Is it possible to make a viable Farron Greatsword build for PVE?

[Airu]

I really like how it and the Undead Legion Set look like and i've been thinking of making a build around them but i've heard that Farron Greatsword has really bad AR by UGS standards (especially in the endgame) and its unique moveset deals even less damage than its standard attacks. I doubt this build actually works but i decided to ask anyway:

Abyss Watcher Build (PVE only)

Class: Warrior


SL: 85 (at first anyway, might raise some stats later)

VIG: 26 (non-ember form health seems to pretty much softcap at 26 or 27 or so)

END: 40

VIT: 16

STR: 18

DEX: 40

Don't need: ATT, INT, FTH, LCK


Armor:
Undead Legion Helm
Undead Legion Armor
Undead Legion Gauntlet
Undead Legion Leggings

Rings:
1. Havel's Ring
2. Ring of Favor
3. Ring of Steel Protection
4. Speckled Stoneplate Ring

Main Weapon/Shield:
Farron Greatsword +5 / Longbow +10 / Black Knight Shield +5 / Grass Crest Shield +5 (Grass Crest whenever im two handing, BKS if i really need to block something)

[AshenHollow]

I ran a undead legion cosplay for a while, don't have the numbers right now though. I do remember running 40/40 str dex though. That got me 500 AR. Also soft capped endurance.

Used ring of favor and protection, hornet ring, Cloranthy ring and last one I swapped as needed.

The Farron GS sacrifices damage for utility. You have good crowd control with your L1 combo, and you can use your R1 to combo into your L1's second and third attack, the stationary spin and flip. Do not use the flip....ever, takes too long to get a hit confirm and enemies can hit ya out of it.

You can also use the L1 to dive underneath attacks, on stairways like against the dragonslayer armor, this is wonderful, I've even dove underneath champion gundyr's attacks.

Finally, to bring out the weapon's true potential, you have to learn how to parry. Really anything is viable in PvE so long as you take the time and want to learn it. I had a blast with my Undead Legion Cosplay, you probably will too. I don't recommend using a shield though, simply because it can become a crutch and cause you to miss opportunities to attack.

[Daedrac]

You can make any build viable that's the beauty of this game.

[ImHelping]

I can't find it, but I saw a gif of someone using the frontflip spin attack of the Wolf's Knight Greatsword to jump over one of the dancer's attacks and hit her at the same time.

Granted, that's not the "Has a parry" One you're talking about.

You are likely going to need more than 16 VIT though, if you want to stay in mid rolls. Even with a havel's ring+ring of favor.

Go for the STR/DEX needed to actually wield the sword early. Aim for 19ish VIG sooner rather than later for survival, along with somestarting endurance so you can swing it more than once.

Then wear lighter clothing while adding more VIT and more pieces of the Abyss Watcher outfit, until you can stay under 70% without adjusting your rings pushing you over (like if you popped on a silver or gold serpent ring, that can push you over with borderline amounts of VIT).

The sword is the most signifigant part to plan arround, due to it having stat requirements to use, and swing more than once or twice. Then you can work your way up to being able to handle the Abyss Watcher's cosplay equip load wise.

[Airu]

Opprinnelig skrevet av I'm Helping!:

I can't find it, but I saw a gif of someone using the frontflip spin attack of the Wolf's Knight Greatsword to jump over one of the dancer's attacks and hit her at the same time.

Granted, that's not the "Has a parry" One you're talking about.

You are likely going to need more than 16 VIT though, if you want to stay in mid rolls. Even with a havel's ring+ring of favor.

Go for the STR/DEX needed to actually wield the sword early. Aim for 19ish VIG sooner rather than later for survival, along with somestarting endurance so you can swing it more than once.

Then wear lighter clothing while adding more VIT and more pieces of the Abyss Watcher outfit, until you can stay under 70% without adjusting your rings pushing you over (like if you popped on a silver or gold serpent ring, that can push you over with borderline amounts of VIT).

The sword is the most signifigant part to plan arround, due to it having stat requirements to use, and swing more than once or twice. Then you can work your way up to being able to handle the Abyss Watcher's cosplay equip load wise.

69.95% equip load at 16 VIT with Havel's Ring and RoF according to DS3 character planner, just enough for a med roll and i can always un-equip the bow if needed. I never have the BKS and Grass Crest equipped at the same time anyway

[Airu]

Opprinnelig skrevet av The Redeemer:

I ran a undead legion cosplay for a while, don't have the numbers right now though. I do remember running 40/40 str dex though. That got me 500 AR. Also soft capped endurance.

Used ring of favor and protection, hornet ring, Cloranthy ring and last one I swapped as needed.

The Farron GS sacrifices damage for utility. You have good crowd control with your L1 combo, and you can use your R1 to combo into your L1's second and third attack, the stationary spin and flip. Do not use the flip....ever, takes too long to get a hit confirm and enemies can hit ya out of it.

You can also use the L1 to dive underneath attacks, on stairways like against the dragonslayer armor, this is wonderful, I've even dove underneath champion gundyr's attacks.

Finally, to bring out the weapon's true potential, you have to learn how to parry. Really anything is viable in PvE so long as you take the time and want to learn it. I had a blast with my Undead Legion Cosplay, you probably will too. I don't recommend using a shield though, simply because it can become a crutch and cause you to miss opportunities to attack.

I used to be somewhat good at parrying in DS1 (i could semi reliably parry Silver Knight's which i heard were tricky to parry) but the timings here seem to be completely different and even partial parries mean taking a ton of damage, not to mention even the slowest of enemies are fast here. I could get the Farron Greatsword on my main to test it out and practice parrying but im still trying to choose between the Wolf Knight Greatsword and Farron Greatsword on that character (a quality build)

[Conan the Brobarian]

All weaons are viable. Some weapons are stronger than other, but that doesn't mean lesser weapons are not viable. Something that is not viable means that it cannot be done.

[Airu]

Made some changes to the build:

1. Raised STR to 40 for maximum damage

2. I can replace the Speckled Stoneplate Ring with the Hornet Ring as needed

3. Switched Longbow +10 to Dragonrider Bow +5 since it deals more damage with a quality build, raised VIT to 19 to maintain a med roll with it. Since im only using a bow to snipe or pull enemies one by one and never use it for actual combat, should i go with a lighter but weaker bow so i need less VIT and put the points into VIG instead?

[Lordados]

Yes, but not for bosses. Most bosses are very hard to kill with a slow weapon like the farron. That's something that pisses me of A LOT about this game, is that, in PvE, longswords and generally fast weapons are TOO EFFECTIVE compared to slow weapons.

You can try that yourself, try killing a boss like the soul of cinder with a ultra GS and then with a longsword, assuming you have max damage with both of course.

[Airu]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Lordados:

Yes, but not for bosses. Most bosses are very hard to kill with a slow weapon like the farron. That's something that pisses me of A LOT about this game, is that, in PvE, longswords and generally fast weapons are TOO EFFECTIVE compared to slow weapons.

You can try that yourself, try killing a boss like the soul of cinder with a ultra GS and then with a longsword, assuming you have max damage with both of course.

I have a build with Refined Longsword and that thing has insane DPS, far better than most other weapons i've used (also, i've heard that Longswords have bigger hitboxes than greatswords for some reason, so yeah O.o). Thats one of the biggest problems i have with the game too, hopefully the slower weapons are made more useful

Switched Dragonrider Bow +5 to Short Bow +9 (won't waste slab on a utility weapon), reduced VIT from 19 to 14 (just enough for a med roll), SL dropped from 110 to 105

Any backup weapons you can recommend in case the Farron's too slow? Its good enough for any non boss (and some bosses), its (most of) the bosses im worried about. Preferably a DEX weapon, i won't be getting much STR (only just enough to use the GS and shield) until i've gotten all the other stats i need. Washing Pole propably, i've tried it and it has great range, not sure about the damage tho since its slashing

[ImHelping]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Lordados:

Yes, but not for bosses. Most bosses are very hard to kill with a slow weapon like the farron. That's something that pisses me of A LOT about this game, is that, in PvE, longswords and generally fast weapons are TOO EFFECTIVE compared to slow weapons.

You can try that yourself, try killing a boss like the soul of cinder with a ultra GS and then with a longsword, assuming you have max damage with both of course.

What? I used a flamberge to kill Pontif, Dancer, Champ, and so on. What are you talking about?

Granted, Normal greatswords are still a bit faster than Ultras. But you get basically no hyper to work with on a normal greatsword. (and also slower than some great axes).

I'm not even what you would call "Great" at this game, I just have a good feel for the normal Greatswords I guess. My skill level is practically RNG based anyway. Where I will basically Ace a boss and then get murdered by a silver knight while backtracking through areas.

Real dejavu for DS1 . "Hah! I beat Artorias and Kalameet on the first try! I must be getting good!" *Dies to silver knight* whyyyyyyyy.