Capra Demon wasn't too bad for the walk, though I got destroyed in the battle for investing too much in sorcery based levels. If there was a close bonfire to the Gaping Dragon I definitely missed it. In fact I'd still like to know where it is now that I'm getting ganked by the entrance to blighttown. To think of all the time I wasted with a 20 minute walk... the prime of my life... and there was a closer bonfire!?Phoenixmgs said:
What makes Dark Souls "good"?
- Thread starter Sozac
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Where you go to fight the Gaping Dragon right by the merchant and the door to Blighttown, there's some stairs going up that lead to a bonfire. There's probably a message on the ground saying "shortcut ahead" or "bonfire ahead." I tried going to Blighttown twice only to get a Toxic status effect and I didn't know how I got it. I checked a FAQ/walkthrough on GFaqs to see how I got it & the walkthrough had you going to the forest next to the blacksmith after fighting the Gaping Dragon instead of Blighttown, which I just did & beat the Butterfly boss.Hydra Fun said:
Ah good to know. Sometimes I feel like I'm screwing myself over in this game. I want to experience it on my own without extra help, but that can be an unreasonable goal. My server kinda sucks though, its filled with people saying "try jumping" next to bottomless pits and there isn't a single useful "bonfire ahead" sign.
Fun Fact: there are no servers in Dark Souls. It's all peer-to-peer. Random groups of players are grouped together, and then those players get shuffled around into new groups every now and again.Hydra Fun said:
So those trolltastic notes will eventually disappear once your group changes, only to be replaced by new ones.
Never trust a note that says "Try Jumping." I learned that the hard way. But if you come across a sign that says "Be wary of left/right" just before a doorway, that's generally true.
There was a "try jumping" message with a rating of 40 in the forest that just led to a falling death. I find most messages are usually true though. I try to not use any guides either, I only check a FAQ or the Dark Souls wiki for information here and there. I researched the stats and how the mechanics work before starting just so I had a character build in mind. I went with a Dex based character (picked the thief) and decided to go into Miracles (and build up faith) since I joined the Sun covenant and got the lightning spear. I make it a point to play w/o following a walkthrough/guide because I want to have my own unique experience.Hydra Fun said:
Dark Souls has the tightest group of bros that ever existed.
The Warriors of Sunlight.
Sunbros! Unite!
The Warriors of Sunlight.
Sunbros! Unite!
Ahh. I remember my experience in the Undead Burg. I chose the thief class and fucked myself solid due to that choice. Don't pick thief on your first time through. Just don't.
So anyways, after 6 hours I managed to defeat the Taurus demon. And here is the thing, I beat the Taurus demon on my second attempt. The majority of my deaths were from the god damn shitkickers who littered the streets. Now, if I made a new thief account, I could walk through that area getting kills with riposte only without losing a single point of health.
Some parts of the game were ridiculously painful and others were easy and everyone has different experiences. I managed to run past the two arrow devils in Anor Londo like it was nothing, but I died to the Stray Demon 30+ times before I killed him. I beat the Bell Gargoyles on my 3rd attempt, with my non-upgraded bandit equipment without Solaire, but got my ass annihilated when versing the Taurus demons at demon ruins.
And I love this. This game is so focused on what it wants to provide that some people will call it tunnel vision and completely disregard it. Just having this combat system whacked on to another game won't make that game better. The final product of DS is greater than the sum of its parts.
So anyways, after 6 hours I managed to defeat the Taurus demon. And here is the thing, I beat the Taurus demon on my second attempt. The majority of my deaths were from the god damn shitkickers who littered the streets. Now, if I made a new thief account, I could walk through that area getting kills with riposte only without losing a single point of health.
Some parts of the game were ridiculously painful and others were easy and everyone has different experiences. I managed to run past the two arrow devils in Anor Londo like it was nothing, but I died to the Stray Demon 30+ times before I killed him. I beat the Bell Gargoyles on my 3rd attempt, with my non-upgraded bandit equipment without Solaire, but got my ass annihilated when versing the Taurus demons at demon ruins.
And I love this. This game is so focused on what it wants to provide that some people will call it tunnel vision and completely disregard it. Just having this combat system whacked on to another game won't make that game better. The final product of DS is greater than the sum of its parts.
Well, Dark Souls is, stripped to the core, setting, story, plot, characters aside, an old-school Nintendo game a'la Battletoads or Ghosts and Goblins. A lot of the game relies on getting to grips with the gameplay mechanics, understanding the controls, the interface and every detail, and going through the game, learning through trial and error, each enemy's attack pattern, and how each stage of the game works. By the end of the game, you feel as though you triumphed over impossible odds and the satisfaction's all the sweeter by the end.
At least that's why I like it, anyway. What do you guys think?
At least that's why I like it, anyway. What do you guys think?
Yeah I'd say its lack of compromise and having a clear goal (gameplay wise) from the start are the things that make it unique. Too many games these days feel like they need to make a compelling story just because they are high-budget games. Gears of War 3 being the most hilarious example of this. Basically it is good, because its unique. Its constantly battling between being frustrating and then (after you take a break and play some games from shooter season 2011) very refreshing.
See, it could just be my character design that makes me think this (high strength with huge shield and black knight halberd), but I never have to learn attack patterns. I just keep my shield up and have them hit it, then I hit them. Unless they are a slow, strong one. Then, I just walk backwards until they have an opening and then kill them. However, a lot of deaths come from falling (Anor Londo, Blighttown, and escpecially Tomb of Giants because that was a freaking long walk to the first bonfire). The other come from bosses escpecially S & O. Falling and double teaming just seem like stupid ways to die. When I got a partner the fight couldn't be easier (I hit for like 400). Don't say its tactics either because its also a large part luck. Ornstein wouldn't always seperate from Smough and they would end up getting close together. When my jolly compatriot distracted Smough, Ornstein was nothing. He even misses really often like I think his attacks are meant for you to move into them while running from Smough. Then big Smough was a joke, an easily flammable joke.buy teh haloz said:
That's another thing that really bugs me about Dark Souls. From what I hear it has a story that could be compelling if they fleshed it out. Yet, for some reason they'd rather stay mysterious. If they get enough money from the other two I would like to see their third game have a story. I mean not everything has to be presented to you, but when I look at the story to this one after it being pieced together, it still seems more like an outline to a story. There are no details or passion for anything.Hydra Fun said:
Also, I haven't played GoW 3, but I can guess its story may not be compelling, but it wouldn't work if it had none at all. I like actually compelling stories like what Bioware gives me.
Eh, I think that by staying mysterious Dark Souls almost lets you "assume" the storyline would have been good if they tried harder, but I doubt that's the case. I think a botched attempt at a storyline would have been a deal breaker if they had emphasized it more. They probably spent most of their budget developing the gameplay and dungeons. If they had spent more to hire better voice actors/writers the game as a whole would probably pissed off a lot of the fans who played Demon Souls and just wanted to play a similar game in new areas.
I get what you mean about Gears needing a storyline though, but they definitely didn't need to take themselves so seriously in a game where you can survive 5-6 shots to the head without even getting downed.
I get what you mean about Gears needing a storyline though, but they definitely didn't need to take themselves so seriously in a game where you can survive 5-6 shots to the head without even getting downed.
Now, if I were standing on the prow of a ship cresting a mighty wave...
Why, my boy, it's the victory! The fine, incredible feeling of triumph against all the odds! This is the worst the world could throw at you and, after some effort, you spun it around and kicked it in the arse! The powerful feeling of triumph at a hard-earned success, the orgasm-level explosion of human feelings at having finally beaten whichever bastard boss you were fighting! When you win at a game so difficult, you feel it. You feel like you've beaten the best. You feel like success. You feel like victory incarnate.
Also, it controls pretty well and has some solid RPG mechanics behind it, in my opinion.
Why, my boy, it's the victory! The fine, incredible feeling of triumph against all the odds! This is the worst the world could throw at you and, after some effort, you spun it around and kicked it in the arse! The powerful feeling of triumph at a hard-earned success, the orgasm-level explosion of human feelings at having finally beaten whichever bastard boss you were fighting! When you win at a game so difficult, you feel it. You feel like you've beaten the best. You feel like success. You feel like victory incarnate.
Also, it controls pretty well and has some solid RPG mechanics behind it, in my opinion.
But that IS your strategy. You are playing a tank, but not every fight or situation is going to work well for one. That's like playing a wizard and complaining that the enemies won't stay far away, or playing a thief and complaining that an enemy doesn't flinch from your shots. If you want to make a highly specialized character, you're going to have to live with the drawbacks of it.Sozac said:
Just because you don't like the game doesn't make it terrible. There was no need for that.XUnsafeNormalX said:
Thats where we differ. I rarely fall off cliffs and I could run circles around S+O without taking a single point of damage. Where I get killed most is by missing a parry, or by missing a backstab because of my weak armor. It is all about playstyle.Sozac said:
And I do agree with you about the luck thing. If Orny decides to use his ranged lightning attacked rather than jump around like a tard and try to melee you, your fucked. If the Stray Demon immediately uses his fire attack once you drop, your fucked.
You seem to have a love/hate relationship with DS, otherwise I can't understand why you are still playing.
Out of interest how many tries did it take you to get past them?Sozac said:
Also prepare to get brutalised by Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough. Theyre the area boss for Anor Londo and the hardest bosses in the game apart from maybe Lord Gwyn and possibly the Four Kings after that rebalancing patch.
Well as im sure as its been stated about 150 times now, the games true appeal lies in its challenge. This is a game that really is out to get you at every turn, and the fun in this game lies in overcoming this challenge.
Its a bit off topic but heres a table made to state just how hard Dwarf Fortress is, Dark Souls falls into the same category.
