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[Soulhouf]

For my playstyle, a Greatsword would not work very well. I know Moonlight is incredibly powerful, but it would just get me killed more often. If I do another run, I'll have to make a character focused on large, slow weapons, just to do something completely different, but I'd rather not have to relearn how to play Dark Souls 2/3 of the way through.

In that case it's a hybrid dex/magic build that you need. Forget the crappy magic/enchanted upgrade path and go normal to +15 and/or crystal +4, buff it with crystal magic weapon and will see how much more effective it is.
MGS is for pure magicians. It doesn't make sens to include it with the other great swords, aka weapons for str and quality builds.

 

[Deitus]

In that case it's a hybrid dex/magic build that you need. Forget the crappy magic/enchanted upgrade path and go normal to +15 and/or crystal +4, buff it with crystal magic weapon and will see how much more effective it is.
MGS is for pure magicians. It doesn't make sens to include it with the other great swords, aka weapons for str and quality builds.

Well yeah, I wasn't planning on using the Moonlight Greatsword in particular. I was just saying that I will maybe do another run with a completely different style of play, but I don't want to switch up what's been working for me so late in this playthrough. I've tried using a Claymore, and it's like playing a different game.

 

[2AdEPT]

So do guys think the collector's edition of 2 is worth it? I really want that statue, but the PC version is like £50 more expensive than the standard version. That seems like a lot of money to dish out, but I haven't really bought collector's stuff before so I don't know what kind of standard the stuff is made to.

I think it depends more on the art book and soundtrack....I have not listened to my soundtrack nor opened my nice art book (aside from the day I got it) for my collector dark souls. That figure is not the most attractive of all time....my opinion is to forego...but if you have the money and you like all that stuff go for it.

 

[Kacar]

Started playing again and got to the Gaping Demon in about 5 hours of gameplay.

Finally gonna try to beat it since I put 50+ hours into it when it first came out. I got stuck at the boss where its 2 guys and the one gains the others ability when he dies, can't remember their names. I got so fucking frustrated over 100+ tries on it that I went online and found an infinite souls glitch. After that I killed them first try but the game was pointless at that point so I stopped and felt stupid for doing the glitch.

Game still just as good as I remember.

 

[Snakethesniper]

really depends...are you going for looks or functionality? My dex chick has never looked better, and her robes allow fast rolling:

edit...how come I cant embed pics from my steam screen shots?

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198061681000/screenshots/

She is Dex/Faith actually.....for those doing faith builds, you can get some split damage weapons for fun as secondaries....but stick with +15 and use the faith buffs instead....then if something is weak to fire or lightning...use resin.

is that a washing pole?

So is better to do an hybrid build? Like int/dex, or faith/dex? Is it true that after 40 points is useless to spend more on dexterity?

 

[Red Liquorice]

Started playing again and got to the Gaping Demon in about 5 hours of gameplay.

Finally gonna try to beat it since I put 50+ hours into it when it first came out. I got stuck at the boss where its 2 guys and the one gains the others ability when he dies, can't remember their names. I got so fucking frustrated over 100+ tries on it that I went online and found an infinite souls glitch. After that I killed them first try but the game was pointless at that point so I stopped and felt stupid for doing the glitch.

Game still just as good as I remember.

If you hit any similar roadblocks this time, take a look at your equipment and see if you can upgrade it, rather than levelling up a ton (which I assume is what you did with those glitched souls). Souls is a series where you get much more gains from upgrading your weapon than levelling up your character.

You could go up 10 levels and it wouldn't make nearly as much difference as upgrading your weapon. And there's all kinds of buffs from gear like rings that can give you an advantage here and there.

There are lots of weapons too, if one type isn't suited to your playstyle, there will be others that are and that can make things a lot easier.

 

[Servbot24]

Still not many things worse than losing 100k souls to a common enemy. ;_;

Working on the Artorias DLC right now... Artorias is tough. I love his design though.

 

[Kacar]

If you hit any similar roadblocks this time, take a look at your equipment and see if you can upgrade it, rather than levelling up a ton (which I assume is what you did with those glitched souls). Souls is a series where you get much more gains from upgrading your weapon than levelling up your character.

You could go up 10 levels and it wouldn't make nearly as much difference as upgrading your weapon. And there's all kinds of buffs from gear like rings that can give you an advantage here and there.

There are lots of weapons too, if one type isn't suited to your playstyle, there will be others that are and that can make things a lot easier.

Never knew that about upgrading equipment. I always play the same way in these games. With a giant shield and the heaviest armor with tons of END and VIT then STR. Just walk around like a tank and block everything. Never fiddled around with the magic or a quicker playstyle.

 

[ebullientprism]

For my playstyle, a Greatsword would not work very well. I know Moonlight is incredibly powerful, but it would just get me killed more often. If I do another run, I'll have to make a character focused on large, slow weapons, just to do something completely different, but I'd rather not have to relearn how to play Dark Souls 2/3 of the way through.



An interesting idea. I had been keeping around a Lightning Spear for enemies that resist magic (though I hadn't upgraded it yet so it's pretty weak). But if I decide not to use it as my primary weapon, I'm certainly not going to invest the points in strength to use the Uchigatana. I'd rather just use a different weapon at that point. Plus, I wouldn't be able to equip both at the same time without moving my catalyst.

However, I might consider doing the opposite. Upgrade Uchigatana to Enchanted to use as my primary weapon, downgrade BSS to normal, and upgrade that to Lightning/Fire/Chaos. I still wouldn't equip both at once, but I could switch between the two if I run into a patch where enemies aren't taking magic damage.

An Uchi needs 14 DEX and 14 STR to use. A Fire/Chaos/Lightning Uchi gets no benefit from any further DEX or STR. Its damage is set at a number and it stays at that number, elemental weapons dont scale damage with your stats. So it shouldnt be too hard to get 14 DEX and 14 STR to use the Uchi since you have the stats for the Balder sword.

 

[Altazor]

So this is what happened.

Yesterday was a shitty day for my Sorcerer. Tried to brave Sen's Fortress and got killed by (but not fooled!) by the Mimic time and time again. So in the end I just gave up killing the thing for now and, as I had other things to do, stopped playing for the rest of the day.

Today, on the other hand, was a great day. I decided I'd just get my shit back and do other stuff in the game before Sen's... and so I did. First, I bought the Crest of Artorias and battled the forest protectors there, then fought good ol' Sif.

Oh man, I hate how Sif gets visibly damaged by the end. I hate killing him

Anyway, the fight went much easier than I expected. I had lots of troubles with my melee character the first time around (took me at least 10 tries) but with my mage, the fight just went by in a couple of minutes. No damage taken. Great Soul Arrows were my friends, and I loved them dearly for it.

After Sif (and getting the enchanted ember and the antiquated set) i decided to FINALLY kill the Hellkite dragon. And, again, took me a number of tries because my fire resistance (even with the flame stoneplate ring) was very low... so in the end I just decided to cheese him by goading him from the stairs with bow/arrow, then switching to spells, and hiding from the flames whenever he decided to be an asshole. Rinse and repeat. It worked.

After all that, I decide to finish Sen's Fortress once and for all. Including the firebomb and the gatekeeper giants, the first two titanite demons, and -of course- the iron golem. It was nice and short considering I had both the Crown of Dusk and the Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring. The Great Soul Arrows did a lot of damage and the boss fight was over in a couple of minutes. I decided not to go to Anor Londo yet, I'll do that later.

So that was it. Good things.

Oh, also - I upgraded a Halberd to a Magic Halberd +2. Is it recommended? My mage is not a PURE mage (I'm obviously using weapons in case the enemies are magic-resistant or if I just want to preserve the number of spells until really needed) and my STR/DEX are barely high enough for certain weapons (14 STR, 16 DEX)... was it the "right" choice? Should I reconsider and just follow the normal upgrade path? I'm also using the Lightning Spear found in Sen's, which has been really useful, but I'm willing to read any suggestions.

 

[Red Liquorice]

It was nice and short considering I had both the Crown of Dusk and the Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring. The Great Soul Arrows did a lot of damage and the boss fight was over in a couple of minutes. I decided not to go to Anor Londo yet, I'll do that later.

It's worth for boss fights using an attunement slot for Power Within too. PW stacking with Dusk Crown and Bellowing ring, your magic will absolutely tear bosses a new one.

 

[Altazor]

It's worth for boss fights using an attunement slot for Power Within too. PW stacking with Dusk Crown and Bellowing ring, your magic will absolutely tear bosses a new one.

oh shit, you're right. I hadn't thought of that. I'm not that good of a dodger so constantly losing health makes me REALLY paranoid... but yeah, PW + DC + BDCR sounds like a powerful combination. I might try it later.

 

[Soulhouf]

oh shit, you're right. I hadn't thought of that. I'm not that good of a dodger so constantly losing health makes me REALLY paranoid... but yeah, PW + DC + BDCR sounds like a powerful combination. I might try it later.

Add Lingering Dragoncrest Ring and the effect lasts longer while losing the same total amount of health, aka you'll be loosing less amount of HP/second.

 

[Altazor]

Add Lingering Dragoncrest Ring and the effect lasts longer while losing the same total amount of health, aka you'll be loosing less amount of HP/second.

great suggestion! duly noted

 

[Kacar]

Damnit I'm cursed at the bottom of Ash Lake I'm guessing there's no way back except going back up the tree?

Also I joined the dragon covenant and gave him 3 scales. Hopefully that gets me somewhere.

 

[2AdEPT]

is that a washing pole?

So is better to do an hybrid build? Like int/dex, or faith/dex? Is it true that after 40 points is useless to spend more on dexterity?

Its not really better...its just choices. I wanted to try to make a PVP capable skywalker build.... but mostly she just helps on O and S etc. and bosses as a white phantom....SL66......she uses washing pole mostly for the reach. A hybrid wont get pure scaling dominance like a pure strength or dex character might, but you can sacrifice stats elsewhere...I sacrificed vitality and pumped both dex and faith. You need some str to two hand though and obviously a tonne of endurance is preferred for dex characters as well. Then there is attunement for at least three miracles...I think I used 4. so the stat levels can get out of hand when trying to cover all bases. Tinker with your character until you find you have the best balance of stats for you. Pure dex or strength characters can hit hard in melee but are simply too boring for me, so I did make this skywalker chick a bit weak on vitality so that she could use all the miracles up to 30 faith.

yeah Dex 40 is enough as there are diminishing returns after that...to me damage is not the be all and end all, an extra hit with extra endurance MORE than makes up for lower damage (DPS), especially if you happen to trigger the bleed with your combo or stun lock.. The moveset of your weapons and managing your stamina within that set is the most important aspect. the washing pole is more of a quality build (means gets stats from both str and dex) scaler regardless, so will do less than an uchi or Iato with 40 dex, but the reach MORE than makes up for the damage loss. Just buff it with resin or darkmoon blade and it cuts through most things pretty quick. You can raise str to 20 and then you can usethe dragonslayer great bow as well....pay back the silver knight archers when helping as a white phantom and knock THEM off the ledge! lol

 

[Seanspeed]

Damnit I'm cursed at the bottom of Ash Lake I'm guessing there's no way back except going back up the tree?

Right.

And Dragon Covenant probably isn't worth it unless you really want the few little perks. I'd suggest looking it up and deciding for yourself. Could save yourself a lot of time as you need to give 10 scales to gain levels within the covenant and that will be time-consuming.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Damnit I'm cursed at the bottom of Ash Lake I'm guessing there's no way back except going back up the tree?

Also I joined the dragon covenant and gave him 3 scales. Hopefully that gets me somewhere.

Spoiler

You can cut the dragon's tail off for a unique weapon

I'm guessing you haven't got the ability to warp from bonfires yet? It's a long trek back to Blighttown!

 

[Altazor]

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Silver Knightin' Playbook

Ah, the beautiful lost city of Anor Londo. Home to beautiful cathedrals, lavish palaces and the most annoying archers in the entire fucking game (except, maybe, the skeleton archers in that godforsaken TOMB OF THE GIANTS). Probably my favorite locale in the game in terms of design and atmosphere... but the source of many, many frustrations and many, many deaths.

The first part of the city wasn't hard at all. I just had to remember that my Mage isn't my main melee character, so he cannot withstand blocking the Sentinels' attacks as if nothing had happened. No - stamina management with my Mage is far more necessary here. After the sentinels and the mimic (and resting at the well-placed bonfire by the Fire Keeper), it was time for a little parkour in the Cathedral's rafters. Thankfully, using sorceries against the painting guardians meant the poor souls just fell to their crushing death. I wouldn't want to be in their place. So... having crossed the rafters and coming back down with that ladder, I proceeded to use that spinning contraption in the middle of the city to gain access to the rest of the level.

The first gargoyle was easy - just "sniping" from a distance with the GSAs and avoiding its tail. A couple of hits and it was down. Then, the Cathedral floor - I got careless there for a moment and a painting guardian ALMOST killed me with a flurry of attacks. But in the end, I emerged victorious and claimed both the Great Magic Weapon sorcery and the Black Iron set. After dispatching the second Gargoyle from a distance (with absolutely no damage taken), onto Darkmoom Tomb and its bonfire I went.

Of course, now comes the hardest (or more annoying, or both) part of the lost city: dealing with the sentinels and the batshit (couldn't resist) demons and... the archers. God bless them, and their Dragonslayer Greatbows and those huge, spear-like arrows they shoot and their sublime placement. Time for a little parkour... again.

First attempt ended in death. So did the second one. And the third, and the fourth, and the fifth and probably my first 9 or 10 attempts all ended in death - either by their arrows, or by my own stupidty (because side-rolling in a narrow ledge is CLEARLY something very clever that will bring great success).

"I am become death" - yes, but my own. YOU DIED, YOU DIED, YOU DIED, YOU DIED.

Until that one attempt in which I managed to roll-dodge THAT one archer's arrow, blocked the other one's strikes, casted Homing Soulmass and beat the hell out of that guy. One down, one to go. And running in that ledge, with my nervous, sweating hands grapsing the controller tightly and trying to press the buttons just at the right time so my Mage could roll-dodge the arrows... that thrill is the essence of Dark Souls, and why the game ends up so addictive and wonderful even if the situation you're in is annoying or "cheap". You feel like a motherfucking boss when you succeed.
And so I did! Managed to get to that fucker, blocked his swings, used my melee weapon and I was somehow able to cast Homing Soulmass and the guy was FINALLY dead. Huge sigh of relief. Hands still shaking. Smile on my face. I get into the palace, I find the bonfire and my Mage gets a much needed rest.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[Divius]

^sweet! Archers are a pain in the ass.

Speaking of pain in the ass; just beat Bed of Chaos in a single try. Looks like I'm getting the hang of it.

 

[Altazor]

^sweet! Archers are a pain in the ass.

Speaking of pain in the ass; just beat Bed of Chaos in a single try. Looks like I'm getting the hang of it.

oh, that IS sweet. Stupid, gimmicky battle. Congrats on the victory

When people told me a couple of pages ago that FROM apologized for Demon Ruins/Izalith, I assume they included BoC, right? RIGHT? Because it's the worst boss battle in the entire game (and even the Moonlight Butterly battle -easy as it is- has some redeeming qualities)

 

[Soulhouf]

@Altazor: That's awesome!
Please continue telling your story every time you make some progress. I really enjoy reading your adventure.

 

[vas_a_morir]

oh, that IS sweet. Stupid, gimmicky battle. Congrats on the victory

When people told me a couple of pages ago that FROM apologized for Demon Ruins/Izalith, I assume they included BoC, right? RIGHT? Because it's the worst boss battle in the entire game (and even the Moonlight Butterly battle -easy as it is- has some redeeming qualities)

Why did they apologize for Demon Ruin/L.I.? That section wasn't much worse than any other section.

 

[Altazor]

Why did they apologize for Demon Ruin/L.I.? That section wasn't much worse than any other section.

apparently it was very rushed.

 

[Seanspeed]

Why did they apologize for Demon Ruin/L.I.? That section wasn't much worse than any other section.

Because it was much worse than any other section.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I really liked the architectural design of Lost Izalith though. The Angkor Wat style of architecture is underused IMO, it looks so badass.

 

[Altazor]

I really liked the architectural design of Lost Izalith though. The Angkor Wat style of architecture is underused IMO, it looks so badass.

oh yeah. As I said on a previous post, I enjoyed Lost Izalith more because of its architecture than the level design itself. Could've been better.

Anyway...

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Pikachu, Snorlax and the Amazing Chest.

After dealing with the archers, things get a bit calmer here in Anor Londo. The Palace rooms became my melee char's main soul-farming point near the end of my playthrough, so I know the layout pretty well. So exploring the same place with a different character (ergo, different strengths and weaknesses) gave me a strange feeling - a bit like coming home and finding things are different. But the only different thing is actually you.
But I digress. Traversing the Anor Londo Palace is one of my favorite things in DS. I love fighting the Silver Knights, practicing my parry, finding different strategies, etc. Doing so with a Mage was no exception. Of course, my char was considerably weaker than my melee-main, but that made it even more tense (read: fun). Room after room, every Silver Knight battle was fought with passion, trying to find which sorcery and weapon combination would be the best. I settled, for the time being, with a mix of Homing Soulmass/Heavy Soul Arrows and a (somewhat) upgraded Lightning Spear. The LS wasn't doing much damage, anyway, but it was decent enough. Plus, I could hit the Knights behind my shield... even if my stamina wasn't (and isn't) one of my Mage's strongest points.

Anyway, in one of such rooms, I found out I could take down the Titanite Demon below by sniping it with Heavy Soul Arrows. So I did and the damned thing was down in no time. Then I proceeded to clear the other rooms, going to the rooftop, and then, it was time to help my bro Siegmeyer with the Silver Knight Trio.
I managed to lure the first one out of the room and onto the rooftop, where I kicked his ass. Did the same thing with the second one.
And then, of course, the third one killed me.

Oh yeah, and the Titanite Demon I killed earlier? Well, it dropped SOMETHING, but as I killed the thing from way above, I was unable to get the loot. And then I got killed while trying to open shortcuts, so I lost the loot and I don't know if I lost a Catchpole or a Demon Titanite. That missing loot will always haunt me

So after chastising myself for being an idiot and getting too cocky (as usual), I reclaimed my stuff and defeated the knights anyway. Siegmeyer gave me the ring, and I continued my adventures: getting to the Blacksmith and opening the shortcut, then clearing the big room before the Boss and opening the doors and realizing that I had to be in HUMAN form to fight Lautrec. So I had to go back to the bonfire and kill enemies AGAIN before fighting that shifty murderer.

I did, and the fight was much shorter than what I thought it'd be. Again, using Heavy Soul Arrows helped at the start - I positioned my Mage just outside their field of vision but I was able to lock onto one of Lautrec's mooks. And I fired. BAM. The battle's on. Dodging, spamming soul arrows, climbing stairs, using Homing Soulmass, getting hit and then... when I thought my Mage was done for, one of the Homing Soulmass managed to hit and kill Lautrec. Victory! Or so I thought, because the other two guys were just coming for me and I hit the jump-backwards button and fell... to my death. Oops. But just as I hit the ground, the "guilty pay the price" message appeared on the screen and then YOU DIED and... oh well, I was back on the bonfire and I got the loot so I WON anyway.

Of course, that meant I had to clear out the enemies... AGAIN. Well, not exactly - I could've run and avoided the Royal Sentinels and the Archer in the room before the Boss, but I didn't. Oh well, it's my fault anyway. After I did all that... I prepared myself, mentally, for the upcoming battle. Ornstein and Smough, Fat Man and Little Boy, Pikachu and Snorlax, Fatboy and Slim, Biggie and Smalls, Oreos and Smores. What I remember from that battle with my main melee character was... how fun it actually was. Tense, nerve-wracking at times, you had to be constantly on the move and on the lookout for one of those - but it was never cheap for me. I remember I was always in control of my character and if I got killed (and I did, at least 3 times) it was mainly because of my own recklessness, as it's usually the case with this game. But anyway, I managed to beat O&S with my melee char using Solaire's help - he managed to take down Ornstein but was hastily killed by ElectroSmough so I had to finish the fight alone and it wasn't that hard. But, of course, it wasn't as hard as doing it on your own.

So I was nervous, I admit, because I didn't know if my sorceries would do enough damage or not. And if they didn't, I just hoped my weapons did. Otherwise, it would be a very long fight.

So, I crossed the fog gate. And as I entered, I used Homing Soulmass. It worked, and Smough took the hit... and it did a lot of damage. So yeah, for a second there, I was relieved - my sorceries could be useful in this fight. At that moment, Ornstein decided to impale me and left me within an inch of my life. And I was cornered. Smough and Ornstein both in front of me, ready to deliver the killing blow.

And I somehow escaped. I don't actually remember how. I must have side-rolled or something, because there was no other way out. And I thought it was almost a miracle, because I was pretty much dead. I managed to get behind a pillar and healed. Then, moving constantly, managed to cast HS again and hit Smough. Moving, moving, moving, rolling, dodging, trying to locate Ornstein, moving again, spamming Great Soul Arrows, moving and dodging and rolling. I took down Smough with a GSA. The first phase was over, now the fun begins.

Homing Soulmass, GSAs, hell, even normal Soul Arrows - it all helped. I was moving all over the place, hiding behind pillars, rolling backwards whenever MegaOrnstein tried to impale me or crush me or whatever the fuck he usually does to unsuspecting prey. I managed to dodge it all. And, then, when I was behind the crushed remains of a pillar, he decided to spam a lightning attack. "This is my chance," I thought, and I spammed my own attack: Great Soul Arrows. Managed to hit him and then I went back to my safespot. He decided to keep spamming the lightning attack, so I repeated the strategy... and it worked.

IT WORKED. I took down O & S with my Mage on my first try. Without dying. And I managed to avoid death while being below 10% of my health. Holy shit, I felt amazing.

Speaking of amazing - Gwynevere's chest, hmmmmmmm yeah. Amazing chest indeed.

So I managed to take down those two guys without dying, I got the Lordvessel and the Set of Favor from Lautrec's corpse and everything seemed right in the world.

Then I got crushed to death by a Sentinel. DARK SOULS, baby.

 

[Kacar]

Spoiler

You can cut the dragon's tail off for a unique weapon

I'm guessing you haven't got the ability to warp from bonfires yet? It's a long trek back to Blighttown!

Spoiler

Yea I cut off his tail, remember doing it my first time through. but 50 STR fuck that.

I dunno about the covenants, I don't really do much of the PVP and that's what they seem centered on. I also know I messed up and killed the Way of White people by accident.

Edit: Also I just opened the doors to Sens Fortress. Is that the next logical place to go or is somewhere easier? Only other thing I could think of was the hydras..

 

[JeTmAn81]

oh yeah. As I said on a previous post, I enjoyed Lost Izalith more because of its architecture than the level design itself. Could've been better.

Anyway...

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Pikachu, Snorlax and the Amazing Chest.

After dealing with the archers, things get a bit calmer here in Anor Londo. The Palace rooms became my melee char's main soul-farming point near the end of my playthrough, so I know the layout pretty well. So exploring the same place with a different character (ergo, different strengths and weaknesses) gave me a strange feeling - a bit like coming home and finding things are different. But the only different thing is actually you.
But I digress. Traversing the Anor Londo Palace is one of my favorite things in DS. I love fighting the Silver Knights, practicing my parry, finding different strategies, etc. Doing so with a Mage was no exception. Of course, my char was considerably weaker than my melee-main, but that made it even more tense (read: fun). Room after room, every Silver Knight battle was fought with passion, trying to find which sorcery and weapon combination would be the best. I settled, for the time being, with a mix of Homing Soulmass/Heavy Soul Arrows and a (somewhat) upgraded Lightning Spear. The LS wasn't doing much damage, anyway, but it was decent enough. Plus, I could hit the Knights behind my shield... even if my stamina wasn't (and isn't) one of my Mage's strongest points.

Anyway, in one of such rooms, I found out I could take down the Titanite Demon below by sniping it with Heavy Soul Arrows. So I did and the damned thing was down in no time. Then I proceeded to clear the other rooms, going to the rooftop, and then, it was time to help my bro Siegmeyer with the Silver Knight Trio.
I managed to lure the first one out of the room and onto the rooftop, where I kicked his ass. Did the same thing with the second one.
And then, of course, the third one killed me.

Oh yeah, and the Titanite Demon I killed earlier? Well, it dropped SOMETHING, but as I killed the thing from way above, I was unable to get the loot. And then I got killed while trying to open shortcuts, so I lost the loot and I don't know if I lost a Catchpole or a Demon Titanite. That missing loot will always haunt me

So after chastising myself for being an idiot and getting too cocky (as usual), I reclaimed my stuff and defeated the knights anyway. Siegmeyer gave me the ring, and I continued my adventures: getting to the Blacksmith and opening the shortcut, then clearing the big room before the Boss and opening the doors and realizing that I had to be in HUMAN form to fight Lautrec. So I had to go back to the bonfire and kill enemies AGAIN before fighting that shifty murderer.

I did, and the fight was much shorter than what I thought it'd be. Again, using Heavy Soul Arrows helped at the start - I positioned my Mage just outside their field of vision but I was able to lock onto one of Lautrec's mooks. And I fired. BAM. The battle's on. Dodging, spamming soul arrows, climbing stairs, using Homing Soulmass, getting hit and then... when I thought my Mage was done for, one of the Homing Soulmass managed to hit and kill Lautrec. Victory! Or so I thought, because the other two guys were just coming for me and I hit the jump-backwards button and fell... to my death. Oops. But just as I hit the ground, the "guilty pay the price" message appeared on the screen and then YOU DIED and... oh well, I was back on the bonfire and I got the loot so I WON anyway.

Of course, that meant I had to clear out the enemies... AGAIN. Well, not exactly - I could've run and avoided the Royal Sentinels and the Archer in the room before the Boss, but I didn't. Oh well, it's my fault anyway. After I did all that... I prepared myself, mentally, for the upcoming battle. Ornstein and Smough, Fat Man and Little Boy, Pikachu and Snorlax, Fatboy and Slim, Biggie and Smalls, Oreos and Smores. What I remember from that battle with my main melee character was... how fun it actually was. Tense, nerve-wracking at times, you had to be constantly on the move and on the lookout for one of those - but it was never cheap for me. I remember I was always in control of my character and if I got killed (and I did, at least 3 times) it was mainly because of my own recklessness, as it's usually the case with this game. But anyway, I managed to beat O&S with my melee char using Solaire's help - he managed to take down Ornstein but was hastily killed by ElectroSmough so I had to finish the fight alone and it wasn't that hard. But, of course, it wasn't as hard as doing it on your own.

So I was nervous, I admit, because I didn't know if my sorceries would do enough damage or not. And if they didn't, I just hoped my weapons did. Otherwise, it would be a very long fight.

So, I crossed the fog gate. And as I entered, I used Homing Soulmass. It worked, and Smough took the hit... and it did a lot of damage. So yeah, for a second there, I was relieved - my sorceries could be useful in this fight. At that moment, Ornstein decided to impale me and left me within an inch of my life. And I was cornered. Smough and Ornstein both in front of me, ready to deliver the killing blow.

And I somehow escaped. I don't actually remember how. I must have side-rolled or something, because there was no other way out. And I thought it was almost a miracle, because I was pretty much dead. I managed to get behind a pillar and healed. Then, moving constantly, managed to cast HS again and hit Smough. Moving, moving, moving, rolling, dodging, trying to locate Ornstein, moving again, spamming Great Soul Arrows, moving and dodging and rolling. I took down Smough with a GSA. The first phase was over, now the fun begins.

Homing Soulmass, GSAs, hell, even normal Soul Arrows - it all helped. I was moving all over the place, hiding behind pillars, rolling backwards whenever MegaOrnstein tried to impale me or crush me or whatever the fuck he usually does to unsuspecting prey. I managed to dodge it all. And, then, when I was behind the crushed remains of a pillar, he decided to spam a lightning attack. "This is my chance," I thought, and I spammed my own attack: Great Soul Arrows. Managed to hit him and then I went back to my safespot. He decided to keep spamming the lightning attack, so I repeated the strategy... and it worked.

IT WORKED. I took down O & S with my Mage on my first try. Without dying. And I managed to avoid death while being below 10% of my health. Holy shit, I felt amazing.

Speaking of amazing - Gwynevere's chest, hmmmmmmm yeah. Amazing chest indeed.

So I managed to take down those two guys without dying, I got the Lordvessel and the Set of Favor from Lautrec's corpse and everything seemed right in the world.

Then I got crushed to death by a Sentinel. DARK SOULS, baby.

I like your stories. I am taking mental notes on what to do because I just started a sorceror run-through myself.

 

[Soulhouf]

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Pikachu, Snorlax and the Amazing Chest.

So accurate :lol

 

[Altazor]

Thanks for the kind reception, guys. I'm having a lot of fun this time around - the game stopped being "easy" for me probably in Sen's Fortress and now it's just pure Dark Souls. I'm just glad to know that I can defeat some bosses that gave me hell the first time around (like Sif, or the Taurus Demon) with no major problems now. On the other hand, I have this feeling that the game will suddenly send me crashing down, back to Earth. A huge reality check for me, heh.

Oh, and I still haven't finished the game properly. My main melee char is outside the Kiln, I'm trying to think what I should do before battling the last boss and starting the NG+ run.

 

[JeTmAn81]

Yeah, I got all the way through with my pyromancer the first time around, but failed to defeat Gwyn. I just can't muster the will to trudge through those knights one more time only to get killed almost instantly.

 

[Booshka]

Yeah, I got all the way through with my pyromancer the first time around, but failed to defeat Gwyn. I just can't muster the will to trudge through those knights one more time only to get killed almost instantly.

You don't have to fight the Black Knights on the way to the boss, you can run by all of them.

 

[Altazor]

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Mini-Episode 1: Skeletons in Your Closet (Part 1)

After the crushing disappointment (har har) of being killed by a lowly mook after my glorious victory, I decided to farm a bit. Souls, upgrade materials, everything was useful. I also decided to shake things up a bit by using Great Magic Weapon - and considering I didn't have a decent normal weapon to use it on, that's where the farming helped me.

And now my Mage battles between using a Claymore+10 or a Silver Knight Straight Sword+2 (SO FAR, I may upgrade it further) as a melee weapon to backup the sorceries.

Anyway, after all that I decided to tackle the Catacombs. But I didn't have a Divine Weapon - oh shit. I decided to use a Falchion. It was decent. My faith isn't high enough so the damage output was kinda meh, but the weapon's fast so it's useful for combos. Cleared the place in a short time (one necromancer was kind enough to drop a Skull Lantern, awww), defeated the Black Knight without much hassle (and he droped the Greataxe... what a shame that I can't use it. And I don't think I will be able in this playthrough. Aw shucks), the skeleton wheels were no match for my sorceries and then... THE MIGHTY PINWHEEL.

Who was defeated by the Homing Soulmass and two swings of my Claymore in about 30 seconds. And I like his theme, but the fight is so short you can't even listen to it

Feeling mighty, I decided to tackle Tomb of the Giants...

LOL nope. Fuck that place. I'll do it later.

 

[JeTmAn81]

You don't have to fight the Black Knights on the way to the boss, you can run by all of them.

Yeah, but if you make one mistake and get hit then a bunch are on you and you die fast.

 

[Kacar]

How do you get a weapon past +5? I gave the guy the ember.

 

[Booshka]

How do you get a weapon past +5? I gave the guy the ember.

Modify equipment. Large Ember can take a weapon from +5 to +6, thats what you want to shoot for. You also need the materials to upgrade

 

[mrbagdt]

So after chastising myself for being an idiot and getting too cocky (as usual), I reclaimed my stuff and defeated the knights anyway. Siegmeyer gave me the ring, and I continued my adventures: getting to the Blacksmith and opening the shortcut, then clearing the big room before the Boss and opening the doors and realizing that I had to be in HUMAN form to fight Lautrec. So I had to go back to the bonfire and kill enemies AGAIN before fighting that shifty murderer.

I did, and the fight was much shorter than what I thought it'd be. Again, using Heavy Soul Arrows helped at the start - I positioned my Mage just outside their field of vision but I was able to lock onto one of Lautrec's mooks. And I fired. BAM. The battle's on. Dodging, spamming soul arrows, climbing stairs, using Homing Soulmass, getting hit and then... when I thought my Mage was done for, one of the Homing Soulmass managed to hit and kill Lautrec. Victory! Or so I thought, because the other two guys were just coming for me and I hit the jump-backwards button and fell... to my death. Oops. But just as I hit the ground, the "guilty pay the price" message appeared on the screen and then YOU DIED and... oh well, I was back on the bonfire and I got the loot so I WON anyway.

i dont think you have to be in human form to fight lautrec. maybe i am mistaken but im pretty sure i attempted him several times yesterday and was able to use the item when i was not in human form. im as far as you now- but you are making progress must faster than me because you have done this before! i will try lautrec again tonight and see if i can cheese my way to victory over him and his homeboys.

i always feel terrible when i summon someone to help me and then die at the boss. i feel like i let them down. after several attempts, i wound up just putting on the heaviest armor i could wear without going over my load limit and trying to play as safely as possible. but now i have the lordvessel and i guess my traveling will be a whole lot easier.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Yeah, pretty sure I've used the black eye orb in hollow form.

 

[Altazor]

Yeah, pretty sure I've used the black eye orb in hollow form.

I tried to yesterday and my character just stood there, almost scratching his head. I was like "huh, shouldn't I be able to use it anyway?" but I tried again with the same results. What a shame

 

[Morrigan Stark]

That's because you need to be inside the main hall of Anor Londo to use the black orb. It's greyed out (if you hotkey it) and won't work otherwise. If your character is scratching his head, the orb is greyed out, move a bit closer to the main hall (the big area with the two giant halberd knights before the boss room) and try again until it's no longer greyed out.

 

[Altazor]

That's because you need to be inside the main hall of Anor Londo to use the black orb. It's greyed out (if you hotkey it) and won't work otherwise. If your character is scratching his head, the orb is greyed out, move a bit closer to the main hall (the big area with the two giant halberd knights before the boss room) and try again until it's no longer greyed out.

yeah, I was in the main hall all the time. Something must've happened.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I just tested it and invaded Lautrec when hollow so it definately works. Can't think why you couldn't Altazor - maybe just outside the invasion range? I know the steps outside O&S door is out of range.

 

[Altazor]

I just tested it and invaded Lautrec when hollow so it definately works. Can't think why you couldn't Altazor - maybe just outside the invasion range? I know the steps outside O&S door is out of range.

quite probably. I was near the main gate - actually I had just opened it when I tried using the orb and it didn't work. Oh well.

 

[Havel]

Fucking Manus. Easily the hardest boss in the game for me. My +15 Murakumo with Power Within and Great Magic Weapon are no match for him.

I've beaten him before, but Jesus he is far more aggressive than I remember.

 

[Altazor]

Apologies for the double post [actually it's not a double post at all now!]

Altazor's Mage Adventures in Lordran: Mini-Episode 1: Skeletons in Your Closet (Part 2): Putting the "Dark" in "Dark Souls"

disclaimer:

Spoiler

the absurdly long title is intentional

If there's a place I hate in Dark Souls is Tomb of the Giants. Well, maybe I hate The Great Hollow as much - but at least that shit is optional. Not so with TotG: a place so dark even the Chasm of the Abyss looks like a cozy cottage in comparison. And this darkness-filled place is home to the most annoying enemies next to the Anor Londo archers: those damn skeleton beasts, who can maul you to death even if you have a decent shield and poise. Don't even think about turning your back on them. You'll pay for that mistake.

My first time in the Tomb, with my melee char, was pure torture. Forced to change my shield for a skull lantern, it was either see what's in front of me or block the shit coming my way. And when faced with the prospect of battling those beasts, you really want to be shielded. So I settled for a compromise - mostly using the lantern until spotting a beast and then switching to shield for a battle mostly in the dark. It never really worked, but I had no other choice. Constantly dying - either by those beasts, or by the archers, or by falling into nothingness, my time in the Tomb redefined fear. A wise man once said: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" - but I'd change that "dust" for "dark" and it'd fit the Tomb to a tee.

This time however, went much easier. I already knew the layout and I was hoping my sorceries would be powerrful enough to take down both the archers and the beasts in no time. And they did! Happiness.
So the trek down to the first bonfire went without a hitch - Homing Soulmass was my friend against the Giant-Skeletons-with-Swords, and if one escaped, I finished him with a GSA. Mostly safe.
Then "Trusty" Patches pushed me down a hole and I battled the hollowed-out clerics, saved Rhea and fought the Skeleton Towers and thought to myself "this hasn't been as hard as it was with my melee char". Made my way back to the fire and then I knew the real fun part was ahead of me.

The first skeleton beast went down with a good dose of Homing Soulmass. Then the fog gate, the second beast and that friendly Black Knight awaiting you in the worst possible fucking place. I cast HSM just before crossing the fog, but somehow the thing hit both the beast AND the BK, so they were both aggro'd and chasing me across the narrow ledge. IT WASN'T WORKING AND I WAS STARTING TO GET NERVOUS.
So I ran back, I cast Homing Soulmass again and this time it thankfully killed the beast. After that it was just spamming the BK with the GSAs. The annoying archer was easy, and so was the remaining beast before the second bonfire.

Then the journey to RAVELORD NEATO was short and sweet - the beasts were no match for my sorceries. Leeroy Jenkins tasted soul arrows, the ambushing skeleton was crushed to dust and... actually, the Pinwheel servants gave me more trouble than Pinwheel himself (itself? WTF is Pinwheel anyway?), especially considering the little skeleton babies constantly respawning.

A couple of Estus flasks and I was ready for the Graverobbin'.

The fight began with some skeletons rolling my way. A couple of RT swings of my upgraded Silver Knight Spear and they were down for good. Then the Gravelord himself... offered no big resistance and he too fell prey to my GSAs. Hey - that's really fucking Nito, huh. And after the fight, I decided to explore the rest of the tomb in search of loot: the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring and the Large Divine Ember in particular. And the room where the LDE is located (you know the one... the place where you get gangbanged mercilessly by giant skeletons) wasn't as nearly as troublesome when you can snipe those fuckers from above. Hooray for cheese!

All in all - sweet revenge for me. After unending pain and fear the first time around, this time the whole Tomb trembled before me and my mighty sorceries. Victory Achieved, indeed.

 

[Booshka]

Fucking Manus. Easily the hardest boss in the game for me. My +15 Murakumo with Power Within and Great Magic Weapon are no match for him.

I've beaten him before, but Jesus he is far more aggressive than I remember.

I love that you got Havel as a username and with the avatar to match.

For Manus, don't bother with Power Within or Great Magic Weapon, Magic buffs don't add much damage against DLC bosses, and Power Within puts too much pressure on you and makes the already risky endeavor of healing even more dangerous. Murakumo is a bit slow, but if you get your timing right and pick your shots you can get some good damage in. I hope you have 40 Dex for the scaling. Depending on your SL and Platform I can help if you'd like.

 

[Havel]

I love that you got Havel as a username and with the avatar to match.

For Manus, don't bother with Power Within or Great Magic Weapon, Magic buffs don't add much damage against DLC bosses, and Power Within puts too much pressure on you and makes the already risky endeavor of healing even more dangerous. Murakumo is a bit slow, but if you get your timing right and pick your shots you can get some good damage in. I hope you have 40 Dex for the scaling. Depending on your SL and Platform I can help if you'd like.

I absolutely destroyed

Spoiler

Artorias

with my Murakamo with Power Within and GMW. But Manus is far too aggressive I think for Power Within and my Murakumo. I agree. The initial wind up is too slow, but when you start swinging it, it's faster than a greatsword and more powerful. But damn, that wind up is tricky

 

[Kacar]

So level 55 with a +4 lightning battle axe, +4 Queelags furysword, and +8 eagle shield HAS to be enough to kill Ornstein and Smough right?

Just can't decide which weapon to use. Or what armor, Silver Knight or Shadow?

Also the backstabbing in PVP is such bullshit. Its all that ever happens to me.

Edit. Well I beat him first try wtf. Feel kinda stupid for how many fucking times I tried it my first go round, easy 100+ tries.

 

[mrbagdt]

So level 55 with a +4 lightning battle axe, +4 Queelags furysword, and +8 eagle shield HAS to be enough to kill Ornstein and Smough right?

Just can't decide which weapon to use. Or what armor, Silver Knight or Shadow?

Also the backstabbing in PVP is such bullshit. Its all that ever happens to me.

Edit. Well I beat him first try wtf. Feel kinda stupid for how many fucking times I tried it my first go round, easy 100+ tries.

i just finished that battle on monday. yesterday i decided to try laying down my white soapstone for the first time and help someone with the battle- i wound up dying on the second part of the fight. its the first time i have attempted to be summoned by someone and it worked within a few minutes, kind of cool.

can anyone offer any tips with being summoned? what does it take to be a good phantom? i think someone posted that having healing spells in your attunement is a good thing so you dont have to rely on your partner to heal you. i thought that boss fight was fun, but it is kind of a bummer for me that im not going to help with any of the other boss fights right now because i am to high level (50). if you like to do multiplayer, is there a level you reach and you kind of quit leveling up and just do armor and weapons? if that 10% of your own level rule is real, it seems like you would get to a point where it would be really random for other people to be near you in level.

last question- how do i get these freaking skeletons to stay dead.