What is the best version of DS2, original w/ DLCs or SotFS?

Scholar adds the shortcut bridge, but both games are still mid.

>>712703136 (OP)
Are we back to making daily DaS2 bait threads for another 10 years?

>>712703136 (OP)
The original is so much better that its not even funny. Scholar is a clusterfuck.

They both have the same set of achievements, but SotFS requires the DLC weapons and spells for theirs.

>DS2 is so good that its only real worthy opponent is itself

>>712703495
We never left.

>>712704006

>>712703858
Lmao wut

>>712703136 (OP)
This game felt like Fromsoftware's parent company wanted a sequel so what they did was passed it off to some B tier western developer (that is right not a Japanese studio but a western one) and they shit out this game while Fromsoftware was busy developing Bloodborne. I won't say Dark Souls 2 is fully bad I had fun with it but it feels so different to From's other games to the point that it doesn't even feel like a Japanese made game.

I hated DS2 on release, but now it's one of my top 5 games of all time

I hated DS2 on release, and it was still as awful as I remember it being on release

I hated DS2 on release, and yes I'm trans, in case you were wondering (you were)

>>712704208
Actually...yes.

>>712704378
>he doesn't know

I hated DS2 on release, but then I took an arrow to the knee

>>712703858
Seconded. I played Scholar first and came away hating the game. Pirated the original and had a great time. Also the DLC sucks.

i beat scholar and liked it idk. used the remastered mod, looks great

>>712704596
actually they were making ds2 into something so different that when they showed the early version to bamco the publisher freaked out and demanded that they rework the game to be just normal sequel to dark souls. the original concept had some kind of time travel plot or something. theres some remnants of that stuff in the final game, like the whole giants part.

>>712705346
>>712703858
>>712704740
Ok explain why, faggots

>>712704596
Bamco fucked the development up really really badly. You had this shit >>712706064 but also forcing it to be a 7th gen game when the 8th gen was right around the corner and DS1 already BARELY ran on 7th gen hardware. They had to rework the lighting engine in the final six months of development.
Its incredible the game turned out as good as it is considering.
Check out some of the cut content sometime, it was very ambitious and most of the cut levels are more coherent and interesting than what we got.

>>712707061
that ds2 would've been the greatest game I would ever play
i keep telling myself to try out one of those overhaul mods, but i get distracted with other gaems

Okay guys, I made it to Majula, looking for any reason at all to leave

>>712703136 (OP)
Scholar is better.

>>712710569
you got stone women
you got religious women
you got bimbo women
you got hag women
any direction you take, you will find them

>>712710695
This game is a dating sim in disguise? Still though, best girl is already at home

>>712711112
Just don't google her VA real name, ok?

>>712706692
SotFS vs vanilla
+ completely reworks one of the shit endgame levels
+ adds a neat torch gimmick
- adds tons of enemies to early areas while making endgame easier
- stone statues blocking your path everywhere
- weapon infusions are unlocked too early making the game easier and fucking up weapon balance
Vanilla feels like the intended experience, SotFS is more like a rom-hack with some improvements here and there. If you're only playing DS2 once, play vanilla.

>>712712168
You forgot that Scholars comes with all the DLC, that's not nothing

>>712703136 (OP)
Scholar is better, only contrarians say otherwise(unless you REALLY hate Scholar Iron Keep I guess).

>>712703136 (OP)
The only difference that matters is the location of the dull ember (key item that unlocks weapon infusions). It's acquired MUCH later in the vanilla version, crippling all non-physical builds (and you WANT to go non-physical in DS2 due to phys scaling being trash).

This thread is a fucking meme lmao, no one's being actually helpful

Scholar does some things good and does some things bad.

All things considered, I would recommend vanilla for the first time experience.

>>712712790
Vanilla can't be bought anywhere regardless, if we're having this discussion I assume everyone here is willing to pirate.
More importantly, Scholar MP has more people, and DS2 MP is by far the best in the series. The meta is to pirate vanilla, and buy SotFS if you liked it and want to do another playthrough

>>712713492
>Vanilla can't be bought anywhere regardless
lolwat, it's still on Steam, they even patched it back in 2022 to fix the RCE exploit
https://store.steampowered.com/app/236430/DARK_SOULS_II/

>>712711232
Nigga, I don't have time for that.

>>712713673
>Nigga
Ironic.

>>712713234
DaS2 discussion is plagued by actual retards who unironically still have difficulty with DaS2 tier enemies so they never actually bring up the important stuff like where the ember is and how it shows up WAY sooner in Scholar.

>>712713573
lmao, it appears I've been lied to

there's something very funny to me about anons still defending this piece of shit game over a decade later. the opening cinematic was kino but my god is the game ass.

vanilla was ass, sotfs is fucking ass. fume knight was the only redeeming thing in this whole piece of shit experience.

>>712713234
Getting the ember early just makes weapons with high base / low scaling invalidate everything else for most of the playthrough. Physical build will literally do less damage than a 0 INT / 0 FAI "mage" with an infused bonk, no need to even cast the weapon buff
The vanilla approach was better, and they gave you a fire longsword / heide spear if you REALLY wanted a magic weapon in the early game

>>712703136 (OP)
Scholar has better enemy placement in 90% of zones. Some of them are retarded however, like Drangleic Castle and Tower of Flame. There are also some really strong items that are moved from significant locations to seemingly random ones. IIRC the best staff for Int sorceries in the game is just in a shack. Scholar has those frozen dudes that you need fragrant branches to bypass, which I like because it adds another layer of Metroidvania backtracking, but some people hate. Scholar has the DLC keys hidden around the world instead of just being teleported into your bags when you buy the DLC. Scholar has a few more Gutter-dark areas where you need to use a torch.
Both versions are trainwrecks but I'd say Scholar is better overall.

>>712707061
>DS1 already BARELY ran on 7th gen hardware
lolwut
It's not like it was pushing the hardware to its limits, there were plenty of PS3/360 games with better graphics and better performance than DaS1. It just had legendarily bad FPS drops in some zones because the pathfinding on flying enemies (mosquitoes and ghosts) was recalculated per-frame.

>>712714259
>Physical build will literally do less damage than a 0 INT / 0 FAI "mage" with an infused bonk, no need to even cast the weapon buff
Yes, but that's more of an issue with the game's shit balance than where the ember is found. In most cases, you do a lot more damage if you just meet stat reqs then infuse lightning, which is not how it works in all the other Souls games

>>712714832
>intentionally fuck up the game's balance
>hurr durr it was always shit
That's the thing with Scholar niggers, they're all like this
>Both versions are trainwrecks but I'd say Scholar is better overall
vanila fags on the other hand actually like the game