Elden Ring

[DisturbedSwan]

33 minutes ago, Maf said:

The only downside is this thing kills MP. I’m going to have to put all my points in to Mind now so I got lots of juice 

Don’t wanna say I told you so, but, well…

 

Where do you get that spell? Think I might have to have a go on that myself, I thought the video might be too spoilery so didn’t wanna watch.

 

Also I faced that same Tree Spirit boss last night and got my ass whooped as a level 72-ish at the time, gonna return to it later. 
 

You’ve seemed to get to 100 so quick! You’ve way overtaken me in terms of progress and levels now. I’m in Nokron at the moment.

[Maf]

It’s not a spell it’s a sword called Night & Flame. The laser and fire are it’s unique ash of war. You get it from 

 

Spoiler

The Carrion House in the top left of the map

I found it on my own, but the video made me level up for it.
 

I Looked at it before and thought that seems kind of cool. But it requires 24 faith and spending that many points in a stat I wasn’t using had potential to be a waste. Turns out no. 
 

I found a good farming spot today so did that for a couple of hours. I think started today at 80 something I’m now 117 lol. But now even the farming spot is taking too long for one level so have to move on. 

[OCH]

I've heard about the mimic (and the subsequent nerf). I've got the mimic. I can't use it...

HP requirement = 660

My HP = 522

 

😩

[radiofloyd]

Clearing up some stuff in Caelid and doing random caves. Picked up some cool stuff.

 

Spoiler

I picked up the talisman (I think it was in Gael Fortress) that gives you +5 strength. Also completed the scarlet rot cave just now and that gave me a Scarab talisman that boosts souls dropped by enemies. Definitely a timely acquisition.

 

The fourth warp gate in The Four Belfries took me to a cool area in the east. A kind of floating city in the sky. But it seemed to be an isolated dead end part of that area, just a fight and a talisman drop. 

 

[Maf]

You should definitely invest in HP to get mimic @OCH Makes the game much easier. 

 

Even more of my NPC's are now missing. But made some progress, too. 

 

Lot of stuff I did in no particular order

 

Spoiler

I got Ranni out of her chair and sent her on her quest! So all this time I've been trying to get to the Eternal City to finish her quest was a waste and I had the item the whole time. The giant said her quest starts in that locked tower. So I went there and it takes me to a place I've already been. So I fast travelled to the end of the path where Astel was and nothing. There's still a big door there that says I need a Ring of Oath. I did get a doll of Ranni, though. So, yeah.

 

Ranni gave me the statue to turn that sanctuary upside down and that was so cool. I wish they did more with that. 

 

I then decided to just get the Academy and Renella out of the way and, err, at level 120 it was pretty easy. Renella took 2 goes because the 2nd phase caught me by surprise and I went in to the fight with low resources. But a cool fight. I 1-cycled her first phase lol. So now I can respec if I want, but right now I'm pretty happy with the way things are. I should probably take the 11 points out of Arcane and put them in to something else but it's not important right now. 

 

The guy at the Roundtable who does Incantations has disappeared. He was going after someone called Godskin maybe? Coincidentally I went back to the tower in Cailid and got to the bottom and found a Godskin Apostle boss. Picking up from last week, the PRIME example of a muthafucka reading your inputs. Took me two goes because second time I bought the mimic out and we steamrolled him. 

 

So Ranni is missing, Incantations guys is missing, even the Warmaster dude I noticed is missing lol. The Beast Clegy dude. I fed him 3 Death Roots and now when ever I go there he tries to kill me. I thought maybe I made a mistake so went to the Church of Absolution and it says there's nothing to absolve. I really not sure then. Was I not meant to feed him the Death Root? I did fight the guy guarding him outside. But he started on me first, I didn't do anything (And the guard is still alive). 

 

I did figured out who D is and I found his brother. But his brother just sits there and doesn't do anything.

 

I don't know. I've chased every lead I can think of. Now I guess I'll go back to the Atlas Plateau. There are no other roads for me to go down as far as I can see

 

I played the game for 16-18 hours this weekend 😵

 

It just eats time and it's so easy to get lost in. This is what makes the game stand out for me. It's the exploring and the fantasy element. This game is brilliant at leading to and transitioning from adventure to adventure.

 

Even though some of these things have been done in previous games, even though some of these things are well known fantasy tropes, it's hard to think of a game that blends it all together so amazingly. It really is kind of like classic Zelda style fantasy adventure game with the sense of place of a Team Ico game. Where as Zelda is very game-y and Team Ico games are very organic and this is like a 70/30 mixture. It makes for a world class video game. 

 

The part of the game I kind of like the least is the Dark Souls bit. The bits of level design - fantastic. The customisation and crazy player builds - fantastic. The boss battles, the combat, the difficulty spikes and general jank and lack of polish not so much. I don't want to see these things removed, because I do like the Souls games. But I just wish these elements were a bit better and got in the way less. 

 

I would also like the game more if it weren't so big. Even though each adventure within the game is amazing. The bits in-between are not particularly interesting. It's a great overworld in terms of being able to connect all the different locations together. It's mapped out very well. The more I discover about it the more it does have that puzzle box level design too (if some of it's a bit cheap because it uses teleporters). But I dunno. The overworld map is just very functional and I would enjoy it more if crossing it was an adventure and a story in itself. 

 

To give it credit the open world does finally make a Souls game feel like a whole, complete world instead of a series of zones. That really helps the sense of adventure too. So that's a huge boost. But it could be even better if it wasn't just a flat surface to run across and hide all the cool shit underneath it. Maybe next time. 

 

Complaints aside, though. This game is actually amazing. The more I play it, the more I see and learn, the more I'm like there isn't really a fantasy adventure game quite like this. The only games I would kind of put it on par with is Zelda and the Team Ico games. I'm getting closer and closer to the 9 or 10 rating. It's really something awesome. 

 

The fact I played so much this weekend and all I want to do is jump back in and play more says a lot for me too lol. Maybe if I can get all the real life stuff done I get a few more hours in later. 

[OCH]

RE: Beast dude

Spoiler

You have to knock him back to his senses. Fight him til about 1/2 health and he should snap out of it.

 

As for HP, I'm noticing more and more it is where I'm coming up short. But since finishing the Evergaols, I've got some spells I need a couple more points of Faith for.

 

Also, I was wondering why my spells weren't hitting everyone with the same level of power.... 😔 I haven't upgraded my staff or Finger thingy since the beginning of the game🙄

Now they are both +13 and my spells are back to being certain death.

[DisturbedSwan]

I seem to remember someone telling you to invest some more runes into Vigour a few days back @OCH 😏

 

Is it still worth fully upgrading the Mimic then? I heard it got nerfed so haven’t point any points into him yet but I will do in my next session if he’s still a good ash summon to use, I did use it in a Gargoyle fight last night and found it effective.

 

You can give D’s brother an item, need to follow Fia’s (woman that gives you hugs at Roundtable Hold) quest line though @Maf

 

I think we like the game for the exact opposite reasons lol, I love the Souls stuff but am nonplussed about the open world. 

 

Made good progress into Witch’s quest and Fia’s quest last night, currently I’m Darkroot Depths completely lost and not really knowing where I’m going lol.

[Maf]

I don’t know if the mimic is the best Ash Summon or whatever but it makes for a great tank. I don’t need help with damage I need a distraction and the mimic works great for that. 
 

This will be safe to read for you @DisturbedSwan but this is what I was saying about the open world

 

Spoiler

I’m not fussed about the open world either. I think it serves a function and is a good unifier of all the things in the game. But travelling around it is a bit eh

 

What I really like about the game is the fantasy adventure within it. Sometimes a main quest/dungeon like the Raya Academy. A real hog warts kind of thing. Or a treacherous climb outside of a tower in the rain. And even less important stuff like stumbling upon a zombie graveyard or an underground city and the like. There are such great fantasy settings and tropes the game does excellently, and when following one can take you to some crazy and awesome places. From time to time have the player do some crazy awesome thing too (When it isn’t just fighting another boss)

 

But the open world itself is a bit eh. It’s great at holding all these adventures but getting to the, and looking around for them is quite repetitive, predictable and unexciting. 
 

The adventure stuff is a great mix of Zelda/Team Ico. But the open world that connects them all is bit boring and too big

 

[OCH]

7 minutes ago, DisturbedSwan said:

I seem to remember someone telling you to invest some more runes into Vigour a few days back

I did! ...2 whole points😅

 

Elsewhere, I've noticed the discourse has started to change online, from overwhelmingly positive. Nitpicks are starting to emerge. Chiefly some bosses being outright bad*. As well as an enemy or two being referred to in a derogatory way as a "Bloodborne enemy" IE This one:

 

Spoiler

 

*Personally I'd add the Rune Bears to that. Far too strong, fast and tanky for what they are.

[mfnick]

58 minutes ago, Maf said:

You should definitely invest in HP to get mimic @OCH Makes the game much easier. 

Nope, he’s shit since the patch. Does nothing. 
Invest in FP and aim towards Tiche. He’s half the level of my Mimic but so much more useful now. 

 

[OCH]

I'm actually working with a new summon at the moment. While everyone has been talking about how OP Bleed is. Two other status' have slowly been gaining in recognition - Gravity and Sleep. Currently got an archer summon that deals in the latter, and it is surprisingly effective against bosses.

For those curious what sleep does? It puts enemies into the staggered state.

[Maf]

I dunno what to do. I fell for this before lol

 

Spoiler

For now, he lives 

[radiofloyd]

Cleared out pretty much everything in Caelid (that I’ve come across). Caelid is good for leveling up. Those dogs and ravens aren’t up to much and give a lot of runes. Up to level 77 now. I also found the other half of the medallion so was able to activate the lift. Time to go back underground next.

[one-armed dwarf]

imo, for the endgame 'stretch' in this 

Spoiler

roughly leyndall onwards

you've got to be thinking of having around 40 vigour, or just being content with being a glass cannon and hope you're just really good and patient.

 

40 is considered on the low side in this, more or less. Even if 30 could take you through the entirety of bloodborne or dark souls

 

edit turns out the rahdan nerf was accidental

 

https://kotaku.com/elden-ring-starscourge-radahn-boss-fight-patch-bug-nerf-1848745235

[DisturbedSwan]

23 hours ago, Maf said:

  Hide contents

I’m not fussed about the open world either. I think it serves a function and is a good unifier of all the things in the game. But travelling around it is a bit eh

 

What I really like about the game is the fantasy adventure within it. Sometimes a main quest/dungeon like the Raya Academy. A real hog warts kind of thing. Or a treacherous climb outside of a tower in the rain. And even less important stuff like stumbling upon a zombie graveyard or an underground city and the like. There are such great fantasy settings and tropes the game does excellently, and when following one can take you to some crazy and awesome places. From time to time have the player do some crazy awesome thing too (When it isn’t just fighting another boss)

 

But the open world itself is a bit eh. It’s great at holding all these adventures but getting to the, and looking around for them is quite repetitive, predictable and unexciting. 
 

The adventure stuff is a great mix of Zelda/Team Ico. But the open world that connects them all is bit boring and too big

 

Ah yeah, I completely agree then, I think I must've misread your previous post a bit. 

 

I really loved Raya Lucaria, it's one of my favourite environments so far in the game. The legacy dungeons and most of the bosses are my highpoint but yeah the open world I feel similarly on, I just a little bored and overwhelmed whenever I am roaming between areas. Once I get somewhere and can get lost in a new area thinking 'where the actual fuck am I going?' going further and further down the rabbit hole I'm ok. It's only when I'm out and thinking 'now where the hell do I go next' then left free to my own devices that I have issues. I get overwhelmed and bewildered by the size of everything and how many options I've got of where to go next. 

 

I played quite a bit over the weekend and made a lot of progress. Mostly doing Ranni and then Fia's questlines, I had to use a guide at times to give me a hint of where to go next as things are real obscure in this game. 

 

First off I set about exploring the rest of Radahn's Castle, which I completely neglected on my way in. Fought the boss here which gave me way more problems than it should've done partly due to my drunkenness and partly due to my own stupidity, but they went down eventually.

 

Went back and beat the Dragon from Liurnia and then set about getting an item for Ranni from Nokron. Managed to find the crater easily enough, made my way down and to the end of this area after a lot of exploring the various different paths and found the item she wanted. Returned back and gave it to her only for her to give me something in return which I can use at the Carian Study Hall (I'd previously visited here but was unable to progress so I'd left it). Popped the item down inside a here with triggered a cutscene. 

 

I then thought to myself that I hadn't progressed Fia's questline in awhile

Spoiler

(the last thing I saw was her evaporating after killing D at the Roundtable Hold) so I looked up a few hints on this and then set about making my way back down to Nokron and to a route I'd completely missed the first time around. Wasn't sure if I could progress too far down here as the Knights were kicking my arse but I managed to sneak past them and into the next area which was the amazing Deeproot Depths. 

 

Deeproot Depths feels like it's at the bottom of a gigantic tree (the erdtree?) filled with a lot of nasties you'd expect from something right down in the dirt, there's those frog things that cause curses, these fire breathing annoyances and about 3 bosses I put down before I came to a dead end

Spoiler

(and Fia)

at the end of a boss arena. I got hugged again by her and that was it really, think she needs another item to progress further so I'll pick that up at some point. 

Ended up going through a portal at the end of the arena and was suddenly in the capital. Don't think I'm ready for this area at all yet so I found a bonfire and got the hell out of there as quickly as possible. 

 

Since I've been following these two questlines I've enjoyed it a lot more than I was, Nokron is one of my favourite areas of the game so far and Darkroot Depths I love but for almost the complete opposite reason. Nokron has a real ethereal otherworldly beauty to it whereas Deeproot is properly grimey and dirty with a whole host of creepy crawlies and body horrors coming out the woodwork. 

 

About Level 82 now, will head for the Carian Tower next.

 

Pics:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[mfnick]

Done. Took me about 58 hours and was level 125. 
 

I dunno. I just don’t think much to the open world. Loads of empty space with copy and paste shacks, castles, dungeons, bosses etc. 90% of the equipment and tools I earned from hard fought battles was useless to me.
It dragged a lot towards the end.
I just felt done with it about 10-15 hours before it actually finished. Some of the bosses near the end just frustrated rather than being any fun. Especially the ones it starts chucking at you where there’s more than one or have helpers & can revive or heal. Fuck them. That’s not adding challenge from good design that’s just bullshit. Some of the combo AOE stuff the last few bosses can do is just ridiculous too. Although some of my annoyance can be put down to wanting it to end so getting frustrated when mildly difficult enemies were put in my way. 
 

I’m being overly negative but I think that’s mainly because it received perfect scores everywhere. Going on about how great the open world is in particular- which I just don’t get at all! But, even for me there was something about it. I just felt compelled to play. It’s really rare I put 50+ hours into a game in a less than a 2 months so it must be doing something for me. No idea what though. It definitely helped that it became a podcast type of game though where I’d just switch off and run around for a few hours while listening to some. 
 

Need some space from it I think before really knowing my final thoughts on it - my love for Sekiro grew much higher over time for example - but personally it’s a high 7 to maybe a 8/10 at the moment. 
 

Was thinking I might jump into NG+. But want to check, do enemies get harder or do they stay the same? Anyone know? Would like to just spend a few hours being a overpowered bastard destroying everything but if it’s anything like Sekiro I’m worried they make the enemies tougher in NG+ and I don’t want that. 

[one-armed dwarf]

They are higher level, but NG+ in these games usually scales such that NG+ will be a lot easier than NG1, and the scaling only really starts to kick in for NG++.

 

So they will be higher level, but you will still be an OP cunt

[OCH]

Well done @mfnick!

Personally, I've never been interested in NG+, trophies,

Spoiler

or unlocking the seven endings

So when I'm done, I'm done. I was the same with DeS and the first two Dark games. Nothing in ER has changed that stance either.

[DisturbedSwan]

Fuck me, congrats man, no idea how you got it finished in that time @mfnick! Level 125 after only 58 hours is pretty bonkers as well. Did you use a guide at all?

 

I've got a long, long ass way to go yet and I'm 67 hours in according to the game clock lol.

 

 

[mfnick]

I used a guide a couple of times when I literally had no idea where to go - it usually just ended up being speak to someone at a grace. But apart from that no I just followed the graces when ready to move on. I did thoroughly explore some of the earlier spaces too. 
 

Not sure how I seem to have levelled quicker than others. I haven’t done any grinding at all. There is a certain talisman I used

Spoiler

which increases Runes from beating enemies which I had equipped as soon as I earned it which will have helped but didn’t think to the degree where I seem that far ahead.