Dark Souls II |OT2| Prepare to Vengarl

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So nice to have a new Souls game to explore. I'm doing it in my own slow place.

I'm really liking what I have seen of enemy placement in the Forest of Fallen Giants.

I wasted so many resources going after the fire lizards after going down the wall near the second bonfire. I bought like 200 arrows to take out the first one, but was then greeted by two more beyond the first one. They do so much damage and have so much health, that I had to give up on that area. At least I managed to pick up a greatshield that I will probably never be able to wield.

I'm addicted to trying out difficult areas too early. Did the same thing in both DeS and DaS I. But with the soul history mechanic I think I need to be more careful regarding this if I ever want to do online play. I was considering trying my hand at invading the next time I un-hollow, but this may be difficult after getting (and usually losing shortly afterwards) lots of souls from areas I have no business visiting.

I heard something about a health penalty for failed invasion. Does anyone know about this? Is it reversible?
 
Anyone playing ps3 version that can help me with The Iron Keep Boss,
Old Iron King
. Im hollowed and have no more Humany Effigies. Been stuck here for hours!!!
 
Has anyone figured out how poise works?

Even when wearing heavy armor, I constantly get stunlocked into oblivion, even with the most basic enemies. More often than not, I can't even take one hit without flinching.
 
i'm thinking of using vengarl sword at least for pvp, i don't like the move set tough i like my heide sword better but man vengarl sword will surely scale better.
 
Where does
Bernhart spawn in Brightstone Cove Tseldora? I have freed the stoned woman and spoken to Bernhart after this, so he is gone from his original place, but i cant find his summon mark. I used a Human Effigy, so thats not the issue.


Zocano said:
I dunno. I thought it was fine (and it's a shorter walk than Dark Souls 1's walk to Gwyn). Although waiting for the door to open every time is a bit silly.
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EatChildren said:
What Gorillaz said. I get that they're trying to make it all atmospheric and haunting, but it's mechanically dumb to the point where it almost seems like an oversight. It's not like it's hard or offensive, just a stupidly inefficient time sink. The door being the main culprit. It's like...whyyyyy.
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Zukuu said:
I dunno why those fucking doors just won't stay open. Why did they feel the need to make them auto-close again? Everything else in the game stays open, why not those fucking doors.
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I think that the doors are closed everytime because the doors works as masking for loading that area. I'm not sure though, but that is my guess.
 
Gexecuter said:
so leveling up in the rat covenant is pretty slow, i summon a guy every 10 minutes it seems :( At this rate its gonna be a long time before i get the ring that disables notifications. Also firestorm is pretty damn powerful you can almost stun lock people.
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I am maxed rank in Rat Covenant... are you saying that ring disables notification? It just says something like "masks the sound of the wearer."
 
So there is a ring that makes it so the invadee never gets notified about an invasion? That is evil. Makes me wonder if the red phantom I saw yesterday was a normal player or just an NPC now.

Edit: Ninja'd
 
Are there any bosses you can parry other than the
pursuer
? There are a few that seem small enough, like the
gargoyles, maybe the ruin sentinels, ornstein, Mytha, etc.
but the timing window is so small that I've never had the balls to try.
 
wow, mages have it easy

I changed my stats, using a +4 magic MLGS a +5 magic wisdom staff

after struggling for like 20 attempts in NG on the smelter demon trying to keep Lucatiel alive, I beat it in NG+ in about 30 seconds with four or five soul geysers at 50 INT, she didn't even lose half her health, I'm tearing through enemies and bosses like butter
 
Gexecuter said:
according to the wiki i have read it does disable invasion notifications, pretty awesome.
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I wonder if it works on the Bell towers. That be kinda neat. Though the first tower is rather small, so would only really work well if the trespasser is not really paying attention.
 
What's yall favorite boss battles so far?

I think I'm split between TLS, because it gives you a rush if your a melee build
and

G
uardian
D
ragon
because the arena itself was nice and it was good to have a boss not completely humanoid. Even if his attacks were basic it was fun to fight in that large ass arena
 
YianGaruga said:
If you're invaded and you die it counts as a normal death and you'll get the standard health penalty.
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As it should be then. Thanks!

I'm glad the rumour about health penalty for invader is not true. It sounds like almost no one is getting invaded, so something like that to discourage invading would be really bad.
 
mellow said:
wow, mages have it easy

I changed my stats, using a +4 magic MLGS a +5 magic wisdom staff

after struggling for like 20 attempts in NG on the smelter demon trying to keep Lucatiel alive, I beat it in NG+ in about 30 seconds with four or five soul geysers at 50 INT, she didn't even lose half her health, I'm tearing through enemies and bosses like butter
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Right before DS2 I played my first sorcerer in DS1. It was like turning on easy mode. Magic (hexes) seems even more OP in DS2
 
Is it advisable to make my character a super tank? Heavy armor, heavy shield, big heavy sword and not worry about rolling at all? Just pump up VGR, VIT, STR, and END? Just focus on dealing out big hits and taking damage.
 
test_account said:
Where does
Bernhart spawn in Brightstone Cove Tseldora? I have freed the stoned woman and spoken to Bernhart after this, so he is gone from his original place, but i cant find his summon mark. I used a Human Effigy, so thats not the issue.
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His sign is in one of the tents.
 
Kevin Shields said:
Is it just me or is the Mace overpowered in this game? I feel like I'm doing major damage and it's only +3
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Guevara said:
Totally. I have a +10 Mace and +10 Sun Sword as my weapons at end game. I've never found anything I like better.
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I feel confident saying that the mace is the longsword equivalent of DSII - starting gear that remains reliable for the whole game. I hesitate to call it overpowered in light of stuff in the game that is legitimately overpowered like pyromancy, but I haven't found a better str weapon yet.

JonStark said:
I'm at
Shrine of Amana
, where can I find a good magical res. shield quickly ?
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Past the locked door in front of the Last Giant boss fight in FoFG you'll find 2 giant salamanders and the Rebel's Greatshield that offers 90% magic reduction. Very handy.
 
Jroderton said:
Is it advisable to make my character a super tank? Heavy armor, heavy shield, big heavy sword and not worry about rolling at all? Just pump up VGR, VIT, STR, and END? Just focus on dealing out big hits and taking damage.
Click to expand...

I would recommend rolling way above tanking.

Tanking can be a good general approach, but sooner or later, you run into some enemy/boss that is throwing magic or fire or something at you, and the armor you have doesn't have that specific resistance, so you take a lot of damage even when you block.

But rolling is a readily universal way to deal with everything. I usually equip the best stuff I can while still giving me a good quick roll.
 
Swuabino said:
Easily the hardest boss in the entire game. I managed to solo it melee after about 30 tries, but that just requires a ton of patience and luck.

One strategy I've seen is
to equip the Redeye Ring, a shield with high fire resistance (e.g. Gyrm Greatshield) and summon Lucatiel. The Redeye Ring should draw aggro as long as you don't get too far from the Sinner, and the Gyrm Greatshield should absorb any fire damage. At this point, you basically just want to play tank, and let Lucatiel whittle away at his health. Keep your shield up, roll away from his heavier hits, and keep moving. Eventually, Lucatiel will kill the adds, and then you should be able to take the Sinner down pretty easily.
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I did it!
The Redeye Ring turned out to be key, but since the best fire defense shield I could use with my 20 STR was only 75 I focused on dodging as much as possible. Also there was a single summoning sign in front of the mist gate, for once it worked without errors and the player turned out to be very competent. The fight was almost a breeze with this setup, appreciate it.
 
Jroderton said:
Is it advisable to make my character a super tank? Heavy armor, heavy shield, big heavy sword and not worry about rolling at all? Just pump up VGR, VIT, STR, and END? Just focus on dealing out big hits and taking damage.
Click to expand...

You'd have to work pretty hard to come up with a build that isn't viable in these games. At the end of the day, no build works if you suck, and any build works if you're good.
 
I've always done the roll and have been successful and whatever. Just looking to try something I haven't before. I'll give it a shot. If it sucks, I can respec.
 
JonStark said:
I'm at
Shrine of Amana
, where can I find a good magical res. shield quickly ?
Click to expand...

Silverblack shield is dropped by the Grave Wardens in Earthen Peak and should drop quite often. It has 80% magic reduction nonupgraded, and is upgraded with regular titanite. It's a medium shield as well.
 
JonStark said:
Last time I checked this door was locked ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry, I can't remember what key unlocks it off the top of my head and the wiki doesn't seem to know either. Anyone? I'll let you know if I remember. In the meantime try Leezard's recommendation and get the Silverblack Shield. It's only 10% less reduction.
 
Santiako said:
His sign is in one of the tents.
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Found it, thanks! :)


JonStark said:
Last time I checked this door was locked ?
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You need the
Iron Key that you find in Iron Keep, if i remember correctly.


Deified Data said:
Yeah, sorry, I can't remember what key unlocks it off the top of my head and the wiki doesn't seem to know either. Anyone? I'll let you know if I remember. In the meantime try Leezard's recommendation and get the Silverblack Shield. It's only 10% less reduction.
Click to expand...
I think its the
Iron Key that you find in Iron Keep.
 
Deified Data said:
Yeah, sorry, I can't remember what key unlocks it off the top of my head and the wiki doesn't seem to know either. Anyone? I'll let you know if I remember. In the meantime try Leezard's recommendation and get the Silverblack Shield. It's only 10% less reduction.
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It's the Iron Key. After the first bonfire in the Iron Keep there is a corpse under a flamethrower holding it.
 
squadr0n said:
Anyone playing ps3 version that can help me with The Iron Keep Boss, . Im hollowed and have no more Humany Effigies. Been stuck here for hours!!!
Click to expand...
...How do you suppose anyone can help, then? lol.

(If you want to revive so bad, try dropping your sign and hope for that % chance of reviving upon returning to your world...?)
 
Part of me thinks the ring of life protection should be nerfed -- initially I thought 'nawh, not OP - who wants to run back to town after every death?', but it's easy enough to get a stockpile of them (my main character has 4) - going back to town once every 4 deaths isn't so bad unless you are in a 'dark souls cycle of stupid deaths'. By time I have 4 deaths - usually have enough souls that I want to upgrade / be doing a town run anyways.

Ring of Binding used to be one of my perma-ring slots, now the Ring of Life Protection is my perma-ring slot... 3k to repair, stay human and keep your souls when you die (occasional bug outstanding where it doesn't quite work) .... seems silly to not run with it on.

Early game, 3k souls is a bit - but mid/late game, 3k souls is nothing.
 
test_account said:
You need the
Iron Key that you find in Iron Keep, if i remember correctly.



I think its the
Iron Key that you find in Iron Keep.
Click to expand...

Yup, it is definitely the
Iron Key which is below the fire from a flamethrower statue in the beginning of Iron Keep. The lever before Iron King turns off the flamethrower.
 
BeeDog said:
Who the hell thought the Dragon Shrine boss was a fun battle? Worst boss in the game BY FAR...
Regardless of what I do, I can't find a foolproof way of avoiding the AoE attack. I run into the arena, dodge the first fire blast, hit him twice, then run straight behind him (along his tail). I might dodge the first AoE, but then he lands close to an edge, blocking of pretty much everything and most likely killing me with the second AoE attack.

Anyone? :(
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I had luck running to the sides of him (quite some distance). It was a fair amount of luck to beat him. I stayed close enough to his feet to bait him into stomping most of the time so I could chop him up before he did the aoe too many times.
If you hate that boss you'll love the next area.

Dresden said:
Mastodon Halberd is the shit.
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op as fuck for str
 
Jroderton said:
Is it advisable to make my character a super tank? Heavy armor, heavy shield, big heavy sword and not worry about rolling at all? Just pump up VGR, VIT, STR, and END? Just focus on dealing out big hits and taking damage.
Click to expand...

My post is on the previous page, but I didn't find that kind of build very viable in Dark Souls II. It's great for clearing areas, but it seems like a lot of boss fights absolutely require dodging attacks if you want to solo them. I admit that I'm not that great of a player, but I found myself needing to summon a few NPCs to even have a chance at many of the bosses.

Even with a focus on extreme defense and health, it seems like a lot of boss attacks can kill you really quickly. I imagine this gets even worse on NG+.

Dresden said:
Mastodon Halberd is the shit.
Click to expand...

That's what I ended up finishing the game with. I upgraded it to +10. Used it alongside a Lightning Bastard Sword +10 and a Drangleic Sword +5.

Even still, I feel like I never found any really amazing weapons in Dark Souls II compared to the previous games. Anyone else feel this way? What were your favorite weapons?
 
I just had a Greatbow drop for me out of the blue and since it's pretty rare I feel like I oughtta use it, but it takes 25 DEX. That's ridonkadonk.

But oh well. Surely a 40/25/30/30 STR/DEX/INT/FTH spread is a perfectly reasonable character build. Vigor, Vitality, and Adaptability are bullshit stats anyway; don't need 'em.
 
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