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Dark Souls II PC |OT| Give us smooth, Give us silky
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Orthogonal
Member
Flexile Sentry was a little more entertaining in NG+ with
the adds. I had Lucatiel in tow for her questline and made it a little too easy, again. But I atleast had a small burst of adrenaline when I got surrounded. Of course, Lucatiel Tanks again, and I just sit back and deal DPS. I think she was a bit over-buffed in an earlier patch. Need to meet somewhere in the middle on how soft she used to be and now.
I think the issue might be that theres not really a lot the player can do to keep her alive and if she dies thats quite possible her storyline fucked for that playthrough so I can see why they erred on the side of too buff.
Adaptability to 20 at least. Gives you a decent roll for evading attacks.
shysaursoft
Member
A friend just had their Dark Souls II crash while sitting at a bonfire, and it corrupted his save. He was at NG+, and didn't have a backup. There's no automatic Steam cloud backup for Dark Souls II, so take this as a warning: back up your save now and then.
You gotta give some ideas for what play style you'll be going for...
Melee? Magic? Faith? Pyro? Combo of any of those?
Based off your end goal, you'll want to pick a starting class semi-relevant to where you intend to take your character. You can always change paths as respec is possible.. However precious resources to upgrade weapons are limited early on.. So use those wisely in the first half.
I personally went Melee, and in late game added Pyro on to my skills. When you have more specific thoughts of what your weaknesses and strengths are, come back and get more advice. Dark Souls is a lot of learning.
Have fun.
I decided that I am going to go greatsword and see how that goes. I'm wondering if it's worth using a shield or if I should 2H it.
Do you have at least 500 souls?
Okay, thats some solid advice, thanks! Im going to try and go a melee type warrior first I think and add some magic stuff as I go. Eventually being some sort of battlemage. Is that possible?
Ya, I have resonant weapon equipped as well and that seems to be working.
I did equip the spells before I respecced my character though, so that may be causing problems. Let me beat this boss then I will see if that is the issue.
Orthogonal
Member
What is your playstyle? Melee, mage, hybrid, bow etc?
Orthogonal
Member
Hmmm, maybe you lost the attunement slot it was assigned when respeccing... just thinking out loud.
Edit: sorry for double post.
OneEyeTwoHead
Banned
The PvP summons for the boss (you know who) is so lame.
Also, how do the bonfire asectics work? Does it only raise it to NG+ for that one boss? I don't think I could kill the Lost Sinner in NG+ at the moment. lol
Yes. Focus on VIT, ADP, END for a while (at least 20 in each I would recommend). As for STR and DEX my advice is to not invest too much in either until you find a weapon you really like. At that point you can just meet the minimum requirements and through upgrades you should be able to get some great usage out of it.
As far as branching off into a mage 13 ATN (plus and extra spell slots through a ring you should be able to find) and 18 INT gives you some wonderful utility. Some decent damage spells, plus access to weapon buffs, stealth spells, light source and repair magic.
I did a video guide on first steps about how to build a hex character here. Use the description timeline to link to different parts. Hexes are just a combo of faith and magic, if you can figure out what to do for hexes faith and magic are easier.
are you for real dude
those two are the big issues about dark souls 2, 20-25% my ass, those two make up for 100% of the bad stuff about the game. all the rest is great, when the dungeons work like in iron keep you get to enjoy all the beautiful goodness of the souls series no probs
most of dark souls 2 feels like cut content from dark souls 1, that's the big issue with the game.
if you really want to keep talking percentages because you don't like that i don't like the boss and dungeon design of the game then don't count with me
selective memory? pls
For that entire section it gets pumped to Ng+. An ascetic for the sinner on NG is actually easier than the actual fight in NG+ because the pyros don't spawn.
Orthogonal
Member
Int and FTH can increase fire bonus.
xBladeM6x
Member
Is it worth the investment, or is it just something that if ignored, you'll still have decent damage output with the pyro flame?
Wait, would getting to NG+ take 2 bonfire ascetics? I've only killed him once since I'm on my first playthrough.
Orthogonal
Member
I wouldn't go out of my way to increase it for that. Look at it as synergistic with Int or FTH heavy builds. You can still get decent damage as a pure melee.
What are you talking about? Im talking about percentages because this entire exchange started based on a post with a set number of points. Someone laid out their objections to the game, the majority of which are endemic to the series, you recommended that he play DS1 because it doesnt suffer from those issues like its "downgraded" sequel. I pointed out that DS1 had more or less the exact same issues the poster was complaining about. You responded that "a lot" of the listed issues were caused by easy bosses and the level design, I pointed out that at best 20% of the posters (remeber the actual source of the exchange) listed issues might be caused by those things and that a) that didnt constitute a lot and b) again most of his issues were endemic to the series. Now you've apparently become confused as to what your own response was about, who said anything about "the big issues with DS2"? This wasnt about a general critique of the game, it was pointing out that one specific list of complaints was largely applicable to the series so recommending DS1 over DS2 to that poster was pointless. Happy to leave it there as apparently having to track both sides of the discussion means Im essentially arguing with myself.
These shorthand complaints (they're not quite criticism in any real sense) are a bummer. Mostly because they're written as statements of fact to hide a posters' actual opinion. I mean, I think I know what you're saying (correct me if I'm wrong):
"I think a lot of the content in Dark Souls 2 is not as good as the content in Dark Souls 1. In some cases, I feel like it is cut content from the previous game. Here are the reasons why I feel this way..."
Then we could discuss your reasons, which I would be interested in hearing, as by and large, I don't feel that way at all.
With the exception of a few areas and moments from Dark Souls 1 (looking up and seeing distant bonfires, Archives through to Seath, conceptually I loved the hell out of Anor Londo - it's such a shame it is an empty place you visit a mere fraction of - opening that shortcut, and Sen's), I think DS2 is on par, or even better, than 1. And more broadly, I have enjoyed my time with 2 more than 1, and I still like Demon's more than either (which for sure is a combination of endearing nostalgia - as I played an imported, non English version and slogged all the way through it, and upon localisation I grabbed both a US edition and an Aussie edition and played through those - and a personal preference for the subtle differences in theme and style of it (Nexus, DBS, Latria) ahead of the Dark series).
For sure I feel the Souls' series has yet to reach its peak, or fulfil its potential. Between the three games there is an untouchably amazing game, but we're not the yet!
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Beat
and
today
The former was just a cool fight all around but a bit too tough for my melee build. Respecced to faith and used Great Lightning Spear as a few posters here suggested and the fight became hilariously trivial in nature. I appreciate the design of the boss, though. It looks cool, has a good music theme, and varies its attacks quite a bit.
The latter is just kind of boring. Not as boring as the optional dragon boss which I didn't even bother with. 4 giant souls was enough of a handicap for me.
On another note, I'd just like to say that the Straid bonfire is possibly the worst single piece of game design in any Souls game, comparable to Bed of Chaos (although that might still be the true worst). I don't mind the kamikaze enemies. I don't mind them putting a bonfire really close to enemies. I don't mind them putting an NPC next to enemies. But all 3 of those scenarios at the same time? Pls. Needless to say I accidentally made an enemy of him and had to off him. Oh well, there's always NG+.
+10 pyro hand got me into the ~200s/low 300s damage range with fire I believe. I just finished NG and have both INT and FAITH at 20 and now it's in the high 300s. I would say INT and FAITH are worth levelling but you can always hold off until after you level up more around your DEX build with DEX, STR, ADP, and END not to mention you will probably want at LEAST 3 slots (I have 6)
Dark Lurker
Vendrick
The former was just a cool fight all around but a bit too tough for my melee build. Respecced to faith and used Great Lightning Spear as a few posters here suggested and the fight became hilariously trivial in nature. I appreciate the design of the boss, though. It looks cool, has a good music theme, and varies its attacks quite a bit.
The latter is just kind of boring. Not as boring as the optional dragon boss which I didn't even bother with. 4 giant souls was enough of a handicap for me.
On another note, I'd just like to say that the Straid bonfire is possibly the worst single piece of game design in any Souls game, comparable to Bed of Chaos (although that might still be the true worst). I don't mind the kamikaze enemies. I don't mind them putting a bonfire really close to enemies. I don't mind them putting an NPC next to enemies. But all 3 of those scenarios at the same time? Pls. Needless to say I accidentally made an enemy of him and had to off him. Oh well, there's always NG+.
+10 pyro hand got me into the ~200s/low 300s damage range with fire I believe. I just finished NG and have both INT and FAITH at 20 and now it's in the high 300s. I would say INT and FAITH are worth levelling but you can always hold off until after you level up more around your DEX build with DEX, STR, ADP, and END not to mention you will probably want at LEAST 3 slots (I have 6)
Orthogonal
Member
Beast? Beast!
you've been rude from the start for some random reason that has nothing to do with me i bet, which doesn't bode well with friendly conversation. i made the mistake of being baited by that but i'm over it now
you know what? my bad for using the words "a lot", i should've said "some". awesome, glad we cleared that up!
i'd still recommend he tried dks1 because it demonstrates better what the souls series can be, give it another chance, this time with a better game!
i'm not hiding that what i post here are my opinions, writing "i think that..." on every sentence is a waste of my time and yours. i assumed that by now it we all agreed that it's unnecessary to clarify this specially when i'm using the word "feel" to describe my impressions of a game
i've said already what i don't like about the design of dks2 in other posts, most dungeons feel underdeveloped and there's just so freaking many of them and like most of them lead to nowhere or just to the next dungeon and that's it. there's no sense of "sprawlingness", it's just one dungeon after the other until it's suddenly over and you're greeted by a bonfire, a key or a npc and then you port back. there's very moments where you feel actual dread or fear or anything because of how easy all these dungeons are. there's a few exceptions but that's what they are, exceptions. iron keep is fantastic, i was cursing from every step of the way, it was great. but there's not that much more,
there's like a billion bosses i can't even remember fighting because of how little time i spent actually fighting them, a good number of them died in about 10 or 15 hits, and a good number of them didn't take me two tries. some of them like chariot or
ornstein
i mean ok that npc is cool and i love being a blue sentinel and being summoned just as the host is killed but so far (i'm pretty close to beating it) the game's been filled with "that's it?" moments.
unlike dark souls 1 which was HOLY FUCK after HOLY FUCK.
In terms of world design, I think Dark Souls 2 actually has more in common with Demon Souls than the original Dark Souls.
The world can be essentially broken down into linear, separated areas with a boss at the end, much like Demon Souls was. The design is disguised as more open, but it never reaches the non-linear elements of the original Dark Souls.
No, no what I mean is after you've beaten him in NG, stay in NG and use an asectic to boost the bonfire to intensity 2. Once you do that him respawns, but the fight different from when you fight him in NG+ itself, because there won't be any pyromancers.
I've seen you mention this before Grief, and I think the comparison is very apt. It certainly stood out to me, and a large reason for that was due to the much maligned excess bonfire placement, which I'll speak to another time because I think it ties in closely to the dungeon design and perhaps, as a concession to the series' success.
I'm about to leave for indoor cricket, but I wanted to add that the complaints about the bosses in DS2 somewhat come from the series being a victim of its own reputation, stemming from the way DeSo was designed. Each world (1-1, 3-2 etc) was clearly punctuated by a boss and it was very rare for there to be rest between entering the world and said boss. You hadn't cleared 11 until Phalanx was defeated. You couldn't enter 1-3 until you defeated the awe-inspiring Tower Knight, but also defeated (major) bosses that clearly punctuated other arch stones areas.
But in DS, and especially DS2, the bosses don't punctuate much at all. Some are genuinely memorable encounters that end an area (Old Iron King), some stand in the way of the next bonfire (Smelter), others exist to flesh out lore, others merely exist (probably no coincidence that Iron Keep is mostly favourably received and has those two bosses within it!)
That's all fine to me, but with the precedent set from DeSo, it clearly rubbed some people the wrong way.
I think the biggest problem of DkS2 can be bogged down to quantity over quality.
Many times i've finished a boss or an area (many of them are like 3 rooms, btw) and gone "that's it?".
On the other hand the game feels absolutely huge, to the point that i wish they had cut a couple of things and focused more on making what they had more special and refining it more.
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I'm also a bit disappointed by the Covenants.
Many of them feel like a rethread of DkS1 ideas, and you can kind of excuse DkS1's covenants because it was the first implementation, but i would've liked them to go more creative this time around.
Mechanically speaking, you don't need 50 variations of being-summoned-to-duel covenants.
Many times i've finished a boss or an area (many of them are like 3 rooms, btw) and gone "that's it?".
On the other hand the game feels absolutely huge, to the point that i wish they had cut a couple of things and focused more on making what they had more special and refining it more.
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I'm also a bit disappointed by the Covenants.
Many of them feel like a rethread of DkS1 ideas, and you can kind of excuse DkS1's covenants because it was the first implementation, but i would've liked them to go more creative this time around.
Mechanically speaking, you don't need 50 variations of being-summoned-to-duel covenants.
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Just played with someone named THRILL**. Haha, nice reference foiled by censorship.
That's why I put quotation marks! At least old king is a great end boss. I might do a bit of ng+ after I beat child of light, I've been putting it off for way too long. I also need to beat dark souls 2 ng+, I'm about half way there. Shit, I also need to get around to playing the dark souls dlc. Need more free time, dammit.
This is my dilemma. I so want to level up beyond 150 due to SM, but what if they change it? Sucks.
Loose you footing or the hollow royal soldiers?
I forgot the one that drops from above lol, he knocked me out while i tried to circle around him (dont ask me why I panicked)
Eh, after i beat the last two bosses i said "fuck it" and dumped all my souls (including those i had left as objects in the inventory) into leveling up Strength up to 50.
I'm now 161.
I'll roll another chaacter for multiplayer.
Damn it! The
won't respawn anymore and I have yet to collect all the armor parts, as I'm still missing the leggings. This is the third time this happened to me when I was trying to farm armor/weapons from enemies.
That armor is shield. It's description says it boosts luck but when I equip it alone I don't get the serpent emblem to show up in the hud, unlike other luck boosting equipment.
Ruin Sentinel
That armor is shield. It's description says it boosts luck but when I equip it alone I don't get the serpent emblem to show up in the hud, unlike other luck boosting equipment.
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