Elden Ring

[malchior]

I'm sure some of you already know this, but the patch is out:

Spoiler:

Additional Elements Added

Balance Changes

Increased the drop rate of Smithing Stone for some enemies.
Added Smithing Stone to some early game shop line up.

I almost came in to ask about smithing stones. I'm just shy of level 30 and my sword is only +2 because I haven't found many smithing stones but noticed in a couple of hours of play today that I had a couple of drops.

[naednek]

I wouldn't hold your breath. Bloodborne still has performance issues and that came out like 900 years ago. They suck at optimizing their games and tend to never fix it.

well, that sucks. They did mentioned they are aware of it and working on a fix. This is my first foray and so far while the game is cool when it's smooth, I probably won't go back if they don't fix it. Which is too bad. Could have had a customer

[rittchard]

Just dropped in to say this game is really a fantastic yet bizarre piece of gaming. To those of you that implied continued leveling would equalize the game difficulty, I laugh in your face and present exhibit one: ME. I suspect you could give me a maxed out character and I’d still be unable to get far. I don’t feel the need to figure out why, but let’s just say my brain is not wired for this style of combat and leave it at that.

I say this because I finally dumped regular play and moved on to “Easy Mode” (a mod available at Nexus). Not just “Easy” but I went with “Very Easy” which drastically reduces the damage you take. And funnily enough, I still find the game plenty challenging, and I’ve still died plenty of times, even at lvl 90 or whatever I am now. I still get knocked around and beat up all the time and it’s funny because I get stuck in multiple animations that were clearly meant to imply insta-death; but I just don’t die (immediately) thanks to the cheat. Overall it’s been a game changer for me though, I can actually PLAY the game now and explore areas more than just by running through places on the horse. And this makes it a wonderful experience, that feel of dread and wonder as you explore a new area hoping to find that next site of grace to mark your progress. They definitely have some interesting enemy and boss designs.

Seriously, it’s such a shame that these developers refuse to support an easy/easier mode of play, because I’m guessing a lot of people will just skip the game, or try it and miss out on all sorts of interesting content. Unfortunately the only way to play the cheat mods is in offline mode, so I had to give up on online play. Not a major loss since the online system is not terribly friendly anyway.

Anyway, I’m glad I gave it a chance and played the “real” game as is for around 20 hours to see what the original “vision” was - and I can confidently say that original vision can go f- itself lmao. With this mod I actually get to experience a ton more of the core game design artistry, which I love. And I’m guessing no one on the planet is shedding a single tear just because l’il ol me gets to see more Elden Ring content.

[malchior]

14 hours in is when I discovered you can increase the number of flasks you can have.

[hepcat]

That’s 1 out of 2,489 things you have to learn on your own. Good luck!

I’m STILL returning to areas I thought I’d cleared only to discover big regions I missed. Damn, this game is huge. If you like exploring this game definitely scratches that itch.

[Octavious]

And done!!! Woooo... And now to ng+ 132 hours and I certainly didn't do everything. Thought I think I covered almost every area.

[JCC]

Seriously, it’s such a shame that these developers refuse to support an easy/easier mode of play, because I’m guessing a lot of people will just skip the game, or try it and miss out on all sorts of interesting content.

Completely agree. EVERY game should have a casual/easy difficulty. Metroid Dread is my favorite game in a very long time. And, on its easiest at launch, Normal difficulty I found it incredibly frustrating the first time through. Now, after more playthroughs than I care to admit I have 100%'ed Hard mode many times. But, I applaud Nintendo for patching in an Easy mode. It's just good business. I have avoided all of these Soulsborne games because they all insist on making things difficult with no options for casual players. It's just bad business to refuse to do this.

This game sounds amazing in so many ways, but since the consensus is that it's so difficult, I will never, EVER buy it.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

It’s difficult in that you will die a lot. But that’s a core part of the game. And this is obviously a huge IMO, but I don’t think the game would be nearly as compelling if the threat of death was rare. That threat is what makes the game so tense and unlike most other games. And I can’t think of many other games that has that dopamine rush you get when you’ve leveled up enough/gotten good enough to take out the enemy that killed you hours ago. But again, YMMV.

[Scraper]

I'm right outside what I think is the final boss door of the capital city, I've done everything I can in the city, including the optional sewer dungeon. I think I'm around lvl 105. And for some reason I feel the need to go back and scour old areas to see if I can find things I missed. I think that's one of the main strengths of this game, the need to explore and the rewards that come along with it.

I hope they announce significant DLC soon. I know I really just have one main area left after the capital and I could easily play a lot more of this game. I also need to go back to the nocturnal city and finish it up. That area has enemies that scale way up by the time you get near the end of it and at lvl 90 they kicked my arse.

[malchior]

Seriously, it’s such a shame that these developers refuse to support an easy/easier mode of play, because I’m guessing a lot of people will just skip the game, or try it and miss out on all sorts of interesting content.

Completely agree. EVERY game should have a casual/easy difficulty. Metroid Dread is my favorite game in a very long time. And, on its easiest at launch, Normal difficulty I found it incredibly frustrating the first time through. Now, after more playthroughs than I care to admit I have 100%'ed Hard mode many times. But, I applaud Nintendo for patching in an Easy mode. It's just good business. I have avoided all of these Soulsborne games because they all insist on making things difficult with no options for casual players. It's just bad business to refuse to do this.

I agree that widening the audience sounds good in abstract but the record sales speak for themselves. This company has repeatedly been sent a different signal than this. What I would hope happens is that game studios see what's good inside this concept and step in with casual games for folks that learn from those good elements.

[Roman]

It’s difficult in that you will die a lot. But that’s a core part of the game. And this is obviously a huge IMO, but I don’t think the game would be nearly as compelling if the threat of death was rare. That threat is what makes the game so tense and unlike most other games. And I can’t think of many other games that has that dopamine rush you get when you’ve leveled up enough/gotten good enough to take out the enemy that killed you hours ago. But again, YMMV.

Watched a great video about souls/borne difficulty. Key point from the video that I really resonated with was the following:
In life, games etc we are taught that dying is bad. In souls/borne games dying shouldn't be looked at as a bad thing - instead it provides the player with the ability to learn and adapt and level up etc etc.

I hated Demons Souls when I 1st played it on the PS3 - I admit I gave up. But something kept bringing me back.
if I can locate the YouTube video I'll post here - he also hated the games at the start

[malchior]

I hated Demons Souls when I 1st played it on the PS3 - I admit I gave up. But something kept bringing me back.

if I can locate the YouTube video I'll post here - he also hated the games at the start

I had the same experience. Maybe it's frustrating some of the time but in the end you can experiment and things out until you figure out how it should work. And no one attempt matters too much in the end. It actually is enabling in a sense.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I was today years old when I learned I could cast magic from my horse if I held my staff in the right hand.

[Octavious]

The casting from the horse is dumb. There's a button command you can do to just switch it without putting it in your right hand. It's the same command you would use to two hand a weapon. It WILL screw you up if you fall off the horse though as it messes up what's equipped. It's really freaking dumb.

[rittchard]

I hated Demons Souls when I 1st played it on the PS3 - I admit I gave up. But something kept bringing me back.

if I can locate the YouTube video I'll post here - he also hated the games at the start

I had the same experience. Maybe it's frustrating some of the time but in the end you can experiment and things out until you figure out how it should work. And no one attempt matters too much in the end. It actually is enabling in a sense.

This is the problem because I firmly believe that while the theory is sound, there are actual physical (for lack of a better way to put it) differences/impairments/limits that make this specific kind of timing/patience/reaction virtually impossible for some people. It's not just a matter of frustration, repeating the same act over and over, learning/memorizing patterns, or leveling up elsewhere to become stronger and coming back, it's an actual physical/timing skill that someone like me will NEVER be able to get over the hump, so to say. I know to any of you that have practiced and overcome the barrier, it will sound like an excuse, but I assure you it isn't that simple for *everyone*. I may have the patience to kill the same 5 mobs hundreds of times, but that barely helped me when it came time to kill the next harder mobs. As I watch the things that even some of the regular mobs do to me, I can tell I would never be able to experience the vast majority of the game's content the way it is conceived on normal difficulty. Even when I think I've memorized a particular pattern, somehow I will dodge/roll right into an attack and get a long death animation lol. It's actually pretty funny, and quite sad.

But honestly, it's almost like kicking a handicapped person when they are down and then telling them to "git gud". Or saying everyone should be able to play a game like basketball against NBA players, as long as they are patient and practice enough. The whole notion kind of grosses me out.

[stimpy]

I hated Demons Souls when I 1st played it on the PS3 - I admit I gave up. But something kept bringing me back.

if I can locate the YouTube video I'll post here - he also hated the games at the start

I had the same experience. Maybe it's frustrating some of the time but in the end you can experiment and things out until you figure out how it should work. And no one attempt matters too much in the end. It actually is enabling in a sense.

This is the problem because I firmly believe that while the theory is sound, there are actual physical (for lack of a better way to put it) differences/impairments/limits that make this specific kind of timing/patience/reaction virtually impossible for some people. It's not just a matter of frustration, repeating the same act over and over, learning/memorizing patterns, or leveling up elsewhere to become stronger and coming back, it's an actual physical/timing skill that someone like me will NEVER be able to get over the hump, so to say. I know to any of you that have practiced and overcome the barrier, it will sound like an excuse, but I assure you it isn't that simple for *everyone*. I may have the patience to kill the same 5 mobs hundreds of times, but that barely helped me when it came time to kill the next harder mobs. As I watch the things that even some of the regular mobs do to me, I can tell I would never be able to experience the vast majority of the game's content the way it is conceived on normal difficulty. Even when I think I've memorized a particular pattern, somehow I will dodge/roll right into an attack and get a long death animation lol. It's actually pretty funny, and quite sad.

But honestly, it's almost like kicking a handicapped person when they are down and then telling them to "git gud". Or saying everyone should be able to play a game like basketball against NBA players, as long as they are patient and practice enough. The whole notion kind of grosses me out.

I dont find mobs to be very much present at all in this game. A few? Sure. but it seems the focus is on a single or a couple of baddies at a time.
With patience and properly leveled gear, most can be taken down relatively easily. Now, the big bosses? Yeah, they are mostly about timing and movement. But overall, I've run into very few groups of enemies whose sole purpose is to overwhelm you.

[coopasonic]

mob:
A mob, short for mobile or mobile object, is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a video game such as an MMORPG or MUD.

He doesn't mean groups of enemies when using that term.

[coopasonic]

And done!!! Woooo... And now to ng+ 132 hours and I certainly didn't do everything. Thought I think I covered almost every area.

Just finished. 79 hours. Black Knife Tiche summon made the final boss cake. After the Beast Clergyman, the last three boss fights were all kind of easy. I skipped Haligtree altogether because I didn't know I was doing the final sequence of bosses. Oops.

[coopasonic]

Just out of curiosity I went into NG+ and ran through Margit and Godrick like they were speed bumps. I don't think I need to play through this again right now.

[Scuzz]

It’s difficult in that you will die a lot. But that’s a core part of the game. And this is obviously a huge IMO, but I don’t think the game would be nearly as compelling if the threat of death was rare. That threat is what makes the game so tense and unlike most other games. And I can’t think of many other games that has that dopamine rush you get when you’ve leveled up enough/gotten good enough to take out the enemy that killed you hours ago. But again, YMMV.

There comes a time in games like Skyrim and Fallout where you no longer fear death, that really never happens in a DS game. The best you can do is ignore it and move on.

[Octavious]

Just out of curiosity I went into NG+ and ran through Margit and Godrick like they were speed bumps. I don't think I need to play through this again right now.

Ya it doesn't get to be a challenge again until you get to the later areas. I stopped when I realized that. I'd rather roll a new character at that point.

[hepcat]

But honestly, it's almost like kicking a handicapped person when they are down and then telling them to "git gud". Or saying everyone should be able to play a game like basketball against NBA players, as long as they are patient and practice enough. The whole notion kind of grosses me out.

I think you’re being overly dramatic. It’s a game. If it frustrates you this much, play something else. Or try summoning another player to help you.

Me, I enjoy finally beating things after I figure out how. And I’m hardly a great gamer.

[Scuzz]

But honestly, it's almost like kicking a handicapped person when they are down and then telling them to "git gud". Or saying everyone should be able to play a game like basketball against NBA players, as long as they are patient and practice enough. The whole notion kind of grosses me out.

I think you’re being overly dramatic. It’s a game. If it frustrates you this much, play something else. Or try summoning another player to help you.

Me, I enjoy finally beating things after I figure out how. And I’m hardly a great gamer.

I do a bit of both. I love the exploration and always give the bosses a few tries solo, but after a couple tries if I am getting frustrated I summon in help.

[malchior]

I usually try to solo bosses and if I get to the point where I am about to give in and leave then I'll try a summon. I made a run just now at a boss about 20 times. Ultimately my attack is too weak so it's just grind on him doing hit and run horseback versus lucky massive shots that stagger or outright kill. I got tired and took a look at trying a summon. It paid off big time today because I summoned and who steps out of the summoning portal? He-Man. Bare-chested, bowl hair cut, and sword of power in tow. Magical.

[Scuzz]

You never know who you get in a summon. A naked guy with a katana or a mage with a couple amazing spells. And sometimes you get the guy who just wanted a look at the boss before he tried it and who discovers he is not ready yet.

[coopasonic]

You never know who you get in a summon.

I know. It's either going to be a copy of me or a sweet assassin with a DoT.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I’ve only tried to summon another player once but it didn’t work (for Commander ONeil who consistently kicked my butt before I realized I could cast from horseback). My headless summon dude has been good enough for most bosses so far.

[coopasonic]

In some places the demand for cooperators is greater than the supply. I successfully summoned folks in twice but managed to die anyway. Can't remember the fight, but finished it with my mimic.

[Scuzz]

I have probably helped 30 people beat Radagon and sometimes fight off an invader prior to entering the fog gate. That is my way of farming runes. I get an Arc Rune and 3,500 runes with each win. Plus the jolly cooperation.

[stimpy]

So if I ever feel the need for some help, is there a way to summon someone from this board to help?
I've been playing offline only.

[hepcat]

If you find a piece of armor named "Leather Chaps of Hepcat" you can use that to summon my character. Be warned though: I will stay after the battle and do nothing but follow you around while eating Rowan fruit and making jokes using the word "But" and "hole".

...

.......

but seriously, you have to set up a password and then give it out to a friend/friends. Here's some info on how.

[malchior]

I had my first pure cheese battle this morning before I started in to doing some work. I got to the

Spoiler:

magma wyrm

. The initial battle went...poorly. It made short work of my jellyfish. I'm almost pure melee with minimal read no magic ability. So without a horse summon despite the huge arena I couldn't consistently hit it without taking lots of damage. The boss is big and moves in a way that is pretty impossible to track and brushing up on anything does damage. It also trails magma.

So I retreated back and thought maybe I'd hit the claws/tail around the central pillar. That is when I remembered I had a bow. The original Samurai Long Bow +1. Ugh. And just basic arrows. I haven't used it in *awhile* so I had 99 arrows. I also had a crossbow lying around. So for 20 minutes I ran in circles around the central pillar hitting it for miniscule amounts of damage until it fell. Sad.

[hepcat]

I played peek-a-boo using that pillar in the center of the cave for that fight. Hit from behind, run around pillar, let my summon (headless knight) draw aggro, repeat. Took me about 10 minutes, but I did it on my third try. Then I emerged only to get hit with the same damn kind of boss within 5 minutes.

[stimpy]

I had my first pure cheese battle this morning before I started in to doing some work. I got to the

Spoiler:

magma wyrm

. The initial battle went...poorly. It made short work of my jellyfish. I'm almost pure melee with minimal read no magic ability. So without a horse summon despite the huge arena I couldn't consistently hit it without taking lots of damage. The boss is big and moves in a way that is pretty impossible to track and brushing up on anything does damage. It also trails magma.

So I retreated back and thought maybe I'd hit the claws/tail around the central pillar. That is when I remembered I had a bow. The original Samurai Long Bow +1. Ugh. And just basic arrows. I haven't used it in *awhile* so I had 99 arrows. I also had a crossbow lying around. So for 20 minutes I ran in circles around the central pillar hitting it for miniscule amounts of damage until it fell. Sad.

Just like the designers planned it!!!

[coopasonic]

After sitting around half of Saturday wondering what to do with my life after finishing Elden Ring, I started a new character. Having finished the game on hard mode (str build) I decided to go easy mode for the second run (mage build). Margit went down first try. I ran out of FP on Godrick, so I guess I'll need to level up and find some better gear. Got my staff up to +5 but Jelly is still only +1. I'm still using the pebble as my main attack. I haven't found any better single target damage yet. The other option is to switch another healing flask over to blue, but I'd need to be more careful and I am not sure that's in my nature.

[hepcat]

When I finish the game in late 2037, I plan on doing the same thing. I've never run a glass cannon before. Plus, I'm sure I'll still have missed large portions of the game during my first run.

[Octavious]

I'm taking a break for a bit and then will start a new build. The NG+ seemed kind of pointless.. I think I'll also try a pure mage build. There's so many spells that it should be interesting.

[baelthazar]

I'm taking a break for a bit and then will start a new build. The NG+ seemed kind of pointless.. I think I'll also try a pure mage build. There's so many spells that it should be interesting.

NG+ ups the difficulty and the runes. If you want to try a new build, I think you can respec your character and dump points wherever. That likely requires beating Rennala first.

[Scuzz]

If you find a piece of armor named "Leather Chaps of Hepcat" you can use that to summon my character. Be warned though: I will stay after the battle and do nothing but follow you around while eating Rowan fruit and making jokes using the word "But" and "hole".

...

.......

but seriously, you have to set up a password and then give it out to a friend/friends. Here's some info on how.

We can agree to a name and then use it as a password or a group name.

[Octavious]

I'm taking a break for a bit and then will start a new build. The NG+ seemed kind of pointless.. I think I'll also try a pure mage build. There's so many spells that it should be interesting.

NG+ ups the difficulty and the runes. If you want to try a new build, I think you can respec your character and dump points wherever. That likely requires beating Rennala first.

Ya the problem is that it doesn't get very difficult unless you run over to the late game areas.