it's such a meaty animation
#Soulslikes
heavy agate
it also occurs to me that I only ever found one bell to go into memories
I though that would play a bigger role
I expected to have done at least 3 by now
tender orchid
It happens as part of the boss rush you unlock
Oh by the by did you use the mortal blade to double tap the great ape after the rematch right before the giant mist zone?
ashen pumice
it also occurs to me that I only ever found one bell to go into memories
there's one other
heavy agate
...rematch?
tender orchid
You'll see
untold tendon
tough lynxBOT
potent pewter
this is a woman who has hyperfixated on and donned the mantle of a rather niche dark souls 2 character for something like ten years without any change or hesitation
dare you expect her not to deliver?
void panther
Who wore it better?
Honestly it's probably because of Zullie that I barely remember that the witch's name in DS1 is Beatrice.
sweet quiver
Who wore it better?
she
tough lynxBOT
damn karla is literally just her huh
tough lynxBOT
Fun fact: witch hats make archery difficult
sour grail
it would seem so..
tough lynxBOT
...huh. First tried Artorius. Neat.
I think this is the first time I ever bothered to actually do the dlc too
...so I'm noticing Ciaran drops an item called the porcelain mask
Yeah this armor was definitely worth killing her
tough lynxBOT
...and first tried Kalameet
sweet quiver
now equip the calamity ring
tough lynxBOT
Didn't bother doing the tail cut which probably made it easier, but wow
Did not expect that
sweet quiver
strongest fromsouls ring
ashen pumice
Didn't bother doing the tail cut which probably made it easier, but wow
Kalameet tailcut is a huge pain in the ass
because he has only like one move that really exposes it
tough lynxBOT
That seems annoying as hell
I guess now we just grab the pendant and try to take on manus?
ashen pumice
good luck
sweet quiver
yeah
tough lynxBOT
Did not first try manus
Did second try him though
(Used 4 humanities for their full heals though)
sour grail
shell yeah
tough lynxBOT
Now I just need to kill Gwyn an- wait I forgot to kill Priscilla and Gwyndolin
tough lynxBOT
yes and
tulip cove
Go kill Gwyndolin
The alternative for him is worse
void panther
because he has only like one move that really exposes it
Y'know, it'd be fun to rank the various Soulsborne dragons sometime (and adjacent creatures), because it's quite common for the issue to be that you're just cutting at their Achilles until they fall over.
void panther
Go kill Gwyndolin
The alternative for him is worse
Yeah, he might be doomed to be eternally referenced in future Soulsborne games otherwise.
Not sure why that'd be a bad thing come to think of it.
potent pewter
Y'know, it'd be fun to rank the various Soulsborne dragons sometime (and adjacen...
bayle goes crazy hard both for presentation and for fight quality, helped in extreme part by placidusax being a homie and grounding his ass
placidusax himself is less good because you're mostly hitting his junk and/or tail for 90% of the fight
but he's also consistently grounded
void panther
bayle goes crazy hard both for presentation and for fight quality, helped in ext...
He's probably the top one, which considering that a significant portion of the DLC exists only to build tension before his fight, it makes sense.
potent pewter
which makes it a more engaging back-and-forth than with the agheel-type dragons
void panther
The dragon right before him wasn't as good though.
potent pewter
yeah
the ancient dragons are...fine, by and large
but they have model and hitbox visibility issues
tulip cove
Not sure why that'd be a bad thing come to think of it.
He hasnt so far no
void panther
He hasnt so far no
Well technically
potent pewter
and the one before bayle with the massive pool is rough
sweet quiver
bayle goes crazy hard both for presentation and for fight quality, helped in ext...
Bayle gotta be the best Dragon fight
void panther
Aside from aldrich
Dark Souls 3 narratively still feels so odd to me even if I get the aim, though I wonder if it's because it's rather uniquely situated in Soulsborne when it comes to referencing past titles.
tulip cove
My first game being 2 may have colored my opinions on 3
void panther
Odd game in funky ways. Not bad, just odd.
tulip cove
All the fanservice parts do the opposite of hitting it for me
void panther
and the one before bayle with the massive pool is *rough*
For whatever reason it felt like a Pokémon fight
sweet quiver
i started with 3 so i have a funny view of it
potent pewter
i will withhold my complaints with ds3 atm, but i have many of them
and i've whined about it enough already
void panther
i will withhold my complaints with ds3 atm, but i have many of them
Mm, think we all have strong opinions on the game.
sweet quiver
i still think ds3 is the best dark souls game
tulip cove
They didnt have to do gwyndolin dirty like that 😭
There is no satisfaction in killing the perp of his death bc he came before aldritch
sweet quiver
i do have a new appreciation for Ds2 truthers though
void panther
It's easy to fall into whatever the angle, even if I continue to find why DS3 feels so odd to me fascinating.
tough lynxBOT
Hell yeah
void panther
They didnt have to do gwyndolin dirty like that 😭
Hey now, at least it wasn't Mr. ladder man
tulip cove
The Big Fatherrrr
potent pewter
tulip cove
Ladder Man death cameo is kinda funny
void panther
Ladder Man death cameo is kinda funny
It just makes no sense.
tulip cove
Of all the dudes in ds2 to appear
void panther
It's not even a pivotal ladder
void panther
He's just kinda there
potent pewter
...wild, i still don't remember that at all
void panther
It's genuinely so weird
potent pewter
i admit, i do like laddersmith gilligan
void panther
The pyromancer lady at least made enough sense
sweet quiver
i think Emerald Herald might be my favourite level up lady between all the fromsouls
tulip cove
I like that she warms up to you tbh
potent pewter
mostly because he's in some fuckass corner in earthen peak
tulip cove
But starts cold
potent pewter
that many people will never notice
void panther
i think Emerald Herald might be my favourite level up lady between all the froms...
She's a good one.
potent pewter
and then he comes down and helps you with shit most players will have unfucked themselves anyway
...but also sells really nice stuff
void panther
I do also weirdly like the DS1 firekeepers
tulip cove
I feel like shannalotte is a bit more realized than ds3 firekeeper despite her lore being cut a lot in the final game
Realized as in, has motives
potent pewter
i'll have to boot up ds3 i guess, and hustle my ass over to yhorm
void panther
Largely because DS1 is unique in that it doesn't have a singular one, for much the same reason that it doesn't have the same model of a singular dedicated hub that the rest do.
potent pewter
see where he is
sweet quiver
ngl the gold bastard killed the firekeeper in ds1 and i accidentally used her soul 😭
void panther
see where he is
Good luck in finding him.
tulip cove
Well not motives
Shes doing her assigned role
But she is sick of it
void panther
Genuinely, he's really easy to miss.
potent pewter
unless you want to give the fire keeper her tongue back
tulip cove
Until you start being someone who isnt taking permanent ls
Alway front kick lautrec for the fa
tough lynxBOT
Four ripostes with the dark silver tracer is all it takes apparently
tulip cove
Favor and Protection Ring
sweet quiver
Maiden in Black and Emerald Herald gotta be peak i think
tough lynxBOT
But then you don’t get the dingy set!
Thyme, Dawnline Shoreman [🔔] ↩️
void panther
I do think it's funny in a way how they fumbled the firekeeper of Elden Ring though (yes I'm being funny), by having interactions with her require you progress things in a specific way
sweet quiver
ds1 firekeeper did nothing and died in my playthrough so i have no feelings on her
ds3 Firekeeper is, more of a character but also more beholden to her role
void panther
Soulsborne in general has had some issues with NPC interactions requiring you approach the game in a specific order, but Ms. Elden Ring is the one who stood out to me the most.
potent pewter
the firelink keeper and the white lady are neat
tough lynxBOT
She barely has a character tbh
Freyja E. Lindberg | R&D ↩️
sweet quiver
she doesn't have as much whimsy as Emerald Herald or Maiden in Black
potent pewter
melina's lines in the frenzied flame proscription sold me on her extremely hard
tough lynxBOT
I really wish we saw Melina more throughout the game, her death doesn't feel impactful enough
Orange ↩️
sweet quiver
Soulsborne in general has had some issues with NPC interactions requiring you ap...
ngl i got most of her dialogue on my first playthrough
void panther
She barely has a character tbh
Yeah, that I like her is more out of sympathy and her revealing a lot about the world through her mere presence.
sweet quiver
so i did actially get a good feel for Melina and she's honestly pretty cool
void panther
ngl i got most of her dialogue on my first playthrough
That makes one of us. Honestly I don't know what dialogue I got with her throughout mine.
sweet quiver
Emerald Herald still clears
tough lynxBOT
Anyway, I have a newfound appreciation for ds1 now
So that's nice
potent pewter
i got i think every single non-FF line from melina on my first run
and got those on my second
void panther
She's a neat character, she just easily isn't a character and even then could've used more time. I do think they managed to improve upon this facet in the DLC though.
potent pewter
because you fucking know i was resting everywhere to see if she would yap in my ear
tough lynxBOT
Still not my favorite souls game but I can see myself replaying it soon
sweet quiver
because you fucking know i was resting everywhere to see if she would yap in my ...
real
tough lynxBOT
I think fromsoft could have had her show up at every grace and it would have massively improved it tbh
Like, not even for dialogue or anything, just have her being the one who levels you up until she dies
Rose (It/Its/She/Her) | The Labrynth Doll ↩️
void panther
Agree there
If you want it to feel like a journey, she does need to be present for it even when she doesn't have much to say.
void panther
Make people used to her beyond "ooo new dialogue!"
I suppose the point of comparison there would be the blacksmith
potent pewter
hewg's also a good character
void panther
He's the easiest one I can think of.
void panther
hewg's also a good character
Yup, and someone we return to quite often.
sweet quiver
one reason i think Emerald Herald and Maiden in Black are so good is cause they both kind of roam around the hub and do things like goofing off
they are present constantly and you see and interact with them often, and they feel like they exist outside the service they provide for you as well
void panther
Hm, does this happen to anyone else where because you know by design alone that a character is meant to be important you end up not caring that much about them?
Because I know on a technical level the maiden in black in Demon Souls is very good, but I think my contrarian bone just never quite clicked with her. That's not her fault though and more that it felt like she was pushed by developers for me to care about and bond to. Still solid.
potent otter
Loot, Key to Everything!
I suppose it depends on how and why they seem pushed, but I do get where you're coming from
sweet quiver
props to Maiden in Black for actually having a thing to do and doing it
tough lynxBOT
By soon I mean now
Gonna try to do a strength build with heavy armor for once in my l- what do you mean heavy load reduces stamina regen by 20%
Rose (It/Its/She/Her) | The Labrynth Doll ↩️
sour grail
ough.. at only 50% equip load?
final smelt
its not that big of a deal in ds1 since heavy armor is godlike
final smelt
armor is so good in ds1 light armor is on probally better than the best armor in ds3
final smelt
have you looked at the dingy set's stats
potent pewter
you may be interested in seeing one of the many clips of havelmonsters facetanking the 4kids
also kalameet, and other such bullshit
tough lynxBOT
DWGR?
topple ↩️
literally how I fight the four kings every single playthrough
topple ↩️
potent pewter
DWGR?
dark wood grain ring
the ninja-flip ring
that turns a light roll into an even lighter backflip roll
noble goblet
I think fromsoft could have had her show up at every grace and it would have mas...
yeah, just being present quietly would have added a lot
didn't have to be anything major, either
animation of playing with Torrent, animation of sitting, animation of pacing or looking skyward, whatever
noble goblet
Because I know on a technical level the maiden in black in Demon Souls is very g...
sort of how I feel about Firekeeper (Ds3)
Shes nice, I like her quest and voice acting, but I liked that you had to care about the Ds1 firekeepers
made it feel more personal
"What about Emerald Herald" you have to go out of your way to care about Ds2, so it counts 
I feel like for ER, Roderika takes some of the Firekeeper role
sits in the main hub area and comments on quest progression. Soft-Spoken, tied to important upgrade feature.
wraith sierra
I decided to play some of this game:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3517910/Phyllosoma/
It was talked about in General VGD a while ago so I thought I'd give it a spin.
I dislike how the post parry counter sometimes launches you forward and you entirely miss your opponent.
tough lynxBOT
What're y'alls favorite (non fromsoft or lies of p) soulslikes? Want to grab one but I'm not sure what rven to get
sour grail
I don't think I've played any that fit those criteria 😭
i will therefore be keeping an eye on the replies too 😆
final smelt
lies of p is just kinda the best tbh
nioh is probally 2nd best
nioh is also probally on average the hardest and most punishing
tough lynxBOT
📝
final smelt
nioh 2 does have char craete
but but but
the game absoutelyt expects you to have played nioh 1 in termsof diffculty
to some degree
ashen pumice
What're y'alls favorite (non fromsoft or lies of p) soulslikes? Want to grab one...
Nine Sols
final smelt
because it starts out way harder than nioh 1
the first real levle of nioh 1 has mainly humans
and like 3 yokai
and a yokai boss
nioh 2 reguarlly has yokai the first level
as well as stronger humans than hwer ein the fisrt level of nioh
sour grail
are they a lot tougher than humans
tough lynxBOT
👀
FoxKnight ↩️
final smelt
humans usally rely on being a bit tanky sometimes,ambushing or ranged support.
unless they are a duel boss
then they kinda just run on the fact you are running on very simlar rules
sour grail
gotchaa
final smelt
sometimes you duel another human and their moveset is somewhat simlar to what you can do
plus a few other things
tough lynxBOT
(Dang it, why is nioh 2 not on sale anywhere and why does it not have a demo)
final smelt
in some cases you ca neven unlock the moves they do
sweet quiver
ok i can see now why people i talked to did not like the remake ost
listening to some more examples to get a better feel for it
wraith sierra
I really do see more and more just how much the Bluepoint remake is a case of 'It's a good game, but it does not compare to the original'.
sweet quiver
yeah
someone described it as "a good game but a bad Demons Souls"
and i see the vision behind that comment
oh wow they massacred Phalanx
ok yeah so it's not just the visuals that go for that whole epic movie style
the music is doing it too
interesting
it's a complete stylistic mismatch
forest shard
What would y'all consider the true ending of Sekiro: Wolf sacrificing himself, or everyone going on an immortal adventure
I know that typically the ending that takes the most steps to get and has the best outcome for the characters is the "true" one
but in Sekiro's case it's such a baffling departure from the themes of the entire game
ashen pumice
I do consider Dragon's Homecoming the true ending
untold tendon
but in Sekiro's case it's such a baffling departure from the themes of the entir...
don't agree actually, I think the adventure is the true ending
I think of sekiro as the anti-souls game. souls games are about cycles. sekiro is about breaking cycles
immortality is, itself, a kind of cylical stagnation that needs to be broken. that's the core plot of the story
that the age of fire is ending and we need to let everything burn because the cost of protecting the status quo is so much worse
the standard ending has sekiro become the new buddha carving monk
it's a kind of cycle unto itself
but in the true ending he breaks that too
velvet gorge
speaking of dark souls, how do we feel about 3?
-# "speaking of" what a dumb thing to say in the soulslike thread
tulip cove
Ik its thematic and all but the color palette left a lot to be desired
and the ds1 cameos and easter eggs did Not hit for me
Also audiowise unpleasant in a of areas (farron keep, the evil jail)
Like painful on the ears to the point of skin crawl unpleasant
Otherwise its fine i guess
I will say though that it did have bosses i felt emotionally invested in killing
Alrich you bastard
velvet gorge
it is without a doubt the driest and dustiest souls game
void panther
What would y'all consider the true ending of Sekiro: Wolf sacrificing himself, o...
Well, if there isn't s sequel then all of them, and if there's a sequel then probably the secret one that sets up said sequel.
void panther
Ik its thematic and all but the color palette left a lot to be desired
and the d...
It's polished around a less interesting core to me.
Which makes it odd to talk about.
It's a good game overall even if how it comes together just isn't for me.
noble goblet
I do consider Dragon's Homecoming the true ending
Ending about returning the mutilated-by-mankind vital essence of a sword-wielding god-dragon (also a tree) to where it came from (death metaphor) with your traveling companion so nice, they did it twice
Immediately afterward, in the next souls game
kinda funny
Part of it is me going into Sekiro after playing ER, but I think 'Homecoming' in the souls family of games is generally depicted as cyclical. Things go back to how they were, there was dark -> fire -> it will be dark again. Ages start and ages end at the kiln of the first flame, mankind lives a lie but assumes their 'true shapes' in the dark.
The Divine Dragon came from elsewhere, but it staying locked in one place is what's causing the problems. You end up taking it away(?) (||I still haven't finished Sekiro, just watched a friend do this ending, might have this wrong?||), and complete its roundabout motion.
tulip cove
Dark Souls 2
i keep betting invaded by some Arbiter named grub
kept killing me while i was trying to explore eleum loyce
started a rapport, put glowing stones
was gonna lead them to some items i dropped off as a gift
when they spawned they spawned far away from the usual spot where the items were, ended up ganking me before i could lead them to my gifts
killed me before they even saw what i prepared for them
sour grail
ooh this looks nifty, I like the first vid on the store page being the dev talking about it
untold tendon
ooh this looks nifty, I like the first vid on the store page being the dev talki...
it's SUCH a cool game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5vnrBElzoo just listen to the sound design @sour grail
sour grail
ooh that's really nice 😌 it's cool seeing the telegraphed attacks too
grr why is the browser client youtube player the mobile one now
wraith sierra
Awesome, I enjoyed the demo, sad I can’t get the game anytime soon.
noble plover
Aw snap
The first one's still on my "play this sometime" stack
Glad they had enough interest to get a sequel out, the first one had some good vibes
final smelt
in terms of on the soulslike scale if darksouls is on the right and some absoutely not souls game on the left
id put grime to the left of salt and sancuary
wraith sierra
I would like to play one, but no money for it.
ashen pumice
watching this rn
sour grail
my desire to someday play ds1 and ds2 has been rekindled
sour grail
watching this rn
☺️
it's great
the dragonrider cheese makes me laugh every time i see it
tulip cove
Hey wait a minute-
tulip cove
Finished Silent Hill F
Gonna do the other endings or nah
still garnet
Did all of them!
still garnet
Oh I missed lmao, I just realized what chat I put that in
It is kinda a soulslike tho
tulip cove
It is kinda a soulslike tho
I thought that was intentional
noble plover
What is Silent Hill f if not the Dark Souls of Silent Hill games released in 2025
royal mauve
I had honestly assumed this was an entirely intentional decision yeah
next hollow
so im playing through the Surge
im a little lost on how to progress past the first area
and by a little i mean a lot lost
harsh shard
The Surge 1 or 2?
next hollow
1
harsh shard
For The Surge 1, keep an eye out for stairs and rafters, the path to the first boss is eventually elevated; there's shortcuts you can find to loop back to the safe room and get back to the middle of the zone faster
next hollow
yeah thats the thing im at the mag-thing that needs a reboot and where the boss arena presumably is? but it's not locking me out or starting a fight im just. there
ashen pumice
god I don't remember any specifics of Surge 1
harsh shard
One untold note is you can score backstabs on human enemies also by locking on, circling around to their back arc, the lock on reticule should turn red when you're at the sweet spot
harsh shard
yeah thats the thing im at the mag-thing that needs a reboot and where the boss ...
IIRC, keep exploring a bit around that, there should be a switch in a nearby spot up higher that should clear the path forward and when you go back you fight the boss who jumps in stage left
harsh shard
Yeah there's gonna be power overload circuits attached to pipes which will open new routes if you have a leveled enough suit
final smelt
orginally the game had no fall damage
next hollow
Yeah there's gonna be power overload circuits attached to pipes which will open ...
the only one i have to unlock rn is like
55 core power?
which seems odd to me
harsh shard
Should have been one for 10 core power right near the start; the higher power ones are optional for coming back later
final smelt
yeah it is possible to beat the game without leveling up even once
harsh shard
This image guide might help:
https://www.ign.com/wikis/the-surge/Abandoned_Production
harsh shard
Biolabs are wayy later, that part's just referencing stuff you can do later on going back to this area
next hollow
gahhh
final smelt
also there is a set bonus
you shoudl fucos on filling all 5 slots
with the red set
also smash boxes
yeah that opens up later
next hollow
im genuinely scratching my head because any walkthrough i click on is like "so you just enter the boss arena and it's there"
harsh shard
Yeah I think you gotta go through the tunnels first
final smelt
also you can tank the acid area for a death run for a strong weapon
next hollow
oh neat
final smelt
i recomend doing it when you have no scrap
cause you arent gonna make it out alive
basicly you just equip all the healing items and just sprint to the item
get it and die
next hollow
think i have the power also thanks for the tip
untold tendon
heavy agate
Orphan of Kos is going well
heavy agate
I think this is the third most attempts a Souls boss has ever taken me, and I've still not gotten him lower than 30%
sweet quiver
damn
wish i had some advice but i beat the fucking breaks off Orphan when i fought him
Ludwig and Maria gave me more of a fight
heavy agate
At this point all I need to do is not fuck up, I know enough of his moves to win
fuck
ashen pumice
oof
spare summit
well done, skeleton
sweet quiver
yeah they aren't very hard
i did a funny on Moon Presence cause it did enough damage on a certain attack to almost one-shot me, but i had hella healing from my hunters axe so i just refilled my entire healthbar by attacking it before it started attacking me again
bitter ridge
Thats a mechanic of the fight iirc
heavy agate
Yeah, I had the same thing
alongside a debuff that turned off flasks
fun mechanic honestly
wonder how good speccing for Rally would be
bitter ridge
Tragic that Gerhman drops the coolest weapon in the game
heavy agate
lmao, yeah
bought it in NG+, and it seems cool
but after a whole run I'm not keen to do it again but harder 😄
bitter ridge
Thankfully folks have found routes so you can grab an arcane one with a dungeon code
heavy agate
sadly no online dungeons on an emulator
(well sort of, there's a mod that lets you replace standard dungeons with them, one at a time, but I felt like that was too much fuss)
bitter ridge
Ooh, gotcha
heavy agate
Is Wuchang Fallen Feathers any good?
heavy agate
I've played all of the Fromsoft soulsbornes and Lies of P which was fantastic
looking into more in the genre
final smelt
i rate nioh as the best
no wait
how i would rate the nonfromsoft ones
Lies of p>nioh>code vien>surge>hellpoint
sweet quiver
Lies of Peak was super good
honestly good enough that i've been wary of trying other games like that because i have like, it and Code Vein to compare and Lies of Peak really skewed the scale hard
noble plover
got through the Shrine of Amana in DS2
my verdict is "eh, at least it's not Iron Keep"
ashen pumice
they somehow made Iron Keep way worse in Scholar