Topic: Elden Ring Hype Thread

@JohnnyShoulder I only had a couple of goes last night and did okay against it. I have some backup weapons with fire and holy so should be alright, especially now I know I need to save up my health for how long it goes on.

@Thrillho Don't forget to use your Flask of Wondrous Physic and Rune Arc. I've started to use these a bit more recently.

@JohnnyShoulder As is always the way, I just beat it first time after just loading the game up.

I still have never used a rune arc and should probably look at the new abilities I have for the Wondrous Physick.

@Thrillho Well done! As with most bosses in the game it only took a few goes to beat it. Will be interesting to see how you get on with the next boss fight, as it take take me a fair bit longer than normal.

@JohnnyShoulder I’m through Siofra Aqueduct and past the Gargoyles on my second attempt.

I had much more difficulty with the Crucible Knight at the beginning of the area but got rather lucky with him in the end…

Making steady progress through the Depths with the mausoleum downed and beat the special Crucible Knight there too.

I just lost a record 90k runes making my way up the tree to those fire breathing enemies though. Not sure quite which way to go to find Fia though.

@Thrillho @Jimmer-jammer Ha ha yeah seen a few vids of the Crucible Knights flying off to their doom lol.

Fia is up the massive roots, past the fire breathing enemies and the buildings. You should eventually spot a grace nearby, Fia is close the other side of a gap.

@Jimmer-jammer It did make me laugh; if I'd have known that was a viable tactic, I'd have done it much sooner!

@JohnnyShoulder And I found that spot now. I'd previously been up a different route and ended up falling down a hole into a cave with a Runebear. So I've re-met Fia now, gone back to Renni and been across to get her key item in the upside down tower. Now off to Ainsel River!

@Jimmer-jammer I’ve finally moved on from the axe I’ve been using for ages. I picked up the Godskin Peeler from the boss in the Windmill Village and put blood effect on it.

I mostly went for that as I’ve been lacking the item to upgrade the axe for ages but upgraded that no problem. Damage is similar but blood effect is more damaging. Quite useful to swap between the two though.

I’ve pretty much gone all in on dex, then vigor and stamina.

@JohnnyShoulder I just found her yesterday and did that fight, was really fun. It would be good if they did some sort of variation of that fight but with multiplayer for as part of a dlc for a pvp arena.

Hi All, this is slightly OT... but keen for some perspective from people who have played (or are still playing) Elden Ring.

I've just made the decision to put down HZD, which I can appreciate is an 'objectively' good game... but it just feels so bland after ER!

Since ER, the only game that has scratched my itch is Returnal (going back for the DLC trophies).

I have played most/all of FromSoftware's back catalogue, and now looking for something with that same level of challenge and RPG/build mechanics... but also something relatively 'next-gen'(ish)

Google and Reddit seem to consistently propose Nioh 2, and this is the way I am leaning.... how similar is this in difficulty to ER? Would anyone recommend N2 or advise against? I see it has a PS5 upgrade which is nice, and it seems to feature quite high on numerous 'top PS4/5 games' lists.

Thoughts guys? Or failing that I could just hit up NG+ on ER... ha!

@Jimmer-jammer Thanks man! The more research I do online, it seems a lot of people bounced off from beating Returnal and then moved to Nioh II... which is good news!

I actually have Ashen on my Switch, but I find it unplayable for one reason... the inability to invert the X-axis (!) Seems a great game, but literally everything else I play is inverted (both Y and X) - and my muscle-memory is too far gone ha.

Nioh 2 downloading now, thanks!

@CJD87 I've never really found a game that matches fromsoft combat system (though I've never tried nioh). Have you played hollow knight? It's got a great sense of exploration, the lore is pretty good too and while the combat is far more straightforward than fromsoft, it's still pretty satisfying.

@R1spam I have HK on Switch, but am saving this for when I'm done with Dead Cells (currently my Switch 'side-game'). If you enjoyed Returnal and Hades, I'd definitely recommend Dead Cells for a great rogue fix... nice challenge, without being too punishing. Plus you do always attain a sense of 'progression' from each run, very similar to Hades I suppose! Thanks for the recommend though, and I hope to squeeze in HK on Switch before MHR Sunbreak drops

@Jimmer-jammer I think Rivers of Blood is accepted to be one of the best weapons in the game. But I haven’t got fair enough in the main story to get it yet.

I got through Ainsel River and Nokstella to further Ranni’s quest line and defeated the invader.

I finished off the Lake of Rot and both mini bosses last night, although I reckon I spent half my time there stood around waiting for my rot levels to return to normal as I only had a handful of boluses to cure it. And now there’s even more to explore down here!

@CJD87 I never played the sequel but really enjoyed Nioh. The combat is quite unique with the stance mechanic which gives every weapon a high stance for slow heavy hitting, a low stance for less powerful quick attacks, and a standard one for between.

It was more level based than the open world of From games but I thought it worked well like that. The boss fights are certainly on par with the From games too.

@CJD87 nice, I'll give dead cells a try. It's on gamepass and will probably try it there but it feels like a perfect switch game! I really liked hollow knight, hope you enjoy when you get round to it 👍

@Jimmer-jammer For the boss actually in the Lake of Rot, it was a case of using the Mimic Tear and then just going for it and healing rather than trying to avoid/nullify the rot. Going through that route got me the Mimic Tear and enough of the plants to be able to fully upgrade him. If you did that and then both had Rivers of Blood, you'll be pretty unstoppable!

I managed to finish the Renni quest line as well last night. The main boss took a few goes, and then the one leading to the chapel also took a couple of goes, but all done with that now.

And following that, I went back to her tower and defeated Blaidd so now I'm rocking some of their armour set.

Mimic Tear all the way baby! Got me through all the major bosses in the end

I've been digging Lhutel the Headless, doesn't do much damage but they can tank so much and they phase in and out, so you often find they can aggro a boss but then miss the worst damage. Absolutely smashed godrfrey first lord and Astel using that summon. It also lasted the whole glinstone dragon fight. I've been smashing bosses the last couple of days. Being level 106 might help too