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From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

vdweller

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
Messages
625
Yesterday I beat Lud and Zallen solo. I tried to do so with a previous character (duel-wielding katana) but I lost too many times. After clearing the frigid outskirts from those damn reindeers//horses, I had an epiphany: Quit just outside the boss door, backup save, on losing replace save with the one outside the door, to save me from having to walk through an empty area again and again. Does this make me a bad person?

IMHO Lud and Zallen is the hardest boss fight of the game. The Burnt Ivory King went down on my 3rd attempt. I was way too overleveled for pretty much everything else. Also, as a single-player only, I fail to see the usefulness of lightning miracles and miracles in general when everything over 100 HP is resistant as hell and takes forever to cast (Lightning Dragon Chime +5, 65 FTH). To wit, Lud and Zallen went down only with melee (Great Lance + Havel's Greatshield).
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
Does this make me a bad person?
No, just a pussy.

They are the toughest boss in the game, though. They were designed for multiplayer, taking them out solo is no joke. Miracles were fucking insane at release and until the first major balance patch. The basic lightning miracle had like 17 casts at the minimum faith requirement, and hit incredibly hard. Faith builds were actually damn good. That changed in a hurry.
 

sullynathan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Messages
6,473
Location
Not Europe
True but they can take enough of a hit to make good decoys. That's how I beat a few bosses with them.
I'll probably try them again with this NG+ playthrough but last time all I remember was that it took me so fucking long to find the entrance then you had the really gay respawning reindeer's. When I did find them I died quickly, twice. So I said fuck it, and I checked the wiki for the weapons I would get and they were shit so I didn't think much of it. They always attacked me before my AI partners.
 

80Maxwell08

Arcane
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
1,154
True but they can take enough of a hit to make good decoys. That's how I beat a few bosses with them.
I'll probably try them again with this NG+ playthrough but last time all I remember was that it took me so fucking long to find the entrance then you had the really gay respawning reindeer's. When I did find them I died quickly, twice. So I said fuck it, and I checked the wiki for the weapons I would get and they were shit so I didn't think much of it. They always attacked me before my AI partners.
To be honest, that area just sucks anyway so if you aren't playing multiplayer there's no real reason to do that area at all aside from wanting to do everything. I really don't like Ivory King overall because it just falls apart at the end. The fight before the king sucks because it just sends a ton of guys at you and you probably won't think to go back and do the entire area again, getting the final soul requires you to just grind forever, and the optional area is just bad. At least the sunken king's optional area was trying to troll the player.
 

vdweller

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
Messages
625
Hey what the fuck? I went to Vendrick with all 3 crowns at once and he keeps saying the same ghey stuff. WHERE'S MY REWARD ASSHOLE?!?!?
 

sullynathan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Messages
6,473
Location
Not Europe
To be honest, that area just sucks anyway so if you aren't playing multiplayer there's no real reason to do that area at all aside from wanting to do everything. I really don't like Ivory King overall because it just falls apart at the end. The fight before the king sucks because it just sends a ton of guys at you and you probably won't think to go back and do the entire area again, getting the final soul requires you to just grind forever, and the optional area is just bad. At least the sunken king's optional area was trying to troll the player.

You know what, you're probably right. Ivory King has a lot of mobs that have no problem ganking you. I thought it was fine because I did have the great club and spanked the enemies one on one but the difficulty is weird in hindsight. I really did like The Ivory King boss though and his ultra greatsword ended up being my favorite weapon, the 2nd mode when two handed does a fuck ton of damage.

Hey what the fuck? I went to Vendrick with all 3 crowns at once and he keeps saying the same ghey stuff. WHERE'S MY REWARD ASSHOLE?!?!?
you're supposed to get one crown fused together.
 

Zerginfestor

Learned
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
251
Location
Wasteland.
To be honest, that area just sucks anyway so if you aren't playing multiplayer there's no real reason to do that area at all aside from wanting to do everything. I really don't like Ivory King overall because it just falls apart at the end. The fight before the king sucks because it just sends a ton of guys at you and you probably won't think to go back and do the entire area again, getting the final soul requires you to just grind forever, and the optional area is just bad. At least the sunken king's optional area was trying to troll the player.
god, I love the reward you get for facing such a troll boss group in sunken King.
 

Perkel

Arcane
Joined
Mar 28, 2014
Messages
15,871
How is DSII:SOTFS different to Dark Souls 3? I mean the single player experience.

DS2 despite being worst in series is still great game and has its own fun things compared to rest.

- huge amount of gear, spells etc.
- powerstancing (take 2 weapons meet 1.5xreq of both weapons and you can powerstance it as in use both of weapons at the same time)
- game is huge, bigger than DS1 and DS3
- small soapstone which is great if you want to just help someone without fighting boss or just grind some exp.
- ng+ stuff
- great dlc

Game would be amazing if level design would be a lot better from start. Essentially aside from very few areas in vanilla game most of levels are mediacore or downright rubbish designed.

Problems:
- soul level. It doesn't matter if you put your souls into gear, leveling or even lose them your soul level will decide who you connect with which basically means multi is fucked up unless you wear rings that anihilate souls gained.
- controls. By far the worst DS controls. Without mods on pc you can't even move 360 degree on pad and you need to use mods to get proper analog support. It works exactly the same on consoles so those people are fucked
- janky hitboxes. Often you will get hit in single where you shouldn't. Though it only depends on enemies attacks
- If you are playing SotFS edition prepare for gank squads npc mobs.
- level design. There are great areas like Shrine of Amana but overall vanilla game is pretty mediacore all around
 

SumDrunkGuy

Guest
After the release of DS3, I have to say, I definitely prefer 2 over 3 and even possibly 1, mostly because it makes nearly every weapon type viable to use, from whips, to fist weapons, to even using Greatbows in multiplayer invasions being actually viable, whereas using it in DS1 would is basically playing the waiting game on your opponent, releasing the shot just as they finished a roll, and DS3 just shits on most builds.

This. DS2 is one under appreciated sexy ass beast of a game. DS3 made me appreciate it even more.
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
-soul level. It doesn't matter if you put your souls into gear, leveling or even lose them your soul level will decide who you connect with which basically means multi is fucked up unless you wear rings that anihilate souls gained.
- controls. By far the worst DS controls. Without mods on pc you can't even move 360 degree on pad and you need to use mods to get proper analog support. It works exactly the same on consoles so those people are fucked
- janky hitboxes. Often you will get hit in single where you shouldn't. Though it only depends on enemies attacks
- If you are playing SotFS edition prepare for gank squads npc mobs.
- level design. There are great areas like Shrine of Amana but overall vanilla game is pretty mediacore all around

1. Soul Memory, you mean. You can either wear the ring to prevent increases in SM, or you can duel in the Arenas, which are based on SL.

2. No idea what you're talking about. Has far tighter controls than DS1, and DS3 has repeated rolls and attacks on me from a single button press.

3. It had the best hit detection in the series, save for maybe Bloodborne. No idea what you're bitching about. Most of the bitching about hit boxes were crybabies who lost a PvP match and don't understand latency.

4. No, you're just careless. Every area with multiple monsters in a small vicinity allows you to either bottleneck, or pull 1 (MAYBE 2) at a time. If you can't handle 2 enemies, it's your fault. If you're going to complain about enemy design, complain about the inexhaustible Dragon Shrine Knights that rape you with a great hammer.

5. Shrine of Amana was literally a straight line with 2 paths that deviate - one for an Estus Shard, one which you needed to kill Vendrick. The level's structure was dogshit, but what they did with trudging through water, having deadly falls under the water, and using your torch to illuminate the way aggro'd the anklebiters was probably the single most creative zone in the series. Speaking of shitty enemies, this area is actually full of 2 of the biggest bullshit monsters in the game. Another infinite stamina enemy in the Shrine Knights, and the pre-nerf tracking of the Amana Sages Homing Missile was BRUTAL. It was the one area where the crying was somewhat justified. But as someone who cleared it pre-nerf, without a bow, I say to those people - git gud casul. It also has the Invisible Forest, Duke's Manse, Dragon Shrine, No-Man's Wharf*, Iron Keep, The Gutter, Belfry Tower**, and the Lost bastille***.

* - I don't give a fuck what ANYONE says, this level is awesome. Shortcuts, multiple pathways, lots of enemies and surprises, and pain that can be spared with proper use of a torch. Shame it had a mediocre boss with an interesting mechanic that wasn't used to its full advantage as a hard time limit. All of the crying is from pussies who refuse to use a second weapon, or repair powder.
** - If you can't have fun with Bell Bros now and again, fuck you.
*** - I consider this and Sinner's Rise the same area. Mostly in SOTFS because of 2 Pursuer spawns in shitty areas, less exploding corpses, and the ass raping waiting for you in the water on the way to Lost Sinner.

It seems like every month you post this blatantly false information to try and sway people from playing an extremely solid, if flawed, game and it's getting pretty tiresome.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
6,657
Location
Rape
2. No idea what you're talking about. Has far tighter controls than DS1, and DS3 has repeated rolls and attacks on me from a single button press.

3. It had the best hit detection in the series, save for maybe Bloodborne. No idea what you're bitching about. Most of the bitching about hit boxes were crybabies who lost a PvP match and don't understand latency.

HAHHAHAHAHHAHA

Goddamn nigger how can you be this fanboyish? Either get Tanimeme's tiny jap cock out of your mouth or get a brain transplant. Best hit detection and tighter controls than DS1, what else is next, the 3000 weapons that all have the same moveset and the 30/30 INT-FAITH + dark weapon making everything viable?
 

sullynathan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Messages
6,473
Location
Not Europe
Hyperion yeah your comment is borderline retarded. DS2 has input lag which is ridiculous.

DS2 has the worst hit detection in the series especially for things enemies that aren't glitched.

Lost Bastille is fine and I like it but it has the worst example of gank in the entirety of Souls 2.
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
In PvE they were bullshit against some bosses, but that's the case for all games. Titanite Demon jump attack, phantom splash on its lightning attack, Smough's Hammer Charge, Gaping Dragon Charge, Abyss Walkers fire dash, slash, and slam, Vordt, Oceiros' entire moveset, Nameless King + Dragon (good luck hitting that thing's head even with overhead swings), Smelter Demon 1 (2nd several timing differences to make it seem even worse than it was), The Pursuer, Ogres, Taurus Demon hits you 2 or 3 times with a single attack, Four Kings does the same, Quelaag lava vomit, those Anor Londo shield knights with their "shockwave" that emits from a shield slam, mimics in all 3 games, armored boar bucking, Nashandra curse cloud (her scythe swipes are actually very precise, though). Most enemies with thrusting weapons in all games, since their hand counts as part of the weapon. There's tons of bullshit with tons of enemies, and the larger enemies are all the biggest offenders.

All of the games have problems with enemy attacks going through walls, and phantom hitboxes. DS2 just had the nastiest tracking of the 3 which exacerbated the hitboxes.

I said the game was flawed, I just didn't mention the flaws, because they've been mentioned ad nauseum already. I liked that split weapons are viable, but I loathe that Dark is best 10 / 10 times, like you said. Soul Memory functioned well until you hit the top tier, then everyone was a fast rolling, Havel Hexer, with Jester's Chest.

I think the DLC is the best content the series has to offer, except for DeS. Iron King was my favorite. I know you weren't impressed, but the gauntlet to the Smelter Demon was fantastic - they thought of pretty much every tactic players try to skip through areas and countered it somehow. I just didn't like that the end result was a rehashed boss. If they wanted a blue Smelter Sword, they could have hidden it away somewhere.

The reason I hold DS2 in high regard is because it has more in common with Demons' Souls than any other game in the series. For that game, I'll fanboy hard. Dark Souls, when compared to Demons' was a downgrade in all facets except exploration. Majula is my favorite hub barring The Nexus, because it functioned the same, but did it openly, instead of being stage-based. Firelink in DS3 was atrocious because it was completely separate from the rest of the world. You could go nowhere without teleporting, but it didn't have the same feeling of progression as DeS, or DSII.

I recall PvP being dogshit in DS1. It was either backstab phishing, or 2 assholes with a Falchion +15 with Darkmoon Blade on it. PvP was definitely more fun in the forest in mid-level range of 50 - 80 than at 120. DS3's PvP is just embarrassing.
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Messages
2,234
ds2 had actually perfect hitboxes. just deal with it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯



is it this time of the month when we bash ds2 with hitboxes meme? please someone post that gif with retard with low ADP dodging too early Pursuers stab so we can be done with it :Mall 3 games have wide range of ultra shitty hitboxes to pixel perfect porn.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,589
Location
Nottingham
Good to see a bit of love for DS2. It's my personal fave of the series by FAR, and I include Bloodborne in that.
Personally I think the fact that enemies die for good after so many kills, and also that the levels are more linear, makes for a far more accessible and less repetitive experience.
 

cvv

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 30, 2013
Messages
18,173
Location
Kingdom of Bohemia
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DS3 is very slick and passable for one playthrough. Problem is it's a Souls game without a soul. I'm genuinelly sorry for people saying it's the best in the series, just as I'd be sorry for people saying instant noodles are better than fresh sushi, a Beyonce song better than the New World Symphony. They have been born with their taste buds stunted.

DS2 is a great game, end of story. (Btw yeah, you need a keyboard/mouse mod if you want to keep your sanity).
 

Ivan

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,499
Location
California
screenshot.jpg
 

Zerginfestor

Learned
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
251
Location
Wasteland.
Thinking of either doing one of my three melee builds I love so much (with one referencing Fallout), or do a good ol' fashion Ranger build while using only Greatbows.
 

Ivan

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,499
Location
California
what are your favorite builds? I've only really enjoyed the samurai-like (Uchigatana type). Don't like heavy 2 handed weapons, or daggers, and I never fuck with magic. How are pugilist builds? I really enjoy dodging, sneaking hits in, and getting out. high risk high reward.
 
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