Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-5264386-20131018105419/@comment-5264386-20131103104245

General Update (3rd November, 2013)
The following news post is sourced from Oroboro's playthrough of the 15th October Network Test, so for those of you who have watched it, you'll already know these things, however, for those of you who did not:

Confirmed Stuff

 * Successive hits deal less damage with each hit → Stunlocking enemies is no longer as viable as it used to be.
 * Locking on reduces movement speed.
 * Both Red and White (and presumably Blue) Phantoms have time limits when entering the host's world.
 * Healing with Estus is slower for Phantoms than it is for the host.
 * Locking onto enemies no longer means auto-tracking when swinging a weapons → each hit must be manually aimed.
 * The symbol replacing the Humanity Counter in the HUD represents the player's Covenant.

New Stuff

 * Only Strength weapons can break an opponent's equipment.
 * The two-handed Strength bonus has been removed.
 * Guard break attacks work both on shields and weapons being used to block, and grant a "free riposte" (can riposte after a guard break attack, or if you run out of stamina).
 * Clashing mechanic - when two weapons collide, both players get knocked back and each take damage.
 * Casting spells now have weapon-like traits → Casting with a one-handed R1/RB results in the fastest cast, but weakest damage → Casting with a two-handed R2/RT results in the slowest cast, but strongest damage.
 * Sorceries now consume Stamina when casting → stronger Sorceries consume more Stamina.
 * When two-handing a staff, you can now zoom in like you can with a bow.
 * The player can now perform a leap attack with every shield and weapon.
 * Buffs no longer disappear when you switch weapons (unless their time runs out).
 * Cannot drop items to other players
 * Can keep your switch raised while switching weapons.
 * Can access the equipment menu whilst still locked on to an enemy.
 * Even if a Red Phantom invades through a Soapstone sign, they will spawn in a different area to the player.

Source
Oroboro Plays Dark Souls II Beta