Wulf's Dark Souls Connectivity Mod (DSCM)

Dark Souls, without modification, has a pervasive issue with its online functionality. The game often fails to find connections (nodes) with other players, which can require restarting the game, playing around with changing download regions, and waiting 10+ minutes after restarting the game to see IF the problem is fixed.

DSCM fixes the broken matchmaking by facilitating connections via DSCM-net. This network runs in parallel with the general public, meaning players who use this mod are not segregated from players who aren't. It is possible to find and pair with specific friends more easily with DSCM, but by default it will fill your connections with random players. Just like normal Dark Souls, if the online worked better.

There are also other neat features with regards to how DSCM builds up your connections. With a normal maximum of 20 connections at a time, vanilla Dark Souls may just fill these connections with whomever it can find. With DSCM, it'll take into consideration your area, covenant, and level range to try to match you with players who you'll have a better chance of being able to summon or invade.

Check the readme page here on the Nexus for more information, or the "help" tab within DSCM.  DSCM requires . NET Framework 4. 5

Note that DSCM doesn't affect normal matchmaking mechanics. All invading & summoning works the same as before. What DSCM does is gather a list of potential people to match you with, in a way that the base game often fails to do.