Why the heck haven't I done this sooner?

As some of you may know I've been playing DkS for quite some time now, and no matter how hard I try not to I always end up growing bored with my character builds, which means that having invested hundreds of hours in this game all I have got to show for it is one complete play-through. I kid you not! :oops:

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely luv this game, and would even go as far as to say that it is one of, if not the, best games that I have played in my many years of playing vid-games, but as with DS before I have quickly come to realise that when it comes to my character builds I have a severe lack of commitment.

I therefore had serious doubts that I would have any lasting interest in my latest build when I started to develop her a week back, knowing that she was already my fifth this month alone, but to my surprise my affection for her has steadily grown as the days go by, to the point where I want to keep on pushing through the levels. The reason for this is clear, and no it's not because I've become a dirty old man, it's because right from the moment she spawned in the Undead Asylum I decided not to put any limits on her development, and to my surprise without any forethought whatsoever I have ended up creating a mid-level character (SL58) who is an absolute joy to play. Sure, in some peoples eyes she may not be perfect, and her stats may well be all over the place :roll: , but for me she is the ideal partner in an unforgivable land that has rapidly become my home away from (although still very much in) home. Just don't tell the misses!

Yeah, if you like your character you'll like playing at lot more. It works like that, I think.

Sweet for me, I have 60 hours I nvested in my main pvp character. But that's the highest. Mind putting a link to the build?

You should post the stats =D And that is great, a build doesn't have to be up to others standards to be perfect . I'm interested to see if you post it up =3

I would, but I never made one, and in all honesty I couldn't tell you what her current stats are as I've pretty much thrown whatever I could into everything apart from Resistance. I've said she's a SL58, but that was a calculated guess on my part, and so she is in all likelihood higher/lower than that. The point is where this build is concerned stat totals and soul levels are no longer important to me, and so if I feel that she needs more points invested in say Strength then that's where I'll concentrate my spending. It's such a simple concept that I do not know why I have never tried it before. :roll:

Whatever works my friend, whatever works. My best build was made in the same way =3

I got so bogged down in wanting to create the 'perfect' build to show off here that I ended up completely forgetting that DkS is a game, not a chore.

I've invested about 550 hours into my main character. But mostly because I'm too lazy to make new ones.

Lol my favorite part of build making is making them exactly perfect with looks and with stats, but my favorite build of all has never been showcased anywhere but the burg and nobody has lived to tell of it

My favorite build is my 500, for the simple fact that it can do anything and do it well. I don't even PvP with it really. I'll occasionally FH, but that's pretty rare. It's actually a pretty good way to do build mock-ups since you don't even have to create a new save to test it. You just swap the gear around, find something you like and that plays well, then just plug the stuff into MM to get a handle on END/VIT. Then you can actually build it knowing exactly how it plays.

Funny you should say that ssss, every build up to this one I have struggled when it comes to taking on the Silver Knights in Anor Londo, until I reached the point where heavy stat investment made me overpowered, but with this one I pretty much owned the realm as soon as I set foot in it. Even getting passed the two Silver Bowmen was a doddle, and dare I say it a tad disappointing. It even gave me the confidence to make a bee-line straight for O&S, but in the end I have purposely held back from taking them on, choosing to farm the Silver Knights for souls and drops, as I am now looking to make this a part of my Platinum run.

500! :cyclops:

120 for PvP FC is my highest to date, and is in fact the only build that I've been interested in long enough to bring it over to NG+.

Gazman0169 wrote:I got so bogged down in wanting to create the 'perfect' build to show off here that I ended up completely forgetting that DkS is a game, not a chore.

That's great. I'm the opposite of most people on the forum, I have to force myself to make builds. Usually my first character remains my favorite, and I always just play it for fun; if he has 20 str and 10 dex and I get a Balder Side Sword drop I'm likely to start pumping Dex. If I decide some armor looks really cool but it's too heavy I'll take end as far as I need to be able to wear it. Etc. There's so much cool stuff in this game I don't like to be limited. It's made me sort of a "Jack of all trades, master of few," but I still love the game after 2,000+ hours, so I can live with that.

Then again I'm not fond of PvP for PvP's sake. The only time I really enjoy it is when I'm invaded during playthroughs. Going to an area to PvP gets boring after about an hour because every enemy is basically the same. Gear differs, stats differ, but for the most part players play the same.

I figure for your first character or two - go with what feels right too you and don't get caught up on 'perfection'.

Play the game, have fun - the min/max optimized only really matters if you plan on getting really serious about PvP, and even then - good player skill on a crap build can trump bad player skill on a perfect build.

It seems to me that a lot of people spend as much time perfecting this or that build as they do playing the game. My main character has no special build, she just kind of evolved and is a bit of a 'Jill of all trades', although I admit to being more of a stealth player than a full on melee monger. My best moments are when I couldn't care less about how many souls I'll lose if I get tanked and funnily enough I have more success and definitely more fun playing this way.

I, too, was getting bogged down by all the MIN/MAX bs of making a character that can do something specific VERY WELL... Until I decided to make a Solaire build with 50 faith. EVERYTHING changed and now that guy is my 100% go to character. Absolutely astounding the difference it can make to actually ENJOY you build and its actually functional. GRATS OP on finding your little slice of heaven!

Well I'm currently in the Dukes Archives, and I'm chuffed to say that my interest in my latest build has grown steadily stronger the further I push through the game, and so this lil lady if definately a keeper!

The funny thing is, even though I've not put any limits on this characters development the way things are panning out she is steadily growing along the same lines as my other successful build, my SL120, which I spent an absolute age on to get his stats to a level that I considered just right for use in both PvE and PVP, go figure!

You should post her build now that she's rounding into more of a completed character.

Well as things stand I think her stats are 32 Vit, 16 Att, 40 End, 16 Str, 40 Dex, 10 Res, 15 Int, & 12 Faith, or thereabouts.

Part of the reason why I've stayed so interested in her is that I am using her to get my Platinum Trophy, but having no set limitations is a massive weight off and has certainly played it's part.

Yeah I love that 15 int with the Ooc catalyst. Lots of spells at that mark that are just plain helpful (Great Magic Weapon, chameleon / hidden body/ hush/ great magic shield... so many!)

Looks very close to the character I just made for my first PS3 run. Doing a Warrior of Vinheim, using Scimitar, shortbow, ooc, heater shield, and keeping 25% equipment load.

Gear is wanderer cloak, manchetes, thief face mask (so I can see the hair, looks better) and maiden skirt (antiquated skirt when I need the curse resistance). Stats are around 25 Vit, 30 ENd, 35 dex, 10 str, 12 ATT, 15 int, 8 faith (whatever a wanderer's base faith is).

Blast to play!

Mine is currently dressed in a Thief's mask (as she is from the Theif class), Black Sorcerer Cloak, Thorn Gloves, and Thorn Leggings, but will also use the Gold-Hemmed (Fire) and the Pyro (Poison) sets when the need arises. I've also equipped her out with an Grass Crest or an Eagle Shield, an +10 Heavy Crossbow or an +10 Composite Crossbow, an +5 Lightning Balder Side Sword or an +5 Silver Knight Spear, & an Oolacile Catalyst or an +5 Ascended Pyro Flame or an Thorolund Talisman, although I am yet to use any Miracles.

I next intend to release Logan, and buy all that he has, before venturing into the Crystal Cave to take on Seath with a view to aquiring his tail.

Yeah, normally in RPGs I go for heal, but totally unneeded in this game.

I recommend every new player to kindle every bonfire they come across (as normally they'll eventually lose their humanity anyways).

Same as, now that I've got the Rite I pretty much max-Kindle every bonfire I come across, even if I'm not likely to use them that much, simply because I like the way the flames are taller than my Character. It may sound like a waste, but in all honesty so far I've had no real use for all the Humanities I've collected, apart from keeping ten active to help keep my drop-rate maxed out. I used to use Humanities to heal quite a bit, but that was because before beginning this play-through I never kindled any of the bonfires beyond 10. How daft was that? :roll:

I only kindle key bonfires, as a stockpile of humanities increases defenses/curse resistance.

Actually forgot about taht last night. In a different city on business, brought along my ps3 to unwind at night. Died to a mushroom man at the bottom of ash lake, was really sleepy, went to get my souls back and forgot that I no longer had curse resistance. Died to a curse... Lost 12 soft humanities and about 4k souls.

Oh well.

No worries, I'm sure you'll get it all back in no time.

Over time I've gone from a loss being likened to the end of the world, to a point where it is nothing more than a mere inconvenience.

Take heart in the knowledge that it's a sure sign that you're becomming a seasoned vet when you start to die from enemies that were once a doddle to overcome!