Cool things that ONLY Dark Souls 2 did ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ

[@edalvis771]

There's an npc that does a "come here" gesture when you are hurt and not in combat then he cast a healing miracle for you

[@captainozannus6090]

You are talking about the best NPC in the souls franchise: Bradley of the Old Guard!

[@chronix7946]

I started playing DS2 again on a whim (before this vid dropped so kinda crazy timing) and learned about that for the first time.

[@TheActualMrLink]

What a nice individual!

[@abrahamrangel2326]

Ds2 npcs are so unique, truly they feel alive

[@dungeaterfancam]

@@abrahamrangel2326 Maldron feels very dead 5 seconds after appearing in my sight

[@tobedetermined2424]

One of my Fav things from the DS2 DLCs is being invaded by an NPC only to not find them. Then when I go to open a chest, a nearby Barrel comes up and stabs me in the back.

[@ace-smith]

literally was watching this video playing eleum loyce and i killed this guy and scrolled down to find this comment

[@toxsun]

That same thing happened to me my first time through eleum loyce lmao.

[@Nurix09]

I loved moments like those.

[@RelativelyBest]

There's also the NPC invader who pretends to be a helpful white phantom so you'll turn your back on him.

[@TheRoyalAegis]

Shiiiit that also happen to me, except its just a bot, i didn't know bot could do that

[@caiooa]

a few things that i would like to add to this list -if you are with the king's ring equipped, the statues of dragleic castle won't come to life to attack you (unless you attack them first) -on sotfs, if you didn't break enough eggs the dragon warriors will use the bow emote and watch the show of you struggling against drake keepers. They only intervene if you try to run away dishonorably -by joining rat king covenant, the enemies on his areas (doors of pharros and grave of saints) becomes passive -if you kill too many pigs on majula, instead of disappearing they level up to their bigger version .... twice -saintier's spear is a great lance used by a hero of the past to kill a gargoyle. The gargoyle head is stuck on the weapon, so you can only use it as a improvised halberd. Once you "break" the weapon, the gargoyle head is gone and the moveset changes dramatically to something fast and flexible -majestic great sword (aka cursed sword of artorias) have the moveset of a regular greatsword when equipped on the right hand. But once you equip it on the left hand, the moveset changes to spins based on artorias boss fight

[@JayMcKean]

By joining the forest covenant in ds1 most of the enemies in darkroom gardens become passive

[@Warcrafter4]

@@JayMcKean Rat king's enemies will actively help you fight off invaders you lured into your world unlike darkroot garden enemies.

[@victorprati7908]

Ds2 is the only of the series where you can press triangle/Y button at upgrading/infusion menu and check your overall AR increase (or decrease). I wish they did it in Elden Ring at least when chosing affinities so that the values show up before applying then.

[@goathead4831]

How is this comment not collapsed into a ‘read more’ tab?

[@343killedhalo4]

so many good things in this game. thays why its my favorite

[@morganpriest7726]

Love how happy souls is just permanently engrained in the humor of all dark souls players

[@retryhikaru184]

personally i didnt find it very accurate or funny

[@davidcardozo290]

​@@retryhikaru184 That's because you got gud before watching the animation. (That's my guess idk really)

[@maniago2309]

​@@retryhikaru184maybe because you're too stiff around people and can't take a joke too well, cheer up bud

[@MemeOnTWD]

@@retryhikaru184 it’s funny cause it’s stupidly inaccurate. If you care that much, just watch a play through.

[@tommerker8063]

@@MemeOnTWD it also encapsulates the spirit of some jolly cooporation realy well.

[@GameDevYal]

You missed the part where if you light all the sconces in The Gutter, you actually DO get something for the trouble. (It's not really a hidden game mechanic per se but I liked how it's basically one of those schoolyard rumor things that DOES have a payoff in the end, also the area looks kinda cool from a distance when you can actually see stuff) (For those that don't know, what happens is that you get a new NPC invasion in the final room of the area, and you get the full Black Witch armor set for defeating her)

[@wyvernslayer4530]

Since when? All you got was another forlorn that didn't count towards getting the armor

[@dreamz1417]

@@wyvernslayer4530 Since always. You're probably just misremembering it or confusing it with the 4 extra forlorn in aldias keep.

[@wyvernslayer4530]

@Dreamz nope. It was the forlorn in the gutter that spawns in the torch circle close the to bonfire.

[@unbearable505]

@@wyvernslayer4530 Yes, but the forlorn in the gutter spawn randomly and has nothing to do with the torches there.

[@wyvernslayer4530]

@Unbearable yes it does. It spawns in thr middle of the torches as soon as you light them all. It's not an actual invasion. It's just a black phantom

[@GeremyG]

An actual reason to play NG+ is a big one.

[@AtreyusNinja]

"bad game cuz gankers" "best ng+ cuz add more enemies"

[@AfroRyan]

@@AtreyusNinja Naw. It changes more than that. New items, new mimics (very dastardly), and even more hidden lore.

[@GeremyG]

@@AtreyusNinja no. like different loot, different enemies, different encounters, upgraded rings, etc.

[@AtreyusNinja]

@@AfroRyan True with the new 4 souls, i guess even more stuff. Ngl ng+ is one of the reason why i love this title

[@GunRunner106]

from rly hated what B-team did with the NG+ tho, apparently....

[@Teskmehu]

When you're low on health your character slouches over and breathes more heavily, but I'm not entirely sure if it only happens in DS2. Your character also starts panting and takes a few seconds to catch their breath after sprinting.

[@terratheterribl]

It's actually much more detailed, when low on health they slouch over and when out of stamina they start to breathe heavily. They tend to happen together pretty often though.

[@heyguysinternet]

I also know that jumping attacks have a slower animation when your stamina bar is low.

[@yodoleheehoo90]

I really liked how the character did an animation every time you accessed the UI menu to let players know you're not fighting at the moment and choosing some other weapon or something, I really wished they carried that over DkS3, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring :(

[@invictus_1245]

And as you get more hollow, your character gets more twisted, the dark sign more pronounced, and you lose your hair until you use an effigy.

[@KatherineWatches]

​@@yodoleheehoo90 ds3 does that, at the very least. Don't know about elden ring

[@daddyespressodepresso2207]

The Editing, the inside jokes, the references to other memes, this really feels like a magnum opus of everything this channel does. Bravo.

[@nocturnaljoe9543]

The editing was really dope af. Just like the all the infos.

[@Tenacityyyy]

Fr he's so creative

[@andreww4751]

except a decent voice?

[@andreww4751]

i actually wanted to watch this video but i cant because of the shitty AI voice

[@leaky4230]

@@andreww4751best voice ever

[@MatNightmare]

In SOTFS there's another summonable NPC in Earthen Peak, Devotee Scarlett, who points you towards the windmill as well!

[@edisontrent618]

Lol, in the premiere chat he made a comment saying "please don't yell at me for missing the other phantom". We of course proceeded to spam chat with "you missed the other phantom".

[@chompythebeast]

@@edisontrent618 Trans Coffin says human rights

[@MatNightmare]

@@edisontrent618 lmao my bad, I wasn't looking at the premiere chat

[@vyor8837]

​@@chompythebeast trans coffin killed itself.

[@blacktiger974]

​@@vyor8837 i'm sure male suicide statistics are just as funny to you

[@VaatiVidya]

This is such a great video

[@taigabonbei]

You look familiar...

[@praisemachinespirit3874]

I love it when small KZbinrs comment 😊

[@MrVictor1227]

You are the real one lol

[@BoosterGoldy]

The vaati cosign is like a nobel piece prize in soulsborne world

[@Actual_Mr_G]

How much did he pay you to say that ??

[@mefipulate]

the production value on this video is insane i love you limit breakers

[@voidgivenfocus]

They really broke their limits on this one!

[@mmummumm]

@@voidgivenfocus hehe you MAD DEVIL

[@jerry27syd]

I think producers shouldn't be blamed on this game, they have a lot of good ideas, problem is the combat machinism was not interesting, so lets blame the programmers :D

[@buddhawasright]

@@jerry27syd machinism machinism machinism

[@chrisp9824]

Honestly for me it's just annoying, that they insist on putting some bs after every sentence. Idk, maybe I just don't watch enough tik tok ;] This vid could easly be 20 mins and still as interesting and entertaining.

[@patrick-cw5px]

if you use the red sign soap stone anywhere in drangleic castle, the glass knight boss can summon you as a black phantom in other players world to team up with him but it was very inconsistent.

[@Horstolord04]

Spam the Stone at the foggate

[@ImaTroper]

That was a mechanic from demons souls. Glad they brought it back though.

[@patrick-cw5px]

​@@ImaTroperyes you are correct, that mechanic was first in demon souls, but the difference was that in demon souls you are the boss solo and in ds2 you team up with the boss.

[@dinobro4273]

@@patrick-cw5px AND you get a pretty rad summoning animation

[@theabysswalker3540]

Fun fact you can heal looking glass knight with warmth and miracles

[@BobTheGreatKing]

If you walk into Fume Knight’s arena wearing Velstadt’s helm, he immediately enters phase 2.

[@PajamaPantsStudios]

Really? Neat!

[@343killedhalo4]

yea a lot of people dont know that one. such a cool detail.

[@reflections2250]

@@343killedhalo4 fuck 343

[@jackojock101]

​@@PajamaPantsStudios it's an awesome lore detail since Fume Knight and Velstadt are brothers and hate each other so FK rages when he sees anything reminding him of his brother

[@WIFFKING542]

It also makes it way easier since phase 2 is more predictable. When my friends and I found out we were so delighted by the little details. Came across it because one of us was using the helm as part of their fashion

[@Jameserton]

The animation at 11:13 is great, can feel all of the work that was put into this. I appreciate the Happy Souls references 🙌

[@LimitBreakers]

Wow thanks! That makes me really happy ˢᵒᵘˡˢ. And thanks for making the best souls video ever made 🙇‍♂️

[@Jameserton]

@@LimitBreakers High praise 🤝

[@KonkeyDongkey]

"ᶜᵘᶻ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵉᵃˢʸ"

[@undefinedvariable8085]

@@Jameserton Happy Souls 1 and 3 - when?

[@omergroisman6054]

What is it a reference to i cant remember

[@MinamotoTerumi]

One of the things that stuck with me about DS2 was the stuff about the curse of life being the curse of want. Like this idea that greed is inherent to existence, that you always want food, shelter, comfort, and when you have it you're afraid that you might lose it or have someone take it away from you. It's a concept I like and hoped to see more of in DS3 but that swung back in the DS1 direction more or less.

[@RD-uf6gw]

If you go look around the Profaned Capital in DaS3, you'll see a lot of stuff in the area (from items to enemies to environmental assets) references this fairly heavily. The items in the area also (mostly) debuted in DaS2, and the mimic chests are of the quadapedal variety that appear in DaS2. Irithyll Dungeon has some nods to Dark Souls 2, as well, with the failed dragon experiments and Karla. I also want to say that both areas combined have the highest density of Mimics in any Souls game. The areas are about greed/ "Want" and punishment.

[@tbotalpha8133]

Which kinda echoes Buddhist ideas about want being the source of all suffering. Given FromSoft is a Japanese company, it would make sense for Buddhist philosophy to seep into their game's writing.

[@JackdotC]

I don't think wanting to not starve is considered greed

[@SantanaBanana47]

@@tbotalpha8133 I don't think we should completely eliminate our desire. I think we should be wise with what we desire, because some things are absolutely worth desiring and striving for in my eyes. Even if that causes suffering. I don't think we should live a life dedicated to avoiding suffering either. I'd say suffering is essential to finding true happiness.

[@SantanaBanana47]

@@JackdotC well once you have food greed can make you want more than you need

[@Dachimotsu]

No mention of the Small White Sign Soapstone?? I always thought that was the best thing unique to DS2. It let you be summoned in an area where the boss was already dead! And even failing that, you only had to help for a little bit to get rewards; no boss fight required.

[@AtreyusNinja]

So True

[@skjamog]

I was checking to see if someone commented this. It's an amazing way to get help in an area where you missed a bit of the exploration

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

DS2 had both the best (small white soapstone) multiplayer, as well as the worst (no password filter for signs). Overall, it is a net positive since the no password and soul memory thing is only an annoyance usually.

[@toxsun]

​@@krishnansubramoni7801engraved ring is a kinda pseudo password system in ds2 lol.

[@C3lticlord]

@@toxsun yeah I always used that with my friends even during the peak of the game it was easy to coop

[@Torque_Mk1]

Imagine going halfway through the Ivory King DLC to see the enemies in Shaded Woods and complete it safely xD

[@LonesomeKrow]

The equivalent of beating Dancer early in DS3 so you have a shorter runback to Vordt

[@TheTobyOMG]

Lol I recently just did that, not because I wanted to see the enemies but because I wanted to reactivate my crowns in NG+. First time I realized the DLC item lets you see those guys.

[@nigeltimothycruz244]

I did that too on my first playthrough lmao. Explanation: I was a complete moron back then, always somehow missing the obvious paths. It's how I ended up beating Fume Knight (with a human phantom) before even fighting mirror knight. (I also grinded like hell)

[@KissatenYoba]

@@TheTobyOMG It didn't work in the original game, by the way, only in SOTFS. Was a huge dissapointment at the time of release of Ivory King DLC

[@king_alonne3707]

​@@LonesomeKrow only chad sunbros do it, to get the fastest way for praise the sun gesture. but honestly it is quite useful for some runs. add that you recieve Lothric prayerbook, dragonslayer greataxe and moonlight greatsword, prisonser chain and hornet and red tear ring sooner, and finally black knight set and weaopns. so by that you nearly skip 70% of the game, first because these are just enough good stuff, second what behinds the dancer is theoretically harder than anything earlier. I only wish there is a way to open the door to Lothric, or any other shortcut to the lords of cinders, I just don't like the way it is handled, I feel I'm doing the homework again and again.

[@WlatPziupp]

It's clear light and dark was supposed to be way more important even than it turned out to be. They talked about it when the game was still in development, and the earlier footage shows areas being so dark you really do need to use a torch. More than any other Fromsoft game I really wish they had more time on this one. It's the most ambitious of the souls games by far, the most creatively adventurous, and the most varied. Oh, and backstepping is way more useful since it actually does give i-frames

[@Tom3kkk]

It's not really time issue but Xbox 360 and PS3 being dogshit hardware and not letting them have as big of a world and as good graphics as they wanted to have

[@Cbrunning849]

I'd say Elden ring was the most ambitious

[@MemoriesLP]

Nah, Elden Ring was waaaaaay more ambitious

[@robotfuture1581]

​@@MemoriesLP how so?

[@Omega77232]

​@@robotfuture1581 The scope itself is one of the major reasons in it and there are many more but I'm too lazy to type an essay

[@moka8601]

An hour long - high quality - ds2 video in 2023 You sir are a legend!

[@emanuelstornello8009]

you also have a 1% chance of spawning a friendly little pig in your world whenever you enter brightstone cove, this little pig is friendly and completely harmless.

[@Tinkuwu]

I actually figured out the whole burning the windmill thing because a sign told me that I needed a torch, so I lit a torch and went over there, expecting an enemy to pop out and try to knock me off. I saw the prompt and burned the windmill and was surprised at how easy the boss fight was. So, whoever put that sign down there, you saved me a massive headache of trying to brute force that boss fight.

[@Kuschel_K]

Haha, a friend of mine played offline and had no idea about that. So he just brute forced his way through the fight and was super disappointed after he discovered that the fight would be so easy otherwise 😂

[@darkerdaemon7794]

I bruteforced it first but it honestly wasn't even that bad because I had plenty of poison cure stuff. I was still pretty amazed when I found the burn prompt by accident.

[@BossFFX1]

Same, jolly cooperation

[@Jigolopuff]

same thing happened to me

[@KingdomSlayer]

DS2 had so much going for it. It tried things. Sometimes not that well executed. But it just had so much spirit. Also, I think this is your best editing from all your videos, loved the references.

[@CathodeRayKobold]

Some of these little secrets could have been so much better if they had just let you connect your actions with the changes they cause. Like, all they had to do was put a window into the boss chamber in the windmill room. It's game design 101.

[@max7971]

Every time you see a cool invisible hollow dude secret or le hecking moth that drops a healing item-remind yourself that those secrets are made by the same people who put two awa clones behind a 10minute bonfire run in a dlc, or decided that movement should not be 360 degrees like it was in ds1, or that I-frames should be tied to a levelable stat. For every cool little thingy ds2 added-it ruined some fundamental aspect of the game, and no ammount of hidden moths can change that.

[@Mephistofeles]

​@@max7971 keep crying dude, keep crying.

[@pikminologueraisin2139]

one creative and malevolent spirit

[@KaptainKommissar]

@@max7971 =- POSITIVE DARK SOULS 2 OPINION DETECTED 🤖 --> INITIATING DOWNPLAYING PROTOCOL 🤖

[@AemilianaRosewood]

The editing on this one felt like a lifetime portfolio to apply to art uni. What a masterpiece and so much endless effort.

[@SaxSlaveGael]

Im not even a DS2 fan, but damn, does this video make me appreciate it more! What an outstanding video!

[@goldengolem4670]

@@SaxSlaveGael Burn the heretic! This land belongs to the DS2 Club(Cult)!

[@uhoh7545]

Imagine making a portfolio like this just to get into a school where you spend tens of thousands to burn yourself out on a tidal wave lower quality assignments (tangentially related to art, if at all)

[@Celastrous]

More like a portfolio to get a job as an editor

[@TheJerbol]

felt like a lifetime because it was so slowly paced, felt like I aged a year in the first five mins

[@MainTopmastStaysail]

The pig quest kicks ass because it makes any other ludicrously hidden urban legend content in future games seem plausible. People would not have done the crab escort mission in DS3 if not for the pig quest.

[@C3lticlord]

but then it does nothing 😥das2 really is the only game in the series full of secrets

[@dinobro4273]

@@C3lticlord I think the proper successor of pig quest is the 'show your humanity' in The Ringed City DLC

[@GabrielShakkori]

​@@C3lticlordwtf is that acronym

[@C3lticlord]

@@GabrielShakkori dark souls 2 das2 because ds is demon souls

[@devinmann3034]

@@C3lticlordYeah but since there’s no demon souls 2, it’s pretty obvious that ds2 means dark souls 2.

[@Ghengis_Kant]

I also really like how you've got a full move-set for your offhand weapons, running a halberd and straight sword is still the most fun build I've ever played in a Souls title

[@cumcumcum148]

One of my favbuilds was great sword in one hand and a dragons layer axe in the other. Looks cool, and actually was useful for me

[@Ghengis_Kant]

Damn, a dragon layer axe? I need to get one of those. Hahah real talk though that sounds awesome. Words cannot express how disappointed I am that they haven't brought this back for any of the other games, it seems like such an obvious decision to make but nah that'd be too much fun for From Soft.

[@cumcumcum148]

@@Ghengis_Kant hahaha. I didn't notice that typo. But dragon laying axe sounds good. Yeah. When I saw weapon mechanics in ds3 I was disappointed, yeah ds3 has paired weapons, but that takes liberty from your build. Also the fact that left handed moveset is just like in ds1 is not great

[@Double512]

the full either-hand moveset is lowkey one of the best features of 2 that was never replicated, along with powerstance

[@Ghengis_Kant]

@@cumcumcum148 Yeah big agree, I tried to go for the same build on my first run of DS3 and was met by that cringe sword blocking bullshit. Paired weapons were alright and I kinda wish ER had some more of 'em but yeah nothin beats the good ol' powerstancing, the sheer versatility was incredible.

[@grfrjiglstan]

There is a practical use for the Eye of the Priestess making the invisible enemies in Shaded Woods visible. If you're in the Covenant of Champions, certain enemies will drop Awestones, and those spooky bois are one of them. So if you want the Vanq Seal without making Rhoy commit gravity 50 times, that's a decent place to farm once you can see and lure them.

[@saawysorenson4585]

its better to kill Rhoy without gravity if you can, he drops an aditional awestone like every other time

[@GreenHoneydew1]

And also all enemies have an incredibly rare chance of dropping one when killed.

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

I think farming them with the big old guards in Heide's Tower Of Flame is easier. That is if that's the original version, since in SotFS the guards are replaced by Heide Knights

[@specialnewb9821]

Yeah I always farm it there

[@tred9857]

Barry and Jill in Majula’s mansion is now probably one of my favorite bits ever 😂

[@vahlok1426]

I love the classic RE voice acting, it's right up there with original House of the Dead acting.

[@rob98000]

That barry model is spot on. Also my notification sound is the same sound that goes off when he selected the item, so it gets a bit weird.

[@Sykroid]

​@@vahlok1426 Suffer like G did?

[@vahlok1426]

@@Sykroid How could anyone *doOO* this!?

[@LuciaLaVA]

Dark souls 2 also happens to be the only fromsoft game that allows you to be completely left handed

[@C3lticlord]

No left heavy attacks in the others right?

[@LuciaLaVA]

@@C3lticlord nope no left handed heavies or right handed shield blocking

[@Ashlevon]

You can't entirely be left handed (you can only riposte with the right hand, for instance), but it's damn close for sure.

[@LuciaLaVA]

@@Ashlevon true enough but as a dirty magic user ripostes or back stabs weren't very high priority got me lmao

[@zackattack5803]

Im mad that dual stancing never made a return. My first every build was a dual stanced double greatsword build that hit bosses like a truck.

[@JacobTheCroc]

You can attack with left hand and block/parry with right hand, I really like this feature which really was only in DS2.

[@Clarity_Control]

That’s what you highlighted? Not bonfire aesthetics or NG+ being way better than the other games. No, it’s I can be left handed

[@halcionjoy7]

@@Clarity_Control I'm guessing you're not left handed. It means something to be noticed occasionally.

[@FKyoutubeSERIOUSLY]

As a left-handed individual, this is precisely why DS2 is my favorite. It is also why I think Breath of the Wild is a flawed game.

[@Clarity_Control]

@@halcionjoy7 I am left handed. That has never been a crutch when playing games, and I’m not being ostracised because of it

[@halcionjoy7]

@@Clarity_Control I didn't mean it that way. The fact that Dark Souls 2 takes left-handedness into consideration is not life-changing for anyone. It is nice though, and that's enough for me to appreciate it. I promise you, there's no sinister left-handed agenda being pushed by Dark Souls 2.

[@LarryButz]

For some reason, the Sanctum Knight Leggings when equipped give you a secret fusion passive of decreasing movement sound for better sneaking, as well as reduced fall damage. They also give a visual effect for fashion. This effect isn’t described in their description for some reason.

[@Squiggums799]

For real? That's the only other thing I had no idea about despite having 800+ hours in this game, the other being the undead crypt braziers extinguishing when you defeat the angery phantoms.

[@bigenemy000]

Sanctum knight gloves does a similar thing. Their description doesn't tell you but they increase by +100 the poison amount from poison infused weapons!

[@dexter_yours_truly]

​@@bigenemy000 afaik its the sanctum WARRIOR gloves. The rat covenant ring also boosts poison buildup. Dexterity increases poison buildup... Katanas are OP.... Poison in ds2 is OP.... Manslayer blade exists..... Powerstancing exists..... Oh no.

[@AtreyusNinja]

@@dexter_yours_truly adp also help with poison. Katanas are op? I dont think u know which are the best weapon for pvp if u cry behind a poison build in ds2 😂

[@MrSamulai]

@@AtreyusNinja There's this thing that allows you to animationcancel the startup of running attacks. So yes, katanas op.

[@Kasai606]

Absolutely love the happy souls. I miss that stuff. I think I'm gonna have to rewatch it again now

[@AkashWShah]

Ah yes, the cycle for dark souls fans as unending as the linking of the fire in Lordran

[@B0redom13]

I love that dark souls 2 felt like the world was this forgotten ruin inhabited by things that didn’t create it

[@YEY0806]

Honestly it feels like a DND campaign sometimes

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

It's also got a wonderful Alice in wonderland vibe

[@B0redom13]

@@A_Black_Sheep94 you gotta explain that more. That’s interesting.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

@@B0redom13 It's just much more of a fantasy world than the other two entries in the series. You have a windmill castle with an elevator at the top that leads to a furnace in the sky, and yes I have seen artists representations that show the scenery making sense spatially but I digress. You have trees with faces on them that moan, you have a demon wearing the skin of a frog, the clothing and weapon designs are much more fantastical as opposed to the gritty realism of 1 and 3. The colors are incredibly muted but at the same time give out a sense of storybook illustration feel, the way the characters talk, Sweet Shalaqouir as a prime example who talks very much like an Alice in Wonderland character. It just has a very trippy fantasy feel to it imo. For me journeying across Drangleic is like talking a stroll through a dark fairy tale or something. It's just got that trippy vibe.

[@B0redom13]

@@A_Black_Sheep94 wow. Thanks for that answer that’s a great perspective

[@commanderuseless1685]

Holy mother of god, I finally feel so vindicated. I ran into the healing mist trap just once in a co-op game with a friend, and we both were extremely confused! In all of my 800+ hours of playing this game, I never ever saw it again. Thank you for finally covering this!

[@dratsum_yenoh]

what can’t be vindicated are the 800 hours you could’ve put into a different game 💀

[@bigenemy000]

​​@@dratsum_yenoh tbh. Dark souls 2 has to be my favorite and i don't understand all the hate. Just because its the worst of the trilogy it doesn't mean its a bad game, it has its flaws like all Souls-likes. Dark souls 1 has the bullshit backstab chain and has a unintuitive mechanism to create boss weapons and even upgrade just normal weapons. Dark souls 2 was rushed, had adaptability and wonky hitboxes Dark souls 3 had 0 exploration, the world map was a straight line which limits the builds. Bloodborne had bad framerate, is the Souls-like with the most cut content and its playstation exclusive. Elden ring i can't even comprehend why people like its open world aspect, I've found it incredibly lazy to a point it has been my very first soul-like i forced myself to finish. Art and gameplay wise however, its definitely the best one and i can't say anything about that

[@night1952]

@@bigenemy000 I just think it's an unfun broken mess, adaptability and hitboxes are a huge deal and only 2 of the issues, there's so many more.

[@hoarder1975]

@@night1952 Is it genuinely odd that I made it all the way to Dragon Shrine without leveling ADP?? I started out as a Knight and was dreading the hitboxes but haven’t experienced much issues… am I just lucky or some shit?

[@night1952]

@@hoarder1975 probably just played around it, DS2 is pretty easy. ADP is just an awful system, doesn't make the game unplayable.

[@fredericodargel9919]

Majula's melancholic feel is unparalleled.

[@not_your_business666]

Yeah, it's one of my most favorite game locations ever!

[@Shmandalf]

That song still pops in my head years later

[@OIP_1]

best music in the series (DS1 title music second)

[@cave_dweller6]

It's not very melancholic. The scenery is big, beautiful, and bursting with color, and the chime-heavy score is very neutral-sounding to me. If anything, it sounds quietly blissful, not melancholic. Overall, Majula is a great example of where I feel this game missed the mark aesthetically. Dark Souls knew how to take the ugly and decrepit and make them beautiful; Majula just feels like a stock high fantasy location.

[@STOPSYPHER]

@@cave_dweller6 🤓

[@ohyeah8283]

That King's Field theme just fit perfectly with the Lost Sinner...I'm amased.

[@toastry]

Thanks for commenting this, I couldn’t remember where I knew the song from and you saved me so much trouble trying to find it haha

[@CassiusGreen]

Thank fuck dude. I was never going to find it.

[@sideways198]

17:20 there is also another NPC you can summon for that area that will do a point forward gesture towards the windmill, which is obviously more useful than just vaguely looking at it

[@ExtremeBirdTypography]

Only in Scholar of the First Sin. Playing the original game, you were screwed unless someone left a "try torch" message in front of it (which people often did)

[@LilacMonarch]

@@ExtremeBirdTypography It's just too bad the helpful messages were always outnumbered by troll messages and "try finger, but hole"

[@bifmun4233]

all me

[@indiow6144]

just beat the game for the first time and i had this happen! it genuinely helped me cause i was not figuring that out otherwise

[@kaschey6145]

52 minutes of pure quality content and it's still not all the secrets the game has to offer - incredible :D

[@Sykroid]

Does anybody else remember that super fast running zombie in Huntsman's Copse? Like ridiculously fast with the same animation, so it looked like he was hacking. Same with the invisible enemy in the Forest of Giants that's just there for....some reason?

[@AbyssDark]

Its just a enemy that drops a rare item No biggye

[@Phoenix-dh2ih]

There's a bunch of the invisible hollows. I think there's 13 in the Undead Crypt alone. They put the one in the forest near a light so it casts its shadow to show you there is something weird going on to help introduce you to the mechanic.

[@AnOldEnglishBloke]

The hollow torch bro without a torch. He's a freakin legend. Don't you kill my buddy now.

[@Sykroid]

@@AnOldEnglishBloke You assume I could run fast enough to catch that naked man

[@Daedalus4]

He's not in the seventh-gen versions. He's tough as shit to catch but all he has on him is some fairly worthless item from what I remember.

[@Wholesome_Dungaree-Wearer]

Don’t forget you could roll through doors before the animation was finished to get through them quicker

[@thepengolem7850]

God, this dredged up a memory. Dark Souls 2 was (luckily or unluckily; I’ll let you decide) where I first got into the series, so I learned you could roll through doors either by fucking around or by watching an online phantom do it. When I then played Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 a few years down the line, I was shocked and saddened that you couldn’t roll through doors to make them open faster. Didn’t even realize that mechanic was exclusive to DS2.

[@mrhamster1009]

@@thepengolem7850 I am choosing luckily

[@Golesh02]

@@thepengolem7850 luckily. Then you dont have to bitch and moan about it like people who started with other fromgame.

[@dfghj241]

@@Golesh02 i started with 1 and i think darksouls 2 is absolutely fantastic

[@remilia20xx78]

I liked how you could apply affinities to just about everything that wasn't a boss weapon Edit: People are saying you could also affinity boss weapons :0 I just looked at one or two on the wiki and assumed all boss weapons were like that. As a side note; my Lightning Black Knight Axe... Edit 2 (after watching video): Zamn, the B team sure had a lot if interesting ideas

[@flabbajabba9527]

You can do that in a some of the other games...

[@xevinsjaegernaut1414]

most boss weapons can get affinities in DS2 as well

[@amberhernandez]

You can Lightning infuse Heide Knight Sword (which was already split damage), AND THEN apply Sunlight Blade to it for _MORE_ LIGHTNING!!!

[@FelixMBlume]

ahm, in fact this is the only dark souls game where you can get affinities on MOST boss weapons lol

[@pockystyx4087]

Loved doing this to catalysts to hyper focus them; even the weapon catalysts like the Blue Flame and Mace of the Insolent benefited from infusion.

[@lonodel]

Despite its flaws, DS2 does hold a special place for me. Something about it harkens back to exploration in Kingsfield more than any other SB game in my eyes. Maybe it's the mixture of experimentation and a return to older design philosophies that led to its mixed reception.

[@hellodolly7989]

DS2 is definitely the most like King’s Field out of any of the Soulsborne games.

[@cosseybomb]

DS2 was my first souls game in 2014 and I played it whenever I could haha

[@Staring4827]

The mixed reception wasn't due to experimentation it was due to straight up bad design

[@vallahdsacretor4839]

The ideas DS2 had were cool. The community received it well in the marketing, so no one was upset about DS2 experimenting. In fact, most everyone was excited. The implementation of those ideas, though, ranged from half assed to outright bad. The torch and lighting system, for example, was presented as a way to make the game more atmospheric. Darker dungeons, creepy things lurking in the shadows, and you being able to light torches to light up areas you've been in so you can revisit it again without the oppressive darkness. Instead the lighting in DS2 was... pretty one note except for the Gulch, and the torches were largely useless in most places. Especially places that they showed off in the marketing. Same goes for much of the level and map design. Most levels were just a hallway or a round about. That's it. Something that was a huge step down from DS1's metroidvania style, interconnected map. Pair those two together and add in what feels like slow, floaty movement and questionable enemy placement and no wonder it got mixed reception.

[@RootVegetabIe]

​@@Staring4827 Yeah, I've played it way more than the other two, but I can admit that it's easily the most flawed.

[@knavenformed9436]

Only ten minutes in and the Silent Hill 2 and Final Fantasy 9 edits are just so good I can't believe the production quality on this one

[@qxz9p]

Yeah I was blown away. I’m a huge FF nerd so I love how much they get referenced in these videos.

[@XSleepyDwagonX]

you forgot the covenant of champions. the one that makes the game essentially become new game+ but collecting and offering awestone will give you cool stuff. one particular after offering 80 awestone (i think) being the seal of champions ring in which increase bare knuckle damage by 200 when equipped. probably one of the coolest rings to get as no other dark souls actually does is make bare knuckle brawling viable like this.

[@facundovera3227]

Kos Parasite without the Rune.

[@mroboba]

It's mind boggling how many secrets ds2 has, it really fits the theme of exploring and rediscovering truths and secrets long lost

[@luckycandy101]

All this really makes me appreciate DS2 all the more. And just an insane amount of editing and effort to spice up the video. Some great bits, well done.

[@SerGreeny]

Spices are unique to DS2 as well, where you can lower stat requirements for spells.

[@kingdomcome3914]

A consequence to it is reduced effectiveness until you meet the full requirement.

[@laurentiusmcmxcv]

LB said there's gonna be a part 2 somewhere in them comment replies

[@gorgusan]

I can't get over how good this video was. The production value was insane, it was hilarious from start to finish, and also so informative! The moth intermission was priceless.

[@A-Duck]

I "figured out" the windmill burning thing. By which I mean I happened to notice the interaction prompt and had no idea what burning it did until several playthroughs later when I neglected to do so and experienced the boss room in it's default state.

[@Someone-lg6di]

I was invading using dragon bone fist and attempted to do a running attack near the windmill. Missed and flew out the window

[@xThunderxWolfx]

Samsies

[@WeeabooPocky]

you also forgot how the character acts at certain things, like for example beein at low health your character will seem so tired, or when you consum all your stamina your character will breath harder, the coffin that changes your gender or also if you use one or all pieces of the loyce set if your enemy that you killed is an opposite gender to your character will restore some hp. using off hand weapons would give you the full move set of that weapon. not like ds1, ds3 or er, where you can just use the light attack or blocking with it. the powerstancing system unlike ER was not limited to a specific weapon class, like for example paring greatswords with an ultra greatsword, or spear with a rapier. i would like to add the move set of the magestic sword in these lasts points.

[@zviyeri9117]

correction: loyce set only recovers health if you're a woman! the wiki is wrong on this

[@Skrallizar]

@@zviyeri9117 it works as a man if you kill women enemies, like the desert pyromancers.

[@zawarudo8991]

@@Skrallizar misogynistic armor confirmed?? 😂😂😂

[@polnareff1432]

@@zawarudo8991 thotslayer armor

[@Skrallizar]

@@zawarudo8991 It works by healing on kills against the opposite gender. Women can kill regular hollows and get healed since they are almost always male. It's the Ring of Evil Eye effect except it only works on opposite gender.

[@DrowningUpsideDown]

I really appreciate the sound design of these videos. Mixing the gag sound bytes to sound like they’re really in the level elevates the jokes a lot. All the speaking voices are just so pleasantly mixed too, coupled with the music choices. Even when it gets loud for a joke the loudness is demonstrated by clipping without actually being that much louder in the mix. good shit!!!

[@Orakwan]

Exactly. Excellent editing work, visual and sound both. This guy know what he's doing

[@SECshock]

I got a lot of belly laughs from it. The brightness setting + the obi-wan meme was pretty inspired.

[@SinHarvesting]

I love that the original resident evil basement theme was used and not the dualshock version

[@shawnmarcum8078]

I think destructible environments, using the bow, firebombs, and using enemies to break doors to get treasure and open levels up needs to come back in the future. That is how Souls level design should evolve after Elden Ring.

[@adlernelson285]

Elden Ring dlc might have that. They already had those statues that could only be broken by giant enemies like trolls.

[@Killopotamus]

And no tail cutting is atrocious lmao

[@the8626]

​@@Killopotamushonestly, tail cutting didn't really add anything to the game and was just boss soul weapons but worse imo.

[@Adoochi]

@@the8626 I kinda liked it honestly. It felt like a fun secret optional challenge. Like, just killing Seeth isn't too hard on its own, but if you wanted the Moonlight Greatsword (either because your build wanted it or just as a trophy), you had to put in some extra work. It made the weapon feel a bit more special. I wouldn't say they *need* to come back, but I thought it was a neat secret.

[@горшочек-ч9ж]

@@the8626 Imagine trying to cut Kalameets tail for hours then farming scales from drakes and then upgrading the sword to find out its complete dog shit ith useless skill.

[@ambience273]

Ideas for part 2: 1- variations in bosses like invisible or visible Aava. 2- quirky npc invaders and summons. 3- a lot of gear with bonus stats. The other games did this too, but to a far smaller extent. 4- and the more obvious ones, bonfire ascetic, ng+ and power stance.

[@mitchellsockzzz9626]

The Shaded Woods bit was incredible

[@Knight13001]

Ikr

[@zzodysseuszz]

It does a lotta damage

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

I found out the hard way that Rosabeth _only_ wears the most recent armor that you give her. That means if you give her an entire set, she'll wear everything. But is she currently has most of an armor set and you give her a pair of gloves to finish it off, she'll ONLY be wearing the gloves after you reload or rest at the bonfire. EDIT: The Happy Souls references are getting out of hand. Keep doing that.

[@eminkilicaslan8945]

Bruh, I was like "Why all these wooden chests only contain rubbish? It's not even funny."

[@lividfireye7304]

That petrification intro was neat and if it was hard to make, it's greatly appreciated.

[@letusplays1]

the background was from an fmv from final fantasy 9 but they edited dark souls characters into it

[@Deadgye]

@@letusplays1 Ahah! I knew I had seen it before but I couldn't figure out where it was from.

[@totallynotkavak7128]

39:22 The bomb trap can happen randomly, but it’s unbelievably rare. Oh also, if you lose connection network connection, a small message pops up instead of the game booting you to the main menu.

[@grantharrison1715]

Armors providing buff was nice. Gave you a reason to use certain pieces for magic and spell buffs. Or to give you those extra few stats points you need use something.

[@frazfrazfrazfraz]

Elden Ring does that. Like rogiers set or the glintstone crowns

[@grantharrison1715]

@@frazfrazfrazfraz you're not wrong I'm glad elden ring got the memo but ds3 did nothing exciting at all.

[@AtreyusNinja]

Like the head with +1 cast EACH spells and also +1 int +1 faith 😍 r u kidding me

[@AtreyusNinja]

@@frazfrazfrazfraz exactly cuz ds2 2

[@user-zk3dx9dd6p]

​@@AtreyusNinja The crown that regenerated spells was the thing that let me no bonfire on a full hexer build. So OP

[@Sora2k9]

DS2 is my favorite Souls game and I have over a thousand hours on it. So I find it crazy to find out things I didn't knew about the game after spending so much time in it! I was so shocked when I found out you could shoot the bell in No man's wharf

[@pajeetsingh]

It went so rouge like that it upset the veteran rogue like.

[@Capn_Obed_Marsh]

The living tree in the Sunken King area always fascinated me because of what looks like a staircase spiraling around it. Like it was ment to be much bigger and climbable.

[@wiz1904]

It also mildly resembles Aldia.

[@justinaysien1204]

I thought it was kind of cute in a sad sort of way

[@joshmay2944]

What is this, a staircase for ants?

[@Battleguild]

The insane amount of support Casters got: 1. Herbs/Waters 2. Spices 3. Iron King Crown 4. No Damage Ring Reliance 5. Large Variety of Catalyst Weapons 6. Catalyst Infusions 7. Caster Armor Effects 8. Hexes 9. Duplicate Spells are Useful 10. Attunement Determines Cast Speed

[@evinbraley]

Yeah, its kinda upsetting that Cast speed based on Attunement never came back. It meant that a wizard wasn't forced to level dex for a decent cast speed

[@denaze05]

and you can upgrade your catalysts and chimes

[@noobsaibot6482]

Don't forget, attunement also increases spell uses in DS2

[@AnOldEnglishBloke]

All ruined by pvp balancing. Pvp'ers abuse stuff, From nerf the crap out of it, pvp dies, pve suffers forever.

[@MrSamulai]

@@AnOldEnglishBloke PvP lives waaaaay longer than PvE. Always has.

[@asturias0267]

Thanks for this video! Dark Souls 2 is my favorite of the souls games. I knew most of this stuff, but learned some really neat things. The moths with special drops, goth moth, breakable boarded windows, torches increasing lock on/detection range, braziers turning off as you kill the special red phantoms in the crypt, and torches causing oil explosions were all new to me.

[@jesterbrown90]

One of my favorite DS2 builds was dual wielding the red and smelter greatswords. It was so cool hitting a double weapon ability and i wish Fromsoft added similar hidden boss weapon pairings where you could also use both ashes of war at once.

[@snowydeath1778]

I feel good knowing that I burned the windmill out of curiosity because I had the prompt while holding a torch. I didn't know her boss room was a poison arena until years later lmao

[@topcat59]

Dark souls 2 out of all the souls games has the most juiciest and THICC amount of details in it. hell when i was at earthen peak and summoned a NPC, I was terrified when they started making jesters at certain parts of the area you are in. Since I never knew they could do that until now.😺

[@Clarity_Control]

Gee, what intense detail

[@Mattroid99]

That's not a detail lol, that's the devs way of telling you you can burn a windmill made of iron

[@HostileAtHeart]

dunno if this is a meme I'm not aware of but it's "gestures", not "jesters" which is a real word but something entirely different.

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@HostileAtHeartyeah ones an action and the others a profession

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@Clarity_Control ok then what about the unique chest that gives away random items?

[@weirdalfan08]

The effort that went into this is insane and even knowing a lot of the content its so much fun to watch, the shaded woods silent hill bit was great and all the quick throwaway jokes make it so much better i dont know why but the jerma GAS at 20:13 really got me hard despite being the simplest thing in the video Thankyou for making these outstanding videos

[@weirdalfan08]

Bonus thing, if you light every torch in the gutter you get a 1000 curse resist cloth hat, there is a lot of them but its worth it to never get cursed again If you do the same in the tutorial area i think it spawns a red invader, been a while so i barely remember. Both things in SotFS only i believe.

[@zire9911]

Also if you light all torches in gutter you will be invaded and can get unique armour. You can get free humanity if you pray in shrine of amana (if you don't have one in your inventory or on the floor). Chest between majula and forest of the fallen giants becomes mimic. Players can be invaded as dark spirit by Looking glass knight for help. Each game of souls series have unique features and that why i love it so much

[@blondesummer7980]

Almost an hour of pure DS2 goodness, thank you Old Man.

[@meci6625]

a day to remember for us DS2 enjoyers

[@eggstailored]

I am 8 minutes and I think this is your best video to date. It is dripping in more lovely references than an encyclopedia and I love the silent hill and happy souls mash up. Your videos are too good for this world. I hope you know that I appreciate all the little details you put in.

[@LedYouAshtray]

I always thought it was dumb that Scholar added more of those petrified statues for no reason other than arbitrarily blocking off areas (last area of tutorial, Ruin Sentinels, etc.)

[@LazloRTR]

imo some are okay ish because there's at least some basilisks around, other ones without basilisks though...

[@CheshireCad]

I actually liked how branches and lockstones acted as universal 'keys'. It rewarded you for remembering where they can be used, and gave you a reason to revisit old areas. Although I do wish they had done more interesting things with them. Like NPCs being unpetrified, or the big lamp in the wharf.

[@WolfHreda]

The Barry and Claire segment in Majula Mansion was amazing! I always fight the phantom Clerics in the Undead Crypt. Not least of all because their chest piece is one of my favorites, and their Mace is almost as cool as the Blue Flame swords carried by the Leydia boys.

[@paulj6805]

That's Jillllllllllllllll

[@talinkretchmer5928]

Man the level of editing, amount of references, and attention to detail. This video is a masterpiece in every aspect I care about.

[@AtreyusNinja]

I truly believe is his best video ever

[@mehless]

The crows being a gacha was interesting. Made them useful to go back to since drops were no longer guaranteed.

[@trost7860]

You could always join the company of champions to turn on infinite spawns. It does make the enemies have more health and do more damage and you cannot summon phantoms but if you’re just farming just join it quick and grab what you need. It doesn’t respawn mobs that already stopped spawning for that playthrough though.

[@zzodysseuszz]

@@trost7860yes it does. It doesn’t respawn mobs that only spawn once per play through. Any other mob that stops spawning will reset their spawns when you enter the covenant but return to disabled when you leave the covenant.

[@mehless]

@@trost7860 I meant that trading with Crows didn't give guaranteed drops in DS2, unlike the other games.

[@joshuakim5240]

Back during the early release of the game, i found that the Old Knights for some reason fulfilled a huge chunk of the mob-slaying timer for the small soapstone so i farmed tons of smooth stones via putting down my small sign, killing 2 knights, then fulfilling the condition to repeat the process. Made a +5 boss weapon super early.

[@un1d]

06:26 small note: on SOTFS you need to kill the ruin sentinels instead to reach the key

[@Grauer1510]

Bonfire ascetics also respawn every wooden chest in that area since they only contain farmable loot and consumables. The important stuff is in the metal chests, that's why you can brake wooden chests. 😉

[@vojtechspinler6363]

You can also farm them during Darklurker´s bossruns

[@xyah4374]

Been playing for ever and never noticed the metal chest thing, that's p cool, keep mimic scared players from destroying important items lol

[@BubblenutMcMuffin]

And at least one chest that I know of, (there could be more), has what it had changed by either going into NG+ or with a bonfire ascetic. The chest right when entering the Forest of Fallen Giants, below you when crossing a river. It has one human effigy, but it has multiple if you use one. Some chests even become mimics!

[@glaba24]

I love all the Happy Souls references. To this day, I still think Happy Souls is the single best dark souls video on youtube and it takes me back to the good ol days of when Dark Souls 3 had first come out, struggling through the bosses, getting lost in pvp, etc.

[@blake.1312]

It was great to see Helicopter man featured. What an awesome collab I didn't expect.

[@halcionjoy7]

Now we just need Chupperman's real redemption arc in Elden Ring.

[@mohandasjung]

I missed it, where does he apear? 😅

[@nicolasvidal92]

​@@mohandasjung he was the one doing the pig escort mission

[@hitlord]

Man, I was asking myself HOW THE HELL I didn't know about that Dragon Aerie bridge interaction, considering how often I had broken those eggs, until you said the killing the Wyverns cancels it. God damn, I've playing this game for 10+ years now and somehow I still don't know every secret the game has. And people ask me why I think it's the best of the 3.

[@JayMcKean]

You've been playing a game that's been out for 9 years for 10+ years? That's crazy dude

[@PerilousPrey]

Impressive

[@hitlord]

@@JayMcKean I was an alpha tester while the game was in the making. Bullshit aside though, you'll give me shit for misremembering the game's launch by 1 year at this point? Come on.

[@Hezzers]

@@hitlord Misremembering the game's launch by 1+ years! The plus is important! :D

[@_Hierophant]

Dogshit hitboxes, ADP, durability, ambushes and numbers for "difficulty", fucked lock on/bad weapon movesets, 8 direction walking(if you don't Fuck with the ini) Best sure is subjective, huh?

[@vlim5601]

This stuff is why DS2 is my favorite of the whole franchise. The game wasn't perfect by any means but it has this certain charm that the other games lack.

[@thessop9439]

For example, the other 2 games have charm. The charm of being actually good games

[@TheFloodFourm]

Variety. Everything post DS2 has been a glorified standard action game with reaction based combat and almost entirely all of the gameplay now centers around boss fights. Demons - DS2 were linear adventures games and the experience of adventure was the focus.

[@Gabu_]

​@@thessop9439good job making it clear that you haven't played DS2. Git Gud, roll spamming peasant

[@Alec_cz]

​@@thessop9439🤡 same joke since 2014

[@Kyle_00]

​@@thessop9439😂😂 well thats true, but underneath all the jank theres a genuinely great game with DS2

[@skyfrazier8906]

Dark Souls 2 is the only From souls game that has your character do a little "at ease" stance shift when you open the pause menu :)

[@ForbiddenFollyFollower]

DS3 does it too. Noticed it when I was trying to compare weapon length.

[@pretentiosaurus]

one of my personal favorite things is the fact that left-handed weapons and right-handed shields function pretty much the same as their reversed counterparts as an actual left-handed person, i get to be just that little bit more myself when i play dark souls 2

[@invictus2386]

I always thought it was odd how these games kinda restrict you to being right handed

[@eyesfullofsky9776]

You deal slightly less damage with weapons in your left hand (I believe it was about -15%), but it is still possible, and allows for amazing diversity if you ever want to dual-wield weapons of different types.

[@pretentiosaurus]

@@eyesfullofsky9776 is that so? i don't remember it doing that but i'll have to check

[@Nyota7766]

That's why it's best souls 2, babyyyy.

[@moonlitwisp]

I've always thought DS2 was really heavily inspired by Kings Field 4/The Ancient City, it takes so many weird little rpg mechanics, interactions and details, my favourite one in the series by far.

[@specialnewb9821]

It also feels the closest to Demon's Souls of the 3 imo.

[@BeautifulGaston]

Shulva in the dlc is definitely a direct homage to the Ancient City. I think a lot of the inspiration comes from Miyazaki not being at the helm, causing the devs to look back to From's roots for ideas!

[@doctorsabado2792]

I think they even reused sound effects from KF4 in Dark Souls 2.

[@BeautifulGaston]

@@doctorsabado2792 Oh no kidding! I've never picked up on that, I'll have to listen closely when I play KF again

[@Malfeason]

The "censored just in case" one frame well joke is the funniest thing I've seen all week. 10 points.

[@misternobody3438]

Also worth remembering about Power stance and Bonfire Ascetic. The first one gives you a lot of weapon combinations, and the second one will allow you to fight your favorite boss as much as you want. In addition, the torch has become a common thing, you no longer need to clean up necromancers in a large location or complete a Solaire quest in the usual or secret way.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

Bonfire ascetic is exclusively for Old Iron king until you get to the Giant lord boss fight which should take over the exclusivity and rewards you with a new bonfire ascetic each fight. Anything else is a waste.

[@mauriciomendoza720]

​@@A_Black_Sheep94 Using ascetics for anything other than fucking on Raime is actually the true waste.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

@@mauriciomendoza720 No because you don't get any ascetic back and far fewer runes.

[@mauriciomendoza720]

@@A_Black_Sheep94 that's not why we fuck on Raime

[@UnkleSurvivor]

​@@A_Black_Sheep94 There are several infinite ascetic locations, and some have fantastic upgrade mat farms tied to them

[@MercurialDecree]

"Happysoulsincaseyounever watcheditsomehow" Old man, and yes, even your grandson limit did very well in this video. The layers on layers of references on top of a video that explored hidden content, a truely unique work of art, and I thank everyone who helped put this together. Hollow army will always roam the walkways and corridors of youtubes algorithm to find the dEepEsT LoRE

[@toolala3908]

I actually found the Undead Crypt Moth on my own by complete accident going back on foot from Velsdalt and just admiring the architecture. I think it might have actually been the first one I ever found which made me try and look for more in other areas.

[@Lumoria]

I keep coming back to rewatch this one. Such a masterpiece in content and editing.

[@AtreyusNinja]

I do the same 😂

[@stolentheif8426]

The amount of passion and effort put into these is unrivaled, I love you LB

[@iAmTheWagon]

I think my favorite thing about DaS2 was an actually reason for NG+ with the extra enemies and different rewards.

[@Gnulcho]

regarding the different rewards: 1. start new game with bonfire ascetics 2. drop in hole 3. get fragrant branch in gutter and use it before rotten for hidden chamber bonfire 4. kill rotten 5. kill rotten again (ascetic in hidden chamber) 6. invest souls to get int & faith to 12, dex to 10 and str to at least 20 7. visit ornifex and get your FREE ̶G̶U̶T̶S̶'̶ ̶D̶R̶A̶G̶O̶N̶S̶L̶A̶Y̶E̶R̶ CRYPT BLACKSWORD. This bad boy has an S scaling to dark at +5, can be infused AND buffed at the same time (dark infusion + dark weapon). jump-attack for an extra quick SHITTON of damage (at the expense of pretty much all of your stamina)

[@kazmark_gl8652]

way too few people know about all the cool shit in DS2's Ng+ like Frija straight up tries to attack you outside her boss room in NG+

[@pokimanefartcompilation]

​​@@kazmark_gl8652 Freja fr jumps yo ass. Scared the shit outta me first time I saw it.

[@mmsL125]

I'm surprised FROM has never has done something similar in any other games.

[@kazmark_gl8652]

@mmsL125 I'm pretty sure it's the simple calculus that the majority of players won't go for a NG+

[@hunterotte9555]

I don't know why, but I always loved the hidden moths after I finally noticed them. Kinda wished they did it in 3 as well, but they dropped the moth/butterfly set and were just as dickishly hidden as the Aldia's Keep and the gutter ones.

[@rajangking]

As someone that just recently played ds2 for the first time the game was so interesting, because even used to fromsoft titles they changed up the formula quite often, which led to many new discoveries.

[@marmitasemcarne]

A lot of good ones I missed back in the day, very nice! A good one I didn't see in the video: Navlaan, the NPC in Aldia's Keep actually has two personalities based on whether you are hollow or human. Unless there's something like him in Bloodborne.

[@ComplexAce]

I was waiting for someone to mention him

[@weebto]

Anri in DS3 is female if your character is male and vice versa, and most NPCs in demon's souls behave differently based on world tendency. Still cool though

[@AnOldEnglishBloke]

The first door I knocked on and actually had a hollow open it for me was the moment I fell in love with Dark Souls II.

[@jeffthebiglizard8099]

I've seen people mention a few things you missed but i've not seen anyone mention this one. The agro of the lizard looking frog fellas in shrine of amana is tied to the singing of the milfanito. They don't agro unless provoked while the milfanito are singing and this is shown through the orange cloud on top of them. There's also a second invisible ladder behind the stack of boxes in dlc3.

[@Caninehandler]

This video must've taken many passionate hours to make. The editing is amazing

[@oloxhossono1956]

Things I love Surprise red phantoms in ng+ (i literally don’t know why they never did this again. it’s such a good idea) Finite enemy spawns which discourages farming as a means to getting stronger The Shadow Set (completely unmatched)

[@DWFTW]

I wonder if the phantoms came from the Grave Lord idea in DkS1, but made it more universal. Only in NG+ did being grave lorded add in red phantom enemies, but if it did do it just on NG+ it'd be similar to DkS2's system. Regardless it is a shame they didn't do it afterwards, it was interesting. Also that finite spawn bit was a funny one. if you just fought your way back every time for boss retries, you'd eventually just depopulate them if you took enough tries, unless in the Covenant of Champions. If I remember right I specifically grinded to remove all the Alonne Knights before Smelter Demon in one game or another because they just annoyed me so much on reattempts of it.

[@GameDevYal]

Yeah, depopulating areas if you fail a boss enough times is a really good incentive to not give up, knowing as long as you keep trying you'll eventually have zero resistance keeps you going.

[@madjack1748]

Demon's souls did surprise red phantoms in black world tendency

[@quint3ssent1a]

I hate finite spawning, it's such a crap mechanic. If you need some rare shit, like fucking dusk herbs, for example, then you royally screwed, because with the low drop rate and them dropping from already rare mob (desert pyromancers) it's easy to hunt them down to extinction and then it's ascetic and whole area becomes a lot harder. Conversely, in other areas where despawning mobs would make your life easier (%%cough%% *Iron Passage* %%cough%%) it will be so hard to despawn ashen hollows that you certainly finish the location with them still spawning again. Because of that crap some cool sets are hard to obtain. I remember how i hunted to extinction ruin sentinels in castle (there's 5 of them, so it's easy to despawn them without obtaining full set), also ashen sorceress set too (again, there's not that many of them and even with drop boosting gear it's easy to fuck up and despawn them.) Despawning enemies are crap, and i like that this feature never returns in next games.

[@spectorshade]

​@@quint3ssent1a Just join the Covenant of Champions

[@ratsarereal]

I can't explain how much this video means to me. Please don't ever stop making videos, especially Ds2 videos. You're the goat. I'm itching for more.

[@rud5101]

That's so weird, I was actually thinking about this a lot lately, all the weird experimental things DS2 did to surprise us. Some of these were so cool, I wish they'd bring them back. Like the dragons' eggs mechanic in Aerie.

[@addictiontransfer3731]

You missed the thing about how if you light every torch in the gutter a special black phantom invades you!!

[@joetrollson]

I can’t tell you how happy this video made me. Huge dark souls 2 fan. The Majula mansion segment is fucking awesome. Thank you!

[@AtreyusNinja]

So True

[@joetrollson]

Yeah,@@AtreyusNinja ! Rock on!