Elden Ring

[ToeKneeHandCock]

20 hours ago, ramboacdc said:

Restarted the game this morning as it had been 2 years since I had played and I couldn't remember sod all. 

 

Turns out this thing hooks me. I lost 6 hours and gained 30 levels, and still couldn't beat that boss that cuts his own arm off.....

What platform are you on? 

[ramboacdc]

6 hours ago, ToeKneeHandCock said:

What platform are you on? 

Series X. 

I forgot I can do a heck of a lot more stuff before getting absolutely shafted in that castle. So I have ran off doing other, more fun things like the forts and finding all the Roundhall guys

 

[foxile5]

I got right into it but then it became too hard.

 

I really should go back to it though as it's supposed to be a master piece

[Zear0]

This DLC was so good. Probably about another 15-20% as much content for the base game. 

 

Loved the bosses, even if I was underwhelmed by what the final boss was (won't spoil it). Making me want to start Elden Ring afresh now after going through. 

 

Still not as good as Sekiro though 

[foxile5]

Right - I've started to put some serious hours in. 

 

This is brilliant. Utterly  fantastic. It has the feeling of endless opportunity and possibility which I haven't felt since the very early open-world style games. The real strength seems to be that it delivers on this.

 

I genuinely feel like I'm adventuring. There doesn't seem to be any closeted or closed avenues or areas for area's sake. It is ALL magnificent from that perspective.

 

I understand that some people have criticised the lack of a narrative or storyline beyond following vague directions. For me that enhances the game; I get for others it is frustrating.

 

I've heard a lot about the 'difficulty' of these style games. The bosses are hard but I haven't felt like  they're impossible - just that my character is underlevelled and, as so, I need to level up. I'm hoping I'm not wrong about that. 

 

Right now I haven't got a criticism I can level at it, really. I'll be sinking hours in over the coming weeks. Utterly jawdropping stuff. I'm still only right at the start, too.

[foxile5]

On 27/06/2024 at 23:56, foxile5 said:

I got right into it but then it became too hard.

 

I really should go back to it though as it's supposed to be a master piece

I was wrong here - I just needed to not fight the tree sentinel immediately. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, foxile5 said:

I was wrong here - I just needed to not fight the tree sentinel immediately. 

Immensely satisfying coming back later in the game and teaching that big golden bellend a lesson

[kingcarr21]

So Elden Ring is a game i have not played yet. Reason being is that it just looks like another Dark Souls game.

 

My cousin tried to get me into Dark Souls and i despised it. Where is the enjoyment in a game where all you do is press the dodge button a million times before hitting an enemy with 1 stab and if you get hit you die and try again. I remember playing Dark Souls, FINALLY beating the first boss after a bazillion tries before walking through a door just to find the next unbearable boring boss where you die another kajillion times.

 

But i hear that Elden Ring isnt as bad as Dark Souls. Can you guys tell me if i would enjoy Elden Ring? As i do love a huge RPG

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, kingcarr21 said:

So Elden Ring is a game i have not played yet. Reason being is that it just looks like another Dark Souls game.

 

My cousin tried to get me into Dark Souls and i despised it. Where is the enjoyment in a game where all you do is press the dodge button a million times before hitting an enemy with 1 stab and if you get hit you die and try again. I remember playing Dark Souls, FINALLY beating the first boss after a bazillion tries before walking through a door just to find the next unbearable boring boss where you die another kajillion times.

 

But i hear that Elden Ring isnt as bad as Dark Souls. Can you guys tell me if i would enjoy Elden Ring? As i do love a huge RPG

Structurally and mechanically it is very similar. The combat is still broadly about patience, dodging and stamina management, and you still progress through the game by navigating labyrinthine dungeons full of tossers and then fighting against one big tosser as many times as it takes for you to learn their attack patterns. If you fundamentally don't enjoy Souls combat or level design then I think the odds are fairly good that you might not enjoy this either. And of course, all of the classic From Software idiosyncrasies are present and correct, like lore that is doled out almost exclusively through item descriptions and cryptic dialogue followed by weird laughter, or side quests/entire areas of the game that you'll unknowingly lock yourself out of because you didn't attack an illusory wall in some hidden corner of the map and peform a specific series of emotes while disconnected from the internet and Mercury is in retrograde etc.

 

Where I think it differs and is a lot more accessible is that, while the problems the game presents you with are as challenging as usual if not moreso, it also gives you a much wider range of tools with which to solve them. Magic is very strong and versatile, there are NPC spirits you can summon and upgrade to help with tough encounters, stealth is a viable approach in a way it isn't really in other From games apart from Sekiro and you have a horse which allows you to bypass and/or trivialise a lot of fights. And although the combat is broadly quite familiar, there are things like jump attacks, guard counters (block an attack and immediately respond with an extra strong one of your own) and certain special weapon abilities that if used smartly can basically bend most of the enemies in the game over your knee. Most importantly, the fact it's open world means if you run into something on the main path you can't handle or is obviously meant for a higher level character, you can just turn around and do something else rather than just slamming your head into the brick wall until either it breaks or you do - there are a couple of pretty bruising encounters early on that are intended to demonstrate that exact thing. Go somewhere different for a bit - and there is no shortage of alternate paths, caves, catacombs, ruins and so on to explore - then come back later stronger and wiser for the levels and loot you acquired.

 

It is definitely not for everyone and there's no way to say this without sounding like some zen weirdo but I think the Souls games cease to be really "difficult" if you just change how you think about dying in them. Cycles of death and rebirth are baked into the lore and I think there is a reason the message displayed is "You Died" rather than "You Failed" or "Game Over" - dying is not a fail state but something your character is expected to experience as part of their journey, just as you are expected to experience it as part of the process of mastering the game.

 

All of which is to say - you might like it, you might not

[Zear0]

2 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

So Elden Ring is a game i have not played yet. Reason being is that it just looks like another Dark Souls game.

 

My cousin tried to get me into Dark Souls and i despised it. Where is the enjoyment in a game where all you do is press the dodge button a million times before hitting an enemy with 1 stab and if you get hit you die and try again. I remember playing Dark Souls, FINALLY beating the first boss after a bazillion tries before walking through a door just to find the next unbearable boring boss where you die another kajillion times.

 

But i hear that Elden Ring isnt as bad as Dark Souls. Can you guys tell me if i would enjoy Elden Ring? As i do love a huge RPG

Do it... 

[Legend_in_blue]

3 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

So Elden Ring is a game i have not played yet. Reason being is that it just looks like another Dark Souls game.

 

My cousin tried to get me into Dark Souls and i despised it. Where is the enjoyment in a game where all you do is press the dodge button a million times before hitting an enemy with 1 stab and if you get hit you die and try again. I remember playing Dark Souls, FINALLY beating the first boss after a bazillion tries before walking through a door just to find the next unbearable boring boss where you die another kajillion times.

 

But i hear that Elden Ring isnt as bad as Dark Souls. Can you guys tell me if i would enjoy Elden Ring? As i do love a huge RPG

Have you given Demon Souls remastered on PS5 a go?

 

It's decent but I still have nowhere near finished it

 

I think I cleared 4-1 last time out.  The elation at not dying on the cliff path walk and the duel-wielding skeleton guy who followed was something else 

 

[kingcarr21]

17 hours ago, Legend_in_blue said:

Have you given Demon Souls remastered on PS5 a go?

 

It's decent but I still have nowhere near finished it

 

I think I cleared 4-1 last time out.  The elation at not dying on the cliff path walk and the duel-wielding skeleton guy who followed was something else 

 

Yes it was the remastered version. I just know its the type of game that i would never get into. im quite simply just not interested in difficult games. Give me a game with an amazing story that i can just enjoy on easy mode and im happy haha

[Legend_in_blue]

1 hour ago, kingcarr21 said:

Yes it was the remastered version. I just know its the type of game that i would never get into. im quite simply just not interested in difficult games. Give me a game with an amazing story that i can just enjoy on easy mode and im happy haha

I like the challenge, but then lengthy spells of game time are hard to come by and if I get nowhere 2 hours later, it ends up being a waste of time.  So, more often than not, I don't bother in the first place. 

 

[Zear0]

8 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

Yes it was the remastered version. I just know its the type of game that i would never get into. im quite simply just not interested in difficult games. Give me a game with an amazing story that i can just enjoy on easy mode and im happy haha

I'd give Demons Souls a miss if you've not played many of the Souls games. It's a wonderful remaster but it's by far the worst game in the series, albeit much easier and a gentler introduction. 

 

Elden Ring is a wonder of a game and would always recommend it. Thing is, you know what you like in games more than anyone. The challenge is what hooks me into these things, but if you're likely to be frustrated at the difficulty then I wouldn't bother. 

 

Take a punt though, you never know... 

[ramboacdc]

I started again and just beat Renalla in a handful of goes. As I am at like 67 intelligence it was just fire until she falls down. I remember here was where I struggled to keep going as I couldn't figure out where to go next. I think it's Volcano Manor next now? 

[The Doctor]

On 10/07/2024 at 17:29, Guest said:

The combat is still broadly about patience, dodging and stamina management

alternative you start as a samurai, put everything into vigor, mind and dex, go to fort haight, get the bloody slash ash of war, stick it on the Uchigakata and just throw your blood at everyone until they explode in their own blood.

[The Doctor]

On 12/07/2024 at 12:12, ramboacdc said:

I started again and just beat Renalla in a handful of goes. As I am at like 67 intelligence it was just fire until she falls down. I remember here was where I struggled to keep going as I couldn't figure out where to go next. I think it's Volcano Manor next now? 

have you been and done Redahn festival in Caelid?

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

alternative you start as a samurai, put everything into vigor, mind and dex, go to fort haight, get the bloody slash ash of war, stick it on the Uchigakata and just throw your blood at everyone until they explode in their own blood.

I've done more or less this but with a twinblade - most of the time it's like you're running over everything with a combine harvester

[The Doctor]

2 hours ago, Guest said:

I've done more or less this but with a twinblade - most of the time it's like you're running over everything with a combine harvester

I like the Uchigakata because it's a starter class weapon that inflicts blood loss but yea, anything that inflicts blood loss is great with it

[ramboacdc]

On 22/07/2024 at 12:33, The Doctor said:

have you been and done Redahn festival in Caelid?

By fluke. Hit a couple of portals in a row and ending up at Redahns arena. Took 3 or 4 goes to get him down. I don't mind that battle as if you keep them summons up it helps a lot when you are a near 80 int build like I like to play.