I like the Dark Souls series* a great deal as any faithful reader of my blog knows. I’ve killed all the bosses in the first and third game solo at least once except for in the DLCs of DS III. I’ve played through all three games at least twice, and I’ve gone through NG++ twice in DS III, once as a caster/pyromancer and once as a tank. I’ve put several hundred hours into all three games, collectively, if not more. I’m decent at them, though of the people in the so-called Souls community, I’m strictly bush league. It’s because I’m old; my reflexes and eyesight aren’t great, which makes the games significantly more difficult. So does playing as a caster, but I’ll get to that later. I want to get my credentials out of the way to still the criticism that I’m just a filthy cas (casual), not that it will matter.
I want to say that most of the Souls community are enthusiastic, helpful, and good eggs. However, there is a very vocal minority of ‘the community’ who are, to put it bluntly, raging assholes. I’m sure this is the case in any gaming community (or any community in general, come to think of it), but it’s a very specific flavor of assholetry that is shown in the Souls community. Any time I’ve perused the forums for tips, there are certain negative comments that I always find. Because of that, I’ve often joked that I’d like to create a Souls community of my own for the people who enjoy the games, but aren’t doing SL1 runs (‘onebros’), naked, only punching enemies with their bare fists. I probably won’t because I’m not a person who plays nicely with others, but if I did, here’s a list of rules I would have for the members who want to comment in my forums:
- You are not allowed to tell anyone to ‘git gud’ except as a joke. It’s really irksome to have somebody pour out their heart about how they can’t beat, say, Pontiff Sulyvahn, no matter how hard they’ve tried, and ask for help, only to have someone tell them they need to git gud. Seriously. People say this, which does nothing other than tell me that you’re a dick for saying it, and you only want to rub it in the OP’s face that you’re so much better than they are.
- In the same vein, you are not allowed to call someone a filthy cas or a nOOb or any other demeaning term, which is essentially saying the same thing as number 1. Calling someone names isn’t going to help anyone, but the person being a jerk already knows this. Again, they just want to feel smug and superior.
- You will not be allowed to say, “Oh, this boss is so easy, LOL!” for the same reasons as above. I don’t think this is always someone trying to be malicious, but some people aren’t capable of realizing that what’s easy and hard for them may not necessarily be the same for other people. I recently played the original Dark Souls on NG+ as my caster/pyromancer, and I hit the DLC, which is incredible, by the way. I killed the Sanctuary Guardian first try (never had a problem with him), as well as Artorias, much to my surprise (had a TON of trouble with him first time through). Manus took me maybe five tries, but a few of those were me dicking around trying to summon Sif. I love having Sif fight with me, even if she’s little more than a meatshield. As a pyromancer, a meatshield is exactly what I need now and again. Also, I was able to use the silver pendant productively, so yay, me. Anyway. I tried to take on Black Dragon Kalameet and had my ass promptly handed to me. So, I looked up on the forums for any tips on beating him. One person posted, “Anyone who says Black Dragon Kalameet is hard is trolling.” Because, see, HE had no problems with BDK, so everyone else must be lying, right? Never mind that it’s pretty universally accepted that BDK is a grueling fight. He mentioned that the Sanctuary Guardian is way harder, and I was tempted to post that only a nOOb would have trouble with the Sanctuary Guardian, but I didn’t because I’m bigger than that and because it’s years after the post was made.
- Similarly, you are not allowed to mock someone for finding an area difficult. Whether it’s the Undead Burg in the original or the Undead Settlement in III, they were all difficult at one point. One thing about Souls games is that your first time through is always the hardest, naturally. But, one thing Souls does brilliantly (usually) is allow you to learn how to maneuver through an area by forcing you to play through the area. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. The first time I hit Undead Burg, I was a mess. I thought I’d never make it through. Everything scared the shit out of me, and I died over and over again. For those who don’t play Souls, this is the first real area of the first game, and it’s meant to ease you into the game. By ease, I mean throw you to the wolves and lock the door behind you. However, I did eventually make it through the Undead Burg, and when I returned to it mid-game, it was a romp in the park for me. How the hell did I find this difficult? It was so easy! Dying several times to the enemies in this area helped me learn the area and move past it. If I’m not careful, though, I can still die to a Hollow in the area. That’s the beauty of Souls. It also makes it easy for you to forget how hard the game is and how terrified you were the first time you played it. My first playthrough of the original game including the DLC took me an embarrassing 150 hours. My second took about a third of that time. Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, but it does breed complacency.
- If someone is asking for help with a specific boss, you will only be allowed to give them the help they want. Too many times, I’ve seen someone say, “I’m a dex build, and I’m trying to beat ______. Help!” Inevitably, there is some asshole who says something along the lines of, “Switch to a strength build, grab your heaviest armor, weapon, and shield, and just tank the damage.” In DS II and DS III, you can respec, but this wasn’t a possibility in the original, and people were saying it, anyway. Even in the games in which you can respec, it’s not helpful because most people like using one build, are comfortable with said build, and it would take a lot of time to try a different build. If someone wants to beat the Nameless King as a dex build, help them do it! Don’t tell them how to beat him as a strength build, for fuck’s sake. When I was trying to beat Artorias for the first time, I was having a hell of a time because, well, he’s fucking hard for one, but because I was a pyromancer. He’s resistant to fire, so I erroneously assumed that meant I couldn’t use my fire. Nobody in the forums I read were helpful, but I happened to stumble upon a video of someone (sorry, can’t remember the name) who beat him as a pyromancer rather handily. I realized I had all the things I needed to do what the guy in the video had done, and I went and did it. So, yes, it’s possible to beat Artorias as a pyromancer. I did it on NG+ with my pyro on my first try. That’s not a humblebrag, really. It’s only because I’d learned so much from fighting him as a pyro and as a tank, and from watching others fight him. If I fought him again, I’d probably die to him many times. He’s one of those bosses for me–I’m never comfortable fighting him.
I don’t stream, and if I did, I wouldn’t stream a Souls game. First, no one would want to watch a Souls stream of someone who’s played the game several times because part of the fun is watching the streamer’s reaction as they discover new things, and, yes, as they die. If I did stream a Souls game, however, I would have rules for the chat as well. They would be as follows:
- Absolutely no spoilers. This is something most Souls streamers request, but the viewers often have difficulty following the edict. I know you’re excited and want to talk about the game, but half the fun of a Souls game is the discovery. I actually saw one streamer have to argue with a viewer as to why he didn’t want Bloodborne spoilers, and he finally said, “It’s my stream, and it’s what I want.” It does get tricky because there are many levels of spoilerage with Souls games. You can spoil item locations, new weapons and armor, new areas, bosses, shortcuts, hidden walls, and bonfire locations, and those are just off the top of my head. If it were me, I would want to know if I missed a bonfire, but only after I missed it. Same with any cool items. The rest, though, I don’t want any of those spoilers, and I would give the person one warning before banning them. I would have a banner saying ‘No spoilers’ running across the bottom, and I would remind viewers of it periodically. It’s tough, though, because there’s a gray area. Is speculating about lore spoilers? Is talking about a boss as you’re fighting a spoiler? In the end, I err on the side of caution. I recently had a few things spoiled for the DS III DLC, and I’m not pleased. Don’t put boss names in the title of your vids. That’s a freebie for the YouTube community.
- No backseating unless asked for. One thing Souls veterans love to do is coach. I get it. I really do. When you’ve played the shit out of a game, you’re eager to share your knowledge. I’ve watched Souls vids and thought, “Oh, you need to do x, y, or z,” so I get the compulsion. People should resist, however, because you learn in Souls by doing. I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I watched a series called Prepare to Try by the British IGN in which Krupka, a Souls aficionado, guides Rory, a Souls noob (their word), through Dark Souls while Gav, the banter bus driver, cracks wise. During the original game, Krupka was pretty hands on, sometimes even telling Rory where to go. When they moved on to the third game, Krupka was more hands off, and Rory struggled harder because he hadn’t really learned how to play Dark Souls. In addition, as I said above, different strokes for different folks. I am shit at dex builds, and nothing anyone tells me will make me better at them.
- No name-calling. Sadly, there are Souls players who go into streams just to shit on the streamer. This is a big part of Souls watching from what I can gather, and it’s a crying shame. Souls games are hard enough without some asshole telling you you’re shit at it. Even if it’s true (which it usually isn’t), it’s not helpful in the least. I never understood the mentality of, “Not only do I have to be awesome at this game, I have to tell you you’re shit at it.” Why? Why not just be pleased that you can beat Dark Souls on SL1 while manipulating the controller with your feet as you jack off? Why you gotta make others feel bad? I know it’s overcompensation and it’s a zero sum mentality. If someone else is also good at the game, then somehow, your own mastery is lessened. It’s sad, really, but they are not welcome in my house.
Basically, it boils down to what we all learned in kindergarten: Don’t be a dick. Be kind, helpful, and considerate. As I said, most of the community is like that, but there are enough dicks to make me want to start my own community. Only scrubs allowed!
*DS III last DLC notwithstanding. It is my least favorite of the DLCs of all three games, but I’m not finished with it yet and may change my mind. I doubt it, but that’s another post for another day.