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Very excited, I've been playing through Demon's Souls to get hyped (RIP Flamelurker). I'll be going into DS3 with little knowledge about it aside from some of the mechanic changes.
I always go with a quality build for my first run in a Souls game, so the Knight class seems like the most efficient choice for that. I'll have to try all of the weapons before I pick some to main. Two-handing spears is my favorite playstyle (dat reach), but I want to do something new like a great axe/hammer or a curved sword. Or a Wolverine theme with claws until I get bored of it.
I like physical weapons that stunlock the shit out of your opponent and lightning looks cool.
Depending on how it's done, I might also add pyromancy to the mix. I kind of didn't like how Pyromancy scaled with a combo of INT/FAI in Dark Souls 2....it kind of took some wind out of the sails on the whole "magic anyone can use effectively" concept that it was built up to be in Dark Souls 1
EDIT: OH MAN MY GAMESTOP IS GIVING ME THIS GAME AT 9:01 PM, GOING TO THE FUCKING RELEEEEEEAAASSSEEEEE. *female orgasm noises gallore*
I like physical weapons that stunlock the **** out of your opponent and lightning looks cool.
Depending on how it's done, I might also add pyromancy to the mix. I kind of didn't like how Pyromancy scaled with a combo of INT/FAI in Dark Souls 2....it kind of took some wind out of the sails on the whole "magic anyone can use effectively" concept that it was built up to be in Dark Souls 1
EDIT: OH MAN MY GAMESTOP IS GIVING ME THIS GAME AT 9:01 PM, GOING TO THE ****ING RELEEEEEEAAASSSEEEEE. *female orgasm noises gallore*
Also nah Pyromancy was fine in DKS2 IMO. It scaled with both but it didn't use the lower stat like how Hexes did. Soft cap for Pyromancies were based on the combined total, so it was very versatile. If anything, Hexes kinda sealed that by scaling with the lower stat only.
Gonna toss an edit cause after rereading I see what you mean. Still though I don't think it was too terrible since the basis there is that Pyromancies don't have an INT/FAI requirement like the other spells do.
Also nah Pyromancy was fine in DKS2 IMO. It scaled with both but it didn't use the lower stat like how Hexes did. Soft cap for Pyromancies were based on the combined total, so it was very versatile. If anything, Hexes kinda sealed that by scaling with the lower stat only.
Yeah, but even with the soft cap in DS2 being a 30 60 combo of INT/FAITH, that's still a few points you're putting into either/or in order to increase fire damage, whereas in Dark Souls 1, it scaled with the quality of the PF and how much soft humanity you had, allowing you to not put points into either INT/FAI and focus those points on other stats that might serve you better in PvP. In a lot of RPG systems, including Dark Souls, fortune favors the min-maxed and having extra points that don't go into INT/FAI can go into further optimizing your Health or Stamina/Encumbrance, especially if you're trying to limit your level/soul memory for PvP matchmaking.
Yeah, but even with the soft cap in DS2 being a 30 combo of INT/FAITH, that's still a few points you're putting into either/or in order to increase fire damage, whereas in Dark Souls 1, it scaled with the quality of the PF and how much soft humanity you had, allowing you to not put points into either INT/FAI and focus those points on other stats that might serve you better in PvP. In a lot of RPG systems, including Dark Souls, fortune favors the min-maxed and having extra points that don't go into INT/FAI can go into further optimizing your Health or Stamina/Encumbrance.
the cap was 60 in DKS2 for Pyromancy damage brodie
I feel you. Like I said though, I kinda don't mind it since they don't require any hard investment and you can still get decent damage off of the enhanced PF. Not to mention that since there isn't a humanity count system in DKS2, I don't see how it would have worked out without making the spells have INT/FAI requirements which would have really limited build options because if you're building INT/FAI, you're probably either using Miracles/Hexes/Magic exclusively.
the cap was 60 in DKS2 for Pyromancy damage brodie
I feel you. Like I said though, I kinda don't mind it since they don't require any hard investment and you can still get decent damage off of the enhanced PF. Not to mention that since there isn't a humanity count system in DKS2, I don't see how it would have worked out without making the spells have INT/FAI requirements which would have really limited build options because if you're building INT/FAI, you're probably either using Miracles/Hexes/Magic exclusively.
It actually doesn't hurt if you're making a magic "jack-of-all--trades" build like I did for my first playthrough.
Zweihanders that are imbued
Disc Chime for shield, miracles, and chime hexes (mostly Lifedrain Patch for trolling in Dragon Aerie)
Pyromancy Flame
Sunset Staff (for Sorceries and Hexes)
It actually doesn't hurt if you're making a magic "jack-of-all--trades" build like I did for my first playthrough.
Zweihanders that are imbued
Disc Chime for shield, miracles, and chime hexes (mostly Lifedrain Patch for trolling in Dragon Aerie)
Pyromancy Flame
Sunset Staff (for Sorceries and Hexes)
This brings into the important question on if this sorely for PvE purposes. Cause if it is lol I'll shut the hell up cause you can kinda do whatever you want in that case. I didn't really lose out on Pyromancies cause I had intended to use the BKGS from the start in DKS2 and that already has an INT requirement.
But nah I definitely see where you're coming from. As a caster, you'd want the extended options. As a melee build you'd want a reliable alternative to ranged and you probably don't want to rock bows cause that's extra weight, less damaging, and definitely slower. And throwing knives as good as they are only get you so far...
Yeah, but that's just for big leagues and new game plus shenanigans.
I normally stick to no more than SL175 or SM2.5-mil in Dark Souls 2
For Dark Souls 1, it's somewhere between SL100 - 125, which I'm kind of predicting the meta-game for Dark Souls 3 will be around. Who knows?
By the way, again hate to double post, but I'm going to post a little PSA on how the infusements work in terms of weapon scaling, as discovered on the Wikidot:
Physical: Standard upgrade path Fire: Adds fire damage, increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Crystal: Adds magic damage, adds INT scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage Lightning: Same as Crystal, except Lightning damage and FAITH scaling instead of INT Dark: Same as Lightning, except gives Dark damage Blood: Add Bleed damage, reduces base damage, reduces stat scalings Poison: Same as Blood, except Poison instead of Bleed Hollow: Adds LUCK scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage Blessed: Adds FAITH scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage, adds a slight health regeneration effect to wielder Deep: Gives Dark damage, increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Chaos: Adds fire damage, adds INT and FAITH scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling Simple: Adds magic damage, slow mana (Focus meter) regeneration for wielder Sharp: Increases DEX scaling, reduces STR scaling, reduces base damage Heavy: Increases STR scaling, reduces DEX scaling, reduces base damage Raw: Greatly increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Refined: Equalizes STR and DEX scaling (i.e. from A/C to B/B), reduces base damage.
Hope this will help you guys plan ahead! Feel free to discuss.
Fire Upgrade adds fire damage, increases base weapon damage, but removes stat scaling.
Chaos adds fire damage, adds INT/FAI scaling, but reduces STR/DEX scaling
I think it's more a matter of Fire Upgrade being more suitable for builds that use minimal stat scaling for weapons (like Lightning weapons in Dark Souls 1), because as I understand it, it compensates the no scaling with tons of base damage.
Whereas Chaos works more like the Fire Upgrade in Dark Souls 2...the fire base damage is less, but you get INT/FAITH scaling at the cost of some sacrifices in STR/DEX
I'm going to post things I've noticed about Dark Souls 3, sort of a primer about what's in store. To start off, the difficulty is most certainly back. Now onto other things. Here's some carry-overs, some new things, and also some absent things.
GUIDE TO DARK SOULS 3
Please note, this is by no means everything, just what I've noted so far. I've only gotten to Undead Village so far.
*** = "I'm still not 100% sure if this is true or mostly true, so don't take my word for it completely, it's just an observation."
Carry-overs from Demon Souls
- A HUB-level world system***. In DS1 and Bloodborne, the game used a Metroidvania-style interconnected world map. In Dark Souls 2, it used a mix of HUB and an Open-world. In Dark Souls 3, the game utilizes a HUB-world system akin to the Nexus from Demon Souls. You start off the game in Firelink Shrine and from there you seemingly complete levels one by one…I don't know, I haven't played enough to see if there are branching paths, but it does seem like a HUB world. Think Princess Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64, except with less plumbers and more giant monsters that kill you in two hits.
- A magic meter or mana bar (Focus Meter or FP). This replaces the "fire-n-forget" Vancian magic system of the previous two games with a mana bar from Demon Souls. Spells and weapon special abilities use up FP. FP can be restored with a second, blue colored Estus Flask…the Ashen Estus Flask.
Carry-overs from Dark Souls 1
- The faster and more fine-tuned Parry/Riposte system of DS1 is back. Dark Souls 2 had a rather slow and confusing Parry/Riposte system that required you to wait a good two seconds until your opponent staggered and fell on his ass before delivering a riposte, leaving you open to other enemy attacks before you could deliver a counter-attack. FROM did away with that and returned to using the system used in Dark Souls 1; parry at the right moment, your opponent's attack is reflected and then you can quickly use R1 to deliver a devastating counter-attack in less than a second after you've parried him.
- You are now once again invincible while delivering a riposte or backstab. In Dark Souls 2, whenever you used a riposte or backstab, enemies could still damage you while you were stuck in the animation. No more.
- The bleak environments. Dark Souls 3 once again returns to the Dark Fantasy feel of the first game.
- Popular weapons, rings, and armor sets have made a return. This includes Artorias' Armor, Havel's Set, Lautrec's Set, and even Smough's armor. Several weapons also regain their appearance in Dark Souls. Hell, they've even brought back the Calamity Ring.
- Several covenants return. Warrior of Sunlight and Blades of Darkmoon make a return. Rosaria's Fingers are essentially the Darkwraith covenant.
- Infinite use online items. Invaders rejoice! The infinite use Red Eye Orb is back!
- Pyromancer starting class. The pyromancer once again returns as a starting class.
Carry-overs from Dark Souls 2
- The ability to warp between bonfires right from the start. Given the game's HUB-world design, this was the only natural thing to do.
-Three weapon slots in each hand, four ring slots. 'Nuff said.
- Several popular armor sets, weapons, and rings make a return. Faraam set, Lucatiel's Set, etc.
- Weapon durability restores when resting at bonfires. However, now ONLY when resting at bonfires; if you die while your weapon is at risk, better rest at the bonfire or it'll still be at risk.
- Several covenants make a return in some fashion. The Blue Sentinels are back, as is the Way of the Blue. The Aldrich Faithful and Watchdogs Of Farron are essentially expies of the Bellkeeper and Rat covenants.
- The Estus Shard system. Estus flasks start off with limited uses and you need to find Flask Shards to increase their uses. The upside is, with the introduction of a second estus flask for FP, there's more shards this time around.
- Dark damage. Dark damage has survived the transition.
- Reallocation of stat points. There is once again a method to reallocate your stats in case you botch your build.
- Only Titanite and Twinkling Titanite. Now colored titanite like in Dark Souls 1…Titanite works for all weapons except those that need Twinkling.
- Torches. However, they now work like in Bloodborne…they stay on until you put it away…no more timer, and they use a weapon slot.
Carry-overs from Bloodborne
- Slightly faster combat. Read "slightly." Although combat is more tense and faster, it's still not on the level of Bloodborne. For reference, if Dark Souls 1 and 2 ran at 30 mph and Bloodborne ran at 60 mph, Dark Souls 3 runs at 40 mph.
- Limited stack of items on hand with storage for extras. All useable items now have a "stack" limit on how many you can carry on hand (ie. You can only carry up to 20 Firebombs). Any extras you buy or collect will go into a storage area in Firelink Shrine, like how extra stuff went to the Hunter's Dream in Bloodborne.
- The "Rally" mechanic returns in a different fashion. The rally mechanic from Bloodborne actually makes its way into Dark Souls 3 in the form of the ring called "Pontiff's Left Eye." With this ring, you recover HP from successive attacks on enemies. If you want it, keep hold of Vordt's Soul…don't waste it to gain a few extra souls.
- Blood, blood, blood…lots more blood. I don't know if it's on the same level as Bloodborne, but Dark Souls 3 is a lot more visceral than its predecessors. Sometimes the immediate area can be slathered in red.
What is new or has changed?
- The Ashen Estus Flask. This is a second Estus Flask you get and it's for restoring FP, not HP.
- Special abilities on weapons. Certain weapons now have "special abilities" attached to them. These abilities are activated when you two-hand the weapon and press L1 (for right-handers) or R2 (for left-handers). For example, weapons with "Parry" can parry blows like a shield can. Katanas have the "Hold" ability, where you assume a stance that follows up with a powerful attack. Crossbows have "Tackle" where you lunge into a shoulder tackle and shove enemies back. There are over 70 different abilities from what I can tell.
- Pyromancy mechanics have changed again. The mechanics of pyromancy have changed. In addition to reinforcing your flame, fire damage being a combo of INT/FAITH like in Dark Souls 2, this time around pyromancy spells themselves now actually have minimum Intelligence and/or Faith requirements in order to even use them. That's the bad news. The (somewhat) good news is that Pyromancy spells don't need as much stat requirements to use as sorceries/miracles; only three in the game require your INT or FAITH to be above 20 and none need more than 25 in a stat to use.
- Hexes are back, but they've been meshed in. Hex spells from Dark Souls 2 make a return, but they're not their own category anymore. The spells are now meshed into either of the other three magicks (Dark Sorceries, Dark Pyromancies, Dark Miracles). Affinity is now a sorcery, Dark Blade is now a miracle, etc.
- You can transfer Estus uses between flasks. By visiting Andre of Astora (yes, he's in this game), you can set how many uses each of your flasks use. So, for example, if you have 12 overall estus uses; you can put 6 into your Estus Flask and 6 into your Ashen Flask. Or you could put 8 into your Ashen Flask and 4 into your Estus Flask. Or you could put all 12 into your Estus Flask and leave none for your Ashen Flask (and vice versa). It's all up to you.
- New armors, weapons, rings, spells, etc. Of course, there'd have to be.
- "Low level" spells. These are minor spells or "cantrips" as I like to call them…spells that don't need much stats to use. Farron Dart is a weak sorcery that only needs 8 intelligence to use. Chaos Storm is a pyromancy that can be used no matter what your stats are. Heal Aid is a healing miracle that needs only 8 Faith to be able to use. Both the sorcery and miracle cantrips are available for sale at the merchant of Firelink Shrine right from the get go.
- Less quantity of weapons/armors/etc than Dark Souls 2. I'd say a bit more than Dark Souls 1, a lot more than Bloodborne, but not as much as Dark Souls 2. This may be a make or break for you, idk. Most players, even in DS2, would stick to a certain selection of weapons anyway, so this eliminates "filler" stuff that hardly anyone used if anything.
- Infusing weapons is an option at the beginning now. No more needing to track down an ember and give it to a blacksmith…so long as you have the appropriate gem and enough souls, you can infuse your weapon at nearly the beginning of the game. Hell, one of the starting gifts is a Fire Gem, so you can begin the Wall Of Lothric with a Fire weapon.
- Fewer Attunement Slots. With the number of spells you can cast now being drawn from your ability to refuel your Focus Meter, there's less attunement slots available to allocate a spell into. 50 Attunement grants you a grand total of 7 slots; 99 Attunement gives you 10. Fortunately, there are still items that increase your attunement slots. Also fortunate is that about 90% of all spells in the game need only one attunement slot and the remaining 10% only need two.
- Several new classes. Mercenary, Herald, and Assassin are new classes. Mercenary is basically the Wanderer from Dark Souls 1. Herald starts with a spear and a minor healing miracle, and some good armor. Assassin starts with two attunement slots, an estoc, and a sorcery staff with Spook as an attuned spell (silences footsteps and reduces fall damage).
- The Mound-Maker's Covenant. A new covenant for this game. Mound-makers appear as purple signs / phantoms to other players. They are essentially the covenant for chaotic-neutral players….purple phantoms can attack anyone they want; the host, white phantoms, invaders, anyone. Apparently this covenant was inspired by the little "Fight Clubbing" minigame that players invented in the previous two games. FROM noticed this and decided to make a covenant that ran with this concept in mind.
- You can now change your appearance in-game. Didn't like how your face and body type, etc. ended up in the actual game? Well, the same NPC that can reallocate your stats can now also give you the option to change your appearance/sex.
- New infusements and alterations to older ones. I'll just post this list of the infusements in this game:
Spoiler:
Physical: Standard upgrade path Fire: Adds fire damage, increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Crystal: Adds magic damage, adds INT scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage Lightning: Same as Crystal, except Lightning damage and FAITH scaling instead of INT Dark: Same as Lightning, except gives Dark damage Blood: Add Bleed damage, reduces base damage, reduces stat scalings Poison: Same as Blood, except Poison instead of Bleed Hollow: Adds LUCK scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage Blessed: Adds FAITH scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling, reduces base damage, adds a slight health regeneration effect to wielder Deep: Gives Dark damage, increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Chaos: Adds fire damage, adds INT and FAITH scaling, reduces STR/DEX scaling Simple: Adds magic damage, slow mana (Focus meter) regeneration for wielder Sharp: Increases DEX scaling, reduces STR scaling, reduces base damage Heavy: Increases STR scaling, reduces DEX scaling, reduces base damage Raw: Greatly increases base damage, removes all stat scaling Refined: Equalizes STR and DEX scaling (i.e. from A/C to B/B), reduces base damage.
What's noticeably missing?
- Lifegems. I've searched the strategy guide and the game itself. Lifegems did not survive the transition; they're gone. Sure, Heal Aid provides a semi-replacement, but if you don't plan to use any kind of Faith build, this limits your options for healing, especially when combined with the Estus Shard system limiting your flask uses early-game. Personally, I would've done them like Blood Vials in BB…they're there, but you could only carry a certain limited number at a time (like 20 or something).
- Bonus side-dungeons***. Don't quote me on this, but…I'm talking something like the Pilgrims Of The Dark in DS2 or the Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne…so far I'm not seeing anything like that in the guide book. Again, don't quote me on this.
- Several armors that should've made it into this game. No Giants Armor. No Mask Of The Father. Come on, FROM…the Legend must never die!
