Dark Souls III is an action role-playing game played in a third-person perspective. According to lead director and series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game's gameplay design followed "closely from Dark Souls II".[1] Players are equipped with various weapons to fight against enemies, such as bows, throwable projectiles, and swords. Shields can act as secondary weapons, but they are mainly used to deflect enemies' attacks and protect the player from suffering damage.[2] Each weapon has two basic types of attack, one being a standard attack and the other being slightly more powerful that can be charged up, similar to FromSoftware's previous game, Bloodborne. In addition, attacks can be evaded through dodge-rolling.[3] Bonfires, which serve as checkpoints, return from previous installments.[4] Ashes, according to Miyazaki, play an important role in the game.[5] Magic is featured in the game, with a returning magic system from Demon's Souls, now known as "focus points" (FP). When performing spells and weapon skills, the player's focus points are consumed. There are two types of Estus Flasks in the game, which can be allotted to fit a player's particular play style. One refills hit points like previous games in the series, while the other refills focus points, a feature new to the game.[6] Combat and movements were made faster and more fluid than in Dark Souls II.[7][8] Several player movements are performed more rapidly, allowing more damage to be done in a shorter period.[9][3]
Players encounter different enemies throughout the game, each with different behaviours. Some of them change their combat pattern during battles.[2] New combat features are introduced in Dark Souls III, including weapon and shield "Skills", which are special abilities that vary from weapon to weapon and enable special attacks and features at the cost of focus points.[2] The game focuses more on role-playing; the expanded character builder and improved weapons provide more tactical options.[10] The game features fewer overall maps than its predecessor Dark Souls II, but they are larger and more detailed, encouraging exploration.[4] The adaptability stat from Dark Souls II was removed in Dark Souls III, with other stats being adjusted alongside the introduction of the luck stat.[4] The game features multiplayer elements like the previous games in the series.[11]