Support NeoGAF

[Charmicarmicat]

Did I make a mistake finishing the last boss without finishing the DLC first? Does it change anything at the end? Played vanilla DS2 so much that I sort of went on autopilot and completed the game before even touching the DLC hehe. Oh well, I'll do it all on NG+ if it changes stuff.

 

[pa22word]

Did I make a mistake finishing the last boss without finishing the DLC first?

Spoiler

No. Just keep on keeping on, forever if you want. If you want to start a NG+ I think you have to head to the bonfire in Majula and there will be an option for it.

I haven't played the DLC yet entirely, but you might have missed some flavor text or something from nashandra, because I think her dialog changes if you do something or another.

Another thing: how many bosses did you fight? Supposedly SotFS adds another boss at the end.

 

[Shmeagatory94]

Man, was watching a walkthrough to see the items I missed and holy crap

Spoiler

Shrine of Amana

looks WAY easier in OG Dark Souls 2. Ive died SO many times here lol

 

[Red Liquorice]

Say guys what does SotFS on PS3 add compared to the vanilla DS2 apart from the DLC?? Does it have new boss, new itens, equipements??

If you have the DLC and are up to date with patches, you already have everything that's on the SotFS PS3 retail version.

 

[Victrix]

Finished my blind run, a little over 70 hours total, and I didn't even 100% it. Checking wikis on some stuff confirmed I missed several optional super bosses and a few regular ones, plus who knows how many items/weapons/spells, and whatever exists in NG+

Great game, if you haven't played this for whatever reason, grab this version, the graphics look great, 60fps feels wonderful, and there is an insane amount of variety possible for builds, plus really nice ng+/replay support.

If you're staying away because ~the internet~ told you it was bad, ignore the chatter. The worst part of the game is the first few hours, and the worst areas in the game are early on. The later areas are incredible, on par with the best zones in any of the souls games or BB.

 

[addyb]

So I'm just about to head down the pit having done

Spoiler

forest, cathedral, tower, bastille, shaded woods, sinners rise, hunters, harvest and earthen peak

I'm now all of a sudden tempted to respec from my dex build to a caster as I've never been one since demons.

Stupid idea at this stage? Should I wait for NG+ with the risk that I might not fancy playing it again straight after.

If viable any tips?

 

[pa22word]

IK is kind of hilarious now.

Spoiler

You can literally see the enemies spawning as they charge you on the run to Smelter.

 

[Braag]

Oh right... Iron Passage. I forgot how much I hate this place T_T

Did I make a mistake finishing the last boss without finishing the DLC first? Does it change anything at the end? Played vanilla DS2 so much that I sort of went on autopilot and completed the game before even touching the DLC hehe. Oh well, I'll do it all on NG+ if it changes stuff.

Happened to me as well.. I completely forgot after the

Spoiler

throne watcher and defender

,

Spoiler

Nashandra

start immediately. I really wanted to do the DLCs first, I hadn't killed

Spoiler

Vendrick

either so I missed out on the

Spoiler

scholar

as well :/
NG+ then I guess.

Added spoiler tags.

 

[Mendax]

NG+ then I guess.

spoiler tags required on at least 2 of those names

 

[Joey Ravn]

Spoiler

Shrine of Amana

. Water that slows you down, crawling enemies that are hard to see in the water, a couple of NPC invasions, tons of caster enemies, a few heavy knights, a few hippos, some dragon-people melee enemies. Oh, a handful of powerful pyromancers on the upper levels.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

I managed to get across this area relatively easily after getting stuck in the section after the second bonfire for a few tries. The key is fishing each enemy one by one with arrows: poison arrows are totally OP. Fire four arrows, poison the enemy, hide until it's dead.

The area boss,

Spoiler

Demon of Song

, is a total pushover, though. I used the summon sign of

Spoiler

Felicia the Brave

and used

Spoiler

her

as a meatshield. I fired some poison arrows to the boss's face until it was poisoned, and then finished it off with my Lightning Heide Knight Sword +10. Easy peasy... although I can't shake the feeling that this fight is a complete letdown after such a potentially hard section.

 

[Blinck]

Spoiler

Shrine of Amana

. Water that slows you down, crawling enemies that are hard to see in the water, a couple of NPC invasions, tons of caster enemies, a few heavy knights, a few hippos, some dragon-people melee enemies. Oh, a handful of powerful pyromancers on the upper levels.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

I managed to get across this area relatively easily after getting stuck in the section after the second bonfire for a few tries. The key is fishing each enemy one by one with arrows: poison arrows are totally OP. Fire four arrows, poison the enemy, hide until it's dead.

The area boss,

Spoiler

Demon of Song

, is a total pushover, though. I used the summon sign of

Spoiler

Felicia the Brave

and used

Spoiler

her

as a meatshield. I fired some poison arrows to the boss's face until it was poisoned, and then finished it off with my Lightning Heide Knight Sword +10. Easy peasy... although I can't shake the feeling that this fight is a complete letdown after such a potentially hard section.

On my first playthrough of DkS2 I actually found Shrine of Amana quite easy - because I had an upgraded bow and poison arrows.


Seriously, if anyone is having trouble with this area, just get a bow and upgrade it. Just having a bow makes the area much easier. If you have a bow AND poison arrows, it makes the area a cakewalk.

Great looking area btw, one of my favorites in the entire game. The mood is just amazing.

I can see why some people are frustrated by it though. If you are going meele only or something like that it is probably a huge pain in the ass.


EDIT: To be honest, EVERYTHING in Dark Souls 1 and 2 is much easier if you have an upgraded bow and poison arrows.

 

[Corpekata]

When do you acquire the items to access the DLC areas in this?

 

[takriel]

Finished my blind run, a little over 70 hours total, and I didn't even 100% it. Checking wikis on some stuff confirmed I missed several optional super bosses and a few regular ones, plus who knows how many items/weapons/spells, and whatever exists in NG+

Great game, if you haven't played this for whatever reason, grab this version, the graphics look great, 60fps feels wonderful, and there is an insane amount of variety possible for builds, plus really nice ng+/replay support.

If you're staying away because ~the internet~ told you it was bad, ignore the chatter. The worst part of the game is the first few hours, and the worst areas in the game are early on. The later areas are incredible, on par with the best zones in any of the souls games or BB.

Level design and atmosphere is not as good as the other games, no. And there are pretty boring areas in the mid-game, as well.

 

[Blinck]

Level design and atmosphere is not as good as the other games, no. And there are pretty boring areas in the mid-game, as well.

I agree in level design and atmosphere ( although sometimes it's on pair as well ), but regarding the "boring areas", while it's true, let's not forget Lost Izalith, Crystal Caves,Tomb of the Giants. Dark Souls had some pretty mediocre areas as well. I think that overall, DkS2 is more consistent in quality, and didn't go down to the levels of the worst areas in Dark Souls 1.

I also think it's by far the one with the most and best variety in character building in the entire series.

New game + additions is also pretty awesome and adds quite a bit of replayability to an already highly replayable game!

 

[Neoweee]

Spoiler

Shrine of Amana

. Water that slows you down, crawling enemies that are hard to see in the water, a couple of NPC invasions, tons of caster enemies, a few heavy knights, a few hippos, some dragon-people melee enemies. Oh, a handful of powerful pyromancers on the upper levels.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

I managed to get across this area relatively easily after getting stuck in the section after the second bonfire for a few tries. The key is fishing each enemy one by one with arrows: poison arrows are totally OP. Fire four arrows, poison the enemy, hide until it's dead.

The area boss,

Spoiler

Demon of Song

, is a total pushover, though. I used the summon sign of

Spoiler

Felicia the Brave

and used

Spoiler

her

as a meatshield. I fired some poison arrows to the boss's face until it was poisoned, and then finished it off with my Lightning Heide Knight Sword +10. Easy peasy... although I can't shake the feeling that this fight is a complete letdown after such a potentially hard section.

Wait. You were trying to fight Dark Lurker before that area?

=(

 

[pa22word]

This thread is really frustrating to post in.

I'm trying to figure out how to word my post in a way that I can give proper context to not unintentionally spoil someone, but the name of the boss is considered a spoiler here, the name of enemies are considered spoilers, the name of the area is considered a spoiler, and I think even the contents of my characters lunch box might be considered "questionable territory".

Is there a "spoiler" thread for this game anywhere?

 

[Rhaknar]

This thread is really frustrating to post in.

I'm trying to figure out how to word my post in a way that I can give proper context to not unintentionally spoil someone, but the name of the boss is considered a spoiler here, the name of enemies are considered spoilers, the name of the area is considered a spoiler, and I think even the contents of my characters lunch box might be considered "questionable territory".

Is there a "spoiler" thread for this game anywhere?

It was the same in the BB thread, I'll never understand how a boss name is a spoiler but that's me

 

[Jito]

Holy hell, fighting the R

Spoiler

at Vanguard

, with just my fist was insanely difficult. So many fucking rats!

Bitch Slap powers on though.

 

[Joey Ravn]

Wait. You were trying to fight Dark Lurker before that area?

=(

I'm SL150, with relative good gear, and haven't been having any issue with any other boss so far. My problem with

Spoiler

the Darklurker

isn't really a matter of leveling or lack of overall skill. It's just that I can't manage having the two enemies firing at me at the same time, while trying to land even one hit on one without having the other kill me with an off-screen attack. The randomness of the boss doesn't help either. It's not like I can say "Well, it attacked with this move, so it's going to attack with this other one now, which will give me a window to counter with a quick slash or magic". No. Each copy of the boss does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

I've given up on trying to kill it right now. I'll go back to it once I'm around SLVL250, since that seems to be the tactic of choice for melee characters: being able to hit it hard enough before he gets the chance to split to avoid the chaotic second part of the fight as much as possible.

 

[KodaRuss]

I'm SL150, with relative good gear, and haven't been having any issue with any other boss so far. My problem with

Spoiler

the Darklurker

isn't really a matter of leveling or lack of overall skill. It's just that I can't manage having the two enemies firing at me at the same time, while trying to land even one hit on one without having the other kill me with an off-screen attack. The randomness of the boss doesn't help either. It's not like I can say "Well, it attacked with this move, so it's going to attack with this other one now, which will give me a window to counter with a quick slash or magic". No. Each copy of the boss does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

I've given up on trying to kill it right now. I'll go back to it once I'm around SLVL250, since that seems to be the tactic of choice for melee characters: being able to hit it hard enough before he gets the chance to split to avoid the chaotic second part of the fight as much as possible.

Darklurkker was hell for me trying to kill him the first time around as an all melee. Hardest boss in the series for me.

 

[Hugstable]

This thread is really frustrating to post in.

I'm trying to figure out how to word my post in a way that I can give proper context to not unintentionally spoil someone, but the name of the boss is considered a spoiler here, the name of enemies are considered spoilers, the name of the area is considered a spoiler, and I think even the contents of my characters lunch box might be considered "questionable territory".

Is there a "spoiler" thread for this game anywhere?

What? I've been posting boss names all the time and noone has said shit to me lol

 

[LeonSPBR]

If you have the DLC and are up to date with patches, you already have everything that's on the SotFS PS3 retail version.

Well I played with a borrowed copy when the game was in patch 1.01 so I guess I'll get to see new things then.

 

[Jito]

What? I've been posting boss names all the time and noone has said shit to me lol

Don't worry about him, he's still being an ass cause someone was using spoilers for an area name the other day and he couldn't figure out what it was.

 

[KodaRuss]

It felt really good killing the Pursuer again. That guy killed me so many times the first time I went through DS2. It was my first souls game at the time and I almost quit until I beat him finally.

Saved the video because it felt so easy this time after playing through DS1 and just getting the platinum on Bloodborne.

 

[Hugstable]

It felt really good killing the Pursuer again. That guy killed me so many times the first time I went through DS2. It was my first souls game at the time and I almost quit until I beat him finally.

Saved the video because it felt so easy this time after playing through DS1 and just getting the platinum on Bloodborne.

You are gonna have a few surprises when you reach Lost Bas ;D

 

[idonteven]

i think i am at like try 80 at A

Spoiler

ncient

d

Spoiler

ragon

insanly hard

 

[MrHoot]

I really do hope we get some durability fix from a mod or something since my weapons of choice would be the old whip or incantation/dance-dance-revolution trident, and both lose durability like crazy

 

[flowsnake]

I really do hope we get some durability fix from a mod or something since my weapons of choice would be the old whip or incantation/dance-dance-revolution trident, and both lose durability like crazy

There is a mod.

 

[MrHoot]

There is a mod.

o-oh

Moving along, nothing to see

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

You are gonna have a few surprises when you reach Lost Bas ;D

Didn't have a problem with him but once. The damn part with the archer towers and dogs.

 

[Joey Ravn]

The more I play Dark Souls II, the less I like it.

I don't think I can deal with other players invading me anymore. I still want to read soapstone messages and blood pools, but, damn. I'm fucking tired of being invaded every 30 minutes, even having NEVER sinned in this game. Specially since everyone I come across seems to be extremely overpowered and is either lagging or outright cheating. I am landing hits on them, but they don't count. I lost count of how many times I lost progress in an area because someone decided to interrupt my game without my consent. (I know that you can burn Human Effigies in bonfires to prevent invasions, but it's not a solution when I have to jump from bonfire to bonfire, as effigies are limited and require farming.)

Yes, I know: it's part of the game. But it also was part of Dark Souls 1 and I never had any issue with it. I could play the game hollowed without any risk of invasions, or I could choose to become human and deal with the extra risk of attracting invaders. But in Dark Souls II you are forced to be invaded all the time. It's just another example of how FROM understand that "frustration = hard".

I honestly don't want to force myself to go offline, but I'm not having any fun at all. Every step I take seems to be a massive "fuck you, player" from FROM. The whole "hard but fair" adage went out of the window with this sequel, if you ask me. I think I'm done with this game for now. I'll go back to Pillars of Eternity, and with GTA V (pre-loaded!) and Mortal Kombat X on PC this week, I think I rather play something that I'll enjoy instead of trying to prove myself that I can bear Dark Souls II.

 

[Divius]

o-oh

 

[addyb]

So decided to re spec so I can have a hybrid build and use some magic. I've got the sunset staff. Any recommendations on what's good to use? Not used a staff since demons and even then it was mainly soul arrow and fire.

 

[Toma]

How much new content (in hours) is there in this version compared to the base PS3 version? Wondering if its worth replaying it all over again or not.

 

[addyb]

Oh and

Spoiler

earthen peak can get fucked

those jumpy headless dudes are wrecking my world.

 

[KodaRuss]

You are gonna have a few surprises when you reach Lost Bas ;D

Great! That should be a ton of fun. I like that a lot of the enemy placements are all new keeps it fresh even though I don't rememer everything.

 

[FarmerGiles]

i think i am at like try 80 at A

Spoiler

ncient

d

Spoiler

ragon

insanly hard

Spoiler

Try sticking to his front right foot. They way I did it was to bait his fire breath move (where he breaths fire straight ahead, you'll need to position yourself in front of his head) that gives you more than enough chance to easily dodge the attack and get in a few attacks. You'll know when you've fucked up the bait if he get's ready to start flapping, in which case get your sprint on.

It's a pretty easy fight if you get in to the rhythm of bait and hit, and that move is probably the easiest one to bait, the the best one to take advantage of.

 

[takriel]

I agree in level design and atmosphere ( although sometimes it's on pair as well ), but regarding the "boring areas", while it's true, let's not forget Lost Izalith, Crystal Caves,Tomb of the Giants. Dark Souls had some pretty mediocre areas as well. I think that overall, DkS2 is more consistent in quality, and didn't go down to the levels of the worst areas in Dark Souls 1.

I also think it's by far the one with the most and best variety in character building in the entire series.

New game + additions is also pretty awesome and adds quite a bit of replayability to an already highly replayable game!

True, but I didn't find those areas in DkS 1 to be that mediocre as Harvest Valley, Earthen Peak, Iron Keep, Shaded Woods, Doors of Pharros, and Brightstone Cove Tseldora.

It's also true that DkS 2 has very good build variety and the best NG+ ever.

 

[dissa9]

Oh and

Spoiler

earthen peak can get fucked

those jumpy headless dudes are wrecking my world.

They are a nightmare, took me forever to get the better of them.

 

[Kyleripman]

I'm SL150, with relative good gear, and haven't been having any issue with any other boss so far. My problem with

Spoiler

the Darklurker

isn't really a matter of leveling or lack of overall skill. It's just that I can't manage having the two enemies firing at me at the same time, while trying to land even one hit on one without having the other kill me with an off-screen attack. The randomness of the boss doesn't help either. It's not like I can say "Well, it attacked with this move, so it's going to attack with this other one now, which will give me a window to counter with a quick slash or magic". No. Each copy of the boss does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

I've given up on trying to kill it right now. I'll go back to it once I'm around SLVL250, since that seems to be the tactic of choice for melee characters: being able to hit it hard enough before he gets the chance to split to avoid the chaotic second part of the fight as much as possible.

This was my experience as well. I thought it was a fun boss with a decent moveset that felt good to dodge, and then it was completely ruined when it splits in two.
FWIW I managed to beat them only by jacking up my intel stat and then using that one magic sword spell (can't remember the exact name).

 

[FallingEdge]

So if I can run the PC version maxed out just fine, does it just come to personal preference if I want to play it on the PS4? I could be wrong, but I remember hearing about some PC specific bugs regarding durability of weapons.

Just want to get the best experience possible.

 

[flowsnake]

So if I can run the PC version maxed out just fine, does it just come to personal preference if I want to play it on the PS4? I could be wrong, but I remember hearing about some PC specific bugs regarding durability of weapons.

Just want to get the best experience possible.

The durability change affects all versions that run at 60fps, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

 

[Dance Inferno]

So I have a Fragrant Branch that I could use to either free

Spoiler

Straid of Olaphis

or just save for something else (i.e.,

Spoiler

grabbing the Estus Flask shard in the tutorial area

). Are there any weapons that are useful for me to grab using a boss soul? The bosses I've beaten so far are:

Spoiler

Last Giant, Pursuer, Dragonrider, Old Dragonslayer, Flexile Sentry, Ruin Sentinels, and Lost Sinner.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

I just realized there are little red bars under your weapons on the main screen indicating durability of your weapon.

Also, why is he club better than the large club? The only good thing about large club is it staggers enemies easily.

 

[FallingEdge]

The durability change affects all versions that run at 60fps, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Gotcha. Thanks!

 

[addyb]

So I have a Fragrant Branch that I could use to either free

Spoiler

Straid of Olaphis

or just save for something else (i.e.,

Spoiler

grabbing the Estus Flask shard in the tutorial area

). Are there any weapons that are useful for me to grab using a boss soul? The bosses I've beaten so far are:

Spoiler

Last Giant, Pursuer, Dragonrider, Old Dragonslayer, Flexile Sentry, Ruin Sentinels, and Lost Sinner.

Didn't know there was a shard there. I might head back and get that.

 

[taoofjord]

What SL shoud I stop at for PVP?

 

[Brandon F]

So if I own the vanilla PS3 disc and all dlc already, is the game patched up to match the content and features of the ps4/x1 port? No need to upgrade to a new copy with a purchase right? They released a scholar psn version at $40 on PS3, but that is just for newcomers right? Just curious how they handled vanilla players with this upgrade on consoles.

Edit: just saw the OP chart. Guess my PS3 version has been patched but is lacking some features exclusive to the new consoles still.

 

[Kai Dracon]

So if I own the vanilla PS3 disc and all dlc already, is the game patched up to match the content and features of the ps4/x1 port? No need to upgrade to a new copy with a purchase right? They released a scholar psn version at $40 on PS3, but that is just for newcomers right? Just curious how they handled vanilla players with this upgrade on consoles.

Edit: just saw the OP chart. Guess my PS3 version has been patched but is lacking some features exclusive to the new consoles still.

Yeah, PS3 patch does not add the new enemy positions, new game progression due to different items and yore branch locations, and new NPC invaders. I think it also doesn't get a few new weapons and pieces of gear.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

I have a question about the rat covenant. I've been using it to PvP today just letting them clear the room and heal then show up and bow, duke it out etc. But sitting here waiting for the next person something occurred to me. I've seen a few people not manage to clear the first room and it made me wonder, what would happen if someone dropped a bonfire ascetic or two in there? It's almost too cruel to imagine.