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Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin |OT| Your weapons are weak, old man

BouncyFrag

Member
Iron Keep is hilarious with the aggros. I take a step outside and I have those Alonne Knights just booking it for me.
I was going through there last night and decided just to run through the area since I was frustrated and tired of picking them off patiently with the bow. It did not go well at all, lol.
 

elfinke

Member
Iron Keep is hilarious with the aggros. I take a step outside and I have those Alonne Knights just booking it for me.

Yeah it can be. There are times where the Knights approach you in a neat and orderly fashion, allowing you to take them on one or two at a time, perhaps with an annoying archer to dodge also. There are other times where you step foot into the main area and they come running from everywhere, as though you had insulted their mums or something.

I would imagine you're quite the high level to powerstance weapons like that (I honestly don't know just assuming). What's your soul memory? Is there much PVP in that bracket? I figured most PVP would be around the 1.5-2m soul memory which is right around where my first PVP character is.

I'd have to double check, but I think my SM is around 3.5-4mil, SL is 125. I've started levelling my SL, just to keep pace with the increase to HP that comes with the higher SL opponents I run into. Though truthfully, it is the high lag opponents that cause me more grief than higher SL. For whatever reason, even with restricted region turned on, I ran into a constant stream of steam profiles set from Russia, Poland and other cold Europe regions last night. Needless to say, those fights went poorly :/

As for power stancing Blue Flames, the attribute cost is quite low, making them very viable for moderate SL PvP. The L2 attack hits like a truck.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
Though truthfully, it is the high lag opponents that cause me more grief than higher SL. For whatever reason, even with restricted region turned on, I ran into a constant stream of steam profiles set from Russia, Poland and other cold Europe regions last night. Needless to say, those fights went poorly :/

From what I've heard, the "cross-region restriction" option only segregates those within Asia from those without.
 
just reached aldia's keep. i decided to go back and find the keys for the dlc and at least check them out real quick. man, all 3 looks amazing and epic right from the start. really makes me want to just go through them instead. some of the areas in the main game are really bland and boring looking.

i also have been looking for another weapon to max out. played the first 1/2 or so of the game with a bastard sword/shield combo. then once i got my strength and apd up enough i switched to two-handing an ultra greatsword. i love it but i wouldn't mind trying out something else. preferably a two-handed weapon with at least one sweeping attach that can hit multiple enemies/crowds easily. i wanted to use a halberd, but the spinning R2 attack just used too much stamina to be a viable option for me. any suggestions?
 

MG310

Member
Iron Keep and Earthen Peak are both ridiculous now but they seem to have balanced it out well by throwing upgrade materials at you right from the start. Super easy to end up with 6-8 enemies on top of you now though.

I ended up with a +10 Morningstar before even getting to Sinner's Rise this time around.. plus I'm nearly there with my usual combo of Large Club and Poison Bandit Knife at +7..just need some more chunks.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Man, I just don't know what I'm doing with this game. Never played much but really giving it a shot. I simply can't make good progress and it's driving me nuts. Enemies destroy you in so few hits and your character is just too slow and without enough stamina. I'm right at the beginning of the game and haven't been able to get through the forest area (just to the boss door). Any tips for making things easier (just in general)?

I felt like it was time to tackle it as I have finished Dark Souls 1 in the past (three years ago, I guess) and I just finished Bloodborne yesterday. I had such a good time with those games and, while sometimes challenging, they felt fair and kept pushing me forward. For some reason Dark Souls 2 is just too much and I can't make any head way.

Also, coming off of Bloodborne, the combat just feels so much worse. :\
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
combat in dark souls 2 is really about patience, especially early. don't take chances trying to get extra hits in between enemy swipes. it's not a race. you're not going to be badass for a couple hours at least

if you're not using a shield make sure to dump some points into adaptability (and attunement if you use magic at all) to get your agility up so you can dodge better

if you get a weapon that is half decent, consider upgrading it a level or two

carry a ranged weapon of some kind, even if it's a crappy bow

also if going one direction is giving you trouble, don't be afraid to put that area on hold and go somewhere else. DS2 is surprisingly non-linear during the beginning of the game.
 
Man, I just don't know what I'm doing with this game. Never played much but really giving it a shot. I simply can't make good progress and it's driving me nuts. Enemies destroy you in so few hits and your character is just too slow and without enough stamina. I'm right at the beginning of the game and haven't been able to get through the forest area (just to the boss door). Any tips for making things easier (just in general)?

I felt like it was time to tackle it as I have finished Dark Souls 1 in the past (three years ago, I guess) and I just finished Bloodborne yesterday. I had such a good time with those games and, while sometimes challenging, they felt fair and kept pushing me forward. For some reason Dark Souls 2 is just too much and I can't make any head way.

Also, coming off of Bloodborne, the combat just feels so much worse. :\

Beginning is hard, really hard for some reasons. I did not have such difficulties in my first Souls game: Demon's. With my first character I died 39 times before getting to the second boss (!!!), then after 30 hours I dropped this character and started from scratch with a new one. I died 2 times before getting to the second boss with my second character.

Some tips from someone who started playing DaS2 recently as you:

- get a mace (2k souls or Cleric starting weapon)
- upgrade your weapon at the very first possible timeframe. It is more important than levelling up.
- until you get a 100% Damage Reduction shield do not bother with shields at all, drop them
- 2h your weapon. Always.
- ALWAYS ROLL TO THE RIGHT <-- do not know why but this works on every single fucking enemy and boss in this game. They have more attacks that can hurt you if you roll to the left than when you roll to the right. Coincidence? I do not think so.
- remember that you can always EXTINCT an enemy --> after you kill it, rest at the bonfire, go back kill it again, rest at the bonfire etc. and in 20-30 kills he will be gone forever (except special circumstances). I never did it on purpouse but lol it happened automatically before the 2nd boss (he killed me so many times...).
- be sure your encumberance is BELOW 66%. You want it to be below 33% (or 25%?) but this is just not attainable in the beginning. You DO NOT WANT TO FAT-ROLL. Rolling in this game >>> using a shield (I killed 7 bosses without a shield). AND I PLAYED A 100% TANK IN DEMON'S.
- sometimes you just want to aggro a distant/ high-above enemy - for this reason always have a bow/ crossbow with at least 10 arrows/ bolts
- depending on how you plan your adventure through the game the 2nd boss in the game will destroy you again and again. And again. He killed me 19 times before I got him. You can always go level up and upgrade your equipment elsewhere (even w/o fighting any other bosses) so it is up to you.
- ROLL, ROLL, ROLL
- do not be greedy with your attacks -> one jab and then WAIT. Do not combo if you feel it is greedy.
- ROLL SOME MORE

I mean you played Demon's, Bloodborne and DaS1 so I think this game should be super easy for you, no? It's the same damn game after all.

GIT GUD!
 

BizzyBum

Member
Man, I just don't know what I'm doing with this game. Never played much but really giving it a shot. I simply can't make good progress and it's driving me nuts. Enemies destroy you in so few hits and your character is just too slow and without enough stamina. I'm right at the beginning of the game and haven't been able to get through the forest area (just to the boss door). Any tips for making things easier (just in general)?

I felt like it was time to tackle it as I have finished Dark Souls 1 in the past (three years ago, I guess) and I just finished Bloodborne yesterday. I had such a good time with those games and, while sometimes challenging, they felt fair and kept pushing me forward. For some reason Dark Souls 2 is just too much and I can't make any head way.

Also, coming off of Bloodborne, the combat just feels so much worse. :\

Put 32 points into ADP as soon as you can for 105 AGL so you get more iFrames on your rolls and try to keep your weight below 50% and anything over 70% slows your rolls down considerably. But the 32 points into adaptability really helps so you can time your rolls an not get hit.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Thanks for the tips. Finally starting to make some progress. Finished off the first boss (who was insanely easy) and things have been going much more smoothly now that I'm pouring souls into weapons.

I think I was getting tripped up by Bloodborne which rewards very fast attacks and quick movements in a way that is impossible here. Once I slowed down and started dodging in a more predictive fashion it started going better. You guys are right about being greedy - it was easy to stagger foes in Bloodborne (or just over power them) but that's not true here, obviously.

For the moment, I'm mostly just dodging and getting back attacks. I parried like crazy in the other three games but the timing here is really getting me for some reason. All of the animations play out in such a way that I'm either parrying too early or too late so I'm just not bothering at the moment. A huge difference from the wide open windows of Bloodborne where you could easily take on much stronger enemies with your pistol.
 
The Durability Patch is live, downloaded, and installed on my system. Been waiting for this before I started my playthrough.

Now time to put in some work :)
 
Thanks for the tips. Finally starting to make some progress. Finished off the first boss (who was insanely easy) and things have been going much more smoothly now that I'm pouring souls into weapons.

Haha the first boss is nothing... 2nd one will teach you how to play this game properly.
 

Ferr986

Member
Just to clarify, Power Stance requirement 150% of stats for both weapons or only the left one? Because I read is just the left one but I can't get it to work.
 

rhandino

Banned
Jesus christ this game goes on and on. Just up to fighting in the memories.
Well, if you aren't going to do the DLC content or do the quests of that one covenant you
are not too far from the end
...

Playing as a mage is SO MUCH fun after my two warriors playtrought... but now I am at 32 of INT but I wonder if I should respec and give some point to FTH and use some Hexes since I never tried them before and I may need them since some bosses could get annoying if they have high resistance to Sorcery.
 
Well, if you aren't going to do the DLC content or do the quests of that one covenant you
are not too far from the end
...

Playing as a mage is SO MUCH fun after my two warriors playtrought... but now I am at 32 of INT but I wonder if I should respec and give some point to FTH and use some Hexes since I never tried them before and I may need them since some bosses could get annoying if they have high resistance to Sorcery.


Yeh just surprised how much there is too it. Ill go the DLC for sure.
 

Audioboxer

Member
I'm correct to say you can still get the Black Knight Halberd with just one fragrant branch in Scholar? So buy one from the Hag and then go to shaded woods?
 

heringer

Member
Beginning is hard, really hard for some reasons. I did not have such difficulties in my first Souls game: Demon's. With my first character I died 39 times before getting to the second boss (!!!), then after 30 hours I dropped this character and started from scratch with a new one. I died 2 times before getting to the second boss with my second character.

Some tips from someone who started playing DaS2 recently as you:

- ALWAYS ROLL TO THE RIGHT <-- do not know why but this works on every single fucking enemy and boss in this game. They have more attacks that can hurt you if you roll to the left than when you roll to the right. Coincidence? I do not think so
This tip is weird because, in my experience, it's pretty much the other way around. Most bosses and enemies with swords, for instance, slash from their right side, and if you roll to their left (your right) you will get caught by the attack. To me rolling and strafing to the left is more safe because you can time better the invincibility of your roll.
 
So I just got access to the Shrine of Winter. I have to say, so far this game has not been as challenging for me as Dark Souls was. I can still remember how frustrating that damn fight with Ornstein and Smough was. I've yet to experience anything this frustrating so far.

Having said that, I think I'm enjoying it much more this way. It's tough, but not frustrating. Maybe it's because DS1 was my first experience, and now I'm a "veteran" of the series. Maybe I finally got gud. Can't wait to finish this game and do the DLC!
 

Kevyt

Member
My second playthrough as a sorceror and wow... the game is much difficult now. I was able to breeze through the first areas and level up fast, I only focused on atunment and intelligence. I got 25 atunement and 48 intelligence. Similar to my Dark Souls I build, where thise were the two things I focused on.

It's really tough. I'm starting to feel that magic was nerfed big time. I need three great soul arrows to kill an armored knight in Tsolman's cave with 48 intelligence... for comparison, I could kill a Demon in Demons Ruins in Dark Souls I with four great soul arrows. I'm not doing a lot of damage, and my health is so low that I get one shot killed by bosses.

I thought I would be making a lot more damage with high intelligence, but for some reason it feels that I barely do anything to the bosses. For comparison my strength dex build character can kill the big royal rat very easy and fast. My sorceror can barely kill the four small rats... lol

Playing a magic build is not as fun as it was in Dark Souls I.

I'll try a faith build next time. It feels like dex/faith is the best build for this game.
 

blackflag

Member
This tip is weird because, in my experience, it's pretty much the other way around. Most bosses and enemies with swords, for instance, slash from their right side, and if you roll to their left (your right) you will get caught by the attack. To me rolling and strafing to the left is more safe because you can time better the invincibility of your roll.

I always roll to the right as well and the bosses in this game were a joke compared to DS and DeS.
 

Hellcrow

Member
Not big on PVP, but had a blast wasting all my red eye orbs invading Eleum Loyce. I'm geared for PVE, so I enjoy fighting dudes with PVE equipment.

I'm still astonished how much damage my fume knight ultra great sword +5 does with flynns ring, ring of blades + 1, 50 str and 30 dex. Two shotting most dudes.
 

BizzyBum

Member
Not big on PVP, but had a blast wasting all my red eye orbs invading Eleum Loyce. I'm geared for PVE, so I enjoy fighting dudes with PVE equipment.

I fought someone a little bit ago where we both killed each other at the same time. Was that you? lol

Well, after around 100 hours I finally completed the game and all 3 DLC's. Only around 60% trophies. I think I'm done for now, though. I mean, I could still do so much more if I wanted to but I need to move on and continue through my backlog. At least I accomplished my goal of finishing this before Witcher 3 on Tuesday.
 
I can't figure out PVP in this game... between last night and this morning I've dueled at least 50 people and only won twice.

I'm using a high dex build, drangleic armor (below 70% equip load) and I switch between power stancing Drakeblood GS with a Katana and using it with a shield.

I feel like no matter what I absolutely can't get the parry timing down. I don't know if I always lose because I get impatient and attack first. I also get backstabbed from the front all the damn time and my backstabs NEVER work. I really feel like there's something big that I'm missing because there's no way it's just that one-sided every time.

Also, question about invasions/Iron keep. I'm in NG+ at SM 5.4m (I've just been playing PVE and decided to try PVP) and I see no signs at Iron Keep. Yet I can put down my sign and get summoned all the time. Does that mean I'm way too low or high level to see other people signs? But if that's the case, why can they see mine?
 

Ferr986

Member
Huh... I remember most of the Bellbros respecting 1 vs 1 matches on the Bellfries...

Shame that this didn't carry over on SOTFS it seems.
 

_h8bit

Banned
I am having a hell of a time with
Vendrick
.
I have 4 Giant Lord souls
now and was able to get him down to about 20% but his attacks are unforgiving and he follows up so quick it's hard to figure out when it's safe to flask.

SO I figured I'd take a break from him and try to
get the last soul
from the
Ancient Dragon.
Got it down to a sliver on my first try, died and failed horribly my second try.


Maybe I should stop playing tonight :L
 

UrbanRats

Member
I am having a hell of a time with
Vendrick
.
I have 4 Giant Lord souls
now and was able to get him down to about 20% but his attacks are unforgiving and he follows up so quick it's hard to figure out when it's safe to flask.

SO I figured I'd take a break from him and try to
get the last soul
from the
Ancient Dragon.
Got it down to a sliver on my first try, died and failed horribly my second try.


Maybe I should stop playing tonight :L

Vendrick is pretty easy if you just stay behind him and attack parsimoniously, since his combo is so predictable.
However don't let him trick you when he gets his back to a wall, just wait in the center of the arena for him to charge you, dodge, and get behind him starting all over again.
2 hand whatever you have since shields are useless against him, and chug in the window when you would normally attack, but don't go away from him to chug, since he's lethal at long range, but pretty easy to fool at short range.
 

elfinke

Member
Vendrick is pretty easy if you just stay behind him and attack parsimoniously, since his combo is so predictable.
However don't let him trick you when he gets his back to a wall, just wait in the center of the arena for him to charge you, dodge, and get behind him starting all over again.
2 hand whatever you have since shields are useless against him, and chug in the window when you would normally attack, but don't go away from him to chug, since he's lethal at long range, but pretty easy to fool at short range.

This is accurate. Hug his left leg, roll towards him when he sweeps and just manage your stamina. He'll never hit you.
 

_h8bit

Banned
Thanks! Yeah I think once I began doing it this way, my main problem was being consistent in choosing which attacks justified a dodge and which ones I could just step out of the way from. I got him down a little bit ago without needing the
5th Giant Soul
: )
 

BizzyBum

Member
Yeah, he's very easy when you acquire all 5 Giant Souls, too.
Ancient Dragon
is indeed a bitch to kill, though.
 

Hellcrow

Member
Actually managed to kill the
darklurker
melee only on my first try. Keep running and dodging and keep both in sight until one of them do the a long windup attack like the laser thingy. Use this time to focus on the other. Still a trembling experiencing!
 

Ferr986

Member
Ah, forgot how good the second part of this game is.
Love Amana atmosphere wise, even though it can be a bitch (I feel like it got nerfed in SOTFS). Fighting while a Milfanito is singing is so great.

EDIT: Fucking flame dude form the bonfires, scares the shit out of me everytime he appears.
 

elfinke

Member
Ah, forgot how good the second part of this game is.
Love Amana atmosphere wise, even though it can be a bitch (I feel like it got nerfed in SOTFS). Fighting while a Milfanito is singing is so great.

EDIT: Fucking flame dude form the bonfires, scares the shit out of me everytime he appears.

Holy shit yes. Each and every time, even when I was playing without sound (most of the time). Frightened the hell out of me at the Undead Crypt.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
Sweet mother of mercy. What did they do to No Man's Wharf!? It's unnerving as fuck now :lol. Even though I can kill viking dudes with a jump attack (Royal Greatsword +3 is pretty good this early on). Walking around with a torch and feeling unsafe like I never did in the original.

To think just lowering the ambient lighting like this would make the game that more atmosperic.
 

elfinke

Member
Sweet mother of mercy. What did they do to No Man's Wharf!? It's unnerving as fuck now :lol. Even though I can kill viking dudes with a jump attack (Royal Greatsword +3 is pretty good this early on). Walking around with a torch and feeling unsafe like I never did in the original.

To think just lowering the ambient lighting like this would make the game that more atmosperic.

You're right about that. There are a few enemy location changes (and additions...), too, that really amp that area up. I don't think I ever lit NMW in vanilla DS with a Pharos, but I made a bee-line for that lockstone area this time around.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
You're right about that. There are a few enemy location changes (and additions...), too, that really amp that area up. I don't think I ever lit NMW in vanilla DS with a Pharos, but I made a bee-line for that lockstone area this time around.

When those doges jump out at you I was scared for real :lol. They really changed stuff for the better! So many fun surprises. Heide's was literally hell though.
 
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