Now Only Embers Remain

[darksoulsgame]

Two weeks left until #TheRingedCity drops. Which questions are you hoping are answered? Return to the madness on March 28th: http://bit.ly/2hAL9MP

[darksoulsgame]

Ashen Ones, Dark Souls III will be updated to version 1.08 on Friday, October 21st. During the maintenance, the online mode will be unavailable at the timings below: PlayStation4 JST - 2016-10-21: 10:00—12:00 PDT - 2016-10-21: 18:00—20:00 CEST - 2016-10-21: 03:00—05:00 Xbox One JST - 2016-10-21: 10:00—16:00 PDT - 2016-10-21: 18:00—00:00 CEST - 2016-10-21: 03:00—09:00 Steam JST - 2016-10-21: 17:00—19:00 PDT - 2016-10-21: 01:00—03:00 CEST - 2016-10-21: 10:00—12:00 Please find below the changes included in this update: • Adjusted poise values across the board. Poise is now more effective for heavier weapons and armor. • Improved regular attack animations of hammer category weapons. • Improved regular attack animations of greatsword category weapons. • Improved regular attack animations of axe category weapons. • Improved regular attack animations of fist category weapons. • Improved the "Neck Swipe" weapon skill animation of scythe category weapons. • Fixed a bug where strong attacks performed using whips would not deal additional ・damage when fully charged. • Fixed a bug where strong attacks performed using the Pickaxe would consume stamina multiple times per attack. • Adjusted the "Onislayer" weapon skill hitbox timings for Onikiri and Ubadachi. • Adjusted the hitbox timings of the claw category weapon skill "Leaping Slash". • Fixed a bug where rolling attacks on Astora's Greatsword could not be parried. • Improved the "Wrath of the Gods" weapon skill animation for Wornir's Holy Sword. • Improved the "Blind Spot" weapon skill animation for Corvian Greatknife and Handmaiden's Dagger. • Improved the "Shield Splitter" weapon skill animation for Mail Breaker and Irithyll Rapier. • Improved the "Wolf Leap" weapon skill animation for Old Wolf Curved Sword. • The weapon skill of Old King's Great Hammer "Molten Perseverence" will now release lava on both hits. • Improved the "Darkdrift" weapon skill animation for Darkdrift. • Reduced effectiveness of rolling attack animations on Gotthard Twinswords while dual wielding. • Increased effectiveness of the sorcery "Pestilent Mercury". • Improved the cast animation of miracle "Lifehunt Scythe". • Increased poison and toxic buildup of the pyromancies "Poison Mist" and "Toxis Mist", respectively. • Increased durability damage buildup of the pyromancy "Acid Surge". • Increased duration of the "Warcry" weapon skill. • Fixed a bug where the player's lock-on target would automatically change even if "Toggle auto lock-on" was set to "OFF". • Fixed a bug where the leader board for Darkmoon Knights would display incorrect statistics. • Fixed a bug where the fog wall near Holy Knight Hodrick would sometimes not disappear during multiplayer even after defeating him. • Fixed a bug where Orbeck of Vinheim would sometimes die before the player purchased all his spells. • Fixed a bug where Patches and Greirat would never return if sent to steal after defeating all bosses. • Fixed a bug where female characters were subject to counter damage during certain movement animations. • Fixed a bug where equipping Vordt's Great Hammer or Irithyll Straight Sword in the left hand would cause enchantments to disappear from weapons in the right hand. • Fixed a bug where two-handing certain weapons would cause the stealth effect on Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring to not work correctly. • Fixed a bug where Hornet Ring was not working for claw category weapons. • Fixed a bug where dash attacks could not be performed using Farron Greatsword. • Fixed a bug where strong attacks using Lothric Knight Sword were not dealing thrust type damage. • Fixed a bug where dash attacks using Onikiri and Ubadachi were not dealing thrust type damage. • Addressed other game balance issues and fixed other flaws.

[darksoulsgame]

Big news about #DarkSouls3 is coming on August 24. Stay tuned for more updates. 

[darksoulsgame]

Invalid Game Data and Restrictions

What does the “Invalid Game Data” message in my game mean?

This message is intended to inform end users that some inconsistency, external file, modification of game save data, or alterations to the game have been detected by the Dark Souls III server team and that the end users’ account/profile has been flagged for further investigation. This does not mean that online functionality is restricted at this time. The warning message ("Invalid Game Data") will continue to be displayed until the Dark Souls III server team has determined whether or not a violation of the End User License Agreement (EULA) occurred. At that point, the account/profile will either have restrictions placed on it (to limit the online interactions during multiplayer sessions and a further penalty message of “You have been Penalized" issued) or the "Invalid Game Data" warning message removed. If you remove the inconsistency, external file, modification of game save data, or alteration to the game from your save or system, the “Invalid Game Data” message may still exist until the server team completes their investigation.

What types of actions could lead to “Invalid Game Data”?

These investigations are entirely conducted by From Software’s server team. The team runs customized checks on all players to check for hacks/cheats, items that are obtained before they would normally be available, attributes that are not able to be achieved through normal means, etc. These parameters are constantly being evaluated and optimized.

If a restriction is placed on my account, can I get it lifted?

Our customer service team and From Software’s server team are doing their best to evaluate and verify warnings and restrictions. We have no intention of restricting players who have not broken the End User License Agreement (EULA). At this time we are not lifting restrictions on players who have broken the End User License Agreement (EULA).

If you feel that your account has been wrongfully restricted, you can reach our Customer Support teams here:

For Americas/Canada (NA) customers please direct an email with all appropriate information (Including platform) to: [email protected]

For European (EU) customers please direct the above information to the appropriate support email link found at: https://www.bandainamcoent.eu/support

For Asia (AS) customers please direct the above information to the appropriate support email link found at: https://www.bandainamcoent.com.sg/support

From Software and Bandai Namco want to provide a thoroughly enjoyable online experience for all Dark Souls III players. We’ll be working to evaluate and improve our warning and restriction processes as we progress.

Thank you for your support!

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls III Update (4/27/16)

A new version and a new regulation version of Dark Souls III will be deployed on Wednesday, April 27th.

The version update will require a downtime, which will happen at the following times : PS4 – 4PM to 6PM PDT  XB1 – 4PM to 10PM PDT PC – 11PM to 1 AM PDT The 1.04 version will include the following changes: • Item collection during multiplayer while accessing NPC and Covenant Alter is now working as intended. • Conditions for optional events is eased. • Conditions to get Rosaria’s Finger is eased. • If they haven’t visited the Untended Grave, players will not be teleported there. • Kicks cannot be parried. • The Crystal Sage will appropriately re-appear even after he has warped. • The Dragonslayer Armour won’t die before the battle. • Knight Slayer Tsorig will no longer gesture unintendedly. • Siegward of Catarina will now be able to properly rescue Greirat once conditions are met. • If the player is equipped with a ring that increases Max HP, stats will now be properly reflected when opening the equipment screen. • The voice chat icon will now be displayed properly under the covenant panel. • Items, bonfire and the “Quit Game” option are now appropriately active even when disconnecting online. • If the game disconnects during a multiplayer session, it will no longer crash and return to the title screen. • Other issues causing crashes and returning to the title screen have been fixed. • Adjustments of the balance of game, improvements of performance and various bug fixes. have been made.

The Regulation version 1.06 will not require any downtime and will include the following changes: • The range of the matching level of the Blade of the Darkmoon and the Blue Sentinels have been adjusted. • The efficiency of the following categories has been adjusted: Short Sword, Twinsword and Magic. • Other game balance improvement and bug fixes.

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls III 1.04 update

The 1.04 update for Dark Souls III will be deployed on all platforms at the following time. It won’t require any maintenance downtime: PS4 - April 18th at 7pm PST Xbox One – April 18th between 5-8pm PST PC (listed as 1.03.1) – April 18th at 2am PSTC The update will include the following changes: ・ Performance adjustment for “Greatsword” ・ Battle performance adjustment for “Dancer’s Enchanted Sword”, “Winged Knight Twinaxes” ・ Performance adjustment for “Soul’s Greatsword”, and “Farron Flashsword” ・ Fix for issue where multiple items become impossible to use at “Road of Sacrifices”, “Farron Keep”, “Cathedral of the Deep” after clearing the game. ・ General balance adjustments and bug fixes For users on Xbox One, rest assured that the team is aware of the Regulations issue and working on it.

[darksoulsgame]

The Road To Dark Souls III Sweepstakes

In Dark Souls, the journey as often as rewarding as the destination. Next month, we reach the destination in this journey we all started back in June: Dark Souls III. We wanted to include our community more directly in the build up to the launch of a game that we all can’t wait for.

Later in this post, you’ll find a checklist of things that you’ll need to accomplish between now and April 4, 2016. As you’ll quickly notice, we’ve left a lot of this up to your imagination. We want to see your creativity. We’ll be sharing plenty of the posts as we get closer to launch. Just think of it as a respite before you get into full Dark Souls III mode.

What do you get? We’ll have 12 winners picked at random from all entries. We’re giving away TWO Dark Souls III Collector’s Editions for the platform of your choice and TEN season pass redemption codes.  

How do you enter? We’ll be posting about specific steps in the Road to Dark Souls III checklist between March 14th and April 4th to give you guys a chance to share how creatively you can accomplish the task. We want to see what you guys come up with so we can share it with the community and shine a light on the people that love this franchise.

On April 4th at 10 AM PST, we’ll post on Facebook and that will be your opportunity to actually enter the contest. You’ll have 24 hours to post the following:

A link to an imgur album with screenshots or pictures proving how you completed every part of the Road to Dark Souls III checklist. This album should also include an email to reach you should you win. 

Your favorite image in that album.

We’ll then collect these entries and choose 12 random winners. The first TWO will each receive a Dark Souls III Collector’s Edition on the platform of their choice, and the final TEN will receive season pass redemption codes on the platform of their choice. The winners will be announced on April 6th so we can get try and get your prizing to you in a timely manner.

That’s it. Now here’s the checklist:

Watch and comment on a winner from the Story Trailer Contest (screenshot your comment)

Watch and comment on one of the Parry King Grudge Match videos (screenshot your comment)

Leave a Dark Souls-style message for newcomers on an upcoming Facebook post. (screenshot your comment)

Praise the Sun (submit a picture or gif)

Drink an Estus (submit a picture or gif)

Convince a friend to play Dark Souls (submit a picture or gif)

Please read the Rules of the Sweepstakes before entering: http://bit.ly/1QTuOOc Good Luck!

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls Contest Second Runners Up

Today we begin the process of announcing the winners of the Dark Souls Story Contest. We’ll have the three second runners up today, the runner up tomorrow and the grand prize winner this Thursday March 10th.

With so many entries, it was difficult to select only five winners. It was clear from the beginning that the Dark Souls community is full of talented artists with unique visions of what the Dark Souls Story meant to them. It couldn’t have been easy putting together some of these submissions but, in true Dark Souls style, you all persevered and made something amazing. Thank you for continuing to support us and we just can’t wait to see what sort of inspiration you guys all get from Dark Souls III.

The three winners below all get their hands on this Lord of Cinder statue.

Without further ado, here are your 3rd-5th place winners:

Laura Cardona - Without Really Knowing Why

Crabnek’s Dark Souls Story 

Nick′s Dark Souls Story

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls III Digital Pre-order Details

Curious about what the digital pre-order entails for Dark Souls III? You’ll find the details for each platform below: STEAM Pre-order Dark Souls III to receive a digital version of the Dark Souls III Official Soundtrack. If you already have both Dark Souls I and Dark Souls II in your Steam library, you’ll receive a $5.00 discount towards your pre-order of Dark Souls III. XBOX ONE For a limited time, pre-order Dark Souls III digitally for Xbox One and get Dark Souls for Xbox 360 playable on Xbox One. (Note: The Code for Dark Souls will be delivered to your Xbox message center in 7-10 days. You can redeem the code for Dark Souls for Xbox 360 on your Xbox One console or at xbox.com/redeemcode) PLAYSTATION 4

Pre-order Dark Souls III from the Playstation Store and receive a digital version of the Dark Souls III Official Soundtrack and an exclusive theme for your Playstation 4 system. Access to the soundtrack will be available on April 12, 2016.

[darksoulsgame]

NewDark Souls III screenshots highlighting multiplayer and the starting classes

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls Story Contest Preview - Part 2

Here’s another set of entries we enjoyed reviewing. Enjoy.  Stay tuned for the announcement of the finalists and grand prize winner. 

Linking the Fire - DPayseur

WaxyPumpkin72′s entry

Digimetal’s Entry

Seeker of Fire - GravityGames

Cycle of the Curse - Bisqo

[darksoulsgame]

Dark Souls Story Contest Preview

Enjoy some of the entries that we’ve had fun reviewing in the last week. Stay tuned for the announcement of the grand prize winner and 4 runner up winners. 

Without Really Knowing Why - Laura Cardona

Strength - Jackson Lee

Lord of Cinder vs The Chosen - Jarryd Lee

Less Than Human - Next Level X

Follow Dark Souls on:  Facebook Twitter Instagram

[darksoulsgame]

You’ve seen epic Dark Souls Story videos like this one and this one. Now we want you, the community, to create your own interpretation of the Dark Souls story.

To start, we task you with making a whole new video for the Dark Souls series using the videos and images below, footage from the game that you've captured yourself or your own artwork. This trailer should be for someone who has never played Dark Souls and is interested in jumping into the series before playing Dark Souls III. Show off your style and understanding of the Dark Souls universe and prove that you can tell a masterful story.

For completing this task, you could be rewarded. The best submissions will be selected by our panel of judges with one (1) Grand Prize winner receiving $10,000. One (1) Runner-up will receive a Red Knight Statue seen here.

Three (3) third place winners will receive one of the Dark Souls 3 Lord of Cinder Statue seen here.

Videos can use any of the assets provided here in addition to your own content (gameplay, live action, animation, real life footage or any other way you can think of to accurately tell the story) and of course must be your own and not steal from anyone else’s work. Keep the video submission under 5 minutes and when you’re ready upload the finished product to YouTube, Vimeo, or any video sharing site of your choice. Send the link to [email protected] to submit it into the contest. Please do not send any questions to the email address.  If you have questions, please post on our wall on our Facebook page or send a direct message to @DarkSoulsGame. 

Please note that you must be 18 or older and a resident of the United States to participate. Since this is a contest for our fans, professional video editors are not eligible to compete.

Best of luck, and may the Darkness inspire your masterful creations.

Video Assets: http://bit.ly/1NziYGf

When does the contest start and end? The Dark Souls Community Trailer Contest begins at 10:00 a.m., Pacific Time on December 23, 2015 and ends at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time on February 9, 2016.  

How can I enter the Dark Souls Community Trailer contest?

Send a YouTube link with your finalized video to the following email address: [email protected]. Entries are limited to one per person.

It must meet the following requirements:

Videos must be your original creation using the assets provided in combination with assets you own or have the proper permission to use. Submissions should not infringe on any other party’s rights or content including trademarks, logos, game capture, etc.

Submissions should not be any longer than 5 minutes.

Videos should aim for the highest quality. We recommend 1080p or 720p.

Your video must include the title, “My Dark Souls Story”.

In the description of your video we recommend including your own explanation of your video direction in about 2-3 sentences.

What is the judging criteria?

We will have a team of Dark Souls experts combing through the entries to determine the 5 winners.

All eligible submissions will be evaluated by a qualified panel of Judges chosen by the Bandai Namco. The judges will use the following judging criteria to select one (1) Grand Prize Winner, one (1) Runner-up and three (3) Third Place Winners:  Overall production quality (35%), Originality, embodiment of Dark Souls related themes 35%, and encapsulation of the Dark Souls story (30%). The Submission with the highest score will be determined to be the Grand Prize Winner, the second highest score will be determined to be the Runner-up and the Submissions with the next three highest scores will be determined to be the Third Place Winners.

When will the winners be alerted?

We expect the judging period to run for about two weeks after the close of the contest. Winners will be notified on or around February 16, 2016 at the email they provided by the American Sweepstakes Company to verify their eligibility. If you win, you will have 7 days to respond and you will need to complete a few documents for eligibility confirmation, liability release, and tax purposes. For all the details, please see the official rules: http://bit.ly/1IleG6v.

What are the prizes?

One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive:

$10,000

One (1) Runner-up will receive:

A lifesize Red Knight Statue

Three (3) Third Place Winners will each receive:

A Lord of Cinder statue

Where can I read the official rules? Read through this for the official rules http://bit.ly/1IleG6v.

[darksoulsgame]

Welcome to a new addition to #KnowYourBuild. Today we have the one and only Peeve Peeverson to guide you through a new Dark Souls 1 build:  Build Name: The Executioner

Description/Spells/Gear:

“The Executioner was created in a very, very dark time in the Forest's history. The Forest was as active as ever, and you had no idea who was legit and who wasn't. You couldn't trust anyone you encountered, despite how friendly they appeared to be.

This build has one purpose: kill. Whether they're bowing, whether they're waving, whether they seem polite: kill. Trust no one on this build, and cleanse the Forest of everyone.

It was intended to be my attempt at an extremely powerful build, while at the same time retaining the risk vs reward factor (mid-roll and low max HP). While this build does do insanely high damage Hornet Ring backstabs, that is not its main purpose. It was intended to be a powerful build designed for my playstyle, and as many know, I do love my parries!

Yes, you can use the Hornet Ring to take out opponents quickly, but the real satisfaction, and purpose, of this build is to send your enemies soaring through the sky, just to immediately smash them into the dirt after they land. Make use of those delayed R2's and WoG spell-cancels - it's about playing the slow-game and baiting out your enemy's movements. Make them come to you!

Power Within is not intended to be used in most scenarios, especially not 1 vs 1. It forces a time limit onto you, and you only want that extra strength if you absolutely need it (trust me, in most scenarios it'll be overkill anyway).

If you do decide to pick this build up, feel free to give your Executioner its own look...so long as it's a big, hulking, monstrosity of a tank.

Remember, you're going to need a lot of Crystal Demon's Greataxes as backup since you can't repair them. They're sold infinitely deep in Blighttown's swamp by Shiva, your new best friend!

Now, go cleanse the Forest of all life!”

Spells:

Power Within

Great Magic Barrier

Sunlight Blade (replaceable w/ Darkmoon Blade)

Wrath of the Gods

Weapons:

Crystal Demon's Greataxe

Black Knight Shield

Pyromancy Flame

Canvas Talisman

Armor:

Sack

Golem Armor

Black Sorcerer Gauntlets

Guardian Leggings

Rings:

Hornet Ring

Ring of Favor and Protection

[darksoulsgame]

The Marcasite Dragoon (via A German Spy) is the newest entry in our #knowyourbuild series. What would you change for PvP or PvE or in general? Let us know on the Dark Souls Facebook or send us a tweet @DarkSoulsGame.

Marcasite Dragoon

Build Type: Strength/Survivability/Heavy Armor Starting Class: Knight Covenant: Warriors of Sunlight Equipment Right Hand 1: Mastadon Halberd Right Hand 2: Dragonslayer Greatbow Right Hand 3: Empty Left Hand 1: Lightning Mastadon Greatshield Left Hand 2: Empty Left Hand 3: Empty Head: Lion Warrior Helm Chest: Mastadon Armor Hands: Mastadon Gauntlets Legs: Mastadon Leggings Ring 1: Third Dragon Ring Ring 2: Ring of Steel Protection +2 Ring 3: Ring of Blades +2 Ring 4: Dispelling Ring +1 Arrows 1: Destructive Greatarrows Arrows 2: Lignthing Greatarrows

Backup (carried in inventory):

Mastadon Greatsword Hawk Ring Yorgh's Ring Ring of Restoration Chloranthy Ring +2

[darksoulsgame]

Need a new build to try? The Dark Lord (via A German Spy) is calling you. It's the newest entry in our #KnowYourBuild series. Post any thoughts or your own builds on the Dark Souls Facebook or tweet @DarkSoulsGame. Dark Lord Build Type: Quality/Hex Starting Class: Deprived Covenant: Pilgrims of the Dark Other Requirement: >5000 Souls Equipment Right Hand 1: Scythe of Want Right Hand 2: Magic Dragonrider Bow Right Hand 3: Empty Left Hand 1: Dark Chime of Want Left Hand 2: Dark Sunset Staff Left Hand 3: Empty Head: Dark Mask Chest: King's Armor Hands: King's Gauntlets Legs: King's Leggings Ring 1: Dark Clutch Ring Ring 2: Ring of Blades +2 Ring 3: Southern Ritual Band +2 Ring 4: Illusory Ring of a Conqueror or Yorgh's Ring Arrows 1: Magic Arrows Arrows 2: Poison Arrows Spells Slot 1: Numbness Slot 2: Whisper of Despair Slot 3: Recollection Slot 4: Dark Greatsword Slot 5: Climax Slot 6: Dark Dance Slot 7: Lifedrain Patch 

[darksoulsgame]

What kind of builds have you played in Dark Souls? Maybe you can try Oroboro's Falchion Build We asked Oroboro himself to tell us about why this build is special: "This build was created to counter backstabs and kill multiple players as quickly as possible. The reason the Falchion is used is because it counters any backstab attempts and you cannot be chain-backstabed if you are two-handing it when you get backstabbed. You can usually stunlock most players in 2-3 swings. Be careful of your counters when using this build: Dark Wood Grain Ring, spears, parries, and other Falchions." Starting Class: Bandit/Cleric -Stats- VIT: 50 ATT: 16 END: 40 DEX: 40 FAI: 30 Weapons/Items: Falchion / Grass Crest Shield / Canvas Talisman Armor: Elite Knight Helm / Elite Knight Armor / Havel's Gauntlets / Wanderer Boots Rings: Ring of Favor and Protection / Havel's Ring Spells: Darkmoon Blade / Wrath of the Gods 2x / Sunlight Blade Covenant: Blade of the Darkmoon Do you have special builds to share with the Dark Souls community? Let us know by using #KnowYourBuild