We’ve had plenty of time to come to terms with the end of the Dark Souls franchise. Bandai Namco was very open about its plans to move on from the trilogy after Dark Souls 3 hit PC and consoles last spring. But the community is ready to move on too, and looking for new ways to squeeze more fun out of the hardcore action-RPGs. Enter DaS_GG, a new “arcade style leveling mod” that ties the Chosen Undead’s Soul level directly to your combat performance.
The newest addition to the Dark Souls mod scene draws inspiration from two rather different places. The first is the Gun Game match type popularized by Counter-Strike players. In Gun Game matches, players begin the round with pistol and can only gain access to more powerful weapons by killing their enemies. Killing another enemy player earns you an upgrade but dying causes you to lose one level. And the first player to reach level 25 is declared the winner.
The formula has been modified a bit since Dark Souls isn’t a competitive shooter. The mod’s creator, redditor bqm11, also incorporated mechanics from an item randomization mod released earlier this year. The result is an item that ties looting directly to your current Souls level. And your Souls level can only be improved by consecutively striking one’s enemies without taking any damage in return. Players will begin Dark Souls without anything but a weapon from the game’s lowest tier. Each time you level, your weapon will be replace with another from the Dark Souls armory (chosen at random) and you’ll also receive random bits of armor. And you’ll have to defeat bosses to increase the level cap, earn Estus Flask charges or increase max damage. And you’re current level determines everything you have access to. Even your Estus Flask.
As if its creation wasn’t enough, bqm11 continues to iterate on his creation. Two updates have been published since the mod was released, earlier this week, including a minor shakeup of DaS_GG’s loot tables in response to user complaints. For more information on the new mod, including a download link, head over to the Dark Souls sub-reddit.
Dark Souls is currently available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. It’s also part of the Xbox One backwards compatibility program and the PlayStation Now streaming catalogue.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dark Souls news in 2017 and however long Bandai Namco continues to support the Dark Souls franchise.
