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A system of cells interlinked
I am in the last third of the game, having worked through about 25 zones so far. I still have a ways to go before I finish, from what I can tell. So far, no bosses have given me fits like Quelaag or Ornstein & Smough in DS1, but some have come close... I had to fight Smelter at least 10 times, for instance. Nothing like the 30+ attempts on O&S, which is probably the most difficult boss fight I have ever done in any game.
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



A system of cells interlinked
Ah, that's a fine looking character, Taccy! I have that same chest on, and have had it since I beat pursuer. I think if I leveled Faraam set all the way up, it would match up fairly well, and maybe have some higher resist, but Titanite Chunks are rare, so I won't be doing that unless I find a decent place to farm chunks, which hasn't appeared (yet). For now, Drangleic chest it is!



The People's Republic of Clogher
Hardest boss for me was the Maneater in Demon's Souls. I think I spent about a weekend on him.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



The People's Republic of Clogher
I booted it up again a few weeks ago and could barely make it past the first boss. The subtle changes in the mechanics of the three games really don't lend themselves to delving in and out of them at will.

Demon's Souls was my only jaw-dropping moment on the PS3. It was a game we'd heard about for a couple of years as a grey import and then it finally got a Western release. If you got in early enough you got the Black Phantom edition at no extra cost, something I didn't realise until I went to the store to buy it.



Further thoughts on Watch_Dogs: even though I find almost none of it brilliant, I find almost all of it Pretty Good. And that's actually impressive, because there's a lot of stuff to do, and pretty much all of it is fairly entertaining. Some of the side missions are slowly becoming repetitive, but there are enough ways to accomplish things, and enough variation among them, that I'm still finding all of it fun.

Generally I prefer games that are focused and really nail what they're doing over those that are just fairly good at a lot, but the latter is still pretty impressive.



A system of cells interlinked
I hear that, Taccy. The jump changes to DS2 gave me fits at first, because I couldn't get it through my head to use the new button to jump. I fell a few times...



there's a frog in my snake oil
Woo, finally had a big ole Soul-journ! (Apologies )



Have been ramping up STR/DEX (& END) like a crazy person to try out all the different melee styles. Played with the rapier for the parry but didn't really like the stabbyness. My lass is now dual-whirling Fire & Heide Knight swords instead . The electro-flame combo is oneshotting Forest dwellers past the 2nd fire, which is nice! Still not completely confident about running defencless tho, so I've got a buckler along for the ride (& backup Morningstar, as attrition seems high even with reinforced duals).

Anyways, yep, tis a lotta fun I've lost a lotta souls (getting myself locked in room with a Dragonrider? Mistake!), rolled off several cliffs, and SHOUTED VERY LOUDLY when things have dropped on my head. (I've also uttered the quiet mantra of 'oh dear' many a time, as some new horror hoves into view). I won't go into all the other sounds I've emitted, but they've run the full range from 'Yessssss' to 'Noooooo' . I'm still in the easy sections, but there's def a great sense of satisfaction at acing an area - or more likely - surviving it by your fingertips! Genuinely tense out there.

There's loads I'm still not clear on, beyond the atmospheric and welcome vagueries of this twilight world. (How do you know the STR/DEX requirements of weapons for example?). And I've got a few niggles with the UI (why can't you shuffle items into your bonfire box if they're equipped? Meh). And some of the views & textures can't live up to the steam n sparkle of the hub, even on max PC settings. And for all its variety, I'm ultimately spamming one of 2 attacks at the mo . But it's definitely got its claws into me

The biggest mystery though, is: Did the jolly red giant who invaded my world, transformed into a crate, and opened up a secret room, see me bow as he disappeared? I certainly hope so


---

Oh and PS, this...

Dark Souls free on Xbox Gold
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A system of cells interlinked
Oh **** - I meant to mention that! Thanks Gol!

You question about stats...Open your inventory as if to equip, and as you select each item in the menu, the requirements will be at the bottom. If you see any red numbers, that is what you need to work up. I tend to limit my STR and DEX increases depending on which weapon I am aiming to wield. Once settled on weapon or weapons of choice, focus on working this up, as the weapon leveling gives you the best damage increases for the money.



there's a frog in my snake oil
Oh **** - I meant to mention that! Thanks Gol!

You question about stats...Open your inventory as if to equip, and as you select each item in the menu, the requirements will be at the bottom. If you see any red numbers, that is what you need to work up. I tend to limit my STR and DEX increases depending on which weapon I am aiming to wield. Once settled on weapon or weapons of choice, focus on working this up, as the weapon leveling gives you the best damage increases for the money.
Ah ok ta! So many bits squirrelled away on one view only! Yeah cool that's why I've been searching for it, as I saw you guys say kit is the place to be. I've only gone 16/15 on STR/DEX so far, so hopefully that wasn't overkill. Just kept trying new pairings after each upgrade and seeing if I could enter the power stance with em.

How are you guys figuring out this ABC scaling thing too? Is it just by checking how much of a gain you get from each upgrade and seeing when it caps out etc?

PS cheers for the reco PPS it's lucky my girlfriend doesn't dualwield or she'd be coming for us all



The People's Republic of Clogher
I hear that, Taccy. The jump changes to DS2 gave me fits at first, because I couldn't get it through my head to use the new button to jump. I fell a few times...
You can change it back again in options, at least I can on PC. One of the first things I did, and that was only because I'd seen a review mentioning it.

Golg - F12 please.



there's a frog in my snake oil
Golg - F12 please.
Oo, Steam has screenshots! Had no idea - been trying to screengrab with normal keyboard shortcut, but by end of sesh I'm guessing RAM has been gobbled, coz I just end up with a blank paste

Will do! Next time I'm human



A system of cells interlinked
It's all lightning, everywhere...

I have a +10 Lightning Claymore and a +10 Lightning Priest Chime. I also have a Mastodon Great Sword leveling along, currently at +7 Fire Infused. Elemental stuff is the bomb in this game as far as scaling, it seems.

Ah, the scaling question - Scaling is like a report card, but with an S at the top over the A. So the ranks go E, D, C, B, A, S, with S being the best. Some weapon's scaling will improve as you level the weapon, as well. As I mentioned to Taccy though, the Dex/STR scaling doesn't seem as good as it was in past games, with elemental scaling always seeming to be just a bit better on any given weapon.



I recently replayed Last Of Us again. Great story and immersive environments, but pretty rigidly scripted and linear so I usually wait a while after beating games like that before returning to it, if at all. It's a testament to the game's strengths that I wanted to play again and so soon, and I still had a great time even knowing beforehand all its twists. Superb characters and amazingly detailed post-apocalyptic settings, the best I've seen.
That's what surprised me the most about the game. I had a vague recollection of what to expect but still the first scene with Joel and Sarah gets me each time and still upsets me. Like you say I think it is one of those games that will always be good and will always be considered a classic (I can't believe it was out a year ago this month, time is going way to fast for my liking).

It is rigid and it is scripted but to be honest I don't mind that as I loved the story so much.
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The People's Republic of Clogher
Has to be done.

My Xbox is packed up but I took it out of the cupboard and availed the last few weeks of my Gold sub to snag it - Unlike PS+, Games For Gold are always available even if you switch to Silver.



I don't remember asking you a ******* thing!
Further thoughts on Watch_Dogs: even though I find almost none of it brilliant, I find almost all of it Pretty Good. And that's actually impressive, because there's a lot of stuff to do, and pretty much all of it is fairly entertaining. Some of the side missions are slowly becoming repetitive, but there are enough ways to accomplish things, and enough variation among them, that I'm still finding all of it fun.

Generally I prefer games that are focused and really nail what they're doing over those that are just fairly good at a lot, but the latter is still pretty impressive.
I agree with most of what you're saying. Watch Dogs isn't really too groundbreaking, but it's a very focused open world game with a ton of things to do. Generally, I prefer a solid experience over an innovative but messy one. I've found very few glitches in this game, surprisingly (this is Ubisoft after all, who are almost just as bad as Bethesda in the glitchy launch department), but the gameplay is very well done and I find nothing really too wrong with it other than repetitiveness that I can easily overlook with a little creativity.