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Post by retro74 on Jan 10, 2023 21:51:10 GMT
I don’t remember ever finding Capra Demon difficult. First time through I think it depends on how well you’ve specced your character
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 10, 2023 21:55:52 GMT
Don't see how grinding against Capra could help much, unless you really grind a whole lot.
It basically depends on luck: if you can take down the dogs before dying, it becomes an absolute pushover. Experience can make it a lot easier by teaching you the best positioning (last time I played I didn't have any trouble), but a first time player could not have that, so yeah. Maybe it's easier with a shield, but I couldn't tell.
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 10, 2023 22:35:12 GMT
Everything is easier with a shield. Come on. Get a big fat shield and the difficulty diminishes by two tiers at least.
I mean, maybe it's different if you're good, but for me, some bosses would need 100+ runs without a shield, and with something like Eagle shield, I can beat them in 1-3 runs. Capra without a shield? Impossible. With a shield? Under 10 runs guaranteed.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 10, 2023 22:37:41 GMT
Everything is easier with a shield. Come on. Get a big fat shield and the difficulty diminishes by two tiers at least. I mean, maybe it's different if you're good, but for me, some bosses would need 100+ runs without a shield, and with something like Eagle shield, I can beat them in 1-3 runs. I actually don't get shields. Feels like you are trading a lot of attack power (I always run two-handed), so enemies and bosses will be a slog. And most boss attacks take out way too much stamina. This much moreso in Elden Ring, where late game bosses attack too aggressively to even consider blocking all the time. There must be some trick to it that I don't know. And don't say parrying, I'll never manage to get the timing right. |
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 10, 2023 22:42:02 GMT
Stamina regenerates so fast, though. Just get some distance, maybe roll a bit with your shield down and you're full again. You still try to mostly evade their attacks, but the shield is there for emergency backup against their bullshit "haha, you're dead now" attacks or for when you mess up (which happens frequently to me).
I don't need the shield for most of the regular enemies, but I probably couldn't beat many bosses without one. In my first few runs I actually did the earlier bosses up to Horny Smaugh without one, but there I gave up and got a fat shield and finally beat them.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 10, 2023 23:11:11 GMT
Ok, truth to be told, I did try a shield once. It did make a couple bosses easier (hello Gargoyles and Capra), others not so much so I just switched to two-handing to kill them faster.
I guess it doesn't help that the second half of the game is kinda shit, so whenever I replay, I never feel very motivated to go past getting the Lordvessel. Maybe Gwyn is easier with a shield. Not sure. I always just summon Solaire.
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 10, 2023 23:41:07 GMT
Not sure how you kill Manus without a shield. He has so many bullshit attacks that I can't dodge.
Also, two handing doesn't really help THAT much. It's like less than 20% more damage in most builds, if I remember correctly.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jan 11, 2023 0:21:14 GMT
Everything can be dodged. His worst attack is the grab that leads to a combo. Learning to read that very early was the key to beating him. If you're going shieldless, stay as light as possible so you have the best roll. The idea is to not be hit in the first place so armour is unnecessary
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LTK
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Post by LTK on Jan 11, 2023 0:30:55 GMT
Yep, shields are easy mode for every souls game, and it's even more true for Elden Ring because guard counters exist. But Malek makes a good point, Dark Souls is unusual in that two-handed movesets have significantly higher damage than one-handed. However, considering the boss will tend to hit you for at least a quarter of your health bar, and you will hit them for maybe 5%, damage racing them isn't a good idea. If you have a huge shield, it's just so much easier to not die because getting hit is no longer the huge punishment it usually is. Even if you mess up managing your stamina, it'll break your guard and you'll typically recover in time before the next attack. Of course, if you panic, neither dodging or blocking will save you, but if you choose your moments for blocking and dodging carefully, it's 200% easier with a shield.
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Post by Samildanach on Jan 11, 2023 1:11:30 GMT
Capra is just a terrible boss. People moan about the rats in the Royal Rat Authority boss in DS2, but they are far more manageable than the random crap you have to deal with in those chaotic seconds at the start of Capra's battle. Once the dogs are dead, Capra itself is both dull and irritating to fight. Dull, in that he repeats only a small repertoire of moves and you can't parry or backstab him, despite his size being appropriate for such opportunities. Irritating in that the camera might still fuck you up in that tiny space and at least one of his few moves has ridiculous tracking. The music is poor, the 'arena' is terrible amd he looks pretty goofy too.
More than happy to fight all the other bosses in the first game, but this is the only one I never enjoy.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 11, 2023 6:20:41 GMT
Well, I should probably give it another try someday. I'm so used to no-shielding that it would take me a while to learn properly. Early game is gonna suck too, big shields are rare and too heavy to fast roll with. I suppose DS2, with its faster stat leveling, might be a good place to try.
Anyway, I can understand why Bloodborne looks so different to you all, whereas I was pretty much "this is just Gothic Souls".
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 11, 2023 10:14:41 GMT
Wait, people fight Manus in melee? I thought everyone just did what I did and cowardly shoot him with arrows before going down into his boss area.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 11, 2023 10:33:39 GMT
Wait, people fight Manus? FTFY. |
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Post by Samildanach on Jan 11, 2023 11:53:15 GMT
Learning how to dodge roll/step aside from all of Manus' attacks took me a looooong time, but what an amazing fight once I had got the 'dance' steps right. Possibly the most enjoyable fight I had, after a lot of pain at first of course. Spamming with arrows from outside, while perfectly a legit way of beating him, seems a massive waste of a potentially great experience, if you have the time and patience.
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 11, 2023 12:14:24 GMT
Wait, people fight Manus in melee? I thought everyone just did what I did and cowardly shoot him with arrows before going down into his boss area. I fight everything in melee, even the red dragon. I think there is only one enemy in Sen's Fortress that you can't get to, so I have to use firebombs there. Maybe I forgot another one. |
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 11, 2023 12:27:52 GMT
Oh I've fought him loads in melee. Except when I'm feeling cheeky.
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 11, 2023 14:00:30 GMT
Which is all the time?
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 11, 2023 14:10:06 GMT
...yes.
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Post by retro74 on Jan 11, 2023 15:47:37 GMT
I’ve fought every Souls boss melee style, magick is for pussies BTW.
Very much prefer the Artorias fight to the Manus one though, it feels like an elegant duel whereas Manus is a bit chaotic and messy for me
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 11, 2023 15:53:07 GMT
Kalameet is where it’s at yo.
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Post by quadfather on Jan 11, 2023 17:42:49 GMT
For once, I can actually say that I really enjoyed the artorias fight. I hate bosses, as everyone knows, but something clicked with him, and I was happy to patiently learn how to do it properly and it was very satisfying when I managed it.
All the others are twats though.
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Post by quadfather on Jan 11, 2023 17:43:51 GMT
Saying that, sanctuary guardian was a good one too.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jan 11, 2023 17:58:09 GMT
Ooooh do you know what time it is?
That’s right, reroll time!
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jan 11, 2023 19:51:05 GMT
Not only is magic for pussies but carrying a wand around makes you a massive dork
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zagibu
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Post by zagibu on Jan 12, 2023 0:53:37 GMT
Hah, I just noticed that if you disable the HUD with the DSFix hotkey instead of through the game menu, it actually disables the UI completely, not just the HUD, even object popups like button prompts when you open a door or chest. This is AMAZING. MAXIMUM IMMERSION. And should you need the HUD for some reason, it's just one hotkey away.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 12, 2023 7:21:59 GMT
Not only is magic for pussies but carrying a wand around makes you a massive dork *Laughs in one-shotting laser beams* |
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 12, 2023 7:22:51 GMT
Also, mages can kill gods and dragons with a trumpet now, so any other argument is invalid by default  |
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jan 12, 2023 10:14:19 GMT
I did resort to that weird shield magic trick (still not sure how it worked) to get past the last few bosses in Elden Ring, so I can't say I disagree, but for regular gameplay I'd rather melee my way around. Magic runs out too easily. Especially in the pre-DS3 games where spells and miracles had limited uses. Reminded me of FF1. In that game, you did everything with your fighter and monk, while the white mage and black mage were there for emergencies and bosses.
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Post by JuniorFE on Jan 12, 2023 10:31:13 GMT
Yeah, admittedly having an MP bar instead of the DnD-style magic did a lot to help things out. Plus there's so many weapon arts that work like magic now. A magic-only playthrough would involve a lot more running in DS1 and 2.
It's odd they started using that after Demon's had a magic bar to begin with...
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LTK
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Post by LTK on Jan 12, 2023 18:44:01 GMT
Spells have always been in a weird place across the series. Attunement as a stat is a good idea from a role-playing perspective: if you want to be a fancy wizard casting all kinds of crazy magic, it's fair that you need to invest your stats into this role. But for one, having an FP bar and blue flasks means you can be equally effective spamming just a single strong spell out of your one or two slots; no limited casts means less reason to add more spell slots. For two, scrolling through your spells to cast them individually has always sucked balls, which is a big obstacle to having fun as a pure wizard.
The weapon catalysts have always been my favorite though, the most fun I've had with DS3 has involved an offhand weapon catalyst that not only lets me mix up my attacks but throw in the occasional spell too.
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