Dark Souls 2-Is Depraved a Good Starting Class?

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00slash00

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So I just picked up Dark Souls 2 today and I'm looking at the classes and I'm thinking of picking depraved. In DS1 I always went to knight or pyromancer but since depraved is level 1 and has all stats at level 6, would it be the best class to pick because you'll level up faster in the beginning and will only have the stats you want (as opposed to other classes that start at at least level 10 and all have some stats I don't care about, as a pure melee character)? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like depraved could be tailored to your play style better than any of the other classes
 

Bombiz

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I haven't got Dark Souls 2 yet on account of waiting for the PC version but i know for a fact the Depraved class in the first game was the hardest starting class since all you get is a club and wood shield. idk what's it like in the 2nd one but my guess it's probably something similar. i would only pick it if you're very familiar with DS1.

Damn PC version can't come fast enough.gotta satiate my appetite with some Path of Exile.
 

SmallHatLogan

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Depraved is not a noob friendly class because the early parts of the game will be harder but it's the best for min-maxing your character (unless one of the other classes happens to match up with your desired build).
 

Corven

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weirdo8977 said:
I haven't got Dark Souls 2 yet on account of waiting for the PC version but i know for a fact the Depraved class in the first game was the hardest starting class since all you get is a club and wood shield. idk what's it like in the 2nd one but my guess it's probably something similar. i would only pick it if you're very familiar with DS1.

Damn PC version can't come fast enough.gotta satiate my appetite with some Path of Exile.
In ds2 depraved starts with nothing at all.

OT: I'd pick one of the defining classes first, since you'd have to fight for quite a while to be able to purchase basic gear and weapons, and then you'd have to level up before you could use them effectively.
 

Kopikatsu

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DS2 Depraved starts with nothing because fists are actually okay as a weapon now. IE doing 40~ damage early game as opposed to 1-2 damage no matter what as in DS1.

But yeah. It's basically an advanced class to make sure you get exactly what you want. Except Sorcery. If you don't have the preorder weapon pack, it's a really long time before you get a sorcerer staff. Conversely, a catalyst for Miracles can be found in Majula.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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I don't have Dark Souls 2 yet, but I will say that Dark Souls is less about leveling up and more about the equipment you have. As such the deprived is a pretty difficult class to use at the beginning, since you don't start with any armor, weapons, or shield, so the fact that it'll be a bit easier to tailor the class to you level wise might not be worth it when you can't block attacks and haven't been playing long enough to know enemy attack patterns yet.

Any class can have any stat spread you want eventually if you're willing to level up enough, so the starting stats aren't all that important, except at the very beginning of the game. Also, at 6 in every stat you'll also still have some wasted points in spell casting stats if you want a pure melee build and for a pure melee build 6 in strength is really low.

Basically the deprived is fine if you don't really have much of an idea about what kind of character you want to build, and need to experiment, but if you kind of have an idea of your play style it's not a good build for min/maxing because you're always left with a bunch of points in stats you aren't using.
 

Kopikatsu

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Dirty Hipsters said:
I don't have Dark Souls 2 yet, but I will say that Dark Souls is less about leveling up and more about the equipment you have. As such the deprived is a pretty difficult class to use at the beginning, since you don't start with any armor and have a crappy shield and a crappy club. The shield is definitely going to make the game really difficult for you since you'll still be taking quite a bit of damage every time you block an attack with it, so the fact that it'll be a bit easier to tailor the class to you level wise might not be worth it.

Any class can have any stat spread you want eventually if you're willing to level up enough, so the starting stats aren't all that important, except at the very beginning of the game. Also, at 6 in every stat you'll also still have some wasted points in spell casting stats if you want a pure melee build and for a pure melee build 6 in strength is really low.

Basically the deprived is fine if you don't really have much of an idea about what kind of character you want to build, and need to experiment, but if you kind of have an idea of your play style it's not a good build for min/maxing because you're always left with a bunch of points in stats you aren't using.
The only class that starts with a shield is the Warrior. Even Knights don't get one anymore.

Sidenote: When you use a Soul Vessel, do you start from your classes base stats or Depraved stats?
 

Dirty Hipsters

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Kopikatsu said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
I don't have Dark Souls 2 yet, but I will say that Dark Souls is less about leveling up and more about the equipment you have. As such the deprived is a pretty difficult class to use at the beginning, since you don't start with any armor and have a crappy shield and a crappy club. The shield is definitely going to make the game really difficult for you since you'll still be taking quite a bit of damage every time you block an attack with it, so the fact that it'll be a bit easier to tailor the class to you level wise might not be worth it.

Any class can have any stat spread you want eventually if you're willing to level up enough, so the starting stats aren't all that important, except at the very beginning of the game. Also, at 6 in every stat you'll also still have some wasted points in spell casting stats if you want a pure melee build and for a pure melee build 6 in strength is really low.

Basically the deprived is fine if you don't really have much of an idea about what kind of character you want to build, and need to experiment, but if you kind of have an idea of your play style it's not a good build for min/maxing because you're always left with a bunch of points in stats you aren't using.
The only class that starts with a shield is the Warrior. Even Knights don't get one anymore.

Sidenote: When you use a Soul Vessel, do you start from your classes base stats or Depraved stats?
Oh wow, that...that's actually kind of scary. Well, looks like I'll be using a warrior, because I never put down my shield in dark souls 1. Hell, I don't think I ever even 2 hand my weapons.
 

Kopikatsu

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Dirty Hipsters said:
Oh wow, that...that's actually kind of scary. Well, looks like I'll be using a warrior, because I never put down my shield in dark souls 1. Hell, I don't think I ever even 2 hand my weapons.
I haven't played DS1 in a while so I might be wrong, but shields seem to be greatly nerfed. The only ones with decent resists are Greatshields, which can weight more than entire armor sets. (My current one weighs 20. Just the shield alone takes up 1/3~ of my total weight capacity)
 

Benpasko

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Kopikatsu said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
Oh wow, that...that's actually kind of scary. Well, looks like I'll be using a warrior, because I never put down my shield in dark souls 1. Hell, I don't think I ever even 2 hand my weapons.
I haven't played DS1 in a while so I might be wrong, but shields seem to be greatly nerfed. The only ones with decent resists are Greatshields, which can weight more than entire armor sets. (My current one weighs 20. Just the shield alone takes up 1/3~ of my total weight capacity)
Also, upgrading shields in 2 increases resists. They're not too nerfed, it's just much harder to get a light 100% physical shield.
 

Bombiz

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Corven said:
weirdo8977 said:
I haven't got Dark Souls 2 yet on account of waiting for the PC version but i know for a fact the Depraved class in the first game was the hardest starting class since all you get is a club and wood shield. idk what's it like in the 2nd one but my guess it's probably something similar. i would only pick it if you're very familiar with DS1.

Damn PC version can't come fast enough.gotta satiate my appetite with some Path of Exile.
In ds2 depraved starts with nothing at all.

OT: I'd pick one of the defining classes first, since you'd have to fight for quite a while to be able to purchase basic gear and weapons, and then you'd have to level up before you could use them effectively.
well thats new.

OP: ya.. go with one of the predetermined classes. unless you don't mind boxing your way through some of the game.
 

NeutralDrow

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Just confirming...it's actually "Deprived," right?

Something with a Depraved starting class would seem to imply an entirely different genre.
 

krazykidd

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You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
 

Kopikatsu

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krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
 

krazykidd

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Kopikatsu said:
krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
I really don't think there are any bad choices. Except bandit. Most useless class ( imo) my first character in DS was bandit, and i kicked myself in the ass so hard afterwards. As for items, well, i kill any npc i find... For items. And holy shit do you get some decent ones. I have no idea how this will affect the game, but the items i get are definately worth it for my first playthrough at least . The only people i let live ( so far) are the blacksmith , the merchant and the level up lady ( though i want to kill her SOOOOOO bad just to see if it put's me in an unwinable state ). I have been avoiding all news about DS2, because i really want to learn all i can on my own , which is half the fun.

It took me way too long to learn how to jump.
 

Kopikatsu

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krazykidd said:
Kopikatsu said:
krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
I really don't think there are any bad choices. Except bandit. Most useless class ( imo) my first character in DS was bandit, and i kicked myself in the ass so hard afterwards. As for items, well, i kill any npc i find... For items. And holy shit do you get some decent ones. I have no idea how this will affect the game, but the items i get are definately worth it for my first playthrough at least . The only people i let live ( so far) are the blacksmith , the merchant and the level up lady ( though i want to kill her SOOOOOO bad just to see if it put's me in an unwinable state ). I have been avoiding all news about DS2, because i really want to learn all i can on my own , which is half the fun.

It took me way too long to learn how to jump.
If you kill the Emerald Maiden, you get an Aged Feather. It's basically a Homeward Bone that has infinite charges. I wouldn't recommend it though...

The only NPC you can't kill is the cat in Majula. You know, like Revengance.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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krazykidd said:
Kopikatsu said:
krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
I really don't think there are any bad choices. Except bandit. Most useless class ( imo) my first character in DS was bandit, and i kicked myself in the ass so hard afterwards. As for items, well, i kill any npc i find... For items. And holy shit do you get some decent ones. I have no idea how this will affect the game, but the items i get are definately worth it for my first playthrough at least . The only people i let live ( so far) are the blacksmith , the merchant and the level up lady ( though i want to kill her SOOOOOO bad just to see if it put's me in an unwinable state ). I have been avoiding all news about DS2, because i really want to learn all i can on my own , which is half the fun.

It took me way too long to learn how to jump.
Why is the bandit bad? It seems like the best choice for a straight up melee character if you're going for a dex build. The fact that he doesn't waste any points on intelligence is actually really appealing if you aren't planning on using magic (which I never do). He's got a decent stamina pool, decent faith stats so you can buff yourself with miracles, and starts with a bow so you can pull agro on enemies one at a time.
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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I read about 6 posts saying "Depraved" without anyone correcting the OP, so without having played it, did they change the "Deprived" class to "Depraved"? Because one is sort of bereft of equipment/resources where as the other is more perverted, and I don't know how that factors into the class system.

But generally no. If it's anything like the first Dark Souls, the stats are pretty evenly spread and therefore if you're going to be focussing on a particular build, which you really should, it's not great. On the other hand, if you want to use a weapon that requires a silly stat spread go ahead. However it is a slightly better prospect than in DkS, because there is no stat that is just absolutely useless (Resistance), so every point you have counts for something.
 

StriderShinryu

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Dirty Hipsters said:
krazykidd said:
Kopikatsu said:
krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
I really don't think there are any bad choices. Except bandit. Most useless class ( imo) my first character in DS was bandit, and i kicked myself in the ass so hard afterwards. As for items, well, i kill any npc i find... For items. And holy shit do you get some decent ones. I have no idea how this will affect the game, but the items i get are definately worth it for my first playthrough at least . The only people i let live ( so far) are the blacksmith , the merchant and the level up lady ( though i want to kill her SOOOOOO bad just to see if it put's me in an unwinable state ). I have been avoiding all news about DS2, because i really want to learn all i can on my own , which is half the fun.

It took me way too long to learn how to jump.
Why is the bandit bad? It seems like the best choice for a straight up melee character if you're going for a dex build. The fact that he doesn't waste any points on intelligence is actually really appealing if you aren't planning on using magic (which I never do). He's got a decent stamina pool, decent faith stats so you can buff yourself with miracles, and starts with a bow so you can pull agro on enemies one at a time.
Starting with a bow isn't that big of a deal as you find both a bow and a crossbow in the first area of the game after the tutorial (well, first assuming you take what seems to be the standard path). You also get a number of thrown weapons/items early on.

Anywho, I'm playing a bandit and, while not very far into the game yet, haven't noticed any real issues. If it is the worst starting class for some reason, it sure isn't apparent from the beginning. The only knock I can see is they don't start with a shield but since only one class does now it's not a real issue. Also, you can find or buy decent shields early on that the bandit can use without spending any/many points to be able to use because of their starting stats.
 

Kopikatsu

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StriderShinryu said:
Dirty Hipsters said:
krazykidd said:
Kopikatsu said:
krazykidd said:
You can start with whatever you want. Depraved is actually really good, because you don't really need anything at the begining.

I personally chose the class with the most items ( i forgetthe name) because, items fuck yeah!!!
Explorer. Not a bad choice. You get a magic resist ring, which I still have yet to find. Also, if you talk to someone with that headpiece on, they give you a ring that gives you an increased chance to find items. Forget who it was though.
I really don't think there are any bad choices. Except bandit. Most useless class ( imo) my first character in DS was bandit, and i kicked myself in the ass so hard afterwards. As for items, well, i kill any npc i find... For items. And holy shit do you get some decent ones. I have no idea how this will affect the game, but the items i get are definately worth it for my first playthrough at least . The only people i let live ( so far) are the blacksmith , the merchant and the level up lady ( though i want to kill her SOOOOOO bad just to see if it put's me in an unwinable state ). I have been avoiding all news about DS2, because i really want to learn all i can on my own , which is half the fun.

It took me way too long to learn how to jump.
Why is the bandit bad? It seems like the best choice for a straight up melee character if you're going for a dex build. The fact that he doesn't waste any points on intelligence is actually really appealing if you aren't planning on using magic (which I never do). He's got a decent stamina pool, decent faith stats so you can buff yourself with miracles, and starts with a bow so you can pull agro on enemies one at a time.
Starting with a bow isn't that big of a deal as you find both a bow and a crossbow in the first area of the game after the tutorial (well, first assuming you take what seems to be the standard path). You also get a number of thrown weapons/items early on.

Anywho, I'm playing a bandit and, while not very far into the game yet, haven't noticed any real issues. If it is the worst starting class for some reason, it sure isn't apparent from the beginning. The only knock I can see is they don't start with a shield but since only one class does now it's not a real issue. Also, you can find or buy decent shields early on that the bandit can use without spending any/many points to be able to use because of their starting stats.
The worst starting class is probably Explorer. It's not necessarily bad, just... trades poor equipment and subpar stats for a bunch of consumables that you'll probably burn through without too much difficulty. Tho' the Spell Quartz Ring is still somethin'.