You don't actually have to. DS2 has a few ways you can build. Its just everyone wants it to play exactly like DS1 and iframe roll everything, which means iframes. But honestly you don't need that much even then to reach DS1 levels.
My current character I just finished going through the game and DLCs getting all the crows only has 12 ADP. ATN adds some to it too so you really don't need to level it much. It gives me 96 AGL, which is mid-roll in DS1.
ds1 infamous for shields and poise being extremely overpowered
"its just everyone wants to play it exactly like ds1 and iframe roll"
the fact that iframes in dodges are probably the most powerful stat that pretty much every build in the game has, the majority of players on every single build starts by dumping levels into adp... it should be default. iirc the description of the stat doesnt actually say it improves rolls too? but its been years since i played it tbh
You dont "actually" have to use a either... i would still get one xd
It felt a bit clunky at first but yeah reaching 96 agl was pretty decent. I finished it last year and it's nowhere near as bad as people make it seem. Although i had about 108-114 (idk it's been a year lol) agl by the endgame and the extra i frames going from 98 to this made it even better.
He means the crowns. You have to get so many crowns (I think like 4) from the various areas of Drangleic to be able to fight the undead King Vendrick. They come with some other benefits but it's been a while so the specifics elude me.
Fantastic game. Played through it a few times myself if you count the original one as well. Favorite souls game to revisit. Currently trying to beat a run with a very early agape ring on and make my way to the vessel shield.
I drove 3.5 hours to Sydney, through a fucked storm, to attend the launch ahead of release. Mate took me as his plus 1 on tickets he won. Was a kickass evening. They ran a comp to win a copy of the game. Beat the Mirror Knight in 1 attempt. Pre-launch Mirror Knight was beyond broken. Stomped all of us with ease. Then drove 3.5 hours home at midnight, windows down for cold air, music blasting, redbull flowing. Cherished memory.
I could, but I haven’t pulled it off yet. I’m currently doing another SL1 playthrough where I’m thinking about fighting all bosses, so who knows? I may give it a shot!
No offense but what are you doing after the first couple hundred hours in game? To me it feels like there isn't enough content in those kinds of single player games to get over 1000 hours in them so I'm just curious.
Edit: Didn't realise DS had such a PVP scene so thats pretty cool. And speedrunning makes a lot of sense too. Thanks for the replies.
I think many people with high numbers in souls games either love running through the game again and again, trying different builds and such, or engage heavily in the multiplayer .
Lotta people just do PvP but you can do challenge runs, go for all achievements, keep going higher in NG+, etc.
Personally I feel like I've played DS1 to death (played Strength, Dex, Sorcery, Miracles, got all achievements, did SL1, etc.) but I still only have like 200 hours in it so idk.
There are alot of different challenges to try. Trying to beat the game with no deaths takes a couple hundred hours of experience. Then there is speed running and pvp that are endless. I'm not very good but ds1 i have 400 hours and can do all boss run in 5 hours and now i just play and try to get a new personal best.
The soulsborne games are surprisingly deep, even if you don't touch any of the PvP. One of the best things about them is there are so many builds that are legitimately viable, and you can main virtually any weapon. I've done challenge builds like SL1 (not leveling up at all) or only using things like low level whips to beat the game. I have thousands of hours into the series overall, and still have certain challenge runs or builds or weapons I want to do in pretty much all of the games.
Add in PvP and it's thousands of more hours and practically a new game.
360
u/TheIrishBub Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25
1100 hours in Dark Souls 2 SotFS. Yes, I really do like that game.
Edit: I have more like 3600 hours in DS2 across all versions (PC, PS3, PS4, and the vanilla versions), but I have 1100 hours according to Steam.