VideoGame_Discussion

Nothing hard about remembering patterns. It’s just persistence and discipline. These games are not difficult.

Feeb wrote:

Agreed. They have their moments, but the only real difficulty is understanding the story and side quests.

It’s all about being methodical and memorizing enemy patterns, yup. I think I’m gonna invest in a sorcery build on my NG+. Right now I’m quality. My INT is already 20 though so I might as well dump more points into it and mind once I hit NG+. Especially since I already got the best sorcery swords and staff in the game.

New update today nerfs Bloodhound Step, Corpse Piler, and a few other skills. It also allows progression through Varre's quest completely offline along with a few other odds and ends. Full patch notes:

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/elden-ring/news/elden...

Gypsy wrote:

Fully leveled ultra great sword build with high strength interrupts them on each hit. 2x jumping R2 = staggered, then crit attack them in the face when they are staggered, and then any hit will finish them off. If I had a few more points in strength they would die after the crit. Flame of the Redmane also staggers them after 2 hits I believe. Eazy peazy, though it honestly gets boring after awhile.

Normal mobs are pretty easy with this build, but the bosses are generally a female dog since you can't stagger them so easily.

I wish there was more robust PVP elements to this game as that's where I have the most fun. I hope the DLC enhances this. After the 500th time you invade people it kind of gets boring and predictable.

Note: invading people right before boss fights while they are sitting around trying to summon 2 people, particular in boss fights where people are in a corridor.. and then spamming flame of the redmane to 1 shot or 2 shot almost every body is good for some cheap fun. >:D

Would be cool to do true team based pvp, like 3 on 3.

Or imagine having like 10 invaders and 10 protectors and 1 host who is a helpless 'civilian' with no armor or weapons (maybe just a mediocre shield) -- and protectors must escort the host to the end point. Chaos and hilarity would ensue.

Snappy wrote:

Flame of the Redmanes can be tricky sometimes because the first hit doesn't bother them. I've used that to stagger all sorts of enemies, though, and it's still fun to me because of how absurd it is. Crucibles just get caught in the pre-patch Corpse Piler buzzsaw now, so they aren't really an issue for me anymore. I get that the game is tuned for PVP, but I'm going to miss my OP weapon. After 120 hours I'm kind of done baiting enemies out one at a time and just want to mow them down and move on.

I stopped that AUTO update

Need another Dragon Somber for my Dual Weld Rivers of Blood.

Forgot the swords I last used to keep it fun but they had fun jump attack animation. Aided with jumping + bleed talisman and crow armor.

Used Tree Crucible Armor for the Elden Beast.

I personally liked changing up my builds to find the right mix for me. Tried near all the sorcery and incantations, didnt care to have sorcery as my main.

Have not played since I beat it a 2nd time, didnt go NG+ (3) I skipped a bunch 2nd rd so when I go back will clean all that up.

Bring on the DLC!

What's the advantage of a dual RoB? I thought weapon art spam is the main dps source.

Orlandu wrote:

You can only use the weapon art from main hand, correct. But if you have two identical weapons you can power stance them in dual wield (L1, LB) for special move sets combos on regular attacks.

I guess my question was why RoB versus another arcane scaled katana, since it's a split damage weapon.

Archer wrote:

Yes, but they don’t have to be identical weapons just the same weapon type :)

Scavengers curved sword was the last ones i was dual welding, Bloodhound step and Raptors of the Mist Ashes.

@Orlandu Pretty sure I was dual welding ROB for the attack power and looks. Once you level up and I was on my 2nd play through, looks play a part in picking weapons and armor.

I have all the katanas leveled up most all the way and played around with them all. Used Uchigatana Unsheath 1st game 1st half just to survive LOL, so I needed to try other stuff. Dualed it with Nagakiba

I feel like the only one that always has a shield in the off hand. I do try to dodge everything, but I always have my shield up in case I don't catch a few of the surprises. Probably saved a ton of deaths and is the only reason I got Moonveil.

Bloodborne ruined me on shields.

Orlandu wrote:

I tried shield but I may be the worst at parring. Even with think it was called golden parry ash. Parry is an easy way to deal with crucible knights is why I tried but I just never worked for me.

Moonveil I enjoyed used around the time I was using Bloodhound fang and I just kept going back to Bloodhound Fang for the power and move set.

I know its not the same as a shield but Raptor of the Mist is pretty slick.

I was never good at parrying either. Half the time I forget the retaliation attack that you can do after a block. I just used a 100% physical block shield (inverted hawk heater I think was the name) and put the "no skill" ash on it so it didn't interfere with my weapon ash of war. Raptor of the Mists sounds really useful for nulling a big attack, though.

I may have to try a Bloodhound Fang run since I kept my system offline for that patch. Unfortunately I missed the patch the carries over the smithing stone bells so I'll have to stock up a bit before going to the next cycle.

I suck at parrying too. I carry a shield on my back only for the carrion perk that repels spell projectiles but any time I have to fight a crucible knight if I go for the parry’s I get my ass handed to my most of the time unless I 2 hand my bloodhound fang and give him the business.

After 140ish hours (and some save-scumming for endings) I finally Platinumed this game. Pretty neat final boss, but the fight itself was a little underwhelming. I used 3 defensive talismans (physical, holy, and elemental) and the one that boosts skill damage by 15%. I also used the Uplifting Aromatic and kept re-applying it between major hits. I never used perfumes before this fight, but wow are they useful. This was by far the most enjoyable entry in the Souls series for me, warts and all.

Orlandu wrote:

Nice. Well done. You had a plan that worked.

Feeb wrote:

Thank you! Usually I muddle through or fail spectacularly on the first fight. I guess that "final boss" label made me prepare a bit more than normal.

It's pretty neat when the Mimic Tear decides to use the perfume, too.

Full str build in DS3 ... has been a dream, way easier than casting.

I get to the first DLC (which I've never played before), holy f'ing crap I wish I had some spells. This is brutal ... gosh darn wolves and trees!

MrBean wrote:


Oh yeah. Those DS3 DLC bosses are some of the hardest of Fromsoft to solo imho.

Feeb wrote:

Man, I haven't even gotten to the bosses yet in the Painted World ... jesus christ. I've died more in the last hour than I did in the last 30 hours! Fudge this place!

Spiked mace with blood loss build up and Hp regain for STR builds? Thoughts? I’m at 51 dex now but my STR is already a 36. Tempted

Up! So this will also be a souls-like topic. Other developers try but rarely do we actually get a decent clone.



Good:

Mortal Shell
Thymesia
Remnant: From the Ashes (I'm playing this one again, I swear I will beat it!)

Bad:
The Surge 1/2
Dolmen
Hellpoint

Haven't played yet:

Lords of the Fallen. I won't bother, it's the same people who made The Surge so I doubt it's good.

Ashen.

Steelrising. This one looks promising, hopefully. Comes out tomorrow. Made by Spiders. Greedfall was.... okay, I guess.

Steelrising has an assist mode, but it disables Trophies.

I played the beta/demo from pre-ording Steelrising. Its, okay. Didn't play much of it though. Decided I liked it enough to wait for the full release.

Also Lords of the Fallen is slow as crap and janky like Moral Shell. They are the same game.

Ashen is the best of the bunch listed up there however.

Lords of the Fallen, I just can't give it a shot since it's the same people who made The Surge. And Mortal Shell was good. You probably didn't give it long enough to figure out the shell mechanic.

Thats because I finished Lords of the Fallen. And then after a couple hours of Mortal Shell I was like, I'm not doing this again. This crap is too slow.

Code Vein was decent. Some cheese to it, overall pretty easy, but I remember having a good time with hit.

Oh, that one. I gave it 2 hours. Something felt off about it.

Anime dark souls didn't click with me either.

Also Good : Nioh, Code Vein, Salt and Sanctuary and sequel plus most other 2d souls are good, Jedi FO

Just ok- FF origins.

Not for me- everything else.

JFO is too janky. Not really a Souls-like.

It’s widely accepted as souls like. You spend souls at a bonfire between difficult segments.

Have you tried 3000th Duel? It’s not perfect, but I had fun with it on Steam Deck. It’s a soulslike 2-D platformer Metroidvania.

Kommie wrote:

No. I know a lot of 2-D games get lumped in the genre like Hollow Knight, Salt and Sanctuary but I'm not really counting those in the discussion from my end.

Hollow Knight and Blasphemous fit to a degree if you're including non-3D.

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

I’d say souls like is any game with a gamble between spending a currency at a safe point to gain stats and resetting foes or daring to continue on at a risk of loss. Regardless of how that mechanic is portrayed.

I guess my point is, that there aren't a lot of 3D ones that do it well.

Thymesia is good. It's the only one I'm giving any kind of approval to. 8.0 Silver.

Code Vein was unplayable trash. I was looking over my trophies while waiting for a game to install and I did get further than I remember.

@Archer let me know how Steelrising is.

Kommie wrote:

Probably wont get a chance to play until this weekend.

Ah, ok. I was gonna try it on PC but somehow it has absurd system requirements my crap most likely won't handle.

I’ve been playing it. It’s pretty cool. Some things I love- it has lootable / consumable healing items- tons of “souls” items drop so you level pretty quickly. Things I hate- my moves are easily interrupted and my power swing is almost useless early in because of this. So far it may be too easy to get op. But it’s addictive.

I did read that it is easy compared to other games in the genre. Not really an issue, as long as the combat is overall good.

Kommie wrote:

So far it’s ok. Being able to farm healing items makes it determination based like most not sekiro souls likes.

It’s a good beer drinking game for sure.

I'm more concerned that it's at least a competent to ok souls-like. Cause there aren't many good enough for me to play and beat.

So far it reminds me most of code vein. Boss fights are pretty cheap unless you buy consumables etc. Not feeling too high on it so far.

Played some Steelrising on Steam and refunded it for the under 2-hour time frame. My PC barely plays it, but it was pretty good for what I played. Way better than Code Vein. The lack of a parry function is weird. Almost all of these types of games have some sort of parry.

Also played some Lords of the Fallen. This wasn't nearly as awful as expected. Certainly better than The Surge 1/2. The lack of any sort of special spells/abilities in The Surge 1/2 is just weird. If they exists, I never got far enough to get any.

Dark Souls Remastered gets a 35GB AI-enhanced 4K Texture Pack

https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dark-souls-remaster...

Am I crazy or do those images look really bad?

Kommie wrote:

Got to play more tonight. It’s a pretty good game. Loving the weapons and the ridiculous scaling. There’s a shortage of good boss fights though.

I'm gonna beat Remnant: From the Ashes before actually getting into something else. I swear, this time I'll beat it!

Kommie wrote:

That game is criminally underrated.

Never heard of this one

https://twitter.com/videogamedeals/status/15688176...

@MrBean Because its garbage.

Archer wrote:

It is garbage @MrBean. The first couple hours are fine but then it just throws mobs everywhere for "difficulty". If you're really desperate to try to, it's cheaper used on Gamefly.

I beat Elden Ring a while back, finally. Power stanced Morgot's sword and the bloodhound fang. We live in the boonies surrounded by trees and they just are getting to the end of getting us internet out here, so no bosses got the update nerfs. Mimic tear didn't, either.

I tried out Mortal Shell but wasn't really a big fan of it. Might have to try again with the Rotting Christ alternate soundtrack, fighting a boss to Ze Nigmar is probably insane.

I have, but never played Lord's of the Fallen. Is this just a remaster or a sequel? This seems potentially interesting... All cinematics, but I'm intrigued.

https://youtu.be/MEhzGQfRyBI

Apparently, the old one is Lords of the Fallen and the new one (confusingly named The Lords of the Fallen) is being made with Unreal 5, takes place over 1,000 years after the first one, and is 5x bigger than the first one.

MrBean wrote:

theyrhere wrote:

What kind of internet are you getting?

For many years the only options for me were dial-up and crappy satellite. We now have a decent wireless option. Not great but way better than previous options. The satellite was fast but with absurdly small data caps and ridiculous latency it was pretty crap.

Gypsy wrote:

We actually have too many tall trees right where the satellite would point so it wouldn't work. Blocked broadband signals, too. But they laid fiber underground so I'm STOKED.

theyrhere wrote:


I just saw this DLC. Don't remember if it was there when I played it. What a weird DLC though.

Kommie wrote:

I know black metal isn't really your thing, but their style the past couple years has been grandiose, battle hymn style black metal so it does kind of work

Kommie wrote:

So. Um. I think I'll redact this. I'm in the second area and the cracks are showing. The base game of "Dark Souls with guns" is cool but there are too many problems. Mostly with enemies who seem to appear out of nowhere. There are flying skulls that just come at you and explode. Enemies just seem to endlessly spawn and it feels stupid cheap. Bosses also have constant mobs too.

Remnant is pretty crape.

I played Remnant for all of hour before bailing.

Yeah I played it for a couple hours too but it got stale real fast.

For 2D Souls like, I need to go back and actually sink my teeth into Salt & Sanctuary. I always really liked what little I did play, but other games always took priority. Blasphemous rips, too, but it's less of a Souls like and more of a Souls overall vibe

They see me rollin' https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/xflac...

So, I have started and stopped like 10 games post my DS3 replay.

I keep saying I'm gonna finish X, but I just can't. I get in these grooves where I need to keep scratching an itch. I hate that I love these games so much.

I wanted to play Bloodbourne, but I may hold off a bit longer to see if an update/remaster/PC release happens (doubtful).

So instead, started a new Elden Ring playthrough on PC (I want to check out some of these mods).

I really enjoyed going pure STR in DS3. I think I want to do a STR/FTH build this time around as last time I was more INT/DEX.

Ok wow, Elden Ring plays so much better on PC than PS5 (I mean, expected...). I'm only running a Laptop 3070 and it's quite fantastic! It's so much more smooth.

Trying this time with an Elite Series 2 controller as well, so far, it's quite nice.

Man, I'm pretty stoked to play this again! Problem is, gotta beat it before God of War, not sure I'll pull that off or not.

I've been fudging around in Bloodborne again. I really should play literally anything else but...

Gypsy wrote:

Haha I had the same internal dialogue today after dropping 3 hours into Elden Ring... I should be playing Bloodborne instead. Feels too soon to replay Elden Ring whereas BB is overdue. It seems like it'll never happen at this point, but I'm still holding out for a PC release of BB or a remaster.

I finished what I was doing with it today, hit the credits again. I don't think the remaster/tune up ever happens at this point but I'd love to be wrong.

This guy made me realize I did not properly embrace a battle mage properly ... jesus.

That Paladin build looks crazy fun. I'm only 5 hours into my second play through (starting over on PC), and I'm torn between going dex or str ... and/or with Faith.

I almost always do some form of a hybrid melee/caster in these games. My recent revisit to DS3, I had zero casting and enjoyed it so much. In Elden Ring, I feel like SOME casting is needed. Feels like it would be quite difficult to go melee only.

STR/FTH seems to be a lot of fun, and this Paladin build looks fantastic - yet, it feels very caster'ish, which isn't what I was trying to do this time.

I love/hate that there's so many options on how to build in this game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXn6aDxC-s0

I restarted Bloodborne again recently and it finally clicked with me, it hadn't before. I'm having a helluva time with Rom though, even Shadow of Yharnam was much easier than this one for me.

theyrhere wrote:

Rom is trash. The only fight in the game that is more trash you have yet to encounter. I'd say BB has two truly terrible bosses, 2-3 that are just boring but then all average or better with some truly fantastic ones.

My favorites are

.

No one should click that spoiler if you haven't finished BB but intend to just a heads up.

Well, this is just getting annoying. Elden Ring has crashed like 4x now ... and when it does, I lose the last bit of progress. Disabled Xbox and Steam overlays, yet just happened again. Frustrating.

I've had 2/3 crashes since I reinstalled recently, pretty sure all were on the hill that I usually farm storm giants in, usually during transition. Otherwise it's been a pretty sweet, stable return to ER. 28 int, 34 vig, enough stats for Bloodhound Fang. I didn't do artes or magic last time, this time it's personal.

Not once, in all the years of these games, have I ever accidently killed an NPC ... that changed tonight.

Was mid-texting, and I got ambushed by random mobs. Attacked, and killed Selena (where she's a prisoner in the Peninsula).

Just went and got the dew, tried to Atone, said I need no attornment.

Fudge.

Good thing I'm not rolling mage. this time.

Interesting ... went back, she's there again, guess I'm ok.

MrBean wrote:

I didn't know she was ever out of that hole, must not have triggered that yet. I've been going to her every now and then to check for new spells

MrBean wrote:

Yeah this ain't Dark Souls 1 lol. I remember my first time playing it I decided to restart because I killed a merchant.

Gypsy wrote:

Yah but plenty of npcs can be perma killed, no? I didn't kill any in my first play through. Maybe I should just go on a rampage and kill em all.

Only one way to find out :p

Gypsy wrote:

Haha, I like your thinking.

This feels so infinitely easier this time (obviously). Just checked, took 3 weeks and 2 days to get plat last time. Don't think I'm gonna go for it again.

Face smashing everyone is so much more rewarding than casting.

MrBean wrote:

I generally always at least try a run with both. Except Dark Souls 2. Fudge that one. Did what I needed to do and don't revisit it like the others.

Gypsy wrote:

Does stock refill if you take a bell to the Roundtable Hold? I really don't wanna kill any of the merchants.

Well. I always kill one. But he doesn't count

I'm pretty sure their stock is in the same state whether they're a living merchant or accessed through a bell.

Ok, using the erdtree greatshield with discus is quite fun! Still working on the timing but it legit took a couple pvp'ers for surprise as they came running at me after the discus went through them. This is gonna be fun.

Str/fth definitely more fun than int/dex.

I don't know what summon to use though. I rocked headless most of last play through until I got Tiche really late game. I'm using him again, but want something more fun.

You can try out Dung Eater or Mimic Tear. Those are pretty common go-to summons. Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff can cast lightning spells, which can be fun. Rollo is your bleed/burn guy if you're not trying to proc frostbite. Latenna is sort of like a turret and will ride a direwolf if summoned near one.

Orlandu wrote:

I did a little bit of Mimic last time. Lost out on Dung. I didn't look up how to get him last time. I'll check it out this time hopefully!

Didn't ever look at Kristoff nor Rollo either, will do so, thanks for the suggestions.

I think there's a trick to get the puppet and still get his armor, so be sure to look into that if you're interested. Too ugly for me to mess with since Lionel's set worked well enough for me (couldn't get bull goat since I killed Patches).

Ugh, now up to the whole Ranni, Seluvis, Dung Eater connected quest lines. Last time, I screwed it up a bit ... is there any optimal way to do this?

Combo of memory and a bit of reading
- I want the Dung Eater summon, but I can't give him the potion until WAY late in the game to finish his questline (you miss his ending if he dies early right?)
- In order to finish Ranni's questline, I need to turn in an item that will kill Seluvis (this screwed me last time from finishing him properly)

You guys remember this? Is there an ideal/optimal path to be able to do all quests properly and still get Dung Eater summon?

Although, maybe I don't need him. I was looking around and I think Nightmaiden & Swordstress would be a lot of fun for my playstyle.

Thanks

There's a reddit thread that is the perfect companion guide for NPCs: https://old.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/tjmodv...

Don't give Ranni the blade until you have the dung eater puppet. Pretty sure you can do Ranni's quest at any time. A few other links:

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Dung+Eater+P...

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Ranni+the+Wi...

You definitely don't need the Dung Eater summon if you don't want to mess with it. Getting the summon ends/locks out his questline and prevents his ending. His ending isn't anything special and can be watched on Youtube, though.

Yah I did all the endings on PS5 already. Just prevents from getting the trophy ... which I want to avoid, as I'm playing round 2 on PC.

Was trying to determine if there's a way to be able to do it all - get the summon + finish his questline. Doesn't appear to be a way to do so.

Unless something has changed his ending isn't required for the trophy. I think all you needed were Ranni's, Frenzied Flame, and Elden Lord (all the others are just a variation of Elden Lord). But you are right. It's either finish his questline or get the spirit ashes. When I eventually go through my second playthrough I'll actually get to finish his quest, hopefully not accidentally kill Patches, and maybe get the Nepheli ashes.

Orlandu wrote:

Oh, nice ... I got plat back in early April, feels like forever ago! Good to know, I may get him then, haven't decided.

I just picked up Nightmaiden & Swordstress. I think they'll be fun. I don't really need a tank summon (Dung) being that I'm more up front now with this build.

Only able to get them to +7 at the moment, and slightly underwhelmed with how hard (or lack thereof) they hit.

Second time through, is a breeze and so much faster.

I am almost at the end of Elden Ring. 122 hours in at level 162 and I am a nice quality build, teetering back and forth between the blood hound fang, night rider's glaive and my new pokey stabby lightning infused dragon sword I obtained from the Dragon Lord Placidux in tandem with my stone slab greatshield which comes thru in a pinch for me even as a weapon at times to stagger enemies and is awesome if you have the STR to spare.

I dropped bloodhound fang. It was a crutch, Moonveil is doing me much better so far. Need to find a nice offhand so I can do some powerstance

I've been rocking Heavy Stars most of this playthrough and ... I'm kinda gettin' bored with it. It's fun and all, but getting boring. Blasphemous Blade looks like a good option (I haven't yet gotten to Manor).

DarkFact wrote:

Cold Uchigatana should be a pretty good pairing for frostbite. Otherwise you can do a Magic Uchi for raw damage. I never really powerstanced, though. I liked using the weapon arts as counter attacks/interrupts.

Man, just like DS3, I'm being taught first hand that smashing faces > casting. I'm amazed at how much of an easier time I'm just rolling through areas that I struggled with last time.

I legit remember being SO pissed off at the Tree Sentinel to get into Rydell last time. This time? The son of a dog went down first shot.

I'm still a bit too squishy for my build as I don't want to overly invest into Endurance right now, but still, my uptime is vastly better.

I've been doing it wrong for so many years ...

There is no wrong way to play, but some ways are easier lol

Gypsy wrote:

Oh for sure, but I've always heard casting is ez mode. I would say without a doubt, not true after re-playing both DS3 and ER.

Regardless, it's so much fun to play different play styles.

Next time, I really want to roll heavy Dex and do the whole river of blood layout that seems to one of the most popular. Back in March/April, that was 90% of all PvP encounters.

@MrBean if you really want to get into dodging the dagger instills good habits. Makes you dodge, go for backstabs etc I did dagger only for DS1 and I'm actually doing it right now for DS3.

Gypsy wrote:

I've never used a dagger in any of their games. Maybe a future run. Feels like it'd be tough in ER but probably better for a DS replay.

Endurance is a very nice perk on a caster, especially with Mimic Tear. Being able to wear good armor and block a hit can really come in handy (also works great as a battlemage with Moonveil). The bad thing about casting is that 90% of the spells are useless. I used Rock Sling and Glintstone pebble/shard the entire game until I respecced into Arcane. Rivers of Blood was nerfed in a patch, so it might not be what you're expecting. Running that with Mogwyn's Sacred Spear was a lot of fun, though.

Magic Glintblade is one of the best all around spells in the game imo. The delay, the number you can launch simultaneously, the range. If you can use it you’ll be ok.

Fists only!

Feeb wrote:

The wind-up's a bit extreme for me, I'll need to find a much better scaling method before I use it regularly. It was fun at the start but it really tends to fall off quickly I'm finding, but I may just have a bad build for it. I just use the triple glintstone shot because it fires off quicker and does comparable damage for FP cost

Had to put Blaidd down last night :( Great armor tho. Really happy with my build and damage output at the moment but I've yet to pick up an offhand, ready to hit the capitol now. Caelid, Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes are all dead content now

DarkFact wrote:

You should just use it for its range early. Single enemy pulls. If you want to build int you can set off 6-8 then charge in. Great for horseback too as it tracks.

I always cringe when I have to add MND to a build, but I still do hybrids, I have yet to go full caster hardon mode. I do pissbaby builds because I haven't beaten the game yet. So far this is the best I've managed so early. I want my HP bar to wrap around the screen

image

MrBean wrote:

The bleed and backstab multiplier both help a lot. I should clarify, I'm done thief starting gear only. It gives you no choice but to learn how to dodge because the shield you get sucks and it takes awhile to kill things with the knife.

DS3 run is going well. 0 deaths to most bosses but had a few to the fudging tree of all things LOL. Deacons and Watchkeepers are last two bosses down so Wolnir next, never any trouble there.

Sometimes I really hate these games ...

Decided to get Dungeater as a summon this time
- Progressed Ranni's quest far enough as I had to
- Did all the right things for Dung's quest
- He's in his prison, in human form
- No option to give Seluvis potion
- Give a cursebed seed, still no option
- Go pay a visit to Seluvis - he's fudging dead - guess I went too far into Ranni's questline - I thought it was when you finished it? Nope, Google says I fudgeed it up by giving Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade.

This gdamn game is annoying sometimes. Was looking forward to having him as a summon.

Damnit.

You could play ps4 and make USB backup at every decision point.

Feeb wrote:

Or the gdamn game shouldn't be so cryptic without the player having to look up every g'damn thing. There's no way in hell anyone would ever know this crap. It's so frustrating ... I'm trying to avoid the internet on this play through and I'm having a lot more fun, but of course, I tried to follow the guide and crap the bed. I had read that finishing Ranni's full quest is what kills Seluvis. Nope, it's like 3/4 of the way through - which I wanted to do so that I could get a new things from the underground (mainly the summon, which I'm now not a huge fan of).

Oh well, time to figure out how to get Tiche again. I know exactly where she is, just forget how to get there.

Melania broke me. Bosses that heal and have 2 phases along with rot are not cool.

MrBean wrote:

Which is funny, he was definitely still alive after giving her the blade, I swung by for another spell before I finished Ranni's quest, so it's between then and finish that he dies.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

That was the exact moment I respecced into Arcane and cheesed Corpse Piler. Didn't even feel bad about it.

I may have to do the same thanks for the tip!

The ultimate cheese is just abusing swarm of flies on her.

haha ... Lake of Rot ... had no idea all these platforms existed. I ran through here like a maniac last time!

See, this sucks ...

https://www.polygon.com/elden-ring-guide-walkthrou...

"A quick note: Continuing Ranni’s quest from here will lock you out of completing Seluvis’s questline — which is, in turn, related to Nepheli, Sellen, and Dung Eater as well."

--- This is after killing Astel (which I just now did). Yet, the dickhead died after I opened Renni's tower.

Oh well, I got Tiche now, really wanted to check out Dung Eater though.

I told you not to give Ranni the knife until you had the puppet...

Orlandu wrote:

haha, that you did ... wompers

50 hours in, finally retired the Great Stars for Blasphemous Blade. Holy hell how did I not pick this up last time. This thing is way OP'd at max level.

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I just started playing ER the other day, I’m a total souls newb. I’ve only played the remaster on switch and maybe only 4 or 5 hours worth. I have no idea where I’m supposed to go or what I should be doing lol.

loztdogs wrote:

That has to be the best and worst way to experience it! Don't look crap up ... enjoy being lost and confused for awhile. It's an amazing experience if you don't ruin it!

And that was Elden Ring. 129 hours later. Great game. Easily the most accessible souls title yet with a great sense of wander lust.

Getting sad with this game again ... nearly done with the Mountaintops and everything prior is 100% done.

Currently at level 145 and 70 hours, which amazes me, because I finished last time at around level 125 and somewhere around 110 (I think) hours? Clearly having prior knowledge makes this a lot easier/faster, but I'm also dying vastly less with this build. I've been pleasantly surprised how many additional smaller things I've found that I did not see last time.

Debating whether or not to stop leveling at 150 to have a character to PvP with (seems to be the "meta" that everyone plays at). Current build is not optimal for PvP though.... would need to respec and upgrade some other gear.

My old PS5 save, I'm still at Elden Beast as I was waiting for DLC and not wanting to replay the full game to experience. Did you guys do the same? Seems vastly easier to save a PC backups for ease of restore later ...

Don't worry guys, it may finally be time I continue Elden Ring a mere 7 months after finally beating Margit. At this rate I'll be playing until I'm 63. That's what I call longevity.

theJaw wrote:

haha, make it a priority! It's such a fantastic game!

I also have a save backup, but mine's after beating the Elden Beast. It's PS4 though, so it's an easy local backup. Kind of a bummer they decided to go back to their Sony ways with the PS5.

50 vigor + playing fashion souls ... is making Haligtree a bit interesting as a squishy melee. Yet, made it to the end. Malenia is going down! Sadly, camping trip this weekend, she'll have to wait until Sunday.

I fear I'm in the master of none category with this current build, but damn if it isn't fun! End game with my prior run (Mage quasi hybrid), I just ended up with big nukes (the Ranni giant ball spell); whereas here, I have a lot more versatility.

I debate dropping down FTH/INT/ARC and possibly adding more into VIG/END ... yet, If I can finish Haligtree, the rest of the game (Azula and Lyndell) is quite easy if memory serves, in comparison to Haligtree.

Anyone else play the whole Discus/Triple Ring reflect build? I find that I rarely use Triple Ring as Discus is easier to manage. This in itself, would give me 14 points back (I'm staying at 150 for potential PvP later).

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Just hit mountain a bit ago, but I'm probably gonna go back downstairs to hit up some stuff I missed like Lava Mansion before I progress further.

@DarkFact - I'm confused, you're rocking dual swords, but all that int + spells assigned ... how are you casting?

Also, solid Fashion Souls ... we wear the same bracers.

MrBean wrote:

I just haven't un-memorized the spells, they're remnants of when I was running Magic-enchanted Bloodhound Fang. Int's still relevant, Moonveil has A-tier scaling with Int (Might be S after I throw an Ancient Somber on it, haven't gotten around to it yet... not even sure I've picked one up yet, think I need a +9 Somber first iirc), Meteoric Ore Blade also enjoys some magic scaling. Basically this is my new DeS Crescent Falchion build now, I switched to power stancing with katanas after getting my pussy beat in by dual gargoyles for approximately sixteen years. Much more enjoyable now, don't really miss the Bloodhound Fang's windup times at all, not yet at least. I'm sure I'll bust it out for fights that need it, but honestly the art on Moonveil does plenty of work for stance breaking as is. Don't think I need to wail on stuff anymore

I do occasionally whip out the Academy Rod when I need to do longer distance antagonist crap, so it's not completely useless to keep spells memorized unless there's a stat reason to not keep them queued.

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/elden-ring/news/elden...

BIG BIG PATCH. Biggest notes: just about everything Magic got buffed way up, and they're no longer tying PVP to PVE for weapon scaling, so they can stop screwing up PvE because certain crap breaks PvP. Huge.

Wow! My pure magic build would have been a lot stronger with these changes. I really didn't expect them to buff glintstone pebble, but that was my go-to for a lot of the game. Also, being able to use oracle bubbles while in motion and all the buffs to oracle bubbles/great oracular bubble could make a build around those pretty fun.

DarkFact wrote:

Uh, yeah, casting was already OP'd ... now it's even more OP'd. Yet, literally almost any build is OP'd if played properly.

Still, damnit, wish I woulda waited for this second play through post the patch, oh well.

I also don't understand the weapon scaling between PvP/PvE? Meaning, in PvP the weapons won't use scaling? I'm a dummy ...

MrBean wrote:

haha well that's the thing, if I make it a priority I'll end up hurling myself out this window next to me. Extended breaks are necessary when it comes to me + games like this.

DarkFact wrote:

All that and they still haven't buffed the range of ice spear. That ash of war has such a crapty range. I've been waiting for that to have a range buff, as it is less than half the range of any magic projectile in the game. Which makes it pointless to use. Which is sad. Because its powerful. The problem is it has such a short range its never worth the time it takes to cast it when something is so close.

Looks like it also nerfs seppuku, status buildup when dual wielding, scarlet rot from the breath attacks, and the guard boost of the fingerprint stone shield. Also patched out the long distance casting on Rock Sling.

Theory: Magic was always easymode (with a few exceptions) in the Souls games, but it's kinda bs in PVP so they toned it down, but now they don't have to, I'm assuming.

Dark Souls isometric style

https://youtu.be/SaEldcM7_N0

Finished my second play through, all achievements, on PC @ 90 hours (I think I was around 115-120? last time on PS5).

I kinda want to respec and PvP more, but ... Plague Tale and God of War, probably best to walk away.

Afterwards, I'll get back to a replay of Bloodbourne like I originally set out to do after my DS3 replay.

Elden Ring board game

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/06472b6f-...

It probably plays like the civil rights board game. Nobody ever really wins. You just do a little better each time.

https://youtu.be/iiwS-X_ZtJA

MrBean wrote:

Steamforged Games makes garbage board games. If you're buying this, you're doing it just for the minis. The actual rules and mechanics of all their stuff is bad. All they do is Board Games based on video games licenses. They did Dark Souls, a Horizon Zero Dawn one and others.

I just hit godskin duo. Apparently I need to git gud or get cheap. I about crap my pants when they did the thing.

You’ll never win without these.

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Kommie wrote:

Absolutely for the minis (pending price). I can't get my damn friends to resume Gloomhaven as it is. Hoping Frosthaven will get us back together but doubt I'd find a good group to play this (and I've heard similar that they don't make great games).

Sign up for the announcement!

That Margit looks great and I'd love to paint it but I know this fudging box plus expansions is going to cost over $150 and there's no gosh darn way it's worth it.

DarkFact wrote:

I have zero patience or skill to paint these ... would love to, but fudge that noise.

It's fun! I thought it'd be annoying but I like it a lot.

If you haven’t seen the Carbot Animation series for Elden Ring…go watch them all asap.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0QrZvg7QIgpCbO...

Sun wrote:

I've seen some, didn't know they had so many. The Rennala one with Little Mermaid is fantastic.

Forgot to post but I beat it. Uninstalled. I'll be back in a year.

DarkFact wrote:

Now do Dark Souls 3.

Gypsy wrote:

Can't. I started up something else

https://twitter.com/cyangmou/status/15900115667576...

Neat!

Wow, that could have been awesome!

This looks awful similar to another game that actually did get made.

DarkFact wrote:

This guy has done a ton of art for games that did release so that's likely why.

Salt and sanctuary. It’s good

Feeb wrote:

Still in the damn backlog... Someday...

So with ER being nominated for the best narrative or whatever this discussion has once again arisen.

My thoughts on that from the previous topic:

-Every item description in the game is literally exposition. That whole video is made from information gathered in game designed to give clarity and definition to the world, past and present events- the definition of exposition.

I'd consider the exposition technique in from games as incluing or indirect- but there is more in them than most traditional "story" games or whatever we're trying to differentiate that as.-

The God of War guys are trying to crush ER for not giving them a popcorn eating viewing experience.

Yeah this discourse gets nauseating but basically people just don't like to read. I love it when games put a ton into the lore via item descriptions.

Now, if Scorn were nominated for best narrative..... Well... There is no narrative in that garbage.

Kommie wrote:

It’s a A 24 game so probably alien penis and granny ass.

Feeb wrote:

Don't disrespect A24 like that.

The Ring of Elden is gonna take home GOTY I predict while GoW probably nabs a bunch of other categories. And honestly with this years noms, with the exception of Stray which I have no idea why that’s up for GOTY even though I love me some kitties, the rest I’d be happy with them taking home the gold.

Elden Ring, Dying Light, and Hollow Knight are the only modern games in the past decade I've replayed (I think).

ER definitely deserves GOTY yet I haven't played GoW yet.

I absolutely want to do a third play of ER but not before BB. Never enough time.

I'd give Elden Ring GOTY too. Horizon: Forbidden West and the new A Plague Tale were both very good though, and I haven't played the new God of War yet. Stray was OK, but I don't really understand the GOTY talk around it.

Elden Ring should win alone if it's all fan votes, more people played it/can play it vs God of War

Stray just wasn't very good. Don't get that nomination at all

It seems impossible for anything but ER to win. 3 platforms of maniacs.

Miyazaki-San took GOTY with Sekiro in 2019. He shall do the same in 2022. The man’s sole purpose on this planet is to just simply know what hardcore fans want.

I haven't played too many games this year, but I don't see how you give it to anything other than Elden Ring. It's one of the few AAA games that actually prioritizes gameplay over story-telling. I might change my tune after playing Xenoblade 3, but I'm waiting on all of the DLC to come out before I dive into that one.

It’s flaw is that it’s dark souls 3 with a half assed open world that is unnecessary. It’s a proclamation that making dark souls amenable to the masses while also making it popular -showed everyone how great the series is. This entry is not that special- just mainstream and accessible. Dark souls has always been great and is frequently better then ER IMO.

Feeb wrote:

You're an idiot. George R R Martin helped create the world we play in. How can you look at "Fort Night" and "No Finger But Hole" and not see GotY

I see the From soft narrative/story discourse is RAGING on twitter atm.

A couple of my favorite messages I stumbled upon in Elden Ring. Sorry for the Instagram post, it's not a plug, I don't care about followers.

Feeb wrote:

Which is honestly still goty in 2022 I'm afraid.

Gypsy wrote:

So just above the greatest game of all time. I can see that.

https://twitter.com/ZullieTheWitch/status/15928351...

Good thread here

I love it when the dark souls phds get involved.

The biggest problem I see here is people taking literary terms and trying to apply them to video game media. If I can walk into a dark crypt and slay a beast and see it happen- I don’t need a narrator for this exposition. It’s a pretty shallow take.

Another hilariously ironic part of this narrative talk- God of War is a bastardized take on thousands of years old stories. Yet that ain’t lazy…

It's the story-telling versus lore argument. God of War/Horizon want you to experience the plot in a very specific way. The Souls series wants you to discover and piece together fragments with a strong possibility of it making no sense at all. I'm glad both types of games exist. I love the Elden Ring lore but I had to do a lot of outside reading and follow a guide to actually experience it all. I bounced hard off of Forbidden West because they never shut up. There's a happy medium somewhere.

I like taking my own notes and trying to piece things together. I've never watched a lore video. Doing all of it yourself is definitely not for everyone and that's perfectly okay. It's just when people say there is no narrative in these games that annoys me. Though it is somewhat amusing to see essentially the same arguments that were happening on forums shortly after DS1 came out being rehashed on a massive stage (twitter) via various journalists and such.

Without YouTube, I'd be lost with the lore of the Souls series. Absolutely love the games, but I like to kill crap and be told a story my ape brain can understand.

I told myself the second play through of ER that I was gonna read all the item descriptions... I did not... I I killed crap, and had fun.

Yeah I'm the same. As much as I love to play and experience them, I'm a dope when it comes to the SoulsBorne series. I much more resonate with the cookie cutter popcorn flick God of War like storytelling format.

I mean ER in itself is like GoT with the confusing fudging names. Two play through and 200+ hours later... I still don't know who's who.

I read stuff on reddit every couple days and I'm amazed at how intense the level of nerdery is over this game. It's impressive but... I'll rely on others to cliff note my way through it all.

As much as I love games like Horizon, God of War, Mass Effect, etc, I appreciate that I can just turn on Elden Ring or Dark Souls, and just go. I love stories and exposition in games as long as it entertains me, but there's something to be said when a game just lets you kinda go off on a journey of self discovery sometimes. And then games like Little Nightmares 1 and 2 which takes it a step further than even Souls games, and just tosses you in with nothing and lets the environment tell the story. I wouldn't like it if it were the norm because it would be done poorly and many would use it as an excuse to not even bother with lore but when games break a mold with a clear idea of what they want, I can get behind that.

Yeah, as much as I do like story-based games like God of War unless it's something super special I could never call it Game of the Year. Games like Elden Ring/Dark Souls have way more replayability due to builds and different playstyles. Story-focused games give little reason to replay unless you want to refresh for the next game. I wish they'd make a Little Nightmares 3. Such a good series.

Elden ring board game Kickstarter is up. Those prices. Lol. Fudge right off.

It's probably Steam Forged Games. No one buys their stuff for the game, just the minis.

Kommie wrote:

It is. The all in is almost $500. Looks like an extra bonus room is required to play it.

Kommie wrote:

They look quite nice in the Kickstarter. I can imagine putting together a badass Elden Ring D&D campaign.

I'm SO late to the party...sort of.

Played some Dark Souls Remastered on PS4 last summer. Absolutely hated it. Clunky controls, sloppy camera, bland graphics, uninteresting enemies, unfair difficulty (yeah yeah, flame me...but I'm not totally wrong about these things).

That being said, I still thought "maybe I'll like Elden Ring, because as a kid I REALLY liked trudging through Zelda 1 discovering all the cool stuff and going on adventures". I read the warnings...."this is STILL a Souls game!"...."if you hate Dark Souls, you'll hate Elden Ring"...

Well I gave it a shot anyway. Grabbed the PS4 version to play on my PS5 in BC mode (best way to play I hear) for $25 off Gamefly a couple of weeks ago.

Lo and behold...I'm loving this game. I can't stop thinking about it and wanting to discover more. The other comment people made about the game that made it different from Souls games is the fact that you can avoid the next big enemy and instead go level up and just enjoy. In Dark Souls, I felt like I HAD to get past the next area just to play the game. In Elden Ring, I can...avoid. I can go learn something on my own while enjoying it, rather than having education forced down my throat through 50 deaths.

It's not like I'm good at the game. I still die alot, in places I shouldn't die. The horse is a godsend. Love being able to run away in no time. I'm learning about spells and ashes and crafting...but have a long way to go. I'm 10 hours in, and PSN tells me I have 1% of the trophies

So I'm a super noob...willing to share stories and listen to you veterans. Who's still playing??????

DS1 is a pretty open game, but that is often the mental strain that it creates. One of my favorite parts about it is there are other places to go most of the time if you are struggling in a spot.

There are quite a few OP grind up spots early too. I guess the Bull on the bridge can be a roadblock if you aren’t willing to put in a little grinding.

@Admiral I was in the same boat as you. I generally did not enjoy playing the Souls series at all but loved Elden Ring. Some of the Souls vets say it's nothing special, but effectively having a difficulty slider through spirit summons eliminates that frustration brick wall that a lot of the other games have.

If you want to make the early game easier get a 100% physical block shield (I think Beast Crest Heater Shield is available early), the Meteorite Staff, and Rock Sling.

If you want to maximize NPC interactions this thread is essential: https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/tjmodv...

All the games have easy mode options but it requires a bit more looking into stuff in the others and as always you have to swallow your pride (that is an issue for some people lol).

And yeah there is always grinding like Feeb said.

Speaking of easy mode in DS… poor Sterling. They do it to themselves though even jokingly.

https://youtu.be/l-QJqr1Wh6U

This is fantastic

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/z7gzo5...

Gypsy wrote:

Maybe I misinterpreted how DS1's layout was then. It felt fairly linear at the beginning, with no real options other than the path I was trying to take....and it was ridiculously difficult and not fun.

If you mean "open" as in, many different areas to investigate, I suppose that could be true. But it definitely felt like the areas were small, closed off, tunneled, etc. Definitely not sprawling like Elden Ring (not news to anyone, I know....).

Admiral wrote:

It definitely has a designed path. And the lead up to the first boss may be the hardest part of the game “at level.” That’s definitely true. It doesn’t really open up and feel interconnected until you get going. If you tried to take the wrong path- catacomb etc. that’s oops.

Orlandu wrote:

That's certainly a benefit. Even random things like having friendly invasions from NPC characters to help out in certain battles is both cool and refreshing. Granted, maybe that ruins the experience for the vets...but I love it.


I have a large leather shield right now, but I haven't really checked it's stats Mostly because it's the one I have and I don't have much of a choice so why bother lol I have found a more recent merchant though that sells another shield. I'll look into that one too to see which one has a higher physical block. I'm still learning about all of the stats. Not many of the strategy guides / videos really talk about just HOW important it is to be knowledgeable on the stats numbers...but for non-souls people, I think all of the stats screens are way more important than in other RPG's that are easier.. I do need to look into something else. Do you parry much with your shield? I would love to get good at that, but I'm not sure it's in my skill set.


That's a great thread! So crazy how intricate the interactions can be...like visiting a person two, three, or more times back and forth just to get different dialogue. Like, how would someone know to do that?!?!?

Feeb wrote:



So DS1 is "open", giving you freedom to go anywhere...but everywhere is the wrong path except 1? lol

Admiral wrote:

Literally. If you’re really good you can branch out but there is a pretty straight forward “expected” first play through path. Through that crapty town with dudes on the roof and the bridge boss. You can certainly work around a bit but then I think you’ll end up at the goat butt-hole. It opens up after the gargoyles mostly. It’s definitely challenging the first time if you don’t over level. But you can grind all you want and almost trivialize the early bosses with the right build etc.

Feeb wrote:

After playing a few hours of DS1 last summer (and hating it), and now playing Elden Ring (and loving it), I really can't see myself playing any other kind of Souls game to be honest. What you are describing simply does not sound appealing to me It's fine...I'm just not that kind of player I guess. Grinding isn't even the problem really...I don't mind grinding in Elden Ring...or Dragon Warrior, or any other game that requires some grinding.

I also think one of the appealing parts of DS1 for Souls vets is the level layout. All of the hidden nooks and crannies, the slightly-out-of-camera jumps and passages and walking paths. You can easily miss them, and it's intentional this way. To me, that just feels...cheap in a way. Not super creative. I do suppose it forces the player to be more investigative and to keep their eyes peeled and REALLY look into every area. It does seem like there is almost too much to look at, and much of it isn't important, but then there are a handful of things you CAN'T MISS or you're screwed lol

Again, I am certain I didn't play enough of the game to really get it. But these are impressions I had, and things I don't think Elden Ring is doing to me.

Like Feeb is saying the path you are supposed to take is fairly straight forward for sure but the game world is very open. Just look at world maps.

DS1 is easier than DS3/BB/Elden Ring etc in terms of combat I say this as someone with 6+ playthroughs and hundreds of hours in most of these games.

Some quick hitter reasons why. Poise is busted, it's very possible to chonk armor and block your way through much of the game. The bosses are simply slow and much easier. There is nothing in the whole game including DLC that can touch the back third of Elden Ring at a minimum but even just much of DS3/BB/ER in general. Really the whole game is slow, you just have to learn it if you want to beat it.

First playthroughs w/o doing any research are too hard to rate because everyone is different. I will say the environment and arcane nature of DS1 is *probably* more difficult than the other games as well as the actual enemies within DS1 though. There are quite a few "gotcha" type things. Once you know everything, that removes the challenge around it. I don't want to bring up specific examples for spoiler reasons but DS1 has many such examples. Also as stated you can grind in any of these games. Any comments I'm making about difficulty are assuming no grinding/natural progression.

I am genuinely intrigued to see where you are at with Elden Ring once you hit the back third @Admiral . Looking forward to seeing what you think of many bosses in general.

Edit: And yeah I really enjoy the secrets in all of these games. Whacking walls, opening chests and warping, secret areas. I love discovering that crap but it's not for everyone and I'd never tell anyone they shouldn't look up how to find things if that is how they would rather play.

Gypsy wrote:



Uh oh.

So are some people giving up when it gets to this point? What's the secret here then? MAD leveling up? Certain weapons?

One of the things I don't like hearing about ER too is how you can miss SO much of the story, and items in general. I suppose that's the nature of Open World...but I'd hate to have that FOMO. Doubt I'd play through the whole thing again at any time after I beat it once.

Admiral wrote:

The bosses and even some of the regular enemies just REALLY ramp up imo. Some of the bosses are pretty optional however. Spirit ashes help a lot and it sounds like you are willing to use them. Some bosses are absolutely brutal w/o them.

And yes there is a lot you can miss I'd say if you are worried about that go here: https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Elden+Ring+W...

Gypsy wrote:

Well, I'm around Level 25 I guess and haven't even attempted Margit yet I just don't think I'm ready skillwise. Should be QUITE a while until I get that far.


"Whacking walls" eh? Are there many walls to whack in Elden Ring? I kind of didn't know that was a thing...lol

Gypsy wrote:

Good to know. I appreciate the insight and the links

Admiral wrote:

Yeah it's a major thing more or less. Referred to as illusory walls.

You should revisit DS once you understand the systems and gameplay better. I played it at launch and struggled because I did not understand it very well. I had played Demon’s Souls quite a bit too- but didn’t understand the summons, magic etc. The learning curve will be mostly gone after ER.

@Feeb That's probably not a bad idea. You don't think it will feel too "archaic" by that point? People say the quality of life improvements in ER are really game changing (for better or worse)...

Not at all. It’s a boss battling game in the end. It’s just more of what is great about the series.

I personally had a BLAST revisiting DS3 (for a second play through), after my first ER playthrough. DS3 is the staple of the series, and absolutely worth playing more than the predacessors IMHO.

Admiral wrote:

I don't have a clue. That's why I used a guide when I played. Everyone says you can do that stuff on a second run, but I'd really rather my first run (which was 100+ hours) to be as thorough as possible. As for parrying I almost never did. I mostly blocked and dodge-rolled. There's one enemy that really should be parried but I kind of just brute forced my way through it. Moonveil is an incredible weapon that can interrupt quite a few enemy attacks with its Ash of War. Flame of the Redmanes is also a great way to stagger enemies. Between those two and spirit ashes I didn't run into a lot of scenarios that I couldn't cheese my way through.

Crap.

https://www.goodsmileus.com/product/figma-fluted-a...

MrBean wrote:

That looks nice.

Orlandu wrote:


I think that's the beauty of this game. Kind of how people would talk about Breath of the Wild and all the different ways to accomplish goals, Elden Ring allows everyone to find their own way of being successful.

I found that you can sit on top of some ruins and spam magic at the Tree Sentinel...he can't hit you. It's not a fight at all...super lame and cheesy, but I'm doing it. The Demi Human guy, I ran past him over and over on Torrent hitting him in the ass....killed him in about 10 minutes without taking a lick of damage. Souls vets would hate me for it, but it's how I'm winning

Thanks for the info on those weapons I'm finding that the Twin Blade and a staff for magic are my go to weapons for now. I have other, stronger weapons but I kind of just like it's power and speed. With a few hits of magic prior to having to fight, I'm finding I can take on most smaller enemies for now...and some dungeon bosses are REAL easy with magic too.

Magic is definitely the way to go for most of the game if you want to have an easier time. I definitely used he run away with Torrrent while casting spells strategy. There are a few bosses that input read spells (dodge immediately upon casting), but you can counter them with delayed activation spells like Rock Sling.

You pretty much nailed my strategy Send out the Wolves to annoy/distract the enemies (small bosses?), and spam magic at them. Usually works pretty well.

That will work for bosses the entire game. A spirit summon keeps them occupied long enough for you to get a lot of free hits in. After a while you learn to sort of bounce aggro with your spirit summon to keep the boss turning back and forth without attacking too much.

I keep seeing people in love with the Jelly Fish spirit...is that worth upgrading? I usually go with the wolves...I only have 5 spirits, and 2 of them I can't use yet (not enough FP I think).

The jellyfish was pretty OP at launch but they nerfed it I believe. I used it until I got the mimic. Then I used the archer from the wolf lady quest. Lots of really strong ones.

I played DS:Remastered a year ago and Elden Ring earlier this year. I'll play DS2, DS3, BB, Sekiro and DeS at some point.

@Admiral One spirit summon that works really well for most of the game is the Skeletal Militiamen. They can respawn if you keep a boss from hitting them while they're down. They're also cheaper to summon and a bit better than the wolves.

So obviously the mimic is cracked in half but if we ignore that because reasons I really liked Stormhawk Deenh. Has to be in the top 5 non-Mimic ashes. Lhutel and Tiche are right there too. In general the elite summons are better.

I would like very much if they would release Demon's Souls Remake on PC, please and thank you. I played it briefly when I had my ps5, and I'm on PC now, so I'd appreciate some more Sony love like they've been doing.

It was absolutely gorgeous. I still prefer vanilla but gosh darn, was that a pretty game. Would love to see it on PC. That was the first Soulsborne game I beat! Then Gypsy made me beat DS

...Not nearly as much as I'd love to see Bloodborne

Update 1.08 Multiplayer in the Coliseums, who is ready?

So if I'm "getting better" at Elden Ring, actually enjoying it, understanding the whole flask/bonfire/defend/roll stuff....

Should I go back and retry the older souls games?????

Groo wrote:

Well this is awesome to hear! Man, my build is a bit to PvE focused, will have to think about how to rebuild properly ... but I kinda want to wait for DLC to get back into the game again.

Admiral wrote:

At least Demon's Remake, DS3 and Bloodborne.

Feeb wrote:



Is it all about the quality of life improvements of those? What is it about DS1 and DS2 (which I hear the community is split on) that makes them less approachable for someone like me?

They're just slower and older. If you've never played them it's jarring since ER and DS3/BB are faster.

Sekiro is also a great one. Polarizing but very good. It “feels” the best when it clicks. Very satisfying like perfecting an instrument almost.

Feeb wrote:

Agree. It's unforgiving but that is what makes it great. It's hard on a level the others are not.

Well...prettymuch the only game I've been playing this year is Elden Ring. I took a break here and there and played some short fun games like Portal, but really this is the only game that's had my attention since it released. I was playing simultaneously on 3 different builds, doing PvP and just general exploring, and beat the game for the first time the other day. I didn't look up a single guide until I beat it and I only used the guides to get the madness ending and find the 1 single legendary talisman I was missing for the last achievement. Other than that, I completed everything in the game completely blind over the course of the last like 10 months. Holy crap it has been so fun. Maybe not my favorite souls game, but it is my best experience with a souls game for sure. Such a freaking blast.


image

Jesus. You're putting up Bushy numbers there

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thought this was cool

Welp, Ragnarok just beat Elden Ring for best narrative

I’m ok with this after finishing GoW. It’s a great tale.

Nice! Elden Ring won GOTY

Well deserved!

MrBean wrote:

d3vanj wrote:


That's impressive to NOT look anything up!!!! I suppose in 433 hours, you could definitely make some great progress with the exploration - but I couldn't imagine finding some of the things in the dungeons without help...such as the random falling off of ledges to secret landings that you could never see

I didn't look anything up my first run either. That's a lot of the fun in it for some of us but I totally get looking stuff up and will not shame people for how they want to play.

As these games go this one definitely has the most to miss but that's no surprise as the game is huge.

Demon’s was the only souls game I ever did completely blind and it was just such an amazing experience that I wanted to try it with Elden Ring too. Totally worth it and I don’t think I would’ve been playing like 8 hours per week for the last 10 months if I used guides.

@Admiral ”completely” blind is technically an exaggeration, I was online and used messages and I don’t think I would’ve figured out a bunch of the secret paths and such without them regardless of how long I played. Placidusax for example I would’ve never found without messages.

d3vanj wrote:

I play offline but if you are playing online messages are just a part of the game imo.

I actually did get to that boss on my own but I think I would have been 0% to find that the first time if this was the first of these games I had played. I also move around very slowly after clearing enemies and look for secrets.

I know I had to look up Nameless King in DS3 and trying to remember if there was anything else I missed on my first time with these games.

Ahhhh I didn't think about it - but I've been playing offline because PSN keeps kicking me off

I think my Internet just sucks right now. So yeah...I need to get back to being online so I can see messages and other stuff. But I'll be honest, it's kind of refreshing not seeing a million little white marks everywhere, and most of them are pointless.

Messages, the community gaming aspect is awesome, my first time playing a Souls game (1st time playing not owning ) I like that liking their post gave them health and I left 3-4 messages myself and was pretty cool when I would randomly get some health. Now I do wish some of the people would not place their messages in the spots they do as assume they are just being a jackleg.

Armored Core fudgin’ VI tho announced too.

MrBean wrote:

I was kind of shocked by this after seeing all the polls etc. HFW is still my GotY but ER is up there. I’m excited how “mainstream” it has taken the series.

Wow, came across a game changer for me in Elden Ring. I found a "farming" spot....which I don't doubt some people would consider a lame tactic. Anyway, I farmed about 10k runes every 5 minutes or so. Leveled up my Bloodhound's Fang to level 5, my Banished Knight Engvall spirit ash to level 5, and went nuts. With those two combined upgrades, I am destroying crap. I still run into a few enemies too powerful for me, and I'm certain it will continue to get more difficult...but this has allowed me to freely explore without much worry. I also have the Lhutel the Headless spirit ash, which I keep reading is one of the best in the game but I didn't upgrade her as fast :( That's my next goal. I do love the summoning in this game. Makes me feel like I'm not screwed in every fight I enter.

In hindsight me thinking anything before the Ice Giant mountains was difficult is laughable. You notice it a lot in your second attempt at a playthrough, you can get "OP" pretty quickly but the endgame sorts out the boys from the men. It's really an unfair difficulty hike. But it do feel good to be crushing it

DarkFact wrote:

Yeah that's where the game hard spikes and some of the regular enemies become ROUGH.

@Admiral there is an insane farming spot later on. Can get to pretty much any reasonable level you want without too much time in.

Honestly, it's really only Haligtree that massively bumps up the difficulty. The rest is pretty on par as long as you're staying leveled and managing a good loadout. My second playthrough, Haligtree was much easier for me (going more melee this time) ... that, and casting Heal on those fudging butt-hole spider like dickheads that absolutely dominate you. Casting heal was ezmode and I'm pissed I didn't do this first time through, my god those guys sucked.

I'm curious...what level is everyone on? I think I'm only around 43 or so right now? Wondering how high you guys are when these areas become really tough for you...

Gypsy wrote:

I'll be sure to spend plenty of time there

Admiral wrote:

Fextralife that I linked to awhile back typically lists "recommended level" for areas. It's been long enough that I couldn't tell you what level I was and where.

So I'm having a really great time just running around, filling in the map, going places that "appear" to have nothing...leveling up, searching for weapons, and getting my butt kicked.

If I REALLY wanted to progress the story without looking things up, would the best advice be to just follow the sites of grace trails? I know they don't point exactly in the direction of the next place to go, but I clearly see some directing me in the same generally area - while others seem to be really pointing to a random location.

More or less. If you see something in the distance that looks interesting it's likely to be plot related. NPCs also give you hints, especially at the round table hold.

I hate that this game makes all other games feel ... inferior.

After my second play through of Elden Ring, I did go play and finish God of War, yet I struggle to get into a new game.

I just bounced from Witcher 3 to FFXII, to Bloodbourne, to Overwatch 2, to Sonic Frontiers, to Returnal ... nothing is sticking and feeling that sense of "wtf do I play" (even though I have dozens of games on the backlog).

Happens every time I go through a Soulsbourne game, everything else just feels meh.

Bloodbourne feels like the right choice, but I dunno, just wasn't grabbing my attention.

Dead Space in a couple weeks will be great.

Told you try ys. The best Zelda in years.

Feeb wrote:

There's so many ... where do you even start?

Looks like VIII and IX are in PS Plus. Quick Google says start with VIII?

Just finished downloading.

@Feeb ok, aside from the quirky acting and dialogue it's growing on me quickly ... super early into, just got second character but I'm digging the combat already

You start with VIII for sure. Emulate the old school crap.

MrBean wrote:

You’ll love it.

Feeb wrote:

It's definitely getting better and better. Several hours in now ... just realized I'm on the PS4 version, not PS5. Unsure if the PS5 version is that much better or not, but it's what was included in PS Plus Extra.

Before I get too deep ... it it worth it to start over on the PS5 version? I think I need to pick this up oh physical disc anyway as it feels like this is a keeper/collector item for me.

Damn, no where to buy it locally. Amazon can have it here tomorrow morning.

Honestly I’ve platinum it on vita, ps4 and ps5. Felt very similar but ps5 is definitely faster loads and better performance- locked at 60fps vs ps4 where there is bad slow down with intense action.

And yeah. Most versions of the game are sought after. They re-released the ps4 version a couple times. The launch / deluxe versions with the soundtrack and mini book are they way to go. It’s also a really good CE if those are available.

I'm also playing (largely) remotely on my PC to my PS5 and the random stutters don't help with the fast combat. I'm hopeful the PS5 version will alleviate this.

Amazon physical is $40, be here tomorrow morning.

I found a PS5 CE for $130 - debating getting that, and then a digital version of PS5 or PC.

What have you done here sir! Damnit.

MrBean wrote:

You should definitely check out as much of the series as you can. Most available on psp / emulation not sure about steam etc. Origins is a blast it’s on current gen systems I think LRG? IX is ok but VIII is pinnacle imo.

Really great fan site:

https://www.digitalemelas.com/m.index.php

According to this site all of them are on pc now.

One of my old buddies has been trying to get me to play Ys for ... jesus, 20 years? Dunno why I ignored him for so long, but he's gonna be stoked that I finally did.

Kinda stoked you talked me into this. Especially when I'm in this rut of "wtf do i play".

Now though, I have to restart my 4 hours played, and wait till tomorrow morning, ugh. Or I just buy digitally, but for the same price - feels like a waste.

#FirstWorldProblems

You’ll zoom through the first stuff on replay. Especially since you don’t need to explore.

Bloodborne is my personal favorite. Elden Ring is fun and a fantastic game, but I feel like the open world aspect kinda took away from some of the tight world design they normally do. In most of their other titles I’ve played, every corner or bit of space has some intentional design element for it in their games - but with the open world aspect, you lose some of that by nature of design. That’s always been my biggest issue with open world games, that they sacrifice personality for wide open space that I don’t need.

BB and Sekiro are the best ones. The others all have the same problem where part of the game is demonstrably weaker. Typically the last third or so. DS2 is more consistent tbh, but not as good in general.

I got Steelrising for Christmas and have been playing that. So far it's okay, but a lot of these games that try being like Dark Souls eventually start to suck from stupid mobs everywhere and unbalanced placement of said mobs. Hopefully it doesn't start to suck at some point.

Demon's Souls will always be my best (likely because it was first). DS1, DS2, and BB were also good for me. I could not get into DS3 for reasons I can't understand.

Sekiro was tough but I pushed through enough to appreciate it. I gave up after failing to beat Owl many times, though.

Returnal (not sure if it's OK to include this here) has been tough/slow for me, but I'm still playing. I'm hoping to have some sort of breakthrough where I'm able to dance between the bullets better. The random-generation aspect is less good for me too.

I suspect I will like Elden Ring, but I'm being cheap, waiting for a hefty sale and/or it being added to extra. Reading what Admiral was saying, that there are alternate ways to beat bosses and other things to do is appealing. With the first Souls 3 games, I was generally able to do that (either by cheesing tricks or by getting help from other players). I think I get psyched out, have trouble staying calm. I'm not great at dodge or parry, usually get by with aggression. Sekiro didn't seem to have ways to get help or cheese, and Returnal seems to have less of that too.

I also enjoyed/finished Surge and Surge 2. Hard to say why, but maybe they were a bit easier somehow. I dig the sci-fi setting too.

Remnant: From the Ashes was good and perhaps like Returnal in its procedural-generated levels (though no bullet hell).

Elden Ring is super forgiving thanks to the spirit ash summon system. I can't think of a single boss fight that you have to go solo. If you can beat any other game in the series you can beat Elden Ring.

Feeb wrote:

OK, glad I went with the PS5 version, definitely improved visuals/frame rate. I also question is there's a difference between PS4 and PS5 games when playing remotely. I briefly hit up Bloodbourne for a few minutes ... similar to Ys (PS4) that it had more stutters and performance issues. Yet, checked out Returnal, and now Ys on PS5 - almost no issues.

Thanks for the push man, pretty stoked about this series. I want to go back and play the others, but will spread that out over time. Too many other big titles ont he way.

Of course I had to go pick up the CE for VIII and IX ... I have problems.

It's weird...I loved Ark of Napishtim but never really played an Ys game again after that. Another game that's similar to the classic Ys is Soul Blazer on SNES. It usually gets passed over in favor of the other games in the unofficial series (Illusion of Gaia + Terranigma), but that is my favorite of the bunch.

Ys is a niche / overlooked and underrated series. The new engine stuff is definitely one, of if not the absolute best, ARPG experiences. Tokyo Xanadu by falcom is pretty cool too it’s like a persona lite with ys like ARPG dungeons. Not nearly as good as ys though.

Orlandu wrote:

Same. Everything I tried after sucked. 1-3 and Oath were all good tho

1-2 are brutal. “Bump mechanic” as in you don’t have an attack button- you gotta bump the bad guys at a correct angle. I’d advise anyone new to the series to try 8/9 first then decide if you want to go there. Lots of folks are like no way after trying 1-2. There are 3 completely different engines in the current forms of the games.

DeS and DS1 are the easiest just in terms of bosses being pretty easy. You have a ton of tools at your disposal in ER though. It's as easy or hard as you want it to be.

As far as Ys, I had beat every game in the series until 9. Some more than one version. I just could not get into 9 at all. Tried a few times. Makes me a bit sad tbh.

@Feeb - can't stop playing it, this is legit the game I needed right now. I'm amazed at how much depth is added as the world opens up. Just hit 10 hours, have 4 characters, all L27. In the swamp area (just got the boots).

All around, this is a fantastic game. Are the prior ones this good?

MrBean wrote:

I think VIII is the pinnacle. I love the rest of them but don’t expect this quality. Even IX falls off a bit. The website I linked gives a really good run down of the three different engines the series has used and how hey differ- 7, celceta, viii and IX use the same engine. You’d definitely like those.

I enjoyed it. Wish it was longer but absolutely worth $20.

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/161222095415085...

Thymesia was great, I don't feel any need to cut it again though. I just went digital with it.

bill wrote:


It sounds like you'll LOVE Elden Ring. I started off trying to be a hack and slash player, because it's COOL. But I sucked at that, so I quickly went the other way and started pumping stats into being a spellcaster type person. It's sort of spammy, but I win battles and feel good. Loving it.

Agreed. ...I think you might be able to enjoy some of the earlier Souls games too.

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