[SilverEars]

Beat Ornstein and Smough on the first try! I guess i'm getting a lot better than before.
I was level 51 and yes, this is not impressive, but i'm more of a casual player for sure.
I remember the first time playing this game it took me 20 tries and a lot of frustration.
Even getting to the boss was a challenge back then. I was not aware of the staircase jump method of passing all the silver knights.
On this run I used my Uchigatana +10 and mostly used R2 when I was in the clear to stab Ornstein. Didn't get greedy.
Of course I cheesed Big Smough during the final phase and used the pillars the whole time. Is that cheating? Sort of, but I don't care.
I took my time and only ran in for an R2 during his butt stomp move.

You know those archers in Anor Londo that are super annoying? I used poison arrows, went AFK for a few minutes and they died.
You can even pull the 2 gargoyles hiding in the area before them and just poison them too.
They can't even run up the staircase. One will even fall off the ledge.

There is one thing I'm bad at with a DEX build. The silver knights give me problems. I'm used to demolishing them so easily with my claymore.
Even with my Uchi+10 they take quite a few hits. It feels like they are draining my stamina so fast when I fight them (Endurance at 25).
I probably should be using the Grass Crest Shield instead of Baldur Shield.

I have a feeling this weapon is not going to be great when I visit Tomb of the Giants.

I honestly don't know if I like a DEX build that much, but it did make the earlier parts of the game way easier.

PS I also got lucky and finally got a Baldur Side Sword. Maxed that to +10 already.
I remember once it taking several hours just to get that to drop. Not sure if it's worth it.

I think my favorite weapon though in the game is the regular Halberd.

Too bad I haven't see the Dark Knight Halberd in several playthroughs.

Fromsoft games are much easier after a playthrough, since you know what to expect. The 20 attempts you did the first time helps reduce your attempts drastically on consecutive playthroughs. It's basically gettin gud. I would guess more attemps you put into it, more you become familiar with the boss fight, you figure out a strategy that you can you on your next playthrough, which increases the ease of next playthrough.

It's that kind of games. I would say it's like Stockholm syndrome. You grow fond of something was annoying and challenging the first time.

My fav area is actually blight town since I like designs that's very confusing and maze like. It's really easy once you tough it out the first time. Same goes for some of the long trek'ing without the bonfires in Demon's Souls. Those are the most memorable, and I grow more fonder of those challenges. Early part of DS3 is very memorable for me as well, since it was very challenging for me.

Souls-likes are one of those games that will have you retain in memory very strong since the game leaves a very strong impressions when you die, especially many times. This is why people Git Gud.

Sometimes there's slapstick like humiliation as well, with a big 'You Died' message. lol. They make a lot of things very memorable for the player.

Some of the stuff that happens, it's funny to the 3rd party that is witnessing what is going on. That's the kind of humor happens in Fromsoft games.

 

[tdockweiler]

Went back to the dreaded New Londo Ruins. Not a great way to end my night.
Went smoothly somehow. I actually went full Havel's Gear to reduce my chance of death.
I lured all the ghosts out and took my time. Zero problems at all and super easy.
Of course I had a +10 Uchigatana and could 1 shot the ghosts with an R2.

Got the water lowered and found the Very Large Ember before I decided to save my souls and warp out.

Biggest mistake of the night though is destroying the second best Titanite Chunk farming spot.
Turned Anor Londo dark by mistake. That removes a lot of the enemies. Oops.

I think before killing the Four Kings I might try to clear the Catacombs and get the Great Scythe.
I never found this area hard because I always bring a Divine Club+5. Seems to do well enough and keeps the skeletons dead.
You can convert a treasure chest club from Anor Londo into a Divine Club+5 for free!

PS hardest part of the Catacombs though is those bone wheels. They're so overpowered in DS1 at times.

 

[tdockweiler]

Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants are a joke after getting a +14 weapon and at level 60+.
OK, i'll admit I actually died 3 minutes within getting into the tomb looking for the bonfire.
Two giant skeletons took me by surprise and murdered me. Ran out of stamina. After that the level flew by.

I've found that you can shoot them with arrows from above and then don't even need to worry about them.
Plus you only need to kill one skeleton dog before getting the 2nd bonfire. Can skip the rest.

I was also lucky this run and got the Skull Lantern to drop in the Catacombs.
I don't know if it's worth going there without a light source first.

I might go to Dukes Archives last in the game. It's my least favorite level.
Now that I have a good bow it might be even easier.
I actually don't even remember how to get out of there fast.
I plan on trying to use a bow for most things if I can.

I think this first DEX build is my favorite so far. It makes the game a lot easier.
So few deaths on this run. Most of the time it's just due to stupid mistakes.

I finally got the Great Scythe. Going to max that out and try to finish the game with it.
Uchigatana +14 has been so good so far.

PS the bone wheel skeletons are also a lot easier to deal with if you drop down to the ledge near them and shoot them with arrows.
They seem to move further away and you can then just run to the boss.

Also, believe it or not I played through this game about a dozen times and only in the last 2 runs did I realize there was a hidden bonfire in the catacombs!

BTW still thinking Demon's Souls is way harder for me. Of course I've just played Dark Souls 1 too much.
Prison of Hope was a complete nightmare on my first run! I must have died about a dozen times.
Usually due to it being dark and falling into a hole. That game has such poor lighting on the PS3 version.
Maneater in that game for me felt as hard as the first time I fought Ornstein and Smough.
I had to cheese Maneater just to get a win.
Flamelurker was no problem for me luckily.

The hardest boss for me in any non-DLC area is actually Dancer of the Boreal Valley.
On my first playthrough of DS3 the final boss took me 20 tries though.
Second playthrough? Two!

 

[SilverEars]

Went back to the dreaded New Londo Ruins. Not a great way to end my night.
Went smoothly somehow. I actually went full Havel's Gear to reduce my chance of death.
I lured all the ghosts out and took my time. Zero problems at all and super easy.
Of course I had a +10 Uchigatana and could 1 shot the ghosts with an R2.

Got the water lowered and found the Very Large Ember before I decided to save my souls and warp out.

Biggest mistake of the night though is destroying the second best Titanite Chunk farming spot.
Turned Anor Londo dark by mistake. That removes a lot of the enemies. Oops.

I think before killing the Four Kings I might try to clear the Catacombs and get the Great Scythe.
I never found this area hard because I always bring a Divine Club+5. Seems to do well enough and keeps the skeletons dead.
You can convert a treasure chest club from Anor Londo into a Divine Club+5 for free!

PS hardest part of the Catacombs though is those bone wheels. They're so overpowered in DS1 at times.

Sounds like a DEX run, whatch out for the crystal archers in the Duke's archives. Other than that, I really like that place
Flamelurker stresses me out a lot

 

[tdockweiler]

Yeah, this is my very first DEX run. Easiest run so far.
Right now i'm at around 35 VIT, 40 DEX and close to 40 END.
I normally do a quality build with Claymore, but that's more trouble than it's worth.

The Dark Wraiths now are stupid easy with the Great Scythe. Just need to wait for one of their attacks first.
Probably even better than my old Claymore build. I find them even easier than Silver Knights.

Apparently Microsoft is closing the Xbox 360 store in 2024. I need to finally get the DLC ASAP.
So annoying. I never played them, but I don't think there is a Dark Souls for the Xbox with all the DLC on 1 disc.

Someday i'd like to get a PS5, but due to my limited time and only wanting to play a few games I'll have to pass.
Demons Souls looks amazing on the PS5 though.
I miss the days when current gen video game consoles were actually affordable to nearly anyone.
Anyone remember the PS1 launch? I still remember that. I think that console was $299.
All those ugly 3D games haven't aged well. Gran Turismo 2 is still pretty great though.

I also remember when the 3DO came out! They launched it at $700-$800 or something.
I remember that as soon as 3DO games started showing up in all the local stores, the console just died out.
The only memorable game I think was Road Rash 3D.

I had to sell my PS4 years ago and really kicking myself for doing that. I might just buy a used one so I can play Dark Souls 3 again.
They're now nearly as cheap as a used Xbox 360!

Not even sure if it's worth playing Elden Ring on the PS4. Probably somewhat laggy in areas.

One game I missed too is "Prey".

PS I'm surprised you can still buy the PS4 new in stores. Still see it a lot for $300. Used one is about $160.

 

[tdockweiler]

Just realized i'm mostly done with everything except the DLC. Kind of disappointed.
I was actually having some fun in this run.

Blew through Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith AND Dukes Archives/Crystal Caves in one night. Rare for me.

In the Demon Ruins I died once but only due to being stupid and being double teamed by two giant worms that destroyed my gear with their spit.
Then I died a few times to the Bed of Chaos (well...gravity).

Most of you may know there is a strategy where you can shoot a glowing root and then logout. You'll be back at the entrance and the root you killed is still gone.
Well on this run I couldn't do ranged attacks on the second one and died getting to it a couple times. Oops.

I also was watching a Dukes Archives playthrough video and in the second area you can fly through it within maybe 2 minutes.
On previous playthroughs I was running around the place too much and getting myself so confused.

I also killed all the channelers with arrows and this made the area 10X easier. The AI is a bit stupid in this game.
You shoot them and they just stand there the entire time.

I think in the left area you use the lever to move the staircase and go up. Then on the next one you jump down, rotate it and go down.
You'll be right next to the shortcut lever and bonfire.

I always do a speed run through Crystal Caves. Not worth killing anything.
There is a path where you can totally avoid the last few golems.
This time I killed all the clams before the boss though.
On some playthroughs my character's weapon wasn't good enough to do this easily without wasting flasks.
Apparently if you aggro all them and run to the boss fog gate you can logout and de-aggro most of them!


Ps Lost Izalith has the worst level design ever.
I mean it's garbage, but we all knew that.
I think the developers were rushed to finish the game.
Demon Ruins is bad too.

I think the best level is the Undead Parish.
Of course Senn's Fortress too.

Really missing Dark Souls 3 now, but it's such a chore to play it.

As for the difficulty of each i'd now rank them as follows:

(easiest to hardest)

DS2 (vanilla) > DS1 > DemS (PS3) > DS3 > Bloodborne

Bloodborne gave me a massive ton of problems.
Maybe I was playing it all wrong.
I disliked it so much I quit at the last level.

Dark Souls 3 for me had the hardest bosses by far.

Never played Elden Ring or Sekiro yet.

My favorite without a double is Dark Souls 2 vanilla followed by DS3.
DS2 is just too much fun. I never get sick of that game.
There's probably less than a couple levels I don't like.
I think the game would probably be near a dark souls 1 level of difficulty if you didn't use life gems.
There is also a way at the start of the game to make the game harder.

I play DS2 a lot different too. It requires a lot more rolling and less standing behind your shield like in DS1.
In DS1 I rarely roll. Just for some boss fights and specific enemies.

It's possible Demon's Souls could get way easier the more I play it.
I dread the idea of going back into those swamps again on each new playthrough.

 

[SilverEars]

Ps Lost Izalith has the worst level design ever.
I mean it's garbage, but we all knew that.
I think the developers were rushed to finish the game.
Demon Ruins is bad too.

Exactly! Waste of time.

My fav is probably blight town. I like mazes and stuff that I can get lost in. I generally like the level design of Demon's Souls. I really like Boliteria and Towers of Latria. I really like their castle designs. To me, castles are the best dungeons. I luv exploring Lothric castle in DS3 as well. It's either castle dungeons or disgusting areas with poison with maze like structure.




High wall of Lothric


I really like disgusting places like Blight Town and Latria. lol Valley of Defilement full of poison is cool too. lol I generally like level designs that are made to confuse you where to go. It's because I luv to explore, and feel very satisfying when I find the right path from getting lost.

Why Latria and Valley of Defilement is interesting for me is the atmosphere. It achieves really well, the feeling of being very tense from a scary area that is unpredictable. You got the poison there to worry about on top of the enemies. And in the area with the shacks, it's unpredictable where the enemy will pop out from. Also, the way the enemy hits is unpredictable. They will run to you out of nowhere and do a combo hit that can take out your remaining health to kill you.

 

[tdockweiler]

Wow, Knight Artorias in the Dark Souls DLC was really hard for me! I even prepared a little before the fight.
I farmed the Stamina regen ring and the Eagle Shield. Even upgraded the shield to +10.
It's the only great shield I can use on my DEX build.

As you may know, this guy is really aggressive and is constantly coming at you with no time to rest.
So I have to admit I died about 12 times or so against him.
Why? Most of them were due to the following:

1) Using an Estus Flask when I thought I was safe, but wasn't.
2) Getting 1 shot by not timing my rolls perfectly when he jumps high into the air and slams down his sword.
Once I started rolling forward I was OK.
3) He has a move that the final boss of Dark Souls 3 sort of has, but this move it could KO me.

I didn't get knocked down once, but I had to perfect my timing.
In Dark Souls 1 I'm not much of a roller. I definitely am in DS2 and 3!
Before I could get a win I had to memorize his moves by fighting him a lot.
Reminds me of the old Punchout games. All muscle memory I guess.
This style of fight almost reminds me of Dancer of the Boreal Valley.
That's another boss I have problems with.

My armor set was only good enough for medium roll and that didn't help.
I use an Uchigatana +15 and the only attack that worked well vs him was the R2 poke.
I won the fight just by punishing him with that!

You have to take it really slow.
I was in like suspense the last 25%. One mistake and you're dead.
I think my VIT was too low at 32. Better armor might have helped too.

The most crazy move he does is the 3 jumps in the air and then when he slams down after each of them.

Here's a good video of someone's first playthrough attempting this fight:



The start of the fight where they got a win is at 45m38s.

 

[tdockweiler]

This video is pretty amusing. It's Knight Artorios vs all the bosses in order.
Hardly fair since he's a high level boss. Take a guess which boss he lost to (if any)?
I bet you you're guess is right.

I've been watching videos of semi-casual players fighting him for the first time. I'm at around the same level but they all take way less damage than me!
They can almost tank through a lot of his hits! The running thrust attack he does with his sword can 1 shot me!
The high jump move can also 1 shot me.

I think my 2 pieces of Elite Knight Armor and 2 pieces of black leather armor are nowhere near enough if you're taking damage.
In the game I never upgrade my armor except for my shield.
This is one fight where armor definitely does matter I think. Especially if you haven't mastered his move set.
It's possible all his damage too is not physical, but some other form. Haven't looked that up.

My VIT is also a bit low at 32 or so. DEX and END are at 40. I'm probably level 86 or 87.
In the video I posted above they used the Black Iron Set with medium roll and did pretty well.

I don't think i'm skilled enough yet to kill him with a weaker fast roll set.

Strangely enough I only used 3 Estus Flasks on my first win, so i'm getting better at dodging his attacks.

I also don't hit him when he uses his "power up" move. I probably should.

So most likely I died so much due to weak armor and not memorizing every single move he does.

 

[tdockweiler]

I found out Dark Souls easy mode. It's using the Zweihander with a STR build!
I never expected things to die so easily when using this sword, even when using it 1-handed.
It's basically like Dark Souls 2 with a mace.

I started a new character and this time I did something different that i've never done before!
Started the game backwards by using the master key. Why didn't I think of this before?
Once you have the Zweihander go through Valley of Drakes > Darkroot Garden > Undead Parish to the bonfire.
It makes the early game so much easier! Plus you've got a good early farming spot if you're too weak still.

The only problem is that you have to cheese the Dark Knight in your way or get lucky and outrun him.
He can't go into the bonfire cave, so you can bait an attack and then hit him with your 2-handed sword and run away.

This is also one of the first runs where I was able to kill every boss up to Gaping Dragon on my first try and so easily.
I'm a casual player, so this is strange.

On Taurus Demon I did a 2-handed plunging attack and then finished him off with black firebombs.

The Gargoyles fight made me laugh a bit. Normally I find them somewhat of a challenge.
I leveled up my sword to +5 and used Gold Pine Resin. They were both dead within 30 seconds even with a 1-handed Zweihander. So funny.
New players seem to struggle with the Gargoyles. Maybe one reason is that they never bother to upgrade their weapon to +5 first. It helps a ton.

Capra Demon died pretty fast too. Easiest fight I ever had vs him.

Gaping Dragon gave me some issues. I usually do better when I at least level up my weapon to +10 before fighting him.
Felt like the whole fight he was able to chase me down. Later half of his HP he seemed to get bored of that.

So I made it to almost blighttown in just one night. Pretty good for me.

Plan is to get in and out of there. Maybe farm some Large Titanite.
I don't know if it's going to be worth trying to get the Eagle Shield.

Wonder if it's worth lowering the water in New Londo Ruins way earlier. Probably not.
I've read you can use a bow on the NPC to get the KI much earlier.

I died once too. Normally a lot more than this.
I had a brain fart and ran up to the Channeler to kill him ASAP.
I got swarmed by all his friends, stun locked I think and died.
One of those moments where you forget to think before you do something.

I know for sure that on this run i'm not going to Blighttown without a bow and some way to remove toxin.

I also realized that without the Master Key you can't take the Valley of Drakes to get to blightown to make it 10x easier.
I don't think i've ever tried the "normal" way in. Plus without the key you can't get to the Depths bonfire without finding the door key.

I have a feeling though this weapon will make the Silver Knight's a massive pain.
It's nice though knowing I can now poison those archers to get past them easily.

 

[tdockweiler]

I think i'm having too much fun with this game...for once.
On my new STR character I made it through blightown no problem. In and out without exploring.

Even got up Senn's Fortress on my first try. I now never go there without a bow! The last snake sorcerer is standing right next to the thin path near all the blades ready to knock you down.

I blew through Anor Londo too and used poison arrows on the archers.

I think this is my very first clear all the way up past Anor Londo without more than 1 death. Pretty good for me.
I have the Zweihander +10 to thank for that.

That weapon makes all the silver knights stupid easy. You just "pancake" them on the first hit!
With the giants it's a bit harder since my weapon is so slow.

I may need to upgrade a 2nd weapon that's much faster for some things.

Even though i'm a STR build, the Halberd or Gargoyles Halberd is tempting.

I think the Zweihander is best maybe for a Quality build. Not too late for that.

I have the Black Knight Greatsword now, but it's so heavy and slow. Can't get used to it yet.

I think my favorite weapons are the Claymore and Halberd.

On my earliest playthroughs I always used a single Longsword. Doesn't make the game any easier!
Works great in DS3 though.

Might be fun to try a spear only playthrough. Never tried that before.

 

[SilverEars]

It's all in the poise man. STR weapons has so much poise that it will hit right through enemies attacks. You cannot be interrupted. This is why STR is so fun and powerful in Dark Souls games. This is the reason why I went through DS2 with such ease as well. I think DS3 is when quicker weapons starts to become more advantageous.

You've been missing out on what STR is really about.

Yes, it's movement is really slow, but the secret is in the uninterruptable attacks. Once they pancake, they cannot recover as quickly as you can hit them again.

 

[noper]

Started back up my yearly playthrough of Dark Souls 1 on the old Xbox 360. I realized that for my 2022 character I only made it to the Crystal Caves at level 67 and stopped playing. It makes sense.

This time I decided to try my first ever DEX build and get the Uchigatana. It made the early game very easy.
One mistake new players seem to make on the Gargoyles is not upgrading their weapon or using a bad one.
Once you upgrade your weapon to +5 they are a LOT easier.

I actually died on my first attempt. It's like I forgot how to play the game and got greedy and spammed attacks too much. Oops.

Capra Demon was also no problem, but the fight is always chaotic for me and when I get the win it's like "What just happened?!".
I like to run up to the left ledge, kill the dogs and then use the plunging attack on the boss.
The hardest part of this fight is the camera and the lock on thing.

Before fighting The Gaping Dragon I actually farmed Large Titanite shards and got a few levels and upgraded my weapon to +7 or so.
Such a massive pain to farm though with only a 150 item discovery. I also have killed a ton of Dark Knights and zero weapon drops yet!
This is the first run i've had where that has happened.

So for the Gaping Dragon I have bad luck with him and never found him "stupid easy". I've had him one shot me or run me over and murder me.
On this run I took my time and somehow only had to use 1 flask, which is a record for me.

Now it's onto Blightown, which is one of the worst areas ever, but not as bad as the swamp in Demon's Souls.
My usual strategy for this is to use the gate key and go in the back way.
I run past the 3 giants and get to the bottom as fast as possible.
In and out ASAP. I only get the items in the swap at the bottom.

Got the boss on the first try, which isn't usually normal for me.

The funny part is that I run to the top to get out of there ASAP and get hit with a toxic dart. Didn't bring any items to remove it.
Of course I die and have to try again.

On my 2nd try I get toxic and decide to use my flasks and try to make it back to the 1st bonfire of the game.
I barely make it there and the bonfire is GONE! The firekeeper was murdered. Thankfully the toxic wears off with my last flask and me being at 60% HP.

I'm really tired at this point so I try Senn's Fortress. I die on first set of swinging blade. Not even kidding. Never happened before!
The one part that always seems to kill me is the final narrow walkway of blades.
If you didn't bring arrows or any sort of ranged attacks, you are in big trouble.
The snake mage will knock you off the ledge. Luckily I was able to kill her with fire bombs!
Thankfully got to the hidden bonfire on my 2nd try.

Now this is sort of embarrassing, but i'm TERRIBLE at the giant boss fight. I don't know how.
My Uchigatana was doing very little damage. Almost nothing. I actually died somehow.
I try to stay behind him and hit the legs, but had some seriously bad luck.
I came back with Reinforced club +5 and he died much faster.

Now it's onto Anor Londo. Not looking forward to it.
The only hard part of this level for me is the archers.
Once i'm past them it's all downhill.
I usually just run past everything until I get to them.
I think I only clear them due to luck or them falling off.

After Anor Londo the game for me turns into CRAP.
I don't enjoy any areas beyond that, at all.
It just feels like a complete chore and no fun at all.

My most dreaded moment in the game by far is getting the ember in New Londo Ruins due to the ghosts.
Or maybe going through Tomb of Giants with no light. Farming the light item early doesn't always go as planned.
Tomb of Giants is easy if you're at a very high level.

Also, RE: Dark Souls 2. Yes, lots of people hate it, but I absolutely love it. Every single area. OK one area I dislike and it's Doors of Pharros.
I have so much fun in the game and fly through it. Once it's over I immediately want to play it again!
I find the game to be by far the easiest in the series. At least after the first playthrough.

I'm basing this off the Vanilla Xbox360 version. I played the "Scholars of the First Sin" version once and that changes a LOT.
I actually think that version might make the game even easier. They even give you a lot more upgrade items and let you upgrade weapons earlier.

One game I have no interest in playing again much is Demon Souls. I stopped playing at the last level. Had zero interest in beating the boss.
Dark Souls and Demons souls are so different to me. Dark Souls definitely has the harder bosses for sure.
I actually had a hard time on my first Demons Souls playthrough. I had the PS3 version though.
One thing that made Demon Souls harder is maybe less bonfires and shortcuts?

One big difference from Dark Souls is Demon's Souls is not about the boss fights but instead about the levels. The bosses simply serve as puzzle-like capstone events between the level sections.

 

[bobchennan]

I only tried Dark Souls III and Elden Ring.
For Dark Souls I had 4-5 playthroughs and really spent a long time to get all achievements.
Elden Ring instead is much easier with spirit ashes but I could still enjoy it without spirit ashes. However even with a lot of practices, I still cannot beat Malenia without spirit ashes.