Dark Souls II - share your experiences, stories and builds!

[Nachtmahr]

In other news, went back to DS1 to enjoy some Knight Artorias cosplay for a while. The balance differences between the two games are so stark it's disorienting.

I guess this might be my problem, because I played DS 1 religiously for a month, up until the release of DS 2. Everything feels rather different, in regards to controls and moves and such.

[Hemingway]

Hmm.

I haven't played DS2 in a while, but I feel like getting back into it. I feel like starting a new character, but I have no idea what to play. I've done a heavy 2H knight, and a DW rapiers dex build. I don't suppose anyone has any suggestions for fun PvE builds?

[persephone325]

Nachtmahr, I counted a few times. For me, it was always 12. After I killed an enemy the 12th time, they stopped spawning.

[Hemingway]

I decided to try something I've never done past the Last Giant: A magic build. Specifically, I want to use Hexes and Dark weapons. I have no idea how effective that is, but from what I've read it should be excellent with the proper stats, hexes and gear. Anyone done something like that? Advice?

Edit: Well, I managed to get as far as Huntsman's Copse to pick up the Hexer set. I've yet to do No-man's, and I wanted to wait with the Pursuer. I think I'm ready to take those on now. I don't know how this character will play later, but at the moment I'm murdering things left and right. Getting Dark weapon was a real game-changer.

[Shjade]

Dark weapon (or, more accurately, Resonant weapon) + hexes is basically the flavor of the month, and will likely continue to be so until hexes and/or weapon infusions get serious nerfs. They're basically just flat out better than everything else by a significant margin.

[Hemingway]

Resonant seems impractical to me. The soul cost seems like it'll set me back considerably.

[Shjade]

It's impractical unless you're killing things that will pay off the cost and/or you're already at your target SL and don't need more souls.

It's costly and a shorter duration, but 50% vs 30% is significant. For PvE Dark Weapon is probably good enough, but for PvP, resonant packs the heftier punch.

[Revelation]

I guess this might be my problem, because I played DS 1 religiously for a month, up until the release of DS 2. Everything feels rather different, in regards to controls and moves and such.

Have you tried leveling stats that raise your agility? I found after raising adaptability to 20 or so, the controls considerably quickened and I was taking Estus sippies and rolling as fast as you do in DS 1.

I'm doing my PC run as a dual mace wielding str/faith character and gosh it's way more fun than my str/dex build. Power stancing maces is hilariously brutal and efficient, with maces doing disgusting damage and stamina drain on people and miracles killing things my maces can't.

[Shjade]

I don't generally like strike weapon movesets, but I admit I'm considering making a new strength-based blunt-oriented character to move into hex/dark later on when I get the Sacred Chime Hammer. Because that thing gets crazy.

[Revelation]

Strike weapons seem incredibly good, not just maces. They have a pretty consistent sweetspot going for them too.So far nothing has terribly crushed me yet, but that's also experience.

[Shjade]

They are. Strike damage is pretty much straight up superior to slash/thrust damage and they're a lot faster than they were in DkS1. The only real downsides of clubs of any size are pretty much moveset limitations and range, at least as far as I can tell.

[Inkidu]

I think I'm done. I can't take the game anymore. Anytime I feel like I'm taking a step forward in the right direction I end up take liking three steps backward. I was going up against the giant basilisk. It petrified me in one hit. Yay! :[ SO I skirt it, and try up and go around. Have to fight a lion warrior. Had to make a roll and crashed through some wooden planks and fell in a nest of her God-damned babies. I kill about four as they bumrush me and I get petrified again, all my souls are in a pit of basilisks.

I'm not even angry. I'm tired, tired of trying to pretend this is a good game, trying to feel like I didn't get bilked.

[Hemingway]

Just rushed through Huntsman's Copse to kill the Undead Lords. Easy as pie! I was looking forward to getting my Roaring Halberd, which I plan on using for my dark build until I can get a Silverblack Sickle. Then I realized, oh, wait. I haven't unpetrified Straid yet. I haven't even gotten to Straid. I haven't even gotten to the Lost Bastille. I haven't killed the Ruin Sentinels, a boss I sometimes put off doing until after Harvest Valley. Hell, I think I once killed the Old Iron King before Sentinels.

Oh, it's going to be a pain killing them as a caster, I can just feel it.

[Shjade]

It's roadblocks like that that are one of the things that make DkS2 so much harder than DkS1. There are far fewer shortcuts to getting powerful weapons fast by comparison. Too many required steps involved.

[Hemingway]

I'd say getting to where you can actually infuse your weapons is a bigger pain, but, yeah.

It's not like the bits between where I am ( start of No-Man's at the moment ) and Straid are terribly difficult, with the exception of the Ruin Sentinels. It's just daunting. No-Man's Wharf isn't very difficult, but it's not a place I enjoy being in. It's too dark and spooky. Lost Bastille isn't too bad, but knowing the Ruin Sentinels are waiting for me, yeah ... Of the bosses I've done ( which is most of the ones in the game ), Sentinels is definitely the biggest pain. Individually they're a walk in the park, but as anyone who's played DS knows, being ganged up on is ... well, two enemies is more than twice as dangerous as one. Way more than twice as dangerous!

[Inkidu]

Part of me wants to start over again, part of me wants to keep trying with my sword and board knight, and the last part wants me to just quit the game all together. :P

I don't know, there's just no guarantee that I'll actually make a better character or do any better. :P

[Shjade]

I'd say getting to where you can actually infuse your weapons is a bigger pain, but, yeah.

It's not like the bits between where I am ( start of No-Man's at the moment ) and Straid are terribly difficult, with the exception of the Ruin Sentinels. It's just daunting. No-Man's Wharf isn't very difficult, but it's not a place I enjoy being in. It's too dark and spooky. Lost Bastille isn't too bad, but knowing the Ruin Sentinels are waiting for me, yeah ... Of the bosses I've done ( which is most of the ones in the game ), Sentinels is definitely the biggest pain. Individually they're a walk in the park, but as anyone who's played DS knows, being ganged up on is ... well, two enemies is more than twice as dangerous as one. Way more than twice as dangerous!

It's not just that you have to get a fragrant branch to unfreeze Straid, it's what comes after that. You get Straid and you get your Roaring Halberd, great. Now where do you get petrified dragon bones to upgrade that Roaring Halberd?

Mostly from Aldia's Keep and the Aerie. After you've gone through 90% of the game.

Sure you can find a few here and there before that, but not enough to get past maybe +2. Maybe +3, which isn't terrible, but not great either.

Sidenote, if the Ruin Sentinels give you that much trouble, you can skip them. There's a back way from the No Man's Wharf entrance to the Bastille that goes around them.

[Hemingway]

It's not just that you have to get a fragrant branch to unfreeze Straid, it's what comes after that. You get Straid and you get your Roaring Halberd, great. Now where do you get petrified dragon bones to upgrade that Roaring Halberd?

Huh. True! I don't plan on using the Roaring Halberd as a main weapon, though. Only keeping it until I get the Silverblack Sickle, which is supposed to have great dark scaling once fully upgraded. Maybe I should stick with my flame sword. I really don't know.

Part of me wants to start over again, part of me wants to keep trying with my sword and board knight, and the last part wants me to just quit the game all together. :P

I don't know, there's just no guarantee that I'll actually make a better character or do any better. :P

Try starting over. My first attempt failed miserably. I got to the Iron Keep, and I was plain out of human effigies, and I'd lost plenty of souls. If you start over, you'll have a better foundation because you'll do better early on.

If you do, though - do yourself a favor and forget about your apparent dislike of metagaming. Look up the types of weapons and equipment that are good for your build. Because a lot of things you're only going to discover by experimenting otherwise. You've complained a lot about the game being too obtuse before. In a lot of the cases, I think you've just missed certain things. In some cases, it's more or less true. Usually this deals with relatively minor things like just how good scaling on a particular item is. To my knowledge, two items can have the same scaling with a certain stat, but receive slightly different bonuses from increases to that stat.

Regardless, looking up what equipment might be good for you, is definitely a good idea. You don't have to find a build on the internet and just use that, but looking over a list of gear to see how it scales, yeah, that helps. That way, you won't have to sink 15 petrified dragon bones into upgrading Defender Greatsword to know a +5 Lightning Defender Greatsword gets an S scaling with faith. Or that a +10 Lightning Mastodon Greatsword gets a B scaling in both Strength and Faith. Someone else has already done that work, so you can save your hard-earned souls.

The amount of work that has gone into figuring out all this stuff is pretty staggering. Look it up, and you'll have more time to focus on things like figuring out how to defeat bosses. Because, hell, even if you look up how to defeat a boss, there's a significant difference between knowing how to do it in theory, and actually pulling it off.

[persephone325]

I found that those Ruin Sentinel knockoffs in Drangleic are more resistant to magic than their original counterparts. >.<

[Shjade]

The Silverblack Sickle does have very nice dark scaling inherently. Though it's also very short range; it's basically a broader-bladed version of the Shotel from Dark Souls. Not that it's a bad weapon, but it's a limitation to consider.

[Hemingway]

I know. I may or may not stick with it. It's just that, for the character I have in mind, a halberd seems a bit ... well, out-of-character. I want the Black Witch set. xD

[persephone325]

I know. I may or may not stick with it. It's just that, for the character I have in mind, a halberd seems a bit ... well, out-of-character. I want the Black Witch set. xD

I want that set, too! I also need the skirt of the Desert Sorceress set.

[Hemingway]

I want that set, too! I also need the skirt of the Desert Sorceress set.

Fashion Souls is the only way to play Dark Souls!

Edit: Just cleared the Dragon Aerie and Dragon Shrine ( minus the Ancient Dragon - I just talked to him ) on my first try, in one go. I'm quite pleased with myself.

[persephone325]

Fashion Souls is the only way to play Dark Souls!

Edit: Just cleared the Dragon Aerie and Dragon Shrine ( minus the Ancient Dragon - I just talked to him ) on my first try, in one go. I'm quite pleased with myself.

Indeed! I have a friend who is doing a SL1 Champion play through, and he spent a good hour to hour and a half creating his character. ^^ She's a pretty character, as well.

[Hemingway]

Hum. After upgrading my Defender Greatsword to +5 Lightning, I can see it's better than Mastodon. The S scaling in Faith is insane! It's time to respec into a more faith-heavy build.