DARK SOULS 3

The hype was up for this game ever since the DS3 trailer was shown in the last year’s E3 conference, although it was overshadowed by the Bethesda’s Fallout 4 announcement then. But for the Dark Souls veterans, the release of the latest installment from From Software was one of the most anticipated games of the year. So, does the game match up to the hype it generated?

Well, yes and no. Just kidding, I meant yes AND MORE. Dark Souls 3 improves on its predecessors in many ways, and also incorporates some novel ideas, which transforms DS3 into what is not only the most polished game of the franchise, but is also one of the most unique.

Now the plot : the Age of Fire is definitely coming to an end now, though embers still remain. The protagonist is possibly the last one to come to the kingdom of Lothric to Link the Fire, so that the Age of Fire can last for a few years more. Slowly but surely though, everything is coming to a definite end. The protagonist is now referred to as the Ashen One, a testament to the fact that all the flames are dying out, with only ashes to show for their existence.

Or at least, that was my interpretation of the game’s story from whatever lore I found and experiences I encountered. The game delights in making the plot deliberately vague, so that each player can live (and die countless times) in his own story. Small tidbits are thrown to the player which explain about the lore of the Lothric kingdom. The lore is fed to the player in small pieces through item descriptions and conversations with NPCs, same as the previous games. This alone has led to the creation of countless Reddit pages and groups which try to explore the world of Dark Souls to the fullest, and give a most complete account of the worlds of Lordran, Drangelic and the latest addition, Lothric, combined.

The environments in Dark Souls 3 look gorgeous, way better than DS2 was. I can attest to this with the simple fact that I’m playing Scholar of the First Sin now, even though I’ve played DS2 before[because Fume Knight and the Scholar]. The way the light reflects off the ground during rainfall, the way the eclipsed sun illuminates the whole place with red light, or just the sheer magnificence of the structures, everything is sheer artistry. No other words for it.

The first time the player gets a glimpse of the Lothric Castle from the Cemetery of Ash area[the first area of the game] is an unforgettable feeling. That one look confirms you of the epicness in scope of DS3. I’ve always hated dungeon sections in all of the Dark Souls games[dunno if it was because of those rats or just a general aversion], but in DS3, this was not the case. I won’t say I actually liked them this time round, but at the very least I didn’t hate the experience.

Firelink Shrine is back to being the hub of all inter-bonfire travel again. But this time, a bunch of changes have been made. Firelink Shrine is now akin to being a stronghold of some type, all the main NPCs stay here. Andre the blacksmith is back, and now he’ll take care of all the reinforcements and weapon infusions you need, and all this without needing to go out of Firelink; just get him those Embers. Also, as the game progresses, another NPC, Ludleth the Exiled, will show up at Firelink; he is the guy you visit for making boss weapons. And of course our favorite person, the Firekeeper, hangs out at Firelink Shrine, so visits here will be all too regular for the players whenever they wish to level up. So basically, the player will not need to venture outside Firelink to upgrade their character in whatever way.

But we all know that combat is the main reason why we’re fans of the series, don’t we? So how’s combat this time? I’m delighted to say the combat is way, way better than in the previous games. Combat is now closer to the first DS game[diving dodges are back!], and is much faster this iteration. Not Bloodborne-level fast, but faster than the previous DS games. Most importantly for us boss-fight lovers, the transitions from dodges to attacks is now near-seamless. As opposed to DS2 where there was a definite lag between giving the input, and the character actually executing the command; a source of frustration for all of us who died during boss encounters due to lag rather than our own mistakes. Also, while consuming them Estus Flasks, the character will no longer stand still, but instead walk in the direction of our inputs, which makes a whole lot of difference to the risk-benefit factor of using an Estus during a fight.

The introduction of the all-new Weapon Arts revolutionizes combat like never before. Most of the weapons you equip will have some special attacks attributed to them; you get into a Stance, then when you use an attack, the character will perform an empowered attack after some wind-up. Also, when you equip twin-weapons and use two-handed grip, you’ll equip a weapon in each hand; you’ll now have access to special attack combos which cause a bunch of damage and besides, look super-cool in action. For the best showcase of Weapon Arts, get to the Dancer of the Boreal Valley boss-fight, and get the Dancer to her second phase. It’s so very beautiful and deadly.

For those who haven’t played any of the DS games but like challenges, do yourself a favor and start playing them games, but in sequence. The story is hard to get into if DS3 is your first foray into the DS world, because the story-telling style is very much different from the regular, mainstream games we’re all so accustomed to. In fact, I think the only game that comes close to this kind of story-telling would be Divinity : Original Sin. But for those who want to start with DS3 and know how the main items work, and the concept of Souls, please refer to my Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 reviews.

Of course, a game as massive as DS3 will have some flaws; it’s only natural, if undesirable. Occasional frame-rate dips happen, and sometimes I experienced movement-related glitches, which can prove fatal depending on the situation. Other than that, DS3 is a stellar game.

Dark Souls 3 is not as large as its previous iterations, with the playthrough time for DS3 being about 35-40 hours, compared to the 60 hour-odd play time each for both the previous iterations. However, this is no cause for concern, as the gameplay is much tighter here in DS3. The boss-fights are much tougher now, and each boss has his own unique style. DS3 has less than 20 bosses now, but each of them is a pain in his/her own way. This game is more about quality than quantity. All these features combine to make this the most fast-paced and the toughest Dark Souls yet.

RATING : 9.8/10

PROS :
– plot progression
– faster combat
– all-new Weapon Arts
– beautifully rendered environments
– bosses are awesome

CONS :
– rare frame-rate dips
– occasional movement glitches

 

 

 

DARK SOULS 3 : How to get to Archdragon Peak

For those of you guys who want to explore the entirety of the DS3 world, but are having trouble figuring out how to get to Archdragon Peak.

To get to Archdragon Peak, first up you have to go to the Consumed King’s Garden. What you do is, once you defeat Dancer of the Boreal Valley,  you go up the ladder that drops down after the fight and go left, instead of straight ahead[going straight will lead you towards the main quest-line]. You fight a big-sized enemy here and then take an elevator which leads you straight down to the Consumed King’s Garden.

At the end of the area, you fight Oceiros, the Consumed King. After defeating him, open the double doors at the other end of the arena.

You now pass through a small corridor, at the end of which you fight a manserpent. The corridor opens into a huge hall with a few treasure chests to open. You’ll also see a statue/fallen soldier in a sitting position, and in his lap is an item to collect. This “item” happens to be the Path of the Dragon emote[courtesy Gamespot for the image].

[NOTE : Go down the hall, open the treasure chest at the far end, then hit the wall to open up a new path. This route will take you down to the Untended Graves, where a dark secret awaits your journey’s end.]

Now, from here, you need to go to the Irithyll Dungeon bonfire. Go through the prison area, passing the jailer guys on the top floor, and go down the stairs on the other side[where 3 of them jailer guys are waiting for you, along with a skeleton-filled cage]. After speedrunning/killing the enemies, go to your right and open the door. Go on and take the elevator; it’ll take you down. You’ll come to this place.

Now. go near the dragon-like thing, and use the Path of the Dragon emote. Sit for about 5 seconds or so; a brief cut-scene will play, followed by you getting transported to Archdragon Peak. Hurray!

 

 

DARK SOULS 3 : Beating The Nameless King

A.k.a How To Train Your Dragon 3 boss fight.

Nameless King; the boss that has made many gamers pull their hair out in frustration and helplessness. He has done the same to me, until I beat the guy the day before yesterday. What a pain he was! But I tell you, beating him gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment throughout my DS3 playthrough. He deserves a post all for himself. So, how to go about beating the Nameless King? I’ll tell you.

As is with the toughest bosses in DS3, this boss fight also takes place in two phases :

1. King of Storms :

In the first phase, you fight his loyal buddy, the drake, on which the Nameless King is riding. This is the easier part of the boss fight. There are a few things to keep in mind regards this part of the boss fight. The boss takes a helluva lot of damage so long as you hit him in the head or neck. He takes drastically reduced damage if you attack his legs. The Nameless King atop his mount uses his spear to make slashes and thrusts, but with some practice you’ll be able to evade his attacks quite easily. Also he uses some lightning-empowered thrust attacks, for which you have to roll right when he’s thrusting his sword into the ground. It is always safer to roll into the dragon’s body, as you’re more susceptible to the Nameless King’s attacks if you try to roll away from him.

The dragon uses flamethrower attacks mostly; the one where it uses a directional flamethrower is the best time to get in 3-4 hits on the dragon. Another opportunity for attacking is when the Nameless King tries to take two sweeping hits at you. Just roll behind the dragon’s neck and he won’t be able to do anything to you, while you can get in 3 hits on the dragon’s head/neck.

The dragon will take off between the fight at least twice, during which he uses some attacks. First up, the Nameless King will try to use a lightning spear on you, which is easily seen and evaded by rolling or just plain running. The dragon will also sometimes use the AoE flamethrower attack right at you, and the dragon tracks your position and shifts the flamethrower accordingly. The only way to evade it, is to run away from the dragon. I used to get caught in this blast a lot, until I realized this. And when the dragon comes back down, it will occasionally take a nip at you, which you have to roll out of. And the Nameless King will take a swing at you, for which you have to time your roll to near-perfection to dodge. Rarely, the dragon uses a wind-type attack which approaches your position in a wave. You need to roll into it at the correct time to avoid taking damage.

Just don’t lock on to the boss, as your camera angle will get messed up if you do that.

Weaknesses : Lightning and Magic. Just dragon things.

2. Nameless King :

This is where the tough part starts. Most importantly, try to keep the camera locked on to him at all times, as he tends to jump around a lot and you’ll lose sight of him often if you don’t lock-on. The guy doesn’t seem to have many weaknesses, and as expected he’s resistant to lightning. Most of his attacks are thrusts and swings, which are hard to dodge at first, but with sufficient practice you should be able to do that. It is pretty hard to maintain distance against him, as he has a number of gap-closers which deal loads of damage. Even his regular attacks hit like a truck, and if you happen to get hit once during a combo, it is really hard to escape his remaining attacks and he’ll probably delete you then and there, unless you’re lucky.

After you rid him of half his health, he starts using lightning spells along with his regular attacks. He charges up his spear for a second and strikes the ground in front of him for massive lightning damage. Even if you evade it, be ready for the aftershock that is released from the point of impact. It doesn’t deal as much damage, but it will cripple you for about a second. More time than the Nameless King needs to 100-0 you with a combo. His another lightning-based attack is where he charges up his spear while holding it across his body. About half a second later, a homing lightning attack will land on you. Just roll out of your original position and you’ll be fine. If you’re doubtful about the roll timing, just roll twice, that should do it. The final lightning attack is where he impales you with his spear, then lifts you up and discharges lightning into you, dealing about 60-70% of your max health easily. But this attack is one he uses from the start itself, so you should recognize the animation.

The only thing that makes it easier for the player, is that the Nameless King can be staggered. If you deal damage to him regularly enough, he’ll get staggered, once at 60-65% health, and once at 20-30% health. Don’t miss these chances to pull off powerful ripostes, which you unleash by standing in front of him and attacking.

Main thing to do in the fight, is to stick to the guy and keep rolling in circles around him, and try to attack only after he completes a combo. Conserve your stamina at all times, unless you just got off a riposte when you can afford to get just a little bit liberal.

Use your fastest weapon against the Nameless King. I tried fighting him with my katanas but it was of little use, but I beat him in my 4th try once I switched to my straight sword. I’m assuming it’s even better if you’re good with rapiers. Get armor with high lightning resist and physical defense too; I ended up beating him wearing a Mirrah Vest. The idea is to get armor with good physical defense along with decent lightning-resist. Thunder Stoneplate Ring is invaluable in this fight, for those moments when you get hit by his spells. If you are the kind who prefers to block rather than dodge, get the Dragonslayer Greatshield or Spirit Tree Crestshield, whichever is better for your character build path.

Don’t hesitate about grinding for levels or upgraded weapons if you need to. In my opinion, grinding for upgraded weapons is a better bet. The Great Belfry is an amazing location for grinding, as each successful run in the area gives you around 20-25K souls.

Have fun fighting!

 

 

 

 

DARK SOULS 3 BOSS TIPS #4

Yep, here are the final bosses of  DS3. The truly painful bosses in this game. The two-phase boss fights, because we all love two-phase bosses, don’t we…

Lorian and Lothric
Soul of Cinder

1. Lorian and Lothric : 

The boss fight starts off with you fighting Lorian, who is a cripple wielding a fire-blessed greatsword. The painful part about Lorian is his ability to teleport. The first thing you do when you enter the boss chamber; stand still for a couple of seconds. If you move forward in this space of time, Lorian will teleport behind you and use a slam attack, this is somewhat difficult to dodge. Instead if you stand still, he teleports to a neutral position, from where he can’t get at you. His slash attacks are pretty easy to dodge, once you figure out the guy, and also his other attacks too. The only issue is his ability to teleport around; he may teleport behind you or to one of your flanks, and attack, which is a real pain. Whenever you find yourself low on health, move out of his attack range and heal up; but don’t go away too far or he’ll start using his teleport plays again. Also occasionally, he teleports away from you and uses a charged lightning/magic attack which strikes in a line; dodge right when he’s about to slam down with his greatsword to escape. This is one of his potential one-shot abilities.

Lorian’s weaknesses : Lightning, Bleed. You can stagger Lorian with enough consecutive attacks, and then pull off a special hit dealing tons of damage.

The second phase starts when you manage to defeat Lorian. After a brief cut-scene[a pretty touching one at that], Lothric also enters the fight, hanging on to Lorian’s shoulders. Now Lorian and Lothric are both at full health. This phase is much tougher, because of Lothric’s magic spells. They deal a shit-ton of damage, even his minor spells. Coupled with Lorian’s teleports, this fight is a real mess. The only way to conclude the fight, is to get Lothric to Ohp. For this to happen, you have to focus on attacking Lorian’s back, where Lothric is hanging on. If you get Lorian to Ohp first, Lothric will get off of Lorian’s shoulders, and try to resuscitate him; this takes about 5-odd seconds, so deal as much damage to him as possible at this moment. The resuscitation ends with an AoE magic attack so be wary. Most importantly, use the various pillars in the arena to dodge Lothric’s abilities. However, Lorian’s attacks strike even through the pillars, be aware of that.

Lothric’s weaknesses : Physical.

2. Soul of Cinder :

The final boss of the main story, this is the embodiment of all the players who have linked the fire, and as such, attacks in a way similar to how a regular player might. He is possibly the only boss in the game who actually dodges your attacks, too. Has possibly the best setting in the whole game, in terms of sheer awesomeness.

1st phase : In this phase, Soul of Cinder keeps varying between four weapons; the coiled[straight] sword, magic staff, lance and the curved sword.

• Coiled Sword : Most of the attacks are slashes which are moderately easy to dodge, but he tends to get stuck in you if he manages to get even one hit in. Occasionally, he uses attacks empowered with fire, so they have a greater range. Use a regular one hit-dodge kind of strategy to deal with the boss.
• Magic Staff : This is the riskiest part, as the player might get too cocky and attack him too much. The boss has one-shotting capability in this form, but if you conserve your stamina, you shouldn’t have any problems dodging his attacks. He uses frost-type magic attacks to fight you [Homing Soul Arrow etc.]. But at least once in the magic-form, he uses a frost kamehameha  which is easy to dodge[all you have to do is run clockwise or counter-clockwise and into him, in a spiral] but hits like a truck if you get caught. If you get too close, he uses a magical 360-degree sweep attack; you have to roll once to dodge it, but the timing has to be spot-on.
• Lance : The biggest pain in the fight; he keeps charging at you over and over again, and the attacks are easy to dodge[1-second window] but takes out half your health if you get hit. Once in a while he uses a spinning attack where he spins twice moving in your direction. You can avoid getting hit by the attack if you have enough distance between yourself and the boss. But why is this part a pain? Because he can use a healing spell on himself which gives him back around a quarter of his health, that’s why. I still remember an attempt where I played a perfect game till I got him to about 20% of his health, and he healed like 4 or 5 times. Wasted about 10 Estus Flasks in the end to get him to phase 2.
• Curved Sword : In this phase, the boss moves real fast, and keeps moving just about all the time. However his attacks don’t hit as hard as his other forms, so there’s that, I guess. Most of his attacks are slashes and spinning slashes, which are somewhat difficult to dodge, mainly because he’s so relentless in this form. He will sometimes somersault away from you and then use a poison AoE attack, or a pyromancy spell, or both. It is helpful to lock the camera on him during this phase, at least, as you may lose him in the poison mist. He will buff up his fire-resistance with a spell, for some reason, as if anyone is going to fight with a fire-based weapon or pyromancy against him.

Soul of Cinder can be staggered, however.

2nd phase : For some reason, the second phase is kind of easier. Soul of Cinder begins to fight like Gwyn from the 1st Dark Souls game. All his attacks require him to charge up, so you can see his attacks from a distance and plan your moves accordingly. His wind-up times and animations give away his intentions clearly. Most of the times, he’ll charge for about a second and jump at you, using a slashing attack, which is easily dodged. Only, once in a while he uses thrust attacks which are fast and somewhat unpredictable. And they chunk your health down by 50% of your max hp. He also uses lightning spears and homing lightning attacks on you. The lightning spears can be dodged easy, but for the homing attack, the idea is different. Wait for a couple of seconds, and when the top quarter of your screen begins to fill with lightning, start rolling around to escape. His strongest attack is one where he charges up for two seconds and then unleashes a vicious combo of fire-sword attacks[whose range is almost as much as that of a crossbow], ending in an AoE fire attack. So when you recognize the animation, just run.

Soul of Cinder is, as expected, resistant to fire-type attacks, so pyromancy users should expect a tougher fight than the others. However, I found him to be somewhat susceptible to lightning-based attacks. Use high fire-resist and physical defense-giving armor to maximize your chances.

 

 

DARK SOULS 3 BOSS TIPS #3

Some more boss tips for those of you who are interested and/or are having issues with them boss-fights :

1. Oceiros, The Consumed King :

This is an optional boss-fight, and the boss is found at Consumed King’s Garden. The boss is a sort of a failed experiment in turning himself into a dragon, so he looks somewhat like a dragon. Being a dragon, he’s especially weak to lightning-based attacks. Melee players shouldn’t have many issues against Oceiros, just keep dodging beneath his range, stay under his legs for as long as possible for free hits. He uses frost-type attacks, so some frost-resist is necessary for those infrequent situations where you have trouble dodging him. Initially, he uses his staff for melee attacks, in the second phase he ditches it for a more primal approach.  But the strategy remains more or less the same. Be wary of his dash attacks, though, as they can deal a significant amount of damage. But if you dodge it successfully, you get 3-4 free hits at him.

2. Champion Gundyr :

Champion Gundyr is an optional boss in DS3. He is similar to the first boss Iudex Gundyr, but this guy hits much harder than Iudex. His damage is all-physical though, so get armor with as high physical defense as your character allows, without actually hindering your movement. This is because movement is critical against Champion Gundyr; he moves pretty fast and has a bunch of gap-closers. Most of his attacks can be dodged with a bit of practice, though. But the real problem with this boss-fight is his kick; dodging behind him for a couple of quick hits at the boss is no longer as safe as before, he’ll sometimes just kick you off, and then follow up with his halberd to take a toll on your health and Estuses. So never let your guard down even if you think you’ve dodged his combo, because he may land a kick on you out of nowhere, just when you least expect it.

3.  Dragonslayer Armour :

This boss uses lightning-based attacks, so having armor with high lightning-resist and physical defense is necessary. DA uses a Great Axe empowered with lightning, and Greatshield. He occasionally imbues his Greatshield with lightning and uses shield-bash, so be wary of that. The good thing about this boss, is that all his attacks can be blocked, and his shield-bashes can be dodged pretty easily, as they have a clear visual wind-up, although the window is small. Keep dodging to his left and get in 1-2 attacks on the boss, until he uses a charged up shield-bash, which has to be dodged to his right. He’s good at gap-closing, so it is somewhat tough to maintain distance between you and the boss. There is a small fenced-up area of shrubs on the far side of the boss chamber, use it for healing up and catching a break to recover your stamina, while circling it to avoid the boss’ attacks. Occasionally, the creatures circling the arena high above will use some magic AoE attack, so be wary of that. You can’t do anything about them, so just concentrate on  the boss and start rolling when they attack.

4. Ancient Wyvern :

Ancient Wyvern is one of the optional bosses in DS3. This is what you would call a gimmick fight. The boss keeps breathing fire out at you if you linger near him for too long, but that isn’t even the point of this fight. You need to run off to his left and run up all the way up to a high place, and then jump down on his head to make a plunging attack. Doing that will cause a 1-hit K.O. on the boss. It is, in fact, a test on your speedrunning skills, as you will encounter a number of powerful enemies on the way. Don’t worry, you will see a number of hints all along the way to the perfect position to kill the boss.

 

 

DARK SOULS 3 BOSS TIPS#2

In this post, we shall be looking at a few more of the game’s myriad bosses you’ll be fighting on your way forward in Dark Souls 3’s beautiful, brutal world.

Bosses in this post :

Pontiff Sulyvahn
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods
Old Demon King
Yhorm the Giant
Dancer of the Boreal Valley

1. Pontiff Sulyvahn :

This boss wields two swords, a curved sword of fire in his right, and a straight sword of the dark type in his left. When you head into the boss chamber, the first attack he’ll perform is a dash to your face, followed by a slashing attack with his curved sword. Roll away to one of his sides the moment you see him preparing to dash, as the attack is unexpectedly fast. During the fight, notice he uses his fire sword more often than his dark sword. Also with his dark sword, he only performs thrusting attacks, so they’re relatively easy to dodge. The thrust also leaves him vulnerable for about 3 seconds so you can get in a few hits on him. But most importantly, always dodge into his curved sword attacks, even though it is really tempting to dodge away from him. Dodging away makes you an easier target for the boss, and he will (sometimes) follow up with a 6-attack combo which can be escaped only by 4-5 consecutive rolls away from him, which will chunk your stamina down to 10%. Force the boss to use his dash-attacks by sticking to his right flank, as he’s relatively more vulnerable after dashes and tends to use his thrust more, for some reason.

 

Once you get Sulyvahn down to half-health, he summons an image to fight alongside him. Get in 2-3 attacks here and dodge away, as he does an AoE attack  when the summon is complete. But unexpectedly, the second half is actually easier, as the boss is less aggressive now. Once you get the boss and his image together (they generally stick together) after dodging/blocking their attacks, you can go in for a quick 2-3 attacks if you have enough stamina. Generally both the boss and his image perform the same attacks, so be wary of that point.

Far as gear is concerned, get high fire-resistance armor. Dark-resist may be unnecessary as his dark-type attacks are somewhat easy to dodge anyway. For weapons, use non-fire and non-dark weapons, as Sulyvahn is more resistant to those types.

2. Aldrich, Devourer of Gods :

Aldrich is one of the four Lord Souls you’re supposed to collect. The fight is relatively easy. He uses dark-type attacks for the first half of the fight, and uses some sort of a homing soul-arrow which is not too hard to dodge. Whenever he takes around 20% health damage, he goes underground and resurfaces elsewhere on the arena, similar to the Crystal Sage fight. But during his tunneling(so to speak), he does a dark attack which will chunk your health down to around 50%, so be wary, just get in 2-3 quick hits and roll away.

The second half of the fight, Aldrich starts using fire-type attacks and does AoE lava attack too. But the only attack to be really worried about throughout the fight, is his arrow-rain attack, which will potentially one-shot you. It has a distinct wind-up animation, and when you see it, dodge away to his back, or run away from him. If you’re caught in front of him in his proximity, you’ll most probably die, unless you have a huge health bar and decent magic-resist.

3. Old Demon King :

This boss uses attacks which are only fire-based. As such, use armor of high fire-resistance when going in. The fight is fairly simple, just try to keep rolling under him and keep poking him down. His basic attacks are mostly sweeping slashes which can be dodged that way. Occasionally he does an AoE lava attack, for which you’ll have to dodge away. Also there are two or three piles of dead bodies in the arena, use these to get some heat off you and heal up. Sometimes he also uses a fire-meteorite attack, just watch out for it when under cover behind those piles.

4. Yhorm the Giant :

Yhorm is one of the four Lord Souls you need to collect. This boss is more of a niche fight, than anything else. Once you enter the boss room, run straight across the room and collect the Storm Ruler(Greatsword) near the boss’ throne. Now proceed to equip the weapon and begin fighting. Although the weapon isn’t necessary to beat the boss, you’ll end up fighting a battle which will probably last around 20 minutes without it, that too, if you play clean.

After equipping Storm Ruler, enter Stance by pressing right trigger(RT). Now charge up the weapon until you hear(and see) a cue for the completion of the charge-up. Now attack the boss to deal a shitload of damage(about 20% of Yhorm’s max health) with a single hit. Rinse and repeat until his death. Be mindful of his attacks, his slashes deal about 40% max health damage until you are a hyper-tank already. And his other attack will one-shot squishier players. Once his health drops to 50-60%, he begins to use fire-type attacks also, but if you are decent at dodging and stick to his feet throughout, the complications will cease to worry you.

NOTE : Yhorm is the huge guy shown in the DS3 trailer for E3.

5. Dancer of the Boreal Valley :

This fight is triggered right after you defeat the third Lord of Cinder. You get teleported to the High Wall of Lothric, where High Priestess Emma resides(the lady who gives you the Lothric Banner in the beginning).  The Dancer has long legs, but doesn’t move around fast, as opposed to most of the game’s bosses. But do not underestimate her, she can move when she needs to. Most of her attacks are sweeping slashes with her fire sword, mixed with long-reaching slams. Be wary of her grab, if you linger in her face for too long, she’ll try to grab you with her free hand. And if she grabs you, get ready to strategize for your next attempt at the boss. Also, running away from her can keep you safe for only so long, she’s an excellent gap-closer, and has wide reach due to her skeletal structure. She uses an occasional AoE fire attack, which has a distinct animation.

When her health is down to 50%, she uses a dark/ash(?) type AoE attack and summons another sword. Now the real fun begins, as she’s a dual wield enemy for the rest of the fight. And you will now know why she’s called a dancer. Her dance of death is one to be admired and taken notice of, and getting caught in that combo is a sure-fire way of getting killed. When you see her dance, run as far away as possible and hope she can’t get to your position. But the overall strategy for the fight doesn’t change much. Keep kiting her the way you would in a MOBA game; one hit, roll, one hit, roll…And use those pillars; the way you use them will probably determine the result of the fight. A weapon with a long reach is ideal for the fight, as you’ll get in free hits on the Dancer while she’s just circling you, as she’s wont to do during the fights.

DARK SOULS 3 BOSS TIPS #1

So I’ve started playing DS3 a few days ago, and I’m going to post some bossfighting tips for anyone who’s interested and/or is having a hard time trying to figure out the best ways of fighting and defeating bosses. From my personal experience in the game until now, I’ll be posting tips on fighting individual bosses. The page will be updated daily, to accommodate for ever more of the bosses I’ll be facing in this brutal game.

Bosses covered :

Iudex Gundyr
Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Curse-Rotted Greatwood
Crystal Sage
Deacons of the Deep
Abyss Watchers
High Lord Wolnir.

Note : My playthrough of DS3 is that of a dual-wield mercenary, going for a dual-katana light/medium armor build. So please make some adjustments if necessary, to adapt my tips for your play style.

1. Iudex Gundyr :

He’s the first boss you’ll encounter in the game. Easy enough to fight the guy until you get him down to half his health, then he goes crazy, as is expected with all the bosses in the Dark Souls series. Just don’t forget the fact that he’s a left-hander after his health is below 50%, so dodge accordingly to his right side as much as possible from hereon. Shouldn’t be too tough.

 

2. Vordt of the Boreal Valley :

This guy was admittedly more of a pain to me than the other bosses till now. Died a bunch of times to him, and then killed the boss on my very first try of day 2. Go full aggro on this guy, and try to dodge into his person, so that you position yourself behind him after you come out of your roll. Especially after deleting him to below 50% of his health. Force him to perform his groundsmash by sticking to him throughout, especially in the latter half of the fight, as it is a much easier attack to dodge. Also beware his 3-dash combo, if you dodge sideways all the three times perfectly, you get a free shot at him while he charges up his icethrower (like flamethrower, but not exactly). You’ll either kill him in 3 minutes, or die in two. At least that was the case with me.

Debuff : Frostbite.

 

3. Curse-Rotted Greatwood :

Hit the tree in its eggs/mushrooms or whatever they are, as they are the only weak points on this boss. You’ll know them when you see them. Initially, the grunts will also try to kill you, so be more careful at the start of the bossfight. When you get the boss to below 70-75% health, you and the boss will fall into an underground chamber, and the secondary enemies will cease to bother you after this event. Concentrate on hitting the eggs on the boss, and be wary of the extra hand that sprouts out of the boss when you go into the underground chamber. There is a set of eggs on the boss’ back, too. And make maximum use of his strong attack, when he all-out falls on his stomach in order to crush you. When he falls down, he stays that way for about 10-odd seconds, use this time to hit his extra hand(which can also be hit to cause damage). Also, once in a while, he spills poisonous sap all over the ground near him. Do not approach him at this time, as the liquid slows your movement and does damage per second. He periodically drops his payload of poisonous sacs on his branches to injure you, but it’s very rare to get hit by them, so don’t worry too much about this attack.

 

4. Crystal Sage :

Most of the boss’ attacks are magic-based, except when you get in his face and stay there for too long. Beware his sword attacks, as they are pretty strong. But the spells arcing towards you can be dodged pretty easily. His more powerful attacks need some channeling time, and if you go full aggro at this moment, you can cancel his spell(s). After his health is decreased to below 50% though, he spouts a couple of doppelgangers, who vanish after taking one hit, but still have access to all his spells and attacks. This is when your awareness of all the crystal sages’ positions, along with the environment, comes into play. Also, I think only the real crystal sage can use the purple-colored spells, that should help with the matters some.

 

5. Deacons of the Deep :

This bossfight is basically a slaughter-fest against the zombified(?) skeletons and dead bodies that you would have faced (and killed) a bunch of times already. However, attacking just about any of them does not cause damage to the boss. The actual boss is hidden among all those zombies, he has a reddish aura around him. Attacking him is the only way any damage can be inflicted on the boss. The main zombie dies in 3-4 hits, but respawns in a span of 10 seconds or so. But do not totally ignore the other zombies, their attacks are moderately powerful, especially the spell-wielding ones are more of a pain. After reducing the boss to below 50% health, a mage wearing some distinct robes replaces the zombie. At least, you don’t need to search around for the new zombie to kill, anymore. But now the attacks from the grunts are more powerful, so some decent blocking/dodging is required.

6. Abyss Watchers :

This is where the definitive Dark Souls experience (read : frustration, helplessness, this is bs etc.) begins. He’s one of the four Lord Souls you must collect. He has a variety of attacks, all of which can put in a hell of a lot of pain on you. His 15-yard dash, followed by a barrage of fast-paced attacks, is the stuff of nightmares. Pretty hard to dodge his attacks, but you should be fine if you are a sword-shield guy. Also, there are two more of the Abyss Watchers who spawn during the fight, and sometimes you don’t really have to do much to cause his demise.

And then the second part starts…now the fight gets just plain hardcore. The guy’s sword takes on the aspect of fire, and even if you dodge his sword itself, you may still get hit by the arcing flame. Try to maximize your fire-resistance and conserve your stamina for dodges and 1-2 quick attacks. By the way, there are two greatsword wielding hollows near the bonfire close to the boss chamber whose fighting style is somewhat similar to the boss’. So you can practise a bit against these guys so that you can get used to the boss’ attack patterns, while farming souls at the same time.

7. High Lord Wolnir :

This boss is pretty easy to fight against, although given a chance, he’ll just one-shot you with an attack which has near-to-no counterplay. The boss has three golden bangles on his hands, and all you have to do to defeat the boss quickly, is to attack those bangles until you break them one by one. But one major pain is that he has a swatting attack which is practically undodgeable and will delete 40% of your health. Also, when he does his one-shotting attack, it’s best to back up as far as possible. Don’t get too close to him as he emits some sort of toxic fumes which will melt your health to zero faster than you can say ” Pentakill!” or something. Well, you get the drift.

DARK SOULS

Having played the excellent DS2, I was curious to find out what made the Dark Souls series a popular one in the first place. After sinking yet another sixty hours into its brutal, unforgiving world, I had my answer. As its sequel reaffirms, this game is not for the faint-hearted, nor is it for those who just want to have some mindless fun. No, this game is all about its epicness in scope. It’s about making mistakes, learning from them, and executing tactics to the point of near-perfection. Because this game rarely forgives you for your mistakes, if at all.

The game begins with the player at the Undead Asylum, after watching a ten-odd minute cutscene which is supposed to add some semblance to the story, but will most probably leave you with a “what just happened” kind of feeling. Undead Asylum serves as a tutorial area to the player, and teaches you the basic mechanics of the game [Bonfires, Estus flasks, fighting]. The tutorial ends in a boss fight, and defeating him gets you the key out of the asylum, and on you travel to Firelink Shrine, the hub [so to speak] of the game world.

The player can choose from a variety of character classes during character creation. The classes range from bandits to warriors to battlemages to clerics. Each class has its own advantages and weaknesses. I chose the bandit class for my playthrough, which gave me greater damage output for sneaky backstabs and moderate proficiency in the use of daggers and bows, but lesser health than, say, the warrior class.

The player is an undead, cursed with the ability to come back to “life” even after being killed. The plot of the story : meet the king of Lordran [for that is the place we wind up in] and somehow convince him to reverse our condition. At least that’s what I said to myself as I trudged on forwards into scarier, deadlier places than the ones I just left. To be honest, the plot is ambiguous throughout, and often the plot elements and lore are hidden in character interactions, item descriptions and the environment itself. The ambiguity of the plot makes the story being told, open to interpretation. You could pretty much say that the plot depends on the person playing the game, for DS. The same storytelling style returns in DS2.

Combat in DS…now that’s the reason gamers either love or hate this series. It is unlike any other game in this regard. The player’s attacks aren’t fast by any means, but generally cause decent damage to the grunts. But even the grunts are not to be taken lightly. Get cocky against them, and you’ll be splashed with more of the notorious “YOU DIED” screens. Combat is more about tactics here. Draw out the grunts one or two at a time, finish them off, hopefully with minimal damage taken, rinse and repeat.

The logic of souls, Estus flasks, deaths and other such things are more or less the same as in its sequel. Please check DS2 review for more info.

The boss fights are just, wow. Every boss feels unique and each of them require a different kind of strategy. Most of them can finish you off in two combos, so one’s reflexes need to be at their best to keep away from their constant barrage of attacks. Lingering for too long near the boss trying to chunk his health down will quite possibly kill you, as you’d end up using up most of your precious stamina, leaving little for blocking or dodging attacks. This may not be always true, though. Also, if you are not hollowed, you can obtain some help in fighting bosses by summoning other helpers in the game world.

                              Solaire, you the man…Praise the sun everyone!

And quite frequently, it’s not just the boss you’re battling, but also the treacherous terrain. Quite a few deaths are caused by misjudgment of the environments, leading to the player tripping over ledges, getting kicked off high-rise platforms and such. But these limitations can also be used to our advantage. Some battles end prematurely just through successful baiting of the bosses near such locations. May feel a little cheap, but after coming out of the game, you’ll say “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” like an AC fanboy.

                                      Yes, this is a boss, And yes, he wrecks.

DS isn’t without its flaws, though. The same faulty collision-detection issues we notice in the sequel are prevalent here, too, with some of the boss fights ending in cheap ways. And there is ONE noticeable difficulty spike late into the game, which may or may not discourage you from venturing further. Some of the environments in the game look pretty dull, especially the dungeon sections of the game.

Nobody ever played DS for its graphics, though. It’s all about the challenge it offers gamers, those who want a welcome change from games which hold your hand all the way to their conclusions. Want something challenging? Wait ’til you try this one…

RATING : 9.3/10

PROS :
– open-ended game
– combat mechanics
– intense boss fights
– story-delivery technique
– multiple story interpretations

CONS :
– some dull locations
– faulty collision detection

THE WITCHER 3 : THE WILD HUNT

Not often does one come across games in which we can go in pretty much any direction in the game world and can expect to find new things to explore and mysteries to solve. The map, which I’m guessing to be around 200 sq.km large, is packed richly with tons of side-quests and lore. I spent about a hundred hours in the game, but I was still nowhere close to traversing the entirety of the game world.

Witcher 3 begins from the aftermath of Witcher 2, its prequel, with the protagonist Geralt the witcher searching for Princess Cirilla at the behest of Emhyr van Emreis, the emperor of Nilfgaard and Cirilla’s father. The need for speed is essential for Geralt here, as the dreaded Wild Hunt is after Ciri. He joins forces with his love Yennefer and Triss Merigold, and depending on the choices one has made in W2, we also get either Iorveth or Vernon Roche in the game, too. The game starts off in the area called White Orchard, which also doubles up as the tutorial area. The plot progression is non-linear, and Witcher veterans would have it no other way, of course. The story shows us many aspects of life like tragedy, love, loss, death…it doesn’t shy away from serious issues like racial segregation, too. But I must say, the main story was not as engaging as that of W2, which had solid watertight storytelling. The plot itself isn’t bad, but the issue is with all the fetch-quests you’re forced to undertake. Maybe at least a third of the main quests make Geralt run from A to B, deliver something to X and other such mundane things.In fact, in a fourth-wall-breaking moment, Geralt himself says he is a witcher, not a delivery man. Some missions make us play detective, using Witcher senses (a la Batman’s X-ray vision from Arkham games), but they get dull real fast, too.  But for those who haven’t played the previous Witcher games, this game is way more accessible than its prequel, which is definitely in its favour.

Wow, I forgot to even say what ” witcher ” means. For the uninitiated, witchers are genetically modified swordsmen who hunt monsters for coin. The genetic modification is an extremely painful one, and the chances of success are usually around two in ten at the outside. But they are neither witches/wizards, nor are they witch-hunters. A bit strange, I must agree. Lets move on.

To the story which moves at a somewhat plodding place, but it really shines when we complete important sub-objectives in our quest for Ciri. Whenever an important discovery pertaining to Ciri’s whereabouts is made, we get to delve into Ciri’s own memories, and they are clearly the highlight of the main quest. Here, we get to play as Ciri, who has a radically different skillset from Geralt. Her missions are short and linear, but they come across as a breath of fresh air. Fighting as Ciri is one of the most liberating experiences in the game, considering we play as Geralt all the time, with whom playing tactically is the way to go. Not so with Ciri. We can pretty much go all-out crazy on the enemy, switching targets on the fly with aplomb. Kind of like activating godmode.

The X-factor of the game

The main story may be a little on the slow side, but that isn’t the case with side-quests. They are simply amazing. Many side-quests are moral dilemmas, with their outcomes depending on the choices you make, and actions you take. The consequences of morality have never been delved into as deeply as this before. Do you conceal a secret and lie to the village-head about your contract, or do you report the culprit for more coin? Do you kill a villager who you know has betrayed a woman, or do you let him off because you find his reasons for doing so to be convincing? Some of the side-quests are funny, too. For example, one early side-quest has you searching for an old lady’s pan [“Found my pan, have ye?”].

Combat is W3 is brutal and responsive. The mechanics have been further refined from that of W2, which itself was pretty solid. Chopping off heads and limbs of your enemies and monsters using your own combos is really enthralling. Mixing them up with the witcher spells called “signs” is a key part to winning your fights. Signs are basic spells involving basic levels of magic, and you have ignite, stun, root, mind-control and shield as your signs. But these are only tools you use to gain advantage in battles, as they themselves do not cause much damage. It is still your steel(for humans)and silver(for monsters) swords which serve as your most trusted companions throughout the game, apart from your faithful steed, Roach. The signs, though, can also be used in character interactions to influence opposing parties to do your bidding, through sheer intimidation to crafty mind-control. Also, the combat gear is upgradeable, and better gear schematics can be found in different locations through careful exploration of the surroundings. Leveling up is pretty neat, too. You never feel too overpowered when playing Geralt, and the skill points obtained from leveling up will pretty much determine your play style, as you never get too many of them.

Exploring relationships between the main characters is an integral part of the game, and will surely get you invested emotionally in each of the characters. No one is a purely good, or a purely evil person. Geralt himself is a man working for coin, and doesn’t really care about ‘good’ and ‘evil’, so long as he gets paid. Credit to the game developers CDProjektRed for staying true to the novels and capturing the essence of the characters and their relationships among themselves. The one between Geralt, Triss and Yennefer is an especially complex one, and develops through our own interactions as Geralt with either of them. This game, thankfully, doesn’t shy away from tragedy, and some of the best moments of W3 will fill you with sadness. For example, the ballad by Priscilla, a bard, capturing the love story of Geralt and Yennefer will play on your heartstrings, and stay with you for some time.

The only thing the felt underwhelming to me was the potion-making part, and I felt this kind of went downwards from W2. Potions once made, will stay with you, and get replenished after every bout of meditation, unlike W2(played the game on Normal difficulty, hopefully this wasn’t the case on higher difficulties).

Overall, I must say the game has been an unparalleled experience for me, with its gorgeous open-world environments, brutal combat and whatnot.The game also has high replayability value as the whole direction of the game changes with the decisions we make.

RATING : 9.5/10

PROS :
– gorgeous open-world environments
– character development and interactions
– fluid, responsive combat
– amazing side-quests
– CIRI!

CONS :
– main story picks up somewhat slowly
– potion-making is a bit underwhelming

BORDERLANDS 2

It had been only about a week since I had finished the Borderlands at the time of playing the sequel, but I (like many others, I think) was hungry for more of the shooting and the looting, not to mention the witty humor splashed liberally throughout the game.

First things first; this game looks gorgeous in its own way, much better than the first game, which looked more like shades of brown than anything else. The sequel, however, addresses this issue to a T; the world looks more vibrant, a far cry from its elder brother. However, it takes a toll on the system, too. If your PC/laptop is equivalent to an entry/mid-range gaming computer of two-odd years ago (like mine), you WILL suffer from unstable frame-rates, and would be forced to play it on medium settings, with shadows turned to low. However, I don’t imagine it could trouble the new mid-range segment much.

The sequel is a direct plot progression from where you left off in the first game. The protagonist is one of the four vault hunters who have arrived at Pandora to hunt for vaults. But since the opening of the vault in the previous game, the world has been taken over by the Hyperion Corporation (the one which brings you back to life every time you die), led by the charming AND malevolent Handsome Jack. The goal : stop Jack from opening a second vault (to which he already has the key) and hence stopping him from achieving the ultimate power, or so I am led to believe. In any case, the story is decent, much better than Borderlands, and you often work for, and sometimes alongside, the protagonists from the previous game towards the purpose of stopping Jack. It’s a fulfilling experience, and their entrances are amazing, to say the least. I was especially thrilled to see Lilith, as she was the character I had chosen in the previous game, so I can only imagine how awesome it must have felt for those who actually waited patiently for Borderlands 2 to release.

AAAnnd OPEN!

The dialogue-writing for this game must have been a blast for the writers, because this game is funny as hell. The antagonist Handsome Jack and Claptrap, the robot which was “made to open doors”, are especially hilarious. There were at least a few moments where I went into Last Stand, just because I was laughing so hard at the dialogues. Also, do NOT listen to Claptrap’s “advice”, as it would most likely put you in danger, as you find out the first 2-3 hours into the game. During one memorable moment, Claptrap tells you to try running through an electric barrier so as to reach a circuit-breaker on the other side. Not a good idea, of course. Angel, the voice-from-above in the previous game, actually suggests to us to ignore Claptrap’s advice.

Yeah, right.

Which brings me to Handsome Jack.His witticisms and anecdotes, which we get to hear a lot throughout the game, are extremely funny, and his satires on the vault hunters are unparalleled, to say the least. The villain anybody would just love. Not to mention so many other characters with their own quirks, scattered throughout the world. The player gets to choose one of the four classes at the beginning of the game. Commando and Siren return, while there are two new classes to choose from, Gunzerker(a variation of the previous game’s Berserker class) and Assassin, a mixture of sniper-cum-melee fighter. According to the class you choose, you get a special “Action Skill” which gets unlocked after the player reaches level 5. I played as a Commando, so my action skill turned out to be a Scorpion turret. I often utilized it in an offensive manner, putting up suppressing fire from my turret, while I would get up close and personal with my buckshot pellets, without worrying about getting flanked by a shotgun-wielding midget. On the other hand, you could use it as additional firepower when the situation gets too hot to handle, and you urgently need to find some cover.

The shooting mechanics are similar to the previous game, and have been
considerably improved. Of course, there is something immensely satisfying about sniping an enemy and watching his head explode. Actually, more important than the shooting, it’s the looting which encourages you to explore every nook and cranny for better weapons, shields and what-have-you. Maybe that cliff which you felt too lazy to climb happened to house an amazing shotgun, or maybe had about 50% more capacity than your shield…you never know. The thought one puts into calculating damage inflicted, the weapon’s accuracy, and elemental effects(if any), all while considering that your inventory doesn’t exactly sport 50-odd slots, it’s awesome. It just is.

Characters from left to right : Axton the Commando, Salvador the Gunzerker, Maya the Siren and Zero the Assassin.

 

The game is best played with friends,as co-op on LAN is seamless, and the fun you
have is amplified. It’s an awesome feeling when you are in the Last Stand condition and are unable to find close targets, but then a friend revives you back to half-health. It’s even more funny when your friend also ends up in Last Stand while trying to help you, with both dying seconds from one another.

Which brings us to what I think is the only weak link in the game. Travelling. It’s a real pain in the neck just how much you have to run/drive to get to your next mission, or turn in your completed one. Fast-travel does help somewhat, but it still pisses you off when you have to do some of the game’s tedious fetch-quests, and have to drive long distances just because the fast-travel portal is eons away from your mission objective. The Catch-A-Ride has improved in some ways(nitrous is much better now), but there still is a lot of room for improvement. There is nothing that can deprive you of enjoyment more than just driving towards your objective, with absolutely nothing else to do. The game-world is no GTA for the player to mess around and have some unadulterated fun crashing into pedestrians or other vehicles.

All-in-all, the game is an absolute blast to get through, and will leave you laughing for days after you finish the 25-30 hour long campaign, with all those anecdotes and conversations. A great game.

RATING : 9.2/10

PLUSES :
– liberal splashing of humor throughout
– likable characters
– decent story
– LOOT(of course)
– co-op

CONS :
– painful fetch-quests
– travelling is a chore