Hey everybody,
(Firstly, I do realize there is an introduce-yourself-sticky-thread already, but I wasn't sure if what I'm about to write fits into it; so here goes)
I'm a pretty late addition to the party, I suppose - got my interest sparked only when I was visiting my brother and he was playing the beta to DS2. I immediately fell in love with the art style, and after he casually remarked "It's kinda like Legend of Zelda for masochistic adults", I just knew I had to check it out!
So as you can probably tell by my Username, and as a big fan of the "Thief"-series, I didn't have to think twice about which class to start out with. I did that even though mentioned brother advised me to "choose the Knight, and always use a shield. It's impossible otherwise".
Now on level 33, I disagree. Granted, all the things I'm saying/claiming are labeled with huge "SO FAR"-stickers, but I just feel while this game is just as hard as people advertised it to be, it also incredibly fair within it's own internal workings. I use bows as a primary weapons, and switch to dual-whielding the Bandit's Knife and a Rapier if the situation requires it - and so far, riposting or just evading attacks altogether always did the trick. I guess what I'm saying is, if you play this game for a while, you realize there is a reason they give you every option. If all fails, you can always change the battlefield into one that's more in your favor.
I'm currently entering Blighttown, and beat all the Bosses / Mini-Bosses within my reach (except the Hydra in Darkroot Basin) so far. I won't pretend I didn't die a couple of times, but the only boss because of whom I really started to doubt whether I could go on like I did, was the Capra Demon. Needless to say, this fight had all the circumstances my character cannot deal with exceptionally well. But eventually he went down, too, and the Gaping Dragon afterwards even on the first try (but he did swallow close to a hundred arrows - strays included, but still!)
Like I said, I don't know what the game has in store for me - I'm reluctant to use any guides, since in a game like that a boss strategy is a legitimate spoiler - but I appreciate the way I get to customize my style and if all fails, bend any situation into one I can deal with. I just fear it would take away this feeling of "Why didn't I think of this sooner?!" everytime you overcome a seemingly impossible encounter.
After all that rambling, if anyone is still there, here are my inevitable questions:
1.
My "build".
I just wanted to know if experienced players have any heads-up for me regarding my character - with the Rapier's quick-react it's fun (limited only by my own stupidity at times) parrying away, and the Longbow takes out most enemies rather quickly if only I run them dizzy first. It worked perfectly fine until now - challenging but not giving me the feeling I'm doing anything wrong. But the internet is full of posts that warn vigorously of using bows or even dual whielding as an inexperienced player.
I know I'm probably not too far into the game, so what's up with that? Will I get chewed eventually or is it just less risky with a shield and couple more layers of platemail? My philosophy so far is the best armor is not getting hit.
2.
The lore.
I understand this is a whole universe they created there, but I have a hard time understanding it. Every character -hell, even most items- I find seems to have a huge premise & backstory, but I don't understand much of it. The covenants, the world, the places, the factions - and most importantly: Who or what am I? Besides being cursed with the darksign, that is. Is this intentional at my game state, or am I just too dense? I love RPGs, and the story is just as important for me as the gameplay, so it's really a shame feeling like an oblivious idiot slaying things all the time.
3.
Item "economy".
I find tons of random pieces of equipment, which my somehwat experienced RPG-player's mind immediately classifies as "loot to be sold". Yet, you can't really sell anything can you? It's just confusing, because for the rareness of enemies dropping things in comparison to other RPGs, you'd think they at least are of some worth to yourself. And then it's another wretched short sword.
4.
Firekeeper Souls.
I found one and accidentally used it up to gain humanity, as I didn't fully understand what it does (I hadn't even discovered the stairs to the lower Firelink Shrine at that point). I do now, but how bad is wasting one of them actually? I never found another so far.
So thanks for listening, and possibly for some answers in advance. Looking forward to stay! (God, this game is so addictive.)
(Firstly, I do realize there is an introduce-yourself-sticky-thread already, but I wasn't sure if what I'm about to write fits into it; so here goes)
I'm a pretty late addition to the party, I suppose - got my interest sparked only when I was visiting my brother and he was playing the beta to DS2. I immediately fell in love with the art style, and after he casually remarked "It's kinda like Legend of Zelda for masochistic adults", I just knew I had to check it out!
So as you can probably tell by my Username, and as a big fan of the "Thief"-series, I didn't have to think twice about which class to start out with. I did that even though mentioned brother advised me to "choose the Knight, and always use a shield. It's impossible otherwise".
Now on level 33, I disagree. Granted, all the things I'm saying/claiming are labeled with huge "SO FAR"-stickers, but I just feel while this game is just as hard as people advertised it to be, it also incredibly fair within it's own internal workings. I use bows as a primary weapons, and switch to dual-whielding the Bandit's Knife and a Rapier if the situation requires it - and so far, riposting or just evading attacks altogether always did the trick. I guess what I'm saying is, if you play this game for a while, you realize there is a reason they give you every option. If all fails, you can always change the battlefield into one that's more in your favor.
I'm currently entering Blighttown, and beat all the Bosses / Mini-Bosses within my reach (except the Hydra in Darkroot Basin) so far. I won't pretend I didn't die a couple of times, but the only boss because of whom I really started to doubt whether I could go on like I did, was the Capra Demon. Needless to say, this fight had all the circumstances my character cannot deal with exceptionally well. But eventually he went down, too, and the Gaping Dragon afterwards even on the first try (but he did swallow close to a hundred arrows - strays included, but still!)
Like I said, I don't know what the game has in store for me - I'm reluctant to use any guides, since in a game like that a boss strategy is a legitimate spoiler - but I appreciate the way I get to customize my style and if all fails, bend any situation into one I can deal with. I just fear it would take away this feeling of "Why didn't I think of this sooner?!" everytime you overcome a seemingly impossible encounter.
After all that rambling, if anyone is still there, here are my inevitable questions:
1.
My "build".
I just wanted to know if experienced players have any heads-up for me regarding my character - with the Rapier's quick-react it's fun (limited only by my own stupidity at times) parrying away, and the Longbow takes out most enemies rather quickly if only I run them dizzy first. It worked perfectly fine until now - challenging but not giving me the feeling I'm doing anything wrong. But the internet is full of posts that warn vigorously of using bows or even dual whielding as an inexperienced player.
I know I'm probably not too far into the game, so what's up with that? Will I get chewed eventually or is it just less risky with a shield and couple more layers of platemail? My philosophy so far is the best armor is not getting hit.
2.
The lore.
I understand this is a whole universe they created there, but I have a hard time understanding it. Every character -hell, even most items- I find seems to have a huge premise & backstory, but I don't understand much of it. The covenants, the world, the places, the factions - and most importantly: Who or what am I? Besides being cursed with the darksign, that is. Is this intentional at my game state, or am I just too dense? I love RPGs, and the story is just as important for me as the gameplay, so it's really a shame feeling like an oblivious idiot slaying things all the time.
3.
Item "economy".
I find tons of random pieces of equipment, which my somehwat experienced RPG-player's mind immediately classifies as "loot to be sold". Yet, you can't really sell anything can you? It's just confusing, because for the rareness of enemies dropping things in comparison to other RPGs, you'd think they at least are of some worth to yourself. And then it's another wretched short sword.
4.
Firekeeper Souls.
I found one and accidentally used it up to gain humanity, as I didn't fully understand what it does (I hadn't even discovered the stairs to the lower Firelink Shrine at that point). I do now, but how bad is wasting one of them actually? I never found another so far.
So thanks for listening, and possibly for some answers in advance. Looking forward to stay! (God, this game is so addictive.)
Last edited by Thief on Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:19 am; edited 1 time in total