Are the pre-order items worth getting? I am asking because the cheapest steam keys i can find don't include the pre-order bonuses (7€ difference).

All the stats on them that I've seen makes them look like total ass. They look like they've all been dipped in taffy too. I would say no, they aren't worth the money.

Plus, you can buy them from a merchant later in game.

Honestly, they are pretty awful even for starting gear.

I got a T-shirt for pre-ordering the physical PC copy, certainly beats any of those in-game items.

Transgressor's Staff isn't too bad if you're going hex/spell early on, but that's kind of it?

They have garbage for scaling.

Plus you can buy them later on in the game if you HAVE to have them. Granted by that point you're near the end and probably have great gear already. So yeah...

Don't worry about it. Plus they look super stupid.

If you already know you are going to get it on Steam that's worth it in and of itself. That and you can usually preload the game which is nice.

The items themselves aren't anything to shout home about but I was thinking of doing the pre order as well for the other bonuses that come with it (soundtrack, comic book PDF thing, art book PDF thing). In game pre order items are not really the draw for me doing it.

OH SHIT!

I just realised that I never got a code for that stuff in my collector's edition. . . Bought it directly from Namco's store too. Huh.

I finished Dark Souls II like three weeks ago now so to answer your question; I guess not.

I used one of the DLC shield until I found myself another shield in very early on. I believe I also used one of the DLC weapons when my starting weapon was on the verge of breaking. They can be useful early on, but you'll eventually replace them.

The only worthy bonuses DS2 had were in japan where you could get a wooden box with resin models of a bunch of the games weapons and shields. The in game pre order bonuses are a joke, don't waste your money. Like others have also said, they can still be bought in game if you just have to have them.

Not at all, they have bad scaling and you can get them later in the game. I think the only useful one is the light shield because the stats required aren't ridiculous for new characters

They were only useful to me because I started as the class without a shield, and this gave me a shield I could use right away.

I actually think the Faraam armor looks cool. Just a preference thing obviously. I've seen many people say they don't like how it looks, but I used it on one of my characters and really enjoyed the ... cosmetic value? No idea if that's a thing. It is now though.

Anyway, no you don't need get any of the items. You get access to them earlier in the game with the pre-order, but they are still in the game if you don't have that pre-order bonus. You just get access to them in the latter half of the game. I haven't used any of the weapons, because I think all the weapons look shit. I used the armor though and it's not bad at all. I guess you can get better armor compared to the weight it has, but whatever. I never maximize weight/armor/cost efficiency and effectiveness. I care more about how my dude looks than him taking several % more damage. I found that all the armors I really liked the look of, when reinforced to +10, they all get the job done just fine.

They are pretty much garbage, the black armor set is kinda cool, but you get that later on anyways. Plus that part of the preorder stuff seems broken because I had to get the black armor the normal way even though it was suppsed to be with the pre order code in the black armor edition.

Thanks for the replies, got the cheapest steam key i could find (30€).

What? Faraam armor isn't the preorder stuff is it? Either way i LOVE the faraam armor, i use it myself as well.

I was talking about the stupid weapons and shields.

I didn't get the weapons till the day after I started playing it and by then they were pretty much garbage. You will find better stuff two hours in.

@clonedzero: It's not? Huh... I was under the impression it was, but now that you mention it I have no idea where I got that from. I haven't used my code yet and probably never will. I don't see the point to get stuff early. I barely ever use pre-order stuff anyway. Still have some stuff for ME3. Played that game to shit and never used that code either.

Personally I love making a new character and immediately having options instead of having to go through the motions for the first few hours, they're not particularly powerful but they're fun to use much like almost every other weapon.