When going back to areas you struggled with on your first play, it's clear that a major part of the Souls series will only remain a danger to you if you suffer from extreme memory loss. Case in point, the basiliks in the Depths. The first time the rat lures you into their pit and you die instantly to their breath and realize your health has been cut to nothing, the sight of them terrifies you. However, when you know where they are, and don't run headlong into them, they pose nearly no risk at all. Same for the Gaping Dragon. There is no way to die if you just run away from it and wait for it's crawl attack and then lay into it's body for one full stamina bar.
I'm glad I finally reached Blighttown, to experience the infamous console frame-rate drop, and yes, it's as bad as advertised. But the fact is ANY big enemies with particle effects causes a massive frame-rate drop (the Hellkite Drake's fire attack on the bridge drops it to nearly 0). I'll give From credit for fixing this in the 3 later games, but the optimization of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls is subpar to say the least.
After a fair number of tries (and ditching the Drake Sword for a +5 Claymore, which is my first venture into "big" melee weapons) I finally got Quelagg down solo. The major problem?? The camera, since my strategy was similar to the Gaping Dragon, which means spending alot of time running and baiting attacks with a big window. However, for up to 5 secs at a time, if the spider is running at you, all you can see is it's zoomed in body, even if you are half the room away.
I am allowing for spells such as Magic Weapon, Iron Flesh, Power Within, etc. I don't feel like anyone would play Baldur's Gate without Bless or Haste, so why would I limit myself in Dark Souls to achieve some arbitrary difficulty?? I also am carrying a shortbow, since I think playing these games without a tool to pull or take out snipers is simply ridiculous.
The most impressive thing about Dark Souls 1 remains it's that, for the first half, it's vertical design is simply unmatched. As you continue to proceed lower and lower (I remember looking into the gaping sewer hole to Blighttown after finishing The Depths the first time and thinking "how much lower am I going"??) And apparently farther, as there is still the Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith. Dark Souls really does take you to it's own heaven and hell in a way. The reason Dark Souls will always remain the definitive game of the series is the journey from Undead Burg to Anor Londo. Having perfect design for half the game may not make it "better" than the rest of the series, but it is certainly more impressive.
I've returned to Anor Londo, which is as far as I made it on the PC version before starting to play on console. Iron Golem wasn't really any harder without Iron Tarkus, but the length of the fight just proved to me what a badass that particular summon is. Iron Golem is another boss that is just a "good" fight without being overly difficult. He has obvious weaknesses (lightning, his legs) that seem realistic based on his design.
Dark Souls constantly gives you the tools you need to succeed even if you're stuck. The Lightning Spear from the Mimic makes the Snake Men, the initial Sentinels in Anor Londo, and the Iron Golem significantly easier. Alot of the difficulty in Dark Souls 1 is based on enemy and boss health pools. The less amount of times you have to dodge or recognize certain attacks correctly, the more likely it is that you won't get hit by them, or with enough of them to deplete your Estus. Ultimately, no matter what game in the RPG genre you are playing, and no matter how much the game tries to make other things matter, damage output nearly always reigns supreme. Give From alot of credit for always making sure every enemy has weapon and elemental strengths and weaknesses.
Sen's Fortress remains a favorite of all the areas I've played in the Soulsbourne series thus far. It serves the function of being a "Tomb of Horrors" trap-fest (but not overly so) while also functioning as a test to see if you are worthy to ascend to the city of the Gods. The second half on the roof is also trivial compared to the bottom half and being able to get to the bonfire. There remains a Zen-like quality to going through areas you have mastered and playing them really well, even if you struggle for hours on the next area you enter. The Souls games never have a straight difficulty curve. You can be thrown an absolute cakewalk of a boss after and gauntlet of 3 or 4 you bang your head on for hours. Oftentimes bosses going down feels like a graduation or reward for making it through an area.
In my continuing effort to get where I was in all 5 games without summons or ranged spells, the bosses of Central Yharnam were next. The Cleric Beast went down in one-shot, without so much as a single dangerous moment. Gascoigne is unfortunately still a bastard in his second phase no matter what, but I got him in 3 attempts, which is about 10 less than the first time.
It can't be overstated how much dodging forward to the left or right makes things easier in this game. The vast majority of enemies will be stuck in their attack, and since you move so quickly, 2 or 3 hits is nearly guaranteed. You dash back afterwards, wait for another attack, slide under and around them again, and you're golden most of the time. It's what circle-strafing is to Dark Souls 1 (which was dealt with in 2 to an extent and 3 to a much greater degree). I don't think I like the Hunter's Axe as much as the Saw Cleaver so far, but it's what I'm going with. One thing I've noticed about weapons in Bloodborne is that the vast majority of them scale horribly, with barely anything breaking C's or D's in Strength or Skill (Dex) scaling.
Working through Old Yharnam again, I continue to be stunned at the level and sophistication of the detail of these games that reveals itself to you if you are willing to look. Basically, the Healing Church likely purposefully infected the citizens of section of Yharnam with a disease called Ashen Blood, which caused the populace to turn to the blood of the Healing Church, consolidating their power. But as anyone who has played the game knows, the blood ministration of the Healing Church causes humans to descend into feral abominations, so the Church and it's Hunters of the Workshop burnt that section of the city to the ground and sealed it away.
But one of the Hunters, racked with guilt, stayed. He no longer hunts the beasts, but protects them, in a seemingly eternal watch on top of a tower (there is nothing that defines the Souls games more than bosses and mini-bosses keeping watch over a certain area as their only reason for existence). But it's the enemy design that really hits home here. Many of the beasts are wearing shrouds, as if ashamed or frightened of the transformation that was taking place. The sound in this game is blood-curdling. I'll maintain that as a piece of horror fiction, Bloodborne remains more effective than all but a handful of movies and written stories, but even if this tale was brought to a big-screen, it would never be able to approach the level of detail and pathos that you can gather from every single area in the game, as they work as short stories and part of a larger narrative.
Rumor has it that The Old Hunters was the only DLC for Bloodborne because it was actually both planned expansions rolled into one. If that's the case then it's certainly possible that The Hunter's Nightmare and The Fishing Hamlet were originally going to be separate releases. If that's the case, we should probably expect two fairly short, dense DLC packs, with about two areas each, and 2-3 bosses, for a total of 5 or 6 more total. I can't imagine one of them isn't going to have something to do with Londor, and it seems likely the other would be focused on the Angelic Faith and whatever is going on in the sky during the Dragonslayer Armour fight. Those are my guesses anyway.
Blood-Starved Beast and Vicar Amelia down in three and one shots respectively. The key to most of the fights in Bloodborne is never retreat, dodge forward instead. In Vicar Amelia's case, I've always been highly intimidated by her, but that's clearly by design. Her screams are blood-curdling, and she's huge. But assuming you've put enough points into vitality, you can afford to stay close to her and take a hit or two. What this fight really brought into focus is how the Hunter's Axe is sort of like the same as starting with the Knight in Dark Souls. It's trick weapon variant is unbelievably powerful when dealing with tough enemies, because it hit's them at an absurd range for absurd damage, at the cost of most of your stamina. I think most people struggle with Vicar Amelia because of her health pool and healing. But seriously, two-hand the axe, throw some Fire Paper on it, and watch her melt. I even let her heal, I almost felt bad. She was dead in another 45 seconds anyway.
Here's the thing about playing as the starting dual-wield character in Dark Souls 2 (Scholar), the Swordsman. You simply can't take fights head on, it's impossible. There are too many mobs and if you are choosing to stay within the aesthetics of your chosen class, you have no way to block, start with nearly no healthpool, and since you go down to 50% as you hollow, I can take MAYBE 2 or 3 hits. That said, I was able to take out The Last Giant in said state. The rest of the level though is another matter.....
The only viable solution to playing this class early in the game is to just RUN all over the place. This is usually a tactic I save for boss runs when the area has well been mastered, but I simply have no choice with what I was given. I simply went for all the items I could get in the Forest while mostly running AROUND enemies, and, most importantly, I had to make a suicide run to get the Ring of Binding in Heide's Tower of Flame (which is invaluable in the early game) by running past all the big Knights, shooting an arrow at the Heide Knight guarding the chest with the ring, running them all BACK to the big circular room, sprinting BACK down to the chest and opening and looting the ring just in time to get smacked into oblivion.
This has been an interesting challenge, but I'll say this: Dark Souls 2 (at least Scholar) is far harder in the early going than any of the other games if you aren't playing ranged or rocking a shield. There is legitimacy to the claim that too much of the difficulty in the sequel lies in being ganked.
Nothing says that you can't play an archer/dual wielder. That at least gives you some control over the map.
Oh a bow is always in play. The most bullshit thing about Dark Souls 2 is the seemingly 360 degree tracking opponents can do mid-attack to still hit you. I'm looking directly at the giant mace-wielding knights in Heide's.
So I returned to the point where I left off on my original PC play of Dark Souls 1, that being having cleared Anor Londo, just waiting to tackle Ornstein and Smough. However, this time I have both taken out Knight Laurtec in his world (getting the fabulous Ring of Favor and Protection, though putting it on is a irreversible choice, but I probably will) AND become pretty adept at parrying Silver Knights left and right. Sword ones are almost automatic, the timing on the spear-wielding guys is tougher. I still think Bloodborne is amazing for teaching players how to parry in Souls games just from a timing aspect, but even more than timing, I find the key to parrying is to just get right up in the face of the enemy with no space between you, which makes it infinitely easier.
Anyway, my build is still pretty strength-based. I have a Claymore at +7 and I crafted Quelaag's Furysword from a +10 Shotel and now have that up to +3, which is what I plan on using to take on the dynamic duo. Putting on the Ring of Favor and Protection in conjunction with Havel's should allow me to fast roll in most of my heavy armor, which has been the goal, but again, that leaves only one open ring slot for the rest of the game. Still, it's pretty tough to pass up on 20% HP, stamina, and equip load, especially since as far as I can tell that is a flat increase no matter how high your stats go.
I would like DLC brings expanded Ash Lake inspired areas with underwater cities and ruins if possible. Storywise, I think it would be wise to narration take distance of rekindling the flame. It has become recycled material up to now. What do you think?
I would like DLC brings expanded Ash Lake inspired areas with underwater cities and ruins if possible. Storywise, I think it would be wise to narration take distance of rekindling the flame. It has become recycled material up to now. What do you think?
I think if one of the DLCs doesn't deal with the Sable Church of Londor I will be beyond disappointed. I'd also prefer the other one to explore the lore of The Deep farther. I do think the issue with the flame has been essentially resolved, the DLCs, while being the best and most challenging content in all the games, usually follows clues and paths hinted at in the initial release, revealing and resolving big, interesting plot questions, but not changing the arc of the story.
The Old Hunters tied in the best with the initial story. Artorias of the Abyss is essentially a side-story (a time-traveling one at that) that builds off the Sif fight (though was clearly always planned). The 3 Dark Souls 2 DLCs were the only ones that don't seem have MUCH to do with the original release, but Dark Souls 2 is essentially a series of vignettes, and only the Scholar of the First Sin release brings everything together in a clear picture.
I just can't see them not expanding on the fairly vague "Lord of Hollows" story-line that comes from pursuing the Yoel/Yuria questline. I've killed her before, and her death dialogue talks about how she failed Kaathe. The whole wedding sequence with Anri is really unsettling, and exploring the Sable Church is the thing I want to see. How can we NOT fight one of the Primordial Serpents before it's all over. I have no real predictions or requests for the other DLC.
So, after finally mustering the courage....Ornstein and Smough are everything their legend makes them out to be, though I feel the real challenge in this fight once you've seen it a few times, is, again, the camera. I eventually got to the point where I had Ornstein down to less than 5%, and greed killed, but I was out of Estus and likely wouldn't have survived phase two. So the question was, can I reasonably beat this fight with 10 Estus, or should I take my first venture into the Catacombs and seek out Pinwheel for the Rite of Kindling??
Down I went, back to Sen's Fortress, cage down to the pendulums, back to the Andre bonfire, elevator back to Firelink. While there, I revived the good Firekeeper with the Soul recovered from Lautrec. And then, the Catacombs. I have to say, this game does the idea of a subterranean tomb very, very well. I almost feel that the +1 Occult club you get in Anor Londo is sorta, kinda leading you here if you are struggling with O&S. I immediately downgraded it to the very, very useful Divine +5 (I suppose you could do the pre-Necromancer kill Catacombs without a Divine Weapon, but why??). The area wasn't trivial, but navigating the terrain was the hardest part. The Bone Wheel Skeletons are a bitch (and they were made into a shadow of themselves in Dark Souls 3 for whatever reason). Pinwheel is the pushover everyone always said, but I imagine it is supposed to be. The Rite of Kindling is beyond useful, and From seems to have decided that if you're resourceful enough to get yourself a Divine Weapon early enough, and are willing to traverse some treacherous moments to get here, they weren't also gonna throw a rough boss in the way.
Love the idea of both this Necromancer and Vamos the Blacksmith practicing their trades in these very deep and secluded series of tombs. Anyway, mission accomplished. Killed the Prowling Demon in Anor Londo (who has an absurd amount of health) to get enough Demon Titanite to get the Furysword up to +4, and am just going to level to 60 which should put me at the point where I can at least wear one heavy armor set and get under 25% equip load. Then the Dragonslayer and Executioner SHOULD go down....eventually.
AND DOWN!!!....after about 25 attempts over two days, only getting Ornstein down once and messing up when I thought I had Smough beat, I again got to the second phase and locked in. I would wait for the obvious openings and it was one swing and out. Took five minutes of kiting around the Cathedral, but the most legendary boss fight is in the books for me, straight up melee (without a shield for this fight actually) and no summoning. Damn, what a rush. It's easy to see why this has become one the most celebrated boss battles in recent gaming. It's hard as hell but immensely satisfying. It's probably not hyperbole to say if you can get Ornstein and Smough down solo, you can do anything in these games if you set your mind to it.
That being said, you constantly see O & S listed at or near the top of most lists of toughest video game bosses of all-time. I was legitimately frustrated and challenged by them, but I hardly get the impression that I just took down one of the hardest fights ever devised. From what I've seen, hasn't this fight been surpassed in difficulty as time has gone on by the likes of Artorias, Manus, Ludwig and Orphan of Kos (I'm not sure if any Dark Souls 3 fights qualify, but The Nameless King and Pontiff Sulyvahn certainly have to be in the running)??
AND DOWN!!!....after about 25 attempts over two days, only getting Ornstein down once and messing up when I thought I had Smough beat, I again got to the second phase and locked in. I would wait for the obvious openings and it was one swing and out. Took five minutes of kiting around the Cathedral, but the most legendary boss fight is in the books for me, straight up melee (without a shield for this fight actually) and no summoning. Damn, what a rush. It's easy to see why this has become one the most celebrated boss battles in recent gaming. It's hard as hell but immensely satisfying. It's probably not hyperbole to say if you can get Ornstein and Smough down solo, you can do anything in these games if you set your mind to it.
When I first come to Orenstein and Smough, I though they are unbeatable and there has to be some trick. No trick just skill. I would describe this boss fight like dance with patience. These two are the most memorable bosses ever. Did you try to use heavy weapons with them? There is one heavy sword hidden in Ash lake which I would like to try it with them because it has nice animation set.
AND DOWN!!!....after about 25 attempts over two days, only getting Ornstein down once and messing up when I thought I had Smough beat, I again got to the second phase and locked in. I would wait for the obvious openings and it was one swing and out. Took five minutes of kiting around the Cathedral, but the most legendary boss fight is in the books for me, straight up melee (without a shield for this fight actually) and no summoning. Damn, what a rush. It's easy to see why this has become one the most celebrated boss battles in recent gaming. It's hard as hell but immensely satisfying. It's probably not hyperbole to say if you can get Ornstein and Smough down solo, you can do anything in these games if you set your mind to it.
When I first come to Orenstein and Smough, I though they are unbeatable and there has to be some trick. No trick just skill. I would describe this boss fight like dance with patience. These two are the most memorable bosses ever. Did you try to use heavy weapons with them? There is one heavy sword hidden in Ash lake which I would like to try it with them because it has nice animation set.
I used Quelaag's Furysword since they are both relatively weak to fire. That said, it scales off Dex and soft humanity, neither of which I had a overabundance of, so I don't think I was at some amazing advantage. I ended up two-handing it, as while blocking Ornstein's attacks was reducing the damage he did, he was still staggering me and it was giving him time to jump back out of the range of my weapon. I realized I simply had to keep them both in sight 90% of the time and dodge whenever he glided in, and try to judge whether Smough was far enough away to get some hits in. Other than that I was wearing the Silver Knight set with the Mask of the Child substituted for the head-piece for stamina regen. Havel's Ring and the Ring of Favor and Protection to get under 25% equip load.
I'm not sure it's even fair to call Ceaseless Discharge a boss, it's more like a area unlock with a health-bar. Running to pick up the armor and running back to the fog gate might SEEM like a cheese or glitch tactic at first glance, but the way it plays out makes me think it's just a gimmick boss that was under-developed, as the whole area of the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith is notorious for being rushed and unfinished as a concept.
@jjstraka34 Of course you need to figure that part out first. You can also beat him similar on who you fight the Old Iron King (ds2), which isn't as trivial.
In other news in my melee-only march to all bosses in the series, recently downed both the Tower Knight, Covetous Demon and Flexile Sentry. Covetous Demon was a trivial joke, Flexile gave me a decent scare for about 15 seconds before I figured out to stay on it's club side. Both went down first try. The Tower Knight is a truly good boss though, once you have to do it the "right" way. It literally has an Achilles heel, and took 5 or so tries to get down, with alot of ducks back up the stairs to heal. It's an annoying boss to die on, because the run back (even after having killed the red dragon, which is a half-hour pain in the ass unrivaled in any of these games) is a real pain.
Ok, while ashamed to admit it, I just got The Pursuer down solo for the first time tonight. I can legitimately say I had more trouble with this guy than anyone else I've fought in the series. Father Gascoigne, Ornstein and Smough, Capra Demon, you name it, The Pursuer, to this point, has been my undoing. I finally learned that roll to the right and CONTINUE rolling if he starts his combo is the key, and it doesn't help that I'm pretty fragile in my armor, but damn, there is just something about the sort of delayed reaction among some of the enemies in Dark Souls 2 that gives me fits. Anyway, the key was to put away my scimitar and use the Old Knight Halberd. It's a weapon that is so brittle you couldn't possibly use it to get through a level, but is good enough and actually perfect for bosses, and this one in particular. He doesn't have huge windows, and having range on my swings was the key. Regardless, another boss done melee only, no summon. Adding it to the list
@jjstraka34 Pursuer is quite hard for me too but of course you can reach the bastille without beating him and come back later.
True enough, but you DO need to beat him to infuse weapons, at least in SotFS. You can't get the Dull Ember in the Tower Apart bonfire without him down.
Comments
I'm glad I finally reached Blighttown, to experience the infamous console frame-rate drop, and yes, it's as bad as advertised. But the fact is ANY big enemies with particle effects causes a massive frame-rate drop (the Hellkite Drake's fire attack on the bridge drops it to nearly 0). I'll give From credit for fixing this in the 3 later games, but the optimization of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls is subpar to say the least.
I am allowing for spells such as Magic Weapon, Iron Flesh, Power Within, etc. I don't feel like anyone would play Baldur's Gate without Bless or Haste, so why would I limit myself in Dark Souls to achieve some arbitrary difficulty?? I also am carrying a shortbow, since I think playing these games without a tool to pull or take out snipers is simply ridiculous.
The most impressive thing about Dark Souls 1 remains it's that, for the first half, it's vertical design is simply unmatched. As you continue to proceed lower and lower (I remember looking into the gaping sewer hole to Blighttown after finishing The Depths the first time and thinking "how much lower am I going"??) And apparently farther, as there is still the Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith. Dark Souls really does take you to it's own heaven and hell in a way. The reason Dark Souls will always remain the definitive game of the series is the journey from Undead Burg to Anor Londo. Having perfect design for half the game may not make it "better" than the rest of the series, but it is certainly more impressive.
Dark Souls constantly gives you the tools you need to succeed even if you're stuck. The Lightning Spear from the Mimic makes the Snake Men, the initial Sentinels in Anor Londo, and the Iron Golem significantly easier. Alot of the difficulty in Dark Souls 1 is based on enemy and boss health pools. The less amount of times you have to dodge or recognize certain attacks correctly, the more likely it is that you won't get hit by them, or with enough of them to deplete your Estus. Ultimately, no matter what game in the RPG genre you are playing, and no matter how much the game tries to make other things matter, damage output nearly always reigns supreme. Give From alot of credit for always making sure every enemy has weapon and elemental strengths and weaknesses.
Sen's Fortress remains a favorite of all the areas I've played in the Soulsbourne series thus far. It serves the function of being a "Tomb of Horrors" trap-fest (but not overly so) while also functioning as a test to see if you are worthy to ascend to the city of the Gods. The second half on the roof is also trivial compared to the bottom half and being able to get to the bonfire. There remains a Zen-like quality to going through areas you have mastered and playing them really well, even if you struggle for hours on the next area you enter. The Souls games never have a straight difficulty curve. You can be thrown an absolute cakewalk of a boss after and gauntlet of 3 or 4 you bang your head on for hours. Oftentimes bosses going down feels like a graduation or reward for making it through an area.
It can't be overstated how much dodging forward to the left or right makes things easier in this game. The vast majority of enemies will be stuck in their attack, and since you move so quickly, 2 or 3 hits is nearly guaranteed. You dash back afterwards, wait for another attack, slide under and around them again, and you're golden most of the time. It's what circle-strafing is to Dark Souls 1 (which was dealt with in 2 to an extent and 3 to a much greater degree). I don't think I like the Hunter's Axe as much as the Saw Cleaver so far, but it's what I'm going with. One thing I've noticed about weapons in Bloodborne is that the vast majority of them scale horribly, with barely anything breaking C's or D's in Strength or Skill (Dex) scaling.
But one of the Hunters, racked with guilt, stayed. He no longer hunts the beasts, but protects them, in a seemingly eternal watch on top of a tower (there is nothing that defines the Souls games more than bosses and mini-bosses keeping watch over a certain area as their only reason for existence). But it's the enemy design that really hits home here. Many of the beasts are wearing shrouds, as if ashamed or frightened of the transformation that was taking place. The sound in this game is blood-curdling. I'll maintain that as a piece of horror fiction, Bloodborne remains more effective than all but a handful of movies and written stories, but even if this tale was brought to a big-screen, it would never be able to approach the level of detail and pathos that you can gather from every single area in the game, as they work as short stories and part of a larger narrative.
The only viable solution to playing this class early in the game is to just RUN all over the place. This is usually a tactic I save for boss runs when the area has well been mastered, but I simply have no choice with what I was given. I simply went for all the items I could get in the Forest while mostly running AROUND enemies, and, most importantly, I had to make a suicide run to get the Ring of Binding in Heide's Tower of Flame (which is invaluable in the early game) by running past all the big Knights, shooting an arrow at the Heide Knight guarding the chest with the ring, running them all BACK to the big circular room, sprinting BACK down to the chest and opening and looting the ring just in time to get smacked into oblivion.
This has been an interesting challenge, but I'll say this: Dark Souls 2 (at least Scholar) is far harder in the early going than any of the other games if you aren't playing ranged or rocking a shield. There is legitimacy to the claim that too much of the difficulty in the sequel lies in being ganked.
Anyway, my build is still pretty strength-based. I have a Claymore at +7 and I crafted Quelaag's Furysword from a +10 Shotel and now have that up to +3, which is what I plan on using to take on the dynamic duo. Putting on the Ring of Favor and Protection in conjunction with Havel's should allow me to fast roll in most of my heavy armor, which has been the goal, but again, that leaves only one open ring slot for the rest of the game. Still, it's pretty tough to pass up on 20% HP, stamina, and equip load, especially since as far as I can tell that is a flat increase no matter how high your stats go.
Storywise, I think it would be wise to narration take distance of rekindling the flame. It has become recycled material up to now.
What do you think?
The Old Hunters tied in the best with the initial story. Artorias of the Abyss is essentially a side-story (a time-traveling one at that) that builds off the Sif fight (though was clearly always planned). The 3 Dark Souls 2 DLCs were the only ones that don't seem have MUCH to do with the original release, but Dark Souls 2 is essentially a series of vignettes, and only the Scholar of the First Sin release brings everything together in a clear picture.
I just can't see them not expanding on the fairly vague "Lord of Hollows" story-line that comes from pursuing the Yoel/Yuria questline. I've killed her before, and her death dialogue talks about how she failed Kaathe. The whole wedding sequence with Anri is really unsettling, and exploring the Sable Church is the thing I want to see. How can we NOT fight one of the Primordial Serpents before it's all over. I have no real predictions or requests for the other DLC.
Down I went, back to Sen's Fortress, cage down to the pendulums, back to the Andre bonfire, elevator back to Firelink. While there, I revived the good Firekeeper with the Soul recovered from Lautrec. And then, the Catacombs. I have to say, this game does the idea of a subterranean tomb very, very well. I almost feel that the +1 Occult club you get in Anor Londo is sorta, kinda leading you here if you are struggling with O&S. I immediately downgraded it to the very, very useful Divine +5 (I suppose you could do the pre-Necromancer kill Catacombs without a Divine Weapon, but why??). The area wasn't trivial, but navigating the terrain was the hardest part. The Bone Wheel Skeletons are a bitch (and they were made into a shadow of themselves in Dark Souls 3 for whatever reason). Pinwheel is the pushover everyone always said, but I imagine it is supposed to be. The Rite of Kindling is beyond useful, and From seems to have decided that if you're resourceful enough to get yourself a Divine Weapon early enough, and are willing to traverse some treacherous moments to get here, they weren't also gonna throw a rough boss in the way.
Love the idea of both this Necromancer and Vamos the Blacksmith practicing their trades in these very deep and secluded series of tombs. Anyway, mission accomplished. Killed the Prowling Demon in Anor Londo (who has an absurd amount of health) to get enough Demon Titanite to get the Furysword up to +4, and am just going to level to 60 which should put me at the point where I can at least wear one heavy armor set and get under 25% equip load. Then the Dragonslayer and Executioner SHOULD go down....eventually.
That being said, you constantly see O & S listed at or near the top of most lists of toughest video game bosses of all-time. I was legitimately frustrated and challenged by them, but I hardly get the impression that I just took down one of the hardest fights ever devised. From what I've seen, hasn't this fight been surpassed in difficulty as time has gone on by the likes of Artorias, Manus, Ludwig and Orphan of Kos (I'm not sure if any Dark Souls 3 fights qualify, but The Nameless King and Pontiff Sulyvahn certainly have to be in the running)??
No trick just skill. I would describe this boss fight like dance with patience.
These two are the most memorable bosses ever.
Did you try to use heavy weapons with them? There is one heavy sword hidden in Ash lake which I would like to try it with them because it has nice animation set.
@brus I agree with @jjstraka34 I think/hope the first DLC will explore Londor further.