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

[Grunker]

FUCKING BEAT MALENIA FUCK YOU GAME BRRLRRNRBBB

P. gud for someone without hands, kudos.

Yeah that was kind of a proud gamer-moment, even if I'm sure 70% of the FS-population will tell me I cheated by using Ashes. I couldn't do it at all at first, so I ended up making a lot of switcherooing, also learning the crafting system so I could make some weapon grease to test out different greases on her. I didn't have some types, but the one I finally went with was Freeze, seemed to work wonders.

Though for as much as I hated that particular attack, it did feel like it was the first fight to actively punish me for using ashes, since I could dodge half of the swishy-swash, but my summon was just autohit for the full amount, healing Malenia.

Yeah that combo is ass but you can avoid it, watch Tube or some such.

Too scared of spoilars. Whenever I've glimpsed some build-related stuff people have always been decked out in a ton of shit I have no idea where they found, lol. Feels like I've explored an earth-planet sized game yet I seemingly haven't found half of the shit in the game.

 

[Grunker]

The most bizarre thing in the game for me thus far is that for the longest time I had 4x Ghost Glovewort [8], 11x (!!) Ghost Glovewort [9] and 3x Great Ghost Glovewort......

.......but no Ghost Glovewort [7]. Feel like you should be able to substitute higher tier upgrade materials, it felt dumb to swim in gold but being unable to progress my summon due to lack of silver, lol.

OTOH it forced me to explore a ton when I realised I needed more oomph to beat Malenia, so it did cause me to find like two areas I had missed.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Yeah the upgrade path is kinda weird like that. It feels like they didn't want the player to miss much of the lategame stuff so it's easier to find than the midgame dungeons. Well, that and they were just kinda sloppy with placement, game is massive, not surprising they didn't have the budget to polish everything in the end.

 

[cvv]

Too scared of spoilars. Whenever I've glimpsed some build-related stuff people have always been decked out in a ton of shit I have no idea where they found, lol. Feels like I've explored an earth-planet sized game yet I seemingly haven't found half of the shit in the game.

In Souls games exploring doesn't net you everything, you also get tons of unique shit from quests which are usually super obscure and hilariously missable or from PvP-related stuff.

 

[Grunker]

Too scared of spoilars. Whenever I've glimpsed some build-related stuff people have always been decked out in a ton of shit I have no idea where they found, lol. Feels like I've explored an earth-planet sized game yet I seemingly haven't found half of the shit in the game.

In Souls games exploring doesn't net you everything, you also get tons of unique shit from quests which are usually super obscure and hilariously missable or from PvP-related stuff.

I'm probably committing some cardinal FS-sin here, but I've liked every single thing in the game except the quest design. I really hated it. It seems to be designed for following a guide as opposed to the kind of blind exploration I'm doing. I've had multiple quests break because I did something slightly out of sequence, and considering that quests sometimes shelter entire regions that seems like dubious design.

For example, Ranni never returned to Ranni's rise for me after I killed Radahn, and I still have no idea why. Even after caving and looking up the quest/googling the issue, I have no clue why she isn't there (I have no sins to absolve, either).

A lot of this has an easy fix too that wouldn't really feel out of place. Just make a journal with one single line of text reminding which part of quest progression you're at. No hints, nothing to clue you in. Just a single line of reminder text denoting quest progression.

 

[cvv]

I've liked every single thing in the game except the quest design. I really hated it. It seems to be designed for following a guide as opposed to the kind of blind exploration I'm doing.

Oh boy, I've been banging the same drum for yeeeaaars now.

Yes, many (not all) FS quests are specifically design to be "community challenges", for lack of a better word. Meaning something so obscure and hard to crack thousands of players have to keep trying all imaginable permutations until someone stumbles over the solution.

It's clearly intended and yes, it can yield some fun ass adrenaline rushes and a lot of social media buzz after the release, with players breathlessly exchanging strats and knowledge but only until the secret is out of the bag, usually within a few days, weeks max. From then on your only option is to stumble over something by an accident or read the Wiki.

Needless to say I much, MUCH prefer quests and puzzles designed to be solved by one determined individual.

 

[NJClaw]

FUCKING BEAT MALENIA FUCK YOU GAME BRRLRRNRBBB

That three-part swishyswahsy attack thingy can seriously go fuck it-selskab right of the rectum. Is there even a reliable way to avoid it or do you just have to accept that RNG has decided to consume 2/3s of your HP bar and heal Malenia?

There are a few, bloodhound step being the best. But if you're not using special ashes and relying purely on dodgerolls and movement... you're pretty much fucked. Yeah some asshole made a video of beating her hitless I'm sure but we all know he made like 50 attempts and only pulled it off because he killed her before she could attack more than a couple times.

You can safely block the first (and second) flurry with a greatshield (or a high-tier medium shield). After that, dodging the rest isn't harder than dealing with any other attack in the game. She heals a bit from the blocking, but that should add just 2-3 R1s to the fight.

You can also stagger her out of the animation with status effects. It's easy to do it with bleed by just attacking and almost too easy with frost, since you can just throw a single pot (but it only works twice).

 

[Grunker]

FUCKING BEAT MALENIA FUCK YOU GAME BRRLRRNRBBB

That three-part swishyswahsy attack thingy can seriously go fuck it-selskab right of the rectum. Is there even a reliable way to avoid it or do you just have to accept that RNG has decided to consume 2/3s of your HP bar and heal Malenia?

There are a few, bloodhound step being the best. But if you're not using special ashes and relying purely on dodgerolls and movement... you're pretty much fucked. Yeah some asshole made a video of beating her hitless I'm sure but we all know he made like 50 attempts and only pulled it off because he killed her before she could attack more than a couple times.

You can safely block the first (and second) flurry with a greatshield (or a high-tier medium shield). After that, dodging the rest isn't harder than dealing with any other attack in the game. She heals a bit from the blocking, but that should add just 2-3 R1s to the fight.

You can also stagger her out of the animation with status effects. It's easy to do it with bleed by just attacking and almost too easy with frost, since you can just throw a single pot (but it only works twice).

I did manage to stagger her out of it during Phase 1 one or two times with my ash + stance break tear, but doing it in phase 2 seemed impossible - then again, I’m bad

 

[Grunker]

Also her stagger is so incredibly short I rarely got a crit out of it which kinda sucked since I ended up going full stagger with my build :D

 

[Cyberarmy]

You can stagger her in air with frost bombs, cancellig her ulti. But for max 3 times I think.

 

[NJClaw]

I did manage to stagger her out of it during Phase 1 one or two times with my ash + stance break tear, but doing it in phase 2 seemed impossible

What ash were you using? If you managed to stagger her via stance damage, it shouldn't become harder in phase 2 (unless she gains some kind of hidden immunity). If you staggered her proccing a status effect (like freeze), enemies' defenses against statuses get progressively higher every time said status procs on them.

You can stagger her in air with frost bombs, cancellig her ulti. But for max 3 times I think.

After two pots, her resistance get high enough that a single pot is no longer enough to stagger her again. However, if you keep hitting her during the fight with a frost weapon, there's a good chance that a single pot will still get the job done and stop the third dance.

 

[Grunker]

I did manage to stagger her out of it during Phase 1 one or two times with my ash + stance break tear, but doing it in phase 2 seemed impossible

What ash were you using? If you managed to stagger her via stance damage, it shouldn't become harder in phase 2 (unless she gains some kind of hidden immunity).

Lion's Claw - I'm sure she doesn't have more poise, I think you misunderstood me. When she launches the swishy-swash in phase 1, she's basically ground level, so if you focus her, she's very easy to hit if you time it probably. Her movement is much less predictable in phase 2 and she launches the attack from a higher angle, so is harder to hit.

That, and the wind-up is short enough that if she begins it *while* you are in the middle of an animation, you won't necessarily have time to input a new one.

After two pots, her resistance get high enough that a single pot is no longer enough to stagger her again. However, if you keep hitting her during the fight with a frost weapon, there's a good chance that a single pot will still get the job done and stop the third dance.

I'm fairly sure Frostbite is what pushed the fight over the edge as a win for me. It made phase 1 far less costly in terms of resources.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

except the quest design

There are no quests in FS games, they are NPC related secrets. There, now it makes sense

 

[NJClaw]

Her movement is much less predictable in phase 2 and she launches the attack from a higher angle, so is harder to hit.

I'm 80% positive that she doesn't launch the attack from a higher angle. If she does, I can't see it. For reference:

Spoiler

When she jumps higher she does her other aerial attacks. But yeah, the flurry comes out so fast that you can't let her catch you mid-animation or you're screwed. You have to carefully measure out your inputs in reaction to what she does.

 

[gabel]

except the quest design

There are no quests in FS games, they are NPC related secrets. There, now it makes sense

It actually does, yeah.
Way better this way (eh...) than chasing exclamation marks around the map via GPS.

 

[Grunker]

Way better this way (eh...) than chasing exclamation marks around the map via GPS.

Was just waiting for this misnormer, but it's a quite obviously a false dichotomy. It's not "either this or quest compasses", and anyone who has played older RPG's with great quests but no compass (or even journal) will know that. I hate quest compasses and the exploration in Elden Ring really tickles my fancy because everything is entirely up to you and besides environmental hints, you get no assistance.

NPC quests are not like that. You have to do very specific things sometimes in a very specific sequence. I don't find that very enjoyable, and reading up on some of them after the fact, I agree with cvv that many of them seem desigend as a "community puzzle", but in practice that just means 100 autists solve it and then a million casualfags follow a guide.

If there's one thing I detest more than following a quest compass, it's following a fucking guide.

I'd much rather have the descriptions be vague and the quests require exploration - but not hinge on very specific information. At the very least for the quests that block off huge areas of the game.

 

[gabel]

I just accept missing most of the quests and play the game instead.
Another disadvantage of going open world btw; Dark Souls' smaller world made it somewhat easier to complete npc "quests".

 

[Grunker]

Her movement is much less predictable in phase 2 and she launches the attack from a higher angle, so is harder to hit.

I'm 80% positive that she doesn't launch the attack from a higher angle. If she does, I can't see it. For reference:

Spoiler

When she jumps higher she does her other aerial attacks. But yeah, the flurry comes out so fast that you can't let her catch you mid-animation or you're screwed. You have to carefully measure out your inputs in reaction to what she does.

Hmm, you might be right. I "only" fought her something like 30 times before succeeding, and everything is based on memory. However I was pretty often able to stop the attack with a stagger in Phase 1 at least once during the fight, whereas I never succeded in Phase 2, and it seemed like it was because the behaviour got more erratic and the angle higher.

Maybe part of it is that in Phase 1, it's exceedingly obvious that she is winding up for that attack because she has so few other flying windups, whereas in Phase 2 it's easier to lose track of.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

the quests

Say it with me.
They. Are. Not. Quests.
They. Are. Secrets.

 

[Grunker]

I just accept missing most of the quests and play the game instead.

This would be fine if you were rewarded with secret endings and items, but NPC quests block of something like 30% of the entire game's content, including what is in my opinion one of the best areas of the game. It was literally blind luck that I even got to access the Haligtree, and I'm not sure I see the percentage in hiding that stuff behind poorly designed (and frankly quite boring) quests. Hiding them behind something that requires you to explore and pay attention? Perfectly fine. But obscuring it so much? No thanks.

I expect most people google this stuff and it seems like the game is designed with exactly that intention, and I don't enjoy that.

 

[gabel]

Why do you have to see 100% of the game? Missable content is a pro in my book, not a con.

 

[Grunker]

Why do you have to see 100% of the game?

Why are you so in love with false dichotomies?

 

[gabel]

Eh, fuck off.

 

[Grunker]

I don't mind missing secrets, items and even secret areas. In fact, missing out on that is exactly why I play games blind because it makes the playthrough feel unique. But I was extremely happy I stumpled on the Haligtree due to blind luck, because it was one of the most enjoyable areas to play through for me. I would have hated missing out on it and I bet my ass 99,9% of players google that shit instantly when they realize they're missing gigantic areas and not just a piece of side content. At the point I found Haligtree the game had got a little too easy, and the Haligtree was an awesomely designed level with great fights that challenged me again. I don't see the percentage in hiding such a huge and splendid content portion behind another secret area that in turn is hidden behind a hidden NPC.

 

[janior]

they def should do away with this cryptic bullshit storytelling and tell the story properly, can't do the same shit every game