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I scan the
battlefield.
Location? The
sunken half-circle
balcony to the
rear of Pontiff
Sulyvahn’s boss
battle chamber. Opponents? Three
glowing-red human players – a
pyromancer, a mage, and a Smough’s
Great Hammer-wielding warrior. Me?
I’m ready to fight. Always. Let’s go.
I leap from the stairwell above,
skirt over tufts of unkempt grass at
my feet, and then lunge at the mage
to my right, who’s seemingly locked
in the game’s ‘Welcome’ gesture.A
dull thud followed by a high-pitched
clang echoes around the arena,asmy
Dragonslayer Swordspear connects
with its target, and then theconcrete
below on the follow-through.
I prepare for a riposte, but,instead...
silence. Nobody moves. Fog rollsover
the crumbling barrier at the farside
of the balcony, and its lines ofornate
Gothic statues cast stony staresinto
the distance. I pause. They pause.
And then... CRASH! BANG! WALLOP!I’m
down. I’ve been ambushed. Those
bastards! YOU DIED. Well, duh.
Despite what might have been
viewed as odd behaviour frommy
opponents in the above DarkSoulsIII
online PvP encounter, I’d actually,
unwittingly, stumbled upon oneof
the series’ renowned fight clubs–
player-organised bouts, wherebytwo
people battle it out to the death,and
the invasion’s remaining participants
watch on from the sidelines.
In the absence of voice chat,the
series’ gesture system acts as
the set-pieces’ only means
of communication, which,
to newcomers, can be
both confusing and
hilarious. In the above
scenario, for example,
the mage mashing the
Welcome gesture, was in
fact saying: “What the heck
are you doing, mate? Fight the
bloke in the middle of the ring.”
But, of course, the only wayto
learn these harsh rules is viatheone
method the Souls series is known
for: death. Fight the wrong dude?
YOU DIED. Invade from the sidelines
before a fight is finished? YOUDIED.
ABOVEYou can’t
use yourEstus
Flaskmid-brawl,
no matterhow
muchyou wantto
use it.
FAR LEFTThe
skillbarrier
is, predictably,
high,so expect
to see those
wordsoverand
overagain.“The series’ esture
system acts as the
set-pieces’ only means
of communication”
Failtowelcomecombatantswithout
theappropriategesture?YOUDIED.
And,thecardinalsin:chuga health-
restoringEstusFlaskbeforeyourfight
is over?Oh,man,YOUdefinitelyDIED.
Onceyoulearntheropes,though,
DarkSouls’ fightclubsaregreat
fun.Afterthebriefandbloody
misadventureoutlinedearlier,I
scouredtheseries’community
threadsin ordertogiveitsfight
clubsa propercrackoftheNotched
Whip.I learnedthebestandmost
frequentedspotsforfight-clubbing,
themostappropriategesturesand
theirpseudo-contextualised
meanings,howtohostmy
ownset-tos,andhowbest
tolearnasanobserver.
I learnedthatfight
clubsoftenlittertheir
battlegroundswith
multicolouredPrism
Stones– cosmeticitems
usedasin-gamemarkers- andthatthelikesofSen’s
Fortress,Oolacile,IronKeepandthe
HighWallOfLothricareconsidered
hotspotsthroughouttheseries.
Likewise,DarkSoulsIIIhasthemost
populatedfightclubscenetoday,but
lastyear’sRemasteredhasbreathed
newlifeintotheoriginal’sfrontlines.
WHAT IS IT?
Dark Souls fight clubs
are player-organised
online brawls. Without
voice chat, the game’s
gesture system acts
as its sole form of
communication.Like any Dark Souls learning curve,
I died and died and died in my quest
for fight club success, and found the
weapon-less, bare-fisted melees to
be the most entertaining. Seriously,
try whacking seven shades of crap
out of an opponent, one sliver of
health at a time, while a handful of
red silhouettes frantically Jump For
Joy, Rejoice or Praise The Sun from the
sidelines without cracking a smile.
One encounter saw me watching
from the crowd as another chap
darted away, climbed to the top of
a hill, and watched the entire battle
through his binoculars, applauding as
he went – as if staring down from a
theatre’s upper circle, as we minions
rubbed shoulders in the stalls.Knight club
Now full of confidence, understanding
of the rules, and safe in the
knowledge that this is my fight club,
I’m the host here, and I’ll gesture
my wee heart out with the full
backing of my fighters. I’m the man.
I’m untouchable. I’ve nicknamed
myself Tyler Lordran in an ill-fitting
nod to both the game world and the
protagonist of the Fight Club movie.
Fresh meat enters the balcony to
the rear of Pontiff Sulyvahn’s chamber.
He rounds the arena, unsheathes
a Firelink Greatsword, and moves
towards the centre. He chugs an
Estus. The fight hasn’t begun, so I let
it slide. I motion a Proper Bow gesture.
He dashes and strikes me. He pauses.
We pause. I chug an Estus. All bets are
off. Let’s get him, lads. It’s the only
way he will learn. QMore Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 107