☠ Souls Series Symposium ☠

[Gunstar Green]

Honestly I like to consider both of 3's DLCs to be one big DLC and in that light Ariandel isn't so bad. It's all part of the same plotline and they lead directly into one another. There are some theories that they actually were meant to be one DLC but ended up getting split. I like Ariandel too though and Friede is a killer fight.

Anyway I've finished the base game of 2 now and my feelings are mostly unchanged so I won't bother reiterating. I think if I had to pick the most disappointing thing for me it would be the boss fights.

Also I'm not sure they really needed to add Aldia in as a final boss. I mean Nashandra was pretty underwhelming but it builds up to Aldia who is even MORE underwhelming. I mean Gwyn was a pushover but at least it made thematic sense and he was still pretty cool.

I started mucking around in the first DLC and so far it does seem way more interesting and fully realized than anything else so far. Some personal annoyances I have with the core gameplay are still present but the level design itself is a huge improvement. There's still some empty square rooms but it's not as common or noticeable. I feel more in the world than I did before.

[Xeogred]

Safe to say it's coming along nicely and the back half is indeed, easy as expected again.

Nito and Four Kings down. I liked New Londo Ruins even more this time around. It reminds me of some of my favorite areas in the other games, like the first DLC of DS2, or the underground coliseum-ish area in DS3. I just love these massive ruins that are underground. Although that's not quite New Londo, the dense fog is crushing making it feel like you're deep in the hollow Earth and ultimately... next to the abyss. The atmosphere is amazing.

Tomb of the Giants was a lot easier this time around. For some reason I don't think I used the lantern or any lights last time haha. I don't even think I got the Ember in that one room with all the giant skeletons last time. I still might have to look up where the damn blacksmith is here though, it's bizarre. It's weird to say, I kind of enjoyed this area this time. Those hunched over skeletons are still the worst though.


Probably what Exhuminator will look like?

No joke though, with high END and the Ring of Favor now, sometimes with Havel's Ring... I've definitely been tanking some tough parts and bosses. It is actually really fun. I forget how deadly good poise can be in this, you might take more hits but you can, while still striking enemies. I've been rocking the Stone Knight armor a lot off and on, the best I have so far. I can't even fathom how crazy it would be if I upgraded the pieces a bit. I have to imagine this is very easy mode, isiolia.

I've done all the side stuff for the most part. Might do some quests like Siegmeyer's. All that's left is Duke's Archives (maybe my favorite of the last four main areas) and Demon Ruins. I'm having so much fun and blasting through it I might go ahead and do the DLC. Or maybe make a new character and try a glass INT build for the heck of it. "Daunting" was always the thought when I would think about replaying Dark Souls 1. But really I've even surprised myself by how much I intimately know all the maps and areas even after just one full playthrough and a half from years ago. It's interesting to pay more attention to what bosses are optional and could have been skipped, or think about alternate ways. Especially if I ever try doing a run with the Master Key. Dark Souls 1 is going from "daunting" to "comforting".

[Gunstar Green]

Two of my favorite armor sets right there. I rocked the brass set in my NG+ and while I didn't use the stone set it's just so cool looking with all the moss growing on it. I liked the Tomb of Giants in my first playthrough. I was stressed and terrified the entire time which is how I assume the game wanted me to feel. It's one of the bits I didn't realize was a problem area for other people until discussing the game on the Internet.

Thoughts on Sunken Crown:

The areas are really cool and like nothing else in any of the other games, really. I was annoyed by the mobs at first until I stopped being stupid and discovered the second bonfire. The ghosts really, really sucked but getting revenge on them was sweet.

As far as the bosses go, the optional gank squad was pretty stupid but at least they're optional. Elana was a lot cooler than Nashandra but ended up being another fight reliant on adds for its challenge. It was OK.

Sinh lived up to the hype however. He's probably the easiest of the three DLC dragons but he's still damned tough and a lot of fun to fight (unless his RNG gets stuck having him constantly flying away then he's annoying as hell). I think I'd rank him #2 among his brethren. Kalameet is just awesome and I love Midir too but he loses points for being such a slog.

I see what was meant earlier about things being Zelda-ish. I'm not really a fan of 3D Zeldas but the puzzle stuff was light and not obtrusive as well as being pretty clever. My only complaint was they use the same buttons for the shortcut elevators as they do for other things. I died a few times being confused about what to do because when I was outside of the pyramid I tried activating the shortcut elevator buttons in various ways, including shooting them with arrows, so I assumed the same buttons on the inside followed the same rules and wouldn't work if I shot them with arrows either. I thought I was missing an item or something. Then in frustration I tried an arrow and it worked. This is on me I guess but I still felt a little lied to.

I'm not sure what I'd rank it as a DLC next to the others because I'm too biased but if the main game had more areas like this with boss finales like this one, I'd love it a whole lot more.

[Exhuminator]

What platform are you playing DS1 on Xeo?

[Xeogred]

Yeah I might main the Brass set now. I usually go for the Silver Knight set in these, but it's time to try and change it up haha. They seem similar enough and medium powered, I've got some good poise with this set.

The Painted World cloak is really cool for magic scenarios though... a certain Darkmoon boss. Still one of my favorite boss fights in the game, since it feels very Demon's and has a specific gimmick.

Glad you liked the first DLC dude. I'm sure you'll like the others too and I wonder how you'll rank them. To avoid any confusion, the second DLC is my favorite - Crown of the Old Iron King. I thought it was the hardest too. One of its boss battles might be my favorite in the entire game.

Each DLC does have kind of an online boss, but yeah since I loved the online elements in 2 I didn't mind them.

Holy fuck though dude, I just remembered about the Frigid Outskirts. The worst... area... in the history of Soulsborne. Good luck.

What platform are you playing DS1 on Xeo?

PC. First played it on the PS3. I was weary about using an Xbox controller but it's fine. I will probably buy DS2 and DS3 again on PC for a silly excuse to replay them again too.

[isiolia]

I've been rocking the Stone Knight armor a lot off and on, the best I have so far. I can't even fathom how crazy it would be if I upgraded the pieces a bit. I have to imagine this is very easy mode, isiolia.

You're roughly caught up to where I'm at in slow roll run (I did Duke's Archives first, then New Londo, and left off after Centipede Demon). Hopefully will get the others before bed. I've been using Havel's armor though. Lord Soul bosses have been majorly easy in that setup. Really, O&S was the only one to give me any issue. Shall see with DLC bosses, but given that I've already done them with Greatshield of Artorias/Zweihander I'm not sure it'll be that big a change.

It's kind of a step back from doing the glass cannon mage build...that was ludicrous on later bosses, but it took a lot more deliberate order of areas and collecting things to get there.

[Xeogred]

I've been rocking the Stone Knight armor a lot off and on, the best I have so far. I can't even fathom how crazy it would be if I upgraded the pieces a bit. I have to imagine this is very easy mode, isiolia.

You're roughly caught up to where I'm at in slow roll run (I did Duke's Archives first, then New Londo, and left off after Centipede Demon). Hopefully will get the others before bed. I've been using Havel's armor though. Lord Soul bosses have been majorly easy in that setup. Really, O&S was the only one to give me any issue. Shall see with DLC bosses, but given that I've already done them with Greatshield of Artorias/Zweihander I'm not sure it'll be that big a change.

It's kind of a step back from doing the glass cannon mage build...that was ludicrous on later bosses, but it took a lot more deliberate order of areas and collecting things to get there.

Were you doing NG too?

Man I was fuming at O&S, but in retrospect it's nice to see that their legacy still holds up even games later haha. Funny we both had trouble on them again. It's not the most iconic fight in the series for nothing.

Your second part there is what makes an INT character scary and intriguing. It's more integral to find certain NPC's and items ASAP, compared to just duking it out with melee where you just need a decent weapon and armor to get by most of the time. I've been kind of skimming through most of the NPC dialogue this time so I've already kind of lost track of how to find who when and where for a new possible run already.

Do you mean ludicrous as in easy though? I still forget if it's Demon's or Dark Souls 1 where magic can be really OP, maybe both games.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I think that playing through Dark Souls is going to be one of my 2018 goals (along with getting through another King’s Field game). Should I download all of the DLC at the outset?

[Xeogred]

I think that playing through Dark Souls is going to be one of my 2018 goals (along with getting through another King’s Field game). Should I download all of the DLC at the outset?

Do you own it already? If not all you will need is to get the Prepare to Die edition. Or you can just download it separately if you have the base game release. There's only one DLC for DS1, it's mostly late game content but definitely worth it.

[Gunstar Green]

I think that playing through Dark Souls is going to be one of my 2018 goals (along with getting through another King’s Field game). Should I download all of the DLC at the outset?

Yes, since if you don't play it before you beat the game you have to go halfway through a NG+ cycle to get to the chance to do it again.

I generally don't advocate using a guide in these games but if you're getting near the end and you haven't discovered the DLC in the game yet (you probably will if you're being thorough), then look up the guide for how to do so because it's a little esoteric.

They improved this in 2 and 3 by not having an automatic NG+ when you beat the game and making it easier to find the DLC entrances (SUPER easy in 3) but in Dark Souls 1 it's really specific and a bit strange.