Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-5264386-20131018105419/@comment-5264386-20140201115646

New Details on Mechanics (1st February, 2014)

 * The character creation process has been slightly altered, in that it is now performed through the Old Lady, rather than a stand-alone menu.
 * The tutorial at the start of the game is now completely optional.
 * There is a monument in Majula (which I believe is the English version of the hub area's name, as opposed to the Japanese Madula, but this is just a theory) which keeps track of a global tally of player deaths in DaSII.
 * Having a high amount of Sin in DaSII causes your health to drop below the death cap of 50% to as little as 10%. In addition to this, invasions are more likely to occur when a player is either in human form or in co-op with another player.
 * Players can now wear four rings, as opposed to two.
 * There are items which, when used at bonfires, provide game-changing effects, such as :
 * increasing area difficulty (it's unknown if this is temporary or permanent at the moment)
 * reset character specifications
 * There is a native voice chat option, however, all players in the host's world must agree to this for it to take effect.
 * The Emerald Herald will act like the Maiden in Black did in Demon's Souls, in that she will empower the player in exchange for souls.

Source
http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/01/31/dark-souls-2s-new-beginning