/cog/ - Traditional & Video Gaming

While I find all the vitriol and bitter resentment towards Dark Souls 2 to be utterly retarded, I'm pretty let down by the completely perplexing addition of soul memory. Multiplayer's just fucked now. If you help too many people you will only be able to be summoned by overleveled gankers at some point. And it's impossible to enforce any kind of level cap on fight clubs, so everyone's going hard on the levels and then use the cheapest shit possible as nothing else will do any fucking damage to other max-level dudes. It's really, really dumb. What in the hell were they thinking!?

I don't even know what Souls multiplayer is, though the reputation precedes it. Am I missing a lot?

>>187286
I think I can see their logic; they're trying to fit the worth of the equipment (since upgrading/buying it costs souls) into the whole who-gets-to-invade-who-thing, but I agree that it (sounds like, havent gotten to DS2 yet) pretty bad solution.

>>187288
They could have just gone by souls spent instead of souls earned and we would have none of the problems we have now while at the same time reducing the number of twinks. It's just utterly frustrating to have to delete a character because they become literally unusable.

>>187287
>Multiplayer's just fucked now.
It really is. Duels in particular are filled to the brim of tryhard asshats.
The easiest and most sensible decision -and one that a large number of people have been shouting for- would be to have SM not affect NG+ or even NG++ if you want to go that far to keep twinkers from killing new players, and at that point have it go off soul level like in the first game.

>>187289
"Souls spent" is kind of vague, and I've never felt comfortable with that idea. If it were to rely only on souls used to level and upgrade items (armor, chimes, flames, and used spices to reduce spell costs etc.) then yeah that works. Otherwise "souls spent" could possibly mess up someone who goes and buys an infinite number of healing items of lots of arrows or anything else like that which doesn't really make you more powerful in pvp, and that would suck.

Simply turning it off at some point and going on soul level alone is just so much simpler.

I suspect Soul memory was meant to address the issue of invaders with low soul levels but endgame gear rolling low-level players' faces. I know I had several frustrating encounters with these jackasses.

I kinda fucks high-level PVP players but since that isn't me it doesn't bother me very much.

>>187297
No, it fucks the game up for more casual players, as well. If you die a lot and lose all those souls, guess what, they sill count towards your soul memory. So now you won't get invaded by low level players in high level gear, you will be invaded by high level players with high level gear, who are better at the game than you. And if you died to much or helped too much on a boss, you might not be able to summon people at points where you have trouble, as you might be out of range for most people. Soul memory fucks with everyone and was simply a bad idea.

I can't even conceive of how terrible you would have to be to lose enough souls to skew your soul memory that hard. Especially since casual players aren't going to be playing multiple MG+ levels, which (if I understand correctly) is when your soul memory matchmaking range really opens up.

>>187301
Yeah exactly, play better.

Despite it being possible to invade someone in Hollow form, Invaders are actually way less common because there's no reusable red eye orb, only the cracked version which you can't even get a renewable supply of until NG+. I've played 65 hours and probably have a Soul Memory over 2 million, but outside of special areas like the Belltowers and Rat Dens I've only been invaded once.

>>187301

Some people are just pretty bad att games but still enjoy playing them.

So, any news on the GFWL?
That shit is gonna close on July 1st, and I haven't heard of any solution for the first Dark Souls so far.

They are apparently working on other methods, but its staying for the moment.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-05-20-dark-souls-will-be-supported-on-gfwl-for-the-foreseeable-future

So after beating the game the first time with a Dex build, I did it again with a Strength build then an Int build.

I'm amazed at how much faster I went: first time took 70 hours, but the second was only 24 and the third 20. And I wasn't even skipping that much: still did all the optional bosses but the Vendrick, Ancient Dragon, and Darklurker for that second one.

I'm playing it through with my Akihiko cosplay build (double (eventually) lightning Caestus) and holy fuck the Belfry Gargoyles are a real pain with double Caestuses and no summoning.

>>187558
Short-reach weapons are frustrating to use against large enemies in general. Even if your face is planted firmly in the boss's ass, a lot of their attack won't connect--not helped by how some of the attacks will push you away from them before actually doing damage.

>>187556
And it'll go even faster with a Faith build. Almost everything in this game is weak to lightning. I killed Darklurker before he could even split.

>>187559

Honestly, the only attack that consistently fucks me up is the one where the gargoyle flies in the air, swoops down, lands, and then a second later jab its spear. There are like three attacks it starts by flying in the air, the only way to tell them apart is by how long they hang in the air, and the other two you have to dodge early. But with this one, if you dodge early, you'll get hit every time.

No one has posted this yet?
Really?
SOULS NEWS: New Project Beast Gameplay

Hope they stick with the Beast name.
Beast's Souls sound rad.

Aw man this comic is so spot on.
http://darksouls.noizmaker.net/comic/torcens-redecorating-services-2/

>>189122
>>189123
Though I can see why they skipped those, that recovery..nah.. hell naw.

>>189123
THE FLINCH IN YOUR EYE CALLS YOUR BLUFF

Apparently I'm so kind of weird backwards freak, because I prefer the PvE in 2 over 1's and I VASTLY prefer the PvP in 1 over 2's.

So about the alfa.
//youtube.com/watch?v=PCc8nrTEKv0
Oh my that spoiler, yes thank you.

>>190776
It took me literally more than four hours in a row to beat him. And I didn't fuck things up with ashen idols that heal him.

Surprised Sinh ranked so high, though. He attacks were fairly easy to avoid and gave you plenty of room to heal, unlike Raime.

>>190777
I'd expected original Smelter to hit the top 5 ranks over him. It's still the most reliable spot in the game to get summoned, because so many people still have trouble with him.

>>190776
I have never, EVER gotten so mad at Souls as I did at Fume Knight, and that includes way back when I first tried Demon Souls and wasn't looking up any of that game's stupid, broken systems. FK literally game be HEADACHES I was getting so salt.

For some reason instead of playing the Dark Souls II DLCs (well, actually, I know exactly why; because I have two characters, one of whom literally just started on NG+ and is right back at the start of the game and the other one of whom is a somewhat goofy cosplay run that I might not want to play in uncharted territory) I'm starting up Demon's Souls, which I've never played before. It's pretty cool. So far my Souls series instincts have made it relatively easily, but I'm sure that'll change.

>Run right into a Red Eye Knight with backup
>Decide to retreat a bit and run down a side passage to get some enchantment on your weapon
>One of those Assassin's Creed-looking sons of bitches drops down right behind you and interrupts you from doing it
>The Knight and his friends show up a second later

//youtube.com/watch?v=46Kv4rBJi68

I re-installed DS1 because I'd not used a heavily-armored build there, realized heavy armor in DS2 is terrible late game (both in terms of damage reduction and hit stun resistance), and heard that it was better in the first game. So I made a no shield, no magic, no range-weapon quality build with the stone armor. The Catacombs are hilarious: I can survived like ten hits from the skeletons without even flinching. I can basically just ignore them until they accidentally walk off a ledge.

It took some readjustment: the controls and combat feel very different. The weird thing is that I can't properly explain how they're different: sometimes it feels faster or harder, sometimes it feels the exact opposite.

There's a bunch of stuff I'd not previous noticed was different in DS2: It takes way longer to get up when a big attack knocks you down (if you're unlucky it'll be right as you're being attacked again). Stamina drains faster for heavy attacks, but way slower for sprinting--which is important, because if you run past almost any enemy, they will keep chasing after you to the ends of the goddamn Earth.

I was talking to Rodyle and he said DS2 basing i-frames on a stat you increasing was a terrible idea. I agree, but I'm not sure whether it would be better to make it based on equip load (like the first game), or just make it the same regardless of your stats or equipment.

>>191123
It's too bad that one glitch makes the Old Whip break stupidly fast whenever it kills things. I got it right off the bat in my most recently started DS2 file (another no shield run) and got the stats up, but was immediately disappointed by how it would one-hit kill five enemies then break.

>>191272
That's why I've been using the regular and the thorned whip in that playthrough instead. It made the whole thing admittedly very tough, because of the poor damage they do. But also very entertaining.

Stone Armor+Gravelord Sword is basically easy mode until at least Anor Londo, even if you've only got an equip load high enough to fat roll. I haven't lost a boss fight since getting them and the Belfry Gargoyles literally took about ten seconds each.

I'm getting into Dark Souls now. Using Black Knight sword and I'm glad I found it when I killed a black Knight.
It's making a real difference.

>>191602
It really does. It will easily carry you through the entire game. The Black Knight weapons are all amazing for PvE.

Well shit....I it looked up and it turns out I killed Quelaag's Sister by mistake. I didn't see a body, I just saw leg on the wall and thought it was just obvious illusion wall.

Jesus, quality builds are ridiculous in the first game: lightning weapons do the most damage even with the bare minimum stat requirements, letting you put all your others levels into VIT and END. I got a Lightning Great Club + 5 about an hour after Anor Londo and it one-hit kills almost everything that isn't a boss up to the end of the game.

With that much health, defense, and poise, I was able to beat Nito in one try (Seath also once I started actually fighting him instead of cutting off his tail) and the Four Kings in two, despite making plenty of mistakes during both.

>>191747
Quality builds are indeed very powerful in the DaS 1. However, what you're describing isn't a quality build. Quality builds have very high strength and dexterity, so they can use almost every weapon in the game. And because they have such high offensive stats, they don't use elemental weapons to get the most from their stat scaling. That's why they're called "quality". Because almost every weapon in their hands scales well and becomes very effective. What you're describing is a Vit gouge build. Giant dads are an example of that. And the reason your Great Club does so much damage is because its base damage is already ridiculous. If it was a +15 non-elemental Great Club wielded with 40 Str it would do even more damage because of the way defense stats work in this game (pure physical only gets reduced by physical defense; elemental weapon damage gets reduced by physical defense, elemental defense and a hidden defense against split damage.)

>>191757
>What you're describing is a Vit gouge build. Giant dads are an example of that.

Sorry, I keep mistaking the term "quality" with... whatever the term for only getting enough to meet weapon requirements (giantdads/haveldads are exactly what I was thinking of, though that also includes whoring equipment load or keeping level low overall for invading).

>If it was a +15 non-elemental Great Club wielded with 40 Str it would do even more damage because of the way defense stats work in this game (pure physical only gets reduced by physical defense; elemental weapon damage gets reduced by physical defense, elemental defense and a hidden defense against split damage.)

I knew attacks with multiple damage types were resisted by multiple defenses (I even found the game's damage formula), but thought lightning weapons did more anyway because each one was still pretty high. However, looking at the AR calculator, both values added together is about the same for most weapons at 40 STR/40 DEX, so lightning weapons will only do more against opponents with really, really high physical defense and low lightning defense (which do exist, but aren't super common).

I'm guessing it just feels way stronger because my first playthrough in the original game had a very under-optimized build--I put a bunch of points into INT and ATN to get soul arrows when it would have been smarter to get a compound bow.

>>191781

Oh cool its kinda like the standard Witcher Enhanced version. "We've thought of ways to make the game better, so we're gonna do that."

>>191781
>Because I am reading right now seems to be saying that I am going to have to buy this new version
If you own the PC version, you own the PC version. You're just gonna get the option to choose between DX9 and DX11, because some people are still playing the game on a toaster and might still need the DX9 option.

>>191786
You are getting this information from where? Almost everything I am reading indicates the exact opposite.

>>191791
Oh fuck that.

>>191791
Welp, fuck this garbage.

If it's priced as an upgrade for like fifteen bucks, like Ultra Street Fighter IV on Steam, then okay. Major graphical revamps cost a lot of time and money to do, that's fair enough.

If they want us to buy the whole game all over again at full price, HAHA FUCK THAT NOISE

>>191804
Well it comes with the DLC, which is priced at $25 or $30 depending on if you get the season pass or not, and considering the latest DLC came out not all that long ago I doubt the price is going to go down in that time, or at least not to that degree. Taking that into consideration, if they provided an option to upgrade to the new version I don't think they'd make it $15.

Or maybe they could provide different discount options for people who bought the DLC?

This whole thing is a fucking mess.

Also, when the hell is DS1 moving to steamworks? I want to play some PVP that doesn't have an awful matchmaking system.

>>191805
>>191804
>Or maybe they could provide different discount options for people who bought the DLC

They did something like that for the Director's Cut of Deus Ex: Human Revolution: half off if you had the original, 75% off if you had it and the DLC.

Even if it is like $10 if you have the original version plus the DLC, I probably won't get it anytime soon--I've played the game too damn many times already. It's fun to keep thinking up new builds, but I'm totally burnt out.

>when the hell is DS1 moving to steamworks?

It was supposed to be sometime this month, but got delayed to an unspecified date in December.

Fuck the Four Kings.
Fuck 'em all.

>>192044
Explain.

>>192045
Just getting my ass kicked by the first king.
So I'm venting....and drinking vodka.
I just need to beef myself up.

Best way to handle the Four Kings is to put on your heaviest armor (Havel's, ideally), two-hand your strongest weapon, and just tank the shit out of them, healing as necessary.

>>192048
So Tank it though....I see.
We'll see how it goes.
Thanks DudeWithMoney.

>>192048
And if you've been leveling up Endurance properly, Havel's Ring should bring you under %50 load.

>>192051
With Havel's ring, my endurance at 100.5....for my strenth build.
And I won with Havel's set w/shield, Black knight sword, and Ring of Steel Protection.
Thnaks DudeWithMoney.

I replayed one of the DLC for the first time with my Flynn's ring build (which kicks ass). Sinh so much better solo than with a phantom like I had the first time I faced him--especially since I use a mouse with II, so I could track his flight around the arena pretty well. Also, I accidentally cut his tail off. I didn't know you could do that.

I would wear "The Symbol of Avarice" Helmet all the time if it went for the slowly killing me effect.

>>192057
It's still great for farming chunks.

>>192057
>>192058
As far as I can tell, you get the same boost to item discovery from the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring without the life drain and their effects don't stack together.

>>192060
Yes, but it also boosts souls and it looks goofy.

>>192061
Hey guys, hey.
Someone ask Woolie on twitter when he's going to play the first Dark Souls, please.
Also, tell him to play it on the xbox 360.

>>192083
Have you tried a diffrent build?

>>192083
There's about four builds that do well in PvP. If you're not one of those, you might have some fun in fight clubs, but you're not gonna win many fights in Township or the forest.

>>192084
>>192085

I've got a Mage build in the works.
The heavy strength build I'm on now is at level 50 strenth now. So dumb and slow I go for now.

Four Archdemons down, one to go. Not really looking forward to the Valley of Defilement, but I'm sure I'll manage. It can't be any worse than the Gutter.

>>192122
It is worse than the Gutter.

Though the archdemon is one of my favorite Souls moments.

>>192122
>>192124
Once you stop being intimidated by the darkness, the Gutter is actually one of the easiest areas in the game to get through.

I've not played Demon's Souls, but I've heard the Valley of Defilement is more like lower Blighttown or the Shrine of Amana in that there's muck covering most of the map that slows down you but not any of the enemies.

The Gutter is infuriating but once you find the way once you never have to worry about it again. Valley of Defilement 2 is one of the worst levels ever put in a video game. You think getting sniped in Amana or hit by rolling boulder guys is bad? Meet the Giant Defiled Ones, the only Souls enemies that have ever forced me to resort to silent movement+distraction spell, and it's their fucking home turf.

>>192126

I didn't think the Gutter was hard as such (although fuck those dogs if you're running a melee build, there's actually no way to not get hit by them) I just hated it. I hated not being able to see and I hated the confusing-ass way everything was laid out. Shrine of Amana was a huge unfun slog but I never hated it the way I hated the Gutter (and I didn't actually find Blighttown that bad)

>>192127
>Valley of Defilement 2

You mean 1? "Valley of Defilement 2" is a nickname for Blighttown.

>>192128
> I hated not being able to see and I hated the confusing-ass way everything was laid out.
Personally, I found the Gutter way easier to navigate than the part of Blighttown between the Depths and the swamp. Especially since the one-way drops kept me from getting turned around a billion times like I did on the Blighttown rafters.

>>192130
No I mean 2. Every Area in Demon Souls is split into 2 main levels and an Archdemon level, except for Boletaria Palace. These are generally referred to by [Area Number-Level Number] but are also called by name (Tower of Latria 1, Stonefang Tunnel 2, etc).

>>192131
Gotcha.

On an unrelated note, planning out builds has become a bizarre addiction: I've already taken two builds and for each I've plotted out an ordered progression of about a dozen weapons, three armor sets, and every stat point up to level 150 as well as picking up spells for one of them. I'll probably actually make them once the 1.10 patch comes (or I get Scholar of the First Sin if it has a big enough discount).

Also, it turns elemental resistance in Dark Souls II is a multiplicative resistance (divide your resistance for any non-physical damage type by 9 and you'll get the percentage of that type of damage you negate, even making you immune to damage from that element if it's at 900), not a weird piecewise function that starts out subtractive like all damage in the first game. I did not know that.

>>192130

I see what you're saying but I can't agree. The Blighttown rafters were a mess, but the direction of forward progress was always the same and always easy to determine: down. In the Gutter, on the other hand, you have to go every fucking which way.

Welp....got everyone at Firelink Shrine hallowed out or killed....while trying not to hallow our kill them.
I'm the best undead ever!

Petrus deserves it, though. Though I wonder how you managed to kill him without wanting to.

>>192144
Oh no, I flat out stabbed his ass AFTER he killed that princess lady. I gave him a chance, and he blew it.
Fuck that jackass.

>>192143
To be fair EVERYONE in Dark Souls needs to die, it literally helps everyone.

>>192146
Sieglinde is still on her first life, so to speak. But I think she's the only non-undead you meet in the base game.

>>192146
There's no benevolent action for you in the first DaS besides staying in your cell.

>>192146
Yes, but it doesn't seem you "killing" them in a gameplay sense makes them stay dead. You just don't see them again. They're probably coming back elsewhere, even more hollowed out than before, until someone links the fire.

>>192148
Barring the sentient non-humans (gods, giants, Daughters of Chaos, Alvina, etc.). I mean there are plenty of NPCs whose only indication of being undead is being in Lordran, but Sieglinde is the only one with evidence of specifically not being undead.

Oh, and the GFWL removing patch for the first game finally came out. If you've got any saves you care about, be sure to reinstall so you can move them before February 16.

Hey, just tried to fight Gravelord Nito. Went poorly. Fucking Skeletons, man.

>>192156
If you don't have a divine weapon to keep them down, this may be another time to just load up on armor and Estus, ignore them, and brute force Nito as quickly as possible.

>>192156
Go to the north side of the tomb, easier to fight him there.

http://darksouls2.wikidot.com/weakness
http://darksouls2.wikidot.com/movement-modifier
>Enemy's do not have a physical defense stat, the area they are in has one

Well, that's freaking weird.

>>192171
....dose that mean you can kill an area? Just stab or backstab the ground a few times then area dead.
How many souls can you get if you kill an entire area I wonder.

I beat Nito thanks to you guys, so thanks guys.
Paladin Leeroy popped in on my way to Nito.....then he died. I didn't kill him.
I got the invader message, tried to find him for a bit, then he just died. Never saw him ether.
It was werid, but I did get his armor from his body after the fight with Nito so it's sll good.

>>192204

He spawns in an area with a lot of cliff. Most likely his AI wigged out and dropped him off of it.

>>192204
>>192209
> I did get his armor from his body after the fight with Nito so it's sll good.

And that's because reloading an area (through dying, leaving, or starting up after quitting) in the first game causes the items a non-respawning enemy drops to move back to that enemy's spawning point.

>>192234
That's only true for "friendly" NPCs and some key enemies. Drops from other enemies and all NPC invaders are lost forever when they fall off a cliff. Leeroy's armor spawns in a set location after beating him. He himself only drops his hammer, which is now gone and can't be gotten until NG+.

Sweet Dark Souls on Steam is finally fixed.

What are the best stats to pump for a thief build.

>>192243
How thief-y do you want to get?
Vit and End should always both go to 40, unless you're a pure spellcaster.
If you rather want to to use quick weapons, like rapiers and katanas, dexterity is the stat to pump. There's also the quality option, like halberds and greatswords, where you have both, high strength and dexterity, though your dexterity should still be higher.
It's really up to you where to go from here. The class you're starting with doesn't determine anything other than your starting stats and equipment. Just pick a weapon you like, look at its stat requirements and what it scales best with and go from there.

>>192244
Bandit Knife is doing well with the bleed boost. Yea Got Dex to 20 and now working on getting Vit up next since its lowest.

>>192245
How far into the game are you? Keep in mind that most bosses and some enemies can't be bled, so the Knife might not be the ideal weapon for those. Also, the most important rule, before I forget: Equipment upgrades >>>>>>>>>>>>> stat levels. Always spend your souls on your equipment first, before you spend the rest on leveling up.

>>192246
Since its dealing with the Windows Live switchover I'm back to stage one.

I've been doing a knife build myself (combined with sorcery; it's a Medea cosplay build) and I'be been finding the basic dagger a surprisingly capable weapon, even against bosses. Granted the damage is terrible, but the attacks are so quick that you can safely fit one or two into any gap in a boss's attack pattern whatsoever.

I do expect that I'll need to pick up a falchion or katana or something for many of the later bosses, mind.

>>192248
Right now its close and tight attack pattern is better than any other weapon I'm finding. Everything else has too long a recovery and their attack strings are just all over the place.

I keep forgetting, exploration can be hazardous to ones health.

So I got egged in PvP. Is the only way get cured of the infection to go down into the Blight?

>>192414
1. That's fucking hilarious.
2. There's also an Egg Vermifuge in the Painted World, but the easiest way really is just talking to Eingyi.

>>192415

What's the quickest way down there? I keep using the Drake Valley/New Londo passage but getting down those ladders is a damn bear mainly because I can't see shit when firing the bow since the egghead freaks the camera out and those bugs keep clipping and poisoning me too fast to react (thanks halved health).

>>192416
The Drake Valley way is definitely faster and less confusing. I wouldn't bother fighting unless absolutely necessary. Just put on the Rusted Iron Ring and book it.

>thanks halved health
You can get an item that cures that too from the Hollowed merchant lady and a few cheaper ones from Oswald.

>>192416
Oh, so you got invaded and infected by a hacker and not some guy who was also infected and hit you with a kick. That's not that hilarious anymore and kinda sucks. And you're not only infected, you're also cursed. Getting rid of the egg won't get you back to full health, it will only cure you from being unable to wear a helmet and getting half the amount of souls from enemies. To cure that half health shit, you need a Purging Stone. You can get one from Oswald for 3000 souls, he's the guy in the belltower.

I was part of the Forest Covenant summoned to deal with some dude named Cabbage. He didn't visibly have the egg and I was infected by him hitting me with a trident, so yea he hacked his weapon. Should be a way to blacklist hackers like that.

>>192422
Apparently its a mod specific to that trident. Popular among Chaos Hackers

>>192426
tumbled off the tower trying to get to the nest, I didn't die, but I killed the pyro dude. Lucky I'd already gotten everything off him and had access to the others.

Hey so

I got DS1 as a gift from a friend and I gotta say it was the absolute first time I ever saw the game and I'm a total newb at it.
Any tips? I keep dying at Undead Burg or whatever the name is.

And I have no idea what 90% of items are or what they do. ._.

>>192484
The best way is really for your friend to help you. There's so much shit to teach that it's kinda hard to just condense it into some posts. For now, the most important tip is to look at the bottom of each menu. There's a short explanation on how to navigate them and access shit like descriptions and stat windows.

>>192485
lets just say the reason i got it as a gift from said friend was because he didn't get it either

Watch the Best Friends LP 9f Dark Souls 2 least the first few episodes to get the understanding of things. "Don't use Fire Keeper Souls for anything but Reinforcing the Flask since that is a hundred extra health each healing"

Focus Either on Dex or Str if doing a warrior build not both, Either Faith or Intel to be a Mage or Cleric not both. Or Warrior Pyro since Pyro stuff isn't really based that much on a particular skill and gets buffed like weapons.

Upgrading weapons and Armor is Key as is finding out which pieces of armor best suit your play.

>>192484

Here's a guide I put together for new players: http://pikabot.tumblr.com/post/107358692080/so-you-want-to-play-dark-souls

I've found I play better when listening to LPs. Going through Jim Sterling's Deadly Premonitions LP while I go about getting the Lordvessel.

>>192537
> while I go about getting the Lordvessel.
Your first time? Good luck. Show those fuckers who's boss.

Just did that run myself, first time i've not been ambushed by some red phantom somewhere along the path, cheeky buggers.

Used the summons outside the door and to split the fight and was looking to fight Smough as the final, but he ended up getting the brunt of the damage and falling first.

Lucky Ornstein got locked up on the pillar remains and I was just able to plug away with the black bow. Ended the fight with 1 health though Razor margin of victory.

On my first playthrough of Dark Souls 2, I ran a priest. I melee'd a lot but I always had the option of just falling back and throwing lightning.

Now I'm playing through it melee (well, I have some sorceries, but almost entirely focused on sword-buffing) and HOLY SHIT FUCK THE DARKLURKER. He's major weak to lightning so chucking lightning spears made the fight not that hard but with a melee build? FUCK THIS SHIT. Maybe I'll come back after I do the DLC areas and I'm even stronger.

I DON'T EVEN USE HEXES WHAT POSSIBLE MOTIVATION COULD I HAVE TO FIGHT HIM

Reused models? They're based on PVP builds.

>>192576

That's what I meant, FromSoft didn't actually do any model work on them. They're just regular character models kitted out sets of preexisting gear. Some might call that lazy on FromSoft's part.

I don't give a shit, having way too much fun fighting them to care.

>>190550

It's not hard once you realize that the reindeer don't spawn near the buildings, making them a safe zone, they only spawn one reindeer per blizzard (except for that last leg between the third building and the bridge where they spawn two at a time, but if you just book it onto the bridge they won't follow you) and that you can still see the sun and your shadow to navigate by while in the blizzard. Just pick your destination, note where your shadow is, and if you get turned around while fighting reindeer just get your shadow back in that position and resume running. You might wind up a little off course but it's easy enough to correct for it once visibility returns.

Now, the BOSS is tough, I'll grant you.

>>192643

Correction, they will follow you to the fog door. However, it take a while to get onto the bridge for some reason so unless you have to stop at the fog door and buff, they'll never catch you.

>>192578
Aw yeah that thing is so fucking cool!

Cant wait to find the gear/item that tells its tale.

>>195383
Long as it's more 1 than 2, I'm interested.

Oh heck, I'll be interested if it's like 2 anyway.

//youtube.com/watch?v=dyRJ5u-L8qw

>>195516
Based on that screenshot I do not think this will be called DS 3.

>>195516

>Still no play for PC

Dammit From, been a solid sell for years now and still you fuck with us. Well I'm don with ya. As good as souls is, I just don't feel like waiting years after consoles for the promise of a port.

>>195520
This isn't an official announcement you realize. Also it would be up to Bamco whether or not it gets ported, not From.

>>195856
Let's hope it's gonna be a simultaneous release this time and the PC version won't be two months behind.

>the Agility stat will not be returning

Thank God. I didn't mind II trying to rebalance the armor system, even if they ended up making heavy armor underpowered, but tying i-frames to a single stat was an awful idea.

>>196152
>even if they ended up making heavy armor underpowered
wat? The exact opposite was the case. Why do you think they had to keep nerfing the heaviest sets within 5 consecutive patchs?

>>196155
Maybe in PvP (that was just one patch that I can find), but in PvE and the DLC especially, it's terrible: most attacks either ignore defense entirely or do so much that the best armor won't even take a third of it off, stamina regeneration penalties are far more severe, and poise was nerfed in four different ways.

http://kotaku.com/plagiarism-accusations-shake-up-dark-souls-community-1716528025

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/08/twitch-has-gone-crazy-and-is-trying-to-play-dark-souls/

So how is this joyful experiment going to go?

>>197145
twitch.tv/twitchplaysdark

54 hours in, they've picked up the starting weapon (and thus must have run past the Asylum Demon) and Estus Flask, but have not left the Asylum or spent the very few souls collected on levels.

It doesn't really matter how hard the game is, just the fact that it's a real-time action game (instead of something turn-based like Pokemon) makes getting anywhere hopeless. Even if it was just one guy, it would be obscenely difficult because it requires analog controls translated from text inputs with a delay.

For a game like this, it would be better if they could somehow give a different random person full control for one second each.

>>197147
That and the chat is in a nazi police state. You're not allowed to use all caps, something that's been a staple of Twitch Plays since day one.

Holy shit, after 4 days they actually picked up the pyromancy flame. Viewership is down to 2k which means they might actually get somewhere.

>>197165
Is there a key for those damned emoticons on Twitch? Trying to talk to someone there is like trying to parse through another language.

>>197181
And now the guy is such a shill he makes you pay $5 just to subscribe and/or use emoticons.

And Twitch is still buggy as all with those that try to get into streams with them.

>Twtich hacks the game so that it "lags" between voting for the next command.

Well, I guess that is one way to play.

>Building a setup to gather souls when I get summoned
>Get summoned to battle the Sinner
>Okay now gotta face the sentry
>Two Frankenstein mothers come out of the shadows in the water.

And so I then learned that I can be summoned into New Game Plus even if I'm just on the first run. That and I did all kinds of stuff out of order due to boss rushing with summons, all for that to dry out when going against the chariot and the Skeleton Lords. Can I only do so many summons without juicing the bonfire near them?

>>197230
>Can I only do so many summons without juicing the bonfire near them?
It doesn't matter how many summons you do, farming souls just increases your soul memory. Summoning is based on having similar soul memory, thus grinding those souls made you more likely to be summoned by someone in new game plus.

So to understand the more I farm souls the less message contact I'll have with base players (also those running DX9 cannot connect with those running DX11), and from what I've seen the more I'll have high level invaders coming at my butt.

>>197243
Exactly.

>also those running DX9 cannot connect with those running DX11
Yes, but that's actually because those are technically different games: DX9 is the original Dark Souls II, DX11 is Scholar of the First Sin. Each runs on entirely different servers.

So with a Soul Memory over a million I'm pretty out of the multiplayer game until I get to NG+

>>197247
Nah. 1 million is around your first go through Drangleic Castle on NG.

So whats a good game for the Big Rat seeing as its a one person affair in SotfS. Equip Pyro and just start tossing fireballs.

>>197249
Yeah. The small rats are the only problem in the fight. Take them out as soon as possible. I think I used a bow on my last time through.

>>197248
Yeah, it's often even higher: I was over 2 million by the Iron Keep in my first playth>>197249
rough.

>>197249
>>197250
If you're a total coward, you can even get to the ledge above and potshot the thing to death.

>>197251
I remembered that you can roll under it and did that tactic, quick work with a +10 Greatsword then boss rushed the Chariot, Skeleton Lords and the Covetous Demon, so now I'm caught up to the keep, was hoping they'd fixed the Elevator into it as its supposed to go down and not up.

>>197252
>was hoping they'd fixed the Elevator
Honestly, I think it would've been way better if that path ended with Mytha and the Keep was right after The Rotten, who would no longer be a Great Soul. Mytha has a ton of backstory that would make sense for a boss with a Great Soul and the Iron Keep would make so much sense at the deepest part of the entire map.

>>197253
Though given its new game plus drop, supposedly it's an an heir to Gravelord Nito or something. Though like many of the other things maybe it was a failed attempt to recreate the Gravelord hence it wound up at the bottom of the pit.

>>197253
Though given its new game plus drop, supposedly it's an an heir to Gravelord Nito or something. Though like many of the other things maybe it was a failed attempt to recreate the Gravelord hence it wound up at the bottom of the pit.

So is the PVP sweetspot still 150

>Get hooked on doing PVP matches
>Start setting up my own arena space on the bridge for participants
>Don't pay attention to my soul count

Well I'm north of four million now. The DLC areas are going to be fun.

Some mechanical stuff about III

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/09/08/dark-souls-iii-what-s-in-what-s-out.aspx
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/09/08/miyazaki-opens-up-about-dark-souls-iii-s-magic-system.aspx

>there will be some way to reallocate stats
>trying to make spells more functionally different instead of just powered up versions
Good

>new game plus will have new items and enemy placements
>no bonfire ascetics
>hidden walls are opened with attacks again
I could go either way on those, really.

>fast travel from the beginning
Bloodborne showed that works fine if you still have lots of shortcuts and keep the points far enough apart.

>invasions go back to being level-based with reusable items
Good, but I hope they implement a minimum level to be invaded to curb the Second Coming of the Dickwraiths. I might be even worse if it turns out there's not a state that prevent invasions.

>magic goes back to an MP system
Hmm... sounds fine as long as MP is hard or impossible to restore outside of bonfires. I hope there's something that will indicate how much a spell will cost before you use it.

>weapon degradation will be somewhere between the rates from I and II
The durability system from II would be fine if it was just more simple and consistent, instead of the hitbox/hurtbox overlap thing that's based on framerate.

Also, not in these ones, but reports from the last demo are that heavy attack while sprinting does a jumping attack. This makes me unreasonably happy.

Problem with Durability in 2 is that it was geared for 30FPS when it was tweaked to PC things went to shit because it doubled the rate.

Guessing the Ascetics removal is to keep people from just dumping them to get the items before New Game. Did that to get the Crypt Greatsword. If its Spells purely using MP and not "shots" could lead for some interesting PVP combat.

>>197358
>Problem with Durability in 2 is that it was geared for 30FPS when it was tweaked to PC things went to shit because it doubled the rate.
That was [b]one[/i] problem with it, but there are also some specific weapons (mostly whips, but also some great hammers) that have utterly ridiculous degradation rates in every version, especially when used against large enemies.

There was also that bug where passing attacks through a corpse degraded the weapon at like five times the rate as on a living enemy, but that was fixed eventually.

Replaying Dark Souls 2 on the Scholar of the First Sin edition and - I don't think I'm supposed to have the Grand lance yet. This feels WAY too strong.

>>197587
Eh, you can get plenty of really powerful stuff very early on. Rapier, Mace, Greatsword, Halberd, Falchion. Though I haven't played SoftFS, so those might not be available that early anymore.

>>197617
>Though I haven't played SoftFS, so those might not be available that early anymore.
Scholar of the First Sin deliberately made more powerful weapons earlier on. I actually remember they put some of the kobolds in Aldia's Keep (the ones that drop Black Knight weapons) in front of the gate and let you get to the Shaded Woods earlier, but I can't remember if they have the same drops.

The only exception I can think of is the Malformed Skull, because they got rid of the Enhanced Undead in Sinner's Rise.

>>197624

Getting through the last bit of the DLC now. Haven't beat the bonus boss in the Iron King one through. That Samurai is a beast.

So Three won't have Bonfire Boosters forcing people to actually get to New Game Plus instead of just triggering the bonfires to get the Plus Items. I like that as I tired of PVP invasions with people coming in welding the Black Crypt Greatsword and other plus weapons while I was still trucking about in the First Playthrough.

Off to get pair of bone fists for a Kamen Rider build, what is a good set mix for such a thing

>>197674
It's honestly easier in both versions just to skip to Belfry Sol or the last bonfire.