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xtal: you're my hero!
I haven't been on Dark Souls in a while, been distracted by MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Rayman: Origins with my better half. Armand, in a bid to save me money on Arma II for the DayZ mod, bought me Gratuitous Tank Battles thinking that money not spent on that could be spent on Arma II (even though I wasn't in a rush to buy GTB anyway). The only thing is, he didn't tell me that this was his plan so I promptly sent him some money for the purchase. Then of course I bought Arma II anyway after hearing nothing but good stuff about DayZ. So basically Armand made me spend more than I would have done despite his best intentions. What was it you were saying Steerpike about Armand being evil?
Anyway, I'm hoping that I can jump back into Dark Souls sooner rather than later because I hate being distracted from things I've started, but it's so easily done these days.
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I got backstabbed by a sneaky serpent guard in Sen's Fortress, so thought I would use the chance to get a fire claymore, which I think might be useful in that place. I'm in the catacombs across the bridge just past the first bonfire. I reached another bridge that has spikes that need to be turned so I can use it, but I must have missed a lever someplace. Off to explore some more. My divine morningstar +5 has served me well so far.
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Pokey, If you find the giant skeleton blacksmith in the Catacombs be careful not to attract the bonewheel skeletons near him. They have a pesky roll attack that may force you into accidentally attacking him, which would not be good for your hopes of fire upgrades.
It's a funny thing ... I was playing as my lower level warrior today and thinking about which area to proceed to next. To have greater success in the Depths and Blighttown you'd do well to have a fire weapon; drops for fire weapons can even be farmed in the Depths rather easily. But to ascend a weapon down the fire path you need the Catacombs blacksmith. To have any hope at all of proceeding deep into the Catacombs without multiple deaths you surely need a divine weapon; of course to ascend weapons down the divine path you need to give the Divine Ember to Blacksmith Andre. And where do you get that ember? Why by defeating one of the bosses of Darkroot Garden, of course!
Ahhh, Dark Souls you evil genius.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
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The Catacombs represent a dilemma. On one hand, after you beat a very easy boss down there you'll get the Rite of Kindling, which allows you to Kindle bonfires up to 20 Estus. On the other, the boss may be easy but getting to him is no picnic. Getting that Rite would make the rest of the game a lot easier.
Based on a discovery I made in my NG+ I think that the Tomb of the Giants (which comes after the Catacombs and isn't accessible until you get the Lordvessel) is actually optional. And the Tomb of the Giants is miserable enough that taking advantage of that would be worth considering.
Just go left instead of right in the flooded crevasse where the Bonewheel Skeletons live - normally you'd go right to get to the Pinwheel and the Tomb. But on the left you can climb a ladder and enter a big crypt, where you're given an opportunity to lay down in one of the coffins. After about 30 seconds, something drags you right into Gravelord Nito's chamber! He wasn't there when I discovered this shortcut, because I hadn't found the Lordvessel yet in NG+, but if my theory is correct you could bypass the entire T of the G.
I think fire weapons are generally the safest path to take. More enemies are vulnerable to fire than anything else. The exceptions, of course, are Lost Izalith and the Demon Ruins, so keep something else on hand to switch to in those hot areas. By the time you visit them, though, you'll be so powerful you haven't got much to worry about.
So where are you now, xtal? You must be getting close, unless you've been focused on punishing sinners.
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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Well, I'm not sure how close I am. Not knowing where to go next, I decided to head through the lifted golden fog gate in Anor Londo. This lead to the Duke's Archives. I reached Seath the Scaleless and was obliterated promptly in what seemed to be a no-win scenario akin to the first Demon's Souls boss fight. I say this because 1) I couldn't even get close to him to do damage, and 2) after dying I resurrected at a different bonfire, in a prison cell.
Needless to say the Archives are a very interesting place. I found another Fire Keeper's Soul (yes!) in a cell that happened to be holding the sorcerer, Logan. After a bunch of backtracking and rotating staircases and finding keys to unlock various things I was able to free Logan and he relocated to a library near the second bonfire.
Now, knowing the complexity of Dark Souls, I decided to visit the wiki to see what paths occur for Logan after this, since just like Demon's Souls, various NPCs seem to have their own journeys that take them here and there.
Apparently he remains in this little library alcove until you purchase all of his spells, at which point he relocates to where you fought Seath, and he will be hollowed (or just mad?) with some loot to drop for you.
I proceeded out into the garden, cleaned up the crystal golems and then ventured into the Crystal Cave. It's not a horrible place like Blighttown or the Valley of Defilement, but it might be the most treacherous area I've visited yet. For anyone going to the Crystal Cave: bring Prism Stones. Lots of them! Like, over 50 at least. This is the first area where this little item has been truly invaluable. The invisible walkways are crazy, but after going through this whole area I found and killed 3 crystal lizards and also found-- after a twisting, winding, insane and invisible walkway-- a blue titanite slab. Valuable!
After proceeding to a large landmass (yay) and fighting some very difficult ... clam-man-things, I found an area with dead and frozen plague victims, which was a very nice hint: this boss battle will be plague-tastic! Oh hey, it's my old friend Seath the Scaleless, ugliest dragon ever.
Ugly yes. Pushover no. He killed me again. After losing probably 50k souls and what little humanity I had I decided instead of returning immediately to fight him again and (hopefully) retrieve my souls I would lay down my summon sign and help some others with this one. Thankfully it appears I'm actually around the proper level range for this area (soul level 78 at present) because I'm being summoned constantly. I know the Crystal Cave now like the back of my hand, and after helping someone defeat Seath for the first time I was rewarded with a nice 30,000 souls. I figured I'd do this for a while and just get a boatload of souls to buy all of Logan's spells, even though I'm not a caster- I'm a completionist, I can't help myself!
Later on... I've helped a lot of people now, probably a 50% success rate, and a 50% rate of the host carelessly falling off some cliff in the Crystal Cave. Logan had a lot of expensive spells, and I've now purchased all of them, so I don't know how many souls I've raked in here... probably 200,000 - 300,000.
Each successful run I gain humanity and become more resistant to curses so it's tempting to continue the rinse and repeat cycle, but sooner or later I'm going to have to buck up, restore my own humanity and tackle Seath in my own world. But ... a but more jolly co-operation first.
I convinced myself to spend the souls on Logan's spells mostly because as I go into the high 70s (soul level) the defenses do not all level up that much anymore, so it seems like a good time to stay at my current level. I got my Endurance to 40 and when I went to level up again I noticed that it appears I've maxed out stamina (at 160). I want more endurance to raise my equip load but it feels so wasted without the Endurance boost. Bah! My next highest attributes are Vitality at 23 and Strength at 21. I really went nuts on Endurance...
Well, I've written quite a boring tome here, I'll report back later on my progress.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
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I finally got to Pinwheel after many, many deaths at the hands of those infernal wheel skeletons and the Black Knight down in the ravine. Pinwheel went down pretty easily, but I had help from Paladin Leeroy (I got help from the wiki to find his summon sign). It seems as though this game beats me down for a while, then I hit a sudden breakthrough. Although at one point I lost about 10 humanity, oh that hurt! Other games try to have interesting narrative. This game helps you create your own.
I also defeated the Black Knight. Something strange happened which made that battle easier. After I got a few hits on him, he suddenly appeared unable to lift his axe. He would try to swing at me, but all he could do was sort of drag his weapon along the ground in a lame attempt at an attack. Not sure what caused this.
The Titanite Demon remains though. I think I'll come back for him later, when I'm ready to take on the Tomb of Giants. Coming out of the Catacombs into the sun after being down there so long I felt a powerful sense of relief. It was really something. The Skull Lantern I found down there helped quite a bit. My bandit is at about level 45 now. I think I'll try Darkroot Basin next or the Garden tomb.
Xtal, I didn't realize that you couldn't be invaded in an area if you'd defeated the boss (not including covenants of course).
I had a few more battles with invaders down in the Catacombs, but they all seemed legitimate, so I didn't indict anyone. I've only defeated one so far though. If I'm in a place that has become familiar, I sometimes go offline to avoid them.
Rule #2: Double-tap
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I had my first death in the catacombs while fighting the wheel skeletons. Heading back to try again. I did find Vamos and was careful to not lead any skeletons near him. I got my claymore up to +5 fire. It might have worked on the skeletons if I had it equipped. I just met the titanite demon but I am leaving him alone and searching for the path to the boss, once I get by the wheel skeletons.
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Yeah, once you clear the boss of an area you can no longer be invaded there, nor can you summon others (this makes sense, of course; no one wants to be summoned without the promise of an eventual boss fight).
I got around to restoring my humanity and summoning help for Seath. I lost one of my phantoms to a precarious platform in the Crystal Cave, but fortunately my other summoned phantom (a Warrior of Sunlight) was very helpful with the boss fight. They were quick to cut off Seath's tail which gave me a Moonlight Greatsword.
I really love how random acts of kindness can occur in Dark Souls. In the area just before Seath, where the clam-man-things are, after clearing them out of the way I was very lucky with drops and got 3 Twinkling Titanite from them; to encourage my summoned help for the upcoming fight, and to let them know I appreciated the help, I dropped a piece of Twinkling Titanite for them; funnily enough, they were doing the same for me at the exact same time, dropping a Blue Titanite Slab (!!) for me.
Since for some reason I'm in the mood to acquire sorceries and have a lot of souls on hand I think I'm going to pay a visit to Dusk of Oolacile.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
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I never met Dusk of Oolacile in my first playthrough, but she sells a sorcery that can be invaluable in the Tomb of the Giants, as well as others that can be invaluable at other times. Like so many aspects of Dark Souls, the magic of Oolacile should be known to you if you've paid attention to the loading screens. A huge amount of hidden fiction can be found in those item descriptions. As Botch said, this game is about making (or finding) your own narrative.
Nice work on Seath the Scaleless, xtal! As for the clam-man-things, you won't encounter them again unless you visit Ash Lake. Apparently they're officially called "Maneaters," but since I mix that up with the Demon's Souls maneater, I just called them "Claminals."
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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Pinwheel is dead. It cost me a couple humanities because twice when I made that long jump from the bridge to the tomb where the titanite demon is, I was immediately blasted off the the rock I landed on and fell to my death. The next time I watched the skulls and made sure they were far away and jumped safely. I recruited Leeroy but he was no help at all. He only hit the clones and I had to take care of Pinwheel myself. I wish I had those humanities back. I homeward boned to the bonfire and will trek out tomorrow since there is not much left to do here. The fire claymore +5 worked great on Pinwheel and the wheel skeletons.
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Hydra is dead and so is that gold golem. I fell off that underwater precipice once but other than that the Hydra didn't pose too much trouble. I'm at sufficient level to take on the crystal golems pretty easily.
The black knight in the Basin got what was coming to him as well. I took a peek at the Valley of Drakes but left it for later. Havel still lurks in the watchtower though. Dude packs a serious whallop.
I went up the ladder near the waterfall and am now in a new part of the Garden. The trees here seem tougher. It's just too open. After those claustrophobic Catacombs I get nervous in all this space, thinking I'm going to get snuck up on.
Rule #2: Double-tap
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Nice going on the Hydra and Crystal Golems. Maybe I'll head over there after the Catacombs and see what I can do. I remember going over a bridge to an open area, no trees, but don't remember a ladder. I know those Golems were pretty tough last time I was in that area and I left them alone. Now I have my Fire Claymore.
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Hey Pokey, looks as though we're doing similar things right now, although based on your other posts I'm pretty sure you're much farther along than me. In that shallow pool where the Hydra lived there's a waterfall. Next to that is a ladder. You've probably already been there I just didn't describe it well.
I've spent a bit of time agonizing over what weapon(s) to go with. After a while I just said hang it, I want to experiment and if I have to do some farming later then so be it. I used a morning star in the Catacombs and I'm upgrading a bastard sword that I bought from Andrei. I'll probably add fire to something too. Oh and I got that crystal lizard in the basin - hah! But that reminds me that I left the two in the Catacombs.
Rule #2: Double-tap
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I just took a look at the Hydra and left it for later. I didn't see the ladder. Now I know where to look. I should get those crystal lizards before I leave the Catacombs. I missed the one in the Dark Basin and he hasn't reappeared in the several times I went back there.
I'm happy with my Fire Claymore +5. The Bastard Sword should be similar when upgraded.
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The Hydra is done. The first two times I fell into the deep water. The next time I watched it more carefully and chopped all his heads off. The Crystal Golems are easy with my Fire Claymore. I guess there is another one near the waterfall. I'll go back later. I also got the crystal lizard on the way down. He finally showed up. I did get the ones in the catacombs too but they were harder. I finally just reloaded near them and used soul arrow.
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You got the Hydra, nice. That ledge is treacherous, but luckily those heads aren't very tough. I'd recommend taking on that golem you mentioned. He's harder than the others, but not hugely so. And he doesn't respawn.
I just realized something - I'd forgotten the primary mission from the beginning - ringing the bells. That's why I need to suck it up and take on Blighttown. Duh. Guess I'll head there next.
Rule #2: Double-tap
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I did get the Golden Golem on the next trip and then bought light cast from the sorceress. It may come in handy later. I've upgraded my fire spell so that it does quite a bit of damage now.
I should head back to Sen's Fortress but that place is hazardous with the traps and guillotine blades. I have the black knights at the Asylum I need to take care of too.
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Good luck in Blighttown, Botch. If you enter from the Depths it's a longer slog, but you find more treasure; enter from the Valley of the Drakes and you can reach Quelaag more easily, but it's a treacherous climb down.
Pokey, Sen's Fortress slowed me down for a while, but if you move slowly and watch your back, you should be okay. Those snake guys are pretty tough, so one trick to keep in mind is that they're as vulnerable to the traps as you are. Lure them into blades or onto pressure plates if you can, and the Fortress does the work for you.
The bonfire in Sen's Fortress is semi-hidden. You should see some messages laying around when you get into the right area, just be sure to explore carefully. Good luck!
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
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I went back to the Asylum and killed the two Black Knights rather easily. Then I farmed and upgraded my pyromancy to 10. I am in Sen's Fortress and just got the Lightning Spear. I used a ferocious two handed attack with my fire Claymore and he didn't even get in a hit. I was surprised as I expected a battle and was nervous. There is a contraption nearby that directs the balls. Not sure what to do with it. I already got the Covetous Gold ring.
Is there a set of guillotines that I am going to have to run through without stopping in between the blades? That may be the death of me. Hoping to find the bonfire before I die.
Edit: I got by the guillotines and finally reached the bonfire. That feels so good. 
I can't seem to post a reply. I get a captcha error.
Any tips on making the jump to the vendor at the top of Sen's Fortress. I have tried many times and only hit the end of the walkway and fall. Does dexterity affect jumping? Should I remove all armor? I had no trouble making the jump to the vendor near Firelink in full armor.
I seem to be the only one who can add anything here. I finally did the jump, taking off my armor and waiting a tad longer before jumping. The boss is next.
June 1, still can't post, so will continue my journey here.
The Iron Golem is dead. It took a lot of tries but I finally did it. I had to backtrack and release Big Hat Logan. Arrived at Anor Londo. It is so beautiful, I think I'll hang around here for a while.
I wish I knew what everyone else is doing.
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The enemies in Anor Londo are a good bit tougher than we've seen. I fought four Giant Knights and a Mimic within a few steps of the bonfire at the beginning. It was quite a battle, but fun. Time to move on, but I am holding a lot of souls. Wish I had a merchant or blacksmith.
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