When you start Demon’s Souls, you might want to look at which starting class is best suited for how you want to fight during your time Boletaria. Not only is it just good practice to understand what stats and gear you’ll have, it’s also because once you’ve started the game, you’ll be unable to level up until you’ve defeated the first boss of the game; The Phalanx.
After defeating the boss, pay a visit to The Monumental in The Nexus, your hub for the game. After a little exposition, you’ll be able to talk to the Maiden in Black and begin to level up your character. Our top starting-class for beginners who may not have played a ‘Souls’ game before would be the Royalty class, as they’re equipped with the powerful ‘Soul Arrow’ spell and MP regenerating gear that will be useful throughout the game.
After you manage to beat the Phalanx in the Boletarian Palace, you don’t actually have to do the next level immediately afterwards, as after you’ve visited the Monumental, you will be able to travel to any of the archstones. Each archstone has its own unique tone, feel, and difficulty. Each world holds three to four sub-levels, each with their own unique bosses, challenges, and characters to meet.
Aside from the Boletarian Palace, you’ll be able to explore the mysteries and monsters hidden in Stonefang Tunnel, where you’ll encounter miners and precious resources aplenty. Then there’s the doomed horror of The Tower of Latria, where the inhuman mind-flayers lurk as you hear the screams of those who have been taken captive. At the unforgiving Shrine of Storms, you'll find very speedy skeleton warriors, as well as the powerful weapons left behind by those who have fallen before them. And lastly, you’ll be able to tackle the Valley of Defilement, a poison swamp, w
If you’re finding yourself hitting a wall, or finding any particular area to be too difficult to complete, you’ll always be able to head back to the Nexus, farm for materials and healing items, or just try out a new area. There’s no real ‘correct’ path to finishing Demon’s Souls, and since all options open up after you beat the Phalanx in Boletarian Palace, you’ll be able to dip in and out of all of them to get an idea of where you’ll want to head to next. For beginners who have never played Demon’s Souls before, we’d say a pretty safe bet for progression would be to either head to Stonefang Tunnel or the Valley of Defilement next, as they’re not too unforgiving, and will also net you good items and souls to help you on your journey. In particular, if you manage to beat the boss in the second level of Stonefang Tunnel, you’ll be able to acquire an item that will also allow you to create boss weapons, if you’ve met a certain blacksmith.
In Demon’s Souls, there are no Estus Flasks or Blood Vials. Instead, you can find various ‘Grasses’ that restore your health. In the PS5 version of the game, the Grasses that restore the most health will weigh more, so be sure to keep an eye on your item load when picking them up. ‘Grains’ are another new addition, and they allow you to gain a temporary boost to your elemental defence, so for any new and returning players, you’ll want to keep an eye on what kind of damage enemies are hitting you with, and mitigating it somewhat with the correct type of grain
One of the mechanics present in Demon’s Souls which isn’t in any later SoulsBorne games is item load. Every item you pick up in Demon’s Souls has a weight attached to it, and after you fill up on items to your maximum capacity, you won’t be able to pick anything else up. This is crucial if you’re wanting to pick up heavier sets of armour or weapons while out exploring, so be sure to head to the Nexus and drop anything that’s not necessary off at Stockpile Thomas. You’re also able to drop off upgrade materials that you won’t need to carry with you to use at a blacksmith. This should make it a whole lot easier to deal with. But, if you find yourself needing more, grab the Jade Hair Ornament from a hanging corpse in the first level of Boletarian Palace and give it to Stockpile Thomas, who will give you a Ring of Herculean Strength in return. This will increase your item load capacity by 50%, meaning that you’ll be able to carry more around with you, should you need it.
