From Software 'n such

[ryu]

Did anyone have the pleasure of fighting the Runebears in Consecrated Snowfields?

.. =/

Yeah. All I remember is that it was a terrible idea.

[Marc]

I've started Demon's Remake. Damn I'm rusty. First stage went down easily enough, but bashing my head against both 1-2 and 2-1 bosses now.

[Sima Tuna]

1-2 is the knight, yeah? That fight on ps3 was very easy. Just run around the map killing the archers, then fight the knight. You want to bait his slam attack (I think the stab works too if you have the right roll timing) and then stab his footy a bunch IIRC. Fighting without lock-on is usually the way to handle giant bosses. Attacks that would be hard to block because of the targeted movement become trivial with free movement.

2-1 boss (spider) is all about learning the pattern. When you're at the back of the mine, you want to sprint to the front. Use the divots in the side to dodge attacks or just roll through them. When you're up in his face, look for an opening, pummel him a bit and then get outta there when you see the bomb blast coming. Repeat. I don't really like that fight because I don't enjoy bosses that require me to give ground to avoid an otherwise unavoidable OHKO. But it's not hard or anything. Not hard like Flamelurker anyway.

If you have enough health or fire resist gear, I think you can just tank the spider explosions and spam heal through it. That's one way to kill him faster. Something to consider if running through the fireball gauntlet is where you are struggling.

[Blinge]

" i'm struggling"

> that fight is easy!

stay classy shmups farm

[AGermanArtist]

Spider's easy with arrows and Thief ring. Just avoid its webs. The Tower Knight trophy is for taking him w/out killing the archers - use the Thief ring. Hit his boots and then smash his head in when he falls. Rinse and repeat. You might as well go for the trophy now than leave it to NG+. The archers die when he does.

I spent 164 hrs in that thing over Xmas.

[ryu]

Did any of the Souls games reuse Dark Reality from King's Field IV? Either as is or in some arranged form. I never played this game but this theme sounds eerily familiar to me somehow.

[Immryr]

i don't think so. it's probably been used in zullie the witch videos and no doubt other similar youtube stuff. maybe you heard it there?

[ryu]

i don't think so. it's probably been used in zullie the witch videos and no doubt other similar youtube stuff. maybe you heard it there?

Oh yeah, there was a short period where I was watching Zullie's videos. That'll probably it, thanks

[Blinge]

Spider's easy with arrows and Thief ring.

Maneater is easy smh *shrug emoji*

all you have to do is the glitch to shoot him through the fog door

[AGermanArtist]

Spider's easy with arrows and Thief ring.

Maneater is easy smh *shrug emoji*

all you have to do is the glitch to shoot him through the fog door

I remember doing that on PS3. Does it work on the remake? Maneater was easy enough on NG, but a pain on NG+

[Austin]

Spider's easy with arrows and Thief ring.

Maneater is easy smh *shrug emoji*

all you have to do is the glitch to shoot him through the fog door

I remember doing that on PS3. Does it work on the remake? Maneater was easy enough on NG, but a pain on NG+

I am pretty sure a lot of the old glitches still work. They basically built the PS5 one on top of the PS3 version, which makes it a very interesting "conversion".

Personally, I save the Maneaters for last. Too much of a pain in the ass up front, from the bosses themselves to the awful runback if you fail.

Same goes for the Flamelurker. Though in the PS5 version, since it's always 60fps, the fight isn't as wonky as it is in the PS3 version.

Over the years I have realized that is one thing I love about Demon's Souls. The flexibility in how you want to tackle the game. Being able to save bosses you hate for later when you are beefier/stronger.

[Sima Tuna]

Maneater is king asshole. I save him for last. Flamelurker is annoying but not so bad. I don't have any "trick" for Flamelurker. I just equip fire resist items, a fire resist shield and use a magic damage weapon. If you don't have one for your build, you can compare the damage on the crescent falchion+1 to whatever you were using on him, and just see if it does more damage. One thing I really like about Demon's Souls is you get a lot of +1 enchanted weapons fairly early. It gives you something to fall back on if your build's gear isn't working how you hoped, or even if you just want to play around with a different weapon. A generalized "use everything" build seems completely viable in DeS. I know I've had builds where I dropped a 20 in damn near every stat and set up a weird hybrid. Basically quality/hex except in a game that doesn't have hexes.

4-1 was the level that sold me on Demon's Souls. I love 4-1, 4-2 and 3-1. I know every player has their favorites, but no other soulslike game has hit me as hard as DeS with the level design. Painted World was close though. Painted World felt like a lost DeS level, and a really good one, besides.

[Lemnear]

the Flamelurker is literally Hulk Ignited... the worst boss ever made in a Souls-Like 3D by FROM.
The fact that he goes faster the less HP he has, with a spamming AOE move is.... horrible: roll:

World 4 is unique, no other Souls has a similar location.

[guigui]

I love reading strategy on how to beat Demon's Souls bosses.

Believe it or not, but I actually cleared the game around the time it came out (2008 ?), with no internet connection easily available to me. And when I could access the web (at work), the idea did not even occur to me to use it to browse things about video games.

That was the true definition of a blind run : no wiki, no forum to talk about games, no video, no hints scattered here and there, no prior FromSoft games played, no nothing. Just : "here is a tough boss, kill him". Those were the best times.

I try to reproduce it with a "blind" run of Elden Ring, somehow succeed but the magic has vanished a little b/c I already know Soul's games mechanics, have read things about the game here and there, and so on.

[AGermanArtist]

I saved him for last which is why I gave up. I just don't have the level of perseverance required anymore. I'm over From's thing.
I found the Thief ring was handy for all bosses and not just Old Hero. I noticed a difference when equipped vs not, especially in boss areas with obstructions you can hide behind.

[Sima Tuna]

I saved him for last which is why I gave up. I just don't have the level of perseverance required anymore. I'm over From's thing.
I found the Thief ring was handy for all bosses and not just Old Hero. I noticed a difference when equipped vs not, especially in boss areas with obstructions you can hide behind.

Thief Ring can break certain bosses' ability to detect you, and any time they spend losing/reacquiring target is time you get to heal or walk up to damage them.

Another reason I love DeS is the tools you get in the game feel really strong. Maybe not always balanced, but strong and fun to use.

[Marc]

Fuck Demon's, it's crap. It actually is what most people think the Dark games are. The Tower of Latria, in particular, is fucking awful. The further I got, the less fun I was having. Shame. I'm wondering whether to bother with ER full stop.

[AGermanArtist]

Not your thing. I've played/cleared them all and tbh, I've had enough. The only ones I'd consider would be a new Sekiro or Bloodborne.

[Marc]

Sekiro felt like a more interactive rock/paper/scissors, and teased that stealth might be a thing, when it really wasn't.

[AGermanArtist]

I just saw it as a sort of Ninja Gaiden variant with a poise mechanic that gave you the opportunity to use enemy attacks against them if you preferred.
It did have stealth sections like the early portion of MGS. You could perch on an area, drop in take a guy out and grapple out of there undiscovered, waiting on the next opportunity, so it is stealth of sorts. Maybe people thought it was going to be a new Tenchu, but From likely saw that as a backwards step to a time when no one but a few people online gave a shit about their games. I liked it a lot and saw it through to a Platinum trophy.

[Austin]

DeS was one of the most tedious things ever when I first played it (after already going through Dark Souls 1, 2, 3 and I believe Bloodborne). I had already played more refined games in the series and so it was a major step back. I rage quit eventually (Valley of Defilement did me in).

I am a stubborn fool, so I went back, finished it, then did it again. Immediately after that first playthrough it became really fun. I was formulating new strategies for areas that had given me a lot of trouble previously, I was parrying much more frequently and just had a better feel for what worked and what didn't, not to mention knowing what was coming up next. It's definitely one of those where knowing the game improved the experience ten-fold (much like, say, a classic Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden game).

Later on the remake sold me on a PS5. The QOL improvements helped immensely, like near instant loading, 60fps, and a gorgeous overhaul of the visual landscape. Honestly, I played that version so much that the price of admission for the console itself was totally worth it. If anyone hasn't played the PS3 original but is curious, do the PS5 one first, then go back to the OG when you're familiar with the game. It'll make warming up to the whole thing easier.

To be clear, for myself, every Souls game has pissed me off to no end on the first playthrough--even Elden Ring. With that one in particular, around the 40 - 50 hour mark, I was like, "WHEN WILL THIS DAMN THING END?!" (my first run was over 100 hours, so that feeling basically lasted half of the initial playthrough). Fast forward to early 2024 and I've now wrapped up what is my fifth or sixth playthrough of it (and I'll do another when the DLC hits). Basically, this entire series been a case of me hating the game on a first go around, then becoming hooked for many more playthroughs after getting familiarized with that original playthrough.

[Blinge]

Having beaten DeS both on SL1
and NG+7 at pure black world tendency

lemme tell ya, the maneaters are a great time.

[Marc]

Like DS all those years ago, since I rage-uninstalled Demon's, it's lurking in the back of my head. Taunting me. Might have to start it again. Again.
Any advice on decent early-game builds?

[Sima Tuna]

Depends what order you do the stages. A lot of people will recommend Royal start. Halberds are strong. The Blessed Mace +1 is strong for a faith build, plus it regenerates hp. Fire Longsword is useful in every build, as a sort of raw damage option with good moveset. Crescent Falchion has a damage type that affects most enemies and it regenerates magic.

Speaking of magic, if you really want to make DeS easy, go full magic build (don't actually do this pls). Magic in DeS is so overpowered because enemies don't know how to deal with it and you can spam grass in a way you can't in other Souls games. Spells are very, very strong. But I think magic build is boring, personally. Magic didn't become fun for me until DS2 introduced Hex builds. If I was going to use magic in DeS, I would primarily slot utility spells, a basic magic damage spell and then go for a scaled magic weapon as my main attack.

A nice thing about DeS compared to DS1 is you can get early scaling weapons for every major build. Valley of Defilement for Faith. Latria and Shrine of Storms for magic. Stonefang for Strength. Can't remember where the early dex weapons are but I'm sure they exist. The halberd you can start with in one of the origins is good enough for endgame on a quality build iirc.

I think the open structure of DeS, with its 5-world-select totems, makes it extremely fun on replays. New build, new stage order, new gameplay every time.

[Stevens]

I got into Dark and Darker a few weeks back. It's a PvPvE, first person, hack and slash dungeon crawler. Bunch of different classes that all seem to be viable.

There are three different areas right now - one for solo players, one for duos, and another for teams of three. Plays well, but has that Fromsoft every move you make is deliberate feel. I'm usually in a duo with a guy I've been gaming with for a little over 20 years.

Enjoying it quite a bit.

[Blinge]

Like DS all those years ago, since I rage-uninstalled Demon's, it's lurking in the back of my head. Taunting me. Might have to start it again. Again.
Any advice on decent early-game builds?

Get the crescent falchion and regenerator's ring on 4-1
they're busted good early game.

[Lander]

I started Demon's for the (incalculable number)th time after all this talk of it. Temple Knight, Battle Axe for tight spaces, no upgrades other than VIT until I find something fancy.
Smooth progress through 1-1, 1-2 and 2-1 so far.

Armor Spider is such a dumb fight. Between the small hitbox, web debilitation, and wide-reaching moves with short startup, it feels like the player's margin of agency is miniscule compared to most Souls bosses.
Ergo, pile on all the heaviest shit you can lay your hands on, plant youself deep into its rectum, and flail wildly between bouts of healspam.
And for bonus stupidity points, forget to equip the Ring of Flame Resistance, and come out on top anyway. 's fine, the firewall only hits for ~80% if you're hiding next to its head

[Volteccer_Jack]

On PS3 at least, there's a safespot to avoid the fire, so you just hide there and pop out to attack when he leaves himself open.

The Ninja Brade version of this boss is way better.

[Lander]

Idiot baby run continues: I put a bunch of effort into integrating the Purple Flame Shield for Flamelurker, and didn't press L1 for the whole fight, or switch to two-handed. With the Halberd and its slow-starting R1. Failing upward, oh yeah.
Fell into the standard first-run WHOMP build with some woodsman chic; Crushing Great Axe and Leather Armor with a sprinkle of Faith.
Though minus helm, I've come to realize that my randomed character is a dead ringer for Fortnite Man - chippy smirk and all - which is mildly erosive to the tone

Bumming around near the crossbow machine in Lower Latria, and hold on a minute, Demon's Souls characters can mantle up chest-high walls?!
That's outrageous. Especially in context of the later games - Ostrava and pals would have that Dark 2 plot rubble sorted in no time!

Speaking of the incandescent twat, I had the customary Where's Wally? glitch after carrying him all the way through 1-1 / 1-2 / 1-3 and bailing to the Nexus each time to prevent a case of Oh No More Lemmings.
Didn't turn up at the 1-4 stairs, even after taking down the dragon ~nice and slow~ with kunai, so he's going to get it real good next run for locking me out of the mausoleum.
Other quests are more or less DOI: I pestered Patches out of existence, obliterated Not-trec on sight, and have no idea who Biorr or Yuria are. The mages don't want to hear it, so it's just me and the huddle of god-botherers. Umbasa.

I'm loving the wheel-and-spoke world structure. Especially how each archstone is rich in a specific category of resource (twinkle twinkle ); it feels prototypical and unrefined next to Dark's more 'natural' distribution, but more intentional, and refreshingly straightforward.
World tendency is cool too, though I didn't remember the offline pure white strat until after bungling Stonefang. Adds an interesting element of the 'perfect run' with big reward payoff that's otherwise delegated to quest chains in the later titles.

Latria might be my favourite area on the whole; 1-1's a bit samey, even if that is consistent with prison architecture, but the atmosphere is great and the route through it sufficiently interesting.
1-2 though? That enormous network of metal in the sky is straight out of a doomy Frame Gride: For Answer sequel-that-never-was. Incredible.

And man, it's really nice to come back to a point in Souls when the player-developer arms race meta didn't exist. No over-the-top unpredictable flailing or week-long windups, just straightforward methodical fundament and devious encounter design. Noice.

Incidental, stemming from the scrapped Northern Limit map looking a lot like a certain DLC: Starting to wonder how much of Dark 2's malignment stemmed from the expectations of a playerbase that only knew Dark 1. Hmm.