Further Dark Souls 2 DLC info and screenshots released

Corrosive spider egg creatures. Tim will be delighted.

FromSoftware has been out and about at E3, talking more about the upcoming Lost Crown DLC for Dark Souls 2. The first of those, Crown of the Sunken King, is due to be released on 22 July.

According to the FromSoft representative I just watched on a livestream, the DLC is intended to be more difficult than the main game. Each of the three Lost Crowns add-ons will have a “main” (easier) path through them, plus an alternative harder path. The harder path is intended to be a co-op route, but I think that’ll just sound like a challenge to most Dark Souls 2 players.

Each DLC is said to be roughly the size of the Forest of the Fallen Giants area from the main game. Combined, all three should be about one and a half times the size of the lone Artorias of the Abyss DLC from the first Dark Souls.

Every player will get the DLC data download, meaning even if you don’t purchase any of the three you can still be summoned for them. I’m not entirely sure how that will work if you can’t actually access the area to toss down your summon sign. I guess you’ll need to be summoned right before the DLC entrance and then head off there? It wasn’t really clear. That’s the intention, though.

Further adjustments to the Dark Souls 2 game balance will be made when the DLC is released, and there will (of course) be new weapons, boss weapons and armour present in the expansions. Players who finish all three DLC releases will get a “special reward.” As if three magnificent, long lost crowns isn’t reward enough.

This next part is slightly spoilery if you haven’t finished Dark Souls 2 yet, so decide now if you wish to read on.

In addition to all of the above, Spanish language publication Atomix is suggesting that the Ashen Mist Heart item will be required to access at least the first of the DLC releases and that you’ll do so through the Undead Crypt. It seems it won’t matter whether or not you’ve killed King Vendrick.

And now, a few screenshots from Crown of the Sunken King featuring some of the new enemies. Poison looks to be a bit of a theme here. As do … spider egg-sack creatures, and some kind of cross between the Demon of Song and the sentient Dinosaur Arses from Lost Izalith in the first game. Lovely.

I think these were taken on PC, as they look fairly sharp.