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[Nephtes]

Jolly cooperation is what I mostly participate in multiplayer-wise in Dark Souls games.
I really dislike clearing 90% of a zone only to be close to a bonfire with no flask uses left and half health when Asshole McAssholeson invades me and proceeds to easily kill me the rest of the way.

PVP is fine and all, but I prefer it in the kind of sanctioned arenas that popped up in Dark Souls 3.

My real wish is that if/when they make Dark Souls 4 if they would allow you to "merge" worlds with a buddy so bosses killed count for both players and killing a boss doesn't make your buddy go away.

I'd love to take on a Souls game start to finish with a friend.

That said, I played Dark Souls 1 offline with 0 jolly cooperation... And never found a need for it in Bloodborne.

 

[Shadowninja100]

Not very important at all. I don't think I've ever summoned another player in a souls game.

 

[Joe Condor]

The least important one.

 

[Mesonak]

The summoning aspect isn't important to me and I rarely use it, but I do love the cryptic hints and comedy that comes from the player-placed messages. Those are very important to the experience for me.

 

[Jcinq]

The online stuff keeps me coming back to the games. I find it pretty fun. I did not play Bloodborne through more than twice because I did not enjoy the pvp.

 

[AALLx]

Incredibly important. The multiplayer's role in the core design isn't to add co-op to the game, or allow for PvP though. Some people choose to force the game to facilitate those things, that of which I don't mean criticize, and as the series has progressed, From Software have facilitated doing so. In my opinion, and I believe that of the designers is to use multiplayer to enhance the singleplayer. Summoning is meant to give you brief moments of solace with a stranger in an otherwise desolate world. Invasions reinforce the fact that you're never safe here. They're not meant to be duels of skill, or be balanced for it, but to invoke panic and fear at what is coming for you. Some of the player-controlled bosses were an interesting way of providing dynamic encounters through multiplayer. And of course the signs, phantoms, and blood stains are used to great effect.

This, too. I believe that the multiplayer aspect is meant to enhance the singleplayer experience, and as such PvP should not be the focus of balance changes. I don't believe invasions were designed for PvP or honor duels, but rather as another roadblock for the player to overcome.

 

[Tecnniqe]

Would be important if it had proper multiplayer/coop, but it does not.

 

[WeTeHa]

Messages and bloodstains are fun.
Coop is fun.
Invasions are annoying.

But that may just be me since i almost never enjoy pvp.

 

[Experien]

I only did multi on some bosses but only if I am frustrated or not loving the game I am playing. Dark Souls 3 I mostly did summons for bosses, Bloodborne was mainly me.

PvP, no thank you. That's not why I play the games.

 

[llehuty]

Played Bloodborne 100% offline. The game is hard as it is, no need to have people screwing you over.

 

[Bronetta]

Not really important at all.

I prefer playing these games by myself. I don't invade and don't really like being invaded either.

I'll coop occasionally (did the chalice dungeons with a friend) and summoned for some Dark Souls 3 bosses because they were way too tough.

 

[Melchiah]

The online portion is not that important to me. I played Bloodborne and The Old Hunters offline, apart from the first run through the Ihyll chalice, where I summoned other players to help with the bosses. I played most of DS3 offline as well, apart from calling help for the Nameless King and the DLC bosses. Without the option, I probably couldn't have beaten that optional boss and the DLC. As for PVP, it's not my cup of tea, and the scattered player notes are an eyesore, which also spoil surprises.


EDIT: I've helped a friend of mine and some random players with bosses as well, so there's that.

 

[Nuno Pinto]

I really like helping other people.

PVP is definitely not for me though.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Extremely important.

To clarify:
it is a point of fact that I (as well as at least one friend I'd rope into it) would have bought "Souls-likes" such as Lords of the Fallen and The Surge at launch price if they had Souls-like multiplayer, while without it I don't really have any intention of ever buying them (maybe in a sale at 85%+ off).

True, I didn't think I'd miss it too much in the Surge. But I totally do. It's a vital part of what makes the world alive.

 

[PSlayer]

I only remember co-oping to kill Ebrietas on bloodborne because AFAIK there is no npc phantom in that area.Outside of that i always used npc co-op at best.

I don't like to depend of other people to finish/complete games.

 

[pablito]

Pretty important. Dunno if I'd play them without multiplayer.

 

[sublimit]

Very important and very enjoyable even with all its problems everytime.It's actually the only series (besides Tekken) where i care about the MP (both coop for NG+ and PVP)

 

[Zakkath]

I like the coop, but I despise the assholes trying to invade and ruin my game.

 

[Sephzilla]

Taking out multiplayer means taking out easy mode

 

[Producer]

Pretty important. I always play while connected online, feels weird otherwise. also gives me stuff to do after beating the game a few times, and getting invaded and helping others is always cool. Probably wouldnt bother making new , different builds if all i ever used them on was pve

 

[CountAntonius]

Very. PvP is the reason i got into the series and the reason I put in hundreds of hours into every installment. If Co-op was drop in drop out that number would be even higher.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

I wouldn't care if the feature was removed all together. I play these games offline and have no intention of changing that should more get released.

 

[Woffls]

Hardly at all. It was fun having to deal with invaders, but I never went out of my way to do any pvp or summons (incl npc)

 

[nailbombxx]

Very important. What the Dark Souls games done with multiplayer is very innovative. There are no other co-op/PVP games that play quite like it. One of the reasons why the series is so special.

 

[neoemonk]

My experience is limited, I think because I tend to play them months after release.

In Demon's Souls I played offline to control world tendency.

In Dark Souls I mostly got my ass kicked by twinks (do people still use that term?) but I did do some PVP for one of the covenants and got some angry messages about ruining someone's night once.

In Dark Souls 2 I don't think I ever saw anyone online the whole time I played it.

I did some hunting in Bloodborne for fun a few times, and results were mixed.

I'm only a little ways into Dark Souls 3 and haven't seen one invader yet.

I'm glad they have it even if I will never get into it. Sometimes I wish I could do co-op easier with some beginner friends.

 

[sublimit]

Very important. What the Dark Souls games done with multiplayer is very innovative. There are no other co-op/PVP games that play quite like it. One of the reasons why the series is so special.

Totally agree.

 

[WGMBY]

I love both PVE and PVP, and really feel like players who don't want to engage with either are shorting themselves of a great experience. There are so many exciting situations I've seen in the MP of these games, and the way it's always with randos and no voice chat means the pace and quality of your game will vary wildly. One minute you'll be crawling through a dungeon with a player who clearly has no idea what they are doing, stumbling from trap to enemy as you desperately try to keep them alive, and another you're being guided through by someone who flawlessly dodges each and every attack and leads you from key item to key item. Then someone invades and suddenly you're in a fight for your life, many in an area with difficult terrain that you might not normally fight enemies in. The MP is why I still come back to these games years later, after having beat them all multiple times.

The other day I loaded up BB for the first time in forever and played a few rounds of PVP in the Nightmare Frontier. Had a blast with it, even when players were ganking me. I'm always disappointed by players avoiding PVP, since it adds this wonderful element of chance to even areas you have played a dozen times before.

People that argue for no co-op for bosses, that's personal choice I guess. I like being able to practice bosses while helping other players as a phantom, and then getting my own posse together to run through the whole level, but the argument that co-op trivializes most boss fights is pretty sound.

 

[guyssorry]

It's not essential, but I do think the online interactions introduced by Demon's Souls (bloodstains, messages, invasions) are the coolest online interactions ever in any games. I don't think it gets enough appreciation, tbh.

 

[ChronotriggerJM]

I don't like the pvp elements. PVE, messages and stuff is awesome, but fuck Invaders and their op gear lol.

 

[wedca]

I like games that give me an emotional response. Getting invaded in Dark Souls 1 definitely did that, it was intense and scary!! I had a few times where I felt bitter afterwards but that was still cool with me, it was short lived and I ended up laughing about getting worked up. I also had relatively good technical experiences, very little lag if any.

I thought Blood Borne's implementation was very more polite for people who didn't want to PvP but the game lost a lot of tension since it was so easy to avoid invasions, I was only invaded 4-6 times total.

 

[Dominic_Shade]

2nd most important, I'd say, because while I enjoy co-op and PvP, it means nothing if the gameplay doesn't measure up. Happy to report that it does in many cases. Demon's Souls' co-op with my friend while we were both learning the game for the first time is one of my most enjoyable experiences in video games.

Honourable mention goes to helping first-timers run Bloodborne: The Old Hunters on the day of its release. On that single night, I must've gone through like 20 cases of being summoned to help fight Ludwig only for the host to perish in the first phase. 'Twas quite a while before I was able to help hosts achieve victor against him.

 

[jacob armitage]

Extremely, i love playing co-op and helping players out.

 

[Berserking Guts]

I treat my Dark Souls the same way I treat my Super Metroid. I play them because I enjoy the solitary atmosphere. That feeling is broken the moment I introduce coop or the larger community. For me these games are all about that lonely isolation. That's why I appreciate that there aren't too many npcs in the world.

So yeah, offline for me. I'll play online later when I just wanna get gamey with it.

I like the bloodstains and the messages, they add a weird kinda realism. But the PVP, PVE stuff isn't for me.

 

[EVO]

Couldn't care less. I'm not even entirely sure how it works to be honest. The few times I have been invaded it's been super laggy so I never bother with PvP. And I'm still yet to summon anyone, including NPCs. Souls games are purely a solo affair for me.

 

[Temeculan3000]

I think the messages and bloodstains are a very important part of the game. It makes the world feel more alive, and gives you the sense that others have gone before you and you can learn from their mistakes.

The actual invasion/coop part is great too, but you can play the entire game avoiding those aspects without too much trouble if you want.

I think avoiding PVP is fine, but missing out on the messages would be a big negative to the series.

 

[AlexBasch]

Used to help people out in NG+.

I really never cared about PVP. The bloodstains are cool though.

Also, I think co-op mode is Easy Mode in disguise, but I don't want it gone either.

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

Not important at all. It got very old very fast for me.

 

[semiconscious]

Thinking back though, when I first played Dark Souls I mainly solo'd the whole thing and I count that experience as one of my favorites in my personal gaming history. Taking on O & S solo was exhilarating...

well, there's really nothing about multiplayer preventing you from doing that, is there? ...

multiplayer's a great component of the souls series! playing an asian copy of demon's souls way back when, & seeing the messages & ghosts & deaths of other players was friggin' magical!...

nothing wrong with playing the game however you wish!...

 

[BlakeofT]

Coop? I absolutely love it and played through them multiple times after I beat the game single player.

Laggy PvP that's forced on you when you just want to play coop? I hate it. Won't play another game that forces me into PvP if I just want to play a game with my brother.

 

[Regginator]

Pretty much non-existent. Not a big fan of invading or getting invaded. Co-op does sound awesome though, but unfortunately none of my friends play Souls.

 

[Menthuss]

I always play offline. I want to beat the games on my own strength and the messages ruin many of the surprises.

Also, fuck invasions.

 

[Eccocid]

i always summon players for boss battles. I like the exploring aspect of the levels so i play the levels alone. When i reach the boss i check it by myself and try to kill it. If it looks like i am gonna a die few times i just summon some players and done with it.

It will sound weird but boss battles are my least fav part of the Souls games.

 

[KillLaCam]

Co-op is pretty important to me. I like helping scrubs with bosses. It also lets me grind for souls without being bored by the normal enemies.

I'll help people through full levels but I make them do most of the work. I'll show them where to go and some secrets or whatever but I'm not gonna carry them through everything. I'm just there to fight the boss. They atleast need to be able to make it there.


PvP is fun but also sucks at the same time. Way too many issues when lag and hit boxes. But I play it all of the time because the community is good.

 

[isaacnukem]

I finished all Souls games on my own so it might as well not exist.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Zero, I don't even play online on my first or second playthrough because all the messages and ghosts spoil and ruin the experience alone.

 

[Ethelwulf]

Very but not essential.

 

[Malreyn]

Hate Invasion...hate it especially in moments of the games where you have to flag yourself to become susceptible to invasion...people will say "well, play offline then" which is fine but I don't want to jump through hoops to disable my internet on my console settings just to play an offline mode, and some of the messages and phantom player death replays help with the games learning curve.

 

[[NaK]]

I actually hate it.
It's fun to co-op sometimes, but getting invaded just annoys me.
The whole idea of people actively trying to fuck up your progress is irritating.

I usually play offline, but whenever Im online and get invaded, I usually do a hard reset of the game just to annoy the son of a bitch who invaded me.

 

[Prophane33]

I've never used it, it seems really obtuse. I did like the AI summons in DSII, but otherwise the multiplayer aspects seem like a big hassle.

 

[Intheflorsh]

Not very. Messages are fun, but I've always done the levels and bosses solo.

That said, the mini-soapstone in SOTFS was a pretty handy way to get some free health.