Messages

Messages are an element of gameplay in Dark Souls.

General Information
Messages appear on the ground in any area as glowing orange text. Players can create and rate messages by using an Orange Guidance Soapstone. These messages are restricted to a specific format provided by the game in order to prevent abuse. The format allows the messages to be composed of two parts or finished sencences such as "Praise the Sun!". Messages in Dark Souls II can be much more complex. Only a small amount of messages are displayed in a specific area. Using Seek Guidance increases the amount of messages visible and also reveals otherwise hidden developer messages. These messages are not restricted to the format players have to use. They can also contain icons of controller buttons and have different icons as opposed to the "Hollow" icon displayed on player messages. These icons are "Knight helm", "Iron helm", "Helm of the Wise", and "Primordial Serpent". Some developer messages also float above the ground.

Common player messages

 * Be wary of Humanity: Player warns others not to reverse their Hollowing. This might be due to Darkwraith in the area.
 * Try Humanity: Player wants to cooperate with others and encourages them to reverse their Hollowing.
 * Try Jumping: Commonly found next to ledges. Player encourages others to leap from the edge. A common ruse.
 * Liar or Liar ahead: Player wants to warn others of a cheating NPC or untrue message.
 * Lizard ahead or Be wary of Lizard: Most often used to warn others of a Crystal Lizard nearby.
 * Be wary of Jumping off or Fall: Used to warn players of an unexpected gap or ledge, falling from which results in death.
 * Amazing Chest ahead: Intended to inform players of a chest containing great loot, instead found mainly outside Gwynevere's room.
 * Drake ahead: Mainly used to warn players of the Hellkite Dragon.