A Dark Souls Diary - Day Three

[OniaPL]

The forest is optional for you, and at the end is an optional boss that guards a special item.

You can either do that and then go for Blighttown, or head straight for Blighttown.

After you clear Blighttown and ring the second bell, a new area opens.

You shouldn't access the catacombs yet.

Anyways, this has been a very enjoyable read for me, so thank you for that. I hope that if you don't continue writing this one you'll at least try it again with a different game.

I tend to be pretty completionist about games, so I'll keep digging in the forest if I'm not underleveled for it. Although I rather expect I'm technically "underleveled" for the entire bloody game.

And cheers for that. Glad you enjoyed the read.

The levels don't matter that much. I reckon I was around your level when I tackled the forest. As far as I know some people complete the game without leveling and staying around level 16 or something.

I don't think that this classifies as a spoiler, here's just a tip regarding the optional boss (in order to save you from reaching him, and dying for nothing).
Put it in spoiler tags anyways.

Spoiler

Bring a ranged weapon. Either lots of magic or a missile weapon. It should make your life a bit easier.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I know from reputation to avoid Blighttown though.

If you have the Master key there's actually a shortcut to Blighttown through the Valley of the Drakes, which in turn can be accessed via the New Londo Ruins. One which will make your stay in Blighttown all the shorter.

Also, use Fire Keeper souls to increase you flask's potency. Talk to certain characters near bonfires and trade in the soul when asked. They are rare though, you can even kill certain NPC's to get them.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Also, use Fire Keeper souls to increase you flask's potency. Talk to certain characters near bonfires and trade in the soul when asked. They are rare though, you can even kill certain NPC's to get them.

I just...I just clicked on my soul. And it said do you want to use it, and I said "yes".

Did I waste it?

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also, use Fire Keeper souls to increase you flask's potency. Talk to certain characters near bonfires and trade in the soul when asked. They are rare though, you can even kill certain NPC's to get them.

I just...I just clicked on my soul. And it said do you want to use it, and I said "yes".

Did I waste it?

I... I think so. I don't think I ever used it on myself before, so I don't exactly know what it does. You'll find some more throughout the game though, don't worry too much about that.

Also, those souls you get from Boss demons? The ones that are in your inventory by name? You can use them to craft special weapons. Upgrade an appropriate weapon to +10, and then go to Modify Equipment at the blacksmith.

And you know that giant crow at Firelink Shrine? His name is Snuggly and you can trade shit with him. But that's a whole other story.

 

[Casual Shinji]

And you know that giant crow at Firelink Shrine? His name is Snuggly and you can trade shit with him. But that's a whole other story.

Err... snuggly's actually an egg, and he'd be better off if you gave him a hint on how to return to the Asylum instead.

I always thought the crow's name was Snuggly. That's atleast what pops up when I type it into Google.

 

[Casual Shinji]

And you know that giant crow at Firelink Shrine? His name is Snuggly and you can trade shit with him. But that's a whole other story.

Err... snuggly's actually an egg, and he'd be better off if you gave him a hint on how to return to the Asylum instead.

I always thought the crow's name was Snuggly. That's atleast what pops up when I type it into Google.

The crow's name is not actually known. Some people think it's Velka, the goddess of sin, but that's just speculation based on Velka's half-crow worshippers.

...Ooooooooh.

I never delved that deep into Dark Souls lore. Except when I came to Ash Lake. I just had to know what that magnificent fucking place was.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I never delved that deep into Dark Souls lore. Except when I came to Ash Lake. I just had to know what that magnificent fucking place was.

I've yet to see anything I would say constitutes lore, other than perhaps the starting video. There's tons of flavor text and a genuine sense of place, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it lore. I'm beginning to think a bunch of lore might actually damage the experience. There's a sense of being...how to put this...slightly out of sync with reality...that a lot of lore might break. Lore tends to be very grounding. Dark Souls feels like a dream.

That's something I really like about it, too. I was unprepared for how sad it feels. The game is absolutely drenched in melancholy. Even the peeks of bright sunlight through the cloud cover feel mournful rather than triumphant. Like the inexplicable emotional pangs of a half-remembered dream. I don't necessarily want to know who Havel's Dad was or what he feeds his horse.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I never delved that deep into Dark Souls lore. Except when I came to Ash Lake. I just had to know what that magnificent fucking place was.

I've yet to see anything I would say constitutes lore, other than perhaps the starting video. There's tons of flavor text and a genuine sense of place, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it lore. I'm beginning to think a bunch of lore might actually damage the experience. There's a sense of being...how to put this...slightly out of sync with reality...that a lot of lore might break. Lore tends to be very grounding. Dark Souls feels like a dream.

That's something I really like about it, too. I was unprepared for how sad it feels. The game is absolutely drenched in melancholy. Even the peeks of bright sunlight through the cloud cover feel mournful rather than triumphant. Like the inexplicable emotional pangs of a half-remembered dream. I don't necessarily want to know who Havel's Dad was or what he feeds his horse.

That's what I love about the game, too. You get invited into these unbelievable environments, but you're left alone only feeling the immense atmosphere without really knowing anything about it.

This is why I feel no need for a genuine narrative in the game. All the twisted creatures and environments kind of speak for themselves, and leave you in constant bewilderment and uncertainty.

 

[Ishal]

I never delved that deep into Dark Souls lore. Except when I came to Ash Lake. I just had to know what that magnificent fucking place was.

I've yet to see anything I would say constitutes lore, other than perhaps the starting video. There's tons of flavor text and a genuine sense of place, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it lore. I'm beginning to think a bunch of lore might actually damage the experience. There's a sense of being...how to put this...slightly out of sync with reality...that a lot of lore might break. Lore tends to be very grounding. Dark Souls feels like a dream.

That's something I really like about it, too. I was unprepared for how sad it feels. The game is absolutely drenched in melancholy. Even the peeks of bright sunlight through the cloud cover feel mournful rather than triumphant. Like the inexplicable emotional pangs of a half-remembered dream. I don't necessarily want to know who Havel's Dad was or what he feeds his horse.

You won't know trivial things like that, however much of the lore comes from investigating surroundings, reading item descriptions, and carefully listening to some of the NPC dialogue. Trust me there is plenty of "lore" but also plenty of speculation about said "lore", actually is probably half one and half the other hehe. I've heard it best described by EpicNameBro, who is a guy who does lets plays and lore videos about DS on youtube. He said something along the lines of "since there is no lore that grounds us to the story (grounding is a very good way of putting it) we are just a bunch of lost soles sitting around our bonfires trying to make sense of it all". I dunno, perhaps that hits home on my inner nerd rp-ness but dammit I love stories that allow that kind of ambiguity.

Before I go I wanted to say this. Since you seemed to have a tough time with the Bell Gargoyles, were you getting hit by that sort of overhead swing they do with their halberds? This is something that players learn the hard way. If you dodge forward to avoid it you still might get hit from behind since it does area damage. I won't spoil anything, but just be wary of enemies using those types of weapons. Any of the ranged pole weapons (halberds,spears,battleaxes,lances) can be very tricky to dodge and they are telegraphed really well, and they hit in areas you won't expect.

Oh and I'm glad you love the atmosphere. Can't wait to here what you think of Anor Londo

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Before I go I wanted to say this. Since you seemed to have a tough time with the Bell Gargoyles, were you getting hit by that sort of overhead swing they do with their halberds? This is something that players learn the hard way. If you dodge forward to avoid it you still might get hit from behind since it does area damage. I won't spoil anything, but just be wary of enemies using those types of weapons. Any of the ranged pole weapons (halberds,spears,battleaxes,lances) can be very tricky to dodge and they are telegraphed really well, and they hit in areas you won't expect.

It was more that they'd box me in...they seemed to move in unison. The stupid tip was "divide and conquer", which generally works alright on trash, but these guys stuck together like glue. Eventually I'd run out of roof, and they'd be right on top of me. If I blocked a swing, I'd get doused in fire. If I rolled to avoid fire, I'd eat a swing.

Ah well, c'est la vie. They're dead now, thanks to Whatsit. Mr. Mumbles.

 

[Aeonknight]

Before I go I wanted to say this. Since you seemed to have a tough time with the Bell Gargoyles, were you getting hit by that sort of overhead swing they do with their halberds? This is something that players learn the hard way. If you dodge forward to avoid it you still might get hit from behind since it does area damage. I won't spoil anything, but just be wary of enemies using those types of weapons. Any of the ranged pole weapons (halberds,spears,battleaxes,lances) can be very tricky to dodge and they are telegraphed really well, and they hit in areas you won't expect.

It was more that they'd box me in...they seemed to move in unison. The stupid tip was "divide and conquer", which generally works alright on trash, but these guys stuck together like glue. Eventually I'd run out of roof, and they'd be right on top of me. If I blocked a swing, I'd get doused in fire. If I rolled to avoid fire, I'd eat a swing.

Ah well, c'est la vie. They're dead now, thanks to Whatsit. Mr. Mumbles.

I'm going to go ahead and hazard a guess that you don't have the Drake Sword. It makes mincemeat out of generally everything up until Sen's Fortress, and is entirely obtainable right after the Taurus Demon. Just need a bow and about 30ish arrows. Won't go into details if you don't want me to though.

Also, if you like the game's atmosphere now, just wait until Anor Londo, or Painted World of Aramais. Love those places.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'm going to go ahead and hazard a guess that you don't have the Drake Sword. It makes mincemeat out of generally everything up until Sen's Fortress, and is entirely obtainable right after the Taurus Demon. Just need a bow and about 30ish arrows. Won't go into details if you don't want me to though.

I do not. I have a Black Knight Sword, but my arms are too skinny to lift it. I need to level up some more. In the mean time, I'm carrying it around in my magic box.

 

[Souplex]

The ring increases your equip burden by 40.
Your equip burden determines how nimble you are.
25-0% of your equip burden allows you to move quickly at minimal stamina cost, and do crazy ninja flips. (There's a ring you can get that enables you to do kung-fu movie flips at 25%>)
50-26% of your equip burden leaves you with average mobility.
51-99% leaves you at the mobility you started out with as the knight.
100% and up makes you nearly immobile.

 

[Aeonknight]

I'm going to go ahead and hazard a guess that you don't have the Drake Sword. It makes mincemeat out of generally everything up until Sen's Fortress, and is entirely obtainable right after the Taurus Demon. Just need a bow and about 30ish arrows. Won't go into details if you don't want me to though.

I do not. I have a Black Knight Sword, but my arms are too skinny to lift it. I need to level up some more. In the mean time, I'm carrying it around in my magic box.

The Drake sword has pretty low stat requirements to wield, and is easily the best weapon at low levels. that ends pretty quickly though since it has 0 stat scaling, whereas your Black Knight sword will replace it. But if you're interested in obtaining it, here's how:

Spoiler

Remember that Red Fire Drake you encountered after the Taurus Demon? The one that torches the bridge? Go back there.

Now... remember the walkway under the bridge? With the 2 skeletons and the rats? Go back there. Specifically to the right side of the walkway.

Look towards the end of the bridge, and you should see the Drake's tail wavering back and forth. Put an arrow into it.
Rinse/Repeat about 30 times to claim your reward.

Also, this is kind of a future spoiler, but

Spoiler

this is going to be a common theme. If it has a tail, chances are cutting it off yields a special weapon of some variety. Only exception I've seen is Manus.

 

[Cezar Virtosu]

I had -so- much fun reading your Dark Soul dairy. Hilarious and very creative.
Now, as a fellow cleric, I would advise you in trying your hand at co-op games. Leave your sign (with the white soap) in front of the boss chambers (even those you cleared out) so that people will summon you to help them, like Ser Mumbles helped you. It is a very rewarding experience, plus you gain a heckload of souls and humanity to boot!
ALSO if you help 10 people by aiding them in slaying the boss, you could kneel before the sun-lit altar (not going to tell you where it is) and become a warrior of the light. And throw lightning spears like Ser Mumbles does. It is the epitome clerical badassery, and from there, the sky is the limit.

 

[Aeonknight]

One more bit of advice before work.

You mentioned on day 3 you hit that skeleton lady who was at the end of the sewer tunnel?

Bad, bad idea.

She sells a consumable that is damn near vital to getting through Blighttown, I recommend you go pay a visit to Velka at the top of the gargoyle tower and have him erase your sins. It's going to cost you a lot of souls, but this is the only way to remove the enmity between that NPC and you. And you're not progressing further without it...

 

[Fat Hippo]

Also, use Fire Keeper souls to increase you flask's potency. Talk to certain characters near bonfires and trade in the soul when asked. They are rare though, you can even kill certain NPC's to get them.

I just...I just clicked on my soul. And it said do you want to use it, and I said "yes".

Did I waste it?

I'm sorry to say you did. Happened to me my first time too. You'll find more later on. To upgrade them, you need to bring them to firekeepers, like that mute woman behind the bars in the firelink shrine. You definitely wan't to upgrade your flasks with any firekeeper souls you find in the future.