[remote]

Decided to make one last attempt at Ornstein for the evening. Strafing around him, trying to be cautious, he just suddenly turns and jabs me, lifting me up on his spear...

zap, dead

uh, k nevermind
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

There isn't much in Dark Souls I'd attribute to bullshit abusive difficulty. Yeah, I'm pretty frustrated with the fight against Ornstein and Smough right now (even with a ready supply of co-op partners), but I know from experience that the fight is much easier when you kill Smough last and I've willingly chosen the more challenging path because I want Ornstein's armor this time.

Aside from that I can only think of a few moments where I actually yelled "BULLSHIT" at the screen. The part where I fell into a nest of basilisk frogs that cursed me was a total "gotcha bitch" moment, but in retrospect I think that if I hadn't done that and suffered with a curse for a short while my Dark Souls experience would have been less complete.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

It's interesting that certain parts were more challenging for others. Like, for me, the last bridge all the way up at the top, right before you finally go back outside, with the cobra guy throwing lightning at you from the side and more weirdly spaced pendulums... that was the tricky one. I guess I never really had too much trouble with it, but I was always worried about being blasted off the bridge by lightning while I tried to move through the pendulums with care.

Next time for Lost Izalith I think I'd like to figure out how to skip it (if possible) via those doors that lead to where you fight Solaire and a bunch of sunlight maggots before a titanite demon. I never actually figured out how to open that door or what's on the other side of it when coming via Lost Izalith.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

What are the current opinions on best overall weapon for melee? I'm still using my black knight's halberd, and while I've been quite pleased with it I'm not so sure after finally killing Ornstein (yay) during a fight where my attacks did very modest damage while one of my co-op partners hurled some kind of insane bolt of energy at him and put me to shame. Something tells me I may have to finally give in and switch to a lightning or fire weapon, but I'm not sure what's best. I really don't like the spear because it only thrusts, and I like the halberd's more versatile moveset. Maybe the scythe...? I wanted to check out Gwyn's Great Lord Greatsword, but apparently it's an underwhelming weapon once you can actually have it crafted late in NG+. The demon spear seems interesting, maybe.

Also, has anyone played around with the Crystal Ring Shield? I might have to try it myself...
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Unfortunately the regular halberd has a different moveset, and one I don't like nearly as much. :(

I might try it anyway.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Cool, crafting one right now.

Oh, to clarify: the black knight's halberd actually as a moveset more similar to the scythe, but with a unique leaping two-handed R2.

I probably just needed a weapon better fit to damage Smough and Ornstein — a magic weapon, maybe? — but from what I can see this halberd is still doing quite well otherwise.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Yeah, I like the idea of having it as a projectile weapon I can pop out in a fight. Right now my actual shield is the Giant Shield.

Guessing I still need to get an ember for the Anor Londo blacksmith, though. I leveled a target shield to +10 and he won't make the Crystal one for me yet.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Man that was pretty weird, some guy who had killed the princess in Anor Londo summoned me and the skies were all dark.

The guy did nothing but stand around and run in circles, so I ran in and fought two dudes just inside the castle, then got bored and left.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

What is your weapon?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

True meaning it's not the Cursed one?

Does it scale that high with your dex or something? I went high strength...
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

I'm gonna make one. Looks like I know where I'm going next.

Considering I have 50 points in strength I hope it scales up quite nicely.

My question was unclear, though: which stat did you pump?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Does anyone else think Ornstein's look may have been inspired by Grunbeld of Berserk? Especially considering his size after he absorbs Smough's power...


_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

[remote]

Hell yeah, dude.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Ahhh.

Yeah, I'm pretty glad I chose the shield right now! Its stability fucking rules.

For the last two hours I've done nothing but stand here outside the Anor Londo castle getting summoned for Smough and Ornstein over and over.

That boss fight is just so fucking fun. And what the fuck, I get 45000 souls a pop for every win! Seems like a pretty cool way to grind out the souls I might need to wield a sword like the aforementioned without using a bullshit exploit...
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

I think I'm at 102 now.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

[remote]

Quelaag's Fury Sword.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Yeah, I realized after a couple of tries I would really need to kill Lautrec's sorcerer buddy before attacking him. That made it easy.

On my NG+ he was at Firelink Shrine before I had even let him out of his cage, for whatever reason. I kicked him off a cliff the second I saw him.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Speaking of shields and armor, haven't posted any pics in a while.





This Greatshield of Artorias is awesome.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Meanwhile I do it nice and simple, with my shield and halberd. I'd use a second chance spell as support if I had one.

Anyone else notice a surprising amount of summons into a world where you end up fighting an invader while the host is either nowhere to be seen or just standing around, not helping you? I'll admit I'm not very good at pvp just because I went for a straight-up warrior without pvp-oriented support spells in mind, but if I'm quick on my toes I can usually dodge magic and sneak in backstabs anyway. But when I'm not doing so hot and the host is literally just standing there I'm like, what the fuck is your deal? Do people just summon help so their buddies can invade and fight another player who can't heal, or something? I really don't get it.

Really, really looking forward to the patch and no more lock-on immunity.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

I saw a guy wielding a Demon's Great Hammer (Blessed +10) and now I'm pretty mad that I apparently got rid of my butcher's Sack at some point. Could've traded it with Sparkly for the Hammer, and would've gone +15 Lightning for awesome scaling with strength. Maybe on my NG+2...

Oh, he also had the shield from the fan design contest! I haven't even seen it in the game otherwise. How does one acquire it?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Ah! So basically get to and kill Nito in body form and you've got it. Cool.

Man, I just wish it was a tiny bit easier to get my hands on twinkling titanite...
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Some dude just did a facepalm gesture at our host. Anybody found this?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Heh! Well, so much for that. Maybe next time.

Kind of tempted to start a new character and BS it a bit before this patch rolls in...
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

So, if an invader stops to wave at you would it be considered cheap to one-shot them with the Crystal Ring Shield, or punishment for their arrogance?

Seems like I see players wielding upgraded shotels acting cocky with gestures most often. As if nobody knows what they're about to try.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

DARK SOULS IS NOT FOR FRIENDLY GESTURES

Kidding aside, I don't think I'd have felt right doing that had they bowed. I felt uncertain about a wave. But then I saw that shotel and I wasn't about to mess around.

(I was also standing on a narrow cliff on the way down to Nito.)
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

If I'm at level 130 or so am I gonna have shit luck finding any co-op or pvp?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

I've actually assumed you couldn't use it to send home an invader, but then I've never tried.

That isn't the same as getting someone to give up when they couldn't find you, though, is it?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

[remote]

The alternative for me seems to wait until my NG+2 and track the Sack helm for a Demon's Great Hammer and make it lightning.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Hm, do you mean the Stray Demon there when you return? I killed him on my first game and he didn't drop one, but I'll go kill him now and see.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

[remote]

That dagger sounds pretty awesome for someone going for more of a thief build. Heh, I wouldn't mind playing with a character focused on that weapon.

Man, I totally should have just fought the Asylum Demon on my first NG+. I think I was just too freaked out running around with all the souls from Gwyn.

It will be mine next time around.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

And this is just the normal dagger that a thief or sorcerer starts with, level to +5 lightning, Apol?

I really like using it with my sorcerer, though I sort of doubt it'll remain a viable weapon for her as I learn more spells and stuff...

A thief character in the ninja gear would probably be a fun one to toy around with. Maybe go for about level 70 for reliable pvp?

Especially with the hornet ring and... I dunno, fog ring?
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

I complained a while back about the Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith relying on some cheap gimmicks (pitch darkness and lava (and I could probably complain about invisible floors in the Crystal Caves, too, but those were never a problem for me)), but this was also before I found the skull lantern, a search I found quite painfully tedious... Aside from those couple of things, however, I am a big fan of the late game stuff. Honestly, in Demon's Souls we had the Storm King and Allant, two very short and direct areas, the latter of which tried to impede you with an annoying fire-breathing dragon you had to run by twice with finicky timing (or you were toast) if you didn't have the arrows or magic to kill it — and that's not so much better than anything in Dark Souls' endgame if you ask me. Allant was a cool final boss, but so is Gwyn. Let's not forget the Valley of Defilement, which was practically a combination of Blighttown's poisonous swamp and the poor visibility of the Tomb of the Giants. Somebody said before that this game should be getting quicker and smoother as you reach the end of it, but I think that's a total misunderstanding of what both it and Demon's Souls are about. You may eventually conquer them, but they will make you suffer through every last minute.

I'm also finding myself enjoying the pvp a lot more than I ever did in Demon's Souls. The covenants offer such cool dynamics to all this, it's much more engrossing.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

Don't get me wrong, I really like Valley of Defilement, too, but before you figure out how to navigate it and deal with a couple of its stickier spots it's pretty agonizing.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

So are lightning weapons being scaled down a bit in the patch, too? Because seriously, the the only completely retarded thing in this game is watching some untargetable spazz run around you swinging his lightning sword like a moron and then doing silly gestures when he kills you in three hits. It's pretty much nothing but brainless trolling.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

It can be imprecise and a little awkward, but honestly I think that my enjoyment of pvp in D. Souls comes largely from the conceptual nature of it, while of course actually fighting others is fun when it isn't completely broken. It isn't tight pvp like... I dunno, TF2 or WoW's BGs/arenas or something — it's rough and weird, but strangely compelling. I just want it to be fixed enough so that nerds on the internet can no longer read about the broken/overpowered junk in the game and go "pwn" everybody.
_________________

letterboxd | last.fm | steam

[remote]

[remote]