Dark Souls 3: 12 Essential Tips New Players Need To Know

12. Never Underestimate The Kick

Dark Souls 3's tutorial stamps a number of prompts around its opening area, one of which appears to be a fairly basic forward kick. "Why would I kick when I can slash things to ribbons?" you might say, and the answer comes in the form of it being used to break through enemy shields.

Kicks have been in every Souls game and now Bloodborne for years, but with the pace of combat being ramped up more than ever, you might be tempted to never deploy them.

Instead, hit forward and R1/RB (at precisely the same time) and the big "This.is.DARK SOULS!" boot you do will stagger the vast majority of foes. It can be used to knock many shield-bearing enemies off their feet and will interrupt various other attacks too, allowing you to get some hits in.