Dark Souls (Original) vs. Dark Souls 2

Is it just me, or did they change halberds in DaS2? I just can't make them work and halberds were all I ever used in DaS1 tbh. It's like they're weaker and it's tougher to hit with them. Man I loved my halberd

 

@SOB Buliwyf,

You won't be able to invade low level people unless they are intentionally staying low level, which is the only benefit to the new system of using soul memory instead of soul level. Maybe they should go from a system of soul memory in NG and then transition
over to soul level in NG+ and beyond. That would work much better IMO.

@Sipuli91,

Yes, the Halberds were changed. They have new movesets. I don't know if they are tougher to hit with, but they may be weaker. I've used the Helix Halberd on one of my characters and the normal attacks are pretty weak. The strong attacks are very strong,
however, as long as you get the spacing right. I do believe you can also attack from behind a shield now with a halberd, which is a plus. I do know that it's way hard to avoid getting hit in PvP when someone uses the running 2H attack.

 

@R3d P01nt I think it is like that for invasions. I remember reading somewhere that Soul Memory is only relevant in NG. I could be wrong though.

 

Not according to everything that I've seen or experienced. My friend was about 50 levels above me (way out of range) but could summon me (and I him) because our soul memories were close enough (in both NG and NG+). Soul memory seems to be the only thing
that matters. In fact, that's how it's reported in the wiki as well...

darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Summon+Range+Calculator

 

Well, never mind then. I probably read it on a forum somewhere.

That's really unfortunate. As you said, there is no incentive really to stop at an unofficial PvP SL. All the MLG kids will be making Mundane Santiers Hex tanks in no time.

 

1. Eh, I personally thought DS2 was harder than DS1. I guess this will vary from person to person so I can't really say much on this. DS1 was a push-over for me compared to this one. (Not saying this game is all that hard either)

2. Doesn't really bother me personally.

3. I actually prefer the Dark Souls 1 system. While I think the "survival horror" element, as you call it, is greater in this game due to weapons being extremely fragile, I personally hate repairing my stuff every 10 minutes.

4. I'm going to strongly disagree with this. NG+ and NG are separated. Once you hit NG+, the invasions start happening. I get invaded A LOT, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

5. I personally like this covenant, when you play as a Brother of Blood and become a sinner, you literally get invaded by these guys every 5 minutes. It's even better because using their Cracked Blue Eye orb will bring them anywhere. Which is the main reason
why they invade so often as a sinner.

6. Secondary items as in usable items? If so, I'll have to disagree with this too. All the spell restoring herbs are incredibly useful for those who rely on magic to get through areas. All of the items, particularly the charms are situational. They'll be
useless if you aren't in the right situation, but given the proper circumstances can be super helpful.

7. I can't comment on this. I personally never use enchanted weapons. That applies for Dark Souls 1 as well.

8. Early game sorcery is weak, I'll give you that much. That is due to the bumped up intelligence requirements on spells. However, end game magic is insane. Sorcerers can practically one shot bosses when they get Soul Geyser, and then combine that will increased
spell casts or even Soul Vortex. In PvP, even if you are good at dodging, it is incredibly easy to be one-shotted by sorcery.

9. Dark Souls 1 was practically the same way as well. You collect the "four lord souls" to kill Gwyn and light the bonfire. Dark Souls 2 you collect the "four great souls" to kill Nashandra and become king.

10. I personally didn't find any cutscenes in either game epic. That's all based off my opinion though, so I can't say for others.

11. I've never had issues with movement. (Except playing fashion souls with butterfly armor and jumping off cliffs)

12. I'll agree this can be confusing for players new to Souls series starting with DS1.

13. I usually don't buy weapons, so it doesn't really affect me. I will agree that this can be annoying for other players who do though.

As for Soul Memory, as R3d P01nt mentioned it can really ruin PvP. It's kind of idiotic that you can be level 150 and go against a level 800. However, the "community determined PvP level is 150" and with how long I've been playing I haven't encountered any
serious issue of people being FAR superior to my character stat-wise.

People can level up as much as they like, I will remain 150. Even if I'm invading, or being invaded by 800's I won't mind. In my eyes it's just a way to see who the better player is, and if they are better than me so be it. It will be a learning experience
and a way for me to get better at PvP. That's just me though.

I do dislike how late into the game you can really start getting into PvP though. In Dark Souls 1, if you really wanted to, you could be PvPing at level 50 in the Forest within an hour of starting. In this game, you won't have that opportunity due to Soul
Memory issues and the fact that Iron Keep is so much further into the game than the forest. I say Iron Keep because from what I've seen so far, it seems that it has become the designated PvP area.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, dude. I'm not one to argue. Everyone's experience is different. I just know that for me, I feel pretty disappointed in DS2 compared to DS1...

Speaking of which, the original Dark Souls will be up for free during June Games with Gold! Time for any noobs reading who haven't played it to pick it up! (Unlikely on this forum, but you never know.) I'm looking forward to the nice surge in the DS1 player
pool starting next month

 

DBJ,

Try fighting in the Brotherhood of Blood arena. 90% of my matches are against fast rolling tanks with heavy weapons that are buffed and they're also using dark fog and/or sacred oath. Also, you may not be running into high level characters routinely yet
due to your soul memory. Once you start to hit a certain soul memory though (and 12 million is the spot where you're open to everyone above that) you start to see them more and more.

 

@Judas

"9. Dark Souls 1 was practically the same way as well. You collect the "four lord souls" to kill Gwyn and light the bonfire. Dark Souls 2 you collect the "four great souls" to kill Nashandra and become king."

The king of what exactly? It's not like whatevertheplacewascalledinDaS2 has much for you to rule over. I mean, you killed the bosses so what's left is a handful of NPCs and a bunch of rotting undead. Wow, it's so great to be a king of that place, eh? At
least in DaS1 you either gave the cursed (and the uncursed as well) more time to figure things out by strengthening the first flame or you decided it's time for the true Darkness to come. Those things both changed the world, the latter option changes it big
time. But becoming a king in DaS2? Changes literally nothing. You killed Nashandra, big deal. Nothing changed. You didn't cure the curse or even yourself. The place won't be thriving after you become a king since it's just full of cursed or undead things.
So you're the king of nothing. I stand behind my words: in DaS2 you only kill bosses for the sake of killing them while in DaS1 there was still some kind of a plot, an actual reason to your actions.

 

Interesting theories as to the ending:

 

@R3d P01nt:

Oh, believe me, I've fought in the Brotherhood of Blood arena plenty. I'm currently at 18.9 million Soul Memory, and I RARELY encounter those who are higher leveled. Am I saying this doesn't exist? No, of course not, I know it exists. It just happens to
be that I have yet to really fight too many people like this.

@Sipuli91

Yeah, those are both options that can change the world. But did we see any changes in the world in DS2 compared to DS1? Nope. Look at the first video that Lactos292 has posted. I think Vaati nailed it. These things are indeed cyclical as with Nashandra,
Vendrick and your character. Then with Gwyn, and your DS1 character. How exactly are these different when everything is cyclical and eventually resets?

 

Sorry, I can't watch any Vaati videos (I can't stand his voice, or the way he speaks, or maybe it's the mixture of them, I don't know, but he makes me wanna kill some cute kittens in the most brutal ways imaginable). While DaS1 might be cyclical, you at
least changed something (more time or true darkness). You know, kinda like history likes to repeat itself in real life as well, yet we still see some major changes as well between those moments when things pretty much reset? But in DaS2 all that is gone. You
change nothing. So the next adventurer is just going to kill you for no reason at all, other than to complete the cycle? What's the point of that?