Part 7: Earthen Peak
This area is slightly reminiscent of Sen's Fortress in that there area total of two (2) traps and a couple narrow bridges you can fall off of when being hit by pendulum blades. Which are also imaginary.
I also forgot one item that's really well hidden. Click on the ring next to the episode banner to see that. I normally wouldn't have made an extra video there but this is just something most people probably won't find. I mean, I didn't know about it until I happened to spot the hint while watching the video back.
Genocyber posted:
Uh the Pike is really fucking awful. It has some lance moves, like Pate's Spear, but obscenely low damage; you can't really get more than ~260 AR, making it pretty much the weakest spear.
Guy Diealot gets a break this time and instead Stabitha takes over. Doesn't she look just sweet with Lucatiel's torso piece as well as some unspecified black leggings? I don't really like the brownish red Lucatiels trousers have myself. The Elite Knight helm she's wearing is basically the new black. It goes with almost anything. She's using two Rapiers, which are thrusting swords. The way I play it I flat-out refuse to use a shield but most others who go for a build that focuses on power-stancing any type of weapon tend to use a shield regardless. Even when not using a shield you can parry with the Rapier's heavy attack.
Mytha, the Baneful Queen
Upon first entering her Arena you will most likely notice that the entire floor is covered in poison and upon damaging her you will notice that the poison heals her. After trying that a couple times you might get frustrated and wonder whether there's a trick to it all. You need to drain the poison by setting fire to the windmill blades by the second bonfire. This will drain all the liquid poison from Earthen Peak and Harvest Valley save for some in the outer ring of Mytha's arena. With the poison gone she's not too bad anymore.
With her spear she can slash and thrust and even swing it around 360°, you need to pay attention to her movements to figure out how to dodge properly. At medium range she'll also perform a dashing thrust to close the distance. She has a thrust, thrust, slash combo the last hit of which can throw you off as you will expect another thrust.
Of course her spear is not her only weapon. She also uses her tail to inflict the hurt on the player. She can swing it, which does a moderate amount of damage. If you're not very careful she also has a chance of wrapping it right around you to squeeze the life out of you for great damage.
Her final weapon is her catalyst. Which is her own freaking head. It can shoot a spread of magic projectiles at you. This isn't too hard to dodge but can catch you off guard. And finally she just might FUCKING THROW HER HEAD AT YOU AND MAKE IT EXPLODE! She'll then dive in to retrieve it and possibly do it again later. This is seriously the best attack and while my aim isn't to show every attack of every boss I had to draw out the fight until she did this and I hope you appreciate that.
It's completely possible to do the fight with her in a poisoned arena. The only time I did it it took me plenty of tries and a lot of life gems to offset the poison. It's not really worth it. They kinda expect you to drain the poison. Sadly, they don't really give you any solid hint on how to do that.
Lore-wise she's pretty interesting, actually. Gilligan gives us most of the info. The King she's been engaged to was probably the Iron King which we know nothing about yet, except that maybe his domain is the Iron Keep which we've seen briefly at the end of the video. But the King fancied another. This made Mytha very very sad. It is said that she was very beautiful but being rejected was a big punch to her ego and she didn't feel pretty anymore. To capture the heart of the king she decided she needed to become more beautiful. So she did the most logical thing and immersed herself in poison which turned her into a snake monster. Or Naga as the kids these days call it.
Concerning her decapitation I don't think we have a clear answer. One theory is that she couldn't bear people looking at her anymore. So she cut their heads off. Which is why the manikins are headless. It might also explain the Grave Warden's presence, seeing as they hide their faces behind cloth and are probably blind (their natural habitat is in darkness, as we will see later). Then there's the desert sorceresses, which at least somewhat hide their eyes under a hood. Eventually she couldn't even bear to look at herself in a mirror and cut her own head off. Another theory I hear more often is that Mytha was decapitated for some sort of crime. She then also decapitated her subjects because if she can't have a head why should they?
Boss Weapons
Soul of Mytha, the Baneful Queen, who lives in the Earthen Peak.
The Queen sought the King's affection, even poisoning herself to attain beauty, despite the monstrous consequences. All for the compelling madness known as love.
Give her soul to Straid to make...
Weapon
Moveset/Weapon Class: Dagger
Physical Damage (+0/+5): 40/100
Poison Damage (+0/+5): 67/100
Scales with: DEX (B)
Requirements: 5 STR, 20 DEX
Damage Type: Slash & Thrust
Note: Apparently does build toxic in addition to poison. Toxic is just a nastier version of poison that does more damage. I also said that it can be infused with poison in the video. That was wrong. You can't do that.
In-Game Description:
Dagger forged from the soul of Mytha, the Baneful Queen. Coated with a potent poison.
Mytha was the fairest queen in the land, until something unhinged her. Was it the poison found deep within the earth, or the passion that consumed her heart?
Item Descriptions
Mirrah Shield
Shield issued to the proud knights of Mirrah's official order.
In Mirrah, a land perennially beset by unrest, this shield was a symbol of the great knights' strength and willingness to give their lives for their country.
Note: Lucatiel and Creighton are both from Mirrah.
Twinkling Titanite
A form of titanite with special power. Reinforce equipment that cannot normally be reinforced up to +5.
What cosmic event could have created such a powerful class of titanite?
Miracle: Lightning Spear
Dark Souls II: A miracle that launches a spear of lightning.
Said to be the legacy of an ancient clan whose leader was revered as the God of Sun.
The name of the clan has been lost to time, but the gross incandescence of our magnificent father shall never wane.
Dark Souls: Miracle passed down to those bound by the Warrior of Sunlight covenant. Hurl lightning spear. Lightning spears inflict rare lightning damage, and are very effective against magic, fire, and most of all, dragons.
Note: The Dark Souls II description is a fanservie overdose. Don't get me wrong, Solaire was a cool, although slightly insane, character in the first game, but there's no reason to just use quotes that have turned into memes. At least it's the same franchise and not as bad as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow literally informing us that the Cake is a Lie.
Desert Sorceress' Set
Sorceress hood from the distant land of Jugo. Appears to be a plain, thin fabric, but is permeated with powerful magic.
Desert Sorceresses have enchanting looks, and they use them to catch people off guard.
Oddly enough, even those who are perceptive enough to realize the ploy fall prey to their seductions with alarming regularity.
Manikin Mask
Mask of the Manikins of Harvest Valley. A fickle queen gave them life, and tore off their faces. How else could she forgive those who dared gaze upon her?
Spell Quartz Ring
A ring bestowed upon students of a certain standard at the Melfian Magic Academy. Its soul-based quartz increases magic defense.
Pyromancer Glocken crafts these replicas, much to the dismay of the conservative old-guard faculty.
Okay, here's a biggie. I wrote an entire essay on this jarring transition. I basically try to make sense of it with tons of math and science. There's at least one diagram I'd need a fourth dimension for to work properly. It really isn't for the faint of heart and it wouldn't quite fit in here and people who followed either of the Dark Souls II threads on SA will be sick and tired of this subject already so here's a google doc anyone can edit.