Is Dark Souls II easier? It must be surely!

I played the first Dark Souls right the way through. I thought at first that the reason II felt easier was because I was used to how it worked. I knew my own style.

But I've done quite a few bosses now and none of them have felt particularly horrendous. Like when I fought Ornstein and Smough in the first game I had this unquenchable feeling of "I am NEVER going to be able to do this".

Dark Souls II comes along and I defeat "The Last Giant" without taking damage. I defeat Ornstein in this game without dying and I was in the Company of Champions covenant at the time!

I defeated most of the other bosses with more difficulty but each time I knew exactly what it was I was doing wrong. Which is exactly like it should be only this time it was much easier.

I mean what gives? I actually had to go into my player info page just to make sure that I was in fact in the Company of Champions covenant because I couldn't tell any difference.

Also is the online mode broken? I know co-op is turned off whilst in the Company of Champions but I've only been in that for about two hours and even before then I had nearly 18 hours of play without having a single invader.

This is what gives:

I played the first Dark Souls right the way through. I thought at first that the reason II felt easier was because I was used to how it worked. I knew my own style.

@barrybarryk: Yes, but at no point in the first game did I defeat a boss without taking damage or in a single go. No matter what boss and how long I'd been playing. The fact that it has happened twice in this game is pretty astonishing for a game that is supposed to be as hard as nails.

I've been wondering if Dark Souls II is easier than the first game as well. Dark Souls II has for example one of the easiest boss fights I've ever faced, the one in No Man's Wharf (that's the correct name, right?), though I certainly did not defeat the last giant without taking any damage or avoiding death a couple of times. I suppose I would have definitely considered it an easier game if it weren't for the fact that one's health depletes every time you die, hm...

The early game stuff is definitely easier, but everything else easily outclasses its predecessor in terms of difficulty. Lot of tough areas around the end of the game. Then there's new game plus, which is legitimately way more challenging due to all the red phantom NPCs.

Yeah, it was easier. But that's only because I've finished most of Fromsoft's games, and I know what I'm getting into.

@Parado_xx: You should get the ring that stops your health dropping lower than 3/4. Basically no point even turning human any more.

Honestly from what I've seen the game's a lot more difficult and unforgiving.

The endgame stuff is really tough. I racked up deaths in double digits around the game's later bosses, but it was intensely satisfying to beat them, and complete the game, which I did just yesterday. I don't wanna think about NG+ just yet though.

I mastered dark souls and am finding this one as tough. I look forward to mastering it, new game plus and all. If its any use to you guys, what does make it less unforgiving and easy to stay human is to equip the ring of protection and then get the blacksmith in masula to repair it when you enivatably get killed.

DSII does have a ring that you can get quite early that allows you to stay human even after dying (even if it does break afterwards) and add that you can repair all broken equipment/rings and that there are 6 of these rings in the game... Going hollow and Human Effigies, become meaningless. Then there is the fact that you can equip 4 rings instead of just 2. Plus you can automatically warp to any bonfire. And enemies quit respawning after you kill them about 8 times. So yeah... DSII is overall more forgiving than the 2 previous games.

However... if you think DSII is too easy then I suggest playing the whole game with a SL1 character. Being that the only weapon that you can use on a SL1 is the dagger, and I-frame length is determined by your agility sub-stat. it's not gonna be no where as easy as Demon's Souls or Dark Souls were.

The early parts of Dark souls 2 aren't all that hard (they where for me, being a new comer, but on my second playthrough I realised it was fairly easy) The game does however pick up in difficulty and cheap deaths -_-

@Dannystaples14: Oh, I actually have that ring. Suppose I should have mentioned it, sorry about that. Ehm, so I guess I was just talking generally about the whole losing-health-every-time-you-die thing, heh.

@maegermog: No thanks, I'd rather level my equipment up Broadsword and Hollow Soldier's Armour has got me to the Iron Fortress Place so far without much issue, and use the rest on levelling my character.

I've even left the ring that restores health slowly over time broken, when I fell into one of those acid pit things in some cave, because it costs way too much to repair.

My health it at about level 60 right now. Which is generally my build. Enough strength and dexterity to wield your chosen weapon and enough endurance to give it a few good swings and a block without being staggered which is about level 20 at the moment and then as much health as I can spare after that. Once you hit level 99 health then you can start levelling your other stats. Basically become an unstoppable machine by half the way through NG+. Or at least that is how it was in the first game.

Haven't even got any magic slots. Never even used a single spell in any of the games.

Dark Souls II is way harder than dark souls the game has about 12 more bosses. and they're very hard. enemies are probably the worst thing. so hard. its more puzzling than dark souls. and way harder. this is from a person who played DSII for 50 hours and DS for 250 hours.

@b3gv5m63: Yeah but that is the thing, none of the bosses have been particularly challenging. The enemies on the run up to the bosses are generally more of a challenge than the bosses themselves.

In the first game, I go my ass handed to me by the enemies outside of the bosses, and I got it handed to me double by the bosses themselves. In this one if you die at a boss about five times normally the enemies outside of the boss start disappearing as well. Removing all challenge between the fireplace and the cloud gate.

In Dark Souls I if you weren't careful you could fight a boss twenty times and then on the 21st attempt get killed on the way by not being careful. THAT is a hard game. Removing all enemies from the game after a number of kills is not.