SoulsBorne Thread(FromSoftware franchises)

[The SheoDovah]

I could see Bloodbourne getting a sequel but as a self countained one or something akin to Dark Souls II where it's vaguely related to Dark Souls 1 but tis it's own thing. That and aggressivesouls needs more games. Defensivesouls got three games. 4 if you count PS3souls.

I can see From wanting to avoid being known for just Soulsborune and wanting to branch out. Hopefully, they will do a new IP and do something else. I mean, I love souls but if they were to keep pumping them out, i could see them slowly getting sick of it. That and Dark Souls III ended perfectly the trilogy of Dark Souls. Demon Souls is more or less able to get away with it's own thing.

I could see them doing what they did with Demons for Bloodbourne and making a sequel under another name. I mean, Demon Souls, i think they wanted to do a sequel for but couldn't do so or licensing issues thus Dark Souls.

Is it me or is the Wanderer Class in DS1 kinda a bit powerful. I mean, I'm messing around in it but dual wielding wanderer kinda is making everything easy to kill(ish). It's rather fun dual weidling with a rather scrappy attack and the halbred is quite useful for groups.

Oh and it seems that titanite can be farmed in the undead church area if you have high humanity.


EDIT: Right, due to life stuff being not as [&@%!], i'm doing a proper playthrough on Dark Souls. Dual wielding wander or Warrior class. Speed and playing aggressively. Will make it fun. Also, I have really underestimated the usefulness of a bow. Really didn't realise how useful it is. Am i the only one who has just discovered that bows are actually quite useful? That said, because it's a bit iffy, i may also just two hand most f the time if i can't attack fast enough.

I wonder if anyone has been cruel enough to create a mod where there is a boss fight with Arty, Smough, Orny, Manus and Bed of Chaos? That would probably cause actual heart attacks due to two of them being cheap [&@%!].

[BetaB17]

Few things.. As mechanically different Dark souls is from Bloodborne(That shield n armor makes a BIG difference), really, Dark Souls 3 is like the love child of aggressivesouls and Defensivesouls. It really hammers in the faster pacing and need to be more precise with dodges

2nd, just about any dark-RPG hardcore game From makes will be apart of their modern legacy i.e the Soulsborne(tho the name may need updating) Scratch out their sequels and count their more successful franchises. Demon Souls. Dark Souls. Bloodborne. All very clearly carry over an overarching pattern and theme. THAT is what a Soulsborne game is, and From not only established that sub-genre, but they damn well keep perfecting it

And yes, sure, they are probably getting tired of pumping out sequels. They wanna experiment, stretch their creativity a bit. Dark Souls did very much run longer than they intended. From does better with new IPs than they do sequels.. Even if some of their DLC are just draw dropping amazing

:

Also, I gotta disagree with you, at least partially, on Dark Souls 3's ending. It didn't so much as end or conclude anything.. If anything, it left on a bigger cliffhanger than the previous two, and that's excluding even the DLC ending

The one thing it did do to damn well good justice was in the Ringed City, basically bringing the series ful circle(no pun intended) and back to, well, sort of the beginning(i.e DS1) via quiet literally the end. And all the while too

Spoiler:

it also seems to link the story of the series with Patches himself, holding off till the very end. Bless that fan service right there <3

However, skipping the base-game ending and achieving the true ending via the dlc, it sort gives hope that a new dark souls game is possible, even if under a new world with new rules

Which is funny really, bc even one of the bosses hints about this, in some way. Dreaming not of an age of light or dark, but of deep waters, something new

I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm all for a new IP, in fact, it sounds like that's exactly what they are doing. I'm also all for a remastered verson of Demon Souls, just bc it would sell alot. Whether they wanna update the engine and add in better quality of life/minor balance fixes(which would cost more time and resources) or just overhaul the graphics and matchmaking system(cheap, but will still print money).

Btw, the black bow from the grove/forest is nothing to scoff at. Soften up or draw enemies from.afar, or use poisoned arrows. Word of advice, damage does drop off from a certain range depending on the bow and scaled stats. Likewise, not everything is as generous to be your pincushion of arrows

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The red fire Drake on the bridge, even with poison, will assume a defensive position after losing so many HP without being agro'd, both blocking his head and regenerating health. On top of that, if you aren't careful or too passive, he'll just give up and fly away

[The SheoDovah]

I doubt that they can do a remaster of Demon's due to Atlas owning the IP or being the publisher. I know something happened with legal stuff thus Dark Souls was born. That's the beauty of Dark Souls, regarding it's ending and it's simple way of telling it's tale instead of the usual plot being shown to you. So many sidequests with their own stories and sadly, YOU, the chosen undead are the one that causes them to hollow. You [&@%!]. At least in the first game.

The red fire drake is one of the four things i've never beaten. Khalemeet because [&@%!] that! Ok, i'll probably will beat him at some point. Prisccilla because why? She's cute and isn't trying to murderise me into a billion pieces. Gwyldonlin because well, i just have no reason to.

I never realised how overpowered the Drake Sword is with it's strong twon handed attack. It caused me to do something I never do. Beat.Capra. On. First. Attempt. It was close and admittly, I did wimp out and use the corner, plunge trick once but aggressive souls is very fun. I'm barely using a shield and it makes it more varied. Dual wielding and two handing. The Halbred is +5 and tis quite useful. I'll pick up the bow later on in the game. Long bow will be refined up to +5. Got 10 Humanity thus farming the Moonlight area for purple moss and kinda overlevelled by mistake. Whoops. I'm needing 7k+ souls to level up. I'm using the burg for farming titanite. I know, it's quicker to farm the moonlight area then buy souls but meh. Also hoping to get the ballin' armour set. So I can be ballin' just like Jarl Balgruuf. Seriously never knew how much a difference being aggressive is.

Wanderer is the class i chose and I defeated two black knights so far. Got a blackknight greatsword. Only lost all my souls once due to a dumb mistake.

But yeah, let's see if i can get the stone golem shield and sword. The Drake Sword is nt something i'm using. Tis served it's use and tbh, twas a "Ok, i can't outdps the dogs whilst dodging the dogs so this or greatsword of the black knight." The plan was to level up to 22 strength. Turned out being equally aggressive, I barely won.

[BetaB17]

Drake sword is, well, alright for the early game. It's moveset is meh, it's range is lacking, and it's scaring is dreadful but it'll carry you through to mid-game. Don't bother upgrading it tho, your better of spending that rare material on better dragon-tier weapons

Also, not to steal from your achievement here, but Capra isn't so touch. Annoying, sure, but not tough once you know what to expect. The real challange is probably in the first 30 seconds bc you gotta keep a distance from Capra while dealing with the dogs. When it comes down to the actual boss, either kite and dodge him or have a really good shield/health buffer.. Or you just be a [&@%!] and endlessly plunge-attack him

[The SheoDovah]

I know. I am a vetran of Dark Souls one. The Drake sword is pretty much useless after the burg and even then, it's better to get the Claymore if one is wanting to have better damage. I never beat Capra on the first attempt. The dogs or me mistiming a roll thus dogfood occurs. I've got no need for it now and aside from it's shockwave attack, tis useless. Gaping Dragon was interesting to fight with a halbred. With the help of Brolaire and The golden [&@%!], I cut it's tail off. Tis easy to do so and well, Gaping Dragon is always easy. Tis predictable when it attacks. I only used Brolaire because i couldn't recall if it was vital for his sidestory and the golden [&@%!] because well, why not. I need to stop using the halbred so much. Tis my most powerful weapon but kinda is making it a bit repetitive. No shields are quite interesting. I do Capra is pretty much Dark Souls saying "Oh, you think my bosses are easy? [&@%!] YOOOOOOU!" along with really being the introduction to boss fights. Heck, it's not until Anor Londo that the game really ups the boss diffculties, come to think of it.

I mean, ignoring the ayslum demon because it's the first boss and is likely to be designed to be the easiest/second easy fight in the game, Tarus is only challenging if you fight it one on one instead of plunge spam and even then, dodging is the key to winning. The Gargoyles put up a good fight but Brolaire and goldie the [&@%!] turn it into nothing. I only used them for the tail axe. I'm kinda trying to get the boss weapons. Gaping is predictable. Queelaag isn't much of a challenge but getting to her is. Iron Golem is pretty much press X to watch the [&@%!] black iron knight, TARKUS! wreck it's [&@%!]. Or you just defeat it easily. Sen's the challenge. Moonlight Butterfly is a joke with Beatrix and any magic PC. Orny and Smough were THE bosses. Unlike Bed of cheating [&@%!]. I'm beginning to realise that Dark Souls 1 may not have the best bosses in terms of diffculty. I still believe that Artorias is the best fight in the game due to it being a duel along with him being the closet to a fight between PCs.

Manus is the second most BS fight in the game. Bed of cheating [&@%!] is the one boss that Dark Souls, as a franchise should be ashamed of. No real challenge. Just random bs.

I think I will avoid the catacombs until Sen's just for the challenge of 5 estus only and well, I would end up going into bony hell. I dislike Bony hell. It's not really that fun to fight, if i recall correctly and i think, most folks are overpowered for that section.

[Kerr]

I think it's pretty clear that the catacombs, at least pre-tomb of giants, was originally something you'd do earlier in the game but then they shuffled stuff around. The right of kindling is so useful. Also the Great Scythe is the best weapon, hands down.

Yeah, duel fights are some of the best in the series. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower is fantastic. Gwyndolin and Priscilla are a lot of fun to fight but 1) I don't want to kill Gwyndolin or Priscilla and 2) the way bonfires get all screwy in dark Anor Londo is infuriating for the boss run.

[The SheoDovah]

To be fair, the game is partially rushed and i could see Catacombs being intended as an early area. I think From confirmed that TOTG, Demon Ruins were heavily rushed. Shame as Demon Ruins could have been so much more.

I know the Rite is useful but tis more of a challenge without it. That and I kinda don't want to waste a weapon upgrade just for one area. I mean, divine weapons are barely worth the effort unless you are a faith heavy build. I think.

[BetaB17]

I mean, if your smart about it, Drake sword can last longer than the Burg. Hell, it certainly helps while your waiting for your main weapon to finally scale up enough(i.e Great Scythe for life, mate). My typical run through the game starts off with thief's dagger.. To eventually the scimitar/falchion, then Drake, and finally Great Scythe. For two of my runs, I basically kept using Drake until the first quarter of Anor Londor. Not that its a good weapon, it just deals alot of damage where otherwise you only need DPS

Btw, Catacombs, as difficult as they can be very early game, it is very rewarding. Hell, even the graveyard skeletons can be worth it, that's how I get my scimitar before anything else. Anyways, my typical game goes like me finishing up the Undead Burg, and either I finish up Perish or go get the Great Scythe from Catacombs first, following that I get the Rite before ever going into the Depths. A lil out of order, I know, but Catacombs can be easy and a push over well before mid game starts

Also, no, you don't need a divine upgrade, that's a waste. Either be very quick about killing the necromancers or just damn good at knocking those skeletons off the edge. If your really having trouble with the skeletons, there is a special straight sword with an inherent divine aspect not far from the back-route to Blighttown, just by the undead dragon. Genuinely, Divine weapons only really seem worth it for Nito's buddies, and even then, that's late game..

But ya, once it comes down to the lower level of Catacombs, and you find yourself at a much lower level than you should actually be able to fight(bc good lick outrunning or talking those wheel skeletons) just summon our good ole paladin bud and he'll take care of everything, even the Black Knight

[The SheoDovah]

I know. I just want that extra challenge due to me kinda steamrolling everything the game is throwing at me and so far, yet to run out of estus flaskes. Divine is useless unless one is a faith build but even then, you lose the physical damage. Granted, you always do unless it's raw or big upgrades. I think but you gain more secndary damage. I refuse to get the great scythe. I am not killing the cutest thing in Dark Souls. I fought Sif many times and felt like a [&@%!]. But i'll be darned if i'm killing the one boss that doesn't want to kill me.

I don't struggle with the skeletons. Usually, I tank the skeleton wheels but when i face them on this aggressive build, should be interesting.

I think the franchise never really did another Maiden Astrea.

[BetaB17]

The problem with Divine isn't the lack of inherent damage or the scaling to faith, but bc it only serves one really niche purpose and the way how multiple damage types are calculated

I've talked about it before, on how it's not just a straight bonus to the original damage, it splits your actual damage, and bc of that, both types have to go through the defense/resistances twice, instead of just one had it been just physical <_<. Splitting your damage only really pays off when your capitalizing on a certain weakness or your scaling in other stats will more than make up for what your lacking in Dex or Str(i.e a Int build using Magic or Enchant) Plus, Divine specifically just sucks. Not alot of enemies are weak to it, and even those that are, your just better off with fire or pure physical

Honestly, the only time I've found Divine to do be worth it for a weapon, is if it already it inherently in the base weapon. By which point, your not really splitting the damage like you would for some sword or hammer, but really further improving/focusing it's 2nd damage type even more. So good thing if your a faith build, or just really don't like skeletons to revive.

Still tho, I can at least safely say Divine isn't the worst thing out there. Occult exists too, and like twins, their both pretty useless. Extra damage against the divine enemies and bosses i.e Anor Londor? Or idk, maybe just focus more on actual damage instead?

Btw, raw isnt much better either, if anything, it's a trap, well maybe not as much as a trap as Crystal, but it's still a mistake. More damage in exchange for less scaling? I.e literally the thing that boosts damage. I mean, sure, it makes sense for weapons that wont scale well or are underwhelming, but that's far and few between. Standard upgrade path will almost always out preform Raw after a given point or level, it's sort of the point. Less your serious about focusing your stats away from Str or Dex, your bread and butter will always be +15 standard or +Chaos(since that scales with Humanity to a max of 10)

I refuse to get the great scythe.

I didn't know Prisccilla was in the Catacombs That's news to me

I think the franchise never really did another Maiden Astrea.

As another serious boss? Maybe not. But if you've played Dark Souls 3 there are two NPCs that strike a 'similar' dynamic

[Kerr]

I mean I've only played Dark Souls 2 twice, but yeah I'm all for doing pre-Tomb of Giants catacombs before Anor Londo at the very least. Moonlight Butterfly gets you Divine ember, Moonlight Butterfly isn't that bad so throwing a few souls into a weapon you're just going to use for the catacombs isn't that big a deal. But you know, other people are better at Dark Souls than me, they don't need Divine weapons.

Anyway, Demon's Souls is up next for me when it comes to this series. Not sure exactly when I'll play it though, probably be a few months. I did like the ending I got for Dark Souls 2 where:

Hidden:

I just left. Screw that noise. And just leaving when you have the Crowns to cure Hallowing is probably the best ending.

I refuse to get the great scythe.

I didn't know Gwyndolin was in the Catacombs That's news to me

[BetaB17]

In DS1, if you start off as the Thief or the master key(which, why wouldn't ya), there is a back route elevator you can use to open up a shortcut to the Valley of Drakes i.e access to the back route to Blight Town, access to a divine weapon guarded by a sleeping undead dragon, and I forget where else it leads <_< point being, you can literally get what you need for Catacombs before ever fighting a boss or clearing a zone

@Dark Souls 2: The dlc ending is certainly worth the effort, for many reasons, and it really does take some dedication to achieve it

Spoiler:

Plus, that secret boss fight tho. Fighting the Throne duo, followed by Nassaundra, and then a secret(and lore heavy) fight with Aldia ^_^ oh, it's so fun.

I mean, gosh, the lore and atmospheric vibe Aldia brings out, and just how tanky he can be to fight. Seriously, there was a reason why hat was my go-to place to set down a summon sign, bc I know damn well some folk struggle. My only dilemma was that I never would know if the Throne Duo were already defeated, and if Aldia was gonna be fought too

Plus, let's all admit, the final cut scene is just amazing. Narration? Music? Scene? And the depth of the action itself. Oh, so good <3 so worth fighting Fume Knight and Ivory King for that ^_^

[The SheoDovah]

I'm gonna to leave this here.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018- ... remastered

@Beta, oh, ha, ha, ha. You knew I meant when I have the chance to, i refuse to attack Prisicilla.

[BetaB17]

Is that really at all surprising? Especially on the switch? The only real question is will it just be a port or a graphical overhaul?

[BetaB17]

Looks like it's gonna be your typical remaster, i.e better performance and FPS, along with (probably) bug fixes and quality of life stuff(i.e dedicated servers, passwords, 6-player cap, ect) but I'm not at all surprised. Still tho.. Would be really nice if they took their time to improve PVP, balance fixes, and maybe touch up some areas where they obviously rushed development >_>. Not to say the last should be expecting entirely new assets, no no, just, maybe make it a lil less [&@%!] and fun? Bed of Chaos would greatly appreciate it ^_^ ya know? Maybe give it the good old Scholar of the First Sin treatment? Eh?

Oh well, it's worth hoping for. Just as fruitless as it is to hope for a true HD remake

:

Edit: By the way, I am probably gonna buy it for the Xbox if it's priced right(I aint paying $60 for an HD remaster that looks slightly less dated. That's absurd) But it will be nice to be playing it while it's alot more active and with a fresh playerbase. And lack of peer-to-peer connection? Yesss! Here's to hoping I can go back to my Gravelording days ^_^

[The SheoDovah]

It is apparently being done by two unknown studios. It would be nice if Bed of Chaos is fixed so that it's not entirely luck based and if the game feels like being an [&@%!] to you or not. Granted, the game can be an [&@%!] a majority of time but Bed of Chaos is where it says [&@%!] your builds.

I had one of the most [&@%!] deaths in Dark Souls. My controller killed me. It is temperatal when it is charging due to the lead being cheap and yesterday, it decided to play up badly. When it does that, it turns it off and on again. Yeah, it turned off when i was in Sens and that caused two deaths. One was axe swing and then lightining spam from both a tinaite and the female lizards. The other, unable to attack because controller issue. 10 Humanity at risk.

It won't happen due to it not being From that is handling it but if they were, it would be nice to see Demon Ruins get the version they envisioned. Same with Bed of Chaos, Four Kings, Gwyn saying [&@%!] off to parrying spam, Dukes Archives. The areas and bosses that they rushed.

I do hope that one day, we can get a Demons remaster for PS4.(I say this due to it being rights and i think Sony owns it for consoles, legal stuff!) as that really is overlooked by a lot of folks.

I also hope that the remaster has Super Smough, Super Ornstein, Taurus and Capra on steroids, Gaping Dragon, Khaleemeet, Gravelord Nito, Skeleton Wheel mania, Four kings that spawn fourty at once and Manus as a single boss. All at once.

Also, Artorias curses you with one hit. Turn him into a one hit and you're dead unless curse resistant high boss. I would love to see the voice files for Arty and Queelag to be implemented. It could change them. Arty is already a tragic boss that is easily the best in the game, perhaps, the Souls franchise. Queelaag would be developed.

But they better fix Lagtown.

[Kerr]

Given the utter mess that was the original PC port of Dark Souls, probably a good thing that this port is being handled by another studio. What I'm wondering is if they'll change the Tiny Being's Ring gift description so it isn't a lie which makes players think they should pick anything other than the key.

Anyway I just finished Demon's Souls a couple of nights ago. And yeah, I really liked it. Worse than the other games in the series I've played (I haven't played 3 yet) but still really good. Oh boy is the uprade system a nightmare in Demon's Souls. Making the upgrades actually sensible and the blood gems that can be removed was such a good addition in Bloodborne. They made it so half your options don't make your weapon terrible anymore.

[BetaB17]

No! The ring must stay the same! It's important! Let the newbies learn this important lesson! Trust nothing. Not even what the game tells ya(Ex: Le Pendant)

[The SheoDovah]

I disagree that Demons is the worst in the franchise due to all the games being excellent. It may be the weakest compared to the rest but it was the game that launched Souls. I think it's been confirmed that it's a straight up overhaul but they may sort out enemy placements. I hope they do and don't. Sort out certain ones but leave places such as that arnor londo bridge as it is.

I rarely get the master key as a starting gift, it's cheap to get and prefer to have the old witch's ring as part of my character's non-existent backstory. Yeah, i get lazy with that.

I've made a lot of progress on this playthrough since last update. Conquered Sen's,kinda died twice on Iron Golem. I usually don't but i think it was because it's Aggresivesouls style, i made a few stupid mistakes. Arnor Londo, lost 13 humanity and 8 humanity. Souls, i care little for as i can get lots easily now but damn, humanity? That item discovery. I think the +10 Ito(Katana) has reached it's limit. Barely winning in fights with silver knights and i think, it's time to give in to Catacombs. Perhaps, turn it into a fire Ito. If this was a high Vit Tank, i would turn it into Chaos Blade. Or find a new weapon. Really avoiding pyromancy on this but NG+(if i continue it), i'll do all the side stories.

[BetaB17]

Demon souls is fairly weak tho, I mean, alot of the lessons learned from that game helped start off Dark Souls. Plus, Demon was horribly broken and unbalanced..

Also, you do know you can get two starting gifts depending on which class you pick? I mean, I always start off with the Thief so that I can get that sweet sweet master key, bc really.. Being able to mad-dash to some of the best weapons or get shortcuts is so worth it. (The fact I also choose the Witch ring is purely bc the chaos demands it so ^_^) I also go along with the Thief bc the armor fits my preference and the dagger is a nice handicap for the early-game

[Kerr]

I disagree that Demons is the worst [...] it may be the weakest compared to the rest

So you agree with me? Because I didn't say Demon's Souls was bad. I liked it a lot. I probably would put it around equal with Dark Souls 2.

Anyway I like Sorcerer and Pyromancer. Sorcerer if I want to use magic and pyromancer if I don't, starting at SL1 and choosing where to put your points is nice. That's why I picked a Royal in Demon's Souls which is pretty sweet because it meant I got a catalyst and magic regen ring from the start. Didn't know I'd get those but hey, nice bonus.

[BetaB17]

Anyway I like Sorcerer and Pyromancer

Never played Demon Souls, so at first >_> I totally thought you were talking about DS1

[The SheoDovah]

I beat Ornstein and Smough without Brolaire being a meatshield! And WITH ONLY THE DEFAULT 5 ESTUS FLASKES! YEEEEEEEEEEAH! That and after farming humanity in the painted world, I lost the entire lot to either a silver knight or one of those electric spear imps. Died about 10 times, i even resorted to er... *hangs head in deep shame* Havelling it up. That didn't work. So, went back to usual set up and with fashion Souls in effect, it worked. I used a +3 Blacknight Greatsword and bugger me, it is quite a powerful blade. Literally stagged Ornstein and two handed(because i can't wield it with one hand) resulted in 400 hp being taken off with each hit. I had hoped to get Ornstein to go super but i kinda reached the point where i said "Oh [&@%!] this. Whoever dies, dies." Easily one of the best bosses of Dark Souls 1 - Pre-DLC. Second best due to Artorias being a straight up duel. This is a massive "WELCOME TO THE HALFWAY POINT, [&@%!]!" point and tests your build. Got the item ring and farming humanity from the white rats. Am level 77 and i think, my weapons for the rest of the game/mostly shall be the Furysword and BKGS.

Does it mean I can't dual wield? Yes. Does it mean that I may have to drop aggressive no shield set up? Kinda. I used a Black Knight shield for Ornstein and Smough just to tank the spear. It just comes down to what occurs. I still try to dodge everything and hit harder. Focusing on just strength atm. Dex is 35 and tis maxed out for my build. Health is 1200(due to the Ring of Favour) and not much is left for the build. New Game plus? If i do continue it, I'll focus on the magic side of things and may go into tank mode.

[Lord Timster]

So... Remastered DS1 has appeared on Amazon for £35...

I do hope there's more to it than just a graphics upgrade - otherwise it'll be waiting in the queue behind Dragon's Dogma HD (£19) and the enhanced Assassin's Creed 2 Trilogy (£15).... :/

[BetaB17]

Well, it really depends on what you consider as a graphical upgrade. Are we talking about a quick polish and improvement to frames(like most HD remakes) or an entire overhaul on the graphics(Halo Anniversary, anybody?)

From the sounds of it, the team working on it are doing an overhaul, making it look much the same as DS3 without touching much of the actual mechanics, sprinkling in some quality of life stuff as well(i.e multiplayer) that shouldn't really affect the core-experience

It's still questionable if they'll retool some assets(i.e Scholar of the First Sin did) or rework certain areas(Lost Izalith needs it) but considering the team working on it specialize and have succeeded at making HD ports over other JRPG with complicated combat mechanics, safe to say they might not being much more than the graphical side of things