Dark Souls II

Still waiting for my bonus to get the game and also the MGS V GZ. Also I found pic of that Dragonslayer-like weapon. I will put it in spoilers just in case.
http://www.bildites.lv/images/k768xf4lwqd65wdndx1i.png
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Been having so much fun getting my ass kicked again. Haven't been invaded yet but I've went out as a white phantom to help people out some and get some extra souls. It's so goddamn good to have that feeling of "please be a bonfire soon!" again.
 
I decided to start as a deprived this time around since its the best class for
min/maxing your stats now that dark souls 2 allows you to re-spec your entire character if you get ahold of a rare item. All classes can re-spec this way, but you can't reassign the stats you start with, so if you start as a knight and want turn complete mage sometime in NG+ or NG++, you will have some wasted points in unnecessary knight stats.

Holy crap though is the beginning of the game hard playing as deprived. Good god I never would have imagined just how much that stat disadvantage hurts. Even worse is the piddly dagger deprived gets to start with. Low damage and can't do more than a 2 hit combo because of the range.

I found myself actually praising the new
mechanic where enemy mobs permanently stop spawning after you've killed them about 12 times. The early game playing has a deprived is so awful, I don't think I ever would have made it to the 2nd bonfire in the forest of fallen giants if I couldn't permanently clear them out....

I've beat 3 bosses so far.
Loving this game!
 
Hopefully this game will satisfy all the fans who were wishing for a sequel to Demon's Souls. It's like Dark Souls & Demon's Souls mutated offspring.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Doc said:
Hopefully this game will satisfy all the fans who were wishing for a sequel to Demon's Souls. It's like Dark Souls & Demon's Souls mutated offspring.

That's really all I want to know. Is this a comparable or better (and normally functioning on PC =) iteration of the series, or a letdown? If it's the former, God willing, I can just buy this, install it like a normal game, and enjoy it along with Wally and the rest of you, finally ending my Dark/Demon's Souls disconnect once and for all.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Griffith said:
That's really all I want to know. Is this a comparable or better (and normally functioning on PC =) iteration of the series, or a letdown? If it's the former, God willing, I can just buy this, install it like a normal game, and enjoy it along with Wally and the rest of you, finally ending my Dark/Demon's Souls disconnect once and for all.

PC version isn't out until April 25th, but it is promised to be much better of a port than the last one. Also it's fully steamworks rather than Shit For Windows Live. They've promised better textures, 60fps, and better keyboard + mouse controls.
 
Griff, in my mind it definitely isn't a let down. Although I had my reservations in the beginning, I've managed to put in over 30 hours this week and it's a massive extremely compelling and addicting game. I can definitely agree with the notion that some aspects of the game feel more like a sequel to Demon's Souls, but it does a lot of new interesting things, and I keep getting fooled into thinking I'm near the end of the game, only for more content to open up.

I can't say for sure if it will replace Dark Souls as my favorite, but it is a serious contender. I can't wait for the title to drop for PC and we start discussing the title more openly as a community on these boards.

I know Walter is holding out for the PC version, but is Aaz doing the same? I recall he played the original for the PS3 and it's got to be hard to not jump in immediately.

Edit One controversial feature that may hinder online play in the long run is the new soul memory feature. If so this could have a negative impact on this game's legacy, but its just speculation for now and there is plenty of time to patch it if From Software is so obliged. I won't go into details, but its a new mechanic, different from the soul level cap of the original Dark Souls, to regulate who can play together in online coop or PVP
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
I've been having a hell of a time with this game. It was so refreshing being terrified of what might be around the next corner. After playing countless hours in Dark Souls and learning essentially every item and enemy placement, I had forgotten how much this series can get my blood pumping.

Started out as a Cleric and am working on a paladin type build. Sword and shield and a focus on Str and Faith.
There's a pretty sweet sword early on in FoFG that scales well with both stats, plus the miracle merchant isn't too far in.

Jaze1618 said:
Edit One controversial feature that may hinder online play in the long run is the new soul memory feature. If so this could have a negative impact on this game's legacy, but its just speculation for now and there is plenty of time to patch it if From Software is so obliged. I won't go into details, but its a new mechanic, different from the soul level cap of the original Dark Souls, to regulate who can play together in online coop or PVP

I do see its benefits, and as a victim to countless "twinks" from the first game I appreciate their want to solve that issue, but it can make co-op with specific friends rather difficult since it's easy to be the same level but have wildly different Soul Histories (I've actually run into this problem already). I'm almost positive the match making will undergo some kind of change before they're done with updates.
 
OMG
SHRINE OF AMANA!! I've heard that NG+ has more than a few surprises this time around,
but this was the first area to give me a cold dread just thinking about what a NG+ would be like.

I hated going through it last night and was finally forced to use a Bow for the first time with my Heavy Melee build. But today I'm excited to back through it and explore every nook and cranny that I must have missed just trying to survive it the first time.
 
It's funny that with all the furor over the 'Invaded while Hollow' dealie, I've played about 15 hours constantly online and been invaded ONCE, ironically as I was about to enter a boss gate. Give it a time, though, because I'm sure the majority of players are just busy at the moment discovering the most OP weapons and cheapest PvP tactics to exploit.

Anyway, if you 'loved' the Souls series so far, then DSII will fail to disappoint. It's more or less much of the same brutal, uncompromising fare with a few minor tweaks here or there. Granted, I haven't made THAT much headway but those are my initial impressions. My only two beefs so far are the loading times (on PS3), looking at around 15-30 seconds, and having to teleport back to the hub whenever you want to level up. Again, another throwback to Demon's Souls, and one that wasn't entirely necessary imo.

Also, fighting
Ornstein again?
What do we think? Lazy recycling or what?
 
Read the description of the consumable that enemy drops. The beginning of that segment was the 3 seconds I happened to watch on twitch. I assumed it was late game at the time but obviously it was pretty early.

I haven't beaten the game yet but I am already way higher in level than I wads when I beat the first one.
 
Ah, so there's some kind of in-lore explanation for it? I'll have to check that item later.

I'm just a stickler when it comes to not rehashing content in sequels.
It was a somewhat anticlimactic fight without Smough to back him up.
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
Doc said:
Ah, so there's some kind of in-lore explanation for it? I'll have to check that item later.
The soul and ring that you get from the Old Dragonslayer pretty strongly implies that he's an impostor; not the real Ornstein, though I've seen people make the case that he is but he's succumbed to the Abyss a la Artorias. I don't buy it though. I think he's a copycat knight.
 
Holy crap I still can't believe how long this game is. Still NOT DONE! There is soo much content. Optional endgame bosses. And soooo many vendors. I don't want to go to NG+ without buying some of their more expensive stuff, because I will probably start turning my heavy melee into a caster then. And just like in the first DkS I intend to kill everyone before I end the game.
 
Delta Phi said:
The soul and ring that you get from the Old Dragonslayer pretty strongly implies that he's an impostor; not the real Ornstein, though I've seen people make the case that he is but he's succumbed to the Abyss a la Artorias. I don't buy it though. I think he's a copycat knight.

Having checked,
it only says that he's "reminiscent of a certain knight that appears in old legends", which doesn't give us a hint either way. Considering the conflicting evidence, I'm not even gonna bother to rationalize it, and just accept it for the pure fanservice that it is.
 
So I finally finished the game last night. Man-o-man I feel like the narrative and plot were even less clear this time around. Maybe I've lost touch with what it was like the first time I played Dark Souls, but at least I feel like I understood why I was going to face the final boss, and who he was. But this time I just didn't expect it at all. Luckily the lore buffs out there have already written up a much more descriptive version of this Game's story.

Did anyone who has finished the main game feel the same as me? Part of me wonders if I just wasn't paying enough attention to the NPC dialogue, so I'd like to hear your thoughts.

For anyone concerned about whether or not beating the game takes you into NG+ right away like in the first Dark Souls after credits roll,
no it doesn't.

So now that I beat the game
I am working on some of the optional end game content. If you want to go to NG+ you have to select a new option at the Majula Bonfire "Go to Drangleic 2". I took down one optional boss, and have 2 left to go. And then maybe I will finally get to NG+
 
Here's me running around like a madman looking for some poison-resistant ring/armor so I can fight the
Medusa-looking bitch
and it turns out all you have to do is
burn down the windmill.
:puck:
 
I've never played any of the games, but they look really fun. Would I need to start from the beginning with Demon Souls if I want to experience it, or could I just jump into Dark Souls 2?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Tama chan said:
I've never played any of the games, but they look really fun. Would I need to start from the beginning with Demon Souls if I want to experience it, or could I just jump into Dark Souls 2?

It depends on what would make you ask the question. In terms of story, Demon's Souls is completely separate. But in terms of overall tone and gameplay, it all starts with Demon's Souls., and is a progression through the rest.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Doc said:
Here's me running around like a madman looking for some poison-resistant ring/armor so I can fight the
Medusa-looking bitch
and it turns out all you have to do is
burn down the windmill.
:puck:

That area has been my favorite so far. I really loved the feel of it and all the hidden stuff I found there. I also liked killing those
desert sorceresses
trying to get their gear.
The NPC summon for the boss was awesome even if he made it too easy.

Tama chan said:
I've never played any of the games, but they look really fun. Would I need to start from the beginning with Demon Souls if I want to experience it, or could I just jump into Dark Souls 2?

It's not a bad idea to get into Demon's Souls now while the servers are still up and there are SOME people playing for the little online things. Dark Souls before Dark Souls 2 is a really good idea as well since Dark Souls 2 is a sequel and even with how vague the story is, you're better off knowing what all the references are.

Not to mention that they're all very good games on their own with little aspects that make them shine a bit over the others. Demon's Souls has a more consistent atmosphere and clearer story with, imo, the best music in the series. Dark Souls has an amazingly done open world and better combat system and a deeper story if you look into it a lot. Dark Souls 2 loses that nice open world feel but it improves the combat by a lot and has some really really fun areas. It's also the most difficult by far in terms of enemy AI.
 
PC version is stated to run at 4x the resolution
http://m.technobuffalo.com/2014/03/24/dark-souls-ii-was-unplayable-and-broken-before-graphical-downgrade/
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Jaze1618 said:
PC version is stated to run at 4x the resolution
http://m.technobuffalo.com/2014/03/24/dark-souls-ii-was-unplayable-and-broken-before-graphical-downgrade/

Its potential resolution isn't the challenge ahead for the PC version. It's whether or not we'll get the full-blown lighting aspect of the new engine, or the downgraded console edition. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Click here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781625)

::goes back to ignoring the existence of this thread until April 25::
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Its potential resolution isn't the challenge ahead for the PC version. It's whether or not we'll get the full-blown lighting aspect of the new engine, or the downgraded console edition. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Click here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781625)

Holy shit, that's a pretty big difference, I hope the PC version doesn't end up with that dreary grey or I might have to re-install Dark Souls/DSfix afterall. The worst would be if they do it just be consistent with the console version.

Walter said:
::goes back to ignoring the existence of this thread until April 25::

For a guy on a self-imposed information blackout, you sure have a lot of useful information. =)
 
Found the Sunbro covenant!
Solaire.png


Spent my last few sessions leaving my sign down for the
Executioner Chariot
. Definitely one of the more unique bosses so far, if fairly routine once you've figured it out. I'm quite fond of the occasional 'gimmicky' boss battle.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
I really really hope we get a better lighting engine for PC, some places could look so much better with simple changes like that.

Anyway, I beat the game now
and I have to say that when it comes to gameplay, individual level design, and the new features I'm extremely satisfied, but as far as atmosphere, characters, story, and world map design I was pretty underwhelmed. I've had a lot of time with Dark Souls though, so I think I should give the characters some time to grow on me, that being said the Emerald Herald is just so goddamn boring. Character dialogue should have changed more as you progressed, but only Shalaquor really says much different. Not many of the NPCs stood out to me like Solaire, Lautrec, Frampt/Kaathe, or many other Dark Souls characters did. The story seemed somehow even more vague than Dark Souls despite them saying they wanted it to be more accessible. Fast travel being available from the start made me think they didn't design the world to be so interconnected like Dark Souls. I missed that almost more than anything else in the game. Looking up or down and seeing places you've been or will go at some point was so amazing to me.

Uh, I'm rambling a lot, but overall I'd say the game was good, but it didn't meet or exceed my expectations when it came to atmosphere, story, or characters. It wasn't terrible in those regards, it was just nowhere near the level of Demon's Souls or Dark Souls in my opinion.
 
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