Elden Ring

[one-armed dwarf]

INT/DEX is the popular build for that.

 

Tbh if you use all the tools the game gives you it's generally easier than all the others. It's just that boss fights range from being extremely annoying to boring depending on how you go.

 

I actually don't understand the reviews it got still, I think a lot of them just played the limgrave and liurna sections tbh and didn't beat it

 

(btw looking at these screenshots, ER badly needs an FOV slider. The game is all about vistas but they really limit what you can see)

[DisturbedSwan]

8 minutes ago, one-armed dwarf said:

INT/DEX is the popular build for that.

 

Tbh if you use all the tools the game gives you it's generally easier than all the others. It's just that boss fights range from being extremely annoying to boring depending on how you go.

 

I actually don't understand the reviews it got still, I think a lot of them just played the limgrave and liurna sections tbh and didn't beat it

 

Yeah I agree with all of this.

[OCH]

4 hours ago, Nag said:

I'm planning on starting this at the weekend but I have to admit I'm not looking forward to it at all... this whole thread has me wondering how long I'll actually last before jacking it in.

Whatever you do, don't go for a pure melee build. The general consensus I've seen, this is the first Souls game that actively punishes you for not having a bit of everything.

 

4 hours ago, DisturbedSwan said:

I got back from Honeymoon and I'm slowly losing the will to live I think.

😂 Context is everything.

 

I passed that threshold, personally. I might come back to Elden Ring someday. As I did with Dark 1 (and 3) but I'm burned out. Plus, as you say, the later game bits wherein just running through areas to get to the boss seems to be the encouraged strat. That's not good game design. The end areas are normally underwhelming with From. But not typically obnoxious. The area immediately after Tower Knight. Seems to populated with the kinds of enemies that are there just to punish you for approaching the end game.

[mfnick]

@DisturbedSwanYou’re not too far from the end now if you mainline it. It’s basically a boss rush though from that point forward if you do. A couple of which are really frustrating - in particular Niall and his shitty helpers almost made me fuck it off completely. 

[Nag]

So I actually started this yesterday, went with the Astrologer class and I'm comfortable in knowing that my primary attributes should be Intelligence and Mind followed by Endurance and Vigor. Set the PS5 to quality mode and short of a couple instances where it felt like the game dropped to single fps it's been fine, thankfully I wasn't in combat when that happened. 

 

I've played for a couple of hours, managed to clear a Bandit (Knight?) camp, ran away from some giant ugly thing near the coast who clearly out levelled me and left off having entered some Coastal Cave. So far I like that there's more freedom in this (even being able to spend time stealthing things) but having mobs fully respawn whilst using a Site of Grace still sucks. 

 

There's some things that I really don't get though... like always with these games half the stuff I pick up I have no idea what they're actually used for... the biggest of these is Ashes of War, I equipped one to my sword (Storm Stomp I think it was called) but I've no idea what it did, I expected some kind of new move but have no idea how to perform it if that is the case. Then there's the heavy attack with the Staff, can I not have magic tied to that attack? as by itself it seems completely pointless from a damage perspective.

 

Any way, tomorrow will be the day... I'll be able to wack some hours at it and we'll see how I'm holding up after that.

[OCH]

3 hours ago, Nag said:

Then there's the heavy attack with the Staff, can I not have magic tied to that attack? as by itself it seems completely pointless from a damage perspective.

No. R2 is a physical hit with Staffs. Some later do have a special effect/stat increase attached. But otherwise, R1 is the pew, pew button. When using a staff, muscle memory will make you forget the R2 is there in time.

[Nag]

Do you really have to buy the thing you need to summon and remain host repeatedly?... that's fucking shit.

 

Edit... no you don't... thank god.

[OCH]

2 hours ago, Nag said:

Edit... no you don't... thank god.

Don't worry. I missed the free one too. Apparently, there is a lot of stuff that happens during the night cycle. Which I also missed...

[Nag]

Upto 12 hours, level 31 and Margit the Fell Omen is down... it's safe to say I'm getting on with this a lot better than the Demon Souls remake, I think it's the freedom to attempt to leg it when things get dicey with the mobs. I've summoned for every single boss I've hit so far and my games going all the better for it.

 

I've just entered the Roundtable area for the first time before leaving off for the day. So far I don't know if I'm looking in the wrong areas or just have really bad luck but I'm still using my starting Staff and all of the starting armour... I've upgraded the Staff to +3 but that's about it.

 

Where did you get that boulder throwing spell @Maf I'm still using my starting spells too.😢

[Maf]

It’s in a poison village in the red area in the east along with the S level staff. If you just take your horse and leg it around that area you’ll find it. There’s no bosses in the way of it either, just some poison wizard dudes you can run by 

[Nag]

Thank you sir.👍

[DisturbedSwan]

On 26/05/2022 at 17:54, mfnick said:

@DisturbedSwanYou’re not too far from the end now if you mainline it. It’s basically a boss rush though from that point forward if you do. A couple of which are really frustrating - in particular Niall and his shitty helpers almost made me fuck it off completely. 

 

Ta, that's good to know. 

 

I put Niall in the ground last week, his mob was indeed annoying but I somehow managed it after only a few tries thankfully. 

 

Made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. Made it all the way to the bottom of the Haligtree and defeated Loretta, battled Malenia too (she is a going to be a tough nut to crack) but haven't managed to find a good strategy yet to get anywhere close to defeating her, my summon only refills her health so that's out and all my spells she can dodge pretty easily and then kill me within 2 hits.

 

So yeah, I've left it for now and have gone to explore more of the Western part of Mountaintop of the Giants, gone through a teleporter and ended up underground again somewhere, this time under Caelid.

[OCH]

Spoilers for @DisturbedSwan but when She does That Attack... 

Spoiler

Try pot. It knocks her out of the charge up animation.

 

[mfnick]

Spoiler

How does getting high help?

 

[one-armed dwarf]

I'd never heard that one tbh

 

If you have a shield there is a very specific way you can resolve the mech 

 

Spoiler

 

 

I didn't manage to clear this fight on my 2nd run through, it's just way harder without moonveil cheese. Got sick of the mech which merced me at the end here and gave up

 

Spoilers obviously

 

Cool fight imo, maybe the best From has done. Except for how limiting the flurry attack makes it cause it prohibits certain builds from being viable or forces you to take all your clothes off for a fast roll and other weird shit.

[DisturbedSwan]

Can't use most shields @one-armed dwarf as I've not pumped any runes into strength at all since the start of the game. I guess I could respec and then respec back to what I am now after the fight? I have enough larval tears to do so I think.

 

But yeah, it's a super cool fight, I just have no real way to approach it yet. All I've done is repeatedly get battered and try to find a way up onto a ledge at the edge of the arena (not succeeded) so I could cheese her but that ain't happening. 

 

But yeah, it's cool, she can wait, I've got plenty more stuff to do in the game. Looking at some vids on YT I might try to get Black Knife Tiche before I fight her again as well as she seems like the best summon against her. 

[OCH]

20 hours ago, one-armed dwarf said:

I'd never heard that one tbh

 

20 hours ago, mfnick said:

  Reveal hidden contents

How does getting high help?

 

😄

I watched a video on cheesing the hardest bosses. Her, Radahn, The Duo.

Weird to consider Radahn one of the hardest, as he is a gimmick boss. The cheese to beat him is suitably amusing. The other two are literally just variations on the same theme. Except with the latter it is a specific one.

[one-armed dwarf]

The shield I used was one of the more basic ones you start off with, but upgraded to like +21 or something like that so it has good stability cause I had like 18 endurance or something

 

I find that move sort of unacceptable tbh. Literally the only move I blocked in the game.

[OCH]

I think my shield is upgraded to +18 or something like that. I wasn't sure what difference it made at first? Until I noticed the higher the upgrade, the less stamina is drained when blocking hits.

 

Although, given the nature of Elden Ring. I've listened to a lot of people say shields are more worthless in this than any prior From title. Since if an aggressive enemy/boss IE Runebear or Royal Revenant, wants to kill you. A shield won't save you.

I thought Bloodborne and Sekiro didn't use shields? So surely it makes sense since From have been phasing them out.

[Nag]

Godrick is down, got him using one of my spirit summons and the npc you can summon to help out... I actually tried him a few times last night but got my arse handed to me after summoning two real life randoms... the scaling took the piss.

 

Made my way to Liurnia of the Lakes which gave me anxiety of which way to actually go so turned around and went back to the Weeping Peninsula (which I hadn't even noticed) so at the minute that's where I'm up to trying to find points of interest.

 

I've gotten that powerful staff and the rock throw spell... I just can't find any decent mage armour... if I try to keep to a medium load out is it fine to just equip any old armour?... I'm a bit of glass cannon right now as I've only gotten 15 in Vigor.