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The mace. You're going to be using the mace the whole game if you wanna go smashy. That's just how it'll work.
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Apr 21, 2014 05:36
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DoctorStrangelove posted:Is the whole thing where you lose a chunk of your health when you die as dumb unnecessary bullshit as it sounds? It's mostly unnecessary because it doesn't really impact the game much at all unless you're a massive sinner or are deliberately doing a gimmick build.
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Apr 23, 2014 23:03
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Basically your max health really doesn't matter all that much when most of your health comes from your guaranteed source of healing.
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Apr 23, 2014 23:04
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Namely defense actually has noticeable, significant effects on the amount of damage you take. Meanwhile, poise is slightly broken. (In PvP. In PvE, those are actually reversed: defense doesn't matter as much, but poise works.) You still don't need either. If you can dodge perfectly then taking less damage obviously doesn't do anything. But most human beings aren't bizarre Souls-Robots, so they're still a good investment.
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Apr 24, 2014 07:52
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Artificer posted:Can I get infinite goes at the roulette wheel then? There's a way to farm them? You know that small white soapstone you have? That nets you smooth & silky stones every time you use it and succeed (either the shorter timer runs out or you beat a boss.) There's also an area late in the game where you can farm Petrified Somethings, the best trade items.
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Apr 25, 2014 21:37
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Stone Twinblade is some good poo poo. You have to get right up in an enemy's craw, but if you hit with all of the attacks on the 2h r1 combo, you can average around 1000 damage at 30 str (2000 if you expend all your stamina.) They respond really well to being buffed too. The Red Iron Twinblade would be better if it had good scaling, but it has a fairly unique moveset that's pretty good.
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Apr 27, 2014 06:33
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There was a real shift in encounter design between 1 and 2, where they're a lot more fine with throwing lots of enemies at you at once, rather than single or pairs of enemies. You could easily notice it in the DLC content of Dark Souls 1 as well, where the environment design was weird and complicated to make fighting with lots of weaker, but fast and complex enemies more possible and more interesting. I think that was a design theme they tried to keep in 2. The 9 swordsmen fuckers in the Bastille, the tons of stone soldiers, etc. They didn't always succeed though because there's a few areas where you fight tons of enemies but it's just in a big open arena and there's not much you can do.
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Apr 27, 2014 09:42
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Jack Trades posted:Holy poo poo, that's retarded. There doesn't seem to be any reason to play a DEX for PvE anymore. It was already a weakest and most difficult build to play in DS1 and now they nerfed it completely into the ground. Here's how you play a dex build: Dual wield. No, seriously. One dex weapon's damage is really lovely. They're usually slash weapons and have low damage and dex weapons have poor scaling. But you know what they have on average?? Really good power stance attacks. Dual-wielding rapiers is equivalent to a big fuckoff strength club at half the weight and twice the speed. Yes, you're giving up a shield and that sucks. Unfortunately, this is the only way to make dex builds really work, so you'll have to get over it.
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Apr 29, 2014 08:50
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Jack Trades posted:In DS1 you could play DEX the same way, sure, but it was also viable to be fancy by learning how to parry every enemy and that would give you a big advantage. High skill, high reward. I'm going to go ahead and say you're both misremembering how many enemies in Dark Souls 1 that you could parry and backstab and you're being misinformed about how many enemies you can parry and backstab in 2 because the people telling you just haven't succeeded in doing so. You can parry and backstab any enemy in the game that's roughly your size and not explicitly a beast, just like in 1. Just like in 1, this is a slight majority of enemies in the game. Unlike in 1, you can also parry a fair number of bosses, instead of just one. Enemies that are over twice your height? Probably can't parry them. This was true in 1 as well, with one specific exception (you can parry the berenike knights, but hey, you can't riposte them so it doesn't do much.) You could never make "doing nothing but critical attacks" into a viable playstyle any of the three Souls games.
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Apr 29, 2014 09:32
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Randler posted:Can you parry the Lion Guards in Shaded Ruins? I first assumed they were supposed to be the "Can you parry check?" of this game, similarly to the Silver Knights in Dark Souls 1. Just running past them or rolling in front then doing a backstab worked good enough as well, though. I... actually don't know. I would assume you can, because most enemies you can backstab you can parry and riposte as well. But their attack timing is super weird and I've never managed it.
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Apr 29, 2014 09:38
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Jack Trades posted:You could parry anything in DS1. You couldn't riposte or backstab a whole bunch of things but you could parry any attack of any enemy with exception of grabs since DS1 had a partial parry mechanic. I literally can't imagine justifying partial parrying as a way to defend against every enemy in the game as a viable way to play because it's explicitly worse at defending yourself than just blocking. That, while bizarrely skilled, is playing the game in a strange challenge build. And no, you're mistaken. Almost all the late game areas (Darkwraiths in New Londo and Crystal Undead aside) have pretty much no enemies that you can full parry. While Silver Knights populate most of Anor Londo, they were the only enemies in that area you can full parry. In fact, the only areas in the game that you can full parry everything are Undead Burg and Parish (the equivalent in 2 is the same,) and Sen's Fortress if you ignore the giants and titanite demons.
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Apr 29, 2014 09:47
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Also, Crystal Caves, Tomb of the Giants, Chasm of the Abyss, Demon Ruins, Lost Izalith, The Depths, Darkroot Garden and Basin. You may notice that with those and the list you put up, you've named most of the areas in the game. Jack Trades posted:EDIT: It doesn't really matter how practical this playstyle was. The point is that it was possible and quite viable and even if you don't want to make critical hits your main source of damage it still gave you a much larger variety in the ways to deal with most of your enemies. I'm sorry, but partial parrying every enemy in the game isn't viable at all. That's a challenge run, and one that isn't possible in 2. You just miss a minor mechanic that didn't change the game much for the majority of players. mdct fucked around with this message at 09:58 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 09:54
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Xoidanor posted:I'm starting to see a trend as I play of humanoid bosses all sucking. They're all terrible He's Literally Just Ornstein with similar moves but subtly different animation that they had to completely re-make because they went with motion capture this time around instead of hand-making every animation. There's nothing  about it. It was a design choice: you got to fight the other three knights alone in the previous game. Ornstein is the only one that had backup. Hell, if you beat Ornstein first, upgraded Smough is still just Smough but with an electrified hammer. Ornstein is literally the only one that you never fight alone and with his normal attack pattern. So they wanted to see what fighting Ornstein alone would be like, and he's a perfectly serviceable boss that's apparently only hindered by the fact you fought him before in the previous game.You're also exaggerating. While most of them are made more simple by circle-strafing, you still have to block or dodge, because all of them have wide-sweeping attacks that they can use. Some have backup, or other things that mitigate. The Lost Sinner is a humanoid boss, and she's great. Velstadt is one of the best bosses in the game. The Ruin Sentinels are all humanoid, and since you fight three of them (or, in practice, one then two,) you have to be careful where you're walking. The only one I can really say that fits this bill is the Dragonrider, and that's true. He's a very easy boss. He's also one of the first bosses, so I'm fine with it being very simple and easy. I mean they even kind of address this with the Double Dragonriders fight: just circlestrafing one would mean you'd get shot.
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Apr 29, 2014 21:04
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 Fashion souls is back in full force, really.
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Apr 30, 2014 02:29
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ChariotTalk: The Executioner's Chariot will veer slightly to the left or right depending on which side you last hid in. If you hid in a cubby hole on the left side, hide in one to the right for the next hit. If you don't, sometimes he can hit you even when in a hole. You can also just dodge under the wheel lances.
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May 1, 2014 03:45
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Dr. Carwash posted:My opinion: game is too easy. 99% of bosses are complete pushovers. Didn't the DLC for Dark Souls get rave reviews? Why didn't they throw more fights like Artorias into DS2? That fight was loving badass. The DLC came about when they had like 6 months to work with assets that already existed for the most part. Wouldn't you know it, when you have a large amount of time to make a couple of levels as extra content you can put an incredible amount of detail and polish on that small section of the game?
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May 1, 2014 05:37
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Lori posted:It's a shame they couldn't just give us more of the exact same thing, really. Because that's what I wanted. More of exactly what I had with better netcode. The DLC for DS1 was absolutely perfect in every way, especially the bosses. Artorias and Manus were the most fun I've ever had with a singleplayer game. There are so many quality of life improvements in 2 and minor gameplay tweaks that I prefer how this game plays entirely. If you could have Dark Souls 1's world design, Demon's Souls' atmosphere, Dark Souls 2's gameplay, and the Prepare to Die Edition Content's level and boss design you would have the best game ever made. Maybe after the Kadokawa buyout, FromSoft's team will expand a ton so it's not just like 100 people working on these games anymore and get the budget to do so. Who knows.
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May 1, 2014 05:44
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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:The whole path to the Iron King is just one big meta-commentary on the appalling effects of the exploitation of labor by the bourgeoisie and we plebians are just too dumb to realize it. Let me put it into simple words that explains why you two are getting shouted down, all right? This isn't level design. This is world design. They are two different things. Level design is the mechanical structure of the game in regards to how the game plays, where items are located, traps, and enemy encounters are. World design is the aesthetics and relation each level has in relation to one another. This game's general focus (where it fails occasionally, as well,) is complex encounter setpieces where a large number of enemies are placed with regard to the level architecture to make things easier or harder on you. There are a lot of really good encounters (a level design concept) in this game, where encountering nine royal swordsmen is totally possible because of the level geometry you can take advantage of. They're never able to surround you. (There are exceptions, like the ruin sentinel/stone knight death room in Drangleic Castle. That's just a big square room with a tight leash point for them. That's bad level design, because it's uninteresting.) The reason why most people disagree with you is because you're saying the wrong thing. Most people would agree that this game has really good level design, but some of those same people would probably agree that the game's world design is lacking. The rest, including myself, don't really care because the world design is completely secondary.
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May 1, 2014 16:45
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NihilVerumNisiMors posted:Looks like some people are willing and able to separate world and level design, that's fine. It still doesn't change the fact that the devs occasionally failed to reconcile the two. Hence why I said they should've gone for the Demon's Souls approach of making separate, self-contained maps. I didn't specifically look for the volcano behind the Earthen Peak windmill (because I didn't know it should be there on my first playthrough) but the transition still felt extremely odd because my sense of direction told me there should've been something there. Having separate maps would also solve the issue of "How did I cross an entire country in 10 minutes?" I actually agree with you that this game would've been better-served with a more Demon's Souls style structure. The game just kind of feels like it lends itself to it, with its many possible paths and Majula functioning more as a de facto hub than Firelink did. What I disagree with you is the idea that the fact that they did not actively makes the game worse. I'm not offended by the idea that DS2 is less than exceptional, I just disagree with the idea that it is. There's a difference between those two things. Zedsdeadbaby posted:Demon's Souls is the atmosphere souls. 100% agree with all of this.
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May 1, 2014 18:19
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I love every skeleton message and if you're not voting them up you're a vile monster.
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May 1, 2014 19:10
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bef posted:Good to know, but you need to offer an effigy to head into the Abyss Use ascetics on the first Forest of Fallen Giants bonfire, grab 5 effigies every time. (Also, kill the Heide knight for his sweet gear.)
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May 1, 2014 19:13
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Internet Kraken posted:I don't need to ask because I played Dark Souls PvP a ton and never had this many problems with it. Yes you occasionally got the guy the lagged to hell and back, but I never found myself wondering how the gently caress I was being hit as much as I am here. A good example of this is sorceries; I never had a problem dodging spells in Dark Souls. In Dark Souls 2, even regular soul arrows are hitting me. I clearly dodge them and then get hit anyways. Turn off cross-region play if you're having these issues.
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May 1, 2014 20:35
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Internet Kraken posted:This is an option? Where do I find it? I looked through the menus but didn't see anything about online. It's just in game options. It's the last option before the volume.
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May 1, 2014 21:00
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Sydin posted:This is true, but it also means that the niche that pyromancy was specifically created to fill no longer needs to be filled. So then why even bother having a separate pyromancy mechanic at all? Just roll all its spells into Intelligence like in DeS. Counterpoint: the function of Pyromancy in Dark Souls 1 was broken and poorly designed. While it's fun to be able to do soul level 1 runs easily and simply, partially because of how powerful pyromancy is while being stat-independent, the fact that you can do so without difficulty is a bit absurd. Equally so with how PvP worked in that one. The slot that Pyromancy filled in 1 basically shouldn't have existed in the first place, as neat as it was. Pyromancy's function now still isn't just "oh it's just More Different sorcery  ". It scales pretty much indiscriminately, which is a slot that's newly filled, and a counterpart to the other new form of magic, Hexes, which scale very specifically.
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May 1, 2014 22:18
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WirelessPillow posted:It looks like the knights are learning some new skills. I've seen royal swordsmen and hollow infantry do this too. I love this glitch a lot.
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May 2, 2014 00:19
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DreamShipWrecked posted:A few things, for the thread. In your sound options (as in, your computer's sound options in your control panel,) go to "communications" and change it to "do nothing" instead of reduce by 80% or 50% or whatever it defaults to.
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May 2, 2014 02:30
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Tiler Kiwi posted:There were a few bosses that were pretty cool. I liked Lost Sinner, Pursuer, the Chariot, and the rats. The problem isn't that they were any worse than DS1 dudes, its just that the formula for fighting them never really changed up from "roll when attacked, attack on opening, repeat". There weren't that many dudes that really changed up the way you approached them. There were not that many in DS1 or Demon Souls either, but after playing Demon Souks, DS1, and then this, it starts to be repetitive. Bit of a loss of an "oh poo poo" factor when you already know how you're going to fight the dude the moment you step into the arena. I'd argue that the game did change things up a bit with a couple bosses, where the primary tactic wasn't really to roll through everything they do but rather to just sprint the gently caress away half the time, both as a good thing (Darklurker in melee, Throne Watcher & Defender, Demon of Song,) and to its absolute detriment (Ancient Dragon.) But yes, the game's boss design has been getting a little stale if you've played all three games back-to-back. Well-designed or not, there's only so many pseudo-duel bosses where timing and knowledge is everything until it gets a little tired. The Executioner's Chariot is probably one of my favorite bosses in the series now, too. Now that's a puzzle boss actually supported by this series' design.
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May 3, 2014 08:17
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DSauer posted:The game has been released, which means From won't do anything short of correcting crash bugs; severe crash bugs only. If you're coming off of Dark Souls PC and this is your opinion on the game, this isn't actually what From is like with their patches. From was actually extremely active about fixing bugs and re-balancing Dark Souls 1: it's just that the PC version came out like a year after the console version where all of the fine-tuning was done. Dark Souls 1 now is a completely different game numbers-wise than it was on release. You can expect Dark Souls 2 to get a lot of balances and patches, especially since one of the things they're doing with their dedicated servers is doing stat fine-tuning. It's just that these will take time, and don't expect them to all get changed all at once.
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May 4, 2014 08:18
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Mazed posted:Oh yeah, I have a totally unrelated question: Is there anything that makes the Scimitar better than the Falchion at all? It's weird because you gain access to it later and it has higher stat requirements, but the actual numbers seem pretty underwhelming. What am I missing? It has a different moveset. It's more vertical than the Falchion is.
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May 4, 2014 09:30
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Metanaut posted:Is it worth investing in the Homunculus club? I got it at +7 right now and need more titanite chunks, but thanks to the server problems, I haven't been able to bellbro to get some. The Craftsman's Hammer is pretty solid! Same moveset, roughly the same length, better damage and scaling.
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May 4, 2014 09:36
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Elman posted:Got any advice for fighting the Darklurker as a melee build? I've heard fire is useful, but I'm not a mage and my Fire longsword +10 does poo poo all damage compared to my Royal Greatsword +10 since I'm at 40 Str and Dex. I can bring him down to 50% hp but can't handle two at the same time. Sprint like a motherfucker. Run around all the time until an opening shows up. Ideally you get both of them to melee you, in sync, but you can get hits in when one of them is doing the laser, for example.
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May 4, 2014 18:45
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Vintersorg posted:I loving HATE SHRINE OF ANIMA!! Grab the binoculars.
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May 5, 2014 01:26
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Elysiume posted:Four Kings you basically couldn't dodge or run away because you had to maximize DPS over all else. I'd say that Four Kings is the single worst fight in DS1/DS2. This isn't true at all. The Four Kings don't immediately converge on you all at once when a new one shows up. You actually have a very forgiving time frame until a second one joins the fight. All you need is a good weapon (and wouldn't you believe it, the very large ember is in New Londo) and you can dodge through their attacks, then follow-up reliably, killing one before the second gets in.
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May 5, 2014 21:43
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Ciaphas posted:How bad is the whole 'slashing damage sucks' thing, really? I feel like I like the Greatsword more than the Large Club, among the strength weapons I have so far. When you get into super high amounts of damage it stops being as noticeable, but striking weapons are significantly better. That large club will be doing more damage. Maybe not an extreme difference like a smaller sword and the mace, but you will be doing less. If you like the Greatsword's moveset then go for it, you won't be completely gimped.
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May 6, 2014 04:50
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Foxhound posted:Someone put together an album with all (or most/a lot) of NPC faces in the game. Neat stuff. Titchy Gren doesn't have a face. 
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May 6, 2014 12:31
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Atoramos posted:I'm still looking for a good melee-caster build. Is the MLGS still awesome post-nerf? I was reccomended an awesome build for hex's, but is there a good way to get sorcery doing 500+ damage while still having the option of melee? Are there any awesome casting robes or should I just go with what's weight-efficient? It's still rather strong. It's not hideously amazing, but it's still good.
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May 6, 2014 13:15
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Atoramos posted:Are there better options (Blue Flame?), and what armor makes for good castin? Blue Flame is mostly best for a silly gimmick where you cast Crystal Magic Weapon on your +5 Magic Blue Flame and suddenly have the best sorcery catalyst in the game. For cool points, cast Soul Greatsword through it.
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May 6, 2014 13:20
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Dezztroy posted:I'm not saying there is. I'm saying that expecting a PC game to work well with the standard PC control scheme is not something that warrants ridicule. It's also not something that warrants outrage, such as "From are a bunch of incompetent apes." Words actually posted by a human being! Basically so long as you're not a huge shitlord you're pretty fine to make as many complaints as you'd like, go for it. The PC controls are bad and that sucks and it doesn't natively support every arbitrary resolution which could be better. Oh well!!
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May 6, 2014 13:40
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That's basically where the disconnect happens when "this game isn't completely optimized for my machine what a load of horseshit" comes in. "Make sure the game actually works" is such a gross overstatement it's ridiculous. Dark Souls 1 on PC was not a well-optimized game and didn't look very good without community mods. It would still run reasonably well, since if your complaints are about the visuals then your computer could probably run the game fine in the first place, and the game itself is still good. Its keyboard and mouse controls were terrible, it's true, but that's easy to work around and you're encouraged to do so.
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May 6, 2014 13:47
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Spooky Bear Ghost posted:Also, I've heard lances are super overpowered, is that true? They're not overpowered, people just have difficulty fighting against them. They're really fun, though, and very solid. And by "they" I mean the Grand Lance, which is the only good Lance.
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May 6, 2014 22:05
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