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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:Easiest way to get lockstones is to ratbro it up, yes? Yes. You get one whenever you defeat the host as a grey phantom.
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May 1, 2014 13:37
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Ignimbrite posted:I just had my first invasion, in drangleic castle, I had just gotten past the room with the 3 knights and the giant cursing painting when he shows up; he's in light armour double-handing what looked like a broken longsword or something. We traded blows for a while before I lead him back to the room that backs onto the acid pit and my black knight halberd came out and I splattered him over the walls That was an NPC.
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May 1, 2014 13:40
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dudeman posted:That was an NPC. I thought NPC phantoms didn't have the "you are being invaded" and "the invader was killed" messages at the bottom of the screen though?
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May 1, 2014 13:43
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someone summoned me for the scorpion boss and I guess they just ran past all the lion dudes, because they completely swarmed him and he died as I was still spawning in. I've seen a lot of poo poo farming for sun tokens.
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May 1, 2014 13:44
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NAVLAAAAAAAAN! 
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May 1, 2014 13:45
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Ignimbrite posted:I thought NPC phantoms didn't have the "you are being invaded" and "the invader was killed" messages at the bottom of the screen though? There are NPC Invaders and NPC Black Phantoms, the only real difference between the two is that the Invaders give you those messages and are generally actual NPC characters you have met and/or pissed off.
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May 1, 2014 13:45
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Genocyber posted:And it does; rather than wasting time on pointless bullshit like "realism" it has actual really good level design, with a lot of smart enemy placements. Many of which are meant to anticipate player actions (i.e. the easy to aggro Archdrakes in the anime shrine before the third bonfire if you try to rush the mages and you're not careful).  " for pages now. We get it, you're awesome and anyone who has any criticism about the level design just sucks at it. Now go back to gamefaqs.I agree with NihilVerum, the zones in DS2 just feel less organic and appropriate than the ones in the last game. The whole approach to the Iron Keep is basically cribbed from DS1's approach to Izalith, what with the vertical poison level, flat poison level, lava level, but where DS1 actually felt like you're actually travelling somewhere - descending through the sewers, climbing down a rickety shanty down built into the walls of the above city's garbage dump, trudging through the sludge and finally spelunking down a natural cave into the underworld - the whole thing feels like a sequence of Doom levels. It's a lot more low-effort design and not nearly as well integrated.
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May 1, 2014 13:49
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"Doom levels" is a bit hyperbolic but the game is less organic. Considering the sheer length of it, that was to be expected. I believe Dark Souls is a demanding sort of game, so the players can be equally demanding and, dare I say, nitpicky when it comes to criticism. I'll still waste hundreds of hours on it though.
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May 1, 2014 13:57
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Hm, I seem to be stuck. I've beaten the four old soul bosses and lit all four primal bonfires but the gate to the king won't open for me. Of the 4 old souls the DDF one has a different icon, doesn't look like an old soul. Any ideas?
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May 1, 2014 13:57
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torsoboy posted:Hm, I seem to be stuck. I've beaten the four old soul bosses and lit all four primal bonfires but the gate to the king won't open for me. Of the 4 old souls the DDF one has a different icon, doesn't look like an old soul. Any ideas? Did you pick up the other soul on the ground near the dragon's head? A.C. posted:There are NPC Invaders and NPC Black Phantoms, the only real difference between the two is that the Invaders give you those messages and are generally actual NPC characters you have met and/or pissed off. Oh. I never realised there could be NPC invaders. Neat.
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May 1, 2014 13:59
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Ignimbrite posted:Oh. I never realised there could be NPC invaders. Neat. The game actually spawns new NPC invaders when you try to cheese the PvP areas by going offline. 
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May 1, 2014 14:02
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Just got invaded by a bellbro and a black phantom, and they totally duked it out. Nice.
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May 1, 2014 14:05
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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:NAVLAAAAAAAAN! Pull back Pull back Pull back Don't you dare!
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May 1, 2014 14:10
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Man, PVP isn't as fun in NG+ now I'm starting to realise how many loving one-shot tank mages there are. Seriously, five invasions, all against dudes that one shot me and have defenses that result in me only doing 200 damage. If they don't just fast roll out of range with full Drangelic, argh. poptart_fairy fucked around with this message at 14:16 on May 1, 2014 |
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May 1, 2014 14:11
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Dual Blue Flame in PvP is hilarious because nobody knows how to deal with it. When someone does its a hella fun fight A++ would recommend
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May 1, 2014 14:12
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Ice_Mallet posted:Pull back I dared, and now I have to live with my decision. It's amazing where the guy turns up. Right in the loving Gutter!
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May 1, 2014 14:16
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torsoboy posted:Hm, I seem to be stuck. I've beaten the four old soul bosses and lit all four primal bonfires but the gate to the king won't open for me. Of the 4 old souls the DDF one has a different icon, doesn't look like an old soul. Any ideas? Killing those four bosses opens up a door that you'll find down a path from the "left" exit of the Shaded Woods bonfire (if you find a Flexile Sentry, you're going the right way). The doors that mention "producing the symbol of the King" are something else.
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May 1, 2014 14:23
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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:nothing makes sense from a "People used to live and work here" perspective. I hope the guys who worked at Sen's Fortress got danger pay.
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May 1, 2014 14:37
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Umberger posted:Killing those four bosses opens up a door that you'll find down a path from the "left" exit of the Shaded Woods bonfire (if you find a Flexile Sentry, you're going the right way). The doors that mention "producing the symbol of the King" are something else. Yes, that's the door I can't get past.. edit: I read your comment wrong, I'll go back and try again - thanks Ignimbrite posted:Did you pick up the other soul on the ground near the dragon's head? I did pick it up I think... I went back just now and there is a crystal thing in its place which I can activate but doesn't do anything.
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May 1, 2014 14:38
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Junkenstein posted:I hope the guys who worked at Sen's Fortress got danger pay. hahah yeah, I don't think any part of the Dark Souls world felt plausible/less video gamey than this game. I think it was more interesting and cohesive though.
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May 1, 2014 14:39
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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:Anor Londo archer bridge was both a fun challenge and cool design. Placing archers out of reach willy-nilly (Looking at you Drangleic Castle) isn't the same. There isn't a single archer out of reach in Drangleic castle that I can think of off the top of my head, for melee characters or casters/archers. Plus the archers aren't even that bad. The archers in DS1 were way worse than in 2. I still think that designing levels to be fun and challenging is more important than designing realistic levels, and if you have to sacrifice realism and a logical layout in some areas for fun, then that's perfectly fine by me. But a good portion of the areas in 2 felt well designed from both a basic design standpoint, and a level design standpoint, much like Anor Londo. I feel that Earthen Peak in particular is a good example. The place didn't feel like just a video game level. It felt like you were inside a massive machine built to pump poison up into the queen's chambers. The poison doesn't just come from nowhere. It comes from the toxic mines that you just battled through to get there. All throughout the level are gears and axels and pools of poison, all powered and propelled by a giant windmill, which is why it makes sense that when you burn said windmill, the posion recedes. Nothing really feels out of place or overly gamey, like it was just put there to be an obstacle for the player, but it's still a delight to traverse through such a challenging and vertically oriented level. I will say that burning the windmill was a rather obtuse solution, but once you know to do it, it makes sense that it would work. In the end the most important thing is that the levels aren't a chore to slog through, and I find (almost) all of them to be fun as hell. And as Junkenstein pointed out Junkenstein posted:I hope the guys who worked at Sen's Fortress got danger pay. If you think every area in DS1 felt like a realistic and liveable area, you're just deluding yourself.
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May 1, 2014 14:43
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Junkenstein posted:I hope the guys who worked at Sen's Fortress got danger pay. Sen's was specifically designed to be full of traps and assholery though? Lore-wise, I mean. In other new I finally beat Darklurker - The goddamn rear end in a top hat even got one last soul spear off while already in his death animation!
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May 1, 2014 14:45
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There is nothing in this game as dumb as the bridge drake in Dark Souls 1. Like flat out the bridge drake is pretty fuckin' random except for the really obtuse trick of running in place behind a column to create enough aggro to make it jump down at you for no apparent reason. Or all of Lost Izalith! Seriously do people actually like the second half of Dark Souls other than maybe the Duke's Archives branch and the DLC (which is the best part of the game entirely)? The primary design difference that I can tell in encounter design between DS1/2 is volume of enemies at once- Dark Souls 1 has enemies spread throughout the level, with one or two at a time usually in each encounter. The main exceptions I can think of this for the whole level is the Catacombs, but even then that's limited to the range of engagement by the skeletons depending on how you approach them. From the get-go, Dark Souls 2 generally has you facing 2+ enemies minimum for the majority of the encounters- try to think of the specific encounters where you only fight a singular enemy and you'll find that either it's a trap or based on a gimmick. The difficulty of DS1 lies in the slow grind of the levels. Your respite is finding a bonfire that lets you In DS2, the difficulty lies in each set of encounters, which then tends to lead a 'checkpoint' bonfire. I think that's a major part of what makes DS1 level design feel more 'natural', while DS2's feels more 'gamey'. Also, I seem to have broken into the NG+ range of PVP at the bellbros or somethin' cuz I'm starting to see some real hosed up health values (2k+!) in my encounters with some of these folks!
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May 1, 2014 14:49
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The archers were way easier to deal with in Drangleic than that one awful segment of Anor Londo. The archers aren't the problem with the design, the aesthetics of the castle interior are the big problem. The approach is amazing but once you're inside it's a little dull, unlike Anor Londo which was visually interesting from beginning to end. The highs are higher in Dark Souls 2 but the lows are lower as well.
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May 1, 2014 14:52
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Manatee Cannon posted:The archers were way easier to deal with in Drangleic than that one awful segment of Anor Londo. The archers aren't the problem with the design, the aesthetics of the castle interior are the big problem. The approach is amazing but once you're inside it's a little dull, unlike Anor Londo which was visually interesting from beginning to end. The highs are higher in Dark Souls 2 but the lows are lower as well. There is nothing remotely as bad as Lost Izalith and the bed of chaos in Dark souls 2.
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May 1, 2014 14:55
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I wish Shalquoir would give you the exact number of points you have in each covenant instead of just the rank. I've been Bellbroing for a while and can't remember how many kills I've gotten (it's somewhere around 60-80, I think?), but I'd love to know when I'm supposed to go see the covenant NPC to get the rewards.
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May 1, 2014 14:57
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I really like how the worlds and stories of dark souls 1 and 2 link up. It somehow makes this game even more depressing than the first.
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May 1, 2014 14:59
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Andrast posted:There is nothing remotely as bad as Lost Izalith and the bed of chaos in Dark souls 2.
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May 1, 2014 15:00
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All my non-casting stats are now at 20, with 30 strength(Tower Shield) and 25 dexterity(Heide Spear), where should I put points now? More health/stamina or level up my damage stats to the cap(40 I believe?) first?
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May 1, 2014 15:01
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Andrast posted:There is nothing remotely as bad as Lost Izalith and the bed of chaos in Dark souls 2. I'm talking visual design, not game design. Though you could make an argument for the Prowling Magus being as bad a boss for different reasons.
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May 1, 2014 15:03
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I dropped my large soapstone sign outside of Smelter Demon and was summoned shortly after. The host walked into the fog door, but right when he did, I got the message that the "host has left the area" and was kicked back to my world. The option to drop my sign was grayed out after. What's going on? Did the host hack me?
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May 1, 2014 15:04
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Ugh, I wish there was a website that lets you compare stats on items. All the wikis seem bent on listing stats in the worst possible way.
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May 1, 2014 15:06
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Noblesse Oblige posted:I dropped my large soapstone sign outside of Smelter Demon and was summoned shortly after. The host walked into the fog door, but right when he did, I got the message that the "host has left the area" and was kicked back to my world. The option to drop my sign was grayed out after. What's going on? Did the host hack me? I've had that happen to me at least a half dozen times, but only in the Bastille. I think it might just be a bug of some kind, the other summoned players I was with got kicked from the sessions as well.
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May 1, 2014 15:11
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Noblesse Oblige posted:I dropped my large soapstone sign outside of Smelter Demon and was summoned shortly after. The host walked into the fog door, but right when he did, I got the message that the "host has left the area" and was kicked back to my world. The option to drop my sign was grayed out after. What's going on? Did the host hack me? That means the guy who summoned you already killed the boss, contrary to popular belief you can still summon guys from Large Stones when the boss is dead, which is kind of stupid because there's no way for them to succeed. If you quit to the title screen and start again you should be able to use your stone, that part is a bug.
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May 1, 2014 15:13
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Manatee Cannon posted:The archers were way easier to deal with in Drangleic than that one awful segment of Anor Londo. The archers aren't the problem with the design, the aesthetics of the castle interior are the big problem. The approach is amazing but once you're inside it's a little dull, unlike Anor Londo which was visually interesting from beginning to end. The highs are higher in Dark Souls 2 but the lows are lower as well. I dunno, the interior of the Anor Londo castle was boring as all hell, if you ask me. The outside and cathedral were quite nice though.
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May 1, 2014 15:15
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A.C. posted:That means the guy who summoned you already killed the boss, contrary to popular belief you can still summon guys from Large Stones when the boss is dead, which is kind of stupid because there's no way for them to succeed. If you quit to the title screen and start again you should be able to use your stone, that part is a bug. yeah, he probably summoned you to help him with the Pursuer that shows up after Smelter Demon is dead, which you can't do with a large white soapstone because it counts as an area transition (but maybe with a small white soapstone?)
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May 1, 2014 15:17
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Most of the time making good levels requires not going by real life building standards, because real buildings are very rarely designed for the kind of flow and complexity that progression requires. Even poo poo like Assassin's creed and Uncharted are super far off from how real cities and buildings actually work despite being based off of them, due to the structure that the Teach -> Practice -> Provide system most level design ascribes to.
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May 1, 2014 15:22
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How come I can't fire the great arrows? I thought my bow was to small (was using the shortbow) but then I bought the dragonrider bow and I get the same thing. When I try to fire it he does the no ammo animation.
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May 1, 2014 15:25
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Danith posted:How come I can't fire the great arrows? I thought my bow was to small (was using the shortbow) but then I bought the dragonrider bow and I get the same thing. When I try to fire it he does the no ammo animation. You need a greatbow. The alonne knights drop one.
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May 1, 2014 15:28
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Danith posted:How come I can't fire the great arrows? I thought my bow was to small (was using the shortbow) but then I bought the dragonrider bow and I get the same thing. When I try to fire it he does the no ammo animation. The Dragonrider Bow is still just a bow, not a greatbow.
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May 1, 2014 15:29
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