LogFAQs > #876081796

Got to play for a couple of hours before I had to leave for work, and it continues to be a challenging treat. I'm actually exploring the Ringed City!

The encounter design so far has me recalling Maria's posts in the Dark Souls II ranking topic about how that game does a lot of its combat scenarios. Yes, there are mobs all over this DLC, but so far it's never been just simply static blade-wielding humanoid enemies crawling out of the woodwork with insanely long leashes. Just about every encounter so far has required a patient and/or tactical approach which you can plan for that also doesn't just require circle-strafing or timing dodges well.

I love the combat in these games, but it shines mostly when the opposition's numbers are manageable, from solo duels to maybe 3 or so enemies with a mix of ranged and melee attackers. Having more than 3 enemies getting right up in your face is when shit gets too hectic for the generally measured, animation-priority fighting you can do, and there are too many places in Dark Souls II where it just loves to do that.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it when these games throw a horde at you to ratchet things up every now and then. But I think playing through this DLC just put it into stark contrast that I enjoy figuring out potential battle scenarios and setups like a puzzle more than just wading into groups of enemies and rolling around like a madman. That works better in Bloodborne where mobility and aggression is emphasized and you have the tools to overcome such challenges. It's also easier in Dark Souls III since it does take a good deal of BB's combat DNA with things just generally feeling faster.

Yet there's a different and more fulfilling satisfaction to correctly reading an area, its enemy placement, potential points of entry and attack, and pulling off your strategy compared to just being really good at dodging and identifying attack ranges and speeds. Besides, you have the bosses for that measure of skill anyway, highlighting the excellence of the combat and thus making it more rewarding than killing waves and waves of grunts.

Point is, this DLC has been pretty damn good so far based on all that, and I'm also super intrigued with where the story is going. I'm in the minority who really enjoyed the first DLC (and found it lengthy enough too, doing most of it offline and figuring everything out on my own), so this one feeling better already relative to where I was in Ashes of Ariandel at around the same point has me very optimistic for the rest of this game.
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