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50 Str is more than enough to do a lot of damage with the Red Iron Twinblade, so you shouldn't need to infuse it. Hopefully you've also been keeping with Vitality? It's less important in DS2 because boosting all your other stats slowly increases your maximum HP by drips, but by this point something like 1300-1600 HP is good to shoot for. Edit: Since you mentioned your issue in the DS3 thread as well, in a situation like this using a relatively slow (still quick compared to DS1 and perhaps DS3) weapon's heavy attack might be too slow for comfort. I've taken beaten the Fume Knight before with an ultra greatsword on multiple occasions, but I always used the relevant light attacks instead. NGDBSS fucked around with this message at 04:31 on May 17, 2016 |
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May 17, 2016 04:20
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I forgot how incredibly annoying hitting crystal lizards was in 2.
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May 17, 2016 05:17
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RBA Starblade posted:I forgot how incredibly annoying hitting crystal lizards was in 2. It's very weapon moveset dependent, try an ultra greatsword if you have enough strength to two-hand it (go see Straid about the pursuer's soul if you want a good one). The R1 is a downwards strike that'll flip the lizard on its back, stunning it for a few seconds before it flips itself over, and the followup R1 is an upwards swing that'll finish it off. Just don't accidentally do a running attack with it, it's a big horizontal sweep that doesn't intersect with the ground. Conversely, stuff like thrusting swords are utterly useless. Right now I have 40 dex but low faith/int (something like 7 in each), is it worth me infusing my weapon and dropping points into those, or should I just put them into HP/stamina/equip load for better fashion souls?
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May 17, 2016 10:13
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Made it to the DLC! Despite some 'come on, now' moments, I've really enjoyed DS2. Felt good fighting the Giant Lord and realizing I was no longer afraid of charging through the enemy's legs. Was also satisfying to beat the later bosses in only 1 or 2 tries. In fact, more than the bosses, the one guy that really stuck out was that mace-wielding mook at Dragon Shrine. He really went for it 
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May 17, 2016 10:59
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RBA Starblade posted:I forgot how incredibly annoying hitting crystal lizards was in 2. This plus the fact that their drops don't auto-loot to you, so when they suicide off a cliff you get nothing. Oh and even more the fact that they won't respawn if you save/quit and reload. They should have given them two big crystal middle fingers in this game. Lizard behavior was one of the things in 3 that I was very glad to see reverted back to the way that 1 did it.
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May 17, 2016 14:57
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DS3 lizards are for casuals
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May 17, 2016 15:34
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Torch zombie pissed off Agdayne. If I kill him, can I resurrect him like other NPCs and still buy from him? I'm not paying the exorbitant fee to absolve myself of that sin.
Happy Hedonist fucked around with this message at 16:20 on May 17, 2016 |
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May 17, 2016 16:13
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mastershakeman posted:I can do the first phase no problem, I guess I just need more than 24 vig. What's a recommended respec ? I'm level 170 ish. 50 vig every build forever
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May 17, 2016 16:31
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Just finished DS1 for the first time and I'll be moving on to DS2: SotFS to coop through with a friend. I used this common builds guide on Steam to get a good idea of some common builds and what to shoot for. Is there anything out there similar for DS2? Searching around for builds has led to a few sites with a bunch of joke builds and no idea what I would be getting myself in to. I played DS1 with the Faith build in the link above. Mostly ended up with a Divine Gargoyle's Halberd and some Havels/Paladin stuff to tank everything while I blocked and spun around them. Looking to change stuff up for DS2 and so far I'm thinking about maybe going to a dual caestus build.
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May 17, 2016 20:23
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Knowing the softcaps for stats is a lot more useful than going for a specific build since DS2 dumps souls on you more than any of the other games incl bloodborne and levels cost less so you'll be able to get more levels than you really know what to do with. For caestus you want to prioritize adp to get up to minimum 100 agility (then 105 from there) as well as getting to 40 str before leveling dex to 40 since str gets better scaling. 50 vig for every build forever, 20 end is a good stopping point for most builds including this one, no int/fai/att leveling, also no vit because gently caress you if you arent a shirtless muscle man. The only difference between a caestus build and something like a longsword is that you want to get that str stat up relatively quickly, maybe leaving health to languish a bit, since almost all your damage comes from scaling. Oh also youll need to set aside some Fun Times in the belltower to get the materials for the second caestus youll need to upgrade.
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May 17, 2016 20:37
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I'm getting real sick of these gigantic greatshields somehow not blocking attacks. 
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May 17, 2016 20:40
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Radioactive Toy posted:dual caestus build. This is a fun way to play, but probably something I'd recommend for a 2nd playthrough. Learning the bosses with no shield doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. But, you do you.
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May 17, 2016 21:19
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You really don't need a shield in DS2, even on your first playthrough. More than any other souls game it encourages relying solely on dodges imo. The one and only enemy that presents a problem is those big 2h mace knights, which you fight like 2 of total.
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May 17, 2016 21:51
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The only tricky thing about dual caestus is the lack of range, since you can rectify poise damage with a ring and DS2 supports a shieldless playthrough well so long as you've put down your Adaptability tax. While the learning curve for dodging all the time can be rough, since learning to do so I've actually had a smoother experience than I did when I used a shield. In DS1 you could turtle behind a greatshield to avoid nearly everything, but in DS2 beyond a certain point you can't just block a combo without having your guard broken reliably. (DS3 again makes things more lenient for shield users, but there are enough attacks that will unexpectedly ignore your shield that you can't outright avoid dodging.)
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May 17, 2016 21:57
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Yeah as I thought about it more I figured dual caestus would be better for a later playthrough and if I get more in to PVP. I'll look at some weapons and see if there's anything I'm interested in that I can look to build around.
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May 17, 2016 22:12
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Just finished my first playthrough of Dark Souls I, and by the end I was feeling pretty confident. None of the bosses took more than a few tries. Started Dark Souls II ready to take on the world and things were going pretty well... and then the pursuer stomped my rear end into the ground for like two hours straight. Apparently I'm just bad at bosses who swing swords around in big arcs, as the boss I had the most trouble with in Dark Souls I was Sif. Thank you for reminding me that I am a piece of garbage, Dark Souls II.
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May 17, 2016 22:31
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Radioactive Toy posted:Yeah as I thought about it more I figured dual caestus would be better for a later playthrough and if I get more in to PVP. I'll look at some weapons and see if there's anything I'm interested in that I can look to build around. Some weapons that I've really enjoyed: -Power stanced Rapier + Falchion. Super versatile, yet flashy moveset. You get quick lunges, you get wide sweeps, you get parries, you get flurry attacks. Extremely powerful with Flynn's ring. -2h Halberd (pick any one of them). Very reliant on hitting enemies with the sweet spot of your weapon where the blade is positioned, which gives it an interesting and fun extra dimension. -2h or power stanced Partizans. Good reach, good damage, and by far the best spear moveset. The light attack moves you forward a bit to keep enemies in range, and the heavy is a quick, wide sweep that does strike (blunt) damage. 2h has a slightly better moveset, dual wield hits things harder. Vargs fucked around with this message at 22:43 on May 17, 2016 |
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May 17, 2016 22:33
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Radioactive Toy posted:Yeah as I thought about it more I figured dual caestus would be better for a later playthrough and if I get more in to PVP. I'll look at some weapons and see if there's anything I'm interested in that I can look to build around. a) you can wear it: raise health and endurance more, then pump STR or DEX for weapon damage b) can't wear it: immediately raise the required stat, then proceed to a) c) "this spell sounds neat, too": pump that loving Int/Faith d) MY BUILD SUCKS: reskill. Whatever.
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May 17, 2016 22:33
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El Cid posted:Just finished my first playthrough of Dark Souls I, and by the end I was feeling pretty confident. None of the bosses took more than a few tries. Started Dark Souls II ready to take on the world and things were going pretty well... and then the pursuer stomped my rear end into the ground for like two hours straight. Apparently I'm just bad at bosses who swing swords around in big arcs, as the boss I had the most trouble with in Dark Souls I was Sif. Thank you for reminding me that I am a piece of garbage, Dark Souls II. You are my reincarnated soul
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May 17, 2016 23:05
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Simply Simon posted:Protip: just start the game with a class that seems fun, raise your stats to 15 health, 20 STR, 20 DEX, enough Adaptability to get 99 Agility, then try out ALL THE WEAPONS until you find one that looks cool. this is good and correct. 'builds' are for people who do multiple playthroughs
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May 17, 2016 23:19
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There are only three builds: the quality build, the magic build, and the great hammer build.
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May 17, 2016 23:24
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Vargs posted:-2h Halberd (pick any one of them). Very reliant on hitting enemies with the sweet spot of your weapon where the blade is positioned, which gives it an interesting and fun extra dimension. 2 also features Targray's Halberd, which is the coolest weapon of the coolest weapon class in the series. You have to kill him to get it, and it requires twinkling titanite to upgrade, but he's a dick and you can get it to +3 pretty quickly due to a recurring miniboss dropping the titanite.
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May 18, 2016 00:36
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BobTheJanitor posted:This is a fun way to play, but probably something I'd recommend for a 2nd playthrough. Learning the bosses with no shield doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. But, you do you. After relying on a shield for all of dark souls 1, I think going without one at all in 2 made me a lot better
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May 18, 2016 00:49
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Vargs posted:Some weapons that I've really enjoyed: Simply Simon posted:Protip: just start the game with a class that seems fun, raise your stats to 15 health, 20 STR, 20 DEX, enough Adaptability to get 99 Agility, then try out ALL THE WEAPONS until you find one that looks cool. These are great, thank you! Hoping to start the play through this week.
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May 18, 2016 05:50
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Looper posted:After relying on a shield for all of dark souls 1, I think going without one at all in 2 made me a lot better Definitely don't rely on it, I'm just saying for learning the bosses. I'd rather have that crutch of holding block while I try to learn dodge timing, versus just hoping I dodge right when facing down attacks I've never seen before. Even more so in DS2, since the rolling feels a teeny bit off from the other games. Even with pumped up agility, it feels like there's an extra split-second reaction delay in there that the other games don't have, so you have to be ready to dodge slightly earlier. But yeah in general I'd say if you're always shield turtling through the game you're cheating yourself out of fun.
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May 18, 2016 06:16
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Can someone explain soul memory to a stupid newbie and how it affects pvp? From what I understand sl 150 is the sweet spot, but I'm already 158 and was planning on stopping at 160. At this point in the game, will I still be able to find opponents? Sorry for the stupid question, but the system is confusing me right now. Chemo brain sucks.
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May 18, 2016 06:47
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Happy Hedonist posted:Can someone explain soul memory to a stupid newbie and how it affects pvp? From what I understand sl 150 is the sweet spot, but I'm already 158 and was planning on stopping at 160. At this point in the game, will I still be able to find opponents? Sorry for the stupid question, but the system is confusing me right now. Chemo brain sucks. Orange boxes in the teleport list means there's coop compatible people playing there
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May 18, 2016 07:00
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Happy Hedonist posted:Can someone explain soul memory to a stupid newbie and how it affects pvp? From what I understand sl 150 is the sweet spot, but I'm already 158 and was planning on stopping at 160. At this point in the game, will I still be able to find opponents? Sorry for the stupid question, but the system is confusing me right now. Chemo brain sucks. Soul Memory is the sum of all the souls you've collected on that character, whether from enemies or items. It's relevant to online matchmaking because everyone's put into some tier of soul memory and then matched to people on similar tiers. People will moan up and down about it, but the fact is that unless you're really trying hard to do online play at the same point on character progression you're probably not going to price yourself out of the market, so to speak. Honestly it was a deliberate attempt to combat the absurdity that was DS1 PvP, which had folks who would ruthlessly twink themselves out on stat-independent gear and fight at lower levels than otherwise intended*. The solution was at least less bad than the initial problem. And if you do wish to go heavy into PvP, then you can always purchase the Agape Ring from Straid in the Lost Bastille which will block you from gaining souls. *Ever heard of GiantDad? That's the sort of thing From was trying to guard against.
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May 18, 2016 07:02
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Geez the only area with an orange box is Forest of Fallen Giants. Hopefully I'll have better luck as I move onto the DLC areas? I may have to start another character and pay attention to my SL. Either that or go back to DS3 when I want to PvP.
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May 18, 2016 07:15
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There doesn't seem to be a lot of people playing either, I see very few summon signs. I'm assuming that's part of the problem. It's a shame because I really like the PvP in DS2.
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May 18, 2016 07:18
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Between all the different platforms and then scholar, dark souls 2 has the most fragmented playerbase of any game so the player count on any one version is not so great. Even after dark souls 3 came out I still found lots of people doing co-op in bloodborne, which I think is a result of that game only being on 1 platform.
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May 18, 2016 07:44
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Happy Hedonist posted:Can someone explain soul memory to a stupid newbie and how it affects pvp? From what I understand sl 150 is the sweet spot, but I'm already 158 and was planning on stopping at 160. At this point in the game, will I still be able to find opponents? Sorry for the stupid question, but the system is confusing me right now. Chemo brain sucks. dark souls 2 shouldn't have a soul level meta. you're going to get souls just by pvping and not using them is silly. player interaction is determined by total souls collected but the thresholds in the upper tiers are huge so it's not really a big deal
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May 18, 2016 07:52
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Vendrick took me about an hour and a half to finally kill. I ended up poking him to death with an estoc.
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May 18, 2016 09:52
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Happy Hedonist posted:Vendrick took me about an hour and a half to finally kill. I ended up poking him to death with an estoc. Did you not have the Giant Souls?
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May 18, 2016 10:48
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Jerusalem posted:Did you not have the Giant Souls? I did, I've just been up too long and my brain is fried. i ended up stripping down to light armor, equipped a great shield, and stayed behind him. It's an easy fight, I just suck tonight. I didn't kill the dragon for his soul. I like that guy and didn't feel like killing him.
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May 18, 2016 11:07
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Happy Hedonist posted:I didn't kill the dragon for his soul. I like that guy and didn't feel like killing him. Yeah, I never kill that guy, it just feels wrong. I mean, even though I had the best intentions my character always ends up being a monster, just not THAT much of a monster.
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May 18, 2016 11:16
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NGDBSS posted:*Ever heard of GiantDad? That's the sort of thing From was trying to guard against. What? No it wasn't. They were trying to guard against people who played through the whole game at SL20 so they could hang out in Parish twinking newbies with Black Flame and lightning shotel+5 or whatever. the """""canonical""""" giantdad build was SL99, it's not like it was some huge problem with the DS1 pvp system and I'd be amazed if anyone at from had ever heard of it. The reason why it became notorious build was because it was easy to play (and looked funny) and gave you a good chance of beating anyone who didn't know how to PvP, not because it was some massive balance problem that necessitated non-SL matching for invasions.
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May 18, 2016 14:52
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How long has the Demon of Song had a grab? He just did it five times in a row and killed me because there was no opportunity to attack. Is that new for Scholar and he just didn't use it last time I ran through it? e: I think I might try killing the Ancient Dragon for once. Any tips for when doing it with a strength build using the craftsman's hammer? RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 15:50 on May 18, 2016 |
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May 18, 2016 15:14
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skasion posted:What? No it wasn't. They were trying to guard against people who played through the whole game at SL20 so they could hang out in Parish twinking newbies with Black Flame and lightning shotel+5 or whatever. the """""canonical""""" giantdad build was SL99, it's not like it was some huge problem with the DS1 pvp system and I'd be amazed if anyone at from had ever heard of it. The reason why it became notorious build was because it was easy to play (and looked funny) and gave you a good chance of beating anyone who didn't know how to PvP, not because it was some massive balance problem that necessitated non-SL matching for invasions. RBA Starblade posted:How long has the Demon of Song had a grab? He just did it five times in a row and killed me because there was no opportunity to attack. Is that new for Scholar and he just didn't use it last time I ran through it? If you want to take down the Ancient Dragon then stack as much fire resistance as you can. Grab the Mask of Pharros, Chaos Robe + Boots, Smelter Demon Gauntlets or Penal Handcuffs, Dragon Tooth (have this on your back while two-handing the Craftsman's Hammer), Flame Quartz Ring, and Dispelling Ring at as high a bonus as you can manage. With all of those you should have a fire resistance in the high 700's or the low 800's, which is good enough to face the Ancient Dragon on NG without additional buffs. At this point its overhead flame breath will still hurt you but won't come close to killing you, so you can easily just soak that until eventually needing to chug some Estus. Anyway, you can then get it to swap phases between overhead flame breath (again, soak this) and forward sitting flame breath; during the latter you should rush in and smack its toes. (The forward flame breath may kill you regardless if you're in the way, but like I said you should be ducking this.) Eventually you'll bring it down, though given the size of the health bar you may also want Repair Powder. This isn't the only strategy I've seen to kill the Ancient Dragon, but I've found it's the most foolproof. I've also seen mention of the Gyrm Greatshield (which can get you killed if you don't have enough stamina to soak a blast), of poking its rear toes and manipulating the AI to never use fire (tricky), or of poking its toes and then running away from the overhead flame breath (which has little room for error).
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May 18, 2016 17:23
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Fume knight DEAD after reading up on mechanics and finding out there's a faster roll/stam recovery at 50%, that was just enough for me to get a killing blow with 2% of my health left. Then i promptly died a few times before getting to sir alonne, the game plays so much differently than 3 and also looks a lot crappier due to system issues i think. I feel like I can barely see enemies in the distance :I
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May 18, 2016 17:56
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