Written by Slayer666 on 07.09.2012 at 15:57


No, I had no idea there even was any extra content.

How do I access the new areas?

D'oh. Right, when you've beaten the Hydra in Darkroot basin, if you travel around behind it (go left unless you want to die) and follow the water until the reach a cave with a gold crystal knight enemy whatsit, kill that (though apparently you shouldn't use certain spells like fire or the girl inside will die also) to free the girl, say yes to her (whatever it is she asks you) then when you've gotten the Lordvessel and given it to the ugly snake thing in Firelink Sanctuary (or whoever you can give it to in New Londo Ruins - I never did it that way) then go back to where you fought the Hydra and right in front of it, near a rock I think, will be a summon sign. Summon the girl (i guess you have to be human to do that), then after that, if you go to The Duke's Archives in the first room (I think, might be second) on the right hand side you'll see another golden golem. Kill that and you'll get a broken pendant. Take it back to the back of the cave behind the Hydra where you found the girl and you'll be dragged into the new area. Bam.

Daaayum, thanks. I hope it's worth the hassle.

Written by Slayer666 on 07.09.2012 at 16:10

Daaayum, thanks. I hope it's worth the hassle.

Yeah it's a nice area and will add maybe 4 - 6 (or more I suppose) hours gameplay. And the Knight Artorias will arguably give you more hassle than any other boss (apart from the retarded one where the floor drops out from under you).

Wowzers, the new areas are kicking my ass. Not the areas themselves, but the bosses. Sanctuary Guardian and Knight Artorias are by far the best designed bosses in the game. They're quite difficult without being cheap, unlike the Four Kings for example, which are just a prime example of what "cheap" means (homing ranged attacks that can't be blocked or dodged, 6 of them spawning at your ass when the boss is called FOUR Kings etc).

Manus has been constantly kicking my ass for about an hour straight. Mostly because my magic just doesn't do enough damage, as I'm on NG+ currently and haven't bought the second batch of strong spells and I can't time activating the Silver Pendant to block his magic attacks. I'll get him during my next session, though.

Should I get this for PS3 or my computer?

Written by bloodwrage on 09.09.2012 at 23:07

Should I get this for PS3 or my computer?

If you own a controller that will work on your PC (Xbox 360 controller for example) then get it for PC. If not get it for PS3 as I've read the game is a bitch to play using a mouse and keyboard.

Written by [user id=4365] on 09.09.2012 at 23:25

Written by bloodwrage on 09.09.2012 at 23:07

Should I get this for PS3 or my computer?

If you own a controller that will work on your PC (Xbox 360 controller for example) then get it for PC. If not get it for PS3 as I've read the game is a bitch to play using a mouse and keyboard.

You really can't. Just picked up the pc version and holy fuck the framerate is atrociously bad.

Written by whatsacow on 12.09.2012 at 20:45

You really can't. Just picked up the pc version and holy fuck the framerate is atrociously bad.

I got a steady 30fps throughout? The only times the framerate dropped for me was in a certain few areas, like bottom of Blight Town using the depth of field mod. If I disabled it the framerate returned to a constant 30fps again.

Written by [user id=4365] on 09.09.2012 at 23:25

I've read the game is a bitch to play using a mouse and keyboard.

Worked great for me. To be honest, though, I'm an outright retard with a controller, so anything is better.

Beat it on NG+, took me under 20 hours. It's astonishing how easier the game becomes when you know what you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it, even though the damage/HP of enemies grows significantly. Even Lord Gwyn felt like a joke, I only had problems with Artorias and Manus.

Written by Slayer666 on 12.09.2012 at 21:01


Worked great for me. To be honest, though, I'm an outright retard with a controller, so anything is better.

Beat it on NG+, took me under 20 hours. It's astonishing how easier the game becomes when you know what you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it, even though the damage/HP of enemies grows significantly. Even Lord Gwyn felt like a joke, I only had problems with Artorias and Manus.

Yeah, I'd say the most difficult aspect of the first play through is that heart-pounding panic of not knowing what to do and whether or not you can even beat said boss. I think that comes from endlessly hearing about how difficult the game is everywhere you look.

Written by [user id=4365] on 12.09.2012 at 21:30

Written by Slayer666 on 12.09.2012 at 21:01


Worked great for me. To be honest, though, I'm an outright retard with a controller, so anything is better.

Beat it on NG+, took me under 20 hours. It's astonishing how easier the game becomes when you know what you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it, even though the damage/HP of enemies grows significantly. Even Lord Gwyn felt like a joke, I only had problems with Artorias and Manus.

Yeah, I'd say the most difficult aspect of the first play through is that heart-pounding panic of not knowing what to do and whether or not you can even beat said boss. I think that comes from endlessly hearing about how difficult the game is everywhere you look.

Your pc is probably better than me. All console ports seem to be shit on mine. It can handle battlefield 3 on high, but arkham city has to be low and gta 4 (still a terrible game regardless) on medium... I've been lowering the resolution though... anything else I can do?

Written by whatsacow on 13.09.2012 at 05:32

Your pc is probably better than me. All console ports seem to be shit on mine. It can handle battlefield 3 on high, but arkham city has to be low and gta 4 (still a terrible game regardless) on medium... I've been lowering the resolution though... anything else I can do?

Weird that you can play BF:3 on high but can't get sturdy framerate on Dark Souls. GTA 4 is a notorious processor hungry PC game that's badly optimised so not surprised you don't get great results from that. As for Arkham City it's also quite poorly optimised, you'd need to have Physx turned off which wrecks the framerate.

Not sure what else you can do really. Update the drivers on your graphics card perhaps?

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.09.2012 at 05:39

Written by whatsacow on 13.09.2012 at 05:32

Your pc is probably better than me. All console ports seem to be shit on mine. It can handle battlefield 3 on high, but arkham city has to be low and gta 4 (still a terrible game regardless) on medium... I've been lowering the resolution though... anything else I can do?

Weird that you can play BF:3 on high but can't get sturdy framerate on Dark Souls. GTA 4 is a notorious processor hungry PC game that's badly optimised so not surprised you don't get great results from that. As for Arkham City it's also quite poorly optimised, you'd need to have Physx turned off which wrecks the framerate.

Not sure what else you can do really. Update the drivers on your graphics card perhaps?

Tinkering with the settings on the patch now. It seems to have had a difference, though I wish these options were given in a menu, not an Ini file.

Well dark souls 2 is only a month away, and I cant wait! anyone else excited? looking at all the pre release material it seems like its going to be better then the first dark souls.

Good thing Dark Souls 2 is still on PS3.

Great game. Only played through once and I was a.... Holy knight/Pyromancer I guess, not to refined on my stat distribution. My god that pyromancer skill saved my ass so many times! and it does such high damage, many faces were melted. I fully upgraded it from that lady in the underworld before Chaos Witch Quelaag I played though over half the game legit then just ended up grinding exp from "that one spot" where you hug that thin ledge and the guys bounce off your head jumping at you only to die falling (not a very good explanation I know). Hilarious and efficient that technique is. The game was still quite challenging beyond that and I didn't max my lvl, just the pyroskill.... ok ok and I maxed out a few weapons, but for example it didn't stop, Sif from mercing me in almost one hit.

Even though it's not the most OP I ended up fully upgrading the Claymore with fire enchantments and it's heavy attack flattens fools! along with the heavy attack of most big swords, I found that really useful too.

Got antsy and realised I couldn't wait 7 weeks so got the PS3 version. Inferior graphics and framerate will have to do. This is probably a good thing as I won't be able to run to a guide if I get mullered.

Also, I have no idea why people would want to play through these games as magic-types. There seems like almost no strategy involved: keep away, shoots balls of various magics toward enemy, rinse, repeat.

I have heard the AI in DS2 has been changed to compensate for that, From what ive read if you are not in a position to guard I.E if you casting a spell the enemies will get wise to this and rush you down, This will probably give spell casting a bit more stratergy and timing than previously.

Despite its marketing, Dark Souls is designed to make you feel something. Rather than likening it to other games - most of which are purely about sensory stimulation - I prefer to compare Dark Souls to an album. More particularly, an extreme metal album. Like an extreme metal album, Dark Souls is incredibly inaccessible. It has no desire for mass appeal. In fact, it thrives on alienation. It wants only the dedicated, the people who will strive to understand what it is trying to convey.

Also, like an extreme metal album, Dark Souls has an emotional agenda. It has one united vision. It wants you to feel isolated. It wants you to feel empty. It wants you to feel like you are nothing, and that everything around you has more right to exist than you. It succeeds. The monster design, the level design, the sound assets, the silence - all these things combine to unnerve and depress you.

More than anything though, Dark Souls wants you to prove it wrong. It wants you to prove that you have a right to exist in its world, despite everything it throws at you. It pummels you to the ground, yet it gives you hope. It gives you a reason to press on, even when everything seems lost. It wants you to go in as one person, and leave as another.

I fucking adore this game.

Written by @gent_-_orange on 10.03.2014 at 02:06

I have heard the AI in DS2 has been changed to compensate for that, From what ive read if you are not in a position to guard I.E if you casting a spell the enemies will get wise to this and rush you down, This will probably give spell casting a bit more stratergy and timing than previously.

I've watched a handful of videos and to be honest the AI doesn't seem any better than the predecessor. Might be better with other enemies, I've tried not to watch too many clips to avoid spoiling it.

Curious about the apparent fact that many enemies vanish after you kill them a number of times. Could definitely have an impact on soul and item farming, though on the other hand you might be able to clear whole paths to bosses making fighting them easier after getting your ass whooped.

Additionally, it looks like the developers have lied about the visuals of the game on the PS3; certainly not as good looking as it was advertised as being, as seen here.

I'm not hugely bothered anyway. The other two games were more than enough good looking for me.

So anyone actually played Dark Souls II yet? Won't get my copy for another two sleeps. Looks like it's getting rave reviews across the board.

I'm considering caving in and getting the PS3 version, But i really shouldn't, I hope the PC version is worth the wait.

Written by @gent_-_orange on 13.03.2014 at 00:40

I'm considering caving in and getting the PS3 version, But i really shouldn't, I hope the PC version is worth the wait.

Could always buy the PS3 version then eBay it when you're done. It's probably what I'll do as I don't really need two copies.

Dark Souls II is a damn sight more difficult than the other two games. I've already managed to get a weapon up to +10 and am level 70 something but I'm still getting raped every now and then by certain enemies.

The enemies in this are far more unpredictable and either have quicker recovery time or the character you control recovers slower from swinging their weapon (or both) because it seems there's not always enough time to get your shield up before a counter attack.

Has anyone else managed to summon someone yet? For the life of me I can't get it to work. Tried for about 20 minutes to summon help on the Belfry Gargoyle bosses but every summon sign failed, saying it's no longer there (even though they've just appeared). Managed to beat the boss anyway but for a boss with 4 separate entities trying to muller you another person would have been useful.

Written by [user id=4365] on 16.03.2014 at 02:07

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Has anyone else managed to summon someone yet? For the life of me I can't get it to work. Tried for about 20 minutes to summon help on the Belfry Gargoyle bosses but every summon sign failed, saying it's no longer there (even though they've just appeared). Managed to beat the boss anyway but for a boss with 4 separate entities trying to muller you another person would have been useful.

There is a shrine in the beginning of the game that if you pray at you will find summoning much harder. :? I've only read about it but it's right in the beginning. It's called the Company of champions. It also makes you do less damage... Maybe you did that? you can always join another though I think/hope.

Written by -DC-002- on 16.03.2014 at 08:27


There is a shrine in the beginning of the game that if you pray at you will find summoning much harder. :? I've only read about it but it's right in the beginning. It's called the Company of champions. It also makes you do less damage... Maybe you did that? you can always join another though I think/hope.

Nah I definitely didn't join that. Apparently that covenant basically sets the game at New Game+ difficultly. Pretty sure it's a technical issue, maybe even on my end. The PvP is a bit iffy for me, player characters jumping all over the screen, or backstabbing me without actually seeming like they go behind me. Must be a slow connection.

[edit]

I've adjusted my playing style slightly, sacrificing defense for movement as well as pumping up the Adaptability stat. Has made things much easier. Not least because now an estus flask doesn't tale an hour to drink.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Got a bit obsessed with the game. Yesterday I think I played it for about 20 hours straight, had 4 hours sleep then played it for another 12 or so today...

Realised that Dark Souls II makes being a tank character practically impossible so it's really taught me how to be a proper Souls player (at least for PvE). All about being nimble and using the roll's invincibility frames and learning to dive through the bosses attacks by leaning its moveset. So much more satisfying beating them this way. Might have to apply my new found skills to the previous two games.

49 hours in, level 138 I think. Using a +10 Claymore for PvE (and have a +10 Bastard Sword for backup) but thinking of trying out the Large Club as it scales to S with strength which might be useful for certain bosses. Also have a sweet maxed out poisoned Manslayer for PvP. Just a shame invasions are so laggy for me that it's impossible to tell exactly what's going on and I lose every time. At least I seem to be able to summon players now for bosses which helps a lot.

Got my ass kicked a few times by Velstadt, The Royal Aegis, so am giving up for today. Realised after that I had the wrong shield equipped (one that protects against magic rather than physical) so that would explain why he wittled down my energy. I'll get him tomorrow.

---

Officially found the hardest boss in the Souls series. Even resorted to looking at how it's done on YouTube, but even that doesn't solve the problem of actually doing it. It's an optional boss but there's no way I'm giving up till it's dead. I won't be surprised if its difficulty gets nerfed in future updates as it's truly impossible without a large amount of luck (it's the Ancient Dragon boss in the Dragon Aerie area. Has a flame attack that kills in one go and covers something like 80% of the area you fight on). Wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to suicide run through an entire area of enemies to get to it.

---

Completed it. All (known) bosses killed, level 170 something, 73 hours of play. Amazing game. Tried having a revisit of Dark Souls I to see how it felt in comparison and boy I'm not sure I could get used to that again. Movement feels very unnatural; you can't flipping control where you roll! No wonder I always played a tank; you either dive right into the enemy or fly 90 degrees left or right which is no use at all, or dive backwards. No idea how people do it as you don't seem to be able to jump just past the enemy in accurate degrees without removing your target lock.

You can really tell now that they used motion capture for Dark Souls II; the animation is so much more fluid and realistic, compared to Dark Souls I's jerky attacks which are hard to judge. Dark Souls II really is an improvement in every way, though I do miss the interconnected world, and a few of the bosses were a bit naff, like the shitty Jabba the Hutt boss...




Had a go for a while as a mage-type magic user player. Damn, kills the fun of the game as expected. Lobbing overpowered spells at enemies from a distance is lame.

Can't wait to play the PC version. Hopefully it'll have those pretty graphics were we promised that never quite made it to the consoles...

Since I was an idiot and pre-ordered the PC version, can you guys tell me (without huge spoilers preferably) whether this is better than Dark Souls or Demon's Souls?

Written by whatsacow on 21.03.2014 at 04:45

Since I was an idiot and pre-ordered the PC version, can you guys tell me (without huge spoilers preferably) whether this is better than Dark Souls or Demon's Souls?

In my opinion it's the best of the three. It's bigger (and by bigger I mean huge; 72 hours it took me to beat, and that was mostly normal gameplay and prudent exploration (and about 3 hours dying trying to defeat one optional boss haha)), the controls are more refined (you can roll much more freely when locked on), the enemy and boss animations are much more fluid and natural, there's less need to grind to gather souls, items and ore (a little maybe needed for ore and items you might specifically want, but there shouldn't be as much as in the other two which took it to boring levels; I had quite a few weapons up to their maximum potential by the end) and while it may not have an interconnected world there are quite a few optional bosses and areas / previously inaccessible doors. It doesn't have that latter-game drag that Dark Souls I kinda has.

Written by [user id=4365] on 21.03.2014 at 14:24

Written by whatsacow on 21.03.2014 at 04:45

Since I was an idiot and pre-ordered the PC version, can you guys tell me (without huge spoilers preferably) whether this is better than Dark Souls or Demon's Souls?

In my opinion it's the best of the three. It's bigger (and by bigger I mean huge; 72 hours it took me to beat, and that was mostly normal gameplay and prudent exploration (and about 3 hours dying trying to defeat one optional boss haha)), the controls are more refined (you can roll much more freely when locked on), the enemy and boss animations are much more fluid and natural, there's less need to grind to gather souls, items and ore (a little maybe needed for ore and items you might specifically want, but there shouldn't be as much as in the other two which took it to boring levels; I had quite a few weapons up to their maximum potential by the end) and while it may not have an interconnected world there are quite a few optional bosses and areas / previously inaccessible doors. It doesn't have that latter-game drag that Dark Souls I kinda has.

Awesome. I heard the story is more accessible, but is there still a lot of ambiguity? Oh, and how's the atmosphere. In all honesty, the atmosphere is my favourite part of the Souls games. It reminds me of Silent Hill 2 in a way due to it being really tense but also seriously depressing.

Written by whatsacow on 23.03.2014 at 09:25

Awesome. I heard the story is more accessible, but is there still a lot of ambiguity? Oh, and how's the atmosphere. In all honesty, the atmosphere is my favourite part of the Souls games. It reminds me of Silent Hill 2 in a way due to it being really tense but also seriously depressing.

Well the NPCs have more dialogue, but it's nothing like a direct narrative. Still very interpretive stuff.

Yeah for me the atmosphere was top notch. It's a huge, varied world with lots of amazing art design. A minor spoiler but later in the game there's a place called Aldia's Keep which may be my favourite location in the Souls series. Not a massive area by any means but from the moment you get there (very Resident Evil I thought) through to the boss (including the boss area) everything looks and feels amazing.