Exclusive Preorder Weapons?

In my opinion, the beauty of the Souls games is that everybody is on the same playing field. You can do so much, so differently with the same things that are at hand for everybody. 

Adding DLC weapons and more or less anything that affects gameplay (especially online interaction) is a disservice to the versatility that the prior souls games established as a staple of the series. The Artorias DLC was so widely anticipated and desired that the additions they made were justified - many had been playing for a long time, and additions were welcomed at that point. They were new variables to add to an extensively 'solved' equation. 

Day one (or even early on) DLC's change the tone from 'additional content' to 'exclusive content'. While some may consider this a semantic difference, I think this is exactly why many are so upset (myself included) over the possibility of this preorder and launch content. It stops being a reward for dedication, and starts being a reward for giving them more money.

Huh,,....

If you think about it, if this works like the AotA dlc, then the exclusive weapons won't be exclusive at all.

You could just drop them for another player, and then make a new character.

Well, I don't know how it will work, so I can't really say one way or another. 

But my point really has nothing to do with loopholes, or the ability to exploit the system, or even the ways in which the DLC/extra content will function. 

My point was that making certain content exclusive right off the bat is basically like saying 'we put time and effort into this game, but we are saving the experience of ALL of our time and effort for the most uneconomical and least frugal of our fans', as opposed to something more along the lines of 'we put in ALL of our time and effort creating a UNIVERSALLY enjoyable experience, have taken a look at what the community is interested in, and have spent even more time and effort in order to expand the experience of our dedicated fans.'

If I'm being truthful, the more I think about these weapons the more apathetic I get. All I care about is a good, finished product on release day. A couple different weapons of a generic class won't change that whatsoever for me, or anyone really

I generally agree with you, Serious, but my worries are more that if this is the spirit of the game right off the bat, how else might they attempt to exploit what they know to be one of the most dedicated fanbases for profit?

Also, considering how OP many inconsequential aspects of DkS have become, I question how inconsequential these exclusive weapons will really be (though, I admit this is definitely way, way secondary).

Still and all, I hope you are right.

In fairness it's not really exploiting a fanbase (you don't have to pay extra), they just want to ensure day one sales by bundling this stuff to make the sales of the game a) look good and b) not be preowned.

I can understand tbh if they are paying to put up servers this time round and have sunk a larger budget in to want to recoup more retail sales and increase preorders.

Hell, I'm actually saving money from preordering due to the fact amazon gives you £5 off any game that you preordered. I think I'll call this a win/win (also the price of UK collectors has increased after i bought it so i got it cheap, i'd say im doing pretty well )

I hear that. Usually, preorder bonuses don't matter at all, and are cosmetic differences at best. However, I saw more than one post talking about Day One/Early On DLCs, which is what bothered me the most.

And in the end, as inconsequential as these preorder bonuses may be, it still sets the precedent of 'content for some, no content for others', which I see as potential poison to the adaptably comprehensive spirit of the last two Souls games.

I'm in the "available in the game, just not as starting equipment" camp. I hypothesize (correct me if you have evidence to the contrary, i.e. from the beta) that elemental weapons, and other upgraded versions, will get cosmetic changes to reflect their properties, which is what we see in those images. I present the following exhibit, showing the same sword with two different textures, as evidence:
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If it is just a cosmetic change to the available weapons I'll both be happy, and a bit disappointed in From. Not as disappointed as I was previously, more so in the case of "They probably should make them a bit more aesthetically pleasing." Though looking good isn't much of a thing in Dark Souls anyway, at least not an intended feature. If it is indeed just cosmetic changes to already available gear I'll be perfectly fine with how the pre-orders are going.

How will folk play their Fashion Souls now?