Dark Souls 3 with assault rifles is my new favorite easy mode

(Image credit: From Software / Nexus mod user Asasasasasbc)

I'm not one of those Dark Souls people that goes on and on about the creator's vision and the intended experience to justify the steep challenge of From Software's games. Play them that way if you enjoy playing them that way, totally cool and good and fun. 

But if your style is something a little faster and looser, just mod a whole bunch of guns into Dark Souls 3 and play it like Call of Duty: Tragic Yet Dignified Dragon Warfare. It's the ideal easy mode for FPS players looking to try out one of these wacky RPGs the kids won't quit talking about these days.  

Modern Firearm is a Dark Souls 3 mod that replaces all the default ranged weapons with, well, automatic weapons. Modder Asasasasasbc [sic] knows it's completely broken and unbalanced, but that's the big idea anyway. Subverting the infamous difficulty of a subdued, morose action RPG with the brashest of videogame weapons is modder poetry. Check out the big guns in action in the video below. 

Every weapon (except the sniper rifle) has alternate firing modes, too. Handling the weapon with two hands results in automatic fire, which causes less damage per shot and reduces accuracy, but at a lower stamina cost. Handling firearms with one hand enables the semi-automatic firing mode, which gives projectiles higher damage and accuracy, but at a higher stamina cost and slower firing rate. 

Besides some pretty decent gun models, the mod adds in some new sound and graphical effects to really sell the goofy illusion. A more apt comparison than Call of Duty might be Resident Evil, because most of the models are based on guns from that series, made three-dimensional by DeviantArt user Adngel.

For a real Flintstones Meet the Jetsons look, download Asasasasasbc's Leon Kennedy armor mod too. It replaces the Fallen Knight set with the skin, bones, and RPD attire of Leon from the Resident Evil 2 Remake. 

Important note: Installing everything via the Dark Souls 3 mod engine is a good idea since it blocks the game from connecting to the network, which otherwise can result in a ban. Mods are a no-go in online play. I mean, rolling into the Irythill PvP arena with an AK isn't exactly fair play.

Here's what you're trading in for what with the Modern Firearm mod for Dark Souls 3: 

  • Light crossbow: Vector SBR
  • Heavy crossbow: AK-47
  • Knight crossbow: M16
  • Repeating crossbow: Thompson SMG
  • Sniper crossbow: Sniper rifle
  • Avelyn: MP5
  • Arbalest: Shotgun

The projectiles are still arrows, but the higher fire rates and sound effects do the trick for me. I powered through Dark Souls 3 for review four years ago and haven't been back often since, a little too stressed and tense these days to throw myself at Sister Friede another thirty times with the ol' sword and board. But with an M16? Parry this, you filthy animal. 

If you're looking for a reason to revisit Dark Souls with renewed challenge, give the Cinders mod a try. Emma dug into what makes it so special a few months back, and I've heard from several Souls-heads that it's the ideal version of the game. Me? I'll be packing heat for now, and no, that's not a bonfire in my pants. You can also read about why Dark Souls 3 is one of the best RPGs of all time.

James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles. 

Latest in Dark Souls
Ten planks of wood from Dark Souls, responsible for my nightmares in Blighttown.
The co-creator of Dark Souls' most ambitious mod resurfaces to inform me that Blighttown, source of my nightmares, was cobbled together with '10 bits of wood'
dinossindgeil celebrates a hard-earned victory over seven consecutive souls games without a single hit, at level 1.
Streamer achieves git gud godhood by beating all mainline Souls games at level 1, back to back, without getting hit—then explodes into tears of relief
The creator of the Elden Ring Seamless co-op mod is now infusing unlimited multiplayer into Dark Souls 3
A warrior in Elden Ring: Nightreign readies an arm crossbow before entering into bloody combat.
It's not the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 2 I'd hoped for, but Elden Ring: Nightreign might just sate my insatiable hunger for FromSoftware to pick up the pace
A mounted warrior fleeing fire and rocks
FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki says the studio doesn't 'have any particular plans to develop Elden Ring 2', but that doesn't mean the 'Elden Ring IP' is over
Elden Ring
Elden Ring streamer completes a level 1 playthrough beating the game's 165 bosses—on NG+7, a difficulty she had to finish the game 7 times over just to reach
Latest in News
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
Image for
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s getting a new roguelite wave defense mode that sounds a whole lot like a souped-up take on Killing Floor
Battle Brothers
Nearly 2 years after its last update, the excellent Battle Brothers gets 'a bucket load of fixes' and free new content
Western outlaws with masks and guns
'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
Person battling bizarre four-eyed monster with stylish UI elements surrounding them
Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio's UI designer is open to accessibility options for players who find the stylish menus overstimulating: 'That is something we understand we'll need to work on and provide in the future'
Split Fiction screenshot
Split Fiction is reportedly at the center of a bidding war for its movie rights