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Originally posted by: hans030390
The red eyed knight can be really easy, if you know what you're doing. With the soldier class, I just keep my shield up. When he hits it, he gets knocked back, leaving himself open for attack (use the spear). So long as you keep your stamina up and attack him as soon as he tries to heal, you should be good. I also used turpentine to speed the process up.
Also, you can lure him to the towers with the many flights of stairs. You can usually find a corner where he'll try to run at you, but falls off the ledge and dies.
Yeah, I finally figured out you could kite him as a royal just using soul arrow. Throw up your shield, lock target, then keep running backwards or sprinting around after he's jabbed. If you do it right, he'll never hit you. If you screw up, you'll lose most of your bar, but your shield should prevent a 2-shot unless you mistimed and started shooting when he's in melee range. Don't forget the casting time; it'll kill you more than not when you're in melee range.
Before I figured that out, I was doing it the hard way with sword and board. You can't sit there and turtle with your shield. You have to be very quick or pre-cog the blocks and rolls. Time your blocks right, or he'll break your guard and 2-shot you, and throw in a couple swings after he's shoved a spear in his face. A bastard sword is too slow, even one-handed. He'll poke you before you're halfway through the swing. Use a dagger or, if you prefer, a rapier, and learn when you can risk a jab and when you need to move out of the way. Melee takes longer, and it's much more dangerous, but it's a hella lot more fun.
For more shits and giggles, take him on dual wielding.
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Also, I just found this link. Haven't really explored too much, but seems to provide a couple pointers that probably should have been in the manual. Assuming anyone actually reads the manual.
Wiki
There's a tidbit about the Nexus blacksmith only giving basic upgrades. There's a blacksmith in 2-1 to whom you give a Demon's Soul for an advanced upgrade. I'm assuming that's the generic pattern for other Demons.
