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 Let's put the tl:dr up front: Not-Blind, Semi-selfish, Heavily Edited, New Years Resolution run. Because you can't get enough of Dark Souls, right? I Don't Finish Stuff What does Dark Souls mean to you? Is it one of those games you won't play 'cuz, “poo poo man, that's too hard?” Is it a rite of passage? Is it the modern version of Ninja Gaiden? What does it symbolize? What does it feel like? What comes to mind? I'm pretty bad at finishing Let's Plays and worse at finishing comics. I never got far into Dark Souls because “poo poo man, that's too hard.” So I stopped playing and started watching Geop's run, or Dr. Tempest's run, or any of the other hundred runs of Dark Souls. All the time thinking “Nope. Too Hard.” But I respect Dark Souls and those who finish. I look up to runners because of what Dark Souls means to me. It means shrugging off defeat. It means dying again and again. It means getting up, dusting yourself off, and running back into the frey for whatever reason. Dark Souls means "determination" to me. Looking back at the stuff I don't finish, I said “I want to finish something.” Then I re-downloaded Dark Souls. Many Dark Souls There are many Dark Souls runs. I get the feeling it's kind of like Minecraft in this way. Like, there should be a special icon on SA for Dark Souls alone. Maybe DS really is some kind of rite of passage. The mark of the hard-core gamer. A badge of courage you pin on your lapel one your way to PAX. Anyway, yes I know you've seen this before. This isn't about originality. I'm just offering passage on board my own journey. As such, I feel this is a pretty selfish Let's Play. These videos assume you've either beat the game or seen a better Let's Play of it. Bring on Spoilers. It's an old game ,I've studied the lore, and know a few tricks (although my memory is pretty fuzzy on many details). There will be MUCH editing to brush off the boring parts. As selfish as this particular play through is, you don't deserve to be bored. This is my Determination Run. I'm determined to finish Dark Souls. I want to look back and say I beat a game that beat so many others. I'll fall down seven times, but if I'm lucky, I'll get up eight. Updates will be on Tuesdays. The Stream will go down starting at 8:00pm Maryland Time on Twitch. That's UTC/GMT -4. Work it out. Part 1: Where I'm going. Part 2: Where I gave up. Part 3: Why I stop. Part 4: Why We Do Anything. Part 5: With Help from Others Part 6: Don't Stop Me Now Part 7: Rise From Your Grave and Never Give Up Part Meh: Low Effort Part 9: The Real Dark Souls Part 10: The Tell Tale Tail Part 11: Time for a Tea Party Part 12: Hidden Ladders Part 13: So... Bees. Part 14: Climbing the Tower Part 15: Madam Wu Hu's Circles in Blight Town Part 16: Men with Rocks Part 13-16b: Losing for Fun and Profit Part 17: To Kill a Spider Part 18: Bells and Lava Part 19: I'm an Explorer Part 20: To Kill a Butterfly Part 21: When I Step Out of my League Part 22: Sen's Fortress: Family Owned and rear end Kicking Part 23: Mimics Cannot Fool Me Part 24: Of Gardens and Marbles Part 25: Tipsy Bridge Blues Part 26: FIRE FROM THE HEAVENS! Part 27: Iron Tarkus Saves Christmas Part 28: High Wire Tribute to Tarkus Part 29: Anorexic Gargoyle Drop Part 30: ARCHERS!!!! Part 31: The creepy under-room. Part 32: How I Parry Part 33: Onion-Bro Is No Help Part 34: Pikachu and Snorlax Part 35: Pika-Lax Grimwit fucked around with this message at 05:36 on May 29, 2016 |
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Jan 12, 2016 23:55
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Reserved for items of Extra Ordinary Magnitude.
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Jan 12, 2016 23:56
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Well if nothing else, I'm sure there will be at least a few people that will tell you exactly what to do  Not me though, I didn't get through Blighttown's boss before stopping.
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Jan 13, 2016 06:28
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Kibayasu posted:Well if nothing else, I'm sure there will be at least a few people that will tell you exactly what to do I'll get there. Maybe. We'll see. In the mean time, here's the next update, on time, even! It is called... Part 2: Where I gave up.
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Jan 20, 2016 01:19
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Haha, this LP is pretty chill. Perfect to play while doing junk in another screen. All these Dark Souls threads are gonna make me reinstall eventually. Maybe we'll bump into one another in game. Let's see... since a YT comment already explained the circle, here's another obscure BS mechanic tip: one way to gain humanity that is only explained once by that chainmail guy in the starting area (and even then he doesn't do a great job) is to just kill enemies. It only works with humanoid enemies in areas where the boss isn't dead, but each one gives a hidden amount of "points" upon death, and if you collect enough you get a free humanity added to the counter. Different enemies give different amounts, the tougher give more generally. If you ever find yourself low on humanity, just go kill some undead enemies for their remaining scraps of humanity. They don't need it anymore. Good luck, chum. And congrats on your triumph over the Taurus wall. You can only go up from here!
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Jan 20, 2016 02:11
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Yep, this is bringing back memories. I'm fairly certain I bumbled my way through the beginning of Dark Souls pretty much exactly like this. I'm not sure if this bodes well or ill.
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Jan 20, 2016 23:20
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Tuxedo Ted posted:Let's see... since a YT comment already explained the circle, here's another obscure BS mechanic tip: one way to gain humanity that is only explained once by that chainmail guy in the starting area (and even then he doesn't do a great job) is to just kill enemies. It only works with humanoid enemies in areas where the boss isn't dead, but each one gives a hidden amount of "points" upon death, and if you collect enough you get a free humanity added to the counter. Different enemies give different amounts, the tougher give more generally. If you ever find yourself low on humanity, just go kill some undead enemies for their remaining scraps of humanity. They don't need it anymore. I guess there's a lot of hidden rules to DS. I had noticed me suddenly ending up with some Humanities and no idea how they got there. Anywho, thank you for the info. Looks like all Humanities are for is being human and lighting fires. Can't imagine I'd need all of these souls in my pocket, really. Here's the next vid. Part 3: Why I stop.
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Jan 27, 2016 02:02
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One of the reasons I gave up on Dark Souls, besides the apparently lack of reaction time on my part, was that I eventually figured out (read: was told) that I had put a lot of souls into leveling up the wrong stats. And like hell I was going to 1) go find different equipment and learn how to use it, 2) start a new character, or 3) grind up souls to get better stats. I know that's not exactly a "hidden" rule but let's just say seeing only the 6 stats or whatever in Bloodborne was really, really welcoming.
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Jan 27, 2016 09:52
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Kibayasu posted:One of the reasons I gave up on Dark Souls, besides the apparently lack of reaction time on my part, was that I eventually figured out (read: was told) that I had put a lot of souls into leveling up the wrong stats. And like hell I was going to 1) go find different equipment and learn how to use it, 2) start a new character, or 3) grind up souls to get better stats. Ah, Resistance: The Trap Stat. Sorry, that had to happen to anyone, really. Kind of a dick move from a game Dev that's normally pretty fair. I was weary of that trap, too. I did research on what kind of build I wanted Madam Wu Hu and decided that I would aim toward dodging damage. Most builds have a weapon in mind, but Wu Hu will be pretty basic in that department. Long Sword, maybe, Shield and Bow (crossbows suck).
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Jan 28, 2016 02:35
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New update. I dip into a pretty melancholy mood this video, but I think this is important for what the Run means to me. The project has become personal. I guess it always was personal. Part 4: Why We Do Anything.
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Feb 2, 2016 22:00
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You're really making the longsword work for you. I love that R2 attack as well. The entire weapon is just so versatile. Best of luck with the gargoyles. They're the biggest roadblock since the last roadblock, at least until you run into the next major roadblock.
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Feb 3, 2016 16:58
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Tuxedo Ted posted:They're the biggest roadblock since the last roadblock, at least until you run into the next major roadblock. Reminds me of when my friend Chuck played God of War for the first time. He would say "It's the hardest game ever, until you get to the next boss, then it's the hardest game ever again." We'll see if the gargoyles turn me into the next Sisyphus.
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Feb 3, 2016 17:41
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Just curious, OP, did you make any other new years resolutions?
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Feb 3, 2016 17:58
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Tuxedo Ted posted:You're really making the longsword work for you. I love that R2 attack as well. The entire weapon is just so versatile. Best of luck with the gargoyles. They're the biggest roadblock since the last roadblock, at least until you run into the next major roadblock. I somehow made the boar into a roadblock for myself. I don't remember how. I do like your choice in backgroud music, whether for effect or just in general.
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Feb 3, 2016 17:59
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Kibayasu posted:I somehow made the boar into a roadblock for myself. I don't remember how.
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Feb 3, 2016 18:53
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Doopliss posted:Oh, the boar will definitely gently caress your poo poo up if you don't backstab him or lure him into the fire. We'll be seeing what sort of poo poo-up-fuckery the boars are really capable of later in the game, I expect. Yeah, but as soon as I tried "running past it" it sort of got easy in a hurry. I also have absolutely no memory of that big guy with the shield or the guy with the swarm of hobos.
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Feb 4, 2016 06:39
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I like this Dark Souls LP especially because of what it means to you personally and your excellent choices in music. I know you can do it. I've sunk nearly 700 hours into this game and still feel like I'm only ok at it, but it's like a comfort food at this point. Hopefully it can become so for you as well and a comfortable reminder of that time you did something difficult.
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Feb 4, 2016 07:40
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Is the Bell Gargoyle really that big of a roadblock? I mean even back when I believed I'd never finish Dark 1 I was able to beat the Gargoyles, and I don't think I ever figured out how to summon people either. I guess my point is I believe you can do it.
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Feb 4, 2016 18:19
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Grandmother of Five posted:Just curious, OP, did you make any other new years resolutions? This was my one and only Resolution. It's hard enough, isn't it? I guess it's more like, my new year res. is to finish anything. Especially if it's Dark Souls. Steak Eater posted:I guess my point is I believe you can do it. Thank you. My success is long term. I just hope I get to the finish line. Here's the next episode, yo. I recorded and edited this down to the wire and ran out of time at the end. Part 5: With Help from Others
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Feb 10, 2016 00:30
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If you're still looking for advice without giving away too much, go stop by your friendly neighborhood Hollow Merchant, he has some shields that will eclipse yours in defense and stability, one in particular which is splendid and is nearly essential for progression if you plan to use your shield for blocking. Longsword is great and you can realistically get away with using it for the remainder if you should so choose. Look, I'll level with you, Blighttown is a slog, but you must understand that once you get past it nothing else will be as bad. It may be a struggle, but let the knowledge that it's all uphill from there give you the determination you need. Also your voice and music choice are a great complement to your playthrough so, you know, keep that up!
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Feb 10, 2016 06:07
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Thanks for the encouragement. I got a hint that, if I like versatility, to try the Balder's sword from those fencers in the Perish. I'll try it after work today and see if I like it. If so, I'll stick with that and grind up some Titanite. Otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with my Long sword. Slowly I'll get my gear together and try and keep it at 25% my weight limit. A good shield will be necessary. I'll check out the merchant. We'll see about Blight Town...uh...when I find it. I think I need to head back to the Berg.
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Feb 10, 2016 14:42
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Haha, Frog's theme was perfect for that victory. Nice going! And since someone else already mentioned the Balder Side Sword, keep in mind that the sword-and-shield knights drop them, while the fencing knights with bucklers and rapiers drop other items. Also, the drop rate is kinda abysmal so don't go crazy for it. There are ways to boost item drop chance, though. Among other things, liquid humanity can greatly help. Just three or four can multiply it by a bunch. But then you risk losing it all with each death. Choices, choices!
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Feb 10, 2016 16:11
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Grimwit posted:Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah the Long Sword is very good. Often the moveset is just as, if not more important than the stats, and the Long Sword is very versatile. Don't forget that standing Heavy attack too, thrust attacks are highly useful in tight corridors.
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Feb 11, 2016 05:26
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Oooh. This is gonna be good. Still planning on finishing Bloodlust, by any chance? Schlocky Vampires are always fun. Steak Eater, kinda gotta disagree. Lost Izalith/Demon Ruins (the two areas kind of bleed together for me) is kind of my vote for weakest area in the game. Hell, I honestly like Blighttown (FPS issues aside).
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Feb 11, 2016 05:59
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I think it was quite a while before I managed to stumble into Blighttown so there's at least a few places in the Berg you can go to before the underground.
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Feb 11, 2016 06:01
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RoboChrist 9000 posted:Oooh. This is gonna be good. God, I want to, but this LP feels more important. I feel like I need to prove to myself I can finish Dark Souls. Maybe afterwards I'll pick up Bloodlust. I'm more worried about getting my drawing hand working again and finishing Anchorhead, if it hasn't been pushed into the Archives already. RoboChrist 9000 posted:Steak Eater, kinda gotta disagree. Lost Izalith/Demon Ruins (the two areas kind of bleed together for me) is kind of my vote for weakest area in the game. Hell, I honestly like Blighttown (FPS issues aside). Note: My wife kind of bought me a mini-monster of a computer. I'm interested in seeing if there are significant FPS hits in this fabled Blight Town. Also, I tried the Estoc (Balder Knight Sword). Didn't like it. Sticking with the Long sword.
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Feb 11, 2016 22:05
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Mind if I join in with you on this? I bought Dark Souls originally on the PS3 but...I barely left the sodding Firelink Shrine since I got easily distracted by other shinier things and because well...I'm not really that much of a console person anymore (The WiiU is an exception, that controller's fantastic!), but since it's £5 on the Lunar New Year Sale and I've been playing Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin edition and doing rather well I've made a decision to go back and finish what I barely even started after I wrap up Dark Souls 2 to a degree that I'm happy with...That includes all the DLC by the way. Speaking of which, are you going to be doing the DLC content as well?
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Feb 12, 2016 05:06
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I only just started having a look, and I like the idea of this LP. I've decided I want to see you, someone who claims that "This game is too hard for me!", conquer this game. That sentence is uttered by many, but it really isn't as bad as it seems to be. If you're capable of learning from your mistakes, and are capable of learning to fight, you can win at Dark Souls. With some more practice, things will start to click for you. Stay determined, but remember that the worst of what the game has to throw at you is coming.Grimwit posted:Also, I tried the Estoc (Balder Knight Sword). Didn't like it. Sticking with the Long sword. Grimwit's first video posted:If you have any suggestions for me other than "git gud" I'd love to hear them! The merchant in the Undead Burg sells the Heater Shield, which is the lightest-possible shield with 100% physical blocking. He's also one of two (maybe 3, can't remember for sure) source for the Lloyd's Talisman item. Another poster mentioned the "liquid" humanity (that is the humanity you have on you, viewable in the upper-left corner next to your lifebar/stamina, often referred to as "soft" humanity) giving you some small perks. The first one grants the most drastic bonuses, especially to item collection. The difference is massive, coming close to doubling your item drop rate. The bonus to item collection from this caps at +10 with diminishing returns. When you start feeling more comfortable and more confident in your ability, try to keep +1 on you at all times. But with that said, the more you have, the more you risk, and the stronger your defenses are, but there are diminishing returns. Skilled players tend to carry +10 "soft humanity to max-out their bonus to item collection and grant a noticeable bonus to status afflictions, especially curse. Speaking of which... quote:What is Curse? quote:I need to figure out where to go next! *Lower Undead Burg -- You found the Basement Key, which unlocks a door to access this area. Going backwards to it may seem impossible, but the sun shines on an easier, brighter path. Remember to open the shortcut right at the beginning of the area, as it's a long walk back otherwise. Furthermore, a merchant above has a special key. You should try to get this other key prior to tackling this area, as something magical can happen when you do. This path is very linear, with only one branch that winds up at Firelink Shrine, but will otherwise take you through to the 2nd bell of awakening. *Darkroot Garden -- SO MUCH NOPE. This area has no requirements to enter, is not necessarily required yet, and has multiple branches. One branch leads to something you'll need later, but can always come back for. Another takes you to a treasure trove for the armored faithful, a third wraps around to the first branch as well as a connection to the Undead Burg, and the last splits off the third branch to a gateway to another gateway to a more direct entrance for the second bell, cutting out a lot of misadventures and valuable loot. The Catacombs -- A graveyard connects you to this place, where you can obtain some very useful items, but it is dark and very dangerous. This area does not branch off into anywhere else but deeper. You will be constantly hounded by enemies here, and while you can fight and kill a boss here, you will ultimately be unable to make any real progress. The rewards could be very useful, however. Challenge at your own risk. Undead Asylum -- Yes, you can come back here, to where it all began. You'll even travel the same way you left, but you'll need the Raven's Nest to help you. This area is completely optional, has a multitude of powerful goodies, and a very special item that opens up another completely optional area later. Nothing in either area (this one or the one you can gain access to by coming here) is required to complete the game, but you have several chances to strike it rich with several one-off enemies that can drop good loot. If this is too much information for one post, or makes solving things too easy, let me know and I'll tone it down for future posts.
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Feb 12, 2016 06:10
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Quick update: Welp, it inevitably happened. I'm updating late. Due to Valentines and my comic and such, I pushed back my Dark Souls project. I don't feel great about the push back. Still feels like I could have done it and didn't. Beh. Can't let it get me down. I just gotta get back on the horse and continue the plan. Krakatoah posted:Mind if I join in with you on this? I do plan on the DLC and I don't mind others joining in. Not sure how good I'll be at getting through the game. I just now got to the Capra Demon. *shudder* Feels like a road block. Seiren posted:
Wow... Uh... Thanks! That's a lot to take in. I've decided to go straight after the second bell and figured out the basement under the undead berg (on accident while grinding, actually). Yup, completely invested in the Long Sword for now. Steaky hinted at the shield. Totally geeked out when I finally saw it and am wielding it. I'll show that off when I finally get this video edited. I plan to head back to the asylum and stab that other demon in the butt (Dark Souls is a butt stabbing simulator, after all) after I take on Blight Town and give that second bell a ring. *Woof Okay, I'm editing the video well into the night and hope to put the next episode up tomorrow. I can't promise this won't happen again, and I worry. I worry because this is the tail end of that larger demon, "Procrastination." It happened with so many other LP's and I don't want it to happen to this one. Ugh.
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Feb 17, 2016 04:01
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Would you believe I got sick before finishing the edit? Dark Souls seems to leak out of my computer into my life. Part 6: Don't Stop Me Now
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Feb 18, 2016 02:07
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I don't know what I did but I somehow managed to beat the Capra Demon the first try having no idea what I was walking into. It's the one moment in my short time in the Souls series when I didn't feel hopelessly incompetent.
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Feb 18, 2016 05:17
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Kibayasu posted:I don't know what I did but I somehow managed to beat the Capra Demon the first try having no idea what I was walking into. It's the one moment in my short time in the Souls series when I didn't feel hopelessly incompetent.  No Clue how I'm going to deal with that thing. NO CLUE!
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Feb 18, 2016 15:29
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Grimwit posted:Not sure how good I'll be at getting through the game. I just now got to the Capra Demon. *shudder* Oh yeah, definitely a big roadblock. Maybe the biggest one since the last one. Up until the next one. Haha, that said, you werent doing too bad on your tries, keep it up! Tuxedo Ted fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Feb 18, 2016 |
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Feb 18, 2016 16:11
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I want to say you have to take out its dogs before you even consider doing more than evading and then its really a battle of dodging, but it was a really long time ago. And bringing more anti-poison moss of course.Grimwit posted:
If it's any consolation I had about 3 times as many deaths on the Taurus Demon.
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Feb 19, 2016 07:04
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I find the Capra demon has a hard time following up the stairs in the back so if you can run past and get up the dogs follow you and you can separate the two. It's kind of a coin flip whether it works though, since those dogs are murder. The Capra demon himself is actually pretty simple without them. e: oh, and in the next area be really careful about holes in the ground, especially in narrow corridors and sharp turns. Those lead to some seriously nasty traps. ManlyGrunting fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Feb 19, 2016 |
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Feb 19, 2016 07:34
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Did you open that gate that had the rat on the far end? I can't tell through the editing, but you may want to check that out, and then consider your possible paths towards the boss. Also, even if you are looking up weapon stats, it's still a good idea to try out their movesets: Light attack combo, heavy attack, one handed, two handed, roll attack, jump attack, backstep attack, running attack, possible kick replacers, interaction with shields, different behaviors when hitting or missing an enemy, etc. The handling and feel of a weapon can count a lot towards how much it clicks with you - like how losing the kick made the Estoc a no-go for you. Another goon I know was bouncing off the early game until I told him where to get the Zweihander, and the next thing I know he's blasted through the entire game, planning out his gimmick runs, has multiple pvp characters...
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Feb 19, 2016 07:49
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The DS1 longsword is so newbie friendly, I shelved my giant sword and giant shield to beat the final boss with the Warrior Start Gear on principle. It... Took a lot longer than it would have had I stuck with my compensating for something equipment, but hey it worked EVENTUALLY  But you can do it. If somebody as terrible as me can, so can you 
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Feb 19, 2016 11:12
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If it inspires you, you're very close to a) a magic tree that isn't stat dependent and b) higher reinforcement. Just make sure you break the barrel the teacher is in with rolling instead of smacking it with your sword, he doesn't take kindly to it.
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Feb 19, 2016 23:17
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I saw you attempting the "cheese" method for Capra Demon. You have to throw the bombs up and over the wall for that to work, not directly at the fog-door. That fight may not be fair, but if you do it like that, you will learn nothing, and will not improve your play. You will also feel like a dirty cheater. It has been stated that this fight is unfair on many occasions, but it is absolutely necessary for it to be so or it wouldn't have the same impact on players. This fight is trying to teach you something important. You will have to occasionally deal with several enemies at the same time. Determining which enemy(ies) are the most immediately threatening of a given encounter, isolating them, and dealing with them is the ability you need to learn to win this fight. Situations where you deal with multiple "fodder" enemies to distract you while another one closes in for the kill will come up again and again throughout the game. In fact, you've already seen this in action at the Undead Parish, just prior to the Bell Gargoyles bossfight, with the Soul Arrow-shooting Channeler enemy and the horde of hollows.
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Feb 19, 2016 23:40
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In between being sick, writing the comic, and taking care of my wife, I had one hell of week. So I grabbed a bottle of wine from my favorite liquor store and suttled down to tackle that Capra Demon. Be weary of despair. Part 7: Rise From Your Grave and Never Give Up
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Feb 24, 2016 00:41
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