Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[kensei]

1 hour ago, Curtis said:

The regular upgrade path to +25 has clearly been designed to be gate-locked by progression through certain areas as the map unfolds. 
 

But, the amount of stones per jump (12 stones for 3 levels) is a bit much considering there are 8 bumps x 12 + 1 final stone = 97!

 

My only advice is learn where the Bells come from, so you can pay less than I did yesterday. 😆
 

 

The main upgrade path is just insane. It's possible to go through an entire mining dungeon and not get sufficient stones to upgrade the last jump. You can get entirely stuck on a level then jump about 4 because you'd been building stones are the wrong level.

 

Worse, the buying of stones is gate locked behind a dungeons. A worthy reward but there's no guarantee you're going to get them or get them in the right order in an open world. And the game does not even subtly teach you.

 

Then the somber weapons are right there, just going to +10 on one stone a level and the game warps you a few times allowing you to get stuff early. Or just power past on your horse.

 

You could get massively overpowered in Dark Souls in about half an hour when you knew what you were doing. I expect it's the same here, rendering all this stuff pointless. DS was a lot more lenient on this - it had to be because of the armour upgrades. They've made it worse since by insisting on hating that'll be broken open anyway.

[Benny]

I still don't think I can quite process just how big this game is. 150 hours and I still have loads of areas I haven't seen yet or uncovered. It's insane. And it keeps surprising with cool shit.

[Benny]

I'm also still avoiding reading any of the thread as it's obvious there will be plenty that will still surprise, but also even playing daily since release I'd be amazed if anyone was "finished" with it yet unless they just made a beeline to all the main areas and bosses. I'm already way past how much time i spent in Breath of the Wild, Witcher 3, or any other From game. And I've never been any less than completely engaged the whole time.

 

Game of absolutely forever.

[Vulgar Monkey]

Wooo! Maggort down. Take your poxy magic spear and ninja cartwheels and shove em. Had Mogh for dessert too. Fully cleared the rest of town, ready to move on.

[KartoffelKopf]

7 minutes ago, omus said:

What level you at? I did him at 95 or so earlier and he kinda just melted 

28

 

Thing is, whittling him down is fine but then the red glowy dickhead spams his frost bullshit  or his ‘ooh, look at me I’m a little spinning fanny’ attack and it’s all over. 

 

Guess I should leave and come back but he’s got 30k of my runes down there. 

[scottcr]

Just defeated Bayonetta. Tbh, no idea what I’m actually doing or why but really enjoying it while I’m playing it… Beat tree sentinel and a couple of massive bears so that indicates to me I’m more powerful now.

[PeteJ]

13 minutes ago, KartoffelKopf said:

28

 

Thing is, whittling him down is fine but then the red glowy dickhead spams his frost bullshit  or his ‘ooh, look at me I’m a little spinning fanny’ attack and it’s all over. 

 

Guess I should leave and come back but he’s got 30k of my runes down there. 

Is that the guy at round table if you jump off the ledge? I managed him fairly early on (after several attempts) by using almost exclusively ranged weapons\ magic. It wasn't pretty. 

 

[Qazimod]

24 minutes ago, Benny said:

I still don't think I can quite process just how big this game is. 150 hours and I still have loads of areas I haven't seen yet or uncovered. It's insane. And it keeps surprising with cool shit.

 

I took a break from my failed boss attempts this evening and ended up finding a boss shortcut in a completely different area I hadn't finished. And then I found a whole new site of grace and fort location elsewhere. And also a big ol' hammer weapon I don't yet have the Strength to wield. It keeps going.

[robdood]

20 minutes ago, KartoffelKopf said:

28

 

Thing is, whittling him down is fine but then the red glowy dickhead spams his frost bullshit  or his ‘ooh, look at me I’m a little spinning fanny’ attack and it’s all over. 

 

Guess I should leave and come back but he’s got 30k of my runes down there. 

Pick up runes, quit game before he invades (or just turn console off).  When you reload, warp somewhere else.  He aint worht it, just come back in 30 hours when you can smash him.  Honestly. 

[Ry]

4 hours ago, MikeF said:

 

Respec?

 

Sorcery can nuke boss's

 

I think that's my only option at this point. Or just uninstall. Tried again tonight and it seems even harder. 

4 hours ago, 5R7 said:

post your character stats

 

Updated my post with a screenshot. 

[Number 28]

I just tuned into Distortion2 for the first time in about a month and immediately realised that... (Volcano Manor spoilers)

Spoiler

...you're meant to use the damn weapon art for the serpent fight! It's the Storm Ruler all over again. I was running into the lava and poking him. I'm an idiot. 🤦‍♂️

 

Btw, Mad Tongue Alberich is a woman apparently.

[Spacehost]

Man, I spent two hours walking about, got summoned to some furniture-based pocket universe, and ran away from an angry man on a horse. I have killed no bosses. I still have no fucking idea where the edge of this world is. 10/10

[Davros sock drawer]

Christ, that was some circuitous route to unlock the Mt Gelmir map. I imagine a lot of people could miss the way up (I only saw it because I was hugging the left to avoid those bloody Abductors).

 

My head is spinning with how fucking huge and amazing this game is. Volcano Manor is a nice change of pace too. 
 

114 hours played. Ridiculous. 

[KartoffelKopf]

46 minutes ago, PeteJ said:

Is that the guy at round table if you jump off the ledge? I managed him fairly early on (after several attempts) by using almost exclusively ranged weapons\ magic. It wasn't pretty. 

 

just beat him, lol

 

I went full mage for the Demons Souls remake and found it so laughably overpowered that I decided to go back to shield and sword for this and oh baby, do I wish I’d stuck to spells. 

[Anne Summers]

2 hours ago, Number 28 said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I've not been in Stormveil for about fifty hours, but does the shortcut to the basement begin by jumping on some ledges opposite the group of pot enemies? 

Possibly although I didn't find that route. 

I hopped up onto the rooftops from the open area outside the room with one solitary patrolling knight - which is just up from the large Hogwarts dining hall guarded by a solitary non-respawning many-armed blob demon. From there you can make your way to a spot above the entrance courtyard. But rather than drop down into the entrance courtyard (as if you were going to creep up behind the guys manning the mounted crossbows covering the main entrance) look for another spot where you can drop down, and you'll see the opening of the sewers below you. 

[Hawklord]

2 hours ago, Number 28 said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I've not been in Stormveil for about fifty hours, but does the shortcut to the basement begin by jumping on some ledges opposite the group of pot enemies? 

 

Yes, spoilered below

Spoiler

On 03/03/2022 at 10:58, Hawklord said:

Someone earlier in the thread posted a screenshot of where I got to before going further down but I couldn't find it to let them know I'd now found that place. You can see it from the roof area with no clear way of getting there. There's a locked/one way door at the Liftside Chamber Grace, it's on the other side of that. Area isn't large but has a nasty enemy lol. 

 

Spoiler below is how to get there

 

  Hide contents

Head to where I've circled and jump up on to the ledge at the back and work your way around Then just follow the path and it will take you to the locked door at the Grace which you can now open, then head down

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

[NecroMorrius]

5 hours ago, df0 said:

I'm losing interest at a rapid pace. After doing hours of the worst level design in eons (part of the mage's quest chain, it's beyond awful) I'm now in Lyndell. The longer I play the more it becomes apparent it's just Dark Souls 4. It's... Dark Souls with an open world that's tossed to the side the more the story progresses. For a new IP this is severely lacking, it's - again - just Dark Souls.

 

So who is this for? It'll not be for those who dislike Dark Souls in the first place and those who do like it might want something more than the same type of enemies and bosses, the same kind of exploration, the same kind of "aha, hidden enemy in alcove!" traps. I like the open world, that's fun. Dungeons and bosses is where the quality just nose dives, they had no idea what to do so they did what they always do.

 

I can't even remember what my character fights for. I genuinely can not remember the antagonist. I must become a lord blahblah, something something tree. And fingers.

Try

 

Spoiler

fingers but hole

 

[spanx]

6 hours ago, KartoffelKopf said:

28

 

Thing is, whittling him down is fine but then the red glowy dickhead spams his frost bullshit  or his ‘ooh, look at me I’m a little spinning fanny’ attack and it’s all over. 

 

Guess I should leave and come back but he’s got 30k of my runes down there. 

is that the dickhead at the roundtable?

 

I didn’t get until until over level 50. He didn’t like two katanas up his whotsits 

[Jamie John]

I upgraded my morning star to +15 at the expense of several thousand souls and lots of smithing stones and then added a Sacred AoW to it. It's the same level as my Lordsworn greatsword now, and while I take great satisfaction in stoving in enemies' faces with a big spiky ball at the end of a stick, the lack of reach compared with the greatsword is very noticeable.

 

I really wish there was a way you could get all of your upgrade stones back 

[scottcr]

The rarity of smithing stones [1] is a bit daft imo. I’ve found a weapon I want to upgrade, I’ve got loads of everything other than [1]s.  Yeah, I know there’s a quest I can go on to make them available - but it’s obtuse AF

[HarryBizzle]

8 hours ago, df0 said:

I'm losing interest at a rapid pace. After doing hours of the worst level design in eons (part of the mage's quest chain, it's beyond awful) I'm now in Lyndell. The longer I play the more it becomes apparent it's just Dark Souls 4. It's... Dark Souls with an open world that's tossed to the side the more the story progresses. For a new IP this is severely lacking, it's - again - just Dark Souls.

 

So who is this for? It'll not be for those who dislike Dark Souls in the first place and those who do like it might want something more than the same type of enemies and bosses, the same kind of exploration, the same kind of "aha, hidden enemy in alcove!" traps. I like the open world, that's fun. Dungeons and bosses is where the quality just nose dives, they had no idea what to do so they did what they always do.

 

I can't even remember what my character fights for. I genuinely can not remember the antagonist. I must become a lord blahblah, something something tree. And fingers.

I’m not feeling quite as negative as you about it but it is definitely just DS4. I wish they’d made a world with a totally new aesthetic. Even the lore feels like a reskin. 

[robdood]

43 minutes ago, scottcr said:

The rarity of smithing stones [1] is a bit daft imo. I’ve found a weapon I want to upgrade, I’ve got loads of everything other than [1]s.  Yeah, I know there’s a quest I can go on to make them available - but it’s obtuse AF

I'm not sure which quest you're talking about but there's a fairly straightforward way I know of:

 

Spoiler

Go to the very northernmost part of the lakes.  If you've got the map, look close and you'll see a mine.  Clear it out!

 

[robdood]

1 hour ago, Jamie John said:

I upgraded my morning star to +15 at the expense of several thousand souls and lots of smithing stones and then added a Sacred AoW to it. It's the same level as my Lordsworn greatsword now, and while I take great satisfaction in stoving in enemies' faces with a big spiky ball at the end of a stick, the lack of reach compared with the greatsword is very noticeable.

 

I really wish there was a way you could get all of your upgrade stones back 

This is why you should go to low level areas to try out a new weapon before investing in it!! 

 

[Qazimod]

9 hours ago, df0 said:

I'm losing interest at a rapid pace. After doing hours of the worst level design in eons (part of the mage's quest chain, it's beyond awful) I'm now in Lyndell. The longer I play the more it becomes apparent it's just Dark Souls 4. It's... Dark Souls with an open world that's tossed to the side the more the story progresses. For a new IP this is severely lacking, it's - again - just Dark Souls.

 

So who is this for? It'll not be for those who dislike Dark Souls in the first place and those who do like it might want something more than the same type of enemies and bosses, the same kind of exploration, the same kind of "aha, hidden enemy in alcove!" traps. I like the open world, that's fun. Dungeons and bosses is where the quality just nose dives, they had no idea what to do so they did what they always do.

 

I can't even remember what my character fights for. I genuinely can not remember the antagonist. I must become a lord blahblah, something something tree. And fingers.

I kind of had the opposite response to this - I was trying to embrace the new ideas in the game whilst every From fan was screaming “it’s just Dark Souls 4!  “, even though that’s not the most ringing endorsement for a game trying to carve out its own identity under a new branding. I’ve been enjoying this the most when I find new zones in the open world, when I disappear underground and find a new catacomb, when I can zip around the map without doing tedious runs to grab my runes, when I can run into patrols and get a free heal if I eliminate them all. Who gives a shit about the things lifted from a 2011 game when the new systems are trying to establish a more interesting way of playing?

 

From is clearly capable of ditching the DS baggage to create something as different as Sekiro (or even Bloodborne) but I do feel like some of the ideas don’t fit well in this format. Why have a massive open world where you have more strategic freedom and then fall back on sealed boss rooms?* Why have a crafting system that only serves to make item acquisition more tedious when all of the tools you made got wasted on a failed boss attempt? Why am I going through a catacomb only to find treasure that’s for a different build? The easy mode discussion is one thing, but some gentle tuning for a player’s own needs/playstyle could make this more cohesive.

 

*the roaming bosses are fun though.

 

E: also, some of the fog door runs in the catacombs are shocking. What happened to the awesome shortcut design seen elsewhere? 

[scottcr]

31 minutes ago, robdood said:

I'm not sure which quest you're talking about but there's a fairly straightforward way I know of:

 

  Hide contents

Go to the very northernmost part of the lakes.  If you've got the map, look close and you'll see a mine.  Clear it out!

 

yeah… did that for my last weapon.

[Sun Tze]

Found the necklace, gave it to the lady. Lvl 48, now in Volcano Manor. Progress, finally!

 

Traditionally prefer running the big Axe/Hammer build in a souls game but for some reason i decided to start with a dex mage in this. 70 hours later i'm still upgrading the dex and int stats but been mostly using the claymore and spikey mace for at least 50 hrs now. Upgraded the Bloody Fang but find it swings too slow in most situations and doesn't create enough stagger to compensate for that. Only using Glintstone arc to get rid of grunt mobs and not really using my magic anywhere else. From what i understand this build will shine in the latter half of the game though so i'll persevere. 

 

Not complaining, all part of a new souls game and figuring out where the stuff complementing your build is located. Just have to occasionally remind myself that this being a huge open world, it takes a good while longer then in previous games. 

 

So far i think this is my favourite From game of the last decade, when i'm alone i call it Dark Souls 2.0

[robdood]

4 minutes ago, scottcr said:

yeah… did that for my last weapon.

Right but.. 

 

Spoiler

The boss in that dungeon drops and item that you can give to the twin zombie lady in the roundtable hold which then lets you just buy levle 1 stones. 

 

[hmm]

16 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

whilst every From fan was screaming “it’s just Dark Souls 4!  “

 

Which From fans have been doing that? Personally, as a pretty rabid one, I find it a little unlikely because a) I've spent most of my 85 hours with it absolutely speechless, and b) I don't think that 'just' has any place in that sentence. As much as I loved Sekiro and Bloodborne too, this game couldn't be more what I wanted (without even knowing that open world DS was what I needed in my life).

[Goemon]

37 minutes ago, robdood said:

This is why you should go to low level areas to try out a new weapon before investing in it!! 

 

I always do this.

 

If I find a weapon I’m interested in I’m straight to ‘the lab’ (Church of Elleh) to try it out a the enemies around there. I also boost it with stones I can buy just to make sure.

 

I definitely feel in this game, above the others, that it’s plausible to have multiple weapons depending on what you’re tackling.

[scottcr]

8 minutes ago, robdood said:

Right but.. 

 

  Hide contents

The boss in that dungeon drops and item that you can give to the twin zombie lady in the roundtable hold which then lets you just buy levle 1 stones. 

 

Ah. Good point. I need to go and do the boss. Noped out last time!