Question from a newbie casual

[Darthvegeta800]

Not very good at Souls-like games.
But so far enjoying the ride.
I'm playing Dark Crusader.
And I do like his outfit.
Am I hamstringing myself if i upgrade his equipment?
Also starting when should I invest in upgrading equipment?
I'm currently going 50/50 STR/Radiant.
Should i focus early on, on just investing in my attributes over equipment?
Is that good or am I mistaken in doing so?

[Drake Ravenwolf]

I hold off on upgrading weapons until I find something I'm sure I'll be using for a while, but swap armor, rings, amulets, etc at will. The Dark Crusader stuff is probably the best you'll find for a while but change to fit your needs - lighter equip load will give you better rolling ability while heavier armor reduces the damage you take each hit - it'll compare the stats for you when you look at options in the equip menu.

I focused on leveling HP and Stamina first which together let you equip heavier and more protective armor while still maintaining at least medium equip load rolling.

[Darthvegeta800]

Originally posted by Drake Ravenwolf:

I hold off on upgrading weapons until I find something I'm sure I'll be using for a while, but swap armor, rings, amulets, etc at will. The Dark Crusader stuff is probably the best you'll find for a while but change to fit your needs - lighter equip load will give you better rolling ability while heavier armor reduces the damage you take each hit - it'll compare the stats for you when you look at options in the equip menu.

I focused on leveling HP and Stamina first which together let you equip heavier and more protective armor while still maintaining at least medium equip load rolling.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hmmm so i should invest on occassion in HP and Stamina as well?
I had the impression in Souls-like games it was usually best to stick to 2 or 3 stats and I got the impression Dark Crusader needed to have good radiance given his starting stats.

[Drake Ravenwolf]

Originally posted by Darthvegeta800:

Originally posted by Drake Ravenwolf:

I hold off on upgrading weapons until I find something I'm sure I'll be using for a while, but swap armor, rings, amulets, etc at will. The Dark Crusader stuff is probably the best you'll find for a while but change to fit your needs - lighter equip load will give you better rolling ability while heavier armor reduces the damage you take each hit - it'll compare the stats for you when you look at options in the equip menu.

I focused on leveling HP and Stamina first which together let you equip heavier and more protective armor while still maintaining at least medium equip load rolling.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hmmm so i should invest on occassion in HP and Stamina as well?
I had the impression in Souls-like games it was usually best to stick to 2 or 3 stats and I got the impression Dark Crusader needed to have good radiance given his starting stats.

Focused stats would be STR/Radiance for your chosen build, but everyone needs HP and Stamina/Equip load is good for a lot of builds. Its just how far you take them - break points for the HP and Stamina stats are 20/40/60 aka you get the most out of it taking them to 20 then returns start diminishing.

So 1st priority is hitting the stats required to equip what you want to equip then, pushing the HP and Stamina stats to 20 each, then deciding from there to either push attack stats more or eg push the HP attribute to 40 or 60, the early levels are more sensitive to where points are invested where later on it's less so.

I think STR/Radiance breakpoints are around 50/75 but I'm not as sure about those numbers. Basically watch the stat changes as you invest into those - you'll see your attack power go up eg +3, +3, +0 with each new point - you'd want to avoid the +0 point and leave it on the level before that missing stat increase.

[Darthvegeta800]

Thank you!!!

[ворон]

Just chiming in here that no Radiance/Inferno spell/weapon asks for more than 35 of the stat, so you can stop there if all you want is to use the gear. Likewise, 20 Strength/Agility will allow you to use the VAST majority of gear in the game, 30 Strength/Agility will cover almost everything.

[mayhem523]

Im 70% through the game with prenerf mobs and randomizers and Im still using the dark crusader starting gear just with a better catalyst. Longswords have the best moveset in the game imo and the starting sword for that class is very solid.

You'll find/buy plenty of upgrade materials to do multiple weapons, so you might as well upgrade it until you find something better. The only material thats limited is the chunk for the final upgrade.

[Darthvegeta800]

Thanks guys you all rock! :)

[Gaius]

first playthrough: a pain in the ** to upgrade equipment.
second playthrough: easy as f* to upgrade equipment,

simple as

BUT if u wanna go full dark crusader I recommend upgrade his equipment, because his sword is good for radiance players

[Darthvegeta800]

Thanks!

[battl3hamm3r]

this is good info

Can you respec easily in this game, like ED for example ? So if you find a great item for your spec you can ''rebuilt'' your character around it

[mayhem523]

Originally posted by battl3hamm3r:

this is good info

Can you respec easily in this game, like ED for example ? So if you find a great item for your spec you can ''rebuilt'' your character around it

Yes you can respec all your stats with an item but you only get 2 per playthrough, and you better make sure you buy one off winter berry before you get her killed because you went up an elevator too soon.

[Wicked Sick]

Originally posted by mayhem523:

Originally posted by battl3hamm3r:

this is good info

Can you respec easily in this game, like ED for example ? So if you find a great item for your spec you can ''rebuilt'' your character around it

Yes you can respec all your stats with an item but you only get 2 per playthrough, and you better make sure you buy one off winter berry before you get her killed because you went up an elevator too soon.

The elevator still haunts me lol

About the respec item, you can buy more if you farm the eyes. 75 Eyes and you can buy one more from the Putrid Mother.

[mayhem523]

Originally posted by Wicked Sick:

Originally posted by mayhem523:

Yes you can respec all your stats with an item but you only get 2 per playthrough, and you better make sure you buy one off winter berry before you get her killed because you went up an elevator too soon.

The elevator still haunts me lol

About the respec item, you can buy more if you farm the eyes. 75 Eyes and you can buy one more from the Putrid Mother.

I used to sunbro her entire questline for randoms just to save her as much as possible... id run people through the entirety of skien and depths in one sitting, hitting every secret and boss fight, spamming no emotes at the elevator if they ever went near it 😂