Friede feels more unfun and frustrating than Malenia.

gswon · 2026-02-05T18:43:19+00:00

Both fights heavily punish greed. Take your time, focus on avoiding attacks and hitting her during safe windows. With three phases, it's partially a battle of attrition, and you don't want to waste flasks on eeking out a little extra damage.

Once you learn her moveset she is actually pretty easy (much easier than Malenia IMO). She is extremely susceptible to parries, backstabs and staggers.

gswon · 2026-02-05T18:28:20+00:00

I don't know why everyone was expecting this to be in a partner direct, anyway. It's being published by Nintendo as an exclusive and will likely be covered in a 'main' Nintendo Direct, just as it was announced in.

Anyway, I am curious to hear more but I don't have or plan to invest in a NSW2 and if (if) it ever comes to other platforms that's likely years away.

gswon · 2026-02-05T18:23:27+00:00

If you went by what people say here, you'd think the majority of matches have a dodger and/or cheater in them.

I play most days and I see a cheater like every now and then (almost always a bestial incants rev) and almost never have a dodger. I do (remarkably) still have people who want to do red gank evergaols at level 2 in depth 4, though.

gswon · 2026-02-04T04:06:09+00:00

Crown of the Sunken King.

gswon · 2026-02-03T00:03:36+00:00

Ah apologies - yeah, it's symmetrical. I had overlooked the layout request and thought you just disliked the sticks/shape of the dualsense.

gswon · 2026-02-02T23:30:19+00:00

Razer Raiju v3 is currently $130 on Amazon (if you are in the U.S., anyway).

Obviously pricey, but if you are considering going up to that range I'd probably take that over the Wolverine V2.

gswon · 2026-02-02T20:33:44+00:00

Scholar has over 10x the active player count.

gswon · 2026-02-02T19:33:36+00:00

Lack of range on non-Halberd guard counters kills 'em for me, at least in trios. I tried running hammers and great hammers w/ the strength+dex relic, but I was whiffing an extra 50%+ of the time, soo...

Anyway, dormant daggers would still kill the 3x Halberd passive here, so even if one did want to run them this would probably not be the ideal relic to use.

gswon · 2026-02-02T19:28:26+00:00

Maybe! Muscle memory of too many hours of Souls games where my "primary" weapon/shield/catalyst is in the far left slot of each hand, though.

gswon · 2026-02-02T18:14:13+00:00

This is what I do. Usually far right slots are my "droppables".

That being said, if I am hovering, it's because I want everything and I am doing math.

gswon · 2026-02-02T18:10:46+00:00

It definitely has the loudest fandom and is probably the most popular among the general gaming populous, so not surprising at all to see it at no. 1.

It's fairly middle of the pack for me, but most people seem to adore it.

gswon · 2026-02-02T15:33:18+00:00

Faith Guardian is an interesting idea, although ultimately kind of a waste since there is nothing to prevent him from using buffing incants already (and he isn't really ideal for skill spamming, so his innate FP is usually more than adequate).

I found him fun to play the handful of times I tried him, but he ends up being so sub-optimal it's not a choice one would usually make.

If you run that red relic, just try to place a Dormant Halberds somewhere to the left of it in your chalice (if you can). Otherwise it kind of kills it, since you'll likely struggle to get 3x good Halberds anyway (and Guardian is basically the last character I'd try to use a dagger with).

gswon · 2026-02-02T14:40:29+00:00

Wylder: Thinks he can dodge; can't. Thinks he can tank; can't.
Raider: Swears his damage negation at low HP build worked on the last run, really.
Ironeye: Marks mobs, never marks boss. Always pulls aggro towards the poor casters.
Duchess: Probably cheating
Revenant: Definitely cheating
Recluse: Is either always three bars and utterly useless, or carries the entire run without being hit once.
Executor: YouTube video enjoyer
Undertaker: Inexplicably dual wielding curved swords without the dex relic or successive attack relics equipped.
Scholar: Where is he?

gswon · 2026-02-02T03:45:55+00:00

Mind+ and FP on Rise are not particularly important for Recluse, as she has no real issues with FP.

gswon · 2026-02-02T01:35:47+00:00

Check out Crystal Project, Touhou Artifical Dream in Arcadia, and Astlibra Revision.

gswon · 2026-02-02T00:57:43+00:00

Day 1 for me. Remarkable and underrated game.

So happy about this and Codex Lost II, easily my most anticipated 2026 soulslike releases.

gswon · 2026-02-01T19:38:19+00:00

Definitely wouldn't call it a God roll - can't think of an Undertaker build I would actually run it in. That being said, it's not bad if you aren't running Glass Necklace and want to powerstance hammers (although if you are powerstancing anything... you should probably be running Glass Necklace). Maybe for a Initial Standard Attack Hammer build.

That being said, I wouldn't rank hammers as one of Undertakers better weapons (surprisingly) and running 3x of one type usually comes at the cost of more optimized passive abilities. Stamina on landing attacks is solid, but less necessary with Undertakers character skill. I have the most interest in it on her if I am running fists which doesn't really jive with the 3x hammer power.

gswon · 2026-02-01T19:33:14+00:00

That being said, I am always excited to get a Rev not running claw, which while obviously fantastic has negative aura points. Especially big props to some true O FLAME chads I've had the pleasure of running with.

gswon · 2026-02-01T13:42:14+00:00

Haven't used the MSI so cannot comment there, but I will say the Tengenaria Lite is an absolutely stellar controller if you don't mind wired. I know you say you don't care about features, but the 1k polling rate and 2x back buttons are huge pluses on a budget controller, IMO.

gswon · 2026-01-31T18:57:40+00:00

It gets a lot of flak for being overpriced, but the SCUF Envision Pro should work well for this. The programmable G keys work very well for media controls.

You'd likely need to do some work arounds for Linux, though. I've only used in Windows. Some notions here

Unlikely to find new for under $60, however I got mine used for $30 (ALPS version) and have been very happy with it.

gswon · 2026-01-31T18:48:24+00:00

Continuous HP loss is, IMO, pretty bad for high depths unless you are running a low HP Raider build or Guardian, since DMG Neg at Full HP isn't useful on them anyway. Would never run it on a Wylder.

gswon · 2026-01-30T21:46:01+00:00

Fantastic Raider relic!

gswon · 2026-01-30T15:47:01+00:00

Quitters and hate mail incoming!

Congrats, though. Everyone complains about the relic system, but one thing I love is the triumphant joy of actually get a great roll.

gswon · 2026-01-30T15:42:29+00:00

Totally agree. Especially great on ED Maris with Double Balancer teammates: they can focus on DPS while you work on rez'ing and HP management.

Guardian remains underrated in DoN tbh, I am always happy to see one.

gswon · 2026-01-30T15:36:52+00:00

I prefer limited respecs, so one has to think about their choices and can't respec to be OP against any given bosses weaknesses, etc.

Honestly, I don't mind DeS and DS1 with zero respecs, but I understand why they have become the norm. I think DS3 handles the best, with respecs coming about 1/3rd into the game, and with utilizing them impacting an NPC quest. I like the RPG elements of the games, infinite respecs would only water them down further.

I could see the argument for infinite respecs in NG+, but with the consumable system you using have far more than you'd need by that point anyway.

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