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[theta11]

so I leveled my new DEX build character to about 75. started invading for my first time ever and DAMN I can't catch a win. most of the world I arrive in have 2 players waiting slaughter me.

I'm using offset Makoto until I can get some damn Bladestone. cleared World 4 and didn't even get a chunk! Anybody willing to lend me some Bladestone? I've yet to even have a cooperative player in my World.

edit: I have some pure cloudstone for anyone who is in need or would trade!

I think the Hiltless is the weapon of choice without Bladestone. I've tried a mid level Dex build before but due to how hard it is to get Pure Bladestone it never worked out so you are stuck using special weapons like Hiltless or partially upgraded weapons. Str and Vit builds always worked best for me in those levels; 40-80.

 

[EasyMode]

Here's the progress so far:

SL9 Barbarian Challenge

Good stuff. I just watched the 4-2 playthrough. :lol So much can go wrong in that level especially for a low level character. Will you be fighting the BPs and Doran again?

 

[Lagspike_exe]

I'm having issues with 1-4 boss. I'm playing a Faith build, but the boss is way too hard. On my first try, I took out maybe 15% of his hralth. I'm using +3 Mirdal Hammer with full Old King's armor. Any tips?

 

[johntown]

so I leveled my new DEX build character to about 75. started invading for my first time ever and DAMN I can't catch a win. most of the world I arrive in have 2 players waiting slaughter me.

I'm using offset Makoto until I can get some damn Bladestone. cleared World 4 and didn't even get a chunk! Anybody willing to lend me some Bladestone? I've yet to even have a cooperative player in my World.

edit: I have some pure cloudstone for anyone who is in need or would trade!

I am pretty sure I have a Pure Bladestone and I could dupe it for you. My friend currently has my DS disk but he should be returning it next week. The only thing I am really looking for is a Pure Darkmoonstone.

 

[Labadal]

Dodging is your best friend here. Only hit him a couple of times. Dodge, wait for him to rush you,. get behind him, dodge again. Avoid his are of effect attack. rince and repeat. Also have a lot of grass ready.

 

[johntown]

I'm having issues with 1-4 boss. I'm playing a Faith build, but the boss is way too hard. On my first try, I took out maybe 15% of his hralth. I'm using +3 Mirdal Hammer with full Old King's armor. Any tips?

Do you have any ranged weapons you can use? I recommend a fully upgraded bow, the warding spell and lots of rolling.

 

[Zeth]

Oh cool hopefully I can get in touch with you then for a dupe!

You're right I'm gonna grab hiltless now. I completely overlooked it because I was so happy I had my first world tendency event (satsuki). For this Dex build I'm planning on taking it all the way to 120ish. I really need to finish the game to get Dorans armor I think.

You sure are right about it being weak mid level. Almost every scuffle I've been in has involved a STR build wielding a massive weapon and smashing me to piece with it. Hopefully I'll have time to make a STR build before Dark Souls. I decided against STR because the weapons seemed harder to get than using sharp stuff. Didn't know it would be so difficult to get Bladestone at the time.

 

[oracrest]

Good stuff. I just watched the 4-2 playthrough. :lol So much can go wrong in that level especially for a low level character. Will you be fighting the BPs and Doran again?

I am not sure, maybe. I have been suiciding in the Nexus so that my world tendency only goes up, just in case. For now, just focusing on the main game.

I'm having issues with 1-4 boss. I'm playing a Faith build, but the boss is way too hard. On my first try, I took out maybe 15% of his hralth. I'm using +3 Mirdal Hammer with full Old King's armor. Any tips?

one, or two hits at a time at most, then back up. His close quarters combat is devastating, but from a distance, he's a bit easier to handle, and you can see his attacks coming to dodge.

 

[NEOPARADIGM]

I'm having issues with 1-4 boss. I'm playing a Faith build, but the boss is way too hard. On my first try, I took out maybe 15% of his hralth. I'm using +3 Mirdal Hammer with full Old King's armor. Any tips?

Not much of a tip, but it would certainly help if you upgraded that a bit more. It goes up to +10.

 

[RyanDG]

I've only farmed chunks for the trophy, and for many of those, I upgraded the hand weapons the 2-1 miners drop because they need the least to go to full upgrade. PBWT is a must. Outside of that, I believe all those other items only help drop rate, not the actual frequency of rare drops.

Can't believe you got pure bladestone with ease... I spent at least 10 hours farming before finally just asking someone that had an extra.

Technically this is correct. However increasing the frequency of item drops, statistically, will increase the number of rare items dropping over a series of runs. By ensuring more drops each run, the chances of any individual run providing the rare item you need is increased by sheer numbers alone -- if that makes sense.

With that said, Bladestone was a pain in the rear end.

 

[oracrest]

Technically this is correct. However increasing the frequency of item drops, statistically, will increase the number of rare items dropping over a series of runs. By ensuring more drops each run, the chances of any individual run providing the rare item you need is increased by sheer numbers alone -- if that makes sense.

With that said, Bladestone was a pain in the rear end.

You're right. It will help with the mantas. With BP katana skeletons, I think they always drop an item when killed, so in those cases, the frequency doesn't matter.

 

[Zeth]

Doran is such a beast. I have no idea how I'm going to kill him. Every time i think im doing well he heals. I need grass every so often since im using hiltless +5 until i get bladestone (adjudicator +7 offsetting a lot though) Checked a strat on the wiki and it looks like I need to start taking advantage of Second Chance. Wont he just heal if I keep trying to recast Second Chance?

 

[Leona Lewis]

OK, quick update: It was so worth it to come back to this game after last weekend's frustration (outlined a few posts back). Fighting Phalanx (and beating him on my first try - thanks Firebomb!) was one of the more exhilirating gaming experiences I've had since...well I guess since last gen. I guess the later bosses will kick my ass though

Anyway, I have a quick question: I lost my souls by falling before I fought the boss, and I regained my physical form (and full life bar) after defeating the boss but still need to retrieve those earlier lost souls. Problem is, I fell in a location I don't know how to get back to.

It's in 1-1, when you're going up those stairs with the guys holding firebombs and there's one on a ledge hidden behind you that you can only hit with ranged attacks like Soul Arrow. Here's a pic:

I have no idea how to get to that ledge :-( HALP

 

[one85x]

There is a broken part of the battlement near the blue-eyed knight that leads to that platform.

 

[Leona Lewis]

I tried that but it just leads to that area with the multiple descending stairs. Thanks though!

I'll Paypal $25 to anyone who can make a video walkthrough of how to get to that spot. I'm so glad to have beaten the boss and want to move on, but can't leave my souls behind...

 

[one85x]

This is the area I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MIfCEPDU94&t=8m20s

It's at 8:20 if the video doesn't automatically skip there.

 

[Leona Lewis]

This is the area I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MIfCEPDU94&t=8m20s

It's at 8:20 if the video doesn't automatically skip there.

Wow, thanks! Unfortunately I was sprinting there and fell off a cliff and died, so now my lifebar is only 3/4 full. I regained those lost souls and my lifebar is still not whole. Do I need to beat another boss to get it back to how it was after I defeated Phalanx?

Sorry for my stupidity...

 

[Zeth]

You need to kill a black phantom like the ones who invade when playing online or defeat another boss. There are plusses to playing in soul form however. You'll deal more damage to enemies and the Cling Ring from 1-1 can mitigate a large chunk of your decreased health.

Alternately you can use a stone of ephermal eyes to resurrect.

Have fun. I fell in love with this game a few weeks ago and it's truly one of the most pure and satisfying games I've played this generation.

 

[oracrest]

Wow, thanks! Unfortunately I was sprinting there and fell off a cliff and died, so now my lifebar is only 3/4 full. I regained those lost souls and my lifebar is still not whole. Do I need to beat another boss to get it back to how it was after I defeated Phalanx?

Sorry for my stupidity...

You can also help out another player as a blue phantom. It's one of the easier ways to get body form back. You need to be there when the boss is defeated in their world. You will resurrect and have full life again. Then when in body form, you may summon blue phantoms to your world via the hot blue messages you see on the ground, and are susceptible to being invaded by player black phantoms.

 

[xenoflux2113]

So I started a thief run last night. Mainly because I like the armor, the starting equip fits my deflect/critical stab play style early in the game and I want to play a more dex/magic build then the knight i was playing before. Going for white bow/lava bow use mainly and supliment that with soul arrow/ray. Anyone have a good build for this type of character they would like to share?

I tend to finish the game then start a new character rather then do NG+, and I am hoping with a good ranged/magic build I can get past some NG+ obsticles that are hindering me.

 

[one85x]

Well if you're just in need of a strong ranged option, then a pure dex build might be the way to go. The sticky compound long bow is the strongest bow in the game and it scales with the dex stat. You can further increase it's power by wearing the clever rat's ring and off-handing the morion blade.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Well if you're just in need of a strong ranged option, then a pure dex build might be the way to go. The sticky compound long bow is the strongest bow in the game and it scales with the dex stat. You can further increase it's power by wearing the clever rat's ring and off-handing the morion blade.

Yep, done properly you'll do upwards of 1000 damage at level 40 or so. Using a +5 Hiltless is a good complimentary weapon, IME.

I'm on psn at the moment, so if anyone wants some coop assistance just hit me up.

 

[xenoflux2113]

Well if you're just in need of a strong ranged option, then a pure dex build might be the way to go. The sticky compound long bow is the strongest bow in the game and it scales with the dex stat. You can further increase it's power by wearing the clever rat's ring and off-handing the morion blade.

Awesome. I totally forgot that clever rat's ring stacks with morion blade. I was going magic as well because the lava bow scales with your magic stat. But seeing as how I didn't get to fight phalanx I might just do a pure ranged. Thanks!

 

[Onion_Relish]

Awesome. I totally forgot that clever rat's ring stacks with morion blade. I was going magic as well because the lava bow scales with your magic stat. But seeing as how I didn't get to fight phalanx I might just do a pure ranged. Thanks!

sticky bow +5 is the best bow you can get
lava and white are both good, but sticky is king

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Not much of a tip, but it would certainly help if you upgraded that a bit more. It goes up to +10.

I meant +3 Blessed. I would upgrade it further, but I can't farm Blessed chunks.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Well, if you're gonna do pure ranged, this is the best way to do it, IME:

*Macuser's Gnarly Hyper Mode Ranged Character*, Level 45:
Class: Royal
VIT: 8
INT: 15
END: 8
STR: 15*
DEX: 36
MAG:18
FTH: 18
LCK: 7

Items/Weps I use:
Hiltless (for active HP adjustment, default melee - running strike is godly).
Makoto Blade (for passive HP adjustment)
Norther Regalia
Morion Blade (for damage increase)
Clever Rat's Ring (for damage increase)
Sticky Composite Bow - Heavy Arrows and Holy Arrows
Blind +5 (to punish shield whores)
Talisman of Beasts
Thief Ring (to hide arrow use at long range - vital!)
Regenerator's Ring
Spells/Magic: Second Chance, Death Cloud or Poison Cloud (to sniff out cloaked fools).

Kind of a hard build to work up to, but once you get a +3 sticky bow it becomes cake. Most everything in the game will die in one hit (1k+ damage with heavy arrows, 600+ with holy, 1000+ melee), bosses fall quickly, and you can create a barrier for yourself against invaders with death cloud, giving yourself enough time to switch out to a better melee weapon. Invading with this will guarantee hate mail.

*You only need enough to dual wield the Hitless and the stick composite bow. You can quickly knock yourself back down to Hyper Mode range by one-handing the Hiltless and attacking damage-sponge enemies etc.


I'm SL 45 so if you want I can just unload this stuff sometime.

 

[xenoflux2113]

Well, if you're gonna do pure ranged, this is the best way to do it, IME:

*Macuser's Gnarly Hyper Mode Ranged Character*, Level 45:

I'll try that build out and see how it goes, when I get home from work... I might play with it and throw clever rats ring and morion blade in there to get that boost also.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Haha, I forgot to drop in Morion Blade and the Ring, yes they are 100% required to make this work

 

[xenoflux2113]

Now the build makes more sense. haha Awesome I'll try it tonight.

 

[Zeth]

That dex build looks nice. I really like the death cloud thing and is Northern Regalia good for DEX? That would be a pretty sweet new goal. Just from reading here and the wiki I pretty much thought it was all about sharp stuff. But since im not really focused on PvP I actually enjoy PvE Im open to anything. I have Hiltless +5 and Makoto now and those are super fun.

I'm at level 105 already and I was aiming toward 50 vit 40 end 50 dex but I think that's pretty much PvP focused like most of the popular wiki builds. I wanna do something a little different to switch it up.

 

[Proposed Law]

Holy shit first time battling Old Monk and my mind is blown. I had no idea that a Phantom was going to be the boss. This game is unbelievable! Good battle, but I won in the end.

 

[freenudemacusers]

That dex build looks nice. I really like the death cloud thing and is Northern Regalia good for DEX? That would be a pretty sweet new goal. Just from reading here and the wiki I pretty much thought it was all about sharp stuff. But since im not really focused on PvP I actually enjoy PvE Im open to anything. I have Hiltless +5 and Makoto now and those are super fun.

Well Northern Regalia (and the Soul/Demonbrandt) are only particularly good at the character tendency extremes. In 'hyper mode', these do about 650/650 magic/physical combined, so if you have players rocking a shield, it will likely deliver enough magic damage to cut through the shield and kill them or at least stagger them, allowing you to swing again to finish them off. It's a good crowd control melee weapon. I prefer Hiltless to sharp simply because I hate grinding, and the tiny amount of health you have docked on a hit doesn't add up to much, especially when you hit for 1000+ damage.

The use of death cloud and blind are recent tricks I've been employing. Death cloud helps me find where people are on the map (if they run away etc), helps sniff out invisibles, and tends to make people defensive. Something I've also noticed is that using items/casting increases damage during the animation by roughly 20%, and I've caught people using herbs/etc to stop death cloud's effects with an arrow.

Blind is fun to use against DSS users or heavy pokers, as they assume invulnerability against curved swords. Too bad with hyper mode and high DEX it does 460 damage a hit

 

[oracrest]

Holy shit first time battling Old Monk and my mind is blown. I had no idea that a Phantom was going to be the boss. This game is unbelievable! Good battle, but I won in the end.

It's things like this that make their approach to online so interesting.

 

[Nix]

Can anyone help me? I'm on New game+ and I can't seem to beat Adjucator.

It seems like everytime I try (I'm pure melee), I can't see what I'm doing
and get killed off pretty quick. I know I have to circle around him and then
pick him off like that, because that's what I did in my first playthrough, but it doesn't seem to work this time around. Does anyone have any suggestions. For reference, I've currently done 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 5-1, 5-2. Also, if it helps, I'm still at SL 60 so I'm not sure if I should raise it higher or...?

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

I got invaded for the second time. First time I died, and i wasnt going to let that happen again. So i used the warding spell to up my defense, summoned a blue phantom to help me out, and we beat him, yay!!!

Never had so much fun with a game since vanilla dmc3

 

[Panipal2009]

Can anyone help me? I'm on New game+ and I can't seem to beat Adjucator.

It seems like everytime I try (I'm pure melee), I can't see what I'm doing
and get killed off pretty quick. I know I have to circle around him and then
pick him off like that, because that's what I did in my first playthrough, but it doesn't seem to work this time around. Does anyone have any suggestions. For reference, I've currently done 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 5-1, 5-2. Also, if it helps, I'm still at SL 60 so I'm not sure if I should raise it higher or...?

Here's what I always do -

Stay behind his left leg at all times, so that when he does his sweep attack it brings his weak point into easy reach.

Though I'm sure his AI gets 'better' as it were as you go through NG+, etc, in that in NG he'll stay more or less in the middle of the chamber but in NG+ and on he starts trying to back you up against a wall, so that you've no room to move and have to cross in front of him (always rolling!) or maybe that's just my game...

 

[Nix]

Here's what I always do -

Stay behind his left leg at all times, so that when he does his sweep attack it brings his weak point into easy reach.

Though I'm sure his AI gets 'better' as it were as you go through NG+, etc, in that in NG he'll stay more or less in the middle of the chamber but in NG+ and on he starts trying to back you up against a wall, so that you've no room to move and have to cross in front of him (always rolling!) or maybe that's just my game...

Thanks. I'll try that, but it's more of an issue of the camera, where sometimes I only see his mid-torso and so. Is there an optimal shield for this though? I'm currently using spiked, since that's my favorite one. Plus I've had it since my first playthrough.

 

[oracrest]

Can anyone help me? I'm on New game+ and I can't seem to beat Adjucator.

It seems like everytime I try (I'm pure melee), I can't see what I'm doing
and get killed off pretty quick. I know I have to circle around him and then
pick him off like that, because that's what I did in my first playthrough, but it doesn't seem to work this time around. Does anyone have any suggestions. For reference, I've currently done 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 5-1, 5-2. Also, if it helps, I'm still at SL 60 so I'm not sure if I should raise it higher or...?

For a really safe strategy, get him position at the end of the hall longways. Run back to the other end for his attacks, and rush in between each one and hit the weak point a couple times, then run back, blocking. if he is close to the back of the room, he should miss you everytime if your back far enough. He'll eventually fall every so often, and you can get to his head.

It's a bit safer than having to dodge his attacks close up.

 

[freenudemacusers]

The Adjucator's AI is equally stupid throughout NG7 (as far as I have bothered to go). He's just hitting you about twice as hard. Just circle-strafe counterclockwise until you get the precise rhythm down, and stay very close to his body's weak point. He'll do his swiping strike, and you'll want to stay close to said weak point, and strike after he swings. Once you get it down he won't hit you.

 

[Windom Earle]

I'm approaching the end of my first playthrough finally (fuck yeah) and started reading in the world tendency events. I guess I'm screwed to get the PW events if I have killed the archdemons already (I think I only have PW in world 5)?

Is it much harder in NG+? I would love to have some kind of roadmap for this, even the DS-Wiki doesn't seem to have one...

And finally I have a nice looking armor for my night. Got so sick of the fluted set! :lol

 

[oracrest]

I'm approaching the end of my first playthrough finally (fuck yeah) and started reading in the world tendency events. I guess I'm screwed to get the PW events if I have killed the archdemons already (I think I only have PW in world 5)?

Is it much harder in NG+? I would love to have some kind of roadmap for this, even the DS-Wiki doesn't seem to have one...

And finally I have a nice looking armor for my night. Got so sick of the fluted set! :lol

The simplest way to do it is play offline, always suicide in body form in the Nexus, and not in the worlds.

Before killing the last boss of any given world, use stone of ephemeral eyes to ressurect, and kill yourself as many times as you need to go pure black. In pure black of any given world, without going back to the Nexus, kill a named Black Phantom, and the primeval Demon. The only world you must be aware of is 3, since you have to start in 1, kill the BP, then go find the primeval demon in 3-2 all in one go and in that order. It's the only world you can't get to the beginning of starting from a later archstone, so you have to do this order. Killing a BP and Demon will knock you +6 in world tendency. If you leave after killing just one, you lose your chance of getting the other next time, since the Nexus will change your tendency based on what you killed. Then, kill the last boss, and you'll hit +7, PBWT.

 

[Johnas]

FINALLY farmed enough Chunks of Cloudstone to get my Dark Purple Flame Shield up to +5.

Platinum is within reach.

 

[Windom Earle]

The simplest way to do it is play offline, always suicide in body form in the Nexus, and not in the worlds.

Before killing the last boss of any given world, use stone of ephemeral eyes to ressurect, and kill yourself as many times as you need to go pure black. In pure black of any given world, without going back to the Nexus, kill a named Black Phantom, and the primeval Demon. The only world you must be aware of is 3, since you have to start in 1, kill the BP, then go find the primeval demon in 3-2 all in one go and in that order. It's the only world you can't get to the beginning of starting from a later archstone, so you have to do this order. Killing a BP and Demon will knock you +6 in world tendency. If you leave after killing just one, you lose your chance of getting the other next time, since the Nexus will change your tendency based on what you killed. Then, kill the last boss, and you'll hit +7, PBWT.

Thank a million oracrest, your post is bookmarked

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Ah fuck, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to consume the demon's souls ;_;

I already used 3 of em.

 

[xenoflux2113]

Ah fuck, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to consume the demon's souls ;_;

I already used 3 of em.

Did that too my first time. Decided to restart since it was only tower knight and phalanx...

 

[Mr.Squirrel]

Did that too my first time. Decided to restart since it was only tower knight and phalanx...

I thought about doing that, but I'll just keep going. Sucks that I'm gonna miss out on the ignite spell though, looks pretty cool

 

[Leona Lewis]

I've been playing the game non-stop and it's finally "clicked" for me. I had my first co-op experience fighting the huge flamethrowing spider - so amazing! This is the most fun I've had with a game since PSO. Why did I wait so long to buy it :-(

What's this I hear about not eating demons' souls though? I've defeated the Phalanx, the Tower Knight, and the spider thing and immediately traded their souls for stat increases. What benefits are there from not consuming the souls?

 

[RyanDG]

What's this I hear about not eating demons' souls though? I've defeated the Phalanx, the Tower Knight, and the spider thing and immediately traded their souls for stat increases. What benefits are there from not consuming the souls?

Special weapon upgrades and spells. Depending on your character build, some of them may not matter. But the Red Hot Demon's Soul is definitely one you absolutely do not want to consume (I'd make it habit of not consuming any of the boss demon's souls as just a rule of thumb... ). You need it to open up the blacksmith in 2-1 that does all of your unique crafting.

 

[Reilly]

What's this I hear about not eating demons' souls though? I've defeated the Phalanx, the Tower Knight, and the spider thing and immediately traded their souls for stat increases. What benefits are there from not consuming the souls?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Leona Lewis]

Is Flamelurker the one you're talking about? In that case, I'm in the clear (phew!)

I'm a royal, but I don't really know which stats to focus on so I've just been upgrading magic and strength like crazy. Would the bosses whose souls I've eaten (Phalanx, Tower Knight, horrible nightmare-inducing spider thingy) have been useful?

I certainly hope Dark Souls has a better tutorial haha