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About this mod
A subtle balance and difficulty mod that tweaks various parts of the game with the aim of increasing the game's challenge and balance while keeping it as familiar as possible. Partially inspired by the old 1.0 PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game.
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
Installation:
1. Go to 'Steam\steamapps\common\DARK SOULS REMASTERED' and backup your game files.
2. Extract the contents of the mod to that folder, overwriting everything
Uninstallation:
1. Restore your backup and overwrite everything, or verify integrity of game files via Steam.
Play offline or on an alternate account, I'm not responsible if you go online and get banned.
This is not compatible with any mod that edits the same files, including any gameplay mod at all. Texture mods should be fine.
-
This is a subtle gameplay mod aimed at increasing the game's challenge in a reasonable and conservative manner, by reverting some changes made by patches 1.04 and 1.05 back on the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the game that made the game easier, or otherwise compensating for their inclusions with my own changes, as well as making certain mechanics and encounters more impactful and interesting by amplifying things that are already in the game and trusting the player more with the consequences of mistakes.
This is not a deep gameplay overhaul, or meant to be very challenging to veterans at all, it's simply bringing the game closer to the original launch version in some ways, while going further with my own changes to increase player accountability and bring the game's level of challenge more in line with later From Software games and with DS1's own reputation for being an extremely punishing game, which I feel isn't warranted in the vanilla game.
Mistakes will cost you more, power won't come as easily, and enemies are a bit less forgiving. I'm not joking about it being a subtle mod, this is just Dark Souls, but spicier. You might not even notice much changed at all depending on your playstyle, at least early on.
A good way to look at this mod is as an unofficial patch. It is very much still the same damn near-perfect game.
Since this is not an overhaul or a crazy challenge mod, it's perfectly usable even for a first playthrough, if you're the kind of player who likes to start any game on the hardest difficulty available. If you're a content creator looking for a playthrough, you might not find much here unless you really just wanted to stream/record more good old Dark Souls.
But if you are competent at games and gave Dark Souls a try and was baffled at its reputation of being a super challenging game, or you are a late-comer that played the series backwards and is used to more difficult From titles, or you are a veteran willing to re-live some of the more unforgiving aspects of the old 1.0 version of the game, then you may enjoy this.
Just keep in mind that the main target audience of the mod is, in the end, myself. These are my personal tweaks to the game, so if you dislike something I encourage you to change it yourself, including editing this mod, no permissions are needed. Tools used are listed at the end.
Some highlights:
-Slower leveling curve to compensate for the massive increase of soul acquisition made in patch 1.05. Expect to be lower leveled throughout the entire game. Choose your stat points wisely early on. Your starting class is also more important initially.
-Curses now stack again. Purging Stones are also rarer.
-Enemy placement and aggro ranges touched up in some places. In general, enemies are more eager to attack you and ranged enemies may reposition themselves to keep you on sight.
-Some Remastered-specific features removed (Vamos bonfire and the Covenant change bonfire menu)
-Many previously enemy drop only weapons have been put into the world to be found, making them available with no farming.
-Some select equipment and spells have been buffed to make them worth using, particularly rings and things that were nerfed too hard in From's patches. A select few things were slightly nerfed to make them feel less mandatory (but still strong). This is the most underdeveloped part of the mod and should receive the most additions in future updates.
-There are hidden covenant effects tied to certain items that make the choice of covenant relevant (but not game-changing) for offline play. Have fun discovering them.
-Poison/Toxic changed. Duration of all posion/toxic effects normalized to 120 seconds, with a small portion of poison/toxic damage now being a % of Max HP on top of the flat amount (this affects both player and enemy sources)
-Humanity drop rates have been reverted back to 1.0 values. Bosses do not drop humanity/homeward bones anymore.
-Small skeletons, ghosts, slimes and mosquitoes do not drop souls anymore, just like 1.0.
-Area enemy scaling has been re-balanced, with a steeper enemy power curve. Late-game should be tougher to compensate for the exponential increase in the accessibility of weapon upgrade materials as you go through the game, particularly with NPC merchants selling infinite upgrade materials.
-Important bosses have been buffed, many in unique ways. These are subtle changes, but a few bosses may surprise you, perhaps not pleasantly.
-Many other small changes not worth filling the entire page with.
There is a spoiler doc that lists more changes in detail in the documents section.
Pro tip: Is the game still too easy for your tastes? Pick the Pendant as your starter gift, then exchange it with the crow in Undead Asylum. Have fun!
I have no idea if using this can cause an online ban. I got an account banned making it but I did use Cheat Engine to test things, so that's most likely the culprit.
Play on an alternate Steam family share account or offline just to be sure. I'm not responsible if you do get banned.
Known issues:
-The backstab and riposte animations are slightly desynced for some enemies, particularly archers. Engine quirk and a consequence of messing with animation speed, I don't know how to fix it but it's not a big deal.
-A couple of hidden covenant effects are visible on the stats preview screen when equipping their respective items even if you are not in that covenant, but will be disabled when equipped. Works as intended outside this visual bug.
Tools used:
Soulstruct by Grimrukh (param, text, event and map editing)
DSMapStudio by Katalash (Remastered support is incomplete and doesn't save, but was useful for visualizing maps and getting coordinates and IDs to then edit in Soulstruct)
DSAnimStudio by Meowmaritus (animation editing)
Souls Modding Discord server (I input dumb questions and helpful answers come out)
1. Go to 'Steam\steamapps\common\DARK SOULS REMASTERED' and backup your game files.
2. Extract the contents of the mod to that folder, overwriting everything
Uninstallation:
1. Restore your backup and overwrite everything, or verify integrity of game files via Steam.
Play offline or on an alternate account, I'm not responsible if you go online and get banned.
This is not compatible with any mod that edits the same files, including any gameplay mod at all. Texture mods should be fine.
-
This is a subtle gameplay mod aimed at increasing the game's challenge in a reasonable and conservative manner, by reverting some changes made by patches 1.04 and 1.05 back on the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the game that made the game easier, or otherwise compensating for their inclusions with my own changes, as well as making certain mechanics and encounters more impactful and interesting by amplifying things that are already in the game and trusting the player more with the consequences of mistakes.
This is not a deep gameplay overhaul, or meant to be very challenging to veterans at all, it's simply bringing the game closer to the original launch version in some ways, while going further with my own changes to increase player accountability and bring the game's level of challenge more in line with later From Software games and with DS1's own reputation for being an extremely punishing game, which I feel isn't warranted in the vanilla game.
Mistakes will cost you more, power won't come as easily, and enemies are a bit less forgiving. I'm not joking about it being a subtle mod, this is just Dark Souls, but spicier. You might not even notice much changed at all depending on your playstyle, at least early on.
A good way to look at this mod is as an unofficial patch. It is very much still the same damn near-perfect game.
Since this is not an overhaul or a crazy challenge mod, it's perfectly usable even for a first playthrough, if you're the kind of player who likes to start any game on the hardest difficulty available. If you're a content creator looking for a playthrough, you might not find much here unless you really just wanted to stream/record more good old Dark Souls.
But if you are competent at games and gave Dark Souls a try and was baffled at its reputation of being a super challenging game, or you are a late-comer that played the series backwards and is used to more difficult From titles, or you are a veteran willing to re-live some of the more unforgiving aspects of the old 1.0 version of the game, then you may enjoy this.
Just keep in mind that the main target audience of the mod is, in the end, myself. These are my personal tweaks to the game, so if you dislike something I encourage you to change it yourself, including editing this mod, no permissions are needed. Tools used are listed at the end.
Some highlights:
-Slower leveling curve to compensate for the massive increase of soul acquisition made in patch 1.05. Expect to be lower leveled throughout the entire game. Choose your stat points wisely early on. Your starting class is also more important initially.
-Curses now stack again. Purging Stones are also rarer.
-Enemy placement and aggro ranges touched up in some places. In general, enemies are more eager to attack you and ranged enemies may reposition themselves to keep you on sight.
-Some Remastered-specific features removed (Vamos bonfire and the Covenant change bonfire menu)
-Many previously enemy drop only weapons have been put into the world to be found, making them available with no farming.
-Some select equipment and spells have been buffed to make them worth using, particularly rings and things that were nerfed too hard in From's patches. A select few things were slightly nerfed to make them feel less mandatory (but still strong). This is the most underdeveloped part of the mod and should receive the most additions in future updates.
-There are hidden covenant effects tied to certain items that make the choice of covenant relevant (but not game-changing) for offline play. Have fun discovering them.
-Poison/Toxic changed. Duration of all posion/toxic effects normalized to 120 seconds, with a small portion of poison/toxic damage now being a % of Max HP on top of the flat amount (this affects both player and enemy sources)
-Humanity drop rates have been reverted back to 1.0 values. Bosses do not drop humanity/homeward bones anymore.
-Small skeletons, ghosts, slimes and mosquitoes do not drop souls anymore, just like 1.0.
-Area enemy scaling has been re-balanced, with a steeper enemy power curve. Late-game should be tougher to compensate for the exponential increase in the accessibility of weapon upgrade materials as you go through the game, particularly with NPC merchants selling infinite upgrade materials.
-Important bosses have been buffed, many in unique ways. These are subtle changes, but a few bosses may surprise you, perhaps not pleasantly.
-Many other small changes not worth filling the entire page with.
There is a spoiler doc that lists more changes in detail in the documents section.
Pro tip: Is the game still too easy for your tastes? Pick the Pendant as your starter gift, then exchange it with the crow in Undead Asylum. Have fun!
I have no idea if using this can cause an online ban. I got an account banned making it but I did use Cheat Engine to test things, so that's most likely the culprit.
Play on an alternate Steam family share account or offline just to be sure. I'm not responsible if you do get banned.
Known issues:
-The backstab and riposte animations are slightly desynced for some enemies, particularly archers. Engine quirk and a consequence of messing with animation speed, I don't know how to fix it but it's not a big deal.
-A couple of hidden covenant effects are visible on the stats preview screen when equipping their respective items even if you are not in that covenant, but will be disabled when equipped. Works as intended outside this visual bug.
Tools used:
Soulstruct by Grimrukh (param, text, event and map editing)
DSMapStudio by Katalash (Remastered support is incomplete and doesn't save, but was useful for visualizing maps and getting coordinates and IDs to then edit in Soulstruct)
DSAnimStudio by Meowmaritus (animation editing)
Souls Modding Discord server (I input dumb questions and helpful answers come out)