Kyir

https://clips.twitch.tv/idlethumbs/GentleManateeFUNgineer

Nick putting on the Calamity Ring is amazing. I can't wait to hear about it on the podcast after a stream full of frustration.

I absolutely refuse. SL1 runs sound really tiresome, not sure why anyone puts themselves through that unless they've become so good at a game that they need to do something completely crazy for it to become challenging. It's like where people who become super fit have to worry about their heart not working well enough while they're asleep.

I did my whole playthrough a week before DS3 came out, so I haven't really had the time to go back to it until now.

I have to agree on the first Souls game you play generally being the hardest. A lot of the skills you need are cross-game even with slight mechanical changes. DS2's bosses destroyed me on my first playthrough, but I'm doing it again with the Covenant of Champions on and I'm one-shotting bosses, so I expect most of them to not be a huge problem for Nick once he has two games under his belt (at least for the first few streams.) Can't say the same about the DLC content, so it's good it's getting saved for last. Also, just so you know Nick, you should probably be getting the Scholar of the First Sin version of DS2. It comes with DLC included, and has some tweaked enemy/item placement that I found to improve the game a lot.

Is there any NPC Nick will hesitate to attack? https://clips.twitch.tv/idlethumbs/ColorfulVultureOMGScoots is the only good clip I've taken probably.

I appreciated the very subtle "mom's spaghetti" that got snuck in without notice. I also think it's interesting that ProblemMachine's reputation in Nick's mind is apparently "guy who says shitty things" when he's the most helpful person in chat pretty often.

Since sending in an email a while ago about twitch integration, I've realized there are actually a lot of games with it. Clustertruck also has some pretty deeply ingrained chat-based functionality for instance (I would love to see a Clustertruck stream.)

That was Nick-induced failure though. Everyone else has to counterbalance it or he'll just spend all day running off ledges with 25k souls.

I'm just kidding though, the stream was really great! I'm looking forward to the next one.

https://clips.twitch.tv/idlethumbs/BeautifulCockroachSmoocherZ AND HERE'S WHERE WE AL LDIED FNB

I don't think I really did that much in the end (maybe some in terms of moral support.) I would definitely say that Nick's picked up on a lot of the patterns of these games in terms of what to look for, where to go, how to fight, etc. He doesn't need us wailing at him in chat now, but it sure is amusing!

I still feel like that visualization of DS2's layout is purposefully unfair. It's certainly less interconnected than the first game (most games are,) but there's plenty of nooks and crannies and side paths to explore. Excited to see Nick get there eventually (and for more DS1, and for Bloodborne.)

It's such a relief to watch other people struggle as much as I did in chat. They will feel the pride eventually too.

I think DS2's DLC was the best of the series, but I firmly disagree with most of the complaints about this first one for DS3. It's not perfect, but it's a refreshing diversion in setting from the main game, has a bunch of interesting ideas and tidbits, and one boss I really like (though it kicked the shit out of me for trying to do it in NG+3 my first time.) Great music, challenging combat, all that.

There is still the Nameless King too, can't forget about him (unless I managed to completely miss it?) We've all been waiting for that grudge match and the subsequent tears. Either way, I think the newest DLC is approximately the length of one solid stream, and I enjoyed it a lot, so it would probably be good to stream now before you mess up all your muscle memory with other slightly different souls games.

There's even more Dark Souls 3 content for Nick to stream now! Gotta get on it.

Still excited to see the last DS3 stream. It'll be interesting to see how much internalization is left by then.

The Liquid vs. EG finals are going to be amazing.

I hate that only Liquid or Navi could get out of that Bo1. It doesn't even feel like a real victory to just win one game.

I think this TI's meta is probably the most open it's ever been with respect to drafting. Not a huge surprise that even the best drafters are getting caught with their pants down.

I have such enmity for Secret right now after they knocked Liquid down to the lower bracket when it was impossible for them to get out anyway.

I still believe in Liquid after that group stage. It's gotta just be part of the master plan... right?

Probably safe to assume that the top-performing teams of the group stage will suffer more in the group stages, as with previous TIs. Analysis gets focused on their drafting and playstyle, and there's at least two days for teams to find weaknesses in both. I'd be looking for one of the 2nd-4th place finishers to be the ones making the strongest runs in the bracket.

I'd love Far Cry 2 speedruns, except for the fact that I remembered there's a 5-minute unskippable cutscene at the start. It made my own attempts at a speedrun pretty miserable. So I guess DS1 has my vote.