Notes from author
Whenever you ask about upgrade paths, most people will say that the most viable path is normal. When you ask: "Why normal?" most idiots respond with something along the lines of split damage not being good. The smarter idiots reason that because of the defense rating of two types of damage, the output won't be as high if you stayed on the normal path.
The people who know how Dark Souls works will say the correct answer: "Buffs will do more damage and have more utility."
I don't believe in the utility aspect as it's more stat (and soul) investment, and I compromise by having big numbers in both damages.