From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

[PorkyThePaladin]

PorkyThePaladin, have you found Ricard's Rapier yet?

Yeah, but much like everything else in DS2, they ruined good stuff from DS1. In DS1, Ricard's Rapier was a beautiful sword. In DS2 it looks absolutely retarded due to the two-handed length hand guard.


So anyways, either I am getting a lot better at Souls games, or I am overleveled or something, but I killed 7 bosses today:

Executioner's Chariot
Ruin Sentinels
Belfry Gargoyles
Lost Sinner
Scorpionness Najka
Royal Rat Authority
Prowling Magus and Congregation

Got most of them on 1st or 2nd try too. Even Lost Sinner, who gave me a lot of problems earlier, went down like cheesecake. Those extra iFrames really help.

Trying to find the last Major Soul, that dumbass spider, in the cove, which is rapidly becoming my least favorite area in the game. Technically, I don't even need it, as I already unlocked the path to the Dragleic castle, but still, don't want to skip a major part of the game.

I have to say, the more I play DS2, the less I like it. Maybe this was the case with DS1 as well, to some degree, but I never felt it the same way, but the combat feels really dumbed down. More sophisticated stuff like parrying which was rewarded in DS1, feels like it's being punished here, while just spamming shit with giant weapons seems to work great, at least in non-boss fights. I upgraded a side-weapon to +10 ( a blacksteel katana), and just spamming attacks with an occasional roll kills everything. The first game felt a lot more like it was about technique.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Heh, played a bit more before going to sleep, killed 2 more bosses:

Duke's Dear Freja
Dragonriders

So that gives me 9 bosses taked down in one day. Pretty crazy, considering how long it took me to kill them in DS1.

 

[toro]

Heh, played a bit more before going to sleep, killed 2 more bosses:

Duke's Dear Freja
Dragonriders

So that gives me 9 bosses taked down in one day. Pretty crazy, considering how long it took me to kill them in DS1.

Fume is waiting for you. Please hurry.

 

[Wunderbar]

Or at least Darklurker.

 

[praetor]

So anyways, either I am getting a lot better at Souls games, or I am overleveled or something,

why not both? i mean, you're definitely getting better at it, and the differences between aren't that great that the skills don't transfer so...

the combat feels really dumbed down.

nigga what? how the hell is it "dumbed down" when 1) parrying is more difficult to pull off (not by that much, but in DS1 it was trivial, here it requires at least a modicum of thought and timing), 2) backstabbing is significantly more difficult. in DS1 it trivialised at least about 50-60% of the encounters to the point of pointlessness (playing DS1 with the "rebalanced" and different enemy placement mods is quite a bit better as backstabs are disabled for most enemies), 3) you can't just spam healing as it's both slower in effect as is the animation, so you have to actually be careful about your positioning and timing, unlike DS1's "just chug whenever", 4) poise actually makes sense, so you can't just stack poise and breeze through anything and everything easy mode, 5) you have more offensive and defensive options

just to be clear, i'm not saying Ds2 is perfect, far from it, but the actual combat mechanics are a significant improvement over DS1/DeS, and DS3 is again a significant decline. i mean, even most of DS2's most haters agree that DS2 has the best combat mechanics in the series.

i could understand complaints about agility/adaptability (good idea, poor execution), soul memory (utterly fucking retarded), the presence of certain items that completely fuck with the healing balance/mechanics (though the same is true for the other Souls games, though there it's fucked even without those), and the "feel" of combat due to animations (quite "floaty", and lacking "weight", though ironically they're the only ones in the series to be mo-capped, so they're actually more "realistic", lol)...

More sophisticated stuff like parrying which was rewarded in DS1, feels like it's being punished here,

parrying in DS1 sophisticated?! nigga, you be inebriated! it's absolutely trivial to parry shit in DS1. i haven't touched the game in at least 2 or 3 years, and when i replayed it a couple of months ago with the 2 previously mentioned mods, i could still parry everything with any shield you liked. it's so easy, it's pointless to go for the buckler in DS1, you're better off with the heater shield

while just spamming shit with giant weapons seems to work great, at least in non-boss fights. I upgraded a side-weapon to +10 ( a blacksteel katana), and just spamming attacks with an occasional roll kills everything. The first game felt a lot more like it was about technique.

you've got to be kidding. you can get the uchigatana in DS1 in the burg, and you can just as easily just spam it everywhere and kill stuff like it's nothing. in fact, it's significantly easier in DS1 because you have OP poise that lets you tank like a motherfucker while you spam your R1s and simultaneously chug your 20 estus flasks (edit: forgot to add that it's even easier as bleed in DS1 is quite powerful, unlike DS2 so you kill even faster, lol). similarly, it's also easier to spam the huge weapons in DS1. the only thing that's not easier to spam in DS1, are the halbers as those have that "miss" animation so in theory you actually need to be careful (a pity none of the games expanded upon this little nifty mechanic )

and if you hate mindless spam, don't even bother with DS3

i can understand (though i don't agree with a lot of them) complaints about encounter design, but combat mechanics...

 

[Arnust]

It's no wonder you find it samey or even inferior if you're not experimenting at all with the other weapons and build elements and instead just playing the same character. A sword and board dude doesn't really compare to a wizard wielding two fiery greatswords naked and with a stupid hat. There's stuff out there that can wholly change how you're facing the game, which unlike the parallels in 1, aren't complicated to figure out, aren't gimmicky garbage, and can't be counted with your fingers. For instance, stacking the Flynn and Blade rings to get like 33% more damage in echange of only being able to have a minimal equip burden. Or the aforementioned nudist greatsword wizard. Or using Counter damage and using a shield that can parry spells. Yadda yadda.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

nigga what? how the hell is it "dumbed down" when 1) parrying is more difficult to pull off (not by that much, but in DS1 it was trivial, here it requires at least a modicum of thought and timing),

That's the point. It's too difficult to pull off to feel like an actual usable technique. I say this as someone who played through most of the game with a "parry" build. I've parried most things in it that are parryable.

Something like this (anticipating the enemy) would work in a system where you can actually track enemy movement. In DS2, a lot of times you cannot. Enemies attack so fast, you have to start the parry almost before you see anything, unless you have amazing reflexes. Except that sometimes they won't attack. So it's like a guessing game. You can improve your percentages with practice, but you never feel like you mastered it, as in DS1.

I spent most of the game improving my parrying, and I still would get wrecked regularly, but then I can just start spamming attack and win any-non boss fight, even against multiple opponents easy as Sunday morning. And this is with a rapier/katana. I can't even imagine how easy it is with an ultra greatsword. And you think this is skill?

2) backstabbing is significantly more difficult. in DS1 it trivialised at least about 50-60% of the encounters to the point of pointlessness (playing DS1 with the "rebalanced" and different enemy placement mods is quite a bit better as backstabs are disabled for most enemies),

Backstabbing is an inherently retarded option, that shouldn't even be in these games. The idea behind backstabbing in RL and in RPGs is that you SURPRISE somebody and catch them off-guard, doing more damage than against an alert person. So turning it into some joke of a circle strafing bullshit, I am not even going into this.

 

[Wunderbar]

Something like this (anticipating the enemy) would work in a system where you can actually track enemy movement. In DS2, a lot of times you cannot. Enemies attack so fast, you have to start the parry almost before you see anything, unless you have amazing reflexes. Except that sometimes they won't attack. So it's like a guessing game. You can improve your percentages with practice, but you never feel like you mastered it, as in DS1.

the only type of enemy that fits this description are heide knights, rest of them are pretty predictable.

I spent most of the game improving my parrying, and I still would get wrecked regularly, but then I can just start spamming attack and win any-non boss fight, even against multiple opponents easy as Sunday morning.

it was just as easy in DaS1.

And this is with a rapier/katana. I can't even imagine how easy it is with an ultra greatsword. And you think this is skill?

it is harder, because katanas and piercing swords are fast, while ugss are slow.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

the only type of enemy that fits this description are heide knights, rest of them are pretty predictable.

Heide knights were actually not that bad to parry. There are a lot of others who are much harder.

Take Alonne Knights for example. They attack ridiculously fast (the whole Iaido bs backstory). So now with the parry windup time, you need to start parrying before you even see them initiate the attack. But how can you tell? They might look like they are about to attack, but then change their mind and delay. So basically the only time I was able to parry them regularly was on 2nd or 3rd attack, once they get into some rhythm, and I can predict.

You also have to understand that there are people with different levels of reflexes. Some people have better reflexes, some worse, they also get worse with age, so someone playing at 30 will be worse than them playing at 15-20. Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal. They should be more lenient on reflexes and more demanding on technique, i.e. understanding what to do, how to react, etc.

I spent most of the game improving my parrying, and I still would get wrecked regularly, but then I can just start spamming attack and win any-non boss fight, even against multiple opponents easy as Sunday morning.

it was just as easy in DaS1.

In DS1, it felt like there were more tough mini-bosses or really tough regular enemies, or enemies with shields. I don't recall being able to spam as much as in DS2.

And this is with a rapier/katana. I can't even imagine how easy it is with an ultra greatsword. And you think this is skill?

it is harder, because katanas and piercing swords are fast, while ugss are slow.

Don't need as much speed when you have that kind of range and cc.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Took down 4 more bosses today:

Looking Glass Knight
Demon of Song
Velstadt, the Royal Aegis
Guardian Dragon

Gives me a total of 15 for the weekend.

I was kinda hoping I would get to finish off Venrick after Velstadt, but he won't fight me, so off to the next thingamajig. The story is really lacking compared to DS1, I have no idea what the hell I am doing, like yeah, I am trying to cure my curse, but everything feels so tacked on.

 

[Wunderbar]

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes

like yeah, I am trying to cure my curse

funny thing, but actually you're not. DaS2 main story is about becoming a Monarch and getting to the Throne of Want (Kiln).
Curing a curse is a DLC-only objective.

 

[Somberlain]

I find many of Porky's progress updates entertaining but whenever he starts talking about the game design and his issues with it it my mind starts to implode into lovercraftian depths of prosperous void

 

[80Maxwell08]

I was kinda hoping I would get to finish off Venrick after Velstadt, but he won't fight me, so off to the next thingamajig. The story is really lacking compared to DS1, I have no idea what the hell I am doing, like yeah, I am trying to cure my curse, but everything feels so tacked on.

You can fight Vendrick right away, you just attack him until the health bar pops up. You really shouldn't do it right away though. I'm not sure if you found the hidden giants in the black gulch but the giant souls they drop reduce vendrick's defense. If you don't have at least 4, you aren't going to do any real amount of damage to him and his massive health bar.

 

[Wunderbar]

Would be funnier to let Porky fight Vendrick without giant's souls, so he can complain here about bullshit difficulty.

 

[Beggar]

So anyways, either I am getting a lot better at Souls games, or I am overleveled or something, but I killed 7 bosses today

Leveling in this game is just terrible. Level +100 just by beating 15% of the game. There is no thinking where to invest your points in. The only thought you can give is to which skill level up first.

DS2 is quantity over quality. And surprise surprise, there is no quality in DS2 base game. But you'll be surprised when you reach DLC areas. If you can live with broken combat and other dumbed down features in this game, then you'll have a great time.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal. They should be more lenient on reflexes and more demanding on technique, i.e. understanding what to do, how to react, etc.

But then why, why are you playing in the most reflex-demanding way possible? Why.... why? Why? Your last sentence perfectly describes Dark Souls, but for some reason you're ignoring it in favour of playing some split-second reflex parry simulator. Why? Why?

 

[Arnust]

The best part is that DS2 is the slowest the series gets. Not neccesarily clunky, just slow. Both in player moveset and enemies' catalogue. The transition between moves is snappier than in the previous, but in general all moves are more deliberate. Even those faster weapons have them so, especially when powerstancing or doing the more compromising attacks (IE Ricard's R2 or most combos). And I don't get how do parries feel faster now when in 1 they were pure (and very forgiving) reaction tests. At worse what could happen would be that something taht seemed parriable wasn't and it kills you, and that's kind of it. I agree that backstabs were worse, but only because of how seemingly neccesary can they be to taking down more dangerous mobs, and how it's an absolutely integral part of PvP, "serious" or not.

You really shouldn't do it right away though. I'm not sure if you found the hidden giants in the black gulch but the giant souls they drop reduce vendrick's defense.

You need at least three for the fight to end in your lifespan tho'

 

[sullynathan]

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal.

Are you retarded?

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

like yeah, I am trying to cure my curse

funny thing, but actually you're not. DaS2 main story is about becoming a Monarch and getting to the Throne of Want (Kiln).
Curing a curse is a DLC-only objective.

What the hell are you talking about? The whole game literally starts by telling you that you are cursed, etc etc, then that's all the herald tells you every time you talk to her.

This is the game's plot from wiki:

"The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. To break the curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald with ..."

You retards shitpost so much, your brains are not functioning at all.

I find many of Porky's progress updates entertaining but whenever he starts talking about the game design and his issues with it it my mind starts to implode into lovercraftian depths of prosperous void

How about an actual counter-argument instead of some generic bullshit commentary? Congratulations, you would fit right in with today's game designers.

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal. They should be more lenient on reflexes and more demanding on technique, i.e. understanding what to do, how to react, etc.

But then why, why are you playing in the most reflex-demanding way possible? Why.... why? Why? Your last sentence perfectly describes Dark Souls, but for some reason you're ignoring it in favour of playing some split-second reflex parry simulator. Why? Why?

Because the non-reflex-intensive playstyles in DS series are dull, I already told you this before. Build up armor/health/poise, get a massive high damage weapon with huge range and stagger effect, and just destroy everything. Or hold up your shield and mindlessly tank everything with enough stability. That's kinda boring.

Are you retarded?

No, but you might be. Come at me, breh.

 

[Strange Fellow]

What the hell are you talking about? The whole game literally starts by telling you that you are cursed, etc etc, then that's all the herald tells you every time you talk to her.

This is the game's plot from wiki:

"The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. To break the curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald with ..."

You retards shitpost so much, your brains are not functioning at all.

Fun fact: That plot thread actually peters out about halfway through, never to be acknowledged again. Great storytelling, isn't it?

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal. They should be more lenient on reflexes and more demanding on technique, i.e. understanding what to do, how to react, etc.

But then why, why are you playing in the most reflex-demanding way possible? Why.... why? Why? Your last sentence perfectly describes Dark Souls, but for some reason you're ignoring it in favour of playing some split-second reflex parry simulator. Why? Why?

Because the non-reflex-intensive playstyles in DS series are dull, I already told you this before. Build up armor/health/poise, get a massive high damage weapon with huge range and stagger effect, and just destroy everything. Or hold up your shield and mindlessly tank everything with enough stability. That's kinda boring.

You're just wrong. It's not easy, and it certainly isn't boring. It's ironic that you've turned into one of those l33t pro gamurz you raged against when you first started playing Dark Souls. Whoever fights monsters...

 

[Average Manatee]

Did you get to talk with Nashandra in Drangleic? I missed that conversation in my first game and had no idea why I was supposed to be going through the rest of the game other than the fact that it was the only corridor to go down.

What the hell are you talking about? The whole game literally starts by telling you that you are cursed, etc etc, then that's all the herald tells you every time you talk to her.

This is the game's plot from wiki:

"The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. To break the curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald with ..."

You retards shitpost so much, your brains are not functioning at all.

Fun fact: That plot thread actually peters out about halfway through, never to be acknowledged again. Great storytelling, isn't it?

To be fair the same kind of happens to DS1 and 3. There's never been a cure, it's always been a false hope.

Well, technically I guess you kind of "break" it if you finish the DLCs and wear the crown.

 

[Somberlain]

The skill gap and the difficulty of the game between different play styles does exist but it isn't nearly as big as some people claim. Folks who say that "playstyle x doesn't require any skill, all you have to do is y and win instantly" are either dishonest, ignorant or just memeing. Different enemies and encounters are weaker or stronger towards certain playstyles and there are even enemies that are basically impossible to kill by circle strafing or turtling with a shield but are very easy to parry, like Lothric Knights.

But I guess acting like your playstyle is the only one that takes any skill is a great way to boost that ego. Bonus points if you haven't even tried any other styles for more than a five minutes

 

[Wunderbar]

like yeah, I am trying to cure my curse

funny thing, but actually you're not. DaS2 main story is about becoming a Monarch and getting to the Throne of Want (Kiln).
Curing a curse is a DLC-only objective.

What the hell are you talking about? The whole game literally starts by telling you that you are cursed, etc etc, then that's all the herald tells you every time you talk to her.

This is the game's plot from wiki:

"The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. To break the curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald with ..."

You retards shitpost so much, your brains are not functioning at all.

Emerald Herald asks you "Are you...the next monarch?" when you meet her for the first time. Every time you speak with her, she tells you to go find the King. Then in Drangleic Castle king's wife Nashandra says that Vendrick is weak, and you should murder him and take his throne.
Plot thread about curing curse was abandoned because of change of directors mid production, and was later reused in DLCs.

 

[L'Montes]

Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because 1) you are alienating a lot of peole who don't have fast reflexes, and 2) it's just boring, see something, react fast, big deal. They should be more lenient on reflexes and more demanding on technique, i.e. understanding what to do, how to react, etc.

But then why, why are you playing in the most reflex-demanding way possible? Why.... why? Why? Your last sentence perfectly describes Dark Souls, but for some reason you're ignoring it in favour of playing some split-second reflex parry simulator. Why? Why?

Because the non-reflex-intensive playstyles in DS series are dull, I already told you this before. Build up armor/health/poise, get a massive high damage weapon with huge range and stagger effect, and just destroy everything. Or hold up your shield and mindlessly tank everything with enough stability. That's kinda boring.

"Games designed around fast reflexes are terrible design because [...] it's just boring" + "Because the non-reflex-intensive playstyles in DS series are dull"
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here because you're calling both parry and "non-parry" types boring (that's aside from the bizarro breakdown of style options), but playing it anyway.

You know you can change tactics as the need arises, right? You can opt for multiple approaches over the course of a playthrough? You could play ranged (bow, sorcery, hex, or miracle.... or even things like consumables). You can play weapons without huge range and stagger effects? You can play with shields without going super-high stability and trying to be a wall OR just trying to parry everything? That is, you can observe the situation, and react by altering tactics instead of trying to ram a square peg into a round hole and complaining about it?

The options you seem to have limited yourself to, or reduced the game to... *seem* suspiciously similar to your own prior experiences in Dark Souls 1 with a Zweihander being too easy, and some remnant of DS1 shield mechanics - as opposed to how the game actually functions. Though if both paths are boring...

 

[Beggar]

How funny. The worst from software game by far is the holy cow of codex :D

Laziest cash grab possible without no ideas or quality.

What year is this? 2003? To copy paste textures :D:D:D