Support NeoGAF

[dissa9]

It's weird, in Bloodborne I found the areas leading up to the boss battles to be relatively easy for the most part and the actual boss battles to be quite difficult, but in this game it's the exact opposite. Tough as hell getting to the boss and very easy boss battles that I've beaten on my first try.

Then again, I only beat three of the early bosses so far

Spoiler

(FotFG, Heide's Tower, No Man's Wharf)

so I'm probably going to be eating those words shortly.

Spoiler

The Pursuer

is a proper bitch if you face him early.

Spoiler

Smelter Demon and The Rotten

also gave me a lot of trouble.

 

[Somnium986]

D

Spoiler

ragon

A

Spoiler

erie

wasn't that back after all. Just kind of annoying to have your armor break because of a few BS ambushes. Also, D

Spoiler

ragon

S

Spoiler

hrine

is creeping my out.

 

[Renekton]

Will I miss out on anything if I just kill

Spoiler

Navlaan

? Getting tired of him invading me.

He's only useful imprisoned.

But since you let him out, he's gonna bug you quite a bit.

 

[acsn]

He's only useful imprisoned.

But since you let him out, he's gonna bug you quite a bit.

Killing him in human form will get rid of him for good?

 

[BizzyBum]

Spoiler

The Pursuer

is a proper bitch if you face him early.

Spoiler

Smelter Demon and The Rotten

also gave me a lot of trouble.

Is

Spoiler

The Pursuer the dude who appears near the tutorial area coffin?

I managed to beat whoever that was after a few tries but he was pretty tough.

 

[ike_]

I had no idea getting the vendor from FOTFG to Majula meant you can buy unlimited life gems. Amazing.

Spoiler

Just go left (not into the cave) and stay left again, you'll find it.

This was one of my favorite changes in the update. I ran all over trying to figure out where they put the bonfire key.

Earthen Peak was very annoying, those Jackie Chan Mimics really screw you up quickly. Mix that with a shit ton of poison and it wasn't at all pleasant.

Besides that and the hideous time I had in Black Gulch I'm enjoying the game, loving it in fact.

Yeah definitely seems they changed things so the Earthen Peak path is the hardest to the primal bonfire, whereas before I think the hardest path was Freja.

I feel like Black Gulch is about the same though since

Spoiler

NPC summons can help fend off the NPC invaders pretty well.

 

[Moofers]

It was always sold by the

Spoiler

Warden dude in Undead Crypt. Not sure if thats the case with the updated version of the game but it probably is.

Yeah but that was a later area of the game for me last time. I am trying to figure out how people got there so early if they had that spell in Lost Bastille?

 

[Omega Ultimus]

Finally beat Smelter Demon. I feel exhausted.

Also, either the guides are wrong, or they changed him up. This also may just happen on NG+, I'm unsure:

Spoiler

he has a very short timer for his "buffs", and (this may not be new, it's been awhile) he will change his weapon hand throughout the fight.

Toughest boss for me so far, but it boils down to finding out how long his hitboxes linger and adjusting to the speed of his attacks, which also changes throughout the fight.

 

[burgerdog]

I'm pretty much killing all bosses on first attempt, what's killing me is the million trash mobs added to the game. Really not liking that at all.

 

[Somnium986]

Legit shocked that the enemy placement is actually better in D

Spoiler

ragon

S

Spoiler

hrine

. Those giant

Spoiler

dragon keepers

seem to have less defense, and don't double team you either. Surprised they didn't drop an ambush or 2 in that area.

 

[samus4ever]

After a rough first 3 hours thanks to me stupidly joining the

Spoiler

Champions Covenant without knowing it makes the game even harder

, I can't put it down. Having so much fun playing through this for the first time.

 

[SRTtoZ]

I'm pretty much killing all bosses on first attempt, what's killing me is the million trash mobs added to the game. Really not liking that at all.

I'm reading that the rats in the Grave of Saints drop it randomly as well. Start farming!

After a rough first 3 hours thanks to me stupidly joining the

Spoiler

Champions Covenant without knowing it makes the game even harder

, I can't put it down. Having so much fun playing through this for the first time.

Lol I did that as well on my first playthrough ever on PC. I was wondering why there were no summon signs :/

 

[RankFTW]

After a rough first 3 hours thanks to me stupidly joining the

Spoiler

Champions Covenant without knowing it makes the game even harder

, I can't put it down. Having so much fun playing through this for the first time.

Haha yeah one of my mates did that and was raging about how incredibly hard it was when it first came out last year.

 

[Somnium986]

After a rough first 3 hours thanks to me stupidly joining the

Spoiler

Champions Covenant without knowing it makes the game even harder

, I can't put it down. Having so much fun playing through this for the first time.

So if you join then leave that covenant if reverts back to normal difficulty?

 

[theDeeDubs]

Spoiler

Just go left (not into the cave) and stay left again, you'll find it.

Spoiler

That's not all I found . Was wondering what happened to her when I went to the boss.

 

[Beaulieu]

After a rough first 3 hours thanks to me stupidly joining the

Spoiler

Champions Covenant without knowing it makes the game even harder

, I can't put it down. Having so much fun playing through this for the first time.

it tells you when you join... how can you miss that

 

[Hugstable]

They should have just renamed Shaded Woods to Gank City

 

[2AdEPT]

Got buried on the last page so I'm going to ask again:

Does anyone know where I can find the Pyromancy spell "Warmth"? I remember seeing people use it as early as Lost Bastille in the original release. I am done with Lost Bastille now and can't find any info on where it's located this time. Everything seems to reference the first game. I rely heavily on pyromancy to pick up the slack since I don't use miracles. Help!

there is a good chance you will get it dropped by rats in the

Spoiler

Grave of Saints

...its accessable from the start of the game...I have a video for a different reason

Spoiler

Vanquisher's

seal early) but it will help show you how to get there.

Haha yeah one of my mates did that and was raging about how incredibly hard it was when it first came out last year.

meh its not that hard...and there is an

Spoiler

So if you join then leave that covenant if reverts back to normal difficulty?[/QUOTE]"]awesome prize forcompleting the highest level.

(same link as above dont click twice)

 

[2AdEPT]

double post

 

[Omega Ultimus]

It's like the Tell Tale Heart up in this Gutter.

 

[Neoweee]

Some spell notes:

1) You can powerstance your casting items to get a different ratio of cast-time, damage, stamina, to # of casts. Very useful for min-maxing your spell efficiency.

2) Faith needs Attunement more than the other magic types, but since Miracles lend themselves to utility and hybrid builds, you get to save a little on ADP (since Attunement gives Agility). Miracles get dis-proportionally more usages at higher attunement levels, and you need to stack Lightning Spear spells to get "enough" uses.

3) If you want to be a caster early, do Heide's first. Once you beat that first boss, you can quickly get to all 4 spell masters.

4) Pyromancy is generally more useful for Faith than it is for Sorcerers or Hexers.

 

[zeox]

so I keep getting an infinite load screen when using the crow's nest right after

Spoiler

the pursuer

, PC version. anyone else getting this/know of a fix? I tried moving it to another hard drive but it did nothing to help the problem

 

[TheMink]

Does soul memory effect multiplayer still?

 

[2AdEPT]

so I keep getting an infinite load screen when using the crow's nest right after

Spoiler

the pursuer

, PC version. anyone else getting this/know of a fix? I tried moving it to another hard drive but it did nothing to help the problem

geez that sucks...but thankfully there is an alternative way to get there, then once you trip the bonfire you can warp there if you ever want to go back. I never used that teleport aside from the very first time I used it so its no big loss.

 

[tokilamockingbrd]

If Bloodborne was my 1st souls game and I love it to death, will this game feel like a step backwards for me?

 

[orborborb]

If Bloodborne was my 1st souls game and I love it to death, will this game feel like a step backwards for me?

it will feel like a step back in terms of art direction, animation, sound design, storytelling, and play control

however, dark souls 2 has quite a bit more depth and variety to the actual gameplay

but dark souls 1 is the game you want to play that combines the best aspects of both bloodborne and dark souls 2

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

If Bloodborne was my 1st souls game and I love it to death, will this game feel like a step backwards for me?

Yes.

But you'll still probably enjoy it though so don't worry too much.

 

[Kalnos]

What does the phantom in Things Betwixt drop? We killed each other simultaneously ;s

 

[zeox]

geez that sucks...but thankfully there is an alternative way to get there, then once you trip the bonfire you can warp there if you ever want to go back. I never used that teleport aside from the very first time I used it so its no big loss.

oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. Guess I'll go the other way then

 

[Omega Ultimus]

If Bloodborne was my 1st souls game and I love it to death, will this game feel like a step backwards for me?

Its biggest difference comes in the form of the mechanics of the game, and the art direction most notably. The stories themselves are different, but are delivered somewhat similarly.

It's slower, more deliberate, and yet more varied in its approach to enemy encounters (by way of class builds). You may not like this coming from the aggressive and more "character action" style of Bloodborne.

Your enjoyment of the art and the story is dependent on what you really like, so no guarantees there.

 

[tokilamockingbrd]

Its biggest difference comes in the form of the mechanics of the game, and the art direction most notably. The stories themselves are different, but are delivered somewhat similarly.

It's slower, more deliberate, and yet more varied in its approach to enemy encounters (by way of class builds). You may not like this coming from the aggressive and more "character action" style of Bloodborne.

Your enjoyment of the art and the story is dependent on what you really like, so no guarantees there.

I should be fine with the slower more deliberate part as I feel I played BB slower than many.

I will put it on my checklist of games to get. I am still enjoying Bloodborne, and I dont know if I could do 2 souls games back to back.

I think my next game will be FFX/X2 remastered. Then The Witcher and Batman... after those 3 games I should be ready to dive into another Souls game.

 

[Omega Ultimus]

I should be fine with the slower more deliberate part as I feel I played BB slower than many.

I will put it on my checklist of games to get. I am still enjoying Bloodborne, and I dont know if I could do 2 souls games back to back.

I think my next game will be FFX/X2 remastered. Then The Witcher and Batman... after those 3 games I should be ready to dive into another Souls game.

This is definitely not a game you need to rush in to (as far as player population goes), enjoy Bloodborne while the community is still fervent. This game will likely be cheaper by then, too.

 

[Ayt]

oh yeah, I completely forgot about that. Guess I'll go the other way then

The area the bird takes you to has an extremely important item and you can't reach that room from the other way.

 

[-tetsuo-]

This game crashes WAY too much. 8 times so far.

 

[acsn]

I just rolled into one of the passive knights in the Dragon Shrine...am I fucked? I tried running through but they all attacked me. Is there anyway to make them non aggressive again?

 

[LegalEagleMike]

This game crashes WAY too much. 8 times so far.

PC or console?

 

[-tetsuo-]

PC or console?

Xb1

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

For fucks sake. The enemies still have bullshit hit boxes with their attacks. And not to mention how they magically track you 360 degree even after they've initiated their attack.

Fucking bullshit. Well, looks like I'll be turtling this game....again.

 

[Mattdaddy]

Man this is one of those games that looks much better in action than it does in screenshots.

Plus playing it again in 60fps is wow. Didn't realize what I was missing.

 

[LegalEagleMike]

Xb1

well that makes me not want to pick this up when my local store finally gets it in.(backordered my ass)

 

[Mejilan]

I've got a few dozen hours on the PS4 version now, and it's been rock solid.
There have been quite a few mentions of crashes to the OS on XBO in this thread, though.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Is 500k soul memory not normal? None of the bonfire locations have the orange box around them :/

 

[AWizardDidIt]

For fucks sake. The enemies still have bullshit hit boxes with their attacks. And not to mention how they magically track you 360 degree even after they've initiated their attack.

Fucking bullshit. Well, looks like I'll be turtling this game....again.

Been playing this game 100% dual wield since I started. It's much easier than one hand and shield once you get your agility to 100 or so. Fuck shields, shove double ultra greatswords up their asses! Honestly I'm having an easier time now than I did on my sorcery playthrough.

Edit: Also (just like BB) they only track you during the attack wind up. Once an enemy's attack animation fires, it goes wherever it's aimed. HOWEVER enemies in Dark Souls 2 like to juke you with stupid delayed wind up animations before they actually attack. Don't dodge when you feel like the enemy is about to attack, wait for their weapon to actually start moving toward you.

 

[burgerdog]

For fucks sake. The enemies still have bullshit hit boxes with their attacks. And not to mention how they magically track you 360 degree even after they've initiated their attack.

Fucking bullshit. Well, looks like I'll be turtling this game....again.

Roll at the very last second. I'm still using the starting nomad armor or whatever it's called and I'm two primals fires lit in.

 

[QueenOfThorns]

For fucks sake. The enemies still have bullshit hit boxes with their attacks. And not to mention how they magically track you 360 degree even after they've initiated their attack.

Fucking bullshit. Well, looks like I'll be turtling this game....again.

It's not so bad once you get used to how it's different. The timing is just super different compared to Dark Souls/DS/BB. Also increase your adaptability and endurance. You'll need about 100 (or more?) agility before your rolls are like Dark Souls.

I just beat my no shield run and didn't have any trouble, really. The enemies in the game are a lot more difficult because I could never quite get used to their attacks and the timing and animation changes, but I mostly got through it. The bosses are cake. The ones I had the most trouble on are (final boss spoilers)

Spoiler

The last two. The curse buildup kicked my ass the first time and beating the scholar was kinda tough to do without a shield. I kinda feel bad for beating him, actually. Really wanted to try a few more times so I could figure out the best strategy but I got lucky and killed him.

Overall this version hasn't really changed my opinion of Dark Souls 2. It's still good, but doesn't come close to DS/Dark Souls/BB. The game drags and drags and I find myself not caring about many of the areas at all. I just go to a place, kill things, leave. The game never really makes me care about it. I hope that Dark Souls 3 is a tighter game that has memorable levels and art design. Bringing back the interconnected world would be a huge plus.

OH, and have a decent soundtrack this time, please. I'm not sure why Dark Souls 2 uses synth/computerized instrumentation when all the other Souls games and BB has live instrumentation. It really helps with the music a lot. The best thing in the world to me is if they bring back the guy who composed Demon's Souls to do the music for Dark Souls 3. That would rock. Demon's Souls has the best music to be in the series. Dark Souls 1's soundtrack, while good, started a trend in the Souls games that I'm not a fan of which is making the music as EPIC and LOUD as possible rather than creating interesting themes. Basically I'm tired of the choirs. Calm down on the choirs. This goes for you too, BloodBorne.

On the plus side, I like the NPCs a lot better than BB's. Not that I dislike the NPCs in BB, it's just we never really get that much time with them, and there aren't enough.

On to the DLC, which I've heard is a lot better than the main game. I hope so.

Question: Where do I get the items to enter the DLC places, and which order should I do them in? I'd like to do them in order of release, unless that doesn't matter at all.

 

[Robot Pants]

should change the OT title to Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin |OT| tongue, but hole

thats all i see in messages now haha

 

[Omega Ultimus]

Just lit my last Primal Bonfire. Was not expecting that, haha.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

should change the OT title to Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin |OT| tongue, but hole

thats all i see in messages now haha

Nothing beats the "sticky white stuff" message on the beds in Demon Souls.

 

[acsn]

Just lit my last Primal Bonfire. Was not expecting that, haha.

I really had to pee so I was standing up and half-way to removing my headphones as I was clicking on that bonfire, scared the shit out of me.

 

[BizzyBum]

Xb1

Why did you get it for the Xbone?