Topic: Demon Souls Remastered. Is it, isn't it?

@Th3solution The section over the bridge is awesome and I quite enjoyed the run over there. You know though I never once thought about killing the dragon as I just assumed it wasn’t possible 🤣

The tower knight took me a few goes to suss as well. It’s an iconic boss due to it being used in various marketing images etc. but also due to its size it’s quite intimidating as it’s so early in the game.

@Th3solution Well done dude, that is well impressive! I don't think I ever defeated the red dragon as I don't have the patience. The run to the boss fight gets a bit easier the more you level up your endurance and learn the timing of the dragon passing over.

Not sure if you are aware, but you can check the world tendency in the in game menu.

@Th3solution congrats on beating the Tower Knight bud, I’d say that has been your first ‘real’ test (y’know… what with Phalanx being a bit of a push-over). There will be others but you’ll be more powerful and more experienced by the time you get to them… so I got my money on ya 😉… for what it’s worth 😁

Wait until you see Latria… mwahahaha… *cough, cough COUGH…. haha ha… hmmm 😅

@Th3solution Well done, that's some good work. You've actually killed a dragon, I think that officially makes you a hero now, never mind the method you used. Bet it was nice to stroll freely along the bridge.

I remember once reaching pure white tendency in World 1 back in the day, and the gate to the left at the very beginning of 1-1 was open. Can't remember what was in there though. I think I died shortly after that and couldn't get it back to pure white.

@Th3solution nice!! Tower knight a hell of a boss fight!! I loved the old school Jason and the argonauts movie as a kid and this fight is almost ripped right out of it. I've always wondered if it's chance or if by some strange coincidence, Miyazaki san had seen it or whether one of the english books he looked at as a kid was of ancient Greek legends. Bonus, that bonfire you unlocked is a great spot to farm healing items from those blue eyed knights, if you ever get stuck.

@Gremio108 @JohnnyShoulder Yeah, I went back to 1-1 and I was in pure white WT so the gate on the left by the entrance was open. It was an executioner’s grounds and had several moderate pick-ups and a few red ghost-like enemies and one NPC named Miranda or Morelda or something like that. She attack and so I killed her and there was some decent drops there, but killing her causes the WT to shift all the way back to neutral. Well, I hope there wasn’t anything else I needed in pure white because it’ll be hard to get it back.

Also, not sure if it’s from killing her or from accidentally striking (but not killing) an NPC in the Nexus (that whiny dude over by the guy who sells Miracles), but something seems to have shifted my character tendency more towards black also. Ah well, it like chasing your tail with this tendency stuff so I can see what you mean by just ignore it for the most part and play through it.

@colonelkilgore Tower Knight wasn’t too bad, despite the need for 3 attempts. Compared to the average Bloodborne boss he was probably a little easier, although there were a few BB bosses I beat on the first try.

Demon’s Souls has a lot more variables though, and so I can see different builds struggling with different bosses (not to mention the tendency effects) so it’ll be interesting to see, given I’m doing a magic build that maybe things will vary. I didn’t use any magic at all against Tower Knight because the ramp up time is just too long to cast.

@R1spam Thanks for the farming recommendation! I just bought the healing miracle though, so I may not need as many healing items. We’ll see

@Th3solution Did you see any of the crystal lizards? There should have been some there.

In regions that have achieved a certain level of black Tendency, a special Primeval Demon (a slug like creature) will appear. Killing it will help shift Tendency back to white.

The dragons will also dissappear when you reach 75% White Tendency. And the gate will open also if you reach 75% Black Tendency.

@JohnnyShoulder I saw one lizard in 1-2 right before the boss, but I couldn’t get to it in time. At least I think that’s what it was - a little sparkly colorful thing in the corner.

I’ll go back to the gated executioner area and see if I find a lizard there, because I didn’t see one.

@Th3solution Congratulations on defeating those bosses, sounds like your magic build was a good choice, I think magic is/will be similarly OP in Dark Souls III/Elden Ring, whatever helps you have more fun, right? I'll probably be sticking with a pure melee-build like I did in my previous playthroughs, might make the game significantly harder but sword n' board is my 'jam'.

@Th3solution Ah no, it will be back once world tendency drops below 75% white and you respawn into the area.

If you are a magic user, lock on to a lizard and use your spells from a distance. You will be able to hear the sparkling tune when one is close by too. 😂

@TheBrandedSwordsman Ah, so is magic a viable option in Dark Souls 3? In Bloodborne the magic always seemed to be an afterthought and not something very easy to build a character around.

Using magic in Demon’s Souls so far is still a good balance where I melee quite often too. The start up animation to cast an offensive spell takes some time, and I’ve discovered that quicker enemies that are right on top of me need to be dealt with in the traditional sense, ie roll dodging and then stabbing or slashing. And like I mentioned, since Bloodborne was my real first From game, I never really have learned to use a shield, so I don’t miss it. Playing with my sword in the right hand and my magic catalyst in the left is doing fairly well for 90% of encounters. When I get in a tight spot then I can switch the catalyst out for the shield really quickly. I just got a talisman and learned (bought) a healing miracle, so now I’m trying to get used it having the talisman in the second slot of my right hand. We’ll see how this works.

One of the things they annoyed me about Bloodborne, and I assume it applies to all FromSoft games, is the lack of a pause button. Even in the menu, your character is susceptible as the game is still active in the background. Well, I found a workaround for this game — Photo mode! It’s my functional “pause” button. 😄

@Th3solution Maybe I was wrong about magic being OP in that game. The guy who made the first post here talks about magic being OP in DS2, though, so you might want to play that instead, only if you're comfortable playing the least popular game in the Souls series and one that wasn't directed by Miyazaki, plus I never beat it so I'd have very little to say about it.

@Th3solution What do you think of fast responsive melee-based combat becoming your priority in DS3/ER if magic isn't as viable in later entries in the series? You beat Bloodborne without magic so you should still be able to do it, you can just employ cheese tactics/summoning against bosses if that's what you need to do? Where are you up to now in DeS?

@Th3solution In the light of what @EclipseZero said, of course.

@TheBrandedSwordsman Oh yeah, I have no problem with the melee combat and using it on future endeavors. And I actually never once summoned for help in Bloodborne. I think I want to try it in Demon’s Souls though, just to have the experience.

Speaking of, as far as my progress so far, I’m now at the end of World 2-1. Have made it through and I think the boss is around the corner. I have a busy couple days with work and so I think I’m going to exit and save right there until I have time to take on the boss.

The good news is this level has a pretty decent shortcut to the archstone, in case I die

@CJD87 Moved over here for deeper discussion… 😄

I’m glad you’re enjoying the updates. I also love to hear/read peoples experiences with games I’m playing, have recently played, or are just simply near and dear to my heart. So I’m happy for the engagement!
Definitely agree about the ‘safety in numbers’ philosophy. 😄 It’s one of the things I really enjoy about the Soulsborne games is the little evidences of other players deaths and messages that give you and sense to et you’re not alone. Discussing with other players about their journeys in the game also helps immensely.

As far as update, I was able to make it through 2-1 without too much trouble, maybe a couple deaths at most, but Armor Spider I was able to get down on the first try! I owe this in large part to my magic build rather than any inherent skill. The ability to just take pot shots from a distance really made things reasonable. I ended up enjoying that mining themed sub level.

On from there I have spent several hours on 3-1, Prison of Hope in the Tower of Latria. I’m definitely hitting a frustration wall here. For the first time, I’ve nearly cursed and threw my controller at the TV when I lost a bunch of Souls dying deep into the level. I was stupid enough to take on the sea of launching arrows on the bridge and died not only several times there trying to dodge roll my way through, but subsequently also several times trying to run back to that spot where I got too hasty and fell off a ledge or forgot about a tentacle guy around a corner and ran right into him.

Honestly if I hadn’t have been greedy with confronting the arrows on the bridge, I’d have probably made it through fine (and been 10,000 souls richer). Ah well, I’m sure it’s the first of many disappointments.

And as for the platinum, I have no plans to try to target that right now. I’m hoping to make it through as much content as possible in one run, but I know from other discussions there is a lot of events and items that are dependent on World Tendencies and other factors that I’m just going to enjoy the base game as much as possible right now. I never got the Bloodborne platinum, but I am close — I think I’m at 80%.

Regarding my build, I’m hoping that I’m doing it right. I’m using a Fextralife build suggestion and so I’m pouring most of my points into magic, and then Intelligence, then Vitality. That’s the plan anyways. Currently I think I have 25 points in magic, 19 in Intelligence, and 14 in Vitality; Soul level 28. Wielding catalyst and the Kris blade mostly, switching out for the falchion when I need a little more ‘oomph’ to my melee.

I am a little worried that my current weapon set can’t be upgraded by the two blacksmiths I’ve met so far. Well, the one in the second world can do it, but he wants a rare moonstone that I don’t have.