The Shattered Elden Ring Thread: Tarnished Edition - (Shadow of the Erdtree p. 85)

Catfood220

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I must be mad. I have no idea why I did it. I bought Elden Ring.

I blame the hype, the promise of it being "easier" and Amazon just deciding to recommend it to me.

My experience with From games is poor, I don't have a shred of "git gud" in me. I got Demon's Souls and rage quit within a day. I tried it again and ended up getting prodded to death by a fly in a mine before quitting forever due to not having the time or patience for it. I tried Bloodborn when it was free on PS+. It lasted about an hour. So I have no idea why I decided to play this.

So, how did it go. It went alright, I picked the Samurai as i though the choice of ranged and melee attacks would suit me best, I set out in this world and got squashed a by a crab. But that's ok, that was supposed to happen. I got into a standoff with a guy in the starting cave who had a shield and spear. Thinking I had to roll around him to get behind him, to kill him so was waiting for him to attack. This went on for longer than I care to admit, he didn't really want to kill me and I didn't want to kill him. This was too cruel. So I decided to try to nudge things along by attacking his shield, he still didn't want to attack me so I decided to end it by beating him down. With a heavy heart, I carried on.

I got into a fight with a big guy with a sword, I beat him on the second go. Feeling like my dick was now 20 inches long, I went out into the world of Limgrave. And immediately started killing all the seabirds. Yeah, take that Elden Ring, you are my *****. Someone said that going down to the beach was good start as there was some good stuff there so down I went and immediately tried to swim to the island where I assumed the good stuff was there and drowned. So I went back and reclaimed my runes and saw a merchant so I stole his butterflies and set off to the left where I killed some sentient seaweed and then saw something shiny guarded by skeletons. So I tried killing them only to find out that they would not die, so I stole their shiny and ran off. Going the other way, I discovered a bunch of folk enjoying a seaside break, this would not do so I killed them at which point the game told me that ruining peoples holiday would restore my flasks. Good to know.

After that, I fought a guy with a big sword and saw the parents of the seaweed I'd killed so I avoided them and went back up the cliff and saw a giant bloke who didn't seem to mind the first hit but on the second attack, he decided to stomp on me. Taking the only sensible course of action available to me, I ran off back to my safety blanket...er...I mean grace place. Feeling adventurous, I went the other way into a swamp and found some ruins with some chanting blokes, easy | thought, until they unleashed their dog/rat things on me. I noticed they were guarding a staircase that will hopefully lead to treasure or more likely grim death. But by that time, it was my bedtime so went and saved and will tackle that tonight.

So yeah, so far so good. I've been having fun with it so far, but I know this is all scrub stuff and nothing has really put up a fight. Well, the seaweed was pretty tough. We will see if I stick with this, I know things will get tougher. But I'm hoping that if I level up enough then everything will die with a stern look or harsh word.
 

EvilRoy

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I'm trying to avoid looking too much at the game, because I'm trying to avoid spoilers for the most part.
To your larger question I accidentally teleported across the map at one stage totally bypassing half the world, and I also accidentally wandered around the castle later because there is actually just a path you can follow if you ignore the direction the game gives you.

To this specific point I wanted to warn you that your starting class is a bit more impactful as to your options early game than other From titles since you won't know if you're avoiding too much info. A lot of weapons require just a dash of faith or a touch of int, or a spoonful of dex or such. If you choose a strength heavy starting class you end up locking yourself out of a lot of options until later when you have the opportunity to bring other stats up. Alternatively if you choose a magic class you'll be going heavy in the other direction and lack strength and dex for a lot of stuff. I bring this up because while this is generally true in dark souls, it seems to be significantly moreso here. I was stuck with my starting halberd until I got to a whole other area because new strength weapons required a huge stat investment and more rounded weapons required more dex, int, or faith than I could muster without farming for quite a while.

Part of this was poor planning by me, but I was given a 25 STR weapon with nothing else to work towards so what was I to do. By the time I saw my mistake spending levels on stats like faith would only set me up for more farming later with nothing to show now .
 
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Dalisclock

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@hanselthecaretaker. Some extra and helpful advice.


Listening to them now. The more I listen the more I want to play the game.

Getting near the end of EB. Probably a few more hours.

No doubt the best bit of the 2nd video is pat going.

"I found a guy in chat the other day saying 'I'm looking for a golden needle' and I responded 'I found a golden needle. Where? Fuck if I know! I found it somewhere and I have no fucking idea where I got it or even when'"

For some reason that gave me a big chuckle.
 
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To your larger question I accidentally teleported across the map at one stage totally bypassing half the world, and I also accidentally wandered around the castle later because there is actually just a path you can follow if you ignore the direction the game gives you.

To this specific point I wanted to warn you that your starting class is a bit more impactful as to your options early game than other From titles since you won't know if you're avoiding too much info. A lot of weapons require just a dash of faith or a touch of int, or a spoonful of dex or such. If you choose a strength heavy starting class you end up locking yourself out of a lot of options until later when you have the opportunity to bring other stats up. Alternatively if you choose a magic class you'll be going heavy in the other direction and lack strength and dex for a lot of stuff. I bring this up because while this is generally true in dark souls, it seems to be significantly moreso here. I was stuck with my starting halberd until I got to a whole other area because new strength weapons required a huge stat investment and more rounded weapons required more dex, int, or faith than I could muster without farming for quite a while.

Part of this was poor planning by me, but I was given a 25 STR weapon with nothing else to work towards so what was I to do. By the time I saw my mistake spending levels on stats like faith would only set me up for more farming later with nothing to show now .
Oh, I do plan to do some research into character builds just before I start the game because I don't want to fuck myself in the early game. As I always do with such games. Once I'm into the game for a bit I'm usually pretty good but the early game is always the worst part. I'm normally basic as fuck as focus on strength with some dex with the best armor I can reasonably use and still medium roll, because it works and it's simple if not easy. I'm also that guy who rarely uses a shield against a boss because most of the time it doesn't feel like it helps much, so I got really good at rolling since DS1. Because I'll find a pretty boring sword a couple hours in and get through like 90% of the game just upgrading that weapon, and while I'll sometimes try to use and upgrade some exotic ass weapon and I pretty much always find it a waste of time in the end. I mean, yeah, that sword that has a statue built into it is really cool looking but it feels unsatisfying even after bein upgraded somewhat.

I do kinda want do so something different this time.
 
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Phoenixmgs

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I think Elden Ring will end up being Infinitly more enjoyable once people have fully mapped all the interesting areas and players can follow a guide to avoid the hours of roaming around and dying to random shit.
If I need a guide to play a game in an enjoyable manner, then it failed IMO.
 

CriticalGaming

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If I need a guide to play a game in an enjoyable manner, then it failed IMO.
Depends on what you find enjoyable. Personally I don't particularly dig a lot of exploration. It makes me anxious always worrying about missing shit that I'm completely unaware of. As a result I will like the game better once i know where to find everything interesting.

However for you, it might be interesting enough on it's own i dont know.
 

hanselthecaretaker

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Depends on what you find enjoyable. Personally I don't particularly dig a lot of exploration. It makes me anxious always worrying about missing shit that I'm completely unaware of. As a result I will like the game better once i know where to find everything interesting.

However for you, it might be interesting enough on it's own i dont know.

He just dropped in to throw his obligatory jab at the latest FROM game lol.
 

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I don't know if this is a paywall for people but I do appreciate there's a little list of "If you like games with these features, ER might be worth it" but it feels like a intro to Elden Ring for anyone who has no clue what Elden Ring is.



Who might like Elden Ring and who might not
The Elden Ring launch trailer. Video: Bandai Namco
If you play video games to relax and zone out, or if you don’t have a lot of time to play and you tend to dip in and out of games, we feel pretty comfortable telling you to pass on Elden Ring. The game asks you to remember what you’re doing if you don’t want to die constantly, so it tends to be more enjoyable if you can stay tuned in, recall details or make notes about details, and keep track of your own progress. That said, compared with its predecessors, it’s still a better point of entry for people who’ve been curious about this genre. Consider whether any of the following descriptions sound like you when you play video games:

You can learn to be patient. Soulslike games have a reputation for difficulty that can be off-putting. There is truth to the idea that Soulslike games are hard, but I prefer to think of them as exercises in patience. You’re going to die a lot, but the trick is to rewire your brain to care less about death. It’s fine! You’ll die. Elden Ring is often about watching an enemy, learning its patterns, and then attacking when it’s safe, almost like a puzzle. It’s also about knowing when you’re outmatched, and knowing when to run away.

You love secrets. Elden Ring is filled with weird people and strange secrets. You will come across a lot of things that you probably won’t understand at first, but have an explanation buried somewhere in the game. Be warned: Unlike almost every other game of this type made by other developers, there is no quest log of dangling tasks and obligations to return to in Elden Ring, and it’s easy to forget all the people you’ve talked to and the requests they’ve made. It’s the type of game, like Myst, that works well paired with a good notebook filled with places you want to come back to. (I came across these special-edition Underland Field Notes memo books that feel like a perfect fit for the game.) Elden Ring is also happy not to tell you basic features of the game, and it’s completely possible to miss entire systems.

You like research. Unlike games such as Breath of the Wild, which have clear systems that you learn intuitively by playing, Elden Ring’s systems are obfuscated, and you learn them by either beating your head against a wall or researching them online. Elden Ring has a lot going on with it, and you can easily miss basic features. The online community around the game has discovered an abundance of hidden tricks (video) and all sorts of tips for making the game easier on yourself—whether that’s overleveling your character, finding extremely powerful weapons and magic, or breaking the game in other ways yet to be discovered.

You want a long game. You can pour a lot of hours of your life into this game and still have stuff to do. Even a “quick” play-through will likely take most people dozens of hours.

You’ve tried Soulslike games before and almost liked them. Elden Ring introduces a few quality-of-life improvements, and the structure of the game doesn’t test that patience as much as previous games did. It guides you back to the spot you died so you can regain your “runes,” (which act as both currency and points for character leveling, and which you leave at the site of your death when you’re killed), and it has frequent checkpoints, fast travel, and more.

If you’re still unsure but don’t want to spend $60, Dark Souls: Remastered is often less than $20 and is as good a place to start as any.
I just mention this because some of the user reviews are giving the impression there's a lot of people who didn't seem to realize this is still a Souls game at it's core and apparently got mad when they only realized that when they played it.

That's not to say the game can't be criticized, because there's plenty of legit criticisms for ER. I'm referring to the people who apparently expected ER to be.....not a FROMSOFT game despite being a FROMSOFT game because they did no research before they hit the 'Buy" button on Amazon/Steam/etc. I guess I'd liken it to buying Forza Horizon and then complaining that it's a racing game.
 
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Dalisclock

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Same. But even before COVID, I was getting sick and tired of his nonsense. All of his "research" and "facts" were just the last straw.
There are people on this forum I disagree with politically but I can get along with them well enough talking about anything else, which in turns makes it easier for me to continue to engage with them. The people who only seem to post in the political forum(where opinions get heated very quickly) doesn't offer that and it's easier to stop listening to them entirely.

And maybe it's a me problem but it feels like it's much harder to keep talking to someone when the only interaction is heated political arguments with no calmer/conciliatory "Let's discuss the level design in game X" or "What movies did we enjoy/not enjoy this week" moments in between where common ground can be reached or intelligent discussion to be had.
 
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hanselthecaretaker

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Same. But even before COVID, I was getting sick and tired of his nonsense. All of his "research" and "facts" were just the last straw.
There are people on this forum I disagree with politically but I can get along with them well enough talking about anything else, which in turns makes it easier for me to continue to engage with them. The people who only seem to post in the political forum(where opinions get heated very quickly) doesn't offer that and it's easier to stop listening to them entirely.

And maybe it's a me problem but it feels like it's much harder to keep talking to someone when the only interaction is heated political arguments with no calmer/conciliatory "Let's discuss the level design in game X" or "What movies did we enjoy/not enjoy this week" moments in between where common ground can be reached or intelligent discussion to be had.
It is almost like trying to converse with a robot that has a set of programmed, rigid responses, repeated ad nauseum.
 

EvilRoy

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It took a bit over 20 hours but I finally found the item to invade other worlds. So I think I know why there aren't a lot invasions now since I can see no way to collect this thing easily before about ten hours of play and knowing exactly where it is and having to rush through a bunch of shit. Its more or less on the direct story path, but it requires a bit of finding even then, and its past Rune 1 - and I think its tied to gaining Rune 1 so I don't even know if the shortcut around Fuck Mountain would get you there any sooner. I've seen one invasion while helping a dude against Rune 1 boss, and the player just watched the invader run at us before turning around and challenging the boss which booted them instantly.

Oh, I do plan to do some research into character builds just before I start the game because I don't want to fuck myself in the early game. As I always do with such games. Once I'm into the game for a bit I'm usually pretty good but the early game is always the worst part. I'm normally basic as fuck as focus on strength with some dex with the best armor I can reasonably use and still medium roll, because it works and it's simple if not easy. I'm also that guy who rarely uses a shield against a boss because most of the time it doesn't feel like it helps much, so I got really good at rolling since DS1. Because I'll find a pretty boring sword a couple hours in and get through like 90% of the game just upgrading that weapon, and while I'll sometimes try to use and upgrade some exotic ass weapon and I pretty much always find it a waste of time in the end. I mean, yeah, that sword that has a statue built into it is really cool looking but it feels unsatisfying even after bein upgraded somewhat.

I do kinda want do so something different this time.
Hopefully you'll find some options you like - thus far I've actually been plesantly surpriesd by how useable most weapons I've found are. Stat related issues aside (why I need INT to use a bleed dagger I'll never know), the movesets and attack speeds of different weapons vary significantly, and there are only a few weapons I've found that I would consider to be totally useless. I even actually killed a boss with the cat-claws item that's usually a joke because its a fast bleed weapon and that's just what the doctor ordered in the specific situation.

Only major complaint I have right now is that the FP requirements for the ash summons gets a little steep, and as a STR/DEX guy its hard to give up those levels. It feels a little unbalanced as from what I've seen magic is fairly powerful in Elden Ring and that high FP stat casters have means they have have big mean Ash summons too while non-FP builds either lose access to some of the good ones or sacrifice character levels to get them. I really want to use a couple of these but I've got 70 or so FP, they cost 100, and you get 3 or 4 FP per level. That's an investment.
 
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Phoenixmgs

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Depends on what you find enjoyable. Personally I don't particularly dig a lot of exploration. It makes me anxious always worrying about missing shit that I'm completely unaware of. As a result I will like the game better once i know where to find everything interesting.

However for you, it might be interesting enough on it's own i dont know.
I thought the previous Souls games had good enough exploration that never felt "time waste-y". Very few devs can do open world design well IMO. I don't feel like scattering about Souls content across a big world that is filled with standard Souls mobs is good open world design. That's what I get from people's impressions of the game. I'm sure the game has good content to find but the ratio of looking for it and playing it isn't going to be a good ratio plus the open world being filled with Souls mobs would only increase the annoyance.


Same. But even before COVID, I was getting sick and tired of his nonsense. All of his "research" and "facts" were just the last straw.
Even wonder why almost none of our peer countries ever put in place several policies the US put in? Even wonder why the WHO has been completely against a few policies the US has employed? Because most of the world's experts don't agree with the "research" and the "facts" conducted by the US.


It is almost like trying to converse with a robot that has a set of programmed, rigid responses, repeated ad nauseum.
Am I not allowed to dislike a game? I'm sorry that From never fixed any of the core issues I had with the 1st Souls game I ever played, like you want me to fight mobs of enemies but force me to use an antiquated lock-on system 2 generations later when it was antiquated 2 generations ago? You have big enemy boss fights but you can't make them more dynamic and interesting like Dragon's Dogma, Monster Hunter, or Horizon? Most devs suck at making open world games and I don't see how spacing out Souls content across a big world is improving the game. And filling that world with more standard enemy mobs is a good thing when combat was never something Souls has excelled at to begin with? What new ways can you approach combat scenarios (outside of mounted combat)? The Souls games were already open enough to allow for all the possible combat approaches in the game.