@@Zanemob Yes! Trying to get the faces just right. I'm thankful for Shira's Crown headpiece from DLC 2, but it's criminal the lack of accessible headpieces that let you show off your character's face.
I have an invasion character called "Exalted Cleric." The idea was that he was a strong cleric knight and he was highly respected among the way of white for being so badass, but in reality he got his OP swords by crystal infusing them. He actually had lost all of his faith by becoming a crystal warrior and when the way of white found out, he got kicked out. Now he's gone hollow and invades others with his crystal infused weapons, he also still carrys a chime that he uses to heal himself with. (But to use the chime he has to wear the priestess ring, cause his faith is too low now)
Loved the video. Most of my lower SL characters (SL90 or less) are named "Edgy Name" of "Lore Location". They all have their unique lore, fitted with appropriate armours and weapons. I invade in specific locations with Untrue Dark Ring in hopes of confusing the new hosts for the exact same reason Saint mentioned in the video. Its just so much fun. All my characters are like that Godzilla figurine I used to pit against my fleet of Lego space-ships when I was a little kid. Its so cool to see so many players in the comment section doing the same thing. Here's to hope for more role-playing host & invaders!
Also I sometimes give my lore characters some quirks, for example I have a guy that will panic when he is low hp and will r1 till his stamina runs out, or I have an other character that will wait 10 seconds to pay respects each time a phantom dies unless attacked
Lemme tell ya sometin saint.... thank you for putting up videos, like honestly whatever the topic i just like to listen to you speaking even when you sidetrack you brighten up my day everytime Thanks
Man i love it when you put out new videos. Youve been my role model when it comes to my experience in invading. At first i kinda did what you said, where you just make the most efficient builds, but i found your videos and decided, yo this seems way cooler, usi g stuff thats actually fun and interesting, as opposed to just the same shit over and over again at cirst i sorts loosely based my builds on yours, but nowadays all my character slots have been filled with lore characters who are my own creations, which im happy about. Like Valerus of Carthus, a defected farron watchdog who, onstead of destroying wolnirs bracelets, chopped off his wrists and stole them for himself, to protect him for the abyssal creatures he still fought constantly. This alsp.led him to dabble in some abyssal magic(that being the black fire spells). Probabl my favorite build, because even though its just a farron greatsword build, with some random offhand weapons, its the coolest for me to invade with, because hes easily te most fleshed out ive made of a lore character. Anyways, thats enough gushing about lore characters for me, thanks for making cool content that helped me enjoy this game far beyond what i would have without it.
I am currently playing Siegesdieb a knight of catarina who doesn’t take death to seriously since he is hollow. So he invades and fights people with his trusty flamberge. The edgy idea here is he is a corruption of the themes of these knights. Joyful in a violent way and the flamberge looks similar to the zwiehander but wavy as if it is a corrupt version of it.
I had a character a little similar to yours here a few years back called "Frigid Warrior." I can't remember his whole story at this point, but the idea was that he was in the process of transforming into a monster like Vordt or the Dancer. He used frostbite weapons and had the White Ring on, but he also had the Crucifix of the Mad King so he could "roar" with the weapon art. These games give you an immense amount of options, there's no excuse to not be utilizing them, really.
This video gives me so much clarity knowing that im not the only insane person that enjoys making lore builds then beating the entire game on that character
One of my first ever invader builds was a "Crazy Old Man", just an old dude in rags using things like Corvian Greatknife. Was a fun build for early game, not really tryhardy but able to hold its own. I really should remake it.
I have yet to make a icy character! been trying to think of one for some time but haven't got to it. I might have to use yours for reference cuz it looks awesome.
BTW know that you can tumble buff weapons with Pontiff Knight Greatscythe. This opens up a ton of new oportunities for weapons that normally don't fit the theme.
I can’t help but craft a story for every character that I build. The world of dark souls is very well executed and I want to be there. Even if I would never go there in a million years if given the chance.
With our return to Boletaria in the horizon, I look forward to the mindset changing from "That red phantom is just an NPC, I'll be fine" back to "Scirvir's wild ride of fireball one-shots" once again. Heh.
I was honestly still in that BUILD MUST BE EFFICIENT phase until I found your channel. Now I dabble in lore builds that are mostly purposed to be a cool enemy that might fit into the pve of the area, and while I definitely still lose often and I can say "oh, its cause my build didn't have enough poise or damage or wasn't efficient", I have to check myself and remember that, no, it's because I'm still not good enough at the game, but that's okay.
Hollow Knight Music!!! :D. That Grimm fight was crazy. I also really enjoy making characters that fit into the world or have a theme. I'm making a faith regen build that's using the saints set (slightly mixed up with other pieces) and the saints bident
I've said it, but I really love that Winter Halo build! Really nice overall. That first invasion was so cool with the Snap Freeze kill off screen while pressuring the host. The music and the rest was nice too.
Oh hey, that last invasion was me and my friend! I just found this video randomly looking for PVP videos. Nice work with that jump onto my head, I wasn't expecting it to hit me 4 times and stun lock me while you got that plunge off, and then stupid me going for a counter hit, I'm usually a LOT better than that, but I'm trying out a magic build for the first time while I walk my friend through the game.
I've made a Blackguard character, inspired by your use of the word in one of your videos. It's such a strong word. And he's the first character I'm attempting a Dried Finger run with. On top of that, he's not allowed to use embers. He's only allowed to beat hosts to rekindle. And he has to beat at least two invaders before fighting an area boss.
My fave lore build i made was Choir Sleuth Zoe in Bloodborne. She's a sneak for the choir to discover info about the great ones in unlikely areas. The idea was to make like a sniper build in the game with the bowblade and the piercing rifle. I sneak around with blue juice and try for headshots the entire time. Farming out of shape bloodtinge is a thing I'll never do again jeezus.
Everything in this video is so good, a video like this which is essentially a guide to having a good time is so much more valuable than any guide to winning
I am a relatively new player, I only gotten into these games this year. When replaying, in NG+ or a new character, I’ve been getting into multiplayer more so I’ve tried making efficient builds in DS1 and DS3, but in all honesty, I got bored of them kind of quickly. But I been paying attention to the lore and stuff, so I tried doing almost exactly this, and tbh it has been way more fun for me. For DS3, I’ve been having the most fun playing as an abyss watcher, I know I’m putting aside a ring slot for the untrue dark ring and such, but it’s been really fun, with the legion set and sword; and I’ve even been using a blessed bandit knife in the offhand, instead of a shield as it’s indicated they don’t use shields. While in DS1, I tried making a Silver Knight and I’ve been enjoying it - I have even the Greatbow bow in the correct hand and I even paused and looked at the cutscene to even see what hand they throw their lighting spears from. So even as a player who has not been playing more than several months or so, this is fun to do even still.
Playing with lore appropriate builds is always fun. I had a Moonlight Greatsword character in DS Remastered called Knight Wizard, and he invaded the Duke's Archives and used crystal sorceries. I invaded this co-op group multiple times, and then one of them messaged me and was like "your character has invaded us so much that he's part of our headcanon lore" and it made me happy to know that my character added something to their playthrough.
I always try and to match up my weapons with armor in terms of looks. My first playthrough I thought the fallen knight set and hollowslayer sword looked good together so I just ran through with that
100% agree with you saint. Lore builds are so much fun. I was very frustrated with the game playing meta till I remembered the first time I got into lore builds (with the Chaos Knight video for DS). I've made a bunch since then and it really has reignited my interest in invasions. Also, themed builds are very fun, even if not lore friendly. I made a Landsknetch build with the Rapier, Estoc, Pike, Flamberge, Zweihander, etc wearing Lucatiel's set and the Fire Witch's pants (closest fashion I could put together) and it was the most fun I've had invading so far. Great content as always, I hope we'll keep seeing some more before Elden Ring.
I used to play for efficiency too but, recently I’ve just been so about making the roleplayey kind of guys and it’s the most fun I’ve had invading. Trying to make everyone have fun with the invasion not just myself. That is also why I’m excited for Elden ring so I can lore nerd the hell out and make a build around that stuff for pvp. Although mine aren’t the most creative but, I have fun trying.
I did a chaos build using the character “Burnt Ebony King.” Inspired by the Burnt Ivory King from Dark Souls 2. For Fashion I use a court sorcerer hood to kind of create the helmet Ivory King had, my skin being charred black, I either use the sell sword armor or northern armor, depending on how I feel, and exile boots and gauntlets. Since Dark infusions and Chaos infusions do the same thing to scaling, I have a Dark Claymore and a Chaos Bastard Sword, but I do like using the Bastard sword more. I use the Boulder Heave pyromancy because its like crystal but muddier, which fits pretty well for the lore. Boulder heave also helps against people who are cocky about weapon arts. The lore is just some ancestor or the Burnt Ivory King who had taken up the mantle of keeping the chaos at bay and been burnt by it, but was also more afflicted with the dark of man because of his direct relation to Alsanna. I’m higher level because I liked the character so much and wanted to see his full potential.
This video popped up a while ago on my recommended. Watched it and have been bingeing a bunch of your videos since. So glad I found this awesome channel
I have a Church Spear invader known as Khroma the Lost. A Way of the Dragon sword-mage who had travelled so long across the lands, to end up in the Ringed City. They cast from all schools of magic, it's really fun having to cycle through 5+2+1 spells and juggling which catalysts I have in hand. I usually run Black Flame, Sacred Flame, Snap Freeze, Dark Edge, Tears of Denial, Deep Protection. It's not particularly efficient, but the satisfaction of the combos is what I live for.
Yo that is a sick build. The moment you mentioned the Irithyll knights I immediately thought of hidden body to just add the cherry on top for the fashion.
Love your videos, Saint. You've gotten me back into this game, and I'm a personal fan of the Londor Paladin. When playing D&D I always prioritize the character aspect as opposed to the "build" and my fellow party members always give me odd looks lol
Oh I share all of those sentiments! I'll sound like a broken record at some point if I keep writing about them, but I love my characters. I like giving each character their own engagement/playstyles and personality (often matching the actual build type, weapons, name and such - Frantic Greta being a dual wielding vit/str for example). It allows a greater potential and variety for the experiences you might try to give. Also, depending on how I feel like I have to be IRL, I might use specific ones. That feels expressive or it helps potentially process stuff easier, which is a neat side thing for each of them. I don't have to be fully invested in the rp or personality, though. My Ethereal Soldier for example is a moonlight-marked crystal build that has many good fashion options which match the areas she travels to (sl90 has variety in area themes). UDR practically works like a close range camouflage sometimes. She's more inane, less expressive and such than my others for now, but I feel more comfortable in doing flashy/quirky things as her. I would try new flashy stuff with any of them, but she's less tempered on that trait. Their growth for me actually takes some time, but after a ton of invasions they usually settle in pretty ways. I usually do 3+ ng's with them and clear most levels, so I'll indeed have max estus, rings and stuff (45+ slabs too, 3+ caesti, etc.). I try to have some 'range' in the sense that I want them to be able to spar, fight and go against ganks (maybe even in the upper range by luck). That's why I try to have some sparring equipment and try to keep a variety of useful weapons. There's a lot of nuance to bring in how you approach different worlds/hosts, so being flexible can be fun. You can learn about a host by fun sparring; you can have fun trying to make a fight with a group exciting or epic in some way; you can try to give a gank a good battle; or adapt to whatever unusual other things you'd come by. I feel the same in that I don't mind dying if I feel like ~I gave a good fight or experience as a character. It can even be a happier outcome if I feel like the host or group triumphed in a nice way. I've been doing the same in using low END for quite awhile. I think you gave me the idea actually. The restriction can be nice, but I do think quality/str builds (and shields) often need like 25+ or so instead of ~17-24 (after rings). Nevertheless I like the stamina management aspect of it and it does help focus on observation, predictions, pressure/positioning, etc. I had been avoiding playing any game at all lately, but everyone's getting good ds3 content/streams and such suddenly, so I'm considering going back. Something stressed me too bad for awhile recently and I just felt like my heart rate and focus couldn't work enough for invasions or much else. I'm getting back to it in the next days!
Oh, and I think yo should try changing silver knight armor to fire witch armor for maximum loreness (and fashion). Dunno if silver knight were together with pontiff sulyvahn, but fire witches sure were. Anyway, this character you made is amazing! I try different universes through the game, like, here on Brazil's northeast region on 40's to 60's there was some called bandits, or for some ppl called heroes and legends of the poor people called Cangaceiros. There is so much around their history, and I tried to make a character based on them ingame. And I'm having a lot of fun.
This is a great idea; I feel like it could be taken to another level (although a more boring one for the invader) by creating builds for specific areas with thematically-appropriate weapons, spells, and effects. e.g. a bleed build that invades in the Catacombs or Painted World exclusively. Maybe that would increase the likelihood of being mistaken for NPC. Also using a naming convention that fits DS3 NPC invader style, usually "Role" + "Firstname" (Winter's Halo could be Irithyll Knight Commander [name], e.g.).
I did a Tomoe Gozen run. Did some research on Lady Tomoe from Sekiro. Turns out she was a real female samurai about 300 years before the events of Sekiro. Anyway, it was a faith/dex build so I could use lightning spells and katanas. Went with black blade for the Sekiro look. She was known to be a good archer (as were many samurai) so I squeezed a great bow in. In the Dark Souls universe, she became a member of the Sable Church where she learned some dark pyros. Wasn't sure how it was going to work but it turned out to be fun as hell. I wasn't a big katana guy and I thought black blade would suck. Turns out that thing is really good and it's moveset, combined with the pyros/lightning, made me feel like a badass.
i made a build that i called “hero of astora” he was Link essentially. using astora equipment, invading in areas that Anri was in. just a bit of continuity with the lore and where i invaded. astora straight sword slew the evil that ravaged astora, yadayadayada, it’s Link and the master sword
Surdus_Anguis it’s not terrible. i mainly used it to get ripostes. since i was a low level dex faith build, i couldn’t wield the astora greatsword with one hand. plus, gotta get the finishing blow with the MS anyway right? ;)
I love making lore builds or builds with backstories. One example is my Carthus Warrior. A living Carthusian who uses carthus weapons, long bow with fire arrows, kukris, carthus rouge and carthus flame arc. If I invade someone before Wolnir, I think that I am there to stop them in order to protect my Highlord. If I invade after Wolnir, I invade to avenge him. As a Carthusian, my character tries as hard as possible to win, for Carthusians are known for their love of victory and the readines to use any dirty tricks to win. Very fun, you should try it out too. I can link my build if you want to see it, just ask me.
I remember once,when I used to invade in DS2,I made a Mage build called Soulguard Val who only used the Sorcerer starting gear,that is dagger,regular catalyst and the armor that sorcerers start with,all of it was fully upgraded mind you and I had min/maxed the hell out of that character but the thing is that due to the name and crappy gear some people thought that my character was a NPC some of them even message me to compliment me for the fight and the fashion it was pretty great.
I have a build that can only be described as a dumpster fire, and is only really good at cheesing ai summons. But it has health, a great hammer, and smidgen of poise, so I can win more often than I have any right to.
My main character is Arstor IV of Carim, descendant of the somber count of Carim. I use Lorian Chest Piece and other black painted gothic looking armor, so that people can see that the armor is of a later period, that would make sense if we imagine the original Sir Arstor wearing Chainmail and weapons of a prior era, it's an evolution of weaponry. Arstor's Spear is my favorite weapon, goes well with an offhand Estoc or really any fast weapon for invading. Heavily inspired by Black Metal. Anyway, the lore behind your character Winter Halo is really fucking awesome. I may try making an elite sword master that follows his captain Winter Halo in his mission.
saint, this is why you're my favorite souls-tuber. i wish more people were this nerdy about their characters. i certainly am. also, you sound like you need a nap! haha "dark ring" "lady maria" & +6 weapons on a SL44? haha i love the character, the frost, the white phantom skin, the ring swap repost. you're killin it!!!
I will always adore my lightning bro sl55, a nimble leather/gotthard faith build with a lightning partisan and lots of spells. The partisan is so overpowered. The build isn't that strong but it's crazy versatile and flexible. I kinda prefer SL55 and below these days, the heavy restrictions on your build force you to specialize into far more interesting builds. My favorite pvp build of all time is still the double blue flame powerstanced in dark souls 2. Crystal weapon spell on both, absolute glass cannon. I've never liked nor tried a meta build. Closest is my sl15 twink with sunless set and flamberge, but I invade as a mad spirit and usually just protect players that clearly aren't able to fight me. I love playing the game through completely to build a character. The sl15 run with just a +2 bandit knife was epic fun.
Latest characters I'm building, all of whom are likely to be low level invaders: A woodland huntsman - the Mirrah Armor is the heaviest piece of armor they wear, and they use only simple weapons like the long sword, Brigand Axe, Corvian Great Knife, and a shortbow. A gentleman - he's a fancy lad who uses rapiers. Lastly, A Literal Ninja - He's a literal ninja. Shadow Set, Black Blade, Claws, and Bloodlust in case he dishonors himself.
just found your channel and have been enjoying your "My War" videos. They really made me interested in invading and I learned a lot from them. Hope to see you doing these in Elden Ring as well!
I just beat the Demon Prince on an SL36 +4 Deep Crusader build for Cathedral of the Deep invasions. Not because I needed anything in TRC, but because I needed Patches to come back (he leaves after Greirat dies in Lothric Castle). It was difficult as all hell but was fun too. Arguably harder than SL1 runs since you do so little damage, but you have a lot more Vig so it evens out.
15:54 Did anyone notice how the host you are currently invading, appears as a phantom moving and spell casting just like the real one did seconds earlier? I had never seen this happen before, nice!
I started playing dark souls for the atmosphere, stayed for the lore and discovered that if you find a zweihander in your first 10 minutes after arriving at firelink shrine, there are no hard bosses.
I use a lore build too. It's a guy named "NO COOP 4 U" and he uses all the best weapons, rings, and has 69.9% equip load. It's a lot of fun! Nah but I did have an Evil Solaire character for a while. Eventually I got tired of getting destroyed and went back to my meta ways.
Honestly though I've just skipped the twinking for gunning it at people. I know my poise unlike a lot of people I've seen. So yes. Not actually any advantages except maybe pure skill over my enemies. But the victory feels nice.
I tried to make a lore run with friends in which I was Quelayan Izalith, son of Quelana of Izalith and Hansel Astora, a wandering cartographer who inevitably fell in love with a daughter of chaos. The story behind this character was that during Lorian's raid to Izalith to destroy all demons, an unknown captain of Lothric forced into Quelana's hideout and killed her. When a young Quelayan watched her mother die, he exploded in a chaos mayhem that crumbled his home, giving him his particular scars on the left side of the face. He eventually found a way out of his own disaster and left a decadent and dark Izalith with a desire of vengeance. His father disappeared, he was taken prisoner by Lothric and became a hollow slave, but Quelayan had no way to know until he found him in his journey. His goal is clear: to oppose Lothric and the Gods, and to rest the Fist Flame from it's mantle and kindle the kiln, this time with the Flame of Chaos. So it's basically a pure pyromancer invader, no weapons, other than Caestus and a Dagger to cut flesh, as he rejects gods and humanity, and all of it's tools are an insult to his people. He is, in some ways, the last son of Izalith to fight for his land and kinship.
I have build called “the executioner” uses most of the executioner stuff obviously, but it’s simple enough that I’ve had a few folks actually think I was an NPC invader called The Executioner and honestly that’s really all I want when it comes to invasions
"Lady Maria" Yeah I wish I could forget about Friede too, Saint...
BL 12 LHB Maria still haunts me.
Friede is just Great Value Lady Maria, never understood why people hyped her up
I feel you saint. I enjoy making characters over a "build". It is really fun. Though my toughest boss fight is still the Character Creation screen.
I spend hours on the faces for lore characters. The meme characters on the other hand... Just silly abominations to make people laugh.
I get too hung up on what to make them
@@Zanemob Yes! Trying to get the faces just right. I'm thankful for Shira's Crown headpiece from DLC 2, but it's criminal the lack of accessible headpieces that let you show off your character's face.
I have an invasion character called "Exalted Cleric." The idea was that he was a strong cleric knight and he was highly respected among the way of white for being so badass, but in reality he got his OP swords by crystal infusing them. He actually had lost all of his faith by becoming a crystal warrior and when the way of white found out, he got kicked out. Now he's gone hollow and invades others with his crystal infused weapons, he also still carrys a chime that he uses to heal himself with. (But to use the chime he has to wear the priestess ring, cause his faith is too low now)
that's cool asf bro
I wish more people approached the game like this lol. This is sweet.
Gay
Cool
Really creative
Loved the video.
Most of my lower SL characters (SL90 or less) are named "Edgy Name" of "Lore Location".
They all have their unique lore, fitted with appropriate armours and weapons. I invade in specific locations with Untrue Dark Ring in hopes of confusing the new hosts for the exact same reason Saint mentioned in the video. Its just so much fun. All my characters are like that Godzilla figurine I used to pit against my fleet of Lego space-ships when I was a little kid. Its so cool to see so many players in the comment section doing the same thing. Here's to hope for more role-playing host & invaders!
Also I sometimes give my lore characters some quirks, for example I have a guy that will panic when he is low hp and will r1 till his stamina runs out, or I have an other character that will wait 10 seconds to pay respects each time a phantom dies unless attacked
Negative quirks is a really cool idea. Wonder if cheat engine could make builds that completely change stats when they get low health.
@@saintriot it should be possible in theory but the ban hammer will strike fast and kill those "cheating" lore characters
Vagossssssssss I mean it is cheating because it’s out of the games bounds, so it does make sense.
Now that's what I call commitment
Lemme tell ya sometin saint.... thank you for putting up videos, like honestly whatever the topic i just like to listen to you speaking even when you sidetrack you brighten up my day everytime
Thanks
Same here...
Man i love it when you put out new videos. Youve been my role model when it comes to my experience in invading. At first i kinda did what you said, where you just make the most efficient builds, but i found your videos and decided, yo this seems way cooler, usi g stuff thats actually fun and interesting, as opposed to just the same shit over and over again at cirst i sorts loosely based my builds on yours, but nowadays all my character slots have been filled with lore characters who are my own creations, which im happy about. Like Valerus of Carthus, a defected farron watchdog who, onstead of destroying wolnirs bracelets, chopped off his wrists and stole them for himself, to protect him for the abyssal creatures he still fought constantly. This alsp.led him to dabble in some abyssal magic(that being the black fire spells). Probabl my favorite build, because even though its just a farron greatsword build, with some random offhand weapons, its the coolest for me to invade with, because hes easily te most fleshed out ive made of a lore character. Anyways, thats enough gushing about lore characters for me, thanks for making cool content that helped me enjoy this game far beyond what i would have without it.
I am currently playing Siegesdieb a knight of catarina who doesn’t take death to seriously since he is hollow. So he invades and fights people with his trusty flamberge. The edgy idea here is he is a corruption of the themes of these knights. Joyful in a violent way and the flamberge looks similar to the zwiehander but wavy as if it is a corrupt version of it.
Dude you should buff it with that blood stuff! Or use dark miracles! Like how Siegeward uses normal miracles!
I had a character a little similar to yours here a few years back called "Frigid Warrior." I can't remember his whole story at this point, but the idea was that he was in the process of transforming into a monster like Vordt or the Dancer. He used frostbite weapons and had the White Ring on, but he also had the Crucifix of the Mad King so he could "roar" with the weapon art.
These games give you an immense amount of options, there's no excuse to not be utilizing them, really.
Yuh I love lore invaders, I made a oolacile girl who just ran around with the golden spells, not efficient but it was a blast
How did you do damage
Caden Stringer well I used hidden weapon on a weapon, followers saber cause the spin looked cool, sometimes a scimitar, claymore, and gothards
Grimsly The idea of golden sorceries are so fricking cool, shame they didn’t do much with it.
Safak Kandemir yeah wish they had more tbh! Twilight as I called them is fun though as my little golden assassin
If you have the dex for it you could add in the white birch bow.
This video gives me so much clarity knowing that im not the only insane person that enjoys making lore builds then beating the entire game on that character
One of my first ever invader builds was a "Crazy Old Man", just an old dude in rags using things like Corvian Greatknife. Was a fun build for early game, not really tryhardy but able to hold its own. I really should remake it.
Man he made us wait until the very end to say v e r t i c a l i t y
Figa davvero. Iniziavo a sudare
I have yet to make a icy character! been trying to think of one for some time but haven't got to it. I might have to use yours for reference cuz it looks awesome.
BTW know that you can tumble buff weapons with Pontiff Knight Greatscythe. This opens up a ton of new oportunities for weapons that normally don't fit the theme.
I can’t help but craft a story for every character that I build. The world of dark souls is very well executed and I want to be there. Even if I would never go there in a million years if given the chance.
Why is that fallen knight swinging his shield like he's dual wielding his winblades?
That's a common glitch in DS1 and apparently it survived to DS3. Not sure I'd ever seen it either.
With our return to Boletaria in the horizon, I look forward to the mindset changing from "That red phantom is just an NPC, I'll be fine" back to "Scirvir's wild ride of fireball one-shots" once again.
Heh.
That's a pretty cool build
I was honestly still in that BUILD MUST BE EFFICIENT phase until I found your channel. Now I dabble in lore builds that are mostly purposed to be a cool enemy that might fit into the pve of the area, and while I definitely still lose often and I can say "oh, its cause my build didn't have enough poise or damage or wasn't efficient", I have to check myself and remember that, no, it's because I'm still not good enough at the game, but that's okay.
This is my entire philosophy behind every character I build.
Hollow Knight Music!!! :D. That Grimm fight was crazy.
I also really enjoy making characters that fit into the world or have a theme.
I'm making a faith regen build that's using the saints set (slightly mixed up with other pieces) and the saints bident
I've said it, but I really love that Winter Halo build! Really nice overall.
That first invasion was so cool with the Snap Freeze kill off screen while pressuring the host. The music and the rest was nice too.
Oh hey, that last invasion was me and my friend! I just found this video randomly looking for PVP videos. Nice work with that jump onto my head, I wasn't expecting it to hit me 4 times and stun lock me while you got that plunge off, and then stupid me going for a counter hit, I'm usually a LOT better than that, but I'm trying out a magic build for the first time while I walk my friend through the game.
I've made a Blackguard character, inspired by your use of the word in one of your videos. It's such a strong word. And he's the first character I'm attempting a Dried Finger run with. On top of that, he's not allowed to use embers. He's only allowed to beat hosts to rekindle. And he has to beat at least two invaders before fighting an area boss.
My fave lore build i made was Choir Sleuth Zoe in Bloodborne. She's a sneak for the choir to discover info about the great ones in unlikely areas. The idea was to make like a sniper build in the game with the bowblade and the piercing rifle. I sneak around with blue juice and try for headshots the entire time. Farming out of shape bloodtinge is a thing I'll never do again jeezus.
Everything in this video is so good, a video like this which is essentially a guide to having a good time is so much more valuable than any guide to winning
I am a relatively new player, I only gotten into these games this year. When replaying, in NG+ or a new character, I’ve been getting into multiplayer more so I’ve tried making efficient builds in DS1 and DS3, but in all honesty, I got bored of them kind of quickly. But I been paying attention to the lore and stuff, so I tried doing almost exactly this, and tbh it has been way more fun for me. For DS3, I’ve been having the most fun playing as an abyss watcher, I know I’m putting aside a ring slot for the untrue dark ring and such, but it’s been really fun, with the legion set and sword; and I’ve even been using a blessed bandit knife in the offhand, instead of a shield as it’s indicated they don’t use shields. While in DS1, I tried making a Silver Knight and I’ve been enjoying it - I have even the Greatbow bow in the correct hand and I even paused and looked at the cutscene to even see what hand they throw their lighting spears from. So even as a player who has not been playing more than several months or so, this is fun to do even still.
SORRY, SAINT!
I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS THE NIGHTMARE KING OST. ITS SO COOL!!!
had an idea like the Winter Halo build for a long time, never got around to pulling it off. love the vid, keep up the great work, saint!
Playing with lore appropriate builds is always fun. I had a Moonlight Greatsword character in DS Remastered called Knight Wizard, and he invaded the Duke's Archives and used crystal sorceries. I invaded this co-op group multiple times, and then one of them messaged me and was like "your character has invaded us so much that he's part of our headcanon lore" and it made me happy to know that my character added something to their playthrough.
I would like to make one of those ''lore invasion builds''
I have some ideias like...
Lothric Watchdog;
Pontiff Warmaster;
Ashen Hunter;
Etc;
@@simber9403 you should do it
I always try and to match up my weapons with armor in terms of looks. My first playthrough I thought the fallen knight set and hollowslayer sword looked good together so I just ran through with that
11:58 did he just call sister friede, lady Maria?
He did and I think the ladies are quite unhappy about that.
Time to make our exit before we get the tag team we never wanted to get caught in.
100% agree with you saint. Lore builds are so much fun. I was very frustrated with the game playing meta till I remembered the first time I got into lore builds (with the Chaos Knight video for DS). I've made a bunch since then and it really has reignited my interest in invasions.
Also, themed builds are very fun, even if not lore friendly. I made a Landsknetch build with the Rapier, Estoc, Pike, Flamberge, Zweihander, etc wearing Lucatiel's set and the Fire Witch's pants (closest fashion I could put together) and it was the most fun I've had invading so far.
Great content as always, I hope we'll keep seeing some more before Elden Ring.
I used to play for efficiency too but, recently I’ve just been so about making the roleplayey kind of guys and it’s the most fun I’ve had invading. Trying to make everyone have fun with the invasion not just myself. That is also why I’m excited for Elden ring so I can lore nerd the hell out and make a build around that stuff for pvp. Although mine aren’t the most creative but, I have fun trying.
I did a chaos build using the character “Burnt Ebony King.” Inspired by the Burnt Ivory King from Dark Souls 2. For Fashion I use a court sorcerer hood to kind of create the helmet Ivory King had, my skin being charred black, I either use the sell sword armor or northern armor, depending on how I feel, and exile boots and gauntlets. Since Dark infusions and Chaos infusions do the same thing to scaling, I have a Dark Claymore and a Chaos Bastard Sword, but I do like using the Bastard sword more. I use the Boulder Heave pyromancy because its like crystal but muddier, which fits pretty well for the lore. Boulder heave also helps against people who are cocky about weapon arts. The lore is just some ancestor or the Burnt Ivory King who had taken up the mantle of keeping the chaos at bay and been burnt by it, but was also more afflicted with the dark of man because of his direct relation to Alsanna. I’m higher level because I liked the character so much and wanted to see his full potential.
This video popped up a while ago on my recommended. Watched it and have been bingeing a bunch of your videos since. So glad I found this awesome channel
ah sick you found someone to do the thumbnail
I have a Church Spear invader known as Khroma the Lost. A Way of the Dragon sword-mage who had travelled so long across the lands, to end up in the Ringed City.
They cast from all schools of magic, it's really fun having to cycle through 5+2+1 spells and juggling which catalysts I have in hand. I usually run Black Flame, Sacred Flame, Snap Freeze, Dark Edge, Tears of Denial, Deep Protection. It's not particularly efficient, but the satisfaction of the combos is what I live for.
I would have put hidden body on this so I could be a spooky irithyll ghosts
That's my approach exactly as well man ! Role Play names, attitude, invasion location all that just to make the character that much more believable !
Yo that is a sick build. The moment you mentioned the Irithyll knights I immediately thought of hidden body to just add the cherry on top for the fashion.
Fuck yeah this feels like an old school Saint Riot video. Love me some good ol' fashion L O R E builds and general discussion of invasions
Love your videos, Saint. You've gotten me back into this game, and I'm a personal fan of the Londor Paladin. When playing D&D I always prioritize the character aspect as opposed to the "build" and my fellow party members always give me odd looks lol
Oh I share all of those sentiments! I'll sound like a broken record at some point if I keep writing about them, but I love my characters.
I like giving each character their own engagement/playstyles and personality (often matching the actual build type, weapons, name and such - Frantic Greta being a dual wielding vit/str for example). It allows a greater potential and variety for the experiences you might try to give.
Also, depending on how I feel like I have to be IRL, I might use specific ones. That feels expressive or it helps potentially process stuff easier, which is a neat side thing for each of them. I don't have to be fully invested in the rp or personality, though.
My Ethereal Soldier for example is a moonlight-marked crystal build that has many good fashion options which match the areas she travels to (sl90 has variety in area themes). UDR practically works like a close range camouflage sometimes. She's more inane, less expressive and such than my others for now, but I feel more comfortable in doing flashy/quirky things as her. I would try new flashy stuff with any of them, but she's less tempered on that trait.
Their growth for me actually takes some time, but after a ton of invasions they usually settle in pretty ways. I usually do 3+ ng's with them and clear most levels, so I'll indeed have max estus, rings and stuff (45+ slabs too, 3+ caesti, etc.).
I try to have some 'range' in the sense that I want them to be able to spar, fight and go against ganks (maybe even in the upper range by luck). That's why I try to have some sparring equipment and try to keep a variety of useful weapons.
There's a lot of nuance to bring in how you approach different worlds/hosts, so being flexible can be fun. You can learn about a host by fun sparring; you can have fun trying to make a fight with a group exciting or epic in some way; you can try to give a gank a good battle; or adapt to whatever unusual other things you'd come by.
I feel the same in that I don't mind dying if I feel like ~I gave a good fight or experience as a character. It can even be a happier outcome if I feel like the host or group triumphed in a nice way.
I've been doing the same in using low END for quite awhile. I think you gave me the idea actually. The restriction can be nice, but I do think quality/str builds (and shields) often need like 25+ or so instead of ~17-24 (after rings). Nevertheless I like the stamina management aspect of it and it does help focus on observation, predictions, pressure/positioning, etc.
I had been avoiding playing any game at all lately, but everyone's getting good ds3 content/streams and such suddenly, so I'm considering going back. Something stressed me too bad for awhile recently and I just felt like my heart rate and focus couldn't work enough for invasions or much else. I'm getting back to it in the next days!
That hollow knight osts you puttin on your videos are outstanding, seriously.
Oh, and I think yo should try changing silver knight armor to fire witch armor for maximum loreness (and fashion). Dunno if silver knight were together with pontiff sulyvahn, but fire witches sure were.
Anyway, this character you made is amazing! I try different universes through the game, like, here on Brazil's northeast region on 40's to 60's there was some called bandits, or for some ppl called heroes and legends of the poor people called Cangaceiros. There is so much around their history, and I tried to make a character based on them ingame. And I'm having a lot of fun.
This is a great idea; I feel like it could be taken to another level (although a more boring one for the invader) by creating builds for specific areas with thematically-appropriate weapons, spells, and effects. e.g. a bleed build that invades in the Catacombs or Painted World exclusively. Maybe that would increase the likelihood of being mistaken for NPC. Also using a naming convention that fits DS3 NPC invader style, usually "Role" + "Firstname" (Winter's Halo could be Irithyll Knight Commander [name], e.g.).
I did a Tomoe Gozen run. Did some research on Lady Tomoe from Sekiro. Turns out she was a real female samurai about 300 years before the events of Sekiro.
Anyway, it was a faith/dex build so I could use lightning spells and katanas. Went with black blade for the Sekiro look. She was known to be a good archer (as were many samurai) so I squeezed a great bow in. In the Dark Souls universe, she became a member of the Sable Church where she learned some dark pyros.
Wasn't sure how it was going to work but it turned out to be fun as hell. I wasn't a big katana guy and I thought black blade would suck. Turns out that thing is really good and it's moveset, combined with the pyros/lightning, made me feel like a badass.
I love the DeSouls music in that beginning.
The Quock invasion was great, very well handled
Look up, "The Rotten Horror". It's a miniboss for Ds1 and DsR. It's awesome!
A classic
Adam barker just posted a new video of it, too!
@@surdus_anguis6035 I know!
i made a build that i called “hero of astora” he was Link essentially. using astora equipment, invading in areas that Anri was in. just a bit of continuity with the lore and where i invaded. astora straight sword slew the evil that ravaged astora, yadayadayada, it’s Link and the master sword
I’ve heard that sword isn’t good. Did it treat you well?
Surdus_Anguis it’s not terrible. i mainly used it to get ripostes. since i was a low level dex faith build, i couldn’t wield the astora greatsword with one hand. plus, gotta get the finishing blow with the MS anyway right? ;)
I love how you turn red when you swap out the Untrue White for the Hornet Ring. It’s like you’re going into your second form
I love making lore builds or builds with backstories. One example is my Carthus Warrior. A living Carthusian who uses carthus weapons, long bow with fire arrows, kukris, carthus rouge and carthus flame arc. If I invade someone before Wolnir, I think that I am there to stop them in order to protect my Highlord. If I invade after Wolnir, I invade to avenge him. As a Carthusian, my character tries as hard as possible to win, for Carthusians are known for their love of victory and the readines to use any dirty tricks to win. Very fun, you should try it out too. I can link my build if you want to see it, just ask me.
I remember once,when I used to invade in DS2,I made a Mage build called Soulguard Val who only used the Sorcerer starting gear,that is dagger,regular catalyst and the armor that sorcerers start with,all of it was fully upgraded mind you and I had min/maxed the hell out of that character but the thing is that due to the name and crappy gear some people thought that my character was a NPC some of them even message me to compliment me for the fight and the fashion it was pretty great.
I have a build that can only be described as a dumpster fire, and is only really good at cheesing ai summons. But it has health, a great hammer, and smidgen of poise, so I can win more often than I have any right to.
I wanted to make a Lothric General build, shame that Alluring Skulls don't work if you're an invader, so much for giving "orders" to the hollows.
I’m counting this as a sorcerer montage. The two greatest words in DS history put together.
2:00 there was no simple infused partizan in your inventory, instead you were hovering over an Irythill Rapier +2
My main character is Arstor IV of Carim, descendant of the somber count of Carim. I use Lorian Chest Piece and other black painted gothic looking armor, so that people can see that the armor is of a later period, that would make sense if we imagine the original Sir Arstor wearing Chainmail and weapons of a prior era, it's an evolution of weaponry.
Arstor's Spear is my favorite weapon, goes well with an offhand Estoc or really any fast weapon for invading.
Heavily inspired by Black Metal.
Anyway, the lore behind your character Winter Halo is really fucking awesome. I may try making an elite sword master that follows his captain Winter Halo in his mission.
I don't even have the dexterity to use it, but we're gonna make that sacrifice, FOR THE L O R E
saint, this is why you're my favorite souls-tuber. i wish more people were this nerdy about their characters. i certainly am.
also, you sound like you need a nap! haha "dark ring" "lady maria" & +6 weapons on a SL44? haha
i love the character, the frost, the white phantom skin, the ring swap repost. you're killin it!!!
i feel the same way! like, actually roleplaying in dark souls is fun as hell
I will always adore my lightning bro sl55, a nimble leather/gotthard faith build with a lightning partisan and lots of spells. The partisan is so overpowered. The build isn't that strong but it's crazy versatile and flexible. I kinda prefer SL55 and below these days, the heavy restrictions on your build force you to specialize into far more interesting builds.
My favorite pvp build of all time is still the double blue flame powerstanced in dark souls 2. Crystal weapon spell on both, absolute glass cannon.
I've never liked nor tried a meta build. Closest is my sl15 twink with sunless set and flamberge, but I invade as a mad spirit and usually just protect players that clearly aren't able to fight me.
I love playing the game through completely to build a character. The sl15 run with just a +2 bandit knife was epic fun.
Latest characters I'm building, all of whom are likely to be low level invaders:
A woodland huntsman - the Mirrah Armor is the heaviest piece of armor they wear, and they use only simple weapons like the long sword, Brigand Axe, Corvian Great Knife, and a shortbow.
A gentleman - he's a fancy lad who uses rapiers.
Lastly, A Literal Ninja - He's a literal ninja. Shadow Set, Black Blade, Claws, and Bloodlust in case he dishonors himself.
just found your channel and have been enjoying your "My War" videos. They really made me interested in invading and I learned a lot from them. Hope to see you doing these in Elden Ring as well!
also fuck gankers!
This is literally what I did I made characters that fit into the dark souls world
I just beat the Demon Prince on an SL36 +4 Deep Crusader build for Cathedral of the Deep invasions. Not because I needed anything in TRC, but because I needed Patches to come back (he leaves after Greirat dies in Lothric Castle). It was difficult as all hell but was fun too. Arguably harder than SL1 runs since you do so little damage, but you have a lot more Vig so it evens out.
Nexus theme
Grimm theme
You got good taste in Music riot :)
Lore builds are the best.
15:54 Did anyone notice how the host you are currently invading, appears as a phantom moving and spell casting just like the real one did seconds earlier? I had never seen this happen before, nice!
OST is actually Troupe Master Grimm
Need this in Elden saint. Once the dlc comes out I think this type of character will work a lot better.
I started playing dark souls for the atmosphere, stayed for the lore and discovered that if you find a zweihander in your first 10 minutes after arriving at firelink shrine, there are no hard bosses.
You're the best Saint, always happy to see new posts :)
This guy sounds like an Oblivion NPC that’s lagging. I love it
I use a lore build too. It's a guy named "NO COOP 4 U" and he uses all the best weapons, rings, and has 69.9% equip load. It's a lot of fun!
Nah but I did have an Evil Solaire character for a while. Eventually I got tired of getting destroyed and went back to my meta ways.
for some reason, I enjoy the journey to building a build more than actually using it
Me too
Saint, we're gonne need more numbers! What's the numbers, Saint?
Coincidentally I too made an Int build around SL 66+6 with outrider items and snap freeze. It's probably a lot more fun this way.
I think hidden body would have been a nice fit for this build
Making you almost transparent with the ring of untrue dark
nice, i already do some ds 2 cosplay pvp like Hollow Infantry or Hollow Royal Soldier...Sometimes Fume Knight or Velstadt.
Crystal Flamberge would go well with this build.
these are the kind of builds I make in general.
I played purely for the story, it’s why I love DS2 the most.
Saint Riot really is the modern EpicNameBro...
Honestly though I've just skipped the twinking for gunning it at people.
I know my poise unlike a lot of people I've seen.
So yes. Not actually any advantages except maybe pure skill over my enemies. But the victory feels nice.
He's back baby
Follow him on twitch
@@pedroxavier4227 I do, but I really only enjoy his edited content
2:53 Everybody gets one.
Dat Demon's Soul's track mucho nostalgia
I have a lore dude at sl 36 at the Cathedral rooftop it’s definitely my favorite
Thumbnail worked out nice! (:
I wish Noobslayer had a lore like this
Noob slayer is the lore
I tried to make a lore run with friends in which I was Quelayan Izalith, son of Quelana of Izalith and Hansel Astora, a wandering cartographer who inevitably fell in love with a daughter of chaos.
The story behind this character was that during Lorian's raid to Izalith to destroy all demons, an unknown captain of Lothric forced into Quelana's hideout and killed her. When a young Quelayan watched her mother die, he exploded in a chaos mayhem that crumbled his home, giving him his particular scars on the left side of the face. He eventually found a way out of his own disaster and left a decadent and dark Izalith with a desire of vengeance.
His father disappeared, he was taken prisoner by Lothric and became a hollow slave, but Quelayan had no way to know until he found him in his journey.
His goal is clear: to oppose Lothric and the Gods, and to rest the Fist Flame from it's mantle and kindle the kiln, this time with the Flame of Chaos.
So it's basically a pure pyromancer invader, no weapons, other than Caestus and a Dagger to cut flesh, as he rejects gods and humanity, and all of it's tools are an insult to his people. He is, in some ways, the last son of Izalith to fight for his land and kinship.
simple and crystal partizan? you're part of the partizan bois then.... YOU MUST BE :O
Man gotta love that demon souls ost.
i'm a sucker for Hollow Knight Music
I would like to see more people doing this
16:08 LOL Blues rush in!
Great video and very cool build! Thanks Saint :)
I have build called “the executioner” uses most of the executioner stuff obviously, but it’s simple enough that I’ve had a few folks actually think I was an NPC invader called The Executioner and honestly that’s really all I want when it comes to invasions
The executioners sword is awesome but the armor is the ugliest thing in the game lol
Surdus_Anguis lmao true, I put on the Black Iron chest piece, makes the fashion souls easier on the eyes