Dark Souls II - Scholar of the First Sin - April 7, 2015

Hmmm... This or Bloodborne? I really have no idea. I don't like the sounds of the changes in Bloodborne (I like the methodical combat in DS), but then again it is getting stellar reviews. I guess whichever hits $40 first maybe ;).

(I completed DS II and got the platinum for it but never did play any of the DLC).
 
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Hmmm... This or Bloodborne? I really have no idea. I don't like the sounds of the changes in Bloodborne (I like the methodical combat in DS), but then again it is getting stellar reviews. I guess whichever hits $40 first maybe ;).

(I completed DS II and got the platinum for it but never did play any of the DLC).
I have been absolutely loving Bloodborne. You can technically look at the combat the same way... just with much faster reaction?

Don't worry, just go pick up Bloodborne... (I won't tell Destiny : P)

 
It's going to be odd going back to the sluggish movement and dodging of Dark Souls. Bloodborne has spoiled me.  :p Anyway, not sure what build I'm going with this time. My main one was dex/hex with chaos blade. At least, the soul vessel will be there for allocation. 

 
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For those that have played both the original version of this and Bloodborne, how much harder is it than Bloodborne ? The only souls game I played was the original Demon Souls and only made it about halfway through. Bloodborne is going much easier for me. 

If its is really that much harder I might hold off on this one again until later on down the line. 

 
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Dark Souls 2 is probably the easiest of the Souls game (never played Bloodborne), definitely the most user friendly as you can completely avoid the loss of souls death penalty if you are willing to give up 1 of your 4 ring slots and repair it for 3K souls each time you die. At least that's the way the PS3 version is, I don't know if they are doing any rebalancing specifically for the remaster.

 
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For those that have played both the original version of this and Bloodborne, how much harder is it than Bloodborne ?
Dark Souls II is the easiest of all Souls games.

At least that's the way the PS3 version is, I don't know if they are doing any rebalancing specifically for the remaster.
They switched around a lot of the item locations, added new weapons and armor, and mixed up enemy locations. Some examples: Lighting all the torches in the Things Betwixt area gives you a nice surprise, dull ember is no longer in Iron Keep, and there is new enemy in front of Old Dragonslayer's area to fight. Game balancing seems the same though.

 
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I'm looking forward to jumping back in to DS2 on Tues.  I put a lot of time in the game the first few weeks when it came out on PS3, but havent really touched it since then.  I'm hoping to Platinum Bloodborne by then, but considering how much im getting whooped in the chalice dungeons, I dont know if that'll happen.

 
I planned on getting this on the XOne but I know early reports pointed out notable differences in framerates and stuff on that version compared to the PS4 counterpart.

Anyone have any reviews/articles that talk about it?

(I am going on vacation for a week and so I am not going to bother picking this up until afterwards anyway but curious now)

 
I planned on getting this on the XOne but I know early reports pointed out notable differences in framerates and stuff on that version compared to the PS4 counterpart.

Anyone have any reviews/articles that talk about it?

(I am going on vacation for a week and so I am not going to bother picking this up until afterwards anyway but curious now)
Here is the source of it all via Digital Foundry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMPJ_rSUR0I

 
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Here is the source of it all via Digital Foundry.
Hm.

I mean it still is over the original 30fps. I still would prefer it on the X1 but am definitely tempted even moreso now to go PS4. If it were locked at a framerate that would be one thing but since there are such large dips that seems like it would alter gameplay because of that variability. I have so much Xbox Credit saved up though... haha

 
I find it funny that getting to the bosses is more difficult than fighting them.  :lol:

 
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Yea, I'm really liking the new placement.  Adds a bit more variety to a game I played the hell out of on PS3.  My biggest complaint is the weapon durability.  From what I heard the durability is based on frames, so since they doubled the frames there's 2x the degradation? I'm not a programmer, but it seems like something you'd just edit a line of code and cut the # in half.

Other than that though, I'm mostly looking forward to becoming a Sunbro again. The co-op has been a very nice change of pace after how much of a pain Bloodborne could be to find people.  Boss fights seem trivial with 4 people, but I think its still fun and a decent way to grind.

 
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Yea, I'm really liking the new placement. Adds a bit more variety to a game I played the hell out of on PS3. My biggest complaint is the weapon durability. From what I heard the durability is based on frames, so since they doubled the frames there's 2x the degradation? I'm not a programmer, but it seems like something you'd just edit a line of code and cut the # in half.

Other than that though, I'm mostly looking forward to becoming a Sunbro again. The co-op has been a very nice change of pace after how much of a pain Bloodborne could be to find people. Boss fights seem trivial with 4 people, but I think its still fun and a decent way to grind.
The durability thing is mostly an issue for dex weapons. Everything else, your fine as long as you stop attacking once the enemy is dead. Anyway, first thing I did was rush off to Harvest Valley to join up at the Sun Altar. Skeleton Lords got a slight nerf. :???:

 
I find it funny that getting to the bosses is more difficult than fighting them. :lol:
Haha I was thinking the exact same thing!!

I definitely have noticed the decreased durability issue, I broke a weapon early on and almost break weapons all the time still whereas that was barely an issue on the last generation of consoles. Not terrible but just another thing to get used to with this version.

 
I definitely have noticed the decreased durability issue, I broke a weapon early on and almost break weapons all the time still whereas that was barely an issue on the last generation of consoles. Not terrible but just another thing to get used to with this version.
At least this durability issue will make breaking Santier's Spear much easier. :lol:

 
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Currently farming at Belfry Luna for the 30 wins. I feel sorry for the people coming in sometimes. Especially when Bellbros can have up to 3 Greys invade. Oh well, easy chunks and petrified dragon bones for me.  :twisted:

 
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I forgot how fun Iron Keep was to grind.  It never gets old pulling levers/hitting switches that cause enemies to drop into the lava.

Sadly my jumping skills had me joining them not too shortly after...

 
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I forgot how fun Iron Keep was to grind. It never gets old pulling levers/hitting switches that cause enemies to drop into the lava.

Sadly my jumping skills had me joining them not too shortly after...
I forgot how "jump happy" this game is. I'm glad they nearly got rid of gap jumps in Bloodborne. Anyway, I finished Bell and Sun covenants with help from the Agape Ring. It absorbs all incoming souls so it won't increase your soul memory.

 
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What do you guys prefer, Bloodborne or Dark Souls 2. Tempted to do the Walmart trade. Also kind of interested in The Witcher 3 so I'm not sure if I'm better off waiting.
 
Holy crap.  I was liking all the new placements up until I got to Dragon Shrine.  Even at level 140 with full Vengarl +5 set I'm getting killed in a few hits.

 
That was fun.  :)

1fc050d921.png

 
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Yea, all I have left are the Master of X trophies. I'm missing 9 spells total across the spell types.  Looks like 6 of them I should be able to take out in NG+ but I have no interest in getting to Rank 2-3 of the Blue Sentinels or Brotherhood of Blood so I guess it'll be me going as fast as I can to NG++ for the 3 I get that way.

 
Dark Souls II Bug Caused By High Frame Rate Getting Fixed

“The fix will be issued for PS4, Steam and Xbox One, and will be apparent for people running the game at 60fps as the durability decrease rate is linked to the frame rate,” Bandai Namco told Kotaku. “We are still working on the exact release date for the patch, which will also fix additional issues not just durability, and will follow up with the date as soon as possible."

 
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Bleh,  just figured out that the trophies for Master of X need the DLC spells too.  Wish i had known about that before I started NG+.

The patch will be nice though.  Wont have to constantly have the Bracing Knuckle Ring equipped.

 
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I am pretty happy to hear about the patch to the durability issue. At first I though eh whatever it is just an extra challenge, but playing more you realize it is a super artificial difficulty that doesnt really feel fair that many times literally just clearing out an area for the first time, before I would even be close to the next bonfire, I would have to swap weapons to avoid them from breaking.

 
Bleh, just figured out that the trophies for Master of X need the DLC spells too. Wish i had known about that before I started NG+.
Well, I did mentioned it earlier. :lol:

I am pretty happy to hear about the patch to the durability issue. At first I though eh whatever it is just an extra challenge, but playing more you realize it is a super artificial difficulty that doesnt really feel fair that many times literally just clearing out an area for the first time, before I would even be close to the next bonfire, I would have to swap weapons to avoid them from breaking.
It started getting ridiculous for me once I started dual wielding great-swords. Those things lose so much durability for hitting walls. :???: On the other hand, you can break Santier's Spear in less than a minute. :D

 
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Wow, impressive to platinum this game. I got the plat for Bloodborne but don't think I have the patience for DS2 lol. 

Glad to hear they are going to be releasing a patch. DS2 has fallen down a bit in my pile of games and I haven't played it for a few days. The patch will definitely bring me back. Same with Bloodborne, I'm looking forward to when they finally get a patch out for that. 

 
Got all the DLC spells & unlocked Masters of Hexes & Spells.  All that's left is speedrunning NG++ to D. Castle to buy the last  Miracles/Pyro i need.

*EDIT*

Boooooyah!

QrIlA7x.jpg


Tried to Praise the Sun for the photo but sadly i was stuck in convo as the trophies were popping so the timing was off.

 
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