Dark Souls 2: Not as hard as people claim?

[Lex Darko]

The difficulty of the Souls series is from the punishment of player mistakes. Not blocking, running away, or healing when you're supposed to do so. A perfect example of this is killing the tutorial boss Vanguard in Demon's Souls. The Vanguard is supposed to kill you. But if you play it right you can kill the Vanguard. However, if you make 2 small mistakes or one big mistake you die.


Also when it comes to Dark Souls 1 and especially Dark Souls 2 they have nerfed several bosses and enemies multiple times already. If you want to play the "hardest" versions of Dark Souls 1 or 2 you would need a console and physical copy of the game.

 

[jademunky]

Agility is 18, just enough to handle a shotel when magic runs out.

Agility is actually a stat derived from attument and adaptation and is positioned above poise. I think the least agility you can have is 80. Since you play a caster I assume you have somewhat around 90 and 100. So I think you misunderstood me in the number you stated .

The advantage of the stat, aside from faster items usage, are increased invincibility frames during your dodge roll. Capped agility (120 or so) makes 3/5 of your dodge animation invincible, making a light armored character actually rather easy playable.

Ooooh I was thinking 18 dexterity. My bad.

I will have to check on my character when I get home, not sure what the agility is actually.

 

[suitepee7]

I think you may find that Dark Souls II to a lot of people is not as hard as Dark Souls. I am one of those people myself, actually. I still found the game challenging and fun, but it didn't seem to kick me in the teeth like Dark Souls did.

i'm the complete opposite personally. DS1 i went through with only a few problems, and most of my deaths were due to impatience, falling off a cliff, falling in the deep end at the hydra, O&S, Manus and the archers... otherwise, not much really.

DS2 on the other hand, i genuinely struggle on a lot of the bosses. some are pretty easy (dragonriders, dragonslayer, scorpioness) but there are some i really struggle with and haven't been able to do without help yet (pursuer, ruin sentinels, gargoyles). there have also been a lot more situations where mobs have actually killed me in DS2 as well.

anway OP, i share your sentiments, but my first experience was DS1 and found that patience and thought out tactics made a lot of the fights considerably easier. i love the games, i really do, but i think the 'prepare to die' only really applies if you try rushing in like it was a hack'n'slash game

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I think you may find that Dark Souls II to a lot of people is not as hard as Dark Souls. I am one of those people myself, actually. I still found the game challenging and fun, but it didn't seem to kick me in the teeth like Dark Souls did.

but there are some i really struggle with and haven't been able to do without help yet (pursuer, ruin sentinels, gargoyles). there have also been a lot more situations where mobs have actually killed me in DS2 as well.

Oh, that Gargoyles fight can suck and die. That is, by far, the hardest fight in the game for me. I still have yet to beat them without help. Four at once is nigh impossible for me, so I feel your pain on that one. If fact, I think that may be the hardest fight out of either game.

 

[Silversoul]

After finishing the game I'd say the roughest fight I've had was against Freya, the giant 2-headed spider. If only because she kept summoning those smaller spiders that still take off about 1/2 my hp w/ 1 atk. A close second would be the Darklurker optional boss who isn't THAT hard (beat it on my 2nd attempt) but you have to pay a human effigy per attempt, including just getting through the dungeons leading up to it. There are 3 dungeons that require you to route the enemies in them. Each requires a human effigy, if you die you gotta pay another one. It eats through your humanity like crazy if you can't do it in a couple tries.

 

[saxxon.de]

I decided looking at character creation I wanted to create a dex fighter, someone who gets in, hits and gets out before he can be countered. So to this I set my stats logically, with light armour, dual wielding and began my game and what I found was this... I died... to bad jumping controls but it wasn't until the boss I died again (the giant btw). I discovered that patience and tight control was rewarded and impatience resulted in death.

This is how you play the Souls games. Exactly this. You just got it figured out. At this point they're not that hard, really. Challenging, yes, but not as hard as people make them.

 

[pspman45]

Dark Souls was a weird game that took a while for me to get used to, but once I broke the barrier for entry, I found an incredibly creative and satisfying adventure
Dark Souls 2 was just more Dark Souls, so hey, I'm not complaining! It felt a lot easier, but I didn't play Dark Souls because it was hard, I played it because it was good

 

[00slash00]

In this game, more than any other in the Souls series, the first playthrough is essentially a tutorial. New game is not difficult and is really just challenging enough to keep you engaged (unless you play a mage, in which case it's just plain easy). Really the only hard boss fights are the optional ones, though even those are easy if you're prepared. Executioners Chariot can't be blocked, but is easy to dodge. Smelter Demon can't be blocked when you first fight him, but you later get a shield with 100% fire and physical defense, making him easy to tortoise shell. Pursuer is tricky the first time, but is easy to parry and the basilisk pretty much kill him in one hit. The gargoyles are only tricky until you learn their pattern and they get easier as the fight progresses, due to the gargoyles dying. The difficulty in new game+ ramps up more in this game than it did in previous Souls games.

 

[gigastar]

I am finding it a LOT harder than DS1. Granted I am trying a build that I have never attempted before (a faith/int character, lightly armoured). I am seriously contemplating respeccing into an agility-based character and dual-weilding Ricard's Rapiers.

Hexers are very, very strong in PvP.

Also i dont recommend Ricards in this game, it does still have that crazy R2 moveset from DS1, but the massively reduced durability of all weapons in DS2 means it breaks very quickly even in PvE. Regular Rapiers or Estocs will serve just fine if youre out for a poking sword.

 

[Smolderin]

I think you may find that Dark Souls II to a lot of people is not as hard as Dark Souls. I am one of those people myself, actually. I still found the game challenging and fun, but it didn't seem to kick me in the teeth like Dark Souls did.

but there are some i really struggle with and haven't been able to do without help yet (pursuer, ruin sentinels, gargoyles). there have also been a lot more situations where mobs have actually killed me in DS2 as well.

Oh, that Gargoyles fight can suck and die. That is, by far, the hardest fight in the game for me. I still have yet to beat them without help. Four at once is nigh impossible for me, so I feel your pain on that one. If fact, I think that may be the hardest fight out of either game.

Huh, that is rather strange in my opinion. The Gargoyle fight was the only fight that I didn't die to, I won first try. The trick to that fight is having a good shield and keeping all the Gargoyles in your line of sight. Always keep your shield up, luckily their attacks don't do jack against your stamina so its fairly easy to withstand a relentless frontal assault. I picked them off one by one when they do their jump attack, separating them one by one. Also when one of them does their fire breath, flank him and whack the every loving crap out of it. But really what it basically boils down to is a good shield and position...and some patience.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

Dark souls 2 is not very hard, just perhaps unforgiving.


I see people talk about the gargoyle fight in Dark souls, I can proudly say I glitched that boss yes I did. Me and Solaire glitched him. There is no shame in glitching in dark souls.

 

[XMark]

I've beaten at least four of the bosses on my first try so far. And the most times I've had to re-try the same boss is something like eight times (the three ruin sentinels). The bosses at least seem to be easier than Dark Souls 1, though maybe everything's just easier because I've played so much Demon's Souls and Dark Souls before getting Dark Souls 2.

 

[suitepee7]

Oh, that Gargoyles fight can suck and die. That is, by far, the hardest fight in the game for me. I still have yet to beat them without help. Four at once is nigh impossible for me, so I feel your pain on that one. If fact, I think that may be the hardest fight out of either game.

i think it's the fact that they spawn regardless of how quickly you kill them, have a big range, and then range attacks too... i hate those guys so much.

pursuer

Do you want the dumbest advice as how to defeat the pursuer in the bossfight encounter?

Parry him in the perfect spot right in front of a ballista. Kill him with ballista.

... This is so fucking dumb. Why? Because my very first thought was "can I kill him with those things" when I entered and I spend 2 fukken hours practicing his parry timing just to execute that. 2 hours for a fight that lasted less than 30 seconds. I never summoned anyone to help me. I thought "if I can't do that with 50% health than why even bother with this game".

Next time I'll throw lightning at his ass.

ha, i didn't even know he could be parried. i assumed "big fuckin sword, dodge that shit" and never even tried parrying. i did find him a lot easier with my faith build opposed to my pure melee though.

funny story about him though, me and another were summoned to help out, and the world master tanked him and me and the other summon both went to the ballistas. WM dodged in front of the pursuer as we both released at the same time. instant death from full health, poor bastard. he must have been so pissed and assumed we planned it, but it was a complete accident and one of the funniest things i've ever seen happen in DS2 xD

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I think that the Souls games got the reputation because the average gamer today need to have his hand held through the game and can't learn on his own. They see death as bad design rather than their own fault. They will repeat the same mistake over and over again without ever stopping and thinking "wait, maybe I'm doing something wrong and should change my strategy".
The average gamer today lacks patience. They can't wait for a boss to show off his moveset. They will just run YOLO style and die and again and again.

As long as you have patience, a decent observation skill and the ability to learn, the Souls games are just medium difficulty. A 0 death run in 12 hours tops is easy as long as you don't rush. Just take your time.

Spoiler

 

[Compatriot Block]

I think the hardest part of the Souls game is the forced slow pace and how frustrating it can get after multiple deaths.

I mean, I like the game, but aside from bosses I've fought blind, most of my deaths have been due to carelessly speeding up my 4th attempt on the level. If I die near the end multiple times, my skill level drops significantly until my frustration goes down and I force myself to slow down the fighting. Thank god enemies eventually stop respawning, because some of those levels are way harder than the boss at the end.

 

[Sande45]

pursuer

Do you want the dumbest advice as how to defeat the pursuer in the bossfight encounter?

Parry him in the perfect spot right in front of a ballista. Kill him with ballista.

... This is so fucking dumb. Why? Because my very first thought was "can I kill him with those things" when I entered and I spend 2 fukken hours practicing his parry timing just to execute that. 2 hours for a fight that lasted less than 30 seconds. I never summoned anyone to help me. I thought "if I can't do that with 50% health than why even bother with this game".

Next time I'll throw lightning at his ass.

You don't even need to parry. I was like "cool, ballistas", dodged him in front of one and shot him dead. One and done, less than a minute.

OT: I think it's not a very difficult game. I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably join the Company of Champions on most of my future playthroughs, because that makes the game suitably challenging.

 

[Norithics]

The first Souls game you play will be so hard you will feel your genitals of choice ground into powder. Every souls game after that you will wonder why they made the game easy baby mode for filthy casuals, never realizing that the emergent gameplay was the whole reason it was so hard.

 

[kommando367]

None of the souls games are as hard as people claim they are.

Still fun though.