From Software 'n such

[Steamflogger Boss]

Got the plat.

A couple things, all spoiler tagged so read at your own risk.

Hackermans Easy Mode Expanded

Spoiler

So with sword of night and flame or frost stomping you can do some reaaaal dumb shit. Terra Magicus, Royal Knight's Resolve on offhand dagger, Cerulean Tears to boost magic and reduce cost to 0 in physick, Magic Scorpion Charm, Twinsage Glintstone Crown. All these buffs would also apply to using the comet spell. There are probably some additional buffs you can do but honestly this is more than enough. If you are using the comet spell, use Lusat's Staff of course. Damage boosts appear to stack on top of each other which is how you end up with the Japanese user that one-shotted Malenia both phases with a sword. Obviously for most things you will need a distraction. Just summon something. Not surprised to see that frost stomping is a part of the speed run.

Hidden Bosses/Endings

Spoiler

Mohg the Omen (different than Lord of Blood) and Dragonlord Placidusax are both pretty tough to find. I had to use glowstones finding Mohg because it's easy to get lost in those pipe tunnels. Then after killing Mohg there is some more optional Mario platforming to get all the way down to the bottom, which then allows you to do something to set-up one of the two non-default endings.

[drauch]

I know it's Ring-a-ding in here right now, but I just want to express my exaltation for finally getting my friend in DS3. I've been trying to get him into it since Demons' Souls came out, so it's been quite the journey. He's now obsessed with it. Feels good, man.

[Austin]

I gifted my brother Dark Souls 3 back in December. It’s also his first Souls game. He won’t stop messaging me about it, he likes it so much. It’s always a good feeling getting somebody new into the series.

[Sumez]

I can't imagine playing DS3 as my first one, and then running into Iudex Gundyr right out of the gate, before you're even allowed to see the game.

[Austin]

I coached him through that fight then let him run free. Basically drilled into his head, "Dodge roll or die." He's been doing fine.

[Sumez]

Good sport. I can imagine it being extremely frustrating if you're just on your own.

I just got everything I need on my Elden Ring level 1 character to correctly wield the

Spoiler

swotd of night and flame

, but even with that strong attack (which still leaves a bit to be desired without much INT), one of the easiest bosses in the game still manages to be super dangerous with everything oneshotting me.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Good sport. I can imagine it being extremely frustrating if you're just on your own.

I just got everything I need on my Elden Ring level 1 character to correctly wield the

Spoiler

swotd of night and flame

, but even with that strong attack (which still leaves a bit to be desired without much INT), one of the easiest bosses in the game still manages to be super dangerous with everything oneshotting me.

Interesting. You might consider

Spoiler

hoarfrost stomp

.

[Stevens]

Wow. Not finished yet but there are some A+ levels here.

Almost finished with

Spoiler

Volcano Manor

. This and

Spoiler

Hogwarts

are easily my favorite levels. Probably cause the

Spoiler

Bloodborne vibes are strong.

Spoiler

Stormveil

is also dope. Wish

Spoiler

Radahn

got their own legacy level. Too cool of a boss not to have one.

Spoiler

Nokron

was also aces.

[Sumez]

You mentioned like almost every area in the game outside of my two favourites

[Stevens]

I dipped my toe in the capital, but wanted to do the eastern plateau first. In my head for whatever reason is capital = endgame.

I could be wrong - haven't looked at guides. Like anyone I've no doubt missed quite a lot, but would like to not miss any major boss encounters if I can help it. 2nd loop ill use a guide and skip anything not a legacy type stage.

I've admittedly played quite slow - walking in legacys/trotting in new over world areas to take it all in.

Maybe 20 more hours? Hopefully three to four solid boss fights? I'd take more obviously: )

Quick mention -

Spoiler

Elemer of the Briar

. Solid, quintessential, From fight. Had a fair bit of fun with that one.

[Sumez]

Not gonna spoil anything for you, but there are a few major boss fights that might be easy to miss.

If you're aiming to do all of them before finishing off the capital, you can unspoiler the below at that point, but I'm trying to keep it as spoiler-free as possible:

Spoiler

1. Below the capital
2. Ranni's whole quest line (has at least one step that's really obscure and might require outside help)
3. Fia's whole quest line (I initially missed out on a big part of this, because of characters moving to places I'd already covered)

[Steamflogger Boss]

You mentioned like almost every area in the game outside of my two favourites

I more or less loved all the main areas. My favorites though, I'd say

Spoiler

Leyndell and Crumbling Farum Azula. The Haligtree is really cool too though.

I dipped my toe in the capital, but wanted to do the eastern plateau first. In my head for whatever reason is capital = endgame.

I could be wrong - haven't looked at guides. Like anyone I've no doubt missed quite a lot, but would like to not miss any major boss encounters if I can help it. 2nd loop ill use a guide and skip anything not a legacy type stage.

I've admittedly played quite slow - walking in legacys/trotting in new over world areas to take it all in.

Maybe 20 more hours? Hopefully three to four solid boss fights? I'd take more obviously: )

Quick mention -

Spoiler

Elemer of the Briar

. Solid, quintessential, From fight. Had a fair bit of fun with that one.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Not gonna spoil anything for you, but there are a few major boss fights that might be easy to miss.

If you're aiming to do all of them before finishing off the capital, you can unspoiler the below at that point, but I'm trying to keep it as spoiler-free as possible:

Spoiler

1. Below the capital
2. Ranni's whole quest line (has at least one step that's really obscure and might require outside help)
3. Fia's whole quest line (I initially missed out on a big part of this, because of characters moving to places I'd already covered)

These are all super missable for sure as is

Spoiler

our two headed dragon friend.

[Austin]

Just finished the Capital the other day. 70+ hours in. Loving the game but honestly it's grown pretty tiring by this point. So much repeated content (more ruins, more of the same enemies I fought 60 hours ago, more reskinned bosses with a few extra twists, etc). The tedium by this point is real and I just want the damn thing to end already, haha.

Even the thought of a second run after I finish my first is making my brain shut down on itself.

[evil_ash_xero]

Just finished the Capital the other day. 70+ hours in. Loving the game but honestly it's grown pretty tiring by this point. So much repeated content (more ruins, more of the same enemies I fought 60 hours ago, more reskinned bosses with a few extra twists, etc). The tedium by this point is real and I just want the damn thing to end already, haha.

Even the thought of a second run after I finish my first is making my brain shut down on itself.

The game should be shorter. The reused content is becoming a common complaint, and there really wasn't a need for it.
It reminds me of when the Nioh games want to be 100 plus hours, but if they shaved off 30 hours, they would be better for it, still have a lot of content, and be very long games.
It's just like there's some need to make "gigantic game".

I'm not used to From reusing this many bosses.

[Stevens]

Not gonna spoil anything for you, but there are a few major boss fights that might be easy to miss.

If you're aiming to do all of them before finishing off the capital, you can unspoiler the below at that point, but I'm trying to keep it as spoiler-free as possible:

Spoiler

1. Below the capital
2. Ranni's whole quest line (has at least one step that's really obscure and might require outside help)
3. Fia's whole quest line (I initially missed out on a big part of this, because of characters moving to places I'd already covered)

I just got the key from the phantom at

Spoiler

Roundtable

. Presumably that is what you mean? Definitely going to find that dude he said he would basically

Spoiler

fuck my corpse

.

I did some of Ranni's quest and none of Fia's. Maybe I'll save them for NG+..

[BIL]

Yep that works!

Goddamn I had to rrrrip myself away from BB, that goddamn thing is my hardcore killing AND horror/adventure headwank pleasure principles squared. Latest fixation: gettin' them "Dude. Naw. Nawww" agony staggers when I calculate de boost and drop charge shot payload aka SLAP EM REAL GOOD, seeking the most obscenely audacious Church Pick massacres

Spoiler

Christ I have a mountain of stuffs to post in muh BB thread :O



Mr. Birb, the ghetto is tryin' to kill me.

Lads, emergency SOS from Tinkletowne @ the corner of RumpyPumpy Ave & WeeWillehWinkeh BLVD: How 2 Backshot Consistently in Dark Souls? I'm bumping and grinding away but I just can't give em the bone! I done it a few times with some scrawny little twinks down in the jail, but now I'm out in the big wide world and this massive buff homo erectus shrugged off me bone! I had to just slap it on him a bit.

A tale of carceral romance denied 3;>

Preceded by How 2 Rob: Accurate Graveyard Burglary Simulator >:3 (spot where I learn that snatching items isn't lightning-instant like in BB, dohoho)

Doh, I'm dumb. Not like you can V-ATK every enemy in BB. Maybe he's just too big for me bone. Those were some impressive cheeks after all. EDIT: Hmm, holding R1 seems to help clap dem cheeks. Love how different weapon types have their own criticals! BB's V-ATK has a truly rare, explosive gratification and perfectly-timed aftermath I'm yet to tire of after almost 800hrs, but I could've gone for similar variation. (my pet BB2 would let you customise between the triangle of raw power/launch distance/crowd blowback AOE)

Liking a lot, as expected. >:9 I suspect BB's Shinobiesque approach to high-speed/high-yield/high-risk action is more my jam, with its slicing grace, explosive speed and shattering impacts, plus that quasi-arcadey stage design, but I dig the heavier knightly aesthetic and mazier world too. Feels pleasantly oldschool on the latter count. Gotta admit, the Tolkienesque theme doesn't fire me up (while BB's NeoVictorian Lovecraftesque gives me rock-hard wood for days on end), but I can dig it when it packs this sort of downbeat dark fantasy. Loving the VA already.

[Sumez]

Lads, emergency SOS from Tinkletowne @ the corner of RumpyPumpy Ave & WeeWillehWinkeh BLVD: How 2 Backshot Consistently in Dark Souls? I'm bumping and grinding away but I just can't give em the bone! I done it a few times with some scrawny little twinks down in the jail, but now I'm out in the big wide world and this massive buff homo erectus shrugged off me bone! I had to just slap it on him a bit.

There's a few requirements to make sure you are intentionally going for the backstab. Like the attack can't be a part of a combo, and your shield can't be raised as you do it. I'm not sure if letting go of the movement stick is a hard requirement, so you are not pressing against them as you do it, but I've found that it helps for me. Ie, face their back, stand still, and tap R1 once.

edit: Ah yeh, you definitely had your shield up in that video Already learning how the game differs from BB I see.

Dark Souls rewards slow methodic gameplay to a much larger extent than BB that's for sure, and on your first playthrough I'd probably usually recommend embracing that as well. Defensive playstyle, learning enemies, figuring out when to make your retaliation, etc. But even if it's a bit slower, it absolutely also does allow for a more fast paced and aggressive style once you know how the enemies move and when to f them up. Knowing you, you'll probably pick up on it fast. Most enemies are weak to the player acting before they figure out what they want to do themselves.

[Sumez]

I just got the key from the phantom at

Spoiler

Roundtable

. Presumably that is what you mean? Definitely going to find that dude he said he would basically

Spoiler

fuck my corpse

.

I did some of Ranni's quest and none of Fia's. Maybe I'll save them for NG+..

Yeah, you'll need that key. There's other major stuff than that guy down there though, make sure you thoroughly search every direction.
I recommend doing Ranni's quest first playthrough honestly, as it's not just NPC stuff, but opens up major new areas.

[BIL]

Lads, emergency SOS from Tinkletowne @ the corner of RumpyPumpy Ave & WeeWillehWinkeh BLVD: How 2 Backshot Consistently in Dark Souls? I'm bumping and grinding away but I just can't give em the bone! I done it a few times with some scrawny little twinks down in the jail, but now I'm out in the big wide world and this massive buff homo erectus shrugged off me bone! I had to just slap it on him a bit.

There's a few requirements to make sure you are intentionally going for the backstab. Like the attack can't be a part of a combo, and your shield can't be raised as you do it. I'm not sure if letting go of the movement stick is a hard requirement, so you are not pressing against them as you do it, but I've found that it helps for me. Ie, face their back, stand still, and tap R1 once.

edit: Ah yeh, you definitely had your shield up in that video Already learning how the game differs from BB I see.

Dark Souls rewards slow methodic gameplay to a much larger extent than BB that's for sure, and on your first playthrough I'd probably usually recommend embracing that as well. Defensive playstyle, learning enemies, figuring out when to make your retaliation, etc. But even if it's a bit slower, it absolutely also does allow for a more fast paced and aggressive style once you know how the enemies move and when to f them up. Knowing you, you'll probably pick up on it fast. Most enemies are weak to the player acting before they figure out what they want to do themselves.

Cheers, that definitely sounds right! After a while I got into a pretty good groove with both backstabs, and the very new-to-me ripostes.

Having a blast. This really does play strikingly differently from BB, despite them sharing a basic chassis. Where BB rewards explosive aggression, this has a grimly deliberate tempo to its slaughtering, like bone-crushing doom to BB's face-shredding thrash. While I prefer the sheer jaw-jacking violence of the latter's parry, plugging fuckers square in the throat before demolishing them in an explosion of gore, nobody with a pulse is gonna be unmoved at bashing their foe's weapon aside, running them clean through, then booting them to the ground like so much roadkill. If BB is NeoVictorian nightmare whimsy, this is concentrated Black Death 166X.

This happened.

Just took out this fine chap. (one hell of an enemy design, such combined pathos and stature ). I felt distinctly over-stretched, mostly on stamina, but goddamn, I was enjoying the cumulative crushing gravity of my Zweihander and his murder-handed blows too much to quit.

[BIL]

btw, speaking of Bloodborne and shields Loch Shield can put an interesting spin on more range-minded enemies and bosses, like MUH FUTURE GF Yurie. :3 (tragic twist ending ) Though very tellingly, it's meant for Blood/Arcane/Element damage, AFAIK doing badly in physical clashes. Thing's made outta glass innit.

[guigui]

Just took out this fine chap.

Noobs playing with random armor, fat roll, fat sword. Takes like 1 hour to kill the guy when I can 2 shot him. Bad, gotta git gud.

[BIL]

It's a hard life for a noob

I'm a simple guy, if I kill the fucker with two or less heals I'm satisfied.

[rapoon]

patch 1.03 notes

I was really hoping for something more than "Other performance improvement and bug fixes" for the PS5. I'll give it a spin tomorrow and see if there's any difference. I'm about halfway (I think... ) and I've decided to temporarily shelve
the game till some of the performance issues are ironed out on the PS5. Shoulda been smart and played the 60fps locked ps4 version via ps5. Nice to see a lot of balance shit being sorted out. PS5 patch was 1.5GB in size, and ~6GB on PS4.

Shit BIL, good on you for waiting it out. besides, if you're still having fun w/ Bloodborne, may as well marinate in that a bit longer. Fuck I love that game. Here's hoping Bluepoint gives it the same treatment they gave Demons Souls (there's a rumor they're working on a remake).

[Sumez]

btw, speaking of Bloodborne and shields Loch Shield can put an interesting spin on more range-minded enemies and bosses, like MUH FUTURE GF Yurie. :3 (tragic twist ending ) Though very tellingly, it's meant for Blood/Arcane/Element damage, AFAIK doing badly in physical clashes. Thing's made outta glass innit.

Wut, actual Bloodborne shield that's not a flaky piece of plywood. What's that thing, some DLC addition? o_O

[Stevens]

Yeah, you'll need that key. There's other major stuff than that guy down there though, make sure you thoroughly search every direction.
I recommend doing Ranni's quest first playthrough honestly, as it's not just NPC stuff, but opens up major new areas.

I decided to do Ranni's quest and then saw your post. I am currently looking for someone in Limgrave. The capital isn't going anywhere.

[Sumez]

If you're looking for Blaidd, he already went ahead to the place he said you were gonna go.
If you're looking for Sellen, wait, I think they just outright tell you where she is. Either way don't be afraid to look up NPC quest lines if you get stuck, but it's more fun to discover it for yourself of course. One hint I'll give once you get further down the line is pay attention to your "bonfire" menu.

[Stevens]

Excellent. If I get stuck I was going to ask you for hints rather than just looking it up.

I did look up the questline to make sure I didn't miss anything, but did one of those line by line reveals as to not ruin anything. Since I do things in this game and then get sidetracked easily (or don't pay attention) it seems I left something I clearly need in

Spoiler

Nokron

. I was probably even told I need this item, but yeah, definitely using a guide in NG+: )

You can probably figure out what it is. I found the site of grace near it, but just finished lighting the lamps and fighting the boss.

I'll do that and head back to Ranni. I thought something might be up since she was napping. So item and then Limgrave. Blaidd said he would be

Spoiler

by the entrance to the city

. I remember that much but couldn't find him last time. After I get what I need I'll start there.

Thanks!. I'll let you know if I get stuck.

[Austin]

Just took out this fine chap. (one hell of an enemy design, such combined pathos and stature ). I felt distinctly over-stretched, mostly on stamina, but goddamn, I was enjoying the cumulative crushing gravity of my Zweihander and his murder-handed blows too much to quit.

Reduce some of that equipment load of yours and you'll regain a bit of that Bloodborne-style maneuverability.

Glad to see you're enjoying the game.

[BIL]

Shit BIL, good on you for waiting it out. besides, if you're still having fun w/ Bloodborne, may as well marinate in that a bit longer. Fuck I love that game.

It's partially Stockholme Syndrome, but in a sense I like waiting until the dust settles and the teething issues are done. ^__^ The quick loadtimes in particular are extremely welcome - really helps from new player perspective, when there's a bunch of learning and dying to do. A similarly quick BB remaster, that's my dream! The PS4 version is without question on my desert island list - a true dream game for me, combining hardcore Shinobiesque slicing with SOTN's toybox leisure, and horror style worthy of KCET - but reloading after death is still just a tad punitive.

btw, speaking of Bloodborne and shields Loch Shield can put an interesting spin on more range-minded enemies and bosses, like MUH FUTURE GF Yurie. :3 (tragic twist ending ) Though very tellingly, it's meant for Blood/Arcane/Element damage, AFAIK doing badly in physical clashes. Thing's made outta glass innit.

Wut, actual Bloodborne shield that's not a flaky piece of plywood. What's that thing, some DLC addition? o_O

Yep! One of a few game-changing bits of gear from The Old Hunters (another being Fist of Gratia's short-ranged stun-gun, in the form of a stiff brass-knuckled liver shot). It's a cute option VS ranged elementals (and IIRC bullets, since they = Blood). Can be very handy in certain specialised scenarios, like running up on Oedon Chapel Bro's asshole pyromancer cousins in the Chalices.

As usual with BB though, aggressive stepping is king. It's useless vs Brainsucker/Hemwitch handcuffs (step up and burn/bash 'em), and while it'll turn instakillers like Mico's A Call Beyond into mere 25%HP smacks, you could just knock the daft fucker out.

Just took out this fine chap. (one hell of an enemy design, such combined pathos and stature ). I felt distinctly over-stretched, mostly on stamina, but goddamn, I was enjoying the cumulative crushing gravity of my Zweihander and his murder-handed blows too much to quit.

Reduce some of that equipment load of yours and you'll regain a bit of that Bloodborne-style maneuverability.

Glad to see you're enjoying the game.

Oh yeah, I'd trimmed me waistline a bit before that, when Fat Rolling first struck - much use of the Drop command. I'm currently far quicker when switching to the Longsword, but it was just kinda bouncing offa big homie there, and I sensed a scrubby beginner's chance in Big Boi mode.

TBH the Fatroll felt kinda rad, how your dude just kinda *womps* down while the boss swings and misses.