Orthogonal
Member
DLC is endgame content (Balanced to higher level characters). You can play it much earlier, but it is recommended to play once you're beaten the main campaign but before starting NG+.
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Dark Souls II |OT++| Bearer of...Seek...Seek...Lest
- Thread starter Vazra
- Start date
DLC is endgame content (Balanced to higher level characters). You can play it much earlier, but it is recommended to play once you're beaten the main campaign but before starting NG+.
Laurentius
Member
Playing my first Hexer, The Joker Returns
Awesome. How long did it take you to make that face?
Amakusa
Member
About 20 mins, maybe 30. I was a little drunk at the time. But I had this picture to use
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Very nice! I should post my cosplays soon... I did get at least one compliment on one of them by another player (he told me "great cosplay, best I've seen") so it should be decent!
Laurentius
Member
At my wits end with Smelter Demon. I hate to do it, but I'm going to have to summon someone for the first time
He's definitely the hardest boss I've faced yet.
Yeah, he can be hard, especially for a first playthrough. You can summon Lucatiel for the fight. She does a good job of distracting Smelter, even if she isn't that effective at dealing damage to him. Make sure you always run away when he thrusts his sword in the ground in case he decides to do the AOE. Also, he starts doing damage over time once he lights himself on fire. A good strategy is to pop a lifegem before attacking him, which helps negate the fire damage. (Just make sure you aren't at full health before doing so, or the lifegem regen won't work.)
Also, he is optional, BTW. Although beating him will make the rest of Iron Keep a bit easier.
You get an extra bonfire.
Tarkus
Member
I'll try Lucatiel since she gave me a nice ring. Optional or not, he's dying before I progress.
Laurentius
Member
I'm the same way. I can't just skip on optional boss (except for Guardian Dragon).
Yeah he's one of the first bosses where sword and board dont work. You gotta learn the moves (how to dodge smelter attacks spoilers). Once you do though its manageable. I prefer NOT summoning for smelter...the damage nerf is worse than what Lucatile provides....although if you dont know the moves than she does provide a distraction. If you have a soul vessel I suggest getting 20 int and faith and getting the hexer robes form Felkin..even unupgraded they provide 70 damage resist to fire, which helps a tonne int his fight and you stay light and dextrous.
Nope still there along with broken hitboxes last I checked.Ugh, smelter brings back bad memories...
Have they patched out the glitches in that fight yet? He thew me threw the wall a few times the last time I fought him
TheBryanJZX90
Member
I'm stalling on my second playthrough, running out of stuff I actually want to do. I still haven't gotten the DLC but I want to play the content. Does it make sense to buy it now, or am I going to be wasting money by buying it now instead of waiting for the Scholar of the First Sin (or whatever its called) expansion?
Orthogonal
Member
If you aren't feeling it, I would just wait.
There's a few places to farm them, you can farm five a time in the fallen giants forest with ascetics easily.
Orochinagis
Member
There is plenty of them in Amana shrine but before that are kinda a reward for progressing the game with the old ladies or with the old lady vendor
Red Liquorice
Member
Successful co-op turns you human too right?
Effigies seem rare early on but they're one of those things that you'll have 99/99 of by NG+, I remember a few times NOT farming places like Shrine of Amana because I couldn't carry any more.
Effigies seem rare early on but they're one of those things that you'll have 99/99 of by NG+, I remember a few times NOT farming places like Shrine of Amana because I couldn't carry any more.
Run. Run away and never look back.
Orochinagis
Member
Yes for low level characters.
I nearly impossible for pure classes then you learn you have to skip everything unless you are overgeared.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Seriously. I love the game and will defend it from the haters, but this place just. plain. sucks. Whoever designed it just really, really hates the players. :|
Just run through Iron Passage. You will make it to Smelter 2 in no time.
Successful co-op gives you back your human form.
Successful co-op gives you back your human form.
Red Liquorice
Member
The Iron Passage is where I gave up on the DLC, I'd just had enough. After a break with DS1 I'm back with a fresh character on DS2 through, so I'll see how it goes this time, I do intend to complete all 3 DLCs now.
I'd forgotten how amazing Sinh's theme is, there's no digital soundtrack for the DLC is there? It's really one of my favourite tracks from the whole Souls series.
I'd forgotten how amazing Sinh's theme is, there's no digital soundtrack for the DLC is there? It's really one of my favourite tracks from the whole Souls series.
neoism
Member
yeah with out a doubt it was my most shittiest amount of deaths in my 3 play-through a the passages it self wasn't so bad that fucking boss took me over 40 tries @_@ so I got really good at going through to get to him but yeah fuck that shit even when I go back to the game I'll prob never do that again lol
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I tried that but no luck, the astrologists slow you down and make you fatroll. -_-
Laurentius
Member
Luckily you can get through them both *really* fast on subsequent playthroughs. I can run through Black Gulch in less than a minute now. The Gutter is a bit trickier, but it's also not too bad to speed through.
Red Liquorice
Member
I like lighting all the torches in the Gutter (I guess because it's the only place the torch really has a purpose), but it feels like a pointless area overall. Nothing to do there really, no NPCs, no boss, boring trashmob enemies. Black Gulch is a nice early farming area for large shards and chunks - if you feel brave enough to go there early.
Dragon Rider > Cat Ring > Gutter > Branch of Yore > Touch Gulch bonfires is my starting route. Getting enough chunks to upgrade a weapon that early is really nice.
Dragon Rider > Cat Ring > Gutter > Branch of Yore > Touch Gulch bonfires is my starting route. Getting enough chunks to upgrade a weapon that early is really nice.
Orochinagis
Member
The gutter have a troll detour you can skip like 80% of the map and both areas got nerfed to not use the torch so...
DarkHeartedKill
Member
I don't mind it. I actually would have preferred it being dark to the point where a torch was needed. From, please, int he upgraded version make it dark like in the trailer <3
Man, really?
I summoned both NPCs, then ran like hell; went with the first cell trap door, because I can make that shortcut reliably, then ran the regular route the rest of the area -second trap always gets me-. The NPCs eventually made their way to the boss room and I healed them -I killed the enemies in that last room tho-, and then we went to fight smelter.
If you don't summon, running is even faster.
Laurentius
Member
After going back to Dark Souls 1, it really drove home how much better Dark Souls 2 runs. Even with the framerate unlocked I get so many random frame drops. If nothing else, Dark Souls 2 on PC is so nice, so smooth (yes, yes, silky smooth!). Makes the jank a bit harder to go back to, even if Dark Souls 1 is my favorite.
Orthogonal
Member
They really did a good job with the PC port on DS2. People complain about some of the content/bugs etc, but FromSoft has clearly come a long way on PC.
You've not even met the ones worse than that yet, it does get a whole lot worse than budget sif rat dog with a stomach problem.
Orochinagis
Member
You will find worse later....
Tarkus
Member
I hope there's not more of this to come. I only have one more primal fire to light. I was happy with Ornstein 2.0.
Currently dual wielding Claymores +10. I wish PSN was working.
Your optimism is good but misplaced there's some good if a smidgen iffy later and then some not so good really bad.
Tarkus
Member
Shit got real quickly in Drangleic Castle. These stones guys and Ruin Sentinels are tough. I guess I gotta go back to a shield in the left hand :-/
Edit: and killed everyone first try with a shield. Dks 2, oh you. Got invaded while hollow. Second time that happened. Is that a glitch?
Edit: and killed everyone first try with a shield. Dks 2, oh you. Got invaded while hollow. Second time that happened. Is that a glitch?
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Probably my second favourite fight in the game....I strongly encourage you to try again with no shield...so much more risk, but more reward as well!
very fun fight done this way...Vanquisger seal OP
Lower level Heide knight sword +6 intense first time beating them
Orthogonal
Member
So I'm almost done with all the non dlc bosses. I'm in my first play through, beat the game and I just need to do the Darklurker guy. But that dragon tho, it would always do that rain of fire twice in a row on my encounters. That is the worst luck
Dragon fight is notorious. It isn't hard so much as it demands perfect execution. There are ways to get it locked into a pattern for easy dispatch.
Orochinagis
Member
So I'm almost done with all the non dlc bosses. I'm in my first play through, beat the game and I just need to do the Darklurker guy. But that dragon tho, it would always do that rain of fire twice in a row on my encounters. That is the worst luck
Is a loooong fight and you can make any mistakes, pretty fun fight and you learn to never lock-on on him
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
The giant memories are optional, except one, the one near the bonfire behind the King's Door in the Forest of Lost Giants. Defeat the boss (Giant Lord), which gives you a key item (Giant's Kinship), then return to Drangleic's King Door where you might have already fought the Throne Watcher and Throne Defender, you'll find the last boss there.
Gotcha, thank you!
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
So why is Lightning Spear still garbage?
The damage drop for balancing happened along with the number of casts reduction.