Dark Souls II Take 2 (twice)

I have a plan. A few months ago I tried to play Dark Souls II and after getting my head kicked in repeatedly by monsters in the earliest areas (not to mention repeatedly rolling into the sea or leaping enthusiastically down chasms of my own volition) I have up.

I have, however, been taking some advice before restarting.

The advice for “easy mode” comes in two flavours. The first is to take the Knight class because they can tank damage well and have pretty good offensive abilities from the start. The other flavour of advice is to take the Pyromancer class which starts with a pretty good ranged magic attack and has at least some combat chops.

Having discovered that the game accommodates multiple saves I intend to do both and walk off in separate directions: Erza the Knight is going to start the game by leaving Majula via Hiede's Tower of Flame and Sabifa the Pyromancer will be leaving via the other end of the town for the Forest of Fallen Giants (which has far more flammable opponents, as I recall).

We'll see who gets further.

I have also, since my last attempt, acquired shoulders of giants to stand on thanks to Dan Floydd of Extra Credits' Side Quest series and, to a lesser extent, Yahtzee Croshaw and his good friend/victim Gabriel Morton's old Let's Drown Out series.

Now I just have to create these characters and, as the saying goes, prepare to die (again). 

Dark Souls and me part 2: Liar Ahead

I'm slowly making my way through that castle in the Forest Of Fallen Giants and in the course of my explorations I met Pate. That is to say, I almost killed Pate because I mistook him for one of those Hollow Soldiers who lie around and lurch up the moment you turn your back to them.

Luckily, he had rather a lot of health so by the time I was four vicious shortsword slashes in he calmly tells me “Now stop that.”. After that, I honestly can't blame him for sending me into a trap which, in fairness, he did warn me about and gave me a soapstone when I got out.

I also have to say that I adore the flavour text that accompanies items you pick up. My current shield is a Crimson Parma, which is described thusly:

“A standard wooden shield. The fancy name and nifty paint are surely a merchant's efforts to make this very ordinary shield more attractive.”

I have a rubbish shield and instead of trying to sell it as “starting gear” or something, the game is pleasingly upfront about the fact that I have picked up a rubbish shield. What's more, its a rubbish shield that some merchant once had to try to sell hence the rather charming red and white paint job. Its the sort of world building that makes the place feel lived in, somewhat ironically. 

Dark Souls and me part 1

A woman who is very disappointed in me, yesterday.

I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, what you could call a dedicated gamer. I am just about capable of beating a Pokemon game given a minimum of three months, a good quality print out of the type chart in front of me and my phone open on Google at all times. There are games I have been trying to beat on and off for more than two decades, one of them is Sonic The Hedgehog 3.

It might not be immediately obvious why I decided I really wanted to play Dark Souls II. It certainly isn't obvious to me but it was only a fiver at Entertainment Exchange so here we are.

I'm a little more than an hour in and so far nothing in Drangleic has proven quite so fatal to me as my own ineptitude. I've already wasted at least half a dozen lifegems because I keep forgetting the shoulder buttons do the killy things, not the proper buttons.

I'm also having real trouble with jumping. I either click the left stick too late and run off the edge of the world or click it in the wrong direction and leap blithely into space and those are the deaths where I feel I at least have some excuse. I've more than once simply wandered off the edge of Majula and Things Betwixt. I actually died rather a lot in Things Betwixt to the extent that I think I may technically have “skipped” the tutorial.

I also died to the little baby pigs in Majula whilst trying to find the Emerald Herald. Twice. I finally found her, got my estus flask and by the time I'd died twice more on my way to the Forest Of Fallen Giants I'd even managed to equip it.

I don't think I'm quite the hero the Emerald Herald was expecting to save Drangleic, to be perfectly honest with you.