Dark Souls: Setting up your advantage

This guide is for newcomers to the Dark Souls franchise and help them bypass the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ port.

Welcome To Dark Souls.

You might have just gotten Dark Souls due to a sale, or maybe you picked it up due to the hype surrounding it. You also might have started up the game and realised that this game runs like absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ garbage especially with a keyboard and a mouse.

In this guide, I aim to do one thing.
1. Help you setup Dark Souls so it runs well.

Requirements:
OS: Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, or newer
Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual-Core
Memory: 1 GB (XP), 2GB (Vista/7)
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB
Video Card: 512 MB RAM, ATI Radeon 4850 or higher, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher
DirectX®: 9.0c
Sound: Direct Sound Compatible
Additional: Multiplayer requires microphone headset support
Nexus Mod Manager
Also, if you have a controller, please ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ use it.

These requirements are just the bare basics to run the game, I remember playing this game with a 750ti 1GB and it ran like crap so its up to you to tweak the settings which I will show you how later.

DSFix

Head to NMM and download this file manually.
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/19/?

Now, extract the contents of the file into the dark souls game files which is where DARKSOULS.exe is located.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA


MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF ANTI-ALIASING IN GAME!!!

Now, open DSFix.ini and start tweaking away.

Basic Settings:
renderWidth
renderHeight
- This sets the internal rendering of your game, thus if your render scales are at 1920x1080, the game will be in 1080p. Use this to increase the performance of your game, try settings like:
1920x1080
1280x960
1280x720
800x600

presentWidth
presentHeight
- Display resolution of the game, set it to 0 to set it to your native resolution.

AA(Anti-Aliasing)
- I normally set mine to 0 which is the best performance but looks ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ingame. It's pretty much up to you and your system rig if you want this on or off.

AmbientOcclusion
- All 3 settings have the same performance impact so if you want extra effects just turn it on.

Depth Of Field
- Pretty much something that makes your game more visually appealing, I set mine to 540.

IMPORTANT: Framerate

Unlocking FPS
- If you have a good PC, I highly recommend unlocking the fps as it makes the game feels extremely smooth.
Note: Backspace toggles the FPS limiter as your FPS determines your speed and jumps ingame.
This will cause ladder collisions but the only time that I have glitched through the floor with the ladder is in Undead Parish where the rats are.

FPS Limit
- I recommend setting this to 50 as it gives me the best performance:smoothness ratio and doesn't give me as many collision issues.

These are the basic settings that you should tweak.

DSCM (Dark Souls Connectivity Mod)

Go to NMM and download this file.
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1047/?

Make sure that its by Wulf.

When its downloaded, run it before running Dark Souls and it should work fine.

If you want to play with your friend, copy each other's id and attempt a connection with that player.
If their name appears in the list, you should be as right as rain.

INGAME OVERLAY:
Use CTRL+1 to view the ingame overlay.
If you see your friend's name and a line, you guys should be pretty much 100% connected and be able to summon each other.

Controls

PC:



Alternatively, if you have a PS3 or an Xbox360 controller, you can find the controls down here.
http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Xbox+360+Controls
http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Controls


I highly recommend using a controller for this game as it makes the game so much easier and less of a hassle to deal with the annoying Keyboard+Mouse controls.

If you don't have money for an XBOX360 or a PS3 controller, get a Logitech F310 Gamepad.
It's only around $20 and it works perfectly with Dark Souls.

Extra mods and where you can get additional help

Over here, you can find many good DS mods that can benefit you!
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/top/?

High Texture Pack:
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/446/?

High Res Subtitles and UI:
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/21/?

Mouse Fix:
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/28/?

Keyboard Interface:
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/840/?tab=3&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fdarksouls%2Fajax%2Fmodimages%2F%3Fuser%3D0%26id%3D840%26gid%3D162

DS1 Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls/

DS1 Wiki:
http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+Wiki

DSFix Installation Guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P2tOOUXy4w

Conclusion

I hope that this guide has helped you make Dark Souls run smoothly.
Dark Souls is currently a game that I love for its story and fun combat mechanics and especially its brutal difficulty. I would hate to play such a rewarding and challenging game with crappy settings as it cheapens the difficulty of the game which is really really discouraging.

There are many youtube videos and guides out there if you need further help on this topic.
If you have a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ PC, you can probably run Dark Souls at 30fps with everything low but its going to be extremely painful and difficult especially during fights.

Hope you enjoy Dark Souls!

[Bince]

thanks

[Paradox]

Excellent guide.

[MDz89]

I played DS I ,II and III with kb and mouse. First steps where tiresome , but now I have just got used to them.

[Yakub]

I use a mouse and keyboard because PC master race amirite?

[✪ ω ✪]

Just as a note, if you want to use a PS4 controller like I am, download DS4. Very easy to use mod that allows games to recognize PS4 controllers as Xbox controllers. Not only will it work for Dark Souls, it also works for other games that don't let you use PS4 controllers