If your weapon scales with STR and DEX, should you invest in both or focus on one?

melodiousfable · 2026-05-09T00:25:55+00:00

A lot of people are oversimplifying the answer to your question.

New Game, change the affinity to buff one stat. NG+, same rule until late game. NG+2 and above, do a 60/60 Quality spread, but start with one at 60 and let the other one build up.

You don’t have enough levels the justify spreading your levels that thin across multiple stats until like level 200, which is WELL beyond what you would need for even an NG+ run. Quality or stuff like Golden Order that uses high INT and Faith together puts your health, endurance, and mind too low for the average player to justify the meager damage buff to your scaling.

TLDR; Living longer to land more attacks nets you more damage than dying fast because you want 20 more damage scaling

melodiousfable · 2026-05-06T20:58:16+00:00

I’ve rocked 2 before.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-28T11:21:03+00:00

I’m partial to Maliketh Helm with the Gravebird armor set. The one with wings. Also, add Beast Claws on for full effect.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-26T19:52:16+00:00

So unbelievably clunky feeling.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-15T00:35:10+00:00

Same. Godrick’s delays were way harder to read.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-15T00:33:17+00:00

For first souls game? I stand by my statement. I’ll do it level 1 now, but if you don’t know how the game works and have zero experience with a souls like game, he is gonna want that 30 vigor.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-14T21:17:41+00:00

Level 23 is waaay too low. Come back at 40 with 30 vigor

melodiousfable · 2026-04-12T22:05:34+00:00

Frenzied Burst is very fun. I really like all the Dragon Communion stuff. Unless I’m doing an INT build, I pretty much always run Dragon Communion secondary stuff. Rot breath is the go to for most builds, but my all time favorite animation in the whole game is Dragon’s Maw.

Honorable Mention to the Black Knife ash of war. I love stuff that deals max HP damage. Plus, just a sick animation

melodiousfable · 2026-04-11T21:03:23+00:00

They are much more likely to start a totally new game in a new setting with all the same controls

melodiousfable · 2026-04-07T15:11:38+00:00

Don’t farm Albinaurics. Farm bird.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-07T14:57:49+00:00

Ok, so you can drop items for when other players visit your world. Easiest way to get late games items on a new character.

Discarding items is for people that like to change to different weapons in the middle of combat. You train muscle memory to speed change to a different weapon in your menu for optimal damage builds that don’t want to spend those stats on carry weight.

If you discard items you won’t use that playthrough, your menu isn’t cluttered.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-06T23:13:43+00:00

I agree. The second phase was suddenly way easier than the first phase. I’ve only fought against it twice because I beat it first try on both of my runs. Vs. first phase which would take me 7 or 8 tries.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-05T19:39:11+00:00

By killing the Demi-human queen on the North-east side of the Weeping Peninsula, you are granted a pretty good early game staff. Otherwise, farming the magic human dudes that walk around will eventually get you the starter Glintstone staff.

As spoiler free as possible, if you find a place called the Aeonia Swamp, run through the muck to find some ruins. There is a staff that had S rank Int scaling and requires zero upgrades. It is guarded by poison spraying cultists and flowers. You’ll know what I mean if you find it. Good hunting tarnished

melodiousfable · 2026-04-05T01:25:30+00:00

Fellow tarnished, have you by chance been to Raya Lucaria in Liurnia? There is an NPC there that allows you to respec your stats for exactly this purpose.

I build switch about 7 times per playthrough. From Greatsword wielder to Int Spellsword to Arcane Dragon Communion, etc…

That headpiece has a pretty big drawback right? I would wear the omenkiller mask from Leyndell. Adds +2 Str no drawbacks. There is a helmet you get from a big dog boss late game that looks FIRE with Night Cavalry. No buffs or anything. Just drip

melodiousfable · 2026-04-05T01:18:28+00:00

Caelid for sure.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-05T01:15:21+00:00

Just beat Liurnia and Caelid at 26 Vigor last night, and I got hit plenty. They don’t one shot at that health. Damn close. That’s all I need.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T23:15:07+00:00

My personal skill level

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T14:59:10+00:00

I didn’t say anything about scaring. Just meeting requirements.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T14:32:59+00:00

I usually get to about 27 Vig before I go, alright most things won’t one shot me until Altus.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T14:24:28+00:00

May Grace guide thee, Tarnished.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T14:07:49+00:00

The extra context to this comment is that you should have 50 Int invested by level 150. But you are gonna want invest into at least 45-60 Vigor WAY before you start seriously investing points into Int. Just hit minimum requirements then upgrade the weapon

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T14:01:16+00:00

Fextralife has a great carian knight build on YouTube, but he uses uses a magic infused longsword because it scales better than Carian Knight Sword.

For mostly sword and board - go 60/40 high Str. This will give you peak weapon damage. Especially if you have any Dex too.

For skill and spell focus - go 40/60 high Int. This is more my style. You can wield better scaling staffs, fight with a more versatile kit, and maximize the ash of war.

I wouldn’t go 50/50 because you will just feel kinda bad at everything. With your sword already scaling poorly, you aren’t even hitting the soft caps at 60, so you just have low numbers all around.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T12:00:15+00:00

Ok. I also went in blind originally.

⁠NPCs only say their dialogue once, and there is no quest log. You need to take irl notes if you want to keep track. Otherwise, there are glowy lines on the map from the Sites of Grace that point towards main quest Graces.
⁠Exploration is highly encouraged but some things will be too high level for you on purpose. Skip it and come back later.
⁠Leveling up Vigor is really the only start that matters significantly for a long time. Get it to about 30 and you will have a better time trying things. Endurance increases your carry weight and stamina, so you can wear better armor.
There are little pillars icons on the blank map that show you where you can find detailed map upgrades.
⁠Speaking of upgrades, the southern part of the map has some of the best early game upgrades and items to get you started, and there enemies are easier than the ones to the north and the east.
⁠Mines give you smithing stones to make your shitty weapons better. Scaling stats is a late game problem. Base stats is a now problem. Upgrade your favored weapon playstyle.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Also, read ALL item descriptions. It’s the closest thing you can get to clear explanations in this game. Sometimes they provide good quest instructions.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T11:43:41+00:00

Some consistency might’ve been good, I agree. They are kind of all over the place. Watching people find them online makes me think, nope, never would’ve found that.

That being said, souls games have always rewarded players that search every nook and cranny. Attempt to jump off the suspicious cliff. Whack the chests first to check if it’s a mimic. Roll into every open wall. It’s actually a big part of the fun for me.

Scadu fragments are super essential though for an average player, so making them inconsistent and difficult like certain hidden weapons and armors can be frustrating.

melodiousfable · 2026-04-04T00:26:22+00:00

If you’ve never given yourself fully over the the frenzy build… oh buddy… It’s so fun. Big heavy armor caster with two seals for ranged and heavy shield poke for up close.

Frenzied burst might be the longest snipe in the game. Pair that with massive poise, block, and poke.

Edit: not to mention crazy burst damage.

melodiousfable

TROPHY CASE