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[Classicrockfan]

Kill the skeleton under bridge on way there. Then go to cave. When he says he is invading run back to bridge. The npc spawns by it. That will make it so you don't have to survive as long.

Cool but for some reason the skeletons revive like the red ones from castlevania.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Cool but for some reason the skeletons revive like the red ones from castlevania.

Hit it while it’s on the floor

 

[Classicrockfan]

Hit it while it’s on the floor

Thanks.

 

[Aesius]

I know this is going to be an unpopular take, and I'm not saying the game is bad, but I don't think that the Soulsborne formula fits all that well with a gigantic open world fantasy game. What's missing for me that I get from other genre staples like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 is a sense that there are people in the game world whose entire existence doesn't revolve solely around trying to kill me at first sight. Where are the bustling towns, the pubs, the quiet farms, the average townsfolk who just go about their daily lives? Now I've only played a few hours of Elden Ring so maybe all that stuff is there eventually, but for now being unable to walk past a single group of individuals without them immediately lunging at me in a berserk rage is frankly exhausting.

You're a tarnished so it makes sense that everyone/everything wants to kill you. They view you as a threat.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I know this is going to be an unpopular take, and I'm not saying the game is bad, but I don't think that the Soulsborne formula fits all that well with a gigantic open world fantasy game. What's missing for me that I get from other genre staples like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 is a sense that there are people in the game world whose entire existence doesn't revolve solely around trying to kill me at first sight. Where are the bustling towns, the pubs, the quiet farms, the average townsfolk who just go about their daily lives? Now I've only played a few hours of Elden Ring so maybe all that stuff is there eventually, but for now being unable to walk past a single group of individuals without them immediately lunging at me in a berserk rage is frankly exhausting.

Since when From games are about happiness? It’s always a tale of decay and struggle against inevitable end.

 

[Rex_DX]

Ive been using summons a lot, and I love it. Especially the jelly spirit, so far. But I dont have many yet. I found out in a tooltip that the glowing arch icon on the left indicates when you can summon. They put a lot of work into that mechanic, and I dont feel like there should be some esoteric rule to the game that every achievement in the game should be justified by whether or not you used a summon. It works better than the NPC summons from prior games which have a tendency to be too squishy and be of no use. While doubling the boss health pool.

Wait did they make it so summoning disables achievements? Am I reading that right?

I generally don't summon much but that is absolutely brutal compared to previous games if that's the case.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Wait did they make it so summoning disables achievements? Am I reading that right?

I generally don't summon much but that is absolutely brutal compared to previous games if that's the case.

It does not disable achievements, it’s a game mechanic, you are supposed to use it .

When fighting

Spoiler: First major boss

Godric

Your summon is probably way more useful than other players.

 

[95mellow]

Is anyone else still struggling with performance on PC? I thought the patches would fix it, but it's still screwed for me.

I am currently encountering a bug where changing my trousers crashes the game.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Is posting our character considered spoilers? I would think not but I don’t want people to get pissed if they see armor/weapons they didn’t want to know about

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

Pulled the trigger on Elden Ring on Steam, I hope this one will be the one to make Soulsbourne click with me and helps me explore an entire franchise I missed out on for the most part

 

[Mossybrew]

I know this is going to be an unpopular take, and I'm not saying the game is bad, but I don't think that the Soulsborne formula fits all that well with a gigantic open world fantasy game. What's missing for me that I get from other genre staples like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 is a sense that there are people in the game world whose entire existence doesn't revolve solely around trying to kill me at first sight. Where are the bustling towns, the pubs, the quiet farms, the average townsfolk who just go about their daily lives? Now I've only played a few hours of Elden Ring so maybe all that stuff is there eventually, but for now being unable to walk past a single group of individuals without them immediately lunging at me in a berserk rage is frankly exhausting.

Oh yeah, I agree it's a aspect of the game I don't much care for, though I know this is the Souls vibe and it is what it is and should not be changed. But yes the game offers a relentlessly bleak, solitary experience in a strange hyperviolent dreamworld where no one is living any kind of normal life. It's a nice change when I switch from this game to Forbidden West - ah, actual human characters, normal conversations, life, bright colors!

 

[R6Rider]

Is posting our character considered spoilers? I would think not but I don’t want people to get pissed if they see armor/weapons they didn’t want to know about

You could always put the image into a spoiler drop down.

Spoiler

Like this

 

[kevm3]

Some people will call summons "cheating" while Googling where to get the most powerful weapons and magic in the game and using exclusively them. Others will call summons "cheating" while shield tanking every boss. Don't sweat it.

I feel as if the bosses were actually designed around you summoning. The only other way to beat some of these bosses is to be overleveled or try to use something like crimson rot or poison to chip away at the boss's life while you stay away. Their ability to chain together massive combos to completely destroy your stamina tells me their attack patterns were meant to be spread between two people. I decided to forgo summons until I got to Godrick, and after several attempts solo, I figured I'm not going to waste 8 hours and turn the game into a slog by deciding to try to solo him.

 

[Plantoid]

I should try this, I’m pure dex wielding dual uchis

can I pick your brain, or anyone else running a similar a build?

even though I'm pure dex I have a talisman that beefs up my faith enough use it I think. I can only apply it to my right handed weapon though, right?

do you know if raising your seal's level increases the strength of the incantation?

also I'm sorta torn between using 2 uchis vs 1. it doesn't seem like power stance is always superior since the L1 attack with both swords has a long animation. I find sometimes it leaves me exposed to getting smacked whereas 2h one katana allows me to strike and get away really quick. do you always use dual wield?

Increasing the seal level will increase the buff that's for sure, i use dual katanas but I have a offhand shield available should things go ugly, yes you can only buff one side

But man, using dual katanas procs the bleed much faster than going with just 1

I have 30 in life and stamina, 12 faith, 10 arcane, 40 dex, 12 str (just enough for the ocasional shield)

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Increasing the seal level will increase the buff that's for sure, i use dual katanas but I have a offhand shield available should things go ugly, yes you can only buff one side

But man, using dual katanas procs the bleed much faster than going with just 1

I have 30 in life and stamina, 12 faith, 10 arcane, 40 dex, 12 str (just enough for the ocasional shield)

nice, have you found a seal that scales, at least partly, with dex?

I've found one that scales with str but that doesn't really help me

currently I use dual katanas on big beefy mobs or certain bosses

I use a single uchi 2h for everything else since it eats up less stamina and I like the move set better

dual does cause bleed to proc very fast tho, that's for sure. it also drains stamina like crazy

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

some of these bosses I've recently killed have dropped a ton of runes

I kinda regret not popping a gold pickled fowl foot right before they die, I think it increases the runes by like 50%, would have been huge

I'm hoping to find a talisman that also increases rune drops at some point

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Where are the bustling towns, the pubs, the quiet farms, the average townsfolk who just go about their daily lives?

I don't think that really makes sense in this game, if you're following the lore. I'm 30 hours in and still barely scratched the surface though.

The Demigods waged war against each other, killing everyone and destroying the lands. Since the Death Rune was stolen prior to this, the dead don't stay dead anymore so not only do you have the Demigods war, but an undead plague on top of that.

This is the situation you're dealing with at the start of the game lol.

 

[Plantoid]

nice, have you found a seal that scales, at least partly, with dex?

No, I'm using a random one, my primary focus is pure dex, buff is just something I put in because I only had to invest like 4 points to meet the requirements, i have seen some videos on dragon spells that scale with arcane (so does bleed) so if you go that way I'd recommend the dragon communion seal (you get this in the same spot you can get the talisman)

But I recommend the green turtle talisman and the erdtree favor talisman, also for my flasks i use "heal half hp" + "increase stamina"

For my last talismã i use the one that increases attributes forgot it's name, you can get it very early

 

[Rex_DX]

About that - you can’t. Just hover over both items and hope your short-term memory is good.

But you can - just go into equipment and in the slot you're comparing scroll around. It'll show the new item's stats with blue (better/greater than) and red (worse/less than) highlights.

I think you mean in a more traditional sense like Borderlands or Diablo but its still possible to compare stuff given you know your equipped item's stats, which you should.

 

[Rex_DX]

Some people will call summons "cheating" while Googling where to get the most powerful weapons and magic in the game and using exclusively them. Others will call summons "cheating" while shield tanking every boss. Don't sweat it.

Yeah I never got the "you summoned/you cheated" mindset. These games can be brutal. They don't pull punches so neither should you. Exploiting every weakness and employing every advantage is completely fair game and fuck the haters.

Soloing bosses is good fun but only if you really enjoy setting that personal challenge for yourself. Some bosses I don't mind taking a handful of deaths to see their whole moveset, learn how to counter it and to persevere solo. Sometimes I just just hate the boss and want to get on with my life so I summon. This goes double for a first playthrough. Solo, nude, SL1 runs with a wiimote and a potato controller can come later.

Everything is fair game man.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Horizon dev, all these flavours and you chose salt

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

No, I'm using a random one, my primary focus is pure dex, buff is just something I put in because I only had to invest like 4 points to meet the requirements, i have seen some videos on dragon spells that scale with arcane (so does bleed) so if you go that way I'd recommend the dragon communion seal (you get this in the same spot you can get the talisman)

But I recommend the green turtle talisman and the erdtree favor talisman, also for my flasks i use "heal half hp" + "increase stamina"

For my last talismã i use the one that increases attributes forgot it's name, you can get it very early

I might use turtle, currently using increased attributes, passive healing HP over time, and erdtree favor

might swap passive healing for stamina regen

 

[Rex_DX]

Has anyone found a way to get the "Spear" without

Spoiler

killing Patches

?

 

[near]

70hrs in and this game still keeps on giving. I don't think I'm nowhere near the end yet. I'm constantly being introduced to a boss or an entire region that makes me shit myself.

 

[R6Rider]

Has anyone found a way to get the "Spear" without

Spoiler

killing Patches

?

I think a starting class gets one and you can buy one. I've been using the regular Spear for most of the game.

 

[Rex_DX]

I think a starting class gets one and you can buy one. I've been using the regular Spear for most of the game.

Not the Short Spear? You're sure? Or the Winged Spear? Could you spoiler tag where I could buy one?

 

[fart town usa]

exploring Caelid is kinda depressing.

don't get me wrong, the art direction is amazing. but I get like anxiety and sad in that area.

I'm much more a fan of chilling in the beautiful parts of the map with lots of green and amazing views.

maybe that's the point

Dude, there's a part in there with multiple dragons that blend in and look like massive roots, it was intense trying to sneak by them. I love how the game can be outright terrifying at times.

 

[R6Rider]

Not the Short Spear? You're sure? Or the Winged Spear? Could you spoiler tag where I could buy one?

I bought a Short Spear early, then not long after that I switched to the regular Spear (maybe it's called Winged Spear?). I think I bought it from the merchant in the Roundtable.

 

[Swift_Star]

Ive been using summons a lot, and I love it. Especially the jelly spirit, so far. But I dont have many yet. I found out in a tooltip that the glowing arch icon on the left indicates when you can summon. They put a lot of work into that mechanic, and I dont feel like there should be some esoteric rule to the game that every achievement in the game should be justified by whether or not you used a summon. It works better than the NPC summons from prior games which have a tendency to be too squishy and be of no use. While doubling the boss health pool.

Don’t care about what purists say. The game is clearly summon focused so feel free to summon npcs, people and spirits to help you. It’s just a game and fuck purists.

 

[Draugoth]

 

[gunslikewhoa]

This is just so much game. I've probably got a couple thousand hours in souls games, but I've always played in spurts. I always do my first playthrough and then half of ng+ before setting it aside for awhile. At that point, I've always had about enough. I'm wayyyyyyyy past that in terms of time invested so far. I LOVE it, but it's break time. I don't want to wrap this up without being fully invested. Miyazaki is a madman. There are hidden areas that probably could have been an entire DLC or close to it. I'm in one of those areas now and have no idea when this game is going to end. It's too much. For context, I'm pretty sure that this is the first game I've played in almost three months.

 

[Rex_DX]

I bought a Short Spear early, then not long after that I switched to the regular Spear (maybe it's called Winged Spear?). I think I bought it from the merchant in the Roundtable.

Ah yeah. I'm specifically looking for the "Spear." No other modifier words. Thanks though man.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Ah yeah. I'm specifically looking for the "Spear." No other modifier words. Thanks though man.

I believe you can farm one:

Spoiler

• Stormveil Castle. Near the Rampart Tower bonfire, up the wooden stairs is a farmable Exile with a spear, so you can get this weapon even if you spared Patches.

 

[LENCH187]

Ive seen a whole lot of monsters and beasts in this game, but nothing quite as disturbing as the dancing ladies

 

[Graciaus]

So IMO From completely dropped the ball at the last couple bosses. Way to over tuned. Relentlessly high damaging attacks and little time to heal/attack. Godfrey was taking forever by myself. Used a spirit and killed it in one minute. The actual final boss I am shocked they managed to make something so unfun.

 

[Termite]

I know this is going to be an unpopular take, and I'm not saying the game is bad, but I don't think that the Soulsborne formula fits all that well with a gigantic open world fantasy game. What's missing for me that I get from other genre staples like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 is a sense that there are people in the game world whose entire existence doesn't revolve solely around trying to kill me at first sight. Where are the bustling towns, the pubs, the quiet farms, the average townsfolk who just go about their daily lives? Now I've only played a few hours of Elden Ring so maybe all that stuff is there eventually, but for now being unable to walk past a single group of individuals without them immediately lunging at me in a berserk rage is frankly exhausting.

I loved the game to bits, but I agree with this. The typical Dark Souls storytelling doesn't pull its weight enough here.

In fact, the story and lore here are the poorest they've ever been. I'm not usually a fan of how From does this, but Bloodborne proves they can craft fascinating lore and backstories, and Sekiro proves that they can tell good stores - both without interfering with gameplay. But they failed on that account here. I was just shaking my head saying "huh, okay" during the final cutscene - couldn't care less about what happened. That's a failure. And as you've said it made the "open world" feel more like an "open level" than a real place.

This is the one place From refuses to improve, and it's a shame. You don't need quest logs or relationship charts, just make me care about the characters and the world.

So IMO From completely dropped the ball at the last couple bosses. Way to over tuned. Relentlessly high damaging attacks and little time to heal/attack. Godfrey was taking forever by myself. Used a spirit and killed it in one minute. The actual final boss I am shocked they managed to make something so unfun.

I thought the actual final boss was piss easy, it was just a poor design. Really strange, in concept and execution. Didn't really land. The fight before it was fantastic by comparison. Maybe I was just overlevelled at that point (or maybe dual wield claws with 70 dex are OP, I don't know), but it was all the mid-game bosses that gave me the hardest fights. I went to Rykard after Stormveil and that fight must have taken 40 goes.

EDIT: There's no doubt, though, that they have tried to balance players using multiplayer summons by designing the fights around single players using summons also. There are some late game duos where the game is clearly assuming you'll have a summon, whether it's another player or an ash.

 

[captainnapalm]

exploring Caelid is kinda depressing.

don't get me wrong, the art direction is amazing. but I get like anxiety and sad in that area.

I'm much more a fan of chilling in the beautiful parts of the map with lots of green and amazing views.

maybe that's the point

I've teleported to some of the later areas and they definitely look and feel incredibly bleak. The game is a dark fantasy to the core. Actually it's worse - it's like black fantasy or something. The worlds in these games have gotten fucked up in a thousand different ways over thousands and thousands of years. And you're fighting a constantly losing battle trying to contain it. Miyazaki must have had one seriously messed up childhood or something, or maybe he was just born that way, because the man has a twisted mind to say the least.

 

[Termite]

exploring Caelid is kinda depressing.

don't get me wrong, the art direction is amazing. but I get like anxiety and sad in that area.

I'm much more a fan of chilling in the beautiful parts of the map with lots of green and amazing views.

maybe that's the point

It's kinda depressing because it's the one area in the game that feels like a single player MMO. Just endless, repeating landscape with mobs visible for miles that barely aggro you, so you just run through to get whatever you need.

It is, by far, in gameplay, level design and visual design, the worst part of the game. It feels like it's there just to warn players who stumble there from Limgrave just how hard the game will eventually get. Selia Village is disappointing, Fort Gael is disappointing... there's nothing good in Caelid except the incredible Radahn fight.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Just noticed you can quick swap to the item in your first slot by holding down "D-Pad down".

 

[Rex_DX]

Interesting looking at the percentage of completion by Steam achievements. Granted the game is only a week old and this will change but I was surprised that 40% of players haven't beaten the first boss and that number raises to 75% who haven't beaten a certain subsequent boss; 30% haven't made it to the Roundtable.

No Game Pass to skew things so these are from players who payed near-to full price for the game. Curious if the stats count people who refunded.

 

[Graciaus]

EDIT: There's no doubt, though, that they have tried to balance players using multiplayer summons by designing the fights around single players using summons also. There are some late game duos where the game is clearly assuming you'll have a summon, whether it's another player or an ash.

Which is lame.

 

[Termite]

Interesting looking at the percentage of completion by Steam achievements. Granted the game is only a week old and this will change but I was surprised that 40% of players haven't beaten the first boss and that number raises to 75% who haven't beaten a certain subsequent boss; 30% haven't made it to the Roundtable.

No Game Pass to skew things so these are from players who payed near-to full price for the game. Curious if the stats count people who refunded.

I was actually surprised that the first two bosses were so high. I thought hype would draw in a bunch more players who couldn't hack it.

What surprised me was which bosses had what percentages. I beat one boss and saw it only had a 1% clear rate. The next boss I beat, a 22% clear rate. I had to ask myself, what kind of path are you taking through this game here? It's interesting seeing the collective progression.

 

[captainnapalm]

I loved the game to bits, but I agree with this. The typical Dark Souls storytelling doesn't pull its weight enough here.

In fact, the story and lore here are the poorest they've ever been. I'm not usually a fan of how From does this, but Bloodborne proves they can craft fascinating lore and backstories, and Sekiro proves that they can tell good stores - both without interfering with gameplay. But they failed on that account here. I was just shaking my head saying "huh, okay" during the final cutscene - couldn't care less about what happened. That's a failure. And as you've said it made the "open world" feel more like an "open level" than a real place.

This is the one place From refuses to improve, and it's a shame. You don't need quest logs or relationship charts, just make me care about the characters and the world.

Man, it's kind of amazing to me that anyone can play this game and have this take, but to each their own I guess. I've put 40 hours into the game, still haven't explored half of it, and already this is one of the greatest fantasy worlds created in games bar none. In fact, only the Witcher games probably compare. And I've played through Dark Souls twice, but this is the far superior world.

 

[Rex_DX]

I was actually surprised that the first two bosses were so high. I thought hype would draw in a bunch more players who couldn't hack it.

What surprised me was which bosses had what percentages. I beat one boss and saw it only had a 1% clear rate. The next boss I beat, a 22% clear rate. I had to ask myself, what kind of path are you taking through this game here? It's interesting seeing the collective progression.

Agreed man. I enjoy these stats.

Curious how many people saw all the (overblown) performance problem headlines and held off progressing after purchase.

 

[Pejo]

Not the Short Spear? You're sure? Or the Winged Spear? Could you spoiler tag where I could buy one?

I haven't found one to buy yet, but you can farm one in Stormveil castle off of the guys that use it. I think there's one of the exile guys using it near the tower Site of Grace.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Interesting looking at the percentage of completion by Steam achievements. Granted the game is only a week old and this will change but I was surprised that 40% of players haven't beaten the first boss and that number raises to 75% who haven't beaten a certain subsequent boss; 30% haven't made it to the Roundtable.

No Game Pass to skew things so these are from players who payed near-to full price for the game. Curious if the stats count people who refunded.

not really surprised

how is your casual who decided to pick this up supposed to really progress in this game? I'm really shocked how well this game sold. I don't know how your average CoD or Assassins Creed fan is dealing with this game. In AC: Valhalla, I got 60 hours into the game just spamming buttons. Here, I've spent literally an entire day memorizing a boss's move set and trying different strategies to defeat him.

I'm glad to see how well the game is doing, but I consider myself a game enthusiast and an really, really struggling to progress against certain bosses.

most recently, Radahn took me about 4 hours

draconic tree sentinel took me an entire day to beat. granted I took some breaks but yeah, it was BRUTAL.

I don't know if everyone has the time/patience for that

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

I’m wondering if anyone can help I tried googling it but to no avail;

I’ve been trying to play this online with my brother but the game won’t let either of us set summoning signs. Is there some issues with the server? Or is there some threshold you have to pass before you can summon?

Edit: never mind it seems like having a # in the password was causing a problem somehow

 

[Rex_DX]

not really surprised

how is your casual who decided to pick this up supposed to really progress in this game? I'm really shocked how well this game sold. I don't know how your average CoD or Assassins Creed fan is dealing with this game. In AC: Valhalla, I got 60 hours into the game just spamming buttons. Here, I've spent literally an entire day memorizing a boss's move set and trying different strategies to defeat him.

I'm glad to see how well the game is doing, but I consider myself a game enthusiast and an really, really struggling to progress against certain bosses.

most recently, Radahn took me about 4 hours

draconic tree sentinel took me an entire day to beat. granted I took some breaks but yeah, it was BRUTAL.

I don't know if everyone has the time/patience for that

These are all really good points. I was wondering the same thing about your average casual gamer. I'm guessing there's a lot of people who might be enjoying the game but are still coming to terms with just how to play this type of game.

To us it's a no brainer to kind of enter a new boss arena, poke a little, dodge a lot, count how many swings are in a combo and learn their timings, take note of tells like "oh, he's lifting his cane over his head: he's about to do the three swing horizontal combo with a possible two swing follow up. Then he's open to three hits" etc. etc. And even if you learn to think like this some of these bosses are still really fucking hard. I guess I'm trying to take myself back to playing Dark Souls for the first time and I realize it took me three attempts spaced out over two years for me to become an advocate. Hopefully Elden Ring will hook some new players like Souls hooked us.

I sometimes forget that almost ten years of muscle memory and (repressed) memories makes such a massive difference.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

These are all really good points. I was wondering the same thing about your average casual gamer. I'm guessing there's a lot of people who might be enjoying the game but are still coming to terms with just how to play this type of game.

To us it's a no brainer to kind of enter a new boss arena, poke a little, dodge a lot, count how many swings are in a combo and learn their timings, take note of tells like "oh, he's lifting his cane over his head: he's about to do the three swing horizontal combo with a possible two swing follow up. Then he's open to three hits" etc. etc. And even if you learn to think like this some of these bosses are still really fucking hard. I guess I'm trying to take myself back to playing Dark Souls for the first time and I realize it took me three attempts spaced out over two years for me to become an advocate. Hopefully Elden Ring will hook some new players like Souls hooked us.

I sometimes forget that almost ten years of muscle memory and (repressed) memories makes such a massive difference.

reason Elden Ring has clicked for me so well is that in DS3, I would literally rage quit the game and take a break often because of how hard it is

in Elden Ring, if I hit a wall I will just take a break and go do something less stressful like clear a dungeon in an earlier area or gather resources or explore some area I might have overlooked

I know that the other Souls games are entirely linear, but they didn't really offer you the same opportunity to simply stop what your current objective is and do something productive that is much easier or really poses zero risk AND also rewarding

 

[Martinski43]

Just popped the platinum, my main goal with the game achieved.

Martinski44's Elden Ring Trophies

1 Platinum • 3 Gold • 14 Silver • 24 Bronze

psnprofiles.com

Will probably go for it in the PS5 version too after some updates.