Whoo! It's been a while. I've been busy with stuff and DOTA2 keeps sucking me in further and further with this Battle Pass they have going on. But I managed to get some good ass Dark Souls in and I've been putting off getting this blog and these videos together. It was definitely a frustrating and exciting couple sessions. The first was a short one followed by a longgggg session a few days afterwards. I feel like the blog is gonna get shorter and shorter because there's less to talk about besides recapping what happened. I've changed the format of the highlight video here a bit. It's only got a few highlights followed by the deaths and highlights of the major boss and enemy fights. Before that though, here's the list of all the lessons we've learned so far:
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.
Lesson #11: Don't waste too much time worrying being Dark Souls-ed, you can always recover.
Lesson #12: Always watch your back. Always!
Lesson #13: If you're not getting many story beats, you're probably not trying hard enough.
Lesson #14:Never forget that vertical attacks are king and should be used as often as possible.
Lesson #15:Don't play the game, or any game, angry. It will only make you worse at it and make it a worse experience.
The first major challenge of the day were a pair of Black Knight Archers. Their big ass arrows were just too much for my shield to handle and they ganged up on me. To make matters worse, these guys had to be fought on ledges. I first thought this might be an advantage for me but it was more of a detriment. At one point, my defending of an archers sword managed to sweep me off of the ledge and die (as if I wasn't frustrated enough). It became a little less frustrating, though, when I realized I could just run past all of the other enemies to get to the Archers. I eventually, during one of the fights, forced myself between an archer and the building, pushing him off of the ledge. I was so glad that I had defeated them and wouldn't have to worry about them again. Wait... what's that... they're Silver Knights and they respawn? Awwrggghhhhh;lakjfsd;lakjfdl;kaj
Well I'm never going back there again... Nah, there's an item there that I might go for eventually. But moving on. I was summoned into a world and found out that this was the area where I would be fighting Ornstein and Smough. But before that, I had to help the onion knight, once again. Oh, and I got ganked by another player while I was engaged with another enemy, but we don't need to go into that.... So the first encounter with Ornstein and Smough was one of amazement and terror. I knew this was going to be ridiculously hard. This was the one encounter I had been dreading since started the game, since the first time I played it years ago, even. I've heard about fighting these two bosses at once and how difficult they are, and me being me, I had already decided I was going to beat this game solo. The second encounter with them brought on sheer confusion. How was I going to do this and would I cave. I conceded that I wouldn't beat them tonight but that I would finish the session off by trying to understand them, and formulating a strategy. In the third round I managed to kill Dragon Slayer Orstein first by dodging Smough furiously, and using the pillars as best as possible to my advantage. Smough was considerably easier by himself and I got his health down low enough that I actually believed I had a chance. This could very well be our only chance in a long time considering how hard this fight is! ...and I blew it. ...And then beat them on my fourth try instead! I was so elated that I not only beat Orstein and Smough in four tries but that I wasn't even expecting to. I managed to figure out a precise method to safely chip away at Smough and I knew I had him. Still though, the excitement from ending this fight was amazing.
I continued forward and my viewers insisted I keep playing and try to fight Lautrec. I decided to just do some analyzing and then realized that I only needed to repost him twice to win. Well I couldn't just stop now. Not losing any souls or humanity during this fight meant I could brute force it and so I did. After frustrating deaths, I managed to once again use the pillars to block out one of his lackeys and I took him down. But after I did so, his friends continued to attack and kill me. I couldn't believe it. Luckily, that death did not count and the game continued forward with Lautrec defeated. Great! Let's call it there... nope, the viewers insisted I go to Firelink Shire and so I did.
I talked to the serpent guy again and he told me I had a ton more bosses to defeat. Four Kings plus three other bosses. Oh boy. We've still got a long road ahead of us. Before I really called it a session I decided to go back to the Asylum and loot one of the treasures I had seen there. While traveling around I someone managed to avoid the trap that led to the Stray Demon fight multiple times. It was quite unreal. But anyways, I defeated that Demon went on back to Firelink Shrine and called it a damn good session, there. Lesson of the day?
Lesson #16: Pillars are your best friend.
So thank you for reading, watching and everything. As always, here is a death compilation. Enjoy
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/
*Blog 3 (Day 4) - http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/flashflood_29/blog/dark-souls-day-4-first-full-run-pvp-and-boss-desig/112549/
*Blog 4 (Day 5) - http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/flashflood_29/blog/dark-souls-day-5-first-full-run-w-highlights-story/112603/
*Blog 5 (Day 6) - http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/flashflood_29/blog/dark-souls-day-6-first-full-run-w-highlights-death/112674/
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