Dark Souls Trading, Transfers, and Talking.

[Seirhune]

I am starting this thread so that the few LRR folks who still kick around in Dark Souls can organize trades or item delivery between characters. Or Co-Op play, or whatever else Dark Souls related takes your fancy.

My Steam name is Seirhune. I like consistency in my anonymity. Currently have a lvl 126 in NG+ and a lvl 33 who hasn't offed Queelag yet. I'd like to move some stuff around between them and could use some help.

If there is stuff someone is looking for I could try to lend a helping hand. I've never co-op played or traded so I admit to being a nub in that (and probably other) respect(s).

Jolly Co-operation for all!

[ChroniclerC]

I've got a Dex/Pyro Sunbro a touch under level 50. Been pimping out my summon sign at Anor Londo in Solare's bonfire room in front of the fireplace, if you need help with Pikachu and Snorlax.

[Solomon-Kain]

I just got the game on holiday sale so I only have 1 character. He is somewhere around level 90. I think I have done everything but kill Gwynn and the DLC areas, which I am currently working on. The only boss fight I have skipped so far was Priscilla, that I know of anyway. I am debating killing her just to see the fight, but she asked me nicely to leave so I did.

My setup for most of the game since I acquired my gear has been Silver Knight set +5 with Gargoyle Helm +5 (first piece of armor I upgraded since the stats just seem soo good), Greatsword of Artorias, Shield as Needed (usually a Crest, DC, or GC), and Miracle Backup (currently Sunbro +1). I wear Havel's Ring and usually Covvetous but thats situational. I have dabbled with Pyromancy and have an ascended Flame +5 (which absolutely wrecked Seath). Prior to getting the Silver Knight set I was running around mostly Naked with a Club, Garg Helm, Balder Shield, and Waistcloth and just fast-rolling everywhere. I like the Silver Knight set enough to accept medium roll.

I am curious to see what other peoples impressions of Bosses are. I had a lot of trouble with the first 2 Gargoyles, the Sanctuary Guardian was by far the hardest fight so far. I think I fought him at level 60 in mostly un-upgraded gear because I REALLY wanted to get the Cast Light Sorcery for Tomb of the Giants. Sanctuary Guardian did teach me animportant lesson though, that some bosses it is best to stay in front of so that you can see what they are doing. Gaping Dragon was very easy, 4 Kings were surprisingly easy. I think those were the only 2 bosses I one-shot, (Edit: One-shot Nito too but that dude is SLOW just threw a bunch of lightning at him) I may have overgeared the 4 Kings but their attacks just seemed to flow very naturally and were easy to dodge, and the atmosphere of that fight was AMAZING, I loved it and almost wish I had wiped so I could do it again. 4 Kings remind anyone else of FF7 Knights of the Round? Bed of Chaos wasn't too difficult, Centipede Demon was just Sif again, and while Sif was difficult once I knew what I was doing it was OK.

Edit 2: Seath was also One-shot but I saw some helpful Orange text to wear curse Resistance and Pyromancy wrecked him. Forgot to cut off his tail though... Dammit. Same thing with Gaping.

Sif, Queelag, and Iron Golem stand out to me as bosses being of very good difficulty without trending towards BS. Each teaches you something new and rewards you for learning it while punishing you for NOT learning it.

I am also king of curious what type of Health pools people shoot for. I am at 20 Vitality and plan on leaving it at that until I get to 50 Faith and a bit or a lot more Endurance. I have debated levelling Int enough to use Logan's Spells but will see how Sunlight Spear works first.

Also, what armor sets are everyone using? I find optimizing for encumberance load to be an interesting and occasionally tedious endeavor, especially since I now have a lot of random shit half upgraded. I am going to have to farm some Titanite Chunks probably, not looking forward to that.

Ah yes, my Steam Name is "Solomon Kain"

p.s. I heard Mouse and Keyboard is horrible for this game but I have found it to be fine once I had it all configured using DSMFix. I mean, I basically did this in Skyrim, only that was mostly first person. I haven't once fallen of a ledge that I knew was there though. But I did accidentally attack Andre of Astora trying to exit a menu... so that sucked... Had to farm 19k souls to be pardoned.

[Seirhune]

I died a lot to 4 Kings and Sanctuary Guardian. I died a fair bit to Biggie/Smalls in NG+ when I was trying to kill Smough first.

The only boss I didn't die at least once to was Nito. Silly Nito.

I also missed a good few tails my first go around. Missed the gargoyle tail, Priscilla's, Gaping's, Seath's. I got Kalameet though! Took me the better part of 30 minutes but eventually I got it.

Tip for the Sanctuary Guardian Tail: Wait until after you beat Manus, 2 Guardians will spawn in the original boss room. Warp to the bonfire you start the expansion in, get your best bow, a bunch of arrows and a ton of patience and you can shoot off the tail while hiding in the passageway.

I have definitely found the bow (Black Bow of Pharis +15) on my Dex main to be invaluable. They can't kill you if they never get near you!

As for health pools, I cruise at 20 for a while. Eventually I went up to 30. Equipment on my main is Sage's Robe +5, Tattered Cloth Manchette +9, Porcelain Mask +5 and Crimson Skirt +5. I decided to take the Greatshield and Sword of Artorias for lolz and thus am firmly in Medium roll. Rings shift around, though it is usually some combo of Ring of Fog, Hawk's ring, Cloranthy, Havel's, Slumbering Dragon for extra ninja-ing, and Bellowing Dragoncrest if I REALLY need to set something on fire. Serpent rings as needed when soul/item farming.

As for farming Titanite Chunks, I like doing that in at the Royal Sentinels just before O/S. I use the Princess' Bonfire and just snipe them to death. You get enough souls from them and the Greatbow Knight to grab a Twinkling Titanite from the Blacksmith if you want that sort of thing. I think the Darkwraiths in New Londo drop Chunks (with a tiny chance to drop Slabs), but I hate New Londo with a passion so I don't go there until I must.

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

I've found skipping ahead to beat the Pinwheel boss before fighting Orni and Smaug, and getting the kindling rites can really, really help.

Having 20 Esters instead of 10 (as well as having Solaire) allowed me to beat the two with some room to spare. Sure, my high HP and good armour helped, but considering that I started with 20 Esters and finished with 4...I think they were the deciding factor.

[Seirhune]

I always think going to the Catacombs sooner would be a good idea. Then I remember how much I hate it and am all...naaaaaaah.

I think it's because I tell myself that I want warping powers so I can just go grab the Tomb of the Giants bonfire right after I beat Pinwheel.

Yeah, yeah. That's it. Or I just hate places full of undead-undead (skellingtons and ghosties!), like New Londo and the Catacombs.

Also, does anyone need any help getting some item to some character?

[Solomon-Kain]

Well, I finally beat Gwynn last night, it was a good fight, very similar to Artorias but more relentless, didn't take me as many tries as Artorias did though. Once I figured out how easy he was to stagger I got in a lot more damage, and I gave up Ninja Roll for Medium Roll in mostly Heavy Armor. Being able to chug an estus and only take 1/5 of my HP in damage on his anti-estus lunge was very helpful. Previously if I drank he would do half my health with his lunge, so healing was pointless. Being able to trade blows with him was very useful.

Although I still think Sanctuary Guardian was the hardest fight.

For the record, my gear was Gargoyle Helm, Black Knight Armor, and Dark Iron Gloves and Boots. I have to say the Gargoyle Helm is just so incredibly good for its weight. I never found a replacement for it since I got it at level 20 or so. It was the first thing I upgraded to level 5. Oh, and can't forget Greatsword of Artorias (Uncursed).

Another thing I noticed, it is MUCH easier to farm Twinkling than any other form of Titanite. This may color my gear choices.

My final level was I think 109 when I beat Gwynn, I gained another 2 running to the Gargoyles in NG+. I now have Sunlight Spear though! Unfortunately the damn thing takes 2 Attunement slots, so I am leveling that next.

Any thoughts on whether my next Character should be Dex or Str?

[Seirhune]

Congrats on beating Gwyn!

My first character was ostensibly a Dex/quality/pyro build thing (it's a bit of a mess). I like my Dex build for faster Pyro casting and great damage at ranged (I like sniping).

I may have farmed a disgusting amount of twinkling titanite in Seath's cave area. Bonus in that those clams also drop purging stones, which you can feed to Frampt for 1k souls. Piling them up can be a tidy nest egg in times of need.

I haven't built a Str char yet, and would be interested to see if squashing things with the biggest weapon you can find is good times. Str would let you use the Greatshield of Artorias easily (I use it on my main, humorously enough). The 88 stability on it really let's you just take all the hits forever and not give a flip.

I'd go Strength, which might be my 3rd character after I'm done getting all the trimmings on Faith build.

[Master Gunner]

I assure you, using a slightly beveled chunk of rebar to smash swamp monsters through the level geometry is indeed good times.

[Seirhune]

I assure you, using a slightly beveled chunk of rebar to smash swamp monsters through the level geometry is indeed good times.

The game has many fine choices of rebar available for all your smashing needs!

[Solomon-Kain]

I'm curious as to what everyone's favorite armor and/or weapons are? My Helm choice would have to be Gargoyles it both looks good and has Great stats. Far and away my favorite armor is Black Knights chest, I think that is hands down the best looking chestpiece. I don't particularly care about gloves or boots, they are much less noticeable.

Weapons is a much harder choice, I would probably lean towards the claymore for it's nice speed and moveset. But my Character is pretty locked into Greatsword of Artorias with my existing Stat distribution. I'm somewhat tempted to dump points into Int to get Soul Spear.

[Jamfalcon]

My first character (a strength/pyromancer build) also used the Gargoyle Helm more than any other, and I generally wore Havel's armour once that was an option. It is awfully heavy, but the well worth it I think, if you can use it as a medium load. Weapon-wise, I pretty much just used a battleaxe with the regular upgrade tree as my primary weapon, and a holy club and lightning spear for those special occasions that called for them.

[JustHarms]

Dark Souls is all about the fashion. First character (faith build) rocked black iron armor with the antiquated dress for that breezy mobility, and I stuck pretty hard to a divine claymore. My dex/pyro I mixed it up and went with whatever was lightest/looked good, and fell in love with the silver knight spear. The reach is insane.

I may have to try out some of the aforementioned pieces of rebar next time the urge to play becomes overwhelming.

[Seirhune]

My main (Dex/pyro/quality/mess?) uses the Great Scythe +15 and the Greatshield of Artorias, mostly. I have the stats for the Greatsword of Artorias (uncursed) as well, and occasionally use it but find it a little slow. Armor is currently a mishmash of Sage's Robe, Crimson waistcloth, porcelain mask and the tattered cloth manchette.

My Faith build finally cut Kalameet's tail (mwahahaha) and is rocking the Obsidian Sword with Silver Knight shield. Armor is just the Sage's robe and maybe something else? I was trying to keep my roll in the quick territory and the Obsidian sword is kinda heavy for all my 25 endurance.

I haven't really gotten into heavy armors, except for Havel's set which I use when soul farming the phalanxes in the Painted world. That poise. So good.

One day I will let go of my optimization and play Fashion Souls. My daughter would like that I think. She's always asking me to change armors, usually in between asking me to go fight Ghosts in New Londo.

[Solomon-Kain]

I am currently wearing Orensteins full set on my second Character. Strength build so far but I put most of my points in Endurance and Vit, only at 24 Str. For being such a large dude Smough has a FUCKED UP Hitbox some times. I grabbed the Zweihander early on and killed Ceaseless right after Queelag, so I got the Gold-Hemmed set early and that carried me a bit.

Took the Master Key in a hearbeat but forgot to get some Moss before going into Blighttown, or the rusted iron ring. Super Orenstein has INSANE range and much less a window to attack through than S Smough. I ended up using Havels and Black Iron to kill them, that let me mostly ignore Orenstein in Phase 1 and beatdown Smough.

I am using a fair bit of speedrun strats to get through the levels, and as such am a LOT lower level on bossfights than on my first guy, but I have been keeping my Zwei maxed out. Not sure I want to keep it though as the moveset isn't the greatest, specifically the charge and rolling attacks. It's wonderfull for any humanoids though. Makes great pancakes.

My only dilemma is whether or not to splash faith for Wrath and Homeward so I can farm souls faster. Because Phalanx Farming is OP as fuck. Its like 40k souls per minute.

[Seirhune]

I Phalanx farm with pyromancy. Chaos Firestorm, more specifically, with great fireballs to mop up the stragglers. It works pretty well with a maxed out flame and you don't have to invest in Faith (though you will have to invest in your pyromancy flame).

Or you can be me, who has finally learned a boss soul duping trick and farm up souls even more faster.

But that's up to you.

[Solomon-Kain]

So, I've temporarily shelved my second character and went back to progressing through NG+. I am currently at O&S again, and since I already have Smough's Gear I am trying to kill him first, I had to stop playing last night because I was getting too frustrated with the corpse run and the occasional BS instagib.

I realize my health is probably very low but I want to beat these dudes before I go into Painted World for farming runs. Not sure why though, since I can't warp out of there... Anyway, I am shamelessly summoning Solaire now, unfortunately that requires clearing the Giants and archer in the Grand Foyer. On the plus side my skill at parrying Silver Knights has gone up. I'm loading up on Pyromancies since they are resistant to lightning and I have my Flame maxed out. Managed to get to Super O once, but Solaire died as it happened and I underestimated the range on his lunge and got gibbed.

I haven't encountered any player summon signs yet, I am wondering if I am starting at the right Bonfire or am just off on levels. I am using the interior bonfire where Solaire is sitting, and am level 114. I believe Smough has a bit of a deadzone on his overhand hits, they don't hit me if I am right up in his gut.

[Seirhune]

Don't feel bad about summoning Solaire. Having a body to draw aggro is super handy. He does tend to die shortly after I bag Smough as well though.

I don't really know how many higher level players you can expect to summon, though I would think the interior bonfire would be the most likely spot, as well as right on the stairs before the boss room. I certainly summoned a sunbro on those steps on NG, but I don't usually look for help in NG+.

I like Great Combustion on Super O, since we're talking pyromancy. I usually do slap on the Eagle Shield for high lightning res in case I can't roll away from Big O's lighting buttslam fast enough. I don't know what your build looks like but an occult weapon does more damage against them.

I used an Occult Great Scythe on my current NG+, though if you are Int/Dex Velka's Rapier could work well. If you are feeling cheeky, Priscilla's Dagger is Occult as well.

I think you can proc Bleed on them, if that is a thought worth pursuing.

[Solomon-Kain]

I've tested the damage I have available. Greatsword of Artorias is my best bet. Unfortunately did not pick up a Smith box in NG+. Managed to beat them though, stopped summoning because of humanity drain so no sunlight medal for me

I want to collect 10 medals so I can join Darkwraiths for the armor and then promptly rejoin Sunbro.

[Seirhune]

I finally got the Darkwraith stuffies, but I have yet to drag my butt back to the Sunbros. I think I was going to open the shortcut to Izalith first.

I keep wondering about the Princess Guard covenant and wonder whether it is good and anyone likes being one.

Does anyone have opinions on it?

[ChroniclerC]

I finally got the Darkwraith stuffies, but I have yet to drag my butt back to the Sunbros. I think I was going to open the shortcut to Izalith first.

I keep wondering about the Princess Guard covenant and wonder whether it is good and anyone likes being one.

Does anyone have opinions on it?

The Princess Guard miracles are two of three miracles requiring more than 30 Faith. (And the third requires you to be a Sunbro.) Even on my Faith build, I didn't go past that. I say grab the covenant for the ring and the cheevo, then move right along.

[Solomon-Kain]

If you don't plan on using Sunlight Spear I would go with Princess covenant. I always wanted to try the better version of Replenishment.

Side note: I Really wish Replenishment and Sunlight Blade had more charges.

I beat O&S and have gone into the DLC area now, working my way to Manus. After putting 2 points in Dex post O&S I found out I was only like 3 points of damage shy of one-shotting silver knights on ripostes... Annoying.

I died once to Sactuary Guardian, swapped to fastroll gear and killed him. Turns out wiping to one fight for 6 hours really teaches you how to do that fight. Artorias took 6 or 8 tries, changed weapon to a +15 Claymore with Sunlight Blade on it.

I must say, I like the Royal Helm quite a bit for its stats, but the Brass Helm is probably my favorite looks wise, it just doesn't quite go with the Black Knight armor, which remains far and away my favorite. Maybe I should look for some reskins for my gear?

[Solomon-Kain]

If you don't plan on using Sunlight Spear I would go with Princess covenant. I always wanted to try the better version of Replenishment.

Side note: I Really wish Replenishment and Sunlight Blade had more charges.

I beat O&S and have gone into the DLC area now, working my way to Manus. After putting 2 points in Dex post O&S I found out I was only like 3 points of damage shy of one-shotting silver knights on ripostes... Annoying.

I died once to Sactuary Guardian, swapped to fastroll gear and killed him. Turns out wiping to one fight for 6 hours really teaches you how to do that fight. Artorias took 6 or 8 tries, changed weapon to a +15 Claymore with Sunlight Blade on it.

I must say, I like the Royal Helm quite a bit for its stats, but the Brass Helm is probably my favorite looks wise, it just doesn't quite go with the Black Knight armor, which remains far and away my favorite. Maybe I should look for some reskins for my gear?