DARK SOULS: if you need me i'll be in an induced coma so mvrch comes tomorrow

Keep in mind my mind is a little shot i've been up all night backing up data and playing this game mostly at 2-4am.

you may want to save that area for later. :)

Here's an example of great level design: I walk up to this archway and go inside, where I see in front of me is a wooden door I haven't seen before. I got up to it and try to open but it's locked. I turn around and behind me is a winding staircase leading upwards -- I must be in some tall tower! The staircase was surprising because it was out of view on the way in and I'm sure they did that on purpose. So cool.

Each area is very memorable, and it is a joy to not have to bring up a map all the time
― ©Oz Quiz© (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, February 24, 2015 4:19 PM

the way the overall design reveals itself as you go along is the best part. and you get an internal map of it in your head eventually like old school games

btw if youre on pc theres a mod called 'dsfix' which gets rid of a lot of the pc ports problems https://github.com/PeterTh/dsfix

Thanks I will def check that out! Durante must be the same guy who unlocked the recent FFXIII port, he's a legend.

The game is also very difficult but it never feels unfair, each time you die you feel like you had all the tools, you just got greedy at one point.

the magic of dark souls in a nutshell!

watching youtubes of maniacs finishing the game at soul level one or without resting at a bonfire or whatever other insane restrictions they put on themselves really shows how perfectly put-together these games are.

the other thing i'll always love about dark souls is how tangible the effects of levelling up or switching gear are - your character immediately feels slightly different with higher endurance or heavier armour or a two-handed weapon instead of a one-handed one.

another thing i love: i've never once used magic in a souls game and i've never felt like i've been punished or restricted by choosing melee-only builds.

yeah even a single level-up can make the difference between repeated failure and success, it's so finely (in both senses of the word) calibrated. That combined with the Metroid-esque level design make it THE BEST GAME EVER

one of my great joys is seeing people go through this game for the first time.

Well at the moment I am not having much luck w the Taurus Demon. Looked up a video and watched someone attack it by climbing up the tower and doing a lunging attack, but I haven't had such luck.

http://az58332.vo.msecnd.net/e88dd2e9fff747f090c792316c22131c/Images/Products43910-1200x1200-357030.jpg

Dude I've been rolling into barrels like it's nobody's business.

barrels are good practice for demons.

Breaking barrels/furniture by rolling into them is best thing about this game.

I've started playing this for the first time recently and because I'm actually pretty crap at video games so it's taken me ages to get to the Bell Gargoyles which I can't get past...

And I have to point out that I wouldn't have got this far without people shrieking directions at me.

are you summoning any NPCs to help? not a bad idea for your first time through.

Hey thanks, that's a good idea. I'm still working out how to do things with this game.

Thanks for the tips I got really far, like he had 1/10th of his health left. It is best to face him head-on (not freaking out and running away or towards him) and dodging his attacks methodically with the run/jump button. You can get a good one in directly after he swings but the timing is very tricky and if you don't have a swift weapon equipped you will probably leave yourself vulnerable.

Running and climbing up the tower is a good strategy, but the first time I did this the Taurus Demon was right behind me, and attacked while I was climbing up the ladder. One really funny and intense moment later was after a successful tower run (after landing on his head/hitting him he is stunned for long enough for you to run behind him) I was in the middle of the bridge taking a breather and tried to drink an Estus Flask to regain my health. Even though I had none left, Wolfgang (this character name) took out an empty flask and tried to drink from it, shaking it out and looking in to see if there was any left. While this was happening I could not move and was frozen in terror as the Taurus Demon regained his composure, snuck up behind me, and annihilated my character.

I am really loving the Lore setup here, because I could really care less about it in most games and here it is never impressed upon the player during gameplay that This Story is Important So Stop Playing Around And Learn These Weird Words. There are few people in these desolate wastelands, and if you run up and talk to one of them you have the choice of hearing them out or simply walking away, with not a button prompt in the way. This is the perfect action RPG.

:)))

you might try circling him/rolling through his legs in order to stay behind him, but you have to be pretty comfortable with blocking and rolling to pull that off.

It's just so much fun dying and recapturing your souls and dying again and watching that pot build up and up like it's a poker game. You can lose focus and walk right off a cliff and go back to square one so easily.

Rolling is cool but I think blocking is MVP game mechanic here. It's so much fun to do, even more than successfully hitting an opponent. Almost want to dump all my Level Ups into blocking...is that a bad idea?

rolling is definitely the most crucial DS mechanic. blocking is important, but as the game progresses and enemies start hitting harder, you'll realize you're going to have to be wearing some big heavy armor and a big heavy shield to be able to block well and that will significantly hamper your mobility and, in most cases, faster roll-y types >>> fat, non-rolly types.

you should pay attention to your equipment weight. if it's > 50% of your max load, your roll is made significantly less effective. do not recommend going over that 50.

my 1st time through the game: giant shield all day, big sword, and heavy armor because i wanted to give myself as much reaction time (and room for error) as possible.

2nd time: just some black clothes and a katana, with a light shield mostly for psychological comfort. it took a long time to make that work properly though.

4 times now in over a year have i faced the Londo bowsmen and 4 times I have given up the game.

it's a timing thing
and then you wanna bumrush that fucker on the wall
and then DON'T GO BACK

:(

parry helps if you can remain calm.

I got stuck on that for ages too, summoning help is an option

i think that partly what made it so impossible the first time through is that i didn't start practicing/getting the hang of parries until the section directly after the archers.

4 times now in over a year have i faced the Londo bowsmen and 4 times I have given up the game.
― Insane Prince of False Binaries (Gukbe), Thursday, February 26, 2015 1:07 AM

poison arrows

i have beaten ds2 twice and i never got the hang of parrying

the timing is much trickier in DS2 and it's not as satisfying, i gave up trying.

adam what class and starting gift did you choose

Warrior and Divine Blessing.

Killed that armored boar animal and got his sweet helmet. Been dying a whole lot, and actually made it to the next White Light but died soon after.

I somehow took out one of the Black Knights in Undead Parish without directly attacking, I believe it fell off a cliff or something. I was trying to get away and also test the limits of the level, see if BK couldn't go down certain stairs or something. Ended up around here with the halberd, which I am keeping for the awesome strong attack where you just swing away in a wide angle. Found the blacksmith and got him to upgrade my stuff (which included a Knight Shield) before taking down the Titanite Demon. That was a fun fight! The trick is to keep strafing/blocking/rolling to the left, the side where the Demon attacks from, and if possible get behind it so you can get several attacks in. If you successfully roll past Demon's swinging arm you get to keep most of your stamina, but you can only really block two attacks in a row. Demon will get relentless w its attacks so you need to find out when to release block and when to push it back down again. Lastly you really have to be aware of where obstacles are in the fighting arena, because you can very easily end up in a (hilariously) compromising position.

I think skipped a whole section to take down this boss, cos I haven't seen gargoyles yet. I did clear out a little of the church. This game looks amazing.

keep the faith, adam 👍

i don't know if any other game that so completely rewards reading other people's in game experiences

Also I took time to read about what Humanity is and how it affects the Flasks and all that. I wasn't Kindling any of the bonfires! So I started doing that. It's funny I somehow made it through Undead Burg with only 5 flasks, but once I had 10, it really wasn't a whole lot easier!

Dark Souls is pretty much the greatest video game ever made and it exists in my mind as some traumatic and profound journey that I had while sitting on a couch and I live vicariously through other people clawing their way through it and telling me about it. And I'm kinda being serious here.

Yeah this feels like a complete realization of the promise made by the original Legend of Zelda.

Do I need to go back and play Demon Souls after this? Or should I move on to DS2?

Not that I think I will finish with this for a season.

Adam, you're balling, I don't think I succeeded against the Titanite Demon until I came back later in the game (and with those guys I always circled around to the right, i.e. on his left, maybe that would have helped).

I found Demon's much more satisfying and closer to my experience with Dark Souls, definitely glad I borrowed a PS3 for it.

Yeah I tried circling right because he doesn't have a left leg and I thought it would be easier, but in truth it just makes it easier for him to trap you between him and whatever rubble is around. The result of which is more often than not getting humped by a giant headless demon.

getting humped by a giant headless demon = welcome to Dark Souls

Q: Do I need to go back and play Demon Souls after this?
A: YES

Absolutely play Demon's Souls. I was all into Dark Souls 2 early on, but as it progressed it became apparent that it just did not have the same magic as the other two. Worth playing, but do Demon's first. Supposedly the From Software A Team was mostly occupied with Bloodborne during the DS2 production cycle, so fingers crossed for that one. Only a coupla weeks now!

Took down two (!) bosses last night, the Gargoyles and the Moonlight Butterfly. Butterfly was easy enough. Gargoyles gave me a really hard time until I focused on quickly taking out one of them. Once they start breathing fire you are pretty much dead if there are two around. Also the Giant Stone Knights in the garden (near the secret bonfire) are hella tough until you figure out a strategy and then they make really good farming enemies. Lock on, strafe-block, and attack in between his attacks. Again I have to thank the halberd, which I am pouring upgrades into, for all the wonderful range it provides.

Watched some of Demon's Souls last night. DAMN it looks good!