DARK SOULS

[Lulu]

Talisman to disable it, poison cloud pyromancy to kill it without even "triggering" it, or just kite the thing around while peppering it with arrows.

Again... only useful after you already know its a Mimic... that's Dark Souls trick.... it doesn't teach you any of its rules and then Punishes you for Failing to understand them - Michael Thompson

The Mimic isn't a threat at all... the only time it can hit me is if I roll near and the Camera goes Haywire.... but thats a Universal Problem with all the Souls Games.

I don't mind. I grew up playing stealth games, so i'm used to taking the slow and steady approach. Also in Souls you're kind of heavily encouraged to play the "slow and steady" thing. Half the reason people think its so hard is because they bumrush everything then get killed lol.

I'm glad you brought up Stealth Games because theres a fundamental difference between the type of Patience used by Stealth Games and The type of Patience used By Dark Souls. Patience in Stealth Games isn't boring at at all... atleast not in a well designed Stealth Game.... you aren't really waiting so much as you are Plotting and Analysing, so even if you're squatting in a Dark Corner somewhere its still feels I'm engaging.

Dark Soul's Patience is Forced... you have to wait for shit because if you don't wait for shit you might get killed and theres pretty much nothing interesting you can do as you wait for Shit..... I don't mind getting punished for my impatience in Stealth Games because in Stealth Games its not so god damn Tedious.... unless if you're playing The Phantom Pain... then its Tedious.

Some people say i'm being cheap or "I suck and need to learn how to play", but I just figure i'm playing as intended: safe and cautious. Plus even if it is me being cheap, i just figure that's breaking even since the enemie

I think they were just assholes.... you know... they guys who respond by saying "Git Gud, Faggot" to everything. They say it when they invade you and beat you they say it if you beat them, they say it if you play offline, they say it if you use your Estus, etc. They're just Assholes.... Dark Souls attracts that type of Croud due to its "Hardcore" Status.

The ONLY enemy in the (base) game archery doesn't work for is the Four Kings, and that is why I utterly DESPISE them, and I why i sympathize with the Witch Beatrice summon so much. Like her, my build is meant to outrange and outlast the enemy. Also like her, i die horribly to the four kings because I can't compete in the dps race that is that boss fight with my bow.

LoL... This Boss and Pinwheel are designed for the amusement of Assholes. You know how everybody's always saying you should play patiently and that Dark Souls punishes you for Rushing ?

Yeah people who say that are just setting you up to get fucked in the ass by those two Bosses.

Infact I can't think of anyboss that can be killed by being Patient... I always bum rush and Draw First Blood whenever I encounter a Boss because why not ? Theres no reason to not do this after Pinwheel because the Right of kindling allows you to upgrade Bonfires up to 20 Estus.

Gwyn is another Boss thats tough to outlast but atleast he doesn't get progressively worse the longer you wait....he just won't let you Estus....I think theres a special script in his code that overrrides whatevers he'scurrently doing and makes him Attack.... The Dark Wraiths have it too.

 

[Argentus]

Again... only useful after you already know its a Mimic... that's Dark Souls trick.... it doesn't teach you any of its rules and then Punishes you for Failing to understand them - Michael Thompson

mimics have telltale signs.

1) They are visibly "breathing".
2) The chains are coiled in the opposite direction.
3) They are off color.

And assuming you still can't tell the difference, always best to give each chest a thwack before opening just to be sure.

again, the entire point Souls is that bumrushing backfires and its better to be cautioned around every corner.

I'm glad you brought up Stealth Games because theres a fundamental difference between the type of Patience used by Stealth Games and The type of Patience used By Dark Souls. Patience in Stealth Games isn't boring at at all... atleast not in a well designed Stealth Game.... you aren't really waiting so much as you are Plotting and Analysing, so even if you're squatting in a Dark Corner somewhere its still feels I'm engaging.

but that's exactly how i feel when i'm playing my assassins/archers in Souls as well. I'm methodically planning out how to take out each enemy without even entering the area. I love it. I've tried melee builds, and while yeah i'm more powerful, it's also super boring to me.

i usually just have claws or whips on me as a backup.

Dark Soul's Patience is Forced... you have to wait for shit because if you don't wait for shit you might get killed and theres pretty much nothing interesting you can do as you wait for Shit..... I don't mind getting punished for my impatience in Stealth Games because in Stealth Games its not so god damn Tedious.... unless if you're playing The Phantom Pain... then its Tedious.

I'm not seeing the distinction. It's the same as in stealth games. The enemies are intentionally designed to be able to fuck you up the ass with a totem pole made of goatheads if you just rush in.

hell dark souls basically IS a stealth game. You're meant to draw out one enemy at a time, slowly peek around corners looking for traps, etc.

Infact I can't think of anyboss that can be killed by being Patient... I always bum rush and Draw First Blood whenever I encounter a Boss because why not ? Theres no reason to not do this after Pinwheel because the Right of kindling allows you to upgrade Bonfires up to 20 Estus.

i get bored if i do that. I like dodging and peppering with arrows. Also gives me a bit of an adrenaline rush since I have NO health, and back in DS1 you couldn't move while shooting, so taking my potshots in mid combat was pretty exhilarating.

LoL... This Boss and Pinwheel are designed for the amusement of Assholes. You know how everybody's always saying you should play patiently and that Dark Souls punishes you for Rushing ?

Yeah people who say that are just setting you up to get fucked in the ass by those two Bosses.

i never had any problems with pinwheel. for long range characters those "split into copies" bosses are super easy because you can just tag the real one from a distance.


But Four Kings...the problem is they're unlike any other boss or enemy in the game, almost in the series. You literally cannot be anything other than a bumrusher against them.

 

[Lulu]

mimics have telltale signs.

1) They are visibly "breathing".
2) The chains are coiled in the opposite direction.
3) They are off color.

LoL... And the game teaches you non of that....

#1 is just dumb... why on earth would any be so suspicous of a Chest that they're willing to Stand Still and Watch it for 25 Seconds ?

Also as far as I can tell The Colours are identical. Perhaps the colour underneath the Chest is different.

I don't get why people bother defending Mimics anymore. If you know they exist (you don't even have to know where there are) they present literally no issue.... but if you didn't know then the very first one you come across is Guaranteed to Kill You.... theres no point in knowing the differences between a Mimic and a Real Chest because you can just smack every single Chest you come across. LoL... you can't destroy the real chests or the items inside them so theres no reprucussions (did I spell that right ?) For smacking them.... infact its actually advantageous because you score a free hit over any Mimic you across.

And they always come in the form of Chests... wheres the Bonfire Mimic.... or the Glowing Item Mimic ? Don't get me wrong I hate them just as much.... but the fact that they literally only come in Chests just seems Lazy to me.... kinda defeats the whole point..... the first one will kill you but the rest of them are just a Nuissance.

Again, the entire point Souls is that bumrushing backfires and its better to be cautioned around every corner.

You could have just used the Video...

I find it funny that he decided to go into caution mode when he saw an Arch and a Narrow passage....as if thats some how Dangerous looking.... LoL... Bullshit, Nobody plays Dark Souls like that.

but that's exactly how i feel when i'm playing my assassins/archers in Souls as well. I'm methodically planning out how to take out each enemy without even entering the area. I love it. I've tried melee builds, and while yeah i'm more powerful, it's also super boring to me.

i usually just have claws or whips on me as a backup.

Plan ?

Only thing I can think of that constitutes a plan in Dark Souls is Mapping out your Build. Because the mechanics are far too simplistic and the options are limited, I didn't find it even possible to plan anything beyond "kill this Enemy first because it Heals the ones."

I'm not seeing the distinction. It's the same as in stealth games. The enemies are intentionally designed to be able to fuck you up the ass with a totem pole made of goatheads if you just rush in.

hell dark souls basically IS a stealth game. You're meant to draw out one enemy at a time, slowly peek around corners looking for traps, etc.

Actually Stealth Games these days allow you to Shoot your way out of many failed stealth Attempts... so clearly theres more at play here then fear of fucking up. Whatever it is... thats probably whats missing from Dark Souls. I guess you a way I could simplify it by saying: "In Stealth Games you want to play Cautiously.... but in Dark Souls you play cauriously out of Not Wanting To Die." The fact that people are dying because of rushing is clear indicator that theres nothing of value in waiting beyond not wanting to lose progress. Ofcourse this being From Software, they took this to mean add more forced down time. Oh well.... the Fans like it so I don't blame them.

i get bored if i do that. I like dodging and peppering with arrows. Also gives me a bit of an adrenaline rush since I have NO health, and back in DS1 you couldn't move while shooting, so taking my potshots in mid combat was pretty exhilarating.

Entertainment by Tension.... I can't accurately pin point when this trend started but apparently more people like it than I expected... Simply put people get a kick out of Tension & Release Cycles... this used to be exclusive to Survival Horror games but some way some how developers figured out that People like Danger, and so they started crafting challenges around how much tension they could build rather than by how many Mechanics they could fut together. The end result are Challenges that are Interesting despite how mechanically simple they are.

LoL... I knew this thing was really legit when reviewers used phrases like "This doodad really infuses the boss fight with a lot of Tension..." as a good thing and said things like "This doodad ended abruptly and left the section devoid of any satisfaction or Tension..." as a form of negative Critism.

I don't see it alot but it creeps up on me some unexpected places sometimes.

For me, Tension is never a Factor... I don't need to focus on it because games based on challenging Gameplay will always have the right amount of Tension.... but Tension First Games always need to check if maybe they've gone too far or not far enough. Going too far results in Frustration and not going far enough results in boredom..... as I said earlier, since they don't focus on actual gameplay the lack of Tension leaves those games without anything to hold player's interest. Dark Souls is definitely a Tension first game, and some people (not all) base their experience on how much danger there is rather than if its actually challenging.....

Ofcourse since I min maxed the shit out of my Character I just wound up getting bored... hell I just murdered Sister Friede in The DS3 DLC because theres not that much tension at 99 Vigor.

It's why I think Dark Souls is rubbish, I don't look for Tense Games I look for deep ones.

i never had any problems with pinwheel. for long range characters those "split into copies" bosses are super easy because you can just tag the real one from a distance.

What about the Clones ?

They're not just standing there looking pretty you know.

But Four Kings...the problem is they're unlike any other boss or enemy in the game, almost in the series. You literally cannot be anything other than a bumrusher against them.

Actually you can...

Its Obviously impractical just like any of the other stuff people say you "Can" do in this game but if you're bored you can try out lasting them.... perhaps swap out your bow for Goughs Greatbow.

I'm always on the look out for when people use phrase like "You Can..." or "Its Possible..." because in all likely hood that just means its impractical to try whatever it is their suggesting.

LoL.... like avoiding the Forced Death Sequence against your first encounter with Seath the Scaless.

 

[Sotherius]

There is no harm in getting caught by surprise for the first mimic ever in the game honestly. (i didn't, i already knew they were a thing, and i've got the chance to play souls only after seeing a bunch of it). But i did get caught by mimics afterwards for being careless or rushing stuff. Also, there are hints for the first mimic in the game, though they are really cryptic and no one ever expected them to exist in the first place, maybe if someone got lucky and got a symbol of avarice loading screen.

I'm always on the look out for when people use phrase like "You Can..." or "Its Possible..." because in all likely hood that just means its impractical to try whatever it is their suggesting.

What is impractical to you, might be hella fun for someone else, just keep that in mind. Also, funny right after that you say something that was not intentional to the game, and something that a lot of people had fun trying to do. I didn't, i just put a ring of sacrifice and face death.

 

[Lulu]

There is no harm in getting caught by surprise for the first mimic ever in the game honestly. (i didn't, i already knew they were a thing, and i've got the chance to play souls only after seeing a bunch of it). But i did get caught by mimics afterwards for being careless or rushing stuff. Also, there are hints for the first mimic in the game, though they are really cryptic and no one ever expected them to exist in the first place, maybe if someone got lucky and got a symbol of avarice loading screen.

You can just say the whole thing was dumb... its shorter. And how on earth did you get caught by Mimics long after discovering them ?

What is impractical to you, might be hella fun for someone else, just keep that in mind. Also, funny right after that you say something that was not intentional to the game, and something that a lot of people had fun trying to do. I didn't, i just put a ring of sacrifice and face death.

LoL... I never said they weren't fun.... trying to understand whats fun for Souls fans a colossal waste of time... I said they were impractical... and looks like you're not disagreeing.

Last but not least... I thought you were done arguing with me... you like me don't you... I like you too.

 

[breathofflame34]

So, just recently got DS3. Still on Lotheric's High Wall. No idea what to do. Instructions unclear. Praised the sun,and drunk my Sunny-D too.

 

[Lulu]

So, just recently got DS3. Still on Lotheric's High Wall. No idea what to do. Instructions unclear. Praised the sun,and drunk my Sunny-D too.

If you're playing online then it won't be an Issue.


Its not like in the first game where you could wind up going the wrong direction and getting murdered by Invincible Ghosts and Skeletons.

Besides theres nothing noteworthy in Lothric anyway.... All the Useful Stuff is in Farron's Keep.

 

[Argentus]

LoL... And the game teaches you non of that....

#1 is just dumb... why on earth would any be so suspicous of a Chest that they're willing to Stand Still and Watch it for 25 Seconds ?

Also as far as I can tell The Colours are identical. Perhaps the colour underneath the Chest is different.

I don't get why people bother defending Mimics anymore. If you know they exist (you don't even have to know where there are) they present literally no issue.... but if you didn't know then the very first one you come across is Guaranteed to Kill You.... theres no point in knowing the differences between a Mimic and a Real Chest because you can just smack every single Chest you come across. LoL... you can't destroy the real chests or the items inside them so theres no reprucussions (did I spell that right ?) For smacking them.... infact its actually advantageous because you score a free hit over any Mimic you across.

1) You dont need to spend 25 seconds. Though even if you did, the entire point of playing souls is PATIENCE and OBSERVATION.

2) Look at the mimic next to the regular chest in Anor Londo. It's subtle, but they are easily distinguishable from each other.

3) The game teaches you all of this, by again, just basic observation. You notice that this chest looks different, something off, why is the chain coiled differently, and holy shit is the lid moving on its own, etc.

4) You actually can destroy chests and their contents so you dont want to continue wacking on them.

I find it funny that he decided to go into caution mode when he saw an Arch and a Narrow passage....as if thats some how Dangerous looking.... LoL... Bullshit, Nobody plays Dark Souls like that.

experienced souls players play like that...narrow hallways and arches are almost ALWAYS traps.

if there's a blind corner, there's like a 75% chance that there's an enemy standing there waiting to jump you.

Plan ?

Only thing I can think of that constitutes a plan in Dark Souls is Mapping out your Build. Because the mechanics are far too simplistic and the options are limited, I didn't find it even possible to plan anything beyond "kill this Enemy first because it Heals the ones."

planning as in "Shoot an arrow at the wall behind THIS enemy so he looks in that direction, while taking out the OTHER enemy so i don't pull BOTH". Or in dark souls 2 "Set my land mine HERE, snipe out THAT enemy over there and retreat into the hall where i set the mine as the other 3 enemies come at me, funneling into the bomb rigged hallway, taking them out, though i have to shoot the one running early so he staggers in time so all 3 will be on the mine".

Or little stuff like "use poison arrows to proc these 3 enemies without aggroing them, then pull this other enemy and deal with him so that when the other 3 are aggro'd from the fight, they're already half to low health from the poison before i even start fighting them."

The end result are Challenges that are Interesting despite how mechanically simple they are.

imo that's how games SHOULD be. It shouldn't come down to just memorizing inputs, but actually learning reflexes and skills.

For me, Tension is never a Factor... I don't need to focus on it because games based on challenging Gameplay will always have the right amount of Tension.... but Tension First Games always need to check if maybe they've gone too far or not far enough. Going too far results in Frustration and not going far enough results in boredom..... as I said earlier, since they don't focus on actual gameplay the lack of Tension leaves those games without anything to hold player's interest. Dark Souls is definitely a Tension first game, and some people (not all) base their experience on how much danger there is rather than if its actually challenging.....

it's not just that. I play Elder Scrolls and Fallout the same way. Sneaking around and assassinating everything from range rather than charging straight in with melee. It's just a more tactical style of play that I enjoy. Its fun and gives a sense of accomplishment when you wipe out an entire map of enemies without ever even getting into combat.

Ofcourse since I min maxed the shit out of my Character I just wound up getting bored... hell I just murdered Sister Friede in The DS3 DLC because theres not that much tension at 99 Vigor.

I just max out my damage stats. In case of my archer i wind up with 60+ Str and Dex, and just enough Stamina to fire at least 3 arrows in a row. Never put points into health or anything, seems like wasted stat allocation when i can just dodge most things in the game anyway and after a certain level/ng+cycles everything almost one shots you regardless.

but just minmaxing breaks ANY game, so that's your own fault lol.

What about the Clones ?

They're not just standing there looking pretty you know.

what ABOUT the clones? Pinwheel is so squishy he gets taken out before the clones get to do anything. Even barring that, just yaknow...dodge.

So, just recently got DS3. Still on Lotheric's High Wall. No idea what to do. Instructions unclear. Praised the sun,and drunk my Sunny-D too.

Go straight. i'm not kidding.

When you start, on the right is the way to a tower with a PoM, and a bow behind it. Then go back to start point.

Go left. You can go up by the dragon corpse and collect some gear then go around behind it and drop down for a body in the window, then go in and go down. Down down down. Then just keep going straight till you get to the dragon breathing fire. Its hallway full of soldiers and stairs leading up. if the dragon's not there yet you can haul ass and sprint to the gate up the stairs and open it for a shortcut with a Deep Battle Axe in a chest (Only Deep weapon you'll find for a WHILE, so its a good find), then contine on straight to a tower. Go to the top of the tower for a second bonfire.

After that you'll continue on off the actual wall and down into the next area.

 

[Lulu]

1) You dont need to spend 25 seconds. Though even if you did, the entire point of playing souls is PATIENCE and OBSERVATION.

You actually do... The Animation Interval is excruciatingly long so while some people might get lucky enough to catch it just as it creeks open.... others might catch it right after it closes.... I happen to be one of the unlucky people who caught it right after it closed.

LoL... I remember thinking people were bullshitting me just because of how long it took to actually catch it breathing.... This is Dark Souls after all... so I wouldn't put it past them.

2) Look at the mimic next to the regular chest in Anor Londo. It's subtle, but they are easily distinguishable from each other.

How can it be both subtle and easily distinguishable ?

These chests appear all over the game in different backgrounds under different lighting.... so if you want me to admit they are differences in colour... then sure.... but thats as far as I've noticed colour differences. Besides it wouldn't be a good Mimic if one was red and the other was blue.

3) The game teaches you all of this, by again, just basic observation. You notice that this chest looks different, something off, why is the chain coiled differently, and holy shit is the lid moving on its own, etc.

The game teaches you absolutely nothing after the Undead Asylum.... NOTHING !!! this doesn't mean you don't learn anything.... it just means the game is doing nothing to facilitate the Learning Process. Infact... it hinders it with its punishment for dying.

4) You actually can destroy chests and their contents so you dont want to continue wacking on then.

LoL... I don't believe you.

experienced souls players play like that...narrow hallways and arches are almost ALWAYS traps.

No they're aren't. Go count the number of Archways and Narrow passages... Most of them are definitely not traps...

if there's a blind corner, there's like a 75% chance that there's an enemy standing there waiting to jump you.

Its more like 10%

I don't know if you've notice but Dark Souls is trying to Kill You and sure as hell isn't going to accomplish that by giving you a pattern you can count on in every single scenario.... that would make for a very pointless trap and people would just wind up getting annoyed. Rather what the game does instead is setup up very a pretty dirty Trap once in a while.... a trap so cheap that if it kills you and if you lose a crap ton of progress... it makes you Paranoid enough to suspect everything from Corners to the very Ground you're Standing On.

Its why I just run everywhere without a care in the world.... only 2 out of every 7 Scenarios is a Trap.

You can see this with how the game Distributes the mimics.... they aren't spread evenly through out the game... they lump them up together... hoping that one of those long stretches without encountering a Mimic will cause you to forget they exist.

planning as in "Shoot an arrow at the wall behind THIS enemy so he looks in that direction, while taking out the OTHER enemy so i don't pull BOTH". Or in dark souls 2 "Set my land mine HERE, snipe out THAT enemy over there and retreat into the hall where i set the mine as the other 3 enemies come at me, funneling into the bomb rigged hallway, taking them out, though i have to shoot the one running early so he staggers in time so all 3 will be on the mine".

Or little stuff like "use poison arrows to proc these 3 enemies without aggroing them, then pull this other enemy and deal with him so that when the other 3 are aggro'd from the fight, they're already half to low health from the poison before i even start fighting them."

LoL... I've never seen anyone so dedicated to a Bow... a better plan would be to just go in there and kill them... the fact that you can kill them with a bow kinda proves theres no reason not to get in there and Stab them... its just quicker that way... unless if you don't find that fun, obviously.

imo that's how games SHOULD be. It shouldn't come down to just memorizing inputs, but actually learning reflexes and skills.

You misunderstood the problem... They are no Skills to master if Tension is the primary form of engagement. Its just carefully crafted Theatrics meant give the feeling of mastery with having to go through the process of actually implementing it.

it's not just that. I play Elder Scrolls and Fallout the same way. Sneaking around and assassinating everything from range rather than charging straight in with melee. It's just a more tactical style of play that I enjoy. Its fun and gives a sense of accomplishment when you wipe out an entire map of enemies without ever even getting into combat.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just play Shooters ?

They impliment Ranged Stuff way better than any RPG could.

Bioshock literally does all that stuff but way better.

I just max out my damage stats. In case of my archer i wind up with 60+ Str and Dex, and just enough Stamina to fire at least 3 arrows in a row. Never put points into health or anything, seems like wasted stat allocation when i can just dodge most things in the game anyway and after a certain level/ng+cycles everything almost one shots you regardless.

Yeah I never understood why RPG Developers make players in charge of deciding how much health they have... pretty pointless if you Ask me.

Also why did you go beyond 50 for your STR/DEX Stats ?

I believe the entire gap in between 50 and 99 Does absolutely nothing for those Stats....

LoL... and you can't Respec in DS1.

what ABOUT the clones? Pinwheel is so squishy he gets taken out before the clones get to do anything. Even barring that, just yaknow...dodge.

LoL... I know he's so Squishy that he can be killed quickly but with a Bow ?

When I started getting closer to NG +5 Pinwheel would last long enough to Tag Me atleast once and its usually an offscreen Clone that gets me.

Thats why I ask how you did it? After all... can't dodge what you can't see....

Go straight. i'm not kidding.

When you start, on the right is the way to a tower with a PoM, and a bow behind it. Then go back to start point.

Go left. You can go up by the dragon corpse and collect some gear then go around behind it and drop down for a body in the window, then go in and go down. Down down down. Then just keep going straight till you get to the dragon breathing fire. Its hallway full of soldiers and stairs leading up. if the dragon's not there yet you can haul ass and sprint to the gate up the stairs and open it for a shortcut with a Deep Battle Axe in a chest (Only Deep weapon you'll find for a WHILE, so its a good find), then contine on straight to a tower. Go to the top of the tower for a second bonfire.

After that you'll continue on off the actual wall and down into the next area.

LoL... Don't Help Him... Half the fun is making your own discoveries and figuring it for yourself.... at least thats what I was told.

Obviously I didn't like doing it that way but I don't play games for that Novelty Factor.

 

[Argentus]

How can it be both subtle and easily distinguishable ?

These chests appear all over the game in different backgrounds under different lighting.... so if you want me to admit they are differences in colour... then sure.... but thats as far as I've noticed colour differences. Besides it wouldn't be a good Mimic if one was red and the other was blue.

as in, if you don't know what to look for, you can miss a mimic. But it's literally as simple as noticing the chain is going in the opposite direction from a normal chest.

The game teaches you absolutely nothing after the Undead Asylum.... NOTHING !!! this doesn't mean you don't learn anything.... it just means the game is doing nothing to facilitate the Learning Process. Infact... it hinders it with its punishment for dying.

its just basic pattern recognition lol.

I don't know if you've notice but Dark Souls is trying to Kill You and sure as hell isn't going to accomplish that by giving you a pattern you can count on in every single scenario.... that would make for a very pointless trap and people would just wind up getting annoyed.

that is exactly what happens once you get used to dark souls, it just becomes tedious.

And yes, they are around almost every single corner in dark souls 1. From Undeadburg to the church, to New Londo, to the Duke's Archives, to Anor Londo, to Lost Izalith, etc, etc. The entire game is mostly enemies waiting to ambush you in blind spots.

You can see this with how the game Distributes the mimics.... they aren't spread evenly through out the game... they lump them up together... hoping that one of those long stretches without encountering a Mimic will cause you to forget they exist.

....there's only ONE before you get to Anor Londo, which is in Sen's Fortress. The rest are all strewn about Anor Londo and Duke's Archives.

There's not really any "long stretches without encountering a mimic". You find your first one right before Anor Londo, then they're pretty common from thereon out in the second half of the game.

No they're aren't. Go count the number of Archways and Narrow passages... Most of them are definitely not traps...

tbh i'm having a hard time thinking of one that isn't a trap. Undead burg, while no environment traps, always an enemy hiding waiting to ambush you around every corner. Same with the church. Same with Blighttown, especially, and same with the Depths. Etc, etc. The actual "Floor trigger" traps are mostly in Sen's fortress, with a couple in other areas.

LoL... I've never seen anyone so dedicated to a Bow... a better plan would be to just go in there and kill them... the fact that you can kill them with a bow kinda proves theres no reason not to get in there and Stab them... its just quicker that way... unless if you don't find that fun, obviously.

Sniping them out is much safer. Running in gets people killed. "Leeroy Jenkins" and all that.

Also the fact that i'm low health means i'm gonna do my best to minimize risk, so it'd be stupid to just rush in.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just play Shooters ?

They impliment Ranged Stuff way better than any RPG could.

Bioshock literally does all that stuff but way better.

not really? I mean i found myself super bored by Bioshock. And most shooters just are not stealth games at all. Not to mention most games are COD clones nowadays and have no challenge whatsoever.

Also why did you go beyond 50 for your STR/DEX Stats ?

to squeeze every last drop of damage out of my bows, especially since i didnt really have any use for the other stats anyway.

I believe the entire gap in between 50 and 99 Does absolutely nothing for those Stats....

Not "nothing", it's just not gaining a boost every level anymore. It's just less frequent. So now you have to like, get 3 levels to get another stat boost instead of once every level like pre-60.

LoL... I know he's so Squishy that he can be killed quickly but with a Bow ?

You underestimate quality bow builds in ds1...

Let me put it this way. On regular NG, I can take down the minotaurs in demon ruins and stuff in like 2-3 arrows, depending on headshots. (I never really bothered with the NG+stuff in dark souls. not interested in "Same thing, but now enemies have more health"). Most enemies drop in 1-2 arrows, even at endgame. some super tough enemies like black knights and darkwraiths will take 3-5.

Thats why I ask how you did it? After all... can't dodge what you can't see....

basically, i don't really need to move from my spot at all. Just tag him with arrows every time he reappears before he can do anything.

 

[Lulu]

as in, if you don't know what to look for, you can miss a mimic. But it's literally as simple as noticing the chain is going in the opposite direction from a normal chest.

Yeah the chain I get... its the colour I don't believe in.

its just basic pattern recognition

Yeah theres nothing interesting about that. Every action game does that.

not really? I mean i found myself super bored by Bioshock. And most shooters just are not stealth games at all. Not to mention most games are COD clones nowadays and have no challenge whatsoever.

Change the Difficulty...

You underestimate quality bow builds in ds1..

I probably do....only bow I used was Pharis' Bow and I only ever used Wooden Arrows..... I purchased about 400 of them and never restocked.

 

[Argentus]

I probably do....only bow I used was Pharis' Bow and I only ever used Wooden Arrows..... I purchased about 400 of them and never restocked.

Composite bow with heavy/large arrows and hawk ring beats out Pharis bow if you're doing a quality 50/50 str/dex build.

Pharis and Wood just gives you the best range for sniping, but for close to medium range combat, composite bow for the sheer damage.

Change the Difficulty...

not interested in "Same thing, but now enemies have more health"

 

[Lulu]

....there's only ONE before you get to Anor Londo, which is in Sen's Fortress. The rest are all strewn about Anor Londo and Duke's Archives.

There's not really any "long stretches without encountering a mimic". You find your first one right before Anor Londo, then they're pretty common from thereon out in the second half of the game.

I'm pretty sure going from the beginning of Sen's Fortress to the Beginning of The Beginning of Annor Londo is a pretty significant gap. And from there desptite how close the Duke's Archive's is to Annor Londo... its still takes a significant amount of time before you encounter the mimics again.

The only group of minics I would consider to be close together are the ones near the Fire Keeper guarded by the Sentinals and the ones Guarded by The Silver Knights in The Castle.

tbh i'm having a hard time thinking of one that isn't a trap. Undead burg, while no environment traps, always an enemy hiding waiting to ambush you around every corner. Same with the church. Same with Blighttown, especially, and same with the Depths. Etc, etc. The actual "Floor trigger" traps are mostly in Sen's fortress, with a couple in other areas.

Thats just From Software's Claustrophobic Level Design... turn the corner and you'l see an enemy but sure as hell isn't an Ambush. If anything you're probably Ambushing them because they certainly don't appear to be expcecting you.

Only Genuine Ambushes I can think of Are the Hollows Guarding The Rubbish... that Hollow Soldier hiding behind the Boxes Near the undead Merchant. The Hollow Cross bow Sniper near the Black Knight. The Hollow that Kicks The Barrel down the Stairs... The pair of Hollow Snipers in the Taurus Demon Fight. The Drake on The Bridge. The Hollow Soldier that shuts the gate with the Armored Boar. The Hollow Zombie that tries to lure you into an Ambush.
The Channeler in the Chapel. The Rapier Wielding Balder Knight hiding in the Corner near the Straight Sword Weilding Knights. The Other Rapier Balder Knight on the stairs leading to the Channeler....

Yeah thats thats most if not all the Ambushes from Firelink to The First Bell.... the other instances I went around a corner and walked into a Room there was either nothing or the enemies where just standing there, not threatning.

not interested in "Same thing, but now enemies have more health"

You just Described Dark Souls.... and every other RPG.... and Video game.

 

[Lulu]

https://www.pcgamer.com/this-dark-souls-mod-relocates-bonfires-npcs-enemies/

Pretty Sweet....

Now if only they could make a mod that... you know.... actually makes Dark Souls challenging.... or at the very least, more Robust.

 

[Lulu]

LoL... I did it...

Managed to aquire the Entire Havel Set and wear it all and still keep my equipment load below 70%.

Tell me thats not Gangsta !!!