So, just finished DS2, around a year after finally playing 1 and currently itching to venture into a new Souls game.
Now, I know I could Google these questions, but I want to avoid spoilers if possible and just get an idea about a few specific things before I buy and start my first playthrough rather then general info I've found thus far.
How does this compare to 1 and 2 in terms of size, world layout and difficulty of bosses? Oh, and boss variety (although I liked 2 a lot the bosses didn't really feel as novel or interesting as in 1... actually 1 was ahead of 2 in all these areas I thought except size possibly)?
I've given sorcerer (well, sorc/spellsword) a good go in 1 and 2 and keen to try a quality or dex build this time. Rapier and estoc were great weapons in 2 I noticed, and fun/stylish to use. Are these still worth basing a build around or are there just plain better options (mostly for PvE and as much PvP is necessary to defend myself from invaders)?
Any build tips (only basic pointers) - full dex, quality, dex-fth, dex-int... any combination notably more or less viable than any other? Any dump stats? Any OP stats?
Any significant differences that are going to throw me in terms of stats, items, build synergy this time around that it would be beneficial to know about in advance?
Getting excited already...