Current Events > Hot take: 2 is the best dark soul

(+) Yeah! (+)

Scholars

It's the one I got into first and got into it super hard. But it progressively became towards the bottom for me too. Still love it tho. I actually liked that it worried more about making places diverse rather than make sense initially. I still don't really care that much of the world makes complete sense.

I wouldn't go that far, but it's not as bad as it's reputation. Bosses are pretty bad is my main knock on it.

BuckVanHammer posted...

I wouldn't go that far, but it's not as bad as it's reputation. Bosses are pretty bad is my main knock on it.

Which was way more noticable after I came back to it when playing the rest of the series. Souls has progressively got better at making bosses and it's hardly even preference related where it's debatable. I think it's just accepted as knowledge. The earlier gane bosses are kind of embarrassing now. Im kind of surprised it wasn't pointed out more when Demon Souls Remake came out too tbh.

People with good taste already know this.

Dark Souls 2 is kind of bad.

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is awful

DeadBankerDream posted...

Dark Souls 2 is kind of bad.

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is awful

What's the diff

Definitely prefer OG Dark Souls 2 over scholar. Scholar doubled down on hordes of enemies which I found super lame

Having recently replayed the entire series I have no qualms putting Dark Souls 2 above 1. In fact, I only found them to get better with each iteration, so I rank them 3 > 2 > 1

Enemy setup is shuffled up in a way to make it "harder" with no regard for what would make logical sense for an enemy placement. It makes the whole thing have the feel of shit thrown together without a regard for world consistency. I play these games mainly to immerse myself in the world. Vanilla DS2 has issues there, like the famous elevator, but at least they didn't create such problems after "revisiting and improving" on it.

ALSO THEY MURDERED THE RING OF SACRIFICE CHEESE!

I never play DS2 because I'd have to play on PS3 since they won't port the original version, just their "superior" scholar version. Sucks.

From Software is such a godlike studio that even their "bad" games are still better then 90% of the entire AAA industry put together.

Dark Souls 2 was a lot of fun, I remember having a lot of fun with the pirate cove/town (No-Man's Wharf) and Huntsmans Copse and any level that wasnt poison (which there were admittedly a lot).

Nobody in their right mind can say Dark Souls 2 isn't the worst of the series. Dark Souls 3 > Dark Souls > Dark Souls 2 is the only acceptable answer.

DS3 is the worst in the series.

Not counting Scholar

DeadBankerDream posted...

DS3 is the worst in the series.

Might actually be my favorite

It's genuinely bad which is unfortunate bc I like everything else in the soulsborne universe.

It's garbage like the opinions of people that like it

Adaptability.

refmon posted...

Adaptability.

This post needed a trigger warning.

2 was my first, and in general, I have a lot more fun with it when I play with friends. The rest of the series I prefer solo, but this one was a hoot together

refmon posted...

Adaptability.

You must've followed IGN's guide

I agree it's my favorite

DeadBankerDream posted...

DS3 is the worst in the series.

Not counting Scholar

everyone is entitled to an opinion but this is a wrong opinion

You are absolutely correct, TC.
This was truly a hot take. dks2 is worst souls.

Crimson_Corsair posted...

Nobody in their right mind can say Dark Souls 2 isn't the worst of the series

Like half of DS1 is good. It completely falls apart after Anor Londo until it swings back into greatness with the DLC

When 2 falls apart depends entirely on when you learn about adaptability and fall damage and the hitboxes.
Theoretically it could fall apart before you even start the game

I'm watching he GDQ DS2 run.
Movement still looks rigid, combat still looks unsatisfying.
Also damn they give you a Titanite Slab for Prowling Magus and friends? Generous.

DS2 seems like they just wanted to make a generic JRPG with none of the features that made Demon's Souls and DS1 stand out.

• Shit ton of different consumable items that heal, buff, cure various ailments, and other nonsense. Life gems are easily found and cheaply bought.
• Even bigger focus on summoning NPC's and players.
• You can fast travel from the start.
• Wearing heavy armour is not as punishing, and wearing lighter armour is not as rewarding.
• Even more bonfires per level than DS1, and they are rarely, if ever, hidden.
• Upgrading weapons is easier, and you can reset your stats. Meaning your decisions on how to build your character are not as important, punishing, or difficult.
• Much bigger focus on stats, the classic example being that they tied i-frames to Adaptability. They also smoothed the level curve by both requiring fewer souls per level, and having enemies drop more souls when killed.
• Story is so vague and meaningless that it's like the developers don't really know what the first game's themes were trying to convey, so they just winged it. They delivered a generic isekai story where you kill the bad guy and become king or something. I say "or something" because it's not really clear what happens at the end of the game, unlike DS1 where each separate outcome is clear.
• Only like 10% of the bosses are actually memorable. Individual bosses don't have enough of an identity, they are basically just the same kind of random enemy you find everywhere, but bigger. Outside of a couple of examples in the early game, they don't have enough uniqueness to them as an encounter. They're almost always just a big entity that you whale on until it's dead.

Still, it's better than <insert random RPG with terrible gameplay to serve as a low bar>.

Irony posted...

When 2 falls apart depends entirely on when you learn about adaptability and fall damage and the hitboxes.
Theoretically it could fall apart before you even start the game

Bro fall damage and learning boxes is a part of every Dark Souls game. and it's like 10 years old adaptability is pretty well established as necessary

Nope

I don't know if it's the best but it's my favorite of the trilogy and the one I've replayed the most. Pre-nerf lightning spears were some of the most fun I've ever had in a video game.

Haven't seen anybody bitch about weapon durability yet. That shit was infuriating. Power stance a couple scimitars and they would be broken in about 2 minutes of combat.

It was the fucking worst.

2 was shit on the 360/ps3
Sotfs was amazing on the Xbox one/PS4

There's a difference

But it's still way better than ds3 aka wannabe Bloodborne.

Best pvp in the series

Crimson_Corsair posted...

Haven't seen anybody bitch about weapon durability yet. That shit was infuriating. Power stance a couple scimitars and they would be broken in about 2 minutes of combat.

It was the fucking worst.

You just reminded me of that weapon that gets a new moveset once you break it

For a single playthrough I'd call it the worst but I put way more time into it than 3