Any mercy for hosts or blue phantoms?

I"ve been invading as a dark wraith for some time now and I find almost everyone is geared beyond what they should have in the game so far.  Therefore, I go in with max armour and max weapons for my level.

Is this the default position now?

The only mercy I show is to fellow dark wraiths, or solo hosts when I have time to feel them out to see what ind of weapons they have.  Other than that, no mercy.

You got half of it right.  Never show anyone mercy if you're invading them.

...Unless you have fun doing it of course.

I have a sl 11 sunbro with end game gear.

I don't feel bad about using it, but I don't just go in and kill everything.  Gaping Dragon for instance.  I'll Dark Bead him down to about half health and see what the host does.  This might sound kind of backwards, but if they're struggling after that...I let them struggle????

I know people who've had everything given to them when they started playing, and...well...they aren't that good yet.  They've never had that 20 minute Quelaag fight ya know?

Anywho, you're doing it right Mark...very right imo.

Yep, it's definitely an issue when you invade someone who hasn't beaten the Gargoyles yet, but has full Havel's and a Demon's Spear. Once in a while, I get summoned to a host's world and the host asks me for gear....

So is most dark wraiths wiht me then?  Invade with your best stuff, and if it looks like the host has later game equipment, assume they have top level gear as well?

I limit myself if I'm invading below SL 55, however I'm prepared, I normally have a fully upgraded set of armor, sword, and shield at my disposal in case if I invade a lower leveled player with high level gear.

Mark, I say yes.  There's no avoiding it.

Example:  I phantomed a lot for Quelaag with this set up: Yojimbo...the early years

*I'd switch out the Rusted Ring for BDCR if in an NG.


I've seen soooo much action this past week.  I was averaging at least 20 sessions an afternoon while doing chores, etc, and averaged a wait time of 5-10 minutes.  Some days were a little slower, but I can say it was constant action.

A lot, not all, but a lot of the hosts and other phantoms were decked out with no idea.  Almost no one, and I mean no one wore the Rusted Iron Ring.  I was running circles around everyone throwing prism stones as if it wasn't laggy enough.

The invaders that invaded were completely decked out.  This one dude with Pursuers and Dark Bead and etc,  really didn't have a clue...it was kinda sad, me being a mage and all.  There were although, a few with level appropriate gear who you could tell played before or were a quick study.

There were also a couple new games that I appreciated with good players as well.  However sadly, there were a lot of people with gear that was simply not level appropriate, and it directly reflected (imo) an abundance of mules and giftbros.  A lot of these people didn't have the skill to even dodge Quelaag's WoG, let alone get the gear they were wearing.

Like I said though, it wasn't everyone.  It's just a lot different than it was a few months after release.

I say +1 to you for  even considering the acceptable norm and trying to implement that type of playstyle.

My bud told me I racked up 191 multi-victories in about a week of playing with this character.  Most of them have been with Quelaag (a few with the Bell Gargs of course), this is about how long I've  phantomed, and this is my relative observation.

I'd do EXACTLY what you are doing if I invaded more.

Animaaal wrote:The invaders that invaded were completely decked out.  This one dude with Pursuers and Dark Bead and etc,  really didn't have a clue...it was kinda sad, me being a mage and all.  There were although, a few with level appropriate gear who you could tell played before or were a quick study.

There were also a couple new games that I appreciated with good players as well.  However sadly, there were a lot of people with gear that was simply not level appropriate, and it directly reflected (imo) an abundance of mules and giftbros.

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Another possibility is that people generally have gotten better at Dark Souls and can reach Gwyn at low SLs. With that end-game gear (obtained legitimately), they can then invade low-level players in the Burg, B-town, and Depths.

Take both. Take gear typical for the level where you invade and OP maxed out gear. You can usually tell what your enemy is using and change your gear accordingly before engaging in combat.

@BrotherBob

True, but it seems like 1/4 or 1/5 hosts ask me, "Got any spare items???"...I respond with, "No. I don't have any spare time either."...black crystal

And also, I've seen too many people die with a Black Knight Great Axe or a similar weapon when fighting Quelaag...its just....I just......

However, I think it's naïve to completely dismiss your point.  People have obviously gotten better.  Good point.

@Animaaal: Certainly, I was just pointing out that some people purposely reach the end of the game while remaining at a low level, which can at least account for some of the players we're talking about. Of course, when a host asks for "spare items", it might be fun to drop a Broken Straight Sword and crystal out. Then, you could send a "You're welcome" message. Just a thought.

drop one dung pie, bc out, invade
in most cases u get him and then throw some dung pies and llyods

It depends on the person I'm against, really. You can usually tell what they're like by watching them for a little while. (This logic MAY or MAY NOT work in real life. )

If the guy looks honorable, I don't be a jerk and backstab him while bowing. I bow too. (I actually did bowstab TWICE, ever. Once in Demon Ruins, because I knew he would fall off a cliff and I thought it was funny. I jumped after him and killed myself after doing it... Because I thought it was funny. The second time I did it, I started doing the Shrug emote like 5 or 6 times. Which gave him enough time to heal up. He could've backstabbed me if he wanted, but realized I was just trolling around and didn't. We dueled afterwards.)