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New previews for Dark Souls II

re: Drake Sword. I absolutely encourage newer players to go for the Drake Sword, it's a great early game weapon, very useful to have in your arsenal.

Yes, it's going to get overtaken by other weapons' upgrade paths roughly ~30% into the game, that's why it's good you're not locked down to any one class or weapon. I'll tell people to go for it, then ditch it.

From needs to hurry up and tell us a PC release date. :p
Yes!
 
Unbeknownst to many, the Drake Sword actually has a different item description when viewed in the Undead Parish between 2:00 AM and 2:01 AM on your console's clock. It reads as thus: "The chopped-off tail of a Hellkite Drake. Serves primarily as a symbol for experienced players to smugly look down their nose at new players and pretend they never sucked, while new players continue to use a weapon that's perfectly useful and viable for the first half of the game - oblivious to the criticism because they're enjoying playing the game more than mocking other people who play it."


lol, no one expects a pat on the back for doing anything in DS. You're the one assuming that people give a shit about your approval. You're not impressed when no one asked you one way or the other. It's weird.

I take solace in the fact that no matter how I finish Dark Souls, it's way more impressive than almost any of my friends, since they'll never even attempt it. I never got the Drake Sword - I use the dragon for farming :)
 
I didn't know you could be invaded while hollow in this one. Well. I guess its offline only 95% of the time. Invasions are annoying and involve circling around one another for a few minutes until someone swings and parries or backstabs. Plus frankly I can deal with the loss of progress when it's my own fault but if someone invades I usually just quit the game and reload. But since really the only time I go human is to kindle (or recently grind out sunlight medals for that damn miracle) it rarely happens.
 
I didn't know you could be invaded while hollow in this one. Well. I guess its offline only 95% of the time. Invasions are annoying and involve circling around one another for a few minutes until someone swings and parries or backstabs. Plus frankly I can deal with the loss of progress when it's my own fault but if someone invades I usually just quit the game and reload. But since really the only time I go human is to kindle (or recently grind out sunlight medals for that damn miracle) it rarely happens.

I canaccept playing offline or dont go human for not getting invaded but disconnecting you're simply ruining other people game. Not all people cheat or are overleveled.
 
Hey bro, I don't playa-hate if you legit discovered the Drake sword on your own. But dat proportion doe. Dat proportion of dem Drake swords (tm). It signifilizes dat dere new playa is likely to be reading dem new-fangled Gamefaqs bookizzles.

Why doe? Wai u ruin yo fun? Wai u doo dis?

I sad face. I cereally sad face. But u write doe. I shuldnt haet. U plae d wae u plae. Is u hoo spen da green chedda. U decide how fun u get.

Or they read a message that says "sniper spot" where you shoot the dragons tail. Kind of prevalent in these games.
 
A message to those of you who are trying to set up rules how people should play:

Unless it's part of a strategic or helpful discussion nobody gives a flying fuck what your or the devs rules of how other people must play the game are. It's a game, we're not curing cancer here, so don't lose perspective. So stop the madness and be happy for your fellow gamers having a good time with the game no matter how.
 
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I want that
 
To everyone afraid to play online due to hollow invasions:

1) hollows are the lowest priority on the invasion search list (unless you have a lot of sin for invading others)
2) there is a covenant that automatically summons helpful blue phantoms to defend you against invaders
3) the new soul history matchmaking uses total souls earned, not just soul level, so you will only face invaders you can beat, not ones with +10 fire katana at soul level 5
4) since elemental weapons scale with stats now, you can't twink with maxed elemental weapons on a low level character to be overpowered
5) there might be a ring that reduces or stops invasions since there are now 4 ring slots and it seems like there are in-game items that modify game difficulty

At least the first 4 of these points need to be emphasized in the official thread to mitigate the fear out there.
 
The point of the Souls franchise is to reward players with the feeling of accomplishment after over coming a tough hurdle.

Many players feel that stuff like max poise or summoning take away from the difficulty of the game significantly and I agree entirely. However this is FROM's fault for not balancing. Bosses are very easy with two phantoms since the AI does not know what to do. Dark Magic can output 5k+ damage on bosses and max poise results in a dps fight.

I'm guessing those viewers want to the player jump the hurdle without such aids and so complain. However that does not detract from the fact that the hurdle has been jumped regardless of aids.

Maybe I'm missing something here but poise by itself isn't that hax. Maybe against certain bosses, particularly (relatively) easy ones, but you're not going to just sit there and spam against Artorias or Kalameet on NG+ without repercussions.

Instead of just blaming poise, which really only grants you a few hits before you stagger, blame them for not making bosses hit hard enough or allowing you to have 20 flasks. There's more to it than just poise.
 
A message to those of you who are trying to set up rules how people should play:

Unless it's part of a strategic or helpful discussion nobody gives a flying fuck what your or the devs rules of how other people must play the game are. It's a game, we're not curing cancer here, so don't lose perspective. So stop the madness and be happy for your fellow gamers having a good time with the game no matter how.


Easier said than done my friend. Some people won't drop their stupid entitlement so easily (especially the Souls' toxic fanbase).
 
Invasions are annoying and involve circling around one another for a few minutes until someone swings and parries or backstabs

That pretty much describes my own experience with PvP as well. It's always the same thing and another reason why I avoid it as much as I can. Also, this:
Dark Souls PVP is full of griefing, exploits, and lag.

So true.

really :) . i don't remember this kinda thing going on with demon's souls. it's a dark souls exclusive...

Yeah, a good portion of Dark Souls' people are horrible.
 
I can't remember the last time that I bought a game at release, but I almost wanna do it with this one.

I love the souls games so much, but I kinda ruined my experience with Dark by looking at a lot of walkthroughs for a lot of things, and had a much better experience with Demon's where I didn't use it a whole lot..

I think I'll get this at launch just so I can have the same experience as everyone and discover all the things along with the community
 
That pretty much describes my own experience with PvP as well. It's always the same thing and another reason why I avoid it as much as I can. Also, this:


So true.



Yeah, a good portion of Dark Souls' people are horrible.

Most of my PvP experience has been trolls and low level griefers but the few good experiences I've had almost make it worth the trouble, including one where my invader dropped a titanite slab for me to take before we fought.
 
I wonder if this game has a drake sword equivalent. if so, I don't want to be told about it. I just want to play naturally.
 
Most of my PvP experience has been trolls and low level griefers but the few good experiences I've had almost make it worth the trouble, including one where my invader dropped a titanite slab for me to take before we fought.

I'm the only one here who had the majority of the invasion / get invaded done by people who didnt cheat or griefers?
 
Most of my PvP experience has been trolls and low level griefers but the few good experiences I've had almost make it worth the trouble, including one where my invader dropped a titanite slab for me to take before we fought.

I've only fought 2 fair PvP matches in DaS and they were quite satisfactory to win and lose (one each). If DS2 fixes the lag issues and griefing then I might enjoy PvP; still too early to judge.
 
I wonder if this game has a drake sword equivalent. if so, I don't want to be told about it. I just want to play naturally.

Finding/Crafting overpowered weapons early on in the game is part of the fun...and then bragging about it on the forums.
 
I wonder if this game has a drake sword equivalent. if so, I don't want to be told about it. I just want to play naturally.

There is if you count the pre-order bonuses as I'm guessing those weapons should be pretty powerful at the start of the game.
 
I found Drake Sword on my own and ended up using it a third of the game before realizing it was consuming my playthrough.

I put that shit down and pulled out a more interesting plain old weapon.
 
I'm the only one here who had the majority of the invasion / get invaded done by people who didnt cheat or griefers?

I think the first few months when people are still learning the ropes it's a lot more fun. If you play the game a year later I'm sure the number of griefers are a lot higher.
 
I think multiplayer will be great early on since folks won't know of any big exploits early in the game's life but as a new player I've mostly found invasions to be an annoyance. I also feel that dark souls is at it's best when you're on your own and doing things by yourself. It's why I've beaten all of the bosses so far without the use of phantoms. This was especially tough for the Anor Londo boss fight.
 
I think the first few months when people are still learning the ropes it's a lot more fun. If you play the game a year later I'm sure the number of griefers are a lot higher.

I dont know your experience but i'm actually replaying Dark Souls PC Edition and after 50 invasion and a few invaders i didnt find a single one who was a cheater.

Maybe i'm just lucky
 
Yeah I had heard of the Drake Sword (and subsequently acquired it) but used it for less than 30 minutes before deciding it was boring (both in terms of being a little OP so early on and the moveset).
 
Easier said than done my friend. Some people won't drop their stupid entitlement so easily (especially the Souls' toxic fanbase).

The Souls fanbase is no better or worse than any other fanbase. Elitist pricks are everywhere; in every game.
 
I dont know your experience but i'm actually replaying Dark Souls PC Edition and after 50 invasion and a few invaders i didnt find a single one who was a cheater.

Maybe i'm just lucky

I barely played the PC version so my comments are based soley on the console version. Never ran into "cheaters" but definitely some griefers.
 
I'm the only one here who had the majority of the invasion / get invaded done by people who didnt cheat or griefers?

90% of the interactions i had/ have in Dark Souls are great. People thanking me for helping a boss, people in PVP who ask about my build etc.
Best online community i've come across.
 
the only thing I care about it to stop cheaters. I've just been invaded by some dude who took no damage from a black knight halberd backstab.

If I recall dealing damage like just before the backstab cancels it or something like that.

At some point I used to roll with Kirk's armor for that purpose, tons of times I would get backstabbed but receive no damage because of this.
 
I think some people get put off invasions early and then stay hollow as much as possible the rest of the game. I don't remember the last time I got invaded in the Parish and it wasn't a WoG spamming, full Havel wearing, Avelyn using, great combustion blasting twink. Now if you get invaded in Dukes or TotG, as the host you are more on a par in terms of equipment with who is invading so it's fairer and the people invading there know it isn't necessarily going to be a one hit kill like invading noobs in the Parish, so fights are way more fun and you see more inventive builds. But if you as a new player just got invaded by twinks early on, those early experiences sour you on PvP and you're less likely to see the fun side of invading because of how unfair it seemed.

Now, I don't care - I've spent most of my time online with DS with low level builds pre-Anor Londo because I enjoy getting invaded by these people and giving them a taste of their own medicine, but legitmately using gear you can get that early. I don't find invading any where near as satisfying as being invaded, but you need both types of people to make it work right :) -

But I hope all the things From are doing to try to make online play a more balanced experience really work because it will make it better for everyone.
 
To everyone afraid to play online due to hollow invasions:

1) hollows are the lowest priority on the invasion search list (unless you have a lot of sin for invading others)
2) there is a covenant that automatically summons helpful blue phantoms to defend you against invaders
3) the new soul history matchmaking uses total souls earned, not just soul level, so you will only face invaders you can beat, not ones with +10 fire katana at soul level 5
4) since elemental weapons scale with stats now, you can't twink with maxed elemental weapons on a low level character to be overpowered
5) there might be a ring that reduces or stops invasions since there are now 4 ring slots and it seems like there are in-game items that modify game difficulty

At least the first 4 of these points need to be emphasized in the official thread to mitigate the fear out there.

6) there is an ingame item that you can use at bonfires to prevent invasions
 
I find it hard to believe that many found out about the Drake Sword on their own, and decided to use it. Especially when both the Claymore and Zwei are much easier to obtain, and much better weapons in the long run. Plus, both of them are stamina hogs early on and teach you stamina management.
 
There a link about this information?

http://m.oxm.co.uk/71109/features/d...lks-covenants-the-engine-key-enemies-and-more

Interview with Tak Miyazoe

There is a certain amount of time where you can't be invaded, and burning that item increases that time. It's for players that don't want to be invaded, you can use that item and prevent being invaded for a little bit longer. Plus, you can use the Human Effigy pretty much anywhere to become living again; it doesn't matter where you are.

Some of the people who attended the Dark Souls 2 events talked about this as well IIRC.
 
My first run through Dark Souls was all about the Zweihander. I'd say that makes the game even easier than the Drake Sword, since many enemies can't even fight back if you use the knockdowns. Once I got to Anor Londo I had to actually learn how to play.


Oh man, this one quote:
You'll sense wind and it'll mean something - everything will mean something.

I'm picturing walking down a hall and seeing your cape flapping in the wind, then noticing a hidden passageway or something.

But yeah I wish we knew exactly how long the cooldown time between invasions and the effects of burning effigies were on said cooldown time. It could allay a lot of the fears about constant invasions.
 
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