Dark Souls II

calex71

Sgt Hartman wrote: »

Having big probs in Earthen Peak atm. Haven't managed to find one single solitary Human Effigy in ages and even with the Ring of Binding my energy is gone down to about two thirds

This is what made me abuse the rings , and only for boss fights. I was pissing through effigies early on. In dark souls you could farm humanity and it buffed some weapons, here you can farm them alight but the enemies that drop them stop spawning after a limited amount of kills, you can buy them but those are limited too. I can name at least 3 or 4 bosses that cost me 7 or 8 effigies each, partly due to my build and partly not being able to tell if the person I was summoning was melee or caster..... I would as melee summon caster 100% of the time and use the red eye ring and run around while they kill the boss. That is a very hard reality and flaw of DS2 that I also think needs to be addressed but I can't see that happening for many reason

I think effigies is one aspect that needs to be rebalanced too, maybe make them for sale but at a cost.

In dark souls I was hollow until I needed to be human , they fixed that need very well for the most part with the pvp areas so there are few if any gankers now and added a penalty for being hollow rightly so but to me at least it can actually be a case of effigies being unobtainable at certain points, maybe allow NPC summon as hollow I don't know. Now I have loads but that is only because of the rings, there is no way I could have beaten some bosses solo hollow and melee build, and I also mentioned earlier that the game seriously favours ranged over close and co-op over solo so I would like to see some balancing done, but I can't see it due to the way the game is designed. I'm loving the game and I know I know it's dark souls etc etc but I really think it's unbalanced in some ways and fixed what was wring with the original in others.

Edit: In eastern peak or just before it , there was one bit where you where fasced what I think was the toughest mob in the game ,

a quarry area where about 7 or 8 mobs drop in and you have no obvious exit and many boards to break to find one, while hollow and low level this was really hell

J_E

Late game spoiler so don't reveal if you're not near the end.

Dragon Aerie! Beautiful place but the enemies are really powerful. What's the best fire-resistant equipment in the game? Best way to kill dragons also?

calex71

Cydoniac wrote: »

Late game spoiler so don't reveal if you're not near the end.

Dragon Aerie! Beautiful place but the enemies are really powerful. What's the best fire-resistant equipment in the game? Best way to kill dragons also?

For rings the +1 fire protection one is in with the

salamanders in the pit in forest of the giants if I recall

not 100% on that I know I got the

hawk ring there

but think i got that one there too, down the ladder from the bonfire and there they are.

krudler

Grr, bloody belfry gargoyls, I'm miles behind everyone else in this, feel like I'm doing it arseways too, am lvl 77 and still on these fcukers.

iamanengine

Belfry are optional so maybe come back when stronger! That's why I did and breezed through them.

Gyrm shield has 100 physical and 100 fire protection.

Madness, in lost Bastille already 6 hours in on 2nd playthrough.

Wooden Jesus

krudler wrote: »

Grr, bloody belfry gargoyls, I'm miles behind everyone else in this, feel like I'm doing it arseways too, am lvl 77 and still on these fcukers.

Thats pretty much a pvp area. Try summon someone to give you a hand its a ridiculous fight on your own no matter what level

YouSavedMyLife

Cydoniac wrote: »

Late game spoiler so don't reveal if you're not near the end.

Dragon Aerie! Beautiful place but the enemies are really powerful. What's the best fire-resistant equipment in the game? Best way to kill dragons also?

I found the

Dragons

to be quite easy. If you stay under

their feet

it reduces their attack patterns and they mostly just try

to stomp

on you, which is easily avoidable. Don't get behind them or too far away from them or they will

fly up

and unleash an attack that covers a wide area and pulses for multiple damage ticks and will most likely kill you. The enemies in the

Castle

i found harder cause they come in packs of 2-3

Kirby wrote: »

Did you kill the ancient dragon? He just sits there atop Dragon Shrine but if you attack him, it becomes a boss fight.

I didn't :P I went in expecting

a fight after the conversation

but was quite happy he

didn't attack me

cause i wasn't in the mood for

a boss fight at that moment

I will

kill

him and all the other

NPCs

before i move on to

NG+

I started another character with a proper build in mind. Gonna run through again with the intent to participate in some

Jolly Cooperation

Oh yeah and i didn't kill

Vendrick

neither. Attempted

him

the first time i met him and did almost

zero

damage to him, then tried

him

again after clearing and did more for some reason...

ShadowHearth

So guys, can anyone answer me? Do I better buy all soul weapons so I can get the second set on second playthrough?
I heard there is one more soul weapon vendor? Is it true?

calex71

ShadowHearth wrote: »

So guys, can anyone answer me? Do I better buy all soul weapons so I can get the second set on second playthrough?
I heard there is one more soul weapon vendor? Is it true?

did you meet

Ornifex

she has soul weapons, if it's like ds 1 boss souls will stack and you can make multiples or one of each if you have the souls for it.

Edit: After DS1 and painted world she is 1st on my pre-NG+ hit list !!!! as is that guy with the blue ultra great sword

YouSavedMyLife

ShadowHearth wrote: »

So guys, can anyone answer me? Do I better buy all soul weapons so I can get the second set on second playthrough?
I heard there is one more soul weapon vendor? Is it true?

If your a completionist then use up all your souls on the weapons. As for the other souls vendor...

First you need to unpetrify the lion man near the last bonfire in the shaded wood, he drops a key. Then drop down the hole in the same area where the acid water and the curse frogs are, door right there that will release her. She then moves to the sand town area, Brightstone Cove i think its called. Shes in a room beside the whirlpool of sand, the one with the dolls and the candle in the centre

ShadowHearth

So if souls stack, then it means means I'll be able to buy all weapons on second playthrough too? Cheers!

Mickeroo

ShadowHearth wrote: »

How do you get summoned to rat covenant?

When you enter their area you will get summoned, it's a trick though, they summon you to try and kill you.

calex71 wrote: »

Thats the rat place no? It's pvp

you were almost certainly summoned as a grey spirit on entering and owned by hex magic and rats no?

I was summoned alright, but funnily enough I twatted him with flame swath and got a pharros lock stone for my troubles

Just completed The Gutter/Black Gulch there, pretty annoying areas but very short too, and most certainly the easiest boss of the entire game so far.

In black gulch did anyeone else find

the giants?? They caught me off guard and flayyened me but luckily had enough HP to run around in a panic and find the room with the chest

:eek: saw a message with a high rating saying drop off the ledge so I chanced it, and it paid off!

iamanengine

Faith build Sun Bro-ing is awesome! Just destroyed the no Man's Wharf Boss 5 times in a row Easy souls!

johnny_ultimate

Those cackling pots are creeping the **** out of me right now!

Eggy Baby!

Having played about 9-10 hours of this game now, I say with firm belief and strong conviction that 2 is far more difficult than 1. Healing items are extremely scarce early on (and the max amount of estus flasks is still pitiful). Groups of enemies or lone fast hitting enemies can easily stunlock you (poise seems to have been nerfed). The game puts more emphasis on being fast rather than tanking damage (which is abhorrent to my playstyle). The bosses aren't as well-designed as the first game but they are ridiculously difficult (

the ruin sentinels...urgh. I had two guys summoned with me and we were still annihilated. And the lost sinner is awful too, he's like artorias + gwyn from the first game- he easily dispatched me and two summons without even losing half of his health.

).

Enemies seem to be very aggressive and fast and mix up their attacks a lot. Level designs are mental, with falls, traps, drops and murderous ambushes everywhere (even more than the first game!). Mental stuff....I've died so many goddamn times its sad, considering I've at least beaten NG+ in the first.

But no mimics yet!

Discounting those awful chest crossbow traps. I became wise to them because I saw a bloodstain in front of a chest and the guy seemed to have been killed after he opened the chest. I destroyed it instead.

Evil game.

Zero-Cool

krudler wrote: »

Grr, bloody belfry gargoyls, I'm miles behind everyone else in this, feel like I'm doing it arseways too, am lvl 77 and still on these fcukers.

Im 70 something as well, had to give up on the gargoyles but I will be back.

Man iron keep is tough!

Kirby

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Having played about 9-10 hours of this game now, I say with firm belief and strong conviction that 2 is far more difficult than 1. Healing items are extremely scarce early on (and the max amount of estus flasks is still pitiful).

At the beginning, yes. It's quite an adjustment only having 1 estus. But you have radiant gems and the like to heal too. And after a few hours, you begin to buff your estus. By the end of the game, I had 11 Estus+5 and I probably missed one or two so I'm sure you will get used to it.

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

The game puts more emphasis on being fast rather than tanking damage (which is abhorrent to my playstyle).

No way. You can play this as a tank. It's what I did. I was never a rolly, dodgy type player in DS1. Heavy armor and shield up. I played this the exact same way. I bought a greatshield within an hour of the start and just kept moving from shield to shield. 95% of all attacks in the game can be blocked. If you want to play as a tank, you absolutely can.

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

The bosses aren't as well-designed as the first game but they are ridiculously difficult the ruin sentinels...urgh. I had two guys summoned with me and we were still annihilated. And the lost sinner is awful too, he's like artorias + gwyn from the first game- he easily dispatched me and two summons without even losing half of his health

Again, I'm not sure I agree. Your build is probably hurting you. Only 2 bosses in the whole game gave me any difficulty.....and I killed every boss in the game. Ornstein, who was my first boss I encountered a few hours in.....and the Smelter....who isn't even mandatory. I one shotted virtually everything else. Personally, I found DS1 to be more difficult. It took me a lot longer than a week to beat that game compared to this one. This one is a better game overall mind you. No doubt about that.

iamanengine

So day 1 of FAI build and have made it to Sinner's Rise, everything so far has been insanely easy, this build is immense!! Would be further ahead to but have done a tonne of Jolly Cooperation 8 hours playtime in total.

Absolutely can't get enough of this game!

YouSavedMyLife

So, lets talk lore

Drangleic is actually Lordran? What did Vendrick steal from the giants? Nashandra is actually a shard of Manus? Who is the Emerald Herald? What was our characters motives in doing all this ****?

Also has anyone found the OST to be not as good as the first? A few standout tracks on it but alot of them feels very much the same. Dark Souls on the other hand all the tracks had there own tone and mood and felt very unique.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0KcrE1kB1QRIt6JSpS065T82Tos07kY

Ruin Sentinels sounds like something from Conan the Barbarian (1982) and i ****ing love it

iamanengine

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

So, lets talk lore

Drangleic is actually Lordran? What did Vendrick steal from the giants? Nashandra is actually a shard of Manus? Who is the Emerald Herald? What was our characters motives in doing all this ****?

Also has anyone found the OST to be not as good as the first? A few standout tracks on it but alot of them feels very much the same. Dark Souls on the other hand all the tracks had there own tone and mood and felt very unique.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0KcrE1kB1QRIt6JSpS065T82Tos07kY

Ruin Sentinels sounds like something from Conan the Barbarian (1982) and i ****ing love it

Wasn't the character told something like, if he came to this land and collected powerful souls he could undo his curse? Thus, avoiding becoming hollow!

johnny_ultimate

Black Gulch and Shaded Woods done.

Old Sun Ring from the latter

is my new favourite accessory. Serious damage when it goes off.

As much as I'm willing to defend the game's aesthetics due to strong art direction, the Shaded Woods look like they've been passed through a serious PS2-o-filter

ShaneU

Xenji wrote: »

I would bet it will be Thursday, I ordered 3 games off of them last month and one at the start of this month, all took exactly 13 days from shipping on a Friday, before this it usually took no longer than 10 days.

You were right, arrived this morning. 4 bosses down already. Beat

pursuer and old dragonslayer

in 6 or 7 tries each. Toughest thing with these is how long it takes to drink flasks against them because they close you down so quickly. Killed the boss in the other tower first try which surprised me. Been two-handing the fire longsword because shields seem to be less reliable in this game, very easy to get stunned.

Zero-Cool

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Black Gulch and Shaded Woods done.

Old Sun Ring from the latter

is my new favourite accessory. Serious damage when it goes off.
(

How did you get to those areas? The smelter demon is not fun at all and looking to try another area first.

Also I found a dull ember, is that the one duff man is looking for? I have a lot of stones for weapons, mad to make a lightning one.

Wooden Jesus

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

So, lets talk lore

Drangleic is actually Lordran? What did Vendrick steal from the giants? Nashandra is actually a shard of Manus? Who is the Emerald Herald? What was our characters motives in doing all this ****?

Also has anyone found the OST to be not as good as the first? A few standout tracks on it but alot of them feels very much the same. Dark Souls on the other hand all the tracks had there own tone and mood and felt very unique.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0KcrE1kB1QRIt6JSpS065T82Tos07kY

Ruin Sentinels sounds like something from Conan the Barbarian (1982) and i ****ing love it

Have a look in the mansion at what the skeleton was guarding. There's a broken piece of something fairly famliar

YouSavedMyLife

Wooden Jesus wrote: »

Have a look in the mansion at what the skeleton was guarding. There's a broken piece of something fairly famliar

Ugh you have me intrigued! Ill check tomorrow, to lazy to turn on my PS3...

DinoRex

Finally at Drangleic Castle...

The Iron Keep bosses gave me the most trouble I've had yet in the game. Have been using mostly pyromancy for my ranged attacks and obviously that didn't work out too well there.

Xenji

ShaneU wrote: »

You were right, arrived this morning. 4 bosses down already. Beat

pursuer and old dragonslayer

in 6 or 7 tries each. Toughest thing with these is how long it takes to drink flasks against them because they close you down so quickly. Killed the boss in the other tower first try which surprised me. Been two-handing the fire longsword because shields seem to be less reliable in this game, very easy to get stunned.

Sounds like you are enjoying it despite the wait

J_E

Just finished the final boss Lovely credits music. Still not done the game by any means...a few optional bosses to beat, along with covenant secrets, then I'll move onto NG+!

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

So, lets talk lore

Drangleic is actually Lordran? What did Vendrick steal from the giants? Nashandra is actually a shard of Manus? Who is the Emerald Herald? What was our characters motives in doing all this ****?

I think the Emerald Herald is the fire keeper alluded to in the story, and the fourth one mentioned at the start of the game.
I thought the whole Manus = Nashandra thing was a bit lazy, they could have expanded on that a little better, feels like one of those made-for-DVD plots, lol!

Also has anyone found the OST to be not as good as the first? A few standout tracks on it but alot of them feels very much the same. Dark Souls on the other hand all the tracks had there own tone and mood and felt very unique.

I do agree, it's not a scratch on DS, I didn't expect it to be either, honestly. I think it's also the fact there are so many bosses in this one also and how they're presented. I always felt Dark Souls had this atmosphere that just couldn't be matched. DS2 is a worthy sequel and has everything a fan could ask for in it but it's not quite on the same level.

calex71

Mickeroo wrote: »

W

Just completed The Gutter/Black Gulch there, pretty annoying areas but very short too, and most certainly the easiest boss of the entire game so far.

I'm struggling with him for the simple reason that I'm trying to keep the NPC alive so I can move them on to get their gear later, has to be purposely weak for that reason I'd say, really added to my woes in Iron Keep she did. So much so I had to buy the red eye ring for those 2 fights

quarryman

So I've started out as a bandit and have only leveled up once or twice. A few bosses killed and 16k souls burning a hole in my pocket. I think I'm at a point where I need to decide what type of character I want. I've been rocking the Firesword and a shield. But I normally go 2 handed with the sword and don't bother with the shield. I have a bow too which I rarely use other than to agro the odd gook.

Also, I have 8 points in FAI which would be a good starting point to build on that stat but have no idea what it does.

Any suggestions (for someone who isn't very good at the game nor has infinite hours to play the game the hard way) as to where i take this build?