NG+ way harder due to me leaving black tendency before starting it. Am I screwed for good?

[diogoarez]

I beat the game today quite easily all things considered, went to start NG+ after putting some worlds in black so I could have better drop rates, thought NG+ would be a cakewalk like other Souls and so also left the many kill specific trophies undone so I could do them along the miracles, spells and rings. 

 

The problem is now I'm getting oneshot by literally everything in NG+, I'm SL 83 and everything destroys me in one hit. 

Is my only option to restart? I just had 3 rings left to get... 

[T-Bone584]

I had the same problem created a new character followed the guide on here with backup saves. Got all the rings in 1 playthrough just need a few more spells and I'll have the plat. Creating a new character will consume more time but I think in the end I was better off. Much easier in ng+ now with PWWT

[Helyx]

I had no issues doing my NG+ run on PBWT. Since NG+ scales with the character level you completed you first playthrough with, going above Soul Level 60 will make NG+ even more difficult.

 

Your run isn't ruined, just keep at it.

[diogoarez]

What pains me is that I had everything pure white but to get better drop rates and such I turned some to black and now it's almost impossible to progress. Anyone willing to invade me a few times to put the world's white again? 

[MMDE]

2 hours ago, Helyx said:

I had no issues doing my NG+ run on PBWT. Since NG+ scales with the character level you completed you first playthrough with, going above Soul Level 60 will make NG+ even more difficult.

 

Your run isn't ruined, just keep at it.

 

It scales with your soul level too now?

4 hours ago, diogoarez said:

The problem is now I'm getting oneshot by literally everything in NG+, I'm SL 83 and everything destroys me in one hit. 

Is my only option to restart? I just had 3 rings left to get... 

 

git gud... seriously, just learn to not get hit. Most of the game can be run through. Use thief's ring, so you get better enemy aggro control. Use bow and arrow, winged spear + purple flame shield (or dark silver shield). Use anti magic field in 3-1.

[Helyx]

13 minutes ago, MMDE said:

It scales with your soul level too now?

 

Welcome to 2009, bud.

[MMDE]

10 minutes ago, Helyx said:

 

Welcome to 2009, bud.

 

Never heard this before though? Pretty sure in the original it's like +?% in NG+ (you'd think it's +5%, but idk, seems way more to me), +7% in NG++, +10% in NG+++, +14% in NG++++, +19% in NG+++++ (an additional +1 for each time).

Edited February 21, 2021 by MMDE

[Helyx]

4 minutes ago, MMDE said:

Pretty sure in the original it's like +?% in NG+ (you'd think it's +5%, but idk, seems way more to me)

 

The inconsistent integer for difficulty spike in NG+ is due to people finishing NG at different levels.

 

Give it a try yourself and see what you think. Beat NG at SL40 versus SL100 and you should see a clear increase.

[diogoarez]

53 minutes ago, MMDE said:

 

It scales with your soul level too now?

 

git gud... seriously, just learn to not get hit. Most of the game can be run through. Use thief's ring, so you get better enemy aggro control. Use bow and arrow, winged spear + purple flame shield (or dark silver shield). Use anti magic field in 3-1.

I'll try the ring but it's still weird how the game jumps from relatively easy to getting oneshot with same exact build used in NG

[MMDE]

3 hours ago, diogoarez said:

I'll try the ring but it's still weird how the game jumps from relatively easy to getting oneshot with same exact build used in NG

 

I feel with you, but I remember in the original game you could without too much skill beat the game below level 30. In fact, with a build like what I've suggested you can be level 21 and beat the game. The most difficult part would be to do the 5-1 boss safely, that would function like some kind of a damage output per second check. I'm sure 5-4 and 3-2 is more difficult in the new version.

 

Also funny you got to beat 1-1 in NG+ without leveling at all too.

What is your build from NG? The real cheese is a build like this:

• Magic Winged Spear +5 (or just normal path +10, but nobody can block the magic one.) Why spear? You may have seen the enemies who is able to attack while they defend, they use a spear, and you can do the same. In Dark Souls 1 they got the nickname "turtle build", because they would walk slow due to wearing heavy armor for poise and defense too, which is not a thing in Demon's.
• Sticky Compound Longbow +5 (best bow in the game, only two other bows beats it at any use, White Bow for the range, Lava Bow for the fire damage, but fire damage you can get from fire arrows).
• Purple Flame Shield +10 (or Dark Silver Shield +5). The Purple Flame Shield is a really good general shield, with only Tower Shield having more impressive stats, but it's too heavy and have steep requirements, while PFS has way more reasonable requirements.100% phys, 90% fire, 30% magic, and also very important 82 guard reduction. Guard reduction might not seem important, but for a build like this, it's very important. It determines how little stamina you're drained when you block an attack. Yes, it doesn't block magic all that well, and no useful shield does better other than Dark Silver Shield. DSS is also a parry shield, unlike PFS, so it allows you to parry. I never parry in Demon's, but the blunt stomp attack from the PFS isn't useful for anything other than clearing rubble during Dragon God fight. I usually have both available, but DSS is rarely useful as there's basically no enemies using magic, and you can "disable" their magic by using anti magic field. Though, might be useful against boss in 3-1 and 3-2.
• Beast Talisman (may use other catalysts or talismans etc before you get this badboy). I only use it for a handful of spells, and they don't seem to be affected by any penalty you get from not meeting it's requirements to wield. Anti Magic Field for world 3, you get it from world 4 (I like to do world 4 after 1-1 ). Second Chance (also from world 4) for anything you struggle with getting one shot in. Evacuate for farming. Warding/Protection can be useful if you struggle with some boss. Cloak can be super useful if Thief's Ring is not enough (they only see you from a quarter of their normal distance). Water Veil can be useful against Flamelurker. Poison Cloud and Death Cloud stacks, very good spells for safely taking out enemies without fighting them, but beware enemies dying from the poison/plague does not count on your character or world tendency, but you can use them to weaken an enemy from a distance before going in for the kill! You can also weaken further with acid cloud. Light/Enchant Weapon can be useful if you really need that magic damage and you went with WS +10.

 

Best of all, you can get all of this right after you beat 1-1, except for the talisman and the spells, but you can get the magic or miracle casting item one you need for whatever spell you wanna cast.

 

With this build you can run relatively safely around with your shield up most of the time, even when attacking, which might save you a hit that would otherwise kill you. You can also use spells where you want that little extra boost. The bow is super cheesy, and can take out enemies from afar. With the thief's ring many enemies will give up running after you before they reach close enough to you for the aggro distance to count. I'd try to learn how to run through levels and whatever you struggle to run past, you gotta figure out how to eliminate the enemies there, which might involve clearing some earlier too just so you get some safe space. Try to backstab things.

 

With a build like this, you can beat the game below level 30 without too much effort. I'd recommend a bit higher stats, but yeah...

Edited February 21, 2021 by MMDE

[diogoarez]

4 hours ago, MMDE said:

 

I feel with you, but I remember in the original game you could without too much skill beat the game below level 30. In fact, with a build like what I've suggested you can be level 21 and beat the game. The most difficult part would be to do the 5-1 boss safely, that would function like some kind of a damage output per second check. I'm sure 5-4 and 3-2 is more difficult in the new version.

 

Also funny you got to beat 1-1 in NG+ without leveling at all too.

What is your build from NG? The real cheese is a build like this:

• Magic Winged Spear +5 (or just normal path +10, but nobody can block the magic one.) Why spear? You may have seen the enemies who is able to attack while they defend, they use a spear, and you can do the same. In Dark Souls 1 they got the nickname "turtle build", because they would walk slow due to wearing heavy armor for poise and defense too, which is not a thing in Demon's.
• Sticky Compound Longbow +5 (best bow in the game, only two other bows beats it at any use, White Bow for the range, Lava Bow for the fire damage, but fire damage you can get from fire arrows).
• Purple Flame Shield +10 (or Dark Silver Shield +5). The Purple Flame Shield is a really good general shield, with only Tower Shield having more impressive stats, but it's too heavy and have steep requirements, while PFS has way more reasonable requirements.100% phys, 90% fire, 30% magic, and also very important 82 guard reduction. Guard reduction might not seem important, but for a build like this, it's very important. It determines how little stamina you're drained when you block an attack. Yes, it doesn't block magic all that well, and no useful shield does better other than Dark Silver Shield. DSS is also a parry shield, unlike PFS, so it allows you to parry. I never parry in Demon's, but the blunt stomp attack from the PFS isn't useful for anything other than clearing rubble during Dragon God fight. I usually have both available, but DSS is rarely useful as there's basically no enemies using magic, and you can "disable" their magic by using anti magic field. Though, might be useful against boss in 3-1 and 3-2.
• Beast Talisman (may use other catalysts or talismans etc before you get this badboy). I only use it for a handful of spells, and they don't seem to be affected by any penalty you get from not meeting it's requirements to wield. Anti Magic Field for world 3, you get it from world 4 (I like to do world 4 after 1-1 ). Second Chance (also from world 4) for anything you struggle with getting one shot in. Evacuate for farming. Warding/Protection can be useful if you struggle with some boss. Cloak can be super useful if Thief's Ring is not enough (they only see you from a quarter of their normal distance). Water Veil can be useful against Flamelurker. Poison Cloud and Death Cloud stacks, very good spells for safely taking out enemies without fighting them, but beware enemies dying from the poison/plague does not count on your character or world tendency, but you can use them to weaken an enemy from a distance before going in for the kill! You can also weaken further with acid cloud. Light/Enchant Weapon can be useful if you really need that magic damage and you went with WS +10.

 

Best of all, you can get all of this right after you beat 1-1, except for the talisman and the spells, but you can get the magic or miracle casting item one you need for whatever spell you wanna cast.

 

With this build you can run relatively safely around with your shield up most of the time, even when attacking, which might save you a hit that would otherwise kill you. You can also use spells where you want that little extra boost. The bow is super cheesy, and can take out enemies from afar. With the thief's ring many enemies will give up running after you before they reach close enough to you for the aggro distance to count. I'd try to learn how to run through levels and whatever you struggle to run past, you gotta figure out how to eliminate the enemies there, which might involve clearing some earlier too just so you get some safe space. Try to backstab things.

 

With a build like this, you can beat the game below level 30 without too much effort. I'd recommend a bit higher stats, but yeah...

My build is the starting knight armor, Long Dragon Sword+5, Garl's shield and Demonbrandt as a backup damage dealer for stunned enemies and bosses. Oh and a catalyst due to the focus I have put on magic in NG 

[MMDE]

4 hours ago, diogoarez said:

My build is the starting knight armor, Long Dragon Sword+5, Garl's shield and Demonbrandt as a backup damage dealer for stunned enemies and bosses. Oh and a catalyst due to the focus I have put on magic in NG 

 

Yeah, then you can totally do my suggested build. Would of course be preferable with stats spent on dex rather than str, but eh, str does add some damage to the winged spear too IIRC.

 

If you struggle, do my build. You'll be surprised! Long Dragon Sword and Demonbrandt is more skill based swords, definitely not the way to go if you struggle IMO. It's not just all about damage per hit, it's about not taking a hit and still making it to the end. Using swords like you do leaves you open for a lot of attacks, so you gotta really learn enemy patterns and even then it's more of a skill based thing. At least something like Dragon Bone Smasher has less of that.

 

Just so you know, for me, this game is like 2/10 difficulty. I guess this new version has less exploit maybe pushing it to like 3/10, but still... and I just told you how to make it that easy.

Edited February 21, 2021 by MMDE

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

18 hours ago, diogoarez said:

I beat the game today quite easily all things considered, went to start NG+ after putting some worlds in black so I could have better drop rates, thought NG+ would be a cakewalk like other Souls and so also left the many kill specific trophies undone so I could do them along the miracles, spells and rings. 

 

The problem is now I'm getting oneshot by literally everything in NG+, I'm SL 83 and everything destroys me in one hit. 

Is my only option to restart? I just had 3 rings left to get... 

generally in dark/demon souls you just level up and your good to go. putting worlds in black tendancy then finishing the game resets the world tendancy, you would of had to purposefully kill yourself in human form after finishing the game to be in that situation and if thats the case all you should do is make world tendancy white again and worry about rings after. but armor spider etc in ng+ is an absolute prick. by ng+ you need a solid finalised build if your gunna explore black tendancies esp at the start.

 

however if you've got 50 points in magic you can happily firestorm and cheese everything that is difficult.

Edited February 21, 2021 by MatThaRiPP3R84

[Domino_Destructo]

On 21.02.2021 at 10:20 AM, diogoarez said:

My build is the starting knight armor, Long Dragon Sword+5, Garl's shield and Demonbrandt as a backup damage dealer for stunned enemies and bosses. Oh and a catalyst due to the focus I have put on magic in NG 

 

Don't use weapons with elemental (split) damage unless you're low on str and dex. On NG+ physical damage is what matters most.

Uchigatana, Mirdan Hammer or Winged Spear - these weapons have good physical damage, decent moveset, little weight and are also easy to get.

To get the most out of your weapons and melt down every enemy in the game use curse or light weapon buff. The light weapon spell scales with magic stat.

 

Don't use heavy armor. It's useless on NG+ and limits your stamina recovery speed. The best light armor is the Ancient Set from Old King Doran.

 

If you struggle with a black phantom, just kill the primeval demon, so you can go back to neutral world tendency. Once you're strong enough, go back to pure black tendency and kill the phantom. This will also set the world tendency back to neutral and shift your character tendency one step towards white.

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Domino_Destructo

[Firmamento]

My first character was a mage and I literally got destroyed in NG+...Game too hard that I cant even proceed...

Then I restarted and build a dex. character with Uchigatana +10, everything got much easier...Gotta say Demon's Soul is not very friendly for Mage main...

Now I'm in NG++, can't say its a breath, but not as difficult as NG+.

If your character is a mage, i'd say restart. If not, just level up and keep trying. Get a bow, its not that hard.

[Domino_Destructo]

@Firmamento He's already got the plat.

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Domino_Destructo

[xxdmcgee2288xx]

On 2/20/2021 at 7:53 PM, MMDE said:

 

It scales with your soul level too now?

 

git gud... seriously, just learn to not get hit. Most of the game can be run through. Use thief's ring, so you get better enemy aggro control. Use bow and arrow, winged spear + purple flame shield (or dark silver shield). Use anti magic field in 3-1.

Literally all you have is to do is run thief’s ring OR attune and cast the spell cloak. It’s that simple. Compared to dark souls, the invulnerability of the dodge window is much more gracious. Also, making a build is easy in demons souls. I didn’t make a mage build, but if you want an easy mode just go mage and invest all your points into a strong magic build. For instance, to equip talisman of beasts and firestorm you should have 18 faith intelligence and spirit. One firestorm takes off half the health of the final boss in 1-5. Magic builds usually have much more than 18, but I did that as an experimentation to see just how broken firestorm still is from the original. Yeah, mage builds honestly piss me off as far as just how easy and buttery they are...

On 3/18/2021 at 10:13 PM, Firmamento said:

My first character was a mage and I literally got destroyed in NG+...Game too hard that I cant even proceed...

Then I restarted and build a dex. character with Uchigatana +10, everything got much easier...Gotta say Demon's Soul is not very friendly for Mage main...

Now I'm in NG++, can't say its a breath, but not as difficult as NG+.

If your character is a mage, i'd say restart. If not, just level up and keep trying. Get a bow, its not that hard.

Really? Everyone on the reddit says mage build still two shots (firestorm) every boss in NG+... kinda hard to believe this

[xxdmcgee2288xx]

Yeah even in NG+ it was a breeze. Firestorm is too op even without a mage build. Plat done

[lemaestre]

On 19.3.2021 at 3:13 AM, Firmamento said:

My first character was a mage and I literally got destroyed in NG+...Game too hard that I cant even proceed...

Then I restarted and build a dex. character with Uchigatana +10, everything got much easier...Gotta say Demon's Soul is not very friendly for Mage main...

Now I'm in NG++, can't say its a breath, but not as difficult as NG+.

If your character is a mage, i'd say restart. If not, just level up and keep trying. Get a bow, its not that hard.

I also put a lot of points into magic, good thing is you can craft weapons to scale with magic, like I used crescent falchion(crescent falchion+1 can be found in 4-1 for an easy start), so if you have a mage build you can also have a strong melee option, plus you get mp recovery.