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There really is, but I would also proffer that the difficulty is a little important because it makes you afraid of the world and makes your achievements meaning

by ng12 5y ago

There really is, but I would also proffer that the difficulty is a little important because it makes you afraid of the world and makes your achievements meaningful. A tour of Lordran wouldn't be as enjoyable. That said, I think this is what Elden Ring was going for. There's a massive amount of content such that you can avoid fighting a tough boss until you're strong enough.

ascar 5y ago
You can actually progress until the main capital without killing a single enemy. Like 70% of the games world. I started as a Wretch and arrived completely under leveled and without gear at the first boss, which felt nearly impossible to beat so I just started adventuring. At some point you get blocked by a barrier that requires you to defeat two main bosses. I was actually a bit disappointed about that.
- tyrantalope 5y ago
  If you're referring to Margit and the other boss after, you can skip those. I did by accident. There's a hidden path I won't spoil.
  - ascar 5y ago
    I was talking about skipping Margit (which is boss 1) and all bosses after. But at the capital after the Dectus lift you will get blocked. I don't wanna spoil too much, but that's basically as far as you can go without killing anything.
    - rigmarole 5y ago
      I took the lift at a too-early level and encountered no such obstacle. I wandered around a large part of that area and fought no bosses.
dkersten 5y ago
The difficulty certainly adds a level of tension and atmosphere that other games simply don't have. For the most part, outside of some specific bosses, the games aren't actually thaaat difficult, they're just uncompromising and they punish mistakes. I feel that the Dark Souls 1 marketing focusing on the difficulty so much was a detriment to the series really. Don't get me wrong, the games are definitely not easy, but most of the content can be experienced without too much challenge if you're methodical and take it slow.
- mook 5y ago
  > <snip…> the games aren't actually thaaat difficult, they're just uncompromising and they punish mistakes. I find that phrasing interesting, as I would consider punishing mistakes part of being difficult, since I'm terrible at execution. (Not saying any particular game should accommodate me, of course.)
  - dkersten 5y ago
    Well, what I meant by that is that in FROM games, even the weakest enemy can kill you if you're complacent, but beating or avoiding said enemy is incredibly easy. I've watched a ton of beginners to FROM games play Bloodborne on streams and there are a few common trends I noticed. For example, players often tend to rush into an area without first observing what's actually there. They get punished for this by getting ambushed or surrounded or whatever. Its not that the area is hard, but the player gets punished for the mistake of rushing in without first taking a good look around. Players also rarely look up... and FROM games love to hide enemies above you. Another mistake I saw a lot is that players see something that looks scary, get scared and back away. Or they get hit, panic, and back away. But instead of just backing away enough to get out of range of the enemy and then stopping, they continue to back away... right into another group of enemies. They get punished for this mistake. Actually, panic was a major cause of death. Consider also that you can basically run through any region or level without engaging in any enemy, all it takes is some understanding of the required spacing and to not be afraid of them. Yet the first time I go through an area, I certainly fear the danger the enemies represent. So the regions aren't actually all that hard, when you really look at it. The enemies also tend to hit hard, especially bosses. So its harder to just shrug off an attack and brute force your way through. You often have to take a step back and take some time to learn the attack patterns, the openings, etc. Not that there aren't some truly hard situations or bosses, where even these things are taken to the extreme, because there certainly are, but most of these tend to be optional. Although admittedly there are a few throughout the series that aren't, so I'm definitely not claiming the games are easy. Because they are not.

by ng12 5y ago

ascar 5y ago

You can actually progress until the main capital without killing a single enemy. Like 70% of the games world. I started as a Wretch and arrived completely under leveled and without gear at the first boss, which felt nearly impossible to beat so I just started adventuring. At some point you get blocked by a barrier that requires you to defeat two main bosses. I was actually a bit disappointed about that.

tyrantalope 5y ago
If you're referring to Margit and the other boss after, you can skip those. I did by accident. There's a hidden path I won't spoil.
- ascar 5y ago
  I was talking about skipping Margit (which is boss 1) and all bosses after. But at the capital after the Dectus lift you will get blocked. I don't wanna spoil too much, but that's basically as far as you can go without killing anything.
  - rigmarole 5y ago
    I took the lift at a too-early level and encountered no such obstacle. I wandered around a large part of that area and fought no bosses.

dkersten 5y ago

The difficulty certainly adds a level of tension and atmosphere that other games simply don't have. For the most part, outside of some specific bosses, the games aren't actually thaaat difficult, they're just uncompromising and they punish mistakes. I feel that the Dark Souls 1 marketing focusing on the difficulty so much was a detriment to the series really. Don't get me wrong, the games are definitely not easy, but most of the content can be experienced without too much challenge if you're methodical and take it slow.

mook 5y ago
> <snip…> the games aren't actually thaaat difficult, they're just uncompromising and they punish mistakes. I find that phrasing interesting, as I would consider punishing mistakes part of being difficult, since I'm terrible at execution. (Not saying any particular game should accommodate me, of course.)
- dkersten 5y ago
  Well, what I meant by that is that in FROM games, even the weakest enemy can kill you if you're complacent, but beating or avoiding said enemy is incredibly easy. I've watched a ton of beginners to FROM games play Bloodborne on streams and there are a few common trends I noticed. For example, players often tend to rush into an area without first observing what's actually there. They get punished for this by getting ambushed or surrounded or whatever. Its not that the area is hard, but the player gets punished for the mistake of rushing in without first taking a good look around. Players also rarely look up... and FROM games love to hide enemies above you. Another mistake I saw a lot is that players see something that looks scary, get scared and back away. Or they get hit, panic, and back away. But instead of just backing away enough to get out of range of the enemy and then stopping, they continue to back away... right into another group of enemies. They get punished for this mistake. Actually, panic was a major cause of death. Consider also that you can basically run through any region or level without engaging in any enemy, all it takes is some understanding of the required spacing and to not be afraid of them. Yet the first time I go through an area, I certainly fear the danger the enemies represent. So the regions aren't actually all that hard, when you really look at it. The enemies also tend to hit hard, especially bosses. So its harder to just shrug off an attack and brute force your way through. You often have to take a step back and take some time to learn the attack patterns, the openings, etc. Not that there aren't some truly hard situations or bosses, where even these things are taken to the extreme, because there certainly are, but most of these tend to be optional. Although admittedly there are a few throughout the series that aren't, so I'm definitely not claiming the games are easy. Because they are not.