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...And Pinwheel is DEAD

 

One thing I did forget about this game, was the room that preceded the boss fight. Home to the Bonewheel Skeletons ? 

I suppose it was my own fault for failing to recognise what they were in time and how to react accordingly. I tried luring them back into the Bonfire/Vamos corridor... Only for the axe wielding Black Knight (that I didn't even notice was there) to pop in and say "hey". He died and eventually I cleared out the Bonewheels. Now I didn't pick up a lantern, so I don't feel like fighting my way through the Tomb of the Giants blind. Only problem was I forgot I rested at Vamos Bonfire... It is going to be a long walk back to Firelink  ?

On the plus side, I did finally level up my Dex to 14! Now I actually have some ranged offence in the Longbow, I got from Darkroot Garden. So I can also get rid of that poxy Wyvern too...

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I'm actually getting back into gaming... How strange?

 

Anyway, after walking past a ladder three times, I eventually found the way back up and out of The Catacombs. Only a quick run today, killed the Black Knight with the Greatsword on my way back, towards the Wyvern. I had forgotten, when space allows, they are far more vulnerable to back stabs than parrying. Actually got the sword drop too, which was quite a coup. Andre'd up my Longbow to +3. Raised my Attunement slots and increased my Intelligence to double digits. Oddly enough from the roof the Black Knight spawned, you can see the Wyvern from above. So I took a shot, not really expecting anything to happen... and I hit it?! It flew away, so I don't know what will happen when I actually reach the bridge again...

 

Status:

Level 36 Cleric 

Highest Stat: 30 Strength

Divine Mace

Longbow +3

Dragon Crest Shield +2

 

 

 

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Shortcuts and Keys

 

Two things it is easy to over look in Dark Souls. The Former, being the two previously locked gates in the Undead Burg that basically completely open up that area, into the Lower burg and beyond. The latter, I pick up and completely forget about. Especially as I was ambling around and pressed open on a door I didn't notice before. "Basement Key Used" ? When did I pick that up??? So I traversed the Lower Burg today. Fending off the Evil Dogs and Ninja Assassins. Meanwhile saved a Sorcerer that looked like he was involved in some S&M play... Actually I completely forgot this area existed... And the Capra Demon too? 

The only part of that Fight that is remotely an issue is being rushed by the dogs at the door. Damn dogs...

Meanwhile, I found out that they patched out the glitch for cheesing a Wyvern kill. If you leave it long enough, it full heals ? Well I got the Drake Sword before I wasted all my arrows in vain, at least. Since I have a Divine Mace, I also decided to test out my luck in New Londo. Surely if a Divine weapon kills Undead and Skeletons with ease, it should hurt Ghosts too without the need for transient curses, right?

...Wrong?

 

Status:

Level 36 Cleric 

Highest Stat: 30 Strength

Divine Mace

Lucerne +1

Drake Sword

Longbow +3

Dragon Crest Shield +2

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As I've alluded to previously, when it comes to RPG's, I enjoy the grind, the min-max.

For Example, The entire [available] team with Level 3 Limit Breaks in FF 7 before Aeris dies.  As well as Level 99 characters with the full assortment of Mastered Materia, by the Northern Crater. That's my thing. It is what I enjoy most in the genre.  It was one of the things that put me off PokéManz. Some you catch are just lame, regardless of level.

 

So today I had zero progress but for The Grind. Fully utilising the two shortcuts previously noted to jump between the Wyvern bridge (a free 555 souls every time) and Andre for weapon materials. Granted, he only has Titanite Shards right now, but a ceiling of +5 equipment is more than enough for this part of the game. I also realised that the Drake "Noob" Sword is powerful, but the range and hit box are pitiful. So instead, today's play session revolved around:

 

Status:

Level 36 Cleric 

Highest Stat: 30 Strength

Divine Mace

Lucerne +5

Drake Sword

Longbow +5

Dragon Crest Shield +2

 

As I also have a strong catalyst now, I opted to buy some offensive spells. Only to realise I need at least 16 Intelligence, I currently have 10. My Cleric spells only require Faith, I failed to take note of Intelligence (Oh, the irony), before paying out for the spells. Undecided whether to Wyvern grind for the levels or just kill Capra Demon (I assume Lucerne +5 should help with range) without the spells.

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Capra Demon, Giant Rat and Gaping Dragon... DEAD

 

The Depths also thoroughly explored. Having the range of the Longbow and Lucerne really helped with keeping the hordes of Rats at bay in this area. As I hadn't used it before, I wasn't sure if a plunging attack from the Lucerne +5 would have hurt the Giant Rat enough to stagger the thing. As I do recall it being quite fast, if you're on it's level. So one two-handed plunging attack later... 865 damage! ? Suffice to say, it died in one hit. I also got lucky with Capra, as I was able to kill the dogs with a opening wide swing. After that, he really isn't any trouble. Considering its size, nor is the Gaping Dragon.

Rule 101, if something has a gigantic mouth with rows of fangs, don't stand in front of it. Even managed to get his tail drop too.

 

Now I had 43,000-odd Souls by that point and so I thought, I'll press on and activate the first Bonfire by the front door to Blighttown. It has got to be close, right? Only for one of the big fat boys to knock me over the edge with a jump attack ?

 

I decided to call the play session a day at that point. The quest to retrieve my souls will have to wait.

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B.L.I.G.H.T.T.O.W.N.

 

Today, I thought I would tackle this place normally, one level at a time. Working my way down, methodically. I had 15 Blooming Purple Moss, 15 Estus, 50 Arrows and 5 Heals....

Fuck this place, seriously. The enemies, other than the near invisible blow dart guys, aren't really a problem. The Camera IS. My Blooming moss are all gone, so are the arrows.  The camera, alongside some dodgy environmental collisions, meant I ended up with several attempts that went nowhere fast.

 

I thought they fixed this place since the original release?

 

In the last attempt, I just ran from the bonfire, through all the enemies and got virtually down to the bottom. Before I clipped into the edge of a platform and got Gang-poisoned by a blow dart guy and three mosquitoes.

Oh, and I did manage to salvage those 40,000+ Souls from earlier, at least. So I now have the Intelligence to use my purchased spell - Great Soul Arrow. Not that that is much use in this poxy place. It is strange that although the Valley of Defilement was the precursor to Blighttown, just from a level design standpoint alone, the Valley feels better made.

 

I endure, and persevere... 

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  • 9 months later...
On 22/06/2019 at 18:03, OCH said:

I endure, and persevere... 

 

 

Dark Souls 1, Attempt number Four!

 

When it comes to hobbies, an issue I have is that I overextend. I used to read five books, play multiple games and watch at least two series at once. Whenever something new took my fancy, I added that to the pile. The problem is in recent times, I then go for long periods of Not indulging in hobbies. Trying to get back into multiple midway points after 6 months to a year, isn't as easy as I used to find it.

So, in light of Quarantine, I decided to draw a line in the sand and focus on one thing at a time. 

Starting from the very beginning, Dark Souls won the coin toss.

 

We begin anew with The Adventures of Zark! The Thief

 

I chose Thief Class as they come pre-equipped with the Master Key. So you get to pick something else as your starter item. I chose Black Firebombs. Because, Fun Fact - Asylum Demon can be killed with five of them (I'm shocked they didn't patch that cheese strat out?). So I killed him at the first encounter and received the Demon Great Hammer.... Which I promptly lost, offering it to the Crow. It turns out, if you just drop an item in the nest and the Crow doesn't acknowledge it. You reset and it is just... gone ?

So I'm already steam rolling towards Undead Burg. I met the Merchant, bought the Residence Key and promptly slew him for the Uchi. Now my Thief has a whole ninja vibe going on. Next stop, the first Silver Knight and Taurus Demon.

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Progress!

 

Taurus Demon, Bell Gargoyles, Titanite Demon, Undead Burg Silver Knight and Darkroot Basin Silver Knight...

All vanquished!

 I decided to call it a day at that. Choices are Blighttown, New Londo, Lower Undead Burg, Moonlight Butterfly or Hydra for the next session.
Definitely feeling better about this play through than I recall of the last. 

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Facepalm!

 

Havel The Rock and Moonlight Butterfly, this mornings vanquished!

 

So, feeling confident and morbidly curious I make my way to Blighttown... again. It turns out one of the things this game does very well is subtle environmental clues. Those "shiny" plants in Darkroot Basin? Might be a trail you want to follow. That small succession of lamps in Blighttown!?! Maybe, just maybe, it leads you to the lift that takes you all the way to the bottom and completely bypasses the Toxic blow dart guys.... ?

Lesson learned, nearly a year later. Do not explore Blighttown, it isn't worth your time.

 

At present, I have a +5 Uchi and +5 Mace. Neither of which seems to make the slightest dent in Quelaag? 

This might take a while.

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7 hours ago, OCH said:

At present, I have a +5 Uchi and +5 Mace. Neither of which seems to make the slightest dent in Quelaag? 

This might take a while.

 

 

It certainly is...

 

I think the worst part of this boss fight, is the run up. You have to cross the swamp. You will get poisoned... You will run out of purple moss. This is a war of attrition. Unlike previous fights up until now, my weapons are effectively doing chip(ish) damage. But a dozen or so attempts so far, patterns are being learned and to be honest, the camera is the real enemy in this arena.

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Spelunking in the Mushroom Kingdom

 

I decided to explore the base of Blighttown a bit, taking a break from Quelaag at first. Discovered The Great Hollow.. Which I totally forgot was hidden down here. After some rather reckless leaps of faith (that did bear fruit) and having to slice my way through petrifying lizards and Mushrooms on 'Roids, I made it to the bottom. I remembered, pre-Lordvessel, Do Not sit at the Ash Lake Bonfire. Soon realising I need something with a bit more punch than a +5 Uchi to confront the Hydra. Reviving back at the top of the tree, I decided to return to the eight legged plot wall....

 

First Try!? 

Quelaag vanquished!

That was a fun and rewarding boss fight. I quickly made my way through to Our Fair Lady, joined the covenant, before going Tweety Bird on Ceaseless Discharge.

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Another boss vanquished and 40, 000 Souls gained in the space of five minutes. Now, I realise... I have to go back up? I vaguely recall there is a non-Blighttown way, if only I could remember it?

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CRASH...AH AH!

 

Pinwheel and Catacombs Silver Knight are vanquished.

 

I got some house keeping done today. I made my way back to Firelink via Blighttown. The way back is a lot easier when you know to run past the big guys at the door. Since getting some different colour Titanite, I decided to level up some weapons.  My +5 Morning Star (correction: Not +5 Mace) is now a +5 Divine Morning Star. The Gargoyle Halberd is also +5. I don't know what I'm going to do with that right now, ascension-wise. 

I remembered the Divine route being the easier way to kill Skeletons, if the Necromancers are proving elusive. It still wasn't easy though. I keep missing out on the obvious paths in these areas. I didn't even see where Patches was. Never mind. Killed the Bonewheels and Silver Knight (still not getting any of the good drops from those guys) and eventually Pinwheel itself. I was just about to proceed further when the game decided to freeze, mid-run, in the bonewheel room of the Catacombs. 27,000 Souls on hand. How much of this will be saved? Will it reset the enemies in the room I'm right in the middle of??

Unknown at this point. I decided to take a break and find out later.

 

Funny, I don't remember crashes in the original release at all.?‍♂️

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The Quest resumes...

 

Capra Demon, Giant Rat and Gaping Dragon, Vanquished.

 

The game, upon reset, brought me back to the very ladder I climbed before the crash. No progress lost!

 

It took me a while to actually retrace the way out of the Catacombs. I tried to enter the Tomb of The Giants, but it remains far too dark. A brief bit of exploration and I was one-shot by a pair of glowing eyes. Because I didn't run into Patches, I didn't activate that bridge. So when backtracking, I ended up on the other side of it... Stuck. I did eventually remember the other way to get back on the right side of the Catacombs to leave. Still didn't encounter Patches though. Oh Well. Now I'm a bit stronger, I decided to exact my revenge on Capra. Those dogs almost cost me again, but none of their hits were as damaging this time around. I cleared out The Depths. Just because. Since I've already done Blighttown - the nicer way - I had no need to progress further than the boss. I think all that leaves is Sens Fortress, as I've only got two Transient Curses for New Londo and I always thought that area is more trouble than it is worth. For now, at least. 

 

Oh and I decided to upgrade the Gargoyles Halberd to a +5 Fire Weapon. Super Effective against Gaping Dragon, oddly enough.

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Grand Designs

 

Iron Golem, (One of Two) Sens Titanite Demons and two bridge Gargoyles vanquished.

 

I seem to have completely blanked on Sens Fortress. I've never completed Dark Souls 1. It is the only one of the first three Souls games that I didn't and yet I tapped out beyond this point. The Snake Men, swinging blades, pressure pads.. All virtually brand new to my recollection. Which is a bit odd?

Anyway, it turns out that a +5 Fire Gargoyles Halberd basically kills everything within two to three hits. Even the Titanite Demon was dead in less than ten hits. The best one was the Mimic, which was dead before it even had a chance to stand up. I skimmed Sens Fortress. Aside from a plunging attack on the TD, I didn't explore much of the lowest level. Mostly because I don't have any ranged attacks and there are a lot of those lightning shooting snakes in very annoying positions. So that's done and now I'm on Anor Londo. I decided to take a break after turning that corkscrew lift for the short cut. I know O & S are coming. I'll leave them for when I'm a little less tired.

 

Oh and this is going to take more than the week I assumed it would. I've made good progress but I haven't really played it every day and not for more than an hour or two at a time.

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A game of two halves

 

I needed to do some min-maxing. I've worked so hard on levelling up weapons ( +10 Uchi, +5 Divine Morning Star, +5 Fire Gargoyles Halberd) I'd forgotten about.. The Silver Knights of Anor Londo and how a good shield is really useful for parries. So I made +5 Grass Crest Shield and away I went to explore the city of the gods. It is a much bigger level than I remembered. Much like in Demon's Souls, enemies with spears are still the worst FromSoft ever throw at you. But, I'm pretty sure I looted the place completely. Opened all the short cuts and lit both Bonfires.

 

I did give O & S a couple tries. The problem is that all of my gear was high in Fire Defence, not Lightning. That I couldn't get the timing right to split them up. I recall I Fire Sword for this on my first playthrough way back when. The Halberd has range, but it is a bit too slow and if I whiff an attack, these two punish it pretty much immediately.

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And we're back

 

After a bit of a stressful week, I was ready to resume this today...

 

O & S, Sif and Stray Demon vanquished!

 

It is really quite satisfying to kill O&S. The RNG Gods were in my favour today, as Smough got caught and kind of glitched out for a bit on a pillar. It wasn't long, just long enough to give me some breathing room to kill Ornstein. As noted from the list above, I've been side questing since getting the Lordvessel. Sif was a lot easier than I remember and I was quite merciless on the Evil Puppy. I think it shows my armour is a bit better than it is expected to be, since the fall damage before Stray Demon was barely 1/5 of my life bar. It took two attempts to kill him. The first one he spammed that AOE attack three times in a row?

 

Currently exploring the Painted World and just killed "Phalanx" and the Zombie Dragon. Neither of which really count as bosses, per say. Since I opened up the short cut, I decided to call it a day. This area is a lot bigger than I remember..?

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Pride before a fall

 

Priscilla vanquished!

 

That is the Painted World done. I did forgot about the nice Bonewheel trap room you have to navigate to leave the Painted World... That took a try or two. I also found a key for the PW, but no sign of any locked door. So with the boss defeated, I just left. That is one of the things I like about this port of Dark Souls, no trophies/achievements. No arbitrary marker telling me I haven't done The Thing in a given area of the game.  Thinking myself quite OP at this point, I decided to tackle Demon Ruins first... 

 

I'm not OP and this area quickly reminded me of that in a big way. Even had a quick go of Fire Sage and didn't even get a hit in. I think I need to do some Titanite farming. +10 Uchi isn't doing any level of damage anymore. Perhaps this is going to be my Lightning Weapon now? Maybe hit Duke's Archives next instead, too.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Back again

 

I killed the Zombie Dragon in Valley of Drakes and made one attempt at Four Kings. Completely misread the geometry of the boss room, and was dead in three swings of their "sword". In the meantime. As is typical, I'm back after a slight hiatus. So I was Titanite farming. The dangerous kind though. Green stuff from the leeches in Blighttown swamp and Chunks from Darkwraiths. I find one of the worst parts of the controls when you're rusty, is judging parries again. I did manage to salvage enough Chunks to get a +3 Lightning Uchi. With that, Uchi has become deadly again! Following a period of redundancy, circa Sens Fortress, due to stronger enemies and my +5 Fire Gargoyles Halberd.

 

Might farm some more Chunks before trying Four Kings again. The only problem with the halberd is that it is slow, which isn't an issue for the Uchi. That just needs more power.

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Needed to vent some rage today...

 

So I decided to try out my new +3 Lighting Uchi on the Demon Ruins. In answer to my question, yes, it is a very strong weapon. The Capra's die in three hits and the Taurus' die in four. I also popped back to Undead Parish to kill that early Silver Knight that stands atop the battlement. He too, died in three hits. I picked up the two embers from the Demon Ruins too - Very Large Flame and Chaos. These have now led to a new set of problems/hunts. I need to farm Red Titanite, which I looked up and I'll need to aggressively farm some of the more tanky enemies of the ruins and for the latter, I need to farm Humanity. I currently only have one. As I used the others in raising my covenant. Which at my point in the game, means rats... joy?

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