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Dark Souls II |OT++| Bearer of...Seek...Seek...Lest

2AdEPT

Member
yeah i'll probably watch a bit more. like i said he's funny, i'm just undecided if i want to watch more lol

do you recommend his dks1 or 2 playthrough?

definitely start with the DS1...the best jokes are always discussed in his threads here on gaf as he is a member here as well. I would suggest FFing through some of his learning curve, but then making sure you didnt miss the greatest hits for that episode by reviewing the thread. For whatever reason, he also brings out the best in Gaf posts and chat jokes as well.

He started out dissing dark souls and making fun of it, but clearly he thinks its a great game now and actually completed DS1..he didnt do well at the learning curve for DS2 so the first section of episodes were pretty painful, and he had to do some soul searching to get back on track...but he did...the last DS2 episode was one of my favourite.

Here are the GAF threads

Dark Souls


Dark Souls 2
 
I see. The DLCs are all dead coop-wise. :(

The Farfire statistics show it is dead everywhere, but PS3 seems to be moderately active. The lack of a big sale on Steam anytime this year has put a huge damper on sustaining the playerbase. Maybe they intentionally held off because they knew Scholar was coming.

It started off with such a huge bang, but has fallen considerably. I think it's probably falling faster than DS1 did.

This thread has been going since April. It was on a tear out of the gate after 3 OT's (including PC specific) in the first month and now not even one complete in 8 months.
 
Don't worry everyone, upon returning to Dark Souls 2 I found that there's still plenty of joy to be had on the Iron Keep bridge...

https://giant.gfycat.com/ShallowFaintHart.webm

Last night I think 98% of my fights were against Havel Jesters, and that's even after I left the bridge and went looking in other places. It was just one after the other, each one ruder than the last. Then suddenly, as I was nearing the end of my session, the Jesters stopped appearing and I immediately started having fun. I stayed up an hour later than I intended to because the opponents were just suddenly all amazing and I had an absolute blast. It's not just the armour and weapons that these people use, it's their attitudes that make playing this game online frustrating. Coming across players who actually use different weapons and armour is like a breath of fresh air and makes the game worthwhile again.
 

Tarkus

Member
Just started Dark Souls II. This is definitely a different sort of challenge. I have to adjust my strategies for this game. Right now I suck.
 
Just started Dark Souls II. This is definitely a different sort of challenge. I have to adjust my strategies for this game. Right now I suck.

It definitely takes some time getting used to. Especially if you're someone like me, who played most of Dark Souls using the biggest 2 hander you could find and virtually no armor.
 

Tarkus

Member
I have remained relatively blind to this game because I knew I would buy it one day. Questions: if there's s a Claymore in this game, how is it? I've noticed there are a few more stats now that I need to familiarize myself with. How are quality builds vs. a pure STR or DEX?

This game feels very similar to Demon's Souls to me in terms of movement. Definitely a nice first impression.
 

2AdEPT

Member
I have remained relatively blind to this game because I knew I would buy it one day. Questions: if there's s a Claymore in this game, how is it? I've noticed there are a few more stats now that I need to familiarize myself with. How are quality builds vs. a pure STR or DEX?

This game feels very similar to Demon's Souls to me in terms of movement. Definitely a nice first impression.

unlike demon's and DS1 you have to throw a few points into ADP in order to get a faster roll with more I-frames...vitality and burden percentage helps the length of the roll. One bonus I found with DS2 is that there are a plethora of new weapons...dont get stuck on one weapon and keep in mind there is the dual wielding aspect which is new...it is much more viable to wield two weapons instead of sword and board.

video explaining dual wielding
 

Mistel

Banned
I have remained relatively blind to this game because I knew I would buy it one day. Questions: if there's s a Claymore in this game, how is it? I've noticed there are a few more stats now that I need to familiarize myself with. How are quality builds vs. a pure STR or DEX?

This game feels very similar to Demon's Souls to me in terms of movement. Definitely a nice first impression.
DEX builds have lower returns, STR/DEX with STR favored are good same as pure STR builds. The claymore in this game is as good as it was before in DS1 still endgame viable.
 
So what's the deal with these bird-headed statues in Heide? I always thought they looked really strange and they seem to be holding Gwyn's sword.

bird_by_realghostvids-d88v9g2.jpg


Is there some lore behind this or is it just a weird thing?
 

Tarkus

Member
unlike demon's and DS1 you have to throw a few points into ADP in order to get a faster roll with more I-frames...vitality and burden percentage helps the length of the roll...
DEX builds have lower returns, STR/DEX with STR favored are good same as pure STR builds. The claymore in this game is as good as it was before in DS1 still endgame viable.
Thanks. I think my goal will be 40 STR, 20 DEX, and 40 ADP.

My friend told me to find Shaded Woods because there are some good weapons there. I got a feeling I'm probably going to get wrecked there though.
 
So what's the deal with these bird-headed statues in Heide? I always thought they looked really strange and they seem to be holding Gwyn's sword.

bird_by_realghostvids-d88v9g2.jpg


Is there some lore behind this or is it just a weird thing?

I'm not aware of any direct lore, I think it's just some cool world building architecture.
 

Booshka

Member
Thanks. I think my goal will be 40 STR, 20 DEX, and 40 ADP.

My friend told me to find Shaded Woods because there are some good weapons there. I got a feeling I'm probably going to get wrecked there though.

Just get your Agility stat to 100, that is comparable to fast roll i-frames in Dark Souls 1, and keep your equip load under 50%, roll and i frames feel good there.

26 ADP with only 2 ATT (depending on starting class), will get you 100 Agility. Regardless, just watch the Agility stat as you level ADP and ATT and get it to 100. 40 ADP is a waste of stats, better off with Endurance, Vigor, and Vitality to keep your roll at 50%.

In other news, All Bosses Race is going on right now with the best DkS2 Runners. Here is the link for a triple stream PoV. Be sure to mute 2 of the streams since they are all in the same skype call.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
after watching a couple hours over a few days i've come to really enjoy jeeff green's playhtrough

seeing his tranformation from not giving a shit to being actually really compelled (i'm not even as far as the gargoyles) and slowly learning things is super interesting

it's kind of hypnotic lol
 
So what's the deal with these bird-headed statues in Heide? I always thought they looked really strange and they seem to be holding Gwyn's sword.

bird_by_realghostvids-d88v9g2.jpg


Is there some lore behind this or is it just a weird thing?

Heide's area is where the gods from overseas landed and spreaded to the rest of the continent.

There is some speculation about is the area where the gods from anor londo landed and tried to make another Anor Londo but the lapse of time happened and they were forgotten, this is one of the areas where a chosen undead relinked the fire.
 

2AdEPT

Member
after watching a couple hours over a few days i've come to really enjoy jeeff green's playhtrough

seeing his tranformation from not giving a shit to being actually really compelled (i'm not even as far as the gargoyles) and slowly learning things is super interesting

it's kind of hypnotic lol

he is a genuine existentialist...that right there is enough for me..but others may not be so inclined. Its obvious he really loves his fans and enjoys doing the streams for the most part. He definitely likes FROM soft and the series now as most "old" people do.

Its relaxing after trying my own challenge runs just to sit back, crack a killkenny irish cream ale, grab some hawkins cheesies and laugh a bit.
 
Apparently Scholar of the First Sin is at PSX. One lone Dark Souls 2 fan decided to play it instead of Bloodborne.

He claims the lighting system is back, but I'm skeptical until I actually see screens/video demonstrating that. (And honestly I don't even care about it.) Some other interesting tidbits as well.

I'll probably play through it once to see the new content, but with how Bloodborne is looking, that will probably still have most of my attention.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
Apparently Scholar of the First Sin is at PSX. One lone Dark Souls 2 fan decided to play it instead of Bloodborne.

He claims the lighting system is back, but I'm skeptical until I actually see screens/video demonstrating that. (And honestly I don't even care about it.) Some other interesting tidbits as well.

I'll probably play through it once to see the new content, but with how Bloodborne is looking, that will probably still have most of my attention.

that's cool, i don't have a ps4 and the scholar thing is released on my birthday so i'm gonna get it for free for sure :p
 
Heide's area is where the gods from overseas landed and spreaded to the rest of the continent.

There is some speculation about is the area where the gods from anor londo landed and tried to make another Anor Londo but the lapse of time happened and they were forgotten, this is one of the areas where a chosen undead relinked the fire.

I don't like that theory since we already know that Drangleic=Lordran so... It doesn't make sense imo.

Heide being what's left of Alken is more interesting. Unfortunately we don't know anything about those statues. The pursuer's story is tied to the Kingdoms of Alken and Venn and when he appears in front of you for the first time he is being carried by a huge eagle; also if you examine the bird nest after you fight the Pursuer, an eagle will carry you to the Lost Bastille (the place where the bell of Venn used to be). Eagles could be messengers of the gods of those lands, that might explain the statues. That's just mere speculation though.
 

2AdEPT

Member
Dragonrider must be the Pinwheel of this game.

How's the Leo Ring this time around?

I used the leo ring for a while...maybe not as OP as it was in DS1. In general the dex characters did not get any favours early on, but I stayed dex the whole way , dual wielding a darkdrift (invisible katana) and Ricards rapier where appropriate, but ended the game with the Curved Dragon sword, usually buffed with lightning or dark and two handed with a stamina recovery shield on my back. The set up gave me as much as 350 per swing and since two swings come in succession it was up around 700 damage per combo. You could get about the same dual wielding, but the animation for the 2nd swing was slower so I just stuck with Curved dragon. many of these weapons have been buffed or nerfed since launch, but I am one who cares less about total damage and more about style. The Darkdrift was very fun and is a viable sword for PVP. Fist weapons have made a comeback and are much more viable than ever before...definitely give them a whirl if you have always liked the moveset but disliked the damage...they buffed these types of weapons for this game. There is also a ring you can achieve for maxing out the highest level of one of the covenants which makes bare fists do OP damage. Kinda OP DPS, but extremely fun as a 2nd play through, but I secretly wish I would have stumbled on to it in my blind playthrough in order ot do the fist playthrough virgin.

video using the special ring fists only challenge run (no health loss) destroying the pursuer boss (name of ring spoiler)
 

zkylon

zkylewd
watching the jeff green stream, i can't help but notice how cool it was that you could see the sheaths were in dark 1

really lame of from to remove that feature from dark 2
 

Tarkus

Member
Drangleic Sword is nice. Is it worth dumping twinkling into?
If I could find some:-/
The game seems to have a finite amount of resources. I noticed more than a few enemies not respawning.
 

Neff

Member
Drangleic Sword is nice. Is it worth dumping twinkling into?
If I could find some:-/
The game seems to have a finite amount of resources. I noticed more than a few enemies not respawning.

It was my go-to weapon for the entirety of my first run. The R2 combo is maybe even too good. A really, really great weapon.
 

Mistel

Banned
Drangleic Sword is nice. Is it worth dumping twinkling into?
If I could find some:-/
The game seems to have a finite amount of resources. I noticed more than a few enemies not respawning.
It's heavily DEX orientated weaker than the old knight greatsword or the STR focused mastodon greatsword. It's a decent weapon for a DEX orientated build but if you're going STR or STR/DEX there's better options.
 
Drangleic Sword is nice. Is it worth dumping twinkling into?
If I could find some:-/
The game seems to have a finite amount of resources. I noticed more than a few enemies not respawning.

You've exhausted the enemy count of the zone. Use a Bonfire Asecrtic to repopulate the enemies in the area.
 
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