Can you beat Dark Souls 2 SOTFS with only Hexes? | (Dark Souls 2 CHALLENGE)

Dark Souls 2 has the most diverse magic system in the entire series, and introduced a new school of dark magic known as Hexes. Can we beat Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin with only Hexes?
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RULES
1. Damage must be done with Hexes
2. Other non-damaging equipment is fair game
3. ALL BOSSES (41 in total)
4. No Major Glitches
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The Series: • Dark Souls CHALLENGES

[@pirateskeleton7828]

"Can you beat DS2 with only Hexes?" I don't know. Can you kill a chicken with a magnum?

[@Hopeful_Husker]

Can a shotgun break through balsa wood? Is the Pope Catholic?

[@dunefox8]

Does water flow to the lowest point? Does adenine pair with Thymine? Am I a nerd?

[@XSilver_WaterX]

Can you break the economy using US pennies. We are literally rule by Beggar Monarchs!

[@Darksouls131]

Can scissors cut paper?

[@Darksouls131]

Ds2 vanilla is much better than sotfs

[@Gametendo360]

I understand why DS3 merged hexes into spells/miracles/pyromancies but I liked how DS2 had it as it’s own distinct magic with pros and cons

[@corni_2043]

Where she rhe cons my brother in gwyn?

[@dotgone]

@@corni_2043 having to back up your save file to have a bunch of souls of a brave warrior lying around to riposte-climax one shot people i guess.

[@Ghorda9]

@@corni_2043 huge scaling commitment, you need both int, faith and dex for cast speed.

[@dotgone]

​@@Ghorda9Elden Ring 1: scholar of the first sin being the best souls, attunement is the stat for cast speed unlike in other games. Casters can actually go lower into adaptability at higher levels because attunement actually scales agility as well, just not as much. Since attunement also gives extra spell casts as well, it's a pretty amazing stat.

[@carcinogeneticist378]

@@Ghorda9Yeah, but DS2’s hexes are really strong, so they make up for it.

[@jamesgrenier8856]

I like that you and JK Leeds are treating yourselves to "challenge" runs. Nice to take a break every once and awhile and just have fun

[@MattJDylan]

Yeah, I really don't care for the hardcore-at-all-cost stuff, as long as it's entertaining.

[@lobstrosity7163]

Maybe call it a funrun or something.

[@SondreGrneng]

@@MattJDylan imo it depends on what it is and how it's 'performed'. fist only runs aren't particularly interesting no matter who it is for instance because half of what makes these runs interesting is the routing. The other half is personality.

[@AnAverageGoblin]

JK Leeds lied about shit in one of his DS videos. made up an entire gamefaqs guide, and he deleted my comment when I pointed out how I couldn't find the guide he used.

[@pirateskeleton7828]

I'm surprised you didn't switch to using the crown of the Old Iron King. The 20% spell regen every two minutes is pretty powerful.

[@Xoan-gj6bd]

I didnt know the crown could do that, cool

[@pirateskeleton7828]

@@Xoan-gj6bd each DLC crown has a different effect, but I believe that one is the most powerful

[@darkwhispersstories47]

​@@pirateskeleton7828I found about it the hard way since the descriptions don't mention their powers

[@maxpower-jl7wf]

I see knowledge,i like

[@landoncube769]

Not positive but I thought there were caveats. Like you have to redo it every time you die or something like that

[@DoomWolfOfficial]

"a third of the script is on dlc bosses" MOOOOOOOOD lol, great video!

[@Hopeful_Husker]

Good thing they’re not in a Doom Wolf video. That would cost ya extra.

[@grfrjiglstan]

Pro tip for that “invaders getting lost” issue: use a seed of a tree of giants. Those things are great to have under any circumstances, but if the invader can’t find you, just turn on Seed mode, and he’s already dead.

[@Iluvlollipops]

Often there are free gifts where they died, too.

[@ilikevideogames4331]

One time i had an invader try to lure me into the poison pot room in harvest valley, i kept waiting for him but he wouldn't get out. So i used a Giant Seed, waited a bit, and then countinued with the level. By the time i found him again he only had a single pixel of health left. I shot my crossbow, he tried to block it, it was an elemental bolt. Very funny.

[@raynshadows7299]

At 9:10 that hidden enemy came from it being SOFTS version of the game, there are several of them that drop items for the nest trading.

[@hepic2874]

Be interested to see a HEXplenation on how you came up with this run

[@TheLittleNoobThatCould]

Dark Souls 2 was my first FromSoft game. I loved how overpowered you could get with magic builds so much that I happily played through the game 4 separate times to get all the magic class achievements individually. Then I did it again when SotFS came out. It was mindlessly easy, but it was fun.

[@FoolishNerve]

This was your first fromsoft game? God help your soul. This game is terrible lol

[@TheLittleNoobThatCould]

@@FoolishNerve Compared to practically every other FromSoft game? Maybe. The PS3 version of the original release has an 8.1 user score on Metacritic. You are in the minority. If you have actually played the game, I would like to know what you personally found so unforgivably terrible.

[@FoolishNerve]

@@TheLittleNoobThatCould the gameplay

[@TheLittleNoobThatCould]

@@FoolishNerve Welp. Can't argue with that. That is the most vague thing you could have possibly said, and it encompasses at least 1/3 of the entire experience. Good one.

[@FoolishNerve]

@@TheLittleNoobThatCould fair enough. That’s just my gripe really. Oh and the bosses. I feel like a lot of the bosses aren’t needed.

[@MattJDylan]

Comment for the algorithm with a little fun fact: dark fog can hit through walls. That made the room in the castle with the 7 sentinels waaay easier to explore lol

[@Hopeful_Husker]

Good to know! That room suuuuucked my first playthrough (which was fairly recent) of DS2

[@MattJDylan]

@@Hopeful_Husker yeah, it's a nightmare even after 100 runs, let alone the first 😂

[@juri_6969]

i didn´t know, thanks :D

[@DarkCT]

Hexes are so potent in DS2 that i often break from my crossbow run attempts to just dump enemies into the abyss.

[@Battleguild]

Use the Sanctum Crossbows in your run if you're going to add Hexes to your build.

[@danielepotenza8556]

Ah yes, hexes. Pay to win before microtransactions even existed

[@drvofoka7033]

Horse armor DLC was in 2006 sooo...

[@Dark_Souls8907]

​@@drvofoka7033yeah you are right , but the concept was very foreign back then

[@kcirtapsussy6884]

How are hexes pay to win?

[@onefastsled]

@@kcirtapsussy6884you pay souls to annihilate thine foes. *Climax Intensifies*

[@EndermTheSwordsman]

Wild to think that you've come so far in just about 2.5 years. And to think, I was happily one of your first 400 Subs. God, it is good to see you grow so much, my man

[@essorath5870]

Favorite game and favorite magic type i don’t see how this could be better

[@AlixPalix]

The castlevania curse of darkness soundtrack caught me of guard, you braucht up some good memories🥺

[@lukasspielmann108]

RETURN OF THE KING, BABY

[@yukil.spencer3848]

well you got me at the garreg mach monastery theme at the start, guess i gotta watch the whole thing now

[@studyguy.7660]

Kyle your Dark souls challenges are always a joy to watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed your hollow knight playthrough too!

[@KosOrSomeSayKosmo]

This was simply- Hexemplary.

[@Hopeful_Husker]

Hexcellent pun, good sir

[@helpthellama]

I love getting jumpscared by fe3h music whilst watching KZbin videos. It always gets me for some reason...

[@elspethtirel]

Lol, when I started watching this video I didn't expect to be suddenly overcome with FE3H nostalgia!

[@drvofoka7033]

Yeah as you said it's not much of a challenge but still a fun video and... yeah, I am shocked by that invisible hollow. I thought I knew them all.

[@simaocharpentier2046]

The description says pyromansies instead of hexes. Apart from this the video looks pretty darn sick, as usual!

[@GamersWeekend]

Thought I changed that, thank you for pointing that out

[@kevingary9093]

I did see you post music titles in video and I'm thankful for that. Could you add a list in the description for easy access

[@LycorisOni]

I only consider this run a challenge if you do every single boss. Its probably the worst damage type to try to use in the dlcs.

[@landoncube769]

I was able to get like 3 of those shadow ball spells and had like 63 casts for it. I just spammed that spell and that's definitely enough to kill them. Kinda time consuming tho lol

[@kotyrollins]

Well done! Thanks for the perfectly sized video for my break today.

[@ohyes54]

I think a using only items and weapons from killed npc challenge could be intresting

[@Jasmine__135]

Best Souls 2 always has something new for me to learn about every time someone does a challenge video. I had no idea there was a Pursuer in Things Betwixt and the way you effortlessly talked about it like you knew about it for years but somehow i didn't never ceases to amaze me. It really is an amazing game for that reason and many others

[@landoncube769]

If you hadn't seen that till now, have you seen the helix spear? If not definitely search it up

[@DarkTheLibrarian]

Starting the video with a Kingdom Hearts reference to Ansem made this video already top tier

[@Dragonlord982]

I'm honestly surprised he didn't pick up the dark great sword hex from the sunken king dlc but it gets it having range was probably way better

[@ezequielinsaurralde5058]

9:03 DS2 Protag Is Not Chosen Undead, But Bearer Of The Curse

[@LLG_Murdock]

I'm definitely going to give this build a try at some point!

[@Aubrey_POP]

This video was already great and then you skyrocketed it with the super meat boy music (no pun intended)

[@themadmystic1688]

Man, you've got to be a hero for doing such a difficult challenge run. I thought it was insane you did the Miracle run, but this? This is insane. I didn't even think this run was possible.

[@AceAviations2]

Glad this didn't turn into a showcase of how obscene Climax can be, I'd go watch Ray Dimitri if I wanted to see that. Dark Hail is just reasonable Dark Bead, it's not the "f**k you, now die!" it once was, however it's not worthless, shame it didn't return in DS3. To any anyone interested in a Hex only run: If you're willing to trade power (and fashion), the Back Witch's Staff is a viable choice as for a drop in power you only need one spell catalyst as it can cast BOTH Staff and Chime based hexes. It can also cast Sorceries and Miracles as well, so it's a very versatile spell tool, even if it can't cast Pyromancies or is only good for support Miracles and not damage ones (unable to be infused with Lightning). Definitely ideal for hybrid melee/hexer builds, if you're willing to sacrifice the S+++++ fashion of the Sunset Staff with the top two pieces of the Hexer's Set (a travesty it didn't appear in DS3 with some watered down bonuses). Don't get me wrong I love DS3 (imo the best FromSoftware game to date), however the fact that some of the coolest pieces of equipment (Hexer's Set, Sunset Staff, Fume Sword just to name a few) didn't make it from DS2 to DS3 is a travesty.

[@breadoffical9237]

These videos are so nice to just, watch while playing games man, really helps heighten the experience

[@Scorchlette]

Never thought I'd see/hear a Kingdom Hearts reference in a Dark Souls "challenge" run.

[@unowngamer9352]

This is basically just how I beat the Game on my first Playthrough with a little bit of Dark Mace/Rapier mixed in

[@KA54the]

I'm not here to cause no trouble, I'm just here to do the hex offender shuffle.

[@ParrotMan01276]

The build variety in this game is outrageous. I love it.

[@dima_keller]

One thing I never did in these games and that looks incredibly weird for some reason is two handing catalysts 😅

[@nicholastaylor5354]

Lets face it. This was not a challange, its a breeze at this point.

[@wolfwind7654]

I have rewatched all your videos several times waiting for the next one 💝

[@beans5784]

I was just wondering where you were, one of my favorite challenge run KZbinrs

[@justshinigami9364]

The Dragonrider stepcounting seems so odd everytime someone mentions it. I never Count, i just run the Moment i think ist right and i nail it everytime. Still, nice Video like always

[@Deneb626]

Oh god do I sympathize with that intro Currently sick, being sustained by watching challenge runs

[@BigHatLoganGaming]

This video made me question my hexuality

[@sethlowen2303]

You don’t like ivory king? He’s one of my favorite bosses in the entire series. The cinematic nature of the boss fight as well as the ivory king’s moveset is top notch. Not to mention any boss fight that incentivizes exploration of the area is a big plus in my book.

[@WonderlandGhost]

Honestly, I felt it was one of the weaker bosses because of the knights.

[@julienpageaud657]

14:21 Handsome, you killed a child... AMAZING, MISSION COMPLETE ! That right there is why you're the best, Handsome.

[@TheNerfer]

My immediate thought upon seeing this video was "That's by far the easiest way to beat DS2."

[@DaNinjaXP]

Anyone else remember Shrine of Armana on release 😭 absolute gauntlet of machine gun fire with scopes

[@landoncube769]

Lmao bruh you "emitting" shields killed me

[@Katari-san]

I wonder, did you ever do a run with bows only, but free aiming only, crossbow style? I did it in DS1 and it was actually pretty cool, I even became "good" while free aiming and took it to DS3 and Elden Ring.

[@lordofgeese6437]

1:40 I’m starting to think the lore videos are getting to him

[@lordzarzu7250]

I think an awesome challenge run to give a go would be ds2 bow/greatbow only. I’ve noticed that they’re typically better in ds2 than the others (at least from when I play) and you never really see any ds2 runs using bows. Ds2 is my favorite souls game and it makes me so happy to see people giving it the time of day after so long of it being constantly trash talked. There’s so much to be loved if only people would look past adaptability and a few select issues

[@NeloBladeOfRanni]

A fellow DS2 enjoyer DS2 SoTFS is my second favourite souls game (BB and DS3 are tied for first place for me)

[@hunterclise2031]

If you’re still looking for suggestions, how about a starting equipment only challenge.

[@CallMeZorbin]

I like the KingdomHearts reference made early on.

[@Cattroll0]

that drunk fax machine was really funny

[@blanketray6050]

I just clicked on this video and i already know that in no way is Hex only ds2 a “challenge” run

[@blanketray6050]

Ahaha!! And it was addressed right as I posted my comment, classic.

[@TheDailyBubba]

Ayyy love seeing you upload bro keep up the great challenges love your vids dawg

[@matteorudolph4746]

„Gemme about 2 hours or so“ 😂 I also watch the backlogs

[@13JackStorm]

I don't think I've clicked on a notification so quickly in years. My go to set-up on DS2.

[@Meatman-1527]

You know you found a good channel when you go to subscribe just to not find the button because you already subscribed

[@xiEpiicsx]

Subscribed after "hex offender"

[@alexray1711]

Woo another gamers weekend video love your videos man

[@SamSphinx]

Hex builds are what DS2 players pull out when they want a power trip. I would know :P

[@Tony-The-Motherfucking-Tiger]

9:02 The Chosen Undead, that by this point has been dead for thousands of years:

[@shadow9743]

3 houses challenges would be epic👀

[@willfultrain6779]

I remember my brother turning me to hexes, and man, I love ds2, but jesus, they make the game easy.

[@danprentice7073]

This came up the same day I was wondering if you where going to do a another DS2 run. Love your videos by the way they got me to tth out DS2 in the first place.

[@Lonli.]

Hes back in my notification feed boys

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

DS3 miracles only.....cause thats actually hard

[@3ipolarBear]

Back in my day, before the Great Resonant Soul nerfs, it wasnt even a question, but a given that you would beat the game with only hexes

[@cuddlequeen3225]

Alternate title: can you play Dark Souls II without crying? (It works for any Dark Souls II video.) 😊

[@DamnUsernameAvailabi]

DS2--no blocking, dodging, parrying, strafing. Only life gem spam

[@ElementEvilTeam]

long time no see!

[@theholyknight9490]

You actually can get dead again before skeleton lords its sold by the absolution guy above the prowling magis and congregation boss

[@BaronsCastle]

you can farm it from the worms in black gulch as well

[@incognitoinhell8742]

For suggestions of challenge runs, I guess it depends on what you've been playing recently. If you've been playing Elden Ring, one I've been enjoying is using Golden Order Fundamentalist Incantations only/Holy Damage only, given how much of the end game just kinda sits in front of Holy damage like you've spat at them. Or if you hate yourself, you could try using exclusively Briars of Sin and Briars of Punishment. It's kinda awkward as you'd have to kill the guy in Liurnia first to get Sin, and it's only a melee range spell, but the addition of self damage would add some uniqueness. Alternatively, you could mix it up so that you add the Blood Cult Incantations to that list, as both them and Thorn Sorcery require Faith, and with the Albinuric Staff, they can scale with Arcane, too.

[@DaveHelios99]

Hexes are so fun. It's a shame they were removed in ds3.

[@Silverlance24]

This was a fun video, i enjoyed it thanks. Also did you know, when you said "Bop that subscribe button" the subscribe button shines (in cinema mode) ? So thats what i rate this video, shiny subscribe button out of 10.

[@sethmiles9436]

Yayyyy! My favorite spell type finally! Shame about what happened to them in DS3

[@ohyes54]

It's been so long since Dark Souls 2 video, I had lost hope. :D

[@thegamingrouge3440]

I have to say i am surpised u skilped whisper of despair as that would have boosted your dgm by 10%. As ut lowers all def to all enemys and bosses giving a nice dgm boost and coust use it early game as its requirements only 10int and 10fth if im remembering right

[@KonguZlap]

Whisper of Despair only affects physical damage; which dark damage is not.

[@alexbachman7395]

Did you target one person in particular with that shrine of amana bit? :p

[@jamaldays1514]

Bro I been waiting for this for a year lol why it take so long?

[@BlazeOfGlory2003]

Salt and Sanctuary Hexes only next

[@OMGWTFBBQRLY]

Fabulous run, as expected! Unrelated to the run itself, but what's the song playing at the 2:00 mark? I know I've heard it before, and now it's going to eat at me that I don't know the name.

[@minescape1309]

IDK if you've managed to find the song name, but it's the Gerudo Valley remix theme from Super Smash Bros Ultimate

[@YourDapper1]

Yay a new challenge run that should make me happy and maybe I could join the arcade server again well eeeh maybe not

[@KONSACZ]

Didn't know I beat a challenge in my first playthrough

[@balsamon69]

How about a DS1 ultra-greatswords only, but you select a different one for each boss out of the ones you have. So, say, you have two UGs, a zweihander and the greatsword, for Taurus Demon you use the zwei, for Capra the greatsword, and for the Gaping Dragon the zwei again

[@wyatt8814]

YOUR BACK!! Hallelujah!!!

[@SirVampyr]

Finally a new video, nice! :D

[@captainobvious8983]

You might as well ask can you win a war against an army of knife wielding soldiers against your rocket launchers 🤔🤔🤔🤔 I guess we'll find out!!

[@konradkinne4089]

well, if you're looking for ideas, I was always curious about a sort of "cosplay run", basically trying to copy every boss as closely as possible when fighting them, though I'm not sure which game would be the best to attempt this in

[@MamaTrixxieAsmr]

Ds2 you could probably pull it off You can definitely find a halberd and greatshield and heavy armor before fighting a boss Probably the worst fight would be scorpioness najka, spell tool bonk and magic… On a boss that casts magic So also resists it Several fights would probably be bare fist only though Luckily ds2 is the game with the ring that makes bare fists viable

[@dvjr42]

Kyle is goals. IMO

[@falseking989]

Don't mess with Hexas!

[@fixixi4982]

He's back...

[@thnecromaniac]

Alot of "use only x" challange runs are less about the challenge and more about expanding your gameplay in things you'd typically not use otherwise.

[@jacydesica4069]

No death, no bonfire

[@themangoartificer882]

I like the part where he used the bow on the.....

[@AlejandroMartinez-fw3gt]

You are one letter off from cancelation "Hex Offender"