From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

[Visperas]

Where are you guys playing pvp? NG or NG+?

 

[Murk]

NG+ for me and I imagine most others. I periodically make a new character and dick around a bit in NG.

 

[aris]

What is up with invasions these days? It seems like everybody and their mother is doing invasion these days, and that I am getting all of them. I am supposed to get few, since I play alone and have no sins, but I LITERALLY (yes I've counted) get invaded every 10 minute on average. Just today I've been invaded three times almost in a row by a dude called Jack. I beat him twice and the third time he beat me, where he was all smug about it. I don't even think he realized that I had kicked his ass two times earlier.

 

[aris]

So there's a chance it's gonna be gud? I'm hesitant to throw down $25 for what is essentially three more areas, when the base game gave me like 15+ areas for $50. Doesn't seem like much of a value proposition.

Just the areas from the first DLC was almost as big as the DS1 DLC. So absolutely. In addition, I think there are more added spells and items just in this first DLC than in the entire Dark souls 1 DLC I believe. Most of them are great too, with some much needed additions to dex-weapons. It also sports the armor set which is the coolest looking armor set to date in any soul game, in my opinion, the blood drake set. They also addressed much of the criticism to the game, like too strong magic and too linear levels (here the magic is too weak though), there are also some nice secrets, minor puzzles that you must solve under pressure and many environmental dangers, and have two great boss fights, the late one which is probably the only dragon fight that has instilled a sense of being part of an epic battle. This first part greatly surpassed my expectations.

 

[Murk]

The DLC is definitely great for single player and co-op but in its current incarnation it is complete shit for pvp. Hard to find people and there are too many "one way only" trips you can take that are all logical routes for where the host might be. If they switch it so you can toggle the platform switches then that would help a lot.

It's still a pain in the ass to find anyone tho -- unless the host WANTS to be found/duel it out.

 

[aris]

Well I think it's ok that the host has some options in trolling the invader. Once in the DLC I got invaded at the worst possible moment, so I fucking legged it to the pillar that raises you up to the second bonfire in the city, dodge rolling through the monsters on the way, attacked the lift contraption while jumping on to it, so that it raised me to higher ground. I got the bonfire, but the hilarious thing was that there was absolutely no way he could get to me. He got to the high ground, and I would taunt him for about 5 minutes taking his arrows with my shield, pretending that I would do a mistake. I then went inside where he couldn't shoot me and went to prepare a tea. A short time after I came back, he was still there, an shortly after a big blue bro came to my aid, he killed him and that was the end of that invasion .

I feel absolutely no remorse, because among all the invaders I've gotten, there is just a handful that I've gotten that don't act like assholes. Yesterday I got invaded about 30 times while trying to do some PvE, and a single one actually engaged me in a true 1v1 duel, where he didn't try to hide behind monsters. I lost, but I thought it was completely ok. The rest all tried to hide behind monsters, hide in the environment and then strike you with a one-shot spell/katana when you are busy with figthing monsters, because you lose the patience to look for the guy. All of them use some combination of katana and one-shot spell too, and some weird short sword that is about 50 cm long with a range of about 2 meters. It might be the puzzle sword, but I really doubt it, since it wasn't the R2 attack animation I saw. I also love, how I in a mid roll away from the enemy, teleport one meter back to the enemy into the sword that all of the sudden is backstabbing me, and then I die. Aren't you supposed to have some invisibility frames mid roll? Even though I'm a member of the little blue bro covenant, the only one not requiring a ring to be worn, I fight the absolutely vast majority of the fights alone, either because there is nobody playing big blue bro, or because the covenant mechanic is broken.

Through getting a lot of training, I've actual become quite decent in PvP, I've learned to use slow PvE weapons to methodically dodge and bait mistakes of invading people who always have Pvp gear, striking when they do a mistake, instead of spamming R1/run attack, like 99% of the invaders do. Even though I probably win less than 50% of the fights, I'd still say I'm better than the majority of my invaders. And I must say that it's incredibly satisfying to beat an invader that tried to ambush you while fighting a monster, beating him while dodge rolling through the attacks of the pursuing monster, being completely under geared for the situation while he is over geared. It fills you with no small amount of pride, and you feel almost like David beating the giant.

My problem is with the frequency however, I think there should be at least a 30 minutes cooldown, or maybe an hour, between each invasions, so that you can't get invaded so fucking often as I got yesterday. I noticed that I got invaded by the same people several times too, which was pretty weird and makes me feel like I'm the only one on the receiving end of invasions. The invaders should be invaded much much more often than me.

 

[praetor]

I feel absolutely no remorse, because among all the invaders I've gotten, there is just a handful that I've gotten that don't act like assholes.

that's the whole fucking point of invaders, killing the host by whatever means necessary (except in DaS2 the reward is seriously lacklustre). the rest of your post is you being butthurt about invaders and not realizing you can block them for 30min (or more?) by burning human effigies at bonfires. something which you cry about is actually an in-game option, imagine that!

 

[aris]

And the master of butthurt and rage arrives. Yeah, I know that's the point, to put you in a horrible situation. And I've come to enjoy it, it's just the frequency I don't like. Thanks for the tip about burning effigies, though it is a very limited option, since you only have so many of them. You shouldn't need to do anything to not be constantly invaded. I have a feeling that, as I said, either every player and their mother is constantly invading, and never in their own game long enough to be invaded themselves, or the match making is broken, because I'm not supposed to get invaded very often.

 

[ghostdog]

So, gaudaost, have you accumulated sin by any chance ? If so, you'll be very likely to be invaded by the blue knights covenant. Or are you in the belfry luna/Sol area ? If so you'll be constantly invaded by Belfry covenant defenders. (this also happens with the rat covenant) Anyway, if they are busting your balls and you want to finish a hard area, just go offline, no big deal. Also after a while you'll accumulate a lot of human effigies and there are other items that can be used to prevent/help while invaded. Have in mind that soul level doesn't matter in online matchmaking, but instead soul memory.

 

[aris]

So, gaudaost, have you accumulated sin by any chance ? If so, you'll be very likely to be invaded by the blue knights covenant. Or are you in the belfry luna/Sol area ? If so you'll be constantly invaded by Belfry covenant defenders. (this also happens with the rat covenant) Anyway, if they are busting your balls and you want to finish a hard area, just go offline, no big deal. Also after a while you'll accumulate a lot of human effigies and there are other items that can be used to prevent/help while invaded. Have in mind that soul level doesn't matter in online matchmaking, but instead soul memory.

I have zero sins, and it's not the invasions in belfry I'm talking about. I'm aware and expect a gank squad to come there. I'm also playing alone, which should further reduce my chances of getting invaded. This is why it's so strange to me that I get invaded a lot. But otherwise thanks for the tips!

 

[aris]

By the way, just looked into mods for dark souls 2, and HOLY SHIT does the game look better and more athmospheric with this mod

I tried to install a later version, and it looks even better on my computer. Even butt ugly areas like lost bastille, looked dark and foreboding with this mod. I've never seen a mod that improves the look of the game so drastically before. Unfortunately, I can't run it on my old computer. Vanilla runs just fine on 60 FPS, but with this mod, I'm tanking 23-30 FPS, which is really way too low, and really affects the gameplay.

 

[Jaedar]

Looks really good. Definately going to have to use this the next time I play the game.

 

[praetor]

And the master of butthurt and rage arrives. Yeah, I know that's the point, to put you in a horrible situation. And I've come to enjoy it, it's just the frequency I don't like. Thanks for the tip about burning effigies, though it is a very limited option, since you only have so many of them. You shouldn't need to do anything to not be constantly invaded. I have a feeling that, as I said, either every player and their mother is constantly invading, and never in their own game long enough to be invaded themselves, or the match making is broken, because I'm not supposed to get invaded very often.

and yet you bitch about invaders being assholes... show at least a little bit of consistency? protip: since you're playing solo anyway, just go offline. or be hollow to further reduce the chance. or just burn the damn effigy when you don't feel like PvPing (it's not like they have other uses because of the RoLP and successful co-op giving you humanity. i think i have ~190 of them on my NG+ dude. and, technically, they're infinite as long as you don't kill the chariot since skellies drop them). that said, i think they could've put a ring in that is the reverse of the delicate string for less frequent invasions (f.e. that would not work if you're a sinner), although i wish i was invaded as frequently as you are (both NG and NG+. ps3)

 

[Murk]

Shit man I can't spend more than 3 minutes outside without a blue invading me. I have full sin -- tho it's fine, just more souls. And I can use sinner's sword to break people's shit if they're afk. It's grrrreat.

Yeah I don't give a shit about honor or whatever. I do hate katanas and lances and refuse to use those weapons tho; they are clearly broken. Lances don't quite do a 160 counter but they do at least a 130 and have phantom range (as do katanas, especially chaos blade). And shields; shields are for poo-seas.

Also, greataxe and greathammers are the new meta; enjoy your 3 hit stunlock combos.

And of course, kumo/curved dragon wang run attacks. Always the run attacks.

side note: the sanctum repeater xbow's special is actually really fucking good. Can do a good chunk of damage and catches people in and out of rolls. Great for pushing off edges, too.

 

[Surf Solar]

Why are people bitching about invaders, I dont get it. I would be glad if someone would invade my world, but all I got was 2 blue people and NEVER a red invasion in all of my gametime. Be fucking glad that you get constant action instead to whine here, or use the item praetor mentionend.

 

[Murk]

Are you in NG or NG+? You can always use the delicate string or a token of spite to increase the load; or just drop a red sign in popular areas.

I've honestly never had issues with the online aspect other than co-op farming (tho at 40mil+ sm it's kind of a pain in the ass anyway).

My biggest problem is spamming blue orbs and then having to actually hunt down the host. Never thought I'd say this but I miss the blue arena but I am all out of tokens of fidelity.

If anyone is in the last few SM tiers and needs help in co-op hit me up (steam name = mikayel), I need me some tokens.

 

[Surf Solar]

Now admittely I only played 43 hours, both in NG with several characters, and NG+ and up with 3 other characters. Not a single red invasion, only the ones I triggered myself to have some PvP (I like the dragon duels more though)
I tried out the way of blue and used those orbs everywhere, I've NEVER got to invade someone as a blue. :< As a red it worked.

I didnt know you can increase the likelihood for invasions with these items, thanks! When all the DLC are out I will give the game another whirl.

 

[Murk]

man the hatemail is too real

check this shit out

i gotta stop touching the poop tho

mikayel: a guy with jesters who spams parry... mad at me for using jesters and syans
Kestrel: you must be getting desperate
mikayel: oh my, what a fucking world
mikayel: i'm super desperate kid, for a drink, for a smoke, for 50 more dollars, but i'm not desperate to win
mikayel: cuz i beat yer asssssss
Kestrel: you have some psychological problems
Kestrel: should let that get checked out, im serious
mikayel: says the guy who yells shit abotu jews
mikayel: and gas


BTW I tried a quick google translate but it left some stuff out, could anyone translate it properly?

 

[Surf Solar]

That guy would fit right in here or on stormfront

 

[Murk]

He went on to deny it, claiming he never said it n shit but I honestly don't care -- I did tease him about reporting him and how steam can mine the chat log to get to the truth of it at which point he unfriended me, heheheh.

I was gonna eventually tell him I'm fucking with him but he left, oh well, some nazi's have very hurt butts.

 

[aris]

Why are people bitching about invaders, I dont get it. I would be glad if someone would invade my world, but all I got was 2 blue people and NEVER a red invasion in all of my gametime. Be fucking glad that you get constant action instead to whine here, or use the item praetor mentionend.

Different preferences. Though people try to say otherwise, Dark souls is at its heart a PVE game, not a PVP. As such, when From forces PvP on you, I didn't agree with it. But I thought to myself, fine, and then just went with it. As I said, it grew on me, and now I find it quite enjoyable most of the time, or at least not such a big annoyance. It's quite incredible though that I'm not getting through with what my problem actually is, because I've been pretty damn clear about it, my problem is not really with invasions, but with the frequency. You shouldn't have to burn limited items just to get peace for 5 minutes. There should be a natural timer that prevents you from being invaded 30-60 minutes after an invasion, that's completely fair and not too much to ask for. Hell, the burning of effigy doesn't even deny invasions, it makes you completely unable to summon white phantom players, but you merely get kicked back in the pvp queue, rather than being removed from it.

 

[Murk]

30 minutes is a bit much for standard, they should just have a ring that changes the natural timer. Tho going hollow is always a choice (max hp loss tho).

I donno, I just grew to accept that I'm gonna get a blue invasion whenever I poke my head out. After I kill 200 more people as a blue sentinel I guess i'll start letting other blues kill me to reduce sin.

 

[aris]

Being hollow no longer prevents you from being invaded like DS1, you get invaded just the same, though I think with a slightly lower probability.

 

[agentorange]

so whats the consensuses on sunken king? is it the same quality as Artorias of the Abyss? I saw one boss fight that was just three black phantoms, are the rest of the bosses that sort of lazy shit?

 

[praetor]

Different preferences. Though people try to say otherwise, Dark souls is at its heart a PVE game, not a PVP. As such, when From forces PvP on you, I didn't agree with it. But I thought to myself, fine, and then just went with it. As I said, it grew on me, and now I find it quite enjoyable most of the time, or at least not such a big annoyance. It's quite incredible though that I'm not getting through with what my problem actually is, because I've been pretty damn clear about it, my problem is not really with invasions, but with the frequency. You shouldn't have to burn limited items just to get peace for 5 minutes. There should be a natural timer that prevents you from being invaded 30-60 minutes after an invasion, that's completely fair and not too much to ask for. Hell, the burning of effigy doesn't even deny invasions, it makes you completely unable to summon white phantom players, but you merely get kicked back in the pvp queue, rather than being removed from it.

just fucking stop already with your bullshit. nothing is "forced" on you. you don't want PvP at all? go offline, that's always an option. you want to be able to see messages and bloodstains, but be invulnerable to invasions? guess what, you can use an in-game item to prevent invasions for the exact amount of time you specified (and there's even a covenant that will automatically summon another player to deal with the invader! that it barely and rarely works is another matter...). 30-60mins is not fair for everybody else who wants play the game online, particularly since THERE IS AN OFFLINE OPTION! and why the fuck you shouldn't use an in-game limited item to prevent an online game mechanic from spawning what is essentially a player controlled enemy... in the online portion of the game?

we get it, you're butthurt about invasions. you repeated that a hundred times already. just shut up with it and use the options the game gives you. they are there

so whats the consensuses on sunken king? is it the same quality as Artorias of the Abyss? I saw one boss fight that was just three black phantoms, are the rest of the bosses that sort of lazy shit?

2 areas are great (best in the whole game), 2 are utter shit, 1 boss is great, 1 is... shit, good or meh depending how you look at it, and the one you mention is an abomination.