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

[Grimnirsson]

Seems that this sort of Soul Farming is a legitimate way in DS2:

Boss Farming

So long as you have the White Soapstone, you can farm bosses indefinitely for Souls. Place your summon sign outside of a bosses fog door, and if you get summoned and defeat the boss, you will get souls rewarded to you. This can be done for any boss, but there will be more traffic at specific, harder bosses, like the Ruin Sentinel, or Nashandra.

http://www.ign.com/wikis/dark-souls-2/How_to_Farm_Souls

Apart from the fact that the Ruin Sentinels are so easy to beat and don't deserve the term 'hard boss' it still feels weird. Even the Bonfire Ascetic nets you 500.000 souls when you clear a certain area which is insane but at least it makes the enemies harder to beat (how much I don't know) and there's the danger that it might crank it up too much if you go into NG+ but to have the opportunity to get so many souls in such a short time is a strange design.

[W8taminute]

Hmmm...farming for souls with enemies like the zombies you find in the Forest is one thing but bagging 9000 souls every 5 minutes that's another.  I would say it's ok to farm souls but if you can boost your character to level 150 after farming an easy half a million souls then I would say the game might be a little broken. 


Played a little PvP today against several different players who invaded my world.  Did not win a single victory at all despite being at level 51.  I need to reinforce my weapons and armor but the blacksmith in Majula doesn't sell titanite shards anymore.   :'(

It's clear to me though that the opponents I fought had at least +5 reinforced armor or weapons or both.  When I gave them a hit with my strongest weapon I only did 28 to 32 HP of damage.  When they hit me once two handed I lost half my HP. 

My conclusion, leveling up alone is not the answer.  You've got to reinforce your weapon and armor as well.   Some weapons and armor scale with your level but where they really shine is when you have reinforced your equipment as high as you can.

[Grimnirsson]

Yeah, upgrading stuff is essential, my mace is now doing 180 dmg, the Giant Knights in the Heide Tower need three hits and they are gone. Since I'm pretty strong now I can use the Knights there as well to farm :P

And I wasn't invaded once! I don't wear the blue ring anymore since it's just locking up a ring slot because no one shows up. Also...a...bit...strange...the design philosophy in DS2 is different that's for sure and it's definitely easier than the first one. Seems the head of the design team leaving the company had some effects on the overall design.

[W8taminute]

^As far as I can tell the only way to get invaded is to invite a player in by clicking on his red soapstone signature.  Otherwise things are pretty quite.  Today I was fortunate enough to play against other players because there were a lot of signatures in my world. 

And I hate to admit it but I agree with you about DS2 being easier than DS.  I've played a lot of DS and have not even come close to accomplishing all of the things I have done in DS2.  This game is fun but it is no where near as challenging as the first title.   :(

[W8taminute]

As promised here is my character.  Oddly his name is W8taminute.  He's a soldier who although won a great victory for his king got lost after the last major battle of the war.  He stumbled upon a forbidding place in a dark forest and ended up somehow wandering the land of Drangleic with hollow sickness. 

[Grimnirsson]

The armor of your character is rather light ;)

I never saw such a red sign either...there are many white signs for coop (which also makes it way easier to rush even through new levels - only drawback is that you might miss a few spots and souls so I usually don't summon players in a new area.) but no PvP for me so far.

[Hiimori]

I also got the impression that DS2 is easier than DS1. I'm Lv 61 now, and I don't think I was even close to Lv 61 in DS1 after only one week of playing (about 15 hours playing time).

There is almost no limit to farming - thanks to the endless boss farming option where you return with re-filled estus and repaired weapons.

By now, I have 4 Estus plus 65 (!) Life gems plus several stronger healing items. In DS1, it was a permanent struggle between drinking Estus and returning to the bonfire in order to refill the flasks. Here, there's not much pressure or fear of running out of healing items.

I made a run through Heide's Tower yesterday (as Grimnirsson said, the Giant Knights are not much of a challenge). I then summoned a cleric and we killed the first boss in the first attempt. I then moved on to the Blue Crytal tower, where I killed the second boss in the first attempt. I got the strange impression that players are supposed to move to Heide's Tower first, before moving to the Bastille (where I moved after the Giant's Forest). I was also showered with tons of stuff there.

So, even if I'm free to decide whether I want to go to Heide's Tower or the Bastille, the enemies' strength implies that there is a certain linearity of how to approach the game.

I wasn't invaded a single time, but now that I became a Blue Sentinel, I'm curious whether I will be summoned into the worlds of Blue Apostels, when they need help against an invader.

Sir Thomas More with his new weapon:

[Grimnirsson]

What I find interesting is that several voices on the web say they consider the game as very difficult. Yesterday after one of my Ruin Sentinels farming fights I got a voice message from the dude I was fighting with (we won) and he told me how grateful he was that I was able to help him (I killed 2 of the Sentinels alone while he was in a fight with the third one - sometimes the first Sentinel jumps off the platform and the others then join him on the ground, that's when the situation gets a bit more challenging because usually you kill the first one on the platform then the others on the ground) and that he was struggling with these bosses for hours (!).

I then surfed the web to see what others think about the difficulty of the game and I got the impression that for the majority it is difficult. I suppose that the new features that make the game more approachable and the fact that a Souls veteran (I think after 200 hours into DS1 I count as one ;) ) has lost his 'virginity' so to say is the reason for him the game feels so easy. The thrill of absolute danger and the feeling of being helpless that's something he can not get back, i.e. he starts in a more careful way, he knows what to look for, what to expect as possible traps, how to fight efficiently and tactically, what weapons work best for his personal style to max out combat skills, the way to level up being focused on the kind of warrior he has in mind from the beginning etc.

So, to say the game is broken because of the boss farming options (and the many healing items) is perhaps wrong since so many folks can't do it and die trying. I have now decided to play the game as it works, enjoying the new features and using them and the overall design to my advantage and as a goal having in mind not the last boss or something, but the NG+ experience. Things are supposed to change then, the game getting harder and it's said that the NG+ is not just the same game with stronger enemies, but a different experience, in what way I don't know.

Point is I enjoy the Souls games not only for their difficulty but for their morbid atmosphere and sinister mood and tactical polished combat. That's all fine in DS2 so Drangleic is just another part of the world I already know (and love) from my adventures in Lordran. When I'm through with DS2 and have experienced NG+ I will go back to Lordran and switch back to my second character in that game. Two sides of one coin so to say, giving different experiences on the same rotten ground.

[W8taminute]

You made some very interesting points the main one is that DS veterans do find this game easier than the first.  I agree.  Still this is a fun game and I'm enjoying it.  It took me 4 attempts to beat the mini boss that guards the Blue Sentinels.  I still can't beat the Pursuer though and I have died at least 10 times trying. 

My armor is generally very light Grim as you can see.  I am going for speed and agility at the expense of armor.  Of course when it comes to fighting the bosses or that Red NPC phantom in Huntsman Copse I don my Falcon armor set which I've been quite happy with. 

[Hiimori]

Despite my comments and observations, I also like DS2. As Grimnirsson said, you have to play it as it is and use all its features and concepts to your advantage.

I'm Lv 70 now, and I had a typical Dark Souls moment yesterday...

I'm currently roaming No Man's Wharf and spent the evening farming the area. I only found one bonfire so far (at the beginning of the level), so the way to the boss is quite long. This also means that you get many souls on your way there, even if you choose the most direct path with all available shortcuts.

I left a summon sign at the fog gate and was summoned several times (but I also realized that there are fewer summoning signs than in Heide's Tower, the Forest of Giants, or the Bastille! Obviously, the region isn't very populated). I supported several players in the boss fight, the boss isn't very hard and the battle is over in under a minute and provides me with 3850 souls. I didn't die a single time and didn't see anyone die during the fight. I repeatedly assisted other players in fighting the boss, became human, and then decided to fight him myself.

I waited for summoning signs, but they were rare, and often the summoning failed. I then summoned someone and we waited together for about 3 minutes until a second sign appeared (fortunately, my first guest was very patient). We then moved through the fog wall and attacked the boss.

He was down within 30 seconds... well, almost down. His lifebar was barely visible, and he would have died with only a few more hits... but then he lashed out at me. I stumbled against a wall, lost orientation, trapped myself with my back against a pillar... and was killed by him. Absolutely dumb move!

I guess my guests thought: "what an idiot, how can anyone die in this boss fight, and why seconds before victory?!?". In addition, I lost about 15k souls. So, again, never underestimate an enemy in Dark Souls, not even the apparently weak ones...!

Ashamed, I left the game for the evening. But today... there is still a souls bag to recover, and I will have to regain humanity and make up for this shameful event.

[W8taminute]

^That's one of the reasons why the Dark Souls series is are great.  Even weak enemies can kill the strong if they get too cocky. 


This evening I began the game patrolling for the guilty in an attempt to punish them.  As a member of the Blue Sentinels Covenant you get to hunt around the online world for people who commit 'crimes' in the game.  Alas there were no guilty souls to be found.  So I helped some fellow players in coop against the various bosses in the early game.  Racked up some nice souls and used them to get me to level 77.  I also upgraded my halberd to +4 and boy does it pack a powerful punch. 

Then I fought a sparring match in the Blue Sentinel arena and won!  My first victory after being defeated 4 times in a row. 

I finished the session fighting a red phantom using just my fists.  It did not turn out well but I learned some valuable tactics as a result.  Can't wait to hunt around again tomorrow!

[Hiimori]

I was invaded yesterday, for the first time, but I killed the invader within 10 seconds... he wasn't very talented  ;)

I discovered a new feature (which was unthinkable in DS1), but I actually like it: when I first entered No Man's Wharf, I accidentally killed the merchant there. This was very problematic, because many items are in limited supply in stock, and this merchant also buys stuff! When I returned there, I found a gravestone at the spot where I killed him. I was offered the option to pray for his soul and to offer 4500 souls (which I did) - and then he was resurrected as a ghost, telling me that he was still dead, but I could trade with him. In DS1, I also killed a merchant once, and he was lost forever.

Yesterday, I decided to fight the 3 Sentinels in the Bastille. I had farmed them for the last few days, and I decided that it was time for me to face them. Together with a summoned knight and an NPC, I killed them off in my first attempt!

After killing them, the world opens up and there isn't much of the linearity left (as I suspected from my first playing hours). The Bastille is larger than I thought, and there is an annoying new enemy type I call the "suicide mummies". There are not very strong, but they throw themselves on you and explode, which drains half of the life bar.

I also found several useful rings by now, one (like Havel's ring in the first game) reduces the equip load (I don't need it, though, I travel light), one that reduces weapon damage (my weapons are damaged all the time, so this ring is very useful for me), and one which protects the life bar from going down to 50% when I die (it now stops at 75%). Cool stuff everywhere, even when I don't wear my Merchan't hat anymore (which had enhanced item detect).

But I still wear my old Merchants coat, now +4. I like it better than all the other shiny armors I found so far.

Two new areas are now open. I explored one with another player (I didn't dare to enter the fog wall and left my summon sign there, and then I realized it was no boss but a gateway to a new part of the world). So there is much to do for me now!

I think I'm about Level 80 now.

[Yskonyn]

You guys play way more than I can. I am far behind on you guys. Still level 20 or so.
I might have to stop reading this thread now in fear of spoilers. :)

[Grimnirsson]

Level 96 now ;)

But don't worry, in the Souls games there's no need to rush or so, it's your world so take your time and Praise the Sun! :)

[Yskonyn]

True, and so I do!

I wonder what's more important; leveling your stats or upgrading your gear? The internet seems to be divided on the subject too.