[Megathread] Dark Souls 2

[WarpedAcorn]

Also, strike damage seems to be really OP in DS2, just like in DS1. There are virtually no enemies resistant to it, but there are some enemies that are very vulnerable to it and you'll literally hit them for like half their health with a 1hR1. The old knights and the turtle iron knights in particular are incredibly easy to kill with strike weapons, making them great for quick and easy souls. Reminds me of the stone knights in DS1.

Since basically all bosses are Armored Knights or a variation of an Armored Knight, Strike damage is INSANE. Not to mention you can pick up a Mace within the first 10-15min of gameplay and ride it out until the end if you wanted.

[PizzaSHARK]

Just finished SotFS + DLCs for the first time and I have to say the DLCs were pretty good but SotFS was disappointing. The game felt a lot easier in SotFS compared to it's vanilla state in a majority of the areas however there are some areas that were significantly harder.

Forest of Giants is way harder in SOTFS. Those iron turtle knights are everywhere and usually positioned in a way that you can't fight them without also having to dodge arrows, firebombs, etc.

[barackopala]

I feel sotfs was somewhat easier than the regular one in general, as long as you didn't fight heide knights in the tower of heide you won't get fucked over and over

[PizzaSHARK]

I feel sotfs was somewhat easier than the regular one in general, as long as you didn't fight heide knights in the tower of heide you won't get fucked over and over

Heide Knights are probably some of the toughest basic enemies in the game. Their behavior is just so erratic, their swings are lightning fast and hit hard, they don't deflect off of even a greatshield, and they're reasonably tanky. Not a big deal for the first one in the forest in DX9, since the bonfire is right there, but it's a [i]long[i] walk back to any of them in Heide's Tower.

Much more satisfying to kill them than the black knights in DS1. The BKs are incredibly easy once you figure out their swing timers. Heide Knights are just so damn erratic even if you know the swing timers they might mix it up on you and you get cheesedicked anyway.

[Deleted]

Heide Knights are probably some of the toughest basic enemies in the game. Their behavior is just so erratic, their swings are lightning fast and hit hard, they don't deflect off of even a greatshield, and they're reasonably tanky. Not a big deal for the first one in the forest in DX9, since the bonfire is right there, but it's a [i]long[i] walk back to any of them in Heide's Tower.

Much more satisfying to kill them than the black knights in DS1. The BKs are incredibly easy once you figure out their swing timers. Heide Knights are just so damn erratic even if you know the swing timers they might mix it up on you and you get cheesedicked anyway.

I suppose everything is hard to the man who complains about the turtles.

[Kanadei]

I suppose everything is hard to the man who complains about the turtles.

What a disingenuous comment. I don't always agree with PizzaSHARK but I think he was right on the money with that one, the Heide Knights are unpredictable at best. Do you have another enemy to suggest or are you just being contrary?

The Black Knights in DS1 are pushovers if you have any experience with them whatsoever, I regularly solo the one in Undead Parish at the very start of the game by chain parrying/backstabbing since it's attack patterns telegraph more than a traffic light.

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I feel sotfs was somewhat easier than the regular one in general, as long as you didn't fight heide knights in the tower of heide you won't get fucked over and over

I think SotFS seems easier because you have already completed DS2. Some areas are definitely easier but overall I'd say the earlier stages (where the difficulty is more noticeable as you haven't really diversified your build yet) are noticeably harder.

[Deleted]

What a disingenuous comment. I don't always agree with PizzaSHARK but I think he was right on the money with that one, the Heide Knights are unpredictable at best. Do you have another enemy to suggest or are you just being contrary?

The Black Knights in DS1 are pushovers if you have any experience with them whatsoever, I regularly solo the one in Undead Parish at the very start of the game by chain parrying/backstabbing since it's attack patterns telegraph more than a traffic light.

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I think SotFS seems easier because you have already completed DS2. Some areas are definitely easier but overall I'd say the earlier stages (where the difficulty is more noticeable as you haven't really diversified your build yet) are noticeably harder.

You don't even have to know how to parry heide knights, you just back out and let them miss and swing back and repeat, even though they are harder than your average foe but the turtle knights aren't difficult even compared to basic hollows.

[Kanadei]

You don't even have to know how to parry heide knights, you just back out and let them miss and swing back and repeat, even though they are harder than your average foe but the turtle knights aren't difficult even compared to basic hollows.

Ok, so once again, what enemy would you define as hard in that case?

In my experience a lot of enemies in Dark Souls can be reduced to "you just back out and let them miss then swing back and repeat".

Turtles are obviously more difficult than basic hollows, even if the difficulty of both is fairly low.

[Mister Cheese]

This is Black Gulch. Co-op of course.

[WarpedAcorn]

You don't even have to know how to parry heide knights, you just back out and let them miss and swing back and repeat, even though they are harder than your average foe but the turtle knights aren't difficult even compared to basic hollows.

Gonna have to disagree with you here...disagree wholely. Turtle Knights are, by design, tougher than basic Hollows. They have more armor, don't stagger, do high damage, and have special attacks. The only thing they have in common with Hollows is possibly their movement speed.

However, for an experienced player, the Turtle Knight *SHOULD* prove no more difficult than a basic Hollow. That goes for every enemy, once you know how to handle them then its pretty easy to deal with them. But to say Turtle Knights are no harder than Hollows is just false.

[barackopala]

This is Black Gulch. Co-op of course.

Black gulch is so easy compared to blighttown, when you reach black gulch in ds2 you already have some levels on your back to keep yourself standing (and a ton of consumables), but blighttown... oh man.

The thing i didnt like about heide knights is how some their attacks lack any tell or can be followed up instantly after a swing. Turtle knights are annoying due to their high poise and high tracking, those things have a fucking lock on system D:

[PizzaSHARK]

Black gulch is so easy compared to blighttown, when you reach black gulch in ds2 you already have some levels on your back to keep yourself standing (and a ton of consumables), but blighttown... oh man.

The thing i didnt like about heide knights is how some their attacks lack any tell or can be followed up instantly after a swing. Turtle knights are annoying due to their high poise and high tracking, those things have a fucking lock on system D:

Yes, the only thing that makes heide knights difficult is their swing speed combined with their erratic behavior. Sometimes they swing, miss, and leave a perfect opening for a backstab. Sometimes they swing, miss, and immediately perform a backswing and nail you when you're in the middle of a failed attack animation (because the game already detected they were moving and decided a backstab would not be possible.) It's immensely satisfying to parry them, but their swing patterns are also erratic and their swings are also very fast, so it's pretty hard to parry them, even with a buckler. Best shot at doing that seems to back off and bait them into doing that running swipe at you since it's at least consistent. A lot like baiting the Pursuer into just charging at you constantly.

Turtle knights are difficult because the penalty for screwing up your dodge timing is generally death, especially on hard. The vertical slams are easy to dodge, but the horizontal swing requires much tighter timing (or you just need to already be a couple steps back and roll backwards), and they also have a four-swing horizontal combo that starts with a very fast swing with little warning, and if you're in the middle of a recovery animation from attacking them (like you just dodged a swing and are hitting them), you're probably going to die. The backwards flop also has a deceptively large hitbox and will pretty much one-hit KO any player at the beginning of the game. They are not "hard." They are harder. Their horizontal swings will also launch you if you fail to dodge them properly (either get hit dead on or hit in the middle of a failed roll), and with their placement in SOFTS, getting batted out of the park is a very real possibility.

Is there some issue with SOTFS and locking on? I've noticed a very consistent problem with the greataxe and my dude just deciding to attack 90 degrees to the left or or right of my target, even while locked on and facing them directly. I've even tried dropping lock, reacquiring lock, and then attacking and sometimes it will still launch the attack perpendicular to the target I'm facing and aiming at.

[Kanadei]

Turtle knights are difficult because the penalty for screwing up your dodge timing is generally death, especially on hard. The vertical slams are easy to dodge, but the horizontal swing requires much tighter timing (or you just need to already be a couple steps back and roll backwards), and they also have a four-swing horizontal combo that starts with a very fast swing with little warning, and if you're in the middle of a recovery animation from attacking them (like you just dodged a swing and are hitting them), you're probably going to die. The backwards flop also has a deceptively large hitbox and will pretty much one-hit KO any player at the beginning of the game. They are not "hard." They are harder. Their horizontal swings will also launch you if you fail to dodge them properly (either get hit dead on or hit in the middle of a failed roll), and with their placement in SOFTS, getting batted out of the park is a very real possibility..

Bolded is the strategy I use for Turtle always now. Bait the hit (either vertical hit or horizontal slash usually, occasionally vertical chase but can kite that easily now to) move in, slash, back off, bait, roll back, move in, slash, repeat. Only gets annoying when you don't have much space to back up.

Curious what you mean by "especially on hard" though, are you talking about the covenant which increases difficulty or are you talking about NG+?

[PizzaSHARK]

Bolded is the strategy I use for Turtle always now. Bait the hit (either vertical hit or horizontal slash usually, occasionally vertical chase but can kite that easily now to) move in, slash, back off, bait, roll back, move in, slash, repeat. Only gets annoying when you don't have much space to back up.

Curious what you mean by "especially on hard" though, are you talking about the covenant which increases difficulty or are you talking about NG+?

Covenant of Champions. More like normal mode, since playing without CoC makes the game too easy in my opinion - enemies die in like 2-3 hits so they're never alive long enough to be a threat.

Just getting to the dragon to kill to open the gateway to the Cathedral of Blue is probably the hardest thing in the game so far. You have to kill several Heide Knights (probably top 3 most difficult enemies in the game on hard, simply because you're dead if you fail the parry), a bunch of multi-pull iron knights, and then the dragon at the top. And then you have to go in and kill Ornstein, too. It's amazing how much harder Heide's Tower of Flame is on SOTFS. It's a complete cakewalk in DX9, but pretty fucking tough in DX11, up there with later areas of the game like Harvest Valley (aka new blighttown.)

[Deleted]

Why would you ever roll against turtle knights? Just walking backwards is enough. Or are you over like 70 % load?

[Kanadei]

Why would you ever roll against turtle knights? Just walking backwards is enough. Or are you over like 70 % load?

Safety first? I dunno, got in the habit of it when I was doing a heavier build, probably safe to back out but don't fix what isn't broken.

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Covenant of Champions. More like normal mode, since playing without CoC makes the game too easy in my opinion - enemies die in like 2-3 hits so they're never alive long enough to be a threat.

Just getting to the dragon to kill to open the gateway to the Cathedral of Blue is probably the hardest thing in the game so far. You have to kill several Heide Knights (probably top 3 most difficult enemies in the game on hard, simply because you're dead if you fail the parry), a bunch of multi-pull iron knights, and then the dragon at the top. And then you have to go in and kill Ornstein, too. It's amazing how much harder Heide's Tower of Flame is on SOTFS. It's a complete cakewalk in DX9, but pretty fucking tough in DX11, up there with later areas of the game like Harvest Valley (aka new blighttown.)

Mmm I agree that Heides seems disproportionately harder in SofTS. No-mans Wharf also seemed noticeably harder, but I never really liked that zone so I may be confabulating things there.

I usually leave those zones until later anyway, unless I need access to Carillion. Simpler to just kill pursuer and start Lost Bastille after Forest of Giants.

[PizzaSHARK]

Why would you ever roll against turtle knights? Just walking backwards is enough. Or are you over like 70 % load?

Need to be close for some weapons with shorter reaches, especially if they have a long animation, otherwise you might not have enough time to move out of the way or get your shield up before a horizontal swing heads your way. Turtle knights are free souls if they just do their vertical swings over and over, though (same as ogres if you just keep baiting their little butt shove thing over and over.)

Sometimes you don't really have the luxury of walking around against them, either. SOTFS has a way of placing them such that it's rare that you can engage them alone and with plenty of room to circle-strafe them. Fucking Soldiers' Rest is an interesting fight on that tiny little rooftop (or alternatively, with three of them chasing you around while you try to deal with the NPC phantom at the same time.)

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I usually leave those zones until later anyway, unless I need access to Carillion. Simpler to just kill pursuer and start Lost Bastille after Forest of Giants.

Worth it to nix the Dragonrider to get the bone dust in the pass-through to the wharf. That does make all of the heide knights active and hostile, though, so I may try to at least open up access to Old Dragonslayer first before killing Dragonrider next time - I'm pretty sure the dragon doesn't respawn since it drops a guaranteed item, but even if it does, you can just avoid it like all of the other enemies and just sprint to the boss fog if Ornstein kills you the first time. Dragonrider is also a boatload of easy souls for early in the game (you can skip switches and cheese him or just circle-strafe him all day like he's the world's slowest, fattest Black Knight) that doesn't require being summoned... which is nice for Circle of Champions.

Probably my favorite enemies to hate are those sickle-wielding guys you start seeing in Huntsman's Copse. You just can't fucking block the damn things (even with an upgraded eagle shield and plenty of stamina, a single hit guard breaks you), and you pretty much die instantly if you take a direct hit. You get some unique animations for parrying or backstabbing them, though! It's also worth it to parry and backstab the darkstalkers in the wharf - they also have unique animations.

[Kanadei]

Worth it to nix the Dragonrider to get the bone dust in the pass-through to the wharf. That does make all of the heide knights active and hostile, though, so I may try to at least open up access to Old Dragonslayer first before killing Dragonrider next time - I'm pretty sure the dragon doesn't respawn since it drops a guaranteed item, but even if it does, you can just avoid it like all of the other enemies and just sprint to the boss fog if Ornstein kills you the first time. Dragonrider is also a boatload of easy souls for early in the game (you can skip switches and cheese him or just circle-strafe him all day like he's the world's slowest, fattest Black Knight) that doesn't require being summoned... which is nice for Circle of Champions..

Dragon doesn't respawn, I kill Dragonslayer first these days for that exact reason.

Not that you should really be dying against him. Ornstein without Smaugh isn't hard.

[PizzaSHARK]

Dragon doesn't respawn, I kill Dragonslayer first these days for that exact reason.

Not that you should really be dying against him. Ornstein without Smaugh isn't hard.

Yeah, but I still manage to fuck up easy stuff a lot. Too aggressive, I guess. I've died to Pursuer twice because the bastard lived with probably 2 HP and killed me because I used up the last of my stamina on the hit I was sure would kill him.

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Been having fun with co-op on a different character playing normal. Co-op is easier and more fluid in DS2 and just feels more fun than it did in DS1. It's really tough finding useful places to invade, though. Blue orbs are virtually never usable :-/

I guess there'll be plenty of action in the belfry but I'll probably play through that area in offline mode for the most part.

[Kanadei]

Yeah, but I still manage to fuck up easy stuff a lot. Too aggressive, I guess. I've died to Pursuer twice because the bastard lived with probably 2 HP and killed me because I used up the last of my stamina on the hit I was sure would kill him.

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Been having fun with co-op on a different character playing normal. Co-op is easier and more fluid in DS2 and just feels more fun than it did in DS1. It's really tough finding useful places to invade, though. Blue orbs are virtually never usable :-/

I guess there'll be plenty of action in the belfry but I'll probably play through that area in offline mode for the most part.

Yeah the whole greedy last hit kills me a lot as well.

I don't really co-op or invade much, I basically just PVE and if I get invaded do then do my best. Seems to work out fine.

But yeah Belfry is a big pvp spot.