[quote=mdk] There's a handful of gear scattered throughout, but the skeletons are very tough to kill if you head in there early, and they swarm you in a big way. Very deadly -- of course, it's also a pretty good place to grind for souls early on.My advice for weapons is -- Balder Side Sword. In fact just get Balder Everything. You'll meet some enemies *fairly* early on that wear these tattered red capes, and kick your ass -- they have lots of really good gear (including one of the better swords in the game, one of the best shields in the game, and one of the best medium-heavy armor sets in the game). They also give a pretty hefty number of souls, and you'll meet them right before heading into some tough areas, so it's worth the time. Kill lots of them -- they'll give up their gear eventually. The equipment isn't *super* against magic, but it's strong against most everything else, and it makes a good benchmark (if you find armor pieces that are better than Balder, it's good armor).Alternatively, shield + spear is *very* good against the in-game enemies. Invaders will eat you for breakfast, but you'll walk through monsters, because you can attack while guarding. Very beginner-friendly, and you'll encounter lots of quality spears without having to put much work into them. [/quote] Thanks. I'll still go into the graveyard then. I don't mind death as long as I can attain some skill, and, items/souls. I'll make sure to get some balder gear and check out a spear/shield combo. [quote=Turtlicious] IF you're splat running the catacombs, get a guide, and never stop running. The scythe is an amazin'balls weapon, and I tend to splat run new characters to grab it. Still get my ass kicked by invaders though. [/quote] I have already written a guide for myself to get the scythe easy. i just need to withstand the enemies and such along the way. I'd definitely sacrifice dying a few times and hollowing for it. [quote=Frizan] Oh, and get a weapon centered around dexterity[b]. Dex weapons are pretty much the absolute best weapons in the game,[/b] bar none. Sure, strength weapons can output a lot of damage, but not only are most strength weapons slow as fuck(like, REALLY slow. Not even worth using), quite a few dex weapons can match their damage, and even do more with the right scaling choices. [/quote] That's why I'm getting the scythe. It's basically the best dex weapon in the game, from what I've read.