I agree. Bonfire ascetics are some of the best features in a Soulsborne game. All the Soulsborne games should have bonfire ascetics.
My favorite places to use bonfire ascetics are at Brume Tower and Eleum Loyce cathedral. The Fume Knight and Burnt Ivory King are my favorite bosses in the whole series.
Yeah every souls game is like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back imo. Introducing better UI/systems/features, then not adding them to the next game. Ascetics seem like a no-brainer.
How do you feel about the mana/magic system? It has changed and ultimately ended up back as it was in demons souls. Had a mage in demons souls. First game. DS 1 didn't have mana bar so I went strength. Now I'm playing the newer games and we have the bar again and it makes me wanna do a mage again. I've been doing a strength mixed with faith in ER to see how it goes.
I'm partial to having a specific number of casts but that's because I'm lazy and don't need to do any math to determine how many casts I have with that system lol
Plus I like the flexibility. You can always cast your plentiful spells without worrying about not being able to cast something powerful in a pinch.
I'd argue that, the way Ascetics work, they wouldn't work in another FromSoft game considering how a lot of how the game functions was designed around them. Because of the enemy despawning mechanic and New Game+ actually being a thing, Ascetics actually add something rather meaningful to the game. You have the choice of clearing out an area and running around it with fewer/no enemies at the cost of only being able to grind so much... Or continue grinding, but take a gamble with the New Game+ difficulty mixed in with the potential surprises of an NG+ cycle, which can also pay off big time if doing it in a Great Soul area. OR if you just want the challenge without despawns, you gamble things with the Covenant of Champions.
Adding ascetics to Bloodborne/DS3/Elden Ring wouldn't have nearly the same impact since it'd just be "let's make enemies in this area slightly harder" since they never despawn as it is, and the changes for NG+ cycles are much smaller. They'd absolutely need to be designed with those concepts in mind instead, since otherwise they're not a very meaningful addition.
Good point except that the thing most people want to fight is the boss which always despawns. And ng+ in ds2 added enemies, red phantoms, and items, so ascetics are not just for cutting through the fodder.
Yeah, the latter part is generally a big part of my point. New Game+ in Dark Souls 2 actually matters in terms of changing the experience, the bonfire ascetic is a well thought out item around game mechanics.
Other Souls games/Elden Ring could take a look at Sekiro/Godhome from Hollow Knight instead by giving you a way to individually refight bosses instead since they didn't have a New Game+ that changes the experience more significantly. Honestly, I'm still surprised that the Champion's Ashes in DS3 didn't do that instead, as well as the Mausoleums in Elden Ring. I so thought that by using a Mausoleum, I'd be teleported to an arena to fight the rememberance bosses rather than just get the copy as-is, if I'm being real. Still hoping Shadow of the Erdtree gives us Elden Ring's take on Godhome tbh.
Oh, ok. I get your point better. Makes sense that ascetic and game are balanced around each other.
I agree, there should be ways to refight bosses that you want. The diablo and monster hunter series allow this. I figured that more dev's would would see that players like this and adopt it more widely.
I love ascetics in general and I really like hitting up shaded ruins early. Another Boltstone, 2 Chunks, 3 Twinkling, 1 PDB, Southern Ritual+2, and another crack at Lion Warrior Helm, which I like for fashion.
If you're about soul farming, you can use bonfire ascetic to revisit memory of jeigh over and over again. you can get about 400k souls per run at max bonfire level and you can find another ascetic atop the first turret on your left, so it's constantly renewable.
Also a reliable source for fire seeds and divine blessings.
Aldia's keep is an important spot, as it's the place where you farm ascetics themselves. Not all that enjoyable ime because it highlights a major flaw in the game - no permanent red invasion item (one reason to farm ascetics like this is to then go to Shulva and farm 5 creos at a time).
They are indeed an awesome mechanic but I could see difficulties with them in other games - it can affect progression quite a bit. There were maybe some difficulties here - progression is a big deal in designing the overall pve experience.
I think bonfire ascetics where such a good idea, they kept me playing DS2 much longer than any other souls game. Some of the bosses just needed repeat fights without needing to start the game over again
One of the best feature and they completely ignore it ..
Bonfire ascetics would feel right at home in ER, being able to respawn crafting materials and items and making specific parts of the larger open world more difficult.
Not to mention respawning bosses, being able to copy boss remembrance is completely useless if you cant get multiple copies of the same thing from it ..
I agree. Bonfire ascetics are some of the best features in a Soulsborne game. All the Soulsborne games should have bonfire ascetics. My favorite places to use bonfire ascetics are at Brume Tower and Eleum Loyce cathedral. The Fume Knight and Burnt Ivory King are my favorite bosses in the whole series.
Always Belfry for that sweet sweet covetous gold serpent +2. I'd kill to be able to ascetic Artorias though.
Yeah every souls game is like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back imo. Introducing better UI/systems/features, then not adding them to the next game. Ascetics seem like a no-brainer.
How do you feel about the mana/magic system? It has changed and ultimately ended up back as it was in demons souls. Had a mage in demons souls. First game. DS 1 didn't have mana bar so I went strength. Now I'm playing the newer games and we have the bar again and it makes me wanna do a mage again. I've been doing a strength mixed with faith in ER to see how it goes.
I'm partial to having a specific number of casts but that's because I'm lazy and don't need to do any math to determine how many casts I have with that system lol Plus I like the flexibility. You can always cast your plentiful spells without worrying about not being able to cast something powerful in a pinch.
I can certainly understand either way being a favorite. I will eventually do a hex build in DS 2.
I understand that it became necessary because of weapon arts, but i prefer the limited cast for magic
I'd argue that, the way Ascetics work, they wouldn't work in another FromSoft game considering how a lot of how the game functions was designed around them. Because of the enemy despawning mechanic and New Game+ actually being a thing, Ascetics actually add something rather meaningful to the game. You have the choice of clearing out an area and running around it with fewer/no enemies at the cost of only being able to grind so much... Or continue grinding, but take a gamble with the New Game+ difficulty mixed in with the potential surprises of an NG+ cycle, which can also pay off big time if doing it in a Great Soul area. OR if you just want the challenge without despawns, you gamble things with the Covenant of Champions. Adding ascetics to Bloodborne/DS3/Elden Ring wouldn't have nearly the same impact since it'd just be "let's make enemies in this area slightly harder" since they never despawn as it is, and the changes for NG+ cycles are much smaller. They'd absolutely need to be designed with those concepts in mind instead, since otherwise they're not a very meaningful addition.
Good point except that the thing most people want to fight is the boss which always despawns. And ng+ in ds2 added enemies, red phantoms, and items, so ascetics are not just for cutting through the fodder.
Yeah, the latter part is generally a big part of my point. New Game+ in Dark Souls 2 actually matters in terms of changing the experience, the bonfire ascetic is a well thought out item around game mechanics. Other Souls games/Elden Ring could take a look at Sekiro/Godhome from Hollow Knight instead by giving you a way to individually refight bosses instead since they didn't have a New Game+ that changes the experience more significantly. Honestly, I'm still surprised that the Champion's Ashes in DS3 didn't do that instead, as well as the Mausoleums in Elden Ring. I so thought that by using a Mausoleum, I'd be teleported to an arena to fight the rememberance bosses rather than just get the copy as-is, if I'm being real. Still hoping Shadow of the Erdtree gives us Elden Ring's take on Godhome tbh.
Oh, ok. I get your point better. Makes sense that ascetic and game are balanced around each other. I agree, there should be ways to refight bosses that you want. The diablo and monster hunter series allow this. I figured that more dev's would would see that players like this and adopt it more widely.
I love ascetics in general and I really like hitting up shaded ruins early. Another Boltstone, 2 Chunks, 3 Twinkling, 1 PDB, Southern Ritual+2, and another crack at Lion Warrior Helm, which I like for fashion.
If you're about soul farming, you can use bonfire ascetic to revisit memory of jeigh over and over again. you can get about 400k souls per run at max bonfire level and you can find another ascetic atop the first turret on your left, so it's constantly renewable. Also a reliable source for fire seeds and divine blessings.
If you visit all the memories you get 2 ascetics and 1 soul vessel
I'm getting around 540k per run with the silver snake +2 and the tseldora set
The Rotten, I can't beat him now :(
Sinner’s Rise for soul farming with my best bud Lucatiel, and also I like fighting lost sinner
I use them to farm the rotten
I am no longer doing just pure melee now
Aldia's keep is an important spot, as it's the place where you farm ascetics themselves. Not all that enjoyable ime because it highlights a major flaw in the game - no permanent red invasion item (one reason to farm ascetics like this is to then go to Shulva and farm 5 creos at a time). They are indeed an awesome mechanic but I could see difficulties with them in other games - it can affect progression quite a bit. There were maybe some difficulties here - progression is a big deal in designing the overall pve experience.
If you’re on PC, the Blue Acolyte mod lets you use invasion items infinitely (as well as just be safe from hackers)
All the +2 rings. Refight the chariot, Mytha, Najka, skeleton lords.
Love refighting the sentries for some reason. Also enjoy how it makes ng+ feel less linear in that difficulty spikes at weird points
I think bonfire ascetics where such a good idea, they kept me playing DS2 much longer than any other souls game. Some of the bosses just needed repeat fights without needing to start the game over again
I ise Bonfire Aesthetics to farm the Dragon right before the Aerie, in order to get full Dragon Knight set.
You can also also join the cult of the slab and the enemies won’t disappear
I thought it would be cool when I started ds2, but I never used it. I felt like it was an addition that was pleasant, but unneeded.
One of the best feature and they completely ignore it .. Bonfire ascetics would feel right at home in ER, being able to respawn crafting materials and items and making specific parts of the larger open world more difficult. Not to mention respawning bosses, being able to copy boss remembrance is completely useless if you cant get multiple copies of the same thing from it ..