So I have never played a Dark Souls Game. Never really caught my eye until recently with all the talk about the new one coming out. Now I'm kind of excited for it, the more and more I see about them, the more and more I want to play. I'm trying to avoid anything that would give me an advantage as I would like to go into the game blind, and plan on not looking up how to beat a certain boss or how to complete a quest (if that is such a thing in these games). So, few questions I do have. How does the PvP work? I've seen mention of intruders? Arenas? Is there incentive to all of these things and how you go about them? Armor, I've seen people mentioning different sets and styles, is it purely stat upgrades or does it change your character cosmetically as well? I've seen a few videos and the trailers and such but most of the time it's guys wearing the same set of armor. Am I going to be completely lost lore wise? I asked somebody the other day and didn't really get a clear answer or maybe I missed it, but is it set in the same universe as the others with a separate timeline? Is the more persistent throughout the games? Could I get a brief background? Burial gifts and starting classes. I saw deprived and then I see people mentioning no gifts. Do you get anything special for starting out that way? I'm planning on taking a gift and probably playing the knight as that seems to be a common suggestion for beginners. Anyways, if anybody took the time to read and respond to this, thank you very much in advance. It's kind of crazy that I haven't played any of the games before yet I'm this excited to play it. Can't wait to praise the sun!