Dark Souls 2

[Jimmy T. Malice]

I think a good name for another Souls game would be Dead Souls. It's a bit nondescript, but it ties in with the whole Darksign thing.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Maaaaaan now I want dark souls 2...goddamnit guys.

But seriously it would be nice if they fixed the co op so you could actually play with your friends easily. I think I have played with a mate like once on that game.

 

[Cassidy Hill]

to the guys complaining about "forced" pvp..
i think you can only get invaded if you are in human form. *edited out incorrect statement about black separation crystal*

Anyways i wish i had your problems. I've played 120 hours and have only been invaded 4 times. Probably to do with being in western australia.

 

[Liquidcool]

To the people having problems with accidentally killing/attacking NPC's, you have two things you can do. If you didn't kill them, then request absolution from Oswald and they'll forgive you for attacking. Option number 2 is finish the game and go into New Game plus.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

In terms of naming it would be quite cool to go with Dark Souls 2. It would be an ode to Heretic, HeXen and HeXen 2.

Nope.

As in... absolutely hell no!

No numbers in my Souls games. It would make them look like any of those other games, you know, the bling-laden AAA whores that think adding growing numbers to their names is original enough.

Demon's Souls
Dark Souls
...

Anything goes if it sticks to that mold. Devil's Souls? Sounds a bit cheesy. Dog Day Souls? Nah.

Dragon Souls would have been pretty much my favourite up until Capcom announced (and later released) Dragon's Dogma. So, no Dragon Souls, I guess.

Deviant Souls sounds nice.

Damned Souls...Deplored Souls... lots of possibilities. But they absolutely must not change the core mechanics in any significant way, as they are as perfect and honourable as possible already. The PVP with the smurfers was definitely broken, but it felt good once I managed to start killing them... and getting a million souls or whatnot for my effort. The invasion system I found to be an integral part of my experience, and when I felt weak and tired I just plain didn't go online for a bit. It took me a while to sync out of the damnating hymns of 'reviewing' these games, but once I realized it was From Software of King's Field fame and infamy behind it, there was just no way I wouldn't try them on for size and love them to death. Their traditions must not be broken or messed with. This ain't no Harry Potter party.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

To the people having problems with accidentally killing/attacking NPC's, you have two things you can do. If you didn't kill them, then request absolution from Oswald and they'll forgive you for attacking. Option number 2 is finish the game and go into New Game plus.

Aye.

I've done both repeatedly, and there's just nothing that compares to not being able to shop for essential items because one made a mistake and planted a poisoned dagger in that unique, specific, friendly undead merchant's face. It makes you think about how stupid it was to make such a mistake, it makes you miss that NPC, and it makes the game experience harder - and, in the end, more rewarding. Come NG+, Donkey Kong is beating his chest on top again, the princess is in the cage and Mario is back to the very beginning. It's quite philosophical, quite meta, and at times it feels like a practical joke being played with the player being at the receiving end of it. But I still haven't grown tired of Lordran or Boletaria. Give me some more of that, give me more Souls. There's still nothing like them around. Dragon's Dogma took bits and pieces and implemented them in its more D&D style, Shadow of the Colossus enhanced system, which worked for me safe for those Jedward-style always-babbling NPCs. Zombie-U brings another serving of permadeath, which I think rocks and really motivates you to get better, be better and get over it. From Software is a beautiful flower, I hope those darned Kinect contracts won't crush it.

 

[00slash00]

dark souls was basically the same as demons souls but with tighter controls. only thing id really like to chnge is the way the story is presented. until i watched epicnamebro's lore series about the game, i didnt even know dark souls really had a plot

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Maaaaaan now I want dark souls 2...goddamnit guys.

But seriously it would be nice if they fixed the co op so you could actually play with your friends easily. I think I have played with a mate like once on that game.

You'll be glad to know that I've got a Moonlight character

Moonlight GS, Moonlight Spear.

Pursuers are broken as fuck!

[HEADING=1]And I love it.[/HEADING]

 

[thejackyl]

More upgrade paths, Like Demon's Souls. (Hard and Sharpstone could be blended into one, since those are just the base upgrades)
More move sets like Demon's Souls
Pause button for OFFLINE ONLY
Ability to respec, but only once you reach NG+. (My idea is once you reach NG+ a new NPC appears in the Nexus/Firelink and can reallocate your points for free, or refund your points for a fraction of the souls that you refund, say 50-75%. So if you're level 300, you can move those points around freely, but if you want to de-level to level 120, you will be refunded for 180 levels, and than lose a significant portion of the refunded souls.)
Ability to buy all upgrade stones in NG+ (Slabs/Pure Stones will be expensive, probably about 50000 to 100000 souls)

If Covenants return:
PVP focused on invading randomly (like Darkwraiths)
PVP focused on invading the above (like Darkmoon via the indictment)
PVE focused on Co-op (like Sunbros - hosts risk invasion, but everyone rewarded by Co-oping)
PVE ONLY Covenant (using a useless covenant Way of the White as an example, but there are no rewards for Co-oping other than souls, can only play with other WotW members, also cannot invade by using items, or at the very least significantly reduces invasions)

Voice chat. (Yes, I know we'll get mic spammers, but it's easier and faster to just say: "Need Smough's Soul, kill Ornstein first" than it is to hit "home", wait for the PSN menu to load, go to messages, load, type the message using a controller, load, wait for a reply, load...)

Better appearance customization. Keep the sliders and all that, but have some different presets. I liked the character customization on Dragon's Dogma (Different company, I know) where you can pick from like 30 preset face, eye, nose, mouth, ear, shapes and after that you can mess with the sliders.

One last thing, possibly having the ability to customize your starting class. All stats start at 1, and you have 74 or so points to distribute to make your character. Now to make sure you don't create an imbalanced class, you can only max a stat at 14 or 16 at this point.

 

[dancinginfernal]

Snip.

The thing is, this is a game. A game in which if you hit a button you'll swing and smack someone in the face. If you drop your controller and maim a guy in the head, that sucks man. For the most part though, no attacks can one-shot an NPC unless you're buffed and ready for murder. Unfortunately, in Dark Souls, as you said, the take the slightest hostility to incite retaliation. I think Demon's Souls still handled this better. It takes 3-4 hits before they attempt to engage, and they're willing to accept it was a mistake on your part.

I honestly think that's the best it would get, but I don't think they really need to tell you "These guys aren't coming back." Since the first two people you meet, The Crestfallen Warrior and Petrus, aren't really merchants (although Petrus sells shitty, early miracles) you can try and kill them and realize the folly.

The do address it to an extent, especially since killing these people is murder.

Unless you drop on someone's head, in which case that's some bullshit.

 

[Jfswift]

I'd love to see a desert level in the new souls game.

Spoiler

like the final stage in demons souls. I loved that area, brief as it was.

Also I'd like see a perk system for new characters. Nothing too extravagant but maybe it could be based on background, like say a warrior background would offer a small 5% damage bonus. You could also have the option of switching between right and left handedness. For example you would now two hand the left weapon instead (or offer ambidexterity for both hands being able to two hand).

Maybe offer "corruption" where certain souls would alter the main characters appearance. More eyes, arms, blue skin? Maybe something cool like dragon form?

Also and I expect a few people to oppose me but there should be a linear initial stage similar to demons souls that warms new comers up to basic combat mechanics ( I'm including world 1-1 and the optional tutorial. Dark Souls was a great game but the asylum did not prepare new players for the dangers ahead). It would be nice if at least there was a bigger manual explaining things too. A barrier to entry means less profit for the company and the possibility of not getting a sequel. Adding an optional (or subtle) tutorial will not affect hard difficulty. It's not a crazy hard game once you figure out the mechanics, however throwing the player against huge mobs like at the beginning of dark souls isn't a great idea.

Make the hit box smaller for backstabs. Fix input lag and try to fix online lag (two separate issues, both problematic and game breaking).

Different starting areas or co-op modes for RP purposes. Like if you served the way of white for example.

Oh! And offer a system where you can reorder skill points if you wreck your build. I think one freeby would be fair? Maybe heavily penalize the player for any further ones?

Edit: kind of a random thought, but what adding in black powder weapons?

Edit 2: It needs more wandering mobs too.

 

[Ham Blitz]

snip

snip

Better broken-straight sword. I tell you, trying to kill that first boss with this thing before passing... It was a pain, I mean I managed after 10 tries or so. And I got this big badass hammer for it, but who's idea was it to pit noobs against a ten tons asylum demon with the equavelant of a broken bottle without ways of healing yourself?

Wow dude, I just have to mention that you're kind of expected to run from that fight and take it out later with a proper weapon and the Estus flask, if you really beat the Asylum Demon with just the starting broken sword... Mad props bro. You're almost blindly determined for not thinking to look around the room and finding the very open escape door the moment it drops in.

But you get a nice hammer if you beat him...

I like self imposed challenges! I'll try this and post the results.

...

Yep, got steamrolled. I want that hammer! >:-D

If you really want that hammer and don't care for the starting gifts, take the black fire bombs. About 4 or 5 of those things should easily kill the demon and get you a brand new hammer.

 

[crimson sickle2]

One thing that would be really cool would be to be able to switch between right and left-handed. So if your character was lefty, they would hold a shield in the right hand and weapon in the left, and the shoulder buttons would be reversed for them. Same animations, but flipped horizontally. It would be a relatively simple change that could lead to interesting strategies.

On the subject of hands, I feel like the game should add some kinds of extra attack combo possibilities for dual-wielding weapons. Like a simultaneous attack or something.

Also, lip sync. It's kind of weird seeing a modern game where people talk and their mouths either don't move or just cycle the same talking animation. I'm sure they'll have a bigger budget for their next game and they'll be able to get this little detail in.

You are one of the few people I agree 100% with, on this thread. I thought duel-wielding was okay, I played through most of the game with a dagger and scimitar, but the off-hand weapon only having one attack did limit the potential combos to one that barely works by stun-locking enemies. They could probably just give the character the same actions on both hands, with the player being able to lock an input into block or parry. The mouth thing is very disturbing as well.

Other topics: I always thought it was cool how items go mostly unexplained (how would a space-alien know what a grenade does without pulling the pin), but I'd like some more information at least in the instruction manual, pertaining to what could be done and what can't be done. A warning sign in the manual stating the mortality of vendors is cool, I feel a similar warning in-game would break immersion and flow. A notice about illusory walls would nice, I can't think of a game since LoZ:OoT or Castlevania that pulls that crap.

Invasions should be voluntary, once when I was in the undead parish with my lv 8 cleric data, some asshole invaded me with the best crossbow in the game and pierced my shield with a katana, dealing 20% of my health.

I honestly don't know how FROM could make the game less linear, except with other ways to Anor Lando. When a player can reach the second bell's boss fight with less than 15 minutes of gameplay and most of the world links itself together, the game is not linear.

Maybe some more support to DEX players. I like feeling like the under-dog when strength players get 13 different kinds of greatswords, not to mention the "great" class weapons; meanwhile there are 6 knives with the addition of DLC. Some more weapons would be nice, especially with late-game in mind. Arrows currently hold up against monsters, but most DEX weapons are in the 80 base power range before upgrades, the Dragon King Greataxe has base-power of 380.

 

[Jfswift]

Make using two weapons at once a viable strategy and make ones shield and sword hand interchangable. By the way I'm saying "sword" in place of whatever weapon you like to use.


And let me bloody pause the game!

Absolutely no to a pause function!

If you want to pause the game, quit to the main menu, go to the loo, interact with people, find food and drink and take care of your metabolic functions... and then go back to playing * Souls.

At first, I thought they were being obnoxious. I died putting down the pad, I killed NPC merchants putting down the pad... or picking it up again, accidentally throwing a poisoned dagger at one - pretty vital - merchant that then started to curse at me horribly, which was bad enough - I just ran away and felt bad. The next time I felt like going shopping, she was lying dead on the floor, with rats gnawing at her. It had quite an impact on me, even before I realized that it could not be 'fixed' and that, nope, I could not bring her back to life.

Easily letting me pause the game would take that feeling of importance and responsibility away. You don't step away from a * Souls game. It's not bloody Mario.

I agree on the no pause button. It seems fair and realistic that you'd get mobbed while digging through your gear in a place you prob shouldn't be (but maybe bring back the nexus?). Also your post gave me an idea. A faith based, "ressurection" spell that works on npcs and co-op players maybe. Also and off topic but a "necromancy" branch might be neat. Think like Undead Rapport but more spells like that.

 

[mitchell271]

-deleted

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Wouldn't it be Dark Souls 3?...or whatever its going to be called. I would say, the next Souls game.

First game was Demons Souls, Second was Dark Souls.

OT: Demons Souls is amazing and although I haven't got to Dark Souls yet, I am sure it is amazing also. So they should just keep what they are doing!

No, they have nothing in common except being almost the exact sames games.

Dark Souls was made as a "spiritual successor" in order to go behind Sony and release the title for Xbox also. Since Sony owns the rights to Demon's Souls IP, Dark Souls can never have any link to that game unless the developers want to see Sony's lawyers throwing a fiasco.

Patches the Hyena is in both games, same voice actor. The same guy did the Crestfallen Warrior in both games, as well. From Software merely wanted to expand their audience beyond just PS3 users.

Something I'd like to see is a personal phantom that haunts and hounds the player from time to time throughout the course of the game. That would be awesome.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I agree on the no pause button. It seems fair and realistic that you'd get mobbed while digging through your gear in a place you prob shouldn't be (but maybe bring back the nexus?). Also your post gave me an idea. A faith based, "ressurection" spell that works on npcs and co-op players maybe. Also and off topic but a "necromancy" branch might be neat. Think like Undead Rapport but more spells like that.

Aye, I'd totally accept that. But the resurrection bit should be some high level faith stuff, not something everybody should get for free. Necromancy could be either also faith based, but sort of the dark side of faith, or high level int material.

We already have somwhat safe zones in Dark Souls, namely the bonfires. Mobs usually don't walk into those zones if you haven't kited them there. If you're choosing to play offline, there's very little probability anything sneaks up on you there.

If you choose to play online, you've chosen to play the real game, and you can get invaded pretty much everywhere, anytime. I like that.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Something I'd like to see is a personal phantom that haunts and hounds the player from time to time throughout the course of the game. That would be awesome.

Soooooo... something like the Nemesis fella in Resident Evil? Or little girl Alma in F.E.A.R.? Or Tetrahedronhead from Silent Hill?

Hmmm. To be honest, I found pretty much anything haunting, scary and pretty deadly in both Dark and Demon's Souls, and the Ctulhu-Heads sure funked me out a bit.

Would that personal phantom be immortal or just constantly recovering/reforming/resurrecting?