Dark Souls (Project Dark)
- Thread starter X-SOLDIER
- Start date
Joe
I KEEP MY IDEALS
- AKA
- Joe, Arcana
Finally got a hold of this from rental. Played through the opening level and loving it so far. This is one of those games I can sink hours into leveling up without having to do it all in one sitting. I can keep coming back to it.
Demon Souls was good and you can smell the improvement before touching most of the things in this game.
Demon Souls was good and you can smell the improvement before touching most of the things in this game.
Interslicery
.....
I need to go back and finish Dark Souls. Last I played I had reached
the second area I guess it is, where you reach the pristine palace type area with the giant rook soldiers I think they're called.
looneymoon
they/them
- AKA
- Rishi
Finally finding my groove with this fucking game. Made it through Undead Berg/Taurus Demon, The Undead Parish, the forest with the butterfly, The Lower Undead Berg/Capra Demon/Pyramid Head's goat loving brother, and finally leaving The Depths after beating the big ribcage crocodile...
I have gotten this far without realizing I was able to sprint by holding O
I have gotten this far without realizing I was able to sprint by holding O
Keveh Kins
Pun Enthusiast
What class are you playing as? 
looneymoon
they/them
- AKA
- Rishi
I'm a wanderer. No reason for this choice. I thought that sounded the most like a cool loner with a dark soul.
I have gotten this far without realizing I was able to sprint by holding O
You can also jump while sprinting (tap the run button while running, I think). I don't think it's too helpful in combat, but it is used sometimes while exploring.
I started DS3 recently and am really enjoying it. I beat the first three bosses and I seem to have gotten to the obligatory poison swamp area which hilariously includes both poison AND those curse basilisks. Some thoughts so far:
-Weapon arts are pretty interesting. The Lothric knights were a HUGE pain until I started using the sword weapon art to break their guard.
-I enjoy that this is speedier than DS1. It does feel like a bit of an odd mixture of Dark Souls and Bloodborne in terms of combat pace, and I do still miss things from BB, but I’m adjusting more quickly than when I went from BB to DS1.
Also, does anyone have any thoughts about playing offline vs online? I’m playing offline currently (I played through BB and DS1 completely offline) and I’m getting curious about maybe giving online a try this time, if it’s still active enough. I love going through the levels and boss fights completely on my own, though, so I’m really just interested in helping others. Not sure I’d be into invading/being invaded, at least not on a first playthrough. Would it be worth it if I just do my initial run of an area unembered (or straight up in offline mode, as I’m not sure I even want to see all the messages either; I’m trying to go in as blind as possible) and go online to be summoned after completing an area/boss? I’m also wondering if activity is going to tank when the Demon’s Souls remake comes out and if this month would be a good time to try online before then.
-Weapon arts are pretty interesting. The Lothric knights were a HUGE pain until I started using the sword weapon art to break their guard.
-I enjoy that this is speedier than DS1. It does feel like a bit of an odd mixture of Dark Souls and Bloodborne in terms of combat pace, and I do still miss things from BB, but I’m adjusting more quickly than when I went from BB to DS1.
Also, does anyone have any thoughts about playing offline vs online? I’m playing offline currently (I played through BB and DS1 completely offline) and I’m getting curious about maybe giving online a try this time, if it’s still active enough. I love going through the levels and boss fights completely on my own, though, so I’m really just interested in helping others. Not sure I’d be into invading/being invaded, at least not on a first playthrough. Would it be worth it if I just do my initial run of an area unembered (or straight up in offline mode, as I’m not sure I even want to see all the messages either; I’m trying to go in as blind as possible) and go online to be summoned after completing an area/boss? I’m also wondering if activity is going to tank when the Demon’s Souls remake comes out and if this month would be a good time to try online before then.
Wol
None Shall Remember Those Who Do Not Fight
- AKA
- Rosarian Shield
I really enjoy the tension of having some bastard invading and chasing after you.
It just adds to the already depressing setting. Like, your character is so miserable that everything that moves wants him dead.
Despite that, I like to go solo during exploration and boss fights.
It just adds to the already depressing setting. Like, your character is so miserable that everything that moves wants him dead.
Despite that, I like to go solo during exploration and boss fights.
I think getting invaded would be too stressful for me while initially exploring - PvE is just the right level of challenge for me at that point (and this being four years after release makes me more wary of invaders than I would be if I was playing around launch) - but, yeah, I can definitely see it adding to the experience and spicing things up afterwards. I think I will give online a try; I'll start the two-week trial subscription next week when I have time to play again. I haven't been going through the levels embered anyway - after beating a boss I've been going back to practice the tougher enemies so I end up dying before moving on to the next area - so I'll just continue doing that to avoid invasions and see if anyone'll summon me.
- so I'll just continue doing that to avoid invasions and see if anyone'll summon me.
Strangelove
AI Researcher
- AKA
- hitoshura
i would play ds1 and 2 offline just because i didn't want to be invaded
i like the asynchronous online stuff but i am not particularly skilled at the game so getting invaded is basically like waiting for someone to run up and kill me and interrupt what i'm currently doing
i like the asynchronous online stuff but i am not particularly skilled at the game so getting invaded is basically like waiting for someone to run up and kill me and interrupt what i'm currently doing
Well, I’ve been giving online a try (in both DS3 and BB) and it’s been pretty fun! I can see why invasions are meant to balance out co-op, though, because PvE becomes quite easy with more than one player. I’ve been doing more online in BB since I’m very familiar with it, whereas with DS3 I don’t want stuff given away while co-oping, even if I would like to help people out with boss fights. Idk if anyone cares to read about my adventures in online mode, but if anyone does:
As excited as I am to see more of DS3 (the level design has been GREAT and while some of the more gimmick-y early bosses haven't been my thing, I have heard good things about the boss fights, so I'm looking forward to that, too) I think I'm kind of going to put it on hold for a bit while I replay BB while I have PS+ since I've found that the online aspect is more appealing to me once I know the game.
-Mostly I was helping people with the Abyss Watchers boss because I really enjoyed the fight and it’s pretty fun to co-op because it becomes a game of drawing aggro away from the host if need be (as the boss always seems to go after who hit it last).
-The only annoying thing about ^ was when hosts would rush through where all the enemies were (instead of the path to the right) when getting to the boss and then enter the boss fight; this then creates a giant clump of enemies between me and the fog gate. One time I was able to get past them because they started fighting each other, but right when I entered I saw the host get hit by one of the boss enemies and die. Wish there was an Oprah.gif gesture because this is how I felt:
-One guy summoned me and took me to the Crystal Sage fight, instead, which I didn’t know about yet (I had explored most of the path TO the fight, but I guess I was low on Estus or something and forgot to go back to it). It was interesting, and he seemed happy to win, but it sort of put me off of co-oping while initially going through the game, since I’d rather discover things going solo.
-I got invaded in Farron once, since I got embered after co-oping and decided to wander around a bit (I forgot it was a covenant area). It was a straightforward fight (they didn’t run into enemies or anything) so I actually managed to win, but that was too much excitement for me so I promptly threw myself off a cliff at Firelink so as not to be embered anymore lol
-I co-oped in Cathedral of the Deep (after thoroughly exploring it and beating the boss). I thought the boss fight would be fun to co-op, and it was, but we didn’t get invaded at any point while running the whole level, and without invasions going through levels repeatedly in co-op seems like it could get stale to me (and the levels have been great, so I don’t want to burn out on them). The host definitely knew what he was doing, though - he knew exactly where to go and he killed the giant crystal lizard (?) enemy with just magic fog.
-The only annoying thing about ^ was when hosts would rush through where all the enemies were (instead of the path to the right) when getting to the boss and then enter the boss fight; this then creates a giant clump of enemies between me and the fog gate. One time I was able to get past them because they started fighting each other, but right when I entered I saw the host get hit by one of the boss enemies and die. Wish there was an Oprah.gif gesture because this is how I felt:
-One guy summoned me and took me to the Crystal Sage fight, instead, which I didn’t know about yet (I had explored most of the path TO the fight, but I guess I was low on Estus or something and forgot to go back to it). It was interesting, and he seemed happy to win, but it sort of put me off of co-oping while initially going through the game, since I’d rather discover things going solo.
-I got invaded in Farron once, since I got embered after co-oping and decided to wander around a bit (I forgot it was a covenant area). It was a straightforward fight (they didn’t run into enemies or anything) so I actually managed to win, but that was too much excitement for me so I promptly threw myself off a cliff at Firelink so as not to be embered anymore lol
-I co-oped in Cathedral of the Deep (after thoroughly exploring it and beating the boss). I thought the boss fight would be fun to co-op, and it was, but we didn’t get invaded at any point while running the whole level, and without invasions going through levels repeatedly in co-op seems like it could get stale to me (and the levels have been great, so I don’t want to burn out on them). The host definitely knew what he was doing, though - he knew exactly where to go and he killed the giant crystal lizard (?) enemy with just magic fog.
-I kept my initial character that I’ve done all the chalices with at level 118 in case I ever tried out online, which ended up being a good call, since chalice co-op has turned out to be very active. At that level I get a mix of people running story chalices, people summoning for boss fights, and (more rarely) people gem farming or running their own FRC root chalices. I love helping people out with the defiled bosses, even if it mostly comes down to if the beckoner can dodge one-shot attacks. I also like chalice co-op because of the random element and even if the level design isn’t nearly as engaging as that of the main game, it’s better suited to repeated run throughs (though being summoned for the fixed story chalices repeatedly does get tiresome).
-Invasions in the chalice dungeons seem to be very rare, which is a bummer. I’ve only seen one Micolash cosplayer invade.
-I’ve tried a bit of PvP at the Nightmare Frontier. My build isn’t super optimized, but it’s close to being a somewhat ok skill build and I’ve got acceptable gems. Sometimes I win, sometimes I get completely wrecked repeatedly. I’m not sure dueling is my thing, though. Like, if I wanted a fairly straightforward 1v1 fight I’d play a fighting game, seems kind of like a waste to cut out the unique experience utilizing the whole level can give you…
-…which is why I’m getting more interested in giving getting invaded/invading a go, especially at lower levels when fights don’t revolve around optimized gems and builds. I started a new character, but, unfortunately it doesn’t seem likely to be invaded early game because of the level restrictions - co-opers can only get invaded BL 30 and up, so I guess people don’t even try to invade early on (I’ve had the chime maiden around in Central Yharnam but no one invades ). I’ll try doing sinister bell + silencing blank throughout the playthrough and see who I get. I plan on giving low/mid level invasions a try myself, too, since that seems more reliable than trying to be invaded. No ridiculous gems or anything, I just want to make things more interesting for myself and others even if I lose 99% of the time.
-The netcode is indeed very bad . But I love the actual combat mechanics and such so much that I think I can put up with it.
-Invasions in the chalice dungeons seem to be very rare, which is a bummer. I’ve only seen one Micolash cosplayer invade.
-I’ve tried a bit of PvP at the Nightmare Frontier. My build isn’t super optimized, but it’s close to being a somewhat ok skill build and I’ve got acceptable gems. Sometimes I win, sometimes I get completely wrecked repeatedly. I’m not sure dueling is my thing, though. Like, if I wanted a fairly straightforward 1v1 fight I’d play a fighting game, seems kind of like a waste to cut out the unique experience utilizing the whole level can give you…
-…which is why I’m getting more interested in giving getting invaded/invading a go, especially at lower levels when fights don’t revolve around optimized gems and builds. I started a new character, but, unfortunately it doesn’t seem likely to be invaded early game because of the level restrictions - co-opers can only get invaded BL 30 and up, so I guess people don’t even try to invade early on (I’ve had the chime maiden around in Central Yharnam but no one invades
). I’ll try doing sinister bell + silencing blank throughout the playthrough and see who I get. I plan on giving low/mid level invasions a try myself, too, since that seems more reliable than trying to be invaded. No ridiculous gems or anything, I just want to make things more interesting for myself and others even if I lose 99% of the time.-The netcode is indeed very bad
. But I love the actual combat mechanics and such so much that I think I can put up with it.As excited as I am to see more of DS3 (the level design has been GREAT and while some of the more gimmick-y early bosses haven't been my thing, I have heard good things about the boss fights, so I'm looking forward to that, too) I think I'm kind of going to put it on hold for a bit while I replay BB while I have PS+ since I've found that the online aspect is more appealing to me once I know the game.
Lulcielid
Eyes of the Lord
- AKA
- Lulcy
Well, I ended up giving invasions in BB a try and I had a lot of fun. But since my PS+ subscription ended I decided to go back to going through DS3. In hindsight, I think I maybe should’ve waited a bit because, while I’m enjoying DS3, sometimes I get frustrated with it for not being BB. It’s a very good game, but I think some of the common criticisms I’ve heard about it are valid. Those being 1) it feels like a greatest hits album of the series and 2) the pace of combat is a weird half-way point between Dark Souls and Bloodborne and it can feel like the enemies are too fast/aggressive for what your character can do. The second point can be pretty frustrating. Like, many enemies have long combos, hyper armor, and distance closing moves that can make it very hard to get a hit in (and in most boss fights, even with a straight sword, it often feels EXTREMELY risky to try to get more than one hit in at a time). It doesn't help that sometimes you can get punished twice for one mistake - mess up a dodge and you get hit... and after you get hit your character still preforms the dodge you were trying to do a second ago, making it likely that you get caught in a huge combo, as well. I believe DS1 and BB had queuing, as well, and I get why it's a thing, but I think the pace and long enemy combos make it stand out more here. I do appreciate that they clearly designed the game to up the challenge for those familiar with the series, but it doesn’t feel as deliberately crafted in its systems as DS1 or BB - instead of doing a BB-style overhaul they sort of grafted things onto DS. I think I can see why they went with a totally new IP (Sekiro) next, in terms of combat.
I’m nearing the end of the main game - I just got through what I expect is clearly the end game area (Grand Archives) - but I still have an optional area to do and both of the DLCs. So far my favorite bosses have been the Abyss Watchers, Pontiff, and Aldrich. I think those were the fights that it felt the most like I was learning and improving, some of the other later bosses were a bit more frustrating than fun for me. At least that's how I felt in the moment - I’m up for having my mind changed in a replay, though (well, except for Oceiros, I really think phase two of that fight is not well designed). I should note, it could also be that my build has been making things more difficult than need be. I went Dex/Int (I usually just go for Str/Dex and then focus on whichever one I like best) because I’ve never really tried out magic before. I knew this would split up my damage, but it didn’t occur to me to buff my weapon with magic. I tried it out and it adds quite a bit to my attack power number; sharp infusion helped, too… so that probably would’ve made things easier for me.
It won’t be right away, but I’m interested in eventually giving invasions a try, probably at mid-level in the Aldrich Faithful covenant. I want to do more in BB, as well, but since team invasions aren’t a thing in that game I’d like to see what it’s like to play in a 2v2 or 4v2. I made a backup save on USB where I’m around level 60 with a +6 weapon so maybe I can go back and pick up from there rather than restart. I can see why people play these games over and over, between trying out new things solo and invasions/PvP. BB has less outright build variety, but the trick weapons are all unique enough and I enjoy the streamlined nature of it. I can see why people who are super into builds and dueling would prefer DS, though.
I’m nearing the end of the main game - I just got through what I expect is clearly the end game area (Grand Archives) - but I still have an optional area to do and both of the DLCs. So far my favorite bosses have been the Abyss Watchers, Pontiff, and Aldrich. I think those were the fights that it felt the most like I was learning and improving, some of the other later bosses were a bit more frustrating than fun for me. At least that's how I felt in the moment - I’m up for having my mind changed in a replay, though (well, except for Oceiros, I really think phase two of that fight is not well designed). I should note, it could also be that my build has been making things more difficult than need be. I went Dex/Int (I usually just go for Str/Dex and then focus on whichever one I like best) because I’ve never really tried out magic before. I knew this would split up my damage, but it didn’t occur to me to buff my weapon with magic. I tried it out and it adds quite a bit to my attack power number; sharp infusion helped, too… so that probably would’ve made things easier for me.
It won’t be right away, but I’m interested in eventually giving invasions a try, probably at mid-level in the Aldrich Faithful covenant. I want to do more in BB, as well, but since team invasions aren’t a thing in that game I’d like to see what it’s like to play in a 2v2 or 4v2. I made a backup save on USB where I’m around level 60 with a +6 weapon so maybe I can go back and pick up from there rather than restart. I can see why people play these games over and over, between trying out new things solo and invasions/PvP. BB has less outright build variety, but the trick weapons are all unique enough and I enjoy the streamlined nature of it. I can see why people who are super into builds and dueling would prefer DS, though.
looneymoon
they/them
- AKA
- Rishi
Sister Friede killed my drive.
I mean, I beat her eventually... but fuck. There's a whole other DLC and 2 main game bosses left.
I'm so tired. I felt the majority of 3 was easier than 1, but the end game is really trying my resolve lmfao.
At least in 1 I felt a lot of resolve to get through Ornstein+Smough/Artorias/Manus. Not having that same energy now >_< I'm doing Nameless King currently. Even though he's tough I feel like I can do it if I get a good run. But ugh, do I want to?
I probably should just take a break and come back. But my relationship with this game has gone... dare I say, dark.
...Maybe I should have picked a mage class.
I mean, I beat her eventually... but fuck. There's a whole other DLC and 2 main game bosses left.
I'm so tired. I felt the majority of 3 was easier than 1, but the end game is really trying my resolve lmfao.
At least in 1 I felt a lot of resolve to get through Ornstein+Smough/Artorias/Manus. Not having that same energy now >_< I'm doing Nameless King currently. Even though he's tough I feel like I can do it if I get a good run. But ugh, do I want to?
I probably should just take a break and come back. But my relationship with this game has gone... dare I say, dark.
...Maybe I should have picked a mage class.