Board Thread:Dark Souls/@comment-29518466-20160807195826/@comment-4511886-20160807204511

While the stats themselves don't appear to be anything out of the ordinary, it is quite ballsy to both do no-shield and using the Cestus on your first run.

The Cestus is nowhere near the beast of a weapon it became in Dark Souls II. It hits fast, but not all that hard and, more importantly, its range is pitiful. It's still viable, mind you, just difficult to use. Additionally, dual-wielding is practically non-existent in Dark Souls, as only one weapon in the entire game is capable of more than one attack in the left hand, and even that one has rather poor synergy with right-hand attacks. The Cestus in particular will basically just make the jab that you'd do with an empty hand a bit more powerful, as the parry is identical for both "weapons".

Also a note on the first build is that Katanas, save for the Washing Pole, gain nothing from increasing Strength. So on that first build, you're better off using something that scales well with both stats instead. Straight and Greatswords tend to work best with such stats.

Finally, which build to pick. Personally, I'd go for the third build, mainly because Great Magic Barrier is possibly the most ridiculously useful spell in the entire game, and many Miracles are also very powerful for utility purposes. However, I'd go as a Cleric instead of a Pyromancer. This would not only get you into the correct playstyle from the start, but it would also save you two levels as it is the optimal class for that build. On top of that, the Canvas Talisman is the optimal choice overall for 40 faith, and Clerics start with it. (Technically, the Darkmoon Talisman is the strongest at 40 Faith. However, it only beats the Canvas by a single point of Mag. Adjust, which is not worth the effort to get it. See it more as a nice bonus in case you happen to go for Darkmoon Blade.)