Avoiding other people's builds

[ultrabiome]

The more I play games, the more I want to either discover how to play for myself and I also tend to avoid any build people say was awesome.

Examples:
I was talking to a co-worker about Diablo III as I was leveling up my first character, a witch doctor, and he says "just get locusts, you can cast it, run away and come back and everything will be dead" and I decided right then, I would avoid using locusts at all, and haven't even tried them and am making fine progress in Inferno difficulty.

In Dark Souls, I read everywhere that Pyromancy was over-powered, so I didn't touch it on my playthrough and went with a build I didn't see people bragging about: Faith/Strength build. Not the easiest route for sure, and everything was a struggle until I got the lightning spears, but I already had a faith weapons when I took on the Catacombs... made it a joke . I might try a Pyro/Sorcery build on my next playthrough though.

Anyone else have stories of completely avoiding advice or uncommon builds?

 

[Windcaler]

My first playthrough of a game I decide what I want to do based on either my current whims or some roleplaying idea I have in the back of my head. Sometimes it works out, sometimes its a horrible build, but I stick with it till I finish the game. I avoid other peoples builds for that first run because I like to go into games blind, it gives me a greater sense of exploration

After that playthrough I like to go look at builds based around curiousity. I also take some builds and upgrade them or tweak them to fit my own playstyle.

 

[Church185]

Anyone else have stories of completely avoiding advice or uncommon builds?

Tanky builds in Dark Souls aren't very popular, so recently I set out to create the heaviest tankiest build I could imagine. He can't avoid anything so he relies on high defense, stamina, stability shields, and poise. I equipped him with the heaviest armor and weapons I could think of and made sure to equip him with the Iron Flesh pyromancy, which reduces damage you take by 30% but makes you move slow and removes your ability to dodge roll. So far it is one of the most fun builds that I have played.

EDIT: link to the build plan below

http://mmdks.com/1y9d

 

[Orange12345]

I can understand this, usually in mmo's I try to play whatever the least played class and/or race is

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

I only stay away from blatant exploits that other people suggest. I prefer to obtain resources/whatever by playing the game instead of exploiting a bug.

 

[shrekfan246]

Snip

I just wanted to say, kudos on the avatar there. I almost didn't realize it's a gif.

OT: I don't like "cookie-cutter" builds. And it comes down to something that TotalBiscuit really railed on a lot in his "WTF Is..." of Sacred Citadel the other day: Efficiency in playing.

I don't believe that the player should play the "most efficient" way, especially if it's not the most fun way. Sure, there's nothing stopping you from making the most efficient build and adding yourself to the unrecognizable hordes of other people doing the same thing, but I've always felt that people should find what they enjoy the most and then play that way, even if it's incredibly impractical. Unless you're trying to do something competitively, who cares if you're playing a melee warlock, or a rogue tank, or a bowman fighter?

 

[Zantos]

I don't actively avoid certain tricks or holes in games, so much as I tend to play similar classes or builds that don't really feature them. Typically the heavy armour, heavy weapon builds, where I just don't really see the capacity to exploit loopholes. I prefer the steadiness of it, going from decent to great warrior, rather than mage classes that can often start weak but end up as a living god. For some reason, in both computer and tabletop games, I get on really well with that role. Right up until the phrase "I'd like to make a stealth check."

 

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Snip

I just wanted to say, kudos on the avatar there. I almost didn't realize it's a gif.

OT: I don't like "cookie-cutter" builds. And it comes down to something that TotalBiscuit really railed on a lot in his "WTF Is..." of Sacred Citadel the other day: Efficiency in playing.

I don't believe that the player should play the "most efficient" way, especially if it's not the most fun way. Sure, there's nothing stopping you from making the most efficient build and adding yourself to the unrecognizable hordes of other people doing the same thing, but I've always felt that people should find what they enjoy the most and then play that way, even if it's incredibly impractical. Unless you're trying to do something competitively, who cares if you're playing a melee warlock, or a rogue tank, or a bowman fighter?

My sentiments exactly. In Mass Effect 2 and 3, Adepts deal damage by pulling people towards them and then hitting them with an ability that detonates the pull field and does damage. My entire time playing through ME2 and ME3 as an Adept, I used my gun half the time and just spammed the damage ability and/or a group pull ability.

It was hardly efficient, and got really tough at the later levels, but it was how I wanted to do it. Plus, the guns in ME3 are just so good, how could I not do it?

 

[shrekfan246]

Snip

I just wanted to say, kudos on the avatar there. I almost didn't realize it's a gif.

OT: I don't like "cookie-cutter" builds. And it comes down to something that TotalBiscuit really railed on a lot in his "WTF Is..." of Sacred Citadel the other day: Efficiency in playing.

I don't believe that the player should play the "most efficient" way, especially if it's not the most fun way. Sure, there's nothing stopping you from making the most efficient build and adding yourself to the unrecognizable hordes of other people doing the same thing, but I've always felt that people should find what they enjoy the most and then play that way, even if it's incredibly impractical. Unless you're trying to do something competitively, who cares if you're playing a melee warlock, or a rogue tank, or a bowman fighter?

My sentiments exactly. In Mass Effect 2 and 3, Adepts deal damage by pulling people towards them and then hitting them with an ability that detonates the pull field and does damage. My entire time playing through ME2 and ME3 as an Adept, I used my gun half the time and just spammed the damage ability and/or a group pull ability.

It was hardly efficient, and got really tough at the later levels, but it was how I wanted to do it. Plus, the guns in ME3 are just so good, how could I not do it?

I really liked going through again as an Adept, actually. My first game was as a Soldier, so going through again with a class that actually used abilities was like playing a completely different game. In 2 I do the same thing, but in 3 I like constantly spamming the various different abilities with a ton of cooldown-reduction stacked up on Shepard. 1 second Pulls and Throws are awesome! And the faster wind-up for Shockwave makes it a bit more fun to use too, even if it doesn't have the same range as in 2.

I do equip a light-weight assault rifle on my Adept in 3, though, just because it's a little laughable. >.>

 

[Church185]

Snip

I just wanted to say, kudos on the avatar there. I almost didn't realize it's a gif.

It's a chibi, cell shaded, Elite Knight avatar that was modded into Wind Waker. My .gif barely moves but I think it looks great.

http://i.imgur.com/6kDVfhe.gif

 

[The Wykydtron]

Dark Souls builds? Justgonnaleavethishere


[sub]Best build EU[/sub]

OT: Screw all the BoTRK rushing fags in LoL. IT CAN'T BE THAT GOOD! STOP IT!

AND STOP BUYING ICEBORN ON EZREAL! DAMMIT! STAHP!

 

[Church185]

Dark Souls builds? Justgonnaleavethishere

Spoiler: spoiler'd for space

[sub]Best build EU[/sub]

I actually ran into several Chaos Giant Dads the other night, and either the build isn't nearly as cheap as everyone says it is, or the people using it were exceedingly bad. I was invading them with my Darkmoon Build, they didn't know what him 'em.

 

[lRookiel]

Dark Souls builds? Justgonnaleavethishere

Spoiler: spoiler'd for space

[sub]Best build EU[/sub]

I actually ran into several Chaos Giant Dads the other night, and either the build isn't nearly as cheap as everyone says it is, or the people using it were exceedingly bad. I was invading them with my Darkmoon Build, they didn't know what him 'em.

hehe, I beat one once and followed up with a "Wut r u, casul?". They were a good sport

 

[Meatspinner]

I tend to seek them out. It gives me a good idea how far you can take the mechanics. I also like the theory crafting.

I guess it speaks to the strategy gamer in me.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

I started Dark Souls wide-eyed and expecting to die. So I figured I'd make a tank-ish build. Cue lots of fatrolling and hours upon hours spent defeating bosses like Sif and The Four Kings. It took long, but it was still very enjoyable to just explore the game on my own - very literally, I didn't have Xbox Live Gold during my first playthrough, so no jolly co-op for me - but thankfully no griefing little shits either. After that, I've experimented with my own builds, as well as trying builds by other people, and I've had great fun with it all, really.

 

[Church185]

Dark Souls builds? Justgonnaleavethishere

Spoiler: spoiler'd for space

[sub]Best build EU[/sub]

I actually ran into several Chaos Giant Dads the other night, and either the build isn't nearly as cheap as everyone says it is, or the people using it were exceedingly bad. I was invading them with my Darkmoon Build, they didn't know what him 'em.

hehe, I beat one once and followed up with a "Wut r u, casul?". They were a good sport

Mine weren't good sports sadly. Most of them didn't seem to know how the Blue Eye Orb or Red Eye Orb works, cause they kept accusing me of hacking. I'm a Darkmoon, so I invade sinners, and I have a chance to invade anyone that is lower level than me. My Darkmoon build is level 211, and has high stats in 3 of the offensive stats so I hit hard. Darkwraiths have a chance to invade anyone ABOVE their level, so I frequently am invaded by people who don't stand a chance. Silly Darkwraiths.

 

[MammothBlade]

I agree, I dislike being told how I should play a particular character. It's boring, real enjoyment comes from finding out what works best for you personally.