Support NeoGAF

[Trogdor1123]

Perhaps I'll give it another go after I get through FF XII: TZA, thanks!

Free him and don't kick him off either. His part can be hard but it's also really fun. I tried like 20 times before I got it.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

If you don't kick him off, Firelink Shrine dies and you miss out on plus 10 estus refills. In short, don't listen to this guy. ^^^^

 

[Trogdor1123]

If you don't kick him off, Firelink Shrine dies and you miss out on plus 10 estus refills. In short, don't listen to this guy. ^^^^

Negative, you get that back and get to do a fun sub mission in anor londo

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Negative, you get that back and get to do a fun sub mission in anor londo

You get that back eventually, yes. For a first time play through, though, keeping Firelink Shrine open for business is the way to go. Plus you get the ring of Favour and Protection which again, is a big advantage.

 

[Trogdor1123]

You get that back eventually, yes. For a first time play through, though, keeping Firelink Shrine open for business is the way to go. Plus you get the ring of Favour and Protection which again, is a big advantage.

I don't disagree about the benefits but I would rather play that quest. It's incredibly fun! And frustrating! It also is very easy to miss him at firelink and come back and she is already dead.

Plus it doesn't take that long as you open another fire keeper 10+ fire at the beginning of anor londo so it's really no big deal.

That ring is awesome though I agree 100%

 

[Trogdor1123]

Well, I'm trying to get that darn moonlight sword from seath and it's not going well.

Got the dark Moon ring on and it's not helping. Is a summon helpful?

 

[peronmls]

I don't disagree about the benefits but I would rather play that quest. It's incredibly fun! And frustrating! It also is very easy to miss him at firelink and come back and she is already dead.

Plus it doesn't take that long as you open another fire keeper 10+ fire at the beginning of anor londo so it's really no big deal.

That ring is awesome though I agree 100%

I dont think it's recommended on the first play thru at least. It's still a pretty brutal scenario to go through even though cool stuff happens.

 

[Yumi]

Well, I'm trying to get that darn moonlight sword from seath and it's not going well.

Got the dark Moon ring on and it's not helping. Is a summon helpful?

The easiest way I know is to run behind him when you first get in. Stsnd by the crystal and wait for him to get close to you. When his attack animation starts, break the crystal then run around him to attack the tail. His reaction to the crystal breaking should give you enough time to run around him and break his tail.

How many hits it takes for the tail to break varies. I've always had a hard time. I think a fully upgraded greatsword is the easiest? Not sure.

 

[Trogdor1123]

The easiest way I know is to run behind him when you first get in. Stsnd by the crystal and wait for him to get close to you. When his attack animation starts, break the crystal then run around him to attack the tail. His reaction to the crystal breaking should give you enough time to run around him and break his tail.

How many hits it takes for the tail to break varies. I've always had a hard time. I think a fully upgraded greatsword is the easiest? Not sure.

I'll try that tonight. Haven't gotten back to it for a while.

 

[Yumi]

I'll try that tonight. Haven't gotten back to it for a while.

You got to be getting close to the end. How many lord souls do you have? Also, dis you ever get into the DLC?

 

[Trogdor1123]

You got to be getting close to the end. How many lord souls do you have? Also, dis you ever get into the DLC?

Just 4 kings so far. Need to get through the dead dude and seath still. Still haven't got into the dlc yet. Would love to do some more this weekend. Kids and parents have been sick though so I'm hoping I'll have some time now.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I was watching some videos on hidden content in demon souls this morning over breakfast... That would have been great wow

 

[Trogdor1123]

Got to lost izalyth last night. Very cool area. A wand dropped for me called a izalyth catalyst. It any good?

 

[Yumi]

Got to lost izalyth last night. Very cool area. A wand dropped for me called a izalyth catalyst. It any good?

Pretty sure its the same stat wise as the sorcerors catalyst which is the sorcerecs starting weapon. Mostly fashion I guess?

It seems most people dont like Lost Izalith as its been mostly confirmed that they had unfinished plans for the last areas of the game. I actually like it as well myself.

Cant wait to hear what you think about the boss fight

 

[Trogdor1123]

Pretty sure its the same stat wise as the sorcerors catalyst which is the sorcerecs starting weapon. Mostly fashion I guess?

It seems most people dont like Lost Izalith as its been mostly confirmed that they had unfinished plans for the last areas of the game. I actually like it as well myself.

Cant wait to hear what you think about the boss fight

Beat it on my third try, was pretty easy once I figured out what to do.

 

[sublimit]

So i was playing the game the other day (PS4 version) and something remarkable happened that i had never noticed before in the original:

Spoiler

I went back to the Undead Asylum to do a run and get the doll and as one Black Knight followed me i also triggered Oscar and the Black Knight killed Oscar as they were both chasing me and swinged at me! Was that a glitch or is it normal for a regular enemy to attack a hostile NPC?

 

[garballax]

So i was playing the game the other day (PS4 version) and something remarkable happened that i had never noticed before in the original:

Spoiler

I went back to the Undead Asylum to do a run and get the doll and as one Black Knight followed me i also triggered Oscar and the Black Knight killed Oscar as they were both chasing me and swinged at me! Was that a glitch or is it normal for a regular enemy to attack a hostile NPC?

stumbled across your comment and was curious myself (and wanted an excuse to learn the debug mode). I managed to replicate what you saw!

Spoiler

Oscar backstabbed and killed a hollow for me, managed to snag a recording of it too. the enemies in the area have standard type and team behavior (CHR_TYPE 5 and TEAM_TYPE 6) from what I can tell. so the ability to harm other enemies must be tied to Oscar. sadly I'm having some trouble finding the IDs of hollowed NPCs, I wanted to check Oscar in addition some other NPCs like the Crestfallen Warrior and Logan. maybe other hollowed NPCs behave the same way? I'm using this list, but I don't see Oscar's ID when I load up the info for area m18_01_00_00.msb (Undead Asylum). No luck on Crestfallen either.

I'll try to keep digging. will likely need input on someone who's experienced in debug mode tho to truly get to the bottom of this.

 

[garballax]

stumbled across your comment and was curious myself (and wanted an excuse to learn the debug mode). I managed to replicate what you saw!

Spoiler

Oscar backstabbed and killed a hollow for me, managed to snag a recording of it too. the enemies in the area have standard type and team behavior (CHR_TYPE 5 and TEAM_TYPE 6) from what I can tell. so the ability to harm other enemies must be tied to Oscar. sadly I'm having some trouble finding the IDs of hollowed NPCs, I wanted to check Oscar in addition some other NPCs like the Crestfallen Warrior and Logan. maybe other hollowed NPCs behave the same way? I'm using this list, but I don't see Oscar's ID when I load up the info for area m18_01_00_00.msb (Undead Asylum). No luck on Crestfallen either.

I'll try to keep digging. will likely need input on someone who's experienced in debug mode tho to truly get to the bottom of this.

I've returned with some answers. I'm still new to this so hopefully I'm understanding this correctly. TEAM_TYPE is a variable attached to some objects like NPCs and enemies that determines what they can and cannot harm (and maybe more, who knows). explaining requires some minor spoilers.

Spoiler

for example, we'll look at the Crestfallen Warrior. when he's sitting in Firelink at the start of your adventure, he's on team 8. in this state, even if you take control over him and have him attack the player (team 4) or another NPC, no damage is dealt to the player. you can still have him perform a backstab on the player, but there is no reduction in HP. notably in this state, he is able to harm enemies and bosses; which are on teams 6 and 7 respectively.

when you aggro him (or encounter him hollowed in New Londo), his team changes to 9 where he can damage you and regular enemies (+bosses). this is the state sublimit saw Oscar in. I've seen similar results across Petrus, Oscar, the Crestfallen and when modifying the player character's team (that's how I found out teams 8 and 9 can harm bosses).

I don't think there's any significance as to why they're able to harm enemies in that Team state other than being a piece of trivia. technically NPCs are always able to harm bosses and enemies. but can't always hurt the player.

(PS shoutouts to the debug thread, Dark Souls Debug wikidot site, and TCRF!)

 

[sublimit]

I've returned with some answers. I'm still new to this so hopefully I'm understanding this correctly. TEAM_TYPE is a variable attached to some objects like NPCs and enemies that determines what they can and cannot harm (and maybe more, who knows). explaining requires some minor spoilers.

Spoiler

for example, we'll look at the Crestfallen Warrior. when he's sitting in Firelink at the start of your adventure, he's on team 8. in this state, even if you take control over him and have him attack the player (team 4) or another NPC, no damage is dealt to the player. you can still have him perform a backstab on the player, but there is no reduction in HP. notably in this state, he is able to harm enemies and bosses; which are on teams 6 and 7 respectively.

when you aggro him (or encounter him hollowed in New Londo), his team changes to 9 where he can damage you and regular enemies (+bosses). this is the state sublimit saw Oscar in. I've seen similar results across Petrus, Oscar, the Crestfallen and when modifying the player character's team (that's how I found out teams 8 and 9 can harm bosses).

I don't think there's any significance as to why they're able to harm enemies in that Team state other than being a piece of trivia. technically NPCs are always able to harm bosses and enemies. but can't always hurt the player.

(PS shoutouts to the debug thread, Dark Souls Debug wikidot site, and TCRF!)

Fascinating stuff! I really had no idea this was a thing (regular enemies being able to attack and kill hostile NPCs) when i played the original version on PS3 and i played that version countless times. It's incredible that i'm still discovering major things like that in the game.

 

[Chuck Berry]

I didn't want to make a new thread for this, but fuck dude the Bartholomew trailer for this game is still one of my favs of all time. The lyrics match the player experience, and the overall editing work to make the beat match the imagery is just masterful to me. Plus it's just a kickass fucking song.

2011. Back when we got some seriously hype trailers with music to energize, instead of these female sung, sad bastard slow covers of rockers we get nowadays.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Over the Christmas break I finally got back into dark souls 2 as I never beat it before. It’s actually fantastic. There are so many zones. It has to be the biggest dark souls game, right? I’m just about done the game though. I ran a hex build and it’s going well I think.

I also find it is the dark souls where it is easiest to miss things which is frustrating. The level design is a bit different too with less use of majula as a central hub.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of things in it. Any recommendations for a hex build? I’m running a dark infused staff (forget the name but it has a moving top) with a dark infused spear I got from a guardian. Using the Hexer armour. I’m almost at the last bosses (other than the dlc).

 

[NeverYouMind]

Over the Christmas break I finally got back into dark souls 2 as I never beat it before. It’s actually fantastic. There are so many zones. It has to be the biggest dark souls game, right? I’m just about done the game though. I ran a hex build and it’s going well I think.

I also find it is the dark souls where it is easiest to miss things which is frustrating. The level design is a bit different too with less use of majula as a central hub.

I’m sure I’m missing a ton of things in it. Any recommendations for a hex build? I’m running a dark infused staff (forget the name but it has a moving top) with a dark infused spear I got from a guardian. Using the Hexer armour. I’m almost at the last bosses (other than the dlc).

For the max damage hex build keep some souls on you and use chime-based hexes.

SPL: Great Resonant Soul (Felkin the Outcast [Huntsman's Copse] shop, Pilgrims of the Dark Rank 2 Reward) is a boss killer. Dark Storm (Darkdiver Grandahl shop, Magerold of Lanafir [Iron Keep] shop) can destroy crowds. Resonant Soul (Felkin the Outcast shop, Pilgrims of the Dark Rank 1 Reward) for general use.

WPN: Dark-infused Caitha's Chime in Drangleic Castle or Dark-infused Chime of Want exchanged for final boss soul. Alternatively Dark-infused Witchtree Branch behind door inside hole of Majula. It requires you to slay a golem below in Black Gulch.

WPN2: Dark-infused Crypt Blacksword (Ultra Greatsword) exchanged for NG+/Bonfire Ascetic soul of The Rotten in Black Gulch or Dark-infused Blue Knight's Halberd (Halberd) dropped by Blue Sentinel Targray in Cathedral of Blue. Alternatively, Dark-Infused Black Dragon Sword (Straight Sword) dropped by Black Dragon Knights in Dragon Shrine.

RNG: Dark Clutch Ring in Frozen Eleum Loyce (requires beating Aava, The King's Pet and speaking to Alsanna) on corpse next to tree after dropping off tower with three chests. Abyss Seal is a covenant ring for Pilgrims of the Dark.

P.S. Unleash Magic [58 INT] is useful for maximizing damage but requires a questline in a hollow state with Royal Sorcerer Navlaan in Aldia's Keep (pulling lever to release him ends it). Red Tearstone Ring does nothing for magic in SotfS.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Been playing the mod Daughters of Ash for Dark Souls this week. I liked Seeker of Fire for Dark Souls 2 so I figured I'd do a run with DoA to see if it's just as good.

I have mixed feelings about it. It does some stuff better than the original, with some tweaking and adjustments to make it play better, but some other stuff is kinda annoying. I don't know, I get that it's a mod for veterans and the whole idea is to mix it up and make it fresh again, and in that sense, it's doing its job. But the handling of the way you progress doesn't feel good. You travel through Lordran in a sort of backwards way, and due to how the map is layed out it feels off. It doesn't feel as natural as in the original, where you slowly got pushed in the right direction. Here it's more artificial, and confusing. Like Sens Fortress is already open for exploration and the Bells of Awakening doesn't have the significance it previously did. Maybe it shines on second playthroughs but right now, I'm not feeling it.

Bosses have been moved around and altered, and I don't usually have an issue with it, I mean it's a mod, but DS is so iconic that when you anticipate something being there and it's not, I just get a slight feeling of disappointment, especially when the new boss is just some random enemy that belonged in the base game. Items and weapons are mixed around, Souls now gives certain attributes instead of, you know, souls, and some scripted events have been shuffled around.

Daughters of Ash does have some cool moments though. Like how you enter Anor Londo. I wasn't prepared for that and I'd say it's better than in the original. Very creative idea. I guess you can do it the way it was intended, I haven't figured that out yet, but this was an alternative path and it kinda blew my mind to be honest.

All in all, it's a mixed bag. But it is fun just because I have played the original so many times, so a remixed version like this definitely justifies another playthrough. The programmer has done a massive amount of work and really thought things through with new lore, weapons, upgrade systems, progression and story, and that should be praised. How it plays out is just a matter of taste but gotta give cred where it's due.