Dark Souls 2 Thread

So I'm very late to get into the Souls games, when I first tried them I didn't like them died a few times and gave up. Bought Dark Souls Scholar of First sin off Steam a few weeks back and got hooked.

Anyway, I'm making slow progress through the game and I die a lot, part of the fun I guess. From what I have read in these forums there are some experienced souls players, hopefully I can call on you guys for advice and help to get through.

I'm having trouble with a Hiede Knight in lost Bastile now, he charges and swings at you with a spear, he is really fast and I can never get an opening to attack him without taking massive damage. Two or three hits from him I'm dead, If I block a hit with my shield I loose all my stamina then I'm open to be hit. He's harder than any boss I've fought so far.

Playing more of this is getting me hyped for Dark Souls 3 too :D

I didn't care much for Dark Souls II. As great as the combat and lore are, a few design decisions really bothered me.

@mastermetal777:

What design choices bothered you?

Do you mean just in II or Dark Souls as a whole.

@thehig1: just in 2 for the most part. First were the stats Vigor and Vitality. Why are there 2 separate HP stats with random resistance buffs? Why not just put all resistance buffs into the one stat instead of separating them arbitrarily?

Also, the level design. Not that it's bad, but it feels less like navigating unusual architecture and more like navigating a typical video game level. It just felt boring by comparison.

@mastermetal777: I'm amazed by the levels in dark souls 2, but I've gone about the series in the wrong order, I'm stuck into 2 and havnt played any of 1.

i bought the first dark souls on 360 a few days ago, so I will play it soon.

@thehig1: it's very different in a lot of ways. You don't teleport between bonfires (until way later), a few fewer stats though they make more sense, no healthbar drops after death, and there's no true "hub" as you can level up and upgrade things at bonfires. Just a few key differences to mention

@mastermetal777: that all sounds better I'm sick of constantly travelling back to majula to level up.

I'm a little worried the combat system isn't as fluid, and it might be hard to adjust coming from the "technically" better game.

@thehig1: there's nothing different at all with the combat, really, except for the weird hitboxes (worse in 2, IMO), and the way dodging/parrying works (in the first, you have more invincibility frames for each function). It's exactly the same system, albeit with a few tweaks to item enchantments and whatnot.

scholar of the first sin seems a lot harder than dark souls 2.

hiedes tower of flame is ridiclous in this version of the game.

@thehig1: they changed the enemy positions in the remaster. Big time.

Only way to beat those heidi knights without taking massive amounts of damage is backstabbing

@Lox_Cropek: that worked, took a while to get my timing right but once they spin there open to a back stab

Another thing I forgot to mention about the original Dark Souls. Enemies don't ever stop respawning, unlike in DS2, so you can farm souls a bit more efficiently.

I personally liked Dark Souls 2 better than 1 across the board, including level design and especially including combat. It's a much more fluid game with much more consistent difficulty and level design quality, whereas Dark Souls 1 is easier outside of a few areas plagued with artificial difficulty, has much clunkier combat that's much easier to cheese, and has ridiculously spotty level design. Zones like Ash Lake are just horrible and obviously unfinished.

The best way to deal with the Heide Knights is to get better at dodge timing, use a faster weapon too. I wouldn't use a shield to block their attacks. It's better to dodge basically every attack than it is to block because dodging can be used to set yourself up to attack from a more approachable angle, whereas blocking always leaves you facing the enemy.

both great games. I liked the first one more but 2 is also one of my all time best games. looking forward to 3. smough/Ornstein fight is probably the most time I spent in any area in any game. first trying to defeat them then helping people to beat them

I'm stuck at the belry gargoyles now, died several times can't find a strategy at the moment that even gets me close.

I had tried just targeting one to try and stop the others getting involved but the targeting system is too awkward

they dodge and fly away and have huge range on there attacks.

I've moved on and beaten the lost sinner since then think I need to be higher levelled for them

For me Dark Souls is better, I spent so many hours in that game, learning all the hidden items and doing PVP. I did really enjoy Dark Souls 2, but it did have a few things I didn't like. The health bar drops and the Hit Boxes. Both are wonderful games though.

since getting stuck against the belry gargoyles I've moved on and defeated the excustioners chariot and the eat vannegard.

I've levelled up some more to take them on again.

they are by far the hardest boss I've come across so far.

I advanced to pretty much the end of the game, I beat the Giant Lord in the Memory of Jeigh, so I've pretty much just got the end bosses left. My soul level is 160(over levelled) I then remembered those dam Gargoyles.

So I go back, Wearing Full Smelter Demon Armor, Flame Quartz Ring +2, Lost Sinner Sword +5 with Gold Pine Resin (50 str, 50 dex) I one shotted every Gargoyle :D Felt so good as they had caused me many deaths earlier in the game.

Dark Souls II cost me the game and a controller. The funny thing is, I beat the core game without losing my tempter, but I lost it during the DLC. I think it was the last boss in the Iron King that broke me.

@JustPlainLucas: I've read that the dlc is extremely tough, I'm unlikely to play it for a while because I don't have it yet, and 3 comes out soon.

Dark Souls 2 is easily the worst of the bunch. Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne, and probably Dark Souls 3 just obliterates it

@Fairmonkey: ok, I made this thread to discuss dark souls 2, not just shit on it.

I've just completed it tonight, I loved it and it's one of my favorite games of all time.

However I've not played any souls games other than this one yet, will play 3 when it's released.

Just curious, did you accidentally join Champions Covenant? I hear it makes the game harder. I accidentally did that. Just started playing little while back too.

Loving Dark Souls 2, don't understand the hate. It took a bit to get into full swing of things but once I got on a roll it got so much fun. Love the challenges of exploring, bosses, jumping in games and sommoning others.

@thehig1: you should definitely play the first one. It's pretty cheap to get nowadays

@mastermetal777: I have the first one will play it after 3 now.

Got it on pc for cheap.

Also got demons souls as well when I was out in town, just need a ps3 for it now because mine doesn't read discs anymore.

@lamprey263: no I remember looking at it early game but sensed something was up and left it alone.

I joined it late in the game though to farm petrified dragon bones for a while though

git gud (iframe mastery) or gtfo

But seriously, practice iframe dodging.

Why do people say this game is easy, I got to to the giant dragon at the dragon shrine and even in 4-player raids we can't take sonofabitch down.

@lamprey263: people trying to look cool behind forums, the game is anything but easy.

Also only 12 hours until dark souls 3 is out :)

@thehig1: oops, figured it out, even with the aid of a wikia the thing is still hard to figure out, some reason I thought I needed the soul from the dragon to access final boss but it was the souls from the withered tree giants or whatever, that's what I needed and those levels were easier than I thought once I realized I just needed the giants soul at the end, after that I just needed to fight that last boss, with the help of three other player phantoms, wasn't an unfamiliar fight either I'm pretty sure I helped countless others beat the game in the Throne of Want

but, yeah, people are so non-nonchalant about beating it like "pfft, I can beat it with my left pinky", I don't mind admitting it was a journey of many many tears

hope you are making better progress.....

@shajay: well I've completed it so I'm sure how much more I can progress

Waiting for 3 to release 5 hours to go

wow that's amazing congratulations......