GRcade

Without sounding harsh, Jawa's biggest problem is going to be sticking with the game.

They aren't hard in terms of difficulty, more unforgiving. They strip out a lot of the safety nets of modern gaming and half the difficulty is getting used to that. The other half can be surmounted by practice and perseverance.

The opening third is probably the hardest (except maybe that boss battle which everyone mentions). It's the same in most Souls games. Once you build your character, find a weapon you like and upgrade your stuff, it gets a lot easier as you're in the groove.

Parksey wrote:Without sounding harsh, Jawa's biggest problem is going to be sticking with the game...

I fear that you may be on to something there, Parksey. I did get a little frustrated yesterday after spending pretty much half-an-hour trying to defeat some guy wielding a pike.

So I may need a tip at this point. How do you tackle guys wielding pikes (and holding a shield)? I can barely get a hit on him past the shield; and the pike does huge damage when he uses it. I even tried leaping upon him from a roof (a jump attack) with no success. I can't get a mark on him.

jawafour wrote:

Parksey wrote:Without sounding harsh, Jawa's biggest problem is going to be sticking with the game...

I fear that you may be on to something there, Parksey. I did get a little frustrated yesterday after spending pretty much half-an-hour trying to defeat some guy wielding a pike.

So I may need a tip at this point. How do you tackle guys wielding pikes (and holding a shield)? I can barely get a hit on him past the shield; and the pike does huge damage when he uses it. I even tried leaping upon him from a roof (a jump attack) with no success. I can't get a mark on him.

Those guys are tough at first! The trick is to stay close with a shield up and circle-strafe them. When they try to poke you, you can attack their exposed side and they'll be toast. If you are feeling gutsy, you can also walk straight up to them and kick their shield, which will throw them off balance -- the kick input is "hold block, then hit joystick forward + light attack at the same time".

Karl_ wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Parksey wrote:Without sounding harsh, Jawa's biggest problem is going to be sticking with the game...

I fear that you may be on to something there, Parksey. I did get a little frustrated yesterday after spending pretty much half-an-hour trying to defeat some guy wielding a pike.

So I may need a tip at this point. How do you tackle guys wielding pikes (and holding a shield)? I can barely get a hit on him past the shield; and the pike does huge damage when he uses it. I even tried leaping upon him from a roof (a jump attack) with no success. I can't get a mark on him.

Those guys are tough at first! The trick is to stay close with a shield up and circle-strafe them. When they try to poke you, you can attack their exposed side and they'll be toast. If you are feeling gutsy, you can also walk straight up to them and kick their shield, which will throw them off balance -- the kick input is "hold block, then hit joystick forward + light attack at the same time".

Isn't it just light attack + forward at the same time? The kick is really useful at times, something which I often forget!

Like most things in the game the key is mainly timing, don't run in swinging - look for an opening. That said I don't recall having too much trouble with the pike wielders. I think using their own weapons against them might be a viable tactic - plus I believe you can perform a light attack with a pike whilst blocking at the same time with an off-hand shield so you can get hits in without exposing yourself.

Most things that you find difficult now you will probably look back and laugh at when you make some progress!

Jenuall wrote:

Karl_ wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Parksey wrote:Without sounding harsh, Jawa's biggest problem is going to be sticking with the game...

I fear that you may be on to something there, Parksey. I did get a little frustrated yesterday after spending pretty much half-an-hour trying to defeat some guy wielding a pike.

So I may need a tip at this point. How do you tackle guys wielding pikes (and holding a shield)? I can barely get a hit on him past the shield; and the pike does huge damage when he uses it. I even tried leaping upon him from a roof (a jump attack) with no success. I can't get a mark on him.

Those guys are tough at first! The trick is to stay close with a shield up and circle-strafe them. When they try to poke you, you can attack their exposed side and they'll be toast. If you are feeling gutsy, you can also walk straight up to them and kick their shield, which will throw them off balance -- the kick input is "hold block, then hit joystick forward + light attack at the same time".

Isn't it just light attack + forward at the same time? The kick is really useful at times, something which I often forget!

Like most things in the game the key is mainly timing, don't run in swinging - look for an opening. That said I don't recall having too much trouble with the pike wielders. I think using their own weapons against them might be a viable tactic - plus I believe you can perform a light attack with a pike whilst blocking at the same time with an off-hand shield so you can get hits in without exposing yourself.

Most things that you find difficult now you will probably look back and laugh at when you make some progress!

Yes! My bad, you are right.

Jenuall wrote:

Karl_ wrote:Those guys are tough at first! The trick is to stay close with a shield up and circle-strafe them. When they try to poke you, you can attack their exposed side and they'll be toast. If you are feeling gutsy, you can also walk straight up to them and kick their shield, which will throw them off balance -- the kick input is "hold block, then hit joystick forward + light attack at the same time".

Isn't it just light attack + forward at the same time? The kick is really useful at times, something which I often forget!

Like most things in the game the key is mainly timing, don't run in swinging - look for an opening...

Thanks for those tips, Karl and Jen! I plan on playing a bit later and I will try to implement these approaches. In Souls, to die is to live!

Go for a Holy Knight strength and faith build Jawa. You'll be OP

Dual wrote:Go for a Holy Knight strength and faith build Jawa. You'll be OP

That's cool as I did select the knight, Dual. I have used a few souls to increase my HP and - uhm - another aspect that I've now forgotten about.

I am also building an understanding that the game is open as to where you go and when; rather like BotW, you can go to places and try to tackle things that you are just not going to beat until you've levelled up much further. There are no signposts as to what you should do, which is both wonderful and bewildering. Even the menus are quite obtuse, with no guidance shared. Of course, this makes each little small step forward feel like a mighty achievement.

Additionally, a funny thing from my stream yesterday is that - being terrible at remembering names - I referred to a beast as a "dinosaur". I then proceeded to laugh with embarrassment for several minutes. But, hey, I then got carried somewhere by a giant crow so perhaps craziness is normal in the world of Souls.

I'm not sure if it was a feature of the original release and therefore the criticism may have made more sense then but don't the menus basically have a "tell what this bit means" mode which you can flip to and it explains what each section of the menu means?

I love the fact that you are free to explore in various directions pretty much right from the start of DS1, that and the way the areas intertwine and connect to one another is one of the things that really makes it feel much better to me than DS3 did even though mechanically there are not that many differences between the two.

jawafour wrote:

Dual wrote:Go for a Holy Knight strength and faith build Jawa. You'll be OP

I then got carried somewhere by a giant crow so perhaps craziness is normal in the world of Souls.

Fuuuuck. RIP

Jenuall wrote:I'm not sure if it was a feature of the original release and therefore the criticism may have made more sense then but don't the menus basically have a "tell what this bit means" mode which you can flip to and it explains what each section of the menu means?...

Yeah, I did notice an "explanation" bit but was caught out because, when selecting it, it describes the cell / part that you've currently selected and I hadn't realised you can then move around and get an updated help / description as you move . Will take a closer look later!

Jenuall wrote:...I love the fact that you are free to explore in various directions pretty much right from the start of DS1, that and the way the areas intertwine and connect to one another is one of the things that really makes it feel much better to me than DS3 did even though mechanically there are not that many differences between the two.

Absolutely, Jen - whilst streaming I did attempt to vocalise my appreciation for the height, depth and sheer twisty-ness of the pathways; they're very impressive. The textures are a little out-dated now but, overall, the game world still exudes atmosphere and I love that.

I also have DS II and III to attempt once I've beaten DS*. I will then return to Bloodborne at some point... see you in 2040!

* Or rather, reached an... err... "natural break" point in the game.

Dual wrote:

jawafour wrote:

Dual wrote:Go for a Holy Knight strength and faith build Jawa. You'll be OP

I then got carried somewhere by a giant crow so perhaps craziness is normal in the world of Souls.

Fuuuuck. RIP

I detect a humerous response... man, I get Dark Souls and I get Dual . I faced a similar style from GRcade's lovely Hyperion during the stream yesterday, when he advised me to enter the graveyard and tackle some pretty-much-unbeatable-at-my-level skeletons .

jawafour wrote:I detect a humerous response... man, I get Dark Souls and I get Dual . I faced a similar style from GRcade's lovely Hyperion during the stream yesterday, when he advised me to enter the graveyard and tackle some pretty-much-unbeatable-at-my-level skeletons .

Hope you stream again, I'll come watch!

Just a little tip... that graveyard will be a bit much for you, but there are some goodies dotted around the gravestones -- it's actually possible to run past the skeletons, grab them, and run back! Some of the treasures there are pretty good!

Karl_ wrote:...Just a little tip... that graveyard will be a bit much for you, but there are some goodies dotted around the gravestones -- it's actually possible to run past the skeletons, grab them, and run back! Some of the treasures there are pretty good!

I did, earlier today, see a YouTube vid of that exact thing! I'm not sure that I'll attempt it myself, though; it seemed that you had to have in-depth knowledge of the exact path to take. Maybe it is something I'd attempt once I've levelled up a bit.

Oh what you can get in that graveyard

It's pancake time

Boy, that was tough but fun! I explored all of the castle area (or, rather, what I think is all of it - and probably isn't!) and levelled up a bit. Found a cool battle axe, too. I even managed to kick the shields of the pike-men so that I could then duff 'em up . Thank you to the guys on stream who provided tips and advice.

Oh, yeah, I lasted for one hit from the Taurus Demon. I so wish there was a bonfire before tackling him... it seems tough to have to go through all the baddies again just to get to him. Oh, well, that is the Souls experience .

Went back to the Switch version after watching Jawa last night. Got the first bell rung and just about to head to the depths.

It's nice being able to "git gud" anywhere I please.

jawafour wrote:Boy, that was tough but fun! I explored all of the castle area (or, rather, what I think is all of it - and probably isn't!) and levelled up a bit. Found a cool battle axe, too. I even managed to kick the shields of the pike-men so that I could then duff 'em up . Thank you to the guys on stream who provided tips and advice.

Oh, yeah, I lasted for one hit from the Taurus Demon. I so wish there was a bonfire before tackling him... it seems tough to have to go through all the baddies again just to get to him. Oh, well, that is the Souls experience .

I've generally found that for most bosses so far there is almost always a bonfire within "sprinting" distance of them - you can usually just run past most enemies and get back to the boss without engaging them in combat.

I'm still using an Axe that I picked up from one of the earliest areas of the game - I have dumped a shed load of upgrades into it now though!

The Taurus demon is on the big bridge, and the bonfire is in the little tower, right? I think if you are careful you can skip most of the enemies in between. You can roll through the first room, circle-strafe past the pike guys, and then you just need fight the dude efficiently once you get to the stairs. Once you get it down it should only take a couple of minutes to get back to the boss.

Good to know I wasn't the only one that met this bastard. - https://clips.twitch.tv/ConcernedAgileSpindleKlappa and https://clips.twitch.tv/TamePuzzledBasenjiVoteYea

jawafour wrote:oh blimey!

Jawa

Thanks for the Taurus Demon hints. I am gearing up to face him again!

The Watching Artist wrote:...

jawafour wrote:oh blimey!

...

I am starting to experience Dark Souls' BS .

Oh, and I felt like I needed to double up on the pain.

Is it possible to beat the Asylum Demon the first time you face him? I spent quite a while trying to defeat him with just the rubbish starting (broken) sword, forgetting that you can (are meant to?) just run through the open door and then re-tackle him after you have picked up the proper sword and shield. Even though I did this in the PS4 version just two days ago .