[EmperorMagus]

 Wolfdrop, on 06 August 2014 - 06:57 AM, said:

For larger enemies it's better to not try and block them. They sometimes take a run up before swinging so if you dodge immediately they'll still land the hit, so timing is key. Make sure your equip load is less than 70% for fast rolls.

You should have your weapon upgraded to +4 or so by now. If you've not found the blacksmith's key you can buy it from the hag next to the bonfire in Forest of Fallen Giants.

If you're strong enough to use great shield then you'll be strong enough to use the bastard sword, you'll find it just after those knights. It's a great weapon especially once upgraded. If you're two handing it you should be able to take them down in 2 hits.

Or you could try using a bow to weaken them from distance and draw them out one at a time.

Using a bow is a total no-no, buying enough arrows to kill them at range costs more souls than they have.
I have a Sword with Fire attack equipped(Fire Longsword) . Both the Sword and me greatahield are lvl 2.
Bastard Sword is slow that I can't attack once with it without getting killed. My problem is not not being able to kill them. I can kill one or two with help of Estus Flask but no more than that. (I even cleared my way to the next bonefire by using fire arrows and a short bow) It's just they can kill me far easily than I them.


Edit: Aslo, despite the fact that I have a great shield equipped, My equipment loud is still under 70%.
btw, I want to build a tank, I have been investing in STR,DEX,VIT,ADP and HP. Should cut any of these or add anything to them?

This post has been edited by EmperorMagus: 06 August 2014 - 05:41 PM

[Wolfdrop]

Quote

Has anyone used any weapons that give Int bonus, like the Moonlight Butterfly sword? My mage from DS was awesome with Homing Crystal soulmass and that sword to finish the job.

Not used any this game really, loved Moonlight Sword DS1 but not got round to taking on Freja with an ascetic and getting it in this one. I used a magic mace for a while but that was it.

I miss the days of the pre-nerf crystal ring shield, it was so amazingly OP it wasn't funny, pretty sure I beat Suped-Up Ornstein in 4 hits with it once haha.

The moonlight butterfly spear was actually pretty effective for PvP in DS1 massive range.

[tiam]

 Traveller, on 06 August 2014 - 11:53 AM, said:

You two seem to be about the same SL... but I'm about 140 now after completing the dlc? Maybe I spend more souls on upgrading armour and stuff instead.

I messed with the soul vessels a little - by reducing strength a bit, and putting it into vitality and stamina, I was able to literally run rings round the Ancient Dragon, and hit it for 1000 plus points. I quite like the way you can see what is being directly affected as you reassign souls.

Has anyone used any weapons that give Int bonus, like the Moonlight Butterfly sword? My mage from DS was awesome with Homing Crystal soulmass and that sword to finish the job.

MLGS is NG+ only I think from the Seath spider bit. Yeh Ive sunk alot into my level rather than my gear. Mage gear and wepeanry was non existent in this game. It was only near the end that I got the staff of wisdom, spent some points on the armourer guy, got a full alva set and got it to plus 10. Only time I think I did it other than my poison rapier.

As for intelligence scaling ive been looking around and forums suggest blue flame has decent int scaling and can cast as a catalyst on heavy attack. Meant to be a fairly rare drop but I had 3 which makes me think I have alot of good gear just sat there. Anyway I infused one with a faint stone to boost casting damage, one with a magic stone for int to effect physical attacks and one with a raw stone which just boosts physical attacks. Its a waste after all that, and used alot of my twinkling titanite btw, and isnt a solid weapon or even a respectable catalsyt. Think its versatility was its biggest strength.

Yeh the lowered casts on homing soulmass was a serious nerf. I loved equipping 2 homing soulmasses and having 20 casts of it. Wasnt as viable this time round. Sorcery itself wasnt as viable. Hexes and faith miracles were more effective in this one though I think lightning spears have been nerfed now with the patch.

EM- I wouldnt worry about adaptability too much. Its better than the resistance stat on DS1 as it now effects agility but seen as your being a tank your not going to be too agile and your heavy armour will give you plenty of resistance bonuses aswell. I think adaptability is for nimble high dex builds with light armour. Id sink those points into whatever helps with equipment load to help your agility.

This post has been edited by tiam: 06 August 2014 - 06:34 PM

[Traveller]

Although adaptability is good at raising agility, which speeds up the time it takes to drink an Estus... which doesn't sound like much until you're trying to stuff one down during a boss battle.

[Wolfdrop]

Just had the best DS PvP experience thus far. Saw someone using chameleon really obviously, racing around as a pot. I attacked and he parried while still camo so I got knocked down. He popped out completely naked and OHKO'd me with a ladle. Amazing.

[tiam]

 Traveller, on 06 August 2014 - 07:14 PM, said:

Although adaptability is good at raising agility, which speeds up the time it takes to drink an Estus... which doesn't sound like much until you're trying to stuff one down during a boss battle.

Sink those points into hp or stamina though surely? ive never played as a tank but having more stamina and equip load for stability would be better I think.

[Traveller]

By 'Tank' do you mean you want to be able to take a ton of damage but still be able to dish it out?

Because really I think you'll find it difficult... most of the bosses are far far easier to beat by dodging their attacks, as most of them will OHK you even at a high level and with massive armour. Imo it's better to be able to move.

I went for a strength build to do max damage and carry big weapons and armour, with just enough Dex to use a bow (invaluable with no spells). Adaptability works with Endurance to boost poise; which means you get staggered less while blocking with a big shield, which is actually a real life saver.

And I suppose I only put into hp towards the end, as I was just aiming to not get hit.

Rings help though, Cloranthy, Soldiers, and any shield that boosts stamina will help you move about while wearing the heavy stuff.

[tiam]

No sorcery boosting gear this time cost me. DS1 homing crystal soulmass with crown of oolacile, bellowing dragoncrest ring and a Power Within spell before a boss fight was worth its weight in gold.

Like I said your the expert. I think everyone, even tanks, are glass cannons and its better to dodge rather than greatshield it. Though the npc summon lucatiel can take a hell of a beating so must have sky high poise.

[Traveller]

I'm no way an expert, but I have beaten everything so far one way or another - that's what's good about the game I guess, there are so many combinations that will work.

I found back in DS that the first Taurus Demon was easier to beat when stripped of all armour - and it turned out that after all that gear upgrading I finished the Ancient Dragon and Nashandra the same way - Ring slots are so much more useful when not filled trying to cope with equipment.

[tiam]

Cloranthy ring is useful for casters and is pretty much a necessity for everyone isnt it? There isnt a build that doesnt need fast stamina recovery.

[Traveller]

Yeah it's pretty much the most used.

The Soldiers Ring and the First Dragon Ring are both useful for increasing stamina and equipment load too, but it's helpful to be able to free up those slots for some power or defence boosting.

There are shields that boost stamina recovery that also stack with the Cloranthy if you really need. I have a lot of stamina though, enough to do about four to five swings of an ultra greatsword in a row - combined with the Stone Ring I can knock back and kill the giant knights. Took out Jester Thomas like that too, he was knocked back after each swing, the last one killed him, the smug little shit.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 10 August 2014 - 11:45 AM

[tiam]

Ive spent the day watching Dark Souls lore videos online. The plot for Dark Souls is better I think than DS2.

Anyway what do we think of this? I completely agree the lighting made every texture look bland and boring which doesnt usually bother me but it did in this. Like No Mans Wharf looked slap dash as di Bright Cove.

[Defiance]

All the Souls games have some nice lore behind them. Dark Souls (the first) is definitely my favorite, though. One of my big disappointments in DS2 was the lack of a boss fight that made me feel. Killing Maiden Astraea in Demon's Souls, killing Sif in the first Dark Souls, both of those moments made me feel like a total asshole. Not so with any boss in this game.

As for canonical ending to DS1, I think the point was that they both were. Time is messed up, plus it's all one big cycle. Kingdoms rise (the flame is strong), kingdoms begin to fail (the flame is dying), kingdoms die (the dark comes), rinse and repeat. There's more to it than that, but that's the basic idea from what I remember.

The lighting was a major disappointment. It was supposed to play such a major role in DS2, but it really didn't. The shitty lighting just made everything look washed out, and it made torches more or less useless. There were several times when using a torch actually hindered my ability to see. Beyond being more akin to DS1 than DS2, if there's one thing I want to see in the next Souls game it's lighting akin to what we saw in the E3 trailers. Not only does a good lighting and shading system make your game look vastly prettier, it'll also allow for some pretty crazy areas. Hell, even DS1 did lighting better. Remember Tomb of the Giants? That place was fucking terrifying. Yet for all the emphasis the developers placed on torches and lighting in DS2 pre-release, there was nothing that even came close to traversing that place.

[Traveller]

Yeah I remember watching a demo of dS2 with a dark cellar, and they were talking about how essential it was to have a torch, and how vital it would be choosing between torch and shield.

I barely used the torch through the whole game - wonder where that went so wrong?

[Wolfdrop]

The lightning was a huge downfall I think. It looked amazing in the pre release footage, genuinely dark, and lighting the sconces would have been essential. Now they're more or less useless, seeing as the areas are bright already. I wish they had tied to puzzles to them or something, doors that open when you light them, ones that you need to light in the right order or they go out after a few seconds, light torches to raise/lower bridges and the ability to extinguish them. That would have been cool, although the DLC has something similar.

I'm still pissed I never got anything for lighting every torch in Things Betwixt, I was sure something was going to happen. Nope.

This post has been edited by Wolfdrop: 11 August 2014 - 05:58 PM

[tiam]

This is a same dev title ive seen about and I know a few people are keen. If its a ps4 exclusive it might sway me

[Traveller]

Is that DS... with a different skin?

That really does look very nice.

[tiam]

Agreed but so did the pre release footage of DS2 whereas the actual textures that we got were quite bland.

In other news ive got some people from work to buy DS1 and got them into it.

Thier frustration sustains me

[Traveller]

This is ps4 footage though? If it is ps4 exclusive like it seems, it might be the game to get me to upgrade.

[Inane Babble]

 Traveller, on 20 August 2014 - 09:29 AM, said:

This is ps4 footage though? If it is ps4 exclusive like it seems, it might be the game to get me to upgrade.

Same, haven't even considered a console in over a decade, there has never been more than 1 game I really really wanted to play on them, and I could never justify that huge expense before. But THIS one game is making me seriously consider getting a whole freaking console just for this one game.

Having said that, I still firmly hope that it is announced to be coming to PC at some point and I can save myself the money