[Megathread] Dark Souls 2

[Kickbuttmario]

What no!!! Wtf its coming out next year!!! Gawd damn it!!! Thats when im in school!!!!

[Deleted]

Public beta will start in october for ps3 users only, if you are interested go to their official facebook site and they will describe how to get into the beta on september 5th

[Deleted]

Just got Dark Souls for free on PS Plus !!

[Deleted]

I can't wait for this game. Huge fan of the souls series. It seems they made stuff even more tricky and dynamic with new AI and breakable walls etc. Backstab nerf = r1.

[corebit]

I am very excited that they are making magic a lot more flashy visually and have a fast cast / slow cast. That was my biggest gripe with the original DS, magic users had boring slow-ass spells and played very clunky compared to melee where I could backstab or parry + stab enemies with great satisfaction.

[Voidgazer]

Some news from TGS 2013.

Director Yui Tanimura outlines key changes to underlying gameplay systems for upcoming current-generation role-playing game.

Dark Souls II will feature a number of key changes to underlying gameplay systems, according to From Software director Yui Tanimura, including revamped rules for player interactions, co-op, and PVP.

Tanimura explained the changes during a recent presentation attended by GameSpot.

Unlike the peer-to-peer lobbies that fuel the original Dark Souls, players will now populate dedicated servers, like the spiritual predecessor, Demon's Souls, thus increasing the number of players that populate a given instance of the game.

In order to encourage player interaction, blood messaging is built into Dark Souls II as a system command, negating the original game's item requirements.

Summoned players--players who join the game of another character--no longer automatically exit a game upon the defeat of a boss. By utilizing different sized White Soapstone items, players gain different amounts of time for co-op play, but this allotment depletes as the summoned player defeats enemies. Players can also now summon two players at once, creating a three-player co-op experience.

When a player's game is invaded, they have the chance to receive backup from fellow covenant members if they belong to the "Way of the Blue" covenant. This will make it harder for stronger players to torment low-level characters, and give players a chance to act as a savior for the weak.

The final changes noted during the presentation pertained to characters with undead status. If a player dies while fighting as an undead character, their HP limits will decrease with each consecutive death. In order to recover from undead status, players now must expend a "Human Effigy" item, rather than an amount of humanity.

Lastly, unlike the original Dark Souls, undead players are susceptible to invaders in the sequel.

Dark Souls II will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 11, 2014. A release date for the PC version has not been announced. PlayStation 3 owners in North America, Europe, and Australasia can sign up for the beta, which begins on October 12.

source

Dark Souls II will be arriving in North America on March 11, 2014, with a European release date three days later on March 14.

News of the much-anticipated sequel’s release date was announced during Namco-Bandai’s Tokyo Game Show event. The two dates reflect the launch of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, with PC release to come “shortly after the console versions.”

Fans who can’t get enough of the world might want to pay attention to the Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition, as well. This huge pack comes with a 12-inch tall Warrior Knight statue, a hardbound art-book, a fabric map, and the official game soundtrack. As a Dark Souls nut, I just got really excited typing that last sentence.

Also shown at TGS was a brand new trailer featuring DS II's new slogan, "Go Beyond Death." Fans will recall that the original Dark Souls' iconic phrase "Prepare to Die" eventually became the name of the PC edition of the game. And no, I'm not trying to start rumors that the PC versions of Dark Souls II will be called the "Go Beyond Death" edition.

Yes, we know that you’re all excited to get your mitts on new consoles in November, but FromSoftware and Namco-Bandai are making a strong case for you to keep your current systems plugged in well into 2014. We’ll have much more on Dark Souls II soon, including new hands-on impressions and information regarding the launch of its public beta in October.

source

[rylangel]

I'm torn on the undead being susceptible to invasions. I enjoyed PvP a lot in Dark Souls. So much I went around as a human everywhere, but I can see why people would want to be undead to avoid the tension and and fear of getting griefed.

[Voidgazer]

I'm guessing undead players won't be suspectible to invasions unless they meet some requirements. Like for example, sinners won't be able to hide from the new Darkmoon type covenant etc.

Dickwraithing is already fun as it is imo, and this measure isn't aimed at the new players.

Obviously, I might be wrong, seeing how staying undead is portrayed rather disadvantegous in general with health reduction on death and all that.

[Loaf Lord]

I hope they change magic a bit and make the playstyle on par with melee difficulty-wise. Magic was just too damn OP in Dark Souls. You could annihilate anything with homing crystal soul mass and crystal soul spear.

[WarpedAcorn]

I hope they change magic a bit and make the playstyle on par with melee difficulty-wise. Magic was just too damn OP in Dark Souls. You could annihilate anything with homing crystal soul mass and crystal soul spear.

I forget the name, but the short-range Pyromancy burst could nearly 1-shot most players I encountered during invasions...it was just hard to use without the Tranquil Walk of "Slow" (can't recall the name either).

[Shinzai]

I'm guessing undead players won't be suspectible to invasions unless they meet some requirements. Like for example, sinners won't be able to hide from the new Darkmoon type covenant etc.

Dickwraithing is already fun as it is imo, and this measure isn't aimed at the new players.

Obviously, I might be wrong, seeing how staying undead is portrayed rather disadvantegous in general with health reduction on death and all that.

This sounds about right to me: I'd assume that the Undead players can only be invaded in areas where it beneficially modifies gameplay (woods equivalent, the mirror knight boss, etc), in ways that add to the experience more so than detract from it.

Remaining undead or disconnected in Dark Souls removes the interesting parts of a lot of areas and the interactions that occur from going against a faction, so I would assume they don't want anyone to be left out of those experiences, even if it kills them.

Now I just have to wait to get a hold of that PC Collector's edition, so I can stack up my art books for the games.

[PACOX]

I'm excited by I may just opt for Deep Down which looks just as amazing

[Deleted]

I do hope they give dual wielding in dark souls 2 purpose.

[Loaf Lord]

I do hope they give dual wielding in dark souls 2 purpose.

I imagine it will be for those who want to do as much damage as possible as melee while sacrificing defense.

[Zonas]

Well, the biggest problem Dark Souls had was that online interaction was pretty shit, especially so for the PC. So long as they fix that, I'll be much more happy.

And invasions while undead? While I don't mind myself, I can only see people bitching about it later on. Unless they change how invasions work, it'll be a storm of complaints.

And... that special edition... YES YES YES!!!!!!!! Insta buy!

[Wynnyelle]

Can't stop the hype. I am seriously getting so excited for this game and it doesn't even come out til next year. As for people being invaded while undead, I have no problems with it. Being scared shitless by potential invaders is part of the game. It keeps you on your toes and makes you a better player. I see the game being so much less fun without the invading/summoning aspect of it. I hated it at first as a new player because I didn't want people ruining my fun, but I learned and got better and the rest is history.

[Zonas]

Can't stop the hype. I am seriously getting so excited for this game and it doesn't even come out til next year. As for people being invaded while undead, I have no problems with it. Being scared shitless by potential invaders is part of the game. It keeps you on your toes and makes you a better player. I see the game being so much less fun without the invading/summoning aspect of it. I hated it at first as a new player because I didn't want people ruining my fun, but I learned and got better and the rest is history.

Yes, but the most vocal players will be the ones who don't like such aspects. The types who complain about WoW world PVP while on a PVP realm...

People complain constantly about invasions in Dark Souls, so taking away undead immunity will only increase it sadly.

Personally, I just hope they change around a few things. Like making invaders visible to mobs or something like it. Can't tell you how many times I've had invaders run and hide behind mobs.

[Voidgazer]

Yes, but the most vocal players will be the ones who don't like such aspects. The types who complain about WoW world PVP while on a PVP realm...

People complain constantly about invasions in Dark Souls, so taking away undead immunity will only increase it sadly.

That's the thing about Souls games - THAT type of players simply doesn't play Dark Souls at all. The series has already become (in)famous for its difficulty (somewhat exaggerated actually), so it scares off those who don't seek challenge right away.

[Shinzai]

EpicNameBro, aka Marcus, aka Iron Marcusssssssss, shares his experiences and findings of the Dark Souls 2 Beta. Note that he cannot verify all of the following for certain, a lot of it was just going off how it felt to him as a hardcore Dark/Demon Souls player, with 20 minutes to try the game out.

Key points:

White phantoms disappear faster depending on how many enemies they kill.

Casting Speed is modified by Attunement points. More points = Faster casts. Casting Speed is visible on the stat screen.

Elemental and Magic ie Fire damage appears to be modified by Int points, in the way Dex/Str boosts weapon damage.

Agility effects 'Evasion', 'Shield Raising' and 'Trap Disabling': New stats/modifiers.

Roll speed is about the same as Dark Souls, but does not seem to get faster from removing gear.

Parrying currently has a wind-up animation, so may require more timing, rather than reaction speed. Parries for the Warrior he played actually knocked enemies down. May be class or weapon based, not certain. The riposte attack was an attack on the downed enemy.

Merchant spoke about giants crossing a body of water.

Character jumped off a ladder instead of sliding down. May have just required a different button.

Enemies more aggressive and tend to be in groups, in the area he was playing. AI also pursued aggressively, by running.

Zweihander confirmed for Brawl. Apparently has beast mode animations.

Different weapons may have different min-max angles to perform back stabs.

Sticky White Stuff confirmed for Brawl.

[Deleted]

"Blue" covenant auto summons help for when invaded too

Helps with the always-invadable, though unsure about if there'll be enough people to cover all the invasions, especially early.