Dark Souls

[fistfulofmetal]

sen's fortress 

i found a cool lightning shield tho. it's pretty boss
very boss after upgrading it a bit. much stronger than the gargoyle halberd.


also just beat Siff. Maybe I should head down to New Londo Ruins.

[The Sceneman]

why? I wouldn't go there yet, unless you want to get raped.

All this talk of Blighttown sucking, when that place is like magic candy land compared to New Londo Ruins.

[brob]

new londo isn't that bad. Only one part where it's very difficult not to be boxed in with way too many ghosts (passed the walkway after the short-cut ladder) - but even then you can draw them out easily since they move in predictable ways.

[The Sceneman]

I just hate the fact there are no bonfires and Four Kings is the worst boss in the game

[Shaka Khan]

For that fight, I rested at the Darkroot Basin bonfire, went down to the Valley of the Drakes, ran past all of them and into the Ruins. From there I only have to fight 3 knights, and one ghost if you're slow enough. That's roughly 2 minutes per run, which is not ideal, beats the Firelink route.

[fistfulofmetal]

well right now the bonfire at firelink is gone because apparently the firekeeper chick is dead or something. i have a black orb to go and get the one responsible but i don't think i'm ready for that.

[Shaka Khan]

You can't use that orb until it resonates in Anor Londo, right before the boss fight. It'll allow you to "invade" the world of Lauteric, where you'll find him along with his two companions there, so be prepared.

It's not an extremely hard encounter, but when you fight against someone who's attacks go right through your shield(?) and can't heal the odds are against you.

When you retrieve the Firekeeper soul from him, DONT UPGRADE YOUR FLASKS LIKE I DID! But rather take it to her prison, she'll be revived and the bonfire will rekindle. Otherwise you'll have to continue this playtrough without the Firelink bonfire

[Herr Mafflard]

For that fight, I rested at the Darkroot Basin bonfire, went down to the Valley of the Drakes, ran past all of them and into the Ruins. From there I only have to fight 3 knights, and one ghost if you're slow enough. That's roughly 2 minutes per run, which is not ideal, beats the Firelink route.

You can run past all the ghosts and knights and get to the four kings if you're quick enough. I think I rested near the first blacksmith because firelink wasnt available. Run down to new londo ruins from there, once the water is drained you can fall by one of the early walkways after the first ghost (near the right side, if I recall) and run straight to the four kings.

[fistfulofmetal]

You can use that orb until it resonates in Anor Londo, right before the boss fight. It'll allow you to "invade" the world of Lauteric, where you'll find fight along with two companions there, so be prepared.

It's not an extremely hard counter, but when you can't heal and fight against someone who's attacks go right through your shield(?) the odds are against you.

When you retrieve the Firekeeper soul from him, DONT UPGRADE YOUR FLASK LIKE I DID! But take it to her prison, she'll be revived and the bonfire will rekindle. Otherwise you'll have to continue this playtrough without the Firelink bonfire

i didn't want to try it, i assumed it was gonna be 1 time use. maybe i'll try that.

even though i'm kind of a tank so if my shield doesn't do anything i'll kinda be fucked.

[The Sceneman]

beat Four Kings in NG+! I ended up tanking with Havel's set and Iron Flesh. Cheesy tactic, but it worked!

Up to Seath now

[The Sceneman]

made my dream sword, Magic Zweihander +10

[Robo]

You can use that orb until it resonates in Anor Londo, right before the boss fight. It'll allow you to "invade" the world of Lauteric, where you'll find fight along with two companions there, so be prepared.

It's not an extremely hard counter, but when you can't heal and fight against someone who's attacks go right through your shield(?) the odds are against you.

When you retrieve the Firekeeper soul from him, DONT UPGRADE YOUR FLASK LIKE I DID! But take it to her prison, she'll be revived and the bonfire will rekindle. Otherwise you'll have to continue this playtrough without the Firelink bonfire

i didn't want to try it, i assumed it was gonna be 1 time use. maybe i'll try that.

even though i'm kind of a tank so if my shield doesn't do anything i'll kinda be fucked.

I read somewhere that that encounter was hard, but I ran away, bombed the guy with various pyromancies and tore him up on the first try.  Might wanna try that if all else fails.

[cool breeze]

yeah, that Lau-something guy was really easy.  I entered the battle without full health (and I don't think I was allowed to heal in it).  I pretty much avoided the other two guys and focused Yurt.  He went down like a bitch.  His armor is cool.

[The Sceneman]

@ fistful: don't worry if you die against Knight Lautrec, the Black Eye Orb is re-usable until you get the bastard. So just go nuts.

Made some wicked progress last night. Finished off all the weapon upgrade cheevs, and got up to the final area in NG+. Now just farming black knights and channelers for a couple of rare weapon drops for the Knights Honor cheev, then it's NG++ to make the rest of the boss soul items and get the achievement.

Then I'll have 900/1000, and then it's up to my new Cleric to join the Warrior of Sunlight Covenant, collect all the miracles then finally pop the Platinum Cheev.

[The Sceneman]

got all the rare weapons, and now have 900/1000.

Gonna give this game a rest for awhile, I think. My main save has 100 hours racked up. I'll probably wait for the patch to arrive before I roll my co-op Sunbro.

[demi]

Why is the patch not up yet? Here I was getting all excited to play this game.

[Shaka Khan]

Last thing we heard...

Thank you for contacting Namco Bandai's Customer Support Department.

The upcoming update for Dark Souls for both platforms is currently going through the localization process at this time. We're working to include all of the fixes and changes from the updates. Unfortunately, we do not have a determined date for the release of the Dark Souls update for the North American region at this time. Please continue checking the official website and the Facebook page for Dark Souls periodically for any details once they become available: http://www.preparetodie.com or http://www.facebook.com/darksouls

Regards,
Namco Bandai Games America Customer Support

Namco

[iconoclast]

Why is the patch not up yet? Here I was getting all excited to play this game.

1.04 broke shit so they released a new patch a few days ago. From is not good with computer

[chronovore]

Game is fucking hard :'(  I'm getting old

God, thank you for posting this. I felt old and feeble most of the time during this game. I still think it's a game I'll go further in, but doubt that I'll ever finish.

I think Icono already 1000/1000'd it? Sceneman plans to do the same. I'm not that good, and not that masochistic.

[Robo]

Question,  I think I picked up too many weapons and my character slowed way down, so I dropped some weapons but I'm still slow. :'(

You're not burdened by what you pick up; you're burdened by what you equip.  There's a weight capacity stat in your menu that's influenced by Endurance: if it's above 50%, you run slow, if it's below 50%, you run normal, if it's under 25%, you run fast.

Also, you don't really want to just drop items because they turn into enemies that grow increasingly more powerful the longer they're left alone. 

[The Sceneman]

Game is fucking hard :'(  I'm getting old

God, thank you for posting this. I felt old and feeble most of the time during this game. I still think it's a game I'll go further in, but doubt that I'll ever finish.

I think Icono already 1000/1000'd it? Sceneman plans to do the same. I'm not that good, and not that masochistic.

yeah I'm sitting on 900/1000 now, gonna get back to it once I'm done with Saints Row

[fistfulofmetal]

Also, you don't really want to just drop items because they turn into enemies that grow increasingly more powerful the longer they're left alone. 

wait..... what???

[Robo]

yeah, Vagrants.  AFAIK, though, they don't ever really get THAT strong.  It's more that there's no reason to drop items, so if that's the result, why do it?

[chronovore]

Do Vagrants drop Souls? If so, it may be a way to clear your inventory and get money for things before that Firelink option opens up.

[Shaka Khan]

I never tried fighting Vagrants, but I know they're weak and can be 1-hit killed. I'm not sure if they get stronger when neglected though.

@Chrono: I think they do, or at least drop something.

[brob]

Beat the last boss. I didn't parry a whole lot. Didn't have the gravitas I wanted for the finale, so I did it the hard way (straight melee fightan) because I like to masturbate with sandpaper. was fun, dunno if I'll do any NG stuff. I'm kinda disappointed with my build, I got the elite armor early and steadily upgraded it to the point where it was much better than everything else. I also failed to get ornstein's shit which was where I hoped to end up, I liked the Firekeeper gear, but it was kinda shitty. I also used the lightning spear since I got that, preceded by me using a regular winged spear that I kept upgrading so it was always better than anything else. So barring a few forrays into bandit knife stabbings I was spearing fools through-out the entire game. I played Demon Souls in a similarly monotonous way (wanderer starter gear with heater shield) and going new game there wasn't all that fun either.

I guess I could make a new character and try to use more short swords or something, but even then I'll probably gravitate towards the elite armor (cus it looks awesome and is light+good poise). Maybe I should put more effort into getting character specific stuff like Lautrec or Ornstein's shit and build around that.

... Or I could play something else. I have Vanquish sitting somewhere I think.

[Shaka Khan]

The patch is out. I'm not sure if it's 1.04, 1.05, or 1.04 with 1.05's changes applied, though.

Time to beat the final boss and start a NG+, or a new character.

[brob]

http://pastebin.com/HxMjdaBx

[Shaka Khan]

US patch is confirmed to be 1.05

[The Sceneman]

considering I raped Saints Row already, perfect time to roll my Sunbro

[Shaka Khan]

Europatch is not out yet, Sunbro~

[The Sceneman]

I just assumed it would have been simultaneous. lame

[Shaka Khan]

360 US patch is not up as well, btw.

Namco lol.

[brob]

europe getting something at the same time as anyone else? NOW WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT

spoiler (click to show/hide)

they wouldn't

[close]

[brob]

looking at the change log - there are some things I think aren't needed and I would like a moment to throw a insignificant nerdfit over.

>Overall increase in souls gained (~2-2.5 times more)
>Ghosts and Skeletons give souls now.
>Pyromancers in Catacombs drop Skull Lanterns.
>Humanity Item drop rate increased from 10 to 210

boo! ghosts and skeletons not dropping souls made them feel like they were familiars or summons from an actual enemy and that was unique and cool. Humanity was rare as fuck and that was neat because it made it more valuable and increased the tension when you had several in effect. More souls dropped in general isn't something I felt was needed as I could generally upgrade what I wanted and only had to grind to upgrade shit I wasn't aware I needed until I hit a wall. letting you acquire a lantern before you even get to the tomb makes that area less unique as well - as I thought it was a fun having to tread even more carefully than usual because I couldn't see shit. The area wasn't cheap, you could see enemies based on their eyes and archers telegraphed their positions with loud-ass shots and arrows that lit up. 

>Damage reduced on some mobs?
>HP lowered on some mobs?
>Supposedly reduced poise on some enemies.

Also these modifications, if true, are for babbies. stop making changes for babbies fromsoft! (I'd throw in the curse cap at 1 here too)

>Changed some english subtitles on the overseas port.

This is just egregious.

[chronovore]

On the other hand, it may have become a game this babby can finish...

[brob]

From the confines of my bedroom I shake my pale, gangly dick beater at thee!!


Now I'll have to start 1cc'ing shooters to reclaim this feeling of superiority. 

[demi]

Much easier 1000, great patch.

[Shaka Khan]

"Overall soul drop increase" applies to PvP only, if I remember correctly.

I get your point about humanity, though. Its probably one of From's solutions to co-op and PvP's low activity. It might stop people from hoarding them.

Your issue with ghosts dropping souls, however, is an irrational nerdfit <3 

[FatalT]

I went ahead and did that Dragon Head glitch last night. So uh, I'm soul level 148 and just opened Sen's Fortress.

[Shaka Khan]

SL148 is relatively reasonable, so the game won't feel broken. Meaning you'll still get your ass kicked, albeit less often.

[FatalT]

SL148 is relatively reasonable, so the game won't feel broken. Meaning you'll still get your ass kicked, albeit less often.

I had just rented it from Blockbuster and decided to do it just for kicks. When I actually buy this game I'll restart (for the 3rd time) and try a different character build. I'm glad the patch is out though!

[fistfulofmetal]

did you beat them alone or end up summoning an npc?

[Shaka Khan]

Billy

This game/patch

[naff]

Will get back into this once the PAL 360 patch is up. NG+ is fine but apparently I can buy the master key with the new patch so I'ma wait for that so I don't have to do everything again in NG++

[The Sceneman]

SL148 is relatively reasonable, so the game won't feel broken. Meaning you'll still get your ass kicked, albeit less often.

LOL wut

getting to that level when you are that early in the game WILL fucking break it... unless you make a shitty build of course.

I'm halfway through NG++ at soul level 128, and it's mostly a cakewalk (save for a couple of annoying bosses)

[brob]

How Khan sleeps at night I have no idea

[cool breeze]

all the patch "fixes" are basically destroying what helped me beat the game 

the tougher second run is going to be...fun

[Bebpo]

I'm still in the middle of my first run as a Wizard with all points pumped into INT and soul arrows/heavy arrows as my entire attack usage.

I have no idea if any of this will help/hurt my character when I get back to it.  Hoping stuff helps me!  Game was already pretty rough as a "die in 1 hit, kill things in 2-5 hits" character.

[Shaka Khan]

That's because you guys haven't seen what my SL280 SSJ does!

At 140, I was still getting gang raped if I wasn't careful, by Capras and Tauruses in Demon's Ruin for example. However I should note that I didn't glitch the game until I completed Anor Londo, first part of the game will probably play like ass at that level.

I'm just glad 1.05 has turned me into an honest man.

How Khan sleeps at night I have no idea

[Shaka Khan]

Not even a glitched character can anticipate the rotating bridge of the Catacombs :'(

[brob]

(Image removed from quote.)

Your cutesy power bottom presenting won't silence this nerd

[chronovore]

On the other hand, it may have become a game this babby can finish...

From the confines of my bedroom I shake my pale, gangly dick beater at thee!!


Now I'll have to start 1cc'ing shooters to reclaim this feeling of superiority. 

I meant "this babby" in terms of "Who has two thumbs and was having trouble with Dark Souls?" at which point I point both thumbs at myself and say, "THIS BABBY." Not you.

[brob]

oh I know. but the notion that you, a self-professed babby, can enjoy this game is like a leech on my gamer fuel'd pride.

[chronovore]

Ah, off with you then. Shake your meat beater at me and go 1cc a schmup, and report back when you've de-babbified! ;-)

[The Sceneman]

1cc Ikaruga or go home

[brob]

I've done Ikaruga and Gradius V   

normal difficulty   

[chronovore]

I really have enjoyed the sense of tension this game generates. It's maddening.

[The Sceneman]

yeah thats when Dark Souls is at its best. When you are desperatley fighting for your life

[The Sceneman]

since the puppies chewed up my insert, I printed one of the custom ones from the GAF OT.

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=1t1j7jwo47a1443&thumb=4

sooooo fucking awesome. Much better than the official boxart.