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

[Grampy_Bone]

It's funny too because the "you're supposed to play it differently" argument isn't even true. It's the old 'non-standard difficulty slider' discussion that goes all the way back to Demon's Souls. Only now, the idea that you'd put a limit on your power to take on a greater challenge is considered "playing it the wrong way".

No one cares if you forgo abilities to make the game harder for yourself, its when you turn around and complain that the game is too hard after choosing to limit yourself that makes no sense. You want a no magic no summons run, expect a tougher time. That's on you.

It's the same as playing Baldur's gate without a mage or cleric and then saying the encounters are too hard. It's okay for the game to expect a certain baseline of power from the player and tune encounters to match. If you can't "figure out what the game expects from you" perhaps you'll have more fun playing a Ubisoft game.

 

[Nathir]

Someone explain to me why we needed a Lord of frenzied flame as a boss? What is the point? I still don't get it.

 

[Reever]

No one cares if you forgo abilities to make the game harder for yourself, its when you turn around and complain that the game is too hard after choosing to limit yourself that makes no sense. You want a no magic no summons run, expect a tougher time. That's on you.

Because summons are ways to make the game easier, it is not SEEN as the intended difficulty for a boss. We can debate whether that is intended until the end of time but it's clear that the bosses AI is not designed with summons (and sometimes with magic too) when it either trivializes the fight or the bosses doesn't understand what to do and sometimes switches targets in the middle of the string or even in the middle of the attack.
And you can't tell me that a magic user placing down terra magica and shooting their comet azure, melting a boss before he's even reaching the player is how that fight is intended to play out.
The fact that the bosses have a really bad design isn't excused by the fact that you can cheese them with summons or magic. You can't tell me that Consort Radahn having it's cross-slash only have 1 frame where you can dodge the attack and not get hit by the follow-up is good design because you could've just summoned your mimic tear and let him take the hit.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Someone explain to me why we needed a Lord of frenzied flame as a boss? What is the point? I still don't get it.

Why not? Don't see any reason why there shouldn't be.

Also why complaint given it's one of the cooler bosses in the DLC?

The reason Midra is there is because they wanted to include a little bit of everything from the base game. Midra was supposed to be a mediator between major parties and given all the atrocities that were commited by everybody, he decided the only way to atone for it all was to just wipe everything away (including spirits which the Hornsent were devoted to), which is why he needed to turn into the Lord of frenzied flame.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

switches targets in the middle of the string or even in the middle of the attack.

I would argue aggro switching is a sign the boss *is* designed for summons, since you can't rely on your summon keeping the heat off you. But okay, a feature with 84 summonable allies, featuring unique upgrade materials (not competing with other mats), that's accessible to any build is totally not meant to be actually used by anyone.

melting a boss before he's even reaching the player is how that fight is intended to play out.

Why do you think that spell is in the game? By accident or something? Did someone code in that spell just to try it out, they left it in there, and everyone forgot about it?

Again, should every build have the same experience at every point in the game? Should every boss have the exact same challenge regardless of tactics?

The fact it's in the game means it's meant to be used. There's no such thing as a fair fight. Jesus christ.

 

[Odoryuk]

But okay, a feature with 84 summonable allies, featuring unique upgrade materials (not competing with other mats), that's accessible to any build is totally not meant to be actually used by anyone.

You don't understand they summon a mimic tear that copies their meta–build and it makes the fights piss–easy, it's clearly broken