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[ElFly]

I don't know if the PS3 got the tracking nerfed a little or if I am more experienced, but I enjoyed

Spoiler

Shrine of Amana

a lot more in my third run through it.

The lazors can be dodged by just walking, so it becomes a matter of knowing when to attack and when to move, even if you are not seeing the spells.

Main problem now is that, maybe when I was playing around with the full rgb settings and the brightness, is that you can't see shit of the floor without lighting a torch. In general I remembered where the floor and the holes were, but IMHO that is going to be much tougher for the newcomers.

 

[LiK]

Dyno, you might be the only guy I know here who actually uses that weapon.

 

[Screaming Meat]

With Gilligan's ladders, do you have to buy them all or just the most expensive?

 

[emb]

With Gilligan's ladders, do you have to buy them all or just the most expensive?

From what I've heard,

Spoiler

most expensive is the important one, second most expensive is for an optional thing, and cheapest is useless

. Can someone confirm?

 

[NEOPARADIGM]

From what I've heard,

Spoiler

most expensive is the important one, second most expensive is for an optional thing, and cheapest is useless

. Can someone confirm?

Yes.

 

[LiK]

From what I've heard,

Spoiler

most expensive is the important one, second most expensive is for an optional thing, and cheapest is useless

. Can someone confirm?

This is correct. Cheapest one will only get to the first platform but if you have the cat ring, no need for it.

 

[maomaoIYP]

From what I've heard,

Spoiler

most expensive is the important one, second most expensive is for an optional thing, and cheapest is useless

. Can someone confirm?

The cheapest is required to reach grave of saints if your vigor is 7 or thereabouts.

 

[SargerusBR]

OT3 today?

 

[ElFly]

With Gilligan's ladders, do you have to buy them all or just the most expensive?

Most expensive one helps reach a treasure;

Spoiler

or spells; IIRC it's a miracle and a sorcery.

Do note that this is hidden behind a door which you only get a key for in the last are of the hole, so don't rush to buy the more expensive ladder if you aren't done with that section.

Also, I think the cheaper ladders can be replaced by cat ring + being naked, but my character died when I did that, so maybe you need more fall control. Do not get the middle price one.

 

[bob_arctor]

This is not a game for someone who wants to play a melee close-ranged only character - you still can, obviously, but you'll feel frequently frustrated -, you'll need to use a bow or a crossbow, you'll need to use magic and miracles, you'll need to use items, a lot of items.

I agree with you on most of your points, especially in approaching DS2 with fresh eyes to avoid the trap of only ever looking for a Dark Souls 1.5 and being subsequently disappointed at any changes. As a melee player though, I have yet to be frustrated (granted, I'm only now at Iron Keep) and the only instance I used my arrows was in Huntsman's Copse to take out those poison spewing things on the wall in that early expanse after the first bonfire from which you can drop down on mushrooms. No magic either though I'm thinking of at least messing with basic pyromancy stuff.

And the mob thing--I threw on Dark Souls the other day and went to the Duke's Archives and was promptly ganked by all the crystal soldiers they throw at you right off the first elevator. Totally forgot how many there were.

 

[ExFalsoQuodlibet]

Are you implying that pure physical builds being underpowered compared to everything else is a good idea?

If by "pure physical" you mean "melee", in which way are they underpowered? Weapons scale in the same way for everyone, including the scaling of magic stats. In DkS2 scaling is roughly half as effective than DkS1, and it means that the return for leveling a stat over the required value is lower, so you can spend your souls leveling something else, for example vitality, to improve your defense against whatever. I PVP mostly at close range, and I have won more or less half of my fights, by crushing people with my large club.

DkS2 encourages you to have all the possible tools at your fingertips: if you try to do the same thing over and over again you'll have a hard time, and that's what really differentiates the second game from the first one, and I consider that an improvement. One could personally prefer DkS1 in this regard, but that doesn't mean that DkS2 is worse.

 

[LiK]

I agree with you on most of your points, especially in approaching DS2 with fresh eyes to avoid the trap of only ever looking for a Dark Souls 1.5 and being subsequently disappointed at any changes. As a melee player though, I have yet to be frustrated (granted, I'm only now at Iron Keep) and the only instance I used my arrows was in Huntsman's Copse to take out those poison spewing things on the wall in that early expanse after the first bonfire from which you can drop down on mushrooms. No magic either though I'm thinking of at least messing with basic pyromancy stuff.

And the mob thing--I threw on Dark Souls the other day and went to the Duke's Archives and was promptly ganked by all the crystal soldiers they throw at you right off the first elevator. Totally forgot how many there were.

I was melee only in DkS1 but had a bow for occasions. Never did worry about being ganked in Duke's archives. The enemy placement was done in a way that I only needed to deal with 3 at most and they weren't overly aggressive.

 

[E92 M3]

What do you guys think is the coziest bonfire, not counting Majula?

 

[Screaming Meat]

Thanks guys and gals!

 

[Leezard]

What do you guys think is the coziest bonfire, not counting Majula?

McDuff's bonfire is great.

 

[Screaming Meat]

McDuff's bonfire is great.

Do you like dags?

 

[LiK]

What do you guys think is the coziest bonfire, not counting Majula?

Amana entrance. Nice view and nice song.

 

[ExFalsoQuodlibet]

I agree with you on most of your points, especially in approaching DS2 with fresh eyes to avoid the trap of only ever looking for a Dark Souls 1.5 and being subsequently disappointed at any changes. As a melee player though, I have yet to be frustrated (granted, I'm only now at Iron Keep) and the only instance I used my arrows was in Huntsman's Copse to take out those poison spewing things on the wall in that early expanse after the first bonfire from which you can drop down on mushrooms. No magic either though I'm thinking of at least messing with basic pyromancy stuff.

And the mob thing--I threw on Dark Souls the other day and went to the Duke's Archives and was promptly ganked by all the crystal soldiers they throw at you right off the first elevator. Totally forgot how many there were.

I never felt frustrated, and in fact you can still close-range the entirety of the game, even the

Spoiler

fire lizards

, the game doesn't put a wall in front of you in this regard, but I imagine that having long-range options at your fingertips makes things easier and more fluid: I use long-range a lot, even if my weapon of choice is the large club.

The mob thing posed 0 problems to me, I actually never thought about the differences between this game and the first one during my first playthrough, I tried to approach it with a clear mind, and it played off.

 

[E92 M3]

McDuff's bonfire is great.

I agree - without the wall being broken.

Amana entrance. Nice view and nice song.

Yes, it's rather peaceful. Nice place to relax before the mage shitstorm ahead lol.

 

[Leezard]

Do you like dags?

Those dags are extinct for me, that's how much I like them.

The lighting there is nice, as well as the walls around, and the sound of McDuff hammering in the background.

I agree - without the wall being broken.

I have yet to go there without breaking the wall, but maybe I'll give it a try next run. It's great despite the wall being broken as well.

 

[Soulhouf]

If by "pure physical" you mean "melee", in which way are they underpowered? Weapons scale in the same way for everyone, including the scaling of magic stats. In DkS2 scaling is roughly half as effective than DkS1, and it means that the return for leveling a stat over the required value is lower, so you can spend your souls leveling something else, for example vitality, to improve your defense against whatever. I PVP mostly at close range, and I have won more or less half of my fights, by crushing people with my large club.

DkS2 encourages you to have all the possible tools at your fingertips: if you try to do the same thing over and over again you'll have a hard time, and that's what really differentiates the second game from the first one, and I consider that an improvement. One could personally prefer DkS1 in this regard, but that doesn't mean that DkS2 is worse.

Are they? I have had way more success with pure melee in DS2 than in DS1. If I die in a PvP fight it's usually because I'm either too eager for a kill, I get distracted by an enemy/other PvPer or I mistime a roll.

I probably haven't come across any serious players yet, though.

I've beaten the game SL34 no spell whatsoever (int 1, att 3 and fai 8).
Sure it's very viable but now that I'm increasing my stats, I barely see any damage increase despite using much more powerful weapons (Zweihander+10 (2H 20 str, 30 dex) VS Raw Halberd+10 (2H 10 str, 14 dex)). Something is wrong with the scaling system.
Now, when I see the damage input of imbued weapons that you can buff on top of that making a mage much stronger in melee than a pure warrior, not to mention that he has very powerful magic on top of that, I'm seeing a serious balancing issue there.

 

[Jackben]

The Saltfort bonfire is definitely the best.

Spoiler

fuck you to whichever level designer did that shit

 

[Screaming Meat]

I've beaten the game SL34 no spell whatsoever (int 1, att 3 and fai 8).
Sure it's very viable but now that I'm increasing my stats, I barely see any damage increase despite using much more powerful weapons (Zweihander+10 (2H 20 str, 30 dex) VS Raw Halberd+10 (2H 10 str, 14 dex)). Something is wrong with the scaling system.
Now, when I see the damage input of imbued weapons that you can buff on top of that making a mage much stronger in melee than a pure warrior, not to mention that he has very powerful magic on top of that, I'm seeing a serious balancing issue there.

You can imbue and buff weapons without resorting to using spells though, can't you?

 

[LiK]

The Saltfort bonfire is definitely the best.

Spoiler

fuck you to whichever level designer did that shit

Good farming spot tho.

 

[Ferr986]

Are they? I have had way more success with pure melee in DS2 than in DS1

They are, atleast PvE wise. I mean, sure, you can beat the game going full melee( I did and Im at the end on NG+ on that character). But with my second character I went DEX/FTH and I was amazed at how easier it was. I mean, I didnt even had to move for the final boss, I just stand there at the fog door and threw some lightning spears and it was over.

f by "pure physical" you mean "melee", in which way are they underpowered? Weapons scale in the same way for everyone, including the scaling of magic stats. In DkS2 scaling is roughly half as effective than DkS1, and it means that the return for leveling a stat over the required value is lower, so you can spend your souls leveling something else, for example vitality, to improve your defense against whatever. I PVP mostly at close range, and I have won more or less half of my fights, by crushing people with my large club.

Its not. For example, DEX scaling is useless damage wise. Quality builds are no more, because on a C/C scaling, DEX do nothing for upping your damage (tested, going from 40/40 to 50/20 did the exact same damage on a Claymore)
Also, you can ignore weapon scaling by infusing a weapon and level up Faith or Int as needed. That way you not only get the same damage (or more) than leveling up STR, you also get to use powerful sorceries or miracles.
Going full STR or STR/DEX is useless right now.

 

[NEOPARADIGM]

I agree - without the wall being broken.

Man, never even thought about that. Great, now it must be done.

Going full STR or STR/DEX is useless right now.

lol guess I've dropped over 200 "useless" hours playing this game

 

[Shinjica]

it'd be hard to fix the weird hitboxes and limited movesets and such, but

- forbidding estus use in arenas
- removing token cost for Blue Sentinel arenas
- removing the ability to enchant infused weapons & turning buff spells into a flat AR bonus rather than a percentage boost
- increase cast time for some hexes, or tone down damage
- decrease WotG's range and damage a little further, and make it a two-slot spell rather than one
- increased physical damage scaling on weapons
- reevaluation of poise
- introduction of a reusable invasion item for red & blue in ng+, and letting players buy infinite invasion items in ng
- chameleon granted by silver tokens to be targetable
- fast roll limit reduced to 60% rather than 70% equip burden (with different roll plateaus being 20/40/60%)

and of course,

- remove soul memory

would help.

Good list

 

[Screaming Meat]

Going full STR or STR/DEX is useless right now.

You say that but I'm a full DEX and killing PvPers very quickly with a two handed +10 Blacksteel. It takes about 3 hits or so, if memory serves me.

I think DEX scales poison damage, so when I get dual Manslayers and imbue them with poison, I think I'll be alright... especially if I can buff it with poison resin on top.

 

[LiK]

They are, atleast PvE wise. I mean, sure, you can beat the game going full melee( I did and Im at the end on NG+ on that character). But with my second character I went DEX/FTH and I was amazed at how easier it was. I mean, I didnt even had to move for the final boss, I just stand there at the fog door and threw some lightning spears and it was over.



Its not. For example, DEX scaling is useless damage wise. Quality builds are no more, because on a C/C scaling, DEX do nothing for upping your damage (tested, going from 40/40 to 50/20 did the exact same damage on a Claymore)
Also, you can ignore weapon scaling by infusing a weapon and level up Faith or Int as needed. That way you not only get the same damage (or more) than leveling up STR, you also get to use powerful sorceries or miracles.
Going full STR or STR/DEX is useless right now.

Well, I wouldn't say useless. A lot of Greatswords require some form of DEX just to wield them properly.

 

[Jackben]

Good farming spot tho.

Do the soldiers even drop anything worthwhile?

Also why are titanite shards so hard to fucking come by? Rock girl and the blacksmith have sold out of their offerings, I have slabs and chunks from crow trading and covenant stuff. This is a hilarious situation because in the first Dark Souls I would have access to infinite shards by now and be hard pressed to find chunks and ecstatic to have so many slabs. And yet here I am without small and large titanite shards...

 

[Ferr986]

Man, never even thought about that. Great, now it must be done.



lol guess I've dropped over 200 "useless" hours playing this game

Well, useless may be a big word. As I said, I used STR/DEX (later full STR) character for my first game , and I completed the game, and won lots of PvP (around 140 hours).

 

[LiK]

Do the soldiers even drop anything worthwhile?

Also why are titanite shards so hard to fucking come by? Rock girl and the blacksmith have sold out of their offerings, I have slabs and chunks from crow trading and covenant stuff. This is a hilarious situation because in the first Dark Souls I would have access to infinite shards by now and be hard pressed to find chunks and ecstatic to have so many slabs. And yet here I am without small and large titanite shards...

Just the usual stuff but equip a Soul increase item and just kill them until they despawn for a good amount of souls.

If you kill OIK, then you can buy infinite amounts from the ore girl.

 

[Leezard]

Do the soldiers even drop anything worthwhile?

Also why are titanite shards so hard to fucking come by? Rock girl and the blacksmith have sold out of their offerings, I have slabs and chunks from crow trading and covenant stuff. This is a hilarious situation because in the first Dark Souls I would have access to infinite shards by now and be hard pressed to find chunks and ecstatic to have so many slabs. And yet here I am without small and large titanite shards...

Beat Iron Keep. Rock girl then sells infinite small shards. There is a blacksmith in Lost Bastille that sells infinite large shards.

 

[ElFly]

What do you guys think is the coziest bonfire, not counting Majula?

Straid's

*twitches during flashback to exploding zombies*

The real answer is the first one in Shrine. Nice view, nice music, no exploding zombies.

 

[Kevin Shields]

I'm Level 92 and I just entered

Spoiler

Undead Crypt

Spoiler

. How close am I to the end and do most people have higher level by now? I got a +8 fire claymore and +6 Bastard as my main weapons.

 

[ElFly]

I'm Level 92 and I just entered

Spoiler

Undead Crypt

. How close am I to the end and do most people have higher level by now? I got a +8 fire claymore and +6 Bastard as my main weapons.

You have like a small handful of areas ahead and then a little sort of backtracking.

 

[E92 M3]

Man, never even thought about that. Great, now it must be done.

Do it - it's really nice. A comfy, relaxing nook.

Do the soldiers even drop anything worthwhile?

Also why are titanite shards so hard to fucking come by? Rock girl and the blacksmith have sold out of their offerings, I have slabs and chunks from crow trading and covenant stuff. This is a hilarious situation because in the first Dark Souls I would have access to infinite shards by now and be hard pressed to find chunks and ecstatic to have so many slabs. And yet here I am without small and large titanite shards...

After you beat the game, shards and chunks become infinitely sold. It's rather nice and smart on FROM's behalf.

 

[Jackben]

Thanks for the help guise. Suppose it's high time I storm the Iron Keep.

 

[Ferr986]

You say that but I'm a full DEX and killing PvPers very quickly with a two handed +10 Blacksteel. It takes about 3 hits or so, if memory serves me.

I think DEX scales poison damage, so when I get dual Manslayers and imbue them with poison, I think I'll be alright... especially if I can buff it with poison resin on top.

Yeah thats true, poison scales with DEX so thats a benefit for leveling up if you use Manslayers or any poison dealing weapon.

 

[ElFly]

Most of the drop problems go away if you wear something that increases the drop rate.

Seen many wise people with the merchant hat with the monocle during PvP.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Yeah thats true, poison scales with DEX so thats a benefit for leveling up if you use Manslayers or any poison dealing weapon.

Do you know if I can buff poison-imbued Manslayers with rotten pine resin?

 

[njean777]

ISnt there somebody to talk to under Freja? I am standing near the primal bonfire and do not want to warp if there is somebody to talk to here....

 

[demidar]

Do you know if I can buff poison-imbued Manslayers with rotten pine resin?

Get the Ratbro ring (then kill the Rat King because ratbros are scum), it'll give you a flat +50 to poison damage.

 

[140.85]

ISnt there somebody to talk to under Freja? I am standing near the primal bonfire and do not want to warp if there is somebody to talk to here....

Er, no. There's a dude in the study but his work hours have gotten the best of him.

 

[ExFalsoQuodlibet]

I've beaten the game SL34 no spell whatsoever (int 1, att 3 and fai 8).
Sure it's very viable but now that I'm increasing my stats, I barely see any damage increase despite using much more powerful weapons (Zweihander+10 (2H 20 str, 30 dex) VS Raw Halberd+10 (2H 10 str, 14 dex)). Something is wrong with the scaling system.
Now, when I see the damage input of imbued weapons that you can buff on top of that making a mage much stronger in melee than a pure warrior, not to mention that he has very powerful magic on top of that, I'm seeing a serious balancing issue there.

They don't make a mage much stronger, they make everyone stronger because, again, for the last time, scaling is made in a way that overleveling a single stat has low returns. Also, infusing doesn't always raise the actual damage output: a lot of enemies and bosses are resistant to various kinds of magic, while being affected much more by pure physical. Also, a "mage" will have problems in melee if it doesn't raise vitality, endurance and adaptability, that don't affect damage output, while a physical build can spend more points in these stats instead, again, of overleveling a single stat, that is strongly discouraged in DkS2 (it's also true for sorceries, miracles and hexes thanks to the spices).

Infusing weapons don't give A (roughly 3 point of attack rate per level) or S (roughly 4 points of attack rate per level) scaling in intelligence of faith to weapons that have lower scaling in strength or dexterity.

 

[ScottSullivan]

Don't forget about that Harvest Valley Bonfire. Who doesn't love walking out of safety and having to jump/walk through a pool of poison?

 

[Screaming Meat]

Get the Ratbro ring (then kill the Rat King because ratbros are scum), it'll give you a flat +50 to poison damage.

Where are the Ratbros?

 

[LiK]

ISnt there somebody to talk to under Freja? I am standing near the primal bonfire and do not want to warp if there is somebody to talk to here....

nope

Where are the Ratbros?

In the Pit

 

[njean777]

Er, no. There's a dude in the study but his work hours have gotten the best of him.

I thought there was some duke or something?

 

[ExFalsoQuodlibet]

Don't forget about that Harvest Valley Bonfire. Who doesn't love walking out of safety and having to jump/walk through a pool of poison?

Spoiler

It goes away if you burn the mill.