The patch notes for Scholar of the First Sin
were posted a couple of weeks ago
on Bandai Namco’s Tumblr feed.
I’ve repeatedly been asked what I think
of the changes.
Now that there’s been some time to digest,
here’s what I think so far.
Added new character, The Scholar of the First
Sin.
I wonder how the Scholar will be added to
the story.
Will it be shoved in amongst the regular flow
of the game,
or will it appear in an additional area?
Additional item description text.
We’ve seen a bit of this already with the
change to the Soul of the Last Giant.
It directly refers to it being the Giant Lord.
I’m pretty sure there was also a reference
to
The Rotten having been the king of Shulva.
I like that they’re taking the time to clean
up the story a bit -
even if it comes mostly through item descriptions.
To prevent invasion after defeating area bosses,
made the Human Effigy effect function in this
situation automatically.
This would mean that the host can’t be invaded
nor summon phantoms in the area leading up
to the boss.
If nothing else,
it gives players a breather after completing
an area
if they want to backtrack and pick up any
loose items.
However, I’m worried about the duration.
If it lasts as long as a normal Human Effigy,
then there might be a huge reduction in the
amount of areas where a player can invade.
This is especially true for players who aren’t
aware of the effect.
The bonfire warp selection screen will now
highlight
the top three areas where players will have
the best chance to connect with other players
online.
Generally I like this change,
as it means it’s easier to find good PvP
hotspots.
However,
I feel like it could have the side effect
of amplifying popular areas
and leaving the rest of the world deserted.
Also,
I wonder whether this will take into account
your Covenant and Soul Memory,
rather than just being a general indicator
of the area’s popularity.
Players on their first play through can now
match
with players on their 2nd or further playthrough.
This change should have been in from the start.
Arbitrarily separating out players between
New Game
and New Game Plus has a dramatic impact on
the amount of players that you can match with.
This is especially true with the differing
incentives
for staying in New Game or going into New
Game Plus.
For example, damage from Critical Strikes
is lower in New Game,
and certain items and spells aren’t available
until New Game Plus.
Made it easier for players to match online
in general.
I’d love to know what this actually means.
If it’s simply changing how Soul Memory
tiers are set up
or increasing the amount of tiers you can
traverse in multiplayer,
then it’ll be pretty disappointing.
White phantoms will remain in other players’
worlds for longer periods of time.
This is generally fine for Co-Op play,
but it makes invasions that much more painful.
As an invader, you already have a short timer
before you’re removed from the Host’s
world.
Now allied phantoms are more able to wait
it out,
rather than face the invading player.
Made it so that invading players cannot use
items which invite more enemies.
I’m actually curious as to what this means.
If it increases the invasion chance, then
what items actually worked?
I’m pretty sure I’ve tried Tokens of Spite.
Maybe Dried Fingers or the Delicate String
could increase the invasion chance in the
host’s world.
Even then, I can only imagine this would have
an effect for fight clubs or Bell Covenant
members.
It’s probable that this actually refers
to ways of attracting nearby enemies,
such as Yearn or Alluring Skulls.
If so, it would prevent cases like using Rapturing
Hollows
in the Bastille to move and eventually kill
Straid.
Players may now choose to cancel out the effect
of the Human Effigy at bonfires.
This is needed at least for the Human Effigy
effect when killing bosses.
It would allow players to participate in fight
clubs
or invasions in an area that they’ve just
cleared.
It’s useful even with normal uses of Human
Effigies at bonfires,
as the player doesn’t need to wait the full
duration in order to participate in online
play.
Host vanquishes invading dark phantom or arbiter
spirit: Human Effigy.
Host vanquishes a dark phantom summoned through
red sign: Human Effigy
Host vanquishes abyss spirit in Dark Chasm
of Old: added Human Effigy to Bonfire Ascetic.
This is a pretty good change.
It’ll make it easier to regain humanity
if you’re repeatedly invaded as a hollow.
As a result, it’ll be easier to summon phantoms
to help proceed through the area.
This also makes it easier for PvP to feed
into itself,
as there will be plenty of effigies to go
around.
Vanquish host you invade at the covenant “Rat
King” area:
Added Smooth & Silky Stone in addition to
Pharros’ Lockstone
Vanquish client summoned to Rat King area:
Added Smooth & Silky Stone in addition to
Pharros’ Lockstone.
Vanquish host when invading as grey phantom:
(1 of the following) Titanite Chunk, Titanite
Slab, Twinkling Titanite, Petrified Dragon
Bone.
Host vanquishes invading grey spirit (Bell
Keeper):
(1 of the following) Titanite Chunk, Titanite
Slab, Twinkling Titanite, Petrified Dragon
Bone.
It’s nice to see additional rewards for
participating in these covenants.
Currently they see little traffic as they
exist in out of the way, optional areas.
I’m curious to see whether the patch will
modify the surrounding areas
so it’s mandatory to pass through
the Grave of Saints, Doors of Pharros, or
the Belfries.
If not in this patch, then at least in the
PS4, Xbox One,
and Direct11 versions of the game.
When invading as Brotherhood of Blood, vanquish
Blue Sentinel summoned as help:
Devotion to covenant up +2.
Vanquish dark phantom when summoned as help
by a Way of Blue host:
Devotion to covenant up +1.
This is a welcome change.
I’m glad that there’s now better rewards
for succeeding at your covenant’s primary
goal.
Load times shortened (PS3 only).
I’m much more interested in seeing whether
they improve the FPS.
The game ran so much worse than the 360 version.
I’ve at least heard that it’s better on
the downloadable version,
but the disc version is awful.
Removed the blur effect used when looking
through the binoculars.
This should be really nice for players who
want to take high quality screenshots
or record video without the HUD.
Made it possible to skip the ending sequence
the 2nd time through and beyond.
Wasn’t this already possible?
I’m guessing that this might refer to skipping
the ending sequence
for the first playthrough on additional characters.
Calibrations no longer saved each time before
the title screen.
Adjusted conditions for lighting Majula map
from “Defeat Nashandra”
to “Defeat Throne Defender and Throne Watcher.”
Adjusted timing for Licia of Lindeldt to become
the player’s enemy.
Corrected issue whereby users could not use
Bonfire Ascetics at Undead Crypt Entrance
Bonfire.
Fixed Issue whereby the sign in the Iron Keep
was not displayed
as intended once the player spoke to Lucatiel
of Mirrah in Harvest Valley.
NPC conversation text is now displayed more
prominently than online notices.
When a player cannot take part in online play
due to the effect of the Human Effigy,
made it so that the player can still write
signs.
(They still cannot summon during this period.)
Fixed issue causing map name listed on save
data
and actual map name after loading to not match.
For the most part, these bugs haven’t really
affected me,
so I don’t have much to say.
Nice to see From cleaning house though.
In Grand Cathedral,
made it possible to still receive the item
you are supposed to get
when talking to Alsanna, Silent Oracle even
if your inventory is full.
Made it possible to get the reward items after
using
Crushed Eye Orb and defeating Licia of Lindeldt
even if your inventory is full at the time.
(Items will drop in front of the player.)
Made it possible to get the reward items after
defeating area bosses
even if your inventory is full at the time.
(Items will drop in front of the player.)
At the Ending, if the player has fulfilled
the conditions
to receive Illusory Ring of a Conqueror and
Illusory Ring of the Exalted
but their inventory is full, made it possible
to receive the rings properly.
(Players will receive the rings as soon as
space is opened in their inventory.)
In Black Gulch, made it possible to receive
Forgotten Key
after defeating a Giant when the player has
99 Souls of a Giant.
It’s interesting to see how many cases existed
where you could
miss items with a full inventory or full stacks
of items.
Made Old Iron King’s Crown’s effect function
consistently throughout the game.
What does this actually mean?
Were there cases where spell casts were replenished
more or less frequently than intended?
Choosing to enter the Covenant of Champions
will now
cause enemies to inflict more damage to the
player.
I wonder if the souls earned from enemies
will be increased as well.
If not, I suppose it at least remains as the
covenant for players seeking additional challenge.
Choosing to enter the Covenant of Champions
will
now allow enemies to continue to respawn after
being defeated.
I’m a bit mixed about this.
Enemies never should have stopped respawning
in the first place.
Tying it to a single covenant doesn’t really
address that issue.
However, it does offer one side benefit which
From may not have considered.
The pigs in Majula can now be infinitely farmed
for Cracked Red Eye orbs.
This might significantly increase the frequency
of low-level invasions.
As a result, we may see more Way of Blue members
and therefore also see more Blue Sentinel
assists.
There may be more opportunities for low-level
co-op as well -
if players are that much more worried about
being invaded.
White phantoms will no longer return to their
world if time runs out during a boss battle.
Even though I’ve never heard of this,
it’s a good change.
Players shouldn’t have to worry about an
allied phantom
being arbitrarily removed from a boss battle.
Increased effect of Rusted Coin.
This is a welcome change for anyone who’s
spent a lot of time farming items.
As far as I understand,
the Rusted Coin not only didn’t stack with
other items,
but granted a really poor increase to the
chance to find items.
Awestones now dropped more often.
This might help balance out the increased
difficulty for Covenant of Champions members.
Rouge Water, etc.: Fixed issue causing the
user not to
recover spell usages for spells only able
to be used once.
This is a small but welcome change for spellcasters.
Adjusted price for Crown of the Ivory King,
Ivory King Armor,
Ivory King Gauntlets, and Ivory King Leggings.
I’m guessing this refers to the amount of
Loyce Souls that the player needs to farm.
I’m hoping that’s the case.
The amount of time it took to acquire 50 was
ridiculous.
Speaking of the Ivory King set,
I wonder if they’re going to make a change
to
the HP replenishment when killing enemies.
Currently it only affects female characters.
The Imitation spell now affects normal enemies.
The Hush spell is now more effective on normal
enemies.
This should be a nice change for sneaky PvE
players.
I wonder how much of the game could be traversed
entirely via stealth and assassinations.
Also, with this change,
how will these spells be differentiated from
Yearn?
It was pretty easy to run through an area
spamming Yearn to avoid almost every encounter.
Players will gain access to a new item: The
Agape Ring.
When players equip the new Agape Ring,
souls collected from kills during online play
will
be absorbed by the ring rather than the player.
This allows players to control their online
matchmaking
experience by limiting their total souls collected.
This change really worries me.
Being able to sidestep Soul Memory could be
highly exploitable.
Think about the interaction with the added
covenant rewards.
A player can participate in PvP and get ton
of
upgrade materials with no Soul Memory cost.
It’ll become very easy to minimize a player’s
Soul Memory
while developing an extremely strong PvP build.
Even outside of directly acquiring materials
via
the Rat King and Bell Keeper covenants,
the Pilgrims of the Dark covenant is also
problematic.
Players can now very easily farm Bonfire Ascetics
without increasing their Soul Memory.
As a result, players can now repeatedly farm
areas where
the boss doesn’t need to be killed to use
an ascetic,
without increasing their Soul Memory.
This ring could allow twinking to get out
of hand very quickly.
This problem could be mitigated a bit if the
ring was at least only available very late,
or after completing the game.
However, I’m not confident that this will
be the case.
I’m also concerned about how this will change
ganking behavior.
What’s would prevent a host and phantoms
from camping an area and beating on invaders?
Their repeated success wouldn’t at least
move them up into later soul memory tiers.
Making it this easy to gank will have a dramatic
impact on the amount of invaders -
not only is the gank a poor experience in
itself,
but the low chance of success disincentivizes
future invasions.
I wonder whether phantoms would still earn
souls from
enemies slain in the host’s world while
wearing the ring.
If they didn’t, then it might be much easier
to create
a character dedicated to co-op with players
in a given Soul Memory Range.
This is one of the main complaints brought
up in regards to Soul Memory.
Alongside these other changes,
I’m curious to see what comes of the calibrations.
That is, assuming there will be any calibrations
at all.
I’m of the opinion that Dark Souls 2 needs
a lot of balance adjustment.
So much potential is being wasted by the current
state of the game.
Are you satisfied with the changes announced
thus far?
What do you expect to see when calibrations
are released?
Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what
you think.
