Exclusive Preorder Weapons?

I admit that I'm probably a bit ignorant in regard to these issues, but ENB's view made sense. Preorder exclusives don't really seem to me to be on the level of day-one DLC. They seem like a way for retailers to compete and not a cheap way to get people to buy the game. I've never preordered a game because of the exclusives that I wasn't going to preorder anyway. I don't feel like this in itself is "anti-consumer", and since From has delivered two amazing games while putting their game and its players above everything else, I'll at least give them the benefit of the doubt for a while.

Tolvo wrote:If they do a 180 on this decision and revoke this content then I'll be happy and likely buy the game.

I dont know why im feeling bad by the fact that you wont buy the game, wtf brain e_e

Ferrous Mathias wrote:I admit that I'm probably a bit ignorant in regard to these issues, but ENB's view made sense. Preorder exclusives don't really seem to me to be on the level of day-one DLC. They seem like a way for retailers to compete and not a cheap way to get people to buy the game. I've never preordered a game because of the exclusives that I wasn't going to preorder anyway. I don't feel like this in itself is "anti-consumer", and since From has delivered two amazing games while putting their game and its players above everything else, I'll at least give them the benefit of the doubt for a while.

^this

If DkS2 is going down this path i wont have any regrets about not going online with it, ive heard many complaints about the movement and how it works in PvP, ive heard complaints about stun lock, complaints about how ganking is just a thing now and the pre-order exclusive weapons are just pointing to the PvP being a way bigger mess than ever was. Still buying it for PvE though, im glad PvE was the focus here.

So i don't have a grasp of reality because i don't see anything wrong with common business practices and only care about my personal enjoyment of a f*cking video game ?
Okay.

Also i don't see the part of my post where i lashed out at someone .

Marino. wrote:So i don't have a grasp of reality because i don't see anything wrong with common business practices and only care about my personal enjoyment of a f*cking video game ?
Okay.

Also i don't see the part of my post where i lashed out at someone .

Gents keep it clean, it all comes down to wither or not this content is actually on the disc, prepare to see the modders dropping you modded gear and hacked weapons.

XuitusTheGreat wrote:

Ferrous Mathias wrote:I admit that I'm probably a bit ignorant in regard to these issues, but ENB's view made sense. Preorder exclusives don't really seem to me to be on the level of day-one DLC. They seem like a way for retailers to compete and not a cheap way to get people to buy the game. I've never preordered a game because of the exclusives that I wasn't going to preorder anyway. I don't feel like this in itself is "anti-consumer", and since From has delivered two amazing games while putting their game and its players above everything else, I'll at least give them the benefit of the doubt for a while.

^this

I'd reiterate this and personally say that it is far from desperate marketing. I think it's actually a reward to the true fans of the series who have preordered the game mostly. In my opinion I think giving is a few goodies for having faith in the game before it has even been released is quite a nice touch.

To me these weapons speak more as a thank you than a selling point.

WTH guys, this is such a small issue no reason to get upset about it one way or the other. It's just some silly weapons, which we know next to nothing about.

Also, Kiva what do you mean the PvP is worse?

WhatDoesThePendantDo? wrote:WTH guys, this is such a small issue no reason to get upset about it one way or the other. It's just some silly weapons, which we know next to nothing about.

Also, Kiva what do you mean the PvP is worse?

I dont personally have an opinion yet as i have yet to play it, but Jblackmel a youtuber who produces content i really enjoy has a sour opinion so far of the Beta pvp. i havent really heard the opinion of many other PvPers on the beta PvP but in all honesty i just think people are going to have to just change the way they play the PvP.

im just wondering if these pre order items are going to be teaser items for a later dlc, and then when the dlc comes out everyone gets them regardless of pre-order client. heck the aot dlc for dks1 went over well and as far as i've found it was originally planned as part of the game but was cut then made dlc, maybe from had to cut a section to meet release time and bamco decided to try and profit early off of it. whatev's we've got months to go, i'mma just play pokemon till then.

edit:

as for the pvp i think most of the experienced pvp'ers have negative views of dks2 pvp becasue all their hard earned muscle memory means nothing, the controls are different, the stats are different, many favorite pvp exploits have been fixed, simply put they're unfamiliar with it still and so are uncomfortable.

Kiva the wanderer wrote:

WhatDoesThePendantDo? wrote:WTH guys, this is such a small issue no reason to get upset about it one way or the other. It's just some silly weapons, which we know next to nothing about.

Also, Kiva what do you mean the PvP is worse?

I dont personally have an opinion yet as i have yet to play it, but Jblackmel a youtuber who produces content i really enjoy has a sour opinion so far of the Beta pvp. i havent really heard the opinion of many other PvPers on the beta PvP but in all honesty i just think people are going to have to just change the way they play the PvP.

the reason a lot of pvpers are mad at the dks II pvp is because you CAN'T toggle escape, oh no From removed a glitch people like. Toggle escape isn't a technique it's a glitch that got removed. So yes if you aren't careful you can be stun locked. However, if you pump Agility you gain the ability to raise your shield and stop the stunlock mid stun. This can be seen in a Some guy video in which he has 50 agility during the beta and 0 poise. Also, poise was not implemented yet into the beta so no matter how much armor you wore during the beta you could get stun locked, which led many people to just assume any weapon can infinite stun. This will be changed in the final game. Take the pvp interactions seen with a grain of salt, there were many many many things not implemented yet (like zwei does same dmg as longsword per swing despite having more AR)

From has brought us two very well polished Souls games and pays attention to its audience, I have faith in them that these are just "neat" items and aren't game breaking. Honestly, I think it's cool that they're showing off what the various paths do, but instead of being happy about this really important nugget of info people are just bailing ship over something that won't change anything about the gameplay or your experience of the game.

Guys if you have a differing view just don't post in the thread, it's only for people with like minded opinions. That much is evident, it isn't worth it to even try and present a different side here, just don't post. I know this will be my last here.

Serious_Much wrote:

XuitusTheGreat wrote:

Ferrous Mathias wrote:I admit that I'm probably a bit ignorant in regard to these issues, but ENB's view made sense. Preorder exclusives don't really seem to me to be on the level of day-one DLC. They seem like a way for retailers to compete and not a cheap way to get people to buy the game. I've never preordered a game because of the exclusives that I wasn't going to preorder anyway. I don't feel like this in itself is "anti-consumer", and since From has delivered two amazing games while putting their game and its players above everything else, I'll at least give them the benefit of the doubt for a while.

^this

I'd reiterate this and personally say that it is far from desperate marketing. I think it's actually a reward to the true fans of the series who have preordered the game mostly. In my opinion I think giving is a few goodies for having faith in the game before it has even been released is quite a nice touch.

To me these weapons speak more as a thank you than a selling point.

The "intent" may be to provide a bonus for loyal fans but really it's a marketing strategy, all pre-order bonuses are.  That doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing though. The concern I have, and one I'd imagine any "true fan" shares, is that bonus weapons could be game bending or breaking in a Souls title.

The Souls games are built around having weapons that are balanced against each other. Chaos Blade vs. Iaito for example. Using one over the other has certain trade-offs one has to accept, but they are both viable weapons. Now imagine if one of them had been a pre-order bonus weapon.

Perhaps instead these weapons could be something like a Fire Short Sword +5.  OP for a starting character to have, but obtainable by any player eventually and not top tier. Or they could be the equivalent of an Astora's Straight Sword.  Basically useless in every regard. In which case those who pre-ordered might be a bit miffed but the game as a whole would be better off for it.

None of these examples sound very appealing to me, but there's too little info to be making rash judgements at this point.

so you call people out as not "true fans" but clearly don't take the time to actually read through what everyone said? none of these weapons are op, they are a long sword/axe and a shield coated with the base level of each upgrade path with the exception of fire/lightning. Really all From has done is introduce players to the various upgrade paths and the pros and cons of them without ever having to sit you down in a tutorial and go "hey this is what they all do"

Honestly this whole thread should just be locked since the people against this choice by From only wanna hear other people say "yea down with Dark Souls II for giving a pre-order bonus"

i-i dont like where this thread is going...




Lets be clear. We dont know if the weps will be avaliable in-game or even if they are somehow special. This entire thread is just for jolly speculation, dont get your jimmies rustled guys!

This thread will be locked if it needs to be. However it is currently on topic and people are making mature, good points.

Personally I see no problem with preorder bonuses as a marketing strategy. For some reason gamers feel exempt from business tactics.. It's a bit silly. I think it's not meant as an incentive and more as a thank you (as I can see preorders being big as the series is excellent), since the fans for this game are so devoted.

In game or not. Nothing wrong with it. From wont make weapons that are top tier preorder only because they're not stupid. Interesting weapons I'm sure, but not OP. have faith in from guys, they got 2 games right and brilliant already

XuitusTheGreat wrote:so you call people out as not "true fans" but clearly don't take the time to actually read through what everyone said? none of these weapons are op, they are a long sword/axe and a shield coated with the base level of each upgrade path with the exception of fire/lightning. Really all From has done is introduce players to the various upgrade paths and the pros and cons of them without ever having to sit you down in a tutorial and go "hey this is what they all do"

Honestly this whole thread should just be locked since the people against this choice by From only wanna hear other people say "yea down with Dark Souls II for giving a pre-order bonus"

I didn't "call people out as not "true fans"". I simply voiced an opinion and mentioned that I thought fans of the series would likely share it, using "true fans" as a reference to the quote above to highlight that my opinion was clearly not universally held.

And yes I did read through what has been said in the thread, it seems to me that you have misread my post as I never suggested that any of these weapons were OP. I did however say this:

Cronotis wrote:but there's too little info to be making rash judgements at this point.

Serious_Much wrote:This thread will be locked if it needs to be. However it is currently on topic and people are making mature, good points.

Personally I see no problem with preorder bonuses as a marketing strategy. For some reason gamers feel exempt from business tactics.. It's a bit silly. I think it's not meant as an incentive and more as a thank you (as I can see preorders being big as the series is excellent), since the fans for this game are so devoted.

In game or not. Nothing wrong with it. From wont make weapons that are top tier preorder only because they're not stupid. Interesting weapons I'm sure, but not OP. have faith in from guys, they got 2 games right and brilliant already

I was just thinking about something, From never deceived the community. Criticism on companies is kinda popular these days but lets just dont forget that From delivered two god tier games in a row, they care about the players and its fair to say that they arent that stupid to *** things up with preorder stuff.

I have faith, they did nothing to think the opposite.

While like any company, FromSoft wants to make money. Pre-Orders bonuses allow them to get more "first-day" buys, which would show higher popularity. However, from what I can see at least, I don't think From would allow the weapons to be overpowered or unfair in any aspect. They seem to generally care about the playerbase (at least more then most companies) and I'm sure they know what they are doing. They don't want to skimp non-preorders either, or else they will lose money on people not buying the game then.

*Scratches head* What's with the mixing of Fandom and DLC hate? FROM wouldn't go complete turncoat on the fanbase and become the next EA or capcom. Have a little faith instead of be doubtful and acting like those facebookies.




You don't wanna be a facebookie, do you?


People are saying that since it's DLC, these items cannot be obtained the usual way. Those without the Artorias DLC cannot have those items; don't single them out by saying "Everyone has the DLC". Talk of downloadable weapons has been around since they released the Arty DLC and when they finally announce what we've thought about, this happens? Say something positive, people.

ok so:

Black Flame Stone Dagger and Round Shield
A dagger with black crystals attached.
Found in the black valley deep in the trash heap. (blight town-ish?)
Heavier than a normal dagger but these crystals are sharper than a normal blade.
Among those thrown down into the trash heap are ones who search for a way back to the surface. But nobody has ever returned and they are all said to have died in regret.
(shield description is same but says that it's better at slash defense)

increased damage but at a cost of more weight

Yellow Crystal long sword and shield
Long sword with yellow crystals attached.
Found in the depths of the melted iron fortress. Though corroded and easy to break, it is light with no loss in power.
In order to show his authority, the old king built an iron castle and collected many weapons. But that glory sank into the melted earth due to his arrogance.
(shield description is the same)

so makes your weapon lighter but also more fragile (makes sense)

Bound Hand Ax and Wood Shield
An ax with a weird appearance.
This was found in the Undead Purgatory. The chain and thorns increase bleeding but decrease slash damage.
This alteration which hides the personality of the weapon wasn't done to merely defeat an enemy. The goal was likely to simply cause more pain.
Special ability: Bleed
(shield is degraded but also causes bleed)

so loss of damage but you gain bleed (bleed path back?)

Pygmy's Mace and Wood Shield
A staff with round objects attached. Found in a mansion in An Diel.
It is much heavier than normal but the hard spheres increase blunt damage.
To the east of Drangleig is a mysterious mansion forgotten by time. Something that should be forgotten still lurks there.
(shield is heavier but stronger)

ok so increased blunt at a cost of weight (maybe defense stats will be more important this time)

Criminal Staff and Leather Shield
A staff with a dull black something attached.
Found in an old dark hole. Used for magic and dark magic.
In places around Dranglieg are dark holes. There is yet nobody who knows what lies beyond these holes.
Special Ability: Darkness

I guess boosts dark magic? maybe there will be upgrade paths for staves that increase a certain type of magic? neat!

if each of these are a sample of various upgrade paths (as they seem to be) From is being far more creative this time with what you can do to a weapon! *sqeeeee*

Emergence posted this on Fextra and we'll be tweeting it out - http://fextralife.com/dark-souls-2-japanese-pre-order-bonuses/

If you guys have comments for the developers, twitter is probably a good way to bring it up.

Because I don't go on twitter and don't have an account, can someone ask these for me please.

Will upgrade paths be visible on weapons you upgrade on?

Will invasions/summoning be possible on hosts that have done the area boss?

Can you save character faces so you don't have to design a new face when you make a new character and edit them later if you're not quite happy with the overall look?

Will there be tattoos?

Sure, I can ask that. Who do you want me to ask?

@Fex - E's article is the best information I've seen yet with regards to the weapons. Thanks a bunch!

WhatDoesThePendantDo? wrote:Sure, I can ask that. Who do you want me to ask?

No one particular but a least someone who's got influence on the game itself and is willing to listen and pass on community ideas.