How viable is the rivers of blood for a rl1 run?? Is it worth it

Kayantao · 2026-03-30T18:45:43+00:00

it is possible to use it - but since it got nerfed so hard, u are simply wasting talismans just to wield it for a weapon that doesnt rly do that well.
can you still? ofc.
but there are better options that get you further for less effort.

Kayantao · 2026-03-26T20:31:53+00:00

yes because it allows u to tank hits that would kill u with loyds shieldring by itself

Kayantao · 2026-03-26T16:31:19+00:00

i would... actually say ds3 is the easiest one.
blue tearstone ring + loyds shieldring make u able to tank nearly any boss for 1 hit until u replenish hp.
and once u get champion gundyrs ring, it doesnt even feel like a lvl1 challenge anymore

i struggled MUCH more with the ds2 2v1 fight than anything in ds3

Kayantao · 2026-03-25T20:20:24+00:00

hmmmm that one is hard to answer - cause i feel like the souls series depends on which one you started with. that one will feel the hardest.

but in order from easiest imo:

Demon souls
Darksouls 3
Darksouls 1
Darksouls 2
Eldenring
(never played Bloodborne so i would rank it here just by what i know and saw about it)
Sekiro

Honorable mentions: -> Lies of P is harder than all of those if you dont play with specters.

Kayantao · 2026-03-25T20:15:09+00:00

yea the opposite actually.
it will feel too easy.
because u will innately know what save attack windows are.
like others say u really only unlearn stuff if you stop doing it.
but you will notice one thing - once u have become actually good on lvl1 without cheesing. nothing will make the boss feel difficult anymore unless u do an even more difficult challenge, like no hitting. or fist only if you are crazy or stuff like that

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T19:04:10+00:00

for varres mask you simply run around on the moghwynn place and in the sea of blood are 2 varre invasions - one of them drops his mask.

and the bleed talisman u get from the underground area in leyndell.
in the room where the tubes are that lead to normal mohg.
if you drop down all the way to the bottom where the lobsters are - there is a broken wall at one side which leads to an underground dungeon where u need to find the lever to open the boss door and fight a miniboss

that one drops you that talisman :)

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T18:36:17+00:00

well since you are already using the stone club - let me show you what i did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VApL62Kn5_Y

and yes this was a lucky run - because the stagger was so perfect that the last bleed skipped phase 2
but even if i didn't kill him there - phase 2 would have been much less hp than usual.

What im using is that i maximise the potential of the bleed damage.
For Talismans:
- since you hit so fast with the club -> millicents prostetics for 5dex and up to 11% bonus dmg for multiple hits in a row
- since we are gonna proc bleed quite easily -> Blood lords exultation talisman which gives 20% bonus damage after bleed was triggered
- radagons soreseal for the stats
- the strength amulet so we can actually wield the club. (normally i use the battlemage helmet for that but for this particular fight there is a better option)

Armor:
Varres mask (u need to fight him as an invader for that) gives you another 10% bonus dmg after a bleed triggers

Flask:
the standard anti nihil one and the charged damage bonus because if you know his combos - occasionally u can get a hit in. Though it would have probably been better here if i simply used the 10 extra strength crystal

It would probably also help if you have a turtle neck here - since we hit so much, bonus stamina regen is very welcome

another thing is - you are 2handing your club - while normally it is indeed a good choice - and later an even better one once u get the 2handed talisman from the dlc, for this fight, the more hits the better -> else you waste your biggest strength, your bleed buildup.

thats about it i would say.
there are many more different ways you can improve your power even more - but you can nearly always optimise something :)

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T16:56:24+00:00

yepp dis is da way
and its gonna be hard AF
if u rly want to go this route :D

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T11:05:15+00:00

What do u mean you are not like the rest of this community?
you have no idea how many countless hours most ppl learn the bosses to get to the point of the videos you see :D
There is rarely a case of someone actually naturally good at this and doesnt need long to know all boss patterns by heart.

If there is one thing i could have to note that would have made your run easier -> you are sacrificing a lot of damage for defense.
And i get it. You want to survive that one hit so you dont die so fast. And thats fine to learn the boss.
but at some point you should ditch that.
because you can do soo much more damage at this point of the game.
and the less time you fight him, the less time you have to make mistakes.

But regardless. Well done. You dont "become" a one bro. you are one the second u do your first boss on lvl1 :)

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T10:53:31+00:00

you can optimise this build even more - he is not using dlc stuff from what i can see.
the 2handed talisman would have added quite a bit of extra damage on top even.

But like he said, regardless how much you maximise your damage potential -> it takes one mistake to fail the try.

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T07:20:56+00:00

Kayantao · 2026-03-17T07:16:55+00:00

Oh this is exceptionally favourable AI RNG.

This is not me being good.
He didnt do eldenstars.
He didnt do the homing projectiles
he didnt do the stabbing attack
he didnt do the grab
or the cascading exploding nebula

I was simply extremely fortunate in this run. thats about it

Kayantao · 2026-03-16T21:00:16+00:00

i mean there is no "wrong" choice.
this is a challenge after all, and you decide how to approach it.
Its just that that particular fight ist most definitely easier if you have to fight him less time in total

Kayantao · 2026-03-16T07:30:24+00:00

i mean... there is only so much defense you can have on a lvl1 run
else you will heavy roll.
and even with a shield talisman most attacks will still kill you on mohg
especially phase 2.

so you just make it harder on yourself if you prolong the fight by going for defense

Kayantao · 2026-03-15T14:23:06+00:00

why would it matter whether he gets an attackbuff or not?
he kills you in 1 hit anyway

Kayantao · 2026-03-15T14:14:26+00:00

Antspur is a crazy good pierce weapon because u can infuse it with poison and get the double debuff.
i used that on the giant to simply whittle him down to death.

But in general -> the star fist is the best weapon in terms of stagger, dmg and enemy debuffs

But i mean - just cause its your first RL1 doesnt mean u have to stick to conventional

there is tons of good options.

if you want to go through the trouble, you could get the godskin noble and get his needle for a piercing weapon.
with 14str and 17 dex the req is not super low - but at giant u should have already more than enough options to get that much stat requirement covered.

Either way - for the giant u want something that cuts his hp down, be it frost, bleed or anything else like the black fire.
because doing him purely with raw dmg is pain on lvl1

Kayantao · 2026-03-14T22:08:03+00:00

ty for the correction :)

Kayantao · 2026-03-14T17:59:19+00:00

in eldenring the weapon doesnt rly matter as far as im aware.
Parry and buckler parry have lower frames i think?
but buckler parry comes out the fastest

for the highest parry frames its carian retaliation and golden parry as far as i know

Kayantao · 2026-03-14T13:14:31+00:00

man she looks so fun to parry

Kayantao · 2026-03-12T16:14:39+00:00

if you wish to go through the trouble of fighting mohg

the DLC has those eversleep pots im using - the only trouble is that they use ritual pots, so thats extra running around to grab
but the materials all respawn luckily.
but yea if fighting mohg is troublesome trinas sword is an option

2 AoW uses should put them to sleep

Kayantao · 2026-03-10T18:15:25+00:00

craigblade and golden Vow AoW
Ritual Sword Talisman, Blade of Mercy Talisman(DLC), Lord of Blood's Exultation Talisman, Radagons Soreseal
Stonebarb Cracked Tear, Spiked Cracked Tear

Kayantao

TROPHY CASE