Post #3304003

2026-06-12 07:10 UTC

Update: aaand Velstadt’s done! It was surprisingly easy, not counting quite a few shameful deaths from the blue flame-wielding ghosts. I’m still not fully done with the Crypt since I haven’t lit up the place but the royal ring’s on me. Adgayne gave me his drip and it’s great. His katana is funny but I’m not a fan of it being nearly invisible at some angles so I threw it into my endless box. Avelyn… avelyn!!! Such a great crossbow. Switched to it as soon as I could upgrade it. It’s a bit slower but I’m fine high risk, high reward. The ore seller finally got them chunks! I bought out all 10 and maxed out avelyn and murakumo. I figured washing pole is too unreliable with its low durability, and it’s a bit slow to swing; uchigatana is nice but it’s diagonal attacks miss quite a lot, especially against small opponents; longsword is a bit too short and is kind of a boring choice honestly; and estoc is fairly situational - it’s great against slow armor-clad opponents but isn’t much against mobile enemies who may easily dodge estoc’s narrow attacks. Also, murakumo looks badass with the new Agdayne+thief set of mine! Speaking of the grave warden’s set, I completely forgor that special equipment can only be upgraded to +5 so I spent most of my twinkling titanite maxing out the robe and kilt haha. It’s not such a big problem as I got an extraordinary amount of twinklies from enemies in the Shrine but it’s quite a silly situation. Vancian magic Well, hit points are also very unrealistic in what they’re trying to depict. Game mechanics often require suspension of desbelieve to avoid making games actively painful to play ("oh no I was hit by an enemy now I have a 20% chance to suffer a deadly disease and I can’t heal from it because we’re in a medieval kingdom!"). For me, the advantage of Vancian magic is the way it encourages the player to use “expensive” spells. Technically, both Vancian magic and mana system have a similar cost - preparing/casting one spell limits your ability to use other spells. But something about preparing spells at a bonfire instead of casting it in the middle of a journey makes it easier to sacrifice efficiency (using the most practical but boring spell like Soul Arrows to solve every encounter) for cooler and more powerful but also more expansive (less uses, more takes slots) spells like Storm pyromancies. Best of luck to you my friend. Imagine a big “Unemployment Defeated” banner coming up when you’re finished. Thanks! “Humanity Restored” will follow quickly after.

Replies (1)

@skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 2026-06-12 22:44

That’s a fair point I guess about Vancian magic. I’m still not a fan, but I suppose I understand the reasoning behind it a little better. Because I am the kind of wizard that will find the most efficient mana-per-damage spell in my arsenal and sling that almost exclusively. Elden Ring got a whole lot of Carian Slicer and Glintstone Arc out of me. Avelyn Avelyn is a banger, that one used to be a monster in PvP. I kind of forgot it existed though lmao. Don’t think I’ve ever used it myself, even once. But for someone who wants to off-main a crossbow, it’s probably the best one you’re going to get your hands on. There’s an argument to be made for the Sanctum Crossbow I think, that one was my go-to, but it loses out on raw damage per trigger pull and you don’t get it until about halfway through Shulva which if you don’t do that DLC first may as well be postgame. After poking the wiki about this, I also learned today for the first time ever that you can dual wield powerstance a pair of crossbows. I guess it makes sense that you can, I just never thought to try. John Wick akimbo build incoming. His katana is funny but I’m not a fan Aw, lame, that’s the exact reason I like Darkdrift lol. It’s a bootleg Hidden Weapon that you don’t have to cast all the time, or do a no-death-no-bonfire run for the illusory rings. It’s not really useful, that effect does nothing in PvE and in PvP your opponent can still see that you’re swinging Darkdrift if they’re paying attention, it’s not like Hidden Weapon where you could be swinging anything with any amount of range under that spell. But it’s cool as hell though. Darkdrift is mediocre as katanas go in DS2 but a mediocre katana is still head and shoulders above most other weapons. It’s also possible to get a matched pair of them in the same NG+ cycle by abusing a bug, so long as you don’t mind having to murder Agdayne once your business is complete with him. Suppose that doesn’t help you much on this build, but maybe next time? Dub katanas is an easy dex build win. The ore seller finally got them chunks! I believe she upgrades one more time to unlimited chunks after you beat Watcher and Defender. It’s worth hitting them as early as possible for that reason. You’ll still have to go hunt down elemental stones and titanite slabs though, stay stingy with those. … Matter of fact, now that I think about it, now that you have the King’s Ring in your pocket I think you can go fight them right now and just get that out of the way. You’ll need the Ashen Mist Heart and etc. to actually complete the game but I don’t think that comes into play until after Nashandra. I completely forgor that special equipment can only be upgraded to +5 so I spent most of my twinkling titanite maxing out the robe and kilt haha. And frequently end up with as good or better stats than a whole +10 regular item. Special items scale a ton per upgrade. A +1 special weapon will often carry me just as far as a +3 or +4 regular weapon. This extends to armor too. Don’t be afraid to invest in them, they’re “special” for reasons. Twinkling Titanite is also relatively infinite so long as you don’t mind farming for it, so it’s not like you’ll run out. If you don’t plan on going into NG+, ascetic the Dragon Aerie a few times when you get there and just sprint through it destroying all the crystal lizards and ignoring everything else, you’ll leave with a few dozen twinklies and elemental stones. If you do plan on going into NG+, uh, don’t do that. Ask me how I know. 😅

Open ##3304002