Dark Souls I, II and III

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Combine Hunter
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Combine Hunter »

Tend to agree with Alex, Stanshall and KSubzero. I think Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne are noticeably better "wholes" than Dark Souls 2 and 3, but they are still really great experiences. Dark Souls 2 has some clumsy game design, but I think the lore stuff was really brave and interesting. Dark Souls 3 is largely a fantastically designed game, but the lore is really fan servicey and blah! They are still top tier.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Yacobg42 »

ThirdMan wrote: November 18th, 2018, 10:54 pm

Dark Souls 2 has a strange hold over me. No other game in the series, in so far as I've experienced them, has given me a moment quite like walking out into Majula for the first time. The music and general tone of that hub area is quite remarkable. Relaxing, but also slightly ominous and foreboding.
Two really is something special. I think it feels significantly moresomber than the other ones, and that's saying a lot. People's criticisms of it are totally valid, but it has a tone that's unique even among the others in the series.
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James
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by James »

I have no opinion on these games.

;-)
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Stanshall
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Stanshall »

Amen, Jacob. And my annual/regular shout out to CJ's contributions to the DS2 episode of the podcast. Absolutely marvellous listening to the guy's passion and what it means to him. It's pretty similar to my own feeling about the game. It's both the least and most Dark Souls game of all. Very poetic and aching while also being goofy and fantastical.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

The DS2 DLC is killing me. Brume tower is hell, man. Hardest areas of the game, these DLC parts. I'm midway through both the Iron King and Sunken King sections, yet to tackle the Ivory King.

There's a part in Iron King where you're going down a spiral staircase with an endlessly spawning enemy who constantly gives you curse and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Alex79uk wrote: April 20th, 2019, 10:50 am There's a part in Iron King where you're going down a spiral staircase with an endlessly spawning enemy who constantly gives you curse and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!
Later in the same DLC, you can find a piece of equipment that provides enough curse resistance to deal with this section.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Ah ha, thanks for the tip. I really ought to be more proactive in checking item descriptions!

Brume Tower really is a marvelous area though, artistically speaking. Traversing those suspended chains, and the structures are incredible to explore.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

The boss run from the fire to the Blue Smelter Demon is without a doubt, the single most annoying and frustrating thing I've played in a Souls game. I've started running it nudey to avoid the slowdown spells from the Astrologers. It's just a joke. I've redone the first section so many times the enemies have stopped respawning. I think it's literally going to be a case of repeating the run 50+ times to permanently clear out each section.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Finally beat Blue Smelter Demon after about two weeks! By far the boss that's taken me the longest in any Souls game! Just constant chipping away and the last few goes he literally had less than a centimetre of health and I got greedy and paid the price. So glad he's finally done!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Hi everyone, I’m playing through Dark Souls and have hit a bit of a brick wall and feel a bit lost.

I’ve rung the first bell after beating the gargoyles, killed the gaping dragon in the depths, done the Capra demon and the butterfly in the Darkroot garden.

It seems I have multiple options but each seems a large difficulty spike.

-Blightown but quickly get overwhelmed and knocked off the edges.
-Darkroot Basin but again the enemies seem a bit too tough
-graveyard route with the skeletons. Skeletons seem pretty manageable until I go into the dark cavern area and they continually respawn.

Playing as a cleric with an upgraded mace+6 and elite armor. This was following some advice online about best build to make the game manageable.

Any tips? Where should I go?
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

It is Blighttown but it's a notorious shiter. If you got the Master Key as your starting gift there's a backdoor way, but if not, slow and steady and then when you reach the ladders go even slower!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

I didn’t get the master key. I got the witch’s ring which appears to do nothing.

I’m making a bit of progress now I worked out the big guys at the start of blight town are so slow you can easily backstab them. My main problem is that I keep getting knocked off the edge or inflicted with toxic poison which kills me as quickly as my estus flask can heal me.

I made it to the first bonfire in Blighttown which was a sight for sore eyes. Lost 20,000 souls on the wobbly bridge. Who’s great idea was it to put kids playground equipment in the most treachous of areas.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

:lol:

Welcome to Blighttown...
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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Alex79uk wrote: September 16th, 2020, 7:44 am :lol:

Welcome to Blighttown...
Please tell me that there aren’t other areas like this which are as cheap and mean! On a positive note I got rid of 2 (or 3) of the poison blow dart guys so I’m not as vulnerable.

It’s a bit of a maze and unless I’m careful I’m getting stabbed in the back. The sound design is pretty amazing as I’m using my ears far more than I normally would to detect approaching enemies who are above or below me.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

It is the cheapest area in the game with regard to deaths and poison and stuff, but there is one particular area late in the game that's almost as annoying. I never minded BT too much once I'd got a handle on it, but it's a lot of trial and error and poor signposting. It was the frame rate on the original game that really killed it for most people, so hopefully that's been fixed in the remaster (if that's what you're playing?) at least!
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Jon Cheetham »

There are definitely places I like a lot less than Blight Town. But it is one of the most overwhelming places in terms of how much is stacked against you as you go through it, it has a sort of "oh NOW what" quality. Especially without the master key.

I quite like it though :lol:
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Remind me, is Blighttown before or after Sen's? I'm thinking earlier...? I was only trying to remember because I was trying to think how far in to the game it is, and it's fairly early isn't it, for such a difficult area, I mean. Like you're still pretty underpowered when you get there aren't you.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

Just before, yep.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

So I managed to get down to the bonfire by the swamp but was getting destroyed by the lava spider Queen boss and sort of stuck. Every time I became human my game would get invaded and I would get killed and because my game was invaded I couldn’t tackle the boss.

I didn’t have much humanity to keep trying as I wasted a lot at the beginning thinking I had to be human to do certain things. I found out when I ran out that it’s probably better to be hollow the majority of the time something the game didn’t clearly teach me.

So pretty stuck if I’m honest.

I decided to desperately plonk my white chalk sign down on the floor to offer my help others with the boss. I thought the least I could do was learn it’s attacks and distract it whilst others beat it. Inadvertently I ended up with a load of humanity, souls and got better at the boss.

After a bit of this I decided to give it a go solo and demolished her! I couldn’t believe it. The difficult situation I was in gave me a reason to experiment and it worked far better than I ever could have hoped! All those blighttown bells ringing because of me. Bliss!

Not sure where we are with spoilers of a game this old but
Spoiler: show
I was shocked to find the fire link shrine bonfire extinguished, the fire keeper dead/gone along with the shiny knight and a massive snake which I’m pretty sure is going to drag me into its hole
Excellent stuff. I did dabble with Demon’s Souls before but I genuinely haven’t played a game that felt this fresh in years. The world design is both massive and small at the same time. I love the hidden interconnected paths and the bonkers suicidal jumps to find secrets or whole areas of the game!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

Genuinely heartwarming to read, put a grin on my face.
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