Atlus replacing damaged Demon's Souls strategy guides

by JC Fletcher { Nov 5th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Is the print wearing off of the cover of your Demon's Souls strategy guide? It's not entirely because you've been holding it for hours with your sweaty hands, desperately thumbing through the few pages in a feeble attempt to improve your in-game performance. Atlus announced that the cover to the guide, included with the Deluxe Edition of the RPG, is conducive to "unusual cover ink/wear fading."

And because Atlus knows that you've grown attached to your ~~security blanket~~ strategy guide, the company will only ask you to send in the cover and first page if you'd like a replacement, and not the whole book. Full details on the replacement program will be posted here.

Tags: atlus, demons-souls, from-software, rpg, strategy-guide

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 5th 2009 12:04AM

Did someone honestly go through the trouble of ranting about the cover of their strategy guide beginning to wear? That's what covers do.

Well, good on Atlus for not just brushing this off.
Some of us didn't even need a strategy guide on the first playthrough. /ep3n0r

LokeSTL @ Nov 5th 2009 11:32AM

If you saw what happens, you would rant too. It's not like the ink gets a little smeared from sweaty hands. Anywhere you touch the cover becomes by the next day. Very weird! Also, the ink on the inside is like a powder. If you touch the letters, they fade. If you then touch another spot, you leave a fingerprint. It's like they used an ink that doesn't sink into the kind of paper they used. Very odd.

LokeSTL @ Nov 5th 2009 11:33AM

....becomes white by the.........

INNUENDO 64 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:04AM

strategy guides are for the weak

Granger @ Nov 5th 2009 12:13AM

Strategy Guides are for the obsessive.

I buy strategy guides that give a lot of great extra info and rarely ever look at them while playing a game. Great toilet reading when you are really into a franchise (Piggyback Interactive imports and the scant few US prints especially)

ShadowflareXIII @ Nov 5th 2009 12:39AM

I second that toilet remark! I believe most to all do their best learning sitting on the john, contemplating on the head, or studying in the loo.

I also *ONLY* get the strategy guide for a game if there is nice artwork/concept material and pictures of the weapons, items etc. Other than that, I don't bother...most guides ruin the game and I'm old school....if I want to find out...I'll do it myself. I can also warrant the use of a guide after the game is finished and I want to find each and every nit-picky item just to say I did it.

On topic, I will say this a great showing of fair business practices on Atlus' behalf.

INNUENDO 64 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:38AM

haha. I'll admit i buy strategy guides (or downaload pdfs for older games when the guide is impossible to find) but i made a rule for myself that i have to beat the game before buying the guide, and the guide is simply for a second run and get everything. There's a difference between beating a game and beating the hell out of it.

Anti-Villian @ Nov 5th 2009 1:53AM

You guys sound like you need more fiber.

ShadowflareXIII @ Nov 5th 2009 2:06AM

...nah, not that.

Its just even my sh!ts are violent.

Shotgun poo KA-BLAM!

...Then it takes a minute to reload.

Yeah, I said it.

(That would be a drop-dead awesome gun for Borderlands...imagine the PvP grief.)

Avatar @ Nov 5th 2009 4:03AM

@Shadow
If a shotgun can shoot rockets, it can shoot poo.

INNUENDO 64 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:58AM

Poo launching rocket shotgun? That screams fallout 3

myspaceisevil @ Nov 5th 2009 12:05AM

is a strategy guide needed for this game?

one guy on here said it isnt as hard as ppl make it out to be.

but i want to make sure...

and if it is needed...is there a free online one that does a good job?

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 5th 2009 12:09AM

I've had to use the official online assist that Atlus created a few times. It was mostly for hidden passages and a couple of boss fights. The game can be 'punishing' but it is usually caused by your own stupidity. It's difficulty is found in the later bosses.

Here is a link:
http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

JACK @ Nov 5th 2009 12:20AM

Yeah and if you die its because YOU made a mistake or you fucked up some how, not because the COMP all of a sudden got pwnz powers, very fair and immersible game. A great game for sure, one of the best Ive played this gen.

CheeziePotato @ Nov 5th 2009 12:21AM

There is no need for the strategy guide, just if you want to find hidden objects and other stuff. I didn't find this game to be as hard as everyone said it was, but it's an excellent game.

Scott @ Nov 5th 2009 11:52AM

It's not hard at all. It's just unforgiving. Dying can quickly spiral into a huge setback. In Uncharted 2, when I die in a boss fight, it restarts me at the beginning of the fight (sometimes partway through). In Demon's Souls, when I restart, I have to do the entire level over again from the top, and I'm usually impatient at this point, so I'm more inclined to make a mistake.

Raidou @ Nov 5th 2009 12:18AM

I love and am addicted to this game, but I have yet to find anything in-game that explains world tendency, character tendency, primeval demons, what some of the stuff on the stats for weapons and uprgrade paths are for. So strategy guide or wiki are necessary I think to engage in some of the better battles of the game against the black phantoms.

rob @ Nov 5th 2009 12:31AM

i completely agree. this game contains things that you will most likely never experience without the guide.

Avatar @ Nov 5th 2009 4:06AM

I disagree completely. If it's in a strategy guide, it means that it's possible to discover it on your own. If you can't do that, then you're just lazy, and using a guide is cheating and robbing you of the satisfaction of finding it for yourself.

acefondu @ Nov 5th 2009 8:26AM

Demon's Souls wiki explains world tenancies rather well. Though I don't think it's 100% complete, although it does tell you how to get pure white and pure black.

SnipeU2Lumby @ Nov 5th 2009 1:41PM

Actually Avatar, it is almost impossible to find these things out by yourself without a guide.

World Tendencies are never explained, as well as Character Tendencies. You would never notice or actually actively try and seek out the World Tendency page at ALL if you didn't know what it meant. If you somehow realized that the stages on that page get "darker" whenever you die (even more specifically, in BODY form), you wouldn't know the effects of it either. Heck, you wouldn't know if it was permanent, temporary, how dark it can get, how to get it back to white. Even moreso, you wouldn't know where to find those specific Pure Black events, in specific areas.

Other than that, everything else can be found out on your own.

It's not about being lazy. It's about learning about things you would never find out on your own 99% of the time. If you've played the game yourself, you'd know.

Kadrom @ Nov 5th 2009 12:19AM

I've abused the crap out of my strategy guide while farming materials and whatnot.. the spine is almost white. But I don't want to get a new cover, the fact that mine is so worn is a testament to the fact that Atlus knows their audience. The guide caters to completionists and rpg nerds.

texaggie117 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:36AM

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) : I was about to rip you for saying strategy guides are for the weak because we all know and use wiki, but then you owned up to it. The guide is just a quick reference for those who don;t like to run to their computer all the time.

myspaceisevil: I commented about Demon's Souls on the Dragon Age post.

If you are concerned about the difficulty don't be unless you really don't like dying at all in games.

I was VERY skeptical about how a game could be hard and not cheap. I gave the game a go anyway because there was a drought of games over the summer and I wanted to play something.

The developers in a brilliant game design somehow crafted a game where you blame yourself for deaths. Its not THAT hard if you go slow, think about where you are in the enviroment, and approach each and every encouter like you will die (because you can), if you do that, then the game is not HARD.

When you die you will say, "DAMMIT, MOTHER EFFER SON OF BE@^&CH, why was I so stupid?!" When you rush, get over confident, or don;t think, WHAM the game has you where it wants you and you are dead.

And very few things in gaming can prepare you for your first "YOU ARE INVADED" message splash across your screen. You might actually feel panic, your heart will jump in your chest, and terror ensues. And then if you win, you will cry out in victory and scream as such at your TV cursing that son of beeth that invaded yoru game.

Brilliance.

Oh, and a shout out to Atlus. A publisher who actually cares about its customers over something that is barely an issue. As opposed to expanding your inventory in a DLC for instance.....

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 5th 2009 12:41AM

I now pronounce you: Post of the day.
Yea, that's right, I've got that much power.

Autopsy15 @ Nov 5th 2009 1:04AM

I ordered this game online at Target on Monday.

You are making so fucking hard to wait until Friday.
DEMON'S SOULS! I WANT TO FUCKING PLAY YOU!!!

Autopsy15 @ Nov 5th 2009 1:05AM

*making it*

I need sleep...and Demon's Souls.

acefondu @ Nov 5th 2009 8:30AM

Well...I agree Demon's Souls is amazing, I love it. But some deaths ARE cheap. Like when the lock on system causes you to fall off a cliff when attempting a thrust move, or when the Maneater...knocks you off the bridge. Really, the cheap deaths are when you fall off a cliff. Otherwise I agree, most deaths are rather fair, though I do still hate dying in one hit on things. All I learn there is I need to level up, lol.

SnipeU2Lumby @ Nov 5th 2009 1:46PM

acefondu, ya gotta learn to take off lock-on whenever you see the enemy falling off a cliff, or at least stop following it.

Yes, the Maneater pushing you off the bridge is annoying, but it gives you one whole second to actually move out of the way of his tackle. Once I saw how much time I have to dodge/block his tackle, I was never pushed off the bridge since (and I've played through this game 7 times, and 6 out of those 7 times I beat Maneater by myself, without killing one first through the fog, and without falling off). Even when I died, it was because of their magic or physical attacks, not because of the "cheap" tackle.

texaggie117 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:40AM

And one more thing concerning Atlus, because of them actually caring about their product and customers, whatever game they publish for a platform that I own, I will at least give their game a serious consideration.

Those guys really know what they are doing.

The Halloween thing was greatness.

I really hope they are the "secret" publisher for 3D Dot Heros. They will do something fun. They always do.

texaggie117 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:58AM

Sweet SpyderTaco. Power or not, I appreciate it anyway.

texaggie117 @ Nov 5th 2009 12:59AM

Well thanks SpyderTaco, Power or not I appreciate it.

eNrique @ Nov 5th 2009 1:21AM

Can someone explain to me what's going on with the pure blackness / whiteness?
I encountered a black Miralda but after I beat Phalanx she disappeared.
And what are hero/ soldier souls?
I used one but it only gave me more souls to level up, is that all they do?
Currently I'm a Knight Lvl 36, beaten Phalanx and the Tower Knight, can I learn spells? if so, how?
I'm sorry but I haven't read any wiki.

ShadowflareXIII @ Nov 5th 2009 2:18AM

You get white tendancy for killing bosses *especially* Phalanyx... he affects all zones rather than just the castle area. A simple fix is die as a human a few times in the castle zone, or kill a friendly character in the castle zone, like the dredgeling merchant (not recommended if your collecting weapon/armor sets or need healing items for that area...once he's gone, he's gone).

Killing black phantom special npc's such as Miralda nets white character/world tendancy as well as rare items. And reverse that if its pure white characters.

Best way to keep track of it is the 'status' option, just when you die as human or kill people good or bad, every time you return to the nexus make a point to check and see how its changed.

RagingStormX @ Nov 5th 2009 5:02PM

@ eNrique

You should definately take some time and have a look through the Wiki. Black NPC's show up if your world tendency is pure black. The wiki will explain why what you did caused her to disappear. There are certain things that sway world and character tendencies and certain things that only take place at certain stages of white or black world/character tendencies. Also you can learn spells at anytime once you have a Magic level of 10.

ShadowflareXIII @ Nov 5th 2009 2:26AM

The rest of the question I hesitate so I don't spoil...The souls the bosses drop, save them 'just in case'......the ones that are 'hero souls', 'unknown blah soul' or similar...just use them or hang on to them in case you need an offset...its purely raw exp and has no other value unless your initiating trade with another player or just want to be nice.

All character templates (knight, thief, etc) can learn spells.

tykjen @ Nov 5th 2009 6:32AM

always use square to check up info on items. and if you wanna give something to someone, like the jade hair ornament to thomas, or the flamelurker soul to blacksmith ed, you gotta have the item highlighted in inventory before you speak to them. take care of colorless souls. and yea, just get high enough magic and int and you can learn spells. im a temple knight, and i managed to learn some fire spells from the witch i rescued in 1-4.

rubAdub72 @ Nov 5th 2009 11:16AM

Strategy guides are definitely handy for a game like this, i've used the wiki a few times to understand tendency shifts and rare upgrades, not that it's unplayable without it, but the game has a lot of depht and it's rather unique in many aspects.

fantastic game, probably one of my favorites of all time.

RagingStormX @ Nov 6th 2009 3:03PM

Wow, and here I was trying to figure out if I missed and place my guide on something wet (cause I know i don't have sweaty palms). I might just take Atlus up on this offer....

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