Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[Qazimod]

The recent patch notes sound good for co-op fans. Spoilered for size:

 

Spoiler

Major Changes Included in the Latest Update
 
Additional elements

Added the function to send summoning signs to summoning pools in multiple areas, including distant areas.
※When sending a co-op sign to distant areas with this function, summoning pools in “Mohgwyn Palace” will be excluded

Added the function to invade a larger area, including distant areas
Added a new way to advance White Mask Varre’s questline other than participating in multiplayer invasion by defeating a new NPC

 

Balance Changes

Added the following adjustments to Greatsword, Curved Greatsword and Great Hammers:
Reduced the time it takes for rolling to become possible after an attack (Jump attack, dual wield attack and attacks while mounted not included)
Increased the motion speed of strong attack and charge attack (mounted attacks not included)
Increased Guard Counter’s motion speed
Increased the attack speed of Great Axes and reduced the time it takes for rolling to become possible after an attack (Jump attack, dual wield attack and attacks while mounted not included)
Increased rolling distance when player has a light equip load.
Increased the hitbox of Cipher Pata’s weapon skill “Unblockable Blade”
Increased the range of Ash of War “Glintstone Pebble” and “Glintstone Dart” projectile while decreasing the damage and stagger power
Decreased the travel distance and invincibility frames of Ash of War “Bloodhound Step” while adding the changes below:
　・Reduced performance when used continuously

　・Increased travel distance when on light equip load

Shortened the activation interval when using “Quick Step” skill in succession, increasing its ability to circle around the enemy when locked-on and add the changes below:
　・Reduced performance when used continuously

　・Increased travel distance when on light equip load

Decreased the damage and bleed build-up of weapon skill “Corpse Piler” when hit with the blood attack. When hit by the blade, the damage is only decreased slightly
Decreased the target tracking ability of sorcery “Stars of Ruin”

 

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug which caused some attacks of “Lucerne” to not pierce enemy’s guard
Fixed a bug which made it harder for a two-handed jump attack with “Bloodhound’s Fang” to break enemy’s stance
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of “Determination” and “Royal Knight’s Resolve” to disappear after using the “Parry” skill with a dagger
Fixed a bug when dual wielding Axe and Greataxe which caused additional effects from Spells, Weapon Skills and Items to not be applied correctly
Fixed a bug when two-handing a Halberd which made it harder to withstand enemy’s attack after using guard counter
Fixed a bug which caused the physical attack affinity of some weapons to be different from the affinity listed in the description.
Fixed a bug which caused the player to become more easily noticed by the enemy when wearing “Deathbed Dress”, even when crouching
Fixed a bug which caused charge attack with flail to damage ally character when wearing “Deathbed Dress”
Fixed a bug that caused HP to regenerate when switching your equipment to certain type of armor
Fixed a bug where the effect added to the weapon upon using “Mists of Slumber” was lost when the player receive an attack
Fixed a bug which caused the playable character’s movement to become unstable upon hitting certain enemies with the skill “Ghostflame Ignition”
Fixed a bug which prevented player from using “The Queen’s Black Flame” skill’s follow-up attack when performing the skill with insufficient FP
Fixed a bug with the weapon skill “Zamor Ice Storm” which allowed player to more easily withstand enemy’s attack when using the skill with insufficient FP
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of spells and items added to right-hand armament to occur when using certain weapon skills with left hand.
Fixed a bug which caused the FP consumption description of certain weapon skills to be different from its actual FP cost
Fixed a bug that allows “Rock Blaster” to not consume any FP when used with a staff on the left hand and no weapon on the right hand
Fixed a bug which caused the charged version of “Black Flame Ritual” to consume the same amount of stamina as the normal version
Fixed a bug which caused the player to receive less HP recovery from incantations and items other than “Flask of Crimson Tears” when activating the effect of “Malenia’s Great Rune”
Fixed a bug which caused the “Opaline Hardtear” to not boost physical damage negation
Fixed a bug which prevented the player from jumping mid-air while riding under specific condition
Fixed a bug which allowed jump attack with Colossal Weapons while mounted to hit twice consecutively
Fixed a bug which caused some signs to appear more than once in the Summoning Pool
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of some weapon skill’s attack to persist under specific circumstances
Fixed a bug which sometimes caused significant performance issue at “Ordina, Liturgical Town” under certain circumstances
Fixed a bug which prevented the player from picking up dropped Runes upon death under certain circumstances
Fixed a bug which allowed users to reach certain inaccessible area during multiplayer
Fixed a bug which caused the multiplayer area to have different boundary than expected
Fixed a bug that causes some enemies to have incorrect visuals and behaviors.
Fixed a bug that caused incorrect sounds to be played under certain circumstances.
Fixed a bug which caused some areas to make the player unable to move which lead to death
Fixed a bug that caused some places on the map to have incorrect visuals and hitboxes.
Fixed a bug in some maps that allowed users to reach unexpected locations using certain procedures.
Fixed a bug with the PC version which caused click input to occur when equipping Staves or Sacred Seals and switching Windows to active.
Other performance improvements and bug fixes.

 

Other

Added the “ERROR” text to unauthorized items
 
※In update file 1.04, we have fixed a bug that allowed players to pass unauthorized items that cannot be obtained in game to other players

After the distribution of this update file, possession and usage of these unauthorized items will be subject to warning or penalty after a certain period of time.

 

[Curtis]

This latest patch and the fact you can search the summoning pool 'near & far' is an absolute godsend. I've been getting summoned non-stop and the search time is maybe 30 seconds at most. Its the same for invasions if you're that way inclined.

 

Its given the game a whole new lease of life.

[NecroMorrius]

On 10/08/2022 at 18:46, Qazimod said:

The recent patch notes sound good for co-op fans. Spoilered for size:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Major Changes Included in the Latest Update
 
Additional elements

Added the function to send summoning signs to summoning pools in multiple areas, including distant areas.
※When sending a co-op sign to distant areas with this function, summoning pools in “Mohgwyn Palace” will be excluded

Added the function to invade a larger area, including distant areas
Added a new way to advance White Mask Varre’s questline other than participating in multiplayer invasion by defeating a new NPC

 

Balance Changes

Added the following adjustments to Greatsword, Curved Greatsword and Great Hammers:
Reduced the time it takes for rolling to become possible after an attack (Jump attack, dual wield attack and attacks while mounted not included)
Increased the motion speed of strong attack and charge attack (mounted attacks not included)
Increased Guard Counter’s motion speed
Increased the attack speed of Great Axes and reduced the time it takes for rolling to become possible after an attack (Jump attack, dual wield attack and attacks while mounted not included)
Increased rolling distance when player has a light equip load.
Increased the hitbox of Cipher Pata’s weapon skill “Unblockable Blade”
Increased the range of Ash of War “Glintstone Pebble” and “Glintstone Dart” projectile while decreasing the damage and stagger power
Decreased the travel distance and invincibility frames of Ash of War “Bloodhound Step” while adding the changes below:
　・Reduced performance when used continuously

　・Increased travel distance when on light equip load

Shortened the activation interval when using “Quick Step” skill in succession, increasing its ability to circle around the enemy when locked-on and add the changes below:
　・Reduced performance when used continuously

　・Increased travel distance when on light equip load

Decreased the damage and bleed build-up of weapon skill “Corpse Piler” when hit with the blood attack. When hit by the blade, the damage is only decreased slightly
Decreased the target tracking ability of sorcery “Stars of Ruin”

 

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug which caused some attacks of “Lucerne” to not pierce enemy’s guard
Fixed a bug which made it harder for a two-handed jump attack with “Bloodhound’s Fang” to break enemy’s stance
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of “Determination” and “Royal Knight’s Resolve” to disappear after using the “Parry” skill with a dagger
Fixed a bug when dual wielding Axe and Greataxe which caused additional effects from Spells, Weapon Skills and Items to not be applied correctly
Fixed a bug when two-handing a Halberd which made it harder to withstand enemy’s attack after using guard counter
Fixed a bug which caused the physical attack affinity of some weapons to be different from the affinity listed in the description.
Fixed a bug which caused the player to become more easily noticed by the enemy when wearing “Deathbed Dress”, even when crouching
Fixed a bug which caused charge attack with flail to damage ally character when wearing “Deathbed Dress”
Fixed a bug that caused HP to regenerate when switching your equipment to certain type of armor
Fixed a bug where the effect added to the weapon upon using “Mists of Slumber” was lost when the player receive an attack
Fixed a bug which caused the playable character’s movement to become unstable upon hitting certain enemies with the skill “Ghostflame Ignition”
Fixed a bug which prevented player from using “The Queen’s Black Flame” skill’s follow-up attack when performing the skill with insufficient FP
Fixed a bug with the weapon skill “Zamor Ice Storm” which allowed player to more easily withstand enemy’s attack when using the skill with insufficient FP
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of spells and items added to right-hand armament to occur when using certain weapon skills with left hand.
Fixed a bug which caused the FP consumption description of certain weapon skills to be different from its actual FP cost
Fixed a bug that allows “Rock Blaster” to not consume any FP when used with a staff on the left hand and no weapon on the right hand
Fixed a bug which caused the charged version of “Black Flame Ritual” to consume the same amount of stamina as the normal version
Fixed a bug which caused the player to receive less HP recovery from incantations and items other than “Flask of Crimson Tears” when activating the effect of “Malenia’s Great Rune”
Fixed a bug which caused the “Opaline Hardtear” to not boost physical damage negation
Fixed a bug which prevented the player from jumping mid-air while riding under specific condition
Fixed a bug which allowed jump attack with Colossal Weapons while mounted to hit twice consecutively
Fixed a bug which caused some signs to appear more than once in the Summoning Pool
Fixed a bug which caused the effect of some weapon skill’s attack to persist under specific circumstances
Fixed a bug which sometimes caused significant performance issue at “Ordina, Liturgical Town” under certain circumstances
Fixed a bug which prevented the player from picking up dropped Runes upon death under certain circumstances
Fixed a bug which allowed users to reach certain inaccessible area during multiplayer
Fixed a bug which caused the multiplayer area to have different boundary than expected
Fixed a bug that causes some enemies to have incorrect visuals and behaviors.
Fixed a bug that caused incorrect sounds to be played under certain circumstances.
Fixed a bug which caused some areas to make the player unable to move which lead to death
Fixed a bug that caused some places on the map to have incorrect visuals and hitboxes.
Fixed a bug in some maps that allowed users to reach unexpected locations using certain procedures.
Fixed a bug with the PC version which caused click input to occur when equipping Staves or Sacred Seals and switching Windows to active.
Other performance improvements and bug fixes.

 

Other

Added the “ERROR” text to unauthorized items
 
※In update file 1.04, we have fixed a bug that allowed players to pass unauthorized items that cannot be obtained in game to other players

After the distribution of this update file, possession and usage of these unauthorized items will be subject to warning or penalty after a certain period of time.

 

 

These steps are a GREAT move toward fixing some of the co-op problems I talked about a few weeks ago. Glad to see they aren’t as committed to their typical cumbersome limits as we thought. There is no reason or excuse for a game which sold millions of copies to have such junky matchmaking with such long waits and low success rates.

I’ll just be glad that From are starting to fix it after so many games, rather than gleefully quoting the apologists who had a pop at me for suggesting it was broken. Not to mention my recommendation for allowing you to queue for multiple bosses/areas at once. This change makes everything better for everyone. 
 

Hopefully the next game goes a step further and moves the summoning system into a menu or at least into fixed summoning signs with matchmaking on the backend, so we don’t have to compete with loads of other summoners swarming a sign in low-traffic areas. 
 

I’m really impressed they brought this to Elden Ring, no doubt just as player counts start to dwindle a bit. Perfect timing. 
 

I’m going to fire it up later and see what their first stab at menu based matchmaking for multiple areas looks like. 

[Anne Summers]

There's not going to be any DLC is there?

I mean, Sekiro didn't get any, when everyone expected it to, so there's obviously precedent. And it just feels like we would have heard about it by now if it was coming. 

Hope I'm wrong, of course!

[Qazimod]

1 hour ago, Anne Summers said:

I mean, Sekiro didn't get any, when everyone expected it to, so there's obviously precedent. And it just feels like we would have heard about it by now if it was coming. 

 

Sekiro did get "DLC" but not in an "Old Hunters"-style campaign expansion. It offered some costumes, a kind of gauntlet challenge mode, player ghost/message things in the form of Remnants and boss rematches.

 

It's kind of why I'd be happy if any Elden Ring DLC was "just" something like new gear and/or some kind of new use of Evergaol warps - maybe to a PvE arena mode or something?

[Anne Summers]

9 hours ago, Qazimod said:

 

Sekiro did get "DLC" but not in an "Old Hunters"-style campaign expansion. It offered some costumes, a kind of gauntlet challenge mode, player ghost/message things in the form of Remnants and boss rematches.

 

It's kind of why I'd be happy if any Elden Ring DLC was "just" something like new gear and/or some kind of new use of Evergaol warps - maybe to a PvE arena mode or something?

Oh yeah , forgot about that ! 

Anyway, people seem to be expecting some proper kind of Dark Souls/Bloodborne style expansion. Including the Bonfireside Chat podcast hosts who were saying recently that they expected the DLC to focus on Miquella. Which just made me think that there actually hasn't been any indication that anything like that would be forthcoming. In fact, if anything, the comment that From made a while ago that they would "continue to support ER with patches, quality of life improvements etc" (not their exact words but words to that effect) gave me the impression that if anything its unlikely we're getting proper extended content. It sounded more like the sort of comment a developer makes when they've released all of the main content that they're planning to release and just plan on doing small updates from now on. Almost like that comment was made to temper our expectations.

[englishbob]

On 16/08/2022 at 09:57, Anne Summers said:

There's not going to be any DLC is there?

I mean, Sekiro didn't get any, when everyone expected it to, so there's obviously precedent. And it just feels like we would have heard about it by now if it was coming. 

Hope I'm wrong, of course!

 

Fix the performance over anything else.  That last Digital Foundry video was pretty damming and shows Fromsoft just will not ask for help on these things 

[JPL]

11 minutes ago, englishbob said:

 

Fix the performance over anything else.  That last Digital Foundry video was pretty damming and shows Fromsoft just will not ask for help on these things 

What’s wrong with the performance? I don’t really want to watch a Digital Foundry video, as I’ve been happy with the 300 hours I’ve pumped into it so far, without knowing it drops a frame every 60 or some other incidental thing.

[Flanders]

I hope that I’m not humblebragging but I’ve piled through most of the endgame areas at this point - Farum Azula, Sub-terranean Shunning Grounds, Moonlight Altar and just over half of the Haligtree - and for the life of me I can’t understand all the complaints I’ve seen about these areas being unfair difficulty spikes.

 

They’re tough for sure and I’ve died a lot - Haligtree is delightfully gnarly - but I reckon I could reel off at least five nastier non-big boss challenges in pretty much every precious From game.
 

There’s nothing in Elden Ring that comes close in difficulty to the run to the first Unseen Village lantern in Bloodborne that has those horrible bell maidens respawning mobs left right and centre. Or the Valley of Defilement in Demon’s Souls, or Irithyll in DS3, which was an area I never ever felt remotely confident against the regular enemies. 
 

I don’t know, like I said before I no longer think this is a weakness, it’s a strength, but Elden Ring feels to me like the easiest From game by a mile. I don’t get how you can have played any of their other games and think anything in Elden Ring is particularly unfair.

[squirtle]

I think I've killed everything now bar the end game boss. Melania, at the base of the Haligtree was a sticking point, but now I'm running round in her armour. Weird his her rune enables regain from Bloodborne. Anyway, killed the weird alien boss, the lie down dragon boss, and just wending through Riannacs quest before I go and thump the end boss. The only thing I fucked up was Fia's quest line so missed out on that dragon, which was annoying.

[Anne Summers]

4 hours ago, englishbob said:

 

Fix the performance over anything else.  That last Digital Foundry video was pretty damming and shows Fromsoft just will not ask for help on these things 

Yeah I find the DF videos ridiculous, most of the things they point out aren't even noticeable to me, but if I'd paid any attention to the one I watched shortly after the game was released, I wouldn't have even bothered with it because I would have believed it was a broken mess! That would have resulted in me missing out on what I believe is one of the best games of all time. 

 

[Kayin Amoh]

On Series X, coming from Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro to this does show that the framerate isn't where it should be at all. There's no way Fromsoft couldn't maintain a stable framerate in this given the hardware available to them if they just paid more attention to getting it running smoothly.

 

My bud has it on PS5, and by far the best way to play it is to run the PS4 version through the PS5. Solid 60 and you'll maybe miss out on some barely noticeable particle effects or something.

[danbot]

Yeah there's an entirely negligible visual difference with the native PS5 app. Rather take the 60 fps. 

[englishbob]

5 hours ago, Anne Summers said:

Yeah I find the DF videos ridiculous, most of the things they point out aren't even noticeable to me, but if I'd paid any attention to the one I watched shortly after the game was released, I wouldn't have even bothered with it because I would have believed it was a broken mess! That would have resulted in me missing out on what I believe is one of the best games of all time. 

 

 

It was a video made much later after release after modders fixed the issues that From can't

 

 

[Kevvy Metal]

On 20/08/2022 at 18:10, englishbob said:

 

It was a video made much later after release after modders fixed the issues that From can't

 

 

This video quickly shows why From didn’t implement the fix it’s a Sony firmware level frame-pace toggle that adds on tonnes of input lag. I’d take a tiny, almost imperceivable stutter over the game feeling sluggish.
 

Also, the frame drops in Elden Ring are largely streaming related. The engine can’t load in assets fast enough so it stutters on even the most powerful PC.  
 

The PS4 version is likely using lower resolution assets and when played on PS5, it just powers through. 

[BitterToad]

I have gone back to this today and put all of my points into a Blasphemous Blade build and I can confirm that Elden Ring is a good video game. 

[Girth Certificate]

Haha

 serves her right

[Unofficial Who]

Not sure if already posted but

 

 

[Popo]

That’s absolutely amazing. 

[Hawklord]

Already got Plat on PS5 but I hit a wall with Radagon/EB on NG+ on the SX. After taking a break for a few months I went for it this afternoon 

 

[squirtle]

So I finished this. The last couple of bosses weren't that had with a +25 frost Claymore. Battered the fuck out of them. Anyway. I got the stars Ending. I have no idea what happened. 

[Flanders]

Completed it two nights ago. Will have more detailed thoughts eventually, but wow that was a shivering thrill to see the words ‘God Slain’ come up on the screen. 
 

I then respecced as a sorcerer build, went straight into NG plus and within 90 minutes Margit and Godrick are already dead. A task that took me approx 30 hours in the first run. Assaulting the main gate of Stormveil to run straight to Godrick is a trip. 

[Boothjan]

Birthday yesterday and got a bit of cash, so I think I might finally get this. I've had serious FOMO! 

 

Advice please for a complete newbie - I've never played a Souls game before - what class should I start as? Any tips for me? 

[Alask]

The big gold guy is a step up in difficulty, but keep at him till you kill him. 

[Kayin Amoh]

20 minutes ago, Boothjan said:

Birthday yesterday and got a bit of cash, so I think I might finally get this. I've had serious FOMO! 

 

Advice please for a complete newbie - I've never played a Souls game before - what class should I start as? Any tips for me? 

 

If you're going melee, Vagabond or Samurai are good choices. I'd lean Vagabond. If using magic, Astrologer's a decent choice as it starts with a good ranged spell.

 

Now, some people will tell you to play the game completely blind, but I'd say that if you get lost or annoyed you should feel free to look up where to get good weapons and items for your playstyle. Go in with no knowledge, putter about, and then fall back on early game tips if you're having trouble. I managed to teleport into a mid-game area by accident before I even had my horse or knew how to quick travel (without spoiling much something blocked my way back and I didn't know why) and that was less a hilarious From moment and more a complete pain in the ass.

 

Feel free to start a few characters and grow them in different directions to see how you like them. The Greatsword build I started with was kinda shitty at launch, but some patches have made it a much more enjoyable and fun approach than it was back then. Looks cool, good moveset.

Now, for everyone else, I started a new game as a mage recently and it's really not for me. Much prefer the melee approach. (Royal capital gate boss)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[Qazimod]

1 hour ago, Boothjan said:

Advice please for a complete newbie - I've never played a Souls game before - what class should I start as? Any tips for me? 

 

Follow the grace lines if you're a bit overwhelmed by the map. You'll quickly come across "sites of grace" that serve as places to warp between when discovered, and they can point to areas of interest, although later on in the game they're not 100% reliable.

 

Also, make good use of the map. If you wander off somewhere and die, the game will leave a temporary icon on the map that shows you where you dropped your runes (essentially currency used for levelling up and purchasing things.) It will disappear when you pick them up again, but you can also place your own custom markers on the map. For example, if I die and drop my runes, I'll place a skull marker next to the dropped runes icon, to remind myself that I might die in that area. Or if there's a safe area where I can easily farm runes, I'll place a diamond marker in the general area. There's a kind of fog around the map that dissipates as you push forward, and undiscovered fragments of your map are just brown paper with no detail, but if you look around the brown paper it might show an icon that looks a little bit like a beacon or lighthouse - this symbolises an area where you might find a map fragment, offering much more detail for that area.

[Kayin Amoh]

Oh, and zoom in on the map. Those little buildings, structures or marks are probably something important. There's one type of indicator on the map that's damn near critical, but I don't want to mention what exactly so I'll spoiler it.

 

Spoiler

Little reddish / black pinprick holes that indicate mine shafts. You find your upgrade materials most easily down here, and things will be much harder if you don't use them.

 

[Ste Pickford]

4 hours ago, Boothjan said:

Birthday yesterday and got a bit of cash, so I think I might finally get this. I've had serious FOMO! 

 

Advice please for a complete newbie - I've never played a Souls game before - what class should I start as? Any tips for me? 

 

My main advice is that these are not games where you are expected to do everything or see everything or meet every NPC or complete every quest.

 

By design, it's almost impossible to follow every NPC quest line.  The intention (I think) is to give the player-base things to work out as a community over the months or years after release.  It's possible to do everything by following a guide, and that's probably fine for Souls-veterans, but for someone new to the series this can just lead to frustration that you feel the game hasn't told you what the guide told you, and how were you supposed to work that out, etc.

Basically, don't approach the game from a gamer / completist point of view, but rather just follow the clues you do find and can work out, and have your own unique adventure, without worrying about missing anything.  There's plenty of content so you're hardly going to be short of things to do or places to go.  If you beat the final boss you can always do a second run with a guide and find the tons of things you inevitably miss.

[Boothjan]

Thanks all - very useful!

 

It sounds more like BOTW in that you can go anywhere, backtrack if you come up against something particularly challenging, as opposed to (for example) AC Odyssey/Valhalla where although the area is vast, there's a far more linear story - would this be accurate?

 

I'm excited to get started!

[Ste Pickford]

There isn't that much of a story, in the sense of a scripted narrative driving you forward.  You get a justification at the start (although it's still pretty cryptic), and your mission is essentially to kill every boss.  But there's a very rich backstory to everything, and that's what slowly reveals itself if you're observant and read every description of every object you find, listen to every bit of dialogue, pay attention to the design and layout of every area, etc.