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Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin coming to PS3 and PS4 in April 2015

Expanded edition of this year’s action RPG sequel incoming

Hello, PlayStation fans! I am beyond excited to finally reveal Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, a very special project from Bandai Namco Games Inc and FromSoftware available April 2015 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4!

That, my friends, is not a typo. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is coming to the PlayStation 3 AND PlayStation 4 system next year! Not only that, but it will take advantage of the next generation capabilities of PlayStation 4, giving fans of the series and newcomers alike updated visuals, rebalanced gameplay, a higher maximum number of players for online play, new and deadlier enemies, a brand new NPC to discover, expanded lore and new in-game events.

The game also has the Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King DLC already included as well. This is the ultimate version of Dark Souls II.

The PlayStation 3 version of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will be bundled with all three DLC missions and also include the additional NPC, expanded story, in-game events as well as improved gameplay balance and online matchmaking functionality. PlayStation 3 owners who already own Dark Souls II will receive the improved balancing and matchmaking as well as expanded story content free of charge as a large-scale update. In short, we’ve got you covered if you’ve been thinking about jumping into the Dark Souls universe or are already a hardcore fan of the series for the PlayStation 3 system.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS4 adds the expected technical improvements to FromSoftware’s acclaimed action RPG sequel, but also remixes core gameplay elements to give veterans a reason to dive back in.

The jump to PS4 has given developer FromSoftware an opportunity to paint a more pleasing picture. The native 1080p resolution, upgraded lighting effects, and cinematic filters give the game a richer, cleaner look compared to the PS3 version.

But the biggest improvement comes from the improved framerate — 60 frames per second according to Bandai Namco representatives. The increased fluidity translates into more responsive movement and combat, a major advantage considering the game’s famously unforgiving difficulty.

Then there are the gameplay adjustments. You won’t be able to rely on your memory to cakewalk the PS4 game because some enemies and item locations have been changed. Enemies will follow you more tenaciously, even through fog gates — a terrifying, potentially ruinous side effect of PS4′s expanded RAM pool.

Some weapons are also being tweaked. I noticed that the Fire Long Sword, a powerful early-game weapon that saved my butt countless times on PS3, seemed to be way less durable in this version. In other cases, a producer told me, weapons that were largely overlooked may be easier to find, or be adjusted in other ways.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS4 also includes all previously released Dark Souls II content expansions: Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King, so there will be no shortage of things to do and monsters to kill.

All in all, I was pleased with the refinements and look forward to dipping my toe back into the cursed world of Drangleic this April — just as soon as I’m done with Bloodborne. Is 2015 the year of FromSoftware?

I never bought the DLC, so I'm just going to wait for the PS4 version.

Fair way in but quite a bit to go yet.

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Sep 07, 2014 14:48 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I'm just going to leave that autocorrection.

Author:	Mr Dave [ Thu Sep 25, 2014 21:04 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Yeah, if I'm honest, I'm not particularly enjoying this DLC (not sure if it's the first or second, but it's rather firey). It feels rather cheap in a way that the main game didn't. And it may be a consequence of either the PC version seeming to have considerably wonky collision detection or 'balancing' patches, but even the main game didn't feel particularly satisfying either. :/

Author:	Mr Dave [ Tue Sep 30, 2014 17:29 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Ok, third DLC does appear on first glance to be better than the two which preceeded it. Rather worried about the non interactive people, and rather miffed at the cheap invisible dude backstabbing me. Certainly the DLC as a whole doesn't seem to have held much to the rule of dropping some clues about possible surprises.

Author:	Mr Dave [ Sun Oct 05, 2014 13:42 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
All three crowns now belong to me. Overall: It did tend towards the cheap much more than the main game, with invisible backstabby people, rather cheaty phantoms and the like. Multi person boss fights are not it's strong point, so rather wishing it hadn't gone so heavily for them (Out of the 9 boss fights, 4 were guilty of this. Mmmmmrrrrr) The hedgehog things were right twarts for that as well. The level design was generally much betterer with useful shortcuts opening around the place many times, mind.

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Oct 05, 2014 14:12 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I've not played the third DLC yet so I've only come across 2 multi-person boss fights, but aren't these the challenge areas meant to be tackled with friends?

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Dark Souls 2 https://www.beexcellenttoeachother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9155	Page 11 of 12

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Oct 05, 2014 19:44 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
The final DLC is mine.

Author:	zaphod79 [ Tue Nov 25, 2014 10:45 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/11/ ... 5_36193227 Quote: Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin coming to PS3 and PS4 in April 2015 Expanded edition of this year’s action RPG sequel incoming Hello, PlayStation fans! I am beyond excited to finally reveal Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, a very special project from Bandai Namco Games Inc and FromSoftware available April 2015 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4! That, my friends, is not a typo. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is coming to the PlayStation 3 AND PlayStation 4 system next year! Not only that, but it will take advantage of the next generation capabilities of PlayStation 4, giving fans of the series and newcomers alike updated visuals, rebalanced gameplay, a higher maximum number of players for online play, new and deadlier enemies, a brand new NPC to discover, expanded lore and new in-game events. The game also has the Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King DLC already included as well. This is the ultimate version of Dark Souls II. The PlayStation 3 version of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will be bundled with all three DLC missions and also include the additional NPC, expanded story, in-game events as well as improved gameplay balance and online matchmaking functionality. PlayStation 3 owners who already own Dark Souls II will receive the improved balancing and matchmaking as well as expanded story content free of charge as a large-scale update. In short, we’ve got you covered if you’ve been thinking about jumping into the Dark Souls universe or are already a hardcore fan of the series for the PlayStation 3 system. Some other stills from the game : https://www.flickr.com/photos/playstati ... otostream/

Author:	zaphod79 [ Thu Feb 05, 2015 18:17 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2015/02/ ... r=36969785 How Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin plays on PS4 Quote: Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS4 adds the expected technical improvements to FromSoftware’s acclaimed action RPG sequel, but also remixes core gameplay elements to give veterans a reason to dive back in. The jump to PS4 has given developer FromSoftware an opportunity to paint a more pleasing picture. The native 1080p resolution, upgraded lighting effects, and cinematic filters give the game a richer, cleaner look compared to the PS3 version. But the biggest improvement comes from the improved framerate — 60 frames per second according to Bandai Namco representatives. The increased fluidity translates into more responsive movement and combat, a major advantage considering the game’s famously unforgiving difficulty. Then there are the gameplay adjustments. You won’t be able to rely on your memory to cakewalk the PS4 game because some enemies and item locations have been changed. Enemies will follow you more tenaciously, even through fog gates — a terrifying, potentially ruinous side effect of PS4′s expanded RAM pool. Some weapons are also being tweaked. I noticed that the Fire Long Sword, a powerful early-game weapon that saved my butt countless times on PS3, seemed to be way less durable in this version. In other cases, a producer told me, weapons that were largely overlooked may be easier to find, or be adjusted in other ways. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS4 also includes all previously released Dark Souls II content expansions: Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King, so there will be no shortage of things to do and monsters to kill. All in all, I was pleased with the refinements and look forward to dipping my toe back into the cursed world of Drangleic this April — just as soon as I’m done with Bloodborne. Is 2015 the year of FromSoftware?

Author:	Satsuma [ Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:52 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
New Boss! New Ending! New Law! I mean, Lore! All available now!

Author:	Dr Lave [ Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:57 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I never bought the DLC, so I'm just going to wait for the PS4 version.

Author:	zaphod79 [ Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:17 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Dr Lave wrote: I never bought the DLC, so I'm just going to wait for the PS4 version. http://savygamer.co.uk/2015/02/07/dark- ... ps4-31-99/ £31.99 at the moment if you pre-order if from Argos (due out 3rd April)

Author:	Dr Lave [ Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:35 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Cheers!

Author:	Grim... [ Thu Mar 05, 2015 18:05 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Someone left this not on this chaps car (from Reddit): Attachment: JTEfJgx[1].jpg

Author:	Satsuma [ Tue Mar 17, 2015 0:07 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Also cool and nicked off Reddit is this: http://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSouls2/comm ... y/.compact "And what is it" you ask? It's only some ring tones for Android and iPhone users in some guy's dropbox that he's made available to every single person in the universe. I've downloaded the lot, shove them in iTunes and then synced them in ringtones and guess what, they only bloody well work. You want the Emerald Herald saying some sexy smooth stuff in your earhole? DONE. (and boy does she sound sexy). You want the "Very Good" carving for when someone sends you a text message? DONE. (everyone will hate you though). Or do you just want the start up "whooooooovoovvoovovovovooveeeeeeee" for some reason? DONE. (cause you're ace).

Author:	Satsuma [ Fri Aug 28, 2015 21:58 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I've finally succumbed and got DS2: Scholar of the First Sin on my shiny PS4. 60 FRAMES PER SECOND! TEN EIGHTY PEE! The same game and all the DLC! Here, watch me go and kick this bosses ass at the catherdral. A fucking dragon outside? This is so similar it's welcoming but so kinda different that it's interesting. Plus I'm confident to play with different builds now and I've found the Geand Lance, so, fuck it, why not mash people up with that?

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Aug 30, 2015 11:36 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Apparently, although I've not tried it, if you kill those pigs something like 10 times one of them then respawns as a massive warthog fatty. Just once mind, then it doesn't happen again.

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Aug 30, 2015 11:42 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Also, the Grand Lance is the new DS Halbard. Well worth a few upgrades. That and the Craftsman's Hammer, which are my new go to weapons. I'm trying to keep my weight down now for rolling skills rather than my usual turtling at 99% weight and the best defensive armour (Bloodborne has taught me loads), and it's working out too. Apparently rolling is max at 40% weight up to 70% when you start fat rolling. The roll improves in speed and distance the closer you get to 40% weight so keeping it around 50% weight is good if you want to keep your rolling skills at optimal levels and wear some half decent armour and carry a big stick.

Author:	Satsuma [ Mon Aug 31, 2015 0:20 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Here you go, here's what Dark Souls is about: Firstly, you're playing your game properly in the most annoying area of the game where these sorcerers are firings magic at you from a distance whilst you're slowed down paddling in water up to your waist. So what happens? Some cunt invades your game and starts firing arrows at you as if it ain't hard enough. Then he disappears and turns into a pot. I am that pot.

Author:	Trooper [ Mon Apr 06, 2015 11:45 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2

Author:	Zardoz [ Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:05 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Those three fucking piglets!

Author:	Satsuma [ Mon Aug 31, 2015 0:26 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Or you can be having a fight with a mirror guy, win, feel really good about yourself and totally forget about something that happened 4 minutes ago...

Author:	Zardoz [ Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:50 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
What a horrible man.

Author:	Satsuma [ Mon Aug 31, 2015 16:25 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
26 hours in and I've done the Shrine of Amana already. I wonder where I was on my first play through by this time. I've only called in jolly co-op help for the three sentinels as well since me and a friend fended off a gank squad. DS2SOTFS is the tits. Connecting to online games is smooth and silky too. No messing be about. Hell I was even summoned back to the bell tower for covenant defence whilst in the Shrine of Anama which never happened before. And I'm pretty much wearing the red string ring inviting invaders in full time. The more the merrier! Come kick my ass whenever you please. (And they do). My only complaint is that the maps are identical in the layout. Some surprises would have been nice.

Author:	Satsuma [ Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:27 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I'm a big fan of this guy's videos thest1ckyband1t Youtube Linky Loo so I was fucking amazed when I was doling about yesterday and found his bloody summon sign in its usual place in the Forest of the Giants. Honest to god, I bought crapped myself. I had to have a go, right? I might even make it onto his Youtube video and have a bunch of people laughing at how I devestated him with my crushing skillz. Right? Nope. He smashed the shit out of me time and time again. I must have had about 5 fights and lost all of them and even missed recording them as I was so elated at fighting him. Hilariously though I actually managed to parry him and knocked him on his arse. I got so excited that I missed the massive window open to kill him and just smacked him gently with my Grand Lance. Anyway, he kills me and then, presumably sensing I was a massive n00b he sends me a private message telling him when to hit R1. He was such a nice chap that I messaged him back telling him I loved his Youtube videos and if he was struggling to get a match I would be happy to keep having a go for the win. He said it was a bit slow online tonight and he'd be happy to fight me. So I took the remainder of the video with him. At 2 minutes he lets me get him down to half energy. Then beats me. At 2:20 I throw my MASSOOSIVE R2 move and miss him by millimeters. Embarrassing. Then he beats me. At 5 minutes he beats me SO BAD and SO QUICKLY that I throw down the "Don't hurt me!" gesture - so he throws down a heal and lets me revive. The he beats me SO BAD and SO QUICKLY that he lets me revive again. By now, I'm having the greatest time of my sorry life. He even sends me a message telling me not to fat roll and keep my equipment load down. Then, for the last fight, I message him and tell him "THIS IS IT - I'm going balls out. Last fight for me. NO. HOLDING. BACK. This is IT" Or words to that effect so I disguise myself as a barrel (at 11:55). Then he beats me so bad I send him a message thanking him for the fights and to keep up the good work. He's probably just a guy and he only has, like, 500 followers or something but to me it was like meeting an internet celebrity or something. Weird fun times.

Author:	Satsuma [ Wed Sep 02, 2015 19:48 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Y'know what, some areas have had a tidy up and are unmistakably much better off because of it. In fact, it's quite surprising how much fun some areas are now: F'instance: Doors of Pharos: the enemies in the area don't attack you if you're in the rat covenant. Brightstone Cove: much more activity at the beginning with the undead royal army in the camp. Undead Crypt: the "don't light the torch" man actually means it this time. Light the torch get a shit-ton of dark phantoms. And best of all: Dragon Shrine. It's so improved its crazy how well it's done. The massive stone cunts are still there but now you get the dragon army guys who just stand there waiting to judge those that enter. They don't attack if you defeat the stone cunts but if you try and run by the stone cunts then everyone of them will attack you for being unworthy. This culminates with a MASSIVE GANK SQUAD on the long staircase to the dragon which is hilarious and also massively cunty. I love this game a tiny bit more than I did.

Author:	Satsuma [ Sun Sep 06, 2015 19:06 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Finished in under 40 hours apart from 2 DLC areas. I've even done those things I didn't do before: Darklurker deadid. Ancient Dragon deadid. Aldia deadid. Naavalan's assassination quest line doneid. I've even tried 3 different builds using the soul vessels which I never did before. I've tried a crap load of other armours and weapons, fight clubs, red invasions, blue invasions, helped people out, got help from others, met an Internet YouTuber, upgraded a ton of weapons, exchanged a load of boss souls for special weapons, finally discovered that the spider boss houses a massive dragon in the cave (I mean, seriously, how'd I miss that!?) and basically had a bleeding riot. So much more fun than my PS3 run through. It's just a joy to play on PS4 despite the short comings of the game (linear levels, less coherent world map, some bland textures and areas, less interesting level design and so on). Oh and the lore has been tidied up no end so it makes much more sense than before. Altogether a better game than Dark Souls 2.

Author:	Zardoz [ Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:06 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Beat the three tall twirling tower twats at last. All on my own too. Big fucking rat is still a twat though. For now.

Author:	Zardoz [ Sun Oct 11, 2015 18:40 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Tower Gargoyles: Tupped. Frozen Flower: Used. (Is this bit a DLC area?)

Author:	Mr Dave [ Sun Oct 11, 2015 18:47 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Arr, it is.

Author:	Zardoz [ Mon Oct 12, 2015 13:04 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
New place is hurty.

Author:	Satsuma [ Mon Oct 12, 2015 13:14 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I think it's probably best to finish the main game before tackling the DLC areas. Snow town was the last DLC so I expect the game thinks expects levelled up a fair bit. Above level 100 is probably OK.

Author:	Zardoz [ Mon Oct 12, 2015 13:22 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Yeah. The inhabitants really don't want me there.

Author:	Mr Dave [ Mon Oct 12, 2015 16:09 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Zardoz wrote: New place is hurty. Arr, it is.

Author:	Zardoz [ Tue Oct 13, 2015 0:50 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I'm in The Iron Keep now. Smelty Demon done and a bell clanged.

Author:	Zardoz [ Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:58 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Fucking Mirror Shield Knight! Hnnnghnnnn

Author:	Zardoz [ Wed Dec 16, 2015 0:36 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Just finished the main game. I've really enjoyed it but the level design just didn't flow like Dark Souls did. End run was pap too, managed it first go so felt a bit cheated (if that makes sense). Time to mop up the DLC before heading back into Bloodbourne again. The magic with this series are the strange interactions (help and hindrance) with other players, nothing else quite like it.

Author:	Zardoz [ Wed Dec 16, 2015 11:16 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
I feel quite hollow today.

Author:	Satsuma [ Wed Dec 16, 2015 11:19 ]
Post subject:	Re: Dark Souls 2
Questions: Did you fight the Scholar at the end? What DLC ain't cha done? Have you defeated The Great Dragon at the top of the stairs? Have you visited The Dark; been to the 3 secret areas and fought Darklurker?