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[Trogdor1123]

Perhaps I'll give it another go after I get through FF XII: TZA, thanks!

Free him and don't kick him off either. His part can be hard but it's also really fun. I tried like 20 times before I got it.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

If you don't kick him off, Firelink Shrine dies and you miss out on plus 10 estus refills. In short, don't listen to this guy. ^^^^

 

[Trogdor1123]

If you don't kick him off, Firelink Shrine dies and you miss out on plus 10 estus refills. In short, don't listen to this guy. ^^^^

Negative, you get that back and get to do a fun sub mission in anor londo

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Negative, you get that back and get to do a fun sub mission in anor londo

You get that back eventually, yes. For a first time play through, though, keeping Firelink Shrine open for business is the way to go. Plus you get the ring of Favour and Protection which again, is a big advantage.

 

[Trogdor1123]

You get that back eventually, yes. For a first time play through, though, keeping Firelink Shrine open for business is the way to go. Plus you get the ring of Favour and Protection which again, is a big advantage.

I don't disagree about the benefits but I would rather play that quest. It's incredibly fun! And frustrating! It also is very easy to miss him at firelink and come back and she is already dead.

Plus it doesn't take that long as you open another fire keeper 10+ fire at the beginning of anor londo so it's really no big deal.

That ring is awesome though I agree 100%

 

[Trogdor1123]

Well, I'm trying to get that darn moonlight sword from seath and it's not going well.

Got the dark Moon ring on and it's not helping. Is a summon helpful?

 

[peronmls]

I don't disagree about the benefits but I would rather play that quest. It's incredibly fun! And frustrating! It also is very easy to miss him at firelink and come back and she is already dead.

Plus it doesn't take that long as you open another fire keeper 10+ fire at the beginning of anor londo so it's really no big deal.

That ring is awesome though I agree 100%

I dont think it's recommended on the first play thru at least. It's still a pretty brutal scenario to go through even though cool stuff happens.

 

[Yumi]

Well, I'm trying to get that darn moonlight sword from seath and it's not going well.

Got the dark Moon ring on and it's not helping. Is a summon helpful?

The easiest way I know is to run behind him when you first get in. Stsnd by the crystal and wait for him to get close to you. When his attack animation starts, break the crystal then run around him to attack the tail. His reaction to the crystal breaking should give you enough time to run around him and break his tail.

How many hits it takes for the tail to break varies. I've always had a hard time. I think a fully upgraded greatsword is the easiest? Not sure.

 

[Trogdor1123]

The easiest way I know is to run behind him when you first get in. Stsnd by the crystal and wait for him to get close to you. When his attack animation starts, break the crystal then run around him to attack the tail. His reaction to the crystal breaking should give you enough time to run around him and break his tail.

How many hits it takes for the tail to break varies. I've always had a hard time. I think a fully upgraded greatsword is the easiest? Not sure.

I'll try that tonight. Haven't gotten back to it for a while.

 

[Yumi]

I'll try that tonight. Haven't gotten back to it for a while.

You got to be getting close to the end. How many lord souls do you have? Also, dis you ever get into the DLC?

 

[Trogdor1123]

You got to be getting close to the end. How many lord souls do you have? Also, dis you ever get into the DLC?

Just 4 kings so far. Need to get through the dead dude and seath still. Still haven't got into the dlc yet. Would love to do some more this weekend. Kids and parents have been sick though so I'm hoping I'll have some time now.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I was watching some videos on hidden content in demon souls this morning over breakfast... That would have been great wow

 

[Trogdor1123]

Got to lost izalyth last night. Very cool area. A wand dropped for me called a izalyth catalyst. It any good?

 

[Yumi]

Got to lost izalyth last night. Very cool area. A wand dropped for me called a izalyth catalyst. It any good?

Pretty sure its the same stat wise as the sorcerors catalyst which is the sorcerecs starting weapon. Mostly fashion I guess?

It seems most people dont like Lost Izalith as its been mostly confirmed that they had unfinished plans for the last areas of the game. I actually like it as well myself.

Cant wait to hear what you think about the boss fight

 

[Trogdor1123]

Pretty sure its the same stat wise as the sorcerors catalyst which is the sorcerecs starting weapon. Mostly fashion I guess?

It seems most people dont like Lost Izalith as its been mostly confirmed that they had unfinished plans for the last areas of the game. I actually like it as well myself.

Cant wait to hear what you think about the boss fight

Beat it on my third try, was pretty easy once I figured out what to do.

 

[sublimit]

So i was playing the game the other day (PS4 version) and something remarkable happened that i had never noticed before in the original:

Spoiler

I went back to the Undead Asylum to do a run and get the doll and as one Black Knight followed me i also triggered Oscar and the Black Knight killed Oscar as they were both chasing me and swinged at me! Was that a glitch or is it normal for a regular enemy to attack a hostile NPC?

 

[garballax]

So i was playing the game the other day (PS4 version) and something remarkable happened that i had never noticed before in the original:

Spoiler

I went back to the Undead Asylum to do a run and get the doll and as one Black Knight followed me i also triggered Oscar and the Black Knight killed Oscar as they were both chasing me and swinged at me! Was that a glitch or is it normal for a regular enemy to attack a hostile NPC?

stumbled across your comment and was curious myself (and wanted an excuse to learn the debug mode). I managed to replicate what you saw!

Spoiler

Oscar backstabbed and killed a hollow for me, managed to snag a recording of it too. the enemies in the area have standard type and team behavior (CHR_TYPE 5 and TEAM_TYPE 6) from what I can tell. so the ability to harm other enemies must be tied to Oscar. sadly I'm having some trouble finding the IDs of hollowed NPCs, I wanted to check Oscar in addition some other NPCs like the Crestfallen Warrior and Logan. maybe other hollowed NPCs behave the same way? I'm using this list, but I don't see Oscar's ID when I load up the info for area m18_01_00_00.msb (Undead Asylum). No luck on Crestfallen either.

I'll try to keep digging. will likely need input on someone who's experienced in debug mode tho to truly get to the bottom of this.

 

[garballax]

stumbled across your comment and was curious myself (and wanted an excuse to learn the debug mode). I managed to replicate what you saw!

Spoiler

Oscar backstabbed and killed a hollow for me, managed to snag a recording of it too. the enemies in the area have standard type and team behavior (CHR_TYPE 5 and TEAM_TYPE 6) from what I can tell. so the ability to harm other enemies must be tied to Oscar. sadly I'm having some trouble finding the IDs of hollowed NPCs, I wanted to check Oscar in addition some other NPCs like the Crestfallen Warrior and Logan. maybe other hollowed NPCs behave the same way? I'm using this list, but I don't see Oscar's ID when I load up the info for area m18_01_00_00.msb (Undead Asylum). No luck on Crestfallen either.

I'll try to keep digging. will likely need input on someone who's experienced in debug mode tho to truly get to the bottom of this.

I've returned with some answers. I'm still new to this so hopefully I'm understanding this correctly. TEAM_TYPE is a variable attached to some objects like NPCs and enemies that determines what they can and cannot harm (and maybe more, who knows). explaining requires some minor spoilers.

Spoiler

for example, we'll look at the Crestfallen Warrior. when he's sitting in Firelink at the start of your adventure, he's on team 8. in this state, even if you take control over him and have him attack the player (team 4) or another NPC, no damage is dealt to the player. you can still have him perform a backstab on the player, but there is no reduction in HP. notably in this state, he is able to harm enemies and bosses; which are on teams 6 and 7 respectively.

when you aggro him (or encounter him hollowed in New Londo), his team changes to 9 where he can damage you and regular enemies (+bosses). this is the state sublimit saw Oscar in. I've seen similar results across Petrus, Oscar, the Crestfallen and when modifying the player character's team (that's how I found out teams 8 and 9 can harm bosses).

I don't think there's any significance as to why they're able to harm enemies in that Team state other than being a piece of trivia. technically NPCs are always able to harm bosses and enemies. but can't always hurt the player.

(PS shoutouts to the debug thread, Dark Souls Debug wikidot site, and TCRF!)

 

[sublimit]

I've returned with some answers. I'm still new to this so hopefully I'm understanding this correctly. TEAM_TYPE is a variable attached to some objects like NPCs and enemies that determines what they can and cannot harm (and maybe more, who knows). explaining requires some minor spoilers.

Spoiler

for example, we'll look at the Crestfallen Warrior. when he's sitting in Firelink at the start of your adventure, he's on team 8. in this state, even if you take control over him and have him attack the player (team 4) or another NPC, no damage is dealt to the player. you can still have him perform a backstab on the player, but there is no reduction in HP. notably in this state, he is able to harm enemies and bosses; which are on teams 6 and 7 respectively.

when you aggro him (or encounter him hollowed in New Londo), his team changes to 9 where he can damage you and regular enemies (+bosses). this is the state sublimit saw Oscar in. I've seen similar results across Petrus, Oscar, the Crestfallen and when modifying the player character's team (that's how I found out teams 8 and 9 can harm bosses).

I don't think there's any significance as to why they're able to harm enemies in that Team state other than being a piece of trivia. technically NPCs are always able to harm bosses and enemies. but can't always hurt the player.

(PS shoutouts to the debug thread, Dark Souls Debug wikidot site, and TCRF!)

Fascinating stuff! I really had no idea this was a thing (regular enemies being able to attack and kill hostile NPCs) when i played the original version on PS3 and i played that version countless times. It's incredible that i'm still discovering major things like that in the game.

 

[Chuck Berry]

I didn't want to make a new thread for this, but fuck dude the Bartholomew trailer for this game is still one of my favs of all time. The lyrics match the player experience, and the overall editing work to make the beat match the imagery is just masterful to me. Plus it's just a kickass fucking song.

2011. Back when we got some seriously hype trailers with music to energize, instead of these female sung, sad bastard slow covers of rockers we get nowadays.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Over the Christmas break I finally got back into dark souls 2 as I never beat it before. It’s actually fantastic. There are so many zones. It has to be the biggest dark souls game, right? I’m just about done the game though. I ran a hex build and it’s going well I think.

I also find it is the dark souls where it is easiest to miss things which is frustrating. The level design is a bit different too with less use of majula as a central hub.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of things in it. Any recommendations for a hex build? I’m running a dark infused staff (forget the name but it has a moving top) with a dark infused spear I got from a guardian. Using the Hexer armour. I’m almost at the last bosses (other than the dlc).

 

[NeverYouMind]

Over the Christmas break I finally got back into dark souls 2 as I never beat it before. It’s actually fantastic. There are so many zones. It has to be the biggest dark souls game, right? I’m just about done the game though. I ran a hex build and it’s going well I think.

I also find it is the dark souls where it is easiest to miss things which is frustrating. The level design is a bit different too with less use of majula as a central hub.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of things in it. Any recommendations for a hex build? I’m running a dark infused staff (forget the name but it has a moving top) with a dark infused spear I got from a guardian. Using the Hexer armour. I’m almost at the last bosses (other than the dlc).

For the max damage hex build keep some souls on you and use chime-based hexes.

SPL: Great Resonant Soul (Felkin the Outcast [Huntsman's Copse] shop, Pilgrims of the Dark Rank 2 Reward) is a boss killer. Dark Storm (Darkdiver Grandahl shop, Magerold of Lanafir [Iron Keep] shop) can destroy crowds. Resonant Soul (Felkin the Outcast shop, Pilgrims of the Dark Rank 1 Reward) for general use.

WPN: Dark-infused Caitha's Chime in Drangleic Castle or Dark-infused Chime of Want exchanged for final boss soul. Alternatively Dark-infused Witchtree Branch behind door inside hole of Majula. It requires you to slay a golem below in Black Gulch.

WPN2: Dark-infused Crypt Blacksword (Ultra Greatsword) exchanged for NG+/Bonfire Ascetic soul of The Rotten in Black Gulch or Dark-infused Blue Knight's Halberd (Halberd) dropped by Blue Sentinel Targray in Cathedral of Blue. Alternatively, Dark-Infused Black Dragon Sword (Straight Sword) dropped by Black Dragon Knights in Dragon Shrine.

RNG: Dark Clutch Ring in Frozen Eleum Loyce (requires beating Aava, The King's Pet and speaking to Alsanna) on corpse next to tree after dropping off tower with three chests. Abyss Seal is a covenant ring for Pilgrims of the Dark.

P.S. Unleash Magic [58 INT] is useful for maximizing damage but requires a questline in a hollow state with Royal Sorcerer Navlaan in Aldia's Keep (pulling lever to release him ends it). Red Tearstone Ring does nothing for magic in SotfS.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Been playing the mod Daughters of Ash for Dark Souls this week. I liked Seeker of Fire for Dark Souls 2 so I figured I'd do a run with DoA to see if it's just as good.

I have mixed feelings about it. It does some stuff better than the original, with some tweaking and adjustments to make it play better, but some other stuff is kinda annoying. I don't know, I get that it's a mod for veterans and the whole idea is to mix it up and make it fresh again, and in that sense, it's doing its job. But the handling of the way you progress doesn't feel good. You travel through Lordran in a sort of backwards way, and due to how the map is layed out it feels off. It doesn't feel as natural as in the original, where you slowly got pushed in the right direction. Here it's more artificial, and confusing. Like Sens Fortress is already open for exploration and the Bells of Awakening doesn't have the significance it previously did. Maybe it shines on second playthroughs but right now, I'm not feeling it.

Bosses have been moved around and altered, and I don't usually have an issue with it, I mean it's a mod, but DS is so iconic that when you anticipate something being there and it's not, I just get a slight feeling of disappointment, especially when the new boss is just some random enemy that belonged in the base game. Items and weapons are mixed around, Souls now gives certain attributes instead of, you know, souls, and some scripted events have been shuffled around.

Daughters of Ash does have some cool moments though. Like how you enter Anor Londo. I wasn't prepared for that and I'd say it's better than in the original. Very creative idea. I guess you can do it the way it was intended, I haven't figured that out yet, but this was an alternative path and it kinda blew my mind to be honest.

All in all, it's a mixed bag. But it is fun just because I have played the original so many times, so a remixed version like this definitely justifies another playthrough. The programmer has done a massive amount of work and really thought things through with new lore, weapons, upgrade systems, progression and story, and that should be praised. How it plays out is just a matter of taste but gotta give cred where it's due.

 

[killatopak]

I've recently tried Dark Souls. I'm playing on PC. I'm actually at the very beginning and just finished off the first boss. Any tips for beginners in Dark Souls?

I've played Demon's Souls (2009) and Elden Ring. What I've generally felt in Dark Souls based on the limited time I've played is that it's actually even more stiff and deliberate than Elden Ring. Maybe I'm just rusty but I didn't feel this way when I played Elden Ring back in 2023. The controls are more finicky. Like the kick and jump attack is hard to pull off consistently. Camera seems closer. Character seems generally slower(I'm playing the warrior class if it matters). Stats also seem to matter more? Like an increase in stat is more effective compared to Elden Ring which seems to compensate with how easier it is to get levels.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I've recently tried Dark Souls. I'm playing on PC. I'm actually at the very beginning and just finished off the first boss. Any tips for beginners in Dark Souls?

I've played Demon's Souls (2009) and Elden Ring. What I've generally felt in Dark Souls based on the limited time I've played is that it's actually even more stiff and deliberate than Elden Ring. Maybe I'm just rusty but I didn't feel this way when I played Elden Ring back in 2023. The controls are more finicky. Like the kick and jump attack is hard to pull off consistently. Camera seems closer. Character seems generally slower(I'm playing the warrior class if it matters). Stats also seem to matter more? Like an increase in stat is more effective compared to Elden Ring which seems to compensate with how easier it is to get levels.

What specs are you going to lean into? I will also remind you that bows are actually much more viable in dark souls

 

[killatopak]

What specs are you going to lean into? I will also remind you that bows are actually much more viable in dark souls

I forgot what the stat are called but generally strength/endurance build.

Endurance so I can wear heavier gear without fat rolling and str for huge sword. Honestly I feel there's an emphasis for shields in this game so I'm holding off on levelling so I can check stat requirements if there are any for shield. I didn't use any shields in my Elden Ring playthrough. I used curved greatswords.

 

[Trogdor1123]

As I recall, and enchanted falchion is a fantastic early weapon. Needs some dex though as I think it scales there?

 

[killatopak]

As I recall, and enchanted falchion is a fantastic early weapon. Needs some dex though as I think it scales there?

I'll check it out once I get it. Yeah I'll put some dex in as well if there are curved greatswords in DS.

I think I just put the bare minimum str/dex in my Elden Ring playthroughs. I put more into endurance and vitality. I think in my head I thought I don't need to do much damage. I just need to survive and hit them a lot. Bleed will do the work.

Speaking of, is there a bleed build here?

 

[grvg]

I'll check it out once I get it. Yeah I'll put some dex in as well if there are curved greatswords in DS.

I think I just put the bare minimum str/dex in my Elden Ring playthroughs. I put more into endurance and vitality. I think in my head I thought I don't need to do much damage. I just need to survive and hit them a lot. Bleed will do the work.

Speaking of, is there a bleed build here?

There are a few. Great scythe is bleed, though it is primarily a dec weapon. I think it may have the highest DPS in game? It's generally my go to.

I really should try daughters of ash. Has anyone tried nightfall? Is it even out yet?

 

[Soodanim]

I've recently tried Dark Souls. I'm playing on PC. I'm actually at the very beginning and just finished off the first boss. Any tips for beginners in Dark Souls?

I've played Demon's Souls (2009) and Elden Ring. What I've generally felt in Dark Souls based on the limited time I've played is that it's actually even more stiff and deliberate than Elden Ring. Maybe I'm just rusty but I didn't feel this way when I played Elden Ring back in 2023. The controls are more finicky. Like the kick and jump attack is hard to pull off consistently. Camera seems closer. Character seems generally slower(I'm playing the warrior class if it matters). Stats also seem to matter more? Like an increase in stat is more effective compared to Elden Ring which seems to compensate with how easier it is to get levels.

I would say that in general weapon stats make much more of a difference than scaling and levels. HP is never a bad shout.

One thing to make note of is that most armour can be upgraded in DS1.

But also to note is that upgrade paths are more convoluted. Elden Ring is the product of generations of iterations on the same concept, simplifying it down in the name of convenience and accessibility. Those things didn't exist here. Brief overview of how upgrades work: you get to +5, then depending on embers found you can ascend down certain paths. Whereas in ER you just change the affinity, that only happens at select stages here. Sometimes you don't know what can ascend or how until it's ready, which can basically necessitate wiki lookups. It makes certain loot much more desirable.

As a general piece of gameplay advice, I became much better at DS1 when I stopped locking on so much. Lock on is a crutch that limits you to 4 way rolling, and that will largely hold you back.

Other random general bits to note: things like arrows have limits of 999. There are things in later games that are direct responses to what was deemed OP in DS1. Pyromancy. Just going to leave you that one word. If you see a boss tail, that's now your target. A beautiful and missed mechanic.

With regards to character movement, weight classes were completely different in 1. <25% equip load is light roll, <50% is mid roll. I generally prefer light equip load for all sorts of reasons. Luckily there's an item that helps achieve that. You'll know the one when you find it. But also, poise is very good. So good that they nerfed it going forward.

In general I find DS1 the most deliberate and well balanced of the genre, with them finding their feet after DeS but not having decided to go much faster. You generally don't find that you're smacked in the face our of nowhere in fights without much of a chance to react, and they hadn't so much gone down the path of roll baiting yet. Roll baiting enemy attacks, as with many other things, is a direct response to games like DS1. I hope its design clicks with you. I have no idea what it's like going backwards from ER to DS1 for the first time, as I started with DeS.

I hope you enjoyed this scattershot of thoughts on DS1. Not that I'm a big fan. I'll be following your progress, I like seeing new people experience the best map design in the genre for the first time.

 

[killatopak]

I would say that in general weapon stats make much more of a difference than scaling and levels. HP is never a bad shout.

One thing to make note of is that most armour can be upgraded in DS1.

But also to note is that upgrade paths are more convoluted. Elden Ring is the product of generations of iterations on the same concept, simplifying it down in the name of convenience and accessibility. Those things didn't exist here. Brief overview of how upgrades work: you get to +5, then depending on embers found you can ascend down certain paths. Whereas in ER you just change the affinity, that only happens at select stages here. Sometimes you don't know what can ascend or how until it's ready, which can basically necessitate wiki lookups.[/spoiler] It makes certain loot much more desirable.

As a general piece of gameplay advice, I became much better at DS1 when I stopped locking on so much. Lock on is a crutch that limits you to 4 way rolling, and that will largely hold you back.

Other random general bits to note: things like arrows have limits of 999. There are things in later games that are direct responses to what was deemed OP in DS1. Pyromancy. Just going to leave you that one word. If you see a boss tail, that's now your target. A beautiful and missed mechanic.

With regards to character movement, weight classes were completely different in 1. <25% equip load is light roll, <50% is mid roll. I generally prefer light equip load for all sorts of reasons. Luckily there's an item that helps achieve that. You'll know the one when you find it. But also, poise is very good. So good that they nerfed it going forward.

In general I find DS1 the most deliberate and well balanced of the genre, with them finding their feet after DeS but not having decided to go much faster. You generally don't find that you're smacked in the face our of nowhere in fights without much of a chance to react, and they hadn't so much gone down the path of roll baiting yet. Roll baiting enemy attacks, as with many other things, is a direct response to games like DS1. I hope its design clicks with you. I have no idea what it's like going backwards from ER to DS1 for the first time, as I started with DeS.

I hope you enjoyed this scattershot of thoughts on DS1. Not that I'm a big fan. I'll be following your progress, I like seeing new people experience the best map design in the genre for the first time.

Thank you! I hope you’re ready to wait a while cause I juggle multiple games as well as some online ones so progress might seem slow.

So far my issues seem to be strictly around tight spaces and going to places I shouldn’t be in. Hitting my weapon on a wall instead of an enemy seems to happen often. I mean I get it, ER is very open compared to DS. I picked the master key as a starting item and got chased around by a beefy guy down some spiral staircase. I noped out the moment I saw my damage and he didn’t flinch.

I also met the boss around a bridge like structure. I thought I could poke him out when I found some stairs to a roof. Guy jumped and fucked me up. I dunno if I just messed up my parry timing but got comboed by this knight when I went the alternate route and went down a staircase instead of up.

So far, I’m still getting used to the groove of things and there are growing pains but having fun nonetheless.

 

[Soodanim]

Thank you! I hope you’re ready to wait a while cause I juggle multiple games as well as some online ones so progress might seem slow.

So far my issues seem to be strictly around tight spaces and going to places I shouldn’t be in. Hitting my weapon on a wall instead of an enemy seems to happen often. I mean I get it, ER is very open compared to DS. I picked the master key as a starting item and got chased around by a beefy guy down some spiral staircase. I noped out the moment I saw my damage and he didn’t flinch.

I also met the boss around a bridge like structure. I thought I could poke him out when I found some stairs to a roof. Guy jumped and fucked me up. I dunno if I just messed up my parry timing but got comboed by this knight when I went the alternate route and went down a staircase instead of up.

So far, I’m still getting used to the groove of things and there are growing pains but having fun nonetheless.

I'm a patient man! (I'm still waiting for Topher to try RE7)

DS1 is definitely a game where the moveset counts, I completely agree. The difference between a Straight Sword with a thrust R2 and a Broadsword that doesn't can make a big difference. You might find it's worth getting a 2nd weapon just to cover those situations.

The Master Key is an experienced player's best friend, but could possibly be dangerous (as you found out). It gives you early shortcuts to what are otherwise some "Locked from the other side" doors. You can always come back to the beefy guy, imagine how hard he hits with that weapon!

I don't know how you approached the tutorial, but don't forget about plunge attacks (R1 while in the air). I never thought to do it again on my first playthrough but they can be useful when if the opportunity presents itself.

Parrying is a bit more slow and deliberate - again, coming from ER it will take some adjusting but I feel like you can be more relaxed than in later games and wait until the attack near enough connects. Maybe it's just what I'm most used to so I'm comfortable with it, but I'm much better at parrying in 1 than even DS3 let alone ER.

Similar to what I said about locking on, I found that DS1 clicked for me more when I relaxed more. I find it's less about making every iframe count and more about calmly waiting for your moment. As you said, shields are definitely viable here so feel free to use them to full effect.

 

[killatopak]

I think I'm gonna restart. Fuck me.

I accidentally attacked this undead dude that had an Uchigatana. I don't know his name but he kept shouting lousy rat. Only name I got from him was little Yuliana.

 

[grvg]

Ah, I love that beefy guy. The first dark souls playthrough is a magical thing...

It's possibly my fondest vidya related experience of my adult life.