I’m not a great fan of DS, because I’m not that good at fighting games (which made it overly repetitive) and the required stat accountancy. I did like the graphical style and some of the combat moves (not the rolling, even though it seems essential). It’s not a game I’d replay but might consider a prequel/sequel.
I carried around all my plethora of weapons (and armour) but only used a halberd for the majority of the game, as it kept the enemies at long range and suited my stats. Later I used the Lighting Spear to counter the Silver Knights’ lunges as I could use in without dropping my shield. Also used the bows for sniping.
Eventually I discovered some kind of heavy axe (Great Axe?) which stunned the Giant Clams, and up to that point, I found really tough to kill.
I found the stats and number of weapons overwhelming and was spending quite a lot of time being bored, poring over character stats comparisons with weapons stat bonuses - accountancy gameplay. So my weapon selection was really functional rather than stat-based: ranged and defensive.
I also changed armour according to the encounter/map. Sometimes I needed agility with poison resistance so switched to Crimson armour, but mainly used the Catarina heavy armour (which gives some mobility due to good defence/weight ratio).
How do you play? Do you try out all the weapons & armour, change them for each encounter, stick with one or upgrade by analysing stats? How do you minimize the accountancy and maximise gameplay but prevent it from being too difficult from not having the required stats/bonuses etc?
I have DS2 on X360 (back compat with X1), but may not ever get around to playing it. Thought Demon’s Souls looked like the most interesting next-gen release game.