Dark Souls II

[TrollHunter]

Whoohoo more progress. Can't believe how huge this game is, it feels so much bigger than 1. Here we goBeat the Dragonrider duo, Looking Glass Knight, found the Embedded which I thought was freaky and intriguing at the same time, made it through the Shrine of Armana of which the boss was surprisingly easy. I like how the difficulty ramped up in Castle Drangleic. Gonna upgrade a Twinblade for awesomesauceness, not sure which one yet. Either the normal or the Stone version.

I've started reading up on the knowledge about areas I've beaten and I had no idea there were so many NPC's to summon. But I can't recall seeing any of the NPC summon signs. I saw people summon the guy for (SPOILER)the Ruin Sentinels but he surely didn't show up when I went in there. Does anyone know what's up?

Yeah. Going through all the dialogue for every NPC tends to net you some pretty neat things, such as summoning them when you get to certain bosses. The one you're mentioning is located in one of the open cells near the boss fog.

And apart from the Shrine of Amana, I found the entire last portion of the game to be pretty easy. Even the final bosses were pretty easy. The only ones I had difficultly with were the optional bosses you don't even have to bother with in any way.

On that spoilerific note...I finished the game after beating Ancient Dragon and Vendrick. The only boss I have yet to beat, or get to really, is the Darklurker. That was mostly because you are forced to use your Human Effigies get to him. As I said earlier, most of New Game's ending segments were a bit too easy. Heck, the hardest bosses for me were Ancient Dragon and Demon of Song towards the finale. The Dragon was only difficult due to the fact that he OHKO'd me every time if I wasn't exact with my running. The Demon of Song just liked spamming his ram move against me.

I know they added a bunch of phantoms and irritation in New Game + that I want to get to with this character, but I'll save that for later.

As far as the game goes, I very much enjoyed it. It combines great systems from both Demons' Souls and Dark Souls to make a very well rounded entry in the series. I loved the overall layout of the game. It was a fairly neat combination of Dark Souls' open world with Demons' Souls' level like progression. That's about all I'm gonna say for now until I replay this game with a new character build or NG+ it.

Go NG+, it's absolutely terrifying.

[Pete for President]

Whoohoo more progress. Can't believe how huge this game is, it feels so much bigger than 1. Here we goBeat the Dragonrider duo, Looking Glass Knight, found the Embedded which I thought was freaky and intriguing at the same time, made it through the Shrine of Armana of which the boss was surprisingly easy. I like how the difficulty ramped up in Castle Drangleic. Gonna upgrade a Twinblade for awesomesauceness, not sure which one yet. Either the normal or the Stone version.

I've started reading up on the knowledge about areas I've beaten and I had no idea there were so many NPC's to summon. But I can't recall seeing any of the NPC summon signs. I saw people summon the guy for (SPOILER)the Ruin Sentinels but he surely didn't show up when I went in there. Does anyone know what's up?

Yeah. Going through all the dialogue for every NPC tends to net you some pretty neat things, such as summoning them when you get to certain bosses. The one you're mentioning is located in one of the open cells near the boss fog.

And apart from the Shrine of Amana, I found the entire last portion of the game to be pretty easy. Even the final bosses were pretty easy. The only ones I had difficultly with were the optional bosses you don't even have to bother with in any way.

Ah, I also found out that being fully human helps. Or at least, I was able to summon (SPOILER)the Gravewarden for the Velstadt fight. Still fought him solo and it's probably one of my favourite fights. Could be a little harder a-la Artorias, but fun nonetheless. I want his bell weapon! The Crypt was pretty tough.

[TrollHunter]

Whoohoo more progress. Can't believe how huge this game is, it feels so much bigger than 1. Here we goBeat the Dragonrider duo, Looking Glass Knight, found the Embedded which I thought was freaky and intriguing at the same time, made it through the Shrine of Armana of which the boss was surprisingly easy. I like how the difficulty ramped up in Castle Drangleic. Gonna upgrade a Twinblade for awesomesauceness, not sure which one yet. Either the normal or the Stone version.

I've started reading up on the knowledge about areas I've beaten and I had no idea there were so many NPC's to summon. But I can't recall seeing any of the NPC summon signs. I saw people summon the guy for (SPOILER)the Ruin Sentinels but he surely didn't show up when I went in there. Does anyone know what's up?

Yeah. Going through all the dialogue for every NPC tends to net you some pretty neat things, such as summoning them when you get to certain bosses. The one you're mentioning is located in one of the open cells near the boss fog.

And apart from the Shrine of Amana, I found the entire last portion of the game to be pretty easy. Even the final bosses were pretty easy. The only ones I had difficultly with were the optional bosses you don't even have to bother with in any way.

Ah, I also found out that being fully human helps. Or at least, I was able to summon (SPOILER)the Gravewarden for the Velstadt fight. Still fought him solo and it's probably one of my favourite fights. Could be a little harder a-la Artorias, but fun nonetheless. I want his bell weapon! The Crypt was pretty tough.

SPOOKY GHOSTS The more I go through that area the more I love it. Both from a pure atmospheric experience (meeting the gravewarden and talking to him, lighting the torches, the husk of the king after the boss) to a design perspective (the bells spawning enemies, the room with the two sorceresses and how many ways there are to tackle it). It's just an awesome level in my opinion.

[Nicolas]

Yes. The level design of that area was short but sweet. As with all the last few areas, actually. All sparse but full of different ways to go and tackle the obstacles in your way. Pete's comin' up to one of my favorite places in the entire game. It's essentially a fantasy wonderland of my dreams in which I pretty much felt like (SPOILER)Ornstein, or at least what he's known for being. It was a great feeling. I'm really hoping the PC version improves on the graphics end just to see how that area will look.

I'll probably start NG+ this weekend or next week after I beat MGS lite. My major debates now is whether I want to max out the Blue Sentinels, finish collecting the items around NG, use the boss souls for leveling or trades, and actually delve deeper into the dark before I head off to NG+. I really do wanna make a new character though. I'd love to make either my character from Demons' Souls, a dual katana wielding high DEX/INT character, or try out a Hex DEX character. But the first one should be more fun since they intro'd Power Stance which seems to be pretty great for low weight fast weapons based around DEX.

Hell, I'm open for suggestions too.

EDIT: I'm actually curious as the to overall builds and stats you folks are using and how you like them. Stuff like weapons, armor, enchantments, and whatnot that you used through your playthroughs would be cool to read. Also, maybe why you chose them. I'll put my full stuff up when I get a chance tonight.

[Pete for President]

I'm using a fairly standard Dex build. Started out with the swordsman class and kinda stuck with it. The stats are roughly:

20-ish for vigor, endurance and vitality
26 dex
14 strength
32 adaptability

It was kinda dull for a while until I realised Adaptability gives more immunity to your rolls. Pumped that to 32-ish as soon as I found out and since then all fights got a lot more fun. More dodging, less shielding.

Used the falchion and estoc for the first half of the game, then switched the falchion for a blacksteel katana. Turned the estoc into a poison one which works wonders for larger enemies like the turtles and elephants. Standard kite shield and short bow for the left hand.

Standard pretty much sums it up, it's not that exciting as I have yet to find the more interesting weapons. Might upgrade a twinblade if I'm not too lazy to farm some shards.

I wanted to use pyromancy too but since Rosabeth never showed up in Majula that plan kinda got scrapped.

[TrollHunter]

I'll post pictures of it all later but my int build is as follows.
ALL DE NUMBAS
Class: Sorcerer
SLv. 120
VGR: 31
END: 15
VIT: 5
END: 26
STR: 18
DEX: 18
ADP: 8
INT: 40
FTH: 12

Now, this build was interesting to make. The base vitality is because I dont need extra equip load, I get by perfectly fine with base.
Base ADP is because all points in it are better put into attunement when it comes to casters, especially considering just how little points a caster has to work with.
18/18 is for the MLGS, which I have named the dubstep sword and use purely in invasions.
12 faith is to heal in invasions, it was a small investment for a huge payoff.


I have 2 equipment loadouts depending on my environment though.
Duels:
RH: Longsword +10
LH: Magic Staff of Amana +10 / Magic Magic Shield +10 (yes, it is really called that. It's a magic shield infused with magic and its AMAZING. Completely counters high int builds that only know how to deal magic damage.)

Armor: Tattered Cloth Hood +9 / Hexers Robe +5 / Leydia Gauntlets +4 / Dragon Acolyte Boots +9
Reasoning? I like how it looks, and it's light.

Rings: Ring of Blades +1 (As of right now I'm only using my CMW buff in duels so that I can get better at melee range fighting. Else this would be a diff ring)
Third Dragon Ring (RoFaP has returned!)
Ring of Thorns +1 (Quite frankly, this ring is really slept on when compared to the ring of sun. I don't know if this ring can be dodged, it stuns the enemy, and it does over 200 damage.)
Cloranthy Ring +1 (Of course!)

Still working on getting all of my +2 rings, this character only started NG+ Last night.

Spells:
Crystal Magic Weapon
Will implement more when I stop being a scrub at melee combat

So yes, this build is based around me mastering the longsword and understanding the basics on melee range pvp. The limitations I have set for myself here result in me almost always losing, but I'll improve over time without a doubt. Eventually I'll even start using sorceries and getting hatemail!


Invasions:
RH: MLGS +5 / Clerics Sacred Chime +3 (I really should max this out sometime...)
LH: Magic Staff of Amana / Magic Magic shield
Armor: Same
Rings:
Clear Bluestone Ring +2 (I never know when I'll need to quickly cast a soul spear into a crowd or quickly heal to save myself. This ring is essential for heavy casting)
Cloranthy Ring +1
Third Dragon/Ring of Thorns
Bracing Knuckle Ring +2 (So that my dubstep sword never breaks in a single invasion regardless of me spamming dubstep waves)

Spell Loadout
CMW (I've only had to use it once thankfully, I hate buffing the MLGS but in some situations where I'm at a huge disadvantage it can be a potential lifesaver)
Soul Spear
Soul Greatsword
Heal
Great Heavy Soul Spear / Soul Vortex

This build is about killing the filthy sinners who roam Drangleic. I cleanse the world of them with the utmost efficiency. Now, this is basically my all out build... but it very rarely reaches it's final form. I'm not a fan of 1-shotting people so I typically don't buff my sword, and 40 int kind of makes it to where 1-shotting anyone won't be a huge thing. It's a blast though and the dubstep sword is a fatastic weapon even unbuffed and it's moveset lends itself perfectly to invasions. Due to my only limitation being the lack of ability to 1-shot people this build has a huge success rate in invasions. My only loss so far has been to a set of gankers, the like of which I'm not very skilled at fighting yet.


And that's just my mage. I don't even know what I want my Lv.139 quality build to do when it hits 150. I'll get back to that character in time.

[Nicolas]

whee~
Luca
Explorer
SL 125
VGR 15
END 15
VIT 20
ATN 20
STR 25
DEX 16
ADP 12
INT 5
FTH 50

R.H. Lightning Bastard Sword+10, Dark Claymore+10, Witchtree Bellvine+10
L.H. Royal Kite Shield+10, Lightning Shortbow+10

Head Syan's Helm+10
Body Llewellyn Armor+5
Arms Llewellyn Gloves+5
Legs Llewellyn Shoes+5

Rings varied for the most part, but this is the equipment that I grew to love through the course of the game. Kinda went for that high faith crusader feel, I suppose. Works pretty decently in PvP as well. As you can see, faith was high enough to use the assorted Spear Miracles as well as healing myself. It was just a boon in most situations. Very much enjoyed this build. The armor, mostly for looks, is actually pretty good. Lighter weight with good defenses, it got me through the end of Drangleic castle and beyond with no real issuses other than those mages in Amana. Will probably cap this character around 150 if I wanna use it for nothing but PvP. Otherwise, I'll just keep leveling this character for subsequent runs of NG+s.

The Explorer is not a great class to start off as. You get some neat items, but nothing you can't find before you need them, plus the stats are rather low besides ADP. Will probably start every character as Deprived from now on, though.

Your builds both seem like fun. I've never played this game as a sorcerer type, so yours seems like a good goal for me to try, Trollhunter.

Also, I had no idea that ADP was good for that. I know the description mentioned it helped with evasions, but it seems like a pretty great stat to use if that's the case. You noticed a fairly good difference when you upgraded it, yeah? Would it be something you'd want to have at a fairly decent level for any of your other builds?

[Pete for President]

I want to make a strength/faith build so bad. Looking through the inventory I think From really stepped up their game when it comes to hammers and axes!

Progress as of late: (SPOILER)once again I was confused where to go after getting the King Ring, totally forgot there was another King's gate in the Shaded Woods. Had to look it up for I was looking in all the wrong places. Everything from Aldia's Keep, Dragon Aerie and Dragon Shrine was awesome. Why I'm supposed to dive into memories now is a bit unclear. The dragon's words have yet to make sense.

[Pete for President]

Yahtzee reviewed Dark Souls 2 after his very positive DkS1 review a couple weeks ago (one of the few games he was actually positive about and I like his reviews, so I thought I'd post it).

Zero Punctuation Video Gallery | The Escapist

Fact that he hasn't played beyond the initial 4 great souls seems like a setback and sets a negative tone for the review, but I do see a lot of his points: (SPOILER)seeing the scorpion lady boss was just disappointing. They could've at least given her a scorpion head while she herself was the tail or something.

I also completely missed the miracle lady where the path to Heide's tower branches to a new area. I think the ability to warp from the get go has a few big downsides and this is one of the results.

[NeoCracker]

I will say, I still prefer Dark Souls 1, but this game is still great. DS1 had a higher challange, and more boss's that just left an impact from the boss fights. Dark Souls had some amazing boss's like Maw Dragon, who is so horrifying when you first lay eyes on it, or The Chaos Witch.

The only fight that just feels intense from the get go in DS2 is The Last Sinner, otherwise they all look cool, but don't have the same wow factor of the first game.

[TrollHunter]

I will say, I still prefer Dark Souls 1, but this game is still great. DS1 had a higher challange, and more boss's that just left an impact from the boss fights. Dark Souls had some amazing boss's like Maw Dragon, who is so horrifying when you first lay eyes on it, or The Chaos Witch.

The only fight that just feels intense from the get go in DS2 is The Last Sinner, otherwise they all look cool, but don't have the same wow factor of the first game.

Here's how I feel

What I prefer in DkS1
Bosses
Levels in terms of scale
Enemy variety
Bosses
Farming
Invaders being able to heal
Not being able to buff the MLGS
Did I mention bosses?

What I prefer in dks2:
Basically everything from a mechanical standpoint
The revamp to online play and the sheer variety found through covenants
The weapons
The upgrade system and infusion mechanic
Being able to earn easy mode through sheer force of will. (Having to learn and kill the enemies enough to make them despawn instead of it being like a toggle or difficulty setting)
Atmosphere, this game is creepy as hell at points


So yeah, as a pvp/co-op guy myself I definitely prefer the online experience provided by dks2... but if I had to choose between the two in an offline situation... I'd totally choose dks1. It really was just a tighter experience overall, even if the game falls out a bit after O&S in my opinion. Also, note how I put two things regarding farming/despawning enemies. I like both really, despawning the enemies can be a godsend after a while if a boss has you stuck... but its also a huge pain if the RNG decides to crap on your face while farming. So, as always, my relationship with dks and dks2 is love/hate.
TL;DR:
Dark Souls 1 for PvE/offline
Dark Souls 2 for online play

[Pete for President]

Beat the game today

I'm impressed by:
Playstyles made more viable (dual wield power stance, archer mechanics, two-handing doubles strength for weapon requirements as opposed to 1.5)
Weapon infusion & simplified upgrading mechanics
Character creation blended into story presentation
(SPOILER)Velstadt. What a legend. Cosplay build incoming!
World pacing
Lot's of optional bosses
Some really interesting lore boss characters
Covenants are more relevant gameplay wise
The slow healing mechanics
Variety in areas and enemies
The sex-change coffin
Axes and hammers more unique, and new weapon classes like lances and twinblades.

What I like a little less in 2:
Warping from the get-go makes me not know the world thoroughly
Some bosses seem quantity over quality
Unclear goal story wise
Confusing homestretch in terms of story
Little sense of urgency
FromSoft played it on the safe side with it's NPC's this time around
Crystal lizards

Really good game and I'm impressed! Maybe some of these cons will disappear as I get more into the lore

Edit: read this article and trout gets real. http://fextralife.com/dark-souls-2-t...ion-breakdown/

[krissy]

got to main hub
fought some piglets
and some goblins with giant ballsacks
no idea where to go next, but that's all right
might leave this game to my bro for a bit
he doesnt know we have it yet he'll be so excite

[TrollHunter]

So, I made some huge alterations to the build after I realized that it had become more of a high-int buff build. A lot of the high end sorceries aren't really my style, but I do simply adore using the MLGS. So... I mixed things up.
My build now
35hp
20end
5vit
20attn
18str
35dex
22int
10faith

Now, this gives the build a lot more utility. I used some skeptics/simpletons spices to allow me to still use my spells like Heal/dark weapon/CMW/soul greatsword and used the saved points to get my hp end and dex up.

The 35 dex is NICE though and allows me a lot more flexibility with my build. I'm now thinking of messing around with power-stance spears... which, judging from the moveset, seems absurdly annoying and effective.

I'm starting to now experiment with pyro in this game... and my god is it enjoyable. I love the changes made to pyro and it's a very nice backup to my more close-in fighting style. Important to note though, I did all of this tinkering while my internet was down. I still need to test it out in a proper PvP environment. Hopefully this wasn't a stupid move on my part.

New equipment setups
Armor:
Mask of Judgement
Lucatiels Armor
Lucatiels Gloves
Varangian Pants
(New favorite armor BY FAR. I hated killing Luca but smurfing hell it was worth it. Will post a picture soon)

Weapons I use
Longsword
pyro flame
Sorcerer's Catalyst (Gotta do a bit of ADVENTURING to find my new endgame staff since the staff of amana requires 35 int)
Uchi
Mail Breaker (definitely planning on upgrading this)
MLGS (Dubstep Sword will never die)
Shotel
Magic Magic Shield (still, of course, absolutely awesome in every possible way)

As for progress through NG+...progress, SO EXCITING YEAH?!
Killed the rotten, screw that guy. Every hit brought me down to like 20% health, and I have a bad habit of dodging his attacks way too early. No changes to his NG+ self though, at least from what I saw.

Killed the scorpion chick first try. Not a hard fight for me anymore, and my +9 uchi really ripped through her pretty quick. I got hit once in the entire fight, and that was due to me being silly.

Freaking out because now caster/spider valley is in NG+2, and that place sucked enough in NG+1. At least I can get another paledrake soul... BECAUSE I TOTALLY NEED THAT. Powerstance MLGS hype confirmed.

Bosses to kill before shrine of winter:

Ruined Sentinels (screw these smurftards)
*Lost Sinner (Screw his new friends that spam pyro at you in NG+)
*Dukes Dear Freja (Screw that boss)
Gargoyles (GOD, WHO GAVE THESE GUYS THE COVETOUS GOLD RING +2? Now I cant just skip them like I would very much like to do.)
Smelter Demon (Fun fight, will get to him soon. Screw his 2-shotting me and my not having a 100% fire reduction shield though)
*Old Iron King (ezpz, will get to him soon)
Flexile Sentry (So.. he has 2 new friends. They have cool ass armor, killing them is the only way to get said armor. If I kill the boss they're gone forever. Even just killing one is a nightmare, let alone killing both and feathering out. This boss might be alive for a good while)

So yeah, this NG+ run is gonna take a while.

[Jowy]

(SPOILER)i killed ornstein on the first attempt.

i'm going to be the last person to NG+ and i'm okay with that. taking my time to enjoy what trumps Chrono Trigger as video game perfection is why we still have cords hanging from the back of the TV.