Dark Souls

[Bri]

Hi!! I'm glad you finally playing ds3!! Yes it is almost in a way like bb ( for me ) password matchmaking just can't Parry with a gun. As for Armor, there is no poise I believe to level up so I'm guessing the stringer the armor the better stance and poise. I still have to complete alot of quests as it's a bit confusing to me but I know you'll be able to figure it out.

Galuf! Nice to hear you playing some ds as well!

[Wolf Kanno]

Not sure if you liked two handing in DS2, but it's very specific in DS3, where you have to get a "weapon" that is really two weapons, in order to properly two hand. But since you're a knight I doubt you're all that interested. I won't spoil it, but if you talk to the turtle hermit guy, and take him up on his offer, you'll find out what the difference is between being hollowed and being unkindled/enkindled is for this game

I never actually figured out how to duel wield in DSII but from what I've seen of video, it looks a lot smoother in DSIII. I might go that route this time around since I tend to be way more aggressive and I've been having issues getting parry down since the second game. Thanks for the heads up about the hollowing guy, I'll keep an eye out for him. Without the online component, I'll probably be missing more content than usual unless I resort to a quest guide or something.

But yeah, I like the idea that you're character is one of thousands who linked the flame previously, and one of thousands who was re-awoken because you succeeded once, and they need you again, because the heroes are being stupid. Once you get most of the way through the game, there's a really good Game Theory video about who your character is actually supposed to be, and I kinda like their theory. But it won't make sense until you encounter a lot of things in the main game, so I'd only watch that once all the main heroes are defeated

You'll have to give me a link to the video when the time comes.

You probably already know to save boss souls, you'll get a thing for that later. You probably already learned you can manage different types of flasks, and as a melee character you may not even need the blue flasks, so you can max out on yellow flasks. Though I hate that they share a pool. It kind of gimps mage classes. Much prefer the old way where spells take stamina, and have charges. So it's not a drain on estus

I've been debating about subbing a magic class. I'm usually really bad about it though, but as it stands Hexes are one of the few spell types I've never used, and I've also noticed their is a new Frost element as well. We'll see, but I've heard that magic builds have it really rough in this entry. I know the devs have been trying to nerf them a bit but it just seems like they might have gone too far if the stat requirements I've read about are to be believed. The new weapon arts have been interesting so far.

And I doubt you'll have too much trouble with going solo. The only bosses I ever needed a friend with were halfway through the game, and the one has like 3 NPC summons right outside his door. So that's no problem offline. Aldrich may be a problem, though. I can give you more specific advice when you get to him. I don't think there's any NPC summons, and last time I tried, there was nobody available to help. So PS+ would probably be useless there. I've always had to solo him except for my first run through of the game. And he's quite the anti-thesis to a lot of character builds. So it can get tricky until you get used to his BS

I'm not terribly worried about the bosses so far, as I've kicked the trout out of the first two with little issue. I think the only one I'm concerned about is the Pontiff guy and that's only because I can't seem to get the timing of the parry system down just yet and I've heard that makes the difference between him being easy to handle vs. That One Boss status. On the other hand, I can already tell this game has more nightmare regular encounters I'm going to dread as most of my deaths so far have been dealing with them.

Hi!! I'm glad you finally playing ds3!! Yes it is almost in a way like bb ( for me ) password matchmaking just can't Parry with a gun. As for Armor, there is no poise I believe to level up so I'm guessing the stringer the armor the better stance and poise. I still have to complete alot of quests as it's a bit confusing to me but I know you'll be able to figure it out.

Galuf! Nice to hear you playing some ds as well!

Thanks, it's been calling my name lately and I even put up the DSIII wallpaper on my PS4 for Halloween so I sort of did this to myself. It helps the game has a more horror vibe to it like Demon's Souls than the previous entries as well. I have the special edition so I have all the DLC as well so this should keep me busy until holiday season.

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I haven't played any today, but I did forget to comment on something I did like about the game so far and that's actually having no scrappy stats for once. Demon's Souls had a bad stat spread for mages and endurance was the token stat to raise thanks to the scrappy item burden mechanic the rest of the series thankfully dropped. Dark Souls had the useless poison stat. DSII had that awful stat required to make using estus not suicide, and Bloodborne could have done more to make Bloodtinge and Arcane actually viable builds in the early game. So far, DSIII seems to have a decent stat spread with no particular stat feeling useless. I'm even happy Luck came back as a stat and affects drop rate. I've heard they even have an equivalent of the Blueblood sword from Demon's Souls that scales with the stat which is nice but it might come as the closest to being kind of a useless stat at the moment.

While I can continue past Lothric Wall, I'm probably going to explore the area a bit more because I know I've missed a few spots because I'm missing the keys or the stage hazard dragon makes going for new doors into shmuck bait.

[Wolf Kanno]

Alright, that was a productive evening.

Explored one part of the High Wall I missed and found the Way of Blue Covenant, not that it does me much good. I also discovered the SunBros covenant as well though it was rather anti-climatic.

Ventured into the Undead Settlement where I was greeted by leftover Yharmanites who haven't been consumed by the Beast blood as well as the wives of the Fat Officials from Demon's Souls who hit hard and soak damage more than I would like just like their hubbys. I am a bit taken back by how many NPCs are sitting around this place as well. In DSII it seemed like it took forever to fill up the fire shrine, but I've already found a basic Sorcerer in Yore of Londor who is trying to make me come to the darkside; a pyromancer teacher who feels like an older version of the one from DS1; and my Miracle teacher who has an interesting vibe going for since she seems like she's blind and she has a bodyguard who looks like Vinland and Veldstat had a baby. I was also pleased to see that Greirat's ring quest took a page out of Demon's Souls with finding his friend the same way you find Stockpile Thomas' wife, he might be my favorite NPC at the moment. Also, the lone Lord of Cinder who actually showed up to the shrine and looks like a half burnt corpse mentioned I need to find some item to help him get the most out of souls, so I'll need to look into that since that sounds like something to do with Boss Souls.

My biggest quirk was having a minor Bloodborne flashback when I hopped a ride with one of the scary butcher guys with a cage. Was kind of an accident because I was actually trying to back stab him when I found him. Anyway, I found the Mound-Makers who are a little nuts it seems. I also found our recurring item loving crow. I do want to find some more Titanite Shards to bump my Longsword to +3. Not sure if I want to use any infusions yet, I have Raw, Sharp, and Heavy gems. Despite having three of the four magic types, I'm hesitant to really jump into any of them at the moment.

So I have three options right now, I can either got back to Lothric and see if I can race my sorry ass over to one of the doors Mr. Wyvern is guarding and explore more of the place, I can head towards the creepy cathedral that both the Crestfallen Soldier and Bodyguard Knight mentioned while chuckling about it being certain doom, or I can head through the really big door on the opposite side of the settlement where I imagine the area boss is snoozing.

Also...

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[Spuuky]

the online gameplay is hidden behind the PS+ paywall

PC Master Race

[Wolf Kanno]

the online gameplay is hidden behind the PS+ paywall

PC Master Race

And deny myself the chance to trash talk Sony because they always have this knack for shooting themselves in the foot? Never.

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Update Time

Been keeping a decent pace going so far. Took down two more bosses yesterday. The Tree guy felt like a redo of the abomination boss from Bloodborne though it was more interesting because it had specific places to be targeted. The Crystal Sage boss gave me a bit more trouble since that fight eventually devolves into me dodging Macross Missile swarms of Soul Arrow spells. I ended up needing to summon Eygon just so the boss could have one more target and give me time to reach his teleporting ass.

Road of Sacrifices wasn't too bad of a location except for the two super aggressive beastmen monsters tied to crosses and learning the hard way not to summon Mound Maker factions because they're no ones friend. I found out too late why fans nicknamed him Parry God Horace. I also fought the two Faroon Exiles guarding the route to Farron Woods/Swamp as well as the two bandits guarding the entrance to the Cathedral of the Deep. I even took down this game's version of the Butcher blade chick. So I'm not doing too bad.

I met Anri of Astora and her friend which was nice and I also met Seigward and fought a demon with him. I'm curious about the Crestfallen Knight because he keeps disappearing at the shrine and I met a new woman who basically arrived long enough to say we we can't be friends for some reason. I also met a stuck up sorcerer who won't come back to my shrine cause I haven't put enough points into Intelligence. The one thing that has struck me as interesting is how everyone pretty much knows what you are and what you're doing, implying that this isn't the first time the Unkindled had to show up and beat down previous champions of the linking of the flame. Makes you wonder how bad things had been going in the past, especially considering how dire everything feels in this game. I mean in earlier games, you're given the impression that nations of non-Undead still exist in distant lands but here, it feels like all that's left are the Hollows, the few sane Undead, and now the Unkindled. End of the World indeed.

My Long Sword is +3 and I'll need Large Titanite to upgrade it. Still debating if I want to bother with infusion just yet, especially because it already looks like they overly complicated it this time around despite the earlier games doing it right. I also obtained an Irythll Long Sword which does Frostbite buildup. Might play with that for a bit since it's not too different from the sword I'm currently using though I'm also thinking about the Uchigatana and the Twin Thiefblades I just acquired as well. I'm still debating about taking up Yoel on his offer to make me a Hollow. I got the pot to the one Cinder Lord so I can make Boss Soul Items and I've opted for the Ring and Lucatiel's Sword. In fact, I'm really happy I acquired most of her gear at this point because she was easily my favorite NPC from DSII. I also have enough armor options at this point that I'm playing around more with how I want to build my character.

I am starting to see what people meant when they said this game is a bit more linear than previous entries, but the actual zone layouts are well enough to not make this an issue. As much as I loved the interconnected world of the first game, I'm not exactly as annoyed with the later entries not following suit. The Farron area isn't quite as obnoxious as people keep making it out to be, so I don't know if I want to say this is DSIII's version of Valley of Defilement/Blighttown/The Gulch just yet. Most of the zones have been pretty cool so far.

Overall, I've been having a blast, even if the game feels much easier than previous titles so far. I remember DSII kicking my ass from out of the gate, but here I've been doing better job and my deaths have purely been either my own fault or the rare "holy crap this enemy has better range than I thought" shenanigans. It does probably help that I don't pick fights with everything I encounter. Those giant crab monsters near the Crystal Sage boss don't look like something I really want to tussle with on a lark, Same with the giant beast wizards in the Farron area that use trees as magic staffs.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update time:

While I didn't take out any bosses last night, I made some good headway into the Farron Woods and Cathedral of the Deep. Farron is hardly the evil swamp level we've seen in previous installments, so I'm totally expecting there to be a location we can call "that one area" granted, Blighttown wasn't really much a of a big deal compared to other poison zones either so maybe we lucked out in this entry. I am having a hard time finding the third fire tower, it's too easy to get turned around in this place.

I took up Yoel on his offer to draw out my power and he's been giving me some free levels which is nice. Not quite sure what the conditions are but not a bad deal so far, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I did use one of the free levels to upgrade my Intelligence by a point which was enough to recruit Mr. Stuck up Vinheim wizard, course he wants scrolls but luckily for him I found one in the Farron Woods, course he's still ungrateful. I also got some coal for Andre, which now makes weapon crafting not as annoying as I thought. I also found one of the Braille Tomes for my blind Cleric which I still need to hand to her.

The Cathedral has been weird, the respawning zombies were super annoying and the parasite creatures even more so thanks to their bleed damage. Thankfully I read somewhere the torch removes them so I've been using that to deal with them. The Giant stage hazard is also interesting if a bit annoying. I wish they had set it up like the Dragon God in Demon's Souls where there were some safe zones but at least the exposed area is mercifully short. I unlocked the two paths back to the bonfire where Gael is groveling. I know he's connected to one of the DLC areas so I've haven't really bothered talking to him cause I don't need to be warped into an endgame zone at this point. Made that mistake in DSII with the Sunken City.

So I'm not sure which boss to go after next. The Farron Woods will likely lead me to the Abyss Walkers from what the Crestfallen Knight keeps saying, while I imagine that the Cathedral of the Deep leads me to Aldritch, since it's kind of his church.

[Spuuky]

Bloodborne and DS3 both have much easier non-boss content than DS1&2. Bosses in all the games are a mixed bag of difficulty, of course.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update:

Done quite a bit actually. Took down the Deacons of the Deep which was an interesting if easy boss battle. I ran into Patches at Firelink Shrine and realized he was selling Catarina Armor which I picked up, only to explore the Cathedral of the Deep again and run into Seig's descendant in a well.

Found the last fire switch and battled the Abyss Walkers. Was a cool concept but the fight could have been a bit more difficult. I actually think the first phase is tougher than the second phase. Explored the Catacombs which was a poor man's DS1 Catacombs mixed with Sen's Fortress, though the Red Phantom Invasion with the guy wearing Tarkus Armor and later learning his sword was the freaking Fume Knight sword from DSII was pretty tough. With that said, the bridge part was actually cool and pretty cinematic for this game. Ran into Anri and killed her cohort Horace who went Hollow, though was intrigued to learn layer he may have been working with the Sable Knight chick. Didn't like the look of the worm and the barrage by arrows so I left.

Speaking of which, Yoel died and was replaced with this Sable Knight chick who really wants me to murder my sorcery teacher, which I'm going to ignore. I also ran into the Moon Chick knight who was friendlier this time around so perhaps I didn't tick her off like I thought.

Beat Wolnir which was an eerie but pretty easy fight except for the immortal undead he keeps summoning, luckily the fight is like Nito in DS1 and he had a bad habit of killing his own troops. Decided to explore the lake area again before leaving and not only can I summon my red phantom now, I found what looks like the ruins of Izalith and a freaking hard Demon King boss who whooped my ass a dozen times thanks to his AoE fire attacks. Finally took him down after what felt like a dozen tries and felt kind of bad to learn that demons are nearly extinct now in the series. Course I have a hell of a time against demons, so my empathy was short lived.

Been trying out new weapons as well. Really like the Abyss Walker sword since it comes close to my playstyle from DS1 but the weight is an issue at the moment and I feel like the lighter and more combo friendly Long Sword i started with is still ideal, especially because it's the weapon I'm the farthest along to nearly mastering. I'll probably explore the other part of the demon ruins tomorrow.

[Vyk]

Have you not taken your armor off for a while?

[Wolf Kanno]

I tend to always favor clothing attire that covers my face.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update time:

Today was a very sad day for me. My favorite NPC died cause I messed up their questline somehow. Greirat died in the sewers of Irrithyl

I'm honestly really bummed about this because he was my favorite NPC out of the bunch and frankly this game has some really charming NPCs. Some of the best in the Dark Souls series. I don't think I've ever been this sad of letting an NPC die in one of these games since Biorr in Demon's Souls.

I finished exploring most of the Izalith ruins, the only spots I've avoided are the lava pools cause I'm not having a repeat of the Iron Keep BS. I also got reamed big time by the Tsorg, the dude wandering around in Tarkus' armor and using the Fume Knight Ultra greatsword. Course I got the weapon for finally beating him which was nice.

Explored Irrithyl and had a hell of time with the tall knight figures due to my deteriorating parry skills. Helped that Sirris woman fight off Creighton from DSII and got chased by a giant Gaping Rat Dog creature... twice. Fought Ponitff whatshisname and beat him first try but I wussed out and summoned some NPC allies to help me draw his fire.

Found the Irrithyl Dungeon before I discovered Greirat was dead. This place feels like a less creepy version of the Tower of Latria, though the Prison Wardens are still just as lethal and unfair. There were also a ton of Mimics in this place, but I'm at the point where I can kill them quickly. Despaired with Greirat dying, I looked up info on Siegward cause I want to keep him alive as well and discovered he could have saved him. I saved Seigward and I think I found all the keys for the dungeon but there is one room I haven't checked yet near the bottom where a half a dozen wardens are doing a conga dance and even worse, those obnoxiously aggressive Mini-Father Gascione beast mode is in the room next to the place. So I'll attempt to check it out later.

Also smurf the candlestick Mage. By Crom it was like a rematch with that Choir Hunter in Byrgenworth in Bloodborne. Also it was a dick move to leave the Toxicbite Ring in the middle of a toxic swamp. Tomorrow, I'll finish exploring the dungeon cause I read somewhere another NPC is in there, likely the one I can give all of these dark magic tomes to, and then I'm going to check out the Profaned Capital before returning to Irrithyl and going past the church where the boss was fought.

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[Spuuky]

Greirat "spoilers": (SPOILER)he doesn't necessarily die there, but he always dies eventually.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update Time:

Not a whole lot actually. Rescued Karla and now can learn some actual dark spells. It's amusing that she's fashioned after Yuria the Witch from Demon's Souls down to having to rescue her from a prison and her trying to talk you out of learning her spells. The implication she's connected to Manus and his "daughters" from DSII is interesting. I'm also amused that the person spouting on about Hollows and mankind's destiny is the one who doesn't teach you dark magic in this game.

This does reminding me, the callbacks to the previous games have been interesting, granted it's a little weird that DSII treats the events of DS1 like it was the Age of Myth only for this entry to treat it more like history, but I feel like it works better here. It's more interesting watching the Pyromancer teacher get excited when you find Tomes from Izalith or the Vinheim Assassin geek out over scrolls from Oolacile or written by Big Hat Logan. It just gives the game more history and connection. Though it is a shame that Miracles don't really have any notable figures. I mean Demon's Souls had Saint Urbain, but DSI had the traitor and the despondent cleric, DSII had the amusing con artist, and DSIII has a cleric that has echoes of Lady Astrea from Demon's Souls, but historically, the only figure the clerics have were either Gwyn or Lloyd, and Gwyn has been strangle absent from name dropping, while Lloyd has been downgraded to historical traitor if I'm reading the lore right. It just seems like DS doesn't give Clerics their due.

Anyway, rescued the Witch, explored the Profane Capital only to learn that the Irrithyll Dungeon was like 85% of it and I probably could have finished it during my last session. Got to see the cool intro with Seigward, got my Storm Ruler, though I think the original was cooler looking, had my easy but pretty memorable fight against Yhorm, my sad farewell afterwards and now I've taken down half of the lazy Lords of Cinder. Also, the Sable Church chick is yammering on about my "wife being ready in Anor Londo" which seems weird to me. I've also noticed that I haven't seen Hawkwood in ages since I beat the Abyss Watchers. I guess I'm going back to Irrithyl to see where to go next because Yhorm's chamber is a dead end. I know I have Aldrich to deal with and I've heard some nightmarish stories about him.

[Spuuky]

I didn't think Aldrich was particularly hard?

I hate the Yhorm fight, though. It's such a cheap gimmick for a cool dude.

[Wolf Kanno]

I didn't think Aldrich was particularly hard?

I hate the Yhorm fight, though. It's such a cheap gimmick for a cool dude.

Eh, I love the shout out to Demon's Souls and honestly he's the fourth Giant I've killed already by this point so I wasn't necessarily feeling it myself.

I am debating whether I should hit up the first of the DLC soon. Maybe after I deal with Aldrich and have the Lothric Bros. to contend with. I also know there are two side areas I haven't seen yet such as Dragon Peak something and another Archives somewhere.