Dark Souls 2: SotFS (or therefore, "Baa-baa Black Sheep" and other musings thread)

[Sniper Team 4]

Those lava chests in Iron Keep can suck and die. Only one of them has anything worth getting--and sadly, that's the one that is the hardest. It contains a pyro spell (Firestorm, or something like it), and in order to get it, you have to do some clever footwork.

1) Get the cat fall ring and equip it. Also, equip your best fire resist gear. If you have the Pharros' Mask that you can get in the Iron King DLC, that thing constantly coats you in water so it helps a lot.

2) Climb up into the rafters. Remember how you can pull that lever and it sinks the platform down into the lava? Do that, and then use the new ladder that you can now access and go up.

3) Now there are a few pots filled with water up there. What you do is roll through them so you're coated in water. Immediately drop down from the edge onto the lava platform. You'll take damage from the fall, but the cat ring will help. Drink a flask real quick, and then move it to the chest. If you have any regen spells, you may wish to cast them before you drop.

The other chest by the pool of water just has a shield, but if you really want to get it, you roll around in that pool of water until you're soaked, and then book it, dropping off the ledge to save some time.

May I assume that you found the key in the Iron Key? It's on the body that was being burned in the very first room. Now see if you can figure out what that key unlocks, and then you'll be able to get the DLC key.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Those lava chests in Iron Keep can suck and die. Only one of them has anything worth getting--and sadly, that's the one that is the hardest. It contains a pyro spell (Firestorm, or something like it), and in order to get it, you have to do some clever footwork.

1) Get the cat fall ring and equip it. Also, equip your best fire resist gear. If you have the Pharros' Mask that you can get in the Iron King DLC, that thing constantly coats you in water so it helps a lot.

2) Climb up into the rafters. Remember how you can pull that lever and it sinks the platform down into the lava? Do that, and then use the new ladder that you can now access and go up.

3) Now there are a few pots filled with water up there. What you do is roll through them so you're coated in water. Immediately drop down from the edge onto the lava platform. You'll take damage from the fall, but the cat ring will help. Drink a flask real quick, and then move it to the chest. If you have any regen spells, you may wish to cast them before you drop.

The other chest by the pool of water just has a shield, but if you really want to get it, you roll around in that pool of water until you're soaked, and then book it, dropping off the ledge to save some time.

May I assume that you found the key in the Iron Key? It's on the body that was being burned in the very first room. Now see if you can figure out what that key unlocks, and then you'll be able to get the DLC key.

I must have the key because I took whatever what was on there where the flames were originally going on and off. But I haven't found what it unlocks yet. Really miss the Charred Ring from DS1 that pretty much mitigated lava damage.

Besides finding that last lock and getting Benhart's questline wrapped up, I want to beat the DLC's before venturing too much further towards the end. I haven't accessed the memories yet, but they can't be too far off.

*edit* finally got the Ashen Mist Heart (and decided against disturbing such a friendly, charitable dragon...at least for the foreseeable future), and entered the first memory involving a pretty interesting scene of firey war and an Old Giant, who succumbed to my aptly leveled Drangleic sword rather easily. Nice amount of souls yielded too.

I also noticed in my inventory I do indeed have the Iron Key to wherever that great door is. I'll probably stumble upon it again but don't recall exactly where as of now. Finding it will be up next, and then to finish Benhart's quest preferably in someplace memorable.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Got Benhart's questline done with an ascetic in Memory of Jeigh. In a way I kinda pitied him, treasuring his sword so much while seemingly unaware it was a fake. Yes, I'll gladly accept your gift Benhart, and thank you.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

What's odd about Benhart is where he ends up. Why is he resting inside of a memory? Is he real, or is he a phantom? There's something going on with him it seems, but we're never given enough information to really figure him out.
But whatever it is, glad to hear you got him done. With the death of The Giant Lord, you are now set to go beat the final boss. Keep in mind that after you do this, you can still roam around in your current game. You are not launched immediately into New Game Plus.

Of course, you still have the DLCs to go through, as well as the Chasm of Dark. All those areas I would suggest doing now--as well as beating Vendrick--before trying in NG+, because all those areas can stomp you flat pretty easily.

Oh yeah, and did you ever find both of the Rat areas?

 

[Comic Sans]

If you need help finding the key for the Iron King DLC, here's where to find it.

Spoiler

Go back to the Forest of Fallen Giants, head down the lift to where you fought the Last Giant (who you might now be able to guess the identity of and why he was so mad to see you), before you hit the boss room take the door to the left. There will be some big Salamander enemies who are tough but should be manageable at this point. Alternatively you can drop down there from near the fort bonfire. Head down the ladder, and at the end of the room drop down onto the rubble pile. Either way, there is plenty of treasure there including the key you need.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

What's odd about Benhart is where he ends up. Why is he resting inside of a memory? Is he real, or is he a phantom? There's something going on with him it seems, but we're never given enough information to really figure him out.
But whatever it is, glad to hear you got him done. With the death of The Giant Lord, you are now set to go beat the final boss. Keep in mind that after you do this, you can still roam around in your current game. You are not launched immediately into New Game Plus.

Of course, you still have the DLCs to go through, as well as the Chasm of Dark. All those areas I would suggest doing now--as well as beating Vendrick--before trying in NG+, because all those areas can stomp you flat pretty easily.

Oh yeah, and did you ever find both of the Rat areas?

Yeah he was a cool dude. One of the better NPCs across the first three games (including Demon's) imo. I'll get into the DLC and Chasm next and check out the other memory areas, particularly the big hanging petrified dragon. I haven't run into the other rat pack yet either.

If you need help finding the key for the Iron King DLC, here's where to find it.

Spoiler

Go back to the Forest of Fallen Giants, head down the lift to where you fought the Last Giant (who you might now be able to guess the identity of and why he was so mad to see you), before you hit the boss room take the door to the left. There will be some big Salamander enemies who are tough but should be manageable at this point. Alternatively you can drop down there from near the fort bonfire. Head down the ladder, and at the end of the room drop down onto the rubble pile. Either way, there is plenty of treasure there including the key you need.

Now that I think of it there seemed to be something shimmering down there but never thought that pit was accessible. Will have to take a closer look. I would've probably been running in circles in Iron Keep yet lol.


Mucho thanks goes out to all who have chimed in with helpful hints on my latest Souls outing! I have to say this game has been probably at least twice as enjoyable up to this late point as I thought it'd be. Like Dalisclock said there are a good amount of new ideas at play here, and most of them have been more beneficial than detrimental in terms of design and overall fun had.

 

[Kerg3927]

Of course, you still have the DLCs to go through, as well as the Chasm of Dark. All those areas I would suggest doing now--as well as beating Vendrick--before trying in NG+, because all those areas can stomp you flat pretty easily.

Yep, now the real challenge begins. You just think you've gotten gud, but son, you're about to find out what gittin gud really means. The DS2 DLC bosses are some of the toughest in the series. One in particular, I consider to be THE most difficult boss in the trilogy.

don't give up , skeleton!

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Of course, you still have the DLCs to go through, as well as the Chasm of Dark. All those areas I would suggest doing now--as well as beating Vendrick--before trying in NG+, because all those areas can stomp you flat pretty easily.

Yep, now the real challenge begins. You just think you've gotten gud, but son, you're about to find out what gittin gud really means. The DS2 DLC bosses are some of the toughest in the series. One in particular, I consider to be THE most difficult boss in the trilogy.

don't give up , skeleton!

Haha yeah, I also get a kick out of the "Try rolling, boulder!"

Found some time to get that key after a busy weekend, and decided to make a full fledged one man assault on the Iron King first, after briefly testing the frozen/poisonous waters of Ivory and Sunken respectively. After getting the elevators going on that towering inferno, I think I'd rate the general enemy difficulty of this one in the middle of the two so far, with Sunken first (damn poison spitters!) and Ivory a somewhat distant third, at least up to the first boss.

But all in all after having a good idea of each DLC, I definitely like Iron King the most so far in terms of challenge type, map design and visual styling. The chain walking is pretty cool too. I'm kinda hoping that "THE" most difficult boss is in this one to get it out of the way early, but I suppose it could also depend on build type as well.

 

[Dalisclock]

Of course, you still have the DLCs to go through, as well as the Chasm of Dark. All those areas I would suggest doing now--as well as beating Vendrick--before trying in NG+, because all those areas can stomp you flat pretty easily.

Yep, now the real challenge begins. You just think you've gotten gud, but son, you're about to find out what gittin gud really means. The DS2 DLC bosses are some of the toughest in the series. One in particular, I consider to be THE most difficult boss in the trilogy.

don't give up , skeleton!

Haha yeah, I also get a kick out of the "Try rolling, boulder!"

Found some time to get that key after a busy weekend, and decided to make a full fledged one man assault on the Iron King first, after briefly testing the frozen/poisonous waters of Ivory and Sunken respectively. After getting the elevators going on that towering inferno, I think I'd rate the general enemy difficulty of this one in the middle of the two so far, with Sunken first (damn poison spitters!) and Ivory a somewhat distant third, at least up to the first boss.

But all in all after having a good idea of each DLC, I definitely like Iron King the most so far in terms of challenge type, map design and visual styling. The chain walking is pretty cool too. I'm kinda hoping that "THE" most difficult boss is in this one to get it out of the way early, but I suppose it could also depend on build type as well.

I'm not sure if it's the most difficult one, but the Fume Knight is considered up there in difficulty(Presumably 93% of attempts end in PC death, if the number I saw it true). I had to summon a human to beat him because the AI phantoms couldn't take off enough damage to make a difference. The (optional) boss after him is also difficult, but honestly, it's a lot more painful to get to him then to actually fight him, because the level leading up to him is so linear and trap ridden.

I really liked the Iron King DLC the most out of all of them. Starting at the top of a tower and working down was a cool idea and they did a lot with it.

Just a warning: You know those iron stakes you found early on? Keep those handy, because you want at least 4 of those when you reach the boss. If you don't have 4, go look for some more or that fight becomes a lot harder.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

^Ahh I hope there are more of those wedges later on because I've been using them for all those flaming idol things; I think 4 so far. Par for the course sadism for the Souls series though!

 

[Dalisclock]

^Ahh I hope there are more of those wedges later on because I've been using them for all those flaming idol things; I think 4 so far. Par for the course sadism for the Souls series though!

Luckily, they're not behind the boss but you do need to scout for them. Luckily the boss is at the very bottom of the tower and you'll know when you get there.

 

[Comic Sans]

Also worth noting is that even with the extra wedges you can find while exploring, you will be one short of being able to take down every flaming idol. The last wedge cannot be accessed until you have beaten the main boss battle and then defeated one of the two optional bosses. So be careful with the wedges. You need 4 to take down the ones that make the boss way harder. Once you have destroyed all the idols you get the completed Soul of Nadalia which you can trade in to Ornifex for stuff. Most of the stuff from Ornifex is really good and since you can get duplicate souls to trade in to her via Bonfire Ascetics there's no reason not to get whatever looks fun from her.

Also, beating a Great Soul boss with an Ascetic or on NG+ provides their soul plus an additional special one. Souls that might sound familiar. Worth checking out. The one from Freja provides quite the classic weapon.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So I ran into this guy for my first boss experience in the realm of the Iron King

Spoiler

Well, that's about what I expected from this bastard. He buffs like no other and not only does residual damage, but completely flips the script between physical and magic-based. I've gotten within 2-3 hits fighting him solo, and saving Effigies make it a bit tougher since I'm completely hollow. The Binding ring helps making it feel at least possible though. Also using Cloranthy, Second Dragon, and Spell Quartz.

Also worth noting is that even with the extra wedges you can find while exploring, you will be one short of being able to take down every flaming idol. The last wedge cannot be accessed until you have beaten the main boss battle and then defeated one of the two optional bosses. So be careful with the wedges. You need 4 to take down the ones that make the boss way harder. Once you have destroyed all the idols you get the completed Soul of Nadalia which you can trade in to Ornifex for stuff. Most of the stuff from Ornifex is really good and since you can get duplicate souls to trade in to her via Bonfire Ascetics there's no reason not to get whatever looks fun from her.

Also, beating a Great Soul boss with an Ascetic or on NG+ provides their soul plus an additional special one. Souls that might sound familiar. Worth checking out. The one from Freja provides quite the classic weapon.

I've noticed Smelter Demon is weak to Dark but I ran out of resins. These special Great Souls may lead me to something that could prove most useful though. I read that the Crypt Blacksword can work wonders on ol' blue, and I have the Soul needed to make it thanks to my ascetical victory over The Rotten. While I'm at it I'll stock up on some more resins for good measure.

 

[Comic Sans]

Yeah Smelter is rough. Not only is the actual run to get there incredibly obnoxious, but he is really tough. What always got me was the incredible delay on a lot of his swings. Took a few tries to get used to that. Every DLC has an encounter along these lines. A gauntlet that leads to a boss fight of recycled enemies. They are designed around co-op. I am sure you noticed the strange statues at the entrances of DLCs? If one places a summon sign there they can be called at the matching statues at the start of the gauntlets even if they don't have the DLC. They are not mandatory to complete, but they are a challenge if you are looking for more. Smelter actually leads to a really useful item for dealing with fire enemies, one that makes fighting the Ancient Dragon much easier if you choose too. Though fair warning, the one at Eleum Loyce might make you wanna tear your hair out.

There's another optional boss in Brume Tower but it is not available until you beat the main boss of the DLC. I highly recommend it. The gauntlet isn't as bad as the one to Smelter and the boss is good.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah Smelter is rough. Not only is the actual run to get there incredibly obnoxious, but he is really tough. What always got me was the incredible delay on a lot of his swings. Took a few tries to get used to that. Every DLC has an encounter along these lines. A gauntlet that leads to a boss fight of recycled enemies. They are designed around co-op. I am sure you noticed the strange statues at the entrances of DLCs? If one places a summon sign there they can be called at the matching statues at the start of the gauntlets even if they don't have the DLC. They are not mandatory to complete, but they are a challenge if you are looking for more. Smelter actually leads to a really useful item for dealing with fire enemies, one that makes fighting the Ancient Dragon much easier if you choose too. Though fair warning, the one at Eleum Loyce might make you wanna tear your hair out.

There's another optional boss in Brume Tower but it is not available until you beat the main boss of the DLC. I highly recommend it. The gauntlet isn't as bad as the one to Smelter and the boss is good.

Most of that gauntlet is now dead lol. Only a couple pesky arrow snipers, miracle chic and the brute with the hammer remain. I've had the luxury to run and roll right to the fight the last few tries. Sometimes the slomo spell hits me but I think she's close to her expiration date as well. I'm definitely going to stock up on resin and get that new sword made before any more though.

The key to this fight seems to be good rolling while also being able to match attempts on the offensive, as he hits too hard to block more than one string even with a highly poised shield and lowering between hits. Once he magic buffs the Rebel shield helps in a pinch but is an even greater stamina drain. I think I'm going to ditch some weight to try staying under 50% and go in with that new Crypt Blacksword. If it can't be resin coated I'll just Dark infuse it and that should be the end of Smelter blue.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Wrong. You're both wrong. The key to The Smelter Demon is simple:

Poison.

Don't have the poison pyro spell? Get some poison arrows. Don't have the skill to use a bow? Get some poison throwing knives. Gavlaan is king. Poison that sucker and then just focus on staying away from him. It doesn't last for the full fight, but then all you need to do is hit him with it again. So much easier--especially if you have any other phantom there to distract him while you inflict it.


I think Brume Tower is the best in terms of connecting to the main game, but Ivory King is my favorite because of the massive call backs to the original game--especially once you get to the final boss in that area. It should look very familiar where you end up.
Sunken King is good it it's own right, but it feels rather added on, not really connecting to anything. Of course, it does clear up some massive lore stuff and implies a kind of civil war that took place in Drangliec long ago, but still...

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Wrong. You're both wrong. The key to The Smelter Demon is simple:

Poison.

Don't have the poison pyro spell? Get some poison arrows. Don't have the skill to use a bow? Get some poison throwing knives. Gavlaan is king. Poison that sucker and then just focus on staying away from him. It doesn't last for the full fight, but then all you need to do is hit him with it again. So much easier--especially if you have any other phantom there to distract him while you inflict it.


I think Brume Tower is the best in terms of connecting to the main game, but Ivory King is my favorite because of the massive call backs to the original game--especially once you get to the final boss in that area. It should look very familiar where you end up.
Sunken King is good it it's own right, but it feels rather added on, not really connecting to anything. Of course, it does clear up some massive lore stuff and implies a kind of civil war that took place in Drangliec long ago, but still...

I'll have to try that again because it didn't seem to work well for me; at least not like against the brutes with the smelter hammers. Two rounds were enough to start a counter and watch the life bar tick away on them, but against Smelter Demon I didn't even see a bar after three. I could see it swarming around him but it didn't do anything. I think I read somewhere that SotFS changed his defense against poison. Apparently it still works but is easier if you have summons to distract.

Interesting about Ivory King. I must say each piece of DLC feels very distinct and well-realized.

 

[Rangaman]

Well this thread inspired me to pick up DS2 again, and now I'm 35 hours in. My feelings are...mixed. It's good overall, but it just doesn't feel as solid as the first or third games in how it's designed (on a sidenote, I forgot how linear the areas were).

The DLC is definitely good, though I wouldn't say "best in the series". The Fume Knight is definitely hardest boss I've fought in a Souls game (sorry Manus) and Sinh was fucking awesome. There is a place in hell reserved for that Velstadt-summoning ***** Elana, though. And I attempted the Iron Passage precisely once before deciding no reward would be worth that hell. As we speak, I'm currently blasting through Crown of the Ivory King to get the third crown and the...reward for getting all three crowns.

I actually made my way through the main game fairly quickly, despite everyone's claims of how huge it is. I skipped some optional bosses; the Gank Squad, Blue Smelter Demon and Ancient Dragon all got a pass, and I don't intend on fighting Lud and Zullen. But that shouldn't matter that much, that's 4 out 41 boss fights skipped. I would've beaten the game in under 30 hours, were it not for the DLC.

I definitely like the game more than I used to, but I still see it as the weakest of the trilogy. The "puzzle" elements still annoy me, I still think the main game boss fights kinda suck and the controls are still too clunky for my liking.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Well this thread inspired me to pick up DS2 again, and now I'm 35 hours in. My feelings are...mixed. It's good overall, but it just doesn't feel as solid as the first or third games in how it's designed (on a sidenote, I forgot how linear the areas were).

The DLC is definitely good, though I wouldn't say "best in the series". The Fume Knight is definitely hardest boss I've fought in a Souls game (sorry Manus) and Sinh was fucking awesome. There is a place in hell reserved for that Velstadt-summoning ***** Elana, though. And I attempted the Iron Passage precisely once before deciding no reward would be worth that hell. As we speak, I'm currently blasting through Crown of the Ivory King to get the third crown and the...reward for getting all three crowns.

I actually made my way through the main game fairly quickly, despite everyone's claims of how huge it is. I skipped some optional bosses; the Gank Squad, Blue Smelter Demon and Ancient Dragon all got a pass, and I don't intend on fighting Lud and Zullen. But that shouldn't matter that much, that's 4 out 41 boss fights skipped. I would've beaten the game in under 30 hours, were it not for the DLC.

I definitely like the game more than I used to, but I still see it as the weakest of the trilogy. The "puzzle" elements still annoy me, I still think the main game boss fights kinda suck and the controls are still too clunky for my liking.

Sounds like a nice marathon run you had there. I went the slow burn route, doing everything I can and also going in pretty blind, at least next to how I played Demon's and DS1. Interesting you say it felt the most linear when there have been so many comments about DS3 being the most linear and "short".

By "puzzle" do you mean the lock stones and statues?

I'm really looking forward to 3 but not until I finish at least a playthrough of Bloodborne, and of course my current run in DS2. Just beat Smelter Blue last night actually (a mix of poison and dark resins plus Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword were the winning ticket), and finally found an area beforehand that I suprisingly had overlooked containing the Gold Serpent ring. I also used that platform to get the chest below on the lava pathway. Flame Quartz ring plus Flash Sweat plus rolling through the water jugs made damage almost negligible. I could've walked to it and still had plenty to spare actually.

 

[Rangaman]

Sounds like a nice marathon run you had there. I went the slow burn route, doing everything I can and also going in pretty blind, at least next to how I played Demon's and DS1. Interesting you say it felt the most linear when there have been so many comments about DS3 being the most linear and "short".

I didn't really intend to go on a marathon run, I did what I felt like doing and skipped the rest. Or to put it another way: I'd rather eat dogshit out of skunk's carcass than spend more time in the Black Gulch.

DS3's linearity is much more obvious. DS2 might give you four pathways right from the word go (well, two pathways technically), but the design of the areas is very much a straightforward path from entrance to exit. If I had to liken the design of the Souls games to other non-Souls games, it would probably go as follows:

Dark Souls - Castlevania: SotN (seamless, labyrinthine world)
Dark Souls II - Cave Story (somewhat open-ended, but mostly linear design w/ a central hub)
Dark Souls III - Super Metroid (linear progression through smaller, segmented labyrinths)

Much like Cave Story, Dark Souls II looks enough like a Metroidvania, but doesn't really have the same design as one. I'm not saying it's bad (though I would've preferred a Metroidvania) but it is pretty linear.

TL;DR, both are linear but in DS3 it's much more noticeable.

And yeah, DS3 is pretty short. You'll probably end up with 3 of the 4 sacred MacGuffins by the 15-16 hour mark, even if you do take the slow and steady path. Personally, however, I prefer a short fun game to a big rushed one.

By "puzzle" do you mean the lock stones and statues?

Yes, and torches as well. They were a minor annoyance at first, being locked out of Titanite and Estus Shards because I didn't have enough of a rare and expensive item was quite irritating. And then...


That shit pissed me off. It still pisses me off.

I'm really looking forward to 3 but not until I finish at least a playthrough of Bloodborne, and of course my current run in DS2. Just beat Smelter Blue last night actually (a mix of poison and dark resins plus Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword were the winning ticket), and finally found an area beforehand that I suprisingly had overlooked containing the Gold Serpent ring. I also used that platform to get the chest below on the lava pathway. Flame Quartz ring plus Flash Sweat plus rolling through the water jugs made damage almost negligible. I could've walked to it and still had plenty to spare actually.

Good luck with Bloodborne. I haven't had the chance to finish it yet, but what I played was pretty damn tough. What with the beasts all over the shop.