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Jolyne Cujoh posted:I'm gonna respond to this because it's the most common criticism of the theory that I see and I've never really seen how it's valid or how it trivializes Solaire's character in the slightest. The ring says that the firstborn had his "deific status" rescinded, which can be read in a lot of ways, and the way I've always read it is that it took away not only his title or his name, but the powers that would have made him godly in the first place. If all of that got taken away from him, if he was left with nothing godly, hell not even a human (or an undead), but he still worked as hard as he could after that to be great again, to find the sun, his father, and became, through himself alone, the badass lightning thrower that we know, I think that makes for a better story than him just being some dude. That does the theory a little more justice, I think -- also I flat-out didn't consider the possible interpretation of deific status being revoked. But, his ability to throw lightning alone doesn't play into the argument for this, as I see it, as humans are quite clearly capable of performing miracles in the Souls universe, the key factor being, of course, faith, which Solaire possesses in abundance. The thing about how it "trivializes" the character, however, is based instead on the perception of Solaire as this totally normal person who set out to be the ideal warrior in the eyes of Gwyn. One might surmise that Solaire is fully aware of the legend of the Firstborn and thinking to himself that the best way to show his devotion would be to emulate the journey that this fallen son might theoretically go on as both an act of contrition and a means of living up to one's divine purpose. There's a bit of symbolism here that I don't think was accidental: Solaire resembles a popular depiction of King Arthur, with the symbol on his surcoat being the main giveaway. King Arthur's quest was for the Holy Grail, which may be interpreted as an allegory for knowledge, enlightenment, gnostic wisdom, transcendence of the soul, etc. Likewise, Solaire's quest is to find his own Sun, which can be taken to mean the very same thing. Those familiar with this game's story know that Solaire's quest takes a dark turn, and he seems to lose track of the meaning of what he searches for (depending on your interpretation, anyway). This is a development that's consistent with earlier points about what it means to become hollow, as he's also clearly suffering from the undead curse. This is what establishes him as a purely human character of non-divine origins. Of course, if the fall of Gwyn's Firstborn did turn him precisely human, it doesn't entirely invalidate that theory either. Also, in all fairness, the Arthurian imagery could be another point in favor of the Solaire as Firstborn theory, since Arthur was made a ruler by divine right, yet still labored to fulfill his destiny -- much like Solaire does, even if his origins lie in divine providence as well. Can I just say how I love how this video game makes discussions like this happen. MonsterEnvy posted:Was looking at the Old LP. Question anyone know what part Nito is fought in. 
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Jan 7, 2016 01:45
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Andre the Blacksmith is stated by Miyazaki to be the firstborn. He was also going to have a bigger role, but another character took his place.
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Jan 7, 2016 02:46
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I've definitely got something to say about Solaire's dialog, but gonna be a WHILE until it's relevant.
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Jan 7, 2016 08:29
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Tzarnal posted:While the arrow strategy is popular and safe. Its perfectly possible to use a melee weapon and some of the Gold Pine Resin to just hack the tail of when the Drake has landed. To me it feels like that is the intended way to grab it. When the Drake lands it breathes fire and gives you a good opportunity to walk to its back and give the tail 2 or 3 heavy swings, which is enough to cut it off with the Resin up. This was part of the first Dark Souls speedrun I ever watched, and it was impressive as hell - resin up the longsword, bait the dragon into landing, then run straight at it, chop off the tail, and keep running through to the area behind it.
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Jan 9, 2016 03:23
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MonsterEnvy posted:Andre the Blacksmith is stated by Miyazaki to be the firstborn. He was also going to have a bigger role, but another character took his place. Otsuka: Earlier we were talking about Crossbreed Priscilla, but are there any other characters whose role changed dramatically as development progressed? Miyazaki: Oh there are many, for example Andre of Astora. Originally he played a far more important role in the story. Satake: Andre is no longer related to Gwyn is he? Miyazaki: Yes, we took that out. He was originally a descendant of Gwin whose task it was to protect a door within the fire link shrine. In the end he was going to push aside the goddess statue to let you progress, but as development progressed he became just a simple blacksmith. Haha
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Jan 9, 2016 05:04
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Dark Souls Design Works is a really, really, really great art book. Buy it. Seriously. I did twice. Japanese edition, and then the English one when it came out much later. 
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Jan 9, 2016 06:19
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Miyazaki: Talking of glamour, her breasts are nothing to do with me, they happened without my knowledge. It's all the artist's fault. I think I mentioned it earlier but I always seek a certain refinement in all my designs. Waragai: Really? Haha Miyazaki: Yes, But the artist had such a happy look on his face that I didn't have the heart to stop him. Everyone: Haha
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Jan 9, 2016 15:20
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Hello! I come bearing video. I wasn't too sure about this session by the end of it because it went a bit slower than I had wanted, but looking back on it in editing I think this episode actually came out pretty well 07 - PvPig The Undead Parish is really just a continuation of the Undead Burg. Part of me feels like they just made the area change to signify progress to the player, to be like "hey don't give up, you really are going places, we promise"
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Jan 10, 2016 05:41
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That encounter with the invader was really great. He could have just ganked you but he at least gave you the illusion of a chance. You didn't really talk about it much while you were trying to make your way through the boar encounter , but another thing the game was trying to teach you there is how to read an encounter, and that the best way to deal with most or all such encounters in the game is to pick them to pieces. Your last attempt worked because you essentially pulled one enemy at a time- at least, until you got to the second floor, but you can't really be blamed for that poo poo-show. Progressing along fairly well in my game. I'm probably over-leveled for where I am but I don't care much. Level 32 (20s in Vit and End, 16 Strength, 14 Dex, enough Faith for Heal, enough Intelligence for Soul Arrow/Enchant Weapon, and enough Attunement for two Spells/Miracles (going to up that to three soon, I think, I'd like to have Arrow/Enchant/Heal all available at once)). Asylum, Taurus, Gargoyles, and Butterfly are down. The demon by Andre is down. I have a +5 Longsword that I may soon replace with the Uchigatana, though I need to get it to +5 as well to see if I like it more than the Longsword. Uchi feels like it might have more range, but I'm not big on its thrust attack not having a second strike other than another thrust. Farmed enough souls to get the Artorias door open, got wrecked immediately and haven't been back. Capra is my next target, and I hate the poo poo out of him. I'm going to have to fight him legit too, I don't have access to dung piles to poison him with this go around.
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Jan 10, 2016 07:16
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I am super disappointed you did not show off A Thing that happens with Taurus demon.
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Jan 10, 2016 07:48
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The Parish is really one of the neatest areas in the game for environmental storytelling. The existence and placement of specific items, enemies, and NPCs relate a story of what sort of incidents have occurred here, involving the interests of different major characters, one of whom we'll (usually) encounter sooner and another much, much later. And that boar, go figure, is the very first of those clues, not that a first time player would remotely recognize it as anything but a cause for delightful panic. The very first time I stomped in here, I learned the hard way that yes, that guy will follow you all the way down to the portcullis if sufficiently provoked.
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Jan 10, 2016 08:19
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RickVoid posted:That encounter with the invader was really great. He could have just ganked you but he at least gave you the illusion of a chance. Going all the way through to get a SL1 Darkwraith is pretty fun. While the main hurdle boss you have to beat to access it wasn't as bad as everything I had heard, it's still fun. Course, being able to troll the poo poo out of people with a Level 1 character is worth it. Invade the Parish? Run back and shut the portcullis on them before you ice them. That or play friendly and open it up for them. Choices, choices. Of course, one of the main rewards for a SL1 PVP character dissolved when the game migrated from Windows Live. Hate Mail. Haven't gotten any on Steam yet, even after being a dick numerous times by bowing, waiting for them to bow, and BS'ing them during it. haha. Dark Souls PVP is versatile! Be a dick. It's fun. Eventually Vicas, I'll find you. I will invade you. And I'll take your Humanity. Dark Spirit BeholdMySausage is invading!
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Jan 10, 2016 10:14
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And that's why I play this game Hollow. Anyway, managed to kill Capra on my second attempt after making the above post. Didn't even get to Death From Above him, had to face tank him. Get hosed, Goat-face. Stormed the Depths, got a certain item down there, then while looking for a certain somebody dove into a hole and landed right above the Rat boss fight in the sewers. So I cheesed him from the ledge with the Arrow spell. Ran around for a bit down there and the homeward boned out after falling (again!) into a pile of Basilisks. No thank you, game. Had to go back to find the guy. Long story short, I got enough souls to grab the extra two points of attunement needed to get another spell slot, and I now have access to pyromancy. And I can finally go beyond +5 on a weapon. Uchigatana was disappointing, I got it to +5 and gave it a fair shot, but I just like the Longsword better. Now to research the weapon upgrade tree to see where I want to go from here.
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Jan 10, 2016 10:42
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Aside from naturally poisoning or bleeding weapons, the big thing is going to be attack styles, and those you more need to actually feel and use to really know if you'll like them or not. basically: screw stats, bet on style.
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Jan 10, 2016 11:00
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I believe the intended solution to the boar is to use the skulls to lure him near the bridge so you can jump on top of him like you did with the butt demon. You can also just so jump attacks on him and it ignores his weird armor for some reason.
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Jan 10, 2016 13:04
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The point I was making is there are like 10 perfectly reasonable "intended solutions"
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Jan 10, 2016 15:35
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You mentioned the portcullis in the back, but didn't mention how that is also a boar solution. If you do it right, you can run through to pull the lever and drop the portcullis on the boar and kill him. Also I just realized you could, in theory, do the same with the black knight.
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Jan 10, 2016 18:17
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I also like to play human and see the invasions as an extra challenges, provided that they're a fair fight. Fair fights are hard to come by nowadays in Dark Souls 1. In the run that I started parallel to this LP, a guy invaded me in lower Blightown, only to sprint up to me in the middle of the swamp, stagger me by blocking me with an invisible greatshield and instantly kill me with a single cast of combustion. This is despite having plenty of vitality and wearing medium armor (mostly eastern). What a waste of both of our time.
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Jan 10, 2016 19:06
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No one can stop GandalfSSJ4.
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Jan 10, 2016 19:24
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SloppyDoughnuts posted:No one can stop GandalfSSJ4. He's a wizard and a Saiyan. It's hosed up and OP Seriously though I love basically every PvP player name you come across (except the slurs) Anyway, got 4 videos out of this most recent session, though the last one's a bit short. Hope you like talking about smithing!
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Jan 10, 2016 19:28
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This is the worst and smallest of nitpicks, but the Estus Flask description is using "treasure" as a verb, not a noun. 
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Jan 10, 2016 19:35
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Ever since Dark Souls removed GFWL and went Steamworks, your character's name in multiplayer shows up as your steam account, not your entered character name like in Dark Souls 2.
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Jan 10, 2016 19:41
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Lizard Wizard posted:This is the worst and smallest of nitpicks, but the Estus Flask description is using "treasure" as a verb, not a noun. Yes, I realized this long after the fact. Not sure why my brain refused to parse it like that
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Jan 10, 2016 19:43
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PvP in Dark Souls is fun only when you totally abandon all notions of fair fights, realize invaders will always have a way of stomping your poo poo in, so if you have some method of cheesing them or screwing with them, embrace it, or embrace death. Which you should've done anyway, because this is that game. PvP in Dark Souls 2 is actually somewhat balanced, minus the occasional latency quibble. Which is nice, because you can't avoid it just by being hollow. In fact, fights with actual players tend to go better than scripted NPC invasions, some of which were added in the rerelease to be just outright dickish with absurdly massive spells at low levels. Buried alive posted:You mentioned the portcullis in the back, but didn't mention how that is also a boar solution. If you do it right, you can run through to pull the lever and drop the portcullis on the boar and kill him. Also I just realized you could, in theory, do the same with the black knight. poo poo. This is great. Now I need to do this on the next playthrough.
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Jan 10, 2016 21:02
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Mazed posted:PvP in Dark Souls 2 is actually somewhat balanced, minus the occasional latency quibble. Which is nice, because you can't avoid it just by being hollow. In fact, fights with actual players tend to go better than scripted NPC invasions, some of which were added in the rerelease to be just outright dickish with absurdly massive spells at low levels.  Armorer Dennis is always my first death in new runs
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Jan 10, 2016 21:33
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ZZZorcerer posted:
Dennis is a jerk. I've been playing blind and oh boy did it take me some time to get my revenge on him. I think he killed me like, 20 times. And then he capped it off by dropping absolutely nothing of value.
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Jan 10, 2016 21:52
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Obligatum VII posted:And then he capped it off by dropping absolutely nothing of value. The thing he CAN drop is a ring that shortens cast time by more than half, though, so I think it balances out. Scaly Haylie fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Jan 10, 2016 |
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Jan 10, 2016 22:55
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i've always just treated invasions as elaborate games of hide and seek but i am very bad at dark souls
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Jan 11, 2016 11:50
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Looper posted:i've always just treated invasions as elaborate games of hide and seek but i am very bad at dark souls Using the sorcery that polymorphs you into a terrain prop never, ever got old for me. Doors of Pharros for Rat Cops and Belfrey Luna for Bell Cops both had delightful locations where you could hide in plain sight. Incidentally, I really enjoyed the Prop Hunt mod for TF2. VV Edit:
Ulvirich fucked around with this message at 12:51 on Jan 11, 2016 |
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Jan 11, 2016 12:15
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There's always the pretend to be an enemy option.
Paul.Power fucked around with this message at 12:29 on Jan 11, 2016 |
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Jan 11, 2016 12:25
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Paul.Power posted:There's always the pretend to be an enemy option. As an observer, I have never gotten tired of the gimmick possibilities in DS. I've never actually played DS 1 or 2 though, so I don't have to deal with the frustrations either.
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Jan 11, 2016 17:35
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Paul.Power posted:There's always the pretend to be an enemy option. Despite (or maybe because of) being such dour and depressing games, Souls games are a superb platform for player-generated comedy.
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Jan 11, 2016 17:50
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I'll give Dark Souls 2 credit, even though I'm more of a single player guy they sure gave you a LOT of multiplayer options for both co-op and loving around with other players. One covenant is entirely about laying traps for your victims and drawing them into your labyrinth. And they gave you an item that makes you look like a friendly white soul. One guy combined the two and had this amazing trolling session.
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Jan 12, 2016 04:14
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Hello, have a video! 08 - Meet the Smith
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Jan 12, 2016 20:44
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Are you using DSFix, by any chance?
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Jan 12, 2016 21:04
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The deal with the knight shield is that it's not bad per se, but that it's really heavy for what you get out of it, so you've got a lot of shield options that are just straight up better, like you saw. It's one of the things you'll look for if you do a lot of lower level invasions, actually, knight shield/drake sword (and maybe a fang boar helm) combo often means that the person you've invaded has no idea what they're doing.
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Jan 13, 2016 03:57
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TimNeilson posted:(and maybe a fang boar helm) Excuse you, it's called Fashion Souls buddy. Boar helm best helm.
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Jan 13, 2016 04:00
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CuwiKhons posted:Excuse you, it's called Fashion Souls buddy. Boar helm best helm. That's why I said the fang boar helm is a maybe  That said, if they've got all 3 they either have no idea what they're doing or they just want you to think that, and then they parry you and pull out a +15 bandit's knife for the riposte.
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Jan 13, 2016 04:07
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Hmm. Hm~mm! Hmm. Oh-HOH! e. by the way, "caestus" is pronounced "KEST-us". Hard C, rhymes with Estus! Mazed fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Jan 13, 2016 |
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Jan 13, 2016 05:05
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Just as an FYI, since you mentioned the weapon but hadn't used it, I once tried to do a punch run of the game, using the Caestus. The base damage is bad, the scaling is bad, I don't recall it doing much to stagger, and you have to be up in the enemies grill to use it. Just really bad all around.
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Jan 13, 2016 05:29
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