I would love to talk about getting good at a particular skill, but I've been doing that quite a lot in the past, so I'd like to change it with something new that I noticed about myself in the past few months.
Let me begin like this: I am a Souls games fan. In particular, I like the Souls games that FromSoftware makes, from Dark Souls 1 all the way up to Elden Ring. I started playing the first Dark Souls years and years ago, getting stuck on bosses such as the Capra Demon or Ornstein and Smough and having my share of frustration with different parts of the environment.
But I loved the game. As much as it frustrated me at times, it also charmed me. It was only natural then that once I was done with that title, I quickly began playing the next one—Dark Souls 2. The same type of progression began—thinking the game was easy, getting stuck, frustrated, beating the game after a lot of hours, and feeling good about myself.
I kept on playing until I finished them all. Two years ago, I also finished Elden Ring, and I felt quite sad that there was nothing else for me to play directly from those developers. So, last year, while I was away for work, my girlfriend and I purchased a PS5, and alongside many games that we purchased, I decided to get both Demon's Souls (the remaster), a title that I just couldn't play on PC, Bloodborne, and all the other Dark Souls games in a bundle.
So, I spent a few months of my life playing mainly those games once I would come home from work. I started with Bloodborne, and although I had some experience under my belt with those types of games, I had zero experience with a controller. Not gonna lie, it took me around a week to get the hang of it properly. But once I did, I had so much fun.
I beat the game, then went on to the others. By the time work was finished and I got home, I had finished every single Souls game I had with me, plus a few other games that I bought along the way, especially PS exclusives.
Once I got home, I installed Elden Ring again because I was really curious about the DLC. I got into the game, had to get used to mouse and keyboard again, and began playing. If you played the game, you know that right at the beginning, when you get past the tutorial area and actually enter the world of the game, you have the option of fighting a very difficult enemy on a horse. I knew that he was strong, so I just wanted to give it a shot.
I got him to less than half HP before he killed me. Now, if you know what enemy I'm talking about, you also know just how strong he is and how difficult he is to beat right at the beginning with no new weapons and no levels. Yet, I almost did it. It felt great, but future attempts didn't work out, so I just left that enemy alone for later.
Eventually, I started playing the game properly, facing stronger enemies, defeating a few bosses here and there, and what I noticed—the one thing that made me feel extremely good about myself—was that enemies I once struggled with in the game no longer posed that big of a challenge. Sure, I died here and there, but overall, the progress was quick.
As I move forward, I realized something—I got quite good at these games. Not extremely good, not "I can beat it at level 1 with a dagger and without getting hit once" good, but still. I was moving quickly through the areas, defeating all kinds of enemies that used to frustrate me a lot, and finishing entire questlines without really trying too hard.
And all of that felt extremely good because it showed that I had improved at those types of games. The progress was obvious—I was beating anything and everything. I understood items and what they did without trying too hard. I built my character with no issue, without even consulting a guide or anything. It just felt like I belonged playing that game.
The biggest surprise was when I began beating things that used to be extremely difficult for me the first time I played the game, such as the Crucible Knight or Malenia or the one I think I struggled with the most—Mohg, Lord of Blood. It took me hours to beat him, and it frustrated the living hell out of me when I first played the game, especially his second phase. Now? I beat him so quickly he couldn't even get to that second phase that I so much hated. When I did it, I almost jumped out of my chair out of excitement.
The conclusion? Sometimes, by just doing something a lot, especially if you like it, you can end up becoming very good at that thing. And it feels absolutely amazing.