Dark Souls

Retr0gamer

Penn wrote: »

I do kinda agree about the gimmick bosses in DeS, especially when it comes to the archdemons in each area. But a big issue I had with Bloodborne was too much similarity in most of the bosses, where they were all just large monsters who you attack from the side/rear, dodge in and dodge out. It works for the game mechanics in terms of the rally system where you're supposed to remain aggressive as much as possible, but most of the bosses just felt repetitive because of that.

I loved the bosses in Bloodborne but my issue was that after Vicar Amelia the game was a cake walk in terms of bosses. The DLC however was fantastic. You've a valid criticism as well. I do however feel Bloodborne feels a lot more coherent and finished than DeS.

Not to **** on DS3 after bigging it up so much but it can have the same issue as well where a lot of bosses are trying to be another Ornstein and Smough and a lot rely on a very annoying attack where the wind up, delay the attack and then hit you coming out of the roll too early. Way too many bosses do it!

Riddle101

Have been playing Dark Souls 1 the last week and I actually think it's the best game of the series. I love DS3 for its gameplay and as a personal preference but DS1 just feels more challenging.

Sen's Fortress can be an absolute nightmare for low-level players. Those traps along with the snake warriors who throw lightning bolts are annoying as f*ck. The rolling boulders can be very annoying as they seem to change regardless of whether you have changed to gear to face the outside window in the gear room.

The tomb of giants can be very tricky on your first playthrough as you're basically walking around in the dark without a light trying desperately not to fall off a ledge or get killed by one of those giant skeletons. As you go further into the tomb the giant skeletons get worse and are beast-like. I discovered that fire was very effective against them so I keep my distance and just throw fireballs at them but they are very strong and you can barely block their attacks.

Blighttown is the worst area of them all. Very awkward and tricky to move around, if you come in through the sewers you'll have a very challenging time getting to the second bell.

The only thing I would say about Dark Souls is that the bosses can be very easy if you've summoned an ally to help you or you know what you're doing. The Iron Golem is a piece of cake if you summon Black Iron Tarkus, Solaire of Astora is very OP and is basically a freak of nature, and Witch Beatrice can be very useful when fighting the Moonlight Butterfly and the Four Kings.

I think Ornstein and Smough would probably be the hardest bosses in the DS, followed by the demon bosses in Izilith.

TitianGerm

Riddle101 wrote: »

Have been playing Dark Souls 1 the last week and I actually think it's the best game of the series. I love DS3 for its gameplay and as a personal preference but DS1 just feels more challenging.

Sen's Fortress can be an absolute nightmare for low-level players. Those traps along with the snake warriors who throw lightning bolts are annoying as f*ck. The rolling boulders can be very annoying as they seem to change regardless of whether you have changed to gear to face the outside window in the gear room.

The tomb of giants can be very tricky on your first playthrough as you're basically walking around in the dark without a light trying desperately not to fall off a ledge or get killed by one of those giant skeletons. As you go further into the tomb the giant skeletons get worse and are beast-like. I discovered that fire was very effective against them so I keep my distance and just throw fireballs at them but they are very strong and you can barely block their attacks.

Blighttown is the worst area of them all. Very awkward and tricky to move around, if you come in through the sewers you'll have a very challenging time getting to the second bell.

The only thing I would say about Dark Souls is that the bosses can be very easy if you've summoned an ally to help you or you know what you're doing. The Iron Golem is a piece of cake if you summon Black Iron Tarkus, Solaire of Astora is very OP and is basically a freak of nature, and Witch Beatrice can be very useful when fighting the Moonlight Butterfly and the Four Kings.

I think Ornstein and Smough would probably be the hardest bosses in the DS, followed by the demon bosses in Izilith.

There's nothing in some of the fights.

Moonlight Butterfly for example - keep moving with a good magic shield up and he'll eventually land. Give him a few whacks. Reset and repeat once more and he's dead.

Iron Golem is easy. Just run behind him and swipe away at his ankles.

Icaras

Riddle101 wrote: »

The only thing I would say about Dark Souls is that the bosses can be very easy if you've summoned an ally to help you or you know what you're doing. The Iron Golem is a piece of cake if you summon Black Iron Tarkus, Solaire of Astora is very OP and is basically a freak of nature

I always thought this was sort of the point - these great warriors cannot defeat Gwyn but you can, you're fighting against the odds. Also Tarkus could hammer the Iron Golem but couldnt do something as "simple" as traverse the beams in Anor Londo - theres a lesson there somewhere.

Riddle101

What exactly is the point of Crystal weapons in Dark Souls? It says that they're brittle and can't be repaired. I've no use for a weapon that breaks easily as I like to get the use of the weapons. I suppose it would probably be best for a crossbow or a weapon that doesn't require physical contact, but is there any advantage to using them over other upgrades?

TitianGerm

Riddle101 wrote: »

What exactly is the point of Crystal weapons in Dark Souls? It says that they're brittle and can't be repaired. I've no use for a weapon that breaks easily as I like to get the use of the weapons. I suppose it would probably be best for a crossbow or a weapon that doesn't require physical contact, but is there any advantage to using them over other upgrades?

They do more damage at their base level than normal weapons do. Nearly sure you need to to get normal weapons up to +10 or more to match the damage on a crystal weapon.

You can repair them but the only way to do it is to upgrade the crystal weapon.

Markitron

I redownloaded DS3 and bought the 2 DLC’s. Haven’t played the game since 2016 and I’m completely confused about what to do. I have finished the game but haven’t started NG+. Wondering if I should play it now before going into the new game or if I should wait and play through the game a bit first to get back into the swing.

ArthurG

Riddle101 wrote: »

Have been playing Dark Souls 1 the last week and I actually think it's the best game of the series. I love DS3 for its gameplay and as a personal preference but DS1 just feels more challenging.

Sen's Fortress can be an absolute nightmare for low-level players. Those traps along with the snake warriors who throw lightning bolts are annoying as f*ck. The rolling boulders can be very annoying as they seem to change regardless of whether you have changed to gear to face the outside window in the gear room.

The tomb of giants can be very tricky on your first playthrough as you're basically walking around in the dark without a light trying desperately not to fall off a ledge or get killed by one of those giant skeletons. As you go further into the tomb the giant skeletons get worse and are beast-like. I discovered that fire was very effective against them so I keep my distance and just throw fireballs at them but they are very strong and you can barely block their attacks.

Blighttown is the worst area of them all. Very awkward and tricky to move around, if you come in through the sewers you'll have a very challenging time getting to the second bell.

The only thing I would say about Dark Souls is that the bosses can be very easy if you've summoned an ally to help you or you know what you're doing. The Iron Golem is a piece of cake if you summon Black Iron Tarkus, Solaire of Astora is very OP and is basically a freak of nature, and Witch Beatrice can be very useful when fighting the Moonlight Butterfly and the Four Kings.

I think Ornstein and Smough would probably be the hardest bosses in the DS, followed by the demon bosses in Izilith.

This made me want to play it again lol. Currently downloading on PS5.

Taltos

Markitron wrote: »

I redownloaded DS3 and bought the 2 DLC’s. Haven’t played the game since 2016 and I’m completely confused about what to do. I have finished the game but haven’t started NG+. Wondering if I should play it now before going into the new game or if I should wait and play through the game a bit first to get back into the swing.

Similar - just downloaded it again, remembering bits but also fully lost in it. Playing as a pure build sorcerer - might be a mistake, dying way easier than I ever remember before.

Penn

Started DS3. Have made it to Firelit Shrine pretty easily. Only died once to the bog-standard enemies just because one came at me from behind, but managed to take down the first boss and the katanga guy to the side of the Shrine without dying, making this my most successful start to a SoulsBorne game thus far.

Main question is are there of those 'very important game mechanic which isn't really explained until it's too late to do anything about it' in the game? Like the world tendency or dragonrot kind of stuff? After I beat the boss it said Ember Rekindled, am I supposed to kill myself like the soul stuff in Demons Souls?

Retr0gamer

Penn wrote: »

Started DS3. Have made it to Firelit Shrine pretty easily. Only died once to the bog-standard enemies just because one came at me from behind, but managed to take down the first boss and the katanga guy to the side of the Shrine without dying, making this my most successful start to a SoulsBorne game thus far.

Main question is are there of those 'very important game mechanic which isn't really explained until it's too late to do anything about it' in the game? Like the world tendency or dragonrot kind of stuff? After I beat the boss it said Ember Rekindled, am I supposed to kill myself like the soul stuff in Demons Souls?

Pretty standard souls stuff really. No real crazy mechanics in it.

Sorcery sucks in this one, that's the only mechanic that caught me!

Riddle101

What are people's opinions on the endings in Dark Souls? I usually associate Linking the Fire as the good ending and the Dark Lord ending as the bad ending, but there's an argument that it's actually the reverse. That the dark ending is actually the good ending.

I just assume linking the fire is a good ending because the Dark Ending seems to be linked to Manus, and I consider Manus a villain in the game.

Funny thing is, in DS3 I associate Linking the Fire as the good ending, The End of Fire as the bad ending, and the Usurpation of Fire ending as the neutral ending.

Markitron

Played through almost all of the Ariendel DLC last night. Killed the first boss on my first try but the second one is wrecking me. 3 bloody phases!

Penn wrote: »

Started DS3. Have made it to Firelit Shrine pretty easily. Only died once to the bog-standard enemies just because one came at me from behind, but managed to take down the first boss and the katanga guy to the side of the Shrine without dying, making this my most successful start to a SoulsBorne game thus far.

Main question is are there of those 'very important game mechanic which isn't really explained until it's too late to do anything about it' in the game? Like the world tendency or dragonrot kind of stuff? After I beat the boss it said Ember Rekindled, am I supposed to kill myself like the soul stuff in Demons Souls?

There is a hollowing mechanic in it which might look light it is important but it really only affects the luck and cosmetics of your character.

Retr0gamer

Riddle101 wrote: »

What are people's opinions on the endings in Dark Souls? I usually associate Linking the Fire as the good ending and the Dark Lord ending as the bad ending, but there's an argument that it's actually the reverse. That the dark ending is actually the good ending.

I just assume linking the fire is a good ending because the Dark Ending seems to be linked to Manus, and I consider Manus a villain in the game.

Funny thing is, in DS3 I associate Linking the Fire as the good ending, The End of Fire as the bad ending, and the Usurpation of Fire ending as the neutral ending.

They're both kind of crappy. Linking the Fire is you being a patsy as you are being lied to and carrying out the will of your manipulators. You are never told what it really means and have to really research it yourself. Linking the Fire just resets the cycle to begin again but ****tier.

Dark Lord is breaking that cycle and giving humanity their own path forward without being pawns of the gods.... but you have to take that with allowing the Abyss to take over.

Penn

I'm normally wary of spoilers, but given my previous experience of Souls games I'd say even if I played the story three times and got all the different endings, I still wouldn't know what was happening until watching a Vaati video on it, and even then I'd only loosely understand it. So have at it.

Markitron

Penn wrote: »

I'm normally wary of spoilers, but given my previous experience of Souls games I'd say even if I played the story three times and got all the different endings, I still wouldn't know what was happening until watching a Vaati video on it, and even then I'd only loosely understand it. So have at it.

That's how everyone is with Souls games except for Vaati

Penn

Haven't gotten to play a lot, but got through the High Wall area and the boss last night. I'm going with a Claymore Strength build, but two-handing the sword. Missing using the shield but two-handing the sword just does so much damage.

derfderf

For anyone that hasn't played Des PS5, or bloodborne, I'd definitely advise going with Bloodborne first. I think it's a better game, but after playing DeS it's like sandpaper on your eyes.
I tried to have another run through and just couldn't take the performance.

Retr0gamer

I couldn't stand the performance at launch coming from PC. 30 fps with bad frame pacing. I actually bounced off it and played DS2 Scholar of the first Sin instead and then went back to it later.

Markitron

Of all 5 games in the series (6 if you count Sekiro), it is the only one resigned to 30 FPS. The rest of them even run at 60 FPS on consoles ffs. Such a travesty that (IMO) the best one is being completely shafted.

TitianGerm

Markitron wrote: »

Of all 5 games in the series (6 if you count Sekiro), it is the only one resigned to 30 FPS. The rest of them even run at 60 FPS on consoles ffs. Such a travesty that (IMO) the best one is being completely shafted.

DS3 is 30 on Xbox. Sekiro also had a few issues with FPS on PS4 and One.

Retr0gamer

TitianGerm wrote: »

DS3 is 30 on Xbox. Sekiro also had a few issues with FPS on PS4 and One.

Pfft. Console peasantry.

TitianGerm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pfft. Console peasantry.

Runs well on my 3070.

Pfft you with your older GPU :P

Markitron

TitianGerm wrote: »

DS3 is 30 on Xbox. Sekiro also had a few issues with FPS on PS4 and One.

DS3 is 60 FPS on PS5, as is Sekiro.

Retr0gamer

TitianGerm wrote: »

Runs well on my 3070.

Pfft you with your older GPU :P

Touche

Doctor Jimbob

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pfft. Console peasantry.

Console cons: 30fps

Console pros: Bloodborne

Markitron

So Sony are fine with funding a remake for TLOU1, a game released less than 2 years before Bloodborne and which already received a remaster for PS4 and then a further 4K/60 FPS update for PS4 Pro, but no update of any kind for Bloodborne. Utterly bizarre.

Penn

Markitron wrote: »

DS3 is 60 FPS on PS5, as is Sekiro.

I was worried about going from Demons Souls to DS3 on PS5, but while DS3 definitely doesn't have the shine or polish that DeS has, it runs silky smooth.

Markitron

Penn wrote: »

I was worried about going from Demons Souls to DS3 on PS5, but while DS3 definitely doesn't have the shine or polish that DeS has, it runs silky smooth.

Yea its nice alright. I think it holds up graphically too.

Penn

God there are few things that excite me more in gaming since I started playing Soulsborne games than opening a door or finding a lift or ladder and realising you've just unlocked a shortcut.