Dark Souls III: Witty Title Pending

[Surrealistik]

The giants came from beyond the sea, so if Lordran and Drangleic are the same place then that sounds rather unlikely. So does my idea that they might be the same giants as the DS1 ones, for the matter.

One idea I had at some point is that Heide's Tower is related to Anor Londo. The architecture is very similar, and there are ancient giant knights everywhere, guarding the place for a reason long forgotten. Although the location couldn't be more different...

I'm of the opinion that Heide's Tower is the remains of Anor Londo, particularly since we know that Lordran and Drangleic are the same place. Then there's the Way of Blue as an offshoot of the Darkmoon Blades, the Giant sentinels, the Old Dragonslayer (I believe that this is indeed Ornstein who like Velstadt, had become steeped in Dark over time from aimlessness and despair as his purpose was taken from him with the end of Gwyn's reign) and the architectural similarities.

The giants that invaded Drangleic are not the same as the giants of Anor Londo, that much seems certain.

[TechnOkami]

So, new thing.

My girlfriend and I are going to be working on a Gravelord Nito cosplay for our local convention. During the day I'll be normal Nito, but during the night I'll be adorned in glow sticks, candy, glow bracelets, etc. and with stunner shades ascend to the Ravelord, eternally chasing my girlfriend carrying a disco skull on a stick.

Silliness aside, we're going to construct it like that snazzy General Grievous Cosplay that one guy did, with the attachable boots and protruding legs, which in Nito's case will be bones for convenience sake (it's actually a fleshy giant-thing under all of that bone and shadow cloak stuff).

What I need to know is if the Gravelord Sword Nito is holding is any different from the one you can wield normally. I'm thinking of just making the wieldable one, but I'd like to know if there is a difference, for my own sanity.

[Tome]

Just noticed a couple of weird things whilst watching an LP of Dark Souls.

Those branches sticking out of the glowing spots on Bed of Chaos? The ones that explode? (Look carefully during the cutscenes.) The Black Witch's Staff looks like it may have been modelled after them.

You know the crystal golems in the Ivory King DLC? Have you noticed that their giant club side sweep is very, very similar to the giant club side sweep of the crystal golems in DSI?

The sanctuary guardian's moveset looks similar in places to the demonic ice-lightning-horse-reindeer things in the Frozen Outskirts. Notably the air-run whilst shooting lightning blasts move.

Also, to answer the previous question, yes the two swords are different. The player one only has one skeleton on it, while Nito's has several.

[Surrealistik]

Another highlight duel from BDJ/Zev; music was perfect, lol: http://www.twitch.tv/bdj2213/c/5279906

[TechnOkami]

Another highlight duel from BDJ/Zev; music was perfect, lol: http://www.twitch.tv/bdj2213/c/5279906

A.) I love that song, and it was beautiful. I really like though how after he beat his copy cat, the Attack on Titan theme was literally about to play. I recognized the little snippet that played.

[GloatingSwine]

So I hit max achievements on Dark Souls.

By the end my character was getting a bit repetitive so I don't really think I could get all the way to NG+6 with her, think I'll take a bit of a break then wander back to Demon's Souls.

[TechnOkami]

So I hit max achievements on Dark Souls.

By the end my character was getting a bit repetitive so I don't really think I could get all the way to NG+6 with her, think I'll take a bit of a break then wander back to Demon's Souls.

Nice.

Obligatory "Pics or it didn't happen."

But nice.

[TechnOkami]

Also...

So after misreading a DSII wiki and thinking I needed to open up the Shrine of Amana to access the first DLC, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the entrance was directly in the primal bonfire room after killing Flesh Nito, which made me all kinds of pleased because I finally has all the correct souls needed to open up the Shrine of Winter AND ensured that Lucatiel survived all the boss fights.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased.

So I went and opened up bonfire teleportation access for all three of the DLC's, and the area I'm most excited for is Frozen Elysium Loyce, or whatever it's called. Ice tendrils that are supposed to be old chaos demon tendrils looks really really cool. However, I think I'm going to go through the DLC's in the order they were released, and am currently exploring Pharos' Aztec Wonderland.

I also started exploring the potential with bows, since they seem to be useful for the area. I upgraded my Dragonrider Bow with as many petrified dragon bones I had, and am currently using that.

Also, does anyone on the PSN have a Heide Knight Bucket Helmet they would be willing to trade for something else? I need it to complete the Heide Knight look.

[Surrealistik]

Pretty much the best summary of the DS1 storyline I've yet seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9x_koRZ2bA

[TechnOkami]

I can't believe this...

Guys, I'm stuck on all three DLC's, on the first boss of each. I'm like twelve different kinds of annoyed right now.

Spoiler

Show

So like, normally when I'm playing DS II I just carry around my +10 Raw Greatsword, and smash through the mobs. I also don't carry a shield. My character is a Melee strength tank.

So with Faux Nashandra, she would be easy enough to beat if she didn't like, ya know, summon ANOTHER BOSS to help her. I've tried it with and w/o a shield, by myself, and with 1-2 NPC summons. Nothing's worked.

I had issues before with the Smelter Demon, and the only reason I can defeat him is so I can chunk him while Lucatiel tanks all the damage. Normally with two other summons this would be a cakewalk, except I drink through all my estus' just to GET to him, and then proceed to not fully dodge his attacks and die. The last two times I just tried to outrun all the mobs, getting myself killed repeatedly in the process.

Original Content Ice Tiger.... grr... I can't hit it without getting hit in the process, its attacks are really fast and chewed through my shield (when I used one) and its ice barrage is not good for blocking, and difficult to dodge without getting immediately pounced and chewed up. I tried changing the weapon, I tried lightening my armor, nothing.

*grumble grumble Dark Souls grumble grumble*

[Rodin]

Spoiler

Show

For Faux Nashandra, I try to keep it to one summon and just DPS her down. No shield, because most of her attacks aren't blockable and the summon hits like a truck too. She also doesn't always summon him - she sometimes summons skellies instead. The first time I beat her that's how - she only summoned skeletons and I cruised past her.

No real advice for the Smelter Demon, other than that he deals Magic damage instead of Fire. I beat him by literally clearing the entire area on the way to him so I could go in with full Estus.

For the Ice Tiger I found that having a summon was a neccessity. Otherwise it never leaves you alone and there's no time to heal. The rest was just practicing dodging the swipes - I've found that rolling past the swipes to get on its side is more effective than rolling backwards.

[Tome]

Spoiler: The King's Pet

Show

For the King' Pet, the trick is simply to learn her move set (and have 105 Agility). The claw swipes have to be dodged by rolling towards her and under her legs, giving you some free hits. Don't stay too long though because she'll almost always do the spinning swipe if you're behind or under her, so roll away after a couple of hits. The lunges should be dodged by rolling towards her and slightly off to the side, since sometimes her bite can catch you if you roll straight into her.

If she raises her paw, roll away. If she rears back for her roar or soulmass, roll away regardless of the attack. If she isn't casting soulmass you can take this opportunity to throw a pyromancy or something at her. If she is, there are two ways to dodge it. The first is to run back in and get right behind her where they can't target you - which lets you get in a few more hits. The second is to run, not roll, to the side. If you're too far to get behind her in time, keep your distance, get to one side of the path and start running to the other as soon as all of the soulmasses are out. If that proves problematic, equip the magic resistance ring and just tank it - don't use a shield or you'll take all the hits instead of just one.

Don't get greedy or she'll punish you, and try to wait for her to run off or start casting to heal. Having some pyromancy to punish her spells with might be a good idea. Unlike most of the other DLC bosses, she doesn't get a massive difficulty spike for using summons, so feel free to summon a friend or two.

[TechnOkami]

So slight update. I've decided to continue on with the main quest up til I get to Nashandra, then I'll turn around and attempt the other bosses once more with the leveling I'll have done between then and now.

[Tengu_temp]

Spoiler

Show

I found the ice tiger to be a pretty easy boss - just bring in phantoms, use a shield, and attack when it's not facing you. You can use the columns in the area to hide from the spells.

Not-Nashandra, I forgot how I dealt with specifically. I think I just summoned phantoms and brute-forced here. Other players are a lot of help here, if you can get any to help.

Smelter Demon Mk 2... is probably the most annoying boss in the whole Dark Souls 2. Especially if you can't use miracles or Warmth to heal yourself on the way to it and have to use Estus. Remember that its attacks deal magic damage, so try to pack as much magic resistance as you can. All I can say here is: don't give up, skeleton!
(Also, technically it's an optional boss and the reward isn't really worth it, so you can just decide to skip it.)

[Surrealistik]

Buffed fast weapons backed with the Ring of Blades +2, 40% encumbrance rolls or better and 105 agility are the best general prescription for beating the DLC monsters. Hit and run, learn where to dodge in order to not get hit by a given attack (this will involve some trial and error due to deceptive hitboxes), and don't get greedy.

As weapons go, it does vary depending on your character, but I've never found the Raw Black Dragon Sword/Scorpion Stinger to be a bad idea.

[Morty]

Transgressor's Shield, bought from the ghost fellow in Drangleic Castle whose name I'm forgetting, offers 100% Dark reduction on block when infused with Dark. I found it fairly helpful when fighting that one boss in Crown of the Sunken King.

[TechnOkami]

Question: why do I want 105 Agility? Do I get better invincibility frames or a longer side roll?

Also, I think my internet is too spotty for Blood Bro's PvP, but I've found that I really enjoy spending time on the PvP bridge of the Iron Keep. Much more reasonable and silly PvP opportunities.

P.S. I remember reading something on the wiki that the King's Set makes you immune to Dark damage under circumstances I don't recall.

[Surrealistik]

105 Agility gets you the most roll iframes without having to make a ridiculously large and inefficient investment in Attunement and Adaptability.

Also the King's Set has no such property, though the crowns grant a special benefit while worn once certain conditions are met.

[TechnOkami]

New question: can you reach a point on a character where the normal +10 Str/Dex/Int/Fai/etc. scaling stats of a weapon will be stronger than something that's a Raw +10 weapon?

[GloatingSwine]

Almost certainly.

In fact it's usually considered difficult to make Raw weapons as good as ones with scaling.

[TechnOkami]

So I finally beat the frost kitten, but...

Spoiler

Show

Sweet Solaire the Burned Ivory King. Like, he alone would be a pretty fun 1v1 battle, but not him and his whole frikkin' army too!

[Rodin]

Like the frost kitten, there's a secret to fighting him. I would try checking out the areas of the DLC you already visited, see what changed...

[TechnOkami]

Well if there was a secret to defeating the frost kitten, I never figured out what exactly that was. All I did was get my agility to 105 and suddenly I could dodge everything.

Spoiler

Show

Hell, I'm not even sure what that fire thing I grabbed from the pedestal with the skeleton on it was. I just saw I cold interact with it so I did.

More on topic, I did know there were some chests that I couldn't open before because they were covered in ice, so I did go back through the other half of the area, and yes I stumbled upon another night to bring to the party. I'm looking for the last one.

Edit:
Also,

Spoiler

Show

the Rise of the Dead shrine that reverses hollowing doesn't seem to be functioning in NG+ For some reason... no I don't have any humanities left and yes I was hollow at the time.

[Morty]

I wonder what the chances are that the Dark Souls 2 DLC will be on sale during whatever Halloween sale Steam puts out.

[Tome]

Well if there was a secret to defeating the frost kitten, I never figured out what exactly that was. All I did was get my agility to 105 and suddenly I could dodge everything.

Spoiler

Show

Hell, I'm not even sure what that fire thing I grabbed from the pedestal with the skeleton on it was. I just saw I cold interact with it so I did.

More on topic, I did know there were some chests that I couldn't open before because they were covered in ice, so I did go back through the other half of the area, and yes I stumbled upon another night to bring to the party. I'm looking for the last one.

Edit:
Also,

Spoiler

Show

the Rise of the Dead shrine that reverses hollowing doesn't seem to be functioning in NG+ For some reason... no I don't have any humanities left and yes I was hollow at the time.

Spoiler

Show

The thing you picked up from the shrine was the eye of the priestess. It lets you see the various invisible things scattered throughout Eleum Loyce, including the pretty kitty, the NPC knight just after the shrine and a ladder leading to a spell earlier in the level.

That, of course, is the secret to fighting Kitty McFuzzybottom.

You mean you didn't already have 105 agility? Shouldn't that be the second thing you get, right after the stats needed to wield your weapon of choice?

[Tengu_temp]

Also,

Spoiler

Show

the Rise of the Dead shrine that reverses hollowing doesn't seem to be functioning in NG+ For some reason... no I don't have any humanities left and yes I was hollow at the time.

How to handle your humanity problems:
1. This page provides examples of places you can farm for effigies quickly.
2. Jolly Cooperation makes you human again. Leave your sign to help other players!
3. Wear a ring of life protection. You're in NG+, the amount of souls enemies drop is so high that 3000 to repair it after it breaks is pocket change. Have several rings to avoid having to visit a smith every time you die.

You mean you didn't already have 105 agility? Shouldn't that be the second thing you get, right after the stats needed to wield your weapon of choice?

Stop acting like that's some universal truth, or something obvious that everyone knows about. I got high agility myself only because low agility felt too sluggish, not because I read on the internet somewhere that you really should invest in 105 agility.

[TechnOkami]

Here's my main's stat layout for those curious.

lvl: 216

Vgr: 50
End: 40
Vit: 52
Atn: 4
Str: 52
Dex: 30
Adp: 32
Int: 3
Fth: 6

I wear Havel's everything sans the helmet, which is Vengarl's. My weapon of choice is a +10 Raw greatsword (my stats don't outscale the raw yet) with no shield usually. I couldn't really afford not using a shield in the frost kitten fight, so I had Havel's Shield & a +10 Large Club for 70% Encomberance. That and it was the only Str weapon I found that had a decent one handed R1, for me at least.

I didn't know about Adaptability's supreme dodge bonuses basically until Surrealtisk mentioned it in the thread that one time, even then I decided to round out my numbers because I didn't understand how powerful having 105 Agility was. I generally prefer hitting things like a truck with a large weapon of some kind than being an optimized Melee Dex Dark & Soul Magic Casting-thing.

I'm really interested in making the Ivory King's weapon though, from Straid or Ornifex respectively.

Oh, and my health's currently cut in half 'cause the Rise of the Dead Bonfire isn't working and I have no humanities, so there's that.

Also also, countering an invasion with a Seed of a Giant is the funniest and most satisfying thing to do.

[Surrealistik]

Ivory King Ultragreatsword is pretty much the only heavy/XL weapon I love aside from maybe the Curved Dragon Greatsword; the appreciable Dex scaling and insanely large range + counter multiplier is so good I've got it on speed dial.

Also 105 Agility is so strong that I would agree it is pretty much obligatory.

[Tengu_temp]

Oh, and my health's currently cut in half 'cause the Rise of the Dead Bonfire isn't working and I have no humanities, so there's that.

Wear the Ring of Binding. Even at maximum hollow, you only lose 20% HP with it, not 50%. It's really hard to do anything when you're limited to half your health, but at 80%, it's not so bad anymore.

[Tome]

Stop acting like that's some universal truth, or something obvious that everyone knows about. I got high agility myself only because low agility felt too sluggish, not because I read on the internet somewhere that you really should invest in 105 agility.

My bad there, should have stuck a on the end to make it clear I was being less than serious.