1661

Ah ha, that’s what those messages outside the Cleansing Chapel were talking about. Some of the From quests are so damned obscure, I don’t understand how anybody playing normally is ever supposed to follow them.

Unrelated, I am a little disappointed how the crestfallen guy just sort of vanishes after defeating the Abyss Watchers. I really liked how he slowly went nuts in Demon’s Souls and then eventually left his own sad little soul behind for you to munch on like a dregling.

1662

Are you talking about Hawkwood? Cuz if so…

1663

The guy in Firelink? I don’t remember him ever mentioning his name, but maybe it just happened so long ago (~20 hours) I have forgotten.

1664

He’s the deserter from the Abyss Watchers, ya?

1665

Maybe? I’ve spoken to him quite a few times, and he definitely seemed to have some kind of affinity for them, although I can’t recall him actually saying he was a deserter, but it makes sense I think. He gave me a ring having to do with them after I beat them and then disappeared.

But it sounds like he’s not gone forever…

1666

If it’s the same guy, and I think it is, then yeah, there is a nice coda to his story.

1667

Dark Souls are strange games in that they do basically hide content within the game that you probably would never discover on your own. The messages help but even then they are limited. The DLC contains a hidden area that I doubt the average player would ever find without help. But it is that kind of thing that I think has really built up the Souls community.

As for that hidden area. I wouldn’t worry about it until you are almost finished with the DLC. Then you might want to look it up.

1668

I think virtually every character you meet in Dark Souls has a story. The hard part is figuring out what it is from the little clues FROM gives you. The Darkmoon woman has her own story as well.

1669

I don’t think I’ve met this person, yet.

1670

You should meet her at Firelink, sitting on the steps. The only thing I know of that breaks her story line early is if you not only join but turn over covenant items to the half woman in the Cathedral.

You can join any covenent you want without repercushions, but handing over items can cost you.

1671

Spent a while beating my head against Pontiff Sulyvahn last night and got to the point where I can beat his first phase easily enough, but still get overwhelmed in the second.

Had much better luck in the Irithyll Dungeon, though. Very cool area, reminiscent of the Tower of Latria. Made it all the way through and reached the first bonfire in the Profaned Capital.

The discussion about the NPCs is interesting. I rarely manage to finish cryptic questlines because once I start referring to wikis and such, too much of the magic is lost – I’d rather organically experience 30% of the content than checklist my way through 100%.

1672

That place freaked me out. Still gives me the willies.

1673

Battle Arts, particularly on boss soul weapons, are pretty fucking great.

There really doesn’t appear to be a downside to transposing every weapon you can. I encourage everyone to do so!

Lotta fun to be had.

1674

Oh yes, her. The first time I met her I thought I had pissed her off, possibly by my dalliance with Yoel.

1675

The guy who’s sitting in Firelink from the beginning, on the steps? I don’t think he ever mentions his name. But I do love that he’s got dialog for all the major story beats in the game. So for example, right now I have to extinguish 3 flames, so his dialogue is about the 3 flames. Once I do that, it will be about the next story beat. So he’s sitting there on the steps as a sort of guide to remind the player what their main story objective is right now so they don’t get lost. At least, that’s the purpose he’s served in the game so far.

1676

In my game that guy hasn’t ever moved on from talking about the three flames. He keeps vanishing every now and then, but I talked recently and yup, three flames. Dude, that was so last week.

I think I may have fixed my Seigward quest. After… well, “meeting” Unbreakable Patches in the tower, I found him selling something quite important which made me remember where I’d last seen Seigward! So now I’m back on track with that… I think? Trouble is, I don’t know whether I should have next met him in an area I’ve already visited.

The other “quest” that’s concerning me is Greirat. He’s finally asked me to go off on another loot finding mission, but ma arrows! He’s the only vendor I’ve found who sells Standard Arrows, which I use all the time. They are my standard pulling mechanism when faced with 2+ enemies, but with the Dragonrider Bow they actually can make quite a dent (the Wood Arrows just aren’t the same).

It was a gift from my sister, which I didn’t play until the Monthly came along (first “d’oh!” moment) but yes, I remember using the code to get Ashes. Second “d’oh!” moment.

1677

I couldn’t help myself. I was bored with monomachy, and I’ve always been py-curious…so I rerolled a pyromancer. Coalbex.

1678

If you want to be super cool you’ll end up using the witch’s locks, sadly they’re acquired rather late in the game. But there’s always NG+ if you want to style it up.

1679

Last night’s plan was all about the Nameless King. I threw myself at him over and over again. Felt like a Sekiro fight: you work on perfecting the first phase, then have to change it up completely to master the second, and before you’re ready for it, phase 2.5 starts. I settled on a strategy of aggressive 2-handing in phase one (to get it over with as fast as possible), then a more tactical, shield out, dodge-block-strike-stick/move, for phase 2.

I lost count of how many attempts it took, but I finally managed to take him down.

For me, this was easily the hardest boss in the game. Maybe the hardest boss in a souls game. And yet, I have no firm idea who this dude is supposed to be, where he fits into the story, and what the point of Archdragon Peak is. The whole thing is a mystery. I love it.

Brimming with confidence, and decked out in the coolest armor set (Vilhelms) I decided to go check out the endboss….I got it on my second try.

It felt like a proper endboss, with a fantastic backdrop. My early success doesn’t take anything away from that fight. I chalk it up to being in the zone after Nameless.

Instead of heading right for Sister Friede and The Ringed City, I immediately rolled up another character (something I’ve never done before). Opted for the Herald this time to explore a hybrid faith/melee build. There are a ton of faith based weapons I have my eye on, and I’ve never touched a miracle.

The Herald’s shield is a great starting shield, but the spear is a bit finicky. Starting as a knight with that long sword really does give you an edge. Going to wait for a better weapon before I kill the crystal lizard and the katana dude.

Iudex was more troublesome this go around, but wasn’t so bad.

It’s going to be fun to keep playing. Would love to keep posting in this thread ; )

1680

Ha!

: )