Topic: Elden Ring Hype Thread

@MaulTsir I hear you, after completing a Souls game there’s a weird contradictory desire to take a break and replenish your health and stamina, so to speak 😜, but also a feeling of emptiness without the game and a temptation to jump back into another one or another playthrough.

After I completed DS1 I played the first hour or so on NG+ just out of sheer curiosity and inertia, and I got a complete dopamine rush from decimating the introductory boss which causes you so much trouble at the very beginning of your first playthrough. It’s a great feeling, but I stopped after that to move onto another game. I’m already back into a Souls-ey game with Jedi Survivor, but it’s not quite the same as FromSoft’s work. Still good, but doesn’t quite scratch the itch in the same way.

I’ve pretty much got a second character ready for the DLC, Mohg and Radahn beaten, flasks near max and a couple of fully upgraded weapons (dagger and a seal)- could probably do with a few extra levels to be endgame ready. The character from my first playthrough for the platinum a year or so ago is saved just before the ending (so not NG+, backed up from a cloud save). I’ve gone faith/dex this time, so will have a level 120 faith/dex and a level 140 strength/melee build ready for when the DLC releases. I have really been enjoying replaying it. Prob won’t play past Leyndell on this character pre-DLC so I can try use DLC gear for the reast of the main game.

I'm going with my character that I finished the game with, maybe with a respec as I did that before the final boss. So i don't remember how balanced it is or anything. Will most likely fire up the game a week or so before Shadow of the Erdee drops, to dust off some cobwebs.

I original beat the game (and got Platinum) on release, played on PS5 and loved it. Since then, with travel resuming post-pandemic, I am essentially limited to handheld-play due to working overseas a lot...

So I purchased ER+DLC bundle on Steamdeck, started a NG character and had a blast! Managed to steamroll 100% achievements in around ~55hrs, focussing purely on achievement/trophy actions + anything that would support my build.

Got my character to level 160, and now putting it down until DLC. I have 2 x Bloodhound Fangs, both +10 level, and am basically powerstancing - with large emphasis on the jump attack L1 (uses both fangs). After the initial jump attack I follow up with the weapon art (Bloodhound Finesse) which is awesome, and then straight into the R2 combo.

For anyone needing extra weapons and/or talismans before DLC... found an awesome sub-reddit entitled "Patches Emporium" - which is basically like an Elden Ring black market lol. I managed to get my 2nd Bloodhound Fang by trading away my Rivers of Blood

Are we all thoroughly hyped for the DLC????!

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN Yeah man, will be jumping in shortly. I hear it is on the meaty side. Fextralife's review has it at 120 hours. 😮

Weird that Shadow of the Erdtree has no trophies?

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah apparently there is loads to explore. @Th3solution I think that is standard for From, Bloodborne's DLC only had trophies b/c it was a collab project w/ Japan Studio allegedly.

@Th3solution Further to what @BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN mentions, because Bloodborne was published by Sony they had to put trophies in the DLC. All the others don't. It's the same with accessing the dlc, there is always a slightly convoluted way to get into it.

It certainly not something that would disway from playing something I'm such a big fan of.

@JohnnyShoulder @BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess that’s right. I’ve been playing these Souls games through the complete editions where this DLC is always just baked in. The fact that none of those areas have any trophies had never occurred to me.

@Jimmer-jammer What’s your take on the grassroots review bombing because it’s too difficult? Is it really that much harder? Or is it because more ‘casual’ types of players have jumped onto Elden Ring and weren’t prepared to the traditional bump in difficulty?

SotE has been a ride so far, and some of the new environments feel really 'fresh', new and exciting. It is a great showpiece from FromSoft, and a body of work they should be incredibly proud of.

Some of the criticisms regarding difficulty seem a little unfair IMO....and almost reminiscent of some individuals claiming base game was 'baby-mode easy' (!)

Erdtree is punishing, but if you go in with a ~150 lvl build - and focus early-game on gathering scadutree fragments, then this mitigates a lot of hardship. I learnt the hard way that those fragments are the key to success, with each fragment level increasing your damage dealt (And decreasing damage received) by ~5%. Even just getting to fragment level 3 or 4 makes a huge different. The great dragon shield (?) talisman goes a long way in keeping you alive also.

The new builds and weapon types are awesome, and this for me is where From have really landed well. I'm currently using a full DEX build with the backhand blade/s. The inbuild AoW is just so cool, like a side-step/dodge that goes into a swift slice.

But yeah, if you go in at 150, focus on scadutree fragments, and have a decent enough build then it is definitely manageable. The mimic tear is still as reliable as its ever been, although it certainly doesn't guarantee a 'cake walk' as it did some bosses in base game.

@Th3solution I think one of the problems is that the people that have gone into the DLC having started NG+ (and then some) expecting it to be a walk in the park. Maybe Elden Ring is their first game by FromSoftware, but I am unsure.

Leveling up the traditional way seems to have less effect against the tougher enemies and you need to seek out the scadutree fragments. I struggled against the first optional boss, went away to do some exploring and got a few more fragments. The fight was much more manageable then, and it was soon beaten.

As I said in one of the articles, I don't feel the dlc is any more difficult than the end game for Elden Ring. Some enemies will still punish you if you don't adapt to them.

@Jimmer-jammer Is it possible to become op with leveling up via the dlc's specific resources or can you "just get by" ?if you make use of them, for want of a better expression. @Th3solution Do you think you will play this at some point or still on the fence? Do you intend to go DS3 then Elden Ring then Elden Ring DLC or an alternative route?

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN I don't think so, as far as I'm aware there are only a finite amount of the resources located in the world. They are not like Souls/Runes where you can farm them ad nauseum from killing enemies.

@Jimmer-jammer @JohnnyShoulder Interesting. Yeah, with a game as long as Elden Ring, it’s tough to ask someone to go back and do a full playthrough again, so them having to use an NG+ run to access the content is probably part of the issue. It’s cool that they’re able to get that early game struggle and satisfaction though.

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN Yeah, I’m definitely going to play Elden Ring. Not sure about the DLC though. I already bought the base game and didn’t anticipate it taking me this long to get to it, but I might purchase the Erdtree content and play it alongside my first playthrough, I don’t know. The base game is so long though, that taking a game from 100 hours up to 140 hours just doesn’t appeal to me.

But yes — the pathway is still: finish DS2: Scholar edition —> play DS3 Firefades Ed —> Elden Ring….
I’m going to stick to my order, so far.

@Th3solution It's not a full playthough to get to the dlc, it's two bosses. One is earlyish and the other is fairly late, but there are shortcuts to get to the latter boss.

If you are on NG+, you should know where to go etc, so it won't take you as long as it did initially. And if anyone is really struggling against bosses, there are various ways to make life easier like summoning etc.

I was stuck on a boss in Shadow on Sunday, changed my weapon last night and beat it first time lol.

Is the recent scadutree blessings + revered spirit ashes buff making much difference to the perceived difficulty?

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN in fairness yes it has actually made a great deal of difference, at least for me.

As I understand it, the max level of scadutree blessing is 20.... and the first 10 levels have been frontloaded with additional multipliers (increase damage dealt + decrease damage received).

I am currently level 12, so really reaping the benefits. I must confess that I've been struggling a bit with the game (pre-patch) so this adjustment was quite welcome for me.

@Th3solution @JohnnyShoulder My intended build for Elden Ring, except with a different character model that's more representative of previous Strength Builds I've done, nothing against 'Lady Guts' but it's just not my personal style. Everything else about the build works for me though, and I hope it won't have been nerfed by the time I get around to it in a few months time. Just look at the damage output against bosses!