Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin free patch detailed

Ahead of the April release of Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin comes a free patch introducing some radical changes to the RPG. We knew it was coming, but now we know in excruciating detail what these changes will be.

The new character promised last month is the aptly named Scholar of the First Sin, and he or she will join the game when the patch rolls out on February 5. In typical Souls fashion, there's no information regarding how the new character will affect the game.

The patch notes are quite lengthy, but some other highlights include additional item description text, which is very important information to Souls players. There's a bunch of useful changes to matchmaking and online play, including a list of the three most active areas in the bonfire warp menu. Importantly, there's a new item called the Agape ring which collects souls earned during online play, allowing players to "control their online matchmaking experience by limiting their total souls collected."

The full notes are over here. It comes ahead of a Dark Souls 2 re-release entitled Scholar of the First Sin, which collects all DLC and adds a bunch of unspecified enhancements.