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[Goldenroad]

I'm wondering how far I am in the game, but I'm not sure I want to know for sure. I just got to

Spoiler

Lothric Castle

and have taken the

Spoiler

Undead Gardens (?)

, and made it up to that boss. How far would you guys say I am? Halfway? Over half? I've had some really amazing moments in this game and some really...frustrating ones. I never beat DS2 or Bloodborne, so I'm really hoping this will be the first one since the original Dark Souls. I'm primarily a Strength (33) build with a bit of Intelligence (17). Will this kind of build carry me through or should I be pumping more points into Dex (16) or Faith (9)? I've got a pretty wide selection of good weapons, (ie. Dark, Lightning, Fire, Magic).

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute something to this thread since this game has been all consuming for me since release.

 

[Floody]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH7jQhtK258

Lol, I forgot that was parry-able.

 

[Deku Tree]

Lol some bosses seem ridiculously hard solo and then co-op seems to break their AI and they become super easy. Like the second boss

Spoiler

can keep rushing you and having that huge smash with huge damage area. He can rush you into a corner over and over and just reck you. But if there are two people one co-op for the boss to rush and the people are standing in different area's then the first person dodges away and the second person rushes close from behind and just smashes away.

 

[KodaRuss]

Just beat

Spoiler

Pontiff

3rd try. That was a pretty awesome fight, sort of a nerfed version of Darklurkker though.

Darklurkker is the boss I died more on than any other in all of Souls I believe.

 

[zewone]

I'm wondering how far I am in the game, but I'm not sure I want to know for sure. I just got to

Spoiler

Lothric Castle

and have taken the

Spoiler

Undead Gardens (?)

, and made it up to that boss. How far would you guys say I am? Halfway? Over half? I've had some really amazing moments in this game and some really...frustrating ones. I never beat DS2 or Bloodborne, so I'm really hoping this will be the first one since the original Dark Souls. I'm primarily a Strength (33) build with a bit of Intelligence (17). Will this kind of build carry me through or should I be pumping more points into Dex (16) or Faith (9)? I've got a pretty wide selection of good weapons, (ie. Dark, Lightning, Fire, Magic).

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute something to this thread since this game has been all consuming for me since release.

You're basically at the end of the game.

 

[DoubleTake]

You could punish someone healing shooting them while they're chugging. They'll stagger and you could riposte them.

Something needed in this game, if you ask me.



I mean, sure, I agree on the PvP. It's just that this is the game where I found most ganks by far. But I can take it because, of course, I'm invading.

Chugging needs a BB styled parry.

I can take downsided on PvP for PvE but feels like this game is the one that took the most, and sometimes it wasn't needed. i feel like the game took a little too much on the fast paced BB combat without properly introduced them in a DS game (mind you I love BB, fav game in the series after DS1).

Of course that's just my opinion and I may be biased right now because I'm having a bad day on the game today lol

Yea a reliable way to punish it would be really great. I cant possibly think how they could do it though. Healing is almost as fast as BB but theres nothing really in this game fast enough to counter it. Lloyds talismans work when youve knocked someone down or riposted them. But even then you have to guess which way theyll roll to catch them in it.

Tough cookie to crack.

 

[Septimius]

There has to be some hidden reason for that. I mean FROM created 4 Souls games, they are the creators of the mechanic, they UNDERSTAND what Poise is and how should it work.

And yet... it does not work here. For god knows reason why. And they refuse to patch it and fix it!

Is it because working Poise breaks PVP? I don't know how PVP works, though.

Can someone find any logical explanation why they left the stat in the game yet it does not work? Why would they break it on purpouse?

As I said, it might have an effect. It seems Dark Souls 3 goes more of the poise-less route like in Bloodborne. It makes two-fold sense: with high poise, you can wield a fast weapon and attack, attack, attack through a heavy attack of your opponent. Conversely, you won't need heavy armor to make giant weapons viable. Hyper armor is one of the things that makes the biggest weapons in the game viable. But yeah, in that case, why leave the stat in the game?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH7jQhtK258

Damn, now I miss the pace in battle of Bloodborne.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

The whole lead up to that title card being shown is fantastic -

Spoiler

climbing the ramparts avoiding arrows, the Darkmoon tomb, the giant circular elevator, and then the view of Anor Londo castle, and just as you're overcome with realization about where you are - BAM - "Anor Londo" flashes on screen. Magical.

EXACTLY! This is exactly how it happened to me. The huge two words on the screen and that "gong!" jingle just floored and wrecked me. I could not believe it. I mean my mind was not able to process what I am seeing and reading.

Best single, most memorable moment in Souls series for me after Latria 3-2 entrance and Maiden Astraea boss fight intro + music.

And they *never* let it slip before in any single dialogue, item description, spell description or else. NEVER. It was always Boreal Valley or Ithryl of Boreal Valley. Even when talking about Aldrich origins - they did not let it slip!

What a goodamn ingenious surprise.

 

[gaugebozo]

Can somebody explain how offensive miracles work in this game? What determines damage and what is the difference between talismans and chimes? Is there a best one for around 30 faith?

 

[Arjen]

You could punish someone healing shooting them while they're chugging. They'll stagger and you could riposte them.

Something needed in this game, if you ask me.



I mean, sure, I agree on the PvP. It's just that this is the game where I found most ganks by far. But I can take it because, of course, I'm invading.

Chugging needs a BB styled parry.

I can take downsided on PvP for PvE but feels like this game is the one that took the most, and sometimes it wasn't needed. i feel like the game took a little too much on the fast paced BB combat without properly introduced them in a DS game (mind you I love BB, fav game in the series after DS1).

Of course that's just my opinion and I may be biased right now because I'm having a bad day on the game today lol

I agree, I stopped doing invasions because all I got were 3v1s waiting at the bonfire. Really boring. I liked the invasions were you chased the host trough a level.

 

[LiK]

I really miss heal parries from Bloodborne. That was the most satisfying thing in the whole game.

But getting used to parrying heals in that game made it easy to know when people will heal, so it's not THAT frustrating. Worst case scenario, I just heal too.

It was probably a mistake by them to limit estus for the invader, though. This franchise has been going for a while, they obviously know people enjoy dueling in these games, why make their life harder?

Hoping for an arena in the DLC.

Aren't there a few rings that give you some of those abiltiies like in BB?

 

[DoubleTake]

Aren't there a few rings that give you some of those abiltiies like in BB?

He means stopping someone's healing animation and then getting the riposte, not healing after riposting someone.

Damn, now I miss the pace in battle of Bloodborne.

I know right? Watching that random vid makes me want to jump back in. BB's combat really is the tightest and most visceral of the bunch.

 

[Hakkuei]

Which is why I laugh at people who complained about Healing in BB when there was actually a way to counter it. Now there isnt lol

Healing in BB was bullshit though. Heal parry is a great concept but completely unreliable.

Healing in DS3 is also pretty bad but at least it's slower than BB and not everyone is running around with 20+ etsus.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Spent the entire night roaming around the Cathedral of the Deep. What a great area, this game has more depth both in level design and npc quests than the previous entries. Really enjoying it and I got a long way to go.

Felt like a game on its own, it has lots of secrets and the shortcuts are rather brilliant, thus eliminating the need of bonfires everywhere. This is closest to classic souls.

Yup, single best level/ area in the whole game. Flawless. Closest ever IMO to Demon's Souls Latria - even more than Ithryll Dungeon. Cannot really say why.

 

[Deku Tree]

How does everyone know all the stuff that's in the game? Are you reading some guide? Ts there a good online resource? Thx

 

[zewone]

How does everyone know all the stuff that's in the game? Are you reading some guide? Ts there a good online resource? Thx

I use the Fextralife wiki:

http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+3+Wiki

 

[DoubleTake]

Healing in BB was bullshit though. Heal parry is a great concept but completely unreliable.

Healing in DS3 is also pretty bad but at least it's slower than BB and not everyone is running around with 20+ etsus.

It wasnt unreliable at all. Its just like parrying someone in Souls only from range. You have to predict it because of latency. Once you get a feel for parrying then its easy to tell when someone will back off and try to heal.

(Not trying to brag) I have hours of footage in BB taking down 3v1's by whittling down one Phantom's health and then watching him back off as the other 2 close in the spam me to death. Dodge, dodge, the moment they think theyre safe L2 and take em out. It took a lot of practice to "git gud" at but the moment I did it was very reliable.

 

[Ferr986]

Healing in BB was bullshit though. Heal parry is a great concept but completely unreliable.

Healing in DS3 is also pretty bad but at least it's slower than BB and not everyone is running around with 20+ etsus.

Even if it were unreliable atleast you had something. You don't have any tool here (talismans are too easy to avoid).

And I feel like the speed is really close between the two games. Healing occurs really early at the animation, I did hit NPCs while healing and still the heal went through.

 

[theSlacker]

Its not broken on purpose. They likely turned it off because it wasnt balance properly.

AKA broken on purpose. I see.

I wish they found some use of it even if I didn't like how it turned everything into backstab fishing in DS1 with no recourse. Something to give the heavy armor more of a value worth any kind of stat investment/use

Spoiler

and kill fashion souls

.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

How does everyone know all the stuff that's in the game? Are you reading some guide? Ts there a good online resource? Thx

My first playthrough was 100% blind and offline (no messages):

1) I missed all the NPC questlines:

- because I did Abyss Watchers/ Smouldering Lake 100% before The Cathedral so that royally fucked Anri questline (as I never went back to Catacombs after Deacons; I just teleported to Ithryll)
- Sirri? Like why would I ever go back on the Ithryll bridge after killing the beast?
- Siegward? never saw him again after Undead Settlement
- Crestfallen Knight? he just disappeared
- Darkmoon? how the fuck would I know there was a invisible bridge? I SAW the bonfire I even zoomed on it with Binocs but I thought maybe later in the game the snow would thaw (like in Eleum Loyce) and I could access the tower from ground level.
- Yuria? How the hell would I know to revisit Yoel after I die again and again?
- never even heard about Patches
- Greirat never came back
- etc.

Let's be honest the NPC quests are literally impossible to solve when playing blind and offline.

I *never* backtrack through areas that I cleaned up 100% so that's why I missed all the goddamn NPC quests.

2) I also missed the Nameless King because... fuck... how could one know to sit on that goddam carpet!

...but I found the Untended Graves on my own Thanks Blighttown Tree chest!

 

[Veritigo_X]

And they *never* let it slip before in any single dialogue, item description, spell description or else. NEVER. It was always Boreal Valley or Ithryl of Boreal Valley. Even when talking about Aldrich origins - they did not let it slip!

What a goodamn ingenious surprise.

If you follow the Yuria storyline she slips before you actually get there.

 

[DoubleTake]

AKA broken on purpose. I see.

I wish they found some use of it even if I didn't like how it turned everything into backstab fishing in DS1 with no recourse. Something to give the heavy armor more of a value worth any kind of stat investment/use

Spoiler

and kill fashion souls

.

I can guarantee we're not getting Ds1 style stand-still-and not be staggered poise. Thats way to much rebalancing necessary for that big of an overhaul.

Perhaps have the poise stat dictate how much damage you take in Hyper Armor frames? Heavy Weapons basically necessitate trading blows, so maybe the heavier the armor you wear(which means higher poise) the less damage you take during hyper armor frames?

This means people cant wear heavy armor and use light weapons while tanking through attacks and continuing to spam. And people using Heavy weapons but light armor have a downside while attempting to trade with someone wearing heavy armors.

This could apply to rolling too. Say youre wearing heavy armor and fat rolling. You get hit while rolling. Since you have more Poise you take less counter damage than the person wearing light armor and fast rolling. Seems like a good balance imo.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

If you follow the Yuria storyline she slips before you actually get there.

Ah... I never even saw Yuria in my first playthroguh so that's why I never heard about it before.

 

[Deku Tree]

I use the Fextralife wiki:

http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+3+Wiki

Thanks!

EDIT:

So if I follow this

http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Game+Progress+Route

Then I wont miss any NPC side quests?

 

[2AdEPT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xlvZb5TOuM Why do all my subsequent no shield characters always do so much better in Souls games than my initial turtles?

It opens up the game into a more varied attack repetoire...you are allowed to be creative, and creativity kills. Simply tanking has been discouraged by the developers since day one. They have a strong "Ninja" dex bias ever since Demons and it shows in that the fat roll is punished hard, equipment burnden is a thing etc....MAny games never did this tweak and its one of the quintessential souls signatures imo.

 

[Orin GA]

Doing my final run with this character NG+ 4 SL 120 Quality Build

2nd Boss Down
https://youtu.be/ErLMGMyb_po

 

[brainslug]

Jesus, this Proof of Concord Kept farming is tedious.. I have item discovery of 425, and I get 1-2 in an hour. 3-4 if I'm very lucky.

Well, only 20 more to get..

Spoiler

 

[Head of Vengarl]

Welp, looks like the new patch nerfs twin weapons... right after I decide to commit one of my slabs to get a +10 hollow Onikiri and Ubadachi and go for a bleed build. :|

https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/4ijfd6/player_patch_notes_regulation_update_106/d2yjy5i

 

[LiK]

Welp, looks like the new patch nerfs twin weapons... right after I decide to commit one of my slabs to get a +10 hollow Onikiri and Ubadachi and go for a bleed build. :|

https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/4ijfd6/player_patch_notes_regulation_update_106/d2yjy5i

Weren't they weak to begin with?

 

[test_account]

Weren't they weak to begin with?

Its only nerfed to stamina usage it seems.

 

[2AdEPT]

Well I think I've done everything except the

Spoiler

two prince boss fight

, fuck those guys.

Kinda bummed I'm pretty much done.

Dont watch this guy do it with no armour, no paries, no rolls, no blocks ...all at SL1 deprived.

you will feel worse...this guy gets low subs for this reason....no one feels "gud" anymore.

 

[Manu]

For Rosaria's fingers I just need ten Tongues for the ring, right?

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

After like 250h or so, is time to give the game a rest, I'll try to finish getting all rings tonight (last achivement on PC I need) and then just ocasionally pop to do some PvP.

For Rosaria's fingers I just need ten Tongues for the ring, right?

Yes.

 

[theSlacker]

I can guarantee we're not getting Ds1 style stand-still-and not be staggered poise. Thats way to much rebalancing necessary for that big of an overhaul.

Perhaps have the poise stat dictate how much damage you take in Hyper Armor frames? Heavy Weapons basically necessitate trading blows, so maybe the heavier the armor you wear(which means higher poise) the less damage you take during hyper armor frames?

This means people cant wear heavy armor and use light weapons while tanking through attacks and continuing to spam. And people using Heavy weapons but light armor have a downside while attempting to trade with someone wearing heavy armors.

This could apply to rolling too. Say youre wearing heavy armor and fat rolling. You get hit while rolling. Since you have more Poise you take less counter damage than the person wearing light armor and fast rolling. Seems like a good balance imo.

Think the biggest thing in the way of it working like DS1, or rather me wanting it to work like that. is how backstabs are still the same and how easy it would be to get them if you could just walk through attacks again. I really liked that idea of poise though, and I don't like how everything in the game can stagger you with any attack no matter what you are wearing. Sucks that some things have to change for pvp reasons but it does.

I have no idea how to fix this in a way that works with both pvp and pve with the current backstab, so your suggestions are as good as any.

 

[test_account]

Dont watch this guy do it with no armour, no paries, no rolls, no blocks ...all at SL1 deprived.

you will feel worse...this guy gets low subs for this reason....no one feels "gud" anymore.

Thats amazing. He does other bosses without rolling either.

 

[Gbraga]

Which is why I laugh at people who complained about Healing in BB when there was actually a way to counter it. Now there isnt lol

I feel like limited heals for invaders is fine. Its the same for summons too. And you also get estus for killing phantoms. Thats balanced pretty well IMO. Give invaders too much estus and the fights will drag on forever. Invasions are supposed to lean towards favoring the host.

Seeds can get fucked though. They shouldnt last forever or should open up friendly fire for the host and phantoms.

I definitely agree that the estus system works perfectly for invasions, but the lack of an arena that puts everyone on even ground makes it frustrating when you're trying to duel, using red signs and the host starts healing. Even if you accept the healing and just go with it, you're at a huge disadvantage.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Time is even more convoluted in Lothric than I thought - Just watched the phantom NPC Tsorig duke it out with his real self in the

Spoiler

Demon Ruins

XD

Phantom lost, but I won finished Tsorig off to avenge his own death (can you avenge a death by killing the person you're avenging?!)

Also the ant-eater looking mages in this area are ROUGH going for a rapier user, I did manage to parry one once, but the room where there's two of them was one of the hardest spots I've had so far on this build. That room was always as asshole, but I could tank it much better on my first playthrough.

 

[test_account]

Seeds can get fucked though. They shouldnt last forever or should open up friendly fire for the host and phantoms.

Pretty sure that they do. I used dried fingers and got a big match going, and i popped a seed. 5 minutes later or so, i got smashed by the giant enemies in Anor Londo. Not sure if the enemy was targeting me, but it did kill me.

 

[LiK]

I definitely agree that the estus system works perfectly for invasions, but the lack of an arena that puts everyone on even ground makes it frustrating when you're trying to duel, using red signs and the host starts healing. Even if you accept the healing and just go with it, you're at a huge disadvantage.

hoping arena makes a comeback in DLC.

 

[Septimius]

Welp, looks like the new patch nerfs twin weapons... right after I decide to commit one of my slabs to get a +10 hollow Onikiri and Ubadachi and go for a bleed build. :|

https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/4ijfd6/player_patch_notes_regulation_update_106/d2yjy5i

No? They require like 10% more stamina, but do more damage. I main Gotthards. I'm more excited about the damage than I care about a tiny bit more stamina on L1

 

[Dave1988]

YES!! THE GRIND IS OVER! Farmed out 30/30 Proof of Concords. Now I can finally proceed to NG+. Oddly enough, I had way more covenant item drops with 260 item discovery and the Symbol of Avarice unquipped than I did with 320 ID and it on.

 

[ElFly]

No nonono with how latency works in these games that would be a disaster. On your screen you hit him on theirs they are a foot away and somehow still got guard broken.

There really isnt a good solution I can think of that wouldnt greatly affect how PvE works.

Make healing slower (both the chugging animation and how fast the bar fills up) and make Lloyd amulets last a few minutes.

 

[Gbraga]

Healing in BB was bullshit though. Heal parry is a great concept but completely unreliable.

Healing in DS3 is also pretty bad but at least it's slower than BB and not everyone is running around with 20+ etsus.

It's reliable enough, imo.

You see them backdashing once for no reason? Get ready. They do it again? Shoot.

No one heals after only one backdash because they can still get hit, so it's always dash dash heal. Like clockwork.

Parries were surprisingly reliable if you're expecting something. You can even parry a trick mode R1 of the Threaded Cane on reaction.

Let's be honest the NPC quests are literally impossible to solve when playing blind and offline.

I *never* backtrack through areas that I cleaned up 100% so that's why I missed all the goddamn NPC quests.!

Then... backtrack through areas?

You solved it yourself

I revisit every NPC every new bonfire I get. I also revisit areas that I think might have some changes, like the tutorial area, after every boss.

Spoiler

It's what made me find Eygon and Irina outside Gundyr's boss room.

It's probably literally impossible for someone who never played a Souls game, I'll give you that. But if you did, you know what to look for, and how these things work.

Not to mention missing some stuff is fun, makes for some nice replay value. I'm excited to find out more about

Spoiler

Orbeck on my NG+ playthrough, since I won't follow Yuria's questline and won't kill him. I didn't get a chance to read any of the tome spells' descriptions for that reason. Really excited for that.

hoping arena makes a comeback in DLC.

That would be great.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Welp, looks like the new patch nerfs twin weapons... right after I decide to commit one of my slabs to get a +10 hollow Onikiri and Ubadachi and go for a bleed build. :|

https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/4ijfd6/player_patch_notes_regulation_update_106/d2yjy5i

20% increase in AR for Brigand Twin Daggers? Haha! That's what I'm maining right now. Awesome.

It's just a stamina use increase for twin weapons.

 

[captscience]

Thanks!

So if I follow this

http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Game+Progress+Route

Then I wont miss any NPC side quests?

This list is a bit more detailed. I found it pretty helpful:

http://zkjellberg.github.io/dark-souls-3-cheat-sheet/

 

[Head of Vengarl]

Weren't they weak to begin with?

Its only nerfed to stamina usage it seems.

20% increase in AR for Brigand Twin Daggers? Haha! That's what I'm maining right now. Awesome.

It's just a stamina use increase for twin weapons.

Damage-wise I'm not sure how they compare to other twin weapons since the katanas are the only ones I've used so far. They upped the stamina cost which is gonna really hurt bleed builds like mine. Arrrrrrg I really regret spending a slab on those katanas now. I only have a few left and I'm terrified the next weapon I upgrade to +10 will get nerfed too.

Dont watch this guy do it with no armour, no paries, no rolls, no blocks ...all at SL1 deprived.

you will feel worse...this guy gets low subs for this reason....no one feels "gud" anymore.

Holy balls how the fuck did he dodge all those projectiles midway through the video? Incredible. Some people are way too good at this game.

 

[ecosse_011172]

So I'm trying a Faith/Dex Build, I started as Herald, got the ichigitana, infused it with the fire gem which it seems will be my main weapon for a while.
Should I put some Titanite Shards into it or are they scarce?
I wondered if it was better to upgrade my talisman but I don't have any miracles except for heal aid yet.

Any tips?

 

[ElFly]

I revisit every NPC every new bonfire I get. I also revisit areas that I think might have some changes, like the tutorial area, after every boss.

Spoiler

It's what made me find Eygon and Irina outside Gundyr's boss room.

It's probably literally impossible for someone who never played a Souls game, I'll give you that. But if you did, you know what to look for, and how these things work.

I call bullshit on this.

Hell I am following a guide and cannot get fucking Patches to spawn where he is supposed to.

 

[KHlover]

So I'm trying a Faith/Dex Build, I started as Herald, got the ichigitana, infused it with the fire gem which it seems will be my main weapon for a while.
Should I put some Titanite Shards into it or are they scarce?
I wondered if it was better to upgrade my talisman but I don't have any miracles except for heal aid yet.

Any tips?

Upgrade away. The game drowns you in titanite as you progress.

 

[TitusTroy]

are you supposed to kill that dragon in the High Wall of Lothric?...in my 2.5 playthroughs I never killed him but collected all the items under him...he seems similar to the Hellkite Dragon from Dark Souls 1 Undead Burg area