Elmofongo: Did you get the Drake Sword?
SimonG: Jup. Got it more by accident than anything else. I found a sign by another player saying "shoot the tail" And I did. A few shots with the combosite bow later I had it. I was already using a +7 Longsword, so it wasn't that big a benefit. But for the time being, it is ok.
What I really, really love is the non-linearity of the game. Exploring a bit New Londo, than trying the catacombs (bad idea), crawling through the Dephts or the Darkroot area. Or going back to the asylum. Also, the game is great at hint dropping (unlike, say, a proper manual).
Gazoinks: and if you did, whatever you do don't upgrade it. Upgrade normal weapons instead, the Drake Sword has no scaling so it's not worth upgrading. An upgraded normal will surpass it.
SimonG: That information was actually what got me further into the game. After countless RPGs I always held of on upgrading "standard" stuff. Until I realized that is one of the purposes of the game. It really made traversing the levels easier when you one-hit kill the average skeleton.
I also like the Longsword most as a weapon so far. The drake sword has no thrust, which sucks big-time. But at the moment it is slightly better. And it can't be "fused" with temporary buffs. Once I got enough resources I will go +10 on my longsword.
Yeah, the Longsword is one of the more well-balanced weapons in the game. Good moveset, good speed, decent damage. If you want a longer equivalent, maybe pick up an Uchigatana. Similar moveset, but considerably longer. Although the Drake Sword's two-handed Strong Attack is cool. Not super useful, but cool.
And yeah, the Metroidvania-style nonlinearity is really nice. Sometime I need to try the Catacombs early on: Start as a Priest with the Master Key, grab the Sword of Astora (Divine longsword), march my way through the Catacombs, kill boss, get Rite of Kindling, have tons of Flasks for the first part of the game. Might not be worth the effort, although the boss of the Catacombs is pretty pathetic.