Hey guys, I'm about half way through the game and have been leveling a lot and upgrading my equipment like mad. But I'm not sure I totally know what I'm doing. However, when comparing my build to Vinny's build in the 'We're Playing Dark Souls Too - Part 3', under Defense (the statistic window on the bottom right), his 'vs slash' 'vs strike' 'vs thrust' is all around 500-550 and his poise is just over 100. My 'vs' stats are all around 750-800, poise is in the low 80's. He's about 20 soul levels higher then me though and at the end game. So I'm just wondering if something is off or something...I don't know.

My hunch is that a bigger number is a better thing. But with this game, and all the stats it has, who really knows right? So do those 'vs' stats really matter that much? I imagine mine is so high because I upgraded my gear so much. Did I do this right? I mean I'm not having too much trouble in the game as long as I take my time. My 'Phys. DEF' stat is around 85-90 and my 'Magic DEF' is around 130. Do those stats mean more?

Those defense stats are mostly based upon whatever armor you're wearing. Upgrading your armor will also make it give higher defense stat bonuses. The 3 "vs" stats are measures of how much each type of physical damage (strike, slash, thrust) is reduced when you're hit. Poise is a measure of how resistant you are to getting staggered after being hit.

As is true of ALL stats in Dark Souls II, bigger numbers are better. That said, it's not worth worrying about small differences like those between your character's stats and Vinny's character's stats -- you're both more or less the same.

In general, the most effective way to stay alive in Dark Souls II is to avoid taking direct hits (e.g. by rolling or blocking with a shield) rather than counting on having high defense stats to soak up damage. If you say you're not having too much trouble, then you must be doing things right for your play style.

@savage:

Ok, thanks for letting me know. I've kept my equipment load under 70% so I do dodge quite a bit as well.

In Dark souls 2 I experimented and upgraded armor +1 early, and then felt it was wasted. I just rolled with the good armor sets given me till the end, where I wore some specialty armor and upgraded to +2 to survive a blow if it landed. I could have better understanding of the numbers, but it seemed to work. whereas in DS 1 I tanked out.

One thing you should know is that leveling progression is a lot different from DS to DS2. In DS you typically end the game around level 70 to 90. In DS2 it's typically from 130 to 150. Levels in DS2 cost a lot less so you can level often. Also, I haven't seen Vinny's run but it's my understanding that he used the best poise gear in the game.

@mosespippy:

I didn't get too far in DS. In DS 2 I'm at the Iron Keep and am at level 110.

Only time you're going to want to upgrade your armour is if you're PvPing or if you've already got the rest of your gear maxed out (because you might as well spend those shards/large shards/chunks on something) and that's about it. As mentioned a 100% physical block shield and learning to roll/dodge are more important.

I've only upgraded my armour on 1 character who is my DLC prep character (currently in regular game at SL 170 due to doing some stuff with bonfire ascetics to get the +2 versions of the Ring of Blades and Clorainthy ring) with the plan to be to have overlevelled the DLC so I can try to solo the 'challenge' route they have planned (which is designed for Co-op play).