Ten Things that Will Definitely Probably Happen in Dark Souls 3, Maybe

Speculation is rife about what Miyazaki will be bringing to the table with the launch of Dark Souls 3. With that in mind, you’ll be seeing article after article about the same news until we get all the facts in our hands from the developers themselves.

You have no doubt heard all about the Weapon Art Mode, the ability to create bonfires as you need and the different transformation attack modes that some of the bosses are going to have. You possibly winced a bit when the rumour of reduced weapons with more functionality was hinted at, but welcomed the news that the architecture is going to have the same love bestowed upon as Bloodborne did.

There is nothing like a good rumour. So keeping that in mind, here are ten things we have made up off the top of our pretty little heads that we think would be cool to have in Dark Souls 3. They may be so far-fetched that they end up being true, or maybe we know something you don’t know but we are making it look like we don’t know when really we do (We don’t – Ed).

Anyway, here’s the rundown of things we want you to think we might know about Dark Souls 3, which we actually don’t know, or probably do (Stop it – Ed).

1. Ornstein and Smough Will Return as Summons, Probably

We love these two dragon-slaying scamps, and it was great to see Ornstein make a return to Dark Souls 2, even though in Scholar of the First Sin he neglected the massive dragon sitting outside his front door to duel with you instead. Hopefully, they will be returning as summons in Dark Souls 3 and, depending who you pick, will have a direct influence on how the Boss attacks you.

2. Not Everything Will Want to Kill You, Maybe

I’m not talking about bustling villages with friendly faces and NPC dialogue like Zelda or The Witcher, but sometimes non-aggressive enemies can put you on edge more than having a group of monsters to take on. The lamp-bearing hollow in the Undead Crypt (in the Scholar expansion) who would light your way if you left him alone immediately springs to mind. Apparently, Miyazaki wants you to think twice before you sneak up on someone new and some areas will have non-aggressive enemies that you can simply walk through, whistling as you go.

3. Bosses Will Stretch Their Legs/Claws/Tentacles, Perhaps

One thing that hasn’t changed in three games is the enclosed Arena boss fight areas, where your last challenge for an area sits behind a shimmering curtain of grey smoke just waiting for you to step in and have a go. One of the encounters in Dark Souls 3 changes this, giving the boss a bit more free reign to go where it wants to, stalking you through the area before forcing a confrontation. Dark Isolation anyone?

4. You Will Decide How the Second Half of the Game Plays Out, Or Not

While both Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 gave you a choice at the end of the game to decide the fate of humanity, Dark Souls 3’s story comes to a major turning point halfway through where you have the choice to either extinguish or reignite the Flame. You decision will have a direct effect on how the second part of the game plays out, with major changes to the environment and enemy behaviour depending on your choice. Some enemies will become more aggressive while others will let you pass.

6. Dark Souls 3 Will Give You a Donkey, We Reckon

Dark Souls 3 aims to shake up the tradition of only being penalised for what you are wearing as opposed to what you are carrying. This means you won’t be able to carry 53 armour sets on your person as well as enough swords to arm Mordor. In order to counteract this, you’ll be able to summon a Capra Donkey that as long as you feed it carrots and baby rabbits, will trot behind you carrying as much as you need.

7. Enemies Will Remember Your Grinding, Feasibly

Don’t expect to grind your way to higher levels, enemies will remember you’ve been using them for souls and actively avoid you if you’ve been through an area multiple times and kicked their butt. Sometimes they’ll band together to try to take you out as one group instead of one by one.

6. NPCs Will Have Their Own Missions, We Hear

You won’t be the only one here trying to bring down the Lord of Cinder, and so expect to bump into NPC’s on their own quest. Unlike your normal summons and more like Bloodborne, sometimes you’ll meet them when you start at a bonfire, other times it will be through a level. You’ll get the option to work with them and gain their trust fighting side to side, or turn against them for a chance to take the spoils they have collected so far. However if you do take them down, watch out the next time you respawn at a bonfire. You aren’t the only chosen one on a journey.

7. The Bed of Chaos Will Apologise. Yeah.

Chaos takes the main stage in Dark Souls 3 as the world is tearing itself apart because of the influence of this severe fire magic. Though one of the things many of us won’t forget is that utter shambles of a boss fight in Dark Souls. We can’t say exactly when, but before a major battle, the spirit of Aldia will usher forth the Bed of Chaos to apologise and sing the ‘I am very sorry’ song.

8. The Magic System Will be More Realistic, Or So They Say

Magic always takes a while to power up due to the level of intelligence required to make it even matter and normally a magic build is more of an endgame situation than a definite play through. Dark Souls 3 introduces the element of control, where you can use more powerful spells as you find them straight away. However until you put some points into your “Control” ability, you can still cast them, but expect them to have unusual effects or not always hit the target. It’s a brilliant risk and reward system that will allow you to power through enemies with a bit of luck.

9. It’s a More Open Open-World. Trust Us

A brief glance at the level design shows it is similar to Dark Souls in its connectivity between the worlds. Everything you can see you can travel to and will play a part in your journey. From the Wall of Iodeleth onwards, everywhere will play a part of your quest. Keeping in line with the design ideas from Dark Souls 2, reaching the upper levels of the castle tower gives you access to the Desert Plains of Whathefark.

10. The Final Boss Is a Familiar Face, Honest

It’s been rumoured that Gwyn will be resurrected as possibly the final boss in order to fully complete the trilogy of games. We think it’s not going to be Gwyn. We have no idea who it will be but bringing Gwyn back is a bit daft, but if you think that you obviously know nothing about Dark Souls. Get out.

So there you go: some things we made up about Dark Souls 3 that may or may not be true. Rest assured as soon as we have confirmation of these additions we’ll be shouting “I told you so!” from the rooftops. Either that, or we’ll be sacked for giving credence to such insane ramblings. April 2016 will tell.