What Games are you playing 2015?

[Fudozukushi]

They actually made the Dragon Shrine worse?  HOW.

Do you remember the final staircase where there were like half a dozen dudes up there but they were stupid enough that you could pick off one at a time with arrows?

They're not that stupid anymore.

I didn't even arrow spam through and that still sounds awful.

[Fenrir]

I'm not that bothered by how bad the twinblade is, I guess I'm just not really that excited about it anymore? I consideree switching to greataxes and those are even worse from what I remember.
Oh yeah, early whip is a thing now. And the notched whip is also early. If you guys want to power stance whips... (i already got 100 bell victories with that)

[Fenrir]

Update: I always seem to just how bad the bandit greataxe is.
I'm sorry regular twinblade, I won't think about leaving you again

The gutter is even less of a harsh terrible place and even more of a fun place in which you light all these torches. On one hand that's bad for atmosphere, on the other I kind of love it.

[The Duck]

They actually made the Dragon Shrine worse?  HOW.

Do you remember the final staircase where there were like half a dozen dudes up there but they were stupid enough that you could pick off one at a time with arrows?

They're not that stupid anymore.

I didn't even arrow spam through and that still sounds awful.

oh man fuck that

[Sierra]

DS2: Didn't even need Denial, beat the king without getting hit. Try No Lock-on is really the magic message here, very easy to stay behind him the whole time that way. Still tedious. Beat frue final on the first try, was pretty glad I had all those cleric spells though because chained bosses. Then I gave DS2's normal ending the finger and walked away.

Melu scimitar working out very well, that + Sunlight Blade and Sacred Oath was an extremely satisfactory way of dicing even stupidly durable Crown of the Sunken King bosses (as always, the boost they get with multiple players is staggering, in someone else's world with three total players and my 450~ damage swings are now like 150). Elana only lived long enough to get one summon gang out. Gank squad of course is still Try Circling Around -> Try Circling Around -> Try Circling Around.

DLC zones appear to be unchanged in Scholar. I'll still go through the rest of them because they're better than any of the original zones. (Well maybe not the Frigid Outskirts. Fuck the Frigid Outskirts.) And now I'm max level (for my standards at least) so stupidly large amounts of souls are building up and I start going hmm, I really do need 999 of each arrow type, don't I? I mean, I don't want to run out here you guys.

[Laggy]

They actually made the Dragon Shrine worse?  HOW.

Do you remember the final staircase where there were like half a dozen dudes up there but they were stupid enough that you could pick off one at a time with arrows?

They're not that stupid anymore.

I am so confused. None of those dudes aggroed me the entire way through. I just had to fight the big guys and the dual greatsword knight at the end. Am I missing something?

[jsh357]

I dunno how it is in SotFS, but in the original it was much faster and easier to just run past all those dragoons and big knights.  They stop chasing you once you get a ways in to the Ancient Dragon's room.  The first time I played the game, I slogged it out and pulled the enemies one at a time, and it was torture.  On replays, I just ran past nearly every enemy in Dragon Shrine and didn't have too much of an issue.  Roll if someone goes for an attack and keep running. 

The mace guys earlier on in the Shrine are the worst since they can interrupt you opening the door.

[Cotigo]

I dunno how it is in SotFS, but in the original it was much faster and easier to just run past all those dragoons and big knights.  They stop chasing you once you get a ways in to the Ancient Dragon's room.  The first time I played the game, I slogged it out and pulled the enemies one at a time, and it was torture.  On replays, I just ran past nearly every enemy in Dragon Shrine and didn't have too much of an issue.  Roll if someone goes for an attack and keep running. 

The mace guys earlier on in the Shrine are the worst since they can interrupt you opening the door.

Speedrun Strats

[Sierra]

They actually made the Dragon Shrine worse?  HOW.

Do you remember the final staircase where there were like half a dozen dudes up there but they were stupid enough that you could pick off one at a time with arrows?

They're not that stupid anymore.

I am so confused. None of those dudes aggroed me the entire way through. I just had to fight the big guys and the dual greatsword knight at the end. Am I missing something?

Huh. I fired an arrow at one dude from the door and all eight of them immediately charged at me. Followed me practically back to the entrance of the zone, too.

I guess I must have pissed them off. Earlier in the zone all they did was gesture at me. Not sure exactly when their behavior changed (I mean before I shot a dude; I think they might have gone hostile as a result of me trying to loot the place).

EDIT: also while running Quelaag yesterday I got invaded and had a Blue Sentinel show up to help for...probably the first time in way too much goddamn time playing DS2. Wow.

[Laggy]

Cid, if you wanted the Priestess set, you can find the entire thing in a hidden room near the chapel in Brightstone Cove Tseldora.

[Fudozukushi]

I actually managed to Blue Sentinel once!  Sure my Way of Blue was dead as soon as I popped in but it was a thing!

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Well, I would be playing MK X but Steam seems to have made a colossal blunder with the way it is released.  Rather than just letting you pre-load it, they're doing the same thing Blizzard does with WoW and only pre-loading 3 GB of the game (which is the menu/basic engine code, I think?) and letting you stream the rest while you play.  I could see this working if you were playing Super Mario Brothers where you proceed linearly, but right now I'm just left waiting.  I have several characters available to me, the game has yet to download a single stage for me to fight on.

It's not really the best system for installation and I don't really understand the logic behind it for a fighting game.

[Sierra]

Cid, if you wanted the Priestess set, you can find the entire thing in a hidden room near the chapel in Brightstone Cove Tseldora.

Yeah, I've been wearing it most of the game. >.> That item used to be an estus flask shard, so I was very surprised. The warlock mask is also now a guaranteed find instead of being a rare drop off of two enemies that don't respawn. If I can only find the monastery set somewhere too, I'll be satisfied that all the cool clothes are a lot more feasible to obtain now.

Did basilisks always do sick ninja flips? I don't remember this being a thing.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. - Finished Mission 6, which, all in all, pretty much felt like a stellar piece of design - boss fight where you have to deal with tentacles burrowing under and rising from the earth to attack you, but they can be revealed by stunning them AND they can't attack you if you're standing on stone floor. ALSO, the boss specializes on using AoE stun and spawning Slashers, having no other attacks. And Prowlers start pouring in as reinforcements once you reach the boss arena. Coincidentally, you get a character whose main tricks are huge AoE stun bombs -AND- stun immunity! Discovering that his Pumpkin Stunner also completely trivializes the obnoxious stun-sniper insect aliens due to its obscene vertical range was also amazing, this map really makes Scarecrow look good.

The second run went far more smoothly than the first, and also involved a few hilarious brick jokes - for instance, remember how I complained about Trick or Treat being a useless special for Scarecrow? Yeah, one turn I used it for a cover of sorts for Queequeg and Tiger Lily, who were exposed - mostly landmines and a single piece of candy. In the incoming enemy turn, no less than -three- Prowlers slammed into the landmines, shutting down their turn. Then, Lion took a hell of a beating and barely survived. And I wouldn't be able to put him up to good health for a -second- turn. HOWEVER, he could Lion Launch into the sole candy thrown by Scarecrow. And then he recovered 75 HP. Hells yeah. Once I got to the graveyard where the boss stood, it was mostly a matter of keeping ground, sniping the alien queen with Queequeg's Penguin Lobber and having Lion gradually reach the boss while pouncing on enemies with Lion Launch (seriously guys this move rules).

Up next, we enter Miskatonic University. Having just unlocked a sweet Middle-weight Boiler Pack that regens 10 Steam a turn.

[DjinnAndTonic]

You got the 10 regen Middle Boiler on chapter 6?! Geez, that's waaay earlier than I got it, you must be collecting like a fiend (or I was speeding through too fast?).

Also, yeah, Scarecrow is awesome when his niche is useful, but that map kinda plays to his strengths. The next one is pretty good for him too IIRC, but you don't really miss him much after that. I think there's maybe one more map with the burrowing guys from Tremors all over it?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

I haven't missed a single cog so far and I haven't been replaying maps since Mission 2 (I replayed mission 1 solely because it was my first evaluation and I was embarrassed by how badly I did at first. Mission 1 is pretty rough). It hurts my turn performance a bit, but I can deal, especially since the game doesn't tell you how many turns you have to succeed the speed bonus until a mission replay. That was a blunder.

[SnowFire]

* SnowFire looks at the voice actor list for Code Name STEAM

Wow, that is quite the list.  Kari Wahlgren?  Finn?  Worf & Wil Wheaton?  Jayne?  Azula?  Colonel Scarecrow?!?!

Colonel Scarecrow : You will accept this assignment!
Dorothy: Why should I be stupid enough to do that? I'm no patriot.
Scarecrow: Dorothy, there's enough dirt in your file from your days in Oz to keep you in the stockade until you're a very old woman.
Dorothy: Oh I see. Blackmail.
Scarecrow: No Dorothy. I prefer to look at it as helping you to come to a decision more easily. But anyway, I know you better than that. You'd take this assignment even without the threat.
Dorothy: Why do you say that?
Scarecrow: You're a natural born soldier. You're not the grow old gracefully type. Same for all of us who've seen real action. The only place we can feel truly alive is on the battlefield. I'm a solider too.  You've tried to play the girl scout out there in Kansas, but you can't harvest grain in the fields forever.  Why don't you come back to us and be a soldier again.
Dorothy: You think my life is some kind of joke?
Scarecrow: Dorothy, I just want to give you back your purpose in life.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

* Jo'ou Ranbu applauds.

[Fenrir]

Dark Souls 2: Twinblade +10. Too late to go back.

I had forgotten just how much the game shovers you with souls. I'm like halfway through! I already have super high stats and a maxed weapon!
Let's stack dex up to 50 and make a bleed twinblade. Huge number of hits per attack + magic weapon to mitigate the damage loss = I know have the perfect build. Dark Souls 2 is already over, I'll finish the game in 30 seconds then make a PvP video about this build (with dubstep).

(I tried this against one enemy and now already regret it deeply)

I quite like all the changes so far. Maybe it's just me but the bosses seem super tame now.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Th96wgegHw
Edit2: HEY EL CID! Can you check if HeinekenSouls is still a thing?
I can't waste these Pharros Stones damn it

[DjinnAndTonic]

Yeah I really hope Code Name STEAM made enough money to offset the cost of such a great voice cast... Won't have much idea how well it did until it comes out in Japan next month. I don't actually know if it's going to have a Japanese seiyuu cast or if they are planning on just subtitling it all in Japanese. With such an expensive American voice cast and the game's setting/subject matter, it wouldn't be unheard of to just leave it undubbed. It doesn't strike me as something that would appeal to a Japanese audience, but it -is- an IntSys game, so hopefully it'll make enough money in Japan to warrant a sequel. It doesn't seem like it made a great showing just from its American release, which is just unfortunate.

[Sierra]

Dark Souls 2: Twinblade +10. Too late to go back.

I had forgotten just how much the game shovers you with souls. I'm like halfway through! I already have super high stats and a maxed weapon!
Let's stack dex up to 50 and make a bleed twinblade. Huge number of hits per attack + magic weapon to mitigate the damage loss = I know have the perfect build. Dark Souls 2 is already over, I'll finish the game in 30 seconds then make a PvP video about this build (with dubstep).

(I tried this against one enemy and now already regret it deeply)

I quite like all the changes so far. Maybe it's just me but the bosses seem super tame now.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Th96wgegHw
Edit2: HEY EL CID! Can you check if HeinekenSouls is still a thing?
I can't waste these Pharros Stones damn it

-Yeah, DS2 is pretty much set up so that the amount of souls you'll get during the course of killing the Old Ones is pretty much exactly what you need to open the door anyway (and easily enough to have at least 2/3 of your build filled out before you head to the castle). And getting a maxed weapon is even easier than it was before with the ember sitting in McDuff's own attic. This is why I don't understand my brother deliberately despawning entire zones. Dude, it's Dark Souls 2, it's balanced pretty well, you don't have to farm souls ever really. Just nom nom some boss souls if you need a quick fix.

-The bosses do seem mostly pushovers* at this point, but we've also played the game way too fucking much. It shouldn't be much surprise that the normal mobs give us a little trouble because they've been changed whereas the bosses don't because they're completely the same (well, I think Skeleton Lords had the death spawns altered a little, but that's it). Now that I think about it, I don't think I've even had a boss death yet in Scholar. Did I mention I've played this game too much?

(*especially after Bloodborne's)

-Wow how did I never notice how goofy those guys walk.

-Heineken...Souls? I honestly don't know what you're talking about. Oh wait, are you talking about Santier's Spear? (Just guessing because Pharros Stones.) I can go look for it tomorrow if you want.

~

Finished up with the clericness. Eleum Loyce aspires to radiate Keep Out on a level approaching Boletaria castle but probably doesn't quite make it. That is a fuckofalot of wall, though. Ivory King almost got blitzed down before he could even power up. Didn't know that could happen but guess it shouldn't be a surprise considering I've seen Fume Knight get smashed before he can go all rage mode (not by me solo, full group). Skipped Iron Passage and Frigid Outskirts because fuck both of those places.

Took the chaos rapier into Shulva to get ring + hat earlier than is practically advisable. I thought this would be problematic, and it was, but for reasons somewhat other than expected. Yeah, there was a pretty traumatic bit where the phantoms knocked me off the ladder leading to the third bonfire three times in a row and I ran out of estus before finally making it up there safely, but the really shitshitshit part is that I genocided the priestesses without getting their hat. Goddammit, game. You had sixty chances to give me the one thing I needed. No I don't need more Crimson Water, fuck off. I could burn an ascetic in there but I think I'd have to kill Elana first, so fffft. (At the moment I can barely take that place NG anyway.) So no hat drop for Quelaag. Fenrir if you get the ridiculous handlebar hat, you must give me the ridiculous handlebar hat, otherwise I guess will just have to settle for the wicked goat skull instead.

Also I hadn't died yet and I was all set to go you guys, pyromancy is magic, I just can't die with it, but then naturally I rolled right off a cliff vs the first hollow in Shulva. Gravity remains my hated foe.

I'm also gradually working through a punchysouls file, keeping pace with my brother on this one (who moves slowly because he actually has a life and also feels a bizarre need to grind the fuck out of these games). Spent some time bellbroing it up to get twin +10 caestuses. This is harder than it used to be because a good 50% of the time the host has Glencour with them and that fucker is always harshing my kills at the least opportune moment and you really cannot beat him, he must have at least 10,000 HP. Gawd why did they have to put an NPC summon in Belfry Luna. Anyway, covenant appears to drop other stuff now? I got some twinklies and a slab from victories while trying to farm out chunks, which really was not welcome because frankly chunks are a more welcome find in DS2 than are slabs (because you need six times as many of them).

[Grefter]

Heineken Souls would be the garbage texture that has a bottle in the corner of it.

I am pretty sure it is still there and probably not even upscaled.  Both because *effort* and because it is funny.

[AndrewRogue]

[Fenrir]

So cool. 10/10

Cid if I find the hat I'll hide it in the frigid outskirts , summon you and tell you to find it, only giving you cryptic directions like "go somewhere cold, then go somewhere colder"

[Sierra]

i hate you

So where exactly is that pile of vomit? I would've assumed the Gutter.

Oh, also, I FAQ'd how to get into the locked wing of Aldia. I did not FAQ what was in there. I should have.