Hi all! For anyone who enjoyed this, I also have retrospectives on: Dark Souls 1 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7omVapsObQ0.html and Dark Souls 3 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ERcS3I5SKl0.html Cheers!
When I had a problem with enemies in an area, I'd join the champion's guild and change the spawn so after you kill the enemy 10 times, it wouldn't respawn. You can go and change it back to get them to respawn. I loved ds2 for this.
It is so refreshing to listen to a DS2 retrospective that doesn't just shit all over the game. Scholar of the First Sin was the first Souls game that I beat, shortly after attempting BB and not getting through the first mob of Yharnamites near the crucified beast. DS2 taught me a lot about how Souls combat actually works and after DS2 I went back to BB and got platinum and then got DS3 and beat that thang too. These games are magical.
@@legitcrack6438what’d they do? I feel movement is retarded, like it has been retarded by the developers. Hollow knights seem to have twice the movements I have 😂 But then again I put my sword away and couldn’t play for like a day because I thought it was invisible.
I really hope this channel blows up and we keep getting videos like this series. I've spent so long watching every single dark souls videos that exists and this was so refreshing in a special way.
Truly a lovely little series that I just happened to stumble upon. I know the title is mainly a joke but never think for a moment that you haven’t created something special.
I have noticed what you mentioned bout the graphics being a little bit off and I personally feel like it’s best described as looking more cartoony than the other games. I think a big part of why might be the lighting? It seems like alot of textures just dont reflect or react with light the way they do in the other games.
It's definitely a weird one visually. For the most part I find it kind of flat and bland, but sometimes it's drop dead gorgeous. I also think the lighting might be the biggest factor. There is a fairly new lighting engine mod for the game which really shows just how beautiful the game could look with better lighting.
Good Lord, I truly cannot decide which video in this series is the best. Through this series, you’ve gone 3/3 in making top tier videos. Great stuff, can’t wait to see what comes after dark souls on your channel!
7:59 if you kill the spear guy guarding the dragon you can in fact sprint straight through before he starts breathing fire onto the bridge. This works for me every playthrough.
this game was the first Dark Souls i played and keep going back to out of the 3 and now that i have a pc i got it and downloaded a mod that makes the graphics looks incredible with better lighting and all. this games great ive beaten more than a handful of times and i always have a blast making a new character and going through the game again it also has the best ng+ out of all the other fromsoft games.
This was a good watch, though I have one thing to say. The way the dragon enemies work in the Dragon Shrine is different in Scholar; you're meant to kill the enemy near every group of them so they'll be passive, and the same applies to the group on the staircase; you must kill the phantom Dragon Champion who comes down from the top when you arrive so that the dragons on the side respect you. They also aggro if you hit them directly.
I think the graphics being 'odd' is because many more areas were supposed to be lit with dynamic lighting from your torch, but this feature was dropped. Having a torch in your left hand most of the time was clearly supposed to be a feature - hinted at by the fact that only 2 starting classes have shields - a major change from previous souls games.
RU-vid algorithm didn't fail me with recommending me your Demon Souls vid, I finished it last night, and now I am contemplating on binging your SoulsBorne retrospectives. I really hope this channel blows up. Side note; very refreshing to hear your accent in retrospectives, I love it! Hail from Croatia.
Pursuer is an amazing teacher, is an hard boss if we don't wanna learn from him - as soon u realize how ez is to dodge his grab attack and running attack by just WALKING to the right, the fight become so easy. (if u remove the lock on while u walkt to the right make those attack of him pretty much useless, giving u all the time u need for your estus)
it still makes me laugh nearly 10 years later seeing people who only use slow melee weapons, no ranged weapons, no magic, no miracles, no items, 99 ADP rolling *into* attacks despite the entire game trying to teach you to get away from attacks. Lower weight = farther roll. Even with 0 adp if you roll *away* you'll nearly never get hit by anything in this game. let alone most of the "gank" bosses being susceptible to alluring skulls/yearn, buff items being the strongest they've ever been, amazing buff sorceries, and armor upgrades providing real benefits. But I guess that's not "hardcore" enough for the people who love mashing r1 and circle lol. You're right, half the attacks in the game can be avoided by simply walking out of the way.
Can confirm, they will turn hostile if you run away from a Dragon Keeper. I guess the implication is they basically stop seeing you as worthy of visiting the Ancient Dragon. However they do not care if you kill the dragon for some reason. The exception is the captain, who is always hostile, though fortunately an one-time kill. I don't know if the rest also aggro if you run away from the captain, I always assumed they did. It's specially annoying with the sword Dragon Keeper right before the door that gets you to the final staircase, as there's goodies dropping to the left of his area, but if you go for them from the start you might not have noticed the dude aggroing and suddenly there's a bunch of soldiers on your ass.
Playing Ds2 now after 1 and 3. It felt really weird at first but I love it now!! Def level up ADP. Everything feels fast and tight now. I feel like I am fast rolling and all around everything feels tight enough. 3 felt to linear. 2 feels more like 1 to me and I am loving it 😁
Dark Souls 2 has some of the best features like the hollowing mechanic is the best in this game. Leveling up weapons is a breeze and if you actually learn the combat and take everything slower than you would in other souls games, you’ll end up having a lot of fun.
i’m not sure if you know this given your comments on powerstancing, but you can power stance two weapons as long as they have the same move set, such as two slash weapons, two strike weapons, two thrust weapons, you could power stance and Ultra Greatsword with a straight sword or a katana just for an example
Before sleeping yesterday I played your DS1 to have sweet sweet dreams only to wake up in the morning and seeing your DS2 ! Going to properly watch your DS1 and then this one : D
I was expecting Shrine of Amana to be awful with how much sheit people talk about it. I really didnt think it was difficult. The spells are easy to dodge and the mofos hiding in the water were easy to see
The issue is that the only way to get through it reliably is to take it slow. Taking it slow gets very boring when you have to do the same area multiple times (because you died somewhere late into the level). I remember in my first playthrough I only died twice in Shrine of Amana, but one of those was from falling into the deep water which I did not see.
Had to pause the video for a sec because AYO SMOOTHE AND SILKY GANG REPRESENT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT OUR BOIS un-ironically those two little weird birds you never see were my favorite characters and the most memorable part of the game for me just because of whatever unhinged impulses were followed in the sound booth the day they recorded a handful of lines for them okay continuing now amazing work btw love everything I've seen from you
I remember the good old days when "The Return to Drangelic" community event took place where people reinstalled and replayed Ds 2. I used to try to come up with a very edgy or very intimidating name for my character and invade people in The Gutter. Only to remain hidden from my target and just light up as many torches as I can and then leave.
I don't think the disconnect between the different areas is a result of laziness or not thinking through how the areas should be able to connect to each other. I think it's the point. The world is falling apart and losing cohesion, and the logic of the way the world is put together is collapsing as part of that.
No, it's entirely due to rushed and horrible development cycle, they scrambled to fit shit anywhere it possibly could and it shows with all the random nonsense.
@@NoahToledo-xo5pj cause the game already covered WHY it is doing that in some places, the areas still connect just fine in Ds3. Ds2 doesn't, Earthen Peak and Iron Keep make ZERO sense at all and there is nothing in the game that explains why it is like that. Then you get to the Dragon area which has the same issue. It is entirely due to a rushed development amd It is ok to admit that, no need to try and use a more loved game to defend something bad in the not so liked one :)
@@nothinghere2319 It doesn't though. People figure out why it did that after DS3 was released but at the same time DS2 also alludes to Drangleic being a place where time and space is convoluted multiple times. Earthen Peak has as much of a reason to be under the Iron Keep as The Abyss Watchers area has to be on top of Carthus (why is the smoldering lake there I have no idea) yes DS2 is like that due to rush development but DS3 doesn't have that excuse yet people praise that one despite having as vague of an explanation for the weird layout and a proper development cycle. You literally start DS2 with a giant portal on the sky but DS3 is the one who gets justfied? Fuck off mate.
Like the video so far! Currently I'm replaying DS2 and what I noticed is that it's much more fun to play through areas like the Iron Keep in Coop. Yeah, it might take away a bit from the boss itself but to me that is outweighed by the fun I have ganking the gankers. Also, there's still active multiplayer in DS2, amazing!
Amana and Iron Keep were fine in base Ds2. Heide's is fine as well because they put the Heide's knights in different locations like the Black Knights in Ds1. The difficulty curve is so screwed up in scholar because it's like Iron Keep is exponentially harder, then it gets easier, then Drangleic is hard again. But in base, Iron Keep is manageable, and then it stays hard from Drangleic onward because that's the climax of the game. Scholar is a Cat Mario version of Ds2.
I love DS2 unashamedly. It’s a great, gorgeous, huge game with tons of fun stuff to do and try out. I last finished the Scholar edition in July, 2020, and that was the 13th or 14th time overall. I adore this game and its wonky locations and impossible geography. I see it as From’s “dark fairytale” and it is beautiful. My biggest complaint is Soul Memory. It prevents farming bosses co-op, and, more importantly, it makes builds pointless. Why limit yourself to a level 100 sorcerer build when your level really doesn’t matter? You’re going to continue to move up Soul Memory tiers as you play the game. From knew they messed up and introduced the Agape ring in Scholar as a workaround. But it’s an imperfect solution. You lose a ring spot and if you use consumables that aren’t easily farmed, you’re going to have to unequip the ring and increase your Soul Memory anyway. What a mess. But…DS2 is so fun. It’s the biggest Souls game. I love the PvE covenant and its boss, Darklurker, is a fantastic fight. Majula is stunning, as is the entire OST. Shrine of Amana is gorgeously realized. I could go on and on. Anyway, I watched the entire video and loved it. Subbed. Big Ups! Edit: 1:07:25 These dungeons also require a human effigy for every attempt. Edit 2: I forgot, the Crown of the Sunken King is my favorite Souls DLC. Its level design and bosses are amazing. I dig the look of The Ringed City more, but its level design can’t compare to Sunken King’s.
It's funny how the DLCs for DS2 bring some of the best _and_ worst content to the game. What's odd though, is that the worst areas in each of the DLCs are the free ones. Those rows of statues at the start of each DLC are in the only area anyone who didn't purchase it can access, placing a summon sign on those causes it to appear on the statues in the multiplayer areas leading to the Trio in Sunken King, Blue Smelter and Sir Alonne in Ironn King, and of course Lud and Zallen in Ivory King. The strange thing about this is that, you'd think they'd have wanted to make these areas really good in order to encourage people to buy the DLCs. Instead all of them are total ass with the Irovy King area taking the shit crown. Overall I still like the game too. I don't mind the level design in the base game, though Sunken King is easily my favorite of the whole package. It's also odd how the Scholar changes were supposed to "fix" the game, but really only exacerbated the issues people had with it. Like, I remember people complaining about enemy spam originally and their solution was... to add more enemies? *And* make them follow you more aggressively? What? Also, to kill that Wyvern added to Heide's as a pure melee character, you just wait until it finishes its breath attack and then rush its feet. There's plenty of time to get past its head before it does the breath attack again. Now personally, I also like Bloodborne the best, but my overall rankings are different though. I put DS1 and 2 on the same level. While the first half of DS1 is great, and certainly outclasses DS2, the second half of DS1 _really_ drags down the whole game, I dread it every time. However, I find DS2 to be a more consistent experience. There isn't any part of the game I particularly don't look forward to, even though it never reaches the same highs as DS1 until the DLCs. However, I actually like Demon's Souls more than either DS1 or 2. So I rate it above both of them. Then DS3, and then Bloodborne. Not sure where to put Elden Ring yet. Maybe about DS3? The problem with Elden Ring is that it's too big for its own good. I enjoy starting new characters and experimenting with different weapons and playstyles, but _every single time_ I have to run around trying to remember where to get all the different charms/talismans/whatever because they're largely scattered around in the various caves and dungeons. It's a damn chore. But it also has a lot of cool stuff in it so idk.
Dark SoulS 2's world feels like a fever dream with how strangely and suddenly it changes it's biomes and locations. Like the mentioned elevator from a small mountain that somehow leads upwards into a volcano??? So many rooms and design makes no sense, it can't have served any purpose outside a video game level.
I just played dark souls 2 while I had covid.... Sick as a dog.. In bed for a week.. It was like a fever dream within a fever dream.. Honestly the game really helped me deal with it
I really love Dark souls 2, i've only played the SOTFS version so. I will say, despite how beautiful a great impression it did, the first 2 areas, Forest and Heide's, they live a bad impression on difficulty. I would understand why some people would bounce off, but the game gets so much better, though often i feel the areas are harder than their bosses. Like the Rotten, the bone gang, the church congregation...
I will 100% be tackling Elden Ring but will probs wait until after the DLC is out! The thought of doing a vid on Elden is exciting, but also terrifying cos that's gonna be a loooong video.
Heide is an hard area regardless at the beginning - is not hard like catacombs and new londo ( i think is new londo the english name? for some reason is Petite Londo in my version of the game ) - with a blunt dmg wpn heide become very ez ( we can find the morningstar in Majula ) but as well, that's not a problem of the game, u have the freedom to go back in majula and find the way for forest fallen giants, as soon u kill 1 boss in this game u get enough points to make heide much easy, u don't like Heide Knight cuz u don't know how to fight them, it's just so simple, and imagine learning to fight them, how cool that place can be, they have one of the best armor for fashion soul, i wish u could get their chainmail cuz it's sick af ! also, passing for forest of f giants u can proceed after the pursuer and leaving heide for later, is that a problem of the game? we need more linear game than that? no thx.
I think the biggest probelm with DS2 is intent. With the other games you feel like the devs want you to succeed, they teach you how to play and challenge your skills. Dark Souls 2 sets out to be hard and ebrace the "Prepare to die" slogan and its just not as fun, for me at least.
"You're finished. You'll go hollow." "You'll lose your souls... all of them. Over and over again." I've always felt ds2 lacked the elegance Dark Souls had.
having to exhaust dialogues to ds2 npcs is not a big problem lol, during a first experience from the first time u speak to them, u may wanna try to see if they have more to say, and yes, as soon u see there is more u can pretty much understand that's a thing, ds2 rewards u for curiosity even while u explore, heide has 2 lever to help with a bossfight, to get the aldia keep u need to do backtracking, if u just wanna rush the place u can, if u just wanna rush the npc just spam x :'D
DS2 does have the worst boss run backs in the series. I get around it by clearing the area, saving the game (quitting) at the boss fog gate, closing the game, and uploading the game to cloud storage (I play on PlayStation). If I die on the boss, I just quit the game and then download the previously uploaded cloud save and pop right back in the game right in front of the boss fog. I know that sounds like a lot of steps to take, but it's still quicker than half those boss runs. Or maybe I just need to "git guud" Also, great vid's!
I've chosen to platinum all of dark souls. Did dark souls 3 and now am on my first playthrough of 2. Hearing about sunlight medals and offline farming flipped a switch in my head. Sooooooooo much grind for the 3 platinum. Like 30 2 hour podcasts worth. Looks like I will be listening to bonfireside chat for ds2 farm.
26:20 there are 2 like this one in the huntsman's copse ( we can't interact with 1 of those from one side, which is because is the exit of the path, but it's still an indication of a possible secret path, with the one at the bottom yes, we can use it ) edit: also to the way to get the bone fists there is another hidden wall like this one u r showing u see, u here asking "why this hidden wall?" and i'm here saying "why not? there are at least 4 like this, so u can't complain with the game for not telling u where are the secret walls and then because the game is telling u about it" lol
You bring up the super long run backs in this game, but forget that Demons Souls, you know, the progenitor of the souls series, made the ENTIRE LEVEL the boss runback, whereas in DS2 you usually get at least one or two checkpoints between levels. Also there's a bonfire inside of ornifexes house, meaning you don't have to run through the area multiple times...
Great video! The wife joke (hope it's a joke lol) at the beginning had me laughing for a good five minutes. Also, this is pure tinfoil, but it occurs to me that the Lost Sinner could be Maneater Mildred having some kind of symbiotic relationship with the chaos bug. Idk. Something about you referring to her as "just a terrifying lady" made me think of that. Anyway, cheers!
lmao, thanks for liking my joke haha. I like to throw in wee gags in my vids but not sure it totally comes across sometimes due to my dry delivery, or maybe I'm just not that funny!
I actually love what they did with heides tower in sots. The way I see it is the first time playing it you go kill dragon rider, then you return to the level later on in the game to kill old dragonslayer. I like the idea of having a level change/ get harder after completing it to encourage going through it once more when you have better gear. The knights waking up and the dragon placement encourage this imo coming back to heides tower and killing old dragonslayer is completely optional too which I love
I love and appreciate all of the Souls games and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, some of which can get in the way of enjoying them. DS1 has the lackluster to outright bad cluster of areas after Anor Londo, for example. DS2 and Elden Ring, to me, have the issues that get in the way of my personal enjoyment the most, though. DS2 has the perfect storm of game design, level design, enemy placement, and enemy design that achieves a horrible combination of directly discuraging the player from taking risks through severe punishment for mistakes (worst Hollowing system, worse even than Soul Form in Demon's Souls and I will die on that hill) in a game that deliberately overpopulates areas with enemies and places them in positions to ambush unaware players. I completely agree with the take that DS2 practically requires the player to use a Bow to pick off or pull enemies for some areas to become manageable because I came to that solution myself on my very first playthrough even in the original version, where it's significantly less of a problem. Elden Ring has a different, but debatably worse issue in my opinion. Enemies and bosses in the endgame having too much health and doing too much damage while being too aggressive. In DS3 27 Vigor is sufficient for the entire game. Yes, you'll find endgame bosses 3 and sometimes 2 hit kill you, but getting to 40 Vigor is usually not a big ask and 13 levels is only a few bosses+areas worth of Souls anyways. In Elden Ring you'll have the 27 Vigor experience with 60. Add on the aggression of enemies and their massive health, it's not at all uncommon to still feel like your damage is far from sufficient. After experiencing some of Sekiro I feel like some Elden Ring bosses feel like an in between of DS3 and Sekiro pace wise, while the player is stuck as a mid level DS3 character. After playing Arcthrones it all but confirmed that feeling for me as that mod literally has Sekiro bosses transplanted into the DS3 engine.
I never played DS2 because everybody said it sucks. Actually, I never played any souls games because they are "hard". My order was, Bloodborne, DS3, Elden Ring, DS1, DS2. Im with you, I love DS2. I think the deal w it is, its Dark Souls, but its wonky. N I think because of that, you have to get good. If you like Dark Souls games in general, DS2 is great. It has all the DS shit, minus some w a lil extra. But the DS experience is there. It just makes you get better. IDK, I get why people say they hate it, but I think for the same reasons, one can love it. DS3 is tighter. So its easier, type thing.
Cheers m8! And yep, I will be covering Sekiro too, and Elden ring as well, though I'll probs wait until after the Elden Ring DLC is out before doing a vid on that one.
Although DS 2 is my least favorite of the souls it was one I absolutely loved for a long time. Every once in awhile I still go back to it. The pursuer really intrigued me as a boss for many years. Why does he follow you? What was his lore? Being stalked by him was one of the most daunting experiences for me. I think dark souls 2 really did build variety well also.
It’s kinda sad that your not into the lore of ds2 cause in my opinion it has the best story out of the 3 dark souls games, the focus on the curse instead of the cycle of the world makes it much more personal and the failure of aldia and vendrick much more upsetting, it also makes the alternate ending much MUCH different than the other 2 since you walking away from the throne is rejecting both the light and dark and focusing on finding a cure to the curse, it’s much more personal and human and the story of ds2 highlights the folly and pride of gwyn and his quest for absolute control, the “first sin” is gwyn relinking the flame, it’s fantastic and I highly recommend you dig into the story and lore of ds2
It's the track that plays during Character Creation in Dark Souls 1. For whatever reason it's not part of the official Dark Souls OST releases, but the track name is "A Moment's Peace".
Dude 1:20 That's actually the first time someone ranked the fromsoft games exactly how I would have ranked them. Even though ds2 is slightly above ds3 and ds3 is slightly above ds1
I personally see no problem with adp. sure its a necessity and its a waste of levels but no matter what the mid roll and fast roll are perfect in ds2, in ds1 I feel like I have to fast roll because the mid roll feels really slow
11:40 man idk why I cracked up here to the cat haha. I have fallen for your series and recently finished Demon Souls because of them and part way thru Dark Souls 1. Decided to check out your video on 2 since you can't really spoil anything just too see what I will be getting into next. Now I've finished this video also! Please keep these up :) You deserve SO many more subs.
Powerstancing does not require the weapons being the same type. I found a mainhand rapier and an offhand curved sword has a particularly busted moveset, being able to combo a lightning fast rapier R1 after any powerstanced attack (which defaults to the curved sword powerstance moveset)
Fun fact, ds2 sotfs actually has less total enemies than the original game. But certainly did change up enemy positions to make it feel like it was more condensed.
1:04:25 if you’re a magic user or ranged, then you can go up the small platform. With a summon in particular this works wonders at being able to see the fight. I did it my recent playthrough and it felt better to see it all. Like a better fire demon boss since it doesn’t have all the slow pauses (bad with names).
Sunlight medals can be farmed by just using small soap stone in harder areas. The small soap stone gives you like 120sec of help time, you can even get summoned in an area where the boss is already dead with a small soap stone (one of the best imo changes to ds2) and each enemy (every enemy killed takes away time based on how many souls they give) and just finishing that timer without dying gives you a sunlight medal for jolly cooperation. You can get them mad easy. Also to add onto that, I hear a lot of people shit talking the run backs. They are really not that bad at all. Capra demon is 10x worse than any run back in ds2 a lot of times ds2 has a bonfire closer to the boss just slightly off the main path, just gotta look homie.
Wish the pods were more interesting than what they actually were. I remember being so creeped out about the sounds until I saw it was those stupid things.
To get to Lud and Zellen super easy just run straight down the right side of the field down that wall and it takes you right to the bridge. I beat them by big dicking them with the guts sword and the fireflies that make you hit super hard.
Thanks for the video :)! As mentioned in my comment on your DS3 retrospective, you should 100% give Seeker of fire mod for DS2 a try - Totally different game, I'm sure you'll love it!
Ah, I might do at some point cos I actually quit my job last month lol, hence why I've been able to put out videos each week lately. Probs best if I wait somewhat longer though for my RU-vid sub count to build!
@@candletype1a447 for sure friend! I subbed, I'll keep an eye out and I'll help ya out once your things are set up :) you have a lot of potential, keep doing what you do!
I was waiting for a more detailed conclusion at the end but a well. I played dark souls 2, to times in ng and it was entertaining, it's a long game, the areas are diverse, the bosses are meh. The combat design is where lacks the most and the reason why souls games are souls games, not shooter with bows. But it's more enjoyable if you use a hybrid built like mine. I used the moonlight greatsword (intelligence and strength) in that way the large amount of enemies is more manageable and you get rewarded more often with more spells to use. Also the Moonlight greatsword is weirdly one of the quicker weapons with a decent range. Comparing with the range and speed that most common enemies have. Sadly, I agree with you. I don't think I'm going to play this game again or in a very long time. DS1 was slow, but you had range, poise, and it still is more balanced around all builds. DS3 for me is still good but is far to easy. Bloodborne is the one that, for me, has conserved his qualities the most for more time, even with other titles coming out. Sekiro is also good, but it has much less replayable.
