Overview
Players be like, Havel the Acrobat, Havel the Mage, Havelyn etc. This is a guide for those planning on even using three pieces of the Havel set, because when you get that far, you might as well just go with the whole she-bang, otherwise you’re just being a douche to the rest of the community.
Build
No matter what you do, ensure that you have fat roll. It’s called “The Rock” for a reason. Take into account if you think you’re gonna use Soldier’s Ring and/or the Third Dragon Ring, because they increase your max Equipment Load (thanks to Soul Vessel you can just adjust when the time comes). On my own Havel I have 50 VIT.
As for other stats: Havel literally created the miracle known as Great Magic Barrier, and while in Dark Souls he himself did not cast it, I would assume that when he had the time, he would’ve done it. So you’re gonna need at least one attunement slot (10 attunement), and enough faith to cast the damn thing (that’s 28). A minimum of 50 STR, altough I’m using 60 on my Havel file for some reason… You’re also gonna need 10 DEX.
Because of the weight of it all, you’re gonna need some VIG and END as well, so you don’t run out of stamina too quickly, and so you can take even more hits; the real deal would’ve been like a mini-boss, so to do it properly I recommend a minimum 120 stamina (sorry, too lazy to figure out the exact END lvl) at least, and try to get as close to 2k HP as your souls allow you. ADP you ask? Once everything else is where it’s supposed to be, lvl it up a little, but not too much, because, as I mentioned earlier, it’s called “The Rock” for a reason. Personally I recommend a max of 15.
Equipment
Most people that are even reading this guide would know where the armor and weapon are I assume, but still, even if I’m lazy, I try.
The armor and greatshield is in The Gutter, “at the bottom of the rubbish”, behind, from what I gather, a “forgotten door”, being that the key needed is called Forgotten Key. You can only get this key by killing two giants in the Black Gulch (hah, not so “Last Giant” now eh?) that are in a somewhat hidden location.
The final piece to the puzzle is all the way in the Dragon Aerie (did I spell that wrong?), “hidden” in the midst of five dragon eggs (technically drake, but whatever).
The chime? I wouldn’t know, because I don’t remember there ever being made a reference to what Havel used to cast GMB. Really, any would do, as from what I can tell, it’s the Faith/Intelligence level that determines the lenght and effect of buffs in general.
And now with the second DLC, The Crown of the Old Iron King, comes a ring that, while with greatshields is unnecessary, can still be a little helpful: the Baneful Bird Ring. It only adds +5 stability, but against aggressive players that don’t just fish for back-stabs, it has its uses. Finally, take note that the “real” Havel didn’t use any kind of Stamina regen, although I feel it’s still acceptable to use Cloranthy Ring+2.
Sidenote: It takes 70 Twinkling Titanite to upgrade the entire set + weapon and shield to +5. EDIT: After an update, the Dragon Tooth has gained an A STR scaling when fully upgraded. It starts at a D, but increses as it’s upgraded. Before this update however, the Dragon Tooth scaled D in STR all the way.
Gameplay
Havel The Rock. You know what the name implies, yet there those who don’t seem to care. Less dodging, more blocking, less jump attack, more regular attacks. This kind of makes it difficult for some to play as Havel, especially against experienced players.
Moving on, in PvE, it’s important to note that using the Dragon Tooth, or any great hammer “wrong” results in the durability draining quickly – or quicker as it is. For all of them it’s the 1-H light attack, and for some it’s the first 2-H heavy attack, sometimes the second, but we’re talking about the Dragon Tooth. The 2-H heavy attack is the guilty in this case. The how or why eludes me, so if anyone want to figure that out I would be grateful.
In PvP however, the durability is less of a problem, but now it’s easy to get back stabbed and, for those who know how, to be parried. While, much like Ultra Greatswords, there moves that literally cannot be parried, also similar to them is that those attacks that can be parried as easy to parry. It’s at this point it’s time to learn to be unpredictable. One thing that helps is to also use the shield for attacking; as far as I can tell, it can’t be parried, and Havel’s Greatshield has decent damage.
Conclusion
At the end, as long as you have fat roll and only GMB to cast, it’s fine. Just remember it’s called “The Rock” and you’ll do great. On a final note, only name your character “Havel The Rock” if you’re gonna do the real deal, as anything else is just going to look stupid, and it’s disrespectful to the real Havel.
Thank you for reading, those few that cared…