So, I intended this character when I created him to be a pure-strength build that invested heavily in Vitality so that, if possible, I could wear Havel's Armor, use his shield, and wield a giant weapon.
Then I discovered Faith.
My Sorcerer was a sort of revelation to me - while it doesn't make the game trivial, it's a very different play style. Now, I'm not playing a pure caster here - I do have 50 Strength. But combining Strength and Faith makes for some powerful and versatile combinations.
While my +10 Heavy Greataxe is still used sometimes, I've taken to just using a +5 Dragonslayer Greataxe (which you get by trading in the soul of the Dragonslayer Armor). This thing scales slightly worse than the Heavy Greataxe, but the base damage is higher and on top of that, you get some Lightning damage that then scales with Faith. So, the total attack rating here is larger, and the mixed damage I think helps with some bosses. The downside is that it can't be buffed with miracles like Lightning Blade, so I actually wonder if that spell and the Heavy Greataxe come to higher damage overall.
I've currently got 35 Faith, and am working on getting it to 40.
One thing I'm hoping I can pull off is being able to be somewhat effective at range. My Sorcerer managed to take down the Nameless King by basically staying the hell away from him, and I'm hoping I can do something similar with Dorhy's Gnawing (or however that's spelled). So far, I haven't had as much luck, though I realized that I had forgotten to equip a Miracle-boosting ring, on top of the fact that my Faith is just over half what the Sorcerer's Intelligence was when I finished that fight.
Still, I think I'm only level 100 or so at this point, meaning that it actually doesn't cost an enormous amount to level up, so I could potentially get up there.
One thing I realized was a mistake is that I gave the two Dark Braille Divine Tomes to Irina, when I should have saved them until after I rescued Karla, as apparently Eygon will take Irina out of Firelink Shrine if you do so and you'll have to kill him to get her back. Good and evil in this game are certainly open to interpretation, but I think I'd prefer to not cause any drama. So I'm not entirely sure if I can get Dark Blade anymore without triggering that event.
Using an Ember to fight the pyromancer invader in Ariandel, I summoned a fellow player for Elfriede and actually managed to one-shot her (the other player snuck in for several backstabs). It's a cool fight, so it's a little sad to be done with it so soon, but on the other hand, I have zero compunctions about using anything the game gives me to make the fights easier.
Anyway, this means that this character and my Sorcerer are tied for bosses killed, with the Sorcerer taking down Nameless King and the paladin taking down the Twin Princes. I have yet to attempt the Demon Prince, though I am closing in on my original Dex (/Strength) character.
One thing I felt very happy to discover on my Sorcerer was the shortcuts toward the end of the Painted World - when you go into the wooded hills that lead up to the basement of the chapel, there are these rotted trees you can push over to make a bridge (two of them, and the second one allows you to only have to fight one Follower knight before going into the basement with all the bug-people,) and I don't think I realized that on my first run, which made that whole area feel like a huge marathon.
I'm curious to see how I'll feel returning to Bloodborne. I think the fact that I've actually beaten all the (non-Chalice Dungeon) bosses makes me feel somewhat warmer toward that game, though I also love the aesthetics of it. I really hope we get a sequel some day, and perhaps allow for more "spellcasting" play styles - though I think the simpler stat system is welcome.
That said, while I'm very excited for Elden Ring, I think it would be cool if FromSoft would experiment a bit more with look and tone... which, to be fair, I think they did with Sekiro. I guess I'd love to see their take on futuristic sci fi within the genre.
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