Dark Souls II - What we want to see

After reading the majority of the comments, expecting to see interesting proposals on how to make Dark Souls 2 a better overall game, I am sorely disappointed, mostly because of the continuous suggestions of the addition of an "easy" mode. Quite simply said, give me a break… I was one of the few who pre-ordered the Demon's Souls Deluxe Edition, so I know a thing or two about the series. Looking back on my time with these games I have many fond memories, and the majority have come from the satisfaction of killing the seemingly immortal bosses. Knowing that it is going to take more than the spamming of R1 button, the player is forced to calculate every decision he/she makes before and during the fight. No console game delivers the overall feeling of achievement that the Souls series does. In the twenty-first century we are so used to hand-holding, checkpoints, and the so-called "easy-mode": all directed towards "casual" gamers; well let me tell you all something, this game is great because it is HARD. Call me biased, chauvinistic, or narrow-minded if you want but FromSoftware has made two highly rewarding, transformative games with the same template and it will not significantly change with the next.

No point in Armor dyes since online you either appear as Blue, Red, or Orange. Adding an easy mode would ruin this series. The reason it isn't "PC friendly" is because they didn't want to make the game any easier for PC players than it is for console players. The games weapon crafting systems are already more complex than 99% of games, nothing to fix there. And playing on the Xbox 360 I NEVER saw a frame rate drop, so no idea what you mean by technical issues.

I love Dark Souls. The challenge and mighty hint of reward is incredible and couldn't be copied by any other game series. I think an easy mode for more casual players would be a good thing so they could experience the game and maybe move onto the more hardcore gameplay. Add an easy mode but be sure to keep the hardcore gameplay that we love.

dark suols suks its is hte most overated gane of all time not even a real rpg if u want a real rgp play somthing thats actuelly good insted like fallout new las vegas or infenety blade for ipohne

You obviously haven't even given the game a chance, or maybe you have and it was just to difficult for you. Eitherway you don't know what your talking about.

lol Nice troll. =D

I'd like to see a bit more focus on some of the more memorable characters. A bit of gameplay focusing on bad ass guys like Ornstein or, even better, Havel. At the minute, Havel is just that big dude who squashes careless new players who enter his tower. And from what I remember story-wise, he was Gwynn's bishop or something along those lines. Much like the Artorias expansion, I think there is plenty of room for a crack at these other characters. Havel commanded an army of rock-clad warriors. Let me fight along side them in the Dark Souls world!!! As for the other things, I have played Dark souls for too many hours now. I know the game inside out and I still keep playing. I hope nothing too drastic changes. Too many games have been ruined by developers "trying new things" when all we really need are a few more weapons/spells and a new world to go about our backstabbing. Look what happened to Final Fantasy...... If it aint broke.......

I agree with everything listed, except I cannot support optional easy/hard modes. I get the need for an easy mode, as it broadens the potential userbase, but it truly defeats the core principle of the game. What is the point of playing Dark Souls if it's easy? If Dark Souls was easy, it just wouldn't be enjoyable. Would combat be any fun at all if a simple minion couldn't kill you easily? Could you really derive any enjoyment from the game if you could clear it in eight hours? Imagine playing Dark Souls, only every enemy could be killed in a single hit, bosses did minimal damage to you, and items and equipment were both useful and abundant. That just wouldn't be fun. Enjoyment from Dark Souls comes from its unfairness and brutality, and taking that away leaves almost no reason to actually play the game. I'd rather fewer people play the sequel than have more people play it, but have those new players be bored to tears by the game. Rather than an easy mode, I could see some sort of optional arena or dungeon that can be selected off of the main menu. It could serve as some sort of practice area for rookies and new players, were they could get used to combat, upgrading, exploration and the like without it actually affecting progress in the main game. Hell, you could box up this optional practice area as a demo, and it would offer a great taste of the game to any potential new players. As for an extra difficult mode, don't offer it right from the get-go. Give it as a New Game Plus without any carry-overs, or something similar. In Dark Souls, all players experience the exact same game and difficulty from the start. The only differences are the starting class and gift, which any experienced player can tell you are actually irrelevant in the end. Everyone has to have the same experience on their first playthrough, because that is another principle of the game: it hates us all equally. No one gets any preferential treatment. Everyone gets screwed over the same amount. And, let's be honest, what Dark Souls fan would pick "Normal" mode in the first place? "Normal" would really just be "Easy" and "Hardcore" mode would be "Normal". All that being said, I can't wait for this game.

I agree on most of this except the game being unfair. There is a difference between punishingly challenging and unfair.

Perhaps I mispoke, but I'm glad someone is thinking roughly along the same lines as me.

can't agree with easy mode make it hardcore++

An easy mode would destroy what the game stands for, but it would sell more copies. I hope they stick to their morals and keep the game hard.

I like their suggestion here though. If you have an Easy mode, make it completely optional and completely separate from the harder, more traditional version. While I can sink endless hours into Dark Souls, not everyone can, but yet the game contains a world that really should be experienced. To not allow a New Game+ on an Easy mode would be the perfect solution: let people who don't have as much time for gaming enjoy the world, because they likely wouldn't New Game+ anyways, while letting anyone who wants to to take the more difficult path. There is no problem with including an easy mode, it's only a problem when they bring the challenge of the whole game down for accessibility (looking at you Ninja Gaiden 3).

ADD AN EASY MODE PLEASE!!!!!!

One thing missing from the list: Cross-platform online play between PS3, PC, 360. Before you say "But WampaCow, that has never happened and will never happen," know that there is a precedent--Final Fantasy XI (PC, PS2, 360). I know Microsoft has been resistant to this idea in the past, so if they aren't on board, simply leave them out and do it with PC, PS3, (and potentially Wii U). Do this with enough games and maybe they will get the point.

I really agree with giving you more nuggets of story. I didn't learn about the titular Dark Soul, Darkstalker Katthe and the whole Pygmy plot-twist until I read about the game on TVtropes after my second playthrough. All of these being major plot elements.

To those of you who immediately cried foul at the idea of an easy mode: Guys, you know that difficulty settings are a thing now, right? Further, did you actually bother to read on to the second paragraph of that minor, reasonable suggestion? It actually seems like a great idea when put in that way, and seems very fitting of the game's proclivity for punishing the n00b player. And the game's online mode certainly wouldn't have suffer if that were implemented.

I did read the paragraph in question. Now let me ask you this, have you actually read the counter arguments of those of us who STILL are against an easy mode? It's simply a matter of altering the franchise's filosophy and nature for the sake of pandering to a crowd that was never interested in the series to begin with. Difficulty settings are a thing, yes, and they fit fine with almost most other games, but that doesn't mean it fits with everything, and again, having it in Dark souls speaks of a willingness to bend over to accommodate the player... Which goes against the basis of what the game stands for.

I agree. The time spent on easy mode would be better spent polishing the game, because it most likely would not draw in enough new customers to be worth the asset expenditure. They're best off sticking to what they do best, in the hopes of drawing in more customers that way.

I love the narrow-mindedness of the above comments. Pandering to a crowd not interested in the series to begin with? Yes, because only super-hardcore AND skilled players would enjoy a deep, atmospheric game experience. Most likely wouldn't draw in enough customers? How much work do you think it would really take to change some variables such as monster health or item drops. Seriously? Basically all the arguments, save the online PvP concerns, are just variations on a theme, that somehow allowing more people to enjoy the game - and thus buy it and allow more games like this to come into being - will somehow lessen your own personal connection with the franchise. Which is ridiculous on its face.