Dragonoid Artorias Build

So yeah I've been thinking about my build often, and I haven't played Dark Souls yet. I'm planning on playing on PC.
Even though I've read, and watched tons of stuff about Dark Souls during the past few months I'd like an opinion on my build.

http://tinyurl.com/97x4cds

I wanted something that was fairly original, and suited me. And no I don't mind that my Vit is so low.

tinyurl.com

I'm not good with build advice but next time you post a long link, be sure to use tinyurl.com please.

Lancelot wrote:tinyurl.com

I'm not good with build advice but next time you post a long link, be sure to use tinyurl.com please.

Oh Ok. Thank you.

Edit: Fixed

The Greatsword of Artorias, in my opinion, is the worst weapon in the game, that intended to be used (weapons other than the Straight Sword Hilt). Its AR is terrible, it requires too much stats too work, its R1 moveset is ok, but the R2 will get you killed. I would highly suggest that you reconsider what weapon you're using, or at least being Dragon. Dragonform has no great advantage for this build, and the amount of DEX weapons makes it harder to run greatswords with no poise.

I can tell you, you should be using the Thoroland Talisman, since you have no armor, you'll want a better shield, but if you're doing a Cursed Artorias Dragon thing build, then you aren't using the proper version of the sword, the Cursed one, is somewhat ok at some levels. I'm pretty sure the Lingering Dragoncrest Ring has no use on any of the spells you have, or very minor, you should use the Wolf Ring or Cloranthy Ring.

ICEFANG wrote:The Greatsword of Artorias, in my opinion, is the worst weapon in the game, that intended to be used (weapons other than the Straight Sword Hilt). Its AR is terrible, it requires too much stats too work, its R1 moveset is ok, but the R2 will get you killed. I would highly suggest that you reconsider what weapon you're using, or at least being Dragon. Dragonform has no great advantage for this build, and the amount of DEX weapons makes it harder to run greatswords with no poise.

I can tell you, you should be using the Thoroland Talisman, since you have no armor, you'll want a better shield, but if you're doing a Cursed Artorias Dragon thing build, then you aren't using the proper version of the sword, the Cursed one, is somewhat ok at some levels. I'm pretty sure the Lingering Dragoncrest Ring has no use on any of the spells you have, or very minor, you should use the Wolf Ring or Cloranthy Ring.

Well I chose the Greatsword of Artorias because I was planning on getting enough stats to use Great Magic Barrier,and Crystal soul mass anyway. Plus I really wanted to use a Greatsword. The Dark Hand is really only there to practice parrying.

I'm hoping I can just get to the point where I can just parry bare clawed. Plus I'm not a big fan of Shields(Just aesthetics). I chose the Lingering Dragoncrest because I heard it improves the duration of the Dragon Roar buff, though I think swapping it out for a Wolf Ring might be best as you say.

Oh, and its the True Greatsword of Artorias I plan on using, not the cursed one. Why should I use the Cursed one over the true version if I'm planning on having 24 in Intelligence/Faith anyway? I've also seen the Swords R2 attack I know its slow, but I'm hoping to learn it, and get the timing right.

At these stats, the Cursed one does 467 AR, but because its only physical damage, its going to be much higher on any enemy in NG+ or any player than the 535 of this current one. Even with those stats, there are better weapons. At these stats, the Claymore does 453 AR, and then can be buffed by Crystal Magic Weapon (if you have 25 INT, one more), resulting in a total of 705 AR, and I understand if you want to get good with it, but the Claymore has one of the best movesets, as said by many players. At 40/40, +15 upgrade paths are the best, so in this case, using a Divine or Enchanted weapons has no benefit, and buffing them is the best way to have maximum AR.

I play dragon almost exclusively, I wish the Lingering Dragoncrest did effect Dragon's Roar, but it doesn't I checked about a week ago.

You also have a lot of 'wasted' Equip Load. As it will be, you can have a secondary weapon that can parry, I think Katanas can, and I know Piercing Swords can. That would add some complexity to your character and protect you from being destroyed by fast weapons. Trust me, at this level, against another player, it will probably go like this, in a duel:

You cast Soulmass, he casts Crystal Magic weapon, or some high powered buff, you cast Great Magic Barrier, which very very likely, will pretty well negate that buff, but in that time, he will probably have started moving towards you, especially if he sees that you're using this sword, block or just run skewed to you, the Soulmass will miss, or even hit, and if it doesn't stagger him, and he hits you, you will die. he will probably have a DEX weapon, fast and it will stunlock you and won't cost much Stamina for him to attack. It will do more damage, and he will wear heavy armor, that if you manage to hit, won't stun him, it will do very little damage (in comparison to many other choices), and he will be flipping around with the Dark Wood Grain Ring, which makes it very difficult to hit him in the first place, because the ring is overall much better than fast rolling. He probably could hit, and roll through an attack and hit again, if the first hit doesn't stagger you. If you roar, it may stagger him, but if it does, your weapon is too slow to counter attack effectively.

I'm not trying to be a debbie downer, but I'm being very straight forward with you. This build not only requires a level of perfect skill, it also requires a lot of luck. I used the sword on a level 653, and even at that level, there were weapons that were so much better, and would have been nearly the same power level at much lower levels, even 120.

ICEFANG wrote:At these stats, the Cursed one does 467 AR, but because its only physical damage, its going to be much higher on any enemy in NG+ or any player than the 535 of this current one. Even with those stats, there are better weapons. At these stats, the Claymore does 453 AR, and then can be buffed by Crystal Magic Weapon (if you have 25 INT, one more), resulting in a total of 705 AR, and I understand if you want to get good with it, but the Claymore has one of the best movesets, as said by many players. At 40/40, +15 upgrade paths are the best, so in this case, using a Divine or Enchanted weapons has no benefit, and buffing them is the best way to have maximum AR.

Alright I'll experiment with the Cursed Greatsword, and Claymore, and see what I like more.

ICEFANG wrote:I play dragon almost exclusively, I wish the Lingering Dragoncrest did effect Dragon's Roar, but it doesn't I checked about a week ago.

Oh.. Ah well. I'll pick up the Wolf Ring then.

ICEFANG wrote:You also have a lot of 'wasted' Equip Load. As it will be, you can have a secondary weapon that can parry, I think Katanas can, and I know Piercing Swords can. That would add some complexity to your character and protect you from being destroyed by fast weapons.

How about a Cestus? It can parry, and I heard it has a fast left handed attack.

Or maybe bare claw?

ICEFANG wrote:Trust me, at this level, against another player, it will probably go like this, in a duel: You cast Soulmass, he casts Crystal Magic weapon, or some high powered buff, you cast Great Magic Barrier, which very very likely, will pretty well negate that buff, but in that time, he will probably have started moving towards you, especially if he sees that you're using this sword, block or just run skewed to you, the Soulmass will miss, or even hit, and if it doesn't stagger him, and he hits you, you will die. he will probably have a DEX weapon, fast and it will stunlock you and won't cost much Stamina for him to attack. It will do more damage, and he will wear heavy armor, that if you manage to hit, won't stun him, it will do very little damage (in comparison to many other choices), and he will be flipping around with the Dark Wood Grain Ring, which makes it very difficult to hit him in the first place, because the ring is overall much better than fast rolling. He probably could hit, and roll through an attack and hit again, if the first hit doesn't stagger you. If you roar, it may stagger him, but if it does, your weapon is too slow to counter attack effectively.

Maybe I'll just forget about Soul Mass, and replace it with another Sorcery? Or maybe forget Sorcery all together?

Also can't Dragon roar deflect sorceries?

ICEFANG wrote:I'm not trying to be a debbie downer, but I'm being very straight forward with you. This build not only requires a level of perfect skill, it also requires a lot of luck. I used the sword on a level 653, and even at that level, there were weapons that were so much better, and would have been nearly the same power level at much lower levels, even 120.

Don't apologize you're only trying to help me, and I appreciate it.

Edit: Based on what you told me I changed some things.

http://tinyurl.com/9avdaq6

One quick question; is this for PVP or PVE?





XD I really need to start looking at what forum the threads are in.

PVP

Allow me to first say that anything can work as long as you are good with it.

Having said that, I really can NOT recommend the GSoA, in either forms. The stat requirements are just too great for what you get. Having said that, I would also say that Whips are not recommended, but I've seen Whip Montages that prove me wrong.



It looks good, but the one thing I would take out is the Great Heal; You will not be getting a chance to cast that in the middle of a fight, any attempt to do so will net a free backstab for the opponent.

Slarg232 wrote: Having said that, I would also say that Whips are not recommended, but I've seen Whip Montages that prove me wrong.

Whips? I don't think I added whips in my build.

But based on what you guys are saying I suppose I should abandon the use of Artorias's greatsword. Though I do like the moveset. Plus it looks awesome imo.

I also understand what you mean with the Great heal thing though I wasn't planning on using that in a middle of a fight.

Oh man I love dragonbroness, we're tighter than sunbros! This is said with an extra PvP idea in mind.

Here we go:

Whips- He was saying that whips, and the Greatswords of Artorias are the 4 weapons that are considered terrible (and intended to be used), and suggesting that you avoid them all. Against that, I will say, if you really like the weapon and really want it to work, then the Cursed version I consider barely passable in effectiveness. I will suggest that you make sure you like it, but if you do, then I say go for it, I don't think the whips are terribad either, but the normal wolf sword is so bad for its stats, I consider it to be the worst weapon in the game overall, and I hate it so bad I spread my hatred like cream cheese all over a bagel a tasty bagel. Oh turds I just got home and I'm hungry, cook damn food!

Where was I? I love Great Heal, I was trolololing my friends, basically saying all the stats about it, "I love Great Heal, it heals almost as much as a humanity" with poise, if it goes off, you'll be easily healed 100%, but at your comparably low VIT, you may benefit more from just normal Heal.

Great Magic Barrier is a good spell, and very powerful, but it does lose its effectiveness when you don't have any armor. I'm not suggesting for or against it, but I'm just letting you in the know. I understand, it seems to be one of your greater desires of your build.

I like the Wolf Ring, but it has a flaw, if you're using it on a weapon that requires more than 40 poise to protect you from, it won't do a thing, I suggest you have the Cloranthy Ring ready for a back up on heavy weapons. Because I dislike quick swapping, I avoid it for that reason.

Let me tell you about the claws and Cestus. The Cestus is terrible (you'd want to use the 'Claws' at those stats anyway, but not Dragon Claws). Its moveset is a button smash, its damage is low, but what really kills it, short range and low defense with low poise. You can't trade hits with it, you can't stun with it, and in all honesty, you'll probably not hit them with it (I know I couldn't). The Dragon Claws are worst in moveset, but have special abilities too. They just smack smack smack smack, but have a good AR for a pure physical weapon, 400. They can parry, weigh nothing, have no requirements, no scaling, do extra critical damage, and get extra buff from Dragon Roar. I would suggest you use the Dragon Claw between the two, the Dark Hand is probably better than all three, but I'm more a shield guy, because I like my insides to be, well on the inside.

If you have parts of you build you really love, like Soulmass, don't just drop it unless you don't really like it. If you decide that Soulmass isn't for you, then lose it, but this build, it isn't too far to get that 24. One important thing: You need 31 INT to get all 5 balls, with only 24, you'll get only 4, not bad, not full power either.

Yes Dragon Roar can deflect spells, the only thing I don't think it can deflect is special dragon weapon moves. I've defected WotG with it, Force, Great Combustion, Crystal Soulmass and Soul Spear, Fireball. I'm pretty sure its good for all spells. It also can deflect Dung Pies, Throwing Knifes and Arrows. Pretty cool huh? I love dragon-ness.

I know you don't want to use a shield, but trust me, in the current build, you have an empty slot, which could be sorcery, or you could switch the talisman to the other side (as it currently has no benefit on either side), and use a Tower Shield. Just trust me, if nothing else goes there, put a good different type weapon or a good different type shield. The 2nd best thing about Dragon is you can wield almost anything and still fast roll, you should enjoy something heavy.

If I'm being extra helpful, be sure to thank me dragonbro

ICEFANG wrote:
Where was I? I love Great Heal, I was trolololing my friends, basically saying all the stats about it, "I love Great Heal, it heals almost as much as a humanity" with poise, if it goes off, you'll be easily healed 100%, but at your comparably low VIT, you may benefit more from just normal Heal.

I was wondering if Great Heal might be a bit too much since I'm using fairly low Vitality. I kind of wanted to use regular heal anyway since it has more uses.

ICEFANG wrote:Great Magic Barrier is a good spell, and very powerful, but it does lose its effectiveness when you don't have any armor. I'm not suggesting for or against it, but I'm just letting you in the know. I understand, it seems to be one of your greater desires of your build.

Well its not exactly one of my greatest desires. I mainly picked it up as incentive towards certain characters, and because I hoped it would protect me against Wrath of God spam.

ICEFANG wrote:I like the Wolf Ring, but it has a flaw, if you're using it on a weapon that requires more than 40 poise to protect you from, it won't do a thing, I suggest you have the Cloranthy Ring ready for a back up on heavy weapons. Because I dislike quick swapping, I avoid it for that reason.

By quick swapping you mean changing weapons on the fly? Because I agree I'm not really interested in that kind of thing either. I'd rather just choose a weapon, and stick with it.

Also the Cloranthy ring might be the best option as you say, because I was planning on dodging/parrying alot anyway rather than tanking hits. Plus the increased Stamina regen will let me roar more often.

ICEFANG wrote:Let me tell you about the claws and Cestus. The Cestus is terrible (you'd want to use the 'Claws' at those stats anyway, but not Dragon Claws). Its moveset is a button smash, its damage is low, but what really kills it, short range and low defense with low poise. You can't trade hits with it, you can't stun with it, and in all honesty, you'll probably not hit them with it (I know I couldn't). The Dragon Claws are worst in moveset, but have special abilities too. They just smack smack smack smack, but have a good AR for a pure physical weapon, 400. They can parry, weigh nothing, have no requirements, no scaling, do extra critical damage, and get extra buff from Dragon Roar. I would suggest you use the Dragon Claw between the two, the Dark Hand is probably better than all three, but I'm more a shield guy, because I like my insides to be, well on the inside.

I'll probably use Dark Hand for a bit to help me train my parrying skill. But I'll probably just go dragon claw in my off hand.

ICEFANG wrote:If you have parts of you build you really love, like Soulmass, don't just drop it unless you don't really like it. If you decide that Soulmass isn't for you, then lose it, but this build, it isn't too far to get that 24. One important thing: You need 31 INT to get all 5 balls, with only 24, you'll get only 4, not bad, not full power either.

Well I only really picked up Soul Mass because I figured if I was going to have some point in intelligence to use True Artorias Sword I might as well make use of some Sorcery.

But that's not necessary anymore.

ICEFANG wrote:Yes Dragon Roar can deflect spells, the only thing I don't think it can deflect is special dragon weapon moves. I've defected WotG with it, Force, Great Combustion, Crystal Soulmass and Soul Spear, Fireball. I'm pretty sure its good for all spells. It also can deflect Dung Pies, Throwing Knifes and Arrows. Pretty cool huh? I love dragon-ness.

You actually answered something I was wondering about. I was hoping I'd be able to deflect projectiles, thanks for telling me. So I guess if I time it right, I won't need Great Magic Barrier?

Dragons are awesome.

ICEFANG wrote:I know you don't want to use a shield, but trust me, in the current build, you have an empty slot, which could be sorcery, or you could switch the talisman to the other side (as it currently has no benefit on either side), and use a Tower Shield. Just trust me, if nothing else goes there, put a good different type weapon or a good different type shield. The 2nd best thing about Dragon is you can wield almost anything and still fast roll, you should enjoy something heavy.

I actually considered getting over my shield phobia, and just using it anyway. But since I'm trying to get used to just parrying, and dodging I keep feeling like using a shield will end up being a crutch for me. So I'll just go bare claw, and work with that.

Also I think I'll just abandon the Cursed Greatsword, and those points I put into intelligence, into vitality.

And I'll play around with Claymore/Bastard Sword, and maybe Black Knight Sword(Only because it looks cool.)

ICEFANG wrote:If I'm being extra helpful, be sure to thank me dragonbro

You were very helpful. Thank you.