So playing Dark Souls II today for the first time. Not sure why everyone was mad. I'm very early in the game, just got to the first bonfire in the jungle area (Garden of Giants?) So far looks and plays well enough.
>>337862094
>Jungle area
>>337862094
The first area is one of the best in the game, and then it takes a fucking nosedive. You shall see soon enough.It still has the best NPC in all the Souls games though.
>>337862094
It's all this guy faults. He's so fucking shit, no NPC can't even compared on all souls franchise.
>>337862462
I kinda wish that Lost Bastille had Heide's artstyle/theme instead of just boring grey coastal fortress
>>337862462
Siegmeyer is best.
>>337862657
I thought Lost Bastille was supposed to be Arabian or something.
>>337862462
>then it takes a fucking nosedive
I will forever be of the opinion that The Gutter is vastly better designed than Tomb Of Giants.
>>337862462
I always liked Shrine of Amana in all of it's iterations.
>>337862779
The Gutter was awesome, but then it ends way too fucking soon. I was hoping for more rickedy plank walks in the dark, and then it just becomes Black Gulch, which was disappointing
>>337862714
Why would anybody make armor with fucking fat rolls
>>337862969
it's meant to make your enemy laugh
>>337862969
Distinctively shaped armor worn by the Knights of Catarina.
Outside of Catarina, it is often ridiculed for their onion-like shape, infuriating the proud knights, but the masterfully forged curved design makes it very effective for parrying.
I'm also just got it about 2 weeks ago and just have the final boss left to kill, but I'm going to look into the DLC first (got SotFS version)
I must say I really like the game and don't understand all the hate. Dark Souls 1 had better bosses, but its end game areas looked kinda bland (Izalith, Archives, Crystal Cave,...)
>>337862881
>and then it just becomes Black Gulch, which was disappointing
Agreed.
>>337862094
Man, back in DaS1 I was the parry king. If an attack could be parried, I could parry it with anything capable of parrying. Every time, without fail.
For the entirety of my DaS2 experience, I believe I successfully parried a single attack. I remember it because it was during the first Pursuer fight and I have no fucking clue how I managed to do it.
Started replaying recently and I STILL can't fucking get the hang of parrying in DaS2. Shit's driving me crazy.
>>337862779
It would be if it was actually dark and you actually felt a threat of being attacked by unseen monsters.
>>337862094
if you liked the literally worst initial area in any souls game that completely plunders replayability then you have no standards at all and you WILL enjoy the rest of the shitshow
also have fun in the god damn black gulch
>>337863831
turn down your brightness anon
>>337862462
its ok until it turns into hallways near the end of the game.
I still think lost Izalith is the worst area still and also think ds3 had a few spots worse than even the worst areas in ds2.
The real reason people dont like ds2 is because of its boring enemies and bosses though. Having every weapon be viable was probably the best part of ds2. Character creation was also the best too.
>>337862969
it was designed for people like me
>>337864423
I kept my brightness at the default recommended by the game. It's an issue with the graphical downgrade the game got that made the torches useless.
I heard they fixed it in SOTFS but I never played it so I can't say for sure. It was still retarded and ruined that area.
>>337863834
>black gulch
what's wrong with black gulch, besides it being a boring straight line?
>>337864968
i started a replay with sotfs and man they sure improved the game, i'd give it a try again when you can
>>337865058
a million poison statues and no way of discerning which ones will spit at you
>>337864968
>It's an issue with the graphical downgrade the game got that made the torches useless.
Pretty much. It really sucked because DaS3 actually had the torch and the engine could actually handle it, yet they still didn't give us our super dark spooky torch required area.
>>337865058
Having to break every fucking statue on your way to the fog gate or second bonfire, thus ruining your weapon durability, so unless you know that the second bonfire is there, you're fucked.
I just installed sotfs. I can't bring myself to start it though, I beat DS1 for the first time earlier today and Gwyn's theme is still stuck in my head
>>337865271
weapon durability wasnt a big deal until SotfS. I dont remember it ever going down too fast in vanilla. I still dont think its that bad no matter how you look at it. Its one of the easiest areas in all of souls. Its not like its pre-patch amana or anything like that.
>>337862462
>Tfw one of my cats looks exactly the same
She's a Maine coon/Norwegian forest cat mix
>>337862462
>>337865852
>>337862462
Pretty much. Some later areas are decent, but there are so many shitty ones. Aldia and Heide will never stop triggering me. So fucking lazy.
>>337862094
I hope you're playing the SOTFS, the DLCs are by far the best areas in the game. It has the best boss too.
>>337865852
No entry without barbs.
>>337865154
ha ha what
They FINALLY put the torch in and there's no place for it? Jesus
>>337865598
The main problem with the game for me personally was that some weapons are absolutely useless because of their durability.
I played through a lot of DS1 using the whips and as soon as I found one in DS2
SotFS it broke in 3 hits if you hit anything except flesh with it.
Carrying four weapons just because three are going to break before you can get to the next bonfire is lame.
>>337866569
I just carried lots of repair powders especially if you use a weapon with a special attack. I guess you did need to use 2 weapons between bons if you had no powder, but I didnt find that as too much of a problem and thought it mixed things up in my SotfS playthrough. Vanilla really didnt have a problem with durability though. Almost made durabilty a really questionable feature until acid showed up later on. I still have no idea why durability exists in Ds3 though. Its completely pointless what do you even need to do to break a weapon in that game?
>>337866569
Is there no Grindstone/Repair Powder type of item?
>>337866569
That was annoying but just carry and upgrade multiple weapons. The super fast Alonne knights caused by the same frame issue were way worse.
>>337865154
My gamma is so low on the settings I switch to when I play that the house you enter right after the first bonfire of the Undead Settlement is nearly pitch black.
I knew I could just change my settings, but I used the torch a lot in my playthrough as a result.
>>337862094
>fan fiction game
>good
>>337867060
>Its completely pointless what do you even need to do to break a weapon in that game?
i used the moonlight greatsword for the last half of my playthrough and near exclusively in PvP, and i've had it come close to breaking like, maybe once or twice? its R2 consumes 4 of 75 durability, so if you're spamming a lot and aren't careful it can sneak up on you
it's literally the only weapon i've ever seen come close to breaking though, i can only really assume fromsoft kept it in as a balancing mechanic for weapons with special heavy attacks
>>337865148
but anon all of them do
>>337863589
>Parrying
I've come to feel that parries and backstabs are just far too easy and remove much of the difficulty in the game. I play each of the souls game with no shield and the biggest sword I can find during my first playthrough, then during my second playthrough I go full dex. What I've found is parries and dex builds are retardedly OP in every game.
In Dark Souls II during my second playthrough, I used the rapier. The R2 attack is a parry if equipped in the right hand, and it just removed all difficulty in that game. Pretty much every enemy can be parried, including all the bosses which use swords or spears. Imo, Souls is meant to be played as a Knight-on-a-Quest game. No parries, no backstabs, no magic, no shields, no summons and swords only. I've gotten to the point where any other build is far too easy.It pissed me off when my friends think they're so cool for getting a backstab or parry
