Dark Souls III

It's especially refreshing after the boring ass Catacombs. Smouldering Lake wasn't so great either since a big part of it was basically reskinned Catacombs. Though the actual lake part of it looked pretty cool.

Edited by M84 on Nov 15th 2018 at 10:04:12 PM

I love how irythill looks but I did not like going through it lol. Those guys were kicking my butt so hard first playthrough I ended up starting over. DS 3 requires you to make upgrading health a priority unless you don't want to have fun.

M84 is somehow managing the game with a minimum of deaths... heck he didn't even die to Sulyvahn's "pets", and that sole dog on the bridge has taken down more than a few seasoned Dark Souls players in the past. And if I'm correct, he's mostly specced into STR for damage, carrying capacity for his armor and a bit of DEX for extra oomph.

Most of my deaths happened early on due to knight enemies and the occasional stupid death by fall. And the lava a couple times when I tried to get the items. Player invaders are usually the death of me too — I'm not good at PVP. The Leaper Ghrus have killed me a few times too. Phantom Tsorig got me once too — that's what convinced me not to fight him fair.

I actually had my first boss deaths recently. Died once to the Old Demon King due to being totally unprepared for it — I went in right after getting the Worm killed. The second time the Pyro npc phantom died too soon so I homeward boned out of there. The third time was the charm — BK Sword really helped.

I also died to Wolnir on my first try — I got careless and stepped into that death fog of his. I was also having a bit of trouble since my weapon at the time had little reach. On my second try I wielded the BK Sword again and it was a cakewalk. Took like a minute or two tops.

That's one of the reasons I farmed so much last night in the first part of Irithyll — I wanted to get used to fighting the Pontiff Knights and Fire Witches.

Actually, I'm running a Quality Build now. I might invest more points into Vitality if I find some really sweet heavy armor or weapons. For now I'm satisfied with my current Vitality — especially since I have Havel's Ring from killing the Stray Demon and transposing its soul.

Current stats:

Vigor: 27 (which gives me 1000 hp)

Endurance: 25 (120 or so stamina)

Vitality: 20 (good enough to avoid fatrolling and still wield the weapons and wearing the armor I like especially if I wear Havel's Ring)

Strength: 25 (Might prioritize this so I can wield more greatswords and great hammers early and see if I like them)

Dexterity: 25 (Might put this on backburner for now since I think I've hit min Dex for most weapons though I do have a Sharp Astora Greatsword...)

Intelligence: 9 (not needed for Quality Build)

Faith: 7 (not needed for Quality Build)

Luck: 7 (not needed for Quality Build)

Current favored gear:

Rings: Estus Ring, Silver Serpent Ring, Chloranthy Ring...fourth slot varies but usually Havel's Ring.

Armor: Still like the Knight Set, though I've switched it for better status ailment resist gear at times (like wearing the Mirrah Set for dealing with Basilisks) or when I wanted to wear lighter gear (then I go with Sunbro's Set)

Shields: Lothric Knight Shield, BK Shield, and the Shield of Want

Ranged Weapons: Black Bow of Pharis for sniping and aggroing enemies from a distance

Melee Weapons: Refined Longsword, Refined Mace, Sharp Astora Greatsword, BK Sword.

On a side note...I got a lot of souls farming the three Pontiff Knights near the first Irithyll bonfire and that one Fire Witch who is vulnerable to a falling lunge attack near the second bonfire. They drop a good amount of souls, especially with the Silver Serpent Ring and Shield of Want equipped.

Edited by M84 on Nov 16th 2018 at 12:20:43 AM

I spent ages helping people fight Wolnir the first time I went through. It was great! No risk, plenty of reward, since it's a very fast boss fight.

The biggest risk was getting invaded, which I did a few times, but most people who tried it couldn't find me.

Edited by RedSavant on Nov 15th 2018 at 11:19:05 AM

I'm trying not to summon players for help with boss fights this time around. Especially since it seems like summoning NPC phantoms and ensuring they survive occasionally has rewards.

I can't help but feel like I need to beat the game without summons at least first playthrough.

I never summon other players though...because I honestly don't like playing souls with others haha.

It just feels more fitting to use NPC summons for story reasons. And sometimes, as in the case with that one Pyromancer summon for the Old Demon King, there are extra rewards.

I've caved and grabbed PCs a few times, like with the final bosses of Sunken Crown in DS2. But generally I don't like to, especially when your new partner eats the boss's startup hit, dies, and leaves you with a solo fight with 1.4 times as much HP as it's supposed to have.

I've had pretty good luck with summoned players in DS 2. Then again, I only did so during NG+ — I figured anyone who made it that far probably knew their shit.

Edited by M84 on Nov 16th 2018 at 3:57:29 AM

Update whatever:

Welp, that's Pontiff Sulyvahn down. In hindsight I probably should have tried fighting him first without summoning any NPC Phantoms, but I wanted that gesture from the Londor Shade. The NPC summons made what should have been one of the hardest fights in the game a not so awful one. Beat him on my first try. The Profaned Greatsword seems pretty nice — I might use my Titanite Scales on it first (I've been saving them up so far).

Also managed to progress a few character questlines. Anri's now my spouse waiting for the wedding ceremony, and Greirat got back in one piece thanks to Onion Bro.

Next time I'll try unlocking the Aldrich Covenant. I actually died trying to do a plunging leap on that one Sulyvahn Beast all the way from the top of the ladder. I figured my Silvercat Ring would keep me alive, but I guess there are limits.

After that...well...

What do you guys think? Which Lord of Cinder should I go after next? Aldrich or Yhorm?

Edited by M84 on Nov 16th 2018 at 5:08:58 PM

Yhorm.

It's time to help Onionbro on his journey.

Thanks for the advice!

Also, I learned not to be embered up in the area after Sulyvahn. I'm bad at PVP, so having one let alone two Aldrich Faithful invading me is a serious pain.

Edited by M84 on Nov 16th 2018 at 5:18:08 PM

That little courtyard area right outside his boss room is sort of the generally agreed upon PVP arena.

I actually got invaded in the area with the "dead" Giants and those two dual wielding npcs.

Oh yeah that's the designated gank area.

They're real close together.

Of course you did. You can't not be invaded there, it's unheard of.

I was actually getting close to beating the first one. Then another one came and that was that.

So now I'm not going to ember up in that area anymore.

Edited by M84 on Nov 16th 2018 at 5:26:01 PM

I don't even play online any more. I hate invasions. The only thing I miss from being offline is putting down my sign to help other players; messages and bloodstains are practically useless, and I always solo my own bosses anyway.

They couldn't have changed it for Dark Souls because it was already so established, but Bloodborne's multiplayer system is superior, in my opinion.

• No hanging around near a fire/lantern for summon signs to appear. Ring the bell and carry on, someone will drop in eventually.
• Can't be invaded until you ring the bell.
• You can stop invasions by finding and killing the bell-ringing woman.

Negative points, in the interest of fairness:

• Summoned help could appear *anywhere*, rather than just where their sign is.
• If you are a PVP invader, you'll probably end up fighting two players at least, outside of PVP zones^note but personally I think you deserve ganking if you invade.

Edited by artfulscruff on Nov 16th 2018 at 11:04:24 AM

Mini-update:

Alright, killed the two Sulyvahn Beasts. This one took a couple tries, but not too bad otherwise. I actually killed both beasts on the same (second) attempt. I then unlocked the Aldrich Faithful Covenant.

I then worked my way past the Silver Knight Archers (as annoying as ever though I avoided dying) and got to Anor Londo. Also got "married" to Anri and unlocked the Darkmoon Covenant.

When I got to Anor Londo I spent some more time practicing against the Silver Knights. They are definitely tougher than they were in DS 1. Guess siding with Aldrich worked out for them. Speaking of which, I unlocked the main gate (killing the Deep Accursed too) so I can fight him whenever I want.

But I'll do that later. I decided to tackle Yhorm first.

The Silver Knights are just as parriable as ever though.

And I initially hated invasions, but nowadays I like Pv P to an extent. And while I agree with most points about Bloodborne, I hate that invaders by default have to face a 2v1 gank. Unless they use the bell, wait for the bell maiden and then silence the bell but leave the bell ringer alive.

I don't see what the big deal of getting invaded is anymore. First of all, if you are attentive and don't get ambushed, no problem. If they attack you while you're fighting off enemies, well, they're a dick. Retreat and dispatch of whatever chaces after you, or retreat further.

Second is the whole "but I die and go back" well dieing to enemies still does that. I don't see what the irrational fear of dieing in Pv P is about since people don't seem to care about enemies or bosses killing them?

Third, you can't be invaded continously unless you're a dipshit using the dried finger. There is a whole 30 minute cooldown for getting invaded, which the dried finger resets. So don't go begging for a third phantom if somehow one invader manages to best your three man squad fumbling about.

And finally; disconnecting wastes more of your time than death. You gotta go through a loading screen, reconnect online, fiddle through the main menu and wait for another loading screen.

Oh yeah, and I kinda wished that Darkmoons and Darkwraiths had the same mechanic as Executioners and Vilebloods do in Bloodborne; that if opposing factions attempt to co-op, it becomes an invasion instead.

I have nothing personal against PVP. I'm just really bad at it. Besides, I like to focus on exploring and getting all the stuff on the first game cycle.

I only ember up when I want to summon for boss fights or to trigger NPC invaders since they usually drop good shit.

Edited by M84 on Nov 17th 2018 at 11:25:01 PM

Update "has anyone counted? Because I forgot":

Took care of Irithyll Dungeon, the Profaned Capital, and Yhorm in one sitting. Do not feel like tackling Aldrich yet though I can do so at any time. I get the feeling Aldrich is going to suuuck.

Hate the Jailers. Actually, I think I hate everything in Irithyll Dungeon. Except Karla and Onion Bro.

And yes, I took out the Monstrosities of Sin and got their loot. Bunch of lousy Cyclops Hippo wannabes.

Edited by M84 on Nov 18th 2018 at 6:13:40 PM

Honestly I remember really liking Aldrich's boss fight. Mostly because all his attacks were so pretty and cool looking.