is it a coincidence that your GOOD list is all comprised of architecturally dense areas, while most of the more naturalist open spaces occupy your lower tiers?
this is an honest question
diplo is all about that architectural density.
That wasnât a conscious consideration when making the list, but now that itâs been brought up, no, itâs probably not a coincidence. These games tend to be at their best with architectural density (Boletarian Palace, Blighttown, Ariamis, Research Hall, etc.), and that quality is maybe all the more important now that From is technologically capable of creating an incredible amount of detail. Having high visual density and low structural density can feel like a broken promise in some contexts, and, along those lines, Iâd maybe criticize Irithyll â and maybe also Bloodborne â for keeping nearly all of its interiors inaccessible (at the same time, that inaccessibility does create a certain foreboding atmosphere: are silent strange things alive in these buildings, or have they all been abandoned?).
When you guys mention the Smoldering Lake, are you including the DooM maze, or just talking about the actual lake?
whole thing. itâs the best use of hidden walls in the whole series, the DooM maze doesnât outstay its welcome, and the contrast actually works for a change.
it also functions as a composite reference to so many dark souls things (including the wizardry dungeon you combed through to get there!) on top of being maybe the most important optional area to visit at that point in the game in terms of long-term resources
itâs fanservicey but it is compelling
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how is it fanservicey? just curious
many of the references i speak of are preeeetty obvious. down to using, like, the same wireframe models from previous games.
there are more subtle nods too and i like the area as a whole but smouldering lake as a whole is a gigantic reference document for the first game as far as i can tell.
I donât think this game is as fanservicy as others says it is, I mean is direct sequel in almost the same place, itâs not wrong to have things from 1, and it would be shitty if it didnât even when having Anor Londo as a level.
Now that I think about it all this remind me of Kingâs Field, first three games come for a console and the last game (if From isnât lying) coming to the next console and having a spinoff that is almost the same (Bloodborne-Tower Abyss).
Mmm, I really want From making a game with japanese folklore.
Guess Iâm the only one whoâs not a fan of Cathedral of the Deep. I donât think any of the areas are bad, but Cathedral feels too dense, and I think a lot of it is predicated on the infinitely respawning undead at the beginning. I think if that area was abandoned or sparsely populated it would have felt foreboding but I remember rushing through the entire area because it took a while before I was sure there werenât going to be respawns popping up every two seconds. I guess the area boss being a chump is somehow a payoff, and I actually like that boss, just a bit disappointed it was in an area that felt so overcrowded - having the âcrowdâ boss in the same area just felt redundant, rather than ending with a nice juxtaposition as Demonâs Souls was fond of doing.
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Cathedral was really fun to keep running through co-op. So was Irithyll and dealing with the constant invasions. The catacombs I thought were disappointing because I thought it ended up being just a rinky dink nothing dark souls 2 kind of area. Profaned capital was even worse about that though. I judge dark souls levels entirely on what kind of 90s pc rpg type labyrinth the area name conjures up in my imagination and how badly it ends up not matching that.
Catacombs were weird because for as expansive as they looked, the actual amount of space for exploration was pretty limited. Scale, visually at least, felt a bit confusing there.
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i like this criteria.
It wouldâve been nice if the profaned capital had done more than it did. You can see that there is some attempt at thematically blending architecture with geology in the background, and I wish itâd riffed on that.
I understand the criticism of the catacombs, even though I like them a lot. In retrospect I think what wouldâve made them more interesting was if thereâd been some alternate path leading down the central chamber, either as a shortcut or to an optional section. The several ledges you can drop down from on the right at the beginning are very suggestive, and it was kind of disappointing how they only led to the bottom of the main staircase.
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The Consumed King is pretty cool. Putting two ultra greatsword-wielding knights in front of his boss door is kind of a downer though. I wish tail cutting was still a thing in this game.
Got a +9 sharp claymore now, wanted to try out these cool twin-swords i found but itâs hard not to invest all your chunks in your go-to weapon. Game feels pretty generous when it comes to handing out regular and large shards now. Hell, even chunks feel like theyâre raining from the sky.
Weâre still talking about this game, right? Well, Iâm gonna talk about it, at least!
I have spent the last several hours in the game with the great club (I think it is now up to a heavy +6 version) and it is good to have my friend back, although it has been tricky getting back used to its slower speed. Iâve never been good at deciding which stats are good so Iâve basically put everything into health, stamina, load and strength. I also got my hands on havelâs ring so Iâm wearing just about the heaviest armor imaginable while at like 69.2 or so equip load, basically making me a still maneuverable tank. I kinda want to switch to a more stylish armor set at some point but I like having the extra health.
Someone earlier mentioned that they did not care for the kick and while Iâd have agreed before it suddenly dawned on me that I could use it against turtling enemies (just got out of the valley, only took me that long plus the three prior games). Made that section much more manageable.
Just made it to Anor Londo and I thought it was a pretty nice touch.
Equip load is bad in this game. Effectively, VIT is a stat you should only invest in if you have to have a certain look for your character, because VGR is always going to have better returns (until the soft cap at 50), especially since Poise doesnât function in the way it used to.
Best dump stats are VGR (until 50) and END (until 40) (effectively, where your points should go after you hit your softcaps, which are 40/40 for quality or 60 for single stat builds).
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Not sure I agree with that. VGR barely helps if youâre losing fights to running out of Estus (except for the extra slack helping you use it more efficiently). Also I suspect you ran something like a two-handed light weapon â I was running a medium greatsword plus greatshield at least some of the time so I needed some VIT not to go naked.
I do agree that the amount of VIT needed to wear something like Smoughâs Set is not worth it whatsoever, given the surprisingly modest improvement in defense from those heavy sets. That makes me sad since I loved wearing it in DkS1 (where it was easy to get your capacity up to it thanks to END and Havelâs ring being broken).
and i believe someone on youtube figured out that when it comes to armor in this game, itâs actually better to have something on in each slot than nothing at all. each piece brings a flat increase to your defense in addition to itâs damage absorption stats. here is that video.
but yeah, i am kind of down of VIT as a stat. either each point should have given you a larger increase to equip load, or things should cost less to put on. armor damage reduction doesnât feel as potent either, none of the heavy stuff seems worth the cost of wearing it?
Paranthropus (Symphony of the night) Always Dies Super Easily
Giant Old SKeleton Man (Dark SOuls 3) fucking useless piece of shit dies after easy telegraphed attacks
Creaking Skull (any castlevania) weak skull presence
Dry Bones (Super Mario World) dumb piece of shit not even red or bloody
Rick (Splatterhouse Wapaku Graffiti) Not A Real Skeleton, Looks Like Is
Stalfos (Particularly Ocarina Of Time / Majoraâs Mask) You Are Weak Armed Jabroni Who Die Easily Not Even SPooky
thatâs most of it
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what about those big skeletons in the graveyard and then catacombs in ds1
those guys are straight murderers