Dark Souls II announced; PC version confirmed

[BrecMadak]

BrecMadak, you sir, are my HERO. I've been dying to see some actual in-game footage, and that exactly it!

Well, for each new content that we see for DS 2 it is like gettin closer and closer being a hollow faster than anyone around ! Other late comers will learn it too late that things will get irreversible haha !

And I winced when I saw the huge enemy with the giant sickles. There's something about big enemies in Dark Souls that only brings suffering.

I also really liked that butcher like dudes, they should have been stinking like carcass I think hehe

For those reasons I hate magic in DS realm, its so op and easy to use thus it feels pretty lame ! Therefore I never enjoy magic using pvp vids, nothing to do with talent imo. Apart from that, the most shokking news for me was that a summoned player may use his/her own estus now unlikely before. I think this was done due to there is a 5 min limit now for a summoned player to help the summoner, and a caution for those self care people who doesnt use estus to heal the summoned players; so after a while I found this change on its good side personally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iQsoMWNF2ZQ#t=480
And, from this sec the AI is bugged up somehow and persist to walk over the tree without seeing players and attacking to players till near dead status. Hope these moments will not be in the game after beta.

 

[Tom]

Apart from that, the most shokking news for me was that a summoned player may use his/her own estus now unlikely before. I think this was done due to there is a 5 min limit now for a summoned player to help the summoner, and a caution for those self care people who doesnt use estus to heal the summoned players; so after a while I found this change on its good side personally.

The summoned player change is very good. Unless I'm getting something wrong, the video shows the player AND the summoned players activating a bonfire. I don't think this was doable before, so it's great that summoned players can get the checkpoints, too.

On the topic of magic, I never understood why people call it op in Dark Souls (even before the DLC). Most spells did loads of damage, yes, but had limited uses, and required a shit-ton of Int in order to be good, not to mention the right catalysts. Also, they made you stand completely still, and most were useless on melee.

So in comes DS 2, with the soul-blade thing

 

[Scarecrow]

The summoned player change is very good. Unless I'm getting something wrong, the video shows the player AND the summoned players activating a bonfire. I don't think this was doable before, so it's great that summoned players can get the checkpoints, too.

On the topic of magic, I never understood why people call it op in Dark Souls (even before the DLC). Most spells did loads of damage, yes, but had limited uses, and required a shit-ton of Int in order to be good, not to mention the right catalysts. Also, they made you stand completely still, and most were useless on melee.

So in comes DS 2, with the soul-blade thing

Well, its true that magic had a limited amount of uses. and it was required that you had a lot of int. However, after playing Dark Souls a while, coming up to NG+ or NG++, Your level usually is quite high at this point. So you will have shit-tons of Int, and you will have multiple of the same spells, and you will have high Augment. On top of this, when invading others, you only need those uses for one PvP engagement. After you win or die, your uses are refilled.

So, imo i never thought of magic as op in PvE or when being the host. But for invaders, and those only thinking about PvP, i thought that especially after Artorias DLC, the magic became quite op. Not un-winnable in any way, Dark Souls always comes down to player skills (and Network... If you're lagging in that game, then may the gods help you), but magic became very very powerful.

 

[Ickorus]

Ok jokes aside, I need some info regarding how steamworks' anti-cheat system working since DS 2 will be played by their own servers. And as it seems currently from their beta gameplays a guy on our local boards just told me that still cheaters were pacing around, and that's sad. He said they were just invaded by a fister and killed. This solely shows that still cheats from DS continue where they were left of.

Let's hope that DS 2 is cheatable just cause its still in beta and that anti-cheat system is not active yet.

VAC works by detecting cheats and then blanket banning the cheater from all VAC secured multiplayer servers in all games so whilst the cheater will still be able to play their games in single player and use unsecured servers they won't be able to bother legitimate players.

 

[Komuflage]

On the topic of magic, I never understood why people call it op in Dark Souls (even before the DLC). Most spells did loads of damage, yes, but had limited uses, and required a shit-ton of Int in order to be good, not to mention the right catalysts. Also, they made you stand completely still, and most were useless on melee.

Well, its true that magic had a limited amount of uses. and it was required that you had a lot of int. However, after playing Dark Souls a while, coming up to NG+ or NG++, Your level usually is quite high at this point. So you will have shit-tons of Int, and you will have multiple of the same spells, and you will have high Augment. On top of this, when invading others, you only need those uses for one PvP engagement. After you win or die, your uses are refilled.

So, imo i never thought of magic as op in PvE or when being the host. But for invaders, and those only thinking about PvP, i thought that especially after Artorias DLC, the magic became quite op. Not un-winnable in any way, Dark Souls always comes down to player skills (and Network... If you're lagging in that game, then may the gods help you), but magic became very very powerful.

I don't know with you, but when a spell you got about 20-30 uses of, can deal 2-3k damage then imo, that's op.

Oneshotting bosses is just lame, and completely ruin the "challenge" of the souls games, it's also so boring in pvp, when some1 spams crystal homing missile for the entire fight, even if u can dodge most, if you just fail once, u're pretty much dead.

To put it in perspective, Homing Crystal Soulmass only require 24 int, and u get 10 uses and it takes 1 slot.

with 40-50 int and 40-50 atunement, (around lvl 120ish I guess) you can have 90-100 Homing Crystal Soulmass that each deal around 2K damage. U can literally just walk through a whole level spaming it.

 

[BrecMadak]

Here are a few analysis that comes from vids;
- Now you loose stamina when you cast a spell (No one can imagine how much I rejoiced within this change, though base stamina regen is faster than before from my examinations)
- Enemies can open closed doors unless locked.
- According to how much HP you loose, the player's movements are altered accordingly, starts to limp
- Now we have many new backstab animations for almost each weapon in game, more importantly no more penetrating attacks could be done via hammers !

 

[BrecMadak]

I must mention the biggest ever change down below via video, in case some of you may already missed like I did;
Each time you resurrect as an undead, the game will knock off a fraction of your total health up to a total of 50 percent ! Yaayy !!!

By the way, I urge you guys subscribing his channel and watching his 5 part 10 things you didn't know about DS serie, that's nice really.

 

[Tom]

Here are a few analysis that comes from vids;
- Now you loose stamina when you cast a spell (No one can imagine how much I rejoiced within this change, though base stamina regen is faster than before from my examinations)
- Enemies can open closed doors unless locked.
- According to how much HP you loose, the player's movements are altered accordingly, starts to limp
- Now we have many new backstab animations for almost each weapon in game, more importantly no more penetrating attacks could be done via hammers !

Good catch! I didn't notice that.

Vaatividja is a great source indeed. He did the awesome "Dark Souls Lore" videos, which are quite eye-opening, and he's now doing those Dark Souls II vids.

 

[Komuflage]

Enemys could open closed door in Dark souls as well

anyway, that u loose a total % of ur max hp is awesome, worked like that in Demon's souls, and I really missed it in Dark souls. Altough a bit more harsh in Demon's souls, since u went down to 50% when u were in soul form (Hollow)
And could go down to 35-40% with black Character tendency (Another thing I miss from Demon's souls)

 

[Tom]

I don't quite the like whole "lose max hp" the more you die - it creates a downward spiral in which it becomes harder and harder to get out of.

 

[Komuflage]

I don't quite the like whole "lose max hp" the more you die - it creates a downward spiral in which it becomes harder and harder to get out of.

And that's a good thing, you should be punished for your failure.

A big problem for me in Dark souls, is that there wasn't really any downside in being in hollowed form. (a little penalty to ur defence) So dying wasn't really such a big deal.

In Demon's souls however, dying in Human form, would put u in Soul form, which would reduce ur hp to around 35-65% (Depending on your character tendency) and the world tendency would also get darker, which made the enemys have more hp and deal more damage. Hence if you died a lot, the world would be PBWT (Pure black world tendency) which would also spawn additional red demons. (As well as giving access to some secret areas)

Imo, this was great, because dying was actually a "big" (well bigger at least) deal.

Also, now in Dark souls 2, like Brec mentioned, there is a cap at 50%, so it won't become to difficult.

Well I've preordered Dark souls 2 CE for PC and PS3 now, so I'm happy
Now if we could just get back world/character tendency, and the old crafting system, I might get a ce for a xbox360 just to throw some more moneys at From.

 

[Komuflage]

On another note, anyone know how the estus flask will work in Dark souls 2?
I just hate that in Dark souls 1, you could kindle flames and get a total of 20 flask at each bonfire, completly took away the last bit of challenge from the game.

 

[Tom]

Regarding the "death penalty", I'm all for punishment, but the price was already high before: lose souls unless you get them back without dying + go back to the previous checkpoint.

Regarding the Estus, from what I've seen/read it seems like it remains the same, but now you get another healing item (which you need to buy, I assume), giving you slow regeneration but can be used quicker. I like it.

 

[BrecMadak]

And that's a good thing, you should be punished for your failure.

You know dude, our minds usually think very samey.

A big problem for me in Dark souls, is that there wasn't really any downside in being in hollowed form. (a little penalty to ur defence) So dying wasn't really such a big deal.

Yea, well people was not actually ready for a hardcore game as Dark Souls, since Deamon Souls was only PS based game. So many people were relaxing as long as being in hallow form. And yes, actually no downside other than not having bonus resists. This was pretty much needed, no more safe afk'ing ! *giggles*

In Demon's souls however, dying in Human form, would put u in Soul form, which would reduce ur hp to around 35-65% (Depending on your character tendency) and the world tendency would also get darker, which made the enemys have more hp and deal more damage. Hence if you died a lot, the world would be PBWT (Pure black world tendency) which would also spawn additional red demons. (As well as giving access to some secret areas)

Well as I heard it by a friend of mine, that world tendency will be brought back from first game, monsters will get stronger but not sure if also PBWT will be viable too, waiting for a confirmation about this exclusively as it really interested me quite much !

 

[Komuflage]

Regarding the "death penalty", I'm all for punishment, but the price was already high before: lose souls unless you get them back without dying + go back to the previous checkpoint.

Regarding the Estus, from what I've seen/read it seems like it remains the same, but now you get another healing item (which you need to buy, I assume), giving you slow regeneration but can be used quicker. I like it.

But there was so many checkpoints in Dark souls, so you only had to replay a few minutes. In Demon's you had to restart the whole course (Although you could often unlock short cuts)

 

[Komuflage]

Yea, well people was not actually ready for a hardcore game as Dark Souls, since Deamon Souls was only PS based game

That's the sad part really. To be honest Dark and Demon's souls aren't that difficult, but they are difficult compared to today's standard, it just shows how stupidly easy games are today

Well as I heard it by a friend of mine, that world tendency will be brought back from first game, monsters will get stronger but not sure if also PBWT will be viable too, waiting for a confirmation about this exclusively as it really interested me quite much !

Sounds great, I really hope they bring back some of the secrets from demon's.

 

[Tom]

Another thing I spotted in the preview is that opening the inventory no longer covers your entire screen - you can see your dude on the side. I still hope they'll add some sort of "pause" function, because leaving one out is just ridiculous.

Well as I heard it by a friend of mine, that world tendency will be brought back from first game, monsters will get stronger but not sure if also PBWT will be viable too, waiting for a confirmation about this exclusively as it really interested me quite much !

That would make sense, since the preview shows a black-and-red enemy near the end, Black Phantom style.

That's the sad part really. To be honest Dark and Demon's souls aren't that difficult, but they are difficult compared to today's standard, it just shows how stupidly easy games are today

Dark Souls does deviate from modern games in a HUGE way, and it's mostly for the best.

The only problem is that some areas become stupidly difficult for no good reason, which I mentioned before. Add to that hidden bonfires, Insta-death falls literally every 5 meters in the end-game, and I don't really blame those who said "screw it, this is too much".

Dying wasn't an issue for me, as long as it wasn't cheap. I die, I go back, hopefully get the souls, and try again. My patience is tested when a single stupid mistake forces me to re-do an entire section.

 

[Komuflage]

I still hope they'll add some sort of "pause" function, because leaving one out is just ridiculous.

Dark Souls does deviate from modern games in a HUGE way, and it's mostly for the best.

The only problem is that some areas become stupidly difficult for no good reason, which I mentioned before. Add to that hidden bonfires, Insta-death falls literally every 5 meters in the end-game, and I don't really blame those who said "screw it, this is too much".

I understand were u're coming from about the pause function. And yes, it's a bit ridiculous, but it's still a part of the souls experience, hence I hope they don't ad one.


Well that "some areas become stupidly difficult for no good reason" is mostly due to the fact that it's an "open world" with level based zones.

so if you're in a 30-40 zone, being lvl 35, u'll get a fair challenge, but if you walk into a 70-80 zone after, then it'll fell much more difficult. But if you play it in "the right order" the difficulty is pretty much the same throughout the whole game.

 

[Scarecrow]

Personally, i think the difficulity in the Souls games has always been very fair. Yes, it punishes you when you die (not so much in Dark Souls), and some deaths can be percieved as "cheap" or unfair. However, it has always been the case that as long as you pay attention to your surroundings, and learn from your mistakes, you will make it through.

I also like that they return with the lower max hp when you die, that they initialy had in Demons Souls, because that really made it matter wether you died or not (Along with world tendency). Don't know about you guys, but it was rare that i found it difficult to retrieve my souls and humanity if i died in Dark Souls. Additionally, Souls and Humanity was not hard to come by, ecspecially after Artorias DLC.

These games however do require you to have patience with them, and they do require you to have the time to spare. The first time i played Demons Souls, i quit after dying a lot in Boletarian Palace (Or whatever 1-1 was called again). I came back after 1-2 months however, with the intentions of really taking my time with it, and im glad i did. The Souls games are definatly some of the best games i have ever played.

I also liked the difficulity of Demons Souls more than Dark Souls.

 

[Tom]

Well that "some areas become stupidly difficult for no good reason" is mostly due to the fact that it's an "open world" with level based zones.

Yes, that IS a factor, but for me it never was. When I talk "cheap" I meant Sen's Fortress cheap. I mean that one place in Anor Londo with the two archers, Tomb of Giants, the basilisks, the Caprademon boss, the boss fights that require you to kill stuff before the fight itself in order to make it doable (and it's impossible to see it coming), and... I think there were a couple more.

So yes, everything except those things was tough but fair. But those things were so huge that they broke the will of many players, and without good reason.

Hell, if I hadn't known of the location of Sen's Fortress' bonfire, I probably would've quit there, too.