Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[Padaxes]

15 minutes ago, robdood said:

It's a little cheap, but it's memorable!  Its to make you scared.  And boy oh boy, that's childs play compared ot some of the nastiness that happens later.  Try not worry aobut losing runes.  They aren't that important - plus if you think you're carrying a lot, go spend them before continuing!!  Or, just accept that sometimes you're gonna lose some, and that's ok

 

 

Yeah its my bad for not realising I had so many runes, but its a bit dispiriiting sometimes!    Im not sure I look forward to the nastieness that happens later ! 🤣

 

Spoiler

I also stumbled across this horrific pit and grabbed some item called the Pustule that appears to increase Vitality ?  Is this worth equipping ? 

Amusingly I didnt fight the monster just grabbed the item and went up the worlds tallest ladder. 

 

[Girth Certificate]

1 hour ago, scottcr said:

Worked my way to a castle in the SE area of Caelid - the gate was shut but could work my way in by going round the back and climbing up a tower to get in.  But I couldn't actually make much progress into the castle - was blocked by a battlement wall that was just slightly too high to jump over.  Seemed a bit of bad/unusual design - am I missing something?

 

In other news, I've upgraded my claws to +10 and it's hilarious the amount of damage they do.

 

The castle kinda shuts down for a wee while, all locked doors and whatnot. If you go back over the bridge to where the first big seige tower thing is sitting there's a teleporter that'll bring you inside. Then once you've done the boss there it opens up again. 

[Vulgar Monkey]

10 hours ago, footle said:

Everytime I think I have a handle on how big this is, another massive area appears.

 

 

Similar for me even though I have now uncovered all major parts of the map.

I think that gives me a grasp of where I am (ready for the endgame run), then I stop and think 'oh, but there's still that castle there, and these quests, and literally entire map sections I have done nothing in yet', and before I know it I'm probably looking at another 30hrs still.

[feltmonkey]

32 minutes ago, Padaxes said:

 I was fine until the castle since then Ive had 2 hard crashes    (Im on PC) will a reinstall help me do you think ? Or is it just some areas are more likely to crash than others ? 

 

I'm not sure, sorry. It's probably worth doing, I guess, as it seems to have possibly helped me.

 

What was happening (and might still be, as I'm not convinced it's fixed) for me was that while the frame rate was consistently high, the game would occasionally freeze for a fraction of a second, like it was struggling with some internal process or conflict with something else my PC was doing. Then after a while it would freeze, stay frozen for a few seconds, and then dump me to the desktop.  It wasn't doing the mini-freezes thing last night, so fingers crossed.

 

The "solutions" I found beyond a reinstall included unplugging all USB devices, not having anything connecting via Bluetooth, and uninstalling the Epic Games launcher for some reason.  I don't know how in that situation I'd actually control the game, without any USB devices. I also use the Epic Games launcher all the time, so I'd rather not delete that.  Besides, these solutions seem to be related to an issue where the game crashes on launch, which isn't the issue I've had.  I think if the problems persist, I might have to find a way to disable the anti-cheat. I think it might be the culprit, although this is a guess. I'd only be able to play offline, of course, but that's okay. It feels skeezy to even go looking for a mod that removes anti-cheat, though, and if there's ever any mod that would get you banned from ever playing online, that would be it.

[Uzi]

1 minute ago, feltmonkey said:

 

I'm not sure, sorry. It's probably worth doing, I guess, as it seems to have possibly helped me.

 

What was happening (and might still be, as I'm not convinced it's fixed) for me was that while the frame rate was consistently high, the game would occasionally freeze for a fraction of a second, like it was struggling with some internal process or conflict with something else my PC was doing. Then after a while it would freeze, stay frozen for a few seconds, and then dump me to the desktop.  It wasn't doing the mini-freezes thing last night, so fingers crossed.

 

The "solutions" I found beyond a reinstall included unplugging all USB devices, not having anything connecting via Bluetooth, and uninstalling the Epic Games launcher for some reason.  I don't know how in that situation I'd actually control the game, without any USB devices. I also use the Epic Games launcher all the time, so I'd rather not delete that.  Besides, these solutions seem to be related to an issue where the game crashes on launch, which isn't the issue I've had.  I think if the problems persist, I might have to find a way to disable the anti-cheat. I think it might be the culprit, although this is a guess. I'd only be able to play offline, of course, but that's okay. It feels skeezy to even go looking for a mod that removes anti-cheat, though, and if there's ever any mod that would get you banned from ever playing online, that would be it.

That sounds like a memory issue. Check if you have XMP enabled in your bios and then disable it. If it fixes the crash to desktops you've found your culprit.

[feltmonkey]

Just now, Uzi said:

That sounds like a memory issue. Check if you have XMP enabled in your bios and then disable it. If it fixes the crash to desktops you've found your culprit.

 

Oooh, thanks.

 

I have no idea what you just said, though.  

 

I'll Google what XMP is and how to get into my bios, I'm sure I can figure it out. Thank you, if you have fixed the issues for me I'll give you a huge slobbery kiss.  😗

[footle]

30 minutes ago, Vulgar Monkey said:

 

Similar for me even though I have now uncovered all major parts of the map.

I think that gives me a grasp of where I am (ready for the endgame run), then I stop and think 'oh, but there's still that castle there, and these quests, and literally entire map sections I have done nothing in yet', and before I know it I'm probably looking at another 30hrs still.

 

It's while I was exploring the eternal city, and then found myself going to sleep and waking up somewhere else and went "oh".

[Davros sock drawer]

Here you go @Kevvy Metal

 

Buffs:

 

Mixed Physick of Stamina Boost and that One Free Hit bubble thing

Rune Arc

Boiled Crab

Poison Grease

 

Talismans are the two equip load ones, and the one that increases Max HP.

 

Weapon is a +14 Zwei, and as you can see I summoned Aurelia at +5.

 

 

Looking at the video I didn't have any tactics apart from do as much damage as possible while he was distracted by Aurelia, and hope to poison him (which I did, at around the 50 second mark). I did somehow manage to jump over his fire attack a couple of times, which felt flukey but good. And he only used the AOE lightning once.

 

[Girth Certificate]

haha, first lift-death at lvl 102, pretty good going  

[kensei]

1 hour ago, Qazimod said:

For me it’s sometimes items (throwing pots), but also there is Strength gear that has ranged attack stuff such as the

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Watchdog’s Staff

Also, bringing in AI buddies with the ashes if I just want someone to get off me!

 

An upgraded bow is viable but generally too much faff for me. Summon to distract for some openings, bomb in and dodge as needed usually.

[Ste Pickford]

I still haven't got my head around that Physick flask.  I don't think the initial explanation made sense, so I've kind of forgotten about it.  I better read up on it because I suspect I'm going to need everything for the later bosses, from what people are saying.  (only just inside the Academy so far)

[kensei]

The flask of wonderous physick is wonderous. Gives a boost to stats, a free hit, extra heal or even saving souls on death if you find the right bits for it. Definitely make sure you are using it.

 

I should add why I find bows a faff now: changing weapons is annoyingly fiddly now, especially under pressure.

[Padaxes]

3 minutes ago, Ste Pickford said:

I still haven't got my head around that Physick flask.  I don't think the initial explanation made sense, so I've kind of forgotten about it.  I better read up on it because I suspect I'm going to need everything for the later bosses, from what people are saying.  (only just inside the Academy so far)

 

Yeah I worked this out just before the first story bosses and it def allowed me to triumph, the free hit bubble and over time health regen one is bloody great. 

[Uzi]

2 minutes ago, feltmonkey said:

 

Oooh, thanks.

 

I have no idea what you just said, though.  

 

I'll Google what XMP is and how to get into my bios, I'm sure I can figure it out. Thank you, if you have fixed the issues for me I'll give you a huge slobbery kiss.  😗

Given your avatar, lets skip the kiss but it should work hopefully!

[Ste Pickford]

I think what confused me about the Physick flask was the mixing of things in it.  I got the idea that the things I mixed were consumables, so I'd have to find them again once used, and that put me off at the time.

[robdood]

@feltmonkey you don't need a mod to disable anti cheat.  There was a method posted by @Dark Soldier in the tech support ER thread.  

 

You'll have to stay offline if you want to do that, though. In my experience it made it a little better. 

 

I ultimately think a lot of the hitching is to do with the game's engine streaming assets more than anything else. 

[robdood]

Just now, Ste Pickford said:

I think what confused me about the Physick flask was the mixing of things in it.  I got the idea that the things I mixed were consumables, so I'd have to find them again once used, and that put me off at the time.

No, bafflingly they are permanent/never run out!

 

Pots should work the same tbh. 

[ChewMagma]

1 hour ago, Padaxes said:

 

Yeah its my bad for not realising I had so many runes, but its a bit dispiriiting sometimes!    Im not sure I look forward to the nastieness that happens later ! 🤣

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I also stumbled across this horrific pit and grabbed some item called the Pustule that appears to increase Vitality ?  Is this worth equipping ? 

Amusingly I didnt fight the monster just grabbed the item and went up the worlds tallest ladder. 

 

 

This might seem like an obvious tip, but often people forget about stuff in their inventory, so my advice is to always keep an eye on what you need for the next level up and if you need to "bank" your runes but are a little short, use some Golden Runes to top them off so you can reach the next level.

[viewtiful jim]

16 minutes ago, kensei said:

I should add why I find bows a faff now: changing weapons is annoyingly fiddly now, especially under pressure.

It’s made more infuriating when you know how many presses the weapon is along the queue but you can’t quickly say for example hit left or right on the Dpad 3 times and get to desired weapon, because there’s a pause you have to wait for before you can press the Dpad again to move along.

 

I may have selective memory here but the older Souls games let you spam however many button presses you knew a weapon was and it would select it.

[ChewMagma]

Also Rune Arcs (with the great rune that let's you up all your stats at least) are actually best used for just exploring a tough area ime rather than blowing through them on boss attempts. The fact you keep the buff until you die not just when you rest next is easy to overlook but really handy when exploring.

[Girth Certificate]

they'd also 'queue up' more inputs. Like if you were in the middle of casting a buff and you hit the button to change back to your sword it would do it once it was ready. Not anymore  

[Qazimod]

25 minutes ago, kensei said:

The flask of wonderous physick is wonderous. Gives a boost to stats, a free hit, extra heal or even saving souls on death if you find the right bits for it. Definitely make sure you are using it.

The stat boost is fun for trying out weapons that would otherwise be just beyond you. For instance, the Grafted Blade Greatsword that strength users can’t equip for ages is something you can potentially “preview” with a physick flask while you’re still underlevelled.  

[Davros sock drawer]

30 minutes ago, Ste Pickford said:

I still haven't got my head around that Physick flask.  I don't think the initial explanation made sense, so I've kind of forgotten about it.  I better read up on it because I suspect I'm going to need everything for the later bosses, from what people are saying.  (only just inside the Academy so far)

 

It's basically a one and done drink to which you can assign multiple effects (two for me atm, don't know if that changes). One of the effects I have on mine is a defensive bubble which lets you take one hit, without any effect on your health bar. So once per rest at a grace I can chug that, and the first time an enemy hits me, I take no damage.

[viewtiful jim]

16 minutes ago, Girth Certificate said:

they'd also 'queue up' more inputs. Like if you were in the middle of casting a buff and you hit the button to change back to your sword it would do it once it was ready. Not anymore  

Come to think of it, whether it’s intended or not, it might be a design decision to prevent buffing/ casting shenanigans and hot swapping with weapons and trying to glitch unintended effects. Case in point with v1.02, Royal Knights Resolve having an unintended effect with the weapon on the off-hand (which the Ash of War art is not on) granted 80-100% extra crit damage for the entire buff duration where ordinarily it should wear off after the first hit if performed during buff phase.

 

But still not great when you’ve been muscle memoried into it from previous Souls games.

[Broker]

2 hours ago, Alask said:

 

Also for the non-faith/non-sorcery lot, when you've got an enemy you don't want to melee are bows good enough to get the job done? Or if you've no spells, do you just have to accept you're only killing big bosses in melee and you've got to suck it up and get stuck in? Presumably Hoarfrost stomp used to be the answer, but what is it now?

Just hitting them in the butt, like I have in all the other games. 

 

2 hours ago, Anne Summers said:

Yeah, as has been said multiple times throughout these threads, these games are designed to be played (on a second playthrough, at least) with guides and all the help available thanks to the wonders of the internet and mass communications. Even the far smaller previous games like Bloodborne or DS3, you won' have a chance at seeing everything and experiencing all of the NPC quest lines without using a wiki or walkthrough or something - certainly not if you haven't got hundreds of hours to spend on trial-and-error. 

Oh, and if anyone is ready to tell me that they have experienced everything in one of these games without looking at a guide ... how do you even know you've experienced everything? It's not like there's an in-game checklist of objectives and side quests. 

 

My MO is usually to blindly stumble through the game on my first playthrough, content with the knowledge that I will almost certainly end up missing 75% of the optional content. Then I open up Google to start looking into what I've missed, and subsequent playthroughs will involve much looking-up and wiki usage. It's a different way of playing games for sure, but it's just one of the many ways in which Miyazake's games force you to re-think decades of accumulated gaming behaviours and practices. 

 

 

 

I think there’s this prevailing design idea that you don’t want players to leave your game. Any help should be in the game, info they need should be in the game. I get why, but it feels to me like it’s born from a lack of confidence that your game is interesting enough that they’ll return. From games are not like that. 

 

2 hours ago, Lovelyman said:

people say that, but i do the whole fight on torrent and there doesn’t seem to be a good point to dodge. I guess dismount and re-mount when he does that. 

After he gets his red lightning out you’re better off dismounting. There’s a few things there you just can’t dodge on horsey. Or go right up to him while mounted, but you lose manoeuvrability doing that.

 

1 hour ago, robdood said:

You can't dodge while on Torrent, dude.  I did the whole fight on foot, much easier to manage! 

 

You kinda can. In this example when he does the fireball if you’re moving left to right and press circle for a burst of speed it will miss where it wouldn’t if you were just riding. Jumping will dodge some attacks. Neither work on the single red lightning strike though.
 

38 minutes ago, Ste Pickford said:

I still haven't got my head around that Physick flask.  I don't think the initial explanation made sense, so I've kind of forgotten about it.  I better read up on it because I suspect I'm going to need everything for the later bosses, from what people are saying.  (only just inside the Academy so far)

 

You don’t need it, I’ve only used it in a few boss fights and I used it way more earlier on when I didn’t have much stuff for it. If you want to really try it out, you need to kill the enemies at the base of Erdtrees as they drop more effects you can add to it.

[Ste Pickford]

1 hour ago, robdood said:

You can't dodge while on Torrent, dude.  I did the whole fight on foot, much easier to manage! 

 

One thing I've noticed, during the many horseback fights where I've accidentally jumped off Torrent because I can't stop myself pressing down on the joystick during combat, is that you have a brief invulnerability window when you call Torrent and jump on his back. 

Good luck timing it to use it as a dodge, but I suspect it's possible.

[Broker]

1 minute ago, Ste Pickford said:

 

One thing I've noticed, during the many horseback fights where I've accidentally jumped off Torrent because I can't stop myself pressing down on the joystick during combat, is that you have a brief invulnerability window when you call Torrent and jump on his back. 

Good luck timing it to use it as a dodge, but I suspect it's possible.

The one time I’ve used that is when an enemy pelts the whole area with fire. 

[Alan Stock]

The flask of pyshkik or whatever it's called is my last-chance panic button in bosses. You just assign 2 tears to it, which you find around the world, and each one gives a different buff. Like the earlier poster I also use the damage negation bubble, which is a life-saver, and for the other tear I'm using a half HP restore. Before that I was using a dex buff to help with damage output.

 

As for the red lightning boss that's been discussed here, I assume its the same one I'm roadblocked on at the moment. I found you can actually dodge the lightning on the horse but I've only done it twice, I think you need to hit the sprint button at just the right time so the speed boost moves you past the lightning, and you may also have to be perpendicular to the boss. After not being able to reproduce it and the first phase taking so long I conceded defeat and dismounted for phase 2. But I will return after some levelling up because phase 1 takes a while and I don't do enough damage to him, so phase 2 is a nightmare where pretty much every attack 1-shots me and I can't just ride around to avoid hits.

 

Went back to Caelid last night to see if it was managable yet. Managed to clear the fire village and boss but the enemies in the overworld still wreck so have decided to press on with the northern areas beyond the great lift first. 

 

Also I got stuck on a short catacombs for like 2-3 hours. What a bastard it was!

[Davros sock drawer]

2 hours ago, Alask said:

Also for the non-faith/non-sorcery lot, when you've got an enemy you don't want to melee are bows good enough to get the job done? Or if you've no spells, do you just have to accept you're only killing big bosses in melee and you've got to suck it up and get stuck in? Presumably Hoarfrost stomp used to be the answer, but what is it now?

 

An upgraded bow is pretty powerful. My Pulley Bow is at +7 and the L2 Mighty Shot skill can one shot lots of mid-level mobs. If a boss is distracted by a summon you can definitely chip away with arrows from a distance. I'm sure it doesn't apply to all bosses, but it was effective here (this was a Longbow at +6 I think):

 

 

I didn't even know about the Mighty Shot at that point, and those were just bog standard arrows.

[joemul]

What the hell is the Mighty Shot? I’m rocking a +6 Horned Bow currently.