Defenders of the Faith–Part 3: Avoiding Temptation

Man, keeping the faith isn’t easy.

The farther I get into this playthrough of Dark Souls with my faith build, the more tempting it is to break from my character path in order to make the game easier.

When I set out with this character, my initial plan was to only stick to Faith based weapons and spells, and to stay in the Warriors of Sunlight covenant the entire way through.

But temptation is everywhere. There are so many enemies that are weak to fire, and the Pyromancy school of magic is full of offensive spells that can be really useful against enemies and bosses alike. Refusing to avail myself of these spells meant that I needed to keep upgrading my weapon, as melee combat is what I find myself in the most.

Some of the other covenants have great spells as well. The Darkmoon covenant has a great weapon buffing spell, the Gravelord Servant covenant offers a powerful area of attack spell, etc. Staying with the Warrior of Sunlight covenant meant that I got my two offensive spells fairly early, and then nothing else afterward.

But, I’ve stayed on target for the most part. The only time I deviated from my pure Faith build was when I had to invest a few points into Intelligence to get the Cast Light sorcery spell. The Tomb of the Giants is near impossible without a light source, and I’d died several times trying to make it to a spot where I could pick up a lantern. However, I justified the Intelligence points as something I needed to invest in anyway, as the weapon I am trying to eventually build (Greatsword of Artorias) requires a minimum of 20 Intelligence to wield. So, the points I spent on getting Cast Light won’t go to waste.

That said, it’s easy to see why so many people end up creating hybrid classes that take the best bits of everything when playing through Dark Souls. If this was my first time through, I’d probably be doing that. But my overall goal for this character is to focus on co-op and helping others through the game. The only other covenant I may jump to later on is the Princess’s Guard, which grants the ability to use group healing spells in co-op.

For now though, it’s still Sunbro all the way. With each area I finish, I’m going back to help others through. This playthrough is turning out to be my favorite of the three, despite how challenging it is at times.