I can confirm, what I described about him the other day as I did it last night, buy
16K+ worth of stuff, then approach him holding no souls, use the talk option, and he will give you the Aurous armor set
It is interesting, when wearing the full set you look like a Ring Wraith during One Ring vision. I slot it on in my glove slots so I can wear heavier armor.
I can confirm, what I described about him the other day as I did it last night, buy
16K+ worth of stuff, then approach him holding no souls, use the talk option, and he will give you the Aurous armor set
It is interesting, when wearing the full set you look like a Ring Wraith during One Ring vision. I slot it on in my glove slots so I can wear heavier armor.
I hate the dialogue of that merchant. He becomes such a dick. Like it makes sense and that is his character that oh look business is now booming I can act like this I am rich hooray. But like, don't you think he would be appreciative of us as his catalyst to success?
I almost felt good when he began to forget where home was, but then as usual I still felt bad. Haha
Jodou - so that key will open the door on the first ledge you drop down to? I don't remember a door in the Gutter, but I'll go back and look (just hate that place though).
It's the same ledge you dropped down to get the key in the first place. The doors are pretty distinct so when you find the other in the gutter, you'll know it. That one is fairly close to start of the area by jumping to a platform with two mobs on the forward-left.
So, I think the designers forgot these games are meant to be replayed and got overzealous on areas. I've sunk 60 hours into this game and I'm still only 75% through it. Couple that with I've missed my first chance to get some trophies because I NEVER summon help on a boss fight (just my playstyle, I like soloing hard content) and I'm 99% sure this will be the first souls platinum I'm skipping. I don't have the time or desire to attempt each boss with an NPC summon (that can't die during the fight or it ends the chain) on one perfect playthrough. Patch 2.2 is out next week for FFXIV and I will be playing that pretty much exclusively, so NG+ is pretty much not happening for me.
Open letter to FROM, quality over quantity when it comes to bosses/areas. Don't make stupid ing trophy requirements that can be failed from a single event over the course of a lengthy playthrough. That doesn't rhyme with skill, it rhymes with stupid. That said, I definitely got my money's worth out of the game but the length of the game and my need to explore everything has just burnt me out on it. I'm actually getting bored clearing trash to a boss at times and once I've been to the boss door, I find myself just speedrunning to it again if I die. : \
Ya, once you find the soldier's key from killing the boss there's another door that a lot of people probably miss going back to due to the shortcut through the wall at the second bonfire. Climb down the ladder and follow the original path to the left into the next room with the torch holder and the soldier playing dead (where there was a fog gate) and there is a door there that leads to another small area and the 3rd bonfire.
Whoa - so there's another bonfire in between the two? Yeah, that is silly. I'll have to go back there and look for that. I've been through there a few times, actually, but there didn't seem to be too much to do. I guess I missed the door.
I went down to the fire salamander area and picked up all the treasure down there but I can't get rid of the one blocking the hole. I can pound on him for a while before he turns around. But once he does, he pins me to the wall and blasts me with fireballs. I can't move, roll, dodge, or do anything - my character gets stuck between him and the wall.
Also, I might as well get my attunement to 13 since it is already at 10.
It's the same ledge you dropped down to get the key in the first place. The doors are pretty distinct so when you find the other in the gutter, you'll know it. That one is fairly close to start of the area by jumping to a platform with two mobs on the forward-left.
So, I think the designers forgot these games are meant to be replayed and got overzealous on areas. I've sunk 60 hours into this game and I'm still only 75% through it. Couple that with I've missed my first chance to get some trophies because I NEVER summon help on a boss fight (just my playstyle, I like soloing hard content) and I'm 99% sure this will be the first souls platinum I'm skipping. I don't have the time or desire to attempt each boss with an NPC summon (that can't die during the fight or it ends the chain) on one perfect playthrough. Patch 2.2 is out next week for FFXIV and I will be playing that pretty much exclusively, so NG+ is pretty much not happening for me.
Open letter to FROM, quality over quantity when it comes to bosses/areas. Don't make stupid ing trophy requirements that can be failed from a single event over the course of a lengthy playthrough. That doesn't rhyme with skill, it rhymes with stupid. That said, I definitely got my money's worth out of the game but the length of the game and my need to explore everything has just burnt me out on it. I'm actually getting bored clearing trash to a boss at times and once I've been to the boss door, I find myself just speedrunning to it again if I die. : \
I went back to the door in Black Gulch and opened it up. I couldn't do anything in there (there was someone to talk to but it didn't lead to anything). I'll have to find the one in the Gutter - I looked for it but I was looking towards the end of the level so thanks for that info.
I agree - it was great that they removed the NPC helper trophies in DS. Why did they put then back now!? I have actually held off on a few bosses since I don't know which are which for the different NPCs. And then usually when I do a summon I get two people right at the beginning - then I wouldn't see the NPC one which usually is closer to the boss door. I know for sure I missed one of the 4 chances for Lucatiel at the Wharf boss, which was an easy one that I could have kept her alive through (I did that one myself).
I'm wondering if you can get the trophies by trading the armor though - that is, if you just hold it all for a minute like with the rings and weapons before.
But yeah, I feel like you, that it kind of sucks the wind out of doing NG+ since there wouldn't be anything to work towards. I don't mind doing harder boss battles, grinding and farming a bit, etc to get difficult trophies. But when you have to rely on a stupid NPC character not dying for 3 different boss battles that is ridiculous. If the NPCs would just respawn if you died during the fight that would be one thing. Then you could die on purpose if the NPC gets killed and retry the fight. That would be difficult enough - but I take if that happens the NPC will be gone for good.
---------------
Otherwise last night I explored more of the Shaded Ruins (found the fog door). I found my second crystal gecko and saw some scorpion guy NPC though he wouldn't talk to me. Then I took advantage of the server outage to finish off Belfry Luna without having to deal with summons (though once again I didn't go through the door - not doing them because of those stupid NPC summons). Fighting off all those dwarves and the red phantom invader was bad enough without dealing with human invaders. Such a small area to deal with PvP though - completely different than the forest area in Dark Souls.
I tried to get to the ladder in the pit that leads to the locked door (though I'm not sure if I have the right key for it yet) and you can't jump from the ledge at Grave of Saints. There are boards blocking you - the same boards that if you try to jump on them from above they break and you fall to your death. And yet I can't break them with magic or arrows either - frustrating. I know I got to that platform from above once but I'm too hollow to go down the pit again.
I'm wondering if you can get the trophies by trading the armor though - that is, if you just hold it all for a minute like with the rings and weapons before.
^ D'oh! Oh well... I guess I'll try one and see what happens. I tend not to finish bosses off very quickly though which definitely won't help with regards to keeping the NPCs alive. You can bring the NPC and one human summon though as well, right? Maybe with another player in there it will be a bit easier.
Yeah, you can. I notice that during the times I was helping people out with those bosses, the ones that were faith had a much easier time keeping NPCs alive due to healing. All the other builds struggled or failed miserably. Its just a DPS race at that point.
I agree - it was great that they removed the NPC helper trophies in DS. Why did they put then back now!? I have actually held off on a few bosses since I don't know which are which for the different NPCs. And then usually when I do a summon I get two people right at the beginning - then I wouldn't see the NPC one which usually is closer to the boss door. I know for sure I missed one of the 4 chances for Lucatiel at the Wharf boss, which was an easy one that I could have kept her alive through (I did that one myself).
Whats more is the game is buggy. I've had both my black phantoms not spawn in rat king areas because as soon as I set foot in them I'd get invaded, which for some reason made them not spawn once I got back. Nothing I tried fixed it. More to the point, Pate also never showed up after I talked to him initially. Every NPC I've talked to, I'd exhaust their dialogue until they said the same thing over but for some reason Pate never showed back up where he was supposed to. This broke an entire chain of events and I can't find him anywhere.
If FROM really expects me to attempt a trophy that could be failed from bugs, deaths, etc then they're retarded.
let me elaborate - the cage at the bottom of the stairs in the Exile cells, is there anything to do down there or is there something else I need to trigger elsewhere? I can go down there but there is literally nothing for me to do.
Yay, I'm out of torches partway through the Gutter making it a lot more difficult to progress.. and apparently no vendors sell torches...beautiful. I don't understand the point of making them limited, you are already trading off using a shield or two handing your weapon in exchange for more light.
Yay, I'm out of torches partway through the Gutter making it a lot more difficult to progress.. and apparently no vendors sell torches...beautiful. I don't understand the point of making them limited, you are already trading off using a shield or two handing your weapon in exchange for more light.
I was trying to get summoned for co-op all day, but each time I'd put down my summon sign, it would say that it couldn't connect to the server. Towards the end of the day the summon sign was finally staying, but I would still disconnnect shortly after being summoned. By the sound of it, it looks like this is happening to others as well.
I also finally respeced my character. I took out all of my ADP and put it into Faith instead. So far, I haven't really noticed a difference in terms of rolls or the response of my character. Even cancelling out of actions seems to be the same. Now, I'm finally able to kill stuff from range with Lightning Spear, instead of picking away at enemies with my bow. This should help me with some bosses that were giving me trouble once I get to NG+.
If I can remember to, I'll write down my stats and gear then post them here tomorrow. It's not a very impressive build, but it looks like it will get me through the rest of the game.
Yay, I'm out of torches partway through the Gutter making it a lot more difficult to progress.. and apparently no vendors sell torches...beautiful. I don't understand the point of making them limited, you are already trading off using a shield or two handing your weapon in exchange for more light.
The torch hollows in the Gutter drop torches pretty frequently. I ran through the Gutter a ton of times (went there way earlier than I should have, apparently, not that it's an excuse), so I ended up with a decent supply. Once you light all the lanterns down there you can go through without a torch without too much trouble. I was practically doing a speedrun route by the time I finally made it through
I was trying to get summoned for co-op all day, but each time I'd put down my summon sign, it would say that it couldn't connect to the server. Towards the end of the day the summon sign was finally staying, but I would still disconnnect shortly after being summoned. By the sound of it, it looks like this is happening to others as well.
I also finally respeced my character. I took out all of my ADP and put it into Faith instead. So far, I haven't really noticed a difference in terms of rolls or the response of my character. Even cancelling out of actions seems to be the same. Now, I'm finally able to kill stuff from range with Lightning Spear, instead of picking away at enemies with my bow. This should help me with some bosses that were giving me trouble once I get to NG+.
The patch and maintenance really had issues with the summoning early on, but they were fine into the afternoon. Just wish we had patch notes besides "fixes summoning errors."
Just wanted to add that since your pulled stats out of ADP , you can still raise your agility of drinking flasks via ATT.
Though kudos to From for that first moment of terror when you enter the Gutter, it's dark and I am getting hit by what I assume is tons of sniper fire from just out of light range similar to blighttown only to realize it's
the bloody statues
I didn't find them until after I beat the Ruin sentinel boss, but there are two
illusionary doors on the bottom floor of the boss area that appear to be short enough that one could duck in and catch a breather
Now, I'm finally able to kill stuff from range with Lightning Spear, instead of picking away at enemies with my bow. This should help me with some bosses that were giving me trouble once I get to NG+.
Emit force from the Blue Sentinels covenant is another long range faith spell that works similar to lightning spear, though it has a little bit of homing, it's not at all what the description implies it is, a forward thrusting version of Force which does damage.
Though kudos to From for that first moment of terror when you enter the Gutter, it's dark and I am getting hit by what I assume is tons of sniper fire from just out of light range similar to blighttown only to realize it's
Yep. And then that moment of panic when it's totally dark and I have no torch lit and I'm desperately trying to find a bonfire because I finally got down through the well and it's so hard to tell where you're supposed to go. Leap of faith....
Yep. And then that moment of panic when it's totally dark and I have no torch lit and I'm desperately trying to find a bonfire because I finally got down through the well and it's so hard to tell where you're supposed to go. Leap of faith....
Never tried alluring skull, but in the Gutter they're
on the rope bridges, so there's no circling
. All I have is melee and I have certainly died several times to them
The ones in the Bastille seem to get stun-locked after the first hit (or even die on the first hit - maybe they have less health), but in the gutter I can swing once and then they're exploding all over me, often knocking me off.
I hated the first time I ran into them in the water before the Gutter. I was moving so slow and was so confused as to what was happening haha
I hate where I am right now. I am at the second bonfire in the Shrine of Amana and it is so tedious. The area is really cool and I do like the enemies but I feel like it just becomes a chore to replay that area when you die. The water slows you to a crawl and to my knowledge there is no ring to counter this effect like in Dark Souls. Then with the buggers just chilling in the water you have to like step step bow bow step step bow bow. Then when you throw in all the damn magic users shooting crap at you while you are slow. It is not necessarily a super hard area especially with my beefed up Dragon Rider bow it is just very slow and monotonous feeling.
That being said, how do you reach the far items to the right? I was not paying attention and walked off the water ledge and died with 37k souls and then when going back I was killed by a stupid mistake before I could retrieve them : /
So...any point to the NPC invaders other than to spice things up for folks who are hollowed / offline all the time, I've faced two of them so far and neither of them have dropped anything unlike the original dark souls.
So...any point to the NPC invaders other than to spice things up for folks who are hollowed / offline all the time, I've faced two of them so far and neither of them have dropped anything unlike the original dark souls.
I feel like they are much easier to defeat too from what I have experienced. After the first one that didnt drop anything I instantly gave up hope and assumed none of them would hah
I hate where I am right now. I am at the second bonfire in the Shrine of Amana and it is so tedious. The area is really cool and I do like the enemies but I feel like it just becomes a chore to replay that area when you die. The water slows you to a crawl and to my knowledge there is no ring to counter this effect like in Dark Souls. Then with the buggers just chilling in the water you have to like step step bow bow step step bow bow. Then when you throw in all the damn magic users shooting crap at you while you are slow.
Shrine of Amana is where I perfected my magic deflecting with those shields. I really hope there is more in the next game because it really changes the dynamic in PvP to have more options. You can even deflect Emit force/WotG, so it doesn't have to be just projectiles.
Shrine of Amana is where I perfected my magic deflecting with those shields. I really hope there is more in the next game because it really changes the dynamic in PvP to have more options. You can even deflect Emit force/WotG, so it doesn't have to be just projectiles.
I have a couple of those shields now I think. I suppose I should try that out. It still would be boring but at least I would be mastering another skill for the game.
I feel so lost. When the game came out I played so much it was ridiculous and now this week I have barely had any time and then now when I get home from work I am driving down 3.5 hours to visit my family for the weekend. Oh Dark Souls, do not worry, I will be playing you like no other again starting Sunday night : p
Never tried alluring skull, but in the Gutter they're
on the rope bridges, so there's no circling
. All I have is melee and I have certainly died several times to them
The ones in the Bastille seem to get stun-locked after the first hit (or even die on the first hit - maybe they have less health), but in the gutter I can swing once and then they're exploding all over me, often knocking me off.
Ah I see then . But yeah try alluring skull, it makes then do suicide dives on it allowing you to just freely walk up and hit them. You may have to throw two sometimes in case they all start chasing you. :???:
In the previous Souls games, I never used alluring skull, but I did somewhat use throwing knives to stop people from healing. Throwing knives received a nice buff, because they actually have good damage in the early game. Alluring skull has been a little more use to me than I gave them credit for. So kudos, From.
I have a couple of those shields now I think. I suppose I should try that out. It still would be boring but at least I would be mastering another skill for the game.
I feel so lost. When the game came out I played so much it was ridiculous and now this week I have barely had any time and then now when I get home from work I am driving down 3.5 hours to visit my family for the weekend. Oh Dark Souls, do not worry, I will be playing you like no other again starting Sunday night : p
I'm just taking a short break to play inFamous SS so my friend can catch up to me. I'm close to the plat and could get it soon, but I'm in no rush. Should spend your time thinking of builds.
I'm just taking a short break to play inFamous SS so my friend can catch up to me. I'm close to the plat and could get it soon, but I'm in no rush. Should spend your time thinking of builds.
I thought the X1 would hold me over but with Second Son and Towerfall, I am already tempted to cave and get the ps4 as well haha
And I have been! Problem is I kind of want to start over already before even finishing! I just can't wait to try out some build from scratch. I think the very beginning of the games is the most fun with the souls series before you have anything, it relies like completely on movement then I feel like.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the throwing knives in this one. Another bonus of my many runs through the gutter: I have a decent stock of poison throwing knives since the hollows there tend to drop them pretty often.
Actually, the reminds me of an annoyance with that area: almost half the time, the item drops from the enemies somehow go through the floorboards and get lost before you can grab them. x
I was also pleasantly surprised by the throwing knives in this one. Another bonus of my many runs through the gutter: I have a decent stock of poison throwing knives since the hollows there tend to drop them pretty often.
Actually, the reminds me of an annoyance with that area: almost half the time, the item drops from the enemies somehow go through the floorboards and get lost before you can grab them. x
I was so mad because apparently one time they fell through but I didn't notice and I went way out of my way because I was like OOH AN ITEM I DON'T REMEMBER THAT BEING THERE. And I was all excited and backtracked and went around to get to the bottom level of the one only to realize it must have been a poison knife from an earlier kill that just fell down there.
Along with the floorboards, I was imagining really walking on structures that look like that and that would be a pain. Walking would be one thing but rolling around and landing and fighting... That is just asking for thousands of sprained/broken ankles! : P
So...any point to the NPC invaders other than to spice things up for folks who are hollowed / offline all the time, I've faced two of them so far and neither of them have dropped anything unlike the original dark souls.
So I tried for like 2 hours to beat the Sinner boss while keeping Lucatiel alive. It is a pain in the ass and I finally gave up.
For one thing, she will nearly get killed by the exploding hollows on the way there. I didn't even bother with the 3 big things at the bottom of the elevator - that is, I took them out first before summoning her. But then after she got nearly killed by the exploding hollows and then, apparently, ran off into the water and died, I decided I had to clean out the whole area first. I was at the boss door and she had been right behind me - then the "vanquished" message popped up. I could summon her again though since I hadn't beaten the boss yet.
Anyway, clearing out that whole area is a pain to do by yourself but I did it 4 or 5 times. Then I would summon one person and Lucatiel. Then we'd have a clear run to the boss. Every time either the human summon would die really quickly, or I'd die trying to protect/heal Lucatiel (or just from being overly aggressive trying to kill the boss quickly). I finally just said screw it, and summoned a couple of guys from the beginning, took out all the mobs with them, and wiped the floor with the Sinner. I had helped another person before this and it was so easy - I thought with Lucatiel and one other person it would be easy too. But she is pretty useless and I must have just been stuck with crappy players. Knowing that even if I succeeded I'd have to do it 2 more times just made it all the more frustrating. As Jodou said, From just took the replay possibilities (at least in terms of being a "completionist" and getting all the trophies) and threw it out the window with those NPC summons requirements plus the covenant completion stuff.
Then I went to the Belfry and tried to get to the gargoyles. Of course I got invaded both times and while I had one summon to help me they died easily both times. One time I ran through the mist but I was by myself and got ganged up on by the gargoyles. I thought I saw someone say there was a way to only fight 2 at a time? I had at least 4 after me. The stupid Belfry summons thing is a pain.
Earlier, when I was cleaning up in Forest of Giants (trying to find that 3rd bonfire) I got invaded. I actually handled that guy really easily which was a new thing for me. Too bad you get nothing for that.
I also went to Earthen Peak and was able to summon the Jester guy (another NPC) for that fight. So that was easy and he stayed alive - but no trophy for that one . I was able to buy his armor though for what that's worth (didn't get a trophy for that either though). I pushed a little into the Iron Keep and found the merchant there. Is the "incense" option he gives something you need an item for? I didn't want to "confirm" on any spells since I didn't want to use it on anything particular unless I was sure (if it is limited).
Also, you guys never told me you could get ladders for the pit in Majula! I assume if you buy all 3 it leads to different places? I missed the ladder guy in Earthen Peak so I didn't get his ladder in place there. Where does it lead to?
Emit force from the Blue Sentinels covenant is another long range faith spell that works similar to lightning spear, though it has a little bit of homing, it's not at all what the description implies it is, a forward thrusting version of Force which does damage.
I didn't know that would be useful. I can't remember if that's a reward or if it's sold by the covenant leader. I bought most of his stuff, so I'll check and see what I have.
I pushed a little into the Iron Keep and found the merchant there. Is the "incense" option he gives something you need an item for? I didn't want to "confirm" on any spells since I didn't want to use it on anything particular unless I was sure (if it is limited).
Also, you guys never told me you could get ladders for the pit in Majula! I assume if you buy all 3 it leads to different places? I missed the ladder guy in Earthen Peak so I didn't get his ladder in place there. Where does it lead to?
It uses up Simpleton's Spice to lower intelligence and Skeptic's Spice to lower faith. I used two Skeptic's Spices to lower Great Lightning Spear's requirement to 40 (it was 42).
I bought the three ladders from that guy, and each of them lead to different levels of the well. The first ladder doesn't seem like it goes down far enough though (from what I can tell, if you use it, you'll probably just end up falling to your death). I tried out the third one, and it lets you go down to the plank that has a door above it.
If you killed the Giants in Black Gulch, you'll be able to use the key to open the door there
Also, you should talk to him after you buy the third (and second if you wish) ladder and he should give you a weapon (can't remember exactly) plus you'll get a trophy/achievement. If he doesn't give you anything, you might have to buy more items from him (as I had bought everything from him already).
Cleared another area tonight and I'm at shrine of aldia or w/e. I don't know what it is but I'm running out of steam with this game. It's becoming monotonous with just too many areas and no end in sight. Ugh, just gotta keep going I guess.
I played yet another 4-5 hours last night (think I'm at well over 50 now). I took on some big bosses including that bastard
smelter demon
. He was pretty tough - took out my two pretty tough summons (who had no trouble clearing everything out leading up to him) which left me alone.
But the next time I couldn't even find two to help me so I went through the area with just 1 summon. I was surprised to see Lucatiel as a summon for that fight - she isn't listed in the Wiki for that area which is why I was using 2 from the beginning. I summoned her and thought, well, that won't work out. But the game glitched and she apparently didn't enter the arena. I could see her health bar and it stayed intact the whole time so she must have just been sitting outside. Luckily the one guy I summoned was a pro and together we took care of him.
Then I pressed on and beat the "end" boss of that area. He is pretty cool looking - I'll have to help someone on that guy so my 6 year-old son can see him. He wasn't as tough as the previous one, but part of that was because the summons kept him distracted so I could just pelt him with spells.
I finally unlocked lightning spear and somehow I have 2 of them which is nice because it gives me 22 uses. That is so much better than the soul arrow spells (even the higher level ones). I also finally found a winged lightning spear which was my go-to weapon in Demon's Souls. Though I am used to wielding a sword now so I'm not sure I want to go back to turtling with the shield/spear combo. In fact, I was thinking of going up to a Greatsword when I get my strength a little higher.
I also defeated the chariot guy - that was a nice change of pace from the usual boss fights. Of course the first time in I had no idea what I was doing. I actually made till near the end but then I backed into the end pit by mistake (had no idea it was there).
I also beat the scorpion boss (using the scorpion NPC summon - I guess I need to go back and talk to him to see if I get anything from that). So, yeah, it was a pretty boss-heavy night. I am making good use of the ring that keeps you human and keeps your souls. I've had to repair the thing about 10 times though.
So, Doors of Pharros:
Is that another rat covenant place? I'm seeing Pharros lockstone things everywhere and I got summoned as a gray phantom once while in there. But the activity there was so light - no summon signs, very few messages or other player ghosts. It was eerie.
Other than pushing on a bit more through there I'm not sure where else I can go at this point. Oh yeah, I still need to do the Belfry. I found the hidden bonfire on the other side (from Iron Keep). Does the mist door there lead right to the belfry fight (thus avoiding the need to go through the Bell covenant area?). I didn't see any summons there either and it looked like I couldn't even put my own sign down so maybe it isn't possible.
The other thing I've held off on and it seems like I should be doing now is upgrading a weapon all the way. I just don't know what I want to use. I'm still using that Fire Sword from Forest of Giants (upgraded to +5). But I feel like I should do something else. I'd use the Drangleic sword but I only have 3 twinkling titanites. Plus I have armor I probably need that for (Havel's armor, eventually, as I can wear more of it).
I also need to start redeeming some of these boss souls for items/spells. I need to figure out what is required for trophies first. I may not get the miracle/spells one if the covenant rewards are required so I need to be careful which I use them for. Unless there are some that only have one use and I might as well do those. That's the problem with playing the game so early - no FAQs or Wikis with all that info yet (that I know of anyway).
Also, is there a way to defeat the skeletons in the caves near the locked bonfire in Huntsmans Corpse? I seem to remember from Dark Souls you need a magic weapon or something but I have a magic mace and it doesn't defeat them. I haven't gone through that area yet - I assume it is just a little bit of treasure but I like to be complete and get everything if I can.
Wow, posts have really dropped off for this game.
So, Doors of Pharros:
Is that another rat covenant place? I'm seeing Pharros lockstone things everywhere and I got summoned as a gray phantom once while in there. But the activity there was so light - no summon signs, very few messages or other player ghosts. It was eerie.
I also need to start redeeming some of these boss souls for items/spells. I need to figure out what is required for trophies first. I may not get the miracle/spells one if the covenant rewards are required so I need to be careful which I use them for. Unless there are some that only have one use and I might as well do those. That's the problem with playing the game so early - no FAQs or Wikis with all that info yet (that I know of anyway).
Also, is there a way to defeat the skeletons in the caves near the locked bonfire in Huntsmans Corpse? I seem to remember from Dark Souls you need a magic weapon or something but I have a magic mace and it doesn't defeat them. I haven't gone through that area yet - I assume it is just a little bit of treasure but I like to be complete and get everything if I can.
I've been playing inFamous SS. I'll be back to DkSII soon though.
Doors of Pharros
is another rat covenant forced invasion spot. Its more for higher levels though just like Belfry Sol.
For the miracle/spells trophies, all are required. So that includes the ones you trade in to the two merchants with boss souls and the covenant rewards.
As for the skeletons, you have to defeat the two necromancers in the cave.
That passage with the skeletons in Huntsman's corpse also doubles as a shortcut to the boss once you unlock the gate when entering from near the boss gate. Though you probably shouldn't need it as the boss is pretty easy.
Lightning spear acts slightly wonky sometimes in online, if the target has veered far enough away instead of the bolt missing him, it will make an immediate sharp turn and hit the target. An invader invaded in Harvest Valley while I was summoned. We got him down to a sliver of health and he started to dash away toward poison pot passage. I hurled a bolt and instead of missing him it turned about 60 degrees near the end of the flight to whack him in the back and kill him, hehe.
Apparently some of the covenant rewards (like Wrath of God) are sold by normal vendors as well in NG+
So I did some soul-searching (bah-dum-tsh) last night as to why I lost interest in this game halfway through and this is what I've come up with: they removed risk in this game.
With the new mechanic of enemy extinction, subconsciously I realized that death no longer mattered so long as I was killing at least one mob each death. Additionally, since enemies could be farmed to extinction they increased soul gain disproportionately to offset lost souls versus average soul gain for an area. This type of balance is thrown completely out of whack when a skilled player is given a chance to farm an area with ease. Thus, losing any souls to a death is completely void of meaning since mere minutes of soul farming in an easier area will yield high returns with minimal risk involved. Because they chose the quantity over quality of monster design this time around, everyone will find their 'go-to mob' for this type of farming to get ahead of the curve.
And before you say, "well just don't farm an area then" realize that from the getgo the game was designed in this manner, with repeated deaths to mechanics or a boss as the catalyst. If you don't die during the run back, you might suddenly find yourself sitting on a fortune of souls you'd rather level up off than potentially lose. This 'should' be where risk vs reward enters the equation, until you remember that those mobs in the starting area are now gone forever and your risk of losing said souls has lessened. They have fixed what wasn't broken and killed a key psychological component of what made these games tick.
Digging deeper, soul loss was never a huge factor in risk vs reward (at least for me) because as you ventured further or killed a hard boss you'd get a boon of souls finally to level up on. No, instead what has now been trivialized is progression. No longer does death mean having to reclear to a boss since one by one enemies start disappearing. Understanding that this mechanic will eventually clear the way for you sets in motion a new tactic: kill as far as you can before dying without caring when that is. It's no longer a key focus to learn mechanics or enemies, but rather to brute force your way to the finish line. This is when I was hit with the epiphany that once your remove risk in the game, you're left with one thing: tedium. The monotonous grinding of trash before a boss fight that MMO players have come to loathe. Complicate this with the fact that boss fights are rarely interesting this time around and you have a recipe for disaster.
I can count on one hand boss fights that have forced me to take a step back, strategize, and wipe for hours before claiming victory. Otherwise I'm facerolling every boss on the first try (and no, I don't read any strats on any boss before entering the fog for the first time) or simply seeing their moves after 2-3 wipes before downing it. It's for these reasons and the length of the game that I'm getting far less enjoyment than the previous two. I can only hope they throw out this trash design for what would surely be the premiere of a PS4 game. Otherwise, for me at least, god rest their souls.
Someone tell From that clipping through walls and hitting the players does not make a game hard. It just means they're completely lazy at programming. no excuse for this type of shit to be in this game after it being in the previous 2.
Think I have 14 or so bosses cleared now and the only time I've been stomped enough times that I reached the no enemy spawns (10 enemy kills) is from the first Forest of the Giant's bonfire that I kept getting destroyed by the soldiers at the top of the ladder next to the Heidie Knight / the Heide Knight itself. Everything else I've been able to get through before they stop appearing.
Just did the chariot boss. I think it's the closest they come to realizing the "puzzle as boss fight" aesthetic.
Been practicing the Smelter Boss a few times as a phantom, keeping the NPC summon alive I think should be pretty well doable (with heal miracle since there are several instance when the boss stops to charge up an attack), unfortunately I mistakenly put the agro ring on my faith ring slot just before we entered the fog gate so when I went to heal the NPC with great heal my faith was below the 28 FTH requirements so she ended up dying when the boss was at 20% HP. Another thing you can do if you can manage to connect with a summon partner you know (wear named engraved rings from the cat vendor using the same God) is the entrance is narrow enough you can have your summon partner stand between the gate and the NPC so that it can't enter. Then solo the boss yourself.
Finally got the dull ember, such a shame they lock you out of advanced crafting for so long. Need to find some more chunky ore so I can finish upgrading my claymore (which takes awhile to get too).
Think I have 14 or so bosses cleared now and the only time I've been stomped enough times that I reached the no enemy spawns (10 enemy kills) is from the first Forest of the Giant's bonfire that I kept getting destroyed by the soldiers at the top of the ladder next to the Heidie Knight / the Heide Knight itself. Everything else I've been able to get through before they stop appearing.
Just did the chariot boss. I think it's the closest they come to realizing the "puzzle as boss fight" aesthetic.
Been practicing the Smelter Boss a few times as a phantom, keeping the NPC summon alive I think should be pretty well doable (with heal miracle since there are several instance when the boss stops to charge up an attack), unfortunately I mistakenly put the agro ring on my faith ring slot just before we entered the fog gate so when I went to heal the NPC with great heal my faith was below the 28 FTH requirements so she ended up dying when the boss was at 20% HP. Another thing you can do if you can manage to connect with a summon partner you know (wear named engraved rings from the cat vendor using the same God) is the entrance is narrow enough you can have your summon partner stand between the gate and the NPC so that it can't enter. Then solo the boss yourself.
Finally got the dull ember, such a shame they lock you out of advanced crafting for so long. Need to find some more chunky ore so I can finish upgrading my claymore (which takes awhile to get too).
Yeah, I get what Jodou is saying, but I also have rarely "finished" any spawns off. There were 1 or 2 areas I did some grinding on. And the second hammer knight guy at Heide's seemed to disappear after just one time. But otherwise at this point I am only making them go away when I'm putting down my summon sign and just messing around in my world waiting to be called upon. I'll fight through the level while I wait so usually that means the first few spawns will eventually disappear.
What really makes it no risk, though, is the Life Ring repair ability. I just run around full human now, summoning when I need to. If I die on a level I just warp back to Majula, pay the 3000 to repair the ring (since I usually make 10K or more at this point) and go back and do it again. That right there makes the game much, much easier than before. And sure, I could play without the ring but unlike Jodou I'm not looking to make it harder. I am also trying to stay human so I don't miss the NPC summons. If that wasn't part of the game, I'd just go hollow like I did in the last two games.
guardian owl - that is the fight I summoned Lucatiel on and she just stayed out of the arena. For whatever reason she didn't come in and the guy helping me was fighting, not blocking her. Unless he did something at the beginning that kept her out. Unfortunately since I missed her the 2 previous times I think I'm out of luck.
Bernhard at the fight in Twilight Cove, on the other hand, was super easy to keep alive. This is the one where his summon sign is easy to miss as it is in one of the tents. So I think that was the first time I was able to summon him and it worked out just fine. I need to see where else he spawns.
I came across the two NPC's fighting
- Pate and the other guy. I killed Pate, I think, and got some armor, a key and Pate's spear or something. No trophy I guess for that. Should I just kill the other guy now? He doesn't seem to have anything more to say to me.
Also about the scorpion fight:
Make sure you have the whisper ring and talk to Tark the scorpion guy before doing the boss fight. He's in the area to the left as you come out of the bonfire where all the Lion warriors are (and the curse vases). You can then summon him right in front of the scorpion boss (fog door to in the right side of the same area). He survived and afterwards he gave me a gesture - which I assume is needed for the trophy.
Same here. I just platinumed Infamous SS, but decided i'm gonna try Witch & The Hundred Knight next. If that doesn't hook me i'll probably start up my NG+ for DS2.
This just isn't keeping my attention like the first two. Still like it but not quite as addictive. Of course, maybe I am thrown off by some of the insane play of the people I've summoned. Like one of the two for the chariot fight. Idea is to keep the hollow alive.....yeah, one of them pushed me out into it. Fail.
I also hate the rat thing. Haven't finished that yet and the whole fighting thing - crazy. I never go out into the area though after being summoned. If they want some, they can come get some.
You have to do 3 of the 4 possible in order to complete the lucatel quest, Apparently people have had luck burning Bonfire Ascetics on the easiest boss as many times as needed to get to three total and then talking to her at the end to complete the quest.
Same here. I just platinumed Infamous SS, but decided i'm gonna try Witch & The Hundred Knight next. If that doesn't hook me i'll probably start up my NG+ for DS2.
Should just start up NG+ so it stays fresh. I should be done with DkSII real soon. All I have left is to speed run it to Chancellor Wellager since I finished NG+.
I also hate the rat thing. Haven't finished that yet and the whole fighting thing - crazy. I never go out into the area though after being summoned. If they want some, they can come get some.
You have to do 3 of the 4 possible in order to complete the lucatel quest, Apparently people have had luck burning Bonfire Ascetics on the easiest boss as many times as needed to get to three total and then talking to her at the end to complete the quest.
I also hate the rat thing. Haven't finished that yet and the whole fighting thing - crazy. I never go out into the area though after being summoned. If they want some, they can come get some.
Rat covenant is trash pvp. You get summoned into their world and immediately have mobs aggroing you while you're trying to fight. DEVELOPERS: DO NOT MIX PVE WITH PVP, KTHNX. On the other hand, Dragon covenant that I was FINALLY able to join at the very end of the game is amazing. You can toss down your sign or just summon others for a duel. I met a few fellow moonlight sword build players and I gotta tell ya, duels with this sword is hands down the best it gets in this game. Had a double KO with another user after we both fired off the strong attack (laser blade, pew pew) which gave us both a dragon scale and a laugh. :lol:
That bonfire trick with the NPCs sounds pretty legit for the trophy, I might give it a go. I'm all for exploiting stupid trophies. And yeah, life ring trick isn't my style. No Obama handouts today!
So that's what those Dragon signs are. I keep seeing both those and the red phantom signs on the bridge to Iron Keep and was wondering what they were. Well, I found out about the red one the hard way.
I also went and explored Belfry Sol from the Iron Keep side. I didn't realized that was a whole outdoor arena area (on the rooftops) for PvP. I actually wiped the floor with the first guy who invaded me. He must have really sucked .
So I still have to do the Belfry fight. But it makes sense now that there is that whole other area for PvP. The little tower area with the 3 floor is so restrictive I couldn't believe that was it at first. (The part you get to from Lost Bastille).
Today my kids wanted to watch me play some more so I went ahead and finished off the last 2 "big" souls (
Rotten and Spider
). Both were much easier than I anticipated.
So now I guess I can open those king doors. But I noticed earlier there were two. There are also tons of locked doors all over. When do you get keys for those? One example are the doors near the Sinner boss. And there's more by the Spider I think.
Also, what is the deal with the phantom thing that rises from the mist where the Smelter Demon was?
I'm also flush with Pharros Lockstones now and I know that earlier there were some hidden door type areas I had to pass. Does anyone remember where those were?
OK, cleaned out a few minor areas I had missed before as well as the Belfry demons and the Rat King (that was tough until I leveled up my pyro flame and used Firestorm). As far as I know, I don't have any boss fights left before opening the doors
So, yeah, about those doors. Since I got all 4 of the "big" souls, I went to the one in the castle and it still wants me to "show the sign of the king" or something.
I'm kind of stuck as to where to go next. No one tell me - I want to figure it out. But the game is so huge that it gets a little vague at the end.
-----------
Edit: Played another couple of hours and found more treasure and such. Still have no idea where to go for the end though. I only have 3 of the those big red souls, but I do have one at the end of my inventory that is "Soul of a Giant" or something. I'm pretty sure I got that last one at Brightstone - it was the only one that made me pick something up afterwards. I went back in there and opened the door with the key I got from that fight. I suppose I should have gone back in to the boss area just to be sure there wasn't something I missed.
Looking at the wiki it says what is next and that the door should open now be open for it - but it doesn't say where that door is!
Also, I got invaded while I was minding my own business (and fully hollow I might add). I was in the foggy area cleaning up treasure (found 3 chests I hadn't seen before). So some guy invades and I head back to the entrance so I'm not in the fog. Eventually he comes around and throws knives and tries to blast me with all kinds of poison, fire, and other area of effect spells. I throw some lightning spears back at him and much to my surprise hit him a few times. I wanted him fight him with my sword but he'd back away and try to draw me into the fog where the ghosts were. I ended up killing a ghost but then backing out to the entrance again. I figure it's his thing, he can come to me. Eventually after he dances around for a while (rolling around behind trees mostly) I finish him off with a lightning spear.
So then I get a message from him (again, bad form IMO) saying "Does that Havel gear you have come with lightning tampons". I sent him this: "Nice, I was minding my own business jackass". Hey, if I was in a PvP area, perhaps his note might mean something. I was rocking the Havel stuff just to get through boss fights. But he was the one that chose to invade in the fog area, and then wouldn't engage me at all in close combat, instead relying on the ghost mobs to attack me. While I don't like making sexist analogies like he did, I don't think I was the one who needed the tampons there .
I will say that this game seems to be 100x better with respect to lag and phantom backstabbings. In Dark Souls I was killed nearly every time by invaders via phantom backstabs - we'd go from facing off to all of a sudden I'm getting the backstab animation death and I never saw him roll or run past me in any way. That hasn't happened to me once with this game.
I've also never caused mobs to stop respawning, and I'm treating deaths just like I did in Dark Souls. Why would you just "brute force" your way without trying not to die? Just because they made it possible? I've never worn the lift protection ring - I imagine that would turn everything into a joke.
The only thing that really seems to make it less risky in this one to me is the very frequent bonfires. I'm assuming they did that to try to make it less tedious for people to make boss runs and such (I remember going through 1-2 so many times in Demon's Souls), but they overdid it a bit IMO.
I've gotten lots of mobs to stop respawning once I got the gold serpent ring+2. Also, just rushed the mandatory bosses with a friend to get our last spells and the platinum.
I will say that this game seems to be 100x better with respect to lag and phantom backstabbings. In Dark Souls I was killed nearly every time by invaders via phantom backstabs - we'd go from facing off to all of a sudden I'm getting the backstab animation death and I never saw him roll or run past me in any way. That hasn't happened to me once with this game.
Pretty much why I consider the original Dark Souls to be the worst in the series as far as PvP goes among many other things. This one though, very much improved netcode and more balanced weapons.
ing trophy requirements that can be failed from a single event over the course of a lengthy playthrough. That doesn't rhyme with skill, it rhymes with stupid. That said, I definitely got my money's worth out of the game but the length of the game and my need to explore everything has just burnt me out on it. I'm actually getting bored clearing trash to a boss at times and once I've been to the boss door, I find myself just speedrunning to it again if I die. : \
x
. I was able to buy his armor though for what that's worth (didn't get a trophy for that either though). I pushed a little into the Iron Keep and found the merchant there. Is the "incense" option he gives something you need an item for? I didn't want to "confirm" on any spells since I didn't want to use it on anything particular unless I was sure (if it is limited).
