I just finished NG+++++, the last two runs being SL1 Champions and Champions no death/no bonfire, and before I put this shit back on the shelf forever, I feel like I need to special fellow out and do a braindump. For PC folks just starting, these are the most useful things I learned about PvE:
spoiler (click to show/hide)
- Strike weapons in this game are silly -- most enemies in the game are weak to them, so the standard mace can literally carry you through the entire game. As a result, Cleric is prob the casual's best bet as a starting class. Can't go wrong with a STR/FTH build, especially since nearly every boss in the game is weak to Great Lightning Spears.
- Carry a dagger. It has an obscene backstab damage multiplier, meaning a +10 uninfused dagger will dispatch pretty much anything in the game that can be backstabbed. It's always worth holding one, irrespective of your build.
- For infusions, the rule of thumb is to consolidate your damage type. For each element imbued on a weapon, each of the enemy's individual resistance to that element are factored into the damage output. Meaning if you have a Dark Avelynn with lightning bolts, your damage will be much lower on average than someone who has a Lightning Avelynn with lightning bolts.
- Mundane is a fun infusion to mess with, and you can make some very powerful combinations with it, but requires all your stats be at least 30 to be worth using.
- DEX scaling is nonexistent at the moment, so avoid it
- Make sure you give yourself a ranged option. DEX builds have bows, STR have crossbows (can be aimed when two-handed), casters have magic (can be aimed with binoculars).
- Between the scarcity of 100% physical resist shields, the increase in unblockable attacks, and the addition of agility, From's made it clear that shields are a fucking bandaid that you need to rip off. Getting your agility to 100+ is much more important, as the increased i-frames in your roll and faster estus chug is way more dependable than the board on average. If you don't want to learn how to dodge, be a caster.
- Sorceries are worth the investment, although I think they've been toned down a bit. Last time I checked, I was one-shotting most bosses with Soul Geyser. Homing Crystal Soulmass, Crystal Soul Spear, and Soul Greatsword are all good stuff, too.
- Miracles are better this time around. Great Lightning Spear has infinite range, AoE, and you get a ton of charges. Sunlight Spear is also okay, but not really worth the investment. Heals are also nice, but the rest are mostly situational or PvP-oriented.
- Hexes are mostly shit, with the exception of Dark Fog, Great Resonant Soul, and Resonant Weapon. The Resonant Weapon hex is the best weapon buff, and the cost (2000 souls) is trivial later on. If you're not a hexer, you can spice down the requirements to 10/10 with no penalty. GRS hits like a train for barely any cost, and Dark Fog paired with the Bat Staff catalyst is AoE poison that almost instantly procs.
- Pyromancy is a high damage, low investment option just like in the first DS -- scales with INT/FTH by a small amount. Only use and upgrade the standard Pyromancy Flame you find in No Man's Wharf, as the other option, Dark Pyromancy Flame, scales to hollowing and requires a ring slot to be worth the marginal damage increase it confers. As far as spells, Flame Swathe is really all you need for PvE -- high base damage + large AoE
- You no longer need to artificially cap your soul level like in previous games for co-op/PVP. The determinant for player matching now is based on soul memory, which is the total accumulated value of all souls you've absorbed, whether they be spent, lost, or saved. You're placed in a quadrant based on your current memory pool, but nerds are still trying to figure out how its delimited. Being a sunbro increases the range for coop by an unknown amount. It's all very fucking stupid
- NPC summons got buffed big time in one of the recent patches, and have a much easier time soloing bosses. Wouldn't recommend using them if you want to preserve the challenge, as the bosses aren't very hard as it is.
- Never waste your time farming for souls. There's a spot near the end of the game where you get a consistent yield of 500k, 2 twinkling titanite, a fire seed and a bonfire ascetic, making it self-sufficient. Takes like three minutes.
- There's an item you can burn at bonfires, Bonfire Ascetic, that will increase the difficulty of the corresponding zone to NG+ after you've taken out the boss. It's worth doing this a few times in your first run, as the NG+ iterations of bosses will drop +2 rings, some of which are incredibly useful. Ones of note:
Chloranthy Ring +2 (Undead Chariot): stamina regen
Southern Ritual Band +2 (Scorpioness Najka): +3 attunement slots
Clear Bluestone Ring +2 (Skeleton Lords): 55% increase in casting speed
Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +2 (Mytha): for farming
- Baby mode: spec INT/FTH, get Great Resonant Soul, Dark Caitha's Chime+10/Chime of Want +5, and the game becomes a joke, but you should probably just get good instead, breh
