Dark Souls II: Are you ready to be hollow again?

[Gusington]

^The original or II?

[Jarhead0331]

^The original or II?

The original. II isn't out yet on PC.

[Grimnirsson]

I seem to remember that the PC port of DS1 has some problems, but at least it should run at all. So you don't have a 360 or PS3?

[Jarhead0331]

I have both. It's just more convenient for me to play on PC.

[Yskonyn]

What do you guys think of the symbolism in the game?
I believe the 'story' can be explained in different ways.
What do you think the Fire symbolises? What about the link between time, being Hollow and having Humanity. What does the journey you undertake mean? Why do you do it?

I think the intro movie of 2 sheds some light on things if you played DS1.
While its not definitive, my theory is that you play a human being who is on the brink of death, his journey the dangerous Path to Paradise and every time you become Hollow you loose more grip on your Flame of life.
The bonfires symbolise your link with Humanity, life force. And every time you heal or upgrade you are one step closer to the Ultimate form of Humanity; revival.
Ultimately its a story about the schism between Living and (if you give up) dying, or -when you finish the game- still dying, but with a peaceful soul instead of a tormented restless one.

Any input on this, guys?
After reading the above again I might not be clear, but what I meant is that the whole game (or games) revolve around the principle of life and death in general, but also the question of 'is there a heaven and if so, what journey do we undertake to get there'?
I'd like to see all player characters as people clinging to their last bit of life while already on their dangerous path to salvation/heaven.
Are we able to be revived and return to the mortal world among friends and family, or are we loosing our grip on life and become deceased, running eternally in the schism of earth/heaven/hell (by means of the journey our character makes in the games)?

[Yskonyn]

The next day, I started all over again. This time, I did something very bizarre. I didn't take the bandit again, despite the fact that I will most certainly go for a strong DEX build again, but took the class which is considered to be the worst and most useless one: the Explorer. I simply didn't want to run out of supply again. And in DS2, it's all about your starting options, you can develop any class into any direction.

I chose the Explorer because he has a ton of starting items, like healing items, Prism stones, a secret key, poison cure etc. In addition, I gave him the healing kit as a starting gift. By now, I'm about 5 hours into the game with him, I advanced far into the Forest of Giants, got the key for the Smith, and have 32 Lifegems as well as some stronger healing potions and 2 Estus.

His attack stats are crappy (but he has high resistances as well as a surprisingly strong armor), so I'm currently raising his STR and DEX. In the beginning, he's only equipped with a dagger, which is also quite difficult (but fits to my fast and mobile playing style). But by now, my stats are high enough, so I just switched to a short sword. I feel much safer and more comfortable with him than with the Bandit, and I think the Explorer is quite cool. I especially like his weird outfit.

I think starting with a ton of equipment instead of perfect stats is a legitimate alternative in DS. The Bandit's stats were much better, but they were worthless without arrows and without any healing options. Now Sir Thomas More will fight his way through the Tartarus!

Your playstyle probably fits mine too, but I took a different approach;
I went for the Swordsman instead. He has a high 'Finesse weapons' boost, quick on stamina but lower on health. That makes him pretty quick and lethal with the two swords he gets, but also quite capable with a bow; at least I believe so.
Once I get into the fortress in the Forrest of Giants I can see the merchant there and buy a stock of arrows. But I think it will work out just fine.

I also noticed that if you stay inside Betwixt (tutorial area) you will have a full restock on items if you ressurect at the bonfire there. I don't think it works anymore once you have ventured beyond the area, but it does give you some leeway to practise with your character without investing too much other than time.

I am pretty amazed that you actually managed to get one of the big round monster's health to 10%! Swords only make dents in his flesh and soon after his friend joins the fight and you're up against two of them on a pretty small patch of beachlike ground.
Not nice and it ended badly. Still, the boat that's floating at the shore must be something interesting if its guarded that heavily.  ;D
But I am not going to try to take those badasses on until I have gained a few levels. The walk from Majula is short enough.

Are these beasts near the water the same as the one you find if you go left up the path with the footsteps prior to entering the shed of the Firekeepers of yore?
Scary things.

I've also found a petrified woman who seemed to get turned to stone just as she was trying to pull a handle to open a gate. There is an NPC nearby who tells you some things about her, but is pretty clueless himself. I am very curious to find out what has happened to her.
I won't spoil the location, but chances are you will miss it the first few times around.  ;)

[Grimnirsson]

I am pretty amazed that you actually managed to get one of the big round monster's health to 10%! Swords only make dents in his flesh and soon after his friend joins the fight and you're up against two of them on a pretty small patch of beachlike ground.

She was talking about the beast in the tutorial area "near the water (...) left up the path with the footsteps prior to entering the shed of the Firekeepers of yore". ;)

And the two beasts you are talking about are not that hard to kill but going against both of them on the beach is not a good tactic. Go down the path and lure the hidden one out so he follows you. Go the path up again until you come to the cave, he will follow you. Stand inside the 'door' and attack, then jump back as he lashes out, do this until he is falling on his back, then get in a hard attack or two quick ones, do this until the beast is dead. Just make sure to jump back and not get greedy, a hit with the claws do high damage and a bite can kill you instantly. Then you can go to the beach and fight the remaining beast right there or you use the same tactic as with the first one - voila, there's you boat...

Not nice and it ended badly. Still, the boat that's floating at the shore must be something interesting if its guarded that heavily.  ;D

It's a life-changing thing that you can expect when you check out the boat :)

[Grimnirsson]

I have both. It's just more convenient for me to play on PC.

Not if the PC doesn't run the game :P

Seriously, boot up one of your dusty consoles and play DS. DS2 might be considered easier for beginners because the NPCs explain more and the world is much more populated with other players. Not trying to really get into this series is missing one of the best game experiences ever - imho, THE best game experience. And as I said, the feel is better with a pad in this game because you are not that detached from your character as with the kb/m combo.

[Yskonyn]

Yes and if you wonder wether you should play DS1 before DS2 because of the story, then don't worry. They are seperate.
The games are set in the same Realm, so you will find tidbits of overlapping info in either game, but you can start with 2 and benefit from the activity of players and the fact that the NPC's explain a bit more.
Then play DS1 and then for the Ultimate hardcore experience play Demon Souls which is often regarded as the most difficult of the games.

[Grimnirsson]

http://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+2+Wiki

[Yskonyn]

http://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+2+Wiki

Thanks for sharing! The embedded video returns an error for me, so I took the liberty of linking it directly:

How to play Dark Souls 2 (40min)

[Grimnirsson]

It works now Ys :)

[Yskonyn]

I just bought a ring which should leech life from every killed enemy, but I do not see any gained HP after my kills whatsoever.
I had to farm 4500 Souls in order to be able to buy the thing so I feel cheated at this point! ;) It might be one of those things where item descriptions are misleading; it happens in the Souls games, but it might also be that it only works with certain enemies...
If its the first though, then there probably is a cursed effect too. Should I keep on wearing it?

[Hiimori]

I just bought a ring which should leech life from every killed enemy, but I do not see any gained HP after my kills whatsoever.
I had to farm 4500 Souls in order to be able to buy the thing so I feel cheated at this point! ;) It might be one of those things where item descriptions are misleading; it happens in the Souls games, but it might also be that it only works with certain enemies...
If its the first though, then there probably is a cursed effect too. Should I keep on wearing it?

I'd say wear the ring if you can afford it (you have 4 slots, so as long as you don't need a slot für a different ring, there's no harm done). Perhaps you discover an effect later. Or the percentage of HP gained is so small that you will only start to realize it when you on higher levels. Or... you don't know, it's Dark Souls ;)

I discovered my 4th Estus Shard yesterday, so by now my Explorer has 4 Estus and about 40 Lifegems. This is very comforting! I almost cleared the entire Forest of Giants and successfully worked towards better DEX stats. I was also able to equip a bow, so I bought 100 cheap arrows. This is extremely helpful.

I also realized that weapons appear to break much faster than in DS1. All my weapons are damaged all the time, and I'm permanently in need of repairs (or resting at bonfires, where the weapons are repaired as well). Carrying repair powder with me is much more important than in DS1 where I almost never used it. Now, my weapons break on my way from one bonfire to the next.

I like the new message system. The messages are now much more complex and when your message was rated, there is immediate feedback by a message and a small increase in HP.

[Yskonyn]

Yeah I will keep wearing the ring I suppose. I have three rings,so its not that I need space. But I do feel scammed.

BTW I managed to kill the beasts at the water in Things Betwixt, guarding the boat. Life changing effect I was warned about when using the boat...
WTH? And I only managed to spot it about two hours later! The only odd thing I kept noticing was a weird sound bug on dying... ;) Bug... Riiight!

4 Estus Shards ? I have found none yet, but then again I haven't ventured beyond the tower yet in the Forrest.