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Gaius Marius posted:mysterious woman of uncertain origins guiding them towards a purpose they don't fully understand 
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Jun 17, 2021 07:38
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I've been thinking of dipping my toes into Souls for the first time ever since my husband gifted me DS3 forever ago. I've been told by friends that DS2 would be a better starting point, what are y'all's opinions on that?
Bloody Pom fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 03:26
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Personally I say start with 1, but I dunno 2 might not be the worst starting point tbh. I'm trying to imagine how that would go by having your expectations set by 2--probably not bad tbh, after playing 3, 2 feels almost more like Dark Souls 1.5. Yeah 2 isn't a terrible starting point, you'd probably wanna go to 1 afterwards though before going on to 3
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Jun 22, 2021 03:36
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The biggest thing putting me off 3 is that I've heard that it effectively makes playing melee hardmode unless you follow a very specific build, whereas 2 lets you be a lot more flexible?
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Jun 22, 2021 03:50
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Admittedly I'm not a gamer who pays attention to the meta, but I've been playing through 3 with fists only for the first time and I've been doing fine, and I doubt that's the specific build you've heard you need, so it's probably overblown e: comparatively though, 2 is a lot more flexible it's true Son of Thunderbeast fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 03:55
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Bloody Pom posted:The biggest thing putting me off 3 is that I've heard that it effectively makes playing melee hardmode unless you follow a very specific build, whereas 2 lets you be a lot more flexible? In terms of the souls games, starting with Dark Souls 1 or Demon's Souls would be my suggestion. Those two games have more opaque mechanical bullshit, but people here are happy to clarify stuff about how you shouldn't eat boss soul items or how upgrade paths/stats work in those games without spoiling major boss fights or zones. DeS and DS1 still level out to being the "easiest" with the gentlest curve up into harder boss fights by the end game (or DLC in DS1's case.) That's not saying that you'll have an impossible time in DS2 or 3 or Bloodborne, if you do one of those first. Plenty of people have played them first, or never felt interested in trying the older games. DeS and DS1 have slower, more deliberate, movement with dumber boss and NPC AI. You might find that frustrating, or you might appreciate it while you learn how the games work. It's up to you, really. They're all standalone, though each game has some callbacks to the ones released before it*, with DS3 ending up as a big sendoff to all the games between DeS and Bloodborne. I will note that DS2's most "finished" version is the Scholar of the First Sin edition, which personally I'd suggest playing after you've completed at least one other Souls game. The tweaks they made to the initial areas might be a bit intense if you've never played a Souls game to completion before. It's not impossible and I'm sure plenty of people here have played it first, but if you do try and find it to be intense, it might be worth trying out DS1 first and coming back to 2. Still, punch builds in DS2 are really fun, thanks to how the game handles dual-wielding and some unique fist weapons in the game. *And the older King's Field and Shadow Tower games, but almost everyone misses those.
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Jun 22, 2021 04:17
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Bloody Pom posted:The biggest thing putting me off 3 is that I've heard that it effectively makes playing melee hardmode unless you follow a very specific build, whereas 2 lets you be a lot more flexible? Melee is easy mode in 3, you can fast roll infinity times in a row, basic knight guy just leveling health and then damage stats can carry you through the game no trouble. 2 has a somewhat broader range of viable builds but there is nothing in it that feels as easy as a longsword dude in DS3. Characters in DS2 feel a lot weaker for longer than characters in DS1 or 3, especially if you’re not sure what you’re building them for. I’d start with DS1 though, it’s the best
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Jun 22, 2021 04:34
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OMG I DIDNT NOTICE THE LEVER AT THE TOP OF NO MANS WHARF! and went back down to bank all my soulssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss edit: on current topic - I started with bloodborne then did ds3 and then sekiro when it came out and it did kind of ruin ds1 - where I got bored half way in. I am liking ds2 more than 1 but its probably a bit tarnished too. The combat doesn't feel as good and that's what I enjoy most about all these games. The bosses, which were the high points of the first games I played, are pretty disappointing in ds1/2. Qmass fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 04:51
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The bosses in 1 and 2’s DLCs are really good. It’s especially a long slog to get to them in DS2 but DS2 really shines in the DLCs.
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Jun 22, 2021 05:01
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Bloody Pom posted:I've been thinking of dipping my toes into Souls for the first time ever since my husband gifted me DS3 forever ago. I've been told by friends that DS2 would be a better starting point, what are y'all's opinions on that? Imo play them in order. There's really no reason not to. 2 does a few things differently than 1 & 3 but at the end of the day it's still a souls game. Bloody Pom posted:The biggest thing putting me off 3 is that I've heard that it effectively makes playing melee hardmode unless you follow a very specific build, whereas 2 lets you be a lot more flexible? Melee is never hardmode in any of the souls games and even when going for a caster-type playthrough, you're still gonna be hitting poo poo with a sword/axe/whatever. When in doubt, go for a quality build (STR+DEX) and enjoy having a massive variety of weapons to pick from. Also, regarding 3 specifically, going pure melee (particularly Strength) is putting the game on cruise control.
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Jun 22, 2021 05:42
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Been doing a claymore run and a fist run of ds3 and they're both pretty easy, I tried a melee dex build and it was so much harder I gave up and switched to the fists. You can stagger lock pretty much everything with fists or heavy weapons but enemies being able to swing forever when a katana doesnt make them flinch at all is really brutal.
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Jun 22, 2021 06:12
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I picked up the Dark Souls trilogy on the current Steam sale. I beat Dark Souls 1 and moved on to 2. Is it normal to be level 80 having just reached Earthen Peak? Level scaling feels really whack compared to DS1
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Jun 23, 2021 01:05
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Fojar38 posted:I picked up the Dark Souls trilogy on the current Steam sale. I beat Dark Souls 1 and moved on to 2. Is it normal to be level 80 having just reached Earthen Peak? Level scaling feels really whack compared to DS1 Yes, it is. Levels cost about half as much in DS2 so you finish the game at like 150
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Jun 23, 2021 01:17
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You're likely going to hit the soft cap on several of your stats by the end of the game. Not only is the leveling curve lower overall, it also doesn't spike up near the end as much.
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Jun 23, 2021 01:50
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That's good to know. Also lol at how slow you drink Estus flasks in this game. Like I'm sampling a fine wine as a giant hunk of metal is repeatedly swung at my face
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Jun 23, 2021 02:50
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Spend levels on adaptability to sip faster. And get better i-frames.
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Jun 23, 2021 03:04
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Your first 20 levels should go to adaptability for slightly faster chugging and more iframes. Unlike the other souls games, souls 2 hates estus and the idea of drinking it. Lifegems are abundant though and you can always invest in some miracles for extra healing on the side.
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Jun 23, 2021 03:24
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Bloody Pom posted:I've been thinking of dipping my toes into Souls for the first time ever since my husband gifted me DS3 forever ago. I've been told by friends that DS2 would be a better starting point, what are y'all's opinions on that? if you care about the story, play the third game last
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Jun 23, 2021 03:34
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And Tyler Too! posted:Your first 20 levels should go to adaptability for slightly faster chugging and more iframes. Unlike the other souls games, souls 2 hates estus and the idea of drinking it. Lifegems are abundant though and you can always invest in some miracles for extra healing on the side. I had no idea that was so important. I haven't put a single point in those lol. Good thing I've been hoarding soul pickups
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Jun 23, 2021 03:47
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Fojar38 posted:I had no idea that was so important. I haven't put a single point in those lol. Good thing I've been hoarding soul pickups drat, It's gonna be like goku taking off his weighted clothing, your gonna have more i Frames than you know what to do with
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Jun 23, 2021 03:50
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I also just learned that you can access illusionary walls by pressing the use button in front of them, not from hitting them like in DS1 Between that and having to burn the windmill to feasible progress drat, I get that this is a Dark Souls game but I don't remember DS1 being that obtuse and I just played it
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Jun 23, 2021 04:29
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Fojar38 posted:I also just learned that you can access illusionary walls by pressing the use button in front of them, not from hitting them like in DS1 The best part about the windmill is that there is a summon sign right next to it. If you summon the npc they will wave you over and then make a pointing gesture directly at the windmill where you need to burn it. DS2 is amazing.
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Jun 23, 2021 04:34
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I think that NPC was added in Scholar though. Before it was just gently caress you, figure it out yourself.
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Jun 23, 2021 04:58
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Fojar38 posted:I had no idea that was so important. I haven't put a single point in those lol. Good thing I've been hoarding soul pickups That's the same mistake I made, I spent the whole game pissed off at how lethargic my character was and it wasn't until well into the dlcs that I realized adaptability was important. It felt like in DBZ when they take off their weighted clothes and unleash their full power Gaius Marius posted:drat, It's gonna be like goku taking off his weighted clothing, your gonna have more i Frames than you know what to do with hahaha, I didn't even see this post before I wrote that. raditts fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Jun 23, 2021 |
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Jun 23, 2021 06:18
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Wiltsghost posted:The best part about the windmill is that there is a summon sign right next to it. If you summon the npc they will wave you over and then make a pointing gesture directly at the windmill where you need to burn it. DS2 is amazing. I just looked this up because I didn't remember anything about a windmill, and that explains a lot. I just got through that fight by crunching lifegems like they were candy to offset the poison. I do remember thinking that boss fight was kind of ridiculous.
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Jun 23, 2021 06:24
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Son of Thunderbeast posted:After watching a few lore videos I feel like this is a good summary of DS2's major plot points 
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Jun 23, 2021 07:07
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The exact same thing happened to me with adaptability. I had gotten through everything in the game and was doing the DLCs before the very end and I got stuck on Aava for nearly two hours. I genuinely thought that I was no longer any good. Eventually someone on stream asked me about my Adaptability and it was way too low. I bumped it up to where they suggested and proceeded to beat Aava immediately without getting hit. It was a full on eye opener moment. when I replay I will pump it up considerably way earlier 
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Jun 23, 2021 08:22
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Yeah it's easy to forget. Even me watching it had been so long since I played I simply forgot that your ADP was still only at acceptable early game levels.
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Jun 23, 2021 09:01
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Adaptability must make SL1 runs really miserable thinking about it
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Jun 23, 2021 09:03
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multijoe posted:Adaptability must make SL1 runs really miserable thinking about it At least deprived has better atn + adp than warrior, so they don't get stuck in 5 frame roll hell.
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Jun 23, 2021 09:07
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multijoe posted:Adaptability must make SL1 runs really miserable thinking about it One of the most popular items for sl1, the work hook, actually decreases adaptability by a whopping 3 in return for 5 dex to allow you to wield a rapier in your main hand.
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Jun 23, 2021 09:15
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multijoe posted:Adaptability must make SL1 runs really miserable thinking about it I had a "build" with my SL1 character to get him to normal levels of ADP. I actually really enjoyed how many different "builds" you could do at SL1 in DS2 vs the other games. Aside from having more ring slots for stat boosting, there are also a lot of odd armor pieces in the game that can boost your stats. Here's a sort of breakdown to it: https://www.reddit.com/r/onebros/comments/64uyxj/guide_on_ds2_sl1_run/ e: found my old post Rubellavator posted:So I've been checking things off my list as DkS3 comes closer and now I'm doing an SL1 run. There are a surprising amount of options in this game compared to DkS1 thanks to all the +stat equipment so it's been a lot of fun. For instance, it's possible to get a whopping 92 agility with peasant attire and simpleton's ring. You can also two-hand an Old Knight hammer with the vessel shield and strength ring, or use an uchigatana with dex ring and work hook. I really like the Homunculus Mace because you can two-hand it without wasting any ring slots. Rubellavator fucked around with this message at 12:08 on Jun 23, 2021 |
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Jun 23, 2021 12:00
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just got through all of bastille, sinner's rise and then went back to the pharros stone under a bonfire to find it actually had a cool new area instead of pouring water out of the roof... fucken gargoyle fight from DS1 was funny - just barely managed to get through first time using up 5 estus and 4-6 radiant, real glad I didn't have to deal with the invasions again... might have to hang around and pvp a bit nice how active that area is after zero player invasions up to that point edit: dark souls 2 is a huge game huh ? Looking at the list of zone names I am only ~1/3 in after 15hrs Qmass fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Jun 23, 2021 |
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Jun 23, 2021 12:13
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it is. i feel like it's the biggest souls game even before the DLCs and they're all huge too. and yet it's somehow simultaneously the most rushed souls game.
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Jun 23, 2021 13:07
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Fojar38 posted:I also just learned that you can access illusionary walls by pressing the use button in front of them, not from hitting them like in DS1 this is DS2's greatest sin
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Jun 23, 2021 13:28
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Amppelix posted:it is. i feel like it's the biggest souls game even before the DLCs and they're all huge too. Well yeah, they spent all their time making loads of content and none of their time polishing what they had.
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Jun 23, 2021 13:54
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Didn't they also waste a huge amount of time creating a rather impressive new lighting engine that had to be scrapped because it would run at like 3FPS on consoles?
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Jun 23, 2021 16:30
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Aidan_702 posted:Didn't they also waste a huge amount of time creating a rather impressive new lighting engine that had to be scrapped because it would run at like 3FPS on consoles? :edit: wow it's was such a downgrade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59eLW1IGUCU Quote =! Edit
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Jun 23, 2021 16:31
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The lighting engine was also a genuinely a bad idea too as it seemed it would necessitate a torch through much of the game, which is just one of your hands just in the bin
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Jun 23, 2021 16:32
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Scholar did sort of re-implement, or at least deployed a better lighting engine than vanilla DS2, but yeah after they swapped directors, the new director looked at what they hand and went "This is untenable, we need to pull it out if we ever plan on releasing this in a working state."multijoe posted:The lighting engine was also a genuinely a bad idea too as it seemed it would necessitate a torch through much of the game, which is just one of your hands just in the bin That was originally part of the "gimmick", that you would need to choose between a torch and a weapon or shield in your off hand for some zones. Like how you might need to in the Tomb of the Giants, depending on what light sources you have available. There was a lot of early marketing and interview quotes around that. Another one of the half-baked ways DS2 was trying to push people away from shield turtling, I suppose? VideoGames posted:The exact same thing happened to me with adaptability. I had gotten through everything in the game and was doing the DLCs before the very end and I got stuck on Aava for nearly two hours. I genuinely thought that I was no longer any good. Dark Souls II - RAISE YOUR ADAPTABILITY FFS
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Jun 23, 2021 16:48
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