Git Gud... but actually there is a lot more to it. The intention of this post is to go over the games and touch upon the basics without spoiling anything. I'm also going to avoid things such as Weapon Arts, Special Attacks, Stat guides and other such things, as they are more game specific then general tips Most of the tips here apply to all the games, as they share many of the same mechanics, Bloodborne being the most different due to its larger emphasis on aggressive gameplay as opposed to a more cautious approach.

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These games are action-RPG's that combine excellent combat mechanics with innovative level design full of dangerous puzzles, traps, and enemies, immersive world building and subtle lore, unique pvp and cooperative experiences, and lots and lots of boss fights. In essence, The Souls series is Legend of Zelda if Legend of Zelda was abused as a child and grew up to be a Sadist with serious daddy issues... and we're the masochists who just can't enough of that sweet sweet punishment.

There are 4 Souls games published by FromSoftware; 5 if you count Bloodborne, which is very similar to the Souls games but has some distinct differences. Demon Souls was the first game of the Souls Series, and was released on PS3 in 2009. This game kind of flew under the radar, but by no means was it a bad game, in fact its an amazing game even by today's standards. The atmosphere of Demon Souls is in my opinion not only the best of the whole series, but one of the best atmospheric experiences in video games. Being the first game of the series however, it lacks the polished mechanics some of the later games have. Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon Souls and was released on Xbox 360 in 2011 and then on PC in 2012, although the PC port was pretty bad (it has vastly improved since release, especially with certain mods, but is still not as good as the console version unfortunately). Dark Souls is the highpoint of the series for many fans, myself included (although it was my first Souls game so I'm biased). It took what Demon Souls began and improved upon it in virtually every aspect. Better combat, better enemies, better items, better online experience. It is quite simply, a masterpiece of a game. Dark Souls 2 was released for 360, PS3 and PC in 2014, and is an indirect sequel to Dark Souls 1, meaning it takes place in the same world as Dark Souls 1 but centuries later. While Dark Souls 2 smoothed out the experience of combat and vastly improved the online play, many fans felt as though it had lost something that made Dark Souls 1 so great, and I tend to agree. This could be because nothing will quite rival your first playthrough of a Souls game, and so many players came into Dark Souls 2 and were already used to many mechanics so it was an easier experience, but at the same time there were changes. Areas tended to mob you with enemies instead of utilizing better level design to challenge you. Fast Travel was available from the start of the game. Areas were much more linear then in the past 2 games. Much of this has been attributed to the fact that the lead director for the first 2 games, Hidetaka Miyazaki, was less involved in the game development as he was working on Bloodborne as well as supervising Dark Souls 2, meaning he had less time to provide direction to the game. Regardless, Dark Souls 2 was and still is an excellent game, especially due to improvements in the online play, making it much easier and reliable to play coop or pvp. Dark Souls 2 was also re-released on Xbox One and PS4 as a remastered Scholar of the First Sin edition, which changed the game slightly and included the 3 dlc for Dark Souls 2 Bloodborne was released on PS4 in 2015. While not a Souls game or a sequel to the Souls games, Bloodborne shares the same style and basic gameplay as the Souls games, but also has some large differences. The biggest and most noticeable difference is the gamespeed. Bloodborne is fast paced and brutal. While the previous souls games reward caution and conservative play, Bloodborne rewards aggression and hitting first, and hitting hard. This is done through various game mechanics such as the Regain system, which allows you to regain a portion of your health by counter attacking enemies. This isn't to say that Bloodborne means you can attack recklessly, in fact it places a much higher reliance on strategizing while attacking. In Dark Souls, when you fight a new enemy, you generally have your shield up constantly until you have a feel for the enemy's attacks. In Bloodborne, you need to be able to react to anything an enemy does while you constantly duck in and out of combat. Dark Souls 3 was released just this month in 2016 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. While Dark Souls 3 does take place in the same world as 1 and 2, it is unclear when it takes place. Mechanics wise, Dark Souls 3 is something of a midpoint between Dark souls and Bloodborne, being faster and more aggressive then previous souls games, but more conservative then Bloodborne. It also marks the return of Miyazaki as director, and it shows. Dark Souls 3 is more similar in level design to Dark Souls 1 than 2.

I don't care if you are PC Master race and you play counter strike on the highest sensitivity mouse on no less then 120 fps. Dark Souls demands a controller, it is virtually impossible to play with a mouse and keyboard, and will make your life a living hell for trying.

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You're going to die. A lot. Like 3 times in the tutorial before you realize YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO RUN THROUGH THE ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ DOOR INSTEAD OF FIGHTING THAT FAT ♥♥♥♥ WITH THAT GIANT ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ HAMMER WHAT THE ♥♥♥♥ DARK SOULS I HATE YOU. But seriously, you will die over and over, and it will suck. When I first started Dark souls I quit 2 hours in because I was lost, I was pissed, I was an ugly zombie looking bastard that couldn't figure out how to run and jump and my rolling was more like tactically falling down. When I picked up the game 2 weeks later though, I didn't stop again until... well I'm still playing the series so never. And while I'm not going to spoil the games for you by pointing out just which dragon's tail you should take 30 minutes to shoot off, or which path leads to the potentially most powerful weapon in the game within 30 minutes, I will give some universal tips to get you guys started. First off stats. In all games you have a health and stamina bar, and in some games you have a mana bar which is used for special moves or spell casting. There are also a variety of stats which you can level up to increase various things, such as Health, Stamina, Strength, Dexterity, etc. Each game has slightly different stats so its worth taking the time to look at each stat and consider what you want to level before you do so, as it is either impossible or very difficult to reassign stats depending on the game. When you first start a game you will be asked to pick a class and a starting gift. While there are technically "best" classes for each game just because they will have the most efficient stat gains, for your first time it really doesn't matter which class you pick. Most of the items in the starting classes can be found early on and the stat differences nullified after enough levels that any class can become any character. That being said, picking a class with a shield can be very helpful for first time players just starting out in early levels. The Game operates on a series of checkpoints in game bonfires that you can restore you health and refill your estus (health potions) and switch out items at. These bonfires can also be used as fast travel points once lit.

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In the Souls series, staying alive is everything. This can be accomplished in several different manners. First and foremost, and what I advise for new players, use a shield. Pick a shield that has 100% physical damage resistance(meaning it will block 100% of any physical damage you guard against) and keep that ♥♥♥♥♥ up every single second you aren't attacking. It will save your life. However, blocking takes stamina, and the harder the hit, the more stamina you lose. So don't try to block against the Ancient Dragon, you will be stunned because the attack will probably take all your stamina and leave you wide open for attack. That means you need to Dodge, and Rolling is the best means of doing this. There are 3 roll speeds generally, Fast rolling (which gives you the farthest roll and most I-frames, or frames of gameplay in which you are invincible) Medium rolling, and Heavy rolling, which is more of a controlled fall. As you become more experienced you may want to 2-hand your weapon and dodge instead of block, especially because avoiding an attack altogether is much better then trying to tank it. There are 2 more advanced manuevers for avoiding damage, Parrying and Backsteps. Parrying is a move that most light and medium shields and some small swords have which enables you to block an enemies attack and stun them, allowing you to counterattack for massive damage. This takes precise timing however, and some attacks cannot be parried. Backstepping is a quick step backwards, and can be used to more quickly follow up with a counterattack, especially with thrusting weapons such as spears and rapiers. Backstepping however requires very precise distancing, as you have to be just out of reach of the enemies attack. I would not advise trying this until you are very confident with your character and weapon, and know the enemy's attacks well enough to gauage the distance between you.

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A mistake a lot of new players make in Dark Souls is they opt for heavy armor and defense instead of speed. While having good defense and a high resistance shield is good for first time players, do NOT make the mistake of exceeding your weight limit. You have a weight capacity, and after you reach a certain threshold of that capacity, which varies game to game, you will "Fat Roll", which is a much slower and less evasive roll. Try to keep your weight capacity withing the Medium Roll for your first playthrough, as Fast Rolling often sacrifices defense for speed, which is high risk high reward, but often more dangerous for new players.

The Soul series all value exploration. More then that they all value Cautious exploration. Keep your shield up, check your corners, if a room has a chest just sitting there, its probably a trap. Just stay vigilant and you will save yourself from a lot of pointless deaths.

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The game is intentionally designed to ♥♥♥♥ you over if you don't pay attention, so every time you enter into a new area, look everywhere, walk don't run, and for god's sake don't just waltz into that dark room and try to open the door. You will die.

When you die, you will lose your souls, which is essentially your currency. Souls are earned by killing enemies or using "Hard Souls", items which give you varying amount of "Soft Souls". These souls can be used to level up, buy items from npc's, or upgrade weapons. You also lose them all whenever you die. But worry not! You can return to where you died and reclaim them by touching your bloodstain, which will last until you die again, meaning you only have 1 chance to reclaim any lost souls. Its getting to the bloodstain that can be difficult, so if you have 100,000 souls sitting on the ground, maybe take it a bit more cautiously until you get them back. Since you can lose your souls, its generally benefical to spend them as soon as you have enough to purchase what you want.

When you first encounter an enemy, play it safe. Check out his moveset, try to bait attacks, let him make the first move. Do not rush in and start swinging, it the surest way to get killed

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So you've played the game, you're a few hours in, and you're doing pretty well. You figure "Hey I've got this, the people all saying this game is hard just sucks. Seriously this isn't so bad" This is the Early Game Overconfidence, and it will ♥♥♥♥ you. You've beaten the first boss, levelled up, maybe even had an invader and beat him (either he was a noob or you got hella lucky)... so you think you know whats going to happen. Nope, ♥♥♥♥ you, you will die again. Dark Souls is not a game you become relaxed with. The second you decide you can take it easy, the game is going to prove you wrong.

"No seriously," you say "I can do this. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ EZ man, you just suck" Na, let me tell you. You can be on New Game +7 and the smallest mistake will ♥♥♥♥ you over still. That never goes away. The amount of times I've gotten comfortable in the first area of Forest of the Fallen Giants because I've run through it so many times only to get mobbed by 7 pissed off ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who all decide to use their little triple slash combo and rape your ass back to Things Betwixt because I forgot to hit up Majulla because I've done it so many times already is unreal. Yeah you may know the game backwards and forwards, know every item's location and every boss like a teenager knows his ♥♥♥♥, and you will still die in the most mundane and noobish of ways. It is inevitable. Embrace that ♥♥♥♥ now.

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The Souls series have a central underlying theme, that of solitude and loneliness. The games are generally quiet, with little music played in the background except in hub areas or boss fights, only the sound of crows in the distance and you're clinking armor to accompany you. This is intentional. Miyazaki wants you to feel alone, as if its you against the world. So to accompany that feeling, you can't be in a party on xbox or playstation while playing, and you can't invite people to your game. "What the ♥♥♥♥ why not? All my friends are playing Call of Honor: Battlefield Ops 6: This time with Cyborgs, and we can' t talk!" Nope sorry, no wandering around the world while you are serenaded with noobs and oh baby a triple in the background. There are ways to bypass this, Xbox chat works (don't know about a similar feature for PS)... or skype or something ( which I use to coop with) That being said, you can summon other players into your world or be summoned using certain items. A phantom will be summond into your world that can then assist you in playing through the area and fighting the boss. These anonymous interactions are part of what makes Dark Souls Dark Souls, because you can only talk through gestures. I highly suggest not playing with friends on your first playthrough, as being able to communicate with someone ruins the experience in my opinion and makes the game much simpler. Additionally, there are a multidude of Covenants in every game that you can swear allegiance to in exchange for certains tasks and unique items. Some covenants are PVE, meaning you only need to accomplish things against the game, others are Coop, such as the Sun bros #420PraiseIt, which are geared around helping other players, and PVP covenants, which are geared around invading and fighting other players. Which leads us to...

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PLAY ONLINE. I cannot stress this enough. You may be tempted to play offline and avoid any pesky invaders in your world. Don't. If you play offline you lose access to summons, yes, and you can't be invaded, yes. But it ruins the experience. Play the game online, because some of the most unique and memorable encounters you will have will be against those infamous Red Phantoms when you are still learning the basics. Yes you will probably die, but its worth it. It makes the first time you get invaded and win that much more exciting and rewarding. I don't recommend PVP covenants to start, but don't turn your game offline. Take your backstabs like a man.

While online, in addition to summons and invasion, you can see other player's bloodstains on the ground, and if you click on them, you can see the last few seconds of their life. This can be useful to help explore and area, as it may show traps or hidden enemies. Additionally, if Online, you can see messages that other players have written on the ground, though whether a player is trying to be helpful to you or troll you is up to your good judgement. If you see a chest with a lot of bloodstains around it and a message that says safe chest, its probably not a safe chest.

So you've beaten the game, you've defeated every boss, you've farmed those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ priestesses until they had no more twinkling titanite to give... what now? NEW GAME PLUS ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Every souls game allows you to start over with the same character and items... only there' s a catch. Every enemy does a hell of a lot more damage and has a hell of a lot more health, and in some games there are a few other surprises as well. So good luck with that.

Dark Souls is an always online (unless you intentionally turn it offline, which as we already discussed you won't be doing ;-) persistent auto save game... with no pause button. That means that the game is constantly auto saving. Just fell off a ledge and lost all your hard earned souls? Welp sorry, the game saves as soon as you died, and unless you have some psychic ability or some ♥♥♥♥ and lightning fast reflexes to turn off the game, those souls are gone. Also, just because you are a bonfire, don't presume you're safe. Unless you are somewhere with no enemies and no online play, such as a hub area like Majula, you can still be invaded and killed. So if you need to go and restock on mountain dew and sunny d, get somewhere safe or safe and exit. Never assume you are safe.

Yeah I know, the game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and you totally shouldn't have died, and that enemy was dumb as hell. But truth is, 90% of the time, when you die, its your own ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fault. So get back up, wipe your scraped little knees off, stop crying like a ♥♥♥♥♥, and go get your souls back. Staying calm is the name of the game. I don't know about you, but when I rage, I get sloppy, I make more mistakes, and then I rage more because I ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up even worse. Just stay calm and you'll make it through. It might take 20 deaths, but it makes victory all the sweeter.

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Don't use guides, don't check the wiki, don't go browsing forums, just play the game. Throw yourself into it, explore. It is immediately obvious which players use guides and which don't. If you have a Drake Sword on your first playthrough of Dark Souls... you are a guide using little ♥♥♥♥♥ and you deserve every single flipping Havel invasion you get. The Souls series place value on exploring and figuring things out on your own, so if you consult the wiki for every area and every OP early game weapon you can get in 30 minutes... You will ruin the game for yourself. Once you've beaten it, yeah sure go check reddit and go get those rare items you missed and illusory walls you didn't check for. But if you aren't getting eaten by the first Mimic then you are missing out. Additionally, don't use Stat guides or Character builds. This guides are great for experienced players who want to try something new out, but you should not become a Legend on your first playthrough. Try every weapon, build a quality build that works for you, and experiment. Don't worry about Min/Maxing every single stat point. Every weapon and every piece of armor in the game can be used to beat the game #FashionSouls. So just play through on your own wits.

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That's pretty much it. I left out a bunch of stuff that varies game to game, such as basic leveling guides for health vs. stamina, strength vs dexterity, How magic works, Upgrading items, and other stuff, but what I've spent way too much time writing here is a great guide to at least introduce the basics, and the rest is honestly just best found out on your own for the most part through experimenting. Dear Sun I've written a lot. If you've made it this far I'm impressed as hell.