Dark Souls 2 (Dark Souls successor (Demon's Souls successor))

[N1njaSquirrel]

They nerfed the Lost Sinner? Why? That boss was balls hard, but satisfying when defeated.

 

I've gotten major fatigue of this game. So much that I can't bear myself to go back to it for longer than half an hour. I still have the PC version on pre-order, but thinking of cancelling it, as even with all the upgrades, I can't bring myself to get excited like I did Dark Souls.

 

I am at the dragon place that's in the trailers. I know some peeps have finished it, how far is there to go?

[Reyturner]

^

You get to the top, talk to a dragon and he gives you a key (you don't have to fight him). There is then the Giant Lord and the last boss (and maybe a two person pre-last boss if you haven't killed the Throne Watcher and Guardian yet, which you can fight early).

Dragon Castle Place is exactly where I was ready for the game to be done. There is other stuff that opens up but the above is the critical path.

[Bjorn]

They nerfed the Lost Sinner? Why? That boss was balls hard, but satisfying when defeated.

 

The prevailing theory is that From has the data on where people are dying the absolute most, and the couple of bosses that got nerfed represent bad bottlenecks.  The Sinner fight also changes on NG+, and the nerf might have been related to that.  In NG+ she

has two pyromancers spawn in once she's at half health. So you've got a fast, hard hitting boss with two phantom pyromancers chucking fireballs at you.

 

And yeah, you're super close to being able to finish up. 

 

It's interesting that so many of you are burning out as you're finishing off NG.  I'm still totally hooked on trying different things on it.  Though I may go back to taking a break after the end of that no death run.  I feel like I got in some good practice for doing it on the PC version, which is the main reason I was doing it on the PS3. 

[melmer]

Dragon Castle Place is exactly where I was ready for the game to be done. There is other stuff that opens up but the above is the critical path.

 

Same here. Annoyingly i put down a white soapstone and helped someone who was fighting the massive dragon, so i assumed i also had to kill it and that it was way out of my league and must be an optional side boss. All very confusing

[N1njaSquirrel]

The Sinner fight also changes on NG+, and the nerf might have been related to that.  In NG+ she 

 

She? The lost sinner is a girl? Not that it's important, but I always assumed it was a guy. I thought it was the player in DaS1 who lit the primordial flame. How'd you find out?

 

The main reason I'm burning out is mainly because of the loading times being long - sounds stupid, I know, but it becomes more and more off putting every time I die. It's the same reason why I stopped the MP side too. people quitting coz they're losing the fight, or just people killing themselves as soon as I'm summoned just makes me less enthused to help or sit through a loading screen of 40 secs to a minuet. I guess the PC version will fix that considerably.

[Bjorn]

She? The lost sinner is a girl? Not that it's important, but I always assumed it was a guy. I thought it was the player in DaS1 who lit the primordial flame. How'd you find out?

 

The main reason I'm burning out is mainly because of the loading times being long - sounds stupid, I know, but it becomes more and more off putting every time I die. It's the same reason why I stopped the MP side too. people quitting coz they're losing the fight, or just people killing themselves as soon as I'm summoned just makes me less enthused to help or sit through a loading screen of 40 secs to a minuet. I guess the PC version will fix that considerably.

 

It's in the item description of her soul:

 

Soul of the Lost Sinner, prisoner of Sinner's Rise.

The Lost Sinner eternally punishes herself for the sins of her past.

Use the special soul of the Lost Sinner to acquire numerous souls, or to create something of great worth.

 

There are two leading theories about who she is:

 

One is that she is the "chosen" from the DS1, and they just chose to make her female. The other is that she's one of the daughters of the Witch of Izalith, or a descendent of one of them. Somewhere else you hear that her sin was trying to relight or merge with the First Flame, but it failed.  The second theory is the stronger of the two.  She summons in Pyromancers to help her on NG+ (the Witch created pyromancy).  She also drops a new item on NG+ which pretty much confirms a relationship with the Witch.  

 

The loading times on console are terrible.  Loading times on a PC (even without an SSD) look phenomenal.

[Reyturner]

Also, she's a bug.

[coaxmetal]

The connections to the first game are sparse, but they are a lot of fun to find. Someone (I forget who, actually) referenced

a lord of light who tried to stop the darkness in humans, or something like that, which is probably Gwyn. I think it was the guy in Undead crypt that referenced it, not sure

 

Another cool possible reference is

when you kill Freja on NG+, she drops 2 souls, her soul, and another soul, the Old Pale Drake Soul. That soul has the great soul icon, and her's doesn't. That soul can be used to get crystal soul spear, or the moonlight greatsword. Both of those things are associated with Seathe, who was a pale dragon, and also the Duke, probably the Duke of "Duke's Dear Freja"

 

None of the references are explicit or call out anything from dks1 by name, making it possible that it is unrelated, and making it seem like anything from then has been lost to time.

[BagelMage]

My 3ds decal might be appreciated here. Also picking this up on pc asap, cant wait! till then I shall duck out as to not have things spoiled.

[coaxmetal]

My 3ds decal might be appreciated here. Also picking this up on pc asap, cant wait! till then I shall duck out as to not have things spoiled.

 

nice! we have been pretty good about tagging things as spoilers, if you want to stick around and ask questions

[BagelMage]

thanks! I actually don't have too many questions about it at the moment, been following it a good amount seeing what people are saying is a must to do so I don't get stomped too badly etc. 

[Dewar]

You and me, slowly watching the 25th creep closer.

[BagelMage]

My semester ends two days prior, I will need those two days for prep. Essentially cutting all ties to the outside world. 

[Bjorn]

My semester ends two days prior, I will need those two days for prep. Essentially cutting all ties to the outside world. 

 

 

Don't go hollow...

[coaxmetal]

thanks! I actually don't have too many questions about it at the moment, been following it a good amount seeing what people are saying is a must to do so I don't get stomped too badly etc. 

 

As fair warning, though I have good intentions, I plan to stomp new players badly, simply with experience in the various PVP areas ...  for like half a week till people figure it out and I suck again. But expect that, because I won't be the only one. I never invade, but people will, though getting invaded will probably still be unlikely and uncommon (except in certain covenant related areas, some akin to forest in Dks1, and sometimes its reverse invasion). Genuine invasions are few and far between though -- the invasion item is a limited resource this time around, and the pool of players is much larger so the odds of being invaded are much lower. I suspect the same will hold true on the PC.

 

I also really look forward to the 25th though, starting anew in a much better looking version of the game.

[cyrix]

My 3ds decal might be appreciated here. Also picking this up on pc asap, cant wait! till then I shall duck out as to not have things spoiled.

 

Awesome.

[BagelMage]

As fair warning, though I have good intentions, I plan to stomp new players badly, simply with experience in the various PVP areas ...  for like half a week till people figure it out and I suck again. But expect that, because I won't be the only one. I never invade, but people will, though getting invaded will probably still be unlikely and uncommon (except in certain covenant related areas, some akin to forest in Dks1, and sometimes its reverse invasion). Genuine invasions are few and far between though -- the invasion item is a limited resource this time around, and the pool of players is much larger so the odds of being invaded are much lower. I suspect the same will hold true on the PC.

 

I also really look forward to the 25th though, starting anew in a much better looking version of the game.

Hmmm, I'll have to stay alert. Is there a guild everyone is a part of? I heard that plays a role in pvp and teaming up for jolly good co-op. 

[Bjorn]

For everyone eagerly awaiting the PC release, Durante (author of the original DSFix mod that unlocked resolution and framerate on DS1) has published his opinion on DS2 for PC Gamer.  Overall he was quite positive.  Its supposed to be a series of articles though, with future pieces giving his opinion on its modability and on using other tools to make it look/run even better. 
 

Conclusion
 
With Dark Souls 2, From Software and Namco Bandai deliver a PC version of their game which not only fulfills all the standard expectations in terms of resolution and framerate support, but also adds additional options beyond that. Crucially, they have included high-resolution texture assets which generally fit even the expectations of gamers who play beyond 1080p.
 
One might also claim that, even if they never acknowledged the modding of their first port, they did certainly learn from it. Whether it is large changes like the inclusion of ambient occlusion, higher resolution textures and good mouse controls, or smaller but equally useful additions such as the ability to turn off the UI or skip the introduction logos, there is a lot in Dark Souls 2 at launch which modders only added to the PC port of the first game over time.
 
While it is not quite the (almost generational) leap which was initially shown in previews, Dark Souls 2 on PC is a better experience and a more beautiful game than even a fully modded Dark Souls 1, and it also performs well on a wide range of hardware. It adds effects which greatly enhance the visual impact of some scenes, such as dynamic godrays, improves the resolution of environment textures, greatly improves shadow resolution and filtering, and maintains the highly detailed equipment models, textures and ambient specular reflections which were a hallmark of the original Dark Souls’ graphics.

[Dewar]

Nice

[coaxmetal]

Hmmm, I'll have to stay alert. Is there a guild everyone is a part of? I heard that plays a role in pvp and teaming up for jolly good co-op. 

 

there is a return of everyone's favorite covenant and related gesture from Dark Souls 1, and is very good for jolly cooperation. They have also added a ring that lets you select a particular deity (not afilliated with covenants) and you will be matched with other peopel who did that. I think it is their way of allowing people to match up with friends without breaking their in-world conceit, and it seems to work.

[BagelMage]

@Bjorn: read that earlier, very good news.

@coax: will we all be praising the sun together? And is there a deity y'all have decided to be the official thumbs god?

[coaxmetal]

we can all praise the sun together, cooperatively. As for a diety, I think you can just change, I don't know that there has been any discussion there. Perhaps there should be.

[BagelMage]

Maybe when it drops on PC we can get a vote on who we feel best fits as our Lord Remo

[Bjorn]

I'm in with a Thumbs crew, I'd even set aside a dedicated character for that.  I'll have to figure out an appropriate theme and outfit for that character, of course.  One does not simply pick random armor in Dark Souls. 

 

List of dieties if anyone is interested:

 

Nehma - Goddess of Love
Caitha - Goddess of Tears
Calib - God of Disease
Kremmel - God of Struggle
Evlana - Goddess of the Hunt
Hanleth - Goddess of Bliss
Nahr Alma - God of Blood
Zinder - God of Desire
Quella - God of Dream
Caffrey - Goddess of Fortune

 

DS2 also, surprisingly, includes an option for in game voice chat, though you can turn that off.  I suppose on PC that really doesn't matter as much when playing with people you know.  I have chosen to leave that off on PS3.  I don't really want to hear the voices of the people I'm with.  Also pantomiming is more fun to try and convey something. 

[BagelMage]

I mean if we all matched it would be pretty stellar. Also for some reason

God of Desire, and Goddess of Bliss

sound pretty good. Do they have images for them in game? Visual aids are always good when picking out your deity.