I think the cruelty of the swamp levels is part of their appeal much of the time, and the swamp of sorrow is that cruelty expressed in its purest form which make it my favorite. I had hoped that elden ring would provide something similar, especially as scarlet rot is basiquelly a super poison. But to be quite frank, lake of rot is a massive dissapointement. Unlike other poison swamps, there no actual challenge to overcome. Its just a big empty expense that test your patience rather than your survival or navigation skills.
You absolutely get me. The cruelty, and the oppressive atmosphere of many of the swamps are why I love them so much. Of course it's easy to get annoyed with them as much as the next guy, but when the vibe hits right, it hits RIGHT!
Finally someone else who appreciates Farron Keep. I get that by the time DS3 came out there was fatigue over the poison swamp trope (which was already controversial to begin with), but in a vacuum it's a fantastic area. It's large with many sections that each vary in terms of enemies, layout, and swamp mobility. There's good loot all over the place, has a side area to take a short break from the poison and fight a mini boss, and is topped off with one of the best boss fights in the game. So glad to see you put it at #1.
The Gutter has such a satisfying way of progress. How you can see the path, you went so far by igniting the torches is awesome (I always ignite every fire within the circle of torches). PS: The Farron Keep - I think - is the darkrood garden from DS1.
Yep, I mention it briefly in the video, and in my DS3 Area Rankings, but Farron Keep is most definitely a warped and twisted version of what used to be Darkroot Garden. The corpse of Elizabeth and the presence of the DS1 Mushroom Men corpses is pretty evident proof - Very cool!
I actually really like the lake of rot because of how striking the visuals are and how eerily open it is despite being so deep underground. I also like how it feels like I only just had enough health to get everywhere before dying. Very tense area for me.
I did end up getting sent to the Crystal Tunnel from Limgrave. And when I stepped out of the tunnel to see the Aeonian Swamp, I said out loud “Yup, this is the poison swamp area.” and then I promptly teleported back to Limgrave
I appreciate the Gutter getting some love. I hate 80% of DS2. But The Gutter was one of the first locations in that map that I didn’t feel like I was roller coaster ride and was instead in a real location. Blight Town is also awesome.
This video was honestly so entertaining it's not fair 😂 I honestly really feel you on the swamp in 5-2 from demon Souls! I thought for years that it's a really atmospheric, gross, fetid, and entrancing level. The way it constantly rains sludge, the thick darkness, the mutated enemies, the haphazard boards slapped together as heir homes, it's all so eerie and memorable. Blight Town was my first Souls swamp, and it kicked my ass left and right. I remember the joy I felt when I finally made it back to Firelink Shrine! Congrats on the almost 7k subscribers by the way! Very well-deserved 🎉
2:35 I think the basilisks are actually placed out there to help you. Each pack grants you a flask refill, so if you keep going from one to the next, you can stretch out your healing to around double your maximum flasks that can be held at any one time, if memory serves.
Honestly in terms of which one is the easiest and most interesting has to go to the Lake of Rot, It has that grotesque and disturbing atmosphere and it's visually cool, plus you can easily pass through it.
The Swamp of Sorrow has an unmatched atmosphere. Being there feels like there's no return, like you've reached the bottom of the world, a place no sane individual would enter. It's less of an obstacle or a challenge placed on your path and more of it's own place that you aren't welcome in. I feel it's got something that the later swamps just don't
I'm back from my summer break! A few updates: I have a Bluesky account & a new discord, both of which can be found in the description for people interested! Also, I'll only be replying to the first 24 hours worth of video comments. I make it a priority to read all my comments (Hence why they all get hearted), but I just can't respond to everyone, y'know. Much love, don't hate me for my Number 5 or Number 1 xD As for this video, if there are any poison swamps in Soulsborne that you feel I missed or didn't include, let me know and I'll give you my honest thoughts on them here in the comments.
Saying that having to look for Flame Cleanse Me takes away from Lake of Rot is odd because even getting there is already part of a lengthy sidequest that makes you go off the beaten path. Especially when you don't hold it against Blighttown that you have to buy pretty darn expensive blooming poison moss to counter the toxic of the blowdart snipers or pick up a special ring in a secret location to even be able to walk normally in the swamp.
Lake of Rot looks like a soup and it even steams. Also I'm surprised you started doing general Souls ranking without doing video on Elden Ring's major regions
I plan to rank Elden Ring's various regions as a video at some point, but it's not a topic I'm desperate to cover at this moment. More of a "It'll happen when it happens" video idea.
Lake of Rot was just unnecessary trolling on Miyazaki’s end. You go exploring this entire underground area, see an elevator to go even further underground, you wonder what you’re about to find, and it’s just… that. And “Lake of Rot” pops up on your screen. Every FromSoft fan just facepalmed at that moment. It’s manageable if you google a build that specifically minimizes rot buildup/damage, engage with the crafting system, and use Cleanse Me, but no one wants to go through that effort. I didn’t craft anything all game and barely ever used magic, although I did have the Cleanse Me spell so I felt happy about that. I just googled a good rot build, wore it, and waded through to make my life easier.
While a little annoying sometimes I can understand why they exist for lore/story reasons most of these places are supposed to be like slums, where the worst of the worst were housed or dead bodies are thrown away (or a literal sewer) so it makes sense that they aren’t pleasant/clean to traverse.
So just out of curiosity, you are aware that you can burn the creatures in Black Gulch by shooting the oil pools with fire arrows right? Is really easy to go through it if you just do that and destroy the statues, the worms can also be aggro before they can attack you. Is just annoying if you try to speedrun the place.
I am not subscribing much often. But wow, it did not happen to me so long that I would find so amazing and interesting creator. Excuse my English and spelling because I am not native speaker. However you really became my favorite Souls game creator, for being small channel you have same great quality of sound and visuals as any big channels. Also your voice is very soothing and you are very well spoken. Keep doing what you are doing, I can not wait to binge more of your videos. :)
The Swamp of Sorrow is the only poison area that I actually hate, it actually sucks to play through every time. I think it's the worst swamp by a long shot and it's a mystery why Blighttown is more infamous.
tbh, i'm kinda surprised blighttown isn't the bottom of the list, since it has pretty much the same issues lake of rot has (a section where you have to poison yourself, annoying enemies, ect) but it's longer, and the poison slows you to a crawl
The difference is that the poison effect in Dark Souls is basically negligible. You have so much time to heal and, if you get the Rusted Iron Ring from the Asylum revisit first, you can move around the swamp at a normal pace. Lake of Rot, the scarlet rot is so strong that you lose all your healing at lightning speed, so its not fun to explore. I'm also just very used to Blighttown at this point and think it's an overhated area in the grand scheme of the series
on second thought I'll just give my thoughts on each Demon's Souls - one day I'll play this game DS1 Blighttown - love the first half. but I think the swamp is mid DS2 Black Gulch - probably my least favourite one. I don't think I get anything out of this area DS2 Gutter - yeah good area and pretty much agree with all the points. don't love it as much as Blighttown's upper section on average though DS2 Harvest Valley - honestly too many annoying enemy placements for me, especially that section with a whole pack of those fat guys with weapons. though I guess it's interesting to take on but didn't feel fair to me DS2 Earthen Peak - this is good though. very brutal area but solid Bloodborne Nightmare Frontier - atmosphere and aesthetic carries it hard for me and I ultimately like it. but I wouldn't consider it to be one of BB's better areas or anything. DS3 Profaned Capital - I just don't care about this whole are at all. doesn't give me much of a reaction (like most DS3 base game areas tbh) DS3 Dreg Heap - like it a fair bit on a first pt but it's the kind of area that's just considerably less engaging and more like work on replays to me. DS3 Farron Keep - I've always held this is one of the more interesting DS3 base game areas but man I still just hate how it looks visually. very muddy and grey I wish there was more contrast Sekiro room - like it a fair bit Elden Ring Lake of Rot - bad but also funny and doesn't overstay it's welcome, so not one of my least favourite areas ever Elden Ring Shaded Castle - it's cool Elden Ring Caelid swamp - looks cool as hell, just fun to explore, relatively short, I like it. I don't like the Commander boss fights much though (but they're not bad)
I think you should have made the poison area for bloodborne nightmare of menses seeing as the poison and frenzy are far worse in those areas plus they are freaking massive
My thing with the gutter is its just blightown or depraved chasm but more annoying without the profound atmosphere the other 2 have so I would say Blighttown 10/10 Depraved Chasm 8/10 The Gutter 6/10. PS sunken valley passage has a swamp
I actually had the Sunken Valley Passage in my script for Ashina Depths, but cut it last minute. It's a bit too inconsequential for me to include it. I never venture into it, aside from jumping over one small poison pool to get to the Serpent's Cavern.
I guess the “Consumed King’s Garden” was too small of an area to be ranked. I just did it for the first time and was curious to see what would be said. Probably because it’s fresh in my memory.
Ah dang, I actually could have included it. Admittedly, I don't have a very high opinion of it. You can check my thoughts in my Dark Souls III Area Rankings, but I think the toxic is extremely brutal, and the area itself just feels like it could have been larger, more expansive. I also really dislike the Pus of Man enemies, so that doesn't help x_x
@@BillySYT Then I shall revisit the are rankings video 😁. I did feel the area could have been a little larger, but technically it is just a garden so the size does make sense. It did make the toxic more manageable as well. I wonder if there is anyone who likes the Pus of Man 🤔? I didn't bother with them and sniped them with my bow. Made the area more fun for me.
Swamp of Sorrow fifth? How wrong. It should be first or second. It's the swamp that completely nails the atmosphere, feeling absolutely oppressive. Blighttown I can see being ranked above it just for better distribution of content, with none of the swamp feeling empty. Also the fact that Demon's Souls somehow doesn't have the status buildup gauge. (I haven't played DS3 or enough DS2 to judge its areas)
Banger video definitely subscribed 💯 i hope you can make some more content around DS3 specifically. I just played every soulsborne game for the first time just this year and now that is one of my favorite games ever
I just hate poison swamps so much, there is something disorienting about them, only Soulsborne areas in which I keep getting lost in subsequent playthroughs.
Struggling with Rot or Poison whilst fighting a field boss/boss in Elden Ring?? Use Black Knife Tiche Doesn't Bleed Immune to poison and rot Pretty sure Frostbite does jack shit not viable for madness or deathblight as it technically isn't human sleep literally has a one second effect. oh and the Max HP Debuff + DOT attacks Tiche is very useful, but the Evergaol fight is a pain if your not confident.
I'd rank the Lake of Rot higher, oddly enough. Even with my initial reaction of 'What the *actual fuck* did you do, Miyazaki', it grew on me once I realized that just blitzing through is oddly gentle as long as you have the boluses or Physick regen on hand since the only enemies in the bog itself, at least running to the temple, are Basilisks. And even if the palette bleeds into your eyes after a while, it's at least better than looking at murky and sludgy green. Plus just the *concept* of it. You're nowhere near Malenia and yet this absolute repository of the stuff is just sitting here. You're under just a general part of the map, and there's this absolute cesspool deep below, possibly waiting for the right time to shoot up and make Caelid 2.0 depending on where this is located under.
Ah! I forgot the shaded castle. Probably because once you're up on the walls, it doesn't feel much like a swamp anymore. I also pretty much always rode Torrent up to the wall so I didn't even realize for a while that it was a poison swamp.
@@BillySYT there also the huge poison swamp under the albinoric village, the couple of swamp themed caelid dungeon (especially the cave found in the upper ravine which is particularly nasty) as well as a couple of smaller poison swamps spread around the overworld.
Mhm - I don't really consider the Albanuric Swamp because it's just a backdrop for the village itself, which doesn't have any poison theming. I purposefully didn't include any small dungeons or caves that revolved around poison because I'd be listing half of Elden Ring's caverns at that point. I think I got the main notable ones ^^
For me the lake of rot is the most disappointing swamp. Even in ds3 while I felt the swamps were starting to be overused they at least had unique challenges with with the lake of rot all I needed to do was max out my crimson flask then sprint through
The amount of times I run into Gavlaan, thinking he's an enemy and almost hitting him is... more than I care to admit. Love him though. Gavlaan wheel, Gavlaan deal!
Thank you for appreciating the gutter. I was so moved by it, it’s so dark and sad and has this eldritch feeling. It’s like a giant maw of darkness swallowing you. And I actually love the black gulch because it’s like the deepest depth
If we're going purely on atmosphere, I agree with you on both counts. Black Gulch may not be my favourite area, far from it. But I do love the green hues and the almost toxic, otherworldly atmosphere, a stark contrast to the sheer darkness of the Gutter. It's like you delve too deeply and discover some true horrors.
ill rank every swamp (that i’ve personally played) 1: valley of defilement 5-2 2: blighttown 3: the gutter 4: swamp of aeonia 5: harvest valley 6: the black gulch 7: farron keep 6-7 are awful 5 is just kinda boring 4-3 are pretty good overall 1-2 are contenders for best areas in the series (yea im weird im aware)
I love the Gutter for all the reasons you mentioned, plus its tense atmosphere. I'm also happy with Blighttown's placement. Where we differ is that I would put Faron at the very bottom as one of my least favorite areas in the entire series. It's part of why Im sometimes hesitent to play ds3's early game. It's massive and super samey looking. Every single enemy (besides dark wraiths) is annoying to fight. I just found the level to be overall boring, frustrating, and ugly.
My personal favorite is 5-2 from Demon's Souls not only because how effective it as as a follow up to 5-1 but also because of how oppressive the environment is.
I agree with the top three entries, though I would say Blighttown is my personal favorite swamp, followed by Farron Keep, then the Gutter. I will admit that it is due to time spent exploring, with Blighttown easily taking me hours to explore. Farron Keep was where I spent an obscene amount of time farming Darkwraiths for their mask for my Grim Reaper build. I never got one to drop so I had a friend drop one for me, but I did get really good at fighting Darkwraiths 😅
I think revenants might just be one of the worst enemies in any Soulsborne game. Fuck that one trench in the Haligtree in particular. And yeah, the Lake of Rot is probably the worst of them all. The sheer audacity of it does still make me laugh though. I'm not as down on Blighttown as many people, but I do usually refuse to go through the front entrance, I've done that maybe twice and it was definitely more than enough for me. The dart bois really just grind my gears 😭
Never in my life have I feared more than falling into the Haligtree Trench on the opposite side of the area from the ladder back up, and having to scramble for my life across the entire length of the trench with Revenants up my ass. True survival horror.
I would argue that they are one of those enemy type that exist to scare players more than provide satisfying combat. Every soul game has at least a couple. Of the many encounters in the game, very few of them actually require you to fight them to progress or collect a reward.
I know it’s a controversial game but Lords of the Fallen has my favorite poison swamp of all time. Forsaken Fen has unique enemies compared to the rest of the game and one of the best bosses with the Hushed Saint. Being able to explore under the water with the umbral mechanic made exploration so unique compared to other poison swamps. It was definitely one of my favorite areas in the game
Good list! Here's mine: Also, I wont be adding Swamp Of Aeonia as it's part of Caelid and I don't count regions in Elden Ring. Oh, and you should totally do a ranking of each of the FORESTS in the Souls series! I mean, if ya wanna... 13. Cave Of The Dead: This is literally a short trek through a couple of hallways designed to accomplish nothing other than poison you and kill you with a crap ton of enemies shoved into this tiny area...it sucks! 12. Black Gulch: Another sadistic, glorified hallway with an absurd amount of poison statues and enemies to block your progress through what is once again a tiny area. 11. Ashina Depths: I've only played Sekiro once (something I hope to remedy in the future) so I'm not entirely clear as to what all the Ashina Depths include, but if it's just that one large room with multiple enemies and Snake Eyes then it definitely belongs here, but still higher than the last two for having a semblance of actual design. 10. Lake Of Rot: So there's no denying that actually exploring the lake is suicidal, but it's not as big as it initially seems and I do somewhat enjoy climbing down through the cloister, plus the very pink tone really makes it stand out amongst the pack. 09. Shaded Castle: The design is good and I agree that once you start exploring the castle above the poison swamp things improve, but yeah, Revanants are the absolute worst... 08. Nightmare Frontier: It's been a hot minute since I last played Bloodborne, but if memory serves I am ranking the Frontier this high almost purely on it's otherworldly aesthetics, and not for the vast open terrain and pain in the arse enemies! 07. Profaned Capital: The actual swamp in this place is nothing to write home about, but there are enough semi interesting elements and decent level design to put this otherwise middle of the road area above it's predecessors. 06. Farron Keep: I can't believe you put Farron Keep at the top spot...exploring the swamp itself is an absolute chore, but I don't hate the area and it does have good loot if you're brave enough, plus there's that tower that leads up to the decaying Stray Demon which is a highlight moment for me in Dark Souls 3. 05. Harvest Valley: I don't love or hate Harvest Valley and find it to be a pretty average Souls area overall, but I find the poison element in this land to be rather manageable compared to other entries, and I do enjoy exploring the interior of the windmill quite a bit. 04. The Dreg Heap: I'm actually not entirely sure where to place this one seeing as on the one hand it's swamp is relatively small and nothing particularly interesting while being guarded by murderous angels, but on the other I love the spectacle of the whole thing...with the twisting ruins and multiple leaps of faith, culminating in a return to firelink shrine and one of the very best bosses in the game! 03. Valley Of Defilement: I knew which ones would be in my top three, it was only a question of the order and while exploring the Swamp Of Sorrow is a real slow burn, I find the atmosphere does a great job of selling the place as being littered with disease and filthy undesirables. 02. The Gutter: I don't know what it is about rickety wooden platforms but I too enjoy traversing them, plus I am a sucker for the gimmick of this area, slowly lighting up this dark area one torch at a time. 01. Blighttown: The thing I love about Blighttown is that up until this point regardless of the difficulties a player has faced, they have gotten used to eventually running past enemies and through areas if need be, but Blighttown is the first real area that forces players to slow down and watch their footing since even the slightest unchecked swing of a weapon can have your character plummeting into the abyss and to their doom!
You can avoid getting the buffed rot status effect in the lake of rot by rolling in the rot and getting the status effect to proc while not inside of the lake. This way you get the normal rot status effect. Yet that would still be the worst poison swamp just because of how empty the area is. Beside the mushroom crown, there is nothing of value there. You can farm aeonian butterflies but that is also quite annoying.
number 1 should be lake of rot tbh Just kidding! (or…?) Anyways, I think the best poison swamp is the Nightmare Frontier. It’s not super challenging, it doesn’t take an entire month to navigate, it has some fun enemies, and the rest of the level excluding the poison part is great. I just have a good time with it. As always, good video. 🙃
It’s probably too late to expect an awnser but im surprised you didn’t mention the blood swamp in Mohgs palace. It’s a decent chunk of the bottom area filled with bleed dogs, blood albinaric and one of my most hated and memorable enemies in elden ring those freaking giant crows with a brand new move/design too.
I don't really consider it a swamp, honestly. Like, I wanted to focus primarily on poison based swamps since that's sort of the "meme", while with the blood swamp there's no real danger from status effects outside of bad positioning causing bleed build-up.
I actually like the Nightmare Frontier swamp, and actually the small swamp with the giant and worms is the one I don't like XD And for DS3 it happens the same, I prefer the Earthen Peak Ruins way over Farron Keep, for my Farron Keep and the Abyss Watchers are probably the worst part of DS3.
@@BillySYT Okay, not the worst. I still prefer the Abyss Watchers over for example the Deacons, The Lord Skeleton, Crystal Sage and some other, but what I really don't like about them is that Abyss Watchers is basically Artorias but worse, personally I'd rather don't have that boss in the game.
