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[SpiralZilla]

I just got two Manikin Claws last night and upgraded them both to +10. What would be the best choice for infusion to maximize their damage output in PvE? I have 40/40 STR/DEX and 64 INT, but only 5 FTH.

Also, are there any better options for a fire sword (preferably light, not heavy) than the Black Dragon Sword infused with fire? Or a raw damage (light) sword better than a Raw-infused Black Dragon Sword? I love these things but I'm just curious. (Also asking for PvE)

 

[Mistel]

I just got two Manikin Claws last night and upgraded them both to +10. What would be the best choice for infusion to maximize their damage output in PvE? I have 40/40 STR/DEX and 64 INT, but only 5 FTH.

Also, are there any better options for a fire sword (preferably light, not heavy) than the Black Dragon Sword infused with fire? Or a raw damage (light) sword better than a Raw-infused Black Dragon Sword? I love these things but I'm just curious. (Also asking for PvE)

Damage won't increase per se but bleed or poison are two good effects on claws you could go enchanted to make use of the INT scaling but you might see a damage drop as you've reduced STR/DEX scaling.

As for a light sword your best choice is the Fume sword the black dragon sword doesn't scale at all coupled with split damage and all where as Fume makes better use of your stats. Tarkus loves that thing so they'll chime in on it later probably.

 

[SpiralZilla]

I had read old comments on other forums saying that the Manikin Claws aren't all that good even for PvE, but I've been using them with the Stone Ring, Flynn's Ring, and Ring of Blades + 2 and I can dominate almost anything with the L1, R1, L1, R1... combo. DPS seems pretty great and most enemies stagger in 2-3 hits at the most.

The Wikis say that Mundane with 20 for the player's lowest stat gives +170 to physical damage. The normal claws at +10 have an attack of 150 with C/C STR/DEX scaling. Mundane would change this to 75 attack with D/E scaling, but add a flat 170 to physical damage.

That would give 75 + 170 (Mundane) + 50 (RoB) + 32 (Flynn's Ring at 20 Vit I think)
= 327 physical damage.

With my lowest stat at 30, that would give 75 + 200 (Mundane) + 50 (RoB) + 2 (Flynn at 30 Vit I think)
= 327 physical damage. At this point I'd replace Flynn with something else, so let's say 325 for now.

With my current set-up, I have 150 + 50 (RoB) + 50 (Flynn) = 250 (not taking scaling into account), and I'm fairly certain my overall DPS with them is higher than with my Raw-infused Black Dragon Sword + 5 with both of those rings. I'd have to check again to be sure.

Has anyone tried Mundane for fist weapons? Would it be worth it? I don't know how the reduction in C/C scaling is going to affect it.

EDIT: A couple of online calculators say the un-infused Manikin Claws +10 have 255 AR with 40/40 STR/DEX, which would go up to 355 with the RoB/Flynn combo. Don't know what the final AR for Mundane with a minimum stat of 30 would be, but it doesn't seem to be worth it. Are there any weapons that would make Mundane worthwhile out of curiosity? Got my hopes up for nothing it seems.

EDIT 2: Is it worth grinding for the Vanquisher's Seal?

 

[Mistel]

I had read old comments on other forums saying that the Manikin Claws aren't all that good even for PvE, but I've been using them with the Stone Ring, Flynn's Ring, and Ring of Blades + 2 and I can dominate almost anything with the L1, R1, L1, R1... combo. DPS seems pretty great and most enemies stagger in 2-3 hits at the most.

The Wikis say that Mundane with 20 for the player's lowest stat gives +170 to physical damage. The normal claws at +10 have an attack of 150 with C/C STR/DEX scaling. Mundane would change this to 75 attack with D/E scaling, but add a flat 170 to physical damage.

That would give 75 + 170 (Mundane) + 50 (RoB) + 32 (Flynn's Ring at 20 Vit I think)
= 327 physical damage.

With my lowest stat at 30, that would give 75 + 200 (Mundane) + 50 (RoB) + 2 (Flynn at 30 Vit I think)
= 327 physical damage. At this point I'd replace Flynn with something else, so let's say 325 for now.

With my current set-up, I have 150 + 50 (RoB) + 50 (Flynn) = 250 (not taking scaling into account), and I'm fairly certain my overall DPS with them is higher than with my Raw-infused Black Dragon Sword + 5 with both of those rings. I'd have to check again to be sure.

Has anyone tried Mundane for fist weapons? Would it be worth it? I don't know how the reduction in C/C scaling is going to affect it.

EDIT: A couple of online calculators say the un-infused Manikin Claws +10 have 255 AR with 40/40 STR/DEX, which would go up to 355 with the RoB/Flynn combo. Don't know what the final AR for Mundane with a minimum stat of 30 would be, but it doesn't seem to be worth it. Are there any weapons that would make Mundane worthwhile out of curiosity? Got my hopes up for nothing it seems.

EDIT 2: Is it worth grinding for the Vanquisher's Seal?

Old comments can be a bit hit and miss really. Mundane is alright for fist weapons but for the max scaling you could do better builds for the weapons themselves. Grind is worth it for the seal.

 

[FataIChoice]

I recently started this for the first time and was generally enjoying it a lot but was definitely struggling to get back into it.

To begin with, I have been having a lot harder time than I remember having with DS1 or BB. I am getting overwhelmed by enemies often and have killed some of the enemies enough times that they stopped spawning. Which is where my biggest concern and current frustration goes.

I had beat the first boss in the forest with ease and then started exploring. I killed some skellies in a dark corridor and then moved out into an area with a lot of fatty knights. I bested some of the enemies here and then got invaded by an NPC and died in one hit. I tried again a couple of times but then died on my way back. Now I am feeling really really drained because I just lost a good amount of souls that would've leveled me multiple times and now I am also noticing some of the enemies below the ladder no longer spawn so I cannot get the souls from them.

I cannot even fathom why this is in place; yes, removing enemies makes it easier for you to progress, but removing them also makes it harder to level up which would make things to come harder and I imagine, if you were real bad, it could lead to the boss being way out of your league.

I want to like this game and want to keep playing but this realisation was a real big dampener on my mood. Is this something that could hinder me like I am fearing?

Also, my weapons seem to degrade far too quickly, I barely remember repairing in DS1 outside of when I was hit with corrosion.

 

[Ricker]

Is playing as a Sorcerer a good choice for the whole game ?...I like that I start out with like 30 silver arrows and I seem pretty fast with daggers...but probably poor on defense and all...

 

[Mistel]

I recently started this for the first time and was generally enjoying it a lot but was definitely struggling to get back into it.

To begin with, I have been having a lot harder time than I remember having with DS1 or BB. I am getting overwhelmed by enemies often and have killed some of the enemies enough times that they stopped spawning. Which is where my biggest concern and current frustration goes.

I had beat the first boss in the forest with ease and then started exploring. I killed some skellies in a dark corridor and then moved out into an area with a lot of fatty knights. I bested some of the enemies here and then got invaded by an NPC and died in one hit. I tried again a couple of times but then died on my way back. Now I am feeling really really drained because I just lost a good amount of souls that would've leveled me multiple times and now I am also noticing some of the enemies below the ladder no longer spawn so I cannot get the souls from them.

I cannot even fathom why this is in place; yes, removing enemies makes it easier for you to progress, but removing them also makes it harder to level up which would make things to come harder and I imagine, if you were real bad, it could lead to the boss being way out of your league.

I want to like this game and want to keep playing but this realisation was a real big dampener on my mood. Is this something that could hinder me like I am fearing?

Also, my weapons seem to degrade far too quickly, I barely remember repairing in DS1 outside of when I was hit with corrosion.

It's a bad change but it doesn't hinder your change you're butting heads against a path that leads to nothing with the invader it's more a dead end than anything else try Heide's tower instead. Don't worry too much about loosing souls you won't get stuck by loosing them now they may be large amounts but as you've seen in DS1 it'll be paltry later.

Weapon degradation will be an issue and it is something you'll need to micromanage especially depening on the weapons you are using as for difficulty raise ADP it will give you an easier time as you'll gain more I frames with your rolls.

Is playing as a Sorcerer a good choice for the whole game ?...I like that I start out with like 30 silver arrows and I seem pretty fast with daggers...but probably poor on defense and all...

You diversify as you progress your starting class doesn't define how you play just what you start with and your starting equipment. It will have poor defence yes the sorcerer doesn't generally excel in front line engagements.

 

[6for8]

I recently started this for the first time and was generally enjoying it a lot but was definitely struggling to get back into it.

To begin with, I have been having a lot harder time than I remember having with DS1 or BB. I am getting overwhelmed by enemies often and have killed some of the enemies enough times that they stopped spawning. Which is where my biggest concern and current frustration goes.

I had beat the first boss in the forest with ease and then started exploring. I killed some skellies in a dark corridor and then moved out into an area with a lot of fatty knights. I bested some of the enemies here and then got invaded by an NPC and died in one hit. I tried again a couple of times but then died on my way back. Now I am feeling really really drained because I just lost a good amount of souls that would've leveled me multiple times and now I am also noticing some of the enemies below the ladder no longer spawn so I cannot get the souls from them.

I cannot even fathom why this is in place; yes, removing enemies makes it easier for you to progress, but removing them also makes it harder to level up which would make things to come harder and I imagine, if you were real bad, it could lead to the boss being way out of your league.

I want to like this game and want to keep playing but this realisation was a real big dampener on my mood. Is this something that could hinder me like I am fearing?

Also, my weapons seem to degrade far too quickly, I barely remember repairing in DS1 outside of when I was hit with corrosion.

The despawning of enemies aren't an issue as the game moves forward, there are ways to bring them back.

Here is a kick to the face. Those souls you lost will count towards your presence online. Coop and invasions use soul memory (souls collected) to calculate who you match up with. They introduced a ring to manage this and when you get into the ng+ your souls collected should put you into very large tiers of memory greatly expanding your range of coop. Once it is understood, I actually prefer it over how they did it in 3.

Degradation remains a problem, early on I keep my best weapon unequipped until I need it. A few areas into the game it should be fine.

Stick with it. It contains some of the best areas in the souls series and top tier if you like to use magic/miracles/pyro/hexes.

Is playing as a Sorcerer a good choice for the whole game ?...I like that I start out with like 30 silver arrows and I seem pretty fast with daggers...but probably poor on defense and all...

A sorcerer will be fine and can be the best build for pve. There are a couple of bosses that if you burn an ascetic give you access to must have ng+ items early on.

I would level up strength enough to use a long sword.

 

[FataIChoice]

It's a bad change but it doesn't hinder your change you're butting heads against a path that leads to nothing with the invader it's more a dead end than anything else try Heide's tower instead. Don't worry too much about loosing souls you won't get stuck by loosing them now they may be large amounts but as you've seen in DS1 it'll be paltry later.

Weapon degradation will be an issue and it is something you'll need to micromanage especially depening on the weapons you are using as for difficulty raise ADP it will give you an easier time as you'll gain more I frames with your rolls.


You diversify as you progress your starting class doesn't define how you play just what you start with and your starting equipment. It will have poor defence yes the sorcerer doesn't generally excel in front line engagements.

The despawning of enemies aren't an issue as the game moves forward, there are ways to bring them back.

Here is a kick to the face. Those souls you lost will count towards your presence online. Coop and invasions use soul memory (souls collected) to calculate who you match up with. They introduced a ring to manage this and when you get into the ng+ your souls collected should put you into very large tiers of memory greatly expanding your range of coop. Once it is understood, I actually prefer it over how they did it in 3.

Degradation remains a problem, early on I keep my best weapon unequipped until I need it. A few areas into the game it should be fine.

Stick with it. It contains some of the best areas in the souls series and top tier if you like to use magic/miracles/pyro/hexes.



A sorcerer will be fine and can be the best build for pve. There are a couple of bosses that if you burn an ascetic give you access to must have ng+ items early on.

I would level up strength enough to use a long sword.

Thanks guys, I will stick with it for a bit.

There is another thing I forgot about, but I fought the silver knight that flew down on the roof and parried him a few times, but could never pull off the follow up special attack, was that just this enemy or is there a trick here? All that happened was I did the normal R1 attack.

 

[6for8]

Thanks guys, I will stick with it for a bit.

There is another thing I forgot about, but I fought the silver knight that flew down on the roof and parried him a few times, but could never pull off the follow up special attack, was that just this enemy or is there a trick here? All that happened was I did the normal R1 attack.

Not 100% as I am currently playing drunk souls 3, but it is one of the bosses/minibosses that you can parry but can't riposte. 2 has a few of those like 3 has a few that you can't parry but can riposte when they are stunned.

 

[Mistel]

Thanks guys, I will stick with it for a bit.

There is another thing I forgot about, but I fought the silver knight that flew down on the roof and parried him a few times, but could never pull off the follow up special attack, was that just this enemy or is there a trick here? All that happened was I did the normal R1 attack.

You cannot riposte the Pursuer at all you can stun them but you cannot execute a special attack like you would with a normal enemy.

 

[SpiralZilla]

Old comments can be a bit hit and miss really. Mundane is alright for fist weapons but for the max scaling you could do better builds for the weapons themselves. Grind is worth it for the seal.

I actually got the seal the night I posted that question. It was surprisingly quick. Vanq. Seal/Caestus combo with 99/40 STR/DEX outdamages any claw in the game.

Now I also have a Red Iron Twinblade with 500 AR from all that strength scaling (600 with RoB/Flynn combo) and that got me wondering about the Crystal Magic Weapon formula.

CMW: (TotalAR * 0.3) + 5 according to one of the Wikis

Does that mean that if I use Rob/Flynn and Sacred Oath before casting CMW I'll get

650 + (650 * 0.3 + 5) = 650 + 200 = 850 AR on a twinblade? Would that get boosted to over 1000 AR with the Red Tearstone Ring? Dragon roar buff?

 

[Mistel]

I actually got the seal the night I posted that question. It was surprisingly quick. Vanq. Seal/Caestus combo with 99/40 STR/DEX outdamages any claw in the game.

Now I also have a Red Iron Twinblade with 500 AR from all that strength scaling (600 with RoB/Flynn combo) and that got me wondering about the Crystal Magic Weapon formula.

CMW: (TotalAR * 0.3) + 5 according to one of the Wikis

Does that mean that if I use Rob/Flynn and Sacred Oath before casting CMW I'll get

650 + (650 * 0.3 + 5) = 650 + 200 = 850 AR on a twinblade? Would that get boosted to over 1000 AR with the Red Tearstone Ring? Dragon roar buff?

Well not really kind of as that formula of Total AR * 0.3 + 5 is only for weapons with no scaling what so ever so you'll get similar results but the values would be different that what you came up with. Another nail in the coffin is post 1.07 RTR doesn't work on spells and the roar buff is DS1.

 

[FataIChoice]

Thanks for the info, I died to that guy anyway and he wasn't there later so I have moved on. Found Heide's Tower, I had been down towards the entrance there before, but didn't notice the pulley for the gate!

Bashed my head against those knights in there for a while and then bought a mace. Made that area a lot more manageable than with my trident.

The boss in the area was ridiculously easy too, he wasn't even close to hitting me the whole time.

I am now in the wharf and am really enjoying it. I called in the ghost looking ship and am off to there after I clear out some spots I didn't get to.

Torchbro is a cool guy.

 

[SpiralZilla]

Well not really kind of as that formula of Total AR * 0.3 + 5 is only for weapons with no scaling what so ever so you'll get similar results but the values would be different that what you came up with. Another nail in the coffin is post 1.07 RTR doesn't work on spells and the roar buff is DS1.

Wait, the dragon roar doesn't buff attack power anymore? What is even the point now?

 

[Mistel]

The boss in the area was ridiculously easy too, he wasn't even close to hitting me the whole time.

The Dragonrider also has the habit of falling off the stage so that makes him arguably the easiest starting boss of the whole lot.

Wait, the dragon roar doesn't buff attack power anymore? What is even the point now?

The force and the armor pretty much are the only reasons to use it. The armor is very light and you could pretty much just farm at the bridge and get it in an afternoon.

 

[FataIChoice]

I've advanced quite a lot now (thanks cyclone for the worksite shutdown), you were right, the despawning enemies has not caused an issue with leveling and I am seeing as a reasonable decision to make the game easier for some. It certainly makes boss approaches easier.

That being said, bosses have been pretty easy. I think the only one I had difficulty with so far was the

Spoiler

Ruin Sentinels

and that was partly due to the number of enemies I faced on my way to them. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend in the Blue Cathedral. It was funny because I thought the Cathedral looked like Anor Londo and the specifics of the building design looked out of place against the other parts of Heide's Tower.

I am now in Earthen Peak/Harvest Valley. I feel I missed a good portion of Harvest Valley because of the poison, so I am sure I will need to doubleback there. A question for the first boss in Earthern Peak, could I cut his tail? I was trying to because he looked like something you definitely could.

I haven't had weapon degradation issues anymore and have been using primarily the craftsman's hammer and the halberd. Haven't upgraded any weapons yet because I am ripping up enemies and bosses without too much difficulty and hammer weapons seem to be the best thing in this game.

I don't know if this is just SotFS, but I am really enjoying the level design, layout and enemy placement. I feel it is streaming me in the directions that would work best for my stage of the game while also giving me a taste of what would be in the other direction if I want to face a challenge.

 

[Mistel]

I've advanced quite a lot now (thanks cyclone for the worksite shutdown), you were right, the despawning enemies has not caused an issue with leveling and I am seeing as a reasonable decision to make the game easier for some. It certainly makes boss approaches easier.

That being said, bosses have been pretty easy. I think the only one I had difficulty with so far was the

Spoiler

Ruin Sentinels

and that was partly due to the number of enemies I faced on my way to them. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend in the Blue Cathedral. It was funny because I thought the Cathedral looked like Anor Londo and the specifics of the building design looked out of place against the other parts of Heide's Tower.

I am now in Earthen Peak/Harvest Valley. I feel I missed a good portion of Harvest Valley because of the poison, so I am sure I will need to doubleback there. A question for the first boss in Earthern Peak, could I cut his tail? I was trying to because he looked like something you definitely could.

I haven't had weapon degradation issues anymore and have been using primarily the craftsman's hammer and the halberd. Haven't upgraded any weapons yet because I am ripping up enemies and bosses without too much difficulty and hammer weapons seem to be the best thing in this game.

I don't know if this is just SotFS, but I am really enjoying the level design, layout and enemy placement. I feel it is streaming me in the directions that would work best for my stage of the game while also giving me a taste of what would be in the other direction if I want to face a challenge.

No tail cutting at all for weapons in this one. As you have noticed strike damage is the strongest damage type within this game the mace which you can pick two up early one dual wielded is a powerful combo for how early it is as a basic mace is an end game weapon really. The level design is all vanilla DS2 enemy placement has been moved slightly however though in SOTFS.

 

[rahji]

Bought it in the last steam sale and the world feels really big in comparison to Dark Souls 1. There are so many different areas with so many bosses in it. I think it is quite good this way because you got a steady feel of progression. Only showstoppers so far have been the first pursuer fight, the smelter demon and the black gulch area ( I was so relieved when I beat that boss). Now I am at Drangelic castle.

edit: and stuck. beat the

Spoiler

2 dragonriders

and now I am going in a circle and don't know what to do. There is a door, but it is locked. There is also a switch which I cannot use.

 

[FataIChoice]

No tail cutting at all for weapons in this one. As you have noticed strike damage is the strongest damage type within this game the mace which you can pick two up early one dual wielded is a powerful combo for how early it is as a basic mace is an end game weapon really. The level design is all vanilla DS2 enemy placement has been moved slightly however though in SOTFS.

Thanks, I won't bother trying to cut tails then.

I have tried dual wield maces, as you say they are pretty damn good. I might roll with them for a while, they are easier to upgrade than the craftsmans hammer and would likely get stronger with the scaling. Will also be fun to not use a shield for a while, though I have been pretty disappointed with shields so far as they are almost all <100 damage reduction or damn heavy. Out of curiosity, is there an analogue to the spider shield from Dark Souls?

 

[Mistel]

Thanks, I won't bother trying to cut tails then.

I have tried dual wield maces, as you say they are pretty damn good. I might roll with them for a while, they are easier to upgrade than the craftsmans hammer and would likely get stronger with the scaling. Will also be fun to not use a shield for a while, though I have been pretty disappointed with shields so far as they are almost all <100 damage reduction or damn heavy. Out of curiosity, is there an analogue to the spider shield from Dark Souls?

It is eaiser to upgrade them than twinkling weapons. As for shields there's not visual analogue but there are several with the poison resist and there's a medium shield with 100% block available within Forest of the Fallen Giants.

 

[SpiralZilla]

I made a dual sword build running the warped sword and the blacksteel katana. I'm thinking of making a sword for each element now. What would be the best options for fire, lightning, and dark?

I think Chaos Rapier is best for fire, but is it better to leave it uninfused (+ Flame Weapon) or go fire infusion (+ Flame Weapon)? I'm considering either the Darkdrift katana or the Uchigatana for lightning and dark infusions. Are there any better options I should know about?

 

[Spehornoob]

I picked this up a while ago but really just started playing it this weekend. I played through Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1 last year and loved them both to death. Gotta say, I'm not really feeling this one. I've gone through The Forest of the Giants, Tower of Flame, No Man's Wharf, Lost Bastille (I think I've cleared it), and am currently in the Belfry Luna fighting the Gargoyle bosses.

I've heard the DLC is great so I'm kind of chugging along trying to get to it, and I'm wondering if it'll be worth it.

Here are my issues with the game so far:

1. The overuse of groups of enemies. I always felt like the Souls games are at their best one on one. I don't mind a few groups but I think it's overdone here.

2. It seems like there's an excessive amount of tracking on enemy attacks. I feel almost forced to use a shield. Part of it was my own fault because I didn't put any points into ADP. Didn't know it affected dodging until later. Still, I feel like I can't move around enemies or bosses by running either.

3. The bosses all seem very similar. Just block with a shield until there's an opening, get two hits in, back off. Maybe dodge a throw or a gap closer. They also never seem to stagger, which sucks because I like using big slow weapons to stagger enemies.

So, with these being my issues, do you think I should keep going til I hit the DLC content or should I move on? Sorry to bring some negativity into the OT, but I'm curious on people's thoughts.

 

[kraspkibble]

removed

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I give up. I'm still on vanilla PS3 version and I can't defeat the ancient dragon. I'm one shotted as soon as he lifts off and fire breathes... even though I don't really see the area of effect. Waited for people to summon but no markings came up so I grabbed the two npcs... for nothing. All of my humanity gone.

What's the trick?

I think I cripple myself by playing a sword and shield only character. It's making me hesitant on picking up the DS3 goty edition as I don't really feel like being a caster to simplify the game.

End rant. I've just had this game since launch and only get around to it every so often and I'm discouraged when I've been stuck this long. I want the soul to then take on Vendrick before doing endgame stuff (or dlc if I ever get renewed vigor).

 

[Iva Demilcol]

I give up. I'm still on vanilla PS3 version and I can't defeat the ancient dragon. I'm one shotted as soon as he lifts off and fire breathes... even though I don't really see the area of effect. Waited for people to summon but no markings came up so I grabbed the two npcs... for nothing. All of my humanity gone.

What's the trick?

I think I cripple myself by playing a sword and shield only character. It's making me hesitant on picking up the DS3 goty edition as I don't really feel like being a caster to simplify the game.

End rant. I've just had this game since launch and only get around to it every so often and I'm discouraged when I've been stuck this long. I want the soul to then take on Vendrick before doing endgame stuff (or dlc if I ever get renewed vigor).

There are two ways of fighting it:

1. You attack the head, run away to the edge of the area every time he flights and pray the fire doesn't catch you or,

2. You stay around its toes and hit them once or twice, it would try to stomp on you but won't fly as often as long as you keep close to its feet. But if it flies just run to the edge and once it lands again run back to attack its feet. First time I watched that on YT I got surprised how easy it was compared to the time I beat it using lighting.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

There are two ways of fighting it:

1. You attack the head, run away to the edge of the area every time he flights and pray the fire doesn't catch you or,

2. You stay around its toes and hit them once or twice, it would try to stomp on you but won't fly as often as long as you keep close to its feet. But if it flies just run to the edge and once it lands again run back to attack its feet. First time I watched that on YT I got surprised how easy it was compared to the time I beat it using lighting.

Many thanks, though I feel like I've instinctively tried that. I always go for the feet and it takes off. I run away from being underneath it and die.

I've lost all of my humanity here. Now to figure out where I can help people to gain some back. More timesink, yay.

 

[Ferr986]

Many thanks, though I feel like I've instinctively tried that. I always go for the feet and it takes off. I run away from being underneath it and die.

I've lost all of my humanity here. Now to figure out where I can help people to gain some back. More timesink, yay.

You don't really need his soul to take off Vendrick. As long as you have the other giants souls it's fine. He's REALLY slow and easy and with the other souls his HP is just a little higher than usual.

Btw, SOTFS nerfed the dragon to the ground. He's a joke there lol

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

You don't really need his soul to take off Vendrick. As long as you have the other giants souls it's fine. He's REALLY slow and easy and with the other souls his HP is just a little higher than usual.

Btw, SOTFS nerfed the dragon to the ground. He's a joke there lol

I can't allow myself to complete the game without taking down this dragon, though. I'll get it eventually.

There's no actual guarding against the flame right? Just checking because I always just die no matter where I point my shield. I'll try attacking the head only next time which should have me a little closer to the edge to avoid the flame... I guess.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Almost thought I was just crying into the wind because this game is old hat by now lol.

 

[Ferr986]

I can't allow myself to complete the game without taking down this dragon, though. I'll get it eventually.

There's no actual guarding against the flame right? Just checking because I always just die no matter where I point my shield. I'll try attacking the head only next time which should have me a little closer to the edge to avoid the flame... I guess.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Almost thought I was just crying into the wind because this game is old hat by now lol.

Can't help you, I skipped this fucker at vanilla because it was broken AF (and I said Vendrick is way easier even without his soul). I only killed him in SOFTS but he's shit there (hit, run on the edge of the arena when he flies and go back when he goes down, if you get hurt by the fire NP because he doesn't do nearly as much damage as in vanilla).

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I can't allow myself to complete the game without taking down this dragon, though. I'll get it eventually.

There's no actual guarding against the flame right? Just checking because I always just die no matter where I point my shield. I'll try attacking the head only next time which should have me a little closer to the edge to avoid the flame... I guess.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Almost thought I was just crying into the wind because this game is old hat by now lol.

You can block the flame with a Gyrm Greatshield (100% fire block), it needs 30 or 32 str I think.

In Scholar the fire damage is low though, barely half your health. Unless you never levelled up VIG...

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Taking on Vendrick (sans ancient dragon giant soul), I forgot how his swipe drains my entire stamina. Hate that. And with the already terrible hit detection, it makes this battle harder than it really is if I wasn't getting hit by phantom attacks I've clearly avoided. DS3 is devoid of this, yes?

 

[FataIChoice]

I'm in Shrine of Amala. This is the first location I have thought was truly bad with the mages, I've decided to run a shield for a bit again. There was an item past an ogre over open water that I fell down a number of times before giving up, can someone please tell me, is it worth going back for?

I did make it to the Rhoy's Resting Place bonfire, but when I popped my head out the exit I got hit by a homing soul arrow and noped back.

 

[6for8]

I'm in Shrine of Amala. This is the first location I have thought was truly bad with the mages, I've decided to run a shield for a bit again. There was an item past an ogre over open water that I fell down a number of times before giving up, can someone please tell me, is it worth going back for?

I did make it to the Rhoy's Resting Place bonfire, but when I popped my head out the exit I got hit by a homing soul arrow and noped back.

There are few really good items on the ground that should be picked up, well worth the pain. Area was painful before scholar then they add an enemy with a truckload of hp best to chip away at him. I farmed that area for a rare catalyst, repeating it 60 times removes all difficulty

 

[Ricker]

So very early on,I just killed

Spoiler

the Last Giant

but after that,not that far in I guess I get another Boss fight without a bonfire or whatever...? this guy is the real deal compare to the first lol...am I suppose to do this now or what...? It's

Spoiler

The Boss with the big ass Shield that kind of floats towards you

...pretty hard for my level 22 Sorcerer lol.

 

[Jimnymebob]

So very early on,I just killed

Spoiler

the Last Giant

but after that,not that far in I guess I get another Boss fight without a bonfire or whatever...? this guy is the real deal compare to the first lol...am I suppose to do this now or what...? It's

Spoiler

The Boss with the big ass Shield that kind of floats towards you

...pretty hard for my level 22 Sorcerer lol.

There is another path to take from Majula, but the boss you're up against is pretty easy to beat. I'll not say what it is, but there's a trick to make it really easy. Just pay close attention to the boss and the arena.

 

[Kyleripman]

I can't allow myself to complete the game without taking down this dragon, though. I'll get it eventually.

There's no actual guarding against the flame right? Just checking because I always just die no matter where I point my shield. I'll try attacking the head only next time which should have me a little closer to the edge to avoid the flame... I guess.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Almost thought I was just crying into the wind because this game is old hat by now lol.

If you're still working on Ancient Dragon, the method of attacking the feet really is great. The crucial part I would add is that when it takes flight, don't just run to the edge - run specifically towards its tail.

 

[FataIChoice]

There are few really good items on the ground that should be picked up, well worth the pain. Area was painful before scholar then they add an enemy with a truckload of hp best to chip away at him. I farmed that area for a rare catalyst, repeating it 60 times removes all difficulty

I went back, got the items but I don't think the stuff I hadn't got was really worth it because I have already maxed my flasks. That boss was really something though, the first that I have been truly disgusted to look at.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Vendrick down but damn that dragon. I must have summoned the same person a half-dozen times and then tried myself a few more times after that. Staying at the feet is a lie because it seems to take off just as readily.

Are the dlc packs worth it? (Nothing like this dragon? The worst boss fight I've encountered and I shudder to think FROM added more like it...). It's either dlc or heading towards the end game.

Edit: Oh FFS! I just watched a YouTube vid and it shows them baiting certain attacks. Here I was like an idiot just chopping away on toes and hoping I can get out from under it in time...

 

[Jombie]

You have plenty of time. Just roll under his feet.

Sl1 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zS_bxCVNAlo

 

[Alastor3]

So me and my friend started playing this game and we are almost a the middle. He played this game a couple of times and it's my first time. Im playing a mage build and searching for a good end game weapon.

I found the Moonlight Greatsword and know it's the same sword as the other games. But my friend keep telling me that it's the ''same sword'' than the BlueMoon Greatsword that Benhart carry.

how can I convince him that Moonlight Greatsword is the real sword? I guess I will have to get it and show him the special attack the sword have compared to the BlueMoon.

 

[Jombie]

So me and my friend started playing this game and we are almost a the middle. He played this game a couple of times and it's my first time. Im playing a mage build and searching for a good end game weapon.

I found the Moonlight Greatsword and know it's the same sword as the other games. But my friend keep telling me that it's the ''same sword'' than the BlueMoon Greatsword that Benhart carry.

how can I convince him that Moonlight Greatsword is the real sword? I guess I will have to get it and show him the special attack the sword have compared to the BlueMoon.

You have to trade the old paledrake's soul from the Freja fight in ng+ to get the real one. You can use a bonfire ascetic after you defeat it and do it again to get it.

 

[Alastor3]

You have to trade the old paledrake's soul from the Freja fight in ng+ to get the real one. You can use a bonfire ascetic after you defeat it and do it again to get it.

can I use a bonefire ascetic the first time im facing her to not get to kill Freja 2 times or I NEED to kill her first time in NG normal?

What I mean is, can I change NG+ before doing NG normal to just have to fight her one time?

 

[Mistel]

can I use a bonefire ascetic the first time im facing her to not get to kill Freja 2 times or I NEED to kill her first time in NG normal?

What I mean is, can I change NG+ before doing NG normal to just have to fight her one time?

It should work like that if you raise the first to NG+ then do a new cycle as it will be NG+2 once that is done.

 

[Jombie]

can I use a bonefire ascetic the first time im facing her to not get to kill Freja 2 times or I NEED to kill her first time in NG normal?

What I mean is, can I change NG+ before doing NG normal to just have to fight her one time?

No, it keeps you from using multiple ascetics at a time.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

You have plenty of time. Just roll under his feet.

Sl1 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zS_bxCVNAlo

Nope. This isn't how it works. I'm still getting charred despite running away/towards the tail. I just don't get it. I'm getting frustrated watching these different videos and not getting that kind of luck. I wish I was on PS4 so I could save and upload video.

 

[Mistel]

Nope. This isn't how it works. I'm still getting charred despite running away/towards the tail. I just don't get it. I'm getting frustrated watching these different videos and not getting that kind of luck. I wish I was on PS4 so I could save and upload video.

It is how it works, you could just beat him to death with a Gyrm great shield it takes about 10 minutes.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

It is how it works, you could just beat him to death with a Gyrm great shield it takes about 10 minutes.

He's flying up way too often. I'm having more luck with the bait at the right shoulder from a distance trick but I keep ending up being cornered too close to an edge.

I can see if I was able to defend against the flame but I'm not digging this battle at all.

 

[Jombie]

He's flying up way too often. I'm having more luck with the bait at the right shoulder from a distance trick but I keep ending up being cornered too close to an edge.

I can see if I was able to defend against the flame but I'm not digging this battle at all.

It's a terrible boss fight, but the easiest method is the toes.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

It's a terrible boss fight, but the easiest method is the toes.

I'll try again. I will say, this dragon LOOKS awesome. It's just super cheesy. Be it the player cheesing or the one hit flame. Too bad they couldn't come up with something better... like maybe encouraging flame resistant gear and rings to actually face this thing one on one in an epic showdown.