Why Do People Think This Game Is Hard?

[Aylon]

Halfway through the game I got a broken armour set in that castle behind the fireplace that made me immune to knockback and made me take barely any damage at all and I face rolled through the game. Wtf happened to "Hardest game in existence"? Guess I got gud haha

[Pseudo]

Media depiction

[MaximumEffort]

If you have not played a lot of action games it can seem hard at first, since it doesnt really tell you straight up what to do. There is no spoonfeeding, you gotta figure most stuff out yourself

[Dexter]

1. this is bait
2. ill bite
3. only handful of people will find havel armor without any guide, imagine playing game and not googling every 5 minutes

[JuiceySpice]

Originally posted by Two A's:

1. this is bait
2. ill bite
3. only handful of people will find havel armor without any guide, imagine playing game and not googling every 5 minutes

There is always a message in that room from other players.

There are also other heavy armor that does it similar

[CB]

i don't think havel's set is well-hidden. the illusory wall is ultra conspicuous.

[Naewyng]

Dark souls isn't that hard to be honest. I'd give it like a 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.

But when 99% of the games out there are 1s and 2s, a 5 seems super hard.

[Apathy]

Because this isn't a hard game. This game is only hard for new players or bad players. The series in general relies on the player not knowing what to do and frankly you being under leveled and under equipped for that point in the playthrough. If you don't believe me go to NG+ and see how "hard" the game is.

Spoiler: It won't be very hard at all because you'll be near or at the end of your build and you'll know enemy placement and how to deal with them because you had to learn that in NG.

This game, and the series in general, has the reputation it does because of how the game is laid out. Unlike most games it doesn't tell you a single thing about where to go or what to do. There's no massive dialogue during the tutorial or any other part of the game that explains anything. The best you get are dev signs that new players may or may not even read.

A new player isn't going to know to dodge to the left and run up the stairs and kill the dogs first before baiting Capra into positioning himself for constant plunges or how that poise ♥♥♥♥♥ on him and lets you go toe to toe. New players don't know to kill the Channeler first so it can't buff Gaping Dragon and rain down magic on you. They won't know how to deal with the Anal Rodeo Archers either with a 100% block shield and/or rolling or using poison arrows. It goes on and on. These area all things you learn along the way that make NG+ or your next run cake. That's the secret to Dark Souls' difficulty: it's very artificial.

This is why so many players, like myself, urge new players to play it blind. They will ruin the experience for themselves by summoning nonstop or using guides on their first playthough. You can never get your first playthough back and it is by far the most memorable one. It's why this game's legacy is "it's really hard." Most new players struggled through it. Average playthroughs for new players are easily like 50-70 hours and an experienced player can beat the game in a fraction of that. Speedrunners can beat the game in an hour or so. A lot of those players never went on to NG+ or attempt another run either because they didn't enjoy this game or they were simply playing it for gamer clout. The only people that know that this game isn't hard are the hardcore who know better.

Originally posted by CB:

i don't think havel's set is well-hidden. the illusory wall is ultra conspicuous.

Not to mention the fact that there's almost always a soapstone sign that reads "hidden path ahead" near or inside of the Fireplace left by another player.

Originally posted by Folgora:

Dark souls isn't that hard to be honest. I'd give it like a 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.

But when 99% of the games out there are 1s and 2s, a 5 seems super hard.

Yeah it's not a hard game. There are difficult sections in it and the rest of the series for sure. But overall people that act like this series is very difficult just seem clueless to me.

[Beer Expert 420]

I get you but not my play style. That armor is meant make you a tank.

[(Edgy) Asriel Dreemurr]

Originally posted by Apathy:

Because this isn't a hard game. This game is only hard for new players or bad players. The series in general relies on the player not knowing what to do and frankly you being under leveled and under equipped for that point in the playthrough. If you don't believe me go to NG+ and see how "hard" the game is.

Spoiler: It won't be very hard at all because you'll be near or at the end of your build and you'll know enemy placement and how to deal with them because you had to learn that in NG.

This game, and the series in general, has the reputation it does because of how the game is laid out. Unlike most games it doesn't tell you a single thing about where to go or what to do. There's no massive dialogue during the tutorial or any other part of the game that explains anything. The best you get are dev signs that new players may or may not even read.

A new player isn't going to know to dodge to the left and run up the stairs and kill the dogs first before baiting Capra into positioning himself for constant plunges or how that poise ♥♥♥♥♥ on him and lets you go toe to toe. New players don't know to kill the Channeler first so it can't buff Gaping Dragon and rain down magic on you. They won't know how to deal with the Anal Rodeo Archers either with a 100% block shield and/or rolling or using poison arrows. It goes on and on. These area all things you learn along the way that make NG+ or your next run cake. That's the secret to Dark Souls' difficulty: it's very artificial.

This is why so many players, like myself, urge new players to play it blind. They will ruin the experience for themselves by summoning nonstop or using guides on their first playthough. You can never get your first playthough back and it is by far the most memorable one. It's why this game's legacy is "it's really hard." Most new players struggled through it. Average playthroughs for new players are easily like 50-70 hours and an experienced player can beat the game in a fraction of that. Speedrunners can beat the game in an hour or so. A lot of those players never went on to NG+ or attempt another run either because they didn't enjoy this game or they were simply playing it for gamer clout. The only people that know that this game isn't hard are the hardcore who know better.

Originally posted by CB:

i don't think havel's set is well-hidden. the illusory wall is ultra conspicuous.

Not to mention the fact that there's almost always a soapstone sign that reads "hidden path ahead" near or inside of the Fireplace left by another player.

Originally posted by Folgora:

Dark souls isn't that hard to be honest. I'd give it like a 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.

But when 99% of the games out there are 1s and 2s, a 5 seems super hard.

Yeah it's not a hard game. There are difficult sections in it and the rest of the series for sure. But overall people that act like this series is very difficult just seem clueless to me.

You don’t have to struggle to enjoy the game. I had prior knowledge and guides on my first playthrough, and it’s still one of my favorite games.

[Apathy]

Originally posted by (Edgy) Asriel Dreemurr:

Originally posted by Apathy:

Because this isn't a hard game. This game is only hard for new players or bad players. The series in general relies on the player not knowing what to do and frankly you being under leveled and under equipped for that point in the playthrough. If you don't believe me go to NG+ and see how "hard" the game is.

Spoiler: It won't be very hard at all because you'll be near or at the end of your build and you'll know enemy placement and how to deal with them because you had to learn that in NG.

This game, and the series in general, has the reputation it does because of how the game is laid out. Unlike most games it doesn't tell you a single thing about where to go or what to do. There's no massive dialogue during the tutorial or any other part of the game that explains anything. The best you get are dev signs that new players may or may not even read.

A new player isn't going to know to dodge to the left and run up the stairs and kill the dogs first before baiting Capra into positioning himself for constant plunges or how that poise ♥♥♥♥♥ on him and lets you go toe to toe. New players don't know to kill the Channeler first so it can't buff Gaping Dragon and rain down magic on you. They won't know how to deal with the Anal Rodeo Archers either with a 100% block shield and/or rolling or using poison arrows. It goes on and on. These area all things you learn along the way that make NG+ or your next run cake. That's the secret to Dark Souls' difficulty: it's very artificial.

This is why so many players, like myself, urge new players to play it blind. They will ruin the experience for themselves by summoning nonstop or using guides on their first playthough. You can never get your first playthough back and it is by far the most memorable one. It's why this game's legacy is "it's really hard." Most new players struggled through it. Average playthroughs for new players are easily like 50-70 hours and an experienced player can beat the game in a fraction of that. Speedrunners can beat the game in an hour or so. A lot of those players never went on to NG+ or attempt another run either because they didn't enjoy this game or they were simply playing it for gamer clout. The only people that know that this game isn't hard are the hardcore who know better.



Not to mention the fact that there's almost always a soapstone sign that reads "hidden path ahead" near or inside of the Fireplace left by another player.



Yeah it's not a hard game. There are difficult sections in it and the rest of the series for sure. But overall people that act like this series is very difficult just seem clueless to me.

You don’t have to struggle to enjoy the game. I had prior knowledge and guides on my first playthrough, and it’s still one of my favorite games.

Might as well have summoned for every boss too.

[737]

This WAS way harder when people had no idea what they were doing. Nowadays this game is pretty easy, people beat it without taking any hits, without taking any damage even, at soul level 1, people beat bosses with a blindfold, with a dance pad, with reverse controlls and much more.

[Naewyng]

Originally posted by 737:

This WAS way harder when people had no idea what they were doing. Nowadays this game is pretty easy, people beat it without taking any hits, without taking any damage even, at soul level 1, people beat bosses with a blindfold, with a dance pad, with reverse controlls and much more.

I disagree, my first ds1 playthrough I had no idea about anything, and I was a complete noob, but I still found it pretty easy using the most intuitive setup: sword and board.
With the exception of a few bosses, I had no trouble most of the times, and I barely dodged at all xD

[LimeyPolo]

Play at release when everything has mystery. :)

[randir14]

Demons Souls is even easier. I recently beat it on an emulator and the bosses were a complete joke.

[L9 dorothea]

its because people find pride in beating games that are mediocre difficult at best