Ehh… small axes are considerably stronger than straight swords and aren’t so bad weight and speed-wise. I guess they are the heavier “jacks-of-all-trade”. The downside is that their range sucks, but the one-handed strong attack is fantastic.
I like the Bandit Axe, myself.
I actually really like the moveset on the Drangelic sword. It’s not so slow and cumbersome for its size and has a thrust I really enjoy. I don’t think it’s the most popular weapon by any means, but that’s what I like about the game. You find what works for you.
Do you like doing low damage, practically no poise damage and run out of weapon durability really fast? If the answer is yes, then by all means, respec.
So I take it you’re not a fan?
I kinda like the Drakeblood Greatsword. It’s a Strength / Dexterity greatsword. Unfortunately it scales better for dexterity by quite a bit.
What’s the strategy on using effigies? There seems to be quite limited numbers, so do I just get used to being half-health all the time?
And I hope dexterity is viable, as I just restarted the game with a swordsman with the aim of going dual wield/bow and maybe a spell or two.
There’s a ring you can find early in the game that reduces the “max undead” penalty to 75% maximum life or something. I’d advise using it until you get the ring that prevents you from turning undead on death (which can be fixed for 3000 souls or something) and then figure out which option you’ll choose - stay non-hollow and pay 3000 souls every time you die, or take a 25% penalty on your health (along with the inability to summon help) staying undead.
As for effigies, since they’re not really farmable, I don’t use them. And dexterity is very viable, though arguably harder than going magic or strength/armor.
Is that still accessible early on in the updated Scholar version? I made a beeline to where I thought it was in the Tower of Flame, and there’s a dragon there that I don’t think was there before. Assuming I’m in the right place. :)
That’s the right area, but not quite where it is in First Sin now.
I think they added the big red dragon to emphasize: “you probably shouldn’t bother going this way unless you know what you’re doing”.
To be honest, I don’t remember where I found it, but I remember going through most of No-man’s Wharf with it, so it’s still somewhere early in the game.
Ok, so I cheated and looked it up. Tonight that ring will be mine.
Depends. Dex weapons are good for pvp but most of them are complete garbage for pve. Dex scaling is also worse than strength so having a higher dex scaling rating on a weapon means very little. And then there’s the added bonus of dex weapons having a good 20-40 units of durability less than their strength counterparts. Even with bracing knuckle ring +2 I doubt you could get through some dlc sections without breaking your weapon(s).
The biggest fault of dex weapons for me though is the lack of poise damage. Early in the game this isn’t a problem but once you start running into enemies that can take down half of your health in a single swing you’ll start wishing that you could interrupt their attack animation.
Unless things have changed with Scholar effigies are plentiful enough. They can be farmed later in the game and there are at least two people who sell decent quantities. Also if you never plan on respecing you can kill the little old ladies at Things Betwixt and get effigies.
As far as I know, the number of effigies is limited per playthrough, which makes me go into “what if I need them later” mode and not use any of them. ;) Not sure if that changes in SotFS though.
Crikies, the bosses in the DLC are difficult. I’ve made it to 2 different DLC bosses but can’t quite beat them. I’ve done all of the regular areas except for the Shaded Woods paths so maybe I’ll take a break from the DLC and beef myself up some more. I think it’s more my poor technique than being under leveled but more beef can’t hurt. I’m around level 100 at this point.
Yeah I’m the same, I haven’t used one yet.
Unfortunately it seems I’m also reluctant to use the titanite shards… When should one generally start upgrading weapons and armour, rather than waiting to find better items?
Whenever you want. You can buy them later.
Whenever you find a weapon with a moveset you like. Everything else is secondary.
My strategy for effigies was to use the soapstone. Help someone in coop - get your humanity back. Unless they’ve changed that. The small soapstone is available really early.
I’m glad there are folks here who are playing it through for the first time. Me too and sucked in deeper harder than DS1 which had me pretty good.
It will be interesting to see how the dlc is given how I’ve approached this. Saving the dlc for the end. I’m probably ridiculously over leveled for my first playthrough because I love learning each area and every nook and cranny and bleeding the area dry (until no more respawn occurs except for the few areas where no despawning occurs). Level 202 as I approach end game.
Question for anyone who knows - can I finish first playthrough and then do the dlc before doing NG+? I’d like to do it in that order unless you have to do the dlc before finishing the game.