[Dragon's Dogma] - Deep Down Under

Elderlycrawfish

PLA wrote: »

This is the only picture. Can't connect to twitter after uploading one.

They really went out of their way to add as many fallible parts as possible to the process.

Take picture, use flash drive to pull it off your console? That's how I was handling my game photos, I don't bother with that other nonsense.

PLA

^ True.

Five-shot armored cyclops with Blessed Trance Abyssal Anguish Focused Bolt. If I mash a button, a huge area is sterilised. Fittingly, that's what I was doing when I added "Eradication Site" to my map.
I was looking for bandits, but ended up on a road-trip, sightseeing the south. Saw some caves I didn't bother going into. Found lots of grandgrapes. Got a bunch of junk from sword-piles as usual.
Smacking those stacks of explosives costs me 1 HP now. I need to smack another within six seconds in order to sustain injury.

Jumped down a cliff on top of a goblin scout. I don't know if it's because of the built-in mini-Reset, but that Full Moon Slash was almost aerial. Simultaneous with hitting the ground.

Hanging out with Ser Jerrome in a tent, waiting for morning. Still need more bandits.

IceBurner

I've never taken damage from explosive barrels. Pretty confident there is no friendly fire except with Backfire/Immolation and Sacrificial Arrow. Note that no-friendly-fire does not apply to friendly NPCs, just party members (including escorts).

PLA

I took a good bit of damage from them early on.

Edit: Strange. Now I really don't take any damage.

Edit: "Day in and day out of nothing but in and out and in and out."

Edit: Just saw a pawn a know from earlier. Covered in armour, so I didn't recognise him. 'Twas weird. "Is that you? Hey!"

Elderlycrawfish

Guys, I need to find a griffin in post game, and I can't seem to find one. Suggestions? I think the drake outside Gran soren trumps the griffin so that's out. I tried the one south by aernst castle but it was a cockatrice. Hill figure knoll had nothing.

PLA

I just sleep-walked all over Gran Soren, trying to put my loot in storage and withdrawing an Astracite and a Dappled Ore for the Black Cat. What I'm saying is I'm pretty tired. Still "Could not connect to Twitter", or there would be a sunrise and a tent here.

Just imagine it, OK?

[ Tent, Ser Jerrome, party, sunrise here~ ]

Morninglord

Aistan wrote: »

I arrived at Gran Soren for the first time in my NG+, and was lucky enough to be able to get an escort quest for Aelinore right away from the inn's notice board. I accepted it, brought her up to the Stones of Courage, picked her up, and tossed her off the cliff into the sea.

Glad I got that done with, it's a load off my mind until I finish the game again, start a NG++ and have to think up some other way to deal with her.

Morninglord

Elderlycrawfish wrote: »

Hill figure knoll had nothing.

There is actually one near there, it just leaves really quickly. It flies away from hillfigure over the mountain. If you look up at that point just as you walk up hillfigure knoll you'll probably see it just as it disappears.
You need to keep an eye out for it and bait it with a corpse.

edit: god dammit I accidentally double posted again.
i really wish you could delete your own posts.

Archsorcerer

I just finished Nameless Terror and took Ser Berne to the Shadow Fort. Ok, now I'm really gonna go kill that griffin.

Elderlycrawfish

Morninglord wrote: »

Elderlycrawfish wrote: »

Hill figure knoll had nothing.

There is actually one near there, it just leaves really quickly. It flies away from hillfigure over the mountain. If you look up at that point just as you walk up hillfigure knoll you'll probably see it just as it disappears.
You need to keep an eye out for it and bait it with a corpse.

edit: god dammit I accidentally double posted again.
i really wish you could delete your own posts.

Damn it, he is fast. Finally catch a glimpse of him and he's gone before I can do anything. Didn't even get a chance to bait.

I consoled myself by dragonforging a ton of crap, but man this griffin nonsense is annoying me to no end.

IceBurner

The official guide lists all the "Ambush!" quests (mini-boss locations) except Griffins. Quite annoying.

Morninglord

I just got up to griffins.
I am ready to kill so many.
When its time to farm, Lyncean sight ho! Head shot -> downed griffin -> sprint up -> headshot as it tries to take off -> leap on head -> hundred kisses. Next.

I will record one of these just to show the effectiveness of the technique. It's not based on weapon. It's based on ability effect. Lyncean sight = mighty bend/dire arrow on weak spots ie stun. You have to lead a tiny bit when they're gliding.

Foefaller

IceBurner wrote: »

The official guide lists all the "Ambush!" quests (mini-boss locations) except Griffins. Quite annoying.

For Griffins, it's the field west of Gran Soren (the same place as in the demo) the road east of Hillfigure Knoll, and the fields west of the male bandit camp/south of the forest the drake resides. I also belive that the Griffin you fight at the Bluemoon Tower also respawns, as long as you are there for the other quest, can't confirm though.

Once you get to post-game however, Griffins only spawn near Hillfigure Knoll, and since there is no oxen there for it to hunt, the only reliable way to bring it down to fight is killing some of the harpies just outside the fort and dragging a corpse to where he spawns.

IceBurner

What of wild cockatrices? Is the only one at Leaper's Ledge, and does it respawn?

Also, the treasure map has been updated. I had missed a few more misc gathering spots (armor piles, sacks).

Rami

It does respawn at leaper's ledge, there's another one in an Everfall chamber as well (two, actually).

Morninglord

In post game I found one near the big field of oxen in southern gransys. Killed it about six or seven times during my vocation levelling.

I don't know if it is always there after you unlock it prior to post game, I didn't go there in between unlocking and postgame.

Rhesus Positive

I just finished the base game tonight (as in, got to the voice actor credits).

Turns out, as I hadn't been paying attention to affinity-building with anyone in particular, Caxton the Blacksmith was my love interest. I only realised this as he lay my quivering octogenarian down in front of the fire for some tender saved-the-world lovin'.

Now I have to go all the way back to my house if I want him to enhance my gear.

Elderlycrawfish

Finally clipped that stupid Griffin in post game to finish the DLC quest. I popped a makers finger and did a one hit blast, the walked away as it fell to the ground. DLC gloves are kind of cool, increases climb speed. I didn't test it thoroughly but my MKnight seemed to climbing at close to strider speed. No idea how it would affect a strider.

you can also find a wild cockatrice postgame near that big open field near aernst, where you normally find the griffin.

Also looks like I missed Gen 96, he died earlier today. That one took awhile too.

Morninglord

What dlc is this.
I'm interested in unique effects like that.

Elderlycrawfish

The one that came out last week for psn, umm, quest pack: the challenger I believe? Has a bunch of oil-afflicting weapons as quest rewards and the gloves.

For some reason I've only gotten 7 of the 8 quests to pop, but I haven't taken the time to investigate why.

IceBurner

A ton of people are having that problem with the last of the 8 quests not becoming available; it's likely a bug.

Morninglord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0x5XIrbyuE&feature=youtu.be

I really love high bolide.

IceBurner

I'm always surprised by how many people play with all the UI elements on. My game is nearly as clean as possible, with only the minimap and party/enemy status. No subtitles, no control map, no battle cutscenes. The game looks and flows very differently with these options off.

Edit: What's the actual level for Stone Grove? The official guide and the spreadsheet on Google Docs are both wrong. It is definitely not available at Mystic Knight vocation level 2.

Archsorcerer

7 or 8. The superior version is obtained at rank 9.

Griffin is slayed. There is so much to explore and loot in that castle.

Morninglord

I have the pawns subtitles turned off in new game +. Prior to that I used to watch their talk for tips. I also have to have subtitles because I just outright miss words sometimes. I love the battle cutscenes for the highlight on important pawn commands, slowmo and cinematic feel of it. I only just started to tire of it in new game + and turned it off for a while. I need the control map to time abilities. Always watching that cast bar.

I turned the map off in new game + for a while, but finicky escort finish locations made me turn it back on.

So I paid attention to pawns, reacted to their cinematic highlights ("Is it strategically important?"*) and timed my abilities for maximum damage. I used all the UI.

* "Did they teach you those big words at your pansy ass DARPA academy?"

PLA

Steal Grandgrapes from boars.

azith28

Morninglord wrote: »

Aistan wrote: »

I arrived at Gran Soren for the first time in my NG+, and was lucky enough to be able to get an escort quest for Aelinore right away from the inn's notice board. I accepted it, brought her up to the Stones of Courage, picked her up, and tossed her off the cliff into the sea.

Glad I got that done with, it's a load off my mind until I finish the game again, start a NG++ and have to think up some other way to deal with her.

So, if i went to the castle, picked up that little shit jester dwarf, brought him to the rampart and tossed him off, would the guards attack me?

PLA

Then toss them off, too.

Holy Glare is interesting. Not sure what to make of it. I've gone and upgraded from Caladbolg to Crescending Roar, in any case.

Wouldn't it be fairly easy to finish a Drake with a punch?

IceBurner

So it seems that due to a bug you can have normal weather in the post-game. Minor spoiler for the Dragon battle:

If you whittle the dragon's health down to nothing without killing it (shot to the heart at 0 HP kills) at or before the bridge sequence, then during the tower sequence, if you hit it with a multi-projectile skill such that one projectile hits its face and triggers the ballista cutscene, but another hits its heart and kills the Dragon, it skips to waking up in Cassardis in the post-game with your gear dragonforgred and the unique loot in your inventory, but normal skies. Tenfold Flurry with blast arrows is said to work best.

Links allow you to read more about it and see screen shots, spoiler warning still applies.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/626515-dragons-dogma/63392356
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/626515-dragons-dogma/63375189

Ragnar Dragonfyre

Okay... so I learned the hard way that running through the forest in the middle of the night is bad. I was heading to the Shadow Fort for the first time and I took the most direct route.

Suddenly I hear flapping of wing's and one of my pawns shouts "It's gone aloft!". Faintly against the night sky I see a blur of wings, then fire lights up the silhoutte of what I can only assume is a dragon, then death.

The lesson learned here is: Don't wander off the road in unfamiliar territory at night.

I fucking LOVE this game for that. I've always wanted an RPG where night is truly dark and dangerous. The permanent twilight that most games pass off as night has been a long standing pet peeve of mine. I only wish there was more flavours of light sources in this game. I want to carry a torch.

Also... any tips for a potential Mystic Knight? Everything that I find about it is all about min/maxing your magic stat but I don't care for playing mage classes, nor do I care about min/maxing in the first place! I've gone to Fighter to about level 25, max rank and I'm now looking to switch Vocations. Some people suggest that if you're going more melee oriented, then switching to Warrior first is a good idea... but I feel like I should get my magic stats up first while it's still relatively easy to level up.

IceBurner

Stats don't matter a huge amount. So long as the class you're playing gains some points in the stats you'll be using, don't worry about it. As it so happens, Strider and Mystic Knight gain pretty evenly in every stat, with Strider emphasizing stamina, and Mystic Knight, health.

No matter what class, however, your equipment always makes a far more immediate and tangible difference.

PLA

There are torches. You can throw them, too. Don't know how long they burn, though, and lighting them is annoying. You hold a stick in your hand and touch a brazier with it.

Your magick stat is just your elemental smash-things stat. Your smash-things weapons use it, too, if they're elemental. Mystik Knight of Tír Na Nóg is a pretty magey class anyway, though. If you like melee, then stick around the thread for when Morninglord gets here.

Arrgh, no! Never, never Great Cannon late in a fight. I couldn't equip my Fisherman's Tatters this time, either, much less run away to save.

Boogdud

Ragnar Dragonfyre wrote: »

The lesson learned here is: Don't wander off the road in unfamiliar territory at night.

I fucking LOVE this game for that.

My first night with the game I wandered past the encampment and just kept going because I was having so much fun. This was the first time I actually wandered anywhere when it was completely dark and goblins were pretty scary at the time. I had no idea where I was going, I just wanted to see how far I could get. So we're walking and I hear this awful noise, I had NO clue what it could be, so I'm standing there with my un-upgraded little lantern peering out into the darkness and I see this orange glowing dot in the distance. I'm actually straining my eyes to see what it is, thinking it's a campsite or a structure or something. Suddenly, the dot becomes bigger and bigger, it's literally charging at me like a train. And kills me.


It was the drake. Straight out of the total pitch black of night.

I sat there with a grin on my face staring at the death screen for like 2 minutes. Blown away.

Elderlycrawfish

That drake at night really does leave a lasting impression. My first time in the region, I had done the full tour from aernst ruins all the way to bloodwater beach, having fought cyclopii, a golem, chimaeras, and more grimgoblins than you can shake a stick at. barely any healing items left, inventory laden with loot, and you see the flames coming at you in the darkness and its like ohshi--

Eventually getting back to civilization after that trek was really something. Seeing the walls of the encampment as I rounded the corner was such a relief.

PLA

Boogdud wrote: »

Ragnar Dragonfyre wrote: »

The lesson learned here is: Don't wander off the road in unfamiliar territory at night.

I fucking LOVE this game for that.

My first night with the game I wandered past the encampment and just kept going because I was having so much fun. This was the first time I actually wandered anywhere when it was completely dark and goblins were pretty scary at the time. I had no idea where I was going, I just wanted to see how far I could get. So we're walking and I hear this awful noise, I had NO clue what it could be, so I'm standing there with my un-upgraded little lantern peering out into the darkness and I see this orange glowing dot in the distance. I'm actually straining my eyes to see what it is, thinking it's a campsite or a structure or something. Suddenly, the dot becomes bigger and bigger, it's literally charging at me like a train. And kills me.


It was the drake. Straight out of the total pitch black of night.

I sat there with a grin on my face staring at the death screen for like 2 minutes. Blown away.

I miss out on stuff like that because it would never occur to me. I never saw the southern shore until a few days ago, because nope, I'm not there yet. I'm over here, doing over-here stuff. Not there, doing there stuff. On the other hand, I had the pleasure of sneaking around it in the dark.

6%? Damn. I will dragonforge this. I am not leaving this damn forest again until I do this. Putting my business in order.

Drake is pretty pleasant aside from trying to murder everything. Very supportive.

On the plus-side, running around half-naked with a big stick in one hand whacking dragonkin, leaping at it hoping Full Moon Slash will help me not die.

Lavender Gooms

azith28 wrote: »

Morninglord wrote: »

Aistan wrote: »

I arrived at Gran Soren for the first time in my NG+, and was lucky enough to be able to get an escort quest for Aelinore right away from the inn's notice board. I accepted it, brought her up to the Stones of Courage, picked her up, and tossed her off the cliff into the sea.

Glad I got that done with, it's a load off my mind until I finish the game again, start a NG++ and have to think up some other way to deal with her.

So, if i went to the castle, picked up that little shit jester dwarf, brought him to the rampart and tossed him off, would the guards attack me?

I'm not sure if grabbing and carrying someone counts as assault, I haven't tried it outside of that one time. It was only simple for me because I knew that if escorts died there were no consequences beyond failing the escort quest.

Might be something worth doing.

Morninglord

PLA wrote: »

Wouldn't it be fairly easy to finish a Drake with a punch?

You have the best goddam ideas!

Picking up anyone counts as assault.

However I think you can pick people up while stealthed. I remember someone talking about an assassin running around town invisible picking people up. I still haven't bought stealth. I like to fight dudes not run from them.

PLA

My Rocky Montage in the Devilfire Grove is coincidentally refining my mastery over the Spellshot Spring. It looks nothing like a chainsaw, but it feels like one.

I'm an antlion who is also a wizard.

Edit: I noticed something earlier with some hobgoblins. Abyssal Anguish Full Moon Slash. When I hit one goblin, I could hit another goblin the same distance behind the first one, due to the splash. I didn't get the same range without one in between.

Morninglord

Try the same range with jumping heavy. If it hits then it means the initial hit is triggering the aoe cone flare effect of AA. A FMS in open air only triggers the flare on the backswing.

IceBurner

It seems I was wrong about the Griffins. There are no fixed Griffin spawns, they have a chance to replace another boss after seeing the "Griffin introduction". Note that all "Ambush" events take time to repop after beating them, though how long is not known. The exception seems to be NPC rescues -- after you save or fail a caged NPC, the guide claims there won't be another such event for 3 days.

Here are the locations and odds for Griffins:

Estan Plains - vicinity of the small figure-8 pool of stagnant water.
Appears: Wyrm Hunt - Dragon beaten.
Spawns: Cyclops 50% / Griffins unlocked: Cyclops 15%, or Griffin 35%*.
*Odds of a Griffin aren't listed, but if we assume the pre-Griffin spawn rate is the overall chance for any or no mini-boss, then once unlocked the Griffin appearance chance should be the difference between the overall rate and the Cyclops rate.

Deos Hills - vicinity between Windbluff Tower and Hillfigure Knoll.
Appears: All game long
Spawns: Cyclops 100% / Griffins unlocked: Cyclops 50%, or Griffin 50%*

Deos Hills - vicinity west of Hillfigure Knoll, almost directly opposite the above
Appears: Game start - Dragon beaten.
Spawns: Cyclops 50% / Griffins unlocked: Cyclops 25%, or Griffin 25%*

Deos Hills - vicinity South of the Healing Spring along the road. Marker below the Area Map ridge.
Appears: Upon completing Honor and Treachery onward.
Golem 50% / Griffins unlocked: Golem 25%, or Griffin 25%*
Note: Affects 2 nearby spawns. First is Chimera 50% (game start - Dragon killed) along the road to the Catacombs. Chimera 25% if this Golem/Griffin spawned. Lastly, the Cyclops west of the Deos Hills spring will always spawn if neither this nor the Chimera appeared.

I'm feeling pretty confident that one of the reasons you're later able to buy all of the unique boss drops for Chimeras and Griffins is that they become rather rare late-game. The materials being available for purchase allows you to still upgrade their gear.