Dark Souls 2

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by RWBladewing

Are you playing strictly magic based? I started a sorcerer as my second character after beating the game with heavy dex melee but I am playing it as more of a hybrid. Getting enough strength to use the Fire Longsword and Drangleic Shield has made getting through the levels super easy so far. I've cleared up through the Lost Bastille without dying at all outside of the Blue Cathedral boss fight, though of course a very large part of that is I just know what to expect now.

...Absolutely crushing the Pursuer with spells while he tried feebly to reach me was beyond cathartic.

Lol, my Spellsword character has been my most fun character to build up, it's really limited in the beginning but once I got up to Drangelic Castle I have most of my gear and spells with me and it's fun to have this many arsenal at my disposal. In particular, I've been getting alot of mileage with Soul Vortex- the downside is that the damage is unpredictable, but the upside is when it does hit at the right spot their hp just drops like a rock.

My new problem is that I'm coming up on the infamous Shrine of Amana... Do you think it's unbecoming of a Mage to have to use a bow ? The range of those Priestess are obscene, I probably can't hit them with Great Heavy Soul Arrows. I'm thinking of using the Dragonrider Bow for it's magic damage to take them out, removing the need for Soul Arrows and replace them with stacks of more powerful spells like another Soul Spear and Soul Vortex.

[Jazzrat]

Been plugging away at Dark Souls 2 recently and just got past Drangleic Castle. So far, while DS2 is a much bigger game but DS1 is tighter in both level design and story.

Using a pure melee dex character on my first playthrough and so far, i'm able to get through most bosses without too much trouble just using NPC summons. Pursuer was actually really easy once i used the balista, a single shot took out 90% of his health. The boss that gave me most grief so far is Smelter Demon, Belfy Gargoyle and Iron King. Smelter Demon is just due to the amount of fire damage he pumps out while Iron King is an ass knocking me into the lava.

Belfry Gargoyle is difficult because multi target fights is generally hampered by the camera for most part.

Here's what i used for weapon so far,

Black Knight Halberd - probably the best dex weapon out there, good for 1 v 1 situation with it's long range and high damage but lack horizontal sweeping attacks without 2handing

Rapier - Long range, fast attack, early access and low weight @ 1.5 , good early weapon till you get BKH

Blacksteel Katana - reasonable horizontal coverage and high damage but heavy for a dex 1h weapon @ 8.0

Zweihander - more of a str weapon but insanely huge horizontal arc + reach makes it my favoured weapon when dealing with multiple target. While i still prefer DS1's move set (R2 is a constant overhead forward swing you can spam instead of alternating front then back), it's still good enough to worth dumping points into str to wield it.

[RWBladewing]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

My new problem is that I'm coming up on the infamous Shrine of Amana... Do you think it's unbecoming of a Mage to have to use a bow ? The range of those Priestess are obscene, I probably can't hit them with Great Heavy Soul Arrows. .

Ha, I'm sure I will end up doing that myself, I hate those enemies so much. Using a bow to take them out on the first playthrough I found that if they were even rendered on my screen they could shoot at me. They seem to know when they're being targeted too - there were several times where one didn't spot me but as soon as my targeting cursor went over them they immediately turned and started shooting.

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Rapier - Long range, fast attack, early access and low weight @ 1.5 , good early weapon till you get BKH

I actually used a rapier as one of my main weapons throughout the entire game, though I switched to Ricard's once I found it, as it gets a dex bonus of S after some upgrades. With a vast majority of my points into dex, the amount of damage it was doing was downright scary. Being able to attack with my shield still up made a lot of tough parts significantly easier too. Backup weapons were Warped Sword and Manslayer. I also tried using the Full Moon Sickle dropped by those guys in Huntsman's Copse just for the novelty but it ended up being too unwieldy for me.

[Chosen_Hero]

I just got past the Iron King with my Knight and now I'm lost as to where to head to so I went into the hole in Majula and stopped at the Grave of Saints, damn Rat Vanguard is pissing me off.

But now I have a new problem, I got curious about using a sorcerer build and started a new character to try it out and instantly fell in love with it (first time I have wanted to create a Mage/Sorcerer build as my main), I'm never going to finish DkS2 at this rate, I just keep restarting everytime I get a new idea for a new build.

So for my Sorcerer I'm thinking of using swords as his secondary weapon, I'm thinking of using the Heidi Knight Sword, at least until I find a better sword. Also would like to know if there is any good sorcerer armor around apart from Streid's set and I would like to know which is better for a sorcerer build, medium or small shields? I prefer medium but theres the requirements to take into account because I want to maximeze my magic abilities as much as I can.

[Lime soda]

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

So for my Sorcerer I'm thinking of using swords as his secondary weapon, I'm thinking of using the Heidi Knight Sword, at least until I find a better sword. Also would like to know if there is any good sorcerer armor around apart from Streid's set and I would like to know which is better for a sorcerer build, medium or small shields? I prefer medium but theres the requirements to take into account because I want to maximeze my magic abilities as much as I can.

If it's just pve sorcerer, I'd say that the Lion Mage set in shaded woods would be the go to armor set. It's a 3 piece set that's for chest, hands, and boots. Each piece lowers casting time but has no poise whatsoever.

As a pve-er mostly, I'd say go for medium if possible unless you're good at dodging. Sometimes even a medium shield isn't going to cut it, so a small shield would be like paper I'd imagine. I guess if you're like 10 points off from wielding a medium shield and you're the kind of guy that prefers to dodge everything then go for small.

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by RWBladewing

I actually used a rapier as one of my main weapons throughout the entire game, though I switched to Ricard's once I found it, as it gets a dex bonus of S after some upgrades. With a vast majority of my points into dex, the amount of damage it was doing was downright scary. Being able to attack with my shield still up made a lot of tough parts significantly easier too. Backup weapons were Warped Sword and Manslayer. I also tried using the Full Moon Sickle dropped by those guys in Huntsman's Copse just for the novelty but it ended up being too unwieldy for me.

I infused my rapier to do poison dmg now and used it as a secondary weapon against tough mobs that i want to widdle down instead of trying to confront head on with my BK halberd.

Also gotten Spider Silk which have a shield ignoring strong attack but I haven't really practice with it much and lack petrified dragon bone to upgrade it to max. I missed getting Ricard rapier. Haven't been using attack behind shield as much as i did in DS1, i noticed with rapier the range is very short since you are not lunging forward and sta cost is higher? I prefer to wait for attack windows these days while strafing with shield raised.

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

I just got past the Iron King with my Knight and now I'm lost as to where to head to so I went into the hole in Majula and stopped at the Grave of Saints, damn Rat Vanguard is pissing me off.

Get some petrification resist for Rat Vanguard and use the statues to funnel them towards you. It's mostly an exercise in patience to wait out the curse/petrification bar and kiting the mob around.

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

So for my Sorcerer I'm thinking of using swords as his secondary weapon, I'm thinking of using the Heidi Knight Sword, at least until I find a better sword. Also would like to know if there is any good sorcerer armor around apart from Streid's set and I would like to know which is better for a sorcerer build, medium or small shields? I prefer medium but theres the requirements to take into account because I want to maximeze my magic abilities as much as I can.

There's a fire long sword in the cave at the bottom of the valley outside the Cardinal Tower waypoint you can use very early on since int gives fire bonus dmg. As for shield, it really depends on playstyle.

If you prefer to dodge more than block, having a light/medium shield saves you a lot of encumberance (should never go above 70% encumbrance if you want to dodge).

If you like to block more than dodge, great shield is better due to higher stab. Of course that means sinking a fair amount of points into str to even wield them thus making it a hybrid build more than a pure sorcerer.

Personally, i would get Royal Kite Shield from McDuff in Lost Bastille. You only need a min of 12 str to wield and provides 100% physical protection while weighing @ 4.0.

As for armor, Lion Mage armor is pretty good for pure sorc build to get more out of your cast speed. Headpiece wise, Black Witch Veil is mostly likely the best i've seen giving you +1 attunement slot which is extremely cost effective lategame due to diminishing returns on stat.

[nosaer]

My character isn't strictly magic, but as much Magic as possible. I don't plan on using a bow at all since I have arrows made of souls I can use lol. I even used the standard dagger for a while. I do want to check out the blue flame though, so I've put a few stats into dex and strength so I'll be able to use it when I find it. I've started using a rapier lately as my melee weapon (It would be EXTREMELY hard to play this game without any type of melee. especially considering my sorcery was completely useless against the lion mages), and for my first time actually using a rapier in any souls game, Its not bad. I never cared for it in Dark souls 1, but so far in DKs2 I'm liking it, although it does have a few annoying things about it with a lack of slashing attacks.

As for shields...why do you need something more than a medium? do you play tank classes or something? even with my all meleee dex build first character I didn't use any greatshields.

Also a question. has anyone in here been able to parry any of the lion clan warriors in the shaded ruins? I was going to try practicing on them so I can get better at it without using the target shield, but I could never do it. Are they impossible to be parried? I know in Dks1 you could parry enemies larger than you, but it seems that may not be the case here...

and as for progress, I've beaten the old iron king, and took out the scorpion chick, and the 2 rat bosses to trade their souls to straid for his armor. Not sure where I want to go next. Maybe the lost sinner. I still have to do lucatiel's and benhart's quests since I missed them in my first playthrough.

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by nosaer

As for shields...why do you need something more than a medium? do you play tank classes or something? even with my all meleee dex build first character I didn't use any greatshields.

Greatshields are for str users. Higher stability of greatshield means you consume less sta for block thus have less chance of getting block break (which happens when you ran out of stamina when blocking).

Also shield bash can murder any blocking target's stamina bar while heavy deflection meant most melee attackers will get temporary stunned when they swung against your shield.

Main problem is weight and str requirement so you need a fair amount of str and vit to pull off, i ran a tankmage hybrid with that before in ds1 and it's surprisingly effective granted i didn't go past most stat soft cap to make it workable.

[RWBladewing]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Also gotten Spider Silk which have a shield ignoring strong attack but I haven't really practice with it much and lack petrified dragon bone to upgrade it to max. I missed getting Ricard rapier. Haven't been using attack behind shield as much as i did in DS1, i noticed with rapier the range is very short since you are not lunging forward and sta cost is higher? I prefer to wait for attack windows these days while strafing with shield raised.

I generally take the strafe and wait approach myself but the attack behind shield was invaluable for a lot of boss fights with multiple enemies, like the gargoyles. Allowed me to get a poke or two in every time one had an open window without having to worry about the second or third one hitting me in the process. Made one boss fight near the very end of the game totally trivial (well, aside from my one death where I was an idiot and walked off the cliff without paying attention).

[nosaer]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Greatshields are for str users. Higher stability of greatshield means you consume less sta for block thus have less chance of getting block break (which happens when you ran out of stamina when blocking).

Also shield bash can murder any blocking target's stamina bar while heavy deflection meant most melee attackers will get temporary stunned when they swung against your shield.

Main problem is weight and str requirement so you need a fair amount of str and vit to pull off, i ran a tankmage hybrid with that before in ds1 and it's surprisingly effective granted i didn't go past most stat soft cap to make it workable.

I understand the benefits of a greatshield, but I like being able to parry. its not the easiest thing to pull off, but its more satisfying. Plus the new guard break move makes it much easier to deal with guys turtling with their greatshields. the key to pvp is movement and spacing.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

Here's what i used for weapon so far,

Black Knight Halberd - probably the best dex weapon out there, good for 1 v 1 situation with it's long range and high damage but lack horizontal sweeping attacks without 2handing

Rapier - Long range, fast attack, early access and low weight @ 1.5 , good early weapon till you get BKH

Blacksteel Katana - reasonable horizontal coverage and high damage but heavy for a dex 1h weapon @ 8.0

Zweihander - more of a str weapon but insanely huge horizontal arc + reach makes it my favoured weapon when dealing with multiple target. While i still prefer DS1's move set (R2 is a constant overhead forward swing you can spam instead of alternating front then back), it's still good enough to worth dumping points into str to wield it.

Have you tried dual wielding rapiers or katanas?

Originally Posted by RWBladewing

Ha, I'm sure I will end up doing that myself, I hate those enemies so much. Using a bow to take them out on the first playthrough I found that if they were even rendered on my screen they could shoot at me. They seem to know when they're being targeted too - there were several times where one didn't spot me but as soon as my targeting cursor went over them they immediately turned and started shooting.

Psychic Sniper Priestess.

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

I just got past the Iron King with my Knight and now I'm lost as to where to head to so I went into the hole in Majula and stopped at the Grave of Saints, damn Rat Vanguard is pissing me off.

You can skip the Grave of Saints, there's literally nothing worthwhile there unless you want to join the Brodent covenant or get the Toxic Mist from the boss's soul.

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

But now I have a new problem, I got curious about using a sorcerer build and started a new character to try it out and instantly fell in love with it (first time I have wanted to create a Mage/Sorcerer build as my main), I'm never going to finish DkS2 at this rate, I just keep restarting everytime I get a new idea for a new build.

I have three characters progressing side by side because of this reason as well

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

So for my Sorcerer I'm thinking of using swords as his secondary weapon, I'm thinking of using the Heidi Knight Sword, at least until I find a better sword. Also would like to know if there is any good sorcerer armor around apart from Streid's set and I would like to know which is better for a sorcerer build, medium or small shields? I prefer medium but theres the requirements to take into account because I want to maximeze my magic abilities as much as I can.

Heidi Sword scales off from Faith, you're better off using the Fire Longsword until you get the magic mace from Huntsman Copse, or a confirmed Faintstone from the Doors of Pharros. Honestly I see no reason to use small shields if your equip load is still below 50%, unless it's to specifically tackle certain element resist.

In terms of practical armor, the Lion Mage set has all 3 gears that reduces casting time.

In terms of looking cool with low equip burden, I recommend the Llewellyn Set and the Leydia White Set. There's also the Chaos Set but it's more for Hexers.

Originally Posted by nosaer

and as for progress, I've beaten the old iron king, and took out the scorpion chick, and the 2 rat bosses to trade their souls to straid for his armor. Not sure where I want to go next. Maybe the lost sinner. I still have to do lucatiel's and benhart's quests since I missed them in my first playthrough.

Either Lost Sinner or Freja.

[nosaer]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Either Lost Sinner or Freja.

Took them both out yesterday. now I have to go through my least favorite areas and I can get to drangleic castle. the gutter and black gulch if you haven't been keeping up. They're the only places where I kept a torch lit during my first playthrough.

also dual wielding katanas didn't seem that great to me. their power stance moveset wasn't great. I still don't even know what use the power attack is in that stance. dual curved swords was much better, but you don't have great range.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by nosaer

Took them both out yesterday. now I have to go through my least favorite areas and I can get to drangleic castle. the gutter and black gulch if you haven't been keeping up. They're the only places where I kept a torch lit during my first playthrough.

Yeah I know the feel... In the end it's not the poison or the Dark that gets me, it's the falling through the roof part >_>

Other than the treasure behind the forgotten door, the only thing of value I found in the gutter was a single chest with a Twinkling Titanite.

Black Gulch is worth combing the place over several times- the enemies can drop Titanite Chunks, and there's some other goodies for mages.

Originally Posted by nosaer

also dual wielding katanas didn't seem that great to me. their power stance moveset wasn't great. I still don't even know what use the power attack is in that stance. dual curved swords was much better, but you don't have great range.

The Heavy power stance attack for the Katana is a narrow vertical strike, which means it won't be bouncing off the walls when fighting in narrow corridors and can hit short enemies. It also means that it wouldn't bounce off the Mirror Knight's shield unlike a horizontal strike.

I do admit, it does look a bit weird though lol.

[nosaer]

I hate those poison spitting statues, so I don't usually spend too long in black gulch. the rapier isn't great at taking them out either since it has no slash attacks. I noticed that the first time I went to the gutter. missed the first bonfire though and got killed by that dog like thing before I got to the 2nd one. next time I'll be hitting him from range with some soul arrows or even a soul spear if I feel the need

[Jazzrat]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Have you tried dual wielding rapiers or katanas?

Yeah i did, while the power is definitely impressive, i still prefer sword and shield setup playstyle for safety purpose even though i'm maintaining <70% encumbrance for fast roll.

My idea is to get to bonfire/boss on my first shot while using as few estus as possible so i can a higher chance of getting a first shot kill on bosses.

Originally Posted by nosaer

I understand the benefits of a greatshield, but I like being able to parry. its not the easiest thing to pull off, but its more satisfying. Plus the new guard break move makes it much easier to deal with guys turtling with their greatshields. the key to pvp is movement and spacing.

I don't pvp so i can't comment on that part. I don't parry either this time around unlike in DS1. While it's satisfying to hear that sound of a successful parry and riposte, i'm getting too lazy to learn all the timing this time and prefer to stick with low risk tactics.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Yeah it takes a while to feel comfortable enough to dodge without shield, what I do is that I practice on bosses when I get summoned as a phantom.

The Lion Warriors and Smetler also made me git gud with rolling towards the attacks.

[Chosen_Hero]

Thanks for the advice, going to try out a few of those, a few more questions:

1. Where can I buy sorcerer equipment? Is there a specific vendor that specializes in it?

2. Are hexes any good? Are they worth the investment?

3. Where can I find staffs? Until when is my beginning staff good?

4. Has anyone here found the other NPC apart from Streid that trades boss souls for weapons? Any good weapons in general in his inventory?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

Thanks for the advice, going to try out a few of those, a few more questions:

1. Where can I buy sorcerer equipment? Is there a specific vendor that specializes in it?

2. Are hexes any good? Are they worth the investment?

3. Where can I find staffs? Until when is my beginning staff good?

4. Has anyone here found the other NPC apart from Streid that trades boss souls for weapons? Any good weapons in general in his inventory?

1. Carhillion of the Fold would be the first sorcery merchant that you get. He's at No-man's Wharf, if you exhaust his dialogue he would return to Majula.

3. If you're using pure sorcery, your beginning staff would have to last you all the way up to mid-game and slightly later. Us Sorcerers don't get any good toys to play with until after mid game, that's the downside of playing one.

4. It's a she Yes, you can find her first in the location after the Shaded Woods, and her shop is in the location after that.

[oompa loompa]

I haven't started playing this game yet, but by what little I've seen this game has taken the exact direction I wasn't hoping; boss battles seem a lot easier, while the regular baddies are bigger and tougher. If this is really the case, I might not start playing at all. Can anyone shed some light on whether this is the case or not?

[Asuras]

Originally Posted by oompa loompa

I haven't started playing this game yet, but by what little I've seen this game has taken the exact direction I wasn't hoping; boss battles seem a lot easier, while the regular baddies are bigger and tougher. If this is really the case, I might not start playing at all. Can anyone shed some light on whether this is the case or not?

Dark Souls 2 is all about the NG+. You think the bosses are easy from what you've seen? Think again. Whiz through NG (I did it in 3 sit-down sessions) and then tell me what you think of NG+. Tell me it isn't a metric fuck ton of hurt.