Dark Souls 2 PC - April 25, 2014

[LeviathanZERO]

Eh? From has a long history of sequels, Miyazaki included. Souls games included. The reason he didn't do Dark Souls 2 is that Sony offered them a great deal to develop an exclusive IP and he was part of the terms. Sony has public statements expressing regret with not raising high the torch for Demon's Souls. They let that one slip away and third parties were able to snatch it up. Sony came back and ensured they'd get some of that pie back.

There are even leaked quotes of them referring to Bloodborne internally, as a successor or sequel to Demon's Souls. It was all very deliberate. Miyazaki's absence from Dark Souls 2, I don't think that was a personal choice by him.

Riddle me this, What has B-team been doing since DS2 was finished? You don't think they did away with the A-team, B-team structure? A-team just finished BB and everyone else hasn't been doing anything since last September. That wouldn't make sense. I bet we get some announcement/trailer for their next game this winter, just like when DS2 came out of nowhere.

 

[Domingo]

Assuming they didn't remove anything in this new edition, Dark Souls 2 + DLC dwarfs the other From games. It might not be as difficult, but the sheer amount of real estate you have to cover is staggering. Even without the DLC, Dark Souls 2 is pretty large. With it - it's just massive.
I do think the pacing hides that a bit, though. In the other games (including Bloodborne) you end up going through areas several times or you end up lingering in certain hubs. In Dark Souls 2, you usually end up going from one area to another quickly, and you might not have much of a reason to ever return.

 

[Drakenfeng]

Looks like the 60 fps durability 'glitch' may have been intentional. According to this thread http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/...abilityfix_ds2_pvp_watchdog_and_stuff/cq2e9u5 SOTFS causes weapons to take two ticks of durability damage at 30 fps and 60 fps. This is coming from someone that made a memory hack to 'fix' the durability issue in the original game.

I also see xbox one / PS4 posts complaining about increased durability loss compared to the old version. So yeah, carry two weapons with you. Fair enough though since durability could pretty much be ignored in DS1.

I found that they added a few monsters that actually drop repair power though. There's a hollow that has really weird AI that tries to run away from you in the Huntsman's Copse (near the bridges by the last bonfire). If you manage to kill him he'll drop a repair power - and he respawns.

 

[jiminator]

Something I am particulalry interested in are spell effects. Do spells light the environment?

yes to this

 

[polonyc2]

how are the multiplayer servers in the new DX11 version in terms of players?...hard time finding people to co-op with or same as the DX9 version?...splitting the player base into 2 is the only part of this remaster that I don't like

 

[Ticker305]

I keep hearing how alot of people are having trouble going back to the combat in 2 after Bloodborne, but after playing SOTFS all week, getting adjusted to the 30fps in BB feels rough for me. Really hope Sony releases this on SteamOS one day since I know Windows is highly unlikely.

 

[jiminator]

some of the coop dynamics have changed. you used to be able to easy coop in the bonfire by the rotten but it is blocked off with a statue, so I suspect many people don't want to spend a branch for it. Lots of areas really. There are more branches, yeah, but unsure. the darkness also plays a much greater role. Much more torches and also fireflys you can purchase. Regular version I did not bother lighting any.

 

[chameleoneel]

Looks like the 60 fps durability 'glitch' may have been intentional. According to this thread http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/...abilityfix_ds2_pvp_watchdog_and_stuff/cq2e9u5 SOTFS causes weapons to take two ticks of durability damage at 30 fps and 60 fps. This is coming from someone that made a memory hack to 'fix' the durability issue in the original game.

I also see xbox one / PS4 posts complaining about increased durability loss compared to the old version. So yeah, carry two weapons with you. Fair enough though since durability could pretty much be ignored in DS1.

I found that they added a few monsters that actually drop repair power though. There's a hollow that has really weird AI that tries to run away from you in the Huntsman's Copse (near the bridges by the last bonfire). If you manage to kill him he'll drop a repair power - and he respawns.

The problem with the durability issue is that they haven't balanced it for some of the lowest durability weapons.

In general, I like that durability actually means something. It's a lot more interesting to me that I must carry at least two viable weapons/ways to attack. Maybe even three, depending upon my choices. This means you can't get comfortable and lazy, with the same weapon for half the game. Using the same tired tactics. It also highlights the fact that the damage types seem a little more important this time around. Not only for damage, but also in how durability is affected. It also bleeds over into PVP. things can't sometimes become real interesting, if you are near the durabilty limit on your fave weapon and/or if the opponent has the means to wear you down extra fast.

However, my whip breaks in about 8 hits on a normal enemy. If I'm swinging at a group, I might get a handful of hits, before I get the-1-hit-until-break warning. and If I hit a couple of times and then miss and hit a statue or something, instant breakage. I'd like to see a little bit of tweaking on the weakest weapons. Because that's a little ridiculous and means a lot of people probably won't bother, at all. Which is defeating of the system.

Riddle me this, What has B-team been doing since DS2 was finished? You don't think they did away with the A-team, B-team structure? A-team just finished BB and everyone else hasn't been doing anything since last September. That wouldn't make sense. I bet we get some announcement/trailer for their next game this winter, just like when DS2 came out of nowhere.

From only has 1 or 2 games developing at a time. I don't think there really was such a thing as these meta generated terms for "A team" and "B team" in regards to souls games. Until Sony knocked on the door with money and specific terms. Forcing such a split. Because yeah, of course they would be working on Dark Souls 2.

B-team has mostly been working on Scholar of the First Sin.

Bloodborne's core production finished in time that Miyazaki had input on Scholar of The First Sin. The company enjoys working internally, without much separation.

I would bet as well, that during all of this, pre-production work has started for the next souls game/Dark Souls 3.

Now, since Bloodborne is a thing, it's unclear exactly how things will play out. I can't imagine Miyazaki is going to be a schill for Sony. Especially since he is From president, now. The bigger problem I see here is moving forward, are these two series going to remain so similar to each other? or will bloodborne embrace the Devil May Cry and Mech Boost influences further?

Sony has a lot of internal talent. It may be that they hired Miyazaki for a one-off deal to design them the framework for a new IP and maybe the next Bloodborne will be done completely internally? It's all speculation, I suppose. Sony owns the "Demon's Souls" name. They COULD have made a game, called Demon's Souls 2. . It is clear to me that they wanted a new IP out of respect for what From has done with the Souls name. To form some degree of separation. However, the souls format is so unique, they needed the real deal (From + Miyazaki) to get them rolling in a slightly new direction, while rekindling the original magic which they let go. (see: Demon's Souls was never meant to be a big deal and Sony dismissed it even when momentum was building. Allowing From to seek out a new publishing deal and a tweak on the name, to avoid conflict with Sony. As I said before, Sony has since publically stated that they regret letting the Souls series slip away from them.).

It will also be interesting because From's parent company is said to be handling publishing for all future titles. So Bamco probably doesn't have a stake in Souls, anymore. And after their awful handling with PR------From is probably wanting to recoup on that a bit. Miyazaki is president of the company, now. He may try to split his presence as co-director. I dunno. And the B-team didn't exactly do a bad job with Dark Souls 2. I actually think a little more highly of it, than what some people seem to express. Sure, there are some definite issues with boss battles. But everything else about the game is quite good. People seem to forget that although Dark Souls 1's Lordran had a neat interconnected total design: some of those individual areas, although very cool in concept, were not super great to actually play through. and once you could teleport-----well who cares then, about the interconnect-ability?

I still like Demon's Souls the best and it didn't have interconnected areas and definitely has some bosses which are more of an impressive visual gimmick, than they are an actual opportunity for boss time gameplay.


I guess we might find something out at E3, although I would bet more on Tokyo Game Show, for a Souls announcement and a hint at how things will be handled. If I had to actually guess at how things will end up: I'm betting there will be a dual director role for

 

[naticus]

The problem with the durability issue is that they haven't balanced it for some of the lowest durability weapons.

In general, I like that durability actually means something. It's a lot more interesting to me that I must carry at least two viable weapons/ways to attack. Maybe even three, depending upon my choices. This means you can't get comfortable and lazy, with the same weapon for half the game. Using the same tired tactics. It also highlights the fact that the damage types seem a little more important this time around. Not only for damage, but also in how durability is affected. It also bleeds over into PVP. things can't sometimes become real interesting, if you are near the durabilty limit on your fave weapon and/or if the opponent has the means to wear you down extra fast.

However, my whip breaks in about 8 hits on a normal enemy. If I'm swinging at a group, I might get a handful of hits, before I get the-1-hit-until-break warning. and If I hit a couple of times and then miss and hit a statue or something, instant breakage. I'd like to see a little bit of tweaking on the weakest weapons. Because that's a little ridiculous and means a lot of people probably won't bother, at all. Which is defeating of the system.



From only has 1 or 2 games developing at a time. I don't think there really was such a thing as these meta generated terms for "A team" and "B team" in regards to souls games. Until Sony knocked on the door with money and specific terms. Forcing such a split. Because yeah, of course they would be working on Dark Souls 2.

B-team has mostly been working on Scholar of the First Sin.

Bloodborne's core production finished in time that Miyazaki had input on Scholar of The First Sin. The company enjoys working internally, without much separation.

I would bet as well, that during all of this, pre-production work has started for the next souls game/Dark Souls 3.

Now, since Bloodborne is a thing, it's unclear exactly how things will play out. I can't imagine Miyazaki is going to be a schill for Sony. Especially since he is From president, now. The bigger problem I see here is moving forward, are these two series going to remain so similar to each other? or will bloodborne embrace the Devil May Cry and Mech Boost influences further?

Sony has a lot of internal talent. It may be that they hired Miyazaki for a one-off deal to design them the framework for a new IP and maybe the next Bloodborne will be done completely internally? It's all speculation, I suppose. Sony owns the "Demon's Souls" name. They COULD have made a game, called Demon's Souls 2. . It is clear to me that they wanted a new IP out of respect for what From has done with the Souls name. To form some degree of separation. However, the souls format is so unique, they needed the real deal (From + Miyazaki) to get them rolling in a slightly new direction, while rekindling the original magic which they let go. (see: Demon's Souls was never meant to be a big deal and Sony dismissed it even when momentum was building. Allowing From to seek out a new publishing deal and a tweak on the name, to avoid conflict with Sony. As I said before, Sony has since publically stated that they regret letting the Souls series slip away from them.).

It will also be interesting because From's parent company is said to be handling publishing for all future titles. So Bamco probably doesn't have a stake in Souls, anymore. And after their awful handling with PR------From is probably wanting to recoup on that a bit. Miyazaki is president of the company, now. He may try to split his presence as co-director. I dunno. And the B-team didn't exactly do a bad job with Dark Souls 2. I actually think a little more highly of it, than what some people seem to express. Sure, there are some definite issues with boss battles. But everything else about the game is quite good. People seem to forget that although Dark Souls 1's Lordran had a neat interconnected total design: some of those individual areas, although very cool in concept, were not super great to actually play through. and once you could teleport-----well who cares then, about the interconnect-ability?

I still like Demon's Souls the best and it didn't have interconnected areas and definitely has some bosses which are more of an impressive visual gimmick, than they are an actual opportunity for boss time gameplay.


I guess we might find something out at E3, although I would bet more on Tokyo Game Show, for a Souls announcement and a hint at how things will be handled. If I had to actually guess at how things will end up: I'm betting there will be a dual director role for

Interesting. Here is what I know; Dark Souls 3 needs to have the same combat mechanics as BloodBorne. After playing through BB and coming back to DS2 Dx11 version it is quite clear to see and 'feel' the leap forward the combat/dodge/dash has taken in BB to previous titles.

I am finishing up DS2 SOTFS and honestly it is pretty boring. BB just does everything better, period. Maybe it is that I prefer a faster game or that I shun the idea of shields and 'turtling', but regardless BB is almost perfect in it's execution of combat mechanics.

Give me Dark Souls 3 with; actual viable dual-wield builds w/ BB's combat system, DS1's world and DS2's hub system and I will be happy.

 

[chameleoneel]

Interesting. Here is what I know; Dark Souls 3 needs to have the same combat mechanics as BloodBorne. After playing through BB and coming back to DS2 Dx11 version it is quite clear to see and 'feel' the leap forward the combat/dodge/dash has taken in BB to previous titles.

I am finishing up DS2 SOTFS and honestly it is pretty boring. BB just does everything better, period. Maybe it is that I prefer a faster game or that I shun the idea of shields and 'turtling', but regardless BB is almost perfect in it's execution of combat mechanics.

Give me Dark Souls 3 with; actual viable dual-wield builds w/ BB's combat system, DS1's world and DS2's hub system and I will be happy.

I feel like the boost/dodge is only a quarter step in the right direction. Keep in mind, I haven't played bloodborne. I have watched bits of some let's plays, as well as parts of trailers. It's certainly an interesting mechanic and it looks like they may have done a pretty good job of really working it into boss fights. But the regular enemies in the levels don't seem much different from the other three souls games. So you have this fast dash/dodge. But enemies are lumbering as ever.
On top of that, the shotgun looks to be a free stun on some enemies. giving you a critical stab attack, much like parry/riposte. I watched a player shotgun and then critical stab an entire area of enemies, one after the other. He was even able to interrupt their leaping over head chopping attacks with the shotgun. Putting them into the stun and then stabbing them for the critical. I could not sense any challenge, for the entire area.

In my opinion, 3 souls games later and possibly with bloodborne as well: The enemies need to be more dynamic in how they fight you.

As far as I can remember: every single archer or projectile enemy in all 3 souls games, stands still and allows you to gain ground on them. Wouldn't it be interesting if some of those guys would try to keep their distance and plink at you? Letting you get caught up on other enemies or on intricacies of the level, while they continue to shoot at you. Some of them at least pull out melee weapons, when you get close enough. But not all of them, which is weird. Well, I did just remember the necromancers in Dark Souls 1 catacombs. That was very cool. But if you know the trick around their necro ability, it trivializes their behavior. It would be cool if there wasn't a way around it. If you had to fight through a resurrecting army of skeletons every time. I don't want these games to allow me easy outs. Once I know about them, the challenge is forever gone.

Demon's Souls didn't really have much for magic casting enemies. Dark Souls had one level for that. Dark Souls 2 also keeps that pretty well confined.

Very few enemies have their own dodge or roll ability. Some of the most fun fights are against the few enemies who do. Usually they are human. Usually they don't have enough health/defenses to really make the fight get real good.

Most souls enemies have a small move set and movement pattern, which they repeat. and their general tactic is to close in on you. It would be great to see enemies with secondary movesets, to mix things up. and ability to move and cover ground in a way which didn't just feel like you have a gravitational device hanging from your belt. There's only a couple of enemies in each game, which are particularly defensive.

Dark Souls 2 kind of stepped in this direction, to try and mix up enemy moves a little. A lot of enemies have an abnormally fast acting attack which they can/do link into some of their combos. So you think you've got an opening then -BAM- they smack you with an unexpectedly quick additional move. I appreciated that. But they didn't go far enough with it.

Heck, for secondary movesets, they could pull out a completely different weapon. A lot of weapon types are not well represented with enemies. I think there's maybe two notable rapier enemies in Dark Souls 1.

and after all of that, generally doing a better job of thinking about how an enemy can compliment an environment or how two or three different enemy types can work together with complimentary abilities. I think they tried to do this sort of thing with Scholar of The First Sin. Demon's Souls did a mostly good job of that. Especially in pure black mode, with added black phantom enemies. Some of the areas in these games are just a bunch of the same enemy.

There's plenty of room in the existing mechanics, but the PVE doesn't always force it out of you. People are tired of turtling with heavy armor and a shield. Well, you don't have to do that. and sometimes Dark Souls 2 manages to get you to realize that you shouldn't always do that. shouldn't always do the same thing. Restricting I-frames and making durability a factor forces some things out of you that we never had to worry about in Dark Souls 1. I dual hand weapons a lot more in Dark Souls 2 than I ever did in Dark Souls 1. But they could easily go further with this stuff, without even making big changes/additions to core mechanics. I still find the combat very compelling. I'm just running out of reasons to be satisfied.

 

[chameleoneel]

And yeah, I'd love it if they went back to a faster game speed, like Demon's Souls.

**while flipping through some game news, I read a gaming news site's opinionated posting about the added features to the PS4/Xbone/DX11 version. They actually kind of blatantly spoiled another addition to the game, which I had not yet seen mentioned. It's super neat and helps to flesh out some of the flavor that Dark Souls 2 was trying to express the first time around. Kinda bummed it was so blatantly spoiled, however. Because it's not something you'd hold up as a bullet point feature on the box. Rather, it's something more embedded into the game world, meant to be discovered.

I had already decided to buy it. Was just casually flipping through news postings : \

 

[Domingo]

While I like the faster gameplay of Bloodborne, I'd rather have the dual-wielding and distance weapon system from Dark Souls 2. I just don't care for the implementation of guns as a parry. That just seems odd that a natural distance weapon is mainly for parrying and pulling. I'm also just finding the gameplay to be a bit stale since there are fewer weapons.
I like the direction Bloodborne took things, but I appreciate DS2's depth and scope more.

 

[stevedave]

BB seems to be heading more towards action and away from RPG. Which is very much a bad thing for me as the best parts about Dark Souls is the RPG.

That being said I haven't played BB as I think 500 bucks for 1 games is a bit steep.

The biggest DS2 disappointments for me are the way the broke poise and the maps feel very disconnected like each one is a stage vs the whole world being connected like DS1.

Rather minor complaints but these 2 factors are what make DS2 not quite as good as DS1. Maximizing weight/defense/poise on gear was very rewarding and thoughtful in DS1.

 

[Domingo]

Bloodborne is a neat game, but it's almost like "Souls Light." In the Souls games there is a lot a variety to your character build, gear, etc.
In Bloodborne you really don't have that, and if you do - there are really only a handful. Most of the ghosts I'm seeing are wearing, carrying, and doing the same stuff.

 

[chameleoneel]

BB seems to be heading more towards action and away from RPG. Which is very much a bad thing for me as the best parts about Dark Souls is the RPG.

That being said I haven't played BB as I think 500 bucks for 1 games is a bit steep.

The biggest DS2 disappointments for me are the way the broke poise and the maps feel very disconnected like each one is a stage vs the whole world being connected like DS1.

Rather minor complaints but these 2 factors are what make DS2 not quite as good as DS1. Maximizing weight/defense/poise on gear was very rewarding and thoughtful in DS1.

Poise and Havel's ring homogenized Dark Souls 1.

 

[jiminator]

I think Dark Souls was built by a dedicated team, that is why everything was integrated. But DS2 probably was split up into zones and built by different teams or in different phases. That is why they just don't seem connected. SotFS does a bit of work in this regard, I have noticed some shortcuts and there are more interconnected pathways.

The game also is intended to be slow and methodical. Look at how some play the bosses and they don't run anywhere, just slow and use timing. That leaves stamina for attacks then rolling. I wish I could play bloodborne but it really seems like they were going for something different.

 

[chameleoneel]

Ok I played a little bit of the new DX11 PC port.

Overall, I like what they did with the flow and pacing, by remixing the enemies and items. Better advantage is taken of even small sections of levels. And it feels like they are kind of trying to discourage players from going to certain areas, straight away. With the vanilla game; I felt like any area was approachable, right from the beginning. Not necessarily the case, here! And I think that's a good thing.

The ambient occlusion is pretty nice. It's a subtle, but smooth implementation. It reminds me a lot of what GeDoSaTo offers----but looks better/smoother. and there should be less instances of weird artifacts, since this is built into the game.
I do miss the "bloom" shader from GeDoSaTo, which if adjusted correctly, would make metal glint in bright lights, spells shine in your eyes, and added a large visual flare to fire/sconces/torches. Without looking over done.

I actually have noticed some small geometry and architectural changes. The latter of which I cannot remember ever being in the vanilla game. I mean if there were some game events which would otherwise cause the same change or if this new version of the game has blatant changes.

Some areas are indeed, darker than the DX9 version. And I don't mean faking it with a bunch of black crush, like some of those ENBs and shader profiles. I mean area specific, even room specific lighting/grading effects.

My initial reaction upon entering the game was, HOLY HELL they blew out the whites/highlights.

Due to the blow out in the whites and highlights, certain aspects of the game look kinda bad. Such as-----your character's skin. All of Majula. Some times when you are near a bright light source, such as a sconce or wall hanging torch.

It reminds me of a lot of those ENBs which are tossed out by average users who are excited to make their game look NEXT-GEN by making everything look mega super sharp and bone white. Ugh.

Thankfully, it appears that each area was addressed individually. So, while there is still a good deal of white crush in areas of high contrast-----whole areas aren't necessarily overly bright, like some of the starting areas. It will be interesting to see how the Snowy DLC looks, however.

I actually have to say that aside from the white crush: contrast otherwise looks spot on, with black levels seeming like they are nearly perfect. Which was not the case in the DX9 version. That version had low contrast and a slightly undercooked black level.

The color grading is very cold, which further pushes that bone white tone. I have my plasma screen set up for very natural, accurate color. And this game totally bombs the whites and skews the color temperature very cold. I usualy have my TV set to what would be equivalent to a medium]/i] color temp. As most western material is graded very warm. Going "medium" usually keeps things more accurate. I've had to completely re-do a new color profile for this game, due to how cold the presentation is.

Hopefully I can figure a way with some shader injector, to fix the white level.

 

[jiminator]

Welp, I have liked SotFS so far. Nice changes, fairly small. And then the dragon keep. holy shit. There are freaking dragon knights everywhere. No problem, i'll run by them. Nope. It gets worse also....

 

[Rattle]

Ok I played a little bit of the new DX11 PC port.

Overall, I like what they did with the flow and pacing, by remixing the enemies and items. Better advantage is taken of even small sections of levels. And it feels like they are kind of trying to discourage players from going to certain areas, straight away. With the vanilla game; I felt like any area was approachable, right from the beginning. Not necessarily the case, here! And I think that's a good thing.

The ambient occlusion is pretty nice. It's a subtle, but smooth implementation. It reminds me a lot of what GeDoSaTo offers----but looks better/smoother. and there should be less instances of weird artifacts, since this is built into the game.
I do miss the "bloom" shader from GeDoSaTo, which if adjusted correctly, would make metal glint in bright lights, spells shine in your eyes, and added a large visual flare to fire/sconces/torches. Without looking over done.

I actually have noticed some small geometry and architectural changes. The latter of which I cannot remember ever being in the vanilla game. I mean if there were some game events which would otherwise cause the same change or if this new version of the game has blatant changes.

Some areas are indeed, darker than the DX9 version. And I don't mean faking it with a bunch of black crush, like some of those ENBs and shader profiles. I mean area specific, even room specific lighting/grading effects.

My initial reaction upon entering the game was, HOLY HELL they blew out the whites/highlights.

Due to the blow out in the whites and highlights, certain aspects of the game look kinda bad. Such as-----your character's skin. All of Majula. Some times when you are near a bright light source, such as a sconce or wall hanging torch.

It reminds me of a lot of those ENBs which are tossed out by average users who are excited to make their game look NEXT-GEN by making everything look mega super sharp and bone white. Ugh.

Thankfully, it appears that each area was addressed individually. So, while there is still a good deal of white crush in areas of high contrast-----whole areas aren't necessarily overly bright, like some of the starting areas. It will be interesting to see how the Snowy DLC looks, however.

I actually have to say that aside from the white crush: contrast otherwise looks spot on, with black levels seeming like they are nearly perfect. Which was not the case in the DX9 version. That version had low contrast and a slightly undercooked black level.

The color grading is very cold, which further pushes that bone white tone. I have my plasma screen set up for very natural, accurate color. And this game totally bombs the whites and skews the color temperature very cold. I usualy have my TV set to what would be equivalent to a medium]/i] color temp. As most western material is graded very warm. Going "medium" usually keeps things more accurate. I've had to completely re-do a new color profile for this game, due to how cold the presentation is.

Hopefully I can figure a way with some shader injector, to fix the white level.

Does this run at 1080p and 60fps by default?

 

[Drakenfeng]

Been poking around with PVP a bit. I'm pretty terrible at it but it's still fun. Biggest issue I have is finding red eye orbs to invade people with. I see all these people saying that they play the entire game through and only get invaded once / twice - which seems to be linked to how difficult it is to get the orbs.

The only renewable source I've found is the BoB arena, but that's pretty time consuming and gets tiresome after a while. It's also really not fair at lower levels due to the way the matchmaking works. They also made it so the game will soft-ban you if you save scum (restore an older save file), which is what a lot of people were doing to get around the red orb issue.

I suppose I could join the covenant of champions and farm the mobs in huntsman's copse. Being in that covenant makes enemies keep respawning regardless of how many times you kill them now. It might be more reliable / time effective than the BoB duels.

Any other ideas?

 

[Drakenfeng]

Does this run at 1080p and 60fps by default?

Yes

Actually it supports higher resolutions as well. I didn't have any issues selecting DSR resolutions in the menu. There's no refresh rate option in game though and it gets set to 60hz. I think it might break the game if you force it to go higher.

 

[chameleoneel]

Does this run at 1080p and 60fps by default?

Both PC versions (DX9 and DX11) of Dark Souls 2 have built-in support for 1080p (and higher resolutions) and 60fps. No mods needed.

Higher framerates will break the engine, so they are not offered.

the PS4 version is also 1080p and has a high average framerate, giving a mostly 60fps experience. The Xbone version is 1080p, but suffers with wide variance in framerates.

Been poking around with PVP a bit. I'm pretty terrible at it but it's still fun. Biggest issue I have is finding red eye orbs to invade people with. I see all these people saying that they play the entire game through and only get invaded once / twice - which seems to be linked to how difficult it is to get the orbs.

The only renewable source I've found is the BoB arena, but that's pretty time consuming and gets tiresome after a while. It's also really not fair at lower levels due to the way the matchmaking works. They also made it so the game will soft-ban you if you save scum (restore an older save file), which is what a lot of people were doing to get around the red orb issue.

I suppose I could join the covenant of champions and farm the mobs in huntsman's copse. Being in that covenant makes enemies keep respawning regardless of how many times you kill them now. It might be more reliable / time effective than the BoB duels.

Any other ideas?

The primary way to invade is via the various covenants. Each one has specifics on how, when, and where you can invade. But they are otherwise pretty easy means for invasion.

The nice thing about Red Eye Orbs is they don't have as many specifics for how you can invade. Other than needing to be human: you just use them and invade someone. But they can be more difficult and/or expensive to obtain. than just using a covenant ring or something.

 

[Comixbooks]

Do your save files transfer over? If you bought the original my game is on the PS3
I have DS II on the PC but it's the 32 bit and no save file.

 

[jiminator]

no, they will not.

 

[polonyc2]

Dark Souls 2 patch will fix weapon degradation bug

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin introduced many new challenges to From Software's epic action-RPG, such as new enemy placements, fiercer foe AI, and... less durable weapons?...it turns out this last one wasn't an intentional design choice, but was actually a glitch and it's something From will be addressing in its next patch...this peculiar bug made it so weapon degradation was tied to the game's framerate, somehow...

http://kotaku.com/long-ignored-dark-souls-2-glitch-is-finally-getting-fix-1698512244

interesting that the PC version has always been hampered by this glitch...it took the SotFS console release for people to notice

 

[Domingo]

Interesting. I've never not played Dark Souls at 60fps, so I guess I just expected some weapons to break quickly. I really only had an issue with it early in the game. By the end I had a half dozen maxed out weapons I'd toggle between.

 

[polonyc2]

Interesting. I've never not played Dark Souls at 60fps, so I guess I just expected some weapons to break quickly. I really only had an issue with it early in the game. By the end I had a half dozen maxed out weapons I'd toggle between.

the Greatsword +10 was my weapon of choice and because of the durability issue I always had to buy a backup Greatsword +10 and keep it in my inventory...I always thought it was a design decision to have them degrade so quickly and never thought of it as a bug or glitch...either way I'm glad it's getting fixed

 

[jiminator]

just completed it, with dlc, about 70 hours. did not normally have a problem with durability but I noticed some areas were horrible. I think it may have to do with enemy attacks or misses, unsure.

 

[LurkerLito]

I wonder if that fix will be applied to both versions or just the latest DX11 version. It kind of annoys me that From ignored the issue for years when PC users were scratching their heads wondering if this is a glitch or a feature, but then only looked into it as a glitch when it showed up on the console versions.

 

[jiminator]

yep, they are asses. btw, if anyone wants to get a santier's spear, now will be the time before the patch comes out. you can make it pretty fast by joining rat covenant and beating on the elephants.

 

[chameleoneel]

......ignored the issue for....about 1 year.

 

[naticus]

I wonder if that fix will be applied to both versions or just the latest DX11 version. It kind of annoys me that From ignored the issue for years when PC users were scratching their heads wondering if this is a glitch or a feature, but then only looked into it as a glitch when it showed up on the console versions.

From doesn't give a shit about PC. What's weird is their games probably sell more copies on PC than the consoles. Probably 2:1.

 

[polonyc2]

the weapon degradation glitch was really noticeable in certain parts of the game...for the Sinh Dragon fight in the first DLC I would go into the fog door with my weapon (Greatsword +10) at 100% and it would ALWAYS break before the end of the fight...even when wearing the Bracing Knuckle Ring (which slows weapon degrading) it would happen...that's why I would always have to have 2 of the same weapons in my inventory to switch

 

[chroniX]

Do you need to play Dark Souls 1 to follow the story of Dark Souls 2? I played a little of Dark Souls 1 on the PS3 but never beat it. Was wondering if I can just start playing DS2 on the PC or would I be lost?

 

[jiminator]

To be honest DS1 has a better story arc than DS2 but it is purely optional. There is no "continuity" from one to the other. DS2 has made a lot of improvements in gameplay but DS1 is still amazing.

anyway: Has anyone tried NG+ in SotFS? I was doing Heides tower and holy shit, you have 4 phantoms, heide knights everywhere, hyper aggressive enemies and invasions every 5 minutes like clockword. I had to go off line

 

[polonyc2]

anyway: Has anyone tried NG+ in SotFS? I was doing Heides tower and holy shit, you have 4 phantoms, heide knights everywhere, hyper aggressive enemies and invasions every 5 minutes like clockword. I had to go off line

good to hear that the MP base is high with the new version...I was worried that the DX9 version would have the bigger player base...I'll be buying the new DX11 version after the weapon degradation patch is released...good timing as I was busy with Bloodborne for the past few weeks anyhow

 

[Nytegard]

good to hear that the MP base is high with the new version...I was worried that the DX9 version would have the bigger player base...I'll be buying the new DX11 version after the weapon degradation patch is released...good timing as I was busy with Bloodborne for the past few weeks anyhow

Hmm, I guess I should switch over from the PS4 version. (I have the PC version, but friends have the PS4). While I get summoned within 2 seconds on the PS4, trying to find anyone to summon is a pain. And outside the Belfry, I've yet to be invaded there.

 

[jiminator]

Steam stats currently show 2x the people on SotFS. Maybe because it is new and people are replaying it, vs pvp on the regular game. That being said, things are probably going to get all fucked up with the agape ring. The big complaint with DS1 is that people would have end game weapons at a low level, not sure how the ring prevents that. Anyway at 3.5 million SL I found no summons @ Heides. Kind of sucks if the whole game is going to be like that. They did add many more NPCs, but they are not that great.

5,064 7,975 DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin
2,401 4,065 DARK SOULS™ II

 

[LeviathanZERO]

Don't you need 1 million souls to open the Shrine of Winter?
What are you doing with 3.5 million at Heides? Of course its not gonna work, your SM is ridiculously high for that area.

 

[jiminator]

Don't you need 1 million souls to open the Shrine of Winter?
What are you doing with 3.5 million at Heides? Of course its not gonna work, your SM is ridiculously high for that area.

It is NG+ after completing all the DLC. NG+ is a completely different beast, everyone is like "fuck your armor and your +10 infused weapons"