From Software Elden Ring - From Software's new game with writing by GRRM

[Lyric Suite]

DS2 forced you to use those guys during boss fights if you wanted to progress their quests.

This is bad for anyone who wanted to experience all the content solo, but is mitigated by the fact the bosses from the base game are pretty shit in DS2 so who cares.

Elden Ring needs more steps on all of its NPCs. I remember stalling the Nepheli Loux for what seemed forever (after i gave her the Hawk she is stuck there in the basement of the Hold), so i went to look up the wiki and it says i have to kill Morgott. After five hundred million hours of gameplay i finally kill him, and she is still there. So i check the wiki again and opps, no, i gotta do some shit in Crumbling Farum Azula.

This quest has been freezed for the time it would have taken me to beat DS1 in its entirety. There's no way to keep a connection with the NPCs or feel any momentum in their story lines, which is aggravated if you miss some steps (like i did with Alexander and Patches), which even when it doesn't break their quests just adds more hours between each encounter.

Last example is that after killing Morgott i went to check the Hold for new dialogue and i just saw the one about the Albinauric woman. I saw her once with the wolf and never saw ever again, and completely forgot she even existed. Did i miss some steps? Is there even a quest? Who the fuck is she? So i check the wiki and she has two steps, then one i saw and the one up north after the Capital. What is even the point of making an NPC like this.

 

[Lambach]

20 hours into this now and I'm.... not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

I've always disliked FromSoft's method of narrative building, what with it being all cryptic, intentionally vague and left up to the player's interpretation of the environment and all, but all of that worked decently well with the more linear Souls games. Putting all of that in an open-world environment..... bad idea.

I killed Godrick the Grafted a couple hours back and now I just feel like a headless chicken, running around and exploring shit for no discernible purpose other than getting buffs for my Flask and leveling up. I've spoken to Offir in that place where the Tarnished gather, whatever it's called, and he gave me sort of a list of objectives in terms of which Demigods I should hunt next, but it all just feels so.... hollow. I saw people praising the open world because it has so much to do in it, but my experience has been the exact opposite - there is far too little interesting content, other than just fighting monsters, stretched over FAR too much space.

Granted, I am kind of a brainlet and my attention span is shit in p. much all areas outside of the work I do for a living, so maybe I'm the problem.

 

[Alphard]

20 hours into this now and I'm.... not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

I've always disliked FromSoft's method of narrative building, what with it being all cryptic, intentionally vague and left up to the player's interpretation of the environment and all, but all of that worked decently well with the more linear Souls games. Putting all of that in an open-world environment..... bad idea.

I killed Godrick the Grafted a couple hours back and now I just feel like a headless chicken, running around and exploring shit for no discernible purpose other than getting buffs for my Flask and leveling up. I've spoken to Offir in that place where the Tarnished gather, whatever it's called, and he gave me sort of a list of objectives in terms of which Demigods I should hunt next, but it all just feels so.... hollow. I saw people praising the open world because it has so much to do in it, but my experience has been the exact opposite - there is far too little interesting content, other than just fighting monsters, stretched over FAR too much space.

Granted, I am kind of a brainlet and my attention span is shit in p. much all areas outside of the work I do for a living, so maybe I'm the problem.

about the lore, i can understand how ER is a bit aggravating with all onfo it throws at you. unlike old souls game, the world is so vast and there are dozens of different plot threads . maybe all will come together at the end, maybe not. but this game has the most explicit narrative of all souls game
regarding open world burn, i was in same place as you are now. what made me enjoy the game much more is to explore at my own pace and without the feeling to be mandated to explore every area i come across. also when i find a map now ijust explore POI on the map, and not every corner like i would in a soul game. i may lose some random item or npc, but that's ok if you want to explore ER 100% blind you will be burned out

 

[Dhaze]

Elden Ring needs more steps on all of its NPCs. I remember stalling the Nepheli Loux for what seemed forever (after i gave her Hawk she is stuck there in the basement of the Hold), so i went to look up the wiki and it says i have to kill Morgott. After five hundred million hours of gameplay i finally kill him, and she is still there. So i check the wiki again and opps, no, i gotta do some shit in Crumbling Farum Azula.

This quest has been freezed for the time it would have taken me to beat DS1 in its entirety. There's no way to keep a connection with the NPCs or feel any momentum in their story lines, which is aggravated if you miss some steps (like i did with Alexander and Patches), which even when it doesn't break their quests just adds more hours between each encounter.

I've also been stuck on the same stage of Nepheli's quest since my first playthrough. She has the hawk, but she sulks downstairs; and I've no clue as to what to do next. Something in Crumbling Farum Azula you say? Fucking hell, I have no idea what that might be.

I wanted to complete all the NPCs' quests on my own, without a guide, but at this point I doubt I'll ever accomplish that.

(...) but it all just feels so.... hollow. I saw people praising the open world because it has so much to do in it, but my experience has been the exact opposite - there is far too little interesting content, other than just fighting monsters, stretched over FAR too much space.

It's the malady suffered by every open-world game ever. Wander around, not entirely sure what to do; collect some herbs and meat to craft a poultice you'll never use; see for the seventeeth time the same succession of same underground dungeon tiles; fight a different-colored dragon with the exact same moveset as the thirteen dragons you've already fought.

 

[Lambach]

what made me enjoy the game much more is to explore at my own pace and without the feeling to be mandated to explore every area i come across. also when i find a map now ijust explore POI on the map, and not every corner like i would in a soul game. i may lose some random item or npc, but that's ok if you want to explore ER 100% blind you will be burned out

But that's just it, there's so little to explore that has actual value. Those NPC "side-quests" are laughable and are more like some puzzle with 0 human logic beyond what Miyazaki conjured up in his fucked-up head. Those random sites like caves and dungeons you can explore? What the fuck are they even there for? A couple thousand Runes that don't even cover 50% of the cost for me to level up and provide some shitty item I'm literally never gonna use, ever?

It all just feels so empty and pointless. I have no idea what FromSoft were fucking thinking when they decided to stretch Dark Souls 3 worth of content over an open-world map that's at least 5 times the size it should be. It just baffles me, because when Elden Ring shines, it really does fucking shine. You just have to get through all the pointless, mind-numbing bullshit in-between, and it really shouldn't be that way.

 

[CyberWhale]

I have no idea what FromSoft were fucking thinking when they decided to stretch Dark Souls 3 worth of content over an open-world map that's at least 5 times the size it should be

Open-world sales numbers and critical acclaim. They were absolutely correct, on both parts.

 

[Lambach]

Open-world sales numbers and critical acclaim. They were absolutely correct, on both parts.

True, true. People see "open-world" and think Twitcher 3 or Skyrim. Instead, they get Dark Souls 4 with a whole lot of pointless filler.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'd have fucking loved a Dark Souls 4, if it means keeping what Elden Ring is, but just trimming all the unnecessary fat.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I still explored everything 100% guess i'm an autist lmao.

It helps though that i'm pacing the game with limited play time (not my choice but hey) and frequent breaks.

 

[Haplo]

Elden Ring needs more steps on all of its NPCs. I remember stalling the Nepheli Loux for what seemed forever (after i gave her Hawk she is stuck there in the basement of the Hold), so i went to look up the wiki and it says i have to kill Morgott. After five hundred million hours of gameplay i finally kill him, and she is still there. So i check the wiki again and opps, no, i gotta do some shit in Crumbling Farum Azula.

This quest has been freezed for the time it would have taken me to beat DS1 in its entirety. There's no way to keep a connection with the NPCs or feel any momentum in their story lines, which is aggravated if you miss some steps (like i did with Alexander and Patches), which even when it doesn't break their quests just adds more hours between each encounter.

I've also been stuck on the same stage of Nepheli's quest since my first playthrough. She has the hawk, but she sulks downstairs; and I've no clue as to what to do next. Something in Crumbling Farum Azula you say? Fucking hell, I have no idea what that might be.

That doesn't sound right. Her quest should be fully finishable right after fighting Morgott.

 

[Shackleton]

Elden Ring needs more steps on all of its NPCs. I remember stalling the Nepheli Loux for what seemed forever (after i gave her Hawk she is stuck there in the basement of the Hold), so i went to look up the wiki and it says i have to kill Morgott. After five hundred million hours of gameplay i finally kill him, and she is still there. So i check the wiki again and opps, no, i gotta do some shit in Crumbling Farum Azula.

This quest has been freezed for the time it would have taken me to beat DS1 in its entirety. There's no way to keep a connection with the NPCs or feel any momentum in their story lines, which is aggravated if you miss some steps (like i did with Alexander and Patches), which even when it doesn't break their quests just adds more hours between each encounter.

I've also been stuck on the same stage of Nepheli's quest since my first playthrough. She has the hawk, but she sulks downstairs; and I've no clue as to what to do next. Something in Crumbling Farum Azula you say? Fucking hell, I have no idea what that might be.

That doesn't sound right. Her quest should be fully finishable right after fighting Morgott.

She got stuck for me in the same place, (after giving her the hawk and finishing all Kenneth's dialogue) and I saw a post in this thread that said 'unequip Godrick's rune and enter the room by warping to the site of grace outside in the little cell.' It might have been a total co-incidence, but when I did that her and Kenneth both popped into the throne room and Gostoc stopped stamping Godrick's head. I wasn't in Farum Azula by then I'm sure.

 

[Dhaze]

Okay, so I caved in and consulted the Fextra wiki and a friend about Nepheli.

As it turns out, I had finished my first playthrough before FromSoft patched her quest, which could not be completed (because it wasn't complete, apparently) prior to v1.03. And in my second playthrough I hadn't bothered with that Kenneth guy, whose quest is supposedly intrinsically linked to Nepheli's.

So that's a mystery solved for me.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Elden Ring needs more steps on all of its NPCs. I remember stalling the Nepheli Loux for what seemed forever (after i gave her Hawk she is stuck there in the basement of the Hold), so i went to look up the wiki and it says i have to kill Morgott. After five hundred million hours of gameplay i finally kill him, and she is still there. So i check the wiki again and opps, no, i gotta do some shit in Crumbling Farum Azula.

This quest has been freezed for the time it would have taken me to beat DS1 in its entirety. There's no way to keep a connection with the NPCs or feel any momentum in their story lines, which is aggravated if you miss some steps (like i did with Alexander and Patches), which even when it doesn't break their quests just adds more hours between each encounter.

I've also been stuck on the same stage of Nepheli's quest since my first playthrough. She has the hawk, but she sulks downstairs; and I've no clue as to what to do next. Something in Crumbling Farum Azula you say? Fucking hell, I have no idea what that might be.

That doesn't sound right. Her quest should be fully finishable right after fighting Morgott.

She got stuck for me in the same place, (after giving her the hawk and finishing all Kenneth's dialogue) and I saw a post in this thread that said 'unequip Godrick's rune and enter the room by warping to the site of grace outside in the little cell.' It might have been a total co-incidence, but when I did that her and Kenneth both popped into the throne room and Gostoc stopped stamping Godrick's head. I wasn't in Farum Azula by then I'm sure.

Fuck my life it actually works.

Also, a good ending in a Souls game? How is this possible. She didn't die or turn into an hideous monster.

Of course, bugs aside, is there any indication you have to go back to the Godrick throne? Because i can't remember shit, all though it's been so long who knows if there was any hint on the matter.

 

[Lambach]

Haven't figured out the second phase yet but i just wanted to show you how absurd bleed can be:

Is that the Wild Strikes Ash of War you're using? Bitching stuff.

Anyhoo, I (obviously) haven't reached reached Mr. Mohg myself, but from what I've seen from other people, he's that perfect example of what I've been talking about, i.e. when Elden Ring shines, it fucking shines. I've seen it for myself in Stormveil Castle, but my god, all that pointless meandering I had to do before and after feels like pure busywork and isn't fun at all.

 

[Dhaze]

Holy hell, Banished/Redmane/Leyndell Knights can't, but for some reason the big mean Omen guys in the Shunning Grounds can climb ladders? Haven't felt a prick of panick like that since Dragon's Dogma, upon realising the ogre could squeeze himself into a tight corridor.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Haven't figured out the second phase yet but i just wanted to show you how absurd bleed can be:

Is that the Wild Strikes Ash of War you're using? Bitching stuff.

Anyhoo, I (obviously) haven't reached reached Mr. Mohg myself, but from what I've seen from other people, he's that perfect example of what I've been talking about, i.e. when Elden Ring shines, it fucking shines. I've seen it for myself in Stormveil Castle, but my god, all that pointless meandering I had to do before and after feels like pure busywork and isn't fun at all.

Check my second fight with him everything he does is fair and easy once you figure it out.

Classic Dark Souls design you think he is unfair and complete RNG bullshit then you see you just had to git gud.

 

[Lambach]

Classic Dark Souls design you think he is unfair and complete RNG bullshit then you see you just had to git gud.

I am still convinced this cocksucker is pure RNG Bullshit:



Now, the guy in the video did beat the cock-sucking Knight,, but he had 6 Flasks for healing at +3, and he still took a pounding.

I had to do that shit 3-4 levels after the start of the game, as a Samurai with no upgrades to my Flask and just a plain old Uchigatana.

 

[Andnjord]

Classic Dark Souls design you think he is unfair and complete RNG bullshit then you see you just had to git gud.

I am still convinced this cocksucker is pure RNG Bullshit:



Now, the guy in the video did beat the cock-sucking Knight,, but he had 6 Flasks for healing at +3, and he still took a pounding.

I had to do that shit 3-4 levels after the start of the game, as a Samurai with no upgrades to my Flask and just a plain old Uchigatana.

The one combo that always catches that guy out (and myself too the first times I fought him) is that three hits combo Darriwil does at 0:24, 0:35...The boss does its first sweep, then looks like he goes back to neutral before actually chaining into either two more strikes or his gap closer attack (like at 1:26) depending on how far the player is. It's that half second delay where the boss decides which attack to chain that is always so tricky to time properly at first, but there's actually no RNG involved.

In short, git gud muthafacka

 

[Lyric Suite]

Classic Dark Souls design you think he is unfair and complete RNG bullshit then you see you just had to git gud.

I am still convinced this cocksucker is pure RNG Bullshit:



Now, the guy in the video did beat the cock-sucking Knight,, but he had 6 Flasks for healing at +3, and he still took a pounding.

I had to do that shit 3-4 levels after the start of the game, as a Samurai with no upgrades to my Flask and just a plain old Uchigatana.

That guy is not that different from the knife dude and as you can see the latter can be predicted:

 

[Alphard]

Today i explored weeping peninsula at lv 70. Better late than never, obviously i steamrolled everything, and that made me feel overconfident, since i have tried black blade kindred several times and he destroyed me every time, doing 2/3 of my hp each hit. I guess it's a super lategame boss or something. I hope i don't have to fight gurranq as well, since i died 4 times trying to making him regain his sanity (doing 1/20 of his hp)

 

[Lyric Suite]

Today i explored weeping peninsula at lv 70. Better late than never, obviously i steamrolled everything, and that made me feel overconfident, since i have tried black blade kindred several times and he destroyed me every time, doing 2/3 of my hp each hit. I guess it's a super lategame boss or something. I hope i don't have to fight gurranq as well, since i died 4 times trying to making him regain his sanity (doing 1/20 of his hp)

Dragonbarrow is late game yes. It's confusing because it looks like a part of Caleid but it's not, it's a different section scaled for later level. Retarded if you ask me since the tower for the Rahdan rune is right there.

For Kindred i'd recommend waiting for when he switches to the axe as the moveset is easier. Eventually i figured out the sword too but it took longer while the axe is not that hard to dodge, just need some finger memory for the delayed attacks.

 

[Alphard]

Today i explored weeping peninsula at lv 70. Better late than never, obviously i steamrolled everything, and that made me feel overconfident, since i have tried black blade kindred several times and he destroyed me every time, doing 2/3 of my hp each hit. I guess it's a super lategame boss or something. I hope i don't have to fight gurranq as well, since i died 4 times trying to making him regain his sanity (doing 1/20 of his hp)

Dragonbarrow is late game yes. It's confusing because it looks like a part of Caleid but it's not, it's a different section scaled for later level.

For Kindred i'd recommend waiting for when he switches to the axe as the moveset is easier. Eventually i figured out the sword too but it took longer while the axe is not that hard to dodge.

well for me is the opposite, i can dodge the sword fine, it's the axe delayed jump attack that kill me every time. I guess i'll come back later

 

[Lyric Suite]

One thing i hate about those Gargoyles is their retarded skinny legs. Nothing like fighting an oversized boss that you can miss at pointblank range with a colossal weapon because From decided to use slender man as a design model.

The giants too.

 

[Dhaze]

Dragonbarrow is late game yes. It's confusing because it looks like a part of Caleid but it's not, it's a different section scaled for later level. Retarded if you ask me since the tower for the Rahdan rune is right there.

And Radahn merely gives 70000 runes. While the Putrid Avatar in Dragonbarrow gives a whopping 90000 runes (118k with a Gold-Pickled Fowled Foot), making it an excellent source of quick levels to jump-start one's playthrough since he's super easy to fight.

 

[Nathir]

Replaying with my second character I noticed a lot of gear in this game seems very ornamental and ceremonial in appearance. Didn't really notice with my all STR, barb character the first playthrough. Also, bleed is really, really overpowered.

Anyway, a question for resident lorefags, why do the houses in Leyndell appear to be sealed with wax?

 

[mediocrepoet]

Classic Dark Souls design you think he is unfair and complete RNG bullshit then you see you just had to git gud.

I am still convinced this cocksucker is pure RNG Bullshit:



Now, the guy in the video did beat the cock-sucking Knight,, but he had 6 Flasks for healing at +3, and he still took a pounding.

I had to do that shit 3-4 levels after the start of the game, as a Samurai with no upgrades to my Flask and just a plain old Uchigatana.

If you want to see something funny, go fight this sort of enemy (including this boss) with gravity magic, like the gravitas weapon art. The gravity shockwave knocks them on their asses if they're leaping (which they're usually doing), or otherwise moves them around which they don't like since they're fairly lightweight enemies and you can stunlock them for a bit by beating on them before they recover.
Gravitas and similar effects are also amusing on flying enemies and basically anything lightweight, especially if it likes jumping around.