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Dark Souls II |OT| The Dark Souls of Dark Souls

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The Lamp

Member
Picked up the PS3 version today against my better judgement. Will probably trade it in for the 360 version tomorrow. The framerate is unbareable. Even the character creation was a total fucking mess.

The framerate doesn't seem to hit Blighttown levels, though.

I've heard that although the framerate is sub30fps on PS3, on 360 you have screen-tearing.
 

Hystzen

Member
Amazon boned me today preorder collectors edition in January got email this week saying it arrive Friday (I'm in UK) and it not turned up. Fuuuuuuuuuuu
 

emb

Member
It is so easy to farm a shit ton of souls just by being summoned into other player's world. So unless you're opposed to the online mechanics there isn't actually any worry about running out of souls.
I wouldn't say opposed, but I'm personally not interesting in playing these games online in any way. It'd be nice if it wasn't forced on me, just like it wasn't in the previous two games.

Again though, it's not that big of a deal in practice (and online is not really forced on anyone). You still get plenty enough souls to do what you need to do. It's just an annoying thing to know that the world can end up empty, and really annoying to be coddled in trying to reach a tough boss for more attempts.
 

dubq

Member
I seriously don't get the PS3 frame rate comments. It dips at times but nowhere near as bad as Dragons Dogma does, in my experience.
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
You are right in alot of ways. But the whole "souls are a finite resource" isnt true in my experience.

I have about 6-7 boss souls I havent used that I could pop. I have about 15 random soldier/knight souls I can pop. And im level 60-70 right now. Souls are everywhere.

So with that in mind, I really dont see the need to limit my number of spawns. Especially since its already been said that I can just go online and farm souls there too. If they are going to give us so many options to grind, just let me have the original option back.

Its just a design flaw that I cant wrap my head around. Maybe I need to beat the game and see how it all pans out in the end. But as I get closer and closer to the finale, I still have the same feeling in my gut about this mechanic.

And as far as the designers wanting me to play NG+, etc. I get that. This encourages it in a way. But most of the time, I just start a completely new play through. I dont want to keep playing the same class/character, I want to start all over fresh. So for people like me, the grinding for shards aspect is fucked.

Im sure ill find a way around it. I just dont ever want to see this feature in any other Souls game ever.

Its just a giant buzz kill on an almost perfect game.



Exactly, souls are not a finite resource. Shards are. This is where my complaint stems from. So they didnt discourage farming for souls, they discouraged farming for items. Which is one of the main components in a Souls game. I spent countless hours farming for slabs in DS1. Even though it sounds tedious and boring, I had a fucking great time. The moment you finally get a slab, you get that feeling of accomplishment.

I miss that feeling in this game.

Ah, fair enough. That just seemed to be the case from an outside perspective. I'll find out first hand tonight!
 

Prototype

Member
Ive never been one to grind for souls. I feel like the games are balanced well enough to give you the amount of souls you need through a regular playthrough without doing much extra.

But not being able to farm for shards is really my main issue here. Limiting my ability to create items and work towards a greater goal really sucks the life out of me sometimes.

.
1st - this contradicts all your complaints about enemies not respawning. Never mind the fact that you can use an item to makes them come back and they will be stronger. This makes the game harder.

2nd- you can, give it a rest man.


edit: Also, you can farm souls to your hearts content by playing co-op. jesus.
not that you'd want to, since you don't grind
 

georly

Member
The sewers as in the bottom of the well in Majula? That also leads to Heide?

No. Remember how you got to
heide
in the first place? The path in
majula that takes you through a sewer-like area. Something might have changed on the way there now.
 

FluxWaveZ

Member
You need to a token of fidelity to join the covenant, help somebody beat a boss to get it.

So I just did this against
the Dragon Knight guy using the Small White Sign Soapstone to assist someone, with three people total in the battle
, but I didn't get a token (wonder if it has to do with my Token of Spite?). I'll try it again. I got a
Smooth & Silky Stone
, though.
 

Nintyb

Banned
I enjoy options and I always loved grinding in the first Dark Souls because a) I suck and b) the combat is so fun that it never becomes repetitive. Not quite sure how I feel about the change given the item to re spawn enemies at NG+ level because when you do eventually progress to NG+, those enemies will always remain a step higher. :/

Either way, this is the best game I've played since the first.
 

georly

Member
So I just did this against
the Dragon Knight guy using the Small White Sign Soapstone to assist someone, with three people total in the battle
, but I didn't get a token (wonder if it has to do with my Token of Spite?). I'll try it again. I got a
Smooth & Silky Stone
, though.

You might need a full white sign soapstone, which you get from a dude named
pate in the forest of giants after talking to him a ton.
 

dubq

Member
So I just did this against
the Dragon Knight guy using the Small White Sign Soapstone to assist someone, with three people total in the battle
, but I didn't get a token (wonder if it has to do with my Token of Spite?). I'll try it again. I got a
Smooth & Silky Stone
, though.
I think you only get the token if you use the larger soapstone.
 
No. Remember how you got to
heide
in the first place? The path in
majula that takes you through a sewer-like area. Something might have changed on the way there now.

OOOOHHH ok, I see what you're saying. Very interesting. I really would not have even passed through there again if you hadn't mentioned it
(I already unlocked the path to Huntsman's)
. I am going to go check this out when I get home.
 
Can anyone tell me what was in the wooden chest at the top of
Belfry Luna
, where you fight an NPC invader?
Those effers destroyed the chest and now I'm boned for that item :(
 

Mitama

Member
animation1dfg2zq7g.gif



you should have saw the first time I fought the dragon rider

i entered the fight and within one second I was pushed off

The first time I fought him, he slipped off and killed himself. :D
 

Jiraiya

Member
So I just did this against
the Dragon Knight guy using the Small White Sign Soapstone to assist someone, with three people total in the battle
, but I didn't get a token (wonder if it has to do with my Token of Spite?). I'll try it again. I got a
Smooth & Silky Stone
, though.
Yeah I forgot to say you have to use the normal White Sign Soapstone to get the token of fidelity, it doesn't work with the small one.
 

daman824

Member
Damn so it's possible to run iut of souls to collect? I'm not the worst souls player but the whole enemies dissapearing (and thus preventing farming) worries me. I don't want to make it half way through this 50 hour game only to have to restart.
 

georly

Member
OOOOHHH ok, I see what you're saying. Very interesting. I really would not have even passed through there again if you hadn't mentioned it
(I already unlocked the path to Huntsman's)
. I am going to go check this out when I get home.

Oh! Nevermind then, i thought that's what you were talking about. Ignore me!

So, you're just talking about another boss, i think the other person *WAS* referring to
ornsteinn.

I'm pretty sure you can summon anyone anywhere and be summoned by anyone anywhere for any reason no matter what.

I think that the only thing is that if they're not within your soul/level range is that you don't return to human. I think they're really trying to encourage co-op, so rather than limit when you can co op, they just limit your rewards if you shouldnt be doing it there. This makes sure people can summon people no matter what no matter when no matter who. Probably allows you to power level your friends too.
 

Nintyb

Banned
Damn so it's possible to run iut of souls to collect? I'm not the worst souls player but the whole enemies dissapearing (and thus preventing farming) worries me. I don't want to make it half way through this 50 hour game only to have to restart.

You won't have to. There's plenty to be had via coop.
 
The despawn thing is meh. It doesn't even remotely fall into the same neighborhood of pissing me off as the fucking durability system in this. Even with a Bracing Knuckle Ring it happens too fast IMO. Should have just kept it like DS1.

How does a weapon like a mace even break. If a mace breaks it just turns into a differently-shaped mace. A cudgel is a cudgel.
 

Grinchy

Banned
So, what's the deal with being able to summon people in an area where you don't even have any bosses left? I was in the Forest just looking for things I hadn't found yet, and kept seeing summon signs. Why would I want to summon someone just to run around aimlessly killing grunts?
 

Screaming Meat

Unconfirmed Member
Damn so it's possible to run iut of souls to collect? I'm not the worst souls player but the whole enemies dissapearing (and thus preventing farming) worries me. I don't want to make it half way through this 50 hour game only to have to restart.

You can co-op, invade or use an item to respawn (tougher) enemies. You won't run out, just gotta be a bit more careful with those spending sprees ;)
 
Oh! Nevermind then, i thought that's what you were talking about. Ignore me!

oh, ok xD

so just to confirm
Dragonrider and Ornstein are the two bosses in that Tower of Flame area, and that's it?
There seemed like there might be more to explore, but I definitely checked most of those nooks and crannies and didn't find anything to suggest that there may be more area to explore (except for one conspicuous door that looks too damaged to open). Otherwise, I guess the only conclusion I can come to is that I can summon phantoms regardless if I've cleared the area or not.

EDIT: read your edit. I agree, it seems like they're trying to promote this. I find power leveling unfun though, I wouldn't power level with my friends. When my friends play this, I'm going to play a new character and pretend to have amnesia about everything. lol
 

AngryMoth

Member
Just killed something which looked like a red crystal lizard but it didn't drop anything, what's the deal with that.

Also I found how the way to craft boss weapons but I don't understand how it works.
She's offering me the old dragonslayer spear and lost sinners sword but I have don't a +10 of either weapon type. Is it not related to weapons anymore? If so how come I can't trade any of my other boss souls?
 
I might sound stupid, but is there of increasing your HP meter if you've died one too many times? Perhaps there's an item I haven't encountered, and I'd hate to use what little materials I have to figure it out.
 

georly

Member
oh, ok xD

so just to confirm
Dragonrider and Ornstein are the two bosses in that Tower of Flame area, and that's it?
There seemed like there might be more to explore, but I definitely checked most of those nooks and crannies and didn't find anything to suggest that there may be more area to explore (except for one conspicuous door that looks too damaged to open). Otherwise, I guess the only conclusion I can come to is that I can summon phantoms regardless if I've cleared the area or not.

I'm pretty sure you can summon anyone anywhere and be summoned by anyone anywhere for any reason no matter what.

I think that the only thing is that if they're not within your soul/level range is that you don't return to human. I think they're really trying to encourage co-op, so rather than limit when you can co op, they just limit your rewards if you shouldnt be doing it there. This makes sure people can summon people no matter what no matter when no matter who. Probably allows you to power level your friends too.


EDIT: read your edit. I agree, it seems like they're trying to promote this. I find power leveling unfun though, I wouldn't power level with my friends. When my friends play this, I'm going to play a new character and pretend to have amnesia about everything. lol

Indeed. I'll test it w/ my friends later. they're like lvl 20 and im lvl 100
 

Ultrabum

Member
Alright i need some tips for the boss of
Earthen Peak
Phantom, Help Me!

something about a windmill made of wood. It's also covered in some kind of poison oil, would be a shame if something happened to it.

The direct answer :

at the second bonfire walk out to where you can touch the main axel of the windmill, light it on fire with a torch from the bonfire.
 

Ferrio

Banned
I might sound stupid, but is there of increasing your HP meter if you've died one too many times? Perhaps there's an item I haven't encountered, and I'd hate to use what little materials I have to figure it out.

Either use a human effigy, or use a soap stone to be summoned into another players world to regain your humanity.
 
can someone make a list of the locations of estus flask shards?

i beat the lost giant and will beat the dragonrider today and it'll be helpful to have more healing available.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
So what items do you need for the dead giants in the forest? 'Alas, nothing happened'.

Also, I killed the two
watchers of the throne, and there was a doorway in the distance I couldn't reach... There seemed to be no point to this area other than those 2 bosses.

Gotta say I really, really like the design of the
Chariot
fight. It was a lot of fun.

A gimmick fight done right!
 

Mutombo

Member
ok let me rephrase my question:

i want to get the ember at iron keep. I am sly 58, with a +5 falchion. How do I get there and will i get slaughtered getting the ember?
 

ironcreed

Banned
Seriously, considering all of the locations, fire ascetic and the option of being summoned, you are not going to run out of places to make runs in. Not even close and that is why fire ascetic itself is not in over abundance. But of course, it is still available as an option if you just have to make even more runs than you need in a particular area and don't want to go anywhere else.

I think they really just want to discourage hanging out and over farming the same regions in your own world because you get what you need as you go and there are more than enough areas to do runs in as is. It's called pacing and better resource management. Aspects which are fleshed out much better in this game.
 
I just noticed that one of my messages has been rated 364 times! lol "Try attacking" Pretty sure it was the one where you have to hit a door so that the ennemies behind it opens it up for you. The one right next to a Pharros doorway under the 5 ballistas near the beginning in the forest of fallen giants.
 

mxgt

Banned
No it was not :(

i spent an hour thinking that there was no way to stop the skeletons from spawning :(

Haha

One time I tried just bum rushing the necromancers. It didn't end well.

Edit: Also, on the subject of grinding at the despawning - It's really not an issue. Souls are so easy to come across, you just don't need to grind at all. I'm SL 90, still have loads to do and I haven't done any grinding, just played normally and done some co-op.
 
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