Violentine
Banned
if your str is high, why not just use physical zwei and buff when you need to? there are enemies resistent to fire damage, but no enemy is resistent to physical.
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Dark Souls II |OT++| Bearer of...Seek...Seek...Lest
- Thread starter Vazra
- Start date
if your str is high, why not just use physical zwei and buff when you need to? there are enemies resistent to fire damage, but no enemy is resistent to physical.
That was a really strong moment for me. I had been banging my head against the Velstadt fight for a while and finally beat it. After coming through, I just see
this giant, decrepit creature mindlessly walking around. Got close prepared to roll and he didn't even seem to acknowledge me. Then I turned around and saw the ermald herald. The music that comes on, the room, the atmosphere, the tone, then seeing his armor on the ground as he walks around nearly nude.
The whole game I was expecting to meet the King. Then the Queen clears up that she wants me to get rid of the queen. Then I finally encounter the King, expecting a big powerful brute, and instead see a pathetic husk of a once proud man.
Seeing the queen was the most striking moment for me, but seeing Vendrick was near the top as well.
The whole game I was expecting to meet the King. Then the Queen clears up that she wants me to get rid of the queen. Then I finally encounter the King, expecting a big powerful brute, and instead see a pathetic husk of a once proud man.
Seeing the queen was the most striking moment for me, but seeing Vendrick was near the top as well.
Because I have no idea what I'm doing. haha
Spring-Loaded
Member
And then it turns out
he deals ridiculous amounts of damage and can take even more if you attack him enough
I agree that that was a pretty good moment though, even though it didn't hit me quite that hard. One of my favorite things about this series is how
heroes/strong characters unceremoniously become villains/weak/die.
Cannon Goose
Member
Absolutely, get two straight swords or a straight sword in your right hand and a falchion in your left for parries. Powerstance and then mash R1 L1 R1 L1... Over and over until your opponent is dead.
http://youtu.be/zJiv5_Q7DAk
You can get excellent damage out of it.
Edit: whoops, i thought you wrote pvp. I still think it's an effective use of powerstance.
LurkerPrime
Member
As a Ratrbro, I am going help redeem my soul by spreading our secrets: in the Tomb of Pharros, expect an attack from above right after you enter. It is the prime spot to strike you down, while you're distracted and confused. With the cat ring, they will take minimal damage as they drop down beside you and jump attack you from behind. If you're not moving (or even moving slowly in some cases) this attack will hit you. If they're using a powerful weapon, this will be half of the battle over in a flash. Ratbros that are catbros end things quickly or not at all - the entrance area will make or break their success.
The next best location, to take down a Ratbro's prey is the ladder in the second part of the level. From here they have many options to attack or evade you in an advantageous position. If you're lightly armoured, the ladder will be very difficult to climb because I would expect most Ratbros attacking here to have a good ranged attack. They will be able to snipe you from above, so you will have few options if you want to progress. The best solution is to bait the Ratbro down to ground level and then hoof it upstairs. Ratbros that are ladderbros are going to be boring to fight, because they rely on a battle of attrition.
If you can survive both of these prime ambush points, you will almost certainly win against the Ratbro in one-on-one combat. Ratbros are, by their nature, weak and cowardly. They exist to ambush and end the fight as quickly as possible, because every second that passes evens out the battlefield a little more.
The key to victory is adaptability - if you rely solely on one attack you will make it more difficult to win. This is not one of the Belfries and being an efficient killer is not necessary. Ranged attacks, a shield, and a melee weapon are all recommended to fight against the Ratbros and their schemes, to survive against their attacks, and to endure their cowardice.
Adapt to survive and thrive, or let the rats win - which no one truly wants.
The only way to truly beat the Ratbros is to fight them... do not join the covenant to skip their domain, use this as a chance to beat them back. Anything less than absolute victory against the Ratbros is giving the Rat covenant what it wants - absolute domination.
I found dual-wielded curved swords to be rather useless, but I never invested in upgrading my offhand so that was probably my downfall. As a lightweight DEX build the off-hand powerstanced attacks took too long to use. In retrospect, if those attacks were stronger then I might've been able to stagger enemies more reliably, allowing for bigger combos. So, at least for me, it was better not to dual-wield...
The next best location, to take down a Ratbro's prey is the ladder in the second part of the level. From here they have many options to attack or evade you in an advantageous position. If you're lightly armoured, the ladder will be very difficult to climb because I would expect most Ratbros attacking here to have a good ranged attack. They will be able to snipe you from above, so you will have few options if you want to progress. The best solution is to bait the Ratbro down to ground level and then hoof it upstairs. Ratbros that are ladderbros are going to be boring to fight, because they rely on a battle of attrition.
If you can survive both of these prime ambush points, you will almost certainly win against the Ratbro in one-on-one combat. Ratbros are, by their nature, weak and cowardly. They exist to ambush and end the fight as quickly as possible, because every second that passes evens out the battlefield a little more.
The key to victory is adaptability - if you rely solely on one attack you will make it more difficult to win. This is not one of the Belfries and being an efficient killer is not necessary. Ranged attacks, a shield, and a melee weapon are all recommended to fight against the Ratbros and their schemes, to survive against their attacks, and to endure their cowardice.
Adapt to survive and thrive, or let the rats win - which no one truly wants.
The only way to truly beat the Ratbros is to fight them... do not join the covenant to skip their domain, use this as a chance to beat them back. Anything less than absolute victory against the Ratbros is giving the Rat covenant what it wants - absolute domination.
I found dual-wielded curved swords to be rather useless, but I never invested in upgrading my offhand so that was probably my downfall. As a lightweight DEX build the off-hand powerstanced attacks took too long to use. In retrospect, if those attacks were stronger then I might've been able to stagger enemies more reliably, allowing for bigger combos. So, at least for me, it was better not to dual-wield...
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Ughh so much Twinkling need!
Where else can I farm?
No more clerics left in Amana and I need a bunch more.
Where else can I farm?
No more clerics left in Amana and I need a bunch more.
Are you in NG+? The ring and orb work best there, where there are players who farm redbros.
That moment was amazing for me. It's one of those rare times where I feel like myself as a player and my character in game are together as one identity. I was so shocked at what I saw that I whipped back around and saw
the emerald warden standing there and felt like a dunce as both player and character at once
Garcia
Member
Has anyone posted this yet? lol
I just met one of these earlier today and, lo' and behold, he was a hacker! LOL.
I keep meeting hackers @ max tier. God bless my dozen of Rings of Life/Soul protection. :3
door near the forgotten key giants, underground near kings Gate bonfire in drang castle, small trap in shaded woods near ornifex
Lightning Spear looks sogood.gif with it. Damn. Even summon signs are stunning.
Yep. It's a bummer the GeDoSaTo implementation of DoF has an undesirable effect on the edges of trees and even swords on my system, as I really love it for screenshotting. But alas, I use the normal in-game DoF instead.
The new post.fx (durante.fx) is great too. Wonderful warm hue through the colours, but not overly soft. f.Lux for Dark Souls 2, almost.
Garcia
Member
Those moments are great. I remember feeling that way during NG+ when I found out about the optional dungeons that become available once you join the
Pilgrims of Dark
Sure...
the three locations are:
1,) Shaded woods down a hole just before climbing a hill to the Najka Boss.
2.) Black Gulch - must fall off the ledge close to where the long snaky things protrude.
3.) Drangleic Castle - thrid door on the left when fighting the sentinels in Drangelieic Castle...another hole in the floor there to go down.
2.) Black Gulch - must fall off the ledge close to where the long snaky things protrude.
3.) Drangleic Castle - thrid door on the left when fighting the sentinels in Drangelieic Castle...another hole in the floor there to go down.
....and a damn exciting winning boss fight video!
Haha, I didn't even figure that out myself, it's almost impossible to see the ledge in the gutter.
Also, that place doesn't really make it comfortable for a player to hang around looking for secrets!
and i just went ahead and
heide and forest of giants done in ng+, enjoying it so far. was pretty cool finally defeating
i find it a bit overdone but i'll probably keep it since it's been smooth after tweaking with the ini a bit. i don't like how dark the game gets tho, one thing is having like tomb of giants being dark and another thing is having random tunnels be almost pitch black wall textures, i don't like that too much.
but yea sometimes it looks amazing and it looks awesome whenever i cast sunlight blade.
bought 15 shields off maughlin so he'd turn insane right off the bat lol
heide and forest of giants done in ng+, enjoying it so far. was pretty cool finally defeating
pursuer on the first roof
i find it a bit overdone but i'll probably keep it since it's been smooth after tweaking with the ini a bit. i don't like how dark the game gets tho, one thing is having like tomb of giants being dark and another thing is having random tunnels be almost pitch black wall textures, i don't like that too much.
but yea sometimes it looks amazing and it looks awesome whenever i cast sunlight blade.
Region lock your connections so that they aren't too terrible.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
No tips for twinkling titanite?
Also faintstones from leydia pyros are proving to be a real pain!!
Also faintstones from leydia pyros are proving to be a real pain!!
Farm Amana, Bonfire Ascetic Dragon Aerie
Is that the "Cross-region play" option in-game? I have it on the default "restricted" setting. Some matches are truly awful though. Like, so bad that they make BF4's netcode look good hehe
edit: haha oh god, just got soul speared through an entire building. I give up for tonight.
edit again: Ok, I lied and went back in for one more. My opponent was a Dark Fog spammer who didn't know what to do when it turned out that I had Poison Moss slotted. That just made my day
ya if you are restricted then you should get the best peer to peer dark souls 2 has to offer. Although sometimes you get really laggy matches if you are playing against someone that is technically in your region, but still 1000's of miles away from you. For example, I region lock in NA, and I fight Brazilians, fun times.
Garcia
Member
Agreed. The last thing you want to do is explore the place when there are like seven hundred trillion statues spitting green stuff at you with scary accuracy.
Orthogonal
Member
Tearing through my NG+ playthrough and having a lot of fun. It's amazing how fast the game goes when you aren't tepidly looking around every corner even though ng+ throws a few black phantoms in for a little extra something.
Looking Glass Knight was a blast getting a real summon. I had summoned a Sunbro since I knew it was going to happen, but only 1. I don't have the fortitude to do it on my own, but it was still fun in that 2v2 scenario. It was back and forth and really close but the red phantom must have not seen me flank him for the kill just as the LGK was doing a drop attack on me which I barely survived. I plan on doing a bunch of coop there, maybe an invasion or two, tons of fun.
Looking Glass Knight was a blast getting a real summon. I had summoned a Sunbro since I knew it was going to happen, but only 1. I don't have the fortitude to do it on my own, but it was still fun in that 2v2 scenario. It was back and forth and really close but the red phantom must have not seen me flank him for the kill just as the LGK was doing a drop attack on me which I barely survived. I plan on doing a bunch of coop there, maybe an invasion or two, tons of fun.
Haven't come across any areas that were too dark yet, much less pitch black textures. It's something I was quite mindful of while looking at the settings and the various (awful) ENB settings I've seen elsewhere.
Orthogonal
Member
Drangleic is a decent enough shield to carry you through ng if you really want. Better shields with more stability are out there but very heavy. I like the Gyrm Greatshield myself.
Armor, just use what looks nice and upgrade it.
Had some intense fights last night at the dragon aerie:
1) Invaded a dude equipping the smelter sword. He quickly drops down onto the tiny ledge of no return above the bonfire. I try to hit him with WoG from above but he rolls through both casts. Affinity refuses to launch at him from above. I stand right at the edge above to do an R2 with the MLGS, which lets me shoot a blast down as I fall onto the ledge. He lands a backstab on me, bringing me just below 50%. I swap to my dagger and swipe away hoping to push him off the edge. I almost make it, but run out of stamina. He's now roll spamming. By a stroke of luck he lands another backstab. I thought "fuck, I'm dead", but the blue tearstone ring leaves me with about 5% health left. He tries blow me away with an R2 blast. I roll past it and land a backstab with my dagger. I clean him out.
2) Invaded a dude who was wearing his farming gear. He quickly uses a seed of the giants, and the first dragon targets me. I run downstairs, and immediately cast GMB, but he casts WoG and nearly cleans me out. I run back up, braving the dragon to heal up with great heal while dodging fireballs from it. When I go back down to face him he's still wearing his farming gear. After trading a few blows I'm at 50%. I land a backstab with my grand lance and he's almost dead. He makes a run for the top and I follow, we weave through the dragon's legs, and he reaches the rope bridge completely unmolested. I know if I reach the bridge I have a clean shot with my avelyn and he's sure to die from it. As I roll onto the bridge, the dragon who was targeting him lands a fireball onto me from the back. I die.
1) Invaded a dude equipping the smelter sword. He quickly drops down onto the tiny ledge of no return above the bonfire. I try to hit him with WoG from above but he rolls through both casts. Affinity refuses to launch at him from above. I stand right at the edge above to do an R2 with the MLGS, which lets me shoot a blast down as I fall onto the ledge. He lands a backstab on me, bringing me just below 50%. I swap to my dagger and swipe away hoping to push him off the edge. I almost make it, but run out of stamina. He's now roll spamming. By a stroke of luck he lands another backstab. I thought "fuck, I'm dead", but the blue tearstone ring leaves me with about 5% health left. He tries blow me away with an R2 blast. I roll past it and land a backstab with my dagger. I clean him out.
2) Invaded a dude who was wearing his farming gear. He quickly uses a seed of the giants, and the first dragon targets me. I run downstairs, and immediately cast GMB, but he casts WoG and nearly cleans me out. I run back up, braving the dragon to heal up with great heal while dodging fireballs from it. When I go back down to face him he's still wearing his farming gear. After trading a few blows I'm at 50%. I land a backstab with my grand lance and he's almost dead. He makes a run for the top and I follow, we weave through the dragon's legs, and he reaches the rope bridge completely unmolested. I know if I reach the bridge I have a clean shot with my avelyn and he's sure to die from it. As I roll onto the bridge, the dragon who was targeting him lands a fireball onto me from the back. I die.
Just got through Brightstone Cove Tseldora, and I have a bunch of doubts:
- I got the Tseldora key, and opened the door at the entrance of the spider's nest. Is there any other door in the area? I broke the door blocked by sand but the other door in there doesn't open.
- I was pretty impressed by the
hanging on the boss room, I noticed it well after defeating the damn spider!. What's the purpose of the rock on there?petrified dragon
- I remember some locked doors just before the Lost Sinner fight, which key opens them?
Stumbled upon this;
Playing Dark Souls 2, Final Fantasy Style. (cracked me up, haha)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAS8rAUdWkE
Playing Dark Souls 2, Final Fantasy Style. (cracked me up, haha)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAS8rAUdWkE
Cannon Goose
Member
So my first invasion on my new character went super smoothly:
http://a.pomf.se/xplguu.webm
Phantom range at it's finest, folks!
http://a.pomf.se/xplguu.webm
Phantom range at it's finest, folks!
Red Liquorice
Member
1.
The other door in Tseldora relates to the Pate/Creighton sidequest. If you haven't met them in Tseldora yet, you need to further their individual questlines elswhere to move them along to here.
Keep the Petrified dragon in mind for later, you'll want to come back here
Bastille Key, you get it in the area after
the Gargoyles fight
Thanks! I still have to go to the Harvest Valley, as I didn't want to step on poisoning areas. That's why I didn't meet them in Tseldora, good to know!
Why are you letting them heal?
Dragon1893
Member
So to get the sword from the dwarf do I kill him or is there a nicer way?
Nevermind, found the answer.
Nevermind, found the answer.
Maybe he just had a ton of them and can change equipment really fast.
You never know!
e: is 1.3M SM too high for Shrine of Amana? I fucking hate this place and I just want some people to help me, but I'm not seeing any signs
If anything, 1.3M SM for Amana is lower than the average. A lot of people dislike the area though, so that might be a reason there aren't many signs there.
I came here to post this. Finally hit Shrine of Amana last night and I haven't been so frustrated since the Royal Rat Authority.
Are there any hints or help for this area other than "equip a magic resistant shield" and "roll like an acrobat having a seizure"?
Get a bow or great bow.
LurkerPrime
Member
Ranged attacks help a lot, especially if you have poison arrows. Note that the spellcasters will not ever chase you, and that the melee fellows will chase you, so you'll have to kill both of them before proceeding to the next bonfire. From an extreme range, you'll be able to fight the spellcasters one-on-one and should be able to easily dodge their attacks.
The most difficult part using this strategy is the final section of the second area, where there's two melee guys and a spellcaster clumped together. The melee duo will aggro the instant you attack them and it can be difficult to hit them at range, so you need a tactic to take them down two-on-one. Keep in mind that they will outrun you in the shallow water, so it's advised to aggro them in an area that's out of the water.
There are two easy to miss items: one to the right of where the melee duo and spellcaster are, coiled along the mountainside, and another beyond the first cyclops in a treacherous, snaking path. Note that the latter also has a chest that can be hard to see in the water. (And now that I think of it, there's a third easy to miss item that I forgot about in my most recent playthrough - past some hanging vines on the left just before you face the melee duo/spellcaster there is a second cyclops hidden there along with an item.)
There is also an easy to miss path to the right just before the boss - it will be easy to mistake as deep water unless you have a torch, and if you follow this path to the very end you will find the glorious Manslayer.
Lastly, there are two things to keep in mind while progressing through the Shrine: water lurkers are hidden in many places, and the deep water can be in in unexpected spots.
A torch or a light spell helps a lot to see where the land disappears.
It was at this point last night, having finally managed to work my way out of the building with the NPC Summon, that I decided the game had gone from challenging to unfair
PS
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I love it here