From Software Dark Souls 3

[Decado]

I don't think DS2 has NO fanservice, but look at how much DS3 did in comparison...

Also I think my single biggest disappointment with DS3 is the Yhorm boss fight. What a shitty fight that was.

So interestingly enough, this document (supposedly put together by a tester who worked on DS3 in alpha), claims that Yhorm was not supposed to be in the Profaned Capital, but was supposed to be the first boss isntead of Iudex Gundyr.

https://www.kaagaz.io/84450f01

Edit:

"Yhorm the Giant of the Profaned Capital" was actually originally using Wolnir's Model, and he was a gold obsessed mad skeleton optional boss and covenant leader of the Mound Makers.​

This is interesting. It maybe explains why Yhorm's hallway and surrounding area are littered with gold plates, crowns, cups, etc, and why there are three treasure chests in that one room. I never understood why Yhorm's area was just filled precious metals, it makes sense now.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Any boss that can be killed by backstab fishing sucks. Period. I know because I did it. And used 0 Estus. Abyss Watchers fight is a shitty group of Artorias cosplayers put in to get Miyazaki nerds he-pussies wet.

So, every boss fight ever sucks because it can be cheesed? Good to know. Or just this one particular kind of cheese, because you've got a raging hate boner for this game for no legit reason?

Second question: Did you backstab fish the fight because you're a fucking scrub that read about it before hand, or did you actually test different things during the fight? I'm guessing the former, because all the 'cool' things in DS2 people ever mention are obscure bullshit you'd pretty much never discover on your own. Alonne does an emote before dying if you don't get hit? WOW. So does Gwenevyre. She must also be one of the best boss fights in the series.

If your bar for 'interesting mechanics' is having a fucking jump attack and having an easter egg if you win a certain way, you're just fucking retarded. You can beat Sinner the same way you beat allone, the same way you beat dozens of other bosses in the series. You dodge an attack (doesn't matter which direction, there's no lingering damage wtf are you smoking) and then poke and back away to repeat. Or just hug their balls if you've memorized the tells. Ruin Sentinels try to cheap shot you when you walk in? Wow, that's super interesting for about 2 seconds. I suppose Capra is also a deep, amazing fight? Having a shield on the opposite side? Mind blown. I didn't even remember that because they're so fucking slow I was probably hitting them from squarely behind the entire time without even trying.

If you're going to praise DS2 bosses, at least pick something halfway interesting, like Nadjka, who had a variety of attacks, a tail cut, and made use of the terrain. Fucking Sinner. Christ.

O&S did the paired boss fight a million times better than DS2 ever did, because one of them actually was a slow tanky gigantic fucker while the other was obnoxiously fast, and the second phase was different depending on who you killed first, and instead of doing some shitty emote, you got a unique item for beating the fight a particular way. Those are cool mechanics. I honestly don't even recall any difference between the two throne defenders, except one was lightning and the other... wasn't. Don't even recall what element the other used, or which used lightning. I can't say I recall Throne Defender ever parrying me. I was probably just zapping them with spells or something anyways. It was just an obnoxious fight where you ran around like a bitch praying to RNGesus for an opening on the right one so you could kill them both at the same time. Again, Friede did this shit WAY better in the second phase. Serious difference between the two enemies.

 

[Decado]

Abyss Watchers is the best boss fight until you get to Sully.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

I also didn't see anything so special with the spider. Fume Knight (the best DS2 boss), Sir Alonne, Lost Sinner (especially in NG+ and forwards), Watcher/Defender, Ruin Sentinels, etc. were more interesting IMO.

Funnily enough a common DS2 complaint is that it had too many knight bosses, and yet out of all bosses the best ones by far were generally humanoid. The monster ones like Demon of Song (MEH) were mostly meh.

That is a fair point. It's one of many common contradictory complaints made about Dark Souls 2 that is retarded. Why, it's almost as if the people who frequently complain about Dark Souls 2 are also retarded. It's something to think about. Dark Souls 2 doesn't ape off the first game enough so therefore it bad mmmkay.

 

[praetor]

Abyss Watchers fight is garbage, because aggroing 2 darkwraiths in front of it at the same time is more difficult. he has too little health, and staggers too easily. all flash, no substance. you don't even have to cheese it with backstabs, as it's like fighting a regular mob with a bit more health. you just rollspam and wait for the 15hit combo to end, initiate your own R1 spam until stamina is depleted or boss is dead. it's emblematic of everything that is wrong with DS3. it requires no skill other than spamming R1 or roll

 

[Decado]

"All you have to do is figure out the boss's patterns, and then he is easy!"

Yes, thrilling criticism. Video games. How do they fucking work?

 

[praetor]

dude, reading comprehension. there are no patterns, the whole point was that he's the same as a regular mook so you can use the same "tactics" since he staggers on the first hit. unless you're blind or your IQ is below room temperature and you don't see it as soon as you hit him the first time. but i wouldn't be surprised if your skill is on the level of random redditors that died to it a bazillion times. the goddamned tree requires more thought and observational skills than the watchers. god, you're a retard

 

[Silva]

Fucking gameplay fags. I give you an awesome Londor insight like that and all I receive is this fucking "hopw roawer" that I don't even know what means.

What this shit means anyway? That "roawer" does sounds like "whatever"... ?

 

[sullynathan]

until you get to Sully.

Aww, thanks

 

[Jezal_k23]

Does anybody else like how long the path is between bonfires in Cathedral of the Deep? Makes for some intense stuff sometimes, and requires decent resource management.

 

[Wunderbar]

Does anybody else like how long the path is between bonfires in Cathedral of the Deep? Makes for some intense stuff sometimes, and requires decent resource management.

there is only one bonfire in Cathedral (not counting Deacons).
Best location in the game because of this.

 

[pakoito]

Does anybody else like how long the path is between bonfires in Cathedral of the Deep? Makes for some intense stuff sometimes, and requires decent resource management.

I did a naked run all the way. Ez.

 

[Gerrard]

Soulsfags are really the worst.

 

[Blaine]

Does anybody else like how long the path is between bonfires in Cathedral of the Deep? Makes for some intense stuff sometimes, and requires decent resource management.

It's almost as if the entire game would have benefited if most bonfires hadn't been placed within a stone's throw of each other.

 

[Damned Registrations]

That doesn't even make sense. If the bonfires were evenly spaced, you'd have less space between the furthest gaps between bonfires. What you'd want is fewer bonfires. Which is fair, but hard to balance with magic.

Besides, like 90% of the 'OMG teh bonfires are so close!" bitching is about a bonfire you get for beating a boss, and everyone bitches about not having a bonfire right before a boss too.

 

[Arnust]

"Hard to balance with magic" Like if From gave a shit about magic or magic users rofl

 

[Blaine]

That doesn't even make sense. If the bonfires were evenly spaced, you'd have less space between the furthest gaps between bonfires. What you'd want is fewer bonfires. Which is fair, but hard to balance with magic.

Besides, like 90% of the 'OMG teh bonfires are so close!" bitching is about a bonfire you get for beating a boss, and everyone bitches about not having a bonfire right before a boss too.

Play DS1, and then immediately play DS3 so that you have a proper basis for comparison.

DS3, as well as its magic system (bearing in mind that DS1 also had a magic system), should have been designed from the ground up to accommodate proper distances between bonfires. Actually, in DS1, you couldn't even use bonfires for fast-traveling for a good long while, allowing for vastly superior level design and exploration not based around the assumption that players would be fast-traveling everywhere.

Your opinions about games and game mechanics are universally Godawful to the point that I now associate your avatar with shit taste in games.

 

[Arnust]

The thing with DS3's bonfires, is that, not only they're about as common as DS2's in a way smaller mass, they're also way more throwaway as there is diddly dick to do or find in levels gone by so they are belittled to little more than checkpoints. It doesn't help that a lot of them are also pointless, barely none hidden and also redundant, so yes, pretty much all of the boss bonfires. It's so adviceable and easy to just run past peeps from bonfire to bonfire like it's nothing that it makes me wonder how did QA and playtesting go, did the From staff ask the testers to fight all of the enemies? Because if there's nothing you really want in that level, which spoiler alert, is almost always except for a few times with the items you actually want, there is indeed little reason to not just run past enemies. If the soul yield is the problem for you, it's better to just run until you find enemies that are less of a waste of time to kill. That's how I managed to beat the game in 8 hours in the second try, and I ended my run more overpowered than my first character.

In DS2, even if it indeed is one of the bigger telltale signs of the assortment of problems with the level design, and quite overly common, felt like its large majority were essential to the design of the level, and that moving or removing them wouldn't have really solved anything unless you'd prefer for the next stretch to be more unfair. What Damned said is true, but for DS2's magic and durability systems. Without levels trying to meet linearity AND the shortcuts that DS1 fans keep jerking off at halfway like DS3 seems to always try, while still weak it felt like less of a waste in general.

 

[Blaine]

I read back through a bit of the posting histories of Damned Registrations and TheHeroOfTime ITT searching for terrible opinions, and boy, I sure wasn't disappointed. I'd rate them all retadred, but I don't like to pick on genuinely retarded people.

DS3 fanboys, and I mean full-blown retarded fanboys with no real argument or leg to stand on when trying and failing to defend its many Godawful design decisions, should probably be humanely euthanized for their own good.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Because if there's nothing you really want in that level, which spoiler alert, is almost always except for a few times with the items you actually want, there is indeed little reason to not just run past enemies.

This can be said about every one Souls games so I don't buy that point. When you know how the levels work and what items and NPC contain, you will always skip those who you find useless. In every single game of the franchise.

Bonfires always worked mainly as checkpoints. It was the novelty against the archdemon stones from Demon's, which worked as the start and endings for the levels. And latter offering others things like warping, item storage and repairment.

In DS1 during the first half of the game there's a small amount of bonfires, because the levels tend to be convergent, working around on-foot exploration and shorcuts. During the second half (When you find the lord's vessel), the game levels tend to be more linear with a noticeable increase of bonfires. Considering that DS2 and DS3 are more linear, they had to adapt the bonfires placement design as they did during the second half of DS1. That doesn't eliminate the fact that both games have useless/filling bonfires (Like the one between the crystal sage and the cathedral of the deep, or between the bridge and the Great archives), with I don't consider to be a fault though. There's the assumption that more bonfires makes the games easier, with I don't find to be true at all. It's the amount of item resources what makes the games easier. That's why in DS2 and 3 they changed how the estus flasks worked, limiting a lot the amount of them and offering the increase of them as a reward for finding estus shards. More bonfires makes the games less time consuming, especially when you want to do very specific things like warping to a blacksmith. There's no challenge in running through Anor londo after failing against the Black archers or running to go to see the giant blacksmith. And there's no challenge in running from the firelink shrine to New londo ruins through an unskippable elevator if you die in that level or against the boss (Or from the Valley of the drakes bonfire, running while fighting/avoiding a horde of drakes and darkwraiths). The challenge itself is in exploring the inside of Anor londo, filled with knights. And while exploring the New londo ruins filled with ghosts and darkwraiths (And more noticeable if you are short about curses).

PD: I don't give a damn about ad hominem fallacies, I don't scale to that level.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Cathedral really is a very well designed level. Imagine if it had a kick ass boss to go with it, instead of the Deacons of the Derp.

Also one thing I know for sure: that bonfire in the middle of the swamp (Crucifixion Woods I think) could have been removed without any negative effects to the game.

Either that or the Halfway Fortress bonfire could've been removed, which would have made that segment pretty difficult because you have to get through the initial stretch of the Road of Sacrifices and then find the bonfire in the swamp. Dangerous stuff. At the same time, I think this kind of dick move is something that's been missing from the recent Souls entries.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I actually did just recently play the begining of DS2 and DS3 to make sure I wasn't just remembering wrong, but holy shit was I ever right about these two games. DS2 opens up with literally nothing in the opening areas worth getting except the fire longsword, which isn't even really hidden. Killing Heide knights or the Syan knight gets you absolutely nothing. And the combat is fucking terrible. Rolling stabs are the only thing that stagger enemies long enough to even roll away from immediately. If you take a swing at a heide knight while his guard is down, he'll instantly hit you back before you can do anything. And every enemy has the same basic AI pattern: a really long combo they'll perform some random portion of. Which means unless they're so insanely slow you can hit them during the combo, like the old giant knights, your only option is to wait for them to do 13 combos until they finally do a whole one, or take your chances and just hope they don't continue the combo when you move in to counter them.

By contrast, before you even get to the fucking hub in DS3, you've had 2 optional enemies that drop special loot for you: crystal lizard and the old master. All the enemies are vulnerable to both aggressive tactics to stagger them, or defensive tactics to get safe hits in after specific attacks. And I forgot shield break crits were a thing. God those are satisfying. And the enemies don't take so fucking long to kill that it feels like a chore. In contrast, I quickly realized in DS2 that I shouldn't bother killing anything, since getting souls off the trash boss in the gulch is 100x more efficient. All the hitboxes are janky as fuck, getting grabbed by the ogre from 10 feet away, Heide knights doing some 3 frame wrist flick that hits in a 3m radius 360 degrees around them instantly after getting up from a backstab... there's nothing to like here. Don't even get me started on that shitty fucking intro with the old women talking forever. Oh, and I briefly considered trying a no bonfire run, until I broke three fucking weapons just going through forest of giants and had another break during the dragonslayer fight. Forget that shitfest.

 

[Jezal_k23]

I like the beginning of DS2 a lot. I call that a well designed early game, since you have to struggle to get somewhere. Complaining that everything is too hard? I never thought I'd say this, but git gud might be the answer for you here.

 

[Hyperion]

Killing Heide knights or the Syan knight gets you absolutely nothing.

Minus an entire armor set each, a lightning-based straight sword with the moveset of a mace, or a lightning-based spear / lance from the ones with the corresponding weapons. Or the Grand Lance in a chest by the Syan Knight in the first level of the game.

If you take a swing at a heide knight while his guard is down, he'll instantly hit you back before you can do anything.

Hitting defenseless enemies after a backstab trivializes content, but you just want to backstab and spam R1 for an instawin.

Which means unless they're so insanely slow you can hit them during the combo, like the old giant knights, your only option is to wait for them to do 13 combos until they finally do a whole one, or take your chances and just hope they don't continue the combo when you move in to counter them.

If you mentioned the Greathammer-wielding Dragon Knights you'd have a point, as they literally attack endlessly and are a prime example of a bullshit enemy - for everything else, read their animations. You sound like the guy who got killed by Fume Knight's followup 270 degree swipe during 'Velstadt phase' 7 or 8 times and refused to learn to read his actions. Most other monsters have a short twitch, or a conspicuous pause that signify a continuation in their combo.

By contrast, before you even get to the fucking hub in DS3, you've had 2 optional enemies that drop special loot for you

DS2 has 2 Ogres, Old Dragonslayer, Knight set, Cling Ring, Sublime Bone Dust, an Estus Flask Shard (the well), Covenant of Champions, Gender changing, Blue Knight Covenant, optional fight with the Pursuer on a big open platform, and you can choose to do with No-Man's Wharf, or The Pursuer to complete The Lost Bastille. All connected to the first area. If you have the Cat Ring, you can even jump down the center hole and do The Black Gulch and assorted stuff. What the hell more do you want available to you from the absolute beginning of the game? SotFS gives you the goddamned Grand Lance 30 minutes into the game - a weapon previously available after 90% of the game is done, a weapon that will scale VERY well into endgame that provides between 500 and 550 AR depending on your build.

getting grabbed by the ogre from 10 feet away,

Time your rolls better, it's perfectly doable.

Heide knights doing some 3 frame wrist flick that hits in a 3m radius 360 degrees

You got greedy, he always pauses before doing this.

Oh, and I briefly considered trying a no bonfire run, until I broke three fucking weapons just going through forest of giants and had another break during the dragonslayer fight. Forget that shitfest.

it's supposed to be a challenge. You want to equip 1 weapon, and forget about everything else. Clubs are available for cheap at the start. Strike damage is fucking insane for the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the game. Stock up on them.

If you simply said that the slower, even more methodical pace of the game wasn't for you, I'd understand where you're coming from. But you're saying the game is shit because the cheap tactics from DS1 no longer apply for every enemy. "NOT DS1" is not a valid criticism of a game.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I mean, if you consider hp bloat hard, sure. I think it takes something like ~8 roll stabs to kill a heide knight. Why would I do that for 500 souls? It takes forever. It's not interesting. Running past them is also not interesting, obviously.

The weird giant slime rat monsters in the begining of DS3 are much more interesting to fight and drop titanite shards so you don't feel like you just wasted your time.