After beating the game for the second time (only took me 15ish hours now ), one of my few complaints is that some rings are, well... too essential. There are a ton of useful rings out there, but you can never experiment with them because, for instance in soul form, you simply can't get rid of the cling + thief ring combo. This setup is so essential that every other ring just sits in your inventory, only to be used rarely in certain cituations.
You can get the shield in 1-1 in an open grassy area guarded by the Blue and Red Dragons. If you get down there and try to grab any of the items near the Dragons you'll gonna get roast, unless you gotta kill the Red Dragon in 1-2 or have PWWT in World 1.
I finally found some time to start this game today, and I'm really disappointed by how unchallenging it is compared to Dark Souls.
I did Boletarian Palace up to the Tower Knight and the mine level up to the Armor Spider in one session and I only died once (by falling down some stairs). Both the spider and the tower knight can be killed by standing in a safe spot and shooting magic/arrows at them without you getting hit once, and the first boss (the spear/shield thing) hardly attacked at all, I can't recall Dark Souls providing safe spots in boss fights, or other ways to really cheese the game.
You can basically heal indefinitely because so many enemies drop healing herbs (I already got about 70/50/30 of those various grasses), and magic points regenerate giving you an endless pool of soul arrows, these two things alone make the game a lot easier compared to the sequel where healing and spells are strictly numbered. It's still fun and addicting, but I really wish the game were harder, Dark Souls had me sweating from the start, this one is a breeze so far.
I have a few questions though, if someone feels like answering =-):
I find the hub-levels a little confusing because the game doesn't give you hints on where to go next. I just did the first level up to where the game won't let you proceed any further and then went to the next stone (the mines). Is this a good way to proceed or is there a specific order in which I should do the levels (I tried the other stones and the first enemies seemed to be pretty similar in strength)?
Do crystal lizards not respawn in this? The ones I saw got away and when I came back they were no longer there.
Should I worry about world tendency (I have no idea what that is, I only saw it in the menu)?
I finally found some time to start this game today, and I'm really disappointed by how unchallenging it is compared to Dark Souls.
I did Boletarian Palace up to the Tower Knight and the mine level up to the Armor Spider in one session and I only died once (by falling down some stairs). Both the spider and the tower knight can be killed by standing in a safe spot and shooting magic/arrows at them without you getting hit once, and the first boss (the spear/shield thing) hardly attacked at all, I can't recall Dark Souls providing safe spots in boss fights, or other ways to really cheese the game.
You can basically heal indefinitely because so many enemies drop healing herbs (I already got about 70/50/30 of those various grasses), and magic points regenerate giving you an endless pool of soul arrows, these two things alone make the game a lot easier compared to the sequel where healing and spells are strictly numbered. It's still fun and addicting, but I really wish the game were harder, Dark Souls had me sweating from the start, this one is a breeze so far.
I have a few questions though, if someone feels like answering =-):
I find the hub-levels a little confusing because the game doesn't give you hints on where to go next. I just did the first level up to where the game won't let you proceed any further and then went to the next stone (the mines). Is this a good way to proceed or is there a specific order in which I should do the levels (I tried the other stones and the first enemies seemed to be pretty similar in strength)?
Do crystal lizards not respawn in this? The ones I saw got away and when I came back they were no longer there.
Should I worry about world tendency (I have no idea what that is, I only saw it in the menu)?
is a good way to go but it's by no means the best or the only way. I think others do this differently, but I always found World 4 to be easier than 3.
Crystal lizards don't respawn. There's a set number of them that goes up every time you beat a boss, but if you kill one or it falls into a pit or burrows down, that lizard's gone.
I did all the World tendency events on my first run (and all the Character Tendency on my second run) and some are pretty interesting, so I'd suggest you pay a little attention to WT, but there's nothing too complicated to it, really. Every time you kill a boss, your WT goes up by 1, and every time you die in body form, it goes down by 1, up to +3 and -4 respectively. The further down the game gets harder and the higher it gets easier. You also gain and lose these points by killing and being killed in multiplayer, but I don't have my PS3 connected to the internet, so I don't say much about that.
The important thing is that there are some exclusive events to PWWT (+3) and PBWT (-4), so if you want to see them all, you should:
1) Play offline
2) Play all the game in soul form, so if you die, you don't lose tendency points
3) Beat all the bosses in the world and see all the PWWT events
4) Revive yourself with Stone of the Ephemeral Eyes and suicide in body form in each of the worlds to lose tendency until you're in PBWT
5) See all the PBWT events
Loot's better in PBWT so you can take advantage of that and kill all the lizards in PBWT. They'll be tougher to kill, though, so don't mess around
^ Wow, that's a lot of info, thanks! =)
I don't know if I want to play offline, I like the online stuff...
Assuming I do want to max the white tendency (the stones in the menu glow, that means white, right?), can I do the white events and kill myself repeatedly afterwards to max black tendency, and then do the black events as well in the same level, or is it only one or the other in one playthrough?
Edit: Ouch, I just saw that that's exactly what you wrote, sorry. But just to make sure: if I kill an NPC in PWWT in body form, their black phantoms will still appear if I bring the tendency to max black afterwards?
And WT only goes up after I defeat a boss, thus difficulty should always be the same the first time I play a level, that means WT can't be the reason I find the game so easy, right?
I finally found some time to start this game today, and I'm really disappointed by how unchallenging it is compared to Dark Souls.
I did Boletarian Palace up to the Tower Knight and the mine level up to the Armor Spider in one session and I only died once (by falling down some stairs). Both the spider and the tower knight can be killed by standing in a safe spot and shooting magic/arrows at them without you getting hit once, and the first boss (the spear/shield thing) hardly attacked at all, I can't recall Dark Souls providing safe spots in boss fights, or other ways to really cheese the game.
You can basically heal indefinitely because so many enemies drop healing herbs (I already got about 70/50/30 of those various grasses), and magic points regenerate giving you an endless pool of soul arrows, these two things alone make the game a lot easier compared to the sequel where healing and spells are strictly numbered. It's still fun and addicting, but I really wish the game were harder, Dark Souls had me sweating from the start, this one is a breeze so far.
I have a few questions though, if someone feels like answering =-):
I find the hub-levels a little confusing because the game doesn't give you hints on where to go next. I just did the first level up to where the game won't let you proceed any further and then went to the next stone (the mines). Is this a good way to proceed or is there a specific order in which I should do the levels (I tried the other stones and the first enemies seemed to be pretty similar in strength)?
Do crystal lizards not respawn in this? The ones I saw got away and when I came back they were no longer there.
Should I worry about world tendency (I have no idea what that is, I only saw it in the menu)?
The benefits of playing offline is that you have absolute control over WT (and that nobody can invade you and make you lose WT), but you should play the game in the way it's more pleasant to you. Both the CT and WT events are very small things but I like them a lot and I think they're definitively worthwhile. You won't miss out on much, though, so just play the way you enjoy the most. Both the CT and WT carry on with you when you do NG+ so you can take as many playthroughs as you want to experience it all.
Assuming I do want to max the white tendency (the stones in the menu glow, that means white, right?), can I do the white events and kill myself repeatedly afterwards to max black tendency, and then do the black events as well in the same level, or is it only one or the other in one playthrough?
Edit: Ouch, I just saw that that's exactly what you wrote, sorry. But just to make sure: if I kill an NPC in PWWT in body form, their black phantoms will still appear if I bring the tendency to max black afterwards?
Yup, if you kill, for instance (not a big spoiler since he's not much of a character and killing him is optional, but just in case)
Satstuki
in PWWT, he'll show up in PBWT as a black phantom. Same for everybody else. Black Phantoms are some of the most exciting fights in the game, so I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with PBWT.
And WT only goes up after I defeat a boss, thus difficulty should always be the same the first time I play a level, that means WT can't be the reason I find the game so easy, right?
Right. I haven't played Dark Souls so I cannot say how they measure to each other, but I found Demon's to be pretty tougher the less I used magic, and I know magic's something Dark manages differently, so that's probably what you're finding unbalanced.
You've probably already become really used to the DS mentality, and that matters a lot. I was really unprepared the first time I grabbed Demon's and I got annoyed with the game before getting to the boss in 1-2. Dark's probably tougher because it's taking into account players already experienced with the series. Demon's just grabbed everyone by surprise (although the same is probably true to 360 players of Dark).
So I just gave up my Fluted Armor the Black Leather armor set in 3-1. Apparently rolling is the most important thing ever these days >_> Not only that, but I also had to abandon the Brushwood Armor because not only is it too heavy, but I didn't have room to carry it and Fluted Armor. Fuck these hard choices... I need to get some MR, preferably a shield. Any ideas?
So I just gave up my Fluted Armor the Black Leather armor set in 3-1. Apparently rolling is the most important thing ever these days >_> Not only that, but I also had to abandon the Brushwood Armor because not only is it too heavy, but I didn't have room to carry it and Fluted Armor. Fuck these hard choices... I need to get some MR, preferably a shield. Any ideas?
So I just gave up my Fluted Armor the Black Leather armor set in 3-1. Apparently rolling is the most important thing ever these days >_> Not only that, but I also had to abandon the Brushwood Armor because not only is it too heavy, but I didn't have room to carry it and Fluted Armor. Fuck these hard choices... I need to get some MR, preferably a shield. Any ideas?
"MR" as in magic resistance? I don't know how far you are into the game yet, but maybe at your stage a shield with decent magic resistance would be the Rune Shield (a pickup on 3-2, gotten by a very well placed fall onto a ledge), or Adjudicator's Shield (a pickup halfway through 4-1, just past the Vanguard boss). AS has 50 MR I believe, Rune Shield has 60.
Edit: Dark Silver is the best with 100, but you won't get access to it until late game.
"MR" as in magic resistance? I don't know how far you are into the game yet, but maybe at your stage a shield with decent magic resistance would be the Rune Shield (a pickup on 3-2, gotten by a very well placed far onto a ledge), or Adjudicator's Shield (a pickup halfway through 4-1, just past the Vanguard boss). AS has 50 MR I believe, Rune Shield has 60.
Edit: Dark Silver is the best with 100, but you won't get access to it until late game.
Adjudicator's Shield is pretty easy to pick up though, just run past Vanguard and lure the Black Skeleton away from the pickup once you climb the stairs, even if you die the pickup is yours. You could also grab the Crescent Falchion in 4-1, which will help on Flame Lurker, and also against the Bear Bugs.
But since you already can't equip the PFS, maybe it'd be wise to try for the Rune Shileld until you level strength, the boss the 3-1 is super easy (provided you kill that ghoul with the magic around him) but 90% of the challenge of 3-1 is the level itself.
I noticed that if I equip the ring of greater strength (that increases equip burden), I can dodge and roll perfectly fine in fluted armor. Is it worth giving the Cling Ring + Thief Ring combo for Cling and GS combo?
I noticed that if I equip the ring of greater strength (that increases equip burden), I can dodge and roll perfectly fine in fluted armor. Is it worth giving the Cling Ring + Thief Ring combo for Cling and GS combo?
Alright, I just beat Flamelurker and Adjudicator last night, and I accidentally got Black World Tendency for World 4
(I killed Satsuki after speaking to him with the sword equipped >_< )
So I'm probably going to build a str/dex character. What armor set should I use/get? Right now I'm using the Black Leather Set w/Kite Shield primarily, and for weapons I'm using a Uchigatana +3, Crescent Falchion +1, Dragon Longsword +1 and Compound Long Bow(I got a White Bow but stats not enough yet to use).
Any suggestions? Also, I want to go back to white tendency in world 4, how would I go abouts doing that?
Alright, I just beat Flamelurker and Adjudicator last night, and I accidentally got Black World Tendency for World 4
(I killed Satsuki after speaking to him with the sword equipped >_< )
So I'm probably going to build a str/dex character. What armor set should I use/get? Right now I'm using the Black Leather Set w/Kite Shield primarily, and for weapons I'm using a Uchigatana +3, Crescent Falchion +1, Dragon Longsword +1 and Compound Long Bow(I got a White Bow but stats not enough yet to use).
Any suggestions? Also, I want to go back to white tendency in world 4, how would I go abouts doing that?
is the best armor for females and the Ancient King's set from
Old King Doran
is the best for males. The Black Leather set is probably the best after those two since the whole set is light enough to still let you roll.
If you're playing online, then you don't need to worry about your world tendency too much. Every time you connect to the servers, the world tendency is shifted toward neutral, so you won't be in black world tendency for long. This does become a problem when you want to be in pure white or pure black world tendency though. For that, it's usually just encouraged to play offline.
Alright, I just beat Flamelurker and Adjudicator last night, and I accidentally got Black World Tendency for World 4
(I killed Satsuki after speaking to him with the sword equipped >_< )
So I'm probably going to build a str/dex character. What armor set should I use/get? Right now I'm using the Black Leather Set w/Kite Shield primarily, and for weapons I'm using a Uchigatana +3, Crescent Falchion +1, Dragon Longsword +1 and Compound Long Bow(I got a White Bow but stats not enough yet to use).
Any suggestions? Also, I want to go back to white tendency in world 4, how would I go abouts doing that?
) and Blinded Cross to get decent armor while still being able to roll. If I were you, I'd add a Winged Spear to your weapon repertoire and upgrade it to +3 at least, then I'd probably make it sharp (dex upgrades, more info on the wiki).
To get white WT look for and kill these guys:
They should show up now that you're on PBWT. Killing them will give you positive WT points of the world you're killing them on (in your case, go to world 4-1, 4-2, etc.). More info: http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/primeval-demon
) and Blinded Cross to get decent armor while still being able to roll. If I were you, I'd add a Winged Spear to your weapon repertoire and upgrade it to +3 at least, then I'd probably make it sharp (dex upgrades, more info on the wiki).
To get white WT look for and kill these guys:
They should show up now that you're on PBWT. Killing them will give you positive WT points of the world you're killing them on (in your case, go to world 4-1, 4-2, etc.). More info: http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/primeval-demon
If you're playing online, then you don't need to worry about your world tendency too much. Every time you connect to the servers, the world tendency is shifted toward neutral, so you won't be in black world tendency for long. This does become a problem when you want to be in pure white or pure black world tendency though. For that, it's usually just encouraged to play offline.
You probably aren't PBWT then. Only offline thing you have left is beating bosses. Here's the online stuff you can do to raise your WT: http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/world-tendency.
So.....Old King Doran and False King Allant are the hardest mother fuckers ever...... I managed to walk up to False King, he has nice shoes. Old King, I managed to bring down to 50% the first time I faced him, from then on, I saw he had nice shoes as well.
So.....Old King Doran and False King Allant are the hardest mother fuckers ever...... I managed to walk up to False King, he has nice shoes. Old King, I managed to bring down to 50% the first time I faced him, from then on, I saw he had nice shoes as well.
So.....Old King Doran and False King Allant are the hardest mother fuckers ever...... I managed to walk up to False King, he has nice shoes. Old King, I managed to bring down to 50% the first time I faced him, from then on, I saw he had nice shoes as well.
Doran: Whenever he opens up get a few hit on him, and slowly keep backing up as he walks toward you. If you lure him to the enclosed area before the Red-Eyed Knight he'll turn around and walk back. So if you're in trouble just run away and get him from behind!
False King: You're just going to have to memorize his tells and patterns if you're doing it melee. Nothing I can really say to make that easier, other than look through the wiki for ways to cheese him. The only thing that'll make it somewhat easier is get a quick hit on him when he goes to do his area attack, it's risky but you'll have a few frames where you can cancel his attack.
So.....Old King Doran and False King Allant are the hardest mother fuckers ever...... I managed to walk up to False King, he has nice shoes. Old King, I managed to bring down to 50% the first time I faced him, from then on, I saw he had nice shoes as well.
Prioritize defense over offense. If you can manage to learn their attacks well enough to not get hit, then all you have to do is take your time and strike when you know it's safe.
the False King and the floor of the Nexus opened, and the Maiden won't let me level up anymore
, that means I'm close to the end right? The game is surprisingly small compared to Dark Souls, I actually did worlds 2-5 twice (helped someone in coop) but my playtime still is only one third of what I needed to complete Dark.
Most disappointing aspect for me were the bosses, there are all so easy, the only ones that killed me were Dragon God (I had no idea what I was supposed to do and just ran in circles till he hit me lol), the gargoyles (knocked me off the tower) and the False King with his giant AOE spell, but once you know his attacks that his biggest move can be cancelled by hitting him once False King is a lot easier than Gwyn IMO.
My favorite world is probably Latria, very creepy and atmospheric, it reminded me a lot of Castlevania. The hardest was Valley of Defilement (fighting four giant depraved ones at the same time in the swamp is not fun), that level was one of the darkest and most depressing things I've seen in a game, Blighttown has nothing on this, the boss "fight" really caught me off guard, I was expecting some giant monster at the core of all that filth, and then...
Question: Is there a preferred PvP area like in Dark Souls (soul levels?)? Or am I too late for that?
So.....Old King Doran and False King Allant are the hardest mother fuckers ever...... I managed to walk up to False King, he has nice shoes. Old King, I managed to bring down to 50% the first time I faced him, from then on, I saw he had nice shoes as well.
Old King Doran is by far the hardest foe in the game. He has an insane defense. I remember even with my str build character with a Dragon Bone Smasher buffed, the damage was ridiculous.
I recommend to use the Tower Shield to block his attacks because the combat is long and it's difficult to dodge all time (if you take a direct hit with his 2H attack it's a one shot basically).
If you can't use that shield, the dark shield (100% physical and magic damage reduction) can help too. The only problem with this is its low stability.
the False King and the floor of the Nexus opened, and the Maiden won't let me level up anymore
, that means I'm close to the end right? The game is surprisingly small compared to Dark Souls, I actually did worlds 2-5 twice (helped someone in coop) but my playtime still is only one third of what I needed to complete Dark.
Most disappointing aspect for me were the bosses, there are all so easy, the only ones that killed me were Dragon God (I had no idea what I was supposed to do and just ran in circles till he hit me lol), the gargoyles (knocked me off the tower) and the False King with his giant AOE spell, but once you know his attacks that his biggest move can be cancelled by hitting him once False King is a lot easier than Gwyn IMO.
My favorite world is probably Latria, very creepy and atmospheric, it reminded me a lot of Castlevania. The hardest was Valley of Defilement (fighting four giant depraved ones at the same time in the swamp is not fun), that level was one of the darkest and most depressing things I've seen in a game, Blighttown has nothing on this, the boss "fight" really caught me off guard, I was expecting some giant monster at the core of all that filth, and then...
Question: Is there a preferred PvP area like in Dark Souls (soul levels?)? Or am I too late for that?
the False King and the floor of the Nexus opened, and the Maiden won't let me level up anymore
, that means I'm close to the end right? The game is surprisingly small compared to Dark Souls, I actually did worlds 2-5 twice (helped someone in coop) but my playtime still is only one third of what I needed to complete Dark.
Most disappointing aspect for me were the bosses, there are all so easy, the only ones that killed me were Dragon God (I had no idea what I was supposed to do and just ran in circles till he hit me lol), the gargoyles (knocked me off the tower) and the False King with his giant AOE spell, but once you know his attacks that his biggest move can be cancelled by hitting him once False King is a lot easier than Gwyn IMO.
My favorite world is probably Latria, very creepy and atmospheric, it reminded me a lot of Castlevania. The hardest was Valley of Defilement (fighting four giant depraved ones at the same time in the swamp is not fun), that level was one of the darkest and most depressing things I've seen in a game, Blighttown has nothing on this, the boss "fight" really caught me off guard, I was expecting some giant monster at the core of all that filth, and then...
Question: Is there a preferred PvP area like in Dark Souls (soul levels?)? Or am I too late for that?
That's funny because I plated Demon's Souls back then, finished Dark Souls and then came back to Demon's Souls and I still find Demon's so much harder than Dark Souls.
What build did you use?
I always go str or faith build.
That's funny because I plated Demon's Souls back then, finished Dark Souls and then came back to Demon's Souls and I still find Demon's so much harder than Dark Souls.
What build did you use?
I always go str or faith build.
I used a magic build with light armour, Kris Blade, crescent Kilij & crescent Estoc, soul ray, fire spray & protection for my entire playthrough.
The main reasons why I find the game so much easier:
- I always had a gazillion healing herbs & spices. While in Dark Souls you can only heal a limited numbers of times and cast a limited number of spells, in Demon's it's basically unlimited.
- Bosses: no comparison, for most bosses there are safe spots where you can't even get hit.
- Enemies: lower damage (I only had a single one-hit kill (Dragon God) while I had plenty in Dark Souls), few in number so you hardly ever feel cornered (and with the thief's ring you can take on most enemies one on one), low health (most mobs go down in a few hits).
After the old monk fight I felt bad beating the Guy so I tried to help him with the maneater boss fight by laying down my soul sign, only to be summoned as the pvp boss for someone else lol. I felt bad killing him as well lol. He was overburdened and couldnt roll fast at all xD. I just rolled around him for a bit to scare him. Backstabbed once, let him heal, then broke through defense with my meat cleaver and smashed him lol.
It was funny. Does invading blacken world tendency?
Also beat Leechmonger, first try.
Is it me, or did the bosses suddenly get really easy....
I used a magic build with light armour, Kris Blade, crescent Kilij & crescent Estoc, soul ray, fire spray & protection for my entire playthrough.
The main reasons why I find the game so much easier:
- I always had a gazillion healing herbs & spices. While in Dark Souls you can only heal a limited numbers of times and cast a limited number of spells, in Demon's it's basically unlimited.
- Bosses: no comparison, for most bosses there are safe spots where you can't even get hit.
- Enemies: lower damage (I only had a single one-hit kill (Dragon God) while I had plenty in Dark Souls), few in number so you hardly ever feel cornered (and with the thief's ring you can take on most enemies one on one), low health (most mobs go down in a few hits).
Ok that pretty much explains it.
I beat Demon's Souls more than 15 times and I never used magic or the thief ring.
The game is much more forgiving in Dark Souls. You don't spend 90% of the time with 50% of your health (ok you still can be cursed but that happens once). Weapons are much stronger in Dark Souls and easier to make. The item burden does not exist in Dark Souls and equip burden is much more restricted so there are only few sets that you can use and remain <50% in Demon's Souls. If you hit a NPC you're screwed... and more.
They really made Dark Souls much easier IMO. Like I said, I beat DmS more than 15 times and DkS less than 9 and still beat DkS finger in the nose (my last character was SL15 which is would be a nightmare in DmS) and struggle in DmS.
But I heard that magic is so powerful so since it's unlimited in DmS, obviously that make it easier than DkS for you.
That said, I never felt the need of more Estus Flask in DkS, so healing was never a problem.
After the old monk fight I felt bad beating the Guy so I tried to help him with the maneater boss fight by laying down my soul sign, only to be summoned as the pvp boss for someone else lol. I felt bad killing him as well lol. He was overburdened and couldnt roll fast at all xD. I just rolled around him for a bit to scare him. Backstabbed once, let him heal, then broke through defense with my meat cleaver and smashed him lol.
It was funny. Does invading blacken world tendency?
Also beat Leechmonger, first try.
Is it me, or did the bosses suddenly get really easy....
After the old monk fight I felt bad beating the Guy so I tried to help him with the maneater boss fight by laying down my soul sign, only to be summoned as the pvp boss for someone else lol. I felt bad killing him as well lol. He was overburdened and couldnt roll fast at all xD. I just rolled around him for a bit to scare him. Backstabbed once, let him heal, then broke through defense with my meat cleaver and smashed him lol.
It was funny. Does invading blacken world tendency?
Also beat Leechmonger, first try.
Is it me, or did the bosses suddenly get really easy....
Ok that pretty much explains it.
I beat Demon's Souls more than 15 times and I never used magic or the thief ring.
The game is much more forgiving in Dark Souls. You don't spend 90% of the time with 50% of your health (ok you still can be cursed but that happens once). Weapons are much stronger in Dark Souls and easier to make. The item burden does not exist in Dark Souls and equip burden is much more restricted so there are only few sets that you can use and remain <50% in Demon's Souls. If you hit a NPC you're screwed... and more.
They really made Dark Souls much easier IMO. Like I said, I beat DmS more than 15 times and DkS less than 9 and still beat DkS finger in the nose (my last character was SL15 which is would be a nightmare in DmS) and struggle in DmS.
But I heard that magic is so powerful so since it's unlimited in DmS, obviously that make it easier than DkS for you.
That said, I never felt the need of more Estus Flask in DkS, so healing was never a problem.
I didn't always use the thief's ring, and I stopped using magic for the most part half way through (and I only used the three spells I mentioned anyway, which are amongst the weaker ones), but I can't say that fighting without magic made the game much harder, on the contrary, most mobs are quicker to kill by just hitting them with weapons two-handed.
But even if the game were harder if I ditched magic completely, that would only make the game "artificially harder" because I'm restricting myself on purpose. To me, difficulty is measured by how difficult a game is when using all the stuff you have at your disposal without cheating or glitching, so not casting spells as a mage is kinda losing the point.
If you want to free up space from the cling ring i'd say. I personally never use them, because if you die in a world in body form, you lose world tendency and shit gets harder.
I always used them before taking on a boss, the extra health helps especially on NG+ and beyond. Also because people like to leave summon signs before boss rooms.
I haven't played the game in a few months so I don't proper remember, but as I understood it, the real King Allant is just that weak, putrid blob, overrun by its own lust for power, and he's replaced by the False King Allant (the one you fight in 4-1) as ruler of Boletaria. You're then faced by the same choice he was, to take upon yourself the power of the Demon's Souls, taking the Maiden in Black's Demon Soul in the process, or (if you're stronger willed) to forsake those dark powers and return the world to harmony.
I can't fully remember, but I think the Monumentals were some kind of guardians of balance, and the one you find tasks you with doing just that: defeating the Old One (you do this by killing the real King Allant inside him) and restoring the world's balance.
Hope that helped.
I don't think the game's story's too open to interpretation, but some of the events aren't easily/clearly laid out for you, specially if you don't take the time to read all the item's descriptions, talk to everyone at the Nexus or pay a lot of attention to the details in the environments.