Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[Girth Certificate]

they're missing a trick if the final boss isn't just the big fingers poking you and flicking the Vs

[df0]

5 minutes ago, Hexx said:

End boss spoilers and lore

 

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As far as I know "Marika is Radagon" is only communicated at one point, if you do a certain incantation in front a certain statue. (And have probably been following Golden Masks questline),

 

I've no idea how the last boss would come across if you didn't know....

 

🙄

Sure, I believe you. I'm sure your explanation is more reasonable and sane than the actual one. For what it is worth, I'm on Ranni's path.

[kensei]

They still need to sort out the smithing stones. It's still a mess.

 

Thankfully not blocking my main weapon, but I have 20 +6 Stones and 2 +5 Stones. It's useless for experimentation.

 

I think I can go find the ball bearing soon but it's way too late for that level.

[cassidy]

22 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

I started properly on Caelid @Ste Pickford yesterday and I'm a bit ahead of you, I found it around the same difficulty as most of the stuff after the lift, before entering the capital. Although I still am avoiding the big monsters in Caelid where possible because they absolutely wreck!

 

About a bit in north Caelid for those who have done it

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Had great fun/pain at the Divine Tower where you climb up the outside and then drop down the inside. Proper Souls level design, nailbiting jumps, evil enemy placement and fun little secrets dotted around. After a lot of deaths finally made it to the boss at the bottom but ran into my problem of not doing enough DPS to him, so will have to come back.

 

Conquered a lot of Caelid though, did the swamp, the mage village (still need to check out the boss there), rescued the girl from the rot, killed the rot dragon on the way to the main castle. Didn't head to any of the castles there yet though apart from the giant pot one, where I killed one of the summons but the blood loss one wrecked me. The giant dogs and birds can one shot me with some of their moves so I've been dodging them where possible!

 

Getting down that bloody tower is causing me no end of issues. I will get there one day. 

[Girth Certificate]

haha (spoilers for the end of mountaintop of giants)

 

Spoiler

was tooling round on my horse when I got jumped by an EVEN BIGGER giant scary spiderhand so I ran like fuck down a narrow cliffside path where I got mobbed from front and back by the little ones. Creepy Bastards!

 

Then I blundered into the fire giant boss while wielding a fire sword  still managed with Alexander Potman's help to get him down to a tiny slither of health before I ran out of healing and caught a big firey hand to the face. Went back with Holy instead and wrecked his leg and then his face(s).

 

[Davros sock drawer]

Fuck me, Spirit Caller Cave boss:

 

Spoiler

I was so smug when I beat the Godskin Apostle…

 

[Girth Certificate]

 

 

Spoiler

don't wait around when the snail shows up either. Give him a good doing.

 

[Davros sock drawer]

I think I’ll come back to it

[scottcr]

57 minutes ago, kensei said:

They still need to sort out the smithing stones. It's still a mess.

 

Thankfully not blocking my main weapon, but I have 20 +6 Stones and 2 +5 Stones. It's useless for experimentation.

 

I think I can go find the ball bearing soon but it's way too late for that level.

 +5s are my new +1s now I've found a couple of bearings...  

 

[robdood]

16 minutes ago, scottcr said:

 +5s are my new +1s now I've found a couple of bearings...  

 

If you're not generally finding them in the area you're exploring you don't NEED them, yet.  Unless you're finding 7s/8s instead..!  In which case try somewhere else

 

[scottcr]

4 minutes ago, robdood said:

If you're not generally finding them in the area you're exploring you don't NEED them, yet.  Unless you're finding 7s/8s instead..!  In which case try somewhere else

 

I might not need them but I want them to upgrade my massive big magic club. I’ve got a decent slash, a decent pierce and want a decent SMASH

[df0]

It took me ages to find +8, think I was doing far too much stuff on the side.

[robdood]

1 minute ago, scottcr said:

I might not need them but I want them to upgrade my massive big magic club. I’ve got a decent slash, a decent pierce and want a decent SMASH

Would you like a hint as to the location of the appropriate bell bearing?

 

[Lovelyman]

7 minutes ago, robdood said:

If you're not generally finding them in the area you're exploring you don't NEED them, yet.  Unless you're finding 7s/8s instead..!  In which case try somewhere else

 

You do need them if you want to try a new weapon.

[scottcr]

12 minutes ago, robdood said:

Would you like a hint as to the location of the appropriate bell bearing?

 

thanks…. I know where it is, just need to get there

[Kryptonian]

10 minutes ago, Lovelyman said:

You do need them if you want to try a new weapon.

 

He means that the area you're in will have the stones etc required for combat etc at the level the developers intended. Of course most people want to upgrade their stuff to max but if the area has stones that get you to +5 for example that should give you the damage output in line with the what *should* be ok for the enemies there.

[Jamie John]

Regarding the lore, as I've mentioned before, I've been doing my best to keep track of it on my phone using a sort of index of all of the proper nouns (I'm up to 140 entries now). I add to this every time I learn something new about a named place, person or thing. It's a rewarding way to play the game, but I definitely feel I wouldn't really know what was going on if I wasn't doing this, and I still have lots of questions unanswered (I've purposefully not looked at any lore vids or explainers yet).

 

I will say that, for as rich as the backstory is in these games, it's just that, a backstory. There isn't really a plot to follow, so to speak, beyond the player travelling from place to place and murdering every person or thing they come across, anyway. Occasionally, there will be a decision to make which affects the ending of the game, but only very rarely do you every feel like you have an active role in the narrative, or that there even is a narrative to have a role in. Essentially, these games put you in the position of a homicidal archaeologist, unearthing context as they go, rather than a protagonist with agency who drives the plot forwards. You spend the game finding out what has happened already rather than making anything happen yourself (apart from the aforementioned murdering).

 

The exception to this is Sekiro, which I thought successfully married together From's traditional lore digging approach to narrative with an interesting plot, full of intrigue and betrayal. For me, it made the boss battles more meaningful, especially when you were able to cut down Genichiro, or Owl.

 

I'd like to see them do something pre-apocalyptic next, or maybe apocalypse-concurrent, rather than another post-apocalyptic world.

[Girth Certificate]

Foreskin Duo more like. Kicked their asses.

 

I can now buy up to (8)s of pretty much everything in the shop, they're surprisingly cheap.

[scottcr]

36 minutes ago, Kryptonian said:

 

He means that the area you're in will have the stones etc required for combat etc at the level the developers intended. Of course most people want to upgrade their stuff to max but if the area has stones that get you to +5 for example that should give you the damage output in line with the what *should* be ok for the enemies there.

 

yeah - for one or maybe two weapons max.

 

It *would be nice* if for a price I could remove stones from one weapon to apply to another.  I can re-spec my character, so let me re-spec my weapon build as well.

[cassidy]

Draconian prick guarding the Capital is now dead. 

 

Now cautiously exploring the Capital. Love it. So intense again. 

[Alask]

I keep having the occasional bash at the final boss and it's just winding me up. Proper irritatingly winding me up. Why does this game make me both want to play it continually and want to just punch myself in the face instead.

 

 

[Alask]

I've got a plan! (End boss spoiler as we've flipped onto a new page so might not be obvious)

 

Spoiler

I'm going to go get the jellyfish shield and the Golden Vow incantation, that should boost my damage in the final phase by a bit? I'm not miles off killing the Elden Beast, had it down to 10-15% health once. A 10% damage boost might be all I need?

 

Or and it's more drastic, I could ditch Black Knife Tiche and go find enough mats to upgrade mimic tear to +10 (currently +7). Tiche has been solid though, it'd feel like a betrayal.

 

[Padaxes]

I've done my first bit of farming trying to get a specific set of armour from a knight. Not sure how i feel about this development.

[scottcr]

Hahah - Knights are no match for my CLAWS OF PAIN.  I've fought a few big basts now and, provided I put my magic potion shield on to prevent the first hit, I can get the blood loss damage multipliers in quick.

 

Makes up for hoarstomp being rubbish now... it's actually pretty shite.

[NecroMorrius]

I finally got a larval tear and went to respec. For losing 20 attack power (<5%) on my moonveil I’ve doubled my HP pool, slightly increased my stamina, and added a third to my equip load. Bonkers. 
 

The “problem” is it’s not clear from the outset that weapon damage is mostly dictated by upgrades more than  scaling. It makes perfect sense when you think about it, but it’s a hard habit to break after 1000s of hours of Souls nonsense. 
 

After playing the first 80 hours with about 12 HP it’s going to be interesting going back in and facing those bosses.

 

Edit: I just realised the estus doesn’t necessarily fill the whole bar

[kensei]

3 hours ago, robdood said:

If you're not generally finding them in the area you're exploring you don't NEED them, yet.  Unless you're finding 7s/8s instead..!  In which case try somewhere else

 

 

I mean I don't NEED to play Elden Ring but it might be something I enjoy. Like being to trial out different weapons at the same level I'm already on.

[Minion]

OMG I'm so stuck, have I missed something obvious or is this literally the hardest level From have made - I'm talking about the haligtree - please help!

 

Spoiler

In Elphael Inner Wall the Ulcerated Tree Spirit and all the knights around it, how the fuck are you supposed to kill that, and are they being buffed by soemthing as I do barely any damage to the knights, I just get wrecked over and over again! Any advice warmly welcomed please!

 

[Sexton Hardcastle]

There’s a bonfire behind it I think. Rest & aggro it on its own. 

[Minion]

3 minutes ago, Sexton Hardcastle said:

There’s a bonfire behind it I think. Rest & aggro it on its own. 

 

Yeah I've found the fire, doesn't help I still get absolutely destroyed and everything seems to aggro 

[Minion]

it's impossible! If anyone has a video they can share that would be handy I suck at youtube because I barely ever use it