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[SoraanTribal]

Spoiler

So, now dying is meaningless if you can simply repair the ring infinitely. Pretty disappointed about that, FROM is really making compromise in this sequel

I think that ring would only be useful in the late game because I certainly can't imagine

Spoiler

paying 3000 souls to repair it after every single death. I'd run out of souls incredibly fast. Even in the late game of Dark Souls 1, I rarely had that many Souls because I generally used them for leveling up as soon as I had enough to do so. I'm still not sure if it would be worth using. Maybe if you think it would be hard to get back to your bloodstain.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Any recommendations for dex dual wielding weapons?

 

[Ourobolus]

You might be too high a level. I'm level 26 and now no one summons me for that fight. Previously I'd get summoned like five seconds after I put it down by the bonfire.

Which item do I use to be summoned? The white soapstone or the little one?

 

[Sullichin]

Spoiler

Well, now people cannot say FROM didnt have make the game more accessible for casual because this ring is a proof of that. Plus, 3000 souls are nothing in the mid/late area to get. Really disappointed about that. Let's hope he get patched.

You don't even have to

Spoiler

worry about getting 3000 souls probably, considering you didn't lose the souls when you died you probably had that much anyway, unless you died close to a bonfire

. I actually stopped using it because I can't stand the loading back and forth to Majula. Casual item for sure, late game is still kicking my ass either way.

 

[Shinjica]

I think that ring would only be useful in the late game because I certainly can't imagine

Spoiler

paying 3000 souls to repair it after every single death. I'd run out of souls incredibly fast.

Spoiler

Fighting the pursuer i get 17000 souls. So i need to die 5 times to lose them all and this is only the second boss

 

[Sub_Level]

For those of us that used it to progress into the most obvious route (the one lady blocking the gate opening mechanism near Majula), is there another branch of yore elsewhere or am I boned from clearing all those other statues? It wouldn't make much sense if there were only one or two accessible branches, considering I've run into way more statues already.

There's

Spoiler

4 or 5 in the game. 1 we both got from after the Sinner fight obviously but for the rest you need to look around more or take a look at a wiki. I am not spoiling myself with the locations, only the quantity! Make sure to talk to NPCs....

 

[Footos22]

Which item do I use to be summoned? The white soapstone or the little one?

Either, i think you get shiny silky things with the small one and fidelity tokens with the normal.

 

[MrCookiepants]

BTW can anyone actually log in to PS3 Australian servers? I've been pretty much playing entirely offline.

Not working for me either.

Also I am terrible at parrying.

 

[KoyukiNL]

Managed to find a copy before the official EU release I guess the servers aren't online yet?

 

[LaunchpadMcQ]

There's

Spoiler

4 or 5 in the game. 1 we both got from after the Sinner fight obviously but for the rest you need to look around more or take a look at a wiki. I am not spoiling myself with the locations, only the quantity! Make sure to talk to NPCs....

Yeah, I'm straight just knowing

Spoiler

there's more. I'll find them on my own.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Shinjica]

Managed to find a copy before the official EU release I guess the servers aren't online yet?

KonamiUK on twitter say they'll open tomorrow

 

[Sullichin]

These Pharros lockstones are killing me. It's paralyzing my progress

Spoiler

knowing that there's some out there I haven't activated and some appear to do nothing

... not going to resort to a guide though, it's been awesome doing my first playthrough blind. I prefer to just come here to ask specific questions.

So, specific question - I'm not going crazy thinking that

Spoiler

some of the lockstones don't do anything at all right?!

 

[Incendiary]

Seriously though, he's just like every other big enemy. I figured a

Spoiler

dragon

would drop in and

Spoiler

he would ride it... hence the name

. lol
No such luck for that poor shlub.

Thanks to that guy I figured all the bosses were gonna be pretty easy. I have been proven wrong since.

That boss CAN be difficult though. I was summoned by somebody, and

Spoiler

he didn't hit either of the switches despite my attempt to point them out. So the arena was super small and the summoner got knocked off into the pit.

 

[dalVlatko]

Any opinions on the great swords?

I'm trying the Bastard Sword and don't think its too great but the Drangleic Sword seems like it would be better.

 

[xir]

Any opinions on the great swords?

I'm trying the Bastard Sword and don't think its too great but the Drangleic Sword seems like it would be better.

Drang Sword is great but you need twinkling titanite for upgrades

 

[Guevara]

I beat DeS and DaS on NG+ and I'm not going to lie: it still took me like 3 hours of fumbling around to get comfortable and into this game. It was a mistake to start with dual swords, I had to find a decent shield before I made any real progress. I also somehow missed

Spoiler

the estus flask

and got all the way to

Spoiler

Dragonrider

without it. Did pretty well there though!

 

[Soriku]

I'm going to be picking the game up within a few hours. Is anyone playing with a Sorceror? How are you managing and what weapons are you using? I heard the Flame Longsword and the Blue Flame sword (way later in the game, and it can cast spells with R2) are good, but anything else?

 

[Ourobolus]

I have to say, it's nice to see that a lot of messages have been really helpful. There have been some jerks, of course, but specifically in Forest of Fallen Giants

Spoiler

after using the pharros stone to get to the Cloranthy ring, a locked door was behind it. I was ready to leave, when I saw a message that said something like "Attack ahead." So I attacked the door, and an enemy on the other side opened it up and came after me. After killing him and his two buddies, I got a Life Ring.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

KonamiUK on twitter say they'll open tomorrow

:O You mean Namco Bandai UK?

 

[Deified Data]

That boss CAN be difficult though. I was summoned by somebody, and

Spoiler

he didn't hit either of the switches despite my attempt to point them out. So the arena was super small and the summoner got knocked off into the pit.

I didn't realize that was an element of the fight until reading it here just now.

Spoiler

I knew pulling the switches was pulling up floors in a far-off tower but I didn't put 2 and 2 together and realize it was the boss room.

Pretty cool. Yeah, that fight would be terrifying at such close quarters.

 

[Maybesew]

Any recommendations for dex dual wielding weapons?

I've tried dual falchion and dual winged spear. The curved swords have a much better flow to them.

 

[Guevara]

Oh, really early game question: Is there any reason

Spoiler

to light all the sconces in the tutorial area? There have to be like 50 there and I only have a few precious minutes of torch.

 

[Technoweirdo]

I've got a few questions about (early game covenant)

Spoiler

The Company of Champions

. Already decided to join them when I get the PC version, but I'd like to know exactly what the Hell I'm getting into.

What does the final reward do?
(Covenant benefit)

Spoiler

Is there an increase in souls from the increased difficulty?

(Covenant benefit?)

Spoiler

Do enemies become more aggressive? Heard a few say they didn't notice a thing while others say they've been punished more frequently for whiffs, bad heals, and the like.

(Covenant PvP)

Spoiler

I'm aware you can't summon or be summoned and are still open to invasion, but can you still invade? I'm thinking no, but no one's been clear on that.

What penalties are there for leaving?

 

[SoraanTribal]

Spoiler

Fighting the pursuer i get 17000 souls. So i need to die 5 times to lose them all and this is only the second boss

Yeah but would you rather use those up some of those souls when you die or use them to better your character with more stats or armor/weapons/spells? Sure, there's a chance you could lose them all, but that's part of the fun of these games. I definitely won't be using the ring, anyways. Not out of principle or because I think the ring is for "casuals", but I just don't think it's worth it (unless you are 99% sure you will die before getting back to your bloodstain or if you have a shit ton of souls you need to spend and aren't at a bonfire).

 

[Mutombo]

So farming titanite shards/large shards with rusted coins? Anyone tried this?

 

[Cloud Strife]

Any recommendations for dex dual wielding weapons?

Guys? :/

I got falchions but I wanna know what works for people.
Also, any good shields like the grass crescent shield in DS1 with a regen effect?

 

[Sullichin]

I have to say, it's nice to see that a lot of messages have been really helpful. There have been some jerks, of course, but specifically in Forest of Fallen Giants

Spoiler

after using the pharros stone to get to the Cloranthy ring, a locked door was behind it. I was ready to leave, when I saw a message that said something like "Attack ahead." So I attacked the door, and an enemy on the other side opened it up and came after me. After killing him and his two buddies, I got a Life Ring.

You get health when your message is rated, and it's already saved my ass multiple times. Most recently I've had my message rated at the exact moment a magic attack hit me and I would have died otherwise. This system is implemented really well this time. No item required, and it's actually in your interest to leave messages for others in a noticeable way.

 

[Hixx]

Oh fuck you, game.

In the Wharf, those long-armed things hit quite hard, don't they? Opened a door and could only see one so I thought I'd just bottleneck him at the door, easy kill. Nope:

Spoiler

he smashed the fucking wall and then two more appeared and I died before I could get my shield up

The Wharf was a breeze up until then, wasn't expecting that!

 

[Cloud Strife]

I've tried dual falchion and dual winged spear. The curved swords have a much better flow to them.

Winged spear sounds interesting, I was thinking Uchigatana but Falcion's also have B scaling with is nice.

 

[Sullichin]

Oh fuck you, game.

In the Wharf, those long-armed things hit quite hard, don't they? Opened a door and could only see one so I thought I'd just bottleneck him at the door, easy kill. Nope:

Spoiler

he smashed the fucking wall and then two more appeared and I died before I could get my shield up

The Wharf was a breeze up until then, wasn't expecting that!

If you want a hint against these guys,

Spoiler

they're afraid of light

 

[Maybesew]

Winged spear sounds interesting, I was thinking Uchigatana but Falcion's also have B scaling with is nice.

I would love to try that but haven't found the uchi yet. In fact the only other curved sword I found was a scinitar and that's a downgrade from the falchion

 

[njean777]

Beat the

Spoiler

Ruin sentinels and the gargoyles

. Decided to go with a strength build instead of a dex build, there just isn't any decent dex weapons early on it seems. I still remember in Dark Souls you could get the uchigatana in 15 min from the first vender. Maybe when people start figuring out some shortcuts to get a decent dex weapon early on I will try another character out, but alls I seem to have been finding is strength weapons. Plus for some reason the strength weapons appeal to me more in this game. Maybe it is the new animations or maybe I have changed but I do like them as apposed to hating them in Dark Souls.

 

[WheelHoss1]

How do you get to the part in the Forest of the Fallen Giants (Cardinal Tower) where all the

Spoiler

turtle enemies in the dark are?

I beat the bosses but didn't see those guys, but when I got summoned we fought them and it was awesome.

 

[Sullichin]

So farming titanite shards/large shards with rusted coins? Anyone tried this?

Interesting, I have not tried this. I was using a piece of head gear that increases item drop though, and I didn't notice any appreciable difference. The drop rates are actually pretty good, I guess to make up for the fact that they stop spawning.

How do you get to the part in the Forest of the Fallen Giants (Cardinal Tower) where all the

Spoiler

turtle enemies in the dark are?

I beat the bosses but didn't see those guys, but when I got summoned we fought them and it was awesome.

I believe this hallway is behind one of the doors that you can unlock with the key you get after fighting the boss. The locked doors all look the same.

Beat the

Spoiler

Ruin sentinels and the gargoyles

. Decided to go with a strength build instead of a dex build, there just isn't any decent dex weapons early on it seems. I still remember in Dark Souls you could get the uchigatana in 15 min from the first vender. Maybe when people start figuring out some shortcuts to get a decent dex weapon early on I will try another character out, but alls I seem to have been finding is strength weapons. Plus for some reason the strength weapons appeal to me more in this game. Maybe it is the new animations or maybe I have changed but I do like them as apposed to hating them in Dark Souls.

How do you unlock that second fight? I feel like I was in the area where this should have happened.

 

[DoubleTake]

How do you get to the part in the Forest of the Fallen Giants (Cardinal Tower) where all the

Spoiler

turtle enemies in the dark are?

I beat the bosses but didn't see those guys, but when I got summoned we fought them and it was awesome.

Use the Soldiers Key on all the doors.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I would love to try that but haven't found the uchi yet. In fact the only other curved sword I found was a scinitar and that's a downgrade from the falchion

Totally. I was thinking of investing in some INT for magic buffs, think it's worth it?

 

[SoraanTribal]

I feel like this game has way more locked doors than Dark Souls 1. It's kind of annoying. Feels like every door you come to is locked sometimes.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

I'm about 5 hours in and I've beaten one boss so far. This game feels as hard as DS1 was for me when I had never played a Souls game before. I think that's both good and bad. I'm definitely feeling challenged, but I also don't like that I can't try (repeatedly) to beat a tough boss without losing half my HP cap due to deaths. I feel like in this game, more so than Demon's Souls, you really need that HP because enemies can really fuck you up quick, and you have very limited healing capabilities early on.

How constrained is the supply of human effigies? Should I just play the way I want to and experiment and die? Or will I run out of effigies when I really want/need to use one?

One thing I don't want to do is get into a cycle of grinding for souls to buy consumable stuff (like effigies) every time I run out of really important items. I loved the other Souls games because I was able to progress very well with minimal grinding (other than for materials, which I didn't really mind).

Advice?

edit: the technical performance on PS3 is abysmal and FROM should be ashamed. Pictures in menus often take time to load in and when I'm talking to an NPC, their menu sometimes is very delayed in popping up. The character creation was a nightmare, as it took several seconds for any change to appear to on the screen. Is my PS3 broken or is the game broken? I've had no loading problems with other games.

 

[Cloud Strife]

How do you get to the part in the Forest of the Fallen Giants (Cardinal Tower) where all the

Spoiler

turtle enemies in the dark are?

I beat the bosses but didn't see those guys, but when I got summoned we fought them and it was awesome.

After you

Spoiler

kill the Last Giant, you get a key that will unlock the door to that area. From the second bonfire, go down the ladder and to your right (facing the wall after you get off the ladder) then go until you see a closed door before exiting the building. Should be a brazier next to it that you can light with your torch. Open it with the key!

 

[AngryMoth]

Can someone please give me an indication as to how many more titanite shards will be available to me. I spent almost all the early ones thinking they wouldn't be rare and now I'm terrified to spend my last few incase I find an awesome weapon and have no way to upgrade it. I've just beaten

Spoiler

the lost sinner

and have been exploring pretty thoroughly so I think I got most of them so far.

Anyone? I would really like to try a different weapon after using heide knight's sword for 10+ hours but I'm too scared to upgrade anything at the moment in case I find something better and can't upgrade it.

 

[Yasadril]

check the top left image and if your covenant sign is glowing then i think it is working

 

[Cloud Strife]

I'm about 5 hours in and I've beaten one boss so far. This game feels as hard as DS1 was for me when I had never played a Souls game before. I think that's both good and bad. I'm definitely feeling challenged, but I also don't like that I can't try (repeatedly) to beat a tough boss without losing half my HP cap due to deaths.

How constrained is the supply of human effigies? Should I just play the way I want to and experiment and die? Or will I run out of effigies when I really want/need to use one?

One thing I don't want to do is get into a cycle of grinding for souls to buy consumable stuff (like effigies) every time I run out of really important items. I loved the other Souls games because I was able to progress very well with minimal grinding (other than for materials, which I didn't really mind).

Advice?

edit: the technical performance on PS3 is abysmal and FROM should be ashamed. Pictures in menus take time to load in and when I'm talking to an NPC, their menu sometimes is very delayed in popping up. Is my PS3 broken or is the game broken? I've had no loading problems with other games.

Personally, from simply exploring I've amassed tons of effigies and lifegems. Just keep going back to Majula when you have enough souls for one level and this game is a cakewalk.

Also, check out

Spoiler

Heide's Tower of flame, the likely second area you can beat after the Forest. There you'll find a ring that caps your hollow health at 75% rather than 50%. You can get there via Majula!

 

[Sullichin]

I'm about 5 hours in and I've beaten one boss so far. This game feels as hard as DS1 was for me when I had never played a Souls game before. I think that's both good and bad. I'm definitely feeling challenged, but I also don't like that I can't try (repeatedly) to beat a tough boss without losing half my HP cap due to deaths.

How constrained is the supply of human effigies? Should I just play the way I want to and experiment and die? Or will I run out of effigies when I really want/need to use one?

One thing I don't want to do is get into a cycle of grinding for souls to buy consumable stuff (like effigies) every time I run out of really important items. I loved the other Souls games because I was able to progress very well with minimal grinding (other than for materials, which I didn't really mind).

Advice?

edit: the technical performance on PS3 is abysmal and FROM should be ashamed. Pictures in menus take time to load in and when I'm talking to an NPC, their menu sometimes is very delayed in popping up. Is my PS3 broken or is the game broken? I've had no loading problems with other games.

They really limit and discourage grinding in this game. The game will give you what you need, but not much else. I suggest practicing on a boss while hollow and then popping an effigy once you think you have a better chance, or practice as a phantom. There's also a ring early on that limits the HP reduction

Spoiler

in Heide's Tower

.

Your PS3 isn't broken.

 

[stupei]

It was funny listening to the guys on the GB Monday podcast talking about how From's removed your ability to farm, because they were speaking from a perspective of playing a considerable amount of the game with the online off. From my perspective, I've spent nearly three hours running around in co-op helping other players kill bosses and I came away with a crapload of extra souls.

 

[Mutombo]

Anyone? I would really like to try a different weapon after using heide knight's sword for 10+ hours but I'm too scared to upgrade anything at the moment in case I find something better and can't upgrade it.

Interested in this as well, but I think that more hours into the game you'll get more shards. I've heard from at least 1 guy who had it a few days ago that he already had two +10 weapons.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I did a audio interview with the community manager of Namco Bandia, Joseph Kartje about his time working as the community manager, and how this has been during the Dark Souls 2 development. Also before anyone asks, these questions were asked before the game was released. The graphical differences between the retail version and earlier footage we had seen was not known at the time of questioning. I've hit him up for further questions but not sure if he will have time, he is a busy dude. Nice guy though.

 

[LaunchpadMcQ]

I'm about 5 hours in and I've beaten one boss so far. This game feels as hard as DS1 was for me when I had never played a Souls game before. I think that's both good and bad. I'm definitely feeling challenged, but I also don't like that I can't try (repeatedly) to beat a tough boss without losing half my HP cap due to deaths. I feel like in this game, more so than Demon's Souls, you really need that HP because enemies can really fuck you up quick, and you have very limited healing capabilities early on.

How constrained is the supply of human effigies? Should I just play the way I want to and experiment and die? Or will I run out of effigies when I really want/need to use one?

One thing I don't want to do is get into a cycle of grinding for souls to buy consumable stuff (like effigies) every time I run out of really important items. I loved the other Souls games because I was able to progress very well with minimal grinding (other than for materials, which I didn't really mind).

Advice?

edit: the technical performance on PS3 is abysmal and FROM should be ashamed. Pictures in menus often take time to load in and when I'm talking to an NPC, their menu sometimes is very delayed in popping up. The character creation was a nightmare, as it took several seconds for any change to appear to on the screen. Is my PS3 broken or is the game broken? I've had no loading problems with other games.

There's an item that makes the health you lose from death minimal, pretty much inconsequential actually. However, human effigies can be pretty common... except, as luck would have it, when you really need them. There's an NPC that sells a few of them if you need them in a pinch, though, but hopefully it doesn't come to that. You should experiment and try to deal with bosses on your own at least a few times, I think. You get better at the game that way, since the bosses this time around you can't cheese past for a victory. There're tricks to them, and if they don't have a clue what they're doing, even coop buddies won't do you much good.

Performance is barely passable on the PS3, and I imagine it's the same on the 360. It's nothing so terrible I lose sleep over, though, it gets the job done.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Personally, from simply exploring I've amassed tons of effigies and lifegems. Just keep going back to Majula when you have enough souls for one level and this game is a cakewalk.

Also, check out

Spoiler

Heide's Tower of flame, the likely second area you can beat after the Forest. There you'll find a ring that caps your hollow health at 75% rather than 50%. You can get there via Majula!

They really limit and discourage grinding in this game. The game will give you what you need, but not much else. I suggest practicing on a boss while hollow and then popping an effigy once you think you have a better chance, or practice as a phantom. There's also a ring early on that limits the HP reduction

Spoiler

in Heide's Tower

.

Your PS3 isn't broken.

Thanks guys, good advice. I'll get that ring and practice bosses as a hollow.

Do you have to be human to be summoned?

There's an item that makes the health you lose from death minimal, pretty much inconsequential actually. However, human effigies can be pretty common... except, as luck would have it, when you really need them. There's an NPC that sells a few of them if you need them in a pinch, though, but hopefully it doesn't come to that. You should experiment and try to deal with bosses on your own at least a few times, I think. You get better at the game that way, since the bosses this time around you can't cheese past for a victory. There're tricks to them, and if they don't have a clue what they're doing, even coop buddies won't do you much good.

Performance is barely passable on the PS3, and I imagine it's the same on the 360. It's nothing so terrible I lose sleep over, though, it gets the job done.

I'm definitely fine with running solo for the bosses. Restoring humanity for the sake of summoning after every death sounds like the road to madness.

 

[GhostRidah]

Doing Belfry Luna and being invaded constantly lol, haven't lost yet but I can't figure out how to summon that thing you get if you're a blue sentinel being invaded. Also fuck

Spoiler

the belfry gargoyles

 

[Yasadril]

did anyone find a way to walk on the flamed ground?