Glad you're enjoying it, I was in the same position a month ago when I got hold of a PS4 to play some exclusives.Started this last night as my 2nd PS4 game. Without being too spoilery could someone indicate if it is possible to summon NPC's in the game? And how you would do it? I've finished Demons + Dark series previously, so I have some experience with the systems. In those games though, I find the exploration of the world immensely rewarding, and I can defeat most of the enemies (even if it's just with cheese tactics). But, I've never been any good at the bosses and I pretty much just summon for them, humans, NPC's, or both.
Difference here is, I need PSN to summon players, and as I already pay for XBL, I can't be paying for PSN. So, I'm stuck offline only, and I'll have to rely just on the NPC summons. But so far, I don't see summon signs or anything.
- Upgraded the Hunters Axe to +2 (I can't find any other shards, is it possible to get it to +3 before fighting the Cleric Beast boss?)
- I found another weapon the Saw Spear, it didn't seem as strong as the Axe (I've been 2H it) so I didn't upgrade it. Hopefully not a mistake.
- Found and equipped the Hunters Set.
- Doll is alive to level up, I'm level 20.
- I have the Old Hunters Bell
- I've pretty much cleared out everything in Central Yharnam I can find and opened the shortcuts. The city is pretty much empty currently as I have not gone back to Hunters Dream.
- I spoke with Eileen the Crow and got some Bold Hunters Marks.
- Found the Cleric Beast and it is destroying me, hence looking for an NPC to summon, if any ;)
- I don't have the Old Hunters DLC, I figured I would finish the base game first and it gives it time to hopefully go on sale. No rush!
It feels sooooo good to be back in a souls game exploring the world, it's been a long while since I finished off the Dark Souls 3 DLC. There's nothing quite like it! This is the first one I've had to do without online though, I sure do miss the notes, ghosts, and other players.
You can summon NPCs, though I can't remember where each of them are, you should be able to summon for most if not all bosses. You'll find them in the world usually fairly close to a boss, they're kind of orange-y looking signs on the ground. Pretty obvious when you see one - you'll need to expend 1 Insight to summon. Don't worry too much about weapons right now - if you're having fun with one type and you know how to use it, you'll be fine.
Also, I think you can get a 14 day PS+ trial, but that might be limited to new accounts/first time PS+.
Keep going with the Cleric Beast solo if you can and pay attention to its' body. Do you notice anything in particular?
If you find you're really enjoying the game, the DLC is very good and adds several hours. I bought the GOTY version so I had it included, I did the DLC around level 80 or something, around 2/3 of the way through my playthrough. Be aware that you can't access the DLC separately and you access it after defeating a certain boss, so I think if you bought it after that boss is already dead, you might have to do a new playthrough or NG+..? I'm not sure, maybe someone can correct me here.
Potential area tease if you're feeling stuck:
Unless you forgot to mention something, it sounds like you haven't fully cleared out Central Yharnham. Keep looking. ;)