Official blog #5: Difficulty

[AtlusAram]

http://www.atlus.com/res/demonssouls_logo_small.png
THE OFFICIAL BLOG — Entry #5 — Difficulty

This fifth entry in the official Demon's Souls blog addresses the game's challenge level, something that has been discussed extensively.

Challenging, yes… but unfair?
A lot of folks have made a big deal about how challenging Demon’s Souls is. We should know; at times, we’ve been the first to suggest as much. Few games kill the player off quite as many times as Demon’s Souls, or offer quite as many situations where even one mistake can prove fatal. In the end, however, it serves to greatly amplify the player’s sense of accomplishment when an obstacle is overcome.

Why is it so hard? (that’s what she said)
First off, we feel it is important to stress that Demon’s Souls is tough, but it is not unfair. There are almost no surprises, at least after the first time through an area, and few scenarios that break the established rule set and player expectations. A lot of games generate their difficulty by throwing sudden and unexpected things at the player, or by introducing completely unfamiliar challenges. After 30 minutes in the Kingdom of Boletaria, it is safe to say that most players will rarely be surprised again (being on the edge of their seat is another matter entirely).

http://www.atlus.com/res/demonssouls_screens_25.jpg
Please don't hurt me...

In many ways, it isn’t what Demon’s Souls does that makes it harder than other games as much as what it doesn’t do. The game does not hold the player’s hand. Beyond the first tutorial area, almost all of the tips the player will receive will come from other human adventurers through the game’s messaging system. (And if you don’t have an internet connection, you’re going to have to depend on yourself.)

You mean there are enemies in this game that can kill me?
Many games prevent you from encountering a vastly overpowered enemy early on; not Demon’s Souls. Even in the very first area (1-1), you can make a wrong turn that puts you face-to-face with a nearly impossible foe (especially for melee fighters). You might guess it on your own, or stumble across a helpful message from another player, or view another’s death via their bloodstains and think better of advancing quite yet, but it’s also altogether likely you’ll just run in and die.

And the worst thing that could happen is that you’ll fail to return to the scene of your death to reclaim your lost souls (the currency by which you’ll eventually upgrade your character) before dying a second time. At this point, all of those soul points are gone for good. Yet, you’ll never lose items, or stat points, so it is only a temporary setback. The game depends on you to be more cautious and strategic when facing such an obviously menacing foe in the future.

Some games let the player get away with an obscene amount of careless hacking and slashing. Demon’s Souls will quickly dispose of you if you fail to properly defend yourself, or heal at the appropriate times, or use your inventory wisely, or use your roll dodge effectively. The game doesn’t ask a lot of the player, just that they abandon many of the bad habits other games have let them get away with for far too long.

The 5 D’s of Demon’s Souls: Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge, and dodge
There are a number of helpful tools the game puts at one’s disposal that, when used effectively, really make things easier. The roll dodge is one of the best examples of this, basically making you invincible as long as you don’t move too late or jump to your feet before the enemy’s attack has concluded. Properly timed roll dodges, coupled with sound stamina management, can mean the difference between death and survival.

http://www.atlus.com/res/demonssouls_screens_26.jpg
Please just stand there and let me hit you.

Looking for and understanding enemy patterns is far more important in Demon’s Souls than in other games. While there is variation in enemy AI based on the enemy type, enemies are for the most part limited in what they can do, and the player that pays close attention to patterns of attack or behaviors will slowly find the game becoming more and more manageable.

Online Functionality: Make the world a better place together
I’ll start out by saying that Demon’s Souls is, at its core, a single-player action RPG, and as such is exceedingly entertaining alone. That said, the best experience really does come from utilizing some of the game’s online functionality. Moreover, taking advantage of things like cooperative play, pulling other players into your game for assistance or offering your own services to others, makes the game a lot easier and far more fun.

The developers conceived Demon’s Souls as a game where a community would experience shared learning, where utilizing the bloodstain and messaging systems would essentially create a strategy guide woven into the fabric of the game. Cooperative play turns what would otherwise be solitary levels and intimidating boss fights into group adventures. In short, online serves as yet another tool the developers implemented into the game to assist in the challenge of saving the Kingdom of Boletaria from evil. We really hope everyone who picks the game up can at least give the online a short go, just to get a taste of that shared adventure.

So why do so many people complain about difficulty in Demon’s Souls if it’s not THAT hard?
A lot of players may be turned off by Demon’s Souls at first, even just a bit, because it tends to ask a bit more of them than the average game does. The more you invest, the greater the rewards.

http://www.atlus.com/res/demonssouls_screens_27.jpg
My, what a large tongue you have...

Now, this might take some of the magic away for the masochists out there who suddenly think the game is a cakewalk. It’s not, believe us. It's as deep and nuanced as an action RPG needs to be, with secrets to find, rare items to loot, weapon and shield upgrades, and more. But it is not the unfairly brutal, inhumanly difficult game some would make it out to be.

It IS more hardcore than many other games out there. It DOESN’T hold your hand nearly as much as other similar games. And yet, when you get comfortable with the game and start to put a little bit into it, you’ll get a heck of a lot more in return. Just wait till you take down that first big boss…

[specktheimp]

I absolutely LOVED this game (I of course jumped the gun and got the Asian version) that being said I have already pre ordered this! I never ever thought i would re-buy a game i finished again... Well Except Persona 3 of course :3

Anyway this is hands down the best game this generation. Anyone would be silly not to get it or at least give it a try. There is so much atmosphere here and never have a I felt like "the lone warrior" more than playing this game, thanks for bringing it overseas!

[DH321]

That's what she said. :D

It's good to have a challenging, yet not impossible game.

Contra was impossible.

[rmz]

Why is it so hard? (that’s what she said)
This is why I love you guys.

[Zachalmighty]

I love the Dodgeball reference. Its like you guys are human or something.

[Mooglepies]

I second Aram's post. With the exception of maybe 2-3 bosses and a few areas that are in fact stupidly hard, this game really isn't massively difficult; it simply doesn't do you any favours.

[Quig]

I am all about a challenge. Steep learning curves are great, especially in games that make the characters life as fragile as it is in real life.

[Yardragon]

...this is gonna be sweeeet.:D
Roll'on Oct. 6th.

[ZomDizae]

Exactly, learning curve might be a little steep but as long as you think before you act and learn how to fight instead of just grind a 20+ levels more than necessary, the game isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be. It's also a bit of a "memorizer" when it comes to traps and pitfalls and the like but that lies in the nature of a trap does it not?

Also the memorizing aspect goes hand in hand with the message system; if the dangers were of a more dynamic nature, the messages would be virtually useless.

That being said, if you're careless it can kill even the most experienced player.


...this is gonna be sweeeet.:D
Roll'on Oct. 6th.
I love your avatar and location :)

[CUR715]

Just pay attention to your surroundings and concentrate on what you're doing, that's the best advice i can give. The minute you become complacent, it'll be back to the start with ya!

It doesn't matter if you have 500+ hours experience, and are at level 200+, you mess around near a Red-Eyed Knight w.Spear, and you are gonna die a painful death (like i almost did about 5 minutes ago, lol)!

[Darkenmal]

Yes a new blog post! Keep them coming!

[Pibbman]

I'm starting to see a lot of people talk about playtime in the hundreds of hours (like 500-800 hours), which is pretty insane. Obviously that must mean they are doing new game +, but it says a lot when its THAT many new game +s going on.

[Yardragon]

I love your avatar and location :)
Thanks. ;)
See ya online.

[CUR715]

I'm starting to see a lot of people talk about playtime in the hundreds of hours (like 500-800 hours), which is pretty insane. Obviously that must mean they are doing new game +, but it says a lot when its THAT many new game +s going on.

It's multiple characters as well. The variation on ways to play/approach the game are what give it longevity in my opinion. That, and the multiplayer aspect.

I have 8 characters on the go, split between two PSN accounts. The highest is at soul level 222, who is on NG+17, and i've probably pumped 200 hours into her alone. Oh, and i have the Platinum of course. ;)

Overall i'm sitting at about 500-ish hours play, with no sign of stopping.

[Bearcut]

By two PSN accounts do you mean on the same machine? Cause if that is the case I will definately set up a different one.

[CUR715]

By two PSN accounts do you mean on the same machine? Cause if that is the case I will definately set up a different one.

Yeah. Demon's Souls limits you to 4 characters/save slots. So if you're an addict like me, that's not even nearly enough. :grin:

[Bearcut]

Well I'm in med school so i doubt ill have 500+ hours to put into this game (especially since I plan on buying Borderlands and GT5 this year as well) but, I always like to try out several different characters. Thanks for the info!

[triplehz_rulez]

how does the invasion work if you kill the person you get souls is that it or weapons too?

[ZomDizae]

how does the invasion work if you kill the person you get souls is that it or weapons too?
Nope. If you "destroy your target" (hey, that's how the game calls it), you only get your body back... oh, and character tendency shifts towards black.

[Pibbman]

By two PSN accounts do you mean on the same machine? Cause if that is the case I will definately set up a different one.

Yeah. Demon's Souls limits you to 4 characters/save slots. So if you're an addict like me, that's not even nearly enough. :grin:

Man that sucks! If you're gonna have multiple characters, and can only have one character per slot, then you should have the same number of save slots as there are of characters.

Anyways, now I get where all the hours is coming from. I forgot about the different classes and stuff. Someone mentioned in another thread something about having multiple playthroughs if you want to collect everything as well.

What is the max "soul level" can you get in this game? I think I read somewhere that previous characters with their stats and equipment move over to the NG+ as well. NG+17 is hilarious. xD

[ZomDizae]

By two PSN accounts do you mean on the same machine? Cause if that is the case I will definately set up a different one.

Yeah. Demon's Souls limits you to 4 characters/save slots. So if you're an addict like me, that's not even nearly enough. :grin:

Man that sucks! If you're gonna have multiple characters, and can only have one character per slot, then you should have the same number of save slots as there are of characters.

Anyways, now I get where all the hours is coming from. I forgot about the different classes and stuff. Someone mentioned in another thread something about having multiple playthroughs if you want to collect everything as well.

What is the max "soul level" can you get in this game? I think I read somewhere that previous characters with their stats and equipment move over to the NG+ as well. NG+17 is hilarious. xD
Max S.lvl is 712 but I don't think anyone sane would go that high now that the soul-doubling glitch has been fixed.
You see, the problem is that every level-up exponentially raises the needed soul amount for the next level-up, but, the game doesn't give raise the amount of obtained souls equally.
In short: from, say, S.lvl 300-ish on you'd need to play hours and hours just to raise your level up by one.

Note that there are some crazy guys on their NG+60. lol. xD

However, IMHO low-level runs with fresh characters are way more fun. The lowest level I beat the game was at 25 which was a pain in the behind but great fun nonetheless.
And to think that there are players out there beating the game at S.lvl 10...

[Zachalmighty]

To beat this game at lvl 10 they must not be getting hit at all.

[Eternal Sin]

I beat it at ~lvl 74. False King boss is a pain to dodge 100% time unless you know his AI behavior by heart. Its like monster hunter in that regard; play long enough and you can predict every AI move.

[CUR715]

However, IMHO low-level runs with fresh characters are way more fun. The lowest level I beat the game was at 25 which was a pain in the behind but great fun nonetheless.
And to think that there are players out there beating the game at S.lvl 10...

Snap! Level 25 starting with a Royal at 1, is about the lowest i could get it. Any less and i'd be really struggling!

I'd like to see proof of these so-called level 10 runs.

Anyway, this is all advanced talk. Let the fresh fish play it first. Then they'll understand. ;)

[Mooglepies]

I've seen proof of a no level, no deaths run with a Temple Knight.

Dude said he used all his souls to buy Sticky White Stuff and upgrades for his Halberd (+10 by the end).

[Eternal Sin]

I'd like to see proof of these so-called level 10 runs.


I believe youtube has one or two boss fights won at level 10.

[pram12]

Ehh. Lvl. 10 sounds pretty hard to get through the whole game...

So when the game comes out, I'm planning to play through as a speed (I believe the best class at the start is Thief). Good idea?

[Eternal Sin]

There is no "best" since it depends how you play. But I would reccomend Wanderer or Knight for these reasons:

Wanderer: Has about the same stats as thief but comes with a better weapon and also has good luck stat (good for upgrade drops).

Knight: All around balanced, has ready access to magic and miracles which you WILL use eventually.

I'm speaking from experience. Again these are just tips. If you want a challenge, go thief; you'll find it harder to hit enemies with your dagger without getting hit (at first).

[Syra]

Wanderer: Has about the same stats as thief but comes with a better weapon and also has good luck stat (good for upgrade drops).

Yeah, but the Thief starts with a super sexy ninja mask. Sure, you could hunt for one later, but only as a Thief do you get it from the start. That alone is worth a bit of early trouble easy! :P

I already know I'm starting with Thief, of course, I plan to use daggers a lot anyway.

[ZomDizae]

Wanderer: Has about the same stats as thief but comes with a better weapon and also has good luck stat (good for upgrade drops).

Yeah, but the Thief starts with a super sexy ninja mask. Sure, you could hunt for one later, but only as a Thief do you get it from the start. That alone is worth a bit of early trouble easy! :P

I already know I'm starting with Thief, of course, I plan to use daggers a lot anyway.
One big advantage for newcomers is that the thief comes equipped with a bow;
"divide & rule" - you can easily pull out single enemies from a crowd with bow and arrow, should delay the "You are dead screen" a bit longer.

[Eskol]

I was thinking of going with Royalty for the simple fact that they start out level 1, seems like that would be more challange than any of them and gives you more customization in lower levels.

[Karkarov]

The class I keep hearing is the "easiest" to start with is Royal. They get the mp regen ring, start at soul level 1 so thier stat upgrades cost the least, and they have the minimum stats to use magic from the get go paired with a starter attack spell.

[Eskol]

Really? I was wanting to pick a difficult class...sounds like I should go with the thief as my first choice then my second char will be royal so I can add all my points how I see fit

[Karkarov]

Really? I was wanting to pick a difficult class...sounds like I should go with the thief as my first choice then my second char will be royal so I can add all my points how I see fit

From what the Wikidot says Barbarian or Magician should be the hardest to start with. The Magician has almost no armor and is only armed with a dagger, unlike the royal no mp regen if they run out either. The barb has nothing but two clubs and a pretty basic shield, no spells, no armor. Pretty self explanatory on why that might be tough.

[ZomDizae]

Really? I was wanting to pick a difficult class...sounds like I should go with the thief as my first choice then my second char will be royal so I can add all my points how I see fit

From what the Wikidot says Barbarian or Magician should be the hardest to start with. The Magician has almost no armor and is only armed with a dagger, unlike the royal no mp regen if they run out either. The barb has nothing but two clubs and a pretty basic shield, no spells, no armor. Pretty self explanatory on why that might be tough.
Agree with the barbarian, it sure isn't exactly one of the easiest classes to begin with. But the mage... The problem(or not) with the mage are the two spells he comes with. The one spell makes the first boss easy, while his second one helps greatl against the second one, assuming you take Stonefang as second stage. What makes it a bit more difficult for the mage is the crappy drop rate - I swear after creating my first mage I had to grind like a madman just to get a decent supply of healing grass. >_<

If you want a challenging class other than barbarian, may I suggest the Priest?
He is really ok to play with but... he is just "ok"; doesn't make anything too easy or too frustratingly difficult.

[Eskol]

that is true, I guess I wasn't being nieve in my thinking that lower level meant more difficult...I wasn't putting any thought on the importance of gear.

[Jamesmond]

I have the Asian version of this game. So far I've spent about 14 hours playing. It is fun, but the difficulty makes it too time consuming for people with normal lives. In short, it's ridiculous and it ruins what could have been a great game. Allow me to explain...

Because you have no option to save your game coupled with all the enemies you've killed coming alive again after you die, it's just asking too much from players time-wise. For example, I'm on the 2nd part of the game and I've spent about 10 hours killing my way up to the boss, dying, then doing it all over again only to die once more. All the 10 hours I've spent doing this is mostly in vain. Most of the souls you get from killing enemies will be spent on herbs you'll buy to replenish your health.

If you are unemployed and want to spend most of the day dying, and redying, and doing the same thing over and over again on the same level, then this game is for you! From Software, are you really serious??

To the posts on the board saying that this game is not too difficult, it's simply not true. This could have been a great game, but it's simply ridiculous and retarded, quite frankly, to expect players to invest an insane amount of time dying, redying, and killing the same enemies over and over again. This truly does take the fun out of the game. You can progress in this game, but the cost is simply too high time-wise. Stay clear away from this game. Hopefully From Software will learn their lesson.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ANYONE. I WOULD ONLY BUY IT WHEN/IF A PATCH, MOD, OR CHEAT IS AVAILABLE THAT WOULD ALLOW PLAYERS TO SAVE THEIR GAME, OR SOMEHOW NOT BRING FORMERLY KILLED ENEMIES BACK TO LIFE.

[Pibbman]

I have the Asian version of this game. So far I've spent about 14 hours playing. It is fun, but the difficulty makes it too time consuming for people with normal lives. In short, it's ridiculous and it ruins what could have been a great game. Allow me to explain...

Because you have no option to save your game coupled with all the enemies you've killed coming alive again after you die, it's just asking too much from players time-wise. For example, I'm on the 2nd part of the game and I've spent about 10 hours killing my way up to the boss, dying, then doing it all over again only to die once more. All the 10 hours I've spent doing this is mostly in vain. Most of the souls you get from killing enemies will be spent on herbs you'll buy to replenish your health.

If you are unemployed and want to spend most of the day dying, and redying, and doing the same thing over and over again on the same level, then this game is for you! From Software, are you really serious??

To the posts on the board saying that this game is not too difficult, it's simply not true. This could have been a great game, but it's simply ridiculous and retarded, quite frankly, to expect players to invest an insane amount of time dying, redying, and killing the same enemies over and over again. This truly does take the fun out of the game. You can progress in this game, but the cost is simply too high time-wise. Stay clear away from this game. Hopefully From Software will learn their lesson.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ANYONE. I WOULD ONLY BUY IT WHEN/IF A PATCH, MOD, OR CHEAT IS AVAILABLE THAT WOULD ALLOW PLAYERS TO SAVE THEIR GAME, OR SOMEHOW NOT BRING FORMERLY KILLED ENEMIES BACK TO LIFE.

Ok, third time I came across this. We respect opinions of others here, but when you go posting it three times, it just becomes annoying.

[Syra]

I have the Asian version of this game. So far I've spent about 14 hours playing. It is fun, but the difficulty makes it too time consuming for people with normal lives. In short, it's ridiculous and it ruins what could have been a great game. Allow me to explain...

Because you have no option to save your game coupled with all the enemies you've killed coming alive again after you die, it's just asking too much from players time-wise. For example, I'm on the 2nd part of the game and I've spent about 10 hours killing my way up to the boss, dying, then doing it all over again only to die once more. All the 10 hours I've spent doing this is mostly in vain. Most of the souls you get from killing enemies will be spent on herbs you'll buy to replenish your health.

If you are unemployed and want to spend most of the day dying, and redying, and doing the same thing over and over again on the same level, then this game is for you! From Software, are you really serious??

To the posts on the board saying that this game is not too difficult, it's simply not true. This could have been a great game, but it's simply ridiculous and retarded, quite frankly, to expect players to invest an insane amount of time dying, redying, and killing the same enemies over and over again. This truly does take the fun out of the game. You can progress in this game, but the cost is simply too high time-wise. Stay clear away from this game. Hopefully From Software will learn their lesson.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ANYONE. I WOULD ONLY BUY IT WHEN/IF A PATCH, MOD, OR CHEAT IS AVAILABLE THAT WOULD ALLOW PLAYERS TO SAVE THEIR GAME, OR SOMEHOW NOT BRING FORMERLY KILLED ENEMIES BACK TO LIFE.

I would provide counter points to most of your ranting, but I don't even think you're serious. Is this even an opinion? You're sitting here attacking the boards by copy-pasting this gibberish over and over again. We get it, you don't like the game. One post was plenty. Your attempt at a negative perspective on the game is now nothing but a shallow attempt at trolling the board. Seriously, stop.

*Insert obligatory "games were harder back in my day" rant here. Like Moonstone. That game is freaking brutal. First time I played it, I couldn't even kill one enemy. Not even ONE. Ten minutes later I killed three! Then I died to some knight.*

[Jamesmond]

Ok, third time I came across this. We respect opinions of others here, but when you go posting it three times, it just becomes annoying.

Are my posts annoying? Aren't you doing the same thing by posting the same comment on all of my posts?

LOL :) ur funny

[ZomDizae]

A troll in the ATLUS forums?!
I'm new here, but how do you guys get rid of those? Is there some special Atlusy-fancy procedure involved? I Usually just close the gate to 5-2.

[Eternal Sin]

I have the Asian version of this game. So far I've spent about 14 hours playing. It is fun, but the difficulty makes it too time consuming for people with normal lives. In short, it's ridiculous and it ruins what could have been a great game. Allow me to explain...

Because you have no option to save your game coupled with all the enemies you've killed coming alive again after you die, it's just asking too much from players time-wise. For example, I'm on the 2nd part of the game and I've spent about 10 hours killing my way up to the boss, dying, then doing it all over again only to die once more. All the 10 hours I've spent doing this is mostly in vain. Most of the souls you get from killing enemies will be spent on herbs you'll buy to replenish your health.

If you are unemployed and want to spend most of the day dying, and redying, and doing the same thing over and over again on the same level, then this game is for you! From Software, are you really serious??

To the posts on the board saying that this game is not too difficult, it's simply not true. This could have been a great game, but it's simply ridiculous and retarded, quite frankly, to expect players to invest an insane amount of time dying, redying, and killing the same enemies over and over again. This truly does take the fun out of the game. You can progress in this game, but the cost is simply too high time-wise. Stay clear away from this game. Hopefully From Software will learn their lesson.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO ANYONE. I WOULD ONLY BUY IT WHEN/IF A PATCH, MOD, OR CHEAT IS AVAILABLE THAT WOULD ALLOW PLAYERS TO SAVE THEIR GAME, OR SOMEHOW NOT BRING FORMERLY KILLED ENEMIES BACK TO LIFE.

You fail. You'd think after spending 10 hours dying while trying to get to a boss you'd know all the ambushes and traps. Change your strategy you whiny troll.

I beat the game in 1 week; 22 hours. It isn't that hard if you're cautious or use basic strategy. I'm a university student in engineering so i have less time then the average person. If you like oblivion/diablo/monster hunter i recommend this game.

[Zachalmighty]

I think the complaint about the game being too hard is just you being a crybaby. Buck up, play the game.

[Karkarov]

Considering the target audience ranting about how hard it is is more likely to result in us buying it if we were on the fence ;p. You might get better results if you tell us you beat it in 10 hours at level 15 and the challenge is over hyped.

[Pibbman]

Considering the target audience ranting about how hard it is is more likely to result in us buying it if we were on the fence ;p. You might get better results if you tell us you beat it in 10 hours at level 15 and the challenge is over hyped.

That's funny, but it's probably true. Most of the gamers you find here are hardcore/masochistic, they live for these kind of games. So yeah, if you were to tell them this was an RPG that was easy as pie, and took 10 hours to beat completely, than we'd probably be canceling our pre-orders.

For me, the challenge is actually a big reason why I'm getting this. I want a game that'll piss me off, and basically make me scream obscene words once I beat a hard boss. Just like the old days on NES/SNES and stuff.

Back then they purposely made the games hard to extend playtime, especially on the NES when they had limited space. Now days when they don't have that limitation, they don't focus on making it hard anymore, which makes a majority of them BORING. Thankfully a few developers such as Atlus, NiS, From Software, etc still remember the roots.

[Mooglepies]

4th time playing with a new character, a Barbarian, and I've died about 15 times now. I was streaming it all so I can always go back and watch it, which is amusing

2 of those deaths were in 1-1 as I underestimated the damage that fire-sword dreglings do when you have no armour. I took another death from some enemies in 2-1 (got overconfident and stopped paying attention), a LOT of deaths from the Dragon God before I cracked him (on the head with Keel Smasher) and, amazingly, no deaths at all in world 3 or 4. Got to World 5 and beat that all until one of the watchers asked me to tackle the island with 3 Giant Goblin-Trolls (got raped). I stayed in the level to preserve tendency and killed Garl, then Black Phantom Garl, then got raped by plague babies. Died to a BP player in 1-3, Died to Penetrator once, and now I'm at the stage where all that's left between me and the sweet release of beating the game is the Blue Dragon and the False King.

I cannot. Get. Past. The Dragon.

[Zachalmighty]

4th time playing with a new character, a Barbarian, and I've died about 15 times now. I was streaming it all so I can always go back and watch it, which is amusing

2 of those deaths were in 1-1 as I underestimated the damage that fire-sword dreglings do when you have no armour. I took another death from some enemies in 2-1 (got overconfident and stopped paying attention), a LOT of deaths from the Dragon God before I cracked him (on the head with Keel Smasher) and, amazingly, no deaths at all in world 3 or 4. Got to World 5 and beat that all until one of the watchers asked me to tackle the island with 3 Giant Goblin-Trolls (got raped). I stayed in the level to preserve tendency and killed Garl, then Black Phantom Garl, then got raped by plague babies. Died to a BP player in 1-3, Died to Penetrator once, and now I'm at the stage where all that's left between me and the sweet release of beating the game is the Blue Dragon and the False King.

I cannot. Get. Past. The Dragon.

I'd love to see that streaming video hahaha

[ZomDizae]

4th time playing with a new character, a Barbarian, and I've died about 15 times now. I was streaming it all so I can always go back and watch it, which is amusing

2 of those deaths were in 1-1 as I underestimated the damage that fire-sword dreglings do when you have no armour. I took another death from some enemies in 2-1 (got overconfident and stopped paying attention), a LOT of deaths from the Dragon God before I cracked him (on the head with Keel Smasher) and, amazingly, no deaths at all in world 3 or 4. Got to World 5 and beat that all until one of the watchers asked me to tackle the island with 3 Giant Goblin-Trolls (got raped). I stayed in the level to preserve tendency and killed Garl, then Black Phantom Garl, then got raped by plague babies. Died to a BP player in 1-3, Died to Penetrator once, and now I'm at the stage where all that's left between me and the sweet release of beating the game is the Blue Dragon and the False King.

I cannot. Get. Past. The Dragon.

:D:D:D
Like I say, OVERCONFIDENCE KILLS!
Especially after playing the game a lot and then start with a new magic-less class. You'll begin to underestimate even the dumbest foes. lol

But not being able to get past the dragon with a barbarian? Come on, shame on you! :tongue:

[Karkarov]

It would be pretty neat to watch someones playthrough video's, make sure to post em up if you ever get a chance! On that topic how are people typically recording them? I have seen a few where players obviously set up a camera and just filmed their tv's, they didn't exactly make the game look good :/

[Bearcut]

As to the "easy games being boring" remark. I agree. Not that having a game be easy makes it boring, but there are some extremely high rated games that you can play through in one day, and never have a desire to play again after you beat it that first time. Several in fact. Sometimes I think they give trophies and achievements to games like that just to give them some sort of replay value (which is nice IMO).
An example of an easy game that is good: Fallout 3. Super easy game. Not bad at all though, but I actually tend to measure my games in "Entertainment Dollars." For example:
If I pay $60 plus Tax for a game, and only play it for ten hours, then i figure i'm spending six dollars per hour of entertainment (not very good). But some games you can play for hundreds of hours; even though Fallout 3 was easy, I have put probably 200hours in that game over about a year, so I'm spending about $0.40 per entertainment hour, so the game was worth the money.
As for having a life, I'm a second year medical student, and I spend about 26 hours a day studying (thats right, think about that), but I usually spend about 30mins to an hour a day playing my PS3 before I go to bed, so I don't mind if a game lasts awhile. Nothing is worse than spending full price on a game that you play for a week and never again because you've beat it.
Games i've spent at least 100 hrs on even though I'm a med student:
-Oblivion
-Fallout 3
-Unreal Tournament 3
-Burnout Paradise
-Resident Evil 5
-Crash Commando
-Little Big Planet
-Gran Turismo 5

Plus i've got several others in my collection that i haven't spent 100 hours on, but have given more than a couple playthroughs (Bioshock, MGS4, Dead Space). So, if Demon's Souls is time consuming: GREAT! Means we are getting our money out of it.

Plus: I've been dying for a new ARPG since diablo II (I know this game isn't like diablo, but thats a good thing; we already got diablo).

So as to the naysayer on the forums; if you have such a life, it's amazing you have time to import a game (meaning you read about it online somewhere, because I hadn't heard about it till months after it's asian release), play it, get frustrated, and still have time to come find a forum, register your name, read the posts, and make a rather lengthy one of your own.
Seems to me, if your time is so valuable, maybe you could spend it doing something else?
But you know, thats just my opinion.

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[Bearcut]

Oh sig didn't work : /

[Bearcut]

There we go.

[ZomDizae]

It would be pretty neat to watch someones playthrough video's, make sure to post em up if you ever get a chance! On that topic how are people typically recording them? I have seen a few where players obviously set up a camera and just filmed their tv's, they didn't exactly make the game look good :/
You'd need a capturing device like a video capture card for PC for example something like this one (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/) - that particular card is very good for its price.

You can check out Holyboom/Mitocondriak's Demon's Souls captures on youtube. Here's me & him having fun with a BP invader: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x32YJO2NZ8A
I'm the red-haired guy with mantle & Katana.

[Karkarov]

Not a bad vid, always sort of funny when the phantom goes around killing mobs for you, it isn't like they even get the souls. Pricetag is hefty on that card but at the same time I imagine it is pretty cheap for what it does. Thanks for the vid, and the info.

On the aside the phantom seemed pretty decent, might have gone worse if it weren't a two on one. What sword was he using there?

[triplehz_rulez]

Well I love medieval looking weapons and the swords and shield stuff so I am stuck on the knight or temple knight which one should I choose?

[ZomDizae]

Not a bad vid, always sort of funny when the phantom goes around killing mobs for you, it isn't like they even get the souls. Pricetag is hefty on that card but at the same time I imagine it is pretty cheap for what it does. Thanks for the vid, and the info.

On the aside the phantom seemed pretty decent, might have gone worse if it weren't a two on one. What sword was he using there?
Yeah I underestimated him and was fooling around, might have noticed that I unequipped my sword and tried to dueling him with my fists. lol.

His sword was the "Large Sword of Searching", it's more useful for item hunting than actual battle but with the right stats you can use it for combat too I guess... I think he too wasn't really serious about that fight. haha.

[ZomDizae]

Well I love medieval looking weapons and the swords and shield stuff so I am stuck on the knight or temple knight which one should I choose?
Temple Knight starts with a Halberd - magnificent starting weapon if used right, but if you want to go all classic, the Knight might be a better choice mainly because if you really want to put the Temple Knight's Halberd to good use, you should forget about the shield and fight 2handed, which isn't the best idea for the very first playthrough IMHO.

[Pibbman]

As to the "easy games being boring" remark. I agree. Not that having a game be easy makes it boring, but there are some extremely high rated games that you can play through in one day, and never have a desire to play again after you beat it that first time. Several in fact. Sometimes I think they give trophies and achievements to games like that just to give them some sort of replay value (which is nice IMO).
An example of an easy game that is good: Fallout 3. Super easy game. Not bad at all though, but I actually tend to measure my games in "Entertainment Dollars." For example:
If I pay $60 plus Tax for a game, and only play it for ten hours, then i figure i'm spending six dollars per hour of entertainment (not very good). But some games you can play for hundreds of hours; even though Fallout 3 was easy, I have put probably 200hours in that game over about a year, so I'm spending about $0.40 per entertainment hour, so the game was worth the money.
As for having a life, I'm a second year medical student, and I spend about 26 hours a day studying (thats right, think about that), but I usually spend about 30mins to an hour a day playing my PS3 before I go to bed, so I don't mind if a game lasts awhile. Nothing is worse than spending full price on a game that you play for a week and never again because you've beat it.
Games i've spent at least 100 hrs on even though I'm a med student:
-Oblivion
-Fallout 3
-Unreal Tournament 3
-Burnout Paradise
-Resident Evil 5
-Crash Commando
-Little Big Planet
-Gran Turismo 5

Plus i've got several others in my collection that i haven't spent 100 hours on, but have given more than a couple playthroughs (Bioshock, MGS4, Dead Space). So, if Demon's Souls is time consuming: GREAT! Means we are getting our money out of it.

Plus: I've been dying for a new ARPG since diablo II (I know this game isn't like diablo, but thats a good thing; we already got diablo).

So as to the naysayer on the forums; if you have such a life, it's amazing you have time to import a game (meaning you read about it online somewhere, because I hadn't heard about it till months after it's asian release), play it, get frustrated, and still have time to come find a forum, register your name, read the posts, and make a rather lengthy one of your own.
Seems to me, if your time is so valuable, maybe you could spend it doing something else?
But you know, thats just my opinion.

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Other than the fact that you're a med student (I'm an engineering student), we pretty much share the same identical feelings about games.

[Mooglepies]

For anyone interested, (read as: anyone who wants the game spoiled completely)

www.livestream.com/mooglepies

And check the on-demand folders. You want the legend of BroLowBrow vids, the first of which was a cam stream, the rest are capture card streams.

WARNING: THIS WILL SPOIL THE GAME FOR YOU IF YOU WATCH. DO NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED.

[Pibbman]

For anyone interested, (read as: anyone who wants the game spoiled completely)

www.livestream.com/mooglepies

And check the on-demand folders. You want the legend of BroLowBrow vids, the first of which was a cam stream, the rest are capture card streams.

WARNING: THIS WILL SPOIL THE GAME FOR YOU IF YOU WATCH. DO NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED.

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

[Syra]

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

You can spoil enemy locations and patterns, bosses, boss strategies, item locations, and trap or ambush locations. At least, that would be my guess as to what the spoilers refer too.

[ZomDizae]

For anyone interested, (read as: anyone who wants the game spoiled completely)

www.livestream.com/mooglepies

And check the on-demand folders. You want the legend of BroLowBrow vids, the first of which was a cam stream, the rest are capture card streams.

WARNING: THIS WILL SPOIL THE GAME FOR YOU IF YOU WATCH. DO NOT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED.

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.
Not much in terms of story, but you can spoil the atmosphere & locations.

[Mooglepies]

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

You can spoil enemy locations and patterns, bosses, boss strategies, item locations, and trap or ambush locations. At least, that would be my guess as to what the spoilers refer too.

What he said. That being the case though, essentially you see the game from the perspective of a barbarian with a big sword. No magic, no armour, very little ranged. Heavy Club, Claymore and Keel Smasher formed the bulk of my game.

Different classes yield different approaches.

[ZomDizae]

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

You can spoil enemy locations and patterns, bosses, boss strategies, item locations, and trap or ambush locations. At least, that would be my guess as to what the spoilers refer too.

What he said. That being the case though, essentially you see the game from the perspective of a barbarian with a big sword. No magic, no armour, very little ranged. Heavy Club, Claymore and Keel Smasher formed the bulk of my game.

Different classes yield different approaches.
True, last character I built was a female Temple Knight, only focus on weapon combat, meaning, only spells allowed are weapon buffs. No one-time revival nor total protection.
The game suddenly got challenging again and I had a lot of fun.

[Mooglepies]

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

You can spoil enemy locations and patterns, bosses, boss strategies, item locations, and trap or ambush locations. At least, that would be my guess as to what the spoilers refer too.

What he said. That being the case though, essentially you see the game from the perspective of a barbarian with a big sword. No magic, no armour, very little ranged. Heavy Club, Claymore and Keel Smasher formed the bulk of my game.

Different classes yield different approaches.
True, last character I built was a female Temple Knight, only focus on weapon combat, meaning, only spells allowed are weapon buffs. No one-time revival nor total protection.
The game suddenly got challenging again and I had a lot of fun.

Try no armour at all. Super-happy-fun-time right there. Okay, so I put some Leather leggings on so I didn't have to stare at a pair of boxer shorts when I was playing. Later on I put the Minister's Hat on as well. Nothing says style like a half-naked man with a pimp hat on swinging a giant sword.

[ZomDizae]

Wait... can you even spoil this game? I was under the impression that this game didn't have much in terms of story.

You can spoil enemy locations and patterns, bosses, boss strategies, item locations, and trap or ambush locations. At least, that would be my guess as to what the spoilers refer too.

What he said. That being the case though, essentially you see the game from the perspective of a barbarian with a big sword. No magic, no armour, very little ranged. Heavy Club, Claymore and Keel Smasher formed the bulk of my game.

Different classes yield different approaches.
True, last character I built was a female Temple Knight, only focus on weapon combat, meaning, only spells allowed are weapon buffs. No one-time revival nor total protection.
The game suddenly got challenging again and I had a lot of fun.

Try no armour at all. Super-happy-fun-time right there. Okay, so I put some Leather leggings on so I didn't have to stare at a pair of boxer shorts when I was playing. Later on I put the Minister's Hat on as well. Nothing says style like a half-naked man with a pimp hat on swinging a giant sword.
Heh heh yeah, my Priest looks very similar: Fluted leggins, Minister's Hat, Istarelle Spear, Talisman of Beasts - That's all. Add to that that I made his face look like an un-shaved drunkard. lolz

[Bearcut]

@Pibbman
-Right on bud. Maybe its just because we need things that are a little more mentally stimulating? Although the occasional brain popping fest is fun; but I cant stand generic games like Halo and Call of Duty.

I'm just lucky because my next full length exam is October 2nd, so on the week Demon's Souls comes out ill actually get to play it.

[Gachimayaa]

I can understand the naysayer's point of view. I am a casual gamer and am more into story than putting 300 hours a month into a video game. I'd rather play an hour or two a week as a distraction than assume a game as another full-time job, or spend 300 hours studying someone I find interesting. The reviews lead me to believe that this game would be a waste of time for me and it would just sit on the shelf, so I'll pass. However, for hardcore gamers, it's probably great.


I am just glad that ATLUS is catering to all types of gamers and isn't trying to mislead casual fans just to get the quick sale. The reviews are all over the Net discussing and ranting about the difficulty level...so I'd say to the angry young person above..."read first, decide after."

[Pathard]

As long as it isn't as hard as battle toads! lol

Nah, this game is going to be great! I just pre-ordered the special edition!

[Ostrava of Boletaria]

Ah, this is some great material. I've been aching for something like this to read.

[grainock]

They said you'll never lose items or "Stat Points" when you die. As a total noob...what do the stat points alow you to do? Do they make you stronger...so everytime you get killed and sent back you still keep the strength you've built up?

[Mooglepies]

What they mean by stat points is that you never go down a level for dying; you lose your current amount of soul points but never more than that. Essentially, you buy level-ups using soul points, and each level-up lets you put a single point into a single stat.

There are exceptions though, and one (particularly nasty) boss encounter involves an attack that can de-level you if it hits.

[grainock]

What they mean by stat points is that you never go down a level for dying; you lose your current amount of soul points but never more than that. Essentially, you buy level-ups using soul points, and each level-up lets you put a single point into a single stat.

There are exceptions though, and one (particularly nasty) boss encounter involves an attack that can de-level you if it hits.

Thanks for the info. I'm not getting my copy until next week. Looking forward to it.

[grainock]

Is it possible to collect some souls, go back to the Nexus and level up, and then return back to your game?

[psychoneko]

@grainock:
Yes. You need to go back to the warp points though (the sword in the stone markers).

[grainock]

@grainock:
Yes. You need to go back to the warp points though (the sword in the stone markers).

Great...Thanks...hopefully this will make things easier for me.

[grainock]

One more question. I hear the game saves only after you have beaten a level. So...if you make it through 1.1 and you get killed in 1.2...do you start over in 1.1 or do you just start at the begining of 1.2?

[Sferzar]

The game saves every time you kill an enemy.

[grainock]

One more question. I hear the game saves only after you have beaten a level. So...if you make it through 1.1 and you get killed in 1.2...do you start over in 1.1 or do you just start at the begining of 1.2?

I guess what I meant to ask was...if you get killed in 1.2, do you have to go all the way back to the begining of 1.1, or just to the begining of 1.2?

[Gen Eric Gui]

Depends on where you started the level. All the sections of a level (1-1, 1-2, 1-3, etc) are all part of the same area, and once you reach each "checkpoint" you can choose to start at that point from the Nexus. So, once you've killed the boss of area 1-1, his location becomes the start of 1-2, and when you return to world 1 from the Nexus you can choose to start from position 1-1 or position 1-2. Whichever point you start from becomes your "start point" and you're returned there when you die. So if you start at checkpoint 1-2, and you die, you're returned to that checkpoint.

I hope I didn't overcomplicate that.

[grainock]

Depends on where you started the level. All the sections of a level (1-1, 1-2, 1-3, etc) are all part of the same area, and once you reach each "checkpoint" you can choose to start at that point from the Nexus. So, once you've killed the boss of area 1-1, his location becomes the start of 1-2, and when you return to world 1 from the Nexus you can choose to start from position 1-1 or position 1-2. Whichever point you start from becomes your "start point" and you're returned there when you die. So if you start at checkpoint 1-2, and you die, you're returned to that checkpoint.

I hope I didn't overcomplicate that.

no...that's exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks:D

[omegamark666]

You just need strategy like all Atlus games really I dunno why people are so surprised I already found a useful glitch but I cant post threads :devil:

[Karkarov]

Gen Eric Gui is actually a little off. He is dead on accurate about how you start based on what archstone you choose and how that works. His mistake is that where you die decides where you respawn. Die in 1-1 you will respawn at the 1-1 archstone even if you ported in from the 1-3 archstone at the begining.

[XxKorMegaxX]

This Just Might Be Game Of The Year!!

[tercac]

Yes it might, this game is amazing! I can't believe there was no hype behind this game, this one deserved it more than anything

[westpoint]

Seems i can't create my own topic, so i ask my question in this: somebody can tell me, what i should skill as royal? i want to play as mage.

[Karkarov]

Seems i can't create my own topic, so i ask my question in this: somebody can tell me, what i should skill as royal? i want to play as mage.

The answer is fairly obvious. Everyone can use vitality, intelligence determines mp total and spell slots, magic determines how hard your spells hit, and faith determines how many miracle slots you have and how strong they are. Every other stat is pretty much worthless for a pure caster.

[westpoint]

What is "miracle"? And where can i get some other magic spells? ;)

[Karkarov]

Defeat 1-1 and the caster trainers will appear in the nexus. All spells and miracles are learned in the nexus as well. To cast and learn spells you need a intelligence of 10 and a magic of 10. To learn miracles you need a faith of 10.

[Huntrex]

I for one love how Demon's Souls difficulty keeps you on your toes. Really, the enemies themselves aren't that hard, it's just you can't go forever without making a mistake (unless you're a demon :P). Really you just have to redo what you already did (except gates and stuff), if you passed it once, you can do it again.

[westpoint]

Defeat 1-1 and the caster trainers will appear in the nexus. All spells and miracles are learned in the nexus as well. To cast and learn spells you need a intelligence of 10 and a magic of 10. To learn miracles you need a faith of 10.

Thanks =]

Can you tell me, where i can upgrade my kris blade? I got one colorless soul. And, do i have to use 5 of em, to upgrade the blade to +5?

[jsbradley7]

Where: Blacksmith Ed in 2-1 after you have given him the Red Hot Demon's Soul (2-2 boss).

I haven't tried to upgrade any specials so I'm don't know the answer to the second question. Using logic I would say that you'll probably need more than 5 to upgrade to +5 as all other upgrades require more materials each successive upgrade.

[westpoint]

Hello, thanks.

But i got another question =)

I got pure white at 4-x, and now satsuki stands there. But, does it have any sense, to kill him? He would drop the same wpn i gave him and nothing else

[imaginethepoet]

Another post because you have to post 5 before answering a quesiton which just spams this forum?

[ntrailz]

Love all this information and insight, keep it coming

[Balfor]

Defeat 1-1 and the caster trainers will appear in the nexus. All spells and miracles are learned in the nexus as well. To cast and learn spells you need a intelligence of 10 and a magic of 10. To learn miracles you need a faith of 10.

Thanks =]

Can you tell me, where i can upgrade my kris blade? I got one colorless soul. And, do i have to use 5 of em, to upgrade the blade to +5?

yes you need five colorless souls to get to a +5. each upgrade requires one.

[Perceptrio]

Royalty is the best to start with. You get an MP regen ring and head armour that gives extra MP. The only disadvantage is that you have to be able to beat 1-1 at soul level 1 but once you get past that Royalties are awesome.

[boxzes]

The game is easy in general. ONCE you mastered the levels and know where all the enemies are. My first play through was ridiculous. Countless deaths and screaming is all I did. The only problems that make the game so difficult is demons that do 1 hit kills on you. Ex: Fat ministers, and the reaper. Also when you become to hasty, you end up making lots of mistakes.

[MrVandal]

seriously though sometimes the dificulty of this game is beyound ####ing belief and dont give me #### about I'm stuck on the false king right now and i cant ####ing beat him. Not only do i die like 4 out of 5 times i try to reach the mother ####er by either those pice of #### red eye knights that kill me in one hit even though im waering the brushwood armor, than there is hte ####ing dragon that i had to attempt to kill 2 times but now i have to deal with the stupid whatever the #### their names are on the brige with the hat and halbread. Once i get through this ####ing gauntlet i get my ass absoletuely kicked by the fake king boss mother####er and to top it off he grabs me and takes away a soul leve seriously sometimes i just want to take the DS disck and just ####ing smash it to ####. Oh yea btw i accidentaly set off the warath of good spell in the nexus and had to kill 3 npc's siege freke amongst them so no i dont even get the spells that would make my life a #### ton easier #### #### #### UGH IM PISSED

[mishuma]

I was really hoping to get the platinum trophy. I was on my 4th pass and had everything but the Foe's Ring, Bladestone+5, and Cloudstone +5 (Got it to +4).

Now since I am leaving, I just want to vent on the utter serious f'ing failure on this company. I finally threw in the towel when I killed Yuria for Meph. I did not get the f'ing ring...

It was bad enough that I spent countless hours farming on all the other levels and made some progress (at around 232 hours played) with each weapon maxed out except the 2 listed above. I have tried WWT, WCT, BWT, BCT and probably played 4-x - 20-30 times at each state. Not 1 ####ing single Chunk bladestone or cloudstone. I have destroyed so many shards because my bank filled up to 99 on my 1st pass. Oh the cloudstones might have dropped but since the developers were too lazy to allow the user a way to retrieve items that were stuck on a rock, or on the top of the building or off the damn cliff, I cannot say for certain.

I considered asking for someone whose game apparently isn't ####ed up to let me have the item for the goddamn trophy, but then why even bother.

Game A+, the ####ing trophy system that was piss-poor designed C-.

Hate to say goodbye to a level 181 (Mishuma), but putting time and energy into a game where the developer doesn't give a #### just doesn't seem like a good idea.

[GuyIncognito]

I was really hoping to get the platinum trophy. I was on my 4th pass and had everything but the Foe's Ring, Bladestone+5, and Cloudstone +5 (Got it to +4).

Now since I am leaving, I just want to vent on the utter serious f'ing failure on this company. I finally threw in the towel when I killed Yuria for Meph. I did not get the f'ing ring...

It was bad enough that I spent countless hours farming on all the other levels and made some progress (at around 232 hours played) with each weapon maxed out except the 2 listed above. I have tried WWT, WCT, BWT, BCT and probably played 4-x - 20-30 times at each state. Not 1 ####ing single Chunk bladestone or cloudstone. I have destroyed so many shards because my bank filled up to 99 on my 1st pass. Oh the cloudstones might have dropped but since the developers were too lazy to allow the user a way to retrieve items that were stuck on a rock, or on the top of the building or off the damn cliff, I cannot say for certain.

I considered asking for someone whose game apparently isn't ####ed up to let me have the item for the goddamn trophy, but then why even bother.

Game A+, the ####ing trophy system that was piss-poor designed C-.

Hate to say goodbye to a level 181 (Mishuma), but putting time and energy into a game where the developer doesn't give a #### just doesn't seem like a good idea.

Your rant is completely pointless. There is a cloudstone chunk treasure in the final boss area in 4. The dual katana black phantom skeleton drops bladestone chunks much more frequently than pures...

[mishuma]

Pointless is not being able to read and comprehend.
1. Ring for killing Yuria was not given...I guess that is pointless unless you wanted to get the Trophy
2. Running through 4-1 and 4-2 in BWT (sorry, maybe you aren't familiar with the game but this implies killing black skeletons with katanas, the black phantom skeletons and normally better chances at chunks or at least that worked on 2-2 for spiderstone, 5-2 for marrow) and having only soul remains and soul shards drop...I guess that is pointless, unless you wanted to get the Blademaster trophy
3. 2 Chunks per run through...wow, I could run through this another 4 times to get the 9 needed (this run through would have given me 2 so that would make 10 in all)...Not Pointless, if you enjoy running through the entire game 9 times just to get a ####ing bronze trophy then yeah you are right. Of course, if that was the last remaining trophy I might have done it.

[GuyIncognito]

Pointless is not being able to read and comprehend.

This game made me too stoic to give a crap. I have the bladestone trophy, so maybe I'm just taking pleasure in your agony. Maybe, your real-life character tendency is black, so the game started misbehaving. :D

[mishuma]

It started out as mostly neutral, but maybe you are on to something. I hate playing evil, I did it in infamous but I felt really bad. Perhaps, IT knows I was betraying myself by doing Meph's work.

[Dominions]

The game is easy in general. ONCE you mastered the levels and know where all the enemies are. My first play through was ridiculous. Countless deaths and screaming is all I did. The only problems that make the game so difficult is demons that do 1 hit kills on you. Ex: Fat ministers, and the reaper. Also when you become to hasty, you end up making lots of mistakes.

Yep, running through the bowling alley trap in 1-1 too quickly cost me 170000 souls the other night! On the other hand that kind of thing doesn't even phase me any more, I think about how bent I got over 20000 souls I lost way back when and laugh at my noobishness.

[TheLastGenius]

This is the most gratifying game I've played this gen, purely from a gameplay perspective. Would have liked a more cohesive story and more realms. If this game had ten realms and more story (the writing is excellent by the way, that which is actually in the game) this would have easily been one of the top three RPGs of all time. Definitely the best J-RPG since the PSX days. With that said they need to release Land of The Giants post haste.

[Kloing]

i only started to fell the game hard on NG+ =)

[tic2000]

Pointless is not being able to read and comprehend.
1. Ring for killing Yuria was not given...I guess that is pointless unless you wanted to get the Trophy
2. Running through 4-1 and 4-2 in BWT (sorry, maybe you aren't familiar with the game but this implies killing black skeletons with katanas, the black phantom skeletons and normally better chances at chunks or at least that worked on 2-2 for spiderstone, 5-2 for marrow) and having only soul remains and soul shards drop...I guess that is pointless, unless you wanted to get the Blademaster trophy
3. 2 Chunks per run through...wow, I could run through this another 4 times to get the 9 needed (this run through would have given me 2 so that would make 10 in all)...Not Pointless, if you enjoy running through the entire game 9 times just to get a ####ing bronze trophy then yeah you are right. Of course, if that was the last remaining trophy I might have done it.

If you only care for the cloudstone trophy and not having a good shield at +5 then a buckler shield only needs 6 chunks of cloudstsones to have it +5 while the purple flame shield needs 9 chunks just to go from +4 to +5 (it still requires 2 playthroughs and 1-1, 4-1, 4-2 in the 3rd one to get the trophy).

[Freyar]

As I've been telling people, the difficulty is great. It's challenging, and if you die, it's typically because you [the player] was lacking in some form.

Unlike other games like Oblivion, or CoD: World at War, the AI doesn't have endless spawns, doesn't throw grenades at you infinitely, doesn't throw twenty of them despite being out of throwing range, doesn't have boring combat and so on.

I've seen a lot of blood-splatters are a result of someone trying to run a "kool" dual-weild sword/dagger combo of some sort and just trying to hack their way through everything rather than taking their time and doing it right.

Top notch on this point.