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Dark Souls |OT3| This thread moves faster than the Blighttown framerate

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There's two endings..just like Demon's. Either you take over as the new end boss of the game, or you don't. They're exactly the same. In essence, the end of both games is "the world continues just as it was, except now you're not so weak". Doesn't really need to be a giant cutscene or gobs of text to let you know in the end you haven't really done a thing to affect the world. Look out at the vistas from the castles in both games..endless, desolate, nothing. Flowers and shit don't sprout up all of a sudden just cause you won.

To add to this:

Linking the Fire. Physics doesn't work like it does in the real world, and in this case, the First Flame is the source of all fire- without it, there is literally no fire. It also has some side effects, including possibly providing the God's (Gwyn, Ornstein, Nito, The Witch of Izalith, etc.) power. At some point the Fire began to wane, so the Witch tried to rekindle it. This backfired spectacularly, turning her into the Bed of Chaos and her daughters (and, presumably, the rest of the population of Izalith) into demons. After some time, Gwyn divided his power and Lord Soul between Seath and the Four Kings, who at this point were still sane. He then took an honor guard to the Kiln- this was necessary as it had been infested by the Bed of Chaos and it's demons- and relinked the flame, with himself as the fuel. At the time of the game, the Flame is waning again, and Frampt and Gwyndolin, his son (Gwynevere has long since left Lordran and the one in her throne room is an illusion created by her brother), are trying to find a successor to Gwyn to reinvigorate the Flame. It's unclear if Gwyn was involved in this backup plan. However, most everything Frampt tells you either isn't proven or is an outright lie to get you to go along with it. In addition, Gwyndolin wants you to kill his father so that he can inherit all of his power, as Gywndolin is rather weak compared to his father.

Dark Lord. In this ending, you turn away from the Fire to rule the Age of Darkness. While Kaathe makes this sound like the dawning of a new age, there's no indication that anything actually changes for the better, besides that the player character isn't burning for eternity (or until the flame starts waning again), and in fact, may make things even worse by removing fire. Hope Lordran doesn't have winter.
The Darksign is a completely separate thing that throws a monkey wrench into the best laid plans of mice and primordial serpents.
 
Booyah, got the Stray demon. 20k souls doesn't seem like a good enough reward now!

I have a few choices about which path I take next. It's 2am now, so I should really think about that tomorrow, I guess!
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
What would you recommend I seek out? I have the Dragon Tooth, and I'm tempted to hit 40 STR to use it one-handed.

I just tried again with the lightning spear, and got VERY close.

Dragon Tooth would surely be very powerful, but the stat reqs are high and it's pretty slow. I'd choose a faster weapon and upgrade it to lightning as far as you can (maybe not to +5 since slabs are so rare).

Eventually, as you level up a ton, a strength scaling weapon will be great, but you can have a very powerful weapon with pretty low stat reqs right now if you go the elemental route.
 
Dragon Tooth would surely be very powerful, but the stat reqs are high and it's pretty slow. I'd choose a faster weapon and upgrade it to lightning as far as you can (maybe not to +5 since slabs are so rare).

Eventually, as you level up a ton, a strength scaling weapon will be great, but you can have a very powerful weapon with pretty low stat reqs right now if you go the elemental route.

I'll keep that in mind, but I have to take a fucking break from this shit. I've spent HOURS trying to beat the Four Kings, and I have yet to get below half of their health more than 3 or 4 times. It's pathetic.

I'm using Havel's Armor, a +2 Glass Shield, and a +2 Lightning Spear. ;_____;
 

Jhoan

Member
You need blooming purple moss to cure toxin, which is pretty easy to get from the tree monsters in Darkroot Garden. You can also equip the spider shield and shadow armor set to increase poison resistance. The toxin effect is caused by darts, and the dart blowers don't respawn when you kill them, so you just have to power through.

You should be able to beat Sif without the eagle shield; dodging is just as important as blocking.

I don't believe there is any spell that cures toxin.

Go to the forest and farm the tree enemies for moss. One of the moss types will cure toxin (the "blooming" / white one). You shouldn't need too many. The enemies that cause toxin won't respawn after you kill them, which should make it easier to progress.


I see. I have a ton of moss that I got from killing those things. I have about 10 purple mosses so that should be more than enough to do it. I just need to equip it. So the spell is in Blighttown then. I still have to plow through that ghost area regardless, but that'll come after I've dealt with Blighttown.

I had a feeling a feeling my stats are high enough to take him out. Thanks for the heads up guys.
 

Sullichin

Member
So, am I wasting my lvls trying to get the stat requirements for Greatsword of Astoria? I've got a bit of a ways to go for my faith and intelligence..and i'm already lvl 107.

Also: i should have gotten the dark wood grain earlier!


EDIT: I'm going for greatsword of astoria anyway, because in my 130 hours of playing I haven't used a single spell or miracle (only pyromancy). I could use some more faith/intelligence :p
 

Booshka

Member
So, am I wasting my lvls trying to get the stat requirements for Greatsword of Astoria? I've got a bit of a ways to go for my faith and intelligence..and i'm already lvl 107.

Also: i should have gotten the dark wood grain earlier!


EDIT: I'm going for greatsword of astoria anyway, because in my 130 hours of playing I haven't used a single spell or miracle (only pyromancy). I could use some more faith/intelligence :p

If you plan on playing on that character a lot and taking it above level 150, the scaling on the True Greatsword of Artorias will kick in and make it amazing. It's not really good otherwise, but if you keep playing on that character, and keep leveling up the scaling stats, it will eventually get very good.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I understand there's two endings. But I didn't get any. I lit the bonfire and the credits rolled. Did I miss something?

Not sure which primordial serpent you talked to, but if it's Kaathe he lets you know about your options and what he wants you to do. He basically tells you what lightning/not lighting the last bonfire does. Then it's up to you to choose. Both result in nothing really. Enjoy NG+!
 

Sullichin

Member
If you plan on playing on that character a lot and taking it above level 150, the scaling on the True Greatsword of Artorias will kick in and make it amazing. It's not really good otherwise, but if you keep playing on that character, and keep leveling up the scaling stats, it will eventually get very good.


Thanks. Currently my best weapon is a lightning scythe +5. Everything else seems like too much of a pain in the ass to get better than that. I am having so much fun co-opping O&S in NG+ I think I'll do it until I have enough souls to handle True Greatsword of Artorias.
 

elty

Member
I have a great idea for the next Souls game!

there should be a new way of invading other people. Instead of invading other world with your own character, you will just posses one of the enemies in the level. But there won't be any way to tell for the invaded player about which regular enemy is being controlled by invader.

So invader could trick player by standing idle like other mobs. There is one disadvantage for invader, you will be using what the enemy mob has but then you have a great advantage of disguise. Since the invaded player won't expect a regular enemy to backstab him or use complex tactics in the middle of fight!

There should be some levels or restrictions for it. Maybe a level system etc. For example if the invader has a higher level he can posses a more tough enemy ie. one of those Black Knights.

Oh it would be fucking fun and hilarious.

EverQuest (anyone remembered this?) tried to do that. It didn't make out from the test server though - probably some griefing issues.
 

Sullichin

Member
So.. how come sometimes I only get 15k souls for beating O&S (NG+, no other phantom), and sometimes I get a lot more?

It feels amazing breaking "plateaus" in this game. I was having a hard time with O&S NG+, then I got it down to a science, finally got Ornstein's armor, and am having the best time ever helping other people.
 
To add to this:

Linking the Fire. Physics doesn't work like it does in the real world, and in this case, the First Flame is the source of all fire- without it, there is literally no fire. It also has some side effects, including possibly providing the God's (Gwyn, Ornstein, Nito, The Witch of Izalith, etc.) power. At some point the Fire began to wane, so the Witch tried to rekindle it. This backfired spectacularly, turning her into the Bed of Chaos and her daughters (and, presumably, the rest of the population of Izalith) into demons. After some time, Gwyn divided his power and Lord Soul between Seath and the Four Kings, who at this point were still sane. He then took an honor guard to the Kiln- this was necessary as it had been infested by the Bed of Chaos and it's demons- and relinked the flame, with himself as the fuel. At the time of the game, the Flame is waning again, and Frampt and Gwyndolin, his son (Gwynevere has long since left Lordran and the one in her throne room is an illusion created by her brother), are trying to find a successor to Gwyn to reinvigorate the Flame. It's unclear if Gwyn was involved in this backup plan. However, most everything Frampt tells you either isn't proven or is an outright lie to get you to go along with it. In addition, Gwyndolin wants you to kill his father so that he can inherit all of his power, as Gywndolin is rather weak compared to his father.

Dark Lord. In this ending, you turn away from the Fire to rule the Age of Darkness. While Kaathe makes this sound like the dawning of a new age, there's no indication that anything actually changes for the better, besides that the player character isn't burning for eternity (or until the flame starts waning again), and in fact, may make things even worse by removing fire. Hope Lordran doesn't have winter.
The Darksign is a completely separate thing that throws a monkey wrench into the best laid plans of mice and primordial serpents.

Ornstein is a god ?

I thought he was just a pretty good bodyguard/high rank officer

and why does Nito not care about the fire being out like the other 2 ? or being 500 meters bellow surface in a pitch black tomb makes him not give a fuck
 
Alright, so I think I've decided what weapon I'd like to upgrade through the Lighting path, but I just wanna check here first. The weapon I'm thinking of upgrading is the Iaito. I've checked out the movesets of other weapons, but the Iaito seems pretty appealing to me. Are there other similar weapons I should check out before I decide, or is this a good choice? Any drawbacks to it (other than durability)?
 

.GqueB.

Banned
Question: (SPOILERS HERE?)

So I got to Seath and died as you are supposed to. Went through the archives, saved Logan, got to the bonfire etc etc. Went to the Crystal Cave, died at Seath and decided to leave. So I warped out of there so...

how do I get back? Im assuming I have to go back up to Seath and die again. I just want to be clear before I waste time going back there.

Alright, so I think I've decided what weapon I'd like to upgrade through the Lighting path, but I just wanna check here first. The weapon I'm thinking of upgrading is the Iaito. I've checked out the movesets of other weapons, but the Iaito seems pretty appealing to me. Are there other similar weapons I should check out before I decide, or is this a good choice? Any drawbacks to it (other than durability)?

Addl lightning to more than one weapon if youre so unsure. But I have a lightning iaito and its pretty nice. Most people will say its mostly about moveset which is correct. You like the moveset so I say soldier on.

I have a lightning iaito and a chaos uchi... not even gonna try and spell that. No regrets here.
 
Ornstein is a god ?

I thought he was just a pretty good bodyguard/high rank officer

and why does Nito not care about the fire being out like the other 2 ? or being 500 meters bellow surface in a pitch black tomb makes him not give a fuck

Yes. He's not on the same level as Gwyn, obviously, but he, the Four Knights (Pharis' hat description makes a big deal of him being nearly or as good as Hawkeye Gough, despite being a human, and Artorias' Greatsword- not the copy that you make, but the sword used by Sif- is absolutely massive), Smough, probably the Four Kings and possibly the Silver Knights are all Gods. They are the "second tier," if you will, under the possessors of the Lord Souls- Gwyn, Nito, the Witch of Izalith, and the Pygmy. Havel is the only named hominid from Gwyn's kingdom who was actually human (and the Pygmy, but he's a special case). Note how they are all much taller than any regular human can be, even Ornstein.

(An interesting exception is that the Witch is Gwyn's or Ornstein's size, but her daughters are human-sized. However, they aren't human, as Quelana is immortal despite not having a Darksign curse or being twisted by the Flames of Chaos)

Nito very well might care, but the Pinwheel also stole his power somehow, so he's recovering in the Tomb. He obviously got a little of it back, but he's clearly nowhere near as powerful currently as in the prologue. Also, being literally the Grim Reaper and the God of Death, the dying of the Flame may not concern him as much as Gwyn or the Witch, whose powers were more flame and heat based.
 
My friend was imploring me to get a Divine enchantment before heading into The Duke's Archives. How necessary is this? The wiki doesn't mention it.
 

Zzoram

Member
Question: (SPOILERS HERE?)

So I got to Seath and died as you are supposed to. Went through the archives, saved Logan, got to the bonfire etc etc. Went to the Crystal Cave, died at Seath and decided to leave. So I warped out of there so...

how do I get back? Im assuming I have to go back up to Seath and die again. I just want to be clear before I waste time going back there.



Addl lightning to more than one weapon if youre so unsure. But I have a lightning iaito and its pretty nice. Most people will say its mostly about moveset which is correct. You like the moveset so I say soldier on.

I have a lightning iaito and a chaos uchi... not even gonna try and spell that. No regrets here.

I can't remember if you need to die again, the elevator might just take you into the archives.

For weapon choice it's not just moveset. Curved blades and katanas have Bleed, an effect that can add significant bonus damage if you get off 3-4 hits in rapid succession. This Bleed bonus isn't affected by ascending the weapons to Lightning which is why those types of weapons are favored.
 

tokkun

Member
Question: (SPOILERS HERE?)

So I got to Seath and died as you are supposed to. Went through the archives, saved Logan, got to the bonfire etc etc. Went to the Crystal Cave, died at Seath and decided to leave. So I warped out of there so...

how do I get back? Im assuming I have to go back up to Seath and die again. I just want to be clear before I waste time going back there.

When you pulled the lever that lowered the staircase to get the Crystal Caves it also moved one of the bookcases in the first part of the Archives, allowing you to reach the 2nd part of the Archives without going through the area that Seath was originally in.

The passage you want is on the right side of the 2nd floor.
 

2AdEPT

Member
I'm going to take on Havel The Rock tomorrow. Any pointers?

I almost beat him numerous times chivalrously...so I know i could beat him that way with a little luck and more patience......so I chose to use pyro on him instead.........twice now. Takes about four hits of a higher ranked glove and chaos fireball.
 

2AdEPT

Member
Yeah I might try that :) I only have 5 humanities at the moment, though, so I'm a bit scared of wasting them! I know I'll need them for bonfires in the new areas I'll be going to.

I could always farm 5k to buy some, I guess.

you can drop your stone to help as a hollow. This is the majority of PVP for me....most hosts are thankful you are there and act accordingly....some even message you if they really required your services etc.
 

Booshka

Member
Got some crude Dark Souls jokes I just made up with a friend.

What do you call it when a Marine has sex with his wife after getting back from a tour of service? Homeward Boning.

What do you call it when a guy gets to third base in the desert? Dried Fingering.
 
Got some crude Dark Souls jokes I just made up with a friend.

What do you call it when a Marine has sex with his wife after getting back from a tour of service? Homeward Boning.

What do you call it when a guy gets to third base in the desert? Dried Fingering.

Something something ex-wife something Gaping Dragon something
 
Yes. He's not on the same level as Gwyn, obviously, but he, the Four Knights (Pharis' hat description makes a big deal of him being nearly or as good as Hawkeye Gough, despite being a human, and Artorias' Greatsword- not the copy that you make, but the sword used by Sif- is absolutely massive), Smough, probably the Four Kings and possibly the Silver Knights are all Gods. They are the "second tier," if you will, under the possessors of the Lord Souls- Gwyn, Nito, the Witch of Izalith, and the Pygmy. Havel is the only named hominid from Gwyn's kingdom who was actually human (and the Pygmy, but he's a special case). Note how they are all much taller than any regular human can be, even Ornstein.

(An interesting exception is that the Witch is Gwyn's or Ornstein's size, but her daughters are human-sized. However, they aren't human, as Quelana is immortal despite not having a Darksign curse or being twisted by the Flames of Chaos)

Nito very well might care, but the Pinwheel also stole his power somehow, so he's recovering in the Tomb. He obviously got a little of it back, but he's clearly nowhere near as powerful currently as in the prologue. Also, being literally the Grim Reaper and the God of Death, the dying of the Flame may not concern him as much as Gwyn or the Witch, whose powers were more flame and heat based.

Is there any post that has a nice summary or overview on what's the overall story in DS and how the timeline works and a brief info on the major characters ?

Your post that I quoted was pretty good but I would like to know how is the world the way it is when you arrive.
 

2AdEPT

Member
Say you are in the Forest covenant, put down a white summon sign in the forest, get summoned there, and kill other Forest members while a white phantom.

Do you get expelled from the covenant?

My guess is no. The reason being the members IN YOUR GAME are still standing there silent while you are away in someone else's world. I could easily be wrong though as I have not tested this theory.
 

2AdEPT

Member
You've made me doubt myself now but I was sure they did when I noticed enemies weren't in this game.

It happened more in Demon's, for sure.

Also, the Asylum Demon still destroys me. Mental boss.

Where's your evidence? I'm not saying you are wrong, but I can think of countless enemies in demon's that surely would spam each other by accident were they allowed, such as the flying mantas....but they never did. The only thing that did definitely kill its own kind were the dragons, blue and red, but in Dark this was the same, and sorta part of the strategy, makes sense, and is realistic......Dark has more enemies that kill each other than Demon's is my guess....until you remind me which other ones did in Demon's????

Dredglings...in their groups, would be the first ones to accidentally go up in smoke on their own vs, each other with hardly any provocation, but they most certainly do not in either game. The phalanx are another group that would vanish before your eyes were their attacks dangerous to their own...but they clearly are not...in both games.
 
I've been playing Demon's Souls lately and decided to play a mage.

This shit is ridiculous.

Soul Ray + Spices = killing bosses comfortably from max lock-on range

Only problems I've had were with Flamelurker and Maneater once they got in since I have really low stamina and got obliterated if they got close

I still have 1-4 and 3-3 left but so far I think it's pretty cool. Still like a lot of things better in Dark though

Oh and 5-2 is is one of the worst things I've ever played.
 

2AdEPT

Member
No it's not. Going there early is integral as it lets you be a darkwraith the second you start the game

what glitch are you spamming to evade having to to do sif to get the artorias ring? Don't you have to get the lordvessel in order to open up the lordvessel bosses? i.e. Nito, Firesage, Seath and...... Kaathe being one as he does not show unless you beat 4 kings? I have heard of SL1 runs but Darkwraith is a little further along than "the second" of game-start...unless I am missing something.
 

2AdEPT

Member
Remedy sounds like it does, but I've never used it so I don't know for sure. In any case, if that's the spell he's talking about, it's not in New Londo Ruins, it's in Blighttown (according to wiki).

Also ensure you have the rusty ring from asylum revisited before heading to blighttown....even for my speed run to get gold hemmed set, max pyro and lightning spear I made sure to stop by the asylum for that piece even though I left stray demon alone. The ring allows you to run at full speed and even roll while in the poison.
 

2AdEPT

Member
What would you recommend I seek out? I have the Dragon Tooth, and I'm tempted to hit 40 STR to use it one-handed.

I just tried again with the lightning spear, and got VERY close.

stamina regen as was mentioned with the lightning spear will do it...I am willing to guarantee victory if you do this as when i did it i just mashed r1 continuously and did not use any other strategy except staying in tight...(even a few steps away from toe to toe will unleash their magic crap).....no havels, no iron flesh. But i did use the grass shield on my back (use green moss and or the childs mask, and/or the cloranthy ring as they all stack) ....and the skirt for magic protect...thing is...when you go in tight, the only time you get hit with magic much is when another ghost appears....which was never because they all died right away mashing r1 with lighting spear. I won't take credit for this but was forced like I'm sure many were to watch youtube after miserably failing at the kings. I did the ole face palm..."fuck why didn't I try that!!!" after watching that is.

edit: I should also mention that you do incur mild damage that stacks up to critical depending on your vitality...i can't remember what I had for vitality, but my armour was light gold hemmed i think, plus antiquated skirt as mentioned....one estus per ghost was enough....but sprint toward the next ghost as fast as possible don't let them come to you with their magic.
 
I've been playing Demon's Souls lately and decided to play a mage.

This shit is ridiculous.

Soul Ray + Spices = killing bosses comfortably from max lock-on range

Only problems I've had were with Flamelurker and Maneater once they got in since I have really low stamina and got obliterated if they got close

I still have 1-4 and 3-3 left but so far I think it's pretty cool. Still like a lot of things better in Dark though

Oh and 5-2 is is one of the worst things I've ever played.

Firestorm = easy kill every boss except Flamelurker

Magic was pure easy mode, especially with the old system of unlimited grass/spices.

Yeah 5-2 was terrible, which makes it amazing how FROM outdid themselves and made Blighttown swamp even more terrible.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Wasn't there a post earlier in this thread (like 2 weeks ago) where the poster gathered together all the item descriptions into a summary of the characters/story? Would like to see that post again!
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
You mean these?

Eins
Zwei

Fucking awesome job, thanks so much. Having the Japanese version it's fun reading how the localized version handled some of the stuff in there. Although I really hate some translation choices.. (Kiln..Lordvessel..) Though I assume the director approves of all the English terms as it's the main voice acting.

Also..on the Japanese side of discussions..the theory is that Solaire is
Gwyn's first born.
 
Yeah 5-2 was terrible, which makes it amazing how FROM outdid themselves and made Blighttown swamp even more terrible.

I wouldn't say that. You spend very little time in the actual swamp in Blighttown and when you did you could always have access to your normal mobility with the Rusted Iron Ring. Only inconvenience is the mosquitos if you don't have a weapon that can hit them easily.

Blighttown >> Valley of Defilement

At least both areas are relatively short
 
Fucking awesome job, thanks so much. Having the Japanese version it's fun reading how the localized version handled some of the stuff in there. Although I really hate some translation choices.. (Kiln..Lordvessel..) Though I assume the director approves of all the English terms as it's the main voice acting.

Also..on the Japanese side of discussions..the theory is that Solaire is
Gwyn's first born.

What's wrong with Kiln of the First Flame? It's a pretty boss name, I think, and actually fairly evocative and apt.


I like the Solaire theory, but it's a little to shaky for me to really swallow. I WANT TO BELIEVE
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
What's wrong with Kiln of the First Flame? It's a pretty boss name, I think, and actually fairly evocative and apt.


I like the Solaire theory, but it's a little to shaky for me to really swallow. I WANT TO BELIEVE

Simply because the Japanese makes no reference it to being a furnace of some sort..just very basically a "doorway". Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine..I'm much more into literal translations than stylized or culturally contextual ones. Lordvessel though..blehhhhhhhh..

Also if you summon Solaire later in the game he's chuckin lightning bolts.. his long quest to keep him alive to help at Gwyn's is also good evidence..Not to mention the whole I am the sun (son) stuff..
 
Simply because the Japanese makes no reference it to being a furnace of some sort..just very basically a "doorway". Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine..I'm much more into literal translations than stylized or culturally contextual ones. Lordvessel though..blehhhhhhhh..

Also if you summon Solaire later in the game he's chuckin lightning bolts.. his long quest to keep him alive to help at Gwyn's is also good evidence..Not to mention the whole I am the sun (son) stuff..

But...that doesn't make sense. It's not a doorway. And really, it is a furnace, only what it produces is not tangible like pottery. It is a Kiln, but what it makes is the fire itself. Lordvessel's pretty bland and overly literal, though, I'll give you that.

I generally don't like literal translations because they tend to loose quite a bit, if they don't just become silly word salad. Japanese is particularly susceptible to this. Or maybe it sounds just as silly in the original language as when transliterated; I dunno.
 
Also if you summon Solaire later in the game he's chuckin lightning bolts.. his long quest to keep him alive to help at Gwyn's is also good evidence..Not to mention the whole I am the sun (son) stuff..

He always has the lightning bolts.

He uses them whenever his silly AI tells him not to run in like an idiot which could be (im my case) as early as the gargoyles.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
He always has the lightning bolts.

He uses them whenever his silly AI tells him not to run in like an idiot which could be (im my case) as early as the gargoyles.


But WHY is he chuckin lightning..why can you offer Gwyn's soul to his altar...because...he..is..his..
 

Audioboxer

Member
Waiting patiently on patch so I can start my faith/strength character. Got bored with my sorcerer as they are so OP. Its good for helping people with summons (Anor Londo duo dead in a minute), but on my own totally nukes bosses in seconds. No challenge :p

Really want to try out some of the greatswords and axes with crazy str requirements.

Surely it will drop this side of Christmas? :/
 
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