>I don't use fire weapons and every time I've beaten the fire sage, I've done it by reading its actions and responding appropriately - and this in particular is the absolute strength of the game.

So why bother with all the fancy environments (which are extremely costly to produce)? Why bother with all the character builds? What a load of garbage. The combat is in fact clunky and repetitive. You wouldn't play this game if it was just boss battles, which just goes to show that it's not the key strength of the game. The key strength of both games are the environments, with the boss serving the SECONDARY purpose of providing a climax.

And the point of my post is not that Demon Firesage is impossible without fire weapons. I've beat it without fire weapons, and it is one of the easiest bosses. My point is that the game is poorly organized and in many ways counter-intuitive. And Demon Firesage is a perfect example of this. So what is your rebuttal? Are you even making one? Do you have a brain? You look like someone who is so in love with Dark Souls that when someone (A FAN OF THE GAME NO LESS) criticizes it you run in all butthurt looking for something to take issue with, barely bothering to read what was said before replying.

>It really isn't 'designed for use with a wiki'

It has the URL of the wiki on the back of the PS3 case. So does Demon's Souls. They very clearly intended players to have the wiki available. Did you think I came into this thread not knowing it was on the PS3? Motherfucker I own it on the PS3 as well as the PC. It is quite possible to finish the game without the wiki. But the point of a game is to be ENJOYED, not finished. And the level of trial-and-error present in Dark Souls detracts from the experience. This doesn't apply in Demon's Souls because it's just that much simpler and smaller. Are you going to respond to this, or just post more reactive bullshit about Demon Firesage, which was an EXAMPLE?

>I relished the challenge that the game provided, a game that rewards skilful play more than decking your character (and I'm not particularly dextrous).

Good for you. Maybe you'll get around to making a point in this reply?

>You seem intent on min/maxing.

I'm not "min-maxing" anything. There's no need to "min-max" Demon Firesage. It's not a hard boss.

>but it doesn't make it a shit game because you didn't like developing that skill.

Are you a fucking imbecile? I finished this game 3x. I will probably finish it again. It is a nice game, and nowhere near as hard as the hype would suggest. But it is very poorly organized, and overall a less polished product than Demon's Souls. So here's a crazy idea I just had: maybe next time read the top-level comment so you know the general point being made and respond to that, instead of reactively scanning deep into the thread to find something to take out of context. And then maybe you will succeed in responding to something I actually thought or said. Like the fact that it Dark Souls is a messy game oriented heavily toward trial-and-error. So please just read what I said in this post, understand it (this is important when talking to people), and then respond to this last about messiness and trial-and-error, because (in spite of the fact that you are too stupid to see it), everything else I've written is just a minor elaboration on this one point.