Dark Souls - Undead Soldiers

Strategy

Sword

This is the first enemy that the player will encounter with a shield. Because you can waste all your stamina on attacking their shield, with little result, it is best to wait for the enemy to initiate and attack before it finishes its own attack. When advancing on an Undead Soldier, make sure to keep your shield up to avoid it's Running Stab attack. While spellcasters will likely take these out at a distance, beware of the Running Stab.

Crossbow

While these do not pose much of a threat up close, they have a habit of hiding and hitting you from great a distance. Make an effort to approach them with your guard up and dispatch of them at close range.

Spear

The spear version of this enemy attacks from a distance safely behind a shield. This makes the enemy hard to attack from the front, meaning backstabs are the way to defeat these quickly. Take your time in defeating these, leaving them for last, and don't attack unless they have their guard down.