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[Axelstream]

I found the quickest way is to spawn from the second bonfire, run back out towards where you fought

Spoiler

Prowling Magus

and jump across the gap to the right and go through that building where

Spoiler

Pate and Creighton

fight. From there it's possible to cheese it through and skip all the enemies until you reach the

Spoiler

spider nest

. Makes running through to the boss much faster.

Oh cool, I haven't seen that particular scenario yet. I'll check it out. Thanks!

 

[Mistel]

Not even remotely.

That sucks then I loved doing that in the first.

The black knight ultra greatsword has a similar move but it's not exactly the same. With fire infusion and flame weapon it's pretty damn fun. Smelter greatsword is pretty fun too.

I've got a smelter greatsword is the black knight one better? I mean it doesn't cost all the dragon stuff to upgrade it so that's already a big draw.

 

[Alric]

Trying Vendrick again, got him down to probably 5% HP and he clips me with an overhead smash because I'm in a corner, I go out, not to heal, but to reset his position because up against a wall you can't strafing him and he pulls out some fucking fireball or magic attack, I didn't even know he had. FFS!

I think I know where I was going wrong though, strafing him clockwise is a lot more difficult to dodge the horizontal sweeps than it is when strafing him anti-clockwise. I had the roll dodge timed perfect when circling him anti-clockwise.

He's a cunt.

yeah strafe to the side of him that doesnt have the sword. His left leg, your right. I never saw him do any magic though. Interesting, had no idea he had anything but his melee attacks.

 

[SoldnerKei]

so, I got two bosses greatswords, the pursuer and smelter demon, smelter demon sword is pretty awesome, I haven't used in pvp since I upgraded pursuer first, but then I have been dueling with people and whenever I use pursuer's sword I got killed lol 390ish atk is cool but useless if I can't hit anything... I will stick to my reliable drangleic sword +5 for pvp, thou mundane upgrade is pretty wicked too, but I don't know which weapon upgrade with that

 

[E92 M3]

Me too! Maybe the

Spoiler

Dragonrider

armor that the

Spoiler

Iron Keep

merchant is supposed to sell?

Spoiler

Moonlight Butterfly

set never showed up for me either.

It didn't show up for me either, funny enough.

 

[Dreaver]

humanity

You have to give him a human effigy when you talk to him. Yeah, takes one each time you want to use the portal. I went through A LOT before I took down a certain optional boss.

Thanks! I might skip it for now though, the enemies hit extremely hard.

Whoa, where the heck is this, I've been back to the gulch a couple of times now and I don't think I know about this mission...

Spoiler

After you get the Skeleton Key you can open three doors, including the one I'm talking about. If you join the covenant from the old man he can open a portal to an optimal world. You can look on Youtube where I mean.

 

[tokkun]

So now that the game has been out awhile and most people have finished it, what is the consensus on the difficulty? Easier than DS1? Harder? Bosses rougher or easier?

-Taken on their own, the levels and bosses are harder, especially in NG+.
-The increase in difficulty is not enough to overcome the increase in skill players of previous Souls games will have. So you will probably find it easier than your first Souls game if you are a veteran.
-If you make liberal use of the multiplayer, you can make the game easier than DS1. It is much easier to be summoned for co-op, and you can use this to practice bosses before you fight them. It is also easier to turn human and find others to summon, and most of the hard bosses are made relatively easy with co-op partners.

Working towards the 1000G, I'm maxing out the sunbros covenant in front of

Spoiler

the Guardian Dragon

since I'm high level, that's maybe the only boss I guess I would find people and I would be useful (DEX build CQC fighter).

Yes and no. It is easy to get summoned for that boss. However pure melee builds are often next-to-useless on that boss if there are casters. Soul Geyser can do upwards of 50% of the bosses health in NG. I have been summoned for that fight and had the boss be killed before I could even get within melee range for one swing.

With the way the game is currently balanced, melee summons are generally most useful for their ability to distract aggro from casters. For instance, for bosses like Smelter Demon or Lost Sinner, it is really useful just to get up in their faces and tank or evade their attacks. They are also generally useful in any sort of crowd-control boss, like Ruin Sentinels or Skeleton Lords. I would say Gargoyles too, but good luck getting summoned there.

 

[LorDjidane]

Having fun?
I'm helping out with the Sentinels in the Lost Bastille. Eight medals to go and the last achievement is mine. Praise the sun!
I don't think your SL matters in NG+ though. I'm SL240 and I've been summoned by people about 100SL below me.

Yeah, I'm helping lots of guys. It's just too bad they didn't understand the boss pattern, it would make for such an easy fight if they could bait him from a distance.

BTW, SL is important for me because I'm still in NG. I'm trying to mop up everything I can before starting the NG+.

Yes and no. It is easy to get summoned for that boss. However pure melee builds are often next-to-useless on that boss if there are casters. Soul Geyser can do upwards of 50% of the bosses health in NG. I have been summoned for that fight and had the boss be killed before I could even get within melee range for one swing.

Yeah well if I'm with a caster I will bait the boss to

Spoiler

throw his flames at me while on the ground

so that the other dude can do his quick job. But if I'm with someone waiting for the boss to be beaten, I wish he could do this baiting. That way,

Spoiler

in his legs with my Curved Dragon Sword +5 I deal lots of damage (25% of its health with my stamina bar). So it seems fair.

 

[LorDjidane]

wow double post sry

 

[krakov]

I think FROM should scrap the soul memory thing as soon as possible. Having one invasions in NG and one every 10 seconds in NG+ is just stupid.

If you are a sinner it's close to impossible to make progress unless you get invaded by complete scrubs. On two different occasions I was invaded by the same person three times in one minute the other night. I guess you'll have to avoid the sinner status or be damn lucky to be able to ever be summoned beyond NG.

I feel in general the systems are less interesting than the ones found in DkS. It's all simplified to the point of a cracked orb pretty much being a start matchmaking-button. Covenant lack personality and there are no tracking except in the Company of Champions, gotta love them PvE farming leaderboards. None of it feel like part of the world but rather badly masked multiplayer. Getting indicted is a concept that is a billion times more interesting than anything found in DkS2.

Blue and Red should be opposites but work pretty much exactly the same, chose your favorite color. The arenas are pretty good.

Crestfallen warrior covenant is pointless and works once in a blue moon. Concept is interesting.

Rat bros should enjoy ganking fools while they can, 90% of people will bypass these empty and mostly pointless areas in a few weeks. Poor Gyrms, one of a handful good enemy designs wasted.

Bell bros get to invade matchmaking maps to stop hosts from opening a gate. Ugly B-tier fan service that only further bloats the world. Much awful PvE to be had in between invasions.

Abyss covenant adds some pve content that might as well be fan made.

I haven't experimented with the dragon bros yet, and probably won't. Seems to be the same as in DkS. Dragon armor (?) looks stupid and I've seen it more times than I've seen dragon body in DkS already. Random merchant dude let's you join, so epic.

Sunbros are exactly the same, more fan service.

Company of Champions is a new concept that is actually good. GG From.

The more I play DkS2 the more I like DkS.

 

[UnObtainium17]

so, I got two bosses greatswords, the pursuer and smelter demon, smelter demon sword is pretty awesome, I haven't used in pvp since I upgraded pursuer first, but then I have been dueling with people and whenever I use pursuer's sword I got killed lol 390ish atk is cool but useless if I can't hit anything... I will stick to my reliable drangleic sword +5 for pvp, thou mundane upgrade is pretty wicked too, but I don't know which weapon upgrade with that

PvP noob here but a 390 atk is good? I thought I was doing pretty good damage at around 350 too until I fought a dude that fly swathed me and left like 3 pixels of my 1k hp lol.

 

[SoldnerKei]

PvP noob here but a 390 atk is good? I thought I was doing pretty good damage at around 350 too until I fought a dude that fly swathed me and left like 3 pixels of my 1k hp lol.

to be honest, pvp noob here too

thou I have never been in that kind of situation, magic usually take like 3/4 of my life if the whole spell hits me, but only dudes with giant maces take so much hp from me, but only like half at best, thou I have 2k hp, maybe yeah, they would one shot me if I had 1k

 

[Red Liquorice]

I think FROM should scrap the soul memory thing as soon as possible. Having one invasions in NG and one every 10 seconds in NG+ is just stupid.

Agree with pretty everything in your post, but most of all this. Soul Memory is stupid.

 

[ShiroAmakusa]

Yeah, I'm helping lots of guys. It's just too bad they didn't understand the boss pattern, it would make for such an easy fight if they could bait him from a distance.

BTW, SL is important for me because I'm still in NG. I'm trying to mop up everything I can before starting the NG+

Oh, I see. And yeah, it's great to play with people who know what to do. MMORPG veterans are my favourite co-op partners. It's this ability to stay calm and make the right decision, no matter the encounter.

Nevertheless, I'm done. By acquiring the Sunlight Spear, I wrapped up the last achievement. Next challenge: Finish the game without dying / without resting at Bonfires.

Spoiler

I need these Illusory Rings!

 

[Soriku]

I wish this game had a hydra or two.

They were so imposing in Dark Souls 1. Also I liked a big boss-like enemy just randomly chilling in two areas.

 

[GulAtiCa]

I wish you couldn't get invaded by same person in a row when a sinner. Once got 4 invasions back to back by same guy!

 

[TeddyShardik]

I wish this game had a hydra or two.

They were so imposing in Dark Souls 1. Also I liked a big boss-like enemy just randomly chilling in two areas.

Meh, they only looked cool. The fight, if you wanna call it that, is boring as hell. Not missing this particular enemy at all. Would have been nice to have something similar with a bit more engaging fight to it though.

I wish you couldn't get invaded by same person in a row when a sinner. Once got 4 invasions back to back by same guy!

You probably have a pretty small player pool around your lvl and sm.
I really like that reds can't hide from being invaded by killing the boss anymore. The guilty pay the price. :<

 

[Cmerrill]

Should I kill all vendors, etc before NG+? Do I get anything of value?

 

[E92 M3]

Should I kill all vendors, etc before NG+? Do I get anything of value?

Well your sin will transfer over and you do not get anything special.

 

[GulAtiCa]

Should I kill all vendors, etc before NG+? Do I get anything of value?

You get to become a dirty sinner. Prepare to be invaded constantly

 

[Raw64life]

Should I kill all vendors, etc before NG+? Do I get anything of value?

I did this and regretted it. Unless you don't mind getting invaded every 30 seconds in NG+

 

[Cmerrill]

Well your sin will transfer over and you do not get anything special.

You get to become a dirty sinner. Prepare to be invaded constantly

I did this and regretted it. Unless you don't mind getting invaded every 30 seconds in NG+

Screw killing the vendors then.

 

[GulAtiCa]

You probably have a pretty small player pool around your lvl and sm.
I really like that reds can't hide from being invaded by killing the boss anymore. The guilty pay the price. :<

Prob true. I'm like lv 275 and sm 21m lol

 

[LiK]

Should I kill all vendors, etc before NG+? Do I get anything of value?

Only if you plan on playing offline in the future unless you like invasions.

 

[Celegus]

You get to become a dirty sinner. Prepare to be invaded constantly

Sin must be an increasing number then, not just a binary "you are a sinner or you're not". I killed a couple NPCs so I am a dirty sinner, but only got invaded twice throughout NG+ and NG++.

 

[GulAtiCa]

Sin must be an increasing number then, not just a binary "you are a sinner or you're not". I killed a couple NPCs so I am a dirty sinner, but only got invaded twice throughout NG+ and NG++.

Does your player info actually say the word Sinner?

 

[decoyplatypus]

Covenant lack personality and there are no tracking except in the Company of Champions, gotta love them PvE farming leaderboards. None of it feel like part of the world but rather badly masked multiplayer. Getting indicted is a concept that is a billion times more interesting than anything found in DkS2.

Blue and Red should be opposites but work pretty much exactly the same, chose your favorite color. The arenas are pretty good.

Crestfallen warrior covenant is pointless and works once in a blue moon. Concept is interesting.

Rat bros should enjoy ganking fools while they can, 90% of people will bypass these empty and mostly pointless areas in a few weeks. Poor Gyrms, one of a handful good enemy designs wasted.

Bell bros get to invade matchmaking maps to stop hosts from opening a gate. Ugly B-tier fan service that only further bloats the world. Much awful PvE to be had in between invasions.

Abyss covenant adds some pve content that might as well be fan made.

I haven't experimented with the dragon bros yet, and probably won't. Seems to be the same as in DkS. Dragon armor (?) looks stupid and I've seen it more times than I've seen dragon body in DkS already. Random merchant dude let's you join, so epic.

Sunbros are exactly the same, more fan service.

Company of Champions is a new concept that is actually good. GG From.

The more I play DkS2 the more I like DkS.

I am also disappointed that the covenants have barely evolved since DkS. I thought based on Maughlin's dialogue (and some early developer interviews) that the covenants would be better integrated with the lore and the game world. Instead they remained similarly peripheral. And worse, they barely introduced new multiplayer dynamics. Ratbros are a start, but why not add a covenant that is at war with the rats. There are already plenty of opportunities for duels in the game. There doesn't seem to be nearly as much 2v2 or 2v1 (it doesn't help that the Blue Sentinel matchmaking is busted).

 

[Raw64life]

Does your player info actually say the word Sinner?

Yes it will. I killed just about every NPC before starting NG+ and I had to run around naked getting killed by Blue Sentinels a good dozen times before my sin went away. I believe you get 1 sin point for every NPC you kill and 1 point gets removed every time a Blue Sentinel kills you, but the game doesn't actually show you the number. It will either say Sinner or just be blank.

 

[Celegus]

Does your player info actually say the word Sinner?

It surely does.

 

[TeddyShardik]

Sin must be an increasing number then, not just a binary "you are a sinner or you're not". I killed a couple NPCs so I am a dirty sinner, but only got invaded twice throughout NG+ and NG++.

Yeah, it's definately some kind of numerical stat. I've noticed I would lose the sinner status after I was killed by blue sentinels sometimes. Maybe killing sinners yourself as a sentinel balances it out as well...not really sure on that one though.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i remember some sinner was begging me to kill him in ng+. he turned around to expose his back, doing emotes etc. poor jester.

 

[GulAtiCa]

I wonder how big my sinner points is at. Did maybe invade and kill 10 to 15 people. Do love getting invaded. Just hate the lag hits at time.

 

[LiK]

i remember some sinner was begging me to kill him in ng+. he turned around to expose his back, doing emotes etc. poor jester.

Cleanse his soul, try rear.

 

[E92 M3]

Did you guys watch the Giant Bomb QL of the PC version yet? I'm going to after work.

 

[krakov]

Cleanse his soul, try rear.

Try bleeding
but
Hole

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Try bleeding
but
Hole

I can't take this.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Finally killed Vendrick with my faith character. I had two casts of Sunlight Blade that I hadn't used before that really helped (really cool effect on the sword). What helped even more was turning the brightness up full in the screen options, I had it at zero before and turning up for Vendrick really helped me keep an eye on if I was getting too close to the walls.

Holy water urns also do decent damage compared to other consumables that I tried. They were useful for a quick hit if you didn't feel confident to swing the sword.

 

[jabuseika]

Full list of Nerfs for Calibration 1.04 (Not to be confused with the Patch 1.03, but both come at the same time)

From Reddit.

Throwing motion for Acid Urns changed to heavy throwing motion; effects of acid toned down.
Durability of Twin Blade category improved.
Moonlight Great Sword revised to be non-enchantable, attack speed reduced.
Gyrm Warrior’s Greathelm weight, poise and defense increased.
Ring of Thorns damage reduced.
Old Sun Ring damage reduced.
Soul Spear and Crystal Soul Spear revised to pierce and damage multiple enemies.
Soul Great Sword casting time revised.
Stamina reduction (on enemy) of Homing Soul Mass, Homing Crystal Soul Mass and Affinity reduced and bullet speed increased.
Soul Geyser damage reduced.
Healing spell casting speed adjusted to be slower.
Wrath of God damage effect period shortened.
Firestorm, Fire Tempest, Chaos Storm, Flame Swathe and Forbidden Sun damages reduced.
Firestorm, Fire Tempest and Chaos Storm duration time increased.
Defense of Lucatiel, Bellclaire, Benhart and Tark increased.
Health of exploding undead reduced.
Homing capability of spells casted by White Undead Sorcers and Amana Priestesses reduced.
Fire ball spitting frequency of Fire Lizards reduced.
Shockwave duration period caused by the attacks of Hammer Wielders (probably ones in Earthen Peak?) reduced.
Last Giant damage reduced.
Lost Sinner health and damage reduced.
Royal Rat Authority damage reduced.
Duke’s Dear Freja’s laser breath damage reduced.
NG+ Lost Sinner pyromancers health and damage reduced.
NG+ Flexile Sentry shadow assassins health and damage reduced.

 

[Leezard]

Sin must be an increasing number then, not just a binary "you are a sinner or you're not". I killed a couple NPCs so I am a dirty sinner, but only got invaded twice throughout NG+ and NG++.

From what I've heard, each sin adds +1 to a sin meter.
This is what shows on your player info card:
0-9 sin: -
10-99 sin: Sinner
100 sin: Wretch

Getting killed by a blue phantom gives -1 to the sin meter. From what I've heard, getting out of Sinner status is relatively easy, but getting out of Wretch status is more difficult (i.e, dropping back to 99 won't remove wretch status.)

 

[GulAtiCa]

What happens when your wretched?

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

What happens when your wretched?

Spoiler

I like to imagine

FROM has a strike team of SL 500 employees that constantly invade you three at a time and punish you endlessly. Also, every time they kill you you lose 10 SL's and your currently equipped weapon is permanently destroyed.

 

[Gr1mLock]

I just got clubbed by someone nammed 'clubber' who had two clubs.

 

[SargerusBR]

Last Giant damage reduced.
Lost Sinner health and damage reduced.
Royal Rat Authority damage reduced.
Duke’s Dear Freja’s laser breath damage reduced.
NG+ Lost Sinner pyromancers health and damage reduced.
NG+ Flexile Sentry shadow assassins health and damage reduced.

Casuls have won.

 

[TheCthultist]

What is an effective strategy for getting the armor from the shadow assassin guys that spawn with Flexile Sentry in NG+?

 

[Leezard]

What happens when your wretched?

I don't think know if there is any evidence for whether there is a difference between Sinner and Wretch.

 

[LiK]

Finally killed Vendrick with my faith character. I had two casts of Sunlight Blade that I hadn't used before that really helped (really cool effect on the sword). What helped even more was turning the brightness up full in the screen options, I had it at zero before and turning up for Vendrick really helped me keep an eye on if I was getting too close to the walls.

Holy water urns also do decent damage compared to other consumables that I tried. They were useful for a quick hit if you didn't feel confident to swing the sword.

Holy Water Urns did good damage against him? I'm gonna try killing him again in NG+. Maybe I'll stick up on 99 before that happens.

 

[E92 M3]

Casuls have won.

They might have had internal telemetry that they weren't happy with. But yes, externally, it looks like they are making it easier. Not quite full blown casual, but easier.

 

[GulAtiCa]

I don't think know if there is any evidence for whether there is a difference between Sinner and Wretch.

Maybe it's now double invasions. Lol

 

[ShiroAmakusa]

What happens when your wretched?

You're max HP can be reduced all the way down to 5%.

 

[Scher]

Defense of Lucatiel, Bellclaire, Benhart and Tark increased.
Homing capability of spells casted by White Undead Sorcers and Amana Priestesses reduced.

This makes me happy. They could have had only these changes and I would have been fine with it all.

Firestorm, Fire Tempest, Chaos Storm, Flame Swathe and Forbidden Sun damages reduced.
Firestorm, Fire Tempest and Chaos Storm duration time increased.

Poor pyromancy, it was nice knowing you, although you completely deserve it.

Also, do people really have that many issues with spider beam? It's not that difficult to avoid. I always thought that boss was one of the easier bosses.