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Dark Souls III |OT+2| Why Can't We Poise the Game?

I wonder what the best weapons are at super high levels (and NG+n) after all the recent changes?

Months and months ago I came to the conclusion of Anri's Straight Sword thanks to the crazy LCK scaling on top of STR and DEX. That thing can have close to 500 AR before any buffs with the ultra fast and versatile moveset of a straight sword. I tried a lot of different weapons and builds but nothing seemed to come even close at the time.

I played through NG+14 (including the DLCs) and the most effective weapons I've found were/are:

1. Anri's pre-change w/ high luck + 99 hollowing + Hollow infused max whatever in offhand + carthus rouge.
2. Sunlight Straight Sword current.
3. Millwood Battle Axe.
4. Anri's now.

When doing most of those NG+ runs (for Slabs), I used #1 and breezed through every boss. Yeah, I can do nearly 800dmg with my +5 Dragonslayer Greataxe in one swing, but why bother when I can do 1000+dmg with two swings of a SS/BA in less time, using less stamina?

I have crazy stats btw, like everything is at 60 except vig/end/att and Luck because I respec'd out of it.

Heavy and Ultra weapons suck for high NG+'s, too slow, too much stamina usage, not enough stagger power, the only "plus" is the ability to continue your attack through an enemy's weakest one so you still take damage (which is almost always >40% of your health).
 

Sande

Member
1. Anri's pre-change w/ high luck + 99 hollowing + Hollow infused max whatever in offhand + carthus rouge.
2. Sunlight Straight Sword current.
3. Millwood Battle Axe.
4. Anri's now.
So more or less the same as me. It sucks that boss weapons with cool movesets and crazy scaling like STR+DEX+INT+FAI are garbage because of the way split damage works. Those are the kinds of weapons that should shine when you can max all relevant skills, but no.

I haven't really messed around with hollowing since I don't like looking like beef jerky. Is it a significant boost to damage?
 

Ferr986

Member
So more or less the same as me. It sucks that boss weapons with cool movesets and crazy scaling like STR+DEX+INT+FAI are garbage because of the way split damage works. Those are the kinds of weapons that should shine when you can max all relevant skills, but no.

I haven't really messed around with hollowing since I don't like looking like beef jerky. Is it a significant boost to damage?

No. Luck damage scales with it but its no better than dex or str. Its only for luck builds.
 

Mutombo

Member
I still feel a big letdown by the last DLC.

Woul've hoped for Londor and some serpents.

Yeah. I am not sure if the Souls games have gotten too stale for me, or if the DLC on itself simply wasn't that good.

I suppose it's a bit of both. Then again; I did feel like booting up Bloodborne again when playing the DLC.
 
there are tons of serpents in the DLC. one is buried and covered in ash in the fallen chapel. there are statues of the primordial serpents in the ringed city.

the last DLC was amazing. best one of the bunch imo. even the arrow summoners were fun, once you figure out a strategy. insanely cool and varied level design. what a way to go out!
 
I finally manged to clean it up in NG+++. The last two bosses are no joke. I will spare you the details of the last boss - think Orphan of Kos level of aggression - but I killed him after about 2 hours of trying. That means he killed me more than 20 times.

The optional dragon boss however... Jesus Fuck. He was a bastard. Being the literal LAST BOSS of the Soulsborne (Demons, Dark 1 + DLC, Dark 2 + DLC, Dark 3 + DLC, Bloodborne + DLC) games that I did not kill yet solo and melee only he put a HUGE STRAIN on my mind. I felt entitled to beat him in order to close the series once and for all. And if you are feeling forced to do something then it just doesn't flow as naturally as it should be.

So he took me about 4 hours of trial and error. I got sick of the fucking run to him:

- the shitty elevator that you have to summon every goddamn time
- the shitty ladder that goes on and on
- the shitty drop that tunnels your thoughts into "you are going to die again" mindset
- the shitty beginning when you have to use all stamina to run up to him

I was beyond frustrated. I was triggered. Tilted. I just could not avoid his attacks at all:

- for the 1000 times he breathed fire underneath him he hit me 990 times
- his claw swipes hit me 33% of the time
- his lasers OHKO'd me 100% of the time

But I pushed on. I had 70 Embers on me (used 5 Embers on the last boss before) and you can farm them in the DLC#2 so I had nothing to lose.

In the end I was so desperate that I started equipping Divine Blessing (a limited item!) and Siegbrau just to have that extra healing items on me in case I get his health bar down to his letters at least... and lo & behold I scored a win during take #40 or #50 I don't remember cause he killed me so many times.

You can see the last 30 seconds here:
http://xboxclips.com/TheRealBorys/9cb44880-6257-44bf-8e15-96657b541e5e

That's NG+++, SL295, full Havel's Set + Yhorm's Machete +5 + Rings +3.

beztytuuezuep.png


That's also no Estus left, used Divine Blessing and 2 Siegbraus left... it was fucking tense!

Final Dark Souls 3 stats and look (I farmed some levels after killing him just to get <70% equip load with Havel's Shield and FUGS).

dark_souls_3_final_02cnulu.png


dark_souls_3_final_01jbuci.png


All said and done I do not think Midir is harder than Friede - she takes the cake for the hardest DS3 boss (NG+++ at least) - it's just that he was the last one and that kind of messed me inside.

---

So long Soulsborne games!

:bow Miyazaki :bow

&#3900; &#12388; &#9685;_&#9685; &#3901;&#12388; give Bloodborne 2 @ E3 2017
 

Sande

Member
I finally manged to clean it up in NG+++. The last two bosses are no joke. I will spare you the details of the last boss - think Orphan of Kos level of aggression - but I killed him after about 2 hours of trying. That means he killed me more than 20 times.
How are people so high level? I'm in NG+14 and 50 levels lower than you. And leveling up already costs me 500 000.

It took me about 3 hours to beat
Gael
at level 1. NG+14 was smooth sailing after that. That fight is absolutely amazing when it's actually challenging.
 
I don't know if it's been posted but the dark souls 3 fire fades edition on ps4 is a different disc than ds3 vanilla. There's no download codes in the box.

I bought a copy today and thought people might want to know.
 
How am I at such a high level?

Because of Anor Londo:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1231636

Fuck the concord proofs farming!

I don't like PVP much in DS3 because it's only matching me against players with phantoms summoned, so getting Vertebra Shackles is much more of a pain to me. 22 out of 30, almost...

Concords weren't actually that bad because in that case I get on the advantageous end of two or three against one invader. Only bad thing is waiting for summons, but at least victory is nearly guaranteed.
 
I made some shots for remembrance of this awesome game.

a654ff8a-ce5b-4bfb-a47hqvk.jpg


70599548-d15f-48b6-bdyuqvw.jpg

WHAT IS INSIDE THE MAUSOLEUM?!?

8464b9ef-3ee6-4e38-a418qe3.jpg


7328f237-7d52-4911-89pdob8.jpg

So much wasted potential... this is the single most disappointing level in DS3. I expected so much more after unveiling it...

6daf69b6-284d-44bc-b9j6oak.jpg

In my opinion the best boss battle from the entire game took place here. Not the hardest mind you but the best. Incredible mix of visual flair, music, tragic lore of the characters involved and the design of the battle. Plus a very interesting twist on the staple of the series which is fight multiple bosses at the same time. My favourite boss battle in NG/ NG+/ NG++ and NG+++. I was always looking up to face them again.

6bf87b08-5434-4ff5-8dxir74.jpg


1fe0bf0b-2d8c-4801-a5m5qxr.jpg

Blue & Orange, heh... literally.

a53e8ff5-ef3b-4230-be28out.jpg


e80647f9-d352-499e-b74zp4n.jpg

Just iconic. The reveal was the single best moment in Dark Souls 3 for me.

dc4eeb19-6b41-466f-aetupic.jpg

It is the whole tower of the Firelink Shrine from DaS1! At first I thought it is only the Frampt's entrance part but it's the whole tower.

eb5dc1fc-2556-486b-988frpz.jpg

Aldrich's Sarcophagus.
 

Jombie

Member
I finished NG+ with my str build. I rarely wear armor, but been wearing Lapp's and it's kinda nice to not have half my hp gone in one hit..
 

Exr

Member
Level 51 on PS3, dont suppose anyone would be able to spare a manakin claw or any claw weapon? I just want to claw man
 

Pixieking

Banned
has anyone in the uk bought the GOTY edition yet, is all the content and up to 1.13 on disc?

Posted in the ot but I figure id get this out on the internet.

I don't know if it's been posted but the dark souls 3 fire fades edition on ps4 is a different disc than ds3 vanilla. There's no download codes in the box. I'll install it later and see how it handles the docs.

I bought a copy today and thought people might want to know

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=234406459

Not sure if that applies to the UK edition, and I'm also not sure if it's the PS4 version you're looking at. I would guess all retail versions are the same, but *shrugs*
 

Dahaka

Member
hey guys,

a friend of mine wants to start DS3. He played DS1 before.

I personally run the standard builds like hollow, pyro, strength. He doesn't want to pick one of them and quality neither, wants to combine dex and faith or dex pyro. What do you think? Seems to me he has to invest in quite a few attributes besides dex, endurance, vit, namely int and faith, probably at 30. Would make him a bit less effective overall, though sharp infusions seem to have gotten a nice buff recently.

I suggested faith merely for weapon buffs like blessed weapon and not bother with most of the miracles but 40 dex or at least 50 strength to still be effective when unbuffed. What do you think? How important is INT for him in that case?
 

Bladelaw

Member
hey guys,

a friend of mine wants to start DS3. He played DS1 before.

I personally run the standard builds like hollow, pyro, strength. He doesn't want to pick one of them and quality neither, wants to combine dex and faith or dex pyro. What do you think? Seems to me he has to invest in quite a few attributes besides dex, endurance, vit, namely int and faith, probably at 30. Would make him a bit less effective overall, though sharp infusions seem to have gotten a nice buff recently.

I suggested faith merely for weapon buffs like blessed weapon and not bother with most of the miracles but 40 dex or at least 50 strength to still be effective when unbuffed. What do you think? How important is INT for him in that case?

I beat the game+ DLC at SL 120 with the following build:
Depraved
27 Vit
30 Stamina
17 Carry Weight (can't remember the stat name)
35 Str
40 Dex
30 Int
10 Faith

I used the Crystal Sage Staff for weapon buffing my +10 Sharp Washing Pole. I imagine flipping int/faith and using lightning weapon would accomplish much the same thing.

Gear
W1: Washing Pole, Compound Long Bow
W2: Grass Crest Shield, Crystal Sage Staff
Armor: Assassin Hood, Undead Legion everything else
Rings: Chlororanthy +3, Estus, Life, <flex> usually +5 dex
 

Ferr986

Member
hey guys,

a friend of mine wants to start DS3. He played DS1 before.

I personally run the standard builds like hollow, pyro, strength. He doesn't want to pick one of them and quality neither, wants to combine dex and faith or dex pyro. What do you think? Seems to me he has to invest in quite a few attributes besides dex, endurance, vit, namely int and faith, probably at 30. Would make him a bit less effective overall, though sharp infusions seem to have gotten a nice buff recently.

I suggested faith merely for weapon buffs like blessed weapon and not bother with most of the miracles but 40 dex or at least 50 strength to still be effective when unbuffed. What do you think? How important is INT for him in that case?

DEX/FTH build with the recently buffed Sunlight Straight Sword or Dragonslayer Sword pear and some miracles like Lightning Arrow should work fine.

DEX/Pyro isn't as worth because there's no really a weapon for it, pyro weapons are full FTH/INT.
 

MilkBeard

Member
Hmm. Farron Greatsword does good damage against
Midir.

Going to compare it directly but it feels like a good 100-200 more damage than my main. I think this will help quite a bit. I've gotten his health doe to about a third, but ran out of estus last time.
 

Thorgal

Member
i need a reminder : i can kill the giant in the tower to get the hawk ring without consequences
( except feeling bad about it)
right ?
 

Bladelaw

Member
Well I finished the game and all DLC. I went with the
End of Flame
ending since
given this is the end of the series it seemed like a fitting way to end the cycle.

After beating the Ringed City DLC and bosses the final boss of the main game was a complete pushover. I'm not sure if it's because I was over leveled (~120 IIRC) or if the DLC was better training but I cleared it first go.

I went back to look at all the stuff I missed in this playthrough and completely missed (NPC spoiler)
Yoel and therefore Yuria's whole questline
. I feel good knowing I've beaten all these games. There's definitely more of a sense of finality in this game than the others. It's probably my favorite of the Dark Souls games in gameplay and environment. The more linear style felt more gamey than the others but in a good way. I liked the idea of venturing deeper into the world with every lord of cinder or boss killed. The combat is just a hair below Bloodborne IMO. I miss the dual wield styles from DS2 but the more fluid animation and the freedom to wear different armor without worrying about fatrolling made up for it. All the weapons I used felt good, the big ones had impact, the fast slicey ones let me be nimble. Really Bloodborne's dodge and health recover gimmicks are what put it above DS3 IMO.

The bosses here weren't as challenging as some Bloodborne bosses but every fight felt fair. I don't think I was cheapshotted by a single boss (IE every boss death felt like it was my fault). Though the hardest bosses were by far the most difficult for me in the series especially
Friede, Midir, and Gael
. But I didn't do all the challenge dungeons in Bloodborne so keep that in mind.

All told it's probably the most fun I've had playing one of these probably because I was playing during a spike in online activity. I was able to be summoned for most boss fights which helped me earn souls and experience to fight them myself. I was invaded constantly (any time I was embered basically) so I was always looking for the next safe haven. Also the game was much less stingy with upgrade materials so I was able to try more weapons, and respec to try new builds without starting from scratch. I'm glad I got the game when I did and hope everyone else gets as much enjoyment out of it as I did.
 

MilkBeard

Member
^ 120 is definitely overleveled for vanilla final boss in NG. Yes, he will seem like a complete pushover, especially after those crazy bosses from the DLC.
 

hawk2025

Member
Figured I would post this so everyone has all the information on the disc release of Fire Fades:

-On PS4, there is no DLC to download, only a 1.1GB patch that takes it to version 1.01

-It's a brand-new executable, with new logo and everything

-Trophies are shared, however

-Save files from the original release are compatible!

- It has its own title screen with a "Fire Fades edition" subtitle


Overall, seems like a truly definitive edition, save for the small patch. Not sure what the 1.01 patch actually did.
 
By chance I popped into a game shop today and got a shock to see the PS4 GOTY version for sale. The release totally slipped by me. Anyway, bought it.
 

Steiner84

All 26 hours. Multiple times.
got the fire fades edition on PC yesterday.
Going for a Strength Build.
AM i right to asume that heavy infusion is the way to go with the great club?

http://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Great+Club


also, ive been reading up abit on the poise topic. this is totally confusing me right now.
If I understood it correctly:
Poise as i know it from DS2 isnt a thing anymore. Instead poise in DS3 is more or less like agility in DS2? Is this correct? That means, the heavier the armor the more iframes i have when rolling?
Also, what is hyper armor?
 

Roubjon

Member
So I put the disc back into my PS4 after stopping for months at the
swamp
and finally managed to push through that awful area. I fight an awesome boss, and i'm like, woah, I forgot how awesome Dark Souls is. And then immediately afterward I'm in some
dumb catacomb maze with respawning skeletons.

I want to love Dark Souls III so badly, but I'm having a really hard time just getting through it. Personally, I feel like the environments are all worse than the previous two games and the whole thing so far kind of feels like a re-tread of 1 and 2. I guess part of the reason i'm not digging the locations as much is because the whole world is covered in ash, so everything is really grey and dead looking. There is context to that which I can appreciate, but it just isn't exciting for me. I think I'll still push through and try to finish it because I'm hoping at the end of this skeleton maze there's something cool.

Bloodborne is up there as one of my favorites ever and I played the hell out of Demons' and Dark Souls. So either I'm maybe a little burnt out on the franchise or something about this game just isn't clicking with me :(

Also I think I'm partially to blame for making my character look like John Locke from LOST:


I hate his face so much now and I would put a helmet on him, but I don't have any cool looking helmets yet.
 

Milijango

Member
also, ive been reading up abit on the poise topic. this is totally confusing me right now.
If I understood it correctly:
Poise as i know it from DS2 isnt a thing anymore. Instead poise in DS3 is more or less like agility in DS2? Is this correct? That means, the heavier the armor the more iframes i have when rolling?
Also, what is hyper armor?

No, that's incorrect.

The simplest way to put it is that poise makes it harder for you to get interrupted during your attack animations. This is the best explanation I've heard; it's 2 minutes.
 
So I put the disc back into my PS4 after stopping for months at the
swamp
and finally managed to push through that awful area. I fight an awesome boss, and i'm like, woah, I forgot how awesome Dark Souls is. And then immediately afterward I'm in some
dumb catacomb maze with respawning skeletons.

I want to love Dark Souls III so badly, but I'm having a really hard time just getting through it. Personally, I feel like the environments are all worse than the previous two games and the whole thing so far kind of feels like a re-tread of 1 and 2. I guess part of the reason i'm not digging the locations as much is because the whole world is covered in ash, so everything is really grey and dead looking. There is context to that which I can appreciate, but it just isn't exciting for me. I think I'll still push through and try to finish it because I'm hoping at the end of this skeleton maze there's something cool.

Bloodborne is up there as one of my favorites ever and I played the hell out of Demons' and Dark Souls. So either I'm maybe a little burnt out on the franchise or something about this game just isn't clicking with me :(

Also I think I'm partially to blame for making my character look like John Locke from LOST:




I hate his face so much now and I would put a helmet on him, but I don't have any cool looking helmets yet.

That Locke is making me laugh so much, the likeness is actually really good! Just so you know, there is a way to change your character's face and it's not too far into the game. You might have even passed it if you're up to the 'skeleton maze.'
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Care to elaborate? That sounds really handy.

I heard on PC if you respect then close the game without leaving Rosaria's menu, it saves the respec but doesn't use a tongue / count towards your allotted respects, and worked on console as well. Just close application from the PS menu or whatever the Xbox equivalent is.
 

RiggyRob

Member
I heard on PC if you respect then close the game without leaving Rosaria's menu, it saves the respec but doesn't use a tongue / count towards your allotted respects, and worked on console as well. Just close application from the PS menu or whatever the Xbox equivalent is.

Are you kidding? That's amazing, how did this not come up before now?
 
Does anyone miss they'd added some more stuff from DS2? That game had a lot of really cool stuff in it and I wish we'd seen more than just a few items in reference to it.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Does anyone miss they'd added some more stuff from DS2? That game had a lot of really cool stuff in it and I wish we'd seen more than just a few items in reference to it.

You mean equipment and such? Not a huge fan of DS2 but some of the equipment was nice. Crypt Blacksword, Sanctum Crossbow, that anti-backstab ring.

Agdayne.
 
Does anyone miss they'd added some more stuff from DS2? That game had a lot of really cool stuff in it and I wish we'd seen more than just a few items in reference to it.

The one thing I really miss is being able to use a weapon's full moveset in either hand. That alone really added a ton of options in combat.
 

Roubjon

Member
That Locke is making me laugh so much, the likeness is actually really good! Just so you know, there is a way to change your character's face and it's not too far into the game. You might have even passed it if you're up to the 'skeleton maze.'

Omg, are you serious? Thank goodness, I need to find it. I did the same thing in Fallout 4 and eventually I got so annoyed at John Locke's face and the expressions he was making I had to give him scruff, a man-bun, dirt on his face, and sunglasses.

I don't know why I keep doing it. I guess because it's initially hilarious? It also completely destroys all immersion, which I think is part of why I end up getting so irrationally angry whenever I see his face. I try to get sucked into the world and as soon as I face the camera after killing a boss can't stop thinking about polar bears.

EDIT: I beat the
skeleton maze and wow that boss was a pushover.
. Just a general question: what's the best way to upgrade the Bandit's Knife? My dude is a Dex build and I only use the Bandit's Knife and the Sharp Great Scythe. Here's my build if anyone has any tips they could give me:

 
I have now done everything in the main game and decided to start doing the DLC.

Is the DLC noticeably worse than the main game for anyone else? I got to the 2nd bonfire in the Painted World so far and don't really like it. So far I've encountered a mob of like six madmen and after that mobs of wolves. Seems like the challenge here is dealing with huge amounts of enemies at once, which people seem to hate Dark Souls 2 for.

But the thing I really dislike the most is the limited visibility. I hated the fog woods in DS2 and I hate it here. Is it going to be like this for the whole area?
 

MilkBeard

Member
I have now done everything in the main game and decided to start doing the DLC.

Is the DLC noticeably worse than the main game for anyone else? I got to the 2nd bonfire in the Painted World so far and don't really like it. So far I've encountered a mob of like six madmen and after that mobs of wolves. Seems like the challenge here is dealing with huge amounts of enemies at once, which people seem to hate Dark Souls 2 for.

But the thing I really dislike the most is the limited visibility. I hated the fog woods in DS2 and I hate it here. Is it going to be like this for the whole area?

Just get through it for a while, it changes later. Some people don't like Ashes of Ariandel, but I found it quite good. And you will see that, even though you get hounded by mobs when you run through carelessly, you can sneak around them pretty easily.

Anyway, as standalone, Ariandel falls a bit short, but in the whole with Ringed City, it makes for a great package. Also, final boss in Ariandel is probably one of the best in the entire series.
 

neoism

Member
damn it tooo alll hell &#65533;&#65533;&#65533;&#65533;&#65533;&#65533;&#65533;&#65533; why couldnt i found out about this 300 hours ago...



infinite respec....

you just quit out of the app right after you confirm changes and before you back out of the npc menu and you still have 5 changes left...
&#65533;&#65533;
 
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