Dark Souls 2-Is Depraved a Good Starting Class?

[TG MLPDashie]

So I just picked up Dark Souls 2 today and I'm looking at the classes and I'm thinking of picking depraved. In DS1 I always went to knight or pyromancer but since depraved is level 1 and has all stats at level 6, would it be the best class to pick because you'll level up faster in the beginning and will only have the stats you want (as opposed to other classes that start at at least level 10 and all have some stats I don't care about, as a pure melee character)? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like depraved could be tailored to your play style better than any of the other classes

Honestly, If you're a fan of the Souls series and know the games the Depraved class is the best one you can pick as it does give you the greatest starting advantage stat wise over every class. You can also pick up a lot of weapons and some armor really early on in Majula (In things betwixed there's a dagger the depraved can pick up and wield) so they're no problem, in about 10-20 minutes the depraved can be just as good if not better than most other starting classes.

tl;dr - Yes, The depraved is one of the best starting classes if you know what you're doing.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Depraved is essentially an advanced class; in the previous game the class started at LEAST with a club and shield, albeit a really bad one. In this one you got NOTHING. It's appeal is in being able to choose your path without any clear indicators. Admittedly due to leveling up requiring WAAAAAAY less souls than before you can start your stat growth without a lot of growing pains though you're gonna be strapped for equipment for awhile if you don't buy any at shops. Basically it's a decent class if you know what you're doing and are confident in your dodging skills.

 

[moggett88]

So I just picked up Dark Souls 2 today and I'm looking at the classes and I'm thinking of picking depraved. In DS1 I always went to knight or pyromancer but since depraved is level 1 and has all stats at level 6, would it be the best class to pick because you'll level up faster in the beginning and will only have the stats you want (as opposed to other classes that start at at least level 10 and all have some stats I don't care about, as a pure melee character)? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like depraved could be tailored to your play style better than any of the other classes

I haven't the money to buy DS II yet (sad face), but is it not deprived? As in, lacking stuff? 'Cos depraved means perverted...I only ask since the first few replies are saying depraved too...

 

[[REDACTED]]

It's Deprived. And Google exists. And you're all on the internet.

Shaaaaaame.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

]It's Deprived. And Google exists. And you're all on the internet.

Shaaaaaame.

Hey, don't generalize. I got it right and I don't even have the game yet.

 

[[REDACTED]]

]It's Deprived. And Google exists. And you're all on the internet.

Shaaaaaame.

Hey, don't generalize. I got it right and I don't even have the game yet.

Those who got it right are obviously excluded. For the rest, let me reiterate:

SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.

 

[Kopikatsu]

]

]It's Deprived. And Google exists. And you're all on the internet.

Shaaaaaame.

Hey, don't generalize. I got it right and I don't even have the game yet.

Those who got it right are obviously excluded. For the rest, let me reiterate:

SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.

I've always called it Depraved because you have a Knight, a Sorcerer, a Cleric...then some half naked guy with a club. One of these things is not like the others.

Anyway, after beating DS2 and messing around in NG+ for a bit, I made a new character because now that I have a firm grasp on the mechanics, I can make a decent character this time around. Specifically, I want to make a Pyromancer, which is difficult if you don't know the game well beforehand for a variety of reasons.

Depraved, Petrified Something for the gift (Keep restarting until you get an Old Whip from the crows). 's all gonna go good.

 

[Hazy]

Depraved is ground zero. You build your character from absolutely nothing.

That said, there's also a respec system.

 

[Souplex]

Oh wow, that...that's actually kind of scary. Well, looks like I'll be using a warrior, because I never put down my shield in dark souls 1. Hell, I don't think I ever even 2 hand my weapons.

I haven't played DS1 in a while so I might be wrong, but shields seem to be greatly nerfed. The only ones with decent resists are Greatshields, which can weight more than entire armor sets. (My current one weighs 20. Just the shield alone takes up 1/3~ of my total weight capacity)

So far, I've only encountered 1 non-greatshield that had 100% physical block, and that requires beating two bosses (Last Giant and Pursuer) and is kind of hidden.
The lowest stat requirements for a greatshield with 100% physical block that I've encountered is 30 strength.
Why do they hate shields so much this game?

 

[grey_space]

Anyway, after beating DS2 and messing around in NG+ for a bit, I made a new character because now that I have a firm grasp on the mechanics, I can make a decent character this time around. Specifically, I want to make a Pyromancer, which is difficult if you don't know the game well beforehand for a variety of reasons.

Depraved, Petrified Something for the gift (Keep restarting until you get an Old Whip from the crows). 's all gonna go good.

You finish it already?

Damn.
Good work.
It's kicking my ass just a wee bit.

I picked the swordsman because I love me some Florentine and parrying got me through ds1. Can't do it for the life of me in 2 though...

 

[Kopikatsu]

Oh wow, that...that's actually kind of scary. Well, looks like I'll be using a warrior, because I never put down my shield in dark souls 1. Hell, I don't think I ever even 2 hand my weapons.

I haven't played DS1 in a while so I might be wrong, but shields seem to be greatly nerfed. The only ones with decent resists are Greatshields, which can weight more than entire armor sets. (My current one weighs 20. Just the shield alone takes up 1/3~ of my total weight capacity)

So far, I've only encountered 1 non-greatshield that had 100% physical block, and that requires beating two bosses (Last Giant and Pursuer) and is kind of hidden.
The lowest stat requirements for a greatshield with 100% physical block that I've encountered is 30 strength.
Why do they hate shields so much this game?

Greatshields basically break almost every encounter in the game. With bosses like Royal Aegis and the Sentinel Trio, it's really just a matter of blocking, blocking, blocking, attack 1-2 times when they expose themselves, blocking, blocking...

Combat becomes trivial. Very long, but trivial.

 

[thetoddo]

"I'm Depraved on account of I'm Deprived!"

Deprived is a good class if you know exactly what you want to do and none of the starting classes fit the bill, though with the respec option I think the real reason they're in there is because Fromsoft knew people would want to do SL1 runs.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Deprived start off with no equipment. So if you got the black armor pack (who didnt?!) Nyou got weapons and shields. So that drawback was invalidated.

Personally I picked a deprived, and found that the dagger you find early on is really good since it slight stuns after every hit, and the hits add up fast.

Not really. Your stats are way too low to use any of the preorder weapons/shields. The only exception is the Transgressor's Staff, because without that, it would be quite some time before you found a staff catalyst, making turning a Depraved into a Sorcerer rather difficult.

By the time your stats are high enough to use any of the preorder stuff, you've probably already found weapons that're superior than those.

 

[Falcondynamite]

While I was still renting if for the xbox 360 (Waiting for my PC version). I started as a Depraved. While you can get the exact class you want with this class, it will essentially make the beginning of the game substantially harder especially on your first playthrough. You start with nothing and while hitting with your fist may be the "manly" way of doing some things, it's not very effective. Good news is you'll get a weapon by the end of the tutorial.
For all that's said and done, the next time I play... I am not choosing depraved, I like a challenge but I'm fairly certain a few people have seen me stating such things as "the first five hours are hell".

 

[purplemonkey555]

No, at least not for your first playthrough. Don't worry about stats, they don't matter unless you plan to use whatever they apply to, (like if you don't want to use miracles then you can ignore faith). You can get some items that let you respect your character later on anyway. Class is mostly just about what gear you begin with.

 

[Mahorfeus]

From what I have seen, Deprived (or Depraved, as you would have to be) is apparently a good class to use if you want to use a mundane weapon. Just level yourself with straight 20s. Kind of gimmicky, but it is what it is.

 

[Zeriah]

Honestly Deprived isn't that great if you want to specialize in melee or magic. If you never intend to do any sorcery/miracles for example that's 12 wasted stat points, 18 if you don't care about attunement either. There's other classes with far less wasted points.

Still a good option if you want a more challenging early game or plan to play around with both magic and melee.