Dark Souls

[TrollHunter]

Upper blighttown is one of my favorite levels. You're only starting to see why ^^
Trust me, it gets better.

[krissy]

opened up kiln
i think i'll leave this until some other day though. gotta think if i should do anything before ng+, i should grind some humanity or something before it becomes inconvenient again.

milf, those guys suck the first time around!
you get a few shots when they roar. good to learn their arc/distance/attacks early on, cause there's a few of them here and there throughout blighttown. definitely don't try to take them on in groups. do you have a bow? you can aggro enemies one at a time with well placed shots.
you'll want a bow for blighttown anyway, friggin toxic blowdart shooters from the darkness... at least they don't respawn.

[Pete for President]

FAT SMURFS WITH HUGE ATTACK ARCS, POISON, AND KNOCKBACKS


Don't worry about lost souls or humanity, you'll lose much more during the game :p

About these guys; despite their fairly large size they can be backstabbed and also parried.

And the Bed of Chaos is indeed lame. It's just not designed very well. You get the feeling there's luck involved and that doesn't feel very much like Dark Souls at all. Luckily they learned their lesson judging from the DLC bosses.

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah I was backstabbing them pretty handily but I just got unlucky with that one. Also I have a crossbow, it's how I put the Moonlight Butterfly in the ground :D

However, it is literally not possible to be worse at parrying than I am.

[TrollHunter]

opened up kiln
i think i'll leave this until some other day though. gotta think if i should do anything before ng+, i should grind some humanity or something before it becomes inconvenient again.

milf, those guys suck the first time around!
you get a few shots when they roar. good to learn their arc/distance/attacks early on, cause there's a few of them here and there throughout blighttown. definitely don't try to take them on in groups. do you have a bow? you can aggro enemies one at a time with well placed shots.
you'll want a bow for blighttown anyway, friggin toxic blowdart shooters from the darkness... at least they don't respawn.

I could write up a to-do list for you if you want.

So, i started a strength mage
32 str, 40int
This is my first character to have over 25 int
It should be fun! Going to use ultragreatswords on this one. No r1 spam, ima use them wisely.

[krissy]

nah it's cool. i'll upgrade the armor's that i usually use as much as i can, and then take out people i do not like (ie petrus). recently i'm runnign around in the paladin chest, painted guardian leggings, and the gold hemmed hood. looks neat but the paladin armor could look less pretentious haha. wanderer's manchete too. with havel's ring, it keeps me under 25% which is great. i sometimes switch in the painted guardian leggings for the witch dress. i actually upgraded elite knight leggings and wanderer's manchete to +9 both, grinding on the big guys in anor londo, but the leggings are weight-y... :(

[TrollHunter]

Oh nonono, you want to do as much as you can
KILL EVERY BLACKSMITH
Kill every firekeeper (except for 1 so you can still upgrade)
Farm any dragon scales you may want
Kill every NPC for their humanity/equipment/dialogue

Those are the key things to do.
These are also the things I always forget to do.

and for armor, just go with what you think looks cool. The only thing I try to do is avoid using too much gear from 1 set. Poise is secondary to looks for me.

[krissy]

whoa
going postal hahaha
i don't think i'm ready to wreak that kind of havoc yet, but thanks for the list... i planned to be evil/darkwraith in ng+ but i guess i can start sooner...

anyone have any fave weapons for ng+?
personally my two mains in ng have been queelags furysword+4 (once i get enough demon titanite it'll be better) and sksword+5.

[TrollHunter]

Every NPC you kill comes back neutral in NG+, and your sin is also removed so you'd be doing yourself a major disservice to not do that.

The kellog furysword bores me personally, but thats because im a snob.
My favorite weapons are the
Flamberge
Longsword
Great Lord Greatsword
Winged Spear
Stone Greataxe
and
Demons Greataxe

I'm also growing fond of the ultra greatswords because of this playthrough. I need to see how I like the black knight greatsword and the "greatsword"

[Andio]

I think you should stay away from boss weapons. They don't scale properly.
On my first play through I used the Life-hunt Scythe because it looked cool)and it wrecked everything. In new game+ I could not kill a single boss as the blood damage that it caused to me add up and killed me. That's one of the reasons why I couldn't kill four kings.

Now I stick to the Enchanted Iatio(or Uchigatana)for my mage or the Lighting Scythe. I also use a Chaos Shotel for Turtles.

[TrollHunter]

The lifehunt scythe is amazing for pvp though~
Boss weapons stay practical in pvp, but as you said the lose effectiveness quite fast into NG+ from a PvE standpoint. Buff builds easily reign supreme in NG+
There are definitely exceptions though.
Weapons like the Chaos Blade, MLGS, greatlord greatsword and the like are all amazing pvp weapons, and arent even terrible from a pve standpoint either.

[Andio]

The bleeding effect on the Chaos Blade and Life Hunt scythe are great and make them useful, but other weapons like Ornstiens Dragon slayer spear I have never deemed useful. Big waste of demon titanite. I'll stick to scaling weapons.especially since I'm going to start fighting PvP

[TrollHunter]

Damage isn't such a big issue in pvp, trust me. Movesets outweigh damage severely.
The chaos blade is one of the most used weapons in pvp for a reason, and many people basically live by the life hunt scythe.
Onsteins spear is infamous as the most annoying weapon in pvp to fight. It's EXTREMELY useful because of its range.
Damage and scaling isnt everything, and while it is important other factors definitely tie in that most people don't think about in PvE.

[Andio]

What level is PvP more common in. I've heard it 120, but others say 80. Are there a lot of people looking to fight?

I've been thinking of making a Richards rapier with the Crystal buff, or the dark-moon buff(don't know the name)

Do you participate in PvP?

[TrollHunter]

80? Thank god it's not that low. :roll2
120-125 is the best level to make a pvp build. 100 is common, but if you're 120 you can invade/be invaded by them anyway.
I'm not a rapier guy myself, so I've never tried Ricards in PvP. Good luck with that.

And yes, the pvp community is still massive. It hasnt gotten any smaller really. It's stayed quite consistent over the years.

[Madame Adequate]

I just saved up loads a souls to buy something from Donmhall or whatever his name is, bought the Glorious Armor because at probably +2 it'll be better than what I've got, and then discovered it can't be upgraded.

I mad.

[TrollHunter]

I just saved up loads a souls to buy something from Donmhall or whatever his name is, bought the Glorious Armor because at probably +2 it'll be better than what I've got, and then discovered it can't be upgraded.

I mad.

Note: You cant upgrade anything you can buy from him. That goes for artorias's armor too I think.
Serious disappointment, as I quite like his armor too.
Only buy stuff from him for looks, that's what I do.

[Andio]

Don't you need the Dark wraiths covenant eyeball, or does the Dark-moon eye work for invading?

What about the Grave-lord covenant? I've only ever used the Forest covenant.

[TrollHunter]

Here's all the information you need.
Covenants - Dark Souls Wikidot Wiki (http://darksouls.wikidot.com/covenants)
http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/Covenants

[Andio]

Dark-wraith it is. Thanks for the links. I'll start making my new class. I usually stuck with mages for my other 3 characters, so this time I'll go with some thing Physical.

[Pete for President]

*Randomly discussing things from the previous page*

Never heard of level 80 being the standard for PvP. 50 is kind of underground, 100 is common, but 120-125 was the standard before the 1.06 update and still probably has the most people around.

If you're just starting PvP; try not to let the try-hards bother you. There will be trolls around one-shotting you with dark magic, gankers pulling nasty tricks and Wrath of the Gods spamming giants. I recommend invading in places where people don't expect you to invade; that's when you get the most amount of "true" fights and the most exceptional situations. Dueling is fun, but to me it doesn't give the same thrill. There's just something about duking it out on the ledges of Sen's, the bridges of the Catacombs, the dark of the Tomb of Giants etcetera.

As for favorite PvP weapons;
Iaito -> pretty quick and long range R2's
Great Scythe -> running r1's are deadly, good r2's make up for crappy r1's. Hard to defend against.
Falchion -> buff this thing and mash; perfect for taking out guys with greatshields as they can't parry.
Painting Guardian Sword -> Same as the falchion but adds bleed (+) with a tradeoff of having a shorter range (-).
Gold Tracer -> kind of a try-hard weapon so it's reputation is a minus, but it sure does rape stuff. Decent stunlock and the fastest bleed build up in the game.
Black Bow of Pharis + poison arrows. A true hunter first weakens it's prey.
Demon Great Machete -> a very limited move set but praise the sun this thing feels brutal. Gets me hyped to smash stuff!

Weapons I hate having to fight against;
Ornstein's spear as mentioned and Moonlight Butterfly Horn. Insane range + weird hitbox + lag = the most annoying thing ever.
All other spears for the same reasons, though they're usually a bit easier to handle.
Moonlight Greatsword -> for some reason I can't parry this one as easily as other greatswords. Claymore? No problem. Obsidian? Easy. But the MLGS doesn't like me much. Plus you can't run from someone as you're likely to take an r2 in the back.
Great/Lifehunt scythe; better get those roll bs's down.
Marukumo; kind of a give or take; it's really annoying when someone knows how to dead-angle properly. In a fair fight it's not too bad and easy to parry.

[Andio]

About dead angling, I have heard a lot of about that, what is it? Is it useful or cheap?

[TrollHunter]

It's when a certain kind of attack can hit behind a shield. Think the shotel, but without using the shotel.
It's based on a certain kind of angle that attacks right where your shield doesnt defend.
It's hard to explain but you basically unlock, turn sideways and hit. The outside arc of the attack slides past their shield and deals damage normally if done correctly.
Typically, weapons that use horizontal strikes dead angle well. Weapons like greatswords, ultragreatswords, and the most common dead angling weapons are the great scythe and life hunter scythe.

Is it cheap? Depends on who you ask. There's always something someone considers cheap/overpowered. I don't consider it cheap as it's tricky to pull off, and easily countered if you mess up.

[Andio]

Ah, I'll look into, Though katanas Don't dead angle right?

Well my I've decided to make my PvP class a katana wielder with buffs.It'll have the Dark wood grain ring.
For some reason I can't not pick katanas. Every character I've made either has the iaito or the uchigatana.

[krissy]

oh i didn't know what dead angling was before either. i definitely had that happen to me in the forest before, ironically enough with the life scythe (and even though i'm a proud owner of one myself, it is too slow for my tastes)

[Andio]

I was once a proud owner myself, but I decided it was not for me either.
Probably died more from the bleeding than enemies

[TrollHunter]

The scythe is one of my favorite kinds of weapons :D
But really, the only way to use a scythe is with lockon off. That goes for pve and pvp. It's primarily a hit-and-run weapon, and dead angles play very largely into that.
But let me say, katanas can only deal angle if their R2 is a horizontal attack. Ex: The iaito can dead angle, but it's extremely difficult. The R1's cannot dead angle.

[Andio]

I'm currently using the Uchigatana, but I will switch to the Iaito because it's scales better with Dex.
I'll have to try out the dead angle.

[TrollHunter]

This video may help you understand it more.
Dark Souls PvP Dead Angle/Cross-Up Instruction. - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wk7-Iy7-8A)

[Andio]

Seems like you need alot of practice to pull it off, I think I'll try it.

[krissy]

However, it is literally not possible to be worse at parrying than I am.

i am at endgame and i have never parried once successfully either in pve or pvp
just can't be bothered to figure out how
i know it's useful, i see my 11 year old bro do it whenever he plays
just not something i got a hang of, and it hasn't really hindered me much


edit: k im starting to clean up life before heading into ng+

anyway this was hilarious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATvBYudDmY4

[TrollHunter]

However, it is literally not possible to be worse at parrying than I am.

i am at endgame and i have never parried once successfully either in pve or pvp
just can't be bothered to figure out how
i know it's useful, i see my 11 year old bro do it whenever he plays
just not something i got a hang of, and it hasn't really hindered me much


edit: k im starting to clean up life before heading into ng+

anyway this was hilarious

Dark Souls: Peculiar Parish - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATvBYudDmY4)

Oh yeah I saw that video before I watched his NG+7 run. Was amazing.
ANYWAY, Peeve is doing something new in terms of his channel. He has started a playthrough that isnt on twitch! He has begun a "meowcenary" challenge in "ng+ I dont even know". He's doing live commentary, and the quality of the first video is quite good. Check it out if you're curious.
Dark Souls Meowcenaries - A Scatterbrained Start (DkS 2 PvP discussion in comments) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X445rODtqTI)

EDIT: Okay, after watching about 40minutes of it I can safely recommend it. The invasions are great, and the PvE is also very entertaining as well.

[black orb]

>>> Now that Im able to cast soul magic and fire spells Im finally enjoying this game (why nobody told me I could do that?)..
Blighttown is one of the sweetest locations I have played so far, Im loving all the poison, insects and leeches there :love: :luca:

One question:
Does this game has an actual story?
All I have been doing is mindless dungeon crawling so far..

[krissy]

hahaha we should not pick out upholstery together ;)

anyway i am fighting the final boss and i am not fast enough... it's like his stamina is eternal. the longest i've managed was 1/3rd of his hp by dancing around one of those rock formations. maybe im just tired too though. was sad to see no solaire summon sign.

edit: yes it does. a lot of it can be gleamed by talking to npc's and reading the item descriptions for special items, although most of what you need to know was told in the intro.

[Pete for President]

>>> Now that Im able to cast soul magic and fire spells Im finally enjoying this game (why nobody told me I could do that?)..
Blighttown is one of the sweetest locations I have played so far, Im loving all the poison, insects and leeches there :love: :luca:

One question:
Does this game has an actual story?
All I have been doing is mindless dungeon crawling so far..

Glad to see your opinion of the game is shifting to positive :D
And yes, Dark Souls has a very deep story. Be patient my friend, everything will soon make sense :p

Dark Souls' story isn't actually told, but more hinted at in character dialogue, item descriptions and locations. They're all tiny bits of information that eventually will start to add up and you will be amazed by how much you will discover about the story by yourself.

Edit: watched Peeve's video yesterday as well, funny to see him being so reckless with most of the mobs.

Edit 2: damn you all! Here I was on a peaceful break from Dark Souls to play Ni No Kuni, but reading all the posts dragged me back in... AGAIN. But I did have fun taking the high dex/faith low endurance character I was working on through the Archives and the Demon Ruins. The occasional invasions were fun too. Fought off an invader on the magic crystal bridges of the crystal caves; so tense.

Edit 3: ALRIGHT I will make one last crazy build; https://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/?b=cHlyb21hbmNlciw1MCwyMywyMSwxNiwxMCwxMiw0NCwyOCw5OSwxOCwxMCwyMSwzMSwzMSwyMiwxMTQsMzMsMTMwLDEyMixub 3JtYWwsbm9ybWFsLG5vcm1hbCxub3JtYWwsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLHdvb2Rlbix3b29kZW4sd29vZGVuL Hdvb2RlbiwxLDAsMA== of which the point is to obliterate everything with AoE spells of all kind.

[TrollHunter]

You can also throw lightning if you use faith! :D

That aoe build looks interesting, but your pyro will be slow as hell with only 10 dex.

Have the urge to play my sl1 character again... Hmmmm

And yes, watching peeve try to hurry like that was hilarious. So looking forward to this playthrough. Hes one of my favorite dark souls commentators.

[Pete for President]

You can also throw lightning if you use faith! :D

That aoe build looks interesting, but your pyro will be slow as hell with only 10 dex.

Have the urge to play my sl1 character again... Hmmmm

And yes, watching peeve try to hurry like that was hilarious. So looking forward to this playthrough. Hes one of my favorite dark souls commentators.

Yeah ever since Peeve started commenting instead of the music video stuff I really got to like his channel. The ending to that first meowcenary video is hilarious :D

I know the pyro will be slow, but I reckon I'll only use it for Power Within, Black Flame in case of a turtle, and maybe throw a poison cloud smoke screen to ambush people with a lightning bolt to the face.

[krissy]

ok cool gear set up

royal helm
paladin boobs
elite knight legs
wanderer's manchete

i look like a golden warrior viking mwahaha. more importantly i fit right under 50% without havel's ring, which opens up my rings nicely.

using an iato now, instead of the sks
dunno why in particular, the r2 moves are pretty stylish
and black knight shield.

everything is upgraded to penultimate level, because i don't like using slabs and it doesnt make that big a diff honestly

[TrollHunter]

On some of my characters I have up to 5 slabs I'm too indecisive to use.
But YES, the royal helm is my favorite helm in the game. I posted a pic of my dex/int build with it. Looks amazing!

The Iaito is the only katana I like, the R2s are just SO DAMN FUN.

And yes, this video was really some of Peeves best really. I have high hopes it'll only be up from here. The ending just had me rolling.

EDIT: Okay guys, I'm on a mission sent to me by alvina. I am to join the invaders in their gank squads and destroy them from the inside. My goal is to not only be as useless as possible, but also make the situation as dire and terrible for the host as possible. This includes kiting all the mobs in the area to the host, and stalling till there are 2 blue phantoms to gank the host. ITS SO GODDAMN FUN!!!!

[Pete for President]

EDIT: Okay guys, I'm on a mission sent to me by alvina. I am to join the invaders in their gank squads and destroy them from the inside. My goal is to not only be as useless as possible, but also make the situation as dire and terrible for the host as possible. This includes kiting all the mobs in the area to the host, and stalling till there are 2 blue phantoms to gank the host. ITS SO GODDAMN FUN!!!!

Yes! YEEEES. Justice is to be served. You can also try to parry the host as a white phantom.

But the question is; are you, or are you not, dressed for the occasion?

[TrollHunter]

EDIT: Okay guys, I'm on a mission sent to me by alvina. I am to join the invaders in their gank squads and destroy them from the inside. My goal is to not only be as useless as possible, but also make the situation as dire and terrible for the host as possible. This includes kiting all the mobs in the area to the host, and stalling till there are 2 blue phantoms to gank the host. ITS SO GODDAMN FUN!!!!

Yes! YEEEES. Justice is to be served. You can also try to parry the host as a white phantom.

But the question is; are you, or are you not, dressed for the occasion?

Oh most definitely. I have a skull lantern and my bloated sorcerer head. The blues still love to dedicate all their attention to killing me asap though, but thats to be expected.

EDIT: So... attempting manus on my base vit character... this is so goddamn annoying.

[Andio]

Is it better to Buff a weapon or just upgrade it to that?

Ex: a enchanted spear VS a Great magic spear (buff)
Just wondering

[TrollHunter]

buffs are ALWAYS superior, but they run out.
It's best to have a weapon you buff, and a backup that follows the scaling paths eg: enchanted

[krissy]

omg summon at kiln
first black knight kills me

SO EMBERASSING

first black knigth death too

figures... while someone's watching when my performance is best

been having fun doing co op here, but haven't beaten it myself yet


edit:

watching credits now guys

yayyyy!!

had to summon on the final boss but i don't feel bad

who did these credits? sheild design? cho = choir? hmmmm

[TrollHunter]

Congratulations!
So, the black knight greatsword has become one of my favorite weapons for random invasions. Its moveset is so amazing! The uppercuts suck in duels, but in random invasions most hosts arent good enough to avoid it. Works BEAUTIFULLY after a backstab. Most people try to block it.... ha, it's always so cute as that plan fails and they fly up in the air and take upwards of 700 damage.

[krissy]

rang both bells in like 3-4 hours in ng+
man this game just gets a lot easier when you know what to do properly

i kept hearing that ng+ is gonna have meaner, more angry enemies, but so far their main uppage is the increased hp and damage
i was expecting like different move-sets and unpredictability but maybe im not far enough to be frustrated yet
im definitely not in anor londo yet ;)

[TrollHunter]

rang both bells in like 3-4 hours in ng+
man this game just gets a lot easier when you know what to do properly

i kept hearing that ng+ is gonna have meaner, more angry enemies, but so far their main uppage is the increased hp and damage
i was expecting like different move-sets and unpredictability but maybe im not far enough to be frustrated yet
im definitely not in anor londo yet ;)

I wish NG+ had differing movesets, but alas that is not the case. The only boss to really get significantly harder is the four kings. Everything else in NG+ is cake. Hell, even O&S are a million times easier because you actually have your build nearly complete.

[TrollHunter]

This deserves a double post, not an edit.
So, after having my suspicions for a LONG time... it turns out I was onto something.
Demon's Souls/Dark Souls has quite a startling number of similarities to a certain manga/anime I enjoy (the only manga I've ever sat down and actually read mind you)
Abyss/Berserk References and Speculation (Lore) (http://soulswiki.forumsrpg.com/t10828-abyss-berserk-references-and-speculation-lore)

Check this crap out.
Note: If you like dark souls/demon's souls, berserk may very well be for you.

[Pete for President]

Ladies and gentlemen, the mystery of the 2 pyromancy flames in 1 playthrough has been solved. Well, it has been for quite a while, but I finally got it to work for the first time. Here's what I did:

Picked pyromancer class, got first flame in the Asylum.
Saved Laurentius, no extra flame which is normal.
Levelled INT to 12 (the wiki's say only 11 is required)
After beating Quelaag I got myself bitten by the eggmonsters in the Demon Ruins and waited for my head to turn delicious.
After egged and all, I dropped my first flame in the hallway
Then talked to Eingyi to let me pass
Joined the covenant
Talked to Eingyi to get the his talk options
Selected talk
Got the second flame
Picked up the first flame I dropped moments earlier

On a sidenote; Aural Decoy = OP but hilarious. Makes creatures go full retard and I can't wait to try it out on Seath.

[Quindiana Jones]

I'm still convinced I was able to buy one from Laurentius on my Pyro playthrough, though I will have to wait until NG to check.

I'm really curious to find out if Aural Decoy works on Seath. If it does, getting the sword will be so much less painful. :D

[TrollHunter]

Aural decoy and undead rapport are seriously the best spells in the game.
on a side note: I did some more thinking and I found a few more connections.
A) The sword that the protagonist Guts wields in the early days looks the EXACT same as the ultragreatsword known as the "greatsword".
B) Both Dark Souls and Berserk have a big theme on being manipulated and controlled, and they revolve around no-win scenarios.

This is very interesting to me.

[krissy]

yeah i love berserk! a lot of similar style in the two i think. fields of death and bodies etc

i want to try aural decoy on o&s, because that's where im stuck again, i dunno if they respond to it tho
if they do it's game over haha. i can do a lot of damage but not while getting hijacked from two sides. sl93 and only now am i starting to put up my vitality. it's nice to be able to survive a hit or two without dying...

also here's how i got 2 flames on my first ng:

save laurentius, he gifts me the flame
get bitten in demon's lava fields
after i grow my pimples, talk to engygigygi
got second flame!

i gave it to snuggly though, i didn't really need another one but i wanted to get the trophy for the fire weapon/chaos weapon and was a flame titanite short

so pretty much the same as pete

[TrollHunter]

What's cool is that it goes deeper than the style. The similarities go into character design, story themes, and even had an impact on the ending to the entire game. It's kind of awesome considering I got into both without any knowledge of these similarities.

Anyway... new build. I'm crapping these out quite fast.
It's a leo ring sorcerer. Note: I'm not using any of the sorcery buff items as I dont want to be one-shotting guys with sorcery. I don't find that to be super fun. The tin crystallization catalyst is as far as I'll go.
Dark Souls Character Planner (http://mmdks.com/1dqm)

So, I just realized a BIG problem with that build... dex is kindof necessary to cast my spells faster. With 16 dex it'd be terribly slow. Crap. Back to the drawing board.

Here's the edited version
http://mmdks.com/1dsd

[krissy]

wow wow wow
dude check these out


spoilers for both souls and berserk series

Abyss/Berserk References and Speculation (Lore) (http://soulswiki.forumsrpg.com/t10828-abyss-berserk-references-and-speculation-lore)

[TrollHunter]

I posted that link on the last page ._.
"This deserves a double post, not an edit. So, after having my suspicions for a LONG time... it turns out I was onto something.
Demon's Souls/Dark Souls has quite a startling number of similarities to a certain manga/anime I enjoy (the only manga I've ever sat down and actually read mind you)
Abyss/Berserk References and Speculation (Lore)


Check this crap out.
Note: If you like dark souls/demon's souls, berserk may very well be for you."

Soooo.... yeah
Way to skip the end of the previous page like a jerk! There was a reason I said "I found a few more connections" instead of just "some connections" two posts prior XD

[krissy]

AHAHAHAH im so sorry hahah
totally didn't read that i confess

berserk is also the only manga i've managed to read as long as i did
like i followed it all the way to after he fought the indian-like guy
at that point stuff started taking a few weeks to translate and i decided to stop so i could read it all at once at some point in the future


edit: dunno if you've heard of this one or if its in the page you linked
but guts has that brand, and the undead have a darksign...

[TrollHunter]

It's all good, you posted it on a fresh page, so more people are likely to see it~
I only very recently discovered berserk actually. I vaguely remembered someone recommending it along with samurai champloo a LONG time ago when I was looking for shows to watch.... and a couple weeks ago I decided to check it out. The show was surprisingly awesomely done aside from some iffy animation. The only problem I have with the manga is that some of the translations are just abysmal, but the artwork is just freaking beautiful.

[Pete for President]

So, I just realized a BIG problem with that build... dex is kindof necessary to cast my spells faster. With 16 dex it'd be terribly slow. Crap. Back to the drawing board.

Here's the edited version
Dark Souls Character Planner (http://mmdks.com/1dsd)

Yup, noticing that with this build I'm working on;
https://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/?b=cHlyb21hbmNlciw1MCwyMywyMSwxNiwxMCwxMiw0NCwyOCw5OSwxOCwxMCwyMSwzMSwzMSwyMiwxMTQsMzMsMTMwLDEyMixub 3JtYWwsbm9ybWFsLG5vcm1hbCxub3JtYWwsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLHdvb2Rlbix3b29kZW4sd29vZGVuL Hdvb2RlbiwxLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDA=

But no matter, I shall make it work! Surely with all the different spelltypes I must be able to keep enemies at bay while casting new spells.

Can't wait to try throwing a smoke screen and blast away all different kinds of magic and miracles to confuse the enemy. Something like: Toxic Mist -> Pursuers -> Blast them upwards with the Silver Pendant -> rain death from a cloud!

Does anyone know if hidden weapon works on the Moonlight Greatsword? That would make one hell of a surprise. e; found it, does not work.

Edit: so the build mentioned above just beat the 4 kings, making him a level 22 darkwraith. I think I'll have some fun invading Sen's like a sneaky thug with the use of hidden body or chameleon and some AoE spells like Gravelord Greatsword Dance. Let's blast some people off the ledges HAUHAUHAU

[TrollHunter]

So, I just realized a BIG problem with that build... dex is kindof necessary to cast my spells faster. With 16 dex it'd be terribly slow. Crap. Back to the drawing board.

Here's the edited version
Dark Souls Character Planner (http://mmdks.com/1dsd)

Yup, noticing that with this build I'm working on;
https://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/?b=cHlyb21hbmNlciw1MCwyMywyMSwxNiwxMCwxMiw0NCwyOCw5OSwxOCwxMCwyMSwzMSwzMSwyMiwxMTQsMzMsMTMwLDEyMixub 3JtYWwsbm9ybWFsLG5vcm1hbCxub3JtYWwsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLHdvb2Rlbix3b29kZW4sd29vZGVuL Hdvb2RlbiwxLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLDA=

But no matter, I shall make it work! Surely with all the different spelltypes I must be able to keep enemies at bay while casting new spells.

Can't wait to try throwing a smoke screen and blast away all different kinds of magic and miracles to confuse the enemy. Something like: Toxic Mist -> Pursuers -> Blast them upwards with the Silver Pendant -> rain death from a cloud!

Does anyone know if hidden weapon works on the Moonlight Greatsword? That would make one hell of a surprise. e; found it, does not work.

Edit: so the build mentioned above just beat the 4 kings, making him a level 22 darkwraith. I think I'll have some fun invading Sen's like a sneaky thug with the use of hidden body or chameleon and some AoE spells like Gravelord Greatsword Dance. Let's blast some people off the ledges HAUHAUHAU

That sound really fun~

Also, best invasions ever today.
First: Was midrolling like a boss through a WoG spammer. Got killed only because his summon used gravelord dance

Second: So, an uppercut from the BKGS+lag=some hilarious trout. I BS'd this guy, used the uppercut... it hit but surprisingly didnt do anything. 5 seconds later he flies and hits the damn ceiling and promptly dies. Me and my brother spent like 2 minutes laughing our asses off.

THIRDANDTHEBEST: I invaded this guy using a gravelord sword and the DWGR... plainly stated he sucked. He basically flipped around not even attacking for like 2 minutes, and runs off to heal whenever I roflstomp him (this doesnt bother me, it just prolonged an already annoying fight). Now, whenever he actually fights me I rock his world. He doesnt stand a chance against me. After a while, he runs away as fast as possible. I chase him through the catacombs through skeles, black knights, and even the wheel skeles. He makes it to the boss door... AND I SMURFING BACKSTAB HIM THROUGH IT KILLING HIM AND EARNING AN INDICTMENT. HELL YES, SUCK ON THAT YOU ANNOYING LITTLE GOOSE. OHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
None of you know just how freaking annoying this little prick was to fight. SO satisfying.

[Andio]

Can't wait to be a darkwraith. I can't believe I always ignored it.

Anyways, does anyone know of the best lit armor?

[TrollHunter]

Theres really no "best" armor.... it's all based on your weight preference/weight with your gear/poise break you want/looks etc.
There's no "best" armor. It's all situational. I personally go for roll speed first looks second and stats last.

[Xannidel]

I was thinking about getting DS for the PS3 but I was not a big fan of Demon's Souls so would I enjoy this one, even if I did have a friend join me?

[TrollHunter]

I was thinking about getting DS for the PS3 but I was not a big fan of Demon's Souls so would I enjoy this one, even if I did have a friend join me?
Probably not. If demon's souls wasn't your cup of tea, this will probably not quench your thirst.
It does beg the question though. Why weren't you not a big fan of demon's? Maybe the issues you had with it were remedied in this game. Hopefully they are, let us know and we'll give you a more helpful answer in that regard.

ALRIGHT, so over the past month of so I've been pvp'ing I have acquired my own personal philosophy on pvp, and it turns out a few youtube dark souls players share my philosophy. Here's a video that shows a slightly more extreme version of my views.
Dark Souls: Honor Code Debunked! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv3aSA76uzU)
He's a bit aggressive in this argument, but what he says do hold water.
I do things in PvP that make it more challenging and fun for ME, but I don't hold it against others I invade who do things differently like heal of backstab fish. I expect that considering I am INVADING their world, and it's my goal to kill them in any way and the same goes for them.
If I am in a set-up duel or in a dueling environment I will play fair and by the usual guidelines, but if I'm off doing randoms I will try my hardest in any way. I'm not against using humanity or healing miracles as they are easily countered, and flasks/healing/summoning is available to the hosting party.
I'll play how I want to play, and while I have my preferences I will not bash others who have different preferences and goals in their pvp experience.

[Pete for President]

I can agree to that. I must've sunk about 300-400 hours into PvP and it took quite a while for me to realize it's all about fun and not exactly about winning - or more importantly; losing.

I've duelled for a quite a long time. Things like DWGR, WoG, lagstabs; they made it not fun for me, so I quit dueling. The honor code is such a grey area in dueling too; I was left disappointed many times.

I tried semi low level Darkwraiths with OP gear. Of course you win most of the invasions, but being OP was not fun. Quit those rather quickly.

Techniques; got myself a faith build. Using WoG to finish off an opponent; I don't get any satisfaction from that. What's a win without satisfaction?

Random invasions with equipment similar to what the host may use; now that's what I'm looking for. Desperate struggles to survive between two parties equal in strength. As long as it's a tense fight I don't mind to win or lose.

Then; locations. It's hard to backstab fish on the ledges of Sen's. And man are straight up weapon duels ten times as intense.

And finally, about ganking; I don't necessarily understand who would ever want to gank, but what would we be without them? We need them. Because when we win that 1vs.2 or 1vs.3 against all odds, we get all the glory. That's why we invade the forest and that's why we need gankers.

[TrollHunter]

And hell, the game says it's okay to gank.
In anor londo you invade lautrec... who has 2 buddies with him, and THEY'RE WAITING ON INVADERS TO KILL FOR SOULS.
And then you fight O&S who fight you 2v1. Dark souls says ganking is okay, and thank god they do.

It all started with co-op. Co-Op was comfortable to me. It was easy, and invaders were easy to take on 3v1. I still do it now of course because co-op is addicting. I eventually went to ganking in dark anor londo.... I would be lying if I said I didnt have an absolutely great time. I could never go back to that now though (though I know I could be one of the most annoying/effective gankers ever if I tried)

I started my PvP by hosting in the forest with a BSS and murakumo... it was pretty fun but the people that invaded me were not geared towards duels so I rarely ever lost. I went to hosting in the painted world where I ended up staying for a LONG-ass time. I became friends with regulars there who would help me learn a variety of parry timings(which I eventually lost after repeated breaks from pvp) and work on my dodging. Eventually I got bored of using the DWGR (when it was still 50% and below) so I decided to use fast roll. I found this to be far more fun and the lack of poise meant I had to be more careful.

I can't say I ever used much magic in duels, as the most any character I've had up until very recently had 25 int, and that was just for CMW. I much prefer just bare-bones melee. This is why I'm making 2 30 faith characters, and 2 40 int sorcerers. (dex/str for both obviously)

Where I am now: I've been trying out a huge variety of builds and weapons. These include the halberd, flamberge, longsword, Iaito (katanas bore me by the way), great scythe, large club, great club, BKGS, Demons Great Hammer (with hidden weapon of course), the man-serpant great sword, Shotel, GLGS, Winged Spear, Partizan, the list goes on. I've also become comfortable with fast and mid roll. Next up is fatty roll and slow walk!
I'll be testing out the Claymore and Bastard Sword on my quality build today.
I even use magic now, but I REFUSE to use the equipment that buffs it. I don't want to deal 1600 damage with soul spear or dark bead. That isnt fun for me.
I obviously have my preferences, but I'm always varying my playstyle to keep it interesting. This keeps invaders on their toes, and makes it fun for me.
I also do a ton of darkwraith invasions in the catacombs now, which is helping to make me more creative. This area has some of the most intense ganks and chases I've ever had. I have to learn routes to flank hosts and ganks, and know every shortcut there is.
Once my darkmoon reaches NG+ I'll be invading dark anor londo. This is my favorite place to invade in-game, and has spawn campers, gankers, duelers, you name it.


I haven't sunk NEARLY as much time into PvP as you (like.... <50 hours), as it took me ages to really get comfortable with it... but now I'm becoming addicted to it. It's so fun if you just don't get upset and have fun with it.

[Pete for President]

I'll be back for more PvP discussion, but I googled Dark Souls 2 concept art and came across this page:

Dark Souls 2 concept art shows beasts, weapons & locations | VG247 (http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/21/dark-souls-2-concept-art-shows-beasts-weapons-locations/)

Check the link for more images, but isn't this the coolest wand ever? I mean, it has a bat strapped to it. A BAT.

41701

[TrollHunter]

I'm feeling those concept arts. They look creepy and awesome. (I don't like the dwarf one with the huge-ass battleaxe though... unless it's an NPC)
The locals look gorgeous too.
And yes, that wand/staff is quite awesome.

EDIT: Okay, so the bastard sword is quickly becoming my favorite greatsword ever. It rips through gank squads like butter, and its complimented perfectly by my trusty longsword.

[Pete for President]

I'm feeling those concept arts. They look creepy and awesome. (I don't like the dwarf one with the huge-ass battleaxe though... unless it's an NPC)
The locals look gorgeous too.
And yes, that wand/staff is quite awesome.

EDIT: Okay, so the bastard sword is quickly becoming my favorite greatsword ever. It rips through gank squads like butter, and its complimented perfectly by my trusty longsword.

Yeah, agreed the Dwarf looks a bit cliché. But on the other hand it's a bit early to tell whether it holds up without any info on the setting/locale the fellow will appear.

Been looking at the Bastard Sword too. It's underused, and that makes it very appealing to me. But I can't see how it can objectively be better than the Claymore which has longer range, a thrust R2 and the same weight. But this thing is overused a lot and I don't really want to use it for PvP for that reason.

I'll probably go with an Enchanted Bastard Sword as a backup for the MLGS for my mage of all kinds build, just for underused-weapon-underdog-status-props.

[TrollHunter]

honestly, I don't need the thrust attack of the claymore when I have the longsword, and I hardly ever 1-h it anyway. Besides, it looks a lot cooler, and has a bit more damage. That's all I need.

[Xannidel]

I ordered Dark Souls for the PS3 if anyone wants to join me or ruin my day then let me know :p

[Pete for President]

I ordered Dark Souls for the PS3 if anyone wants to join me or ruin my day then let me know :p

Awesome, I'm up for that! PSN ID is PietZooter. Add me and let's duel or co-op sometime :p

[Xannidel]

I will add you when the game arrives which I am hoping will be soon. Until then it is time to get HotS and see how bad my macro really is.
It's pretty bad, I am pretty sure that if I had to go up against a piece of wood that I would still lose.

[TrollHunter]

Sadly im on XBL :(
No invasions from me will happen.

[krissy]

i'll invade you eventually

i am still on ng+ s&o. my goal is to get super ornstein defeated. this means i have to kill smough before solaire gets defeated (which is usually less than a minute).

my biggest victory so far was getting super ornstein down to 1/3rd health, before he double shot me with lightning and apparently my shield was down, though i could've sworn it was definitely up. it took me half an hour of running around the pylons with him to get him to that point. i still have trouble finding openings on him. the problem with super o is his ability to reduce my stamina to nothing rather quickly, and ive got 40 stamina...

of course, before the battle i have to take ten minutes to clear the entrance and summon solaire. i've been playing this offline because i usually get invaded before i can do all this safely. the few times i tried taking live people into this battle they managed to knod it up and die early on. i think they assume im in ng....

anyway i was so close, so dying like that really sucked. i only have 20 humanities and fire weapon items left, but i assume i'll get super o down with that many chances eventually... just need to learn his openings better and go for them.

[TrollHunter]

...wow really? NG+ O&S never take me more than 1 try.... it's in NG that that bend me over and have their way with me.

Also, Super Smough is actually the easier of the 2, so try taking down orny first. With Smough you've just got to be careful, and his openings are very blatant. Orny is just a prick, and hes even moreso when he goes super.
Also, wasting that much time every single fight is a waste of time and humanity. A quick run using the super-shortcut takes no more than 1 minute, and as such allows for more attempts in a shorter amount of time. Solaire is honestly a waste of time in NG+ and you shouldnt be using him as this point. He increases the HP on the bosses, and in NG+ he doesnt ldeal enough damage or help enough to make him worth it.

ALSO, my brother is playing a strength darkmoon.... and just killed an idling hacker by kicking him through the entirety of Anor Londo and off a ledge.
He did me proud
ALSO: Using his character, I got one of the best invasions ever. Everything went according to plan. These 3 guys were waiting in the main room.... beside the door expecting to backstab me. SURPRISE me they certainly did, but I can mid-roll for days and backstab fishers cause me no worry now. I led them to the ledge before the dragonslayers bow, and I kicked one guy off who was busy now fighting the giant... and I accidentally fell off myself.
After recovering I finish him off as he tries to use a humanity....
and then there was 2
Incoming a battle of attrition.
I'm sitting down there waiting patiently watching both the host and phantom. They were on the ledge now, and this one you cant climb back on. The only way to me was to jump down. Me and my brother notice the phantom getting jittery, something I predicted far earlier. He goes to the ledge with the bow, and... eventually he jumps. As he falls me and a mini-gargoyle tear him to shreds.
Eventually the host jumps down and runs to the elevator. I quickly follow. He stops, turns around, and bows.
TOO LATE FOR A DUEL NOW BIZNITCH!
WABLAM great club right to the face.

The host of this world has been defeated.

I love it when everything goes completely according to plan. That invasion was done with near surgical precision, and everyone did exactly what I expected them to do. It was beautiful.

[Andio]

i am still on ng+ s&o. my goal is to get super ornstein defeated. this means i have to kill smough before solaire gets defeated (which is usually less than a minute).

my biggest victory so far was getting super ornstein down to 1/3rd health, before he double shot me with lightning and apparently my shield was down, though i could've sworn it was definitely up. it took me half an hour of running around the pylons with him to get him to that point. i still have trouble finding openings on him. the problem with super o is his ability to reduce my stamina to nothing rather quickly, and ive got 40 stamina...

of course, before the battle i have to take ten minutes to clear the entrance and summon solaire. i've been playing this offline because i usually get invaded before i can do all this safely. the few times i tried taking live people into this battle they managed to knod it up and die early on. i think they assume im in ng....

anyway i was so close, so dying like that really sucked. i only have 20 humanities and fire weapon items left, but i assume i'll get super o down with that many chances eventually... just need to learn his openings better and go for them.

You should always stick close to Ornstien, If you do he's a piece of cake. I feel like solaire is useless in that fight. He dies in like 4 hits, so I'm guessing you take down Smough really quickly.

Anyone know the best spots for PvP?, I'm almost got my weapons down. I through away my Iaito for the great scythe.Its so good! I've also been stock pileing a butt-load of humanity.

[TrollHunter]

Depends on what youre looking for. Duels? Try the undead burg, olacile township, MAYBE the kiln? Also darkroot basin is alright.
Invasions? Heh! Get creative and evil.
Sens fortress
Anor londo
Dukes/crystal cave
Royal wood
Catacombs and totg are my favorites

Just anywhere you like really. :p

[krissy]

cheers trollhunter and andio! i braved up and took them on solo without any buffs and after a few more tries i did it! i did smough first because i wanted ornstein's soul and the leo ring, and i did it the other way in ng. time for four kings hahahaha

[kotora]

Started playing the game a couple days ago. I'm at the undead parish now. All in all the game isn't that hard, it just punishes you really hard for getting into a new situation. Still, I find something very relaxing about it. Dying doesn't matter at all, you just go and start again.

[Pete for President]

Started playing the game a couple days ago. I'm at the undead parish now. All in all the game isn't that hard, it just punishes you really hard for getting into a new situation. Still, I find something very relaxing about it. Dying doesn't matter at all, you just go and start again.

Glad to see people are still picking it up. Enjoy it, you seem to have the right mentality from the get-go :p

[TrollHunter]

Started playing the game a couple days ago. I'm at the undead parish now. All in all the game isn't that hard, it just punishes you really hard for getting into a new situation. Still, I find something very relaxing about it. Dying doesn't matter at all, you just go and start again.

You are right on the money. The game just humbles you, if you play smart and dont get overconfident it will be a great experience.
This game is actually too easy for me now so i do challenge runs :p

[Andio]

Started playing the game a couple days ago. I'm at the undead parish now. All in all the game isn't that hard, it just punishes you really hard for getting into a new situation. Still, I find something very relaxing about it. Dying doesn't matter at all, you just go and start again.

It's nice to know people are still picking up the game. I just convinced my friend to start playing, so I'll have to teach him the in-depth concepts.

[Xannidel]

Okay my game just arrived so I will add whoever wants to join me along with PietZooter
My PSN name is the same as it is here so if you see a request from Xannidel then know it is me.

[krissy]

since we're on the topic, there's no way of summoning/invading specific people other than finding their signs, right? you have to coordinate that via messaging and go to the same place, yeah?

[Andio]

Oh you can add me PSN:Jaibosonic1

Ya you can't specifically summon people but you can at least try

[Madame Adequate]

FINALLY fucking got through Sen's Fortress oh my god those fucking pendulum blades it's like the shinra mansion all over again

Anor Londo is absurdly gorgeous looking but then one of those huge fuckers just squashed me with his shield. :(

[krissy]

circle strafe those dudes
also good to have a good shield/stamina for them
they're slow but they pack a wallop
i felt the same way going into anor londo btw
welcome to the next stage of despair intertwined with happiness

[black orb]

>>> I HATE Tomb of the giants, is the most smurfed up place ever..:luca:

I just made it to Anor Londo but im kind of stuck there, the yellow mist or something wont let me pass.

[Pete for President]

FINALLY smurfing got through Sen's Fortress oh my god those smurfing pendulum blades it's like the shinra mansion all over again

Anor Londo is absurdly gorgeous looking but then one of those huge smurfers just squashed me with his shield. :(

Haha gotta love Sen's! It's grown to be one of my favourite area's to plow through or invade in. Iron golem is badass too.


>>> I HATE Tomb of the giants, is the most smurfed up place ever..:luca:

I just made it to Anor Londo but im kind of stuck there, the yellow mist or something wont let me pass.

Tomb of giants is dark terror indeed! What helps is something that generates light. There's 3 options; the skull lantern found halfway through the tomb or dropped by necromancers in the catacombs, the cast light sorcery spell, or a piece of headgear in lost izalith which specific location i'll keep secret and spoilerfree for now :p

About the yellow wall in anor londo; that's for later. First you'll need to visit "lord gwyn's old keep" as the firekeeper tells you politely. You can take the elevator down straight across the bonfire hallway.

[Xannidel]

Just started last night and so far it is not TOO bad *knocks on wood* so here is hoping that the game does not destroy me too badly.
My first character is a thief, not sure if a thief is ideal for a newb like me but we will see.

[Quindiana Jones]

Warning: The game will destroy you very badly. ;)

[Andio]

You can always walk the giants feet. Its kinda funny seeing them getting confused.

Also, had my first invasions and I won 1 out of 3. Im still not level 125 but I can still hold up.One of the guys I fought was Ganking,and his friend was doing all the fighting.I almost got the host when the summon got me in the back. I cant really complain as I was invading so you know.

[krissy]

four kings gone on ng+, 3 tries.
darkwraith now
i dunno what else i wanna do on this playthrough other than beat the bosses. i guess i'll try invading a bit though!

edit:

seath done on first try

wow im impressed with myself

anyway im wearing royal helm, elite knight leggins, wanderer manchete, and painted guardian shirt
pretty coool looking this way, the shirt arms roll up to make way for the manchete

[black orb]

About the yellow wall in anor londo; that's for later. First you'll need to visit "lord gwyn's old keep" as the firekeeper tells you politely. You can take the elevator down straight across the bonfire hallway.
>>> I went there an I just found a Gargoyle, didnt find anything else.. I guess I`ll go to check that place a second time..:luca:

[Pete for President]

About the yellow wall in anor londo; that's for later. First you'll need to visit "lord gwyn's old keep" as the firekeeper tells you politely. You can take the elevator down straight across the bonfire hallway.
>>> I went there an I just found a Gargoyle, didnt find anything else.. I guess I`ll go to check that place a second time..:luca:

I can imagine, the level design gets a bit iffy here. Just down the stairs there's a drop with a ledge leading to the left. It goes slightly upward and runs between two sets of pillars. With a bit of luck some messages show you the way. And then you're in for a treat :p

I love that Gargoyle fight though. Walk slowly down the stairs and that thing comes charging at you full power with that amazing cathedral in the background; epic! Might be my favourite mini-boss.

Edit: Took a level 50 mage character to Oolacile (the DLC area). Things got rough. Just beat Artorias and Kalameet both on 3rd try using only an Enchanted Bastard Sword which dealt a pitiful 100 damage for every 2-handed hit to these magic resistant chaps. 66 for one handed r1's. For a slow swinging greatsword! :S Both fights took about 15 minutes, but oh what glorious victory. Only Manus left..

[Madame Adequate]

WHY MUST LIFE BE SO HARD

WHY MUST I FAIL AT EVERY ATTEMPT AT MASONRY DODGING

This game is going to kill me. I can already tell. I'm actually exactly where black orb was having trouble, but luckily a couple of soapstone messages helped me see the way forward after I shoved my halberd up the gargoyle's jacksey.

[TrollHunter]

....so wait, where are you guys?
I'm drawing a blank here ._.

[Andio]

There at Anor Londos Gargoyles,I think .:roll2

[TrollHunter]

...you mean before going up to the rafters?
Oh, now it all makes sense. I was extremely confused for a while an thought there was a part of Anor Londo that I missed XD

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah right after the first gargoyle and going up the flying buttress into the church xD

[black orb]

>>> OMFG the Smough and Ornstein boss battle is so EPIC!!..:luca:

Too bad I killed them too fast, I wanted to enjoy that battle more..:cry::cry:

Oh yeah, thanks for the help..

[krissy]

you have trouble with undead asylum

but you kill s&o too fast

WHAT ARE YOU

good job! hahahaha, that's often considered the hardest battle of the game

i'm on ng++ now

[TrollHunter]

The xbox is gone with my brother again so i wont be playing till i get a ps3 for graduation.
:(
Never got to beat my masochistic challenge run! I HAD 5 BOSSES LEFT DAG NABBIT

He'll be back over spring break, so i may play some over that week.


Also: black orb... I love how much of a 180 your gameplay has made since the asylum xD
Simply amazing

[Pete for President]

Yes Black Orb go!

[krissy]

i just solo'ed them, got 'em first try on ng++
killing orstein first is definitely the way to go although at this point im confident i could do either or.

platinum in 170 hours

i think i should take a break from the game for a while

but this was definitely one of the best i've played

looking forward to 2, though my time management isn't so hot hahaha

oh man. i dunno if i'm at peace or just sad now. i'll probably be still reading the thread...maybe in a month or so start a lvl1 pvp character or something
hahaha and invade people like an evil bastard

[Pete for President]

Congrats on the platinum! Starting a new character is always a good idea : ) maybe we could duel sometime!

[TrollHunter]

I think pvp is where this game truly gets its depth. Ive invested hundreds of hours in this game only because of pvp.

Make a quality build (28str 40dex) and have some fun with that :D

[krissy]

Dark Souls: The Tribe - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gd4JnDKGj_Y)

loooollll


omg also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7pXlqTvDFF4

[Pete for President]

So... my PS3 broke down... I won't be playing anytime soon. In true DkS fashion it happened during a win-streak in the forest right at a moment where I couldn't believe how easily I beat one 1vs2 after another with this crazy anti-ganker build I had just finished yesterday: https://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/?b=cHlyb21hbmNlciw1MCwyMywyMSwxNiwxMCwxMiw0NCwyOCw5OSwxOCwxMCwyMSwzMSwzMSwyMiwxMTQsMzMsMTMwLDEyMixub 3JtYWwsbm9ybWFsLG5vcm1hbCxub3JtYWwsMCw2OSwxMSw2NSw0Niw3MSwzNywwLDAsMCwwLDAsMCwwLHdvb2Rlbix3b29kZW4sd 29vZGVuLHdvb2RlbiwxLDAsMA==

Goodbye Dark Souls, we sure had fun. :cry:

[black orb]

you have trouble with undead asylum

but you kill s&o too fast

WHAT ARE YOU

good job! hahahaha, that's often considered the hardest battle of the game

>>> I have Sephiroth`s Masamune..

http://darksouls.wdfiles.com/local--files/katanas/washing-pole-on-hand.jpg

and Firaga spells in my right hand.. 41983

I just need to summon a giant metor and i`ll be invincible..:luca:

BTW
I still think that the undead asylum is the hardest part of the game, you are like a newborn baby thrown into the wild there.. After you have passed that place you have shops, blacksmiths, etc. everything to improve.

[TrollHunter]

Im so sorry pete :(

Also, blackorb... You CAN summon massive pillars of flame around you. Sure, its no drawn out meteor but its still awesome!
And make a new character, you'll beat the asylum in a matter of minutes at most.Its only brutal the first time. :p

[Andio]

Platinum in 170 hours!!!! I've been playing for at least for 500 hundred(I've had it for at least a year)and I still haven't gotten those rare weapons. Uh. congratulations though. :D

[Pete for President]

Im so sorry pete :(


Thank you sunbro, I guess we're both Souls-less for the time being :(

[TrollHunter]

At least I still have ratchet & clank speedruns :p

[black orb]

>>> Im really mad at this game now :mad2:, the bastards made Siegmeyer of Catarina (one of my fav NPCs) die at some stupid fight with lame monsters at Lost Izalith, WTF?!!!.. Whoever planned this crap from the game`s development team need to be thrown from a cliff..:luca:

[Andio]

I never got into his side quest. I either always forgot to talk to him or killed him for his souls.
Oh well

[TrollHunter]

Black Orb, that's only one ending to his quest. It CAN go on for longer if you do it right ^^

ALSO, hooked on DMC 3 now. HATED this game as a kid, but Dark Souls has given me a whole new appreciation for it and I'm having such a frickin' blast playing it. I don't even get bothered when I get my ass kicked anymore~

[black orb]

or killed him for his souls.
Oh well
>>> You fiend!.. Oh yeah I had to kill that sun freak at Izalith, but I had no choice he started it :eep:..:luca:

[Pete for President]

or killed him for his souls.
Oh well
>>> You fiend!.. Oh yeah I had to kill that sun freak at Izalith, but I had no choice he started it :eep:..:luca:

DID HE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU? Poor Knight Solaire... :cry:

Love his common ending though. Such tragic. He might be my favorite NPC of all time. He shows bravery, companionship, dedication, even love! And then sinks in his own desperation and depression.

It's also the only NPC we catch on the moment he goes Hollow AND hostile. Most of them aren't able to speak, but Solaire; he's one tough sun-warrior. Makes him all the more memorable.

[TrollHunter]

And if you manage to save him... he's the only NPC who not only doesn't screw you over, but actually has a semi-happy ending.

[black orb]

DID HE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU? Poor Knight Solaire... :cry:
>>> Dont get me wrong i liked that guy he was cool and all, I remember he said something about summon him but I was never able to do it (I guess I missed lot of stuff in this game). Anyways I more a fan of Siegmeyer and Logan..:luca:

[I Took the Red Pill]

I've owned this game for awhile but only recently did I start giving it a serious run. I just beat Ornstein and Smough after way more tries than I'd like to admit. Super glad I can warp between some places now, though. :aimhappy:

[Pete for President]

Awesome : ) So good to see this games player base is still growing! Did you summon some warriors for Ornstein & Smough or did you go solo? And who did you slay first?

I managed to temporarily fix my PS3, bought a Playstation Plus account and cloud-copied my Dark Souls save files. They're safe now and I'm quite relieved of that! Not sure when I'll get back in the game though. For these problem-solving shenanigans I borrowed a friends' PS3. If he's cool and let's me borrow it until I leave for New Zealand in a couple months I might return sooner than expected! If not, a year absence is ahead of me.

[I Took the Red Pill]

I solo fought those dirty scoundrels. I'm trying to beat the game at least once without summoning any help. I killed Ornstein first. Actually, my established plan had been to take down Smough first, as I had gotten close to winning a few times that way, but once shit started going down it was clear that I should just scrap the plan and take down O first.

[Pete for President]

Yeah Ornstein first is definitely the more favorable strategy. He's the easier one to kill in small form while Super Smough is much more predictable compared to Super Ornstein in the second half of the fight.

[Ultima Shadow]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar0.png
"Hey Shads? How about you buy Dark Souls too?
You only tried it once at a friend's house, right?"










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar2.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
"Well, I did like what I saw, but... I don't know.
Maybe some other time. I got other games and-"










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel3.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar3.png
"It wasn't an actual question. I already ordered Dark Souls
for you, using your credit card. It should arrive in 3 days.
...and I also spent the rest of your money on some random
and silly things just for the heck of it. You know... for fun."










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar1.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel5.png
".....you got issues. Serious issues."
"Oh, and.... I will further enhance
your experience by pointing at you
and laughing whenever you die."





----------------------------------------------------






So yeah... I guess I will be joining in soon as well. I've actually wanted to play the game for some time now, but just never got around to it. But better late than never! :greenie:

[TrollHunter]

I solo fought those dirty scoundrels. I'm trying to beat the game at least once without summoning any help. I killed Ornstein first. Actually, my established plan had been to take down Smough first, as I had gotten close to winning a few times that way, but once trout started going down it was clear that I should just scrap the plan and take down O first.

O first is my go-to now unless I really want the Leo ring (which I... always do now D= )
But here's a tip: Never be ashamed of the number of attempts it takes to beat a boss. Know why? You beat the boss, and you didn't crack under the pressure either.

So, My brother has been playing Dark Souls all the time, so I'm still playing Devil May Cry 3. Vergil is so fun and I absolutely adore the bloody palace. I'm also starting to get my jump-cancelling down so that's fun! :D

And Ultima, why I may not be able to still play, I have a bit of an encyclopedic knowledge on this game and I'm not the only one like that on this thread.
If you have any questions, we'll be more than happy to answer them in a vague and cryptic way.
Keep in mind: This game IS difficult, but mainly because it just requires a very different form of play. It also has a depth that will take a few playthroughs to notice, so there's always something new to learn and try.

[black orb]

>>> What the hell???.. I beat this game without even realizing it, I was trying to lit a bonfire and bang! credits and start from point zero.. Whatever..

It took me forever to realize how to kill that Chaos Tree boss from Izalith (such a tricky bastard)..

What freaked me out more are a couple of eggs outside the Asylum I didnt see the first time, they talked to me and told me weird things..:confused: :luca:

I totally loved the game at the begining and loved everything until I finished Anor Londo, but after that the game kind of dissapointed me, the final 4 bosses and final parts of the game are just meh..
Anyways, Im excited about the next Dark Souls game.

[TrollHunter]

There are 2 endings by the way. You just picked the one that went off your habit of lighting bonfires~ So sorry. Though I would say the endings are a tad disappointing. Though in a game that has SO MUCH foreshadowing that the most you can do is put off the inevitable... well that's to be expected. The other ending is better, but not very satisfying. The thing is that's the games intention, you shouldn't be satisfied as there really is no reward for your trials, not story wise anyways. You can become the dark lord, but that's all unknown and it could be an outright terrible ending if the future isn't promising.

I quite agree with you though, the last half of the game is always a bit "meh" for me. There aren't any bosses that really stand out other than Gwyn but there IS a lot of tasty lore in the second half. The DLC remedies this in spades with 3 of my favorite bosses in this game. They're challenging as hell, not gimmicky, and just all around very fun to fight.

And those eggs will trade items with you if you can find out just how to do so. Snuggly is quite a badass in that way.


After you beat the game, you can always try your hand at the pvp (the real meat of this game I would say), or perhaps some challenge runs?


Oh, and the chaos witch? Yeah, she's the most hated boss in the game by the majority of people. She just isn't a fun "fight".

[black orb]

>>> I guess I will play this again, but with the help of a walkthrough now..

About online stuff I dont have internet for my console.. so I better forget about that..:luca:

[TrollHunter]

No internet? Oh, right. Damn, that's really a shame as that's where this game really gets its depth.

And NG+ is a perfect opportunity to pick up all the stuff you missed, maybe you'll even find a new favorite weapon.

[Pete for President]

Congrats Ultima Shadow, I hope you enjoy the fantastic harsh but satisfying experience that is Dark Souls.

And Black Orb, I felt a bit disappointed too when I first saw the ending. But the longer I thought about it, the more sense it made and the deeper it got.

Also lads, let's go back to using SPOILER TAGS. We've got some new hollows who've just barely left the Asylum, you know.

[kotora]

Haven't touched the game for a while now. I gotta beat that asshole capra demon but it's just not that much fun to me anymore. Last time I tried I managed to get to the top of the stairs before he killed me with that big ass sword of his. There's just no room to even evade his attacks and that of the fucking dog in that room :/

[krissy]

yeah that one sucks
run straight up the stairs and take out the dogs first, they'll follow you up the stairs. you can roll off down the stairs if capra demon's too close on your tail.
honestly i summoned help for my first time with that one. you've opened the path to firelink, right? the one in the aquaduct?

[Jowy]

upgrade that claymore you got earlier, grab it with both hands, and kill those dogs in one hit. the estoc's R2 works pretty well for taking them out quickly as well.

[kotora]

Yeah I got the path through the sewers. At the start of the battle when that mothersmurfer comes towards me I roll and run up those stairs, turn around, try to block the dogs and kill them, but by then he's also up there and just smashes me with an overhead strike.

How do I upgrade my trout? I don't think I've unlocked that option yet. So far my favourite weapon is the halberd, it kills the dogs in like 2 strikes. I think it has a better reach than the estoc with its forward stab.

[Jowy]

Taking the Firelink shortcut, run straight through past where the tower knight was, don't head towards the balder knights. Kill the hollow soldiers and follow the path straight ahead into that little building. Downstairs is a bonfire, further downstairs is Andre of Astora, and out the door at the end is some new territory to explore. Give Andre your titanite shards to upgrade weapons. You'll want something to be at +5 as soon as possible.

[TrollHunter]

Right... spoilers
I'll keep that in mind, my apologies.

And the capra... oh the capra
If you can find a certain spell that makes you hard to see then maybe you won't have as difficult a time... hmmm

[Andio]

Or kill the dogs. always kill those dogs.

[krissy]

yeah kill the dogs
have a 100 phys shield and enough stamina and you can do it
learning his moves is another matter. it's good to circle him, and don't try to do much damage if he's swinging two handed. when he combines he swords, stay shielded until the strike, and take your opening afterward. you can two hand and hit once or twice, then back to playing defensively. keep moving and let your stamina recover by dropping shield when you know you're safe. he's usually slow to recover from his joined sword attacks though, that's when i usually make my shots count.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_meblsn1ful1qaggzio1_400.gif

[TrollHunter]

The being harder to see directly correlates to killing the dogs easily.
There is no or about it, killing the dogs is pretty much essential.

[krissy]

would getting that spell mean killing the hydra/golden golem at this stage? i don't remember. i didn't even know it had uses at such short range. i guess fog ring isn't strong enough to be helpful in such cramped quarters, right?

[TrollHunter]

Yes it does. In challenge runs like I do I go for that spell as soon as I get a +5 weapon. Takes a LONG time, but by god is it worth it. The fog ring isn't nearly as powerful, whereas that spell pretty much breaks so many fights and areas... including the capra demon fight.

[kotora]

Taking the Firelink shortcut, run straight through past where the tower knight was, don't head towards the balder knights. Kill the hollow soldiers and follow the path straight ahead into that little building. Downstairs is a bonfire, further downstairs is Andre of Astora, and out the door at the end is some new territory to explore. Give Andre your titanite shards to upgrade weapons. You'll want something to be at +5 as soon as possible.

Wait which area is this? I ain't seen any knights in the lower undead burg.

[TrollHunter]

Taking the Firelink shortcut, run straight through past where the tower knight was, don't head towards the balder knights. Kill the hollow soldiers and follow the path straight ahead into that little building. Downstairs is a bonfire, further downstairs is Andre of Astora, and out the door at the end is some new territory to explore. Give Andre your titanite shards to upgrade weapons. You'll want something to be at +5 as soon as possible.

Wait which area is this? I ain't seen any knights in the lower undead burg.

It's in the parish. You know the elevator leading from the gargoyle church to firelink? If you take that elevator and just go STRAIGHT forward (from the church of course), you will go to both a bonfire and easily the most useful blacksmith in the game.

[kotora]

Found him! Who's that big ass demon below him?

[Quindiana Jones]

He's a pretty easy sub-boss if you take him out with magic. He's a massive bastard to kill if you try anything else, though. ;)

Get a Balder Shield. Upgrade it. Firstly, it's easily one of the best looking shields in the game, and secondly, it has excellent stability. With this shield in hand, I killed the Capra Demon without even using the stairs or hunting down the dogs first. Pretty sure the only one I killed was one that got in the way accidentally. xD Great shield.

[kotora]

I took out the guy guarding the Darkroot Gardens after like 5 tries with an upgraded halberd. He wasn't so hard with melee as a single combo took away large chunks of his health. Upgraded my knight's shield instead of balder shield though!

[TrollHunter]

The knight's shield is terrible by the way. The stability it gives for all the weight it takes is just so not worth it.
Knight Shield - Dark Souls Wikidot Wiki (http://darksouls.wikidot.com/knight-shield)
Balder Shield - Dark Souls Wikidot Wiki (http://darksouls.wikidot.com/balder-shield)

The balder shield weighs 1.5 units less, and has far better stability. Toss the knights shield once you get the chance.

[kotora]

Bad shield or not, I finally took the capra demon down after only 3 tries while buzzed. Goes to show that alcohol really does improve decision-making!

[TrollHunter]

It's perfectly usable, just bad in relation to other shields.
Alcohol at least improves pain tolerance, so I guess that could help with Dark Souls too~!
Congratulations. That boss is always a big roadblock on my characters.

[kotora]

I think it's crucial to take the dogs out really quick at the beginning of the battle, because that's your best shot to get them away from the boss. After they're gone, evading his attacks and countering is pretty easy.

[TrollHunter]

Pretty much, the dogs are more of a threat than the capra without a doubt.
Hmmm.... I wish it was possible to parry the capra demon. That would be so amazing.

[krissy]

i used knight shield for the first half of the game on my first play through no worries
i just have fond memories picking it up after defeating that estoc balder knight guy. the first few hours seem so stressful that anything you pick up you sort of develop an attachment with.

[TrollHunter]

The only reason I dislike the knights shield is that it weighs so much. As I said it's perfectly usable, but it's just overall so much worse than really every other medium shield. It would be good if it had more stability... like 78-80, but the balder shield weighs 1.5 units less, has similar resistances, and somehow rocks more stability than the knights. It just wasn't balanced properly in my opinion. I can see why people would use it though, especially after taking down that pain in the ass rapier balder knight for it.

I don't often use shields anymore but I still have a love for the caduceus kite shield (http://darksouls.wikidot.com/caduceus-kite-shield). Like you said you grow a little attachment, well I bought this shield on my first dark souls character and it's my baby now. It has served me so well over my time in this game. What's bizarre is this dinky kite shield that weighs 2.5 units less still has more stability... I just don't get it.

[Jowy]

Demon's Souls for free tomorrow if you've got playstation plus. Unless its an April Fool's joke.

[Pete for President]

My PS3 was dead but I revived it with a hair dryer. Looks like this PS3 is an Undead, so to speak :p But it works and I'm back in the game, although no-one knows how long it will last. Until then; ultimate Darkwraith & Ganker Hunter mode is on! :cool:

On the side I started a new game with le gf who loves to watch this game. Set my eyes on rocking the regular iron greataxe. I find strength builds the most fun to use in PvE. There's just something about swinging an oversized weapon into those giant bosses.

Edit: jinxed it. It died again this afternoon :0

[TrollHunter]

Oh no D:

And I find strength builds to the most fun in both PvE AND PvP. Watching my opponents fly away never loses its appeal.

[krissy]

new goal is to platinum demon's souls
i only beat it once and i did it in a fearful 'use-bow-everywhere' approach
had no idea wtf upgrading was all about really
but im a new man after dark souls

[Ultima Shadow]

Ah, the order FINALLY arrived yesterday. Was about freaking time. :greenie:








http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar2.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
"Oh yeah! Look, Bern! I made
it through the first 5 hours
without dying even once!"










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/ShadsAvatar6.png
"...because you've been sitting
at the first bonfire for 5 bloody
hours straight, you damn coward."
"...details, details!"







-------------------------------------------------------------




So... I decided to go with a Pyromancer, mainly because of awesome fireballs and one of the cooler-looking standard equipments. During my initial encounter with the Asylum Demon, I decided to take him on right off the bat - because, I was a pretty badass-looking pyromancer after all. My face might not have been the hottest at that specific moment because of some minor undead issues such as my flesh looking like it's rotting, but hey... you can't have everything. I was still the baddest boy in town, and no silly first-boss demon would stand in my way.

...after hitting the demon once for like 2 damage, and then getting launched across the room, losing over half my health from the demon's counter-attack, I quickly changed my attitude and decided that getting the hell out of there was, in fact, a more attractive idea than staying and fighting to the last breath.

Picking up a handy Hand Axe, I could pack a bit more of a punch and by the time I got back to the demon, I had a slightly better idea of how everything worked gameplay-wise and I made it through the Asylum without any real problems, save that initial encounter with the Asylum Demon where I had to run away, crying like a little girl.


My first death then came from exploring the new ruin-like place and finding the innocent-looking graveyard. Well... not that innocent looking. But hey... how bad could a few skeletons be? We all know that skeletons go flying in pieces from one hit, are semi-slow and predictable and... HOLY CRAP, THEY TANK LIKE BEASTS, ARE EVERYWHERE AND 2-SHOTTING ME!

...so I decided to take a different route. Luckily, the next couple of enemies I encountered were much, much easier and I can only assume that the Undead Burg is where I was supposed to head, while that graveyard was most certainly not.





http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel5.png
"...and then you fall off a cliff, while
trying to evade the trap at those
stairs. That was truly hilarious."





Yeah, but save that... I think I've been doing pretty well. Managed to defeat the demon on the bridge on the first attempt...






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
"...only to go back and die on
the black knight in the alley a couple
of times. And then a few more times."




...but I defeated him eventually! Got that awesome ring of something-something...





http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel3.png
"...only to get destroyed by the
second black knight at the top
of the tower... many, many times."



...it became so much easier when I realised I could just parry his slow attacks and counter. Once I took that appraoch, it was a pretty easy battle actually. I have a "try again until I win" approach rather than a "save it for later when I'm stronger" approach, you see.



I've just met with Mr. Blacksmith and picked up a Halberd-weapon which I've fallen in love with. I also bought a decent sheild from the blacksmith with 100% physical damage reduction. I also got the Halberd upgraded to +2.

[Pete for President]

Parrying the Black Knights right out of the Burg: impressive! Praise thou mentality. And the Halberd is a blast to use indeed :p

I too underestimated the skeletons when I first came from the Asylum. I got so excited when I first managed to beat one... but then my jaw dropped when it re-assembled itself like nothing happened.

[Quindiana Jones]

Yeah, that whole starting area is a work of genius. Mad, cruel genius. Throwing a damn near unbeatable area right where every newbie will find themselves is a great way to introduce them to the fundamental mentality of the game. :D

[TrollHunter]

I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy ultimas playthrough of this game. You fall for all the fun traps, but you're able to figure it all out through the skin of your teeth. Not to mention beating the taurus demon on the bridge first try and parrying the black knight are both quite impressive for your stage of the game.

[black orb]

>>> Doing the "Snuggly" trick to get 99 Twinkling Titanite.. I was skeptical at first but it really works!..:luca:

BTW, why this game is "M" rated? :confused:
I have seen more nudity and violence in a FF game..

[kotora]

Decided to take a detour from beating the crocodile dragon in the sewers, and instead went to the Darkroot Garden. Looks like I'm gonna have to do some farmin' to be able to open that door :|

[Quindiana Jones]

BTW, why this game is "M" rated? :confused:
I have seen more nudity and violence in a FF game..

Why did Miss Trunchbull hide the delicious chocolate? Because children are shit and don't deserve nice things. :colbert:

[kotora]

Time to take on the big wolf. Looks like armor's pretty much useless, so I dropped all the heavy armor stuff and I gotta evade his attacks. So far got a couple hits in, but even a single strike can be deadly :monster:

[TrollHunter]

If you can beat Sif this early than congratulations.
Fighting him later makes him a cakewalk... fighting him where you are actually makes him quite a formidable opponent.
I wish you luck~ He's a great and fun boss.

[kotora]

He doesn't seem that hard, his moves are pretty limited, just like that giant butterfly. Just can't afford to get hit by a single one of his sword swipes. He seems to be easier to hit at the fog gate, where his movement is more limited.

[Ultima Shadow]

I forgot to add that the Drake did catch me by surprise on the bridge the first time around too, reducing me to ashes in an instant. Guards in Skyrim sometimes say: "watch the skies, traveler", trying to warn you about dragon attacks. That line seem to apply more to Dark Souls though, since the dragons in Skyrim usually tell you they are coming with their roars like five minutes before actually attacking... unlike this sneaky, ambushing Drake-bastard. :p


Anyhow, I went downstairs from the blacksmith and found a not-so nice guy trying to shoot me down with electric stuff. Not too hard to evade though, so I bought like 300 wooden arrows for my shortbow which I had also bought from a nice little undead merchant earlier in the Undead Burg. Then, back to that lightning-shooting semi-boss guy and running left and right, firing a large amount of puny little arrows while dodging those lightning-balls until he finally went down.


Before I went too far into the area behind that guy (Darkroot Guarden I think it was), I went back to the church though since there was some places in there I had yet to explore. After taking down a couple of semi-tough opponents and a hoard of weak zombies/undeads, I climb some ladders and find one of those white mist-doors. At this particular moment, I have almost 4000 souls - which might not be a huge amount later on, but at this moment felt like a lesser fortune. Or at the very least worth like 2-3 level ups (I was level 18). But before the thought "returning to the bonfire before I lose it all" crossed my mind, I found myself entering the white door... and a few seconds later found myself face to face with a big Gargoyle swinging its massive weapon at my face. I managed to survive until a second Gargoyle joined in, but then I got overwhelmed and died.






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel5.png
"Owned."





...so, I had the choice to just leave all of those 4000 souls behind, or... I could go all the way back and try my luck once more. Of course, I went with the later. And got my ass handed to me again. Now, since I killed some more guys on my way to those Gargoyles the second time, and did manage to "recover" my dead body before dying again, the amount of souls on stake had increased a little bit as well. So I obviously headed back a third time. With similar results. However... after a little while I did start to get the hang of it, tried to get the first Gargoyle down as fast as possible (after recovering my body which I did first of all each time) by two-handing my weapon and then switching to sheild when only one remained... and on my maybe 8th-10th or so attempt I finally beat them, not only recovering my lost souls but also gaining an additional whooping 15,000. Plus, I rang the first bell. Yarrr!



So... I guess it's time to head down and try reaching this Blight Town place where the second bell is supposed to be. :greenie:



But before that, I headed to the Darkroot Garden. Since I got myself a Black Knight Sword from one of the two black knights I killed, I leveled up my strength and dexterity until I could wield it. And damn does it hit hard, but damn does it hit slow. I'm using it as a secondary weapon atm, for those moments when pure power is required. Two-shotting the sleeping giant guys in the Darkroot Garden before they even manage to stand up properly was a pretty good use for it for example. I also found the elite knight armour which look pretty awesome. My "Pyromancer" is turning more and more into a warrior-style character.

I made it to that flying butterfly-like boss at the end of Darkroot Garden and beat it on my second try. Almost got it on first try, but screwed up the timing once when trying to evade its energy bullets and was basically instant-killed by having 3 of them hit me at the same time.



And before heading down towards the second bell far below, I decided to visit one last area. The other Darkroot place with these crystal golems. And there... in the far distance... I saw it. Something that I thought was waaay too far away to even notice me. And yet, suddenly... all of its heads spewed light, all aimed at me, and...




http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
"Hydra - 1. Shads - 0."
Other deaths, aside from those already mentioned,
included but were not limited to: getting ganked by
trees, eaten by trees and getting slaughtered by
giants while being distracted by trees."

[TrollHunter]

The only move that is really a threat from sif is his double spinning attack. That move destroys everything.
Other than that he is very straightforward and not too big of a deal. He is quite fun though, and is pretty much a very small taste of what the DLC is like.


EDIT:
Oh, and Ultima... Here's a slight tip for that little black knight sword of yours.
If you can find a certain glowing lizard... do not let it escape. Hunting these lizards is the key to unlocking that swords potential.
Also: Buy the weapon/armor upgrade boxes, and the repair box. You will need them.

[Pete for President]

Haha those trees just want some noms Ultima!

[Ultima Shadow]

Thanks for the tips, Trollhunter. I actually already got the repair box. :greenie: The hydra turned out to be a lot easier than I thought once I realised its pattern and how to evade its attacks. Was a bit too impressed by its size and range, and thought it was like the ultimate super boss or something. :p






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel3.png
"This battle did give us one of the most stupid
deaths so far, however: accidently running into the
deep water right after dealing the final blow to the
boss, resulting in having to beat the boss once again
since its death animation hadn't quite finished."





I traveled down into the dark ruins of New Londo - encountered ghosts and ran away in fear as I realised that I could not seem to hurt them by any means. And so, I found a different route - with my Master Key I could open the way to the Valley of Drakes. A place that sound like pretty bad news, considering how nasty that drake at the bridge in the beginning was. But without even encountering a single drake, save an undead one (which was taken care of with bow, arrow and safe distance), I found myself a path leading straight to Blight Town!

Not too much bad stuff on my way through Blight Town, save a few cases of Toxic. Luckily I had stocked up on super-awesome mega-moss of salvation during my tree-killing spree. And so I soon reached the Chaos Witch Quelaag. This battle really wasn't hard once you got it figured out either - her normal melees just didn't hit me at all as long as I stayed close. After the battle, I also bothered to rate one of those messages on the ground for the first time - "amazing chest ahead" was spot-on.




http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png[
"You disappoint me, Quelaag. Calling
yourself something as flashy as a
chaos witch, and then going down
that easily to someone like Shads. I
should teach you a thing or two about
real witches, you wanna-be."




...But at least she really did have a pretty amazing chest!



So the second bell has been rung. Door to evil place swarming with Lizardmen opened. But before I went there... I joined the chaos servants. And upon my return to the firelink shrine, I found out that the keeper had been murdered! Oh no, a valuable respawn point has been lost! =(


Then, I discovered a new place with dogs, assassins and a Capra Demon. Managed to beat the Capra Demon after two failed attempts by just heading for the stairs to make the demon and the dogs line up a bit more so I could deal with them one at a time.


I also looked up how to get back to the Undead Asylum after finding some Undead Asylum key. Went there, and killed a few black knights and that big demon boss.


...now, this hellish place with boulders and lizardmen and traps and... even chests that want to eat you, is a pretty troublesome area. Though I'll probably make it through soon, as I've finally made it to a bonfire on a balcony. And that's where I am at this moment. :greenie:






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel5.png
"...don't forget the glorious death
where you decided to take the
lift up another floor only to get
smashed against spikes. Your
despairing face was hilarious."

[Quindiana Jones]

Everybody who's died by falling into the water during or immediately after the Hydra battle, raise your hand.

*every Dark Souls player raises their hand*

[NeoCracker]

I actually never died falling into the water. :p

[krissy]

i got white world tendency in 2-1,2-2,2-3 and i picked up the dragon bone smasher finally after all these years

go back to show it to scirvil, he's not there

i check my tendency and it's not white anymore. i've defeated all the bosses, so there's really no way for me to get it back up again.

if you guys are ever going for world tendency changes with demon's souls, do it OFFLINE. online, you're affected by the worlds of players around you. it could also be me returning to nexus using nexial binding; not sure if that's relevant, but frick. now i can't get that pure stone he's got, and thus can't forge for that weapon on this playthrough (i'm not sure it's worth my time to grind for the drop, as its very rare. maybe i'll ask someone to give me some online).

[black orb]

dark ruins of New Londo - encountered ghosts
>>> I hate those ghosts, I used to kill them with just one hit in my first playthrough, but now I need to swing my blade 2 times to kill them and that mean death for me :eep:..:luca:

[krissy]

guys if you use the transient curse item, you can attack and defend using any weapon and shield. it lasts for a few minutes, and they usually drop enough of them while you're using it too.

alternatively you can curse yourself for real in the depths but that's stupid (and i've also done it on my first playthrough and had to leave the depths and fix myself haha)

[NeoCracker]

I just said smurf it and ran through it and avoided fighting those smurfing ghosts whenever possible.

Edit: Also, Shads. Please tell me I'm not the only one with an Awkward boner when facing the Chaos Witch. :(

[Slothy]

Got back into some Dark Souls after god knows how long of not playing at all (just find my last posts in this thread if you feel so inclined to know).

Had a fairly productive day yesterday. Started off by summoning Beatrice and curb stomping the Moonlight Butterfly. Eventually made my way to the Capra Demon as well and summoned another player to help me kill him too. I basically hid in a corner taking the occasional pot shot while he did most of the work. :D

Made my way into the Depths after that, and since I was still in human form, got invaded by some dude while I was fighting one of those butcher guys near the beginning. He was pretty nice though. He waited for me to finish fighting him, dropped a Lightning Spear for me (which is awesome since I didn't have one yet) and then we bowed and he killed me in about five seconds. Still, he was kind enough to bow again as my body dissolved away. All in all not a bad few hours.

[Ultima Shadow]

Edit: Also, Shads. Please tell me I'm not the only one with an Awkward boner when facing the Chaos Witch. :(Getting turned on by a huge, burning spider-monster trying to kill you is awkward? =O And here I thought my boner was perfectly natural!





So..... made it through the fortress and beat that giant Iron Golem with ease. Just stayed really close and circled around his attacks while wacking away with my Black Knight sword. Oh, and I've developed a habit of always hitting treasure chests once before opening them after that first encounter with a mimic.

Anyhow... off to Anor Londo I went, where every enemy I encountered seemed to be a massive mini-boss at first. After a little while, I figured how to kill them quickly though and without too much effort. Gargoyle attacks me and is defeated, dropping a Gargoyle helmet, and... then a phantom invades and attacks me out of nowhere, preventing me from leaving the small little bridge I fought the gargoyle on. Having all my flasks used up and 0 PvP experience, I eventually ended up backstabbed and killed.




http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
"You were gettingt too confident
only because you could handle the
normal enemies in the area. I just felt
I had to remind you that you should never
let your guard down in this game."



...luckily I had rested at the Bonfire just a little bit back, so it was no big deal.



Then, after finding out how to proceed and beting some ninja-guys dressed in white, things started to get tricky. Or rather... one specific point where two silver knights are shooting at me with big arrows that make me move several steps backwards if blocked while I'm balancing on really bad footing and any wrong move would result in me falling to my death... yeah, that part was really, really tricky. But after many failed attempts, I made it through, and I found a second bonfire. I was saved. Or so I thought. But in this happy moment, I only lit the bonfire. I didn't rest at it right away. And then, out of nowhere... it happens again. "You have been invaded". Of course, the bonfire is right there and I could just press X and sit down by it at any moment. But for some reason, I thought I already did. And when the invader rushes into the bonfire room only seconds after the invasion started, I was so distracted that resting by the bonfire just didn't cross my mind at all.

I did manage to get a few hits in this time, but dealt pretty puny damage on a healthbar that looked much greater than my own. Then some kind of white blast-miracle magic thing eats away more than half my health and a follow-up finishes me off.





http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel6.png
"I'll admit: that one was just for the lulz."




Realising that I never actually rested at the bonfire as I respawned at the previous one, was... well... not my most pleasant gaming experience ever. But oh well. Made it back again, after another couple of deaths. Then, I made sure I rested at the bonfire at least five times over.


Some of the silver knights with spears managed to screw me over a few times, but mostly because of me messing up. I found a giant blacksmith, who's totally awesome. I really gotta say I love the blacksmiths in this game. They got style. Strong I am, forge I can, bitches!

And then... I encounter them.





http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel5.png
"Smough and Ornstein - how I love thee."





Toughest boss battle in this game so far. By far. I got destroyed in seconds the first time. Second time, I decided to try splitting them up and focusing on Ornstein. It went so-so, but I sticked to that same strategy until I finally managed to beat Ornsteain. The Smough powered up and I got half of his HP down before he managed to 1-hit me right after I healed myself. When I beat Ornstein the second time, I had Smough figured out though and could evade all his attacks by once again sticking close to him. Staying close to your foes seem to be the trick for a lot of the battles. Still... this battle was so intense and had my heart pounding. Beating a boss hasn't given me this feeling of achievement in a pretty long time.






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Yukari2.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
"I'm still harder though. Just saying."
"Shut up and go die in a fire, Yukari."





So now I have the lord vessel and can warp between bonfires - something that's VERY handy. Awesomsauce! :greenie:

[NeoCracker]

It's more the realization that the place you would put your penis is a giant killer spider that's probably going to destroy it that makes it awkward.

[Ultima Shadow]

Just settle for oral, and all is good.

[NeoCracker]

Part of me doubts she is willing to settle, being a flaming hell demon and all.

[Ultima Shadow]

Just compliment her long, slender legs and she'll become as soft as a puppy. Or rip you to pieces. Probably the later now that I think about it.

[NeoCracker]

Worse ways to go I guess.

[TrollHunter]

........ANYWAY here's a few tips.
Try not to rely on summons for bosses if you really don't need them, and if you do summon... please try to fight alongside them as much as you can.
I co-op all the time and nothing is more frustrating to me than when my host makes me play the game for them.
That's all up to you and I won't bash you if you do... but just think of the summons! Half the fun of co-op is fighting a hard-fought battle with your host.

And there's a way of knowing the difference between a mimic and a normal chest without even hitting them.
I'll let you figure that out though.

Also, Ornstein and Smough. They took me 2 days of straight attempts (probably totaling over 20-30 attempts) on my base vitality no shield no upgraded flasks/kindled bonfire character.
I basically have them mastered at this point ._.

And congratulations on beating them by the way ^^
That Black Knight Sword could last you till the end of the game if you don't want to farm for upgrade materials. It's a great weapon.
I'd say you're halfway done, but the second half is a LOT shorter considering everything you don't need to do now.

[Ultima Shadow]

I actually don't use summons at all - want to complete the game, especially the bosses, all by myself first time around. :p

Also, I went to the painted world of something-something. Those bird-people/harpies can be quite a pain. It's a pretty awesome place though. While some of the enemies are annoying, I love the atmosphere there and those... corpse-pile things with spears. Just... damn, that was creepy in an awesome way the first time I ran into them.

And at the end... I COULDN'T DO IT! Yes, I let Priscilla live. You just can't attack a peaceful person with a fluffy white cat tail.




http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
"...you bloody whimp."




And yeah, I bought a few twinkeling titanite shards from the giant blacksmith and got it upgraded to +4. The sheer power is unmatched by any other weapon I have.:greenie:


Oh, and when you mentioned Sif earlier, I thought it was the Hydra. I only now actually fought that wolf - completely missed him earlier when I first got to the forest. Beat him on first try, but I might have been a bit more powerful than I should have for the battle at this point. After Smough and Ornstein, it was certainly a walk in the park. Once again, sticking close enough to the enemy worked wonders.

[TrollHunter]

I kill her for the weapon you can make with her soul~
It's so beautiful. She comes back to me in NG+ anyway.
And I'm pretty sure the painted world is one of my favorite places in the game.
It was actually the first place I ever did proper PvP in, and co-op there can be fun too.

Love everything about that place.

Also yeahhh, sifs a cakewalk if you wait too long. Poor guy. He's a very fun boss though.

[black orb]

>>> Here is another tip: Use the Binoculars and the Sunlight Maggot helm at Gwynevere room.. :luca:

[kotora]

Went down the ladders to the Darkroot Basin. As I was climbing down the ladder, the hydra spit his balls at me. Then I fell to my death :monster:

[Pete for President]

Went down the ladders to the Darkroot Basin. As I was climbing down the ladder, the hydra spit his balls at me. Then I fell to my death :monster:

Fun times :greenie:

[TrollHunter]

Brothers hogging the xbox like crazy... says "you'll be able to make that new build once you graduate"
Yeah, fuck you too. I'd rather NOT wait 20 days just to make a quick build.

[Madame Adequate]

Went down the ladders to the Darkroot Basin. As I was climbing down the ladder, the hydra spit his balls at me. Then I fell to my death :monster:

Ahaha I've been there man! I know that feel.

I'm in Anor Londo now but I'm still trying to get the hang of fighting those demon guys with the lightning spears. I've always completely switched my build from being very tanky and heavily armored to being very lightly armored and using an Uchiganata/Buckler. I can actually dodge now!

[Andio]

Any Dark Souls 2 Thread yet?

[TrollHunter]

Any Dark Souls 2 Thread yet?

Yes there is one. Let me link it for you.
http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/147114-confirmed-dark-souls-2-a.html

There we go.

Still loving devil may cry 3. This game has such a high skill ceiling and depth of combat I just can't get bored of it.

[Ultima Shadow]

Was busy for a few days, but I've been able to play some more still.



So, I found out that in order to join the Darkwraiths, I have to give the Lord Vessel to a different serpent than Frampth. And since Bernkastel claims that:






http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1989/bernkastel2.png
"Belonging to any covenant that's neither
neutral evil nor chaotic evil, makes you
a puny little goody two shoes pansy."





...I looked up where to find this other serpent. And so, I returned to the ghost-ruins, brought some of those anti-ghost items and made it through to the lever that removed the water without too much trouble. The "darkwraith guys" I encountered seemed dangerous at first, but got predictable neough after a while that I could handle them without any problems. And so, I faced off against the four kings, and managed to outpower them on my second try by using the black knight sword and two handing it, avoiding the most dangerous attacks and healing whenever I took a little bit too much damage. Not a very difficult battle at the end of the day.



After joining the darkwraiths, I went back to Anor Londo and then the archives of wisdom + crystal cave. After reaching the second bonfire, I tried to invade as a proper darkwraith for the first time - and found a person who seemed to be of similar level. Before our battle started, he began to summon a phantom however. So I rushed in there, in an attempt to take him down before the summoning would complete. We fought very evenly, and both had very low health when the summoned phantom arrived and unleashed one of those firestorm spells, which got me. So, I am defeated, and immediately when this happens, the guy I fought makes one of the gestures to celebrate his victory, and gets hit by an arrow in the back - which is just enough to finish him off - from one of the skeletons with bow in the area which he hadn't killed. It was hilarious, and the timing was perfect. I saw it as a small victory. :p



Afterwards, I went into the crystal cave and fell hopelessly to my death a few times before I had the invisible paths figured out. Then, I fought Seath the scaleless and... I gotta say that he probably is one of the easiest bosses in this game, which was a bit of a disappointment. It was just way too easy to avoid all of his attacks. =O



I invaded inside the crystal cave 3 times after that, and managed to win twice. Yay! Though I almost felt bad for it once, since this guy I invaded had made it almost completely to the end of the cave, just before entering the boss room.



Anyhow, deciding to save more invasions and such for later, I went to the demon ruins after talking to this awesome pyromancer-girl selling awesome pyromancy spells. I beat the big fire-demon thingy, whose name I can't quite remember so that the lava disappered. Then, I headed further down, fighting crazy demon people and giant centipedes until another Asylum Demon copy (this one on fire) appeared. I beat that one pretty easily too and then ran into a REALLY big centipede-thingy. This boss proved a little bit more difficult, but I managed to cut its tail off, getting a handy anti-lava ring, and beat it shortly after.



And so, I went even further, walking through massive lakes of lava - seem like it'd be impossible without the anti-lava ring - until I found a bonfire.


Then, I eventually ran into the Bed of Chaos, which killed me a fair amount of times before I finally could take it down. Most of the deaths came from being sent flying into the cracks and falling to my death.


So, I returned to this pyromancer chick and now I got the Fire Tempest pyromancy. Yarrr!

[kotora]

Took down the hydra. He's not that hard once you get close and cut a couple of heads off, because it can't even hit you then :monster: on the other hand, it doesn't help that part of the last head is hiding inside a mountain:

http://i.imgur.com/DOhoD9Z.jpg

[Pete for President]

Haha yeah the Hydra is quite good at hide and seek. Or at least one of his heads. Some others are so quick they become really hard hit even without clipping through a wall. It's wise to always have a bow and a few arrows with you for these kind of situations :cool:

Edit; And Ultima, not to be rude but do I smell the use of a guide? :eek:

[TrollHunter]

Haha yeah the Hydra is quite good at hide and seek. Or at least one of his heads. Some others are so quick they become really hard hit even without clipping through a wall. It's wise to always have a bow and a few arrows with you for these kind of situations :cool:

Edit; And Ultima, not to be rude but do I smell the use of a guide? :eek:

I shamefully admit that my first playthrough was heavily influenced by the use of guides. Hell, I only bought the game due to a walkthrough I was watching at the time.
STRIKE ME DOWN NOW AS YOU SEE FIT! :x_x:

[Ultima Shadow]

Edit; And Ultima, not to be rude but do I smell the use of a guide? :eek:
Not as much guide/walkthrough, as simply looking up a few missable things on a wiki. But yeah. I really don't want to miss any important missable things in a game where I can't reload a previous savefile (I simply cannot bear to miss out completely on a cool spell or weapon or whatever), so I checked how to become part of each covenant a little while ago. I only use guides for things like that though, so no spoilers or step-by-step guides that would ruin my own exploration of the game. :p

...and I will admit that I looked up how to get that fire-storm spell (from the pyromancer/bed of chaos) right after that phantom beat me with it during my invasion. I had one of those "oh mah gawsh, I must have that!" moments. And I'll also admit that I'd probably never have found that pyromancer otherwise. :monster:

[TrollHunter]

funfact: those big bulges on top of their heads aren’t the basilisks’ eyes: http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/Img0067.jpg/321034932/448x295/Img0067.jpg

look carefully at the “nose”
This is news to me as I never closely looked at these guys.
So cool!

[krissy]

yeah! i learned about that when i was trying to figure out why i was cursed suddenly!

[Slothy]

Beat the Gaping Dragon on my first attempt a couple of days ago. It was a surprisingly smooth fight.

[Jowy]

did you cut off the tail?

[Slothy]

I tried attacking it repeatedly but I must have been a bit off or something since it never fell off. Too late now I guess. And is it just me or does the game have a bit of a tail cutting fetish?

[TrollHunter]

It does. We've tried to get it help... But alas its stuck in its ways

"Ohhhhh yeah cut off that tail~"

Creepy game.
And there are only a few bosses with tails that cant be cut off.

[Quindiana Jones]

I'm pretty sure the only ones who can't have their tails removed are the ones without tails to begin with.

That is quite the hefty fetish, From Soft. :/

[TrollHunter]

The only exception i can think of right now is manus. He has a tail that cant be cut

The asylum demon and taurus demon also count

[Quindiana Jones]

Aye, them's a few. You can't cut the Undead Dragon's off either, can you?

[Slothy]

Any guesses on what they do with the tails?

[TrollHunter]

I dont think i really want to know.

[Quindiana Jones]

Use them as weapons, duh.

Then make out with them.

[TrollHunter]

The dragon king greataxe does seem like a great kisser...

[Ultima Shadow]

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, I finally beat the game.





First of all, I did explore the super annoying catacombs a while ago, but I think I forgot to mention it. I beat the boss there but never went far in the Tomb of Giants since I lacked any reliable light sources. I also went into the sewers and took care of the Gaping Dragon - but also failed to cut its tail off. Ack, another missable thing missed! =(



Now, after clearing pretty much all the other areas, I went back to the Tomb of Giants after getting "cast light". And damn, this area can be pretty nasty even with a light source. But after falling to my death twice for not slowing down enough, I found a bonfire inside the tomb. Nice.



Being kicked down a cliff by some nasty guy, getting back up and smashing him to bits, I proceeded even further and collected a pretty large amount of souls along the way. And then, I finally found Nito. At this point, I had like... 50,000 unused souls or so. And I soon ended up surrounded by skeletons and dead.


But I made it back there again, reaching a whooping 80,000 souls after recovering my body. Then, my plan was to warp out with a homeward bone so I could use these souls to level up...






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel6.png
"But the item was interupted by one
of Nito's attacks, and he once again
ended up surrounded and killed before
he could escape. Then, on his way
back, he accidently fell off a cliff,
losing those 80,000 souls permanently."





I sat there for a while, then decided to just take a deep breath, and... throw the controller out the window. I mean... "try again". *ahem*



The next time I made it to Nito, I did manage to beat him though, and so I returned to the altar of the lordvessel and opened the door to Gwyn's place. One of the black knights I fought dropped a Black Knight Greatsword, which - while perhaps being a little bit slower, was still even more awesome than my normal Black Knight Sword. Especially considering my character got like 38 strength. So I went back and upgraded it to +5, and then returned once more to fight Gwyn this time.


The final battle felt a bit weird. I both like it and silike it at the same time. The only thing that really made it feel like a final battle was the music to be honest. No cinematic, like many of the normal bosses had. And once I, after some attempts, beat Gwyn, the end of the battle didn't really feel special either. It like a more "empty battle" than a final boss battle "should", yet at the same time that very thing also fit the atmosphere of the game as a whole really well, and made it stand out from final bosses in other games. Still, part of me wish there had been just... "something more" to the ending.






http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
"You are just too used to all these
spoon-feeding 30 min endings made
for crybabies. An ending like that
would just have completely ruined
the atmosphere of a game like this."





...but still! Just... something more! :(





Anyhow, rather than starting NG+, I've been thinking about making a new character that I put a bit more thought into, instead of just spreading my stats out like a jack of all trades when I level up. Just need to think of a good, cool, funny build...








http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel6.png
"Go for a resistance-focused deprived.
It's... totally the best build, bare none"










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2938/mio1.pnghttp://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5144/rydia1.png
"Actually, me and Rydia already started a new game!"
"Yes, and we just got the basement key in the Undead Burg!"










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Mio7.pnghttp://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5144/rydia1.png
♪ "Basement key, basement key,
is everything a key can be!"
"Unlocks a door, not much more,
cuz that is just what keys are for!"
"Watch out - we got a basement key!" ♫










http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel2.png
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2938/mio1.pnghttp://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5144/rydia1.png
"Hey, Rydia? Let's colour this sad world
with magical prism stones of love!"
"Oh, I'd love to!"











http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2938/mio1.pnghttp://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5144/rydia1.png
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
"Excuse me. I... have to puke."

[Quindiana Jones]

I haven't been playing recently. New Vegas, then Bioshock, now Tomb Raider have gotten in the way. I would like to do a Strength build somewhere down the line, though. Never used Strength weapons before.

[TrollHunter]

My original characters fight with gwyn was easily the most epic thing ive ever experienced in all my time in dark souls. Murakumo with fire resign, and no shield (looking back, idk why i didnt use one. i thought i looked too cool without one i think) It took like 10 tries but it was SO COOL when i did it. Had like 2 hp left when he fell.

Once you get confident, try a no shield run
Or maybe a SL 1 build.

Since you seem to have gone with strength this run... Maybe try some of the dex weapons out?
Perhaps some of the halberds? Curved greatswords?

MAYBE THE DRAGON BONE FIST?
Maybe a badass pickaxe build that makes use of the leo ring (this build rapes EVERYTHING if used well)

Hmmmmm...

EDIT: quinter, once you go strength, you seriously cant go back. Black knight greatsword is one of my favorites.

[Ultima Shadow]

Yeah, while I put random points in both faith and intelligence, it was mainly a strength-focused build. And the Black Knight Greatsword is indeed very easy to fall in love with.

I think I'll try to skip the use of sheild as much as possible on my second run actually. And some kind of dex-build sound pretty attractive. Or perhaps a mage.


Also, out of curiosity: which platforms are people here playing on? I do it on PS3. :greenie:

[TrollHunter]

Xbox, though i plan to get a ps3 this summer.
And no shield dex runs are so fun. Its a very fun way to play.
Still cant figure out how to beat kalameet without a shield...

[Quindiana Jones]

My current run is Dex/Int, so I think my next will be Str/Faith. I would like to play with Lightning Spears, I think.

[TrollHunter]

Go 50 strength 30 faith
You get all the fun toys if you go that route ^^

Also, i sense a lot of jolly co-operation in your future~

[Pete for President]

After having played several strength builds I can't say 50 is worth it. 46 max, if you want to use the Demon's Greataxe but 40 is plenty so you can use the Demon Great Machete and still make most of the best strength scaling weapons. Lighter ones like the large/great club and normal greataxe are perfect without weighing way too much, and even the pickaxe/mace/reinforced club can be devastating. I also wouldn't recommend the Black Knight weapons if you're going for a maximum efficiency build. Put those 10 shaved off by strength + 8-10 shaved off by dex into Int or Fai and buff that great club into one gloriously glowing stick made for extreme pounding. Heh.

One tip Ultima; I wouldn't recommend leveling resistance, no-one ever levels it due to... not being useful. But feel free to prove everyone wrong :p

Been playing quite some bit on a friends' PS3 I borrowed. Finished my no-talking challenge which wasn't too hard. Started a fist weapons only challenge. The guy is ready to take on the Gargoyles. Should be fun. And obviously the ganker hunting never stops.

[TrollHunter]

If efficiency was the only thing everyone cared about we'd all be using vit gouged chaos rapier hornet ring builds. It isnt everything
48 strength allows you to use the forest guardian axe, which is one of the funnest weapons in the game, 50 allows you to use the dragon king greataxe and dragon greatsword; BOTH of which are badass by the way, and kick Ass too.

And the black knight weapons are obscenely fun to use, and every strength build i have has a minimum of 18 dex for them.
Strength builds are mainly because they're AWESOMELY BADASS, why limit their badassery and fun factor?

And ultima was kidding about the resistance deprived.

[Jowy]

Go 50 strength 30 faith
You get all the fun toys if you go that route ^^

This man is exactly right. Take out Gwyndolin for Sunlight Blade too...that and a +15 Zwei is essentially playing whack-a-mole with everything in front of you.

Fist weapons only seems like a blast. You gonna use the Dragon Bone Fist at all or just dual caestus?

[Pete for President]

If efficiency was the only thing everyone cared about we'd all be using vit gouged chaos rapier hornet ring builds. It isnt everything
48 strength allows you to use the forest guardian axe, which is one of the funnest weapons in the game, 50 allows you to use the dragon king greataxe and dragon greatsword; BOTH of which are badass by the way, and kick Ass too.

And the black knight weapons are obscenely fun to use, and every strength build i have has a minimum of 18 dex for them.
Strength builds are mainly because they're AWESOMELY BADASS, why limit their badassery and fun factor?

And ultima was kidding about the resistance deprived.

You can get the fun of those 48-50 strength weapons - 2hand them. It's where their special powers lie anyway. As for all the fun, pump those points saved in both faith and int and you get an even more diverse build. And you never know with relatively new players, anyone who doesn't read into it levels a bit of resistance on their first playthrough. Prevention is everything my friend.



Fist weapons only seems like a blast. You gonna use the Dragon Bone Fist at all or just dual caestus?

I'm not sure yet. I reckon the Dragon Bone Fist won't be that useful without the Dragon Scales to power it up... and I'd hate to farm the Drakes with fist weapons only! So for now I'll stick to dual Cestus. Dark Hand is prohibited too - no shields allowed! Resins are allowed I guess. I mean, fists on fire. Wreck stuff!

Can't wait to punch the Iron Golem to death :p

[TrollHunter]

If efficiency was the only thing everyone cared about we'd all be using vit gouged chaos rapier hornet ring builds. It isnt everything
48 strength allows you to use the forest guardian axe, which is one of the funnest weapons in the game, 50 allows you to use the dragon king greataxe and dragon greatsword; BOTH of which are badass by the way, and kick Ass too.

And the black knight weapons are obscenely fun to use, and every strength build i have has a minimum of 18 dex for them.
Strength builds are mainly because they're AWESOMELY BADASS, why limit their badassery and fun factor?

And ultima was kidding about the resistance deprived.

You can get the fun of those 48-50 strength weapons - 2hand them. It's where their special powers lie anyway. As for all the fun, pump those points saved in both faith and int and you get an even more diverse build. And you never know with relatively new players, anyone who doesn't read into it levels a bit of resistance on their first playthrough. Prevention is everything my friend.



Fist weapons only seems like a blast. You gonna use the Dragon Bone Fist at all or just dual caestus?

I'm not sure yet. I reckon the Dragon Bone Fist won't be that useful without the Dragon Scales to power it up... and I'd hate to farm the Drakes with fist weapons only! So for now I'll stick to dual Cestus. Dark Hand is prohibited too - no shields allowed! Resins are allowed I guess. I mean, fists on fire. Wreck stuff!

Can't wait to punch the Iron Golem to death :p

That drastically limits their movesets though. The forest guardian axe actually has a decently useful custom 1-h R2 as well, and being able to block AND swing your weapon is always extremely useful. In all reality the only point in putting past 30 faith is if you want a more powerful DMB, and that buff is overpowered as is so I don't see much point there. With int you make a good point, but for my personal preference I see going to either like 28str or 50. I just find missing out the super high strength weapons an invaluable loss as they're my favorites to use and being restricted to 2-h only just kills it for me.

[Quindiana Jones]

Anyone tried a Single Stat run? You pick a stat (or even better, random number generate one!), and ONLY put points into that one stat. Added fun is to make it so that every Soul you make MUST be spent on that stat. :D

So, you end up with Vitality juggernauts who can't hit for shit but can take obscene amounts of damage, or a Strength glass tank, dealing obscene amounts of damage but getting killed by the most delicate of a Gargoyle's farts. It sounds pretty decent.

[Marky Tee]

i really wana play this game but have heard it's quite...painful to play...

[Ultima Shadow]

One tip Ultima; I wouldn't recommend leveling resistance, no-one ever levels it due to... not being useful. But feel free to prove everyone wrong :p

Ah, don't worry - I won't actually do that. One should never take advices from Bernkastel. She's an evil, sadist troll.









http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1989/bernkastel2.png
"What the smurf did you just smurfing
say about me, you hollowed trout?
I'll have you know I graduated as the
most decorated knight in Astora, have
over 300 sunlight medallions, and have
been involved in numerous secret
summonings for the final boss battle. I
am trained in gorilla invasions, and I'm
the top archer in all of Lordran. You are
nothing to me but just another phantom.
I will wipe you the smurf out with parries
the likes of which have never been seen
on this plane, mark my smurfing words."












http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Yukari2.pnghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c344/AGAFURO/Bernkastel1.png
"...see, Bern, this is exactly what I was talking
about when I told you that playing 56 hours
straight wasn't good for your brain."










i really wana play this game but have heard it's quite...painful to play...
It's not actually painful, as long as you don't mind learning by dying and having to replay a few parts a few times. :monster:

[TrollHunter]

i really wana play this game but have heard it's quite...painful to play...

Yep, what Ultima said. It just teaches you how to play games in a different way.
I'd recommend at least checking it out, you may just find it to your liking.


Anyone tried a Single Stat run? You pick a stat (or even better, random number generate one!), and ONLY put points into that one stat. Added fun is to make it so that every Soul you make MUST be spent on that stat. :D

So, you end up with Vitality juggernauts who can't hit for trout but can take obscene amounts of damage, or a Strength glass tank, dealing obscene amounts of damage but getting killed by the most delicate of a Gargoyle's farts. It sounds pretty decent.

I'm actually planning on doing something similar soon. Like my... unkindled bonfires unupgraded flasks no havels/wolf ring or summons character but less insane in terms of rules.
I was going to do pure strength with some endurance thrown in. I think it'd be fun.

[Ultima Shadow]

>And now, I bring you all the greatest thing ever made!< (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi44ajVrmSE)

[kotora]

Made it to the second bonfire in Blighttown. It's not a very hard level, but it was a pain in the ass finding my body where I fell off because everything looks the same and I can't see a fucking thing :monster:

[Pete for President]

This dual Caestus only character is the most fun I've had in quite a while. All the fights are so intense, even the mini bosses. Some of the highlights: beat the Gargoyles solo first try. Capra Demon was a tough challenge without range or shield, but he fell on the second attempt. He did drain all my estus and I had to resort to popping humanity. The butchers were freakishly hard. Gaping Dragon fell easily as always, and even Quelaag fell without too much trouble, it just took ages. Feels great to punch those big creatures to death :p

Now I'm ready for Sen's with a Caestus +9 and rocking the Wolf and Cloranthy ring. Power Within will also be a great help. I might go beat up Pinwheel first so I can kindle in Anor Londo and forge a fire caestus while I'm at it because O&S frighten me.

The best experience so far was being invaded in Upper Blighttown. That troll. He was in full dragon form using the Giant Blacksmith Hammer which indicates he's most likely on NG+, but I bravely stuck to the dual Caestus. We brawled for a bit (really exciting on those ledges) and I was brought to low HP twice. But he got predictable; spamming the dragon roar a lot lead me to dodge and land a backstab, which brought him to the very edge of the platform we fought on. Two kicks were enough to knock him off and he plunged to his death. DON'T MESS WITH DUAL CAESTUS MAN :cool:

[kotora]

Why the hell is my fire keeper at the Firelink shrine dead :colbert:

[TrollHunter]

Why the hell is my fire keeper at the Firelink shrine dead :colbert:

Oh.. no particular reason.
:chuckle:

[krissy]

yes

[Pete for President]

Ahh... that desperation when you return from a hellish trip only to find the Firekeeper dead, ruining your sacred shrine of rest, your safe haven. Such a cunningly executed unpleasant surprise. Here's hoping they pull equal surprises in Dark Souls 2!

[kotora]

To be fair it wasn't really that bad of a trip, I just felt pretty annoyed I couldn't upgrade my flask. I knew that asshole was plotting to kill her, so I should've capped his ass while I could :monster:

[TrollHunter]

Okay, I'm so stealing this build down the road.
So awesome.
[Dark Souls] PvP Build Showcase - Odingandr - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_safWzmYfT8)

[Pete for President]

Okay, I'm so stealing this build down the road.
So awesome.
[Dark Souls] PvP Build Showcase - Odingandr - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_safWzmYfT8)


Haha yeah I've seen that one.. mass destruction! Personally I'd swap one of the Greataxes for a Large Club, trade some coolness points for poison points in correlation with Poison Mist. :roll2

[Ultima Shadow]

Holy crap - killed a phantom during one of my invasions in the forest and got two million souls. What kind of crazy level, I don't even-


Oh well... a quick jump from level 70 to 100-something for my new character. Awesomesauce.

[TrollHunter]

Holy crap - killed a phantom during one of my invasions in the forest and got two million souls. What kind of crazy level, I don't even-


Oh well... a quick jump from level 70 to 100-something for my new character. Awesomesauce.

Pfffffff oh man, that's pretty fantastic.
I have yet to kill a botter that gives out THAT MANY souls. Congratulations.
The most I've seen is like 800k souls at once.

[Quindiana Jones]

God damn, I wish I could PvP. xD

[chionos]

I'm playing this for the first time. Painful isn't exactly the right word. Soul-crushing perhaps. I'm trying not to look at any guides or anything, but man...

Apparently I need to kill an arch-demon to keep going in Boletaria, which I guess means I need to move on to Stonefang Tunnel and beat it, and then come back to Boletaria. But Flamelurker is kicking my ass. He basically one-shots me, which means I can't let him hit me at all, even with the purple shield thingy that has the best flame resistance I can find, and even with the flame resistance ring. It was impossible to get away from him in my heavy armor, so I'm basically naked. My +7 Mace does basically no damage to him at all. I tried using the Thief Ring and sneaking up on him, but that only let me get in like 1 hit and then I'd have to run like mad, and he'd usually manage to get me, but it did allow me to get him down further than any other attempt. I'm sure I'm probably missing something crucial, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. It's not like this game lays anything out for you. I tried different weapons (slashing/piercing/etc.) and nothing seemed to do any better than the Mace. I'm trying to level a Crushing Battleaxe or w/e, b/c it's fully STR based if I'm understanding these weapon stats correctly, but I don't remember where I found the greystones to level it up (only had enough to get it to lvl 2).

So anyway, not asking for advice really, just ranting/whining. lol
I was enjoying the game up until this boss, for whatever it's worth.

[Pete for President]

I'm playing this for the first time. Painful isn't exactly the right word. Soul-crushing perhaps. I'm trying not to look at any guides or anything, but man...

Apparently I need to kill an arch-demon to keep going in Boletaria, which I guess means I need to move on to Stonefang Tunnel and beat it, and then come back to Boletaria. But Flamelurker is kicking my ass. He basically one-shots me, which means I can't let him hit me at all, even with the purple shield thingy that has the best flame resistance I can find, and even with the flame resistance ring. It was impossible to get away from him in my heavy armor, so I'm basically naked. My +7 Mace does basically no damage to him at all. I tried using the Thief Ring and sneaking up on him, but that only let me get in like 1 hit and then I'd have to run like mad, and he'd usually manage to get me, but it did allow me to get him down further than any other attempt. I'm sure I'm probably missing something crucial, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. It's not like this game lays anything out for you. I tried different weapons (slashing/piercing/etc.) and nothing seemed to do any better than the Mace. I'm trying to level a Crushing Battleaxe or w/e, b/c it's fully STR based if I'm understanding these weapon stats correctly, but I don't remember where I found the greystones to level it up (only had enough to get it to lvl 2).

So anyway, not asking for advice really, just ranting/whining. lol
I was enjoying the game up until this boss, for whatever it's worth.

I'm no expert on Demon's Souls, but if you get stuck on the Flamelurker, I'd suggest giving the first levels of the Tower of Latria or Shrine of Storms a shot (assuming you haven't beat those yet). They should be manageable. Heck even the first level of the Valley of Defilement might be manageable. I should play this game again.

As for tips on the Flamelurker, I have to admit I used a summon when I beat him and have no clue how to fight him by myself. :cry:

[krissy]

water veil, and thiefs ring help, cause he forgets you're there if you get far enough away. otherwise, roll away if both his hands go up cause he's doing the big area wide fireball. try to stay behind him i guess? i only managed to melee him properly once. he's a huge dick.

[Slothy]

I totally glitched Flamelurker and hid behind a giant log(?) to the left of his entrance. He spent most of the fight unable to get passed it, though once he finally did I freaked out and lucked into finishing him off in melee. He's easily one of the harder bosses in Demon's Souls for a first timer.

[TrollHunter]

I havent even played demons souls and i know flamelurker is a prick. As said previously i would really recommend going somewhere else for now. You can always come back later.

[Quindiana Jones]

Tips for defeating Flamelurker:

Step One: stop playing Demon's Souls.
Step Two: play Dark Souls instead. :D

[chionos]

I'm just no good at trolling.

Or maybe I'm too good at it. Like ahead of my time or something.