@SmilingSword - thanks for the information. It is safe to say that your experience has been different from mine. Online, I've met a bunch of guys who would brag about stocking up on acid and breaking the equipment of the opponent if they didn't fight. Others were less savory. Now maybe that is simply where I was hanging out, but it left me a very bad taste in my mouth.
As far as in game, of all the times that I've been invaded, there were a select few that bow first and make sure you are prepared. Most simply charge, or more often wait in hiding and get you by surprise. And if you are merely trying to get through a particularly tough area and all of the sudden have to contend with somebody backstabing you while trying to dispatch an enemy, that can feel more obnoxious than a simple duel.
Eventually, I took measures that would prevent invading because I can't think of one single experience that was challenging. I had people invading me in Heide's tower with boss level weapons. That was not intended to be a fair fight.
I admit that my limited experience is not 'Necessarily' representative of the community at large. I'll just say that "My" experiences were not pleasant and I got to hating them so much that I would occasionally power off instead of dealing.
I'd have preferred if the game had specific designated PVP arenas, or conversely an online mode that was cooperative only (because there is a lot more to online play than simply PVP, despite what some players think or claim).
And as for healing, most invaders that I ever say would heal themselves with Humanities.
One of the neatest fanart I've seen. If Fromsoftware pulls it off, it would be awesome. http://imgur.com/gallery/mjsTJ Actually, Baldur's gate was the first to introduce the mimic monster.
The original Dark Souls had Mimics as well that were done pretty well in my view. The problem was that due to the nature of the game you came to (meta-game) learn where they were before they struck. Therefore they weren't really that scary. Even if you didn't "Know" you always hit the chest before attempting to open it.
A few of the other "Mash-ups" I think are a bit needless. While it is interesting to see how many ways they can mix and match the same monsters, it would be more interesting (to me) if they would come up with new stuff.
I'm still way looking forward to the game. Just sayin....
Looks a lot like Dark Souls, mixed with Bloodborne assets - not that there's anything wrong with that.
I've also felt that Dark Souls 3 is taking from Bloodborne as well. I wanted to like Bloodborne. I tried really hard to like it. I just never got into it.
While part of that was the shift in genre (from Swords and Sorcery to a more Goth/H P Lovecraft style), not all of it was. I do hope that Dark Souls 3 feels more like a Dark Souls game than a Bloodborne game in the Dark Souls universe. Personal and subjective.
LOL. After watching the video (with sound this time), the background song is 'True Colors' by Cyndi Lauper. What a weird choice for the game developers.
I'm rather amused how Fromsoftware sets up the lore and story. As if they are planting the seed in players mind who is growing his own story, based on small bits. In my opinion breaking the cycles would mean unable to start a flame again. Other plot solutions would be to set up infinite cycles which could be a ground for DS4, someday.
I gotta say, since I recently started a new job and can reasonably expect to do so in the next few months, I'm planning on buying both a PS3 and PS4 simply so I can have hard copies of Demon's Souls, the Dark Souls Trilogy and Bloodborne. There is such an unmistakable and painstaking overall quality to these games that I can only compare to the best Legend of Zelda titles. They may have one or two minor flaws, but the games or so exquisitely crafted that it almost defies belief, even though we are essentially going on the 5th installment. They are games that are as fixed and monolithic as the statues on Easter Island (and maybe even MORE mysterious), yet at the same time are almost infinitely replayable for any number of factors.
It's become pretty common to see Dark Souls show up on best-of lists as frequently in the top 10, or even THE best game of all-time, and before playing the series, it seemed so wildly overblown and impossible to imagine. But it turned out to be true.
It's become pretty common to see Dark Souls show up on best-of lists as frequently in the top 10, or even THE best game of all-time, and before playing the series, it seemed so wildly overblown and impossible to imagine. But it turned out to be true.
Dark souls franchise is modern Baldur's Gate. BG left a mark 20 years ago; DS is doing the same thing.
So here's something interesting....From Software made a bunch of dungeon crawlers for Playstation and Playstation 2 called King's Field and Shadow Tower. About 5 games total. While the technology isn't at the place where they can even be called GOOD games, the first elements of the Souls series are already taking form. The NPCs, the atmosphere, the difficulty. Worth tracking them down and at least trying them out in an emulator to see how they got to this point.
I'm thinking about trying out DS1 again this spring break. Can anyone recommend like a Bard build? I know there are no bard songs or anything so I'm thinking a light/medium armored caster that uses sorceries and miracles. I'll probs grab that talisman so your miracles scale off of int from the guy behind the gargoyles. Might grab a rapier because rapiers are cool.
Not much is usually said about the mechanics of DS, but the RP system is actually really good. You can create literally any type of character.
Casting spells on one hand while wielding a sword in the other like a boss
While this may be technically the case, and I don't "Necessarily" find fault in the spell casting in the Dark Souls franchise, it is nowhere near as robust as I would like it to be. The list of spells can be boiled down to a handful and then variations on those specific few. Again, not finding fault. Merely saying that it could be more robust.
Not much is usually said about the mechanics of DS, but the RP system is actually really good. You can create literally any type of character.
Casting spells on one hand while wielding a sword in the other like a boss
While this may be technically the case, and I don't "Necessarily" find fault in the spell casting in the Dark Souls franchise, it is nowhere near as robust as I would like it to be. The list of spells can be boiled down to a handful and then variations on those specific few. Again, not finding fault. Merely saying that it could be more robust.
It could be for sure, but they did expand it to include Hexes in Dark Souls 2, which does give you 4 distinct schools. And then of course, you have a nearly unlimited way to use weapons, and when you combine that with the magic, and the armor......these games by all rights SHOULDN'T be as robust and replayable as they are. The world is set in stone and never changes. Once you master an area there is very little danger if you have your wits about you. But if you were playing one play through with a shield and axe, your next one could be dual-wielding daggers, or a spell-sword type, or someone who relies totally on Faith and hammers as a prototypical holy warrior. The key to replaying the Souls games is that the playstyle is so different just from doing something like changing your weapon or armor, without even taking into account the type of magic you do or don't master. You could probably play these games DOZENS of times and have a fairly unique experience. Nothing will ever be the same as your first play-through, but much like Baldur's Gate, your subsequent plays still retain 80% of that magic, which is a important and remarkable feat.
Not much is usually said about the mechanics of DS, but the RP system is actually really good. You can create literally any type of character.
Casting spells on one hand while wielding a sword in the other like a boss
While this may be technically the case, and I don't "Necessarily" find fault in the spell casting in the Dark Souls franchise, it is nowhere near as robust as I would like it to be. The list of spells can be boiled down to a handful and then variations on those specific few. Again, not finding fault. Merely saying that it could be more robust.
Hmm, I am not sure how this is relevant to my point. Also, I am not sure how a supposed lack of variety affects robustness. But I can see your point about the lack of spells variety for sure if we compare to D&D games. However, overall there is a lot more variety compared to D&D CRPGs.
@Vallmyr@Yamcha I would recommend the Estoc for a thrusting sword. I feel like a Bard would be an INT build with a magic/enchanted Estoc and small shield. The Estoc only requires 10 STR 12 DEX so you could do a build that has access to both Sorceries and Miracles in addition. I would max INT and do about 20 Faith.
EDIT: Or if you want to focus more on buffing and not casting, 25 INT and max DEX.
Casting spells on one hand while wielding a sword in the other like a boss
Here is the relevance to my statement. While you can 'Technically' literally play any type of character, the actual spell casting system is a bit on the limited side (personal and subjective opinion), thus any spell caster type or partial caster type is going to be more limited than in other games. Hence, if I wanted to play a 'Type' of caster character that was all about battle field control, my choices are quite limited.
In any event, I do admit that Dark Souls 2 brought in hexes. I still feel that the entire magic system has almost boundless untapped potential. And while it is possible to use spell casting in PvP (a significant and major component of the game) it is less useful in most instances than simply using a weapon. What I mean is that there may be builds and play styles that do work as sorcerers in PvP, on average weapon and even ranged combat is significantly superior "Most of the time".
But this is far off topic. And before anyone gets the idea that I don't think Dark Souls is AWESOME, I flat out do. I just recognize that there are areas of improvement yet to be seen.
Comments
As far as in game, of all the times that I've been invaded, there were a select few that bow first and make sure you are prepared. Most simply charge, or more often wait in hiding and get you by surprise. And if you are merely trying to get through a particularly tough area and all of the sudden have to contend with somebody backstabing you while trying to dispatch an enemy, that can feel more obnoxious than a simple duel.
Eventually, I took measures that would prevent invading because I can't think of one single experience that was challenging. I had people invading me in Heide's tower with boss level weapons. That was not intended to be a fair fight.
I admit that my limited experience is not 'Necessarily' representative of the community at large. I'll just say that "My" experiences were not pleasant and I got to hating them so much that I would occasionally power off instead of dealing.
I'd have preferred if the game had specific designated PVP arenas, or conversely an online mode that was cooperative only (because there is a lot more to online play than simply PVP, despite what some players think or claim).
And as for healing, most invaders that I ever say would heal themselves with Humanities.
http://zedotagger.deviantart.com/gallery/54317550/Dark-Souls
http://imgur.com/gallery/mjsTJ
Actually, Baldur's gate was the first to introduce the mimic monster.
A few of the other "Mash-ups" I think are a bit needless. While it is interesting to see how many ways they can mix and match the same monsters, it would be more interesting (to me) if they would come up with new stuff.
I'm still way looking forward to the game. Just sayin....
But I don't feel amazed ^^
While part of that was the shift in genre (from Swords and Sorcery to a more Goth/H P Lovecraft style), not all of it was. I do hope that Dark Souls 3 feels more like a Dark Souls game than a Bloodborne game in the Dark Souls universe. Personal and subjective.
What engine is running DS3? Is it Bloodborne's or modified DS2?
In my opinion breaking the cycles would mean unable to start a flame again.
Other plot solutions would be to set up infinite cycles which could be a ground for DS4, someday.
Developers Q&A
http://fextralife.com/dark-souls-3-qa-responses-from-bandai-namco/
It's become pretty common to see Dark Souls show up on best-of lists as frequently in the top 10, or even THE best game of all-time, and before playing the series, it seemed so wildly overblown and impossible to imagine. But it turned out to be true.
Casting spells on one hand while wielding a sword in the other like a boss
Short sword + mage catalyst
Short bow
chainmail and light clothing for fast-roll
A bard doesn't do miracles.
EDIT: Or if you want to focus more on buffing and not casting, 25 INT and max DEX.
In any event, I do admit that Dark Souls 2 brought in hexes. I still feel that the entire magic system has almost boundless untapped potential. And while it is possible to use spell casting in PvP (a significant and major component of the game) it is less useful in most instances than simply using a weapon. What I mean is that there may be builds and play styles that do work as sorcerers in PvP, on average weapon and even ranged combat is significantly superior "Most of the time".
But this is far off topic. And before anyone gets the idea that I don't think Dark Souls is AWESOME, I flat out do. I just recognize that there are areas of improvement yet to be seen.