Dark Souls 2 Diaries

Now that Scholar of the First Flame has been released it is time for me to embark on another Undead odyssey.

Once again my aim is to play the game to completion as blindly as possible. I have kept well away from Dark Souls 2 information since the game’s initial release, though it was impossible to avoid it completely. What I have picked up through osmosis wouldn’t be considered a spoiler, but I still want to lay my cards on the table.

What I know about Dark Souls 2 going in:

• There is an opinion held by some that it is an easier game than Dark Souls 1. Whether the game is actually easier, or whether the ones who think so were simply more prepared this time around are questions I cannot answer. I didn’t find Dark Souls 1 to be particularly challenging compared to many other games I have played, so opinions, difficulty is subjective, that sort of thing.
• The subjective difficulty of the game is actually up in the air, as Scholar of the First Flame is not only a higher quality port of the original game but also has balance and mechanic changes. What they are, I have no idea, and since I never played Dark Souls 2 I have no way of recognizing them. I assume that the developers took complaints from the fans to heart when given an opportunity to fix their game, though.
• There is something called a Power Stance, or close to that. I don’t know what it is or how it works. I beat Dark Souls 1 while rarely rolling and never parrying , so missing out on a single mechanic shouldn’t impede me too much.

That is all that seems relevant.

I’m going to be using a program that allows for screenshots without having to pause the game and tab over to MSPaint. I hope to get more decent action shots this time.

In the interest of maintaining ignorance, I will be keeping myself offline while I play. There doesn’t seem to be an option for playing the game without outside influence otherwise. I understand the point and purpose, and I’m sure that makes the game fun for everyone. I would probably enjoy it as well, but even in the first 5 minutes of playing the game while online, before I’d left the starting area, I was confronted by dozens of soaptstone messages. If there is a secret door to be found I will have to fend for myself or miss it, not rely on others to point the way.

That’s about it for that. Let’s get started.

Day 01

Day 02

Day 03

Day 04

Day 05

Day 06

Day 07

Day 08

Day 09

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Delay

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Current Plan