Have you been to them before? You kind of give the impression that you haven’t.
I definitely completed them all in one save but I have trouble remembering how many times had this happened:
- There must be the first time, completely spoiler-less - it wasn’t my first playthrough though since for some reason I didn’t get to the DLC for quite some time after beating the main game;
- There’s my PyroSorcerer PvP build that had to get all kinds of spells from the DLCs - but it was so minmaxxed (just enough strength/dexterity to wield a handaxe) that I probably just couldn’t qualify for most gear found there;
- Finally, there was one save when I went for all Steam achievements but it ended up being so grindy and miserable that I don’t remember anything but the covenant grind and rushing NG+ and NG+2 for the arena covenant rewards.
Then, of course, there were a few other saves when I went for one DLC but not the others. E.g., my Dragon Slayer went to Shulva to beat Sinh’s ass but the other two have no dragons so I skipped them. I also had a challenge run: I rushed the frozen DLC and went through the entire Eleum Loyce using Warmth spell as my only way to heal. I’d managed to beat Aava without healing but the Ivory King proved too much for me.
But in the end, the game is so long that most of my playthroughs ended somewhere around Drangleic Castle as my focus wanders off to something else. I’m sure I’ll have lots of fun in the DLCs thanks to my relative unfamiliarity!
Update on my DS2 playthrough:
I went through all the shops that could offer some weapons and bought out everything that looked interesting. Checked all the bought stuff, upgraded some all the way to +6 and then checked out around Drangleic. Some thoughts:
I bought rapier and estoc to check them out. I liked estoc a bit more because it has higher poise damage (it’s actually the same as of the longsword!) and better stat scaling for my build so now it’s my fastest weapon in the arsenal. It helped a lot clearing through Drangleic’s “surprising d6” with ruin sentinels.
I added uchigatana to the lonely washing pole and checked both of them out. Holy damn!! Washing pole is crazy, feels like I’m a boss, with my attacks reaching for half the arena lol. I knew it was quite large but not this much! Uchigatana is a nice fast weapon, it might replace my longsword in the long run. I really appreciate that both of them have thrust as their strong attack.
I got the regular twinblade back in the Castle so I checked it out - and was disappointed as in one hand its’ attacks are pretty basic. Only at the end of the session, when I got to the entrance of the Crypt, had I found the red twinblade - and this one does have a unique moveset even when held with one hand! I’ll check it out later.
I also bought red rust sword and shield crossbow with no real plan on what to do with them (if anything). The rust sword is pretty interesting as it seems to have the moveset of axes while shield crossbow will likely just be in my collection of crossbows as it doesn’t look as cool as the light crossbow.
Now, all this departure felt really good because the next place I needed to go to was the dreaded Shrine of Amana. The way to the third bonfire was nerve-wracking. Fighting the ogre knowing that it will murder me in two successive hits is fucking scary. Not to mention the precarious paths for the estus shard, with all the deep water around…
In the end, I managed to get through the Shrine without dying at all. I believe it might first time doing it deathless. And I got everything I could except for the crown. Pyromancers killed me plenty though :D Why do they have poise???
The Crypt is next and I’m excited as I quite like it!