From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[Damned Registrations]

Club (reinforced) is pretty crazy good too. Not really any faster way to stagger enemies that you can't get with your first hit. Which is kinda dumb, you'd think the great hammers and such would do a better job but they're way too slow and use way too much stamina.

 

[Parabalus]

Played a bit more and got up to Anor Londo, still quite fun.

The RPG elements seem to cheapen the game though, dunno. Upgrade a sword and start oneshotting stuff you had to worry about before, not sure how I feel about that. I'm still using a Black Knight Sword which I got from the second area, if I had prior knowledge to pump STR up to 20 first it'd have trivialized everything I did so far .

The dog-with-huge sword boss had me laughing the whole fight, great stuff.

To be fair, that's because the black knight weapons are insanely OP in NG. They don't scale well and can't be buffed so they fall off once you get to NG+. The BK weapons also have pretty low drop rates (20%) which I suppose is their way of balancing it. I experienced something similar in my first playthrough, I wasn't having many issues with bosses until I got to Anor Londo. So I started experimenting, gave the BKGS a swing and the bosses became trivial since I could break their poise with a few hits. If you're finding it too easy (and therefore not as fun), I suggest that you to switch back to your starting weapon/a random weapon you like upgraded to the highest level you can afford. I recommend picking a normal weapon since you can pursue several upgrade paths and enchant them with magic/resin.

Yeah, I switched back to my trusty Estoc, was really retarded. Any idea when (progression wise) I could use the weapon "safely" in my run? I doubt I'll be doing NG++++++++++++, if I want more I think I'll go to the next game.

edit: just found a Silver knight straight sword and titanite catch pole, which seems to have similar numbers damage wise. Dunno if or .

I like the Silver Knight weapons, they're fine for NG but they do drop off afterwards. They can only be upgraded to +5 and can't be buffed with magic/resin. The Titanite catch pole has the same issues, unfortunately. If you're planning on going to NG+7 the most optimal weapons are the ones that can be upgraded to +15. Some good weapons I'd consider based on what you've told me are the bastard sword (my personal favorite), the broadsword, the zweihander, the halberd or maybe the pike? You've probably picked up most of these except for the Claymore which is underneath the Hellkite Dragon on the Bridge where you meet Solaire. The bastard sword, broadsword and pike can be bought from Andre for a few thousand souls. There's also these weeb dex weapons that a lot of people really love like the Uchigatana and the Washing pole. I personally can't stand the attack style but they're really effective since they stack bleed. They're also harder to find with one of them being a drop from an NPC if you're okay with doing that. There's also the Great Scythe which is the best PvE weapon according to my hardcore NG+7 friends. It stacks bleed and has the best dex scaling in the game but it might be a bit OP for NG. There's some 'Get OP in DS1 in 30 mins' videos where you just rush to the catacombs to grab it.

I think I have all of those except for the Great Scythe, I'll try them out. Currently using the boss fire sword (looks cool), silver kn sword, black knight sword, lightning spear and an estoc, think I'll have to get some souls to upgrade more stuff.

I don't think I'll play any NG+ versions, I'd rather move on to DS2. Thanks for the tips though.

There is no respec right? So even if I wanted to go beyond, I'd probably have to make a new char, since I've been spending points rather randomly now.

Spoiler

Try looking at the painting in Anor Londo. Unless you already threw it away, that is

Thanks for the tip, that was great. Fucked up and didn't manage to cut off her/its tail though .

Are those greek 300-style hollows there a good spot for farming souls?
Might need to do some if I wanna try out new weapons. My previous choice would have been that garden next to the talking cat, bunch of parryable NPCs next to a bonfire, but this seems better.

 

[Wunderbar]

Are those greek 300-style hollows there a good spot for farming souls?

yep. Actually, the best way (dudes in garden are second-best).

 

[cvv]

I don't think I'll play any NG+ versions, I'd rather move on to DS2. Thanks for the tips though.

It's ok if you want to try new boss weapons and don't feel like restarting, otherwise pass. Miyazaki loathes the idea of NG pluses being actually interesting, that's why of all the Souls only DS2 have a great NG+. Unfortunately truly brilliant people often have incredibly retarded ideas (another one is "boss weapons must be less powerful than normal ones"). Oh well.

 

[Multidirectional]

I didn't like NG+ in any Souls game. Prefer making a fresh character.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Thanks for the tip, that was great. Fucked up and didn't manage to cut off her/its tail though .

Don't worry about it, the dagger you get from her tail is pretty shit. It has a S in dex, but its base damage is too low to make up for it. I don't think it even has a high crit bonus like the other daggers, and it has the lowest bleed build up in the game, and needs dragon scale to upgrade .

If it does proc bleed though, it takes 50% of the target's max health (as in it deals damage equal to 50% of the target's max health) and t deals 10% extra damage against "divine" enemies (silver knights, Ornstein, Gwyne, Gwyndolin). Which may sound impressive, but it really isn't in practice, as you have to hit the enemy a lot in order to deal that nasty damage.

 

[Raghar]

Thanks for the tip, that was great. Fucked up and didn't manage to cut off her/its tail though .
Might need to do some if I wanna try out new weapons. My previous choice would have been that garden next to the talking cat, bunch of parryable NPCs next to a bonfire, but this seems better.

Some actually let her stay alive.
It's completely pointless to fight her if you don't wanna her dagger, and make special weapon.

 

[Monkey Baron]

I don't think I'll play any NG+ versions, I'd rather move on to DS2. Thanks for the tips though.

There is no respec right? So even if I wanted to go beyond, I'd probably have to make a new char, since I've been spending points rather randomly now.

Oops, I misread what you said earlier and thought you were interested in going all the way to NG+7. But yeah, there's no respeccing in DS1. If you're desperate, you can use cheat engine but only if you aren't playing the remaster. I've heard from a lot of people that you will get banned if you use it in any of the other games.

P.S. don't forget the DLC!

 

[praetor]

her scythe is better than the dagger (though you need to wear bleed resistant armor/shield). the dagger when it procs it deals crazy damage, but you'll proc once in a blue moon. the scythe, on the other hand...

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

her scythe is better than the dagger (though you need to wear bleed resistant armor/shield). the dagger when it procs it deals crazy damage, but you'll proc once in a blue moon. the scythe, on the other hand...

Yeah, the scythe is much better if you stack bleed resistance.
Funnily enough, the gold hemmed black set (the reaper's robes) offer high bleed resist.

 

[Seaking4]

The Silver Knight Straight Sword is fun in NG but it falls off hard as other have pointed out (plus it has a high dex requirement). My favourite weapon in DS1 has to be the Gargoyle Halberd. It's range and damage are a pretty damn good match. I recently did a playthrough with the starting battle axe from the brigand class and it was very underwhelming so avoid that shit.

I don't really think there is any reason to do an NG+ playthrough in DS1. I've done it but you're better off starting a new character although I will say that it is worth it in DS2. Some of the changes are pretty fun.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Dark souls 2 question - does darklurker have high physical resistance in scholar? I hit her once with my +10 greatsword, and it dealt like a 20th of her health. And then she 2 shot me with dark greatsword

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Huh, weird. She must have had hyper armor then. I think I hit her just as she was winding up for a soul greatsword, so that must have been it.
First time I fought her was in the original, and I had a faithful. So I just cheesed her with profound still.

I want to fight her for real this time. No tricks, just melee....and a lot of dark resist, because I am not dumb.

 

[newtmonkey]

Been putting some time into Dark Souls 3 this past week, currently at the Pontiff Sulyvahn fight (got him down to a sliver of health on my second attempt, but mistimed a roll and got punished for it).

I didn't even realize you could burn bone shards at Firelink to improve your Estus flask. Had been playing this whole time with +0 Estus.

I'm not sure how I feel about DS3 just yet. I found it alternately dull/annoying my first attempt as a pure pyromancer, and now as pure melee I am enjoying it a lot more, but there are indeed way too many bonfires and too many Estus charges. I'll make my way through a new area, killing everything I come across, and right when I think "maybe I should head back to the bonfire to level up" I'll arrive at a new one with 5-6 Estus charges still left. Seems like it defeats the purpose of the risk/reward aspect of the souls/bonfires.

 

[L'Montes]

, but there are indeed way too many bonfires and too many Estus charges. I'll make my way through a new area, killing everything I come across, and right when I think "maybe I should head back to the bonfire to level up" I'll arrive at a new one with 5-6 Estus charges still left. Seems like it defeats the purpose of the risk/reward aspect of the souls/bonfires.

It's been a topic for debate across the whole series.

People credit it as part of the poor level design starting in DS2 sometimes, but I think they may have just been shifting (whether unconsciously or by urging from up top) to something like more "modern" games.

Modern games are often criticized for holding your hands, constant auto-saving checkpoints, and a lack of consequences as a result. So, you go into the abandoned warehouse, a legion of headless goons swarm you, you die, but you're returned to moments before entering to try again. You may not have known danger was ahead, but the game designers did.

Going back to Demon's, there was a more severe approach to a "level". There were no "bonfires". You start with the entire level ahead of you, and at best you can open a shortcut as a means of "saving" progress. However, die twice without replicating your former progress, and the experience/currency you had was lost. Without open shortcuts, you have to repeat the entire level if you die at the boss as well (or give up on the level). I say severe, but honestly plenty of old NES/SNES were effectively like this (lives/continues - beat a level or continue it at best with 2-3 lives).

This combines with the combat to give Demon's part of its slower pacing. You want to proceed carefully through a level, because you're not really "safe" till the boss is defeated, and resources may need to be conserved for that.

Bonfires give an inherently differently feel in some respects. Bonfires in Dark Souls 1 were more staggered, but even at their most inconvenient (say, being forced to run from Firelink to the 4-Kings everytime because there's no intervening bonfire) the is mechanically different enough that Dark Souls is a lot more forgiving in most areas than Demon's (of the players time, effort, etc.). By the time Dark Souls 3 rolled around, there's an emphasis on faster combat (both in trading/pacing/enemy-aggression but also things like stamina regen). The bonfire system also winds up almost like a checkpoint system to seemingly facilitate travel, getting back into the fight faster, etc.

So, you can get to the swamp area, and there's a bonfire overlooking it with Anri... and another down below right before the ruins... and another down a ladder towards the swamp... and another atop a tower... and another right before the catacomb entry.

Friends I had that played Dark Souls 3 first whinge and whinge about having to run back to X after dying, or that you have to *unlock* teleporting. It undeniably is "easier" on the player's time, frustration, etc to effectively have "checkpoints". Though, I thought part of the reason we were playing these games originally was because they weren't like that.

/shrug

 

[Lutte]

@newtmonkey

There's certainly no moment like trying to reach Smelter in SOTFS and aggroing the entire room of sanic katana wielders.

DS3 has the most bland areas in general, from ALL design perspectives, both gameplay and visual wise. Oh yeah, Irithyll is pretty.. but it doesn't actually stand out all that much in a game that is filled with nothing but white, grey and brown. Oh and I heard you like swamps? Have Road of Sacrifice, Farron Keep, Smouldering Lake, and even in the DLC The Ringed City. 4 swamps, what the fuck. At least Dark Souls 2's Shrine of Amana was actually interesting and challenging, unlike the typical swampy souls level. It was also beautiful.
And the game completely eschewed the idea of integrating even one fucking choke point on a level. There is literally not a single chokepoint placement of enemies in the entire game. You can basically feel like a speedrunner.. while doing your first, blind playthrough. Surprisingly there's no moment like this even in the dungeon. All enemies are placed so that you can run through the area efficiently without ever being stopped and having to kill anything... in an area that's a literal jail holding fucking prisoners separated by tight corridors.

I died more often replaying DS1 and DS2 trying to skip stuff and do things fast like being shown some love by the hollows buffed by the channeler before the gargoyle in DS1 than from anything in my first DS3 run.

So, IMHO the amount of bonfire isn't even the main true reason for DS3 areas feeling so weak. They are designed weakly. The first DLC makes for some painful contrast because after you breezed through the entire game you suddenly find an area where running back to your souls and skipping enemies instead of killing can be dangerous. There's even areas that are almost worthy of being called chokepoints and over-aggroing wolves can become a real deadly mess. The Painted World of Ariandel is 10 times better designed as a level, in terms of enemy placements, and shaping the land to make it difficult to run past, than anything in the main game. I was shocked the first time I went through it, because Dark Souls 3 was so inoffensive I got into the habit of exploring very aggressively, overaggroing stuff while building some mental maps of the area thinking at worst even if I died I could just run back fast to get my stuff and leave.
Thankfully the game makes up for this by having the best boss fights of the series, by far.
Pontiff, Dancer, Gundyr, Dragonslayer Armour, Lothric, Nameless King, Soul of Cinder, Friede, Midir and Gael all felt like it was worth going through the bore of this game's levels.

People credit it as part of the poor level design starting in DS2 sometimes

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

 

[Deflowerer]

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

Fuck you, Miyazaki is God.

 

[newtmonkey]

L'Montes
Interesting point about the bonfires being more like checkpoints in DS3, they really do feel like it. Being unable to teleport between bonfires in DS1 (for much of the game) could get you into some hairy situations. The biggest one I guess is if you take Pinwheel down early and continue to explore, and somehow make it to that first bonfire in Tomb of Giants, you will likely be in for a world of hurt trying to get back to Firelink so you can actually go where you are "supposed" to. The other one that comes to mind is if you are playing a Pyromancer you might be somewhat hesitant to move away from the Blighttown bonfire as getting to and from the Pyromancer merchant there early on can be difficult, until you get the layout down well.

Like Lutte mentioned, the open areas and frequent bonfires in DS3 almost promote a style of play where you can almost always rush past enemies to unlock your next checkpoint.

Lutte
I was shocked by Painted World also, it almost feels like a different game what with the tree monsters whose projectiles can chase you until they hit an obstacle (on a mostly "flat" plain) together with the wolves summoning allies. I also liked that it was a bit less linear than the areas I've encountered so far in the main game.

 

[Akratus]

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

 

[L'Montes]

People credit it as part of the poor level design starting in DS2 sometimes

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

I'm personally more of the opinion that the bonfire issue individually was more of shift in design philosophy by that director. DS2 incorporated various things that made you effectively "less-safe" as a player as well, like being able to get invaded while hollow, or self-tuning difficulty with the challenge convenant.

Level design-wise though, I don't think all of DS2 is horrible. Some of the levels are great. And other's are Heide's Tower of Flame.

A lot of internet hyperbole is along the lines of this-game-is-shit, and I'm sure it was to some people at the time. Having seen what Dark Souls 3 became now though. I'd say, Dark Souls 2 is inconsistent with the quality of its level design, but so was Dark Souls 1 (Ash Lake, Izalith). And that's.... fine really. Dark Souls 2 was a mixed bag to me, especially off the heels of DS1. It wasn't some sort of abortion of a sequel like Dragon Age 2 was though.

I also found Dark Souls 2 improved, generally, in SotFS in terms of little tweaks to enemy placement, levels, etc. too.

 

[Arnust]

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

Yeah, and that's what we call world design, which each Souls game as a special flavour of dogshit for. Like DeS'... lack thereof, 1's second half (and some overrated parts of the first, come on), 2's plain just off ones (which to be fair do convey a better feeling of distance and variety in the long run), and 3's which are all very pretty to look at from Vordt's perch and then makes it feel like the smallest Souls game, which is one hell of an archievement when it's also so linear.

I'm still baffled at how the infamous Sky Elevator to the Lava Castle is pretty much a gaming meme now, but say the Farron -> Catacombs -> Irythyll is totally fine despite traversing the remnants of a whole three kingdoms taking just about 10 minutes if beelining it (most of that being killing the terrible boss).

 

[Lutte]

The only thing that's poor about DS2's level design is the way two different levels interconnect. Level design as in the gameplay side of it, enemy placement, natural hazards, and also the variety the game provides, is by far a cut above DS1 and so much better than DS3 it isn't even funny.

Yeah, and that's what we call world design, which each Souls game as a special flavour of dogshit for. Like DeS'... lack thereof, 1's second half (and some overrated parts of the first, come on), 2's plain just off ones (which to be fair do convey a better feeling of distance and variety in the long run), and 3's which are all very pretty to look at from Vordt's perch and then makes it feel like the smallest Souls game, which is one hell of an archievement when it's also so linear.

I'm still baffled at how the infamous Sky Elevator to the Lava Castle is pretty much a gaming meme now, but say the Farron -> Catacombs -> Irythyll is totally fine despite traversing the remnants of a whole three kingdoms taking just about 10 minutes if beelining it (most of that being killing the terrible boss).

The "b team" and "muh miyazaki" meme is why. DS3 did a lot of the things that people criticized about DS2 like adding larger groups of enemies to deal with (which, imho, is fine. It worked great in DS2, learn to sprint and separate enemies faget) or nonsensical level interconnects but people didn't care because it's a "muh miyazaki" game.
DS2 had easy crowd bosses like the Prowling Magus, what a garbage game!!!! DS3 has the Deacons of the Deep, it's such a deep, profound, great game!!11

I'd say Untended Graves is the biggest offender for DS3. The thing makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The location you find the thing in, and what the thing is to begin with. None of it makes any sense. And all the loremongers arguing about whether it's a representation of the past or future make me laugh, in reality it could be both because you find the corpse of the katana hollow there, so it should be the future, since in your firelink the guy is still ass kicking until you kill him. But gundyr is at his prime condition, so it should be the past.
DS3 is the biggest argument for the "lore" side of souls games being mostly fanboy poop chutes producing a lot of """content""" that actually isn't there and was never in the developer's mind to begin with. The devs mostly just develop fun content to go through and probably don't have an actual story in mind despite all the raving. It worked fine for one game (DS1) but when you have to make sequels it falls apart as quickly as a sand castle going through a storm because you can't really keep adding on top of the pile, you can't "progress" the story. And so ends DS3 as yet another cycle that rehashes the cycles of the past, just with a more drab and dead world. Find 4 mcguffins and kill them to get to the end boss. Fight a boss that's like a human player in phase 1 complete with weapon swapping and a copy of Gwyn in phase 2 because why not. Even the music soundtrack was recycled for this fight, it's pathetic.

People whined so much about the "old souls" you find in DS2 NG+ implying some cycle connection to DS1's bosses but DS3 recycles everything just outright and it's alright because, MIYAZAKI-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

 

[Deflowerer]

I mean, I don't even understand the egregiousness of that sky elevator in DS2. I can understand the grounds for criticizing the lack of interconnectedness from the perspective of gameplay flow, although even then I think too many people are doing a disservice to Dark Souls 2 by focusing on the interconnectedness as the defining characteristic of a Souls game. However, to point out the supposed ridiculousness of that elevator in a fantasy world in a series where none of the games have featured in any way coherent settings as you'd see in, let's say the Forgotten Realms or The Witcher is flat-out fucking retarded.

 

[Arnust]

DS3 has the Deacons of the Deep, it's such a deep, profound, great game!!11

To be fair, Deacons probably are my favourite mob boss, the set is really high up there and chewing through hollows isn't possible really anywhere else, pity that you've got the DS3 limited offense options (No Soul Appease to one shot them, bleh), the countdown to throwing death fog on you is incredibly slow (they really hate this, same with the Flexile Sentry water rise), it's a pretty lame "psyche! Aldrich isn't here lul", the arena while the best of mob bosses still is just a donut.

I'd say Untended Graves is the biggest offender for DS3. The thing makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The location you find the thing in, and what the thing is to begin with. None of it makes any sense. And all the loremongers arguing about whether it's a representation of the past or future make me laugh, in reality it could be both because you find the corpse of the katana hollow there, so it should be the future, since in your firelink the guy is still ass kicking until you kill him. But gundyr is at his prime condition, so it should be the past.

Not gonna lie, I REALLY liked that place even if it could be miles better. It was the very first time DS3 managed to make me actually curious, surprise me, some quiet time in a strange place. Of course, it is a pity that the only change are the fodder enemies being shuffled around, a terrible invader and Champion Gundyr, who is my favourite boss of the game and one of if not the only one who actually fits the change in pace (IMO). It's a true pity that the Belfry isn't even open, or that it'll bother to capitalize on the concept in virtually any sense.

The thing is, I wouldn't actually mind the constant callbacks and rehashing in 3... If it did ANYTHING meaningful with them, or didn't try in the first place and actually made some work to be, you know, the FINALE it's supposed to be. TALK to someone in the ending. SOME pathos. Try and get some other emotion from me than tired recognition, for fuck's sake. Honestly, 2's ending feels like a better sendoff, and it's the allegedly rushed moneygrab inbetween big projects.

I mean, I don't even understand the egregiousness of that sky elevator in DS2. I can understand the grounds for criticizing the lack of interconnectedness from the perspective of gameplay flow, although even then I think too many people are doing a disservice to Dark Souls 2 by focusing on the interconnectedness as the defining characteristic of a Souls game. However, to point out the supposed ridiculousness of that elevator in a fantasy world in a series where none of the games have featured in any way coherent settings as you'd see in, let's say the Forgotten Realms or The Witcher is flat-out fucking retarded.

Game: "Yes, you the player are somehow immune to the actually bad effects of the curse that has plagued all of mankind" "Oh and unlimited inventory" "And for some reason that fucking bird carried youa round"
Fanboys: WOW THAT ELEVATOR HAS NO RENDERED SHAFT REEE

 

[Lutte]

DS3 has the Deacons of the Deep, it's such a deep, profound, great game!!11

To be fair, Deacons probably are my favourite mob boss, the set is really high up there and chewing through hollows isn't possible really anywhere else, pity that you've got the DS3 limited offense options (No Soul Appease to one shot them, bleh), the countdown to throwing death fog on you is incredibly slow (they really hate this, same with the Flexile Sentry water rise), it's a pretty lame "psyche! Aldrich isn't here lul", the arena while the best of mob bosses still is just a donut.

I had no idea what the fuck you were talking about until I googled. Yeah, that looks like the sort of mechanic that only punishes people who just run in circles for hours while not hitting anything.

It's a true pity that the Belfry isn't even open, or that it'll bother to capitalize on the concept in virtually any sense.

Hoping for any sense of creativity in the game that has Artorias's fanclub as an actual in game faction and covenant? I mean, I totally lost any feeling for the atmosphere of the game. As a whole. When I saw this. I'm sorry but the Abyss Wachers may be a good boss mechanically, I liked fighting it, but it ruined the mood. So there's this fucking gang of people cosplaying Artorias gathering around a wolf still caring about fighting the abyss in a world that is literally ending and they're also like the forest covenant of ds1 which stopped people from desecrating Artorias's grave because this is so friggin important. And of course let's forget anything about ds2 and how people should not even remember Artorias after so many cycles have gone through anyway or how Artorias was a fucking failure, a phony to begin with since he lost to Manus and the true abyss walker was DS1's player character and this entire artorias shit was basically just Dusk misremembering being saved by the useless cunt.
DS1's entire point of the plot thread was to show how pathetic the known hero truly was and the first thing you do to enter oolacile is put him out of his misery. Not grovel under his feet.
I'm not too heavily into the lore shit but I've always liked the atmosphere of souls games. Except that DS3 does everything it can to ruin any possibility of the atmosphere coming into place. There's just too much retardation to suspend your disbelief.

I find the stuff far more REEEEE inducing than

Game: "Yes, you the player are somehow immune to the actually bad effects of the curse that has plagued all of mankind" "Oh and unlimited inventory" "And for some reason that fucking bird carried youa round"
Fanboys: WOW THAT ELEVATOR HAS NO RENDERED SHAFT REEE

Honestly, 2's ending feels like a better sendoff, and it's the allegedly rushed moneygrab inbetween big projects.

The original ending of 2's was kinda mediocre IMHO. Sit on the throne and think for yourself whether your char burned or not.. it was just a repeat of DS1 and the choice there felt like having a gun pointed at your head.
SOTFS fixed the ending by letting you.. just walk away. No dark lord, no monarch linking the fire. Just indifference or looking for alternatives. This is actually the ending the series should have had as a whole. It didn't need to go on. It's a great ending, one where you don't bow to the principles and wishes built by others.