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Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin |OT| Your weapons are weak, old man

If I can finish the game soon, maybe I'll tackle the DLC, but with I Am Setsuna releasing soon, as well as FFXV, plus I want to play UC4... And I hope to get to DS3... All with limited time to play... Yeeeeaaahhhh....

And yes I agree with not feeling it either. I'm a huge Demon's Souls fan, loved DaS and a enjoyed BB, but this game, I dunno. There's parts I like, but as a whole, I can't put my finger on it precisely, but it feels like a downgraded version of the other games.
I agree, it definitely has its moments but I think there is something fundamental about the way it plays that I don't like.

Anyway, beat Elana finally. I saw a tip somewhere saying that shields are basically useless in the DLC so I two handed my Grand Lance and finally beat her with the help of both summons!

Edit: just fought Sinh. Holy shit, probably my favourite fight of this game so far. The music, the arena, the design... Really good.
 
If people are going to share their dislikes, I'll join:

Enemy placement ranges from ok to dogshit - many ambushes with no hint of them happening, getting swarmed by enemies when the game clearly isn't built around that type of combat.

Online - preferred the way DS1 did it, if you're hollow, no summoning or invasions. Simple upside and downside. But now I can be at 50% max HP, can't summon but can still be invaded, which is stupid.

Some hitbox fuckery - getting grabbed by a mimic when standing to its side is bullshit, a few attacks hit me even though I was blocking. A few attacks hit me with no feedback, saw my HP bar going down when there wasn't the usual sound or particle effects of getting hit.

The new parrying is terrible - and even made partially pointless by swarms of enemies.

Trapped chests with no indication before you open them. Not even salty about this, so far I've always reacted on time and never got killed by a chest trap, just think it's stupid.

Using abilities and items that return you to a bonfire resets the world, respawning enemies and objects but does not restore you to full HP, refill estus flask charges and spells.

Why the fuck do the binoculars take up a weapon slot and don't have zoom?

[EDIT]
And just remembered, one-way ledges. In DS1 it was always obvious when you are about to take a path from which there is no simple way to backtrack, usually by it being a reasonably high drop down. Here you drop down from a knee-high ledge and have no way of lifting you leg slightly higher to climb back up. One of the very few occasions where I can honestly say the word 'lazy'.

[EDIT]#2
Come to think of it, I haven't seen any swords with a scabbard, what's up with that? DS1 had some nice scabbards.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Online - preferred the way DS1 did it, if you're hollow, no summoning or invasions. Simple upside and downside. But now I can be at 50% max HP, can't summon but can still be invaded, which is stupid.
No, it's great and I miss it. :p

Using abilities and items that return you to a bonfire resets the world, respawning enemies and objects but does not restore you to full HP, refill estus flask charges and spells.
It's for those no-bonfire runs that get you a special item. They let you warp with bones, but don't refill, so that makes it still challenging.

Why the fuck do the binoculars take up a weapon slot and don't have zoom?
To aim spells in first-person.
 

Ferr986

Member
Online - preferred the way DS1 did it, if you're hollow, no summoning or invasions. Simple upside and downside. But now I can be at 50% max HP, can't summon but can still be invaded, which is stupid.

You can just burn an effigy at the bonfire to block invasions.

IMO DS2 did it the best online-wise, the other games are so restrictive that makes the game suffer son replays.
 

Tarkus

Member
You can just burn an effigy at the bonfire to block invasions.

IMO DS2 did it the best online-wise, the other games are so restrictive that makes the game suffer son replays.
Preach. I know of many PvPers who have returned to DS2 now. I tried it a couple of days ago but I'm not quite ready yet. It was very active though.
 

Soulhouf

Member
You can just burn an effigy at the bonfire to block invasions.

IMO DS2 did it the best online-wise, the other games are so restrictive that makes the game suffer son replays.

If only the combat was good. I can't go back to that game PvP. It's so sloppy and floaty and attack has no impact.
I don't mind the PvE combat but PvP has so many flaws IMO, I can't stand it any more.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
The problem with DS2 PvP is that a) invaders can't heal at all (except with spells, and they can't use magic-refilling items either) and b) there is no infinite invasion item.

The problem with DS3 PvP is that 1) the odds are stacked against invaders and 3) the netcode is complete and utter shit.

Seriously, while I love invading in DS3 more than in DS2 despite point 1), this is really infuriating. Over and over again do I see unplayable lag, such as delayed hits (by several seconds I mean), teleporting, everyone skating about, etc. Why is it like that? I don't understand, it's magnitudes worse than in the other games where such lag spikes were rare occurrences, not common ones, and it hasn't been patched either.

I mean I'm OK with the usual From Software lag in the other games. Phantom range, sorta laggy BS/hitting, etc. But stuff like this or this or this, which would be ultra-rare and WTF moments in the past games, happens so goddamn often I can only groan and sigh at it now.
 

Tarkus

Member
Ouch, those videos are painful. I can't stand laggy shit. Luckily, that doesn't happen as frequently when dueling.
 

Ferr986

Member
If only the combat was good. I can't go back to that game PvP. It's so sloppy and floaty and attack has no impact.
I don't mind the PvE combat but PvP has so many flaws IMO, I can't stand it any more.

Yeah I understand. I mean I like both but in different ways. I was talking more about the online systems than pure combat.

The problem with DS2 PvP is that a) invaders can't heal at all (except with spells, and they can't use magic-refilling items either) and b) there is no infinite invasion item.

The problem with DS3 PvP is that 1) the odds are stacked against invaders and 3) the netcode is complete and utter shit.

Seriously, while I love invading in DS3 more than in DS2 despite point 1), this is really infuriating. Over and over again do I see unplayable lag, such as delayed hits (by several seconds I mean), teleporting, everyone skating about, etc. Why is it like that? I don't understand, it's magnitudes worse than in the other games where such lag spikes were rare occurrences, not common ones, and it hasn't been patched either.

I mean I'm OK with the usual From Software lag in the other games. Phantom range, sorta laggy BS/hitting, etc. But stuff like this or this or this, which would be ultra-rare and WTF moments in the past games, happens so goddamn often I can only groan and sigh at it now.

Yep, agree with those points, although atleast you can buy unlimited cracked orbs on Souls 2 NG+ (still, I don't understand why just don't offer a full orb), and atleast with point 1 healing is really punishable.

That's what it annoys me more with DS3 PvP. I mean, controls and combat feel are totally better in DS3 than 2 but it annoys me to now end how hard is to punish healing and rolling. It's like Bloodborne but without the gun mechanics (so, ignoring the point why it was that way on BB).

In that regard I like DS2 more, where you have to be more careful with your actions because you can be easily punished.

DS3 feels certainly more tuned on chaotic invasions, and it was fun the first days with 3-way invasions (where you never knew what purples would do). Sucks that nowadays usually a purple is just another red, but that's another effect of invaders getting forced onto gank squads. DS3 got some bad habits from BB PvP IMO.
 
The very first invasion I ever had, all the way back in Undead Parish, there was almost no lag. I could not for the life of me understand back then how people were complaining about bad netcode.

Then I got invaded some more, and determined that the first invasion was some sort of fluke.

Every single PvP experience after the very first was a laggy mess, had attacks parried that I made 3 seconds ago, backstabbed by someone in front of me, backstabbed from 5+m away, and running into some asshole with a lightning Avelyn in Undead Parish on my very first playthrough.
That sort of bullshit put me off of PvP.

Sorry, but I kinda hate PvP, seeing it was made terrible in DS3 makes a bit... relieved? Means I'm less likely to run into that sort of bullshit.
 
Finished the main campaign :) did the optional
Aldia boss and then used PS+ to see both endings
.

I think it's interesting that both games seem to revolve around
cycles, with the player either choosing to continue the cycle and uphold the status quo, or break it - to unknown results
. In terms of my opinion of this game, I think it did some really different things which I liked but quite a few that I didn't. I still can't shake the feeling that there is something fundamentally off about the combat, especially when compared to DaS1 and Bloodborne, that made just playing it feel much tougher than the other entries I have played... It felt like enemies could track a ridiculous amount, even if I was fighting red phantom NPCs - if I push R1 with my Grand Lance I would basically hit in front of me, but if they do it they could spin around mid swing and still manage to hit me. A lot of the hitboxes were incredibly wonky, with some landed hits feeling like I was completely out of range - somewhat confused by the fact that my character would take damage but there would be no feedback other than my health decreasing. I liked the visuals - they were very different to DaS1, particularly the amount of "sunny" areas, and there was a lot of environmental variety (from the outside at least - things tended to blend together when indoors). I feel like the boss fights weren't fantastic - they were either too easy or frustratingly designed, and I can't even remember many of them. The standouts were probably Sinh, Executioner's Chariot, Smelter Demon, The Duke's Dear Freja, and the Looking Glass Knight. I liked the story overall, and I am very interested in the lore - maybe not quite as much as DaS1 but certainly more than many other games. I'm looking forward to watching YouTube videos and reading all about it.

I'm just deciding now whether to continue with the DLC - I did Crown of the Sunken King but gave up on Old Iron King before reaching Fume Knight because I hated the area. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow. I also picked up DS3 during the Steam sale, so I'm looking forward to playing that relatively soon! :)
 
...It felt like enemies could track a ridiculous amount, even if I was fighting red phantom NPCs - if I push R1 with my Grand Lance I would basically hit in front of me, but if they do it they could spin around mid swing and still manage to hit me. A lot of the hitboxes were incredibly wonky, with some landed hits feeling like I was completely out of range - somewhat confused by the fact that my character would take damage but there would be no feedback other than my health decreasing...

While I love the game and have full intention of going several NG+ deep, these are my biggest issues. A few attacks are downright wrong and even bugged, some enemies having absurd attacks that don't follow series convention.
One example is an attack by the Heide Knight, they do a double horizontal slash while lunging, the attack has no windup, and their movement is erratic like they are aiming at invisible enemies, and their movement doesn't match their footwork, they look like they are lunging forward but they end up spinning in place.

NPC phantoms downright cheat, they recover from stagger almost instantly, cast spells like they have every single cast speed item, infinite stamina, ridiculous HP and perfect dodgerolls, making them a pain in the ass to fight. And I'm pretty sure their attack animations are faster than that of player characters.

I other news, beat Darklurker. Would be absurdly easy if he didn't split half-way through the fight.
 
Yeah NPC phantoms were just no fun to fight.

Anyway, decided I would do the DLC after all... I'm probably not going to replay this game for a long time so this is the best I'll ever be at Dark Souls 2. Might as well try and see it all :)

I'm at Fume Knight now. He doesn't seem too difficult, you just have to have your dodging down perfectly. I got him down to about 60% on the first try :)
 
Got Fume down to about 20% this time. I like this boss because it feels like he has to play the stamina game as well. I still think one of the worst bits in this game was the mace knights in the dragon place that would do a four hit combo and then immediately start it again.
 
Still on Fume Knight. The one attack I'm having trouble with is the one where he puts his sword in the ground and the orbs come out. So tough

You can kinda/sorta cheese him, he has an overhead slam that makes his bigger sword glow, as long as it's glowing he won't start the second phase. You can bait that attack out by drinking Estus next to him, which is not without risk.

I'm currently on Sir Alonne. His grab attack has a shit hitbox.

[EDIT]
Beat him!
 
Yeah. I resolved that issue by repeatedly clearing out all enemies until they stopped respawning.
This did it :p

That's Alonne down now. I think as a boss he was pretty fun but the run back wasn't, he kind of feels like a less satisfying Fume Knight. The thing about the Fume Knight was because the bonfire was so close you became very familiar with him, so it required a time investment but the payoff was great. This required a time investment (clearing the rooms) on top of a time investment (learning his tells) so it was a bit less satisfying personally.

Tomorrow will be the Ivory King DLC and then I think that will be the end of my time with DS2 :)
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
i can't get past the undead purgatory area. i know it's optional so i might just have to come back later if possible. these guys who jump down before you get to the bridge are doing my head in. i can sometimes make it to the red phantom but he's tough. i just find myself not having enough healing items. i have x8 +2 estus flasks and i've used all my lifegems up.

i'm lvl 82 right now. the only reason i'm really sticking with this area is to level up a bit more before moving on. should i be good to move on to harvest valley?
 
i can't get past the undead purgatory area. i know it's optional so i might just have to come back later if possible. these guys who jump down before you get to the bridge are doing my head in. i can sometimes make it to the red phantom but he's tough. i just find myself not having enough healing items. i have x8 +2 estus flasks and i've used all my lifegems up.

i'm lvl 82 right now. the only reason i'm really sticking with this area is to level up a bit more before moving on. should i be good to move on to harvest valley?

Don't fight them all at once, use a bow to get the attention of one of them and kill them one at a time.
 
Replaying DS2:SftS for the first time in ages. Trying a new build, what do you guys think.

Two Estocs

37 Vig
40 Str
40 Dex

Not decided where the test of the stats will go. Any advice on how to expand on this build?
 
Currently on the Burnt Ivory King. This might take a while...

[EDIT]
Decided to take a small diversion. I'm in the Frigid Outskirts. Have yet to decide if this is the greatest area ever, or the most evil bullshit concocted by man.
Goddamn electric reindeer.


[EDIT#2]
Burnt Ivory King defeated, only the Frigid Outskirts left to explore, wondering if I should bother or go face Aldia and move to NG+.


[EDIT#3]
Beat the boss of Frigid Outskirts. The boss itself is fine, but holy shit the trek to it is annoying.
 

Mistel

Banned
Replaying DS2:SftS for the first time in ages. Trying a new build, what do you guys think.

Two Estocs

37 Vig
40 Str
40 Dex

Not decided where the test of the stats will go. Any advice on how to expand on this build?
Don't need the 40 DEX Estocs are a STR weapon you really only need 18 DEX. As for expanding it you'd want to maybe try a low equip load flynn's rig build with high ADP?
 
That's me done! :D
J9wpawp.jpg

bsOxL2u.jpg
glad I stuck it out with the DLC after all, the third DLC area might be my favourite in the game, and for the most part the bosses were great. The level design was also really good, I wonder why there were less shortcuts and stuff in the main game.

Overall I really enjoyed it.
 

Ferr986

Member
That's me done! :D

glad I stuck it out with the DLC after all, the third DLC area might be my favourite in the game, and for the most part the bosses were great. The level design was also really good, I wonder why there were less shortcuts and stuff in the main game.

Overall I really enjoyed it.

Maybe it's not the sole reason but Tanimura said that levels had to be rearranged when he stepped in mid development

Tanimura: Yes, this game actually went through quite a troubled development process. Due to a number of factors we were actually forced to re-think the entire game midway into development. We really had to go back to the drawing board and think once more about what a Dark Souls game should be. It was at that point that I took on my current role, overseeing the entirety of the game including the art direction. To ensure we created the game both we and the fans wanted it was completely necessary, but it did of course create a problem. We had to decide what to do with the designs and maps that had been created up to that point. Ideally we’d start again from scratch but of course we were under time constraints so instead we had to figure out how to repurpose the designs in our newly reimagined game. This meant everything from deciding new roles for characters to finding ways to slot locations into the world map. This unusual development cycle faced us with an entirely different set of problems and looking back on the project as a whole it was at times, arduous.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
That's me done! :D
glad I stuck it out with the DLC after all, the third DLC area might be my favourite in the game, and for the most part the bosses were great. The level design was also really good, I wonder why there were less shortcuts and stuff in the main game.

Overall I really enjoyed it.
I just want to say, that's a bitchin' character. Slayonce, LOL, awesome. :D
 
Maybe it's not the sole reason but Tanimura said that levels had to be rearranged when he stepped in mid development
Huh, I didn't know about the troubled development. Are there any articles about it?
I just want to say, that's a bitchin' character. Slayonce, LOL, awesome. :D
Thanks :p Slayonce conquered Dark Souls, has now conquered Dark Souls 2, and will soon be conquering Dark Souls 3 :)
Edit: checked through my screenshots and I had this one so I figured I would post it :)
 

Ferr986

Member
Huh, I didn't know about the troubled development. Are there any articles about it?

There's a really big interview in Dark Souls 2 Design Works. Mind you, about the game in general, but there's also things about the development changes

http://peterbarnard1984.tumblr.com/post/113163062955/dark-souls-2-design-works-translation

Basically the game changed directors mid development and they had to redo the game with what was already done. DLC were done by Tanimura, the new director, and from scratch, thats why the level design is better.
 

Tarkus

Member
I've been terrorizing the same person for 30 minutes at Drangleic Castle. Must've killed him 20 times and all his phantoms. I felt so bad that I tried to drop him 10 effigies but he didn't pick them up :/
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
i've equipped the alonne? set dropped by the guys in the iron keep. not sure it's making any difference but i think it has higher fire resistance. it took my equip up to 69% so got rid of my shield because i forget it's there and never use it and prefer rolling to avoid attacks. 2 handing my +8 varangian sword and the enemies are going down a bit easier.

before i go into the smelter demon i go into the water from the pharros contraption. i read it helps protect against fire. i used a couple items to help against fire (not sure of their names) and applied poison to my sword. summon lucatiel and kept rolling to the left of the demon.

i think my problem is predicting what he's going to do. i think i'm ok at dodging his attacks but can't tell when he uses that blast effect which hits hard. of course by the time i get in here i have little estus flasks.

i'll keep trying a few more times but if i can't do it i'm just gonna move on to the rest of the area.
 

kaos.

Member
That's me done! :D

glad I stuck it out with the DLC after all, the third DLC area might be my favourite in the game, and for the most part the bosses were great. The level design was also really good, I wonder why there were less shortcuts and stuff in the main game.

Overall I really enjoyed it.

LOL
Best character's name ever!
 

Tarkus

Member
i've equipped the alonne? set dropped by the guys in the iron keep. not sure it's making any difference but i think it has higher fire resistance. it took my equip up to 69% so got rid of my shield because i forget it's there and never use it and prefer rolling to avoid attacks. 2 handing my +8 varangian sword and the enemies are going down a bit easier.

before i go into the smelter demon i go into the water from the pharros contraption. i read it helps protect against fire. i used a couple items to help against fire (not sure of their names) and applied poison to my sword. summon lucatiel and kept rolling to the left of the demon.

i think my problem is predicting what he's going to do. i think i'm ok at dodging his attacks but can't tell when he uses that blast effect which hits hard. of course by the time i get in here i have little estus flasks.

i'll keep trying a few more times but if i can't do it i'm just gonna move on to the rest of the area.
That's actually a good set of armor.

I believe he only does the blast attack after jumping straight up into the air and plunging his sword down into the ground, so it's telegraphed really well. Just try to get 2 hits on him per time. That way you have enough stamina to roll. It's worth your time to defeat him. Make sure you come back to the room after the next bonfire.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
That's actually a good set of armor.

I believe he only does the blast attack after jumping straight up into the air and plunging his sword down into the ground, so it's telegraphed really well. Just try to get 2 hits on him per time. That way you have enough stamina to roll. It's worth your time to defeat him. Make sure you come back to the room after the next bonfire.

i just tried again. put magic on my sword and used green blossom to help with stamina. lucatiel did a good job keeping him busy and eventually died. the demons health was so low. less than 1/4. i think if lucatiel stayed alive a little longer i would have defeated him or maybe i should've tried getting more hits in but i was being cautious in case of that blast effect but he never done it once.

EDIT: i did it!!! :D most of the knights in the area had despawned because i had killed them so many times so getting to the boss himself was much easier. went in myself a few times to figure him out. i got so close one time and felt confident i could easily do it especially if i had lucatiel with me. summoned her and yep we beat him! finally can move on.

2nd EDIT: got to the last bonfire before the old iron king boss!
 

Tarkus

Member
i just tried again. put magic on my sword and used green blossom to help with stamina. lucatiel did a good job keeping him busy and eventually died. the demons health was so low. less than 1/4. i think if lucatiel stayed alive a little longer i would have defeated him or maybe i should've tried getting more hits in but i was being cautious in case of that blast effect but he never done it once.

EDIT: i did it!!! :D most of the knights in the area had despawned because i had killed them so many times so getting to the boss himself was much easier. went in myself a few times to figure him out. i got so close one time and felt confident i could easily do it especially if i had lucatiel with me. summoned her and yep we beat him! finally can move on.

2nd EDIT: got to the last bonfire before the old iron king boss!
Did you go back to the room?

I've been going through NG+ and I have to say, it's not as big of an difficulty spike as I thought it would be.
It's not too bad. I love the phantom enemies though.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
Did you go back to the room?

I did but couldnt defeat the pursuer. He's too fast and I kept getting cursed. I've moved on and defeated the Old Iron King. Can i still go back and fight the pursuer later for the ring or have i missed it now?

Now i have 2 of the main souls i needto decide where to go next. I have depetrified the woman to let me go to the shaded woods and I also have the ring to let me drop down the pit in Majula. I'm leaning towards the pit.
 
I 'beat' the game, as in beat the story.. I don't think I have the energy to go through with the DLC right now. What I did enjoy about the game was the lore. Especially after teasing out the intricacies reading up about it after the endings. I've beaten all of the bosses in Dark Souls 1 & 3, I did really enjoy the bosses in this game as well. They were one of my favourite parts.

That said, I am still recovering from how annoying this game got at some points. That room in Brightstone Cove with 30 spiders descending from the roof, with an overpowered invader, and two spider-men creating a pincer attack. The literal geyser of Alonne knights with NPC invaders. This game seemed to take every possible rage-inducing moment in Dark Souls 1, combined them together, and threw them into every level. Dark Souls 1 had the sense to create some separation between difficult moments in levels, sometimes they threw the whole kitchen sink at you, but rarely every level. Dark Souls 2 had no hesitation. It was nuts that the bosses were by far the easiest part of the game.

I went through with a rapier build, and that alone was cause for hair-pulling. Half of the time my character wouldn't attack the way I wanted them to, or would get stuck behind their shield trying to pierce out of it. Not to mention the moments where I would be flooded by monsters with the capacity to only hit one(or at most two) at a time while I was eviscerated on all sides. The combat felt really awkward in this one.

I don't know what to say.. The sheer variety of the levels was astounding. But it felt like the sort of difficulty they threw at you was artificial, their solution was to just throw more monsters at you every time. It really soured it for me. That I had to basically run the Iron Keep bonfire 40-50 times up to smelter demon just to disappear the amount of mobs before the boss....

Having said all of this, I stepped foot into Frozen Eleum Loyce for like ten minutes and it was so so beautiful. They really nailed the environments in this game, given the limitations they were working with. I just am imagining the DLC took the shitty parts of the regular game and dialed it to 11.
 
Having said all of this, I stepped foot into Frozen Eleum Loyce for like ten minutes and it was so so beautiful. They really nailed the environments in this game, given the limitations they were working with. I just am imagining the DLC took the shitty parts of the regular game and dialed it to 11.

While not perfect, the DLC is significantly better in this regard.
 
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