Topic: Elden Ring Hype Thread

I accidentally found a fairly hidden passage that enabled me to access a castle that I think is probably way, way later on in the game. Ended up running about a bit and then spent the next hour trying to get my 8000 runes back without dying. Can’t believe I did it!

For the last week I've been wrestling with my decision to purchase ER>Horizon... basically wanting to play both, but being realistic in that I only have time to give to one.

After my first 2-3 sessions with ER, I'm really pleased to have gone with this first (will pick up HFW later this year for sure, probably my next PS5 game).

In a similar vein to @Fragile .... my only big criticism is the framerate issues. I'm playing on PS5, and the FR problems were initially quite jarring for me. BUT I have been spoilt by recently playing DeS / Returnal / GoT Director Cut...which are all unashamedly gorgeous.

ER is pretty much everything I'd hoped and wished that From would deliver though. To call it "Dark Souls meets BotW" would probably trivialise how good it actually is, but I feel this description is fairly accurate.

I think From have kept the 'integrity' of the SoulsBourne IP, and not compromised on difficulty, but equally made it more accessible for those not familiar with the series and formula.

Gone with DEX build, starting class Samurai... loving the 'Unsheathe' skill which is carrying me well. Currently lv17, got wrecked by Margit many times. Plan to go away and level up a bit, farm some items to upgrade my katana to +3 and then head back.

In summary though, this is probably the first time since Returnal that I've actually been really excited to play a game again in a given day... DeS Remake was great, but didnt hook me like ER has so far.

(And to all those who got hood-winked by the glowing chest, and transported to that god-awful underground section, I also fell foul of this! Nice to see that From are still pulling new variations of dirty old tricks ha)

@nessisonett well done! Thats always the scariest part as you gather so many runes. How far ahead to press on vs finding that campfire/grace.
Myself, been just exploring everything avoiding most things and trying to gather more seeds for flasks. I lucked out getting the summoning bell, allowing me to use my wolves. I'm sure I would have missed it if I didn't need to camp. Hopefully I can find this elusive round table hub soon with out lookups.

I've been exploring this game all weekend and i am really enjoying it..i actually like the open world enviroment and the crafting on the fly is a really cool addition..i also like that you dont have to run through a whole level again to get to the boss encounters..i read a lot about people not liking the world because its empty? Sotc had no enemies in it at all apart from the bosses themselves and it also had one of the most visually appealing worlds and yet that game (with some of the worst controls and camera angle switches) is regarded as one of the best games of all time so whats different? Why be down on one game but not the other?

@CJD87 yes that glowing chest..took me ages to work out how to get back to the main world..got some really good loot from there though so it was worth it in the end..just..

@Northern_munkey Plenty of people are down on Shadow of the Colossus. We’re literally playing it as part of the game club this month and we’ve all had our issues with it. It’s not exactly the best example to choose as some sort of untouchable classic because it’s always been fairly divisive.

@nessisonett its the nearest example i could think of..

I have to say I'm enjoying the journey between things and the sense of discovery. The system I haven't engaged with too much is crafting. I'm still getting used to be able to loot resources on a horse in a souls game 😂

People have been bugging From Soft for years to put an easy mode on Souls games. I found Elden Ring's easy mode: Riding on horseback with a great sword

@Ralizah I did like the art when you start the game, but I personally would have preferred a cut scene. They have been really good in previous games and a bit gutted we didn't get one this time.

Went with a warrior and concentrating on building up my Dex with a little of magic. Managed to locate a staff from one of the bosses in the forest but i must confess, when it comes to character building i dont really have an idea what im doing. Ive always found it hard in the DS style games as i dont want to be waisting levels of stuff that doesnt fit my play style. Is there a rule of thumb build guide at all, like pick 3 talents and build in to them etc? Currently using a long sword, a flail and a pants cross bow at lvl 20

I'm loving this game so far but by god am I struggling with it. Haven't found a From game this difficult since I first played Demon's Souls all those years ago. I've encountered a few bosses but I can't seem to beat them just yet. I think it's to do with how I'm building my character. I've gone warrior with the dual scimitar things, but I've been focusing on levelling up health and stamina rather than my attacking power, until I decide whether I want to go down the strength or dexterity route. It's time to make a decision and crack on. I need to git gud, it would seem. All I'm gitting at the moment is my arse spanked.

@Gremio108 have you come across spirit summons yet? IMO they make some bosses/tough enemies much easier to deal with - they basically seem to be Elden Ring's NPC summons (I'm not sure if there are any summonable NPC's in the game). You can (as in, I think you're supposed to) get it really early in the game, but it's pretty easy to miss

@danlk1ng Yeah, I've got the wolf one. I used it against a boss and it provided a nice distraction, but ever since it's been greyed out and I can't use it. I've rested and restoredy FP so it's not that. I think I'm missing something somewhere.

Also, I did encounter an NPC summon before one of the bosses I fought. His name was Sorcerer Rogier and he was all right, but he didn't seem to be a fan of dodging so he soon got walloped.

@Gremio108 yeah that sounds odd, I've not seen the spirit summon grey out and I've used it a few times - not sure what's going on there

@Us2233 The update file downloaded for me when when I turned on my PS5 this morning. Make sure you have updates set download and install automatically from System settings on the console.

@Gremio108 @danlk1ng I've got the Lone Wolf and Wandering Noble spirit summons. I have them equipped but keep forgetting to use them lol.

I got this from Fextralife:

Summoning Spirits will usually consume FP. Only one summoned spirit can be active per Rebirth Monument, before having to reset the count by resting at a Site of Grace, and you won't be able to summon them while in multiplayer.

Spirits may only be summoned in specific locations (Points of Interest on the World Map and almost every boss arena). If you leave the boundary, it will unsummonSpirits may only be summoned once per encounter, so you cannot re-summon them after they die during a boss fight.

@Gremio108 I'm guessing your talking about the boss fight up against Margit the Fell Omen?

Sorcerer Rogier was an absolute disaster for me... honestly felt better off using the Spirit Summons (pack of Wolves).

I finally beat Margit this morning, running a DEX build lv22... managed to upgrade my Katana to Uchitanja +3. Pulled a new strategy which was taking him on solo until I'd reduced his health down to 2/3... and then I summoned the 'Wolf Pack' to distract him during the latter half of the fight, where I found him much more challenging.

By bringing the Spirit Summon in at the beginning, I think I was just wasting this tool really. Also I learnt the hard way to hide behind some of the debris on the bridge when healing, otherwise Margit has a tendency to interupt my flask-gulping by firing lightning projectiles!

Took about 30-35ish tries, but I really enjoyed the challenge. He is actually the first boss I've encountered, so I might go back and explore a bit more around Limgrave until I push ahead!

I started as a prisoner and the magic spell you get is pretty good. Though I'm not fond of the estoc. I'm trying to get a strength/intelligence build going, but I haven't found any good weapons so far.

@nessisonett if you started as wretch, go asap to gatefront ruins, and farm it. You can get everything you need there, including a 100% block kite shield (from the ones carrying it only… ) several good weapons (longsword drops), and a full suit of armor.