From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

[Cadmus]

My latest update on my progress:

I just killed the worm song boss in the stupid water level this morning. I probably missed a bunch of bonfires on my way there because I arrived totally exhausted with 3 flasks and my greatsword almost broken, I beat the worm/frog thing on my first try despite never knowing about it which I'm kinda proud of I died in the undead crypt because I ran out of healing and didn't find the 1st bonfire so I'll have to go through the stupid shit water again today, I'm really looking forward to that!!!
I have the Vengarl armor +5, it's really heavy but with the 2nd dragon ring I'm below 70%. Drangleic shield +3, Great sword +10. I tried using lighter stuff so that I could move better but I just hate the shitty dodge roll with the stupid i-frame, this is such a japanese bullshit thing, I don't understand why the roll doesn't work depending on the collision detection. Because their collision detection sucks cocks they put invulnerability on rolling for 0,0003 seconds which you are supposed to learn. It annoys me like hell. I know this game probably just isn't for me because this seems to me like a standard mechanic with all the jap games (or the few I played or heard of) there's always invulnerabilities on the bosses cooldowns, rolls and shit and I just hate it.

I had real trouble with the shit 2 dragon riders. I also went to the ice castle DLC and the Burma tower DLC and stopped before the final boss because they seemed hard and I just absolutely hate the boss fights in this game, lol.

I have around 40 STR, 40 VGR 30 END or something, 21 VIT or something.
Guys I have some questions:

1) infusing the great sword seems shit, if I put anything it will not scale as nicely with my STR so I suppose I'd get a lower total damage output, is that correct? It's got S scaling and I like that the 1st light attack is the horizontal sweep which I use for all the trash mobs
2) I don't know where else to go with my items. It looks to me like the GS is the best weapon for me. Which of the boss swords are better? I got the smelter demons sword for the big fire attack.
3) this game fucking bores me to tears, it plays like a pretty MMO so I just look up shit on the net which I never do for other games if I can help it
it seems to me like half the fucking things in this game can't be reasonably figured out without some guide or something

I just want to finish it and try some of the NG+ to see what's different.

 

[Caim]

Infusing only pays off if you're a caster with either high INT (magic), FAI (lightning) or both (fire) but low melee stats. If you're a regular fighter guy just stick to regular upgrading. There are some pretty good swords out there: the Ruler's Sword is a pretty badass weapon that scales with the souls you're carrying but it's about as endgame as possible.

Note that in Drangleic Castle there's a door you need to open with an item you get at the end of the undead crypt. That door is near the first bonfire you found in the castle. Make sure to go down there when you can and not when the game prompts you to, otherwise you're going to have a bad time with the final boss.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Ruler's Sword is ass, the scaling doesn't work.

Infusions are always worthwhile even as a fighter until you reach 40 STR/DEX in your weapon of choice. Lightning is the best choice and Fire is the worst. For a weapon like the Greatsword (ultra sword), infusing isn't quite worthwhile if your strength is near 40.

Make sure you have a Strike weapon, such as a Mace, Club, Large Club, or a Great Club.

It gets much better in the DLC.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

My latest update on my progress:

I just killed the worm song boss in the stupid water level this morning. I probably missed a bunch of bonfires on my way there because I arrived totally exhausted with 3 flasks and my greatsword almost broken, I beat the worm/frog thing on my first try despite never knowing about it which I'm kinda proud of I died in the undead crypt because I ran out of healing and didn't find the 1st bonfire so I'll have to go through the stupid shit water again today, I'm really looking forward to that!!!
I have the Vengarl armor +5, it's really heavy but with the 2nd dragon ring I'm below 70%. Drangleic shield +3, Great sword +10. I tried using lighter stuff so that I could move better but I just hate the shitty dodge roll with the stupid i-frame, this is such a japanese bullshit thing, I don't understand why the roll doesn't work depending on the collision detection. Because their collision detection sucks cocks they put invulnerability on rolling for 0,0003 seconds which you are supposed to learn. It annoys me like hell. I know this game probably just isn't for me because this seems to me like a standard mechanic with all the jap games (or the few I played or heard of) there's always invulnerabilities on the bosses cooldowns, rolls and shit and I just hate it.

I had real trouble with the shit 2 dragon riders. I also went to the ice castle DLC and the Burma tower DLC and stopped before the final boss because they seemed hard and I just absolutely hate the boss fights in this game, lol.

I have around 40 STR, 40 VGR 30 END or something, 21 VIT or something.
Guys I have some questions:

1) infusing the great sword seems shit, if I put anything it will not scale as nicely with my STR so I suppose I'd get a lower total damage output, is that correct? It's got S scaling and I like that the 1st light attack is the horizontal sweep which I use for all the trash mobs
2) I don't know where else to go with my items. It looks to me like the GS is the best weapon for me. Which of the boss swords are better? I got the smelter demons sword for the big fire attack.
3) this game fucking bores me to tears, it plays like a pretty MMO so I just look up shit on the net which I never do for other games if I can help it
it seems to me like half the fucking things in this game can't be reasonably figured out without some guide or something

I just want to finish it and try some of the NG+ to see what's different.

Lol bro do you have the latest update/patch ? Because first bonfire in undead crypts is literally in front of the entrance or on the left side of staircase(pre- update). I dont get your complaints regarding i- frames. Are you somehow manually retarded? How do you expect dodge to work without i-frames?

Anyway if you dont find boss fights interesting i dont see a reason to play this game. You clearly dont like the challenges this game offers(be it boss fights, exploration and freedom in what order you complete the game, maze like levels with lots of shortcuts and traps,cryptic and hidden lore, the huge amount of weapons at your disposal and variety of usefull builds). It plays nothing like MMO and unless you need to get everything to 100% on you first playthrough there is no grinding at all.

 

[Cadmus]

My latest update on my progress:

I just killed the worm song boss in the stupid water level this morning. I probably missed a bunch of bonfires on my way there because I arrived totally exhausted with 3 flasks and my greatsword almost broken, I beat the worm/frog thing on my first try despite never knowing about it which I'm kinda proud of I died in the undead crypt because I ran out of healing and didn't find the 1st bonfire so I'll have to go through the stupid shit water again today, I'm really looking forward to that!!!
I have the Vengarl armor +5, it's really heavy but with the 2nd dragon ring I'm below 70%. Drangleic shield +3, Great sword +10. I tried using lighter stuff so that I could move better but I just hate the shitty dodge roll with the stupid i-frame, this is such a japanese bullshit thing, I don't understand why the roll doesn't work depending on the collision detection. Because their collision detection sucks cocks they put invulnerability on rolling for 0,0003 seconds which you are supposed to learn. It annoys me like hell. I know this game probably just isn't for me because this seems to me like a standard mechanic with all the jap games (or the few I played or heard of) there's always invulnerabilities on the bosses cooldowns, rolls and shit and I just hate it.

I had real trouble with the shit 2 dragon riders. I also went to the ice castle DLC and the Burma tower DLC and stopped before the final boss because they seemed hard and I just absolutely hate the boss fights in this game, lol.

I have around 40 STR, 40 VGR 30 END or something, 21 VIT or something.
Guys I have some questions:

1) infusing the great sword seems shit, if I put anything it will not scale as nicely with my STR so I suppose I'd get a lower total damage output, is that correct? It's got S scaling and I like that the 1st light attack is the horizontal sweep which I use for all the trash mobs
2) I don't know where else to go with my items. It looks to me like the GS is the best weapon for me. Which of the boss swords are better? I got the smelter demons sword for the big fire attack.
3) this game fucking bores me to tears, it plays like a pretty MMO so I just look up shit on the net which I never do for other games if I can help it
it seems to me like half the fucking things in this game can't be reasonably figured out without some guide or something

I just want to finish it and try some of the NG+ to see what's different.

Lol bro do you have the latest update/patch ? Because first bonfire in undead crypts is literally in front of the entrance or on the left side of staircase(pre- update). I dont get your complaints regarding i- frames. Are you somehow manually retarded? How do you expect dodge to work without i-frames?

Anyway if you dont find boss fights interesting i dont see a reason to play this game. You clearly dont like the challenges this game offers(be it boss fights, exploration and freedom in what order you complete the game, maze like levels with lots of shortcuts and traps,cryptic and hidden lore, the huge amount of weapons at your disposal and variety of usefull builds). It plays nothing like MMO and unless you need to get everything to 100% on you first playthrough there is no grinding at all.

bro I know it's under the staircase now, I just looked only on the opposite side because I fucked up...

How do I expect the dodge to work without i-frames? what? I can't tell if you're serious about this. I get it but I don't like it because it feels fake. Actually for a while before reading up on it, I didn't know that the roll granted you invincibility and I was glad I was sometimes managing to make the correct moves to avoid the enemy's weapon and I couldn't understand why sometimes I get hit even though it seemed I shouldn't have been. In reality, the hitboxes are the same total shit like in every other game so they had to compensate for it with the i-frames, ok, real fun.

The weapons are awesome, I really like them. The lore is sorta nice, I suppose it's my fault I'm completely lost in wtf is going on or maybe it's just deliberately cryptic for the sake of the mood. Am I dead and in some limbo kingdom or what the fuck? I don't know but I don't blame the game for that (not much, anyway)
I don't see how the levels are maze-like, they seem pretty linear and straight forward to me. I don't think they are bad or anything but not complex at all.
I hate the stupid indistinguishable fake walls though.

I like many things about the game and it still bores me, so as I said, I just want to get it over with because it's not for me.

 

[Bester]

Am I dead and in some limbo kingdom or what the fuck?

After you finish the game, look up some nice lore vids on youtube by the guy named VaatiVidya
It's really important that you do that.

 

[DragoFireheart]

bro I know it's under the staircase now, I just looked only on the opposite side because I fucked up...

The bonfire at the Crypts is not under any stairs.

PLEASE update your game to the latest patch.

 

[Damned Registrations]

If you want the dodge to work on collision alone, it'd be nigh useless unless the enemies attacked in really stupid ways, and even then, you'd need to add like another 50% to the development time to test all that shit. So ask yourself, would you rather have a game with slow moving enemies making incredibly exaggerated attacks and 1/3 less content?

 

[Cadmus]

If you want the dodge to work on collision alone, it'd be nigh useless unless the enemies attacked in really stupid ways, and even then, you'd need to add like another 50% to the development time to test all that shit. So ask yourself, would you rather have a game with slow moving enemies making incredibly exaggerated attacks and 1/3 less content?

well, when you make up those numbers, it really does sound bad!
but yes, that's what I'd like to see. I understand nobody gives a shit though so I won't whine about it anymore.
(many of the weapon hitboxes could use a lot of work anyway, especially the vertical smash attack on many weapons has a huge collision box where there's no weapon model)

bro I know it's under the staircase now, I just looked only on the opposite side because I fucked up...

The bonfire at the Crypts is not under any stairs.

PLEASE update your game to the latest patch.

uh ok..? That's weird, I watched a part of some lets play to see where I missed it and they showed it under the stairs

 

[Niektory]

Hmm... I wonder if it can be modded. Don't give me devious ideas, goddammit.

 

[Caim]

I'm not sure if it can be modded. I've seen a lot of texture swaps on Dark Souls 1, but that's about it.

 

[UndetectedButthurt]

Texture swaps and and shader shit - http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls2/

There are loads of Cheat Engine nerds that dick around with different magic or weapon movesets.

 

[DragoFireheart]

uh ok..? That's weird, I watched a part of some lets play to see where I missed it and they showed it under the stairs

They were playing an older patch version.

 

[Murk]

The first bonfire in crypt is in a little alcove connected to the stairs that lead up from the elevator that takes you to the crypt. On the right is an item, on the left is the bonfire. It's 'under' the stairs.

You probably found it just fine, unless the most recent patch just straight up deleted it. I donno, haven't gotten there on the most recent patch yet. EDIT: NVM patch did change it, but since Cadmus doesn't see it he's playing on old patch so yer. Shit's under the stairs for him. Also, lol@pir8

Cadmus -- at the risk of sounding like everyone else, I think you're playing the game wrong. That's not to say you're failing, but rather you are not enjoying it. Try to switch your play style. For starters, drop the shield and the big ass sword. Pick up something else -- if you want to emphasize rolling, then focus on that mechanic. I play this game without a shield because I find it far more fun -- for both PVE and PVP. Shields just... sort of reduce gameplay to the same shit of hold it up and then wait for an opening. Without a shield you learn to dodge more effectively and so even during 'defensive' phases you are still actively doing stuff.

I also think it's a good idea to just use different weapons every now and again for the hell of it. UGS weapons are slow, ponderous, and hit like a dump-truck -- if you get too used to the big numbers thing to the point that it's not fun, drop the weapon and pick up something else. For a complete change of pace, get two Caestus and power stance them. Use two weapons that have completely different movesets like a dagger in your right hand for backstabs/guard breaks, and a spear in your left hand for range and control.

The game is fun in and of itself, but you can make it way more fun if you try to play through the many things it has to offer.

Also, increase your ADP so you get more AGI so your rolls are useful. Go for like 100 Agility -- and only raise ADP if it GIVES you a point of agility, cuz otherwise it's useless.

 

[Cadmus]

I think I came off as if I hated the game, but that's not true.
I think it's absolutely beautiful, especially with mods. The art style is pure, nice. I have been looking for this for a long time and I think I'll like DS1 even more from what I've seen (if I make it not run like shit on my PC).
I just got killed by the guardian dragon in Aldia's keep or what's the name of the place but it looks like he won't be hard to kill.

I like the big numbers on the sword, yes, that's why I'm using it. (I want to be Gatsu!!!) I like the shield because I hate the rolling play-style. However, without learning to roll all the time I can't change my weapon so fuck it I guess. It could be fun to totally respec to magic but I'll do that on my 2nd playthrough.

 

[Murk]

Yeah, at the least I'd suggest doing a completely different character on your second run. Try a light armor, no shield, magic + dex weapon guy.

DS 1 single-player > DS 2 single-player; but for PVP I'd opt for DS 2 every single time.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Regarding the agility thing, it's actually useless except every 5 points. 114 agility is exactly the same as 110. I forget when the last reasonable breakpoint is, I think it's 110, which you get around 40 ADP or something. It's worth it though if you roll a lot, since it grants 2 whole iframes over the previous breakpoint at 105. I think you go from 6 to 8 or something, I think the final cap is at 120 agility, but you need 99 in both ADP and ATT for that. Though it apparently gives you like 75% invincibility frames during a fast roll or something, which sounds insane.

Of course, if you don't like rolling anyways, it's of little use. Another option is to go super heavy, use iron flesh and just mow fuckers down. Surprisingly effective if you've got enough estus/consumables and a decent hp pool.

 

[dr. one]

Regarding the agility thing, it's actually useless except every 5 points. 114 agility is exactly the same as 110. I forget when the last reasonable breakpoint is, I think it's 110, which you get around 40 ADP or something. It's worth it though if you roll a lot, since it grants 2 whole iframes over the previous breakpoint at 105. I think you go from 6 to 8 or something, I think the final cap is at 120 agility, but you need 99 in both ADP and ATT for that. Though it apparently gives you like 75% invincibility frames during a fast roll or something, which sounds insane.

This is a bit incorrect, someone got the exact values with the help of cheat engine and these were the results:

I think the most interesting is the big jump between base agility and the next tier, probably the core behind most of the early complaints about hitboxes. It corroborates well my sl1 experience, because whenever I´ve used work hook (lowers adaptability) without using simpleton´s ring rolling without getting hit got notably harder (deprived starts with 86 agility).

I´d say for a comfortable roll-y playthrough one should aim for 92 agility for the early game, 96 or 99 for mid-game and 99 or 105 for late game/DLCs. Anything above probably isn´t worth the cost.

 

[DragoFireheart]

85 Agility is WORSE than fat rolling in Dark Souls 1.

It's really, really bad.

 

[Rolk's Drifter]

I think I came off as if I hated the game, but that's not true.
I think it's absolutely beautiful, especially with mods. The art style is pure, nice. I have been looking for this for a long time and I think I'll like DS1 even more from what I've seen (if I make it not run like shit on my PC).
I just got killed by the guardian dragon in Aldia's keep or what's the name of the place but it looks like he won't be hard to kill.

I like the big numbers on the sword, yes, that's why I'm using it. (I want to be Gatsu!!!) I like the shield because I hate the rolling play-style. However, without learning to roll all the time I can't change my weapon so fuck it I guess. It could be fun to totally respec to magic but I'll do that on my 2nd playthrough.

As someone who was in the same boat as you, I strongly recommend just starting over with a light, fast dex build. Please for the love of God, just try it! I love armour/sword and board builds usually but Dark Souls isn't the series for it imo. You can always go back to your previous character if you don't like it.

When you use a shield the gameplay is essentially watching the game pass you bye as you just sit and wait for attack windows. Which is boring enough but if you're heavy, then everything is slow. So the boredom is dragged out even longer. Plus, it's actually more dangerous imo because enemies often have moves that will fuck with your guard and with low agility it's much harder to find healing opportunites because 1) you're going to be right in the emeies face/reach and 2) it takes forever to chug an estus or pop a gem.

There's more to Dex + agility builds than iFrames. They are also faster and more responsive/proactive. Rolls aren't just about not getting hit. They can be used to reposition yourself in such a way that you turn defence into offence. It may seem counter intuitive but they are also better defensively. Fast weapons have faster recovery times and use less stamina which means you can get away with mistakes much more easily. Plus the faster animations mean there is less chance of the enemy getting counter damage on you which can be huge. This will often save you more damage than armour would.

Which reminds me: counter damage. It's easy to overlook at first but counter damage can also be a 'big number'. Given how aggressive and dumb the AI is, it's really easy to get counter damage. The rapiers for example have 140 counter damage. Dual wielded, you can kill almost every low level mook in one 'double attack'. They'll run up to you and attack, so all you have to do is time your 'poke' and they're dead. And that's without upgrades. It's crazy how fast you can kill with dex builds. This also applies to bosses because their attack animations are often really long. So not only is it easier to dodge, heal and get into attacking positions, you can also kill things a lot faster. But most importantly: it's a lot more fun to play.

Lastly, try parrying. It can be a pain in the ass to learn but it makes combat a lot more satisfying.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Rapiers really are quite decent in DaS2. They have the kind of range you get from larger weapons, and use relatively little stamina (which is far more important than the attack speed, tbh) so you can get in a lot more hits. And with the stone ring, the difference in poise breaking is negligible anyways.

Even daggers can be somewhat decent with the new damage rings in the DLC. Although their range is so shit it's probably not really worth it. Also, the magnetic sword is OP as fuck.

Don't bother with bleed though, it's a total joke. Hit an enemy 15 times to trigger a bleed that deals the damage of 2 normal attacks. Utterly useless outside of pvp.

 

[Dreaad]

Just started an ironman playthrough and lucked out by getting the Old Whip for the petrified something. God that thing is OP as fuck at the start, sure it has low durability but Jesus B scaling with dex and 233 un-upgraded damage + bonus damage to hollows. Time to ROFL stomp the entire first part of the game, at least up to Drangleic Castle.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Shameless re-posting:

http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/comments/2z4hb8/oroboro_is_cheating/

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

I always knew he was a faggot

 

[UndetectedButthurt]

Shameless re-posting:

http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/comments/2z4hb8/oroboro_is_cheating/

There's been plenty of people claiming that he invades around 2mil SM with his 505 char. I haven't seen the proof, but apparently his twitch was suspended at some point too.

It's just that... I invaded 360+ tier SM with my 838 and... It's a completely different experience from his videos. Even 45+ is different. If he was blue invading - yes it would make sense.

If you look at soul rewards, he seems to be fighting SL150+ players. I think in some videos I've seen rewards even lower.

Edit1: "Sir Scott Jund" left a comment in that thread. He claims that Oro-bore-o did it to avoid stream sniping hackers. Right...............

Edit2: Also, since gaping ass ring became a thing, a lot twitchfaggots create "builds" with CE. 2mil SM 150 builds with 99 in all consumables/materials/invasion orbs are pretty common now. They would farm it anyway. Why waste time, right?