I did the same thing on my way to Alonne my first time through the area and hadn't attempted the boss again since for that reason. It was so tedious my first time.
I recently did my 2nd attempt on the boss. I actually got through to Sir Alonne and killed him quite handedly on my third time through the gauntlet. I was quite proud of myself on not despawning anything. I was using the greatsword. That thing is amazing.
So my fiancée got me scholar today. I've completed ds2 a few times on multiple builds but have never played this version of the game! And so far I can say I'm loving this reiteration of it. I Just recently died to the sentinels, but yeah, really enjoying how on my toes this is keeping me.
I'm playing this game for the first time on the PS4 (SotFS), and I'm trying to remain story/world spoiler free though I did take a gander at all the mechanical changes. On this first playthrough I'm of course making all sorts of newb mistakes, I'm sure I'm more than 60k soul memory in the hole for instance, and while I'm getting through the PvE alright any dedicated invader is keeping me from progressing. Now I know I could just disconnect or burn an effigy, but I'd rather just up my game a little bit. The main problem I'm running into is that invaders will typically be able to kill me in 2-3 hits while I need a solid 10-15 to kill them. I'd like to think that I'm outplaying them for the most part: I rarely trade hits as it's absolutely devastating to me, and I'm decent at getting a parry/riposte or guard break/riposte. Unfortunately even a sitting riposte only takes down their health bar for about as much as one of their normal hits does to me. I'm guessing they're doing some kind of super-enhanced fire/lightning weapon while I'm plodding along with my vanilla +3 longsword. The other problem I'm sure is that they're either colossal geese or I'm hanging out in pvp areas that I don't know about because I typically get chain invaded by the same guy over and over.
I'm not quite sure about what sort of endgame build I want. Right now I'm sort of aiming toward a quality build (40STR/40DEX, is it still called that?), and I think eventually I'd like to mirror the chosen undead from the promotion material, i.e. dual-longsword wielding fur cape armor man. Right now my relevant stats are 20VIG, 10END, 23VIT, 32STR, 15DEX, and 18ADP. I understand that 100 Agility and 50% equipment load is a goal for pvp and that increasing VIG is the default option, but my PvE needs are to test out every weapon which is why I decided on the quality build for my first playthrough. Any general build/weapon advice for me? Should I continue on STR until 40 and then swap to DEX? Should I swap to DEX now? (that twinblade is calling my name...) Is raising VIG at 20hp a level really that beneficial?
In my personal experience, the majority of the invaders you'll encounter early on are twinks (IMO Soul Memory is a failure of a mechanic all around). They likely have heavily upgraded gear that may have been traded down to them from alt characters. If you keep running into twinks, I personally wouldn't judge you for burning an effigy to keep them away. That's what it is there for.
That phase will eventually end and your opposition will be more equivalent to you. Then much later the havel monsters come out to play.
3DS Friend Code:
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
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MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited July 2015
I personally peruse the quality wikis once I know which weapon I want to use and figure out stats based on the wonderful work of the souls community. You can find pretty much anything you need to know there with a little poking around and a willingness to whip out the old calculator and pen and paper. Break points for stats etc, its all there. There's even calculators floating around.
I'll tell you right now that strength is much more rewarding than dex, pound for pound, on a weapon that can use both. Finish str first.
Personally speaking I would get my vigor to 40 for dedicated pvp at a minimum. I'd basically start with 40 vigor and whatever agi you want to end up at, then fill in the rest based on that. Armor isn't all that important, but if you really wanna wear the faram you probably would need to shoot for 20 mimum vitality as well.
If you are only occasionally pvping, 20 vigor would do you. But in that case I'd upgrade that faraam as much as you can. Even a little bit of armor can sometimes prevent a nasty one shot.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
So. Did they fix the invulnerability frames along with the weapon degradation bug in SotFS? Or do I still have to run it at 30 to get the intended experience?
I recently started a new playthrough of Dark Souls 1, which ended in shame at, of all bosses, the Moonlight Butterfly. I figured I'd try a new weapon, so I bought the caestus and quickly got it to +5. The problem is that it does absolutely pitiful damage, even with me pumping nearly every point into dex. I literally did 30 damage per hit to the moonlight butterfly, which only allowed me to take out about 10% of his life per landing, as opposed to the 40-60% I'm used to.
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
0
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
I recently started a new playthrough of Dark Souls 1, which ended in shame at, of all bosses, the Moonlight Butterfly. I figured I'd try a new weapon, so I bought the caestus and quickly got it to +5. The problem is that it does absolutely pitiful damage, even with me pumping nearly every point into dex. I literally did 30 damage per hit to the moonlight butterfly, which only allowed me to take out about 10% of his life per landing, as opposed to the 40-60% I'm used to.
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
I did an only fist weapons run of dark souls 1 my first time through, upgrading to the dragon form for the last few bosses and the dlc.
I've beaten most things with caestus.
So let me tell it to you straight and believe me I know what I'm talking about.
It doesn't get better.
Also you should go strength not dex for caestus. It gets more from strength. The dragon bone smasher, the unique fist weapon, is also strength based.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
So. Did they fix the invulnerability frames along with the weapon degradation bug in SotFS? Or do I still have to run it at 30 to get the intended experience?
I'm not sure if I-frames were ever broken like durability was. DSII was weird. It was like they compensated for framerate for some things but completely forgot to do anything at all for other aspects of the game. So there was weird stuff like backstabs doing significantly more damage at 60 fps than 30 fps (I haven't re-tested that since the weapon durability fix).
I'm also not sure about parry frames. However I started a new playthrough at 60 fps and was able to start parrying things on my first try with the starter dagger, so I'm going to presume parry frames properly work at 60 fps. (based on the assumption that I would horribly fail to make my parries with a halved parry window).
I recently started a new playthrough of Dark Souls 1, which ended in shame at, of all bosses, the Moonlight Butterfly. I figured I'd try a new weapon, so I bought the caestus and quickly got it to +5. The problem is that it does absolutely pitiful damage, even with me pumping nearly every point into dex. I literally did 30 damage per hit to the moonlight butterfly, which only allowed me to take out about 10% of his life per landing, as opposed to the 40-60% I'm used to.
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
I did an only fist weapons run of dark souls 1 my first time through, upgrading to the dragon form for the last few bosses and the dlc.
I've beaten most things with caestus.
So let me tell it to you straight and believe me I know what I'm talking about.
It doesn't get better.
Also you should go strength not dex for caestus. It gets more from strength. The dragon bone smasher, the unique fist weapon, is also strength based.
Much appreciated. It just seemed odd, since it is such a viable weapon in DS2. I guess I might give piercing swords a try instead.
So. Did they fix the invulnerability frames along with the weapon degradation bug in SotFS? Or do I still have to run it at 30 to get the intended experience?
I'm not sure if I-frames were ever broken like durability was. DSII was weird. It was like they compensated for framerate for some things but completely forgot to do anything at all for other aspects of the game. So there was weird stuff like backstabs doing significantly more damage at 60 fps than 30 fps (I haven't re-tested that since the weapon durability fix).
I'm also not sure about parry frames. However I started a new playthrough at 60 fps and was able to start parrying things on my first try with the starter dagger, so I'm going to presume parry frames properly work at 60 fps. (based on the assumption that I would horribly fail to make my parries with a halved parry window).
Durability was the only thing that was bugged in 60 fps DS2. I-frames were never broken, nor were parry frames. Just that when you hit an enemy in its dying/fading animation you'd lose a shitload of durability on weapons, which is what eventually got fixed in the SotFS patch.
God I loved my fist-weapons run in Dark Souls. It was frustrating at times, sure, but so incredibly satisfying to beat bosses that way. Thinking back on it, I don't know which was more rewarding: the SL1 playthrough or the fists/claws.
I recently started a new playthrough of Dark Souls 1, which ended in shame at, of all bosses, the Moonlight Butterfly. I figured I'd try a new weapon, so I bought the caestus and quickly got it to +5. The problem is that it does absolutely pitiful damage, even with me pumping nearly every point into dex. I literally did 30 damage per hit to the moonlight butterfly, which only allowed me to take out about 10% of his life per landing, as opposed to the 40-60% I'm used to.
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
You didn't summon Beatrice? But yeah, fist weapons are disappointing. Daggers do so much better for tiny fast weapons (in part because of massive riposte/backstab)
Clearing out bosses right now, trying to get my lowbie to a point where I can get free repairs and such.
Discovered that Craftsman's Hammer is amazing. Was it this amazing in DS2? The thing is like a Large Club, but one handed, weighing a fraction as much, and so much quicker. It crushes everything weak to strike (Pursuer, Ruin Sentinel, heavy armored turtlemens).
I recently started a new playthrough of Dark Souls 1, which ended in shame at, of all bosses, the Moonlight Butterfly. I figured I'd try a new weapon, so I bought the caestus and quickly got it to +5. The problem is that it does absolutely pitiful damage, even with me pumping nearly every point into dex. I literally did 30 damage per hit to the moonlight butterfly, which only allowed me to take out about 10% of his life per landing, as opposed to the 40-60% I'm used to.
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
I did an only fist weapons run of dark souls 1 my first time through, upgrading to the dragon form for the last few bosses and the dlc.
I've beaten most things with caestus.
So let me tell it to you straight and believe me I know what I'm talking about.
It doesn't get better.
Also you should go strength not dex for caestus. It gets more from strength. The dragon bone smasher, the unique fist weapon, is also strength based.
Much appreciated. It just seemed odd, since it is such a viable weapon in DS2. I guess I might give piercing swords a try instead.
You can beat the whole game with it. You just need a thick skin and a lot of patience. Rapiers are excellent btw. Estoc too.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
Yes, but I don't know enough about the state of how things were to tell you all the details. The one thing that sticks out in my mind was that they buffed the chaos blade right before SotFS came out. Japan and their love of katanas I guess.
I just started a new run through with another dex character. This time I'm trying to limit myself to parrying without using an obvious parry-tool like the parry dagger or the small shields. Right now I have a rapier in my main hand and a falchion in my off-hand. It is kind of funny because my character has two different parry windows that I can choose from....although I am not having any luck with the falchion at all. The window seems like it starts up really fast, but it feels like the window is extremely tiny. I'm having much better luck parrying with the rapier.
I've also started noticing that parrying an attack degrades the durability of a weapon. I'd never noticed that before. I guess it is just more apparent because rapiers are fragile and small shields are fairly resilient.
edit:
Humorously, it seems like 90% of the time when I'm having trouble getting my parry to work with my rapier, it is because I actually have the fire longsword equipped because it was more effective than my rapier against the giant knights in Heides....no wonder the R2 wasn't parrying anything.
Yes, but I don't know enough about the state of how things were to tell you all the details. The one thing that sticks out in my mind was that they buffed the chaos blade right before SotFS came out. Japan and their love of katanas I guess.
I just started a new run through with another dex character. This time I'm trying to limit myself to parrying without using an obvious parry-tool like the parry dagger or the small shields. Right now I have a rapier in my main hand and a falchion in my off-hand. It is kind of funny because my character has two different parry windows that I can choose from....although I am not having any luck with the falchion at all. The window seems like it starts up really fast, but it feels like the window is extremely tiny. I'm having much better luck parrying with the rapier.
I've also started noticing that parrying an attack degrades the durability of a weapon. I'd never noticed that before. I guess it is just more apparent because rapiers are fragile and small shields are fairly resilient.
edit:
Humorously, it seems like 90% of the time when I'm having trouble getting my parry to work with my rapier, it is because I actually have the fire longsword equipped because it was more effective than my rapier against the giant knights in Heides....no wonder the R2 wasn't parrying anything.
What _is_the parry window on the rapier? I'm going dex this time too, and the window is so different from ds1.
There is a bit of a windup as you bring the rapier up to a vertical position, but then the window seems to be between having it vertical and when you swing your arm outward.
I'm personally finding it to be a very generous window, the parry shields have windows that become active faster, but you scream to the world that you're gonna parry stuff.
I need to play ds1 and try parying there. I sort of worry that getting good with it in ds2 will mess me up for ds3, but I'm hoping I'll get acclimated by the time I make it to newgame+ in ds3.
General_Armchair on
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Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
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OnTheLastCastlelet's keep it haimish for the peripateticRegistered Userregular
Anyone got any tips for Scholars and a mage build? i did not do magic in the original DS2, i was strength/faith.
Anyone got any tips for Scholars and a mage build? i did not do magic in the original DS2, i was strength/faith.
Get to No Man's Wharf as quickly as possible. Also pick a weapon you really really like a get your stats to the bare minimum necessary to wield it and leave them there. I recommend a spear and a solid 100% block shield.
Anyone got any tips for Scholars and a mage build? i did not do magic in the original DS2, i was strength/faith.
I'm running a dark build now. Long sword has pretty low requirements as a weapon and does decent damage. I think overall the game has been a lot easier as a mage build.
Or you can be brave and play with your staff in one hand and sword in the other, no shields necessary.
The Fire Longsword you get early is great.
Gandalf mode.
That's how REAL wizards fight.
General_Armchair on
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+3
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited August 2015
Rapier does a scooping motion then sweeps upwards. The parry windows starts as soon as it begins to sweep upwards and ends after it finishes that motion.
Time it for when the sweep happens, not the scoop. It's a pretty long window.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
On my own wizard run, I just got to Moria (the undead crypt).
Outfit now consists of a White Ladya hood (optional), Singer's Dress, Archdrake gloves (the swirly pattern is pretty cool) and no pants. Will use the Black Witch ones when I get them. Staff of Wisdom, Fire Uchigatana, binoculars and a Blue Flame complete the outfit.
Now to hunt down Fume-chan to get his straight-sword. Also, I've not spent a single stone or soul on armour upgrades this run and I intend to keep it that way until I get a Retainer's Robe. So Fume-chan will be super extra happy fun times!
Looks like a nice balance between DS1 and DS2 speed. Obviously the aesthetic is DS1, but cranked up. Not sure how I feel about the Bloodborne level of blood there, but so long as we get back the Dark Souls level of build variety I'm not really concerned. PS4 then PC for that 60FPS gameplay for sure.
hi guys i need to someone to talk about DS2 with... I just picked up Scholars of the First Sin... my only DS experience is 15 minutes in the extremely awful PC port of DS1
currently playing on Xbone... its rough because Sin has enough differences to invalidate some parts of the online guides
I'm playing gandalf mode (as described above)... is there any early game stuff I should be looking for to make my life easier? My biggest problem is one-mistake-then-dead issues. Which I know is sort of the game, but I don't want to cave in and equip a shield
Looks like a nice balance between DS1 and DS2 speed. Obviously the aesthetic is DS1, but cranked up. Not sure how I feel about the Bloodborne level of blood there, but so long as we get back the Dark Souls level of build variety I'm not really concerned. PS4 then PC for that 60FPS gameplay for sure.
THAT
IS SOME DELICIOUS
BLOODBORNE SEASONING.
And from them wanting to crank up the viability of Bow/Dagger mobility builds I think we are teetering on the brink of the perfect Fantasy create your own Character playground.
hi guys i need to someone to talk about DS2 with... I just picked up Scholars of the First Sin... my only DS experience is 15 minutes in the extremely awful PC port of DS1
currently playing on Xbone... its rough because Sin has enough differences to invalidate some parts of the online guides
I'm playing gandalf mode (as described above)... is there any early game stuff I should be looking for to make my life easier? My biggest problem is one-mistake-then-dead issues. Which I know is sort of the game, but I don't want to cave in and equip a shield
If you gave up on DS1 on the PC, there are fixes for that that take like no time. I played the PC release and only returned to it when I had heard the community had addressed it's issues.
As for playing a magic only build (I assume that's what Gandalf means). . .you probably want to go to No Man's Wharf and Huntsman's Cospe first. No Man for the magic trainer and Huntsman's for the casting weapons (and possibly Dark Magic).
hi guys i need to someone to talk about DS2 with... I just picked up Scholars of the First Sin... my only DS experience is 15 minutes in the extremely awful PC port of DS1
currently playing on Xbone... its rough because Sin has enough differences to invalidate some parts of the online guides
I'm playing gandalf mode (as described above)... is there any early game stuff I should be looking for to make my life easier? My biggest problem is one-mistake-then-dead issues. Which I know is sort of the game, but I don't want to cave in and equip a shield
If you gave up on DS1 on the PC, there are fixes for that that take like no time. I played the PC release and only returned to it when I had heard the community had addressed it's issues.
As for playing a magic only build (I assume that's what Gandalf means). . .you probably want to go to No Man's Wharf and Huntsman's Cospe first. No Man for the magic trainer and Huntsman's for the casting weapons (and possibly Dark Magic).
@ED!
FYI, Gandalf fought with a staff in one hand and a sword in the other.
I don't recall him doing that much spell casting. Good old fashioned steel did a lot of the work (although I'm pretty sure the sword was enchanted in some way).
As far as early game stuff is concerned, the fire Longsword in forest of the Fallen giants is too good to pass up. It also pays to defeat the pursuer to get the ring of blades. I also usually use a pharos lockstone to get the chloranthy ring.
There are a couple spells lying around there too. Greater soul arrow I think? Doesn't the merchant hag sell an extra copy of the basic soul arrow spell?
I haven't beaten the Pursuer yet. He whipped me. I haven't found the fire sword either and don't know where it is. I've explored all of Forest up to where I run into difficulty issues.
There's an area with four turtle mace guys (1 on ground 3 on roof) where I always get an NPC invasion and fucking die, so I haven't been able to clear that area (why don't I get sentinel assist for that???)
and then there's the fire lizard area which I don't know how to access safely
I just got to Wharf, where I am struggling with the targetting system not wanting to target anything farther than 10 feet away
and yes, gandalf mode = stave left hand for casting, fast mainhand for finishers and defensive stabbing (currently using a rapier)
As for the one hit and dead issues: Obviously, the first thing you want to do is pump up some Vigor. Everyone needs it, especially casters.
Also do yourself a favor and buy a Mace from the Blacksmith. Those turtle guys are complete chumps against Strike damage. As is the Pursuer. As are later bosses.
You actually missed an area. You know the second bonfire? The one with the merchant hag. If you start backtracking (pretty much immediately after you exit the door from the bonfire room) you can jump down and scale some scaffolding to the ground bellow.
The Fire Longsword is in that area. Be mindful of the fireballs.
To take on the turtle Knights, you'll either want a strike weapon or a weapon with a magical component to its damage (like the Fire Longsword)
Looks like a nice balance between DS1 and DS2 speed. Obviously the aesthetic is DS1, but cranked up. Not sure how I feel about the Bloodborne level of blood there, but so long as we get back the Dark Souls level of build variety I'm not really concerned. PS4 then PC for that 60FPS gameplay for sure.
THAT
IS SOME DELICIOUS
BLOODBORNE SEASONING.
And from them wanting to crank up the viability of Bow/Dagger mobility builds I think we are teetering on the brink of the perfect Fantasy create your own Character playground.
I don't mind a bit of the blood. Where it makes sense. I don't want the BB level where everything just sprays it out like we're playing Kill Bill: The Game.
I will say the animations look incredible. The dodge into the overhead slam with the great sword looks so meaty, and hefty that the blood splatter is warranted.
Posts
I recently did my 2nd attempt on the boss. I actually got through to Sir Alonne and killed him quite handedly on my third time through the gauntlet. I was quite proud of myself on not despawning anything. I was using the greatsword. That thing is amazing.
I'm playing this game for the first time on the PS4 (SotFS), and I'm trying to remain story/world spoiler free though I did take a gander at all the mechanical changes. On this first playthrough I'm of course making all sorts of newb mistakes, I'm sure I'm more than 60k soul memory in the hole for instance, and while I'm getting through the PvE alright any dedicated invader is keeping me from progressing. Now I know I could just disconnect or burn an effigy, but I'd rather just up my game a little bit. The main problem I'm running into is that invaders will typically be able to kill me in 2-3 hits while I need a solid 10-15 to kill them. I'd like to think that I'm outplaying them for the most part: I rarely trade hits as it's absolutely devastating to me, and I'm decent at getting a parry/riposte or guard break/riposte. Unfortunately even a sitting riposte only takes down their health bar for about as much as one of their normal hits does to me. I'm guessing they're doing some kind of super-enhanced fire/lightning weapon while I'm plodding along with my vanilla +3 longsword. The other problem I'm sure is that they're either colossal geese or I'm hanging out in pvp areas that I don't know about because I typically get chain invaded by the same guy over and over.
I'm not quite sure about what sort of endgame build I want. Right now I'm sort of aiming toward a quality build (40STR/40DEX, is it still called that?), and I think eventually I'd like to mirror the chosen undead from the promotion material, i.e. dual-longsword wielding fur cape armor man. Right now my relevant stats are 20VIG, 10END, 23VIT, 32STR, 15DEX, and 18ADP. I understand that 100 Agility and 50% equipment load is a goal for pvp and that increasing VIG is the default option, but my PvE needs are to test out every weapon which is why I decided on the quality build for my first playthrough. Any general build/weapon advice for me? Should I continue on STR until 40 and then swap to DEX? Should I swap to DEX now? (that twinblade is calling my name...) Is raising VIG at 20hp a level really that beneficial?
That phase will eventually end and your opposition will be more equivalent to you. Then much later the havel monsters come out to play.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
I'll tell you right now that strength is much more rewarding than dex, pound for pound, on a weapon that can use both. Finish str first.
On the topic of Vigor I direct you to this video.
Personally speaking I would get my vigor to 40 for dedicated pvp at a minimum. I'd basically start with 40 vigor and whatever agi you want to end up at, then fill in the rest based on that. Armor isn't all that important, but if you really wanna wear the faram you probably would need to shoot for 20 mimum vitality as well.
If you are only occasionally pvping, 20 vigor would do you. But in that case I'd upgrade that faraam as much as you can. Even a little bit of armor can sometimes prevent a nasty one shot.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Am I doing something horribly wrong, or is the caestus just a really bad weapon?
I did an only fist weapons run of dark souls 1 my first time through, upgrading to the dragon form for the last few bosses and the dlc.
I've beaten most things with caestus.
So let me tell it to you straight and believe me I know what I'm talking about.
It doesn't get better.
Also you should go strength not dex for caestus. It gets more from strength. The dragon bone smasher, the unique fist weapon, is also strength based.
I'm also not sure about parry frames. However I started a new playthrough at 60 fps and was able to start parrying things on my first try with the starter dagger, so I'm going to presume parry frames properly work at 60 fps. (based on the assumption that I would horribly fail to make my parries with a halved parry window).
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Much appreciated. It just seemed odd, since it is such a viable weapon in DS2. I guess I might give piercing swords a try instead.
Durability was the only thing that was bugged in 60 fps DS2. I-frames were never broken, nor were parry frames. Just that when you hit an enemy in its dying/fading animation you'd lose a shitload of durability on weapons, which is what eventually got fixed in the SotFS patch.
You didn't summon Beatrice? But yeah, fist weapons are disappointing. Daggers do so much better for tiny fast weapons (in part because of massive riposte/backstab)
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Low level fun character- unlocked
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Discovered that Craftsman's Hammer is amazing. Was it this amazing in DS2? The thing is like a Large Club, but one handed, weighing a fraction as much, and so much quicker. It crushes everything weak to strike (Pursuer, Ruin Sentinel, heavy armored turtlemens).
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
You can beat the whole game with it. You just need a thick skin and a lot of patience. Rapiers are excellent btw. Estoc too.
If I were to go back to it in the near future, have there been any notable patch changes that I should be aware of?
I just started a new run through with another dex character. This time I'm trying to limit myself to parrying without using an obvious parry-tool like the parry dagger or the small shields. Right now I have a rapier in my main hand and a falchion in my off-hand. It is kind of funny because my character has two different parry windows that I can choose from....although I am not having any luck with the falchion at all. The window seems like it starts up really fast, but it feels like the window is extremely tiny. I'm having much better luck parrying with the rapier.
I've also started noticing that parrying an attack degrades the durability of a weapon. I'd never noticed that before. I guess it is just more apparent because rapiers are fragile and small shields are fairly resilient.
edit:
Humorously, it seems like 90% of the time when I'm having trouble getting my parry to work with my rapier, it is because I actually have the fire longsword equipped because it was more effective than my rapier against the giant knights in Heides....no wonder the R2 wasn't parrying anything.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
What _is_the parry window on the rapier? I'm going dex this time too, and the window is so different from ds1.
I'm personally finding it to be a very generous window, the parry shields have windows that become active faster, but you scream to the world that you're gonna parry stuff.
I need to play ds1 and try parying there. I sort of worry that getting good with it in ds2 will mess me up for ds3, but I'm hoping I'll get acclimated by the time I make it to newgame+ in ds3.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Get to No Man's Wharf as quickly as possible. Also pick a weapon you really really like a get your stats to the bare minimum necessary to wield it and leave them there. I recommend a spear and a solid 100% block shield.
I'm running a dark build now. Long sword has pretty low requirements as a weapon and does decent damage. I think overall the game has been a lot easier as a mage build.
The Fire Longsword you get early is great.
Gandalf mode.
That's how REAL wizards fight.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Time it for when the sweep happens, not the scoop. It's a pretty long window.
Outfit now consists of a White Ladya hood (optional), Singer's Dress, Archdrake gloves (the swirly pattern is pretty cool) and no pants. Will use the Black Witch ones when I get them. Staff of Wisdom, Fire Uchigatana, binoculars and a Blue Flame complete the outfit.
Now to hunt down Fume-chan to get his straight-sword. Also, I've not spent a single stone or soul on armour upgrades this run and I intend to keep it that way until I get a Retainer's Robe. So Fume-chan will be super extra happy fun times!
Looks like a nice balance between DS1 and DS2 speed. Obviously the aesthetic is DS1, but cranked up. Not sure how I feel about the Bloodborne level of blood there, but so long as we get back the Dark Souls level of build variety I'm not really concerned. PS4 then PC for that 60FPS gameplay for sure.
currently playing on Xbone... its rough because Sin has enough differences to invalidate some parts of the online guides
I'm playing gandalf mode (as described above)... is there any early game stuff I should be looking for to make my life easier? My biggest problem is one-mistake-then-dead issues. Which I know is sort of the game, but I don't want to cave in and equip a shield
THAT
IS SOME DELICIOUS
BLOODBORNE SEASONING.
And from them wanting to crank up the viability of Bow/Dagger mobility builds I think we are teetering on the brink of the perfect Fantasy create your own Character playground.
If you gave up on DS1 on the PC, there are fixes for that that take like no time. I played the PC release and only returned to it when I had heard the community had addressed it's issues.
As for playing a magic only build (I assume that's what Gandalf means). . .you probably want to go to No Man's Wharf and Huntsman's Cospe first. No Man for the magic trainer and Huntsman's for the casting weapons (and possibly Dark Magic).
FYI, Gandalf fought with a staff in one hand and a sword in the other.
I don't recall him doing that much spell casting. Good old fashioned steel did a lot of the work (although I'm pretty sure the sword was enchanted in some way).
As far as early game stuff is concerned, the fire Longsword in forest of the Fallen giants is too good to pass up. It also pays to defeat the pursuer to get the ring of blades. I also usually use a pharos lockstone to get the chloranthy ring.
There are a couple spells lying around there too. Greater soul arrow I think? Doesn't the merchant hag sell an extra copy of the basic soul arrow spell?
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
I haven't beaten the Pursuer yet. He whipped me. I haven't found the fire sword either and don't know where it is. I've explored all of Forest up to where I run into difficulty issues.
There's an area with four turtle mace guys (1 on ground 3 on roof) where I always get an NPC invasion and fucking die, so I haven't been able to clear that area (why don't I get sentinel assist for that???)
and then there's the fire lizard area which I don't know how to access safely
I just got to Wharf, where I am struggling with the targetting system not wanting to target anything farther than 10 feet away
and yes, gandalf mode = stave left hand for casting, fast mainhand for finishers and defensive stabbing (currently using a rapier)
Also do yourself a favor and buy a Mace from the Blacksmith. Those turtle guys are complete chumps against Strike damage. As is the Pursuer. As are later bosses.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
The Fire Longsword is in that area. Be mindful of the fireballs.
To take on the turtle Knights, you'll either want a strike weapon or a weapon with a magical component to its damage (like the Fire Longsword)
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
I don't mind a bit of the blood. Where it makes sense. I don't want the BB level where everything just sprays it out like we're playing Kill Bill: The Game.
I will say the animations look incredible. The dodge into the overhead slam with the great sword looks so meaty, and hefty that the blood splatter is warranted.