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Interesting read, thanks for that.
Sensei Beta - telling it how it is.

DS1 I think must be the worst game to be an NPC in that I've ever seen.
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Personally, playing DS1 over the last couple of months coincided with me reading the Babylonian creation myth as a psychological metaphor (lots of Abyss references there), and then there was that 'Cthulhu translates as Lord of the Abyss' thing as well. All in all it's given me a pretty weird gestalt head-canon view of DS Lore. Nothing necessarily to do with the actual game as intended by the designers though I'd imagine, but still...

Well, now I'm starting a new run again, and I'll be recording it here. With specs and death count and everything.

edit: the game crashed after I made my character. Guess it killed me off for good.



edit edit: Well okay, left the Asylum, without dying. Wow. Amazing. I think I'm going to not level up yet and start thinking about what kind of equipment I'll be using. Feel free to toss ideas for fun but not standard stuff at me.

I've definitely been away for a long time, I've already died 3 times. Once because I was messing around, once to the Black Knight because parrying is no long in muscle-memory territory, and once because I've forgotten the Taurus Demon's attacks. smh tbh there was a time I could reliably get to Sen's without dying.

Use your fists. You may require the following: A pillow that can handle many rages, booze, a wall for punching, a ton of patience and Batman.

Try a Halberd/spear approach for most of the game and only levelling those stats that are related to the weapon. Use heavy or medium armour.

Or a two handed only run. Any weapon counts but must be two handed and play very aggressively.


Regarding the NPCs of DS1... ok, Dark Souls 1, I believe it's us that robs many of them of their sole remaining purpose.


Ok, it's been a while thus most NPCs, i forget.



Anor Londo is a bad place to be an NPC in.

It is a good place to be a badass in. Unless you encounter super Ornstein, then it's a good place to weep and die.

I used to be gud.

Welcome back to Dark Souls!

Could be worse, you could have died to a basic hollow at a high level.

Anyways, out of some of the NPCs that you meet, DS1 probably has some of the more tragic and depressing ones.. Tho frankly speaking, DS2 seriously steps up with the npc summons and invaders. None of them quite reach the treachery of Lautrec or Chester, nor the touching sentiment of Kirk

Meh, at least DS2 gets Aldia. Probably the most badass fellow out there

I always help Queelag's sister even though I will always fight the Firesage, just because I want the souls that the boss gives. Always helps to level up.

I think, Leeroy should have not been a summon for the Pinwheel fight but the true Pinwheel. Pinwheel, himself is easy unless you hunt him down first. Leeroy as a boss would make for an interesting fight. Ignoring the Invader form.

Or a roided up version of Black Iron TARKUS as an invader in Anor londo as Anor's NPC invader.

There isn't even a prophecy. The prophecy is a sham to get more undead to offer themselves up as coals for the flame.

Not just strong enough, the CU was more skilled then the best Anor Londo had to offer and flat out refused to stay dead.

Gwyn used it as a last resort to prolong his rule and presumably, try to prevent the abyss from spreading if he was aware of it. At least, spreading to Anor Londo. The Gwyn we fight is a hollowed out husk of a man but I do believe that if he was at his full power, we would not even be able to last 5 seconds against him.

The Chosen Undead may be a sham, may not. It is the only purpose for the hollows and it is rare for one to be found. Anyone could have been the Chosen Undead if they got past the demon that guards the exit.

Also, I may have stated it before but Dark Souls is a prime example of how to do tutorials well. Though, it does pretty much punch you in the eye and chucks you into it.

You will be relying on soul arrows a lot as a sorcerer but i think, it is one of the few classes that can one hit kill hollows. I would recommend ditching the dagger asap or get really good at parrying.

Dark Souls lore is very open to interpretation and tis one of the few franchises that allows that.

I flat out refuse to risk jumps in Blighttown. Either the lag will decide that now is the time to make it's appearance or I land and am attacked by an enemy which sends me to my death. But I will admit, it is fun kicking people off it.

I'm hoping all this will transfer well to a pen 'n' paper RPG. Been working on a campaign inspired by DS1&2 for if/when my D&D group gets back together.

I mean it's got a classic mystery/thriller start with the PCs just waking up in a cell in an old demon-haunted ruin with no memory of who they are or what they are supposed to be doing. Who are we? What are we doing here? And ...erm... why are we zombies?!?

Also I was looking for a lore-friendly reason to get the PCs to take on the "good guys" at the end. This thing about the bonfires being a sham, whether it's canon or fanon, fits the bill perfectly.

Should be cool.

(PC = Player Character, btw )

Got a nice titanite drop in the Burg, that upgrade's going to make things marginally quicker. Still haven't leveled up.

edit: yeah, didn't die at all this session. Killed the Taurus Demon, got some upgrades, killed the Black Knight with the Greatsword (got the sword too), got the Drake Sword for giggles and now I'm en route to the parish, from whence my path will branch off. I'm not in a hurry to ring any bells.

I find the drake sword to be meh, nowadays. Originally, it was my go to sword for everything up to Blighttown. Nowadays? I rather just use either the Battleaxe or the broadsword for that section. Usually end up with a refined version before I end up in lagtown. Though, the Claymore is worth dodging the dragon fire for. Tis pretty much a longsword in terms of moves.

Death count: 3. I've upgraded the Scimitar to +5, and I'm fast-rolling with it and the Balder Shield. I gave up trying to farm for a BALLER SWAG SWORD, freed Lautrec, and am currently heading into Darkroot Garden in order to get some things done without killing Capra. I want to go into the Catacombs while I can still meet Patches.

Drake Sword, considering at what stage of the game you find it >_> is seriously OP. Not BC it's scaling or moveset.. BC both of those are [&@%!]. Not, it's how high it's base damage is. You could feasibly go thru most of early/mid game and Anor Londo and find it more than enough

It really deserves to be a mid to end game loot, but seeing as you can find it so early.. It's basically a cheap handicap. Thankfully, it has little to no staying power, and quickly gets outclassed by the later game weapons

Edit: Also, to any of those whom have played DS2, and especially so with the DLC. All in all, this is a pretty well rounded summery of the events Likewise, here's DS1 summery, something I do believe I have shared at one point or another