Dark Souls

[dwarf]

That was a roller coaster.

[dwarf]

@Sheikah A friend of mine is starting this soon. Seeing as you're a veteran, what are the main tips you'd give to new players? I've let him know some of the basics but when it comes to specific item locations/order of progression etc I'm useless.

[Sheikah]

[mention=2464]Sheikah[/mention] A friend of mine is starting this soon. Seeing as you're a veteran, what are the main tips you'd give to new players? I've let him know some of the basics but when it comes to specific item locations/order of progression etc I'm useless.

Hey, no problem. Always nice to revisit my memories of this game.

Ahh, the original Dark Souls. My key tip for this one is to pick pyromancy to begin with, and upgrade your pyromancy glove as much as possible and up your attunement some to carry more/better pyromancy spells. Pyromancy is god tier in the first game, what with the damage output being linked to the + value of your glove and no other stat (so no need to spec for it), and getting charges every time you rest (rather than pyromancy being drained by your mana bar).

With regards to stats, I say pump strength up to 40 and equally level vitality to begin with. There is a softcap somewhere there but you will see big gains by doing this initially ahead of anything else.

When you get to a room in The Depths filled with barrels, roll around to destroy them to reveal a pyromancer seller NPC. Don't attack the barrels with a weapon as you can aggro the NPC!

Give one tap with a weapon to each chest to check if they're a mimic. Don't destroy the chests as you'll only find rubbish inside.

Generally speaking, work to find a shortcut back the beginning/bonfire before going into boss fog gates, since you'll probably die first time fighting a boss.

Oh and a great tip - in the Undead Parish, load up on arrows and give yourself a little dex (if needed to use the bow), then stand to the right of the bridge to shoot the tail off the red drake without getting hit. You get the Drake sword which is great up until mid-late game.

[Nolan]

40 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Give one tap with a weapon to each chest to check if they're a mimic.

I feel that this is actually very bad advice. Somewhat. It’s a good thing to learn, but you’re removing something ostensible from Dark Souls by warning them beforehand of mimics. There’s something to be said of the first time you greedily open a chest only to be greeted with shock and horror as its toothy maw opens. 

[Sheikah]

I feel that this is actually very bad advice. Somewhat. It’s a good thing to learn, but you’re removing something ostensible from Dark Souls by warning them beforehand of mimics. There’s something to be said of the first time you greedily open a chest only to be greeted with shock and horror as its toothy maw opens. 

Nah, Dark Souls is all about sharing information. You've never seen a message on the floor saying "beware mimicry" or "attack chest" bruh?  

 

 

 

[Nolan]

8 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Nah, Dark Souls is all about sharing information. You've never seen a message on the floor saying "beware mimicry" or "attack chest" bruh?  

 

 

 

I certainly have, and I see your point. I just also see mimics as being similar to the whole “the real dark souls starts here” adage. 

At least they never went through with the mimic bonfire idea though. 

[killthenet]

I'd agree with most of what Sheikah said but would also add to tell them that patience is key, both within individual battles and with the game as a whole. My first experience of a Souls game was the original Dark Souls and it probably took me about 20-30hours before I felt I had the hang of things, by which time I had wasted a lot of souls through panicking and rushing. I hadn't seen any videos of the game beforehand, just picked it up because i'd heard such good things about the series, so hopefully your friend is a bit better prepared (and better at games) than I was. I'm really interested to play through this again on Switch and see how quickly I make my way through the sections that took me so many attempts the first time round.

[dwarf]

Thanks Sheikah.

I'm definitely not going to tell him about the first mimic because it's like a rite of passage. Sure it's unfair, but it's also hilarious and one of my fondest memories of the game, so to spoil it would be to deny him that. For me the Souls games require a fine balance between first-hand learning experience and community-based research, and if you're acting as a mentor like I am in this situation then you can help to make those judgement calls. The mentor role is a weird privilege of the Souls games that probably used to be a fixture of rock-hard, pre-internet era gaming. Gives the series a second life.

[Sméagol]

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.

On 21/01/2018 at 10:36 PM, Nolan said:

I feel that this is actually very bad advice. Somewhat. It’s a good thing to learn, but you’re removing something ostensible from Dark Souls by warning them beforehand of mimics. There’s something to be said of the first time you greedily open a chest only to be greeted with shock and horror as its toothy maw opens. 

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.

[Sméagol]

On 01/03/2018 at 11:59 PM, Sméagol said:

Anyway, there will be more mimics. I'm sure one of them will get me.

And one of them did. I did try to attack it, but my sword must have missed. I didn't get a reaction in any case, and then I got eaten. I think it was in Anor Londo.

My adventures since the last post:

Finishing up in Sen's fortress. Wanted to do some PvP and co-op, but forgot all about my plans of ambushing on the narrow beams when I got an invader. Also got summoned one time, but my host was hesitant to move up, so I took the lead. Then I heard some fire spell, then a scream, ran back to check, and there was my host, reduced to a pile of ashes by some invader. Then I figures, let's just finish this level. Boss was easy, despite having little room to move, as I left the giants alive. Left two of the four titanite demons alive as I didn't want to deal with them both simultaneously.

Anor Londo: cool level. Couldn't figure out at first where I had to go.. But then looked it up. Continued on my way, checked a painting and well, let's make a little detour.

Ariamis: I knew about it, but didn't know I'd commit to it by checking the painting. But now I was there anyway, I explored. Creepy bird monsters and fire mutants, but they weren't a problem (though that grab attack from those birds surprised me once, and well, killed me). The area seemed fine in general.. Untill I ventured down to the basement and encountered my first bonewheel skeletons. Well, they fucked me up. After a few tries I became more and more careful, trying to aggro only one at a time. In the end I got them all, and got all the stuff I could find from the area, so went to the boss. I don't kill innocent ladies, so I just jumped down.

Anor Londo continued: after my detour I got into the castle. Got an invader, and I succesfully hid from him. Not dying is a first. Anyway, explored the castle, killed all the silver knights, and often left my sign near the bonfire. I love co-opping in Anor Londo. Met the giant blacksmith, became a frequent visitor when I had souls to spend after some farming runs while I was waiting to be summoned. I've got plenty of silver swords, spears, and shields I'm not going to use (with this build). The boss.. The infamous Ornstein and Smough. I actually didn't find them that hard? I see plenty of people complaining about them. Of course I did die several times, and admittedly I had some practice during co-op runs, but I didn't spend nearly as much time as some some other bosses. Must be less than 10 including the co-op runs before I beat them. Even on my first attempt I killed Ornstein easily as it only took four fireballs, and Smough is usually catching up. So it was mostly a matter of finding out when I could attack Smough. Anyway, after beating them, I found the most amazing of chests, and got the Lordvessel, so I could finally warp between certain areas.

Didn't know what order to the the rest of the game. Decided to do New Londo first because of the very large ember found there, and I wanted to upgrade my weapons. Funnily enough, I didn't find the area that troublesome the first time around. The ghosts didn't bother me too much before I beat the boss. It was only aftewards when farming / waiting for co-op that the ghosts got on my nerves, one crowded house in particular. But the boss (and the fact there's no bonfire in the area) was excruciating. Fireballs worked wonders, but I only had enough to kill the first two easily. I wasn't doing enough damage with my sword to kill one before another appeared, not even with my now fully upgraded +15 Iaito. I was considering various options to prepare, like getting a better weapon (like the chaos blade), and stocking up on green blossom. But I also asked around on the Steam forums, and got the golden tip to simply use something I had already available, great magic weapon. This boosted my damage considerably, and made quick work of the boss without any other changes in my playstyle (apart from using the crest shield which I only equipped for that fight).

Next up was the catacombs and tombs. This is the only area where I regret knowing so much about the game already. I was already prepared with a divine weapon at the ready. That said, I did wanted to attempt the catacombs as if I didn't know about the resurrecting skeletons, then quickly abandoned that plan when some skeletons who refused to stay dead ganged up on me before I even reached the first bonfire. So I took out my divine battle axe. This area would be so much harder if you don't know about this. I wondered how you could know about it, apart from orange messages, but then I found out Andre actually gives you this tip if you talk to him enough. Then I arrived at the bottom. The skeleton blacksmtih gave me a scare. Then the bonewheel skeletons gave me an actual reason to be scared. They are annoying. I tried to outrun them one time, trying to get to the boss, and well, it can be done, it can also easily be fucked up. The boss was laughably easy for a change.

Tomb of the giants: this was ehh dark. I used the cast light spell which was all I needed, but it's still scary walking up to some giant skeleton in the dark.. There was a room with several giant skeletons who fucked me up if I fell down there. Then I found out I could kill 'm all with one fireball from above if positioned correctly. Why do skeletons burn? Ehh I'll take it. Patches man. I know his reputation. I didn't even get the chance to talk to him before he kicked me down. Met the cleric down there, and her two zombies which I dispatched. Got out of the pit, and killed Patches. The only NPC I have no qualms about killing. Fuck you man. Nito himself is a pushover. Still died a few times, and this would be a lot of times if I didn't know about the resurrecting skeletons. He actually did kill me instantly once with his sword from the ground move, as soon as I dropped down while I was healing from the fall damage. I didn't feel very welcome. My battle axe didn't dispatch the skeletons fast enough, so I went back and upgraded it some more, then fireballed the boss. If I didn't know about the divine weapons and skeletons, i think I would eventually try hit and run tactics. I tried to ignore the skeletons once, and this didn't work out. But in a new playthrough I still want to try a run without a divine weapon.

Demon ruins: it was time to face the lava guy who I remember from my first incomplete playthough. He scared me. I knew about the easy kill, but I wanted to defeat him properly, and after a few tries I did. Though I feel I got lucky, as when I defeated him, he did several of his easily dodged attack in a row. Some of his attacks were hard to dodge, or at least I didn't fight him enough to get the timings right. Then the path to below was open. I saw a shitload of Taurus demons.. They, as well as the Capra demons, may have been downgraded to normal enemies, but they were stil formidable foes who hit hard. I cleared the area of all the non-respawning Taurus demons, and tried to get the ember in the lava.. And burned. I'll come back for it. Got invaded by Kirk, tried to go back to a more open spot to fight him, but couldn't. In the end the fucker simply fell from the ledge. Since I knew about Solaire's story I checked out the available shortcut, being a chaos servant, killed the bugs, but left the titanite demon alone for the time being. I still wanted to do the bosses, so I went back. The fire demon is one of the few bosses I got on first try, then again I had plenty of experience with the asylum demon. He was harder though, and did almost kill me, as he tends to fly away more often, and back up against the wall, making it much harder to get and stay behind him. The centipede demon on the other hand, was incredibly annoying. Probably my least favourite boss. Very little room to move in, the boss is blocking the camera which is shaking from various attacks as well. In the end oit didn;t take me too many attempts, but for all of them I had no idea what I was doing. All I could see was if I was near its legs, then I spammed the weak attack and hope it hits, and it wouldn't grab me.

Izalith: I cleared out the lava pool of the dragon legs. I don't know why, that was completely boring. They don't even drop anything. I did go back and killed the Titanite demon a few times, letting me upgrade Quelaag's furysword to the max. I needed some extra demon titanite, as I wasted some of it on a demon spear which I didn't like in the end. Not much else to do here but fight the boss, which was also annoying, though not as annoying as the centipede demon in my opinion. Still, It took me more attempts, as each time it would one hit kill me with a new attack, or I would miss a jump etc. On the second to last attempt, I was relieved when I finally made the last jump and made it across, took a breather, then fire started erupting all around me. Got damnit.  Like some other bosses, running from the nearest bonfire to the boss gets tiresome. Ovciously did it in the end, wnet back to Quelana and got rewarded with the last pyromancy spell for my troubles. Oh wait, I also rescued that Catarina knight again.

The great hollow: not much to talk about as it doesn't have many enemies apart from basilisks, mushrooms and the camera. Died from trying to get some items a couple of times. Got all of the items, but not all of the shiny lizards. They're to annoying to catch, and I don't actually need their drops as I simply buy all the titanite I need.

Ash lake: also not much to talk about. Killed the hydra, that's it.

Only a few things left for me to do now. First up will be the Archives. Then Oolacile, then the final boss.

Couple of little things:

I died a couple of times falling in a hole where I expected an elevator. Judging from a couple of bloodstains, I'm not the only one.

I fucking hate messages in front of fog gates or levers <sigh>.

I haven't leveled up since the previous post, I'm still level 48. I'm spending the souls on titanite. I like to upgrade common weapons and drop them for other players in various areas, potentially creating vagrants. I've seen a couple of them. One almost killed me once.

"Illusory wall ahead" in front of almost every wall <sigh>. Haha.

Being the loyal chaos servant, I want an amiibo of Quelaag's sister instead.

 

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Sméagol

[Sméagol]

The archives: Looks cool!

The crystal cave: RAGE

Seath: Mwoah, needed a couple of tries, but nothing to hard. Got his tail.

Oolacile: Cool looking level. But didn't want to get invaded there. :roll:

Artorias: That's hard for a "new" player at level 48. Took me many tries. At this point in the game, my shield becomes less reliable, and I need to learn how to dodge.

Kalameet: Christ. That's even harder. But I got the fucker, and I got his tail.

Manus: Not sure, I'd say on par with kalameet. Perhaps harder, but he takes more damage, making the fight quicker.

All that's left for me is to tie up loose ends. Getting some items mostly, but I think I have anything I want, especially as I'm probably not going to play a NG+ seriously at this point, I'll wait for the remaster. Then it's Gwyn's turn. Looks like I'll be finishing this game at level 48.

 

[Sméagol]

Tieing up the loose ends.

First up was an optional challenge I set for myself: the twin guardians in Oolacile. I didn't get the tail from the first one, so I had to get them from the twins. I could cheese them with arrows from the relative safety of the cave. Did try it by killing one, but after I died to the last one in melee combat (I had to relearn its pattern), I fought them both outside like a man. Like usual, took plenty of tries, but I got them both, plus one of their tails. Black flamed the first one (while carefully dodging both), then the last one wasn't much trouble, apart from the fact it gives very few opportunities to cut it's tail.

Then it was time to finally get rid of one of the first minibosses you encounter. Well, I say miniboss, but it's pretty big. The red drake or whatever it's called. To be honest, I think it may be the hardest boss in the game, as I don't see how you don't have to rely on luck to kill him. Luck as in: can I kill him before he flies up in the air and sets the bridge on fire. I mean, I heard you can cheese him with arrows as well, I tried it, but my arrows weren't strong enough at that point with my stats. He regenerates too fast. But in NG+ (spoiler alert, I had a very quick look in NG+), he's even much worse. He gains a ton of HP. Anyway, I did get lucky, he landed on the bridge, I gave him a wack, he did his forward fire breath attack, so I wacked him some more from underneath him. I got him before he did something I couldn't dodge. Before the fight I also finally got the infamous drake sword. At the start of the game, getting his tail was too tedious, and I didn't have any use for the sword anyway.

After farming Anor Londo for a while, to get upgrade materials, it was time to meet Gwyn. I wanted to practice first, so I summoned Solaire for the first practice run. Also because I never summoned him in this playthough, and I wanted to see him in action at least once. That was a big mistake, as he could solo him pretty much. All I did was poke Gwyn once in a while. He was nearly dead. I did get to practice a parry / riposte on him, before I committed suicide so I could fight him "properly". This, combined with the fact that I keep hearing the "dlc" bosses are the hardest, gave me a false sense of security, and I expected him to be a cakewalk. This ehh, wasn't the case. He has some pretty fast attacks, good reach, and he's good at draining stamina. Plus you can't block all the damage, and healing is difficult. That said, he's indeed easier than the dlc bosses, though I'd say he's the hardest of the main bosses. Once you learn to keep a close eye to your stamina, and move away from him more (while trying not to get stuck on the terrain..), he's pretty doable.

So after I finally thought I had his pattern down, and could beat him.. My controller broke. I'm not kidding. Fuck you Microsoft. The only piece of Xbox hardware I own, and it breaks due to normal use. The left bumper is now loose, which makes blocking a bit of a liability..

But I persevered, and defeated him even with a loose left bumper. I did abuse the hell out of black flame just to speed things up. Sadly I forgot to use a riposte on him as a final move. But dead he was. Finished the game as a sl48 pyromancer mage. After roughly 730 deaths (counter says 738 now, but several of them are from the NG+ red drake). Also, who wants my spare Titanite catchpoles?

Epilogue:

Had a very quick look at NG+. Things hit hard, but I survived the Asylum demon and the Taurus demon. Got passed the red drake. Then the first thing to kill me.. A hollow soldier, the one at the gate go Undeadburg..  Then I messed around with the red drake, but his health got quadruppled. I leveled up at Firelink shrine, and had better buffs available to me because of that, but I barely scratched him. I'll try using the red teardrop ring next, if that doesn't work, I'll leave it. I'll do the Gargoyles, hide several of my spare weapons in Undeadburg, and then quit the game, and wait for the remaster on Switch.

[Julius]

BONFIRE LIT

Yeah, I've been talking the last couple of months on here about how I'm starting to get a weird hunger to return to Souls after playing Demon's Souls at the end of last year, and even more so after the Elden Ring trailer. Well, with Rift Apart wrapped up last night and me still being off, I figured it was finally time to dive into Dark Souls. Just over 3 hours in, and I wanted to share my journey so far. 

So, right from the outset, the silent title screen was like the game trying to play mind games with me, and then I accidentally clicked a button as I put something down on my coffee table, and the silence was pierced by a sharp (and very loud) blade. Thanks, Dark Souls  I was surprised by how few customisation options there were when setting up my character, but all the better, because I definitely tend to get distracted by those. Went with the Knight and I'll probably go with a Vitality/Strength/Endurance build like I did in Demon's Souls, just because it's been a little while and I love the heft of moving around in armour. I might change it up when I get to the next game, but for now, sword and board is how I'll be rolling. 

Started in the Undead Asylum, pitch black and could barely see as some of my blinds fell down the other day, so naturally had to pump up the brightness. As soon as I started making my way down the hallway I was filled with a whole lot of dread and questioned if I should really be playing this, that feeling of dread was what made Demon's Souls so tough to endure. I very slowly worked my way through the Asylum, constantly going back to the bonfire to replenish my health, as I wanted to make use of something I used sparingly in Demon's Souls: parrying (and by extension, the riposte). Practiced a fair bit before I made it into a massive room which screamed boss arena, so I moved to the edge of the room and the Asylum Demon jumped on. I'd spotted a door on the other side as I walked in the room, so made my way around the Asylum Demon before sprinting through the door and it closed behind me. Looped around, checked out as much as I could, and then ended up above it to land a plunging attack, which took off a massive chunk of its health. Kept my distance where I could, kept an eye on my health, rolled into attacks and made liberal use of some i-frames before landing a few hits to its belly, and a couple of minutes later it was down. I know I've beaten Demon's Souls at this point, so I've faced objectively tougher bosses, but getting past Asylum Demon really calmed my nerves, and I was happy to go forward. 

And so I did, then this massive crow grabbed me from above and flew away with me. The end. 

But no, jokes aside, crow kindly dropped me off in Firelink Shrine (which has awesome music by the way). Funnily enough, my instinct after seeing different directions to go in and explore was to reach for a map on my controller (I went to press Options) before I noticed what I was doing, knowing there wasn't a map, and smiling to myself. Spoke to the NPC's around there, one I bugged into telling me about ringing some bells (one up above and one below ground) and another who asked me to join a cult -- naturally, I agreed. Did a little looking around, found some chests and got locked in that area so used a Homeward Bone that was in one of the chests, then started heading upwards (you're crazy if you think I'm going downwards first!). Practiced a bit on these skeleton dudes too, and this bring me to my first death in Dark Souls: no, not to the skeletons, but not knowing how the jump works and so falling as I tried to reach a ledge to get across to some loot! 

Continued upwards and made it to Undead Burg, slowly but surely making light work of these skeleton warriors and continuing to get more and more comfortable with the parry and riposte. Already appreciate the level design and how things connect, keeping an eye out for paths and rooms not immediately obvious. I made my way down and saw the back of this black knight seemingly protecting something, but the guy was huge -- left him alone.

Eventually got to this point where I was circling this tower before stepping through a fog gate onto a bridge, and noticed a ladder to the side of me, so I climbed it and killed some skeleton archers. Nothing up there, so continued across the bridge and the Taurus Demon came leaping from the sky. We danced around a little bit before I thought I'd try climbing that ladder and seeing if I could attempt a plunging attack on it from up there, and surely enough I could. Again, tried to keep my distance with an eye on my health, after plunging down would draw him out to the middle and then sprint for the ladder, and there was one time I was up there and plunged down and it jumped up which took me by surprise! But, no problems here, a couple of plunging attacks and the Taurus Demon was down. Only death at this point was still that damn jump! Continued on thinking there would be a bonfire, came across a bridge filled with skeletons, so went the other way and met Solaire. Then, as the football was on and I felt like taking a break, did something very silly: walked all the way back to that last bonfire to save my souls, lit it, levelled up, and quit the game. 

Went back on after the football and some food, and my second session with the game went nowhere near as smoothly as the first. Had to make my way through much of Undead Burg again to get to the bridge, as I made my way back over I felt a bit off with parrying again and found myself getting hit a bit more than I was earlier, so spent a bit more time practicing again. Made it halfway across the bridge after a red dragon tried to burn me to a crisp, so went beneath the bridge after noticing there was a room beneath the red dragon with what looked like a bonfire, and noticed an archway to my right which had stairs going down. Well, I want to move parallel to the bridge if anything, so went the other way. Killed a couple of skeletons under the bridge in pretty tight spots, got across to some rats and got myself poisoned, with only one Estus Flask left, so I used it. Regrettably, I figured the bonfire was directly above me and surely I could make it there in a hurry, so I rushed up and as 'Undead Parish' flashed across the screen and a skeleton came towards me, I succumbed to the poison. That was death #2. 

Then I made the long trek back there again and tried making my way across the bridge to the room beneath the dragon, but was engulfed in flames, and so lost my first souls in Dark Souls. Death #3, no big deal. So I got back there again, got under the bridge, but this time figured I'd go down that right path...and of course it knocks a ladder down to the bonfire I went back to earlier and had been making my way all the way over from  levelled up some more, climbed the ladder back up, made my way back over there to the Undead Parish and found a sign saying there was a tough enemy ahead. I thought it was referencing the giant, armour-plated boar I'd spotted up ahead, so made my way up this spiralling staircase and came face-to-face with a massive knight like the one I saw earlier. Tried to run, but that guy was not slow, and my shield clearly wasn't durable enough, as he made pretty light work of me once he caught up! Death #4.

Then on my next run I got poisoned by the rats again, but had all my Estus Flasks, so cheekily grabbed the souls from the start of Undead Parish and made it back to the bonfire before succumbing to poison and allowing myself to use those souls (why I didn't just light the bonfire I have no idea!). Death #5. Then got through a decent chunk of Undead Parish, backstabbed one of these tall skeletons with a cape and a cool black helmet and managed a riposte first time, but died to the next one I came across with a bigger shield. Death #6. I got back to the boar and after clearing the area decided to take it on, so lured it down the steps to the ladder I emerged into the Undead Parish from, and every time it walked away plunged my sword deep into its behind -- weirdest sentence I've typed on here I know, and weirdest backstab in Souls for me so far for sure. Then retrieved those souls and died to the skeleton knight again (Death #7), so got back there, retrieved those souls, got back to the bonfire and levelled up before deciding to change my strategy and see if I could make it past the red dragon. 

Naturally, I died while trying to sprint across. Death #8. Went back up there, got in position after hiding from its initial flames, the  my fan started playing up so I messed with the controls and the red dragon jumped up (before scorching me again). Death #9, but it taught me what to do! Waited there a minute and what do you know, the red dragon jumps up then down onto the bridge, so I sprint past through his legs, and quickly turn the corner upon entering the room with a bonfire -- as I learned from the red dragon in Demon's Souls, you're never safe from their flames!

Lit the bonfire, went outside to the right and found some guys either praising the sun or just being weird, so went back inside, pulled a lever to open the gate...wait, those steps look familiar...and found myself back at the start of the Undead Parish. Chuckled to myself, lit the bonfire again to auto-save, then left it there for the evening. 

I won't be counting deaths moving forwards (at least I don't plan to!), but I was really happy and a bit proud that I was able to take down the first two bosses and make it through Undead Burg with only one death suffered when trying to reach that ledge (oh yeah, I've learned how to jump properly since by the way!). I counted the other deaths mainly because it was funny how quickly things went downhill in my second session, but each time I was getting farther or trying new things out, so it was time well spent. Took a little time to get my head around Humanity before I successfully restored my humanity and kindled a flame for the first time, but it's getting there. 

After that initial hump I had to get over in the first 30 minutes as I made my way through the Undead Asylum - where I was making up excuses to put the game off and questioning if I was in the right frame of mind or if I could actually even beat the game - things just clicked right back into place and I felt comfortable with it, something I didn't truly feel with Demon's Souls until after beating my head against the wall taking on the Adjudicator, beating Flamelurker, and taking out some Archdemons, but it felt much later in the game compared to this. Sure, I've been dying, but I'm not getting phased by it as I found myself feeling early on in Demon's Souls. 

I look forward to taking further steps forward tomorrow, but I'm really enjoying it so far: the design of the levels, the brief moments of music, learning enemy attacks, getting more proficient with parrying and ripostes, and learning from my mistakes, and branching off from that - most importantly! - not being afraid to try something new that I didn't try in my last run. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

 

Yeah, the Firelink Shrine music is amazing. So relaxing.

 

[Julius]

Continued my journey today (well, yesterday now!), admittedly not getting to play as much as I would have liked to. Progress was definitely a bit slower than how I felt it was yesterday, but still, progress is progress! 

First up was popping back out onto the bridge to grab some more souls in order to level up, then moving forwards through the Undead Parish. Made my way back to that skeleton knight who was giving me problems yesterday, the one with the big shield, and naturally I managed to parry him on my first try and execute a riposte. There were two paths forward, one to the left and one straight on, so figured I'd go to the left, which helped me raise one of the gates and get a nice shortcut, but not before drawing the attention of another of those skeleton knights. After taking care of him, I went to move forwards into the church but beyond another skeleton knight there was a much taller knight with a big shield at the altar, and so I decided to go around the other way, which gave me two paths again: left into the church with the big guy, or right towards an old looking church. 

I went right, as that guy looked a bit too menacing, and came across a bonfire before meeting the blacksmith Andre of Astora, so after upgrading my weapons, decided to head back up as the only other way was down, and I was aiming to ring that bell above the ground first, but not before checking out another gated area and meeting the onion-headed Siegmeyer, who seems to be waiting for those gates to rise. He was also surrounded by some pretty funny messages ("Fatty ahead!"). Guess we'll be back later! 

So I went on back to that guy with the big shield and drew him out, he moved and looked a bit like Tower Knight, so I just strafed really close to him, would wait for him to swing, get a few slashes in, back off, and repeat. Wasn't long before he was down. Picked up the Fire Keeper Soul from the altar, no idea what that'll end up being for but it seems kind of important, then noticed a tall bloke with a trident on a balcony opposite. Went to go upstairs, came across a lift which I assumed went up and would fast track me to the top, but I wanted the scenic route. Instead, I up the stairs before a skeleton knight chases me out, but I drew him outside and made quick work of him. Slowly trudge through the fodder the trident guy sends my way (who actually turns out to be magic and can float) before taking him out, notice a ladder going up (which I apparently instantly forgot about!) then continued to circle my way around the upper level of the church, and eventually got to a sign in front of a boarded up archway which said there was a prisoner up ahead.

Naturally rolled through, came across this guy called Lautrec in a cell, who kindly asks me to open the door. Surely I don't have the key, and if I do I expect the game to let me decide if I wanted to open the door or not after selecting it, so I select it and...my Mystery Key is used and the door opens. Uh, okay. Talk to this Lautrec guy a bit and he says something a little concerning about "continuing his work" before laughing to himself. I let him be (for now), but I'm getting flashbacks to Yurt from Demon's Souls (even with the armour), so I don't trust this guy. We'll see how this plays out I guess. 

I then looked around a bit more, but again, in hindsight, I completely forgot about the room with the ladder that I didn't go up as I was so focused on exploring. Instead I go back to that lift, which takes me down instead of up, and once it stops I see white stone walls. I take a few steps forward, but I already know where I am: back at Firelink Shrine. Damn, that's good stuff, gives me a big grin whenever that happens, but especially connecting to Firelink. 

From that point, I figured I must have seen everything in that church, so made my way back over to Andre and went down the steps to come face-to-face with this armoured, headless demon that wasn't a boss, but could shoot lightning. Toyed around with it a bit, didn't really do much damage, but figure the bonfire is just upstairs, so I'll use all of my Estus Flasks while fighting it and die if I need to, it's no big deal because there's not much to lose from this position. Yeah, no, that took forever, I barely put a dent in it by the time I was out of Estus, and that was that. Let it kill me, grabbed my souls and continued through the archway behind it and stepped out into Darkroot Garden. 

At this point I'm still feeling a little lost, notice I'm going down rather than up - which I thought was strange as I even heard the bells getting closer as I went through the church and could see a tower next to it from the outside, but oh well, if this is the wrong way so be it, I'm down for a little exploring. These humanoid plant things come at me, I try a few times to parry them but I seemingly can't, so just take them in carefully. As I make my way through I get to an area from which I can see this translucent butterfly thing, which I thought was a bit odd, but anyways I went right, which took me to an area called Darkroot Basin. I slowly made my way down and came to a point where I could continue going down or go around the edge of the basin, so I went around the edge and came to a bit of a field with these weird blue crystal creatures, who were quick on the uptake to make me get a good jog on up a hill towards a nearby tower after picking up some loot. Got to the base of the tower, went to open the door...and, of course, it's locked. Blue crystal dudes are right next to me, so I need to wait for an opening and then peg it back down the hill, when I see this massive dragon or tentacled thing off in the distance, which starts shooting water my way. Yeah, screw that. 

So instead I get back to where the paths split off and start going down the basin, when I very quickly come across one of those tall black knights - like the one I refused to attack from behind in Undead Burg and like the one at the top of a tower in the Undead Parish - who had eyes on me like a hawk and chased me back out to the clearing where I saw the butterfly. Yeah, definitely get the sense I'm in the wrong place, but whatever. Notice a path in the direction of the butterfly and so I follow it, coming across more of those humanoid plants who try to ambush me on a few occasions, before I reach a small forested area where these stone golem knights start clambering up and casting some sort of magic which slows me down. Don't stick around too long as I dash past them to get to an abandoned building, go up the stairs, go down a path towards a fog door, which of course I open, and...

...haha yeah, you guessed it, that massive translucent butterfly is actually a boss and I felt woefully unprepared (I was down to my last few Estus Flasks by this point too, and hadn't managed to find a bonfire around here). Danced around with the Moonlight Butterfly a bit as it shot tracking magic bolts and lasers my way, it rested for a moment where I got some hits in, but unsurprisingly, I died not too long after. No big deal, imagine I'll be back here soon, and at least I know which way to go now! 

This brings me back to the bonfire by Andre, and I figure at this point that I must have missed something in the church - I could feel it in my bones! - and it doesn't take long for me to find myself back in the room with the ladder I was in earlier...and it is at that point that it dawns on me that I never climbed up the ladder  make my way up, exit through a fog door, and am welcomed onto the church's roof by a gargoyle, who annihilates me as my timing on rolls was way, way, way off. 

No big deal, I go again. This time around I do much better, sticking tight to it as it slashes it's halberd and tail around, getting a good few hits in myself. It's quickly nearing half of its health, but just before I can get confident, a second bar flashes up for another gargoyle who was behind me, and starts breathing fire! I dodge it but unfortunately the other gargoyle, the one I'd been dealing with before, delivers a swift killing blow. It's the Maneaters all over again! 

And my battle with the gargoyles goes on for a while, I had no issue getting back to them (I actually got much better with parrying on my way up!), it was the battle with them which gave me the most cause for concern. The next time I got myself cornered to the side of the tower and couldn't escape their flames. On the attempt after that I focused mainly on the one who swooped in second and was breathing fire, and through quickly taking away my lock-on and running around to do some damage when it went to shoot flames, got it down to a slither of health, but the other one then got in the way and backed me into a wall where I couldn't escape the flames (again). I died again on my next run, when for the first time they both started using their fire-breathing abilities, but I managed to lop one of their tails off and snag a Gargoyle Tail Axe. Died again on my next run, managed to avoid taking damage altogether until the second one came out, and they wrecked shop again. Managed to die on my next run after that too, but this time found myself getting a better understanding of when to time my swigs of Estus and when to back off. After that attempt they cornered me again and unleashed their flames, so I died once again. 

At this point I'm not stressing over the fight, I'm still enjoying it, and am happy to continue...but I definitely start to feel a bit hot under the collar, and my cheeks feel pretty hot to the touch. I think it was the fact that I'd been going it for a good while at that point, consistently making it back to them, and then having that adrenaline pump through you that you get in these boss fights, which made me feel a bit too warm for my own comfort. I got back to the fog gate you step through to initiate the battle and then set my controller down, went and took a moment or two to breathe, and started chewing on some gum, which just helped me focus some of that anxious energy a bit more, as I felt a bit on edge. Quickly got to the point where the second gargoyle came out, managed to do a bit of damage and get it to about a quarter of it's health bar, but quite quickly ran out of Estus after that with only half of my health left -- and this was weirdly freeing! I didn't need to keep my distance to heal up, I just needed to keep my cool and focus on taking them out. Well, I say keep my cool, but I still had to risk everything by running around this fire-breathing gargoyle and just going for it until it collapsed. The other gargoyle managed a hit as I moved to a safe distance, and so I was a bit over a third of my health with no Estus and this gargoyle had just over half its health bar left...

...but I knew for a fact that once I got it down to one gargoyle, that I'd be able to manage. I moved in with my shield up (when is my shield not up in this game?), let it get a few hits in with my shield still up to protect me, but step by step got myself into the position where I was hugging this gargoyle's personal space. Locked on, strafed, slashed away at its hind quarters, and I didn't take any damage as I hacked away at it's health, and eventually put it out of it's misery. I did it! I carefully climbed up the tower and rung the first bell.

With that I knew that Darkroot Garden and the Moonlight Butterfly would be my next targets on the way down towards the bell beneath the ground, and though I do have to come up with a plan for that battle, as I haven't used any ranged weapons yet, I know my way around there at least and so it shouldn't be too much of a struggle, I just need to keep an eye out for a bonfire too (not that it's too far from Andre, to be honest). 

Finished my session by levelling up some more and reinforcing my weapons to be a Broadsword+3 and Tower Kite Shield+3, along with reinforcing my Knight Armour to +1. 

Still getting to grips with it to some extent I guess, but I don't mind dying to bosses (and sub-bosses in the case of that weird headless armoured thing?) and learning more about how to deal with them (I've loved the bosses so far!), think it was just the fact that I'd been in pure boss battle mode for a bit longer than I'm used to which made me feel a little flush, so chose to end my session there. Look forward to taking out the Moonlight Butterfly next! 

Edited June 19, 2021 by Julius

[Sméagol]

Dark Souls is a fun game to read stories from new players of.

[Julius]

Spent a couple more hours with the game today. 

Made my way back over towards where I knew the Moonlight Butterfly was, and as I got to the door sealed by some contraption (the one with a glow coming from its centre), I read some of the messages next to it and one said there was an illusory wall ahead. Now, I'd been hitting all of these walls I'd been told were illusory up to this point, and my sword clanged against a brick wall every single time. To my surprise, though, this wasn't a red herring, and the wall vanished to present me with a bonfire. Awesome! Used some humanity to kindle it, as I knew from my short bout with the Moonlight Butterfly yesterday that it was going to be a drawn out battle. 

Journeyed on and got back to the area with the stone golem knights, but before I could make my way over to some loot that had caught my eye off in the distance, the roots of this tree right next to me start wiggling. It was...disturbing, but it looked like there might be something behind it, so I started hacking away at this tree, and what do you know, it had a health bar and vanished to show me a path going down. I followed it and came across this red lizard with frills so large they were clearly weighing it down, so naturally hacked it to bits. Then I came across three of its friends, and naturally they soon joined their friend in red lizard with frills heaven. A stone golem knight attacked me nearby, but from my limited experience with them earlier when I ran away, I knew he was quite flow and had a blind spot when it came to attacking just to the right of him. So I lock on, strafe around as he slowly hits the floor with his stone sword, and even though he casts this spell which slowed me to a walk, it didn't stop me from putting him down. 

Following the path around a bit more, I found a soul item but that was about it. As I started to make my way back, though, I noticed a set of steps leading up into this tunnel, and so I followed them up to confront another stone golem knight. Same tactic applied here, was probably a little overconfident as I decided to not try dragging the fight outside but chose to fight in close quarters instead, but it was fine, as he soon went down. Continued following the path up and found something called a Wolf Ring -- checked the item description and it mentioned something about boosting poise, so I put it straight on. 

Made my way back to the area where I found the wiggling tree roots and slowly made my way over towards the loot I spotted before, being careful as I knew there was an ambush lying in wait - in the form of some stone golem knights and humanoid plants - from running around here during my trip yesterday. Well, the humanoid plants leapt up and chase me down a path I hadn't seen before, which came to a dead end and some tree with a lizard on it which kept trying to bite and poison me. Yeah, the tree dudes won out, they did that thing where they grab and munch on you, the sick freaks. I died. 

But no big deal, I walked back on over and, after retrieving my souls, this time drew the tree guys out and hacked them to pieces, then did the same for the stone golem knights, and claimed what at this point I had rightfully earned: the loot. Turned out to be the Elite Knight armour, which I instantly put on as it meant no longer having to look at the terrifying face of my character being hollowed! Drew out the remaining stone golem knights and slayed them too, before marching on up the stairs for my first crack of the day at the Moonlight Butterfly. I tried lobbing my firebombs at it, and while it did some damage, I was quickly down to just 2 of the 6 I came in with, and found myself getting killed by its magic arrows. 

This is the point where we'd probably put a training (or in this case, death?) montage, as I had no issues at all getting back to the Moonlight Butterfly, but I died a whole lot -- I kind of get the sense I might have been a bit too low a level for the fight (Lv 26), and it probably didn't help that I didn't have anything with magic resistance, and was out of firebombs after my second attempt.

Early on I found that locking on and essentially man-marking it up and down the bridge, keeping it pretty much right in front of me, gave me the easiest time dodging it's homing magic arrows and what I will describe as a magic arrow blitz, two volleys in quick succession which I never really mastered dodging (though continued to get better at). Then I learned that I should strafe with it but, just as it unleashes it's attack, roll the opposite way to the way we were both going, as it seemed to give me more room to play with and the homing magic arrows didn't just follow me straight down. For a short while I tried rolling forwards, and while that worked pretty well on its magic beam attack (i-frames or just dodging it successfully altogether) and magic arrow blitz, it got me killed pretty much instantly by the homing magic arrows. Boy were those things a pain, but I was getting better, and I would count how many heavy attacks I could get in with my Broadsword reliably before needing to back off; the answer was five: four with a full stamina bar, and then tapping it repeatedly until another heavy attack came out before it would start charging it's AoE blast, and this would take it down about one and a quarter bars of its health. Then it became a matter of aiming to get through each "round" - each time it would come down and I could get some attacks off - with about half of my health, attacking, and then using an Estus Flask to get back to just under full health as it rose back up. Slowly I was making progress, and it's health was going down further each time: a fifth, a quarter, a third...but then I felt my dodging was getting out of sync and messy, so I took a bit of a break to watch the football. 

I hopped back on after the football and eating some food, and died to those homing arrows again. And then I got it down to just over half of its health, before dying yet again. I figured I needed a way to do more damage, but I just didn't know what, but then I remembered something I didn't use for the longest time in Demon's Souls, and kept accidentally switching to the other day when I started Dark Souls: two-handing weapons. I tested it out on the tree guys, and sure enough, it did double the damage that I did to them with the a one-handed heavy attack before (or thereabouts), and so I knew that if I was going to stand a chance against the Moonlight Butterfly, it would have to be through switching to two-handing my Broadsword when it came down. 

And wouldn't you know it, on my first attempt two-handing my Broadsword, it worked! There were definitely a few close calls, especially when it came to switching back from two-handing to pulling out my shield, and I got pretty lucky as a few of its attempts at hitting me I managed to coax it into launching its arrows at me before I hid behind the wall for cover (the wall could also be a bit of a pain when the battle went to that side of the bridge and I couldn't see what it was doing for a split second, though!), yet, slowly but surely, I whittled it's health down. Once it got past the halfway mark for the first time, when it would switch side it would start dropping magic bombs, so after the first few hit me, I needed to adjust so that every time it charged one up as it went overhead, I would stop locking on and sprint away, before turning back around and locking on again. Nearly got too greedy at the end as it was about two hits from dying, but I kept my cool and backed off, and the next time it came down I killed it. Was very happy with that! 

After I had composed myself following my triumph, I made my way up the steps in the building on the other side of the bridge, only to find a fallen blacksmith. I figured this was the guy Andre told me about before - some divine blacksmith out in the forest - and picked up the items by him and looted his corpse, which gave me a Divine Ember, Watchtower Basement Key, and Homeward Bone. I wasn't planning to use it, but after I started to walk back I was quickly confronted by the stone golem knight at the door to the building you clamber on up to get to the Moonlight Butterfly, so ran back up to the bridge and used the Homeward Bone. 

Back at the bonfire, I levelled up some more to Lv 30, and a short while later, I had made it back to Andre. I handed him the Divine Ember - I didn't have any particular plans for it! - and then upgraded my Broadsword to +4 before resting at the bonfire just above.

Before ending my session, I needed to come up with a plan of action for my next session, as beating the Moonlight Butterfly ultimately ended up getting me to a dead end. I figured the Watchtower Basement Key might be for that tower I couldn't climb near the crystal guys towards the Darkroot Basin, however after reading it's description, it mentioned an area called Lower Undead Burg, as did another key I didn't realise I had picked up, the Basement Key. With two keys mentioning the same Lower Undead Burg, my next plan of action is to make my way back over the bridge and to Undead Burg to figure out which door I need to unlock. Off the top of my head, I can remember two that I was unable to open: one next to Solaire at the end of the bridge with the red dragon, and another pretty much in the middle of Undead Burg. So, we'll see which of those takes me down and hopefully in the right direction towards the underground bell, and if worse comes to worse, the only other alternative I can think of are the steps which go down over by Firelink Shrine. 

Guess I'll have to wait and see!

2 hours ago, Sméagol said:

Dark Souls is a fun game to read stories from new players of.

I hope so! It's a very unique game where I feel like sharing every detail of every encounter, be it the direction I go in or how I handle encounters. The only other game which comes to mind like this so far for me in terms of wanting to talk about everything that I do, regardless of whether or not it's driving me forward, is Breath of the Wild, but because I didn't play it until two years after it released I kind of missed the boat on that, as there was certainly a stronger emphasis there on exploring a massive world above pretty much everything else, and once it was fully explored shortly after it released, I guess it felt a bit less tempting to fully explore and discuss, if that makes sense? 

I already feel like the Moonlight Butterfly might be one example of where I went a different direction to others, as it seems optional (at least at this point). Though, I guess we'll see if that's the case when I make it down and get to open a door with the Watchtower Basement Key! 

Edited June 19, 2021 by Julius

[Sméagol]

The butterfly is optional yes, though the ember you got will come in handy. The butterfly is actually one of the easiest bosses in the game, but can be moderately hard if you're not properly equipped. Magic resistance can come in handy I guess, but the perfect shield for that is something most players get afterwards. You can get it now, but it's in a tough spot. If I recall correctly that is. But it's not necessary, it's like with a lot of enemies in Dark Souls, the best defense is a good offense. If you can kill somehting quickly, you take less risk of getting hit yourself. My first character was a magic using pyromancer, and I'd soul arrow the thing from afar, and then burn it to a crisp when it landed on the bridge. Here's your problem: you don't have a ranged weapon (..or a strong enough main weapon). Here's a general tip: regardless of what kind of build you're playing, make sure you have a backup weapon that does something your main attack doesn't, in this case ranged attacks. Bows are a bit unwieldy to use I find, but I suggest carrying at least a crossbow. Remember you can switch your equipment on the fly. And as you've found out yourself, knowing when to switch to 2-handing a weapon (and when to switch back) is also a good skill to learn.

I assume you don't want any specific spoilers? Here's another general tip.

Try to spend more time in human form (edit: and to use a few extra humanity). it looks like you're playing online, and I must admit I mainly want to see you talk about online interactions (  ), but is has a few other advantages. If you need more humanity (and souls), you can get it from getting summoned and beating a boss. I personally loved getting summoned, though I never summoned other people myself, at least not for bosses. I'd only summon them if I was being chased by an invader haha.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Sméagol

[Julius]

Played for a bit less than an hour today, as something came up while I was playing, but I'm quite happy with the progress I made. 

I made my way back over towards the bonfire just before the Undead Parish, on the bridge, in my quest to find a door that I could unlock with my newfound keys. Getting that sweet backstab on that skeleton knight with a big shield that gave me trouble before felt awesome, as one of my favourite things in Demon's Souls for sure was the reward of tracking back through a level after reaching the archstone and just backstabbing everything I came across! However, things went awry once I made it back to the shortcut with the gate I raised earlier, as I decided for the time to try sprinting through the area just past the bonfire at the start of the Undead Parish, and well...I died. Got stabbed a few times during my sprint and an archer delivered the killing blow. Good times. 

Took a bit more carefully the second time around, drawing them out one at a time, and it was good fun just watching my levelled up sword and character wipe the floor with these goons. I accidentally drew the attention of a skeleton knight, but two heavy attacks took it out with relative ease. 

I made it to the bonfire, then went on my way over the bridge back towards Solaire and tried the locked door -- it opened. Went down a massive ladder, then there was a path ahead and some stairs to the right leading up. I followed the stairs up, unlocked a gate, and I was right back in the middle of Undead Burg, just a stone's throw away from the bonfire, so I made a quick trip over there and rested (as figured it was safer to travel from that bonfire rather than take my chances against the red dragon's flames).  

After that, I made my way back down to the spot where I had come to before, and continued on, when these freaky dogs started leaping at me, but taking them on one at a time, it went pretty smoothly. The streets were quite narrow, and as I followed it down I noticed that all of the doors couldn't be interacted with, but as I left this main street the doors suddenly swung open and these thief-clothed guys with glowing red eyes made for me. Again, not too much of a challenge as I took my time with them, but it definitely put me on edge and made me more wary of my surroundings. Then I came across mode dogs, and more thief-clothed guys, before I came to a fog gate, but I noticed that there was also a set of steps leading down to the right. 

Figuring there was probably a boss behind said fog gate, I followed the steps down to the right, as I knew I wasn't too far from a bonfire and should be able to make it back here pretty safely if I did end up dying.  More thieves attacked me, and I found a locked door, but there were also some steps leading up to a tower. I popped in and followed it's spiral staircase up, before coming to a pitch black tunnel. Entered with shields up, slowly made my way down, but I couldn't see much ahead and didn't want to get too far from the fog gate I'd just found, so I turned around. Noticed a skeleton guy behind some bars, but didn't pay them much attention, as they didn't seem too interested in me either. 

So, having exhausted my options down here, I walked on over to the fog gate and entered it, for the Capra Demon to set it's two hounds on me as soon as I stepped in. Fun. Noticed some steps to the left of him pretty quickly, as I tried to keep my distance from him and his dogs and accidentally started walking up them when strafing the big guy, so followed them up and they hooked around a bit, which gave me a bit of height over them. Unfortunately, the dogs followed me up there, so after a bit of hacking away I put them down. The Capra Demon would walk up the stairs, and then either stop halfway or try to reach me, and either miss or hit my shield before popping back down below me. Seemed like a potential space for a plunge attack, and so plunge I did...to completely miss. But it seemed like the plunge attack would work from there, so I made my way back up, and surely enough, landed a good plunge attack on the Capra Demon. We basically ran around in circles for a couple of minutes before he succumbed to my plunge attacks, think I used more Estus Flasks getting here than I did on the boss itself. 

The reward for this was getting the Key to the Depths, so I make my way over to the locked door I had found before and surely enough, it opens right up, with some steps leading down. It was at this point where I knew I'd need to finish up in a few minutes, but before returning to the bonfire, walking back up that main street, I noticed a path to the left which I didn't go down before. I start to make my way over there before I come across a door which looks slightly ajar, so I interact with it, and the guy on the other side is asking me to open the door for him, but unfortunately I don't have a key. I continue to follow the path ahead come across some guys with torches surrounding an item, so thinking this was the key, I make quick work of them only to find that it was a Twin Humanities.  

Made my way back to the bonfire and then hopped off, so a very short but sweet session today. Before going down to The Depths I'm kind of interested in that dark tunnel I entered before with the skeleton behind bars, as I think there's a chance the key to free that guy might be down there, so I'll make my way over there tomorrow to check it out before I descend The Depths. 

[Julius]

Squeezed in another really short session today (well, yesterday now) after the football. Quite a bit of football on tomorrow (today) and Wednesday (tomorrow), and got a busy weekend coming up, so expecting progress to slow down quite a bit over the next week, but will continue to chip away at the game where I can. 

Today's session started with a quick trip back to the dark tunnel I mentioned yesterday on the upper floor of that tower, and this time I was able to interact with the skeleton behind the bars (guess I couldn't before due to having my shield up?). Bought some items from them, and actually found that because of how many times I had to take on the Moonlight Butterfly I had quite a few of these items already stored away that could remove poison/toxic, so hopefully that'll come in handy at some point. 

After talking to the skeleton gal some more, turned around and then made my way down the rest of the tunnel (or aqueduct? I hear water sloshing, and if there's one thing I've learned I'm not a fan of at all in games after The Last of Us, it's ankle- to waist-deep water in dark spaces). About halfway down I stepped out and unlocked a gate which went out into Undead Burg, but further down I came across another gate, which I unlocked, and came out to find that I was just past Firelink Shrine! Headed on down there, quickly rested up, but man, how many ways does Firelink even link to the other locations? It's insane! 

Made my way back over to the door I unlocked yesterday to go down to The Depths, a few guys with torches and swords, but nothing too bad. There was a big boy butcher and his two dogs as well, but after taking the dogs out, I just needed to tightly strafe the butcher for a few backstabs to get him down. After beating the butcher, even though there were ledges around be I could drop down to, I noticed a small hole hidden away behind some boxes, so rolled through and landed above this giant rat. Walked around the upper level I was on, grabbed a Spider Shield that was up there with me, then tried a plunging attack on the massive rat, which did a bit of damage, but I knew I needed to do more. Will, unfortunately for me I got stuck on something as I was strafing it, and it knocked me down and then beat me to a pulp. I died. 

No big deal, I thought, I was interested in what was in the rooms around it anyways, so made my way back over, dropped down, and this time it chased me down a ledge which led to a waterslide. No idea where I was at this point, then these giant frog/lizard looking things with these big round eyes popped up and started spraying what I imagined was toxic gas into the air, so I kept my distance and then killed them one at a time. Looked around the area a bit, killed some rats, then came across some more of these frog/lizard guys. I was taking two on, and they pushed me back a bit, then a third jumped in from behind, and all of a sudden I was surrounded in this gas. The meter filled up immediately, it flashed on screen that I was cursed, and I died immediately. No big deal, right? Well...

So, a curse kills you instantly, halves your health, and it sounds like a pain to get rid of. Fantastic. Of all of the things I've come across so far in the game, whereas other hurdles (like bosses) you can overcome with skill and determination, this is by far and away the most infuriating, and yeah, I'd say that in particular was unfair (which is weird considering just how long I spent with three quarters of my health in Demon's Souls, but then even though there were areas to explore, it wasn't anywhere near as open as Dark Souls has been so far). I'm not going to whine about it, as I'm sure I'll bounce back, but I did nearly set the controller down for the night then and there. 

However, now that I was back at Firelink, I spotted something I somehow didn't before (was it here before?): a massive crow. Not sure if it's the one from the start of the game, but I was surprised it was here. I wasn't really in the mood to revisit The Depths, so had a bit more of a nose around Firelink instead, coming across the Way of White guy from the start whose friends have now arrived, and they say they're setting off somewhere soon. The NPC who at the start of the game said there was one been above ground and one below also gave me the tip that I could reach New Londo by heading down, and so I came across a graveyard I hadn't before around back, with some skeleton guys popping up as I went to grab the items. Gave me a bit of a harder time than I was expecting (just took a few more heavy attacks was all), and with my new limitations on health, didn't think heading that way would be particularly productive. 

Instead, I wanted to see if I could reach that crow, as when I walked into the room below it, it started mumbling. Made my way up to the second floor, but there was no way to interact with it, and so I spent a good 10 or 15 minutes looking around Firelink for a way to reach it. Eventually I decided to see if I could see anything from the shortcut to the Undead Parish that I unlocked before - the lift - and so made my way over, and headed up. Immediately, I noticed something I didn't before: I could see outside of the lift chamber for longer than I could remember. On the way down, I noticed a ledge right next to the lift, so hopped back on the lift while walking forwards into the wall, and I came out onto a ledge with a small grass outcropping nearby, and some crumbled pillars below.

Followed the path around to the grass and noticed a small gap on the other side of the pillars that would take me to another part of the first floor of the shrine, however there was a bit of a gap, so I tried leaping, and I missed. Then I made my way back and rolled, and missed again. Tried a few more times, and eventually I landed on the pillar, and slowly made my way up to the gap I saw before. Went left, hugging the wall tightly as there wasn't much space, but noticed an item on the nearby roof, so rolled onto that. Picked up the item and found that it was a key, but also that I was now stuck on this roof, so careful I jumped down onto another nearby crumbled pillar before leaping down to the floor. 

Made my way back up to the broken pillar and hidden side of the first floor, and went right this time, following the path around to a nest, which offered me the prompt to roll into a ball. Naturally, I did, and well...

...the crow scooped me up and carried me off, just like at the start of the game. Great, I guess? 

Eventually landed, and turns out it had brought me back to the Undead Asylum, which is...weird. Checked my items and that key from before again, and as it turns out, I have two keys for the Undead Asylum (2F East and 2F West), so even at reduced health, figured I might as well look around. I'm kind of curious if there are any other interactions I could have with that crow or its nest, as I remember something similar in Demon's Souls where you could trade, but I remember it being a bit obtuse and but very clear what you would trade for at times, so if it's the same here (if there even is that option? How would I even know?), I don't think I'd have much luck without looking up a guide. 

Anyways, got to the bonfire, rested up, and think I'll have a look around the Undead Asylum again tomorrow. If I'm lucky hopefully I'll find one of those damn Purging Stones, but for some reason I doubt it. Lesson learned for when I do go back to The Depths, either way: I'm not interested in that small hole at all, and will just see if there's a different path from the room where the butcher was. I really hope there is, but before I can even think about that, need to find a way to lift this silly curse! 

Edited June 22, 2021 by Julius

[Julius]

I'd love to say that I've made a load of progress since my last update...but I actually haven't played since then. I've had a busy week and a half which ended up being a bit stressful, and so when I have had time to return to the game, I've chosen not to, and have either watched the football or a film instead. 

But picking back up from the Undead Asylum, I read over my notes from last time and had a hunch I might be able to trade. I started to walk on over to the nest, through the room where I vanquished the Asylum Demon at the start of the game -- and the floor crumbled beneath me and I came up against a boss: the Stray Demon. Still cursed, I didn't even get close, and it killed me pretty quickly. This is about a minute after picking it back up, so...welcome back, I guess?

So, edging my way around the room this time, I make my way back on over to the nest where I landed...and there's nothing other than the eggs and the option to curl myself up into a ball (I guess to go back to Firelink). I start heading back down, a bit disappointed, but as I do I see a little outcropping of the ruins and a strange shape -- another nest! I head on over and surely enough, just like in Demon's Souls (is the voice the same? It sounds really close to the voice in Demon's Souls) I'm being asked to leave items. I'm not proud to admit it, but I used a guide here just to check if I could trade for a Purging Stone, and surely enough I could, and I had the necessary item to trade - the Red Cracked Eye Orb - and so trade I did. Quit out and came back in like in Demon's Souls, and I got two Purging Stones for my troubles. I used one and BANG! The dirt is gone the curse was lifted. 

I wanted to explore the Asylum a bit more to see what had changed before trying to take on the boss down below, and so I made my way back to the courtyard with the bonfire and made my way up. I took on the guy from before (his Undead form I guess, like he was warning of before) and killed him without too much trouble - it was a nice crash course in parry and riposte - nabbing his Crest Shield after. Made my way back up the stairs and I completely forgot that there was a boulder trap, so that was a nice way to get the heart going  took out the guys above, hooked around back to the skeleton knights I'd chosen not to fight the last time was here, and then unlocked the door ahead with the key I'd picked up for 2F West. Picked up the Rusted Iron Ring, which just says it helps with "uneven footing" -- I'm assuming there's a swamp somewhere in this game, and that this will be helpful there after my experiences with the swamp in Demon's Souls, so I equipped it. 

Couldn't see much else going on after nosing around, wasn't really in the mood for making my way back over to the cell where I started, so I dropped down to the Stray Demon after resting at the bonfire (I really didn't want to have to waste Humanity on kindling this bonfire, so gave myself the challenge of doing it with five Estus Flasks).

I died multiple times without even getting a scratch on it, just trying to gauge it's moves and range. After a few attempts, I got the timing down for its sweeping attack and club smash to make use of some i-frames, but it's explosion attack (not the one where it charges up and stabs it's weapon into the ground for an AoE, but rather when it just decides it wants to make stuff explode without much of a build-up) got the better of me: I couldn't shield against the explosion effectively (though I could to some degree against its physical attacks), if I managed to avoid one in front of me and it dropped another it would somehow be behind me and so I'd take more damage, and so on. When I did finally manage to land a scratch, it barely did any damage, so I knew two-handing would be the way to go again. 

Died some more, but after a couple of attempts I made a dramatic leap in progress and got it down by about a third of its health -- yeah, the explosion got me. My strategy at this point was to get in close, aim some two-handed slashes at its belly, and back off before it could charge it's explosive AoE ground stab or fly above and drop on me. 

Died a few more times after that, one of the times accidentally downing way too many Estus at once. I didn't realise it didn't have to go through the whole animation again once you start chugging, which will be good to know moving forwards. My main issue at this point is reading it's explosion attack, as it's initial feint looks similar to its sweeping attack, and so I would roll towards it - expecting to make use of some i-frames - and instead get destroyed by the explosion. 

I died a few more times (yeah, that happened a lot!), but I knew I had the timing on its physical attacks more or less down, it was just trying to find a way to minimise the damage from that explosion attack. I figure I might as well test the Crest Shield I picked up before, and what do you know, it absorbs the explosion (so long as I'm facing it) pretty well! I died on that test run, but quickly made some more progress, getting it down to nearly half of its health on one of my attempts. 

After getting it down to nearly half one time, I then managed to get it down to less than a third before succumbing. 

Things got really rocky for a while after that: my dodge roll timing was all off, I was consistently facing the wrong way during its explosion attacks, and I was dying much earlier. Taking a short break to regroup my thoughts would have been the smart thing, but I decide to double down and focus intently instead. I wasn't a fun of how uneven the ground was as it meant having to try to keep it in one spot (the mound in the middle of the room) to up my chances of successfully landing attacks, but the camera could be really unhelpful at times (in classic boss fashion, which I'm starting to get used to, locking on is your enemy, and so is the size of the enemy!). 

I started picking up on certain things, specifically what range I have to be at for it to attack in certain ways. Close up meant it would try to fly above (and I quickly learned I could simply walk away from it instead of having to run) or attempt it's AoE stab; mid-range would be its explosion attack; and at a longer range it would be its overhead slam, sweep attack, or even longer range still it would jump across the room in an attempt to skewer me. There were definitely a few times here where I would burn through Estus really quickly and then just offer myself up to its attacks -- it was clear that particular run would fail to get very far. 

My next frustration was either getting to around halfway, or the one time where I got it even closer to being down than before, eventually just not managing to escape the clutches of its AoE ground stab. 

Continued some more, I felt that I was getting close, and got it down to halfway, before the magic run happened. 

I managed to get it down halfway without using an Estus since my initial use of one to heal up (after falling through the floor), but things very quickly went south as it caught me off-guard with its explosion attack, and moments later I had chugged all four of my remaining Estus Flasks. Something weirdly consistent about these runs is that if I make it past the initial hump (where I get it to destroy all the pillars, which I started doing after getting caught on one) I'm normally already down to two Estus Flasks due to likely triggering its explosion attack, so this was going really well up until that point, but something I noticed happened with earlier bosses consistently happened here -- once I've downed my last Estus, there's a weird sense of there being less pressure, and I hone in and get to work.

And so get to work I did, keeping my distance and getting it to use it's physical attacks as I used i-frame after i-frame to close in, get some two-handed slashes away, and either sprint away if it charged up it's AoE ground stab, or walk away a few yards if it started flying up before doubling back once it crashed down to deliver a few more hits (and I'd always feel pretty lucky to coax it into doing that 2-3 times in a row). Once it got down to about a third, not for the first time, an Estus randomly flew in and so I had a spare, which felt like the game urging me to carry on, and so I did. It managed to knock me a bit with one of its attacks after I ended up with less stamina than expected (due to a similar thing I came across in Demon's Souls, where for some reason I start doing a mostly unhelpful lunge attack?), and so I chugged that final Estus Flask with just over a third of my health left, while it has two and a bit bars. 

I rolled, sprinted away, and just tried to keep myself calm, as I find when I get close I either get too confident or get consumed by the heat of the moment, that anticipation of victory. Got it into one final loop of flying up and crashing down, landing a few slashes on its belly, and...

...it was done! 

 Picked everything up, made my way over to the ladder...but I saw something above moving around before (one of those Black Knights, maybe?) from the boss arena, and so chose to play it safe and use the Homeward Bone instead. Back at the bonfire I levelled up a bit before I made my way back over to the nest, curled up into a ball, and it was back to Firelink I went. 

Hilariously I immediately fell off the narrow path to my death next to the nest in Firelink, so after making my way back over and being even more careful than I was before, I finally made it back to the bonfire at Firelink. 

I think my plan for next time is to make my way over to Andre, as I have a few spare souls on me and I think it's time to level up my gear a bit more before I head back on over to The Depths. It's definitely good to be back with this - taking a bit of a break from a game can definitely get in the way of getting back to it - and I look forward to kicking on over the weekend, and hopefully finding that second bell! 

[Aperson]

I definintely agree with the whole taking a break sentiment. I took a break of about 2 years or so between dropping Dark Souls before picking it back up again in order to finish. It's a game that's actually hard for most to beat in a single calendar year unless you're really dedicted.

 

I didn't actually beat the Stray Demon myself until the very end of the game when I was grinding for Souls in order to upgrade my armour for the final boss. By that point I was incredibly overpowered and taking enemies down with ease. Granted, my stopping point was a lot later in the game than yours was.

 

I would invest in Blooming Purple Moss Clump for upcoming areas as you'll be coming up on an infamous area in the game next...

[Julius]

10 minutes ago, Aperson said:

I definintely agree with the whole taking a break sentiment. I took a break of about 2 years or so between dropping Dark Souls before picking it back up again in order to finish. It's a game that's actually hard for most to beat in a single calendar year unless you're really dedicted.

Yeah, it's definitely one of those games where I feel like you have to be in the mood to play it, and for me personally I've found trying to sit through longer sessions with this and Demon's Souls pretty tough. I can plan to play it for most of a day but feel like I've got my fill after a few hours, because it takes much more out of me - focus and determination - than most other games. I love it, but once you've taken a couple of days off of it, I feel like it gets exponentially tougher to return, as there's almost an intimidation that can easily creep in.

Thankfully for me it was more a case of stuff going on elsewhere rather than being tired of the game, and I'm hoping like with Demon's Souls, the closer I get to the end (a long way to go yet, I know) I'm able to spend more and more time with it. It's really weird to have to be in a certain mood or level of confidence to play a game, but I really love it for that reason. Even in my short time away from the game, I've been thinking about my build, attack strategies, figuring out what I'll try differently when I next visit The Depths, and so on. 

15 minutes ago, Aperson said:

I would invest in Blooming Purple Moss Clump for upcoming areas as you'll be coming up on an infamous area in the game next...

Oh thanks, good to know! I'm guessing that's Blighttown then -- yeah, let's be honest, it would be more surprising if I hadn't heard of that place! 

Thankfully, I have a heck of a lot of those from my time in Darkroot Garden, when I had to keep making my way back on over to the Moonlight Butterfly. I really hope I've got enough 

[Julius]

Continued my journey yesterday. 

Started off by heading over to Andre in the Undead Parish and spent some souls on Titanite Shards, reinforcing my Broadsword to +5 and Tower Kite Shield to +4, also handing him a Large Ember I picked up at some point. He's asking for Large Titanite Shards to modify my Broadsword further, but that's on the burner for now as I don't have any. Looked around at the rest of what he had and found an item going for 20,000 souls called the 'Crest of Artorias', which mentioned something about unlocking a sealed door in a forest, so I've got to imagine that's for the door in the Darkroot Garden with that white glow in its centre. Hopefully I'll remember to come back for it! 

After that, I headed back on over to Firelink, and then onwards over to the Depths. Once I got down to where the butcher was before, instead of rolling through the boxes to go down the hole, I instead followed the path from the other side of the room down into some shallow water, where some dogs were waiting for me. Dispatched those and continued on, continued on, and suddenly I found myself in some tight and dark tunnels -- kind of grateful I'm not claustrophobic, because otherwise think I would've started freaking out! Came across some loot, went to grab it, and this slime fell onto me from the ceiling and sliced my health in half, so I diced it up in retaliation. Picked up the item and carried on, coming across some rats and getting poisoned a few times, so after dispatching them, I threw the Purple Moss Clump into my equipped item rotation and ventured forth. 

Eventually I came to a room with some barrels and a guy stuck in one asking to be freed, so I rolled into them (didn't want to risk angering an NPC by hitting him!) and learned his name was Laurentius of the Great Swamp...but I couldn't get any further interaction with him beyond that. Exited the room, read a note on the floor which said something was behind me, and so I quickly turned the camera to see I was face-to-face with one of those big boy butchers, like the one from before. Same tactic, stuck close to it and backstabbed it a few times, not too much of a problem. Carried on, had to sprint through a tunnel with slimes falling from the ceiling, then took a left and carried on down. There was a ladder in the room I found myself in, but the giant rat from before was down there, so I didn't risk it (from the perspective I was standing at, it looked like the ladder led down to it). 

Eventually I came to a network of really cramped tunnels, with some rats which scurried away from you when you got close, so I was careful about swinging my sword in here, as I didn't want to hit the walls while fighting them. Now, I check every corner before turning them in this game, and so I was hilariously met by the image of one of those tall, robed magic guys walking into a doorway which he was way too tall for and couldn't make his way through. There were some rats trying to get through too, but made use of the doorway and hacked them to bits from a safe position, and carried on through the door (the magic guy only took a few hits to kill too, which was nice after my last battle with one taking quite a bit of time). Found myself on a long balcony overlooking this massive arena with crumbled pillars (clearly a boss fight was coming up), and a fog door up some steps to my left. I carried on firm the balcony and found a Large Titanite Shard hidden away in a corner, before turning back. Figuring that the fog door would lead in the direction of the boss, I left the area in search of a bonfire - there had to be one somewhere, surely? 

In my search for a bonfire I found another fog door that I didn't step through, before eventually making my way back over to the end of the tunnel where the slimes had fallen from above before. Somehow I missed the door which is clearly right at the end of the tunnel, and so I tried to unlock it...and I did. Think I picked up a key through some bars by the giant rat, so that was a welcome surprise to not have to go searching for it! I then rested up, before heading back into the direction of the fog doors. 

I tried the one on the balcony first, but it just led straight back into the nearby tunnels. At this point I couldn't remember where exactly the other fog door I came across was, and all I could remember was that it was in a narrow tunnel (yes, I realise in hindsight that it was the other side of the fog door I'd just walked through, but it didn't dawn on me at the time!). So, I continued running back and forth through these tunnels, trying to be careful and rolling over these trap holes, circling the whole area multiple times...before I eventually fell down a hole and found myself in a very familiar location, with some of those big-eyed freaky curse lizards nearby. Pretty sure I audibly groaned at this point. 

With no clear way back up, it seemed I would have to make my way through these tunnels to get anywhere, but I was also fully aware of the risk of getting cursed again -- while I did have another Purging Stone to hand, I'd rather not use it for now, as I wanted to keep one to hand moving forwards. I made my way through these tunnels, then, in the same direction I went before, coaxing out these freaks and methodically slicing them up. I found some items, but it came to a point where I felt like my luck was wearing thin, so I used a Homeward Bone to get back to the bonfire -- I seriously didn't want to get cursed again! 

At this stage I'm down to about 7 Estus Flasks from the 10 I came in with originally, but the bonfire I guess only gives me 5, and so that number didn't go up when I rested. Turned the corner and this time tried the ladder down that I spotted before, and as it turns out, it doesn't lead to the giant rat, but a caged room next to it with a door nearby. I made my way over and...I can't open it from this side. Fun. 

The search continued for a good 15 minutes or so before I caved and jumped down one of the holes towards the basilisks, but I took a different turn and found myself in a pretty big room with a couple of rats and slimes instead. Dispatched them, found some stairs up which led to - you guessed it - the door that I couldn't open before, which gave me a nice shortcut. Went over and talked to this funny-talking NPC called Domnhall of Zena, but he didn't have much to say, or anything that looked particularly helpful to sell either. There was a massive metal door next to him, which I tried to open, but it was locked. 

Made my way through the other doorway in this area and up some stairs, which led me to an area below the balcony overlooking the arena from before. I slowly made my way down before coming to another fog gate. This was clearly going to be it, another boss fight. Heart rate went up, adrenaline started kicking in, and I was ready. I only had 4 Estus Flasks to hand at this point, but figured I'd give it a try, as the shortcut I'd unlocked wouldn't make the trek back too difficult. 

Stepping through the door, yeah, the arena was massive. Probably the largest actual arena that I've come across for a boss fight in my Souls journeys so far. Anyways, this creature called the Gaping Dragon makes its way over the ledge at the end of the arena, and it sure is one ugly critter. There are some pillars near me, so I stay in this area and it of course crushes the pillars and flops it's tooth-filled mouth onto me, instantly taking me to within an inch of my life. I actually get trapped inside its mouth, so have to roll out through the side of its mouth, which was a bit weird. I run away and put some distance between us before swigging down 2 Estus Flasks, which put me up to about three quarters of my health and down to only 2 Estus Flasks remaining. Not a very promising start to the fight, then. 

As I learned from some of the other boss fights so far, utilising the environment is key, and so naturally with this room being so big, I just start running around the room and away from this thing. This gave me ample time to watch it's (attempted) attack pattern, and I quickly noticed that it flopped it's teeth down onto the floor before charging in the direction it was pointing. After seeing this a few times, I start coaxing it towards me, and surely enough, it sinks its teeth into the ground and darts straight at me. It's not particularly fast, but it is big, so I had to be careful to not get hit by its legs or tail. After reliably drawing it towards me for a charge a few times, I start circling around and swapping over to two-handing my sword and then whacking away at its tail, figuring that it's either a weak point or will fall off (like the tails of the Gargoyles did in my fight against them). Surely enough, it's tail did fall off after a few times, by which point I was more than confident that my shield wasn't going to be much use, and so I stuck with two-handing my Broadsword instead. After hacking away at it, it would either fly up and crash down, or try swatting me with it's not missing tail (though it's arm did follow through too), so I just got in four hits each time and would run away. 

The battle continued like this for a good while, and I continued with my strategy of coaxing it out into flopping its teeth into the floor and charging at me, before circling around and slicing at its hind quarters. There was a point around halfway in the battle where it didn't seem too interested and would wait until I was in a tighter space to charge, so there were a couple of close shaves while sprinting away, but nothing too concerning. Eventually I got that comfortable with the fight that it would charge at me and I would just run to the side of its legs' trampling range, wait for it to finish charging, and then get some more hits in that way. At some point towards the end it starts spitting up this yellow liquid - I'm going to guess some kind of acid - but because of my tactics, I'm more than halfway across the arena anyways and it's not getting close with that attack. Eventually I get it low enough that I think I can get enough hits in to finish it off, so I get my usual four hits in (three using up my full stamina bar, one when it starts filling back up), and just as it starts to pick itself up to fly, I manage to land a fifth hit, and surely enough, it was down on my first try! 

Look, I know fully well that there are going to be other bosses in this game where they will kick my ass and it will take more attempts to get by, but I found this fight to be really underwhelming compared to some of the others. Even in some of the other boss fights where I got by first time and used the environment to my advantage - the Asylum Demon, Taurus Demon, and Capra Demon - I was still on edge throughout and felt like I could get killed at any time, whereas that just wasn't the case here. Other than its attack at the start, I don't think it did any more damage to me throughout the rest of the fight, and I didn't have to use any Estus after the initial two swigs I needed to recover. I'm happy that I'm moving on and making progress, but I think it's just because I've really enjoyed the other boss fights so far - and they are some of my favourite parts of these games - that I think it left me feeling just a bit unfulfilled. Probably wasn't help by having a really epic track for what was a pretty slow battle: 

Anyways, I made my way back over to the bonfire and did some levelling up, but not before using the key to unlock the big metal doors I came across before. 

Blighttown next, then! I've heard a lot about it, and I won't lie, I'm almost intimidated by it. The Fifth Archstone in Demon's Souls was by far my least favourite, and though I've got a good amount of items to relieve me from poison, I can't exactly say I'm looking forward to a stress like that again. 

Hopefully I can get through it today and the second bell isn't too far after that! 

[Hero-of-Time]

The Gaping Dragon was one of my easiest fights in the game. As you mentioned, because the arena is massive it allows you to just hang back and watch what the thing is doing for a while. Plus, it’s movements are pretty slow, again allowing for you to take your time and pick your hits.

Blighttown deserves its reputation. It’s a VERY annoying area to traverse on your first trip there and even coming back to it after you know where to go can be a pain in the butt. Any area that throws poison at you is an area I generally dislike.