From Software 'n such

[Stevens]

Some more progress on four fronts:

Front one - Castle -

Spoiler

Fought my way up to the roof top. Killed the Ashina Elite on my 2nd try. Parrying the ninja star Nightjar was great practice for him. Met Genchiro again - great cutscene pre battle. Experimented with a few different things and managed to claw my way to shirtless Genchiro. Was able to lightning reflect - that shit does a ton of posture damage on him btw - but still haven't sealed the deal. I can get through the first phase pretty quick. I've made the most progress with just the sword, dodging, and parrying - although the axe does great posture damage too. My goal is to get through his first two phases unscathed. I may visit him again later today.

Last time I was in a castle

Spoiler

I may have missed the chikage,

but this time I found

Spoiler

the Sabimaru

. Based on the description I am wondering if it won't help with

Spoiler

Undead/Occult style bosses

. Also wondering if it might help with

Spoiler

Snake Eyes

since

Spoiler

he takes poison damage while in the pool.

Made my way through the castle, down to the

Spoiler

Serpent's Shrine

. I did manage to kill

Spoiler

Snake Eyes lite

just before

Spoiler

Sunken Valley.

Fighting there helped me get the timing down and figure out when it is safest to attack him. Also

Spoiler

Re: Poison Pool Snake Eyes - I have a route which clears out the lackeys and leads to a backstab. I also have the parasol upgrade - that should help too.

Minor progress on Mt. Kongo - but fell to

Spoiler

the 2nd Thunder from Big Trouble in Little China guy with the double spear thing.

Lastly I have an idol just at the start of the Sunken Valley.

Spoiler

I jumped down and was killed by sniper fire and decided to put a pin in that for now.

I have been dying much less the last few days. I'm at the point where I need several thousand XP to level up so I try to explore as much as I can since bosses (until you figger them out) eat XP and money. I'll usually go in to bosses after spending all of both since the first time I'm gonna die. Probably a lot.

That's all for now.

[Stevens]

BOSS BATTLE

Spoiler

SHINOBI EXECUTION - Genichiro

Took the tries it took, but eventually I was able to best him. It didn't matter how times I failed before, only that in the end I was standing over his (temporarily) lifeless corpse. The fight was actually pretty smooth. When I first met him I could heal five times, but I found two more gourd seeds. In the end I only needed onefor all three phases. Despite clearly holding my own this time there was still an audible "fuck you" as he fell to his knees before the final strike. Still a white knuckle affair.

Not only is my decision making is much improved (when to strike, when to parry, when to bionic arm, and when to run and heal) my parrying execution is also much improved. I've been on the winning end of posture far more after multiple parries. Always feels good to see improvements like that in games such as this.

I have not proceeded passed Lord Kuro's chamber. Also the iron parasol is awesome.

Mt. Kongo

Spoiler

I've infiltrated as far as both the Demon Bell and the Temple Grounds. The armored knight was fun. Took me a couple of tries, but in the end was just a matter of beating him twice even though they make you think it is only once. I found the white pinwheel which I am going to bring to uh...I'll call him Lenny. Wasn't hard to figure out once I saw the red and white ones.

Snake Eyes

Spoiler

Still alive. I've been able to backstab him, but haven't shaken him off his mortal coil just yet. I'm wondering if the blood smoke ninjitsu will get me over the hump.

All things being equal it is nice to make progress some places even if you're stuck someplace else.

Speaking of

Spoiler

I found the short cut from Mt. Kongo to Headless. When I saw it was him I got the fuck out of there. I haven't tried Sabimaru on him yet but want to.

That is all for now. I will have lots of time to play this evening - will continue into Senpou Temple via both idols and may visit my friend

Spoiler

Snake Eyes

.

[Austin]

It's been about a year since I first played Dark Souls II, where I began on the Scholar edition. I pretty much hated it and never really thought I would play it again.

Since then I've beaten Dark Souls III, done at least half a dozen runs of Dark Souls 1, played Bloodborne for the first time and did two runs, dabbled with Demon's Souls and even ran through the stock, original Dark Souls II on PS3.

So here I am a year later, back with Scholar of the First Sin. I've already completed the base game, am partway through the DLC and surprisingly--I am having a great time with it, simply ripping right through the game. The majority of my nitpicks from a year ago aren't phasing me one bit and the whole thing just feels normal to me now.

I guess it's just an experience and familiarity thing. Better understanding the mechanics, knowing how to deal with tricky situations, getting better as a player.

This thing really isn't so bad, though I'd probably still recommend starting with the original game for anyone that hasn't played either iteration of DSII.

[Bananamatic]

farming runes?

meant blood gems, not runes
so far I didn't touch chalices at all, maybe I should do them this time around

So here I am a year later, back with Scholar of the First Sin. I've already completed the base game, am partway through the DLC and surprisingly--I am having a great time with it, simply ripping right through the game. The majority of my nitpicks from a year ago aren't phasing me one bit and the whole thing just feels normal to me now.

I guess it's just an experience and familiarity thing. Better understanding the mechanics, knowing how to deal with tricky situations, getting better as a player.

This thing really isn't so bad, though I'd probably still recommend starting with the original game for anyone that hasn't played either iteration of DSII.

DS2 isn't all that bad, just the atmosphere really isn't there at all and sotfs goes way overboard on some things (tower of flame knights and the amount of alonne knights in iron keep is ridiculous, I nearly broke 2 weapons getting to Smelter when I fought everything in my path, shrine of amana didn't need a nerf at all on the other hand)

At least they nerfed the Ancient Dragon, that boss wasn't even fun in the first place

[Immryr]

I've finally bought Sekiro! Hasn't arrived yet, hopefully arrives while I've still got some time off.

[Steamflogger Boss]

so far I didn't touch chalices at all, maybe I should do them this time around

Time consuming but I think it's worth it. I mean, you've already done multiple playthroughs right? What's another several hours.

DS2 isn't all that bad, just the atmosphere really isn't there at all and sotfs goes way overboard on some things (tower of flame knights and the amount of alonne knights in iron keep is ridiculous, I nearly broke 2 weapons getting to Smelter when I fought everything in my path, shrine of amana didn't need a nerf at all on the other hand)

At least they nerfed the Ancient Dragon, that boss wasn't even fun in the first place

I despawned that shit.

Sounds like maybe base DS2 is interesting, I never did play it.

[Stevens]

Moar death and hijinks in 15th century Japan.

Still have not proceeded passed

Spoiler

Kuro's Chamber.

Senpou Temple -

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure I have gone everywhere I can. I found the bell and made it to the Pagoda with the Senpou pamphlet. Gave the white pinwheel to Lenny. In the main hall I found the praying corpse who won't say anything to me. Presumably the way forward is through him, but I am unsure about what to do next.

Sunken Valley -

Spoiler

This one is kind of funny. I jump through the first few platforms only to be confronted by ANOTHER FUCKING SNAKE EYES, and one I cannot backstab to boot. Funny how being put in certain situations in this game make you think. I haven't beat this fucker with one health bar, how am I going to do it twice? Having to fight him on the mountain forced me to be aggressive, I learned his timing, his tells, and figured out that when he goes for his grab to use the umbrella and follow it up by hitting him in his melon with that overhead Ashina strike. Took me two or three tries after that. I went a bit further in and either died or possibly got another skill point and then backed out. After which..

Spoiler

I went to the depths and totally smashed the Snake Eyes down there. He didn't have a prayer after that. Found the Hidden Forest, but only went far enough in the discover ghosts and another Headless. I'm still on the live and let live train with these undead fuckers.

Anyway probably going to return to the Sunken Valley first.

[Stevens]

Went to Sunken Valley

Spoiler

Made it into the Gun Fort. Killed mini boss, got the fan and the bead. Door is locked. Went under the floor to the cave. Found a few dead ends with items but ultimately it just looped around. Went through it like five times and couldn't find a way through. Is that it or like Senpou Temple I am wondering if I'm missing something?

Back to Ashina Castle next.

[Blinge]

yeah you've already passed the key i think, if you defeated Genichiro it's in

Ashina castle in the library where Kuro sits reading.

[Steamflogger Boss]

What are your favorite Soulsborne areas? Could be for any reason. For me it's the Painted World from DS1 and the Fishing Hamlet from Bloodborne. Both are just the perfect total package for me.

[Blinge]

For me..

Boletaria Palace is the timeless classic Fromsoft castle.

Sen's Fortress

DS2 Shout outs to No Man's Wharf for just being a bit different.
Iron Keep is cool.

Shrine of Amana will always stand out in glorious infamy.

DS3 -
Irithyll, city of fanservice.
I quite like the Undead Settlement too.

Ringed City is just beautiful and hits decent gameplay notes.
Hell, the Dreg Heap before that is super cool!

Central Yharnam really does it for me and might be the strongest opener they have.

King's Field 3 -
Cason village. my god that atmosphere. https://youtu.be/psXerba0Ke0

[Steamflogger Boss]

Sen's Fortress is dope. Definitely just a shade below those other two for me.

[Necronopticous]

Regarding Sen's Fortress:

In 2012 Chris Dahlen wrote this piece on Dark Souls:

What Dark Souls Is Really All About

It is centered on Sen's Fortress as an example of almost everything that makes the game great. It was actually the article that finally convinced me to fully commit to beating Dark Souls or die trying. To this day it is one of my favorite pieces of games writing. Highly recommend!

[Steamflogger Boss]

Regarding Sen's Fortress:

In 2012 Chris Dahlen wrote this piece on Dark Souls:

What Dark Souls Is Really All About

It is centered on Sen's Fortress as an example of almost everything that makes the game great. It was actually the article that finally convinced me to fully commit to beating Dark Souls or die trying. To this day it is one of my favorite pieces of games writing. Highly recommend!

I was pleasantly surprised by this article. Good shit.

[Stevens]

In this corner we have a

Spoiler

giant ape who seems to have zero issue with the fact that I cut his head off.

In the other corner from the same idol

Spoiler

there is a giant snake seemingly pissed off about the whole I took its eye out thing.

In the final corner is

Spoiler

The Water Mill and insane girlfriend

.

I returned to Senpou since it was a loose end and I wasn't getting my ass handed to me on the regular.

Spoiler

Praying corpse was gone. I rang the bell and had a fun time chasing monkees around the illusion. Got the mortal sword. Went back, spoke to everyone of importance, and I'm right back to the start of this post.

In other news I have been following up the

Spoiler

Dr. Frankenstein side quest. I need some fish eyes now.

[Stevens]

Well I am currently getting my ass handed to me by

Spoiler

Guardian Ape.

That said

Spoiler

I am now making the 2nd stage more often than not. That scream is a killer.

[Blinge]

For the scream. Use Banana's run complaint lol.

While locked on, you can simply sprint in the opposite direction. His tell is quite easy to spot, the danger kanji and a little slither/wave he does with the upper torso.

Aha I love the

Spoiler

folding screen monkeys. They gave me more of a run-around than usual this time!
And it was actually the first time i've rang the bell in there to stun the hearing monkey.

My current huge coward playthrough is going quite well.

Spoiler

I made it up Mt Kongo barely fighting anything head on -like literally the dogs and one or two monks, a single monkey. Everything else got backstabbu. Ceramic shards, wall jumps, gachin sugars.

There is that shortcut after the armoured knight fight, the big temple with the undying human centipede in there.. from the roof you can reach a little clearing in the rocks containing one senpou rat/assassin. However i could not sneak up on the little fucker as he was looking right at me! and there's nowhere to provide cover while you use a ceramic shard. I didn't actually try the latter though so maybe that was the key.

I did manage to make it through bodhisattva valley with 0 alerts and killing everything but that huge mob, which was cool!

[Stevens]

For the scream. Use Banana's run complaint lol.
While locked on, you can simply sprint in the opposite direction. His tell is quite easy to spot, the danger kanji and a little slither/wave he does with the upper torso.

Ah. Been back stepping. Come to think of it I may not even have been aware I could run while locked. Also been greedy with hits which is something I need to cut back. That has gotten me into trouble on a few occasions.

Spoiler

The only thing in the 2nd form that really seems dangerous is the scream.

In other news:

Spoiler

O' Rin of the Water is dead.

She killed me a bunch. I went and did other things and went back to try her again.

With a fresh set of eyes I was able to figure her out much more efficiently. I did lose two heartbreaking fights to her. You know the kind - a good four to five minutes - got her health super low and couldn't seal the deal. Third time though I didn't even have to heal.

Another satisfying kill.

And my reward? Is a harder boss.

Edit -

Spoiler

Dicks out for Guardian Ape. RIP

At this point in the game I suppose if I have a complaint it is similar to my complaint about Bloodborne - An ideal order to do things in. I know that is part of the charm of these games, but it comes with a down side.

For instance -

Spoiler

You arrive at the Ashina Castle. It would make sense story wise that you go up and fight Genichiro and then Kuro would send you on your mission to find the other shit. However when I got to the castle I accessed the depths, Senpou temple, and Sunken Valley because I like to see where things go:D . So I watched Sekiro and Kuro have a conversation about these "new" places I had already been. Super minor gripe but sometimes it would be cool if say the dungeon/depths/Sunken Valley were inaccessible until after you fight Genichiro, at least on your first playthrough.

[Stevens]

I decided to stop being a pussy and killed

Spoiler

my first Headless, also the first Headless in the game as far as I know (I've found two - one at the stairway check point at the startish of the game and the one in the Hidden Valley).

Anyways it was pretty straight forward -

Spoiler

confettie, ako's sugar, parasol and I swung away. When he went for his teleport/colonoscopy I was ready. He went down pretty quick. Pretty nice reward too.

I also beat the

Spoiler

Corrupted Monk

last night. Went in with

Spoiler

ako's, ceremonial tanto, and the mortal blade/draw. I hit him here and there, but the money was waiting for an opening (there are plenty actually) and hitting him twice with said combat art. I may have had to cut myself again for more blood bulle…er I mean spirit emblems.

Collected my reward and honestly wasn't sure

Spoiler

if something else was going to happen. They do a good job of making you think so.

Naturally after collecting said reward my first instinct was to do exactly what they want you to do and

Spoiler

go back to see Kuro.

Now if I'm following up to this point here is my gist of what is going on -

Spoiler

Buncha motherfuckers are basically vying for Kuro's blood. Kuro wants this shit to end. When you return to the castle the Senpou are laying siege to it (awesome btw) cause hey! They want it too. You reach the top only to find out that dad also wants it and if dad is involved Isshin probably is too. Although up to the point we meet Isshin I thought there was a possibility him and Owl were one and the same. Wasn't hard to see that coming at all. Maybe doing a straightforward plot is nice once in a while too.

Anyway power corrupts and here we are.

Of course I try

Spoiler

to access the castle via idol and find out I can't because either bad shit is going down, Ashina is in on it, or hey both! I fight my way to the top (wasn't easy), puppet the purple ninja as we DP the mini boss, and then I find dad on the roof. Asks me to defect but I stay loyal cause I JUST DIED LIKE 500 TIMES FOR THIS FUCKING KID AND NOW YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!

Although my guess is you throw down with dear old dad either way.

Fought him maybe three times, did slightly better each time, but never above the level of bad. I'll put some more time in later.

I've collected all the shit

Spoiler

for the prosthetic and have discovered at this point I prefer the more defensive items. Dig doing most of my damage with ma s-word via normal strikes/combat arts and have gravitated towards the parasol, ravens mist, and firecrackers for defense (along with parrying naturally). Earlier in the game the Sabimaru got a fair bit of use too.

[Blinge]

Ooh, don't think I've tried using the parasol on headless. Nice idea, anything to make that terrible fight easier!

Oh a correction for ma boi Stevens:

Spoiler

It's not the Senpou temple who are really besieging Ashina. those purple shinobi fuckers, the red-hatted rats and the bigger red armoured dudes are all from the Interior Ministry of Japan.
It's Ishin Ashina's chickens coming home to roost after his original coup.

Spoilersfor mid game areas. Though Stevens you've done all this now.


The exploration of Sek is somewhat interesting to me, and the order in which they gate off areas. Interesting, and possibly a bit annoying and i feel compelled to write about it.

You can progress to the top of the mountain before the castle summit, but you can't fight the boss or progress there. Well, that makes sense, that's fine.
You can't make it to the 'fresh fruit' because the rat won't become your puppet..
So you can't go to Sunken Valley this way. Even so, you couldn't let this be your entrance to Sunken Valley anyway, you have to go through the Gun Fort route to make the 'Fruit' appear in all its freshness. Jump without the fruit being there and you just void out.


As for the GunFort itself, you can get in there, past the Snake Eyes, kill the centipede weirdo but your progress is halted here and Afaik you cannot go any further. The shrine key is in the castle library, so you'd have to go through the boss and progress the game there.
I wish this area had been a lot bigger and a nastier challenge to get through, because it's really cool as it is, just too short! I would've liked more gun shenanigans.

Mibu village? Well, to get there you have to go through a miniboss. Either Sashimi boi in the dungeon or the loneshadow in the well.
Interestingly enough, you can enter Sashimi's boss arena and promptly shit yourself and run away.... but only back into the dungeon. Your escape on the bottomless hole side is blocked by a fog wall! So you must've killed a midboss to progress to the bottomless hole.

However if you're a bad enough dude to beat poison pit snake eyes early it seems you can make it all the way to Mibu, get the breathing technique, fight corrupted monk, get the fragrant stone all without ever reaching the castle summit. So that's cool.

What I don't understand is why they let you get to the top of Kongo and the bottom of Mibu, but don't let you get to the Sunken Valley proper!

Also is it possible to skip

Spoiler

Ape round 2 Electric boogaloo?
It is if you've been here first, before defeating Ape 1, ie do mibu first/ get to the Idol beyond the ape cave.
However what about the platform above where the lone monkey is sitting with a drop/ monkey booze?
.. I didn't try this but it's sitting almost directly above the headless ape, maybe it's possible to jump and grapple past him?

[Stevens]

Ooh, don't think I've tried using the parasol on headless. Nice idea, anything to make that terrible fight easier!
Oh a correction for ma boi Stevens:

That thing is super useful. It was also key for me killing

Spoiler

Snake Eyes

as it allows you to

Spoiler

avoid her command grab.

That said it does not seem to keep you safe from

Spoiler

sweeping grabs like Ape's. He is also a giant fucking ape.

Yeah I picked up on who the bad guys (correction - those bad guys. Everyone in this game is bad apparently) were after I eaves dropped on a conversation. I like how

Spoiler

you witness the conflict at the castle and are free to join or watch:)

Spoilersfor mid game areas. Though Stevens you've done all this now.


The exploration of Sek is somewhat interesting to me, and the order in which they gate off areas. Interesting, and possibly a bit annoying and i feel compelled to write about it.

You can progress to the top of the mountain before the castle summit, but you can't fight the boss or progress there. Well, that makes sense, that's fine.
You can't make it to the 'fresh fruit' because the rat won't become your puppet..
So you can't go to Sunken Valley this way. Even so, you couldn't let this be your entrance to Sunken Valley anyway, you have to go through the Gun Fort route to make the 'Fruit' appear in all its freshness. Jump without the fruit being there and you just void out.

As for the GunFort itself, you can get in there, past the Snake Eyes, kill the centipede weirdo but your progress is halted here and Afaik you cannot go any further. The shrine key is in the castle library, so you'd have to go through the boss and progress the game there.
I wish this area had been a lot bigger and a nastier challenge to get through, because it's really cool as it is, just too short! I would've liked more gun shenanigans.

Mibu village? Well, to get there you have to go through a miniboss. Either Sashimi boi in the dungeon or the loneshadow in the well.
Interestingly enough, you can enter Sashimi's boss arena and promptly shit yourself and run away.... but only back into the dungeon. Your escape on the bottomless hole side is blocked by a fog wall! So you must've killed a midboss to progress to the bottomless hole.

However if you're a bad enough dude to beat poison pit snake eyes early it seems you can make it all the way to Mibu, get the breathing technique, fight corrupted monk, get the fragrant stone all without ever reaching the castle summit. So that's cool.

What I don't understand is why they let you get to the top of Kongo and the bottom of Mibu, but don't let you get to the Sunken Valley proper!

Also is it possible to skip

Spoiler

Ape round 2 Electric boogaloo?
It is if you've been here first, before defeating Ape 1, ie do mibu first/ get to the Idol beyond the ape cave.
However what about the platform above where the lone monkey is sitting with a drop/ monkey booze?
.. I didn't try this but it's sitting almost directly above the headless ape, maybe it's possible to jump and grapple past him?

The Fort was pretty cool. They're sort of like war mages here. They hit fucking hard whether you're up close or not, definitely not your typical glass cannon type.

Makes sense now . I killed

Spoiler

Loneshadow, but I connected the dungeon before jumping to the depths, hence why I thought Sashimi boi (Shichimen Warrior I think?) was optional. Not optional if you haven't killed Loneshadow then? Also yeah I shit my pants and ran away, but that fight was actually one of the easier ones.

In progress news -

Spoiler

RIP Great Shinobi Owl. You were baller to the end.

Insane fight. And a great local so I didn't even care that I fought there already. Went in with parasol (barely used it), ako's, and the Ichi double. The last one was the real work horse and how I did almost all my damage to him. You can't go toe to toe with him so I kited him and waited for an opening. When he presented one (usually after the x2 shuriken throw followed up with the front flip slash) I would jump in with the Ichi double and whack him twice. This is one of those fights where his posture and health went down at pretty much the same rate and I didn't allow him to heal his posture even though in the end it wouldn't have made a difference. Made the 2nd phase, he got me maybe midway through so I resurrected. Had four gourds left and had done a really good job of avoiding his no healing bombs he loves to drop. Was down to no more gourds and a full bar, but he was at the end. I know he can one shot you, but I went for it cause honestly that is the types of games these are. Who wants to play it safe when its all on the line? I jumped at him, and parasol'd (I have the lilac one fyi) his attack into projected force. Great end to a great fight.

I know there are

Spoiler

four endings.

And I'm pretty sure the key to two of them is

Spoiler

how you answer Owl.

I then took a

Spoiler

ride on the straw man and got beat up a few times by the real monk. I did get him to the last phase though.

Oh and speaking of pants shitting -

Spoiler

I've found three Headless,

but I doubt that anyone will make me shit more than the one I found

Spoiler

UNDER FUCKING WATER

[Blinge]

Monk's a girl. She even sounds like one.

Uhh.. You beat

Spoiler

Great Shinobi

on your first attempt!? god damn! It took me a while!
You * can * in fact go toe to toe with him, blocking and parrying all. It's just tough AF, he does leave openings for big HP punishes tho so yeah.

I actually fought him this morning also. On a file that's killed every miniboss around, so my HP will be as high as it can be at that point in the game. I don't think he can one-shot you unless he's doing a mikiri counter on you or your posture is broken.

but I doubt that anyone will make me shit more than the one I found

Spoiler

UNDER FUCKING WATER

Hahaha what a great moment eh !?

[Stevens]

Monk's a girl. She even sounds like one.

Uhh.. You beat

Spoiler

Great Shinobi

on your first attempt!?

Holy shit no:D In the neighborhood of 8-12 attempts seems about right.

Spoiler

Lady Butterfly

took me close to 40 I want to say.

[Necronopticous]

Ooh, don't think I've tried using the parasol on headless. Nice idea, anything to make that terrible fight easier!

It’s a fun strategy. I used it in my first run against the same Headless that Stevens mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8LnEn1u_l0

[Immryr]

i started playing sekiro yesterday. i'm finding it really hard so far. i've made it up to the horse back guy in one direction and juzou in another and have been pretty much stonewalled. then i thought 'maybe it wasn't the best idea to sneak past all of the mini boss type guys before now'.... so i went back to the starting area and have been trying to get better at the combat.

it feels really hard to get into a fight since the whole combat system seems to be about parrying, which is very all or nothing. generally in souls games i'll play passive against a boss for a while and try to get a feel for it's move set, but here that doesn't do much for me as i need to get used to parrying it, not just dodging and punishing.

the areas have been fun to explore so far, quite a few hidden away bits and alternative routes as you'd expect in a from soft game. i really like that the main character's run cycle looks a lot like rikimaru's, the sneaking elements do feel surprisingly tenchu like - more so than i thought they would.

i'm sure i'll love this game once i stop sucking at the combat.

[Blinge]

They throw some big parry boiz at you at the beginning. And yes the sooner you get better at parrying the better. However it's not as all or nothing as you think.

Failed parries becoming blocks can save your ass.
It is better to dodge some enemies' attacks even if they aren't grabs or sweeps so you can chip away at their HP.
I feel like that's what Chained Ogre is in the game so early for - to give you an enemy in which parrying is kind of a waste of time.
In fact when i faced him I starting winning when I said " ah. this is souls mode. "

You gotta decide when souls mode is.
The best fights add it all together in one.

[Illyrian]

They throw some big parry boiz at you at the beginning. And yes the sooner you get better at parrying the better. However it's not as all or nothing as you think.

Failed parries becoming blocks can save your ass.
It is better to dodge some enemies' attacks even if they aren't grabs or sweeps so you can chip away at their HP.
I feel like that's what Chained Ogre is in the game so early for - to give you an enemy in which parrying is kind of a waste of time.
In fact when i faced him I starting winning when I said " ah. this is souls mode. "

You gotta decide when souls mode is.
The best fights add it all together in one.

This.

Fighting Demon of Hatred for me basically involved playing like it was Bloodborne and dodging a lot to get behind it. It reminded me of fighting Vicar Amelia.

[Stevens]

I'm having some serious attention deficit disorder right now -

Spoiler

Returned from Fountainhead Palace (amazing locale - probably the best in the game imo) with the tears. Divine Dragon was cool, but more in line with the Folded Monkees (gimmicky but fun) than the best Sekiro has to offer.

True Corrupted Monk on the other hand was another white knuckle affair and why we play these games. Lady Butterfly, Owl, Castle Genchiro, and Ape would come to mind immediately if someone asked me if the boss fights were worth the price admission. I'm sure there are bosses I haven't seen yet (or forgot- also not counting mini bosses) and won't see in this NG. Speaking of boss fights I've been following my Frankenstein questline but unsure what to do next. Nothing happens when I go to the dungeon so I'm guessing I have to go someplace. Anyway back to Monk:

I beat that fucker legit. First two phases would jump in when there was an opening, x2 Ichi, parry one or two hits, and get out. 2nd phase same except with mad bionic arm during illusion, had no snap seeds. Third phase is obviously where shit gets real. I switched to mortal blade, got out the gourd that reduces terror too. More patience cause homegirl gets way more aggressive. Maybe you didn't return her phone calls. Anyway more patience cause less opportunity the strike and times when I would have gone in during phase 1 or 2 you get baited and whopped in phase three.

To the palace:

Made my way through the first part - killed the bull - and to the other side I went. NPC side quest - Carp Guy of the blue bucket. I met him at the Estate the first time I went there and have been going to see him here and there. I bought a few things from him so he game me the great bait I think it is called. Enter giant fish. Explored to other side - very easy to get overwhelmed here if you aren't careful. Took me two tries to kill sashimi boi 2.0, wasn't ready for such a small space. Wandered some more - found the locked door at the top of the stairs and the idol just on the edge of that incredible tree. Also SIX fucking enemies just hangin' out. Not the best place. Made it to the idol and then jumped over to kill the asshole who thought it was funny to shoot electric at me while I was in the water.

Lots of carp here oh and another Headless. Is that two? Fuck you Miyazaki. I stole the item by them (think it was a prayer bead) and gtfo. Anyway I finished the palace, but there was the whole other side above the underwater shortcut I didn't get to.

Go back - castle really under siege now. Go find Kuro? But whoa there is so much shit to do. I wandered off towards the old grave and saw the new mini boss just passed where you fight the first ogre but didn't go closer. I wandered the rooftops and fought, I killed all those fuckers on the main stairs and then found the guy who asked me to go help the other guys on the back end.

Went down to the aqueduct and found Ornstein and Smough. Except in a much smaller arena and they're both fucking fast. Fought them a bunch and did kill sword guy two or three times, but fucking pike guy is a bitch. I know they're optional so I may try the kill sword guy quick, leave, and see if he de aggros. At the very least I can reset or maybe even get a backstab. It's a three DB fight, in a small area, against two aggressive opponents. I'll take what I can get.

Oh off topic - I found Ape 2.0 while looking for Frankenstein's monster. Didn't expect ANOTHER ape to appear after the first DB. Two apes? Naturally they're still alive.

So here I am. I can:

- Go back to the palace (kill headless, more exploring, and maybe find a way to feed that carp? Something about a bell?)
- Kill Headless in Hidden Village cause why not?
- Explore the roof of the burning castle (won't take too long)
- Go from the old grave to new mini boss
- Proceed to the aqueduct and fight O and S.
- Go to Kuro (not happening until I do most of the above)

or

- Go fight the two apes (def not happening right now)

That was a lot.

[Blinge]

Seven spears O&S Variant is a bitch.

If you want a way to make that fight a one-on-one, here's my solution:
https://youtu.be/LZHAGvU4u5c


I've caught up to you on my playthrough more or less! The stealth bitch playthrough.
There's a really annoying part in the palace where I'd killed everything yet whenever I grappled up the tree/rock near the locked door (the one the old lady wants you to open) it plays the alert music. Even with no one around. Stressful fucking flute.

That group of 6 I dealt with via bloodsmoke and Mibu Spirit Balloon. Yes, in this playthrough i've actually been using spirit balloons now and then.

The final run up to the divine [redacted] bossfight appears to be un-stealthable. There's always one okami fucker who detects you. I know this because I snuck up on her from the other idol, the one before the boss. On the ledge behind her, she's sitting down, facing away. literally back to you. Suddenly goes full alert mode.

The palace took me SO long today thanks to my playing sneaky beaky.

[Stevens]

Didn't even consider bloodsmoke for that part.

Spoiler

Mauled Headless in the Hidden Valley. Went back to the palace and did the things I didn't do last time. Fed the carp, killed the carp in the water for scales, Headless still alive (castle moat one too). Went back and saw the fish's caretaker all sad.

Worked my way from the Old Grave all the way back to my new best friend - Demon of Hatred. Definitely Dark Souls time for this one. Best I did was bout halfway. Had a lot of fun in the last area before the Demon. Puppets everywhere:D Died a lot on the Demon.

Went to Ape's watering hole just on a lark oddly enough, and there he was. I knew something was up cause I went back to blue jug guy and well he got his wish.

Took the treasure and a break. I may use the tip you posted. Didn't peep it yet, but if I use it I'll let you know. Thanks!