So.. I am so excited about the remaster (which I'll be buying for Switch), that I did the stupid sensible thing, and reinstalled the Steam version last week. I've been playing since Friday. I was about to go to bed, listening to some ASMR, while having the urge to play this game again since I was looking forward to the remaster in May. So I decided to reinstall it. Thing is, I have fiber since a couple of months.. The thing was downloaded before my ASMR was finished. Obviously I didn't go to bed. Also, ASMR and Dark Souls aren't a good combination. Those mixed signals man! I still had my original savefile, you can read some of my exploits on the previous page, but I wanted to start get a fresh start. Though for roleplaying purposes I build the exact same character. I stopped playing back then, because I had some trouble with Sif, so that's the last thing I did.
Anyway, a fresh start, with roughly the same character. A pyromancer with the Witch ring, who will invest in intelligence to use other magic as well. Since I still had the original savefile, I can take quick looks to compare stats and equipment, and the stuff I had or hadn't done. Unlike my original character, I invested the first few level ups in endurance and vitality, making me slightly more durable, which I'm sure helped, but I'll get to that.
Anyway, it's been 2 years.. Eventhough I never finished the game, I though my experience would at least get me through the early game. Game says no. I had to relearn everything again.. Died a couple of times to the Asylum demon. "Ok, here's the boss. Step through the gate, and do a plunging attack, I know! I jump and fail to do a plunging attack."Huh? Oh well, let's do it the old-fashioned way. I die. Attempt two: I step through the gate. I stand on the ledge. "Wait, what are the controls for the pluging attack?" Demon jumps up, I die. With I think the 4th attempt I got him, and I could continue.
Back at the Firelink shrine.. I thought I could handle the skeletons at the stairs, as I remember being able to handle them two years ago, but again, that was too long ago, and I got my ass kicked again, haha. Ok, taking things slower again. I did remember the secret area with the four chests, so I grabbed those.
The learning experience with the skeletons proved useful, as I didn't have much trouble with Undeadburg. I was even confident enough to take on the Black Knight a little further from the first bonfire. Also the Taurus demon, now I know how to do plunging attacks, so I got him as well.
Then THE BRIDGE OF FIRE a.k.a. the bridge of a free 555 souls, I know not to cross it entirely, as with my current stats and equipment, that's going to get me killed. Which is annoying, since that means I'm missing out on a bonfire for now. Entering Undead Parish.. Also not too many troubles, though I thing I died to the black knight on the top of the tower maybe? I'm not sure, I'll get back to that. And of course the scary boar.. Which got lured into the fire with the luring skulls which you can very conveniently find in that spot. Getting to the the other bonfire near the blacksmith. Finally getting some upgrades, making things a little easier. It took several attempts, but I wanted to kill the titanite demon below in my current state, and I did it. I remember being scared of it two years ago, though loading up my original savefile, I did see I eventually killed it apparently, though most likely safely from a distance using various soul arrows. This time around, I killed it like a man, using my battle axe. That took a while. But then the it was time for the Gargoyles. That took me so many attempts. I knew what I had to do: kill the first one as soon as possible. But easier said than done. Then getting frustrated at dieing several times, I try to rush from the bonfire to the boss, which can be done, but is so easy to mess up, ending up in another death. The gargoyles are annoying, because if they're both breathing fire, they leave very little room to move. I first used the battle axe, then I used it's own tail, as referenced by my earlier post on the previous page. Apparently that's what I killed them with the first time around, so I gathered it would bring me success the second time. Well, it did, but not after several more attempts. None of those weapons did much damage though.. My fireball did ok damage, but I wasn't always fast enough to cast it. I think I only managed to get the Gargoyle tail axe to +3 when finally beating them. Again, the problem is when you're fighting both. If you manage to kill one the other is a pushover.
First bell rung, back to Firelink shrine. Did some more exploring, and found the way back to the asylum on my own. I use wikis extensively, but didn't look into this. The asylum, yeah.. I left the black knights alone, they hit too hard and there's little space to maneuvre. The stray demon.. After a few tries I decided now was not the time. I did kill the poor guy who helped you at the start, getting a cool looking shield. More importantly, I got that ring that let's me move trough the swamp more easily. I've seen the ring mentioned plenty of times, but never intended to actually get it for the specific purpose of getting through the swamp as a lot of people seem to do, but here I was, and helpful it proved indeed.
Then lower Undead Burg. Or maybe I did that before the return trip to the asylum, I forgot. I remembered the ambushes, but fighting them all at once was annoying, so again, referencing my earlier post, I cheesed through it by luring them to the fire. Capra demon took a few tries again, though luckily not as many as the Gargoyles. It's all about surviving the first few seconds, and making it to the stairs. You need to kill the dogs but locking on to the dog and the capra demon will slam you. Lock on to the demon, and you may block it's first attack (but not fully), then be eaten by the dogs, with the demon then finishing you off. This is a fight which would be so much easier if you had more room to move. Anyway, after a couple of tries, managed to get to the stairs, fireballed the dogs, then continued to fireball the demon, but as I vaguely recall having fought the demon like a man once the dogs were disposed of, the first time around, I decided to jump down and finish him off in a melee battle.
Next: the Depths. I remembered some stuff about this area, it wasn't too much trouble. I remembered some of the secrets, I fireballed the like likes which fall down from the ceiling, fireballed the big rat from above, I remembered to regain my humanity in order to trigger an NPC invasion. This ehh triggered also regular invasions. I've probably been invaded before, but these are the first ones I recall. I may slowly get better at PvE, but PvP.. Anyway, in the end, I made it to the Gaping dragon. Not too hard, took a few tries to learn its moves, but is easy once you know them. It turns like a truck, so it's not that hard to avoid.
Next: Blighttown. Fell down numerous times, trying to avoid enemies or trying to reach items or platforms. This is an anoying thing Dark Souls does in my opinion, often only placing a bonfire near the end of the level, not another near the start as well. Things were slightly easier when I finally reached the bonfire. Got a cool sword, the one I was using in my original savefile, and the sword I'm still using so far: the Iaito. Made it to the bottom, took this opportunity to finally get some co-op action (as well as a few invasions). Put my sign near the bonfire, and got summoned quite a few times. Tried to help out with the boss, which also functioned as a learning experience for me, though the best way to learn is to tackle a boss alone. I recall killing Quelaag with the help of an NPC, so I assume Mildred, in my original file, but this time I wanted to beat her fairly. As always, it took several attempts, but in the end I learned when it was safe to attack. Once you know her moves the hardest thing is probably to remember where any lava is lying on the floor, as to not step into it. Beat her fair and square, and rang the second bell. Finally met her sister again, used my witch ring and entered the covenant for role playing purposes. Also finally upgraded my pyromancy. Now in my original file, I wandered into the lava zone, and got an awesome looking black cloak which I still was using when I stopped playing, but I remembered what the troubles that I had to endure for it, so I skipped it for now.
Just on a quick sidenote, but speaking of PvP and online.. I use a 3rd party program that helps with online, and things are pretty active as you can read! It's mentioned on the Steam discussions.
After that, I think I wandered around a bit, not sure where I wanted to go to next.. I think I tried to explore Valley of the drakes, and while the undead dragon or an individual drake wasn't much of a problem, I didn't make it to the end. Anyway, I think there's not much to do here for me at this point in the game.
While I still have some other options, I decided to just get it over with, and go to the place I dread, the Darkroot garden. Or rather, I was dreading what was waiting for me at the end of it, the reason I stopped playing the fisrt time around. Anyway, the Titanite demon guarding the entrance was already out of the way, and the early parts of the garden are actually no problem at all. The plant creatures, black knights, and stone guardians.. They didn't pose a big threat, nor did the big butterfly. At this point the door to the rest of the garden was still closed, as I used my souls for other stuff, so I needed to save up. So I made a detour into the Darkroot bassin, having forgotten a bit what it was like. But then I remembered the crystal golems, the hydra which can blast you from a very long distance, and the tower with Havel. And.. nothing here was much of a problem. I remember being scared of Havel. But I decided to be a man, and just enter the tower and fight him. And in the end, he wasn't actually hard. On par with a black knight I'd say. The golems are easy, though you have to lure them to where the hydra can't hit you. The hydra.. The approach is tricky, but there's a method to it. The fight itself, was ok. Took a few tries, as usual, but got him eventually. He's not that hard as far as bosses go, his blast attack is the most dangerous, but once you get close, it's easy to avoid. His lunge attack(s) seem to have specific spots it attack, it's just a matter of rolling out of the way. Now, apparently my sword wasn't dealing enough damage to it, so while I managed to cut all the heads off, it remained alive (?). It was still screaming and everything, but unable to attack. Thing is, I only had a heavy soul arrow for long ranged magic attacks, and they were not enough (plus I kept missing because I had to aim manually). Luckily, I bought a shitload of arrows "just in case", and this validated that decision. It took more than 40 to finish him off, but with that, I was almost finished in the basin. There was an elevator, I had a quick look, but it took me to New Londo ruins, which I didn't want to visit yet, apart from grabbing the stuff in the first area, and meeting a new blacksmith. Finally there was this orange golem, and killing it freed someone who sold me the chameleon spell I wanted, after watching all those PvP trolling videos.
Now there's just one thing to do. Well two things. Fighting Sif, but I have to go through a bit of forest after opening the door first. I forgot this area was also annoying with several forest hunters, sometimes ganging up on you. Just like a lot of fights, they're easy on their own, but dangerous in numbers. Luckily an orange message reminded me of the cheese tactic I used two years ago: hiding next to the entrance, and let them roll of the cliff. Not the most honourable tactic, but it is the most hilarious. Nothing left for me to do, but to face my fears.. Fighting Sif. I was roughly at the same point in the game as my original file. Roughly the same level and equipment, though with slightly different stats. This is where the few extra points in vitality and endurance come in. Unlike Havel, the fear of Sif was founded, as it took me, like always, several attempts. That said, I slowly learned the moves I didn't learn two years ago. I slowly learned when it was safe to attack, and when it's not. Sif's most dangerous move was a double spin attack, with the first spin eating up all my stamina when blocked, and the second removing almost all my health. This would probably be a one hit kill if I didn't invest those few points in vitality. Getting "under" Sif is the best place to be as guides will tell you, but getting (and staying) there is easier said than done. If I would be slightly off when he's doing the spin attack, I'd be seriously injured or dead. I'm a pyromancer, and he's susceptible to fire, but getting a fireball in is hard as he's highly mobile. While I found various opportunities to strike, some were incredible risky. The spin attack can be rolled under for example, but again, if you're timing is off, you're getting punished. In the end I played it incredibly safe, only using a quick weak attack during specific attacks, resulting in a very long fight, but eventually I prevailed. Now I'm officially beyond the point of my original savefile!
I think I wandered around a bit, deciding what to do, but then I finally decided to go to Sen's fortress. A new area I've never seen before, apart from videos. Again, an annoying bonfire placed near the end, I died numerous times trying to get to it, getting squashed by balls etc. Looked up where the hell the bonfire actually was, then decided to make that a priority, and stop exploring the rest of the castle until I reached it. This is more or less the point where I am now. I haven't done the boss yet, and I have some more exploring to do. I have to get baclk to rescue Logan, and there are some Titanite demons to fight. I'm currently hollow, but I want to get some more pvp and co-op action before I do the boss. With all the traps, surely I could win a fight this time, haha.
So before I end the story of my epic adventures (geez, you read all of that?), a little detour. I decided I already wanted a quick taste of what's it like to play a melee focussed character, so I started a 3rd character. Another pyromancer, since that's the only one that starts at level 1, but I chose the master key. Played a little less than 5 hours, I did everything up to the first bell. Surprisingly, it didn't feel much different. My character should be stronger, but battles feel the same. It seems I don't often use magic anyway, hacking away at things with my sword is usually the way to go, expecially during boss fights, simply because it's faster and more reliable. I only use magic at long distances, and it's incredibly handy against enemies who are not aware of you. But it was obvious I was getting better at the game. Well, at least regarding PvE, PvP again, is another matter. Things went much easier. The asylum demon was much easier, I think I still died once, but quickly got my revenge. The skeletons at the stairs at Firelink shrine no longer posed a threat, eventhough I was back at level 1. Undead burg also went smoothly.. Apart from some invasions. Leave me the hell alone! Undead Parish.. The black knight at the top of the tower was still hard, he seems harder than the other knights for some reason, but I eventually got him. Oh, I also noticed an advantage of invasions, one helpfully opened the gate for me so I could use the bonfire. I went to the blacksmith, being better at the game left me with more souls and other stuff to spend, so I bought and immediately leveled up a battle axe to +5, and slaughtered everything in Undead Parish. The other knights, the sorcerer, the other undead soldiers, it's not my beloved Iaito, but it more than did the trick. Going for the boss, got invaded right in front of the gate, so long sucker! Used some gold resin, and went straight for the first Gargoyle.. and died. Due to overconfidence at this point. But I had the right idea. For some reason I forgot all about the resin with my 2nd character, but now I vaguely recall having used it with my first character. Though I probably ended up wasting it due to dieing anyway. But the 2nd attempt, being slightly less agressive, and my sparky battle axe just went through the first Gargoyle like a knife through butter. And the 2nd was too late to save his friend, and posed nu threat whatsoever. I should have left it at that, but there was one more thing I wanted to try, with my sl25 +5 battle axe wielding pyromancer, and that was the return trip to the asylum. I killed the hollowed knight who helped you, I even killed the black knights. I got all the loot. I tried the stray demon. Again, and again. Eventually, I learned his moves, and the best tactic to deal with him (stay behind him, step back when he does its aoe attack). The +5 battle axe wasn't doing too much damage, resulting in a long fight. In the end, I got him to little less than a third of its health! Then I was a bit too slow avoiding his flying attack, and died (which I should have avoided, as it's easy to avoid). I quit that session.
And I reloaded my 2nd character, and made a little detour from Sen's fortress to the asylum. Killed the knights, got the remaining loot, went for the stray demon, died again the first new attempt, I forgot exactly how, I think I got over confident again, didn't heal the fall damage, but was too slow to get behind him. But the 2nd attempt I slaughtered him. This character was carrying a +9 Iaito at that point, it hits harder, and it has more reach, so the fight didn't take long. Got my revenge, and now I can continue with Sen's fortress.
I think it's obvious I'm having fun again with the game. I was a bit concerned it would spoil the game for me when I get the remaster, but I think all it did was get me even more excited. Nintendo's game page says it's a game you'll want to play more than once, and I have some ideas for builds and challenges I want to try after finishing the game. Including the scary invading miniboss. I hope the online community will be active on the Switch as well, but it's all part of the game in my opinion, despite dying every time.
Yeah, so I read this not too long ago, but fortunately my bad memory helps out in this case, and I forgot all about it. But then an orange message warned me about it, so the suprise was still gone. Anyway, there will be more mimics. I'm sure one of them will get me.
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