Dark Souls: Remastered – Part 5: Bell Gargoyles + Darkroot Garden
The Bell Gargoyles featured in last week’s adventures too. Except where we ended the last part was with an extremely successful, incredibly brave- er, retreat. I collected my souls and booked it with a homeward bone. Sayonara suckers!
After that, I did a bit of stuff off-camera. Including getting what became my main weapon for this section — the Drake Tail Sword. It’s a somewhat interesting weapon that it doesn’t scale off any stats but has rather high base damage. Most important to me though is the fact it has a much faster moveset. The time spent vulnerable after mace swings was a little much for me.
That, plus a little soul and titanite farming in the Undead Parish between sessions to stay a little better in practice, and I was good to go!
Back for the Bell Gargoyles
This time?
I’m ready.
And the Bell Gargoyles don’t pose too much of an issue. Not to say I don’t take a good few solid thwacks to the head- because I do. But in this case, my head proves to be made of sturdier stuff than… er… a pair of stone gargoyles. I’m unsure if this is actually a positive or not.
But they go down and I’m left standing, so I’ll take it.
Beyond the Gargoyles is the belltower. I’d almost forgotten that this is even what I was here for — but after a climb up several floors and finding the bell I remember. The bell of awakening. Well- one of them at least. This is the ‘one up high’. After this I will need to descend into the depths below to find the other.
That isn’t a prospect I much cherish.
Darkroot Garden
Entering new areas always scares the bejeebus out of me in Dark Souls. They come equipped with all sorts of new and exciting ways to die and lose souls. Any special one-time creatures will still be up, waiting to eat you. And bosses. New, never seen before, bosses.
In the Darkroot Garden, there are these… thorny plant-looking… things. They try to give you hugs like mimics do and that more than anything else tells me they need to die. Monster hugs are not OK. These guys are backed up by manta-ray frog-looking things and perhaps most dangerous of all, the stone giant warriors.
I die to a stone warrior at least once. They hurt a fair bit and cast a spell that makes you move incredibly slowly for a time. Although as I learned: While they’re casting this spell is a spectacular time to really let them have it.
Perhaps the silliest thing to happen — in particular because, at the time I thought I was being quite clever — I went back to the bonfire particularly to gain my humanity, so I could use any NPC summon signs that might exist around the fog gate I’d found. I’m tired of thinking a fog gate wasn’t a boss when it was. So instead I assumed immediately that this one would be.
Not only wasn’t it a boss — but I died almost immediately after, too. D’oh.
Otherwise though, exploration of the area goes surprisingly well. I’m still convinced that there is more for me to find in the area though, particularly in that semi-secret area behind the rather fleshy-seeming trees I busted through.
I also found where the next boss is. But as I was well and truly running overtime (~39 minutes) that is an adventure for another day. :)
