Dark Souls 2 - (PC, 360, PS3, XBO, PS4)

[Will]

I'll also be waiting for this (as well as Borderlands Handsome Collection, & DmC: DE) to hit dirt cheap.

I bought Souls 2 on 360 digital for $30 not too long ago and barely started that one so it's way too soon to double dip. On the plus side when I do decide to double dip it'll have all the DLC and hopefully all the changes will make it a little different.

[AaronChance]

The changes made it shit. Seriously, you're better off sticking to the original and just buying the DLC.

[Will]

Huh, interesting.

What changes make it inferior?

[Pineapple]

Aaron weren't you in the camp who wasn't impressed by the game when it came out?

Personally I think the new enemy and item placements have really changed up the early game for the better, and the framerate and visuals are a big step up (coming from 360). There have been a few times that paths I was used to taking were blocked off by something I'd not seen before, but other paths are open much earlier as well. The combat definitely feels slower and more deliberate after Bloodborne but it feels like a Souls game should.

I don't know if it's because I used the Champion's Covenant (and then switched back to a different one immediately) or if it's the new 'normal' enemy placement, but Heide's Tower of Flame is MUCH more difficult now, with the prowling Heide Knights and a fucking dragon blocking the way to Orenstien!

[AaronChance]

Huh, interesting.

What changes make it inferior?

They basically dump more / harder enemies into levels, making them even more of a slog to get through. I don't mind raised difficulty, but there's nothing clever about it in DSII, not like it was in Demon's Souls / Dark Souls. It makes the levels for me extremely boring since they're still easy but just take longer to get through, leading up to too many bosses confined in too small spaces... though that hasn't changed from the original DSII. I summon on boss fights just so I don't have to slog through the level again.

[Diff-chan]

I'm playing this now.

Just got done with Dragonrider. I can keep exploring the Tower of Flame (although the white bros are walking all over and they are all tough outs), or go through No Man's Wharf. Oh I also opened up an area when I flew on an eagle after I killed the Pursuer. I'm not sure what to do next. I'm level 41.

[Pineapple]

All of them are viable options, but your best bet is probably No Man's right now. It's a quick one bonfire area that'll open up a better spot for you. On the base game I'd say continue through Heide's but they REALLY changed that area up, it's much more serious business now and I'm about the same level and decided to tackle other spots first.

[Diff-chan]

Ok, got done with No Man's Wharf. Onto the Lost Bastille.

[sleeve]

I started playing this over the weekend, on XBox One.

Feel like it's more of the same. Doesn't hit me in the same way Dark Souls did. It feels like an iteration rather than a new story with a new universe. That said, it still plays and looks great. It was slow going at first because it took me a few hours to find a weapon that didn't break constantly. The intro definitely lacks the punch of Dark Souls.

How do you reverse Hollowing/turn human again? Do you need Humanity, or is that what the effigies are for? I burned an effigy, but it didn't make me human again.

[Diff-chan]

You have to use an effigy, not burn it.

I use my broadsword with a backup axe and then a handaxe as my second backup. The only level I ran into issues so far was NMW. I think the durability bug problem is overstated.