A Case for the Caster: I Put a Spell on You

Hey, melee players, fuck you. I’m kidding, of course, but you’ll pardon me from being a little salty at how much shit casters get, especially from the Souls community. I would like to say up front that I know the Souls games are made to be played as a melee character, and I’ve bitched more than once about how casters are treated like second-class citizens. Obviously, I don’t give a fuck because I keep playing as a caster whenever I can. The problem is, I like to watch other people play Souls games* and most of them play as melee characters. That doesn’t bother me in and of itself because as I said, the game is meant to be played bashing the enemies with a sword, mace, halberd, axe, etc. It’s also more fun to watch someone bash his/her head against an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, so I’m not mad about the lack of casters Let’s Plays. I find them fun to watch because I’m a caster, but even I can say that there’s something missing in watching someone torch an enemy from afar. The community takes it too far, however, even stating that to get the real Souls experience, you have to play as a melee character the first time through.

I went on a mini-Tiwtter rant earlier today because I’m watching the Super Best Friends play Demon’s Souls in which they were talking about all the ways you can cheese the Souls games. A German Spy (a guest YouTuber who’s very knowledgeable about Souls games) asked Pat if he ever used the Firestorm glitch, and Pat said in a disgusted voice, “No. I never use magic.” To underscore his point, he said he hated magic. He jokes a lot, but he sounded deadly serious. In addition, I watched him and Woolie play Dark Souls 2. Rather, Woolie was playing it for the first time, and Pat was ‘coaching’** Woolie through it. Woolie had played about half the game before as a sorcerer, but Pat wouldn’t let him be one. Pat made Woolie be a cleric,*** and Pat spent the rest of the playthrough denigrating magic users.

I don’t give a shit if most people want to play Souls with sword and board in hand (or just sword), so I don’t understand why they can’t afford me the same indifference. Why can’t they just play the game the way they want to and let me do the same? Why do they have to insist that anyone who plays as a caster is a pussy or isn’t getting the real Souls experience? I will never understand people who need everyone to do the same thing they do in order to feel validated. For example, I know I have shitty taste in music, and I don’t give a fuck. I don’t have any guilty pleasures–only  pleasures. Other people tell me my taste sucks, and I just shrug. That’s the same way I feel about games. I am semi-obsessed with the Souls games, obviously, but I don’t get offended if other people don’t like it or say they prefer to play with an Ultra Greatsword.

My theory is that it has something to do with masculinity as it’s only dudes I hear talking about how you have to fight hand-to-hand or it doesn’t count. it’s hard to say, though, because there are very few women who stream/YouTube Souls. That’s not to say that there aren’t women who play the games, obviously, but the community and the forums are overwhelmingly male. There’s a macho culture of who can do it the hardest way, and it’s very off-putting when I’m trying to find actual answers to my questions. Any time someone asks a question, the first comment is always, “Git gud, n00b!”. Or, alternately, “Get rekt!” If it’s someone asking for boss help, inevitably, the first comment is, “This boss isn’t that hard.” The other thing that always happen is the OP will say, “I’m a dex build, how do I deal with this boss?” Only to get, “You need to muscle up and fight him head on.” I’m being a bit unfair because there are tons of helpful people, but they sometimes get drowned out by the very loud and obnoxious voices of the know-it-alls who only do Soul Level 1 Waste of Skin runs with the Broken Straight Sword. Blindfolded.

I have a theory I’m tentatively calling the Theory of Dudes. It’s a working title! Cut me some slack. I’m horrible at titles, though, so I probably won’t change it. It might be better named the Exponential Dudeness of Dudes. Anyway. This is the theory. The more dudes you have in one space, the cruder and more infantile the conversation gets. I’ve noticed it with the YouTubers I watch. If there are two of them, the conversation is funny and lively and interesting. When more guys join, the conversation inevitably devolves into farts, dicks, and boobs. Sometimes, it gets so juvenile, I quit watching/listening. I noticed it especially with The Two Best Friends. (Super Best Friends is an offshoot). If it’s just two of them, specifically Pat and Woolie, they focus mostly on the game while riffing on other topics of choices, but not overtly macho. If Matt and/or Liam shows up, then it’s just a sausage fest with the testosterone freely flowing.

I’m mentioning it because I think it’s relevant to the Souls community, which, as I mentioned, is overwhelmingly male. I’ve seen really cool dudes become assholes when they start talking to their (male) friends, and my conclusion is that men have to be kept in isolation in order to make them tolerable. I jest, but there’s a kernel of truth to what I’m saying. Here’s the thing. I’m already making a lot of concessions by being a chick who plays ‘hardcore’ video games and watching Let’s Plays. It can be a lonely feeling, especially as I said that I’m a caster, which makes me persona non grata. Hm. Maybe I should start a Steam forum, ‘Chicks who dig Souls games’. I’m guessing that a lot of dudes would be pissed off if I did that because they would feel excluded. Well, to be fair, they would be excluded, but they have a billion and one forums in which they can participate. One that doesn’t include them shouldn’t be any big deal.

Anyway. I love being a caster, specifically a pyromancer, and I make no apologies for it. Watch the second video for one of my favorite Souls YouTubers, MrSketchead, doing a pyromancer build. I don’t think it’s a pale alternative for the real thing, and I’ll tell you why. First of all, I love fire. A lot. I’m attracted to flames in a way that some may find disturbing. Fire is powerful and all-consuming. Being able to set enemies ablaze is a great thrill. Do not worry. I am not an arsonist. I only set fires in controlled settings. I cannot deny, however, that I cackle in glee when a bunch of, say, skeletons go up in flames. I have always played range, in part because I’m old and I simply do not have the reflexes needed to be a great melee player. I rather circle around an enemy, lobbing a well-timed spell when he least expects it. I feel there is more strategy to playing ranged because you’re just not whaling away at someone as fast and as hard as you can. In addition, being a caster means I have less health than most players, so I can’t afford to trade hits with the enemies. I usually can’t wear heavy armor, either, which is another reason I can’t trade hits.

I need to be more judicious as to when I’m going to attack, which is  not my strong point. I also have to manage my stamina carefully as I don’t put as many levels into endurance as do melee players. Watching melee players bam away for 1,000+ damage a hit sends envy spikes throughout my body. I would love to be able to do that, and I might try a melee playthrough of one of the games, but I have a hunch it’ll be an exercise in frustration. Yes, Souls games are meant to be frustrating, but only in specific ways. I want the best experience playing the games, which means playing as a caster. As a caster, I also need to know which spells to choose for which areas. Some of the enemies have resistance to different elements, of course, so I can’t always rely on my pyromancy. I have lightning spells, magic, and dark, so it’s interesting to try to mix and match to the maximum potential. I didn’t have my faith up high enough in the first playthrough to use the really good miracles, so I mostly ignored the lightning. I didn’t really use the magic much, either, come to think of it, but I did use dark–albeit dark pyromancy. In past games, however, I’ve used magic and miracles liberally. This time, I focused heavily on pyromancy, which is like coming home to me. Nothing feel as good in Souls as having my pyromancy glove on and raining fire down upon my hapless enemies.

I’d like to interject that I did melee a great deal, too. It’s not as if I could solely do ranged battle, though I would have loved to be 100% caster. ALL CASTING ALL THE TIME. I mostly used the Brigand Axe +10, which is a very basic melee weapon. Many times, I’d run out of FP before reaching another bonfire (or before killing a boss), so I’d have to resort to hacking away at the enemy in a most inelegant manner. In addition, when I was summoned as a phantom in another world, I’d have half the estus flasks I had in my world, so I usually had to use my weapon by the end of the fight. I’m at my best when I’m mixing up casting and melee if I can’t do straight up casting.

I also have no compunctions about using whatever tricks I need to make things easier for my life as a caster. One thing I fell in love with in the third game was the Hidden Body spell/Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring combo. The former is pretty self explanatory–it makes you nearly invisible to enemies as you pass them, invisible if you’re standing still. The Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring masks your footsteps. Put the two together, and you don’t have to worry about aggroing enemies until you’re right up in their face and smack them. If you hit them from afar, they will forget you exist once they’ve been hit. There’s a spell that does the latter as well, but I didn’t use it often because it would mean sacrificing another attunement slot. That’s another thing I had to do as a caster, by the way. Fiddle around with my rings, spells, and Estus Flasks more than a melee player would. I also had rings that gave me more attunement slots, but I gave them up in the late game because I realized it was better to have more powerful spells (via a few pyromancy-enhancing rings) and fewer spells than vice-versa.

I don’t like that I feel I have to defend my decision to be a caster. It’s in the fucking game, which means it’s viable. Besides, there’s nothing I can say that will convince melee players that I’m not a pussy, so fuck them. One of the few female Souls YouTubers I really like is KayPlays. She’s low-key and mellow, but also engaging and funny. Her play is a mixture of ranged, magic, and melee, and I really enjoy how she tries new tactics when her old ones aren’t working. I also like that she’s pretty popular in the Souls community, frankly, the only woman who comes to mind. Which is sad. At any rate, I don’t give a fuck. I’m a caster, and I’m fine with people hating on that. It’s still one in the win column for me, and I’ll take that any day.

 

 

*It’s a sickness, but I do not want the cure.

**Telling him what to do.

***Who uses miracles, which are a kind of spell.