Dark Souls - I'm Prepared To Die (Again)

[Fox12]

P.S. You might know this already, but there's a titanite slab in Kalameet's arena. Check over by the waterfall.

Yep, it's the first thing on my "To DO" list once I cross that fog wall!

Yeah, please note you don't have to kill him to get it, it just makes it a lot safer.

Oh, I don't anticipate surviving long after (IF) I reach the waterfall and grab the slab; I'm realistic!

I gave him two shots, and then decided to finish the rest of the DLC. Then I was too lazy to go back and finish him. It doesn't help that I felt kind of bad for the poor dude.

Ok, *whew*, I was starting to think I was in over my head. I feel like the Artorias fight really taught a thing or two and was hoping to apply those lessons sooner rather than later to help engrain them, but if you all think Kalameet is going to shit on everything I learned, I might save him for last...

In that case I'd just take Manus first. His fight requires a lot of the same skills required to defeat Artorias. You'll probably find it a lot more fun now.

Then you can come back to Kalameet. If memory serves, his fight was a little unusual compared to some of the other fights in the game. You can always return to the DLC, after all.

It's definitely an interesting fight. I did the same thing, saving him for last. Tough to say if he was outright more difficult than Arty...definitely had more devastating moves but for me it was easier to get into an offensive position. Once you're at his sides near the hind legs the main thing to watch for is the aerial fire breath. His stomp and dash are blockable with a good shield, and if you lose the positional advantage and he tries the sonic grab thing, it's usually possible to roll past it and get some good two handed shots in while he's vulnerable.

Dark Soul's is weird that way. I thought Arty was simple, whereas that Chimera was the bain of my existance. I just couldn't find an opening.

By chimera you mean Kalameet? I only ask because chimera is typically the hybrid goat/lion/serpent creature from Greek myth. Anyways, yeah it's funny because I probably died twice as much to him as Arty, but mostly because of his heavy fire attacks. Once I found the right gear combo and exploited his weak spot it was just a matter of watching out for his levitating fire attacks doing the worst damage.

Arty was almost all blockable, but he really made me work for any hits I got in. Really though, if I had to rank the DLC bosses from biggest "You gotta be kidding" to least, it'd be like -


Sanctuary Guardian: Aggressive as hell, toughest to approach and find an opening. Lightninglightninglightningpounceswipelightningswipepounce is how it usually went.

Artorias: Again, aggressive, but more manageable because he wasn't spewing lightning damage with huge chip values or bouncing around with spastic claw swipes.

Kalameet: Once I was able to withstand the biggest fire attack and still heal, he was pretty exploitable. For gear I think I used all the Gold Hemmed stuff except for the lower body, Cloranthy ring, Steel ring, and doused with Sweat Flash.

Manus: Very surprised to find I didn't struggle at all with this one, as heart-pounding as it was. Only one of his attacks gave me problems, and he left nice openings on most of the blockables.

I'm sure most-everyone else's list will look quite a bit different, but like you said that's the weird part about Souls. So many different angles and approaches.

Nah, I'm reffering to that sanctuary guardian you fight when you start the DLC. You fight it in a pond, and it shoots lightning. You can argue it doesn't have a snake tale, but the influence is clear. He was a pain in the dick to fight.

But yeah, one mans easy boss fight is anothers nightmare.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Finally someone else besides me thinks that bastard is a PITA. All it's been so far is Arty this, Manus that, and Kalameet "you cannot yet defeat!"

Wasn't there a "toughest Souls boss thread a while back? I don't recall how often all these guys showed up in it. We should do an ultimate poll of ever last one in the series.

 

[Xprimentyl]

UPDATE! (well, ?a lack thereof? actually?)

I?ve not been able to play much since last week, only 15-20 minutes at a time, so in lieu of trying to progress towards any bosses (I hate quitting unless I?m at a bonfire,) I?ve been using my sparse sessions to knock out some of the max weapon achievements. I?ve got Normal, Fire, Magic, Raw and I?m working on Divine right now, but I?m running into a problem. I?ve got a +5 Divine Gargoyle Halberd and plenty of White Titty Chunks, but Andre isn?t give me the option to upgrade it to +6! Yes, I?ve checked both the Modify and Reinforce menus, and my +5 DGH is only listed in the Undo tab to go back to a Normal +5 GH. I?ve googled and I?m not seeing any instance of this being a glitch; am I missing something?

 

[iwinatlife]

UPDATE! (well, ?a lack thereof? actually?)

I?ve not been able to play much since last week, only 15-20 minutes at a time, so in lieu of trying to progress towards any bosses (I hate quitting unless I?m at a bonfire,) I?ve been using my sparse sessions to knock out some of the max weapon achievements. I?ve got Normal, Fire, Magic, Raw and I?m working on Divine right now, but I?m running into a problem. I?ve got a +5 Divine Gargoyle Halberd and plenty of White Titty Chunks, but Andre isn?t give me the option to upgrade it to +6! Yes, I?ve checked both the Modify and Reinforce menus, and my +5 DGH is only listed in the Undo tab to go back to a Normal +5 GH. I?ve googled and I?m not seeing any instance of this being a glitch; am I missing something?

Need A Large Divine Ember Tomb of Giants hardest treasure to obtain. have Fun

 

[Xprimentyl]

UPDATE! (well, ?a lack thereof? actually?)

I?ve not been able to play much since last week, only 15-20 minutes at a time, so in lieu of trying to progress towards any bosses (I hate quitting unless I?m at a bonfire,) I?ve been using my sparse sessions to knock out some of the max weapon achievements. I?ve got Normal, Fire, Magic, Raw and I?m working on Divine right now, but I?m running into a problem. I?ve got a +5 Divine Gargoyle Halberd and plenty of White Titty Chunks, but Andre isn?t give me the option to upgrade it to +6! Yes, I?ve checked both the Modify and Reinforce menus, and my +5 DGH is only listed in the Undo tab to go back to a Normal +5 GH. I?ve googled and I?m not seeing any instance of this being a glitch; am I missing something?

Need A Large Divine Ember Tomb of Giants hardest treasure to obtain. have Fun

*Facepalm*

Damn it, I'm an idiotard. Thanks, brb...

 

[Glongpre]

Need A Large Divine Ember Tomb of Giants hardest treasure to obtain. have Fun

Is it possible to kill all the giant skeletons in there as a melee character? I remember the first time I went there, and was about ready to jump down and kill these 2 giant skeletons thinking it wouldn't be too hard. But then another skeley ran up...then another...then another...holy shit how many skeleys are in here?!?! So I ran around the outside and there is like 8 giant skeletons running around, and I am like holy shit there is no way I can kill them all as a melee guy.

So I just grabbed the ember and let them kill me, haha. Fuck that noise.

 

[iwinatlife]

Is it possible to kill all the giant skeletons in there as a melee character? I remember the first time I went there, and was about ready to jump down and kill these 2 giant skeletons thinking it wouldn't be too hard. But then another skeley ran up...then another...then another...holy shit how many skeleys are in here?!?! So I ran around the outside and there is like 8 giant skeletons running around, and I am like holy shit there is no way I can kill them all as a melee guy.

So I just grabbed the ember and let them kill me, haha. Fuck that noise.

Maybe In Full Havel with Iron Flesh and a +5 Greatsword of Artorias and Lots of stats

 

[Xprimentyl]

Best thing to do is equip Hidden Body if you already got it from the DLC, or Fog ring+Slumbering Dragoncrest ring and just sneak past them. I didn't have any of that my first time so I took half them out with arrows and pyro from above until I ran out, and was forced to melee the rest. Scary bit, especially when you also don't yet have a convenient light source.

Also, one of the best farming areas for weapons, especially ones needing green shards is the swamp in Blightown. Using the Great Hollow bonfire and Gold Serpent ring/Rusted Iron ring, heading out to where all the leeches are. Green Shard drops are uncommon but dropped in groups of 5, and among the 20 or so leeches you're almost guaranteed as many (5 not 20!) of those preciously needed Large Titanite shards as well. It also helps to have the Homeward miracle or Homeward Bones stock to speed things up.

 

[Xprimentyl]

*Dragging myself back into the thread by my battered and bloody finger tips*

Need A Large Divine Ember Tomb of Giants hardest treasure to obtain. have Fun

Is it possible to kill all the giant skeletons in there as a melee character? I remember the first time I went there, and was about ready to jump down and kill these 2 giant skeletons thinking it wouldn't be too hard. But then another skeley ran up...then another...then another...holy shit how many skeleys are in here?!?!

There were 738 Giant Skeletons to be precise. And they were pissed. And yes, I've confirmed that killing them as a melee character is impossible.

Maybe In Full Havel with Iron Flesh and a +5 Greatsword of Artorias and Lots of stats

I SAID IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Best thing to do is equip Hidden Body if you already got it from the DLC, or Fog ring+Slumbering Dragoncrest ring and just sneak past them. I didn't have any of that my first time so I took half them out with arrows and pyro from above until I ran out, and was forced to melee the rest. Scary bit, especially when you also don't yet have a convenient light source.

And now my lack of attunement slots is showing; I literally have none. My only option is ever the Darkmoon Seance Ring which adds ONE slot, but the best spells require multiple slots.

But fear not, I did manage to nab the Large Divine Ember and almost was able to Homeward Bone out, but since my stupid guy had to find the Homeward Bone in his pocket, unwrap it and read the instructions before using it, he was beaten to death mid "boning" animation.

But yes, second only to the Archers who can literally halt progress of the game with a 999 in their Dick-ery stat, that gank session was a grad A dick move, Dark Souls.

 

[Xprimentyl]

If it makes you feel any better, you're doing pretty well for largely ignoring attunement, just sayin.

 

[Xprimentyl]

If it makes you feel any better, you're doing pretty well for largely ignoring attunement, just sayin.

I always intended to focus on my Melee build and thought Attunement was only for Sorceries and Miracles, so I never thought it?d come in handy. Hindsight is a mofo? I really wish Attunement, Faith and Intelligence weren't three separate stats, especially since my Soul Levels are running around 60k apiece now.

 

[PacDwell]

Ugh, those six giant skeletons...

I had to wear the fog ring, and I smacked each and every one with a Zweihander (one shot for the win). Totally melee'd that tomb!

 

[vallorn]

Those 6 giants were a pain, I think it took me 4 tries to clear that room with my melee focussed build and that's mostly because I just abused the ninja flip ring to avoid their attacks. Those guys are JERKS.

 

[Seishisha]

I remember killing those giants for the large divine ember aswell, was playing a faith build at the time so i used binocs and lightning spear to clear some of them then jumped down and melee'd the remaining ones, wasnt too hard but i recall it still took me a couple of attempts.

I do remember seeing a video on how to get that ember once. The dude had 99 vit, full havels except for helmet which i think was mask of the father, then just jumped in and spammed wrath of the gods untill they were all dead, utlimate cheese strat but i guess it works.

 

[Xprimentyl]

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Haha sorry OP but I can confirm it's possible

Last time I picked up that ember was my dex build with an uchigatana and I cleared the room with very liberal dodge spam.

Looking forward to your next update and hearing whether you decided to tackle Kalameet or Manus.

 

[Xprimentyl]

 

[Xprimentyl]

Ugh, those six giant skeletons...

I had to wear the fog ring, and I smacked each and every one with a Zweihander (one shot for the win). Totally melee'd that tomb!

Those 6 giants were a pain, I think it took me 4 tries to clear that room with my melee focussed build and that's mostly because I just abused the ninja flip ring to avoid their attacks. Those guys are JERKS.

I remember killing those giants for the large divine ember aswell, was playing a faith build at the time so i used binocs and lightning spear to clear some of them then jumped down and melee'd the remaining ones, wasnt too hard but i recall it still took me a couple of attempts.

I do remember seeing a video on how to get that ember once. The dude had 99 vit, full havels except for helmet which i think was mask of the father, then just jumped in and spammed wrath of the gods untill they were all dead, utlimate cheese strat but i guess it works.

Haha sorry OP but I can confirm it's possible

Last time I picked up that ember was my dex build with an uchigatana and I cleared the room with very liberal dodge spam.

Looking forward to your next update and hearing whether you decided to tackle Kalameet or Manus.

As much as I respect and appreciate your assistance and input as I struggle in the cold streets of Lordran, I'd appreciate if you'd all keep the bold-faced LIES to a minimum. No one in the history of EVER has been able to clear that walk-in closet filled with coked-up Giant Skeletons using a melee build; science FACT. I Googled it, ZERO results.

Anyway, I still haven't been able to play much lately between some restructuring at work and taking my girlfriend's son to/from lacrosse and orchestra practices because apparently 9 miles one way is too far to ask a 12-year-old to walk in January, so still just been using my 15-20 minute windows to farm for max weapon materials (only Occult, Lightning, Chaos and Crystal left,) but I plan on jumping in again in earnest SOON, hopefully today. It's been so long, I'm not sure beating Artorias wasn't a fever dream...

I have been experimenting with different weapons, though. I'm still married to the +5 BK Halberd with my +15 Uchigatana on the side, but others have caught my eye of late. The Zweihander takes some getting used to, but it does hit HARD; I've got it at +10 Fire, and by the numbers, it's my strongest weapon. If it didn't take a year and a half to swing once, it'd probably be my main squeeze. Also, I?ve tried using lighter armor to get to a fast roll like you lot, but it feels like I?m running around naked. Is there any noticeable benefit to reinforcing armor? Obviously, by the sheer numbers there is, but I?ve not heard anyone mention or recommend it. Is this the part where you guys are in awe to find out I?m still using armor with base stats?

 

[Xprimentyl]

Finally someone else besides me thinks that bastard is a PITA. All it's been so far is Arty this, Manus that, and Kalameet "you cannot yet defeat!"

Wasn't there a "toughest Souls boss thread a while back? I don't recall how often all these guys showed up in it. We should do an ultimate poll of ever last one in the series.

Oh, yeah; THIS! I'm starting to think I lucked through the Sanctuary Guardian; took maybe 4-5 tries, but he wasn't nearly difficult enough to stomp on my controller. Those fucking Archers owe me a Venetian blind slat though (blamed my girlfriend's cat.)

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

As much as I respect and appreciate your assistance and input as I struggle in the cold streets of Lordran, I'd appreciate if you'd all keep the bold-faced LIES to a minimum. No one in the history of EVER has been able to clear that walk-in closet filled with coked-up Giant Skeletons using a melee build; science FACT. I Googled it, ZERO results.

This cracked me up

Anyway, I still haven't been able to play much lately between some restructuring at work and taking my girlfriend's son to/from lacrosse and orchestra practices because apparently 9 miles one way is too far to ask a 12-year-old to walk in January, so still just been using my 15-20 minute windows to farm for max weapon materials (only Occult, Lightning, Chaos and Crystal left,) but I plan on jumping in again in earnest SOON, hopefully today. It's been so long, I'm not sure beating Artorias wasn't a fever dream...

I have been experimenting with different weapons, though. I'm still married to the +5 BK Halberd with my +15 Uchigatana on the side, but others have caught my eye of late. The Zweihander takes some getting used to, but it does hit HARD; I've got it at +10 Fire, and by the numbers, it's my strongest weapon. If it didn't take a year and a half to swing once, it'd probably be my main squeeze.

The Zwei is definitely a love it or hate it weapon. It's R2 overhead slam is awesome for flattening whatever is unfortunate to be standing in front of you, and you do have one quick strike at your disposal- the post-dodge R1 is a quick stab with a long reach. If you're already doing a heavy armor and shield heavy playthrough you're already focusing on timing your strikes and blocks more than dodging anyway so it might be worth the practice to get used to it. Up to you! Personally I prefer flippy fast characters and dex weapons. Speaking of which...

Also, I've tried using lighter armor to get to a fast roll like you lot, but it feels like I?m running around naked. Is there any noticeable benefit to reinforcing armor? Obviously, by the sheer numbers there is, but I?ve not heard anyone mention or recommend it. Is this the part where you guys are in awe to find out I?m still using armor with base stats?

I wouldn't bother unless you have a massive surplus of upgrade materials and all of the weapons you know you like are fully upgraded. Is it worth it? Maybe a little.But really at the end of the day if you're getting hit you're doing something wrong in the first place. Weapons>Armor always.