Well, they are basically the same except scholar has a few extra things:
-HDR
-Some weapon requirements as higher (exp. Black knight weapons)
-Rings cost more to repair
-the agro ranges are higher and there is usually an extra archer or two in each stage
-Dragon Peak is locked behind a petrified statue, I think aldia's keep too
-pyromancies feel weaker but I may be wrong
-And finally DLC keys for accessing the areas need to be found and they are quite hidden
-and lighting spear is heavily nerfed

Hello!

First of all, the main differences are indicated on the Steam store page - DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/335300/DARK_SOULS_II_Scholar_of_the_First_Sin/

Secondly, unlike the original version, in SOTFS you cannot buy unlimited (x99) spell recovery herbs at the end-game from Weaponsmith Ornifex.

SOTFS already includes DLC, however they haven't changed at all, only the keys needed to access these DLCs have been placed in the base game as mentioned above.

The original version is much calmer. In SOTFS, especially at the beginning, enemies can overwhelm you with quantity.

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Originally posted by Pointrow:

lighting spear is heavily nerfed

The damage may not be as high as in the first game, but the casting speed and spell usage number have been increased significantly. As support spell is great - that allow you to strike enemies from a greater distance.

Also a small addition about the water surface and lightning damage (any) - if you strike the water surface with lightning, it will create additional AOE lightning - a small thing, but nice!

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It all depends on what you are looking for:
- Choose SOTFS if you want multiplayer, some graphical/gameplay improvements (depending on your taste), etc.
- Choose the original version if you want to try the original game... a truly Dark experience...

Or skip both games and try looking for something else, because there are many better games than DARK SOULS™...

so i should refund the base game and keep scholar as the extra content makes the base game redundant?

I've played both on PS3/PS4 and personally found the original DARK SOULS II to be way better balanced and a better experience overall. But ofc it doesn't come with DLC. I would keep both but if you don't want to then yes you can refund the of DARK SOULS II and just keep SOTFS which has the rebalanced main game and all DLC.

Originally posted by Goodwin:

Hello!

First of all, the main differences are indicated on the Steam store page - DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/335300/DARK_SOULS_II_Scholar_of_the_First_Sin/

Secondly, unlike the original version, in SOTFS you cannot buy unlimited (x99) spell recovery herbs at the end-game from Weaponsmith Ornifex.

SOTFS already includes DLC, however they haven't changed at all, only the keys needed to access these DLCs have been placed in the base game as mentioned above.

The original version is much calmer. In SOTFS, especially at the beginning, enemies can overwhelm you with quantity.

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Originally posted by Pointrow:

lighting spear is heavily nerfed

The damage may not be as high as in the first game, but the casting speed and spell usage number have been increased significantly. As support spell is great - that allow you to strike enemies from a greater distance.

Also a small addition about the water surface and lightning damage (any) - if you strike the water surface with lightning, it will create additional AOE lightning - a small thing, but nice!

**** Sample text separator ****

It all depends on what you are looking for:
- Choose SOTFS if you want multiplayer, some graphical/gameplay improvements (depending on your taste), etc.
- Choose the original version if you want to try the original game... a truly Dark experience...

Or skip both games and try looking for something else, because there are many better games than DARK SOULS™... :bonfire2::summer2019tortoise:

I do believe no body sells you infinite amber herbs in either version, they didn't update the shops did they?

Originally posted by Pointrow:

I do believe no body sells you infinite amber herbs in either version, they didn't update the shops did they?

If you have the game, you can try to find out if this is true or not. But note that we are responsible for our statements.

To check:
- Weaponsmith Ornifex sells unlimited Amber Herb - after the defeat of Nashandra.

Originally posted by Glory:

so i should refund the base game and keep scholar as the extra content makes the base game redundant?

If by "redundant" you meant that the base game is more than enough, you're probably right.

However, if you like the main game, you'll probably enjoy the DLCs - they bring new locations / items / gear / bosses & may bring many more happy hours.
- In our opinion, it's sweet and awesome (of course, if you like this game; and the same is true for SOTFS).

But whether to request a refund or not - is up to you.

something to mention, Scholar of the first sin is just a "hard mode" of DS2, it has an upside down difficulty curve and should not be played first

DS2 comes with the DLC's, only on console where it doesn't (i believe)

People who say scholar is better are people who got used to the game via the original, and then played the "scholar" version, which they had more fun because they had more challenge to put what they've learned to more demanding requirements

the reason why the original isn't really getting any apreciation is because of all the lies on the internet, calling out the original for ALL it's bad things, while never mentioning the bad things about Scholar, namely the difficulty curve, which makes the game unfair the whole time... also people only buy the "scholar" edition since it's more recent and much more people talk about it

many people questions the vision behind all the enemy placement, since it just doesn't make sense




sure you can have fun on scholar, but if you want a fun game that gradually increase in difficulty as you progress, the original will fufil it's "entertainment" purposes more than scholar------------------ you can look up some videos that reviews their differences and you'l mostly hear about the difficulty and randomness of scholar.

Originally posted by Goodwin:

Hello!

First of all, the main differences are indicated on the Steam store page - DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/335300/DARK_SOULS_II_Scholar_of_the_First_Sin/

Secondly, unlike the original version, in SOTFS you cannot buy unlimited (x99) spell recovery herbs at the end-game from Weaponsmith Ornifex.

SOTFS already includes DLC, however they haven't changed at all, only the keys needed to access these DLCs have been placed in the base game as mentioned above.

The original version is much calmer. In SOTFS, especially at the beginning, enemies can overwhelm you with quantity.

**** Sample text separator ****

Originally posted by Pointrow:

lighting spear is heavily nerfed

The damage may not be as high as in the first game, but the casting speed and spell usage number have been increased significantly. As support spell is great - that allow you to strike enemies from a greater distance.

Also a small addition about the water surface and lightning damage (any) - if you strike the water surface with lightning, it will create additional AOE lightning - a small thing, but nice!

**** Sample text separator ****

It all depends on what you are looking for:
- Choose SOTFS if you want multiplayer, some graphical/gameplay improvements (depending on your taste), etc.
- Choose the original version if you want to try the original game... a truly Dark experience...

Or skip both games and try looking for something else, because there are many better games than DARK SOULS™... :bonfire2::summer2019tortoise:

Allright mate I'll bite you seem to really like DS1 and DS2 but you say there are many better games than Dark Souls... please let us know what they are so we can enrich our lives by inviting them into our homes.

From what I've played so far of DS2 imo it's better to start with the OG then go to Scholar... Scholar gives you more options on how to engage the content and is better for 'power gaming' since you can get to certain key stuff sooner/faster and you got more options for leveling up and how you choose to engage the enemies/bosses... regular DS2 so far feels a bit less varied and intense so far but I did like the chance to engage with a boss earlier than you can in Scholar.

If you are just going to play one of the versions either is fine... if you want a more straightforward start this version would be it and it seems since you get easier access to the dlc (which I haven't played yet) you could get to certain items/weapons much sooner than in scholar in regard to that content.

BTW I definitely feel enemies drop stuff more often in Scholar than vanilla... I was flooded with stuff in the newer version vs this one... also doesn't help you can't get the shield with discovery rate enhancement quickly like you can in scholar.

It's a real bummer you can't get the dull ember quickly like you can in scholar as well.