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

Xprimentyl

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Could open the game and tell you when I get home, but doesn't really matter.
Why are you punishing yourself? Are you playing the game just to hate it? You’ve said on a multitude of occasions: you consider these games “inbred” insofar as they continue to pander to their fanbase with styles, formulas, and mechanics that have made them popular with that fanbase. Apparently, you are not one of those fans; what are you expecting to accomplish by suffering this one? Because, fair warning, the game doesn’t get easier. Margit was a brick wall for me too when I started, but a couple hundred hours in later? Ha! He’s a pushover by comparison to some of the challenges I’ve faced since. And yes, circle strafing will continue to be an integral mechanic throughout; maybe not the solution to everything, but certainly something you will continue to do frequently.

Just saying, FROM’s mechanics are what they are, but the settings, ambiguous lore, and challenge are what bring players who appreciate those latter things back to their games. If anyone doesn’t like ANY of those things, well… sorry?

Not taking your complaints personally on behalf of FROM or anything so asinine, literally asking YOU, who’s apparently miserable with your Elden Ring experience top to bottom, why suffer it? Unless you’re hoping to have the breakthrough “A-ha!” moment where something makes sense, progress feels rewarding, and/or that feeling of surmounting the seemingly insurmountable feels worth it, in which case, as someone who nearly quit a few times, keep going. Elden Ring has too many places to go, too many things to discover, too many ways to get better to quit as early in the game as you are.
 
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Silvanus

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Could open the game and tell you when I get home, but doesn't really matter.
Well yeah it does matter. If an approach isn't working over and over again, you're supposed to look at the other options available to you and adapt your approach. Elden Ring gives you an enormous amount of choice in how to play.

Can't tell ya how many times I've seen people on Twitch endlessly dying to bosses as they use the same two-handed greatsword approach they've used on all the peons beforehand. OK, fine, it can work. But if it ain't working for you... there are shields. Lighter swords for more speed. Weapons focusing more on stagger. Status effects (which are extremely powerful in ER). Sorcery. Etc.

Plus, Stormveil Castle is optional.
 
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Ezekiel

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Well yeah it does matter. If an approach isn't working over and over again, you're supposed to look at the other options available to you and adapt your approach. Elden Ring gives you an enormous amount of choice in how to play.

Can't tell ya how many times I've seen people on Twitch endlessly dying to bosses as they use the same two-handed greatsword approach they've used on all the peons beforehand. OK, fine, it can work. But if it ain't working for you... there are shields. Lighter swords for more speed. Weapons focusing more on stagger. Status effects (which are extremely powerful in ER). Sorcery. Etc.

Plus, Stormveil Castle is optional.
No, doesn't really matter. He will still hold almost any other weapon like a moron, wasting time as he pulls back or up for a strike, while the enemy strikes swiftly.
 

Xprimentyl

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No, doesn't really matter. He will still hold almost any other weapon like a moron, wasting time as he pulls back or up for a strike, while the enemy strikes swiftly.
Have you tried a different weapon? Not all weapons have the same move set and speed, a very intentional design choice throughout FROM's library. I, for one, have never been a fan of great/colossal weapons because I think they're too slow and don't work for me against the often fast-moving/responding enemies and bosses. Try a katana, starting weapon of the Samurai class. They're fast moving, have decent range, and the Bleed status effect makes up for what might appear as nominal damage when compared to the larger weapons.
 
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Well yeah it does matter. If an approach isn't working over and over again, you're supposed to look at the other options available to you and adapt your approach. Elden Ring gives you an enormous amount of choice in how to play.

Can't tell ya how many times I've seen people on Twitch endlessly dying to bosses as they use the same two-handed greatsword approach they've used on all the peons beforehand. OK, fine, it can work. But if it ain't working for you... there are shields. Lighter swords for more speed. Weapons focusing more on stagger. Status effects (which are extremely powerful in ER). Sorcery. Etc.

Plus, Stormveil Castle is optional.
Hell, most of the game is optional. I think that’s another thing that miffs some people, since the older games were more streamlined in terms of progression, with less of the meandering inherent in open world design, or choices in terms of builds and whatnot. Before it released the joke was “Well it’s Dark Souls 4, how original.” but ultimately it seems like a good chunk of people would’ve still preferred another straight up sequel with the familiar framework.

It really depends on whether one is looking to get lost in these worlds or just looking for another game to beat I guess. The only other open world game that’s really encapsulated the former for me is RDR2, even though in respect to gameplay design it’s pretty much diametrically opposite.
 
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Silvanus

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No, doesn't really matter. He will still hold almost any other weapon like a moron, wasting time as he pulls back or up for a strike, while the enemy strikes swiftly.
OK, but it honestly sounds like you're just using a slow weapon, because plenty of weapons allow you to strike faster than Margit.
 

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So turns out all those review bombings, while still complaining about the difficulty, are mostly coming from China;


As of this post, 30% of global total reviews are coming from China, 12k/18k being negative. They also have the highest number of negative reviews. The reviews in English are giving positive ratings; 26k/30k. those 30k reviews make up nearly 49% of all reviews.

Apparently this also happened for MHW: Iceborne when Fatalis was proven to be a formidable monster (well, the whole DLC is hard).
 
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Ezekiel

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Have you tried a different weapon? Not all weapons have the same move set and speed, a very intentional design choice throughout FROM's library. I, for one, have never been a fan of great/colossal weapons because I think they're too slow and don't work for me against the often fast-moving/responding enemies and bosses. Try a katana, starting weapon of the Samurai class. They're fast moving, have decent range, and the Bleed status effect makes up for what might appear as nominal damage when compared to the larger weapons.
'Kay, let's look at your katana. I haven't found one in Elden Ring, but assume it's still mostly the same as fifteen years ago, since they only make one game.







Same as my example of the four European stances, Shit-for-Brains holds the sword neutrally down at her side, even when locked on, making the action less responsive as you have to watch her pull back before she can strike. FromSoftware keeps making enemy animations quicker, weirder and harder to read, while doing very little with your movesets.

I once forgave these things because their games gave me what I couldn't find anywhere else, but they've become so fucking boring.

I don't even move the lock-on from shit button R3 because there is no hold option. Prefer holding shoulder button or trigger because you actively feel when you are in Z-targeting mode and strafing is just built in even when there is no target. Can't do that with shit button R3 because it can't be held easily at an angle. Toggling is SHIT.



Not to mention the cam getting locked while targeting. Shit-for-Brains can't turn neck to see self back towards fall while fighting.
 

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So turns out all those review bombings, while still complaining about the difficulty, are mostly coming from China;
I am not even shocked as something like this has happened before.

Is it the best DLC Expansion ever?! For me, not really and I don't care.

 
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'Kay, let's look at your katana. I haven't found one in Elden Ring, but assume it's still mostly the same as fifteen years ago, since they only make one game.







Same as my example of the four European stances, Shit-for-Brains holds the sword neutrally down at her side, even when locked on, making the action less responsive as you have to watch her pull back before she can strike. FromSoftware keeps making enemy animations quicker, weirder and harder to read, while doing very little with your movesets.

I once forgave these things because their games gave me what I couldn't find anywhere else, but they've become so fucking boring.

I don't even move the lock-on from shit button R3 because there is no hold option. Prefer holding shoulder button or trigger because you actively feel when you are in Z-targeting mode and strafing is just built in even when there is no target. Can't do that with shit button R3 because it can't be held easily at an angle. Toggling is SHIT.



Not to mention the cam getting locked while targeting. Shit-for-Brains can't turn neck to see self back towards fall while fighting.


Fextra has done this “best weapon” series for every weapon type in the game though as a general tutorial.


Moveset for Samurai starting class Uchigatana -

 
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Looks like there's a balance update in the works

Hopefully it also addresses some of the performance issues people have had on PC with stuttering, as that’s apparently what most of the legitimate complaints have been about on Steam at least. I noticed a lesser frame rate in the open section when I first started playing but haven’t seen it like that since.


Anyways, same old song and dance every time a FROM game is released.

 

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Hopefully it also addresses some of the performance issues people have had on PC with stuttering, as that’s apparently what most of the legitimate complaints have been about on Steam at least. I noticed a lesser frame rate in the open section when I first started playing but haven’t seen it like that since.


Anyways, same old song and dance every time a FROM game is released.

I am glad he called out the double standards from the #GAMERS side. Whenever difficulty complaints come up about Souls games, I don't even role my eyes anymore. These people bitching pretty much became what they hated and no different from the journalists they hate. I am not shocked in the slightest and I am glad to be not involved with their self-serving shit. Play Ninja Gaiden II (360) on Master Ninja, then complain about true unfairness.

Here's something more positive for you @hanselthecaretaker2.

 
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Old_Hunter_77

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My warped relationship with this game is that there is always a part of me that wants to go back to it because at its best there is really nothing else like it. Certainly having just played a mediocre babbie game inspires the desire for something more meaty.
But since my attempts at speed/dex and wizard builds were thwarted by my frustration at the things I dislike about the game, I was considering a tanky shield build and how satisfying it would be to steam roll and poise-break enemies.

But then I remember all the spam-attack bosses and how pathetic it would feel to hold my little shield up to those huge flying around everywhere bosses, and that I'd have to lay in all my points into the most boring stats in the game- Vigor and Endurance- and that FromSoftware have really been designing their combat to push people away from defensive playing- generally for better because it's a big part of my two favorite games, Bloodborne and Sekiro- and then... nah, forget, a tank play-through in Elden Ring seems like a bad idea.

I have seen jokes on reddit et al about people whining about the DLC going in with less than 60 vigor. If you really "need" 60 vigor to handle the DLC, then the game is, practically, not an RPG any more. And I know you don't "need" to do anything but this is like those posts earlier here about how Stormveil Castle is "optional." Like.. yes, technically, it is, but.. come on now.
 
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I am glad he called out the double standards from the #GAMERS side. Whenever difficulty complaints come up about Souls games, I don't even role my eyes anymore. These people bitching pretty much became what they hated and no different from the journalists they hate. I am not shocked in the slightest and I am glad to be not involved with their self-serving shit. Play Ninja Gaiden II (360) on Master Ninja, then complain about true unfairness.

Here's something more positive for you @hanselthecaretaker2.


Boss must be like, “HTF do I hit this guy‽”.


On that note, my god, already -



Also, neat -
 
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My warped relationship with this game is that there is always a part of me that wants to go back to it because at its best there is really nothing else like it. Certainly having just played a mediocre babbie game inspires the desire for something more meaty.
But since my attempts at speed/dex and wizard builds were thwarted by my frustration at the things I dislike about the game, I was considering a tanky shield build and how satisfying it would be to steam roll and poise-break enemies.

But then I remember all the spam-attack bosses and how pathetic it would feel to hold my little shield up to those huge flying around everywhere bosses, and that I'd have to lay in all my points into the most boring stats in the game- Vigor and Endurance- and that FromSoftware have really been designing their combat to push people away from defensive playing- generally for better because it's a big part of my two favorite games, Bloodborne and Sekiro- and then... nah, forget, a tank play-through in Elden Ring seems like a bad idea.

I have seen jokes on reddit et al about people whining about the DLC going in with less than 60 vigor. If you really "need" 60 vigor to handle the DLC, then the game is, practically, not an RPG any more. And I know you don't "need" to do anything but this is like those posts earlier here about how Stormveil Castle is "optional." Like.. yes, technically, it is, but.. come on now.

Can still tank -



The difficulty thing though, at least with DLC, is people forgetting/ignoring how the new scaling was implemented to prevent all the level 200 or whatever people from automatically steamrolling through it. Yup, gotta get out there and find the Scadutree fragments first, which kinda incentivizes a big part of the game.
 
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Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Boss must be like, “HTF do I hit this guy‽”.


On that note, my god, already -
That boss fight was so cool. It took me a few tries, but I would have similar fights where I was dodging everything and doing the side step backstab thing and making it out just in the nick of time. Obviously not that clean even on my victory.
 

Xprimentyl

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'Kay, let's look at your katana. I haven't found one in Elden Ring, but assume it's still mostly the same as fifteen years ago, since they only make one game.
'Kay, not sure what all of your screenshots are supposed to be proving, but your complaints seem really niggling. Really, how your character holds the weapon? Every weapon has a move set, regardless of how it's visually held, and once you learn it, you learn how to use it effectively. I beat Margit with the Uchigatana. Was it a flawless victory? No. Was it a victory? Yes. Not attacking you, but for all of your complaints about how your "shit for brains" character performs... she does nothing without YOUR input. The game is not going to bend to your will no matter how much you think it should or wish it would. If you insist on playing it, learn ITS rules.

And if it helps:

1719495861595.png

1719495969103.png
 
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Ezekiel

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'Kay, not sure what all of your screenshots are supposed to be proving, but your complaints seem really niggling. Really, how your character holds the weapon? Every weapon has a move set, regardless of how it's visually held, and once you learn it, you learn how to use it effectively. I beat Margit with the Uchigatana. Was it a flawless victory? No. Was it a victory? Yes. Not attacking you, but for all of your complaints about how your "shit for brains" character performs... she does nothing without YOUR input. The game is not going to bend to your will no matter how much you think it should or wish it would. If you insist on playing it, learn ITS rules.

And if it helps:

View attachment 11372

View attachment 11373
Then why did you reply in the first place? I said in that initial post that the character wastes time by not holding their weapon ready for a strike or party, then Hansel asked what weapon I'm using, then I told him that it doesn't matter (because they hold almost all weapons stupidly, even while locked on). If you don't understand what my pics have to do with this, you didn't pay attention. Meanwhile, enemy animations get faster and ever more sophisticated. They often hit as soon as I attack.