I'm thinking of playing (the original version of) Dark Souls 2

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

I've played BB and DS1 (gave this one away) and, while I absolutely loved BB I gave up on it like 30% through.

I'm thinking of giving a Souls game one more chance; rather than picking up BB mid-playthrough or starting all over, I'd rather just have a fresh start in an all-new game; plus there's something about Dark Souls II's presentation and atmosphere that I absolutely love. Also, for about another month or so, I only have access to my 360, and I've heard Scholar of the First Sin is worse, so I want to try DS2.

Is there a way to grind early-on?

A way to mess up my playthrough?

In general, the faster a character is, the more fun I have playing them. Are there any builds with a character that's kinda fast?

Are there a lot of hidden/obscure mechanics that can screw me over if I don't pay attention?

Thanks!

 

[henlo_birb]

I prefer SotFS, but the original is still fine. I-frames are tied to Adaptability. I think getting that to 20 puts you around where it is in DaS. Every soul you get will add to your soul memory counter -- matchmaking is limited by your soul memory tier. Dark Souls II is a lot more forgiving than Dark Souls in that it allows you to respec with a limited item. If you want a fast character just level up adaptability to get your agility to at least 100 and keep your equip load low. There aren't tiers of rolls (fast/mid/fat) like in DaS, it just slowly gets worse the more you have equipped.

 

[Kinsei]

1. No real way to grind early on. The way the game works is that once you kill an enemy enough times it just stops spawning altogether.

2. Not really, unless you start killing NPCs. You can mess up some sidequests, but the rewards from them aren't really massive.

3. Generally character speed is tied to the type of equipment you have on. So if you want to be fast then make sure you equip light armor. A light armor + dual wield build is really fun.

4. Make sure you level up adaptability (ADP) ASAP. This stat determines how many invincibility frames you ave while dodging.

5. When you reach the hub there is a stone that asks if you want to enter the covenant of champions. Doing this activates hard mode and the game doesn't tell you.

 

[collige]

I think Scholar and Vanilla are about the same. The enemy locations are slightly more annoying, but I'd say it's a lateral shift overall so play it on whatever platform is best.

Is there a way to grind early-on?

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Not that I can recall. The game is way harder to farm than other Souls games since enemies stop respawning after a while.

A way to mess up my playthrough?

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Not outside the usual way of fucking with NPCs and sidequests. There's a respec item that is given out fairly liberally.

In general, the faster a character is, the more fun I have playing them. Are there any builds with a character that's kinda fast?

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There's plenty. You can also dual wield some weapons if you wanna go shieldless.

Are there a lot of hidden/obscure mechanics that can screw me over if I don't pay attention?

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Put points into adaptability. The amount of invincibility you get during a roll is tied to it. Otherwise, the weight/roll system from DS1 is back, but the thresholds are different.

 

[Gevurztraminer]

Dks2 is not the game if you want a 'fast' game. Sure you can spec to be agile, but it's never going to be fast. I recently played scholar, okayed base at launch, and I think scholar is better. It also has the dlc, which are worth playing.

 

[Shiny Pokemon Hunter]

Hopefully you'll have fun with it. I started with DS2 and this have the most nostalgic memories of it. The lore and locations will probably put you to sleep compared to DS1 but the combat is much more fluid now.

 

[Odesu]

In general, the faster a character is, the more fun I have playing them. Are there any builds with a character that's kinda fast?

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If you want a fast game, DS 2 is not for you. It's by far the slowest game in the franchise, the jump from DS 2 -> DS 1 in difference of speed is aking to DS 1 -> BB imo.

I'd also advise you to go for SotfS, the DLC is BY FAR the best part of the game and I wouldn't really agree that it made the game worse. Enemy placement was already all over the place in the original version.

 

[IGgy IGsen]

Dark Souls II is my least favorite Souls game but still an utterly fantastic game in spite of its troubled development.

Even though you mentioned you wanted to play vanilla I recommend Scholar of the First Sin instead. It's, in my opinion, just straight up the better version. Unless, of course, you have a reason you want to play vanilla instead. It's still a good game, but its encounter design is much worse than SotFS for the most part. You can still play the other version after you've finished but if you're only gonna play one SotFS is the way to go as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Deleted member 14735]

There seem to be people on both sides of the fence, personally I prefer the original Dark Souls II as well, but that's assuming with DLC included. If it's pure vanilla Dark Souls II or Scholar with the DLC, then for sure Scholar with the DLC is the way to go.

Echoing the others who said to level adaptability, I always start my playthroughs dumping points in it until I have iirc 99 agility, which I think is the mid roll from Dark Souls 1 iframes? Correct me if I'm wrong. And then as I play through the game I build it up to 105 agility which is the iframes for fast rolls, which is usually around 30~ adaptability. Depending on your comfort level you'll want to be at either 99 or 105 probably.

And yea, Dark Souls II is a very slow, sludgy feeling game. Go dex if you want to feel as fast as you're going to.

Also worth noting that you can actually grind if you want to, you just need to be in the champion's covenant. It also makes the enemies more difficult though, but it'll stop them from despawning.

 

[ghibli99]

Don't skip the DLC; it has some of the best content in the game. It also has some of the most infuriating stuff, but hey, that's Souls for ya. :)

I played through SotFS last year. I do have vanilla + DLC as well, and this thread might give me just enough of a nudge to play through it vanilla. But first, Sekiro.

 

[Lumination]

Also worth noting that you can actually grind if you want to, you just need to be in the champion's covenant. It also makes the enemies more difficult though, but it'll stop them from despawning.

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I hate that this kills NPC questlines as you can't summon them. DS2 why.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

there is a stone that asks if you want to enter the covenant of champions. Doing this activates hard mode and the game doesn't tell you.

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......that's so stupid

 

[Ferrs]

......that's so stupid

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It does tell you that game will be harder, in a dark souls way (joining will put you in an ardous path or something like that) it also ask you like 3 times if you're sure. And even still, you can always opt out back after joining.

 

[thepenguin55]

It does tell you that game will be harder, in a dark souls way (joining will put you in an ardous path or something like that) it also ask you like 3 times if you're sure. And even still, you can always opt out back after joining.

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It's not really the same thing but something about that wording always reminded me of the descriptions of the different difficulties in REmake