Terror Mage Knight (SL120)
rating: +2+x

Build summary A powerful mage disguised as an agile knight; effective vs. PvE & PvP.
Recommended starting class(es) Royalty, Knight
Recommended Soul Level 120

Recommended stats (Leave at default (**) if not raised)

Vitality 40
Will/Intelligence 24
Endurance 29
Strength 20
Dexterity 14
Magic 50
Faith 18
Luck **
Recommended equipment

ARMORS:
Head: Silver Coronet (for more MP) or Monk's Head Collar (for more power)
Body: Gloom Armor (mainly for the "terror" factor)
Arms: Black Gloves
Legs: Black Boots

WEAPONS:
Left: Heater Shield [upgrade to Dark Silver Shield+5 (if enemy is a mage)]
Left (Alternate): Talisman of Beast
Right: Demondrandt (upgrade to Northern Regalia) if you have average or white character tendency, or Crescent Uchigatana (use Moon against faith-based builds)
Right (Alternate): Kris Blade+5 (for more power)

I am also using a version where, instead of Demonbrandt/Crescent or Moon Uchigatana, I equip Magic Sword Makoto+5 in the right hand and Adjudicator Shield+5 in the left.

RINGS:
Ring1: Thief Ring (PvE) or Ring of Magical Sharpness (PvP) or Ring of Magical Nature (if I want to have Poison Cloud for PvP)
Ring2: Ring of Great Strength (so your heavy armored guy can roll and move quickly) or Clever Cat's Ring (extra stronger damage for the more daring ones)

EXTREME DAMAGE:
Use the following, with caution, to get the most out of your Spells:
Monk's Head Collar (iirc, +30% damage + lower magic defense)
Kris Blade +5 (+30% damage + lower magic defense)
Morion Blade (+50% damage while at 30% HP)
Ring of Magical Sharpness (+30% damage + lower magic defense)
Clever Cat's Ring (+50% damage while at 30% HP)

The effects of the above-mentioned equipment stack for extreme damage!

Recommended spells/miracles

SPELLS:
-Soul Ray (PvE) or Fireball / Fireball or Ignite (PvP) [others use Homing Soul Arrows, but I find it very easy to dodge in PvP, especially against experienced fighters. also, it immediately reveals that you are a powerful mage. I prefer fire spells because it would negate the main advantage of faith Builds against Magic-Builds like this one]

-Warding (greatly decreases damages received) or Second Chance (auto-revive at half HP. I prefer this one.)

-Poison Cloud (helpful in PvP. cast it when the invader is down or is healing.)

Gameplay tips and progression

INTRO: This is the build I used in my first game, and still using in my subsequent playthoughs until I Demon's Souls.

To show how effective this build is: In my first game (PvE), I was only killed a total of 8 times (excluding my accidental falling off cliffs and crevices) Demon's Souls is NOT that hard like many people claim it to be even in Pure Black Tendencies—thanks to this type of build:

-Red Dragon (1x) - I did not run the first time I went to World 1-2.
-Flamelurker (4x) - the ONLY guy that gave me real trouble.
-Dragon God (1x) - I do not know I have to destroy the rocks blocking my way.
-Fool's Idol (1x) - I accidentally stepped on a trap, and was hit my multiple Soul Rays while I cannot move.

During invasion (PvP), I invaded/was attacked by black phantoms a total of 34 times (in my first game)—I only died 5 times.

I even helped 4 friends clear their NG++++ files… One of them died 3 consecutive times in World 1-3 (area with 3 Red-eyed Knights), but I survived all the onslaught. I even land the last hits in most of the boss encounters.

BUILD OVERVIEW:
This is a build designed to:

1. make a balanced character in PvE. Strong magic + Northern Regalia/Uchi/Magic Sword Makoto can help you adapt in almost all circumstances.

2. cause fear (thus ,the name "Terror") to new players as well as to mages. Seeing a character in heavy armor (thus, the Gloom Armor) + big sword (Northern Regalia) usually give panic to new players and lightly-equipped characters… They will think you are very powerful. lol

3. surprise melee fighters in PvP. Seeing you in heavy armor and Northern Regalia will make melee fighters think you are one of their kind, thus, they will be confident to attack you toe-to-toe. When they are already in the right distance, shower them with Fireball or Ignite for multiple heavy fire damage.

4. likewise, this build is optimized and designed for pure white character tendency until you upgrade from Demonbrandt to Northenr Regalia. If you prefer the Uchis, Crescent increases in damage as you increase your Magic and has MP Regen. Moon is more effective against faith builds, while Magic Sword Makoto has bleeding effect.

5. also, despite wearing a heavy armor, your character would still be able to roll and move quickly, which will also give added "terror" effect because people usually thinks heavy-armored guys move slowly.

STARTING:
I chose the Royalty class because it has one of the lowest Luck, which we do not need in this build. You also do not need to upgrade your Faith much for magic defense. Instead, you have Dark Silver Shield+5 to protect you from all spells, if needed. Also, the Soul Arrow early in the game is a big plus making your first playthrough a lot easier and it will also help you to get used to casting spells, which is the forte of this build.

EQUIPMENT:

-Heater Shield has 100% physical defense. Later, upgrade to Dark Silver Shield+5, which has 100% physical and spell protection at the expense of weakening your spell damage.

-Talisman of Beast (ToB) allows you to cast both Spells and Miracles (Second Chance). It is also quite a effective in Spells as compared to Wooden Catalyst. Insanity Catlyst (iCat) is out of the picture because this build is prefers to use spices to replenish MP (which are very cheap) instead of using stats to increase Intelligence (MP) that could be used already for other stats.

-Demonbrandt can be obtained early in the game. At pure white character tendency, you can have a melee weapon with a whooping 400+ base damage, depending on your stat. In NG+ or if someone will give you a Soulbrandt, you should upgrade it to Northern Regalia, which is optimized in either pure white or pure black character tendency. At SL120, your character will have 500+ base damage if you have pure white or pure black character tendency. If you want to use Uchis, instead, use "crescent" because it is optimized by higher Magic and has an inherent MP Regen. On the other hand, "moon" deals more damage to faith builds. Magic Sword Makoto causes bleeding effect to the enemy.

-Kris Blade+5 (used with ToB when casting Spells) will increase your Spell damage by (iirc, 30%) at the expense of lowering your magic defense. Use it with caution when facing fellow mages.

MINI-WALKTHROUGH/PROGRESSION:
If you are new in Demon's Souls, you might want to first earn 2,000 souls and go back to the Nexus and buy a Heater Shield from Boldwin. This shield negates 100% of physical attacks in case enemies come near you. For now, avoid the area where the Red-eyed Knight (the one with lance) is. Instead, proceed to the area being guarded by the Blue-eyed Knight.

Jump down the area below (you will see Ostrava fighting several dreglings). Do not help Ostrava. Let him fight all the enemies until nothing is left or he was killed. The purpose is so Ostrava will be very easy to kill so you can pick up (and not miss) the Mausoleum Key that will be used later to get the Demonbrandt—your main weapon until you get Northern Regalia or your maxed out Uchis/Magic Sword Makoto.

Now, try to clear the area until you open the huge gate early in the stage. To avoid risk of going back to square one, DO NOT try to go near the nesting place of the 2 dragons even if it is tempting to get the items there. You can just go back later to retrieve it (they are not in the nest in Pure White World Tendency). Return to the huge gate where you will fight your first boss, Phalanx. (Stay away from Phalanx and his henchmen and hit them with Soul Arrow. If you have no more MP, use a Fresh Spice to refill it. Alternatively, you can use Firebombs (you can buy from the dregling merchant in the same stage). Just make sure you always have your Heater shield up to avoid the spears of the boss.

After beating him and his tiny minions, you will now go back to the Nexus. Repair your equipment, and upgrade your stats. Focus on increasing your Vitallity and Magic for now. Increase your Intelligence to 18 to have 3 spell slots and 119 MP.

Next, clear World 1-2 and beat Tower Knight for his Iron Soul.

Next, clear World 1-3 and beat Fool's Idol for her Doll Soul. While clearing this stage, be sure to save Sage Freke that is incarcerated in one of the cells. After clearing this stage, go back to the Nexus.

Optional: You may want to clear World 5-1 and defeat Leechmonger to get his Wriggling Soul.

Back at the Nexus, look for Sage Freke to exchange your Iron Soul and Doll Soul to learn Warding and Soul Ray, respectively. If you got Wriggling Soul, exchange it to learn Poison Cloud.

Now, it is time to go back to World 1-1… Go to the place where the Red-eyed Knight is… Hit him with several Soul Ray and he is dead. Open the door with the Mausoleum Key and you will see Old King Doran. Attack him whatever way you want (He will not attack you). After you damage his HP by around 25%, you can get the Demonbrandt for free (You need 19 Strength to effectively wield it.).

Next, we will try to kill him for his equipment (Old King's Set)! Keep attacking him until you bring his HP close to 50%. After which, he will become hostile to you so run when he is following you. Equip Thief Ring and Ring of Magical Sharpness and be patient to hit him with Soul Ray even though the damage you deal is quite disheartening. If you learned Poison Cloud, it would be very helpful in this fight. Alternatively, you can backstab him whenever he is walking away from you and then run away. After you kill him, you will get the lightest (in terns of equip burden) piece of heavy armor in the game and the only one of its kind that has no stamina penalty. You can use Doran's armor set as your main equipment for now. The said equipment set is advantageous against fire so World 3 is a good place to clear while wearing it.

Next stop, World 3. Clear it all the way to World 3-3. Flamelurker in World 3-2 will give you the Red Hot Soul, which you need in order for you to get the "upgrade" service of Blacksmith Ed in World 3-1. It is there where you can upgrade your Demonbrandt and other unique weapons and shields. After you beat Dragon God in World 3-3 to get his Dragon Soul, you will be able to unlock World 1-3 (the gate in World 1-2 Archstone). Also, you can learn Fireball from Sage Freke using the Dragon Soul (avoid Firestorm for now).

After you did all of the above, everything is already up to you. Until you get your final equipment and the required stats to equip it, you will most probably have the following setup:

ARMORS:
Head: Silver Coronet or Ancient King's Mask
Body: Ancient King's Breastplate
Arms: Ancient King's Gauntlet
Legs: Ancient King's Leggings

WEAPONS:
Left: Heater Shield
Left (Alternate): Wooden Catalyst
Right: Demondrandt
Right (Alternate): Kris Blade

RINGS:
Ring1: Thief Ring (PvE) or Ring of Magical Sharpness (PvP)
Ring2: Ring of Great Strength (so your heavy armored guy can roll and move quickly)

CAUTION:
The main weakness of this build is its low MP (not really a problem in PvE). I sacrificed MP in exchange of more power by adding most souls to Magic stat. I did not have any problem with it in PvP because with the power you have and if you know how to time your attacks, you will most likely kill your opponent before you need to replenish your MP. Just one hit of Fireball will drop the HP of your opponent to nearly half. Besides, it only costs one Old Spice to fill your entire MP bar. Use a spice when your opponent is away or when he is down. Problem solved. Also, don't forget that this build is also a capable knight. Don't be afraid to go head on when you are cornered or no time to replenish MP.

NOTE: I am not claiming this is the best build, but it is quite reliable and effective based on my experience in both PvE and PvP. If you have tips to improve this build, feel free to share it. =)

(Looking forward to Dark Souls…)

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