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Well I'm in NG+ right now. That excludes me, doesn't it?
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Nov 24, 2014 05:22
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Heh, I went back to this thread to mention I've been streaming the character I'd be using with the DLC co-op in case anyone was Jonesing for some Dark Souls 2, sorry I missed that, George. Yes, for almost all matchmaking in DS2*, you have to be within the Soul Memory tiers I linked to, and either both in NG, or both in any cycle after the first (so two players in NG are fine, and one in cycle 2 and one in cycle 8 are fine; but not 1 and 8). But yeah, if anyone's curious, I'll be playing a few hours tonight, and then doing some PVP-focused stuff tomorrow around 5-6pm CST (GMT -6), right here. * The exception being the Brotherhood of Blood arena, which ignores SM. And yes, that's the covenant where losses count against your progress. Yeah....
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Nov 28, 2014 05:12
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 Ah yes, let's dive into the dark. If I had a choice I wouldn't though. I normally don't do these areas because I don't like them. But there is a pretty cool boss at the end of it all, so that's fine.  The Great co-op and PvP thing of tomorrow (29.11.2014)! I still need some PvP footage and want to record the co-op areas of the first two DLCs. Crown of the Sunken King and Crown of the Old Iron King (only one of them, already did the one with the cooler boss solo). Third one, Crown of the Ivory King, will follow some other time, haven't played through that one on that character yet. Tomorrow strikes me as a good time to do this as any. I'm in Europe, so I may be awake at weird times for those of you located in the US. If you wanna join and happen to be from Japan, let me know so I can enable cross-region play (The two regions are basically Japan and not Japan. It's usually laggy, so disabling cross-region play is normally a good idea.) But I think that 22:00 GMT+1 is probably the most reasonable time we're gonna get going. If I'm not successful then I'll try again later the same day. The whole thing will be in a regular New Game on PS3. My Soul Memory currently is 3269181 Set your Name-engraved Rings to Nahr Alma, God of Blood. This will increase the range I can summon you from using white signs and make sure no one else shows up for that and the PvP. We'll first go through the Cave of the Dead of the first DLC, nothing special here. Just place your summon sign either at the entrance of the area directly or in the lobby of the DLC (which you can enter even if you haven't purchased it) For the Iron Passage of the second DLC, however, we'll take the longer path. The short one is easy to screw up and I'll show that solo. To get summoned do as above, however, there are two chambers in the DLC Lobby to place summon signs. I'm not sure which is for this area. maybe both. I don't know. Maybe someone can enlighten me on this one. To clarifly: Yes, you can get summoned even if you don't have the DLC. All the areas and gear will be in your game if you applied the latest patches. You can even get some of the gear if you're lucky enough to get a drop while being summoned. So do feel free to join in if you don't have the DLC. Just be aware, that the areas in question or not indicative of the quality of the DLC. The rest of both of them is actually very good. I'll try to summon different people every time if there are enough. So please don't be mad if I only summon you once, okay? As for PvP: I really only need Bloodbro Arena and Bluebro Arena footage. I'm not going to show every single covenant because not all of them are unique enough, for those that are I already recorded footage when they came up in the game. The difference is oftentimes just the item used to connect, and the type of player to connect to. I'll post in this thread again with more details when I start. (E: It's probably a good idea if you post your PSN names so I know who to summon) Darklurker  This guy looks like he's based on the design of Seath from King's Field 2. He has a couple attacks telegraphed way in advace. He has a soul greatsword type attack that's probably the best opportunity to get hits in. The attacks where he launches an orb of fire or dark into the air which then shoots at you are annoying but easy to dodge. In both cases just run to the sides. He ca also teleport, which may throw you off a little. In case he does his aoe thing just run away as well. At half health, though, it gets interesting and the Darklurker turns into one of the hardest bosses of the game.. He will split into two but still have one health bar. You'll now have to dodge the same attacks but pay attention to two targets at once. It's a real boon that you have the opportunity to get acquainted with his moveset before this happens. Letting the player do that makes this a good design in my opinion. the worst part about that boss is getting to him, though. Not only do you have to go through three bad areas but you also can't just run through them as easily as most other areas. This normally would not be much of a problem, but you'll likely die a couple times to him. However, if all else fails just use fire. He's super weak to it. It's no ridiculous that some people claim to have used Chaos Storm to instantly kill him as soon as he splits up. I never managed to do that but it certainly seems possible with a little luck. Boss Weapons Soul of what lurks in the Dark Chasm. The Dark Chasm of Old is the remnant of some ancient, dissipated being. Note: That ancient dissipated being is most likely Manus, Father of the Abyss. The final boss of the DLC of the first game. That or the actual Abbyss is considered a being. Lifedrain Patch  Trade Soul with: Straid Magic Type: Hex Requirements: 20 INT, 35 FTH Description: Creates a large dark mass in front of you in exchange for 3000 Souls. It harms any friend or foe that touches it. It also harms the caster. In-Game Description: Consume a number of souls and affix dark to a certain spot. Inflicts damage upon those who touch it. This distorted dark, brewed by hexers, drains the life-force of those who touch it. Catalyst: sacred chime Note: In the first game there was such a thing called the Darkwraiths. Essentially the main invasion covenant which you could join by talking to someone in the Abyss. The Darkwraiths were infamous for using the art of lifedrain, which was triggered by using a special shield called the Dark Hand, which actually just created a spatial distortion in front of the user as a shield. Instead of a parry the Dark Hand would grab enemies and steal their humanity. Dark Hand from Dark Souls: The Darkwraiths, incited by Kaathe, use the power of the dark soul to absorb humanity, an art shared by this weapon, which also acts as a special shield. The ancients, particularly, could sap the humanity of even a replete saint in the blink of an eye. Item Descriptions Xanthous Set Dark Souls II: "This blindingly-bright yellow costume is said to have been worn by Xanthous King. Perhaps the heinously towering head cloth crown served some purpose, or perhaps it was some strange display of power" Despite the costume's being in near tatters, its yellow hues are mysteriously unfaded. Dark Souls: A mysterious item once worn by the Xanthous King Jeremiah, the legendary exile. No one knows where it came from. The crown bears high-quality cloth which is quite soft to the touch, but its bright yellow color stings the eyes, and it is clearly far too big. It may be tattered, but its bright yellow color still stings the eyes. Monk's Head Collar from Demon's Souls: Head wrappings that were once the golden robe worn by the old master of Latria and eventually took control of the then withered old man. It is whispered that the robe now seeks to summon those who offer their aid, and carrying out its wishes grants them the use of these odd head wrappings. Could the golden garb be seeking out a new vessel to subjugate…? Note: In Dark Souls there was an invader in the Painted World of Ariamis called Xanthous King Jeremiah. He wore this and dropepd it upon death. It's headpiece is a reference to the Monk's Head Collar from Demon's Souls. It was a reward for being summoned as the boss of a particular area and defeating the challenging player, the player who was invading to become the boss would wear this during the invasion too. This was quite a unique boss fight for the sole reason that it was actually another player. When no player could be found you'd fight an NPC wearing this instead. Dragon Chime A sacred chime shaped as a dragon. A catalyst for miracles and hexes. This chime sat long in the Dark Chasm, but still one senses a sublime purity. Only those with the deepest faith can wield this chime, but they will be rewarded with greatly amplified spells. Note: Oddly, despite being a reward for maxing the covenant that's all about darkness and the abyss, this is probably the best Catalyst for Lightning. Hex: Climax A hex that distorts the power of life. Emits a mass of dark, but at the cost of all souls. Strength varies depending on the number of souls. Not a hex to be used lightly. Catalyst: Sacred Chime Note: Does indeed consume all souls. But caps out at about 5000 according to the wikis. Meaning it's a waste of souls if you have more than that on you. Which is very likely to be the case. Abyss Seal Ring of the Pilgrims of Dark covenant. Increases the attack strength of hexes but casting them reduces HP. What is dark? Perhaps we already know. We fear the dark, yet find solace in it. Those who join this covenant can see the hidden Dark Chasm. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Nov 29, 2014 |
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Nov 28, 2014 23:12
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Dark Chasm of Old is one of my favorite areas. A challenging but manageable area if you're careful, with one of the best bosses in the series. Plus it's super fun to invade people there.
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Nov 29, 2014 02:11
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I'm surprised I've never noticed this before, but the Darklurker has a similar appearance to the Archangels from Diablo, more arms though.
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Nov 29, 2014 13:07
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I was thinking he looked more like the Four Kings from the first Dark Souls, which makes sense given the lore Iggy talked about in this video. That said, I've never actually fought him. Getting to/through the Chasm seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
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Nov 29, 2014 15:59
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KieranWalker posted:That said, I've never actually fought him. Getting to/through the Chasm seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
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Nov 29, 2014 17:16
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The Dark Chasm areas, to me, feel like the DLC optional areas done right. They're challenging, but I can't say that any of them are bullshit...although that might be because I cheesed the hardest one with liberal Force application to drop the phantoms into the pits that are everywhere.
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Nov 29, 2014 17:25
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Alright, I don't have the DLC, but I'll put my sign down at the obelisk in the Black Gulch. Does the same kind of summoning work for the iron passage/Iron Keep? I'll start a bit early to gather my bearings. If internet is telling the truth, you'll record in about an hour?
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Nov 29, 2014 21:05
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Aye, I'll be starting in roughly 45-50 minutes from now, maybe a couple minutes early if I can get two people right away. To make things a little clearer for those not aware of how exactly this works:  Find this at the end of Black Gulch, interact with that thing there.  You'll then find this room. Those weird totems that are arranged in a circle are where you need to place your summon signs. You wont be able to open the door at the end and access the DLC area unless you own the DLC but you can still be summoned to do co-op if you place your sign at one of those totems. Think you have to place it on those big tiles in front of them too. And yes, the same thing works for the second DLC. Head to the end of Iron Keep, interact with the Shrine of Winter style whatever it is. The layout of the lobby is different, there's one room to the left and one to the right. I don't think it matters in which room you place your sign, but if you're not getting summoned you can try the other one just to be safe. I'll just update this post about ten minutes before I start. If there's a post after this one I'll be so kind to just make a new post. ----------- All right, I'll be headed to the area shortly. Be sure to equip your Name-engraved Rings and set them to Nahr Alma, God of Blood so I can see your signs and not any others. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Nov 29, 2014 |
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Nov 29, 2014 21:15
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Cool, on my way too, then. Just need to go pick up the Name-Engraved Ring.  PSN is The_Right_Wayne.Edit: Sweet, thanks. Well, that... sure was something. Enemies you can't stagger and are still resistant to Slash, good that From can think out-of-the-box.  Having a summon turn that fight into a 3-on-2 is cool, though, I can see that being pretty agonizing solo.Edit 2: OK, I'll head there too. We can wait for a bit, see if PRL can make it. Edit 3: Oh, that's who we fight in co-op. OK, putting my poison spells back on, heh. Edit 3166: Yeah, it was in the left room, switched to the right. Edit 3167: Sounds good. I hope everybody caught the SM calculator thing I linked to; the ranges can be pretty deceptive. I only squeaked by by Asceticing two Old Ones and wearing Jester's Gloves and the Covetous Silver Ring +1 pretty much the entire game. They seriously break the first 2 million souls into 30 tiers, and there's only 15 above that until you max out. I tried doing some PvP with the character I Platinumed the game with a few months ago, and I was running into max-level guys. Edit 3168: Welp, summon starts right as I click the button, here goes nothing! Edit 3169: Holy cow, I see what you mean.  Edit 3170: Yeah, never seen this before. Tell you what, you lead, I'll back you up.Edit 3171: I would agree with that. Well, I didn't use up too many resources, so I'll stick around and put my sign back down. If you die again, I'll warp back and restock. Edit 3172: Now that's just adding insult to injury, killing me with phantom reach and then actually dropping something for me when you finished him.  Edit 3173: Yeah, sorry about that. I'll grab some too. Heide Spear is doing pretty darn well against the enemies we can actually get to, at least. Edit 3174: Yeah, fingers crossed. Grr. Anyway, sign's back. Bit of a jog, isn't it? Edit 3175: Man, that crossfire. Yeah, that's not really difficult, it's just tedious-- are you willing to pick them off and roll through their attacks or not? Or I guess just run past, I imagine that's what most people do. Edit 3176: Oh, no, I was standing on the glowy so I didn't see it. If you want to drop it again, much appreciated. Edit 3177: Yep, sounds like a plan to me. On my way now. Edit 3178: Hey, nothing wrong with showing off more content. Just point me the right direction, heh. Edit 3179: Whoa, you weren't kidding. What hit you, the salamander? Thanks for the drumstick, by the by. Just like Thanksgiving.  Edit 3180: Ha, OK. You're the boss! Edit the Last: Finally! That was fun, thanks for having me. 
Wayne fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Nov 29, 2014 |
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Nov 29, 2014 22:00
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I can see your sign, but it's the only one, I'll guess I'll summon just you. If anyone else still wants in I'll do the second DLC right after that. ----------------------- Welp, I somehow managed to get lost in this tiny area for a couple moments, but we made it. I'm now going to the Iron Passage, remember. We're gonna go the long way once in the area. I'll wait a couple minutes before summoning anybody though to hopefully get a couple more summon signs. I mean, more signs make the boss harder and thus less fun only also more fun because it's more people. For those who don't know the boss of Iron Passage is a powered up smelter Demon with slightly different attack timing that does magic damage instead of fire E3165: If you already placed your sign: I can't see it. Try placing it in the other room maybe that'll work. E???: Okay, right room it is, I see it now. Just gonna wait a couple more minutes before summoning to give others a chance to hop in as well. --------------------- All right, gonna go ahead and summon you. But I reckon this might take more than one try. Maybe. It's quite a bit harder than the first DLC's co-op area. So if anyone still wants to help feel free to place your signs in the right room of the Crown of the Old Iron King Lobby. --------------------- So, you died, I expected this. This area is like that. I'll head back to the entrance. --------------------- This time it was me. Consensus is that the co-op areas are the worst parts of the DLCs --------------------- Well drat, right before the boss too. I'll do the smart thing and stock up on poison arrows, which hopefully will help against some of the enemies. That thing he must have dropped for you is nicknamed the chicken wing by the way. Too bad you didn't get it. Maybe next time. --------------------- It's probably best to stay holed up until the casters and archers are dead. Also: Did you not see the thing I dropped for you at the start? Or can't you give stuff to other players. I basically have two of the things those big guys drop. ---------------------- Yeah, let's just run. ---------------------- Okay, let's just run past that right to the fog gate as well. There' a reason people hate this area. ---------------------- Alternatively, let's go the short way, there's a switch and a longish passage ending in a gate. Run to the end of it, I'll activate the gate. Just run through it. You should find a way into the other rooms so you can pick off enemies from there. I'll go the other way, because reaching the gate once activated is kind of hard and might result in my death. ------------------- Okay, that was stupid, let's do that again only this time I wont follow you through there. I'll do that part solo because uh... yeah. Because of that. ------------------- Okay okay, I have an idea now. This time I REALLY won't follow you through there. ------------------- All right, finally! Thanks for helping me. That was more difficult than expected but these enemies kind of wear on you after a while because the area is very tedious. Still, it was fun to play with you. Cheers. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Nov 29, 2014 |
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Nov 29, 2014 22:08
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Well, at the risk of starting a new post after all that.... You're welcome, it was fun. ...well, after splitting up and taking advantage of the side passages, heh. I like "co-op designed" levels like that, nice change of pace.Are you planning on doing the third DLC in the same way? Hopefully someone else will be eligible by then if you do; if not this kind of timing (afternoon on the weekend here in Missouri) works great for me and I'd be up for making it a hat trick. Looking forward to the video!
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Nov 29, 2014 23:48
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Yeah, I'll do the third DLC's co-op area as well, I just didn't play through that DLC yet. Hopefully at least one more person will show up then so we can go through there as a trio. It'll make the boss more powerful, sure, but it's more fun with more people. I've been thinking about it and I'll probably do the other co-op area of the Old Iron King DLC at some point as well, although on NG+, because I did it solo with the NG character already. And now I have to do the alternate path as well some time, I did that only once and it's not really worth it. It's kinda designed to be used the way we did but you can do it even when alone. It's just a lot harder and even if you know what to do you can still mistime a dodge and die easy.
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Nov 30, 2014 00:04
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Sorry about that, left the game to update and got distracted. I'm moving this week, but I'd like to be up and running for the next time.
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Nov 30, 2014 00:25
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For those who don't yet know, Dark Souls 2 is heading to PS4 and Xbox One sometime next year, with all DLC and a couple new features, I think there's going to be a few new NPC's added around, for whatever reason too. (Personally I fail to see the point of bringing it to PS4 with Bloodborne coming but hey, more From Software fun)
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Nov 30, 2014 00:41
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IGgy IGsen posted:Yeah, I'll do the third DLC's co-op area as well, I just didn't play through that DLC yet. Hopefully at least one more person will show up then so we can go through there as a trio. It'll make the boss more powerful, sure, but it's more fun with more people. I'm in NG+ now, so I'm super down to do the Old Iron King with you.
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Nov 30, 2014 00:54
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Judge Tesla posted:For those who don't yet know, Dark Souls 2 is heading to PS4 and Xbox One sometime next year, with all DLC and a couple new features, I think there's going to be a few new NPC's added around, for whatever reason too. George posted:I'm in NG+ now, so I'm super down to do the Old Iron King with you. I'll hopefully also have recorded the Ivory King DLC till then and played far enough to reach the coop area of that DLC in NG. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Dec 1, 2014 |
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Dec 1, 2014 00:12
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I really like how this game just dumps entire outfits on you when you do a quest for somebody. Fashion Souls indeed.
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Dec 2, 2014 21:17
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Glazius posted:I really like how this game just dumps entire outfits on you when you do a quest for somebody. Fashion Souls indeed. Oh, thanks for helping out. TAKE MY CLOTHES.
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Dec 4, 2014 06:25
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  Just cleaning up some before heading to the final boss. We get some of the stuff that I missed. Not all of the stuff I missed, though. This is not a 100% LP after all. We do get to fight Twin Pursuers, though and we also challenge what's left of Vendrick. For the PVP vid I'd have liked to get in a couple more people from the thread, but after last weeks coop session took much longer than expected I just fought some random people for the relevant parts instead. Vendrick  If you want to fight Vendrick you should know about his weakness: Souls of Giants. The more you have the more vulnerable he will become. He'll start out having 32 times his normal defenses. It gets cut in half for every Soul of a Giant you possess currently, though it caps at five, at which point he'll have regular defenses. It's generally agreed upon that four Giant Souls are enough, because no one wants to fight the Ancient Dragon to get a fifth one. He hits like a truck, but has a very limited moveset. You can fight him fair and square, but since one combo can kill you you probably want to cheese him by just hugging his left heel, which is his blind spot. It's impossible for him to hit you there. Even if it looks like his sword touches you, you'll be fine. It'll take a bit, because he has high HP no matter what but it will be relatively easy as long as you make sure to trot at his heel like a loyal poodle. Only you maim his foot also. As for the Souls of Giants weakening him, this is probably due to something like the rage of the giants trying to screw Vendrick over even in death because Vendrick was the one who murdered a couple Giants and stole something from them. They cam to Drangleic to get him, but they never actually reached Vendrick, because he decided to go chill in the Undead Crypt and give up his humanity. But the Giants may not be what he was afraid of since the giants were eventually defeated. And while the giants were wiped out or were forced to retreat we are given to understand that it was a pyrrhic victory. This isn't just something we can take from item descriptions, but the fact that everything is abandoned and in ruins, filled with hollowed out soldiers speaks for itself. The weakening effect might also come from some guilt that Vendrick is feeling for killing the Giants for an unspecified prize or whatever. We really don't know and it's not ever explained. But it's just how it works. What that prize is, by the way, is never actually confirmed either, though, there is one very likely thing that it might be. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, it'll be more relevant next video. One more thing that might be interesting to mention concerning Vendrick is that he's named just Vendrick in the game. Normally Dark Souls makes a point to give bosses that bear an actual name a title of sorts too, even if they've fallen (such as Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, rather than Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight or The Royal Aegis Velstadt). Vendrick on the other hand his just Vendrick. Possibly not significant at all, but it strikes me as kind of odd. Boss Weapons Soul of Vendrick, King of Drangleic. The King was wasted away, a shadow of his former self, but still held something dear. King's Shield  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Shield Physical Defense (+0/+5): 100/100 Fire Defense (+0/+5): 85/86.8 Scales with: STR (C), DEX (C), FIRE (C) Requirements: 16 STR In-Game Description: Shield of Vendrick, King of Drangleic. The great king shut himself away, and was soon reduced to a mere shell. Just what was it that he yearned to protect? Ruler's Sword  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Greatsword Physical Damage (+0/+5): 112/280 Scales with: STR (C), DEX (C) Requirements: 20 STR, 20 DEX, 16 INT, 16 FTH Damage Type: Slash In-Game Description: Greatsword of Vendrick, king of Drangleic. The strength of this sword is relative to the number of souls possessed by its wielder. The great king shut himself away, and was soon reduced to a mere shell. Just what was it that he yearned to protect? Effect: attack boosted by souls held Note: The power of this weapon stops increasing once 1 Million souls are reached. And there actually is a damage penalty if your souls are below 300,000 King's Ultra Greatsword   Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Statue of Nashandra ("Ultra Greatsword") Physical Damage (+0/+5): 180 / 450 Scales with: STR (A/S), DEX (E) Requirements: 50 STR, 10 DEX Damage Type: Strike In-Game Description: An ultra greatsword forged from the soul of King Vendrick. Inflicts heavy damage on enemy armor. Only the king knows whether the depiction of the Queen is a resentful mockery, or an affectionate exaltation. Note: It actually does damage to enemy equipment. Also: It didn't always do strike damage. This was patched in at some point because... yeah this thing doesn't slash. Dragon Remnants This is the dueling covenant and it's pretty straight forward. Upon joining the covenant through Magerold after giving him the Petrified Egg you get a Dragon Eye, which allows you to place a special summon sign. A player in their world may summon you for a duel. During the duel there can't be any invasions or white phantoms, it's just the two of you. Whoever wins gets a Dragon Scale, which you can give to Magerold to level up the covenant. For 10 Dragon Scales you get the Dragon Head Stone, which transforms your head into a Dragon and allows you to breathe fire if you use it again. This transformation lasts until death. For 20 Dragon Scales you get the Dragon Torso Stone which transforms the rest of your body into a dragon. Using it again after transformed will cause a shockwave that staggers enemies. This transformation as well lasts until death. For 30 Dragon Scales you get the Black Dragon Greatsword, a weapon that does not scale with anything and is not powerful enough to make up for that, and thus sucks. A raw infusion is probably the best for it. Item Descriptions Dragon Eye Dark Souls II: Online play item. Invade a world with a Dragon Scale to claim the scale from its master. If our human flesh is our greatest weakness, then those who seek a form that imitates the ancient dragons are true vanguards. Dark Souls: Online play item. Find a player who has acquired a Dragon Scale and invade that player's world to pillage it. (Only Covenanter can use the item). An art of the transcendent apostles who pray to the ancient dragons. To be alive is to be vulnerable, and the fiery Gods are no exception. The apostles seek another plane of existence, which transcends life. Ancient Dragon Seal Ring of the Dragon Remnants covenant. Slightly increases Estus Flask HP recovery. Possessing a dragon scale is proof of its owner's prowess. Strength should always be displayed boldly, and meted out justly. Members of the covenant who bear dragon scales can fight with one another. The survivor of the duel claims the dragon scale of the opponent. Dragon Head Stone Dark Souls II: A stone containing the strength of dragons. Transforms the head into that of a fire-breathing dragon, an effect that will remain until death. The zealots who sought everlasting life are said to have conducted rites to imbue stones with the strength of dragons, but their are no records confirming their success. Dark Souls: Stone imbued with the power of the dragons. Rite of apostles of the ancient dragons. Gain head of dragon. Emit dragon breath. The dragon apostles seek transcendence of life itself, attainable by transformation into an ancient dragon. This rite is only one step, but it cannot be reversed until death. Dragon Torso Stone Dark Souls II: A stone containing the strength of dragons. Transforms the body into a roaring dragon, an effect that will remain until death. The Zealots who sought everlasting life are said to have conducted rites to imbue stones with the strength of dragons, but the truth of such claims is questionable. Dark Souls: Stone imbued with the power of the dragons. Rite of apostles of the ancient dragons. Gain torso of dragon. Roar like a dragon. The dragon apostles seek transcendence of life itself, attainable by transformation into an ancient dragon. This rite is only one step, but it cannot be reversed until death. Black Dragon Greatsword In legend, this oddly-shaped long sword is said to be forged from the black dragon's tail. As it is told, the black dragon lost its tail to a brave warrior in a magnificent battle, and the tail was later used to forge several legendary weapons. Note:The dragon here is probably Kalameet from the first game's DLC. Chopping off the tail would get the player the Obsidian Greatsword. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 02:36
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*watches the Pursuer fight* I think you're hanging around BB too much, IGgy.  ...Not that I didn't get a laugh out of it. Oh, also: If you fight Vendrick immediately after Velstadt (without leaving the boss room), he will have his normal defenses regardless of how many Giant's Souls you do or do not have. So it is possible to take him out without collecting any of them, provided you feel up to doing so after the painful ordeal that was Velstadt. KeiraWalker fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 16:11
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KieranWalker posted:*watches the Pursuer fight* Don't worry, it's the kind of thing I do 0 to 1 times per LP. Because it's kind of hard to find songs that sync up so well. I doubt there are very many songs where they yell "PUNCH OUT!" just in the moment I get knocked down. Twice. Or that weird guitar slide/bend sound followed by a snare hit timed perfectly with my last flame swathe. quote:Oh, also: If you fight Vendrick immediately after Velstadt (without leaving the boss room), he will have his normal defenses regardless of how many Giant's Souls you do or do not have. So it is possible to take him out without collecting any of them, provided you feel up to doing so after the painful ordeal that was Velstadt.
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Dec 6, 2014 17:27
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I didn't realize the Vendrick thing was unintentional. o_O You're telling me it was a bug?
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Dec 6, 2014 17:43
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Wait, Old Iron King has two co-op areas? Should I have been clearing the level on this file?
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Dec 6, 2014 23:17
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George posted:Wait, Old Iron King has two co-op areas? Should I have been clearing the level on this file? Yes, there are two co-op areas. One of them is very bad and tedious and has a boring boss: A blue Smelter Demon. The other one is pretty boring but has a really cool boss Sir Alonne (which I insisted on doing solo on my NG file, but I'll do it co-op on NG+. Probably next week together with the Ivory King area on NG. Wanted to do it this week, originally, but I had plans that have now been cancelled.
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Dec 6, 2014 23:28
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IGgy IGsen posted:Yes, there are two co-op areas. One of them is very bad and tedious and has a boring boss: A blue Smelter Demon. Oh right! Yeah, I'm not ready to do it today because I haven't beaten the DLC on NG+ yet. I'll have that in the bag next weekend.
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Dec 6, 2014 23:35
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I don't really like Vendrick as a fight, one shot kills don't make it anymore fun, just annoying, False King Allant from Demons Souls is still the best fight against a fallen ruler.
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Dec 7, 2014 13:12
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One of the bosses of the Iron King DLC is basically a tribute to Allant. He's got a very similar moveset. Edit: Nobody pointed out my mistake but I meant to type Ivory King. Oops. Tarezax fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Dec 13, 2014 |
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Dec 7, 2014 13:19
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  Why, hello there! Welcome to the final episode of my Dark Souls II Let's Play! (Well, the main game at least) I'm sure after watching you will be left with many questions. Some most of which I won't have satisfactory answers for. If one of those questions concerns the Throne of Want read on below. If not: Just ask in the thread (you can also do this regarding the Throne of Want as you no doubt will have questions I don't have answers for). Spoilers for the main game are A-Okay now, even if there's Lore stuff I haven't covered (there's plenty). If it concerns the DLCs, though, please abide by the spoiler policy in the op (spoiler tag them, but don't overdo it with the spoilers.) The Dark Soul icon next to the episode banner links the the weapon showcase, in case you care. What the hell is the Throne of Want anyway? You don't know and I don't either. But we can still talk about it some. Since it's actually an object so important to the plot that it culminates in us sitting on it like we're the freaking king of the world. Why is it not properly mentioned anywhere in the game? Where did it come from? Where does it go? Is it comfy? What even is it? We can safely assume that it is not comfy seeing as it's carved out of or into a large piece of rock. But we can merely speculate about the others. The origin of the Throne, for instance, probably lies wherever the giants are from. It may possibly be "the prize" that Vendrick brought back. the throne appears to be a human-sized chair carved into a giant-sized chair after all. So that's a reasonable guess. But the game doesn't outright tell us. For all we know it might have been in Dranleic this entire time. It doesn't look like something that would be easy to transport, to say the least. But the Giants did want it, probably. Now, the question of all questions would, of course, be what exactly is the throne and why is it so important? Well, here's an item description that is very relevant but will not answer any questions, but raise even more of them. Giant's Kinship Each King has his rightful throne. And when he sits upon it, he sees what he chooses to see. Or perhaps, it is the throne, which shows the king only what he wants. We need this item to even gain access to the throne itself. Nashandra wont even bother to show up until we have the Giant's Kinship. Which seems like a pretty abstract thing to hold in your inventory. We all know that you don't gain Kinship of a race by killing it too, so it's kind of weird. Thing is Dark Souls II is not the best translated game, which is why the rerelease will feature updated item descriptions. But we already know that the original japanese for Giant's Kinship can be more literally translated as "Resonance with the Giants". This, of course, still doesn't give us answers, though. My personal theory is that the throne of want is built on top of the Kiln of the First Flame from the first game. I mainly take this from the fact that the Emerald Herald, Shanalotte, tells us that we will be able to link the fire using the throne. Which is something that we had to do in the Kiln of the First Flame in Dark Souls. (Linking the fire means to re-ignite the first flame, denying an Age of Dark/Man by enabling another Age of Fire/Gods. The Age of Dark may actually also be the same as the Age of Ancients, seeing as the Age of Ancients was the time before fire existed, it may be what it takes to enable truly immortal beings rather than humans. Kaathe, the one who calls it an age of man in Dark Souls is definitely not human and has no actual business aiding humans. He's also a very enigmatic possibly lying creature. But now we're speculating in an entirely different direction) But Yes, Shanalotte seems to want us to link the fire while Nashandra wants to prevent this. In the end it appears to be our decision whether we want to link the fire or to not do that. The game does nothing to show us what the outcome is. After the credits we are dumped back in Majula, where we can choose to explore the world as we left it, maybe find new things or to sit at the Bonfire and advance to the next cycle and start New Game+ Throne Watcher and Throne Defender  Another double team boss fight. Watcher and Defender aren't too different. Defender seems to be a little slower while Watcher does some crazy backflips and is faster. But they attack very much like you'd expect them to. Like with any other boss encounter that features multiple opponents the main issue lies in finding a good time to attack without being attacked by the other one. Just Kite 'em and wait for a good opening, really. But be wary of the edges of the room, because you just may fall off while kiting the two. To make things a little easier you can use ranged attacks so you don't have to run in every time a good opportunity presents itself. But the basic way you'd fight them is the same whether you choose close or long ranged attacks. If you kill one of them they will kneel down. The other one will probably run up to them sooner than later in an attempt to revive them with full health. You'll have plenty of time to damage and kill them before they do that though. But there's nothing wrong with keeping their health about even to kill them at roughly the same time. But I've never actually had one revive the other myself. Going by their names their task seems to be to make sure no one reaches the throne. or more specifically, that Nashandra doesn't reach it. But also no one else, why would they attack us otherwise? Surely, we are about sane enough to be reasoned with to some degree. But then again, their Soul icon is the same as Velstadt's a dark purple soul that appears to have been influenced by the Dark. If you fight them before finding the Giant's Kinship you'll be left with nothing to do in the room. Once you have the Giant's Kinship though... Nashandra  If you come here after killing the Watcher and Defender previously Nashandra will wait in the room for you. If you kill them after finding the Giant's Kinship Nahandra will enter the room after their death. The fight against her is pretty easy. The worst thing she can and will do is to summon a bunch of cursed orbs that will damage and curse you. But you can just attack them and they'll disappear. She'll summon them once at the start of the fight and then after they disappeared whenever she feels like it. At close range she can use a couple of different swing combos with her scythe as well as an AoE blast you'll just have to run away from in time. At long to medium range she'll use one of two laser attacks. It'll either go straight ahead of her or shell sweep from your left to the right with it. It's easy to dodge through or away from in either case. You can use this as an opportunity to run in close and get in a couple hits or shoot her from a range in between the laserings. I said she's pretty easy and this may or may not be an intentional design decision. Thing is, Nashandra may not necessarily care whether or not she survives. Her main aim is to curse us, to get us as close to Dark as possible before we sit upon the throne. In other words she wants us to be more likely use it to start an Age of Dark. Her being a fragment of Manus means that she is a being of Dark and would most likely benefit from that outcome whether her body gets destroyed here or not. The Demon's Souls final boss was really easy to drive home the point that you've become the Demon fighting against a pathetic being that is struggling to even move now. In Dark souls the final boss was easy only if you chose to parry him, really, but people tend to view easy final bosses as a series tradition in any case. Throne Watcher Soul Soul of the Throne Watcher. The throne of the King is sacred, and must be observed closely at all times. Watcher Greatsword  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Greatsword Physical Damage (+0/+5): 74/185 Magic Damage (+0/+5): 60/150 Scales with: STR (E), DEX (D), MAGIC (B) Requirements: 18 STR, 16 DEX, 15 INT Damage Type: Slash, Magic Special Ability: use L2 when two-handed to apply a magic weapon buff at the cost of some durability. In-Game Description: Greatsword wielded by the Throne Watcher. Unleash its true power to enwreath magic. The Watcher has stood by the throne for ages. Will his wait be worth the while? Note: The Throne Watcher is actually probably female. The body shape seems to indicate this and apparently the japanese text confirms this. Watcher's Shield  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Shield Physical Defense (+0/+5): 95/95.6 Lightning Defense (+0/+5): 90/91.2 Stability (+0/+5) 40/48 Requirements: 8 STR, 11 DEX Damage Type: You know what? Technically all shields do strike damage but who cares? In-Game Description: Small shield used by the Throne Watcher. Made from an old sacred chime. The Watcher has stood by the throne for ages. Will his wishes be fulfilled? Throne Defender Soul Soul of the Throne Defender. The throne of the King is sacred, and requires an appropriate guardian. Defender Greatsword  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Greatsword Physical Damage (+0/+5): 80/200 Lightning Damage (+0/+5): 30/80 Scales with: STR (C), DEX (D), LIGHTNING (C) Requirements: 20 STR, 12 DEX, 15 FTH Damage Type: Slash, Lightning Special Ability: use L2 when two-handed to apply a magic weapon buff at the cost of some durability. In-Game Description: Defender's Shield  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Shield Physical Defense (+0/+5): 100 Magic Defense (+0/+5): 70/73.7 Stability (+0/+5) 60/68 Requirements: 15 STR In-Game Description: Shield of the Throne Defender. Permeated by powerful magic. The Defender has stood by the throne for ages. Will his wait be worth the while? Note: This is one of the best medium-sized shields in the game. Stability really is the stat you're looking for when it comes to shields. Damage reduction is not really important. 100% physical are nice, other reductions are nice too but overall it doesn't matter as much as stability because stability is what allows you to take more hits before being guard broken. Soul of Nashandra Soul of Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic. Nashandra was born of the Dark with an insatiable lust for strength. Use the special soul of this prisoner of desire to acquire numerous souls, or to create something of great worth. Scythe of Want  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Reaper Physical Damage (+0/+5): 104/260 Dark Damage (+0/+5): 120/200 Scales with: STR (D), DEX (B), DARK (C) Requirements: 14 STR, 20 DEX, 18 INT, 18 FTH Damage Type: Slash, Dark. In-Game Description: A scythe born from the soul of Nashandra. The old one of the Abyss was reborn in death, split into miniscule fragments, and spread across the land. The pieces began to coalesce again, becoming human in shape Bow of Want  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Bow Physical Damage (+0/+5): 40/100 Lightning Damage (+0/+5): 40/130 Scales with: STR (C), DEX (A), LIGHTNING (C) Requirements: 9 STR, 20 DEX, 18 FTH Damage Type: Strike, Lightning Special Attack: Heavy off-hand attack causes a special durability depleting lightning attack I never showed off. In-Game Description: A bow created from the soul of Nashandra The old one of the Abyss was reborn in death, split into miniscule fragments, and spread across the land. The smallest of the pieces, sensing its own fragility, yearned for what it lacked. Chime of Want  Trade Soul with: Ornifex Moveset/Weapon Class: Chime Lightning Damage (+0/+5): 100/122 Dark Damage (+0/+5): 100/130 Scales with: LIGHTNING (A), DARK (S) Requirements: 15 INT, 40 FTH Damage Type: Lighting, Dark In-Game Description: Sacred chime created from the soul of Nashandra. Greatly amplifies spells. The old one of the Abyss was reborn in death, split into miniscule fragments, and spread across the land. The tiniest of these pieces, precisely due to its size, was the first to restore its form. Help me do the remaining co-op parts of the DLCs (on PS3) I'll do it tomorrow at about 22:00 GMT+1. Click here to see what time that is in your location. Before actually starting I'll make a post in the thread to let people know. Crown of the Ivory King on New Game: I currently have a Soul Memory of 3949580 which means that with your Name-engraved Ring set to Kremmel, God of Struggle you can be summoned by me if your SM is between 1,500,000 and 14,999,999 The DLC is entered through the Shrine of Winter, you'll find a set of Totems there. Place your summon sign in front of one of those. Crown of the Old Iron King on New Game+(++++++++): I currently have a Soul memory of 18,875,471 which means that with your Name-engraved Ring set to Kremmel, God of Struggle you can be summoned by me if your SM is between 2,750,000 and basically everything above that. The entrance to the DLC is at the end of Iron Keep. In the Lobby head into the room on the left and place your summon sign in front of one of the totems there. IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Dec 13, 2014 |
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Dec 12, 2014 20:48
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I prefer to fight Nashandra at ranged because I get caught out a lot by her scythe attacks, she swings it pretty quickly compared to the other giant weapon wielding dudes who were usually fairly slow. I'll also admit to being one of the people who dodged off the side of the arena, to make it worse, I had a human phantom summon who probably watched the whole thing.
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Dec 12, 2014 21:22
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My favorite part of the credits was the discovery that there is a man named Alessandro Baldasseroni.
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Dec 12, 2014 22:57
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There's also someone named Yoko Ono in the credits. I'm not exactly sure what's up with that.
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Dec 12, 2014 23:14
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New Jersey actually took custody of the kids of a guy who thinks he's the Antichrist, and named them things like "Adolf Hitler" and "Aryan Nation." ...some parents have issues they name their kids over, is what I'm saying. Nice job with Nashandra. There's more to say about her vis a vis gameplay once you do the first DLC, but it's safe to say she's a little too easy. Gwyn was cake if you had a high-Fire defense shield and/or good parry timing, but otherwise he was pretty tough. He's one of very few Souls series bosses that gives mages a hard time, since he's so aggressive. The Throne guardians are really the trickier (hesitate to say "harder," they still have very simple patterns) fight, especially if you're melee-heavy. I should be available tomorrow, and can do both summon ranges. Just a backup plan in case the other guys can't make it since I monopolized things last time.  As far as the PVP videos go, if you want to try setting one up on PS3, I'd be up for that too.Judge Tesla posted:I'll also admit to being one of the people who dodged off the side of the arena, to make it worse, I had a human phantom summon who probably watched the whole thing. Yep, same here.  
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Dec 13, 2014 02:35
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Turns out I'll be pretty busy all day. Maybe time zones make that work out, I dunno.
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Dec 13, 2014 08:39
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Judge Tesla posted:I prefer to fight Nashandra at ranged because I get caught out a lot by her scythe attacks, she swings it pretty quickly compared to the other giant weapon wielding dudes who were usually fairly slow. This happened to me the first time I fought Nashandra. I was kicking her rear end, had her down to one or two more hits, and then strafe walked RIGHT out of the arena while trying to circle her. My co-op summon was so surprised that he just stood there and Nashandra killed him with her dark laser before the death screen faded away. I did that against Freja too. :/
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Dec 13, 2014 08:42
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George posted:Turns out I'll be pretty busy all day. Maybe time zones make that work out, I dunno. Be sure to check this link I already posted. It automatically converts 22:00 in Germany into whatever time it is where you are located (If you don't use a VPN or proxy) IGgy IGsen fucked around with this message at 10:11 on Dec 13, 2014 |
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Dec 13, 2014 10:07
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My personal interpretation is that she is weaker than previous bosses by design because Vendrick put his best people to guard himself (or more accurately his ring) and the Throne of Want from Nasshandra. She had no means of defeating Velstadt, the Mirror Knight, or either Throne Knight. In fact, I think that's where the Dark in their souls comes form. She attempted to take them down, but only managed to curse them instead, and was driven back. That's why she sits on her throne in her empty castle, waiting for whatever undead is strong enough to come and do things for her. Then she tries to either kill you (not realizing she needed the Kinship as well and wants to take it form you) or try to infect you with as much Dark as possible (as previously speculated). I personally really like Nasshandra, both in her fight and overall design. I still feel a sense of climax when fighting her much like I did Gwyn, even though neither are particularly difficult. Plus she looks really cool with her Dark corpse dress.
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Dec 13, 2014 12:50
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Iggy, you're doing the DLC areas on the PS3, right?
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Dec 13, 2014 16:06
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Yes, I forgot to mention it this time but I'll be doing the remaining two co-op areas on PS3 today in roughly 5 and a half hours, to give a relative timestamp, for once.
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Dec 13, 2014 16:23
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