What weapon to upgrade and how to go about leveling?

[Hoppled]

I've read guides and whatnot, so I understand how to upgrade and level of course but I'm just not sure the most effective way of doing it. I just don't want to make a mistake since it is irreversible if I do in a game like this.

Im starting out as the knight going for a str/vigor build. I am at the 2nd boss in the game (Vordt) and I feel like I can use some upgrading/leveling.

I am currently using all of the default gear for knight. The default sword and shield. I am not sure if it'd be worth upgrading the starting sword you get (long sword) for knight or if there is something better I should be upgrading.

Also, for leveling, I'm not how much I should level per boss. I know it's all up to you since its a single player game, but I remember in dark souls 1, I over leveled too much and ended up beating the end of the game fairly easy. I don't want that to happen in ds3. To put it short, I havem't really leveled up much at all since I left firelink shrine. I think it's mainly because I die with a lot of souls and don't end up back tracking. I just never have a lot of souls on me when I'm at firelink.

Anyways, tips and help regarding these issues greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[DwzLT]

You can re-allocate your level points 5 times ... so just make whatever you want and then change it later if you need to

[Vinyltavia]

Vigor is king in the early game.
If you're going for a str build, starting warrior would of been the prime option here as the most they'll ever need in dex is 10 MAYBE 15 (Gundyr's Halberd is pretty aight).
A bastard sword can carry you through most of the game. Get 27 str, put heavy on it, and two hand it to hit the 40 str cap for damage on it. Axes are pretty good as well. If you're going for protection and damage, wear some decent armor such as the Knight's set so you can have that dank poise when you swing your greatsword.
Get vigor 27 first
Worry about strength later.
Increase endurance to swing more.
Get vitality as needed to not at roll and to wear use heavier equipment.
Dex, magic, and luck are stats you shouldn't worry much about.

[Skeleton]

Once you get to the next area, you can get an item that allows you to make weapons from boss souls. That guide should lead the way.

As for weapons, get 30 STR and use Vordt's soul to make Vordt's Great Hammer. It's one of the best weapons in the game for both PvE and PvP, as aside from its high raw damage and scaling it's also one of the few that inflicts the Frost status. Frost is the most powerful status effect in the game at the moment, as it deals damage, slows stamina recovery, and reduces enemy defences so that successive hits deal more damage.

[Vash]

27 vigor (priority)
20 endurance (110 - 120 stamina is enough for standard and greatweapons)
If you want to use strength weapons then 40 strength
If you want to use dexterity weapons then 40 dexterity

You should be around level 60 now, from there you can do whatever you want. You can stay there for low level invasions and cooperation or keep leveling up, adding more vigor and endurance, your choice.

Quality 40/40 is also viable but the more you level up the less action you get.

EDIT: earlier in the game most of your damage will come from weapon reinforcement, scaling becomes relevant after reinforcing your weapon enough times, that's why i like to level up vigor and endurance first.

[Hoppled]

So then don't upgrade the starting sword? And yeah I'm not sure which Build exactly I want. I chose knight since I heard it's good for beginners. I don't mind 2 handing a sword or doing a shield and sword or both. I just want a basic one for now to further progress through the game. And I should be around level 60 before vordt?

[Vash]

Originally posted by Horizons:

So then don't upgrade the starting sword? And yeah I'm not sure which Build exactly I want. I chose knight since I heard it's good for beginners. I don't mind 2 handing a sword or doing a shield and sword or both. I just want a basic one for now to further progress through the game. And I should be around level 60 before vordt?

No, your character will always be around the recommended level for every area if you level up whenever you can, always take a few seconds to go back to firelink and level up everytime you get to a new bonfire. Don't lose your souls.

15-20 is more than enough to fight vordt, what's important is that you reinforce your weapon at andre's whenever you have the materials for it.

Also you can finish the whole game with the sword you get by choosing the knight class, it is a good weapon after all, as every straight sword. If you want to use straight swords for this playthrough my top 3 choices are the lothric knight sword, the long sword and the broadsword(it's shorter than the rest though), and the dark sword of course.

[Skeleton]

Originally posted by Horizons:

So then don't upgrade the starting sword? And yeah I'm not sure which Build exactly I want. I chose knight since I heard it's good for beginners. I don't mind 2 handing a sword or doing a shield and sword or both. I just want a basic one for now to further progress through the game. And I should be around level 60 before vordt?

If you do decide to go with a boss weapon like the hammer or a unique weapon, they require a different type of titanite than the starting longsword (twinkling, scale, and regular titanite respectively) so you don't have to worry about wasting resources.

Also, 20-25 is good for Vordt.

[♫Doctor Diddlerino♫]

Claymore. Always claymore. Ignore what anyone else says and just use the claymore.

[Hoppled]

Originally posted by Vash:

Originally posted by Horizons:

So then don't upgrade the starting sword? And yeah I'm not sure which Build exactly I want. I chose knight since I heard it's good for beginners. I don't mind 2 handing a sword or doing a shield and sword or both. I just want a basic one for now to further progress through the game. And I should be around level 60 before vordt?

No, your character will always be around the recommended level for every area if you level up whenever you can, always take a few seconds to go back to firelink and level up everytime you get to a new bonfire. Don't lose your souls.

15-20 is more than enough to fight vordt, what's important is that you reinforce your weapon at andre's whenever you have the materials for it.

Also you can finish the whole game with the sword you get by choosing the knight class, it is a good weapon after all, as every straight sword. If you want to use straight swords for this playthrough my top 3 choices are the lothric knight sword, the long sword and the broadsword(it's shorter than the rest though), and the dark sword of course.

Ah ok thanks for the response. So using the starting sword (long sword) would be a good choice to start upgrading? And I don't care about ever using magic or anything so I don't need things like refined or fire gems right? Also don't want a Dex build

Well I have titanite shards and I think that's what gives me +3 to the weapon although I'm not sure what reinforcing your weapon does or if it's the same thing.

And yeah , I haven't leveled much at all. I guess it's good to have a lot of souls but I always end up losing them and don't back track to get them. I don't want to resort to farming them to level though.

[Vash]

Originally posted by Horizons:

Ah ok thanks for the response. So using the starting sword (long sword) would be a good choice to start upgrading? And I don't care about ever using magic or anything so I don't need things like refined or fire gems right? Also don't want a Dex build

Well I have titanite shards and I think that's what gives me +3 to the weapon although I'm not sure what reinforcing your weapon does or if it's the same thing.

And yeah , I haven't leveled much at all. I guess it's good to have a lot of souls but I always end up losing them and don't back track to get them. I don't want to resort to farming them to level though.

The long sword can carry you through the game just fine so feel free to upgrade it. It scales with strength and if you use a heavy gem on top of that the scaling goes up to A wich is very good. So if you want to choose the strength route the longsword is a really good choice, you can take your time and try new weapons later. With the long sword upgraded even if you didn't like what you tried you can always go back to your trusty long sword.

Weapon reinforcement improves the weapon's base damage and stat scaling.

EDIT: oh right, gems in the game modify a weapon's stat scaling and base damage depending on the gem you use. Some of them add status effect like poison and bleed. Also even after using a heavy, sharp or refined gem you can still apply resin to your weapon so there's no downside to those 3.