Dark Souls Tips – #2: Make A Fire Weapon As Early As Possible (Claymore, Uchigatana or Halberd)

Unlike other types of damage, fire and lightning weapon damage does not scale with any character stat.  Weapons do a fixed amount of fire or lightning damage based only on the level of the weapon.  A character with very low strength will do the same amount of damage with a fire or lightning weapon, as a character with much higher strength.  You must only meet the minimum requirements to wield the weapon.

Fire and lightning damage is available immediately upon weapon ascension.  Normal, magic and divine weapons scale with related attributes.  They can do a fair amount of damage initially, and potentially more than their fire or lightning cousins, but not until the character has been greatly upgraded.

By using fire or lightning weapons, you are free to increase other attributes to round out your build (as opposed to higher weapon damage).  Souls exclusively reserved for Intelligence or Faith can now be spread out to Vitality, Dexterity or to make upgraded equipment.

It is difficult to make a lightning weapon, and you must wait until mid-game.  You need a +10 Normal weapon.  You will have to find 9 large titanite shards and must give the Large Ember to Andre the Blacksmith to ascend a +5 weapon to +10.  Then you must find the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo.  He will ascend your +10 normal weapon to Lightning mode using Titanite Chunks.

Lightning damage is more flexible than Fire damage as it damages all bosses in the game and most enemies.  But Fire damage can be used to finish the game.  There are optional bosses in Lost Izalith with high Fire resistance that can be skipped by opening up the shortcut through the Chaos Witch Quelaag.  Fire damage also tops out at a slightly higher level than lightning damage.  A fire weapon has higher damage rating than its lightning counterpart.

But most importantly, Fire weapons can be made very quickly in early game.  Normal +5 weapons can be ascended to Fire by Vamos, who is hidden at the Catacombs.  The path is surrounding by booby traps and guarded by Necromancer who repeatedly spwan strong Undead Skeletons.  But, it is possible to reach Vamos with the Drake Sword.  A +5 weapon and green titanite is all that is required once you reach Vamos to make a Fire Weapon.

Even if you prefer a lightning weapon (or other type of damage), the smart player will make a fire weapon as soon as possible to help in farming runs or advance more quickly through the game.  You can then make other types of weapons as you progress through the levels.

After many playthroughs, I have come up with a preferred way to make fire weapons in early game.  The rough process is as follows:

1. Select the Master Key as your starting gift (I like to start with the Knight because of his high vitality and good shield but you can use any starting character).
2. Raid Blighttown for 3 large souls and the green titanite shard.
3. Get the Gold Pine Resin, Drake Sword, and a good stable shield (see my Tip #5)
4. If you are not going to ascend your starting weapon, buy or get another one (I recommend the Claymore, Halberd or Uchigatana).
5. Get you avatar’s Strength to 16 and Dexterity to 12 as soon as possible.  If you want to make a Fire Uchigatana, raise Dexterity to 14.  You should have enough souls after beating the Taurus Demon.
6. Build up your Vitality as much as possible (it should be at least 14)
7. Get to Andre and upgrade your weapon to +5.
8. Head to the Catacombs first bonfire.
9. Make the descent to Vamos.  On the way, kill the Necromancers and trip the levers to make the bridges passable.
10. Don’t forget to pick-up the green titanite shard on your final drop.
11. Dispose of any skeletons and ascend your weapon to Fire +2 when you meet Vamos.
12. Optional – take down the Pinwheel Boss using your newly made fire weapon.
13. Get the heck out of the Catacombs (not as easy as it sounds, especially in early game)

You can shave some time off by making a Fire Uchigatana since you don’t need the Drake Sword.  Also, don’t be discouraged if you die repeatedly in the Catacombs.  Concentrate on either killing a Necromancer or tripping a lever on each run (make incremental progress).

If you decide to go for Pinwheel, raise your Vitality as high as possible and equip the Grass Crest Shield (fast stamina regeneration for running and higher magic damage than other metal shields).  Kindling the first Catacombs’ bonfire is also recommended.

Here is a video showing you how to quickly make a Fire Claymore in the first ~35 minutes of gameplay. I show you how to get the Uchigatana and Halberd, so these can be ascended to Fire instead of the Claymore. Next week, I will be posting a video for how to make a Fire Washing Pole during the first hour of gameplay.

I strongly encourage you to ascend your favorite weapon to fire.  With it, Dark Souls is significantly easier.  Enjoy!