Dark Souls 2: SotFS (or therefore, "Baa-baa Black Sheep" and other musings thread)

[Rangaman]

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

No. Unlike Dark Souls 1, you aren't immediately booted into NG+. Once you beat the final boss, you're given the option to start NG+ from the Far Fire in Majula. And it won't work for you anyway because you haven't actually fulfilled the requirements to get to the final boss proper (at least if I understand where you are in the game).

Just a tangent, I found out what Adaptability does. And I fucking hate it. I have enough stats to level up already, From.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

No. Unlike Dark Souls 1, you aren't immediately booted into NG+. Once you beat the final boss, you're given the option to start NG+ from the Far Fire in Majula. And it won't work for you anyway because you haven't actually fulfilled the requirements to get to the final boss proper (at least if I understand where you are in the game).

Just a tangent, I found out what Adaptability does. And I fucking hate it. I have enough stats to level up already, From.

I see. I honestly don't even know who the final boss is. The Emerald Herald was after the door down the steps from the bonfire in Drangleic Castle and started warning me about things, so I figured I'd wait. I did walk up to the fog gate to see if there was an extra bonfire but didn't see anything. I'm still missing one the forgotten chamber one.

About Adaptability, yeah it kinda sucks that it's tied to a basic and vital gameplay function, but it's not as bad as it seems. It also scales natural Poise with Endurance if they are leveled equally. From the wikidot -


Interaction with Adaptability

Raising the lower of these two stats will result in natural Poise increase. For example, if you have 10 Adaptability plus 10 Endurance, adding 1 point to Endurance will not increase your Natural Poise. On the other hand, if you have 11 points of Adaptability plus 10 points of Endurance, adding 1 more point to Endurance will increase your Poise.

At 1 Endurance plus Adaptability, you will have 0.3 Natural Poise. Natural Poise seems to have two soft caps- one at 30 END+ADP, and another at 50 END+ADP.

Endurance plus Adaptability Natural Poise Gained per Level
1 to 30 +0.3
31 to 50 +0.2
51 to 99 +0.1


At worst I think it makes the first 10% of the game tougher than prior Souls games, but leveling in general seems cheaper. I really haven't even had to grind at all in this game, which is pretty impressive. Plus the bonfire ascetics would make it incredibly efficient to do so if needed.

For example, it's late game but in the Memory of Jeigh with Covetous Silver Serpent Ring you can rack up around 20-30,000 souls without even doing anything in a couple minutes, because most enemies either kill each other off or get killed by the fireballs, while you get all their souls. I haven't tried it yet but I think you could use a Homeward Bone/Aged Feather or Homeward miracle to repeat infinitely. Or stay to kill the boss and you have anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000+ souls depending on bonfire intensity. I noticed a couple "moneybags" messages there and thought "Yeah, I hear ya!".

 

[Comic Sans]

Well, my inventory shows 11 fragments and no smelter wedges. I know I didn't accidentally use anything somewhere because they aren't normal consumables. That means I either missed picking up an idol drop from dying or something (as was often possible due to their proximation to gank fests) or an unfortunate glitch. I'll probably look up an idol map to make sure I don't miss one.

Did you check the one side tower? It's the one where you almost immediately get invaded by Maldron the Assasin, who will go hide amongst the regenerating health enemies once you do enough damage to him. At near the bottom is an idol, which you might as well run for it and stake it, making the enemies far easier to deal with.

That's where it was. I forgot there were two "other" towers, and at first only went to the one you get the scepter from. Then I realized I never went back to the tower with the winding staircase, and saw the 12th fragment waiting for me.

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

I highly recommend going to Vendrick. You can go into Vendricks memory with the Ashen Mist Heart and get some lore for your quest on the crowns. If you finish his dialogue try exiting the memory and going back in and he does update his as you finish the DLC. There's a fifth giant soul as well, if you kill the Ancient Dragon. Hes hard but with fire resistant gear, especially the Mask of Pharos you got from being Smelter in Brume Tower. The soul isn't needed but it helps and the Dragon a tough fight if you want a challenge. Also try going back to where you fought Freja now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart.

As far as NG+ goes you can feel free to kill Vendrick and go to the throne of want. NG+ doesn't kick in automatically. After credits roll you spawn in Majula and start NG+ by choice at the fire. So feel free to complete content as you will.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Well, my inventory shows 11 fragments and no smelter wedges. I know I didn't accidentally use anything somewhere because they aren't normal consumables. That means I either missed picking up an idol drop from dying or something (as was often possible due to their proximation to gank fests) or an unfortunate glitch. I'll probably look up an idol map to make sure I don't miss one.

Did you check the one side tower? It's the one where you almost immediately get invaded by Maldron the Assasin, who will go hide amongst the regenerating health enemies once you do enough damage to him. At near the bottom is an idol, which you might as well run for it and stake it, making the enemies far easier to deal with.

That's where it was. I forgot there were two "other" towers, and at first only went to the one you get the scepter from. Then I realized I never went back to the tower with the winding staircase, and saw the 12th fragment waiting for me.

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

I highly recommend going to Vendrick. You can go into Vendricks memory with the Ashen Mist Heart and get some lore for your quest on the crowns. If you finish his dialogue try exiting the memory and going back in and he does update his as you finish the DLC. There's a fifth giant soul as well, if you kill the Ancient Dragon. Hes hard but with fire resistant gear, especially the Mask of Pharos you got from being Smelter in Brume Tower. The soul isn't needed but it helps and the Dragon a tough fight if you want a challenge. Also try going back to where you fought Freja now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart.

As far as NG+ goes you can feel free to kill Vendrick and go to the throne of want. NG+ doesn't kick in automatically. After credits roll you spawn in Majula and start NG+ by choice at the fire. So feel free to complete content as you will.

So do you fight Vendrick in memory or just talk to him? I remember seeing him dragging a sword in circles in a round arena somewhere earlier. It sounds like I should wait until finishing all DLC before fighting him to get all his dialog. Does he say something new after every DLC or just before and after in general?

I got most of the Giant Souls by leveling the bonfire by Memory of Jeigh and repeating since it also yields huge amounts of souls. I will check out Freja area though along with Vendrick. Might also go and get one more Giant soul for good measure.

 

[Kerg3927]

Well, my inventory shows 11 fragments and no smelter wedges. I know I didn't accidentally use anything somewhere because they aren't normal consumables. That means I either missed picking up an idol drop from dying or something (as was often possible due to their proximation to gank fests) or an unfortunate glitch. I'll probably look up an idol map to make sure I don't miss one.

Did you check the one side tower? It's the one where you almost immediately get invaded by Maldron the Assasin, who will go hide amongst the regenerating health enemies once you do enough damage to him. At near the bottom is an idol, which you might as well run for it and stake it, making the enemies far easier to deal with.

That's where it was. I forgot there were two "other" towers, and at first only went to the one you get the scepter from. Then I realized I never went back to the tower with the winding staircase, and saw the 12th fragment waiting for me.

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

I highly recommend going to Vendrick. You can go into Vendricks memory with the Ashen Mist Heart and get some lore for your quest on the crowns. If you finish his dialogue try exiting the memory and going back in and he does update his as you finish the DLC. There's a fifth giant soul as well, if you kill the Ancient Dragon. Hes hard but with fire resistant gear, especially the Mask of Pharos you got from being Smelter in Brume Tower. The soul isn't needed but it helps and the Dragon a tough fight if you want a challenge. Also try going back to where you fought Freja now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart.

As far as NG+ goes you can feel free to kill Vendrick and go to the throne of want. NG+ doesn't kick in automatically. After credits roll you spawn in Majula and start NG+ by choice at the fire. So feel free to complete content as you will.

So do you fight Vendrick in memory or just talk to him? I remember seeing him dragging a sword in circles in a round arena somewhere earlier. It sounds like I should wait until finishing all DLC before fighting him to get all his dialog. Does he say something new after every DLC or just before and after in general?

I got most of the Giant Souls by leveling the bonfire by Memory of Jeigh and repeating since it also yields huge amounts of souls. I will check out Freja area though along with Vendrick. Might also go and get one more Giant soul for good measure.

He says new stuff after each crown you get. I always talked to him before starting the DLC and then after each crown. You can probably still hear it all whenever you talk to him, though.

Yeah, NG+ is not automatic, but I always saved the Throne of Want for last anyway. Just seems weird to come back after the credits roll and keep doing stuff.

 

[Comic Sans]

Well, my inventory shows 11 fragments and no smelter wedges. I know I didn't accidentally use anything somewhere because they aren't normal consumables. That means I either missed picking up an idol drop from dying or something (as was often possible due to their proximation to gank fests) or an unfortunate glitch. I'll probably look up an idol map to make sure I don't miss one.

Did you check the one side tower? It's the one where you almost immediately get invaded by Maldron the Assasin, who will go hide amongst the regenerating health enemies once you do enough damage to him. At near the bottom is an idol, which you might as well run for it and stake it, making the enemies far easier to deal with.

That's where it was. I forgot there were two "other" towers, and at first only went to the one you get the scepter from. Then I realized I never went back to the tower with the winding staircase, and saw the 12th fragment waiting for me.

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

I highly recommend going to Vendrick. You can go into Vendricks memory with the Ashen Mist Heart and get some lore for your quest on the crowns. If you finish his dialogue try exiting the memory and going back in and he does update his as you finish the DLC. There's a fifth giant soul as well, if you kill the Ancient Dragon. Hes hard but with fire resistant gear, especially the Mask of Pharos you got from being Smelter in Brume Tower. The soul isn't needed but it helps and the Dragon a tough fight if you want a challenge. Also try going back to where you fought Freja now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart.

As far as NG+ goes you can feel free to kill Vendrick and go to the throne of want. NG+ doesn't kick in automatically. After credits roll you spawn in Majula and start NG+ by choice at the fire. So feel free to complete content as you will.

So do you fight Vendrick in memory or just talk to him? I remember seeing him dragging a sword in circles in a round arena somewhere earlier. It sounds like I should wait until finishing all DLC before fighting him to get all his dialog. Does he say something new after every DLC or just before and after in general?

I got most of the Giant Souls by leveling the bonfire by Memory of Jeigh and repeating since it also yields huge amounts of souls. I will check out Freja area though along with Vendrick. Might also go and get one more Giant soul for good measure.

He says new stuff after each crown you get. I always talked to him before starting the DLC and then after each crown. You can probably still hear it all whenever you talk to him, though.

Yeah, NG+ is not automatic, but I always saved the Throne of Want for last anyway. Just seems weird to come back after the credits roll and keep doing stuff.

You fight the Vendrick that you see walking around, the one you talk to is in a memory. When you go back to Vendrick's tomb you will see the Mist Heart glitter around his clothes, that's where you speak to Vendrick. Killing him in his hollow form doesn't affect that.

As another note, once you kill Vendrick go back to the bonfire in the middle of Shrine of Amana, in the ruins. If you watch the left side by the water there's a path that leads to a Dragonrider guarding a door. If you killed Vendrick and are human the door will open giving you a few goodies.

 

[Dalisclock]

You won't actually trigger the Final boss fight until you have the Giants Kinship, and to get that, you need to beat the giant lord in one of the memories. If you've done that, then you'll fight the mandatory final boss.

However, there's another boss in the same room, who you fight first, regardless of if you have the Kinship or not. The difference is that if you do have the kinship, you'll fight one boss and then the final boss will literally walk through the fog gate as soon as you finish the battle to challenge you.

And if you've fulfilled certain requirements(Kill Vendrick), there's another boss who you'll fight after the final one, who will challenge you the moment you take out the mandatory one.

So if you do things in a certain order, you'll end up fighting 3 bosses in a row at the throne of want. Otherwise, if you don't have the kinship, you can take care of the first battle and then come back later when you're ready to finish the story(the fog gate will reappear when the final boss is available to fight).

 

[Dalisclock]

Well, my inventory shows 11 fragments and no smelter wedges. I know I didn't accidentally use anything somewhere because they aren't normal consumables. That means I either missed picking up an idol drop from dying or something (as was often possible due to their proximation to gank fests) or an unfortunate glitch. I'll probably look up an idol map to make sure I don't miss one.

Did you check the one side tower? It's the one where you almost immediately get invaded by Maldron the Assasin, who will go hide amongst the regenerating health enemies once you do enough damage to him. At near the bottom is an idol, which you might as well run for it and stake it, making the enemies far easier to deal with.

That's where it was. I forgot there were two "other" towers, and at first only went to the one you get the scepter from. Then I realized I never went back to the tower with the winding staircase, and saw the 12th fragment waiting for me.

I also now have 4 Giant Souls that I figure I need to bring to Vendrick. I want to finish the DLC's first though, and then go to Vendrick, then the Dark Chasm. I just opened the door to the Throne of Want area, but I'm not going back there yet as it sounds that would lead to NG+

I highly recommend going to Vendrick. You can go into Vendricks memory with the Ashen Mist Heart and get some lore for your quest on the crowns. If you finish his dialogue try exiting the memory and going back in and he does update his as you finish the DLC. There's a fifth giant soul as well, if you kill the Ancient Dragon. Hes hard but with fire resistant gear, especially the Mask of Pharos you got from being Smelter in Brume Tower. The soul isn't needed but it helps and the Dragon a tough fight if you want a challenge. Also try going back to where you fought Freja now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart.

As far as NG+ goes you can feel free to kill Vendrick and go to the throne of want. NG+ doesn't kick in automatically. After credits roll you spawn in Majula and start NG+ by choice at the fire. So feel free to complete content as you will.

So do you fight Vendrick in memory or just talk to him? I remember seeing him dragging a sword in circles in a round arena somewhere earlier. It sounds like I should wait until finishing all DLC before fighting him to get all his dialog. Does he say something new after every DLC or just before and after in general?

I got most of the Giant Souls by leveling the bonfire by Memory of Jeigh and repeating since it also yields huge amounts of souls. I will check out Freja area though along with Vendrick. Might also go and get one more Giant soul for good measure.

He says new stuff after each crown you get. I always talked to him before starting the DLC and then after each crown. You can probably still hear it all whenever you talk to him, though.

Yeah, NG+ is not automatic, but I always saved the Throne of Want for last anyway. Just seems weird to come back after the credits roll and keep doing stuff.

It doesn't really make sense if you pick one of the ending options(AKA Taking the throne), considering taking the throne is all but said to be the same as linking of the fire. If you chose to walk away, then yeah, being able to wander around Dranlegic until NG+ actually makes sense.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

You won't actually trigger the Final boss fight until you have the Giants Kinship, and to get that, you need to beat the giant lord in one of the memories. If you've done that, then you'll fight the mandatory final boss.

However, there's another boss in the same room, who you fight first, regardless of if you have the Kinship or not. The difference is that if you do have the kinship, you'll fight one boss and then the final boss will literally walk through the fog gate as soon as you finish the battle to challenge you.

And if you've fulfilled certain requirements(Kill Vendrick), there's another boss who you'll fight after the final one, who will challenge you the moment you take out the mandatory one.

So if you do things in a certain order, you'll end up fighting 3 bosses in a row at the throne of want. Otherwise, if you don't have the kinship, you can take care of the first battle and then come back later when you're ready to finish the story(the fog gate will reappear when the final boss is available to fight).

So if I kill one or two of the bosses and die on the third, do the first two stay dead? I've tried Vendrik at least half a dozen times but even with five Giant Souls this is probably the biggest attrition battle I've ever seen in a Souls game. Normal damage output with my strongest weapon (Fume UGS) at this point is almost 571 one-handing but still only does like 125 on him. The most I've seen two-handing is 150 counter swing even with the Ring of Blades. It doesn't help that he pretty much one-shots me if I screw up positioning at all.

*edit* (sigh) My bad...I only had Giant Lord souls with me, not Souls of a Giant. I had three of those in my item box so I took them out and went back. Also thought maybe I could make him bleed so I took my Bleed Greatsword of the Forlorn seeing as how I'm fully hollow trying to save up effigies for the Chasm. Now, keep in mind my Bleed damage with this weapon is 326, or 58 points higher than my physical but I still was able to do an occasional 200 opening swing.

Never got him to bleed but did end up finally taking him down first try using this weapon. Go figure. I also switched from a Gyrm Greatshield to a Tower Shield for the hell of it.

Now I'm off to find the hidden bonfire in the castle.

 

[Dalisclock]

So if I kill one or two of the bosses and die on the third, do the first two stay dead? I've tried Vendrik at least half a dozen times but even with five Giant Souls this is probably the biggest attrition battle I've ever seen in a Souls game. Normal damage output with my strongest weapon (Fume UGS) at this point is almost 571 one-handing but still only does like 125 on him. The most I've seen two-handing is 150 counter swing even with the Ring of Blades. It doesn't help that he pretty much one-shots me if I screw up positioning at all.

*edit* (sigh) My bad...I only had Giant Lord souls with me, not Souls of a Giant. I had three of those in my item box so I took them out and went back. Also thought maybe I could make him bleed so I took my Bleed Greatsword of the Forlorn seeing as how I'm fully hollow trying to save up effigies for the Chasm. Now, keep in mind my Bleed damage with this weapon is 326, or 58 points higher than my physical but I still was able to do an occasional 200 opening swing.

Never got him to bleed but did end up finally taking him down first try using this weapon. Go figure. I also switched from a Gyrm Greatshield to a Tower Shield for the hell of it.

Now I'm off to find the hidden bonfire in the castle.

I'm pretty sure once a boss dies it stays dead, unless you happen to die right as you get the "Victory Achieved" sign(happened to me more then once, which is so enraging).

You can find 2 of the other giants souls in the giant memories and 1 is in a hidden area in Black Gulch(look for a place to drop down from the path). But you got him(isn't he a pain?) so good job. I had to use some really heavy hitting weapon and hug his ass for a long time to whittle him down. It's one of those, not hard but rather tedious bosses.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Dalisclock is correct. Take down a boss, and it stays dead. So if you get all the way to the third boss at the end of the game and he kills you (and he very will might, considering some of his attacks blind side a lot of people the first time), you won't have to kill the other bosses again.

I'm assuming the hidden bonfire you mean is NOT the one that requires you to fall through the floor, as you already know where the Dark Chasm is. If that is the case, the one you're looking for is really...pointless. Like, not as bad as some of the positioning in Dark Souls III (boss bonfire, take ten steps, another bonfire), but it really serves no purpose. It is behind a hidden wall close to the Queen's room where you could first talk with her. You have to go down a ladder first and then just start pressing the button as you walk along the wall. It's near the place where you picked up the Black Hunter Bow in the castle.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I'm pretty sure once a boss dies it stays dead, unless you happen to die right as you get the "Victory Achieved" sign(happened to me more then once, which is so enraging).

You can find 2 of the other giants souls in the giant memories and 1 is in a hidden area in Black Gulch(look for a place to drop down from the path). But you got him(isn't he a pain?) so good job. I had to use some really heavy hitting weapon and hug his ass for a long time to whittle him down. It's one of those, not hard but rather tedious bosses.

He was more of a pain for me with my heaviest hitting weapon, I think because I couldn't find a good rhythm with it. I didn't expect to switch to the Greatsword of the Forlorn and end him like I almost knew what I was doing. I'll have to upload that fight as it went rather well for me in spite of all my previous struggles with him. It's a shame the Forlorn sword is only really decent when fully hollow because I really like it. I've also been using the Red Iron Twinblade otherwise which, upon some experimenting packs quite a wallop if dual-wielding a UGS to finish with. I'm more partial to shields though.

Dalisclock is correct. Take down a boss, and it stays dead. So if you get all the way to the third boss at the end of the game and he kills you (and he very will might, considering some of his attacks blind side a lot of people the first time), you won't have to kill the other bosses again.

I'm assuming the hidden bonfire you mean is NOT the one that requires you to fall through the floor, as you already know where the Dark Chasm is. If that is the case, the one you're looking for is really...pointless. Like, not as bad as some of the positioning in Dark Souls III (boss bonfire, take ten steps, another bonfire), but it really serves no purpose. It is behind a hidden wall close to the Queen's room where you could first talk with her. You have to go down a ladder first and then just start pressing the button as you walk along the wall. It's near the place where you picked up the Black Hunter Bow in the castle.

Yeah that's the one. Does the queen return at all or is there no point in going back there now? I've returned to Sanctum City to finish the Sunken DLC. Will save Ivory King for last.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

No point in returning. The queen never comes back to that spot after you beat the game because of obvious reasons. Good luck with Sanctum City. That final boss fight is a real challenge, especially if you don't have any ranged weapons/skills.

Ivory King has probably the biggest, in-your-face Dark Souls reference out of the entire game, and it's one of my favorite areas. Be sure you go exploring everywhere AFTER you thaw the ice in order to get the full extent of the area.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

No point in returning. The queen never comes back to that spot after you beat the game because of obvious reasons. Good luck with Sanctum City. That final boss fight is a real challenge, especially if you don't have any ranged weapons/skills.

Ivory King has probably the biggest, in-your-face Dark Souls reference out of the entire game, and it's one of my favorite areas. Be sure you go exploring everywhere AFTER you thaw the ice in order to get the full extent of the area.

Can he be poisoned? I'm stocked up on various arrows.

 

[Dalisclock]

No point in returning. The queen never comes back to that spot after you beat the game because of obvious reasons. Good luck with Sanctum City. That final boss fight is a real challenge, especially if you don't have any ranged weapons/skills.

Can he be poisoned? I'm stocked up on various arrows.

Let me put it this way: No. You'll see why soon enough.

 

[gsilver]

Re: Pyromancy
It looks like putting a lot of points into the Dark Pyromancy Glove isn't *too* big of deal, since with the use of only one bonfire asetic, I managed to get the regular glove up to +9 with the other fire seeds that I found. It's better to just ignore the dark glove, but there ended up being enough fire seeds to get both of them enchanted pretty far.
Though I ended up just using the pyromancy glove for utility spells, since my hexes are better for dealing damage in nearly every case.


Overall though: I think that the game is just too dang long. I still need to do the 1st DLC, the second half of the 2nd (I'm just before Fume Knight), and another giant soul, and I've already gone over 80 hours.
Seriously, by the end of it, it may go on as long as Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne combined, and it isn't as good as either.

In a lot of places, the enemies on the way to a boss just destroy me over and over, until eventually they stop spawning and I can get to the next set. Then, when I finally get to the boss of an area, it's an anti-climax and I beat it on my first or second try. This makes it both very long to get through an area, and also not very satisfying, when the boss ends up being easy. Though I did use summons in the Ivory King boss battles (they seriously didn't seem balanced for tackling them solo). The first boss in Ivory King was just an insane damage sponge and required an ungodly number of hits.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

@ Dalisclock
Damn. Well if projectiles are key then I'd take it some type of arrow should work. For kicks I also just tried respec'ing for lvl 50/50 Int/Fth but had no idea what would work well. I tried some higher level magic/hex spells and was only doing half the damage I'm normally doing with above average melee weapons. Probably need to upgrade a chime/staff. I switched back to my normal Str/Dex build.

I've read viability for casters is all over the place, which seems pretty typical of each game in the series. I'm definitely intrigued by it but the fickleness is a turnoff especially with limited casting. Melee focus with projectile/pyro assist has been reliable and I like the more tactile feedback of that play style, but I'd still really like to see what a top shelf caster build can do.


@ gsilver
I made a point to have a +10 pyro glove, but I've still rarely used pyromanices in this game. Probably not even half as much as in DS1. I think the slots turn me off. It's like I don't want to put a bunch of souls into making more, and then what spells do I really want to take when I only have two slots. I've mostly used Fireball or Flash Sweat but there really hasn't been much need for them outside of a couple areas.

 

[gsilver]

Warmth is also a pretty amazing pyromancy. Huge extremely long-lasting heal, if you can more or less stand your ground at a given point in an arena.
It definitely helped for the last boss in Ivory King.

 

[Avnger]

@ Dalisclock
Damn. Well if projectiles are key then I'd take it some type of arrow should work. For kicks I also just tried respec'ing for lvl 50/50 Int/Fth but had no idea what would work well. I tried some higher level magic/hex spells and was only doing half the damage I'm normally doing with above average melee weapons. Probably need to upgrade a chime/staff. I switched back to my normal Str/Dex build.

I've read viability for casters is all over the place, which seems pretty typical of each game in the series. I'm definitely intrigued by it but the fickleness is a turnoff especially with limited casting. Melee focus with projectile/pyro assist has been reliable and I like the more tactile feedback of that play style, but I'd still really like to see what a top shelf caster build can do.


@ gsilver
I made a point to have a +10 pyro glove, but I've still rarely used pyromanices in this game. Probably not even half as much as in DS1. I think the slots turn me off. It's like I don't want to put a bunch of souls into making more, and then what spells do I really want to take when I only have two slots. I've mostly used Fireball or Flash Sweat but there really hasn't been much need for them outside of a couple areas.

Ranged weapons aren't really necessary. I don't think I've used anything but melee when I've fought him. There's two issues with fighting the boss though.

1. He has resistances out the ass for nearly every damage type
2. Hits on him use up an ungodly amount of Durability on your weapons. If you're not planning on using a broken Santier's Spear (+10 raw-infused is badass despite the lack of scaling), bring at least 3 different melee weapons with you =/

 

[Kerg3927]

@ Dalisclock
Damn. Well if projectiles are key then I'd take it some type of arrow should work. For kicks I also just tried respec'ing for lvl 50/50 Int/Fth but had no idea what would work well. I tried some higher level magic/hex spells and was only doing half the damage I'm normally doing with above average melee weapons. Probably need to upgrade a chime/staff. I switched back to my normal Str/Dex build.

I've read viability for casters is all over the place, which seems pretty typical of each game in the series. I'm definitely intrigued by it but the fickleness is a turnoff especially with limited casting. Melee focus with projectile/pyro assist has been reliable and I like the more tactile feedback of that play style, but I'd still really like to see what a top shelf caster build can do.


@ gsilver
I made a point to have a +10 pyro glove, but I've still rarely used pyromanices in this game. Probably not even half as much as in DS1. I think the slots turn me off. It's like I don't want to put a bunch of souls into making more, and then what spells do I really want to take when I only have two slots. I've mostly used Fireball or Flash Sweat but there really hasn't been much need for them outside of a couple areas.

Ranged weapons aren't really necessary. I don't think I've used anything but melee when I've fought him. There's two issues with fighting the boss though.

1. He has resistances out the ass for nearly every damage type
2. Hits on him use up an ungodly amount of Durability on your weapons. If you're not planning on using a broken Santier's Spear (+10 raw-infused is badass despite the lack of scaling), bring at least 3 different melee weapons with you =/

Or make sure you have some repair powder on hand and ready to use a few times mid-battle. You can buy it from the ghost NPC just inside the entrance of Drangleic Castle if you're out.