Chapter 189: Are You Being Polite? (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)
Chapter 189: Are You Being Polite? (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Pass)
The release of the brand-new 'Death Mode' update had piqued the interest of many kindling warriors.
After all, Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame had been launched for nearly a month now.
Moreover, unlike last year when the original Dark Souls first came out, despite Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame featuring a more hostile initial map and setting, it completely failed to deter players who had already awakened certain special traits.
In fact, the more hostile the game became, the more excited these players grew!
Under these circumstances, various maps and corresponding video walkthroughs emerged much earlier than in the previous title.
For example, in the original game, reliable guides didn't appear until nearly the end of the second week.
But for Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame, on day one, guides for the Asylum Demon, the Firelink Shrine, and parts of the Undead Burg Outskirts were already available.
Before even the first week ended, some hardcore players had already cleared the first playthrough.
Although many side quests and hidden contents remained undiscovered, the general progression routes and strategies for defeating each boss were largely figured out.
Later, guides detailing how to obtain Daddy Head, acquire the Guandao, exchange for Light Stones at the Bird's Nest, and upgrade the Guandao to +4āresulting in a starting stat panel of 449ācaused many players to clear the first playthrough early.
Take the Taurus Demon on the Undead Burg wall, for instance. The Pure Love Warriors collectively expressed their outrage, dual-wielding a Guandao from the second floor to instantly kill the boss in one strike. Players finally experienced the exhilarating thrill of instantly killing a bossāan experience that was extremely satisfying.
So much so that many players joked that these mechanics turned Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame into a true hack-and-slash game.
Thus, Chen Xu chose this moment to launch a completely new mode.
After experiencing the fun, it was time to taste the familiar Souls-like flavor again!
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
Like all Dark Souls players, Song Ren and Zhang Yi were now analyzing this new 'Death Mode'.
"This Death Mode feels really tough! And there's even a first-kill achievementāthat means it definitely won't be easy to defeat!" Song Ren voiced his thoughts.
"Of course. For ordinary players, the random mode is actually more fun. And in Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame, with its interconnected map design, I think the random mode could be even more interesting," Zhang Yi shared his opinion.
The random gameplay in the previous title had already felt enjoyable, but in Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame, with all the maps being interconnected, Zhang Yi believed the random mode would be even more exciting.
There were simply more choices available. After all, the random mode's entire appeal lay in how it interacted with the game's maps to create unique player experiences.
In Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame, if you started with the Master Key, after leaving the Undead Asylum and arriving at the Firelink Shrine, you'd have countless options: the Undead Burg Outskirts, the Catacombs, New Londo Ruins, parkouring from the Valley of Drakes to Blighttown.
Combined with the random mode, each location would bring enormous surprises!
"And depending on your chosen weapon, there will be some numerical balance adjustments upon entering. This means you can't just overpower enemies with gearāyour skill is what truly matters. Even if a player's equipment is poor, special rectifications will be applied, but the unique characteristics of different playstyles will still remain," Wang Han added from the side.
"What about items? Aren't there buff-granting items? Surely this mode allows item usage?" Wang Yifan reminded them.
"That's unknown. The patch notes didn't mention it. We'll have to test it in-game. Good thing the download's doneāI'll give it a try."
Seeing that the new version of Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame had finished downloading on his computer, Song Ren clicked to launch the game.
Although the previous title had also received the Death Mode update, since the new game was updated first, Song Ren decided to try it here.
Of course, there was another reason: recently, Song Ren had been playing Dark Souls: Age of the First Flame exclusively. Even though both were part of the same series,
and the combat system hadn't changed much,
there were still subtle differencesāwhat you might call 'feel' in gaming terms.
Having played Age of the First Flame consistently, he was naturally more familiar with it.
He hadn't touched the original game in nearly a year, and his skills had grown a bit rusty.
Entering the game, his character had just begun the second playthrough, standing in the Firelink Shrine.
His equipped weapon was a +5 Guandao.
As a professional "cheese" player, the Guandao was his life!
As for whether it was effective in high New Game+, that discussion could wait until then.
The entrance to the new mode was highly visible, located in the collapsed ruins beside the Crestfallen Warrior, where a large gray boulder stood.
Approaching it, an interaction prompt appeared on the game screen. Song Ren pressed the button, and a UI interface similar to the teleportation menu in the previous game popped up.
"You can freely choose which boss to challenge, but different bosses have varying difficulties. Still, why are all the selectable ones big-name bosses? Is the High Wall Taurus Demon really that insignificant!?"
Looking at the list of selectable bosses, Song Ren couldn't help but feel a shiver of indignation.
What kind of bosses were listed here?
Artorias, Gwyn, the Witch, and the Black Dragon.
Where was the Asylum Demonāthe big buttāfrom the beginning of the game? Where was the Taurus Demon!?
Were they excluded just because they were minor characters?
Shiver of indignation!
When picking targets, you go for the soft onesābut here, there wasn't a single soft target. They were all spiky durians! How was he supposed to tackle any of them!?
Completely unaware of Song Ren's inner turmoil and grumbling, Zhang Yi saw that he hadn't moved for a while and seemed hesitant. He quickly urged him:
"Old Song, pick a boss already! Let's check out the gameplay of this brand-new Death Mode!"
"What's your rush? I'm just thinking about which boss would be best to fight," Song Ren defended himself.
"What's there to think about? You won't beat any of them anyway," Zhang Yi said bluntly.
Song Ren: ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
Are you being polite!?
If you can't say something nice, then don't speak at all!
He shot Zhang Yi a fierce glare over his shoulder, then turned back and, after some thought, decided to challenge his favorite boss in this gameāArtorias the Abysswalker.
Not just because he was cool, not just because his background story was profoundly moving,
but also because, among all the selectable bosses, Artorias felt like the most manageable one to fight.
Although he had died several times when he first fought him.
But upon reflection, as long as you dodged Artorias's charged thrust and his aerial downward slash, attacked during his stun lock without getting greedy, and constantly watched for opportunities to stop its burst aura, it wasn't too difficult.
The only unknown was what kind of existence this boss would become in Death Mode.
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