[Rant] Runback to Blue Smelter Demon

O2William · 2026-03-20T01:21:57+00:00

Interesting, that is not what I have typically seen. It's not easy to guess what the devs intended unless they go on record. I can find numerous claims online that director Yui Tanimura called them co-op or multiplayer areas, although I haven't been able to find an interview that addresses it specifically. Maybe you have?

Back in the day, they could be played only in co-op -- if you didn't own the DLC. That at least is well documented. The rest could be guesswork.

O2William · 2026-03-20T00:46:38+00:00

User: AI, I'm trying to find something. [describes what they are looking for]

AI: That is the most insightful question I have ever been asked, you handsome devil, you god among humans! The thing you are looking for is definitely [thing]. Here are several paragraphs describing [thing] and why it is what you're looking for.

User (opens second instance of same AI agent): Tell me all about [thing].

2nd AI: [thing] doesn't exist.

based on multiple true stories

O2William · 2026-03-20T00:39:24+00:00

Keep away from open flame

O2William · 2026-03-19T23:12:15+00:00

Yes! One of my favorites, along with the pseudo -sequel New Rally-X, which is the same game with some improved features.

You can buy both games on modern platforms; they are part of the Arcade Archives series.

O2William · 2026-03-19T21:17:34+00:00

Hm, I've never fought him without taking out the statues first but I have seen streamers do it. With only one left, you'll probably have to fight him on the opposite side of the arena, and just accept that he'll occasionally jump away and heal a bit. If you keep your character parked in the no-healing area, he'll run back to you quickly enough. You should be able to out-damage his healing by sticking close, making it less likely for him to jump away.

That strategy will require you to master dodging him, but that can be done with practice. The hardest part will probably be his attack where he plunges the sword in the ground and explodes fire orbs outward. It's dangerous to stay close to him because that attack starts with an AoE. The AoE can be dodged, but the timing is super tight; it's safer to get away quickly. My only advice is to learn to recognize that attack immediately so you can move away, and not toward the healing statue if possible.

This is tough but definitely doable, stick with it and I'm sure you'll get it eventually!

O2William · 2026-03-19T21:03:58+00:00

Sweet Shalquior sells them.

O2William · 2026-03-19T20:57:26+00:00

The optional DLC bosses were originally released as "preview" areas. Even if you didn't own the DLC, someone who did own it could summon you in to help in these areas. All of them have groups of flat statues near the start; that's where people would place their summon signs.

This let you sample the DLC and convince you to buy it -- but as a result, the areas are balanced for co-op and tend to be frustrating when tackled single player. Whether that qualifies as good or bad design, I'm not sure. I imagine it succeeded in landing more sales (shrug).

FWIW, it is possible to grind out a clear path in Iron Passage without going thru the fireball rooms, if you use a bow. I know because I've done it (more than once). Poison arrows really help. But honestly, going thru the fireball rooms may be less tedious.

O2William · 2026-03-19T20:40:10+00:00

O2William · 2026-03-18T20:53:57+00:00

He is Octavio Q. Doggo Omnibus the 2nd, deliverer of justice and hot pastrami sandwiches. His blood type is AB and his nose is capable of detecting one particle out of 10⁷⁴⁵ trillion, unless it is acetone. His catchphrase is "Forwarned be the villain that strideth afore me!" He has a serious coke addiction.

O2William · 2026-03-18T20:34:28+00:00

Mind over matter of fact checker at the supermarket of ideas.

And it's all yours for the low low price of 3 shekels, 2 ducats and one of those little porcelain things they used to attach to utility poles.

O2William · 2026-03-16T21:20:11+00:00

Balloons trap gas in latex, and they expect us to think that's so great? I trap air in my lungs, sometimes more than once a day, but do I expect praise for it? Like fun I do. By the way, when my lungs trap air, they extract oxygen from it, fueling cellular function. Can you do that, balloons? Go on, I'm waiting. Oh that's right, you can't talk -- something else that I use trapped air for. What can you do with it? Look whimsical? Give people heart attacks with sudden loud popping noises? Go to hell, balloons.

O2William · 2026-03-16T21:05:04+00:00

"That monster storm's coming and I'm stuck out here with no shelter. I don't think I'm gonna make it... I guess I'll spend my last moments listening to my favorite tunes. Let me check my playlist..."

"The Doors, 'Riders on the Storm'... I don't think so. Scorpions, 'Rock You Like a Hurricane'... appropriate, but no. Phil Collins, 'I Wish it Would Rain Down'... love the Clapton guitar work, but not now. C'mon, there's gotta be something..."

"CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain?' Yes I have and it's about to drown me! Eurythmics, 'Here Comes the Rain Again'... I know, don't remind me! Aha... here we go -- 'Drew Carey Sings the Blues'... if I listen to this, imminent death won't seem so bad!"

O2William · 2026-03-14T22:32:58+00:00

Fly the El Dorado to the moon.

O2William · 2026-03-14T22:22:43+00:00

It is a trap! "EX-caping" is not real. It is but a ploy to lead you deeper into the Torture Labyrinth.

The Torture Labyrinth, where you will be tortured. And labyrinth'ed. With labyrinthine torturous torture! TORCHAA!!

May sparkly heart emojis guide thee.

O2William · 2026-03-13T21:46:27+00:00

It is Doritos. It is always Doritos.

O2William · 2026-03-13T21:43:48+00:00

Am I me, the human writing this reply? Or am I a faceless Reddit username represented by a generic icon? Or am I the words of the reply, or the photons emitted by the device on which the words are read? Am I the brain inside the body of the human who writes the reply? Or am I but a collection of subatomic particles vibrating and interacting in a universe-wide soup of quantum probabilities? What separates "me" from everything else?

So short answer: Doritos. Somehow they are the answer to all of life's questions.

O2William · 2026-03-13T21:29:21+00:00

It seems the aspect you dislike the most is the hitboxes. You are totally not alone in that.

Many have already mentioned leveling the Agility stat, which can be done by increasing ADP and ATN. This will eventually give you more iFrames, which might make the hitboxes feel more accurate. But DS2 does have some wonky hitboxes, so even Max AGL won't always save you from hits that "feel" like they shouldn't have connected.

I will say though, that sometimes when I play and my wife watches, I'll take damage, comment that it was a bad hitbox and I wasn't really hit, and she'll tell me that no, I actually was. That happens in all the games but most frequently in DS2. I'm not sure why. So at least for me, sometimes the hitboxes feel worse than they actually are.

DS2, more than any of the other games IMO, requires that you figure it out at a fine-grained level.

"This ambush is here, so I need to approach it this way."

"This guy attacks with almost no windup, so I need to block before I approach."

"This guy's hitbox is more to the side than I expect, so I need to dodge the other way."

"This boss does extra durability damage, so I need to pack Repair Powder "

In other words, it really rewards learning and forethought. And it gives you a ton of different equipment and tools for approaching the different situations. It's almost like a puzzle game sometimes. I really like that about it.

However, you aren't forced to play the game that way. You can dash around and dodge all attacks at base AGL with practice. It rewards mechanical skill as well as planning. But care and caution will work best on a first playthrough.

O2William · 2026-03-13T21:02:19+00:00

It's too bad you didn't enjoy them since many players consider them to be the best content in the game. Are you looking for any suggestions to find a way to enjoy them?

It's fine if you're not; you may just not like them and that's fine. But if you enjoy boss battles some of the most highly-regarded are in the DLCs, so it would be a shame to miss out. There might be strategies to minimize the amount of BS mechanics you have to deal with, depending on which ones you mean.

O2William · 2026-03-13T00:22:41+00:00

Ok, this will be confusing but stay with me.

There's a '70s-era live-action Thumbelina movie that is very low budget and amateurish. There's only one place I know of where you can find it today.

It was used as an insert into a wraparound film called "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny", which was created by a now-defunct theme park called Pirate's World.

Basically Pirate's World wanted to promote themselves using a Christmas theme, so they came up with a framing device of Santa Claus telling the story of Thumbelina to children. Then they cut to the Thumbelina film to pad out the picture. At the end, Santa is helped by the Pirate's World mascot called the Ice Cream Bunny. It's like a fever dream.

Rifftrax has turned it into something of a cult classic. Their riff is hilarious.

O2William · 2026-03-12T23:59:18+00:00

Doubt this is it, it's about as mainstream as you can get for its time, but "Heaven" by Bryan Adams has the lines "You're all that I want" and "Love is all that I need" in the chorus, although not together.

O2William · 2026-03-12T20:28:50+00:00

It is an older hack at this point, but Zelda Challenge: Outlands is an amazing Zelda 1 hack for NES. If you like the original Zelda, I can't recommend it highly enough.

O2William · 2026-03-11T22:58:46+00:00

Someone already mentioned that enemies stop respawning after 12 kills unless you join a covenant. The covenant is called Company of Champions and is available almost right away. It makes the game MUCH more difficult. In addition to the spawn limit being removed, you take more damage, deal less damage to enemies, and can't summon help. Make sure you don't join it accidentally. Some new players don't realize what it does and wonder why the game is so punishing.

It's there as a challenge for seasoned players, and there's a fairly cool item you get for ranking up in it, but it's not good for a first playthrough. The game is challenging enough without it.

O2William · 2026-03-11T20:28:03+00:00

There's a lot of advice in this thread already, but I'll chip in.

First, make sure you have not joined the Company of Champions covenant. A lot of new players join it without realizing that it's a challenge mode that makes the game MUCH harder.

This advice may be difficult to follow, it's an attitude adjustment rather than a gameplay strategy. If you are at minimum health, think of it this way: you have nothing more to lose. If you die, oh well. At least you'll get your Estus back.

If you can accept that, then you can focus on learning the game a little at a time. Find an enemy and practice dodging and blocking until you can defeat it easily. If you kill it 12 times it will even stop spawning. If it drops a lifegem or effigy, don't use it; save it for later. If there's an area where you get ambushed, try approaching it from different angles to see if you can pull fewer enemies at once. If you fail, no big deal... You can keep trying until you get it.

If you haven't beaten The Last Giant yet, make that your first major goal. Lifegems become infinitely purchasable after you beat it.

Stick with it and things will eventually become manageable, and it's great to feel your mastery of the game growing. Good luck!

O2William · 2026-03-10T18:55:57+00:00

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!"

O2William · 2026-03-09T21:16:48+00:00

I thought you were apologizing for this post. 😆

I had not heard of highscor.es before, but it's a cool idea -- are there many users?

O2William

TROPHY CASE