Dark Souls Catch-All

Ceaseless Discharge is a huge wimp. Took him down after 3 tries (at level 22) solo using melee. So are the Taurus Demons. Oddly enough, I still have issues with the Ghosts in New Londo Ruins, though. I'm going to level up my Quelaag's sword a bit so they are easier to kill before trying that again.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

@Dakuna, where are you invading people at?

Capra Demon (lower undead burg) seems to be the best bet for the level range I'm after. It's not really about invading easier, I worded that poorly, I mean gravelord eyes seem damned useless, whereas the red eye orb should be precisely what I'm looking for.

EDIT: fixed a spelling error

imbiginjapan wrote:
Dakuna wrote:
imbiginjapan wrote:
Dakuna wrote:

Does anyone know of any positive value to equiping the Calamity Ring?

Bragging rights. The chance to say "Hey guys, I beat the game while wearing the Calamity Ring the whole time!"

I figure that also, but seems pretty lame.

Only because you're not badass enough to try it.

And that's it, for real. There is no hidden upside effect.

Further to this, if you want to play the game with double damage, you could just play cursed. Same end result as taking double damage, seems like a completely ridiculous item. I guess maybe bragging rights for pvp, because your opponent can see that you are taking double damage.

How the hell do you beat those Gargoyles

MadGav wrote:

How the hell do you beat those Gargoyles :(

Summon friends!

1) Get a good night's sleep and try again tomorrow with a clear head and fresh reflexes.

2) Watch the attack animations, figure out when the fire attack is going to trigger and get back.

3) Deal as much damage as possible to gargoyle number one before gargoyle number two turns up. If you're not making a lot of progress, consider brief grinding for upgrade materials over grinding for levels. Above all, try to make your boss fights about avoiding damage, rather than absorbing it - it'll serve you better in the long run. Mastery of controls is how crazy people like Gimpy can complete the game at such low soul levels. Mere mortals such as us can benefit from following the example.

MadGav wrote:

How the hell do you beat those Gargoyles :(

Definitely summon people (or an NPC), it makes the much easier. Level up your weapon at the blacksmith a bit first. I found it one of those fights like the Taurus demon that's actually a bit easier if you're more aggressive - charge in close and attack madly - but YMMV.

I'm really getting tired of not being able to group up with my brother when we play. Mostly we wind up playing alone, concurrently, while talking on skype. I think that is what I like least about this game; I want to be able to play with my brother dammit! On the other hand, playing solo is definitely improving his skill.

Traditional co-op would ruin the game. I like being forced to play with the restrictions. It keeps the atmosphere and role playing from being ruined.

Also, I hate it when I summon someone for help and they disconnect because they are trying to connect to a friend.

heavyfeul wrote:

Traditional co-op would ruin the game. I like being forced to play with the restrictions. It keeps the atmosphere and role playing from being ruined.

Also, I hate it when I summon someone for help and they disconnect because they are trying to connect to a friend.

Yeah, having a lobby/traditional co-op doesn't really jive with the whole concept of the Souls series of games. I really think of this game as primarily a single player experience, and the MP just being something random that can't be controlled and therefore increasing the difficulty of the game.

Took out Manus solo tonight. That guy's a dick.

Did you use the silver pendant? The one that deflects Dark Magic?

S0LIDARITY wrote:

Took out Manus solo tonight. That guy's a dick.

I happily summoned a player and an NPC after failing four or five times.

The move that's killed me more than any other from Manus is the odd hand dark cone magic he does. The casting time on that is really fast, if you don't get out of the way you better hope your shield and stamina can protect you.

I used no silver pendant. I ninja-flipped my way to victory.

I used Artorias greatshield, and the environment to take out Manus. Keeping the tall rock spire between me and him when I needed to recover. The shield, along with some other high poise armor allowed me to hold off most damage / stamina drain.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

I used no silver pendant. I ninja-flipped my way to victory.

Nice. Manus is much harder without that little item to negate his magic.

I think I shall need help to defeat the Four Kings at level 22. I don't have enough life and stamina to solo it, or at least I haven't managed it yet. I shall try summoning next time, but I doubt my chances of finding anyone at this level.

EDIT: my wife suggested I try using pyromancy, so I did. I only have two slots for spells, or this would be so easy. As it is, my best attempt has gotten me down to 3-4 hits from victory. evidently, this is possible at my level, I just need to keep hammering on it until I get a couple lucky breaks, and I should be able to get past it!

CptDomano wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

Traditional co-op would ruin the game. I like being forced to play with the restrictions. It keeps the atmosphere and role playing from being ruined.

Also, I hate it when I summon someone for help and they disconnect because they are trying to connect to a friend.

Yeah, having a lobby/traditional co-op doesn't really jive with the whole concept of the Souls series of games. I really think of this game as primarily a single player experience, and the MP just being something random that can't be controlled and therefore increasing the difficulty of the game.

Although I don't believe a lobby setup would fit with DS, and that traditional co-op may be contrary to the intent of the game, I wouldn't play DS nearly as much if it wasn't for traditional co-op, and don't believe it ruins the game at all. I have had (and continue to have) an incredible amount of fun playing co-op DS with a good friend from back home. The scares are shared, as are the discoveries and the victories. While we don't always play together (and will often play solo or pair up with random players) I'll admit to being one of those people who suicides when summoned if he and I are trying to pair up. We usually put our signs in out-of-the way places in an attempt to limit how often that happens, but it doesn't alsways work.

On the topic of traditional vs random co-op, though, I believe that the game would be more enjoyable for more players if arranging a co-op session was as reliable as it was in DeS (e.g. - "drop your sign over in the back corner behind the cart, I'm there and ready"). Those who want to co-op with a friend would be able to do so more reliably, and those who want to co-op with a random player wouldn't run into disconnecting/suiciding summons nearly as often.

Dakuna wrote:

I think I shall need help to defeat the Four Kings at level 22. I don't have enough life and stamina to solo it, or at least I haven't managed it yet. I shall try summoning next time, but I doubt my chances of finding anyone at this level.

EDIT: my wife suggested I try using pyromancy, so I did. I only have two slots for spells, or this would be so easy. As it is, my best attempt has gotten me down to 3-4 hits from victory. evidently, this is possible at my level, I just need to keep hammering on it until I get a couple lucky breaks, and I should be able to get past it!

Are you using Power Within? I'm assuming your issue is doing damage quickly enough, not dying. That spell plus the other commom tactics used in the fight always made them really easy for me. I'm assuming it would help a lot at a low level if the damage it does isn't overwhelming.

Dakuna wrote:

I think I shall need help to defeat the Four Kings at level 22. I don't have enough life and stamina to solo it, or at least I haven't managed it yet. I shall try summoning next time, but I doubt my chances of finding anyone at this level.

EDIT: my wife suggested I try using pyromancy, so I did. I only have two slots for spells, or this would be so easy. As it is, my best attempt has gotten me down to 3-4 hits from victory. evidently, this is possible at my level, I just need to keep hammering on it until I get a couple lucky breaks, and I should be able to get past it!

Also, are you able to summon Witch Beatrice? If you summoned her for your battle against the Moonlight Butterfly, she should be available to summon for the four Kings as well. Her sign in a slightly out of the way location (around one of the nearby corners with the Dark Wraith before the final fog gate, IIRC). If you didn't summon her for the Butterfly, you won't be able to summon her for the Four Kings, unfortunately.

BunbyHeri wrote:
CptDomano wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

Traditional co-op would ruin the game. I like being forced to play with the restrictions. It keeps the atmosphere and role playing from being ruined.

Also, I hate it when I summon someone for help and they disconnect because they are trying to connect to a friend.

Yeah, having a lobby/traditional co-op doesn't really jive with the whole concept of the Souls series of games. I really think of this game as primarily a single player experience, and the MP just being something random that can't be controlled and therefore increasing the difficulty of the game.

Although I don't believe a lobby setup would fit with DS, and that traditional co-op may be contrary to the intent of the game, I wouldn't play DS nearly as much if it wasn't for traditional co-op, and don't believe it ruins the game at all. I have had (and continue to have) an incredible amount of fun playing co-op DS with a good friend from back home. The scares are shared, as are the discoveries and the victories. While we don't always play together (and will often play solo or pair up with random players) I'll admit to being one of those people who suicides when summoned if he and I are trying to pair up. We usually put our signs in out-of-the way places in an attempt to limit how often that happens, but it doesn't alsways work.

On the topic of traditional vs random co-op, though, I believe that the game would be more enjoyable for more players if arranging a co-op session was as reliable as it was in DeS (e.g. - "drop your sign over in the back corner behind the cart, I'm there and ready"). Those who want to co-op with a friend would be able to do so more reliably, and those who want to co-op with a random player wouldn't run into disconnecting/suiciding summons nearly as often.

I don't like the idea of traditional co-op either. There are a multitude of things From Software could do to make the game more enjoyable to a large number of people such as having an easy mode, a map, hints, quest markers, check points etc. which would compromise it. Dark Souls is unique in it's clear vision and intent. Journey is another game that had a clear reason for not having traditional co-op and it was better for it.

I would rather games like Journey and Dark Souls stick to their unwavering stance because the market if overflowing with games with traditional co-op intended to please a broad audience, whereas the amount of games with clear design goals like Journey and Dark Souls are few and far between.

No power within (maybe I should go get it, that's a great idea) and no Beatrice as I did not summon her for Moonlight Butterfly. I should have no trouble with power within I imagine

BNice wrote:

I would rather games like Journey and Dark Souls stick to their unwavering stance because the market if overflowing with games with traditional co-op intended to please a broad audience, whereas the amount of games with clear design goals like Journey and Dark Souls are few and far between.

I agree that I wouldn't want Dark Souls to be just another game, but IMHO, making the co-op more like DeS (well said BunbyHeri) would not detract from my enjoyment in any way. I can see how it would for some people, if you never had to work hard because someone carried you through the entire game, it would probably seem very easy and not very memorable. But if I want to play with my brother, and I can't, that's a pretty crappy situation.

Dakuna wrote:

I agree that I wouldn't want Dark Souls to be just another game, but IMHO, making the co-op more like DeS (well said BunbyHeri) would not detract from my enjoyment in any way. I can see how it would for some people, if you never had to work hard because someone carried you through the entire game, it would probably seem very easy and not very memorable. But if I want to play with my brother, and I can't, that's a pretty crappy situation.

Thanks! I love the game, and would not (in general) be in favor of changes to attract people who would otherwise not be interested in DeS and DkS, but I'd still prefer that the existing mechanic for co-op in DkS be more reliable. I remember reading an interview a few years ago with one of the creators or producers of DeS; I can't find the interview for the life of me, though. At one point he talked about the co-op mechanic, and how he and others at From were surprised at how some players were utilizing voice chat services and such to arrange planned co-op sessions. It wasn't what the developers had intended, but IIRC they found this to be interesting rather than disappointing. Again, I could be wrong on the specifics, but that's what I remember.

I would love to see a game like Skyrim embrace traditional co-op, but the Souls games blend the co-op so well into the single player experience without breaking the four wall. I would hate to see that go away. I would rather they spend the time and energy on expanding on what they have already achieved.

Traditional co-op has become almost a given for every big game out there, I do not see why Souls has to incorporate it as well. Are there not several other games now and in the future that can fulfill that desire?

heavyfeul wrote:

I would love to see a game like Skyrim embrace traditional co-op, but the Souls games blend the co-op so well into the single player experience without breaking the four wall. I would hate to see that go away. I would rather they spend the time and energy on expanding on what they have already achieved.

Traditional co-op has become almost a given for every big game out there, I do not see why Souls has to incorporate it as well. Are there not several other games now and in the future that can fulfill that desire?

None like the souls games. You guys are entitled to not want it, but no one has said anything to change my view on it. It can be everything it already is, and also incorporate the level of co-op that DeS now has. DeS wasn't always this easy to co-op either, but I have definitely found the more reliable co-op entirely to my liking.

Took out Kalameet and Gwynn tonight. I think that marks the end of Dark Souls for me. For now. Back to the pile! (I have shrink-wrapped Dishonored and Xcom awaiting me).

After watching Game of Thrones Season 2 I want to make a Stannis toon. I know he'll be a Sunbro, but I'm not sure what armor and stats I should aim for with him. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Keep in mind I've seen all of season 2, but spoiler tags would be welcome in case you want to pull some info from the books or show.

Stannis ends up using some faith-based magic as the story progresses, I don't see any correlation to the game though. Pyromancy might be more fitting. I don't remember him partaking in much melee combat in the books. Why do you want to role-play as Stannis?