Everything Dark Souls 2 Did Right
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- I absolutely love Dark Souls II and the truth is, lately I've been motivated to not only replay it but once again talk about it. I think it's a genuinely good game -- of course it has its faults, but I'm at the point where I can look past them and find enjoyment in many many aspects of the game. I'm sure there's others who feel that way, and in case you're someone who dislikes DS2, I think that's totally fine as well -- again, it's not meant for everyone and at the end of the day, we all enjoy different things, right? That's the beauty in life, after all! Anyhow, I hope this video was somewhat enjoyable still! There's gonna be more coming in the near future, that I promise!
Link to the Windmill clip:
• Dark Souls II - Earthe...
Link to the soundtracks I've used:
• Video
• Dragonslayer Armour
• Dark Souls OST Ornst...
• Video
• Mortal Shell imperviou...
• Mortal Shell imperviou...
• Video
• Megaman Maverick Hunte...
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00:00 Intro
00:44 Omnidirectional Rolling
01:56 Storage Improvements over Demon's Souls/Dark Souls
03:09 Torch Mechanics
04:10 Majula
05:49 The Option to Change your Build
07:11 Healing
08:32 Teleports from the Beginning
10:27 Forest of Fallen Giants
12:11 Pharros Lockstones & Fragrant Branches of Yore
13:10 Interactive Environment
14:15 Boss Weapons
14:47 Bonfire Ascetics
15:37 Desert Sorceresses - Hry
you forgot to mention.
1. backstab loop or teleport backstab is fixed in ds2
2. fashion souls, hundreds of armor sets
3. any weapon has a potential of being useful in pvp or pve, because of the slow roll and lack of Iframes , makes every weapon viable compared to ds1 or ds3 where most slow weapons are trash in pvp because everyone has fast rolls.
4. dlcs both location and bosses are one of the best of the series
5. dual wielding weapons is creative, fun and viable for both pvp and pve and changes the whole moveset of either weapon
6. backstep is useful compared to ds1 and ds3
7. jump button is separated from the roll/run button taking away default delay applied to the roll and also making it posible to run -> roll or run -> jump without messing the input.
8. heavy weapons have feint animation/ attack cancel , making them way way more viable in pvp than any other soul like (attack + roll or backstep to cancel the animation)
9. moveset within the weapon type is incredible variant and unique , making every weapon almost a world of its own.
10. Poise is more useful than any other soul like, ds2 has both hyper armor(applied during attack animation, lets you poise through when clashing your attack against opponent attack without getting stun) and passive poise (applied during recover or standing still, lets you poise through attacks)
There are some of these things that I wanted to mention but wasn't sure how to properly talk about it (making sure I do them justice), but I promise I'll be back with a ''part 2'' at some point because I just really love to talk about features / systems I enjoy in every soulsborne
That said, amazing comment and yes I agree with a lot of the things you've mentioned here
- Agreed DS2 has fundamentally superior combat (especially PVP wise)
- DS1, DS3, Bloodborne, Elden Ring have a ton of pros over Ds2, but still lose because their "grape juice for children" combat style of nooby mindless spam
- Healing, guarding, backstabing, running away, spell casting - hugely disproportionate reward, trivial mindless effort - DS2 is the only game that made a serious effort to fix it
- DS2 remains the true fine wine, the real chess game, thanks to that transparent and pandering style the others are maintaining
Hopefully the open source kings can take a page out of DS2's book and build on this concept, badly needed if you see the state of things
Mainstream PVP - not just Soulslike - is almost unplayable garbage, because this exact problem of following suit
Mainstream gaming became attention-deficit lies, that everyone complains about but nobody fixes
Because everyone threw out the value of pacing and decisions. So games just became spam rush simulators based on probability
The End
@@sunshinekisses8498well said, I completely agree. It actually confuses me how underrated dark souls 2’s core gameplay is.
After Majula, the best thing In DS2 is the changes in NG+ and NG++ etc
That it us NOT just numbers going up. New enemies. Changes in bosses.
I mean, the mirror shield knight summoning pvp players? How cool is that!?
I like the NG+ in DS2 as well! What I really love is that it's arguably the best implementation of the Red Phantom system. I didn't mention it since I thought the presence of Ascetics does point towards NG+ already but I should've definitely done a section specifically talking about NG+ and its changes
Ng+ makes the game even worse, sure it adds new enemies which is unique but it just leads to more ganks and it adds enemies to boss fights which is obviously stupid
u just dont want the gang challange thats why, u can always practice more even vs 20 enemy in ds2 for example@@dovahgoatdragonbear3075
@@dovahgoatdragonbear3075 How is this obviously stupid? NG+ is supposed to increase the game's challenge level, no?
I wish more of the Soulsborne series did this. It's an amazing idea and I'm baffled that only 2 had it implemented.
DS1 really benefits from not having fast travel in the first half.
Absolutely, makes everyone appreciate the level design a lot more. Its fully understandable why they wouldn't give access to it from the beginning -- still, I like fast travel but I wouldn't complain if all souls titles had the same world design as DS1, even if that meant not having fast travel available from the beginning
To an extent.
But ive heard many stories of people getting trapped in Ash Lake and not being able to return due to being weak
@@tommyakesson8858 yeah but why would you want to go to ash lake before lord vessel?
@@tommyakesson8858well, to be honest, getting lost and desperately seeking for a way to get back is an important part of the experience. I wish more games had balls to do the same: metroidvania-like world with no teleportation points. Just like classic Resident Evil games.
@@rigorm136For a Dragon-themed run
There's also another feature that dark souls 2 introduced that wasn't mentioned, you can basically infuse just about anything in dark souls 2 even if a weapon already does say physical and lightning damage or magic and dark, you can infuse chimes, staves and everything in between that both demon's souls and dark souls 1 didn't let you do to an extent. As someone that's already thinking about infusions the second I find a new weapon I love that about dark souls 2, sure in dark souls 1 you can infuse weapons but only ones that upgraded through regular titanite materials meaning if you wanted lightning or magic on a black knight weapon it wasn't gonna happen but dark souls 2 changed that, giving the player more freedom to experiment.
Oh yess! DS2's infusions are awesome -- also, a little sidenote, I love your avatar. I might have to play some Diablo 2 again sometime..
@@fermyonds Oh yeah, probably best in the series and thank you. I'm a bit newer to Diablo 2 since I started playing when resurrected came out(not a PC kind of person) and enjoyed it, even got a poster recently plus thinking about getting more(souls themed, Fallout and Star Wars).
Dark Crypt Blacksword +5
Power stance too.
Absolutely -- I did want to mention them in a separate ''build variety'' section with other things like hexes, Bone Fist, and a few other things, but at the time I wasn't sure how to present it while also making sure I'm doing it justice, but I want to one day talk about these things in specific
I would also add the spices that let you lower spell requirements those were cool too
I knew I was forgetting something D: I feel so silly now, I was using them with my hexer and it just escaped me. My sincerest apologies
They were to be used with caution, as they also lowered the scaling of the spell/miracle involved, but a great addition nonetheless.
I miss that system. Hopefully we see something like that return with the DLC for ER. A *dream* DLC, involving Miquella/St. Trina could introduce this mechanic again, through an NPC.
@@xXLunatikxXlul I doubt they'll introduce new core systems to the mix with the dlc.
@@alessandrobaggi6129 Obviously. I'm just saying it would be a nice touch. 💀
Lighting up the gutter was soo satisfying
After I stopped falling to death trying too
I love the atmosphere of that area -- especially that bit which has a ton of stakes next to each other -- It's genuinely creepy and disturbing. Love it
- Weapon infusions are the best because you don't need coals or wetblades, that are often locked behind end game areas, you just need infusion stones that are easily farmed in the early areas and you are set for any build early game.
- Spices allowed you to lower the Int or Fth requirtements for spells.
- You can infuse and/or buff 90% of all weapons, catalysts, bows, etc. Even boss weapons.
- Dual wielding weapons.
-The only game with a NG+ that actually changes the enemies, items, etc..
You're right about all of these -- a few things (like powerstancing, ng+ or certain builds) I do want to talk about another time with a dedicated video, but I should've made a specific mention. I really should've, that was a mistake on my end - I'm sorry
Switching between DW and PS is just the best.
Dark Souls 2 is my 2nd favourite only behind Bloodborne. It has so much love and character put into it and I'm glad to see it being appreciated more.
I certainly feel like DS2 is prolly the most "unique" in the trilogy in terms of lore / characters / gameplay. I love it and I think it deserves more attention to be honest
And had the fairest, most balanced pvp of them all.
15:40 i didn't know about that illusory wall and i have 800 hours in the game... Interesting
Honestly DS2 has a loooot of illusory walls -- I'm sure there's a couple of them I don't know about either
Yep, that's where you get the +1 ring that increases magic defense, I was always so confused as to why I got the +2 version after defeating the Looking Glass Knight and never the +1 version.
Where is that location?
@@AngeloBoca1 Earthen Peak, that illusory wall is at the top floor.
Imo, 2 is wayyyyyyy better than 3. I think so because I can actually make progress in 2 without losing every ounce of control I have and that leveling in 3 is soooo slow
One of my favourite things in DS2 is how many levels you get in a playthrough without really trying to farm for it. I'd often get to lvl 150ish without a problem, lol -- its just so good seeing the numbers go up
@@fermyonds fr it makes the journey to the ADP sweetspot an absolute breeze
DS2 is a cake walk compared to DS3, easiest souls game by far. between the soul economy, abundance of healing items, brain dead enemy a.i. and laughably impotent bosses.
(PFP checks out though.)
@@sasaki999pro fr thats what im saying. how could anyone find ds3 to be easier than ds2?
DS2 has more stats you need to level, that's why
Glad to see people appreciating Dark Souls 2. Been my favorite in the series ever since it came out, especially Scholar
I genuinely love it for what it is, and every session I sit down and play is one that I enjoy -- that said, I've never tried the original version of DS2 but I'll try and get that done as well sometime this year ideally
I tried both the original and scholar, and at first I hated Scholar. I was also a bitch that kept blaming the game for my shitplay.
Years later? SotFS is so much better and I prefer it over DS1, (Feels clunkier than Demon's Souls somehow - and I will die on the hill that only the first third of the game is that good) DS3 and ER any day of any year. Aged like wine, the others not so much.
The best thing about the game is the dual use of weapons
I'll definitely talk more in detail about power stancing someday!! Such a great feature. Build variety in general is awesome in DS2
Honestly prefer DS1 Estes over all the others because it felt like once you understood the system you have control over each areas overall difficulty
That's a completely valid thing to say and honestly I myself have started to open up to that idea more and more
Best souls2 will always have a special place in my heart, glad to see more and more videos pop up with people either giving it a chance or sharing their love for it :]
Hopefully the next drunklake event will get more peeps to stick around and join our small but dedicated community.
Scholar edition is my personal fav. edit: bonus points for using Sir Alonne's theme during the video, best in game track for me. :]
I've never played the original release of DS2 but I intend to do it sometime this year once I'll have more free time, but yes -- DS2 is great, it deserves more love!!
as for Sir Alonne, honestly yes!! I love the lore of DS2 especially when it comes to characters like the Iron King & Sir Alonne
“DS2 is janky/clunky” Definitely not. The slower combat actually allows for a lot of mix ups with timing.
This gives the player a huge advantage in combat compared to the other games, especially against the much faster titles, DS3, BB, and ER. In those, you have almost no leeway, no timing window. If you’re not pressing the next button right away, it won’t register.
I know for me, after more than a hundred hours playing the newer titles i mentioned, i returned to DS2, and it felt like home.
The reason- There’s large timing window between when you start a attack/roll/backstep, and when you can initiate the next button press. In other words, there is around a 1-second difference between when your input can first register, and when the window closes, giving you all that time to decide when to press a button.
I couldn't have said it better myself!
I personally don't think the slower combat is the problem, people who genuinely think slow=bad are just flat out wrong, in fact I appreciate Dark Souls 2 for taking that route. And if people don't consider Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1 jank, then they're in for a rude awakening when they revisit those games to realise they're jank city.
No; the problem with Dark Souls 2's combat is it feels sloppy thanks to animations being much poorer quality, the feedback often being rather terrible, the enemy hitboxes are utterly absurd and unless players know about ADP beforehand then rolling feels like a detriment to the player, thanks to the fact it's horribly explained in-game. The combat is severely lacking the polish that it clearly needs.
@@InfernalMonsoon Check out the video just released (2/21/24) by Emerald Wolf that shows a ton of DS2 hitboxes. They are not absurd, unlike your complaints.
I have watched a ton of PvP and Weapon showcase videos by Praise, and he slows down the gameplay to showcase them, and my opinion on their animation quality and hit feedback is that it looks even better slowed down. If they were bad, it would be even more obvious in slow-mo.
@@InfernalMonsoon The hitboxes aren't bad. They have been made visible already and DS3 actually has worse hitboxes.
yup, it is clunky, cope wth that
DS2 has my favourite story/lore.
Lindelt are the Illuminati; higher than Old Iron King, Sunken King, Ivory King, King Vendrick and Archduke Aldia.
They preserved, recreated and expanded the rituals of DS1.
DS2's lore is genuinely amazing -- probably my favourite story written by FromSoft is the lore regarding Sir Alonne and the Iron King
I completely agree with your video. It has the quality of life and movements of DS3, but still retaining the adventure feel of DS1. And it has soooo many creative points too, like power stancing, santier spear, and wet elemental resistance change. The only downside for me was some of the cruel systems like no s when entering fog gate, making runback really terrible
Yes sir -- some things could've been done better, I won't hide that -- but I've just come to accept everything as it is, if it makes sense. I can still find a lot of enjoyment despite not liking some things
Thank you for your comment as well btw!!
DS2 power stancing alone makes it a great game with unmatched build variety. It had the best PvP in the whole Souls series to this very day, and it's unlikely to change since beginning with DS3 they went full spastic jelly-boned poise-less Bloodborne style of combat and don't seem to have any intention to quit. Due to the amazing PvP I have about as much hours in DS2 as in all the rest of the Souls games combined.
I unfortunately missed the golden days of DS2 PvP when it was more popular but I'm hoping we'll have a remake or something along those lines so I could experience that myself
@@fermyonds Yeah, DS2 desperately needs at least a remaster: with proper PC controls, better textures and lighting. I really wish they did that, as I don't really like modding at all.
PS and Dual Wielding. Switching from one to the other is great once you get it down.
3 best pvp, ds 2 is aawful slow and clunky with shitty smovement, rollng and ADP. lmao. just cause you awful in 3 pvp dont mean its bad, scrub. git gud, its a MUCH better pvp and covenant sistem, sweetye
I love DS2, so I cannot understand why anyone would hate this game. It is one of those rare games I keep coming back to over and over again.
I think it mostly has to do with the areas being pretty damn difficult to clear through compared to other souls titles (I'm willing to bet most people play soulsborne as melee only, not using things like bows, throwing knives, magic, etc, which make the levels in DS2 infinitely easier to do) -- of course there's probably other reasons as well but I assume this is the big one -- Initially I wasn't hooked onto DS2 either, but now its the one I end up replaying the most
Soul Memory
Shit-Boxes
Enemy Spam
Weapon degradation
Slow Healing Rate
Snap point based movement
ADP
Weak Boss Fights
contradictory world design
Unreliable Poise
Hit-Stun
No contextual interaction I-Frames
Broken Lock-On system
Stamina consumption
Fall damage
Do- Do you need anymore? because I could go on.
EDIT: Fine if you *_insist._*
HP Hollowing
Brain Dead A.I.
Shrine of Amana
Overtuned Poison and Toxic effects
Flat Bleed Damage
Drakeblood Knights infinite stamina
Recycled Bosses as regular enemies (SOTFS specifically and NO its not okay when Elden Ring does it either, shove your *_whataboutisms_* where the sun dont shine)
Pointless Pharros Lockstone and Fragrant Branch traps
Breakable Chests
Randomized Forlorn invasions
Ornifex's shop placement
@@sasaki999pro Lets do this:
Soul Memory (A nice system that actually lets you skip half the game if you desire and makes sure you are not invaded by someone who is 100+ levels above you)
Shit-Boxes (That's just something that people who came in during the later games mainly complain about as DS1 also had that issue)
Enemy Spam (Tiss only feel like that when you try to run past everything but it really isn't as bad as people make it out to be)
Weapon degradation (That's in all Dark Souls games. At least in DS2, it shows on the HUD the "health" of the weapon)
Slow Healing Rate (meh. Considering that most bosses are slower than DS3, the healing rate actually matches. Also, it makes you plan out more)
Snap point based movement (again, DS1 has the same issue. Tiss something that is part of the older games)
ADP (more customization options. Also, if you are a primary shield user, then ADP means nothing to you. They tested something out and it didn't quite worked like they wanted. It happens)
Weak Boss Fights (Some are and some aren't. That's with any From Soft game)
contradictory world design (That's the usual complaint from those who are stuck with the DS1 mindset and not realize that each transition is usually taking you miles away (unless you want to run for 20 minutes doing nothing). Safe For Work Gaming pointed this out in one of his defense of DS2 videos)
Unreliable Poise (example?)
Hit-Stun (example?)
No contextual interaction I-Frames (example?)
Broken Lock-On system (how is it broken? You lock on, and you keep facing the enemy.)
Stamina consumption (that's in all Dark Souls games)
Fall damage (again, all Dark Souls games. DS2 might be the only one that factors in carry weight as well)
Do- Do you need anymore? because I could go on.
EDIT: Fine if you insist.
HP Hollowing (So you hate Demon Souls and DS3 for doing the same thing (except theirs are instant instead of a slowly lowering of HP)
Brain Dead A.I. (a lot of older games do not have as active A.I. as the more modern games. However, the enemies do try to attack you and kill you so not quite sure what specifically you are talking about)
Shrine of Amana (a beautiful place that is not really that hard unless you are trying to rush through the game. Take your time and it shall be a whole lot easier)
Overtuned Poison and Toxic effects (not quite sure what you mean by overturned.)
Flat Bleed Damage (valid if you prefer percentage over flat. That's more of a personal preference)
Drakeblood Knights infinite stamina (yes, I hate that second knight with the huge mace)
Recycled Bosses as regular enemies (SOTFS specifically and NO its not okay when Elden Ring does it either, shove your whataboutisms where the sun dont shine) (guess you also hate DS1 as well for this reason, right? It is a common mechanic in video games to do this to show how strong you have become by having a boss become a regular enemy and how much easier it is for you now).
Pointless Pharros Lockstone and Fragrant Branch traps (If you are referring to the Pharros area, it is actually a pvp area for a covenant. Though the axe throwing statues may seem pointless, when you engage in pvp, they can also hurt the invaders and thus the traps are for them)
Breakable Chests (then don't wack every chest you see. Mimics are extremely easy to see in DS2 so you never have to hit any chests. Also, wooden chest respond their items when you use a bonfire ascetic)
Randomized Forlorn invasions (They can get annoying but you can always burn a effigy to prevent them and they are not that hard)
Ornifex's shop placement (tiss not that hard to get to and is easy to despawn the enemies)
@@sasaki999pro "Ornifex's shop placement"
It's right down the road!
Anyway, I think what you're trying to say is it is time for DS2 Remastered. I really don't understand why From Soft wouldn't want to revisit this game and bring it to its full potential.
I see appreciation of ds2, i like, i sub
Thanks a lot, genuinely -- I see people knocking down on DS2 often and while I can understand some of the complaints, I think its important to keep in mind just how many good things DS2 brought to the table of the souls formula
You forgot power stancing, mega shame its only in ds2
Its in elden ring too
I was very indecisive with this; I wanted to make a separate section where I'm listing ''builds'' as a positive since I absolutely love build variety with DS2; whether it be Powerstancing, Hexes, Bonefist, etc. -- I felt like I'd prolly not be able to do it justice and showcase just how awesome those are, but I definitely want to talk about it someday
@@mattpkc34xxOk, but it's not the same.
@@alessandrobaggi6129 i mean, it is though. It has the same stat requirements and gives a new dual wield moveset. Whats different about it?
@@mattpkc34xx You'd have to have 1.5 times the requirements of the weapon with the highest stat requirements, and you could pair weapons' classes with a tad more leniency (other than the same exact class, greatwords paired with straightswords, or ugs with greatswords, straightswords with curved swords, daggers with straightswords... you were permitted a bit of mix-and-match)
am I weird if I say i love Dark Souls 2? I mean I know there are bad things about it, but I still truly love it.
Not weird at all -- DS2 is great!
I really like the graphical quality of dark souls 2. I think they said they tried rebuilding the engine or add on to it. Wish they used it for the subsequent games. Ds1, 3, BB and eldine ring look like it's the same engine while 2 looks different, which I enjoyed.
To be fair I do think DS3 and ER actually share the same engine! Same with Armored Core 6 if I am not mistaken -- so yeah I can understand why you feel that way
@@fermyonds which is what I'm saying - there's something different about dark souls 2s that looks and feels different while dark souls 1, 3, bloodborne, and elden ring look the same. To an extent, I'd actually like to see them use an updated engine or a new one. It would help a lot with the issues they have.
DS2 engine seems like it had way more potential and the BB one just doesn't.
BB -> DS3 -> ER. Same engine and all that.
I ve played demon's souls, dark souls and bloodbourne (I dont count sekiro cos it's its own thing) before. I ve been playing some souls-like for a few months. Lies of p and wo long to name a few. I postponed playing ds2 but finally started playing it seriously. man all soulslike are easy casual experiences. I feel like I ve forgotten what a real souls game plays like. A truely overwhelming, journey through hell.
The thing with DS2 (imo) is that it rewards ''preparation'' more than any other FS title -- taking the levels slowly and using all the consumables (things like throwing knives, alluring skulls, etc) at your disposal makes it a much smoother experience. I remember the first time I played DS2 I truly felt like it was the most oppressive/difficult FS experience (and this was after I've beaten Sekiro a few times)
DS2 is underrated while DS3 is praised like it has no flaws.
I try to get through DS3 and it's hard, it's more linear and boring first half areas, then fights are spam combo, roll x 6 times, maybe remember to attack. Both frustrating to get used to it's combat and less inspiring areas to explore, besides it's all a straight line.
Long ago everybody was judging DS2 for the lack of linearity because it wasn't like DS1 interconnected world. There was a point, but at least in Majula you had interesting options, and the second time you played you might have decided to take the harder paths or switch between paths, like do an area of one path, return and try something different.
And while some area connections made absolutely no sense, it didn't bother me personally, and a lot of areas and internally non-linear designs, fascinated me and when I still play from start, I am like "Oh, now I love that area", so I want to replay a lot of the areas even the next times. Not yet in DS3 which I have yet to finish but I am not far from the end. I don't know if I will like DS3 more the next time but both the boring areas with a linear path between each them and no choices, and the annoying fast paced combat I can't get used to, makes it not fun for me.
DS2 was underrated because there were high expectations after DS1. But it's an underappreciated gem in a way, there are a lot of new free experimentation, the ascetic bonfire, NG+/++ changing the enemies and items, the dual wielding weapons (so DS3 just has few sets of them, but not freely able to mix and match), a lot of levels have more interactive puzzle elements, like exploding barrels you can push, doors of pharos, branch of yore, other items and mechanics and quests, I think more than DS3 which is very very streamlined and only focus on fast action and epic bosses. Even since DS1 which is still my favorite, I liked certain areas that were like puzzles in a way, fight, but also explore and find vantage points, to drop onto enemies, laders, elevators, traps,. there is a lot like that on DS2 too. Levels that people hate, like the Iron Keep, I love because of that. But yeah, there are negatives like too many mobs, also unfair hitboxes, but if you overcome some of it's issues, personally I have fun replaying the game since years.
I agree with you in a lot of ways! I try to separate each souls game and appreciate each one of them for what it is. I really like that in DS1/2 (especially 2), as you said, you can tackle a harder area at any point if you feel like replaying the game. Thats genuinely such a cool thing and I wish DS3 had more of that (you can do Dancer early but even then you won't be able to do the Princes for example, unless you have the other Lords of Cinder dealt with)
At the end of the day I love all of them equally, but there's a lot of things I wish ER still had from DS2. Maybe we'll finally get the ascetics in the DLC. one can hope! Anyway thank you for your lengthy comment. It was a joy to read through
The unfair hitboxes don't actually exist, it was always poor rolling. They are the exact same as before and actually sometimes better than in 3 lmao
The number of mobs isn't really bad unless one is trying to run through and area thinking they know what they are doing. The AI also tries to not gang up on you, unlike in DS3.
I dunno, there's like a spell and consumable to make that easier, but I guess complaining about DS2 makes them feel better about themselves.
I used to think Dark Souls 2 was just a really janky broken attempt to repeat the original without an understanding of what made it work. I've come to respect it for its differences and it tries a lot of things that shake up the formula compared to following and previous titles, some things worked and some didn't, some things stuck around and many things were left only in DS2 or even on the cutting room floor but their imprint is still visible in the game despite their absence. I still feel Dark Souls 2 is messy and not very well polished, but I now appreciate its chutzpah.
I completely get that -- and honestly I'm in the same boat as you. I used to absolutely hate it when I first started playing since it took a while getting used to it, but now it's one of my most replayed games, and honestly, I have a lot of fun despite not liking absolutely everything about it
Yeah it is an unfinished mess, but it somehow works really well still.
Dark Souls 2 is heavily flawed but they tried to spice things up while keeping the core the same. It was many amazing ideas help down by horrible production issues and rewrites. Wasn't even supposed to be a dark souls game. Glad Elden ring added a few things from it.
You're absolutely right -- It certainly could've been a lot worse, and honestly despite its flaws, I think a lot of people can still have fun with it; if not, there's plenty of other soulsborne to have a good time with
In DS1 you need only two weapons. Zwei and cleymore solve all kind problems you will have. All others don't need at all.
In DS3 you have a lot useful weapon, but there is no reason to change it depends on situation. Just take something, upgrade it and you will be happy with it.
In DS2 almost 70% of weapons really useful. I am changing it regular because every situation is peculiar.
I really love the weapons in DS2 as well -- so many great options honestly. I want to beat the game with all of the weapons one day x)
Over 70%. Over.
At least 90% of weapons, and shields don't count, are actually PvP viable. I'd know, has to resort to some of the worst ones for the fights to last longer.
Honestly, the base Twinblade by itself is a godlike weapon due to lower stamina consumption if you know how to get around parry spammers. They always rage quit and always go tryhard afrer that, it's adorable.
Also try to see a video comparing DS2 to DS3 hitboxes, with both visible. Gundyr and Nameless have quite a few shitboxes, worse than 2 for the most part. Fast combat made it less obvious, especially with the broken rolls.
For me DS2 is like a pendulum constantly swinging between utterly amazing and terrible. There is no denying it gets a lot of things wrong but it also gets a lot of things so right.
You're pretty much spot on with this, and this pendulum swings hard on both sides -- I'm at the point where pretty much nothing bothers me about ds2 anymore, but man it was a tough experience at first x)
Everytime i see one if these DS2 is secretly good videos i get convinced to try it again. The stuff you mention sounds genuinly awesome! Then i play it and my character moves and reacts at a glacial pace even for an older souls game, and hit boxes and weapon swings feel so frustratingly unpredictable and arbitrary i have to quit. I have yet to find a fight in that game that feels nice.
I myself wasn't a fan of DS2 either at first, and it took a while getting used to it.. and honestly, if you're not having fun with it, don't force yourself to play it -- There's so many other amazing games out there that can be enjoyed
That's how it was with me, I see so many people saying it's the best Souls game and always mentions the cool stuff it does, but it has so many glaring faults that they often drown out the fun I would otherwise have. Its level design is some of the worst I've ever played in a game, combat and enemy design are boring and tedious and the overall lack of quality can be felt throughout every aspect. Wasted way too much time trying to squeeze the fun out of that stone. Personally I would recommend the new Lords of the Fallen if you haven't played that already, since it does almost everything that Dark Souls 2 does but it's a vastly superior game in every way, I consider it the true Dark Souls 2.
@@fermyonds Same. A few years break made me realize it was just far better than I ever gave it credit for.
1 is still insanely clunky, but the first third is great and it does have a charm.
DS3 and ER aged like milk. Souls combat is NOT meant to be fast. For BB it is fine, Souls not so much.
I don't even play souls games any more. I'm just autoplaying your videos because they're good.
Are you going to try out the Elden Ring DLC once it releases? (I guess if it releases in the first place haha) -- Thank you again, I promise I'll try to one-up myself more in the future
This is going to seem crazy, but I like the adaptability stat
That's totally valid -- There's things I like about it as well; it's nice being able to wear heavy armor and still get the same iFrames during rolls as light armor
Theres no way Forest of Fallen Giants is better than Boletaria 1-1 or Undead Burg as a starting area.
I personally enjoyed it more, although that might just be me. I still love both 1-1 and Undead Burg (especially for the interconnected nature in the case of the Undead Burg)
My most favorite part is having parts locked until later in the game. Classic come back later. I like how there's more parts to it, you start off in a cave before going into a forest, then onto a ruined tower before finally getting to the main tower.
It is pretty big all things considered. On par, I'd say.
Too be honest. Dar souls 2 has been my favroite game out of them all so far. It's an amazing game.
It really is!! I love DS2 with my whole heart, it's one of my main comfort games
Wait. Isn't Things Betwixt the tutorial level?
Yeah you're right -- I just ended up mixing ''tutorial'' with ''starter'' (for context when I was saying that I was thinking of areas like the High Wall of Lothric, Undead Burg, Central Yharnam etc.)
Great video! DS2 is awesome shame so many people dont try it just because of its rep. Whats your accent if you dont mind me asking?
Thank you for your nice words!! And well, regarding my accent, I'm Hungarian, although I've grown up in a small village in Romania
A reminder that dual wielding and power stancing are different things.
Duwl wielding is using a weapon in each hand effectively, which was mostly scrapped from future games, same as power stancing. Switching from one to the other mid-combat feels great when you get it down.
In ER it is a Twin Weapon + DW fusion, and it sucks.
And in DS2 DW is fucking great. It's fantastic. So many good setups.
The Twinblades. The moveset. ER gutted them. Terrible in comparison.
I always end up mixing dual wielding and power stancing, that's a mistake on my end, sorry!
That said, yeah I feel like I vastly prefer the way DS2/3 handles it over ER. I'll admit I enjoyed it in ER too although I found myself only doing jump attacks if I was ever powerstancing in ER
My favorite part of ds2 is dual wielding and powerstance are both viable in pve and pvp
Its certainly a lot of fun to do that, especially if you're doing a str build. Love doing dual greatswords!
DS2 had Gavlan, a friendly beer-guzzling vendor.
I know it is maybe a small reason to like the game, but none of merchants in souls games have such simple and cheerful attitude as Gavlan. Greirat is only one coming close but he often dies :/
(also talking cat. I mean Alvina was ok, but Sweet Shalquoir is something on next level)
I super agree with you. Gavlan wheel, Gavlan deal!
I was always happy to see him. Not only he's a friendly lad, I also had the opportunity to sell things to him x) such a cool lil guy!
@@fermyonds Yeah! I often say 'Hello, Gavlan!' (sometimes even aloud) when I see him at Doors of Pharros.
Dark Souls 2 was my first Souls game, and it was absolutely brilliant. If it were such a bad game as some nerds on the internet would have you believe, then why does it have a 90+ review score across board?
I was surprised when I first checked the Metacritic scores and seeing DS2 being the only one in the trilogy with a 91! But yes, I do love the game -- maybe for different reasons than other people, but its one of my all time favourites
The vast majority of people who complain about it are either those who already heard all the negative reviews before even trying it or those who basically try to play it as a boss rush game by trying to skip everything.
BEST SOULS 2 WOOOOOOOO
Unironically yes! I end up replaying DS2 the most out of the souls series
Just finished Ds2, in general terms the game its awesome, just 2 things i have too complain, some bosses are really shit and the quantity of mobs in the dlc's its just ridiculous
Don't worry, it's been a while since I first beat DS2 and I still have nightmares about things like the Sir Alonne runback xD I hope you enjoyed yourself, still!
Realize that in the DLC, there are four co-op areas that are meant to be played with two other people (either human or NPCs). The areas are design with that thought in mind. Thus, if you try to solo them, then you are making it harder than it supposed to be.
@@fermyonds yeah man the game its great, sir alonne for me its the best boss in the game, the run just sucks but iron keep is a nightmare
@@Ironica82 you are probably right, iron keep, before sir alonne and gank squad are things that i felt that, it was just absurd, blue smelter demon, with pacience i did first try, fume night and sir alonne maybe 3/4 tries, the best design bosses in the game, gank squad its just bs, i just did not care, took a sumon with me and beat their ass
@@leandromontez3422 Sir Alonne, "Gank Squad" (actually not a gank at all but was meant to be a 3v3 fight), Blue Smelter Demon, and the Kings Pets are the four co-op areas where you are meant to have two other people with you.
Spellcaster Supporting Items and Mechanics
No other title comes close. While Elden Ring did Spells well, everything else involving Casters was barebones at best.
As a Caster main, moving from DS2 to DS3 and afterwards was just disheartning.
Being a magic-oriented build really is awesome in DS2 -- especially everything surrounding hexes, I just love making a fun hex build. I do plan on eventually talking about DS2's build variety at some point
I was about to subscribe from the claymore video, but thankfully this video showed up in the sidebar and I now know not to
Loool sorry man!! I just genuinely love DS2 but I fully understand if you don't x)
i was so fine before internet, cause this game was the first souls i finished, even i started ds1 before it, but couldnt end it, cause my pc went down, and when i got new pc, i did meet ds2 vanilla version, and i finished, even before i knew about toxic haters of ds2 and hitboxs that they hate, or slow healing of estus healing and so.. i was so fine before internet and to see all those toxic people, increasing enemies in scholar,or even more worse increase enemies in ng+ or ng+2 and so, thats awesome idea, even if its surly worse, but its challanging for those who want challlanages even its already surly worse, do it, or just dont do it, and leave this game alone if u dont like it, i mean stop making excuses just cause u dont like ds2, go play super mario or farmville or what ever u want, and leave the lovers of ds2 alone, yes we know ds2 got alot disadvantages, and i love those disadvantages, cause i can improve my self playing it more, so the more i play means the more i remember the game and know it, unlike haters, they play it a little, or complete it once, then cry about it, dude leave the game alone, dont spread hate just cause u suck more at it, cause u didnt practice more and so, cause u surly get headec easy, and go mad easy over it, thats ur problem, what about those no hit runners or something of ds2? u think they are pro for playing it less than u haters? they spend alot hours trying to not failed, trying to not get hit once, they spend years of trying and mostly they failed, until 1 day, they didnt fail to get a single hit and finish the game or some goal they wanna do, why they will hate the game after complete no hit challange or something? did they whine, cause of problems of the game? just leave lovers of ds2 alone, we love the game, no matter how many disadvantage comes to the game, i still love it, and its still the game i play it mostly more than any other game in my life, and im enjoying mods of ds2 curruntly, which those mods are tying to make the disadvantages of the main ds2 vanella or scholar version in better best way than the 2 main versions of ds2
And finally man, i meet a legend, talks about ds2 advantages in that way u talked about, i dont remember if i saw a video or som1 did almost like ur video, but im glad to hear all those from u, about ds2, respect man, ds2 the only game done the bonefire astatic idea, which alot people see it as advantage, and disadvantages to be powerful more with this bonefire astatic item, who cares, u can be powerful with bonefire astatic or not, so who cares there are many ways to be powerfil in dark souls game, so just cause ds2 make u farm more souls and more boss souls, it just make u save more time to farm up to ur max lvl in ds2, while other dark souls game, force u to do normal souls farming or the way of cheating of to farm the souls bug or something like in ds1 like u mention in ur video
Thank you for your comment! And honestly I do agree that the internet often blows things out of proportions, unfortunately. It's so hard to have nuanced discussions but I'm glad its still possible in many cases -- anyhow, thank you for your nice words man! Hope you're having an awesome day
pleasure man, always have a nice day every day too@@fermyonds
round table gold is the best fromsoftware hub
Roundtable Hold is awesome too. I love just how many quests happen in that area. Its nuts
Majula Is the best
Best Souls 2
Always and forever Best Souls 2!!
I'm okay with life gems too I'm not okay with the insane abundance of healing items in DS2 in general though the whole point of limited healing in DS was to teach you to be careful with managing your resources and not treat the game like it was a thoughtless hack and slash fiasco.
I don't mind having a secondary healing item in emergencies but they really should have lowered the amount you could carry with you like 20 life gems instead of 99 and only five of the other variants would have been much better imo.
That said, while criticizing DS2 for abundance of secondary healing items, people often forget that DS1 had infinitely and easily farmable solid Humanities (single and twin - up to 99 each) which was essentially an instant full heal. And also mushrooms for regeneration. Only the Divine Blessings were finite (unless you were stubborn enough to farm Vagrants?). Sure, gems in DS2 are cheaper, but they take some time to consume and regenerate slowly. And every time you waste souls buying those you essentially up your Soul Memory without becoming stronger for it, eventually becoming weaker in PvP against those who actually have put their souls into levels and gear upgrades.
So... I personally don't see gems as something completely new or gamechanging. Thus I'm okay with them too.
Might be a little hot take from my end but my favourite iteration of healing items (besides the reusable Flask/Gourd) happens in Sekiro -- I just really like the idea of the Divine Rice in specific. Pellets are cool too
@@GraaD-87 Humanity and dinve blessings were an issue too and could have used the same treatment instead of carrying 99 of them it should have been maybe ten at most.
DS3 did it right sigbrews were a thing there but you could only carry ten and one divine blessing.
(To be fair you had to farm humanity whereas you could buy an infinite supply of lifegems).
And most people didn't care much for pvp metas in ds2 because soul memory was terrible and the agape ring was just a tool for twinks to abuse.
I think the Blood Vials in Bloodborne were the perfect compromise of this concept
Soft cap of 20, that can be boosted with caryll runes
You can find more as you kill enemies, encouraging thorough level exploration
They scale up with your Vitality, always healing a flat 40% of your max HP bar
They can be parried opening up counter play in PvP.
And they're only a secondary source of healing, most people treat them like they're your estus flask, but they're NOT... Your Estus Flask is the RALLY MECHANIC, most people are just too passive to use it properly.
( The fact that malenias rune NERFS your crimson flask in Elden Ring *proves* the developers intended for the Rally mechanic to subplant the renewable estus flasks. )
in ds2 you don't have omnidirectional rolling, instead you can roll and move in 8 directions
Sincerest apologies, isn't omnidirectional rolling being able to roll in 8 directions? Maybe I got the wrong term, sorry in that case!!
@@fermyonds don't worry man, omnidirectional is like in ds3 where you can roll 360 degrees. Still, good video!
ds2 slaps im on it for ps5, epic
Hell yeah -- I just enjoy it so much too :)
I love ds2. It's a great game. It just doesn't measure up to the other souls games . In my opinion anyway.
That's a totally fair opinion to have and I completely get it -- for me I think they are all equal (although there's times I enjoy one more than the other x)
you know how ds2, you got my subs 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Hey, thanks a lot! I appreciate it
Average ds2 enjoyer vs average ds3 fan
I love both of them! Obviously for different reasons but I find enjoyment in each and every soulsborne x)
Love DS2!
We all do! Best Souls 2 :)
what accent is that? i have heard it in a lot of different ds2 videos lol
If you heard anything similar, it was most probably someone else European -- I personally am Hungarian although I grew up in a small village in Romania
Now list everything it did wrong
I'd love to but I don't think anyone would have the pleasure of watching a 48 hour video
jokes aside I do plan on talking about that sometime as well x)
Somewhat unfinished lighting and animations, implementation of Soul Memory and Agility, That One Reindeer Place.
The rest are skill and brain issues across the board for the playerbase. Don't play like a troglodyte, no problem.
And anyone talking about the hitboxes doesn't know what they are talking about, DS3 has far worse hitboxes. 2's are actually much more consistent, besides some stange arm hitboxes on some bosses during attacks.
Ds2 is my least favorite of the series, but wierdly enough is the one i played(and still play) the most... os there something wrong with me?
Happens with me as well but with a lot of other media too. I'm sure there exists a term for it but I am not smart enough to know about it, lol
It might not be your least favourite.
W video
Honestly, looking back on it, I should've said more stuff and maybe provided more examples -- but thank you very much nonetheless. I appreciate it sincerely
I think ds2 is a tad bit better than ds1 due to the first game last half being really bad
I don't mind the second half of DS1 all that much -- it's mainly just lost Izalith that bothers me because of all the lost potential that area had :( I love the Tomb of the Giants and I also enjoy the Duke's Archives, although comparatively to the first half of DS1, yeah I don't think it's as good
i dont know why but elden ring felt a lot like dark souls 2, maybe ds2 is a fallen angel? an elden-ring-could-be that fell into failure due to development difficulties.
I feel like FromSoft just felt safe including a lot of the DS2 ideas in this one -- specifically powerstancing, or the stonesword keys (pharros lockstone). So happy we got that :)
Nah. It feels like 3 all over, with some taste of "ya liked some of DS2 right? Here's some of it but far worse because we don't know what we are doing!"
I agree. DS2 is best souls. Alao majoras mask was best 3d zelda.
See, I never played Majora's Mask but I remember seeing clips of it and being super creeped out as a kid -- I'll have to pick it up sometime
Serious fanboyism here. You are making even the negatives of DS2 to sound as positives. I was half expecting you to mention the lack of variety in bosses as a positive for DS2
And you're right -- I do have a bias for DS2 and I absolutely love the game, even the unpolished parts. I understand a lot of what I said can be easily disagreed with, but still, I really just wanted to talk about things in DS2 that I genuinely enjoy
Really mate? I disagree.
This gonna be short!
Everything is short for a Space Marine! o7
Dark Souls 2 isn’t good at all compared the stuff that came after it. But when it was all we had I didn’t mind it. PvP could be very frustrating, leveling your roll was stupid, and I didn’t even realize i had to do that until late game. But over all the vibe and weapons were cool. Tons of bosses and challenges. Might try it again some day tho
Most definitely better than 3. And unlike ER, it's an actual compact game, not thin and stretched butter scraped over too much bread.
Honestly I still go back to DS2 regularly -- don't know, I just feel drawn to it and the gameplay loop of it. I can fully understand the frustrations with ADP, though
@@AikanaroSauron 2 has better hitboxes than 3 for the most part. Faster combat only made the flaws less obvious.
@@asdergold1To be frank, Souls games overall always had some questionable clunky hitboxes here and there, and I can't really honestly say that one of those games is better than any other of them. But I also can't honestly say that in any of them I had some genuinely abysmal or consistently annoying hitbox experience.
But I do strongly dislike the consistent lack of poise and the spastic combat and generally animations pace in their recent releases after Bloodborne. Bloodborne can be its own thing, there's no need for its combat style to leak into their other distinctively different series like Souls.
All of that don’t make ds2 a good souls game, as a good RPG yes, but not souls.
I completely understand that perspective -- truthfully a lot of these elements are primarily RPG focused (like the torch mechanics) -- I do enjoy DS2 a ton still, even though I get why many others don't feel the same way
It's PVP
I didn't do enough PVP in DS2 to properly give my opinion on it, but yes, overall anywhere I go, I see DS2's PVP get nothing but praise
Far from this video topic or saying my opinion. But man why everything you're saying sounds like "th" for exemple i can literally hear you saying ethtus fluthk 💀💀💀💀😂
Sorry about that, genuinely! I suck at spoken English and there's quite a few words I'm having trouble with. One of the biggest reasons why I started making videos is because it gives me the opportunity to practice speaking, something I unfortunately don't get to do a lot IRL -- I'm really sorry I butcher pronounciations / not speak correctly -- I just hope over time I can "grow" out of making mistakes like these
@@fermyonds that doesn't stop you from the fact that you gave a nice video and i don't want to seem like im judging or anything lol. Other then being said i love the videos you post. All love bro🔥🫶🏽
Don't get me wrong, I did not take this in a bad way or anything!! I'll gladly answer any question asked if possible, makes me happy to engage in conversation! Thank you for your nice words as well. I appreciate it! Hope you'll have an awesome weekend
yep they had some good idea's. Too bad ds2 is such a horribe game
Honestly I absolutely love it but I understand why it's such a dividing topic to this day
having replayed dark souls 2 and then quitting halfway through only to go back half a year later and finishing it I can safely say that dark souls 2 is super good.....after you collect the 4 lord souls. Dark souls 2 might have the worst early game of any from soft title, which is a shame because I really really enjoyed coming back and playing through the second half of the game especially the dlc's. its kind of funny how dark souls 2 and dark souls 1 have the opposite problem. dark souls 1 has the best first half of the game in the entire series but a terrible second half and dark souls 2 has a terrible first half and a great second half
Dark Souls 2 definitely peaks with the DLCs -- there are a few early game areas that I really enjoyed (Forest of Fallen Giants, Heide's Tower, No Man's Wharf specifically) but I absolutely agree that the late game is so much better!! Who knows, maybe one day we'll get a DS2 remake and everything will be (ideally) flawless x))
@@fermyonds not holding my breath. They had the chance to fix ds1 late game and kept it the same. They will probably do the same for ds2
Totally valid, although DS1 was just a ''remaster'', right? Not a complete overhaul like say Demon's Souls -- then again maybe not the best example considering Demon's Souls remake is a bit controversial
@@fermyonds what makes demon souls remake controversial
@mattgibson9337 I've seen a lot of people who don't like certain artstyle/soundtrack changes. I personally don't mind them at all, but I can understand why some wouldn't be a fan of them
I have to be a negative nancy and say while Dark Souls 2 added a ton of stuff that the series benefited from, those additions unfortunately don't make for a good game. It is a deeply flawed game on even the most basic and fundamental levels, plus the vast majority of QoL changes and additions would have made it into later games regardless. However, Dark Souls 2's one claim to fame is how it handles new game+. While even that addition is riddled with issues since it mostly adds overpowered and tanky red phantom NPCs, it is still a huge plus in DS2's favour. From Software and most Souls-likes seemingly ignore that aspect of Dark Souls 2, despite there being so much opportunity to improve and expand upon what should be an essential feature for the genre by now.
You're right about NG+ -- I really should've made a mention of it at some point, but I do wanna talk about it in detail in the future. As for the other stuff you said, honestly I completely get why you feel that way. My experience playing DS2 for the first time was not great to say the least -- but well, over time I grew to love it, and most of the stuff that bothered me originally, doesn't really do that anymore, if that makes sense -- that said there are a few things I'd love to see return from DS2 (bonfire ascetics and the spices in particular)
@@fermyonds Definitely, it's kind of insane to me that the genuinely good features Dark Souls 2 did add have been largely ignored in titles that came after. But I really appreciate your honesty and that you can take other opinions in stride, since differing opinions on DS2 seems to be a VERY touchy subject for most fans. I think it's one of those games that no matter what side of the fence we're on, it is at least a very interesting game to talk about.
I'm gonna be totally honest man, I'm biased towards DS2 (souls games in general) and I love all of them pretty much equally, but I can totally understand why people have different opinions -- at the end of the day, its just a game, nothing too serious to get all worked up about x) but! I can't deny, I genuinely love having discussions about them since a lot of times I end up learning new things / hearing different perspectives. It's a pleasant experience
@@fermyondsYeah we all have our biases :) Like I'll make my opinions known, if someone disagrees with me then I hope to get some enlightening conversation, or at the very least agree to disagree haha. But yeah I can certainly appreciate you for that openness haha.
I disagre with most points you made.
Take anything i write here with a grain of salt, i hate DS2 to no end. I hate almost everything about it. For anything it did ok or good it massively fucked up 10 other things.
Mostly because it took the spot of what a good game could have been.
The first 2 are welcome QOL changes, sure.
Torches:
I personaly hated torches. Anoying to carry around if you had a build that used 2handed weapons or a shield.
Constantly having to light up torches around the map just to be able to navigate it is infuriating.
And that some enemies are afraid of torches to me is nothing but a useless gimic. Either you know it and an area becomes too easy or you dont and it becomes needlessly hard.
Healing:
Yes finding estus shards around the world to increase the max number is a good idea.
Sadly its not worth much since estus is so shit in ds2. Heals too slowly and the animation is painfully slow.
Teleports:
Yes its nice to have them from the beginning, but it pretty much was a requirement given its world design.
I dont think its right to praise DS2 to have a solution to a problem created by its own bad world design.
Branches and lockstones:
For me these 2 where nothing but a cause for frustration.
Both are limited items and fairly valueable.
Yet the game tricks you into wasting them on useless things. Most of the time there is no telling if using one of these items is going to yield anything usefull.
And wasting it on something useless and then being unable to obtain something usefull or in some cases even progress the game because of that made my blod boil.
Interactive world:
Cant believe you used the crime against humanity that was the windmill as an example for Ds2 doing something good.
No one in their right mind would take out a torch to burn down the windmil. I have never heard of a person that did this on their own without using the internet.
I can absolutely understand why you hate DS2 and I am not here to change your mind about it -- at the end of the day I suppose it comes down to preference -- I agree with the fact that carrying torches can be annoying (specifically if you ran out of butterflies / your timer has run out), I personally dislike Estus healing over time / being slow as well -- regarding the world design, honestly I liked it -- I know it might not be a popular thing to say but I enjoy the branching paths design it had -- maybe that's just me; and yeah, I can totally see why you're not a fan of Branches & Lockstones either -- specifically with Branches being so rare that you can't end up with a surplus of them regardless of what you do (as far as I remember anyway, at least with the Lockstones you could farm them off certain mobs) -- and yes I agree that the visual clues for the windmill burning should've been a lot more clear (there's a phantom NPC who I believe does a gesture towards it or so), but I still really enjoy the fact that its something that exists. Either way, I do look back on this video as something I would probably do differently now and I'm sorry if my examples weren't that good -- I try not to be too biased (even though I love DS2) though, and trust me, I totally get your frustrations with the game
@@fermyonds like what you want, i just get way too mad and angry any time i think about ds2.
If you liked it thats great, even if i cant comprehend how you can like it.
My first Souls was DS2. It got me into the series but people that tell me it is their FAVORITE souls game are just contrarians.
I think if someone says DS2 is their favorite it's totally fine -- at the end of the day, opinions are subjective, and we all experience enjoyment differently, and I think that's a beautiful thing -- buuut as much as I may love DS2, I think my favourite is either Bloodborne or DS3 (Sekiro if we're counting that too)
My first game in the series was Demon's Souls. Started it in 2009, then dropped it, then returned about a year later and finished it. Heavy armor and shield, no rolls (had no idea about i-frames back then), no magic, no wiki. Loved it!
After Dark Souls was announced I just couldn't wait to play it! It was a hard, yet fruitful experience: I learned how to play, how to properly upgrade stuff, how to roll and dodge. Learned my stat distribution is trash. Finished it with my second character another year later. It was one of the greatest gaming experiences of my life and I enjoyed it even more then I expected to. Didn't really enjoy the multiplayer part
And I was SO waiting for a sequel! Watching Dark Souls 2 beta gameplay on CZcams whetted my appetite. Watched all the interviews, watched lots of youtubers discussing the series. And as soon as the game hit the shelves I knew the best journey of my life was about to begin...
The into cutscene was very cinematic and misterious, game's UI was beautiful for once (like never before or after), but actual ingame graphics seemed... unimpressive? I wouldn't say ugly, but lighting was weird and textures looked unpolished. Until I've set foot in Majula. This was the moment I knew I'm going to love this game! Mesmerising music (even more so then in DS1, and way more so then in DS3 or ER), strong art-direction (even with sub-par actual visuals), moody general atmosphere, overhauled item upgrade system, immense total amount of choices in weapons and armor (cause Fashion Souls), slow and methodical combat (which is great for tactical PvP), covenants that actually WORK for once... New mechanics were awesome too: being able to clean the area of monsters, being able to respawn and strenghen everything in the area with the Bonfire Ascetic, being able to participate in multiplayer activities even after the area boss was defeated, being able to make every boss soul item in a single playthrough, being able to redistribute character's stat points and actually try different stuff! Almost everything was great about it. Even more so when DLCs got released one by one. Having spent 800+ hours in DS2 on PS3, about 200+ hours on PS4 and then some more on PC, I must say it still remains to be my FAVOURITE game made by From Software. DS2 had it's flaws, sure. The whole Soul Memory mechanic was the biggest by far. But no Souls game is perfect and every one of them has it's own set of problems. DS2 just happened to hit all the right marks for me, like no other game did, while all it's flaws were... acceptable. All in all for me DS2 became a natural evolution of DS1 with it's own minor downsides (graphics quality, SM-based matchmaking, some obvious filler areas and bosses) and lots of meaningful improvements.
Then there was Bloodborne in it's full glory. What a wonderful game it was! Was it better then Dark Souls 2 for me? Well... it was, I guess. In many ways it still is. It had a refreshing setting, great visuals, great soundtrack, great many interesting areas and monsters. Cool trick weapons too! But Bloodborne had it's own collection of flaws for me: boring near-infinite chalice dungeons, lacking multiplayer aspects, very few character stats (and builds by extension), limited amount of weapon choices, some areas long overstayed their welcome for me, ect. Now, don't get me wrong, I really loved the game. Just... differently.
When I got my hands on DS3 it was a treat. At first glance at seemed like a perfect Souls game: great visuals (on par with Bloodborne!), great variety of items and spells (ultimate Fashion Souls!), seemingly good multiplayer (at this point I was not only prepared to face the red phantoms, but also to become one, at last), ect. But, having spent around 600+ hours with multiple characters in this game, I came to the conclusion that it's actually the weakest From Software game so far. Music was nowhere as good as in the previous games. Not even close! Color palette was boring and tiring... Game progression was absolutely linear (unlike awesome world design of DS1 and a multitude of choices of DS2 and DeS), making replaying it a chore. And it was the easiest Souls game so far (until Elden Ring that is), as stamina management in DS3 was almost non-existent and every bossfight was just a flurry of unending fast swings to compensate for it... instead of slow and methodical battles I used to enjoy. Sure, DS3 had me hooked with PvP activities and various character builds, but I didn't truly love this game.
Elden Ring. Oh, Elden Ring... To be fair, I haven't finished it. Just dropped somewhere in the middle of Leindel, having cleared every single dungeon and cave before it. My problem with Elden Ring is that it's a regular Souls game, but smeared all over a gigantic territory with a great lot of nothing inbetween. It has nearly the same amount of actual content, but it's been spread so thin to compensate for the immense amount of ground this game wants us to cover... Did I mention that I kind of hate open world games? Well, I do. Thus the biggest selling point of ER is a clear downside to me. Music is... nice: not as good as DS1 or DS2, but way batter then DS3. Visuals are nice: magnificent vistas and beautiful art-design wherever you look. Character builds and item variety are plenty. But it's not a game I will replay multiple times on various characters. Hell, I might not even finish it at all. So... there's just no way for me to call it nearly as good an experience as DS1, DS2 or Bloodborne.
All that said, my bottom line is that vanilla DS2 with DLCs is still my favourite Souls game. I loved it long before people stareted hating on it, and I keet loving it still. Just not the SOTFS version: this one is pretty terrible, ruins natural difficulty progression and logic behind enemy placement. It breaks way more then it tries to mend. My condolences to anyone who got to know DS2 SOTFS before playing through the original vanilla version.
@@GraaD-87 Thank you for sharing your story!! It was a nice read through-out; my experience with Souls was a bit more.. ''generic'', I guess?
Started off with DS1 back in 2018 but I ended up quitting since I felt like it's not really for me (at the time I was super into Devil May Cry, especially since I was looking forward to DMC5), but later in 2021 I picked DS3 up, quit that as well, but before Elden Ring came out, I decided I'd try DS3 again, and that's when I got hooked to the series.
The order I finished the games in was DS3>ER>DS1>DS2>Bloodborne>DeS, and honestly, I love all of them equally, for different reasons; I can just sit down and ''waste'' days with any of them, genuinely -- but I fully understand people having different preferences and all. I think that's great
same for me ds2 was my souls intro and i love the game
People who say it don't like souls games for the reasons everyone else does.
All of these things are good points, and I agree with all of them. However, these things do not make Dark Souls 2 fun to play. It's too slow, and too punishing to play alone; and they only give you 10 minutes at a time with others making co-op a pain.
10min is only with the small soapstone. The full size one is an hour.
Oh there's plenty of flaws with DS2 -- I just kinda got to a point where I gloss over them, kind of? I tend to have that happen with a lot of games and I just simply end up accepting them as they are and still having a lot of fun with them
The point is to coop only in small doses, mostly for difficult bosses, if not at all... Cooping through levels of any Souls (BB and ER included) makes things too trivial and hinders your personal growth.
@@samwilson701 exactly. I miss timers for summoning and invasions tbh.
The only thing thats really punishing about playing alone is the OUTRAGEOUS hitstun.
Seriously, have fun playing perfectly because if you get hit once you'll have time to file your taxes before you recover, and if multiple enemies are present when you get hit the game might aswell just put up a prompt that says [Would you like to darksign back to the last bonfire? Y/N]