re: Elden Ring looks phenomenal.

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About to fire up DS2 tonight. What did you think of it?

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I really enjoyed it. I thought the atmosphere they created was completely different from DS1 and DS3. It's....brighter (except for the Gutter) and I appreciated that. Majula is probably my favorite hub of all the Soulsborne games. It's welcoming and warm, and the music is enchanting.

I enjoyed the story of Drangleic and the characters of the world.

I absolutely loved the subtle ways in which the events of DS1 show themselves in DS2 when you go through NG+.

I'm talking a lot about the lore and atmosphere. Those were my favorite parts of the game.

Gameplay itself is fun and the only HUGE gripe I have is the fact that your rolling i-frames aren't static but instead are tied to your Adaptability and Agility stats. Because of this, dodging feels clunky and useless until you decide to invest in those stats.

Level design isn't anywhere close to DS1's level, but not a single other Soulsborne game gets close either.

The level design is more akin to Demon's Souls, but instead of warping to separate lands via the Archstones you walk down different paths away from Majula - and I enjoyed that.

Go in with an open mind untainted by any negativity and I think you'll have a great time.

Increasing your ADP level also decreases time it takes to use healing items such as estus and life gems (it makes the animations quicker).

As I've previously mentioned, DS2 is my favorite. As another poster said, Majula is the best hub in Souls games, and DS2 is just so...EPIC. It's HUGE. So many areas, so many bosses, so many enemy types, so many secrets in the world, it's just amazing. Plus, the game actually changes in NG+ (e.g., new enemy placements, etc.), so it makes it a fresh experience.

There are also a bunch of cool mechanics in DS2 (e.g., you can stop enemies from respawning in a certain area if you kill them 12 times (but if you join the Covenant of Champions, they'll start respawning again), lighting all the sconces in an area can trigger events, etc.)

ETA: And of course, POWER STANCING

Blasphemous blade wrecks Malenia.

This thread is a huge tempatation. I haven't played since platting shortly after release.

I think it might be time to unshelf the arcane blood god for NG+.

Exactly. But this thread though.

That's why I might just run through NG+ to scratch the itch. Either that or run Sekiro yet again.

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I’ve been stuck on Melenia for like a week. I can get her to her second phase more consistently now and can dodge that first death bomb she does but her blade fury attack I have no answer for. With most boss fights I have been able to rely on my mimic tear to pull agro but my mimic tear just gets deleted by this bitch. Once he is down and she can focus on me it’s over, I don’t want to leave her and just come back but I’m starting to think that might be the play. I’m like level 140 and just keep getting smoked by her and most other things in the Haligtree.

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My first play through was a Bleed build and I beat her after about 3 tries and wondered what all the fuss was about. I created a new character and did an INT mage build and struggled for days, I ended up just summoning someone who soloed her and went about my way.

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I created a new character and did a INT mage build and struggled for days

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My playthrough was an INT mage and Malenia took me...a while. The Waterfowl Dance wrecked me forever. Like someone above said, watch a YouTube video to get the pattern down. It helped me at least have a chance.

I think I had to Comet Azur her in the second phase to finish the job.

There were definitely many times I thought I was never gonna beat her. It really is a great fight, though. I think her and Radagon were my two favorites.

I’ve been coming back to her periodically after leveling up/trying some new strats but still stuck. I got her to 1 hit a few nights ago and she smoked me. I think I’m gonna completely respec my build later today and come at her with something new. She is easily the most challenging boss I have ever face in a video game.