Ian pitched an idea to his editor that he do a Dark Souls journal as he finally finishes Dark Souls (Remastered) for the first time. Not so much a ‘I beat the Taurus Demon’ recounting of what he’d done, but writing about some aspect of the game that makes it iconic, like the level design. Upon hearing this, I reacted with calm enthusiasm and said that was a good idea.
Just kidding. I squealed and pelted him with a barrage of messages saying I would help him in any way, ranging from being a human summon if he needed it to being his Vaati Vidya upon request as well. He had decided he was going to stream most of it so I could get in on the backend as well. I told him to tell me when to CTFO and STFU because I can get intense about the games. I wasn’t going to backseat in any way except if he misses a bonfire, maybe. But maybe not. I have given him tidbits when he asks a question such as why did he his counter go up (you get soft humanity when you kill a certain number of enemies in an area) or why did he get an extra Estus (someone kindled that bonfire in their game)? I’m trying to strike a balance between being helpful and being annoying/overwhelming. If it’s a quality of life question, I don’t feel bad answering. I’m not going to backseat how he’s playing unless he specifically asks me, though.
To that end, I started a new character. Side Note: the infamous PC bug of error corrupt data because of syncing is occurring in my game and has, on and off, since I started playing the game. And the fix is not one that is easy to apply if you’re not one for fiddling in the backend. Which is me. I’m pretty good with tech stuff, but for whatever reason, fiddling in the files always makes me nervous. I did verify the files and that helped, but it didn’t ‘cut out the problem entirely. Apparently, this is a known bug.
Anyway, Ian started a dex character–the Wanderer–and I joked that he chose the one build I can’t help with much. I have never played as a dex character because it relies too much on reflexes. But I know enough about it to help him out in general. There are things that are beneficial for all characters such as put points in health and stamina. Endurance (stamina) is especially OP in this game because it governs load equip as well. So, pouring all your spare Souls into Endurance until you hit the soft cap of 40 never hurt nobody.
My character is a Pyormancer, of course. I will always play as a Pyro if I can. I’ve been shadowing Ian’s character throughout the world and am currently sat at the Firelink Shrine bonfire waiting for Ian to take on the Capra Demon. He has not needed to summon yet and he’s breezing through the first areas (which he has played before). I’m doing what I always do–grab the Zwei for later, ‘chop’ off the darke’s tail for the Drake Sword which gets me easily through the early game, and level up enough to be able to use my Zwei by the garg fight. And upgrade it to +5. And since I am grinding so much, I have plenty of soft humanity. Humanity for days! I currently have 7, I think. After using one to go human. To summon Solaire and Lautrec for the gargs just for shits and giggles.
Side Note II: I did not realize that if you talk to Lautrec so you can summon him for the Bell Gargoyle fight, he will disappear from Firelink Shrine. Which means I cannot kick him off the stairs and get his ring. Which means he’ll kill Anastacia of Astora (the Fire Keeper/Ash Maiden at Firelink Shrine) and I’ll have to invade his world to get her soul back. I mean, in retrospect I should have known, but it’s a real pain in the ass. Plus I have to wait for the Ring of Favor and Protection which gives extra health and stamina. I summoned Lautrec as a lark and regret it. But it’s something new I didn’t know about the game! Or had forgotten! I have platted the game and can still be surprised by things. I love this. It’s one of the reasons this game (and all the Souls games, yes, including the second one) continues to engage me.
When I watched Ian take on the Bell Gargoyles, I got a thrill down my spine at the cutscene. I have seen it many times, of course, but it still gave me a jolt. Ian had no problem with them and disposed of them posthaste. He rang the bell, spent his Souls, and went about his merry way. I quickly did the same so I could keep pace.
I have long since thought (and told him) that Ian is a better Souls player than I am. His reactions are better and he has played video games for much longer than I have. Plus, he doesn’t get frustrated the way I do, which is key to playing these games. The first time I fought the Bell Gargs, I nearly quit the game. I had one humanity left and I told myself that if I couldn’t beat them with Solaire, I was giving up the game forever. ‘Needless to say, we did it and continued, but I wasn’t feeling good about my chances.
Also in my first playthrough, I accidentally attacked Andre when I was trying to talk to him. The thing about the first game is that if you aggro an NPC, they will continue to be aggroed until you absolve your sin. How do you do this? By going to Oswald of Carim and begging for pardon. Here’s the catch, though. You have t kill the Bell Gargoyles before he shows up. I had to get Andre back, though, because he’s a very important blacksmith. The cost of absolution is based on your soul level and I think I had to pay roughly 10,000 souls before I could absolve my sins. It was a lot of money, but I had to do it because Andre is that important.
Side Note III: I realized how far I’d come in the game when I bought the remaster and started it up. One of the negatives about playing on the PC is how easy it is to mod the games (it’s also a plus, obviously, but in this case, it was a negative). In my first run of Dark Souls Remastered, someone came into my game and killed Andre. I was furious at the audacity, but ultimately, it didn’t really matter. I didn’t *need* Andre, though I would like to have him, of course. So, I started over after putting the game offline. I got back to where I was in an hour and was ready to rock and roll. I played that whole playthrough offline and had a grand old time defeating the bosses by myself as I did in the old days. During this playthrough, however, I don’t care what it takes for me to beat bosses in my world because I’m just trying to keep up with Ian.
I love the Souls games. I think we all know this by now. I want as many people to play them as possible. Personally, I would recommend starting with the third game because I find it the most accessible, but many in he community think it’s more difficult than the first game. At any rate, you can’t go wrong with the original Dark Souls if you’ve never played a FromSoft game before; you’re in for one hell of a ride.