Might be the most amazing Souls experience I've had yet.

So I am having an experience with this game that will be unlike any other souls game you've played. Usually with a new souls game you go in with no expectations and everything is new. Going into this though is so much different. Dark Souls 2 is a game I have played for hundreds and hundreds of hours. I know every mob and item placement in the game. I have expectations of what I should find around the bend, and the game is messing with that. Even in the tutorial section there's a big twist that had me going oh man, so this is how it's going to be is it.

Huh, now I'm much more interested in Dark Souls II, see what they've been adding for returning players. I wouldn't mind starting a new character using all the skills I've learnt in Bloodborne (like not using shields or in general just parry more).

@top8gamer: I wasn't even considering purchasing until I read this.

Digital Foundry's analysis seems pretty favorable as well, have you experienced any frame rate issues?

(I'm assuming you're on PS4?)

I was going to just buy the DLC for the original since charging for better textures seems insane, but upgrading to this is actually cheaper. Is the DLC included? I'd assume so, but that seems like too good of a deal if so.

I beat that first one-eyed golem equipped like this. That felt alright.

The Steam store page claims that it contains all Dark Souls 2 content released to date.

Yeah, I've been playing it since this morning and it really feels like they took the complaints of the game being easier to heart. In the first few areas there's way more enemies to deal with, and usually there's stronger mobs thrown into the mix. The item placement has also been changed in a pretty significant way. Without giving away too much, I'll simply say that Grand Lance users will be happy with it's new, generous placement.

I had no idea it was also a remixed version. That might make a purchase somewhere down the road more justifiable.

I consider myself a Souls veteran, and I was immediately getting my ass kicked last night. I also joined that covenant that makes the game harder (Champions..?) to make it even worse. I flew through 2 the first time so I wanted a challenge, looks like I got it!

I plan on getting this as soon as I am done with BB. I put over 400 hours into the PS3 version, but the changes have me excited to play it again. Plus I never played any of the DLC.

This has been pretty brutal so far, but it's just straight up hilarious to me so far. Just got ganked running around a corner because there used to be an enemy playing dead there, but now he's got a vengeance.

The main reason I stopped using shields months ago is because the characters don't know how to hold them. I mostly roll anyway. Also, melee weapons can be used to parry and riposte now and most weapons are more effective when held with two hands, so the shields are kind of redundant. When I'm not two-handing, I use my left hand weapon.

I'm not buying this. Ever. As expected, the changes appear to be pretty minimal. They could have put the alternate enemy placements in the old game. I don't wanna lose my character and unlock the achievements (30/38) again.

There appears to be new equipment on top of the remixed old stuff. Straid sells a Forlorn hood, which I take to mean there's a Forlorn set in the game. Which according to other posters around the web is the set the guy on the cover art is wearing.

There's also some subtle changes too, like the first sighting of the Belfry Gargoyles on Sinner's Rise. In the vanilla game you saw one of them roar and fly away, but there's now three that make an appearance.

Is this out already in some places? For a moment I thought I'd just missed that it was out already in the States but sadly it is not. :(

@magusmaleficus: It's been out on the PC for two or three days now.

@neocalypso: Damn, really? I should fire up Steam, I think I'd rather play it on my PC anyway...

@magusmaleficus: I got the DX11 version and have had 0 issues so far, and I don't even meet the recommended requirements. I'm running at high settings and the framerate is excellent. I played on PS3 originally and didn't get the DLC, so the $50 price point was fair for me.

Like someone said, most changes have been subtle so far, but I did encounter a new black phantom in Forest of Giants that gave me some trouble at first. Loving it though, can't wait to see the DLC.

@canteu: Well that's... irritating. It was one of the most annoying parts about DS2 on the PC. Hearing they still haven't fixed the bloody issue is stupid.

Dropped Bloodborne to play this and having a blast. Laughed really hard when I ran into that cave near the Fire Longsword and was killed by an Old Iron Knight falling backwards on to me. He was totally put there for that exact purpose.

@shotgunlincoln: Yeah, me too. Don't know whether this will last much beyond my current character but I'm having a great time so far with the new enemy placements.

@nickhead: Good to hear! I meat every recommended spec except the CPU, although I'm pretty close without overclocking. High settings look great to me, so since it will only be a $20 upgrade on Steam, I'll go this route rather than pay $60 for the PS4 version.

I'm really considering picking this up for the PS4, does it still suffer the durability problem due to the higher framerate?

EDIT: nvm didn't read all the post, wish they would fix that.

Sigh... never finished the PS3 version but I just popped it in and I wanna play again.

Can someone answer one thing for me? Is Adaptability actually as important as I thought it was? I was at level 25 but message boards were trying to convince me it's a useless stat. I prefer dodging to standing around with a shield and the sound of that made it seem right up my alley.

@csl316: Adaptability is very useful for a dodge-heavy playstyle because it is the fastest way to raise your Agility, which is the stat that determines the number of invincibility frames your dodge rolls have. Roughly speaking, every 5 points of Agility translates into one additional i-frame during your rolls.

As someone who always dodges and never uses shields, the first thing I do when creating a new character in Dark Souls 2 is pump my Adaptability up enough to get my Agility to at least 100 so that I have good rolls. Everything else is less important to me.

@savage: Awesome, mystery solved. I figured it had something to do with dodging, but at release everyone was just yelling things. Good to know that people have deciphered it down to invincibility frames.

Does it (or agility) also decrease the time for flask use, recovery after rolls, or any sort of attack speed? I'm trying to think through whatever urban legends were going on at the time.

@csl316: Everything that Adaptability does is shown on the stats screen (i.e. it just increases your other stats, such as Agility, various resistances, etc.). Agility is more opaque. In addition to increasing your i-frames, Agility also increases the speed with which you can use consumables, including Estus Flasks. Roll distance is affected by your Equip Load (i.e. lower Equip Load gives longer distance covered during your rolls). No stat increases your attack speed, as that solely depends on the weapon you're wielding and whether you meet the stat requirements to wield it properly.

I cannot wait to jump into this once it comes out on the PS4. I could get it on my rig but there just certain genres of games I prefer to play on my rig and on my consoles. Just my preference.

Ive been playing on the one for a few hours and its really good. bit confused is it out in US on new consoles yet? It came out on the 2nd in UK so thought it would have been out already?

I'm halfway into my second play through of the base game and I never purchased the DLC. I can't tell if I want this or not.

My favorite Souls game and my game of 2014...

Hmm, I wasn't planning on picking this one up at all but there seems to be a lot of positive buzz around it. I guess I'll get it.

@adequatelyprepared said:

I beat that first one-eyed golem equipped like this. That felt alright.

Your username makes this so much better!

So thought I would check back in after I've been playing for 20 or so hours. Still having a blast with the new stuff. Haven't gotten around to beating the game yet but I've been having fun with new build options that have been opening up in this version of the game. Couple of my highlights so far include:

• Grand Lance placement in the early game now.
• Dull Ember placement in early game.
• Access to Fragrant Branches of Yore right out the gate means you can access Shaded Woods and get the +1 Chloranthy Ring at the start.
• Never knowing when the Pursuer will pop up next.

Surprised this isn't up for pre order/pre load in the US on PSN. Must be due to coming out so close to Bloodborne.

For some reason I thought I read that you could transfer your character to the new version of the game. And Patrick even mentioned something when he streamed the PC version that he couldn't transfer a character because he played the original on PS3. Did I mishear and misread and this is not the case? I was thinking about picking it up if I could transfer my PS3 character to the PS4 version. Otherwise I probably will just keep playing Bloodborne. Tried looking it up and only found one thread where some random guy said you couldn't but I haven't seen official word.

You can not transfer your save from PS3 to PS4, nor 360 to X1. You can only transfer saves from OLD PS3 to NEW PS3 version and so on. You can't even transfer on PC from X10 to X11

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

That fucking 60fps bug is still in the pc version. I have to have 2 weapons buffed up or else I lose durability before i get to bosses

I haven't finished Bloodborne but I sort of fell back into playng the PS4 version. I never even finished the first DLC so I'm hoping to get around to that now. A smattering of other thoughts include:

• I've used the Grand Lance briefly before. Briefly, because I don't really go into New Game+ in these games and it was late game, all the lances were. So it was cool that I could now use it from near the beginning.
• Getting the Dull Ember earlier, meaning also early access to unlimited Large Titanite and some of that Blacksmith's unique weapons is cool.
• I enjoy how they basically changed the progression of Heide's by making the area a lot harder after you've made it past the semi-optional boss.
• An enemy type that was only in a New Game+ bossfight, from what I heard, now pops up in more places. Thought I saw some DLC enemies in other parts as well. Neat.
• I went through Belfry Luna for the Bastille key without needing to, whoops.
• Pursuer won't stop coming.
• Straid sells 3 pieces of Forlorn gear atm, my guess is it's one for each time I've defeated a Forlorn invader.
• Speaking of invaders, lots of new NPC ones. Kind of annoying.
• But also a lot of new NPC summons.
• Pool of Blood, it let's you watch multiple bloodstains at the same time. I've watched up to 5 guys fall off a cliff simultaneously.
• Oh, and with the summoning max increased to 3 phantoms it's made some bossfights hilarious. 4 guys are somehow a lot more than 3.

I'm excited to see how many times and where Pursuer shows up at now.

It's actually one of my favourite things about the remake. A bunch of the cool-looking armour, that you were forced to grind for in the original game, is made available to you through much easier means. The Shadow set was originally only obtainable from drops of an enemy that only spawned in a NG+ boss fight, but now that enemy appears in multiple areas across the game. The Aurous set that was only dropped by a NG+ (or higher) invader can now be found in a sort-of secret area in The Gutter.

It's great for someone like myself who likes to have lots of different characters as now I don't have to worry about spending hours and hours trying to get a set to drop from a single non-respawning enemy.

I'm loving Scholar of the First Sin.

I initially got it to hedge my Bloodborne desires, but now it's apparent that they've created a fresh experience.

I'm about to play the first Crown DLC now, wish me luck!

What are the reasons to buy this if I already own the pc version with all the dlc? Is it really all that different? I am thinking of upgrading if everyone is moving on to this version.

Out of curiosity, with the new enemy placements are you guys leveling up a lot quicker? I figured early zones with advanced enemies would give you a ton more souls, unless they rebalanced what they drop.

God damn it. You're gonna make me do this, aren't you? I told myself I wouldn't!

This will be the 3rd time I am buying this game. I am destined to buy anything that is related to this series, it seems.

I started a new character in DS2 literally a week ago so I that could play the DLC after I deleted my finished save by accident, but I wish I had waited a few days and just bought this since the DLC is included. I'm already deep in and don't want to start over again, but the price for the DLC is the same as upgrading.

@csl316 said:

It kind of depends on if you're killing everything or not. I was doing my best to kill every cyclops and take on every Pursuer encounter early on, which definitely felt like I was leveling faster than before. It's a little tough to tell because I could also just be leveling faster as a result of this last run being my fourth time through the game, but I was averaging 10 levels per hour until level 90 or so. I finished the game at a little under 22 hours, with a soul level of 154 (from hitting every normal bonfire but not doing any of the DLC). I would say "a ton" is excessive, but it did at least feel a little faster to me.

I can't wait to play this. Though I have a handful of things to do in Bloodborne and I'll probably dig through everything in Axiom Verge too before getting the upgrade/DLC for the PC version.