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[Dark Souls 3] Second and Final DLC OUT NOW!

HounHoun Registered User regular
edited March 2017 in Games and Technology
ds3_logo_tmsU3wv.png

This is a thread to discuss Dark Souls 3. It's a small indie game from Japan, you've probably never heard of it. This is a pretty good thread to use to talk about it! Ask questions, seek jolly cooperation, and go hollow among friends who have also stared too long into the deep recesses of Gothic Medieval Horror Murder Simulation.

What's that? You actually wanted to talk about Bloodborne, the PS4-exclusive Victorian Cosmic Horror kindred game from the same developers that won, like, all the awards forever? Try Here.

Or maybe you wanted to talk about all those OTHER Souls games that do not have a stylish "3" at the end of their logos? We got you covered.

Rules
- No talking about the merits of PvP Invasions.
- Spoilers for DS1 and DS2 are Ok, try to keep DS3+DLC spoilers behind tags for the new players.
- Always be Fashionsouling

DLC Details
The Ringed City, the second and final of the two planned DLC expansions, was released on March 28th. Per Namco Bandai, this DLC “has players chasing after the Slave Knight Gael to the literal end of the world as he searches for the Dark Soul of Humanity”.

Launch Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zbxn03qo6s

Also, the Reveal Trailer if you missed it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezosSMzPdNQ

The Ashes of Ariandel, the first DLC expansion, was released on October 24, 2016 at 3 PM PDT for Steam players and October 24, 2016 at 9 PM PDT for console players. Venture to a frozen land and prepare to see the iconic "YOU DIED" message all over again while facing new challenges, plundering new treasures, and getting confused about the lore implications until Vaati releases a new video to explain it to us all. Also, a PvP arena, if that's your thing.

Reveal Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jjqS_03Ijo

Vital Info
Dark Souls III is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The fourth entry in the Souls series, Dark Souls III was released in Japan in March 2016, and worldwide in April 2016.

Opening Cinematic Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zDZYrIUgKE

Launch Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWBwFhUv1-8

Reviews:
Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I play this game?
Well, it's fun. You remember fun, right? It's that thing Miyazaki-sensi invented back in 2011. This is the third (fourth? fifth?) installment in the "Souls" franchise, a series of action-heavy RPG games that focus on satisfying, visceral combat that rewards mastery over stat-boosting, and level design that focuses on exploration and acquired knowledge over linear corridors and waypoints. With the now-famous "Souls" currency system to provide tension, the industry-changing PvP and CoOp systems, and more vague-ass lore than you can shake a stick at, it's a game that provides the best kind of frustration and subsequent accomplishment as you, the player, "git gud" and learn to overcome life's challenges as represented by big ass monster dudes who frequently wear armor.

Alternately, you could watch those reviews up above. They make a pretty good pitch.

I can't help but notice that "3". This isn't the first game? Do I have to play other games first?
You are most astute, dear reader! This is not the first Dark Souls game. The Souls Franchise began with Demon's Souls back in 2009/10 for the PS3. FromSoftware followed up with the first proper Dark Souls in 2011/12 for PS3, 360, and later Windows, which became a roaring success. It got a sequel in 2014, the aptly-named Dark Souls 2 for pretty much every platform eventually, and then a spiritual successor / sister game in the PS4 exclusive Bloodborne in 2015.

You don't really need to play any of those, though. The Souls series itself tends to tell less traditional stories, opting to allow the player to unearth the lore and history of the world in an almost archaeological fashion, hiding much of it in item descriptions and environmental cues, and letting the players form their own motivations for continuing their quests. You can totally jump in to DS3 and not be lost in the slightest. That said, there are plenty of nostalgic callbacks and references to the first two Dark Souls games that you'll probably miss out on. I'd highly recommend at least playing the first game if you can, but no one is gonna blame you for jumping into the new hawtness.

Ok, but I heard it's really, really hard
Well... yes and no. Dark Souls is punishing. There is a weight to it's combat and traps that makes mistakes costly, and death will come frequently. It's ok, though. You don't suck, that's just the game's way of telling you to take what you learned from that death, and get better. Many modern games are tuned so that death either only occurs if you're doing absolutely, embarrassingly terrible, or never at all. In Dark Souls, it's frequent and brutal and just a thing to get through. In many ways, Dark Souls is about failure and how we deal with it. Will you charge over and over into the fight head-on? Will you take what you learned and try a new approach? Will you challenge yourself to learn enemy moves so you can react with perfect timing, dodging and parrying your way through the world in a dance of beautiful carnage?

Most likely, you'll get mad, toss your controller, proclaim loudly that the game is badly designed, and promise never to play it again. Then a day or two later you'll pick the controller back up and beat whatever had you stuck first try.

(It's ok. We all do it. Frequently.)

Ok, how about classes? I can be a warrior or a wizard?
Sure. The game lets your start as one of ten different classes, each with a slightly different stat alignment and starting equipment. See this image:
I879bv0.jpg

Of course, the "secret" is that your starting class is literally just how you start the game. You can choose Knight to start, decide you really dig magic, and end up a mage character by the end of the game. Every caster is going to spend a lot of the early game swinging around a club or sword until you get enough FP (Focus Points, think "MP" in most RPGs) to really be casting the majority of the time. Most likely you'll end up some kind of hybrid: you'll find a weapon you like the moveset on, some armor that looks faaaaaabuloooooous, and an array of support spells and items to get you through whatever situations the game might throw at you.

And then you'll die anyway.

I heard this game has always-on PvP. I don't like that at all.
Eh, yes and no. In game, there is an item called an Ember that you will find pretty frequently. Using one will boost your HP by 30%, give you a sweet "paper on fire" visual effect, and effectively "turn on" multiplayer. You have to be Embered in order to summon other players to CoOp with you, but at the same time, being Embered opens you up to potentially being invaded by other players seeking to smack you down and dance on your corpse. It's a risk/reward thing. Also, every time you beat a boss, you're automatically Embered if you weren't already as a bit of a "job well done" bonus.

Now, for some people, that's just too much, and they'll advise disconnecting the internet or playing offline or something. Other people will tell you that you're missing out on a core part of the experience by doing this. These two viewpoints will argue back and forth until a mod comes in and tells us to shut up about it for the 9,000th time.

I wouldn't recommend bringing it up.

Man, this game can be really obtuse sometimes!
Yup. One of the design goals was to make shit obscure so that people would talk about it online and share discoveries. Ergo, no shame in using a wiki if you want to know how to find a covenant or item that interests you.

Ok, but do you have dank memes?
Natch, brah.
Ok, last question: I am a gamer that exclusively spends my time playing only games with the largest, finest hats. Is this game a good match for my eccentric tastes?
bQmcirU.jpg



Now, get out there and Praise the Sun or something.

Houn on
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Posts

  • HugglesHuggles Registered User regular
    Big Hat not-Houn

  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    Yeah, lock-on breaks when enemies perform certain actions, like standing up, too. It's wonky with ranged attacks that suddenly aim in weird directions.

    Btw, did you know that Kukri is actually decent damage against bleed-weak enemies?

  • HounHoun Registered User regular
    Huggles wrote: »
    Big Hat not-Houn

    Big Hat not-Douglas, actually. It's his OP. I'll revamp it a bit later, but for now, we're not on page 103.

  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    I just got Tsorigs Ring, time to punish some shield covering Turtles.

  • DouglasDangerDouglasDanger PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
    I still haven't figured out which chest armor piece that big hat character is wearing.

    I got that pic from Reddit.

  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Might be black hand, never used it myself, but from what I recall of its description it could fit the bill.
    :edit: hmm no, looking at pictures, it's not that.
    :edit: found it, Fallen Knight set.

    NEO|Phyte on
    It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
    Warframe/Steam: NFyt
  • JoshmviiJoshmvii Registered User regular
    I decided since I myself can't get summoned for bluebros, I'd do a solid for others. After I beat Pontiff on my NG+ run, and moved past the fight club area, I popped dried finger with way of blue on. Got a few blues summoned to fight the reds and aldrich faithfuls that invaded. Had some nice chaotic fun until I died. Honestly, there are times when I feel like just getting through an area without risking invasion, so I go unembered. But it's usually more fun to have invaders pop in. PvE is predictable. I like bringing some chaos into it.

    It sucks that I'm going to have to farm most of my pvp items, because I didn't use blue sentinels when I was SL25 or whatever when it can actually get you summoned more, and I was too busy just exploring and getting through farron keep and what not and didn't use watchdogs or faithful on my NG either, so I have hardly any of the items I need.

    I mean in a perfect world, there wouldn't be rings and spells you need for the trophies behind the covenants, but eh, it's not like I have to have trophies. I just want them.

  • DouglasDangerDouglasDanger PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
    That's the Sages hat, aka Logan's hat.

    I'm turning my DEX Pyro into a utility wizard, I guess. 25/25 is a good INT/FAI split a pyro, or so I read, and it's also high enough to use most sorceries and miracles, but not high enough to benefit greatly from scaling, right?

    So great heal is the obvious miracle.

    What's the obvious sorcery?

  • JoshmviiJoshmvii Registered User regular
    Also, regarding the black stuff on the pus of man and what not, it seems to me it's just abyss. The way I see it is way back in the day, in the age of dragons it was all grey and chill. But when the first flame was brought into the mix, it brought the darkness too, and the corruption of the abyss. So now that the world seems to be reverting back to more like its original state, the abyss corruption is still there.

    What I really want to know is what is the connection between hollowing and trees. In DS1 and DS3 if you're hollow it looks like tree roots are coming out of your characters heart on the chest. And in DS2 we saw the giants turning into trees after death. Now in DS3 we have hollows turning into trees, pilgrim butterflies that are tree-like, and all that stuff.

    It really feels like there's some connection between hollowing, trees, and the dragons, but I don't know what it is.

  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    Wasn't it dragons and archtrees in the days before the flame? Could be life starts reverting to archtree or something when the fire fades. I dunno.

    It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
    Warframe/Steam: NFyt
  • firewaterwordfirewaterword Satchitananda Pais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
    Been playing a bit of DS2 to get my souls fix (and it runs well on my work laptop, unlike 3) and my gawd the estus feels glacial!

    Need to figure out a build I suppose.

    Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
  • JoshmviiJoshmvii Registered User regular
    We sort of have confirmation that the pus of man is abyss corruption related to the fire fading, because the key to the grand archives says something like "The scholars locked down the archives to avoid the spreading pus of man, as the fire faded."

    Also, another DS2 connection in DS3:
    Lothric, the only one of the lords of cinder to feel like linking the flame is pointless and doing so still leaves you cursed was tutored by "the first of the scholars" who "doubted the linking of the flame."

    That's clearly Aldia.

    What I want to know is why did Gwynevere peace out of being queen of Lothric unexpectedly? Maybe running away is just part of who she is?

  • General_ArmchairGeneral_Armchair Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    The fight against THE CHAMP is so fun if you don't parry him.

    He just flows between his moves so well. The fight is almost like a dance. He attacks, you dodge into a rolling attack and then move to the side to dodge the kick. A few more strikes between you leaping over the halberd and then you step aside to dodge the elbow jab.

    And that kick-up/homerun attack. I've never been so satisfied by being defeated by a boss before. That was well played champ.

    General_Armchair on
    3DS Friend Code:
    Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    Whee, beat it with my strength build.

    Ending 3 checked off.

    Now... I think I want to do flippy mcnoshield ninja. Or pyromancer. Not sure.

    Steam: Polaritie
    3DS: 0473-8507-2652
    Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
    PSN: AbEntropy
  • HounHoun Registered User regular
    For those that didn't see the stream, I BEAT THE END BOSS!

    Video Proof (Spoilers, of course):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwuY4zHNsWU

    Things I note in review/just from fighting him in general:
    - I'd forgotten to use an Ember before the fight, so I tried to use one mid-fight. Ended up being clutch as fuck.
    - I hate his spear/miracle form so much. I think the only reason I won this attempt was because he didn't queue up the endless Homing Crystal Soulmasses prior to going into Spear-form.
    - He can use Power Within but doesn't get the health drain. Bullshit.
    - HA HA HA at the end, his big explosion bounces my fireball back for a moment. That's hilarious.

    Now I gotta figure out what's next. NG+? New Character? Play something else? I dunno.

  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    Yeah, the final boss of DS3 is definitely not cruise control mode.

  • TransporterTransporter Registered User regular
    Joshmvii wrote: »
    We sort of have confirmation that the pus of man is abyss corruption related to the fire fading, because the key to the grand archives says something like "The scholars locked down the archives to avoid the spreading pus of man, as the fire faded."

    Also, another DS2 connection in DS3:
    Lothric, the only one of the lords of cinder to feel like linking the flame is pointless and doing so still leaves you cursed was tutored by "the first of the scholars" who "doubted the linking of the flame."

    That's clearly Aldia.

    What I want to know is why did Gwynevere peace out of being queen of Lothric unexpectedly? Maybe running away is just part of who she is?

    On that spoiler
    I'm pretty sure she didn't do so willingly. The Queen of Lothric used to visit the Untended Graves, and in fact, she was one of the only ones who did so. Shrine Handmaid in Dark Firelink says that maybe you were captured "Like that girl".

    We all know Ludleth did some shit to bring back the First Flame after it went out, since he, you know, tells you this.

    I am 100% sure the Queen of Lothric was part of that plan, and is probably the Firekeeper, memory wiped and tied to the false Firelink Shrine and the First Flame.

  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    Well, fuck. Profaned Capital boss.
    Siegward somehow got unlucky and was stunlocked to death from full in like two seconds. It was so fast I didn't even notice.

  • DouglasDangerDouglasDanger PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2016
    How's this?



    I have four slots with the right rings, what spells should I equip?

    DouglasDanger on
  • HachfaceHachface Not the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking of Dammit, Shepard!Registered User regular
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

  • HounHoun Registered User regular
    How's this?



    I have four slots with the right rings, what spells should I equip?

    Pyro? Chaos Bed Vestiges and Chaos Fire Orb were my workhorses. They do around the same damage overall, but Vestiges has a shorter range and does it all at once, where Orb can be thrown much farther away, does less on impact, and leaves a pool of lava that can tick at most once for another chunk of damage. I also had fun with Rapport at the end there, but didn't play with it until super-late.

    If you don't have those spells yet... use what you've got. Early on, I was mostly just swinging a sword, it wasn't until late game that I was regularly flinging fire. FP's limited, sword are not.

    Also, End of Game stats and Fashion!
    3epdxnagug4o.jpg

  • Blackbird SR-71CBlackbird SR-71C Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Decided to Dried Finger + Ember while exploring a new area. I think I've fought 7-8 Dark Spirits and Mad Dark Spirits combined. Was a lot of fun! Less than half of them responded aproppriatly to my duel bow though.

    Edit:

    I kinda wish you could turn the Dried Fingers OFF again. It became annoying having to fight another phantom and then ANOTHER phantom before being able to use the bonfire.

    Blackbird SR-71C on
    steam_sig.png
    Steam ID: 76561198021298113
    Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird

  • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
    I keep finding references online about a free DS3 theme for the PS4 for Plus subscribers. Anyone know anything about it? I can't find it on the PSN store at all.

  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    Hachface wrote: »
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

    The final run of bosses felt like increasingly insane Shonen fights, so I have to agree.

  • Blackbird SR-71CBlackbird SR-71C Registered User regular
    CAUTION: There are hackers on PC playing right now that can softban you by just hitting you with a weapon! Coupled with hacks that can teleport them to a player immediatly, playing offline is your safest bet right now!

    steam_sig.png
    Steam ID: 76561198021298113
    Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird

  • JediabiwanJediabiwan Registered User regular
    Hachface wrote: »
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

    I've been stuck on that fight for the last couple days and the only reason I don't mind is I love the atmosphere and visual design, it's all super awesome.
    Any advice on how to hit the prince on the back? I'm using the lothric longsword and can't seem to do much damage to him. Or do I just need to kill the big guy 3-4 times?

  • KarozKaroz Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Hachface wrote: »
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

    It was harder than the final boss for me that's for sure.
    Jediabiwan wrote: »
    Hachface wrote: »
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

    I've been stuck on that fight for the last couple days and the only reason I don't mind is I love the atmosphere and visual design, it's all super awesome.
    Any advice on how to hit the prince on the back? I'm using the lothric longsword and can't seem to do much damage to him. Or do I just need to kill the big guy 3-4 times?

    It's all about proper orientation and the swing of your weapon
    Chances are you'll still end up killing the Lorian once or twice and then wailing on Lothric but you can still do a large amount of damage to the latter if you position correctly.

    Karoz on
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Jediabiwan wrote: »
    Hachface wrote: »
    The Princes fight is so fun! So fun!

    I won't hear a word against it

    I've been stuck on that fight for the last couple days and the only reason I don't mind is I love the atmosphere and visual design, it's all super awesome.
    Any advice on how to hit the prince on the back? I'm using the lothric longsword and can't seem to do much damage to him. Or do I just need to kill the big guy 3-4 times?
    Don't focus too much on hitting Lothric the healer. If you can work in some extra damage, that's fine. But, if you defeat Lorian again, you'll have a significant window in which to damage his brother.

    The two game changers are the homing holy shots, and holy lasers. Just make sure you're clear of them before you commit to an attack. You can strafe them or dodge them. I found it's much safer to immediately try to close the distance, because their teleports mean it's useless to hit and run. Also, it's better to block a heavy hit if you can't dodge it than just take full damage. You need to try to conserve your Estus for the second phase.

    Also, both of their heavy laser/flame charge attacks have big windows where you can get in and cause damage.

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • ZavianZavian universal peace sounds better than forever war Registered User regular
    CAUTION: There are hackers on PC playing right now that can softban you by just hitting you with a weapon! Coupled with hacks that can teleport them to a player immediatly, playing offline is your safest bet right now!

    the dude is even livestreaming it, surprised he's still going at it even tho his steam profile leaked and hundreds have been reporting him

  • DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Well, in the end I decided to start a pyromancer. Took down Vordt and such. Should probably start thinking about what weapon to use, to get a little infusing going. Let's try to avoid small swords, too, since I beat the game on my quality build basically with the starting longsword the entire game.

    Hoping it's not long until I can get a shield that does not suck, though. Starting Knight last time spoiled me for having a decent starter shield.

    Drascin on
    Steam ID: Right here.
  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    I'm sunlight-helping with Yhorm. Already got in on a few first tries.

  • Blackbird SR-71CBlackbird SR-71C Registered User regular
    Zavian wrote: »
    CAUTION: There are hackers on PC playing right now that can softban you by just hitting you with a weapon! Coupled with hacks that can teleport them to a player immediatly, playing offline is your safest bet right now!

    the dude is even livestreaming it, surprised he's still going at it even tho his steam profile leaked and hundreds have been reporting him

    Disgusting. Guess I gotta play Offline mode for now.

    steam_sig.png
    Steam ID: 76561198021298113
    Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird

  • HachfaceHachface Not the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking of Dammit, Shepard!Registered User regular
    So did From intentionally decide that lock-on shouldn't be as reliable or...

    the first stage of Nameless King fight is hard only because the camera doesn't stay locked.

  • RamiRami Registered User regular
    Joshmvii wrote: »
    We sort of have confirmation that the pus of man is abyss corruption related to the fire fading, because the key to the grand archives says something like "The scholars locked down the archives to avoid the spreading pus of man, as the fire faded."

    Also, another DS2 connection in DS3:
    Lothric, the only one of the lords of cinder to feel like linking the flame is pointless and doing so still leaves you cursed was tutored by "the first of the scholars" who "doubted the linking of the flame."

    That's clearly Aldia.

    What I want to know is why did Gwynevere peace out of being queen of Lothric unexpectedly? Maybe running away is just part of who she is?

    She's a survivor.
    Everyone knows which way the wind is blowing once the age of fire starts to die down. Best to get out of dodge until it's up and running again.

    Steam / Xbox Live: WSDX NNID: W-S-D-X 3DS FC: 2637-9461-8549
    sig.gif
  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    edited April 2016
    Fighting Old Demon King as a level 20 (with only a Raw Longsword with no upgrades) is a tad difficult, had him down to 1/10th when he did that fire ring thingie and I had no Pyro sweat left.

    YOU DIED.

    Sirialis on
  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    Oh, does anybody know how late you can bring this to Yuria for the reward?
    Orbeck's ashes.
    Is it fine after all of his stuff is done and you just get them anyway?

  • metaghostmetaghost An intriguing odor A delicate touchRegistered User regular
    PLA wrote: »
    Oh, does anybody know how late you can bring this to Yuria for the reward?
    Orbeck's ashes.
    Is it fine after all of his stuff is done and you just get them anyway?

    The update may have changed this, but:
    You used to have to kill him before the "wedding", so you wouldn't be able to finish his questline.

  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    That makes sense.

    Some of the followups to Warcry and Stomp and such are quite different. For Stomp, some are launching uppercut-things, and some are wide, horizontal sweeps.

    Rami wrote: »
    Joshmvii wrote: »
    We sort of have confirmation that the pus of man is abyss corruption related to the fire fading, because the key to the grand archives says something like "The scholars locked down the archives to avoid the spreading pus of man, as the fire faded."

    Also, another DS2 connection in DS3:
    Lothric, the only one of the lords of cinder to feel like linking the flame is pointless and doing so still leaves you cursed was tutored by "the first of the scholars" who "doubted the linking of the flame."

    That's clearly Aldia.

    What I want to know is why did Gwynevere peace out of being queen of Lothric unexpectedly? Maybe running away is just part of who she is?

    She's a survivor.
    Everyone knows which way the wind is blowing once the age of fire starts to die down. Best to get out of dodge until it's up and running again.
    Where'd Flann go, though?

  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    The party dimension.

  • firewaterwordfirewaterword Satchitananda Pais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
    Man DS2 feels downright ponderous after playing so much 3. Still having fun with it - managed to forget a lot of the level layouts.

    Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
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