Dark Souls II IGN Video, My Thoughts

It also took 1 attack from a halberd. Perhaps there is no poise and emotes are simply uninterruptible.

Okay, I was gonna make my own thread but several items are addressed in this one...here goes...

Firstly, yes, he switches through like ~3 weapons without a menu popup and that is freaking great.

Secondly, I don't think "Drop stone of healing" is the name, I think that refers to the square to the right of the item slot meaning if you move it to there you can actively drop the item in the slot which yes, is freaking great.

I read someone else's post in a diff thread about it looking cartoony...all i got for that is...W-T-F...it looks beautiful, the skin on the thing that breaks the wall is amazing...and honestly...IT BROKE THE WALL! I hope more enemies do this as well as react like the turtle things that fall backward <3.

Now, for the story itself. I believe this IS indeed a prequel, but one set in the time of the wars against dragons, he says that the building you are in was for experiments on dragons...who do we know that likes to experiment? Seath, that's right!

Also, I don't believe we will be playing a human, or even an undead. Looking at the HUD with the "celestial" sort of thing in the left corner I believe we will be playing one of the god's minions (Velka's perhaps? Feather scene anyone?). We can also see this in that we will be using stones to heal rather than estus...who uses stones? The Gods...i.e. titanite!

Personally, I cannot freaking wait, I'm so damn excited I actually squealed like a little girl when I seen the vid. Count me in for pre-ordering!

Likely the boars do very little poise damage but are designed to work in groups, thus you need to not let them surround you. Since while they don't hit that hard they'll stunlock you, similar to the rats.

What I really like is how blocking with weapons causes almost no damage, but the stamina drain is high. I feel this is a much more viable way of allowing weapons to block while still giving them drawbacks.

The whole time I was thinking Vinheim, even though I know this is very unlikely. One thing to notice is that the skeleton dragon is only a temporary enemy. Maybe the environment will be the enemy from time to time, this would go with the dragon breaking the bridge.

I really don't want this to be a prequel, but it still cannot be confirmed either way.

A friend of mine pointed out that DkSI was about killing gods so maybe in DkSII you are a god? It would make sense with the menu set up.

Also did you guys notice how much hp and stamina he had? I wonder if those will be stats this time, which they probably will be which then means he's at a high level so probably not in the beginning of the game.

I mean, if you want to focus on where it is. You have a place with soldier in thorolund like gear, boars such as the ones found in the Duke's, armored figures designed like the Btown Large Club Giants, Lizards that resemble the Basilisk, it seems like there are enemies related to various places in the Dark Souls world, perhaps that was intentional to make things seem different but with those familiar elements.

Tolvo wrote:I mean, if you want to focus on where it is. You have a place with soldier in thorolund like gear, boars such as the ones found in the Duke's, armored figures designed like the Btown Large Club Giants, Lizards that resemble the Basilisk, it seems like there are enemies related to various places in the Dark Souls world, perhaps that was intentional to make things seem different but with those familiar elements.

Perhaps it is a facility that researches the creatures in Lordran in an attempt to find a cure for the undead curse that doesn't involve the use of kindling and sacrifices to the first flame. An abandoned research facility would be perfect for that purpose and would explain how it is not a direct sequel: it is happening at the same time as the chosen undead's quest.

Can't we speculate in regards to a sequel?...please...anyone? Ah well I'll go alone. What if some dragons were left alive to remain studied and after the curse and dark lord stuff the dragons escaped and now it's a hive? Maybe the people/things that live there do so because they're under someone's control. The skeleton dragon attacked the player specifically and then died. Also, I doubt that the castle in the trailer was Lordran; now it looks like it was this dragon place.

Dibsville wrote:I doubt it, that would be extremely abused in PvP baits.
From Soft isn't THAT stupid.

Huh?

I don't know how to feel about the demo. Don't get me wrong I love the graphics and the game looked absolutely beautiful but i have some concerns. I didn't see a Humanity bar so I wonder what the deal is with that, also the healing stones look weird to me, I don't know about sacrificing a shield for a torch. It was one thing in Tomb of Giants but that was more than enough for me. hopefully you only need a torch for that part of the level but I doubt it. Also I'm going to get some hate for this but it looks more like Demon SOuls than a Dark Souls sequel/prequel etc. I never played Demon Souls but I've watched a million playthrus on Youtube and Im just not feeling demon Souls. I think dark Souls is a much better game imo but we've only seen a small part of Dark Souls 2 so I will wait before I make anymore judgements

Motion looked too weightless. Perhaps the animations are unfinished, but all the movement looked so effortless compared to Dark Souls (and as mentioned earlier, this is in medium armor). Additionally against the early enemies, stuns looked largely aesthetic rather than crippling
Alternatively, it could just be that the character had high stats to give a clean (not difficult) view of gameplay.
Also as a counter-point to this, there was a LONG stun time when fighting the turtles, so perhaps it just shows a significant range of challenge within the same area and a less absolute (stunned or not stunned) effect of poise. (Which would be an improvement.)

The new enemy variants are looking nice though. I'm not sure about that "magic key." It seems a bit out of place.

The dragon experiments could have something to do with Seath. He certainly experimented enough, and note that the swarm of dragons (quality increases exponentially with number of dragons) were actually wyverns, so the claim that this is ancient (pre-destruction of dragons) doesn't necessarily hold up. The actual dragons which appear could easily just be survivors (there were a few in DkS).

I'm stuck somewhere between wanting more of the same (after playing every DeS/DkS level so many times) and knowing that it's always possible to improve something with change.

This has definitely increased my confidence in DkS2, but I think I'll still wait for reviews before I buy it. No preorder for me.

jimmyc0341 wrote:I didn't see a Humanity bar so I wonder what the deal is with that, also the healing stones look weird to me, I don't know about sacrificing a shield for a torch... it looks more like Demon SOuls than a Dark Souls sequel/prequel etc. I never played Demon Souls but... I think dark Souls is a much better game.

Humanity and Estus are gone because I'm pretty sure you're not undead (and therefore you have no use for either).
Edit: It seems I'm wrong, the IGN Q&A says Estus is still in.
I'm not sure how you think this looks more like DeS, they are pretty much identical other than DkS being longer. Or why you think DkS is better when you've never played DeS...

mugenis4real wrote:I'm sorry but this is still Lordran right?

Someone please explain to me how Gwyn, Nito, Seath, and friends thought they wiped out the Dragons.

I mean sure they might have missed our little buddy down in Ash Lake but the sky was FULL of Dragons, and he called them Dragons, not Drakes.

They have specifically confirmed that it does NOT take place in Lordran (it happens elsewhere in the world).

They referred to those as neither dragons nor drakes, they said wyverns. (Also, note translation issues. How does Japanese distinguish between types of flying lizard?)

A Wyvern is basically a cousin to the dragon family, being the smallest of the bunch. They don't have arms, instead they have wings that have little.... stubs on them.

Drakes are next, being Draconic in body size but only slightly bigger than Wyverns..

Dragons are the things that were actually what we think of as Dragons.

Liudeius wrote:Motion looked too weightless. Perhaps the animations are unfinished, but all the movement looked so effortless compared to Dark Souls (and as mentioned earlier, this is in medium armor). Additionally against the early enemies, stuns looked largely aesthetic rather than crippling
Alternatively, it could just be that the character had high stats to give a clean (not difficult) view of gameplay.
Also as a counter-point to this, there was a LONG stun time when fighting the turtles, so perhaps it just shows a significant range of challenge within the same area and a less absolute (stunned or not stunned) effect of poise. (Which would be an improvement.)

The new enemy variants are looking nice though. I'm not sure about that "magic key." It seems a bit out of place.

The dragon experiments could have something to do with Seath. He certainly experimented enough, and note that the swarm of dragons (quality increases exponentially with number of dragons) were actually wyverns, so the claim that this is ancient (pre-destruction of dragons) doesn't necessarily hold up. The actual dragons which appear could easily just be survivors (there were a few in DkS).

I'm stuck somewhere between wanting more of the same (after playing every DeS/DkS level so many times) and knowing that it's always possible to improve something with change.

This has definitely increased my confidence in DkS2, but I think I'll still wait for reviews before I buy it. No preorder for me.

jimmyc0341 wrote:I didn't see a Humanity bar so I wonder what the deal is with that, also the healing stones look weird to me, I don't know about sacrificing a shield for a torch... it looks more like Demon SOuls than a Dark Souls sequel/prequel etc. I never played Demon Souls but... I think dark Souls is a much better game.

Humanity and Estus are gone because I'm pretty sure you're not undead (and therefore you have no use for either).
Edit: It seems I'm wrong, the IGN Q&A says Estus is still in.
I'm not sure how you think this looks more like DeS, they are pretty much identical other than DkS being longer. Or why you think DkS is better when you've never played DeS...

mugenis4real wrote:I'm sorry but this is still Lordran right?

Someone please explain to me how Gwyn, Nito, Seath, and friends thought they wiped out the Dragons.

I mean sure they might have missed our little buddy down in Ash Lake but the sky was FULL of Dragons, and he called them Dragons, not Drakes.

They have specifically confirmed that it does NOT take place in Lordran (it happens elsewhere in the world).

They referred to those as neither dragons nor drakes, they said wyverns. (Also, note translation issues. How does Japanese distinguish between types of flying lizard?)

I take it you didn't read my comment all the way through but yes I've never played Demon Souls but I've watched a million playthroughs of it from ENB,Vidya,and many others to know that the game isn't as fun fun as Dark SOuls. Now from watching the demo it reminds me of demon Souls. From the weird healing stones(reminds me of moon grass) and at points it has a Demon Souls feel and look even though I've never played it I have watched numerous playthroughs to know the difference and only at certain points did it give off a Dark SOuls vibe

I'm guilty of not playing Demon Souls either, don't have ps3 and brother is a douche, but I totally got that vibe from the video. This game seems to be a mixture of everything from Demon Souls and Dark Souls combined to create a thing of beauty, and terror.

I just hope they bring back the terror of Demon's Souls and the moments of beauty from Dark Souls.

Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way as well. I hope they keep the soul leveling system and weapon/armor reinforcement from Dark Souls as well. I get what you mean about the beauty of Dark Souls. it is a beautiful game and it's a full game as well. Awesome NPCs, rich lore(although more like hidden lore) and large almost open world atmosphere. i seriously hope they keep a lot of stuff from dark Souls in dark Souls 2. We'll just have to wait to see more gameplay vids I guess

I like the semi-open world style of Dark Souls. Why should players be allowed to go wherever they please? They should be punished when they stray from the path e.g. the new londo ruins.

By the way, if you look at what the "Troll" is standing on it is a giant sword stabbed through the wall of the building. It even has a stone hand on the end of it.

https://2img.net/h/i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc475/TolvoArt/Dark%20Souls%202/fcfabb41-c152-45a3-86a5-a5b33a77eb23_zps75fdc22c.jpg

mugenis4real wrote:I'm sorry but this is still Lordran right?

Someone please explain to me how Gwyn, Nito, Seath, and friends thought they wiped out the Dragons.

I mean sure they might have missed our little buddy down in Ash Lake but the sky was FULL of Dragons, and he called them Dragons, not Drakes.

No it's not in Lordran. Gwyn and pals possibly just wiped out the dragons in Lordran, or this might take place in the past.

morte wrote:Here's what I noticed: throughout the demo, he never used magic. It could be that I'm only just getting around to using a pure casting build, but that irks me. I love melee, and it will probably always be my favorite, but there was neither sorcery nor pyromancy in the video, which disturbed me. Also, I don't like the idea of expendable healing items that heal you so much, those drop stones look fishy to me, although they seem reminiscent of humanity in their use and effect, so perhaps that is what they are meant to be and your character is not undead.

He is undead. The plot of the game is that the player is an undead who is looking for a cure to his curse.

alchemydesign wrote:Okay, I was gonna make my own thread but several items are addressed in this one...here goes...

Firstly, yes, he switches through like ~3 weapons without a menu popup and that is freaking great.

Secondly, I don't think "Drop stone of healing" is the name, I think that refers to the square to the right of the item slot meaning if you move it to there you can actively drop the item in the slot which yes, is freaking great.

I read someone else's post in a diff thread about it looking cartoony...all i got for that is...W-T-F...it looks beautiful, the skin on the thing that breaks the wall is amazing...and honestly...IT BROKE THE WALL! I hope more enemies do this as well as react like the turtle things that fall backward <3.

Now, for the story itself. I believe this IS indeed a prequel, but one set in the time of the wars against dragons, he says that the building you are in was for experiments on dragons...who do we know that likes to experiment? Seath, that's right!

Also, I don't believe we will be playing a human, or even an undead. Looking at the HUD with the "celestial" sort of thing in the left corner I believe we will be playing one of the god's minions (Velka's perhaps? Feather scene anyone?). We can also see this in that we will be using stones to heal rather than estus...who uses stones? The Gods...i.e. titanite!

Personally, I cannot freaking wait, I'm so damn excited I actually squealed like a little girl when I seen the vid. Count me in for pre-ordering!

Lol really? "Who do we know that likes to experiment?" and I'm thinking you're about to say something smart and then you blurt out Seath.
The game doesn't take place in Lordran so no Seath. Let me guess, you didn't read the item descriptions in-game? Because there is someone who likes to experiment on living beings more than Seath, that is Arstor, Earl of Carim.
Also we are playing as a human undead, this has been confirmed immediately after the first trailer.

hey its andres wrote:Can't we speculate in regards to a sequel?...please...anyone? Ah well I'll go alone. What if some dragons were left alive to remain studied and after the curse and dark lord stuff the dragons escaped and now it's a hive? Maybe the people/things that live there do so because they're under someone's control. The skeleton dragon attacked the player specifically and then died. Also, I doubt that the castle in the trailer was Lordran; now it looks like it was this dragon place.

Yeah the castle is definitely not in Lordran. Also I think the explanation for the existence of Dragons in a sequel would be as simple as this: Gwyn had no authority outside of Lordran. Other kingdoms, other gods/rulers.

sorry i read like one page after my last post in here there is just so much awesome posts. Sorry for not quoting and if i am restating things BUT

STORY yeah the " mansion of dragons looks amazing " a place where experiments took place on dragons in the past" SCREAMS SEATH he was obsessed with scales because he had none. OR it could be the "gods", who once battled dragons, hub or lab for trying to understand or manipulate them to for their benefit. Also i remember there being mention of a "Frankenstein" like character?

CONTROLS: He blocked with the torch and took no damage AND it wasn't in the item slot so there might be a dedicated button to a single torch that you relight since " light is a key element in the game" I thought that the "L1:15" above where your magic goes was the count for torches but it didn't go down once he used a torch. So maybe that was 15 of that spell but that leaves the L1 part a mistery. Seeing as how it was on Xbox because button actions appeared as B or A when opening doors and picking up items.

OTHER ELEMENTS: He did say Estus would return. the Healing stones bight be a " goddess blessing" type item and often when they show of games they use a buffed build so that explains his stats and probably why he used an item that fully healed him in one go.
The dual weilding was something I want to see more of just because its there now and it seems they want it to be something players would use. ENEMIES BUSTING DOWN WALLS. I want to know how many enemies can do this and if its ANY wall or just the select gate it is enclosed by.

AREA: Everything seems really open and I like that. It makes me feel more paranoid than an inclosed space. Corners or walls can be a safe spot to guide you or to stop for a moment. BUT in wide open areas thhere could be anything any where any turn could house a big monster or a horde of warriors. who knows maybe im more agoraphobic than claustrophobic.


EDIT** the torch only appeard when he approached a flame to light it with this also points to having a single torch that plays a big roll also that is is an always set item like your glowing character ' there was a specific stone tied to ones belt in Demon's and there was an item in your menu that explained it'