[Morgoth]

And finally, you've come to the point where you can run for quite some time without dying, building up an impressive reservoir of humanity. You're starting to think that you've got the handle on this game, and that perhaps now it'll be an easier affair to the end. Next thing you know a wheeled skeleton slams into your back and kills you instantly.

[Traveller]

Those things are horrible if they catch you unawares. They kind of sum up the game though - approach them the right way, and you can kill them in a couple of hits. get it even a bit wrong, and they kill you in a blink.

That reminds me of my first Newgame+, I went down into the Tomb of the Giants to farm Humanity too early on, trying to be clever, as there's a quick route down using the Falling spell. But there was a mist door which wouldn't let me through until you have the Lordvessel, right near the end. I had to fight my way all the way back out again the long way..with everything able to one-hit me.

[Malaclypse]

Morgoth, on 16 March 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

And finally, you've come to the point where you can run for quite some time without dying, building up an impressive reservoir of humanity. You're starting to think that you've got the handle on this game, and that perhaps now it'll be an easier affair to the end. Next thing you know a wheeled skeleton slams into your back and kills you instantly.

True - those wheeled skeletons are among the most deadly things you can encounter. Have to be prepared for them - helps to have (crystal) homing soulmass up. Bastard things.

[amphibian]

I'm just picturing Traveller working back out the long way of that level - which I haven't played yet. The grim determination, the quiet frustration and the nail biting tension of nearly pulling it off each time must have been delicious to experience.

Kinda like me with the Capra Demon the first 4 times or so. Damn hounds kept shunting me left and I lost 7 or 8 humanity.

[Malaclypse]

amphibian, on 16 March 2013 - 10:20 PM, said:

I'm just picturing Traveller working back out the long way of that level - which I haven't played yet. The grim determination, the quiet frustration and the nail biting tension of nearly pulling it off each time must have been delicious to experience.

Kinda like me with the Capra Demon the first 4 times or so. Damn hounds kept shunting me left and I lost 7 or 8 humanity.

There's a video out there of some Irish dude escaping from the Tomb of Giants the hard way - fucking hilarious - he decides to go naked for speed and with the commentary in that accent it's comic gold

edit: link -

if that doesn't work search for 'how to get out of the tomb of giants'

You won't be disappointed

btw, it's not as hard as he makes it out to be ;p

This post has been edited by Malaclypse: 17 March 2013 - 07:51 AM

[Traveller]

amphibian, on 16 March 2013 - 10:20 PM, said:

I'm just picturing Traveller working back out the long way of that level - which I haven't played yet. The grim determination, the quiet frustration and the nail biting tension of nearly pulling it off each time must have been delicious to experience.

Kinda like me with the Capra Demon the first 4 times or so. Damn hounds kept shunting me left and I lost 7 or 8 humanity.

The first trek through is slow, as its pitch black unless you have the light spell. And when a Giant looms out, its very easy to jump back, and disappear into an abyss.

There is a shortcut down later so you can harvest humanity and visit a Smith, but unless you want a tense trip back make sure you've got the lordvessel!

For me, the game is at it's best when you've amassed a ton of souls, but get killed by a careless mistake about a mile from the last bonfire.

That cautious mission to retrieve the loot is just delicious.. especially as you're gathering even more souls as you go, raising the stakes still higher.

[Defiance]

Shifting over to the Dark Souls thread as Traveller suggested.

Dark Wood Grain ring is gained by joining the Forest Hunter Covenant. You join, and then a guy named Shiva appears right outside along with a nearly invisible ninja-looking guy. You have to kill this ninja guy to get the ring. This will kick you out of the Forest Hunter Covenant, so you only have one shot to kill them (as both of these NPCs only appear when you're in the covenant).

I just went melee on Bed of Chaos. I cheesed him by hiding in the little crook. Used my Moonlight Butterfly Horn and never got hit since all you have to do is lure him to swing and then flip backward.

[Traveller]

That will be why I never found it then. I used to farm souls there, but never joined up as I was in another covenant at the time.

I think Shiva sells some interesting stuff I missed too.

[Defiance]

Shiva sells a handful of rare weapons. I think all of them can be obtained by other means. He does have the East Wood Grain Ring, which you can only get from him. It lowers the rate at which your weapons lose durability. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to special attacks, so I've never found it useful.

[Traveller]

Ah. It would be useful for preserving the crystal halberd though, that was a killer mid-game.

[Defiance]

Yeah, I think crystal weapons (and one other which I'm forgetting) are about all it's good for.

Just 3 shot Gwyn with my spells, pretty amusing. Time to see how well a sorcerer holds up in NG+.

[tiam]

Ive found another bonfire which makes me a happy and gives me a small sense of progress. That dragon in the undead burg nearly caused me to shit my pants as i was drinking coffee at the time. Got that heater shield and as such i now recognise the utter necessity of blocking even as a sorcerer. Gonna have a nose round soon and hopefully find a boss to get stuck on

[Morgoth]

Jean-Claude Van tiam, on 30 March 2013 - 08:04 AM, said:

Ive found another bonfire which makes me a happy and gives me a small sense of progress. That dragon in the undead burg nearly caused me to shit my pants as i was drinking coffee at the time. Got that heater shield and as such i now recognise the utter necessity of blocking even as a sorcerer. Gonna have a nose round soon and hopefully find a boss to get stuck on

Hah, welcome to Dark Souls. Enjoy your long, frustrating stay.

[Defiance]

Getting pretty close to the soft-cap for Vitality. Going to put points into Endurance until 40 after that in order to cap my stamina, but I'm really not sure what to do next on my sorcerer. I have a feeling I'll be hitting NG++ by the time I get those two capped. My choices after this are Strength, Dexterity, and Attunement. I found out 6 is NOT the maximum number of slots; Attunement can go up to 50, providing you with 10 spell slots.

Advantages of Strength: Wielding some of the cooler weapons for fun, having an alternative to my Moonlight weapons which deal primarily magic damage.
Advantages of Dexterity: Again, wielding other weapons and having an alternative to Moonlight. Also can use a bow to snipe, plus dexterity decreases cast time on spells (between 10 and 20 percent by the time I get 50 dexterity, I believe).
Advantages of Attunement: 4 more slots.

Each has its advantages. Strength is probably the least appealing (although I do want to run around dressed as Artorias, but I guess I should just make a melee character for that). Dexterity seems pretty nice, as it adds additional utility and increases spell casting. Attunement I'm 50/50 about. More slots for spells is definitely great, but that's 27 levels for only 4 additional slots, not to mention if I need 10 slots worth of spells I'm probably fucked anyway. It would allow me to just carry around Soul Spear/Crystal Soul Spear for absolute carnage, though.

Choices, choices. I suppose there's Faith as well, but I think I'm going to hold off on that and create a Paladin-type character next. Plus, switching between a Catalyst and a Talisman would be a pain in the ass, since my setup is R1 weapon (Moonlight Greatsword/Butterfly Horn), R2 Logan's Catalyst, L1 Shield, L2 Pyromancy Glove for Power Within.

[Traveller]

I've never got above 10 in Faith. I really wanted to raise it to use the Artorias sword, which I made and enhanced, but could never use.

Are you farming loads to get to those levels so quickly? And what armor are you wearing as a Sorceror at that stage?

Dexterity looks like a good call for the speed bonus.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 30 March 2013 - 07:25 PM

[tiam]

Ive got a talisman but have no idea what it does. Need help boosting my magic i think

[Defiance]

Nope, I didn't do much farming. A little before NG+, just going around killing all of the NPCs, but otherwise I just sold the high-paying stuff to Frampt and used all of my consumable souls (including one or two boss ones that had items that I didn't want). I did farm a little bit in order to upgrade some weapons, but I never farmed for soul levels. I did take my time and get every item I could find, though.

Talismans are for your Miracles, which come from Faith. You'll be using a Catalyst as a sorcerer.

[tiam]

Can you sell items? I have alot of shit Im carrying round with me it seems that I cant use yet cant sell? Is it a specific vendor thing as ive found 2 shops now (undead Berg and new foundland or whateever that place is with the ghosts) but unsure how to sell stuff.

[Defiance]

There is one guy you can sell to once you've rang both Bells of Awakening. You can also buy a Bottomless Box (or some such) from the merchant in the Burg, which allows you to deposit items into it at bonfires so that you're not sifting through all sorts of stuff when you need to make a quick switch.

[tiam]

AH ok. But is there only one main merchant you can sell to? Seems odd.

Also how common are catalysts?