Dark Souls II - 1.2 Million Units Sold

Can't you just disconnect from the internet to prevent getting invaded? Or do you mean that the design of the game would evolve in such way that online play is required to finish the game?

The later, I play completely offline after the first instant I Dled and installed the game and generally speaking there are no significant changes from #1 in the general offline experience.
(Also completely offline for all three runs for me)

It seemed though that the core design on this one meant to push players to online play overall by removing the crutch and adding a penalty for staying hollow but more importantly by keeping a firmer hand on effigy distribution and making the mechanic of helping another player to learn the boss and become human so you can summon someone else, to beat the Boss, more prominent.

I was mistaken in the end, my impression mainly had to do with taking a path that at that point had stronger bosses and less effigies that the more "reasonable" one. After that I kept hovering at above 20 (to a top of 30!) effigies in the inventory, although that is because I was a bit stingy with them, use them only before Bosses usually, revisited areas that Drop them several times (mostly for checking stuff) and overused/repaired a certain ring that allows you to keep humanity and souls whenever I felt I had an amount of souls that I was too bored to go reclaim in case of death or thought it risky to bargain at the time.

It is quite possible for the newcomer though to come in that condition due to bad luck or inexperience with the series. In that case I don't think invasion should be a deterrent to playing online.

I don't know how much invasions are a problem in this one actually, but I've been hearing that due to some mechanics a lot of the hardcores were complaining about, invasion of players starting on NG is pretty tempered and only becomes a thing after NG+ (hearsay though).

Haven't touched DS2 yet — am about half way through DS1 now, in Anor Londo — but would you say online play is more of a necessity now (with bosses being harder and such)?

No generally, (see above) I am almost at the end of the game I believe and if anything the bosses are becoming easier (may be a bit over-leveled as I was saying), at least up to this point. The main difference is that you need to get used to constant movement and a bit of crowd control and overall less predictable patterns and overall experience due to the multiple bosses or bosses with friends. I have not found a Manus or a Kalameet or even a Smough and Ormstein yet (then again I don't go picking fights I don't have to in this run ;) )

So in general, my main worry is that they will take the series (and the mechanic I described above) to its logical conclusion and where most of the Fanbase seems to want, or even enforce an always on type of experience.. We' ll see :-/

Edit: Oh I see sakichop has some metrics that seem to imply it would be unwise for them to go to the direction I am afraid off in the end. Good to hear :)
 
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Well I played 22 hours of DS2 and now I am in love again. Technically superior on the PC platform, stable and looks beautiful even on low details with my, lower than minimum, hardware!

It is brighter and bigger than DS1, and there are more bonfires. The increased number of bonfires is a blessing for someone like me, which means that I can play for a while, leave the game for a couple of days and then come back and continue where I left. I could not do that in DS1, which required full and continuous committment just to go from one location to another through mobs.

I think that they have made the game more accessible, yet maintaining the intensic and fundamental features of the original (at the expense of a slightly disconnected and therefore finite areas).

My only gripe now is the mouse lag, which I am forced to live with or will try to find an alternative solution to Autohotkey.

Otherwise, a competent achievement. Not hard at all, all you need is to have knowledge about the game mechanics and how to utilise the various resources available to you in the most effective way, and the game allows you to experiment.
 
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Instead of throwing you to NG+ it returns you to Majula with an option to "begin journey 2…" when you sit at the Bonfire… Maybe it is so you can utilize Nashandra's and the other two souls before removing them from the inventory? Will not try yet I think…

Also I have to say that the ending I got makes a little less sense than #1's and does not really seem to explain or resolve much… for this first run at least ;) So many questions left...

Well, I assume it alludes to the arthurian motif of the rightful King assuming his throne and thus healing himself and the land… Pretty much a revisit of the theme of #1 as the narration implies as you sit on the throne… Anyways, its the journey there that matters and in this game that is doubly true :) I definitely did not expect all the question answered in a single run. Might have been disappointed if they did!

Still that is not a really big issue for this game (although, imo detracts a bit). Really enjoyed it and definitely interested to try NG+ with this Knight.But for now I am more looking forward to a sorcerer next and a hexer/pyromancer run sometime in the future (hopefully next year) :) Lots of stuff to discover and unlock yet it seems…

But for now back to MMX!
 
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Instead of throwing you to NG+ it returns you to Majula with an option to "begin journey 2…" when you sit at the Bonfire… Maybe it is so you can utilize Nashandra's and the other two souls before removing them from the inventory? Will not try yet I think…

Also I have to say that the ending I got makes a little less sense than #1's and does not really seem to explain or resolve much… for this first run at least ;) So many questions left…

Well, I assume it alludes to the arthurian motif of the rightful King assuming his throne and thus healing himself and the land… Pretty much a revisit of the theme of #1 as the narration implies as you sit on the throne… Anyways, its the journey there that matters and in this game that is doubly true :) I definitely did not expect all the question answered in a single run. Might have been disappointed if they did!

Still that is not a really big issue for this game (although, imo detracts a bit). Really enjoyed it and definitely interested to try NG+ with this Knight.But for now I am more looking forward to a sorcerer next and a hexer/pyromancer run sometime in the future (hopefully next year) :) Lots of stuff to discover and unlock yet it seems…

But for now back to MMX!

Just curious, how long did it take you?
 
Just over 70 hours again. I am starting to see a pattern here(def if run #2 takes 50 again ;) ). I doubt I've missed as many stuff as in my DS1 first run though, so the warping (despite the walking I did) definitely makes a difference.

I am confident I am missing a boatload of stuff still though. NPC threads, doors I did not unlock, stuff in places I did not reach etc… I get the impression from comments I've read that you have not really seen the actual complete game until you do NG+…
 
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Yes I've heard there is new stuff all the way up to ng+++, not sure what though as I told him to shut up before he could tell me.:lol:
 
Yes I've heard there is new stuff all the way up to ng+++, not sure what though as I told him to shut up before he could tell me.:lol:

I can definitely confirm new enemies and slightly different AI routines (move set and aggressiveness I believe) by just using an ascetic. But I am sure there are more. I'm also missing a couple of Bonfires I believe so there are definitely areas or even NPCs I have not seen yet…
 
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Sounds good, I'm at about 50 hrs. I can't seem to find a lot of secrets even where people say there is stuff with the markings on the ground. I hit and try fireballs but nothing. I'm sure some are lies but it seems like a lot for them all to be.

Did you get invaded a lot in the belfry area?

Oh, for units sold I checked steam and the peak concurrent users for pc was around 87,000. Not sure what that translates in to total copies sold but I would guess that would pc pc sales at about 10% only.
 
The game has some standard NPCs together with the little dwarf defenders that are really hard though. I mean they hit something like 5 times in a second O_O I was wondering if it was a bug!

There are secrets and hidden stuff but a lot of them are behind the lockstone mechanism.(and for others you have to be a little observant rather than smash things) Its a bit more streamlined that #1 for sure but if you play like I do (with sweetFX so the game is dark enough to warrant torches for a massive part of it, Definitely does more justice to the Art Direction too together with HBAO) you can easily miss those too… (and some are decently hidden) Ofcourse I may be missing even more stuff than I think so I'll be even more diligent on run #2 :)

P.S I think we need to wait for the sales numbers for #2. I would be very surprised if it didn't do significantly better than #1 even before the sales start.

Edit: Oh wait! you do Know that some of the secret passages you must use activate (i.e. "e") rather than hit them right ?
 
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That's right, sorry I forgot you said you play offline.

I do hope that they sold more than my guesstimate. More pc sales will encourage them to spend more time on the pc version obviously and really they rant that far off from making a really good port.
 
Maybe it is so you can utilize Nashandra's and the other two souls before removing them from the inventory?

The question I wanted answered before starting NG+ was what do you lose from your inventory?

The answer is all keys (including the key to the embedded - which is a weapon), branches of yore and the kings ring.

You'll keep all your boss souls and everything else :)

Also, maybe you'd lose the Dull Ember? Not sure, but it seems more than likely.
 
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Sounds probable about the ember. If they handled it as in #1 McDuff should have retained it if you gave it to him first though iirc (hearsay, never did NG+ for #1)

Speaking of infusing: I just love that Sunlight Blade could be applied to my Lightning Zweihander. I had two this time with the one I got from the shrine :)
 
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Sounds probable about the ember. If they handled it as in #1 McDuff should have retained it if you gave it to him first though iirc (hearsay, never did NG+ for #1)

Speaking of infusing: I just love that Sunlight Blade could be applied to my Lightning Zweihander. I had two this time with the one I got from the shrine :)

You have to find the ember again if you give it to him. I was just wondering if you held on to it for a playthrough if you could give it to him early, before you do Iron Keep.

NG++ I never bothered unlocking the Majula blacksmith at all. The path I was taking was tower of flame to Last sinner, branch from his chest to do Shaded woods to Giant spider, Cospe to Iron King, the 12000 ladder to get to black gultch. From there its pretty linear, but there was no reason to head to head to Forest of Giants until I wanted to enter the giant memories so the town blacksmith stayed locked out! :)

Yeah, the enchanting is all a lot more balanced this time. I love how you can make your boss weapons without needing to level something to +10 first. That was a pain in the ass. :)

Sucks that they nerfed the Moonlight Greatsword before I got to PC. That used to be buffable with Magic Weapon and the like making it absolutely brutal. It still goes alright with 99int + magic enchant. 304+304 pure magic damage. Whats the zwei damage total with sunlight blade on?
 
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Yeah, the enchanting is all a lot more balanced this time. I love how you can make your boss weapons without needing to level something to +10 first. That was a pain in the ass. :)

That +10 req I was not a huge fan of either but I actually prefer the player having to find multiple embers to craft the different paths. Anything that ties exploration to gameplay in a meaningful way is good in my book.

Still the new system is a good compromise, Personally I'd have kept both (the embers and the special materials) ;) Again would be in the minority probably.


Let me come back to you in an hour or so about the Zwei's damage. I'll make coffee, sit down with the game and go hit something big to see if I can give you a with/without estimate ;) Definitely significant though. A very good path to take with bosses, although tbh my main crutch in this run was Lightning spears and at the end (for Big Dude down memory lane and Nashandra) the Great ones…. Still the Zwei while def. slow its absolutely lethal for PVE (I guess the slowness is a big no no for pvp ). If you find a swinging cadence you can practically stunlock 90% of opponents in this game.

Oh, about poise, sounds you are pretty close to the truth with what you were saying in sakichop's thread. I stuck to the Alonne Captain/knight set for this one as a relatively "light" heavy set and it seems that after a certain threshoild you really start to see poise working again in the sense that I could take several hits from lesser enemies and at least one or two from heavier ones. Its just that silliness like the one attached is not possible anymore and that is a good thing :)

EDIT: So I took out a solitary Alonne knight (so decent but not all that great lightning res). And for my knight of STR 35 and Faith 40 and with the idol's chime (not upgraded) on the off hand (I use a priest's +10 on the main) the damage went from 473 to 615. Not as big as I got the impression from the Boss fight tbh but pretty damn nice anyways. Not sure how well it scales though…

P.S. The attached .gif was rather funny but I guess the forum software does not allow gifs?

P.P.S Just went online with Steam for the first time after First DLing and it seems that its updating now at 215 MBs... Hmm...
 

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Oh, about poise, sounds you are pretty close to the truth with what you were saying in sakichop's thread. I stuck to the Alonne Captain/knight set for this one as a relatively "light" heavy set and it seems that after a certain threshoild you really start to see poise working again in the sense that I could take several hits from lesser enemies and at least one or two from heavier ones. Its just that silliness like the one attached is not possible anymore and that is a good thing :)
Yeah, I think I'm on the right track. Another thing I noticed was lengths of stagger which I didn't remember while commenting in sakichops thread. I'm not quite sure what causes the extra long stagger. Maybe being staggered again after your "poise meter" hits 0 but before it gets back to full?
EDIT: So I took out a solitary Alonne knight (so decent but not all that great lightning res). And for my knight of STR 35 and Faith 40 and with the idol's chime (not upgraded) on the off hand (I use a priest's +10 on the main) the damage went from 473 to 615. Not as big as I got the impression from the Boss fight tbh but pretty damn nice anyways. Not sure how well it scales though…
Sounds like pretty good damage to me. Your str is still quite low too, but I don't know what scaling the lightning zwei has. I remember +10 was Bstr Cdex.

I think I was doing about 500 damage to those knights in NG++? (with 99int plus the "S" scaling on the Magic Moonlight Greatsword)

I can't actually compare by hitting them cos they'd be at least NG+++ but I'm not back to there yet, plus I've put down my level 242 archmage for now and started my Onebro!

I've come to appreciate the layout even more playing the Onebro. Things like having my weapon about to break then finding a repair powder right at that point or the weight of various armor being just right to stay under 70% with the 6 in all stats you're provided with.

I'm playing the Onebro without co-op or NPC summon help! I just got done with the Ruin Sentinels and I'll tell you…. My hands were almost too sweaty to grip the controller. Had to wipe them on my jeans a couple of times mid fight. Took enough tries that the path there was free from monster respawns before I beat it but the feeling of victory was epic! I actually had a moment of doubt and thought I might not have it in me, but I wasn't about to let them win!

Also, a funny moment with the Pursuer. Killed him in two seconds with a parry then a balista shot backstab which almost killed him in one hit. Is that a spoiler? Well, I laughed pretty hard, anyway. :D

PS. Regarding casting catalysts, I don't think buffs scale. A +0 chime of any type will give you the same damage from Magic Weapon or Sunlight Blade.
 
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Things like having my weapon about to break then finding a repair powder right at that point or the weight of various armor being just right to stay under 70% with the 6 in all stats you're provided with.

I like the new item wear/breakage/repair mechanic although the balance does seem a bit brutal at times. Seems like the zwei is made out of papier mache ;) Still it does make for an extra bit of strategy. Early/mid game I usually switched from the Bastard +10 to a decently upgraded Heide sword. Then from the Lightning Zwei +10 to the Bastard sword right down to the Heide again if necessary. I was probably a bit stingy with the powder but did not mind the variety.

Also, a funny moment with the Pursuer. Killed him in two seconds with a parry then a balista shot backstab which almost killed him in one hit. Is that a spoiler? Well, I laughed pretty hard, anyway. :D

I was trying to use the Balista on the Bastard (doing him right after the ridiculously easy Last Giant while I was still adjusting to the changes and then Going right to the Sentinels was kind of exciting for a first run ;) ) Was constantly too slow and he kept smashing the thing apart :lol: Will try again on the next run.
on that "reappearance" stick ;)
(Damn on the one hand I feel a bit burned out and can't get into MMX again so I thought to get back on my book for a while and on the other I get this craving to start on a sorcerer build… My will is strong currently though :D )

PS. Regarding casting catalysts, I don't think buffs scale. A +0 chime of any type will give you the same damage from Magic Weapon or Sunlight Blade.

Yeah, that is what I figured when I tried switching catalysts. May only have to do with Lightning damage or base lightning scaling as the difference seemed less pronounced when I tried it to a standard Bastard +10. That why I didn't bother putting all that spare twinkling to use to upgrade the idol's chime (that and I prob. forgot again ;) )

P.S. About the stagger animations: Yeah I noticed that (even as back as the previous thread) But I just assumed they were an effect of the added poise.
 
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I like the new item wear/breakage/repair mechanic although the balance does seem a bit brutal at times. Seems like the zwei is made out of papier mache ;) Still it does make for an extra bit of strategy. Early/mid game I usually switched from the Bastard +10 to a decently upgraded Heide sword. Then from the Lightning Zwei +10 to the Bastard sword right down to the Heide again if necessary. I was probably a bit stingy with the powder but did not mind the variety.

I love the new squishy weapons! In Dark Souls 1 there was hardly any point to having item durability at all. Yep, the variety is awesome. I really enjoyed having my main weapon about to break so I'd pull out something else to finish off the section. Actually gives you a reason to have a few weapons.

I'm always stingy with consumables. It's one of those RPG things, isn't it. I Never use my potions. I have to remind myself to use them because I just won't otherwise. Now with dks2 I try to run out of things like Pine Resin before I go back to normal just because its not how I play and I know I'll be fine without them. Playing the Onebro and never needing souls to level up with I keep 99 lifegems and heaps of pine resins on me and make a point to use them constantly.


I was trying to use the Balista on the Bastard (doing him right after the ridiculously easy Last Giant while I was still adjusting to the changes and then Going right to the Sentinels was kind of exciting for a first run ;) ) Was constantly too slow and he kept smashing the thing apart :lol: Will try again on the next run.
on that "reappearance" stick ;)
Did you parry him first? He gets staggered for quite a while… Probably 3 or 4 seconds for sure.

(Damn on the one hand I feel a bit burned out and can't get into MMX again so I thought to get back on my book for a while and on the other I get this craving to start on a sorcerer build… My will is strong currently though :D )
I've had trouble getting into MMX, myself. It seemed alright, but since most my experience is with MM6 I went bow heavy and then found you couldn't backtrack in combat, which I actually quite like, but it did mean I wanted to replace my ranger with a bladedancer and needed to start again. Not sure what other game distracted me, but I never did get around to rerolling.
Yeah, that is what I figured when I tried switching catalysts. May only have to do with Lightning damage or base lightning scaling as the difference seemed less pronounced when I tried it to a standard Bastard +10. That why I didn't bother putting all that spare twinkling to use to upgrade the idol's chime (that and I prob. forgot again ;) )
Did you ever run into that old man in a wheelchair? He pops up three times and on the third invites you to join the Dark covenant, which opens up 3 new levels in the areas you meet him. After you've done all three and exit you get the boss fight and the Rank3 reward, which is a chime! That's the chime you want to upgrade with your precious twinkling. Not a spoiler; its a quest! Because good luck finding him all three times! :p
 
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I'm always stingy with consumables. It's one of those RPG things, isn't it.

I am more of a middle of the road really. I def. use them when needed. Didn't have a problem wasting a pine resin the first time I saw a black Knight in DS1 i.e but when I am afraid that something is limited(or expensive) I may get a little paranoid. So I just used powder right before a fog gate when I smelled a boss and wanted to equip my heavy hitter.

Did you parry him first? He gets staggered for quite a while… Probably 3 or 4 seconds for sure.

I already had the twin dragon shield by then. Would be too chicken at that time anyways ;) Was pretty early on and was still adjusting to the timings and changes.

I've had trouble getting into MMX, myself. It seemed alright, but since most my experience is with MM6 I went bow heavy and then found you couldn't backtrack in combat, which I actually quite like, but it did mean I wanted to replace my ranger with a bladedancer and needed to start again. Not sure what other game distracted me, but I never did get around to rerolling.

I loved the game and had an insane amount of fun up to the point the DS2 came out...
(I practically grew up on this type of game ;) )
Really stupid timing on my part. Totally misjudged the length of the game and the awesomeness of the exploration. I skipped bows completely btw. Was pre warned plus its rarely my thing either...

Its just burnout really. I was gaming a bit more than my usual the last couple of months plus DS2 really ate into any free time I had right into my sleeping time... So I guess I need a couple of weeks back on my books (off topic: with maybe a little Don't Starve + ROG on the side :D) and then we'll see. I'll definitely do a restart of MMX on warrior this year though...

Did you ever run into that old man in a wheelchair? He pops up three times and on the third invites you to join the Dark covenant, ...

Twice. That explains the missing bonfires. That fact is a spoiler actually :(
Oh hell I'll live ;)
 
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