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

I used to think the boss Legion on Symphony Of The Night was "pretty cooL" when I was a teenager and that's just a giant booger of corpses

if giant boogers of corpses aren't cool then i don't wanna be cool tbh

O&S - down! I was able to beat Smough on my own but other guy seemed a little tricky, or at least I knew how long it would take me to get him down as well. So for the first time I summoned someone, Solaire, and it made it pretty easy, tbh, or at least easy enough, since I already had a Smough strategy. Now ... I have no idea where to go next. I can go back to the Catacombs, New Londo Ruins, um. Was there something to do/explore after I killed Queelag? Once I was done with her I just left, but I think there is another boss or fire or something?

Cool! Nothing wrong with some help from Solaire, although playing against them solo can be more like what I alluded to upthread. More like pvp, where you sometimes need to keep track of multiple aggressive opponents, keep them both on you screen, play unlocked at times, maybe run in one direction while keeping the camera behind you, etc.

There is in fact a whole path beyond Quelaag with multiple bosses that's required for finishing the game.

have you already talked to frampt, or not at all yet? there are... options

is he the one in Firelink or is there another giant dragon monster?

with o&s, sometimes I felt like I was just fighting with the camera.

he's shows up in firelink after you ring both bells.

if you do speak to him again after getting the lordvessel he'll tell you exactly what to do to beat the game. but you don't need advice from an old snake to do that, do you?

I talked to him earlier, he already said I was the chosen one. because of course I am.

Soooo I take it both of you *somehow* knew to kill Lautrec (the knight you rescue from the church before the gargoyles) early on?

oh, I totally killed him earlier because of that walkthrough i looked at. got me his ring, which I'm sure has helped, even though it has limited the number of rings I can use. so far I have to say that if I did not consult a guide, or looked at any walkthroughs, or asked you guys for advice, this game would have been literally impossible. It is hard enough with hints and tips. right now I am exploring the catacombs blind and I think I have killed everything except for one archer I can't find anywhere. And I have no idea where to go. Basically one sliver of red health, no more estus. And I wouldn't have made it that far if I didn't know how to use a Divine weapon. oh, and there is what I suspect is a titanite demon hiding in the dark at the end of the tunnel, but I am in no condition to even try to fight it. And I don't want to die wherever I am, because I don't know how to get out.

That is, the game is hard enough without letting it mess with you. Speaking of which, I became human to summon Solaire and have somehow stayed human, so now I am getting a few (still offline) messages here and there. Like one that said "treasure inside" or something but also lead me to an ambush.

Do you have a homeward bone? And iirc correctly the way forward is somewhere near that titanite demon. Don't be afraid to die, you'll figure it out eventually.

So, if you hadn't killed Lautrec, he would have eventually killed the mute woman at Firelink and extinguished the fire, but then after O&S you'd get to invade his world and take revenge on him and his buddies, which is pretty satisfying.

Eh, I'll live.

Oh, I do have a homeward bone! That takes me to the last bonfire, right? Phew. Still haven't found a second bonfire in the catacombs, just the one toward the start.

Rolled on through New Londo, I think my build is good and most of the time I die it's because I'm getting mobbed or a slip off a path. Beat the Four Kings on my first try (used a Green Moss). Went back and killed the Titanite Demons in Sen's basement and used the Demon Titanite to upgrade my Quelaag to +5.

Demon Ruins was fairly challenging. Really hate the material-soaking worms and nearly lost everything to them. Was feeling confident enough to start carrying around 10 humanity with me to keep my Quelaag super-powerful and it is very worth it. Didn't lose anything. Made it to Centipede, murdered him second try, did a little guidebook reading and apparently I need to Covenant with the Spider Woman? Give her 30 souls? So Solaire stays on my side? Well, I gave her my 10. Gotta figure out where to get the rest.

right now I am exploring the catacombs blind and I think I have killed everything except for one archer I can't find anywhere

one that said "treasure inside" or something

Still haven't found a second bonfire in the catacombs

Gotta figure out where to get the rest.

Beat the Four Kings on my first try

I can't remember if the first bonfire in catacombs was behind a breakable wall, but that's the one I have found. Oddly enough, I have been randomly hitting walls throughout my play in the catacombs, but haven't found any second bonfire yet. Will keep looking!

Beat the Four Kings on my first try

Agreed, this is not ok

the first is the one with a necromancer in the bonfire room, full of bugs crawling on the walls and floor and with a switch that opens the gate that leads outside, you literally can't miss it because it's how you gain access to the catacombs area

I have been randomly hitting walls

the breakable wall is unrelated to the bonfire, it was about the archer you couldn't find but maybe i'm confusing things again, i don't recall if the "treasure inside" dev message is outside or inside the wall so perhaps you've already broken it

You could see the "treasure inside" glow behind the wall, so I broke that, but when I went in I think I fell or was shot or something. Didn't die, though! And got the treasure, even if like many things in this game I don't know if it's an online only reward or any sort of big deal, or just something to add to my collection of swords and shit.

I def. found the first bonfire. But I also I found my way all the way to the titanite demon, which seems to be the way to go to the boss, but I didn't find a second bonfire, so maybe I found my way without going the right way?

Speaking of invisible wall, while wandering around I found some walls with bits and pieces of skeletons glitching through it, but I have no idea how to get to them, since the wall doesn't break.

Idk why I'm doing OK against the bosses!

Sif: He murdered me first try, and I went to the bar, and drank a pint of beer, and watched a video of "how to beat Sif", and saw that the player was rolling toward him, staying close. Killed him with zero estus left and a sliver of health remaining on my second try.

Quelaag: I think it took me four or five tries, and gave in and used a summon on my fifth try. Killed her with zero estus left and a sliver of health remaining.

Iron Golem: First try, but I was nearly dead.

Priscilla: Was slaughtered on my first try, landed no hits, but lucked out on my second, and lightning speared her and circled her until she was dead. Easy kill.

O&S: I beat Fat One first try but got murdered by Hot One. Decided to try a second time solo with no summons. Just kept backing away until there was a nice opening. Beat Fat One quickly and took down Hot One with the same ease, relatively, as a Royal Sentinel.

Nito: First try? Maybe second. He is not hard once you realize that the black parts of him take no damage.

Pinwheel: Uh. I don't think I even needed any Estus for him.

Seath: First try. He whomped me with his tail and I nearly died, but I got him. I was having, weirdly, trouble fighting those crabs, and really wanted to get out of that weird and shitty area.

Four Kings: I died a lot in New Londo-- three drakes at once, falling, getting ganged up on by two or more of those Horned Kings, forgetting that my Transient Curse needed a re-up and getting scissored by the sisters. I was tired of making my way there from Firelink so I very meticulously read a walkthrough, and I'm glad I did. I only had one Green Moss on me (for the Stamina boost) and I used it and beat the clock on each King.

Ceaseless Discharge: Third try, and again, all Estus drunk and only a sliver left.

Centipede: Second try, with Solaire summoned. Came very close the first try! Got in the last four hits on only a sliver of health left, but couldn't land the last one (or two).

I don't have tonnes of experience with games like this, really-- 3D combat? not so much. But I got so good at Dead Cells this year that my reflexes are good. And this game has the same kind of "consult the FAQ for secrets" appeal as like Nethack, ADOM, and other games that I love to steamroll through.

And like, even if I'm doing good mid/late game (largely, honestly, thanks to how wonderful the Shield of Astorius is, and that I'm running Vitality 33, Endurance 35, Strength 40, Dexterity 20 at the moment, with no points put into any other attribute), I was immensely struggling early-game. Taurus Demon took me seven tries. Bell Gargoyles like ten. I lost count of how many times the Stray Demon murdered me, but it's probably around thirty-- I came back much later with my Giant Armor and super-powered weapons and he still murdered me a couple times.

Are you using magic or spells or anything like that? I have been purely sword and shield (give or take a bow and arrow) this whole game, but could totally see playing it again sometime in the future a totally different way. Even if I know what's coming.

No, no magic, no spells. Arrows VERY rarely (I used the Dragon Bow and Dragon Arrows on, like, the Undead Dragon in Valley Of Drakes). I swap between Quelaag and a Lightning Claymore for weapons, pretty much always use Shield Of Artorius. Giant Armour or Havel Armour; swap out to Dingy or Gold-Banded when necessary. Wearing the Favour And Protection Ring and Havel's Ring. Have been fastidious about upgrading, cashing in my souls. Not really a large amount of grinding except that I've probably killed 50-75 Royal Sentinels on my path from Princess Bonfire to Giant Blacksmith.

Ooh, so you did the Painted World! I was wondering if either if you went in.

Fgti, since you're getting very close to endgame, make sure you look up how to access the dlc areas since you have to do it before the final boss.

(lol @ Hot One)

I haven't done painted world yet. Is that in Anor Londo?

xpost With all that heavy stuff, are you just basically an unstoppable tank? Don't do a lot of rolling?

Ugh, just figured out where to go in Catacombs and encountered those wheel skeletons for the first time. Little did I know they roll back. And then a black knight attacked me? That's harsh.

That part is a gauntlet, I just run for my little life.

(yeah, the entrance to the Painted World is through a painting in Anor Londo)

wheel skeletons <3

the treasure is the darkmoon ring and it's sort of a big deal but the kind it's hard to figure out on your own. like the dlc, don't do the final boss without looking into it

catacombs bonfire spoilers: the second bonfire is in the open area with the waterfall and rotating spiked bridges. there's an invisible wall near the switch that rotates the bridge

Fuckin' invisible walls and special treasures with no explantation. I love it. I mean, I hate it, but I love it. But I hate it.

that bonfire is one of the better hidden ones, on the other side of the waterfall near the other switch that rotates the first bridge you can hear the high pitched bonfire noise and see it through a crack in the wall. they tease you with a glimpse of it and if you pay attention next time you're out in the open you'll remember to look for it.

and of course the entrance is carefully placed in a side path near one of the switches AND in a wall right next to one of the trap spike statues to prevent players from finding it by accident on the one time they go that away because once you've moved the bridge you'll probably never do it again (unless you're pvp'ing and want to send someone to their death)

the wheel skeletons are total bastards, i hate those fuckers

(lol @ Hot One)

ws either of them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJPp9ZyUGFg

Okay, dropped down to kill the Black Knight a different way then successfully outran the skeleton wheels. But Pinwheel, what is up with that dude? Along with the butterfly it's almost like a training/tutorial boss. So weird that the first couple of bosses you encounter are so much more challenging than bosses (incl. Iron Golom) you encounter later on. There must be a reason for it, since so much of the rest of the game is steeped in huge difficulty spikes and obscure challenges/mysteries. It's hard to believe they just ran out of time or something and figured, hey, here's a freebie

Agreed, Pinwheel is weirdly tuned to be an early game boss, like if you made it right down there after showing up at Firelink. Which some people do, I guess, but then you have to backtrack all the way out, if you don't want to keep going through the Tomb? This is why I always do it post-Anor Londo (and because I also don't enjoy the tomb).

― change display name (Jordan), Saturday, November 10, 2018 7:52 AM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, I saw that post when you originally posted it. I just find it strange that I don't consider either the Catacombs or Darkroot Garden or Basin or whatever particularly designed for early players, yet their bosses are the easiest in the game that I've played against so far. Like, I know that some people do speed runs to the Catacombs first thing, but I don't consider those people beginner players. Those are stunt players gaming the system.

Or, the world just allows for many different orders/paths and it's working as designed? I love that you can replay it in a totally different way. But yeah, it's gotta be hard balancing the difficulty level for a game that works like this (Pinwheel being the most ridiculous result).

I think I spent a ton of time in Darkroot Garden my first time through (after reaching Andre), and it was hard but not so hard that I thought "I shouldn't be here" (and the Butterfly seemed about right).

Anyway, when I pick this up again tomorrow, where next? I've got Painted World, New Londo, still a blacksmith to be found in Catacombs but don't know if I need it. There's a big gate in Anor Londo still... Oh, and stuff at the bottom of Blightown to do, right? I assume I can warp there.

Painted World is really good, actually. There are these mutated hollows that toxify you badly if you're not careful, and some tricksy jumping, but it's otherwise a very fun diversion

So head in with more purple anti poison clumps?

Poison is super powerful in this game.

Speaking of Pinwheel, doesn't kindling a fire up to 20 seem a little excessive, or at least the closest you can come to overpowered in this game? I think I play sloppier when I have 10 estus (not complaining!), but twice that seems more than I might need, especially at this stage of the game.

Also, finally occurred to me that building endurance (which I've been doing anyway) affects, in a good way, my weight, allowing me to carry or wear more but stay fast. I'll have to see where I'm at, numbers-wise!

After falling down and dying a lot in Tomb of the Giants (even with a lantern I had to look up how to use) I decided to do Painted World. I have a feeling this game a bit like golf. Not prohibitively hard, per se, but definitely rewards practice and patience, and can definitely see why people play it over and over again, refining their game.

Also, finally occurred to me that building endurance (which I've been doing anyway) affects, in a good way, my weight, allowing me to carry or wear more but stay fast

Good advice for life!

Well, I'm endgame. I'm collecting chunks and upgrading what I can. Level 90 now. Killed the respawning Titanite Demon in Lost Izalith a few times to complete my Shield Of Artorius upgrades. Still have to finish the DLC, but so far it's a cakewalk. I'm pumping up a couple of other fun weapons for NG+ fun. I failed to save Siegmund and/or Solaire, ah well. Haven't really faffed about with Covenant stuff because I don't have an online Nintendo membership... might do so.

I gotta say.. post Lordvessel, this game lost a lot of its appeal for me. I'll likely play NG+ to that point and see how I feel. My friend is telling me that DS3 is the BEST and he can't wait for me to play it, but I don't have any system that would run it, ah well

Oh and I died a LOT fighting the angry tree

No one likes the angry tree.

The last two bosses of the dlc are some of my favorites, both took a lot of practice for me, and you can't just bulldoze your way through them (unless you have one of those trick dark magic/Red Tearstone builds or something).

Well, yeah. Artorius wasn't so tough in the end, and Ciaran died quickly, but Jennifer Keesmaat the Dragon has butchered me up a lot a lot a lot. I really want that tail! I can't even get her down to quarter health, though. I watched a few videos and it seems as if she does a tail slam pretty regularly in them but I can't get her to do it, she just charges me and spins and keeps going. This is a challenge! I like it

Took me a zillion tries to take down that DLC dragon but iirc it was because I wanted that damn tail and I really struggled getting it.

Painted World down for me. I feel like here more than most places there is tons of stuff I missed.