I must say I love the Flamelurker fight. I did him fairly late (I only didn't do 3-2 and 5-2 yet, did open the shortcut in 5-2 and looted the place.. wanted that moonlight) and I was too stubborn to farm some heals. I had to cast heal which is nerve wracking. I got him to 25% each time until I decided to get some grass. Had no spice either, because water veil seems to help. Beat him right after that. Had second chance up but wasn't used.
He's not hard per say for a faith or pure melee build, but the fire ticks are annoying. Because touching him can also cancel out your slashes, you're essentially taking constant damage. That was the most annoying part about him. I think you can tank a lot, and only attack once (with greatsword) after he slams his fist in the ground. From a certain range you won't be hit by ticks. Rarely I could unleash on his back, he seems to have a blind spot at times.
I died more times on 2-3, heh. I remember I one shot that on PS3 each time. It seems he's either broken or they changed things up. But the first few debris are almost like a gamble.
I love 5-2 btw. The sense of dread and hopelessness. Its just so great. Blight Town is a joke compared to it. Giant deprave aggro in the swamp? RIP you. Ofcourse, you can easily bypass all of them (if you go for the goal there is only one near the first fog door, which you can ignore). It would be almost impossible if you couldn't. In 5-1 they were harder because I kinda refused to use the thief ring, I lured them out, rolled past them on the wide platform and ran. Its very possible. 5-1 was shit, the space you have to fight in. Typically that house with the ladder is a nightmare, ofcourse, anything ranged will fix it. But I was often too lazy for that. Ever since on PS3 I admit I fear those guys.