Is Dark Souls Really Too Hard?

Dark Souls is the face of difficulty in video games. But should that be the case? Are From Software's games really that difficult? And even if they are, does it actually matter?
Every now and then you see an article, post, tweet, comment, or video about the necessity of an easy mode, and in this video essay I lay out a number of reasons as to why it would be totally and utterly redundant.

[@KlyeKlyeKlye]

Getting through the hard bits is where the satisfaction comes from. I've seen loads of people give up on the game because it was "too hard" only to come back and give it another go 6 months or a year down the line and then they start to see progress and that's it, they're hooked. I believe that's also why there's so many Platinum Trophy achievers, purely because they'd started to understand the game and they needed more of it.

[@surfboy87]

Can confirm that's what happened to me. Tried bloodborne twice, never got past cleric beast. The third time it clicked, and I couldn't stop playing until I got the plat. Now it's my favorite game ever ever and I still have most of the soulsborne series to get through

[@jacedjohnson3541]

That’s exactly what happens to me with Sekiro. Took a break for 6 months. Came back. Platinumed it

[@shurik121]

@@surfboy87 Same with Bloodborne. My first FromSoft game was Elden Ring, but I didn't really enjoy it despite playing it for ~100 hours though never completing it (crumbling farum azula broke me - not the bosses, but getting to them through endless mobs). Something in it was addictive enough for me to try over and over again despite obviously not being good at it at all. I tried Bloodborne when it was free on PS+ - I wondered around Central Yharnam, died a few times to Cleric Beast and Father Gascoine and quit. I tried it again after a couple of months and got sucked in, because of atmosphere and because I kinda figured out how to be at least passable at it, enough to progress through the bosses. I finished the game and the DLC and had a lot of fun with it. I tried Elden Ring again recently and just as the first time - crumbling farum azula broke me. Same happened to me with Dark Souls 3 - I progressed past the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, but stopped after it. Fighting bosses is fun, getting to them stops being fun at some point and becomes a chore.

[@surfboy87]

@@shurik121 I agree that the biggest problem with the series is the walk back to some of the bosses completely kills the pacing. There should always be a spawn point directly by the boss. Not sure why they did this 90% of the time in elden ring but neglected it the other 10%. They're so close

[@DestoRest]

@@hawthornberry same (fav game of all time)

[@Dastardly_Duo]

The whole point of Souls games is to overcome difficulty. I'll never understand how people completely dismiss this fact simply because THEY want to play. It's not for everyone and if you really wanna play, learn the game. I understand the frustration of the learning curve, but if you stick with it, you'll get it eventually

[@Battletoads2]

Every single person playing a Souls game for the first time has to learn how to play it. SOME people think just because they played a different 3rd person perspective game that the skillset transfers over. They are wrong. They don't like getting absolutely wrecked after beating Uncharted, Spiderman, God of War, GTAV or whatever and blame something besides themselves.

[@know1827]

Yeah I bought a copy of elden ring for my cousin. His first fromsoft game and he thought he could just run through tanking everyone. Had to explain that you have to think about how to take on the enemies and what their weaknesses are and you have to have an actual strategy. He didn't get the game till he finished it but we still have fun playing

[@INSIDEVIEWOFYOURMOTHER77]

Get gud

[@Akakiryuushin]

I have beaten Margit and godrick 15 times with 15 different builds. I still have significant trouble with them

[@Dastardly_Duo]

@@Akakiryuushin skill issue

[@psterud]

Yes, the hardest part of Dark Souls is the learning curve. It is very mysterious the first time around if one chooses to do it blindly. A lot of people will quit after aggro-ing the Crestfallen Knight after getting to Firelink.

[@kenshinhimura9387]

It's not possible to sheep him unless you attack him and what kind of idiot would attack an npc who isn't aggressive???

[@nakedsnake4248]

@@kenshinhimura9387 me all the time.

[@majorandras7474]

@@kenshinhimura9387 You atually need to hit him 3 times

[@kenshinhimura9387]

@@majorandras7474 lol even better. You've got to be a complete clown to attack a friendly npc 3 times in a row.

[@FarawayTundra]

I remember playing DS1 for the first time at a friends house as a kid. we pulled it out of his dad’s collection and went this looks so cool and edgy lets play! Challenged the skeletons in the graveyard got our asses handed to us. I don’t think we even got to the minotaur. Years later it was re introduced to me by someone who knew dark souls and all the memories came flooding back, proceeded to beat the game over a month. To this day ds1 and sekiro are my most favorite to play.

[@InternetPeopleAreNotReal]

Killing Isshin for the first time was one of the most satisfying and euphoric feelings i have ever felt in a video game. I screamed with joy and jumped out of my chair, raising my fists in the air as my heart rate jumped to a million beats per minute. The fact that there are people who wish to either take this feeling away from people or demand a director who add in a supplemental mode that would take away this feeling is insane.

[@Melotaku]

The hardest part of the game is always the very beginning. I started playing Dark Souls 2 for the first time a few weeks ago. The hardest part for me was getting used to the changes from DS1 and being in an unfamiliar environment with new enemies. Now that I’m used to all of that, the game has become much easier for me and I laugh at myself for struggling in the easiest area just a few weeks ago.

[@mountainmgtow5421]

And that's why only 0.5% of gamers ever play this franchise.

[@tusharmalik1145]

Something about the firelink shrine, touches my soul. There is subtle but deep story telling. I also keep watching lore videos on KZbin about the bosses that i have defeated. Quelaag and sisters story made me fall in love. Now I'm stuck at the Ornstein and Smough battle. 21 wins for those assholes. I am new to the Dark Souls series. Not even mid way of the Remastered version and yet , this is my favorite experience. To everyone new to this series - Don't you dare go hollow😊

[@Anubis.6256]

If your stuck on ornstein and smough you can pop a humanity and then summon solaire for the fight. His summon sign is by one of the staircases on the sides right before you enter the boss arena. Solaire draws aggro and makes it much easier . Also, you may be underdeveled so grind some levels by killing silver knights.

[@r0bz0rly]

good luck with O&S! i played DS1 last from the 3 and once you've got the knack for souls games, you subconsciously figure out these little optimisations and strategies to make dealing with multiple enemies easier. it's an incredible boss fight and i'm so glad you played ds1 first, it's a magical game

[@tusharmalik1145]

@@Anubis.6256thanks man. finally defeated them. Must have taken me something like 30+ tries to beat them. It feels like a lifetime achievement. Now I'm going to search for a video about those two. Dark Souls has an amazing lore behind it.

[@tusharmalik1145]

@@r0bz0rly yeah it is truly magical game. Also what an amazing fight. I don't think I will ever forget how to fight these two.

[@mountainmgtow5421]

That means nothing to those who refuse to play these games.

[@feircy]

Dark souls 1 is a perfect example of "knowledge is power". The difference between knowing how it works and not is bigger than just a basic "skill gap". The creative ways to prepare and tackle challenges outside of just parry or roll through everything is why its still the one I remember the most.

[@bullethail3875]

Yeah, it's definitely a really good game. The first time I actually played it all the way to linking the fire was this year. I've always liked the games but I've never stuck through a full run due to some other game seizing my attention. I'm on the verge of beating Elden Ring right now. All I've got left is Malekith, Malenia, Mohg, Gideon, Godfrey, Radagon, and Elden Beast. I've seen a lot of complaints about a few of the bosses but having beaten them on the first or second try I don't think they're unreasonable. Fire Giant's roll looks really stupid though.

[@feircy]

@@bullethail3875 elden rings back half of bosses generally feel overtubed. Mohg and radagon are fun fights though

[@lahunica2726]

​@@bullethail3875 those complaints come from people who didn't understand how to fight a lot of bosses, then took that to justify the bosses were over agressive and with no openings.

[@domp2729]

@@lahunica2726 those complaints came from people who didn’t understand how to fight the bosses because the game doesn’t teach you how to fight them properly. When the vast majority of people complain about the same thing, there is a problem. It’s not always the thing they’re complaining about but it’s always connected. In this case, it’s because of the ambiguity and complete absence of information about the bosses. Combine that with the complete lack of incentive to do anything more than bait out easily punishable attacks and you have what on the surface looks like terrible boss design when in reality, it’s the game not teaching you how to properly play the game.

[@bullethail3875]

@@domp2729 i mean... the double boss fights have ultimately been the most annoying but, for the Godskin Duo (one of the only mandatory double bosses), you can encounter each Godskin on their own AND in the spiritcaller cave boss fight where you fight the apostle and then the noble back to back. The only difference is that both are active at once. Plus, if you've been exploring you should already be able to craft the consumables that would make the fight a breeze.

[@leathernluv]

For me, Dark Souls is a work of art that challenges you to become one too. That is why I love it.

[@obenohnebohne]

I agree with what you said in your video. I am, by no means, a very skillful player, but over the years I earned all Platinum trophies in the FromSoftware games (Demon’s Souls to Elden Ring). I found ways to overcome the challenges. I am very happy, that the FS games give you many options to "lower the difficulty", not just grinding, upgrading, but also online co-op, offline npc summons, user generated messages, different builds and items. The initial entry hurdle is very high because we players are not used this type of game at first. I was button mashing and died immediately. I remember being afraid, when reading about a player losing 1 million souls in one of the games. But that was before I had even tried one of the games. A few years later, that happened to me, but I wasn’t to bothered about it. Because I had already learnt that dying isn’t the end of the world. First hand experience is something beautiful and these games give you just that. I agree strongly. FromSoftware games don’t need a difficulty slider. That would destroy everything. (Funny enough: I was someone who thought an easy mode would make these games better. I am glad, that so far, the games do not have one.) Great video. The audio is great, your voice is very nice to listen to. I love the percentages being set into perspective.

[@viviill]

Me and my friends were having this discussion recently. What a great video, definitely earned a sub. I was born in the 90s, so I grew up on difficult games. I remember playing Dark Souls for the first time back in 2014, I gave up after finally getting through Undead Burg, then taking a wrong turn and finding Havel, having to do the whole area again for the 20th time. I just didnt get it, I felt like I was wasting so much time doing the same areas over and over. It was only until Dark Souls gained "Ultimate Game of All Time" that I played it again. I could not accept that this game beat some of my favourites of all time and argued with my friends about how absurd it was. After completing Dark Souls 1 offline, while the servers were down, I was completely hooked. Now I have completed Dark Souls 1-3 and Elden Ring. I am starting Sekiro now and its very different, I am struggling quite a bit, but I will master it. Souls games boil down to how much patience you have and determination to beat them, I get that now. You just have to stay calm and learn from your mistakes. They really are a journey though, I could speak for hours about my experiences in these games and that is rare these days. I think people have become very conditioned so the easy games of late. Since most AAA games want people to enjoy them, making them way easier, which is the main problem. Souls games are definitely an anomaly in this regard, they are very niche and I have no idea how the majority of gamers love these games. I am a fan and these games nearly mentally broken many times. I mean Midir in DS3 DLC, I almost gave up, I honestly thought it was impossible, but after about 40 attempts I finally beat him and the feeling was bliss. I believe that feeling of achievement is what keeps people playing. This sense of achievement carries over to real life, like when I learned guitar and piano, that feeling of being able to play your first song is immense and keeps you wanting to learn. Games should strive to do this more, test the players and not let gaming become a "waste of life", as a lot of boomers will say to them. Gaming should be a beautiful experience to learn and reflect on.

[@darkhousetheman]

The first time Havel hit me, my jaw was on the floor lmao. Sekiro is definitely different, but when it clicks, it may just be the best combat system ever made.

[@moistbig234]

I died laughing when you brought up rhe catacombs. I went straight there after the first bell thinking that was the next logical area... of course I missed the blacksmith so I was under leveled and didn't upgrade my weapons. After about 4 hours of agony it took me to get to pinwheel I did one shot him only to lose the souls to the giant skeleton waiting on the other side. So I made a new character and I was pissed to find the blacksmith right next to the church. I'm currently in anor londo and having a blast but I still cringe thinking about that first experience

[@feircy]

I spent 10 minutes killing a skeleton and still took about an hour to go "maaybe this wasnt the right direction" lol

[@taigas7779]

Currently going through the fromsoft games for the first time and I’m on ds2 have fun with the game man , also ds2 isn’t as bad as people make it out to be

[@JarrodShadowsonng]

@@taigas7779 DS2 is very decent. The DLCs especially.

[@gamer2101]

What an idiot. You missed the blacksmith!!! Lmao. Also I have done the exact same thing twitch. It happens to everyone. At least you didn’t quit and that’s more than most people!!

[@dragonmaster3030]

​@@JarrodShadowsonng biggest issue with ds2 is the art style and mainly hit boxes

[@Para2normal]

I'm old and my reaction times have slowed considerably over the years and I think it may be why I'm terrible at Souls games, but by all the gods I love these games so much. I've reached so many choke points that I just seem incapable of passing in all the Souls games because I don't care. The worlds, the Lore and the Enemies just fill me with joy.

[@stupidanon5941]

Souls games don't test your reaction time. If anything, what they test is your _timing_ , with all the slow-ball attacks bosses throw. What they _really_ test though, is how much you understand the game mechanics.

[@MichaelPallante]

It's not too difficult. Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 are the first AAA games I've ever played that aren't DOOM (I usually play throwback shooters / games from my childhood) and I'm able to take advantage of the options they give you when things get tough. I'm about to pick a game at random and play it to compare difficulty. But if a casual / non gamer can beat these games how can they be too difficult? That said- if a difficulty slider / other options were present I honestly don't think that would affect the games at all. I think there's a smugness about the "difficulty" of these games among a small group of players. The majority of the souls community seems just... happy to play and share the games with each other. And eager to offer help, summons, etc. to make it easier for each other.

[@hollow8257]

Great video, really high quality but it can always be better right so when talking about different precentages you should have them appear on screen because without the visual support its difficult to keep track anyway thats my advice but honestly you have really high quality content so congrats!

[@Thereisnogreatersword]

I came into the souls series after watching a bunch of analysis videos on souls games and tried to have the mindset of a veteran, by looking at the challenge itself as the fun rather than just the reward. Gundyr still beat my ass around ten to twenty times but I was laughing my ass off all throughout the fight and thoroughly enjoyed the entirety of dark souls 3, its pvp and pve as well as the dlc content. It's now my fave game of all time, only barely beating out titanfall 2. Every souls game has something to offer, dark souls 2 has its multiplayer and general jank, along with stupid variety of build options, dark souls 1 has incredible level design and a ridiculously well made open - closed world, and dark souls 3 has the best bosses you will ever see in any video game ever. Sekiro has the best combat you will ever see in a pve game, and whilst i haven't played bloodbourne there is no doubt it offers something no other game does. Elden ring also offers a huge open world brimming with variety, with the exception of a couple reskins and remasters of enemies, but is still a solid experience with a great community. If you haven't played souls games yet, play them. You'd be doing yourself a disfavour not to.

[@surfboy87]

Please play bloodborne man it's a fucking masterpiece

[@Thereisnogreatersword]

@@surfboy87 I would but I don’t fancy forking out 400 quid just to buy a ps, I’ll get back to you if it gets a pc release tho

[@deth8401]

@@Thereisnogreatersword Thats been a dream since the day it cam out, highly doubt it will ever happen.

[@Thereisnogreatersword]

@@deth8401 I’m a patient bastard, I will wait

[@brooklynborn]

Just earlier today I was mentioning that the first Dark Souls game was a hellish nightmare in comparison to the later games, most notably Elden Ring. Part of that was due to the controls, which were far less smooth than they are today, like Elden Ring and its many gameplay refinements. Bonfires were FAR less in abundance also, so runbacks were terrifying. You actually had to manage the level of damage/corrosion to your weapons/equipment, or risk your weapon breaking out in the field, far from a bonfire or blacksmith. Being Cursed was actually a big deal. Being Cursed or "Death Blighted" is a slap on the wrist now compared to what it used to be. I could go on and on but overall, that game was far less forgiving than any of the games after it. Sekiro might be an exception in its own way, though. I remember putting Dark Souls down for like 3 months out of frustration

[@Linkario]

Love seeing new video essay channels on my feed! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and exploring this topic. I feel like there are so many topics to explore when it comes to Dark Souls, it really is a work of art. Your point about losing all of your experience in a dungeon in FF after losing to the boss, but being able to retrieve it in DS is an interesting thought that I hadn't considered before. The game allows one to retain their experience through clever gameplay and subtly encourages one to explore and make mistakes by allowing for that moment of "once more". I also found your thoughts on the difficult aspects such as the lack of hand-holding, lack of direction, obscure elements, etc. to be quite sound as well. These features are of course a core element of the series at this point, but I could see someone bouncing off due to DS reputation and potentially overestimating the difficulty due to the rumors, mistaking that the game may not be for them upon first impression. Combine that with a relatively different control scheme, and the barrier of entry may just have been to high for some. Thanks again for making this, looking forward to seeing what you tackle next.

[@darkhousetheman]

Thank you for your comment. I've got two more shorter Souls videos in the works, and some others. Not entirely sure what I want this channel to really be at the moment, I'll just see what happens.

[@CasanOffi]

Thank you so much for this video. You described it perfectly why the Souls games means so much to me. I also like your calm voice, I could listen to you the whole day 😊

[@DIMOHA25]

Good achievement percentages argument. I watched this vid a while back and moved on, but the achievement percentage thing randomly came back to mind like an hour ago and I spent most of it trying to find this vid again. I'll drop a like now to avoid losing it again LOL.

[@KarlRock]

Well said! I’m playing Dark Souls for the very first time. I went through a lot of the feelings mentioned. Now I’m hooked. Dark Souls II next 😊

[@kephalai]

i found myself nodding throughout your whole video. very enjoyable listen :D great length too! subscribed~ will be watching your career with great interest :D

[@wiper7000]

Lovely video. I would have liked some visual aid when it came to all those numbers though. I'm the type to get glossy eyes when ever someone mentions a lot of numbers in short succession, so something to help me visualize it would have done a lot to help retain the info. Otherwise grand and lovely put together. Keep up the good work :)

[@procow2274]

13:30 just want to point out in order to perform at a high level in some armored core games you do indeed have some complex imputs. Trying to track a target in 3 dimensions manually while also managing weapons and energy and movement is no picnic

[@zlr9022]

Fantastic video, well done explaining what makes souls game so special Also i thought about this for a while and have always been on the side of adding an easy mode because i wanted my friends to be able to experience these games but the difficulty and time commitment is a turnoff for them. But after watching this video, now i understand why difficulty is so integral to the dark souls games and I imagine if they did have a easy mode my experience and love for this series would not have been like it is today.

[@carlkligerman1981]

I have to say as a casual gamer who put off any Souls games because of this reputational difficulty that I was surprised recently when I started Bloodborne. I would say the game is challenging, rather than difficult. All you really need to do is learn the combat mechanics though, once you do that you progress faster, and fro there it’s about learning the game. IMO though I’ve only played one Fromsoft title the balance between challenge and accessibility is absolutely spot on. I’m very casual (I’m a Dad) but after a few attempts things just clicked and I got ‘gud’ without really breaking too much of a sweat.

[@darkhousetheman]

I just want to say how absolutely insane it is that so many people have seen this video! I've enjoyed reading all the nice and encouraging comments, and taken on board the criticisms and disagreements. I have plenty more stuff on the way. Different games, movies, books, etc. As well as a few more ideas for the Souls series.

[@DavoInMelbourne]

Great vid mate. I had a shudder when you mentioned Lady Friede; I did eventually beat her but it did take a while and I lost count how many times I died.

[@megoodatgame8535]

I think some games just aren’t meant to be played by everyone. Nobody is out here saying Dead Space or any other horror game is too scary and it needs a less scary mode or something. Dark Souls being hard should be looked at the same way

[@megoodatgame8535]

I can elaborate but I don’t want to make an entire essay so I will leave it at that for now

[@darkhousetheman]

Agreed.

[@F2t0ny]

I've recently decided hard games just aren't for me. When I beat a boss in Sekiro or Bloodborne I just feel relief, not triumph. The training in Sifu taught me that I like games where I get to exert myself upon them, not constantly have me against the wall.

[@Virtzy_]

Great video and excellent points made, the quality and delivery of this video felt like it was a big channel and I didn't realise you was new. Keep up the work mate. I would possibly add some extra gameplay in the future other than repeating the trailers, you'll be a top channel in no time

[@darkhousetheman]

Thank you so much for the comment. I didn't expect anyone to watch, let alone leave nice comments. I absolutely agree about the gameplay. I actually have 2-3 complete playthroughs recorded of each of the games, but my hardware died. So, I'll have to use those in any future Souls videos when I get a new PC (which is soon)

[@asadgiratina5010]

Just started playing Darksouls 2 recently and something I've realized is that difficulty is not that important for a hard boss fight. I've found that plenty bosses in Darksouls 1&2 (not as much ds2 as far as I've seen) were quite a bit harder than Malenia or many other Eldenring bosses. Not because I died to them lots but because I wasn't having fun whilst fighting them. I think the main or one of the main factors contributing to a fun boss is the runback, The boss Gwyn for example could have easily been one of if not my favorite ds1 boss, if only there was a bonfire closer to the fog wall. Bad runbacks are near-nonexistent in Darksouls III and Eldenring. So much so that pretty much the only factor making a boss hard is the difficulty, which is great and how it should be. A while ago after I beat Darksouls remastered, I started Darksouls 2 and was disappointed the game still had runbacks. even through the runbacks though, I've enjoyed playing the souls series so much so that they are without a doubt some of my favorite games. This was a great video, I laughed a lot at the catacombs part. thanks.

[@alastor8091]

How do you judge a fight based off of things outside of the fight?

[@albertozalon8477]

Ehh malenia is pure bullshit once water fowl comes out. Elden ring is very heavy level and memorization based difficult. The gitgud aspect is weaker to the level uo aspect

[@Melotaku]

Another thing to consider when talking about the percentages of people who have played an completes the games, is that the people who are usually asking for an easy mode haven’t even played the game at all. I have a feeling if many of them did play it, the completion percentage would go down a bit.

[@TrueKivan]

I tend to put those games on ice 1/2, 3/4 or 4/5 way in, I play them until it's too much, but I always come back eventually. This series made me apprecieate playing without save scumming and embracing faliure. It also made me super cynical and nihilistic though. One day I will finish them all, I'm already proud I made it this far considering I cound't get into it at all for around 10 years. The crushing isolating atmosphere matched so perfectly with crushing isolating gameplay is often too much for me even on a good day, but I will never advocate for easy mode or any changes. It's just how those games are and should be.

[@theguy6680]

You would think nine years later I would have the darksoul trophy but no anyways this is an amazing video I hope you keep this work up I agree that dark souls isn't nowhere near as hard as people say just mostly just for learning curve you playing these games since I was nine years old back in 2014

[@darkhousetheman]

Funnily enough, I have the platinum in Bloodborne, Sekiro, Demon's Souls, and Elden Ring. But for whatever reason not in the Dark Souls trilogy.

[@adrijan127]

Damn, this was a really well made video. After I finished watching I wanted to check out the channel expecting at least a couple thousand subscribers, not 200. I'm impressed.

[@MouaffakKoubeisy]

Great video man I never thought about Levelling up as a built in easy mode before that’s a great connection u made there👍🏼

[@MOCTurtle4911]

I enjoyed this, and agree with most of the points. Though I have played games since the Atari was new, I am not some hyper skilled player. Given up on many a Souls game. Then my PS5 came in a bundle with Demon's Souls. So I gave it a try. Actually made the game harder by not understanding why I got invaded or why all of a sudden there were enemies in new places and they were outlined in red. Took me a week to fix my tendency and get through that area. Beating that game finally felt very good, in a way beating GTAV didn't. Felt like I had done something. Since then beaten Dark Souls and platinumed Elden Ring (and Code Vein) Started on DS3. One thing I do think is, accessibility options would be nice for those that need them. I don't think color correction for people with issues of color distinction or button remapping would make a hard boss easy. Leveling won't help you see red in a field of green.

[@lakejizzio7777]

Pleasantly surprised by Code Vein mention.

[@darkhousetheman]

Accessibility options are always a good thing to have.

[@MOCTurtle4911]

@@lakejizzio7777 I had started it because of the anime style. Gave up at a point due to difficulty. But after Demon's Souls started I had a taste for overcoming those things. The last boss in Code Vein is rough.

[@Agudname]

When I saw this video I was nice a good KZbinr so thought 10.000k or 100.000k but only 43 that is so dumb you deserve wayyyyyyy more

[@darkhousetheman]

You made my day!

[@user-df4kf6fg7h]

While I don't think Dark Souls *needs* an easy mode (*cough* greatshields and sorcery *cough*), I fundamentally don't believe in handholding the player by trying to protect them from "wrong" choices, by using the developer vision as an excuse. The more options a player is given to customize their experience, the better. But the point of Dark Souls is difficulty, so why even bother with the option? Because the more central something is to the core experience, the *more* important is for it to be customizable for individual preferences. Because just because a player was attracted to Dark Souls exactly because it has a reputation for difficulty, does not mean they would not prefer to have a further say in customizing that. So not only easy difficulty would be good, but also hard and very hard difficulties.

[@byronrudolph3139]

First time playing a souls game recently(DS3), and I gotta say. It’s so difficult that it’s addicting. Took me like 20 tries to beat the first boss, felt so relieved after I beat him. I’m bad at exploration games, so I’m still confused as to where I’m supposed to go in lothric but Ik I’ll get it soon.

[@GitGoodGaming]

135th sub! Keep up the good videos, sir! Also Platinum Gang WYA?

[@nationdemon]

Best explaination of not adding "difficulty" into an rpg. Thank you very much!

[@blaze595]

One particular phrase I've heard really well sums up my thoughts on these types of discussions: "Casuals are the true elitists; because they expect everything to be catered to them."

[@araxxara5079]

"Very nice video and a very important topic, but I would recommend that if you mention numbers and percentages, it would be better to write them on the screen so that viewers can follow you more easily.

[@darkhousetheman]

Absolutely agree. Thanks for the feedback

[@BaerndXP]

Good video! I've beaten Midir, Gael and the nameless King recently and must say that I agree with you in almost every point. And no, I'm not an overly skilled player or someone who ist naturally resistant to frustration, but I enjoy the process of developing a charachter from a maggot to a fighting machine and those games (DS1 - 3, favorite is SotfS) really got me on my balls. (total of 310 hours in the trilogy) Only thing I find a bit negative in this video is the point that I think "git gud" is always wrong and should be replaced by "have fun" or something. :)

[@AwwwBeanz]

I think the two main reasons FromSoft and their games are targeted in “game too hard” discussion is because they make great games that people want to play. So they died a few times to the same random enemy and get frustrated and quit. The other reason is the games are known for being difficult, so people go into the games thinking “this is going to be so hard I’m going to hate it” and their decision is already made from the start.

[@ileutur6863]

Everybody always talks about the raw mechanical difficulty of souls games, but honestly that's not that big of a deal, except in Sekiro. What really gets to me is the frequent withholding of information on things the player couldn't possibly know on their own. Sometimes giving vague information results in amazing stories of victory, like finding the bells of awakening, but it also causes extremely awkward moments. For example, when completing NPC side quests, the NPCs will just appear in different areas at certain points and you often don't get the slightest clue about where they're going next or what they're after. Some items give very detailed explanations while others are inaccurate or have no indication of what they do, for no apparent reason. I like games that don't hold your hand, but they really should explain their basic mechanics to you.

[@llawlied6902]

The NPC questlines at least mostly worked because of the level design in Elden rings open world it feels like they never play tested those quests like without a marker how would you know that am NPC is suddenly on the other side of the map?

[@darkhousetheman]

The quests, such as Ranni's, were far more forgiving in Elden Ring.

[@twyx6928]

After getting cursed and being stuck in Great Hollow in DS1, the feeling of going back up through Blighttown, while toxic(courtesy of blowdart bastard), then barely making it to Firelink and having to resort to humanities to heal was one of the best gaming-experiences I’ve ever had. This would probably not have happened with an easy mode.

[@joku1000000]

Now this is the video to end this tired topic once and for all. Everything you've said has been spot on and something i'd want to highlight is the notion of 'meaning' in games. Souls games are unforgiving, but only in the sense that you cannot swing your weapon or cast your spell whenever you want. If you could just R1 trade blows in these games, where is the meaning in combat?

[@machinehater5143]

This is actually a very good video, chapeu! After beating every Souls game, Bloodborne and even Sekiro i played God of War and set the difficulty on hard, because i am a pro, you know? But it felt horrible. You simply do less damage and feel "weak". The throw of this axe should do much more damage. What i want to say is: i appreciate every game that comes without difficulty -settings, and those who have them, i set on "normal". Everytine. I want to play the games as the developers had intended them to be

[@jamesarthurkimbell]

Good video. I think the last mention of artist vs consumer is important from the other side, too -- people who want difficulty options want them from a "customer is always right" point of view, where buying something gives you a certain claim on it, like asking for a sandwich with no pickle. But that's treating it like a product and not a piece of art, which is the whole debate, really.

[@blackestyang7528]

Elden Ring enemies oft move at the pace of Sekiro without the player being able to turn defense to offense. Bloodborne's parry is a math problem (when enemy does X, counter at Y time) instead of a skill problem, unlike Sekiro or Classic Souls. and Nioh and Wo Long don't hide their systems or use math problem parries and *still* expects the player to fail. The more interesting conversation is *how* these games become hard instead of *avoiding* it with an auto-win button what's surprising is how many "don't add easy mode" people would've turned down the difficulty slider if they could. *In a non-turn based methodical action game* , "don't play like an idiot" is still not a common enough mindset 🤔 in the end, it *is* Deck13's decision. It *is* Team Ninja's decision. and it *is* FromSoft's decision. If *they decide* to include formal difficulty selection, that is also *their decision*

[@jeffjefferson2853]

Dark Souls was never too hard, especially by today's standards. It's just that when it originally released back in 2011, virtually every other game was TOO easy.

[@gaming_shorts8549]

If I could replay a game for the first time again, it would be Dark Souls 3. I enjoyed the game from beginning to end. And the first time I beat the Soul of Cinder, Darkeater Midir and Gael, or Friede, or the Nameless King. OMG, the best feeling ever. I already completed the game 5+ times. It is difficult at first, but it is all about learning movesets, patience, timing. An easy setting in souls games would be a huge mistake. Soul of Cinder defeated me so many times I lost count on my first playthrough. But defeating him after like 6 hours of trying is a feeling an easy mode could never give.

[@DeeEll1]

the discussion about how a difficulty slider on an RPG would be redundant immediately made me think of pokemon and how fucking hard the first couple pokemon games were. so im glad that the comparison was also made in video

[@Gay_Charlie]

I've been playing Resident Evil 4 (2023) with the Dark Souls difficulty philosophy and it's amazing how many design flaws are exposed with enemy boundaries that compromises the AI aggression temporarily unlike Dark Souls where enemies immediately register aggression. It's still a work in progress and I'm even cutting a lot of games I know for sure I will not enjoy no matter how many restrictions or organic adjustments I make. So far figuring out technical boundaries and creating challenges based on the knowledge of how the primary core of how a video game works has worked immensely well for me. No Rolling/No Damage/No HUD on Hard Mode for the first Armoured Troll in Hogwarts Legacy was the most satisfying moment in the game for me however the rest of the game falls apart due to it's failure on understanding how to develop combat mechanics for advanced encounters that doesn't rely heavily on extremely overpowered aspects. The game also suffers from several bugs and glitches on Hard Mode which is unfortunately common among video games due to lack of proper playtesting and regulating.

[@Arrow_Sucks]

I hate the rep Dark Souls has as being the "hardest games ever" The soulsborne series isn't hard. It's challenging. It challenges the player and pushes them to their limits, but the obstacles it puts in the players way aren't impossible to get over. It's challenging, but fair, and the satisfaction of clearing said challenges is unmatched.

[@lawlietriver8869]

IMO the games are not too hard. They are very clever games. They will always supply you with something that will make the game easier to get through. Blighttown for example has the merchant that sells moss right before you get into the poison and toxic. Almost all (maybe all?) bosses have summons that you can use. It is really up to the player how difficult the game is going to be. Even Orstein and Smough are really not that difficult. If you apply fire to your melee weapon you can easily kill Orstein before Smough is even close enough to attack. Making it 2 1v1s, rather than a 1v2. If a person pays attention to what the game is hinting at, they will have exactly what they need to kinda just breeze through. If you ignore the signs, the game will make you pay. I ignored the merchant before Blighttown and bought nothing. So that place bent me over and gave me a spanking. Never again did I ignore the new thing that was being sold.

[@mobbs6426]

You've made every argument I ever have and gone into so much more deatail I'll be linking your video in future comment threads

[@Varg69420]

loved the vid, but if i had anything i would add, id show on screen where you got your completion percentages from. can't wait to see more

[@darkhousetheman]

Yeah, I agree. Definitely should have put those up.

[@clff1342]

I don’t care how many times I see a video titled is dark souls too hard, or does it need an easy mode. I’m clicking on the video. Another great one

[@Ardante11]

I tell people if it’s too hard: - get a friend(s) to join your game, you’ll get more confidence and progress better. - be patient and remember this game gets easier once you unlock the shortcuts and bonfires, if you backtrack from one of those points, most of the enemies are basically facing away from you and you can stealth kill the enemies and get more souls the easy way, but first you’ll have to overcome a challenge of getting to it. - Pick the class that suits you

[@creamcheeselord2249]

Great Video i am hyped for the next ones :)

[@darkhousetheman]

Got plenty planned, just don't know which to focus on first!

[@jaleelbyars403]

I always summed up Dark Souls as Hard but Fair. Level up your weapon and learn your enemies moveset

[@AiorosSagittarius]

Also, one enemy that especially younger players may face in FromSoft Games is their own short attention span / lack of patience / lack of perseverance. Like Dragonlord Placidusaxx, as an example; he's not difficult per se (except for those blasted lasers), his moves are not that difficult to read. He's about patiently waiting for openings to attack among his moveset.

[@kalmarhomar]

Rly nice quality video pls keep going ure a great addition to the media analysis community if I may say that not to offend you

[@darkhousetheman]

I will! Thanks for the nice comment.

[@suraimuzu1919]

That miltank reference hits lol, that damn Pokémon was one hell of a roadblock

[@44almm]

in my opinion its not the difficulty that's the problem its the lack of bonfires in some of the more late game areas. maybe bed of chaos / londo archers / crystal caves etc wouldn't be so hated if it didn't have a 2 minute runback each time.

[@darkhousetheman]

Yeah. I think sometimes it can be good, but the runback to the Bed of Chaos, for example, is unneccesary.

[@lawlietriver8869]

I hate bed of chaos with a passion. Not only is the boss just a gimmicky nightmare, but the runback is soooo long. I wanted to rip my face off out of sheer boredom. Imagine if the boss progression did not carry over. I might have cried. I 100% agree, the runbacks are the hardest part. Not because it is difficult, just because it is boring to do. It adds no real value to the experience IMO. I played Fallen Order on the hardest difficulty, and the game utterly kicked my ass. But when I was stuck at a boss, I got to just grind the boss. Instead of running for 2 minutes and then trying again. It was just attempt after attempt, making steady progress and then finally winning. Runbacks tilt me to no end. Being stuck doesn't tilt me at all.

[@rodrigoluzz7534]

I had a new run in remastered in the last month and my first death was when a got to anor londo and fell down from the painting area.

[@thomasking8184]

Souls vet here from Demon's Souls on PS3. Good video but I do think you gloss over the accessibility options. When you get to things like memory problems and slow reaction times, accessibility options would include things like dialogue logs, longer invincibility frames, or other game changing modifications. I think those are valid options for people, who struggle due to body/mind limitations, to get the same feelings of an achievement as most other players. One way to better understand this is thinking when "we" are 70/80/90 years old are we going to be able to play our favorite games when our bodies are falling apart? But in this discussion many fans dismiss these kinds of accessibility options. I think this topic deserves more attention than hand waving it away as moralizing. If nothing else accessibility should be separated from the easy mode discussion. I truly think these are two different topics.

[@mindtreat]

I think they took a wrong path in Elden Ring with the changes in how the AI works. The input reading is an absolute disaster mechanic if you ask me, the AI can react way faster than any human on your button pressing so it actually feels a bit unfair. As well as the enemies being able to not only stop half way in combos, but adding a delay between the different attacks disrupts your sense of timing. DS1 was rock solid that way, and when you actually got good, you felt good. In ER you feel cheated sometimes with the way a boss can just linger, and linger, and linger... Until you press a button. Not to mention the way they make you feel like you should explore the world of ER, only to get to a hard reach point where you see a purple item, and find... a Nascent Butterfly... or a leaf... I have to add, i absolutely LOVED my first playthrough... But I explored and covered so much that 2nd and 3rd playthrough I didn't find any sort of incentive to explore those places again and went only for the storyline of the NPC's... Which again requires you to either become a master detective and analyzer of cryptic messages, OR just google them. Another big thing i dislike in ER is the dodge. It is not really responsive with the fact it only reacts on button release, and not on a press. This is due to it using the same button for running and dodging, which is a bad idea imo. The character control feels like a dark souls movement, but still clunky and awkward at times. It doesn't seem so hard to make a "Difficult game", i could do the same with a 128x128 crossword puzzle, and then add "Its mixed languages, and contains 100 possible languages to use" and thus make it the worlds most difficult crossword puzzle. Same with gaming. You can make a pixel perfect jumping spot that requires you to react on 1ms and call it "hard". Those a my 50cent on difficulty, and i will end with saying that DS1 did almost everything perfect, and still is one of my top favorite games of all time.

[@darkhousetheman]

I agree , Elden Ring input reading was a bad idea.

[@Fluskar]

i honestly strayed away from these dark souls games because of all the "difficulty talk" but i took a shot at one of the games a while back and now im hooked. i think the difficulty discussion is honestly a bit overblown imo. theres plenty of ways to overcome the toughness if you really wanted to, like overleveling or the phantom summons.

[@maxblack2347]

It's so funny that you made the Dark Souls and Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 platinum comparison cause I (for some reason) actually did get the platinum in both of those games lmao

[@HervisDaubeny69]

For me Elden Ring was my first Fromsoft game. I played it for 600 hours and 100% it 200 hours in. Going from someone who hated holding down B to sprint and didn’t understand how the inputs to two hand my weapon worked to beating Melania NG+7 no summons with my trusty +25 Quality Nobles Slender Longsword (best weapon in the game btw) should show how much I love ER. Just yesterday I finished 100% on Dark Souls 1 after 65 hours. I used a Lightning Longsword and the elite knight set, then from NG+ I used Gwyns sword. I can say as someone new to Fromsoft that Dark Souls isn’t ‘hard’, it’s controls are just frustrating at times. My biggest gripe is when locked on you can only roll in 4 directions, which I didn’t realize till NG+. That and the game feels disengaging, but I attribute that to an Elden Ring bias. Dark Souls requires a slower and more methodical approach than Elden Rings faster paced combat. But at times it felt like I just had to twiddle my thumbs and wait for my turn to walk up and swing once. Dark Souls DLC was my favorite part of the game, and Artorius is my favorite fight. It felt faster paced, I was more proactive in my defense then just walking back or to the side. What I really like about both games is how much damage both the enemies and I deal to each other. Everyone does respectable damage, and the power creep on the players side really sells the feeling of growing stronger as you progress. I’m not sure if I would have struggled more or less if I hadn’t played Elden Ring prior. It’s clear to me how Elden Ring innovated on the formula, and gameplay wise I can appreciate Dark Souls. But I don’t see myself going back to it anytime soon. At least not Dark Souls 1, though I’ve been told endlessly that Dark Souls 2 is slower. I’ll probably go through Sekiro first cause I’m not buying a PS4 to play one game.

[@im_cart8656]

having been a day 1 of release invader since ds1. it's always felt like with each release the likelihood of people soloing the game... that is adapting to the difficulty this video is referring to.. has decreased significantly with each title. in DeS probably 90% of ppl solo'd the majority of the game and only summoned when they got stuck, which i is the notion behind the mechanic to start with (idk who has heard miyakazi's reasoning of summons and having a car stuck on a snowy road and a stranger you will never meet again gets you back on your way.) also, since nobody knew what we were really getting into, nobody was buying this game with their friends.. it was viewed a solo endeavor. with ds1 3/4 of ppl summoned when needed or solo'd it all. ds2 was pretty similar on initial release. ds3 was where it all changed though and people started buying the game WITH their friends.. it was a coop game to alot of people.. that is people wouldn't of considered buying it without the idea of playing with their mates. and maybe 1/4 of people solo'd all the content or summoned for 1 or 2 bosses. i know this is also where they changed the invasion system to target worlds with more than 1 player as well.. but also the huge jump in people complaining about invaders in general. like it was always a thing people hated, but now if you were an invader people thought you were a immoral person irl for some reason. he whole "i just want to play with my friends." ER has thrown that out the window entirely.. and i don' like ER.. but i'd guess 1/4-10% of players actually solo the game and didn't use spirit ashes. since 90% of ppl on the internet claim they have solo'd the game when having a fromsoft related debate as their resume for their good opinion.. i just assume people are lying at this point about it. and not that i really engage with the community much since again i really dislike ER.. but when someone did say "i've solo'd x amount of fromsoft games.. so i'm right" i'd always ask them for a link to their sekiro achievements.. which literally every time they would say "i didn't like the combat so i didn't get/finish it" ER... the saving grace.. ironically killed the playerbase of ds3.. and dipped 2 and 1, which sucks too. usually every time a From game dropped, it boosted the other games numbers. RIP dark souls

[@im_cart8656]

i guess the larger point im making is.. the easy mode is summons.. which is why Sekiro was the game that really had people saying things about difficulty as the only difficulty options made the game harder. ik ppl said it for 3/BB/ER.. but no where close to the extent of Sekiro, because they can just summon and trivialize the entire game.

[@louisguerpillon4960]

this vid was awesome, hope more is to come!

[@darkhousetheman]

There are!

[@rohitchaoji]

Some of the most difficult games I have played had difficulty options, but the actual fun was playing them at moderate-hard difficulties, which the games were specifically designed around. For example: Blood. I played it at Lightly Broiled and it made me rage quit halfway through the second episode.

[@tileux]

Its sometimes frustrating, but only (a) when youre learning and (b) when you screw up. But the key is learning and using all the game mechanisms and combat mechanisms. Im a huge sekiro fan and the people i see complaining about sekiro’s difficulty are usually people who play it like its mechanisms are the same as Souls games. When even between the souls games the mechanisms are different. If you dont understand or learn the mechanisms youre going to really struggle, especially in sekiro. Co-op is the easy mode. And its also a fun mode. I co-op and solo in all ds games. And i get satisfaction in helping people in these games and sometimes getting others to help me. I dont agree you get less satisfaction from the easier co-op mode - its just a different, more sociable, satisfaction. Its also often pretty funny. Towards the end of elden ring i started to find it a bit boring so i summoned co-ops on the final few bosses just to speed through those fights. Amd thats perfectly legit - sometimes you dont want to spend hours getting through a boss (and some people dont have the time to spare).

[@Wayne-jh4mi]

This remindered me about my first o & s run. Spent several hours on there then randomly remembered I had 1 humanity and my stupid decided to use it for a summons instead of kindling the bonfire. On my way to summon sign I got invaded and lost the humanity. It was at that moment I decided fuck it and beat o & s with five estus probably one of the best moments of my life so far. Never relied on summons since unless it's just a hassle to beat the boss on new game

[@chadwolf3840]

Great analysis!

[@donteddy1858]

If you talk to the crestfallen knight at firelink shrine he tells you where to go (undead burg and blighttown)

[@dinkidink5912]

The completion rates really destroys the whole difficulty argument in my mind. Side note I don't tend to finish many games, often once I feel I've mastered the mechanics I lose interest or something comes up and I can't play for a few weeks and never go back. Right now I'm about 3/4s of the way through Sekiro and I don't want it to stop, it might be the first game I ever do NG+. I struggled hard early on and even now I don't feel my deflecting is what it could be but I'm mildly obsessed with this game :)

[@darkhousetheman]

The deflecting didn't fully connect with me until NG++. And still, when I go back to Sekiro after the other From Soft games, that bloody ogre beats me up.

[@andrewlatourette428]

Good video. Videos like this are the reason I gave Dark Souls a second try. And now I've managed to beat all of the Souls games except Sekiro. I'm still not great at these games, but it's been fun.

[@mattyboi070707]

It’s weird that it’s such a point of contention, I don’t remember the games from my youth having difficulty settings. Games like sonic and Mario never did, at least not to my memory.

[@CJ-if1ry]

I have played most of the souls games, but still found myself hitting a wall here and there (am not the best). For Elden Ring, I had to summon 2 human players to help me finish the final 2 bosses. I tried my best over and over again but still couldn't do it, so I felt a bit defeated having to result to assistance like that. However, I never would have completed it without the assistance.

[@GilboPaints]

I appreciate this video. I try pretty hard to let my friends know that the games aren’t actually hard, but they get really hung up on the “dark souls hard” stuff.

[@obitosenju3768]

I mean they are hard. Yes lets say in ER you can grind to the point it is not but so you can with any game. Dark souls is not the hardest series in the world but for a casual gamer it is gona be very hard

[@NickC_222]

In the interest of precision, I try not to refer to FromSoft games as "difficult," because, at least the overwhelming majority of the time, I don't think that word really applies quite as accurately as some other, better words. As someone who only got into FromSoft games after Elden Ring (I've since beaten the entire mainstream catalogue,) the "difficulty" hype I think does more harm than good, scaring off prospective gamers who wouldn't struggle any more than the average Souls player. Instead of "difficult," I talk about FromSoft games being very precise or specific, and I discuss the learning curve (which, aside from parrying, is usually not super steep,) but those things aren't quite the same thing as being difficult, I don't think, unless you're doing a challenge run, or are doing something obviously wrong. If you do everything wrong, then yes, it's gonna be very difficult, but the right approach is almost never a secret (except in a few gimmicky and niche inatances.) At the end of the day, the minimum you really have to do to win in FromSoft games is learn when to block/dodge, and when & how to attack. SL1 runs show us that even your gear doesn't matter anywhere near as much as your actions. Without the above knowledge you're going to struggle a lot, but facing a Silver Knight, for example, even at SL1, isn't really difficult if you know how to approach it in a precise, specific way. Have a good shield or dodging skills and prepare to circle around behind them for free and easy backstabs. I wouldn't call that strategy difficult at any level, but it is definitely a precise and specific strategy that does take some learning beforehand.

[@CasulKioku]

i actually have a small story for the reason i do not like having a difficulty slider in games. after playing through god of war 2018 i make it to the Valkyrie queen boss fight. And i kid you not after 7 long hours of fighting this one boss and needed to bring the game back because i rented it from a movie store i caved in and changed the difficulty down and beat the boss. But i felt nothing after that in fact i felt kinda bad to me it felt unearned comparing it to when i first my first tough boss in dark souls 2 the pursuer when i beat him i felt so happy and accomplished because i put in the work to learn his patterns and fight him 1v1 like a real dual.

[@brentsummers6296]

Amazing video!

[@shadowotter3116]

I’m not great at the games but i can still make it to the end credits. I feel the difficulty is perfect where it is. It really does feel good getting out of that comfort zone and dealing with a seemingly impossible situation. But you overcome that challenge and feel incredible for it.

[@hornantuutti5157]

Bought cyperpunk few days ago and steam rolled it in couple of days.. Buggy, pretty lame story and no challenge.. After that waste of money i am happy to go back playing fromsoftware games and keep on dying lile the little biach i am. Tarnished...

[@cryptocunt5402]

Great video bro keep going!

[@darkhousetheman]

Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

[@VideoGameVillians]

I mean... I completed Lego Harry Potter but I don't have the platinum because my collect all gold bricks trophy glitched and didn't register when I got the last one. This glitch may well be a part of that game's lower completion percentage. I have also platinumed every Soulsbourne except Elden Ring fyi.

[@OscarPered]

the real difficulty with Dark Souls is to figure out what the hell is going on, cause you get zero instructions, but once you've figured it out and got to know the mechanics of the game it's not that hard. It's challenging for sure, but not as impossible as it may seem at first play.

[@-Kuro.]

16:30 - 17:30 I've never even considered this before but it's genius.

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

Absolutely agree. In fact i just beat Manus again yesterday for the hundreth (exaggerated) time. Dark souls is great because it is challenging and no hands holding. Difficulty is in my hands with levels and summons and weapons. The game is as difficult or EZ as i want it.

[@Zom-B-Gone]

That was an amazing video. 👍

[@InMaTeofDeath]

I quit DS1 probably 3 times before a few years later I took a chance and bought Bloodborne for $20, probably among the best values for the money I've ever had considering it opened the door to the entire genre. The only one I haven't played now is Demon Souls due to not owning a PS3 or PS5.

[@UncleReamus]

Great video. Earned my sub.

[@darkhousetheman]

Thank you!

[@dafff08]

difficulty options are just a crutch for bad balancing design. a game that has good difficulty scaling will give you multiple options to solve a problem. being it by either brute forcing your way with technical skill and game sense, taking it slower and use the arsenal you have been given, or grind a bit to either outstat the enemies or "abuse" a borderline op weapon that has to be "crafted" or is hidden somewhere deep in the world. the latter still involves commitment by actually looking things up or simply explore the world and get to know the mechanics.

[@joelpettersson4055]

Well no but it can definitely be very hard depending on your build and how you enterperate the challenge. If you focus on leveling up your vitality and stamina instead of focusing on something that increases damage than the game gets harder and if you enterperate the game as a numbers game instead of a timing game than you will have a harder time. Make a dex build and learn how to dodgeroll and you will have a far smoother ride than you otherwise could