noob sourcerer build - help and tips -

So I feel pretty new to this game even though I have over 150h of playtime all togather. Now I'm trying to play sorcerer and I have some troubles. I've resentley defeated Four Kings and are supposed to go in to the Archieves, but to be honest I'm a little scared. Currentley I'm soul level 63 with these stats:

Vit 18
Att 19
End 10
Str 15
Dex 14
Res 8
Int 50
Faith 8

I want to keep this a light build and powerfull build combining Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring and Dark Wood Grain Ring. Rest of the setup:

Main-hand: Beatrice catalyst / Magic Great Scythe +5 (alt. Magic Estoc + 5)
Off-hand: Spidershield / Dark Hand (though I want to go with the Eagle Shield when I get it)

Armor: Crown of dusk, Witch cloak and gloves +5 and crimson waistcloth +5.

Some of my concerns are that I'm thinking of putting some soul levels to Endurance so I can use Black iron gloves instead which gives me + 40ish def. Is 40 def worth the effort?

I also have mixed feeling about leveling up much more. Everything seem kind of useless, since I still get killed in 1-3 hits with my low def and vit. And I've thought of pumping 30 more in endurance, but I don't want to end up like "all other" spellcasters wearing super heavy armors with proper rings.

I really don't know what to ask, but I need some advice. Other than being more tactical during PvP.

P.S When I got 320k~ish souls for a guy, which level was he? :S

Here are my thoughts (My main toon is a sorcerer and my newest is an int/fth spellcaster)

1. Go to 44 w/ int and get the crystal spells from Logan in the archives.
2. After defeating seath go duel Logan for his catalyst
3. Get some pyro for the Archives and as another source of casting
4. Pump some stats into Dex for faster casting if solely a caster
5. Put your catalyst in your off hand for PvP

If it were me and I was going for SL120 caster build I'd do the following:

Vit 31
Att 23
End 10
Str 15
Dex 40
Res 8
Int 44
Faith 8

If mainly melee I'd get the Moonlight Greatsword and do the following...

Vit 37
Att 19
End 30
Str 16
Dex 14
Res 8
Int 44
Faith 8

Put Vit to 30 or 40. Put Int to 50 so you get maximum spell damage. Put End to 20~30. Try to get the Moonlight Greatsword from Seath and upgrade your favorite weapons to enchanted.

My misstake earlier, I already have 50 int. But if I don't wanna roll with a moonlight sword, any other suggestions? Also, any good gear advices overall?
How much dmg reduction does 40 def give?

I have a Pyro flame +13, which pyromancies do you recommend to combine my sorceries with?

I have like 360k unspent souls and don't really know what to do with them =/

try velka's rapier and the trident.

Just as a tip as a main caster myself, never make the first move, always respond to what they are doing. Spells take a bit to cast which leaves you wide open. Try to roll and flip in their face to make them act in some way, then cast your spell. As long as your moving and not stopped your unpredictable it forces them to act to do something. Patience is the name of the game.

Ah, thanks for the tactical advice BroHeph! I've been in Darkroot garden practicing some PvP last two days, and my best tactic so far is to try hit em with one or two Soul Spears, hehe.

Is it only me who is having problem with Homing Soulmass? Everytime I cast it in pvp the orbs just fly in random directions :s

I never have that much luck with the Homing Soul Mass, its far to easy to dodge and predict (personal thoughts though) but if you use it more power to you. As for Pyromancies Greater Combustion and Greater Fireball are the go to. The Combustion is a nice counter for those who try to get close and miss a good poke with it and an Ascended Flame makes it do more dmg (generally) than 1 handed swings if you trade off like that I count it as a win. Fireball I also don't have much luck in but it is still usefull for about every 2 misses I get a good hit and again all that dmg adds up.

About the 40 Def, I don't think it is very significant. You'll probably want the heavy armor for poise.

If you are going to use pyromancy, use the 50 Int for CSS and enchanted weapons.

I find Homing Soulmass invaluable as a sort of offensive decoy when I'm invaded. As soon as I activate it I arm Soul Spear, when the Soulmass fires I shoot off a Spear, which has a chance of connecting since they're dodging the Soulmass.

The only time I have a problem with the Soulmass arrows flying off in all directions is when there are other targets around. Like the upper level of New Londo with all those damned Hollows. I run around (dodging the invader, hopefully) killing all those guys before going after the bad guy.

Yeah CHSM is very good, specially against non-DWGR users and turtles.

So I've tried to enter the archieves, but I guess my tactics are really bad because I just keep dying and dying. Any good advice?

The enemies on the archives are very resilient against magic, try using your Pyromancies and non-magic weapons. Try to upgrade a favorite weapon to lightning, now that you've cleared Anor Londo.

If the Channelers' Soul Arrows are giving you trouble you might switch to the Crest Shield for the moment.

Your Rapier should be able to one-shot those annoying Crystal Soldiers even though it's magic... at least if you have the Hornet Ring it should. For me priority 1 is to quickly take out (or at least relocate) any Channeler in my way, then instantly run at full-speed to the nearest archer and backstab him, 'cause their arrows are NASTY. Often a soldier will jump at you while you're killing an archer, which is why the invulnerable frames of the backstab animation are so useful.

Also if you want to go all-light armor I recommend the Maiden Skirt instead of the crimson waistcloth. It has very high stats @ +10, specially magic defense.

Alright then I have to get more prepared before continueing in the archieves. Should I go all in with pyromancy on my attunment slots when taking the first area after the elevator?

Is the Lifehunt Scythe anything for my sorcerer btw?

edit: Is Shotle a good choice of blade?

I use it, but in the Archives, the enemies require two R1 attacks to die with 40 dex, +5. I don't recommend it, although I love it.

hageshisa wrote:Alright then I have to get more prepared before continueing in the archieves. Should I go all in with pyromancy on my attunment slots when taking the first area after the elevator?

That's one of the few areas in the game I just run through. I don't think there's much in the way of worthwhile treasure. But yes, if you're going to fight there I'd go full-on pyro. Later, too, between the 2nd and 3rd bonfire.

*Don't forget to send the empty elevator back down for later just in case you decide to run through when you go up for the second time.

Is it worth mixing in some use of miracles and raising faith?

I've leveled up to 75 and have 20 in Vit and End

hageshisa wrote:Is it worth mixing in some use of miracles and raising faith?

I've leveled up to 75 and have 20 in Vit and End

I tried that, actually my mage has 50 Int, 30 Faith. She can do WoW, Sunlight Blade. But @ SL 120, she has only 20 Vit and 15 End. I would not recommend investing in faith points if you are opting for Sl 120. I will level up her to 225, where it will truly shine.

Edit: You can try equiping Velka's Talisman and use Gravelord Greatsword Dance, which doesnt requiere faith points. Velka's Mag Adj @ 50 Int is 199, which is somewhat high.

Whats WoW?

If I raise faith to 30 i still have 25 soul levels to pump in either vit or end before i get 120-125ish. Isn't that enough?

Do I have to be in the gravelord covenant to use the spell, or do I just need to enter it to get it? Is it the same with chaos fireball and chaos storm?

Also Im curious about if AoE's like gravelord sword dance and fire storm are usefull in PvP?

Ah yeah I forgot you were not increasing dex. Well you can try. Sorry its WoG, Wrath of the Gods. The AoE spells are useful in cramped space or against 3vs1. When fighting in duels, the casting time is so slow that the opponent has time to evade them.

Should I put points into dex instead of faith and settle for gravelord sword dance instead of WoG?

Try getting Gravelord dance first and see if you like it. WoG is much better because the cast time is super fast. Also raising your dex up to 45 gives you better casting speed for your spells.