Dark Souls

[schild]

Do you have no hands or something?

[ezrast]

I am so jealous of people who can play this game.

This.

[Dren]

Do you have no hands or something?

I am exclusively a pc gamer...

[Lounge]

Do you have no hands or something?

I am exclusively a pc gamer...

Scale of 1 to 10 ... how's that working out for you?

[ffc]

Amazon has a $50 credit for a PS3 if anyone wants to take the plunge. 

I basically bought my PS3 for Demon's Souls, I would have done the same for Dark Souls and the future me will buy whatever plays the third even if it goes arcade cabinet exclusive. 

[Job601]

[

I am exclusively a pc gamer...

Scale of 1 to 10 ... how's that working out for you?

On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe 8.  I'm pretty happy except for missing out on a few exclusive games like these.  I don't have the time to play as many games as I'd like as it is.

[Hawkbit]

Not to derail too far off the tracks, but the only game on PS3 exclusively I've played that was 'must-play' was Demon's Souls.  If not for Dark Souls and Demon's Souls, I could have skipped consoles all together this iteration. 

[Falconeer]

So, at 100 hours (probably inflated, I left the console on a few times I went out) and level 86 I am about to hit the final boss and I decided I want the 380 pages hardcover strategy guide to celebrate this awesome game. But 1 month after launch apparently no online store got a restock yet which makes me assume there won't be a reprint. The only option left is buying it at 3x the original price on eBay, and I must say that's pretty annoying. Especially because, from what I peeked of the pdf, it's quite a beautiful guide.

Also, on the game difficulty, I have a feeling too that the game is easier than Demon's Souls. And it became almost trivial when I made my +10 Halberd into a Thunderous one. Also, I didn't use any sort of ranged weapon, not a spell nor a bow, cause I remembered they made it into easy mode in Demon's Souls, and still think I feel the whole thing became quite easy when I started putting points into Vitality and got my 524 (dps?) weapon. I understand that the game is significantly longer than Demon's Souls, so it doesn't hurt that it's not all a race of endurance and a test of patience, but I am experiencing a bit of a turn off as I approach the end of the game and everything feels easier (and less scary) than the beginnings. Am I the only one here?

[Ghambit]

It's a non-linear sandboxy arpg.  Obviously, things will be easier if you make it so.  (shrug)  You can try and beat the game at lvl 20, or bleed all the content you can find at lvl 80+.
I look at it as more of an advantage than a hindrance.

[Morfiend]

I'm currently level 48 Dex based melee/archer, and Anor Lando is significantly harder than anything that has come before.

[ffc]

Am I the only one here?

I'm pretty much at the same hours / level / area as you and I agree the lightning weapons are too good on the first playthrough.  They don't scale so maybe they get outclassed in NG+ but as it is my +4 lightning weapon does over twice the damage of my other upgraded weapons.  I don't use the lightning weapon anymore because it trivialized the game.  Same with my upgraded pyromancy spells.

I got summoned for the final boss fight and I liked the Old King Allant fight better.  I do have a story theory I'm looking forward to testing during the fight in my own game though (perhaps we have an NPC that is Ostrava 2.0 the way we got a Yurt 2.0).

Nearing the end I kind of feel like Velorath where I'm lacking the pokemon drive that propelled me multiple times through Demon's Souls.  Still a clear GOTY for me but it takes second place to the original, which is pretty good considering it's hard to compete with perfection.

[Velorath]

Whereas I appreciate that they tried to change a lot of things up, I probably would have been happier with more Demon's Souls.  I feel like the smaller number of areas in Demon's allowed them to really fine-tine the difficulty in each of them to the point where almost every area was painfully hard, but you knew it was only a matter of time before you got it down.  Whether through luck or through talent, Demon's really had that tension of "Fuck I've got a lot of souls and I'm really deep into this level.  Do I press forward and try to finish this area up, or should I head back and cash these in and have to go through this all again?".  Dark almost completely abandons this with its numerous shortcuts and frequent bonfires.

Still love the game although I wouldn't call it my GOTY, mostly because in all honesty the Mortal Kombat reboot of all fucking things kept me and my friends entertained for a long damn time and I'm more comfortable judging games based on that rather than artistic or technical merit.

[jakonovski]

Haven't played Dark Souls yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm vastly going to prefer the bonfires, if only for reasons of immersion.

[Morfiend]

I believe Lightning weapons are getting nerfed in the upcoming patch.

[lesion]

Whenever I get drunk I think about playing this game, but the last time that happened I just ended up killing myself on the New Londo Ruins entrance about six times. Not even past the elevator. It's really sad. Don't play this game when you're full of beer!

[Falconeer]

I got the guide and it's so beautiful. You all get it. Really.

By reading through it without any fear of being spoilered (I am 2 bosses shy of finishing the first run), I read about secrets, NPCs and everything. I must say, while I really like finding the NPCs here and there and not knowing exactly what they are up to (last thing I need in a game like this are stupid side quests and gather 10 rats), it's insane how hard it is to see the whole cycle of "story" for all the characters, or actually for even one of them. After meeting them for the first time, subsequent meetings are tied to specific but random things and order you can do things that there's no way to tell if you'll ever see them again. That's great material for a strategy guide, and boosts the "mystery" feel of the game, but it can be nerve-wrecking at times considering that if you miss a step (by total accident, snce there's no way to figure them out) you are not gonna get that guy/gal ever again until you replay the game.

Even with the guide, I wanted to advance the story of Solaire, and the Onion Knight, only to find out that, alas, I fucked it up. Mind, the game doesn't really punish you for missing them, but you are not gonna wrap their little stories up. Sad.

Also, I peeked at how to get one of the bad endings, the thing with Kaathe? Without spoilering anything, if you don't read about it in advance the only way to get it it's by a fluke. I have mixed feelings about this.

[ffc]

I accidentally completed the Solaire storyline and I thought he would be like Ostrava in Demon's Souls but it ends up going nowhere.  I even ranked up in his stupid covenant and had the pendant.  I should have killed him earlier to get his nifty looking shield. 

I also accidentally got the bad ending.  Interacting with Kaathe earlier in the game is totally separate from getting the bad ending (I never met him in my playthrough).

I was going to wait until the patch to play through this again, but the so-bad-how-is-it-possible weapon switching in Skyrim has me returning sooner than anticipated.

[Falconeer]

Dark Souls really ruined my Skyrim. I find it unplayable. I'm sure things will be better in a few months, as Skyrim really sounds amazing, but going straight from Dark Souls to it is simply not working for me.

Also, how did you get the bad ending?

[ffc]

Dark Souls really ruined my Skyrim. I find it unplayable. I'm sure things will be better in a few months, as Skyrim really sounds amazing, but going straight from Dark Souls to it is simply not working for me.

Also, how did you get the bad ending?

[Falconeer]

Oh, but

[Lounge]

Oh, but

[Falconeer]

I see. I was confusing Gwyn and Gwyndolin.

[Falconeer]

Just beat the game. Good ending.

[ffc]

Patch 1.05 is out in US. Lots of good changes, including miracle resonance. Never saw those circles on the ground where other players cast miracles, now hopefully I will.

[Falconeer]

Wow. Souls gain in PvE increased 2-2.5x? I don't get it. All the other changes seem to make the game a lot easier, too. Fixes aside, I am not sure I like this.

[Yegolev]

Pyro Glove nerfed from 270 to 230.

Probably fine.

Humanity Item drop rate increased from 10 to 210

The fuck?

Item discovery gained via Humanity improved. Capped at 20.

What does this mean?  The first humanity sent you from 100 to 120.  Typo?

Giant Blacksmith (Fapsmith): Sells Arrows / Crossbolts, Small Titanite Shards, Large Tit Shards, Twinkling (8000 per, inf amount), Green Shards, Repair box, upgrade boxes

What?  Infinite twinkling titanite?

So, I don't know.  Seems mostly easier to me.

[lesion]

Item discovery gained via Humanity improved. Capped at 20.

What does this mean?  The first humanity sent you from 100 to 120.  Typo?

I think it used to cap at 10, which meant any humanity beyond that didn't add to discovery (so 66 humanity would give the same discovery as having 10 humanity).

Also, twinkling titanite is the one thing I didn't want to go through a bajillion playthroughs to get. So...woo!

[Morfiend]

I felt that Lightning weapons where too strong compared to everything else. Although, I dont think the nerf is strong enough. -2%? Hopefully the scaling buff will off set it. I really would like to think I didnt waste like 20 points in to Dex.

And in patch notes:

Official Guide nerfed.

And this makes me super happy.

Combat Changes:
Lock-on acquisition range increased.
Lock-on changing/switching got easier (more responsive).
 
Ring of Fog users can now be locked on.

[Yegolev]

The lock-on switching is indeed much nicer.

[schild]

Never touching Dark Souls again... ahem, until it's on the PC.

[Yegolev]

I can hear all the delicious whining now.  "Oh this game sucks because CONSOLITIS"

[Ingmar]

If they don't give it a proper PC UI then they would deserve it!

[Yegolev]

See, there you go.  What is a proper PC UI?  It has a lock-on and the kbm buttoning can't be any more difficult than on a controller.

[Ingmar]

I believe the answer is "one that doesn't piss me off".

[Yegolev]

Actually that's my point.  The game is hard and I think we might see a lot of blame going toward the UI.  In any case I will be interested to see the reactions.