Since its release nine years ago, Dark Souls has seen a wide variety of mods created by its community. The options available to players who wish to alter the game are numerous. Players can add bosses, new areas to explore or even create entirely new rules to make their next romp through Dark Souls completely different.

No matter how you choose to play, what is clear is that nine years on the community of fans behind Dark Souls is still very active and as clever in creating these mods as they are persistent and patient in clearing the games tough challenges. Other Souls games have also received this treatment, and between mods for Dark Souls and other FromSoftware games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the community shows no signs of slowing down.

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Fog Gate Randomizer

Uploaded by thefifthmatt, the Fog Gate Randomizer mod effects where players end up after stepping through the various "fog gates" in the game. Enabling this causes players to be spat out at random sections of the game, leading to some more complicated routes through the game. At the start, players can specify which types of doors lead where, allowing some control over how long it'll take to complete different kinds of runs.

This mod takes inspiration from ones made for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past and Ocarina of Time which feature similar entrance randomizer mechanics. With no indication as to where you will end up next outside of the conditions you set at the beginning of the game, immense knowledge of the games map is required to progress effectively.

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The Scorched Contract

Great Wolf Sif Dark Souls Remastered

The Scorched Contract mod was created by HotPocketRemix, and it allows players to try their hand at an especially difficult version of Dark Souls. As you defeat bosses and progress through the game, players must endure a growing number of penalties and debuffs.

Defeating bosses also causes the world of Lordran itself to change, which can involve doors being locked and unlocked or enemy positions changing suddenly. Due to the nature of Dark Souls and how open it is for exploration, players could choose to tackle some of the more difficult bosses up-front while they have fewer negative effects active on their character. Doing so places a heavy burden on the player at the beginning of the game, such as continuous damage over time or an extra enemy thrown into boss battles, but perhaps dispels some future frustration later on in a playthrough.

The creative effects challenges players to think strategically while completing the game. It also requires players to have extensive knowledge of the game before playing it, making it perfect for seasoned players.

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Ascended Mod

Ascended Mod, created by Vanbuinen, changes various aspects of the game to evoke a classic RPG experience. Certain pieces of armor are given individual effects that drastically buff your character. These buffs can't be stacked, making each one uniquely important. This encourages players to be creative and find the combinations of gear that works best for them.

The mod comes in multiple difficulty settings, including "Extreme" for veteran players who are looking for a challenging experience and an easy mode. There is even "Troll Mode," which isn't necessarily designed to be beaten but exists mostly for comedic purposes. Enemy placement changes based on the difficulty setting. The mod also features altered enemy patterns and physics, new boss music, different classes and gifts and more.

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Daughters of Ash Mod

Ornstein and Smough Dark Souls fight

The Daughters of Ash mod was created by Grimruhk to be a completely different take on the original game, with almost everything in the game being shifted or completely changed in one way or another. It adds new bosses while giving other ones new attacks both big and small. There are also tons of new weapons and armor sets, with item descriptions that expand the lore without coming off as unfaithful to the franchise, as well as new spells with new visual effects.

The way Lordran has been constructed this time around has changed as well. For example, the player goes through Blighttown in the opposite direction. This kinds of changes challenge experienced players to go through the once familiar set of obstacles from a different perspective, making it perfect for those veteran players who want to experience the original Dark Souls for the first time once again.

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Superhot Dark Souls

Gaping Dragon Dark Souls

Also created by Grimrukh, the Superhot Dark Souls mod applies one fundamental change to the gameplay: time only moves forward for enemies and NPCs when the player character is in motion. When still, time slows around them, giving players the ability to plan their next move and think ahead.

The mod also slows and speeds up time depending on how quickly the player is moving. Dodging or sprinting causes enemies to move faster than usual, whereas if a player is moving slowly, enemies will move slower. This encourages players to maintain an even keel when playing and stay calm, as any sudden movements can speed up an enemy's axe swing at the wrong time and spell doom for the player.

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