The Soul Series (Demon's, Dark)

[Masamune]

^63 hours!? O_o I'm pretty sure I've logged that on Dark Souls just trying to make it to Blighttown O_o Teach me this sorcery O_o Only, y'know, not in the game because my magic's crap

I guess once your ass has been pounded by the first two games, the third one doesn't hurt so bad?

Joking aside, magic is your friend, especially for newbies who get fed up of swinging their sword at a brick wall.

I wanted to make a Paladin build in DSII, so I choose Cleric as my starting class and sunk enough levels into Faith until I had enough to cast the Lightning Spear. Then I spread the rest across the board, primarily topping up my Strength, Endurance, Attunement, Vigor and ofc Faith. Don't think I touched Adaptability. I devoted some time to Sunbro'ing in order to obtain the Sun Sword which scales with Faith, and finally the Sunlight Spear spell. I like to think I was channelling the spirit of Solaire. \0/

Most annoying area for me was the Shrine of Amana, because of those damn spellcasters and their ridiculous range + homing missiles. It's manageable with a bow, but it felt poorly-designed and I didn't appreciate how the game was practically forcing you to adopt one specific strategy. Probably one of the rare examples where the 'artificial difficulty' tag seems apropos.

Does anyone know if the PC version of Dark Souls 2 has a boxed retail version? Or is it only available digitally?

Last I heard, the retail version's already out, except for in the UK where it's been delayed until May 2nd. That doesn't affect the digital release, however.

 

[Abortedj]

Last I heard, the retail version's already out, except for in the UK where it's been delayed until May 2nd. That doesn't affect the digital release, however.

Perfect. Easy to find a discount for the box version, so I won't need to wait for the Steam Summer Sale to get it.

Seems like they make it a little harder to play caster in each game. In Demon's Souls you could start as Royalty with a mana regen ring (and get a crested weapon for more mana regen). In Dark Souls there is no mana, just numbers of casts. I have not played Dark Souls 2, but I do know there is a "heavy cast" mechanic in play, wondering how this will effect things.

 

[Masamune]

Seems like they make it a little harder to play caster in each game. In Demon's Souls you could start as Royalty with a mana regen ring (and get a crested weapon for more mana regen). In Dark Souls there is no mana, just numbers of casts. I have not played Dark Souls 2, but I do know there is a "heavy cast" mechanic in play, wondering how this will effect things.

I can't vouch for Demon's Souls because I was pure melee. If you're talking strictly PvE, then I'd argue that magic is as powerful as it's always been. Mostly because the enemy AI isn't refined enough to handle it. Most mobs make little effort to avoid spells and will in most cases walk straight into a lightning bolt to the face. Same goes for bosses. By the time they've approached you, you've already taken off a chunk of their health (with some exceptions, e.g. the Lost Sinner, who'll bumrush you). You're still going to need a good melee option in close quarters. Then again, this is someone talking from a Faith build. I've heard Sorcrery/Hex don't come into their own until mid to late-game, unless you plan sufficiently ahead.

 

[Abortedj]

I would like to discuss the endings of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Is anyone of the opinion we need to use spoiler tags for such? I want to know now before we start taking about the various ambiguities of the ending.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I'd appreciate spoiler tags, they're challenging enough games where beating them isn't widespread yet.

 

[Abortedj]

Alright, I will use spoiler tag sometime tomorrow when I post about the ending of the first two games (I am just a bit too tired to collect my thought right this second).

However, here are some youtube channels that have a lot of good content about all three games. Yes, there are a lot of spoilers on these channels. Also some good speculation on things we don't get full answers too, and even interesting stuff on cut content.

https://www.youtube.com/user/VaatiVidya?feature=watch

https://www.youtube.com/user/TerraMantis?feature=watch

https://www.youtube.com/user/hellkitedrakechannel

 

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