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[v1perz53]

Ok, couldn't help it enjoying my faith character too much to leave at NG until the next DLC, so gonna move to NG+ and fill out the rest of the items I want (mostly rings). That means I need a new character for the next DLC if I want to see what it is like on NG. Want to finally finish a hexes playthrough, but I don't like all magic characters, and still like to have a reasonable melee weapon handy.

Any suggestions on interesting strong melee weapons with low scaling? Basically want to just meet the requirements and then go raw/dark infusion and not have to up str/dex too much. Power stance ideas are fine too as long as the overall requirements are low, though I really don' like daggers or claw/fist, so I think that cuts out the low requirement options.

 

[Mistel]

Any suggestions on interesting strong melee weapons with low scaling? Basically want to just meet the requirements and then go raw/dark infusion and not have to up str/dex too much. Power stance ideas are fine too as long as the overall requirements are low, though I really don' like daggers or claw/fist, so I think that cuts out the low requirement options.

Well there's the broken straight sword 2/3 requirements if you want to mash R&L 1 with a un powerstanced pair of them as they use so little stamina that's more of a mundane build weapon though. Longswords maybe a good choice is you like the moveset dual straightswords have. Best thing I've can think of is a blacksmiths hammer with 15/7 requirements.

 

[Raw64life]

I know this is old news by now but I haven't touched this game or read anything about it since back in May and although I refuse to buy the DLC I decided to play and just get summoned into other people's DLC. Boy did I get a rude awakening with these latest patches/calibrations. My character straight up sucks and I don't think I'm gonna take the time to put together one more suited to this.

 

[Ruuppa]

Anything you do in the ashen mist is you retracing Vendrick's steps. So, y'know.

Kindasortamaybe makes sense, but I can't really ascribe to that reasoning since you'd have to be three times as tall in the memories then. What doesn't make sense is how you're able to take stuff out with you from the memories.

It's a mystery!

 

[Coriolanus]

Where's it say that?

Who do you think killed the giant lord? Or the other giants?
Add vendrick's added speech with the crowns about him too being a seeker of fire, and the cyclical nature of the land, and there you have it.

And yeah, you can't justifiy being able to take crap from memories without going down timetravel route, at which point they aint memories. That does explain why drummond can react differently to you, tho.

Any suggestions on interesting strong melee weapons with low scaling? Basically want to just meet the requirements and then go raw/dark infusion and not have to up str/dex too much. Power stance ideas are fine too as long as the overall requirements are low, though I really don' like daggers or claw/fist, so I think that cuts out the low requirement options.

Raw Santier's.

 

[Mistel]

Who do you think killed the giant lord? Or the other giants?
Add vendrick's added speech with the crowns about him too being a seeker of fire, and the cyclical nature of the land, and there you have it.

The giant lord was killed by the player at a late point in the war not by Vendrick.

 

[Braag]

Goddamn Darklurker was giving me a hard time. I used half of my effigies doing these trials and beating the boss.
Never again...

 

[Shalashaska]

I'mi n the midst of my first true Dark Souls moment. Just started the game earlier this week, progressing along as usual. Just beat the boss where

Spoiler

it hovers and you need to use the giant arrows to kill it.

Get all the souls and just decide to explore the world before finishing for the night, I explore the nest, get picked up by a bird and get transported to the new area. Look around for a minute and figure I'll just get the treasure that is likely to left side of the area and finish up. But what happens? Turns out once you get the treasure you can't get back to the bonfire ;_;

So I've got to fight my way through the entire tough level, praying there's a bonfire somewhere else before I need to fight a boss but nope, no dice. Fight the boss, die almost instantly and now I've got tens of thousands of souls laughing at me in the boss area

I know in the series you've got to let them go but I think this is the first time I've had so many from a boss fight just waiting there. Dumb on my part for not using them but I can't say I expected not to be able to go back to a bonfire. I hate

Spoiler

/love

this series so much.

 

[Jaeger]

Goddamn Darklurker was giving me a hard time. I used half of my effigies doing these trials and beating the boss.
Never again...

Better start using Ring of Protection.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Better start using Ring of Protection.

You need to spend effigies to reach him every time...

 

[Braag]

Better start using Ring of Protection.

Problem was that I had to give an effigy to Grandahl each time I died so he would open the portal to the abyss again.
But you're right, Ring of Life Protection is great way to keep your humanity even after death. I've forgot to use it way too many times when I really didn't want to lose my humanity. Mainly because in Dark Souls when the ring broke it was gone but I keep forgetting that I can repair it in DS2...

Edit: Morrigan beat me to it

 

[Laurentius]

I don't like using Ring of Protection in DS2 because being able to repair it trivializes death so much...

 

[CountAntonius]

I don't like using Ring of Protection in DS2 because being able to repair it trivializes death so much...

It changed my life.

 

[Braag]

I don't like using Ring of Protection in DS2 because being able to repair it trivializes death so much...

Human Effigies are more rare than Humanity in Dark Souls though

 

[Laurentius]

Human Effigies are more rare than Humanity in Dark Souls though

It's not just about staying human for me, it's also not having to trek back and find your souls. The danger of losing that is what keeps me careful and observant, and the rush of trying to get back to your bloodstain without dying can be pretty great.

But for people who don't enjoy that, I can understand why the Ring of Protection would be a good thing.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Goddamn Darklurker was giving me a hard time. I used half of my effigies doing these trials and beating the boss.
Never again...

Darklurker is such an awesome boss, though part of me was disapointed that his mid-health boost is splitting into two instead of opening his crossed arms and using a different moveset.

 

[Haunted]

No. Just walk to the pile of armor in his room and use the ashen mist heart to enter it. You can then talk to pre-hollow Vendrick and get a it of lore from him.

The Vendrick model looks fantastic. Not sure if it was my excitement at discovering his memory when I didn't expect any additional content in the main game or the ENB lighting giving the scene some extra oomph, but I was really surprised how good he looked the first time I got there.

 

[neoism]

It's not just about staying human for me, it's also not having to trek back and find your souls. The danger of losing that is what keeps me careful and observant, and the rush of trying to get back to your bloodstain without dying can be pretty great.

But for people who don't enjoy that, I can understand why the Ring of Protection would be a good thing.

yeah thats the only reason I use it for pve I dont for pvp because the bridge is just right there but still that shit is just too tedious for me.. I die too much I guess lol

 

[Braag]

It's not just about staying human for me, it's also not having to trek back and find your souls. The danger of losing that is what keeps me careful and observant, and the rush of trying to get back to your bloodstain without dying can be pretty great.

But for people who don't enjoy that, I can understand why the Ring of Protection would be a good thing.

Yeah I know what you mean. The risk of losing your souls is pretty much the idea of the game as the old hag at the beginning says.

Darklurker is such an awesome boss, though part of me was disapointed that his mid-health boost is splitting into two instead of opening his crossed arms and using a different moveset.

The time I finally managed to beat her she split at like 70% health which was pretty annoying.
It's not even that hard of a boss, the first half is cake but when there's two of them it becomes extremely hard since you gotta keep an eye on both of them. And since I'm playing a melee build I had to stay close to one which made me usually lose the other one.

 

[NEO0MJ]

It feels impossible to collect the complete Ruin Sentinel set. They barely drop parts and despawn really fast. Using a Bonfire Ascetic is useless as they only spawn once during later playthroughs.

 

[Levyne]

I really struggled on Darklurker with my first guy (heavy melee) but he was a lot easier with a spellcaster.

 

[v1perz53]

I actually think there are enough really solid rings in this game that I feel like I am giving up too much using Life Protection ring full time. Though when I die I do put it on on the way back to my souls. In case you didn't know if you die and drop your souls and have the ring of Life Protection on when going back to get them, even if you die again they stay there and you have a second chance to recover them. Basically you have as many tries as you have rings. To me, this is a better solution as I don't waste a ring slot all the time (though this is partially hypocritical as I use Silver Serpent ring almost always and that is just as wasted I guess).

I really struggled on Darklurker with my first guy (heavy melee) but he was a lot easier with a spellcaster.

Sadly, Darklurker is super easy on a faith build. Two Sunlight Spears got him from 40% to dead.

 

[Jaeger]

You need to spend effigies to reach him every time...

Problem was that I had to give an effigy to Grandahl each time I died so he would open the portal to the abyss again.
But you're right, Ring of Life Protection is great way to keep your humanity even after death. I've forgot to use it way too many times when I really didn't want to lose my humanity. Mainly because in Dark Souls when the ring broke it was gone but I keep forgetting that I can repair it in DS2...

Edit: Morrigan beat me to it

Just like that, I forgot about the cost to even get there, thing. I don't think I tried that after I beat it in NG, since.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Welp, the Ruin Sentinels stopped spawning and I still need the body armor. Anyone with a soul level between 3-5 million have a spare or willing to trade for it? I have duplicate helms and leggings.

 

[Orochinagis]

I think I exhausted all the ashe sorcerers spawns.....still missing the blue dagger

 

[Croyles]

First DLC was better. That whole area was intricate. This one not so much and Iron Tunnel is just a chore + Blue Smelter Demon.

Sir Alonne is an awesome boss fight though, probably one of the best bosses in the game.

 

[ElTopo]

Sir Alonne is an awesome boss fight though, probably one of the best bosses in the game.

What ruined Alonne for me is the retarded gauntlet (that has a time limit) and his hitbox when he does that running stab. It's a pretty cool fight, that I think everyone will agree with, but those two things really take the piss out of that fight.

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

I really struggled on Darklurker with my first guy (heavy melee) but he was a lot easier with a spellcaster.

Only part that really bothers me about Darklurker is the Journey to him. I hate having to keep fighting those NPCs, and unlike other enemies you can't run past em. The effigies aren't that big of a deal since I have like 80 or so, I never use em, I just co-op when I wanna be human.


Also, SMELTER HAMMER IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEAPON I HAVE EVER LAID MY EYES ON! Once I get 99 STR I'm power-stancing the shit out of it.

 

[Mistel]

, SMELTER HAMMER IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEAPON I HAVE EVER LAID MY EYES ON! Once I get 99 STR I'm power-stancing the shit out of it.

Funny thing is it brakes the power stance 1.5x requirements by working. It's fun though once you get to 99 STR to do so heavy at 70.0 for the pair though..

 

[NEO0MJ]

Also, SMELTER HAMMER IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEAPON I HAVE EVER LAID MY EYES ON! Once I get 99 STR I'm power-stancing the shit out of it.

But...99 STR isn't enough to power stance it!

 

[Orochinagis]

First DLC was better. That whole area was intricate. This one not so much and Iron Tunnel is just a chore + Blue Smelter Demon.

Sir Alonne is an awesome boss fight though, probably one of the best bosses in the game.

I dont see the huge hype about a japanese du..I mean an guy from "the east" with zero lore outside his badass song, the knights didnt even share his design and viceversa

 

[NEO0MJ]

I dont see the huge hype about a japanese du..I mean an guy from "the east" with zero lore outside his badass song, the knights didnt even share his design and viceversa

They borrowed a few elements from him. From the lore it looks like he was the one who trained them in fighting with Katanas and though their armor is more western inspired they still used the multiple eyed helmet design he had. It was even hierarchical, the more eyes on your helmet the higher the rank.
They didn't even get their name until after he left, when the king thought that he should honor the one who helped him become more than a simple lord.

Plus you have to admit it was an awesome and fast-paced fight. Also, I love how he sits when you first enter the Arena. I just noticed that all the bosses in the DLC have an idle pose until you enter the arena.

Edit: They really should update the digital soundtrack, the music for the new bosses have been stellar for the last couple of DLCs.

 

[Mistel]

I just noticed that all the bosses in the DLC have an idle pose until you enter the arena.

I think every boss has that.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I think every boss has that.

There seems to be more of that in this game, that's for sure. In Demons and Dark most just had the intro cinematic.

 

[mickcenary]

It's not just about staying human for me, it's also not having to trek back and find your souls. The danger of losing that is what keeps me careful and observant, and the rush of trying to get back to your bloodstain without dying can be pretty great.

But for people who don't enjoy that, I can understand why the Ring of Protection would be a good thing.

100% this.

I am constantly using them and I hate myself for it, but DS2's tendency to fuck you over with lame gank squads and/or sketchy hit detection means that you kind of have to stoop to its level to avoid heartache and bullshittery.

That loss of danger is so unbelievably detrimental to the tone of a Souls, but they've clearly designed the game around it.

 

[CountAntonius]

I use them because I pvp and get invaded by Arbiters constantly for my sins.

 

[Sullichin]

Only part that really bothers me about Darklurker is the Journey to him. I hate having to keep fighting those NPCs, and unlike other enemies you can't run past em. The effigies aren't that big of a deal since I have like 80 or so, I never use em, I just co-op when I wanna be human.


Also, SMELTER HAMMER IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEAPON I HAVE EVER LAID MY EYES ON! Once I get 99 STR I'm power-stancing the shit out of it.

Yep, it's my favorite weapon now. Don't see any reason to use any other greathammer over it unless you don't want to level or don't have the DLC.

No matter what build I have, I never have an extra ring slot open for ring of life protection. There's always something better I can be using that's relevant to the build.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Defeated

Spoiler

Raime

yesterday. He was pretty though... brutal actually. Died 2 times even though I summoned 2 players. Tried solo just to find he could easily crush my character with a couple of hits; trying to roll didn't work either (I just couldn't find the right window for that). I tried some coop before challenging him again... helped 2 players to defeat him and saw others die trying. At the end, I summoned a player and an NPC... both died, as the boss killed the player I landed the two hits that killed him. Victory! Praise the sun! \o/

Then I saw on YT a guy fighting him solo in NG+ without using a shield and rolling through his attacks easily ._. .I'll try that for myself on NG+ too.

Now I'll clear the last part of the DLC.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Defeated

Spoiler

Raime

yesterday. He was pretty though... brutal actually. Died 2 times even though I summoned 2 players. Tried solo just to find he could easily crush my character with a couple of hits; trying to roll didn't work either (I just couldn't find the right window for that).

After the power-up the huge hitbox of the sword combined with its slow movement during the spacial attack makes it pretty difficult to roll through.

 

[Jaeger]

I dont see the huge hype about a japanese du..I mean an guy from "the east" with zero lore outside his badass song, the knights didnt even share his design and viceversa

We know that he came from the East, which we can assume is the same East as Shiva, and helped the Iron King become such. He may have trained all his knights, and after he decided to leave, the Old Iron King named his knights after him.

I think te mystery of everything in between is what makes him so cool. Top it off with a badass design and really cool fight, that makes him a winner.

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

But...99 STR isn't enough to power stance it!

Technically you are correct, it's the only weapon that I know of that doesn't follow the 1.5x rule. I guess since it's STR requirement is so high already, From decided to be nice and allow power-stancing it at max stat level. They seem to be doing quiet a few nice things in the DLCs :3.

 

[Mistel]

Technically you are correct, it's the only weapon that I know of that doesn't follow the 1.5x rule.

There's no other weapons that's close to it over than giant warrior clubs at 90 STR it's the only weapons that breaks the 1.5x requirement.

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

100% this.

I am constantly using them and I hate myself for it, but DS2's tendency to fuck you over with lame gank squads and/or sketchy hit detection means that you kind of have to stoop to its level to avoid heartache and bullshittery.

That loss of danger is so unbelievably detrimental to the tone of a Souls, but they've clearly designed the game around it.

What bothers me is they are repairable, and so inexpensive to repair too. I find that it completely goes against what Dark Souls was about, there's no longer a real punishment aside from being unable to get a no death run ring. It keeps you human, keeps your souls, you don't lose any max health. Also there's quiet a few of them. I found they were more balanced in Dark Souls since they broke and they are gone forever, so you had to be more careful with em. I used them mainly for Bed of Chaos and of course

Spoiler

the first encounter Seath the Scaleless since it's a 100% you will die fight, so getting back to your bloodstain without dying again is very unlikely.

I hate myself for utilizing it so much too, at one point I was angry that I couldn't repair it at a bonfire and then I just sat there in shock at what I had thought ;~;.

Btw does anyone have info about this DLC item?

Spoiler

What is the percent chance the Yorgh's Ring with deflect magic? Even a rough estimate based on your own experience.

 

[v1perz53]

Not really sure why people are so down on the Ring of Life Protection in a souls game kind of thing. Maybe because we got four ring slots this time? You could buy up to 10 rings of Sacrifice from Oswald for 5k souls each in the original Dark Souls but I don't really know of many people who used them that much in DkS 1, aside from corpse run insurance. Maybe Ring of Life Protection in Dark Souls 2 should take up 2 ring slots? Seems the issue is that the trade off for using it at all times isn't high enough.

Edit: I guess also because there is a lot more downside to being hollow in Dark Souls 2, with the max HP loss and still being able to be invaded going on.

 

[Mistel]

Btw does anyone have info about this DLC item?

Spoiler

What is the percent chance the Yorgh's Ring with deflect magic? Even a rough estimate based on your own experience.

About between 30-50% more closer to 30 though. It seems to be very random.

 

[Hypron]

It's not just about staying human for me, it's also not having to trek back and find your souls. The danger of losing that is what keeps me careful and observant, and the rush of trying to get back to your bloodstain without dying can be pretty great.

But for people who don't enjoy that, I can understand why the Ring of Protection would be a good thing.

For me, the main reason for using them is to avoid having to waste human effigies. I really don't care about losing souls in this series, so the whole "get your souls back by finding your bloodstain" mechanic doesn't affect the way I play.

 

[ElTopo]

So yeah, experiencing a ton more invasions lately. I'm NG++ but it seems like every other time I get invaded. The weird thing is that in PVP when I summon an invader I usually lose, I have been doing better but sorcerers always kick my ass. But every time I'm invaded I kick their ass except for 2 occasions and on the 2nd one the guy was incredibly laggy (Guy stabbed his spears 20 feet away from me and in the opposite direction and it counted and he got a laggy backstab).

Stupidest invasion: I was heading towards Nashandra to fight the duo, I got sloppy trying to rush one of them and died. Okay, no biggie, 214K souls there and they're fairly easy. I don't even really need the souls at this point, I'm just dumping points into Endurance and Attunement. So I put on the Ring of the King, get past the door, I'm maybe 100 yards from the fog door and BOOM Invaded and the dude spawned right in front of me... I didn't think you could get invaded in that spot and I was mentally unprepared for it, plus I wasted most of my stamina attacking as he spawned and none of it counted, the dude kills me and I lost those 214K souls.

I don't care that I lost the souls I'm more stunned that they can invade on that bridge. I know there's bloodspots but I figured they were from dudes who trying to jump at something and find a secret and guessed wrong.

Beat Nashandra again, mainly because I wasn't in the mood to invest 5-6 hours in checking out the 1st DLC area again.

 

[onken]

So I finished this game at last. I was doing basically no walkthroughs/gear guides at all (except where to go when I got completely stuck) so I'm sure it was probably the most inefficient run in history but I had a great time with it. I was at about 50 hours, SL 160 when I beat the last boss. I'm sure I was over leveled because it was a cake walk. Checking out some of the DLC stuff then will have a poke around in NG+

Is there any better light armor I should be aiming for? I currently have penal mask, Alva armor, vengarl's gloves/leggings. Only the Alva is upgraded because the other stuff needs twinkling titanite and I used all of mine maxing out my black knight greatsword.

 

[Orochinagis]

They borrowed a few elements from him. From the lore it looks like he was the one who trained them in fighting with Katanas and though their armor is more western inspired they still used the multiple eyed helmet design he had. It was even hierarchical, the more eyes on your helmet the higher the rank.
They didn't even get their name until after he left, when the king thought that he should honor the one who helped him become more than a simple lord.

Plus you have to admit it was an awesome and fast-paced fight. Also, I love how he sits when you first enter the Arena. I just noticed that all the bosses in the DLC have an idle pose until you enter the arena.

Edit: They really should update the digital soundtrack, the music for the new bosses have been stellar for the last couple of DLCs.

Totally agree but still looks like he was just added later and somewhat dont fit in my perception in the game to fit the alonnes and iron kings lore.

Still one of the hardest bosses if not the hardest for me compared to the rest of the bosses, cheap bosses dont apply those guys can go to hell *looking at smelter demon 2*

Not really sure why people are so down on the Ring of Life Protection in a souls game kind of thing. Maybe because we got four ring slots this time? You could buy up to 10 rings of Sacrifice from Oswald for 5k souls each in the original Dark Souls but I don't really know of many people who used them that much in DkS 1, aside from corpse run insurance. Maybe Ring of Life Protection in Dark Souls 2 should take up 2 ring slots? Seems the issue is that the trade off for using it at all times isn't high enough.

Edit: I guess also because there is a lot more downside to being hollow in Dark Souls 2, with the max HP loss and still being able to be invaded going on.

I think you can get like 5 to 6 rings of life in one run, so you can wear one, die, use another, waste all your rings, go to the blacksmith and pay like 15k then go again the rings pay themselves.

For me, the main reason for using them is to avoid having to waste human effigies. I really don't care about losing souls in this series, so the whole "get your souls back by finding your bloodstain" mechanic doesn't affect the way I play.

Yet there is still another mechanic to be always human even when you dont have efigies aka altar of the death

 

[Astral/H3X]

Sick.
And fucking tired.
Of getting invaded.
Over. And over. And over. And over. And over. And over.

Apparently the entire fucking game is now the belfry.