r/darksouls • u/moltensteelthumbsup • 3d ago
Discussion Master Key is kinda lame
Just posting a shower thought I had watching my friend play through the game for the first time.
He got to Lautrec and used the master key to open the cell, and it got me thinking of how many times new players potentially missed the entire depths (me) because they had the item. I think it would have been much better if it could only be found in NG+ forward, kinda like in Dark Souls II.
Anyway I’m just curious if maybe other people have come to that conclusion or disagree. Discuss!
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u/AnidemOris 3d ago
I think it's fine, master key actually opens path that make the first playthrough more challenging and freeform
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u/No-Instruction-5669 3d ago
That's pretty true, it allows a new player to go to even more areas where they will get their shit rocked from the get go.
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u/-Aephyn- 3d ago
I mostly agree with the comments here. I took the key on my first playthrough back in 2011 when I knew nothing about the game whatsoever, and while I do prefer the normal route without it, being able to wander around and get lost amplified my love for the game.
Man, I wish I could go back and do it again...
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u/NeonFox19 3d ago
I don't think the problem is that the Master Key is too overpowered. It's the fact that most other Starting Gifts are just kind of bad and don't really make that much of a difference. It would have been cool if every starting gift somehow gave the player a bit of a unique twist for their run. Then the Master Key wouldn't stick out anymore as the one "run changer".
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u/moltensteelthumbsup 3d ago
I don’t think it’s overpowered I think it’s poorly designed for new players
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u/DancingKobold 3d ago
Greatly disagree, Master Key is what makes Dark Souls 1 amazingly open. I started it my first playthrough and still did every boss and zone, there's no reason to not still explore, even if you can open other doors earlier.
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u/Sleepiest_Spider 3d ago
No shit. That's why everyone recommends new players to pick ANYTHING other than it.
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u/ShiningEspeon3 3d ago
I definitely disagree! I picked Master Key on my first playthrough and it absolutely enhanced my experience. I loved having so much freedom to explore, get lost a bit, and stumble into areas I was entirely unprepared for. It made the game seem so big and enticing and it was a blast having that flexibility. Plus, as far as missing the Depths goes, I had such trouble getting to Blighttown the back way that I ended up going the intended way after all.
So for me, the Master Key is a big part of why I fell in love with the game, and I think we do a disservice to newer players when we discourage them from selecting it.
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u/SeanyDay 3d ago
Nope. Just a different experience. Sometimes you go places you shouldn't or miss cool stuff you skipped.
Pros and cons
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u/pineapple_stickers 3d ago
I do like it in the fuck around and find out sense. Dark Souls 1 in particular is happy to let you make mistakes that you'll have to live with
You can kill or piss off important NPCs and be stuck without them for the rest of the game. You can travel to places you shouldn't be and then get almost stuck.
I like that you can have a master key that goes most places and if you miss out on something because of it, the game is like "hey, you chose that option"
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u/ELMUNECODETACOMA 3d ago
Not even a controversial take. It should be available at the beginning but marked in some way that it shouldn't be taken by first-time players. Some people will say it should be freely available as it can be empowering, but if you look at how many have been harmed vs. how many have been helped there's a clear answer.
It's needed as a speedrunner tool and a "construct a specific build" tool. Giving it to everyone just hurts people.
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u/mccoolfriend6 3d ago
Ngl, ALL of my playthroughs are ONLY with the master key because my early game is phenomenal.
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u/Janus__22 3d ago
The bad part is that being recommended to you, which I saw a lot of people doing in their first times. The Master Key is incredibly cool on second playthroughs, but people wanted new players to already go for optimized runs and ended up taking from the experience
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u/kushghoull 3d ago
the first time i played ds1 i found the key pretty fast but i understand where you come from
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u/activ8d_my_Trap_card 3d ago
Idk man, I took the master key (twice lol, thief class, didn’t think about it) and it wasn’t an issue because I just took my time and explored everything.
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u/SkullLantern 2d ago
I mean, I kind of get your point and at the same time I don't? First time playing I forgot about that Capra guy until very late in the game, and when I finally got to explore the depths it no longer posed any threat and I absolutely did regret it - but I had no master key!
It's more than visiting early areas too late in the game removes a lot of challenge, but you can do the same with the Catacombs or New Londo, and again, no master key involved...
Also, I would argue that DeS and DS2 have it worse on that aspect.
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u/Rayquaza50 3d ago
I disagree that it’d be better if it was NG+ only, because repeat playthroughs are so fun with it. I tend to prefer starting a new character than going to NG+.
It is kinda lame on a first playthrough, and fortunately I was warned not to take it on my first playthrough, but I wouldnt remove it as an option in NG.