Is the forest always so brutal?

I usually steer clear of the forest and hunt farmers in londo, griefers in the burg or depths, and duel in the kiln. It was slow going today so i figured i'd hit the forest. within 30 seconds of entering i was flattened while i was clearing the npc's. I took advantage of the break to actually clear the npc's, and no sooner had i finished than i was invaded again and shortly after again still. Rather than wait for my fight to end, the second phantom attempted to jump me and no sooner had i killed the initial invader than i was invaded again by the guy who flattened me while i cleared the area. now i killed all of these people without healing and am quite proud of myself, but my question stands. Is it always like that?

Dunno,only went in once as a member of the Forest covenant and that was enough. Got hammered by three consecutive teams ot two or more and I'm not up to dealing with that YET!

That pretty much sums the forest up.

Can still be fun from time to time if you go in there knowing what to expect.

As soon as i leave the last step on the stairs the opening behind me turns into a fog wall.

It's insane at lvlv 120, I am practicing with my sl120 now but I used to fight always with my sl213 and sometimes I can't even get to the stairs from the bonfire because of invasions.

Some hunters like to gang up, others don't. I usually try to 1v1, and if I see another Hunter enter I usually back off and point at the next hunter, and don't heal. Wait to see if the host kills him, then continue the fight, I don't even care if he uses one Estus at that point. It's brutal on both sides. As an invader and host, I've experienced PvP from every side of every covenant, except Dragon. Fact is, most people are going to use cheap tactics, gangbang, and taunt. There was a point where I thought other forest hunters were like me, but their not. Just as some Sunbros like to farm in the forest 3v1.

Is the forest brutal?

Hell yes it is.

Who's fault is it?

I have no clue, I only know it is going to get worse.

Yes, it's always like that. That's why we love it.

Constant action, constant double-teaming (getting double-teamed, lol), great atmosphere, fun terrain, etc. IMO, the kiln is a complete bore after spending some time in the forest. As Yesuurd said, you don't need to wait more than a few seconds at SL120. This is true whether you're hosting or invading.

I think I'm going to take a long break from the Forest, after facing nothing but 4v1's all morning, I quit for now. I think I'll just ignore PvP for a while given its horrible state in Dark Souls. Frankly I think I'm going to go beat Skyrim again, I don't know the game just feels dead to me now after how awful a time I've had today. The griefers won, they caused a person to no longer wish to play. I hope they're happy.

Tolvo wrote:I think I'm going to take a long break from the Forest, after facing nothing but 4v1's all morning, I quit for now. I think I'll just ignore PvP for a while given its horrible state in Dark Souls. Frankly I think I'm going to go beat Skyrim again, I don't know the game just feels dead to me now after how awful a time I've had today. The griefers won, they caused a person to no longer wish to play. I hope they're happy.

Tolvo - don't give up hope on PvPing as hunter in the forest. I know it can be disheartning sometimes but I have come terms with the brutality of the forest. 3v1 are indeed difficult to deal with - but the struggle must continue. I have come to relish the bangs - it forces you to use your mind instead of just swing away (not saying you do this of course). Most farmers who bang are simply not students of dueling - their intent is to make as many hunter leave the convenant by banging them hard. I'm sorry reinforcements did not arrive in time to at least turning your battles into 3v2.

Tolvo - check you email on the forum - since you appear to be a quality hunter I will give you a nice tactic you can try out in the forest when you are facing insurmountable odds.

I usually can tell the climate of the forest upon first invading (if given a chance). If it is a lone farmer then I see what mindset he is in and if he is looking for 1v1 duel then I give it to him and back-off if another hunter invades and attacks him. Now if the host tries to summon help then I will try to kill him with extreme prejudice before his minion arrives. I love for the minion to see that the host is dead just when they are materializing - I usually get in there face to say you are too late to save him.

In my opinion the farmers have set the tone in the forest - we hunters suffer from serious PTSD due to all the bangs. If I do bang a lone farmer and he griefs I usually tell him that I will not do it again if I invade them. I have had some very good 1v1 duels with this arrangement. I have even made friends with many farmers using this honorable approach. In short in the climate in the forest can be summed up as - "you get what you give and vice versa."

Tolvo - we need good hunters like you. Don't give up hope bro!

You just need to know when to quit in the forest I find. You can go on a winning streak as a hunter in 1v1 then get nothing but 3v1's where you might be lucky to kill 1 out of the 3.

Just don't play until you are pissed off waiting for that next win, not really a big deal if you win or lose anyway not like half the people that kill you gruesomely are going to remember one hunter to the next.

Yesterday I walked right off the face of a cliff back peddaling from a red phantom and a host. I don't make a point of engaging if I see the two bow, or if its a red phantom and a host but they will just drop what they are doing to fight me while I stand and watch? If you want to duel why are you dueling in the forest... its like trying to hold a duel in dark anor. You are in a hotspot lol.

The issue was just that today I saw the absolute worst set up of farming I've ever seen. Two Summons, and a Darkwraith helping them. I ended up exclusively invading them for a few hours, no matter what trick I tried I kept getting set up with them. I even tried switching characters, still them. I'm human, I can only take so many taunt filled deaths that I had no way of surviving. I hope 4v1's are not catching on, because that is the lowest thing I've ever seen. I'd rather fight a low level griefer with nothing but starting gear.

Another issue I've been having is that I always add Farmers to my Block List, but I haven't been able to. I don't know if this stops me from invading them, but if it does I'm very disappointed in that.

Tolvo, I have seen this as a darkmoon blade a few times outside of the forest. I don't think it will catch on as I have only seen it a few times. You should be able to avoid it by switching servers though, just shut the game off make a sandwich and turn it back on. Thats what I do

Yes, the forest is the wild west. You can sometimes get respectful fights or even 1v1 duels (usually when invading as a darkwraith, not a forest cov) but mostly it's a mad scramble of high level farmers. What keeps me sane is knowing I'll likely be facing 3v1s with higher level foes and I'll probably die. That just stands to reason. So when you do win, it's all the sweeter, and carries the humiliation of high level people losing to my sorry toon.

I also love kiting them into the treants, since they're usually overconfident and forget how suddenly 2-3 of those mobs can ruin their day with grab attacks. It also plays havoc with their target locks, opening up BS and AOE attack possibilities. I love seeing a havels lightning zweihander guy panic in there. And there's the joy of that moment when you appear and see another forest cov member summoning nearby, then you both head straight for the host without saying a word. Good good times

Tolvo wrote:The issue was just that today I saw the absolute worst set up of farming I've ever seen. Two Summons, and a Darkwraith helping them. I ended up exclusively invading them for a few hours, no matter what trick I tried I kept getting set up with them. I even tried switching characters, still them. I'm human, I can only take so many taunt filled deaths that I had no way of surviving. I hope 4v1's are not catching on, because that is the lowest thing I've ever seen. I'd rather fight a low level griefer with nothing but starting gear.

Another issue I've been having is that I always add Farmers to my Block List, but I haven't been able to. I don't know if this stops me from invading them, but if it does I'm very disappointed in that.

Check your message for the tactic that Brokewilly is sending. I've used it successfuly to dislodge persistent farmers. I also got a string of hatemail for doing it. I cherish that hatemail!

We all have bad nights when we just can't shake a group of farmers. 4v1 is exceptionally bad, but it's also a very ripe situation for Brokewilly's tactic. Once you've cleared them out, you'll have smooth sailing for a while as long as you and other invaders can prevent them from digging in again.

As Brokewilly said, we need more good invaders like you. Keep the faith!

I feel like it is fitting that my main forest character has High Faith...Aside from the fact that sometimes one just needs to WoG.

invasions stop after Sif is killed right?

by using the bb glitch I was able to have two rings of artoias so I could leave Sif alive. But once you go to NG+, both rings vanish. I would really like to find a work around to still get access to kilin but with leaving the Sif alive so I can host in the forest. Has anyone come across a way to do this?

Haha yeah I WoG the farmers all the time. I find it very themely, plus I just love knocking them off cliffs with it.

Can someone send me the super secret tactic email too? I'll take all the help I can get in there.

Usually what I do with Farmers is BS the host, Force to keep the Summons back for a moment, then WoG as he gets up, then BS while he's staggered. Usually that kills them in one go.

befowler wrote:Haha yeah I WoG the farmers all the time. I find it very themely, plus I just love knocking them off cliffs with it.

Can someone send me the super secret tactic email too? I'll take all the help I can get in there.

Befowler - check your messages on the forum. Help is on its way!!

I just play offline mode when I go there to farm

The Forest is my Home either as the Host or a Hunter!! trust me when I tell ya, yes, it is brutal and unforgiving but, after a few weeks of it you'll notice that you can fend off random invaders alot more quickly and easily. it will up your skill level.

The forest is very Brutal indeed....

But what is up with all the super secret Ninja PM's :suspect:

I mostly play the forest, its the first real hotspot you can get too that has a really high invasion rate.

However I tried being in the covenant and thats just bad, most of the times you invade someone they turn out to be phantom farming. So I usually just play as the host, its been ok and quite fun now and then and I dont mind 2-1 setups that much.

Lately tho its been a lot of TWoP, WoG so its been a bit less fun...

ted1023 wrote:The Forest is my Home either as the Host or a Hunter!! trust me when I tell ya, yes, it is brutal and unforgiving but, after a few weeks of it you'll notice that you can fend off random invaders alot more quickly and easily. it will up your skill level.

This is very true. Getting beaten on in there for a week made a noticeable difference in my PvP skill in other areas of the game. It's like living a Rocky training montage. Having to deal with only one opponent was suddenly a breeze - yeah, I still die sometimes, but even those fights are usually close.

"Lately tho its been a lot of TWoP, WoG so its been a bit less fun..."

Haha, I have been abusing Force to get gang bangers to hesitate on closing in on me. So far it keeps the host away and lets me tango with the phantoms, of course, the deals off as soon as one of them actually gets hit by my spell and they all notice its just a stagger. I'm still only lvl 21 on this char so even that small advantage usually gives me enough time to take down one phantom with a backstab. I'd just like to take this time to thank all of the real WoG-ers out there for making themselves a staple.