Do you prefer combat in Souls games to be faster or slower?

[Deleted member 17402]

Several things: I made a thread a couple of weeks ago complaining about the aesthetic diversity in Dark Souls 3 as compared to Dark Souls 2. After nearly beating Dark Souls 3 before deciding to play Bloodborne instead and now Dark Souls 2 again, I'd like to retract my opinion and instead say that Dark Souls 2, despite its diverse environments, is considerably uglier than I remembered and Dark Souls 3, whether by comparison or not, is beautiful.

Moving on.

As I said above, I stopped Dark Souls 3 short of beating it because of the Dark Souls remaster announcement. I've decided to hold off until that game comes out so that I can run through all three games in order. For whatever reason, I also decided to pick up Dark Souls 2 again - but not before nearly beating Bloodborne as well - and I'm really not feeling the slow combat.

It was very jarring at first and sometimes still is, especially coming off of Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne. I didn't realize how much I prefer the combat to be faster than it is in this game and it's kind of hampering my enjoyment now, in addition to the disappointing visuals.

Going forward I'd appreciate if future games in this series are at least as fast as Dark Souls 3. How do y'all feel about the difference in speed between titles? Do you prefer Dark Souls 2' speed to 3 or vice versa?

 

[MopDog]

I haven't really noticed the difference in combat speed between the titles since I don't play them back-to-back.

I don't know, I adjust quickly, so whatever FROM does in the future I'm on board. I've loved all the games so far and have no reason to expect anything else down the line.

 

[KZXcellent]

I live in the world of speed.

 

[Deleted member 9971]

I prefer the faster paced combat, i could not get into dark souls 2 after playing bloodborne and a bit of 3.

Altho i will still get the dark souls 1 remaster for sure and play it i can like slower paced combat but i just disliked DS 2 in general so 1 might be bettter on that front to me.

 

[Tamerlane]

I like faster combat for single player but it removes all of the depth from PVP.

 

[Deleted member 4346]

3 is the perfect speed IMO. It's the best in the series if you are strictly looking at mechanics.

 

[zombiejames]

Bloodborne set the bar for ARPG combat with its speed and fluidity. Regular Souls combat is still really good but I'll take more of that, please.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Personally Bloodborne's is perfect to me.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Bloodborne has the best combat in the series in my opinion, so I'd definitely err towards a faster pace.

 

[Oghuz]

Definitely faster paced. Bloodborne speed is perfect.

 

[Zetta]

I'm perfectly fine with DS3's speed when it comes to a medieval setting, anything else should be Bloodborne.

 

[TimeFire]

Bloodborne's combat is perfect. Makes you really feel like you're the hunter and those beasts are your prey.

After you git gud of course.

 

[Puffy]

I prefer it to be bloodborne

 

[Stranger Things]

fast paced is the way to go, more fun

but the boss fights are definitely harder, because if you react slow - you're dead

 

[Whales]

DS1 is a lot slower than DS3 or bloodborne, yet its still the best souls game

id say speed doesnt matter too much for me as long as the core is good

 

[The Dink]

I just want most of the magic to be viable in PvP.

 

[skeezx]

bloodborne required it as you couldn't just sword n board your way to victory. felt a little weird in DS3 but i guess it was the next logical step

 

[JudgmentJay]

Faster. I greatly prefer the speed of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 over Dark Souls 2.

 

[AzureFlame]

Dark Souls 1 had perfect speed for me.

 

[Fitts]

DS3 has the best combat in the series. DS2 is too slow while BB is too fast. (I do still love BB for being highly unique, though)

 

[Opa-Pa]

Regarding the first paragraph, congrats on seeing the light OP.

About speed, it's weird, Bloodborne is my favorite, but I still think I prefer slow combat and it's probably the first thing that made me fall in love with Demon's. There's something about having to think well before pressing the attack button that makes every encounter eventful, which I thought faster combat took away in later games.

Don't get me wrong, fast combat in DaS3 and Bloodborne is great, but it kind of made encounters more trivial, especially in the latter.

But yeah, DaS1 has my favorite combat and speed in general.

 

[Kolx]

Bloodborne for me is now the golden standard in the series when it comes to combat, so faster I guess.

 

[Kill3r7]

Faster. Bloodborne nailed it.

 

[Cugel]

DS/DS3 like

 

[Deleted member 2809]

Like 3. DS1 is a bit too sluggish at times.

 

[Joker Code]

They should all play like bloodborne.

 

[Prophaniti]

I like the faster combat. Im playing thrpugh The Surge right now and most of the weapons are painfully slow. It's been an adjustment.

 

[Arthoneceron]

As someone that played Dark Souls and a little of Bloodbourne, I would say faster.

 

[Coi]

DS3 and Bloodborne are perfect in their style (DS3 slower and Bloodborne faster). Anything slower than that it's not working for me.

 

[Deleted member 35204]

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[Truant]

BB is best, but because it has systems supporting the fast combat, such as regain, quick healing, quickstep etc.

 

[Sapo84]

It would be better to decide what do we mean with "fast".
DS3 is not that much faster than DS1 if we check the duration of most animations, ultra-greatsword are pretty damn slow and so on.
The main difference is that in DS3 you can roll and swing a lot more before depleting the stamina, thus making stamina management less taxing and the combat faster paced since you can attack and dodge without huge breaks.
Bloodborne on the other hand had longer combos, less recovery times, much faster swings, nearly immediate healing and plenty of stamina which made the combat pretty different than any Dark Souls (which is, in general, much more passive).

I personally dig both styles and I don't think that DS3 nailed the souls combat formula like the first title did, it's slower than Bloodborne but you can roll like 10 times consecutively.
DS3 with harsher stamina management would be pretty good for medieval style setting (heavy armors and so on), for everything else Bloodborne would probably be the best choice since it's more fluid and tight.

 

[Auron.90]

Since I suck at action games I prefer a slower paced combat system; but I've also finished Bloodborne without any problems, so... it's the same I guess?

 

[MrS]

Slower like Dark Souls

 

[GuitarGuruu]

I went sorcerer build this latest time in DS3 and it bored me to death, definitely going fast melee next time.

 

[SmittyWerbenManJensen]

I don't care. I like the combat in every one of the games, because the enemies reflect that combat pretty well. They're all top-tier.

 

[ranjaboy]

I prefer the slower paced combat. DS1 feels just right for me.

 

[DanteMenethil]

Iframes dodging and staying aggressive is the most fun playstyle for me in the souls game, so I guess fast pace?

 

[ilium]

The feeling of weight in 1 was perfect.

 

[DoubleTake]

In my opinion BB speed/gameplay feel is perfect. But the thing that makes it feel that way is more the animation feedback and the way enemies and bosses are designed around how your character moves.

BB's dodges and movement is fast and snappy. Enemy attacks are also this way, making the game feel like a dance once you get in the zone.

DS3 is similar however the visual feedback of rolling isnt as satisfying in my opinion. Also bosses and enemy attacks are generally slower and more "flowy".

DeS and DS1 are slower overal but the movement retains that snappy feeling that BB has. There's also great visual and audio feedback which really drives home the feeling of weight in your actions. So while slower they still feel good to play.

DS2 grants more freedom of movement but hampers player movement in others, and loses the snappy feeling/good visual feedback during combat that the other games have. In turn most enemies are slow and overly telegraphed, except when they arent making the game feel very unfun to play.

 

[Virtua King]

Faster. The OG Dark Souls was too slow for me, but Bloodborne (and Nioh) are my jam.

 

[Deleted member 7450]

Dark Souls made me appreciate slow paced methodical combat so... slow I guess.

 

[Novocaine]

Really not sure.

I love the slower more methodical pace of 2. You need to commit to swings more and if you fuck up you get punished.

But Bloodborne combat feels so damn good. It misses a lot of the risk/reward I felt though because stamina is basically infinite.

 

[Neoleo2143]

Both Work Fine. Fundamentally, Dark Souls works regardless of the speed it moves at (Assuming enemies are still able to be reacted to and read).

The original Souls concept of having the player and enemies attack at around the same slower speed is still a very clever one though.

 

[The Almighty Tria]

Slower for Dark Souls because From proved with Dark Souls 3 that they couldn't balance out Bloodborne style enemies with Dark Souls style moveset.

Luckily Bloodborne and Nioh's speedy combat is balanced extremely well with their respect enemy sets.

 

[Al3x1s]

Whatever works, so long as it's nicely designed with the player and enemy capabilities that make it fun and engaging for what it is.

 

[DoubleTake]

Slower for Dark Souls because From proved with Dark Souls 3 that they couldn't balance out Bloodborne style enemies with Dark Souls style moveset.

Luckily Bloodborne and Nioh's speedy combat is balanced extremely well with their respect enemy sets.

Click to shrink...

I think they did a good job in DS3 overall but I can see what you mean. Enemies like the Pontiff Knights with the curved swords and Sullyvahn would feel much much more fun to play with Bloodborne character speed. A lot of the time when fighting them it becomes a matter of dodging until their strings ends, where as with BB style movement youd be able to hit and run a lot easier.

 

[105.Will]

Slow, but that's not to say that they don't make fast work

 

[Rhaknar]

Im a 2h + shield tanky guy in all the souls games so guess :P

 

[Khalid030]

Bloodborne's combat is perfect