Abyss Watchers down....part of me wanted to try it solo for awhile, but more of me wants to continue to explore Lothric, and a solo kill will have the same effect later....anyway, another pretty easy one with two people....
Catacombs of Carthus....now we're talking. Has anyone ever been better at naming areas and enemies than From??
@jjstraka34 How did you like the flame particle effects? I was impressed.
I got to enjoy them pretty well, as my partner was pretty tank-ish. We both got some backstabs in the first phase, I played it safe and didn't do as much in the 2nd and tried to stay alive, but I got some licks in. Good stuff....
Just some musings but I really like the cast of characters in this game. I am quite moved by Lothric and others as well - it is impressive what kind of characterization From can do with just a few lines of story compared to other RPGs. Makes it seem silly how some games are renowned for their lengthy prose and marketed by word count.
there's a season pass, so i guess we're gonna see where they go with it
Oh yeah, for sure....in the fall actually. And since the DLCs in all 3 of the previous games are universally regarded as superb, it should be really something. They also tend to really tie up loose ends very nicely, or as nicely as Souls games can....
Just some musings but I really like the cast of characters in this game. I am quite moved by Lothric and others as well - it is impressive what kind of characterization From can do with just a few lines of story compared to other RPGs. Makes it seem silly how some games are renowned for their lengthy prose and marketed by word count.
I miss the con-woman Miracle vendor, but it's hard to argue with the blind, would-be Fire Keeper reading Braille tomes. Her "protector" gives a bit of perspective to the same relationship in the first game. Was Lautrec Anastacia's protector?? And if so, was he just so evil her turned on her, or was there a reason he killed her??
I have a soft spot for the thief, he seems like an affable fellow. There is alot to explore with Yoel/Yuria. The Firekeeper is a bit bland, I liked the Herald better, but that's just because the Majula theme is some of the best music I've ever heard.
Oh....I'm also sad to say that I lost our rotund, sleepy friend in our first battle together, so I totally lost that quest, which is apparently pretty expansive
@jjstraka34 I also got some feels from the Firekeeper late game after finding a certain hidden plot item which you can gift her with. It changes things...
I do like that your actions are totally and utterly permanent for the most part. You kill someone, they're gone. You betray them, they'll try kill you. That said, I once set down my controller on the couch and I accidentally killed The Doll in Bloodborne, thank god THAT wasn't....
@jjstraka34 I also got some feels from the Firekeeper late game after finding a certain hidden plot item which you can gift her with. It changes things...
EDIT: That is horrible news. How could you.
I was doing my part, he killed himself by standing in the fire, so to speak....
but that's just because the Majula theme is some of the best music I've ever heard.
Did you give her the eyes? I thought the music change there was great.
I've actually never beaten any of these games, I'm roughly 40% to halfway through all of them. I'm well-read on them though. And it would be silly not to experience a launch for the first (and maybe last) time.
Though I do find switching back and forth between them gives you alot of tricks and tactics for the others....I think it's totally true that playing Bloodborne makes you a better Souls player, even more so in this game, for obvious reasons. It may be a little faster than it needs to be combat-wise, but still very smooth clearly....
I kept m Herald starting armor as long as possible, but I put on the Fallen Knight set for the fire resist on the Abyss Watchers, and I feel like I've already turned to the dark side. The katana from the Sword Master is still going strong at at +4, and I've invested some Twinkling Titanite into the frost sword from the Boreal Outrider as well. Since I've heard there are only 3 of the highest upgrade material in each play-through, I'll have to decide on one more weapon to go all the way with. The infusion system is great, and offers a myriad of possibilities while still allowing you to upgrade.
I almost feel like Dark Souls bosses are sort of like trying to solo previous expansion raid content in WoW. You can do it, but it's very challenging. But adding even one more person makes all the difference. It's very easy to bounce aggro, get out for a heal, and just unload for a second while your partner holds his own for a bit. It's not that the mechanics don't matter, but in many of these fights on your own, you have to be 75-80% perfect. You don't win most boss battles in Dark Souls or Bloodborne if you make a ton of mistakes.
I'm sorry friend but if you let Onionbro die you have to restart your game. It's the law.
New Game + will have to suffice....
In other news, Cathedral of the Deep has two of the most useless shortcuts (not the doors) that I've ever seen in a level in this series. And after facing off against a buffed up holy version of a very familiar mace-wielding knight (think Undead Parrish) I also got surprised by a decidedly disgusting large cat. The large cats were creepy enough in Darkroot, but did Aldrich get ahold of one?? Yikes. The first giant is easy enough to get rid of (attack the hands) and I'm currently thinking I'm supposed to use this barrier I just raised to get the other one. We'll soon learn.
Oh my sweet Dragonslayer, how could they keep us apart for so long? We will do great things, you and I. Terrible things... but great....
I feel like this time (unlike in Heide), Ornstein is definitely out of the running here. This seems far more like Havel appropriating Ornstein's persona into his armor.
Not sure I even want to know at present what the hell is up with Rosaria. Which brings to mind how utterly bleak these worlds and outcomes are. No wonder the Curse of the Undead is indeed such a curse. There is no solace to be had living in this universe unless you don't exist. Hell, even in Bloodborne the best you could hope for in one of the endings was to just get the hell out of dodge after you wrapped up Gherman's quest. Everything else you do in From Software games is futile. In the end, you'll lose.
Man, they could not have made this guy look, act or play out like Ornstein any more unless they dipped him in gold and gave the drake Smough's helmet. Even the strategy for beating him is the same as in DS2, just a bit more punishing for failure and it takes a lot longer.
The worst part is that while the gameplay overwhelmingly screams that he's Ornstein, the text evidence implies that he isn't. There is weak evidence that the name less king is the first born, very weak evidence that he's not Ornstein, and very strong evidence that Ornstein is not the first born. Gah!
Even the visual evidence is a bit confusing, because while we're pretty sure that the first born heads the heirs of the sun, the statue fragments look juuuuust different enough from the nameless king to make me not sure they're the same guy. But both look quite different from Ornstein, except for the statues weapon is much closer.
Man, they could not have made this guy look, act or play out like Ornstein any more unless they dipped him in gold and gave the drake Smough's helmet. Even the strategy for beating him is the same as in DS2, just a bit more punishing for failure and it takes a lot longer.
The worst part is that while the gameplay overwhelmingly screams that he's Ornstein, the text evidence implies that he isn't. There is weak evidence that the name less king is the first born, very weak evidence that he's not Ornstein, and very strong evidence that Ornstein is not the first born. Gah!
Even the visual evidence is a bit confusing, because while we're pretty sure that the first born heads the heirs of the sun, the statue fragments look juuuuust different enough from the nameless king to make me not sure they're the same guy. But both look quite different from Ornstein, except for the statues weapon is much closer.
I don't know, I think the Nameless King being Gwyn's Firstborn is probably the least ambiguous thing they've ever put in a game. I mean we can assume before he was cast out (or cast himself out) that as The God of War he and Ornstein were slaying dragons together at some point. The text clues don't leave much doubt in my mind of his identity, and it makes sense. He sympathized with the Dragons, he spurned his father, who cast him out. When the trailer came out people were saying "is that Gwyn riding into battle on a dragon throwing lighting??" It wasn't, but it might has well have been.
Deacons of the Deep makes Witches of Hemwick seem like Ornstein and Smough....though these respite fights are nice and fun every once and a while, aren't they?? You could stock up on embers putting your sign down here til the end of time and never die once.
Comments
Catacombs of Carthus....now we're talking. Has anyone ever been better at naming areas and enemies than From??
I have a soft spot for the thief, he seems like an affable fellow. There is alot to explore with Yoel/Yuria. The Firekeeper is a bit bland, I liked the Herald better, but that's just because the Majula theme is some of the best music I've ever heard.
EDIT: That is horrible news. How could you.
EDIT: spoilers and ninja'd
The worst part is that while the gameplay overwhelmingly screams that he's Ornstein, the text evidence implies that he isn't. There is weak evidence that the name less king is the first born, very weak evidence that he's not Ornstein, and very strong evidence that Ornstein is not the first born. Gah!
Even the visual evidence is a bit confusing, because while we're pretty sure that the first born heads the heirs of the sun, the statue fragments look juuuuust different enough from the nameless king to make me not sure they're the same guy. But both look quite different from Ornstein, except for the statues weapon is much closer.