LogFAQs > #967429151

I expect to miss some things by not checking every little corner, but a bonfire is a pretty important thing to hide like that. It's not like there's a shortcut up the fortress from the smith fire!

And for what it's worth I didn't actively choose to avoid playing online, I just have an early model 360 that requires a wired connection and it's a whole hassle to set up (my Xbone needs a new harddrive and I have a series S so no disc drive there). Though I am curious about all the messages, I can't help but think it'd ruin my immersion a bit but it must be useful when it comes to things like that bonfire!

I kill the boulder throwing ogre by hiding in the stairwell while it thrashes around and slicing it up when it's tired. Then it's boss battle time! There are two key obstacles to overcome in this fight, and neither of them are the Iron Golem. The biggest issue is the arena itself, despite appearances it's rather small and VERY easy to fall off of. For some reason I tend to do the best when we're both on the narrow corridor on the far side, maybe because there's only forwards and backwards to move so it's easier to know where I'm facing.

My strategy to this fight is pretty similar to the past two bosses- stay by its legs. Depending on the golem's attack I either roll through its legs to the other side or roll around to avoid its grab. And this is where the fight's second challenge comes in: the camera. I am glad none of you can watch me do this fight, you would likely get dizzy from the constant camera spins as I hack away from directly underneath the boss's crotch. I know I can turn off the targeting but I find it much easier to see what attack is coming and to roll in the right direction with the target on. Anyway, after a handful of attempts I have the fight down, and get the golem down to a sliver of health while still having a couple of potions left... then I roll off the edge of the platform. Oh well.

I suppose I was due for a bad boss run. I spend the next hour failing at this boss, sometimes getting close to beating it and usually falling off. A couple of times I get grabbed and thrown off the ledge, and I don't think this is supposed to happen because then my souls spawn below the arena in a spot I can't reach. I start getting worse at the boss until I make myself pause and think. I try turning off the targeting reticule, it doesn't seem to help. Then I realise I haven't been using my shield at all, and switch to holding my sword in both hands to deal more damage. My very first attempt with this gets the golem down below half health with barely any potions used, then it does its stagger thing giving me a bunch of free hits, and then... it falls over the edge! Poetic justice. I had been trying to push it over a while ago and figured bosses must be immune to that, but it seemed to have a unique animation as it fell so it must be a timing thing. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't quick but it is done!

Our reward is a glowing ri- oh wait we've been kidnapped! And dropped off far away in the land of Anor Londo. This place is pretty beautiful and strangely... clean? Modern? Realistic? Artistic? Open? I don't know, but it's very different from every other area so far, this must be very important. There's some giant guards that aren't any trouble to take down, and oh great, the gargoyles are back! Thankfully they're just one at a time for now, so way easier than the boss fight. We meet our second fire keeper who gives us a bit of exposition about where we are, and then I gawk at our surroundings some more. There's plenty to admire here, some cool statues and a beautiful sunset/rise and the like. Nice lighting.

There's also, very handily, a regular chest and a mimic chest next to each other in the same room, so I can see the differences. It appears that the mimic chest is more fanciful and decorative, and if you rotate the camera it has a base below the chest that the regular wooden one doesn't. I suppose it's that standard 'ignore extravagance' trope in action, pretty cool.

I spend a very long time figuring out where to go next, much of it jumping and hoping for the best. Eventually I discover a slope up the side of one bit that I assumed was a piece of background scenery, and this leads me up to the scaffolding of a church. After carefully dealing with the enemies on the wooden beams we open a shortcut back to the centre and dispatch another gargoyle. I'm a bit tired so I leave it here for today, it feels like things are about to get meaningful and I want to be on full alert for whatever comes next. Not my best work today, but we're moving forward!