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[Tiops]

I loved the sheer amount of areas to explore and ridiculous amount of equipment and items in DS2. It's a rare case where I think quantity over quality actually worked for me.

It's nice the first time you play. Really frustrating in the following playthroughs (regarding amount of areas, of course).

 

[RoadHazard]

Regarding the Sentinels: Fought them yesterday, and beat them on the third or maybe fourth try. After figuring out the best tactic that was a pretty easy fight, and not very interesting. Three identical enemies doing little more than basic swing attacks, yay. The first one is obviously a piece of cake, and while it gets more difficult when the other two activate you can do enough damage to #2 (while still up on the platform) before #3 gets involved that once you have to deal with them both #2 is almost dead. Shadows of Yharnam and O&S, where you face two or three bosses doing quite different things, were both more difficult and more interesting to me.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Someone forgot about Bygernwerth ;p

Eh, even Byrgenwerth -- which is in the middle of the game and follows the very large Forbidden Woods -- has as many if not more enemies than the route from Majula to Dragon Rider.

Heide's isn't the "beginning of the game" though. The Undead Burg equivalent is Forest of Fallen Giants.

Says who? Heide's Tower of Flame was my first area after Majula, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Forest and Heide's are both equally-accessible to players who are starting the game.

Forest compares poorly against the starting levels of other Souls games anyway, if you really want to go down that path of discussion.

 

[solid mike]

Coming from Dark Souls and a bit of Demon's Souls, I was fairly disappointed with DS2. It is not, by all means, a bad game. It is just lacking that certain something that its predecessors had that made them great.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Eh, even Byrgenwerth -- which is in the middle of the game and follows the very large Forbidden Woods -- has as many if not more enemies than the route from Majula to Dragon Rider.

Lets see. There's one on the path from the Shadows, two fly-things near the lantern, a brain sucker between the lantern and the coast, two more fly-things near the coast and that giant centipede thing, and finally another fly-thing and a hunter inside the building itself. So nine enemies total. Not a lot of enemies really, and the place was so small and barren.

 

[silva1991]

Lets see. There's one on the path from the Shadows, two fly-things near the lantern, a brain sucker between the lantern and the coast, two more fly-things near the coast and that giant centipede thing, and finally another fly-thing and a hunter inside the building itself. So nine enemies total. Not a lot of enemies really, and the place was so small and barren.

Yeah, Byrgenwerth and that poisoned area that leads back to central yharnam are wasted areas opportunities

that area should have been as big as blightown/swamps with it's own boss

I don't understand why BB is short on content compared to DS1 even tho it took longer to develop and it's probably my biggest issue with it.

 

[HGH]

Says who? Heide's Tower of Flame was my first area after Majula, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Forest and Heide's are both equally-accessible to players who are starting the game.

Forest compares poorly against the starting levels of other Souls games anyway, if you really want to go down that path of discussion.

Most of the NPCs(and by that I mean the Herald and Saulden) tell you "Hey you should go to that forest with a fort in it by the way did you see that forest with a fort in it?"

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

Eh, even Byrgenwerth -- which is in the middle of the game and follows the very large Forbidden Woods -- has as many if not more enemies than the route from Majula to Dragon Rider.

I think they're more or less on par. Pretty sure the path from Majula to Dragon Rider has AT least 7-8 enemies you HAVE to encounter before the fog gate.

 

[zma1013]

Yeah, Byrgenwerth and that poisoned area that leads back to central yharnam are wasted areas opportunities

that area should have been as big as blightown/swamps with it's own boss

I don't understand why BB is short on content compared to DS1 even tho it took longer to develop and it's probably my biggest issue with it.

It's an issue we are seeing with many games this gen, content creation for games is simply taking longer.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Lets see. There's one on the path from the Shadows, two fly-things near the lantern, a brain sucker between the lantern and the coast, two more fly-things near the coast and that giant centipede thing, and finally another fly-thing and a hunter inside the building itself. So nine enemies total. Not a lot of enemies really, and the place was so small and barren.

I agree that Byrgenwerth was a small area and -- even though it was an "oshiiiii" moment -- it could've definitely used more enemies and a larger space.

That being said, it's also after one of the biggest, twistiest areas in the game. Heide's, on the other hand, is one of the intro areas.

I think they're more or less on par. Pretty sure the path from Majula to Dragon Rider has AT least 7-8 enemies you HAVE to encounter before the fog gate.

This is true. But it's still kinda off-topic. You can also use Ash Lake as an example of a small area. Thing is, Heide's is right at the beginning of the game and is a required area. Ash Lake and Byrgenwerth are toward the middle of the game, require the player to go through a fair amount of areas first, and in Ash Lake's case isn't even required.

I am not complaining about Heide's in a vacuum. I have provided detailed context to explain why I feel Heide's is a badly designed area and why it's especially bad as an intro area.

Most of the NPCs(and by that I mean the Herald and Saulden) tell you "Hey you should go to that forest with a fort in it by the way did you see that forest with a fort in it?"

DS2 defenders really are something else. Heide's doesn't have awful level design because -- despite the games minimalism and freeform structure -- an NPC recommended that you start with the forest? Gotcha.

Even if Heide's is your second area after the Forest, it's still a crappy level design.

 

[RiderKairuu]

I'm about 20 hours in and I'm really mixed. By all accounts I THINK I'm enjoying DS2, but unlike Bloodborne (which was my first Souls game proper) I'm having a hard time feeling that same sense of progression even though I'm clearing areas and beating bosses. Granted I'm still pretty early in, just beat the Lost Bastille boss. I keep having this feeling of "I'm not going to play anymore Dark Souls II....I'm playing Dark Souls II". I find myself constantly going back to it.

 

[NEO0MJ]

This is true. But it's still kinda off-topic. You can also use Ash Lake as an example of a small area. Thing is, Heide's is right at the beginning of the game and is a required area.

Not at all. It's completely optional and is just another path to take for those who don't want to go through the forest, exchanging multiple small weak enemies for a few strong ones, though continuing leads you the No Man's Wharf which has multiple enemies and is pretty big. Either face the Last Giant and the Pursuer or face the Dragon Rider and the Flexile Sentry.

Edit; Wait, I forgot about the NPC there. Heide at least is mandatory, though not as a beginning route.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Not at all. It's completely optional and is just another path to take for those who don't want to go through the forest, exchanging multiple small weak enemies for a few strong ones, though continuing leads you the No Man's Wharf which has multiple enemies and is pretty big. Either face the Last Giant and the Pursuer or face the Dragon Rider and the Flexile Sentry.

Edit; Wait, I forgot about the NPC there. Heide at least is mandatory, though not as a beginning route.

You really aren't getting my point.

Heide's is one of the first areas a player can go to. As such, it plays an important role in forming the player's impressions of the game. I'm not sure why you're arguing about whether you really have to go there or if you can go to the Forest of Fallen Giants first. Even if Heide's is your second or your third area, that makes no difference. My point stands: as an introductory area, it is poorly designed and leaves a bad impression for people starting the game.

 

[Marty-esque]

I'm at the Iron Keep trying to get an enemy to drop a katana. This might be one of the worst designed levels I've ever played in a game.

 

[NEO0MJ]

You really aren't getting my point.

I get your point, I just disagree with how bad an area you think it is.

I'm at the Iron Keep trying to get an enemy to drop a katana. This might be one of the worst designed levels I've ever played in a game.

I remember them dropping it pretty often when i played it. Strange you're having trouble getting one.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

I get your point, I just disagree with how bad an area you think it is.

Sounds fine to me, even though we don't agree. I know that some people weren't bothered by the same things that bothered me. As long as people can accept that and discuss and compare the games without getting crazy-rage-mode, then these threads can be a good place for conversation.

So anyway, even though you don't think Heide's is a bad area, let's move on from that. What're some areas that you do think are bad in DS2, if any? Do you think there are areas that stand as an example of good level design in DS2?

Genuinely curious. If these threads have taught me anything, it's that the opinion on what is a good/bad/difficult boss/map/weapon seems to vary wildly from Souls fan to Souls fan.

 

[Marty-esque]

I get your point, I just disagree with how bad an area you think it is.



I remember them dropping it pretty often when i played it. Strange you're having trouble getting one.

Now most of the enemies have stopped spawning. I'm getting fed up with it because that's the weapon I've been planning on upgrading. Just let me buy the fucking sword like the uchigatana. Or have locked behind a boss so I don't have to waste time in the same area killing enemies hoping they drop it.

 

[mindsale]

I beat Dark Souls II last night. In my opinion it's definitely the worst of the Souls and Blood games, but it's still good. It just has a bonfire every twenty feet, misses the forest from the trees when it comes to difficulty making a game better, and had some other uninspired choices.

Shrine of Amana is probably my favorite area of any From game, for what it's worth. There's a high note.

 

[homelessscootaloo]

DS2 is great, bought it for both PS3 and PC.

It's better than Souls 1. Having just started BB, BB is definitely inferior in terms of gameplay but hopefully it gets more interesting as I advance.

 

[ViolentP]

I like how opinions range greatly on the series. It proves they are doing something well. A shame that some need to get upset about it.

 

[AgentP]

DS2 is great, bought it for both PS3 and PC.

It's better than Souls 1. Having just started BB, BB is definitely inferior in terms of gameplay but hopefully it gets more interesting as I advance.

Bizarro world!

 

[Azzanadra]

Yeah, Byrgenwerth and that poisoned area that leads back to central yharnam are wasted areas opportunities

that area should have been as big as blightown/swamps with it's own boss

I don't understand why BB is short on content compared to DS1 even tho it took longer to develop and it's probably my biggest issue with it.

Its true Bloodborne is shorter, but Dark Souls had DSII levels of dreck post-Anor Londo, whereas I can't name a level that bad in all of Bloodborne. At its worst, some of the levels are just lacking in content, but none could be called "bad". I think its the most consistent Souls if anything.

 

[Breads]

Chalice dungeons.

A lot of people shrug them off as being middling side content so it doesn't count.

Unaware that they backup my claim.

It is the worst content in the series.

 

[Azzanadra]

Chalice dungeons.

A lot of people shrug them off as being middling side content so it doesn't count.

Unaware that they backup my claim.

It is the worst content in the series.

At least they have cool bosses. Queen Yharnam is one of my favorite moments in any SoulsBorne.

 

[Breads]

At least they have cool bosses. Queen Yharnam is one of my favorite moments in any SoulsBorne.

Oh for sure. Headless Bloodletting Beast is my personal favorite. I'm just commenting on level design. I wish that the hidden chalice dungeon content was used in a properly designed area. I think of what could have been and I get filled with disappointment.

 

[ElFly]

Yeah, Byrgenwerth and that poisoned area that leads back to central yharnam are wasted areas opportunities

that area should have been as big as blightown/swamps with it's own boss

I don't understand why BB is short on content compared to DS1 even tho it took longer to develop and it's probably my biggest issue with it.

The reason must be the Chalice dungeons. There are a good bunch of chalice dungeon exclusive bosses, and programming/designing the dungeons must have taken at least the equivalent of three static areas, manpower wise.

 

[Maddrical]

I like how opinions range greatly on the series. It proves they are doing something well. A shame that some need to get upset about it.

This is very true. I'd say the 3 Souls games & Bloodborne are all tied as my favourite games. DS2 is clearly the most polarizing game of the series, some people just can't get over it's flaws and absorb themselves in the amazing content it offers. I think also DS2 was the first time a lot of people played a Souls game after already having played one; your first experience with these games is always going to be your most memorable, which is why I considered Demon's Souls to be my favourite for so long. Dark Souls 1 was obviously a big hit, and a lot of people played it to death and understood the mechanics better, so DS2 was easier and less of a surprise for a lot of people. I'm sure that had a bit of an impact on the initial reaction, at least, and since then it gets a better reception.

I still think DS2 SOTFS is one of the best packages available for PS4/Xbone, it has an insane amount of content, and is by no means 'so bad'.

 

[NEO0MJ]

At least they have cool bosses. Queen Yharnam is one of my favorite moments in any SoulsBorne.

Who could forget that memorable moment when you fought the Brainsucker, or that time you fought the Silver beast?

Kidding aside, they could have made it much better.

 

[Marty-esque]

Every area in this game is a chore just based on the enemy positions.

 

[HGH]

DS2 defenders really are something else. Heide's doesn't have awful level design because -- despite the games minimalism and freeform structure -- an NPC recommended that you start with the forest? Gotcha.

Even if Heide's is your second area after the Forest, it's still a crappy level design.

Uh, what? Where did I defend Heide's? Heide's is stupid and unfun but someone was saying "The forest is the starting area of the game" and you said "Says who? Both areas are equally available" so I said "Says the NPCs".
At no point did I say "This is well designed" or "This is better than DS1". Please don't make random assumptions based on nonexisting statements.

 

[Auctopus]

As I say in most DS2 threads, I highly recommend you read the DSII Design Works interview. It's quite candid about the development of DSII and the difficulties it encountered along the way. Some of the devs explain how they fail to live up to Dark Souls 1 in some ways.

http://peterbarnard1984.tumblr.com/post/113163062955/dark-souls-2-design-works-translation

I noticed some people discussing the brevity of Heide's Tower, well, straight from the Devs...

[/Tanimura: Originally it was nothing more than a path to the next area but that just wasn’t interesting. We started with the concept of the sunken city forming the road and the map just expanded from there [laughs]. We designed a boss encounter, added the Cathedral of Blue and before we knew it, it had become it’s own complete area.

And the bizarrely placed Iron Keep...

[/Tanimura: The idea is that the lake of magma is actually on the upper strata, like a caldera lake on a plateau. However, looking down from the top it was far too wide, that and the fact that there isn’t an adequate transition between locations meant we didn’t really communicate the idea as well as we could have.

Satake: The image for The Iron Fort came from a piece of concept art created for a separate project, a dam which harnessed the power of magma. In the end it wasn’t used in that project, but with every new game I’d show it to the producer and director and see if there was some way we could fit it in. Of course conventional wisdom would place magma underground but when you start to consider this lake and realize that there must be a reason for it being there, then the world becomes a little more interesting. I tried to implement ideas like this throughout the game, to give the player something curious and unexpected.

I'd also highly recommend Matthewmatosis's criticisms.

 

[Laughing Banana]

As I say in most DS2 threads, I highly recommend you read the DSII Design Works interview. It's quite candid about the development of DSII and the difficulties it encountered along the way. Some of the devs explain how they fail to live up to Dark Souls 1 in some ways.

http://peterbarnard1984.tumblr.com/post/113163062955/dark-souls-2-design-works-translation

I noticed some people discussing the brevity of Heide's Tower, well, straight from the Devs...



And the bizarrely placed Iron Keep...



I'd also highly recommend Matthewmatosis's criticisms.

Do they discuss how the player character is blocked by just some rubble and in order to proceed--instead of just climbing that rubble which is just lol-worthy--he/she needs to defeat multiple strong bosses? At least make it looks impassable, but that rubble tho... lol.

 

[Auctopus]

Do they discuss how the player character is blocked by just some rubble and in order to proceed--instead of just climbing that rubble which is just lol-worthy--he/she needs to defeat multiple strong bosses? At least make it looks impassable, but that rubble tho... lol.

No, sadly but Matthewmatosis does.

I consider DS2 a poor sequel to DS1, it's obviously not a bad game but it was huge disappointment considering the level of thought that went in to some of the game's design. The reason I link the article is because after reading it, it put the game in a different light for me. A gang of rookies (in terms of directing the Souls series) are given the helm to the sequel of a cult/mainstream hit and they admit that they struggled. Whilst it doesn't make the game any better, it does make its shortcomings more endearing to me.

 

[Greddleok]

Ugh, that Mathewmatosis guy is like the queen of pedants. He rarely has anything insightful to say.

 

[Screaming Meat]

I consider DS2 a poor sequel to DS1, it's obviously not a bad game but it was huge disappointment considering the level of thought that went in to some of the game's design. The reason I link the article is because after reading it, it put the game in a different light for me. A gang of rookies (in terms of directing the Souls series) are given the helm to the sequel of a cult/mainstream hit and they admit that they struggled. Whilst it doesn't make the game any better, it does make its shortcomings more endearing to me.

Well said.

On my first playthrough, I took most of the physically impossible geography (Iron Keep, the seemingly long distances between places being actually very short etc.) as part of the dream-like nature of Drangleic. I mean, I entered the place via a whirlpool in a lake and landed in a completely dry and open area, after all.

Ugh, that Mathewmatosis guy is like the queen of pedants. He rarely has anything insightful to say.

Shouldn't that be King?

 

[Laughing Banana]

No, sadly but Matthewmatosis does.

I consider DS2 a poor sequel to DS1, it's obviously not a bad game but it was huge disappointment considering the level of thought that went in to some of the game's design. The reason I link the article is because after reading it, it put the game in a different light for me. A gang of rookies (in terms of directing the Souls series) are given the helm to the sequel of a cult/mainstream hit and they admit that they struggled. Whilst it doesn't make the game any better, it does make its shortcomings more endearing to me.

Strangely enough, that rubble is the one that just rubs me wrong the most. It is as if the game creators just.. don't give a damn. It's just too funny in a terrible kind of way.

 

[Benzychenz]

Man I just started SotFS on PS4 and I'm definitely having a harder time than Dark 1 or Bloodborne (Demon's gave me a hard time by default as my first Souls ).

Feels like there's just enemies hiding everywhere in the first forest area.

Climb up a ladder to take out one throwing firebombs at me and suddenly three more appear, and they have shields so I can't even take them out quickly!

Not to mention the return of the stupid hollow system from Demon's that lowers your max health, why the fuck did they bring that back?! I know I can use the effigy's to reverse it, but I only have 4 so far and I don't really want to use them up before I even hit a boss fight.

Overall I'm just dying a lot more than normal and I feel like less of the deaths are my fault.

 

[Orochinagis]

FROM actually put some random strong enemies right at the start, fill some random rooms with pursuer and random invasions

 

[TCKaos]

Miyazaki is actually deceptively bad at game design. The real person who knows what they're doing at From is the designer behind the Dark Souls II DLC who also worked on the original game, whose name escapes me (just had this conversation with a friend yesterday).

That's why the game is so much worse than the first and the only really good part of Dark Souls II is the DLC.

 

[Easy_D]

Miyazaki is actually deceptively bad at game design. The real person who knows what they're doing at From is the designer behind the Dark Souls II DLC who also worked on the original game, whose name escapes me (just had this conversation with a friend yesterday).

That's why the game is so much worse than the first and the only really good part of Dark Souls II is the DLC.

I really enjoyed the base game, but I agree 100% about the DLC. It's leagues ahead of the main game in quality and I hope every single person who worked on the DLC is involved with the level design for 3.

 

[tengiants]

Man I just started SotFS on PS4 and I'm definitely having a harder time than Dark 1 or Bloodborne (Demon's gave me a hard time by default as my first Souls ).

Feels like there's just enemies hiding everywhere in the first forest area.

Climb up a ladder to take out one throwing firebombs at me and suddenly three more appear, and they have shields so I can't even take them out quickly!

Not to mention the return of the stupid hollow system from Demon's that lowers your max health, why the fuck did they bring that back?! I know I can use the effigy's to reverse it, but I only have 4 so far and I don't really want to use them up before I even hit a boss fight.

Overall I'm just dying a lot more than normal and I feel like less of the deaths are my fault.

Yeah the way they changed the enemy placement in the first two areas (Heide and the forest) in SotFS annoys me. The areas are harder than they were originally and I imagine it just turns people off of the game.

Dark Souls 2 is the opposite of the first one. In terms of the areas you visit, they get better and better all the way until past the end of the DLC. Dark Souls 1 had an excellent first 2/3, and just turns to crap and feels completely rushed.

 

[TacosNSalsa]

Overall I'm just dying a lot more than normal and I feel like less of the deaths are my fault.

Wait till the hit detection "warps" you to the end of a blade you're clearly out of the way of....

 

[sulik]

Mechanically, the games get better with sequels. I'm playing BB for the first time, and man, From really nailed the character movement. DS2 movement was already an improvement over DS1's twitchy yet mushy controls, but the dashing in BB really puts it all together.

 

[Benzychenz]

Yeah the way they changed the enemy placement in the first two areas (Heide and the forest) in SotFS annoys me. The areas are harder than they were originally and I imagine it just turns people off of the game.

Dark Souls 2 is the opposite of the first one. In terms of the areas you visit, they get better and better all the way until past the end of the DLC. Dark Souls 1 had an excellent first 2/3, and just turns to crap and feels completely rushed.

So I've heard, makes me wish they included an option for classic enemy placements.

Anyway, after smashing my head against a wall for a couple hours I made it to the first boss, so I'll be using an effigy now.
And beat him first shot lol.

 

[gogosox82]

Miyazaki is actually deceptively bad at game design. The real person who knows what they're doing at From is the designer behind the Dark Souls II DLC who also worked on the original game, whose name escapes me (just had this conversation with a friend yesterday).

That's why the game is so much worse than the first and the only really good part of Dark Souls II is the DLC.

But the dlcs designs get progressivly worse as they came out. Sunken King was great design wise. Iron King was worse design wise but still good and Ivory King is terrible. Uninteresting levels and nothing but a bunch groups everywhere you turn in the dlc. Just awful. No idea what happened with Ivory King. And it heavily relied on backtracking which you couldn't do because of the placement of the bonfires so that meant running through the entire dlc 2 or 3 times just to get everything. Bad level design all around in Ivory King.

The dlcs in DS2 are good but they don't hold a candle to AOTA or The Old Hunters.

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

Mechanically, the games get better with sequels. I'm playing BB for the first time, and man, From really nailed the character movement. DS2 movement was already an improvement over DS1's twitchy yet mushy controls, but the dashing in BB really puts it all together.

Dark souls 2 certainly has a few mechanical improvements over 1 but movement is absolutely not one of them. Sure you can now roll in more than 4 directions when locked on and have a decent roll up to 70% weight but everything else is worse. It feels floaty while walking around and the dead zones when trying to move slightly to the left and right while running are so horrible and the first thing I have to get over every time I logged on. Try it for yourself. Move forward and move the sticks left and right. It takes a fair bit till your character does anything other than move forwards. It amazes me this exists because it was perfectly accurate in ds1.

I think one of its biggest flaws in difficulty is how strangly un ballenced the first few areas are. There are things that make them more of a struggle. Your starting stats mean you have a terrible roll. A bunch of classes mean you start with no shield. You essentially have very little defence and immediately have to deal with groups of enemies. If you can get over that hump, kill the first boss (first time you meet the pursuer is best as you get like 30k souls) you can fix you adaptability straight away and the game suddenly becomes 3 times easier.

Rather than punishing you for not learning from your mistakes it simply trys to punish you for playing the game. And lower life with each death just means people who are struggling now struggle more.

There are just so many baffling design decisions in this game it ruins the fun parts for me every time I try to replay it. Got to the point where I just deleted it last night.

I can play ds1 upto and including O&S or all of bloodborne and just enjoy myself the entire time. With ds2 I just find myself getting annoyed / bored because I find so little of it a pure fun experience to traverse through.

 

[Manu]

Miyazaki is actually deceptively bad at game design. The real person who knows what they're doing at From is the designer behind the Dark Souls II DLC who also worked on the original game, whose name escapes me (just had this conversation with a friend yesterday).

That's why the game is so much worse than the first and the only really good part of Dark Souls II is the DLC.

But Miyazaki wasn't involved in DS2's game design?

 

[Novocaine]

But the dlcs designs get progressivly worse as they came out. Sunken King was great design wise. Iron King was worse design wise but still good and Ivory King is terrible. Uninteresting levels and nothing but a bunch groups everywhere you turn in the dlc. Just awful. No idea what happened with Ivory King. And it heavily relied on backtracking which you couldn't do because of the placement of the bonfires so that meant running through the entire dlc 2 or 3 times just to get everything. Bad level design all around in Ivory King.

The dlcs in DS2 are good but they don't hold a candle to AOTA or The Old Hunters.

Ivory king is my favourite area of the 3. It didn't require backtracking so much as it wants you to clear the entire area again after you remove the ice which gave it a totally different feel. Deaths aside if you run through it more than twice you're doing it to yourself.

Rather than punishing you for not learning from your mistakes it simply trys to punish you for playing the game. And lower life with each death just means people who are struggling now struggle more.

Can you give examples of this? Because I never felt this at all and I played completely blind for my first run.

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

Can you give examples of this? Because I never felt this at all and I played completely blind for my first run.

It's been a while so I will try and give some examples. I kind of already explained the biggest offenders. The starting areas.

In ds1 and bloodborne you start the game with the tools and abilities to get through the entire game. The first areas teach you how to use these.

In ds 2 this isnt true. My first char started off as mage so I didn't notice it as much as I just shot everyone I needed to. But the other day I tried a new char as a cleric. You start with a mace you don't have the stats to use 1 handed to full effect, terrible adaptability and endurance and no shield. So your options for defence are block with two handed but still take most the damage or back pendel. You can try rolling but you have so few iframes its way harder than in previous games. You also get attacked my multiple enemies straight away and this trend continues through the fofg level. As soon as you clear enough of this area so you can fix your adaptability and get a Shield the game suddenly becomes easy meaning you didn't learn anything. You just pushed you way through the starting area using tactics you don't have to use after the first hour. A starting area is supposed to teach you the ropes on how to deal with the harder areas later. If anything ds2 just gets easier and easier.

There is a covenant in majula that doesn't tell you what it does. It's one of two covenants in the town and it makes the game harder without telling you that's what it does. At least as far as I can tell.

There are a lot of ambushes through out the game that you can't see coming even if your carefull. In ds1 and BB ambushes were saved for rare moments to catch people out who let their guard down. In ds2 they have become a standard encounter design and it becomes a constant anoyance rather than an oh shit moment.

Dying and your Max health lowering only punishes people who are struggling. It never bothered me as I found the game pretty easy for the most part but I have heard many people say how that mechanic is really off putting and I can see why. It's like the game is sying "you seem to be struggling, how about I make the game even harder MWUHAHAHAHA"

In the same ilk you start with 1 estus plus 1 very easy to find one. If you are struggling and use you limited life gems you are now stuck with hardly any healing, again punishing those further who are struggling.

A ton of seemingly light armoured enemies near the start seem to poise straight through your attacks adding to the earlier frustrations I mention.

Suicide zombies bumb rushing you out of the blue. The worst was in the place with the dragons in the sky. You turn a corner to attack a bomb zombie then 3 jump down from a cliff out of your sight and blow you off the cliff and wreck all your armour. You can't plan for it because you can't see it coming.

Enemies have tied agro stopping you from carefully clearing a room out.

That's actuly a big one. In ds1 and BB you can study a room, plan a way to take all the enemies out one by one and turn what at first seemed like impossible odds into your favour. In ds2 you pull one enemey and 3-4 come along with it turning it into yet another shitty group fight where you just bait out some attacks, hit and repeat. It's boring and anoying and removes any feeling of finding a way to turn the odds in your favour.

It's like going through a haunted house thet does a jump scare every 30 seconds. The first few are fun and then they just become irritating. I would walk around a corner and see yet another ambush and just roll my eyes.

But as I have said in the past, I don't think it's a bad game. I just think it removed all the things I love and expect from a souls game. It's like they saw the marketing about dark souls being super hard (which I don't agree it is) and decided that is what made DS so good and not everything else.

The simplest way to explain it is this.

In dark souls 1 and bloodborne, when I dies I almost always felt it was my fault. In dark souls 2 it often felt like I died due to bullshit.

However there are also a lot of people who think it's the best souls game and I actually think that's great. I wouldn't want them to change this game that those people love. I just feel it would have gone over way better if thay had not called it dark souls 2 as that name comes with its own expectations. Few tweaks to the story and name and left it as its own thing then maybe it would get its own sequel for the fans of what it does differently.

 

[RoadHazard]

Not to mention the return of the stupid hollow system from Demon's that lowers your max health, why the fuck did they bring that back?! I know I can use the effigy's to reverse it, but I only have 4 so far and I don't really want to use them up before I even hit a boss fight.

Overall I'm just dying a lot more than normal

Just like in DeS there's a ring that makes the health loss much less severe. You can almost ignore it once you have that. Won't tell you where it is, but it's somewhere you can get to early on.