Dark Souls 2 will get a hefty free update next month in preparation for the release of Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, the forthcoming enhanced edition which packs up all the currently available DLC.
Available on February 5, the free patch adds a new character, the mysterious Scholar of the First Sin himself, and a raft of other additions and fixes.
There’s even a new item, the Agape Ring. “When players equip the new Agape Ring,” explains Bandai Namco, “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.”
A typically obtuse Dark Souls mechanic there. Other changes include additional item description text, which hardcore fans will probably scoff at for making things too easy, improvements to online matchmaking, and changes to most of the in-game Covenants. The full patch notes are pretty extensive, but you can check them out in full here.
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is on the way this April, packaging up the Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King and Crown of the Ivory King DLC, and adding brand new content and improved graphics. Unfortunately you’ll have to shell out full price to get hold of it, even if you already own the original game. Welcome to 2015, where it’s best not to buy that game you’re excited about in case a better version pops up just a few months later.
