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Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin announced for PS4/XBO/PC - April 2015

I can't imagine how frustrating a SL1 all bosses run would be in DS2. But yes, DS2 is nowhere near as tight in controls and movement as the previous two games which made little sense to me.

I've seen this argument before, and in my case is the opposite.
DS2's controls are far superior than the previous souls games, the main difference is that now they require pinpoint accuracy to be effective.
Roll became a true skill, as well as the riposte.
On DS1 you could pass the whole game rolling away and get out smelling like a rose.
 
The whole bonfire system and warping is an absolutely terrible system that encouraged the lazy design of the areas. I can't believe they put a secret bonfire in Aldia's Keep. It was like 30 seconds away from the previous bonfire. That just reeks of poor game design.

Chicken and the egg situation, but I'd imagine the bonfire warping was a result of the level-design, rather than the other way around.

During QA From likely had to implement a way around the linear world design. Playing through the game without some kind of warp system would be needlessly frustrating.

Publicly exposing people who duck other people competitively and being able to show proof of that is valuable imo.

He could have just said, no I'm not interested, or no I'm a bit rusty and probably wouldn't do well, but I've got him on 3/4 separate occasions doing the "LOLspinneroo" at how "mature he is" vs. me...for ducking a challenge. Like "come fight me in X game" is anything new or childish. This guy doesn't have a clue.

You're coming off as extremely childish right now.
 
Publicly exposing people who duck other people competitively and being able to show proof of that is valuable imo.

He could have just said, no I'm not interested, or no I'm a bit rusty and probably wouldn't do well, but I've got him on 3/4 separate occasions doing the "LOLspinneroo" at how "mature he is" vs. me...for ducking a challenge. Like "come fight me in X game" is anything new or childish. This guy doesn't have a clue.

This doesnt add anything to the discussion here though.

And if you claim something you provide proof, thats how it works. So go ahead and pm all of them and show the receipts
 
I want to see what effect if any this will have on the Souls streaming community. More and more I see them streaming DS1 over 2 or some other game entirely. Very clear that many are tired of the formula DS2 brought to the table and I hope From realizes that for DS3.
 
Me too but overall I think the downgrade really hurt the game and the prospect for a possible DS 3. If Bloodbourne sells well, From might focus sorely on BB 2. The sword & shield gameplay might be going bye bye.

Wasn't DS2 the best selling game in the company's history? A DS3 is totally going to happen.
 
Not happy that PC owners have to pay for the DX11 upgrade. Since we're getting everything else aside from DLC I'm going to wait for these supposed "graphical upgrades" before making a decision. At this point I want to be proven wrong that its not just a downgraded PC version getting re-released for PS4/XB1.
 
Like clockwork.

Well, yeah. When you're claiming a developer is "screwing you over" by offering something new and having the gall to charge for it, I think it's a pretty typical and reasonable response. Obviously, it has to be taken on a case by case basis, though.

DX11 support being behind a paywall, along with people that buy the DX11 version being completely alienated from the DX9 people, is whats making a lot of PC users sour.

Splitting the user base could definitely be an issue, but it sounds like they plan to make substantial changes to the game, so obviously the two versions wouldn't be compatible. They could have just patched the current game, but I'm sure then they'd have to deal with people who were pissed that they dramatically changed a game they liked.

Not happy that PC owners have to pay for the DX11 upgrade. Since we're getting everything else aside from DLC I'm going to wait for these supposed "graphical upgrades" before making a decision. At this point I want to be proven wrong that its not just a downgraded PC version getting re-released for PS4/XB1.

With the patch, you're also not getting the "improved multiplayer," "modified enemy placement," and "renewed game design" whatever all of that means.

I'm definitely in the wait and see camp, though. Dark Souls II still looks pretty damn good playing in downsampled 4k. I've seen too many of these remasters end up having downgrades compared to the originals to not be a little cautious.
 
Not happy that PC owners have to pay for the DX11 upgrade. Since we're getting everything else aside from DLC I'm going to wait for these supposed "graphical upgrades" before making a decision. At this point I want to be proven wrong that its not just a downgraded PC version getting re-released for PS4/XB1.

we are also losing all of our progress, i am not happy at all, paying for graphics pc should have had at release? thats why we need to kill parity, what other reason was there to downgrade the pc version?
 
Me too but overall I think the downgrade really hurt the game and the prospect for a possible DS 3. If Bloodbourne sells well, From might focus sorely on BB 2. The sword & shield gameplay might be going bye bye.

I might be getting DS2:SoFS instead of Bloodborne to avoid the lack of sword and shield gameplay ...

Quite frankly, that's what scares me the most about Bloodborne. I'm not looking forward to relearning how to play a Souls game because they decided to strip out defense...
 
Well, yeah. When you're claiming a developer is "screwing you over" by offering something new and having the gall to charge for it, I think it's a pretty typical and reasonable response. Obviously, it has to be taken on a case by case basis, though.



Splitting the user base could definitely be an issue, but it sounds like they plan to make substantial changes to the game, so obviously the two versions wouldn't be compatible. They could have just patched the current game, but I'm sure then they'd have to deal with people who were pissed that they dramatically changed a game they liked.

adding two more players to online is not substancial changes to the game, besides give me one reason besides parity for the pc version of the game not being this one they are showing now, not to mention we all saw the downgrade the game got.
 
Chicken and the egg situation, but I'd imagine the bonfire warping was a result of the level-design, rather than the other way around.

During QA From likely had to implement a way around the linear world design. Playing through the game without some kind of warp system would be needlessly frustrating.



You're coming off as extremely childish right now.

So when did issuing public challenges become "childish", I remember back in the arcades it was common place and anybody who ducked a challenge for zero reason was looked down upon. Doesn't matter whether you win or lose, what matters is whether you man up and step up, or shut up.

As example, I was recently challenged in TF2...I got my ass kicked, a lot. But did I answer the challenge, you damn right I did. I guess it comes down to how I was raised and being in a "competitive scene" for so long, I just have total contempt for anybody who ducks challenges. My ass has been entered by Martyrs, Telesniper and Muddslinger in Souls and Super Meat Boy and UltraSF4 more times than the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes! But did I ever "duck them", fuck no I didn't because win or lose you always learn something new.

So no, I don't consider myself better than the person I've challenged because we've never played, that's the point of a challenge. To see who demonstrates the most skill and effectiveness with whatever game/char they use. But somehow, that today is childish to even put across to somebody, I guess I've grown too old or too crazy, maybe both.
 
adding two more players to online is not substancial changes to the game, besides give me one reason besides parity for the pc version of the game not being this one they are showing now, not to mention we all saw the downgrade the game got.

Why should there be any other reason besides parity? At some point, FROM has limited resources and can't just do a ton of special stuff for one platform.

Also, are you 100% sure that those are the only changes to multiplayer? They've said that's the extent of it?
 
I want to see what effect if any this will have on the Souls streaming community. More and more I see them streaming DS1 over 2 or some other game entirely. Very clear that many are tired of the formula DS2 brought to the table and I hope From realizes that for DS3.

They will all be playing and streaming Bloodborne, may come back to check this out for a day or two, then probably go right back to Bloodborne. Core mechanics of moving and combat is the main problem with DkS2, boss, enemy, level and overall encounter design is lacking as well, or at least extremely inconsistent in quality.
 
I might be getting DS2:SoFS instead of Bloodborne to avoid the lack of sword and shield gameplay ...

Quite frankly, that's what scares me the most about Bloodborne. I'm not looking forward to relearning how to play a Souls game because they decided to strip out defense...

I thought one of the best things about a Souls-like game is learning the mechanics and how they work? I for one would choose that any day over feeling safe and secure with mechanics I've already experienced and mastered.
 
Re: Framerate

If this was able to run over 30 FPS on 360 and generally had modest system requirements and good performance on PC, I think a stable-ish 60 FPS could be within reach on PS4 and XB1 if From doesn't go overboard with the graphical additions. Short of that, they'd almost certainly have enough legroom to achieve a locked 30.

They need to prioritize 60fps for this on console.
Even before they add some redundant tacked on effect like more bloom, more obnoxious AO or whatever.
The gameplay at 60fps is simply on another level.
And it would make the difference with Bloodborne at least somewhat favorable.
 
I might be getting DS2:SoFS instead of Bloodborne to avoid the lack of sword and shield gameplay ...

Quite frankly, that's what scares me the most about Bloodborne. I'm not looking forward to relearning how to play a Souls game because they decided to strip out defense...

What makes me worry more is not gameplay related. It's that From is essentially battling From with two games released so close.

But yeah, I wanna see how From's "Team A" fares with a new IP.
 
So is this the rumored 4th DLC or are they saving that for later?

I already own and beat the game on PS3 and PC and got the season pass for PC. I'm not buying this game again, unless there is a $10 upgrade option or something. They should have done a Dark Souls 1+2 bundle. Didn't Sony have a rule for PS3 about HD Editions of PS2 games needing to be sold in a bundle of at least 2? I guess there is no such rule for PS3 ports to PS4.
 
Why should there be any other reason besides parity? At some point, FROM has limited resources and can't just do a ton of special stuff for one platform.

Also, are you 100% sure that those are the only changes to multiplayer? They've said that's the extent of it?

wait are you cool with parity? dude not downgrading a game is not "special stuff" old consoles could not handle it so they removed from pc too? there is not logic in that, about changes the only one thats anywhere close to substancial is the 2 extra players, tunning weapons and other fixes are not "substancial change", they are not adding new gameplay mechanics, other than multiplayer based on what they announced they will be doing more calibrations on gear/weapons, do you really consider that substancial change lol?
 
They will all be playing and streaming Bloodborne, may come back to check this out for a day or two, then probably go right back to Bloodborne. Core mechanics of moving and combat is the main problem with DkS2, boss, enemy, level and overall encounter design is lacking as well, or at least extremely inconsistent in quality.

I agree. Its pretty telling watching guys like Peeve and Yukaslegion going back to DS1 because they feel the combat is more fast paced and exciting than whats in Ds2. Quite frankly its more exciting to watch as well.
 
So when did issuing public challenges become "childish", I remember back in the arcades it was common place and anybody who ducked a challenge for zero reason was looked down upon. Doesn't matter whether you win or lose, what matters is whether you man up and step up, or shut up.

As example, I was recently challenged in TF2...I got my ass kicked, a lot. But did I answer the challenge, you damn right I did. I guess it comes down to how I was raised and being in a "competitive scene" for so long, I just have total contempt for anybody who ducks challenges. My ass has entered by Martyrs, Telesniper and Muddslinger in Souls and Super Meat Boy and UltraSF4 more times than the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes! But did I ever "duck them", fuck no I didn't because win or lose you always learn something new.

So no, I don't consider myself better than the person I've challenged because we've never played, that's the point of a challenge. To see who demonstrates the most skill and effectiveness with whatever game/char they use. But somehow, that today is childish to even put across to somebody, I guess I've grown too old or too crazy, maybe both.
It is childish to keep annoying someone that clearly doesn't want to play with you, and not being able to read that clear sign.
Especially since you're going at it with a very obnoxious attitude, it's not like you asked politely if someone wanted to play with you, it started all as a way to discredit people's opinion about the game, in the DkS2 thread.
 
I agree. Its pretty telling watching guys like Peeve and Yukaslegion going back to DS1 because they feel the combat is more fast paced and exciting than whats in Ds2. Quite frankly its more exciting to watch as well.

There is no fluidity in attack animations. This is most obvious with katanas. In DS1 each swing flows right into the next. In DS2 it's like your character pauses for a second between each attack.
 
I might be getting DS2:SoFS instead of Bloodborne to avoid the lack of sword and shield gameplay ...

Quite frankly, that's what scares me the most about Bloodborne. I'm not looking forward to relearning how to play a Souls game because they decided to strip out defense...

Well, it's more like King's Field now. You dodge damage by dodging. Your survival is more of movement, distance, and planning. All too often you can circles strafe enemies with a shield up. That cheesing is over in Bloodborne.

I am concerned about the balance of this, but if anyone has proven the balance between hard and fair, it's Miyazaki.
 
I've seen this argument before, and in my case is the opposite.
DS2's controls are far superior than the previous souls games, the main difference is that now they require pinpoint accuracy to be effective.
Roll became a true skill, as well as the riposte.
On DS1 you could pass the whole game rolling away and get out smelling like a rose.

DS1
>Roll right as a swinging weapon is about to make contact with you and you'll go under it and not get touched
>Parry right as a weapon is about to make contact with you and you catch it at the last second and counter them
>Block right as you're about to be hit and they'll bounce off your shield

DS2
>Roll well before being hit because hit boxes and watch the weapon go through your character
>Parry well before being hit because hit boxes or something and it'll never work in any other case
>Block well before being hit because if your shield is up at the last second even before being physically hit, the game will ignore it and you get hurt.

Yeah, you're right, Dark Souls 2 controls are amazing in how precise and pinpoint they are.

The only thing DS2 controls actually have over 1 is the fact Backstabbing can be triggered like up to 3 feet from any angle behind a character rather than directly at their back, which is actually dumb, but it was a bit too fiddly in the first game to be reliable, a nice in between would have been good.
 
Wasn't DS2 the best selling game in the company's history? A DS3 is totally going to happen.

You caught me off guard here. All I know is that DS2 sold 1.2 mil back in may. (DS 1 was at 2.3)

I already own and beat the game on PS3 and PC and got the season pass for PC. I'm not buying this game again

I don't want to be the a*hole here but you could have seen this release coming from a mile off.
 
wait are you cool with parity? dude not downgrading a game is not "special stuff" old consoles could not handle it so they removed from pc too? there is not logic in that, about changes the only one thats anywhere close to substancial is the 2 extra players, tunning weapons and other fixes are not "substancial change", they are not adding new gameplay mechanics, other than multiplayer based on what they announced they will be doing more calibrations on gear/weapons, do you really consider that substancial change lol?

Do you have some inside knowledge on what they are changing? It doesn't say "calibration." In that matrix on the Japanese site, it straight up says "renewed game design." They are using a decidedly different word to what they use when they talk about balance changes and modifications. I'm happy to wait and see.

On the topic of parity, it sucks, but at some point you kind of have to accept the realities of development. I mean, you don't have to. You can simply not buy the game and tell the developer why, but FROM has a budget and limited resources. At some point, they made the determination to change the lighting and a lot of the graphical assets. I doubt it was merely a case of downgrading everything. I'm sure there were plenty of new assets generated after this decision was made. They have to lock in a target at some point and having two radically different versions would create a ton of extra work that probably wasn't feasible.
 
I might be getting DS2:SoFS instead of Bloodborne to avoid the lack of sword and shield gameplay ...

Quite frankly, that's what scares me the most about Bloodborne. I'm not looking forward to relearning how to play a Souls game because they decided to strip out defense...
They didn't strip out defense, they stripped out blocking. You still have parry, dodging, etc.

It's no different from dual wielding or using 2 handed weapons.
 
It is childish to keep annoying someone that clearly doesn't want to play with you, and not being able to read that clear sign.
Especially since you're going at it with a very obnoxious attitude, it's not like you asked politely if someone wanted to play with you, it started all as a way to discredit people's opinion about the game, in the DkS2 thread.

Okay then...read my first little paragraph there and we're done with it. Particularly the last sentence.

And yeah, it did start there because he attempted to say that my argument is only valid when other skilled player's agree, and he didn't and then went on to list off his accomplishments in Demon's Tourney's. Which sparked my interest, so I simply said, with no real connectivity to the argument for him to fight me, because I've never won any Demon's Tourney's... I did say however that IF he lost, his little quip about "only when other skilled players disagree" would be rendered invalid. Are you following this logic, he say's A) I'm skilled player who disagrees/won Demon's Tourney's B) Gets challenged to a PvP fightclub and if loses, then loses the ability to make that previous statement accurate. You follow that?
 
Wait hang on, do PC owners really have to pay to unlock the DX11 'version', and by doing so will lose all progress?

Jesus fuck. Flashback four years ago and tell me "soon you will associate the Dark Souls brand with disappointment and fury".
 
DS1
>Roll right as a swinging weapon is about to make contact with you and you'll go under it and not get touched
>Parry right as a weapon is about to make contact with you and you catch it at the last second and counter them
>Block right as you're about to be hit and they'll bounce off your shield

DS2
>Roll well before being hit because hit boxes and watch the weapon go through your character
>Parry well before being hit because hit boxes or something and it'll never work in any other case
>Block well before being hit because if your shield is up at the last second even before being physically hit, the game will ignore it and you get hurt.

Yeah, you're right, Dark Souls 2 controls are amazing in how precise and pinpoint they are.

The only thing DS2 controls actually have over 1 is the fact Backstabbing can be triggered like up to 3 feet from any angle behind a character rather than directly at their back, which is actually dumb, but it was a bit too fiddly in the first game to be reliable, a nice in between would have been good.

This. I cant agree with people who say Ds2 controls are tighter or more precise than DeS or DaS. I guess I could agree with the convenience of 8way rolling but I feel like 4-way rolling coupled with the ability to aim your attacks out of a roll were far more balanced and skill based.
 
Do you have some inside knowledge on what they are changing? It doesn't say "calibration." In that matrix on the Japanese site, it straight up says "renewed game design." They are using a decidedly different word to what they use when they talk about balance changes and modifications. I'm happy to wait and see.

On the topic of parity, it sucks, but at some point you kind of have to accept the realities of development. I mean, you don't have to. You can simply not buy the game and tell the developer why, but FROM has a budget and limited resources. At some point, they made the determination to change the lighting and a lot of the graphical assets. I doubt it was merely a case of downgrading everything. I'm sure there were plenty of new assets generated after this decision was made. They have to lock in a target at some point and having two radically different versions would create a ton of extra work that probably wasn't feasible.
and now all that work is now feasible? do you realize they are now doing this because of the new plataforms right? parity strikes again. no budd i dont think they had resources problems at all, they showed amazing graphics and simply gutted it from the pc version because old gen could not handle it and the games would look seriously different with pc being VERY superior, there is no twisting this into something pretty like "they did not had time/resources", the game was downgraded and thats it, you cant made it sound like they did not had the time, do you have insider info where they mention they did not finish the high quality assets of the other parts of the game? because they showed some areas and i see no reason for all those textures, level of detail and lighting engine being removed, need extra time? delay it. And "renewed game desing" is just balance, expecting new gamplay mechanics is fairly naive, and dont forget the extra two summon/invaders that "renewed game desing" might be that, since now you can get invade by 3/2 red lols
 
Hahaha holy shit...

I would call this harassment, if it weren't so fucking pathetically hilarious.



- Several in the Forest of Giants
- Skeleton cave in Huntsman
- Tree trunk in Huntsman (nice when looting the secret area below the Chariot bridge)
- Ladder/switch area before Old Iron King
- Door/switch near Lucatiel's sign in No Man's Wharf
- Too many to count in the Bastille
- Undead Crypt lever
- Ladder and zipline in Dragon Aerie (nice for farming the lizards)
- and the DLCs have too many to list.
Plus hidden bonfires that serve as shortcuts, such as in Drangleic, Aldia's Keep, etc.

If you only found one in the whole game... then perhaps you should explore more instead of dismissing the exploration of the game.


I don't like that boss, but it's optional. I liked Bed of Chaos even less, and it's mandatory. Oh noes Dark Souls worst game ever confirmed.


The what?

You. I like you.

Don't pay that guy any more attention - his posts so far have been laughable. He just wants to hate on DkS2 and negate any good experience that anyone else might have had with it.

DkS2 is the best playing Souls game, at least for me. Never had the hit box problem that others did. Either that or people are too fondly misremembering DkS1. Yes, there's some amazing gifs out there of players barely being missed by an attack. But I had a few instances of supposed BS too.

You know the worst thing about DkS1? The command queuing which DkS2 got rid of. The amount of times the game would queue my roll command for no reason was maddening. Yet no-one mentions this. DkS1 did not control perfectly. Even playing both at 60FPS, DkS2 is far, far more responsive. Hands down.

The only legitimate complaint that I can see levelled against DkS2 (other than the weird connecting of areas), is that it was just 'more of the same' and didn't push boundaries as much as DeS or DkS1. But you know what? More of the same for one of the best game series to have come out in years? Yeah, I'll take that. And second helpings too please. Oh, and you have delicious better-than-Artorias levels of DLC as dessert? YUM.
 
Okay then...read my first little paragraph there and we're done with it. Particularly the last sentence.

And yeah, it did start there because he attempted to say that my argument is only valid when other skilled player's agree, and he didn't and then went on to list off his accomplishments in Demon's Tourney's. Which sparked my interest, so I simply said, with no real connectivity to the argument for him to fight me, because I've never won any Demon's Tourney's... I did say however that IF he lost, his little quip about "only when other skilled players disagree" would be rendered invalid. Are you following this logic, he say's A) I'm skilled player who disagrees/won Demon's Tourney's B) Gets challenged to a PvP fightclub and if loses, then loses the ability to make that previous statement accurate. You follow that?
Ehm, yeah it's why i'm saying that the "challenge" isn't to genuinely have fun and playing the game, but about proving some weird point about DkS2 sucking or not (and whether or not top Souls players all agree that it sucks or not).
Ultimately, it's a meaningless point (you can have an opinion on the game while not being a top player) and it's why i think you should just drop it.

Though of course, you two are free to do whatever, just my 2 cents.
 
I agree. Its pretty telling watching guys like Peeve and Yukaslegion going back to DS1 because they feel the combat is more fast paced and exciting than whats in Ds2. Quite frankly its more exciting to watch as well.

Yukas quit playing DkS2 because the fairweather DkS2 fans that watched his stream stopped subscribing, he lost about 500 Subscribers over the last couple months. So it no longer made financial sense to play a more frustrating, less fun Souls game. A lot of the OG Souls streamers stopped playing Dark Souls 2 about a month after the PC version came out, if not sooner. Spades, Pep Rock, rbFrosty, Martyrs, and many more, these were the lesser known, non-Soulbrandt streamers that didn't have the community/revenue behind them to keep them playing a mediocre Souls game. They called it out for what it was, bad mechanically and unfit for proper PvP, then moved on.
 
Oh just lovely



Oh just lovely.
But honestly, new playthroughs are always the most fun

yeah sure, except doing that no bonfire no death run was not easy at all, not that i use those rings, i did it for the challenge, but damn i am not doing that again.
 
so, from what i gather we existing owners of the so called pc last gen(lololol) will have to buy the WHOLE game again or we just pay for the DX 11 upgrade?

Essentially, you're buying the game WHOLEsale again because they can't patch in the DX11 render or add it to the Steam sub (WTF?).

If you've bought the season pass, you're double screwed if you want DX11 rendering. It's a total "WTF Namco/From!?" move.
 
Sen's actually had a thematic purpose and it did fit in the world that was created.

Unlike DS2's boring, flat levels filled with traps because LOL YOU DIED.

Sen's is one of the weakest part of the world.

It only fits because the lore for it is "Gwyn really liked that American Ninja reality show and decided to have something similar to filter who goes into Anor Londo".

It is even filled with random enemies, like the serpent soldiers -who lived there only, and I guess some were captured by the Duke- and some titanite demons, because the bottom of the fortress is the best place to put some statues. They will look really good there.

The place's lore is literally "it's just a proving ground", the enemies have no reason to be there, and there's no further lore or reason for the game. The rest of the game never mentions who this Sen is, other than Frampt going "you have to brave it for reasons".

Now, it is a fun area, but clearly got the short end of the lore/theme/graphic stick.
 
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