When it comes to character creation in games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne, it’s usually a smart idea for first time players to run through as a knight or mage. FromSoftware’s Soulsborne franchise is known for its brutal difficulty, and while easier than its successors, Demon’s Souls is no different in that regard. Trying to build something like an archer early on can cripple a playthrough altogether. At the same time, Demon’s Souls offers several concessions to make the game easier.
While logic would dictate that an archer would struggle getting through Demon’s Souls, it’s possible to build a monster of a character. By making use of some of the most unique pieces of gear in the game, archers can turn themselves into genuine monsters capable of sniping anything and everything to their grave with just a bundle of arrows.
Updated July 26, 2021 by Renan Fontes: Part of what makes Demon's Souls such a replayable game is how much variety you're offered in terms of builds. Perhaps not as much as Dark Souls in terms of sheer volume, but the average Demon's Souls build can get a lot done even if the level and enemy design are against them. Just look at archers. While it is possible to build an overpowered archer in Demon's Souls through sheer grinding and finding the right items, you still need to know how to play the game. Archers are arguably the hardest build in Demon's Souls to master, but the payoff is immense.
How To Play An Archer
The main caveat to playing an archer in Demon's Souls is that the game really is designed around either physical builds or magic (less so magic considering how overpowered spells ultimately are). Archers, on the other hand, are forced to stay on the defensive. Due to the way aggro works in Demon's Souls, just getting too close to an enemy as an archer hinders your mobility. While you can use the bow at close range, this isn't advised and goes against the whole point of playing as an archer.
To be a successful archer, you need to be patient. You'll have to regularly trade in your Souls for arrows instead of stats and hunker down to snipe enemies from afar. So long as you aren't too close, you can successfully kill enemies from afar without aggroing them to your attention. Even if you do, precise aim can kill most enemies rushing your path. You just need to make you find a safe sniping spot, keep your distance, and actually clear out enemies in an area before pressing forward. Levels will take a long time, but it'll be worth it.
Hardest Stages For Archers
For the most part, that is. While archers can snipe most enemies reliably, there will be a few encounters where you'll need to get up close and personal. A few stages are downright brutal for archers. 4-1 can be a pain, especially if multiple skeletons aggro you at once. Magic kills skeletons without too much trouble and melee builds can swap to blunt weapons, but you'll need to settle for chip damage here.
Areas like 3-1 that are cramped or 2-2 that throw enemies towards you at close range also pose serious issues, since you won't be able to find organic vantage points. Patience becomes more important than ever in stages like these, as you'll need to bait enemies towards a safer area where you can unload your arrows. At the end of the day, archers will need to approach stages more creatively than their counterparts.
Hardest Bosses For Archers
Archers are going to have a hard time with a few bosses. Flamelurker (who has strategies detailed below) is one of the toughest challenges in Demon's Souls, but he's hardly the only wall you'll run into on your journey as an archer. The Tower Knight, Maneaters, and False King Allant are downright lethal against an archer. The Tower Knight is the easiest of the bunch, but he reuqires so much patience that the fight really starts to drag. The Maneaters are just manic and difficult to juggle in general, with Allant featuring a complex attack pattern that's hard for an archer to counter in the moment.
Start As A Royal
Class isn’t nearly as important in Demon’s Souls as it is in most RPGs, but smart players should coordinate their builds in order to benefit from early game advantages which play to their desired strengths. Although Royals are best suited for Magic since they start with Soul Arrow, a Fragrant Ring, and a Silver Catalyst, there are immediate benefits for anyone readying up to play an archer.
Royalty characters can blast through 1-1 quickly, allowing players to get to the meat of their build in minutes, while also starting with 12 Dex at SL1. Royals also come equipped with a rapier, a useful Dexterity weapon for archers who wind up in actual combat (which will need to happen at some points).
Invest In Dexterity
Dexterity will be every archer’s main stat and should be prioritized in the first few level ups. It’s also suggested to push Strength to at least 15 as soon as possible since the best bow has a STR requirement of 22 that actually registers as 15 due to how bows are inherently two-handed weapons.
Dexterity soft caps at 50, greatly increasing the damage players will do with their bow over time, along with decreasing fall damage – a rare benefit of Dex that often goes unsung. By hitting the build’s base STR of 15 and pumping DEX, archers will be able to comfortably snipe enemies before they become problems.
Raise Vitality
One of the caveats of playing an archer in Demon’s Souls (or any Souls game, really), is the inevitability of close quarters combat. Whether it be a Black Phantom or one of 1-3’s many Red Eyed Knights, archers will be putting themselves at serious risks multiple points throughout the game. It’s imperative to have the Vitality to withstand any damage, especially since playing in soul form reduces max HP.
Vitality also has the added bonus of increasing the carrying weight for items. Not only is this especially useful in the remakes where higher tiered Grass is actually heavy, Vitality ensures players can carry all the arrows they need for their build.
Grab The Compound Longbow
The Compound Longbow has the potential to become the single best bow in Demon’s Souls and can be obtained shortly after Phalanx is defeated. Head to the Archstone of the Shadowmen to start 4-1. While the Shrine of Storms is best saved for later into the game, its early stage treasures are worth braving the Silver Skeletons.
The Compound Longbow is found atop the watchtower passed through to get to Vanguard. The bow will be guarded by two Skeleton Archers, but they’re simple enough to put down. Grab the Compound Longbow and prepare to tackle the Archstone of the Burrow King.
Upgrade A Sticky Compound Longbow
Making the most out of the Compound Longbow means upgrading the weapon down the Sticky path. Unfortunately, Blacksmith Boldwin can’t do the work himself, requiring the services of Blacksmith Ed down in Stonefang. Head to 2-1 and upgrade the Compound Longbow to +3. From there, the bow can be brought down the Sticky line.
Sticky weapons require Spiderstone for upgrading, farmable off Scale Miners and Crystal Lizards. When fully upgraded, the Sticky Compound Longbow +5 decreases the player’s Strength value while greatly increasing Dexterity and range – leading to a bow that fells most enemies with minimal effort.
Scale Miners can be found in abundance throughout Stonefang Tunnel, usually grouped together at work. While Scale Miners are slow and can be easily killed, they can be surprisingly difficult to take on in groups. It's best to stick to magic weapons and take each miner out individually. For increased drop rates, make sure to be on Pure Black World Tendency.
Find The Black Leather Set
Since archers will primarily be fighting enemies from afar, just about any set of armor will do. That said, it’s best to pick a light set so players can carry as many arrows on hand as they see fit. The Black Leather set will allow archers to fast roll while offering resistance for just about every status effect in the game.
The Black Leather set can be found in the Tower of Latria’s Prison of Hope. Head to the iron maiden room on the second floor and the Black Leather set will be inside the left iron maiden. The Thief class also comes equipped with the Black Leather set for anyone who doesn't want to start out as Royalty.
Level Up Magic
Considering how overpowered Magic is in Demon’s Souls, it’s worth noting how archers can benefit from the stat. Notably, the Lava Bow serves as a fantastic alternative to the Compound Longbow. While the weapon scales with Strength and Dexterity, the Lava Bow does extra fire damage on contact that scales with Magic. By having a high Magic stat enough, the Lava Bow can decimate enemies just as reliably as the Compound Longbow.
Create The Lava Bow
Like with the Sticky Compound Longbow, only Blacksmith Ed can forge the weapon. Not only do players have to upgrade any basic bow to +7, they need to have defeated Flamelurker in order to use its soul to fortify new weapons. Ed will then request the Hard Demon’s Souls – dropped from the Armored Spider in 2-1 – in order to make the Lava Bow itself.
With the highest durability of any bow in the game and fire damage that’ll burn demons to a grisp, the Lava Bow is a much have for any magically in-tune archers. Flamelurker can be found in 2-2 and is one of the hardest bosses in Demon's Souls. Mages will can actually have an easier time in this battle since Flamelurker is weak to magic. Simply lock on, keep some distance, and pelt Soul Arrows until he dies.
Knights and other melee characters will have a considerably harder time. Flamelurker's telegraphs are as fast as they are hard to read. You'll need to keep close, strafe accordingly, and attack only when safe. For the especially timid, Flamelurker can be lured to a pillar in the northwest corner of the room where his AI can be manipulated to put a wall between the two of you where he can still be damaged.
Equip The Clever Rat’s Ring
With a fully equipped and leveled archer, it’s time to put the rest of Demon's Souls in its place. The best way to use the archer is by making use of hyper damage tied to low health. The Clever Rat’s Ring increases a player’s damage by 50% when they have less than 30% health – perfect for archers who will be fighting primarily from long range.
Quick players can also use this strategy to kill bosses, dodging their attacks and sniping them in seconds. The Clever Rat’s Ring is found in the Tower of Latria, in the hall leading up to the Ballista. Either dodge roll the arrows to reach the other side, or simply walk through the level to deactivate the ballista and grab the Ring.
Create & Equip The Morion Blade Off Hand
The Morion Blade won’t actually be used by any archers in combat, but it’ll be equipped offhand for its bonuses. Just like the Clever Cat’s Ring, the Morion Blade offers an attack bonus when under 30% health – a 60% increase in damage. Better yet, the Morion Blade actually stacks with the Clever Cat’s Ring, allowing savvy players to utterly destroy Demon’s Souls’ hardest gameplay challenges.
Blacksmith Ed will create the Morion Blade in exchange for the Storm Demon’s Soul (4-3) on just about any +8 sword. The Morion Blade will be the heaviest weapon archers have equipped, but it’s worth it for the ludicrous damage output. Unfortunately, as the Archdemon of the Shrine of Storms, the Storm Demon can put up a challenge.
Like most Archdemon bosses, the Storm Demon is a gimmick fight. Instead of fighting the Storm Demon directly, run down the boss arena's hill and pull out the Storm Ruler from its pedestal. When locked onto the Storm Demon, you'll fire a massive gust of wind with the Storm Ruler. Clear out all the enemies in the sky first and then turn your attention to Storm Ruler. The boss will glide around the sky, but stick to the ground level and he'll always loop back for some easy hits.