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ZZZorcerer posted:Start as a deprived and try different builds, you can respec later so try stuff as you like. Never start as a deprived unless you want to punish yourself with less stats than everyone else.
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Jun 21, 2015 11:29
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Gestalt Intellect posted:It doesn't need to be a stopgap unless you just want to use something else. It's one of the best weapons in the game for everything and the ultimate "mash butan!!!!" weapon. I was thinking a spear, actually. My last dex run in the original Dark Souls 2 had me abandon a dex/faith run in favor of power stancing the white and black steel katanas (that was super fun, actually) but I'd still like to give one of the two faith spears a whirl. This last run was like half a year ago and I'm struggling a lot more than I'd expected. The new enemy placements are cool and a lot tougher than the original (a loving cyclops in the Forest? Though just getting behind them and trapping them in that butt stomp cycle is a lot easier than the Heide Knight was) Manatee Cannon fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 11:53
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Now I remember why I REALLY hate Soul Memory: if you lose your bloodstain, your character is permanently gimped by that much. It doesn't sound like much but it adds up. God help you if you want to buy arrows or something, too.
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Jun 21, 2015 11:55
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Yeah, I know it's not actually that big a deal at the end of the day but every time I buy something I get a little annoyed because that's just wasted souls so far as multiplayer is concerned. Buying that one firebomb to break open the shortcut in the Forest (gently caress you, undead knight, why couldn't you just hit the stupid barrels) doesn't mean anything, but it feels like it does and that's kinda lame. Though when I think about it, the system could work in an interesting way if it actually was a choice between leveling and upgrading your gear. But it's not so it's just annoying and useless.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:02
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I'm really annoyed that I have to do this, but as I understand it I have no choice: is there someone in here around 2.5 million SM willing to drop the Insolent armorset? Agdayne doesn't sell it and I killed every phantom in the crypt (getting precisely one shield and a shitload of spice for my trouble.) The chestpiece in particular is a critical part of my fashion souls, and I'm pretty sure I don't have any other options at this point. If it's laying on the ground somewhere, that would be fine too.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:05
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Manatee Cannon posted:Yeah, I know it's not actually that big a deal at the end of the day but every time I buy something I get a little annoyed because that's just wasted souls so far as multiplayer is concerned. Buying that one firebomb to break open the shortcut in the Forest (gently caress you, undead knight, why couldn't you just hit the stupid barrels) doesn't mean anything, but it feels like it does and that's kinda lame. Exactly. Trying to PVP or co-op at low SM is an amazing nightmare too, because you have to ironman it to Straid while meticulously calculating how many souls you absorb. Every non-essential thing you spend souls on (read: not levels or upgrading the only set of gear you'll ever use) will put you at a marked disadvantage against people who DID min-max their character. Basically, you're allowed to enjoy PVE or PVP/Co-op with Soul Memory, but not both. King of Solomon posted:I'm really annoyed that I have to do this, but as I understand it I have no choice: is there someone in here around 2.5 million SM willing to drop the Insolent armorset? Agdayne doesn't sell it and I killed every phantom in the crypt (getting precisely one shield and a shitload of spice for my trouble.) You can always use Ascetics to respawn black phantoms. Of course, then you have to use an Ascetic, which has its own problems. Kite Pride Worldwide fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 12:06
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Alabaster White posted:You can always use Ascetics to respawn black phantoms. Of course, then you have to use an Ascetic, which has its own problems. I thought bonfire ascetics don't respawn these specific phantoms?
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Jun 21, 2015 12:09
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King of Solomon posted:I thought bonfire ascetics don't respawn these specific phantoms? Ascetics respawn everything forever, as far as I know. I think there are a couple strange exceptions but if they're ordinary black phantoms, it should work just fine.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:18
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Alabaster White posted:Exactly. Trying to PVP or co-op at low SM is an amazing nightmare too, because you have to ironman it to Straid while meticulously calculating how many souls you absorb. Every non-essential thing you spend souls on (read: not levels or upgrading the only set of gear you'll ever use) will put you at a marked disadvantage against people who DID min-max their character. Basically, you're allowed to enjoy PVE or PVP/Co-op with Soul Memory, but not both. Though the power difference isn't nearly as bad as loving blood gems in Bloodborne. I guess anyone that goes through the Defiled stuff at low level deserves to oneshot everyone but it still sucks that the game allows for such a divergence in power between players that are otherwise exactly the same.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:18
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Just bought SOTFS, haven't played Dark Souls 2 since its release as mainly a strength character with a penchant for huge weapons. I'd like to play as something completely different, dex/hex seems like the best choice from what I can tell. My question is, are dex weapons good for PvE now? Back at release there was no real reason to use anything but strike weapons like the club, from what I remember.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:19
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Alabaster White posted:Ascetics respawn everything forever, as far as I know. I think there are a couple strange exceptions but if they're ordinary black phantoms, it should work just fine. Yeah, they're uh. Not ordinary black phantoms. They get summoned by lighting the major torch in the area. Apparently that torch might be reset by burning an ascetic at the Velstadt bonfire, but that seems like a weird thing to tie to ascetics.
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Jun 21, 2015 12:22
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Manatee Cannon posted:Though the power difference isn't nearly as bad as loving blood gems in Bloodborne. I guess anyone that goes through the Defiled stuff at low level deserves to oneshot everyone but it still sucks that the game allows for such a divergence in power between players that are otherwise exactly the same. Yeah, the blood gems were wonky as hell and completely ridiculous. It was pretty obviously just an experiment, much like everything else in that game. If the Phys% gems weren't QUITE so atomically destructive it would be a cool system. Ekster posted:Just bought SOTFS, haven't played Dark Souls 2 since its release as mainly a strength character with a penchant for huge weapons. I'd like to play as something completely different, dex/hex seems like the best choice from what I can tell. Yeah, they buffed a lot of weapons, particularly thrusting ones. Spears are the best they've ever been in the series, and Thrusting Swords are fantastic. The Rapier is arguably the best weapon in the entire game. King of Solomon posted:Yeah, they're uh. Not ordinary black phantoms. They get summoned by lighting the major torch in the area. Apparently that torch might be reset by burning an ascetic at the Velstadt bonfire, but that seems like a weird thing to tie to ascetics. Well, the wiki says that Ascetics work. They generally do refresh the whole area but yeah, grains of salt and all that. If you don't mind clearing the area out again, it can't hurt to try, right? e: that brings me to another thing about DS2 that sucks: non-respawning enemies with unique drops. In DS1 they at least had the courtesy to patch in guaranteed drops if you extincted something, so you could get every single item in the game, but DS2 is just "lol hope you're lucky". I liked going around and collecting every item in the other games but it's not feasible in 2 because of the luck or merchant costs involved. Kite Pride Worldwide fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 12:23
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Alabaster White posted:Well, the wiki says that Ascetics work. They generally do refresh the whole area but yeah, grains of salt and all that. If you don't mind clearing the area out again, it can't hurt to try, right? The Insolent phantoms have guaranteed drops. The problem is, it seems like the only thing they ever drop is spice, which quite frankly shouldn't even be in their drop table. Also, I just checked and using an ascetic on the Velstadt bonfire does reset that torch. E: Apparently one of them has a Fragrant Branch of Yore as a set drop, which is...fine? I guess? They also drop Twinkling Titanite, which is better than spice but still something that interferes with them dropping anything you loving want. I'm pretty sure I need to kill Velstadt again to even get a shot at this armorset now. King of Solomon fucked around with this message at 12:45 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 12:38
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Ekster posted:My question is, are dex weapons good for PvE now? Back at release there was no real reason to use anything but strike weapons like the club, from what I remember. There are some good Dex weapons (thrusting swords, katanas, spears, curved greatswords), but heavily investing into Dex is still a bit of a waste in most situation due to the bad scaling. If you want to do a hex build, just get the minimum amount of Dex required for wielding your weapon of choice and then infuse it with dark. Edit: Admittedly, hammer class weapons are probably still the best choice for PvE, but then the game is easy enough that you're not forced to take the most optimal route. Pick whatever feels enjoyable.. Samuel Clemens fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 13:58
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Loyce geatsword is an amazing dex weapon. Though it needs so much STR that it might as well be a quality weapon.
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Jun 21, 2015 14:01
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True, but that requires going through Frozen Outskirts, which is a strong contender for worst area in any Souls game.
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Jun 21, 2015 14:05
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Iretep posted:Never start as a deprived unless you want to punish yourself with less stats than everyone else. Eh, you don't lose much, if you don't know yet what you want just start as deprived and respec later into whatever you like after trying different things
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Jun 21, 2015 14:25
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ZZZorcerer posted:Eh, you don't lose much, if you don't know yet what you want just start as deprived and respec later into whatever you like after trying different things Just pick cleric if you want to try out everything. Due to how soul memory works you want to pick the highest level starters. If you decide to not go magic or faith you're only gimping yourself by about 7 points going cleric. Deprived is gimping yourself by 13 points no matter what you build. It isn't much, but why would you gimp yourself intentionally?
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Jun 21, 2015 16:47
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Allright, loving DS2 so far. Combat feels much much better than DS1 even if at the start the roll/dodge is gimped but still. Managed to get a Fire Longsword +3 and the Club +3, did I gently caress up? I already got by roaming around and killing the giant (with help), pursuer and that dragon guy on the cathedral some stuff that I don't really know if it's worth keeping for a Knight (str/adp guy). What I got so far: -Fire longsword +3 -Club +3 -Bastard Sword -Drangleic Sword -Channeler's Trident (dex stuff) -Whip (Castlevania!) Got the Drangleic Shield that has that sweet 100% dmg reduction but for resistances the Large Leather Shield seems quite decent. What should I upgrade? Edit: Should I buy an Estoc when I can? or just stick to one of the previous weapons? Guillermus fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jun 21, 2015 |
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Jun 21, 2015 18:41
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Guillermus posted:Allright, loving DS2 so far. Combat feels much much better than DS1 even if at the start the roll/dodge is gimped but still. Managed to get a Fire Longsword +3 and the Club +3, did I gently caress up? I already got by roaming around and killing the giant (with help), pursuer and that dragon guy on the cathedral some stuff that I don't really know if it's worth keeping for a Knight (str/adp guy). I'd advise against using the trident or the whip for your build, but the rest is totally fine. Longswords are excellent weapons, the club is a great weapon to keep around for a strength build, and greatswords have really good movesets. The drangleic shield will probably be more useful for you. E: I'd personally suggest you stick with one of the greatswords depending on your moveset preferences and the club, at least until you find something...let's say bigger. I'd definitely suggest proceeding past either Pursuer or the Dragonrider, both will lead you to some useful stuff. Glad you're enjoying the game!
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Jun 21, 2015 18:53
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trident is an amazing pvp weapon but yeah if you want a spear you're better off with either the base spear or the winged spear for your early game choices. also don't upgrade your shields
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Jun 21, 2015 20:28
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Guillermus posted:Allright, loving DS2 so far. Combat feels much much better than DS1 even if at the start the roll/dodge is gimped but still. Managed to get a Fire Longsword +3 and the Club +3, did I gently caress up? I already got by roaming around and killing the giant (with help), pursuer and that dragon guy on the cathedral some stuff that I don't really know if it's worth keeping for a Knight (str/adp guy). The fire longsword is perfectly serviceable early game weapon so feel free to try out some of the others and see which you like best. The estoc is an excellent weapon for a strength build, it hits fast and pretty hard without weighing too much or having insane requirements. As for shields, I don't really like using them to block unless they are greatshields -- it drains too much stamina for my liking, and they aren't as good at parrying as in DaS or DeS. I think it is more useful to have a shield with a good spread of resistances so that if you get caught out by a sudden bolt of lightning or homing soul arrow or whatever and don't have anywhere safe to dodge to, you have an "oh poo poo" button. Drangleic shield is also pretty heavy for the point in the game where you can get it and I find that I'd rather just carry an offhand weapon instead.
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Jun 21, 2015 20:42
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I'm enjoying The Pursuer's downgrade to Team Rocket status
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Jun 21, 2015 22:07
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Manatee Cannon posted:Yeah, I know it's not actually that big a deal at the end of the day but every time I buy something I get a little annoyed because that's just wasted souls so far as multiplayer is concerned. Buying that one firebomb to break open the shortcut in the Forest (gently caress you, undead knight, why couldn't you just hit the stupid barrels) doesn't mean anything, but it feels like it does and that's kinda lame. While it does't address your real point, ultra greatswords can be used to detonate explosive barrels 
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Jun 21, 2015 23:13
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skasion posted:The fire longsword is perfectly serviceable early game weapon so feel free to try out some of the others and see which you like best. The estoc is an excellent weapon for a strength build, it hits fast and pretty hard without weighing too much or having insane requirements. A lot of enemies and early bosses can be dodged just by walking around (without rolling), and it's nice to hold a shield up while you do that as a sort of just-in-case thing. That's how I fought the big guys in Heide my first time through the game.
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Jun 21, 2015 23:14
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Covenant of Champions doesn't make the Insolent respawn, huh?
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Jun 21, 2015 23:19
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Tallgeese posted:Covenant of Champions doesn't make the Insolent respawn, huh? Nope. That was the first thing I tried. The only way to get them to respawn is to refresh the torch, which means reviving Velstadt.
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Jun 21, 2015 23:39
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Even in full Elite Knight Armor, im getting stunlocked a handful of times. Most of my deaths lately are from being hit once, and then mobbed because my guy is staggering. Not sure if I like that change. Also, as far as SOTFS goes, are there any stats/weapons/things I should know in regards to character building? Are there certain builds that were good in DS1 but suck in this one?
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Jun 22, 2015 00:15
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Avocados posted:Even in full Elite Knight Armor, im getting stunlocked a handful of times. Most of my deaths lately are from being hit once, and then mobbed because my guy is staggering. Not sure if I like that change. Rolling was mostly divorced from carry weight, but now you need to level ADP if you want to dodge anything. Oh yeah, and everything does a billion poise damage (especially in PvP). It's possible to poise through attacks, but for pvp you'll want at least 60 and probably more like 90-94. Or just ignore poise, equip fashion souls, and dodge everything.
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Jun 22, 2015 00:30
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Tran posted:While it does't address your real point, ultra greatswords can be used to detonate explosive barrels Not exactly an option where I was at the time tho edit: ahaha this dragon in Heide's is bullshit, what the gently caress Manatee Cannon fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Jun 22, 2015 |
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Jun 22, 2015 01:24
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Ruggington posted:I'm enjoying The Pursuer's downgrade to Team Rocket status After killing him 4 times, found him on his last spot in Lost Bastille... he tried to run me over but I dodged and he fell to his death.  Got the souls, titanite didn't drop in the floor though  Manatee Cannon posted:edit: ahaha this dragon in Heide's is bullshit, what the gently caress Run towards him and poke his feet Miss Mowcher fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jun 22, 2015 |
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Jun 22, 2015 04:56
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I did the first time I saw him as a helper phantom and he killed me before I could even reach him. Maybe it was just because the dragon was already awake, but there's not enough time to get to him between his flamethrowers (I timed my run right after one ended and the second started just before I reached him and it stunlocked me to death). When I fought him in my world, I didn't feel like dealing with that and used the traditional Souls game method of dragon slaying: I shot him with arrows for like five minutes and then he died.  I did kill the first Pursuer without taking any damage though so I feel good about that. Oh well, four bosses down in about three hours of playtime is maybe a little worse than I'd expected when I started this playthrough but they changed so much and it's really throwing me off. Most of it is really cool though, I just didn't like that dragon.
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Jun 22, 2015 05:28
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When I do power stance, does upgrading my offhand weapon also increase my attack damage? I'm duel wielding Caestus, my primary is +6 and my offhand is +1.
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Jun 22, 2015 06:10
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Avocados posted:When I do power stance, does upgrading my offhand weapon also increase my attack damage? I'm duel wielding Caestus, my primary is +6 and my offhand is +1. Yes. The Caestus power stance is two separate attacks, one with the left hand and one with the right. So upgrading both punchgloves is worth it. I don't know how offhand weapon damage works for things like the Bone Fist power stance though.
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Jun 22, 2015 06:15
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skasion posted:The fire longsword is perfectly serviceable early game weapon so feel free to try out some of the others and see which you like best. The estoc is an excellent weapon for a strength build, it hits fast and pretty hard without weighing too much or having insane requirements. My main gripe is that while I'm leveling I have to spread the stat points WAY too much. Vigor, END, VIT, STR, some DEX (at least 12 to wield the Bastard Sword) and ADP. At the other hand leveling is much cheaper than DS1. The whole poise being nerfed to hell is annoying, elite armor does nothing so I'm using something lighter like the Alva armor set. I joined the rat king covenant (gently caress that small arena plagued with little bastards) just to get to the rotten zone freely, did I gently caress up?
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Jun 22, 2015 10:46
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Guillermus posted:My main gripe is that while I'm leveling I have to spread the stat points WAY too much. Vigor, END, VIT, STR, some DEX (at least 12 to wield the Bastard Sword) and ADP. At the other hand leveling is much cheaper than DS1. The whole poise being nerfed to hell is annoying, elite armor does nothing so I'm using something lighter like the Alva armor set. If it makes you feel better about your stat spread, the consensus PvP level (which only really matters in the Bloodbro arena) is SL 150, as opposed to ~SL 120 in DS1. Also there's a ring that encourages you to have low vitality that you'll get later. As for joining the Ratbros, nah. There are no consequences to joining or leaving covenants in DS2, save for the covenant leaders being very disappointed in you.
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Jun 22, 2015 13:10
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King of Solomon posted:If it makes you feel better about your stat spread, the consensus PvP level (which only really matters in the Bloodbro arena) is SL 150, as opposed to ~SL 120 in DS1. Also there's a ring that encourages you to have low vitality that you'll get later. I thought the arena was confirmed to have to SL/SM filtering at some point?
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Jun 22, 2015 13:11
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That's what he was saying, yes; arena uses SL.
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Jun 22, 2015 13:15
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Wait, so the game actually has functioning and implemented SL matchmaking code for the arenas? There's actually somewhere to PVP reliably now without worrying about micromanaging your soul memory????
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Jun 22, 2015 13:34
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It's an incredibly dull place, but yes.
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Jun 22, 2015 13:40
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