Brave Soul, Who Fears Not Death

[Bal]

Another favorite

The big mushrooms are legend.

[Yoji]

/BadGeneWilderImpression

Also, too: http://66.media.tumblr.com/837103d9c221 ... 1_1280.gif

[Yoji]

Wait, did I really just take down the Capra Demon on my first try? Get up so I can kill you again!

I guess that leaves only... down? We go down from here? I dunno, I've seen more than a few .gifs of scary skeletons. Either that or try to deal with Havel the Rock.

[François]

There are at least two "downs" open to you right now, and though both have useful stuff, the one that leads to general game progression does not have (animate) skeletons in it. Check the key you got from that Capra punk, and inspect the area just outside his lair carefully.

The thing with Havel is that he deals so much damage that it practically takes a durable end-game build to survive more than a couple hits, especially when he decides to two-hand his weapon. There's an upside to this though, in that you might as well strip naked to have the best roll and then use him for evasion/backstab practice with the your most damaging weapon. So in that sense he's neither a gear check nor a stat check, and you can take him on any time. And it's very much worth it to do so!

[Friday]

Wait, did I really just take down the Capra Demon on my first try?

i kind of hate you right now

Did you have heavy armor and poise already? Because that's the problem I was having: Any hit from a dog would stagger me, leading to the Capra cutting me right the fuck in half. Generally within 10 seconds of entering the boss """"""""""""""""""""chamber""""""""""""""""""""".

Next area you should do is the Depths, it's a great area with a sick as fuck boss fight.

And yeah, there's no outleveling Havel. If you want his ring (and you do), just strip down and practice your ripostes and backstabs. I actually managed to kill him on my first try just with good ripostes.

[beatbandito]

I actually managed to kill him on my first try just with good ripostes.

and on a keyboard, ladies and bigger ladies

I still don't rely on ripostes to take him out on non-beefy characters. I can not tell the difference between his long and short hold backhand at all.

[Friday]

Well, technically it wasn't my first encounter with him. My first encounter with him was me running away like a little bitch up the stairs until he caught me and one-shot me.

anyway, I feel like I probably got pretty lucky with Havel. I barely knew what the fuck I was doing at all until maybe Anor Londo. I never got good enough at the game to beat Gwyn without relying on poise tanking.

[François]

I never got any good at parrying, and I suspect its an ability that's a lot less common than one might be tempted to believe. This is completely arbitrary, but I'd say parrying skill is worth like 30 levels. If you're good at it, there's a lot of stuff you can take on a lot sooner than if you're not, but even if you're not, the game is designed so you can still make up the difference over time by increasing your stats and upgrading your gear.

Which isn't to say that the latter makes the tougher enemies easy; it's not like you can realistically increase your passive defenses to a point where you can just stand still and facetank everything. It just gives you more margin for error, and more margin for error means more opportunities to learn in between bonfire visits.

[Friday]

Other than Gwyn, all the bosses in the game can't be parried anyway. But it does help a lot with tougher non-boss shit like Havel and Black Knights.

[Yoji]

Did you have heavy armor and poise already? Because that's the problem I was having: Any hit from a dog would stagger me, leading to the Capra cutting me right the fuck in half. Generally within 10 seconds of entering the boss """"""""""""""""""""chamber""""""""""""""""""""".

Let me see if I can remember where I'm at... level 32 knight with 21 strength, 18 endurance, Elite Knight Gear, and Black Knight Shield+1? Maybe I was using the Grass Crest Shield for the stamina? Armor and poise to spare, and good thing since I'm garbage at any kind of twitchy reflex mechanic; I can't even keep up in first-person shooters and the like.

I was strong enough to take down his dogs in a single heavy attack, and I used the stairs to buy myself some time when I had to flask up. His attacks had a long reach, but also a long telegraph, so I kept my distance and opened up with a leaping heavy attack to close in. And ever since the Prowling/Titanite demon in the parish, I've tried to make a habit of moving under the blind spots in bigger attacks. Like, if they bring their killin' implement high over their shoulder for a Lv.Fuck You attack, I try to get under that shoulder and hope it'll overshoot. That being said, there was also a lot of bugging out when my stamina got too low, which was often.

i kind of hate you right now

Don't get me wrong, it was still scary as hell and probably involved a good amount of luck. "Hey, I got him! ...wait, why is my heart pounding?"

[Yoji]

Sweet! I finally did that dumb platforming stuff and made it back to the asylum? Let's see what that door was abo-

*floor collapses*


U SUK GIT GUD *SMASH*

YOU DIED

Okay, okay, I can handle this... it won't throw me all the way back to the Firelink Shrine, right?

...

BRB, setting my game disc on fire.

[Yoji]

And down goes the Stray Demon, defeated with pyromancy, the great scythe, a crest shield, and stark nudity. Man, this game is funny sometimes.

I guess this means I have no more excuses for putting off Blighttown. Something tells me this is going to be as fun as licking a cactus.

[Friday]

You found the rusted iron ring, right? That makes Blighttown (specifically, the bottom of it) much easier.

[Yoji]

Yeah, that was pretty much why I went back to the asylum. But then the demon happened and it turned into a matter of honor and dignity.

And now I guess I need to stock up on blooming moss for those toxic dart bastards. At least they don't respawn with visits to the bonfire.

[Bal]

A cheaper and less time consuming way to deal with the dart bastards is to get the Spider Shield out of The Depths. It's above the giant rat. It's also the starting shield for the Bandit class. Anyway, it is mostly unremarkable except for the fact that it is the only shield in the game with 100% poison resist, meaning blocked shots build no toxic.

[Yoji]

One of my first impressions of the game was "I'd like this better if it had more snow. I like snow..." After bumbling into the painted world.... Well, be careful what you wish for.

It's easier now that I can finally wield the black knight halberd, but something tells me I'm going to be stuck here for a while.

[Destynova]

The Prepare to Die edition let's you warp out if you have a certain plot item AFAIK.

[Friday]

Painted World is my favorite zone, but it's also high up on the list of "fuck you, die" areas, alongside Blighttown, Arno Londo, and Tomb of Giants.

[Friday]

The return of YOU DIED: Friday plays Dark Souls 2

alright it's my birthday what do i want

I guess ds2 and ds3 because I hate myself?

cool thanks rach

alright lets load this bad boy up

alright cool cool old women are the future

what nice teeth you have there

oh cool a giant hole in space/time caused by butterflies bug things

might as well throw myself right in there

wow this game is really pretty way more pretty than DS1

WARNING

WARNING

OLD WOMEN ARE THE FUTURE

heee heee heee heee heee heee destiny heee heee heee undead heee heee heee WHATS YOUR NAME

SHITCOCKER

at least you remember your own name

WHATS YOUR CLASS

hmmmm

I guess I'll try Knight this time and go Str since I did Warrior/Dex in DS1 and SPELLS ARE FOR FAGGOTS

alright lets get this show on the road btw what is this big weird fatty thing up above your house is he friendly he looks sort of friendly OH GOD HE'S EATING ME

YOU DIED

oh there's that HP degeneration I was told about that's cool

wow such tutorial

alright lets move on to the MOST GORGEOUS TOWN EVER MADE

what's up lady

"try tongue but hole"

"amazing chest ahead, use both hands"

"try jumping"

hahaha, oh other souls players

hey it's the sad dude just like in ds1

OMG A KITTY HEY KITTY A TALKING KITTY

hey whats up merchant dude

"beware the trio"

hahaha what tiny pigs?

WHY ARE THEY AGGRO WTF VIDEO GAME

jesus they had a lot of hp whatever lets go to the forest AAAAAAAAA ITS ANOTHER FATTY IN THE RIVER

hey that jump looks really far to get to that item and

*clicks bloodstain*

*watches 10 people fail jump and die*

heh heh

...

*jumps*

*makes it*

feels good man

hey a fire longsword awesome

I'll just hit these barrels with it so i can --

YOU DIED

man this game certainly throws a lot more dudes at you than ds1 ever did

good thing i'm taking it slow and steady WHY IS THAT EAGLE CARRYING A KNIGHT OH MY GOD RUN AWAYYYYYYY

what he vanished

alright mother fuckers it's on now yeah you with your fucking halberd and shield you spear stabbing fuck get over here NO STOP THROWING FIREBOMBS AT ME FUCKS SAKE GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN HIT YOU

"i'm totally not a bandit lol go through this gate or don't whatever i'm not your mom"

*eyes pate*

"haha jk here's a white soapstone"

whatever man

WHOA ROLLY POLY ARMOR DUDE YOU LOOKIN KINDA CUTE

THE LAST GIANT

YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO LEAD THE ATTACK AGAINST THE ARMADA ON THE FRONTIER

stop trying to step on me what the fuck man not cool

WITH THIS TRUSTY HATCHET I WILL CHOP YOU DOWN

got a key

whats behind this door

oh it's that eagle knight again

huh

and he's a boss now

huh

well, a message on the ground said to try parrying, so I guess I'll--

YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
aaaaaaaaaaa you fuck i almost had you
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
god this 50% hp thing really sucks
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
YOU DIED
get rekt scrub

now to head back to spend my 18k souls before I walk off a cliff or something lol

fuck i've been playing for almost 6 hours

I should like, eat food

[François]

oh there's that HP degeneration I was told about that's cool

It's easy to get real stressed out about this, but unless you're absolutely terrible you aren't likely to ever run out of Effigies, and even if you do, There Are Ways.

man this game certainly throws a lot more dudes at you than ds1 ever did

Apparently a lot of people complain about that? But I like it. It makes any given encounter more fluid, less deterministic, and it helps further differentiate weapon movesets given how much more important swing arcs can be.

well, a message on the ground said to try parrying, so I guess I'll--

YOU DIED

Parrying is feckin' 'ard in DS2 (but there are more ways to parry, i.e. rapier strong attack), and that particular boss is surprisingly easy to dance circles around, so that wasn't super great advice there.

I should like, eat food

The real Dark Souls 2 begins here.