Dark Souls III

Would it be a good idea to switch from Qual to Dex and dump my Strength? My Lothric Knight Sword is +6 and Sharp and it's basically my main now.

Plus I like using the Black Bow of Pharis. I love the bow in this game.

I'd suggest staying on quality for a first playthrough since it lets you use a wider variety of weapons.

Anyways, I decided to go do Smouldering Lake. I NOPE'd out of there the first time because the ballistas are really, really obnoxious but pushed onward. I'm glad to see the Izalith areas, though optional, have a bit more care put into them this time around. The downside is every room in Demon Ruins looks the same so I get lost really easily. I'm not even sure if there's anything more down there, I'll have to go back and have another look around.

Also beat the Dancer. I've heard horror stories about how difficult it is but I'm guessing that's because apparently you can fight her very early on in the game. She took a few tries for me but it wasn't so bad, the worst part is her janky hitbox on the grab, so bullshit and the fact it one-shot me if I wasn't embered was lame.

I did it. I made it all the way to Anor Londo.

Neat. Helping Anri with the boss is really annoying, though.

Edited by Karxrida on Mar 25th 2020 at 7:56:29 AM

I like how Lothric Castle is basically just Boletaria. It was pretty obvious already in the High Wall but getting into the castle proper gave me some real nostalgia.

Also those dragons are obnoxious and I'm not sure how I was supposed to get past them? I tried dropping to the bottom but it didn't seem to bring me around to the other side, so I just said "fuck it", looked up where to get Faris' bow and shot a bunch of poison arrows at the dragon on the right. At first I thought it was immune but finally after 30 arrows the poison ticked in. Thankfully the one on the left dies too.

I also got the Hollowslayer greatsword, I was a bit hesitant to use my titanite scales on it but I don't really have anything I'd want to upgrade besides the shield of want (which I don't remember where I got but cool). That r2 weapon art is pretty good. I haven't really used them much this playthrough, mostly because I never find a good time for it and trying to usually gets me killed, but I like this one.

Also I kind of regret not raising my HP earlier into the game, I caved and put a few points into it and it's saved me on a number of occasions already. I got into the habit of not doing that because I can usually get by fine with low vit in dark souls 1 and 2 but I die too much in this game for that to be viable.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Mar 25th 2020 at 1:55:19 PM

Vit is something of a dump stat in DS III. Since DS III's Ashen One is a lot more agile than previous DS protagonists, it's just better to dodge more often.

You're gonna like the Hollowslayer if you're a Qual build, especially when you get to the DLC content. Especially since the Final Bosses of each DLC expansion count as Hollows.

Edited by M84 on Mar 26th 2020 at 2:11:18 AM

Oh man if you're a Strength build you're just shy of possibly the best boss soul weapon in the game, you might be kicking yourself for not saving those scales.

Yeah, that weapon's a beast for strength builds.

I'm using a quality build, my strength is currently at 23 or so. FWIW I can still get like 6 of them by trading with the crow and buying them from the shrine maiden.

Also I think I'm getting the hang of using the heavier weapons and weapon arts finally, I was playing with the zweihander a bit and that weapon art feels super great to use. (Also funnily enough rolling a lot actually does help with this weapon since the rolling r1 comes out really quickly compared to the normal swings)

Edited by Draghinazzo on Mar 26th 2020 at 3:42:40 PM

A qual build is great in DS III. There are so many weapons you can play around with as one. Especially the weapons you can forge from the Abyss Watcher's Soul. The Farron Greatsword is a lot of fun, and the Wolf Knight's Greatsword is basically the best version of Artorias' sword in all three games. Both also deal extra damage to Abyssal enemies. Including the strongest Bonus Boss in the DLC.

My weapons of choice in my Qual build were the Refined Longsword, the Refined Mace (the WA is incredible), the Hollowslayer, the Profaned Greatsword, the Black Knight Sword, and the Wolf Knight's Greatsword.

I'd recommend the BKS if you're a Qual build. It's a solid weapon that does good damage, has a good moveset, and it does extra damage against Demon type enemies. This includes one of the DLC bosses.

Edited by M84 on Mar 27th 2020 at 3:49:58 AM

God these hot iron guys who cut your max HP are dumb. Like they don't even telegraph it — it just happens.

They're annoying since they make you waste an estus, but honestly you shouldn't die to them that often, they're very slow and can easily be stunlocked and killed if your weapon is properly upgraded.

EDIT: Holy shit Oceiros though. In terms of gameplay he's whatever, I first tried his ass, but in terms of atmosphere he's been one of the most memorable bosses because it's so rare in these games for any of them to talk. Between that and his music, he just comes across as so pathetic that it immediately makes an impression.

Also I beat DA CHAMP in three tries LOL

Edited by Draghinazzo on Mar 26th 2020 at 8:15:28 AM

I'm trying to help Anri beat Aldrich and he's a dick.

Oh and his boss fight also sucks. Stupid arrows.

Edit: Wait I got 'em. Eat my arrows you jerk.

Edited by Karxrida on Mar 26th 2020 at 10:14:25 AM

So it took me a while to get what the deal with the Untended Graves was.

It was honestly super unsettling seeing Firelink Shrine all empty except for the Handmaiden. I also made the mistake of giving the firekeeper the eyes and had to kill her to reset things. It honestly freaked me out, the music even changed. I think it's a pretty decent re-use of an area, it could have just felt cheap but it was legitimately cool.

I also like how Lothric actually has dialogue. I don't think I'd want every boss to speak, since it would lose its impact a bit, but giving VA to select bosses is really cool.

Also who the fuck designed Nameless King? I thought the dragon would disappear after you kill him the first time, but NOPE. Especially since I hear he's one of the hardest bosses in the game.

Nameless King's a pushover if you can wield the Dragonslayer Greatshield.

Untended Graves is spooky since it's the real Firelink Shrine, as opposed to the pocket dimension shrine Ludleth created.

Edited by M84 on Mar 27th 2020 at 2:41:29 AM

Ok, so the dragon isn't *that* terrible, the main problem I was having is his aerial flame attack was just killing me with seemingly no recourse but I found out that if you stay at a reasonable distance you can actually see what NK is doing and he's less likely to fly away, giving you more chances to hit him.

It's still janky and tedious that you have to go through this though.

Ok so I finally did it, Nameless King is dead. Cool that he's the firstborn, wouldn't have guessed that twist.

Yhorm done.

The fight was weird. I couldn't figure out how to get Storm Ruler to work until the end, but Siegward was there and did most of the damage.

I don't like the Yhorm fight at all, he's really obnoxious and can easily one-shot you if you don't have enough points in Vigor.

Anyway Ariandel is gross. I just got to the fly house...christ.

Aldrich is garbage and I keep wasting resources trying to kill him.

If it's the arrows, if you run around in a big circle you'll probably dodge most of them. But IIRC you have to summon Anri for that fight to complete her questline, can't imagine that being fun unless you have ridiculous DPS to kill him quickly before she dies.

Also, FUCK YES I BEAT FRIEDE. Honestly, fuck Ariandel and his janky goblet hitbox, and also fuck Friede's scythe swings having such ridiculous reach. The frostbite is also really annoying, albeit I discovered if you dodge to the left it probably won't hit you.

Debating on which is worse between phase two of this fight and King of Storms. The lore/atmosphere of the battle is really cool but it loses its luster a bit when you die like 40 times trying to beat the boss.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Mar 28th 2020 at 8:41:11 AM

Well I won. Finally.

I did Anri's part already. I won that fight since I camped out in the back with my bow while Anri kept Aldrich busy. I had to refight him solo and it sucked.

Honestly, Aldrich only took me about 10 tries or so to do solo? Pontiff was SO MUCH WORSE. At least Aldrich gives you time to heal.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Mar 28th 2020 at 8:57:30 AM

I first-tried the Pontiff since I had two summons with me. Did almost die, though.

BTW, in this game you can kill the Final Boss without automatically going to NG+, unlike in DS 1. So if you want to take it out before tackling the DLC content, feel free.

I found Aldritch pretty easy with Anri. She tends to aggro most of his attention, so all you need to do is just aggressively chase him around the hallway and keep piling on the damage; that seems to discourage Aldritch from using his nastier attacks.