Yep, just finished the first DLC myself, and I found it short but sweet. No complaints. The boss was cool, although having
three forms
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Dark Souls III: The Ringed City |OT| One Last Journey
- Thread starter Hikami
- Start date
Yep, just finished the first DLC myself, and I found it short but sweet. No complaints. The boss was cool, although having
I remember the Crowns DLCs to be longer, but maybe my memory deceives me; however, AoA's length was mainly criticized relative to its price, and I think it's undeniable that 15 bucks is a bit too much for that amount of content.
At least TRC made the Season Pass' price a bit more fair, although I still think 20$ would've been the perfect price point.
I don't know why but I'm playing terribly today. Had the final boss in the ropes multiple times yesterday but now I'm struggling to just avoid even the simplest of attacks.
Bonus: Nice art of the final boss. Spoilers, obviously. Even if the name has been dropped multiple times without spoiler tags -_-
Your prayers were answered :3
Bonus: Nice art of the final boss. Spoilers, obviously. Even if the name has been dropped multiple times without spoiler tags -_-
Your prayers were answered :3
He spams the red projectiles a lot and during those tends to jump in the air and then strike you thru all that mess. Basically just stay away when the projectiles fly and track him. Dodge the attack and put in some good hits.
The bigger problem is that the projectiles leave areas where lightning will strike right afterwards so again staying away from those while trying to dodge is the way to go. I find fighting on a slope works well because of this, the lightning spots will not end up right behind you as often.
It is a fight that leaves little space for healing or slow weapons.
Stay in front, don't summon and hit the head. There are a few charge attacks that tend to have annoying hitboxes so roll more during those.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
Praise the Sun. Currently using a faith build and doing both DLCs for the first time
What's wrong with it? It's among the hardest content so far, and the new weapons/armor look cool.
That being said, some of the stronger mooks have ridiculous attacks. The Ringed Knight's 4-hit fire combo is pretty much insta-kill. I'm using Havel's, and my stamina is drained AND I'm stun-locked. So bullshit.
The level design is rather crappy, specifically the first area.
The second area is mostly okay. Nothing really stands out, but it's more varied besides a second swamp.
While I enjoyed the boss fights for the most part, all they really did to make the bosses harder was just give them a ridiculous amount of life while also being able to deal a ridiculous amount of damage, and be extremely fast. The majority of them have no downside to their attributes.
It all felt cheap and artificial. The actual mechanics of the fights weren't difficult. They all just boil down to a war of attrition which isn't all that fun.
Maybe some people find this artificial difficulty fun, but it wasn't for me.
I find the Nioh comparison interesting considering bosses are one of that games downfalls. Unmemorable with very uninteresting and limited patterns.
I liked the bosses. Unlike many of the main game bosses, all of these have projectile attacks and quite a varied moveset. Only thing that is true is that none of them punish being on their side or behind them as much as for example Pontiff Sullyvahn does.
The normal enemies are what have silly health pools. You need a high level character with top level weapons yet all of them can take at least 2 and often five or more hits from the heaviest weapons.
KLoWn
Member
So much I disagree with.
I just finished The Ringed City whilst going through the game for my first time. I basically waited for all DLC to release before touching the game and let me just say this:
Ringed City is probably the second best piece of content FROM has created yet, right after Old Hunters.
Varied levels with open areas to explore, more linear segments to follow and lots of interesting new gear to find.
Tons of secrets hidden throughout the DLC and interesting lore to uncover.
Fantastic NPC questlines.
Absolutely breathtaking visuals, easily FROMs best looking set piece yet.
Really fun bosses that dwarf pretty much anything found in the main game except for maybe one or two bosses.
Some much appreciated difficulty spikes that had me struggling like the good old days when Souls was fresh and new.
I thought it was absolutely fantastic DLC and pretty much FROM at their best. T'was a struggle but all the better for it.
Hey, I feel ya on that. Currently fighting the 3rd boss, and he isn't particularly hard in any of his phases. But he has way too much health.
It's been a while since I dug into this, but how high is your health? I wear the fallen Knight armor and have like three hits before I die. I don't use a shield, but can still easily tank with a two handed sword then roll before the last hit. In this game, it turns out stat investments in health are a lot better than investments in heavy armor. https://steamcommunity.com/app/374320/discussions/0/351660338729691730/
I have 30 Vigor, and I'm wearing 2 pieces of the Ringed Knight set (chest and leggings). I also have Ring of Steel Protection +3. I feel like a badass, but everything still hits like a truck.
Was getting my arse kicked when I was running with +9 Dark Sword, but Gaffer's suggested to go Exiled GS. It's been smooth sailing since.
MickeyKnox
Member
There's another way to get that particular slab...
The bosses all clearly telegraph their attacks. Midir particularly has very long start-up animations; his fight is all about proper positioning in response to what he does.
I beat the final boss of the DLC tonight, AKA
He gave me trouble the last sessions I played and then after a few tries I got him today without too much trouble. Funny how that works. Very cool fight, but also quite easy once you figure out how to beat him. The optional boss, on the other hand, is a pain even when you know how to fight him.
It feels almost surreal to have now finished all the content across the five games.
Circle Him Counterclockwise.
It feels almost surreal to have now finished all the content across the five games.
Probably gonna replay 1 soon or something.
Heavy armor largely matters only when also using slow weapons. I can take a few hits from the Ringed Knights as I am at the same time attacking them so even if their attacks are slightly faster I don't get interrupted. Nothing more satisfying than sending them flying with the weapon arts that throw them in the air.
But yeah, well over 20 points in health is highly recommended for Ringed City.
In other news, I went to take down Soul of Cinder after finishing the DLC and boy he was just so easy when you are used to enemies that hit like a ton of bricks and have massive health pools.
While I enjoyed the new DLC overall, the angels were enough to completely sour the DLC for me, despite the rest of it being pretty enjoyable, which is unfortunate. It's frustrating because this sort of idea can be done right. From did it right with the machine gun tower in Bloodborne (and not quite as well with DS3's Smouldering Lake, but it was still acceptable there).
As much as I liked the bosses and the late areas of the DLC, I think the poorly-designed angels are what's going to stick with me most, and that's not a great memory to have for the end of the trilogy.
Red Liquorice
Member
The hide and seek nature was frustrating on the first playthrough, but since I've enjoyed the change of pace that they brought. Of course you can say that about anything in hindsight! 
I certainly enjoyed this DLC more than the first any way.
I certainly enjoyed this DLC more than the first any way.
Nah, when you know how and when to attack, you can beat him very, very quickly. Took me less than 4 minutes, I think, the last time I tried.
Finally got
down! I really enjoyed it, such an atypical
fight, plus making the
!
Yeah, I agree. When you know the tells and attacks, beating him is just a matter of patience and doing it.
Darkeater Midir
dragon
Frayed Blade is so goddamn cool with its weapon art
I found the Angels about as annoying as the ballistae in Smouldering Lake, but it hasn't soured the DLC for me. There's plenty of safe spots to hide in, but it is damn annoying having to run it multiple times.
Yeah, I agree. When you know the tells and attacks, beating him is just a matter of patience and doing it.
I agree, but I still think the fight is...well, not tedious, but requires more effort than the final boss, IMO, even when you know what you're doing.
Just finished Midir, solo lightning sword only. Took me few hours but damm is it satisfying.
I decided to put a summon sign up to see what everyone else was doing against him, and Goddamn the win rate. 3 hours in and only 5 victories.
Midir's got way too much health, especially since most host summon 3 phantoms. 15 minutes is too much time to trust a host to dodge flying fire breaths and laser beams. SERIOUSLY GUYS, STOP DYING TO LASER BEAMS!!!
I'm convinced Pestilent Mercury is the only way you are going to successfully help anyone.
I decided to put a summon sign up to see what everyone else was doing against him, and Goddamn the win rate. 3 hours in and only 5 victories.
Midir's got way too much health, especially since most host summon 3 phantoms. 15 minutes is too much time to trust a host to dodge flying fire breaths and laser beams. SERIOUSLY GUYS, STOP DYING TO LASER BEAMS!!!
I'm convinced Pestilent Mercury is the only way you are going to successfully help anyone.
His HP is fine honestly. Sinh from Dark Souls 2 had much more HP than this guy. Hit that head every chance you can and it's not so bad.
Midir
after finishing the DLC like 1 or 2 weeks ago
I remember complaining about it a lot in the thread, but in hindsight, this dlc is pretty good.
The first part is good and introduces a fun mechanic ( the whole
stuff). My only beef with it is that it's re-used in the 2nd part of the DLC and then it loses its ''neat'' factor and gets annoying ( the
)
But what really is the highlight of the DLC are the bosses.
The first boss is a
fight done right.
The second one is a fun gimmick
The final boss is really fucking great. The area is awesome, the boss himself is awesome, the way
near the end is great and adds a fuckton of stress / atmosphere to the fight. The music is also fucking awesome. Loved him
And then you have the optional boss. He is a pain in the ass but once you learn the best strategy to fight him, he's just fun, and on the level of the other
fights in the whole Souls franchise.
I really liked this DLC.
I remember complaining about it a lot in the thread, but in hindsight, this dlc is pretty good.
The first part is good and introduces a fun mechanic ( the whole
Angel
archer fuckers
But what really is the highlight of the DLC are the bosses.
The first boss is a
2v1
The second one is a fun gimmick
The final boss is really fucking great. The area is awesome, the boss himself is awesome, the way
lightning bolts strike the ground
And then you have the optional boss. He is a pain in the ass but once you learn the best strategy to fight him, he's just fun, and on the level of the other
DLC dragons
I really liked this DLC.
His laser is one-shot. And the way the dragon swipes as WIDE as he can and erratically as he does... always makes me laugh. Jesus, FROM really wanted to make sure the boss clips you with his hitbox eh?
Preach it. Takes forever to chase him, and then he'll just bullcharge you for you two to do the whole shebang again.
darkslayer101
Member
People seriously need to watch YT vids of an expert fight Midir. His attacks are quite easy to dodge and window of attack is safe albeit short. Thought he is one of the easier bosses in the saga with an obvious large health pool
That's the problem. I think it's easy for someone to lose patience and rush him, leading to their defeat.
The 2nd story boss
was supposed to be a human PVP match with help from the painting guardians but it looks like you fought the game ai because the game couldn't find a human for you to fight.
It's really hard to do with summons because Midir will be concentrated on one of them and the rest try to frantically get close and get some hits in that do fuck all damage. Honestly the only players people should summon for that fight are mages with Pestilent Mercury.
I think that would be a good change. I often can barely get one hit in anywhere after one of his attacks because he starts the next one so quickly.
How in the hell is Midir one of the easier bosses in the series?
I wouldn't say easier either but he has quite distinct windups for each of his attacks and while he moves around a lot his attacks don't feel that erratic and can be avoided safely most of the time. I quickly learned how to avoid most of his attacks. The real problem is getting any hits in between them and the huge amount of health doesn't help.
Pretty much most bosses have that too. Im not saying Midir is the hardest shit ever, but he's clearly on the harder boss tier.
test_account
XP-39C²
To be fair, i think that could be said about any boss in the serie. Watching an expert doing all of them, and they can all look easy. All bosses have some signs and patters of their attacks, problem is timing and avoiding difficult senarios.
Regard Midir however, i did watch a Youtube video on it after trying a lot myself first. After watching the video and picking up a few tips, it did make it easier, so i agree that its worth watching a video on how to beat Midir.
Red Liquorice
Member
This is an issue with DS3 in general imo. A lot of bosses, especially later game and DLC just attack, attack, attack then have barely any wind-down at all. You can literally safely swipe once, IF you have any stamina left from all the dodging.
How heavy weapon users deal with this I have no idea, I can barely get a single rapier or long sword swipe in before I'm rolling again, mindful that 60-70% of my stamina disappeared on the initial evasion and I'm going to need almost as much to escape after attacking just the once. They are too aggressive imo. The delayed attacks are one thing, that's a difference in timing, but add in 5 or 6 hit combos with barely any respite and each boss fight becomes an endurance run rather than a match of wits. The regain system in BB allows for aggressive boss attacks, but DS does not - you have to make a choice between attacking or healing, whereas in BB it's often the same thing/same use of stamina.
What is the alternative? Maybe a wider range of enemy attacks? Meaning you have to read more carefully attacks so you evade and retaliate correctly. Not sure, I just don't think the combat tools of the player in DS3 quite match up to those of the bosses and some bigger enemies.
I helped other players against him more than a hundred times, I think, and I can say that beating him the old fashioned way is doable (and quite satisfying). Problem is, and I don't mean to sound immodest, most players aren't nearly good enough.
What you want to do is notice the obvious tell for the long combos and avoid them (mostly) without dodging. You've already screwed up if you need to dodge every attack in, say, Sulyvahn's or
Gael's
All bosses usually allow you to make 1-3 hits (depending on weapon) before you have to start dodging their next attack. Some of the DLC bosses can be particularly nasty for slow weapon users.
Midir
Gael
Heavier weapons rely on interrupting enemies and you can't do that to most bosses so you end up dodging, hitting once and dodging again. Alternatively you could block some attacks with a good shield but usually the stamina hit is big enough that you can't get a counter attack in.
Most bosses have some combo attack where you are really just supposed to dodge it correctly or gain distance and regroup without attacking or the combo can be avoided by circling the enemy. I think avoiding the instinct to roll on every attack is what makes a good Souls player as fair amount of attacks can be avoided by just walking to the correct side.
I think you're spam rolling too much if you have stamina problem. Stamina regeneration in DS3 is too fast for this to be a problem. I did the DLC with a dark sword and 26 endurance but I did multiple playthroughs with very heavy weapons and I never have any stamina problems.
I mean 60-70% are 5-6 rolls, that's way too much rolling. Most attacks/combos can be dodged by running or just 1 or 2 rolls in the right direction. Watch Tolomeor for example. He does tons of bosses SL1, which means no stamina, without any rolling.
Young Liar
Member
I think people just get too intimidated by Midir, which is totally understandable given how fast he can kill you, how scary his attacks look, and how much health he has.
But if you stay right in front of him, most of the attacks he does have huge wind-ups and are easily dodged, and you always get a chance to whack his head afterwards. Ultra greatswords and greataxes can only give you one truly safe swing though (you can certainly risk another with a couple of Midir's attacks), but all the other faster weapons let you hit 2-3 times without having to worry about getting hit or not having enough stamina to dodge/block afterwards.
Also, the Wolf Knight's Greatsword fucking annihilates Midir. After taking me a couple of hours messing around with the Dragonslayer Greataxe and armor setups on NG+2, I tore through Midir in maybe 5 minutes or less with Artorias' signature weapon maxed out. I think I only used estus three times the whole fight, and he didn't even get to use his crazy laser attack on his second phase! It was crazy how much of a pushover he felt. Another surprising thing is that I didn't even have my character spec'd properly for that quality weapon. I was using my STR+FTH build at SL132 with the bare minimum DEX to wield the thing properly.
I've also killed Midir on base NG solely using Crystal Soul Spear on a pure mage build when the DLC first came out. It took a while, and it required I allot my flasks to 5-heals and 10-fp regen. Not saying that's efficient, but I made do with what I had with that character. Just saying it's absolutely possible to beat Midir as a pure caster without resorting to Pestilent Mercury!
And no, I don't even consider myself to be anywhere close to being a great Souls player. Yes, I've platinum'd all of them except Demon's Souls (screw grinding for pure stones), and I've beaten all of them at least 3 times with different builds. But I never do any crazy challenge runs like SL1 or no hits or no deaths or no rolls, etc. I still die a couple of times on consensus hard bosses, and I'm no good at PVP.
I think some long-time players just expect bosses to behave certain ways because "they know how Dark Souls work by now", that their way should always work and anything that goes against it is "broken design/artificial difficulty", and forget that a core tenet of Souls gameplay is to never let players feel comfortable.
But if you stay right in front of him, most of the attacks he does have huge wind-ups and are easily dodged, and you always get a chance to whack his head afterwards. Ultra greatswords and greataxes can only give you one truly safe swing though (you can certainly risk another with a couple of Midir's attacks), but all the other faster weapons let you hit 2-3 times without having to worry about getting hit or not having enough stamina to dodge/block afterwards.
Also, the Wolf Knight's Greatsword fucking annihilates Midir. After taking me a couple of hours messing around with the Dragonslayer Greataxe and armor setups on NG+2, I tore through Midir in maybe 5 minutes or less with Artorias' signature weapon maxed out. I think I only used estus three times the whole fight, and he didn't even get to use his crazy laser attack on his second phase! It was crazy how much of a pushover he felt. Another surprising thing is that I didn't even have my character spec'd properly for that quality weapon. I was using my STR+FTH build at SL132 with the bare minimum DEX to wield the thing properly.
I've also killed Midir on base NG solely using Crystal Soul Spear on a pure mage build when the DLC first came out. It took a while, and it required I allot my flasks to 5-heals and 10-fp regen. Not saying that's efficient, but I made do with what I had with that character. Just saying it's absolutely possible to beat Midir as a pure caster without resorting to Pestilent Mercury!
And no, I don't even consider myself to be anywhere close to being a great Souls player. Yes, I've platinum'd all of them except Demon's Souls (screw grinding for pure stones), and I've beaten all of them at least 3 times with different builds. But I never do any crazy challenge runs like SL1 or no hits or no deaths or no rolls, etc. I still die a couple of times on consensus hard bosses, and I'm no good at PVP.
I think some long-time players just expect bosses to behave certain ways because "they know how Dark Souls work by now", that their way should always work and anything that goes against it is "broken design/artificial difficulty", and forget that a core tenet of Souls gameplay is to never let players feel comfortable.