I'm getting annoyed by all the low-leveled characters using the DLC weapons in invasions and such. Already tired of dealing with Elfriede's Scythe when I'm level 50 or so.
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Last edited by Rising Dragon; 2016-10-27 at 21:14.
Well, having done the runthrough of the DLC here's my thoughts:
Spoiler for DLC:
Overall I was honestly a bit disappointed, the setting was pretty cool, the enemies were no cakewalk (taking my char who I'd left after killing the Soul of Cinder), but it was a bit too short, and felt too disconnected from everything else in the game.
I was expecting some massive throwbacks to DS1 and Ariamis but they never came, it felt way too tangential to what's going on. There were a couple of moments of "Aha!" piecing together what's going on within Ariandel, but that's it, whereas in the main game there's hints of all sorts relating to heaps of things everywhere (I went nuts when I realised the profane capitol is in the tomb of the giants, because the canyon/ravine is basically identical).
The biggest problem was the bosses. The wolf was cool the first time, got annoying the second two times. The last boss just dragged too long, mostly because the second phase took forever because of the healing and having few opportunities to attack since it's a 1v2. The first and last phases were actually pretty cool though, as for me the most effective way was to go mano-e-mano with her with my Farron Greatsword 2-handed, so it was a constant battle of timing and getting the first hit in, which was definitely fun.
Even with that praise that fight falls flat compared to the really good DS3 bosses (Pontiff, Abyss Watchers, Dragonslayer Armour, Nameless King, Dancer). My biggest praise about DS3 compared to the first two is that the boss fights are amongst the best I've seen, as opposed to god-awful (except the DS1 DLC and Gwyn), and the DLC having bosses that are kinda meh is a letdown.
When I have to choose on my next char running through Ariandel immediately or doing Deacons/Pontiff first, I'm choosing the latter every time. And that's the problem.
Well the last DLC for DS3 is called "The Ringed City" and it will be out on March 28th. Plus info on DS3 game of year edition called the "Fire Fades Edition", which will be lunch April 21st.
I wonder if this DLC might be linked with Oceiros, the consumed King? Since judging by the trailer we see a women with an egg, who could be the Queen of Lothric. Who was revered as a goddess of fertility and bounty, and if that's the case then the boss in the trailer could be Ocelotte
Last edited by ScorchingFlames; 2017-01-24 at 15:08.
The boss in the trailer--the one on fire, at least--has been confirmed to be the last surviving Demon of Izalith, tainted by poison. Similarly, the grey giant has been confirmed to be someone who existed before the dawn of the Age of Fire, and was around for the discovery of the dragons. He served as a judicator for the Lords of Anor Londo. So yeah, neither of them are Ocelotte.
So the DLC is out, played it through and personally I think it was quite a bit better and a good deal longer than Ashes was. The bosses were pretty interesting, and kinda crazy. There was a LOT of references and nostalgia and lore related stuff in this DLC concerning the end of the world and all that. It was very very cool.
Spoiler for stuff:
I quite liked how you started the DLC in Dark Souls 3 in the ruins of Lothric - it's actually the room just before you go down to the cell to free Greirat. After that you drop down a layer of the world into Dark Souls 2, and travel through the Earthen Peak - why they chose that area, I don't know, I think there would have been other more memorable ones (Desert Sorceress set was nice to use again). Then we drop down into Dark Souls 1, (via the Great Hollow) into the ruins of the original Firelink Shrine to fight the Demon Prince, the last demon of Izalith, before passing through Frampt's hiding hole and out onto a ledge to summon a lift into the Ringed City. That entry montage was even more of a nostalgia reference to the entry to Anor Londo than going from the High Wall to the the Undead Settlement, the setting sun and all.
Fuck those angels amirite, although I didn't have as much trouble with them as other people seem to have had. Otherwise, the Lothric Knights and the Harald Knights weren't to bad from usual. The Murkmen were very swarmish, and the big dreg attack could catch you by surprise if you weren't careful. The Demon Prince was pretty fun, kinda crazy at points and very spectacle heavy with huge attacks and lots of movement, which continues into the other bosses as well.
The Ringed City itself is beautiful, crazy dangerous though. I don't remember any references prior to reaching the lower levels and reaching the swamp area, but it was quite nice to explore about. The swamp itself had a reference to Oolaciel in one corner, with the bow and the white birch tree (hint: use the young branch in the swamp, its pretty cool and practical). After the swamp you make a climb across a bridge and up a hill via a tunnel and bridges, meet the second boss (outside the boss room), Darkeater Midir, a gigantic dragon - a direct descendant of the Everlasting Dragons as he strafes you up the cliff side and the bridges bathing the area in fire. Eventually you'll reach the top, see a fairly interesting and cool statue and unlock a shortcut. Now from here you'll have a couple choices, in that building before the cathedral there are quite a few secrets. One hidden behind THREE illusionary walls, and other halfway up the elevator shaft and then behind a Silver Knight statue - this leads to the actual fight with Darkeater Midir.
The enemies in the city were quite varied, the Harald Knights were here in more numbers in addition to the Ringed Knights, which are pretty damn cool, and the pygmies that are the original mankind, and the Preacher/bugmen and these stone humped cleric guys. Skeletons also make a small appearance. The little pygmies could be quite annoying with their movement, and some of their attacks and the fact that they curse you by just being near them. Also the stone humped cleric guys can be very annoying. As for the boss, Midir, too access him you need to damage him when he is hanging off the edge of the bridge, and force him to fall into the abyss, otherwise you cannot access the boss room. As for his fight it is again very spectacle, more so than the demons. His arena kind of reminds me of Ash Lake or Izalith, but the purple lighting gives it a very eerie quality. He has some very cool moves and attacks, and reminds me of a Bloodborne boss since he has quite fast and erratic movements. I probably enjoyed him the least.
After Midir is the Church of Fillianore, you go straight into a "boss" fight that is either less than a speed bump or absolutely horrendous torture. The reason for this is because the boss, is either a summoned player or an NPC called Halflight. Depending on the player it can be a right old shitfest to fight them, or a total breeze. Halflight is, I guess easier, but his AI is quite good, from what I saw. I'd say the most annoying thing was the Painting Guardians that were summoned.
Following that you meed Fillianore, and some weird shit happens that is open to interpretation. Either timey wimey bullshit is going on with you traveling to the End Times, to an endless grey land of arch tree and everlasting dragons bringing everything full circle back to the beginning again. Or EVERYTHING was an illusion crafted by the bearers Lord Souls when they beat the dragons. I'm leaning more towards timey wimey bullshit since you can see Lothric and I think Drangelic in the background. Anyways, in short you are transported to an endless ashen wasteland and here is the "final" showdown, the end of the Dark Souls series.
The last boss, is Slave Knight Gael and he is anime as fuck. His moves, his model design, the music, the arena, the phase changes, the environmental effects, its just just straight up anime over the top crazy. It is an insane and very long fight (although I did it at NG+6). You'll see shades of Nameless King mixed with Manus with a dose of Bloodborne in this fight.
Some folks might be a bit disappointed you just fight some random nobody at the end of the world (and time?) rather than some god, but I saw it mentioned elsewhere Gael is basically a Dark Souls protagonist, he has a lot of similarities to players and their characters, their drive and motivation. Personally I quite liked the fight, it may have been nice to see Manus again, but this... was fun.
After all that, go talk to the Painter and stew on all the theories about her final words.
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Last edited by Mr Hat and Clogs; 2017-03-30 at 06:24.
2016-10-27, 04:00
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