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gogosox82 · May 5, 2015

ebullientprism said:
So this is my current character. I have a ton of unused Soul Vessels and wanna respec this build to something I havent tried before. Also have a shit ton of upgrade material for pretty much every kind of weapon.

I was thinking powerstancing some DEX or QUALITY weapons.

Any fun powerstance weapon combos? Also what stats should I end up with after that?

Rapiers are pretty good. I also like using a falchion and the warped sword (Flexile Sentry boss weapon). Curved Swords have pretty good movesets when power stanced and the warped sword has a really awesome moveset when power stanced. I like whips as well but I wouldn't power stance them until I get to the castle and have access to Wellanger for the unlimited repair powder. They degrade really fast in my experience you need repair powder on you at all times.

edit: I should point out that you'll need more adp(like 35 or 40) if your going to powerstance since you have to dodge everything and not use a shield.

Divius · May 5, 2015

Ugh, I just cannot bring myself to start another playthrough. Why isn't this game as good as the first one? :c

Respect · May 5, 2015

Coming from Bloodborne, took some time to re-adapt to the slower combat, but, having fun, spent a lot of time pvping in the bell tower also, good times there. Playing a sort of spellsword build, had never played with magic on my first play throughs when it first released and coming from bloodborne that didn't really have a magic build, it was nice to dive into.

Never played any of the dlc's so looking forward to getting there and checking them out.

Nephtes · May 5, 2015

Okay...
So I've been mostly 2-handing Fire Long Sword + 10 and Poison Mace + 10 for most of the game so far. Just got to Dranglaic Castle... HOLY CRAP! The damage of my weapons seems to have fallen off a cliff. I have enough Titanite everything to make another +10 weapon... What should I go for that I have access to at this point in the game that has similar move sets? Or do I have to go for a giant slow ass sword?

Additionally, I have yet to run into the durability bug using the long sword and mace... I guess these weapons dont hit the walls as much as the weapons people like to use... But damn... Broke both of my go to weapons reaching the first bonfire in Dranglaic castle....there's just so many things to kill! D:

flowsnake · May 5, 2015

Nephtes said:
Okay...
So I've been mostly 2-handing Fire Long Sword + 10 and Poison Mace + 10 for most of the game so far. Just got to Dranglaic Castle... HOLY CRAP! The damage of my weapons seems to have fallen off a cliff. I have enough Titanite everything to make another +10 weapon... What should I go for that I have access to at this point in the game that has similar move sets? Or do I have to go for a giant slow ass sword?

Additionally, I have yet to run into the durability bug using the long sword and mace... I guess these weapons dont hit the walls as much as the weapons people like to use... But damn... Broke both of my go to weapons reaching the first bonfire in Dranglaic castle....there's just so many things to kill! D:

What are your stats? The mace should scale pretty well with strength, but would be better without poison enchantment.

rhandino · May 5, 2015

StoppedInTracks said:
Game is still 10/10 although graphically and aesthetically is such a let down from Demon's Souls (playing on Xbone). You see in Demon's Souls every area had lots and lots of details and was "busy" without being "artificial". Take for example Tower of Latria 3-1 vs Bastille. Latria is full of stuff on the ground and on the walls, shelves. There is always something in the corner. Bastille is just an empty square rooms one after another. One after another. Boring empty hallways. The fight with the 3 bosses can be compared to Adjuticator fight in Demon's - kind of same setup a square room with a ledge, yet the Adjudicator room was looking great graphically and had lots of geometry. Here it is just... bland. Almost perfectly flat. Or the Old Monk fight with dozens of chairs in the background and in the foreground. It was just better crafted? better designed? (graphically speaking only)

Yeah, the environments are a little sterile and places that were supposed to be inhabited are just so empty and devoid of traces of previous occupation which is a jarring contrast coming from Dark Souls and how the Undead Burg really seemed like a city destroyed by the curse... and they need to work better on those interiors and the back of their buildings, Cathedrals and Shrines are supposed to be very ornate from any direction and not only on the front =/

Sometimes I wonder if the team was not given enough resources and time, which is sad since in some ways I love Dark Souls II more than the first and they proved that they can make really good enviroments like

The Doors of Pharros

,

The Shrine of Amana

and all the DLC areas.

Nephtes · May 5, 2015

flowsnake said:
What are your stats? The mace should scale pretty well with strength, but would be better without poison enchantment.

Off the top of my head (I'm at work)
I have pretty much 20's across the board in everything but attunement, int, and faith... Which I have 15's in. Also have Adaptability to 28 for the invincibility frames...

So no poison on the mace? I thought it was good to keep a poison weopon around for getting rid of bosses the "easy" way...

rhandino · May 5, 2015

OH.MY.GOD!!!

Do I really need to grind

50 Loyce Souls

to get the

Ivory King Armor

,

The Loyce Armor

and

Alsanna Soul

?

Why? Not here for this Korean MMO level of grinding. Ivory King is one of the best parts of this DLC but this is a mess =/

Nere · May 5, 2015

I have a question. Do Giants Souls, you know the items that reduce vendrick's defense work in NG+ or do I need to collect them again in order to lower his defense again?

Augemitbutter · May 5, 2015

rhandino said:
OH.MY.GOD!!!

Do I really need to grind

50 Loyce Souls

to get the

Ivory King Armor

,

The Loyce Armor

and

Alsanna Soul

?

Why? Not here for this Korean MMO level of grinding. Ivory King is one of the best parts of this DLC but this is a mess =/

yup. put down your sign and help others. took me 3-4 hours with discovery items i think.

Nere said:
I have a question. Do Giants Souls, you know the items that reduce vendrick's defense work in NG+ or do I need to collect them again in order to lower his defense again?

they work in ng+

rhandino · May 5, 2015

Nere said:
I have a question. Do Giants Souls, you know the items that reduce vendrick's defense work in NG+ or do I need to collect them again in order to lower his defense again?

His defense stops lowering when you get 5 Souls of a Giant, and they do carry over to NG+

Could be fun if his defense keeps getting lower and lower until you can beat him from 1 punch =D

rhandino · May 5, 2015

Golgo 13 · May 5, 2015

So. . .

I just beat Sihn and got the crown. Is that the end of that DLC, or is there something I do with it?

toastyToast · May 5, 2015

Good lord Frigid Outskirts is terrible. Fought 7 unicorns and didn't even make it to the end. Somehow I dragged an enemy NPC along the way when I finally got to the bridge thing and then I got rammed in the back by a unicorn as it fell to its death.

Can't believe how fucking trash these coop areas are. It's not like they even put harder bosses at the end either. Just clusterfuck mobs to waste your time.

rhandino · May 5, 2015

Golgo 13 said:
So. . .

I just beat Sihn and got the crown. Is that the end of that DLC, or is there something I do with it?

Well, there is an optional "boss" fight at the end of the Cave of the Dead but yeah, you finished the main quest of the DLC there =D

Oh, you can talk to

King Vendrick

after you get each Crown and he will tell you more and more about the back story of Drangleic and what does being a True Monarch means... awesome stuff tbh.

toastyToast said:
Good lord Frigid Outskirts is terrible. Fought 7 unicorns and didn't even make it to the end. Somehow I dragged an enemy NPC along the way when I finally got to the bridge thing and then I got rammed in the back by a unicorn as it fell to its death.

Can't believe how fucking trash these coop areas are. It's not like they even put harder bosses at the end either. Just clusterfuck mobs to waste your time.

T_T I am going there tonight after work...

The only co-op areas I liked are

The Cave of the Dead

on Sunken and

Iron Passage

on Iron,

Memory of the Iron King

can rot, horrible area that sadly houses one of the best boss in the DLC.

heringer · May 5, 2015

StoppedInTracks said:
Oh shit @ the 3 bosses at the same time in Bastille. I can kill the first one on the platform pretty quickly but then the other two jump up and gang up on me. Can't drop down cause I die instantly - gotta buy that Cat Ring in Majula...

Game is still 10/10 although graphically and aesthetically is such a let down from Demon's Souls (playing on Xbone). You see in Demon's Souls every area had lots and lots of details and was "busy" without being "artificial". Take for example Tower of Latria 3-1 vs Bastille. Latria is full of stuff on the ground and on the walls, shelves. There is always something in the corner. Bastille is just an empty square rooms one after another. One after another. Boring empty hallways. The fight with the 3 bosses can be compared to Adjuticator fight in Demon's - kind of same setup a square room with a ledge, yet the Adjudicator room was looking great graphically and had lots of geometry. Here it is just... bland. Almost perfectly flat. Or the Old Monk fight with dozens of chairs in the background and in the foreground. It was just better crafted? better designed? (graphically speaking only)

Hmm, funny. DS2 visuals are vastly more appealing to me. Tech and art wise. I think it's a just a more polished, better looking game. The original can be quite atmospheric though.

toastyToast · May 5, 2015

rhandino said:
T_T I am going there tonight after work...

The only co-op areas I liked are

The Cave of the Dead

on Sunken and

Iron Passage

on Iron,

Memory of the Iron King

can rot, horrible area that sadly houses one of the best boss in the DLC.

You might like it, it's pretty unique. The gimmick isn't cute when you're just trying to get to a boss though plus there's nothing of value there. Except a hat I guess.

Golgo 13 · May 5, 2015

rhandino said:
Well, there is an optional "boss" fight at the end of the Cave of the Dead but yeah, you finished the main quest of the DLC there =D

Oh, you can talk to

King Vendrick

after you get each Crown and he will tell you more and more about the back story of Drangleic and what does being a True Monarch means... awesome stuff tbh.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out.

Htown · May 5, 2015

Darklurker is some bullshit

elfinke · May 5, 2015

Htown said:
Darklurker is some bullshit

Yeah I thought that the same. I don't remember having any trouble with DL or the Chasms leading to DL, but god damn, this time around it was a real chore. Getting invaded by players constantly, one-shotted by DL large fireball spell, lol, last night was a clusterfuck of frustration.

MatrixMan.EXE · May 6, 2015

Just reached B

lack Gulch

....fuck is this?

ike_ · May 6, 2015

God I stabbed so many desert sorceresses trying to get the full desert sorceresses set in my dumbest overkill mf gear and of course the only part that didn't drop is the top.

rhandino · May 6, 2015

ike_ said:
God I stabbed so many desert sorceresses trying to get the full desert sorceresses set in my dumbest overkill mf gear and of course the only part that didn't drop is the top.

You call that bad luck, I despawned the Stone Knights on Kings Passage and only obtained the Llewellyn Gloves T_T

ike_ · May 6, 2015

rhandino said:
You call that bad luck, I despawned the Stone Knights on Kings Passage and only obtained the Llewellyn Gloves T_T

Haha, ouch. Well now is a good time for my follow up question: if you hunt some enemies to extinction, will they respawn if you join COC? Or does that behavior not apply to wiped out enemies?

Neoweee · May 6, 2015

ike_ said:
Haha, ouch. Well now is a good time for my follow up question: if you hunt some enemies to extinction, will they respawn if you join COC? Or does that behavior not apply to wiped out enemies?

They'll respawn.

Saint9806 · May 6, 2015

After about 20 attempts, I finally got past The Pursuer in the Forest of the fallen Giants. I am not ashamed to say I used the ballista method. Haha.... I see he has a few encounter locations. Since I beat him, will I not run into him for the rest of the story? Coming from Bloodborne (my first Souls game), it was really hard to get used to the slower combat and parrying, but it's a love/hate relationship. After I beat him, I loved the game again! Lol

Kama_1082 · May 6, 2015

after 33 hours, I finally beat the game and I absolutely loved it! I don't know why many people didn't like it (or just say they did). Granted, I haven't played the 1st one, but I imagine it's just as good.

I thought the end of the game kind of dragged for a bit, but still enjoyed it (I think it was because I was ready to finish the game)

I ended up sticking with my starter mace at +10, leather shield and the robes I got from the beginning of the game. I didn't have too much trouble except from being at the black gulch a bit too early.

Kama_1082 · May 6, 2015

vid i made for the guardian dragon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESylVe4sUMQ

Neoweee · May 6, 2015

Kama_1082 said:
after 33 hours, I finally beat the game and I absolutely loved it! I don't know why many people didn't like it (or just say they did). Granted, I haven't played the 1st one, but I imagine it's just as good.

I thought the end of the game kind of dragged for a bit, but still enjoyed it (I think it was because I was ready to finish the game)

I ended up sticking with my starter mace at +10, leather shield and the robes I got from the beginning of the game. I didn't have too much trouble except from being at the black gulch a bit too early.

Did you do the DLC areas (Shulva, Brume Tower, and Frozen Eleum Loyce)?

I Win Yet Again said:
After about 20 attempts, I finally got past The Pursuer in the Forest of the fallen Giants. I am not ashamed to say I used the ballista method. Haha.... I see he has a few encounter locations. Since I beat him, will I not run into him for the rest of the story? Coming from Bloodborne (my first Souls game), it was really hard to get used to the slower combat and parrying, but it's a love/hate relationship. After I beat him, I loved the game again! Lol

One of them is the "same", but the rest are unique spawns, each gives you a fat stack of souls and an item for upgrading.

VinFTW · May 6, 2015

Any word on the weapon durability patch?

Saint9806 · May 6, 2015

Neoweee said:
Did you do the DLC areas (Shulva, Brume Tower, and Frozen Eleum Loyce)?

One of them is the "same", but the rest are unique spawns, each gives you a fat stack of souls and an item for upgrading.

Thanks!

Kama_1082 · May 6, 2015

Neoweee said:
Did you do the DLC areas (Shulva, Brume Tower, and Frozen Eleum Loyce)?

One of them is the "same", but the rest are unique spawns, each gives you a fat stack of souls and an item for upgrading.

Not yet, taking a small break before starting it.

Respect · May 6, 2015

Catalyst strength has no affect on magic weapon buffs correct?

heringer · May 6, 2015

rhandino said:
Yeah, the environments are a little sterile and places that were supposed to be inhabited are just so empty and devoid of traces of previous occupation which is a jarring contrast coming from Dark Souls and how the Undead Burg really seemed like a city destroyed by the curse... and they need to work better on those interiors and the back of their buildings, Cathedrals and Shrines are supposed to be very ornate from any direction and not only on the front =/

Sometimes I wonder if the team was not given enough resources and time, which is sad since in some ways I love Dark Souls II more than the first and they proved that they can make really good enviroments like

The Doors of Pharros

,

The Shrine of Amana

and all the DLC areas.

I dunno, Arno Londo, for instance, is very sterile in DS.

iRAWRasaurus · May 6, 2015

Golgo 13 said:
This version is glitched/changed from the original. Lure the claw guys from the room next-door into the room with the statues, the golem will come alive and activate the elevator. The statues don't come alive in that room, strangely.

ebullientprism said:
No. You are supposed to lure the claw enemies to do that now.

This is probably my favorite fight too. Its not because the boss is amazingly designed (like Artorias) although its not bad. I just love how chaotic it can get with 4 knights and 3 summons vs the Boss and his enemy spawns.

Also probably one of the most badass intro's to any boss in the series.

Late but thanks! Hmm that was changed from the former version.

Trakan · May 6, 2015

Respect said:
Catalyst strength has no affect on magic weapon buffs correct?

Correct.

toastyToast · May 6, 2015

Finished the DLCs then I beat Vendrick,

Nashandra

and

Aldia

.

All in all the game is better than I gave it credit the first time but there are some things that I intensely dislike about it putting it on the bottom rung of my souls favourites. Adaptability is terrible leading to some awful scenarios where you get picked up at the apex of your dodge. No one likes seeing that, a freaking stat dump for a tool everyone always had available. Absurd hitboxes. Mob spawns there to just waste your time. Magic being practically useless in the DLC consistently. If you intend on doing everything there is to do in a playthrough it accounts for almost a third of the game and that's endgame when you're supposed to feel your most powerful. Bosses are mostly boring and one note. The DLC final bosses are pretty good though

Sir Alonne too

Maybe I'd be on a high if the last 3 bosses I fought weren't boring as shit.

ys45 · May 6, 2015

So after 4 try yesterday at

Elana

decided to come back later, I do poor dmg to her and she pretty much one shot me if I don't dodge her dark shots (the 4 in a row)

I'm pure melee so my dark res suck I used phys only dmg weapon on her.
My Soul lvl is 126 I think, is this too low ?

Respect · May 6, 2015

Trakan said:
Correct.

Thanks!

In other news...think they went a bit overboard on the "petrified" peeps in game.

StoppedInTracks · May 6, 2015

I Win Yet Again said:
After about 20 attempts, I finally got past The Pursuer in the Forest of the fallen Giants. I am not ashamed to say I used the ballista method. Haha.... I see he has a few encounter locations. Since I beat him, will I not run into him for the rest of the story? Coming from Bloodborne (my first Souls game), it was really hard to get used to the slower combat and parrying, but it's a love/hate relationship. After I beat him, I loved the game again! Lol

THE REAL DARK SOULS 2 STARTS HERE

Haha... yeah it took me more or less the same amount of tries to kill him. I did not know about the ballista method - I always baited him and rolled right twice. Then smacked him once.

Anyway he makes the next boss a joke. The next two bosses in fact: in Heide's and in Lost Bastille.

The Pursuer was a real bitch. Very happy how Form put such a difficult boss at the beginning of the game. It's a test.

rhandino · May 6, 2015

ys45 said:
So after 4 try yesterday at

Elana

decided to come back later, I do poor dmg to her and she pretty much one shot me if I don't dodge her dark shots (the 4 in a row)

I'm pure melee so my dark res suck I used phys only dmg weapon on her.
My Soul lvl is 126 I think, is this too low ?

I don't think so, have you leveled your weapons? I fought against her dual wielding axes (War Axe + Bandit Axe) both at level 10 and I was SL 150 and with 50 on STR. Then again I think that fight is really meant to test you in crowd control, evasion and stamina management...

A little tip is that, imho, is better to go against the DLC bosses without shield. Is just a waste of stamina trying to block all those heavy attacks and it's better dodge them and heal with lifegem/estus to correct the mistakes =/

Jellycrackers · May 6, 2015

I think I may have messed up. I'm currently using Black Steel Katana +10 and Warped Sword +5 (alternating when they break, because they always do...)

The weapons are great except I hate their movesets. They always hit the floor in like every swing in 2h mode, which sucks for durability. Also, I want something that has a wider swing for fighting multiple enemies. So I finally beat Fume Knight and got excited because I saw that the Fume Sword had good Dex Scaling. So I bought it and put a few dragon bones into it, but now I'm reading online that it's one of the weaker straight swords (High stamina use for low damage). But I Iike that it has good range, wide swings and high poise damage. So now I'm wondering if I just wasted those dragon bones.

Also, quick question - is there an easier way to get to Sir Alonne in the memory area? It sucks having to go through a loading screen then fighting like 15 Alonne knights just to get to the boss. That's the part of this game that frustrates me the most. It's not the bosses, it's clearing the way to them every freakin time.

Saint9806 · May 6, 2015

StoppedInTracks said:
THE REAL DARK SOULS 2 STARTS HERE

Haha... yeah it took me more or less the same amount of tries to kill him. I did not know about the ballista method - I always baited him and rolled right twice. Then smacked him once.

Anyway he makes the next boss a joke. The next two bosses in fact: in Heide's and in Lost Bastille.

The Pursuer was a real bitch. Very happy how Form put such a difficult boss at the beginning of the game. It's a test.

Good to know he is harder than the next couple bosses!

rhandino · May 6, 2015

Jellycrackers said:
The weapons are great except I hate their movesets. They always hit the floor in like every swing in 2h mode, which sucks for durability. Also, I want something that has a wider swing for fighting multiple enemies. So I finally beat Fume Knight and got excited because I saw that the Fume Sword had good Dex Scaling. So I bought it and put a few dragon bones into it, but now I'm reading online that it's one of the weaker straight swords (High stamina use for low damage). But I Iike that it has good range, wide swings and high poise damage. So now I'm wondering if I just wasted those dragon bones.

Don't let online guides to influence how you play the game, If you like a weapon or set of armor and feel fine with it then keep using it =D

It may take a little more of effort and planning to beat a boss or an enemy but is totally worth it =D...

Unless you are using Magic, because FROM hates you =/

toastyToast · May 6, 2015

Jellycrackers said:
I think I may have messed up. I'm currently using Black Steel Katana +10 and Warped Sword +5 (alternating when they break, because they always do...)

The weapons are great except I hate their movesets. They always hit the floor in like every swing in 2h mode, which sucks for durability. Also, I want something that has a wider swing for fighting multiple enemies. So I finally beat Fume Knight and got excited because I saw that the Fume Sword had good Dex Scaling. So I bought it and put a few dragon bones into it, but now I'm reading online that it's one of the weaker straight swords (High stamina use for low damage). But I Iike that it has good range, wide swings and high poise damage. So now I'm wondering if I just wasted those dragon bones.

Also, quick question - is there an easier way to get to Sir Alonne in the memory area? It sucks having to go through a loading screen then fighting like 15 Alonne knights just to get to the boss. That's the part of this game that frustrates me the most. It's not the bosses, it's clearing the way to them every freakin time.

You can run all the way to the boss. For the first area hug the left wall then then run towards the middle and dodge the the alonne captain and fall into the hole. For the second area run to the right and dodge a couple hits then make for the boss fog. You'll get the dodge timing down eventually. It's not that big a deal.

ys45 · May 6, 2015

rhandino said:
I don't think so, have you leveled your weapons? I fought against her dual wielding axes (War Axe + Bandit Axe) both at level 10 and I was SL 150 and with 50 on STR. Then again I think that fight is really meant to test you in crowd control, evasion and stamina management...

A little tip is that, imho, is better to go against the DLC bosses without shield. Is just a waste of stamina trying to block all those heavy attacks and it's better dodge them and heal with lifegem/estus to correct the mistakes =/

I forgot to mention this sorry , I'm dual wielding bandit axe and long sword + 10

Caoz · May 6, 2015

I already forgot how smelter demon used to kick my ass. Last night I was reminded.

Bunch of invasions were annoying and I managed to kill all three only to be killed next to smelter demon's fog gate a couple of times, managing to lose around 30k souls... (was trying to run to recover souls the second time, not a good idea with the archers around).

Tips for smelter demon will be appreciated. I don't have any lightning buffs unfortunately (the pine resin) where would I get those? I think lightning would be good against the smelter demon right?

Golgo 13 · May 6, 2015

Finally beat all the DLC. I'll be honest, I really didn't care for the DLC as much as the main game. It just felt like artificial and cheap difficulty modifiers everywhere -- we're covered in Ice, we make your weapons break quick!, We are impossible to kill unless you find x item and smash it!, we continuously come back to life and permanently drain your life!, we're immune to magic!. Yeah, kiss my ass. Over that shit.
Artorias of the Abyss was vastly superior in every v way

Game was great aside from that though. Really enjoyed the main adventure.

Easy_D · May 6, 2015

:lol. I got my GPU replaced finally and a replacement motherboard and I forgot to pay the internet bill! So no SotFS for me for two more days.

Can't wait to jump in with you dudes. Is the online still active a month later?

rhandino · May 6, 2015

Golgo 13 said:
Finally beat all the DLC. I'll be honest, I really didn't care for the DLC as much as the main game. It just felt like artificial and cheap difficulty modifiers everywhere -- we're covered in Ice, we make your weapons break quick!, We are impossible to kill unless you find x item and smash it!, we continuously come back to life and permanently drain your life!, we're immune to magic!. Yeah, kiss my ass. Over that shit.
Artorias of the Abyss was vastly superior in every v way

Game was great aside from that though. Really enjoyed the main adventure.

Ouch, I enjoyed the DLC areas and only dislike the grinding for some major rewards on Eleum Loyce =/

Oh! did you present the Crowns to

King Vendrick

? =D

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