[PS3] Demon Souls

[Cornsnake]

I just did.

Spoiler

The first few times I invaded the same guy who one hit killed me with Homing Soul Arrow.

Then I was summoned to be the world 3-3 boss. That was pretty cool. It felt a bit like cheating though. I got a huge health bar, and I could heal myself just fine. It ended up being a good fight, with me mostly chasing after him. Using the Uchigatana wasn't working, he could block it quite easily. So I switched to 2-handing the Demonbrandt to guard break him. That worked, and I won. I got the Monk's Head Collar out of it.

Knowing you're doing this to some poor guy who probably doesn't know what to expect makes it all the sweeter.

 

[patsu]

I just did.

Spoiler

The first few times I invaded the same guy who one hit killed me with Homing Soul Arrow.

Then I was summoned to be the world 3-3 boss. That was pretty cool. It felt a bit like cheating though. I got a huge health bar, and I could heal myself just fine. It ended up being a good fight, with me mostly chasing after him. Using the Uchigatana wasn't working, he could block it quite easily. So I switched to 2-handing the Demonbrandt to guard break him. That worked, and I won. I got the Monk's Head Collar out of it.

Knowing you're doing this to some poor guy who probably doesn't know what to expect makes it all the sweeter.

I'd rather die a quick death ! Most of my fights ended abruptly and relatively quickly.

I did chase an invading Black Phantom all over the 3-1 prison though. That was tense as hell.

This is why I will try to complete Dark Souls in one sitting if possible. The longer I wait, the more difficult it will become ! XD

 

[Cornsnake]

I finally finished it. It took me 108 hours, I'm Soul Level 90, and I think I've done everything you can do in a single playthrough.

Spoiler

That last fight was a bit weak though. Although I suppose that's for story reasons.

Getting pure black character tendency for Mephistopheles quest does make you significantly weaker. Both my health and strength are down. I'm trying to play more in body form to make up for it. And maybe get invaded too. That hasn't happened on my way to beating Phalanx again. World 4 should probably be good for that.

I'm glad I decided to give DS another chance. I can't wait for Dark Souls.

 

[patsu]

Yap ! Demon's Souls is truly unique. Did you get Northern Regalia eventually ? Or are you still wielding Demonbrandt ?

 

[Cornsnake]

Yap ! Demon's Souls is truly unique. Did you get Northern Regalia eventually ? Or are you still wielding Demonbrandt ?

I have everything needed to make it. I think I just need to defeat Flamelurker again. The Demonbrandt is useless at pure black character tendency.

I just got invaded in Stonefang Tunnel. It was right at the beginning, so I knew where he'd coming from. He was using cloak or something because he was almost invisible. That must have made him overconfident because he walked right past me while I was waiting to ambush him from behind a doorway. I killed him before he had a chance to fight back. That probably best way it could have went for me. I wouldn't surprise if his Dragon Bone Smasher would killed me in just a few hits otherwise.

Still I died not long after that. The difficulty increase is definitely noticeable in world 2.

 

[patsu]

I was told Black Phantoms will have a harder time seeing you if you have your Thief Ring on.
I think Northern Regalia deals more damage than Demonbrandt even if the tendency matches both weapons.

 

[Cornsnake]

The Northern Regalia does do more damage. I'm hoping it also has a better range. I prefer the Claymore over the Demonbrandt for that reason, even though the Demonbrandt is stronger under the right conditions.

 

[patsu]

Hmm.. NR should have much wider swing, which I don't quite like. I don't have a Demonbrandt. I got a Soulbrandt instead.

Northern Regalia is also slightly slower. There is a slight pause/lag before a swing. :-/

 

[Cornsnake]

I just got best way to die DS has to offer.

Spoiler

Being punched to death by the Dragon God after defeating Vanguard in the tutorial.

I decided to start a character with the soldier class. This time focusing on strength. I grew a little tired of NG+. The enemies have insane amount of health, while I take massive damage at the slightest hit.

 

[patsu]

Heh heh... yes.

I thought you were playing as a soldier ? The class doesn't really matter right ? Since you get to develop any attributes you want. ^_^

I think the only big difference is magic user vs melee fighters. I am guessing pure magic people (like CarlB's) may suck when faced with a human intruder.

 

[Cornsnake]

I started my first playthrough as a knight. Which is indeed quite similar to the soldier. But I focused heavily on dexterity with my knight. Focusing on strength now means different weapons should be more effective this time around.

I not sure about magic users being at a disadvantage when invaded. I got instakilled by homing soul arrow the few times I've invaded. But that might have been my fault for not blocking it with the dark silver shield.

I was surprised at how few times I was invaded myself on NG+. I beat 4-1, 5-1, and 5-2, in body form without ever being invaded.

 

[patsu]

But that might have been my fault for not blocking it with the dark silver shield.

Ding ! Ding ! Ding !

I was surprised at how few times I was invaded myself on NG+. I beat 4-1, 5-1, and 5-2, in body form without ever being invaded.

They probably have moved on. I was told the Japan server has more invaders. But some of them are kind hearted. They will drop stuff for you to pick up, and leave. XD

 

[patsu]

In case people want to go back to Demon's Souls after trying out Dark Souls:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/22/atlus-continues-demons-souls-server-support-into-2012/

In an announcement timed suspiciously closely to the release of a totally unrelated game (wink!), Atlus announced that it's going to continue operating the servers for Demon's Souls "into 2012." They had previously only been ensured operation until October of this year.

...

Atlus PR also just casually drops the fact that Demon's Souls has an MSRP of $19.99, making it the best bargain in From Software's two-title-strong library of hardcore action RPGs.

 

[dlm]

I really wanted to like this game. I really did.

The simple fact was that the difficulty of any given stage was all over the map and there were basically no checkpoints. This meant that in the 10 or so hours that I played of it, I discovered that I was spending most of my time basically slogging through easy areas just to die on the same hard spot over and over.

I also felt like the stat and weapon system was so overcomplicated and so many things were missable that you more or less needed a guide to play the game.

I really thought I was going to like this one since I have loved many hard combat-based games (NG, for example). But ultimately this game clearly requires either
a) A ton of grinding or
b) A ton of trial and error

To actually get to the point where it's anything more than horrifyingly repetative, unfun drudgery. I'm sure once you get powerful enough the game sucks less, but honestly I don't have the time to waste on that sort of junk anymore.

I hear the sequel is supposed to fix a lot of these issues, but I felt like I got burned on this game and I'm not terribly eager to give them my money again right now.

 

[patsu]

Ah ! Should have discussed with us instead of slogging on your own. The game is not difficult if you know what to do. Equipment is important. Ranged weapons is considerably easier to beat most bosses. Thief Ring is a must have. You can get ahead of the curve by taking some risk earlier in 4-2.

The rest are mostly careful exploration and melee. Running away or avoiding conflict is a valid strategy here because high level monsters may roam the beginning level(s).

I did grind a fair bit but that's because I enjoyed fighting the Skeleton Warriors, and I wanted to wear heavy fancy armor.

If you're good at melee, armor is actually not that important except for environmental protection (e.g., poison).



I believe Dark Souls introduces checkpoints, but it seems more mean spirited than Demon's Souls (Potentially more invasion and user curses). ^_^

[size=-2]Oh dear, I hear the Dark Soul bosses cannot be cheezed easily anymore...[/size]

 

[dlm]

I think I may have got a Thief Ring, can't remember.

The bit that ultimately made me give up on the game was the section with the bridge and the dragon. I'd go through the entire area, then just get destroyed at the gate area.

If I moved far enough back not to get destroyed by archers, the dragon would strafe me. If I moved too far up, the blue knights would destroy me. And it was something like 20+ minutes of just slogging through trash to get to the gate every time you died.

At that point I decided, "This is stupid and bad design" and never touched the game again.

 

[BadTB25]

I think I may have got a Thief Ring, can't remember.

The bit that ultimately made me give up on the game was the section with the bridge and the dragon. I'd go through the entire area, then just get destroyed at the gate area.

If I moved far enough back not to get destroyed by archers, the dragon would strafe me. If I moved too far up, the blue knights would destroy me. And it was something like 20+ minutes of just slogging through trash to get to the gate every time you died.

At that point I decided, "This is stupid and bad design" and never touched the game again.

I'm with you on this one.
I completed it, but was ultimately unfulfilled and frustrated in many instances. I like grinding and looting, but this game was too much in the difficulty and hidden ways to get the through locked doors.

It seems that to get the most of the game, you have to rely on faqs as well as there is very little in explanation on how to complete some of the side quests.

I think that Dark Souls will have refined a lot of elements, but I will not be there until I have checked out a lot of user reviews.

 

[patsu]

I think I may have got a Thief Ring, can't remember.

The bit that ultimately made me give up on the game was the section with the bridge and the dragon. I'd go through the entire area, then just get destroyed at the gate area.

If I moved far enough back not to get destroyed by archers, the dragon would strafe me. If I moved too far up, the blue knights would destroy me. And it was something like 20+ minutes of just slogging through trash to get to the gate every time you died.

At that point I decided, "This is stupid and bad design" and never touched the game again.

You mean near the beginning of the game ? I think first time I stripped down and ran across the bridge. Second time I let the dragon take care of most of the enemies. I think you can also take the underpass to avoid the dragon in some section of the bridge. Then attack the soldiers from behind.

If you have a bow, you can attack the enemies from far. There is a short bow at the top of one of the bridge towers (You probably passed it). I found a long bow in 4-2 and used it to kill the dragon instead.

 

[patsu]

I'm with you on this one.
I completed it, but was ultimately unfulfilled and frustrated in many instances. I like grinding and looting, but this game was too much in the difficulty and hidden ways to get the through locked doors.

It seems that to get the most of the game, you have to rely on faqs as well as there is very little in explanation on how to complete some of the side quests.

I think that Dark Souls will have refined a lot of elements, but I will not be there until I have checked out a lot of user reviews.

I suspect Dark Souls would be more challenging than Demon's Souls because the developers have slapped more restrictions on the players, and there are more PvP variations.

Indeed the Demon's Souls guide is very useful. Alternatively, you can just read the Demon's Souls wiki or ask around. However, xbd completed the campaign without reading a guide or asking anyone. ^_^

 

[Cornsnake]

I think I may have got a Thief Ring, can't remember.

The bit that ultimately made me give up on the game was the section with the bridge and the dragon. I'd go through the entire area, then just get destroyed at the gate area.

If I moved far enough back not to get destroyed by archers, the dragon would strafe me. If I moved too far up, the blue knights would destroy me. And it was something like 20+ minutes of just slogging through trash to get to the gate every time you died.

At that point I decided, "This is stupid and bad design" and never touched the game again.

An easy way to do it is to take either a Mail Breaker or a Spear, (You should have been able to find both at this point) together with a good shield. Both of these weapon can used to attack from behind the safety of your shield.

Buy yes, the lack of proper explanations is a big problem with Demon's Souls. I also quit at some point. And I was lucky to have a guide that came with the european version.

If you have a bow, you can attack the enemies from far. There is a short bow at the top of one of the bridge towers (You probably passed it). I found a long bow in 4-2 and used it to kill the dragon instead.

The Compound Long Bow is in 4-1. The White Bow is in 4-2.