Elden Ring (New From Soft Game)

[Ishtli]

Thought it would be helpful to understand some of the familial relationships between the myriad of important characters and their role/impacts on the story, but the choice is yours, of course x). I had a hard time following even with everything served on a silver platter. The game is as complex as it is beautiful

 

[Aazealh]

Thought it would be helpful to understand some of the familial relationships between the myriad of important characters and their role/impacts on the story, but the choice is yours, of course x). I had a hard time following even with everything served on a silver platter. The game is as complex as it is beautiful

I know you meant well, but I've played the game extensively, so I understand quite a lot about it already. The things I'm unsure about are either explained in the endings I didn't get (I guess I should have followed @Dar_Klink's example there) or not explained at all. Either way, same as before: I'd rather form my own thoughts based on my own experience. But good for you if you enjoyed living it vicariously through various content creators. To each their own!

 

[Lawliet]

I know you meant well, but I've played the game extensively, so I understand quite a lot about it already. The things I'm unsure about are either explained in the endings I didn't get (I guess I should have followed @Dar_Klink's example there) or not explained at all. Either way, same as before: I'd rather form my own thoughts based on my own experience. But good for you if you enjoyed living it vicariously through various content creators. To each their own!

Hey, Aaz. Although you said you didn't want to check out YouTube videos, I felt like I should share the following clip just in case you'd wanna check it out, because you got Ranni's ending. Basically the video addresses the issue that the game has been badly mistranslated at some points, and in the case of the aforementioned ending, the translation is bad enough to give you a 180 degree misunderstanding of what happened.

In case you're interested:

Spoiler

 

[Beast of Darkness]

Hey, Aaz. Although you said you didn't want to check out YouTube videos, I felt like I should share the following clip just in case you'd wanna check it out, because you got Ranni's ending. Basically the video addresses the issue that the game has been badly mistranslated at some points, and in the case of the aforementioned ending, the translation is bad enough to give you a 180 degree misunderstanding of what happened.

In case you're interested:

Spoiler

I've read about that too.
To be honest, I prefer reading an article over hearing Mr.suave-voice explaining me something I could understand from a simple article.
I hope they will fix that because that's fucked-up.

Finally finished it on saturday night. Took me 154 hours.
I went for the:

Spoiler

Frenzied Flame ending with the extra scene.

Now I hope that if there is a DLC, it will be about:

Spoiler

Miquella and/or Placidusax's god returning.

 

[Aazealh]

Hey, Aaz. Although you said you didn't want to check out YouTube videos, I felt like I should share the following clip just in case you'd wanna check it out, because you got Ranni's ending. Basically the video addresses the issue that the game has been badly mistranslated at some points, and in the case of the aforementioned ending, the translation is bad enough to give you a 180 degree misunderstanding of what happened.

Damn, you guys really want me to watch some videos, huh? But I shan't yield! What happened to the beauty of the written medium!?

Anyway, it's funny because I was telling Griffith the other day that I'm kinda curious to see the Japanese version of the game. They use a lot of obsolete words or unusual vocabulary in the English version and among other things that made me curious to see how it compares to the original. It wouldn't surprise me if they took liberties, as it's extremely common. For example, I'm currently playing Triangle Strategy with the text set in English and the voice over in Japanese and sometimes the two are basically unrelated, it's quite something.

To get back to this Ranni thing, I'll check it out I guess, but people also need to be careful in taking random folks at their word when it comes to this stuff... The Internet is such that there's no lack of people issuing corrections that are actually... incorrect.

P.S. Also, for what it's worth, Ranni's ending didn't seem complex or confusing to me. It was merely underwhelming, like every ending in every From Software game... IMHO if there's one aspect of these games where the lack of improvement really stings, it's in providing satisfying endings.

 

[Lawliet]

Damn, you guys really want me to watch some videos, huh? But I shan't yield! What happened to the beauty of the written medium!?

Written medium it is:


Official translation

Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond.

Into fear, doubt, and loneliness…

As the path stretcheth into darkness.

Real translation:

すべてよ、冷たい夜、はるか遠くに思うがよい

“To all, you may think of the chill night as infinitely far away”

恐れを、迷いを、孤独を そして暗きに行く路を さあ、行こうか

“And now, let us go on our path of fear, doubt, and loneliness, into darkness”

Official translation:

Mine will be an order not of gold, but the stars and moon of the chill night.

I would keep them far from the earth beneath our feet.

As it is now, life, and souls, and order are bound tightly together, but I would have them at a great remove.

And have the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch…

All become impossibilities.

Real translation:

私の律は、黄金ではない。星と月、冷たい夜の律だ

“My order will not be of gold, but of the stars and moon, and chill night.”

…私はそれを、この地から遠ざけたいのだ

“…I want to keep it far away from this land.”

生命と魂が、律と共にあるとしても、それは遥かに遠くにあればよい

“…Even if life and souls are one with the order, it (the order) could be kept far away.”

確かに見ることも、感じることも、信じることも、触れることも …すべて、できない方がよい

“If it was not possible to clearly see, feel, believe in, or touch the order… That would be better.”

Source: https://www.frontlinejp.net/2022/03/14/elden-ring-the-age-of-stars-ending-mistranslations-explained/

P.S. Also, for what it's worth, Ranni's ending didn't seem complex or confusing to me. It was merely underwhelming, like every ending in every From Software game... IMHO if there's one aspect of these games where the lack of improvement really stings, it's in providing satisfying endings.

True, but that doesn't bother me too much. For me, those games are more of the journey rather than the destination kind of experiences. On that note, I'd say Sekiro, out of the bunch, had better endings than the rest of them, with Bloodborne a close second. Souls and Elden Ring are more underwhelming.

 

[Dark Emperor]

P.S. Also, for what it's worth, Ranni's ending didn't seem complex or confusing to me. It was merely underwhelming, like every ending in every From Software game... IMHO if there's one aspect of these games where the lack of improvement really stings, it's in providing satisfying endings.

I see what your point on the endings, but I think they do the sorta obscure Debbie downer ending on purpose. However, if you see endings like the frenzied flame ending as a good ending, like I do, it won’t feel so unsatisfying then. I’m thinking of doing Ng+ to get Ranni ending, but tbh I feel a bit of burnout from the game, so likely won’t do that for a while.

 

[Ishtli]

An interesting post under the Mistranslation video:

Spoiler

Source Finder

Spoiler

1 day ago

LQA Tester for Keywords Studios here with a little insight. My company handles a great many games as an outsourcing company for things like testing. In fact we've handled all Demon Souls, Dark Souls and now Elden Ring games, with my department working on the language portion of the game. Testing is manic and often things change during the production of the game. Japanese is considered, what we call, a "source language" meaning it is the language the game was developed in. This also means that when a story design choice is made, JP will be changed and then it is up to translators and then testers like me to change the meaning for our testing language in game and to make sure it makes sense in the context of the game. During the end cycle of production, JP can be subject to MANY changes which change the context of the story in small or great ways. While I personally did NOT work on Elden Ring, I can guess with a high level of accuracy that most disparities between the JP and EN lines likely came from the push to get the game out, thus the devs didn't have the time to make the change. However, that being said, it is also quite likely that it was a concious choice not to fix the line as it would be too costly to rerecord the lines.

 

[Aazealh]

True, but that doesn't bother me too much. For me, those games are more of the journey rather than the destination kind of experiences.

Same here, but I still think it's the weakest spot and that they ought to have improved on it by now.

I see what your point on the endings, but I think they do the sorta obscure Debbie downer ending on purpose.

Well yeah, of course. I still don't find it very good though.

However, if you see endings like the frenzied flame ending as a good ending, like I do, it won’t feel so unsatisfying then.

I very much doubt any of their 45-seconds-long endings will leave me satisfied, but that's fine. I don't really play these games for the story. It's fun to piece it together as you go, but my interest usually sharply drops off once I'm done. And on that note, I'm leaving you guys to it, I'm going far away into the deep night (outside of this thread).

 

[Griffith]

I beat the final boss just in time the weekend before last, about when my work started beating up on me. Then I didn't play a meaningful minute in a week. I had the boss beat for a while before I sprung for the Ranni ending, and...surprise, it sucked! Definitely a case where it's the journey anyway, but I should have just capped it off right by becoming the Elden fuckin' Lord after all that!

Overall I have some mixed feelings. I agree this game and Dark Souls are objectively their most impactful (and by the numbers it's this one by far), but... though I got as into playing it as any Souls games mechanically, it's like the 4th or 5th reskin of the concept figuratively and literally. I love these games, probably my all time favorites at this point, and even I think it's gotten weird and would otherwise totally be busting on Miyazaki for being the most blatant example of a one-trick pony; I can kind of understand where those bitter rival game-designers are coming from, "Hey look, it's the seventh iteration of the same weird game from 2009... GENIUS!" =)

All the new perfunctory jargon left me pretty lukewarm, like they weren't even trying to really make it different or interesting like in Bloodborne or Sekiro. It's like how they didn't even have different descriptive names for the Smithing Stones as they increased, they just added a number! Eventually they'll just call the latest iteration of these Souls Game and you'll drink from your Heal Flask and revive at your last Save Warp before going out to collect your Experience Currency. I could kind of see that everywhere and recognize all the reused and reskinned assets from Souls, BB, etc. Also, it's universal popularity is especially ironic given its basically Dark Souls II 2. Maybe that's not so incongruit though, because from another view it's essentially Dark Souls II done right.

I also think some of the dungeons or areas leading to the major bosses could have been more impressive. I was expecting every one of the "shardbearer's" domains to be on at least the level of Stormveil Castle, but everything else kind of just feels like a fort, or randomly sprawling, even if they're overly-complicated like getting to Rykard. Anyway, that's the quantity versus quality zero sum game at work, because even in a game like DS3, which doesn't exactly have the best or most memorable areas, the areas and bosses it does have ARE the game, to the point that they've had to have a certain amount of attention paid to them to make them intricate or at least interesting to go through. It basically couldn't be helped, even the turds were going to get a few coats of veneer, whereas in Elden Ring they've literally got a fucking continent of content to worry about, so they can't always fret about the perfect wallpaper all the time. Dark Souls 1 is the best of both, since it has a large, interconnected world, but one that's been specifically crafted with the experience of what it's like traveling through and between every part of it in mind. There were no areas made for just riding your horse through or vice versa. It's basically a few Dark Souls games worth of material though, and they put some recurring area types and patterns in place to make it more manageable, like the ruins, minor erdtrees, mines, churches, towers, the aforementioned forts, etc. Then they just threw some completely weird curveballs into each zone to really add flavor. I think Caelid was the most impressive early location, as I started out being transported into a mine there way above my level, and then when I finally saw a light at the end of a tunnel and fled to "freedom" I was basically in fucking Hell.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, despite the incredible scope and scale of the game world, I think I actually prefer the smaller, more intimate and detailed-oriented environmental storytelling and themes of their previous three games. In some ways those felt like more deliberate, sophisticated designs, whereas this is clearly the more is more approach. But it's great! It's like walking through some grand, awe-inspiring architectural wonder, a masterwork of design and creativity combining all the styles and skills the maker has honed over many years... But, from an artistic standpoint, one might just appreciate the perfect, self-contained elegance and cohesion of a beautiful painting on the wall even more, ya know?

Anyway, it's funny because I was telling Griffith the other day

Ranni's ending didn't seem complex or confusing to me. It was merely underwhelming, like every ending in every From Software game... IMHO if there's one aspect of these games where the lack of improvement really stings, it's in providing satisfying endings.

And as I said, because my whole post is recycled from our PMs about the game: I actually like the ending to some of the other games, particularly Dark Souls III's (with the optional Demon's Souls callback!), but they're all better in the act of doing them, as Lawliet said, than on paper as like satisfying narrative conclusions. This was the worst though, Ranni basically stole my moment to blather about the moon like a gibbering idiot. I should have just done the naturally satisfying default of sitting on a throne, wearing a crown or lighting something on fire.

Another reason I vouch for the DS3 endings and meta-narrative is its the one that's skeptical about what the meaning of all this shit is and if it should go on at all, while the other games go through the motions of, "Oooh, you're the Lord of Lords now; and that's important for some, uh, lore reasons!"

I go back and forth about whether DS3 is the most narratively satisfying culmination of all Souls, or the most tossed together retread of their parts. Ultimately I love it though, the gameplay of course, but also thematically the idea the fire has been linked a hundred times over by lords of varying reputability, to the point they're calling off now, plus Anor Londo being consumed by the painted world, Gwyndolyn literally being consumed, the Nameless King, the Soul of Cinder, the Ringed City, I love it all. Even Patches gets a perfect arc that's emblematic of the series in the last DLC. It's the closest any of these games come to having an actual narrative story (Sekiro doesn't count =), and it actually related to the experience of playing the games; if Elden Ring is any indication I don't think they're ever going to be more cogent, on point and less gobbledygooky than that. Of course, as far as mythology and world building goes it's not nearly as impressive as what the first Dark Souls established, but at least it paid heed to and built on it for better or worse.

Speaking of which, clearly they wanted to work with GRRM because he's the biggest name in the genre, which is both genuinely exciting and clearly profitable. But I don't think GRRM's involvement added much to the overall formula (if his name wasn't on it you'd never know he was involved), except arguably making the lore LESS cohesive since they had to build around his treatment, however much it entailed versus what's actually in the final product. I did appreciate the idea of him doing some generic heroic fantasy characters and background, and then Miyazaki literally grafting on monsterous shit and Soulsizing them. That's an elegant way for them to essentially collaborate separately.

A final nugget about the comparison between these games, narrative or otherwise: The way Elden Ring incorporates different elements of past Souls games, or doesn't, re-contextualizes the entire series, unlike Sekiro or even Bloodborne. Whereas I might have simply seen them all as points of evolution of this concept before, now I see it more like... Super Mario! Remember the big deal made about how Mario Odyssey was more like a return and expansion on the "open" sandbox gameplay of Mario 64 and Sunshine, as opposed to the more linear design of the Galaxies, 3D Land/Worlds? That's Elden Ring to the first three Souls (DeS even did the castle with paintings hub where you return from a numbered objective after getting the star =), as opposed to the more linear level designs of Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, and Sekiro.


Anyway, all that said, I may have beat the game, but I'm not nearly finished with it yet, and my feelings toward it are sure to evolve and change, just as they have with the others. I took an already busy week off, played some DS3 for some perspective and as a palate cleanser (thus why it's fresh on my mind), then got back on the (spirit) horse: found the last few golden seeds and sacred tears I needed, stocked up on smithing stones, explored a couple of stray areas, killed some straggling bosses, and then it was time for the darkest pre-NG+ ritual before I headed to j
Journey 2... slaughtering every last NPC to see what they drop!

That done, I took the plunge and immediately dispatched Godrick in NG+, and am making a beeline for the Mohgwyn castle for some NG+ rune farming baby! Over-leveled? I'm going for MAX level!

Final Thought: Shouldn't this game have been called Elden Rune?

 

[Proj2501]

Well, damn.

 

[Walter]

If the trolls in Berserk fought half as effectively as those guys, there'd have been a different result in Enoch

 

[Aazealh]

Well, damn.

Immediately jumped out to me as well when I first saw these enemies.

 

[Proj2501]

I'm 120 hours in, still on my first playthrough. I've never spent THIS much time on a first playthrough. Maybe as an old head, I know to check every square in of the map, plus good ol' jolly co-op is just great fun. Elden Ring has been a damn good time.

 

[Phonon89]

Immediately jumped out to me as well when I first saw these enemies.

So what is the consensus with this game and other From software games directly referencing Berserk at this point?
I know that it gets joked about a lot here becaus the From Software team has never actually come out and said they were directly influenced by Berserk.
It seems more like fans of both series just drawing lines between similar looking things.
Is it fair to say that Elden Ring draws more from Berserk than other Dark Souls games did before?

 

[Beast of Darkness]

Roderika made me thought of Farnese, her appearance, etc.

 

[Aazealh]

So what is the consensus with this game and other From software games directly referencing Berserk at this point?
I know that it gets joked about a lot here becaus the From Software team has never actually come out and said they were directly influenced by Berserk.
It seems more like fans of both series just drawing lines between similar looking things.
Is it fair to say that Elden Ring draws more from Berserk than other Dark Souls games did before?

I don't know about a consensus, but I can tell you what I think as a Berserk expert who's also played all From Software games starting in the PlayStation days. Which is that there are definitely overt Berserk references or influences in their modern-era games. There's no doubt to me that a number of people in their development team are fans of Berserk and get inspiration from it.

Since you mention Dark Souls, you can see it in the beherit-like invading tools, the concept of the cursed "Darksign" that's pretty similar to the Brand, the skeleton wheels down the chasm, the blacksmiths (one named Rickert, and the other one looking like Godot), and of course the usual Dragon Slayer-like greatsword, among other things.

That being said, some From Software fans starved for hidden meanings and secret connections tend to overplay the meaningfulness of these inspirations. Like, back in the day I remember seeing people saying Dark Souls was basically "Berserk: The Game", which it is very much not, and I'd say any serious fan of Berserk should immediately see the ridiculousness of such an assertion. What I listed above are relatively minor things in the overall sum of the game.

The same goes for their other games, from Demon's Souls to Elden Ring. They've all had things in them that felt clearly influenced by Berserk to me, but never to the extent that one could say Berserk is their main inspiration or anything like that. It's just one source of inspiration among others, which is natural because Berserk is a towering mountain in the fantasy landscape. And it's not unusual either, many games have taken inspiration from Berserk, like Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Anyway, as for Elden Ring specifically, I'd say it draws no more or less from Berserk than its predecessors. There's the Greatsword of course, whose in-game description is winking so hard it might develop blepharitis, with the "Arsenal charm" talisman doing the same. The most obvious to me besides that is definitely the Erdtree, and I'll come out and say that I don't think it would have been in the game were it not for the World Spiral Tree in Berserk. Even the idea of minor erdtrees follows what we learn in Elfhelm about forests of spiritual trees (like Flora's tree).

There's a bunch of other stuff, like the troll-like enemies mentioned above, but I'm not going to list it all and I've already forgotten some anyway. To just mention a few things that stuck out... The spell "Law of Causality" (just the name), Maliketh's armor design (reminded me of the Berserk's armor), the Lion's Claw ash of war (similar to Guts' somersault attack when wearing the armor). I also used the Envoy's Long Horn weapon for a while because viewed from the side it resembles the Holy See's symbol, but it could very well just be a coincidence.

My fondest such moment though is when I first got to the Altus plateau, near the foot of the Erdtree, and I entered the "Wyndham Ruins", and the game told me "The Beast Eye quivers"... That brought a smile to my face.

 

[Walter]

I showed up to the Radahn Festival late, I guess? Lv 85. Grand opening/grand closing.

Now exploring Nokron, which I think next to Leyndell has been my favorite area of the game.

 

[Griffith]

I showed up to the Radahn Festival late, I guess? Lv 85. Grand opening/grand closing.

He went down that easy, huh? I missed the two jokers in the arena beforehand and regretted it until I stomped them on NG+. Now I'm trying to take on Radahn on a level 1 run and its... a work in progress. =)

Now exploring Nokron, which I think next to Leyndell has been my favorite area of the game.

It's all pretty fuckin' rad! Wait until you get to the place after the place after Leyndell.

 

[Walter]

He went down that easy, huh?

I felt bad. I came for the spectacle I’d read so much about and got an angry guy on a little horse.

 

[Griffith]

I felt bad. I came for the spectacle I’d read so much about and got an angry guy on a little horse.

Awww... well, I'm glad I got there when he was still powerful enough that I was blown away by the sheer scale and magnatude of the fight. When he's that much stronger than you and you're fighting him on horseback while half a dozen summons take him on and he can combo you to death at any time it's quite something. Totally new Souls experience, though all the shardbearers kind of bring something unique to the table.


Anyway, on that note, as I said I'm doing a Rune Level 1 (RL1) run and it's pretty damn captivating! Here's a running diary from the experience this month (to clarify, it's captivating for ME to play, YMMV reading about it =):

April 9th

I started an RL1 character because NG+ was boring (my guy really is the Elden Lord at this point)... and it's pretty engaging! I've only done this before with Bloodborne (where the lowest available level is Blood Level 4, or BL4). It makes the world and everything in it feel bigger, more significant and intimidating. I'm really exploring now, and you just can't afford to tank hits, even against the weaker soldiers and knights. It sounds like the opposite of fun, but it forces you to engage and strategize your exploration, attacks and available abilities because if you try running in with some swashbuckling shenanigans against even a small group of soldiers you're dead (like DS1 =).

I played this way for three hours straight in Limgrave and I felt like I knew the lay of the land, literally and figuratively, better than after the whole time I played the game with my other character. The Tree Sentinel at the beginning suddenly feels like some truly insurmountable boss. Some people are doing RL1+0 weapon upgrades, which really just sounds masochistic. I'm not going to do that, but I am considering whether I want to use the summoning creatures or purely "solo" everything. And by everything, I mean the few bosses necessary to beat the game or until I "lose interest" or "The game and I mutually decided to part ways."

April 11th

Now that my weapons are upgraded a bit I'm playing more like the normal game, just not tanking hits obviously. I got past Godrick and managed to breech the Capital early too (mainly to get the Raging Wolf armor set), and I know of another skip that'll get me to Crumbing Faram Azula so I can raid it for resources too. We'll see how long this satisfies me or if I get tired of having to perfect the dance with each boss. I haven't ruled the summons out completely if I want to move things along.

The best part of this run: I took my default saved character appearance, a stunning likeness of myself, schlubbiness and all, but made this version huge, tan and totally buff with flowing blown back hair. I have him in no armor for movement speed save for some brown/black leather armor covered pants and boots. He looks like a moving Frank Frazetta painting of Conan the Barbarian. I can't wait to see him become Elden Lord by his own hand, after he strangles the mad witch Ranni first, of course!

April 13th

I haven't been able to really play seriously since I beat Godrick, which was one of those where I practiced all day, then dispatched him easily that night, which is probably what all these guys will take. Yet, even though I haven't beat another shardbearer I'm all the way to Crumbling Faram Azula through those wrong warping shenanigans. Maybe I should try beating the game in 6 minutes like the YouTubers do. Though I don't really think that shit counts to be honest, it's too much just breaking the game and not actually playing it.

April 17th

Got past Godfrey's golden phantom using the Serpent Hunter spear (no stat requirements =) and now it's on to Morgott, though technically I already have access to the Godskin Duo, so I'm collecting sleeping pots as well. I wonder what would happen if I beat Malekith without lighting the tree first? Would it just bypass that part or would I need to do it after anyway? Well, I'm not sure how I'm going to pass Malekith period, so it's a moot point.

April 19th

They updated the game to 1.04 in the middle of my playthrough yesterday and I'm scared they're gonna nerf my build before I can exploit another boss! After shackling Morgott, l bleed-crossbow'd the Fire Giant last night, which is actually when I got booted offline, in the middle of that fight, "No way am I restarting only to find this guy is now bleed resistant." I know I'm going to put the Godskin Duo to sleep ultimately (got a dozen pots ready), but I'm still not sure of my Malekith plan (run?).

I left the game on in rest mode in order to bypass the update in case I don't like the nerfs and fixes, only to be informed by my PS5 upon wake up that it downloaded the patch, closed the program, and installed it while sleeping! Oh well, I guess the next time I want to potentially be a sneaky fucker I'll turn it off. I'm at least relieved I don't have to go to the trouble of delaying the update indefinitely for however long I continue the run.

April 20th

Well, it turns out patch 1.04 completely broke the bosses so that initiating their second phase with procs like blood, freeze, rot, etc instantly kills them from the affliction! Now I have to consider NOT taking advantage of this for the integrity of the RL1 run lol

April 21st

I finally took the duo down after a few too many rage-enducing tries last night, including a couple where I involuntarily exclaimed, "Nooooo!" or something more vulgar. Then when they fucking died my whole mood suddenly brightened up, Mr. Fuckin' Sunshine after being pissy for at least an hour straight. These games are bad for you. =)

April 22nd

So, they nerfed one of the most effective ways to beat Maliketh without high stats, basically a shield Ash of War that could create projectiles that did thousands of damage from a distance... but now it does like 500. I was building towards this, but I guess it's back to the drawing board (at least I didn't max upgrade a shield yet)! I'm sure someone will eventually post a video showing how to teleport through the boss room and his body and instantly glitch kill him. It's that innate reward of overcoming a challenge like Miyazaki says!

April 23rd

Anyway, with all the shit they left broken or broke further they had to nerf the most effective method for the one mandatory boss I was really worried about (it wasn't even THAT easy to pull off with how agressive he is). I guess Godfrey and Radagon/Elden Beast are no pushovers either though, but I'll figure them out or naturally lose interest if it's just miserable.

I'm approaching it like just playing the boss is recreational (which, technically this all is =), how long can you keep up the dance, how many more effective methods can you find, keep adding to that until the odds are in your favor, etc. Of course, much easier to enjoy and succeed with that approach with against Godrick than these late game monsters. But fuck it, level 1 basically just means they all 1-shot you anyway.

April 25th

I'm working on a super OP bleed/frost build that basically does 4000+ damage combos to melt these guys before they can one hit me. I'm also trying to balance that out, basically find the perfect combination of health and protection talismans that allow me to consistently take a hit from most of these guys normal attacks so at least I can back out if I'm careful, heal and fight semi-normally. I don't mind getting insta-killed by falling for multi-hit combos or big moves that should kill you anyway if you can't avoid them, but when the Beast Clergyman can basically insta-spin and backhand me to death with his rear foot, that's not fun anymore.

April 26th

I'm actually feeling pretty close to having either a really effective glass cannon, like kills bosses in minutes or less, or a talisman-based build that'll give me enough HP and protection that I can survive a hit, heal, repeat and therefore play somewhat normally. We're talking like 500 HP and 45-50 percent protection so I'm more like a normal HP character with regular/low protection or something. Otherwise, I've kind of been up against it with Malekith for a while now, best I've done is get him down to 60% health, not quite enough to trigger his second phase (I wonder if that status proc'ing glitch works on him; probably not due to the break/cutscene =). I'm focusing more on prep and improving my character than practicing the fight at this point, but soon enough I'm going to hit the ceiling on improvements I can make that aren't to my own technique, skill and familiarity against him.

 

[Walter]

What a game!

Edit: To elaborate, I've started to explore the underground areas in earnest, and ... wow. This game is just generous. I'm at about 80h now and the game just keeps opening up to me.

 

[Judo]

I just finished my first playthrough after 130 hours on RL 170. I did a lot of coop and put my sign before bosses, so maybe I was a bit overleveled at the end. Playing an arcane-build with bleed and frenzy felt pretty cheap after a while so I respeced into faith and strength. I gotta say that I really love the variety of incantations in this game. It's the first time since DS1 that a faith-build feels viable for dealing damage and not just buffing/healing.

 

[Phonon89]

My fondest such moment though is when I first got to the Altus plateau, near the foot of the Erdtree, and I entered the "Wyndham Ruins", and the game told me "The Beast Eye quivers"... That brought a smile to my face.

Might be a dumb question. But do you take that as a reference to something like the beast of darkness getting excited or a beherit about to activate? I can kind of see connections to both examples. Since the beast eye is kind of like a little trinket or fetish of sorts.

 

[Cronus]

Beat the game at around 140 hours at RL 156. I’m going to go back and take out Malenia, now that she is fixed before I kick off a NG+.

Thoughts on the final push:

Fire Giant may as well have started yelling WYAAAAAAAALD JUMP! Fun fight and pretty hardcore phase transition!

Loved the Azula dungeon, but I wasn’t a fan of coming back to the changes to Leyndell. The beast cleric took a few tries as a caster and Malekith was one of those surprising one shots.

At this point I was ready to be done with the game. So while the final fights were pretty good, especially Radagon, it all just felt very going through the motions.

The Elden Beast being a total ripoff of Mononoke Hime’s Night Walker was both really cool and really stupid. The fight is a much worse implementation of the Sekiro Divine Dragon fight. Thanks for 500k runes I guess!


The game is a monumental achievement but also almost completely unsurprising.

When DLC happens I’ll be back.