4111

Maybe it’s just me, I farmed rats for 20 minutes with arcane hood on, got 1 arc rune, /shrug.

4112

Well, it finally happened and I ragequit alt-f4ed after about my 12th death to lobsters. I’m now going to go look at a video on how the heck to read them and then hope I didn’t corrupt my save by alt-f4ing in the middle of a death loading screen. Bosses are easy. Some of the “normal” enemies wreck me.

4113

They made the giant crabs easier in this game, but they added the lobsters and land octopi.

4114

I don’t know if I just suck but the valiant gargoyle is just kicking my ass over and over and over again. I can’t even get to phase 2 most of the time

4115

I summoned Latenna there. Just be sure you keep aggro to protect her.

4116

Maybe I’ll buff her a couple of levels if I have the mats. I’ve summoned her and she does help, but what usually happens is I summon her then run out to intercept the gargoyle, then right as I swing he jumps over me and attacks her with multiple slashes that leave her dead before I can get there. If I just wait to meet him, she’s inevitably caught by his aoe’s and dead. I’ve discovered that using my special attacks is a bad idea because they don’t build up poise breaking and you really need to stagger+crit him before phase 2 gets underway. I’ve probably attempted this fight 30 times.

I’ve kind of reached a point in the game where I’m having trouble progressing because the minibosses all kick my ass. I’ve covered most of Caelid and Liurnia and the parts of the Altus Plateau that aren’t way overlevelled for me. But the Fallingstar Beast in the pit outside Lyendell Gates, the Tree Sentinels at the gates, the gargoyle on the stairs, the dude in the mining pits higher up, the Crucible Knights in the Azuria Hero’s Grave, the two crucible knights and the valiant gargoyle in Sofira Aquaduct. All of those are beyond me. It took me like 15 tries to kill the Godskin in the Windmill Village. Probably I could explore Altus Plateau a bit more, but I’m starting to feel skill-locked. And I suppose I can grind out some levels, but that prospect doesn’t make me look forward to playing.

4117

My melee first oriented characters (one more Str, the other Dex/Faith) seem to have lost their luster; I’m in the 60s with each and not feeling it anymore. Maybe I’ll get back to them after I finish the game with my 3rd character.

Wow, at least for the early game, Sorcery is the way to go. In my 50s, Int/Mind first, then Vit/Dex. I still do some melee (Moonveil Katana preferred) but I am wading through fights that used to frustrate me now that I have some good staffs and most critically Stone Sling.

And I’m fully in the “Lhutel the Headless is a Boss Spirit Ash” camp. Love her style; very much suits my play. Only have her upgraded to +2 and she’s a gamer, loves me long time.

4118

Have you tried summoning people off the internet to help? This might be easier. I know you generally cannot for the gaols but you should be able to for most mini-bosses and boss fights.

4119

Have you persued Rannis quest at all? This pushes you through several zones on par or slightly easier than the Plateau. You’ll be able to collect more levels, loot, and summons.

4120

Actually, I did follow her quest through to the Liurnia Divine Tower, but haven’t gone further. I hadn’t checked the guide lately and didn’t realize there’s another area I can go to now. Good idea. I’ll work on that this evening. Thanks!

4121

There’s a fowl foot consumable you can use to boost drop rates. Make one, eat it, farm rats.

Or, drop your summon sign outside boss doors and farm bosses with other players. You can’t get invaded doing bosses, so it’s strict co-op. Upside, you get runes too. Downside, you could die and get no loot.

4122

I have been summoned outside Radagon’s fog door several times where we had to deal with an invader before going in to the boss.

But other than a glitch I saw somewhere invaders cannot enter boss fights.

4123

Well, I just did my first-ever Xbox game refund. Not for me. Y’all have fun!

4124

LOL, kinda curious what was the actual “nah” point for you. Not gonna try to convince you to try again, but as someone who has bounced off earlier From games, I’m wondering what I persevered past that you just went “nah” to, LOL.

4125

Probably something along these lines:

4126

That’s unfortunate. Similarly interested to know why you bounced off this. I have never enjoyed a From Software game until this one. It has a much gentler curve that’s closer to other RPGs and there are cheese mechanics to help you overlevel (if you need them).

4127

The couple hours I spent on tree Sentinel were some of the most fun and meditative I’ve had in this game so far.

4128

Thanks everybody. You’ve reminded me that I still need to go back and smack down Tree Sentinel. Oh he’ll get his, I assure you.

4129

I wonder if people are just as confused by Tree Sentinel as they were about the mini boss in the second room of Nioh 2. I feel like there’s enough of a delay from him showing up and a giant 360 degree space all around to explore that no one would get stuck on Tree Sentinel the same way.

Personally, I like the trend!

4130

I got my astrologer to level 66, attributes at:
Vigor 18, Mind 22, Endurance 10, Strength 13, Dexterity 18, Intelligence 54, Faith 7, Arcane 9

I think an astrologer is the way to go if you want a path of low resistance compared to melee. The thing is, it’s still pretty fun. I feel like I just have more freedom not needing to get in close. Most encounters are pretty easy, if I don’t get surprised. It pretty much just is blasting things with Glintstone Pebble 1 to 4 times. If it is a bigger creature or boss that I know has more HP, then I will typically use Comet. If I can’t keep my distance than lots of rolling involved.

I would say almost every encounter is easier than with my melee. One notable exception was one of the main boss fights where I had to give up on my magic attacks and went straight melee, with the help of my ash Oleg.

Even on my second playthrough there is quite a bit of discovery as I keep finding new things, but I think after that I’ll just wish I could quickly get from place to place and avoid the overland travel. So, I think the switch to open world is a great decision for the first 2 play thoughts, but after that I’d prefer the smaller confines of Dark Souls with less open space. This will surely be in my top games of the year.