And it's a god thing, but the bad one is that they added stealthy without advertising people about it. The VAC addition was only know yesterday, when it appeared on the store page.

Potentially a mod can be detected as a cheat from VAC, and you will take a permanent ban. I used several mod yesterday, I wanna take a screenshot by eliminating the hud, so I installed them.

And, as me, millions of other users. Yes, the mod might not be considered as a cheat from VAC, but I think this is not the problem.

Let's make another example: someone which uses a TRUE cheat, maybe in single-player. Just because he can't pass a boss, then he switches to offline mode, uses a cheat and he will eventually beat a boss. Technically he used the cheat OFFLINE, and should be safe. Wrong. Because VAC is Steam implemented, and if you use it online or offline, it's the same thing. No problem if they stated that the game was VAC secured from the beginning (anyone would use a cheat, mod or whatever at its own risk), but the fact they added it stealthy it's a shame.

Yes, punish ONLINE cheater is a good thing, and VAC is perfect to prevent people from cheating, but they should manage this thing differently. They could do just like in Diablo 2: you can create an offline character (and cheat, mod the game or any thing you want), but if you wanna play online, you need to create an online character, and you can use it online only.

EDIT: A discussione here:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/236430/discussions/0/558754260433500588/#p1

Well, people love them some Steam. Be careful what you ask for.

Thing is if you use a cheat to do something offline and then pass to online it's not fair, yes you could only use it to beat a boss but you can add souls, gain lvls etc which again is unfair, there is no way to know if you are a fair player or not and come on 99% of the users who uses cheats in an online game are not fair players, if the game is too hard for you then try other game or gain some skills, the game wasn't designed to use cheats in any circumstance using them ruins the fun for everyone.
The mods dont affect VAC, for example I use mods in left 4dead 2 (radial mod, character textures mod, weapon textures mod etc) and left 4 dead 1 for years and never got any problem with VAC, same with cs 1.6.
I know for sure that some dudes got problems for using injectors for speed hack for example(in cs 1.6) go banned and then whine about it...

Lack of mods is a fair price to pay to not get invaders with infinite life.

Are you sure you can't turn the HUD off? I think I saw it in TB's video...

Not necessarily the case. Any mods which modify .dll files register as cheats, and Valve is anal about these 'cheats'...

Is it confirmed that VAC bans also apply to Single Player? I don't mind banning people who cheat in MP, but in SP it's your game and you should be able to play it any way you want.

Vac only really applies to multiplayer from what I understand

This is where there is lots of confusing info. Some say it doesn't matter whether your online or offline (see the OP). For multiplayer I have nothing against it, but for single player/offline it's completely stupid.

Yes and no. Because VAC is inside both client and server. If you use, for example, a trainer offline, you can trigger a VAC ban, because Steam detects the trainer, even if you are playing offline. The same thing happens, for example, for single-player portion of the game of Resident Evil 6 and Revelations.

And again, they did a good thing by adding VAC. The crappy thing is they did is silently, because on the first three days there was no VAC feature in the game (at least it wasn't on the store page of the game, and while in-game you have no indication that server are VAC secured).

Is it even possible to play this game offline? I mean what if someone doesn't want the PvP aspect?

Yes, you can. Take a look at Fenixp's link above at 0:43.

"Starting in offline mode. Multiplayer, rankings, and other such network features will not be available. To play online, select "Go online" from Title Menu."

Hmmm, I don't suppose this is the type of game that would ever get a DRM-free version...

The online aspect of the souls games is the blood stains, messages, summoning other players to help and of course invasions.

To play offline you can either disconnect from the net or in Dark Souls 2 you can burn a effigy at the bonfire which disconnects you from the above, to get it back online you use the ankle type bone with the red cord round it

Within a few days of the console release a cheat was created called the megamule, what this does is creates a high level character with unlimited resources like estus, health & magic uses etc but they have a soul level of whatever class they are using at the start and 0 Soul Memory. Soul Memory is what is used in Dark Souls 2 for the invasions and summons rather than soul level.

A lot of people using this cheat have been invading in the first few areas of the game like Forest of Giants and obliterating the new characters who are just starting out.

Its a bit of a catch 22 situation as this said cheat uses a modified save file on console, however, with the PC version it will modify dll files. I think what FROM need to do is allow modification through the Steam Workshop on PC, at least this way it will sort out what is legitimate and what is actually a cheat.

@anyone
Out of curiosity, how effective is VAC in doing what it's designed for?