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So, has anyone been invaded yet? I've participated in lots of co-op, but after 3 solid days of play I have yet to be invaded. I really hope that this will change, being invaded in the previous games was always a total rush. I've spent approximately 50% of my game time in human form.

I'm a little concerned that From have messed up, making the negatives of invading far outweigh the positives.

I've had a run in as a Rat invader (summoned); I don't really know how that works but I've not been invaded.

As far as having your health cut on death, I wouldn't mind it as much if it worked like Demon's Souls, where it gave you higher damage output and no noise while moving, making you stealthier and deadlier while in soul form. In Demon's Souls, there were actually a lot of occasions where you would want to be in soul form, it was a tradeoff.


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Undead_Love-Machine wrote:
So, has anyone been invaded yet? I've participated in lots of co-op, but after 3 solid days of play I have yet to be invaded. I really hope that this will change, being invaded in the previous games was always a total rush. I've spent approximately 50% of my game time in human form.

I'm a little concerned that From have messed up, making the negatives of invading far outweigh the positives.

I've been invaded twice. Once, in the Black Gulch, where some donkey-cave was trying to snipe me with a greatbow (Seriously, this place is awful enough. The last thing people need down there is an invasion). I just turtled in the corner with my greatshield until he left. I would have fought him if he came to me, but there was no way I was going to play his game.
Second time, some guy invaded me on my NG+. I wasn't running a very PvP viable loadout at the time, but I managed to fight him to a draw. I got hatemail for that one. Pro tip: If you're not doing an honour duel that both parties are prepared for, don't be surprised when the other guy pops an estus. Doubly so if you're not smart enough to backstab him while he does it.

Outside of that, I've done a few other things. Got pulled in as a grey to someone's world where I had to deal with a pair of those really fast toxic rats, a mastodon, and the host while being slowed by the water. Not a fun fight.
Otherwise, it's just been me getting stuck on the bad side of 2v1s.

That said, having gotten as far as I am, thanks to Soul Memory, I haven't seen much activity lately, and unless they patch it, I doubt I'll ever see much more. Apparently the range for Soul Memory is 50k in either direction. Where I'm at in the game, that's less than one run through a level (I've also stopped levelling at 150). There's really no reasonable way for me to consistently get into fights at this point.

And spirit form looks better than hollow form too.

Undead_Love-Machine wrote:
So, has anyone been invaded yet? I've participated in lots of co-op, but after 3 solid days of play I have yet to be invaded. I really hope that this will change, being invaded in the previous games was always a total rush. I've spent approximately 50% of my game time in human form.

I'm a little concerned that From have messed up, making the negatives of invading far outweigh the positives.

I just invaded someone for the first time today actually.. couple of people fighting hard with little health, one of them got killed by an NPC while turning to face me, the other one started flailing wildly at me and was an easy kill.

Did it as I thought I might get a trophy, but actually felt a bit dirty for it! Think I will join those blue knight covenant guys who protect against Invaders (although not completely sure how that works).

I invaded two people due to the rat thing under the well (I had no idea what was going on until I looked it up).

Both times they ended up rolling off the bridges they had set up while I just... watched..

 Pacific wrote:

Undead_Love-Machine wrote:
So, has anyone been invaded yet? I've participated in lots of co-op, but after 3 solid days of play I have yet to be invaded. I really hope that this will change, being invaded in the previous games was always a total rush. I've spent approximately 50% of my game time in human form.

I'm a little concerned that From have messed up, making the negatives of invading far outweigh the positives.

I just invaded someone for the first time today actually.. couple of people fighting hard with little health, one of them got killed by an NPC while turning to face me, the other one started flailing wildly at me and was an easy kill.

Did it as I thought I might get a trophy, but actually felt a bit dirty for it! Think I will join those blue knight covenant guys who protect against Invaders (although not completely sure how that works).

You just put the ring on and wait, much like the Cat Ring from DkS 1, unfortunately I don't think a lot of people are joining the Covenant we protect because the rings only pulled me twice, and it was VERY far and inbetween.

Hell is real and it is called the Gutter.

Sidenote, does anyone know a good place to farm/buy arrows? Because the blacksmith in Majula only has 50 and I'm going to need a lot in harvest valley.

He sells infinite of the crap ones, Probably not Ideal though, other than that though. Im not sure, I've also not finished yet so maybe someone else has some wisdom to share

 Daba wrote:

Spoiler:

The limited enemy spawning + limited effigies + health reduction all seem like mechanics that don't go together. One of their design aims was to make it easier to people to get into the game without reducing difficulty.

The health thing either makes it jump too far for people with reduced health to higher difficulty or it's balanced around the lesser health and it's too easy for someone in human form. Basically, it makes it worse for beginners (who are likely to be on reduced health a lot), while players more familiar with the game will have an easier time - so with this they seem to have achieved the opposite of their goals.

They stated they wanted more people in human form to experience multiplayer and that it wasn't intended that you would spend so much time in hollow form, but limited effigies (and the rarity of them comnpared with humanity), and not getting the 'soft' humanity randomly from monsters pre-boss works against that. Especially as they said that regaining humanity for cooperation is a bug. Note that you could fix this by letting spawns continue, so the effigies are unlimited.

It just seems badly designed (or badly directed) compared to the previous game, due to the 'synergy' of the above mechanics, and things like Shine of Amana.

The cutscene thing wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after the witch thing though, thankfully.

I don't think it is bad design, you can always put down your sign and help people. It makes you more cautious and making sure to use your souls when you have enough, I don't mind it

Well, they put in mechanics that go against some of their stated objectives which weren't even present in the previous game!

I mean, the game's been good so far, but those mechanics seem not as well crafted as they could be.


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Oh, apparently there is a way for unlimited effigies (more or less), but it's kind of tedious.

Co-op for souls (or if you have enough already no need to coop), then buy prism stones from the NPC. Then swap the stones with the crows and hope the RNG favours you.

I have a question.

Dark Souls II has gotten me interested enough to play the entire series (Demon, which I know is the spiritual predecessor, Dark and Dark II). However, I know online play is sort of important with the whole messages/summoning/invading aspect.

I have an Xbox 360, but don't feel like paying out to get Xbox Live again, especially with the problems Live has been experiencing with Titanfall.

Would it be worth picking up a PS3 just to play the series, and perhaps get some of the 'best of' PS3 games, like The Last of Us?

Edit: Although DS2 is having framrate issues on PS3 and none on 360. Yeesh.

For what it's worth, The Last of Us isn't particularly good after it's (amazing) intro. It's far too drawn out and repetitive. I was begging for it to end halfway through, it would have been much better as a 2 hour long PSN game, since it basically has you doing the exact same things the exact same ways against the exact same enemies from beginning to end.

That said, Demon's Souls is totally worth playing, even if you don't have online.

I've finally managed to kill the flying knight-guy (man he was annoying! ), is DS2 the same as the other game where those giant souls will come in useful for item crafting later on? Did try the blacksmith in Meluja but nothing..

Infinite Array wrote:I have a question.

Dark Souls II has gotten me interested enough to play the entire series (Demon, which I know is the spiritual predecessor, Dark and Dark II). However, I know online play is sort of important with the whole messages/summoning/invading aspect.

I have an Xbox 360, but don't feel like paying out to get Xbox Live again, especially with the problems Live has been experiencing with Titanfall.

Would it be worth picking up a PS3 just to play the series, and perhaps get some of the 'best of' PS3 games, like The Last of Us?

I thought Last of Us was over-rated.. it was incredibly well produced and polished, but really didn't do anything mechanically that hadn't been done in a computer game before. The story was good, but again if you've read any number of novels, or are an avid film buff, you will have seen it many times before.

I first read about Demon Souls when it got a Japanese release, and was one of the people that picked up the game on import (great thing about no region locking with PS3!) - confusing as hell, but a really 'raw' experience compared to the later games. In basic terms I think it shocked you when you played, I can see why it and now Dark Souls have got such a popular following in an age where every game has to hold your hand and point you to the exit.

I've not noticed any frame rate issues by the way (certainly not like the last one, wading through the water in blight town!), but then again I was lucky with being seemingly one of the few people who had a copy of Skyrim that played perfectly despite a massive save file.

 Pacific wrote:
I've finally managed to kill the flying knight-guy (man he was annoying! ), is DS2 the same as the other game where those giant souls will come in useful for item crafting later on? Did try the blacksmith in Meluja but nothing..

There's a guy in the Lost Bastille named Olaphis of Straid that trades boss weapons. You don't even need an upgraded weapon like you did in the first one, just 1500 souls and the boss soul. That said, he's petrified and you need a fragrant branch of yore to unpetrify him. He's also kind of a dick

 Pacific wrote:
I've finally managed to kill the flying knight-guy (man he was annoying! ), is DS2 the same as the other game where those giant souls will come in useful for item crafting later on? Did try the blacksmith in Meluja but nothing..

Yes, there are two separate NPCs who trade boss souls for weapons/spells (note that there's no need to level up weapons for this, you just trade the soul directly). One is in the Lost Bastille, petrified in a prison cell just before Sinner's Rise. Use a Fragrant Branch of Lore to revive him. However, you need to have at least 3 intelligence in order to talk to him (basically screwing over no one but bandits who don't want to waste points in casting stats, hopefully From patches this, because it's just silly). Also make sure you clear out the room first, those exploding zombies are annoying as hell.

The second NPC you end up meeting in the Shaded Woods, in the ruins area. There will be a floor that caves in, revealing an underground cave. In that cave is a door. To get the key that unlocks the door, you need to use a Fragrant Branch of Lore on the petrified Lion Warrior nearest the bonfire. Kill the Warrior to get the key. Once you enter the door, make sure you DO NOT attack the NPC (Ornifex). While she looks scary (especially if you did the Painted World of Ariamis in DkS1), she's totally awesome. She won't do anything for you then, but you can meet her later in her house in the Brightstone Cove Tseldora. She'll even trade one boss soul for free, although you'll have to pay for the others. Additionally, she sells a bunch of other useful weapons, items and spells.

 Pacific wrote:

I've not noticed any frame rate issues by the way (certainly not like the last one, wading through the water in blight town!), but then again I was lucky with being seemingly one of the few people who had a copy of Skyrim that played perfectly despite a massive save file.

They did end up having to cut back quite a bit on the graphics in order to keep everything running decently on the PS3/360's ancient hardware. Hopefully the PC version will bring back the fantastic visuals we saw in earlier builds.

Anyone else having trouble with blue orbs? I cant get an invasion with them, It always instantly tells me there is no one to invade... Is just no one committing sins or is it bugged at the moment?

 DA's Forever wrote:
Anyone else having trouble with blue orbs? I cant get an invasion with them, It always instantly tells me there is no one to invade... Is just no one committing sins or is it bugged at the moment?

I am not sure, maybe it has to do with the covenant you are (not) in?

Im in the Blue Knights or whatever its called. If your not it wont even let you try, Im allowed to use them, It just wont actually take me to anyone. I can use red's just fine so I dont think its a problem with my internet.

I've picked up a copy but I haven't played Dark Souls 2 yet.

But I did dig a few splinters out of my shoulder which did involve a mirror, tweezers, a razor blade, and peroxide and that's basically the same thing.

The Gulch... Is.. not a fun place.. My god. Thats another one down, two more to go. I think at least.

The Gulch is beyond awful, but thankfully it's short.

That said, you think that place is bad, you're in for a whole new kind of hell once you get to the Shrine of Amana.

Oh boy! I cant wait! Sounds like a load of fun!

That is about the only thing good that can be said of the Gulch, it definitely doesn't over stay its welcome. Unless the boss hassles you, which I could see it doing if you weren't playing a ranged character like i am at the moment.

Ugh, smelter demon is kicking my ass. Nothing I have does any significant damage to it and it always stomps my face after its stomach catches on fire. The fact that Lucatiel is the most worthless NPC summon doesn't help at all

Lucatiel is literally garbage, she helps with Sentry and then just gets owned by the Sinner. She cant even tank for you which makes it worse, she doesn't have enough health to be a worthwhile distraction.

Her sword is really nice, at least.

As for Smelter Demon, you can roll through all of his attacks outside of the big explody burst. Roll under the first attack, then the second, hit him once or twice, rinse and repeat. I find the best way to roll is towards him to the right, so you end up typically behind and to his left.

If he does give you too much trouble, you can always skip him. But keep in mind that once you finish him, Pursuer spawns once more in that location, and he drops a good ring for physical builds if you manage to kill him a second time.

Oh man, I feel bad for anyone who doesn't like spiders. I'm alright with them and I certainly don't like this! .

Yeah, it turns out Seathe was kind of a bastard like that.

First time i got up at Bastille where the 3 crossbow guys are, suddenly a dragon showed up i went WTF and ran of the ramparts loving the game, dying always feels like it is your own fault.

You say that now, but trust me, there are some parts in this one that will have you changing your tune.

There are definitely some parts in this one that really feel like they got carried away. Not enough to take much away from the game, but certainly some areas that left a bad taste in my mouth.