Dark Souls is on Steam

been playing DS1 over the past few days and there are still tons of players...summoning signs all over the place, easy to invade, get invaded...good to see the original remain so popular
 
For some reason Dark Souls 2 never clicked with me. The first is still one of my favorite games and has earned a spot in my list of games that are always installed.
 
DS2 is quantity over quality. The world is not really interconnected like DS1. The levels all look like they were designed by different teams. Lots of the bosses and movesets are reused. That being said it is still a great game and the DLC is to the quality of the first game.
 
something interesting I found. I was watching killjoys, which is sort of a scify bounty hunter show. pretty decent. I looked up the actress. she voiced ciaran in dark souls and sweet shaloqir in DS2

o2gmsLF.jpg
 
Ever seen what happens to a corrupt save slot?
Kind of creepy.

fkFvhySl.jpg


So weird. 4 slots got corrupt, but only 2 look like this.
My current char is using the 5th slot.

(BTW, this happened when they did the GFWL switch, no need to worry about your saves.)
 
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I haven't picked up Dark Souls 2 yet due to trying to force myself to play through some of the games in my backlog before buying more games. I got the itch to play again this weekend and started a new character. All of my previous play throughs have been Dex builds so I wanted to try something new with a Str build this time. I now some of the higher end Str weapons but not sure about what to use at the start. What do you guys recommend for weapons on a Str build? Also any other tips you might have for a Str build. Im not really concerned with PvP as I will mostly be doing PvE with this build.
 
I haven't picked up Dark Souls 2 yet due to trying to force myself to play through some of the games in my backlog before buying more games. I got the itch to play again this weekend and started a new character. All of my previous play throughs have been Dex builds so I wanted to try something new with a Str build this time. I now some of the higher end Str weapons but not sure about what to use at the start. What do you guys recommend for weapons on a Str build? Also any other tips you might have for a Str build. Im not really concerned with PvP as I will mostly be doing PvE with this build.
Zweihander. You get it in the graveyard at the beginning of the game and it lasts throughout your playthrough. You can 2-hand it with 16 Str. It has a pretty good moveset for a heavier weapon combined with a longer reach. Upgrade it with regular Titanite to +15 ASAP for Strength scaling. Since you'll be using heavier weapons I'd recommend wearing the Grass Crest Shield on your back for the increased Stamina regen. If you have a ring slot you could also wear the Cloranthy Ring for even more Stamina regen.
 
I haven't picked up Dark Souls 2 yet due to trying to force myself to play through some of the games in my backlog before buying more games. I got the itch to play again this weekend and started a new character. All of my previous play throughs have been Dex builds so I wanted to try something new with a Str build this time. I now some of the higher end Str weapons but not sure about what to use at the start. What do you guys recommend for weapons on a Str build? Also any other tips you might have for a Str build. Im not really concerned with PvP as I will mostly be doing PvE with this build.

I second the Zweihander...also you'll most likely not get it till much later in the game but the Black Knight Greataxe is pretty sweet...people love the Claymore as well but I never liked the moveset

I was looking at player numbers and Dark Souls 1 has really fallen off...not many people playing anymore...it really only matters for pvp and invasions though
 
Zweihander. You get it in the graveyard at the beginning of the game and it lasts throughout your playthrough. You can 2-hand it with 16 Str. It has a pretty good moveset for a heavier weapon combined with a longer reach. Upgrade it with regular Titanite to +15 ASAP for Strength scaling. Since you'll be using heavier weapons I'd recommend wearing the Grass Crest Shield on your back for the increased Stamina regen. If you have a ring slot you could also wear the Cloranthy Ring for even more Stamina regen.
This is EXACTLY my Str build... i never beat this game but I got the furthest with this toon. Very much fun!
I second the Zweihander...also you'll most likely not get it till much later in the game but the Black Knight Greataxe is pretty sweet...people love the Claymore as well but I never liked the moveset

I was looking at player numbers and Dark Souls 1 has really fallen off...not many people playing anymore...it really only matters for pvp and invasions though
I also didn't care for the Claymore. I tried multiple times to find another weapon I liked as much as the Zweihander, but never found one. I ended up using some sort of greataxe, but can't remember which one, for a holy weapon at one point.

And yea--pvp i never cared for in this game. it was always more of an annoyance than anything else. The co-op, however, I'll definitely miss.
 
I like the Claymore for hybrid Int and Faith builds. At +5 Enchanted or Occult it offers A scaling for the associated stat and high base damage with a relatively low Str requirement. But it does feel kind of clunky compared to the Zweihander, surprisingly. Maybe it's because it has a shorter reach.
 
First thing I did when I got to Firelink was head over and pick up the Zweihander. I know that was is popular for Str builds and wanted to check it out. I was thinking about going lightining Zweihander but from what I was reading it sounds like just normal +15 is better for a Str build. I will have to check out the other weapons listed here.

One thing I have learned is a Str build is certainly a much different play style than a Dex build. It will take some time to get used to but its a nice change of pace from how I have played in the past.
 
First thing I did when I got to Firelink was head over and pick up the Zweihander. I know that was is popular for Str builds and wanted to check it out. I was thinking about going lightining Zweihander but from what I was reading it sounds like just normal +15 is better for a Str build. I will have to check out the other weapons listed here.

One thing I have learned is a Str build is certainly a much different play style than a Dex build. It will take some time to get used to but its a nice change of pace from how I have played in the past.

go +15 Zweihander...you get more base damage that way because of the scaling...I enjoyed my STR build in DS1 more then my DEX build...for DEX I used the Great Scythe +15 which was great...loved the reach and damage
 
go +15 Zweihander...you get more base damage that way because of the scaling...I enjoyed my STR build in DS1 more then my DEX build...for DEX I used the Great Scythe +15 which was great...loved the reach and damage

I had so much fun with the Uchigatana on my DEX guy. Damnit, now i really want to play some DS1 again.
 
I had so much fun with the Uchigatana on my DEX guy. Damnit, now i really want to play some DS1 again.

you should finish the game...how far did you make it?...did you at least defeat Ornstein and Smough in Anor Lando?...it gets easier from that point on
 
Depending on how you approach leveling, you can always do both strength and dex in with the same character. I found it pretty useful to have both options in NG+. Some enemies are much easier with one or the other. Your points are likely best spent elsewhere in your first pass, but in your 2nd (or more) runthrough, having multiple speed/power options is nice.
 
Question about this game. (yes, as far as this series is concerned my home is under a large rock...)

I've always thought it looked mildly cool, but haven't followed it much. I may have even posted something similar to this in either this thread or the DS2 thread before, but I'm at work, and can't really search around right now.

I get the feeling that this isn't a game where magic is a worthwhile avenue? From the bits that I've seen, and some of the comments that I've happened across, it's pretty well ranged and strength oriented. Is this more or less the case?

I've been a mage type player since the early days of Ultima, Diablo, Quest for Glory, on up through anything modern that I've actually played. Just the play style I enjoy I guess. I like to cast big spells, (especially offensive types like lightning, fire, ice, etc.) Another example is that I like to run around in Elder Scrolls games like the Emperor in a cloak and zap the hell out of things. :D

I kinda get the idea that the DS games aren't for me. I will of course look into it a bit more myself when I feel like I might actually get around to playing it, but thought I'd post this since this thread just resurfaced.
 
you should finish the game...how far did you make it?...did you at least defeat Ornstein and Smough in Anor Lando?...it gets easier from that point on

I did kill those guys on my furthest character. I explored the ice area nearby but that boss just seemed cheap so i didn't try too hard. I have the lava area way way down, the graveyard tunnel area near firelink too. I also gave the big lava area boss a couple tries, but gave up before trying to hard. Ended up giving up because of 4 kings. I gave that one A LOT of tries, got some advice here, looked up videos even, etc. Just couldn't ever do it and the stupid long run was just too frustrating.

Thinking back i should just have done the other areas and leveled a bit more.

I get the feeling that this isn't a game where magic is a worthwhile avenue? From the bits that I've seen, and some of the comments that I've happened across, it's pretty well ranged and strength oriented. Is this more or less the case?

I made a caster at one point and the playstyle was pretty cool actually, but with limits on spellcasts you definitely will still want to hit people with a melee weapon from time to time. I used a longsword so I could pretend i was Gandalf :)

But a pure INT build, at least around mid-game--i was one-shotting enemies with magic missile.
 
I did kill those guys on my furthest character. I explored the ice area nearby but that boss just seemed cheap so i didn't try too hard. I have the lava area way way down, the graveyard tunnel area near firelink too. I also gave the big lava area boss a couple tries, but gave up before trying to hard. Ended up giving up because of 4 kings. I gave that one A LOT of tries, got some advice here, looked up videos even, etc. Just couldn't ever do it and the stupid long run was just too frustrating.

Thinking back i should just have done the other areas and leveled a bit more.

you're so close to the end...you still have that character saved so you can go back right?...with Four Kings try using Quelaag's Furysword +5...you need a fast swinging weapon and they are weak to fire damage...try 2-handing it and swing away...there's also a shortcut run from the bonfire to the boss
 
I get the feeling that this isn't a game where magic is a worthwhile avenue? From the bits that I've seen, and some of the comments that I've happened across, it's pretty well ranged and strength oriented. Is this more or less the case?

Where'd you hear this? A stacked INT build is stupidly OP in this game. Especially for the first half of the game. If you are bored, start a new game and pump nothing but INT till it's lvl 25 or 30. You will spank the crap out of everything all the way to the 2nd bell. O&S may be the first real challenge, but by then you should be INT 40-50, and that will also spank the crap out of them.

Sorcerer starts with 1 Soul Arrow(30). When you find Griggs, he sells another(30 more). Rickert, sells another(30 more). And Logan, sells another (30 more).

You wont ever need 120 Soul Arrows. But there you go, if you are worried about running out.
 
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you're so close to the end...you still have that character saved so you can go back right?...with Four Kings try using Quelaag's Furysword +5...you need a fast swinging weapon and they are weak to fire damage...try 2-handing it and swing away...there's also a shortcut run from the bonfire to the boss
I better have the save.... I would be pissed if Steam got rid of my characters. I have no local backups of them = /

And now that you mention it, I remember being told to try Quelaag's Furysword but don't think I ever did. May just be time to try beating this game again.
Where'd you hear this? A stacked INT build is stupidly OP in this game. Especially for the first half of the game. If you are bored, start a new game and pump nothing but INT till it's lvl 25 or 30. You will spank the crap out of everything all the way to the 2nd bell. O&S may be the first real challenge, but by then you should be INT 40-50, and that will also spank the crap out of them.

Sorcerer starts with 1 Soul Arrow(30). When you find Griggs, he sells another(30 more). Rickert, sells another(30 more). And Logan, sells another (30 more).

You wont ever need 120 Soul Arrows. But there you go, if you are worried about running out.

LOL seriously? I had no idea you could stack the same spell more than once
 
go +15 Zweihander...you get more base damage that way because of the scaling...I enjoyed my STR build in DS1 more then my DEX build...for DEX I used the Great Scythe +15 which was great...loved the reach and damage

Yeah I am gonna go with +15 for the stat scaling now that I did some more research. I can always use gold pine resin if I need some elemental damage.
 
LOL seriously? I had no idea you could stack the same spell more than once

Lol, serious. As long as you got the atunement slots for it.

I did kill those guys on my furthest character. I explored the ice area nearby but that boss just seemed cheap so i didn't try too hard. I have the lava area way way down, the graveyard tunnel area near firelink too. I also gave the big lava area boss a couple tries, but gave up before trying to hard. Ended up giving up because of 4 kings. I gave that one A LOT of tries, got some advice here, looked up videos even, etc. Just couldn't ever do it and the stupid long run was just too frustrating.

I'm gonna try to break down those 3 areas:

Lava area(Ceaseless Discharge?): Make him chase you all the way back to the fog door and fight him there. He sometimes glitches and kills himself, but if not, I find it's a bit easier to take him down there. There are 2 more bosses down there after this(not to mention the worst area and boss of the game). Just watch a video to cheese the Bed of Chaos with firebombs. Seriously. You DO NOT want to do this stupid boss fight. Its stupid. Totally stupid. Should have never been in the game stupid.

Graveyard tunnel: Pinwheel? He's stupid easy with the NPC you can summon. Watch this video for a massive shortcut to get down to the NPC and straight to the boss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bXDWnXdXuA. If you are past this, Tomb of Giants is probably the hardest area of the game(it is also the best place to farm souls(high level-end game) from the 2nd bonfire surrounded by the Skeleton Dogs), do it last if you are having trouble.

4 Kings: If you are a STR build, Don the full Black Iron Set and your strongest weapon. Stay behind, don't get grabbed and TANK TANK TANK.
 
I better have the save.... I would be pissed if Steam got rid of my characters. I have no local backups of them = /

And now that you mention it, I remember being told to try Quelaag's Furysword but don't think I ever did. May just be time to try beating this game again

just use some jolly co-op if you're really stuck and need help...
 
Lava area(Ceaseless Discharge?): Make him chase you all the way back to the fog door and fight him there. He sometimes glitches and kills himself

Graveyard tunnel: Pinwheel? He's stupid easy with the NPC you can summon. Watch this video for a massive shortcut to get down to the NPC and straight to the boss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bXDWnXdXuA. If you are past this, Tomb of Giants is probably the hardest area of the game(it is also the best place to farm souls(high level-end game) from the 2nd bonfire surrounded by the Skeleton Dogs), do it last if you are having trouble.

I almost always use that exploit or design to beat Ceaseless Discharge...he doesn't really kill himself, more like you hit him a few times and all his health goes away quickly

I think the graveyard part he is referring to is Nito
 
I almost always use that exploit or design to beat Ceaseless Discharge...he doesn't really kill himself, more like you hit him a few times and all his health goes away quickly

I think the graveyard part he is referring to is Nito

I never have to hit him. He just ends up throwing himself over the bridge. Dead.

If the graveyard part is in fact Nito, stay at the starting area and wait for Nito to come at you. The eternally spawning Giant skeletons/minions will not agro and that makes him easy.
 
If the graveyard part is in fact Nito, stay at the starting area and wait for Nito to come at you. The eternally spawning Giant skeletons/minions will not agro and that makes him easy.

staying at the starting area never works for me because of those poison spikes that always pop up exactly where I'm standing...I usually move up a little but not enough to agro the skeletons in the back...wait for Nito but first kill those small skeletons using a Divine weapon (they don't respawn if killed with a Divine weapon)
 
So I just rang the first bell with my Str build. Holy crap that fight was much easier with the Zweihander. I easily beat it on my first try unlike with my Dex build that took me like 10 tries.

At first I thought going 2 handed and not using having a shield to block with was going to be hard to adjust to. The reach of the Zweihander make it a lot easier than I was expecting. You just need to keep you distance and time your attacks right and its pretty easy to avoid damage.
 
So I just rang the first bell with my Str build. Holy crap that fight was much easier with the Zweihander. I easily beat it on my first try unlike with my Dex build that took me like 10 tries.

At first I thought going 2 handed and not using having a shield to block with was going to be hard to adjust to. The reach of the Zweihander make it a lot easier than I was expecting. You just need to keep you distance and time your attacks right and its pretty easy to avoid damage.

the Zweihander's power overhead move is also great...flattens most enemies!
 
I almost always use that exploit or design to beat Ceaseless Discharge...he doesn't really kill himself, more like you hit him a few times and all his health goes away quickly

I was wrong. I played again tonight(funny how that always ends up happening when this thread gets bumped...) and did that battle. He basically follows you all the way back and then "gets stuck" after he leaps at you, and no longer attacks at all.

v4uuEqNl.jpg


I sat there for a good minute- minute and half and just waited for him to fall. But it never happened. After hitting that little arm to the left there 3 times he fell and Victoly.

Fought the 4 Kings too. Realized that with an Enchanted weapon you can also tank them quite easy with a INT build(Mine is 50 INT, using the same armor set as above). Trying to attack with any magic other than Soul Spear was a waste of time(Have not gone to the Dukes Archives yet).
 
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Question about this game. (yes, as far as this series is concerned my home is under a large rock...)

I've always thought it looked mildly cool, but haven't followed it much. I may have even posted something similar to this in either this thread or the DS2 thread before, but I'm at work, and can't really search around right now.

I get the feeling that this isn't a game where magic is a worthwhile avenue? From the bits that I've seen, and some of the comments that I've happened across, it's pretty well ranged and strength oriented. Is this more or less the case?

I've been a mage type player since the early days of Ultima, Diablo, Quest for Glory, on up through anything modern that I've actually played. Just the play style I enjoy I guess. I like to cast big spells, (especially offensive types like lightning, fire, ice, etc.) Another example is that I like to run around in Elder Scrolls games like the Emperor in a cloak and zap the hell out of things. :D

I kinda get the idea that the DS games aren't for me. I will of course look into it a bit more myself when I feel like I might actually get around to playing it, but thought I'd post this since this thread just resurfaced.
My first character in the game was an INT build with Sorcery and an Enchanted Longsword +5. I think the game is too easy using magic. Dark Magic from the DLC is also stupidly OP. I would like to go back and pump some DEX into the character now that I know casting speed is affected by it, though. But a Faith build makes the game much more interesting, in my opinion.

I did kill those guys on my furthest character. I explored the ice area nearby but that boss just seemed cheap so i didn't try too hard. I have the lava area way way down, the graveyard tunnel area near firelink too. I also gave the big lava area boss a couple tries, but gave up before trying to hard. Ended up giving up because of 4 kings. I gave that one A LOT of tries, got some advice here, looked up videos even, etc. Just couldn't ever do it and the stupid long run was just too frustrating.

Thinking back i should just have done the other areas and leveled a bit more.

I made a caster at one point and the playstyle was pretty cool actually, but with limits on spellcasts you definitely will still want to hit people with a melee weapon from time to time. I used a longsword so I could pretend i was Gandalf :)

But a pure INT build, at least around mid-game--i was one-shotting enemies with magic missile.
I hate the Duke's Archive with a passion. It is the most annoying area in the game for me, even more so than the DLC.
 
If you're seriously having enough trouble that you want to quit - use the savegame exploit. Just alt-tab out of the game and make a copy of your savegame in another folder.
You can just copy it back (overwrite the autosave) and you'll be back at the exact spot where you copied the file. It even works in the middle of boss fights like the Bed of Chaos.

If the alternative is quitting, might as well use and exploit to at least see the rest of the game.
 
If you're seriously having enough trouble that you want to quit - use the savegame exploit. Just alt-tab out of the game and make a copy of your savegame in another folder.
You can just copy it back (overwrite the autosave) and you'll be back at the exact spot where you copied the file. It even works in the middle of boss fights like the Bed of Chaos.

If the alternative is quitting, might as well use and exploit to at least see the rest of the game.
It's actually easier to just set the save file to read only instead of constantly copying files back and forth.
 
^^^
In order for this to work you have to (at least temporarily) turn off Steam cloud sync for the game, since it'll keep messing with the files otherwise. You also have to save/quit to alter the save, so it doesn't work in the middle of fights (from what I remember) but yes, savegame cheesing is preferable to getting angry and quitting. At very least it lets you load up right outside of boss areas and avoid having to run to them over and over on a failure.

I'll be honest, I love the Souls games but I'm pretty bad at them -- I've managed most fights on my own after 5+ tries, but some I've looked up Youtube videos and still had to try another 5+ times to get through (O&S almost made me quit, for example, as did Knight Artorias). I save-cheesed through DS1 and DS2. I want to finish Demon's Souls, but haven't managed yet since save cheesing isn't an option. ;)

Right now I'm suffering through Bloodborne, and while I'm fairly sure I'm like 3/4 of the way, at least 2/3 of the way, through the whole game, I've hit a wall bigtime. Currently I can fight like 4 different things, and they all kick my ass. Amygdala is rough but I think I can beat it at some point soon. Martyr Logarius has basically proven impossible for me, I think I only got him below 1/2 once in like 6 or 7 runs. I've read strategies and still have trouble, but never see any co-op summon signs. Also can't kill the One Reborn yet, though I've only tried that one a couple times. As tends to be the case with the Souls games, for me at least, I have a general idea of what I need to do... but I'm too burned out throwing myself against the wall to do it.
 
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