In thisDemon’s Souls Remake Build Guide, I’m going to be covering myDark Knight Ostrava Build, which is a PvP Build that does modest damage, but has exceptional survive ability, allowing for many mistakes while you learn the ins and outs of Demon’s Souls PvP. If you’re new to Demon’s Souls PvP, or your just not very good at it, this might be the Build for you.
Demon’s Souls Builds: Dark Knight Ostrava (Beginner PvP)
The Dark Knight Ostrava Build uses theRune SwordandShieldmade popular by none other thanOstrava, of Boletariahimself. What’s unique about these items, besides their appearance, is that they provide additional Magic Defense while in your hands. This provides you added protection against Mage players, those who use theCrescent Falchionearly on, and even hosts that may be usingDemonbrandtor theLarge Sword of Moonlight.
The Rune Sword overall is not a very good weapon for PvE, and as you get higher in Soul Level it’s damage drops off significantly due to its lack of scaling. However, it can be very strong in the right hands at lower levels, which is where you will aim to keep this build.
The Rune Sword will deal roughly 237 damage per swing, with a whopping 205 of that being Magic Damage once its been fully upgraded. That might not seem like a lot, but remember this is aStraight Swordwere talking about, that has very good attack speed and consumes much less Stamina per swing. Additionally, most low level players will not have a good Magic Reduction Shield, allowing you to deal decent chip damage should they attempt to Block your attacks.
Both the Sword and Shield come with a default +30 Magic Defense each, and as you upgrade them the Magic Defense keeps on increasing as well to a total of +60 each. If you manage to upgrade both the Sword and the Shield you’ll have an additional +120 Magic Defense, which almost negates the Magic Damage done by the Crescent Falchion entirely when combined with yourArmor.
Dark Knight Ostrava Starting Class
The startingClassI chose for thisBuildwasRoyaltybecause of it’s highMagicstat, the fact that you need very littleStrengthfor this Build (12 to use theShield), and because it begins the game at Soul Level 1. You need to reach 18 Magic in order to wield the Rune Sword effectively, and this also allows you to use Magic early on in the game to help you get the items you need faster, becauseSoul Arrowis OP early on in PvE. You can use other Classes if you wish, however, as it’s not super important which you choose.
Dark Knight Starting Tips
Although this is not a “Mage” Build, playing like one early on in the game can help you out if you are new to Demon’s Souls. Soul Arrow can help assist you through theBoletarian PalaceandStonefang Tunnel, and you’ll have a lot of good items that many early game Mages would have, so you might as well use them.
This is an excellent Build to learn how to Parry with, especially once you’ve obtained theFluted Setand have decent Armor. You’ll be using a Shield that Parries (Rune Shield) and your Armor will allow you to mistime many Parries (in both PvE and PvP) and still live, so it’s worth practicing even if you’re terrible at it. You will need to learn how to do this to win more PvP battles, so spend some time and Git Gud.
This Build requires a fair bit ofWorld Tendencymanipulation in order to obtain enoughColorless Demon’s Soulsto upgrade the Rune Sword to +5. While this might sound intimidating if you are not familiar with this mechanic, I will explain how this is done in a minute, and the easiest way to do it so that you can just follow along without having to sort out how to do it on your own.
Dark Knight Ostrava Stats
Because this is a low level Build you won’t need to focus much on this area, but you will need Magic to use the Rune Sword effectively, someIntelligenceto cast someSpells, and someVitalityto help keep you alive when Invading since your max HP will be lower fromBlack Character Tendency. Your stat spread should look something like this:
You’ll need 12 Strength to use the Rune Shield effectively. Endurance is not really needed for this Build except for a point or two to keep your Equip Load at 50% or lower. You don’t use a ton of Stamina to swing your Rune Sword, so you can get away with lowerEndurancehere.
14 Intelligence will allow you to slot 2 Spells, but you’re able to go to 18 if you’d like another slot and more Mana. This Build performs less effectively the higher level you get beyond about Soul Level 25 or so, so attempt to keep it near this level if possible.
Dark Knight Ostrava Equipment
In this section we’ll take a look at what equipment you’ll need in order to play the Dark Knight Ostrava Build effectively. Keep in mind that you will likely change this up some depending on what section of the game you are on, but this should serve to give you some idea of what setups you’re looking for. First let’s take a look at early game.
Early Game Equipment
At the beginning of the game you’ll want to pick up and equip theCling Ringas soon as you can to further increase your Health in Soul Form. You’ll be in Soul Form whenever you invade, so you’ll need to keep this Ring on or have very low HP.
Be sure to pick up theRing of Great Strengthbeneath theBlue Dragonin theBoletarian Palacebecause you’ll need it to wear the Fluted Set. You won’t be able to roll normally while using it without this Ring, so this one is a must!
A really good pick up early on is theCrescent Falchionin theShrine of Storms. It takes almost no time to acquire, and gives you a strong melee attack that deals Magic Damage. You should look to get this as soon as you can, as it can really help out withStonefang Tunneland beyond, since most enemies there are weak to Magic Damage. You’ll use this until you gain the Rune Sword.
The Tower of Latria
In theTower of Latriayou will find theRing of Magical Sharpness, which will further boost your Magic Damage with Spells. This is not a must haveRingfor this Build, but it can help out with the PvE sections of the game by making your Spells stronger. Pick it up while you’re here and use it if you want to.
The Fluted Set is also located here in the Tower of Latria, lying on a corpse. Since you started with the Royalty Class you’ll need to pick this up, but disregard is you chose Knight. This will give you excellent Defense, but it weighs quite a bit.
Next you’ll need to acquire theBlack Eye Stonefrom defeating the Black Phantom in front of theFool’s Idol Boss. This is required to Invade other players, and you’re able to get it from other Black Phantoms in other worlds as well, but you might as well grab it while you’re here.
Once you’ve defeated the Fool’s Idol Boss you’ll be transported toUpper Latria, and from here your next goal will be to acquire the Rune Sword and Rune Shield. These can be acquired rather quickly by simply running past the gargoyles straight ahead, and up the tower stairs on the left once inside. Drop over the edge near the top, and loot them from the corpse there. you may now begin Invading as Ostrava if you wish.
Stonefang Tunnel
Once you’ve gotten the above you’ll head to Stonefang Tunnel, and the first thing you should do while there is unlock the lift toBlacksmith Edso that you upgrade the Rune Sword when you have some Colorless Demon’s Souls and theSeering Demon Soul.
Next you’ll need to make your way throughArmor SpiderandFlamelurkerin order to obtain the Seering Demon Soul, as Ed won’t upgrade the Rune Sword without you having given him this. Use the Crescent Falchion and Soul Arrow to make this easier. you may even getSoul Rayif you freedFrekefrom Latria while you were there.
Colorless Demon’s Souls & How to Get Them
As I mentioned both the Rune Sword and the Rune Shield require Colorless Demon’s Souls in order to upgrade, though I strongly suggest you only worry about upgrading the Sword for this Build unless you have the fortitude to play through the entire game at a very low level.
You can only gain 10 Colorless Demon’s Souls per playthrough, and many of these require a lot of progress through the game to get. Here I will explain you how to get 5 easily so that you can upgrade the Sword, because you only gain Magic Defense from upgrading the Shield, Guard Break does not improve.
Sparkly, the Crow
The first two Colorless Demon’s Souls can be obtained by interacting withSparkly, the Crow. In order to do this you need to be close to the nest, drop an item and then quit and reload your game. If you did this correctly you will have a new item in its place. Sparkly is located inThe Shrine of Stormsup on hill near the left towers.
Pure Black World Tendency & Primeval Demons
Each world spawns aPrimeval Demonwhen it reaches Pure Black World Tendency, and when found and killed it will drop a Colorless Demon’s Soul. There are a total of 5 Primeval Demons, but in this Guide I’ll only be covering the 2 easiest to find based on where you will already be going to get the equipment for this Build. If you want to know where they are all located, you’re able to check theWikifor that information.
World Tendency in Demon’s Souls is affected by a handful of things, but the two that will affect you most are killing Bosses and dying in Body Form. Killing Bosses will make your World Tendency shift toward White, and dying in Body Form will make it shift towards Black. This is important to know because to reach the Primeval Demons you need Pure Black Tendency, and if you go around killing Bosses then it can be harder to achieve.
The easiest way to achieve Pure Black Tendency for this Build is by Invading players with the Black Eye Stone, defeating them and regaining Body Form. Then just go die really quickly in the World you want to change to Black Tendency, and then repeat this process until it’s Pure Black. You have to be in Soul Form to Invade anyhow, so you this saves you a trip to the Nexus as well.
The last Colorless Demon’s Soul I’ll help you find is not dropped by a Primeval Demon, but it does require World Tendency manipulation in order to achieve. However, it can either be Pure White OR Pure Black World Tendency to acquire it. It’s easier to get Black World Tendency with this Build, because you’ll be Invading, so you should probably aim for that instead of White.
At the very beginning of the Boletarian Palace there is a gate on the left-hand side down some steps which will unlock at Pure White or Pure Black World Tendency. Head inside the gate and make your way inside the tower, you’re able to just run by the enemies here if you wish, and you need to head down the stairs and walk out across a beam and drop down. Laying on the beams will be a Colorless Demon’s Soul. If you did this in Pure Black World Tendency, watch out forExecutioner Miralda, as she will be guarding this area and is hard to kill. You can just run by her, though, which is what I recommend.
Final Tips
Doing Patches, the Hyena’s quest in Stonefang Tunnel will net you a merchant in theNexusthat sells you very good Grass. These are excellent to have when Invading, and you will have Souls to spend since you are keeping your level low. Stock up on Grass from him so that you never have to worry about running out of healing while Invading.
I love to use theProtection Spellwith this Build because it further increases your Physical Defense, making you really only vulnerable to Fire Damage. However, you’re able to even take theSpell Water Veilto boost your Fire Resistance as well, making you really annoying to try to kill.
Don’t be afraid to Block Spells with this Build if you need to because the Rune Shield has excellent Magic and Fire Reduction. It’s not something I’d advise doing often, but it’s definitely worth doing if there’s no way around taking damage. Note that the Guard Break on the Rune Shield is very low, so I don’t recommend Blocking regular attacks that often, particularly not in PvP.
TheGloom Setworks very well for this Build also if you’d prefer to look a bit differently. It weighs about the same as the Fluted Set, has almost identical protection, but has better resistances to Status Ailments like Poison, Bleed and Plague. This can be acquired in Upper Latria by defeatingYurt.
Lastly, learn the moveset with the Rune Sword because it has some really really good attacks. The running R1 gets me tons of easy hits, and the step back R1 surprises a lot of players because it has very good range and is very fast. Practice these moves when you’re able to, and also learn to Parry to really ensure your success.
Stay tuned for moreDemon’s Souls Build Guides, as we explore just what kind of Builds you can make. And be sure to check out theDemon’s Souls Wikiif you have specific questions about the game! As always, you can read ourDemon’s Souls ReviewandGetting Started Guideto get going with the game.
