Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion Announced

[Fitzcarraldo]

For any PS5 owners on the fence about which version to play, the PS4 version is real nice. Rock solid 60 and looks good to me. 

[John0]

3 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

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Level up lady. From the sounds of it, though, I could have met her sooner if I'd actually used the bonfire in the ruined church, instead of just activating it. I didn't get the cutscene where she turns up and gives you the whistle until I'd run the gauntlet past the giant that jumps down on you and all the archers 

 

 

It happened the same way for me, and I rested multiple times at the church bonfire.

[Jamie John]

1 minute ago, John0 said:

 

It happened the same way for me, and I rested multiple times at the church bonfire.

 

Oh. I thought I read someone above saying they'd met her beforehand.

 

Are you just supposed

Spoiler

to run past giant lad and all the archers, then?

That's what I did, anyway.

[the_debaser]

The best thing in the game is when the sheep roll backwards down the hill. 

[John0]

5 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Are you just supposed

  Reveal hidden contents

to run past giant lad and all the archers, then?

That's what I did, anyway.

 

Spoiler

You can draw giant boi away from the archers to 1v1 him. He's quite slow and you basically just need to watch out for getting stomped on (if you have a shield that is, I guess).

 

[CrichStand]

First time I’ve played a Souls game and the message system is working as it should. Left a few tips for people and getting lots of appraisals, so being healed constantly. Makes a massive difference. Really, really cool idea!

[Broker]

49 minutes ago, CrichStand said:

Good luck with that if you don’t know any of the buttons or any of the moves, or the systems in the game, or how important stuff works! You can just allow tutorials to be switched off or not job done, no need to have a tutorial section that is missable and put many players off the game right from the start. 

I feel like this is something From games always run up against. There’s a prevailing idea in the industry that good game design is design that works for everyone, but I really don’t think people being put off at the start is a problem. A world where everything is for everyone sounds incredibly dull. 
 

I love exploring games where I don’t understand how the systems work or what I’m doing. I often lose interest once I understand everything. The first it if a fromsoft game where you have no idea what is happening and everything is terrifying is the best part. 

 

21 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

I’m dying a lot and the loading times are pissing me off. They really should have put in a difficulty setting, or at least sort it out so you’re not waiting 15 seconds to restart every time you die. 

 

Horizon came out like a week ago if you’re looking for a more generic open world game. 

[John0]

I almost thought we were going to get through without anyone taking the bate on the difficulty setting comment

[Number 28]

I've bought a torch and smacked a few sheep with it. Plus I beat some

Spoiler

beast man in a cave on 2nd attempt. A lot of backpedalling and waiting for a window.

Now where is that goddamn maiden with my horsey? Didn't someone say you get it at the collapsed church? I tried resting more than once.

 

As far as performance goes, it doesn't seem too bad on base PS4.

[Pug]

Yep, hardly touched it and I'm jacking it in. Not got a clue what's going on, not a fan of redoing the same thing over and over. I accept it's my poor gaming ability mixed in with no patience at all. I kinda new it but gave it a go just in case, lol.

 

Ah well......

[Kryptonian]

Played an hour or 2 on a series S (1440p monitor) and no probs. Played 30 mins on a series X (LG OLED) and think it gave me motion sickness. This isn’t what I wanted.

 

Is there a setting to stop the camera moving itself? I like to angle it myself but feel like I’m battling with it. Had to stop playing before I could investigate further though

[PikaStu]

Riding around, taking it all in, I’m reminded of Shadow of the Colossus. 
 

Tried a couple of small dungeons and got my arse handed to me, so I’m sticking to the open world and practising on weaker enemies for now, slowly levelling up my samurai. 

[Pug]

Xbox version for sale in Trading.

 

Also advertised elsewhere.

[Bobbi Champagne Jr]

9 minutes ago, Pug said:

Yep, hardly touched it and I'm jacking it in. Not got a clue what's going on, not a fan of redoing the same thing over and over. I accept it's my poor gaming ability mixed in with no patience at all. I kinda new it but gave it a go just in case, lol.

 

Ah well......

You really don't think it's worth giving it more of a go? You don't need to do the same thing over and over again, and the lore and story get explained the more you play.

 

[Robo_1]

So fellow nerds, how you liking it? 

 

[Captain Kelsten]

41 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

I’m dying a lot and the loading times are pissing me off. They really should have put in a difficulty setting, or at least sort it out so you’re not waiting 15 seconds to restart every time you die. 

I don’t think this is the game for you, bud.  

[the_debaser]

I’m trying to fight that giant thing.  Looks like others have ran past it, the wimps. 

[Pug]

Nah, I appreciate the 

1 minute ago, Bobbi Champagne Jr said:

You really don't think it's worth giving it more of a go? You don't need to do the same thing over and over again, and the lore and story get explained the more you play.

 

 

I appreciate that, it's very unlikely I'll get on with it. Makes me feel a little inadequate if I'm honest as I wish I could get the enjoyment out of it that it's giving everyone else here. 

[cassidy]

4 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

I’m trying to fight that giant thing.  Looks like others have ran past it, the wimps. 

Well I did that exactly and have no shame. 

 

Head left once past though and activate the portal gate thing I found in a circle, like I did.

 

If you want your ass handed to you even more. 

 

I died

[Uncle Nasty]

[MikeF]

So how do I summon help if I want it?

[cassidy]

Just now, MikeF said:

So how do I summon help if I want it?

I want to know this as well in case, just in case. 

[CrichStand]

23 minutes ago, Broker said:

I feel like this is something From games always run up against. There’s a prevailing idea in the industry that good game design is design that works for everyone, but I really don’t think people being put off at the start is a problem. A world where everything is for everyone sounds incredibly dull. 
 

I love exploring games where I don’t understand how the systems work or what I’m doing. I often lose interest once I understand everything. The first it if a fromsoft game where you have no idea what is happening and everything is terrifying is the best part. 

 

Yeah, I get where you’re coming from and I also love games that allow you to figure things out for yourself but think the tutorial definitely could have been handled better here. I do feel like these games get given a pass on a lot of stuff other games would be dissed for. 
 

Anyway, first boss down. Nice and easy one, just need to sit back, be patient and wait for openings. On a par with the first one from Demon’s Souls in terms of difficulty. Really enjoyed this first little dungeon. Top stuff!

[Jamie John]

I kind of want to make a sort of lore thread where people can post what they've figured out from the story so far, but then I wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone, or have anything spoiled myself. I'm keeping notes as I go. Lots of stuff is classic Souls so far (early game story speculation):

 

Spoiler

• The Tarnished seems to be just another version of the Chosen Undead / Curse Bearer / Ashen One, and it all seems to be about cycles.
   
• The curse that has beset the land and led to its rack and ruin seems like a variation on the Hollowing theme used in earlier Souls games, too.
   
• You've been told your objective is to seek the Elden Ring and eventually become the Elden Lord, but this sounds to me like a ploy to get you to fulfil someone else's wishes, similar to how, in DS1, you were told that it was your duty to link the fire and prolong the Age of Fire, but you had the option to fuck that off and end the cycle instead. I'd be very surprised if you didn't have the option not to become the Elden Lord at the end of the game, or if there isn't a subplot to that effect.
   
• There are also references to dragons existing before the world began, which is the same as DS1.

Apart from that, I haven't figured out what's going on with the Roots and trees yet, although the massive Erdtree in the middle of the map is very Yggdrasil-like, so I suspect it's some sort of life force for the world. There have also been lots of references to gold, but it sounds like gold has some kind of magical property, as opposed to just being a valuable material.

 

The Queen Marika who's mentioned in the opening cutscene sounds similar to Yharham from Bloodborne, and it seems like all of her children are squabbling over the remaining shards of the Elden Ring, and the war following her departure has led to the world being the way it is. Her different kids are all the big bads who you know you'll have to kill at some point. It's mentioned in the opening cutscene as well that Marika is 'lost',  not 'killed', so I suspect she'll make an appearance later on. Maybe she'll implore you to destroy the ring once and for all, LOTR style.

 

Of the NPC's I've met so far, the most interesting has been

Spoiler

the young noble woman you find slumped on the ground in the shack near where you meet Melina the Maiden for the first time. She mentions some fucked up shit about how everyone has been 'grafted' to the 'spider' for her, their arms and legs and heads. She goes on to say that she will soon be joining her friends and asks you to give a message for the 'chrysalid', which I think is in the castle.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what all that's about, but it's good to see that Miyazaki has retained his arachnophilia! I imagine when she says 'Spider' she's referring to the same sort of monster that kills you when you immediately start the game, before you get to the tutorial area - that thing's called 'The Crafted Scion' and is made up of loads of different body parts, and it moves like a spider. The fact that it's a 'Scion' means that it's the offspring of something that's probably similar to it, and a lot bigger. Sounds like there's some weird religious cult which is brainwashing all of these disenfranchised nobles into becoming monstrous creatures, which, again, is something we've seen more than once in earlier Souls games.

 

 

Can't wait to see if any of that is actually on the money.

[HarryBizzle]

10 minutes ago, Uncle Nasty said:

 

This is funny until you realise literally all but one of those reviews (the exception being Parkin at the Gruaniad) are basically meaningless. I'd take the good old Rollmuck Hivemind over all of them.

[Captain Kelsten]

12 minutes ago, MikeF said:

So how do I summon help if I want it?

 

11 minutes ago, cassidy said:

I want to know this as well in case, just in case. 

You get an item - Furlcalling Finger Remedy (which can be crafted with Erdleaf Flowers) to reveal Summon Signs. Simply interact with a sign to summon another player into your world, but pay close attention to its color. If the sign is gold, you are inviting a friendly ally, but if it is red, you are challenging another player to a duel.

 

It’s worth pointing out they’ll most likely be near bosses - players choose where to drop their summon sign so they’re unlikely to do so in the middle of nowhere. 

[Jamie John]

11 minutes ago, MikeF said:

So how do I summon help if I want it?

 

10 minutes ago, cassidy said:

I want to know this as well in case, just in case. 

 

There appear to be small statues in each area where summoning is possible that you have to interact with in order to allow summoning. The statues look like one of the people who have been crucified, and they're normally next to a point of grace. Once it's been activated, look for the gold summoning signs on the floor nearby or outside the boss fog gate and interact with those in order to summon someone.

 

Protip: if you want to explore an area or practise against a boss without worrying about being penalised for dying, use one of the furled finger items (I forget the name - the golden one) to plant your own summon sign and get summoned to someone else's world. That way you can co-op with them to see what the next area/boss is going to be like before you have a go yourself. Plus, engaging in jolly cooperation will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside 

[Parappa]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

The bonfires literally point you in the direction you need to go to progress. It's definitely the most accessible From Software game I've played.

Totally agree - and it even shows you on the map which way to go. 

[Ry]

Is the only way to summon to go into menu and click use? I can't see a way to quick equip it. 

 

(I mean the summons in game not online)

[Triple A]

Well bloody hell indeed, this is really rather special isn't it.

Done the tutorial dungeon, the first 'main' dungeon and a couple of optional caves.  Roaming around and taking on the odd random adventure just feels so good.

I'm floored so far.