EDIT: SPOILER WARNING FOR FIRST 7 HOURS, DONT READ BOSS SECTION
So, I finally got to try this this weekend and sunk a good 7-10 hours in, enough I think for a pretty solid first impression. And it was great, but I do have some quibbles. Let me break it down:
-Combat is a bit different. Everything seems a bit slower and heavier, though on the bosses it feels largely the same as DS1. Parrying took some getting used to, as now you've got to wait for them to fall on their butts before you can riposte, which makes it damn near impossible to do when you're fighting multiple enemies. It's also much, much harder to parry now without a shield, since it's such a slow animation, but with practice I think I could get the timing right. I'll not try it on the first playthrough though. I've yet to try a dual-wielding build, either. Magic seems much more accurate now, and the extra copy of Soul Arrow early on is greatly appreciated, as it means my early sorcerer can rely on magic rather than having to get up close and personal with a dagger to defeat everything.
-The critical attack animations leave something to be desired. I'm having a lot of fun with both of the Handaxe criticals, but I miss the backstabbing blades actually clipping through their chests with sprays of blood. Backstabbing with a dagger just looks like you're pressing the tip up against their back. Also, the Drangleic Armor kicks ass, and totally makes up for the disappointment that is the player version of the Balder armor (finally, a cape!)
-I really like the design of the new Hollow Soldiers. They've still got some of the old cheesy fantasy looking ones in that first castle, but the Spaniard footpad hollows are great. I got one of their helmets and there's no way I'm taking it off, ever. Except when I found the better, shinier, non-hollow version.
-The max health thing, unfortunately, turned out exactly as I expected: it's pretty damn annoying. With the greater number of stats (separate stats to increase stamina and carry weight, really?) requiring greater level investment to improve physical combat, higher stat requirements on most equipment, far fewer 100% physical shields, and low starting stats, the sorcerer is pretty damn fragile at the start, even moreso than DS1. At full hollow, I literally could not take a single hit from anything but weaponless hollows. Blocking wasn't much better, and since that first area full of hollows seems to like to throw outnumbering ambushes at you from behind in tight places, dodging wasn't much good either. Several levels later it was better, but holy shit. Thank goodness for the large leather shield
-Enemy extinction is bittersweet. Permanently getting rid of the most annoying enemies, and clearing the path between the bonfire and the boss, is awesome. There's enough souls in any given enemy before it goes extinct that I never really feel starved, but since there's only so many souls in the game (I know about coop but I'm not online yet) I can't bring myself to buy consumables, since using them but dying before accomplishing the purpose of their use means that the souls invested in them were permanently wasted. And it's a thousand times worse a feeling to die before you get back to your bloodstain. I'm not much of a farmer, but I am running our of hollows to practice with different weapons on.
-In contrast, the bosses so far have been a bit easy. I've fought the Last Giant, the Pursuer, the Dragonrider, and Ornstein so far. Of all of them, the Pursuer is the only one that really gave me a lot of trouble. The Last Giant and the Dragonrider were pretty easy to maneuver around and blast with spells, or alternately hit with the handaxe. The only reason the Dragonrider killed me so many times was that the arena was so damn tiny, and I found later that there were levers outside to make it larger, and had I known that I don't think I would have died except the first time, before I figured out his moves. Also, my brother found out you can just shoot him with 200 arrows from outside the arena then just go over and hit him once to win. Without having to worry about dodging Smough, just using the usual tactics for fighting Ornstein (Oldstein?) made short work of him. The Pursuer should probably have been easy too, but I just couldn't seem to get the timing on my rolls right. I eventually won when I figured out you could hit him with the ballistas, and it would reduce his health to a gnat's width.
-So far the new areas look pretty cool, and have great new designs, but I am noticing some recycling. I have found two separate areas that look like a blend of the Catacombs and the Depths, and through the second of these (props to the developers for that cat ring puzzle, though) I found what can only be described as Blighttown.
-Probably haven't gotten far enough for it, but am beginning to wonder: when can I find someone to teach me new sorceries? I've found a lady with a treasure trove of early miracles but haven't seen any sorceries since the soul arrow and great soul arrow in the first castle. Also, where can I get my weapons imbued with this shiny new elemental titanite?
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Topic: Dark Souls 2 - PC Controls are the final boss. HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. (Read 90701 times)