Chapter 192: Players Who Will Die
It wasn't just Mike and Tom, but also common players who had already completed Dark Souls: First Flame, advanced players who had already completed several rounds, and veteran Dark Souls players who had polished their characters to the bones. Upon seeing the new Death Mode, although they knew it might be difficult, they all felt that they could handle it.
But after really trying it, many players realized how appropriate the name was: Death Mode!
The bosses in their prime were terrifying!.
It brought them a primal joy.
Artorias, with his intact hand, brandishing his greatsword and greatshield, was a terrifying sight. And then there was Yhorm the Giant from the original Dark Souls game. While he retained his characteristic (hitting with the stormbreaker caused massive damage), he had a limitation: in multiplayer mode, he could only carry one stormbreaker.
Why?
'Didn't you follow the story?'.
There are only two stormbreakers: one with the Onion Brother and the other next to Yhorm's throne. In Death Mode, you challenge Yhorm in his prime. This time, Yhorm has not gone crazy from the Abyss after witnessing the death of his subjects. So, naturally, in addition to his terrifying sword, he also has the huge shield that has accompanied him for countless years.
In other words, in Death Mode, Yhorm the Giant has not only not gone crazy, but he also has a huge shield. Against the attacks of the stormbreaker, Yhorm the Giant can use his shield to resist them. So the only way to inflict considerable damage is to exploit the weaknesses of Yhorm the Giant and evade his shield.
The only consolation is that his huge size makes his movements much less agile than those of other bosses.
Then there's Gwyn from the new game. In Death Mode, players can finally see the terrifying power of the Dark Souls boss. His sunlight spear causes instant death. This is also the only move in Death Mode that can instantly kill players.
Of course, if players insist on fighting the boss naked, that's another matter.
Although it is overwhelming, the elevation and release of the Sunlight Spear are very noticeable, which makes it dodgeable with a little caution.
The real frustration for countless players is the difference between Gwyn in his prime and Gwyn, the King of Dark Cinders, now reduced to a shell. This time, players cannot parry Gwyn's movements. Many players jokingly say that Gwyn is the easiest boss in the new game, even easier than running into the minotaurs for the first time.
A key point is that even the burned shell of Gwyn can be parried. In addition, in Dark Souls I, the parry check is much more relaxed than in Dark Souls III. Although Alex has made some numerical adjustments, Gwyn, a boss who can parry with a shield, is still too easy to detect. This has led many players to the misconception that Gwyn, the King of Dark Cinders, is particularly weak.
But if players could not fight Gwyn, the Lord of Cinders, without parrying, the difficulty of the battle would instantly increase. And now, Gwyn in Death Mode not only has a stronger AI, but players also cannot parry, which skyrockets the difficulty.
For average players, their main focus is still Random Mode. While Random Mode already existed in previous games, the new game's expansive map design offers a clearly different experience.
And Death Mode?
Many casual players, after trying it, expressed their dismay upon seeing that it was not something they could handle. Random Mode, a more entertaining mode, is intended for average players. Death Mode, on the other hand, was originally intended for advanced players looking for a more challenging challenge. It also addressed the regrets of some players. After all, many players in the community forums lamented the unpredictable power of the Lord of Cinders and the gods in their prime.
Death Mode was introduced to satisfy these desires.
Although Death Mode is incredibly challenging, many elite players are eager to defeat the bosses. For many high-level players, the initial difficulty of Dark Souls, followed by familiarity and even hundreds or even thousands of hours of gameplay, has become a muscular reaction.
Without a shortage of items and weapons, boss battles are essentially simple, except for an occasional misstep and an instant defeat.
Some more advanced players have even managed to defeat all the bosses at level one, some even using shields instead of weapons.
The new Death Mode has allowed these advanced players to rediscover the joy of their days in Dark Souls. This enthusiasm is not limited to domestic players; international players are also excited about Death Mode.
After all, just like Dark Souls: First Flame, Death Mode will have a simultaneous global release. In addition, both fast deaths and first deaths can top the game's leaderboards. This sense of fame has many experts debating how to achieve it.
After countless deaths and failures, the best Dark Souls players, both nationally and internationally, have identified several key features and tricks for Death Mode.
First, while it can accommodate up to three players in a team, the difficulty level varies depending on the boss. Many people believe that defeating Yhorm the Giant in the previous game is easier with a team of three, as one player can remain idle during the entire combat and simply find the perfect opportunity to charge their stormbreaker. However, this is not foolproof, as the stormbreaker takes time to charge, and Yhorm the Giant's aggressiveness is mainly focused on who uses it.
As for the Undead Farron's Keep, it is considered more challenging with several players, as the number of players present is not fixed, but is multiplied by the number of players in the team. This means that the more players there are in a team, the more members of the Farron team must participate.
After all, more players mean more chaos. In addition, players are not AI. Even if they are all masters, the battlefield is constantly changing and coordination errors are inevitable. This, obviously, does not happen with AI; everything is pre-programmed. Therefore, defeating with more players can be even more difficult.
Experts are gradually discovering the unique characteristics of the different bosses, as well as their difficulty levels. Both national and international live streaming platforms offer dedicated progress broadcasts. Today, a high-level player or team abroad revealed how much health a boss has left. Tomorrow, a local expert updated the progress of his previous guide.
It can be said that players, both nationally and internationally, are eagerly awaiting the first death. After all, it is an honor that will go down in the history of Dark Souls. Imagine all the undead that arrive at the Firelink Shrine and can see their IDs on the stone tables! It would be great!.
Of course, many players have also strongly requested a function to change names in the official Nebula Games forums and community, as well as on Alex's official blog. They hope for a function to change names.
Since Dark Souls is mainly a single-player game with multiplayer, many players do not take it seriously when creating their characters and, instead, create all kinds of fake names. It's normally no big deal, but with this "suffering mode" and a somewhat peculiar name, what would happen if they got the first casualty?.
'And what about changing the saved games?'.
After thousands of hours of gameplay, who would want to do it? Many players have also expressed their desire for a new function to change their face. It would be embarrassing to end up on the list with the face of an Ancient God.
Of course, not only high-level players felt uncomfortable; there were also quite a few occasional players. After all, when they started playing, many impulsively chose names like AAA, 123, and ABC, and even created characters like the old man with silver pigtails. But as they played, they realized that these names and characters were a bit uncomfortable, especially when using online functions.
As for the possibility of changing the saved games, they were reluctant to hand them over after playing for so long. So, taking advantage of this, many players started a petition. And the reasons they gave were quite convincing: in real life, you can change your name and get plastic surgery, so why not in games?.
Faced with these enthusiastic responses, Alex complied with half of the players' demands. As for the names, a new exchange item will be added to the Firelink Shrine, but each saved file can only be exchanged once.
"And the characters? What's the point of joining in the fun? Aren't five opportunities enough?".
Alex replied: "The world of Dark Souls doesn't have that much skill."
Alex's response left many players speechless.
"My God, I don't have that much skill! Whether I do or not, it's up to you!".
- - - - - - -
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this chapter.
This week, we'll have 2 daily chapters for you to enjoy. This is possible thanks to all your support with Power Stones.
To keep increasing our chapters, I'm asking for your support. For every 150 Power Stones we collect across all novels this week, I'll add an extra daily chapter for next week.
If you want to catch up and read even more, you can find over 150 advanced chapters of my novels on my Patreon.
Your comments and Power Stones are what make this possible. Thanks!
@Patreon/iLikeeMikee