Why does Dark Souls shit the bed so hard in its second half? How does a perfect game slide in quality so much?
First half:
>near perfect escalating difficulty
>perfect levels Undead Burg, Blighttown, Sen's Fortress, Painted World
>that Anor Londo reveal
Second half:
>flat, gimmicky four levels
>unfinished Lost Izalith, Duke's Archives shittery
>Bed of Chaos
They ran out of ideas to pillage from Demons Souls
but that's wrong.
the ideas were clearly there, the concept of lost Izalith is pretty interesting and could have been handled alot better.
they flopped in the execution and level design.
Thought they ran out of time and had to cobble the rest together. Second half is practically untouched alpha.
Spent too much time making a great first half, and realised they had like 6 months to slap together the second half
you're not wrong, the second half does dip but the extent of the dip has been largely exaggerated over time.
Yes the bed of chaos is aids but there's some great stuff after Anor Londo to.
Bandai.
Namco.
I never really had any issues with the dukes archives.
What is everyone's issue with the archives? It's fine.
You're trying to reinforce a narrative that's been planted on your head by Yea Forums. Think for yourself
>yuge armor pig corridor
>first encounter with seath
>the """prison escape"""
>ganked by channellers in the library
all without mentioning the crystal caves
21 DRAGON ASSES
as far as levels go only Izalith is truly bad, and really it's only the lava area which can be bypassed
you can break any area in the game down like that though. kiddy logic.
Duke's Archive is fine. Crystal Caves is a chore and could be executed better. Same with Lost Izalith. Bed Of Chaos was JUST. Catacombs were OK. Tomb Of The Giants was good. The New Londo Ruins had some infuriating bits but I found it good.
>Crystal Caves is a chore
I agree that it could've been executed better but it's fairly short if you're just going to Seath
That is one thing it has going for it but as a transition stage to a big boss it seemed weak.
This. You can go whereever you want.
>Muh first half
its different for everybody
>>unfinished Lost Izalith,
you answered your own question
it's not really a stage though is it? it's just a quick invisible floor gimmick leading to a boss room
>First half:
They should of made mentioned areas bigger and finish the game with anor londo
>there's some great stuff after Anor Londo to.
Seath's Archives and the caves after and then what? Kiln of the First Flame maybe, but it's really too short.
There is nothing wrong with the catacombs or tomb of the giants.
Yeah people who claim the 2nd half of dark souls is shit are really exaggerating. The duke's archives is my second favourite area. I wish the crystal caves were longer, with massive invisible floors (with fewer dangers of falling) to fight a bunch of enemies on or something. It was absolutely beautiful.
I actually really liked Tomb of Giants and wished it was longer
Catacombs was cool too
Archives were fantastic except a couple of bits
Crystal Cave is pure AIDS though
Izalith is blatantly unfinished garbage too
They should’ve fixed the second half in that worthless remaster
Why would they put effort into a cheap cash grab?
I never played through SotFS. Any recommendations on a build/weapon that I can use to beat all the bosses?
Where do I go after defeating Smough & Orenstein? I've seen the serpent thing at Firelink shrine but what now?
Reskinned Hollows who can 2 shot you with their weapons. Nothing a great club cant fix though.
I literally just used upgraded blacksmith's hammer with a shield and light armor with super high ADP
go back to Frampt and place the Lordvessel, don't skip the cutscene since it shows what areas you've unlocked
So it comes down to a case of you being shit?
It's a Souls game, literally anything will work for the PvE.
It shits me that they called that port they did recently Dark Souls Remastered when all they really did was fuck up the graphics. Imagine if they actually put the time and effort into actually remastering the weak areas of the game like Lost Izalith, fixing bugs and restoring cut content. An actual definitive edition that would have elevated the game into something you could easily call maybe the best game of all time with no 'ifs', 'buts' or 'except for'. Fuck. Maybe in another 10 years they'll do a full remake and I won't have a wall of savegames all abandoned at some point after Anor Londo.
I think I did that when he took me underground. I couldn't figure out where those places in the cut scene were though.
I know there's Drake's valley and the catacombs, but the latter scares me.
Thanks for reply
Just put all your excess souls after levelling into lifegems and then simply walk through the rest of the game without a care in the world.
catacombs should be fine post-Anor Londo and is usually the go-to for the 2nd half of the game
being good or shit doesn't make the gameplay any more interesting, or the level design and enemy placement any less tedious
You think you'll stop being a faggot after just 10 years?
Dunno, your dad sucks dick like a champ, think you could step up and fill his shoes once he's past his prime?
The duke's archives are fine all the way through. You can take every enemy out one at a time and anytime there's a mage or archer there is a fuckload of places to stand behind even really close to them to avoid their slow ass projectiles.
I always forget to mention Tombs. I like Tomb a lot, best part of 2nd half that isnt fighting gwynn
HIRE
Except no other encounter forces an unavoidable death on you like Seath. That's pure bullshit only avoidable with meta game knowledge.
You didn't enjoy New Londo? I did.
>flat gimmicky four levels
? Each area has a gimmick and none of them were "flat" except perhaps Lost Izalith
>unfinished Lost Izalith, Duke's Archives shittery
Duke's Archives was fine.
>Bed of Chaos
So your only real problem with the game was the Lost Izalith that everyone agrees was unfinished.
Each of the last lord soul levels had some kind of extra bullshit that made it unbearable and unfun
>getting shanked by ghosts and falling into water in New Londo
>fighting in near-total darkness in Tomb of the Giants (lantern gives you a bit of light but you're now short one hand)
>invisible pathways in Crystal Caves (try doing that shit offline, it sucks)
Lost Izalith was actually ok I guess
so you're shit, gotcha
BASED
>I died in dark souls wtf
maybe if they had an NPC hint that the first stage was unwinnable it would have been better but overall it's not even an issue since you shouldn't be starting an unknown boss fight with anything valuable in the first place
it's literally just lost izalith fuck off with this bait
>shanked by ghosts
the game literally pours Transient Curses on you, you can get actually cursed, or you can use cursed weapons
>fighting in near-total darkness in Tomb of the Giants
You can use the latern, the maggot hat, or magic to have more than enough light. Technically you don't even "need" the items since the enemies' eyes glow
>>invisible pathways in Crystal Caves (try doing that shit offline, it sucks)
I actually did that offline, and it was fine because you can drop prism stones or watch the falling snow land on the invisible path
I had a horrible encounter with them on my first playthrough
>kill the gargoyles
>go back to Firelink
>not sure where to go next
>"head down" t. Crestfallen
>oh right
>go to catacombs
>feeling a bit underpowered
>fight through it anyway
>finally get through the tomb
>hit an orange fog wall
>well shit
>no teleporting yet
>have to climb back up the same way
From games always shit the bed in the second half and end it with disappointing and easy final bosses (see bloodborne).
The only game that got it right with satisfying progression all the way through and a final boss that tests all your skills is Sekiro.
Powerstanced Blacksteel Katanas
Imagine still seething over a game from 2011 in current year lmao.
It's not perfect if it does shit the bed the second half. Also, Blighttown sucks.
Duke’s archives is a good level I’m willing to die on that hill
Tomb of giants would’ve been fine if the catacombs wasn’t accessible so early only to lead to a dead end until ToG is available
New Londo and Four Kings is also good but I don’t think anyone really disputes that
Lost Izalith/Bed of Chaos definitely womps
Blighttown is one of the coolest areas
I bet people would call that boss BB reused asset if it was released after BB
It was half-decent above. The swamp was horing and flat.
Oh yeah and after that I tried going to New Londo, but I eventually ran out of those hands you need. At that point I gave up and had to look up that one door I forgot about
This is so annoying, just like retards here always parrot
>DS3 BAD
>Miyazaki is at his prime when not making sequels!
It must be the same 10 people every time
can't you just buy curses from that one dude?
Why do so many people dislike Duke's Archives? I thought it was fine. Like it more than the Depths. Keep in mind the Crystal Caves are a separate area.
I'm not sure I remember the locations correctly, but isn't the sewer merchant inaccessible until you've unlocked the shortcut in there. I hadn't been to lower Burg yet so I couldn't get to her (I think)
I liked the Depths somewhat. Duke's Archives were only bad in the beginning because of the shitty music the monsters played. Other than that it was alright.
Yeah, I have been watching gameplay of the original and it amazes me how they shit the bed with the textures and some of the graphics. They really should have took the time to finish the game, especially Lost Izalith which they clearly just copied and pasted enemies through
All the orange soapstone signs that say need ring, all the npc dialogue about him being invincible, going to a boss the first time with a shit ton of souls and humanity. You have no one to blame but yourself.
Even with the curse on I'd get killed by the seemingly-empty hallways where 10 ghosts sudden;y jump you at once. It's only difficult the first time when you're unaware of the ambush but it still feels cheap
I think so. There's also the ghost knife which does a decent amount of damage. I was lucky enough to have a ghost drop one of them fairly early in New Londo.
Well, either way I'd just have gotten to Four Kings and then I'd have been stuck again even if I beat them. I think? I'm pretty sure I've only ever played through it once without the Master Key, so I can't really recall what parts were locked
Why has this argument become so hyperbolic over time?
Most people agree that Dark Souls reaches its zenith at Ornstein and Smough, and then gradually decreases a bit, depending on the order of what lord soul you seek first, with Lost Izalith as the games lowest point. But now it's like people want you to think that the game becomes unbearably bad or downright unplayable the moment you obtain the Lordvessel.
New Londo, which is traditionally seen as a post-lordvessel area, is a decent level with a good boss, the Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants are good levels with memorable, decent bosses, Dukes Archives is a great level with an okay boss, and Lost Izalith/Demon Ruins have moments that range from good to abominable. Yet overall it's hardly some unprecedented travesty of game design. Or are we to merely forget and forgive the "first half", for its own transgressions? How about the Lower Undead Burg, Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Gaping Dragon, Depths, Iron Golem, Moonlight Butterfly and the like? Those don't particularly strike me as immaculate, unblemished content.
What about The Painted World? Where does that fit in? It makes you wonder, where does the distinction truly even lie? Parts of the game fitting into supposed "halves", in a game that cherishes exploration and even fosters it with intelligent world design doesn't really make much sense. One could consider the Northern Undead Asylum, Catacombs, Ash Lake, Painted World, New Londo, and Darkroot Garden, as "First/Second half" moments.
What about the DLC? Are we content to ignore that? Surely logic would dictate by the difficulty of the bosses and content alone that the DLC must constitute "second half material". The PC version of Dark Souls with Artorias of the Abyss was released as an single package, so you could really consider the game and DLC in that case as a complete product. Surely that balances the scale of halves you've drawn up in the formless dirt.
The remaster runs like shit.
Gee, so you ignored all the orange soapstones? And the audio cues for the ghosts?
You find the ring you need to wear on the way to him. I don't know, maybe I'm just more intuitive like that.
Every level could be improved by unlocking a shortcut back to the beggining close to the end before the boss
Because the second half is fine, the supposed dip in quality is just a meme, don't be fucking stupid
Why are the Chaos Witches so hot?
>When the flame is shared, it
creates an eternal bond between the parties.
She basically married you
Bed of Chaos is pretty garbage but quitting midfight saves the day. On one hand I give them props for having the balls to not put a bonfire right before the fogdoor for the PTD edition and later consoles patches, but dealing with the shit boss AND that runback sucks.
I don’t know how I’d feel about Dragon God if I had to do the same runback as Flamelurker, for example.
Would you clean her feet though?
When you beat the Four Kings, you have the ability to warp between bonfires, so you would be able to get out. You can only get that key once you obtain the lord vessel or whatever the fuck it's called.
I went through New Londo without the key myself, only to discover it was locked, and I had to go all the way back. Shit sucked. But at least I got some nice swag from exploring. I went through it pretty early. Did not know I wasn't supposed to go there until I got that shit.
Why did you even go all that way? Didn't everything slap your shit too much for you to want to progress?
Because I like spooky ghosts, so I went as far as I possibly could. It wasn't that hard once I learned about the ambushes and shit. The worst aspect of it was falling really.
So has anyone tried the "Daughters of Ash" mod I keep hearing about? Is it worth a shot?
I hate how Gaping Dragon is a 10/10 in terms of presentation but a 4/10 as a boss fight.
I would clean her coochie with my tongue if you catch my drift
There's nothing wrong with the second half you hive-mind fucks. You literally just got tired of the game because you were likely a bandwagoning faggot.
I feel bad for her. Entire home submerged in fire and lava, sisters are demons, mother is spawning the demons, most people just come to you to learn pyromancy then fuck off.
>Priscilla
>Quelana, Quelaag and the Fair Lady
>Gwynevere
>Lucatiel
>Bear Seek Seek Lest
>Fire Keeper
>Sirris
>Karla
>Maria/Doll
Why are Soulsborne girls so god-tier?
Because they werent made by a western company.
Blighttown was aesthetic as fuck but the optimization made it horrible. It's one of the strongest arguments about why framerate matters.
Obviously not talking about the remaster or the original DS with a good pc