UPDATE:
FYI very few screenshots here as I just realized I must not have had FRAPS running during my play session. Sorry about that guys.
So last update I was way too furious to describe my 3am excursion into The Iron Keep. Great looking area (much better than the lava area in DS1) and an amazing area to farm for souls. So first off, I decided to go for the item out on the lava rock right after the bonfire. Not the one under the stairs but the one where you have to jump from rock to rock. After about 30 deaths dedicated to this item alone only to see that it's a human effigy my annoyance is already quite high. So I push forward. Fight some guys that give me over 1000 souls each. Bingo! Equip snake ring to increase that number because you can never have too many souls. Find a hidden wall with a ballista pointing at the back of an enemy. Not very effective but fun when you try it for the first time. So I make my way to a massive room, lava everywhere, a bridge and archers shooting from every fucking direction!!
So I take my time here. Very methodical. Hide behind walls, lure enemies to me and when that's not an option I try to maneuver myself behind pillars to keep my backside safe. I see a platform with a door and switch on it and decide it's a safe place to take refuge from another archer that I mistakenly activated. Hit switch and a bridge starts to lower, awesome! Get an arrow in the back. Shit! Get in the door I think. Open the door..
HOLY SHIT I'M ON FIRE!!!! Another arrow in the back. Roll my ass to under the stair thinking that rolling will actually put me out quicker. Stop, drop and roll right? So I figure that's not the way to go. Walk back to the bridge that was lowered and start to make my way across. Take out a couple more enemies and notice a valve on the side of the same building that McCallistered me. Jump off the bridge and turn that off. The fire stops. Get my ass back up to the bridge and notice a mist door. Hrm... now I know that if I die I will have to walk my ass all the way back through this mess, and at this point i'm already at around 10,000 souls (which as you know by now, I'm not willing to lose because i'm very frugal with my souls) So I decide that to make this area easier to do a boss rush on, it would be better to farm this area until all enemies are gone and therefore I can make it to the boss much quicker and with less hassle. So I spend an hour or so killing these enemies and returning to the bonfire. Finally they stop appearing and i'm ready to take on the boss.
And so it begins. The Smelter Demon IS WITHOUT A DOUBT my Ornstein and Smough. This dipshit took 2 hours of my life away from me and I wasn't anywhere close to killing him. Tried upgrading my weapon, switching out gear, switching out rings, equipped big fuckoff club, tried going two handed, tried popping almost all my boss souls and upgrading my character more,etc. and nothing, I mean nothing worked. At this point it's 3am, my fiance isn't enjoying watching anymore and i'm not enjoying playing anymore. The anger and frustration is leading me to make dumb mistakes, getting greedy and all around sloppy play. So I walk away. Exhausted, defeated and never wanting to hear the name Smelter Demon again. Seriously. FUCK THAT GUY!
The next day I start fresh. Go back to some previous areas and explore. Use some lockstones in Grave of Saints. Total waste. Then I use the forgotten key back in some areas, all of them also being a waste except when I find Havel's armour set. This was the same set I wore in DS1 so i strap it all back on and now I feel like i'm ready to take on the world.
Remember I discovered Shaded Woods? Well it's time to work this area. Now to be fair, i'm probably over leveled at this point for such an area, but that's fine by me. Come to a fork in the road and decide to go left. Come across the next DLC transport point but move on (still undecided if I have time to play the DLC). Eventually make my way to Drangleic Castle and after a talk with an NPC I think this is the end of the game, quick google confirms this so I turn back.
Decide to go forward in the fork in the road. Kingsdoor prevents me from going any further. Now I don't think I have the symbol of the king, but if I should at this point please tell me. I want to make sure it's not like the ring in DS1 that lets you traverse the abyss, that I had in my possession for hours and didn't know that's what it did.
So all I can do is go left now at the fork. Fog. Yay. Take a stroll in the fog and get attacked. Look around..... but nothing. Must be an archer. This time I get backstabbed. WTF?! I can't see shit. Then it dawns on me. Holy shit they're invisible!!!! RUN!!!!!!!!!
So like a sissy I run out of the woods. Gain some composure and head back in with shield at the ready. Hug one side of the wall and just keep walking. Meet the head of a man that warns me about his body being out there and to keep an eye out. I'd put money on it that this guy will be a pain in my ass later in the game. Eventually get to Shaded Ruins and curse is clearly the name of the game. Not a whole lot to say here except this. If Dark Souls drops me down a hole again to only get cursed and have all my gear break like it did in the first game (the Depths) I am going to have a heart attack. Did get to meet a bird lady down there whom I let go free. Led me to another estus shard too. So was well worth it. After I paid to have all my gear fixed I ran to the next mist door in Shaded Ruins and took on the next boss, scorpion lady (i've given up on proper names at this point). A pretty mediocre boss. Had no issues and took her out on my first attempt. I am noticing that the number of times i've beaten a boss in this game on my first or with very few attempts are actually quite often.
Once I was done with her made my way to Doors of Pharros and wasted a ton more Pharros lockstones. Haven't even activated half of the faces there and not sure if I want to waste anymore. But from there I made my way to the next boss the Rat Authority (which looked more like a dog to me, but meh). Now I don't mean to sound like a blasphemer but was I the only person that felt this was a straight copy paste of Sif? Even beat them the same was as Sif. Took 3-4 attempts but two handing a weapon while getting under the belly of the beast where it can't hit you seemed to do the job. Another pretty easy boss. From here I went to Brightstone Cove Tseldora, almost got crushed by a massive boulder (oh Dark Souls lol) and then went through my own personal hell with spider caves. Fuck spiders in Dark Souls.
Ended this area by beating 2 pathetic bosses in a church. Seemed like some sort of cult leaders controlling some followers. Easily the most forgettable encounter in this game. They may not have been an actual boss boss but it seemed like 2-3 hits for each guy and that was that.
So of course with this new found confidence and a Fire damage reduction ring I found during my exploration exploits down in Forrest of Fallen Giants, I decided to put my big boy pants back on and attempt the Smelter Demon (shudder) one last time.
Cracked an effigy. Equipped rings including fire damage reduction ring, attack up ring, stamina regen ring and defense up ring. Grabbed big fuck off club and went in with 10 estus flasks at the ready. This is where I really wish I had those screenshots. It took me around 8 attempts but the Smelter Demon is no more and let me tell you something. The feeling I got after those magical words came on screen... "VICTORY ACHIEVED"...that's why I play this series. And you all know what i'm talking about. Pure dopamine to the brain.
I saved at the bonfire and called it a night. I was happy with my progress. 4 bosses taken out and one step closer (I hope) to the final 2 souls I need to make it to the end game. I'm currently sitting at level 135 I think which may be wayyy to high for the end game, but that's okay. I put work into saving those souls from being lost. I'm still contemplating on playing the DLC, I know you've all raved about it and i'd love to experience some of the best content the game has to offer, I just don't know if my schedule will allow it. But we'll see.
Next update will be about Bright Cove and what I like to call spider nightmares.
Oh yeah, and to you Smelter Demon I say this.