Dark Souls 2: Unorthodox Multiplayer and Level Design Detailed

"The director of Dark Souls 2 Yui Tanimura had a lot to say about the game's unorthodox game design."

[Cam977]

I can't wait for this!

[Snarkasaur]

I wish they would limit invasions to people who actually want to pvp. Otherwise I'll just play in offline mode and miss out on the good parts of being online again.

[Swiggins]

I have no idea why you'd want to do that, being invaded is really the only way you'll get better at PVP.

Trust me, once you get a few tricks under your belt PVP can be incredibly fun in Dark Souls...backstab fishers non-withstanding.

[bluetoto]

"I have no idea why you'd want to do that, being invaded is really the only way you'll get better at PVP."

It doesn't occur to you that there are many souls fans that don't want to partake in PvP or even like it? Or that many are not interested in any competitive mode period?

Why does someone have to get better at a mode they don't even like? PvP is NOT fun for everyone and shouldn't be forced on everyone. There are many souls fans that don't play to best some random internet stranger.

Not everyone plays games for the same reason, even if it's the same game. Some people play to have some co-op fun with their mates or solo.

Others play games to feed their competitive ego and need to best someone to have fun. neither is wrong but neither should be forced on everyone.

[Snarkasaur]

Actually, with my spotty net connection (I play over a local wifi that multiple people have access to), there really is no opportunity for me to get better. I can be facing another player and then all the sudden get backstabbed. This isn't an issue with the co-op portion because it doesn't affect how the bosses react to me, but for pvp not having a great connection is a huge issue.

[Summons75]

all you really need to do is not invade and you have a huge chance of not being invaded. I went through most of Demon Souls and all of Dark Souls without being invaded once. However being invaded isn't all that bad, it's funny when you can trick people into fighting tons of enemies or making them fall to their death. Most invaders are really stupid people.

[Snarkasaur]

That's not true. I have never invaded anyone but NPC Lautrec, and I am invaded every single time I log on and go human. If I ever want to co-op, I have to play offline until right before I tackle the boss and then hope I see two summon signs near a bonfire so that at least I'll have some help when the invader shows up.

[OcelotRigz]

I can understand the frustration of being invaded, especially it you progress thru a very difficult part and then get invaded and get killed.
It annoyed me and i wasn't very good at pvp, but i still wouldn't want it removed or have an option to turn it off as i feel it adds to the "could-be-death-around-ev ery-corner" tension of the game, plus its the price you pay for summoning people for help, its like a yin-yang and is a crucial element of the game.

[joab777]

Maybe I am an idiot as I just started playing dark souls and don't know much. I did beat Capra in 4 tries...yeah for me. Anyway, I was a little worried about invasions and online play because its late in the game life and I was afraid everyone would be jacked and murder me. First, its only happened 2 x I think. But, didn't dark souls provide a way to play online without being invaded already? Isn't it called being hollow? I just imagined that they discussed how absurd it could get if ppl were always invading newcomers and what a turnoff it would be. You can essentially play much of the game as a hollow and still enjoy the soapstone writings. Also, u can still get humanity that's needed. U can summon AI's and players to help. And if someone invades and kills u...so what? Start again. Before playing I was so worried about dying and losing everything. Onve u realize that u don't lose much that u can't get back, its much less daunting.

For dark souls 2, I was a little worried when the director was let go and they began talking about accessibility. But when they talk about no new features and bulking up core elements, I like it. They NEED to keep fanbase happy. Its one of the true games left for us.

[OcelotRigz]

"For dark souls 2, I was a little worried when the director was let go and they began talking about accessibility. But when they talk about no new features and bulking up core elements, I like it. They NEED to keep fanbase happy. Its one of the true games left for us."

My sentiments exactly.

[bluetoto]

"They NEED to keep fanbase happy. Its one of the true games left for us."

Except that fanbase is split up with different fans that like a bunch of different things and hate a bunch of different things about the same game.

Every fanbase has several internal groups-

A. those that like everything about the game and don't want ANYTHING changed.

B. those that like parts a and b about the game but hate parts c and d.

C. those that hate parts a and b but love parts c and d.

D. those that like b and d but hate a, so on and so forth...
They can't please us all...

[GrumpyOla]

I agree with you on the fact that FROM can't please everyone, and since they have provided us with two great games that were truely refreshing this gen, they should be left to their own devices and let them do what they do best.

[mep69]

I want to play the game from start to finish with a friend :(
All they have to do to keep the hardness is have the enemies stronger and maybe more of them.

[joab777]

It would be a lot of fun. But it would need to be done just right and allow for drop in drop out adjustment.

[DestinyHeroDoomlord]

Split screen would be great.

[kingduqc]

I wish they fixed their netcode. On ps3 it was a lagstab fest and was unplayable. On pc you get desync because roll time was tied to framerate witch made you dysync on where you are because you had to have a mod to unlock the fps.

They could also add real co-op. I know it's not intended and i won't use it for my first play trough but it be cool for my play trough 3-10 to play and dick around with my friend.

[tda-danny]

For PC, try this fix: http://steamcommunity.com/a... I have been using v1.1 with a friend (you both need the fix installed), and we summon eachother within 15 seconds and do not disconnect.

[kingduqc]

I've used it certainly, but that's jsut silly that you need to mod the game for it to work (same with frame rate and resolution)

[MeatAbstract]

I love the multiplayer but the PVP in Dark Souls was garbage. Not the idea or the fights, the lag made it unbearable to play. I even had a better connection with Demon's Souls and I had that game imported. I'm glad they're going back to servers because 9/10 you were in a fight was laggy.

[OcelotRigz]

Yeah this was mostly the case for me. One second the guy is in front of you then in a flash he's sticking his blade thru your back.

[OcelotRigz]

I almost say this in every DS2 post but i'll repeat my sentiments anyway.
Ever since Miyazaki left and there was a lot of talk of "accessibility", easy mode and getting a wider audience, i thought "Well there's another game ruined by its own success". I thought they would turn this unique, refreshing and just balls out brilliant game into another run of the mill "please 'em all".
But ever since the ign reveal and interview, and now this one too, it seems i could be completely wrong because these guys are making it clear that they know what makes this series so damn special and arent going to change that, rather build upon it.

Im delighted, Demon & Dark Souls have been the most refreshing and immersive games ive played this generation and it really sounds like DS2 is going to continue in that fashion.

[Lighter9]

My friend would pretend to be a statue in a hallway(with some very good armor of course) until the invader walked past him... Then he'd destroy him.