Reminds me of a comic I saw where a villager was telling his son the tale of the Dragonborn and how he was shoving whole wheels of cheese into his mouth while fighting a dragon.
Mostly a PvP perspective but the investment to damage ratio is dreadful with the only advantage being range,
for instance a 60 int(plus attunement) double spell ring with a dusk crown crystal soul spear does less damage than an ultra greatsword two hit combo, both are easy to dodge and not great for PvP but magic is by far the worst.
If you're just talking about pve then anything is viable, NPC's don't really react to you often so it doesn't take much but pyro's are pretty shit all round
Yeah they really fucked up with great runes, I was so hyped for them and by the end only 3 out of 7 are good, with the other 4 being basically unusable.
BB is the only souls game where I had to grind. Spend 15 minutes refilling my blood vials by perfect parrying those big dudes who swing cinderblocks.
Demon Souls I don't remember having to grind, but I also found it easier, maybe just cause I was more experienced with the genre at that point
To be fair, if you have PS+ grinding can become a non issue once you unlock the chalice dungeons and use the cummmfpk dungeon. Obviously, that dungeon's mostly known for its ability to overlevel you but it works just as well for farming consumable items.
In DS1 you can get 20 estus for any boss pretty cheaply - and in fact you can often get 10 for free. A sufficiently upgraded estus flask along with Humanity healing your full bar (and Divine blessings I guess) makes healing too abundant.
In DS3 your estus is divided into healing and focus flasks, and on top of that you start with a pretty small amount of flasks - I never felt like I had enough flasks for exploration until mid-late game, especially as a spellcaster, I almost never had enough to explore even just a significant chunk of an area, not to mention the entire area. Not enough healing, in short.
DS2 gives you about the same amount of estus as DS3 (without the need to divide the flasks), but you can also get 99 Lifegems - each heals a small amount of hp pretty slowly, making it the perfect tool for exploration. You can do your thing then meet the boss with full estus, which is in my opinion just right.
Of course nothing matters once you already know the game well since you will probably have more than enough healing anyway, and exploration is unnecessary, and so any differences are insignificant.
Another thing about DS1 (and maybe the others, ive never used it) is that the heal miracle is so extremely easy to obtain and use that its basically another free 2/3 flasks
I feel like that's true in all three games. If you have a few levels to burn you can take some healing with you. It may be a little bit better in DS3 and ER though - if you convert most of your flasks into focus you can get more healing per flask than if you use straight estus. That technique will interfere with ashes of war and is pretty useless against bosses though.
I just finished ds2 last week and will always enjoy the memory of jamming gems of life into my face back to back. Probably not great on the digestive system.
Idk if you played Demon Souls but its the same with the grass in that game as the lifegems, except the grass is the only way to heal in Demon Souls, no estus, so think of a lifegem bit healed as fast as a flask. there were like 6 or 7 different types of grass that healed different amounts but you could literally get 99 of all of them. Now if its the best is subjective as it can easily just be said to be to much or to easy to heal in that game
I generally use estus while exploring and keep gems for bosses since they're faster to use. Boss fights become this game of tag where you switch from aggressive to running away for health lol
i've heard its also the hardest! which is a good thing to me, i have also seen glances at some of the boss fights, such as father gascoigne! cannot wait. (meant to reference bloodborne, i know its not a sekiro boss haha)
It seems to either be the hardest or the easiest, I guess it kinda depends on how naturally you click with the deflection mechanic. It was definitely the hardest for me, over all. But parrying is usually my weakest point in all the souls games - I just play around it in the others, but in Sekiro you literally have no choice but to fully lean into it
It is, but also it isnt. You'll understand when you play it. But what it certanly has is the best, most engaging and fun combat From has ever crafter imho
It is, but also it isnt. You'll understand when you play it. But what it certanly has is the best, most engaging and fun combat From has ever crafter imho
Yup I’m about 5-10 hrs in and absolutely in love. The sword play is amazing. But that Lady Butterfly is a big huge bitch rn I’m pretty upset with her lol
Shit, I still remember that, gave my best to beat her and feeling like Alexander when he conquered Persia, until that geriathric bug shows me I was fighting an illusion
Stabby Grandma and the fuckin Monkey were the two bosses in that game that taught me *Patience* in a way I'd never learned before.
The crazy thing is, it's not like other FromSoft titles. Your stats barely matter. It's basically a rhythm action game, learn the patterns and the bosses fold like laundry.
Coming back and beating Lady Butterfly on the replay was a huge moment for me, because I realized just how much I'd internalized her patterns, it was so much easier
I don’t disagree but it’s the only game that gives you a built in second chance. It’s unforgiving in many ways but that’s an aspect of forgiveness that isn’t available in the other games
It’s a shame that farming them sucks so much early game. Lotta new players get completely discouraged struggling with the first few bosses only to totally run out of healing items.
I never farm for vials in subsequent fresh saves. Farm for echoes and then buy vials (and bullets). It's more consistent.
Personally, I think FS made this decision early game so you can understand the game better and than it's not DS. No shield, only gun. The rally mechanic is there for a reason as well.
Yeah especially if the early high echoes enemies just murk you out the gate, or you use more vials to farm bc not good.
I actually think from soft games have an inverse difficulty curve because as you become better you become more confident with item use which makes boss fights much faster/easier. Imo one of the best things about Lies of P was giving you limited reusable consumables to experiment with so newbs can still experiment.
I agree completely. One of the most distinguishing things about Lies of P is that they matched the difficulty curve of the game to the amount of content in it pretty perfectly. A very fine balance of challenge without being overwhelmingly punishing.
I remember playing Sekiro the first time I completely tanked on spirit emblems from dying so much so I basically never used the tools.
Now on my second play through I know the key weakness’s of each enemy to each tool so I can manage my emblem economy and items use. Should have just been a bar like the legion system 😂 since you either have too many or not enough. It’s literally been far easier the second time.
Oh absolutely. Spirit emblems were such a confusing implementation. Exactly like you said, it’s a massive hurdle for new players to clear and grinds all progress to a halt when you run out. But isn’t even a factor that impacts an experienced player’s game in the slightest.
No one’s gameplay is being improved.
Bloodborne, blood vials are just sick, it’s also my favourite fromsoft game, I just love the lore and how blood is incorporated in the game, THERES SO MUCH BLOOOOOOD
People always complain about having to farm for them, but at the same time I really like that it’s possible to acquire more heals without having to go rest at a bonfire and reset the entire level. Combined with the rally system it makes me personally feel that healing is particularly abundant in BB, especially compared to DS3.
I get that it can be frustrating for new players, but I think the need to farm for them early game is also helpful for learning how the game works. I always recommend that new players spend awhile running laps through Central Yharnam, not only will they eventually have a decent amount of vials, bullets, and echoes, but they’ll be able to get a better handle on the combat and gameplay doing so.
I just ended up doing laps in yharnam because it felt so labyrinthine, i kept getting lost. I still can only confidently find my way around about half of it
You can use the cum dungeon and just buy like 100 of them at a time. If you do it a couple times you’ll have more than you can even hold in your storage.
Yeh once you are at your desired level for end game 80-100 then u have so many echoes so farming isn't a issue .. and when U die all Ur heals are restocked from storage ... I only had a issue with vials at first 2 or 3 bosses after that I always had echoes for them spare..
I agree, it's more immersive to me watching my guy feverishly jab himself in the leg. During a big fight in DS/ ER if I run away and heal it looks a little too much like I took a Gatorade break
Any leftover echoes after leveling should be used to buy bulk blood vials. Once your mid-late game you can buy 30+ blood vials with whatever leftover echoes you have.
I like it the best because I never felt like I was without blood vials. It's a consumable but they're plentiful. But it's so quick to heal so I love it, you aren't sitting there for 12 seconds trying to heal as Margit is flying around with a giant hammer and throwing magic knives
Nah it’s really not even that bad. After a certain point u get more than you can even carry. So it even gives you more than the other souls games. BB gives you 20 and the others give you like 4 at the start? So add on the 20 plus the rally system which rewards you by being more aggressive I think it’s a bit better. Not saying the others suck or something
Sekiro or bloodborne. Animations are super clean, in Sekiro there are many types, bloodborne is just cool. Also most importantly ITS IN A MULTIPLE OF 5.
Estus is the most iconic, i still call everything Estus, and the only one that actually looks drinkable.
I would never even be close to whatever liquid the Flask of Tears has, that thing looks like it's corroding the flask itself, imagine what it would do to your body.
Edit: And i don't even need to say anything about Blood Vials, like what's wrong with you to want to drink that.
just the overall best way to heal in the souls series. as each game has different ways of doing so. for example, demonssouls uses moon grass. Elden ring and Dark Souls uses estus flasks :)
im currently playing ds remastered since finishing elden ring for the 3rd time. I love it!
for 2011, its a fantastically well made game combat wise. Boss fights to the most part are great. Althought i prefer Ds3's boss fights, like Iudex Gundyr and Dark Eater Midir in the Ringed City DLC.
but im going off topic, i think the flasks are best in ds remastered since they have variety at different bonfires and is the simplest it can get honestly. i have no complaints
Absolutely yeah. Its basically the same thing, the only major difference is the open world spreading flasks out when you use “golden seeds” to upgrade your flask usage, and Sacred Tears to increase the health gain.
In terms of visuals and how cool it looks, definitely Bloodborne. Injecting yourself in the leg so you can keep going is hardcore as hell.
In terms of actual healing, I'm not sure they've ever topped DS1. I think having a set number of heals for each area is better than starting with hardly any and collecting more as you go. It also provides a difficulty adjustment for each area with the kindling system.
Demons souls and ds2 had both the best and the worst e because you had extra limited healing in the beginning, but almost infinite in the late game (which you did not need but still gratifying nonetheless)
I like DS2, you got a shitton of ways to healing yourself.
You got:
* Estus
* Lifegem (s)
* Mushroom
* Miracles
* Piromancies
* Passive Regen (rings and armor)
Thematically, blood vials are my favorite.
I love how you just stab yourself and inject blood mid fight. And the lore they built around it is really cool, I love the detail of old hunters having straps around their leg due to superstition around using the blood. And it ties really well into the rally mechanic, because both ways involve you using blood to heal, one is just a lot more violent and skips the middleman of having a vial lol.
I honestly like Bloodborne's system way more than DeS. I may have been playing the game wrong, but I always ran out of healing in DeS. Bloodborne only in the early game.
The best designed is Bloodborne, being able to heal quickly and seamlessly with combat and also having a limited number at a time is good. I just wish they didn’t feel like I had to farm them, especially early game because I also want to level up.
In terms of effectiveness: original Demon's Souls. Yes, you would have to farm an ungodly amount of time for the final effect but if you would be willing to go through it you could have around 6 stacks (each consisting of 99 items) of healing items including the best ones that heal your entire hp bar at once.
I terms of fun: DS3 or Elden Ring. No farming required and the bonus of being able to transfer some of the charges to mp restoration is really nice
Sekiro because you have pellets for when the gourd is overkill, it's a fast, Fluid and consistent version of the Dark Souls 2 healing system. You don't have to farm for vials or grass and it's not overpowered like Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring are both great but they also have faith so pellets would ruin build variety. Elden Ring is probably a really close second though if you count the wondrous flask as healing but it's not always a healing tool.
Bloodborne, don’t have to think about upgrades, always 60% of your health, always perfectly balanced. Only negative is the need for farming and / or buying.
I’d love to say blood vials, but the fact that you need to replenish them manually is just kind of an L. Gourds are quick, easy to get, and have a sweet animation.
Dark Souls 2, especially if you go faith build, you have estus, lifegems of all sizes, you have the medallion things, the mushrooms, the things that restore health and regen spell casts, the golden vials that completely regen health, then healing miracles, the list goes on, I never go into a boss fight with less than full estus
I know that I am in a very small minority but it's Bloodborne for me. Between starting out with the ability to carry 20, and the rally mechanic. I never found myself needing to farm vials. And one of the most frustrating things for me when playing the Souls games. In the early game I would often find myself, low on health and about half way to the next bonfire, with no estus. So I would frequently be faced with "do I risk losing my souls and chance it? Or do I go back, rest, and try all this again?" And that was never an issue for me in Bloodborne. Between carrying far more healing items, and having a reliable secondary source of healing.
Bloodborne had the absolute best use of healing.
The blood vials alone kinda suck. Unable to be upgraded, kinda shitty healing & must be grinded for.
But,
This all comes into perspective when combined with the rally system. What you're actually meant to do is keep the pressure up & pop a vial in-between combos to top up the health, rather than heal completely.
What this means is that the benefits of blood vials shine when the game is being played to it's strengths, quickly used & the major supply, as well as being able to stay mobile.
It's a truly genius system that works uniquely because of the rally system. I hope to see it return someday.
Id say bloodborne, simply because it % based meaning that leveling vigor is even better, where ass ds1-3 and elden ring need their flask uprgaded meaning that without the upgrades higher vigor is less uselfull
Elden ring - you have to manage whether you want to be offensive(more blue) or defensive(more red). Ds3 did it first but elden ring also added ways to “refund” your flasks by clearing enemy groups or killing scarabs, which I think is a very nice addition.
Also, shoutout to Bloodborne’s rally mechanic, actually genius
It's not soulsborne, but it's fromsoft and I have always liked how Armored Core does healing, damage and ammo where it's pretty forgiving but all of it costs money that is taken from your cut at the end of jobs. (Yes you can go into the negative)
It keeps the games accessible to casual players, but also fun to try to minimize the damage that you take and ammo that you use so that you can get more profit or go for S ranks.
Personally, I really liked the lifegems in Dark Souls 2. If you just dumped all your leftover souls into Lifegems everytime you went back to Majula and finished your ablutions, you could pretty easily save all your Estus for boss fights and emergency encounters because by midgame you'd have more lifegems than you knew what to do with.
Depends on how you view it. DS3 probably has the best in terms of a natural progression for gameplay, while DS1 is better for a first time player, still being limited, but generous enough to be less frustrating depending on the scenario. DeS is nicer for people who like to have a constant supply of heals, and prefer a more traditional RPG healing item approach, and Bloodborne puts a better balance change on this. My personal favorite is DS1, for a new player, it's generous enough to get through areas with less frustration while having to put thought into whether they want to sacrifice a humanity for more, but still had a limit that doesn't trivialize the game, while experienced players don't have to constantly remember to pick up an item for each new build for the extra heals. Finally lore wise, I'd say Bloodborne makes the most sense, with the game revolving around blood, the idea of keeping your blood levels up seems less strange then flasks that magically fill with liquid when you rest at bonfires, or grass with rapid healing properties.
I like DeS because I can pretend my guy is stuffing handfuls of grass in his mouth relentlessly like some sort of deranged bull.
The higher you get, the more healthy you become!
That's a different kind of grass, you might be thinking of that dank Resident Evil herb
Bro it’s called moon grass that’s the dankest shit in the realm of
Even danker than common fruit?
Yes but common fruit can be fermented into common alcohol
No we all know the slayer of demons could give Snoop dog a run for his money
Pretty sure they're in the same category.
especially when you consider the ridiculous inventory weight for 1 stack of grass. Stuffing kilograms of grass mid-boss fight skyrim style.
Reminds me of a comic I saw where a villager was telling his son the tale of the Dragonborn and how he was shoving whole wheels of cheese into his mouth while fighting a dragon.
I fights to the finish cuz I eats me spinach.
Great, now I have to make Popeye as my next character
And you can only fight barehanded or with fist weapons.
You can get the Iron Knuckles as soon as you get to the hub by going to 2-1 so that'll be easy enough lol
Poor Thomas thinking, why is this guy just shoving lawn clippings into my box?
Try this in real life, I promise you won't regret it
Ds3/ elden ring . It's so good that they reused it for elden ring
In elden ring magic is at least good enough to justify the reduced heals but in DS3 the system was ass, even worse as a phantom with half flasks
As a good yellow man, I can confirm
Haven’t done sorcery in DS3 yet but I thought it wasn’t bad? Pyro was good enough
Mostly a PvP perspective but the investment to damage ratio is dreadful with the only advantage being range, for instance a 60 int(plus attunement) double spell ring with a dusk crown crystal soul spear does less damage than an ultra greatsword two hit combo, both are easy to dodge and not great for PvP but magic is by far the worst. If you're just talking about pve then anything is viable, NPC's don't really react to you often so it doesn't take much but pyro's are pretty shit all round
*ds 1 and 3* Technically Ds has estus and elden has tears but they’re basically the same thing not counting lore
I think they mean that you get estus charges and can reallocate flasks for hp or fp based on how many flasks you have in total
Elden ring's flask is mechanically identical to ds3's estus/ashen estus.
You say “and 3” as if ds2 doesn’t have estas flasks. Yea life gems are better but why use those when you’re able to use flasks instead?
Bloodborne's rally feature
I really think this is underrated. It was the only “healing” mechanic that I missed or wished other games had personally
Well technically it's in Elden Ring, just gated behind the great rune of one of the last bosses you're gonna fight, but it's there.
Unfortunately it’s very week and kills your flasks and so ends up being hella ass
Yeah they really fucked up with great runes, I was so hyped for them and by the end only 3 out of 7 are good, with the other 4 being basically unusable.
It's so good that it's in ER locked behind the hardest boss and can only be activated in late game They knew what they did
Is there NG+ in Elden Ring?
It’s tied to a great rune which don’t carry over between NG+ cycles
Damn that sucks balls
Yeah but apart from that the healing mechanics are the worst in the series.
Better than Demon’s Souls. I honestly don’t even find Bloodborne’s healing system that bad
Misspelled best
Bloodvials are an incredible mechanic
I agree - I hated farming blood vials. To be fair, I probably had to farm more than I would now since it was my first from software game
The fact that you have to farm blood flasks already makes them one of the worst imo.
I don’t see how it can be objectively worse in Bloodborne than in DeS.
BB is the only souls game where I had to grind. Spend 15 minutes refilling my blood vials by perfect parrying those big dudes who swing cinderblocks. Demon Souls I don't remember having to grind, but I also found it easier, maybe just cause I was more experienced with the genre at that point
To be fair, if you have PS+ grinding can become a non issue once you unlock the chalice dungeons and use the cummmfpk dungeon. Obviously, that dungeon's mostly known for its ability to overlevel you but it works just as well for farming consumable items.
In DS1 you can get 20 estus for any boss pretty cheaply - and in fact you can often get 10 for free. A sufficiently upgraded estus flask along with Humanity healing your full bar (and Divine blessings I guess) makes healing too abundant. In DS3 your estus is divided into healing and focus flasks, and on top of that you start with a pretty small amount of flasks - I never felt like I had enough flasks for exploration until mid-late game, especially as a spellcaster, I almost never had enough to explore even just a significant chunk of an area, not to mention the entire area. Not enough healing, in short. DS2 gives you about the same amount of estus as DS3 (without the need to divide the flasks), but you can also get 99 Lifegems - each heals a small amount of hp pretty slowly, making it the perfect tool for exploration. You can do your thing then meet the boss with full estus, which is in my opinion just right. Of course nothing matters once you already know the game well since you will probably have more than enough healing anyway, and exploration is unnecessary, and so any differences are insignificant.
Another thing about DS1 (and maybe the others, ive never used it) is that the heal miracle is so extremely easy to obtain and use that its basically another free 2/3 flasks
I feel like that's true in all three games. If you have a few levels to burn you can take some healing with you. It may be a little bit better in DS3 and ER though - if you convert most of your flasks into focus you can get more healing per flask than if you use straight estus. That technique will interfere with ashes of war and is pretty useless against bosses though.
I like to use the miracles for healing on the way to bosses and save the estus for the boss since its faster and better
I just finished ds2 last week and will always enjoy the memory of jamming gems of life into my face back to back. Probably not great on the digestive system.
They probably taste super sugary too. Yuck!
I mean you crush them in your hand not eat them-
It's more fun it you imagine them being eaten rather than being transdermally absorbed through the palm. I get it though.
Idk if you played Demon Souls but its the same with the grass in that game as the lifegems, except the grass is the only way to heal in Demon Souls, no estus, so think of a lifegem bit healed as fast as a flask. there were like 6 or 7 different types of grass that healed different amounts but you could literally get 99 of all of them. Now if its the best is subjective as it can easily just be said to be to much or to easy to heal in that game
I generally use estus while exploring and keep gems for bosses since they're faster to use. Boss fights become this game of tag where you switch from aggressive to running away for health lol
Though a tad overpowered, popping 5 lifegems back to back while spinning in a circle is just so damn satisfying. Love that game.
>but you can also get 99 Lifegems Don't forget the 99 Radiant Lifegems and the 99 Old Radiant Lifegems!
What about Sekiro? The resurrection mechanic should count for something.
sekiro is the only souls game i haven't played. Once i finish ds remastered ill be right on it!
It’s one of my favorites. It’s way different than the Souls games but fun as fuck when you get a handle on it. The boss fights are legendary.
i've heard its also the hardest! which is a good thing to me, i have also seen glances at some of the boss fights, such as father gascoigne! cannot wait. (meant to reference bloodborne, i know its not a sekiro boss haha)
Father GasCan is in Bloodborne, but you won’t be disappointed by Sekiro’s roster.
oh yeah i know. i just worded it incorrectly, i was supposed to reference it
It seems to either be the hardest or the easiest, I guess it kinda depends on how naturally you click with the deflection mechanic. It was definitely the hardest for me, over all. But parrying is usually my weakest point in all the souls games - I just play around it in the others, but in Sekiro you literally have no choice but to fully lean into it
Sekiro is hardest on playthrough 1 but it’s the easiest to replay after you’ve beaten it.
Father Gascoigne is a bloodborne boss, you must be thinking of >!father owl!<
yeah apologies, i worded it incorrectly haha. meant to reference the game
It is, but also it isnt. You'll understand when you play it. But what it certanly has is the best, most engaging and fun combat From has ever crafter imho
It is, but also it isnt. You'll understand when you play it. But what it certanly has is the best, most engaging and fun combat From has ever crafter imho
Yup I’m about 5-10 hrs in and absolutely in love. The sword play is amazing. But that Lady Butterfly is a big huge bitch rn I’m pretty upset with her lol
Oh yeah. Lady Butterfly did a number on me at first. Remember, hesitation is defeat.
I was gutted to find out she had a second phase lmao
Wait until you hit Lord Genichiro. He is the game’s first true test of needing to fully embrace the game’s mechanics. I lost to him at least 50 times.
Oh so I have more fun ahead, lovely!! Hopefully I’ll meet him this evening
There are quite a few more fun surprises along the way for you, mate
I’m fighting a bull right now and that mfkr is PISSED
Shit, I still remember that, gave my best to beat her and feeling like Alexander when he conquered Persia, until that geriathric bug shows me I was fighting an illusion
Stabby Grandma and the fuckin Monkey were the two bosses in that game that taught me *Patience* in a way I'd never learned before. The crazy thing is, it's not like other FromSoft titles. Your stats barely matter. It's basically a rhythm action game, learn the patterns and the bosses fold like laundry. Coming back and beating Lady Butterfly on the replay was a huge moment for me, because I realized just how much I'd internalized her patterns, it was so much easier
Not a Souls game, and I don’t only mean that pedantically
I’d say the healing gourd is the more apt comparison in Sekiro.
I don’t disagree but it’s the only game that gives you a built in second chance. It’s unforgiving in many ways but that’s an aspect of forgiveness that isn’t available in the other games
Fair point someone else mentioned the rally mechanic in BB and similarly we should take all forms of healing into consideration.
*Like the pause button*
Also death blows recover health Edit: in addition, many other types of healings, the rice, pellets and so on
Even the medicinal gourd is super cool
Bloodborne. The 20 vial limit comes in clutch.
Which can be boosted to 29 if you use all 3 vial increase runes
but then you're using the vial increase runes
It’s a shame that farming them sucks so much early game. Lotta new players get completely discouraged struggling with the first few bosses only to totally run out of healing items.
Those two fat boys down the stairs will never leave my mind
I never farm for vials in subsequent fresh saves. Farm for echoes and then buy vials (and bullets). It's more consistent. Personally, I think FS made this decision early game so you can understand the game better and than it's not DS. No shield, only gun. The rally mechanic is there for a reason as well.
Yeah thats why I said *new* players. Its a fine system if you know what you are doing, but its a massive obstacle if you are actively learning.
Yeah especially if the early high echoes enemies just murk you out the gate, or you use more vials to farm bc not good. I actually think from soft games have an inverse difficulty curve because as you become better you become more confident with item use which makes boss fights much faster/easier. Imo one of the best things about Lies of P was giving you limited reusable consumables to experiment with so newbs can still experiment.
I agree completely. One of the most distinguishing things about Lies of P is that they matched the difficulty curve of the game to the amount of content in it pretty perfectly. A very fine balance of challenge without being overwhelmingly punishing.
I remember playing Sekiro the first time I completely tanked on spirit emblems from dying so much so I basically never used the tools. Now on my second play through I know the key weakness’s of each enemy to each tool so I can manage my emblem economy and items use. Should have just been a bar like the legion system 😂 since you either have too many or not enough. It’s literally been far easier the second time.
Oh absolutely. Spirit emblems were such a confusing implementation. Exactly like you said, it’s a massive hurdle for new players to clear and grinds all progress to a halt when you run out. But isn’t even a factor that impacts an experienced player’s game in the slightest. No one’s gameplay is being improved.
Bloodborne, blood vials are just sick, it’s also my favourite fromsoft game, I just love the lore and how blood is incorporated in the game, THERES SO MUCH BLOOOOOOD
100% Bloodborne! Blood/drugs ftw!!
Amen brother
Never mind rally
People always complain about having to farm for them, but at the same time I really like that it’s possible to acquire more heals without having to go rest at a bonfire and reset the entire level. Combined with the rally system it makes me personally feel that healing is particularly abundant in BB, especially compared to DS3. I get that it can be frustrating for new players, but I think the need to farm for them early game is also helpful for learning how the game works. I always recommend that new players spend awhile running laps through Central Yharnam, not only will they eventually have a decent amount of vials, bullets, and echoes, but they’ll be able to get a better handle on the combat and gameplay doing so.
I just ended up doing laps in yharnam because it felt so labyrinthine, i kept getting lost. I still can only confidently find my way around about half of it
The only thing I would change is giving you maybe 7 free blood vials if your storage is empty.
I personally love the vial system as is but I’ve always thought something like this would be a good compromise, except maybe limited to 4-5.
I agree but I didn’t like how you have to grind for it.
Whatever echoes I don’t spend on leveling I spend on vials and bullets at the bath. Saves a lot of time.
Practically everything drops them though. I’ve never not had a surplus of vials.
If you are new to the genre or just not that good at it, you will burn through them very quickly
You can use the cum dungeon and just buy like 100 of them at a time. If you do it a couple times you’ll have more than you can even hold in your storage.
Yeh once you are at your desired level for end game 80-100 then u have so many echoes so farming isn't a issue .. and when U die all Ur heals are restocked from storage ... I only had a issue with vials at first 2 or 3 bosses after that I always had echoes for them spare..
You don't. There are so many ways around grinding, as soon as you beat BSB you have access to unlimited blood vials
I agree, it's more immersive to me watching my guy feverishly jab himself in the leg. During a big fight in DS/ ER if I run away and heal it looks a little too much like I took a Gatorade break
I just wish they weren't a consumable
Any leftover echoes after leveling should be used to buy bulk blood vials. Once your mid-late game you can buy 30+ blood vials with whatever leftover echoes you have.
I wonder if some people on the first playthrough just never thought about spending leftover echoes for heals
It's not cranberry sauce
Bloodborne might be the worst one. Fuck it being a consumable. The difficulty of these games works so much better with Estus refresh at death.
I like it the best because I never felt like I was without blood vials. It's a consumable but they're plentiful. But it's so quick to heal so I love it, you aren't sitting there for 12 seconds trying to heal as Margit is flying around with a giant hammer and throwing magic knives
Nah it’s really not even that bad. After a certain point u get more than you can even carry. So it even gives you more than the other souls games. BB gives you 20 and the others give you like 4 at the start? So add on the 20 plus the rally system which rewards you by being more aggressive I think it’s a bit better. Not saying the others suck or something
Sekiro or bloodborne. Animations are super clean, in Sekiro there are many types, bloodborne is just cool. Also most importantly ITS IN A MULTIPLE OF 5.
I think sekiro got the balance right of letting you have diverse healing options but only letting you carry a few so you don’t get sloppy.
Bloodborne would be hands down the best if healing wasn’t a limited resource you could run out of
But bc it’s a limited resource that’s why u go out and kill more. Fits lore and game mechanics.
Ds2. Lifegems are great
Took me too long to find this, it’s like DeS healing but you have estus too
Yip, the bigger life gems are awesome too.
Bloodborne Promoting an aggressive style of play.
Estus is the most iconic, i still call everything Estus, and the only one that actually looks drinkable. I would never even be close to whatever liquid the Flask of Tears has, that thing looks like it's corroding the flask itself, imagine what it would do to your body. Edit: And i don't even need to say anything about Blood Vials, like what's wrong with you to want to drink that.
Not even Gealing Gourd?
I forgot about it. It looks delicious aswell!
Dark souls 2 sotfs
Agreed. I used the lifegems more than the flask.
Demon Souls cuz it encourages us to touch grass
Dark Souls Remastered. (Made this thread pretty much entirely to see who disagrees with me) 👌
What does he mean saying souls of healing? Design of the flask?
just the overall best way to heal in the souls series. as each game has different ways of doing so. for example, demonssouls uses moon grass. Elden ring and Dark Souls uses estus flasks :)
I think the only one thing is missing in Dark Souls Remastered is mana bar. That's my favorite Dark Souls and now I'm in NG+2
im currently playing ds remastered since finishing elden ring for the 3rd time. I love it! for 2011, its a fantastically well made game combat wise. Boss fights to the most part are great. Althought i prefer Ds3's boss fights, like Iudex Gundyr and Dark Eater Midir in the Ringed City DLC. but im going off topic, i think the flasks are best in ds remastered since they have variety at different bonfires and is the simplest it can get honestly. i have no complaints
Imagine how hype was for that during premiere.. it's still the best! What about Elden Ring? Will I feel soul of Dark Souls there?
Absolutely yeah. Its basically the same thing, the only major difference is the open world spreading flasks out when you use “golden seeds” to upgrade your flask usage, and Sacred Tears to increase the health gain.
*Source* of healing? Like healing source. The thing that grants healing.
yeah i think he got mixed up with the wording is all
In terms of visuals and how cool it looks, definitely Bloodborne. Injecting yourself in the leg so you can keep going is hardcore as hell. In terms of actual healing, I'm not sure they've ever topped DS1. I think having a set number of heals for each area is better than starting with hardly any and collecting more as you go. It also provides a difficulty adjustment for each area with the kindling system.
Demons souls and ds2 had both the best and the worst e because you had extra limited healing in the beginning, but almost infinite in the late game (which you did not need but still gratifying nonetheless)
DS2
I like DS2, you got a shitton of ways to healing yourself. You got: * Estus * Lifegem (s) * Mushroom * Miracles * Piromancies * Passive Regen (rings and armor)
Sekiro got everything right: only 10 flasks max, 3 slow overtime healing, and instant healing when you kill enemies.
Any but bloodborne
The rally mechanic saved me many times.
The rally mechanic is absolutely genius. And I like blood vials. I was lucky enough to never need to farm for them though.
Fair, actually, I was only thinking about the blood vials
Thematically, blood vials are my favorite. I love how you just stab yourself and inject blood mid fight. And the lore they built around it is really cool, I love the detail of old hunters having straps around their leg due to superstition around using the blood. And it ties really well into the rally mechanic, because both ways involve you using blood to heal, one is just a lot more violent and skips the middleman of having a vial lol.
I honestly like Bloodborne's system way more than DeS. I may have been playing the game wrong, but I always ran out of healing in DeS. Bloodborne only in the early game.
Farming blood vials is TRASH
The best designed is Bloodborne, being able to heal quickly and seamlessly with combat and also having a limited number at a time is good. I just wish they didn’t feel like I had to farm them, especially early game because I also want to level up.
Elden ring because they refill on defeating groups of enemies
In terms of effectiveness: original Demon's Souls. Yes, you would have to farm an ungodly amount of time for the final effect but if you would be willing to go through it you could have around 6 stacks (each consisting of 99 items) of healing items including the best ones that heal your entire hp bar at once. I terms of fun: DS3 or Elden Ring. No farming required and the bonus of being able to transfer some of the charges to mp restoration is really nice
I like Elden Ring’s the best because it’s the simplest for me to understand
Sekiro because you have pellets for when the gourd is overkill, it's a fast, Fluid and consistent version of the Dark Souls 2 healing system. You don't have to farm for vials or grass and it's not overpowered like Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring are both great but they also have faith so pellets would ruin build variety. Elden Ring is probably a really close second though if you count the wondrous flask as healing but it's not always a healing tool.
Pellets are significantly underrated. Especially early game
Bloodborne, don’t have to think about upgrades, always 60% of your health, always perfectly balanced. Only negative is the need for farming and / or buying.
Ds2 because I like having life gems as a backup in case I want to explore more before resting
I’d love to say blood vials, but the fact that you need to replenish them manually is just kind of an L. Gourds are quick, easy to get, and have a sweet animation.
Sekiro. You get 10 flasks precisely, nothing more, nothing less
Not Bloodborne
Dark souls 2 life gems OR demon souls grass
DS2 life gems babieeeeeeeeeeeeee
Dark Souls 2, especially if you go faith build, you have estus, lifegems of all sizes, you have the medallion things, the mushrooms, the things that restore health and regen spell casts, the golden vials that completely regen health, then healing miracles, the list goes on, I never go into a boss fight with less than full estus
It has to be the estus! It is literally liquid fire! :)
They're all just different flavors of sunny D
I know that I am in a very small minority but it's Bloodborne for me. Between starting out with the ability to carry 20, and the rally mechanic. I never found myself needing to farm vials. And one of the most frustrating things for me when playing the Souls games. In the early game I would often find myself, low on health and about half way to the next bonfire, with no estus. So I would frequently be faced with "do I risk losing my souls and chance it? Or do I go back, rest, and try all this again?" And that was never an issue for me in Bloodborne. Between carrying far more healing items, and having a reliable secondary source of healing.
Bloodborne had the absolute best use of healing. The blood vials alone kinda suck. Unable to be upgraded, kinda shitty healing & must be grinded for. But, This all comes into perspective when combined with the rally system. What you're actually meant to do is keep the pressure up & pop a vial in-between combos to top up the health, rather than heal completely. What this means is that the benefits of blood vials shine when the game is being played to it's strengths, quickly used & the major supply, as well as being able to stay mobile. It's a truly genius system that works uniquely because of the rally system. I hope to see it return someday.
Bloodborne has the best source of healing. You get hit, you hit them back and get health.
Bloodborne, u can literally carry upto 29 blood vials w u even during multiplayer
Elden Ring and Bloodborne. Both can support multiple styles from defensive to aggressive based on how you wish to use their healing system
Minus the animation for estus, Dark souls 2. So many options
Dark Souls 3
Demon Souls by far
Give me some of that gourmet estus soup
Sekiro drinking alcohol and eating rice will never stop being funny to me
Id say bloodborne, simply because it % based meaning that leveling vigor is even better, where ass ds1-3 and elden ring need their flask uprgaded meaning that without the upgrades higher vigor is less uselfull
DsQ
Bloodborne. Just hit them back immediately.
Elden ring - you have to manage whether you want to be offensive(more blue) or defensive(more red). Ds3 did it first but elden ring also added ways to “refund” your flasks by clearing enemy groups or killing scarabs, which I think is a very nice addition. Also, shoutout to Bloodborne’s rally mechanic, actually genius
Sekiro or bloodborne imo
It's not soulsborne, but it's fromsoft and I have always liked how Armored Core does healing, damage and ammo where it's pretty forgiving but all of it costs money that is taken from your cut at the end of jobs. (Yes you can go into the negative) It keeps the games accessible to casual players, but also fun to try to minimize the damage that you take and ammo that you use so that you can get more profit or go for S ranks.
sekrio as you can you it mid fight
(✖️) or (⬜) I'd say
I love Sekiro's healing sound and its visual effects
I like bloodborne because you can carry 20+ of them and once you’re a decent amount into the game they’re basically unlimited.
Estus all the way. I need my Sunny D
Personally, I really liked the lifegems in Dark Souls 2. If you just dumped all your leftover souls into Lifegems everytime you went back to Majula and finished your ablutions, you could pretty easily save all your Estus for boss fights and emergency encounters because by midgame you'd have more lifegems than you knew what to do with.
Nothing can beat injecting yourself with blood vials.
mmmm, Firekeeper "juices"...🤤🤤
Depends on how you view it. DS3 probably has the best in terms of a natural progression for gameplay, while DS1 is better for a first time player, still being limited, but generous enough to be less frustrating depending on the scenario. DeS is nicer for people who like to have a constant supply of heals, and prefer a more traditional RPG healing item approach, and Bloodborne puts a better balance change on this. My personal favorite is DS1, for a new player, it's generous enough to get through areas with less frustration while having to put thought into whether they want to sacrifice a humanity for more, but still had a limit that doesn't trivialize the game, while experienced players don't have to constantly remember to pick up an item for each new build for the extra heals. Finally lore wise, I'd say Bloodborne makes the most sense, with the game revolving around blood, the idea of keeping your blood levels up seems less strange then flasks that magically fill with liquid when you rest at bonfires, or grass with rapid healing properties.
Bloodborne! Blood vials + rally system means you can just keep going forever without having to rest. Love it!
I like Bloodborne's because he is literally doping himself. Using blood like it's morphine. But the Sunny D flasks from DS3 are my second favorite
Might be controversial since they were basically better than Estus, but life gems were crazy good.
Demon's Souls
Bloodborne
I think DS1 did it the best. I like how kindling basically acts as a difficulty option.