Weapons and armor are core to anyDark Soulsgame, but few talk about the game’s vast number of items. Keys, consumables, and upgrade materials are just as essential as having a good weapon or a large list of spells.Dark Souls 2arguably went overboard with these while the third game neglected them, but the firstDark Soulsstruck a perfect balance with how important items are.
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Titanite fragments to upgrade gear, Estus Flasks, and keys are just a few examples of items that are core to the series.Dark Soulshas a large list of items for players to use, some of which are game-changing. Here are 10 of the most useful items inDark Soulsthat everyone should use. This list will not include weapons or armor.
10Embers
Not to be confused with the Ember item fromDark Souls 3, embers are items that must be given to blacksmiths to ascend weapons.
Unlike future titles, items inDark Soulsmust be upgraded to +5 before they can be ascended. With the respective ember, players can begin to upgrade the weapon to a +10 version or a +5 variant with a more exotic property such as Chaos damage or morph it into a Crystal weapon.
9Green Blossom
Stamina is a crucial stat in theSoulsseries. It determines how frequently a player can dodge, attack, or how much damage they can block. Increasing this stat is crucial in every game, but upgrading stamina regenerationis much harder.
Green Blossoms are perfect for this, increasing stamina regeneration by 40 per second for 60 seconds. This stacks with the Chloranthy Ring or similar percentage-scaling stamina buffs. This item allows players to get back to full stamina much faster, granting more opportunities to attack an opponent or block their attacks with a shield. They’re also cheap to purchase and easy to farm.
8Transient Curse
There are only two ways of attacking ghosts in the firstDark Souls. Players must either be cursed to damage them or consume the Transient Curse item to gain a 5-minute window to interact with them.
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New Londo Ruins is filled with ghosts that players must fight through. Simply running from them is ill-advised as they can easily kill the player by attacking through walls. Transient Curses allow players to attack ghosts without halving their health by being cursed, which makes New Londo Ruinsmuch easier to clear. It can be found in the New Londo Ruins or purchased from various vendors.
7Rite Of Kindling
Some players will run straight to the Catacombs after the Undead Asylum just to obtain the Rite of Kindling. This item allows players to kindle with bonfires up to 3 times instead of once, allowing players to carry up to 20 Estus Flasks instead of 5 or 10.Pinwheeldrops this item, and he can be found in the Catacombs adjacent to Firelink Shrine. While he might be one ofDark Souls’easiest bosses, the location he is in is anything but. It’s a great reward for completing a difficult zone and one thatskilled playerscan get incredibly early.
6Lordvessel
The midway point ofDark Soulssees players entering Anor Londo to obtain the coveted Lordvessel. This item is needed to open the way to Kiln of the First Flame, the game’s final location. However, it also has one other function.
Once the Lordvessel is obtained, players can warp between bonfires at no cost. It only works at certain bonfires, but it effectively allows the player to instantly travel between every major zone in the game. With how large the open world ofDark Soulsis, this is an extremely powerful boon that is a massive timesaver for the second half of the game.
5Humanity
Humanities are a crucial item inDark Soulsand tie into the game’s core themes and story. Players can use this item for a whole manner of things, ranging from kindling bonfires to increase Estus charges to increasing a player’s item discovery.
Merchants infrequently sell them, but Humanity is typically found in the open world or rewarded fromboss fights. When used, it grants a stack of Humanity to the player. This can be used to reverse hollowing to allow for phantom summoning or PvP invasions. Alternatively, players can keep this stack of Humanity to increase their item discovery stat to farm certain items. It has diminishing returns and soft caps at 10 Humanity stacks. Humanity can also be used as an emergency heal when players are on the brink of death.
4Titanite Fragments
Regardless of what builds a player uses, Titanite is one of the most important items to look out for. These tiered fragments increase the strength of weapons and armor. Rarer Titanite pieces such as Chunks and Slabs are crucial to upgrading an item to its fullest. Bosses such as the Four Kings are meant to test a player’s damage output, effectively forcing players to upgrade their gear if they haven’t yet.
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3Fire Keeper Souls
EveryDark Soulsgame has some way for players to upgrade their Estus Flask charges. While kindling is how players obtain more charges, Fire Keeper Souls are needed to enhance the healing each charge grants.
Unlike future titles, Fire Keeper Souls inDark Soulsare extremely rare. Only 4 souls can be obtained each playthrough without killing a Fire Keeper. If players are desperate for Estus upgrades, however, they can choose to kill other Fire Keepers to increase this number to 7 per playthrough. Fire Keeper Souls can also be consumed to restore a player’s health pool and grant 5 stacks of Humanity, but this is a minor benefit when compared to upgrading an Estus Flask.
2Estus Flask
Healing inDark Soulsis extremely limited when compared to most action titles. Passive health regeneration is limited and weak, healing grasses fromDemon’s Soulsdidn’t return, which leaves players stuck between using limited Humanities or their trusty Estus Flask. Considering Estus Flasks regenerate charges on rest and don’t takespell slots, they are easily the best method of healing in the game. Players get them right at the start by talking to Oscar in the Undead Asylum, but players only start with 5. Kindling bonfires can increase this limit to make the game significantly easier.
1Master Key
Many players praiseDark Soulsfor its open-world design and interconnectedness. This praise can be seen in the game’s first act, butit really showsitself when players obtain the arguably essential Master Key from either Domhnall of Zena or choose it as a starting gift on character creation. Thieves also start with this item for free.
It has infinite uses and opens up nearly every locked door in the game. This is much more powerful than it sounds. Players can go to Blighttown, the Valley of Drakes, or Darkroot Basin right after starting the game. Since these areas are designed for players to explore much later in the game, players can exploit this to obtain mid to late-game items right after the tutorial to completely trivialize the first half of the game. While an overpowered item,Dark Soulswouldn’t be the same without it.
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