About the greatsword of Artorias

Sorry if this has been asked before, which it probably has.

The greatsword of Artorias has a requirement of 20 int and 20 faith.
So... What's up with that? Why would you have both? Is there any legitimate build that invests in both int and faith? O.o

My main character is a Sorceror and member of the Princess Guard, so he has high Int and Faith, using the Velka Talisman to take advantage of his 52 Int.

lalliman wrote:Sorry if this has been asked before, which it probably has.

The greatsword of Artorias has a requirement of 20 int and 20 faith.
So... What's up with that? Why would you have both? Is there any legitimate build that invests in both int and faith? O.o

Some people aren't fixated on 'legit' builds the way most PvPers seem to think of them. My favorite way to play Dark Souls is to continually play through + after + and go human whenever I want PvP, and since I'll get invaded no matter what level I am I've got high EVERYTHING on my main guy by now.

All the rest of my characters are actual builds, but this^ is still my favorite way to play.

Here's my thoughts on why the sword has such high stats to use and more importantly, actually do a respectable amount of damage.

The Special Weapons are intended to represent the being in which they originate from (I know it's Sif's soul, but she inherited the sword). Sif and Artorias share some characteristics which is why they both can be effective with the sword.

First is strength. In order to use a greatsword you need to be able to lift it.

Next up, dexterity. For anyone who has ever tried using a larger weapon you'll know that using it precisely requires crazy good dexterity. Something like the Golem Axe or Black Knight Greatsword is intended to smash the opponent into submission. Precision is not necessary. However, with the GSoA, it's intended to be used like a scalpel. The moves used by both Artorias and Sif require precision and technique, not just brute strength.

Now for your question, Artorias was known for his willpower (often associated with sorcery) and his dedication to the cause he fell for can be considered to have required a lot of faith. The companionship between Artorias and Sif is also similar to a high level of faith.

In order to wield the sword successfully, one must ascend to the levels of these warriors which means excelling in all areas. I think it's explainable from the story of the weapon as well as gameplay. I think From knew it would be popular based on lore and looks and made it a viable high level only weapon.

From both concepts the idea is that you have to earn it.

Personally from a gameplay perspective, I like to use the True GSoA because it scales with all primary stats and gives off a good amount of magic damage (which can be useful as most players will have terrible magic defense). The cursed varient deals pure physical damage and can harm ghosts without the need for a curse but to be honest, you'll only probably encounter ghosts for a short space of time so this shouldn't be the reason to get this version.

Putting the time in to get the stats for the true version can be very soul consuming however and you'd need some high stats for the damage to speak for itself. I'm not too put off by this however, plus, in my opinion it looks awesome when wielded with arty's great shield which is how I like to play (because after all, you should play how you want to play).

From a lore perspective I think skarekrow13 has hit the nail on the head, From do love to put as much lore into their items as possible and being the GSoA it should deserve as such!

IIRC, the cursed sword has a higher actual AR. While the calculated AR is lower, the actual damage done is higher.