While it's not the series' best, it's not as bad as its detractors claim.
>>3967125Anons will do anything before looking at the catalog and opening their totally original thread.
This is an rpg board.
SotFS had the option to fix the biggest flaw in the game but failed to do it.they kept the ADP cancer.>>3967341and Dark Souls is an RPG
>>3967290>Anons will do anything before looking at the catalog and opening their totally original thread.I bet it's the same troll defending this slop in the other thread. That thread has been notified of this threads existence
>>3967681ADP isn't a flaw. Base agility on the bandit class is more than enough to easily dodge most attacks in the game. Leveling up ADP is only a good idea if its helps your build, i.e. poison builds, if you're struggling with dodges you're better off investing in vitality for higher equip load so you can use shields or better armor or so that you can roll farther/reach easier low equipment load.Agility for the I-frames is nice to have but nowhere near as essential as retards make it out to be.
>>3967688it is when it's poorly conveyed to the player when it fucks up a major mechanic from Dark Souls and Demon's Souls
>>3967290>>3967685Nah, that's just my bad. I searched the catalog for "Souls" and "DS2" before making this thread, and even scanned the whole thing, but didn't see the older one. It was either hidden by one of my filters or must've been close to the bump limit at the time. Anyways, I'm playing through it for the first time as a series vet (like, one who was into DeS back in the PlayAsia days). The Lost Bastille seems emblematic of the game so far — genuinely interesting and atmospheric level design, but wholly cancerous and clown-car style enemy placements. It's both hella easy (lifegems, abundant mats) and frustratingly difficult. Simply a weird-ass game, though not an unenjoyable one.
>>3967695The description of agility is something like "improves ease of evasion" that's not that poorly conveyed. How did ADP fuck up a major mechanic?
>>3968141it's vital to making rolling not suck
>>3968244It's not. Again base agility should be enough to effectively dodge most attacks. I say this as someone who played the game with the bandit class without leveling adaptability or attunement and as someone who isn't great at dodging
>>3968525>dodging should always, without investment, be a correct answer to most problemsThis is how you get the braindead roll-fest of DS3.
>>3968589ThisDodging isn't even usually the best defensive option in DS2, Agility investment or not. Spacing and walking are the best option 90% of the time. You can even use a shield to practice spacing and walking if you need the training wheels. Trying to force dodging to be your primary defensive option is square peg, round hole behavior.
>>3968592>You can even use a shieldexcept it takes a long time to get a 100% block shield>Trying to force dodging to be your primary defensive option is square peg, round hole behaviorand yet it worked in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1.
>>3968858>except it takes a long time to get a 100% block shieldYou mean aside from the Drangleic Shield?
>hails from a place known for its desert areas>wears ridiculously impractical high heels rather than comfy sandalsDark Souls II lore doesn't make any sense if you ask me
>>3968870Or the Royal Kite Shield
>>3967688Levelling up ADP helps quite literally every build unless you plan to dodge nothing and use zero items.
>>3968870>>3968907Or the tower shield. I mean, if you really need the 100%
>>3968909The additional I-frames and item animation speed are nice to have but negligible for most builds or rather other stats that add more damage/defense or open up more variety are more useful/fun. You act like your rolls and items are useless if you don't level ADP.
>>3969035>if you really need the 100%This. Good Stability is usually more worth than 100% damage reduction.
>>3968858>except it takes a long time to get a 100% block shieldYou don't need oneThe shield isn't your primary option like this either, it's training wheels for spacing. If you're ACTUALLY going for a shield focused build then it's important, but that's not the case here. This is more to mitigate bad positioning until you don't need it anymore, while not disrupting your momentum as badly. The main plan is actually still to not get hit, this just reduces the penalty for actually getting hit, until you don't need the shield anymore at all.
>>3969046ThisA shield with trash absorption but massive guard boost would actually be great for this role
>>3968909Attunement is usually a better source of Agility. It takes more levels to get the same effect (3-1), but more spell slots is genuinely one of the strongest things any build can add, and better cast speed is solid, versus ADP which kinda does nothing else. Even as a mostly non-magic build, more slots for utility, buffs, or even just another 3 pack of Heal is good to have. If your build is really tight on levels, ADP is more efficient, but a character with Attunement instead of ADP is generally much better.
>>3968879I'm from an inuit tribe and I live in Scotland but you don't see me wearing a parka do you?
>>3969046And DS2 has early ring of health regen and evil eye, if you're getting too much chip damage to your liking.
DS2 was the last niche game of the franchise, everything else after it is pathetic normie pandering slophttps://youtu.be/gPeeQ4-r5Bs?si=5MlOU9p5lFLGCFT8
>>3967125I think it's the best. Vanilla. I will die on this hill.
>ds2 removed scabbardsYou know what, screw dark souls 2
I love this game because I can reach max level without waiting for NG7 enemies dropping the biggest amount souls. Bonfire ascetics are truly a blessing
>>3971643Bonefire Ascetics were one of the coolest things the series has ever done.
>>3970743Not a single dark souls game is niche. they are all immensely mainstream, everyone and their mothers have played them
>>3972562Demon's Souls was niche. I know this because I played it back in the day as a rental from blockbuster, not a single person I knew had heard of it, and shoving the pickaxe up zombie assholes was the funniest thing I came away from the game with.
>>3969081Especially if you use the strong magic shield spell
>Some scheming gold digger bitch is the supposed final boss>you fight her and it turns out she's a complete pushover>wait don't beat her ass yet! you could make her even easier if you bless those DLC crowns first and get curse immunity!>but all those crowns are guarded by the most difficult bosses in the gameThis is outright retarded
