From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[80Maxwell08]

Why do people keep saying grinding anything is difficult in DS2? It's not in any stretch of the imagination. Even if you don't touch Ascetics or the CoC covenant it's still easy. I had over 70 effigies before I beat all 3 DLCs and got the ability to not hollow when I die. I haven't even beaten NG yet and I'm at over 5 million souls, close to 6 million without using either. Heck, the only reason I touched the CoC covenant is because the BS loyce grinding to get the final soul in the Ivory King DLC. If you want to grind in DS2 just go to iron keep with a decent strike weapon, the basic mace can do this, and kill everything over and over. It's not hard.

 

[Invictus]

Never played the dlc for ds2, hear it was pretty good but just never got around it. I liked the game but unlike the first one (which I replay every 6 months or so) I did my first play on the ps3 and then on the pc before the dlc came out and I simply never got back to it...Bloodborne is pretty good but to be honest I prefer the plodding shield combat of Dark Souls and the whole setting seems a bit more my style

 

[praetor]

Never played the dlc for ds2, hear it was pretty good but just never got around it. I liked the game but unlike the first one (which I replay every 6 months or so) I did my first play on the ps3 and then on the pc before the dlc came out and I simply never got back to it...Bloodborne is pretty good but to be honest I prefer the plodding shield combat of Dark Souls and the whole setting seems a bit more my style

the DLCs are as good as the best of DaS1 and DeS, and more than make up for the lackluster vanilla

 

[Invictus]

Should I go for the original version with all the dlc or try the scholar of the first sin?
Btw I used to think that those guys who thought that Dark Souls was relaxing were fucking crazy or posers but after a long day I did just that; picked the warrior and just went to town playing, not farming much but having good luck on drops with a couple of humanities and died just twice and stoped after killing the Iron Golem
By the time I looked at my watch I had been playing for close to 5 hours and just enjoying the game enormously

 

[sullynathan]

scholar of the first sin is better or so I've heard.

 

[praetor]

SotFS also has a handful of new items (armour set plus two weapons) and the graphics are slightly better (essentially like vanilla plus gedosato with ambeint occlusion etc)

 

[Invictus]

Scholar of the first sin it is guys, I recall enjoying my warlock build on the original game but grinding for the best gear was a bit of a pain getting the cool staff and gear from the guy before the undead woods so I might try a naked guy melee build to try itnout first

 

[Caim]

Only go basic over SotFS if your PC can't handle DirectX 11.

 

[Invictus]

No problem there Caim, although I read somewhere that that version isnt compatible with Durante's program? No big deal since the vanilla version looks quite good

 

[Murk]

imo scholar fucked up by putting the ember in lost bastille, which means that bellbro rape is like 69x easier

not that i mind terribly, i was on the rapier + throwing knife side of the equation

 

[Explorerbc]

Is there a reliable way to avoid invasions ? Today I had my first one, didn't even know how they work.

I was in the depths, had cleared the entire area (I even killed Kirk the NPC phantom) so I alt-tabbed to check something out. Should be safe right ? When I return to the game I see some red fucker raping my idle character.

I know about staying hollow, but I want to summon the other knights for the boss, and I don't want some random dude into my game.

All I can find is creating an offline GFWL profile (no longer viable since its on steamworks now) or disconnecting from the internet. If I block this shit / disconnect will it affect any other aspects of the game ?

 

[sullynathan]

be hollow the entire game. Only use humanity when you are ready for a boss and kill yourself afterwards so you go hollow or toughen up and beat invaders.

If you disconnect from the internet then you won't be invaded by actual players but you can still be invaded by NPCs as long as you are human.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

All I can find is creating an offline GFWL profile (no longer viable since its on steamworks now) or disconnecting from the internet. If I block this shit / disconnect will it affect any other aspects of the game ?

Playing offline means you'll miss out on the player-generated messages. Obviously, it also means other no invasions by, or summoning of, other players.

I know about staying hollow, but I want to summon the other knights for the boss, and I don't want some random dude into my game.

If by "summon the other knights for the boss", you mean the NPCs available for summoning, you'll be

Spoiler

better off without using Solaire or Lautrec for the Gaping Dragon, as they get killed quickly, making the fight tougher since summoning them gives the boss more health.

 

[Explorerbc]

If by "summon the other knights for the boss", you mean the NPCs available for summoning, you'll be

Spoiler

better off without using Solaire or Lautrec for the Gaping Dragon, as they get killed quickly, making the fight tougher since summoning them gives the boss more health.

Hhhm ok, I'll try to solo it then. So far the NPCs have been really OP though. I summoned Solaire for the Gargoyle and beat it on my first try, and the Witch Beatrice basically killed the Moon Butterfly on her own while I was just dodging.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Hhhm ok, I'll try to solo it then. So far the NPCs have been really OP though. I summoned Solaire for the Gargoyle and beat it on my first try, and the Witch Beatrice basically killed the Moon Butterfly on her own while I was just dodging.

Yes, NPC summons are otherwise very helpful, but emphatically not for this one boss due to the particular tactics it employs. Oddly enough, although it seems to be the general opinion of Dark Souls players that this boss is one of the easier ones, in my first playthrough I had a tougher time with it than any of the other boss fights, while later defeating Ornstein & Smough on the first try.

 

[Invictus]

To be honest I always found Dark Souls to be a game that enjoys trolling you and twists the knife when you fail to remember not to dodge on that narrow path or forget that torch hollow waiting behind the arch
So I really dont feel guilty at all trolling back, using poison arrows, spamming an attack, throwing a dung pie or backstab delight in those games.
Hell the game is trying its hardest to whack you with every cheap trick and tactic its only fair to repay in kind

 

[sullynathan]

NPCs in DS1 are only op for certain fights like the gargoyle, iron giant and the butterfly fight. Almost every other fight will have the NPC are a detriment because they make the bosses harder and they will probably die early.

DS2 has some really OP NPC summons though, some that can easily beat tough bosses by themselves.

 

[Invictus]

It wasnt always that way; since you have to keep your summons alive to progress their storylines the earlier versions of DS2 you basically had to rush mode bosses like Smelter to make sure they didnt kill Lucatiel
Obe of the things I disliked about Bloodborne is not having the option of summoning some help to fight bosses after the Cleric Beast and Bloodtstarved beast if you didnt have PS Plus or whatever
Now eith the Expansions you supposedly get more summons and it is up to you if you summon them or not

 

[sullynathan]

Man cleric beast kicked my ass too many times and BB was my first from soft game so I was new to things. I was surprised though how fast it was to summon help from other players though.

 

[Explorerbc]

Ok, so I killed the Gaping Dragon and I have another question about gear.

Right now I am using the Elite Knight armor set, and my starter Longsword+4. I can deal fine with most mobs so far, but my damage output is a bit low when it comes to special enemies and bosses.

Is it worth it to throw all my materials to make the best weapon I can right now, or should I keep them for later use?

I always go with the second option in most rpgs and I end up finishing the game with basic equipment and a ton of unused upgrades.

 

[MicoSelva]

Is it worth it to throw all my materials to make the best weapon I can right now, or should I keep them for later use?

I always go with the second option in most rpgs and I end up finishing the game with basic equipment and a ton of unused upgrades.

You can use up all titanite shards and large shards, as they can be easily farmed (and even bought) later. Get a weapon or two to +10 as soon as possible - no point in punishing yourself.
Same thing with twinkling titanite and upgrading unique weapons to +5.
Titanite chunks (not to mention slabs) are harder to get, so think twice before using up these.

 

[polo]

Always improve as much as you can, only material annoying to farm are slabs.

 

[sullynathan]

I wouldn't farm for slabs because it requires me to go back to lost Izalith and I'm not ready for that trash.

 

[Jezal_k23]

First time I went through Anor Londo I managed to get past the archers on my first try somehow. Now that I'm playing for the 2nd time I've had to retry 4 times and still haven't got past them, lol. I realize now how lucky I was to do everything right the first time I tried it before.

 

[Amazing chest]

First time I went through Anor Londo I managed to get past the archers on my first try somehow. Now that I'm playing for the 2nd time I've had to retry 4 times and still haven't got past them, lol. I realize now how lucky I was to do everything right the first time I tried it before.

If you jog past the second part of the "bridge" instead of running full speed, the archer on your left won't be able to shoot you in the back. Roll through the arrows that come your way instead of blocking, and when you get to the knight on the right, just let him knock himself off of your shield, or parry him to death.

I don't remember when was the last time I died there, so this should work.