Elden Ring: New Fromsoft rpg

[koralis]

I gotta say, I do not love how the game decides you can use spirit allies sometimes but so often they're just not an option.

This gets back to my pre-purchase criticism that DS devs treat boss fights as puzzles. "Ok, this time you can do X, Y, but no Z." The spirits specifically I also complained about earlier.

Also the arbitrary not being able to fast-travel from within a cave, etc.

[Lazy8s]

This gets back to my pre-purchase criticism that DS devs treat boss fights as puzzles. "Ok, this time you can do X, Y, but no Z." The spirits specifically I also complained about earlier.

Also the arbitrary not being able to fast-travel from within a cave, etc.

I’m n an area now that’s pretty open, multiple ex-bosses and dying pretty easily. My spirit would be perfect here for just buying me time to heal.

Nope, can’t use it.

The extremes are so notable. I’m in the main castle and my goodness, it makes Bluepoint’s version of Boletaria look just amateurish, so incredibly detailed, then I go through a door and am met with a high powered mini-boss that literally just stands there spamming a massive AOE. One right after the other and there is nothing I can do. One AOE kills me.

So…I really hope Fromsoft balances out those extremes a bit. According to the list I mentioned earlier I’ve cleared approximately 35-40 bosses so far, in some high level areas and now…..

I can’t get past a mini-boss. Ok.

[Nunz]

Should finally have my TV and speakers set up today and will be able to sit my ass on the couch and fire up Elden Ring for the first time!! Can't wait to start this. I'm thinking I'm gonna go with a STR/FTH build

[Lurk]

I played DS1 and 3, but I feel like an eternal noob.

I've been reading through the thread and shiver at the idea of what awaits.
I wish there were just slight hints here and there on fighting the bosses, i.e. Souls style cryptic yet understandable info that can be gathered in-game (unless I'm missing something) regarding vulnerabilities or specific moves w/o having to resort to wikis (which always feels a bit like cheating to me).
I doubt the community is entirely composed of socially inept teen-agers that can spend 8hrs a day gaming.
I enjoy boss-fights, and while it is okay for me to die maybe 30 times trying to wipe them off the map, it's not so ok to die three times as much only to find out from the internet that I was missing a safe spot, an enchantment, a specific weapon, move-set or abilty that I have no way to figure out or guess if not out of pure luck.

I'll eventually hit a dead point where I get tired of repeating the same actions over and over again only to find out I have to go through the same routine shortly after.
There's so much incredible exploration this time, more than in past Souls, that I get the feeling excessive difficulty will soon become a show-stopper for me.
Probably only my impression, but I'm having an uncomfortable feeling of dissonance seeing Souls type boss-fights integrated in open-world game structure.

[Lazy8s]

I played DS1 and 3, but I feel like an eternal noob.

I've been reading through the thread and shiver at the idea of what awaits.
I wish there were just slight hints here and there on fighting the bosses, i.e. Souls style cryptic yet understandable info that can be gathered in-game (unless I'm missing something) regarding vulnerabilities or specific moves w/o having to resort to wikis (which always feels a bit like cheating to me).
I doubt the community is entirely composed of socially inept teen-agers that can spend 8hrs a day gaming.
I enjoy boss-fights, and while it is okay for me to die maybe 30 times trying to wipe them off the map, it's not so ok to die three times as much only to find out from the internet that I was missing a safe spot, an enchantment, a specific weapon, move-set or abilty that I have no way to figure out or guess if not out of pure luck.

I'll eventually hit a dead point where I get tired of repeating the same actions over and over again only to find out I have to go through the same routine shortly after.
There's so much incredible exploration this time, more than in past Souls, that I get the feeling excessive difficulty will soon become a show-stopper for me.
Probably only my impression, but I feel dissonance in the way Souls type boss-fights go together with open-world game structure.

I’ve got way more time in all the Souls games than I would ever want to admit but this game, gripes aside, is very, very much worth figuring out.

I would just suggest that you not focus on beating the game. Just explore, read descriptions, talk to NPCs etc, and when you run into areas/enemies you have a bad time with, just avoid and go somewhere else for the time being.

[KAC]

Is this game more playable on PS5 or PC?
Is hitching fixed on both?
Is there sort of an easy mode where you can go back and come again to fight the bosses later or are you locked in to boss fights without recourse?
Which is most OP class to start with?

Thinking about picking this up.

[Lurk]

I’ve got way more time in all the Souls games than I would ever want to admit but this game, gripes aside, is very, very much worth figuring out.

I would just suggest that you not focus on beating the game. Just explore, read descriptions, talk to NPCs etc, and when you run into areas/enemies you have a bad time with, just avoid and go somewhere else for the time being.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been doing for 20 hrs. I have a feeling I'll either drop the game when I run out of places to explore or finally use cheats to get rid of ridiculously hard bosses only to open up new areas, I have no time to get good in a videogame nowadays

[Lurk]

Is this game more playable on PS5 or PC?
Is hitching fixed on both?
Is there sort of an easy mode where you can go back and come again to fight the bosses later or are you locked in to boss fights without recourse?
Which is most OP class to start with?

Thinking about picking this up.

First boss leaves you outside the mist gate when you die, so you can forget him and come back later. I'd suppose it's the prevalent mechanic in the game, or at least I hope so. Frame pacing on pc is horrible for me, I'm unlocking fps with flawless widescreen else I feel like puking after 20 minutes of gameplay.
Game is dope, nonetheless.

[Lazy8s]

So this city I’m in is just…incredible. I’ve personally never seen an environment that had so much attention to detail, ways to get where you think you want to go and all…

Never had a game have me go from grinding my teeth to wide eyed admiration so often, and so rapidly

I arrived at a huge boss wall with 1 flask left, and no graces nearby, so I figured a way to run from the nearest grace after resetting my flasks, and…..it’s locked by another boss somewhere….out there

So many layers to this game, so many….

[Thr0tt]

Followed a quick path to get some additional levelling up and some hounds, still way too hard for my liking. Lock on system is painful, the horse jumping and manoeuvring also painful and I have died countless times trying to make it down a mountain, I thought the horse was meant to be able to do more than a poncy jump.

A few rage quits already but will continue as I can see there is some depth but may end up leaving it for a while if it continues to frustrate...

[theduce]

Is this game more playable on PS5 or PC?
Is hitching fixed on both?
Is there sort of an easy mode where you can go back and come again to fight the bosses later or are you locked in to boss fights without recourse?
Which is most OP class to start with?

Thinking about picking this up.

I have on xbox s (installed on SSD) and pc. Both run fine for me. PC, of course, for me, runs much better.

I've never been into the souls games so this can be overwhelming experience. Which I enjoy.

When I'm tired of dying I play Dying Light 2 and that makes everything better.

[Meteor_of_War]

I played DS1 and 3, but I feel like an eternal noob.

I've been reading through the thread and shiver at the idea of what awaits.
I wish there were just slight hints here and there on fighting the bosses, i.e. Souls style cryptic yet understandable info that can be gathered in-game (unless I'm missing something) regarding vulnerabilities or specific moves w/o having to resort to wikis (which always feels a bit like cheating to me).
I doubt the community is entirely composed of socially inept teen-agers that can spend 8hrs a day gaming.
I enjoy boss-fights, and while it is okay for me to die maybe 30 times trying to wipe them off the map, it's not so ok to die three times as much only to find out from the internet that I was missing a safe spot, an enchantment, a specific weapon, move-set or abilty that I have no way to figure out or guess if not out of pure luck.

I'll eventually hit a dead point where I get tired of repeating the same actions over and over again only to find out I have to go through the same routine shortly after.
There's so much incredible exploration this time, more than in past Souls, that I get the feeling excessive difficulty will soon become a show-stopper for me.
Probably only my impression, but I'm having an uncomfortable feeling of dissonance seeing Souls type boss-fights integrated in open-world game structure.

I will say, this From Soft game is quite different in a lot of ways because of the open world nature. Biggest change, and I've mentioned it a few times, if you ever run into a tough area or boss - you don't have to fight them yet. You can always just leave and pursue the countless other paths and just explore and level up for a while. Then later you can always come back to said tough boss.

Also another big change I have been realizing that makes this game easier, because of the new map system and fast travel mechanic you essentially have unlimited homeward bones in this game. Stumble into a tough area you don't want to be yet? Just fast travel out and go someplace else. So far I have run into a handful of too-tough-for-me-yet bosses, but I simply just turned around and went someplace else. No biggie.

Is this game more playable on PS5 or PC?
Is hitching fixed on both?
Is there sort of an easy mode where you can go back and come again to fight the bosses later or are you locked in to boss fights without recourse?
Which is most OP class to start with?

Thinking about picking this up.

There is still hitching on the PC version. But it only seems to happen when you venture to a new area and its loading assets in the background. It can be annoying if it happens during combat, but honestly for the most part it hasn't been a problem for me. Also once that initial hitch is done, the area is smooth as butter for me. I don't consider it a deal breaker, although I do hope they eventually fix it.

So far for the same reasons I talked about above to Lurk, this is definitely the easiest overall game like this they have ever made. You are never "locked" into any tough situation, and can always just go someplace else until you are stronger. Sure, it has the same tough enemies and bosses but you have so many more options available to you to negate the difficulty. I really believe they finally made a game that is actually accessible to more casual gamers. As for OP classes, I don't know I think that comes down to personal play style, and maybe if you want to spoil yourself and look up where to find the best starting weapons.

[Lurk]

Followed a quick path to get some additional levelling up and some hounds, still way too hard for my liking. Lock on system is painful, the horse jumping and manoeuvring also painful and I have died countless times trying to make it down a mountain, I thought the horse was meant to be able to do more than a poncy jump.

A few rage quits already but will continue as I can see there is some depth but may end up leaving it for a while if it continues to frustrate...

Before I get bashed by hardcore Souls fans for the old and grumpy fart that I am, I'm pretty sure the game experience in Elden Ring wouldn't be a spec less enticing if it wasn't so focused on reflex training and one could perhaps spend just a little less time repeating obsessive and frustrating fights, like maybe 10 tries instead of 50 (and I'm talking about the easy ones, I'll stop playing long before it becomes overly-frustrating).
That said, the game world sucks you in like never before.

[koralis]

I enjoy boss-fights, and while it is okay for me to die maybe 30 times trying to wipe them off the map, it's not so ok to die three times as much only to find out from the internet that I was missing a safe spot, an enchantment, a specific weapon, move-set or abilty that I have no way to figure out or guess if not out of pure luck.

My main gripe is when you have to travel and beat your way through minions to have another shot at a boss. Give me a freakin save point there. Nioh had that part right.

It's Ok to have hard spots... and then you should be rewarding players with save progression. Case in point, having to go through a vandal area... dangerous as hell, Finally made it through... can't find a freaking grace anywhere. Had to google up a cave with one in it. I shouldn't have to resort to that.


Bloody Slash... whoah. Even just passive it's great, and when you trigger it... bleed city.

[KAC]

I will say, this From Soft game is quite different in a lot of ways because of the open world nature. Biggest change, and I've mentioned it a few times, if you ever run into a tough area or boss - you don't have to fight them yet. You can always just leave and pursue the countless other paths and just explore and level up for a while. Then later you can always come back to said tough boss.

Also another big change I have been realizing that makes this game easier, because of the new map system and fast travel mechanic you essentially have unlimited homeward bones in this game. Stumble into a tough area you don't want to be yet? Just fast travel out and go someplace else. So far I have run into a handful of too-tough-for-me-yet bosses, but I simply just turned around and went someplace else. No biggie.



There is still hitching on the PC version. But it only seems to happen when you venture to a new area and its loading assets in the background. It can be annoying if it happens during combat, but honestly for the most part it hasn't been a problem for me. Also once that initial hitch is done, the area is smooth as butter for me. I don't consider it a deal breaker, although I do hope they eventually fix it.

So far for the same reasons I talked about above to Lurk, this is definitely the easiest overall game like this they have ever made. You are never "locked" into any tough situation, and can always just go someplace else until you are stronger. Sure, it has the same tough enemies and bosses but you have so many more options available to you to negate the difficulty. I really believe they finally made a game that is actually accessible to more casual gamers. As for OP classes, I don't know I think that comes down to personal play style, and maybe if you want to spoil yourself and look up where to find the best starting weapons.

Thanks. I will wait until I finish Horizon 2 to indulge.

[Lazy8s]

Got the next main boss down, and that was just an amazing, old school bloody knuckle Souls fight

Godfrey, the first Elden Lord

Edit: one thing FromSoft has never fixed is the issue of enemies not being straight, horizontally line of sight from you and ranged attacks, even sword swings at times missing.

My sword has a ranged sorcery attack, a beam. If an enemy is even a little above or below, it misses completely. Level ground, no issues.

Meh, can still work around it.

[Nunz]

Can you beat that first initial boss? I got my ass kicked.. haven't played a souls in forever lol

[shrike126]

Can you beat that first initial boss? I got my ass kicked.. haven't played a souls in forever lol

Most of the times yes, but only if you're a godly level gamer. Otherwise, for most Souls games, the first boss kills you which starts your journey through the game. And most often you can find that guy later on for payback.

[koralis]

Can you beat that first initial boss? I got my ass kicked.. haven't played a souls in forever lol

Apparently it's possible

https://clutchpoints.com/can-you-bea...20beating%20it.

The quick and straightforward answer is yes, you can. The problem is there is very little margin of error to actually do this. ... Like the other souls-like games before it, the Grafted Scion is a boss they put at the start that is actually meant to kill you. Because of this, players should just accept their death and move on with the game’s story.

...

What happens when you beat the Grafted Scion at the start of Elden Ring?
Nothing. The fact is, the Grafted Scion is not at all a boss. It’s a regular mob enemy in the larger world of Elden Ring. You’ll find more Grafted Scions in your adventure later on, so beating one at the start isn’t really that big of a deal. Perhaps it can give you a great feeling of satisfaction, but apart from the Greatshield and a paired set of Straight Swords it drops, there’s nothing else to it. It doesn’t change the story, and you’ll still have to die to move on with the story.

[Nunz]

I'm getting ****ed holy ****

[shrike126]

I'm getting ****ed holy ****

On Xbox or PC or PS?

[Silent-Runner]

Can you beat that first initial boss? I got my ass kicked.. haven't played a souls in forever lol

the short answer is: yes, you can, but you don't have to.

[Lazy8s]

Oh heck guys…I thought I was closing in on one of the final bosses and another, whole map I couldn’t see before opened up, and it’s huge.

I’m going to die in the Lands Between before I finish this game.

[YellowBeard]

Can you beat that first initial boss? I got my ass kicked.. haven't played a souls in forever lol

Don't worry, you may yet get another chance.






In other news. Decided to do the Festival. Was mostly me running around like a madman and summoning things, but it's done. Also lol at the flavor text for one of the items from that. Glad dude learned serious gravity magic just so he could hang out with his tiny horse. Finally got back to one of those islands I had been hoping to get to. Turns out, it was just the starter island off in the distance. Still need to figure out how to get on top of the Albino village cave. Now to figure out where to go next. I'm getting serious FOMO from all the stupid Sorcery items I keep picking up. A lot more numerous than Faith items so far.

[Lazy8s]

Don't worry, you may yet get another chance.






In other news. Decided to do the Festival. Was mostly me running around like a madman and summoning things, but it's done. Also lol at the flavor text for one of the items from that. Glad dude learned serious gravity magic just so he could hang out with his tiny horse. Finally got back to one of those islands I had been hoping to get to. Turns out, it was just the starter island off in the distance. Still need to figure out how to get on top of the Albino village cave. Now to figure out where to go next. I'm getting serious FOMO from all the stupid Sorcery items I keep picking up. A lot more numerous than Faith items so far.

You finally got past the beginning of the game.

[shrike126]

You finally got past the beginning of the game.

Speaking of that starter area, what quest line or what hint can you share that would help me figure out how to get over there? I talked to a guy in a church who mentioned a glintstone key but that seems to not be very helpful for me.

[Lazy8s]

Speaking of that starter area, what quest line or what hint can you share that would help me figure out how to get over there? I talked to a guy in a church who mentioned a glintstone key but that seems to not be very helpful for me.

There’s a dragon on a small island just west of the academy. He’s really tough, but if you sneak you can grab it without fighting him.

Edit: there’s a map bit near the southern gates that should help a bit…

[Lazy8s]

What weapons are you guys using? The sword I have has that amazing ability, but for melee it’s still just a straight sword, and some of the enemies I’ve fought…I’d like to keep them at more of a distance.

The meteoric blade is still great, but no thrust attack. Some enemies are so aggressive I’m considering a spear or halberd just to try to keep them the heck off of me lol.

[shrike126]

There’s a dragon on a small island just west of the academy. He’s really tough, but if you sneak you can grab it without fighting him.

Edit: there’s a map bit near the southern gates that should help a bit…

So, about that spoiler.

I remember that dragon, and I did sneak around and fetch the thing behind it. But when I go back to the NPC in the church and he just tells me to continue my journey. Should I just assume this isn't a place I can get to until after I finish the Academy area? I haven't done that Legacy Dungeon yet.

[mizzer]

So, is it generally a good idea to clear the southern peninsula after getting to Stormveil?

[Silent-Runner]

as a general tip for those who are new to the game or are still struggeling, bleed and frost are your best friends through the whole game.

Also, later on there's a summon that's ridiculous op the mimic .

As for the weapons, well, it of course depends on your build and the boss you're fighting. Weapons with greater range always suffer from a much slower attack speed which kinda negates most of the advantages. Personally i like the faster weapons more, although you have to get right into the face of the mobs (or better, behind their back).

[Lazy8s]

So, about that spoiler.

I remember that dragon, and I did sneak around and fetch the thing behind it. But when I go back to the NPC in the church and he just tells me to continue my journey. Should I just assume this isn't a place I can get to until after I finish the Academy area? I haven't done that Legacy Dungeon yet.

It’s for the legacy dungeon. If you haven’t yet, revisit the huge blue seal with the key.

[Lazy8s]

So, is it generally a good idea to clear the southern peninsula after getting to Stormveil?

I went there looking for map fragments to open the world up, but I’m not sure of where it fits in the scheme of things. I basically just chose to explore for some time and if a certain direction was too difficult I would just go another way.

[koralis]

Question... Leveling stats.

When increasing Str, Dex, etc, it it doesn't LOOK like it's a significant increase per level. Am I missing something? Stats are mostly thresholds to use the better weapons/armors?

I'm trying to figure out how not to get demolished by bosses. One potential avenue is killing them faster. Str/Dex doesn't seem like it will have any appreciable affect. Only smithing stones REALLY matter in that regard?

How does one take a hit? I need better armor.


I greatly enjoy the open world. I've concluded that I'm not a big fan of the dungeons and bosses. (asshole design where you have one way trips into a dungeon (jumping down cliffs, etc, and they don't just let you map out if you decide that you're in over your head is about the jerkiest thing I've seen.)

[Lazy8s]

I’m questioning armors too. Resistances specifically. It seems that they don’t help much, that armor is more a fashion statement than protection.

I was able to test this in one particularly tough map that inflicted rot.

With the highest physical protection I had available rot killed me in under a minute with vitality at 30. With a +1 immunity talisman and armor that had pretty high immunity, I lasted about another 15 seconds…not really worth it.

As far as surviving bosses, give it time. There’s one that you can’t use your spirit on and it’s the worst design I’ve ever seen, but after a certain point, and after getting a certain spirit, things get much better.

I just beat 2 main story bosses last night, and the 1st one I got on the first attempt. The second one took 2 tries, and my new, upgraded spirit summons did about 25% of the damage - Yes, it’s extremely OP


The game isn’t a power trip like Nioh, but you do get to a point (so far anyway) where your survivability is much higher.

[Silent-Runner]

basically what Lazy said, there is no armor that will grant you real protection for more than let's say ~3 hits. As dumb as it may sound, your best protection is to avoid getting hit which means learning patterns until you're able to "roll/dive through attacks".

As already mentioned, there are also some incredible helpful summons for the first half of the game.

[Lazy8s]

basically what Lazy said, there is no armor that will grant you real protection for more than let's say ~3 hits. As dumb as it may sound, your best protection is to avoid getting hit which means learning patterns until you're able to "roll/dive through attacks".

As already mentioned, there are also some incredible helpful summons for the first half of the game.

Yep. As frustrating as some of the enemies are, it still comes down to learning and avoiding the attacks.

I also forgot to mention…I’m sure you saw it, but using Godrick’s great rune gives you some really solid boosts. I haven’t even tried the others yet, but his was a bit of a game changer.

Edit: Right now my build is centered around using any armor that lets me roll quickly, the Sword of Night and Flame, and dragon rotten breath. Go to spirit summons is the mimic tear +10. Those 3 items have been absolute game changers.

[Silent-Runner]

i'm sure they will nerf the mimic, because right now it's insane, it basically stomps most bosses without any help of your own char, even the last few bosses. Rotten breath is a good tip too.

[Lazy8s]

i'm sure they will nerf the mimic, because right now it's insane, it basically stomps most bosses without any help of your own char, even the last few bosses. Rotten breath is a good tip too.

It’s actually better than some co-op partners I’ve had in other games

I tried to summon for Radhan but could never get anyone, haven’t tried any other co-op in this game yet.

[Nunz]

I beat Bloodbound Knight, Tree Sentinel, Beasthound (in the cave) and another optional boss so far.

I've yet to really find any gear that's worth using which is unfortunate. I started a Confessor and he's been pretty solid. Aiming to go FTH/STR but been bleeding points into Vigor and Endurance last few levels.

The open world is awesome but there is a lot to see and do, and I kinda wish I had a bit more direction. Quest log or journal to keep me focused just a little more. As of right now I'm just running all over the place on the horse lol