Godslayer GS, Death's Poker, Sword of Night and Flame, or GUGS?

[Greywander]

I got about halfway through ER before getting burnt out and setting the game down for a while. I actually went back to DS3 to do a couple more runs, and have almost all the achievements for DS3 now. Once I've polished that off, I think I'll give ER another go, but I'm debating what build to run.

My original run was with the GUGS, where I think I went wrong was with my Elden Bling. DS1 and 2 trained me to think armor was mostly useless except for poise, so anything that looks good is fine. But DS3 seems to have changed that and made armor actually decent at reducing damage, and ER seems to be the same. So I could do a GUGS build again, but making sure I wear heavier armor and especially focus on maximizing poise. However, there are a few other builds I'm also considering.

I really like the aesthetic of the black flame pyromancy from DS3, so much that when I took a break from ER I did a "Lord of Hollows" build in DS3 built around the Onyx Blade and dark pyromancy. So what I could do is a Faith built with the Godslayer Greatsword. I get the cool black flame aesthetic while also having access to a lot of great incantations that cover a wide variety of elements. Black flame is also great for dealing with bosses and other high HP enemies.

Alternatively, ghost flame has a similar aesthetic, but is geared more towards an INT build. Death's Poker would likely be my main weapon, and I could lean into other fantastic sorceries. The frost buildup is great at softening up a lot of enemies. From what I understand, one tactic you can use is to use fire damage to remove the frost debuff so you can build it up again to deal damage each time.

I could also split the difference and do a split INT and Faith build using the Sword of Night and Flame. I hear it's a fantastic sword with a very powerful weapon art. I'm just not 100% sold on a pure caster build, which is what it sounds like this weapon would require. With limited memory slots, it also diminishes the value of having access to both sorceries and incantations, but it does allow more flexibility.

I've done some kind of UGS/colossal sword/weapon run in all three Dark Souls games, but the enemies and bosses have gotten faster and more aggressive with each subsequent game, and it just seems to make it trickier to use such a slow weapon. I'm not sure if I should stay the course or try something new.

[Sparhawk 59]

The black flame stuff is good the sword of night and day was nerfed but still good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SApcliXDJoU
ttps:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1J1rzmTOws

[Alby]

I dropped RoB recently and started using the GSG, and I gotta say, it's really good! I'm on NG7+ difficulty so the bosses have a lot of health and the AoW on this bad boi is amazing (considering it connects). +1 for GSG. I do recommend carrying a backup weapon like the Zwei or GUGS that can be enhanced with another AoW, however.

[chriszewski]

The ♥♥♥♥ is GUGS?

[Sparhawk 59]

Originally posted by chriszewski:

The ♥♥♥♥ is GUGS?

Gullible ultra great swords, one shrugs hahaha

[Dr. Sinclair]

I'm a little biased since i'm doing a run with Godslayer sword myself at the moment, but honestly it's worth it. black flame in general is an absolute boss melter - you'll truly appreciate that especially against very high HP bosses

[Greywander]

Originally posted by chriszewski:

The ♥♥♥♥ is GUGS?

It's the Greatsword, which is actually a colossal sword. Basically, to avoid confusion, a lot of people refer to this weapon as the "Guts Ultra Greatsword", or GUGS, since it's based off of the weapon used by Guts in the manga Berserk, which heavily influenced the Souls series. Blame From for putting an ultra greatsword/colossal sword in every game and simply calling it "Greatsword".

Godslayer is tempting, though one advantage of the GUGS is being able to change the ash of war. I didn't play around much with weapon arts last time because I didn't really invest in FP. But I've since learned that you can off-hand the Sacrificial Axe to regain FP on every kill, and I typically two-handed the GUGS anyway. It's pretty much down to between GUGS or GSG.

[Knavenformed]

Originally posted by Greywander:

It's the Greatsword, which is actually a colossal sword. Basically, to avoid confusion, a lot of people refer to this weapon as the "Guts Ultra Greatsword", or GUGS, since it's based off of the weapon used by Guts in the manga Berserk, which heavily influenced the Souls series. Blame From for putting an ultra greatsword/colossal sword in every game and simply calling it "Greatsword".

Having been part of the Souls community since SotfS, this topic is the first time I've ever heard someone use "GUGS" when talking about the GS.

It being misnamed as a "Greatsword" is enough of an oddity to give it the title of *the* greatsword, it being more like a hunk of iron, too big to be called a sword is just another quirk of it.

[Greywander]

I'm not sure when it started. I don't think I saw references to it until DS3 or ER, but it's a convenient shorthand. I don't think it got talked about much in DS1 since it had the same stats as the Zweihander, but heavier. Plus, it wasn't available until much later than the Zwei, so there was never really a reason to use it. DS2 was the first time it was actually useful and worth talking about. Even then, the idea of creating a nickname for it probably didn't come up right away, so it makes sense it wasn't until DS3 and onward that it happened.

I guess in the end it's still confusing to those who haven't heard the term "GUGS". Hopefully From will give the weapon a better name in the next game, though I won't hold my breath.

[chriszewski]

Originally posted by Greywander:

Originally posted by chriszewski:

The ♥♥♥♥ is GUGS?

It's the Greatsword, which is actually a colossal sword. Basically, to avoid confusion, a lot of people refer to this weapon as the "Guts Ultra Greatsword", or GUGS, since it's based off of the weapon used by Guts in the manga Berserk, which heavily influenced the Souls series. Blame From for putting an ultra greatsword/colossal sword in every game and simply calling it "Greatsword".

Godslayer is tempting, though one advantage of the GUGS is being able to change the ash of war. I didn't play around much with weapon arts last time because I didn't really invest in FP. But I've since learned that you can off-hand the Sacrificial Axe to regain FP on every kill, and I typically two-handed the GUGS anyway. It's pretty much down to between GUGS or GSG.

Aaaahhh, word. Makes sense. I normally refer to it as the "capital G Greatsword" or "Greatsword" but GUGS works a lil better in that context.

[fmalfeas]

If you just want different and fun, consider a build based around Dragonclaw. You effectively run around slapping your enemies to death, and it's technically magic with a bunch of stance damage and surprising AoE. Fairly low requirements too, and you can get it going in Limgrave.

[CourtesyFlush09]

It's the Death's Poker for me. It's like your very own pimp cane.