Unlike before, when the internet was full of complaints about Dark Souls being too hard,
In the few days since launch, the earliest group of players who stayed with the game had completely changed their opinion.
With this first group of veterans leading the way, later players didn't feel so lost.
For the game's most basic content, they could now get answers.
For example, the crystal lizard in the Cemetery of Ash—many new players, after dying once while trying to fight it, could simply look it up online and learn from veterans that it's not something you have to fight.
Also, in-game messages on the ground often had tips from experienced players, saving new ones from a lot of trouble.
Take the first mimic under the attic, for example. Later newcomers to Dark Souls still sometimes got eaten by it, but usually for one of two reasons.
First, they wanted the purest game experience and refused to look at any guides or analysis, ignoring even the in-game player messages.
Second, they had a strange kind of confidence, insisting on trying it just to see how strong it was—only after being eaten once did they wise up and walk around it.
Once players accepted Dark Souls' difficulty, their main discussions quickly shifted from just the difficulty to the actual game content.
Things like different strategies, hidden items in the corners of the map, shortcuts, boss and enemy tactics, which starting class to pick, and whether to prioritize leveling up health or something else.
These topics have slowly become the main focus of discussion among Dark Souls players.
As for some of the earlier hot topics on the internet, they're still being talked about, but the buzz is starting to fade.
What really surprised many players was that the earlier chatter about pushing Lucas to livestream his suffering actually got a response from him.
Before, plenty of people tagged Lucas, but almost no one thought he'd actually reply. It was just for fun, to join in on the joke.
Now, it's safe to say no one expected this.
Lucas posted a message on his official blog, and Nebula Games' official account even shared it.
"Many players want to watch me suffer, but I won't be doing a livestream, because if I did, it might spoil parts of the game too early. Dark Souls is a game worth savoring carefully, so I recorded a playthrough video from the Cemetery of Ash to the High Wall of Lothric, as a bit of a reference for new players who are still struggling."
Below the message was a video link.
Once the post went up, players following Lucas and Nebula Games' official blogs immediately got excited.
Even though they didn't get the livestream they wanted, a video was still pretty good.
For the first wave of players who entered Dark Souls, the High Wall of Lothric was already a familiar place.
The key point, though, was that this was a video of Lucas himself playing, which made many people curious.
How exactly did Lucas play in this video? And was this really an official guide from the developer, meant to help struggling newcomers?
With their curiosity piqued, players clicked on the video one after another.
As soon as they opened it, many people instinctively glanced at the length. Not too short, not too long — about ten minutes.
Right from the start, a lot of viewers recognized the location.
It was the room opposite the Ice Dog boss.
In the normal game flow, after defeating the Ice Dog, you'd face a cliff. But to move on to the next area, you'd need a key item.
That item could be obtained by talking to an old lady in the room opposite the Ice Dog.
However, if you killed the old lady, she'd drop a basin.
Taking the basin to the statue against the wall in the same room would trigger a boss fight — against the Dancer of the Boreal Valley.
The floor was covered in bright red bloodstains, showing just how many clueless players had been slaughtered here.
Players who didn't know about this and had no intention of fighting would usually trigger the fight by clicking through dialogue with the mouse.
Clicking too fast, they'd accidentally end the conversation and strike the old lady, which made many people stop using the mouse for talking and switch to the keyboard instead.
The Dancer was jokingly called the "real" second boss of Dark Souls by countless players who had been brutally taught a lesson here.
Well… Iudex Gundyr didn't count, since he was just a tutorial boss.
"Dancer One-Hit Kill Guide!" The video suddenly paused, with this text appearing in the middle of the screen.
In an instant, all the viewers were stunned.
"What the hell! A Dancer one-hit kill guide? That's brutal!"
"Wasn't this supposed to be a beginner's guide?"
On screen, the character was a Deprived, with no ember and no armor, holding two small clubs.
Many viewers were baffled at this point.
According to the guides shared by skilled players online, the Dancer of the Boreal Valley was clearly meant to be fought much later in the game. Early-game weapons without upgrades did pitiful damage.
While it was possible to defeat her early without taking a hit by playing extremely carefully, the difficulty was sky-high.
But now, seeing this setup… could there really be some huge secret?
The video quickly cut past the middle part of the story and jumped straight to the dancer's fight scene.
In the next moment, the dancer, like a phantom, appeared right next to the player character. Her blade fell, and the health bar instantly dropped to zero.
Yep… the useless guy's health bar was gone.
The first batch of players watching the video were stunned, and only then did they react.
"Damn, I got all ready for this, and it's just this?!"
"I want to say something, but I can't… because the title fits perfectly!"
"This really was a one-hit kill!"
"So this is supposed to be a one-hit kill guide? No joke, I could do this too!"
"One-hit kill from the dancer? Isn't that just 'anyone can do it'?"
The video's comments started flooding in.
As players laughed, they also started to feel a sense of familiarity.
After all, in the game, how many times had they died just like that?
Soon, the cheerful players were drawn in by what came next.
In the game, a knight appeared in the Cemetery of Ash.
There are already quite a few Dark Souls guides online, and for new players starting out, most people still think the knight is the best starting class.
That's because it comes with a sword, shield, and armor, making it more forgiving than other classes—at least if we're just talking about fighting Iudex Gundyr.
If you only care about beating Gundyr, then the pyromancer, with its faster casting, is actually a better choice.
But once you reach the High Wall of Lothric and beyond, the knight feels more comfortable to play.
In the video, the knight pulled the coiled sword from Gundyr's chest, officially starting the fight.
When Gundyr attacked, the player blocked it head-on with the shield. The stamina bar dropped sharply, but the health bar didn't budge at all.
Then they took advantage of Gundyr's attack gap, rolled back to create distance, and slowly let stamina recover.
Then they found an opening to land a hit. After that, they didn't care whether Gundyr's animation had finished—they just raised the shield again.
The video then sped up, and many viewers were shocked.
There was basically no fancy gameplay here. The only thing to watch was the stamina bar—don't mindlessly hold up the shield forever.
Wait for the boss to finish attacking, sneak in a hit, then go back to turtling behind the shield.
A lot of viewers were stunned.
This was just way too cowardly!
Most players only used shields in emergencies or for parrying.
But hiding behind a shield for the entire fight like this—many players had never done that.
It was like turning a real-time fight into a turn-based game.
When Gundyr entered phase two, the black firebombs from the burial gifts finally came in handy.
They easily made it to Firelink Shrine and then headed to the High Wall of Lothric.
When facing the Lothric Knight, many viewers wanted to see how the player would deal with it.
After all, that knight was known for its deadly shield bash.
In the video, the undead simply drew the knight's attention, waited for it to step out of the room, then rolled away and ran off.
They made it to the frost dog's room without much trouble, and just like with Gundyr—
Phase one, attack from below.
Phase two, keep the shield up to block the frost breath and spinning charge.
Then slowly chip away.
The whole approach could be summed up in one word: safe.
Every single viewer was shocked.
Seeing it like this, the game actually seemed pretty easy.
No complicated moves that "make sense in the head but the hands can't pull off."
It was just shield up, slow and careful turtling.
Sure, it looked a bit lame, but it worked!
For many new players, this video was an eye-opener.
Turns out you don't have to win with pure skill.
You can totally play as a shameless undead.
Shield in the left hand, sword in the right, pump all your points into stamina and endurance.
Wear heavy armor—as long as you can still roll, you're good to go.
Put the rest of the points wherever you want, as long as you can hold a shield.
In battle, the shield is my home. As long as my stamina isn't empty, I won't put the shield down.
When facing monsters, fight the urge to use shield parries. Don't try to show off for no reason.
There are some players who bought the game but couldn't even beat Iudex Gundyr.
Seeing this, they felt fired up again. One by one, they quietly reinstalled the game they had uninstalled.
Some other players hadn't bought the game yet. They wanted to try it but were hesitating because they thought it might be too hard. After watching this video, they also quietly opened the Nebula Games platform.
Then they looked at the coupon in their library that was about to expire, and the scenes from the video came back to mind.
Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, these players quietly opened the Dark Souls purchase page and clicked to pay.
Then they downloaded and installed the game, diving into the world of Dark Souls.
They started as knights, staying honestly behind their shields.
Advancing step by step, moving forward steadily.
Soon, these players found that this trick really worked great!
Iudex Gundyr and most of the enemies in the High Wall of Lothric didn't pose much of a threat anymore. If they couldn't beat something, they just went around it.
Even though they were playing very cautiously, the steady progress and the monsters they managed to defeat gave them a huge sense of achievement.
For a while, many players seemed to feel the joy that Dark Souls could bring.
The whole forum became lively and cheerful.
Many players were grinning, happy to discover that behind all the difficulty, there was actually a method perfect for beginners!
So this is the love of Lucas, huh?
......
The internet was filled with a cheerful atmosphere among players.
Inside Nebula Games.
During a break at work.
A group of people were also playing Dark Souls.
"Not gonna lie, this method makes it so much easier to clear levels! But it also feels a bit less challenging," Rachel said with a grin, looking at the boss she just defeated.
"Yeah, totally!" Anna nodded.
"Less challenging? You're overthinking it," Lucas said with a small smile as he looked at the data. Hector, next to him, perked up his ears.
The shield-focused playstyle really was the best choice for beginners—basically the most brainless strategy.
But you really think holding up a shield means you won't get wrecked?
"Do you know why players find Iudex Gundyr and the High Wall of Lothric so easy?" Lucas asked with a smile.
"It's because others have already paved the way for them! Players are already familiar with Gundyr and the enemies in the High Wall. On top of that, they have my video as a reference, and the High Wall's map isn't that complicated."
"But once they run into unfamiliar maps, monsters, and bosses… heh heh…" Lucas chuckled meaningfully.
Everyone shivered at that laugh.
Especially Hector, who thought about the later map designs, enemy stats, and attack patterns. He couldn't help but swallow nervously.
(End of The Chapter)
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