LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 3, 2016 12:16:34 GMT -5
-You took out Kalameet on your first try. Are you some kind of warlock, Kalameet is insanely hard to me (less so if I don't try to cut off his tail for his sword, but still, major props to you) Based on how Dark Souls 3 has been treating me, I'm definitely no warlock. What I am, however, is a dyed in the wool power-leveler. I didn't feel that I was playing it too grindy, but by the end I really got the impression that I had outpaced NG by many levels. My SL at completion was 114. It's not that I wasn't getting hit. It's that I had so much health and such a high inherent Physical Defense that I could suffer the beating and keep on coming. It's not skills. It's sheer numbers.
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Post by LazBro on May 5, 2016 9:44:45 GMT -5
DS3 Talk:
Of the Souls games I've played, including Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 has the smoothest difficulty curve. It starts at its easiest and gets steadily harder as you progress. Irithyll of the Boreal Valley is a marginal difficulty spike, but it's a reasonable one, and arguably the proceeding areas are not any easier. It's just that you approach them more practiced, having conquered Irithyll's challenges, and likely more leveled as well. The same can also be said of the bosses. While both Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne featured wild swings in boss difficulty throughout the run time - with some of the hardest and easiest bosses found in late game - Dark Souls 3 bosses only go one direction. Accounting as best you can for build affinity and the individual player's particular strengths, bosses seem to get much harder as you go, to the point that now every boss I face begets that good, old-fashioned Soulsborne misery. While I do miss the interconnected-ness of Dark Souls 1 and the sheer wealth of optional content in Bloodborne - the very things that give those games their spikes and unpredictability - Dark Souls 3 is commendable for the thoughtfulness of its design and its relationship with challenge. It is every bit as hard as the games that came before it, maybe harder, but in a way it's less intimidating. It lures you slowly into the deep end, rather than chucking you in with lead boots five minutes after you boot up the game, i.e. Central Yahrnam. I'm nearing the end now, and it's very, very good! Okay, real talk below: So I took a few days off there while I focused on finishing up DS1, but now I'm back full force. After the Dancer comes Lorthric Castle and 3 optional areas, which I chose to explore first. The Consumed King's Garden was blissfully short, and it was rife with those black tar creatures so thank goodness for that, and concluded with Oceiros, The Consumed King. I'm very eager to check out the lore videos on this guy, because he's a really interesting design, but I have no idea what he has to do with the game. After the hours of struggle with the Dancer, I was overjoyed to beat this guy on my first attempt after a pitched battle that left me at a quarter health and without a single remaining estus flask. It was so close!
Beyond the King's Garden is the Untended Graves, an area which is simultaneously awesome and disappointing. It's awesome, because it brings terrific atmosphere to a familiar setting, and has an undeniably creepy dream-like (or is that nightmare-like) vibe. It's disappointing, because, well, it is a palette swap, after all. I enjoyed exploring it, but would I rather have an entirely new level? Maybe. Anyway, the boss in the Untended Graves is Champion Gundyr, a vicious new take on the Iudex fight which is faster, stronger and has expanded moves. I grappled with this dude for more than an hour, struggling, hoping against hope to find an opening for any attack. I improved a little when I started getting in some parries, something I don't do very much across the whole series, but even then, his 2nd phase was so fast and aggressive, those parry opportunities so few and far between, that I started to feel hopeless. Finally I decided to improve my chances by spending an ember and upping my health (for the first time in the whole game), and what I discovered, along with having to take out an invading NPC, is that there is a summon available. The sword master from the beginning of the game, back when you first visit Firelink Shrine, is available to help you. Even with the summon, I lost the next fight against the Champion. It went well until the Sword Master died, but without my buddy, I was back in the same boat of not even being able to touch the boss. Conflicted as always about spending the ember, I re-upped again, and on our 2nd attempt, Sword Master and I took out the Champion Gundyr. My summon did die on the 2nd battle as well, but it was when the Champion had two hits left in him, and I just cheesed and prayed. I can tell you, the relief was palpable. I think this guy is actually harder than both the Pontiff and the Dancer.
Next is the choice of proceeding to Archdragon Peak, the final optional area, or proceeding toward the game's conclusion in Lothric Castle (and beyond). The path to Archdragon Peak is stupidly hidden, but I've learned through reading other comments how to do it. Honestly, I'm glad to have that one piece spoiled, because it is NOT something I ever would have thought to do myself based on the available item descriptions. I know that Archdragon Peak is home to The Nameless King, who is now being put in the running for hardest Soulsborne boss ever. Up there with Fume Knight and The Orphan of Kos. Well, I haven't played DS2, but I have beaten the Orphan (the hardest Soulsborne boss I have personally faced, by far), so I'm nervous but resolute.
I can do this.
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Post by LazBro on May 9, 2016 10:21:16 GMT -5
DS3 Talk: I am victorious. I spent almost every free second I could eek out of this past weekend playing Dark Souls 3, and I finally put the final boss to rest late last evening. The last stretch of the game is tremendously challenging, especially the optional areas. Though it pained me to leave it undone, I did decide to push through to the end while leaving a particularly nasty optional boss alive. I'll be as vague as possible and say only that he earns his reputation. Goddamn!
While the final couple of areas are not the most inspired - not counting the final, final area in this case - they present a fair challenge and some good nostalgia feelies in their level design, so I liked that. The last two required bosses are both really well designed, with the 2nd to last boss in particular a favorite of mine. It's the kind of boss the favors and rewards very precise and learned play, along with being a great visual experience that feels very Dark Souls in its execution. The final boss, while not the game's hardest, is probably in the top five, and it's a very worthy boss. It's what the final boss of the final Dark Souls should be.
One nice thing: after you beat the game you have a choice to start NG+ or to return to your current run and finish optional areas, upgrade equipment, grind levels, etc. I didn't expect that. It's nice to have the option to still take on the one boss I left before beginning NG+.
Naturally I stayed up late last night absorbing the wiki and the lore vids and really anything I could absorb about the game. Of course, I failed to complete a single NPC questline, of which there are a lot. There's a lot of really fascinating stuff in this game. I can't wait for the community to digest it further and start putting out those macro-lore vids tying all the games together. I've been spoiled by coming to these games well after they were completed. My boy VaatiVidya needs to pick up the pace.
I'm too close to it right now to decide where it lands among the others I've played. It's so great in so many ways, but I have put in over a hundred hours of Dark Souls time between the two games in the last month, so right now I just want a break.
Soul Level: 103 Game Time: 54:13 Build: DEX-based halberd warrior, shield, no magic
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Post by LazBro on May 16, 2016 8:40:05 GMT -5
I've played so much Dark Souls in the last month that the series is affecting my other thoughts. I see the world differently. True story: Friday night we watched a pretty terrible kids movie off Netflix with Baby Snape called Khumba. Khumba tells the story of a zebra who is born only half-striped, which other zebras say signifies that he is cursed, who must travel to the far end of the South African plains to visit a magic watering hole, gain the rest of his stripes and stop the curse. Along the way, he must seek the counsel of the Black Eagle, travel through (I shit you not) the "valley of desolation," and then face a fearsome, oversized super-leopard named Phango in, where else, "Phango's Cave." I couldn't help but see everything as a Dark Souls level. Oh yes, this is the "Valley of Desolation" level. It's a real pain in the ass. And even small details were oddly Souls-like. The black eagle, for example, is not black at all. He's white. He only appears black, because the creatures who named him always see him silhouetted against the sun. That's the kind of thoughtfulness you'll see in a Dark Souls game. Or the legend behind the narrative. The magic watering hole giving birth to the age of zebras, just like the first flame bringing the age of fire. Hell, the entire story is ever so slightly nudged along by a magical praying mantis, who stands in for one or more primordial serpents. Obviously I am going insane.
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Post by LazBro on May 16, 2016 11:06:18 GMT -5
My knight ROFLstomped Iudex Gundyr on her first try. It wasn't even close. This tutorial boss claims he's the new Cleric Beast. Well let me tell you something, I knew the Cleric Beast. He was a friend of mine, and Iudex Gundyr, you're no Cleric Beast. Unfortunately, however, despite my compy exceeding all the recommended specs, I am unable to progress because I experience immediate crashes whenever I approach the empty hearth in Firelink Shrine, so I can't place the coiled sword. I guess I'm waiting on a patch, then? I really enjoyed the 15 minutes of Dark Souls III I was able to experience, but I sure hope that's not all of it I get to experience, or I might feel somewhat vexed. Well done, and sorry about the computer issues. With DS3 just within reach, that must be incredibly frustrating. Do you have a 700 series card? I've heard that this is really common among players experiencing crash issues. Hopefully a fix is fast coming.
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Post by LazBro on May 22, 2016 22:35:21 GMT -5
Video card drivers are updated! Back in business. I made it into the High Wall of Lothric, where I promptly got DEALT WITH by a Hollow who transformed into a black goo-dragon (like Iudex Gundyr). I turned around and went the other way, had a good fight with some non-hollowed knight dude, and then ran into another black goo-dragon Hollow. At this point I quit because it was bedtime, but either I need to GIT GUD in a hurry or else there's a third path somewhere I have overlooked. Yay! I'm a couple days late to this, so probably you've moved past by this point, but if you drop those guys before they transform, they ... uh, won't. Not even by the time I beat the game had I gotten gud enough for those things. Prevent or avoid was the only strategy that got me through.
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2016 9:30:16 GMT -5
I bought DS3 for PC, because I am weak*. I think I'll do a strength build next. It would be nice to have a character who is actually strong enough to use the Drgaonslayer greatbow. Still not spells, probably, just not my style. But maybe I'll try to be better about using Weapon Arts, just to give the run some flavor.
*And also because I am not working this week, and while I have a BUNCH of other game I need/want to play, I can't stop thinking about Dark Souls. All the time Dark Souls.
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2016 10:31:00 GMT -5
Hot damn, this game looks so good at max settings and 60 fps.
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2016 10:31:37 GMT -5
I bought DS3 for PC, because I am weak*. I think I'll do a strength build next. It would be nice to have a character who is actually strong enough to use the Drgaonslayer greatbow. Still not spells, probably, just not my style. But maybe I'll try to be better about using Weapon Arts, just to give the run some flavor. *And also because I am not working this week, and while I have a BUNCH of other game I need/want to play, I can't stop thinking about Dark Souls. All the time Dark Souls.We should totally figure out how to co-op sometime! Let me know when you get to That One Boss. Maybe you and me can take him out together.
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2016 10:41:50 GMT -5
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Post by LazBro on Jun 1, 2016 21:25:37 GMT -5
MECHANICS TALK: 1. I'm really glad they went back to the classic parry timing. I never could get the hang of parrying in II. This feels the same as it did in Demon's Souls/Dark Souls/Bloodborne. Equip the Caestus in your left hand and you're a parrying machine. 2. I hate the Vitality stat. Back in the day, equip load and stamina were both governed by the Endurance stat, and it was awesome. A point spent in Endurance was always a wise investment. I don't like having to level a stat every time I want to strap on some actual armor for a change or carry a heavier weapon. 3. Weapon Arts are kind of a mixed bag so far. Quickstep made the poison swamp in Farron Keep even more of a doddle than it already was, which is good, but some of the others seem pretty useless to me so far--particularly Stomp and Warcry. 4. They really fucking stacked the deck against invaders this go-round, didn't they? Everyone's rolling with 2 Sunbros and a friendly Mound Maker, and so far duellists seem to be an endangered species. It's like they looked at the Darkroot Garden and decided everywhere should be like that. It is what it is, and GIT GUD and all, but a 4-on-one fight isn't generally regarded as fair anywhere outside of WWE and (IMO) is more pernicious to the PVP scene than Soul Memory ever was. 5. What exactly does Poise even do now? Does anyone know? They nerfed it from the first game to the second, but now as far as I can tell those numbers mean nothing.Thoughts? 1. I haven't played enough DS2 to really compare, but parrying does feel good and very similar to DS1 parrying in DS3. I wouldn't say I ever got great at it, but for some bosses (which I won't yet mention by name) and also several knight-types, it felt essential to my success here. 2. Yeah, as I lamented in one of my early reports, separating the stats for Stamina and Weight Load really, really sucks! For a long time in DS3 I felt like I was way behind the stat curve and couldn't keep up. For a class wearing any kind of armor at all, I found Havel's Ring to be essential. It's a boss soul item, so you really can't miss it. I do miss the simpler stat load of either DS1 or Bloodborne. This is more like DS2 in that way. 3. I never got into them. I've ended up playing more FF than anything this past week (which you've probably noticed, Steam friend), but when I do get into my second run proper, I plan to give Weapon Arts more of a shake. 4. I don't play online. No comment. 5. As I understand it, there's a bit of controversy over the purposelessness of poise. Non-spoiler reading: - darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Poise- kotaku.com/the-mystery-behind-dark-souls-3s-seemingly-useless-pois-1773373128
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Post by LazBro on Jun 5, 2016 0:44:27 GMT -5
Now who's the warlock? I only one-shot 4 bosses*. Though as I stated before, DS3 bosses do get steadily harder as you go, unlike DS1, DS2 and even Bloodborne, which had some wild spikes and pits.
Your opinion of the Deacons lines up with most of what I've read. I'll admit I really like the Deacons. I can agree that, as a fight, they are not the most interesting. But I really love the setting and the slow but ever-approaching way that they move. That fight creeps me out. Mob mentality type stuff gets to me. I also love the fake out. It's so built up that you're going to face Aldrich in the Cathedral of the Deep, and then he's not there and instead you face his acolyte gank squad. Hard or no, I dig it.
In my humble opinion, those alligator-dog things (yes, plural) are the hardest non-boss enemy in the game.
For me, Irithyl was the game's only significant difficulty spike. Both the Cathedral and the poison swamp around Farron's Keep are tough, while the Catacombs of Carthus play like a (somewhat dissapointing and uninspired) cool down, so when you get to Irithyl, it's a bit of a kick in the nuts. I might feel that way about Smouldering Lake if I'd found it when first passing through the Catacombs, but I didn't go to Smouldering Lake until way later.
Did you beat the worm? Did you beat it like a pro?
*Not counting the Stray Demon or either of the Fire Demons, as they are only mini-bosses, but I did one-shot all of them.
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Post by Lone Locust of the Apocalypse on Jun 8, 2016 6:49:22 GMT -5
I've had the game since release but because of life stuff I've only been able to beat three bosses (tutorial boss, Vordt and Crystal Mage).
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Post by LazBro on Jun 9, 2016 0:45:46 GMT -5
Been dicking around with my PC run, just playing for 30-60 minutes or so each night while listening to podcasts. So far I've been disappointed to not find many good strength-oriented weapons in the early game. Doing just fine with the broadsword right, but that's not my long term goal.
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Post by LazBro on Jun 15, 2016 23:39:44 GMT -5
-Old Demon King and Pontiff Sulyvahn are down. 2 deaths to Old Demon King, 1 to Pontiff Sulyvahn. Actually, all 3 deaths were more due to the camera wigging out & trapping me in corners so the boss could combo me out--I got the hang of their attacks & ranges pretty quickly. -I love Smouldering Lake. Dark Souls II didn't really have any purely optional areas and was the poorer for it. -I need some more Vigor, the Silver Knights in Irithyll are two-shotting me -I need some more Vitality, I'm fucking bored of using nothing but straight swords -WHERE THE FUCK IS ANRI? He has disappeared from my game. Yuria is still telling me I need to marry the guy, but he's not in Carthus anymore, he's not down in Smouldering Lake where Horace was, and he's nowhere in Irithyll. Well done on the Pontiff. I would consider him one of the elite bosses. He'd be in my personal top 3 hardest bosses. Though I did finally git gud. From my earlier report: "I literally lost to the first boss you face in Irithyll five times before I ever landed a hit. But you know what? When I finally beat him? I barely even took one! Had to do everything differently for that guy, but it worked." The Old Demon King is one of the bosses I managed to one shot, so I was proud of that. Definitely the demon ruins I found more difficult than him. Smouldering Lake is such a visually impressive and lore-rich area. I love it, too. The art direction of the ballista on the cliff top in the distance is just creepy as hell. I didn't complete the Anri questline the first time through, but it's really interesting. Good luck. I'm bored of my broadsword and miss my halberd. I'm starting to think that may just be my thing. I finally got a proper greatsword (Zweihander or however it's spelled) and hated it. Just couldn't handle a weapon that slow.
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Post by LazBro on Jun 18, 2016 9:57:34 GMT -5
...PatBat, without getting spoilery, I'll just say that I can't wait to hear you one day report on your feelings in the moments leading up to the Aldrich fight. It's so perfect! @patrickbatman After your last report, I thought back to this. You are (were) getting so close to this moment. Dish, girlfriend!
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Post by LazBro on Jul 2, 2016 16:44:53 GMT -5
I finally beat the Nameless King. I'm shaking.
(It actually wasn't so bad. I only just started trying him in my 2nd NG run. Took maybe 30 minutes.)
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Post by LazBro on Jul 3, 2016 14:14:47 GMT -5
So goddammit, I'm going to try DS2 as hard as I can. I really, REALLY want another one of these to play, and now that I've wrapped up my 2nd run (and several hours of a NG+) of Dark Souls 3, I'm diving back in to the one I've bounced off of more than once. This time, I WILL try hard, but like, as soon as I start, I realize that this is the red-headed stepchild of the series. It just feels so different.
Play DS1 and DS3 back to back. (I know, I did it, as evidence up-thread will prove.) They feel the same. DS3 is much faster than DS1 of course, but the movement of characters, the movement of enemies, the simple act of walking around. Proportionally, everything feels right. It's so ... comfortable.*
DS2 just feels fucking weird from the first moment. Nothing moves right. BUT, I will adapt. I was disappointed that the early stores do not offer a halberd, which is kinda my thing, so I looked up where to get the earliest one from the wiki. I'm gonna run that bitch down, and then hope I feel better when I do.
Here we go...
* And this is to say nothing of how indebted DS3 is to DS1 for its story, while offering only passing mention to DS2 (according to lore videos I've watched). Granted I haven't played Demon Souls (yet), but it's just weird to me how much Miyazaki seems to avoid DS2, the only one he didn't direct. In a lot if not most ways, DS3 is the true sequel to DS1.
Sorry for rambling #drunk
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Post by LazBro on Jul 4, 2016 10:44:49 GMT -5
I'll see how it goes. I didn't like the halberd either. Too slow and awkward to use. But, I once watched part of a speed run by a dude consistently wrecking face with a rapier, so I picked up one of those. Really liking that so far. Good mix of speed and damage. Taking your advice from forever ago, I put some points into ADP, and that along with the rapier I finally feel like I'm making things happen. It's a different build for me, since I'm going shield-less, but I'm liking it. I'm still messing around in the Forest of Fallen Giants, but I've got my rapier up to +4, and I managed to beat the Last Giant on the first try. Maybe I'll be able to play this game after all.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 9, 2016 0:36:57 GMT -5
DS2 Talk: My run continues, if slowly, and has been going well. I'm still liking my rapier quite a lot, and I've found that that plus light armor and no shield makes for the most playable build. Let's see:
Bosses defeated: The Last Giant, The Pursuer (3 times), Dragonrider, Ornstein The Old Dragonslayer, Flexile Sentry
I really liked Heide's Tower of Flame. Just a gorgeous area with a great design, and I like that rather than having a bunch of enemies, it had relatively few but very powerful ones. Though I did die a bunch, mostly to falling, and since XP in this game is actually finite (though plentiful), I find death more frustrating than the other From games. No-Man's Wharf, on the other hand, should have been cool, but the enemies were boring. Lots and LOTS of weak soldier dudes that don't present much of a challenge. A creepy undead pirate village should deliver better than that. I did like ringing the bell to summon the pirate ship. That was cool.
I cleared out what I could of The Lost Bastille, but two of my paths are closed by statues, and I have no branches. Right now I'm in Sinner's Rise. I died to some mummies down in the watery area, with 16,000+ souls on the line. Needless to say. I'm sweatin'.
I've been invaded 3 times. I've died to invaders 3 times. I do not like this.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 9, 2016 7:25:43 GMT -5
DS2 Talk: My run continues, if slowly, and has been going well. I'm still liking my rapier quite a lot, and I've found that that plus light armor and no shield makes for the most playable build. Let's see: Bosses defeated: The Last Giant, The Pursuer (3 times), Dragonrider, Ornstein The Old Dragonslayer, Flexile Sentry I really liked Heide's Tower of Flame. Just a gorgeous area with a great design, and I like that rather than having a bunch of enemies, it had relatively few but very powerful ones. Though I did die a bunch, mostly to falling, and since XP in this game is actually finite (though plentiful), I find death more frustrating than the other From games. No-Man's Wharf, on the other hand, should have been cool, but the enemies were boring. Lots and LOTS of weak soldier dudes that don't present much of a challenge. A creepy undead pirate village should deliver better than that. I did like ringing the bell to summon the pirate ship. That was cool. I cleared out what I could of The Lost Bastille, but two of my paths are closed by statues, and I have no branches. Right now I'm in Sinner's Rise. I died to some mummies down in the watery area, with 16,000+ souls on the line. Needless to say. I'm sweatin'. I've been invaded 3 times. I've died to invaders 3 times. I do not like this. I'm playing 2 now, too (the Scholar of the First Sin remixed version on PC). I actually just beat Flexile Sentry myself, but I did not go after Ornstein Jr. on account of the GIANT FUCKING END-GAME DRAGON guarding his castle. HOLY SHIT. They are not playing around with SOFS. Also I'm kicking myself because I forgot to summon Lucatiel to help fight the Sentry and that's one of the easiest battles to get her to survive in order to complete her questline. The PC version makes the PS3 version look like an N64 game, which is pretty cool. What ISN'T pretty cool is how clunky this game feels mechanically after the fluidity of 3. To this day I still cannot decide if pumping ADP actually makes a difference, or if it's just that by the time I'm done pumping STR, DEX, & END to 20 each I've gotten used to the clunk, and the increased smoothness that appears to result from increasing ADP is actually just pure placebo effect. I cheesed the dragon with arrows. Took a good while. Part of me feels bad, but part of me feels like that's how these games are meant to be played.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 9, 2016 15:10:33 GMT -5
Quick update on the win/loss record:
I have been invaded 5 times. I have died to invaders four times, because FUCK that guy! Sent his greatsword-wielding ass packing!
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Post by LazBro on Jul 9, 2016 15:22:05 GMT -5
Another quick update (it won't be obvious from the time code but I'm posting this literally 6 minutes after the last update):
I have been invaded 6 times. I have died to invaders 5 times. That was a definite come down after winning the last invasion.
That's also two invasions in the space of about 10 minutes. Is the Lost Bastille just super popular for invasions or what? Kinda frustrated with this mechanic, if only because I've never had to deal with it before. DS1 was a ghost town and you can turn this shit off in DS3. I mean, it's cool that DS2 still has such an active community, but I feel a little bit like a whipping boy. I also feel like I'm being punished for my grindy tendencies. I've no doubt I'm a bit overleveled for the bastille, but these invaders are fucking decked to the nines, while I'm rocking a +5 rapier and starting armor.
Okay, so maybe that's my fault.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 9, 2016 15:26:42 GMT -5
I'm playing 2 now, too (the Scholar of the First Sin remixed version on PC). I actually just beat Flexile Sentry myself, but I did not go after Ornstein Jr. on account of the GIANT FUCKING END-GAME DRAGON guarding his castle. HOLY SHIT. They are not playing around with SOFS. Also I'm kicking myself because I forgot to summon Lucatiel to help fight the Sentry and that's one of the easiest battles to get her to survive in order to complete her questline. The PC version makes the PS3 version look like an N64 game, which is pretty cool. What ISN'T pretty cool is how clunky this game feels mechanically after the fluidity of 3. To this day I still cannot decide if pumping ADP actually makes a difference, or if it's just that by the time I'm done pumping STR, DEX, & END to 20 each I've gotten used to the clunk, and the increased smoothness that appears to result from increasing ADP is actually just pure placebo effect. Also: Yeah, I actually saw you hop on last night. (We're friends now, so I know everything that you do ). True story: not five minutes after you hopped on, I was invaded and brutally murdered. I'm not sure how names work in Dark Souls. If they're just the account names or what. Nor do I know how invasion works with friends lists or whatever. So for awhile, and maybe still a little, I thought that my invader was you. But, also true story: the suspect invader went by the name Forlorn. This is also the same invader from today who I bitch-slapped. So not only did I win. I got revenge. That was pretty fantastic.
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Post by Lone Locust of the Apocalypse on Jul 15, 2016 12:27:35 GMT -5
Day 4 of Nameless King kicking my ass. Last boss before NG+.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 16, 2016 8:41:44 GMT -5
Day 4 of Nameless King kicking my ass. Last boss before NG+. Yeah, he's a toughie. Though I think I'm unusual in that I tended to have more trouble with the King of the Storm in the first phase. I found the 2nd and 3rd phases not too bad with patience. He's still up there in terms of total difficulty. I'd put him behind only the Champion and maybe the Dancer.
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Post by LazBro on Jul 16, 2016 8:48:07 GMT -5
Also, @patrickbatman, what happened to your post history? Now long stretches of this thread are just me talking to myself.
Which okay, that was already true, but now it's even worse.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 16, 2016 21:43:08 GMT -5
Also, @patrickbatman , what happened to your post history? Now long stretches of this thread are just me talking to myself. Which okay, that was already true, but now it's even worse. Not much to report--I've been Sunbro-ing in the Profaned Capital, helping people kill Yhorm. I really like that fight. I'm sort of half-toying with scrapping my character and re-rolling a pyro; I've cocked up so many NPC quests! Sorry, I literally meant where are your posts? When I look at your post history, it's all missing, except for the last few. And several of your previous posts from this thread are no longer there. Just wondering if you knew what happened (or maybe something's just gone weird with what I'm seeing).
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 20, 2016 7:58:11 GMT -5
DS2 Post
I feel like Dark Souls 2 might actually be too long. Once I found a build I could work with, I started to enjoy the game a whole lot more, but now I feel myself pushing through areas just to be done with them. Drangleic Castle, Shrine of Amana, Undead Crypt, Aldia's Keep, Dragon Aerie, Dragon Shrine ... all these areas I completed as quickly as possible, knowing full well I was leaving secrets and items behind.
For example, last night I played through Aldia's Keep, Dragon Aerie and Dragon Shrine, including beating the Ancient Dragon, all in the space of about 45 minutes. I have no idea what or how much I missed. Then I spent another maybe 20 minutes on the memories (granted, those are time-limited anyway).
At this point I'm trying to decide whether to simply finish the game up or to head to the DLC first. I feel like I want to play the DLC before finishing the game, but I also feel like I need a break. Some of these final areas have been really neat, but I'm not showing them the love they deserve. (Except Dragon Aerie, because FUCK item degradation).
Another thought: bosses in this game just ain't that good. Compared to Dark Souls and especially compared to Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, where bosses really feel like events, bosses in Dark Souls 2 are slow, predictable and for the most part just easy as all get out. I've died maybe 5 times across ALL boss fights. "Knight" type bosses, meaning solitary humanoid bosses with weapons, are pushovers in particular. I like some of the designs - Demon of Song, The Duke's Dear Freja, The Rotten - but that's about it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 20, 2016 10:10:26 GMT -5
I disagree with nothing in this post. Dark Souls II bosses only have one advantage, and that is the fact that their hitboxes are utterly unrealistic. I would recommend doing the DLCs rather than pushing on through the end--the end of the game is extremely pro forma, whereas the DLC actually resembles the other games in terms of non-linearity and interesting design. I'll tackle the DLC first. I think I just need to take a break to give my love of this series time to refuel. This year I've played Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 3 (twice) and am now on Dark Souls 2. That's a lot of Souls.
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