Dewar Posted March 21, 2014 Did you kill the dragon? That was the hardest fight in the game for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 21, 2014 Goddamn Kalameet's tail remains the only tail I haven't cut off in this bloody game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted March 21, 2014 Goddamn Kalameet's tail remains the only tail I haven't cut off in this bloody game. Me too, lost that fight multiple times trying. I never brought in help, as I was afraid that my help would screw it up. But apparently it can be a lot easier that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted March 21, 2014 Did you kill the dragon? That was the hardest fight in the game for me. I gave it a few tries, got him down to about a quarter health each time. I probably could do it if i kept at it, but didn't really feel like it for an optional fight. He has a very simple pattern, he doesn't seem to have a lot of options to defend against you if you can get right under him. I used magic barrier miracles to push through his fire to stay in close. (It's pretty much the opposite of Manus, who sort of falls apart if you just keep your distance.) Artorias, by far, seemed like the most difficult boss in the add-on, there was no evident trick there and i went into that fight at least a dozen times. I was just barely able to cause enough poise damage to stagger him out of his buff, but if i missed any of those hits and he managed to cast it, the fight usually ended soon thereafter. (Apparently he's not so bad in a normal playthrough, but this was on NG+.) The Sanctuary Guardian was a pretty cool fight too. Also, the Chasm of the Abyss would have been a tremendously creepy area if the humanity sprites weren't so ineffectual, but Oolacile Township was a great area to go through. (Again though, it feels like there's a massive disparity in that DLC between how easy the normal enemies are to fight and how tough those bosses were.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eot Posted March 21, 2014 I find the regular enemies quite tough, those bloathead mages usually take off more than half my lifebar and their attacks can be hard to avoid. Maybe the balance is different in NG+? I've never tried it. I also quite like the Kalameet fight, he actually has a surprisingly large moveset. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted March 21, 2014 The bloathead mages were definitely quite powerful, a direct hit was taking off like 3/4's of my health bar, but my shield was able to absorb a decent amount of that damage and my magic barrier miracles negated the damage almost completely. The other enemies were largely harmless.The stone guardians in the forest area were probably the most threatening normal enemies in the add-on. (Presumably meant to be the same guardians from darkroot, prior to centuries of neglect? Are the tree monsters in Darkroot then versions of the scarecrow monsters overgrown with vines?)I have to say though, this has all made it very difficult to resist heading out and buying Dark Souls 2 right away. I want to hold out for that PC version though, i want to see what it's like.Perhaps i might start a new character in this game. This NG+ playthrough was on my original character and my stats were a mess, just all over the place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eot Posted March 21, 2014 If you replay it, try going shieldless. It changes the way you have to approach encounters which makes the game feel fresh again. If you use a strength weapon with knockdown it's not even that much harder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thainatos Posted March 22, 2014 I've been thinking about trying DS1 with a light-armor, dual-handed longsword warrior while waiting for PC version of DS2. Seems like maybe a way to get faster hits than a greatsword, but dodging would be essential. Tough in areas like New Londo Ruins. Any recommendations? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reyturner Posted March 22, 2014 Balder Side Sword gives you better range and a thrust attack with good scaling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squid Division Posted March 22, 2014 Yeah, but good luck getting one to drop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted March 22, 2014 Yeah, I played through the game twice, and had several other characters that I messed around with that reached that point. And never saw a Balder Side Sword. Probably just terrible luck on my part, but it does have a low drop rate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 22, 2014 Inspired by this thread and the upcoming DS2 release, I fired up DS1 again, remembering about an attempt at an archery/dex character that I'd parked at Andre to try and get my hands on a BSS, and had been doing little farming runs on and off again through the chapel before I stopped playling Dark Souls. Got one on my third run just now. I don't know how to interpret this, but I guess I'm doing one more playthrough Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reyturner Posted March 22, 2014 >.> <.< I've had 5. In 1.5 playthroughs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 22, 2014 Man, that's amazing. This is my first in like 5 characters going through the 'Burg quite thoroughly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted March 22, 2014 >.> <.< I've had 5. In 1.5 playthroughs :devil: :devil: :devil: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dewar Posted March 22, 2014 I gave it a few tries, got him down to about a quarter health each time. I probably could do it if i kept at it, but didn't really feel like it for an optional fight. He has a very simple pattern, he doesn't seem to have a lot of options to defend against you if you can get right under him. I used magic barrier miracles to push through his fire to stay in close. (It's pretty much the opposite of Manus, who sort of falls apart if you just keep your distance.) Artorias, by far, seemed like the most difficult boss in the add-on, there was no evident trick there and i went into that fight at least a dozen times. I was just barely able to cause enough poise damage to stagger him out of his buff, but if i missed any of those hits and he managed to cast it, the fight usually ended soon thereafter. (Apparently he's not so bad in a normal playthrough, but this was on NG+.) The Sanctuary Guardian was a pretty cool fight too. Also, the Chasm of the Abyss would have been a tremendously creepy area if the humanity sprites weren't so ineffectual, but Oolacile Township was a great area to go through. (Again though, it feels like there's a massive disparity in that DLC between how easy the normal enemies are to fight and how tough those bosses were.) I was running full sorcerer so I was basically so fragile that any attack from any of the bosses (and some of the regular enemies) would kill me in one hit. I found the Dragon's big area of attack really hard to get away from or dodge and my magic did fairly low damage to him, where I smoked the sanctuary guardian on the first shot and only had to play Artorias maybe ten times or so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted March 22, 2014 Well, i've started another playthrough, gonna do a pyromancer.Anybody have any suggestions for a light armor build? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 22, 2014 Well pyromancer is the classic "easy-mode" soul level 1 runthrough, so you can go for that. The main issue with pyro is you generally don't have enough casts to clear everything between A and B so I'd pick something to complement it that you are very comfortable with so that killing chaff isn't much of a chore. So much in Dark Souls is down to personal preference that it's really hard to advise things generally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted March 22, 2014 Well, no, i have a plan in mind for how i'm going to play the character, and i'm not going to try to do a SL1 playthrough, i just need to be pointed in a direction with regards to armor for a high-mobility build. I see a lot of people suggest that the only way to get the most out of light armor is mixing sets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 22, 2014 What are you trying to optimise? physdef? For looks I don't think you can beat the painted guardian shirt. The stats on the gold-hemmed and the channeler's sets are among the best as I recall. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted March 22, 2014 Mainly magic defense, i guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
George B Posted March 24, 2014 I'm replaying it now on NG+ and on top of using something other than a halberd as a weapon (+14 uchi atm) I am also trying to never be hollow. It seems like I'm now in a level range (100-115 or so) where there are lots of invasions happening, and I've died a fair bit since my PvE tactics seem terrible in PvP. So... In terms of grinding for humanity, is killing groups of rats in the depths the best way to collect it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
osmosisch Posted March 24, 2014 Before accessing the DLC area, that's indeed the most common farming spot for humanity. Once you're in the DLC there's a pretty obviously better area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted March 24, 2014 I'm replaying it now on NG+ and on top of using something other than a halberd as a weapon (+14 uchi atm) I am also trying to never be hollow. It seems like I'm now in a level range (100-115 or so) where there are lots of invasions happening, and I've died a fair bit since my PvE tactics seem terrible in PvP. So... In terms of grinding for humanity, is killing groups of rats in the depths the best way to collect it? Yeah, PvE builds at this point won't fare well against the super focused PvP builds, unless you are a master. You could try going offline for a bit to build up some humanity, then go back online to try the invaders again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eot Posted March 24, 2014 There's a site that will tell you how many deaths you've had on your various characters and it has some stats as well: http://darksoulsdeaths.com I had 216 on my first character and 518 on my SL1 run (of which I think 200+ must've been from the DLC). Now I just wish it could tell me how many times I fell off a ledge hehe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites