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[Neoweee]

So in terms of game length, do most people consider this the same ballpark as Dark Souls 1, or slightly longer shorter?

It's hard to say. The game feels more hurried than DS1, but some sections of the game (the Undead Settlement, Sacrificial Road, and upper portions of Lothric Castle) feel like much larger zones than were in DS1.

Worst Dark Souls game. Miyazaki really has let these games slip with Bloodborne & now DS3. I hope the inevitable DLC can make up for it like Bloodborne's did.

I'm not as down on the game, and I'll definitely replay it with different builds, but I think the game will have at least some backlash once people start finishing it and getting over the initial awe.

The adventure is great, but there's definitely a lot of rough edges.

 

[DieNgamers]

So in terms of game length, do most people consider this the same ballpark as Dark Souls 1, or slightly longer shorter?

It's hard to say. The game feels more hurried than DS1, but some sections of the game (the Undead Settlement, Sacrificial Road, and upper portions of Lothric Castle) feel like much larger zones than were in DS1.



I'm not as down on the game, and I'll definitely replay it with different builds, but I think the game will have at least some backlash once people start finishing it and getting over the initial awe.

The adventure is great, but there's definitely a lot of rough edges.

Was DS1 any different? I can tell it had some rough issues but it's still my favourite game of all time. Hmmm...

 

[KeRaSh]

Just finished it and lit the last bonfire. Ending is pretty shit.

Is there a better one?

I found out after the fact that you need to use the summoning sign next to the bonfire to trigger that ending.

I only saw the summoning sign ending. I'm guessing lighting the fire is roughly on the same level? If so then both are pretty shit. Is the third ending any better? Will they flesh it out with the DLC?
I thought there would be an epic conclusion since DS3 is supposed to be the last in this series. At least give us a nice cutscene to send it off. Instead we get a few lines of text.

 

[Mendrox]

I only saw the summoning sign ending. I'm guessing lighting the fire is roughly on the same level? If so then both are pretty shit. Is the third ending any better? Will they flesh it out with the DLC?
I thought there would be an epic conclusion since DS3 is supposed to be the last in this series. At least give us a nice cutscene to send it off. Instead we get a few lines of text.

Then watch the third ending because it is a cutscene and way different and changes the game completely. I guess many people cry at the ending and still havent seen the third true one?

Also I don't know about all that nostalgic bullshit in here. Just because you come back to Anor Londo and fight Gwendolyn (well and some item description and Soul of Cinder which was perfectly okay) I don't see that point. There aren't even "same" areas.

Linear game is also lolworthy because I had problems with the game being a bit too open and I never knew what I wanted to do next:

- am I missing a way in this area?
- is way A or way B better?
- should I do this secret area?
- should I fight this boss before anything else?

There was one point in this game where I was able to fight 4 different bosses. This is not linear except for the levels itself which isn't different in every other Souls game.

Only thing which makes me sad is that NG+ is just harder and that there is nothing really new (except for a few weapons and one weapon which you can only fuse in NG+), but PVP is awesome in this game and the replayabilty is good with all these weapons and spells.

 

[KeRaSh]

Then watch the third ending because it is a cutscene and way different and changes the game completely. I guess many people cry at the ending and still havent seen the third true one?

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Linear game is also lolworthy because I had problems with the game being a bit too open and I never knew what I wanted to do next:

- am I missing a way in this area?
- is way A or way B better?
- should I do this secret area?
- should I fight this boss before anything else?

There was one point in this game where I was able to fight 4 different bosses. This is not linear except for the levels itself which isn't different in every other Souls game.

Oh god, I feel the same way. I hate it when there are too many options. Will I miss a bonfire? Will I miss a shortcut? Will I miss cool loot?
From what I've seen so far it's not linear at all.

 

[Noray]

What makes the third ending the "true" one?

I'm not as down on the game, and I'll definitely replay it with different builds, but I think the game will have at least some backlash once people start finishing it and getting over the initial awe.

Oh absolutely. If this weren't a Miyazaki game we'd be there already. There's so much selective vision going on with this game, people right now are straight-up ignoring the parts they don't like, but given time those parts will weigh down on their verdict. Again, I'm not saying it's a bad game, by ANY stretch, I think by and large it's pretty fucking fantastic... but it's not perfect, and definitely has weak points. Biggest bummer is that all the replayability features from Dark Souls 2 are gone. That game was really built for multiple playthroughs. I only did about half of NG+ (Up to Abyss Watcher) before starting a new character but it was really easy. Nothing new except some +1 rings.

Then there's the fact that miracles and sorcery are garbage right now. I don't like what they did to poise, at all. You can't upgrade Boss weapons above +2 until you're in the endgame stretch. The 2 default endings are extremely disappointing imo. The story ends when it gets interesting. I think there are balancing issues aplenty, aside from magic: Damage taken is so severe and shields are so powerful, you have to actually be a masochist to play shieldless on your first playthrough. A better balance between the two would have been nice. As said, poise was nerfed, and enemies can't be stunlocked, by and large, so heavy weapons are more risk than reward in many cases.

But it looks awesome, I really like most of the areas and the boss fights are cool despite being poorly tuned, it's just a lot of fun to have another good Souls game. And that's exactly what it is.

 

[Neoweee]

Linear game is also lolworthy because I had problems with the game being a bit too open and I never knew what I wanted to do next:

- am I missing a way in this area?
- is way A or way B better?
- should I do this secret area?
- should I fight this boss before anything else?

It's the most linear Soulsborne game. I don't think there's much debate about that.

- There's a clear order to main bosses with one exception.
- Most of the side bosses are after short diversions or really just "there".
- One of the hidden areas is really well hidden, and most players won't even find it as an option.

There's nothing like the multiple starting paths of Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls. The city isn't the tangled overlapping mess that is Dark Souls 1. There's not two side-areas and bosses for each of three acts like there are in Bloodborne, nor are there the alternate progression (i.e. beat Cleric Beast or beat BSB).

There are very, very few options with regards to boss order.

What makes the third ending the "true" one?



Oh absolutely. If this weren't a Miyazaki game we'd be there already. There's so much selective vision going on with this game, people right now are straight-up ignoring the parts they don't like, but given time those parts will weigh down on their verdict. Again, I'm not saying it's a bad game, by ANY stretch, I think by and large it's pretty fucking fantastic... but it's not perfect, and definitely has weak points. Biggest bummer is that all the replayability features from Dark Souls 2 are gone. That game was really built for multiple playthroughs. I only did about half of NG+ (Up to Abyss Watcher) before starting a new character but it was really easy. Nothing new except some +1 rings.

Then there's the fact that miracles and sorcery are garbage right now. I don't like what they did to poise, at all. You can't upgrade Boss weapons above +2 until you're in the endgame stretch. The 2 default endings are extremely disappointing imo. The story ends when it gets interesting. I think there are balancing issues aplenty, aside from magic: Damage taken is so severe and shields are so powerful, you have to actually be a masochist to play shieldless on your first playthrough. A better balance between the two would have been nice. As said, poise was nerfed, and enemies can't be stunlocked, by and large, so heavy weapons are more risk than reward in many cases.

But it looks awesome, I really like most of the areas and the boss fights are cool despite being poorly tuned, it's just a lot of fun to have another good Souls game. And that's exactly what it is.

Yeah, it is too easy to get a great shield. DS2 kind of dialed them back a bit, but they are back in full force. That 5 weight, 14 strength, 100% physical, and 89% Fire shield is just too perfect for too much of the game.

 

[Cruxist]

It's the most linear Soulsborne game. I don't think there's much debate about that.

- There's a clear order to main bosses with one exception.
- Most of the side bosses are after short diversions or really just "there".
- One of the hidden areas is really well hidden, and most players won't even find it as an option.

There's nothing like the multiple starting paths of Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls. The city isn't the tangled overlapping mess that is Dark Souls 1. There's not two side-areas and bosses for each of three acts like there are in Bloodborne, nor are there the alternate progression (i.e. beat Cleric Beast or beat BSB).

There are very, very few options with regards to boss order.

Largely agree. Although, once again, I'm disappointed with the samey feel of the first few areas. Undead Settlement had multiple paths and I completely missed the pyromancy trainer on my blind run because, holy shit everything looks the same. I had no idea there was an area I missed because the path just seemed so straightforward.

But, the sequence breaking you can do should provide for some interesting builds for the hardcore players. You can summon Dancer immediately by killing the old woman. I tried it last night and wasn't having a terrible time, but my damage output was so low. I plan on going back and trying again a little further down the line, but that initial kill could change things up, especially early area pvp.

 

[kayos90]

It's the most linear Soulsborne game. I don't think there's much debate about that.

- There's a clear order to main bosses with one exception.
- Most of the side bosses are after short diversions or really just "there".
- One of the hidden areas is really well hidden, and most players won't even find it as an option.

There's nothing like the multiple starting paths of Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls. The city isn't the tangled overlapping mess that is Dark Souls 1. There's not two side-areas and bosses for each of three acts like there are in Bloodborne, nor are there the alternate progression (i.e. beat Cleric Beast or beat BSB).

There are very, very few options with regards to boss order.



Yeah, it is too easy to get a great shield. DS2 kind of dialed them back a bit, but they are back in full force. That 5 weight, 14 strength, 100% physical, and 89% Fire shield is just too perfect for too much of the game.

Dark Souls 2 is hardly open in the very beginning. If you're talking about getting to Lost Bastille through No-Man's vs getting there via Forest, that's sorta pushing it....

 

[Neoweee]

Dark Souls 2 is hardly open in the very beginning. If you're talking about getting to Lost Bastille through No-Man's vs getting there via Forest, that's sorta pushing it....

There's 5 paths from the main town. Two from the start. Any boss opens up the Gutter path (they all give enough Souls to buy the ring). Dragonrider as the first boss opens the Copse path. Then any Branch of Yore opens up the fifth branch, and the SOTFS edition adds a few more to vendors, etc.

There's, like, 10 bosses that could be the "second" boss. That's pretty damn open.

 

[Noray]

Dark Souls 2 is hardly open in the very beginning. If you're talking about getting to Lost Bastille through No-Man's vs getting there via Forest, that's sorta pushing it....

It totally is though. At the beginning you can immediately go to the forest, or the wharf, or the hunter's copse, or down the well, or to Heide's. There are multiple routes through the bastille and you can do the first 4 lords in any order. Okay, maybe not VERY beginning, the game pushes you to the forest first, but once you've reached the bastille or cleared it it definitely opens up a lot. That said the individual areas are fairly linear, and I think Dark Souls 3 has much better level design overall.

edit: Heide's is totally doable as a first area if you have a piercing or blunt weapon.

 

[kayos90]

There's 5 paths from the main town. Two from the start. Any boss opens up the Gutter path (they all give enough Souls to buy the ring). Dragonrider as the first boss opens the Copse path. Then any Branch of Yore opens up the fifth branch, and the SOTFS edition adds a few more to vendors, etc.

There's, like, 10 bosses that could be the "second" boss. That's pretty damn open.

You're going to fight Dragonslayer or Dragonrider for your first boss? Hell, you're going to march through The Grave of Saints, The Gutter, Heide's or Shaded woods before going into Forest of the Giants? ROFL. lol no. Despite there being numerous paths there's really only one option available for the player. There's a clear progression path and there's always only really two options available at any point in the game.

 

[Neoweee]

You're going to fight Dragonslayer or Dragonrider for your first boss? Hell, you're going to march through The Grave of Saints, The Gutter, Heide's or Shaded woods before going into Forest of the Giants? ROFL. lol no. Despite there being numerous paths there's really only one option available for the player. There's a clear progression path and there's always only really two options available at any point in the game.

I do Heide's first quite often. It's actually easier than Forest if you're a Mace build or a Sorcerer at the start, and Dragonrider is a hell of a lot easier than Pursuer. Like, by a huge margin.

There's no legitimate reason to force Lost Sinner first over the other paths, even after that, what is the second path? There really isn't one.

 

[kayos90]

I do Heide's first quite often. It's actually easier than Forest if you're a Mace build or a Sorcerer at the start, and Dragonrider is a hell of a lot easier than Pursuer. Like, by a huge margin.

There's no legitimate reason to force Lost Sinner first over the other paths, even after that, what is the second path? There really isn't one.

An alternative to Lost Sinner? You can definitely do Huntsman's Copse over Sinner's Rise.

 

[Noray]

An alternative to Lost Sinner? You can definitely do Huntsman's Copse over Sinner's Rise.

I think you just made his point for him

 

[kayos90]

I think you just made his point for him

The point was that the beginning was open ended and it is not at all. You might be able to force Heide's but it's not really realistic, nor is it a common option. The scale of difficulty between the two areas is hardly the same. And in regards to the rest of the game being super open ended, having two options an open-ended game does not make. Just saying.

 

[ebullientprism]

It's the most linear Soulsborne game. I don't think there's much debate about that.

- There's a clear order to main bosses with one exception.
- Most of the side bosses are after short diversions or really just "there".
- One of the hidden areas is really well hidden, and most players won't even find it as an option.

There's nothing like the multiple starting paths of Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls. The city isn't the tangled overlapping mess that is Dark Souls 1. There's not two side-areas and bosses for each of three acts like there are in Bloodborne, nor are there the alternate progression (i.e. beat Cleric Beast or beat BSB).

There are very, very few options with regards to boss order.

This is a shame if its true. Watching Souls game's speedruns is one of my favorite things about the series. And what made it interesting is the open ended nature of the game allowed for some really interesting strats. Especially in the order the bosses are tackled.

In DS1 right after landing at Firelink Shrine (if you have the master key) you can go fight (without ever facing any other boss) -

1 Queelag
2 Pinwheel
3 Moonlight butterfly
4 Asylum Demon
5 Gargoyles
6 Taurus Demon
7 Capra demon (if you can do some creative jumping)
8 Sif

The only limiting factor is skill. DS2 was pretty open ended in the same way.

 

[SargerusBR]

The point was that the beginning was open ended and it is not at all. You might be able to force Heide's but it's not really realistic, nor is it a common option.

Neither is going to Blighttown first or getting Covenant of Artorias and then fighting the 4 Kings at the beginning of the game in DS1, but it is there, it's an option. Whether is common or not isn't important.

 

[@Wreck]

can i use summons to take on bosses? to further my game?

 

[StrawberryKikwi]

part 2 of my boss guide is up. This time we have Vortd, of the boreal valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q9p7UBiLpM

 

[ZeroTheShadow]

People claiming DS2 & DS1 are linear? Now I've seen it all. Apologists are already out in full force.

 

[Neoweee]

People claiming DS2 & DS1 are linear? Now I've seen it all. Apologists are already out in full force.

I find the trajectory of these discussions hilarious, like how complaints about Life Gems in Dark Souls 2 went down by over 85% after Bloodborne came out.

 

[JerkShep]

It's definitely the most linear soulsborne game, maybe killing the Dancer might open it up a bit but is seems a bit counterintuitive, the second part of Lothric is clearly meant to be the endgame area. Maybe you can collect weapon upgrades and some cool items, but that's it. You've to do the other areas in the same order or slightly different order (cathedral or woods first, aldritch or giant king first). You can change the progression a bit but compare it to other souls game

Demons: after Tutorial+Boletaria 1-1, you can do everything except 1-3 and 1-4
Dark 1: after Asylum, you can do everything except what's behind Sen's Fortress and the yellow fog (and the DLC)

Dark 2 isn't so straightforward but with just a bit of work you can open up everything in one hour, especially in Scholar
- if you do Heide's Tower of Flame, you open the Lost Sinner and the Iron King paths
- if you buy the Silvercat Ring, you open the Rotten path
- the Freya path wa sealed of in the original, but I think you can buy a Fragrant Branch of Yore from the old hag in Scholar so even that is accessible from the beginning

Bloodborne has a number of optional areas unlocked after every story beat
- after Gascoigne: Hemwick, Old Yharnam,, Yaharghul
- after Amelia: Lecture's Building, Nightmare Frontier, Iosefka's Clinic, Cainhurst, Old Hunters DLC
- After Rom: High Cathedral Ward

 

[MUnited83]

list of multiplayer-related covenants in the game?

 

[Already Torn]

The game is super linear, but that helps differiate it from DS1 I think, and I like how the different areas are worth exploring on their own, particularly the Cathedral. At any rate it's more fun to play through than DS2, even if DS2 was technically a little more open.

So we can all agree that Aldrich is the player character from DS1 mixed with some maggot rebirth shenanigans right? And that the events of DS2 don't matter at all?

 

[Mogwai]

So in terms of game length, do most people consider this the same ballpark as Dark Souls 1, or slightly longer shorter?

It's hard to say. The game feels more hurried than DS1, but some sections of the game (the Undead Settlement, Sacrificial Road, and upper portions of Lothric Castle) feel like much larger zones than were in DS1.



I'm not as down on the game, and I'll definitely replay it with different builds, but I think the game will have at least some backlash once people start finishing it and getting over the initial awe.

The adventure is great, but there's definitely a lot of rough edges.

Rough edges similar to levels of Bed of Chaos, triple asylum demon and Lost Izalith'ish areas?

I have seen plenty of streams. But nothing of what I've seen seems particularly rushed. But again, I haven't had a chance with the game first hand.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

I find the trajectory of these discussions hilarious, like how complaints about Life Gems in Dark Souls 2 went down by over 85% after Bloodborne came out.

The new games actually always make me appreciate the older ones, after BB i loved ds2 more for its "happy" world.

No areas feels rushed, but there are some bad textures in areas you are meant to go too, which is fine in any other game, but since souls is all about pushing the edges of exploration meh.

 

[FaintDeftone]

Anybody know why the player revisits Anor Londo in this game? Any lore explaining the return?

 

[Hypron]

Rough edges similar to levels of Bed of Chaos, triple asylum demon and Lost Izalith'ish areas?

I have seen plenty of streams. But nothing of what I've seen seems particularly rushed. But again, I haven't had a chance with the game first hand.

Yeah after finishing it, it's the most consistent Souls game quality wise. And it's not one of those cases where the previous games are uneven but have higher highs; Dark Souls 3's highs are really high.

 

[Already Torn]

Anybody know why the player revisits Anor Londo in this game? Any lore explaining the return?

It was such a powerful place that it survived the rest of Lordran, and Aldrich went there because it's a familiar place?

 

[Mogwai]

Yeah after finishing it, it's the most consistent Souls game quality wise. And it's not one of those cases where the previous games are uneven but have higher highs; Dark Souls 3's highs are really high.

That's good to hear.

I went back to Dark Souls 1 one a couple of days ago, and damn it so empty in a lot of places. Even Demon's Souls feels less hollow.

 

[Neoweee]

Rough edges similar to levels of Bed of Chaos, triple asylum demon and Lost Izalith'ish areas?

I have seen plenty of streams. But nothing of what I've seen seems particularly rushed. But again, I haven't had a chance with the game first hand.

The game is remarkably consistent in terms of level design and boss fight quality, and is of a generally higher quality in that regard than any of the previous games, including Bloodborne, which had some really crappy parts (exacerbated by Frenzy being bugged at launch).

The main rough edges in the game are, in no particular importance:

- Very screwed up build and stat balance. Not as agregious as DS1 at launch, but non-scaling Magic, some shields being OP, and heavy shields / armor being almost objectively not worth it are kind of drags.
- The game lacks the Act structure that the last three games have had, which leaves the endgame feeling rushed and sudden. "Find the Four Great Souls Cinder Lords" is the entire game, without any substantial Act before or after it. The three previous games all had three-act structures. There is a three-act structure here, but it is more subtle and really only in hindsight.
- All of the replayability measures and features from DS2 have been dumped.
- PvP and Co-Op / Covenants are a bit of a step back as well, aside from Soul Level being swapped for what Soul Level was actually supposed to emulate but didn't.
- The least wiggle room in terms of boss and zone order.

I am not down on the game. Right now it is definitely in the ball of my three favorites (DS2 and BB are the others). I'm looking forward to spending time with the English PC version. But, there's definitely some disappointments, especially ones that seem rather senseless reversions.

 

[Mogwai]

The game is remarkably consistent in terms of level design and boss fight quality, and is of a generally higher quality in that regard than any of the previous games, including Bloodborne, which had some really crappy parts (exacerbated by Frenzy being bugged at launch).

The main rough edges in the game are, in no particular importance:

- Very screwed up build and stat balance. Not as agregious as DS1 at launch, but non-scaling Magic, some shields being OP, and heavy shields / armor being almost objectively not worth it are kind of drags.
- The game lacks the Act structure that the last three games have had, which leaves the endgame feeling rushed and sudden. "Find the Four Great Souls Cinder Lords" is the entire game, without any substantial Act before or after it. The three previous games all had three-act structures. There is a three-act structure here, but it is more subtle and really only in hindsight.
- All of the replayability measures and features from DS2 have been dumped.
- PvP and Co-Op / Covenants are a bit of a step back as well, aside from Soul Level being swapped for what Soul Level was actually supposed to emulate but didn't.
- The least wiggle room in terms of boss and zone order.

Interesting. Are heavy armors/fat roll even viable for many of the boss fights? What I've seen so far are people quick rolling as if they were still playing BB. Seems like it's much more convenient to dodge instead of absorbing damage with a shield.

 

[Neoweee]

Interesting. Are heavy armors/fat roll even viable for many of the boss fights? What I've seen so far are people quick rolling as if they were still playing BB. Seems like it's much more convenient to dodge instead of absorbing damage with a shield.

Well, there's a cutoff for the animation change, and then continual improvement below that weight limit. So it is hard to tell a person's roll quality just by looking at them because most people will have the same animation but not the same distance.

The core issue is that damage resistance soft caps way too low. It takes very little to hit 18%, 20%, whatever, and then piles and piles and piles of armor to get it up to 30% reduction. A notably better roll is almost always more useful than an extra 5-10% damage reduction.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

Anybody know why the player revisits Anor Londo in this game? Any lore explaining the return?

Aldrich goes there to kill gwyndolin, Pontiff Sullivan traps her in the old cathedral room for Aldrich to devour.I am dying to know how this all connects to the painted world, PS and the crow enemies are connected to the painted world, im not sure if aldrich comes from there too.


One of my favorite parts of the storytelling in 3, is the narration of gwynvere == queen of lothric, so much stuff starts to make sense when you understand.
Im still not sure who dancer is and if shes ciaran, whoever she is, she is very close to gwynvere/gwyn etc

 

[Noray]

The core issue is that damage resistance soft caps way too low. It takes very little to hit 18%, 20%, whatever, and then piles and piles and piles of armor to get it up to 30% reduction. A notably better roll is almost always more useful than an extra 5-10% damage reduction.

This is an issue but much more important to me is the near-uselessness of poise. You get some more frames of hyper armor? Maybe? But something is fucking WRONG imo if I can wear full Havel's and get staggered by a fucking rat. That, I think, is my biggest problem with the game right now mechanically (full disclosure: I've never cared about Sorcery). The biggest benefit of heavy armor in Dark Souls was being able to just keep swinging while taking hits and down estus while taking damage. That's no longer an option.

 

[Already Torn]

Oh man.

Can you imagine if FROM had designed Demise instead? That quivering hand the Unnamed King has makes me care more about him in 30 seconds than I did about Demise after 50 lines of dialogue.

 

[DorkLord54]

One of the most interesting things about Aldrich (besides his dragon seemingly being an Irithyllian himself, which makes his betrayal of Gwyndolin bizarre) is that, according to his souls' item description:

When Aldrich ruminated on the fading of the fire, it inspired visions of a coming age of the deep sea. He knew the path would be arduous, but he had no fear. He would devour the gods himself.

Does this mean that basically everything Kaathe told us was a crock, and that, much like the Age of Fire, the Age of Dark is basically controlled by whatever race manages to usurp the flame or take over the world following its fading?

 

[Already Torn]

One of the most interesting things about Aldrich (besides his dragon seemingly being an Irithyllian himself, which makes his betrayal of Gwyndolin bizarre) is that, according to his souls' item description:

Does this mean that basically everything Kaathe told us was a crock, and that, much like the Age of Fire, the Age of Dark is basically controlled by whatever race manages to usurp the flame or take over the world following its fading?

Or Aldrich used to be human/undead.

Also, Aldrich kindled the first flame, so I think he ate the gods to restore it.

 

[Lakitu]

So is Anor Londo large in this?

 

[ZeroTheShadow]

So is Anor Londo large in this?

Yes and No. Part of Anor Londo is randomly part of another area. It pretty much makes no sense and is just there for fan service. Think MGS4 Act 4 but waaaaay worse.

 

[Neoweee]

One of the most interesting things about Aldrich (besides his dragon seemingly being an Irithyllian himself, which makes his betrayal of Gwyndolin bizarre) is that, according to his souls' item description:



Does this mean that basically everything Kaathe told us was a crock, and that, much like the Age of Fire, the Age of Dark is basically controlled by whatever race manages to usurp the flame or take over the world following its fading?

Maybe that's why this is the last Dark Souls. The Age of Fire is ending and Age of Dark or over, the next games in the series will have a very different theme.

 

[DorkLord54]

Or Aldrich used to be human/undead.

Also, Aldrich kindled the first flame, so I think he ate the gods to restore it.

I don't know, it just seems rather odd that his soul description would basically give him a reason to prefer the End of Fire, as his theme seems to be that he's some kind of aquatic eldritch abomination that's lived in the Cathedral of Deep for centuries. Maybe it's his reason for not coming back?

Come to think of it, Yhorm is the only one whose never given any sort of hint as to the reason why he didn't return to the Shrine:

- Aldrich might see the End of Fire as the coming of his visioned Age of Deep Sea
- The Abyss Watchers have visibly been driven mad, and are caught in a never-ending battle between themselves
- Lothric despises that he was largely raised by birth to become a sacrifice for the First Flame, and sees no reason to do so again, while his brother seems to have lost his sensibilities (not to mention their both part-dragon, so there's that)

Also, can someone clear up whether Oceiros is the princes' father or grandfather for me? I've heard it both ways, but I thought it was the former.

 

[ponpo]

https://a.pomf.cat/btelzy.webm

Purty.

 

[GametimeUK]

Am I really in Anor Londo right now? Looks the same, but most of the bridge missing.

(Edit) just read earlier replies. Cool as fuck!

 

[Already Torn]

I don't know, it just seems rather odd that his soul description would basically give him a reason to prefer the End of Fire, as his theme seems to be that he's some kind of aquatic eldritch abomination that's lived in the Cathedral of Deep for centuries. Maybe it's his reason for not coming back?

Come to think of it, Yhorm is the only one whose never given any sort of hint as to the reason why he didn't return to the Shrine:

- Aldrich might see the End of Fire as the coming of his visioned Age of Deep Sea
- The Abyss Watchers have visibly been driven mad, and are caught in a never-ending battle between themselves
- Lothric despises that he was largely raised by birth to become a sacrifice for the First Flame, and sees no reason to do so again, while his brother seems to have lost his sensibilities (not to mention their both part-dragon, so there's that)

Also, can someone clear up whether Oceiros is the princes' father or grandfather for me? I've heard it both ways, but I thought it was the former.

That's super weird now that you mention it. It sounds like it's referring to when he was resurrected, but I can't imagine Gwyndolin survived for that long. The only gods left by that point are the Lords of Cinder.

 

[ZeroTheShadow]

Boss Breakdown:
This game really has 3 terrible boss fights. Yhorm, Dragon, and Deacons.
It also has it's double dip boss in Gundyr.
Best Bosses are Young Prince, Nameless King, and Sulyvahn.
Crystal Sage, Demon King, Dragon Slayer, and Consumed King are bellow average.
Aldrich, Ferron's, Dancer, SoC, and Vordt are good.
Big Tree and Skeleton King are decent.

Yes there are only 19 bosses in the game, 6 of which are optional I believe.

 

[Hypron]

I'm trying to get the free levels from Yeol to get that other NPC to appear. Apparently you need to get 5 levels from him for that to happen... I got 1 from him but the option doesn't appear anymore...

Quickedit: actually, maybe I get out of ember state to get those, I'll suicide to test.

Edit 2: Nope, that's not it. How does this work?

 

[ponpo]

Boss Breakdown:
This game really has 3 terrible boss fights. Yhorm, Dragon, and Deacons.
It also has it's double dip boss in Gundyr.
Best Bosses are Young Prince, Nameless King, and Sulyvahn.
Crystal Sage, Demon King, Dragon Slayer, and Consumed King are bellow average.
Aldrich, Ferron's, Dancer, SoC, and Vordt are good.
Big Tree and Skeleton King are decent.

Yhorm owns.

 

[Already Torn]

Boss Breakdown:
This game really has 3 terrible boss fights. Yhorm, Dragon, and Deacons.
It also has it's double dip boss in Gundyr.
Best Bosses are Young Prince, Nameless King, and Sulyvahn.
Crystal Sage, Demon King, Dragon Slayer, and Consumed King are bellow average.
Aldrich, Ferron's, Dancer, SoC, and Vordt are good.
Big Tree and Skeleton King are decent.

I would swap Skeltal and the Wyvern. The latter is worth it just for that final stab.