Mon, Oct 17, 2011 | 05:33 BST

Dark Souls patch to rectify multiplayer issues

From Software has announced a new patch for Dark Souls, to address a handful of issues including some glaring multiplayer problems.

The patch details, posted on the developer’s website, have been translated on Neogaf, but apparently list just a few examples of changes planned, with more details to come soon.

  • Fixes to certain spells and effects:
    - Magic Shield, Strong Magic Shield
    - Tranquil Walk of Peace
    - Ring of Fog, etc.
  • Unlimited uses of magic and items
  • Regular weapons rebalanced against reinforced weapons
  • Adjustments to the player matching conditions
  • Loading problems when switching between maps

Of particular note is the matchmaking fix, as there have been reports of problems for those trying to find co-op buddies or invade other players, and a change to the Ring of Fog, which has rapidly become notorious for its overpowered use in PvP situations.

No date on the patch yet, which is listed only for PlayStation 3 at present, and will bring the game to version 1.04. From apologises for the inconvenience and promises an update soon.

This is at least the third patch the PS3 version has seen so far; online functions were disabled completely shortly after Japanese launch to fix multiplayer problems, and a second patch resolved a number of system freeze problems.

Thanks, John.

15 comment-trail-alt Posted in: Horror, Namco Bandai, PS3, RPG, Xbox 360
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15 comments

#1

XaosWolf
17/10/11, 6:55 am

“Unlimited uses of magic and items”

Wait, what?

#2

jacobvandy
17/10/11, 8:12 am

It’s about time they got around to some balance and glitch fixes. I could see them easily nerfing everyone’s favorite soul-farming spot.

#3

Gekidami
17/10/11, 8:30 am

They really should do something about the framerate in places. Its not exactly unbearable, but it can get pretty choppy at times.

#4

K-V-C
17/10/11, 8:50 am

especially in blighttown aye very choppy

#5

YoungZer0
17/10/11, 8:55 am

So far i’ve only rented it. Not even going to consider buying it as long as those framerate issues are still there. It’s ridiculous. Often times i’m thinking i’m playing a BETA Version of the game.

#6

Nissanthen
17/10/11, 10:32 am

Yes! I was hoping that they would do something about that darned Ring of Fog, it simply ruined the PVP aspect of the game for me.

#7

jldoom
18/10/11, 3:30 am

Ok I was excited when I read “fix multiplayer issues” but unlimited items and unlimited magic?? Wtf? At least Demons Soul’s had a mana bar. How are they going to “fix” that part of the game? Let me not jump ahead regardless, let’s wait and see what they do.

#8

Kabby
18/10/11, 3:31 am

It’s translated from japanese. Since it’s a bug fix it probably says ‘Fixing a glitch that allows unlimited items and magic’.

#9

jldoom
18/10/11, 3:36 am

@8 Ah ok sweet, I knew I shouldn’t of jumped to conclusions haha. That just wouldn’t of made ANY sense at all. Unless they balanced it with a ridiculous cool down timer or something. Thanks for clearing that up.

#10

Kafkaontheshore
19/10/11, 12:14 am

@#5

To pretend that the framerate issue makes the game unbuyable is melodramatic. It’s barely noticeable and very rarely occurs.

#11

Kabby
19/10/11, 12:47 am

There’s loads of slowdown on this title. It’s possibly worse on the xbox version than PS3. I would wait for Digital Foundry to do an article if you’re still on the fence about this game.

I can tell you that Blight town is almost unplayable at points on the xbox. Massive frame rate drops occur on almost every boss encounter too.

#12

Brenna Hillier
19/10/11, 2:14 am

@11 I haven’t noticed any slow down on the PS3 version, but my friends with the Xbox 360 version say it’s appalling. The PS3 version used to crash every hour but it was patched, thankfully.

#13

Aimless
19/10/11, 2:27 am

@12 It’s certain areas that are affected, Blighttown being the nadir; they could easily justify adding in some fogging to smooth things out. As far as I know both the PS3 and 360 versions are more or less identical.

I’d definitely like to see From address the performance issues — there’s a lot of scope to tone down ‘expensive’ effects in trouble spots, like the fidelity of reflective water of backdrop depth of field — but even with them it’s still easily one of this generation’s best games.

#14

pedrovay2003
27/10/11, 6:05 am

@#10

If you haven’t noticed the framerate issues in Dark Souls, then you haven’t played Dark Souls.

#15

Dralen
27/10/11, 6:16 am

I gotta say the framerate does get pretty damn bad in Blight town. It’s scary enough in blight town without the framerate issues, I hope they get a chance to address it.

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