That is a pain but I hate having to go thru the damn spiders in the dark. Although I guess if you drop in the right place and run to the door you can do it.
I just took a torch.
The big spider boss of course.
That is the easy way. :) You do get an NPC invasion somewhere there, maybe before you enter the building. I watched a youtube of a female gamer who basically freaked out upon finding all the spiders and she quit her play thru right there. Never finished.
There was a red phantom behind a door inside the big spider building (but before you go down the hole). I did the DDF in one go (although I was a little confused about what to do after the [first, I eventually figured out] head fell off). Held a torch the whole time. According to the wiki, this only keeps the little guys away in SotFS. God, what a shitshow that would have been otherwise. Weird how some bosses like this one have elaborate run-ups, but others (RRA is the only one leaping to mind, but I am sure there have been more…) are basically nothing, like with RRA the bonfire is right there in front of the fog wall. Probably because that boss is almost Capra Demon levels of annoying at first.
Really been enjoying myself but man this game is obtuse. Finally made it to the castle, plunged into the depths and…another damned “produce the sign of the king” door?! Where the hell is this sign of the king, anyway…
Edit: nevermind, I forgot about a path upward. As an aside, that first view of Shulva sure is something, huh.
Edit2: I like how Benhart is just chilling out there, like no big deal. How the fuck did you get in here, man?!
I wonder that with every game. How does Siegward/Siegfried get where he is? Same with Anri or Solaire.
That “produce the sign of the king” door is for later. Kind of poor design. But eventually you will meet the king and get a sign from him that you can use in many places.
Siegfried at least has to wait around for you to open Sen’s, and Anri mentions the doll to get into Irithyll, etc., but Benhart is just hanging out behind a boss in the castle that only someone with the four great souls can access, and gee nobody’s been here for so long oh hey what’s up buddy?
True enough. But in this DS game the 4 souls really are only about 50% of the game.
Also, this game is dangerous. Even at 40 vigor with a Life Ring +1 and the heaviest armor I’ve found so far, I feel like I’m only a missed block or two away from getting my shit wrecked. Most enemies aren’t that bad by themselves, although I can’t let my guard down. Two together are trouble. Three is a disaster. It feels way tougher than either 1 or 3. Some enemies are really fast to chain attacks, and they all hit quite hard.
Obviously you didn’t go with the OP Dark magic build.
Indeed not. I started with dex/rapier but gradually transitioned to mace/strength on the way to zweihander/twinblade. The low durability of weapons annoys me, but so far it’s working well. Most bosses are less dangerous than normal enemies in a small group. I remember reading that magic became much less viable in the DLCs. Is that not true?
Hmm, I looked into it a bit, and now I think I might bonfire ascetic The Rotten and respec into a crypt blacksword build. Sounds fun.
I respec’d to a melee build when I did the DLC.
This was my 4th playthrough of DS2 but first time going through the DLC (and technically the SotFS version). Dark magicking my way through the main game because I already played it like 3 times through already on PS3. (NG, NG+, NG++) The only thing I can say for sure is they definitely nerfed Faith based lightning spells.
I love the Red Twinblade.
It’s a great option and I wish they would have used it in DS3. It is always fun to re-fight a boss or re-loot an area. You do get tougher enemies but they are not that much tougher. And if you don’t plan a NG+ play thru you don’t have to worry about making the area tougher for that play thru.
The Rotten was much tougher second time through! I am now in possession of a Crypt Blacksword and rudimentary hex build. I can’t say I’m overwhelmed by the damage thus far, but it looks cool as hell, and that’s the important thing.
Better to look good, than to be good.
I did not realize you could be invaded while hollow. It hadn’t happened to me this whole game, but last night I got invaded by the same guy twice in Drangleic Castle. Definitely a player. Both times he pyromancied me to death, but the first time I got him down to a small chunk of health and the second I hid behind a door and “backstabbed” him with a mace when he ran through.
Man, it is insanely frustrating to slowly and methodically clear an area, only to die because whoops! you fell off the edge of the world that we hid in dark water!
That’s how physics works in deep water Kolbex. Dark Souls 2 is just being realistic.
Try using a torch to see the bottom.
I forget that as well. It is one of those rules they played with from game to game. Are you sure that wasn’t an NPC? I know you do get invaded by one just outside the room with the large cursing mirror.
Yeah, I kept seeing signs that said “torch required ahead” or “try torch” or whatever, and I didn’t see anything that looked like it needed set on fire or whatnot, so I thought, well, after I shoot this last sorcerer lady to death, I’ll go light one just for fun and see what’s up.
Just need to get around this bit of masonry here to get an angle on her.
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