Dark Souls II Catch-All

silentsod wrote:
Dyni wrote:

Heh, I like the floppy ragdoll in these games. I still find it hilarious I wouldn't mind too much if they fixed it though.

When my PC can solo dragons, giants, etc it doesn't really bother me that his gluts and quads have the power to punt bodies like puppies.

Well said! hahahaha

Yeah, I don't really care about the ragdoll corpses. I'd rather the devs focus on more gameplay-specific areas than something as frivolous as that.

Maybe this was mentioned upthread, but can anyone confirm the spells in DkSII will have a strong and weak variation?

Some shaky cam footage of the Mirror Knight boss fight from SDCC
Here and here.

Spoiler:

He actually doesn't look so bad except for the possibility of mid-boss invades. His move set seems to be similar to the Black Knights and he seems easier than O&S.

Dakuna: Yes, I've seen that mentioned several places.

Magic has been expanded! Each spell now has a weak and strong attack, and some are even chargeable! Two-handing catalysts also changes the spell somewhat.

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/c...

So I'm pretty much decided I'm going to get a PS4, and I can't imagine why I would not get this for that system. I really do enjoy playing games on a console, even though I grew up PC all the way. I still play many PC games, but some games just feel better on console, even though I could play with a controller on PC. I have my gaming PC hooked up to my TV and everything. The only reason I would consider going PC for this title would be the GWJ community, but a) I don't have any team friends from and b) I'm not sure when I can upgrade my PC to a reasonable standard for playing this game at high resolution.

Dakuna has left, us and fallen; he has given up his divinity like Solaire to bring the light to the wretched console gamers. The Master race will miss you.

Dakuna wrote:

So I'm pretty much decided I'm going to get a PS4, and I can't imagine why I would not get this for that system.

Because...

Spoiler:

It's not a next gen game! PS3, 360, and PC.

Dyni for the win. 360 for me, especially as I don't have my TV hooked to my PC.

I have a PS3 pre-order in but am probably going to go PC in the long run. I think I'll keep both versions though, and run a character on each.

hmm I could swear somebody up thread somewhere mentioned it was being switched. Perhaps that was wishful thinking or a prediction and I misread it. If it's only on PS3, then again, kind of a nobrainer for me.

Just a random thought...

I'm rather hoping that they can solve the problem of "newbies" all defaulting to the Drake Sword and Gold Hemmed black robes. I think there were too many weapons in DkS 1 that required stats in the NG+ range, and a few items that were clearly better than others for most NG-level characters. While obviously people eventually started to experiment, I think back to the days where everyone seemed to be carrying the Drake sword and would like to see more variety.

There are a lot of people who will play through once and never pick the game up again, so I think the chance to use a greater range of items effectively without going into NG+ would be a good idea.

imbiginjapan wrote:

Just a random thought...

I'm rather hoping that they can solve the problem of "newbies" all defaulting to the Drake Sword and Gold Hemmed black robes. I think there were too many weapons in DkS 1 that required stats in the NG+ range, and a few items that were clearly better than others for most NG-level characters. While obviously people eventually started to experiment, I think back to the days where everyone seemed to be carrying the Drake sword and would like to see more variety.

There are a lot of people who will play through once and never pick the game up again, so I think the chance to use a greater range of items effectively without going into NG+ would be a good idea.

Even though I had the drake sword I preferred the long sword's attack set and played with that. The weapon you know and love is better than one with greater stats.

imbiginjapan wrote:

Just a random thought...

I'm rather hoping that they can solve the problem of "newbies" all defaulting to the Drake Sword and Gold Hemmed black robes. I think there were too many weapons in DkS 1 that required stats in the NG+ range, and a few items that were clearly better than others for most NG-level characters. While obviously people eventually started to experiment, I think back to the days where everyone seemed to be carrying the Drake sword and would like to see more variety.

There are a lot of people who will play through once and never pick the game up again, so I think the chance to use a greater range of items effectively without going into NG+ would be a good idea.

Excellent point, totally agree.

imbiginjapan wrote:

Just a random thought...

I'm rather hoping that they can solve the problem of "newbies" all defaulting to the Drake Sword and Gold Hemmed black robes. I think there were too many weapons in DkS 1 that required stats in the NG+ range, and a few items that were clearly better than others for most NG-level characters. While obviously people eventually started to experiment, I think back to the days where everyone seemed to be carrying the Drake sword and would like to see more variety.

There are a lot of people who will play through once and never pick the game up again, so I think the chance to use a greater range of items effectively without going into NG+ would be a good idea.

Not sure I can agree with this. The only reason the drake sword seems so special is because you're reading too many guides. You wouldn't even know about it otherwise. Also, everybody constantly telling you to level up endurance over any other stat leads to few equipment options.

I've used the drake sword on exactly one character, for a total of about 2 hours, because I tend to focus on what gear I want to use and work toward it rather than pumping my endurance and vitality. All but one of my characters have made it to endgame with >20 vit/end, and I don't regret it at all for this very reason.

Dakuna wrote:

The only reason the drake sword seems so special is because you're reading too many guides. You wouldn't even know about it otherwise.

Well, yea... sorta. In the "olden days" of 2 years ago, it took about 4 seconds before someone asking for early game advice got a recommendation to use the Drake Sword, because for the early game it really is that good, and not really hard to get. Same later on with the Gold Hemmed Set and the Lightning Spear (though they did patch the armor way later, of course). It just feels like these "training wheels" weapons kind of sucked some variety out of the game that would exist if they made upgrading less obtuse for the uninitiated.

This old Destructoid blog kind of sums up my feelings pretty well:

The Drake Sword is the worst kept "secret" in Dark Souls. A sort of bonus weapon you can acquire near the beginning of the game by (I sh*t you not) painstakingly shooting a dragon in the tail about 50 times with a bow and arrow.

If you get the Drake Sword at the first opportunity you can, it's amazing, a huge jump in power. Enemies you had to hack and chop away at with your Longsword or Bandit Knife can be dismissed with a single swipe of it's scaly blade.

The problem is the Drake Sword doesn't grow with your character. It does its 200 damage no matter how many points you plop into your strength or dexterity stats (OK fine, a small caveat – it can be upgraded with the use of very rare Dragon Scales, but lets not get bogged down in neck-bearding ).

But of course, the enemies keep getting tougher and tougher.

By the time you get to Anor Londo, you'll barely be able to scrape an enemy with it. Coincidentally, this is the area of the game where many players chuck DkS into the bargain bin for the next poor sucker to find.

The problem is actually two-fold. Not only does the sword lose its luster when the going gets tough, but since you've been able to crutch on it's power early on, you might not have picked up on some of the skills and tricks you need to survive.

Okay, I'm not saying it's not game breaking, so I do completely agree with the sentiments regarding that particular weapon. What I don't relate to is how everyone actually thought they had to pursue that approach. I never used the Drake Sword because I was busy doing other things; I did lots of research while also playing my own game, without looking for advice on how to best succeed.

I guess that's partly mostly because of my experience with DeS though.

Dakuna wrote:

Okay, I'm not saying it's not game breaking, so I do completely agree with the sentiments regarding that particular weapon. What I don't relate to is how everyone actually thought they had to pursue that approach. I never used the Drake Sword because I was busy doing other things; I did lots of research while also playing my own game, without looking for advice on how to best succeed.

I guess that's partly mostly because of my experience with DeS though.

Hear, hear! Yeah, I personally took a while to try out all the weapon types I had at my disposal early enough and stuck with the spears for most of the game.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/807...

I don't care to join, as I'd much rather go into the game fresh, but I'm glad to see they're doing this. Maybe they can work out the kinks of the multiplayer systems so it all works well this time.

Dyni wrote:

http://www.shacknews.com/article/807...

I don't care to join, as I'd much rather go into the game fresh, but I'm glad to see they're doing this. Maybe they can work out the kinks of the multiplayer systems so it all works well this time.

I feel much as you do. Great that they are having a beta, and hopefully that will help them deliver a worthy sequel to Dark Souls, and not anything dumb-downed or otherwise in line with some of the fears fans have had with the changing of the lead designer.

But, I don't think I care to be in the beta. I want to feast on a perfect meal, not ruin my appetite by sampling ingredients during the preparation.

Dyni wrote:

http://www.shacknews.com/article/807...

I don't care to join, as I'd much rather go into the game fresh, but I'm glad to see they're doing this. Maybe they can work out the kinks of the multiplayer systems so it all works well this time.

Oh, sweet lord! Praise the sun! I don't know if I want to join either, but I also want to just try it out... hmmmm, I think I'll try to get myself a spot in the beta somehow.

Either way, I agree that this should be a good thing overall.

I won't join the beta. I'll be going in cold and I will delve into this game with as little information as I can.

I would love to get into that beta, but I refuse to touch Facebook so I'm out. Probably for the best, as everyone else has said good to start fresh in these games.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I won't join the beta. I'll be going in cold and I will delve into this game with as little information as I can.

I think this is a great idea. So much of the joy of Dark Souls was exploration and discovery. I really hope that they do an even better job of delivering one contiguous world in this one, and more opportunities to choose from several different paths. Have they shown much on that front? Seems like they've really only shown one or two areas. Literally everything I've seen could take place in one castle and the rope bridge leading to it.

Which would be great! Keep those areas a surprise!

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I won't join the beta. I'll be going in cold and I will delve into this game with as little information as I can.

+1

Also here's a very short clip of some multiplayer from a Japanese interview:

Got an e-mail from Amazon. Since I bought the first PC version there during that sale last Dec, I can get a $5 credit on a pre-order of this one.

Man, the silly comments on the DSII Facebook page are making me embarrassed for even having a slight interest in their beta promotion. Ah, the power of the Internet - making cool things seem crap, and crap things seem cool.

Oh, about that early PvP clip. It's a weird takeaway but I'm a little disappointed to see the "ghosts" are the less substantial Dark Souls style rather than the more detailed Demons' Souls style.

Well this is an odd way to do things:
From Facebook:

Dark Souls II Beta Details for North and South America!

-There is no registration required for the Dark Souls II Network Test in North and South America.
-Select players will receive a message from Sony Computer Entertainment America through the PlayStation 3 XMB with a download code prior to the Network Test.
-The Dark Souls II Network Test will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with a limited number of participants allowed.
-The initial Dark Souls II Network Testing round that commences on 10/12 will accommodate up to 5000 players; a larger participant pool will be opened for a later testing round on 10/26.
-More information will be shared in the future regarding the timing of the XMB messages and the Network Test download availability. Please stay tuned here on Facebook and on http://darksoulsii.com/us/

Thank You!

I gonna take a wild guess that since I played Dark Souls on 360, I won't be one of the chosen.

I mean, if they're just dropping codes on people, surely they're picking 5000 people who have platinumed the game, right?

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I mean, if they're just dropping codes on people, surely they're picking 5000 people who have platinumed the game, right?

That damn well better be the requirement. I want in and I earned it.