Dark Souls II: Are you ready to be hollow again?

[W8taminute]

My warrior is progressing nicely.  In fact I'm happy with my overall progress in Dark Souls 2 vs. how I did in DS.  But it could be due to the fact that I'm practicing a lot more patience this time around and not getting too greedy.  Greed kills in this game more often than it gains you anything. 

I really should revisit my character in Dark Souls as well.  What I've already learned this early in DS2 might even help me tremendously with my character in DS. 

[Hiimori]

Yeah I will keep wearing the ring I suppose. I have three rings,so its not that I need space. But I do feel scammed.

I think you are talking about the Ring of Evil Eye, the cat merchant offered it to me. But since I was warned by you, I didn't buy it (didn't have 4500 souls anyway, I'm currently investing all my souls in upgrading my armor / weapon and arrows).

4 Estus Shards ? I have found none yet, but then again I haven't ventured beyond the tower yet in the Forrest.

I didn't venture out of the Forest yet! I cleared the Forest, but I'm still hesitating to go through the fog wall and fight the boss, so I'm currently farming the Forest of Giants from one end to the other. I found all 4 Estus Shards in Majula and/or the Forest (but I'm a Explorer, so it's my job to explore ;)!

A warning. You should not let your favorite weapon break. My current favorite weapon is a short sword+1, and I once ignored the warning about the imminent breakdown, but was in the midst of a fight. When my weapon broke, I had to repair it for 799 souls (no bonfire repair once the weapon is broken), which was quite expensive.

I also had a typical DS moments yesterday... I tried to provoke the fa black monster with the giant club in the Forest of Giants in order to lure it away, then I stumbled over a barrel und he slew me with his club. I lost about 3000 souls there. No problem, I thought, the bonfire isn't far away. I spawned, moved to the place in a rush... and was killed within sight of my souls bag by a stupid grunt with a spear. I know no other game where i ever shouted at the TV and cried out loud: "Nooooooo! Nonononono! Nooooo!"

Enemies don't respawn endlessly; since I'm currently farming the Forest, I realized that more and more of the standard enemies disappear over time. They don't disappear simultaneously, but after a certain amount of respawns, there are fewer and fewer enemies on your standard routes. So I'm trying to optimize my farming, killing as many as there are around without resting at the bonfire (burning through all crap weapons in my inventory because they degrade so fast).

[W8taminute]

Enemies don't respawn endlessly;

That is a great new feature in DS2.  It works both ways actually.  Sure after a while you can no longer farm souls off of easy to kill opponents but on the other hand you also reduce the number of trouble makers you have to face just before a major boss fight.  Since early in the game most people are going to have only 1 or 2 estus flask refills it comes in handy to not have to face so many goons before a big boss fight.

[Yskonyn]

It also makes Souls a finite commodity in a given area. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. But it does force the player to keep on progressing through the areas after a time, which is logical.

[Hiimori]

It also makes Souls a finite commodity in a given area. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. But it does force the player to keep on progressing through the areas after a time, which is logical.

I wonder how the amount of available Souls in a given area is adjusted to the area bosses. In DS1, I spent years in the Undead Burg and Undead Parish, until I felt strong enough to face a boss. And even afterwards, I returned there all the time.

With finite souls, I should be able to tackle the area boss once the respawning has ended. But what if I spent them wrong, or lost them on my way? This could mean that I'm stuck with a boss or a strong enemy without a chance of levelling up or enhancing my equipment.

But the designers must have thought about this, so I guess there will be a fine balance between the moment when the respawning ends and the level and skills you need to kill the area boss and progress to the next stage.

[Yskonyn]

The Merchant lady in de tower sells Human Effigies, as far as I understand, in packs of 4.
Yet my inventory never shows more than 3 Human Effigies.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?

[Grimnirsson]

The Merchant lady in de tower sells Human Effigies, as far as I understand, in packs of 4.

What do you mean? If you buy Human Effigies from her you always buy 4 at once? I somehow doubt that's the case ;)

[Yskonyn]

So what does the 4 mean in its icon in the store?

[Grimnirsson]

That the merchant has 4 of this to offer, they only have a limited supply of things :)

[Yskonyn]

But the lifegems show 10 and you do buy them in stacks of 10 don't you? Or am I being daft here? ;)

Anyway I am enjoying my exploration so far. I have farmed more Souls and was able to buy the Travelling Merchant's Armor set.
The hood gives a bonus to item discovery and the Armor is better against normal attacks than what I had when I started. Its Elemental and magic resistances are lower though.
I believe this is the same Armor set the Explorer starts out with?

I still have no clue where I am supposed to find Estus Shards, let alone 4 of them, in Majula. I found those rat like things that are hard to kill normally and tricked them into falling in the pit.

I am stuck inside the fortress except to go through the mist, but I dont want to fight a boss yet. But my options a limited cause most Doors I find are locked.
So its either farm some more Souls to buy the Parros' Lockstone, reinforce my gear at the blacksmith and perhaps buy the Falconeer Armor set, or I will have to face what's beyond the mist...

Or I just havent found other options yet. :)

[Yskonyn]

I just found a nice Fire Longsword!
It's hard to gauge te difference in power between it and my old Sword vs the added Fire damage, but I think the stats alone might not tell the whole story.
My old shortsword +1 had 110 physical damage, while the firesword +1 has 85.
Would you take the firesword over the shortsword too?
How does Elemental damage work? Does it stack on top of physical dmg making it effectively a 170 dmg Sword as long as the foe is vulnerable to Fire?

[W8taminute]

Hi Yskonyn,

That little number 10 next to the Lifegem icon at the merchants indicates how many he has in stock.  You buy items one at a time and watch the merchants stock decrease by the amount you have purchased.   Hope this clears up the confusion a bit. 

Don't give up on thinking you've exhausted all of your exploration options.  It sounds like you have not found any estus shards yet?  There is one that I know of in Majula.  Have you talked to the talking cat yet and exhausted all dialogue options with her?  That's the only hint I'll give you lest I spoil the game.   ;)

Keep checking your surroundings no matter what location you're in.  I've overlooked at least two separate paths in the Forest of the Giants and was pleasantly surprised on how much more of the map has opened up for me.

Another exploration tip you can try requires that you possess either the small white soapstone or the large white soapstone.  Equip either of those items in your item slot and use them at various locations around the world.  This places a summoning sign that other players will see and use to summon you into their world.  In this way you can accompany them on their journey.  This will hopefully reveal more of the map to you and how to get there and earn you extra soul income!  Give it a try.  I got my small white soapstone by joining the Blue covenant. 

[Grimnirsson]

Some doors that are locked can be opened with force...just sayin' ;)

[Hiimori]

Anyway I am enjoying my exploration so far. I have farmed more Souls and was able to buy the Travelling Merchant's Armor set.
The hood gives a bonus to item discovery and the Armor is better against normal attacks than what I had when I started. Its Elemental and magic resistances are lower though.
I believe this is the same Armor set the Explorer starts out with?

Yes, it is the Explorer's starting armor set. I think it's a great armor set, light and with useful attributes. I upgraded it to +2 by now and I intend to keep it. There is stronger armor around which offers more physical protection, but I like the special features of the merchant's armor, so I feel no urge to change it against anything heavier or stronger right now.

If you didn't find any Estus shards in Majula, you should keep looking. One of them is quite easy to find (I left a message on the ground indicating the trick) and accessible from the very beginning. Another shard requires some pre-work in the Forest.

For the other shards, listen to Grimnirsson's and W8taminute's advice  ;)

[Grimnirsson]

I have 4 Estus flasks now and the Soul Vessel, various rings and the Fire Sword and in my next session I will check out what is behind the fog door... :)