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Dark Souls 2 (Dark Souls successor (Demon's Souls successor))

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I'm running faith/dex dipping into str for lightning weapons. I just had to, once I got the beanpole.

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I'm running heavy Str, plus moderate health/stamina/equip load.  Wielding a Halberd or Long sword, with a Tower Shield, and medium-ish armour.  If I ever get up to 50 Str, I'm going to try out that Gyrm axe I got as a drop for accidentally killing the merchant in No Man's Wharf.

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To go into more detail, i'm doing strength/vigor/endurance mainly, though my stats are kind of all over the place from early-game indecisiveness, i'll have to respec at some point. (Those respec items are definitely rare, i've only found two.)


The basic mace seems to be one of the best strength weapons this time. Fast swings with great scaling and base damage, and strike damage seems very valuable in DS2. The main problem is that its moveset kind of seizes up if you're pushed into a corner, the swings clang at startup with the surface behind you. (More easily than other weapons with similar or shared movesets, seemingly.)

 

I was really torn between sorcery and miracles while investing points, and that just sort of ended with me putting no points into either and going into pyromancy instead, but it's probably worked out for the best, i think. (Chaos Storm is an awesome spell, and fireballs are always useful.) Miracles tend to be best for strength builds, which is completely what i'm doing, but i already did miracles in DS1.

The shields all seem to have been nerfed quite hard. Unless you're willing to carry the weight of a greatshield, there's really no way to get a shield with great stability. The old knight's shield is the heaviest medium shield, and it has phenomenal stats overall, but still nowhere near the stability of something like the silver knight shield from DS1.

 

The game having essentially broken endurance up into two stats is making it much harder to manage encumbrance, so i actually dropped down to the alva set from the knight set, which has slightly less poise and damage resistance, but is still very good and is a fair bit lighter. It was a trade-off i had to make to work the old knight's shield into my build without investing a ton of points into vitality. (The alva set also looks awesome, so there's that too.)


Does adaptibility affect block stun after taking a hit with your shield, or the speed of raising your shield? That would be hugely valuable for my build, recovery in this game feels much slower, just across the board. I already have a few points into adaptibility, but only thing i've really noticed is that my estus flask animation is faster, which has been extremely helpful.

Also, rings. Chloranthy +1 for stamina, Ring of Blades +1 for damage, Stone Ring for poise damage, and the Old Sun Ring to break an opponent's combos.

I also have a short bow equipped for pulling, early on i put some points into dex for it without realizing that crossbows can now be aimed when dual-wielded, which would have been a better choice for my strength build.

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I'm going to try out that Gyrm axe I got as a drop for accidentally killing the merchant in No Man's Wharf.

 

Gavlan no wheel, Gavlan no deal. :wacko:

 

I really actually wonder how one goes about judging the difficulty of DS2.  I'm in no position too, I sunk hundreds of hours into both Des and DS1.  I thought DS2 and the bosses felt easier, but then I went and browsed through some forums, particularly those with people new to the series.  HOLY SHIT!  People die a lot, run out of effigies, can't figure out where to go, can't master basic mechanics, never learn how to open secret doors, miss getting the soapstones, miss getting the Estus Flask, join the Company of Champions (and don't know what it does), don't upgrade weapons, etc.  Even some of the co-op people I've played with amazed me that they were able to get as deep into the game as they were.  I was in the Undead Crypt, and a phantom with a long sword backstabbed one of the knights there and only took a third of its health (my club would one shot them on a backstab).  If that was his main weapon, every enemy must have been a serious challenge for him.

 

I finished my no death/no bonfire run last night!  Getting through it was a real treat.  Not being able to teleport or rest at bonfires, and having no access to magic of any kind made it a fun challenge.  Build was super simple, just high health/str using maces and clubs.  My closest calls ended up coming during the end of the game.  I got summoned in for what I expected to be a co-op refresh for me, and discovered the host had been invaded.  The invader almost one shot me, but ended up killing the host before me, allowing me to escape.  The boss of the Undead Crypt came within a sliver of health of killing me, and the final boss did as well.  The run ended up taking about 16 hours total.  I had 3 previous failed attempts, 2 on the PS3 and one on the PC.  Two of those attempts were relatively short (just a couple of hours).  The longest one I was about halfway through when I bit it.  It was almost weird to be able to sit at bonfires to recharge and teleport after hours of avoiding them like the plague.  Now I need to go back and clear out all the areas I skipped to properly kit myself out for PvP. 

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The Cloranthy Ring does not seem nearly as powerful as in DkS so I took that off pretty early on. I mostly use the Ring of Blades +1 like you, then the Royal Soldier's Ring (equip load) and Ring of Steel Protection. When I go human I put on the Life Ring +1 (I almost never go human). I've also used the Mace a lot, it's great in many situations, but the range is very short and in this game you push enemies back when you hit them, so if you combo hits they sometimes move out of range. I've also found the running attack to not be so great, it has a long recovery and doesn't do enough damage to compensate. The Mace is also terrible against small enemies, the second swing always misses dogs for me (I do love the backstab animation though). I have the Great Club as a backup but I feel like it's too powerful in some situations so it's no fun. Just for the sake of variety I started upgrading the Smelter Sword as well, it has some really cool R2s with a flame effect.

 

As far as I know, ADP does help you raise your shield faster, not sure about the stun.

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Gavlan no wheel, Gavlan no deal. :wacko:

 

I really actually wonder how one goes about judging the difficulty of DS2.  I'm in no position too, I sunk hundreds of hours into both Des and DS1.  I thought DS2 and the bosses felt easier, but then I went and browsed through some forums, particularly those with people new to the series.  HOLY SHIT!  People die a lot, run out of effigies, can't figure out where to go, can't master basic mechanics, never learn how to open secret doors, miss getting the soapstones, miss getting the Estus Flask, join the Company of Champions (and don't know what it does), don't upgrade weapons, etc.  Even some of the co-op people I've played with amazed me that they were able to get as deep into the game as they were.  I was in the Undead Crypt, and a phantom with a long sword backstabbed one of the knights there and only took a third of its health (my club would one shot them on a backstab).  If that was his main weapon, every enemy must have been a serious challenge for him.

 

I finished my no death/no bonfire run last night!  Getting through it was a real treat.  Not being able to teleport or rest at bonfires, and having no access to magic of any kind made it a fun challenge.  Build was super simple, just high health/str using maces and clubs.  My closest calls ended up coming during the end of the game.  I got summoned in for what I expected to be a co-op refresh for me, and discovered the host had been invaded.  The invader almost one shot me, but ended up killing the host before me, allowing me to escape.  The boss of the Undead Crypt came within a sliver of health of killing me, and the final boss did as well.  The run ended up taking about 16 hours total.  I had 3 previous failed attempts, 2 on the PS3 and one on the PC.  Two of those attempts were relatively short (just a couple of hours).  The longest one I was about halfway through when I bit it.  It was almost weird to be able to sit at bonfires to recharge and teleport after hours of avoiding them like the plague.  Now I need to go back and clear out all the areas I skipped to properly kit myself out for PvP. 

 

Having played through Dark Souls and Demon Souls exactly once, I can say that the bosses in Dark Souls 2 feel a lot more inconsistent. Some of them are pretty damn hard, and others are a pushover. Certainly nothing as hard as the DLC bosses or Smough and Ornstein yet. Mainly, the option of co-op (which I've been using extensively) has made this game easier on the whole. It's pretty easy with the small soap stone to be human at pretty much all times. The only real problems I have are the lack of information about some of the changes from Dark Souls 1, some of which I've learned here (like secret doors) and others that no one seems to know (like adaptability.)

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For me, the hardest boss so far was the Smelter Demon, though after beating him, i realized i probably should have rolled around in that puddle of water before heading in. (There's another small system change, being soaked in water, which lasts for a couple minutes, gives you massive fire resistance. If i was able to figure out how to get to that chaos storm chest, i don't know why i didn't think about using that to fight the boss.)

 

It's kind of wild seeing how many summon signs are using the small soapstone. Those poor people, what else did they miss? (Though now i'm reading that the small soap stone might not obey the same matchmaking range as the normal soapstone, and may open you up to a broader range of players. It still severely limits what you can gain from that co-op session though.)

 

 

The Cloranthy Ring does not seem nearly as powerful as in DkS so I took that off pretty early on. I mostly use the Ring of Blades +1 like you, then the Royal Soldier's Ring (equip load) and Ring of Steel Protection. When I go human I put on the Life Ring +1 (I almost never go human). I've also used the Mace a lot, it's great in many situations, but the range is very short and in this game you push enemies back when you hit them, so if you combo hits they sometimes move out of range. I've also found the running attack to not be so great, it has a long recovery and doesn't do enough damage to compensate. The Mace is also terrible against small enemies, the second swing always misses dogs for me (I do love the backstab animation though). I have the Great Club as a backup but I feel like it's too powerful in some situations so it's no fun. Just for the sake of variety I started upgrading the Smelter Sword as well, it has some really cool R2s with a flame effect.

 

As far as I know, ADP does help you raise your shield faster, not sure about the stun.

 


The heavy attack on the mace has a more reliable hit box and better range, and the first hit almost always staggers. (I'm not clear how much of that is the stone ring.) I've been consistently able to kill most enemies in the game in two or three hits with almost no chance of retaliation. In particular, the enemies in the Iron Keep were a total joke. (Though i assume they were also vulnerable to strike, given the armor.) I also always keep some augmentation consumables equipped for bosses, because why not.

Also, yeah, the stamina regen buff isn't nearly as good as it was in the last game, i'll probably drop it for something else eventually.

I need a good lightweight secondary str weapon though, because you're right, the mace's range sucks and doesn't play well with the hitbox on its light attack. (ARRRGH, CRYSTAL LIZARDS. ARRGH.)

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It's kind of wild seeing how many summon signs are using the small soapstone. Those poor people, what else did they miss? (Though now i'm reading that the small soap stone might not obey the same matchmaking range as the normal soapstone, and may open you up to a broader range of players. It still severely limits what you can gain from that co-op session though.)

 

The Small Soap Stone is a godsend, and one of my favorite additions to the game.  I use it all the time.  I'll use it to refresh my Estus and equipment before a boss, because helping someone go through 5-10 regular enemies is a lot more likely to be successful than helping against the more difficult bosses.  Your reward is also a Smooth and Silky Stone, and it is the easiest way to get those, which in turn makes for a fantastic way to get elemental stones, chunks, twinkling titanite and petrified dragon bone (as well as a lesser chance to get the unique item/weapon drops) from the crows.  And if you are trying to control your Soul Memory, you can use it to get those stones without having the Soul earnings from helping people beat bosses.  And yes, it definitely has a larger Soul Memory range than the regular stone.  I was severely under the average for SM when I got to Drangleic two nights ago, as in there were NO summon signs anywhere.  But I was able to be summoned into others' worlds to farm some souls using the Small Stone. 

 

 

I need a good lightweight secondary str weapon though, because you're right, the mace's range sucks and doesn't play well with the hitbox on its light attack. (ARRRGH, CRYSTAL LIZARDS. ARRGH.)

 

Buy the basic club from the hag.  Fully upgraded on a Str build, it does slightly less damage than the mace, but has a different moveset that hits Crystal Lizards with ease.  It's a wider arc sweeping from high right to low left, and then the combo swings it horizontally back from left to right.  If you have 2+ enemies, it's quite easy to tag multiples with the combo.  It's got lower durability and poise damage, but weighs less as well.  I tend to use it more than the mace, as they kill enemies in the same number of hits, but I like the Club moveset more. 

 

For those of you who like the striking weapons, I'd also suggest making the Barbed Club boss weapon if you have some Petrified Dragon Bone to upgrade it. Fully upgraded it's more damaging than the mace, but with the same moveset, plus having elemental and bleed damage.  It's one of the weird/unique weapons that does NOT lose base damage when infused, in fact the base damage actually increases, bleed proc increases and it gains whatever element you add.  Plus once infused, it upgrades more per level than uninfused.  Scaling does drop, but the base damage and elemental gains more than offset that.  Next on my list of shit to try is to go Bonfire Ascetic that boss and get a second one to try powerstancing them in PvP.  I've got a Lightning one right now, want to make either a fire or magic one, will depend on how I finish out the build on which spell buff is better for me.

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For me, the hardest boss so far was the Smelter Demon, though after beating him, i realized i probably should have rolled around in that puddle of water before heading in. (There's another small system change, being soaked in water, which lasts for a couple minutes, gives you massive fire resistance. If i was able to figure out how to get to that chaos storm chest, i don't know why i didn't think about using that to fight the boss.)

 

It's kind of wild seeing how many summon signs are using the small soapstone. Those poor people, what else did they miss? (Though now i'm reading that the small soap stone might not obey the same matchmaking range as the normal soapstone, and may open you up to a broader range of players. It still severely limits what you can gain from that co-op session though.)

 

 

 

The heavy attack on the mace has a more reliable hit box and better range, and the first hit almost always staggers. (I'm not clear how much of that is the stone ring.) I've been consistently able to kill most enemies in the game in two or three hits with almost no chance of retaliation. In particular, the enemies in the Iron Keep were a total joke. (Though i assume they were also vulnerable to strike, given the armor.) I also always keep some augmentation consumables equipped for bosses, because why not.

Also, yeah, the stamina regen buff isn't nearly as good as it was in the last game, i'll probably drop it for something else eventually.

I need a good lightweight secondary str weapon though, because you're right, the mace's range sucks and doesn't play well with the hitbox on its light attack. (ARRRGH, CRYSTAL LIZARDS. ARRGH.)

 

I personally use the small one when I need to become human quickly for a co-op session or something. I like not always having to fight all the way to the boss to get credit. Also, another smooth stone for the slot machine is always appreciated. That being said, I did have to show both my friends where to get the large soap stone so I think a lot of people miss it.

 

Edit: Man, reading some tantlizing hints here is really making me want to to look around for more details about certain systems in the game, but I will resist. I might have to duck back out of this thread for a while though.

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The Small Soap Stone is a godsend, and one of my favorite additions to the game.  I use it all the time.  I'll use it to refresh my Estus and equipment before a boss, because helping someone go through 5-10 regular enemies is a lot more likely to be successful than helping against the more difficult bosses.  Your reward is also a Smooth and Silky Stone, and it is the easiest way to get those, which in turn makes for a fantastic way to get elemental stones, chunks, twinkling titanite and petrified dragon bone (as well as a lesser chance to get the unique item/weapon drops) from the crows.  And if you are trying to control your Soul Memory, you can use it to get those stones without having the Soul earnings from helping people beat bosses.  And yes, it definitely has a larger Soul Memory range than the regular stone.  I was severely under the average for SM when I got to Drangleic two nights ago, as in there were NO summon signs anywhere.  But I was able to be summoned into others' worlds to farm some souls using the Small Stone. 

 

Fair enough, I totally hadn't really given the small soap stone any further thought after i found the normal one.

 

Buy the basic club from the hag.  Fully upgraded on a Str build, it does slightly less damage than the mace, but has a different moveset that hits Crystal Lizards with ease.  It's a wider arc sweeping from high right to low left, and then the combo swings it horizontally back from left to right.  If you have 2+ enemies, it's quite easy to tag multiples with the combo.  It's got lower durability and poise damage, but weighs less as well.  I tend to use it more than the mace, as they kill enemies in the same number of hits, but I like the Club moveset more.

I have the club, i don't like it as much as the mace. It does less poise damage and has lower base damage, though it scales better and might have slightly longer reach. Either way, having both would be super redundant, they actually share the same moveset. (Speaking of poise damage, the stone ring apparently adds a flat 10 points of poise damage to any physical damage you cause, which is pretty damn good.)

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They don't share the same move set. The first Giant Bomb DS2 check-in video shows the differences.

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The club and the mace?

You sure?

I didn't notice any difference, outside of varying swing speed.

Edit: Oh hey, you're right. They have slightly different light attacks, they definitely share the heavy attack though.

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The Large/Great Club is great for the lizards, because the 2-handed running attack is an overhead smash. You probably don't even need to upgrade it to kill them. Speaking of lizards, the one in Huntsman's Copse is the worst. The worst. I spent, no joke, over 30 minutes trying to kill it.

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Edit: Oh hey, you're right. They have slightly different light attacks, they definitely share the heavy attack though.

 

I never use the heavy attacks on either, the recovery delay is too brutal.  I'd just rather chain a couple of R1s together.  I'd have to check my current character, but each at +10 at 40Str/18Dex, the damage difference is pretty negligible between them, like less than 10 points.  Of course at lower Str levels, the Mace is going to be quite a bit better.  If 2-Handing, I think it switches and the club is slightly better, even at high Str levels.  But it really just comes down to which swing someone likes more.

 

The Large/Great Club is great for the lizards, because the 2-handed running attack is an overhead smash. You probably don't even need to upgrade it to kill them. Speaking of lizards, the one in Huntsman's Copse is the worst. The worst. I spent, no joke, over 30 minutes trying to kill it.

 

Binoculars plus a powerful spell was the only way I've killed it.  Trying to melee it, the little bastard just scurries off way to fast every time, and I'm always there too early to have a bow that's capable of one or two shotting it. 

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I had kind of been avoiding them, so i decided to go explore the rat king areas and immediately got pulled in as a gray phantom. The guy i was fighting followed in behind a few large enemies and tried to go for backstabs, so i used the chaos storm pyromancy and that was enough to cause like 2/3rd's damage to him and clear out all the enemies. The guy realized he wasn't going to win a melee-range fight against me and backed off and started throwing lightning spears at me. He threw at least a dozen, but the massive magic resistance of the old king's shield basically just me let shrug it off. Kind of just chased him around as he spammed those bolts and killed him in two hits from my mace when i caught up.

Later on though, when i was pulled into somebody else's world as a phantom, and in addition to the enemies in the water, there were guys on the upper level throwing axes at me. It ended up being close, but i lost. I guess that's the whole thing with the rat king covenant then? You upgrade those areas with lockstones to better stomp your ensnared victims?


I need to join a covenant, i've kind of been ignoring that whole part of the game.

I joined way of the blue early on, since i assumed invasions were going to be fairly frequent as it was in Dark Souls, and a covenant that summons a crew to protect you sounds awesome. Thing is, i have not had a single straight invasion happen.

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I'm not sure who to join, or who to talk to if I want to leave a covenant, or if there is a penalty for leaving. Way of the Blue sounded great, the way the crestfallen guy was going on about it, but I actually don't want to be helped out with invasions, at least not initially.

 

Anyway, I played for 2h tonight, and would play for longer but for tiredness. It looks great and handles beautifully, although the new menus will probably take some getting used to, and I'm still irked that there's no way to see what something is before picking it up. (Another shit helm to throw away? Gee, thanks). I do not like having to travel back to Mujula to level-up, and I also don't like that weapons degrade very rapidly. Broke two swords already! Also, if I can't buy a repair box at some point, I'll be irritated. 

 

One thing I've noticed is that I don't seem to be able to roll immediately after blocking. Might just be my imagination, but is this something that adaptability will help with? I don't dislike the change, actually; I think I overused roll in DaS as my go-to move for getting out of a tight spot. Will be good to change my tactics up a bit.

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I don't have a very high adaptability, but apparently upping it a lot makes the combat basically become Dark Souls 1-like again. At least that's what I've heard on other parts of the internet.

 

I'm feeling pretty powerful with my build. I have high Intelligence and Attunement, and just enough Strength and Dex to weild the fire longsword and Drangelic shield, for the 100% block. I either zap everyone with magic, or if they are resistance to it I fire longsword them to death. I also have the basic daggar equipped, because it can still 1 hit backstab a lot of enemies.

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So i joined the Rat King covenant because it seemed like it might be fun and because i need more lockstones. (The Brotherhood of Blood might have to be the other one i pursue at some point, since it offers an awesome pyromancy spell. Jesus though, i have to win five hundred invasions.)

I guess i need to wear the ring to be summoned? Do i actually need to be in those areas as well though?

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Yes, you need to wear the ring and be in one of the two areas.  Sometimes it takes a few minutes to trigger.  The area with the Rat King and the chamber before that don't count.

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 (The Brotherhood of Blood might have to be the other one i pursue at some point, since it offers an awesome pyromancy spell. Jesus though, i have to win five hundred invasions.)

 

 

I think it's even more complicated than that.  It seems that losses may subtract from your wins, so you need 500 more wins than losses to hit rank 3.  Don't quote me on that, but I've seen a bunch of forum posts citing some odd irregularities in ranking up in the BoB.  You might think about looking it up before getting going in it. 

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After you get the four souls

Is the trek from Shaded Woods to the bonfire in Drangleic Castle the longest in the game, or did I miss a bonfire on the way?

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I was under the impression that this was a bug, as it wasn't guaranteed that you'd get humanity when aiding someone. I found I got humanity 1/4 times I helped, and then after an update, not at all. (As they fixed it)

 

You get it back every time you help the host succeed. If he dies or you die, you don't get it back. Success also restores spell uses and weapon durability. So coop offers real benefits, if you pull through.

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After you get the four souls

Is the trek from Shaded Woods to the bonfire in Drangleic Castle the longest in the game, or did I miss a bonfire on the way?

 

The run from

the bonfire at the 3 way split to Drangleic Castle is probably the longest single stretch in the game with no bonfire in it. Kind of refreshing, really.

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Having spent some time with the Rat King covenant now, i get the impression that if people understood they could win those events by completing the gauntlet, those invasions wouldn't always be such a stomp.

Nobody does though, so it's always a stomp.

It's very difficult to chase down a player that is intent on keeping his distance, and there's definitely been more than a few situations where players would get considerably ahead of me down the path of the gauntlet just through the natural progression of the fight, but instead of just taking that advantage and bolting, they heal up and return to fight me and my monster posse and invariably get wasted.
 

 

 

I think it's even more complicated than that.  It seems that losses may subtract from your wins, so you need 500 more wins than losses to hit rank 3.  Don't quote me on that, but I've seen a bunch of forum posts citing some odd irregularities in ranking up in the BoB.  You might think about looking it up before getting going in it. 


I've also read that arena fights and invasions are counted separately, two different tallies building towards the possibility of covenant progression.

That is absolutely ridiculous, i'll never get that great chaos fireball. <_<

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