Dark Souls 3

I'm terrible at parrying as well. I've tried to get better at it (it's crazy powerful), but have never had much luck. I've read the Cestus is apparently good for it in your off hand (plus, it can attack) so I might explore that option at some point. Maybe sometime this summer if I make a NG+ run.

Before giving up on the game, I decided to re-spec and see if I could end up creating a Havel build. Not too much luck. Even with 60 points in vitality my weight was over 95%. That's with Havel's ring and nothing but the Dragon's Tooth and his shield, too. That's most definitely a NG+ set unless you're fine doing fat rolls.
 
Domingo said:
I'm terrible at parrying as well. I've tried to get better at it (it's crazy powerful), but have never had much luck. I've read the Cestus is apparently good for it in your off hand (plus, it can attack) so I might explore that option at some point. Maybe sometime this summer if I make a NG+ run.

Before giving up on the game, I decided to re-spec and see if I could end up creating a Havel build. Not too much luck. Even with 60 points in vitality my weight was over 95%. That's with Havel's ring and nothing but the Dragon's Tooth and his shield, too. That's most definitely a NG+ set unless you're fine doing fat rolls.
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If you notice when you fight Havel in Archdragon's Peak, he never rolls ;). The +1 or +2 ring won't help if you're already at 95% load. Havel's Ring +2 only offers 3% more reduction over +0.
 
A few tips on parrying:
  • There are only certain swing attacks you can parry. Generally, these are the one handed overhead (i.e. vertical) attacks. You can parry almost all thrusting attacks and running attacks sans those using weapon arts. You can even parry estoc/rapier R1 spam, but you pretty much need to parry the first attack.
  • Learn the timing on a successful parry. You want to start the parry when the attack is on the downswing. If you parry too early, you'll pretty much have to sit there and take damage as you can't back out of a parry animation.
  • As others have said, small shields have a larger parry window compared to medium shields. But this means nothing if you haven't mastered 'when and what to parry'.
  • The parry dagger is garbage.
  • As others have suggested, you can parry with your bare arm, cestus or claws. These alternatives are viable and, from what I can tell, have as large a parry window as small shields; however, they, much like offhand weapons, absorb very little damage if you indeed miss the parry.
  • The Farron Greatsword has weapon art that allows you to parry with certain greatshields in your offhand. Read through shield descriptions for certain shields that 'use weapon art'.
Probably the most important detail to parrying in DS3 is learning what you can parry. That takes experience, so you're generally not expected to figure out parrying on your first playthrough.
 
I went through all 3 Dark Souls games without parrying. I always have my shield on my back for an extra stamina boost and rely on rolling on all fights. Once I learn bosses' hit patterns, it's not so hard not to block.
 
Loved DS1, didn't even finish DS2, after 3rd weapon broke I uninstalled... just wasn't "fun" never even finished it and was a day 1 purchase.

DS3... like it, not as much as 1, but the fun is there. No "major" complaints.*

Sidenote, I didn't parry at all in DS1 until I picked it up again last year, so it's something you can always mess with down the line, say, after you do some builds and have a few playthorughs, then pick it back up in few years. For now, I see more folks missing than making their parrys.

* Probably related to the fact that somehow, I win more fights than I lose this game as compared to 1 and 2.
 
I really only parried in the first game, and it was mainly vs. the human foes in the forest.
With shields, I used to use them a ton when I first started playing. As you get further, they start being more of a hindrance, though. Some enemies that you can actually take 2 shots from will stun-lock you and 1-shot you with a follow-up if you try to block. I mainly keep a shield handy for specific situations, but my strategy tends to be "roll first - block only if you're definitely gonna get hit."
Having a big weapon makes that a little easier, too. Lots of the big damage STR weapons knockdown or stun on hit, so you can stand your ground a little better.
 
There's no bigger feeling of badassery than parrying a huge, intimidating enemy or boss. Getting good at parrying really changes the game, you start to feel invincible against NPC's that slaughtered you before.

The trick is to parry the hand, not the weapon. When the hand is on the downswing that's when you parry. PVP is a little bit different than PVE and has its own learning curve where your brain has to adjust to the effects that network latency introduces - everything feels a little out of sync and you have to compensate for it, which requires practice and repetition. I enjoy it much more in PVE
 
I never parry either as it's too high risk and I usually end up mis-timing things and get screwed...I did try parrying for Champion Gundyr and it was really easy (during phase 1)...it is pretty sweet when you nail it but I don't think I could use it for an entire game...I hate those pvp'ers who are really good at it :D ...they really get on my nerves
 
Here's a question about parry timing - is the goal to time the attack in advance (so that your parry motion interrupts their attack) or do you want to hit the parry button just as the attack is about to land?
I've never been consistent enough to know.
 
Domingo said:
Here's a question about parry timing - is the goal to time the attack in advance (so that your parry motion interrupts their attack) or do you want to hit the parry button just as the attack is about to land?
I've never been consistent enough to know.
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I find in practice it's better to anticipate than to wait. It really depends on how long the attack animation is vs your own parry animation. If you're using something with a parry animation with a lot of frames (i.e. buckler), then it's ok to be a little early. If you're using the Grass Crest Shield (or any medium shield for that matter), you pretty much have to be perfectly synced with their animation... as in start your parry exactly when the attack animation begins the downswing.

The Kite Shield is pretty much the line in the sand when parry windows become really tight. Things just feel less forgiving beyond it. That said, I can't tell a difference between a buckler and a round shield. I guess go with what you feel comfortable with.
 
Armenius said:
If you notice when you fight Havel in Archdragon's Peak, he never rolls ;). The +1 or +2 ring won't help if you're already at 95% load. Havel's Ring +2 only offers 3% more reduction over +0.
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Perhaps Havel never rolled on you but he does roll.
 
I suck at parrying also but I do practice it a bit at the index bonfire near the start area with the hollows. They hit hard but at least it takes several shots in my cloth armor for them to do any real damage. I still don't think I'd try it with a boss only because I am very inconsistent with parry. Even with the hollows that are relatively slow, I can still get a ton of failures that hurt a lot, a boss miss or even a partial would take a good chunk of HP.

I was trying out the spell parry and it definitely could have been useful in a few boss fights. I gave it a try at the Crucifixion Woods bonfire in the building where there is a mage. The window is pretty large and if you have the stamina you can parry all his spell attacks and they won't hit you they kind of go around you. I think it's the same spell Sorcerers get called Twisted Wall of Light but smaller and only costs stamina with a near instant casting time. I could never really ever find a use for the Sorcerer Spell. The cast time was fast but not fast enough to be useful during a fast boss fight. Aldrith maybe and the Crystal Sage, but I am pretty sure you'd be killed using the spell with Two princes or Cinder.
 
any time I try parrying it is like I get some and I miss some. The whiffs are minor damage, but the actual misses are a lot more. I just can't get the timing to be reliable enough to use. It is easier with a shield or a roll, although some enemies (xKnight fuckers :) ) are a pain in the ass that way.
 
Big ass weapons tend to make foes like Havel (and the tougher knights) much easier. I just keep blasting them with the charged up R2 attack. It does massive damage and knocks them on their ass 3/4 of the time. From there I can either charge up another shot to hit them while they're rising or heal if they managed to hit me, too.
That stuff would never work on a person in a million years, but it's pretty abusable in DS3 and especially in Bloodborne. I bet like 75% of the damage I inflicted in Bloodborne was via charge-up attacks. It's like Ninja Gaiden all over again.
 
The DLC from the previous games (and Bloodborne) = fantastic. I have faith DS3 will keep that tradition. I also bet they make it harder than hell in NG+ as well. Even if I do start a NG+ run this summer, I'm going to keep a NG save specifically just for the DLC areas. As hard are the DLC's normally were, in NG+ they were 2x as hard.
 
eh, that was a 3-pack, the game released april, the dlc in jul, aug then sep. not a year, unless you mean the SotFS version
 
Anyone play this game with kb/m? I'm having some issues with the movement getting stuck, so sometimes my character run into walls while in battle, or run straight off a cliff. =(

Can't tell if it's my keyboard or the game, but it doesn't seem to happen in other games. Even moderately rare in this game...
 
Yeah, I noticed also. What happens is that the arrow keys appear to lose the "key up" message sometimes. So if you went right you will keep going right afterward. The solution is to tap right again. Annoying when it happens but it did not occur very often. The complexity comes if you turn with your mouse. you may now be going in some other direction but it is still tapping the original key that will fix the problem.
 
pothb said:
Anyone play this game with kb/m? I'm having some issues with the movement getting stuck, so sometimes my character run into walls while in battle, or run straight off a cliff. =(

Can't tell if it's my keyboard or the game, but it doesn't seem to happen in other games. Even moderately rare in this game...
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yup I experienced that a few times using kb/m...the character keeps moving on his own...
 
so not only is this game insane stupid hard but the controllers for mouse and keyboard are retarded ? oh im so gonna buy this crap....
 
For the Souls fans - anyone play Salt and Sanctuary? Was thinking about grabbing it, but have read mixed reviews about the game being more "cheap" than challenging.
Anyone that owns it have an opinion?
 
jiminator said:
Yeah, I noticed also. What happens is that the arrow keys appear to lose the "key up" message sometimes. So if you went right you will keep going right afterward. The solution is to tap right again. Annoying when it happens but it did not occur very often. The complexity comes if you turn with your mouse. you may now be going in some other direction but it is still tapping the original key that will fix the problem.
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polonyc2 said:
yup I experienced that a few times using kb/m...the character keeps moving on his own...
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Okay, I'm glad it's not my keyboard, at least. I figured the key up thing was the issue, I'm not sure if it has to do with camera. Admittedly, I didn't really pay attention to my camera movements when it happened..

Mortuus said:
so not only is this game insane stupid hard but the controllers for mouse and keyboard are retarded ? oh im so gonna buy this crap....
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Well, there's more than just that imo. All from it being a console port....
Lock on doesn't lock on according to your camera but according to your character's facing direction, unless the enemy is close enough.
Also considering that it's kb/m, not having mapped keys to certain items but scrolling is a pain.

Still, the core game is still fun. A lot more fun for me than DS1 and Demons' Souls imo. Maybe it's the speed.
 
Mortuus said:
so not only is this game insane stupid hard but the controllers for mouse and keyboard are retarded ? oh im so gonna buy this crap....
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Hard is the point. And its a game designed for a controller.

Off ya go.
 
DPI said:
Hard is the point. And its a game designed for a controller.

Off ya go.
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yea can't believe we still have the KB/M die hards complaining.. we did all this back with DS1 - PC gaming no longer means KB/M only.. get a controller and start enjoying :)
 
The game might be designed/better with a controller, but it's not like they shouldn't fix overt bugs with a KB/M setup. I'm a die-hard pad player, but c'mon.
 
Just add it to the list:
- poise
- durability
- KB/M controls

Be thankful we don't have to fight the GFWL monster like we did in DS1 :)
 
there is no issue with durability in the game. I have never come close to breaking a weapon no matter how far I go between bonfires. KB/M also, in DS2 I had to use AHK to get the keys working like I wanted. DS3 it was unnecessary, so they improved that area also. The minor fluke mentioned but it typically does not appear per session. As for poise, it is not "broken" they just changed the mechanics. You don't get stunlocked quite like you used to (remember the "dogs"?)
 
I kinda wonder if durability is broken to the advantage of the player. It's virtually impossible to break something in Dark Souls 3. Items are literally 10x more durable than in #2. Some weapons were intentionally fragile so you couldn't just spam them the entire game. Not in #3.
 
jiminator said:
there is no issue with durability in the game. I have never come close to breaking a weapon no matter how far I go between bonfires. KB/M also, in DS2 I had to use AHK to get the keys working like I wanted. DS3 it was unnecessary, so they improved that area also. The minor fluke mentioned but it typically does not appear per session. As for poise, it is not "broken" they just changed the mechanics. You don't get stunlocked quite like you used to (remember the "dogs"?)
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That has nothing to do with poise, though. Both player and enemy have an increasing chance of not being staggered after being hit 2 consecutive times. This chance is not tied to any stat, hidden or visible. They did this to combat R1 spam. No one actually knows what poise is supposed to do because all theories put out so far have been debunked. From needs to either come out and tell us what it actually does or own up to the fact that it was disabled and either reenable it or don't.
 
Domingo said:
I kinda wonder if durability is broken to the advantage of the player. It's virtually impossible to break something in Dark Souls 3. Items are literally 10x more durable than in #2. Some weapons were intentionally fragile so you couldn't just spam them the entire game. Not in #3.
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Simple fact is that there's not enough attrition between bonfire rests. Given the current state of DS3, for durability to even become visible the player would need to purposely avoid resting at bonfires. The fast and furious nature of PvP also makes repairing less visible to the player. The average player is simply going to run out of estus long before weapon breakage.

Repair powder is virtually useless given the player is rarely, if ever, in situation where his/her weapon is about to break. Boss fights are never long and drawn out, etc. As soon as you die, your weapon is insta-repaired.

Durability is an artifact of the past. From Soft probably wanted to work a durability mechanic in, but given the Dark Souls community has always voiced the whole durability mechanic as a nuisance, seemingly never committed to giving it presence. They didn't exactly throw it out either, which means its there at least for nostalgic reasons.
 
keep in mind in DS1/2 durability was tied (in some cases) to weapon special abilities. Using them burned durability. Now all of that has move to FP. So durability is still there, but like they no longer know what to do with it.
 
I've never had my durability go down beyond the quarter mark, if even close to that. And I use Katanas, an they suck from a durability aspect.
 
braamer said:
It wasn't that hard, and playing with the controller is definitely the way to go.
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It has it moments, its not stupid easy, or stupid hard just cheap, not as cheap as DS2 though... My only issues at the moment with controls is the bow/2h ranged mechanic, or really the bow mechanics in general and lack of infusions; my thief should be god but no. I imagine they made it clunky as fuck to stop kitting, however its still doable.
 
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