Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-92.250.199.136-20131229015626/@comment-24352587-20131229171327

As much as I personally love your idea, I do agree with Volknur that it would detract from the theme of Dark Souls. The mechanics they have designed (allowing players to visit, help, and do combat in other player's worlds in the form of spirits) is very unique and also keeps the overall theme of despair intact. Think of where you are; this is Lordran, ruined due to the wars between the gods, the extension of the Age of Fire, and the uprising of the Undead. This isn't a place where you just bring a friend and you have fun slaying monsters together, it's a place of difficulty and misfortune, and I find myself believing that I am truly alone in my quest. We also need to understand how the mechanics of summoning works. Some NPCs care their summon sign into certain areas and leave a piece of their souls behind to aid the Chosen Undead against difficult enemies, such as Black Iron Tarkus. He inscribed his soul sign and sacrificed a piece of his own soul so that his mirage would be locked in that place in every dimension and time, much how a bonfire works. This being said, summoning isn't actually physically bringing or entering another person's world, but rather spiritually entering their world. You can't hurt the AI in a person's world you've invaded because technically your body is still in your own world and can have no physical impact on the world you invade, but rather you attack that player's humanity using your own humanity, hence the reason you need to be un-hollowed in order to invade and be invaded. As for summoning other players to help you, they inscribe their sigil into the fabric of time-space, and use you as a conduit to channel their humanity from their world and into yours, thus allowing them to physically interact with your world. That's just my philosophical take on summoning, please correct me if I'm wrong haha