You need to burn an item called a Human Effigy to stop being hollow – you do this at a bonfire. It ebbs down to 50 per cent of your original maximum. Resting at a bonfire does not fix being hollow. T he more ‘hollow’ you get, the more your appearance degenerates – until it looks like your flesh is rotting off your skill, more or less – and the lower your maximum health gets. You become more ‘hollow’ the more times you die, and you risk losing your accrued experience, which is used to level up your stats. There are only two key consequences of death. Lifegems do not – they’re a fundamentally limited resource.ĭying is a fundamental part of Dark Souls 2, just as it was in the first Dark Souls game. Your Estus flask fills up when you rest at a bonfire. Get the Estus flask as soon as possible, as it crucially different from Lifegems. You’ll find her by the cliffs near the bonfire at Majula. The same NPC that you use to level up will give you one after you’ve talked to her for a while. At the very beginning of Dark Souls 2, you don’t have this.
The ‘Souls’ series games have both featured something called an Estus flask – it was what you used to regenerate your health in Dark Souls. Being able to run away from enemies – and not just one but whole rooms of them – is an essential part of survival in the game and at the beginning of play you simply can’t keep up a sprint long enough to do this effectively. However, it’s very important in Dark Souls 2. It lets you run faster for longer, and that’s rarely seen as attractive next to being able to thwack something harder. One stat that is often ignored by players of role playing games is endurance. She’ll start spouting off about needing to collect grand souls before you’re given the level up option, so make sure you cycle through all her conversational pieces before moving on. You’ll find the character you need by the cliff nearby the second bonfire in the game – in the Majula hub area. You need to talk to an NPC in order to alter your stats, and they are surprisingly easy to miss. In Dark Souls, levelling up was performed at bonfires, but in Dark Souls 2 the system is different. Many bonfires are right next to enemy spawn points too, so you need to think carefully about using bonfires that are already lit. However, resting at a bonfire – which restores your health, your ‘mana’, and activates any new bonfires you stumble upon – also makes enemies respawn. You need to reach these to make any sort of progress. A bonfire is as close to a save point as you get in the game.
Those who have played Demon Souls or Dark Souls will already know about it, but the bonfires system of Dark Souls 2 deserves some explanation for those new to the series.
The place is full of odd-looking long-limbed creatures that will shy away from your torch – making the whole area much easier to tackle. The most obvious use of this is in No-Man’s Wharf, an area you’ll discover after defeating the first few boss characters. Some creatures are afraid of fire, so you can keep them away by wielding your torch. But you don’t have to take on all of them. Most of the enemies you’ll face in Dark Souls 2 are out for your blood from the moment they see you. There are new areas to explore down the well so it’s worth checking out once you’re rich.
However, it costs a bit so you won’t be able to afford it from the start of the game. It’s called the cat ring and dramatically reduces the damage you sustain from falling. What you need is a special ring from one of the merchants in Majula. However, you won’t survive the fall if you jump down with normal gear. You can see there’s a way down there – there are platforms down its shaft. One of the most tempting dangers you’ll find in Majula is the giant well.
How to survive falling down the well in Majula Let us know your favourite tips in the comment and we’ll add the best ones to this article. We’ve collated a few of the must-know tips and tricks to help you get ahead in the dark and lonely world of Dark Souls 2. However, in order to get anywhere you have to learn a few things, and the game isn’t always willing to make many of those clear. It makes you trudge through death and frustration to make the lessons learned and the victories gained all the sweeter. Dark Souls 2 is one of the hardest games of the last 12 months.