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

The real big dog comes later (eventually followed by the little dog <3)

got the force spell. Found the poison cure merchant. Killed the black knight. Decided to give the capra demon a shot and got him on the first try. jumping off stairs with an axe is where i'm a viking.

because i wanted spells, i can't use any of these greatswords yet.

Capra Demon first try, you are the top dog!

I put on oakley wrap arounds before traversing the white light

Killed the scorpion guy by the blacksmith. Upgraded to a kite shield. killed a knight in darkroot basin and found a bonfire. But left to enter depths which are pretty awesome. Kept falling into basement and getting smoked by dogs and butcher guys. Eventually learned how to be careful and kill everybody one by one. Killed a bunch of rats and slugs. Killed a giant rat and a sorcerer. Found a ring. Was feeling pretty pooped when I got invaded for the first time. "Kirk" invaded and very nearly killed me, but I managed to get him on my last bit of health. Heart was racing. Invasions are fucking intense. Used all the souls to level up twice. Summoned some help before the big boss, but the boss eventually picked me up and chewed on me until I died. Don't really know what's happening with this boss. Hope I don't need to buy one of those crystal weapons that just break. I picked up a bunch of stuff. Might be smart to see if I can upgrade the battle axe +5 before I try again. I can two hand the great sword from fire shrine now. Holy shit this game is great.

Sufjan, are you playing offline? What platform?

online switch

Ah cool. You know Kirk is a scripted npc, right? ;)

yeah, I figured it out from fighting him. his moves were pretty rigid, and he seemed to back off too much to be real. the guy I summoned to help with the boss was similar.

really thought I would have rung that second bell by now

been upgrading strength again, after getting a taste of magic. If i can get to 24 and one-hand a reinforced greatsword, the boss will hopefully be easier.

so gaping dragon is not so hard after all. just run away and attack from rear when its busy fighting nothing. no summons required.

this blightown into quaaludes domain stretch feels unreasonable

Apparently it used to be much worse!

I don't remember it being THAT much of a jog from the bonfire down the pipe in BT over to queelag, but maybe I'm misremembering. Isn't there a ring that makes running through the swamp easier? Or do you get that a bit later on?

This thread inspired me to start another playthru. I was gonna do a different build type but ended up doing a strength and getting the Drake Sword anyway. Made short work of the gargoyles tho. Cheesed Havel to get his ring and boshed the demon by Andre. Garden now I guess? Taurus Demon nearly made me go hollow last time.

It's long if you don't know where you're going, and keep getting lost while dying to toxic blowdarts.

I've already forgotten a lot of the first game, but iirc once you learn where they are you can (better) avoid them and/or shoot them from range. Either way, you're going to get toxic, so go in with plenty of anti-toxic stuff. And yeah, there is a swamp ring, but I don't remember where or when you get it.

Did they lessen the effects of toxic/poison in DS3? It doesn't seem as bad, as long as you watch the meter.

It wouldn't be so bad if my most comfortable weapon didn't need repair, and I don't have a repair box. I had to backtrack and buy a crystal sword to feel whole again. I can single hand 2 greatswords but they aren't reinforced, and I am shit with them.

greatswords more like slowasfuckswords

Yeah, poison in DS3 is nothing compared to DS1 or (iirc) Demon's Souls.

Repair box is essential!

Big swords are only really good if you also have poise, which is pretty overpowered in DS1 compared to DS3 (since in 1, you have passive/standing poise, as opposed to hyperarmor that only kicks in once you've started a swing).

I had found everything in the swamp, except for the spot to the right with a bonfire and stairs up to firelink. I did the blightown run down to the swamp so many times. Eternally waiting for mole men to climb ladders to be killed.

Haha, oh nooooo.

Did you find the...tree?

I think so. I walked up the ramp and got the prize. I am using a greatshield I found somewhere. Also found a nifty remedy spell. Some red robes. A pyromancy spell. If I ever find a way to convert dung piles into souls, these monsters are in trouble.

perhaps the greatest thing I've found is respect. Respect for doing the job and doing it right. No shortcuts. I don't fall off the water wheel and die anymore. Those days are behind me.

I don’t think you found... the tree

boooooooo

I stand by my claim that finding the tree with no help is literally impossible. I bet back when some programmer or something posted to some forum, just to get people going in the right direction, some sort of "omg, I was doing the thing in the place and found the thing!"

Don't know that i want to find a tree

I really don't think the tree entrance is that outlandish, more funny, but the good ring that is inside the tree is reaaally difficult to find/get to. That I never would have gotten without a guide.

A ring. Inside of a tree. You guys must be smokin trees.

I will just keep on with the spider witch, thank you.

Probably not a bad idea. But would suggest maybe looking it up later on. Worthwhile.

i just did. Illusory walls were a bad idea in this game. I even smacked one of the walls with an axe after the ellipsis tree comments. But it was the wrong wall.

I maintain that the only way to find all the illusory walls is to walk around hitting all the walls, which is BS. I've still been doing that on occasion in DS3. I mean, when I get stuck I've been checking in with a guy doing a 100% (more or less) walkthrough, who has played it multiple times, and even *he* occasionally walks around hitting walls mumbling "it really seems like there should be an illusory wall here ..." On the other hand, I'm pretty sure there is never anything essential behind illusory walls, just helpful, so yeah, they're totally optional, or things to search for later, if you are so inclined.

So much in these games reward multiple playthroughs, which I do respect, even though I can't imagine playing these games again and again, not with a backlog.

Usually there's some sort of cue for an illusory wall, like it's a dead end where the structure of the environment makes it seem like there should be something there. It's not usually a random spot in the middle of a wall, although I'm sure there are counterexamples.

Also the message system is supposed to go along with secrets like this, although I know you played offline (and really the online mechanics are the main reason to play through the game multiple times imo, or just to keep playing it).

Yeah, that's fair. Whenever I watch any walk-through clips they are almost always playing online, and/or embered, which provides plenty of hints and/or options.

I watched someone complete a full no damage run, and now I think I need to step away again for a bit.

This game is great at telling you one way or another when it's time to take a break.

one thing i found odd about the cadence of my aptitude at this game is that i would spend what felt like weeks making zero progress and increasingly dying to undead soldiers armed with a stick and then nail three or even four bosses in a single session.

By the time I was accessing The Great Hollow, I had guidebook in hand. The double-illusory-wall situation there in the big tree was the one time the mechanism seemed like it was cheap and shitty and theoretically impossible for the unspoiled to determine.

still cross about fucking up the end of sekiro - i *think* i may have been inattentive but also basically think there was no way i could have known you have listen for a bit of narrative at that particular wall at that particular point unless i was checking a guide.

xxpost The walkthrough I've been checking up with has a guy who is good enough to kill most bosses on the first attempt, can narrate casually as he fights off the hordes, has a giant sword that was apparently so overpowered it got nerfed in future updates, and he *still* sometimes dies to easy enemies when he gets sloppy or overconfident.

I can't tell if DS3 is easier than the first game. I seem to be zipping along faster than DS1, but that could be a combination of me just being better and more familiar with the world, plus the gameplay itself being sped up a bit. I've heard that going back to the first game after the third, or after Bloodborne, really underscores how slow and deliberate the first one can be. There are definitely elements I would consider perversely unfair, but I find it funnier this time around.

A lot of skills translate between 1 & 3 in particular, so nothing will be as hard as whichever one you play first.

True to some extent with all their games, but the mechanics in Bloodborne and particularly Sekiro are big enough that it feels like starting over to some extent.

Had some 24 hour travel and could not keep away. Defeated spider witch quail egg by running far away every 2 hits. She only ever killed me with the poison gas belly flop before. Everything I learned about fighting, i.e. locking on with shield up, had to be thrown out to win that one.

I have all of these sorcerer clothes, and no cool warrior gear. I finally got a cool sword, but its scaling bonus is faith and requires special titanite. Switched to grass shield for endurance bonus.

very hard to choose between supplementing melee weapons with sorcery, miracles, or pyromancy. None seems like a great idea tbh.

Pyromancy is good because it doesn't require a stat investment iirc, just upgrading your pyromancy flame.

correct. supposed to scale on INT but that doesn’t affect damage - only upgrading the flame does that. as a consequence of this thread have started DS1 again with a pyromancer and a post sekiro intent to get my parry down pat. keep dying as a consequence and carelessly lost a shittonne of souls twice.

also, classic shouting at screen “where the fuck did *you* come from?” and “oh come ON”.

my first soulsborne game was bloodborne tho, with a dex build, and i’ve never quite got the rhythms in DS1 right, tho DS3 was easier in that respect.