Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sins update dropping on Feb 5th

Bandai Namco’s hearty, free Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sins update is coming in less than 3 weeks from now… so today the company dropped off a number of new screens along with details on what to expect in terms of enhancements, new items, fixes and whatnot.

If you’ve yet to jump into the Dark Souls II experience, Bandai Namco is releasing Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sins for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 7th, 2015.  This new version includes all the available DLC plus the game update.

Check out the details/media below.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sins screens:

BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. today released new screen shots for DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin focusing on the gameplay improvements and advancement of the DARK SOULS II story.  A free patch will be available February 5, 2015 for existing DARK SOULS II owners on Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and PC which will update their game with new DARK SOULS II content included below:

  Brand new NPC

• The Scholar of the First Sin character appears throughout the game and will reveal a new path through the DARK SOULS II universe.  What will this mysterious new character reveal to players?

Expanded item descriptions

• Many items contain expanded descriptions to help deepen the lore in the DARK SOULS II universe.

New items

• Players will gain access to a new item: the Agape Ring.  When players equip the new Agape Ring, souls collected from kills during online play will be absorbed by the ring rather than the player.  This allows players to control their online matchmaking experience by limiting their total souls collected.

Online matching improvements

• The bonfire warp selection screen will now highlight the top three areas where players will have the best chance to connect with other players online.
• White phantoms will remain in other players? worlds for longer periods of time.  Also, white phantoms will no longer return to their world if time runs out during a boss battle.
• Other improvements to the matchmaking system will help players connect and enjoy DARK SOULS II online.

New enemy behavior

• The Imitation spell now affects normal enemies.

Covenant of Champions

• Choosing to enter the Covenant of Champions will now allow enemies to continue to respawn after being defeated.

DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin will be available for the first time on the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft as well as PCs with DirectX 11 on April 7, 20125.  This new vision for DARK SOULS II will include updated graphics and performance, new enemy placement, increase in online players, and additional gameplay enhancements as well as all the new content stated above.  All three DLC missions released for DARK SOULS II (Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King) will also be included with DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin.

DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin will also be available through a physical retail release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, and digitally for PC DirectX 9 systems on April 7, 2015.  This new version of DARK SOULS II will include the enhancements described above, enriching the player?s journey through Drangleic, as well as expanded item descriptions, adjustments to online matchmaking and gameplay balancing.  All three DLC missions released for DARK SOULS II will also be included with DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin