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Dark Souls |OT5| Definitely better than the sequel

D

DamagedInc

Member
Well that's me finished, overall it was really enjoyable but I think it'd time for a Souls break as I've finished 1 & 2 and bloodborne in the space of a few months, I may well come back to this though, I'm not sure whether I would start a new character or head into NG+, I finished on level 81 so if I went to NG+ would I stop levelling or go up a few more?
 
Z

zero shift

Banned
Pinwheel is one of the easiest bosses that I have ever fought in any game ever. Seriously I don't even think I even took any damage when I killed him. Just rush in and use a strong weapon.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Pinwheel is a boss that could be fought early in the game, that's why it's so weak. Of course even fighting it early the boss is still a pushover.
 
Z

zero shift

Banned
I'm currently at the Demon Ruins. I'm at the 2nd Bonfire and down the stairs and down the way there is a fog door. However to the left of it there is a trail that leads to Taurses and later some giant worm-slugs. The thing is I can't get past the point where four worm-slugs spawn around me. I keep getting eaten before I can do more than one pyro attack. What should I do to defeat them?
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
zero shift said:
I'm currently at the Demon Ruins. I'm at the 2nd Bonfire and down the stairs and down the way there is a fog door. However to the left of it there is a trail that leads to Taurses and later some giant worm-slugs. The thing is I can't get past the point where four worm-slugs spawn around me. I keep getting eaten before I can do more than one pyro attack. What should I do to defeat them?
Click to expand...

You'll have to lure them out then quickly turn back so they don't trap you.
 
R

Red Liquorice

Member
I always go down there super early for the loot at the end past the worms
large fire ember
and what I do is a straight run to end where the chest is. All the worms will bust out but won't be in range to attack you as you run, then you can simple use long range spells or arrows as the safest way to kill them. I stand at the chest and use a few poison arrows on all 4 of them and go make a cup of coffee, they will usually drop at least 1 red chunk and a few green shards, so that's a nice (relevant) bonus.
 
F

FataIChoice

Member
Just started playing on PC for the first time, have the drop rates been increased from console release? I got all the Balder armour, the black knight great sword and even the Gargoyle helmet, I'm not that lucky of a person.
 
Tarkus

Tarkus

Member
FataIChoice said:
Just started playing on PC for the first time, have the drop rates been increased from console release? I got all the Balder armour, the black knight great sword and even the Gargoyle helmet, I'm not that lucky of a person.
Click to expand...
Nah. The Balder pieces are a common drop or can be purchased from the merchant at Sen's. The Gargoyle Helm is listed as rare, but it seems to drop at a very high rate for me. The Black Knight Greatsword is very rare, as it's only dropped one Black Knight at a low percentage. Having some soft humanity could've increased your drop rates as well.

BKs can be farmed at the end for their equipment fyi.
 
Z

zero shift

Banned
Well I finally finished the game.

My thoughts:

  • The game's aren't anywhere near as hard as people say they are. With the sole exception of that one boss (you know which one) they ranged from pretty difficult to piss easy, in which they usually fell somewhere in the middle. I'd go as far as to say that pretty much none of the bosses were as hard as some of the tougher bosses in say Xenoblade.
  • While the game is great, it isn't "OMG GOAT" as many constantly hold it up to be. I don't even think it was the best action RPG last generation. That title IMO still is held by Ys Origin (apples and oranges I know).
  • I'm actually surprised how popular these games are if this is how they all are. All in all, it seems pretty damn niche. It's nice surprise to see a success story of a new franchise that isn't a watered down asscreed open world type game.
  • While the combat may seem clunky at first, it definitely grows on you. It is a very innovative mechanic to have each trigger control an arm. It definitely defines the series.
  • Bed of Chaos was a really stupid boss battle. What the fuck were they thinking?
  • The final boss seemed like he was going to be a problem until I realized I can just play ring around the rosey with him with a pillar and just keep punishing him with combustion once he attempted to do his grabbing attack.
  • The ending left something to be desired. Did I really lift the curse of the undead? The alternate ending seems to be a bit more satisfyin, but still lackluster.
  • I managed to miss a fair amount of content. I never got to the painted world, never fought Ari-whatever his name is, and never found the other serpent to unlock the alternate ending.
  • The game is very cryptic. It plays very differently and doesn't really explain well how to play the game. I don't think I would have made it through the game if I didn't have Youtube videos and Neogaf.
  • The game LONG overstays its welcome. I'd say that the game should have been at the least 2/3rds over by the time you get past Anor Londo rather than halfway over.

All in all, great game, but I think this will be my last time venturing into the Souls world in quite some time. Glad I gave it another chance. Only took over 20 hours until I began a play-through where I got the hang of things.
 
F

FataIChoice

Member
StoppedInTracks said:
Maybe you had some Humanity on you?
Click to expand...

SourShoes said:
Nah. The Balder pieces are a common drop or can be purchased from the merchant at Sen's. The Gargoyle Helm is listed as rare, but it seems to drop at a very high rate for me. The Black Knight Greatsword is very rare, as it's only dropped one Black Knight at a low percentage. Having some soft humanity could've increased your drop rates as well.

BKs can be farmed at the end for their equipment fyi.
Click to expand...

I haven't popped any Humanity yet, I just started playing on PC for the first time and thought something was up, I never got the Gargoyle Helm and didn't get any Black Knight equipment when I played on PS3.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
zero shift said:
Well I finally finished the game.

My thoughts:

  • The game's aren't anywhere near as hard as people say they are. With the sole exception of that one boss (you know which one) they ranged from pretty difficult to piss easy, in which they usually fell somewhere in the middle. I'd go as far as to say that pretty much none of the bosses were as hard as some of the tougher bosses in say Xenoblade.
  • While the game is great, it isn't "OMG GOAT" as many constantly hold it up to be. I don't even think it was the best action RPG last generation. That title IMO still is held by Ys Origin (apples and oranges I know).
  • I'm actually surprised how popular these games are if this is how they all are. All in all, it seems pretty damn niche. It's nice surprise to see a success story of a new franchise that isn't a watered down asscreed open world type game.
  • While the combat may seem clunky at first, it definitely grows on you. It is a very innovative mechanic to have each trigger control an arm. It definitely defines the series.
  • Bed of Chaos was a really stupid boss battle. What the fuck were they thinking?
  • The final boss seemed like he was going to be a problem until I realized I can just play ring around the rosey with him with a pillar and just keep punishing him with combustion once he attempted to do his grabbing attack.
  • The ending left something to be desired. Did I really lift the curse of the undead? The alternate ending seems to be a bit more satisfyin, but still lackluster.
  • I managed to miss a fair amount of content. I never got to the painted world, never fought Ari-whatever his name is, and never found the other serpent to unlock the alternate ending.
  • The game is very cryptic. It plays very differently and doesn't really explain well how to play the game. I don't think I would have made it through the game if I didn't have Youtube videos and Neogaf.
  • The game LONG overstays its welcome. I'd say that the game should have been at the least 2/3rds over by the time you get past Anor Londo rather than halfway over.

All in all, great game, but I think this will be my last time venturing into the Souls world in quite some time. Glad I gave it another chance. Only took over 20 hours until I began a play-through where I got the hang of things.
Click to expand...

Well the Souls games aren't for everybody. I am glad you managed to beat it in the end.

I'd say the thing that defines the Souls series combat is the stamina mechanic instead of different triggers for different arms.
 
R

Red Liquorice

Member
zero shift said:
[*]I managed to miss a fair amount of content. I never got to the painted world, never fought Ari-whatever his name is, and never found the other serpent to unlock the alternate ending.
[*]The game is very cryptic. It plays very differently and doesn't really explain well how to play the game. I don't think I would have made it through the game if I didn't have Youtube videos and Neogaf.
.
Click to expand...
You never meet Ariamis, he's just a name and piece of lore. But Painted World is one of the best areas in the game, and was actually the first area developed. It's worth finding if you ever play through again. Finding Kaathe (the other serpent) isn't something most people do I bet on a first playthrough since it requires not giving the Lord Vessel up through Frampt.

The game is cryptic, and in no way did I ever see all the clues that the game gives you immediately - BUT saying that, the game does actually tell you a lot, it's just wrapped up in NPC dialogue and visual clues. There's so many lore videos on youtube that show this aspect off really well. It really gives you a respect for From Software that they don't feel the need to put it all in your face and let you follow the breadcrumbs. That's quite unusual and one of the strengths of the series I think. A lot of the 'where do I go next?' type questions are actually explained in NPC dialogue - it's just up to you to remember what they say or keep talking to existing NPCs after each big event.
 
F

FataIChoice

Member
Beat Capra demon, unlocked the pyromancer and then stupidly spent two points into intelligence thinking it was the attunement stat... Off to a good start!
 
R

RandomSeed

Member
Nah, this is a guy on NG that I decided to finish up. I don't recall if I've ever even got 1 slab from a crystal lizard on any of my playthroughs. Just glad it happened on my melee build.
 
R

RandomSeed

Member
Finally beat Four Kings on NG+, man. Just couldn't do enough DPS last time on my faith build, so I leveled up the pyromancy flame and burned them down. Not getting grabbed until the boss had a sliver of health left also helped.

Few build questions. Is it worth pumping vitality past 40 for NG+ and beyond? Looks like the gains really slow down past 49, so maybe I'll go to 50 and stop.

Beat NG+. Not really into achievements, but I only need to make a couple of weapons and cut a couple of tails in NG++ for 100%, so I guess I'll do that later.


That was so quick, not having to level up or upgrade weapons and just running from boss to boss on NG++ to finish making boss soul weapons. So that's 100% on DkS1 and BB, while DkS2 doesn't track them offline (only once through the game anyway), and I haven't played Demon's Souls. Would sure like to see Demon's Souls on PS4 so I could play all of them.

rDVkQx4.png
 
B

Booshka

Member
RandomSeed said:
Finally beat Four Kings on NG+, man. Just couldn't do enough DPS last time on my faith build, so I leveled up the pyromancy flame and burned them down. Not getting grabbed until the boss had a sliver of health left also helped.

Few build questions. Is it worth pumping vitality past 40 for NG+ and beyond? Looks like the gains really slow down past 49, so maybe I'll go to 50 and stop.

Beat NG+. Not really into achievements, but I only need to make a couple of weapons and cut a couple of tails in NG++ for 100%, so I guess I'll do that later.


That was so quick, not having to level up or upgrade weapons and just running from boss to boss on NG++ to finish making boss soul weapons. So that's 100% on DkS1 and BB, while DkS2 doesn't track them offline (only once through the game anyway), and I haven't played Demon's Souls. Would sure like to see Demon's Souls on PS4 so I could play all of them.

rDVkQx4.png
Click to expand...

Vit gouge is never a bad idea, especially if you use Ring of Favor and Protection and/or the Mother's Mask. For melee builds that don't really need more stats into anything but End or Vit, Vit is a good move. Having over 2000 HP is really nice, for PvE and PvP. If you are trying to keep your Soul Level around 125 then adjust accordingly, but if you are leveling indiscriminately, nothing wrong with continuing to crank up your Vitality.
 
R

RandomSeed

Member
Booshka said:
Vit gouge is never a bad idea, especially if you use Ring of Favor and Protection and/or the Mother's Mask. For melee builds that don't really need more stats into anything but End or Vit, Vit is a good move. Having over 2000 HP is really nice, for PvE and PvP. If you are trying to keep your Soul Level around 125 then adjust accordingly, but if you are leveling indiscriminately, nothing wrong with continuing to crank up your Vitality.
Click to expand...

No limit on SL, as I just play offline. It's a paladin type build, and I'm already at 40 end, 50 faith, and enough str/dex/att to use the weapons and spells I need. It's either vit, which I'll do now, or more str/dex for weapon requirements.

I must have 5 characters in progress, stopping after getting the lordvessel. Everything up to that point is near perfection, and that boss fight feels like a solid conclusion. The rest of the game is still good, but not as good.
 
O

Orochinagis

Member
zero shift said:
Well I finally finished the game.

My thoughts:

  • The game's aren't anywhere near as hard as people say they are. With the sole exception of that one boss (you know which one) they ranged from pretty difficult to piss easy, in which they usually fell somewhere in the middle. I'd go as far as to say that pretty much none of the bosses were as hard as some of the tougher bosses in say Xenoblade.
  • While the game is great, it isn't "OMG GOAT" as many constantly hold it up to be. I don't even think it was the best action RPG last generation. That title IMO still is held by Ys Origin (apples and oranges I know).
  • I'm actually surprised how popular these games are if this is how they all are. All in all, it seems pretty damn niche. It's nice surprise to see a success story of a new franchise that isn't a watered down asscreed open world type game.
  • While the combat may seem clunky at first, it definitely grows on you. It is a very innovative mechanic to have each trigger control an arm. It definitely defines the series.
  • Bed of Chaos was a really stupid boss battle. What the fuck were they thinking?
  • The final boss seemed like he was going to be a problem until I realized I can just play ring around the rosey with him with a pillar and just keep punishing him with combustion once he attempted to do his grabbing attack.
  • The ending left something to be desired. Did I really lift the curse of the undead? The alternate ending seems to be a bit more satisfyin, but still lackluster.
  • I managed to miss a fair amount of content. I never got to the painted world, never fought Ari-whatever his name is, and never found the other serpent to unlock the alternate ending.
  • The game is very cryptic. It plays very differently and doesn't really explain well how to play the game. I don't think I would have made it through the game if I didn't have Youtube videos and Neogaf.
  • The game LONG overstays its welcome. I'd say that the game should have been at the least 2/3rds over by the time you get past Anor Londo rather than halfway over.

All in all, great game, but I think this will be my last time venturing into the Souls world in quite some time. Glad I gave it another chance. Only took over 20 hours until I began a play-through where I got the hang of things.
Click to expand...

You really need to meet the other snake to see the other side of the coin of the game history and the enviroment makes another turn of view in your second run.

Game isnt hard at all maybe some people were too familiarized to rush and kill enemies without worrying about traps or enviromental traps that lures you to your death, still the game have its own genre by itselft and thats a good thing I dare to say. And yes the areas after Anor Londo just simple felt watered downd after O&S.
 
H

halfbeast

Banned
zero shift said:
  • The game's aren't anywhere near as hard as people say they are.
Click to expand...

don't forget that you were playing a game after something like 10 patches from the original. things were a bit different during launch. item drop rates were atrocious, good luck farming for shards! twinkling titanite could only be farmed! the skeletons (catacombs) and the slimes (sewer) didn't drop souls. the former is especially brutal, when you're stuck down there in the catacombs pre-warping. Capra Demon's dogs were re-arranged because they were closer to the fog gate, trapping you right after you entered, so Capra could just one-hit kill you. getting cursed halves your HP. getting cursed again halves your HP. there were a few unlucky ones who only had 1 HP after a couple of curses. you must be extra special to get to that point, but it was possible. :3 dragon butts in lost izalith had a broader aggro range. once you see them, they gonna butt stomp you. all of them.

people were calling it hard, because it was.
 
R

Red Liquorice

Member
A lot of the difficulty hype is also just that - hype. Demon's Souls was a step up from the usual checkpoints and forgiving nature of a lot of modern games and people found that refreshing and enjoyable, so Namco actively used that in the marketing of Dark Souls with the 'prepare to die!' tag line, and it stuck.
 
Z

zero shift

Banned
halfbeast said:
don't forget that you were playing a game after something like 10 patches from the original. things were a bit different during launch. item drop rates were atrocious, good luck farming for shards! twinkling titanite could only be farmed! the skeletons (catacombs) and the slimes (sewer) didn't drop souls. the former is especially brutal, when you're stuck down there in the catacombs pre-warping. Capra Demon's dogs were re-arranged because they were closer to the fog gate, trapping you right after you entered, so Capra could just one-hit kill you. getting cursed halves your HP. getting cursed again halves your HP. there were a few unlucky ones who only had 1 HP after a couple of curses. you must be extra special to get to that point, but it was possible. :3 dragon butts in lost izalith had a broader aggro range. once you see them, they gonna butt stomp you. all of them.

people were calling it hard, because it was.
Click to expand...

None of those things (except the dogs with the Capra Demon) really seemed to effect me. By the time I got to the Catacombs I think I leveled up maybe twice (at most) after that. I don't believe I ever used twinkling titanite. I beat the game with a +10 weapon.

Red Liquorice said:
A lot of the difficulty hype is also just that - hype. Demon's Souls was a step up from the usual checkpoints and forgiving nature of a lot of modern games and people found that refreshing and enjoyable, so Namco actively used that in the marketing of Dark Souls with the 'prepare to die!' tag line, and it stuck.
Click to expand...

Another thing is that a lot of gamers just...well suck at games.You can't tell me that many "hardcore games" such as Shin Megami Tensei, Bayonetta, and the like don't have their difficulties over-exaggerated. People always complain about the Matador or the Minotaur from SMTIII and SMTIV, and while they were a jump in difficulty they really weren't THAT hard. Bayonetta isn't that hard either, I pretty much beat Bayonetta 2 without using Witch Time (something many gamers claim is impossible), and I'm not action game master either.
 
S

SmashN'Grab

Member
Hey folks! I'm stuck on Artorias, and could really use some help to beat him.

If anyone's available, and on Xbox 360, please let me know and I'll be at the Royal Wood right outside his boss gate in human form, ready to summon.

He's killed me way too many times now, and I really wanna get past him. Loads of people have said it's a classic boss fight, but I just can't pull it off solo.

Would really appreciate any assistance. Thanks!
 
T

Terareflection

Member
Ornstein and Smough are going to take a while...

But yeah, they are really the only legit difficult bosses in the game. Everyone else (that I've faced at least) usually have some shitty gimmick that you have to deal with. Once you get past that you're golden.
 
Kaleinc

Kaleinc

Banned
zero shift said:
Bayonetta isn't that hard either, I pretty much beat Bayonetta 2 without using Witch Time (something many gamers claim is impossible), and I'm not action game master either.
Click to expand...
Platinum's games were never hard that's why they have huge appeal. The formula boils down to mash QTEs and win ;)
 
J

Jimnymebob

Member
SmashN'Grab said:
Hey folks! I'm stuck on Artorias, and could really use some help to beat him.

If anyone's available, and on Xbox 360, please let me know and I'll be at the Royal Wood right outside his boss gate in human form, ready to summon.

He's killed me way too many times now, and I really wanna get past him. Loads of people have said it's a classic boss fight, but I just can't pull it off solo.

Would really appreciate any assistance. Thanks!
Click to expand...

What are you having trouble with exactly? A good majority of his attacks can be dodged by rolling towards him and to the right, and although I beat him with a Uchigatana and Shotel, I tried using a shield and that makes the fight so much easier/solely about stamina management. Just two hand hit him when he starts using his buff (he choreographs that with two back dashes) to cancel that, and find an attack/s that you find easy to dodge and counter (for me the easiest was the 3 somersaults), and ONLY attack after that, and dodge the rest.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
SmashN'Grab said:
Hey folks! I'm stuck on Artorias, and could really use some help to beat him.

If anyone's available, and on Xbox 360, please let me know and I'll be at the Royal Wood right outside his boss gate in human form, ready to summon.

He's killed me way too many times now, and I really wanna get past him. Loads of people have said it's a classic boss fight, but I just can't pull it off solo.

Would really appreciate any assistance. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Can't help you but you know you can tank him with Greatshield of Artorias, right? Can't you forge it? You need Sif's soul for that, though.
 
U

uncredited male

Member
Kyleripman said:
Just realized I am still running the dsptde-2.0- beta on Steam. Is this still necessary?
Click to expand...

No. They are the same.

However, the MP base is stupidly segregated by the game between them. And the vast majority of players are not in the beta anymore.

Meaning, if you want more co-op or PVP action switch to the regular exe.
 
R

Raging Spaniard

If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
Figured you guys would like this. As part of inktober, Im going to be spending all of October making Dark Souls art! Im a huge fan of the game, so Im trying to replicate memorable scenes/characters while adding my own spin to them.

Heres the first few, you can also see them as theyre posted in the inktober thread or my twitter page


CQV1Qj8UwAA1Mp_.jpg:medium


tumblr_nvrqxc1Cnz1qed0geo1_1280.jpg


tumblr_nvrqxc1Cnz1qed0geo2_1280.jpg


tumblr_nvv3haduMU1qed0geo1_1280.jpg


tumblr_nvv3tnQ0xE1qed0geo1_1280.jpg


tumblr_nvzk0oh1yl1qed0geo1_540.jpg


tumblr_nvzk50RQVe1qed0geo1_540.jpg


tumblr_nw4g6mPCTy1qed0geo1_540.jpg


tumblr_nw4g9ucq0y1qed0geo1_540.jpg


tumblr_nw4gfcQeCD1qed0geo1_1280.jpg
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
I said it before but the style really reminds me of the art in Fighting Fantasy/Lonewolf/Sorcery! types of gamebooks. Which is awesome, even more so because these books were an influence on Miyazaki for Demon's Souls. :)
 
R

RandomSeed

Member
I like the simple weapons better overall. It could be just me, but I find most of the boss/rare weapons disappointing. For example, the Greatsword of Artorias shows some impressive damage numbers, but the R2's are really slow, and the split (magic) damage means I had to switch to using a plain +14 mace to beat Kalameet to death, since the GSOA was doing pathetic damage AND is slow.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
Raging Spaniard said:
Figured you guys would like this. As part of inktober, Im going to be spending all of October making Dark Souls art! Im a huge fan of the game, so Im trying to replicate memorable scenes/characters while adding my own spin to them.
Click to expand...

They are amazing. You got real talent.

tumblr_nvzk50RQVe1qed0geo1_540.jpg


This staircase is IMO iconic.

tumblr_nw4g6mPCTy1qed0geo1_540.jpg


Can't remember this part, though. There wasn't any enemy with huge-ass tongue attacking you?
 
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