How would you improve Dark Souls?

[UnmotivatedSlacker]

1. Moar story. You're, like, a dude, and you're in a cell, then you get out of the cell and have to FIGHT ZOAMBIES AND SHIT. Why? Why are you there, what's going on in the background, who are all these people and why am I going on this silly quest that I just happen to do while I'm wandering around and shit?

2. Easier getting around. NO DARK SOULS I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE FIRST FUCKING AREA OF THE GAME STRAIGHT FROM BLOODY BLIGHTTOWN JUST TO GET THAT ONE ITEM I NEED -- ON FOOT! I hear there's an item that allows me to teleport later on, WHY NOT NOW? I DO NOT WANT TO WADDLE ABOUT WITH HALF HP TO FIND THAT ONE GUY WHO SELLS CURSE DISPELLING EQUIPMENT. Not that it's happened, but still.

3. Spellcasting that actually works as an alternative to combat. The melee is fun and all, but I didn't choose the Sorcerer class just so I could run around in black leather with a sword and shield! What is this limited use bullshit? Give me some cool protection spells that can keep my ass alive while I finish casting my Great Big Blue Spitball of Doom. How about Conjure Shield? Maybe a way to buff the shield that doesn't require doing it before the fight? Why would I even cast spells with a shield, anyway? You ever seen a mighty archmage cower behind his kite shield while trying to rain fire on his enemies? It's embarrassing. What's the point of the damage spells, anyway? They just deal laughable damage that I could easily and with way less hassle achieve by hitting my enemy ONCE with a SWORD. And since every enemy so far is dodge/block + riposte, I see no freakin' reason to bother with something that needs precious seconds to cast and doesn't even 1shot them. Hey, here's an idea: PUT STAFF INTO GAME. Then maybe have a spell that buffs my staff so it kinda maybe blocks hits and stuff. You know. Gameplay!
Or maybe I'm doin it wrong. I wouldn't know.

5. Better port. Obviously. And this includes better PC controls like WHY DOES THE TARGETTING SWITCH FOR EACH PIXEL OF MOUSE MOVEMENT OH GOD WHY.

1. There is story. Talk to people. Read the item descriptions. Just because it doesn't spoonfeed you the story doesn't mean it's not there.

2. Getting around is just fine once you know where to go and the game gives you a fair amount of shortcuts to work with. Also the warp item is story related, getting early would be silly, especially since you can only warp to key locations so getting it at the beginning would be pointless anyway. And dude, this is Dark Souls, it says it right the box that it's not here to hold your hand. If you can't handle a little walking then this game is probably not for you.

3. I made a spellcaster once, it started one-shotting a fuckload of guys once I pumped a decent amount of souls into intelligence. I accidently one-shotted a guy I invaded once because we suprised each other and I happened to have my spell out. Also dex increases casting speed, so put points into that too. And why are you complaining about using a shield on a spellcaster and then suggesting blocking with a staff which would be way worse to block with?
.
5. What happened to 4? Try a controller, the game was built around it.

 

[Mr Dizazta]

Goody goody, just like October again! And they say PC gamers are ahead of consoles.

The only improvement I would like is more reliable invasions and online summoning plus balance to certain weapons, spells, miracles and pyromancies. And make good armor look less awful. You look like the statue of liberty with the stone knight set for goodness sake.

Actually I am a console gaming who never got to experience Dark Souls before the multitude of patches.

Anyways, the map idea is so that they just give you the damn thing. I mean it in the same sense that you would actually have to find each and every map for each location just like Ocarina of Time. I mean hell they already give you the ability to unlock most doors with the master key and give you a warp ability once you receive the Lordvessel. How the hell is a map so far fetched.

 

[cojo965]

If I were to change a single thing about the game, I'd tighten some things up a little. That's all. Tweak out some of the occasional control latency (I said roll, dammit! Oh, NOW you roll. Into the giant hammer. Thanks.) maybe tighten up some of the cheaper hitboxes that still nail you when you're clearly free of the attack and....that's about it.

The biggest problem with control latency is shitty Estus Flask timing. I hit the button for it in a boss fight like say the duo that I shall not name and only after I make a move to dodge does it rigister the imput and the animation start up. I'll let you guess what happens then.

 

[BytByte]

Anyways, the map idea is so that they just give you the damn thing. I mean it in the same sense that you would actually have to find each and every map for each location just like Ocarina of Time. I mean hell they already give you the ability to unlock most doors with the master key and give you a warp ability once you receive the Lordvessel. How the hell is a map so far fetched.

I really don't think a map is too necessary because most paths are linear in the game and you will get to know the ins and outs of areas by just dying so much. Unless you are pro at this game, then you personally won't need a map anyways. I also feel any more of a HUD might lessen immersion.

 

[TaintedSaint]

If you need a game to hold you by the dick, don't play games.

Dark Souls doesn't NEED tutorials, saves, maps, or anything else that just coddles your head and coos "It's ok baby, you can totally suck ass, we'll beat the game for you."

It's not even entirely DIFFICULT, just challenging with a real sense of reward, victory, and accomplishment. When it reads "VICTORY ACHIEVED" at the end of every boss fight, it's a great feeling that is hard to find in today's regenerating health, casual difficulty market.

To change that overall tone of imminent death, exploration and experimentation would simply bring a gold nugget of a game into the shit hole that is the mainstream triple-A scene.



Aside from all of that, I would've like pvp to be more about fighting, not lagstabbing the other guy before he lagstabs you. I mean, I can do it just fine, but I feel bad when I shit all over some guy and I know on his screen it looks like utter bullshit.

If you need a game to hold you by the dick, don't play games.

this 100% this dude gets it

Dark Souls doesn't NEED tutorials, saves, maps, or anything else that just coddles your head and coos "It's ok baby, you can totally suck ass, we'll beat the game for you."

It's not even entirely DIFFICULT, just challenging with a real sense of reward, victory, and accomplishment. When it reads "VICTORY ACHIEVED" at the end of every boss fight, it's a great feeling that is hard to find in today's regenerating health, casual difficulty market.

To change that overall tone of imminent death, exploration and experimentation would simply bring a gold nugget of a game into the shit hole that is the mainstream triple-A scene.



Aside from all of that, I would've like pvp to be more about fighting, not lagstabbing the other guy before he lagstabs you. I mean, I can do it just fine, but I feel bad when I shit all over some guy and I know on his screen it looks like utter bullshit.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

They have already pretty much changed what I would have changed with previous/upcoming patches.

Adding in more warp points? Check.

I just went to the lava fields for the first time post patch, even though I had already opened the shortcut, and I was AMAZED at how the mobs pretty much ignored me unless I got within about 5 feet of them. That place used to be a nightmare of luring and arrow spam and watching them kill each other as they jumped all over the place.

Now its just an interesting set piece before bed of chaos. Weirdly I got both the sunlight maggot AND had to kill S this time. I thought you had to save him to get it, but I guess talking to him after centipede and then opening the shortcut makes it mess up or something. Sadly I had already done Tomb, with the lantern. Never doing that without the maggot again *shudders*

I would actually change the upgrade paths back to the way they used to be. While I get why they keep nerfing lightning/fire etc. so that maybe people would actually bother lvling str and dex I think that making +15 the best AND it can be buffed several ways on top of the excellent scaling damage just really limits variety.

Or if they would make enemies have more pronounced weaknesses and resistances to magic/elemental damage so that having several types of weapons is more of a tactical choice and less of a "i'm bored of using this +15, lemme change to this other +15"

Aside from the slimes being resistant to physical and weak to fire (and maybe magic/lightning too idk) and the crystalized mobs being magic resistant there isn't really much else.

I guess if its wearing armor slash damage drops low. Strike damage depletes stamina supposedly though I can smack a spear hollow soldier over and over with a mace and his gaurd doesn't break. One kick or a jumping attack does the trick every time on NG tho. Pierce damage is good on everything, and "regular" damage is really just a cop out.

As to the other posters suggestions for difficulty levels, well they already have those in game. You start off on easy, when you beat the game once if moves up from there lol.

 

[Judgement101]

Improve the internationally matchmaking, I have to wait about 12 minutes between invades in Anor Londo.

 

[Mr Dizazta]

Anyways, the map idea is so that they just give you the damn thing. I mean it in the same sense that you would actually have to find each and every map for each location just like Ocarina of Time. I mean hell they already give you the ability to unlock most doors with the master key and give you a warp ability once you receive the Lordvessel. How the hell is a map so far fetched.

I really don't think a map is too necessary because most paths are linear in the game and you will get to know the ins and outs of areas by just dying so much. Unless you are pro at this game, then you personally won't need a map anyways. I also feel any more of a HUD might lessen immersion.

is some parts of the game, not very necessary. However, I am talking about those wide open places like Darkroot Forest. Hell I didn't even know Sen's Fortress had a basement until I was knocked down by one of the axes. Mostly, I am suggesting the map more as a reward for exploration. I mean hide the map to the area and make it so I have to locate it.

 

[dangoball]

I wouldn't want individual maps so much as an over-world map. It's very tedious and confusing to remember that Blighttown is connected to the Depths and Valley of Drakes, the Depths are connected to the Undead Burg which is connected to the Parish, which is connected to the chapel that leads to Sen's Fortress, the chapel is connected to Darkroot Garden, which is connected to Darkroot Basin, which has a tunnel leading to the Valley of Drakes. The Valley is also connected to New Londo Ruins, which connects back to Firelink Shrine, which is connected to the Burg.

I suppose the fact that I just proved I have most of that memorized proves that the system works, though...

You forgot that Undead Burg is connected to Darkroot Basin through Havel's basements

Strike damage depletes stamina supposedly though I can smack a spear hollow soldier over and over with a mace and his guard doesn't break. One kick or a jumping attack does the trick every time on NG tho.

Try 2-handed attack. With cleric and his basic mace they drop guard after one strong, shortsword takes two strong. No strength increase needed Easier than making my analog comprehend I want to kick the damn bugger

OT: I would appreciate if I could sell my junk. I'm not that far in the game (killed Moonlight Butterfly), but my Bottomless box is loaded with Hollow equip and since for the life of my I can't bring myself to drop what I loot, I would really like to be able to sell to Undead merchant or the first blacksmith even for a soul or two.
Not that I lack souls. Right now I have 20k souls and don't know what to do with them. Leveled enough, upgraded all my equip, bought 999 standard arrows and 99 firebombs. Now what?
Guess I died to much and got to farm some souls in that area you open with Crest of Artorias...

 

[shrekfan246]

I wouldn't want individual maps so much as an over-world map. It's very tedious and confusing to remember that Blighttown is connected to the Depths and Valley of Drakes, the Depths are connected to the Undead Burg which is connected to the Parish, which is connected to the chapel that leads to Sen's Fortress, the chapel is connected to Darkroot Garden, which is connected to Darkroot Basin, which has a tunnel leading to the Valley of Drakes. The Valley is also connected to New Londo Ruins, which connects back to Firelink Shrine, which is connected to the Burg.

I suppose the fact that I just proved I have most of that memorized proves that the system works, though...

You forgot that Undead Burg is connected to Darkroot Basin through Havel's basements

Yeah, I just barely opened that earlier today, didn't think of it. Fuck Havel too, now that I think about it. Though the ring is awesome.

Now, I've thought of something I'd actually like implemented in the game (assuming it isn't already, I don't think it is):
Weapon speed altered in relation to your character's parameters. Say, for instance, you get a sword that requires 20 strength to use in one hand. At 20 strength you're fairly clumsy with it but still deal full damage. At a certain percentage higher than the minimum required parameter, your weapon speed increases by X percent, and your character is less clumsy and pronounced in his/her swinging. I don't know, I'm just thinking that at 1/3 carrying weight and with strength/dex far above the required amount, I shouldn't still be flailing about when swinging the Black Knight Sword.

 

[Weaver]

I'd really like to see rolling not be the far and above more powerful way to play the game. You still need a good shield at times in PvE, but if you can't do a full roll you're severely limited.

I've heard pyromancy is still way too strong.

 

[Jaythulhu]

Actual fixes to the terribly low-res textures, forced FPS lock & awful mouse acceleration as well properly adjusted & scaled screen resolutions, keyboard + mouse controls in the tutorial/chargen/game instead of xbox controls, a quicksave function (even if it's limited), a map so I can work out where the hell I am & where I'm going and adding my voice to the chrous of folks of want a pause function so ya don't get slaughtered while taking a loo break.

I wouldn't have minded shelling out so much cash for my pc version of the game if'n it had been tweaked or passed to another developer for the PC release, but the game we got was one not at all worth full AAA title price.

As it is the mouse that came with the Prepare to Die edition is the only thing that stopped me from returning the game.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

A map that shows only where you've been like in infinite undiscovery would have helped a lot. My character has been there before, why not at least allow the game to map that for me like i would probably do in real life if i were rewalking the same terrain over and over again.

It needs the broken landscape tightening up a bit and playtesting thoroughly to stop players falling through solid floors or rolling through walls and getting stuck (this happened quite a few times to me)

The removal of the player vs player stuff from the normal game mode to stop idiots from being arseholes to newbie players or some kind of level cap to stop the fight being straight harrassment.

The removal of those silly tags you could leave to help or hinder other players and a little more instruction on things like backstab...i didn't realise it was an actual move until way too late in the day (i thought it was just bonus damage for attacking from the rear like some other games)

Better balancing of player classes or some indication of which classes would make the game more difficult if used.

Better voice acting (because most of what i heard was terrible) or simply make it all text.

I could probably go on but i didnt find enough in this game to keep me interested for more than 10 hours so ill leave it at that. Despite it not holding my hand it managed to be repetitive, linear and slow...not particularly hard just harsh.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

I have some ideas on how to improve the game and add things like saves and pausing.

1. Make saves available only before white fog before a boss. That way a person can't just stop at a bridge and save their every step.

2. Require something that may run out: This could be an item that while not impossible to obtain is still difficult to. Make it have only a number of uses before you need to get a new one or fix it or refill it through a task. This would allow you to chose how many chances you wanted to use.

2b: Require payment with souls for saves: This would mean the player would have to use their hard earned souls in a chance to beat the boss without having to fight their way back every time. Also don't let enemies respawn if you use the save. This way players can't cheat the system. Also any souls lost during the boss fight are not recovered until you beat the boss. Also the amount of souls should increase against bosses. Either the more bosses you have beaten or depending on the boss. This means that players have to be even more careful with their souls. Also let the player choose an amount of respawns before the white fog. So say the player has 12000 souls and the save costs 3000, the player then pays 9000 for three saves. Also the player can recover the souls from unused saves BUT they only get a potion. Say the player doesn't die against the boss after paying 9000. Then instead of the receiving all their souls back they only get a two-thirds of them back. This would prevent players from storing all their souls before a fight to save them.

3.Give the game a pause option: However only let players select their settings or quit the game. This means players are still vulnerable during equipment choosing. Also give the pause a time limit. maybe about five to ten minutes. I mean if I need to go do something like go to the washroom I don't want to have to worry about dying against a boss I spend the past hour getting to the point I was at.

4. Give the player more lore upfront. Not all of it. Not the entire lore but maybe just some important stuff. Stuff like why you are killing who or why this boss is guarding the area. It doesn't have to be much. Something like this Demon was magiclly binded to guard this bridge against all comers. The story of how and why can be lying around but the basic idea of who or what it is could be given. In fact to keep the minimalist story they don't even have to tell more than the bare bones outright or even more detailed info. The game could just say, This demon was binded to this bridge by a long dead wizard. Everything still bare bones but this gives the player a little bit of idea to build on.

5. A better tutorial. Yes the game has one but a bit more in depth couldn't hurt. Explaining the different weapons and such would be nice. Giving the players a few basic stratageys also couldn't hurt. It doesn't have to be a hand holding press A to win tutorial (like so many on this thread seem to think is what people want in the game) but a bit more upfront explanation would be useful and nice.

 

[lapan]

The only thing i would improve is the netcode. Lag between players in pvp often ruins the fun of it and summon signs can often take a long while to spawn and fail a couple of times.

 

[axlryder]

Fix the garbage pvp and the lag that goes along with it.

Eliminate backtracking. Once I started having to revisit and trek through areas again I just lost my drive for the game. The warping bonfire system helped, but it took some of the fun out of it for me.

Balance the build types a bit better.

Eliminate the viability of soul grinding.

A lot of these are obviously personal preference.

 

[axlryder]

I'd kill it's fanbase/hype and allow people to play it for what it is: a simple, frustrating game that has no plot, and no role-playing value.

Then I'd give it higher frames per second.

I don't recall people ever lauding it for its plot (which certainly exists) or role-playing value. In fact, I hardly recall people even bringing those things up beyond mentioning how mostly perfunctory they are. Also, the frustration aspect is clearly subjective. I wasn't any more frustrated with it than I typically am with other games that require me to not suck at playing them.

 

[axlryder]

A map that shows only where you've been like in infinite undiscovery would have helped a lot. My character has been there before, why not at least allow the game to map that for me like i would probably do in real life if i were rewalking the same terrain over and over again.

It needs the broken landscape tightening up a bit and playtesting thoroughly to stop players falling through solid floors or rolling through walls and getting stuck (this happened quite a few times to me)

The removal of the player vs player stuff from the normal game mode to stop idiots from being arseholes to newbie players or some kind of level cap to stop the fight being straight harrassment.

The removal of those silly tags you could leave to help or hinder other players and a little more instruction on things like backstab...i didn't realise it was an actual move until way too late in the day (i thought it was just bonus damage for attacking from the rear like some other games)

Better balancing of player classes or some indication of which classes would make the game more difficult if used.

Better voice acting (because most of what i heard was terrible) or simply make it all text.

I could probably go on but i didnt find enough in this game to keep me interested for more than 10 hours so ill leave it at that. Despite it not holding my hand it managed to be repetitive, linear and slow...not particularly hard just harsh.

You can always just play offline. No pvp and no notes. That almost makes up the entirety of the online element anyway.

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

The only thing I would improve is giving the player some better direction about where to actually go. I've heard anecdotes of many a player who's tried to go through the graveyard immediately upon reaching Firelink Shrine because they didn't know where to go to ring the first bell.

Also, some almost essential things are very hard to find. The first blacksmith is off the beaten track (and the first ember that you need to go beyond +5 is hidden in a dark corner in the Depths), and several bonfires are hidden (The Depths, Sen's Fortress roof, Darkroot Garden, the Catacombs' second one).

Things like that should be made very clear to the player, like in Demon's Souls where you can immediately meet the blacksmith and you can always find archstones because they appear when you defeat a boss.

And most of the plot is in the background details, like item descriptions. That's how Epicnamebro found out the lore for his videos in the first place...

 

[GundamSentinel]

Being able to pause: Probably my biggest complaint about the game is the inability to pause the game, even on offline mode. I mean who hasn't had to go use the restroom really bad while playing the game.

I'd not mind that, just as long as you won't be able to do anything with your character in pause mode (e.g. no changing equipment). That way, it makes the game a little easier (gives you some time to breathe and think), but not gamebreakingly so. It's not very difficult in Dark Souls to find a quiet corner to hide for a few minutes while you go to to the bathroom, but a simple pause button would make things a little easier. Maybe they could turn off the pause function during boss battles to make them more of a challenge.

Maps: I feel that if they added maps to the game, much like how in Legend of Zelda: OOT, it would make the game easier, but at the same time add some sort of challenge. I mean there has been times where I felt lost in the game.

A map would be fine, but I don't think a complete in game radar would work for Dark Souls. Maybe a map like in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. It shows you a map of the entire game world, but not in such detail that you can completely navigate by it. But it does give a general idea about where to go. I think that would work well for Dark Souls.

Option to turn off invasion. I hate them. I am not in the mood to PVP. I just want to play the single player aspect of the game, without risking a damn invasion. I know I can just stay hallow or play offline, but if I do, I end up missing out on summons that I need for a boss battle.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I played Demon's Souls almost completely in offline mode (mostly to manage world tendencies, which is far easier offline) and it worked well for me, because I never wanted or needed help. In Dark Souls I did have that need at times, but the risk of invasion sometimes made me hesitate. That option would be great.

Also: bring back the guy that did the music for Demon's Souls. Dark Souls' music wasn't half bad, but the music in Demon's Souls is one of the reasons why I consider it a better game.