I'm going to keep this one nice and short. No really, I meant it, so that's it for the introduction. So let's recap the lessons we've learned so far from Dark Souls.
Lesson #1: Expect the unexpected.
Lesson #2: Maintain your composure and always be aware of your surroundings.
Lesson #3: Analyze your enemy.
Lesson #4: Sometimes the best defense is a good (and smart) offense.
Lesson #5: Do not handicap your tactics based on your assumptions that something will or will not work.
Lesson #6: Fight on your terms.
Lesson #7: Explore new areas if you feel that you are stuck.
Lesson #8: Use the environment to your advantage.
Lesson #9: Never underestimate enemies; every enemy deserves full attention and stratagem.
Lesson #10: Don’t keep doing the same thing expecting different results… Yeah yeah, I should have been smarter than that.
There wasn't much death in this one but we did have three major encounters, with the first being another player! That's right, for the first time, I was invaded and fought another player... TO THE DEATH! He wielded a giant club and shield, and he often went with a two-handed approach, so he was very slow. It seemed at times that his attacks were getting through my shield which made this a frustrating fight. It seemed manageable and I knew I could win the fight. My Balder Side Sword wasn't as reinforced as I would have liked but backstabs still did some damage. I landed quite a few backstabs but so did the other player. We were both healing back and forth with humanities for quite some time and in the end, he managed to get one last hit that did me in. I'm a player that gets really frustrated when I lose in PvP, and I was really frustrated, but after I recovered my souls and humanity, I realized that I had fun fighting that Phantom. I always thought being invaded would mean getting pummeled by another player that is more experienced than me, considering this game has been out for so long, but it did not go that bad at all. It was a ton of fun and my progress didn't really get screwed over. Now I could see a lot of instances where you would get screwed over by another player invading so I can see this PvP being a pain, but for now, I'm kind of into it. I am curious as to why my banishing item did not work though; oh well.
Next up was a Giant Undead Rat who somehow managed to dodge our lunging attack the first go round. He was pretty dang fast and made drinking estus flasks a tough order. This was one of my three deaths of the sessions but I returned with a better understanding of his mechanics, and ready to take him down. The second go round was still quite tough but we defeated him after a close call with our health, and a counter-attack off of a block. I was wandering around for quite a while looking for the next area and thought that the only way to progress was through a trap I had found earlier. I had figured I could slide down the sewers in the Giant Undead Rat area but I was also worried that it was also a trap. After wasting too much time I had finally decided to give it a go. I'm not quite sure why I was so worried because I would still be able to recover my souls and humanities if I had died. A whole lot of time wasted there but a small lesson learned.
Lesson #11: Don't waste too much time worrying being Dark Souls-ed, you can always recover.
After some scrounging around, we unknowingly started making our way towards the area boss. At a small area, while fighting slime, a second slime sneakingly made its way to my back and nearly grabbed me, which might have actually drained all of my health! It was here that I learned the next lesson which piggybacks off of Lesson #9.
Lesson #12: Always watch your back. Always!
I went on through a fog gate and encountered the area boss: Gaping Dragon. Even though it is kind of weird-looking, I adored the design of this enemy. Its attack strategy is something I would expect an real life species to have developed over time. What it does is curl it's long anterior portion of its body to give it the appears of having short reach. When you close the distance, it springs that part of its body down onto you, and attacks you with its enormous teeth. There is something about deceptiveness in hunting in the animal kingdom that I absolutely love; it shows the cunning side of nature. This was a well designed boss and I liked it. It was a pretty easy victory though as all we had to do was bait out the uncoiling attack, wait for it to charge, and swing at his back/tail. His tail came off, we got a weapon, and we finished him off. Off to Blighttown.
And what a maze blighttown proved to be. Ladders, traps, moving bridges, and items requiring daring feats. After a few tries, we acquired the Laito and ended our run there.
So that about wraps up day 4. Not too many deaths, not too much frustration but a lot of fun. We got new toys and found a fun new area so as always, I can't wait to get back into it. My next stream is going to be going up in about 15 minutes actually, so come join us as we venture further into Blighttown! No deaths compilation for day 4 because there wasn't much dying! Sorry, I know you're disappointed but have a highlight video! Thanks for reading!
The archives of the full run are only temporary on twitch so they are indefinitely archived on YouTube as well. Included in my channel are most attempts at the boss fights (thus far) and larger enemies, and highlights. I’ll most likely be including death compilations only in these blogs and will make a full death compilation available on my page once I finish the game. Below are the links to my pages if you want to subscribe and follow along.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtJjnxQwdCO6L2FbmytTGqA
Twitch Channel: http://www.twitch.tv/flashflood_29/
Thank you for reading and watching!
*Blog 1 (Day 1 and Streaming) - http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/flashflood_29/blog/dark-souls-day-1-and-streaming-highlights-included/112403/
*Blog 2 (Days 2 and 3) - http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/flashflood_29/blog/dark-souls-day-2-and-3-first-full-run-w-highlights/112488/
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