Dark Souls 3is now over half a decade old. FromSoftware’s 2016 classic, while not as beloved as the first game or as controversial as the second, gave a fitting send-off to a trilogy that redefined action RPGs, environmental storytelling, and the notion of difficulty in the modern era of games.Dark Souls 3does not just tie up loose ends from the previousSoulsgames, it implodes the entireSoulscosmology into one story. This popularity of the franchise also led to a vibrant and still active modding community.
Dark Souls 3:The Convergenceis an overhaul mod for the thirdSoulsgame that focuses on magic. The three basic magic schools of become separate classes, including geomancy, cryomancy, divine sorcery, warlockry, and many more. Not only are spells completely different, but the mod reimagines enemy layouts, abilities, NPCs, boss positions, and many other essential parts of the game.
RELATED:Dark Souls 3’s Cinders Mod Shows What Could Be Possible In Elden Ring
The History Of Dark Souls Overhaul Mods
FromSoftware is no stranger to mods radically overhauling the structure and form of its games.Daughters of Ashsits at over 200,000 downloads between the originalDark Soulsand its remaster on Nexus Mods. Similarly,CindersforDark Souls 3, likeThe Convergence, seeks to reimagine the game with new classes and magic. There is even a mod in development forDark Souls 2that completely changes how the lighting system works, restoring it its appearance during various E3 presentations before the game’s release.
Dark Soulsgamesare incredibly replayable: the build variety, difficulty curve, and branching NPC quests make each run feel different. Of course, for gamers with hundreds, if not thousands of hours in the series, even further variety is widely sought. This desire is obvious in the many randomizer mods of theSoulsgames that each boast considerable downloads.The Convergencejoins the likes of theCindersmod in overhauling the most recentDark Soulsgame, which incorporate the two award-winning DLCs in their changes.
What Is the Dark Souls 3 Convergence Mod?
As has been mentioned above,The Convergenceis a radicaloverhaul modthat focuses on spellcraft. Magic has always sat strangely within theSoulsseries, and while it can still feel epic, it has nowhere near the diversity of play offered by melee builds. The mod breaks pyromancy, miracles, and sorceries into distinct subclasses of magic. It goes even further than just that, however, providing each new type of magic with its own starting class, bringing the number of starting classes up to 30, a huge increase from the base game. There are also classes like the Druid and Necromancer that rely on raising and summoning allies, which massively shifts the rhythm and speed of combat. Alchemical crafting, weapon mastery, and weapon alteration are all new changes brought by the mod.
Boss and enemy placement is also different, a fact that the mod shows off almost immediately. SomeSoulsfans might worry that adding new magic and abilities would make player characters much more powerful - and they would be right. The new classes are immediately more powerful than the base game, but so are the enemies. Even in the tutorial area, enemies use fiery attacks, and a much more aggressive beast enemy from the late game ofDark Souls 3replaces theIudex Gundyr boss fight.In general, enemy placements make the game much more deadly, and serve as delightful surprises for veteranSoulsplayers.
RELATED:Dark Souls 3 is 5 Years Old, Has Created a Powerful Legacy
How To Install the Dark Souls 3 Convergence Mod
Thankfully, it’s not too hard to downloadThe Convergence. Players will need both pieces of DLC for the game (Ashes of AriandelandThe Ringed City) or the mod will not work properly. Apart from that, all the mod requires is downloading the 2 GB installation folder, unzipping it, then pasting its contents into the mainDark Souls 3folder. After that, players should launch the game in offline mode to avoid being softbanned from the online services in the base game.
What Does the Dark Souls 3 Convergence Mod Change?
The mod attempts, above all else, to use the reimagined magic system to make the game more exciting and to link it back more concretely to the arcane lore of the previous titles.Dark Souls' Lost Witch of Izalith makes a reappearance in the item descriptions for many pyromancies inThe Convergence. Each of these new spell schools have loads of spells, each with plentiful DPS, support, and crowd control options. Boss order is also altered, with the most interesting example being iconicDemons' Soulsbossesthat are now inthisDark Souls 3mod.
The Best Dark Souls 3 Convergence Mod Builds
If a player wants to bridge the gap between previousSoulsgames and this new mod, a class like the “Battlemage” is a solid start. This build blends the more traditional heavy weapon dodge-roll of previous games, supplemented with the mod’s own aeromancy magic. This spell-sword build is very popular amongSkyrimplayers, and is not as well supported in vanillaSoulsgames.
However, with the introduction of many more types of magic, a multifaceted approach to battlemage builds is much more possible. If a player wants a taste of just how differentThe Convergencecan be, they should play a druid. Druids have different capabilities - they can be formidable pure casters, but also work in a competitive magic melee build. In particular, the ability to summon some huge creatures as allies massively alters the feel ofSoulsbornecombat in a fascinating way.
Dark Souls 3is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
MORE:Bloodborne 2 and Dark Souls 4: Will Either Ever Happen?
