Dark Souls 2: backstabs

ok i know there has been topics about changes in dark souls 2, but i was wondering what do you guys think about backstabs? are you for keeping them or against them. there are a bunch of things i would like to see changed in dark souls 2 but i would go on forever, so lets focus on backstabs. i think they need to be either removed or just fixed/tweaked significantly.

the initial reason i got dark souls was because of the pvp. i don't play pc so a console rpg with pvp seemed really interesting and exciting to me. it's the only console rpg i can really think of that has pvp. i then soon realized that the pvp pretty much revolves around backstabs, to the point where it seems like they just have to be close to you to land one, not even behind you. it just got ridiculous.

now i know what you're thinking, "dude ur just mad cuz u suck, get gud" or whatever. and i get that, and trust me ive tried desperately to "get gud" and understand this pvp. it's not like i have a bad connection or anything, it's actually really good. but it seems like this is one of the few games that you actually benefit from lag. even when my opponent isn't lagging, they are approaching me from the front on my left side, then when they get close to me their back is faced towards me, but somehow i'm the one that takes in the booty.

anyway, i think that backstabs should just be removed from pvp. if not for all the ridiculous spamming, then solely for the fact of how ridiculous it looks. you have a dude with a big ass sword somehow warp to your back from the front and then hammer you twice in the head while your character just becomes paralyzed suddenly and takes it from behind like a brazzers pro. 

now i realize that most likely this won't be the case, since it seems like backstabs are really important to the souls games or whatever. so if not remove, then atleast tweak it somehow. like maybe significantly reduce the hitbox. or make it so you can't get backstabbed with a shield on your back. or make backstabs exclusive to weapons that are actually used to stab, but reduce the damage so those weapons aren't abused/spammed. i'm sure there are tons of ways they can fix this.

so what do you guys think about backstabs in the next souls game?

Backstabs are the worst in PVP. They really ought to be tweaked to not be so damn powerful. Parries should be what people are going for (since it takes so much more skill to pull off). I blame the lag more than the players, though, 'cause every time it's happened to me, it's due to lag.

Lag stabbing is the worst. It's pretty much the only way things were played in Dark Souls. I'm totally not against removing the back stabs, but I think better ways to defend against it would help. Two-handing a weapon places your shield on your back, and that could also prevent back stabs, or something like that. Either way, I'll probably still avoid the PvP. I'm terrible at it.

i agree with having parries as well since it's a viable way to deal with R1 spammers, and it takes a good amount of skill. but backstabs need some serious tweaking.

btw random question, i invade as a darkmoon in the forest but i barely get invasions. they are really not common at all. why is this? isn't the forest filled with ppl? if i invade as a darkmoon in the burg i may get 1 or 2, but it's usually always the same ppl which gets annoying quick. im lvl 120 btw. i would host but i lost all my humanity (i had like 40 or something on me) by doing something really stupid, i died in the burg arena and when i was going to go get my souls back i accidentally fell off stairs near the bonfire..

i would try and farm humanity at the rats (even though that's really annoying) but i don't know how to get to the depths without clearing taurus demon from the burg. and the burg is where i usually pvp so i don't wanna lose that spot. im trying to shift to the forest but i don't get any invasions there.

btw random question, i invade as a darkmoon in the forest but i barely get invasions. they are really not common at all. why is this? isn't the forest filled with ppl? if i invade as a darkmoon in the burg i may get 1 or 2, but it's usually always the same ppl which gets annoying quick. im lvl 120 btw. i would host but i lost all my humanity (i had like 40 or something on me) by doing something really stupid, i died in the burg arena and when i was going to go get my souls back i accidentally fell off stairs near the bonfire..

i would try and farm humanity at the rats (even though that's really annoying) but i don't know how to get to the depths without clearing taurus demon from the burg. and the burg is where i usually pvp so i don't wanna lose that spot. im trying to shift to the forest but i don't get any invasions there.

idunnodude

I couldn't really say, since I'm not one to actively search for PvP battles in the first place, but I would imagine the dominating choice of invasions in the forest would simply be from the Cat Covenant. There would probably be better locations for the Darkmoon, like Anor Londo, but I wouldn't really know for sure.

i agree with having parries as well since it's a viable way to deal with R1 spammers, and it takes a good amount of skill. but backstabs need some serious tweaking.

btw random question, i invade as a darkmoon in the forest but i barely get invasions. they are really not common at all. why is this? isn't the forest filled with ppl? if i invade as a darkmoon in the burg i may get 1 or 2, but it's usually always the same ppl which gets annoying quick. im lvl 120 btw. i would host but i lost all my humanity (i had like 40 or something on me) by doing something really stupid, i died in the burg arena and when i was going to go get my souls back i accidentally fell off stairs near the bonfire..

i would try and farm humanity at the rats (even though that's really annoying) but i don't know how to get to the depths without clearing taurus demon from the burg. and the burg is where i usually pvp so i don't wanna lose that spot. im trying to shift to the forest but i don't get any invasions there.

idunnodude

Darkmoon Blades can only invade players logged in the Book of the Guilty (assuming you're using the blue eye orb), which really limits your targets as those players have to be online, in human form, and in the same area as you. Your best bet is to try using the orb every time you enter a new area to see if any indicted players are around while also keeping the Darkmoon Blade Covenant ring equipped at all times. There aren't a whole lot of people hanging in dark Anor Londo (I assume the only people who do are the folks who actually want to take on Darkmoon Blade members), but between these two methods, you should get a fair amount of invasions done.

The forest is indeed filled with plenty of people looking to do PvP, but its mostly against members of the Forest Hunter covenant and the occasional red phantom. If regular PvP is what you're after, I'd recommend leaving the Darkmoon Blades behind and joing the Forest Hunters. There are always tons of people running through there, so you're guaranteed to invade very often.

[QUOTE="idunnodude"]

i agree with having parries as well since it's a viable way to deal with R1 spammers, and it takes a good amount of skill. but backstabs need some serious tweaking.

btw random question, i invade as a darkmoon in the forest but i barely get invasions. they are really not common at all. why is this? isn't the forest filled with ppl? if i invade as a darkmoon in the burg i may get 1 or 2, but it's usually always the same ppl which gets annoying quick. im lvl 120 btw. i would host but i lost all my humanity (i had like 40 or something on me) by doing something really stupid, i died in the burg arena and when i was going to go get my souls back i accidentally fell off stairs near the bonfire..

i would try and farm humanity at the rats (even though that's really annoying) but i don't know how to get to the depths without clearing taurus demon from the burg. and the burg is where i usually pvp so i don't wanna lose that spot. im trying to shift to the forest but i don't get any invasions there.

c_rake

Darkmoon Blades can only invade players logged in the Book of the Guilty (assuming you're using the blue eye orb), which really limits your targets as those players have to be online, in human form, and in the same area as you. Your best bet is to try using the orb every time you enter a new area to see if any indicted players are around while also keeping the Darkmoon Blade Covenant ring equipped at all times. There aren't a whole lot of people hanging in dark Anor Londo (I assume the only people who do are the folks who actually want to take on Darkmoon Blade members), but between these two methods, you should get a fair amount of invasions done.

The forest is indeed filled with plenty of people looking to do PvP, but its mostly against members of the Forest Hunter covenant and the occasional red phantom. If regular PvP is what you're after, I'd recommend leaving the Darkmoon Blades behind and joing the Forest Hunters. There are always tons of people running through there, so you're guaranteed to invade very often.

i don't get it, when i host in the burg i always get invaded within a minute or 2, or i just summon someone from their red sign. but when i am in the forest no one invades me at all and i just see the occasional white sign. but the fog gate is still locked off as if someone is trying to invade me. this is weird. i mean im cool with fighting in the burg but hell man competition is tough there, usually the best players fight there and i barely win half my fights. it'd be nice to have some mindless team battle fun in the forest.

i would join darkwraiths or forest hunters but im a faith build darkmoon covenant +1 and i can't use darkmoon blade if i leave the covenant.

yeah i use the blue orb and i don't get any in the forest. the thing is, ive even tried hosting there in the forest and i chilled for like 10 minutes and only got 1 invader. and that one invader was AFK and low level (1 hit kill). but for whatever reason the fog gate is locked off still as if something is happening and i can't get out back to the bonfire lol, but no one is invading me.

i don't get it, when i host in the burg i always get invaded within a minute or 2, or i just summon someone from their red sign. but when i am in the forest no one invades me at all and i just see the occasional white sign. but the fog gate is still locked off as if someone is trying to invade me. this is weird. i mean im cool with fighting in the burg but hell man competition is tough there, usually the best players fight there and i barely win half my fights. it'd be nice to have some mindless team battle fun in the forest.

i would join darkwraiths or forest hunters but im a faith build darkmoon covenant +1 and i can't use darkmoon blade if i leave the covenant.

idunnodude

Ah. That makes sense.

Yeah, the forest is like that. If you have the dried finger (can be found in the Painted World of Ariamis, which is accessible through Anor Londo), you can reduce the downtime between invasions. Might help speed things up.

My guess is the difference lies in being summoned manually versus being invaded automatically. Summon signs tend to take no time at all when successful, whereas automatic summons tend to take a while. I don't know if it's something to do with the game's netcode or what, but it's just something we have to live with, unfortunately.

Oh, by the way -- do you have the DLC? It has a dedicated battle arena in it. Tried it out earlier. Takes a bit for a match to get set up, but it seemed like there was quite a few people hanging around there. Maybe you'd have better luck there?

[QUOTE="idunnodude"]

yeah i use the blue orb and i don't get any in the forest. the thing is, ive even tried hosting there in the forest and i chilled for like 10 minutes and only got 1 invader. and that one invader was AFK and low level (1 hit kill). but for whatever reason the fog gate is locked off still as if something is happening and i can't get out back to the bonfire lol, but no one is invading me.

i don't get it, when i host in the burg i always get invaded within a minute or 2, or i just summon someone from their red sign. but when i am in the forest no one invades me at all and i just see the occasional white sign. but the fog gate is still locked off as if someone is trying to invade me. this is weird. i mean im cool with fighting in the burg but hell man competition is tough there, usually the best players fight there and i barely win half my fights. it'd be nice to have some mindless team battle fun in the forest.

i would join darkwraiths or forest hunters but im a faith build darkmoon covenant +1 and i can't use darkmoon blade if i leave the covenant.

c_rake

Ah. That makes sense.

Yeah, the forest is like that. If you have the dried finger (can be found in the Painted World of Ariamis, which is accessible through Anor Londo), you can reduce the downtime between invasions. Might help speed things up.

My guess is the difference lies in being summoned manually versus being invaded automatically. Summon signs tend to take no time at all when successful, whereas automatic summons tend to take a while. I don't know if it's something to do with the game's netcode or what, but it's just something we have to live with, unfortunately.

Oh, by the way -- do you have the DLC? It has a dedicated battle arena in it. Tried it out earlier. Takes a bit for a match to get set up, but it seemed like there was quite a few people hanging around there. Maybe you'd have better luck there?

and yeah i was thinking of getting the DLC since they say it's the most active PVP spot these days. the dlc though only really benefits intelligence mages cuz of the new and extremely OP dark magic. seriously, i don't know wtf they were thinking putting in spells like that. the area just looks like the forest with a slightly different skin, but i heard there are some cool bosses and stuff.

i saw it for like $7 or something on PSN a while ago but i just checked it out now and its $15, i guess i missed a sale or something. maybe if they put it on sale again ill pick it up but im not paying $15 for it. id get it for sure if i had a mage build but in this game you have to dedicate like atleast 30 hours just to make another build and grind your ass off just to stand a chance online and i just don't have the patience for that again which is why i only have 1 character.

I think they should keep the ability for backstabs in singleplayer, but in PVP make it so you can't do it to another player. 

not really bothered if they stay or go.. Hardly use em to be honest