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

it's dark souls, all npcs die at the end of their quest
logan should still be in the archives' library side room rapidly losing his sanity, he's the one you rescued from sen's
laurentius goes hollow if you tell him where quelaana is, if you don't he'll stay in firelink forever

Dag ... Artorius. This guy might be the most times I've gotten my ass kicked in a row since Capra Demon, and there are no dogs or tight spaces involved. Gotta figure out a good strategy!

I was close to taking down Artorius before I had to go on a trip. I assume there will be a slight curve getting back up to speed now that I'm back, which will leave me with him, the dragon, and Manus. Right? Oh, and I guess that disappearing Anor Londo hallway wizard, but that doesn't seem like much of a battle.

Playing on Switch. Up to Sen's Fortress. First couple of tries, I hated it. Dozens of deaths later, I love it. Is Dark Souls just Stockholm Syndrome: The Game?

It feels good the first time you figure out you can waste lizardmen with the traps

There's definitely a steep learning curve but it's so empowering once you nail it.

that disappearing Anor Londo hallway wizard, but that doesn't seem like much of a battle.

Actually one of the harder bosses for me, since you need to have a read on each of his ranged attacks and know how to react (and some of them can kill you in one shot). And you can't make it much easier with poise/damage racing etc (although actually a shield + armor with amazing magic resistance probably trivializes the fight, I've never tried).

I killed Gwyn first try with my overpowered muscle bastard but it was definitely a challenging fight

Unfortunately Mario Fight Club has taken over this household and Dark Souls is no longer on my brain

Artorius down! Now that was a fun fight, with gravity and all. Area after him has taken a turn for the gothic, too. Creepy giggling monsters in the dark, etc.

Kalameet wasn't too bad, but boy, Manus! fgti, how did you take this boss down on your first try!?

Really! I had such such trouble with Kalameet.

Manus, I don't remember. I didn't use a guide or watch a video or anything, I just blocked his attacks, circled and smacked. I let baby dog live but forgot to un-hollow and fought it alone.

Watching a video (just now and prior) I think in general I was playing on 'easy mode' because I was relying consistently on my shield and only dodging when it was something fiery or poisonous. Shield Of Artorius was so powerful and my stats were so high that I could pretty reliably keep shield up and live worry-free

I think I'm just being too aggressive/impatient with him. But I've only tried a couple of times.

Kalameet ... his seemed mostly a matter of the usual flank attack, healing whenever possible knowing that he is going to do a bunch of damage one way or another. And blocking. Sometimes these enemies are so huge I forget I can block, or that it's effective, against all logic.

Last time I tried I did summon Baby Sif, but I think I died before he got there.

Both of those took me forevvvver, because I wasn't using a shield and had to learn to read each attack and dodge/run accordingly.

Artorias gave me a lot of grief until I *stopped* using a shield, since the benefits of blocking were outweighed by the benefits of two-handed attacks (I'm not quite fast enough to switch between shield and two-hands, I always hit the wrong button and take a drink or something instead).

Btw, one of my favorite DS stories came the first time I almost killed the dragon. I was *this close* when I accidentally nudged the nearby remote and changed the channel. So for a good 20 seconds or so all I could do was feel the game controller rumble as Kalameet kicked my ass in the dark.

Haaaa wow

When I was 11, playing my first play-through of Super Mario Brothers 3, I had finally made it to World 5 and was in the castle trying to dodge those rotating discs, and my 8-year old brother thought it would be a great idea to wrap himself up in blankets, proclaim "I'M A THWOMP TRAP", and fall full-force to the floor next to the NES. The game reset as a result of this, and I don't remember if I cried, but I probably did

Several years ago while playing Demon’s Souls I was patiently whittling down a boss on like my 12th try and was just about to put him down when my Red Bull jacked roommate jumped into the room yelling “DEEEEMOON SOOOOULLL!!!”

I think the look I gave him when I died 4 seconds later must’ve been particularly gnarly because he apologized v earnestly soon after.

Oh wait, I posted about that in the Demon’s Souls thread when I was playing it. Correction: "DEMON LORDS! DEMON LORDS! DEMON LORDS!"

I’m still very much friends with him.

Killed Manus, the Hand of Fate, then had Gwyn down to such a small sliver I could have killed him with a belch ... but neglected to belch. Oh well, I'll take a break and take him down later tonight, then be done! What a neat game.

Gwyn's dead, game over! Maybe expected more from victory? I do kind of like how it just starts at the beginning again as soon as the credits are done.

true dark souls begins now
https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/New+Game+Plus

Yeah right. When I come back from a trip I'm starting "Spider-man." I hear it lets you become Spider-man.

Praise the Spider!

Seriously though, the right way to play is to come back in like eight months and beat it in ng+, see how much of the patterns are still lodged in your mind.

I've got DSII & III, plus Bloodborne. I think the plan, as such, when I come back to this world, is to either play DSIII or BB next, then end with DSII if I'm still in the mood. But I have an instant PS4 backlog, plus a whole bunch of cool Switch stuff that recently came out.

Yeah, I'm forgetting you're catching up. Definitely play through all those; they generally each get better than the next!

Well, I think I'm ready to give up. Made it to the second bonfire in Anor Londo, after making a side-journey to the Painted World (which was excellent). I'm dying a whole hell of a lot and the repetition just isn't fun anymore. I think I'm ready to break up with Dark Souls, or at least take an extended hiatus.

The consensus seems to be that the second half of the game (I've already put over 50 hours in so far and I'm only halfway?) isn't as good as the first. The only thing that is really maintaining my interest is the world/level design, which has been by far my favorite thing about this game. Is it worth seeing through to the bitter end?

Yes, if only because it gets easier as you get better and more powerful and the enemies more or less don't. DLC might be my favorite stuff of the game, though, and you definitely need more stats and practice before you do that.

I forget what you guys said: after DS1, do I go DS2, DS3, and then Bloodborne, or should I approach them in a different order? Maybe DS3 next, then Bloodborne, then DS2?

DS3 is the most similar to DS, so I'd say that, yeah. But now you can stick Sekiro in after Bloodborne (or before, or anywhere).

After noping out on this on PS3, I have finally got to Anor Londo on Switch.

Going to avoid it till Darkroot & Catacombs are done and I am overpowered or at least not a glass cannon.

things got way easier when I got the Dark Knight Halberd, Now I just two hand "See what happens Larry?" on everyone but the bosses.

Imo, the closest this game comes to an "easy" mode is cheesing into a good weapon early. Which is what I did, and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way, since it was still pretty challenging.

this game is really good. finally committed to my character, Derbis, the slim warrior with a master key. I've reached the undead burg and get the feeling I'm supposed to farm souls here for awhile to buy more stuff from the tee hee hee merchant man. I picked up a scimitar and found a nifty big axe. the soapstone comments are unique and cool. i've learned the comment phrasing "try ____" means definitely do not do ____.

i don't think i am a curved sword person. spent some souls on it because a faster sword with good damage seems good. but i did much better with the long sword move set. wish i could get even a quarter-soul on the soul for it.

Curved swords were really popular to use with buffs in this game, to stack up damage really quickly. If you stack poise so that you can't be interrupted (or just put the Wolf ring on), they're pretty fierce.

Katanas have my fave moveset in this game, the long sword is great too though.

yeah, I can see the curved swords being good if I switch my style from dodge and counter. or maybe a dodge and onslaught approach would work. it doesn't seem to do very well in a crowd, which I'm facing for the first time near the burg bonfire.

Oh btw, two-handing the curved sword with no shield is key to the style. If you're using a shield, then it's definitely better to go with something else.

that is a useful tip. up to now, i've been using two handed grip as a specialized alert system that tells me i've pressed 'X' accidentally.

I think I've already forgotten how to play, but if memory serves doing more damage (and even blocking) with a two handed weapon was more useful than using a shield. Unless you are really good at parrying.

definitely don't need to worry about me being really good at anything in this game

I think for curved swords, the swings are actually faster two-handed as well.

two-handed scimitar is great! I can take down the weaker dudes with one strong attack. I am a twirling Derbis.

I can kill all of the normal hollows without much trouble but these giant knights are fucking scary. Guy at the bottom of the tower chased me up all of the stairs and hammered me into the ground.

defeated the ford taurus demon. used a battle axe with the resin to get it done, and retreated to the bonfire as I couldn't believe there were more dudes to fight afterward. also did a reverse hollow only to accidentally roll off a ledge before summoning anyone. I was paranoid about invaders since I don't know what that looks like yet.

dragons, man

a small flight of stairs with a ledge at the top you can hop down from is the most powerful weapon in this game.

this dried finger i bought for 2000 souls really does enhance the sound of my bonfire turntable

lol

Always fun to read a new Dark Souls liveblog, kiu please

(what platform are you playing on btw? I wonder how many people are still doing invasions in this game)

I am on switch. been playing mostly handheld while my oldest watches lego ninjago on the television. I hope there are some new switch players online, as I picked the game up during a recent eshop sale. I see the 'ghost' of other players at bonfires from time to time.

Definitely more ghost players on Switch recently as its just been on sale. I haven't had any invasions but I am non hollow about 3% of the time...

kept getting wrecked by some 'free folk' in a forest last night, so might go back to Anor Londo and see what the fuss is about.

Spoiler: the fuss is 'YOU DIED'