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[Aces&Eights]

Shrine of Amana seems to be a game of patience no matter how you slice it. I went through it last night with a strength 35, faith 30 build, and while I can handle one-on-one encounters fairly easily, I kept getting overwhelmed by several enemies all attacking at once. My solution was to use a lightning bow to snipe a few enemies from a distance, and/or attract them to my position where I could finish them off. Interestingly enough, I kept thinking throughout my struggle that a magic build would've been much better equipped to deal with it.

There is no better level for using a bow than Shrine. Seriously, those casters can eat it.

 

[Caderfix]

I've played hundreds of hours on my PS3, and still, I'm thinking about getting this version as well.

The new enemy placement improved the game? How's Shrine of Amala now? And, more importantly, how are the hit boxes now, have they fixed it?

Oh, I forgot about Faith builds. Is fate still as NERFED as it was on PS3?

 

[rhandino]

What about Magic Barrier and/or Great Magic Barrier? I faintly remember getting trough that area using those Miracles and my trusty Mace + 8...

Or they nerfed them too -_-

 

[Golgo 13]

Thanks guys. I basically got my faith to 20 so I'd get the Sunset Staff, then ended up realizing it wasn't great with my current stats, But it doesn't seem like it's doing me many favors here (although I do like Lightning spear). I think a big problem has been that I haven't settled on armor (to power it up fully). What would you recommend? Should I dump my titanium into Forlorn?

 

[idonteven]

close to my second platinum now on ps3

so i got ps4 and ps3 scholar or the first sin platinum

can i buy dark souls 2 for ps3 en get a platinum for it too ? or does sotfs and dark soul 2 share the same list

 

[Jangaroo]

Thanks guys. I basically got my faith to 20 so I'd get the Sunset Staff, then ended up realizing it wasn't great with my current stats, But it doesn't seem like it's doing me many favors here (although I do like Lightning spear). I think a big problem has been that I haven't settled on armor (to power it up fully). What would you recommend? Should I dump my titanium into Forlorn?

Faith got nerfed pretty hard. Not that Lightning Spears aren't helpful, but if you're into spell casting, Hex and Sorcery can carry you throughout the entire game outside of maybe the DLC areas. So yeah, magic is pretty overpowered for PVE.

Have you been infusing your staffs? If you're thinking about going back to a Sorcery build, infuse your Staff of Wisdom +10 with magic for better damage/scaling.

Armor is dependent on what kind of weight level you like to play at.

Also, if you're sticking with magic while you're at Shrine of Amana, try using the binoculars to aim at enemies to draw their aggro with spells without needing to get too close with them.

Edit: Also, most Sunset Staff users use that particular staff for Hex/Dark magic builds.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Also, if you're sticking with magic while you're at Shrine of Amana, try using the binoculars to aim at enemies to draw their aggro with spells without needing to get too close with them.

You can aim spells using the binoculars? Woah, learn something new ever day. As I'm doing an INT/DEX for this playthrough this will certainly come in handy.

 

[Jangaroo]

You can aim spells using the binoculars? Woah, learn something new ever day. As I'm doing an INT/DEX for this playthrough this will certainly come in handy.

Yeah, just equip a binocular on one hand and a staff/chime on the other. There's no reticule but your spells will generally hit whatever is on the center of the screen.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Black Armor from Straid is pretty good, trade 4 souls with him and talk to him.

I use parts of that along with Drakeblood which is DLC area stuff. But the Alonne armor is pretty good too. I prefer to have at least some physical defense on my builds.

 

[Golgo 13]

Faith got nerfed pretty hard. Not that Lightning Spears aren't helpful, but if you're into spell casting, Hex and Sorcery can carry you throughout the entire game outside of maybe the DLC areas. So yeah, magic is pretty overpowered for PVE.

Have you been infusing your staffs? If you're thinking about going back to a Sorcery build, infuse your Staff of Wisdom +10 with magic for better damage/scaling.

Armor is dependent on what kind of weight level you like to play at.

Also, if you're sticking with magic while you're at Shrine of Amana, try using the binoculars to aim at enemies to draw their aggro with spells without needing to get too close with them.

Edit: Also, most Sunset Staff users use that particular staff for Hex/Dark magic builds.

Faith got nerfed from Dark Souls 2 vanilla? Because I know in Vanilla it was way OP. I think I fucked up by putting points into Faith. Maybe I'll respect with my faith points in intelligence and use the staff of Wisdom (currently I can't use it because of INT, and the fact that I use Hexes, which I'm not to o crazy about).

 

[ys45]

I'm looking for advice guys,

I'm at 40 str 28 dex

I'm looking for good dual wield weapons, Right now I'm still using a fire long sword + 5 and long sword + 5 I don't know what to use beside those .

I was using 2 maces when I started but the range on these suck really bad .
Maybe I should use dex weapon instead ?

Any recommendations are welcome !

 

[Jangaroo]

Faith got nerfed from Dark Souls 2 vanilla? Because I know in Vanilla it was way OP. I think I fucked up by putting points into Faith. Maybe I'll respect with my faith points in intelligence and use the staff of Wisdom (currently I can't use it because of INT, and the fact that I use Hexes, which I'm not to o crazy about).

Yeah I remember faith spells getting a reduction in number of uses and damage some time ago in one of the past patches/ calibrations, though I think someone said the damage nerf was a bug.
That's not to say that faith spells aren't good. I'm sure all of the Lightning spear variants still
pack a punch. You just don't have as many spell casts like with Hex or Sorcery.

In regards to Hex spells, dark magic scales off whatever is the lowest stat between Int and Faith. The soft cap for those two stats for hex users is usually 30/30. Hex is pretty OP outside of maybe the dlc areas due to bosses and enemies having higher dark resistance in those particular areas. Dark Orb and Resonant Soul can pretty much wipe out any enemy or boss with ease.

 

[Caderfix]

Faith got nerfed from Dark Souls 2 vanilla? Because I know in Vanilla it was way OP. I think I fucked up by putting points into Faith. Maybe I'll respect with my faith points in intelligence and use the staff of Wisdom (currently I can't use it because of INT, and the fact that I use Hexes, which I'm not to o crazy about).

Man, the last time I've played Vanilla the lightning spears did 25% less damage and we only had 3 shots. It was REALLY weak after the patch.

 

[rhandino]

I'm going to throw the wild guess that maybe they nerfed the power of the offensive Miracles since, at least that was my Impression in Dark Souls I, Miracles are more a tool and complement to the user instead of the main source of offensive damage like Sorceries and Hexes are...

 

[Ayt]

I'm looking for advice guys,

I'm at 40 str 28 dex

I'm looking for good dual wield weapons, Right now I'm still using a fire long sword + 5 and long sword + 5 I don't know what to use beside those .

I was using 2 maces when I started but the range on these suck really bad .
Maybe I should use dex weapon instead ?

Any recommendations are welcome !

The animation for dual wielding curved swords is pretty cool. You put a falchion in your left hand and still use a long sword in your right if you want and would get the new animation. You can then also parry with the falchion when you aren't in power stance.

If you have the red rust scimitar you could dual wield with that and it scales with STR.

 

[AlterOdin]

Just finished the crown of the sunken king DLC. Jesus, this one of the best sections I played in a souls game. The intricate level design with moving pillars and good shortcuts are so good.

Spoiler

Could maybe be a bit more enemies inside the "pyramids", especially the last one

And the final boss must the best boss I played on in a souls game yet (not yet played BB).
So epic, hard but fair.

Spoiler

The boss before it, was kinda of lame

On to the next DLC.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Is Soul Geyser worth it? Currently at 55 int (5 of which are from ring). I guess I would use simpletons spice rather than leveling int, but if it's not worth it I won't bother.

Also is is there any practicality of dual wielding my magic staff of wisdom? Spells seem to do same damage as one handed.

 

[gogosox82]

So I'm level 133 at Shrine of Amana and having a really hard time as a Sorcerer build. I have no idea what I did wrong. Here's my stats --

Vgr 28
End 22
But 9
Atn: 25
Str: 18
Dex: 11
Adp: 12
Int: 42
Fry: 21

I'm using a Sorcerers Staff +10 (more on that in a moment), Magic Mace +8 and the Forlorn set with Hexers Hood for magic bonuses. I use a mix of Great Heavy Soul Arrows, Soul Vortex, Dark Orb, and Soul Greatsword. I'm literally FUCKED if an enemy closes in. I usually end up running away and kiting enemies around, but I have a feeling I shouldn't be using such annoying tactics this far into the game, Sorcerer just seems fucking weak.

I have the Sunset Staff but don't use it because even at +5 it still gives me worse bonuses than my Sorcerer staff + 10, plus the casting time is slower, so why bother?

I'm in need of advice here. I can re arrange my stats if need be (I have 2 or 3 Soul vessels), if that would help. Or maybe I'll just reroll into a Faith build because on further investigation I've found that sorcery sucks ass in DS2 anyway (according to people with more knowledge of the mechanics than me).

What rings are you using? Do you have southern ritual band +2 yet( gives you 2 extra attunement slots) or clear bluestone ring +2 (faster casting speed)? You should get those rings as they will help you but you will need to burn ascetics to get them. You should also have access to soul spear(its in huntsman copse) and you can burn ascetics to get more since it will respawn when you burn an ascetic and you wouldn't need to fight a boss.

I wouldn't use dark orb unless you plan on leveling your faith evenly because hexes scales with both int and faith and the dark damage will be based on your lowest stat between the two. Soul Vortex honestly isn't that good, I never use that spell on my sorcerer because it just doesn't do that much damage so I wouldn't use it. You'd be better off with great soul arrow or great heavy soul arrow and if you don't have soul spear, go to huntsman corpse and get it. Soul Greatsword is fine for killing mobs, it just has a long delay so be careful with it.

I like having a thrusting weapon on my sorcerer so when enemies come running in, you can poke them away. I have an +10 magic estoc, but you could use a spear like the winged spear or the pike or something similar to keep enemies from rushing you.

I know you have maxed out the sorcerer staff, but there are better staffs. Since your in the Shrine of Amana, you could try and farm Amana mages for the staff of Amana. It has S scaling for int. There is also the Staff of Wisdom which also scales S with int but you need 50 int to use it. You can also use the witchtree branch. All of these should do more damage than the sorcerer's staff especially if you infuse them to scale with your int.

Also Faith got nerfed really hard and is basically just support magic now so I wouldn't switch to a faith build if you want to be a caster. Either stick with being a sorcerer or respec to get your faith even with your int and start using hexes instead.

I'm looking for advice guys,


I'm at 40 str 28 dex

I'm looking for good dual wield weapons, Right now I'm still using a fire long sword + 5 and long sword + 5 I don't know what to use beside those .

I was using 2 maces when I started but the range on these suck really bad .
Maybe I should use dex weapon instead ?

Any recommendations are welcome !

Dual wielding rapiers is still pretty good.

Is Soul Geyser worth it? Currently at 55 int (5 of which are from ring). I guess I would use simpletons spice rather than leveling int, but if it's not worth it I won't bother.

Also is is there any practicality of dual wielding my magic staff of wisdom? Spells seem to do same damage as one handed.

It was good but got nerfed. You'd be better off getting crystal soul spear instead now.

No, there's no use to dual wielding or two handing you staff.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Thanks gogo. Never even heard of that crystal spear before but I'm going to seek it out now. Guess I gotta go do some spider hell +1 via bonfire ascetic.

 

[Kama_1082]

That's weird, because your soul memory seems to be appropriate for that place. Hopefully tomorrow will yield better results.

Yeah, banging your head against a boss: 100/1 odds you will crush Rotten tomorrow in your first 2 tries. Good luck have batman.

What's your agility? These are the breakpoints for rolling i-frames. It being too low might be the problem.

OK dudes, I totally wrecked house today. Went from 70-97,agility at 100 and demolished a crap load of bosses:

Rotten, magus, iron king, skeleton lords, najika,mytha, smelter demon. I'm currently in tsleadora. How much more do i have left in the game?

 

[iRAWRasaurus]

OK dudes, I totally wrecked house today. Went from 70-97,agility at 100 and demolished a crap load of bosses:

Rotten, magus, iron king, skeleton lords, najika,mytha, smelter demon. I'm currently in tsleadora. How much more do i have left in the game?

Glad increasing your agility helped! Agility 105 is the next time your iframes is increase. If you think your agility is good enough, you dont have to increase it anymore.

Hmmm maybe 45%ish left including the DLC? But frankly I never finish Dark souls 2, last year got all the way to the end

 

[elfinke]

OK dudes, I totally wrecked house today. Went from 70-97,agility at 100 and demolished a crap load of bosses:

Rotten, magus, iron king, skeleton lords, najika,mytha, smelter demon. I'm currently in tsleadora. How much more do i have left in the game?

Haha, congrats. I always enjoy that. Sometimes it just takes a lunch break, other times a bit of re-strategising, but coming out throwing nothing but winning punches is always immensely satisfying!

The small things and small changes in Scholar add up to such a sublime experience, relative to vanilla. They really knocked it out of the park.

 

[Omega Ultimus]

OK dudes, I totally wrecked house today. Went from 70-97,agility at 100 and demolished a crap load of bosses:

Rotten, magus, iron king, skeleton lords, najika,mytha, smelter demon. I'm currently in tsleadora. How much more do i have left in the game?

Awesome!

I like to think of the progression like this (base game, no DLC): Each boss soul acquisition serves as a marker of about 21.25% of the game, and after all four are collected, you have about 15% of it left until you're finished.

 

[GreyOcelot]

Awesome!

I like to think of the progression like this (base game, no DLC): Each boss soul acquisition serves as a marker of about 21.25% of the game, and after all four are collected, you have about 15% of it left until you're finished.

i'm confused. i've beaten 7 bosses (last giant, pursuer, skeleton lords, flexile sentry, royal rat vanguard, old dragon slayer, dargonrider), and almost none of what he's talking about

 

[Robot Pants]

i'm confused. i've beaten 7 bosses (last giant, pursuer, skeleton lords, flexile sentry, royal rat vanguard, old dragon slayer, dargonrider), and almost none of what he's talking about

You're still very early

 

[Toxi]

Demon's Souls is $5 on PSN right now. worth it? or too big of a step back?

Absolutely worth it, especially at that price.

i'm confused. i've beaten 7 bosses (last giant, pursuer, skeleton lords, flexile sentry, royal rat vanguard, old dragon slayer, dargonrider), and almost none of what he's talking about

You've got a long ways to go.

 

[gogosox82]

i'm confused. i've beaten 7 bosses (last giant, pursuer, skeleton lords, flexile sentry, royal rat vanguard, old dragon slayer, dargonrider), and almost none of what he's talking about

There are alot of bosses in the game. You've beaten all of the early game bosses so far but none of the "important" bosses that you need to beat to progress in the game.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

Iron Keep is rough. Damn.

 

[Kama_1082]

Iron Keep is rough. Damn.

Yep. Its a tough one, but its good to know where to go. Let me know if you need some help.

 

[GreyOcelot]

You're still very early

Absolutely worth it, especially at that price.

You've got a long ways to go.

There are alot of bosses in the game. You've beaten all of the early game bosses so far but none of the "important" bosses that you need to beat to progress in the game.

i figured as much, but i was more looking for an explanation that rationalizes my progress with what he said

 

[Kama_1082]

i figured as much, but i was more looking for an explanation that rationalizes my progress with what he said

You're on the right path, you're just beating the early bosses. I skipped some and came back to them when I needed to level up/get confidence.

Keep in mind, I already beat the bosses you listed. I was stuck last night and decided to leave the rotten alone to conquer other places.

 

[LegalEagleMike]

i figured as much, but i was more looking for an explanation that rationalizes my progress with what he said

He was referring to the 4 "main" bosses that are required for progression to the final areas of the game. You have not seen one of those yet.

 

[jacob armitage]

So any advice on a good weapon to use as a mostly faith built cleric? I tried using some of the great hammers but always find them too clunky. Im just about to head into new game plus.

 

[Omega Ultimus]

He was referring to the 4 "main" bosses that are required for progression to the final areas of the game. You have not seen one of those yet.

Yeah, and keep in mind-this is to the person you're responding to-that this game is non-linear (at least, for the most part). Funnily enough, he's branched out to all of the earliest possible bosses, instead of finishing the areas that follow them. Which is totally fine, he'll just be extra beefy when he faces the first big boss.

 

[GreyOcelot]

He was referring to the 4 "main" bosses that are required for progression to the final areas of the game. You have not seen one of those yet.

ahhhhhhh, that's what i was confused on. thanks

 

[Gigglepoo]

Is there a Dark Souls II equivalent to the Balder Side Sword? That's my go-to weapon in Dark Souls. You can get it early, it upgrades well, and it's fast.

 

[Ayt]

Is there a Dark Souls II equivalent to the Balder Side Sword? That's my go-to weapon in Dark Souls. You can get it early, it upgrades well, and it's fast.

There really isn't an equivalent weapon that combines the speed, length, and move set of the BSS. The regular short sword is probably the closest comparison in terms of speed and move set, though it obviously doesn't have the length.

Here is a video showing off the short sword move set:

https://youtu.be/1AoR3hyRodM

If you really liked the thrust attack of the BSS, I'd recommend the estoc in DS2.

 

[Dimmle]

Were the Throne Watcher and Defender profoundly nerfed in Scholar? I had such a hard time with them the first time around and I beat them on the first try today.

 

[Augemitbutter]

decided to help people with fume a few times before moving on to ng+. i wanted to fight him more, too.

feels good man. all i need for plat are the spells now.

Were the Throne Watcher and Defender profoundly nerfed in Scholar? I had such a hard time with them the first time around and I beat them on the first try today.

i don't think so. felt the same to me.

 

[rhandino]

* Spoiler if someone hasn't beaten the Sunken King area...

Managed to beat

Spoiler

Elana, The Squalid Queen

in just 3 tries... I liked that

Spoiler

She

is like a big

Spoiler

Nashandra 2.0

just with more crazy antics and my hand sweated when

Spoiler

she summoned Velsdadt

.

Cool boss, but now

Spoiler

Sinh

is wrecking my fun and I didn't have much trouble with

Spoiler

Kalameet

but damn if this one seems more hard and unpredictable, maybe I need a snack =P

 

[Wagram]

Didn't really have a problem with this too much throughout the game but A

Spoiler

ava

seemed like he had some serious hitbox issues. Would dodge out of the way and he would smack the shit out of me anyways. Caused several deaths that weren't deserved, but not a hard boss otherwise.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Were the Throne Watcher and Defender profoundly nerfed in Scholar? I had such a hard time with them the first time around and I beat them on the first try today.

I don't think so. I was getting my ass kicked by them even with 2 npc phantoms (SL 100 or so). Although my first character last year plowed through em on my first try. Might just be a difference in your build (gear, stats, etc) compared to when you played before. There' so many variables in this game that each playthrough feels unique....probably one of the reasons I am willing to play this game 7 times through.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

Yep. Its a tough one, but its good to know where to go. Let me know if you need some help.

I'm good thank you though! I beat Smeltor and Iron King first try. Now soul lvl 111.

 

[LegalEagleMike]

I'm good thank you though! I beat Smeltor and Iron King first try. Now soul lvl 111.

If you can handle Smelter first try then you are good to go lol.

 

[Beaulieu]

finished the main game and jumping in DLC, damn that's hard ! difficulty realle spikes there, but so far it looks very good.
only missing trophies are the 4 magic trophies and the girl equipment one I missed like a dummy.

 

[njean777]

* Spoiler if someone hasn't beaten the Sunken King area...

Managed to beat

Spoiler

Elana, The Squalid Queen

in just 3 tries... I liked that

Spoiler

She

is like a big

Spoiler

Nashandra 2.0

just with more crazy antics and my hand sweated when

Spoiler

she summoned Velsdadt

.

Cool boss, but now

Spoiler

Sinh

is wrecking my fun and I didn't have much trouble with

Spoiler

Kalameet

but damn if this one seems more hard and unpredictable, maybe I need a snack =P

pro-tip

Spoiler

run towards him when he is in the air, that way his toxic flames miss you, and his toxic fireball. Also look out because sometimes he will land and hit you.

 

[Aces&Eights]

finished the main game and jumping in DLC, damn that's hard ! difficulty realle spikes there, but so far it looks very good.
only missing trophies are the 4 magic trophies and the girl equipment one I missed like a dummy.

If you exhausted the talking then she goes to Majula and you can still give her gear there.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

If you can handle Smelter first try then you are good to go lol.

Ya I'm feeling good about this character. Took my time to get everything and beat all of the bosses so far. Its paying off.

 

[LlamaJohnson]

I just wasted 35,000 souls..... I had just finished beating Mytha, and entered the Iron Keep. Upon seeing that item next to the 1st bonfire, I lost all coherent thought, and rolled into the firey ground, pretty much an instant death. Then when trying to retrieve my 35,000 souls, realizing that I needed to be quick, I rolled off the fucking edge. Gone. Forever. I've never lost more than 10,000 before. I tend to be very careful. I'm quitting the game for the night. I'm so upset.

 

[Omega Ultimus]

I just wasted 35,000 souls..... I had just finished beating Mytha, and entered the Iron Keep. Upon seeing that item next to the 1st bonfire, I lost all coherent thought, and rolled into the firey ground, pretty much an instant death. Then when trying to retrieve my 35,000 souls, realizing that I needed to be quick, I rolled off the fucking edge. Gone. Forever. I've never lost more than 10,000 before. I tend to be very careful. I'm quitting the game for the night. I'm so upset.

It's okay, bud. Souls come and go, but Dark is forever.