Ranking the Areas of Dark Souls II [Part 1]

Part 2 - • Ranking the Areas of D...
How can a game have some of the most inspired areas of FromSoft's early Soulsborne games, and yet also have some of the worst designed areas in the franchise?
Find out as we dig into the 29 (From my count) areas of Dark Souls II!
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Intro: 0:00
29: 1:13
28: 3:38
27: 5:55
26: 8:05
25: 9:47
24: 11:24
23: 12:43
22: 14:59
21: 16:48
20: 19:18
19: 21:24
18: 24:13
17: 26:09
16: 29:08
Outro: 31:11
#darksouls2 #soulsborne #eldenring #countdown #ranking

[@BillySYT]

Welcome back guys, today we're looking at the Areas of Dark Souls II - I wanted this to be one large video, but time constraints & a bit of poor planning on my part got the best of me. But I hope you enjoy regardless, and check back next week for the Top 15! Looking forward to getting to Dark Souls III, once I find time to record the playthrough.

[@Arle3597]

Reindeer Fuckland isn’t an area, it’s a legalized torture machine

[@zacharyhuhn8366]

I call it Kirin Fuckland,, but same idea.

[@tomasstargamer6308]

Benhart, in a way just like Solaire, is going through his own quest on his own world, Solaire canonically links the Fire on his world if he lives until the end, Benhart goes to many of the same places as you do, and the Ancient Dragon even mentions how another has come, which means Benhart got the Mist Heart too. And then you also can get Benhart as summon for the Throne rush.

[@garrett9233]

The Giant’s Memories are some of my favorite areas in the whole series. Considering that every game takes place in dead and dying worlds, this is one of the only areas that has actual life to it. The world hasn’t gone hollow yet; you’re seeing real humans fighting real giants in a functional and living world. Actively participating in a world-changing war from the past is incredibly cool, and being the one to stop the giant lord and then meet him again in the future is such an incredible moment. All the small scale battles happening throughout the memories really makes you feel small in the grand scheme of things. It’s such a unique concept that I think they really nailed. The giants can be kind of annoying to fight, and I wish the soldiers would let you fight on their side without trying to kill you, but overall I really really love the memories. Great video as always Billy!

[@BillySYT]

I'll certainly give you that. There is something fascinating about being around in a period when people were still "alive" as it were. Glad some people can really enjoy the areas that aren't my cup of tea ^^

[@hughgenshi4703]

I genuinely thought you'd have more subscribers. With the amount of effort and polish your videos have you deserve it, keep up the good work man. Fuck the Frigid Outskirts

[@BillySYT]

Much appreciated. Just glad people are tuning in at all - didn't think anybody would care ^^

[@aroundthefur1210]

I absolutely adore DSII and have even grinded the platinum as you did too. Grats to you btw! I never knew about the last giant memory for the dragon though. That is so cool and thanks for sharing!!!

[@thatll-do7606]

Not sure if anyone else said this, but the Doors of Pharros and the Grave of Saints are meant to be PvP covenant areas, with the gimmick being that you lure other players into your world and set traps for them by unlocking them with Pharros lockstones. Just thought it was worth mentioning, because I had some decent fun unlocking all the traps and hazards

[@BillySYT]

From that perspective, that does make a bit of sense. But I think I'd still have them ranked where they are since PvP was never an aspect of Souls I engaged with.

[@sticketyknony6606]

Like your content homeboy. Keep it up champ 👍

[@wilbert3842]

When I’ve played DS2 I don’t find myself disliking many of the areas, more so the enemies and enemy placement. Looking back on them makes me want a true remaster that can fix a couple of the issues and might also delete black gultch from the game

[@BillySYT]

Agreed - Most of my issues in Dark Souls II stem from enemy placement as opposed to level area & layout. But given Scholar of the First Sin was the supposed "remaster" that "fixed" enemy placements, I don't think we'll be getting any improvements in the future. If you haven't played the original 2014 release and you get the chance to, do it. The enemy placements feel way more in line with DS1.

[@bruschetta7711]

Aldia's keep personally gets carried by the tiny bit of area near the Guardian Dragon arena because there's an awesome landscape with stonepillars inside a hige forest and a bright sun

[@Sofia-uz6jq]

been subbed for a while now ! manifesting u get more 🙏

[@BillySYT]

We will manifest until we can manifest no more 😎

[@Sofia-uz6jq]

@@BillySYT ngl u fill that niche of souls x queer content i never knew i needed. i love it!!

[@danielnorville]

Solid vid man DS2 is a very interesting experience lol

[@BillySYT]

I have SO many conflicting feelings about DS2, but it's my first souls game so it all comes from a place of love lol

[@PowderKegel]

Iron Passage is my least favorite easily. Getting hit is one thing, but that Promised walk of peace spell that slows you down is infuriating.

[@BillySYT]

The slowdown spell is awful, but is also the only reason the boss run has any urgency. Without it, it'd be easy to dodge peeps

[@piterrospl9512]

Honestly, I love Frigid Outskirts... as a concept. It unfortunately fails at every single aspect of it, which is sad, considering the potential behind it. Also, apologies in advance - this might be a long comment. Also wanted to clear some things about what you said in the video - the reason why you had so many reindeers on your tail is actually because the area has an intended way to go through. Of course, I wouldn't recommend replaying it unless you really wanted to - but you can try doing it the intended way, which is following what you see (rather than trying to go through the edge of the map). So, regarding the area itself, and how it's supposed to work: you are dropped in, with the snowstorm obscuring your way. You wander around, and eventually, the storm stops for a moment, letting you see around, and two things you can spot are the building in the distance, and the sun. The sun is a sort of compass, once you realise that - if you ever lose your way, remember that sunlight should be on your right. Even without it, the only thing you can see on the horizon is the building, so natural sense should tell you that this is the way. Once you get into the building, you get a break - a safe haven, so to speak. Once you go out, another building shows up in the distance, and then again after that. Second building even has a stone lock that when opened, it grants you healing water. Once you're at the last building, you can see the hole and bridge in the distance, which once again, is the only "special" spot, so natually, curiosity or sense will guide you there. I really like this design idea, because it trusts your intelligence - rather than being linear or showing you the way through walls (like in rooms, buildings or fences), it gives you indirect pointers that you have to figure out. Of course, that's not all, as there are Reindeers. Aside from one attack (the charge), they are quite fair. They are difficult, because the idea here is that you do not want to be outside, and they enforce it. If you go the intended route (building -> building -> building -> bridge), usually only one should spawn through each run. However, you will never know when and where they will appear - and I think it's amazing. Every other area in Souls games, you can learn and memorize each enemy placement, to the point where nothing will surprise you, and you will have control. Frigid Outskirts (as a concept) says no - you will not feel safe out there, and imo, it's an amazing concept that actually made me like Frigid Outskirts at first. You have to actively listen and look around, they keep you on your toes always, even on repeat runs - this is something that no other area does in any of Fromsoft's games. But, sadly, as much as I love this concept, this area has a flaw for each good concept here: - the fact that Reindeers can spawn in pairs or more (like I said, great enemy, but only if fought solo) - that charge attack (otherwise, their moveset is tough, but good) - the fact that the bridge can be hard to see (I spent so long trying to find it on first playthrough) - that random akimbo crossbow dude (seriously, I understand why he is there, as the place is for exiles, but why isn't he fighting Reindeers and instead ganks on me with them?) - if you die to the boss, you have to do the runback again (which well, I understand that a bonfire in a snowstorm would be tough to light, but come on, you could make a cave somewhere near that bridge) - the boss is dogshit (I could make another paragraph on that, but I've already written so much xD) When I was playing Elden Ring and found Consecrated Snowfields, I was excited for a moment that they would try to remake Frigid Outskirts - but well... my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. Anyway, if you read all of my rambling, thank you, and sorry if the comment was too long. I just wanted to express my love for the concept and how it was failed by DS2, and then for some reason never returned to in any other game. I'm still waiting for a Souls game that utilizes this concept and makes a good area out of it.

[@SteamPaladin]

i love shrine of amana. it kicks the shit out of players who build thick armor big strength hiding behind a shield locking on to one enemy at a time, and have zero ability to adapt. it rewards the shit out of players who learn how to roll and approach with a tactical mindset. it's very easy to avoid taking any damage if you just take things slow; rush for a moment and it says no no no nope no rushing. getting mad that a game rewarding, no, DEMANDING patience, demands you to be patient just seems silly to me tbh

[@michaelbarker6732]

You just need a bow to get through easily. It’s kindof like being forced to use covenant of artorias for the four kings but you can at least try without.

[@BillySYT]

I've taken the Shrine slow many a time and still found myself on the receiving end of spells I just can't avoid the tracking for. But we can agree to disagree, everyone is drawn to different aspects of a game and that's gucci ^^

[@fungus1005]

Cant say I'd agree with Black Gulch and Doors of Pharros being that low, but still a good list. Also, you're editing is pretty good bro, keep it up.

[@BillySYT]

Doors of Pharros I expected some pushback to, but I'd love to hear why you enjoy Black Gulch. Legit curious ^^

[@fungus1005]

@@BillySYTI honestly don't enjoy it that much still lol, it's just that I find areas like Iron Passage and a few others a LOT more annoying. Still not amazing but not that bad, somewhere in the low-middle ground of rankings. Also, I kind of like the Rotten as a boss of the area, hes simple but enjoyable.

[@aidansilli4257]

Im surprised doors of pharros is so low. Dont get me wrong, it's not a great area, but it isnt as actively infuriating as other areas you put above it like iron keep, earthen peak, shaded woods, dark chasm of old, huntsman corspe, shrine of Amana and heide's tower of flame.

[@BillySYT]

That's just it. I'd rather an infuriating area over a nothing area.

[@aidansilli4257]

@@BillySYT fair enough. For me, being angry for most of the area can dramatically bring my opinion of it down. For example, I really like the second half of iron keep, but because the smelter demon runback was one of my worst experiences in the entire series, I'd still put the area near the bottom of my list.

[@ambience273]

18:06 that is not the real moonlight Greatsword. You get it by trading the old pale dragon soul. Freja ng+.

[@jangofett4547]

OMG I NEVER KNEW U CAN DO THAT AT FREJAS BOSSROOM!!????? i mean i randomly found out u can use it on Vendricks Armor to have a talk with his memory but daaamn

[@BillySYT]

The talk with Vendrick's Armour is tied to the DLCs, as if you go to his armour with all three crowns from the DLC, he blesses them so that when you wear them, you can't go hollow.

[@KindredFenrir]

Doors of Pharros has the Santiers Spear which ranks it higher to me. Not much higher but that weapon is goated.

[@okacz19]

Door of Pharros has got to me one of my favourites to be honest. Yeah, it's a filler area, and the boss kind of sucks, but it's such a little immersive nugget of content. It's like going through Moria on your quest to kill a giant spider with an assface, exploring a long-lost civilization along the way, and it's entirely up to the player if you take the short route or decide to explore the corridors. And focus on the Lockstones felt unique and kind of "natural" for the game - a mechanic that was only there to encourage exploration is recontextualized into something that defines an entire city. The boss is terrible tho, yes, even disregarding the rats it's just Sif with somehow worse hitboxes and more boring attacks.

[@lisagaughan7154]

I actually like the Black Gulch, I love the visual design and I enjoy all the enemies ( except the statues ). I do wish there was more to explore but I don't despise linear levels unlike most Souls fans. Iron Passage also used to be my least favourite area because I thought that the closing gate was the only way through. I hated dying to one of the enemies or the Blue Smelter Demon and having the gate shut and being killed by the warriors. Now I know about the other way, and while I still don't like it, I'll take it over Frigid Outskirts.

[@Jedi_Judo19]

Awesome video Billy, I love DS2!! Also if you want to find Lucatiel in the Black Gulch, watch one of my videos I made for that on my channel! Also Benhart's questline isn't how you get the actual Moonlight Greatsword.

[@SteamPaladin]

i actually love reindeer fuckland. it's the perfect spit in the face by the dev team to namco-bandai forcing them to shoehorn in a co-op area. ... we DO know that this is why the co-op areas sucked (*edit- for single player), right?

[@SteamPaladin]

nobody got mad at world of warcraft for its instance dungeons being significantly more difficult than the quests designed around solo play...

[@sirbrando2792]

I love how im in the minority about Shrine Of Amana, i completely understand the hate it gets, but theres something about this area that i just love, i for some reason would have it in my top 5, also thanks for the videos you make, i only recently found your channel through the Lies of P videos you have been doing, and ive found myself watching all your older videos the last couple of days

[@noraslob5461]

Personally, I found Reindeer fuckland to be the sort of area that would have worked fine if it hadn't been a boss run area. Going through it once wasn't the worst, especially with summons. The reindeer jumpscares were kinda fun in a sense. As long as you're careful and keep your wits about you, it's not that hard either. The real issue, though, is that it's a boss run area for a fairly hard boss, and the area is *horrible* to try and quickly run through. If they'd just put a bonfire before the boss, I think it would have been a perfectly okay, middle-of-the-road area.

[@BillySYT]

I think even then, I'd still have issues with the barren nature of the landscape. There's a couple ruins here and there, but they should have gone all the way and had actual structures with some depth to them to really make the area worth exploring.

[@YureiOni]

Frigid outskirts is your least liked area? Go through there with the kings greatsword and it’s a breeze.

[@soccerdude12793]

No man’s wharf is underrated. One of the few well implemented shortcuts in the game and the level actually uses the torch mechanic

[@BillySYT]

I'll definitely give you that. It feels like an area that was designed before DS2 had to shift gears completely mid-development.

[@YureiOni]

That little stretch in the gulch is the worst imo

[@Welcometotheslam5424]

I should point out, that area in Shrine of Amanna guarded by the pyromancers actually allows you to return to human IF you don’t have any human effigies in your inventory or in your box. Also dropping them on the floor doesn’t count.

[@alkapwnz1]

Comment for algorithm, because its stupid videos of this quality get so few views, but also, DS2 was probably the Souls game I played the most out of the trilogy due to deep investment in the PvP side of the community at the time. I wonder if that's something you've ever delved into, Billy?

[@BillySYT]

PvP was never my cup of tea. I'm inherently anti-social so I got my enjoyment out of PvE and I'd hear about PvP stuff from friends ^^

[@lukekurlandski7653]

First comment for the algorithm.

[@radmilk73]

On my third try, I think I’m *finally* getting into DSII…will report back in 60 hours😂

[@radmilk73]

Holy shit!! I love it!

[@shadypielover]

Black Gulch hate doesn’t make sense to me, it’s an area that last 30 seconds at most, and the poison hardly does anything in this game. The gutter is a much worse and annoying area

[@BillySYT]

I actually really like the Gutter, but I'll save mu explanation for my video next week. The Black Gulch gets hate for being poorly designed mess. Sure, it's short, but I'd still rather go anywhere else aside from Frigid, lol

[@brent8407]

The fact it's so short only adds to the hate, how they managed to make such a short area that annoying to go through is worth an achievement.

[@cosminmarin2461]

i dont understand how they could fuck the dlc areas so bad. They are nice areas, good atmosphere and all but the enemies, the waves of enemies basically forces you to rush the area, you cant stay and enjoy it. I bought ds2 SotFS on ps3(which is vanilla plus dlcs) and i realized ds2 is not a bad game, its actually really good but the abundance of enemies really does no honor to it

[@BillySYT]

The original release for Dark Souls II had the same enemy philosophy as Dark Souls 1, which was why I find it better than Scholar's revamped enemy placements.

[@maybeagoose8357]

First comment

[@Mikhael.R]

At the very least from software knows how to design great aesthetic in every game area (Except frigid outskirts, that place can choke) even if Scholar managed to make everything much, much, much worse with enemy placements (which genuinely feel malicious at times)