Need some Tips and Advice.

Hello everyone! I've recently joined the forums and you all seem like a nice and knowledgeable bunch, it's great to be here.

I've recently been trying out PvP'ing but I have a hard time deciding which weapons to use with each specific build. I know some of the basics (Maximize damage as much as possible, never spend more than 40 points in a given stat unless you need to, weapons with good stat scaling are a must) so I would like to ask you guys for some suggestions.

I've already made a DEX/Pyro build, so now I'll try out either a quality build or a STR build. What are some good weapons for each of these? Any other things I need to know for these builds?

Thanks in Advance.

Hi there, these are probably the best tips I can give you:

If you're not already aware of mugen monkey then here is a link, it is absolutely the best tool for planning builds:

https://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/

- First of all, you are right about 40 being the cut-off point for stats, although there are some exceptions to this. Endurance may be increased beyond 40 if necessary because it will still increase your equip load. The same goes for vitality although this does start to diminish so most don't go beyond 50 (it's probably better to use the mother's mask to increase your VIT rather than going too far past 40).

- 50 strength is needed for some of the strength weapons so if you are making a strength build you need to decide which weapon you want to use so that you don't waste points in strength.

- For a quality build you should aim for 27 strength 40 dex. This gives you a damage boost if you 2 hand the weapon but it does not work the other way round (for example at 40 strength 27 dex you would have a smaller damage output overall whether one or two handing a weapon such as a longsword or claymore). If you like the Murakumo then you can put one more point into strength to be able to wield it one and two handed, but I wouldn't go above 28 strength.

- I don't use the strength weapons much so another forumer will probably be able to give you better advice but popular quality weapons include things like the broadsword, longsword, claymore, zweihander, and halberd. Other good choices would be the Demon's Spear since it has nice C/C scaling.

Of course, the fact that you have 40 dex is a bonus which also allows you to handle all of the main dex weapons in addition to the quality ones. Hope that helps you a bit!

Thank you for the advice, and that tool you linked will help quite a bit too.

What I'm still not sure of is why not just go for 40 STR? Wouldn't it be better (At least in theory) to maximize my stat scaling with it? Or is the scaling beyond 27 negligible for most quality weapons?

You get max scaling when two handing anyway with 27 and the leftover points can go to something else.

Since you haven't tried too many builds, I'd definitely recommend quality. It lets you try out almost every weapon in the game. 27 strength is because you get a 1.5x bonus when 2handing, and 27 x 1.5 is 40.5.

Here's something off the top of my head: http://mmdks.com/41rl

Some people don't like going that high on endurance and want more HP, but the point is to have lots of weight for weapons. This one has 14 weight for weapons (including shield) which is pretty good. You have a bit more leeway if you go wolf ring, though this particular build has low defense: http://mmdks.com/41rn

Edit: 28 str in second build is in case you want to use the murakumo

Check out this link: https://soulswiki.forumotion.com/t14581-reim-s-guide-to-making-builds for a guide to designing builds.  

As far as weapons are concerned, the main weapon is you.  Use a variety of weapons and see which ones work the best for you.  My personal favorite, right now, is either a Mura or a rapier-type.

And, welcome to the forums. I saw you in the chat last night.

Solid_WolF wrote:Thank you for the advice, and that tool you linked will help quite a bit too.

What I'm still not sure of is why not just go for 40 STR? Wouldn't it be better (At least in theory) to maximize my stat scaling with it? Or is the scaling beyond 27 negligible for most quality weapons?

Personally, I like to have the stat requirements, but most strength weapons are designed for two-handing anyways for the sake of stunlocking someone to death.

Thanks for the clarification everyone, and yea I was in the chat last night. It's good to be here.  

Thank you all for the tips! I'll check out every weapon and see what I am most comfortable with. 

Just for reference, dexterity is easiest to use, quality medium difficulty, and strength fairly hard to use. At least in concerns of dueling. And you should do most of your training to be better with a quality build, from the sheer amount of weapons you can use. Don't be afraid to use dex only weapons or strength only weapons on a quality build if you are wanting to see how you like a weapon.

I personally use the Claymore, Zweihander, Rapier, Estoc, and Washing Pole most on my quality builds. They are all amazing weapons, and considered some of the best in the game. There is a reason you see most youtubers running around with quality builds all the time. 

In concerns of 27/40 versus 40/40, it is mainly the question of if you are going to one-hand the weapon a lot or two-hand. If you will pretty much just two-hand, then go 27/40(or 28/40 if you want to use the Murakumo). If you plan on parrying a lot or just prefer to one-hand your swings, go 40/40. Plus with that, you can use Greatshields and more strength weapons. 

http://mmdks.com/41tp Here is a great example of a quality build utilizing it's strengths. I put in extra endurance to be able to have better variety in weapons, and I have, not a quality weapon, but a strength weapon and a dexterity weapon. Surprises people a lot.

What system are you on?

SirArchmage wrote:Just for reference, dexterity is easiest to use, quality medium difficulty, and strength fairly hard to use. At least in concerns of dueling. And you should do most of your training to be better with a quality build, from the sheer amount of weapons you can use. Don't be afraid to use dex only weapons or strength only weapons on a quality build if you are wanting to see how you like a weapon.

I personally use the Claymore, Zweihander, Rapier, Estoc, and Washing Pole most on my quality builds. They are all amazing weapons, and considered some of the best in the game. There is a reason you see most youtubers running around with quality builds all the time. 

In concerns of 27/40 versus 40/40, it is mainly the question of if you are going to one-hand the weapon a lot or two-hand. If you will pretty much just two-hand, then go 27/40(or 28/40 if you want to use the Murakumo). If you plan on parrying a lot or just prefer to one-hand your swings, go 40/40. Plus with that, you can use Greatshields and more strength weapons. 

http://mmdks.com/41tp Here is a great example of a quality build utilizing it's strengths. I put in extra endurance to be able to have better variety in weapons, and I have, not a quality weapon, but a strength weapon and a dexterity weapon. Surprises people a lot.

What system are you on?

I will keep this in mind. I'm more of a Greatsword/U.Greatsword kinda guy so I'll probably end up going 40/40.

I'm on PS3.

Edit: I was thinking of going something like this:

http://mmdks.com/41yi

Any ideas on how to improve that?

If you can, try to get one more poise point so your don't get stunned by greatsword 2H R1.

For strength weapons, I would actually recommend doing it one handed, and using delayed swings. You can block quickly and still attack with some great force. 

And even better, a lot of people try to circle around for a backstab if you delay your swing, (they think you are out of stamina) and you can turn and hit them with their shield down. It's so much fun to see them squirm.

Solid_WolF wrote:I will keep this in mind. I'm more of a Greatsword/U.Greatsword kinda guy so I'll probably end up going 40/40.

I'm on PS3.

Edit: I was thinking of going something like this:

http://mmdks.com/41yi

Any ideas on how to improve that?

http://mmdks.com/41yk
That is keeping Havel ring and your general armor choices on there still. A bit less health, but with more damage are you going to complain?

Or maybe this http://mmdks.com/41ym
76 Poise with a pretty good armor combo(that I stole from Scottydoesknow)
Smaller shield, but a pretty flexible ring slot with just enough strength to two-hand anything with a 50 strength requirement.