[kova4a]

Are you going to participate in the Dark Souls 2 shield design contest? I was thinking to join in but after seeing some of the designs and the head start they have in votes I kinda lost my enthusiasm. 

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

Always wanted a shield similar to Ancient Spartan soldiers', closes thing to looks was the stone greatshield but too heavy. But whatever pans out will probably be good anyway, bloodshield and sactus was pretty good, never found much use with the effigy.

 

[kova4a]

Well, I wasn't a big fan of the Dark Souls shield design. Although after the Hollow Soldier Shield was nerfed and I moved to the Eagle Shield's look kinda grew one me (aside from the fact that it has 84 stability when maxed out and is the lightest greatshield at only 6 weight).
 

 

[Paganini Alfredo]

What???? The Crest Shield is like the coolest looking shield I've ever seen.

 

[embreal]

What???? The Crest Shield is like the coolest looking shield I've ever seen.

+1

 

[tdockweiler]

Anyone playing this game lately?
It seems that it's now easier to find and in almost every store for $20.
Before you'd be very lucky to even find it.
 
This time around it's much easier. I restarted over and deleted my NG+ or whatever character. Haven't played it in maybe 6 months. Got back into Final Fantasy XI (Monstrosity mostly)
 
Last night I got to Capra Demon and SOMEHOW killed him on the first try. Got down to about 1% HP though. Usually when I fight Capra it's just a bunch of button mashing and when I get done i'm all confused and thinking "What the heck just happened?". Feels like i'm fighting more against the camera.
 
The Gargoyles were also much easier..
 
Right now I'm still going with a STR/DEX build and haven't try much of anything else like a FAITH or INT build..
 
I'm using the Halberd+5 and believe it or not it's a very good weapon but can be annoying for some to use. Sadly I didn't get the Dark Knight Halberd as a drop (yet).
I also have Claymore +5 but never use it.
 
I'm not far enough into the game to find any Large Titanite Shards yet.
 
Any builds you've tried that make the game stupid easy? INT build with dark magic looked interesting but I don't want to have to access DLC content.
 
Here is something I hate to admit...I went through the game almost twice without having even the HEAL spell. Not sure if that's a common thing but it sure can save my butt a few times.
 
I'm only at level 28 or so now I think. I will be killing the Gaping Dragon and then Queelag soon.
 
Honestly the only boss in the game that gives me issues is Ornstein and Smough. Somehow i've yet to die by the Four Kings but I guess i'm lucky.
 
March for Dark Souls II seems so far away...

 

[gamefreak054]

I havent played this game for a while. A couple of months ago I did start a mage character and flew through the game up to blight town. Then I remembered how much I hate blight town, and quit. Nearly nothing gave me trouble though until the giant trolls in blight town which my magic was not strong enough.
 
As for game breaking things, the only thing I know of was the steel skin ability (not sure the correct name). It makes the 4 kings ridiculously easy, which imo is the hardest boss in the game. I struggled with that boss more than Ernstein and Smough. However I had no magic abilities on my first character. The 4 kings had no where to hide while Ernstein and Smough you could figure an attack plan without using some cheap ability. 

 

[tdockweiler]

  I havent played this game for a while. A couple of months ago I did start a mage character and flew through the game up to blight town. Then I remembered how much I hate blight town, and quit. Nearly nothing gave me trouble though until the giant trolls in blight town which my magic was not strong enough.
 
As for game breaking things, the only thing I know of was the steel skin ability (not sure the correct name). It makes the 4 kings ridiculously easy, which imo is the hardest boss in the game. I struggled with that boss more than Ernstein and Smough. However I had no magic abilities on my first character. The 4 kings had no where to hide while Ernstein and Smough you could figure an attack plan without using some cheap ability. 

 
I HATE blightown too. Everytime I go there I make sure to go in from the Valley of the Drakes or by using the master key from Lower Londo Ruins.
If you come in from the Depths it's just frustrating and annoying! This time around I did that and ended up dying twice on my way to the bottom because of those stupid giants.
 
Overall the game is much easier for me after nearly 3 playthroughs.
 
Senn's Fortress was super easy this time since I know my way around it. I also managed to fly through Anor Londo somehow, which is rare.
Ornstein and Smough are a nightmare for me but mostly due to my playstyle I think. I actually cheat on Super Smough and keep him behind a broken pillar. Somehow I got him on the 2nd try.
 
I have Crystal Caves and Giant's Tomb coming up and despite them not being incredibly hard, it feels like it's going to be a chore.
 
I hate the invisible floors in the Crystal Caves and those dang Skeleton Dogs that take off half your life in Tomb of Giants.
 
BTW right now i've found the best weapon for me is the Lightning Gargoyle's Halberd+4. All the other lightning weapons do crappy damage but this one is very good.
Previously I was addicted to the Black Knight Halberd but I didn't get it this playthrough.
 
Right now i'm about level 60 and on my way to being able to equip all the Havel's gear with the Havel's Ring. Right now I can only use 2 pieces to be a 50% weight burden.
 
Also..one thing i've noticed about this time is that there has been times i've died vs bosses within 2 minutes of entering, yet the 2nd try it's stupid easy. Don't ask me how but Gaping Dragon killed me on the first try within 2 minutes. Never thought this was possible. I somehow got stuck underneath him.

 

[kova4a]

IMO an INT/END build is the easiest to play - once you know what you're doing and a lot of bosses can't even touch you. I tend to pile a bit of END points when leveling up before I start putting points on INT or other stats when the equipment requites it. 
I have finished Dark Souls two times with that build without increasing at all my starting health. As far as equipment, I like Black Iron a lot but I never use the whole set coz I want to keep my movement speed. Add a good stability shield + good dodging skills and you're set. For weapons I prefer katanas (you got slash and thrust and decent range), especially given how easy and early you can get the uchi. But my favorite is the washing pole - for an INT build I prefer it above anything else - an enchanted washing pole +5 and good amount of INT and you're set for those one on one encounters when you don't want to waste your spells. The best shield IMO, after they nerfed so much the hollow soldier shield, is the Eagle Shield as it's the lightest great shield by quite a margin and starts at 70 stability and is easy to upgrade to a decent level and even if not maxed out there aren't many enemies that can break your guard.
 
As far as locations - I'm not fond of Lost Izalith and the Tomb of Giants. Blighttown is pretty easy if you get the master key when starting the game and the rusted iron ring before going there - you can pretty much reach Quelaag without fighting at all. 
 
And I don't really have particular problems with any bosses after finishing the game so many times as I know all their patterns and tells for the attacks they'll use and how to avoid them. There's only one boss who always gives me trouble - Kalameet but as it's an optional encounter in the DLC I can always skip him if I want but I like that battle and the challenge from the fight with a real dragon unlike Gaping Dragon, which is like so stupid that the game should glitch or lag for him to kill you, which makes him the second easiest boss in the game. The first one is Pinwheel - at my first ever playthrough I remember someone had mentioned there's a cool boss at the end of the Catacombs but when I got there, I shot 2 soul spears and he was dead in less than 5 seconds and I was ??? - I couldn't even get a good look at him as he was dead like 3 seconds after the battle started and I didn't even get near him.

 

[SammyJr]

Can't believe I missed out on this game for so long. It's pretty awesome, and I prefer this to any ps4/X1 game out now. I just killed the gargoyles and am at the moonlight butterfly now..

 

[tdockweiler]

  Can't believe I missed out on this game for so long. It's pretty awesome, and I prefer this to any ps4/X1 game out now. I just killed the gargoyles and am at the moonlight butterfly now..

 
I remember playing this for the first time and it was 10x harder back then. Best advice is to upgrade your weapons and get the best ones you can find.
After 3-4 playthroughs i've found that I love the Gargoyle's Halberd, Halberd or something like the Silver Knight Sword or Baldur Side Sword.
 
I usually go from Elite Knight's Armor to eventually Full Havel's as long as I don't do the "fat roll".
 
On my first playthrough "Andor Londo" was pretty rough for me. Heck, even Senn's Fortress was a challenge then.

 

[tdockweiler]

  IMO an INT/END build is the easiest to play - once you know what you're doing and a lot of bosses can't even touch you. I tend to pile a bit of END points when leveling up before I start putting points on INT or other stats when the equipment requites it. 
I have finished Dark Souls two times with that build without increasing at all my starting health. As far as equipment, I like Black Iron a lot but I never use the whole set coz I want to keep my movement speed. Add a good stability shield + good dodging skills and you're set. For weapons I prefer katanas (you got slash and thrust and decent range), especially given how easy and early you can get the uchi. But my favorite is the washing pole - for an INT build I prefer it above anything else - an enchanted washing pole +5 and good amount of INT and you're set for those one on one encounters when you don't want to waste your spells. The best shield IMO, after they nerfed so much the hollow soldier shield, is the Eagle Shield as it's the lightest great shield by quite a margin and starts at 70 stability and is easy to upgrade to a decent level and even if not maxed out there aren't many enemies that can break your guard.
 
As far as locations - I'm not fond of Lost Izalith and the Tomb of Giants. Blighttown is pretty easy if you get the master key when starting the game and the rusted iron ring before going there - you can pretty much reach Quelaag without fighting at all. 
 
And I don't really have particular problems with any bosses after finishing the game so many times as I know all their patterns and tells for the attacks they'll use and how to avoid them. There's only one boss who always gives me trouble - Kalameet but as it's an optional encounter in the DLC I can always skip him if I want but I like that battle and the challenge from the fight with a real dragon unlike Gaping Dragon, which is like so stupid that the game should glitch or lag for him to kill you, which makes him the second easiest boss in the game. The first one is Pinwheel - at my first ever playthrough I remember someone had mentioned there's a cool boss at the end of the Catacombs but when I got there, I shot 2 soul spears and he was dead in less than 5 seconds and I was ??? - I couldn't even get a good look at him as he was dead like 3 seconds after the battle started and I didn't even get near him.

 
Once I got past Anor Londo I would say that the game for me became slightly easier. The only boss that gives me headaches is Ornstein/Smough. The Crystal Caves with the invisible bridges killed me a few times.
 
For Pinwheel, Gravelord Nito and The Four Kings I usually have one strategy. Run up to them and hit them as hard and as fast as I can! Obviously this doesn't work for everyone but I usually do a STR/DEX and Endurance build. I tried this recently vs Four Kings and died twice in a row without Havel's. I think my Gargoyle's Halberd wasn't as powerful as the Black Knight Halberd I used before. Pinwheel is definitely the easiest boss IMO. People say Gaping Dragon is, but he's one-shotted me before.
 
With Nito I finally realized I could kill his skeletons first with a divine weapon and not have them respawn

 
Believe it or not on my first 2 playthroughs I never realized there was a 2nd bonfire in Tomb of Giants!!
 
I almost never use magic in the game and should finally do this..
 
This game is so much easier now when you know your way around and keep your weapons/armor upgraded.
 
Sticking with really weak weapons makes the game harder than it should be. I think I probably had only a Longsword+2 or something by the time I got to the gargoyles on my first playthrough!

 

[kova4a]

Yeah, the first playthrough is always the hardest and was also for me even though I came straight from Demon's Souls and had pretty good idea what I'm doing. It just takes time to find the equipment that scales good with your build and to get accustomed to the enemies' and bosses' attacks. After that its get easier and easier. I picked up Dark Souls a few months ago after not playing it for several months and I thought it would be a bit harder but no, I killed almost all bosses at the first try. Also had no issues beating to a pulp the Asylum Demon with bare fists. Yeah, nice weapons make the game easier but once you know how the enemies attack and learn how to dodge it's pretty easy aside from places like Se's fortress where you don't have much space to dodge but once you get the lightning spear it becomes easy too. 
And magic is pretty nice for most bosses - it's like soul spear, soul spear, soul spear and the boss is down. Now, obviously with the limited number of spell uses they incorporated you definitely need a magic or enchanted weapon coz you can't just walk around like on Demon's Souls,use magic and replenish you points but in a good chunk of the game the enemies are pretty weak to magic, so you can do pretty good damage with an enchanted weapon too.

 

[tdockweiler]

After 4 playthroughs and almost never using any kind of magic I finally started with an INT/DEX build as a mage/sorcerer.
It's hilarious because I died 10 times getting from the first poison rats to the the blacksmith room..just pathetic.
I'd usually get hit with poison from the rats because I wasn't doing enough damage or fast enough. Yep I know how to block!
 
9/10 times on my regular build I get through here with usually no problem.
 
Now what's funny is that I upgraded to heavy soul arrows and finished the gargoyles stupid easily. Usually they give me some problems as a melee character and I call Solaire.
 
Every enemy that gave me issues as a melee character were now twice as easy it seems, especially bosses.
 
I have a feeling Capra Demon will be painful as a mage character.
 
Right now I only have the Winged Spear+5 but will get something better later on. I only have 13 STR due to the requirements of the winged spear.
My dagger was so worthless it would take 10 hits to kill a skeleton..
 
Sorry, i'm bored..

 

[kova4a]

  After 4 playthroughs and almost never using any kind of magic I finally started with an INT/DEX build as a mage/sorcerer.
It's hilarious because I died 10 times getting from the first poison rats to the the blacksmith room..just pathetic.
I'd usually get hit with poison from the rats because I wasn't doing enough damage or fast enough. Yep I know how to block!
 
9/10 times on my regular build I get through here with usually no problem.
 
Now what's funny is that I upgraded to heavy soul arrows and finished the gargoyles stupid easily. Usually they give me some problems as a melee character and I call Solaire.
 
Every enemy that gave me issues as a melee character were now twice as easy it seems, especially bosses.
 
I have a feeling Capra Demon will be painful as a mage character.
 
Right now I only have the Winged Spear+5 but will get something better later on. I only have 13 STR due to the requirements of the winged spear.
My dagger was so worthless it would take 10 hits to kill a skeleton..
 
Sorry, i'm bored..

You might wanna try an enchanted uchi or better yet washing pole but at least you can get the uchi in the beginning of the game from the undead merchant. The uchi is also great for an INT/DEX build if you give the DEX edge in the leveling up and just enchant the uchi. A +15 uchi is pretty good with that build and maybe move on to a great scythe later on for the NG+ and especially for PVP. And yeah, bosses are pretty easy with a magic build and especially easy if you go get the dark sorceries early. If you though the gargoyles were easy you should go strat to Quelaag - you can stagger her with soul arrows and the fight is very easy - the same goes for a bow.
 
Btw, I already preordered Dark Souls 2 Black Armour Edition for my ps3. I kinda got tempted to preorder the PC version instead coz my local vendor had cut it 50% off and the PC Black Armour edition is like $33 but that rumored 31th May ETA killed my enthusiasm, so I opted for the console version as it's due in like 3 weeks. I was even kinda tempted by the collector's edition but $110 is a bit steep even for a die hard Souls fan like me.