[Looking for a tips guide for Dark Souls II? Check it out here.]
1. You're supposed to die. Get used to it. Now learn from your mistakes.
If you're new to the whole Demon's Souls and now Dark Souls concept, just get used to dying. A lot. This is supposed to happen. As Daniel said in his review, this is a game of inches, and more than that, a game of caution.
Don't expect to hack and slash your way through enemies easily; instead, learn the timing of their attacks and get them to make a mistake, so that you can get around them (locked on or not) and backstab or riposte. Also know that you can kick enemies off ledges or just as a way to bait them into attacking. Note where each enemy spawns, how each enemy attacks, and why you died. Not only will that make your next attempt easier, but you will also be able to recover your dead body and all of your lost souls with a lot more success.
2. If you can, use the lunging aerial strike on bosses.
Immediately in just the tutorial area, you'll face an Asylum Dragon that seems to be far too large and powerful for you to take head on. So follow what the message on the second floor says and take the opportunity to strike from above for massive damage. From there, it's all about getting behind the dragon with evasive dodging and hacking away. This aerial strike will also prove useful for future bosses. *hint, hint*
3. Get the Heal spell as soon as you can.
This may not be obvious, but once you land in the open world, you can go up the stairs of the Firelink Shrine and speak to the cleric (next to lot of breakable pots) who tells you to keep your distance. But if you talk to him multiple times, he will soon teach you Miracles, which is essentially White Magic, and in particular, Heal for 4000 souls. This spell can be spent five times, is recharged every time you rest at a bonfire, and effectively doubles your healing capacity along with your also rechargeable Ester Flasks.
You will need a Faith stat of 12 before you can use Heal, so concentrate on that stat when you first spend souls at the bonfire to level up. Of course, you won't have 4000 souls at your disposal at the beginning, so you'll have to grind for them. You'll also need a talisman to cast the miracles, a trinket that the cleric also sells for 1000 souls or that you can find. So save up your Lost Souls items, which don't dissipate when you die, and don't use them until you have enough to purchase Heal.
4. Get a shortbow (or crossbow) as soon as you can. Also, pulling.
The merchant in the Undead Berg who you can find near the bonfire in the area (he will be downstairs from a platform with two undead and annoying pikemen with shields) will sell a shortbow and plenty of arrows. Go ahead and purchase the cheap ones at 3 souls a pop, and some of the more expensive ones for bosses if you like. Make sure you have enough Dexterity to wield it properly. While you're equipped with the shortbow, you can switch between the two types of arrows with L2 and R2 (or LT and RT) and also go into target mode with L1 (or LB).
The point of the shortbow is to take out those firebomb-throwing undead bastards from afar and, most importantly, to be used as a tool for pulling. "Pulling" is a method by which you get enemies to come at you one at a time, without all of the enemies coming at you and surrounding you at once. That said, most enemies are much more easily disposed when you're fighting them one-on-one. So if you want to get a particular enemy out of the way first, shoot an arrow at that enemy at a distance and watch them get all mad and come after you.
Using a bow and a whole lot of arrows, you can also snipe the red dragon's tail from a distance while you're below the bridge. You'll know the red dragon when you see it. If you snipe the dragon's tail enough times (that is, a LOT of times), you'll receive an extra powerful Flying Dragon Sword that requires 16 strength to hold… at least that's what I think it's called, because I didn't follow tip number 5…
5. Don't kill the merchants.
I accidentally swiped at the undead merchant in the Undead Berg and then he got all mad at me. No matter what you do, he won't sell you anything, which means you can't get the Orange Soapstone or any arrows or chain armor or… Well, if that happens, you might as well kill him for a neat sword. But you'll still be very, very sad.
6. Know your merchants and think about getting Soul Arrow.
There are two additional NPCs to be aware of in addition to the cleric in Tip 3. If you take the staircase down near the first bonfire, you will find a mute woman who can bolster Ester Flasks. Once you obtain the necessary item to upgrade your Ester flasks, come back here to improve the healing power of each flask.
Further down is an elevator to the New Londo Ruins. Explore the area a bit, and you'll come across a staircase near the underground lake with an undead lying on its side with its head propped up on its elbow. Go down this staircase a little and you'll meet your first blacksmith. He will repair all of your weapons and armor for several souls. If you don't have an offensive spell (like a Fireball if you're a Pyromancer), also think about purchasing the Soul Arrow sorcery and the Sorcerer catalyst to cast it. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but you can use the spell up to a whopping 30 times before it needs to be recharged.
7. You'll die, but get these awesome items anyway.
If you explore the Firelink Shrine beyond the small flooded castle lake, you'll encounter a graveyard. You can also reach the graveyard by going past the cleric at the Firelink Shrine and drop down the elevator shrine, where you'll also get to open four chests, with one path leading to the graveyard. Here you'll find several skeleton enemies that are extremely tough, and even if you have the skills to bring them down, they don't drop any souls. So don't bother. However, you should be able to run through the graveyard fast enough to get two large Lost Souls (for 400 souls a pop) and a two-handed Zweihander (that requires 24 strength to wield, but hey, why not?).
If you have the Master Key (as a thief or the extra gift at character creation), you can also unlock a gated door in the New Londo Ruins to the Valley of Drakes. Cross the plank and walk along the edge of the valley, and you'll come across a dragon that's napping. It will wake up and one-shot-kill you if you take any of the treasures he's protecting. But you have time to collect Astora's Short Sword and a Dragon Shield if you're quick enough. Both items are awesome early on, particularly when you have enough Faith and Strength to wield Astora's Short Sword, which has both standard and magical attack power.
8. Use bonfires as grinding spots.
You'll notice that whenever you use a bonfire to heal, all of the enemies respawn. It may be annoying, but that's how you grind.
The best grinding spot early on is reached by kicking down the ladder at the top of the second bonfire, which means having to kill the Taurus Demon and making it past the red dragon's fire on the bridge. Of course, you'll notice that the dragon's fire will kill all of the undead on the bridge as well… for 300 souls. So guess what? If you need to, that's your perfect grind spot. Get to the bonfire, go up the ladder to the bridge, bait the dragon by walking out on the bridget (watch out for the spearmen who get in the way), walk down the staircase to avoid the blast, collect 300 souls, and then go back down to the bonfire. Rinse, repeat, until satisfied.
9. Be careful of your equip load.
While you have seemingly infinite item capacity, you do have an equip load to worry about. Everything you equip as a weapon and as armor will be added together by weight, and if you don't have a high enough Endurance rating, your character just won't move as quickly and that can easily mean the difference between living and dying. Either increase your Endurance or go without some weapon or armor until you really need it.
10. Upgrade armor when you can… if you can defeat the Black Knights.
Titanite Shards are difficult to come by. The only time I saw one was when my roommate killed an incredibly tough Black Knight; there is one protecting a ring in the Undead Berg and another at the top of the tower right before the Undead Parish. To kill them effectively, get them into an open space and try to get behind them for a backstab… three times. I told you they were tough.
If you do get them to drop a Titanite Shard, go to the blacksmith in the New Londo Ruins (or elsewhere) and upgrade your best armor. Doing this is just as important as increasing your physical defense and vitality to stay alive as long as you can. Eventually, all those zombies in the Undead Berg won't be able to do anything to you.
For more tips, check out our cheats page for Dark Souls.
