Dark Souls 2

25 fps and minutes of loading time doesn't sound very master-racey

So far I've got to say I'm not really a fan of non-respawning mobs nor kissing portions of my HP goodbye every time I die.

Quineloe_sl said:

So we're looking at a shitty console port to PC and horrible performance on last generation consoles.

so wait for PS4 edition?

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I wouldn't say it's a shitty port, except to people who completely refuse to consider plugging in a gamepad. A PS4 version wouldn't change any of the things people are criticizing it for. The only things I don't like about the PC version are the lighting model, which is consistent[ly bad] across all platforms, and... well, the game itself. ^^

Angelwatch_sl said:

So... What you're trying to say: PS3 = Master Race

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Hardly. But, nice try.

Console game ported to pc works better with controller does not qualify. The problem is with the developer, not the hardware.

Having your HP cut in half because you've died to much is without a doubt the stupidest fucking mechanic in all of gaming.

These games are good in spite of their design, not because of it. Combat and exploration = great. Everything else = shit.

Yeah, the design decisions they made in an attempt to offer more of a challenge to people who had already mastered DS1 are obvious, clunky, and more annoyance then challenge. Pretty gamey shit too, like adaptability, ugh. It's funny how often you hear "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and yet, no one ever seems to fucking listen.

You can get that ring pretty quick at the start that helps with that.

There's so many bugs right now it's crazy. But here is the thread for people that are having trouble

http://steamcommunity.com/app/236430...4259683457381/

Mine has to do with a 144hz monitor crashing it from the start. There workaround didnt work for me so I have to play it my side monitor which is 60hz.

This game really lacks breadth of viable builds. It was awesome on the first playthrough, but any consecutive runs leave me completely underwhelmed with the stat system and the general variety of builds that are comparable in power to the generic warrior type. I'm missing what games like the Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights or Elder Scrolls series had, i.e. the ability to play through the game 4-5 times on wildly different character archetypes and get completely unique but equally rewarding gameplay experiences. This game has melee attacks and nukes, everything else feels like a partially developed system tacked on to optionally supplement one of the two. Archery is useful, for instance, but can't carry a playthrough. The pool of equally viable choices is so small and feel mostly the same that it really compromises the replay value for me.

DS2's stat system doesn't lend itself to natural build diversity, and since its spellcasting system is criminally awful and belongs in something from 1997, an entire archetype of characters is rendered too shitty-feeling for me to even tolerate playing irrespective of its actual viability. I don't feel like I could make an archer, a cleric, a thief, a spellsword or anything like that. I can make melee characters where the only real difference is in my choice of weapon; I can add a splash of magic for utility and buffs, but there's so little of this; or I can make a sorcerer type for which the mechanics are so horrendously unbearable that it feels like an alpha test. A few more builds exist for PvP exclusively, but they're worthless in PvE.

They really could have done more with the class system to promote alternate playstyles. The leveling scale is also disappointing as the point of leveling is almost completely gone by level 150-200ish, which is especially strange given how much effort they made to encourage multiple playthroughs with one character through the NG+ system. It's like they made the game support leveling into the several hundreds but provided no real benefit to doing so. Stat softcaps occur so early that continued leveling is largely worthless, and mechanical limitations severely restrict the extent to which one can combine combat and magic. While there's a lot of weapons and armor, a small selection is superior to all else.

Wait. People are actually using KB and mouse for this game?

Also, I may get flamed for this, but I don't think 60 fps really suits the combat and game setting.

While the default kb/m settings are retarded, again, there's nothing hard about using kb/m with this game or DS1. Unless you're missing some key fingers.

supertouch_sl said:

Also, I may get flamed for this, but I don't think 60 fps really suits the combat and game setting.

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I don't get what you mean?

60 fps changes the gameplay of Darksouls.

It's in some article I read recently on it, has to do with making the gameplay faster on both sides.

Kreugen_sl said:

Having your HP cut in half because you've died to much is without a doubt the stupidest fucking mechanic in all of gaming.

These games are good in spite of their design, not because of it. Combat and exploration = great. Everything else = shit.

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I found that the best way to handle this was liberal uses of Human Effigy. You find a lot of them anyway, so I basically split my gameplay into two categories: exploring shit (where I never cared how much HP I did or didn't have since death was usually inevitable); and trying to actually do shit (where I would pop an Effigy with the idea of accomplishing some specific goal that extra HP would help). I barely ever used the Ring of Binding. Note that I also never summon people for boss fights so being human wasn't a limiting factor for me.

So even though I agree that the mechanic was pretty klunky and a bit lame, I didn't find it inhibitive in any significant way.

Kreugen, you unduly criticized the control scheme and the diminishing health bar but forgot to mention the worst level design ever.