can take a quick swing in return, and all the time praying nothing gets behind me.
2 Answers
Time to answer these to the best of my abilities..
Press O to lockon target/ Reset Camera (as in making the camera facing in the direction your character is facing. If you need extra help moving the mouse to aim, consider downloading this mod to help. It should smooth out the mouse and make camera control easier. Mouse Fix
Press V to switch the right weapon and C to switch the left weapon/shield/catalyst. Also, press F to switch items and R to switch your magic you have attuned.
As for this, just keep in mind that for PVE, you should be fine as long as you can accept that the game is going to be hell of a lot harder for you. PVP, good luck. PVP is going to be a mess for you, mainly because controllers in this game have a LARGE advantage over Mouse/Keyboard players. If you plan to main PVP consider investing into a controller that you can use.
The PC controls in my opinion are an absolute failure. Now, I am not bashing the game being bad, just that the developers did not intend players to use PC controls. Although, I am sure that if you are skilled enough, you can beat the game.
Now last note, what you currently do is good practice, but for bosses try to predict their patterns and dodge them. Dodging, if done right, should be more effective than pure blocking because it should leave more stamina and let you have more control of the fight unlike blocking and then being limited to only more blocking or rolling away to heal. Unless you use a pure strength build and withstand the damage dodging should be a better choice.
HugaboogaHugaboogaDon't worry too much about the controls on keyboard/mouse. The game has too many buttons to be like other PC games on the keyboard/mouse. I own all three consoles and still love PC games. I can aim and move better. But that's just me. I swapped the controlsI use tab to target lock, Q to use whatever is loaded on the bottom, flasks etc. E for interact. I use the arrows to swap the items, weapons etc. Like this it feels like many other games I have played but isn't identical. I use space to dash and shift to jump. WASD to move. The left and right mouse felt wrong since all other games are swing/shoot left and block/aim right so I swapped those. I also moved the dash, block walk to the three keys along the space bar. So it's all within reach. I'm over 200 already killed a bunch of bosses and PVP is just fine. About 50/50 now. But I put that into the fact that I am running a generally PVE build and when I get summoned or invaded I don't get to say time out let me switch up. LOLDon't lose hope. I almost gave up a zillion times. It does get easier. I said I own all three consoles but have a horrible time with the controllers due to an injury I had years ago that left my right arm and hand partially paralyzed and I have no feeling in the fingers. It makes tactile controls really jerky and hard. So I am stuck. Hate to be told to buy a controller though I see the reason. I can't even if I wanted to. I hate scrolling through items instead of selecting 1,2,3,.. Etc but you basically adapt prepare and learn.
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The land of Lothric is a deadly place, and Dark Souls 3 doesn’t go out of its way to lend a hand. I’m here to help.
What follows is a combination of tips for people who are new to Dark Souls—i.e. watch out for mimics!!—and things that are specific to Dark Souls 3. I’ll be updating this post as people dig into the game and discover what else is hidden.
Please drop your own tips into the comments!
Pick Whatever Class You Want, It’s Not A Big Deal..
There aren’t specific “class” designations in Dark Souls 3, outside of what you arbitrarily pick in the beginning. Even if you decide to start out as a warrior, it’s possible to become a sorcerer later. The only difference is that you’ll open the game with slightly different stats and starter equipment. Everything else in Dark Souls 3 is the same for everyone, and it’s even possible to respec via an NPC.
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..But If You’re Having Trouble, Choose These
Dark Souls 3 doesn’t have a difficulty levels to choose from; everyone is on the same playing field. That said, some classes have things a little easier than others early on. If you keep dying over and over, think about switching over to the knight or pyromancy classes. With the knight, you’ll start with bulky armor, in addition to a shield. With the pyromancer, you can toss powerful fire magic.
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Here’s A Great Spot To Farm For Souls Early In The Game
Kotaku’s Chris Person has a handy guide to start racking up souls early on:
Spend A Few Minutes Killing That Bad Ass Dragon
Dragons are cool, but they’re also prone to killing you all the time with fire. This particular dragon, found in the High Wall of Lothric, is hiding some loot that’s tough to grab without shooing it away. Fortunately, all it takes is a bow, a few minutes of patience, and a ton of arrows to take the beast down. It’s possible to snipe the dragon from a few places nearby—just make sure to keep your distance. Near death, the dragon will fly away, and the path clears up for you.
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Not All Flasks Are Made Equal
For the first time, Dark Souls has two flasks: estus and ashen. One refills your health, the other refills magic. There are also two upgrades: shards and bone dust. The former increases the number of flasks, the latter amps up its abilities. Depending on what kind of character you’re playing as, you may be more interested in refilling magic than health. (Sorcerers, for example, have access to health spells.) In that case, speak with the blacksmith and modify how many of each flask you have on-hand. It’s possible to have four estus flasks and two ashen flasks or two ashen flasks and four estus flasks. It’s up to you.
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Bow And Arrows Are Your Best Friend
Look, Dark Souls 3 is a tough game, and you need every advantage you can get. That’s where the bow comes in handy. See a group of enemies up ahead? Shoot one of them with an arrow and they’ll come running after you, while the others (usually) stay behind. Is an enemy charging your way? Snipe them in the head with an arrow and it’s likely to stagger them for a few seconds. Learn to love being cheap and dirty with the bow and arrow; there’s no shame in it.
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Enemies Will Stop Running After You..Eventually
You’re likely to be in lots of situations where you’ve been overwhelmed by enemies and the situation is looking bleak. That’s when it’s useful to run the hell away and live to fight another day. If you put enough distance between you and an enemy, they’ll get bored and head back to their guard post. This can be used ‘n abused, if you’re patient; it’s possible to hit an enemy, run away, and repeat the process until they’re dead. This is even easier with a bow and arrow!
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Summoning Makes Dark Souls Less Lonely
A hardcore Souls player might say a “true” fan plays the game solo, but screw that! If you want jolly cooperators to ease the burden, go right ahead. The game doesn’t really explain how co-op works, but it’s simple enough. When you beat a boss or use an ember, you’ll be able to see “summon” signs on the ground. These might be NPC characters or other players, depending on the sign. With Bloodborne, From Software finally introduced the ability to matchmake with other friends using a password system, and that’s present in Dark Souls 3, too.
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Armor Isn’t That Important, Focus On Looking Cool
It’s easy to get bogged down in stats, but while armor plays a role, it won’t usually make or break a fight. (That’s less true if you’re going for a “tank” build, though.) You’re going to find lots of equipment while journeying Lothric, and it’ll be tempting to ignore clothing that doesn’t make you stronger. That’s an option, but that means you’re gonna get stuck with some boring armor. Mix it up! Try something weird! Worst case, you go back to the old armor.
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There’s A Quick Way To Access Your Favorite Item
If you hold up or down on the d-pad, it’ll scroll to your first item or spell.
Fight One Enemy At A Time
One enemy might not be that tough, but two or three? Things can get out of control quickly in Souls, which is why you should avoid the temptation to attract the attention of too many creatures. If you can focus on one enemy at a time—again, the bow and arrow helps with this—it makes combat more manageable. In a pinch, items like firebombs can be useful to collectively stun enemies.
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Use Your Damn Items
Items and souls are scarce for a while, but you’ll have way too much shit by the end of the game. My inventory is full of items that I should have used, as I kept telling myself “oh, maybe I’ll need it later.” Apparently, later means “never.” Make use of those magical coatings for your weapons that let you attack a little harder. Equip an ember to get a little more health. Go wild!
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How Come I Can’t Roll Worth A Shit?
That’s the “equip load” stat, and you can upgrade it. It’s easy to get overencumbered in Dark Souls 3, and it’s most noticeable when you roll. The more overencumbered, the slower your rolls. Given how crucial rolling is to dodging attacks, this can be a huge problem. If you’re playing as a tank who is meant to take endless hits from the enemy, maybe you don’t care, but for most players, you’ll want to find a balance between armor and efficient rolling.
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There’s A Hidden NPC Sitting In Firelink Shrine
It’s possible to make it through most of Dark Souls 3 and not know what to do with the boss souls dropped by the game’s most powerful creatures. You can consume them and quickly level up, but you might be tempted to turn them into unique sets of armor, items, and weapons. The NPC who takes care of this for you is hiding in plain sight: they’re sitting on a throne in Firelink Shrine.
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The Fire Keeper Enjoys Dancing
Try using emotes on the Fire Keeper in Firelink Shrine and see what happens.
Check Each Weapon’s Attribute Bonus
Let’s say you’ve decided to focus on dumping upgrade points into strength. When you come across a new weapon, make sure to see what stat it gains an “attribute bonus” from. If you’re choosing between two nearly identical swords, for example, but one of them gets a E attribute bonus for strength and the other gets a C, you might want to consider the C; it means you’ll get bonus points for being a strength-based character. Different weapons have different bonuses!
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Run After Those Glowing Lizards
They seem like very nice creatures, but they also drop the rarest items, like the twinkling titanite upgrade material. After you’ve killed one, though, it’s gone for good. However, if you’re not able to take them down before they disappear into the ether, simply warp to another part of the game and come back.
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Attack Every Chest Before You Open It
There’s great treasure hiding in the chests of Lothric, but they’re also homes for one of the game’s nastiest enemies: mimics. Players will often drop a helpful note about mimics, but they’re just as likely to be tricking you, too. It’s possible to attack a non-mimic chest several times without destroying it, and if it happens to be a mimic, you’ll get a few attacks off before it can do anything. It’s definitely worth killing every mimic, though: they’re holding powerful items.
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Don’t Accidentally Hit An NPC
They will fight you, try to kill you, and leave your game. That sucks. (That said, if you want their unique equipment, that’s the only option in front of you.)
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The Lock-On Mechanic Is Your Friend
Even if you don’t lock-on to every single enemy while you’re fighting them, it’s useful to figure out who (and what) is hoping to kill you in Dark Souls 3. The lock-on will never target anything else friendly to you, such as an NPC, and if you’ve entered a room that seems suspiciously quiet, the lock-on can give you a heads up on what might be hiding in the shadows. (Or, often, above!)
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Read The Messages Players Leave Behind
While it’s true that some people are tricksters, more often than not, the messages are helpful for figuring out where a bonfire is hiding or if an ambush is ahead. Players are able to rate messages in the world, and the ones with a ton of recommendations tend to be the most useful. Also, be a good Souls citizen and leave messages for others! It’ll make you feel good inside.
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Not Every Wall Is A Wall
There are “illusionary walls” hidden in Dark Souls 3, and there’s no way to find them except to swing your sword around and see if a wall disappears. Sometimes, the game will hint at the location of an illusionary wall by teasing a nearby location that seems out of reach, an indication that you might want to start poking around. It’s also a good reason to read messages left by other players! If you find one sitting in front of a wall, it just might be an illusion.
Dark Souls 3 Mods
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Embrace Elemental Upgrades For Weapons
It won’t matter in the opening hours, but soon, you’ll gain access to elemental gems—fire, lightning, poison, etc. Though your gut might tell you to stick with infusions that continue upgrading your physical attack stats, consider making your sword into a fire sword. If an enemy is weak to fire, you’ll do a ridiculous amount of damage! By the end of the game, I was walking around with a couple weapons with various elemental advantages. Plus, if you’re not happy with an upgrade, there’s an item that’ll let you strip a weapon bare and start over.