What class has everyone chosen?

I went Confessor.

I went with the Wretch, mainly because in all the Soulsborne games, I'd never started with the deprived class.

Watching people into some of the more late game stuff and it is everything you expect from Souls game. God the world of this game may be their best one yet, despite being open world.

Not sure how many endings there are, but the path Lua is on at least, is fucking wild.  Like there seems to be a story pushing a crazy choice to be made.

SPOILER: Click to show

The NPCs want her to burn the Tree.

We got her to do it!!! OMG this game is amazing.  May need a PS5 after all to play it.

///

Further in the playthrough now, HOLY SHIT this path was dark.  

SPOILER: Click to show

The tree is on fire now, and the entire world appears to be burning.  NPCs are forgetting who they are and do not know what is going on.  It is wild.  Not sure if all paths play out like this but this is crazy.

And we took a side path through the blood area, and fought the Mohg, Lord of Blood. This whole arena feels so much like Bloodbourne the Old Hunters. Mohg is one of the best souls games bosses and a nasty fucker that uses mostly bleed attacks.

Also crazy reading stuff it appears you only have to kill 12 bosses.  The other 70 or so are optional.  And some of those 12 bosses that must die are like kill one of these bosses type choices.

I went Warrior, always do melee on 1st run of any new Souls game. Always STRENGTH build whenever unless I need to bump up another stat to hold a certain weapon I want.

I got 2 Great Runes(Those are the mandatory big bosses), stuck on the 3rd one at the moment. About 45 hours in, having a damn good time. Have gone to I think all of the areas and can technically explore all of the true dungeons but still soaking in so much side content. I am currently Level 72 and Have a +8 Blood Uchigatana that with a couple of hits, draws bleeding which is extra damage and a +5 Dragon GreatClaw which is a lightning based club which pretty much stuns like 99% of the enemies I have faced.

Game is fantastic, very few bugs or glitches I can recall. Game crashed like twice on me and I had a funny death where I was stuck in midair when attempting to get on horseback. The lack of boss variation is frustrating though, From Software really doesn't offer up much here. They will make a regular enemy bigger and call it a boss by giving it more HP and more damage. They toss in 2 of the same bosses in a room to up the challenge or have previous bosses become regular enemies. They have done this a lot in the past but I feel now more than ever, they have done this so much in Elden Ring. I feel like the AOE hitboxes of some boss moves is also frustrating, it's like they miss but they still count the hit fully because you get scraped from something while behind the boss. Never have I seen a game that rewards the enemy more when they miss like Elden Ring does. Oh you miss your initial attack has missed? Not to worry, the explosion that comes out of it can 1 shot you. Same couple of traps, enemies are repeated for the most part, really felt sort of rushed in that regard. A lot of familiarity with the dungeon structure and overworld areas too, it makes The Chalice Dungeons of Bloodborne seem ultra original. You don't pick up on this until your ways into the game.

I'm still on my starting weapon, a broadsword. I've picked up a lot of spare armour but no idea if and where I can sell it. The first and only merchant I've found only buys crafting items.

Speaking of crafting, it's been pretty disappointing so far. I bought all the cookbooks but I can hardly make anything that useful. Just fire bombs and holy bombs. I've also made some rainbow glowstone things but I have no idea what they actually do. I guess you learn more later.

Hitboxes are also an issue for me, the one boss I've defeated has this jumping smash attack and it was very difficult to judge the hitbox.

Margit The Fell Omen is a bastard.

I'm level 17 yet I barely feel stronger than when I started the game at level 10. Boosting a stat by one point does very little. Still have my initial weapon. I recently discovered the Roundtable place so I could save up some runes and buy something better.

Mar 6, 2022 21:11:57 GMT Emperor said:

Margit The Fell Omen is a bastard.

I'm level 17 yet I barely feel stronger than when I started the game at level 10. Boosting a stat by one point does very little. Still have my initial weapon. I recently discovered the Roundtable place so I could save up some runes and buy something better.

If you’ve explored enough and gathered smithing stones, you can also upgrade your weapon at the blacksmith near the round table. Helps.

Mar 6, 2022 11:31:45 GMT Emperor said:

I'm still on my starting weapon, a broadsword. I've picked up a lot of spare armour but no idea if and where I can sell it. The first and only merchant I've found only buys crafting items.

Speaking of crafting, it's been pretty disappointing so far. I bought all the cookbooks but I can hardly make anything that useful. Just fire bombs and holy bombs. I've also made some rainbow glowstone things but I have no idea what they actually do. I guess you learn more later.

Hitboxes are also an issue for me, the one boss I've defeated has this jumping smash attack and it was very difficult to judge the hitbox.

Honestly, you can go through the entire game with that broadsword.  Perfect mid-sized balanced weapon.  

Hit boxes in souls are always fucking weird.  Particularly when the bosses hit you without actually hitting you.  You get used to it.  For fighting bigger bosses, common tactic is to either attack the crotch, or attack a foot.  Like massive dragon fighting you, just slash at their back foot for a bit until it someone dies from it...

Mar 6, 2022 21:11:57 GMT Emperor said:

Margit The Fell Omen is a bastard.

I'm level 17 yet I barely feel stronger than when I started the game at level 10. Boosting a stat by one point does very little. Still have my initial weapon. I recently discovered the Roundtable place so I could save up some runes and buy something better.

Margit is a bitch.  Like no joke will be one of the harder fights in the game.  A lot of people who played through all of the prior games got stuck hard on her, often for 3 or 4 hours just fighting them back to back.  Nasty fight.  You will want to come back to that later as a new player.  

Now you got the Roundtable should have a lot more options.

May also want to try some magic out.  Magic is usually very, very strong in these games.  Can make weapons into arcane weapons later so they scale off magic, or faith if you want.  Basically, just experiment to see what you have fun doing.  Basic builds are magic or faith that attack from range, Big Chunky Weapons that are slow but hit really hard, Mid range weapons that balance fast attacks with some power and fast weapons, usually that stack bleed for bursts of damage.  Claws in particular are very, very strong for bleed builds.

Most of your strength will come from just playing better and upgrading your weapons when you find something you like.  In general stat make little difference but are used to hit requirements to use things, but they do add up at higher levels.  Like adding one or two points is really meaningless.  Adding 20 to a stat however, makes a big difference.  

Played for a few hours, got up to level 22 and I'm starting to get the swing of things.

Killed three bosses: Tree Sentinel, Demi-Human Chief and Beastman of Farum Azula. Horseback combat is awesome. I got rewards for each battle but no idea what any of them do, nor do I remember what they are. Think one of them game me a Talisman, but can't even see it in my inventory. So much of this game is a mystery.

Took a ride into a swamp and suddely a giant dragon appeared on the scene, incinerated some enemies and the fight was on. Needless to say he wiped me out, I gave it two attempts and then decided to do something else. Pretty cool though. I headed south, killed a lot of enemies, and came across this portal to Forlorn Hound Evergaol.

The boss in there is Bloodhound Knight Darriwil and he slaughters me even easier than the Dragon, might have to return to him later.

Is there anywhere I can sell my weapons and armour?

Back to it after a week off, had a hefty session on the day, as it was another no sleeper (I don't stay up playing video games, I play video games when I can't help but stay up). Most clear sailing, but right before I signed off I wandered into the Volcano Manor area and had to sink an extra hour in before I was content with where I was leaving.

And seriously, fuck Rahdan, he's my big road block, in theory he's not that difficult, but I've been stuck like I was Sister Freida in DS3, as I hadn't put any souls/runes into life, so his second phase is one hit killing me every single time. Luckily in Elden Ring, you can fuck off and comeback later (DS3 I caved and respec'd), that and one other section are all I haven't been able to beat in the Caelid area, I can't take a hit from Radahn, a dragon in the area, or the big fucker in front of the bestiary. Figure I'll go north for now and come back when I got health to 30-30, mid-20's now, finally hitting near the soft cap on strength and stamina, it's the next priority.

They nerfed Rahdan as of a few days ago, he was absolutely brutal but the key to it was when to switch with horse vs human. The arrow shots he does that can 1 shot you if hit in succession, you needed to latch off. One of the toughest bosses of the game pre patch.

I am level 141, at the final boss and have taken down all of the major/optional bosses except 1 mega one who is considered the hardest of them all and is borderline broken with some of her moves(I got to her Phase 2 like 3x and it's just as brutal). Over 80 hours or so into the game, will reserve final thoughts for when I actually beat it but I am pretty proud of myself, no uses of summons(Which supposedly break the game wide open), pure strength/melee build as always for me in my 1st playthrough, what is magic?

I have to say the beginning of the game is Medium difficulty, the middle of the game is easy mode and the end game is absolutely brutal with the gauntlet of bosses it throws at you. The final 5-6 mandatory bosses are ridiculous and took me some time to beat each one. Even the optional ones you have to go out of the way for are insanely tough too. Not sure how or why the difficulty picked up, but geez.

This guy(Spoilers will be posted) though, absolutely stood out with me. The Ultimate Warrior of Soulsbourne, what a fucking battle this guy was, just beat him a little while ago. His 2nd phase is absolutely sick as hell, I can't get over the wrestling moves this guy pulls throughout the fight.

SPOILER: Click to show

One of the coolest movesets I have ever seen, HE BACKBREAKS YOU IN AIR and can powerbomb you after a grab. Fucking godlike shit. I yelled "OH SHIT!" twice in this fight, when he dunked my ass to death and in the last phase cutscene where he RIPS HIS LION SPIRIT ANIMAL OUT IN A BLOODY PULP AND GOES BERSERK MODE. What a fucking battle.

Nerfed him right after I beat him, the sons of bitches. It really was just a matter of needing to survive a single hit in his second phase, I'd get him almost dead and he'd one shot me; I went back in with 40 vigor and got him first try.

In the homestretch now, got everything to the Moutaintops of the Giants completed, at least as much as I'm getting, scoured as thoroughly as I can, maybe missed a thing or two, but I've been thorough. Oop, as I type this I realize I never completed the Deeproot Depths, got the bonfire then went back, so add that to the list.

And holy hell, the Fingerprint shield is amazing, takes practically no stamina damage, maybe the most OP shield in From history. Only downside is my build was at a place where I could have two colossal great swords, and enough capacity to have the Erdtree  greatshield on rotation in my left hand and still med. roll; but the Fingerprint shield is so heavy I have to decide between it and powerstancing the Guts and Grafted for maximum damage output.

Stumbled into the Lord of the Frenzied Flame ending, found myself down there, and looked how to open the door without looking what was behind it, and then decided the glowing eyes really rounded out the look for my character, Ivar the Red.

SPOILER: Click to show

Fuck Melania. That is all.

Meanwhile I'm still getting slaughtered by Margit the Fell Omen.

Godfrey going to his second phase was so disturbing.

Mar 24, 2022 8:49:33 GMT Emperor said:

Meanwhile I'm still getting slaughtered by Margit the Fell Omen.

I miss when bosses were Margit hard, an even he took me an hour or two. I'm hoping I don't lose a whole day to Melania tomorrow, in theory she shouldn't be that hard, I do a holy fuck ton of damage to her, but she's got one attack that's basically a one hit kill (even at 60 vigor) if I mess up getting my shield out in time, and is a 3 hit kill in general if I can't heal up. She's also lightning fast and has full screen attacks. I only got her to her second lifebar one time before calling it a day (just past midnight).

Mar 24, 2022 8:28:10 GMT RagnarokMike said:

Fuck Melania. That is all.

Yep she was the lone optional boss I was referring to. I hate the health stealing gimmick of hers but what irks me is the damn waterfawl dance move, the triple spin attack that can outright one shot you if it lands everything on you. I have gotten her to phase 2 a couple of times but you barely see this phase that I am not used to the patterns. 

It's her and the final bosses for me, just need to be energized to go after her(Thanks work :lol:).

Mar 24, 2022 8:49:33 GMT Emperor said:

Meanwhile I'm still getting slaughtered by Margit the Fell Omen.

Margit is a beast of a boss even for souls games.

Mar 24, 2022 8:49:33 GMT Emperor said:

Meanwhile I'm still getting slaughtered by Margit the Fell Omen.

Not sure if you encountered someone named Patches but he sells you an item that weakens Margit. Explore past the giant dragon in the fields a little further down. I didn't use the item but it's great they give you an item like that that can be purchased, I think it only works a few times and only in the 1st phase though. 

With Margit, he has a couple of moves that have openings, you just have to get your 1-2 shots in there and keep a fair distance from him and sort of bait him to do those wide open moves of his. The hammer slam down in particular is one, roll forward just as he is about to land with it and you get 2 freebies there. 

Mar 24, 2022 9:55:15 GMT Blindy said:

Mar 24, 2022 8:28:10 GMT RagnarokMike said:

Fuck Melania. That is all.

Yep she was the lone optional boss I was referring to. I hate the health stealing gimmick of hers but what irks me is the damn waterfawl dance move, the triple spin attack that can outright one shot you if it lands everything on you. I have gotten her to phase 2 a couple of times but you barely see this phase that I am not used to the patterns. 

It's her and the final bosses for me, just need to be energized to go after her(Thanks work ).

If she didn't steal health I'd have her within an hour, that's really the gamebreaker, as if you don't get her down fast enough, the first phase can steal all your healing.

After her, I've just got at most half of the Mountops of the Giants (the right half, except the ruins right at the start), then that floating island thing, and whatever bosses those areas entail.

Mar 24, 2022 10:49:28 GMT RagnarokMike said:

Mar 24, 2022 9:55:15 GMT Blindy said:

Yep she was the lone optional boss I was referring to. I hate the health stealing gimmick of hers but what irks me is the damn waterfawl dance move, the triple spin attack that can outright one shot you if it lands everything on you. I have gotten her to phase 2 a couple of times but you barely see this phase that I am not used to the patterns. 

It's her and the final bosses for me, just need to be energized to go after her(Thanks work ).

If she didn't steal health I'd have her within an hour, that's really the gamebreaker, as if you don't get her down fast enough, the first phase can steal all your healing.

After her, I've just got at most half of the Mountops of the Giants (the right half, except the ruins right at the start), then that floating island thing, and whatever bosses those areas entail.

Oh you got some rough ones coming up, nothing like Malenia but still the end game like 4-5 mandatory bosses are rough. You do get to face one of the coolest bosses in From Software history(IMO) though.

Mar 24, 2022 10:07:38 GMT Blindy said:

Mar 24, 2022 8:49:33 GMT Emperor said:

Meanwhile I'm still getting slaughtered by Margit the Fell Omen.

Not sure if you encountered someone named Patches but he sells you an item that weakens Margit. Explore past the giant dragon in the fields a little further down. I didn't use the item but it's great they give you an item like that that can be purchased, I think it only works a few times and only in the 1st phase though. 

I've explored the whole area around the dragon swamp except the dragon swamp itself. Don't recall seeing anyone called Patches though.

Mar 24, 2022 13:37:29 GMT Emperor said:

Mar 24, 2022 10:07:38 GMT Blindy said:

Not sure if you encountered someone named Patches but he sells you an item that weakens Margit. Explore past the giant dragon in the fields a little further down. I didn't use the item but it's great they give you an item like that that can be purchased, I think it only works a few times and only in the 1st phase though. 

I've explored the whole area around the dragon swamp except the dragon swamp itself. Don't recall seeing anyone called Patches though.

Yeah it's past the dragon, think it is going downward. Your in the right spot if you get invaded. 

Jesus suffering fuck, Melania has to be the most unbalanced god damn boss in Soulsborne history. I spent all damn day and it's like it's custom designed to not work with a pure melee tank build unless you're a Jedi fucking master. First off, she covers way too much screen for a few of those hitboxes to be as bad as they are, her sword seems to have about 5 extra feet than what's seen on the dash and slam. Plus using my shield is basically RNG to this bitch, just picks and chooses when she wants to acknowledge it (with 100% stamina). And as far as I'm concerned healing even when she hits a shield for no damage is a broken mechanic, makes no damn sense. With the amount of damage I can do to her it's still ridiculous, with 3 shots being the most that can be taken without dying, and in phase 2 there's practically no time to ever heal while she spams huge area of attack moves. It's the first time I've questioned if I can actually beat a boss solo no summons, maybe if I respec, but then I don't have any of those weapons built up. Tomorrow I'm gonna go back to everything else, then go back to that bitch, but already being near endgame, can't see that factoring in much.

Doesn't help I couldn't sleep, but that doesn't change how much of a bitch she is.

Yeah I would just take on all the bosses you can and save her for endgame, she is brutal. That's what I ended up doing. My main issue outside of that aforementioned spinning attack is sometimes she staggers, sometimes she doesn't. If you hit her as she is doing nothing, you can get 2-3 shots on her with a greatsword. Though when she is moving, she somehow has super armor and can take shots while still peppering you with attacks, which favors her since it makes you drink a flask and gives her HP as well due to the damage sustained.

I have twohanded like 95% of the game, more damage and I rely on my reflexes. I didn't even know she heals when hitting the shield despite no damage being taken off, what the hell is that :lol:.

And in about 85 hours, Elden Ring has been finished. Finished at level 148, really hope there is DLC(There should be) so I won't jump into NG+ for that reason. Pure strength+vitality+endurance build with a 20 in Dexterity to get to use certain weapons. I think I hit 55 in all three aforementioned by the end, maybe a little bit more off the top. 

I beat almost all of the bosses without an Ash Summon........except for Malenia, she was the lone boss that pushed me to use the Mimic Tear+10(I spent like 45 minutes just upgrading this, I never used this). And with it, I beat her on my 2nd try with it, amazing how much these Ash Summons break the game wide open. The final boss was pretty rage inducing, took me about 90 minutes to down it, it was the 1st phase that was getting to me, got the 2nd phase on my 2nd try. Supposedly, the Mimic Tear was even more broken prior to a recent nerf/patch to it, it could take even more damage before dying!  Absolutely insane. 

The blood build is beautiful, at the end, I turned my Uchigatana into a blood version that has (80+ blood implementation, which means enemies bleed out quick, which is instant high damage upon triggering it). Imagine having another version of you doing this too? Malenia's 1st form bled out and died within 1 minute! Heck, my mimic LIVED after the 2nd form was dead, she was bleeding like no tomorrow. 

Overall a very, very good game but not From Software's best, I still give Bloodborne the top rank because it was less bloated and the lore/story was better told for me in addition to the boss fights being more memorable. With Elden Ring, the open world gets a bit too fatigued and a bit too much with reused bosses, reused level designs excluding the major dungeons, and enemies that don't differentiate too much outside of 1-2 attacks. I mean the amount of Dragons that appear in this game you need three hands to count and they are all to be combated in a similar way. I know I missed some boss fights in this playthrough that were hidden and optional but I took down all of the ones that get you a trophy, thus to me, those are all the major boss fights in the game to me that are considered "unique".

Some lazy game design choices to create difficult that I was not a fan of is making a 2vs1 boss fight by making two versions of a boss(Pumpkinhead, Crucible Knight, Rot Soldier, Gargoyles) or a 2vs1(Crucible Knight/Leone Swordsman) or rewarding boss attacks for missing by giving them a trash AOE effect(You miss your attack but your attack creates a giant explosion that the radius catches your character and takes a chunk off your health, why reward a miss?). Quite a few bosses use this backwards logic and it was frustrating knowing your dodging properly only to get caught by an already missed attack that happens to create a shockwave or explosion that hits your character and sometimes can even stunlock you to death with a followup by another boss's move.

The music, the gameplay are typical Soulsbourne which is always great. There was a lot of attention to detail put in this game that I appreciate and the horse after taking a little bit of time of getting used to, is a pleasant surprise given it's the 1st try by From Software to implement something like this in their games. The open world felt pretty fun to explore and dive deep into, you lose hours exploring the 1st area trying to see what openings there are. Heck, as I mentioned before, I know I was probably missing certain areas. If your just doing the main story, the same boss fatigue becomes a moot point, mucch like with the Chalice Dungeons of Bloodborne. If you are trying to get everything out of the game like squeezing every bit of juice out of a lemon, you might come away with too much of one thing that might sour you off entirely.

Thus far, my GOTY of 2022. Far from perfect, some things stop it from getting a truly high score for me but altogether, it was pretty close to the ridiculous amounts of hype. As I have mentioned before, when I want a Soulsbourne game, I want one without too much alteration and Elden Ring accomplishes such.

The Ash Summons are a nice feature for players such as myself who don't want to slave away for hours on end memorising patterns. People who don't want to use them don't have to use them. I don't use summons for every single battle or boss fight, but I sense that I won't be able to beat something on my own without hours of practice than I'll just summon. Doesn't mean a free win at all but makes life slightly easier.

The exploration aspect is fantastic, it's something I like in games and Elden Ring really rewards you discovering hidden areas and exploring every nook and cranny.

At the moment the thing I dislike the most is character/equipment customisation. There's so many stats and weapons and crafting and enhancements that are by and large poorly explained. I have no idea what's useful and what's not, and I don't want to waste resources on something that's useless. I still haven't figured out how these Ashes of War work.

Mar 27, 2022 14:08:17 GMT Emperor said:

The Ash Summons are a nice feature for players such as myself who don't want to slave away for hours on end memorising patterns. People who don't want to use them don't have to use them. I don't use summons for every single battle or boss fight, but I sense that I won't be able to beat something on my own without hours of practice than I'll just summon. Doesn't mean a free win at all but makes life slightly easier.

The exploration aspect is fantastic, it's something I like in games and Elden Ring really rewards you discovering hidden areas and exploring every nook and cranny.

At the moment the thing I dislike the most is character/equipment customisation. There's so many stats and weapons and crafting and enhancements that are by and large poorly explained. I have no idea what's useful and what's not, and I don't want to waste resources on something that's useless. I still haven't figured out how these Ashes of War work.

That's a lot of the fun of the bosses though, learning their patterns and not so much relying on someone else to carry the load. There are exceptions of course(Like the boss I was referring to) and I am in no way shaming someone on how to play the game(I detest the Souls community when they do that). Personally, I like soloing the tough bosses, even if it causes me rage and annoyance at times because the euphoria enjoyed after overcoming the obstacle is second to none. 

I saw a few LPers where Elden Ring isn't their first rodeo of this genre of game behind me in Elden Ring just summoning first try and I shake my head. It's one thing to try for hours on end and not seeing any progress, it's another to just use it as a crutch. Everyone plays it differently though so can't be too upset, but I really love watching the people who get through the difficult bosses without assistance. I try my best to not use summons or anything if I can but they are apart of the game so it isn't cheating or anything. 

This is your 1st experience of the series so I don't blame you at all, I summoned for like 2 bosses in Dark Souls 3 which was my 2nd  ever Soulsbourne from start to finish(I summoned a helper for Orphan of Kos in my 1st Bloodborne run in NG+ because fuck that motherfucker, I got him legit in my 2nd run though) but I try extremely hard to do everything myself if I can. 

Ashes of War give two effects:

1) A secondary move, anything from a buff to a special attack. Not sure what the button is on PC but for PS5/PS4, it's L2. 
2) Adds attributes to your weapon, have to check on bottom to see what the weapons becomes. I for example turned my regular uchigatana to either HEAVY(Pure strength damage which scales nicely with my strength build) or BLOOD(Which lessens the damage physically but increases the bleed buildup) 


I never really used the secondary move stuff outside of one that buffs you that I seldom used but the 2nd part is big time, only certain weapons qualify for this though. The non-special weapons, there are certain one of a kind weapons that won't allow you to tinker with it and automatically have a unique secondary move of it's own(Sword of Milos was my greatsword and it has Shriek of Milos that buffs your attack temporary, can't remove or alter it).