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Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition |OT| Durante Does In 23 Minutes What From Can't

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Is it true they nerfed the Eagle shield? Whats the point that? I loved that thing.

Yeah, its phys resist is now only 95%. I imagine they did it because it rendered most other greatshields totally irrelevant, seeing as how it had great resistances, great stability, and puny stat requirements.
 

Gvaz

Banned
You can actually tell who would drop what by looking at them; there's visual differences between the knights, including the weapon that they use. If they're using a greatsword, they have a chance to drop that, etc.
Right I don't know where the guy with the 1h sword is, and I can't find any videos or pictures to explain it. :|
 

Serra

Member
Having a blast with the DLC so far, fantastic content.

Artorias
was such a fun fight. First time I fought him I was out of estus and at 50% hp (I could have used humanity to heal but I said fuck it) lived quite a while, second try I just fucked up and on the third try beat him pretty easily. The range on the black knight axe really helped me.
 

Serra

Member
Right I don't know where the guy with the 1h sword is, and I can't find any videos or pictures to explain it. :|

First black knight you meet, in the undead burg. Remember the flaming barrel that hit you on the stairs? Backtrack just a little to the junction and there are stairs leading down. End of that tunnel, he is there.
 

Ridley327

Member
Right I don't know where the guy with the 1h sword is, and I can't find any videos or pictures to explain it. :|

If you're looking around the Burg, there's one that's by a staircase near the scaffolding that has the three firebombing undead on top of it. It leads down to him, as well as a corpse that has a useful ring.
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
You can always level vitality and endurance to about 30-40, but to do damage you'll want a damage stat. You also need to meet requirements for the weapon or spell you want to use. This means putting levels in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence or Faith. Once you've met the requirements, keep putting levels into the stat that raises damage. This depends on the type of weapon and how you've been upgrading it. A quick way to tell is the letters at the weapon information: S, A, B, C, D and E. These tell you how well the damage scales with each stat.
This isn't necessarily the only way to go though. If you make a lightning or fire weapon you will get relatively high AR without needing to invest any more than the minimum wielding requirements since they lose stat scaling completely. This would let you pour more points into vitality/endurance or magic/miracles
 

goodfella

Member
So is it still the case where putting points into a strength or dex build is pointless due to the scaling?

It used to be that you would just put enough points into s or d to be able to use the weapon, and then you would upgrade them along an elemental path. Have they balanced this out in patches?

Edit: I think perorist just answered my question above.
 

Gvaz

Banned
If you're looking around the Burg, there's one that's by a staircase near the scaffolding that has the three firebombing undead on top of it. It leads down to him, as well as a corpse that has a useful ring.
See now that's helpful, I've been cautious over there because I didn't want to fall down so I never noticed a path.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
Fire Keeper's Souls are VERY valuable as they permanently improve your flasks. This is the number one thing to keep in mind. NEVER use them, instead you go to a fire keeper (like the one right below the starting fire) and upgrade the flasks.

You have to kill a Fire Keeper to get those souls, right? And doesn't that mean you lose access to that bonfire?
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
So is it still the case where putting points into a strength or dex build is pointless due to the scaling?

It used to be that you would just put enough points into s or d to be able to use the weapon, and then you would upgrade them along an elemental path. Have they balanced this out in patches?
Yeah elementals got a nerf and overall the better scaling weapons will now outdamage them in the long run. But the thing is that for elementals, while damage has to go through two layers of defense normally, for backstabs the damage is calculated solely on the weapon's AR. So for elemental weapons which have higher AR than their +15 counterparts at high enough scaling levels, they should still do more backstab damage.
 

goodfella

Member
Yeah elementals got a nerf and overall the better scaling weapons will now outdamage them in the long run. But the thing is that for elementals, while damage has to go through two layers of defense normally, for backstabs the damage is calculated solely on the weapon's AR. So for elemental weapons which have higher AR than their +15 counterparts at high enough scaling levels, they should still do more backstab damage.

Thanks for the info.
 

Mattdaddy

Gold Member
You and everyone else which I think was the problem. It kind of was too good for some shield you find in blighttown.

Yeah, its phys resist is now only 95%. I imagine they did it because it rendered most other greatshields totally irrelevant, seeing as how it had great resistances, great stability, and puny stat requirements.

Whelp, my eagle shield + hard leather armor Roman Legion roleplay sessions just got 5% tougher. :)
 

loganclaws

Plane Escape Torment
Basic primer so you don't need to start over:

Any basic soul you pick up (Soldier's, Knight's, Hero's etc) are just for getting a boost, mostly useful when you need a little extra to level up or buy something. Since they're items, you don't lose them when you die.

Souls you get from bosses are unique, you can make weapons from them but in case you don't need that weapon, you can just consume them for a boost.

Fire Keeper's Souls are VERY valuable as they permanently improve your flasks. This is the number one thing to keep in mind. NEVER use them, instead you go to a fire keeper (like the one right below the starting fire) and upgrade the flasks.

Humanity items are also useful to store, since you can't lose them. Use them when you need active humanity, that is, when you want to go human, kindle a fire or to boost your item drop chances.

You can always level vitality and endurance to about 30-40, but to do damage you'll want a damage stat. You also need to meet requirements for the weapon or spell you want to use. This means putting levels in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence or Faith. Once you've met the requirements, keep putting levels into the stat that raises damage. This depends on the type of weapon and how you've been upgrading it. A quick way to tell is the letters at the weapon information: S, A, B, C, D and E. These tell you how well the damage scales with each stat.

Finally, Sorcery spells scale with Intelligence, Miracles scale with Faith and Pyromancy scale with an improved Pyromancer Glove. Generally, as a beginner, you'd do well to get some sorcery as those spells are VERY helpful early on.

Apart from that, you can level how you want, choose any weapon or spell on any class, and approach the areas in very many ways. Some things are missable but it's very hard to actually ruin your character beyond recovery. Just never level up Resistance though.

Hey thanks for the tips, quick questions:

Why would I want to go human? What does kindling a fire do exactly? Is it true that the higher the humanity (number next to my life), the better chance of item drops I have?
 
Well, that depends on what you want to do. If you're not using magic, you will have a load of levels to spare and you might as well use them for improving your weapon damage. If you're making a hybrid, it's better to use elemental weapons.

You have to kill a Fire Keeper to get those souls, right? And doesn't that mean you lose access to that bonfire?

Not all. There are four loose souls sitting around in the world.
In the Parish church, in the early New Londo Ruins, at the water wheel in Blighttown and in the Duke's Archives prison
. Then you can kill
the Anor Londo keeper and the Fair Lady at the second bell
You can also get one from the Firelink keeper through a quest line, but at that point you couldn't upgrade your flasks until you start the NG+ anyway.

Once you're done with the four major bosses, you might as well clear out the two fire keepers before you finish the game.

locanclaws said:
Why would I want to go human? What does kindling a fire do exactly? Is it true that the higher the humanity (number next to my life), the better chance of item drops I have?

You want to be human to summon help, either other players or NPC:s. Or not to look like a rotting corpse. Kindling a fire gives you 5 more flasks every time you rest, later on you can kindle every fire three times for 20 flasks total. Humanity gives a slightly increased chance for item drops but if you're specifically farming for a rare item, you should first get the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring as it helps much more than a humanity or ten.
 

Ridley327

Member
Hey thanks for the tips, quick questions:

Why would I want to go human? What does kindling a fire do exactly? Is it true that the higher the humanity (number next to my life), the better chance of item drops I have?

Being human has two big advantages: you're able to summon phantoms (NPC or players) and you can kindle fires (which allows you to raise the limit on how many charges get refilled in the Estus Flask when you sit down at one). Of course, since you can summon phantoms, you can also be invaded by them, so you make yourself available for PvP play, even if you don't wish for it.
 

Gvaz

Banned
You mean the blacksmith or the fat guy who is outside sen's?
the blacksmith. They say he's outside sens fortress and you get there from that rickety old bridge but I didn't see any path that way.

Also my firekeeper is dead, where do I find one to upgrade my estus flasks?
 

Mattdaddy

Gold Member
Hey thanks for the tips, quick questions:

Why would I want to go human? What does kindling a fire do exactly? Is it true that the higher the humanity (number next to my life), the better chance of item drops I have?

When you are in human form you can summon phantoms (other players or sometimes npcs) to help you fight. You can only summon as a human. When you are in undead form, you can putdown your sign TO BE SUMMONED, but cannot actually summon anyone yourself. Warning though, in human form youre subject to invasion by hostile players (pvp).

Kindling a fire costs humanity and can only be done in human form. It increases the number of estus flasks received from that fire when you rest there. For example you rest at a fire and get 5 fresh estus flasks. If you kindle the fire, you now get 10 estus flasks everytime you rest at that specific bonfire.

Yes, not sure on number of humanity and its effect thought.
 

Alucrid

Banned
Hey thanks for the tips, quick questions:

Why would I want to go human? What does kindling a fire do exactly? Is it true that the higher the humanity (number next to my life), the better chance of item drops I have?

humanity amount can affect item drops and certain weapons stats
 

Sid

Member
the blacksmith. They say he's outside sens fortress and you get there from that rickety old bridge but I didn't see any path that way.

Also my firekeeper is dead, where do I find one to upgrade my estus flasks?
The blacksmith is to the right of the church down the stairs and as for the firekeeper you'll need to find another one in anor londo or a behind a hidden wall where you kill
quelaag
 

loganclaws

Plane Escape Torment
When you are in human form you can summon phantoms (other players or sometimes npcs) to help you fight. You can only summon as a human. When you are in undead form, you can putdown your sign TO BE SUMMONED, but cannot actually summon anyone yourself. Warning though, in human form youre subject to invasion by hostile players (pvp).

Kindling a fire costs humanity and can only be done in human form. It increases the number of estus flasks received from that fire when you rest there. For example you rest at a fire and get 5 fresh estus flasks. If you kindle the fire, you now get 10 estus flasks everytime you rest at that specific bonfire.

Yes, not sure on number of humanity and its effect thought.

Ok, next question, what does reverse hallowing mean?
 

Razek

Banned
You guys should have warned me, this thing sucks
Demons Greataxe
. I should have just stuck with the zeinhander.
 
Anor Londo is great for being a white knight. It's so daunting to make it through on your own. On the other hand, actually making it through is a marvellous feeling...
 
I'm sure this has been asked before, but this thread is pretty big so...

Playing through the game for the first time, I just entered Blighttown (woo), but I was wondering, at what point in the game is it appropriate to do the added DLC content? Will it be pretty much as I get access to it, whenever that happens? Not too concerned with spoilers in this context.

Anyone? =D
 

Kade

Member
Beat that dumb stupid butterfly. I had a lot of trouble with the needle attack it does and almost died. Obligatory shrug victory taunt.
215410C150CEDC9FC19C695537CC2E24CA0BE079
 

mash440

Neo Member
You guys should have warned me, this thing sucks
Demons Greataxe
. I should have just stuck with the zeinhander.

I completed the game with the Demon Greataxe. It's a good weapon, and worth spending a slab on. Didn't you just start though? How do you have the stats to use it?
 

Sullichin

Member
14 DEX and let's say 30 INT:
What's better, a balder side sword + 15 w/ crystal magic weapon, or enchanted balder side sword +10? I'm guessing CMW, but it would be nice to have my weapon not be useless when it's not active.

Oh man it looks like it gets A scaling in INT. I might use an enchanted weapon for the first time ever now. :p
 

Razek

Banned
I completed the game with the Demon Greataxe. It's a good weapon, and worth spending a slab on. Didn't you just start though? How do you have the stats to use it?

I used the forest leveling area with all the NPCs and let them do the drop down thing for some quick souls. I only went to 32 STR which I was already 27 before getting there. How the heck do you ever get an attack off? It's so slow I can never get one through, even the jump smash.
 

mash440

Neo Member
I used the forest leveling area with all the NPCs and let them do the drop down thing for some quick souls. I only went to 32 STR which I was already 27 before getting there. How the heck do you ever get an attack off? It's so slow I can never get one through, even the jump smash.

It's all about attacking while they are closing in and it has a really long range. It can change direction at the last minute so it is pretty godly when they try to strafe around you.

I used the zweihandler for most of the game as well. I've heard people say good things about the claymore though. It hits faster and has a more useful moveset apparently.
 
14 DEX and let's say 30 INT:
What's better, a balder side sword + 15 w/ crystal magic weapon, or enchanted balder side sword +10? I'm guessing CMW, but it would be nice to have my weapon not be useless when it's not active.

Oh man it looks like it gets A scaling in INT. I might use an enchanted weapon for the first time ever now. :p
As you are go for large magic, enchanted makes it too situational. With CMW it applies a base damage in addition to the damage so having a good base and fast attack is ideal.

In your case the bonus scaling on the swag sword is based on high dex so currently you stats don't make the most of that weapon. So it makes more sense to smith the magic damage rather than imbue it.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Anyone? =D

The new stuff isn't even accessible until quite late in the game. By the time you have access to it you should pretty much be ready for it, and if you're not ready it won't take long at all for the game to make you painfully aware of that fact.

14 DEX and let's say 30 INT:
What's better, a balder side sword + 15 w/ crystal magic weapon, or enchanted balder side sword +10? I'm guessing CMW, but it would be nice to have my weapon not be useless when it's not active.

Oh man it looks like it gets A scaling in INT. I might use an enchanted weapon for the first time ever now. :p

+15 with CMW will do more damage. You could just make one of each, you know. Use the Enchanted for walking around fightin' grunts, switch to the +15 for invaders and bosses. You'd need to farm a bit more for a second Balder Side Sword, but they use different chunks and slabs so making a pair shouldn't be too onerous a burden.
 
Got a 360 controller so it's playable now! And for the first 20 minutes I tried to kill the first boss with that broken knife....... lol.
 

Grief.exe

Member
I just don't have the damage to take on four kings, I can't do enough to kill one before the next one comes out.

I have an unupgraded Lightning and Quelagg's, I've tried with both but neither puts out enough damage.

Thinking about going to get a claymore and upgrading it full Lightning since I'm doing a 16/14 str/dex build.

Thoughts on this? Or suggestions? Should I just upgrade Quelagg's?

EDIT: Quelagg's is pretty pathetic even upgraded.
 

IoCaster

Member
Alright, I finally beat that demon (Tauros?) so that was pretty sweet. Of course, I immediately got charbroiled by a fucking dragon so the good vibes didn't last long. Now I have to figure out how to kill a flame blasting asshole of a dragon. Oh, joy.

In any case, I'm going to have to put the game away for awhile since there's a hurricane in the neighborhood and I'll probably lose power for a couple of days before the night is done.
 

Ridley327

Member
Alright, I finally beat that demon (Tauros?) so that was pretty sweet. Of course, I immediately got charbroiled by a fucking dragon so the good vibes didn't last long. Now I have to figure out how to kill a flame blasting asshole of a dragon. Oh, joy.

In any case, I'm going to have to put the game away for awhile since there's a hurricane in the neighborhood and I'll probably lose power for a couple of days before the night is done.

It's not recommended to go after the dragon, but if you happen to be an archer, there is something that you can do to him that will grant you a great early-game weapon.
 

Razek

Banned
It's all about attacking while they are closing in and it has a really long range. It can change direction at the last minute so it is pretty godly when they try to strafe around you.

I used the zweihandler for most of the game as well. I've heard people say good things about the claymore though. It hits faster and has a more useful moveset apparently.

I didn't do too much with it, I just give it a quick try and then a sad face. I might give it some more practice. The claymore sounds interested, next time I play I'll go check it out. zweihandler seems to be the winner for me so far thanks to secondary constant knockdown/knockback.
 
I just don't have the damage to take on four kings, I can't do enough to kill one before the next one comes out.

I have an unupgraded Lightning and Quelagg's, I've tried with both but neither puts out enough damage.

Thinking about going to get a claymore and upgrading it full Lightning since I'm doing a 16/14 str/dex build.

Thoughts on this? Or suggestions? Should I just upgrade Quelagg's?

EDIT: Quelagg's is pretty pathetic even upgraded.

+5 Lightning Spear. I had plenty of time between kings. Don't know if you want to grind that much, but you should upgrade your Lightning Spear anyways.
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
+5 Lightning Spear. I had plenty of time between kings. Don't know if you want to grind that much, but you should upgrade your Lightning Spear anyways.
Don't do this. The lightning spear is one of the worst lightning weapons in the game and the materials to upgrade weapons to lightning +5 are limited each playthrough and very very rare if you try farming. If you want a spear-like weapon then upgrade a halberd to lightning+5. A lightning claymore +5 is more versatile though and outdamages a lightning spear +5 by a large margin as well.
 
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