Another thread made me realize this might be very interesting. What was your highest rated message and what was the setting?

For me, I can't remember how many rates I actually got, but I think it was for a skeleton in Sinner's Rise, where I put down 'fatty'.

Runner up would be just after Executioner Chariot when I put down: 'Hurrah for horse!, death'.

Lastly, I also had one leading up to the stairs just after the room with Pate in Earthen Peak with the two pyromancers and the one grave warden where I put down 'Try stealth and then stabbing in the back'.

As for someone else's message, there are lots that were really helpful or funny. Too many to name. Most recently, after completing the game 4 times, I only finally figured out how to get on the other side of the door in Forest of the Fallen Giants in the room with the ballista's. Someone put down a message saying 'Try attacking and then listen carefully'. I attacked the door, heard a hollow grunt and he opened the door to attack me. 4 playthroughs long I had no idea where that door led and how to open it. Mind blown.

I put one down in huntsman in one of the huts. There was a chain on the wall, purely background texture. I put down the message "lever?". And for some reason it was rated over 500 times.

It's strange which ones get the most ratings. On one character my joke "hidden path ahead" in Drangleic Castle has 100+ ratings, while my helpful ones have about 20. Another character has about 100 ratings for "armor breakage ahead" at the bottom of the Gutter. Finally, at 200+, I wrote "skeleton" next to a skeleton.

@hippocrit: Yeah, it's weird how people massively rate useless messages. It is sort of funny though.

I also just remembered one I saw today in Shrine of Amana next to one of the singing girls 'Silence, woman!'

drangleic castle gate, i put "defeat but Here!" at each of the urns, after i got stuck there for about half an hour on my first character, both got rated into the hundreds.

@zevvion: I totally placed that one there. Right before the Demon of Song?

EDIT: Totally possible I'm way overestimating the originality (and let's be honest, it isn't original) of my joke. I'm almost positive it's not the same one.

That sounds about on par with what I've seen.

My "Visions of Victory but Are you ready?" in front of the King's Gate in the Forest of Fallen Giants had around 100+ ratings the last time I checked. "Giant but hole ahead" in front of the Smelter Demon fog gate also had quite a lot. My helpful ones each have like less than 30 each.

I have a "gorgeous view" message next to the Far Fire in Majula that has a 100+ rating or something. Yeah, really original. I know.

I guess it wasn't over 500, but close to 500. And for such a stupid message too. None of the helpful ones get very much like everyone else has pointed out.

@sterling: Are you on 360? I can recall seeing a pointless message with 'lever' near that area with a ton of rates and being confused as to why. It's a mystery on its own.

I guess I'm going to break the trend by saying that some of my highest rated messages are helpful ones. They are rated 100-300. I got the game at midnight and made sure to write up helpful messages in the starting area (message pointing out bonfire across river in Forest of Fallen Giants is the highest one I think) because I knew they would get a lot of foot traffic and people probably hadn't figured out how to write them.

That being said the messages that point out fake illusion walls always have hundreds of up rating points. The messages near female characters usually have a bunch of points as well. I believe the new "amazing chest head" is going to be something about "tongue" and "but, hole." I've seen a good number of sexual innuendos so I'm curious to see which one becomes THE ONE.

@zevvion: No, PS3.

My highest rated was in Majula by the obelisk saying "Praise the sun! and then Praise the sun!!" I think it had a couple hundred. I wrote "Quite something..." in the basement of the mansion that had a bunch too. I went and deleted all my messages during my runs against the Ancient Dragon though. I was using the Red Tearstone Ring and my messages kept getting rated during the fight, healing me enough to take the buff away. One time I got rated/healed after I'd taken away about 3/4 of his health bar, couldn't take him down with my unbuffed weapon and he broke his pattern and killed me. He must have had about 50 health left. I couldn't believe it. I turned the game off for the night and the next day I removed all my messages and took him down. I haven't left a message since.

One of the highest rated messages I've placed would be ''Beating to a pulp...'' next to a tree stump in Huntsmans Copse, and even then it's only got about 50-odd despite putting in almost 2 playthroughs with that character. ''Hurrah for detour'' in the Undead Crypt with the lever that opens up the detour would my next highest. Maybe it's because I'm in the UK but I've never been able to get the 100+ ratings for messages that I often see, usually for the most basic and mundane messages.

It's awfully common to see a lot of troll ''hidden passage'' messages where there is none to have them up in the hundreds.

I put "Hurrah for treasure" by the chest in the mansion in Majula where you get the soul vessel. The last time I checked it was up to 350.

I put a message down in the Lost Bastille warning of the item that's sitting on an edge behind some barrels. The message was to be wary of rolling cause I totally rolled into the barrels to my death. I think when I stopped playing it had gotten to maybe almost 100. That was a couple weeks ago so I don't know where it's at now.

Good to know I'm not the only idiot that did that.

Edit: I just checked, it's at 108.

Do messages get seen by other players if you aren't using that character? If so, I should check on my first character... it was the first day of release and all 10 messages had 60-80+ before the day was done. Crazy shit. It was actually really annoying, because the "your message has been rated" blocks the view of your "Square/X-button" item and blocks all subtitles, among other things. It was almost rapid-fire eye-blaster type shit.

Most on my current main character are over 40, but I have one that's close to 20 that's quickly climbing: it's "Gorgeous view ahead" in Lost Bastille, and is next to a window with a brick wall directly behind it. I'm proud of that simple joke.

In Aldia's Keep in that first hallway there is a chariot/wagon thing that rocks back and forth like some creature is gonna bust out of it. It's where Lucatiel's brother invades you. I put "horse?" next to the chariot and it's got around 250. I saw a message next to it that said "man, and then woman" and that had over 500.

The one I enjoy the most is in Iron Keep. It's up on that high ledge that has the mimic and water vases. Down below is mostly lava but there is also that section of charred ground with a chest on it. Next to the vases and the ledge overlooking the charred ground I have a message that says "Do it!" and that's up to around 20.

My least popular one, at 3 or 4 ratings is at the entrance to King Vendrick. It says "left, leg". That's probably my most helpful message, but not many people seem to understand it.

I kinda ashamed to say my highest rated message is a "gorgeous view ahead" in Iron Keep, I really don't know what got into me. I suppose having seen hundred of those messages in Dark Souls, something just clicked in me. It is in the eyes of the bull statue, close to the Eygil's Idol bonfire.

I had one outside the little nook where the undead prisoner guy rings the bells to summon those weird blue ghost dudes. it said something like "try luring it out and beware of ring" trying to warn people not to ding the bell themselves. Ended up getting a hundred or so.

My best-rated messages are the ones pointing out false messages from other players. I have one with a few hundred rates. I thought my message pointing out the hidden second bonfire in Aldia's Keep was pretty good, but nobody likes it apparently.

I've only ever written about 8 messages but the highest I ever got was a 4. Either I'm really shitty message writer or there's some sort of issue...

Shamefully, it's probably "rear ahead" which I wrote near the map guy's butt in the forest of fallen giants.

"Confidence required ahead" in front of Chloanne

I laid one that simply said "behind" a few yards past a sleeping enemy, so that hopefully when the reader reads it, he turns around just in time to block a sword from lodging itself into his back.

Whenever I post something actually helpful it gets maybe 4 or 6 ratings. I posted one message that said "toxic but hole" near the lady who sells titanite and it has about 450 ratings (this was on PS3).

@doctordonkey: At this point all the helpful messages have already been saturated and the higher rated stuff was there first and keeps getting surfaced because it's highly rated. There is no room for new helpful messages. There's plenty of room for new dumb jokes though, assuming you can come up with something in an untapped area.

In front of Nashandra

Weakness: Tongue and then tight spot

MY absolute favorite, not made by me mind you, is the message behind the king after the Freja fight that says "resignation ahead"

Gets a chuckle out of me every time.

I have one with about 60+ that says "Gorgeous View" inside the Gutter.

My current highest one is only 25 atm. It says "bravery required ahead" in the room where the giant hippo jump scares you. I had an earlier one dealing with making fun of other peoples' messages that got to 30, but it accidentally got deleted.

Damnit! I posted the exact same message in the same area, but I didn't see yours at all! No wonder mine wasn't voted higher.

I did that with the dead guy hanging over the railing so you see his ass in Belfry.

I put "door" in front of the gate you have to open to get to Forest of Fallen Giants that's over 100.

If someone is putting a message saying illusionary wall right in front of an illusionary wall, how are you supposed to open it?

I had a very high (maybe 100) "try shortcut ahead". And could usually quickly get 20+ on "try tongue and then thrust" in front of just about any character.

I'll need to remember that one. Chloanne is going to have herself a new message.

In front of the Whip you get in Hunstman copse I wrote:

'Weapon ahead and then visions of rear'

People seemed to be alright with that one.........kinky bastards...

Haven't checked in awhile, but the 3 that were the highest when I last logged in were:

"Be wary of lava" - Had that in the Iron Keep in front of the two big turtle guys that smash the bridge.

"Revenge!" - That was under the fire salamander that was guarding the Fire Longsword

"Fire, fire" - My personal favorite, had this in front of the blacksmith in Lost Bastille

Uh way back in Demon's Souls I had a message that pointed the location to a VERY easy to miss resistance ring. I posted it like the first week the game was out. Last I checked it was still there and it had like over 500 rates. I never posted any messages in Dark Souls cause I hate people and none of my Dark Souls 2 messages have been rated all that hot yet. All the popular messages I see are mostly troll messages sadly.

I have no idea why but my highest rated message is one I put down next to the Ore seller with "Woman therefore Horse" with over 100 rates. All my other much more helpful messages? I'm lucky if they're over 10.

My highest rated message is right before the guardian dragon and says "boss ahead therefore try leg" followed in 2nd place by my message in iron keep (right before you go into the giant lava room with a bunch of enemies) that says "despair ahead"

My highest is like 20, it says "try right" which points out a semi hidden Soul of a Hero or something.

I think the most bizarre rating I've seen is next to the first bonfire in Iron Keep. It just says "Don't Give Up!" and had about 900 votes when I got to it. I guess at some point people just started piling on.

Is it annoying to have messages rated that high? That "your message has been rated" would be popping up constantly.

Of course they're all dumb as shit.

On PS3 I made mostly helpful messages (and I never make useless ones like I DID IT or something similar) but I noticed there were just way too many messages in general and that most of them were way too helpful as well (pointing you to every secret area, path and treasure).

So when the PC version came around I decided to change my ways, now every single one of my messages will lead you to your untimely demise or harm you in some way.

Needless to say the ratings on those messages are not very high, most of them are around 10. One is rated higher and that is one which invites people to jump into a pit of poison at Earthen Peak.

I used to have a couple of other messages that had 300-400 rates, but they either disappear over time or are scrolled off the most recent 10.

"Rolling" behind an NPC in a wheelchair, had a few hundred last I looked.

That is one of the funniest ones I've heard.