Yeah, I didn't really have a good build for O&S, though. I had a lightning battleaxe and light armor (I think it was just the gold armor that started with an X, or maybe I had basic pyromancer's robes, I don't remember). It's my favorite PvE build. Especially once you get the ring that lets you flip that you get from the rogue Forest Guardian. Four Kings on both regular and NG+ are chumps with that build, oddly enough.
Essentially, with that build, and some parrying practice, I beat every boss in the game with no difficulties, save for O&S. And since I'm a trophy whore (I play PS3 primarily), I had to play through again, killing Smough first so I could get Ornstein's gear. That was even worse, being NG+.
Quelaag had me really intimidated, but I beat her my first try (granted, it was an incredibly stressful and nearly failing first try). Nito wasn't too bad, so long as I timed my dodges well. The problem with him was the distance between him and the bonfire.
To be honest, the boss fight that gave me the most shear mind-numbing hate towards it was Bed of Chaos. Because it had nothing to do with your damage abilities. Even with my dodging skills coupled with the ring, I was forced to just bum rush to take out both weakpoints, die, then bum rush to take out his final weakpoint, dying multiple times trying to time the jump across the pit correctly.
But, yeah, the people who dislike the game are not playing it correctly (not trying to sound like an ass, but if the shoe fits...), it's not their cup of tea, or they chose a horrendous build to start out with.
To give an idea, my very first character was a thief. I could not get past Undead Burgh, no matter what I tried. I started a new character, the pyromancer. I never actually used pyromancy, but I chose that build for the early battleaxe and light armor. And, other than O&S, I had a challenging, but fun run through the game.
Granted, the set up sucks entirely at PvP, but it excels in most situations in PvE.
