Dark Souls I, II and III

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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

I meant to post on here about my progress but I’ve been incredibly busy.

I’ve slowly worked my way through dark souls 2 after initially finding some of the opening areas impossible I’ve just lit the ?last? primsl bonfire.

It’s been a odd journey as I’ve found the bosses in general extremely doable but the world and standard enemies harder. It’s almost the opposite of my dark souls experience.

Quick question: once I’ve beaten the final boss do I have to access DLC in NG+ or is it better to do the DLC first with my first run through character!

Also anyone want to do a bit of co-op? It seems quite restrictive with the soul memory levels so you can’t just invite a level 250 character to your early game ( not that you’d want to).

Absolutely brilliant game and in some ways I prefer to Dark Souls. Each game has its own merits and stands alone as being amazing.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Feirsteax »

I just got eaten by the covetous demon the other night, didn't even realise that he could do that. I thought I was going to die for sure, but he just de-equips all your armour, does a small amount of damage and spits you out again. Then re-equipped my weapon and beat him.

I agree this one has some things that I actually prefer over the first game. I like you can really customise your character a lot, and you can go back to re-spec at various points too, which is really handy.

Not sure on the DLC question, but I thought you could access it in the first run through, and I'd recommend doing that as you probably don't want to play through the game twice just to access the DLC.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

@Simonsloth

Definitely do the DLC before going into NG+ because it's endgame stuff, and gets really really hard in NG+. You also can't just jump into it from the start, so you'd have to go through a lot of NG+ to access the areas.

There's a lot of great stuff, some weird stuff and some bullshit, like the rest of DS2. I'm also kind of replaying it at the moment, but not got PS+ these days so can't do co-op.

I adore DS2, while acknowledging that it is a bit crap and unbalanced in some ways. It's just so different from the rest, goofy, colourful, weird, lots of one time little details. I could say it's my favourite to replay. It feels like such a long and varied journey.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Simonsloth wrote: September 28th, 2021, 10:24 amQuick question: once I’ve beaten the final boss do I have to access DLC in NG+ or is it better to do the DLC first with my first run through character!
I'd do it before NG+. After you've beaten the final boss you get dropped back in to the world if you choose to, so you're free to go and tackle the DLC then.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Thanks everyone.

Got into Drangleic Castle last night and just got past the dragonriders. I feel like I’m a bit overpowered and have reached the point where I need to commit to a character class.

I’ve gone for a hybrid of melee and magic. Pretty sure I did the first dark souls with my starting mace and I am using the mace again but have the option to swap it out for the archdrake staff with a decent level 30 intelligence. Also have a chime on the left hand to swap out my shield for healing faith based spells.

It means I am level 30 in faith, intelligence and strength whereas I probably should have just gone with 60 in one of them. I’m tempted to try some hexes or pyromancy but the spells I have seem really weak.

I’m doing fine with the above but I feel that a dark souls purist would be shaking their head at me for shooting myself in the foot.

Loving it!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

There is a way to respec your character and re-spend all your accrued levels as you see fit - just in case you didn't know, and it might be of interest!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

Hex build is probably the most powerful in DS2 apart from Dex build with 2-handed standard rapier (seriously), so give it a go. Dark Orb can carry you through the whole game and almost everything is weak to Hex. You're very nicely set, with a decent strength weapon backup.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by designermatt »

Before becoming a Cane and Rinse listener I'd somehow never heard of Dark Souls. I picked up the remastered edition on PS4 a couple of months ago after hearing the team talk so passionately about it on the podcast. They seemed so enamoured with it, I had to check it out.

I think I've been on a similar journey to most people with Dark Souls, now - started confused but eager to see this amazing world I keep hearing about, got irritated by the jank and the way nothing is explained at all, but really wanted to know what was going on, so for some inexplicable reason kept coming back and dashing around the Undead Burg and Parish again and again.. until one day I realised I'd gotten a lot better - more by muscle memory than anything else. I knew what to do but it was instinctive, rather than something I'd planned out. I get the satisfaction and feeling of skill that comes with that.

I've since made it into Anorlondo (Christ, those archers up on the roof! Had to use a guide and resorted to pinging them with poison arrows from miles away, but by the 40th time I just didn't care and wanted rid of them).. and the bit where Onion Knight is waiting outside a room full of Silver Knights. Well.. Somehow I must have accidentally stood on Onion Knight's foot as I was fighting the Silver Knights, because now he's after me as well. I've died a few dozen times trying to tackle them all, and it's caused me to bounce off and go play some more arcadey games for a while that feel they demand less of me (Nex Machina, Dead Cells, Lonely Mountains Downhill).. but I'm sure I'll be back to finish Dark Souls before too long. I do want to see where the adventure leads.
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Alex79
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Always fascinating to see what people coming to the game now think.

Do you know the Dark Calls podcast? It's great, check it out. It's two hosts of The Computer Game Show; one has finished DS, the other has never played it. The one who's finished it helps the other, and the other is not allowed to take help or advice from anyone else. It's quite entertaining.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

I agree with Alex that’s a great podcast as well as Bonfireside Chat. I played along while listening to both of those podcasts. It’s helpful to hear not only that you share similar frustrations as the hosts but sometimes it prompts you to go back to find an item or hidden area you missed.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

So I finished the game and have dived into the DLC soon discovering that everything (at least in Sunken king) is resistant to hex spells.

I’ve started increasing my strength but it’s 35000 souls to upgrade anything right now so struggling a little. Managed to brute force my way to the first? boss but even with two NPC summons I’m getting my bottom kicked.

Going to switch to the second DLC and see how I fare there.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Simonsloth wrote: October 31st, 2021, 1:32 pm So I finished the game and have dived into the DLC soon discovering that everything (at least in Sunken king) is resistant to hex spells.

I’ve started increasing my strength but it’s 35000 souls to upgrade anything right now so struggling a little. Managed to brute force my way to the first? boss but even with two NPC summons I’m getting my bottom kicked.

Going to switch to the second DLC and see how I fare there.
Yeah, I bounced around the 3 DLC packs for DS2, making tiny bits of progress here and there, but just found I wasn't really enjoying any of them in the end and gave up.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Alex79 wrote: October 31st, 2021, 5:56 pm
Simonsloth wrote: October 31st, 2021, 1:32 pm So I finished the game and have dived into the DLC soon discovering that everything (at least in Sunken king) is resistant to hex spells.

I’ve started increasing my strength but it’s 35000 souls to upgrade anything right now so struggling a little. Managed to brute force my way to the first? boss but even with two NPC summons I’m getting my bottom kicked.

Going to switch to the second DLC and see how I fare there.
Yeah, I bounced around the 3 DLC packs for DS2, making tiny bits of progress here and there, but just found I wasn't really enjoying any of them in the end and gave up.
Supposedly sunken king is the easiest but if I’m struggling with the main boss I doubt I’ll be able to do the others. I’ll give them a go though.

I managed to finish the cave of the dead in the sunken king or at least made it to the boss door which I found even more unfair.
Spoiler: show
it’s a squad compromised of a Heavy, an archer with a greatbow and a nimble high Dex swashbuckler. Like a super hard triple invasion. I spent the entire time running away then taking a single swipe at the archer during my circuit of the battlefield until he was at half health then I stopped as I realised there was no way I could fit the other two at once with so little health left.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

I don't remember that, but I probably didn't reach it! Have you done the blue asylum demon type boss in one of THE DLC, I don't remember which one but it has the worst boss run of any game I've ever played! It basically amounted to me making hundreds of runs taking out each enemy eventually permanently, haha.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

A lot of people say how amazing the DLC is, and I've probably said the same myself, but it's very much like the main game, I reckon. Some brilliant stuff and a fair bit of crap. The gank squad boss is a prime example. That Blue Smelter is also awful, just Smelter but with a terrible run up and loads of health. On the other hand, there are some absolutely fantastic bosses and some pretty creative pretzel loops level design. The Sunken one is my least favourite, those early enemies have too much health and hit too hard, and there are too many of them. Unfortunately, you have to kill them all to do various switches and whatever because there are too many to effectively suicide run. It's annoying.

I think the other two are much better on the whole, although the Ice one (can't remember) has perhaps the worst run-up and boss fight in the series, remember me when there's a blizzard, as well as one of the very best!
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

So I’ve managed to finish the sunken king and have the crown! Hurrah!

I’m onto the Ivory king as I’ve heard the fume knight is impossible. Delving into lots of jolly co-operation so happy to help anyone with DLC even if im a bit rubbish.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Another hurrah! Finished the ivory king DLC (except for the boss after the frigid wastes which I’ll leave to last)!

Onto the final piece of DLC then a endgame mop up of the optional bosses I’ve left alone.

Torn between bloodborne or dark souls 3 next. I sort of feel I’m in the mood for more dark souls which I’m familiar with and bloodborne scares me as I spend most of dark souls being a coward and defensive. Not sure how the more offensive play style will suit me.

I was thinking DS3 then bloodborne then sekiro as a sort of gradual transition. Sekiro scares me the most simply because I’m used to my deaths not being fruitless as I retrieve my souls and level up incrementally.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Alex79 »

Nice work! Whichever way you go you're in for a good time. Dark Souls 3 is brilliant, and a lot faster with the character seeming more nimble with regard to dodging and stuff if you ask me, so it's more comparable to Bloodborne than the first two games. Personally, I'd go Bloodborne next, just so you don't get Souls burnout. But like I said, they're both amazing and you can't really go wrong.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Marlew »

Bloodborne, by a mile. It's as good as the original Dark Souls.
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Re: Dark Souls I, II and III

Post by Simonsloth »

Marlew wrote: November 14th, 2021, 8:11 pm Bloodborne, by a mile. It's as good as the original Dark Souls.
The blizzard and the boss in the Ivory King DLC are the worst. By the time I get to the boss when I have made it I’m nearly out of Estus, my NPC summons are nearly dead and the boss takes 3/4 of my health off with every hit. It’s a recipe for not wanting to go back. The path to the boss is so long too.
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