[L0rdGwyn]

I like Sekiro a lot, but I haven't finished it. I was gung-ho for a week when it came out, then I got really busy with school and work. After building all that gameplay momentum and having to take a month hiatus, I've had a hard time picking it back up, feels like I need to relearn the game, except I'm almost half way through.

Then I started playing Bloodborne again and can't put it down. So Sekiro will have to wait

 

[tdockweiler]

Been playing Demon's Souls finally after finishing DS1, 2 and 3 many times.
I'm surprised to find that it's actually not easy and kind of hard so far.

I'm finding the Tower of Latria harder than any single level in DS3 or 2.
I've died so many times vs those stupid Mind Flayers. I've got the Crescent Falchion but the magic is kind of worthless against them.
What makes this harder is that the area is so poorly lit on the PS3 version. I have my brightness increased a ton of my TV.
On the PS5 version the lighting is perfect.

I'm not joking in that i've fallen to my death in this level from a hole in the round at least 4 times!
Plus I end up running around because the place is so confusing.
Luckily I know how to get to the boss easily now but I forgot to turn off the ballista.
That's another annoying thing about this game...the runs to the bosses. No bonfires and just shortcuts!
In total i've gotten like zero levels and zero souls from this level. That's a first for any game in the series.
Annoying also to have to go back and farm grass.

I'm working on a better weapon. Thinking of just maxing the Crushing Claymore even though it's moveset is worse than in DS1.
Maybe even a Longsword would be fine. Claymore in this just seems way slower than in DS1.

Also, unlike in DS1 ranged weapons seem super important.
It makes the Mindflayers way easier. Sometimes you can kill them with 2 arrows.

Anyway, it could turn out to be like DS1, someday it might feel 10x easier for me.

 

[SilverEars]

Been playing Demon's Souls finally after finishing DS1, 2 and 3 many times.
I'm surprised to find that it's actually not easy and kind of hard so far.

I'm finding the Tower of Latria harder than any single level in DS3 or 2.
I've died so many times vs those stupid Mind Flayers. I've got the Crescent Falchion but the magic is kind of worthless against them.
What makes this harder is that the area is so poorly lit on the PS3 version. I have my brightness increased a ton of my TV.
On the PS5 version the lighting is perfect.

I'm not joking in that i've fallen to my death in this level from a hole in the round at least 4 times!
Plus I end up running around because the place is so confusing.
Luckily I know how to get to the boss easily now but I forgot to turn off the ballista.
That's another annoying thing about this game...the runs to the bosses. No bonfires and just shortcuts!
In total i've gotten like zero levels and zero souls from this level. That's a first for any game in the series.
Annoying also to have to go back and farm grass.

I'm working on a better weapon. Thinking of just maxing the Crushing Claymore even though it's moveset is worse than in DS1.
Maybe even a Longsword would be fine. Claymore in this just seems way slower than in DS1.

Also, unlike in DS1 ranged weapons seem super important.
It makes the Mindflayers way easier. Sometimes you can kill them with 2 arrows.

Anyway, it could turn out to be like DS1, someday it might feel 10x easier for me.

I found it pretty hard at times as well. People say it's the easiest of the Souls series, but I disagree. The bosses are the easiest, but not the levels. They place bonfires very distanced that you have to start over again from scratch a lot. Also, Valley of Defilement is way worse than Blight Town. I won't spoil it, but they purposely make certain areas super difficulty to get through. They have well placed ambushes in this game.

Trying to get the Large Sword of Moonlight was so difficult. I died so many times because I didn't have the sodden ring. When you are poisoned in the swamp, you can't roll, and you get a beating and die. Miyazaki trolls the hell out of you in this game.

The first two worlds are fairly easy, and then it gets a little annoying after. Tower of Latria has traps for the first timer. lol. On replay it's easy once you know the traps.

Also, you have to be aware of world tendency, which is annoying feature in the game.

 

[SilverEars]

I like Sekiro a lot, but I haven't finished it. I was gung-ho for a week when it came out, then I got really busy with school and work. After building all that gameplay momentum and having to take a month hiatus, I've had a hard time picking it back up, feels like I need to relearn the game, except I'm almost half way through.

Then I started playing Bloodborne again and can't put it down. So Sekiro will have to wait

Once you get through the pain of the first playthrough, you gain so much knowledge that subsequent playthroughs becomes a cakewalk. My first playthrough was such a pain (Sekiro was my first Soulborne I set my mind into completing). I did a lot of research and learned a lot, and know I recall all I learned in subsequent playthroughs because the pain of learning makes me recall them. lol.

 

[DenverW]

Hey I found a fun thread! I've played through dark souls and demon souls in the past on the ps3/4 and got half way through dark souls 2 before getting distracted. I've recently picked it back up from the beginning; playing as a caster for the first time. In the past I'd always done dex builds.

I really need to play bloodborne.

 

[tdockweiler]

I'm making like zero progress in Demon's Souls. Possibly the most annoying and frustrating game ever made.
You know how in DS1 you had those ghosts ganking you in New Londo? Well here, I have that frustration in like every level.
I seriously think they must have made this game to be played with a character with not just melee, but magic damage also.

So I got to 2-2 in the Tunnel City. Most enemies are not too bad, but then you get the Fire bug things that take an eternity to kill.
Then if that wasn't bad enough there are bigger ones in tunnels and those take 10x longer to kill. Luckily I found that there are ways to bypass them.
None of the enemies here are hard just are annoying to fight and take FOREVER to kill.

Strangely enough there are worms that pop out of the ground that take like only 17dmg from my Crushing Claymore, but die in a few hits from my Crescent Falchion!

So I end up getting lost in the tunnels. I backtrack to the "bonfire" and use my souls. Turns out there was a cliff I had to jump off of to get to the Flamelurker.

I watched a video of that fight and now I don't even want to continue playing the game lol.

4-1 Shrine of Storms is more annoying.
The regular skeletons die super fast against just my fists. Then I got to the yellow/gold ones and they are capable of 1-shotting me. They did nearly twice in a row. Killing them wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have flying things hovering over my head shooting harpoons at me. Not a good time to be without arrows or magic.

I get to the final fog gate (I think) but it was a challenge, but then I get destroyed by a red skeleton with 2 katanas.

#1 most annoying thing of this game is spending 20 minutes to get to an area and then dying. No other Dark Souls game had that issue.

#2 is having to farm grass. I always run out.

#3 is not enough shortcuts and only 1 main bonfire.

So I think my problem now is that my weapons are just not good enough. I only have a Crescent Falchion and Crushing Claymore+1.
I'm going to just get a Longsword and max that as far as I can. I also made a Crushing Battleaxe to see how that does.

I think this game may just force me into using magic more. Seems like a must.
I've got a compound bow +6 but always run out of arrows.

I don't parry much so it may be a good idea for me to upgrade from the Heater Shield to something else.
Currently using only the fluted armor too but I can medium roll at least. I couldn't with the Temple Knight gear.

My stats probably are screwed up too.
Right now I have 20 VIT, 20 END, 28 STR, base DEX (15 I think) and other stats at the default.
Maybe not raising DEX up more was a huge mistake. Plan though was to convert all weapons to Crushing (except Longsword).

So far this is the hardest DS game i've played.
Believe it or not Bloodborne was the toughest for me before this and my least favorite.
I disliked that game so much I stopped playing at the very last level since I was so severely under-leveled.
Never played Elden Ring or Sekiro yet.

It's weird how the opinions on what's the hardest varies so much.
I even saw a video on youtube saying Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin was the 2nd hardest.
I actually thought that one was even easier than the vanilla version (way easier to upgrade weapons in the remaster).

I actually find DS2 the most fun and not frustrating at all.
In the entire game the only boss that I need to prepare for is the ruin sentinels. Mostly I just have to have the right stats and bring a club.

I remember my first time playing that game and tried to kill them too early with bad stats. Got frustrated and quit for 6 months!
Turns out my Adaptability and END were too low. I think ADP is the one stat I cap first. Think if I remember right it only needs to be at 25 or something.

 

[SilverEars]

I'm making like zero progress in Demon's Souls. Possibly the most annoying and frustrating game ever made.
You know how in DS1 you had those ghosts ganking you in New Londo? Well here, I have that frustration in like every level.
I seriously think they must have made this game to be played with a character with not just melee, but magic damage also.

So I got to 2-2 in the Tunnel City. Most enemies are not too bad, but then you get the Fire bug things that take an eternity to kill.
Then if that wasn't bad enough there are bigger ones in tunnels and those take 10x longer to kill. Luckily I found that there are ways to bypass them.
None of the enemies here are hard just are annoying to fight and take FOREVER to kill.

Strangely enough there are worms that pop out of the ground that take like only 17dmg from my Crushing Claymore, but die in a few hits from my Crescent Falchion!

So I end up getting lost in the tunnels. I backtrack to the "bonfire" and use my souls. Turns out there was a cliff I had to jump off of to get to the Flamelurker.

I watched a video of that fight and now I don't even want to continue playing the game lol.

4-1 Shrine of Storms is more annoying.
The regular skeletons die super fast against just my fists. Then I got to the yellow/gold ones and they are capable of 1-shotting me. They did nearly twice in a row. Killing them wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have flying things hovering over my head shooting harpoons at me. Not a good time to be without arrows or magic.

I get to the final fog gate (I think) but it was a challenge, but then I get destroyed by a red skeleton with 2 katanas.

#1 most annoying thing of this game is spending 20 minutes to get to an area and then dying. No other Dark Souls game had that issue.

#2 is having to farm grass. I always run out.

#3 is not enough shortcuts and only 1 main bonfire.

So I think my problem now is that my weapons are just not good enough. I only have a Crescent Falchion and Crushing Claymore+1.
I'm going to just get a Longsword and max that as far as I can. I also made a Crushing Battleaxe to see how that does.

I think this game may just force me into using magic more. Seems like a must.
I've got a compound bow +6 but always run out of arrows.

I don't parry much so it may be a good idea for me to upgrade from the Heater Shield to something else.
Currently using only the fluted armor too but I can medium roll at least. I couldn't with the Temple Knight gear.

My stats probably are screwed up too.
Right now I have 20 VIT, 20 END, 28 STR, base DEX (15 I think) and other stats at the default.
Maybe not raising DEX up more was a huge mistake. Plan though was to convert all weapons to Crushing (except Longsword).

So far this is the hardest DS game i've played.
Believe it or not Bloodborne was the toughest for me before this and my least favorite.
I disliked that game so much I stopped playing at the very last level since I was so severely under-leveled.
Never played Elden Ring or Sekiro yet.

It's weird how the opinions on what's the hardest varies so much.
I even saw a video on youtube saying Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin was the 2nd hardest.
I actually thought that one was even easier than the vanilla version (way easier to upgrade weapons in the remaster).

I actually find DS2 the most fun and not frustrating at all.
In the entire game the only boss that I need to prepare for is the ruin sentinels. Mostly I just have to have the right stats and bring a club.

I remember my first time playing that game and tried to kill them too early with bad stats. Got frustrated and quit for 6 months!
Turns out my Adaptability and END were too low. I think ADP is the one stat I cap first. Think if I remember right it only needs to be at 25 or something.

Lol, welcome to Demon's Souls. It's best to play as Royalty, and use magic. Makes the game easier, but also can make you OP. Non-magic build would make the game a bit challenging. I recommend Sekiro for a different kind of experience, and a good challenge.

Young and upcoming Miyazaki trolled us real good. lol.

I'm currently doing a faith build run, and it's not so bad. The problem is, all my applicable weapons and upgrades are in the valley of defilement. It's a pain in the azz to go through that area so early to pick up the weapons. Faith is not as useless as in other souls games. Large Sword of Moonlight scales with faith, which is odd. In Dark Souls, it scales with magic. My first play was frustrating also, and now I don't find it all that bad. I see it as well thought out challenges that I don't see in later Miyazaki games. He added more bonfires in later games, and estus flasks replenish. But, something about the those feature missing and long journey to the final bonfire makes it an interesting challenge I now accept. Some of the pitfalls that Miyazaki came up with in this game is quite clever I find. Bosses, not so much.

I find the game impressive since it's Miyazaki's first Souls game, and so much fresh ideas were in the game. I thought some of the roadblocks (the parts that make you die a lot) he put in the game is quite clever. The PS5 version is up there as my top 3 Souls games along with DS1 and 3, if I count out Bloodborne. And Sekiro is not a souls game.

 

[tdockweiler]

Last's night's game was like a night and day difference in difficulty. Way easier. Still had a lot of stupid deaths (mostly from 4-2 projectiles).
Turns out that my issue was that Crescent Falchion just isn't that great. Better than maybe a starter weapon at least.

I found that the Dragon Longsword destroys nearly all those 4-1 skeletons in like 2 hits with just the +2 version (maybe +4, but can't remember)..
It adds more base damage and fire damage too. I was using my fists against those skeletons! Now I know why I was having issues.
Fists vs them at low levels is pretty good and even better than the Crescent Falchion.

That Dragon Longsword even kills those Mind Flayers so fast they don't even have time to react and stun me.

It seems that unlike in DS, the weapon type is even more important in this game.

I got to the Abjudicator boss without knowing his strategy. He kept hitting me through the floor and I was sure i'd be dead. Once I realized I had to run to the floor ASAP he was easy. As long as you stayed behind him or to the right when he swings, he can't even hit you! Sort of reminded me of a slower and easier version of The Rotten from Dark Souls 2.

One enemy that has given me many deaths is.. those stupid elevators in 2-1.
One wrong step and you go flying off them and die.
Something that should be so simple, is just so buggy.
I'm sure they fixed that in the PS5 version.

Tomorrow I will at least get soul arrow. I had to get my magic from 6 to 10. I need it for those projectile flinging flying things.
I've found many of them can be avoided in 4-2 just by using a thief ring.
Having a starting class with a free soul arrow would have saved me a LOT of pain.

I'm hoping I can cheese Flamelurker and he won't cause me too many deaths.
It may take me a few tries to memorize all his moves.
I'll probably need to get some flame resist gear before I fight him though.

I still need to go back and kill Fool's Idol. I got it to 5% and got stunned and died because I was out in the open.
Might be a good idea to bring arrows this time.

Surprised there is still quite a high learning curve on this game (for me) even after playing all the Dark Souls games.

I'm starting to enjoy the game even more now, but there is so much stuff that is just so extremely annoying and it doesn't really need to be like that to be difficult.
It makes me appreciate even more all the improvements they added to Dark Souls 1,2,3.
I have to admit i'm not a fan of the way to pick levels. Prefer the slightly more open world of the later games.

Right now i'm working on maxing a Longsword. Got it to +6 so far I think. Might be good as a backup when a magic weapon isn't needed.
I was surprised the Claymore was so bad in this game. Too slow for me unlike the one in DS1.
It might be worth going back to my starter weapon the Halberd and upgrading that some too.
I never really liked it for huge groups of enemies.

 

[SilverEars]

Last's night's game was like a night and day difference in difficulty. Way easier. Still had a lot of stupid deaths (mostly from 4-2 projectiles).
Turns out that my issue was that Crescent Falchion just isn't that great. Better than maybe a starter weapon at least.

I found that the Dragon Longsword destroys nearly all those 4-1 skeletons in like 2 hits with just the +2 version (maybe +4, but can't remember)..
It adds more base damage and fire damage too. I was using my fists against those skeletons! Now I know why I was having issues.
Fists vs them at low levels is pretty good and even better than the Crescent Falchion.

That Dragon Longsword even kills those Mind Flayers so fast they don't even have time to react and stun me.

It seems that unlike in DS, the weapon type is even more important in this game.

I got to the Abjudicator boss without knowing his strategy. He kept hitting me through the floor and I was sure i'd be dead. Once I realized I had to run to the floor ASAP he was easy. As long as you stayed behind him or to the right when he swings, he can't even hit you! Sort of reminded me of a slower and easier version of The Rotten from Dark Souls 2.

One enemy that has given me many deaths is.. those stupid elevators in 2-1.
One wrong step and you go flying off them and die.
Something that should be so simple, is just so buggy.
I'm sure they fixed that in the PS5 version.

Tomorrow I will at least get soul arrow. I had to get my magic from 6 to 10. I need it for those projectile flinging flying things.
I've found many of them can be avoided in 4-2 just by using a thief ring.
Having a starting class with a free soul arrow would have saved me a LOT of pain.

I'm hoping I can cheese Flamelurker and he won't cause me too many deaths.
It may take me a few tries to memorize all his moves.
I'll probably need to get some flame resist gear before I fight him though.

I still need to go back and kill Fool's Idol. I got it to 5% and got stunned and died because I was out in the open.
Might be a good idea to bring arrows this time.

Surprised there is still quite a high learning curve on this game (for me) even after playing all the Dark Souls games.

I'm starting to enjoy the game even more now, but there is so much stuff that is just so extremely annoying and it doesn't really need to be like that to be difficult.
It makes me appreciate even more all the improvements they added to Dark Souls 1,2,3.
I have to admit i'm not a fan of the way to pick levels. Prefer the slightly more open world of the later games.

Right now i'm working on maxing a Longsword. Got it to +6 so far I think. Might be good as a backup when a magic weapon isn't needed.
I was surprised the Claymore was so bad in this game. Too slow for me unlike the one in DS1.
It might be worth going back to my starter weapon the Halberd and upgrading that some too.
I never really liked it for huge groups of enemies.

I melted flamelurker with my Faith build. With my Mirdan Hammer, he was history. I might have been a tad OP since I first visited the valley of defilement first to get the best weapons and upgrades. lol

Spider boss on the other hand was a nuisance. My first playthrough, flamelurker was such a pain in the azz. You just need the right weapon to melt him. lol

 

[SilverEars]

To add my thoughts to Demon's Souls as I play the PS5 version. To me, Demon's Souls world feels really dreadful, and it's the most dreadful world I've experienced of Souls games. Tower of Latria and Valley of Defilement. It can't get any worse. lol. Just fantastic!

I get the most emersion from Demon's Souls world. Dark Souls 1 world feels more fantasy, but Demon's Souls world is just really creepy. Best atmosphere of all of Souls games IMO. It just feels the most real in terms of expressing dread. This is why Demon's Souls is one of my top three Souls RPG games (Along with DS1 and 3). Bloodborne is also up there when it comes to emerisive atmosphere. Bloodborne is amazing in the way it makes you feel the world.

 

[SilverEars]

I'm OP as **** right now! Faith build with Mirdan Hammer that regens hp. Also, adjudicator Shield that regen hp. The OP as **** armor than tanks everything. I just take hits since the armor is so good and my hp regens. Easy mode! lol Well worth the struggle at the Valley of Defilement early on.

 

[KaiserTK]

Demon’s Souls remake looks so good.
Wish Bluepoint would remake the rest of the soulsborne series. Also I’m still waiting for Bloodborne to come out on PC…

 

[SilverEars]

Demon’s Souls remake looks so good.
Wish Bluepoint would remake the rest of the soulsborne series. Also I’m still waiting for Bloodborne to come out on PC…

Yeah, the fidelity is amazing. The sound and vibration feedback helps with deeling the weight is each strike of the various weapon types. I luv how the parry sounds. The PS5 version is a must for any Fromsoft fan.

Bloodborne would looks amazing becausr the design is so incredible. I hope they are working on a remake.

Faith build in Demon's Souls is really fun.

One mistake I made is upgrade my blessed Iron Knickles to +5 hopinng that having it on my off hand or have it on the ready while two handing my Mirdan Hammer would stack two blessed +5 hp regen perperties. Unfortunately, two +5 blessed weapons hp regen does not stack. The weapon level must be different to stack. So, one has to be +4 the highest.

+5 would give +6 hp/sec. Adjudicator shield on the other than would give a whopping +8 hp/sec fully upgraded with demon souls. I made a mistake of using demon souls to upgrade my Moonlight sword, which is weaker than blessed Mirdan Hammer +5

If I were to do thia again, I'd stack Adjudicator shield maxed out with blessed Mirdan Hammer +5, and regen ring. This cobo would max out regen.

 

[tdockweiler]

Feels like i'm moving at a snail's pace still in the game.
Instead of advancing i've been farming a lot and upgrading all my weapons.
Currently have Crescent Falchion +2 and Dragon Longsword+4.
The Dragon Longsword+4 seems to work better vs most things.
I made a Longsword+7 but the damage is so bad it hardly feels worth using.

So I noticed there is a Dragonstone Chunk +2 in Flamelurker's area. Figured i'd grab that and die fast and get out of there.
Beat him on the first try and was sort of surprised how easy he was. I was dreading that fight due to everyone saying he's super hard.
He actually seems easier than Smelter Demon in DS2.

I think it was due to using the Purple Flame Shield and the flame ring.
You can actually block all his attacks. A few of them would nearly drain all my stamina though.
Crescent Falchion +2 only did 98 dmg per single hit but he's pretty easy when you block all his attacks and stay far away.
I'd bait a slam attack and then walk in and hit him twice then back away. That worked well.
It feels like half the time he wants to go off and do his own thing lol.

I guess the real reason he was easier is that I was level 48 already. Most fight him at level 20 or 30 maybe.

Still so annoying having to do so much running in this game. Miss the bonfires.
Annoying to die in Tunnel City while farming and then have to run a mile back to camp.
Even the "shortcut" to Flamelurker takes awhile.

 

[SilverEars]

This guy is probably the most pain in the azz enemy early game.