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[Spring-Loaded]

Speaking of the

Spoiler

Licia

fight once you used the crushed eye orb thing to fight them:

what did they do exactly to warrant being invaded? I noticed they had

Spoiler

the "idol's chime" which made me think of the false idol from Demon's Souls

 

[NBtoaster]

Speaking of the

Spoiler

Licia

fight once you used the crushed eye orb thing to fight them:

what did they do exactly to warrant being invaded? I noticed they had

Spoiler

the "idol's chime" which made me think of the false idol from Demon's Souls

Take a close look at the NPC invader in Drangleic Castle and Undead Crypt.

 

[Mistel]

What did they do exactly to warrant being invaded?

They might be the nameless usurper.

 

[Soulhouf]

Agreed +10 Estoc and +10Great Club 40 STR and Ring of Blades +2, consistent damage to everyone I invade. Gold Pine resin is excellent on Great Club versus heavy armor builds, pure physical strike + lightning damage does a ton of damage to even the tankiest of builds.

I laugh when I see GMB cast by other players.

Oh an Estoc user fellow. I'm using it as secondary weapon (Zweihander is my main) to finish the job when my opponent gets low on health.
Yea I was angry in the beginning because I thought the developers neglected pure physical weapons in this game but that's not true. They shine against heavy defense making them the best path to punish Havel Monsters.

Sweet Gwyn...NG+ is full of invasions...insane. I was invaded like 3 times in NG and did a very lenghty playthrough...and now just in the forest of giants I was constantly being invaded.
Any reason for this?
IIRC in Dark Souls 1 invasions were much more common in NG

Because you can buy cracked eye orbs only in NG+ onward. From limited access to these items in NG to not frighten casul and new players (lol).

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Take a close look at the NPC invader in Drangleic Castle and Undead Crypt.

They might be the nameless usurper.

Ag, thanks.

This game's lore is too stronk

 

[Oracle Dragon]

Maaaann that Shrine of Winter Skip is so touchy! It took me hours (disclaimer: high probability I just stink at doing it) to finally manage it. Bag on glitch speed runs all you want, but those guys make that (and other skips) look easy... definitely not

What a great game... 130 hours, still have to do a hex run and maybe a casteus run.

 

[Cannon Goose]

I just invaded a guy who had full Iron Clad armour (no backstabs) and what must have been 99 Elizabeth Mushrooms... Every five seconds he'd chomp on a mushroom even at full health, so he was impossible to kill. He must have had used cheat engine to get 99 of every item because I don't think you can buy those mushrooms infinitely.

 

[Mistel]

I don't think you can buy those mushrooms infinitely.

Dragon acolyte drops in Aldia's keep so they probably farmed them.

 

[Sullichin]

Dragon acolyte drops in Aldia's keep so they probably farmed them.

No ones gonna farm something with that low of a drop rate and pop them constantly in PVP. Sounds like a cheater.

 

[RedSwirl]

Speaking of the

Spoiler

Licia

fight once you used the crushed eye orb thing to fight them:

what did they do exactly to warrant being invaded? I noticed they had

Spoiler

the "idol's chime" which made me think of the false idol from Demon's Souls

I just got suspicious upon exhausting their dialogue and reading messages.

 

[Mistel]

No ones gonna farm something with that low of a drop rate and pop them constantly in PVP. Sounds like a cheater.

They could of got them farming them for petrified dragon bones. Why farm it if you aren't going to use them?

 

[Orochinagis]

They could of got them farming them for petrified dragon bones. Why farm it if you aren't going to use them?

or Giant seeds

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Yep. I did some tests the other day with a friend and the general conclusion was the split damage weapons are the ones that are penalized the most against high defense.
Pure physical weapons rule.

Maybe, but Santier still sucks since the patch. Doing 400 damage ripostes and 315 damage backstabs really hurt, and I spammed two full combos on an invader who still had plenty of HP left. My mundane build is possibly obsolete now... before the patch my friend and I were wrecking shit up in PvE but now, not so much, and in PvP it went from solid (low HP but good DPS) to just plain bad.

 

[ambientmystic]

Drake keeper shield is a superior drangelic shield. It's like a mini greatsheild really.

Drakekeeper and old knight are two standard sheilds on the normal upgrade path that are alright. I prefer drakekeeper though.

Yep, Drakekeeper Shield when fully upgraded is imho the best in class shield you can get. Took me quite long to get it though, even with item boosting equipment, I had to clear Dragon Shrine to extinction to get one to drop in NG.

100% Phys resist and close to 75% resist for all other elements (+bonuses, except for Dark damage) plus 62 stability at +10 for only 6.0 weight and using the cheap Titanite upgrade path (as compared to Twinkling with Drangliec) makes it an obvious choice for those on a strict weight limit. It's one of the few shields next to the Red Rust Shield and a few others that can deal with Bleed effectively, which makes taking on the sea lurkers in Amana a much less terrifying prospect.

I've been using it ever since the end of NG, and 4 playthroughs later, it's still incredibly viable since enemy attacks still drain the same amount of stamina even with greatly increased damage.

 

[Krasnoya Ronin]

I tried praying at Amana Shrine, but that didn't restore my humanity. It says "alas, nothing happened". Why?

Does it restore humanity, only if we have no effigies?

Yeah, it's only if you don't have any effigies left. Apparently even if you have them stored in your Item Box at a bonfire, or even if you drop them on the ground, it still won't work (at least it didn't for me). You have to legit be out of them.

 

[shiroryu]

Noob here, just bought Dark Souls II from the Xbox marketplace. *waves*

I have played Dark Souls 1 but was a melee build, this time I want to be a sorcerer.

To all you sorcerers on GAF, what advice would you give to a complete beginner when it comes to magic? What stats should I be focusing on early game? Etc.

First time through the game, you might want to go as a Faith build...mace plus Lightning Spear wrecks shit. Undoubtedly superior.

Magic is more challenging, there's a definite sense of spellpower being toned down from DS1 in some respects (though casting speed increases is a boon).

You can go for a spellsword build (enough STR/DEX to get a good 100% shield and a sword/mace whatever, which you find fairly early).

Or you could go pure caster. 7 STR to wield the Large Leather Shield (95% physical block), the rest in INT, ATN and FTH (for hexes - highly recommended). High INT, with regular upgrades to your staff enables even your basic Soul Arrow to one-shot or two-shot the weaker enemies.

ATN is king - more spell slots so you never run out of ammo, increases agility that improves your rolls (vital because you won't be blocking forever) and your actions (estus flask, lifegem), and most importantly, Cast Speed. You can't have enough Cast Speed, because enemies in DS2 seem quicker to attack.

There's a very good Archmage guide by ITOverlord on the Reddit if you want to go pure caster with detailed instructions (spoiler-free except for boss names).

 

[AlexBasch]

So, after a few tries and nearly a having a heart attack near Cardinal Towers I just got rid of

Spoiler

The Pursuer

who wasn't too difficult, except when he blue-bladed me.

Then I decided to try my new DEX points with the halberd in Heide's Tower of Flame which I barely explored.

Then it fucking happened.

Spoiler

FUCKING ORNSTEIN made me go 'NO FUCKING WAY' out loud.

So now I'm a BlueBro or whatever name people call Covenant of the Blue guys. By the way, vitality determines equip load? Fuck. ):

 

[RedSwirl]

Dude. Fuck Dragon Shrine.

I am running through this repeatedly for the express purpose of driving those mace dudes to extinction. Do those guys have infinite stamina or some shit?

 

[Booshka]

Dude. Fuck Dragon Shrine.

I am running through this repeatedly for the express purpose of driving those mace dudes to extinction. Do those guys have infinite stamina or some shit?

They are the perfect example of DkS2 and its problems in PvE. They break all the rules of the game, infinite stamina, instant reset on their movesets at any time, extremely strong weapon that swings and combos like a straight sword. Just terrible all around.

 

[ambientmystic]

And.... NG+++ done.

I would like to once again sincerely thank those who introduced me to the absolutely delightful 2H R2 Giant Club attack.

Spoiler

Licia

never casted a single spell and was on her ass for the entire fight, but the best part was that killing her took the entire weapon's durability lol. The final strike that killed her broke the Giant Club lol.

Spoiler

Ancient Dragon in NG+++ gives you 520k souls, nearly twice the amount that Nashandra gives, holy shiet. This is with the Tseldora outfit equipped and the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +2 of course.

I think it'd probably be awhile until I start NG+4, with the FF Type 0 fantranslation coming tomorrow/later today I'll definitely be occupied for the weeks to come.

 

[Colorful Vocabulary]

They are the perfect example of DkS2 and its problems in PvE. They break all the rules of the game, infinite stamina, instant reset on their movesets at any time, extremely strong weapon that swings and combos like a straight sword. Just terrible all around.

Don't forget the tracking. ugh

I mean, sometimes I feel strafing is almost pointless against enemies in this game.

 

[Cannon Goose]

Hooray! Smoked the Darklurker with one of my pure melee builds after only three tries.

http://youtu.be/ksARdV4O800

Not bad considering that on my first attempt on PS3 I used about 30 effigies on the Darklurker alone, and had to respec to finally beat it. Granted, that was on NG+ and this is just NG, but it's still a tricky fight nonetheless.

 

[ambientmystic]

Don't forget the tracking. ugh

I mean, sometimes I feel strafing is almost pointless against enemies in this game.

I think they intentionally made enemies uber-trackers based on feedback in DkS1 that it was super easy to backstab them merely by circle strafing around them. In 2, I wait for them to hit, and then I go around for the backstab most of the time. Works quite well for the Lion warriors who need to dealt with in that manner due to their stupidly high amounts of damage per hit beyond NG, and also their resistance to everything except pure physical damage. If you're a pure caster, you're pretty much boned against them.

The wierd hitboxes that enemy weapons have is bollocks however, many times I thought I dodged that shit and still got hit by it. Even with 100 AGL.

 

[Mogwai]

Hooray! Smoked the Darklurker with one of my pure melee builds after only three tries.

http://youtu.be/ksARdV4O800

Not bad considering that on my first attempt on PS3 I used about 30 effigies on the Darklurker alone, and had to respec to finally beat it. Granted, that was on NG+ and this is just NG, but it's still a tricky fight nonetheless.

Well played!

I've only attempted this boss once. Do you have to complete the whole instance before you can face the boss? I died and reinterred the chasm from the beginning.

 

[ambientmystic]

Well played!

I've only attempted this boss once. Do you have to complete the whole instance before you can face the boss? I died and reinterred the chasm from the beginning.

Yep, but just that last one though. You don't have to do the first two/relight the cauldrons again. I always do the Shaded Ruins one last because it's the easiest and most straightforward one to finish when a death occurs, although others recommend the one at Drangliec Castle due to the convenience of the bonfire.

 

[Mistel]

By the way, vitality determines equip load? Fuck. ):

Yep it does instead of it being like endurance within the first. It's separate for some reason.

 

[ambientmystic]

Yep it does instead of it being like endurance within the first. It's separate for some reason.

Which does explain why you gain more levels quickly in 2 as compared to one.

 

[KittenMaster]

Yep it does instead of it being like endurance within the first. It's separate for some reason.

Yeah, not a fan of how stats are split this time around. They could have just replaced resistance with adaptability, changed around what gives resists, and called it a day.

 

[Mogwai]

Yep, but just that last one though. You don't have to do the first two/relight the cauldrons again. I always do the Shaded Ruins one last because it's the easiest and most straightforward one to finish when a death occurs, although others recommend the one at Drangliec Castle due to the convenience of the bonfire.

Great advice, thanks. I've been sparing the life of this boss for a while. But I better get to it.

 

[ambientmystic]

Before I forget, I wanted to ask, was there a reason given for the lack of a Pyro starting class this time around? Seems like the item packing Explorer was chosen to be its replacement.

 

[PranooY]

Jesus, the view/skybox after beating the Guardian dragon boss is amazing.

Btw I released Navlaan, even after seeing tons of "pull back" and "Don't you dare" messages. Any other issues with him, other than he invades you?

 

[Mistel]

Btw I released Navlaan, even after seeing tons of "pull back" and "Don't you dare" messages. Any other issues with him, other than he invades you?

No he just invades you in different places.

 

[NBtoaster]

Jesus, the view/skybox after beating the Guardian dragon boss is amazing.

Btw I released Navlaan, even after seeing tons of "pull back" and "Don't you dare" messages. Any other issues with him, other than he invades you?

You can't do his sidequest anymore which would give you some nice/fashionable spells and armor.

 

[ambientmystic]

Jesus, the view/skybox after beating the Guardian dragon boss is amazing.

Btw I released Navlaan, even after seeing tons of "pull back" and "Don't you dare" messages. Any other issues with him, other than he invades you?

No he just invades you in different places.

Also, afaik you won't be able to do his questline anymore after freeing him.

Edit:- Bah, beaten.

 

[Mistel]

Yeah, not a fan of how stats are split this time around. They could have just replaced resistance with adaptability, changed around what gives resists, and called it a day.

I think resistances are already boosted by some stats when you levels them. So they could of kept it tied to stamina instead of separate.

Also, afaik you won't be able to do his questline anymore after freeing him.

Isn't that obvious from the messages?

 

[Soulhouf]

Maybe, but Santier still sucks since the patch. Doing 400 damage ripostes and 315 damage backstabs really hurt, and I spammed two full combos on an invader who still had plenty of HP left. My mundane build is possibly obsolete now... before the patch my friend and I were wrecking shit up in PvE but now, not so much, and in PvP it went from solid (low HP but good DPS) to just plain bad.

I was talking about standard weapons (swords, great swords, ultra great swords and so on) with standard upgrade path. I didn't try Santier Spear or mundane (never been high level enough to do it) so I don't know how these work. How much AR do you have now with the Santier?

With that said, scaling/damage in this game is so inconsistent. Take the example of the Defender Greatsword which has better scaling with faith than most of the A str weapons despite having only B faith scaling.
It's like if each individual weapon had its own scaling table and these letters didn't mean a shit. I really hate this aspect of the game.
They spent so many time to establish a set of rules that (almost) every entity in the game followed in Dark Souls and Demon's Souls only to break them here. It's like they don't know what they are doing.

 

[PranooY]

How do I undo infusion of my weapons?
I infused my drake keeper's shield with dark hoping to have an all around blocking and that full upgrade would bring it to 100% block. It only brings it to 98.5%. I like my shield to have 100% physical.

 

[ambientmystic]

How do I undo infusion of my weapons?
I infused my drake keeper's shield with dark hoping to have an all around blocking and that full upgrade would bring it to 100% block. It only brings it to 98.5%. I like my shield to have 100% physical.

You need a Palestone, which is farmable from the Knights in Heide.

 

[Mistel]

How do I undo infusion of my weapons?
I infused my drake keeper's shield with dark hoping to have an all around blocking and that full upgrade would bring it to 100% block. It only brings it to 98.5%. I like my shield to have 100% physical.

You do that with a palestone at McDuff. Then it will go back to normal with 100% block.

 

[Moral Panic]

Hooray! Smoked the Darklurker with one of my pure melee builds after only three tries.

http://youtu.be/ksARdV4O800

Not bad considering that on my first attempt on PS3 I used about 30 effigies on the Darklurker alone, and had to respec to finally beat it. Granted, that was on NG+ and this is just NG, but it's still a tricky fight nonetheless.

Tried doing it melee the first time then I threw Great Lightining spears and it just dies so quickly. Melee isn't balanced at all for PvE in this game IMO. Poison arrows and Lighting spears do so much more damage at so little risk. Tried using a Heide Sword +10 and my attacks just tickle the enemy even with sunlight blade.

 

[Danny 117]

Thanks for the tips on my sorcery build guys! I'm doing well so far. I have 93 soul arrows and a few miracles. Working on getting my lightning spear now. I have the requirements, I just need to find Licia, she's disappeared from where she usually is

Any tips for the Ruin Sentinels? I'm having a bit of bother even with the first one on the platform.

 

[Panzerkrei]

Does any kind GAFer have any tips for

Spoiler

Duke's Dear Freja?

Spoiler

When I can manage to get a hit in due to her armor I do hardily any damage, I had to take a break when she one-shotted me with a bite. She's also my last great soul.

 

[Mistel]

Does any kind GAFer have any tips for

Spoiler

Duke's Dear Freja?

Spoiler

When I can manage to get a hit in due to her armor I do hardily any damage, I had to take a break when she one-shotted me with a bite. She's also my last great soul.

Bait the beam and whack the other head. Summon Estoc knight for a distraction if needs be. Charcoal pine resin is your best friend by the way.

 

[Mogwai]

Does any kind GAFer have any tips for

Spoiler

Duke's Dear Freja?

Spoiler

When I can manage to get a hit in due to her armor I do hardily any damage, I had to take a break when she one-shotted me with a bite. She's also my last great soul.

Spoiler

Just sprint around it. Only hit either head when the other is doing an attack. Try to bait the laser attack if possible (stand in front of a head for a second or two). Dispatch the small spiders whenever they get up to you. Also, remember to run in along sides and in between the legs when going from head to head. As long as you keep moving you are likely to avoid damage.

This is how I do it solo and works like a charm.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Looking for advice for the boss of:

Spoiler

Eastern Peak

Spoiler

i can't kill the snake lady solo in that room of poison. What's the best approach for her?

 

[Red Liquorice]

Looking for advice for the boss of:

Spoiler

Eastern Peak

Spoiler

i can't kill the snake lady solo in that room of poison. What's the best approach for her?

You can remove the poison by

Spoiler

setting the windmill on fire with a torch outside the second bonfire room

Thanks for the tips on my sorcery build guys! I'm doing well so far. I have 93 soul arrows and a few miracles. Working on getting my lightning spear now. I have the requirements, I just need to find Licia, she's disappeared from where she usually is

Any tips for the Ruin Sentinels? I'm having a bit of bother even with the first one on the platform.

Block/dodge and hit as it recovers. The first one should be simple enough if you stay on the platform the other two won't aggro until the first one is dead. The NPC you can summon for this fight can usually do a good job of helping you so try her if you're having a tough time.

I think the Sentinels can be a bit of a steap difficulty curve, so you can always come back to them a little later, there are other ways to go that are equally as valid to do at this point in the game.

Licia moves to

Spoiler

the rotunda between Majula and Heide's

once you exhaust her dialogue above Dragonrider boss room.

 

[Mistel]

You can remove the poison by

Spoiler

setting the windmill on fire with a torch outside the second bonfire room

According to wikidot if you leave it there it just heals her during the fight.

 

[ambientmystic]

Looking for advice for the boss of:

Spoiler

Eastern Peak

Spoiler

i can't kill the snake lady solo in that room of poison. What's the best approach for her?

Spoiler

Have you already burntthe windmill next to the second bonfire of the area? You need to use your torch to do it. The poison will then mostly disappear in her room making it a much easier fight.

Edit: Beaten again, bah you folks have this thread on speeddial.

 

[Mogwai]

Looking for advice for the boss of:

Spoiler

Eastern Peak

Spoiler

i can't kill the snake lady solo in that room of poison. What's the best approach for her?

Spoiler

Light the torch and set the windmill on fire. The poison will be gone and snake lady will be super easy then.

 

[Red Liquorice]

According to wikidot if you leave it there it just heals her during the fight.

Yep, next time you do the fight, go in and see. It gradually restores. Whatever magic she uses maybe would be good the player because the life restoration rings in Souls always suck!