Why do people like this

[Emuruh]

Bought this last sale after wanting to play the original souls games for a while. I haven't played any souls games aside from ER and the first DS3 bossfight. I'm now in Blighttown and this has got to be the most uninteresting most annoying area I've ever been in in any game ever. I'll sit through the game but I am not having fun whatsoever. I have no idea where I'm going or what I should do.

For now, the best parts are the bossfights easily and the walks inbetween is just throwing annoying ♥♥♥♥ at me to deprive me of my resources while I run back to the boss. The open-world design of ER allowed you to simply skip annoying ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ if you didn't want to do it, here I feel like I'm stuck, because I haven't unlocked warping yet and I have no idea how I'd even go back to Undead Parish from Blighttown to upgrade my weapons.

Please enlighten me, because from where I stand this has got to be one of the most overrated games ever.

[Sparhawk 59]

Ds1 was and is a classic for players. Blight town you need to get a ring to help go through the swamp its at beginning area. As for that area go both ends to progress to other areas

[Emuruh]

I don't understand what you mean with ring and the both ends? I passed the fogwall in Blighttown and avoided that squid thing because I found it one shot me. I went down as far as I could and I'm now at the bottom of the swamp with the big trees/pillars (?) and there's a structure with a wheel-lift thingy which is where I died.

[Sparhawk 59]

in blight town at both ends of the area are more bosses and areas to explore
rusted ring you also need to go through the swamp

[Sparhawk 59]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izpTol3wsec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqrPpPxnsek

[Swanky]

It took me a while to see why people like it so much.

You have to understand when this game first came out. It was at a time when gaming was getting complacent and the emphasis was on getting you "there" without putting too much stress on the player. Dark Souls threw all that out the window and gave the responsibility back to the player. It also expected you to look at your items, the world and the environments and piece together where you should go and what was actually happening around you, and of course it took a strong left and paired a good and even inventive combat system with its soulcrushing difficulty.
The world, gameplay loop and design in many regards still stand the test of time albeit some parts haven't aged well (Bed of Chaos, cough cough).

As for Blighttown, it's often regarded as one of the worst areas when you first enter it, because of its arbitrary layout, design and remote placement in the world.
Looking at it from a lore perspective, it's kinda cool world building as the decrepit favela beneath and outside of society's view, basically the lowest point of the God's society, so dirty that people became... this. Kind of a point to question this world, really.
From a layout point of view, the main path is through the Depths and then down through the town part itself. If you have the master key you can also go through the back door and skip all of that even though there are a few items that you may want to pick up there, depending on your build.
It takes a while to understand the layout and where it's save to momentarily hide from the toxic dudes (which thankfully do not respawn after death) and it's also relatively close to when you can farm for upgrade materials for your weapon. I get that this is the main part for a new player's frustration. On the other hand, it has a couple of interesting items scattered about, a main place for farming upgrade materials and a central bonfire in the lower part.
Speaking of the poison swamp itself, get that bonfire ASAP. It's a great place if you're going to explore the swamp.
What was said above - if you're having trouble with the swamp, read the spoilers.


There is a ring that negates movement penalty in the Undead Asylum. You cannot get it on game start as you are required to pick up a key for it in Firelink Shrine. Once you've unlocked the short cut from Undead Parish jump on the broken roof in Firelink from the elevator. Dodge jump onto the pillar of the shrine itself and from there make your way up the stairs. Jump on the roof of the shrine and pick up the key, then make your way back up to the very top of the stairs. You can cuddle up next to the eggs, then wait for the crow to bring your back to the Asylum. There's an optional boss and some pickups including a doll to unlock another optional area later on and a ring that will make the swamps much easier.
The swamp itself - coming down the main area, has a left and a right part. The right part leads to a main boss - Quelaag. The left side leads up a giant tree which has two hidden walls on the left which lead to another optional area and a bonfire. Around the tree are dirty green slugs. They have good dropchances of Large Titanite and Green Titanite Shards which are needed for many different upgrade paths for weapons.

[Emuruh]

Thanks for the detailed reply, in the meantime I beat Quelag and I'm now in the Demon Ruins, so I am moving along. But once again I don't really know what to do here lmao everything seems intimidating, but definitely less frustrating than Blighttown.

[Swanky]

If you did ring the second bell after Quelaag you should've gotten a cutscene showing where you want to go.

Just after the Quelaag fight there's a hidden wall under the bell room, right of where the breakthrough to the demon realm is. It's a firekeeper bonfire (don't kill the Fair Lady, answer with yes to her servant), one that you can warp to later so you don't have to treck through Blighttown every time you want to go near this place

Of course, the game being as open ended as it is, feel free to explore the world. :>

[Loopy]

Ah it's a "I don't enjoy thing so everyone else is pretending to like it" thread. I wish people would stop ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about Soulsborne games. Just accept it isn't for you and play something else. Some people like chess, some think it's boring as ♥♥♥♥. No big deal.

Originally posted by Emuruh:

Thanks for the detailed reply, in the meantime I beat Quelag and I'm now in the Demon Ruins, so I am moving along. But once again I don't really know what to do here lmao everything seems intimidating, but definitely less frustrating than Blighttown.

Lol don't go to Demon Ruins after Blighttown. At least put in minimal effort and look up where to go next by googling 'Dark souls recommended path'. These games are created with the community in mind, you're supposed to feel disoriented and then have somebody else help you along the way. Don't use a walkthrough though, that just takes away all fun. But if I was you I'd just stop playing tbh.

[richardson]

Originally posted by Loopy:

Lol don't go to Demon Ruins after Blighttown. At least put in minimal effort and look up where to go next by googling 'Dark souls recommended path'

I disagree. First-time players should choose their path, even if it's far from optimal. They should ask for help if they run into a roadblock, but until then exploration, exploration, exploration is the first priority.

Of course, I agree that the intent was that the community be available to help and that people shouldn't be shy to ask for - or to google for - answers for specific questions. But IMO "recommended path" is right on the border of being too much of a walkthrough.

[dcy665]

If this makes you grumpy, imagine playing Demon's Souls on PS3 on release. If you didn't access maps on the web, you NEVER knew where to go. Seriously. Oh, that item is behind a statue of a god that 90% of the gamers would never look behind. In Dark Souls if you can see a shiny, you can acquire the shiny.

I didn't ever finish Demon's Souls on PS3. I have finished PtDE, and DS:R. Not sure what that tells you beyond, good luck.

You are welcome to ask for guidance. Many (as above) will use spoiler tags so be as needy as needed.

[Senna]

we find comfort in mutual suffering.
it makes us feel less alone that others struggle in the same ways we do.

also idk fun idk lolol

[Kurobon]

The game is good but it's ultimately dated. The game is great when you are doing blind play through. And there's a couple of aggravating areas.

[Emuruh]

Originally posted by Swanky:

If you did ring the second bell after Quelaag you should've gotten a cutscene showing where you want to go.

Just after the Quelaag fight there's a hidden wall under the bell room, right of where the breakthrough to the demon realm is. It's a firekeeper bonfire (don't kill the Fair Lady, answer with yes to her servant), one that you can warp to later so you don't have to treck through Blighttown every time you want to go near this place

Of course, the game being as open ended as it is, feel free to explore the world. :>

Yeah so I may have accidentally killed both so I think I'm gonna go and start a new save

[Emuruh]

Originally posted by Loopy:

Ah it's a "I don't enjoy thing so everyone else is pretending to like it" thread. I wish people would stop ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about Soulsborne games. Just accept it isn't for you and play something else. Some people like chess, some think it's boring as ♥♥♥♥. No big deal.

At least put in minimal effort and look up where to go next by googling 'Dark souls recommended path'. These games are created with the community in mind, you're supposed to feel disoriented and then have somebody else help you along the way. Don't use a walkthrough though, that just takes away all fun. But if I was you I'd just stop playing tbh.

You completely miss the point. I am not attacking people who like this, I am just trying to understand why. Maybe I'm missing something. Also, if this game had no redeemable parts I would've dropped it, but it has some really high highs.

And you say to use Google to look up where to go but then go on about not using walkthroughs to not ruin your playthrough. Seems a bit contradictory to me.

[Loopy]

Originally posted by richardson:

Originally posted by Loopy:

Lol don't go to Demon Ruins after Blighttown. At least put in minimal effort and look up where to go next by googling 'Dark souls recommended path'

I disagree. First-time players should choose their path, even if it's far from optimal. They should ask for help if they run into a roadblock, but until then exploration, exploration, exploration is the first priority.

Of course, I agree that the intent was that the community be available to help and that people shouldn't be shy to ask for - or to google for - answers for specific questions. But IMO "recommended path" is right on the border of being too much of a walkthrough.

What's fun about going in some area underleveled and then finding out 4 hours later you weren't supposed to go there? Or completely missing areas (like Great Hollow and Ashen Lake for example) because they were hidden behind an illusory wall? Or levelling RES because you think you need it in Blighttown and then finding out you completely ruined your build 20 hours in? Stuff like a beginner's guide and a recommended path without spoiling anything is absolutely essential for a first playthough imo. I'm not gonna play this game twice soon, I want to get the most out of it without spoiling anything. The game doesn't teach you much and figuring out I can get 10 flasks instead of 5 after pain stakingly beating the first few areas isn't very fun imo and it's the reason why many people drop this game out of frustration.