My Trip to Lordran After a Long Break

So yeah, I'm doing a playthrough after not touching the game for quite awhile, and it's basically going exactly as I hoped it would. I don't remember all kinds of things, and, while some things are like riding a bike, I'm finding other things to be really difficult to pick back up. My combat abilities are especially rusty. The muscle memory just doesn't seem to be coming back the way you'd expect, for example I keep accidentally hitting square expecting to attack and stopping to chug estus in the midst of enemies instead. I did it to an invader last night, and while I thought it was funny, he got a little upset when I sprinted at him, stopped immediately in front of him, and chugged estus with full health like I was taunting him.

I've forgotten how hard this game is when you don't know what you're doing, which I feel I only partially do at the moment. I know what I should be doing for the most part, but I'm just having trouble making it happen, and the result is that I'm dying a lot for all kinds of silly reasons. So I figured I'd make a thread about it and see if I could coax anyone else into returning to Lordran after a long hiatus to do some bumbling around with me.

haha....lol....

I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh. 

No, you should. I am.

If you were watching you definitely would be.

It's getting to a point where I'm almost feeling guilty for putting my white sign down. Like people are expecting a player and getting me instead. I just died fighting the Bell Gargoyles with someone.

I do seem to have oddly shed my inability to parry however. I'm landing it every time I try, which is weird because I always had a lot of trouble with it before. I guess I've unlearned something that was preventing my timing from being right when I was playing a lot.

What do you need to do in order to access the DLC areas again? You rescue Dusk, and then what else? You need some item right? I can't remember what.

Do the thing with Dusk (not sure if it's absolutely necessary, however. But I'd err on the side of caution), beat Anor Londo, place the Lordvessel (K or F), kill the out-of-place Golem in the Archives and get Broken Pendant, go back to Dusk's Cove.

If you were on xbox I'd play. Anyway, the item is in a golem in duke's archives on your way in. Take it back to where you pick up dusk's set.

Right right right. The golem. That's what I was forgetting. Thanks fellas.

Happy to coop with you along the way if you want company. I have characters at various sls/locations, just drop me a PS msg.

Awesome. I will definitely do that. I'm staying hollow as much as possible until I regain at least some of my ability. At least enough to be able to defend myself a little bit. Hopefully that'll be happening sooner rather than later. I'm still pretty early on in the game right now anyway.

I should have started counting my deaths when I started this playthrough. That would have been a fun number. I'm easily up to 20 something now and I've only just beaten the gargoyles and come into Darkroot.

Im also thinking to buy the game and start all over again. It was a good while before the last time. Ive stopped playing as I was winning 9 out of 10 PvP challenges. Never Even played the DLC, beat the game 3 times before and was just bored. I might even remember less then you do so. Is it fun going back are you getting frustrated as you would play the first time ?

Its ok Plastic, I have forgotten how to PvP properly from my haitus. I have yet to beat someone since returning. Well, except a Glass Cannon that invaded me when I was on my way to Oolacile in the hydra area. Poor fellow didnt think to equip the iron ring and just accepted his fate.

As a new player, I have yet to build up the courage to play PVP.

Because unrelated to Dark Souls: There's nothing more soulcrushing in games than the waking up from thinking, you kind of got things figured out, by having your *** handed to you playing with others competetively for the first time!

Do a couple PVP matches with someone from here. Itd be a good way go ease yourself into it. You're definitely missing out on something good by not doing it at all. Just cant take it too too seriously.

You have made me want to go back to my longsword and dark hand playthrough now.

I'm really enjoying myself. I decided to go for a build I've never done before too, which is adding even more freshness to it. Going for a dedicated Murakumo build. Always wanted to try that thing out with a build that was meant for it, and never got around to it.

Thief wrote:As a new player, I have yet to build up the courage to play PVP.

Because unrelated to Dark Souls: There's nothing more soulcrushing in games than the waking up from thinking, you kind of got things figured out, by having your *** handed to you playing with others competetively for the first time!

I felt the exact same way as you man. Whenever I got invaded, I just cowered in a corner hoping that they wouldn't find me, or I'd rely exclusively on my phantoms.

Then I decided to learn the basics of PVP....in the Forest.

Trial by Fire....

I went in a boy, I came out a god damn man!

It's a good place to do it. You'll get matches over and over, and there aren't really any consequences with the bonfire right outside as the invader, or not losing souls on death as the hunter. You run into a lot of ganks, but there's something to be learned there too.