☠ Souls Series Symposium ☠

[isiolia]

They do have a tendency to rush toward the door, and you may just want to watch for that and try to get them positioned well first before starting on offense. A lot of that was the problem I had last I fought 'em - just rushing in to attack. Patience does tend to pay off there.

If you find Smough easier to handle first phase, then try going for that (I did that the first time I won). Smough is usually considered the easier second form, but they both have quirks. Ornstein second is large enough that standing under him means he whiffs most of his attacks, so you mostly just have to watch for the slam move. Plus you get a ring for killing him second.

It's pretty normal to get stuck on that boss, but the nearby mobs are nice to grind XP on if you want to level a bit, or you could potentially go to the Painted World for a change of pace, if you have the item to enter (just keep in mind that if you can't warp yet, then you'll be unable to leave there without clearing it).

[Xeogred]

The thing that gets me is that I will read stuff like, "Boss XYZ is weak to lightning so be sure and use blah, blah, blah." How the hell was I supposed to have figured that out? Just brute force, trial and error?

I think reading too much into these games is just a recipe for stress itself. I was rolling my eyes constantly while one of my friends ran through DS1 last year with a guide point for point, worrying about getting that dragon's tail for a sword, or some other special weapon and drop, etc. I was just like dude, I beat the game with the Silver Knight set and a generic claymore. Just brute forced the game and only focused on STR basically.

Of course, we have this thread and some of us love talking about it. It can be case by case if you have some specific troubles or something. But going down some big pipe reading too much into these can just be very counter productive, I'd argue.

Maybe give DS2 a shot like you said. I find it to be the easiest one by a long shot, even the Scholar edition, although all the DLC is really tough. But it's still case by case, some find DS2 to be hard, or Scholar to be harder, I have no idea. It was really damn easy for me. It also has a better hub and more warping than DS1, so it's a bit easier to get around.

[marlowe221]

Well, I figured out why I wasn't using the closer bonfire.

I can't kindle it. So every time I die I only get 5 flasks.

[marlowe221]

Well, I appreciate all the advice guys but it doesn't look like this is going to happen. I have tried this fight at least 50 times at this point.

This battle is obviously beatable, I have watched people do it on Youtube. It doesn't look that hard in the videos, but I'll be damned if I can repeat any of those performances.

To have any real chance at to beat these bosses I would have to either go do some serious grinding somewhere or start over and build a not gimped character or something.

None of that sounds like any fun at this point. According to Steam, I've got 33 hours in this game...

I may have to admit defeat.

[Exhuminator]

one of my friends ran through DS1 last year with a guide point for point, worrying about getting that dragon's tail for a sword, or some other special weapon and drop, etc.

That's such a boring way to play a game. Following a strategy guide verbatim to "beat" it. At that point the guide is basically beating the game, not the player.

[MrPopo]

one of my friends ran through DS1 last year with a guide point for point, worrying about getting that dragon's tail for a sword, or some other special weapon and drop, etc.

That's such a boring way to play a game. Following a strategy guide verbatim to "beat" it. At that point the guide is basically beating the game, not the player.

Depends on the game. Souls games and shmups are extremely execution heavy, so even knowing what to do doesn't mean you can actually do it.

[Exhuminator]

Sure, but like Xeogred said, people will go and spend all this time seeking the ultimate this or special that, when a skilled player can do just fine with what they find along the way. It's not impossible, you just have to rely on yourself and improve your skill.

Now if someone wants to play through an entire game with a strategy guide in their lap, then so be it. It's just not something I personally believe in as an elitist snob. If I played through a game relying on a strategy guide to succeed, I'd feel like a fraud and the victory would seem hollow. Maybe that sounds silly, but as a very self reliant person that's just how I'm wired.

The only time I can personally sanction a walkthrough for an entire game's playthrough, is if the game is in a language I can't understand (i.e. Japanese), and I need a walkthrough in order to make any progress at all. But that's only for PC-98 adventure games or PCE-CD JRPGs really.

[marlowe221]

OK, I'm done.

I have tried everything I can find on the internet about how to get past these bosses. I went and did the humanity grind so I could summon the NPC dude. I have tried killing Ornstein first. I've tried killing Smough first. I upgraded a halberd to +10 since that's what most of the Youtube videos use.

I have tried this fight upwards of 70 times in the past few weeks - it ain't happening.

I guess I see what people see in this series??? But I'm not sure I do. Dark Souls may be a good game, but it's not a very well-made game if that makes any sense. The jank-factor is just too much for me. I don't know what percentage of my 70-ish deaths on this boss fight (not to mention other parts of the game) were jank-related but it's a lot.

Sure, the fight is hard and maybe I'm not a good enough player to beat it. I will admit that, no problem. But I feel like half the battle is me fighting the camera/controls just as much as the boss. To me, that's the wrong kind of difficulty. It's like poor hit detection in a NES game; it's hard for the wrong reasons.

Dark Souls is objectively a good game, I suppose. But I don't see that it quite lives up to the hype surrounding this series. For whatever reason, this game (and maybe the series?) seems to get a pass on flaws that would get most other games torn to pieces, critically speaking.

I'm glad you guys are enjoying the game/series, but I guess I just don't see the appeal. I haven't finished Dark Souls, and it doesn't look like I'm going to, but I feel like 30+ hours played ought to count as giving the game a fair shot.

Since I already own DS2 (and probably can't refund it...) I might give it a try at some point, though honestly, I'm in no hurry to actually download and install it at the moment.

[CFFJR]

Made a lot of progress on Demon's Souls this past Sunday. Cleared 3-3, 4-2, 4-3, and 1-3.

3-3 ended up being simple, as at the time that I beat it I was not being invaded. As such, the Old Monk spent the fight face down on the floor while I repeatedly smashed him with my Meat Cleaver. I initially had far more trouble with the mind flayers on the stairs. It's too bad, because I thought facing another player would have been fun.

4-2 was kind of a pain in the ass. Dealing with the shots from the storm beasts while luring out the skeletons was a special kind of aggravating. That got much easier once I put on the damn thief's ring. Didn't help in the lower area with the bastards shooting lasers and the creepy invisible things. I avoided that issue by...avoiding it. I dashed like mad through this area, only killing one or two enemies that couldn't be avoided, and that was by far the best and safest method. Discretion is the better part of valor right? The Old Hero was an interesting fight, and he managed to be ridiculously intimidating even if he wasn't actually difficult.

The Storm King was super cool whiz bang spectacle. I wish the Storm Ruler had more use though, because swinging it around is fun.

1-3 is probably one of my favorite levels. Just a really cool layout that was fun to explore with lots of traps and such. I saved Biorr (and Yuria) and his presence made the Penetrator a non issue. That's ok though, getting that break is a nice reward for saving the character.

So that leaves 3 levels to the end. I worked a bit on the dreaded 5-2 tonight, and aside from crawling through it on my first go (you're this close to blind, and it just tears at the nerves ) I haven't yet been able to get past the two big troll bastards. I've killed the first one every time, and every time I manage to get myself stuck in the muck without noticing and being unable to roll while fighting the second.

Can't finish tonight because I've gotta sleep (wuss) but I'm nearing the end here.

[Xeogred]

Sorry to hear marlowe221, but you clearly gave the game a very fair shot. Glad you tried it. Maybe try out some of the other games down the road.

@CFFJR: Good stuff dude. If you haven't noticed, you can go back to 4-3 and grind there really easily with the Storm Ruler. Best grind spot in the game once you get a handle on it.

1-3 is indeed awesome and a fun level, really dig it. The bridge before the Penetrator fight is a great spot for grinding healing items, the enemies there tend to drop a lot of them.

If it makes you feel better on 5-2, the two bosses you have left in this are a joke like the first one.