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If you set the skin tone sliders right you can be really pale. Like, burning-magnesium pale. (I made sure to have precisely zero visible spoilers here, don't worry.) As for the run, I second the comments above. I'd personally suggest either a thrusting sword or a huge standard sword, and in addition I believe that you should continue your shieldless run of things. If you're ever itching for co-op in the second half of the game, this same character (with actual gear and whatnot) should be available to assist by using that Name-engraved Ring.
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Feb 28, 2016 02:52
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If you want to dual-wield, try two-handing the left-hand weapon. If something different happens then things are going correctly. Also, uh, I think you guys may need to be more cautious. That giant armored knight who bashed you on top of a platform actually has a huge windup to his arrival before he engages the player.
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Mar 2, 2016 08:59
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Wayne posted:Vis a vis the volume comments, might lower the sound effects level if you haven't already. Majula's background music and waves-crashing ambience are actually part of the sound level, not music; that's why it tends to be so overpowering. And on a general level, in Mog's and my LP, I've usually had to lower the game audio track a bit above (below?) and beyond auto-ducking, since it's pretty jarring to have something like "*banter* *chuckle* KA-CHUNK *banter*." quote:Wow, did you shoot for making Paige from the WWE there?  I'm guessing you're referring in particular to the hair and eye colors, but in truth those were chosen just to introduce contrast because otherwise the character looks like a moon elemental or something. (I'm guessing from Wikipedia that Paige's makeup serves the same point.)
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Mar 2, 2016 11:06
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Fish Noise posted:I've been wondering if the controller was at all related to trouble kicking things, which is why I had asked in the previous LP, but an admittedly-cursory search of that model didn't turn up anything specific. Also, remember that Winged Spear you picked up? Try using it.
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Mar 10, 2016 07:13
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Among other things I use the anti-deadzone features in x360ce (at the recommended 80%), but given what you're saying I'll have to try things out on a friend's console. Edit: Would fiddling around with the settings change anything? Currently all of my thumbstick axes are set to 50% sensitivity/0% deadzone/100% range. NGDBSS fucked around with this message at 08:46 on Mar 10, 2016 |
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Mar 10, 2016 08:42
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Wayne posted:
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Mar 22, 2016 16:04
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I'm glad somebody cracked that code! Last I checked, the community was still going on the conventional wisdom that every 5 AGI = 1 frame. It's a lot like how nobody believed Kepler because it was so much more sublime to believe the planets orbited in circles.
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Lprsti99 posted:So, I might be jumping the gun a bit, but I'm worried I'll forget to say something by the time you post the episodes: Enemies in the Doors of Pharros area (and another we've yet to see) respawn infinitely, for a very specific reason. Edit: Alright, apparently this was a change made in Scholar, and I'd done the grinding on the original version. It's still better to use the normal means, of course, so carry on! (Due to playstyle differences the normal means were not exactly on the table for me.) NGDBSS fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Apr 3, 2016 |
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Apr 3, 2016 05:33
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So, uh, you guys mentioned that a puzzle focused on lighting all the torches in an area would be cool. That's in fact a thing in Scholar's version of the Gutter, though some of the torches are in more hidden spots. And at least these two videos have some very helpful shots on reconstructing stuff. I was surprised to see how little equipment you two had picked up, since I'm generally a packrat who will scavenge anything and everything in the game world to the point of sometimes having to drop poo poo that I can no longer hold.
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Jul 26, 2016 02:18
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I'm surprised neither of you commented on the wildly flailing whip shortly before the Skeleton Lords. Though speaking of them, their gimmick is that they and their summoned adds collectively share a health bar. Unlike the Four Kings, any overflow after killing a target won't also deplete the main health bar, so you're required to fight them legitimately instead of wandering into a Three Kings situation. But if you really want to go crazy...try killing all the Lords at once to summon their adds. That fight was changed somewhat from the original version. In that, each add pack (sword-and-board/dual falchions/bonewheels) had four skeletons. Scholar instead changed this up to something like 10 sword-and-board/6 dual falchion/2 bonewheel, because even after being tuned downward four bonewheels will still rock your world if you're not supremely careful.
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Aug 4, 2016 08:12
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I'm guessing your invader was also new to the game? They were turtling pretty hard there instead of being aggressive when you were near death.
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Aug 11, 2016 05:46
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Holy poo poo you don't even need to jump between those rooftops in the Lost Bastille?  I never noticed the beams.Despite you two, well, trying, it's not necessary to make some crazy leap to the side area of the Gutter with the Heide Knight. Instead, you can just drop down from some nearby platforms after the bridge. I guess that first gray spirit really wanted the Catarina Helm? Now that you've seen it I should mention that there is a very early opportunity to grab it, but doing so requires getting a random drop from an NPC on NG+ or higher. The Belfry Gargoyles are likely among the worst boss fights in the game, since often you'll have at least three at once in a very cramped but featureless space. In fact their spawn triggers are based on how much damage is done to the shared health pool - two show up at the beginning, the third appears at 90%, the fourth at 70%, and the fifth at 50%. It really helps to focus your attacks on one at a time, so I was surprised to see you eventually succeed after not locking on to gauge their positions and check health bars. Elemental buffs work differently in DS2. Basically, any elemental buff applies a flat AR increase of the appropriate damage type (generally I've heard 50?), then applies a multiplier to all elemental damage (somewhere between x1.15 and x1.3) of that type. The result is that not only can you buff nearly anything (including infused weapons), but also that you can get far more effect out of buffing infused weapons because they start with more of that element to begin with. But while spell buffs such as to weapons don't scale off your casting stats or modifiers from casting implements, getting those stats up is still useful. In particular, most buffs that aren't pyromancies scale their duration based on a relevant casting stat. (Iron Flesh just doesn't last long, apparently.)
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Aug 20, 2016 23:33
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I'm sure you're past this part by now, but the way I've found best to deal with the Torturers outside Undead Purgatory is to pull them one at a time with a bow. You can even get extra headshot damage if you shoot their heads! Also, well, I think you can see why I recommended boosting Adaptability on PMs.
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Aug 23, 2016 00:08
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Wayne posted:Speaking of Int, I haven't seen the last 2 videos yet so I'm not sure if you found this out or not; but Straid is like Carhillion in that he's a jerk if you don't meet his stat requirements. The funny thing is, the Int check is so low that only the Bandit fails it! I've never actually seen that dialogue.
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Aug 23, 2016 05:14
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I got the Black Knight Ultra Greatsword from Brightstone Cove Tseldora, since I thought you'd probably opened the side door with the Brightstone Key. The souls were basically a result of not using relevant items after a point, while you can probably guess why I had so many Wood Arrows. (At this point I was capable of one-shotting the poison moths even with an unupgraded Short Bow.) Though I'm guessing you didn't notice or at least didn't point out the real surprise? Check the straight swords for anything different. That heavy attack on the Grand Lance is one of several that I refer to as a "smash attack". The concept is that some attacks will knock enemies down, either by flattening them or (in the case of the Grand Lance) launching them, so long as you break their poise in the same strike. They'll be temporarily invincible while getting back up, but the moment they have control is also the moment they become vulnerable again, and in any case you'll be maintaining significant control over them in the overall combat. Generally they're present on heavy weapon 2HR2s like with ultra greatswords or great hammers, but lances are among the lightest weapons that will still give you a reliable smash attack with only 35 poise damage at base. (This is the sort of reason why I like the the Stone Ring.) As for Earthen Peak...yeah, you may be in for a shock if you don't figure out the gimmick. Generally it's not the game that teaches you about it so much as other players. And then of course there are the Manikins. I've gotten used to them by now but they're certainly unpredictable to the unfamiliar.
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Aug 30, 2016 21:56
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Ouch, that sequence of runs with Mytha made me wince. Though at least you dealt a lot of damage on the one buffed run. (I really need to try out lances at some point to make them work, because in your hands they seem to be engines of destruction when aimed properly.) There's a way to make that fight easier elsewhere in the tower, though it's obtuse enough that as with Adaptability I will generally reveal the spoiler in person regardless of how much they might otherwise care about playing blindly. At the least, keep in mind that poison is actively being pumped into the tower in both Mytha's boss chamber and the Pharros Lockstone face. How do you think it got there? If you like I could outright tell you. Should I, or is that hint enough?
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Sep 2, 2016 04:09
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 UPDATEDrTempest posted:Episode 53: The Stupid Way and Episode 54: The Smart Way now up! Lucatiel of Mirrah posted:Still on the road, are you? Sorry to have burdened you so. This is for you, by way of an apology. [Gives Ring of Steel Protection +1] But regardless, good job on figuring out how to deal with the poison water on your own! Most people either got spoiled on it or were coaxed via pantomime into lighting the windmill; I know I was. (It is technically viable to kill Mytha without bringing down the poison water, but it requires either extreme aggression with a few summoned buddies or outright immunity to poison.)
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Sep 8, 2016 00:59
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You actually took on the flame salamanders in melee. You brave, foolhardy souls.    (Once you've picked up the Heavy Iron Key and one more thing up top you've got all the meaningful loot.) But in any case that area and the first section of the Iron Keep are made quite a bit less tricky with a bow to either wear down or pull enemies.That invader, Lahziel, is almost certainly a PvP twink. In particular that bow can't be obtained until the end of the game, and their armor is from a DLC area. I'm guessing they ran through much of the game wearing the Agape Ring and leaned heavily on a few high stats like Adaptability to wear bosses down. I'm a fan of the Alonne Knight set which you've seen here. Recently I decided to do a Punchwitch run, focusing exclusively on fists and fist weapons. The primary quirk is that your range is very short (and thus that backstabs are even more important), but I persevered through the run and posted a shot elsewhere in IK while wearing that armor. 
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Sep 15, 2016 19:02
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Fume Knight is very much a Souls Boss in that he's really hard on a first encounter when you have no clue of his moveset, but easier once you analyze what's going on. I used to hate fighting him back when I was inexperienced (and relying on shields), but now I find him comparatively straightforward. If you're still stuck, just take some time to track every attack or combo he does, and then to consider how to deal with them.
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Nov 4, 2016 22:45
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While the Scorchers are more dangerous when set on fire, they're nonetheless easier to provoke into self-detonation in such a state. In fact, if they're not on fire they can actually fake you out. Plus when you were wondering if something bad was going to happen upon removing the Scorching Iron Scepter...well, it already did. The Scorchers in the same room will go berserk on your rear end either if you provoke them (as seen in the video) or if you draw out the scepter while they're still not on fire (in which case they self-immolate and try to rush you). Generally my preferred method of dealing with that room is to have fun with Firestorm or some similar AoE pyromancy.Gimbal lock posted:The majestic greatsword's description saying that all of its previous owners were left-handed was a hint.
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Nov 11, 2016 22:31
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frozentreasure posted:You guys are gonna be real pissed when you discover that it costs humanity per Darklurker attempt.
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Nov 22, 2016 22:49
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frozentreasure posted:The Shulva knights' main hook is that they have an ungodly amount of poise. A single ultra greatsword swing ought to be enough to interrupt basically any normal enemy, but they just truck on through. quote:I wanted to record a handy dandy guide to reading Fume's attack patterns for you after the first death reel, Tempest, but my computer for some reason steadfastly refused to hit a constant frame rate when I did. So I'll just post the basics here, if I can remember them. These were for the second phase of the fight, since it seemed to be your bigger issue. If you can consistently get him to this phase you can be aware of your openings and not need to spend the time getting close to him for hits. [Decent advice]
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Dec 22, 2016 05:09
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Just so you know, there's a hidden bonfire you missed somewhere inside the temple. Otherwise, be sure to take some care as to where you drop - you can absolutely platform your way through Shulva, but your speed will determine how far you go and even if you roll. Some pitfalls are actually better taken by just running off rather than leaping.
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Dec 26, 2016 23:14
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The Cave of the Dead is another of those areas intended to be run co-op, like the Iron Passage. (That's the whole point of the various monuments lining the entrance.) Out of all of them it's probably the most tolerable one; in particular the boss at its end is drat hard but exciting nonetheless. As for Flynn's Ring, its effect does not vary based on what weapon you're using for the most part. (There are three weapons in the game with no physical damage at all.) Instead it increases your AR based on how low your maximum equip load is, capping at +50 for <60 in that. Hence changing out your armor won't do anything, but using certain items like the Second Dragon Ring will.
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Jan 5, 2017 22:41
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I find that two things help with Elana, though they're not strictly necessary. First, a lot of aggression, since the longer the fight goes the more time she has to summon the dead. (Usually it's a bunch of human-sized skeletons, though, instead of one large guy with a big hammer.) Second, having massive dark resistance nullifies most of her damage (even the "fireballs"). As for Sinh, it's possible to avoid the durability damage if you just hit his head or neck. It's possible to bait out his lunge attack and counterattack him for a relatively safe if tepid boss battle.
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Jan 9, 2017 04:48
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hanales posted:I haven't watched the entire LP so I don't know if you've reached that area to get it, but the sunbro is using a twin blade class item. Good to see that you've downed the Fume Knight, at least. There's still one more standard boss in the Old Iron King DLC, but you can't access them yet without some story progression in the base game. In any case, the idea with him is that the second phase is generally easier by virtue of him exclusively using his namesake slow UGS. There's actually a lore-based way to force him into it off the bat, but you haven't seen the relevant bits yet. (Just check out the Fume Knight's equipment for some hints there.) So in that phase he's got four attacks: NGDBSS posted:-A (relatively) quick multi-hit combo. Dodge away from this.
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Jan 11, 2017 00:55
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Unfortunately for the two of you, while the gank squad is great the other two co-op DLC fights are bland at best. In general the community considers the co-op areas to be a blight on the DLC, and with the exception of the gank squad I can't disagree. The Afflicted Graverobber is actually a woman - listen back to any time someone hits her.
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Jan 14, 2017 03:17
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That Frozen Flower you picked up is actually the last DLC key, so if you want to go there then you're set. Oh man, that Ruin Sentinel hallway is brutal if you end up fighting all of them without taking a break to replenish estus.  On the other hand, since they're now minibosses you can farm them for their armor set.Does that cursed portrait look familiar at all to you? The Majestic Greatsword is one of the best weapons in the game, given its moveset and the damage boost when used in the left hand. Its only real flaws are the relatively high stat requirements (not so onerous for DS2, mind) and the fact that you can't backstab left-handed.  Gower's Ring of Protection used to negate damage from behind, but got nerfed due to abuse in PvP among other things.
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Jan 15, 2017 03:49
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Most weapons have mirrored movesets depending on which hand you're holding them in, even when using two hands, except being able to backstab only in the right hand. The upside of this is that if a weapon swings from right to left when two-handed in the right hand, it will do the reverse when two-handed in the left hand, which neatly bypasses the Mirror Knight's shield. Also, despite him having perhaps three or four variations on that lightning attack the movesets are similar enough that you can just roll to the right whenever he performs it.Tarezax posted:You'd think it would make him hard, but oftentimes the player invaders would spawn into the battlefield before they'd properly loaded into the game, and the big obvious summoning animation meant that players + phantoms could easily gank the invader before they could move.
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Jan 19, 2017 06:46
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Deep water is made more obvious with a torch. And while the Shrine of Anime (as it's jokingly nicknamed) has the perennial problem of being a water level in a Souls game, it's still fairly manageable so long as you liberally use a bow.* (Hint, hint.  ) Getting through is certainly possible without one, as you've done here, but doing so without losing a lot of resources requires either careful pulling or use of cover. Honestly, of the water levels I've played in Souls games I'd put it about even with Blighttown. In the former you have to worry about the sudden dropoffs and magic snipers, while in the latter you have to instead care about poison and poor visibility. (The Shrine of Amana is drat pretty for a level in any Souls game.)The Demon of Song is a fairly easy boss for this late in the game. The trick is actually to bait out her attacks, and then to perform a combo before she covers her head again. Generally she won't complete her longer combos if you're already out of the way, so you can really shorten the battle by ducking out and then in at the right time. Fire, on the other hand, isn't so great against her because she's wet. ("Wet" status, which anyone can get by wading in water or by being splashed by a jar of water as in the Iron Keep, increases your fire resistance and decreases your lightning resistance. It doesn't last definitely when on dry land, but is still fairly persistent.) *On a lark I once did a run through this level with a greatbow and lightning greatarrows as my principal weapons of choice. It's weird to manage all that stamina loss per shot, but at the same time very satisfying to knock the priestesses down so that they can't immediately retaliate.
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Jan 21, 2017 05:57
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That burning-tree-face doesn't respond differently based on your answers, but he's another reminder that Scholar added to remind you that The Quest is not just the broad search for Vendrick and the Great Souls. Instead, there's also a personal element- how are you going to deal with the continuing death and resurrection that is the Undead Curse? Will you find samsara, and the slow purging of the bardo, sufficient? Or will you seek moksha, a oneness with everything that accompanies liberation? (The latter cause is part of the purpose of seeking the DLC crowns.) Running with dual fist weapons is...weird. They're fast as hell but have very short range, sometimes to the point that an enemy can dodge a straight just through their posture pulling back their abdomen. And as you've noted, this speed makes the Stone Ring really good for poise-breaking weaker enemies. No you killed Agdayne.  He gave you a warning, just so you wouldn't disturb the dead, but you instead believed the trolls. Though I'm surprised he wasn't being more aggressive, considering that the sword he uses is one of the best in the game.The Smelter Hammer has the affectionate nickname of the "chicken wing", given the obvious similarities. I recall someone else applying Lightning Blade to it to make it yellow, which made me wonder if it had been dipped in honey mustard. And despite the 70 Str requirement to use it one-handed, you can actually powerstance it if you have 99 Str. No other weapon requires nearly so much to wield, so From decided to make a cute little exception to those maniacs who wanted to go all in on a heavy weapon build. Leydia Pyromancers will keep spawning so long as a nearby bell is ringing/you're up close and their statues are still whole. You can snipe said statues from a distance with various means, though it helps to do something like Cast Light to better aim your shots. Speaking of Velstadt, the reason Elana can summon him is that he's dead, like Agdayne or Gravelord Nito. (Check the things you can make from his soul for this.)
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Jan 26, 2017 03:47
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Gothsheep posted:Oh, also fun note now that you've killed both:
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Jan 26, 2017 05:03
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The Throne Watcher and Defender have always seemed a bit odd to me, since unlike most other multi-enemy boss fights in the Souls series there's not enough variety between their attacks to separate them by moveset, and there's also no terrain to meaningfully pull them apart for a quick strike. There's no need to feel dirty about looking for cooperation against them, since they're not well-designed to begin with and you can just grab one or two distractions to help out. There's one other fight in this game that I'd recommend summoning for, but in that case it's actually a good fight further enhanced by grabbing some friends. (You'll probably know it when you see it.) And as for that room...try checking back there later. How much would you like to know or be hinted at in terms of this game's ending? There are two possible choices (as with all previous Souls games), but one of those options requires doing a few things before engaging the final encounter. Addamere posted:By the way, what's the thing here at 14:15 that causes us to explode and die? NGDBSS fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Jan 27, 2017 |
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Jan 27, 2017 05:52
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Lord_Magmar posted:So I'm personally of the opinion that the Iron Passage is the worst of the dedicated multiplayer areas, as I actually like the one in the third dlc and the one in the first dlc is relatively easy to dash through. As for Dragon Aerie...it's one of the most picturesque locations I've ever seen in a video game. And also a very good reason to bring out your bow, with the changes made in Scholar that added a number of Undead Citizens.
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Jan 31, 2017 03:14
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Remember that armor at the top of Brume Tower? You can access it now with the Ashen Mist Heart. (Though on its own, it's not a DLC item.) And as for the Dragon Shrine, there used to be a lot more Drakekeepers around to smash your head in. The one with a mace was infamous in particular because he would have such long combos that a player would inevitably trip up and have their head smashed in. Now? Not so much. To contradict the above sentiment, there are two good things in the Iron Passage, but getting either requires fighting the boss at the end. Anything along the way can thus be treated as incidental.
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Feb 2, 2017 07:09
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Now that you have that Eye of the Priestess...try checking out the Shaded Woods again.
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Feb 6, 2017 19:11
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This is the boss fight that I feel is made even better by grabbing summons, because that giant brawl with all the knights becomes even more wild and (Old) chaotic. But, as noted above, you really should grab more Loyce Knights to help you out, because otherwise you'll just get overwhelmed in a manner not unlike Mytha's boss fight without draining the poison. They're both effectively hard-mode versions of an existing fight; both are theoretically doable but in practice are intended to give you a hint that something's missing.
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Feb 16, 2017 07:36
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Gimbal lock posted:I remember Sir Alonne having way more tricks up his sleeve
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Mar 22, 2017 10:06
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You didn't show it off all that much, but the Crypt Blacksword is one of the best weapons in the game. The only real issue is that ultra greatswords are a rather slow weapon class, but even that can be mitigated by proper timing and use of the 2HR2 smash attack to knock enemies off their feet. (I once had a NG++ run using mostly the Dragon Tooth, which is even slower, so sticking to a big weapon isn't as taxing as it sounds.)
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Apr 9, 2017 19:25
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The deal with either Smelter Demon's third phase is that enchanting the sword with some element doesn't add fire/magic damage to it, but rather changes the sword's damage type to that. As a result you can stack fire/magic resistance really high to almost completely ignore the second half of the fight.
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Apr 14, 2017 04:07
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Did you ever go back to that one door in Shrine of Amana that was previously locked? It was behind the Dragonrider-as-miniboss. If not, well, you can open it now so long as you're not hollowed. (And then you'll have an idea of how to finish that sidequest. ) As far as the endings go, the "leave the throne" path isn't about embracing Dark like DS1's was. Rather, the implication is that taking the throne (insde a kiln, no less) allows for either DS1-style ending, and thus that neither of DS1's endings are ruled out. (In general, the big premise of DS2 was that both of DS1's endings were valid, and exploring the implications thereof.) But in any case you can see the other ending without proceeding to NG+; you'll just need to toss an ascetic on the first Drangleic Castle bonfire and fight through three sets of bosses again. Not the most thrilling experience, I know, given that Nashandra/Aldia aren't that hard while the Throne Watcher/Defender are tag-teaming jerks. Or shall I just show it off in the thread as a separate video? I've got a few saves that can easily ascetic their way through the gauntlet. That Bow of Want is one of the best two "normal" bows in the game, the other one being the Hunter's Blackbow. tiistai posted:Aldia is a new addition to SotFS so yes, that was it with Nashandra in the original. The DLC or completing them have nothing to do with Aldia showing up. Similarly, there was no choice but to take the throne in the original.
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Apr 28, 2017 18:48
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