What should I expect as someone who started the series at Dark

Dark Souls 2 with Scholar is kinda the best, except the 1st has much better ambience.

An incredibly inferior game with one or two cool locations and concepts

A less polished game, with worse design than 3 and 1. It's not a bad game, but it's the worst souls game of the bunch. Maybe even worse than Demons Souls

>>379339580
this isnt funny

thats what i did OP but like year ago
it made realize how easy ds3 is, got my ass whooped
i should go and play ds1 but i heard the pc port is complete shit

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>>379339440
2 is a shit game, skip it.

Play 1, then DES, then Bloodborne if you haven't already.

I'm not even joking, you were warned.

A solid videogame that is either better or worse than Dark Souls 1 and 3 depending on your preferences. Try to go in unbiased from /v/'s shitposting and decide whether you like it or not.

>>379339649
it's not funny, it's the truth

DS2 is basically the worst game in the series by any measure.

Expect tons of bullshit, lazy design, boring bosses, and absolutely no relevance to the series as a whole.

Just skip it and play 1, DeS or BB instead.

>>379339440
Dark Souls 2 is a good game. It just happens to be the worst SoulsBorne game.

>>379339649
Of course it's not, DaS3 was that bad

DS2 is a bad game the same way that ff8 is a bad game , it's different, and fans of the series bitch and bitch about it.

It's a bad game, period. Don't listen to people saying it's just a bad entry on the series. You should still play it though, it'll make you appreciate some aspects you missed. At least that's how I turned up after going DaS > DaS2.

It's not a bad game, but I regret sinking 40 hours into it. I beat it and never went back to finish the things I missed except for the only good DLC (Brume Tower).

Compare that to the near-one-thousand hours I have clocked into 1, and several hundred in 3.

>>379339884
Also I hope he likes having his i-frames tied to AGI, either you spend points on AGI or you fail at the because rolling doesn't work.

Which begs the question... Has anyone ever managed to do a SL 1 run on DS2? How do they evade getting damaged if the roll doesn't work?

DaS2 is the one that I played the most because it has everything polished in the SotFS

The meme that it's bad comes from the release which was a mess. After that it's because /v/ doesn't actually play videogames and it's bad at them. In this topic, both at it.

You missed the boat, OP. Dark Souls 2 had the best PvP of any souls game. Pretty much the only people who defend DS2 as a great game (such as myself) only do so because the PvP was godly.

But it's dead now. The only people still around are autists who have been doing Iron Keep bridge duels for years and will meme you to death with backsteps and stunlock glitches.

>>379339609
I'm dying to play 1 but they haven't re released it for PS4 and my PS3 is broken

>>379340145
I didn't get into the souls series until November. I've played them all, only in the past 8 months and I can say for sure that 2 is the worst of the bunch. SotFS is even worse, and not because of launch or anything like that. ADP is a cancer stat

>>379340164
Wish I could have experienced the PVP

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>>379340115
Me too anon, hundreds of hours on DES, DAS1, DAS3.

35 hours on DS2 and never looked back, bought the expansion but never got the will to continue with that shit.

How can a sequel fall so low is beyond me, they had ONE JOB, DS2 manage to be even worse than Lord of the Fallen for fucks sake.

>>379340145
I didn't play DS2 on release, I've only ever played SotFS.

It's fucking terrible. All the other games in the series are among my favorites, and the only thing I feel about DS2 is that it's 40 hours of my life I'll never get back.

It's like the game was designed by people who had never played the previous games, and the only thing they for guidance was the "prepare to die" marketing from DS1.

Also, be very aware of contrarianism when it comes to 2. Notice how they act like flaming Redditors with absolutely no argument to back their frail attempts to stand out in an anonymous imageboard(?).

>>379340136
They added a ring on DLC if I recall right, but the iframes were still ridiculously low at SL1. I'm sure it's possible, but it's just not worth it. The bosses aren't good, so mastering them has no point. The level design doesn't exist, meaning you don't have to watch out for anything but lumped enemies together. It's just an even more miserable time for the sake of it.

>>379340483
Not to spout the same BS, but it's typically accepted that DS2 was bad because Miyazaki wasn't the director, so it lacked any direction other than the marketing of "le hardest game." So the team did just that: made an unfair, hard, and frustrating game. Still deeper combat and gameplay than most games, but the black sheep of the family.

>>379340380
>>379340497
Falseflags leave

>ITT: People who cannot accept that DaS2 wasn't the exact same as DaS1
Prove me wrong you fucking idiots. It's no wonder you hate the adaptability stat when you can't even adapt to a different game.

>>379340626
>Still deeper combat and gameplay than most games
I hate what became of this franchise. You niggers don't even play games.

>>379340626
Miyazaki is a literal hack and 3 suffered from it.

FromSoft are big in a lucky strike, even he accepted it.

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>>379340691
lol

love bb and sotfs

>>379340716
Do you have any actual refutation here? If you have legitimate concerns with what I said I'd be glad to discuss them.

>>379340626
>direction other than the marketing of "le hardest game." So the team did just that: made an unfair, hard, and frustrating game.

What if I told you that DaS2 is the easiest if you know how to play and the most fair since it has the most mechanics to use?

Will you replay it and enjoy it for what it is? Of course not. If someone would offer you eternal salvation you would bitch about something in the deal.

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>>379340632
Yep absolutely,

>>379339864
this

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>>379340897

>>379340897
I didn't come here to get my opinions before playing these games. I beat all souls games without using the internet. The only tip I ever got was from a friend who only said "Get Adaptability to 40." No one told me to dislike DS2, as people can make their own opinions, you know.

>>379340871
Even if all you do is play 3D ARPGs, which I really doubt after such a moronic statement, 2 is nearing the bottom in combat depth. This is the game that lets you do an instant full 180º turn with no delay, for fuck's sake.

>>379339440
It's fun dude don't listen to these weirdos

>>379339440
Dissapointment
Don't force yourself to finish it, it doesn't get better.
>>379340298
Unfortunate

>>379339440
Shit

Dark Souls 2 is the only game I haven't completed at least twice in the series. It's long, tedious, boring, and filled to the brim with terrible design choices. Don't let people tell you SotFS fixes it, it doesn't. All it does is make the game more tedious and include the DLC, which isn't saying much considering how much better BB and DS1 DLC is

People my try to say the PvP is the best. Maybe, but who fucking cares because that isn't the meat of the game. Even then, I found Demon's Souls to have far better PvP since, at the time, the community was amazing

Play 2 if you want, but I'd skip it. Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne are must plays if you enjoyed DS3. Start with Demon's Souls, stay off the server until you finish a first playthrough since it will FUCK your world tendency

>>379341279
they're not even weirdos
just haters

>>379339440
>Thot
What the fuck is that?

>>379341261
I never claimed that 2 had a lot of depth. I simply said it had more depth than most games. As in, the pool of literally every game ever. Stop being pedantic.

>>379340897
Stop being fucking retarded, dark souls games are as easy as you want them to be, if you want an easy baby time all you have to do is pick pyro or a sorcery build.

The problem with the game is that it sucks, and if you put it in comparison with the other games it sucks even more.

>>379341261
You could do a full 180 turn in DaS1 too, and that's not even a good reason to say a game is bad. How about you actually give some reasons instead of just spouting shit retard? Or maybe you'll just dismiss it and say you're right without proving it?

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>tfw you started the series with a game other than DS2 so you don't have to desperately pretend it's a good game

>>379341395
Also forgot to mention that DS2 is actually just "WEAPON AT RISK" Souls for the early parts of the game because they thought it would be a good idea to repair weapons at a bonfire and excessively limit weapon durability to balance it

>>379341498

that ho over there

>>379341498
Sup grandpa
It's just new slang for hoe

SotFS has the most content, dynamic lightning, more secrets, more enemies, more enviroments, better PVP, best armor designs, shitton of builds and stats, length and an actual lore/story that makes sense in itself.

The "counter arguments" are always the 2 measly points you have to dump in ADP to 12 and that it doesn't forgive shitters early on; pretty easy 1/3rd in. Hitboxes are factually better, enemies have different patterns and stamina for them and you can't chug estus in PVP mindlessly.

Objectively, and not memeing, it is the best Dark Souls game after the ambience and first experience of the first, and after the dull and washed and dumbed down 3 it just shines more.

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>>379341579
>tfw I enjoyed DaS1 and 2, and then went back to play DeS and enjoyed it as well despite it being mechanically inferior to the former
It's almost like I play videogames for fun

>>379341549
>memememememe i mememememe because i got told

Seems that you need to -git the guds- in meme speak, if you can understand me

It is really interesting that most people either find it the worst of them all, or the best of them all. Very few people would say it is second best

>>379341768
>enemies have different patterns and stamina
That's a weird way of saying enemies have no stamina.

Other bad things DS2 does
>full damage and full stagger backswings
>ONE ESTUS FLASK
>The beginning areas
>Hitboxes are not better. Enemies can teleport your body to THEIR hitbox at a moments notice for no reason.

>>379341970
>Very few people would say it is second best
No that makes too much sense we must hyperbole

3rd is the worst though.

>>379340897
If by easiest you mean stacking gem regen, yeah, shit is ridiculous. You still have to deal with atrocious startup and recovery frames on every action, getting naked to get the most out of rolls, waste points in ADP to get decent rolling, favor DOING A INSTANT 180º AND WALKING AWAY FROM ATTACKS WITH NO PENALTY INSTEAD OF TIMING ROLLS THROUGH THEM BECAUSE IT'S RIDICULOUSLY MORE EFFECTIVE, ignore shields as a merely reaction based defense tool as they take so damn long to raise no matter the size you may as well not use them until you memorized every attack, ignore everything you learned about tracking as attacks track to the very last startup frame no matter how stupid it looks. So yes, while the content of Dark Souls 2 is ridiculously easier, the mechanics make it obtusely harder than it should be.

>>379341571
You don't, you're staggered for a short moment by doing a hard turn. This is game design 101.

>>379342032
>Enemies can teleport your body to THEIR hitbox at a moments notice for no reason.
wut
>full damage and full stagger backswings
>ONE ESTUS FLASK
>The beginning areas
Baby talk

>The starting areas do not forgive shitters

Shitter detected

>>379342072
3 has some of the blandness that 2 has but fixes all the stupid design decisions.

Anyone who thinks 3 is worse than 2 is fucking deluded.

>>379342110
>If by easiest you mean stacking gem regen, yeah, shit is ridiculous. You still have to deal with atrocious startup and recovery frames on every action, getting naked to get the most out of rolls, waste points in ADP to get decent rolling, favor DOING A INSTANT 180º AND WALKING AWAY FROM ATTACKS WITH NO PENALTY INSTEAD OF TIMING ROLLS THROUGH THEM BECAUSE IT'S RIDICULOUSLY MORE EFFECTIVE, ignore shields as a merely reaction based defense tool as they take so damn long to raise no matter the size you may as well not use them until you memorized every attack, ignore everything you learned about tracking as attacks track to the very last startup frame no matter how stupid it looks. So yes, while the content of Dark Souls 2 is ridiculously easier, the mechanics make it obtusely harder than it should be.
Everything you said there is about learning the game, god damn you all truly don't play videogames

What's your alternative? Archaic Backstab Souls 1 or Rollspam Souls 3: Prepare to stack Stamina edition?

>>379341970
This. DaS2 is nowhere near as bad as /v/ makes it out to be, nor is any game /v/ makes out to be bad for that matter, they meme the fuck out of this stuff. DaS2 isn't the best Souls game, but it's a hell of a lot better than shitters on /v/ think.
>>379342110
The hard turn happens in DaS2 also. Have you even played the game? In both games you can do a full 180 by just not going straight backwards and moving even a tiny bit to the side and your character will just do a complete one 180 without losing momentum.
>shields take long to raise
Alright, you're definitely a shitposter.

>>379342223
>3 has some of the blandness that 2 has but fixes all the stupid design decisions.

3 has all the blandness and more stupid decisions than ever. It's a fucking mess. Don't even start about the weapon balance or the rolling around in that game.

But the worst sin in it is the blandness. It's so fucking bland overall.

>>379341905
You realize you're just shitposting now, right?
If you understand that, please change. If you dont think that post is a meaningless shitpost, please just end your life.

>>379339776
the port really isn't that bad, you need like 2 mods and you're good to go

>>379339440
Definitely, I enjoyed the fuck out of DaS2 back then for a third run in NG+

Also has sequence breaks and shittons of viable builds and the most fun invasions too.

>>379342483
>This. DaS2 is nowhere near as bad as /v/ makes it out to be, nor is any game /v/ makes out to be bad for that matter, they meme the fuck out of this stuff. DaS2 isn't the best Souls game, but it's a hell of a lot better than shitters on /v/ think.
The thing is, I personally find it as obviously the worst of the bunch, and not because of 'memes' or whatever. I came to the conclusion myself when I decided I didn't even want to finish it
I just find it really interesting how divided people are on it

I think it's better than 3 but memesters on /v/ will disagree

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>>379342631
Saying that it sucks because it sucks it's already shitposting my man, when it's arguably the best game compared to the rest.

you just indeed have to learn the game in order to git gooder at it so you don't talk out of your ass. People will catch on your bull shit.

>>379342841
>I just find it really interesting how divided people are on it

DaS2 is the formula on steroids
Figures, it separated the thinkers from the workers.

>>379342365
My alternative is getting by through competence and being rewarded for risk taking, not enduring moronic trial and error that encourages me to exploit counter-intuitive mechanics that make western studios look competent at action games. Fighting anything in this game feels like tackling a primitive robot.

>>379342483
It doesn't. You get full control. I think when you're sprinting it happens, I frankly forgot most about my miserable time with it, but at that point it only affects PvP shittery. Speaking of which, that PvP shittery focus clearly made the game suffer.

>>379340136
Of course people have done sl1 runs. Even lobos was doing it years ago and he is not very good at these games. You still have iframes even with zero adpt. You can just get more. The difference between 0 and max is the same difference between a fat roll and the wood grain ring in das. Pro tip: rolling is not much more difficult in number 2

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I enjoy all 3 souls games and i'd suck dick for a ps4 & bloodborne. Doesn't mean much on a board with people who would suck dick for free, but it's the thought that counts

>>379339440
Ds2 is great, you just have to remember to stay adaptable. Don't go into the game thinking "I am going to do a longsword run" or "I am going to do a halberd run". It's perfectly possible to use one weapon for an entire playthrough, but the game is designed around the player having access to many different kinds of weapons. You're given multiple opportunities to respec your stats per playthrough. Some areas a ranged weapon is almost essential (even a str build can use throwing knives with no stat investment remember). Some areas are easier with a high damage single target weapon like a rapier or dagger, some areas are easier with a wide sweeping axe or halberd. The best way to play the game is to use a variety of weapons and spells and figure out what's the best for each situation.

I think a lot of people went into the game expecting to play through the whole thing with only one weapon, because that's what they did in ds1, but the game is really designed for the player to use many different weapons in varying situations.

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>>379343013
>My alternative is getting by through competence and being rewarded for risk taking, not enduring moronic trial and error

After taking a real beating in the starting area I started to adapt and become real cautious with it. Stocking up reserves and exploring slowly and most important, spending the souls wisely.

The game then became more like a true survival horror than an action game. And it was good. It felt good; The scenarios kept me going and the landscapes, and the concepts and lore kept me interested. The game became much more easy with that mindset until (Shrine of Amana) which is truly a pain to traverse, but found it no harder than Lost Izalith.

When I finished it, and the 3 DLCs, the sense of wonder and achivement was off the roof. No other game will reward you like DaS2, because it's hard, and it was a complete odyssey through the warped and ravaged Drangleic, and most of all, the secret ending is something that videogames today do not do anymore. A true crowning of your efforts.

I really liked DaS2 because it humbled me and then made me better, and that's how OP should approach it and think of it.

Still it's just a video game.

>>379343426
>I think a lot of people went into the game expecting to play through the whole thing with only one weapon, because that's what they did in ds1, but the game is really designed for the player to use many different weapons in varying situations.

Too many options for the people made it look unaproachable

Then DaS3 comes around and the starting longsword with the starting armor is the BEST setup by far in the game and people think it's the second coming of Jesus Christ because they're somehow "gud at it"

>DaS1 is an honest unfinished game, falls kinda on the hard side
>DaS2 is obviously harder and bigger overall, doesn't fuck around, people can't take it
>DaS3 makes you THINK you're playing le hard game, it's actually jerking you off and giving you free passes on everything

Ego stroking at its finest. DaS2 doesn't do that.

>>379343426
This is surprisingly insightful, and makes me want to give the game another try sometime not right now my list of games I'm playing currently is huge, and I'd rather tackle des first

>>379343549
ah, you are a man of culture as well I see

>Shrine of Amana is hard

JUST GET A BOW NIGGA
LIKE USE FUCKING ARROWS NIGGA
YOU MUST HAVE LIKE 300 OF THEM TO THIS POINT
THEM SHARK PEOPLE AND MAGES ARE LAUGHING AT YOUR SHANK WHILE YOU'RE DANCING BRUISES

>>379339884
>play DeS instead
you must be a complete moron

>>379344204
In the OG release, the enemies were attacking you before they were even visible and out of bow range

>>379345173
Pre-patch Amana wasn't even that hard my man, I beat that shit after a bit of trial and error. These niggas are STILL complaining about how hard Amana is after the patch

Ok so I am playing through Dark Souls 3 for the first time. I am currently on Pontiff Sulyvahn. I have already given him about 7 attempts and he keeps wrecking me. Can he be parried or am I just not dodging the right way?

DS>BB>>>>>>>>>>DS2
haven't played DeS and haven't finished DS3

>>379345307
Yes and yes. You owe yourself playing DeS, but I wouldn't buy a console for a single game.

I was trying to like DS2. Went as far as to reach the throne, beat 2 of the DLCs. Was planning to beat the last one but I just forgot about it

>>379345450
Damn, I wish they would release a remaster or something on the network store. It does look good from what I have seen in streams

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>>379342223
>Swamp Straitsword Born 3: Remember Dark Souls and Demon Souls yet?
>anything but the lowest in the series
Literally the Dreg Heap manifested into a Souls game

>>379345686
Then again the second hand market around here is terribly pricey, maybe you can get a PS3 for cheap. Or rent it. I don't know.

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>>379345173
wew fucking lad amana was never as bad as people say it is. If you got stuck on pre-patch amana you were probably an idiot.
DS2 is literally the only game in the series that expects you to think outside of the "sword-and-board mindset" box and it just goes to show you how hard the playerbase falls apart when they cant block, r1 mash or summon their way through a problem.

>>379345958
>no ps4 remaster and I can't afford both a ps3 and ps4

I-It's not like I wanted to play BB or Des anyway

>>379346393
At no point did I say it was "hard" or that I "got stuck," just pointing out that saying "loljustgetabow" is bullshit. It is a poorly designed area that got marginally better with patches, just like the Lost Izalith in Dark Souls prepatch

DaS2 is a weird departure from the formula of DaS1. Infinitely more playable than DaS3 which gets boring after 3 playthroughs.

Worth it.

It is not as good, but you might think otherwise.

All the souls games are more than worth playing and are better than most games on the market period. It literally comes down to pure taste as to what your rankings of the series will be, there's no objective list, unlike other series (and even then...).

Go try it out and tell us what you think :)

>>379346759
There's nothing wrong with the design of shrine of amana. There are plenty of covered places to fight without getting hit by spells. There's plenty of shallow water that doesn't impede your movement. They even give you the spell defense ring +2 in the hallway right before the area. I really don't understand why you'd call the area poorly designed.

>>379339440

A lot of shitty level design. Imagine if the entire game was the tunnels under Smoldering Lake. That's most of Dark Souls II, except uglier.
A lot of shitty art design. It's not a pretty game. Even the prettier areas kind of fall apart when you start looking at the details. Tons of awful tiling of textures, stretched textures, visible seams between polys, etc.
Individual enemy design isn't bad, but encounter design is awful. They just throw you against hordes of enemies in big empty rooms.
A lot of shitty boss design. I hope you liked Dragonslayer armor, because that's every single fucking boss in DaS2, but with a less interesting moveset.

Feels like a souls game with really shitty quality control.

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>tfw only played DeS and playing BB now
>tfw might play DaS1 if I ever have the time and leave it at that

I ain't got time to play shit games in the series.

>>379348709
There are no shit games in the series though...

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DSI is Dark Souls
DSII is LSD Souls
DSIII is Church Souls
Bloodborne is CthuluSouls

>>379340298
Same boat man. Same boat.
At least got to at least play until just after the Taurus Demon at a friend's recently.

>>379349187
Wow. I fucked that up.

>>379339776
I don't get it, I can beat DS1 and 2 comfortably but I can't for the life of me finish 3.

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>>379340136
Yeah I've done SL1 on DaS2, roll dodging works fine you just need to nail your timing.

I-frames aren't the real problem, killing asceticed bosses to get optimal gear who all kill you in one hit is. Najka on NG+ with just a broadsword took hours.

>>379339580

>Dark Souls 2 with Scholar is kinda the best

this is bait

>>379342569
>3 is bland
>likes 2

holy shit DS2 autistic apologists have no shame
DS2 is the most boring uninspired shit show you'll ever see in a Souls game

>>379350418
I can beat any boss in the series without summoning.
Any boss, except for fucking Lorian and Lothric. First form is fine, but I get wrecked on the second form every fucking time.
Even when I summon, they usually die on the first form and I still get fucked.

>>379345307
I don't know why some people have problems with Pontiff but try putting some distance when he spawns his clone in phase2

>>379350948
that boss is all about dodgin and timing your attacks, be greedy and you're guarantee to die on NG+++++++

>>379351254
Same as a lot of them. Fucker just goes apeshit on me, and I barely even get a hit in.