Anyone have any good Halberd builds? Now that I finally have every ability and code in the game, it's the one weapon time I've not messed around with so much in a long time.
What I have been playing around with:
1H Sword WALKING NEAR-IMMORTAL TANK that makes bosses stagger with blocks and does decent enough damage through skills. Makes me cackle.
1H Sword Poison Build hybrid caster. Great for the bosses not immune. Has infinite Ichor once poison is (very quickly) applied.
2H Sword Dex Build (Nagimukuro) that uses Sacrifical Edge (Power Within) and has Quick movement... with a 2hander.
2H Sword Str Build. Standard. Self explanatory. Shoots sword lasers at things and other generic high-str scaling swordy things. Doesn't really need to buff much.
2H Hammer Build. Sunlocks bosses from 100-0. Does AoE damage. Super fun/silly. Red Shoes is the life, the civilization, and the hometown all in one.
Bayonet Queenslayer build. Shoot things for a lot from a distance. Alternatively flamethrowers them.
The default 'I don't want to try' build for anything is Queenslayer, heaviest armor you have OR light gift armor (for BtG) with no regard for mobility, appropriate passive for weapon, passive for mind, whatever other passives, stack up a bunch of buffs, pop Final Journey, RAMPAAAGE.
The safe version is to use something like Eos for the right stats and good mind, get your light scaling as high as possible, and lean on Bridge to Glory because it scales unlike other damage buffs (scales with Light Gift and adds a flat amount iirc, so it's better on faster weapons but worth it on anything). You can also use all the Light spells, i.e. the barrage shotgun build that's almost as busted.
Halberds are the highest damage 1h type so they're especially nice for buffing up with the next-hit-damage buffs (and Final Journey) and then opening with Severing Abyss, which is a 1h single hit attack skill with a 500% multiplier.
Yeah, those guys are a lot harder when they don't have a cliff to toss themselves off of.
The flame spell from the successor of the claw is pretty good against them. It does decent damage, is advantage against them, has instant cast, long range, and excellent homing. Its weakness of the projectiles tending to collide with the walls as they arc out behind you immediately after the cast isn't relevant in that arena. I forget the spell's name atm. Ember reversal maybe? Its icon kinda looks like Trogdor the Burninator.
Final Journey is great, but it's boss only. Using that in my current Bayonet build I guess but there's so much other cool abilities to play with. I haven't played with the unique magic that much so someone like @Spectrum would have to comment but...
Heimdall (Jack's) has Sacrificial Edge (Power Within) on a good Dex/Vit and moderate all around other stats code. "Power Within" is just as damn strong in this game as it is in Souls.
Fionn (Nicola's) has Red Shoes which gives you infinite swings with no mater to Stamina which is as ridiculous as it sounds on a high Str/Mind/Vit code.
Darkseeker is a high Dex/Mind/Willpower code with Blood-draining Venom that gives Infinite Ichor when you poison someone. Combine with a fast poison 1hander and the Debuff Build-Up passive and, as needed, poison actives.
Isis (Aurora) is a well balanced blood code with heavy equip weight and 30 starting Ichor and the best dodge move in the game unique to it (Shadow Leap). I use it for my tank build.
Eos (Io) has the super defense Ablative Blood and super high Mind stat.
Queen's Breath has Juggernaut (Iron Flesh/Skin) which makes you near impervious to physical attacks, but in this game makes you weaker to magic damage. So it actually as a tradeoff. Also really strong Str and Mind.
Don't have a lot to say about Prometheus (Louis's) Eternal Blade Dance, Atlasas (Yakumo's) Firm Stand, Artemis (Mia's) Blood Grab, Hephaestus (Rin's) Evasive Stance [this can be fun] buffs other than they can be useful but aren't in the same class as the above ones. I have no comment on the other unique Queen ____ code abilities, Sacthach (Emily's) or whatever else I missed as I haven't use them much. Astrea (Mia's) and Demeter (Karen's) unique abilities are supportive in nature.
SpectrumArcher of InfernoChaldea Rec RoomRegistered Userregular
Most of the unique spells are iffy at best or the good spells/combos are just so good that you can't fit them. Or they're on dumb codes with bad stat spreads that force you to give up too much.
I wish there was a little more balance because the spell anims are great but damage/cost/cast time they're not there.
They really should have put some kinda diminishing returns on those buffs.
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Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
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SpectrumArcher of InfernoChaldea Rec RoomRegistered Userregular
edited November 2019
Attack spell wise I have settled on:
Merciless Reaper on one of the face buttons. Bridge to Glory, Bloodthirsty Blades, some token defense spell (Iron Will or an Element Defense as appropriate) and either Mia's Companion Gift or another defense spell or Adrenaline.
After that it's just whatever for the attack spells based on element or whimsy.
Light Real Shit: Barrage+Barrage+Barrage
Dark Real Shit: Blade+Blade+Execution
Dark Fire Weak: Dancing Blaze+Ember Reversal+Execution/Fire Blade
Dark Ice Weak: Ichorous Ice+Ice Blade+Guard of Honor
Dark NE (lol): Arm of Set+Sands of Depravity+Volatile Storm
theoretically you can do Dark Blood with Draconic Stake+Will o the Wisp+Argent Wolf Cross/Execution but there are like maybe 1.5 bosses in the entire game where you preferentially want to play Blood so who cares
Dark Lightning sucks but conveniently there's actually zero reason to preferentially play Lightning, so!
Passive wise Swift Judgment+1H Boost+Weapon Drain+whatever stat passive is necessary. Drop the Weapon Drain if you need a second stat passive.
It's only really when it comes to exploding bosses. A lot of the OP boss smasher builds are comparatively lackluster at sustained play through a level. It's just that outside of tripping over a scripted invasion, the levels never really throw much at you that warrants any more finesse than smacking it with a great sword. The shotguns skills are kinda crap when you're not hugging a barn sized enemy.
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SpectrumArcher of InfernoChaldea Rec RoomRegistered Userregular
Wouldn't agree with that. They'll all nicely one or two shot any of the nastier elites if you fuck up, which is a great back pocket.
Vodnik's or whatever can one shot a single enemy safely if you bother to carry it but it costs so much Ichor that it's more economical to just put on Bridge and Blades and wade in.
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SpectrumArcher of InfernoChaldea Rec RoomRegistered Userregular
A pox upon anyone who dismisses a guest before hitting the boss.
I didn't cart you through the area for not even a chance at the reward, goddammit.
It's only really when it comes to exploding bosses. A lot of the OP boss smasher builds are comparatively lackluster at sustained play through a level. It's just that outside of tripping over a scripted invasion, the levels never really throw much at you that warrants any more finesse than smacking it with a great sword. The shotguns skills are kinda crap when you're not hugging a barn sized enemy.
Wha...?
The light shotgun gifts are good for deleting just about anything.
Especially since they have penetration, so if you accidentally pull an entire room or an invasion or both, you can blast like 5 mobs down at once if you get them stacked right.
I'm feeling weirdly self-conscious about my skill level in this game, reading about other people playing through it and complaining it's too easy and they beat every boss on the first or second try.
My brain starts grasping for excuses--they must be using partners, or overleveling, or cheesing with buff-stack one-shot builds, or just bullshitting--but it feels bad when my bayonet no-FJ non-mage character can take 10+ pulls to get bosses like SotT or BB&C down. Hell, even my 2h FJ character took like 6 tries on BB&C after one or two-shotting most things.
Even if it really, really doesn't matter if some people are just Better, it's like, damn, I thought I was good at Soulslikes.
Only at melee range. At that point I'd rather just hit them with my sword.
My light mage character is in Crypt Spire and can either one-shot the first Black Hunter with Ice Barrage for 6600 damage for 4 Ichor or buff up with Bridge to Glory, Adrenaline, and an Element for 15 ichor...and take about 10 swings 12 swings to kill him.
edit: Wait, that 12 number is wrong. Apparently all of your damage is converted to the type of the elemental buff used, in this case it was Lightning Weapon which the Black Hunter resists. I figured only the added 20% would be elemental, that's super weird considering you can stack elements.
So, with just Adrenaline and BtG for 10 Ichor it takes 5-6 swings of 1200 each. Still, nothing on an instant-kill shotgun blast that comes out as fast as a sword swing for 4.
Swapping Ice Weapon and Lightning Weapon makes it go 1040 with BtG, down to 600-something, then up to the same 800-something, so it's not just setting all of the damage to the last buff.
Maybe it'll make sense when I take BtG and Adrenaline out
467-539-359 going No buffs->IceW->LW
267 with LW only
Does your physical damage all convert into elemental damage, but it's split equally across elements if you use multiple buffs...?
tl;dr Your damage is all elements at once, and effected by all relevant resistances combined, which can make a buff a big damage loss if it's adding 20% to your effective AR but making EVERYTHING go through an extra 50% enemy resistance
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SpectrumArcher of InfernoChaldea Rec RoomRegistered Userregular
Finally got my 100% after carting vagrant into the Depths for extra runs just to get the Marks.
I had gotten at least some progress done on my own but it's so much faster just to beat up easier Depths maps instead of dragging randoms to victory with Ishtar Deliverance.
This game is really fun to coop. I'm quarantining my way through this with my buddy who's a bit further than me. Setting up enemies for plunging attacks and backstabs is glorious. Also, you can bump each other off of ledges...
I've decided to do some more playthroughs, maybe I'll work on achievements? But the platinum is gated behind a lot of multiplayer isn't it...anyway.
They nerfed the light barrages into the ground, and people are crying that light mages are dead, but unless they also nerfed Bridge to Glory into the ground light should still be the best option for a versatile character who melees and casts?
Never mind that, though, they buffed the hell out of Fusillade Rondo so bayonets aren't bad now. Still don't melee with them much if you can avoid it (which you can, unless you do weapon type playthroughs like I do) since their melee damage is low and will be lower if you're built to maximize shots, their range is way shorter than it seems to be visually, and most of them have weird combos that will miss hits if you don't use your combo attacks to replace bad parts of the attack sequence.
I started playing this yesterday and am really enjoying it. The combat is pretty fun and the story is engaging enough. I am disappointed I could not give my character the gigantic earth shaking breasts and curves I had envisioned though. I am just about to clear the trench boss. I usually prefer a quicker play build in these kinds of games but the great swords feel really nice.
Plant lady? Do you mean the butterfly? She's one of the first bosses depending on which path in the fork in the road that you take. Have you taken out the pole-dancing Hatsune-miku boss yet? You're still pretty much in the "wander about, introduce the cast, and have a conflict with them before they ultimately join your team" phase.
Things speed up a bit once you get about halfway through not-Anor Londo. There's basically an intermission period that explains a lot more and sets you on the path to the finale.
Also, pay attention during all of the memory segments. They shed some light on some past events.
Oh man that reminds me, do not attempt not Anor Londo blind. Just go to the fextra life wiki and follow the guide. It is excruciating and will kill all enjoyment you have for the game.
Oh man that reminds me, do not attempt not Anor Londo blind. Just go to the fextra life wiki and follow the guide. It is excruciating and will kill all enjoyment you have for the game.
I wouldn't do it without the Fextralife zone map, anyway. With that to help you realize 'hey wait there's an item in this tower that I don't see, I should look around more', it's pretty intuitive to navigate except for the very last two towers.
Which is why now, I use the second half skip to unlock the last not-bonfire so that once I've found everything else I can just go to the end instead of trying to figure out the right way to do it.
Plant lady? Do you mean the butterfly? She's one of the first bosses depending on which path in the fork in the road that you take. Have you taken out the pole-dancing Hatsune-miku boss yet? You're still pretty much in the "wander about, introduce the cast, and have a conflict with them before they ultimately join your team" phase.
Things speed up a bit once you get about halfway through not-Anor Londo. There's basically an intermission period that explains a lot more and sets you on the path to the finale.
Also, pay attention during all of the memory segments. They shed some light on some past events.
Yes. I have taken out the pole-dancing Hatsune boss already. The Butterfly was afterward.
Not-anor londo is a polarizing zone. You either love it or hate it. I loved it and thought that it was by far one of the best designed zones that I've seen in decades. I'm fed up with how game level design has devolved into glorified linear corridors over the years, so that zone was a breath of fresh air to me.
I strongly advise against looking at a guide or a map. Stock up on those colored bread crumb items and enjoy yourself an old school Labryrinth.
Could not disagree more. If the level design was not just copy paste all over the place but actually varied and interesting I could see that. But it is just too similar. Even with the mini map showing where you have been.
I liked it well enough but the part near the end where you have to find the two keys then take them to their individual doors destroyed any and all positive feelings from me.
Haha. That's that is kinda funny taken out of context.
I can understand why some people don't like it, but I still stand by the opinion that it's one of the beset zones that I've seen in years. I don't see the complaints about it being copy-paste either. IMO that's like complaining about a corn maze because they kept reusing corn everywhere. It's a maze. If you're having a bit of troubling keeping yourself oriented to points of reference, then it's working. Both mechanically as a challenge for the player to overcome, and thematically as a defense to keep outsiders away from the successor.
A bunch of souls-like games keep giving us "breadcrumb" items that never have any use beyond marking the perimeter of a custom PvP arena, triggering some obscure event that drops an item, or silly screenshots with ten billion of them spammed everywhere. Finally we get a map where it actually pays off to take notes about your surroundings and use those colored breadcrumbs to mark which paths that you've taken, and suddenly that's a bad thing?
The first thing that springs to my mind are the comparisons between the old Doom maps in the 90's and modern maps that are virtually twisty corridors with some cut-scenes spliced in along the way.
Going to be honest, I never even attempted it without a guide. But just going through it the only thing I kept thinking was how tedious it was. There is a pretty massive spike in enemy difficulty there, and you are forced to fight in mostly narrow spaces. I am glad you enjoyed it but I don't think it is great level design.
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What I have been playing around with:
1H Sword WALKING NEAR-IMMORTAL TANK that makes bosses stagger with blocks and does decent enough damage through skills. Makes me cackle.
1H Sword Poison Build hybrid caster. Great for the bosses not immune. Has infinite Ichor once poison is (very quickly) applied.
2H Sword Dex Build (Nagimukuro) that uses Sacrifical Edge (Power Within) and has Quick movement... with a 2hander.
2H Sword Str Build. Standard. Self explanatory. Shoots sword lasers at things and other generic high-str scaling swordy things. Doesn't really need to buff much.
2H Hammer Build. Sunlocks bosses from 100-0. Does AoE damage. Super fun/silly. Red Shoes is the life, the civilization, and the hometown all in one.
Bayonet Queenslayer build. Shoot things for a lot from a distance. Alternatively flamethrowers them.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
The safe version is to use something like Eos for the right stats and good mind, get your light scaling as high as possible, and lean on Bridge to Glory because it scales unlike other damage buffs (scales with Light Gift and adds a flat amount iirc, so it's better on faster weapons but worth it on anything). You can also use all the Light spells, i.e. the barrage shotgun build that's almost as busted.
Halberds are the highest damage 1h type so they're especially nice for buffing up with the next-hit-damage buffs (and Final Journey) and then opening with Severing Abyss, which is a 1h single hit attack skill with a 500% multiplier.
that's it I'm gonna grab a partner to bully them
The flame spell from the successor of the claw is pretty good against them. It does decent damage, is advantage against them, has instant cast, long range, and excellent homing. Its weakness of the projectiles tending to collide with the walls as they arc out behind you immediately after the cast isn't relevant in that arena. I forget the spell's name atm. Ember reversal maybe? Its icon kinda looks like Trogdor the Burninator.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
So, I one-shot Successor of the Throat the first time through, even solo, thanks to the stupidity of 2H FJ.
It, uh, it was a bit rougher using a bayonet and staunchly refusing to use FJ.
Heimdall (Jack's) has Sacrificial Edge (Power Within) on a good Dex/Vit and moderate all around other stats code. "Power Within" is just as damn strong in this game as it is in Souls.
Fionn (Nicola's) has Red Shoes which gives you infinite swings with no mater to Stamina which is as ridiculous as it sounds on a high Str/Mind/Vit code.
Darkseeker is a high Dex/Mind/Willpower code with Blood-draining Venom that gives Infinite Ichor when you poison someone. Combine with a fast poison 1hander and the Debuff Build-Up passive and, as needed, poison actives.
Isis (Aurora) is a well balanced blood code with heavy equip weight and 30 starting Ichor and the best dodge move in the game unique to it (Shadow Leap). I use it for my tank build.
Eos (Io) has the super defense Ablative Blood and super high Mind stat.
Queen's Breath has Juggernaut (Iron Flesh/Skin) which makes you near impervious to physical attacks, but in this game makes you weaker to magic damage. So it actually as a tradeoff. Also really strong Str and Mind.
Don't have a lot to say about Prometheus (Louis's) Eternal Blade Dance, Atlasas (Yakumo's) Firm Stand, Artemis (Mia's) Blood Grab, Hephaestus (Rin's) Evasive Stance [this can be fun] buffs other than they can be useful but aren't in the same class as the above ones. I have no comment on the other unique Queen ____ code abilities, Sacthach (Emily's) or whatever else I missed as I haven't use them much. Astrea (Mia's) and Demeter (Karen's) unique abilities are supportive in nature.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I wish there was a little more balance because the spell anims are great but damage/cost/cast time they're not there.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Merciless Reaper on one of the face buttons. Bridge to Glory, Bloodthirsty Blades, some token defense spell (Iron Will or an Element Defense as appropriate) and either Mia's Companion Gift or another defense spell or Adrenaline.
After that it's just whatever for the attack spells based on element or whimsy.
Light Real Shit: Barrage+Barrage+Barrage
Dark Real Shit: Blade+Blade+Execution
Dark Fire Weak: Dancing Blaze+Ember Reversal+Execution/Fire Blade
Dark Ice Weak: Ichorous Ice+Ice Blade+Guard of Honor
Dark NE (lol): Arm of Set+Sands of Depravity+Volatile Storm
theoretically you can do Dark Blood with Draconic Stake+Will o the Wisp+Argent Wolf Cross/Execution but there are like maybe 1.5 bosses in the entire game where you preferentially want to play Blood so who cares
Dark Lightning sucks but conveniently there's actually zero reason to preferentially play Lightning, so!
Passive wise Swift Judgment+1H Boost+Weapon Drain+whatever stat passive is necessary. Drop the Weapon Drain if you need a second stat passive.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Vodnik's or whatever can one shot a single enemy safely if you bother to carry it but it costs so much Ichor that it's more economical to just put on Bridge and Blades and wade in.
I didn't cart you through the area for not even a chance at the reward, goddammit.
Wha...?
The light shotgun gifts are good for deleting just about anything.
Especially since they have penetration, so if you accidentally pull an entire room or an invasion or both, you can blast like 5 mobs down at once if you get them stacked right.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
My brain starts grasping for excuses--they must be using partners, or overleveling, or cheesing with buff-stack one-shot builds, or just bullshitting--but it feels bad when my bayonet no-FJ non-mage character can take 10+ pulls to get bosses like SotT or BB&C down. Hell, even my 2h FJ character took like 6 tries on BB&C after one or two-shotting most things.
Even if it really, really doesn't matter if some people are just Better, it's like, damn, I thought I was good at Soulslikes.
My light mage character is in Crypt Spire and can either one-shot the first Black Hunter with Ice Barrage for 6600 damage for 4 Ichor or buff up with Bridge to Glory, Adrenaline, and an Element for 15 ichor...and take about 10 swings 12 swings to kill him.
edit: Wait, that 12 number is wrong. Apparently all of your damage is converted to the type of the elemental buff used, in this case it was Lightning Weapon which the Black Hunter resists. I figured only the added 20% would be elemental, that's super weird considering you can stack elements.
So, with just Adrenaline and BtG for 10 Ichor it takes 5-6 swings of 1200 each. Still, nothing on an instant-kill shotgun blast that comes out as fast as a sword swing for 4.
Swing damage: No buff, 467. Adrenaline, 514. BtG, 1040. Ice Weapon, 1200. Lightning Weapon, 800-something.
Swapping Ice Weapon and Lightning Weapon makes it go 1040 with BtG, down to 600-something, then up to the same 800-something, so it's not just setting all of the damage to the last buff.
Maybe it'll make sense when I take BtG and Adrenaline out
467-539-359 going No buffs->IceW->LW
267 with LW only
Does your physical damage all convert into elemental damage, but it's split equally across elements if you use multiple buffs...?
Oh this person explains it on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/codevein/comments/dkg2w7/strange_behaviour_of_enemy_resistances_and_what/f4edja6/
tl;dr Your damage is all elements at once, and effected by all relevant resistances combined, which can make a buff a big damage loss if it's adding 20% to your effective AR but making EVERYTHING go through an extra 50% enemy resistance
I had gotten at least some progress done on my own but it's so much faster just to beat up easier Depths maps instead of dragging randoms to victory with Ishtar Deliverance.
Kinda hope they nerf Final Journey. And/or buff stacking.
Even though I already stopped using FJ, I want everyone else to suffer with me.
edit: This also came out without comment here
https://i.redd.it/tpszfjpnv8041.jpg
This will be here until I receive an apology or Weedlordvegeta get any consequences for being a bully
They nerfed the light barrages into the ground, and people are crying that light mages are dead, but unless they also nerfed Bridge to Glory into the ground light should still be the best option for a versatile character who melees and casts?
Never mind that, though, they buffed the hell out of Fusillade Rondo so bayonets aren't bad now. Still don't melee with them much if you can avoid it (which you can, unless you do weapon type playthroughs like I do) since their melee damage is low and will be lower if you're built to maximize shots, their range is way shorter than it seems to be visually, and most of them have weird combos that will miss hits if you don't use your combo attacks to replace bad parts of the attack sequence.
PSN:Furlion
The story is slow and happens slowly. There are lots and lots of little story bits. It actually does make sense in an anime kind of way.
PSN:Furlion
Things speed up a bit once you get about halfway through not-Anor Londo. There's basically an intermission period that explains a lot more and sets you on the path to the finale.
Also, pay attention during all of the memory segments. They shed some light on some past events.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
PSN:Furlion
I wouldn't do it without the Fextralife zone map, anyway. With that to help you realize 'hey wait there's an item in this tower that I don't see, I should look around more', it's pretty intuitive to navigate except for the very last two towers.
Which is why now, I use the second half skip to unlock the last not-bonfire so that once I've found everything else I can just go to the end instead of trying to figure out the right way to do it.
Yes. I have taken out the pole-dancing Hatsune boss already. The Butterfly was afterward.
So the story is slow. Ok. I'll keep that in mind.
I strongly advise against looking at a guide or a map. Stock up on those colored bread crumb items and enjoy yourself an old school Labryrinth.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
PSN:Furlion
Sorry, this amused me.
The fextralife wiki does.
PSN:Furlion
Haha. That's that is kinda funny taken out of context.
I can understand why some people don't like it, but I still stand by the opinion that it's one of the beset zones that I've seen in years. I don't see the complaints about it being copy-paste either. IMO that's like complaining about a corn maze because they kept reusing corn everywhere. It's a maze. If you're having a bit of troubling keeping yourself oriented to points of reference, then it's working. Both mechanically as a challenge for the player to overcome, and thematically as a defense to keep outsiders away from the successor.
A bunch of souls-like games keep giving us "breadcrumb" items that never have any use beyond marking the perimeter of a custom PvP arena, triggering some obscure event that drops an item, or silly screenshots with ten billion of them spammed everywhere. Finally we get a map where it actually pays off to take notes about your surroundings and use those colored breadcrumbs to mark which paths that you've taken, and suddenly that's a bad thing?
The first thing that springs to my mind are the comparisons between the old Doom maps in the 90's and modern maps that are virtually twisty corridors with some cut-scenes spliced in along the way.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
PSN:Furlion