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[Alo81]

Unless the way to unlock the DLC requires a new character or possibly is unable to unlock at end-game because certain events/bosses killed had already occurred. I am just parking everything for now. Who knows how it unlocks, I just hope it's not as convoluted as AotA.

For those on PC who don't know, you can make a copy of your save file and then use it later, if you'd like to have a character who's prepared and at the end game for when the DLC comes out. Then, you could have that back up and continue playing into NG+ until we learn what the DLC requirements are.

Here's the folder location

C:\Users\*Username*\AppData\Roaming\DarkSoulsII\*a bunch of numbers*\DARKSII0000.sl2

Or some filename similar to that.

 

[Colorful Vocabulary]

I wonder how much content each episode of DLC will have. I doubt they'll be Artorias of the Abyss size.

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

I'm sorta burnt out on my caster guy (hexes/sorcery) and my heavy armor + faith guy.

What's another fun build I can try? Also is the Company of Champions stuff at all enjoyable?

 

[Alo81]

I'm sorta burnt out on my caster guy (hexes/sorcery) and my heavy armor + faith guy.

What's another fun build I can try? Also is the Company of Champions stuff at all enjoyable?

Go for a no shield dex build.

Rolling around and being speedy is fun. I was a 2 hand heavy for my first time through the game and having this speed is super refreshing. I imagine it would feel the same for a caster to be able to just roll around and slice dudes up.

Also look how dope those swords are!

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Hey so I just pumped my faith up to 40 but I'm still 2 away from being able to use Great Lighting Spear. Is this a good candidate for a skeptic's spice? I can see that 40 is a break point in that up until now I've gotten like 3 or 4 added to my lightning bonus and defense for each level of faith, but now it's dropped to just 1 per level of faith.

 

[Soulhouf]

Redid stats so I could use Sunlight Blade and started hitting an Old Knight again.
30 Str 32 Dex 40 Faith

Sunlight Blade Lightning Claymore +10: 415 damage
Gold Pine Resin Claymore +10: 408 damage

I really have no idea how to optimize this melee character.

To optimize this character I would increase str to 40, put the minimum dex to use your weapons and completely remove faith to put these points to better use them on HP, agility and stamina.
Split damage is always penalized because it goes through 2 defenses.

 

[squidyj]

So...... I just learned about Helix Halberd.... this thing is ridiculous. I feel like I'm cheating.

 

[Echoplx]

I see power stanced helix halberds are now very popular in PVP, didn't take long for people to recover from that nerf patch.

 

[Timmy00]

I love the ridiculous things you can do with a large/great club and great axe combo. I feel sorta bad when I land the roll attack with the great axe and then proceed to do the r1/l1 combo on someone.

 

[maomaoIYP]

I see power stanced helix halberds are now very popular in PVP, didn't take long for people to recover from that nerf patch.

What's this about the helix halberds? I've haven't seen them, but I haven't played much since the latest patch.
Not really surprising that the community moved onto the next best thing so quickly.

Spoiler

I'm surprised infinite stunlock builds haven't been patched out.

 

[bj00rn_]

Did you play on steam offline for a while? Steam gets screwy when offline sometimes.

Yes I actually do sometimes, I sometimes play SP sessions and don't want to be bothered, so I put Steam in offline mode before starting. So that might be it then.

Anyway I'm playing a little bit online too, but I don't really know what's going on in every respect. For an instance I killed an invader yesterday when being a shade and got something like 150,000 souls for it. I don't get it, how is that even possible? Did I get the souls that he was carrying at that moment or something?

 

[Panzerkrei]

Finally managed to kill the Smelter Demon, the rest of the Iron Keep is a walk in the (lava) park compared to him

Spoiler

even the old Iron King

. I'm in the Gutter at the moment, it's like super Blightown, those statues are rage worthy.

 

[squidyj]

What's this about the helix halberds? I've haven't seen them, but I haven't played much since the latest patch.
Not really surprising that the community moved onto the next best thing so quickly.

Spoiler

I'm surprised infinite stunlock builds haven't been patched out.

power stance with helix halberd in right hand gives spear power stance moves. Put a helix in your right hand and then a reaper/halberd like scythe of want, black knight halberd, or mastadon halberd, to get epic damage pokes.



Edit: Hmmmm, debating whether to roll over into NG+ and play through or throw some ascetics into Aldia's to try to farm for a pair of Chaos Rapiers, why does it have to drop off of only one enemy in the whole game?

 

[Myomoto]

I'm in the Gutter at the moment, it's like super Blightown, those statues are rage worthy.

Don't worry, it gets worse from there. I was pretty much foaming at the mouth by the point I reached the boss.

I see power stanced helix halberds are now very popular in PVP, didn't take long for people to recover from that nerf patch.

The cheese never stops in DS2 pvp. I really hope they fix the hit box on the Washing Pole (and others) soon, that thing seems to be able to hit you at a distance almost twice its actual length.

 

[Soulhouf]

The cheese never stops in DS2 pvp. I really hope they fix the hit box on the Washing Pole (and others) soon, that thing seems to be able to hit you at a distance almost twice its actual length.

Learn to always dodge/roll even if your opponent is ten feet away when they attack.

 

[Minamu]

Hey so I just pumped my faith up to 40 but I'm still 2 away from being able to use Great Lighting Spear. Is this a good candidate for a skeptic's spice? I can see that 40 is a break point in that up until now I've gotten like 3 or 4 added to my lightning bonus and defense for each level of faith, but now it's dropped to just 1 per level of faith.

Yes see below for stats soft caps. GLS is awesome even though you don't get that many spell casts, I've got 9. Lightning is pretty much just as OP as ever.

Just decided I don't really need any of the boss soul weapons. I'll trade for one of them just in case, but I think I'm gonna go ahead and consume all the boss souls I've got so far.

I asked this before, but what's the breakoff point where it's advised you should stop investing in Endurance or Vitality? I'm talking in terms of upgrading stamina and equip load.

And although I've done with a DEX build so far (DEX is at 60 right now and I'm not going any higher), should I start investing in STR?

Edit: I should add I'm not gonna be messing around with armor that's too heavy. I'm still using the starting warrior set.

You can check the stats here http://darksouls2.wikidot.com/stats 60 Dex is crazy high (most stats have soft caps at 40).

 

[Mistel]

I just got an Uchigatana. My stats are str -26, Int - 26, Dex-20.
Which path should i choose and what effect should i add to uchi?
I ain't putting any points into faith.

Are you going dex or strength?

 

[Myomoto]

Learn to always dodge/roll even if your opponent is ten feet away when they attack.

Even if I roll away from my opponent he can usually hit me at the end of the roll because of the insane range when poking with the Washing Pole. It's worth noting that I mainly use a bow so I'm usually trying to stay at very long range anyway. Honestly, I should probably roll less than I currently do.

 

[Myomoto]

Hey so I just pumped my faith up to 40 but I'm still 2 away from being able to use Great Lighting Spear. Is this a good candidate for a skeptic's spice? I can see that 40 is a break point in that up until now I've gotten like 3 or 4 added to my lightning bonus and defense for each level of faith, but now it's dropped to just 1 per level of faith.

If you want to stay at 40 faith then yes. You might consider bumping it up to the full 50 which is needed to use the Dragon Chime (from the Pilgrims of Dark Covenant) as it is the best chime for lighting miracles, and going to 50 also lets you spice down Sunlight Spear from the Heirs of the Sun covenant. With 50 faith and a lightning infused Dragon Chime I can hit for something like 1.3k dmg with Sunlight Spear when wearing the Sun Seal from the HotS covenant.

 

[PranooY]

Are you going dex or strength?

Will take both STR, INT and DEX to 40....
I'm generally into light weighted things.. Voz I like to roll.

 

[Mogwai]

Finally managed to kill the Smelter Demon, the rest of the Iron Keep is a walk in the (lava) park compared to him

Spoiler

even the old Iron King

. I'm in the Gutter at the moment, it's like super Blightown, those statues are rage worthy.

All this talk about Smelter Demon being hard is a mystery to me. He do have some proper smashes and the fire damage aura is annoying. But dodging him is so easy. Just be patient and chip away?

 

[Vasilisk 2038]

I've begun to play the game (PC version) and I'm enjoying it a lot. Its good to be back in the Souls series . Anyway, I've managed to stay away from any kind of information or spoilers about the game in terms of gameplay and story, but I followed the more or less all the news about the "downgrade" and the changes in illumination and how the torches were made not so necessary in the final version. I've been searching a few mods, and my question is: what mod / injector / graphical preset do you recommend me to make the game more dark and make the torches absolutely vital?

PD I know the Nexus page by the way and I've already been browsing the most popular mods like this. My PC shouldn't have any performance problems, and I have experience in modding

 

[ExFalsoQuodlibet]

Dark Souls 2 glitch% in 17:51.67 real time by Bananasaurus_Rex: http://www.twitch.tv/bananasaurus_rex/c/4402352

Is this a new world record?

 

[Oreoleo]

If you want torches to have actual utility, you don't need mods. Just turn the in-game brightness down a few notches.

 

[Original Famous Ray]

So I went to this Undead Purgatory joint and this chariot son of a gun ran me over. lol It looked pretty scary and awesome as it came toward me though. I never went back to it though since there is a bit of distance from the closest bonfire to it.

Now I'm at some poisonous Harvest Valley place. I'm sure I'll get poisoned to death or something here. One day I'll beat this game. I'm still rocking a damn Homunculus Mace and short bow too.

 

[Mogwai]

So I went to this Undead Purgatory joint and this chariot son of a gun ran me over. lol It looked pretty scary and awesome as it came toward me though. I never went back to it though since there is a bit of distance from the closest bonfire to it.

Now I'm at some poisonous Harvest Valley place. I'm sure I'll get poisoned to death or something here. One day I'll beat this game. I'm still rocking a damn Homunculus Mace and short bow too.

You can sprint to the fog gate from the Bridge Approach bonfire. It's a bit sketchy as those four pillar fuckers and the black phantom dude oftentimes stab you before you can get through the gate. Even more so on NG+

My philosophy on this boss is that you need to kill it and use an ascetic on the bonfire to get the area to NG+. Then kill it again to get Chloranthy Ring +2. Great ring, and the only thing that makes it worth it.

 

[Mistel]

Will take both STR, INT and DEX to 40....
I'm generally into light weighted things.. Voz I like to roll.

You do know how bad dex scaling is right?

 

[PranooY]

You do know how bad dex scaling is right?

So which path should I take with my uchigatana?
I'm thinking abt magic..
Since I'll be putting points into my Int.

So u are saying its a waste to put points into dexterity?

 

[ambientmystic]

Guys, guys, guys, don't abuse GLS (and or other lightning spells) in a whole playthrough lol, it dumbs down your senses and combat ability over time from one shotting fools in the earlier NGs.

I learnt my lesson the hard way when I had to change back to a melee playstyle in another NG cycle. Not doing that again, it really fucked up my perception of the combat mechanics lol.

NG+++ playthrough is going rather smoothly.

 

[Soulhouf]

So which path should I take with my uchigatana?
I'm thinking abt magic..
Since I'll be putting points into my Int.

So u are saying its a waste to put points into dexterity?

I don't recommend you scatter your stats. Try a specific build and if you don't like it, you can respec.
For Ushigatana, either you go Dex (not recommended with the shitty scaling) or put just the required dex, imbue it with an element and apply a buff with the same element (magic/lightning/fire/dark).

 

[PranooY]

I don't recommend you scatter your stats. Try a specific build and if you don't like it, you can respec.
For Ushigatana, either you go Dex (not recommended with the shitty scaling) or put just the required dex, imbue it with an element and apply a buff with the same element (magic/lightning/fire/dark).

Ok, I already have 20 Dex. So i'll stop putting points into Dex and imbue it with magic, since I'll be putting a lot into Intelligence.

 

[NaturalHigh]

You do know how bad dex scaling is right?

Its nice to have dex if he wants to power stance katanas or something.

So much dex hate

 

[KillerDark]

Finally managed to kill the Smelter Demon, the rest of the Iron Keep is a walk in the (lava) park compared to him

Spoiler

even the old Iron King

. I'm in the Gutter at the moment, it's like super Blightown, those statues are rage worthy.

You'll just love the next area then!

 

[Mistel]

Ok, I already have 20 Dex. So i'll stop putting points into Dex and imbue it with magic, since I'll be putting a lot into Intelligence.

I'd stop at 25 then you can use blacksteel katanas which keep their S dex scaling once infused.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Dex scaling does suck compared to other games but I'm a traditional, so I still have a standard dex build She has 40 dex and powerstances a Chaos Blade and a blacksteel katana (neither are infused), which does pretty decent damage in NG+. Sometimes I'll trade them for 2 poison Manslayers, which are also pretty decent. Plus good damage on the Hunter's blackbow.

Don't give up on dex! For tradition's sake

 

[PranooY]

Finally managed to kill the Smelter Demon, the rest of the Iron Keep is a walk in the (lava) park compared to him

Spoiler

even the old Iron King

. I'm in the Gutter at the moment, it's like super Blightown, those statues are rage worthy.

Any tips? I'm having an awful time with him, especially since I don't have fire resistent gear.

 

[KillerDark]

Any tips? I'm having an awful time with him, especially since I don't have fire resistent gear.

Tips for which fight? Smelter or the next boss

 

[PranooY]

Tips for which fight? Smelter or the next boss

Smelter.

Edit: Does the 2 flame quartz ring stack?

 

[KillerDark]

Smelter.

Its a tough fight, I definitely would recommend summoning help (if you aren't opposed to it). Lucatiel (the NPC summon. Thanks Levyne I forgot to mention her) can tank him for quite awhile. One of the most important things to dodge is his explosion after he does his jumping attack (he jumps straight up and tries to land on you with his sword, like Link). If you get hit by that you going to hurt badly or be killed... he doesn't always do the explosion afterwards but I never noticed a tell so I always assumed he would. You usually can get an attack or two in after his explosion. Don't be afraid to pop a lifegem to deal with the fire damage you'll be taking (roughly halfway to 2/3 through the fight he makes his flames more intense so you take more damage simply for being near him). Other than that I don't really have any specific advice besides I hope that you are agile so you can dodge attacks haha.

 

[Levyne]

The NPC summon really helps on that fight if you are having trouble.

 

[Sullichin]

Dex scaling does suck compared to other games but I'm a traditional, so I still have a standard dex build She has 40 dex and powerstances a Chaos Blade and a blacksteel katana (neither are infused), which does pretty decent damage in NG+. Sometimes I'll trade them for 2 poison Manslayers, which are also pretty decent. Plus good damage on the Hunter's blackbow.

Don't give up on dex! For tradition's sake

I just respecced to use murakumo and curved dragon greatsword. They're really good but dex scaling just sucks. I get like 60 extra damage with A scaling/30DEX, and a couple of those points are bonuses from E STR scaling.

 

[Mistel]

I just respecced to use murakumo and curved dragon greatsword. They're really good but dex scaling just sucks. I get like 60 extra damage with A scaling/30DEX, and a couple of those points are bonuses from E STR scaling.

Why not use an arced sword instead of a murakumo to get some strength scaling?

 

[Screaming Meat]

Dex scaling does suck compared to other games but I'm a traditional, so I still have a standard dex build She has 40 dex and powerstances a Chaos Blade and a blacksteel katana (neither are infused), which does pretty decent damage in NG+. Sometimes I'll trade them for 2 poison Manslayers, which are also pretty decent. Plus good damage on the Hunter's blackbow.

Don't give up on dex! For tradition's sake

I pushed my build to 50 DEX.

 

[Sullichin]

Why not use an arced sword instead of a murakumo to get some strength scaling?

I could try that out. I didn't even know about the Memory

Spoiler

in Freja's room

until yesterday, somehow, so I just started using the Curved Dragon GS. Aldia's keep foregarden bonfire is like +12 now from maxing that out.

On that note I really need ascetics. Only way to farm them is in the chasm of the abyss, right?

 

[PranooY]

Its a tough fight, I definitely would recommend summoning help (if you aren't opposed to it). Lucatiel (the NPC summon. Thanks Levyne I forgot to mention her) can tank him for quite awhile. One of the most important things to dodge is his explosion after he does his jumping attack (he jumps straight up and tries to land on you with his sword, like Link). If you get hit by that you going to hurt badly or be killed... he doesn't always do the explosion afterwards but I never noticed a tell so I always assumed he would. You usually can get an attack or two in after his explosion. Don't be afraid to pop a lifegem to deal with the fire damage you'll be taking (roughly halfway to 2/3 through the fight he makes his flames more intense so you take more damage simply for being near him). Other than that I don't really have any specific advice besides I hope that you are agile so you can dodge attacks haha.

Finally managed to beat Smelter using flash sweat, small orange burr, flame quartz ring (80%) and by summoning Lucatiel.

Edit: Is chloranthy ring kinda useless this time around. I don't notice any difference.

 

[MMBosstones86]

Any tips? I'm having an awful time with him, especially since I don't have fire resistent gear.

try and stay behind him. Summon the NPC or another bro if you need help. His hitboxes are shit, so try and roll early.

 

[Soulhouf]

Edit: Is chloranthy ring kinda useless this time around. I don't notice any difference.

You need the +2 version. Vanilla is pretty useless and +1 has barely a noticeable increase to stamina regen.

 

[Mistel]

I could try that out. I didn't even know about the Memory

Spoiler

in Freja's room

until yesterday, somehow, so I just started using the Curved Dragon GS. Aldia's keep foregarden bonfire is like +12 now from maxing that out.

On that note I really need ascetics. Only way to farm them is in the chasm of the abyss, right?

The chasm are the only way I know of. But the beauty of the arced sword is that it has the same moveset as the murakumo with C/B scaling allowing you to get a boost from strength scaling.

 

[SoldnerKei]

I didn't even know about the Memory

Spoiler

in Freja's room

until yesterday

it's that the reason people say that you should go back after killing the boss? gotta remember to do that, also I missed

Spoiler

pate and the other guy

fight, hopefully they're still there lol

 

[Mistel]

it's that the reason people say that you should go back after killing the boss? gotta remember to do that, also I missed

Spoiler

pate and the other guy

fight, hopefully they're still there lol

If they are then it will be Creighton still alive most likely as the victor.