Introduction
This guide helps you to progress in your first SL1 run of Dark Souls II: SotFS. You will be shown how to become as powerful as possible while remaining at soul level 1. Below are some general tips to bear in mind during your first SL1 playthrough.
- Stats boosting gears are essential, especially equipment that boosts your Adaptability. Unlike other games in the Dark Souls series, in Dark Souls 2 SotFS your i-frame is tied to your Adaptability. The higher is your Adaptability, the more i-frames you would have. Having at least 14 Adaptability should allow you to roll through most attacks. However, it's safer to be outside the hit box of an attack rather than rolling through an attack. Whenever possible, you should bait an attack, be outside the range of the attack, and go in for the punish.
- Always fight one enemy at a time and avoid being ganked. In a gank situation, try to separate the enemies or bait (or wait for) the enemies to attack at the same time. Snipe an enemy whenever possible, pick your battle, and choose the terrain for combat.
- Although it might sound like a good idea to run past enemies, this is a suicidal plan. Dying means you must start again from the last bonfire you rested at. It's safer to clear your path whenever possible. Summon NPCs to distract enemies while you make your way to your destination.
- The Short Bow and Light Crossbow are useful for clearing the paths to certain destinations. Poison Arrows are especially effective against many powerful enemies. The Avelyn is recommended for dealing chip damage and to safely dispatch of various enemies.
- Maces and rapiers are among some of the most powerful weapons you can wield. Maces are effective at dealing poise damage to enemies, causing enemies to stagger so you would be able to get in an extra hit. The two-handed R1 of a mace might seem rather slow, but the rolling R1 has a faster attack animation. The glaring disadvantage of a mace is that you must be rather close to an enemy for your hit to connect. In some cases, you might find a rapier to be effective at dealing with some enemies. The two-handed R1 of a rapier has a faster attack and recovery animation than that of a mace. Furthermore, a rapier has longer reach than a mace, allowing you to hit an enemy from some distance away.
- Despite being SL1, you can still two-hand various large weapons such as great hammers and ultra great swords. With the right gears equipped, you can two-hand the Great Club, the Old Knight Hammer, and the Greatsword. Once you can properly two-hand the Greatsword, many enemies can easily be cleared without using bow and arrows (or crossbow and bolts).
- Learn to backup your save file at various points in your playthrough. For example, when you are in front of the fog wall of a boss arena, quit to menu and backup your save file. Dying to a boss doesn't mean you must run to the fog wall again. Simply reload your backup.
Learn from your mistakes. Study how no-hit runners approach a particular situation and incorporate their strategies into your game play. You might find these useful.
Dark Souls II SOTFS SL1 All Bosses
Infuse multiple copies of a weapon with different elemental stones. Farm elemental stones from the nest of Basilisks at Things Betwixt. Some of the useful elemental stones include Boltstone, Faintstone, Firedrake Stone, and Darknight Stone. By way of example, purchase Mace x 4 and infuse each copy with a different elemental stone. Some bosses are weak against a particular element. Use a weapon that has been infused with the corresponding elemental stone to fight a boss. Concentrate on the fight instead of being distracted by the thought of looking for opportunities to buff your weapon.
- You won't be able to purchase an unlimited amount of a particular upgrade material until some time later in the game. Invest some time into farming for the upgrade material to upgrade your weapon(s) as high as possible at a particular point in your playthrough. Farming enemies also contribute to your Soul Memory. In NG+0, having at least one million Soul Memory would allow you to open the Shrine of Winter without first defeating the four Old Ones.
