From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

[Zlaja]

I don't think Dark Souls 2 is a bad game, but I do think it's unfinished

So is Dark Souls 1. And Demon's Souls (the fifth archstone).

The only properly finished DS is the third one, and that's the one that is most bland (go figure).

 

[Lutte]

The only properly finished DS is the third one, and that's the one that is most bland (go figure).

DS3 hides it better, but it's also a worse rushjob than previous souls games. All games may have cut content, and it's an acceptable part of game development and the realities that people need money, but DS3 didn't just cut content like 1&2, it cut core features of the game and this is why the bonfire placements seem a little funny : you were initially supposed to make your own. The sacrifice ceremonies to make bonfires were also deeply tied with DS3's original covenant system.

Arguably it's worse to have cut content that affects the entire game and the way it's balanced/rebalanced in a rush than a few levels that were unfinished or outright removed (DeS's missing archstone).

What was cut from DS3 is something that was gameplay impacting from the start to the end of the game. In a rush they rebuilt world placement of stuff, and for the worse, it's clear with how many bonfires are peppered in a chaotic way (one is like two step from the other) how little time and thought they put into it once they decided the feature wouldn't make it to the game. This ended up making DS3 feel the safest game to explore and removed all tension.

 

[Silverfish]

DS3 hides it better, but it's also a worse rushjob than previous souls games. All games may have cut content, and it's an acceptable part of game development and the realities that people need money, but DS3 didn't just cut content like 1&2, it cut core features of the game and this is why the bonfire placements seem a little funny : you were initially supposed to make your own. The sacrifice ceremonies to make bonfires were also deeply tied with DS3's original covenant system.

I wasn't aware of this, but it actually explains DS3 having some of the strangest shortcuts in the whole franchise. At the High Wall there's an elevator just before the boss that leads back to the area's first bonfire, but the "shortcut" is a longer trek than starting from the second checkpoint anyway. Just before the Abyss Watchers, there's a door ("Can't be opened from this side") that connects to the Road of Sacrifices, thus circumventing the poison swamp / bird-man gank squad if you die. That'd be great, if there wasn't a bonfire just a few feet before the door. Lothric Castle has dragons blocking a bridge that necessitate taking a roundabout path through the area, but just randomly die once you reach a certain point (Without even attacking, that is. Simply existing in some part of the level triggers deaths for both dragons.), so backtracking is baby mode.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

DS3 hides it better, but it's also a worse rushjob than previous souls games. All games may have cut content, and it's an acceptable part of game development and the realities that people need money, but DS3 didn't just cut content like 1&2, it cut core features of the game and this is why the bonfire placements seem a little funny : you were initially supposed to make your own. The sacrifice ceremonies to make bonfires were also deeply tied with DS3's original covenant system.

I wasn't aware of this, but it actually explains DS3 having some of the strangest shortcuts in the whole franchise. At the High Wall there's an elevator just before the boss that leads back to the area's first bonfire, but the "shortcut" is a longer trek than starting from the second checkpoint anyway. Just before the Abyss Watchers, there's a door ("Can't be opened from this side") that connects to the Road of Sacrifices, thus circumventing the poison swamp / bird-man gank squad if you die. That'd be great, if there wasn't a bonfire just a few feet before the door. Lothric Castle has dragons blocking a bridge that necessitate taking a roundabout path through the area, but just randomly die once you reach a certain point (Without even attacking, that is. Simply existing in some part of the level triggers deaths for both dragons.), so backtracking is baby mode.

My personal favorite is the Dragon Slayer Armor bonfire.
You can literally see the Grand Archives Bonfire across from it. It's like a 5 second walk lol.

It's like that old Lewis Black sketch


"There's a bonfire across from another bonfire. It's the end of the series"

 

[Gentle Player]

The DS3 bonfire placement is bad indeed, but it's odd that Bloodborne gets much less criticism despite having the exact same problem. The lantern placement at Byrgenwerth/Shadows of Yharnam is just as bad as DS3's Dragon Slayer. BB also introduced the concept of lantern/bonfire after each boss which exacerbates the problem. I suppose far fewer DS3 players here have actually played Bloodborne.

3. Area for area, level design is pretty good, but a downgrade from its predecessor, since areas don't loop back on each other in interesting ways. DS2 doesn't have the "eureka" moment where you set out from Firelink, go through the Burg, the Parish, down into the Depths, through Blighttown and at the end re-emerge in Firelink. Also,

DS2 always felt to me like a sort of Dark Souls map pack, haphazardly pasting together outtakes that didn't fit into the original. In my opinion the quality of each discreet area is very high, perhaps surpassing DS1's average map quality. But, as everyone says, the world (and story) as a whole doesn't make any sense, and it's not just the Earthen Peak/Iron Keep transition.

 

[cretin]

In DS1 i played a pokey stabby build going from rapiers to silver knight spear by the end of the game, it was alright but the moveset got stale quick.

In DS2 I decided to do the guts build run: absolutely no shield ever, greatsword only and no magic. Holy fuck this has been fun, learning how to maneuver unlocked and all the different angles I can hit from and of course it just feels great to swing a big fuck off sword and take off half a scrub's health and leave him stunned.

PVP is way funner in DS2, I'm just surprised that there's not so much of it. The game has been very sparse with doling out the red orbs so far, and so the most consistent PVP I've had is after joining the rat covenant. I did not disappoint my master.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

The funnest time I ever had in the Souls series was PVP with Mundane Daggers before they nerfed them.

I wish there was a way to go back in time to relive it all over again.

 

[Tyrr]

Anyone remembers Mundane Santier's Spear pre-nerf? That thing was fun in PvP.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I only played DS2 on release and although I finished it, I never played the DLCs.

Nabbed SotFS in the latest sale for a dime and I'm going to give it a go. I burned out on Souls games a few years ago, but recently got back into them with Bloodborne, which I had never played before getting a PS5 last year. I hated DS3 even though they tried to ape BB's combat, it just felt so lifeless and bland. I could never play more than a few hours of it, even today it's the only Souls game I haven't finished.

Anyway, I have good memories of DS2 even if a lot of people hated it. Gonna offline all the way.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

DS2 is in a whole other league than DS3. It's way better.

No. It's a lazy half-assed game with ridiculous level design and stupid copypasted monsters. The atmosphere is very uneven, meaning you never forget you playing a fucking videogame (and not the best one), immersion zero.

Anyway, I'm finishing the replay of DS3 (which is objectively superior) and feel strange urge to replay DS2 with more exploration.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Gonna offline all the way.

You shouldn't, it has the most crowded and funny online of the three, I think.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I've never liked the online aspect of any Souls game. It's interesting in theory, but in practice it's not for me - easymode for PvE, pointless wank in PvP.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

I've never liked the online aspect of any Souls game.

Well...

 

[Multidirectional]

You shouldn't, it has the most crowded and funny online of the three, I think.

I didn't even enjoy the game that much until I started playing online. Which is why I bought DS3 even though I didn't like it when trying "demo", because I assumed it would get much more fun with online aspect. Sadly even that didn't do much for me.

 

[cretin]

Just beat main campaign yesterday. Nashandra was a really lame final boss I have to say.

Wondering if its worth playing through the DLC, or should I just move onto DS3 for the considerably more active PVP?

 

[Wunderbar]

Wondering if its worth playing through the DLC, or should I just move onto DS3 for the considerably more active PVP?

is this a bait?

Dark Souls 2 DLCs are absolute must play. They are easily better than the entirety of Dark Souls 3.

 

[cretin]

Wondering if its worth playing through the DLC, or should I just move onto DS3 for the considerably more active PVP?

is this a bait?

Dark Souls 2 DLCs are absolute must play. They are easily better than the entirety of Dark Souls 3.

No bait, just wondering. I wanted to get more PVP but late-game has not had much action. Don't know if that will change if i get up into SL150+ range or go ng+ or something.

 

[Caim]

Just beat main campaign yesterday. Nashandra was a really lame final boss I have to say.

Yeah, and the true final boss isn't that much better either. He's a bit of a pain to find as well. Not sure if you can get the true final boss to appear if you've beaten Nashandra, or that you need to use a Bonfire Ascetic on the bonfire before the final fight though.

If you want to be able to unlock the true fiinal boss...

Enter the three memories of the giants and find one Soul of a Giant in each area. They're located near the end of the area, and if you take too much time you'll be booted out before you get there. A fourth can be found in the Black Gutter in an area where you need to drop down from the main path. You need to beat two enemies for this: you'll know them when you see them. If you're having trouble it is possible to safespot them in the area. The final one is a drop from the Ancient Dragon, but he's a tough fight. You don't need all five of them: four is enough. With the four Souls of a Giant in your inventory go and fight Vendrick. You need the souls to half his defenses: with no souls he's got 32 times his normal defenses. Each soul halfs this, down to 1 time if you have all five. After defeating him, go back to the second bonfire in the Shrine of Amana. Past the bridge where there's a dragon rider there's a door you can open if you're human to obtain some nice gear. Defeating Vendrick and then Nashandra is required to unlock the true final boss.

In either case, at this point you should return to the room where you find Vendrick. Now that you have the Ashen Mist Heart you can interact with his stuff to get a little something. Make sure to return there after obtaining the crown in each DLC. The same goes if you return to the boss room of the Duke's Dear Freija.

 

[Silverfish]

is this a bait?

Dark Souls 2 DLCs are absolute must play. They are easily better than the entirety of Dark Souls 3.

Any one of the DS2 DLCs are better than DS3.

 

[cretin]

Been playing through Shulva/sanctum city whatever. Mixed feelings. On the one hand, great level design. On the other, some annoyingly obnoxious difficulty decisions that just feel artificial. For example, all the enemies in the area having really high poise despite not being big or slow, and I'd really like to find out which jappo designed those turtle things and where he lives so I can beat him with some rebar.

 

[Falksi]

Dark Souls 2 DLC only better than DS3?

For me Darks Souls 2 DLC is the best part of the entire series, including Bloodborne.

 

[fork]

Dark Souls 2 DLC only better than DS3?

For me Darks Souls 2 DLC is the best part of the entire series, including Bloodborne.

Nope, the one thing that's better than Dark Souls 2 DLC is pre-Lord Vessel Dark Souls: PtDE. And due to the atmosphere, even the second half of Dark Souls is on par, imo.

 

[cretin]

holy shit brothas, slumbering dragon sinh was a great battle. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when my greatsword broke and then i had to switch to an un-upgraded zweihander and then THAT broke too.

 

[Caim]

holy shit brothas, slumbering dragon sinh was a great battle. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when my greatsword broke and then i had to switch to an un-upgraded zweihander and then THAT broke too.

Yep, Sinh has that trick up his sleeve. He's one of the best bosses in the game and all of the DLCs, if not the entire series. Too bad there's another boss in the Sunken City that's a pain in the ass in comparison.

 

[Wunderbar]

cretin be aware that each DLC has a co-op oriented location - "Cave of the dead" in Shulva, "Iron passage" in Brume tower and "Frigid outskirts" in Eleum loyce. I don't recommend you to play them solo due to cancerous encounter design and bullshit-tier bosses at the end.