Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[Chindie]

32 minutes ago, Dark Soldier said:

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I absolutely adored the spectacle (The NPCs charging in, the location, the damn comet at 50%), but the actual fight itself was a bit gash.

 

I enjoy the coolness of it, but agree the fight is bobbins. A bit too much luck involved.

 

13 minutes ago, Flub said:

 

I had loads of goes and then managed to summon a gigachad with a car sized hammer who did it for me.

I was concerned a proper summon would make it even harder, so just kept plugging away at it. And that was what it was really, I don't feel like i got better at the fight, beyond a certain point it just felt like I was waiting for the time I got lucky. Which isn't great.

[Dark Soldier]

15 minutes ago, Uncle Nasty said:

Do we think this will be as replayable as Souls/Bloodborne, or is it all about your first playthrough?

 

As much as I love it I do wonder about the repeat play potential. Dark Souls and Bloodborne are games I can revisit any time and get a new build going - Elden Ring is just so vast that I wonder if it would be too exhausting to play again. Different games I know, but a big part of the appeal of DS1 and BB was their replayability.

Once routes and item placement is known, it'll be highly replayable. There's already people utterly destroying Margit and others within an hour or two by beelining for elite gear. It'll be fun - I just think the whole exploring every inch thing is a glorious, beautiful one off.

[robdood]

14 minutes ago, Uncle Nasty said:

Do we think this will be as replayable as Souls/Bloodborne, or is it all about your first playthrough?

 

As much as I love it I do wonder about the repeat play potential. Dark Souls and Bloodborne are games I can revisit any time and get a new build going - Elden Ring is just so vast that I wonder if it would be too exhausting to play again. Different games I know, but a big part of the appeal of DS1 and BB was their replayability.

I have to say, replaying the start as a second character was really fun, and ignoring bits I knew were unimportant felt even cooler than it did in the old games. 

 

I've almost got a good enough handle on making a cool mage character just for early game coop.  Also want to make a mad low level strength build for same reason. 

 

And I'm actually really looking forward to trying a SL1 run

[Curtis]

4 minutes ago, hmm said:

I think my main question about replayability would be: the previous Souls have typically required about 2.5 playthroughs for the platinum, but surely not this time...?

I don't know the ins-and-outs but like Bloodborne there 

Spoiler

are multiple endings. 

 

[kempstar]

15 minutes ago, Uncle Nasty said:

Do we think this will be as replayable as Souls/Bloodborne, or is it all about your first playthrough?

 

As much as I love it I do wonder about the repeat play potential. Dark Souls and Bloodborne are games I can revisit any time and get a new build going - Elden Ring is just so vast that I wonder if it would be too exhausting to play again. Different games I know, but a big part of the appeal of DS1 and BB was their replayability.

 

I dont think it will be. And I think you picked the right word - Exhausting. As incredible as the game is, some of the open world stuff to me feels like stuff to consume between Dark Souls castles, which are incredible beyond belief. Even the ones that are nothing to do with the story, tucked away in the middle of nowhere, are amazing (see: Shaded Castle). 

 

As I have been playing it, I have been trying to work out, will it be a good SL1 game? I think it actually will. Some of the Talismans are super powerful. Plus I think the weapon upgrades, particularly at the higher levels, make a massive, massive difference. 

 

I think subsequent runs.... we will just be rushing through.

[5R7]

34 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

I made a start on this tonight, but only just made it to the cutscene after the scion thing. I picked a Vagrant or Vagabond or whatever and am fat rolling. 
 

I don’t want to start as the weakest thingy - is there a good class for someone who wants to use melee (probably a strength/quality build) but doesn’t want to fat roll or should I just stick with what I’ve chosen and take all my kit off?

 

 

I’m playing the PS4 version on PS5 and it’s disappointingly soft looking. I hope they sort out PS5 performance. 

if you started as the vagabond, that is the class to start with for melee, its like the knight in DaS3.

Just unequip the halbard it starts you equiped with.

[Curtis]

13 minutes ago, kempstar said:

As incredible as the game is, some of the open world stuff to me feels like stuff to consume between Dark Souls castles

Yes, i agree, and as much as i like it, there are vast swathes of nothing/wasted space given the open world nature.

 

Thats not only a design but CPU-stress decision. If there was an exciting encounter every 100 yards, you'd get worn out making it from A-to-B, also the loading of information to the memory would be nightmarish and probably not possible.

 

Even so, the exploration is always exciting. AND THAT, IS ALL THAT MATTERS.

 

I honestly don't think the Legacy Dungeons hold their own to even Demon's Souls from 2009. But its always going to be hard to top your best album!

[Qazimod]

SR

 

Spoiler

Starscourge Radahn

 

down at last. That was both one of the coolest and crappiest bosses - seeing the whole crew come in is awesome (and the summons recharge if you're having trouble) - but there are so many instances where you get hit because the camera's in his junk (Amygdala all over again!), or because you didn't take cover from the tracking projectiles in time.

 

Three days of attempts isn't too bad I think 🤔

 

E: a few tips for anyone who's there...

 

Spoiler

Yes, the NPC summons recharge - I think using them gives the boss a buff of sorts, but having the extra distraction is invaluable

 

He's susceptible to bleed! It can be risky trying to build it up but it's a great way to quickly get his lifebar down. I'm working on a Strength build myself, but I grabbed a Flamberge, which worked well.

 

In his first phase, the jumping attack where he shocks the ground feels like a free opening to get in some damage.

 

In the second phase, you can bring the NPC summons back again.

 

In the second phase the dunes can kind of act as cover from those smaller projectiles he has!

 

Also, if you have your NPCs active and don't want to deal with his big floating rocks - just get the fuck out of there and hang around on the outskirts until he's rid of them, then go in! It can get kind of risky if you're being a coward and your last NPC allies die, but if he's going to lose his rocks for you, you may as well let him.

 

[CrichStand]

54 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

I made a start on this tonight, but only just made it to the cutscene after the scion thing. I picked a Vagrant or Vagabond or whatever and am fat rolling. 
 

I don’t want to start as the weakest thingy - is there a good class for someone who wants to use melee (probably a strength/quality build) but doesn’t want to fat roll or should I just stick with what I’ve chosen and take all my kit off?

 

 

I’m playing the PS4 version on PS5 and it’s disappointingly soft looking. I hope they sort out PS5 performance. 

Vagabond is the right choice for how you’re wanting to play. Un-equip what you’re not using, no need to remove armour though unless you want the fastest quick roll. The medium quick roll is fine. Upgrade your Endurance, it’s vital. I’d advise using the Halberd over the sword. Does more damage, has better reach and so can damage multiple enemies at once. I’d also drop the shield as soon as possible and you’re comfortable dodging with jump and quick roll. It’s all about going 2 handed!
 

Must be about 80hrs played now. The PS5 version has been pretty much rock solid. Framerate dipping is very slight and would account for about 0.001% of the playtime. Most of that comes from spinning the camera around and around in certain areas. Not sure what all the fuss was about really.

[kempstar]

12 minutes ago, Curtis said:

Yes, i agree, and as much as i like it, there are vast swathes of nothing/wasted space given the open world nature.

 

Thats not only a design but CPU-stress decision. If there was an exciting encounter every 100 yards, you'd get worn out making it from A-to-B, also the loading of information to the memory would be nightmarish and probably not possible.

 

Even so, the exploration is always exciting. AND THAT, IS ALL THAT MATTERS.

 

I honestly don't think the Legacy Dungeons hold their own to even Demon's Souls from 2009. But its always going to be hard to top your best album!

 

Yes. The world is much less dense, and much less populated.... than say that really famous Nintendo game. But that has a totally different feel. That said, there is something incredibly beautiful about the empty, lonely, desolate places here.

 

I havent seen all the dungeons yet, but surely Stormveil Castle is up there with everything from Demons Souls? Its incredible. Apart from maybe The Best Shortcut ever in 5-2? Or the Best Level Ever in 4-1? That I can still play through in my head nearly 13 years (!) after playing it.

 

 

[Klatrymadon]

Spoiler

Illusory wall in Sage's Cave with five skeletons behind it waiting in ambush. King's Field forever.

 

(Four chests as the reward, too.)

 

[Jamie John]

Had a great time this evening exploring the Atlus Plateau...

 

Spoiler

After getting there the 'proper' way I also decided to go the back way through the Precipice Cliffs. With the help of an NPC summon who looked a bit like a taller version of Gimli, we managed to smash the Magma Wyrm boss there first time, with Jellysis's help, of course.

 

After that, I immediately ran into a SURPRISE! ancient dragon beyond some gigantic coffins. I thought I'd developed a strategy to cheese him using poison arrows, but after a while he just buggered off, which was a bit disappointing.

 

From there I made my way to the golden staircase, avoided it entirely and managed to sneak my way past the two 

Spoiler

Tree Sentinels

 

guarding the entrance.

 

Once inside, I slew another SURPRISE! giant ulcerated spirit boss that just happened to pop out of the earth and then eventually made my way to a cave. Many 

Spoiler

illusory walls

 

later, and after defeating the boss I found there, I was at the base of this area's divine tower. With no Great Rune, I couldn't open the door, but I'd managed to accumulate plenty of high level Smithing Stones on the way, so it was hardly a wasted trip.

 

I think tomorrow I'm going to head back to Liurnia and explore the eastern side, as I've still not done that, nor gone anywhere near what I suspect is the second major dungeon.

[Triple A]

Been back on this today.  Have mopped up Limgrave inc Peninsula and am 2/3rds-3/4ths clearing out Liurnia before doing my second legacy dungeon.  Late 40s in level and hours playtime.  Damn it’s so good.  Something standing out is the variety and how the open world gets mixed up, keeping you engaged throughout.

Don’t want this to end.

[kempstar]

For me, The Atlus Plateau feels like finding an entire new enormous area in the game. Its incredible. Its another Limgrave.

 

But wait..... You mentioned the "proper" way. is there an improper way? I went via the lift.

[Captain Kelsten]

3 hours ago, Klatrymadon said:

Not sure if I missed up a quest.

 

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A guy in a shack at Caelid asked me to help cure Milicent by going to the Aeonia swamp for a mcguffin. There I was invaded by Milicent and saw the message "Milicent has died" when I beat her. Have I killed the real NPC too? The guy's dialogue hasn't changed...

 

No

[Jamie John]

Just now, kempstar said:

For me, The Atlus Plateau feels like finding an entire new enormous area in the game. Its incredible. Its another Limgrave.

 

But wait..... You mentioned the "proper" way. is there an improper way? I went via the lift.

 

There's a more drawn out route 

Spoiler

to the left of the Dectus lift.

 

You have to go down to go up...

[kempstar]

Just now, Jamie John said:

 

There's a more drawn out route 

  Hide contents

to the left of the Dectus lift.

 

You have to go down to go up...

 

That doesnt even make sense in my head. I need to go and do it!

 

We move!

[Captain Kelsten]

I don’t remember how I got to Altus plateau, but it wasn’t via the lift. 
 

Was progressing through Royal Capital tonight. Up there with the best dungeons from any of the Souls games. It’s like Anor Londo 2.0. Was incredible just making my way round, finding sneaky routes, opening shortcuts, fighting big enemies and generally just making a nuisance of myself. 

[ChewMagma]

1 minute ago, Doctor Shark said:

I don’t remember how I got to Altus plateau, but it wasn’t via the lift. 
 

Was progressing through Royal Capital tonight. Up there with the best dungeons from any of the Souls games. It’s like Anor Londo 2.0. Was incredible just making my way round, finding sneaky routes, opening shortcuts, fighting big enemies and generally just making a nuisance of myself. 

 

This is good news because the Academy and Stormveil are already up there as two of my favourite Souls areas ever.

 

My worry was that in the move to open world they'd lose some of the handcrafted, tight level design, but not a bit of it, if anything it has improved. Astonishing.

[Broker]

6 hours ago, Alask said:

I’ve only found the first ball bearing so far, have found two bosses inside caves that are kicking my arse though. Should I perhaps focus on killing one of these guys?

 

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1) Magma Wrym Makkar? Was in a cave up the river from the lake in Lumiria.

 

2) Fallen Star beast in Selia Crystal Tunnel?

Both are destroying me at the moment though. Number 2 in particular seems to be one of those fights with a big aggressive boss and a relatively small arena with no escapes. Which is not my strong point.

Number 1 is way easier.

 

3 hours ago, Jamie John said:

@Dark Soldier - did you get to that level naturally, or through rune farming? That seems very high! Is the game still challenging?

 

Im about level 100 and still getting my ass kicked. Fought a boss earlier who was killing me in 2-3 hits who had combos 6-7 hits long.
 

2 hours ago, Stopharage said:

As a lowly scrub, could I please request you use those runes immediately and level up. The thought of losing that amount of runes is up there with losing a bitcoin wallet. 

 

You get used to having a lot, I dropped 30k earlier and wasn’t that bothered.

[robdood]

[Alan Stock]

Is this Tree Sentinel video working for anyone? I've uploaded my PS5 captures to Youtube but they aren't loading for me on Youtube despite having thumbnails and being to watch them in the creator page. No idea what's going on! If anyone has uploaded PS5 to Youtube before, have you run into similar issues and if so, let me know any tips!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edit- might be a problem with the channel itself, I'm even getting errors trying to play older videos like this Dark Souls 3 one:

Spoiler

 

 

[Benny]

This is almost dauntingly big. Jesus.

 

It's not that it's the biggest open world map ever, it's just that it's so packed to the gills with things to discover. You can go ride off to investigate something innocuous like a small ladder somewhere and find yourself still exploring a massive cave complex hours later.

[Alan Stock]

Hopefully these are working now. Let me know!

You wanted boss videos? Here are boss videos!

 

I haven't taken the time to clip out some failed runs at the start of these yet, so apologies for that. When I get time I'll timestamp the winning runs so you can skip to them easily. At least you get to see the pain and suffering before I potentially win. Unfortunately I messed up my recordings for the first two progression bosses, so here's a smattering of side bosses for you!

 

Tree Sentinel:

Spoiler

 

 

One of the first NPC invaders you will probably encounter

Spoiler

 

 

Weeping Peninsula Bosses (spoilered separately within this spoiler - you can see their names though) 

Spoiler

Scaly Misbegotten

Spoiler

 

 

Leonine Misbegotten

Spoiler

 

 

 

Runebear (successful run starts around 5:40, sorry!)

Spoiler

 

 

 

Liurnia mini-bosses  (spoilered separately within this spoiler, you can see the names though)

Spoiler

Centipede

Spoiler

 

 

Blood Wraith

Spoiler

 

 

 

Limgrave Lake Boss

Spoiler

 

 

Weeping Peninsula Evergaol

Spoiler

Spoiler

Context taken from my earlier post - This was a great boss, albeit very hard. It's a tall thin swordsman/woman called the Ancient Hero of Zamor. It's very reminiscent of the Dancer in Dark Souls 3 with its wonderful and graceful movements, its hair flowing as it spins. The Hero could kill me with its combos, or one-shot me with some attacks. Now, I went into this fight with my Grand Epee +2, which didn't do great damage, and is slow to attack. The Hero has a very reactive gameplay design. It stalks around you, staying just out of melee range, and if you get too close it does super-fast attacks or pushes you back instantly with a blast. Its possible to dodge-roll past these close attacks but you can run out of stamina trying to get to safety, and with my medium rolls I was left vulnerable to instadeath in any windows between. Now another evil thing about this boss is that when you start a melee attack, it will often instantly retaliate with a super-fast attack of its own - which 90 percent of the time will hit you before you even connect your hit, and either kill you or severely damage you. R2 attacks are even more risky. I was able to use my rapier thrust attack but as I liked the boss challenge so much, I found that attack hurt the boss too much and removed a lot of the challenge, so I didn't use it.

 

So essentially the Hero in the first phase, at least with the weapon I was using, was a tense duelling battle where you pace around each other just out of range, prodding and poking for openings, and being ready to roll to safety at an instant because of its super-fast attacks. I'll put up the video later, but essentially Phase 1 is a lot of knowledge of the Hero's behaviour, risking attacks. I could have played it safer by waiting until it does its ice breath attack each time to get guaranteed free damage, but where's the fun in that? I also kept on masochistically limiting my healing, trying to get more perfect performance. In the end I gave up on this and started being more generous to myself with healing, as it was taking too long once I realised how hard Phase 2 was.

 

Phase 2 is where things get real nasty. The Hero pulls an ice blade from the ground and becomes super aggressive, with much longer combos and some very long-range attacks where it will charge for miles. A lot of these attacks are one-shot kill or very close to it, and although in Phase 1 you get time to heal up in relative safety, Phase 2 healing is like waving a red rag to a bull and he'll usually punish you for it unless you're really far away or pick a safety window to do so. It has to be said the animations and attacks in this phase are even cooler to watch. I love that this is an optional mini-boss encounter which is as involved and good-looking as some main bosses in earlier games.

 

I have no idea how many attempts The Hero took me to beat but it certainly took me over an hour, maybe even 2. I was in the zone and knew if I stopped I would be starting from scratch. In the end I persevered with my self-imposed difficulty and it was really satisfying to pull off. It was far from a perfect victory (I think I was down to my last heals), but I did feel like I had learned the encounter quite well. Its a great, if very punishingly designed boss. I do hope there's some way to replay them somehow.

  

 

Limgrave Evergaols

Spoiler

Limgrave South Evergaol

Spoiler

 

 

 

Limgrave North Evergaol

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[jonamok]

Anyone beaten the invader NPC Vyke I think it is? In the Liurnia region. Gives you madness if he hits you. Loads of AoE attacks too. Just keeps instakilling me. There’s a nice little grace point in a church behind him, but it won’t activate till he’s dead. I’m even using a talisman that reduces madness build up. Tips welcome.

[kensei]

2 hours ago, CrichStand said:

I’d also drop the shield as soon as possible and you’re comfortable dodging with jump and quick roll. It’s all about going 2 handed!

 

I'd have slightly different advice. Get comfortable with two handing a weapon, but the shield is a situational tool. Sometimes tanking a few hits will make life a lot easier, particularly now with guard counter depending on the enemies attacks - I almost always shield rats and dogs, because they are annoying as hell, particularly in packs. Specific shields with strong defense values against particular attacks are useful for some bosses too. And sometimes they are useful for just surviving long enough to observe patterns before going on a two handed spree. Some of them have passive effects too, so you want to keep them equipped even when two handing.

 

Your goal with two handing large weapons should always be to kill bog standard enemies in one hit, two max. Extra damage only counts if it gets a kill and saves you a swing. Otherwise you may as well keep the shield available. The thing about Souls is all enemies are dangerous, and pressing buttons is dangerous if timed wrong or worse, you queue animations by mashing. Make it deliberate and make it count.

[Kzo]

Remember someone commenting a few days ago about seeing a guy down the well on a seemingly unreachable platform just staring into the distance.

 

Not sure if they ever found him but you definitely can!

[hmm]

1 hour ago, kempstar said:

For me, The Atlus Plateau feels like finding an entire new enormous area in the game. Its incredible. Its another Limgrave.

 

But wait..... You mentioned the "proper" way. is there an improper way? I went via the lift.

 

I travelled that 'scenic route' this evening, and must have missed something obvious because I couldn't figure out the lift, but it's well worth the diversion anyway. Not quite as dramatic but I found it a tiny bit reminiscent of a certain ascent in Returnal - except far more messed up, naturally.

 

Part way up there I paused for a few minutes to take in another spectacular vista, trying to truly comprehend the ridiculous scale on which this is operating, both in terms of what was immediately before me and the game as a whole. Now, I'd had a couple of beers, admittedly, but still I was a little struck as I sat there at the cliff's edge for a while, thinking about how many other times I've had similar moments of wonder in other From titles. And then, from there, I considered further how I've been played this series for 11 years or something ridiculous now, with a good chunk of gaming time every year dedicated to them, whether for a new release or not. And every year, without fail, it's been the highlight, playing the greatest games I've ever played - maybe not individually, say DS3 vs DS1, but relative to anything else. And now here we are, at the culmination of everything they've done so far, elevating everything to a whole new level again, and I was just awestruck really. It's not so often that you can get the perspective, while you're still right in the middle of it, of what it is exactly that you're experiencing, but this is without a doubt the most incredible video game I've ever played and I feel like I'm still feebly scratching around at the surface. Just extraordinary.

[DeciderVT]

11 hours ago, DeciderVT said:

Progress! Made it up to the end of Stormveil, although I've been an abject coward and run past all of those knights instead of fighting them.

 

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Got Godrick down to 1/8 energy on my first attempt, though. Then I rolled off a cliff.

 

Unbelievably, it took a tip on the loading screen for me to find out that having >70% of my maximum load causes me to roll more slowly. Now that I've unequipped a few weapons it's a lot easier to dodge than before. I was slow rolling the whole time so far.

 

Godrick down! Only took a few attempts, so much easier with the faster (i.e. normal) roll.

[Flub]

I'm gearing up at the moment. My +14 morning star does physical, magic, frost and bleed damage.

 

My full mage gear is

 

 

I'm working on the endurance for this

 

 

But I might keep the badass hat anyway

 

 

This weapon is insane