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Settings & Controls (2)
Demon's Souls

Settings & Controls (2)

Learn how to customize your Demon's Souls experience by adjusting game settings, including the Help Menu and Network Launch State for optimal World Tendency. Master controls for combat, magic, and archery.

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Learn how to customize your Demon's Souls experience by adjusting game settings, including the Help Menu and Network Launch State for optimal World Tendency. Master controls for combat, magic, and archery.

If you are new to the game, please read each of these sections carefully.

  • Settings
  • Controls

Settings

Feel free to go through the various settings to customize the game to your liking. There are two points in the Settings that you should definitely visit:

Help Menu

Settings → Game → Help Menu

If you're a newcomer, make sure to go through the entirety of the Help Menu to familiarize yourself with the game.

Online Mode / Offline Mode

Settings → Network → Launch State

The default is Online. If you choose to change it to Offline, the following features will be disabled when you start a new game: Messages, Bloodstains, Eye Stones, including but not limited to invasions, summoning help, and passwords. You can Go Online manually when starting even if you choose to leave it at Offline in the Settings menu.

For your first playthrough, it's recommended to play in Offline mode just for the sake of having full control of your World Tendency progress.

Controls

ButtonGeneral ActionsUsing MagicUsing BowMiscellaneous
Left StickMove
L3
Right StickCamera
R3Camera Reset / Lock-On
RightSwitch Right-Hand Weapon
DownSwitch ItemZoom Out (Aim)
LeftSwitch Left-Hand Weapon
UpSwitch MagicSwitch MagicZoom In (Aim)
CircleEvade / Sprint (Hold)Climb Ladder Faster (Hold)
CrossInteractSkip Cut Scenes (Hold)
SquareUse Item
TriangleTwo-Hand WeaponOne-Hand Weapon
L1Guard (Shield)Cast Magic (Left-Hand)Precision Aim
L2Parry / Bash (Shield)Attack (Left-Hand)Precision Aim
R1AttackCast Magic (Right-Hand)Switch Ammo
R2Strong AttackAttack (Right-Hand)Shoot
OptionsSubmenu
Touch PadToolbelt
(You can customize the Touch Pad and assign two different functions to it; one for the left half, one for the right half.)
Access Photo Mode / Gestures
(Photo Mode can be used as PAUSE)
Other Controls
  • Holding the Cross button allows you to skip cut scenes.
  • Holding the Circle button while climbing a ladder allows you to climb faster.
  • You technically cannot Pause in this game. When you go into the Menu, everything continues happening in the background, meaning you can still be killed. However, there IS a Photo Mode you can access by pressing the Touch Pad button and choosing Photo Mode, which does freeze the game in the background, allowing you to have a Pause.
  • R1 + Triangle against certain ledges in the Boletarian Palace will allow you to hop over the ledge to the other side / area below.
  • L2 + R2 will allow you to do an action specific to certain weapons. For example, the Morning Star will push the enemy backward, whereas the Kilij will do two quick weaker slices in succession, with the second slice having you jump backward a little bit.

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