Dark Soulsis a contender among many fans as one of the most difficult games in recent memory. Its slow and methodical combat with little margin for error makes it a punishing game on a regular playthrough, but many fans have taken to speedrunning the game. This process involves skips, game exploits, and efficient play to achieve the best time possible.
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Players may have only played throughDark Soulsonce, twice, or many a time and their experience in speedrunning the game may vary, so these tips run the gamut from beginner-friendly to intermediate.
10Take The Right Starting Item
There are a plethora of startingitems inDark Souls, and many of them are inconsequential. However, the Master Key is notorious for its usefulness, as it allows players to bypass almost all of the Blighttown area.What many beginners don’t know, however, is that the Master Key also allows players to easily bypass Undead Burg and the first real boss, the Taurus Demon. This is an extreme time saver, especially when considering the easiest way to defeat the Taurus Demon is to bait him before drop-attacking him from the top of the bridge tower.
The way to get to this shortcut is to head straight down the steps at Firelink and head down to the elevator near New Londo before using the Master Key to get into the Valley of Drakes. This will also allow players to quickly get to the Black Knight near the Grass Crest Shield.
Now, players could take the Master Key as their starting item, or instead, players canpick the Thief as their starting class, thus gaining the Master Key for free. This enables players to shave a few minutes off of their time by taking Firebombs as their starting item and using them to defeat the Asylum Demon in the first encounter, clearing the way to Firelink sooner.
9Ring The Bells Quickly (Avoid Optional Bosses)
This may sound obvious to some, but it is integral to a speedrun to defeat the Gargoyles and Chaos Witch Quelaag as soon as possible, ringing both bells and gaining access to Sens Fortress. If players follow the previous tip, they will easily be able to reach both the Gargoyles and Chaos Witch Quelaag with ease, as the shortcut to Blighttown is also in the Valley of Drakes and enables players to skip the Depths and head straight to Quelaag.
8Kill Andre
This lovable blacksmith will upgrade players' weapons and wish them luck in not turning hollow, but unfortunately for a speedrunner, he’s better off dead than alive.
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Andre sells the key item “Crest of Artorias,” which players will need later in the game, for a hefty 20,000 souls. When speedrunning, players need all the souls they can get for levels, as using shortcuts and generally going as fast as possible reduces the amount they would usually get. Unfortunately for Andre, this means killing him is the most efficient option, as it allows players to use those 20,000 souls for leveling instead of purchasing the Crest, as Andre drops it on death.
7Trick The Iron Golem
The Iron Golem boss fight isn’tthe hardest boss in the game, but they’re certainly no joke. However, they can be made a fool of, and in turn, heavily reduce the time taken to defeat them.
Due to the lack of walls surrounding the Iron Golem’s arena, it’s easy to fall off of the edge, but that goes both ways. It’s possible to stagger the Iron Golem, and when doing so when they’re near the edge of the arena, it’s possible for them to fall off of the edge, dying immediately. Even if players find the Iron Golem an easy boss, it’s still worth using this technique to shave a few minutes off of the playtime.
6Learn How To Parry
Parrying is a mechanicinDark Soulsthat players can choose to avoid if they want. It’s not necessary to learn to beat the game, as there are a variety of ways to play, but it can certainly help a lot. Learning how to parry and getting used to each enemy’s timings is frustrating at first, but once players get the hang of it, parrying enables players to take down enemies quickly and deal massive damage to specific bosses.
More importantly, parrying is extremely helpful when fighting the final boss, Gwyn, who can be a real challenge for some players and could end up ruining a speedrun right at the end. Knowing how to parry greatly reduces the risk of dying to Gwyn, and therefore gives players a better chance at achieving a good time.
5The Anor Londo Stair Skip
Starting to get more technical, and a little more annoying to pull off, the Anor Londo stair skip allows players to skip essentially the entire run to Ornstein and Smough, reducing the risk of dying en route and once again shaving valuable minutes off of the playtime.
The skip is halfway up the spiral staircase just after the second bonfire (where Solaire will be if his quest has been started). From there, players should be able to jump over part of the railing and land at the large hall beside the fog door.
4Pick The Right Weapon
There are many weapons to choose frominDark Souls, but players won’t have time to experiment in a speedrun, so picking a strong and efficient weapon is integral to achieving a low time.
In general, players have two options when choosing/finding a weapon. The first option is to go straight to the Black Knight guarding the Grass Crest shield and hope that they drop the Black Knight Halberd, but this is luck-based. If the Black Knight doesn’t drop the Halberd it’s a complete waste of time, essentially resulting in a restart of the speedrun.
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Option number two is a little more difficult to pull off, but it still results in a solid weapon that can carry players through to the late game: the Gravelord Sword. Players can acquire this weapon by heading down into the Catacombs and entering the Gravelord Servant covenant. However, players will need to make sure they have an Eye of Death to get the weapon, three of which can be found in the Catacombs behind a Titanite Demon.
3The Duke’s Archive Skip
At the top of the elevator in the Duke’s Archive, before the forced death in Seathe’s first arena, the player can send the elevator back down, jump on its railing, and roll off onto one of the balconies. This skips both the forced death and subsequent imprisonment that dramatically slows down the speedrun if this step is skipped.
However, this is a hard step to pull off, so it’s worth watching a few tutorials as well as watching other speedrunners do it before attempting this. It’s also worth noting that this will take practice, as the jump inDark Soulsis hardly easy to manipulate.
Falling inDark Soulscan be devastating in a speedrun, especially in certain locations like the rafters in Anor Londo. If players quit the game as soon as they fall, they should spawn back at the top when loading back in, provided they quit fast enough.
This is a simple tip, but anyone can do it, and it can save players a lot of heartache if they keep this in mind throughout their speed run, hopefully achieving a faster time because of it.
1Save 30 Humanity
There aren’t many humanities to find, so collecting 30 of them is a tough task, especially for newer players. If players don’t have a good knowledge of the whereabouts of the humanities, finding them will add a chunk of time to the speedrun. However, using the Firekeeper souls instead of boosting the Estus Flask grants 5 humanity, dramatically decreasing the amount players need to find elsewhere.
Underneath the Blighttown bell isan illusory wallthat leads to Quelaag’s sister. Here, players can spend the 30 humanity they’ve saved to open up a shortcut that takes them straight to the Bed of Chaos.
Dark Soulsis available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
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