Adaptability is literally the only state you need. That's not a joke. The most optimal stat to always build is adaptability, always. It's awful.

And the i-frames were fine but the hit boxes were fucked. I've seen an analysis that broke it down per frame to show hit boxes were artificially large and didn't align with the visuals players would see, unlike 1 and 3. They will slide behind enemies to hit players that were literally behind the enemies.

My issue with 3 is the studio (same as 1) were too concious of the internet and cheating. They didn't bother to make a intricate level like the first game because they knew some players would cheat with wikis. That's one reason Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 feel so good mechanically and are so well balanced, that became the primary focus. My gripe is that all of Dark Souls 3 is that it is literally a single path with 2 mandatory side deviations. It lost its labyrinthine metroidvania level design 😩

Honestly though, it's so fun to go through all three of them with friends and partners that I don't even mind the mechanical issues of Dark Souls 2. I guess I got so used to it my frustrations come from everyone else quitting 🤣 (Sin of the First Scholar fixed a couple things, I think, but not enough)