u/Manic_Kazzy

I REALLY want to get into this game. I know that I’ll love it if I can just get that “click” moment, but my ADHD is so awful and it’s so difficult for me to get into big games. What do yall reckon the most exciting start/backround is? I went street kid for the aesthetic but I’m so overwhelmed and everything seems so tedious

Tagging NSFW as a sort of trigger warning, I hope this is allowed?

Anyway, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how Dark Souls is an allegory for depression, and I’ve heard many stories similar to mine so I know I’m not unique in this, but I wanted to express my appreciation here anyway because people who haven’t played look at me like I’m insane when I say this; Dark Souls saved me. Crazy, yeah? A video game, of all things, stopped me from doing something I was once so set on doing, something that seems unthinkable when I look back on it now.

I always had a sort of defeatist perspective growing up, which is a core trait of an addictive personality like mine; guess how I coped with it? My self esteem has been low ever since I can remember, I always felt inferior, and never thought I was capable of being good enough for anything. I even quit drawing, my absolute biggest passion since I was able to hold a pencil, when I was in 4th grade because I would compare my sketches to famous artists’ work. Looking back, the fact that I needed to feel like I had impressive skill level to enjoy anything I was doing is probably problematic within itself, but that’s another thing to ponder haha.

Anyway, this sort of outlook plagued me for a very long time, and I won’t say I’m completely rid of it, but I am an infinitely happier person and Dark Souls 2 genuinely set my self improvement in motion.

I started drinking when I was 14 after my dad died when I was home alone with him. I blamed myself for not reacting fast enough (he OD’d in the bathroom and I went catatonic, literally forgot I even had a phone for like 10 minutes.) the drinking became daily at 18, it became almost two liters of vodka a day when I was 20.

I played my first soulslike, Elden Ring, around that time. age 20 or 21, right when it came out. Admittedly, I rushed through that game, using summons and cheeses and rune glitches to get through it— but I fucking LOVED IT! I replayed it like 15 times before I finally got burnt out, and I HAD to go back and play the originals.

I picked up Dark Souls 2 next, and my outlook shift really started to click in the Shrine of Amana. That area was HELLISH for me man, like holy FUCK. I remember trying to rush through it, just skip past everything trying to find some easy way out just like I did with everything else in life, but that wasn’t an option. I had to start actually thinking about what I was doing, being methodical, taking care of the small problems one at a time until I got to- frankly I barely remember now. There was a bonfire before that frog boss right?😂 either way. I eventually worked my way through it after SO much trial and error.

I was 23 at this time, and my drinking was worth than ever. I was literally probably months away from death. That was actually my goal, I figured I would either drink my way there or “speed up the process.” My friends were begging me to get sober, but I probably never would’ve if I didn’t have my rock bottom moment. I don’t wanna talk about that day, but after it happened I was ready to be done.

Sobriety was so goddamn hard those first few weeks. Every time I had a panic attack, for some reason, my mind went back to the shrine of amana. I think because of how gorgeous the area was, despite the pain? I was struggling, but the journey was beautiful. And when I thought about getting through that area that I was stuck on for an embarrassingly long time, it reminded me that I can push through challenges.

God, that’s such a simple concept, and it’s advice we’re told our whole lives, “Practice makes perfect” lol. It just genuinely didn’t click with me until I got into these games. I uh, I’ve kind of lost my train of thought, and I’d really love to end this long winded post in some beautiful poetic way, but all I can say is this; I’m 24 years old, I’ve been completely sober since November 29th, 2025 after 9 years of destroying myself, I’m looking healthy and alive again, and dark souls helped me more than almost anything. I didn’t go hollow.

Some people favor Dark Souls. Some people favor Elden Ring. A lot of people favor Bloodborne. Sekiro. Even dark souls 3 gets brought into this conversation often- but you know who favors those titles? Pussies, bitches and maidenless goofballs. Dark souls 2 is the favorite title of MEN.

Adaptability; let’s talk about it. Everyone complains right? “Wahhh wahhh I don’t get enough I frames wahhh wahhh I don’t wanna waste souls on a whole sta-“ shut the fuck up, nerd. If you didn’t level vig so much you wouldn’t miss the souls anyway, just wear some fucking armor brother. If you ask me, adaptability makes you have to choose your build more carefully. I love choosing builds. Building up a strong warrior, big veiny arms, a jawline sharp enough to cut diamonds- what was I talking about?

I have a 9950X3D and I’ve never really been fully clear on how to approach curve optimizer. Do stronger cores with higher SP ratings get a less aggressive offset or a more aggressive offset? (I know we can’t make decisions based on SP predictions)

But, for example: my golden core on CCD1, core 8, is SP 125. Core 15, my core with weakest silicone on CCD1, is SP 119.

Should my curve optimizer on core 8 theoretically be more or less aggressive than on core 15?

It’s unclear to me whether stronger silicone means it can handle a more aggressive offset because it doesn’t NEED AS MUCH VOLTAGE to boost that high, or if it means it doesn’t need as aggressive of an offset because it CAN HANDLE THE VOLTAGE NEEDED to boost that high.

Does this question make sense? 😂 I just don’t know if my logic when setting per core values has been backwards or not. I typically set my stronger cores with less aggressive values but I’ve never really been impressed with my cpu benchmark scores.

My PC Specs

Operating System: Windows 11 Pro 25h2

Motherboard: ASUS Rog Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi (latest bios version as of June 2026; version 2202)

CPU: Ryzen 9 9950X3D

CPU Cooler: Lian Li Ga II LCD 360mm AIO

Hynix M Die RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MT/s CL30 1.4V (F5-6000J3040G32X2-TZ5NR)

PSU: be quiet! BN517 Straight Power 12-1200w 80 Plus Platinum

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Windforce SFF (16GB of VRAM)

storage:
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (OS/C drive)
Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB NVMe (games)
Crucial T705 2TB NVMe (games)
WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB (games)
Crucial P310 1TB (extra/general storage)

Case: Hyte Y70 Touch Infinite

Case fans:
x3 Lian Li SF-Inf 120 Wireless reverse blade fans set as side intake
- x1 Lian Li SF-Inf 140 Wireless set as side intake
x3 Corsair 120mm fans set as bottom intake

I have been watching this man try to kill RYKARD for 3 hours straight. Not to mention, he has made at least four taladiga nights references in the last 10 minutes. There is zero shot he’s not on uppers

Well

Okay why have I been watching this for three hours

Maybe I’m on adderall