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

yes and yes

it's not just me, when I got to the second spot there were player signs on the ground saying "not here?!"

They moved her summon sign at no man's whatever nearer to the boat. It's not where it used to be. I think it's on the docks before you go to the boat.
 
Did anyone ever post comparison shots between modded DkS2 and the DX11 update?

I should have added that I know I can google it up, but I don't want boss spoilers or anything past early game.
 
had you done any bosses in lost bastille?

Yes, the Sentinels.

GTX 560

i5-3450

I know, not really current or anything. I actually got out of that area and it got better. I'm going to install the old one and see if I am just tripping.

I'm actually liking the new enemy placements so far.

I think you should lower the graphics a bit, maybe you weren't running it maxed on the original DS2
 

Carlius

Banned
The durability issue is a joke.I love this game and i played 300 hours on ps3 and i never had a weapon broken after killing a few enemies.

I hope a patch fixes this soon

it wont. its been established, lets get over this and keep playing please.
 

Tagyhag

Member
But what I'm saying is is that the basic design choices (for whatever reason - I'm guessing Miyazaki not working on it has something to do with it because Bloodbourne doesn't have this issue) are based around unfairness and are everywhere, annoying to point of frustration at the game instead of the standard Dark Souls frustration at yourself for not being good enough. Basically summed up by something I'm talking to atm "Dark souls was a hard game. Dark souls 2 just puts you in unfair situations and calls itself a hard game" and he played vanilla version which is worrying to me.

And the forest was actually the least bullshitty place I've been to.

Miyazaki was there for the new enemy placements.
 

Ayt

Banned
GTX 560

i5-3450

I know, not really current or anything. I actually got out of that area and it got better. I'm going to install the old one and see if I am just tripping.

I'm actually liking the new enemy placements so far.

I'm getting a consistent 60 FPS with a GTX 560 and a worse processor using max settings. There must be an issue somewhere.
 
maybe you have to do a boss to move her then, not just talk to her

I can't remember, but i think she was the other NPC that i called to kill the sentinels besides the Pilgrim. Can't remember being able to call her in the original version. Maybe that explains it.

I'm getting a consistent 60 FPS with a GTX 560 and a worse processor using max settings. There must be an issue somewhere.

Probably drivers.
 
I still haven't done the Lost Sinner... i did Lost Bastille(1st encounter then Sentinels)>No Man's Wharf(2nd encounter then Flexile Sentry)> (and i'm almost at the third encounter)
 

acsn

Member
I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed with the bosses so far. I just finished No Man's Wharf and the only boss fight I've liked so far is
Old Dragonslayer and he's just Ornstein without Smough.
 

creyas

Member
yes and yes

it's not just me, when I got to the second spot there were player signs on the ground saying "not here?!"

If you mean No Man's Wharf,
she was elsewhere, inside the area this time.. didn't do any bosses in Bastille and she was there.
Also moved in
Earthen Peak, but earlier.

Summon spot was also moved. I'd guess the changes are small enough that it'll be fine if you just explore properly.
 
So then you'd have to do that area first, then do No Man's Wharf?

I still haven't done the Lost Sinner... i did Lost Bastille(1st encounter then Sentinels)>No Man's Wharf(2nd encounter then Flexile Sentry)> (and i'm almost at the third encounter)

Yes, NPCs start to move when you kill a boss or enter new area, in case of doubt you can check if she already moved from her spot on the bastille (you need her to defeat
The sinner
for her achievement sidequest).

Is there a place early on that I can get repair powder? All out.

In Majula after you help the blacksmith
 

bidguy

Banned
what makes the heide knights go aggressive all of a sudden ? i completed the area and they start standing up and targeting me. is it because i killed some of them ?
 
I beat the game vanilla and never played the DLC. I wonder if I should play it again with this release.

It requires to beat
The Rotten, the Iron King
and reach the
Winter shrine
to enter one of each DLC.

You can wait for a cheaper price or go buy it
 

Swuabino

Member
Earthen Peak and Iron Keep are even less fun now. Jeez, so tedious and tiresome...

Agreed, Iron Keep is especially awful. New enemy placement/AI doesn't feel fun or challenging, just cheap and frustrating. I got to the point last night where I just started grinding all the Alonne Knights/Archers so they would stop respawning. I never had to do that in vanilla.
 

Gbraga

Member
Iron Keep is definitely the lowest point so far.

I really like Dark Souls II, despite the whole B Team stuff, but if this Iron Keep I played is their idea of improvement, I'm not sure I'll get Dark Souls III (or whatever they're making next) day one. Might have to watch a lot of streams first.
 

Hypron

Member

Actually, you can totally take him from the front without parrying. That's all I've been doing since I got the game and I wreck his shit 24/7. He's very simple once you learn how to dodge his attacks.

Agreed, Iron Keep is especially awful. New enemy placement/AI doesn't feel fun or challenging, just cheap and frustrating. I got to the point last night where I just started grinding all the Alonne Knights/Archers so they would stop respawning. I never had to do that in vanilla.

Iron Keep is definitely the lowest point so far.

I really like Dark Souls II, despite the whole B Team stuff, but if this Iron Keep I played is their idea of improvement, I'm not sure I'll get Dark Souls III (or whatever they're making next) day one. Might have to watch a lot of streams first.

That's a bit worrying. What have they done with the enemy placements? I tried to look for a video but couldn't find anything. I'm wondering whether I should get the game or not but if it's going to be 10x more tedious then I won't bother.
 

Gbraga

Member
That's a bit worrying. What have they done with the enemy placements? I tried to look for a video but couldn't find anything. I'm wondering whether I should get the game or not but if it's going to be 10x more tedious then I won't bother.

Honestly, I think the vanilla version is better or the same in every area so far. I haven't found a single thing that made me think "ok, that's much better". Even the visuals I prefer the original version, I'm not a fan of the higher contrast and overall bloom they added. Never liked modded Dark Souls II either, I really like the vanilla look of the game at stupidly high resolutions.

It's not that much about the enemy placement, as it is about the aggro area, both how far they spot you and how far they're willing to chase you, it becomes a pain in the ass, you can't lure them out one by one, you can't run past them either.

It's also true for every area, but Iron Keep was by far the worst offender, it was still somewhat easy to ignore the issue before Iron Keep, but when you reach it. Man, shit sucks.

Did you play the DLC? I'd definitely recommend the Season Pass over the remaster if you own vanilla Dark Souls II. Cheaper and better.

As I said, I'm a fan of Dark Souls II, but if this is what they call an improvement, I fear for the next game.
 

Swuabino

Member
Actually, you can totally take him from the front without parrying. That's all I've been doing since I got the game and I wreck his shit 24/7. He's very simple once you learn how to dodge his attacks.





That's a bit worrying. What have they done with the enemy placements? I tried to look for a video but couldn't find anything. I'm wondering whether I should get the game or not but if it's going to be 10x more tedious then I won't bother.

In the huge room just before Smelter Demon, they've increased the number of Knights/Archers, changed their placement, and modified the AI so they aggro you from anywhere in the room. Every time I tried to make a run for the boss room, I would very quickly find myself surrounded by about 8-9 Knights and 3-4 Archers shooting at me. Basically the only way to even reach the boss is to kite enemies one at a time back to the entrance until the room is (mostly) empty. Considering how long the run is, and the fact that Smelter is one of the more challenging bosses in the game, the whole situation seems like overkill.
 
Iron Keep is definitely the lowest point so far.

I really like Dark Souls II, despite the whole B Team stuff, but if this Iron Keep I played is their idea of improvement, I'm not sure I'll get Dark Souls III (or whatever they're making next) day one. Might have to watch a lot of streams first.

Thats pretty bad to hear, so far I was expecting better encounter in some of the cheap areas of the main game.

It's been confirmed by a few people now that even though the achievement/trophy list is the same as the last-gen vanilla release, the new spells from the DLCs are required to unlock those achievements in the new version. I like that extra bit of motivation to do those areas.

Well shi...
 
It's been confirmed by a few people now that even though the achievement/trophy list is the same as the last-gen vanilla release, the new spells from the DLCs are required to unlock those achievements in the new version. I like that extra bit of motivation to do those areas.
 

Fisty

Member
It's been confirmed by a few people now that even though the achievement/trophy list is the same as the last-gen vanilla release, the new spells from the DLCs are required to unlock those achievements in the new version. I like that extra bit of motivation to do those areas.

I am ok with this. Cant wait to jump in for the first time.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
I'm playing with an X1 controller on the DX11 version, but I'm wondering if there is a way to remap the block/attack buttons to left/right trigger, and the power attacks to the bumpers? Using the bumpers for my regular attacks feels uncomfortable.

There is a menu for remapping keys but as far as I can tell it only lets you remap keyboard controls. Is there a mod that would let me remap the controller buttons?

In case anyone is wondering, I found a solution for swapping the bumper/trigger on the XB1 controller for the DX11 version. I downloaded Durazno, which is an Xinput wrapper, extracted the contents of the 64 bit folder into my game folder (the 32 bit version won't work with DX11), and then simply ran the application and remapped the triggers and bumpers.

Now I can attack/block using the triggers and power attack/parry using the bumpers, just as God intended.

As a bonus, you can also adjust the settings to get rid of the deadzone/8-way movement limitation. Moving around feels a lot more fluid now.
 
But what I'm saying is is that the basic design choices (for whatever reason - I'm guessing Miyazaki not working on it has something to do with it because Bloodbourne doesn't have this issue) are based around unfairness and are everywhere, annoying to point of frustration at the game instead of the standard Dark Souls frustration at yourself for not being good enough. Basically summed up by something I'm talking to atm "Dark souls was a hard game. Dark souls 2 just puts you in unfair situations and calls itself a hard game" and he played vanilla version which is worrying to me.

And the forest was actually the least bullshitty place I've been to.

Nothing in Dark Souls 2 is more bullshit unfair than the archers in Anor Londo

I don't know. I just don't see it. None of my deaths so far I've felt have been due to "bullshit".
 

Neoweee

Member
First, if you're having a hard time with the game, check to make sure you didn't join the Company of Champions.

====

When approaching the game's difficulty, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1) This was voted the easiest of the Souls games by GAF (though I disagree with the assessment),

2) Going down and saying "It's harder because of these design choices" misses all of the things that benefit the player. There are a bunch of things that ultimately help the player out, like:

- There are no worthless stats like there are in the other three games.
- If you don't like your spec, or you misplaced a few points, you can respect.
- Crafting comes earlier and at lower cost, and the mechanics are simplified.
- You can upgrade armor.
- There is a far greater variety of weapons and armor to fit your playstyle and current stat build at any time.
- The game is wildly less linear, and even less linear in the updated version due to a few key item placements/purchases.
- Fast travel lets you explore with less effort, and allows you to look for alternatives if you're having difficulty with any area or boss.
- There's overall much greater build variety and balance.
- It is much easier to do meaningful hybrid builds rather than stacking a single stat-or-two.
- You get four ring slots, and there are a ton of options that effectively "disable" some of the things people dislike about the game design. Durability, soul loss, "humanity"/HP loss, amount of HP loss, too-little poise, too-little poise damage, etc. are all things that, if you're struggling with, have solutions in the early game. Keep exploring!

If you're having difficulty, or think an area sucks, it is so easy to reconfigure your character or try going somewhere else. I found Dark Souls 1 to be frustrating until I figured out what spells/gear were broken as hell, but I felt like this game really allowed me to find my own alternatives and progress at my own pace and interests, and that the solutions weren't just "cheese the fuck out of the game". If you go in expecting the pace or mechanics of Dark Souls 1, it will probably be a miserable experience.

Overall, it is about the same difficulty as Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, but you have to use mechanics and design to your advantage rather than assuming the mechanics copy over from one of the to other games. You could get away with it going from DeS to Dark Souls, but between "DS"/BB/DkS2, you have to account for the different mechanics.
 
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