This modder’s 'final letter to Dark Souls 2 is a massive overhaul of the game's mechanics and was just what I needed to justify a Majula return.

Dark Souls 2 has been unfairly maligned and overlooked for too long, say the brave, intelligent and cool souls who continue to defend it today. AoiYozora is one of those devoted few. They have just released a mod called Bearer of the Curse Edition. It is a faithful DS2 conversion mod that refreshes Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin.

The goal of Bearer Of The Curse Edition is not to add new content or completely redesign the game. The mod's main goal is to make quality-of-life changes that bring Dark Souls 2 in line with the design conventions of later FromSoft games. It also adds convenience and smoothes out some of the friction.

Bearer of the Curse Edition, for example, uncouples the duration of the dodge roll iframe from the Adaptability statistic. This fixes a much-reviled feature that required players to sacrifice a few of their hard-earned levels to the stat in order to improve their rolling to basic functionality. Adaptability is now completely optional, unless you want to be able swig your Estus faster.

The mod, which is based on Elden Ring, also adds a dedicated jump button that doesn't require sprinting. This should help when you are trying to get to a treasure chest on the other side of a tricky chasm. The mod also adds a dedicated jump key that doesn't require you to sprint, which is useful when you are trying to reach a treasure chest at the other end of a tricky chasm.

The stamina drain system has been slightly reworked. Attacking and rolling use the same amount, but sprinting uses much less. This change leaves combat mostly unchanged, but reduces travel time.

AoiYozora added more clutter to fill in empty areas and made visual and lighting changes throughout the game to try to improve the atmosphere. The locations of NPCs, enemies, and bonfires have also been adjusted. Additional shortcuts have also been added to allow players to return to earlier areas.

AoiYozora has increased the difficulty of boss encounters, by increasing the speed at which they will launch their attacks. Great. The mod allows you to parry orriposte many bosses. This will help even out the odds. Not for me, I'm not competent. But someone will, surely. The mod description states that you'll be rewarded, however. "A lot boss weapons will have a more diverse moveset as well as additional weapons arts." Neat.

The full list of features is available on the Nexus Mods page. Overall, it appears to be a thoughtful and considered effort to make Dark Souls 2 more accessible to players who may have bounced off of it in the past.