Elden Ring: FromSoftware’s Latest Game (also George R. R. Martin)
- Thread starter Mhorydyn
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The game is technically janky no matter where you play it. It can't hold anywhere close to 60fps on the consoles in most areas and has weird hitches and stutters on everything. It's gotten a little better since launch, but they clearly don't have the technical ability to actually fix it, I imagine their crusty custom engine is a spaghetti mess. It's frankly shocking just how much better looking and smoother running the Demon Souls remake is on PS5 with Bluepoint's engine. If Elden Ring didn't have best in class art direction, the fact that it's basically a PS3 game with a few higher res textures and particle effects graphics-wise probably would have killed it.
The souls games have pretty much always been designed with the idea that you would look things up outside the game. I mean, that's the main reason the messages are there. Some people enjoy punishing themselves by going in blind, and you can do that, but you are 100% guaranteed to completely miss huge swathes of the game. There's pretty much no chance you will be able to figure out any quests without a guide, most of them are gated and will auto-advance when you hit certain triggers, which just makes everything very confusing. That said story wise you aren't missing anything, Miyazaki and GRRM's fever dream ramblings of a euro fairy tale, but they all have weapons/armor/abilities you might want.
The game is long, a full (approaching 100%) playthrough is around 100-140 hours depending on how much you die, so looking things up isn't going to ruin the game. My third playthrough took me almost 80 hours, and that's with knowing everything already. You can beeline to the end in a few hours if you know how and are good enough (90% of the game is skippable), but nobody except speedrunners enjoy playing that way.
I keep coming back...I can't quit you, Elden Ring!
I have an older machine wit h a 1080 geforce, I have to run on low settings and while I notice a few jitters I never get anything that affects gameplay. Granted, I'm using a smaller 1080p monitor so that probably helps.
I'm a Souls neophyte who couldn't even reach the first "real" boss in DS3--and my son had to help me with the "tutorial boss". I just love open world games though and the summons is a game changer for me.
I have to say there are games that take the quest hand-holding a bit far, with arrows and icons and targets on the map. Then way off the cliff on the other end is this game. It's kind of ridiculous and I basically just ignore most questing. It's either that or follow a guide to a T. There are a few that are easy to follow, like Kenneth Haight where he says where to go and doesn't mysteriously teleport somewhere else without telling you.
My son started playing with the seamless coop mod, I've tried it once myself. It works very well indeed, it's pretty amazing actually.
My first long playthrough I got to the Mountaintops and Farum Azula before kind of petering out...I got really frustrated on that big star insect boss (Aster?) and kind of lost interest. I had to respec to a breath build to beat Radahn, that char was a strength build using first the golden halberd and then Radahn's sword.
My latest was a dragon priest with katana for melee and it rips. Arcane scaling helps both. With summons, most bosses are super easy, including Maliketh, Mogh and just about any of them I've faced. I had the most issues with the ones I couldn't use summons for like the Draconic Tree Sentinel outside Maliketh (I realize i could have run past him but I wanted him DEAD!). Or ones like the Fire Giant where a running slow-ass summons isn't as effective. I lack patience and endurance for long focused fights in these games. Additionally, huge bosses where the camera doesn't work well mess me up.
The freaking Fire Giant was still a super big pain, I hate that boss with the heat of a thousand suns (no pun intended.) My son killed him for me on that earlier character but I got him myself this time
Take that you big fiery boob!
I'm now at the Elden Beast and almost got him the first try. I had no clue what he was doing when he flew up into the air, this is one of those fucked-up camera fights. I also lost 300K runes after defeating Godfrey because I didn't rest at the grace and didn't know another boss fight was coming RIGHT NOW....
I have an older machine wit h a 1080 geforce, I have to run on low settings and while I notice a few jitters I never get anything that affects gameplay. Granted, I'm using a smaller 1080p monitor so that probably helps.
I'm a Souls neophyte who couldn't even reach the first "real" boss in DS3--and my son had to help me with the "tutorial boss". I just love open world games though and the summons is a game changer for me.
I have to say there are games that take the quest hand-holding a bit far, with arrows and icons and targets on the map. Then way off the cliff on the other end is this game. It's kind of ridiculous and I basically just ignore most questing. It's either that or follow a guide to a T. There are a few that are easy to follow, like Kenneth Haight where he says where to go and doesn't mysteriously teleport somewhere else without telling you.
My son started playing with the seamless coop mod, I've tried it once myself. It works very well indeed, it's pretty amazing actually.
My first long playthrough I got to the Mountaintops and Farum Azula before kind of petering out...I got really frustrated on that big star insect boss (Aster?) and kind of lost interest. I had to respec to a breath build to beat Radahn, that char was a strength build using first the golden halberd and then Radahn's sword.
My latest was a dragon priest with katana for melee and it rips. Arcane scaling helps both. With summons, most bosses are super easy, including Maliketh, Mogh and just about any of them I've faced. I had the most issues with the ones I couldn't use summons for like the Draconic Tree Sentinel outside Maliketh (I realize i could have run past him but I wanted him DEAD!). Or ones like the Fire Giant where a running slow-ass summons isn't as effective. I lack patience and endurance for long focused fights in these games. Additionally, huge bosses where the camera doesn't work well mess me up.
The freaking Fire Giant was still a super big pain, I hate that boss with the heat of a thousand suns (no pun intended.) My son killed him for me on that earlier character but I got him myself this time
Take that you big fiery boob!I'm now at the Elden Beast and almost got him the first try. I had no clue what he was doing when he flew up into the air, this is one of those fucked-up camera fights. I also lost 300K runes after defeating Godfrey because I didn't rest at the grace and didn't know another boss fight was coming RIGHT NOW....
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You say that, yet his quest is the first part of a longer quest involving some other people that's much more obtuse. The fact that it will fast forward some quests if you meet certain conditions before you do things also makes it seem like some quests are simpler than they actually are. A good early game example is Roderika (spirit tuner girl), she shows up in a shack on Stormhill you can easily miss because you are distracted by everything around it, and has a fetch quest for you to do inside Stormvale castle before you beat the boss. If you miss her or don't finish the quest, she'll still show up in the hold and act like you already know her and did the quest. There are multiple other quests like that, the NPCs aren't being obtuse and cryptic entirely because of the writing, it's often because you missed a chunk of the quest.
That said, the quests are really a whole lot of nothing story-wise, they are all only a few sentences of dialog total and with a very few exceptions aren't surprising or engaging. A lot of them could be, but there's not nearly enough character development for you to actually care when something horrible inevitably happens. In one playthrough I did all the quests just to say I had, with a guide, and all got from it was disgust at how badly designed and presented they are. The only reason they don't get shit on more is because most people can't even find them in the first place.
I still played the game 3 times, the combat and progression is fantastic, it's just massively massively flawed as an open world game.
My biggest issue so far is lack of equipment. As an Int-based Astrologer, I only have the meteor staff, and I only have that because I looked it up. Everything else I've found I can't use or don't need.
Yeah, just meant the first part of the "great" Kenneth's quest where he sends you to take his castle. At least you have 1) a direction and 2) something you know you are supposed to do.
I don't care, even if I can't "finish" the game because I missed a quest...I rarely finish open world games anyway, I usually burn out before I hit the end That's not a negative, it means I find plenty to do without bothering with the main story...red dead 2 being an example. I explored the entire map doing hunting and other quests and left Dutch and the Gang sitting in Horseshoe Overlook basically forever There's pretty much one reason I'll bother with quests: to get some item I've looked up that my build is working toward. Or in the case of the prawn guy for example, to get some prawns and crabs!
I'd agree that finding equipment can be less than exciting. To thrive (unless you are very skilled) you kind of have to know what build you are going for, which also means what weapon(s) you are going to use. That said, you can respec later obviously. The meteor staff is one of those weird examples where they must have pretty much expected people to look things up--it can't be upgraded so you probably wouldn't use it other than in the early game--but you wouldn't normally be wandering around in that area of Caelid to find it in the early game. (Yes I realize you can be teleported to that horrible cave...but I'd think most players would then, logically, be trying to flee back to Limgrave asap.)
I'm not really complaining since I'm a looker-upper in every game I play...I try to fight the urge at least on the first playthrough. I kind of ruined part of Fallout 3 for myself by looking up and beelining for the Lincoln Repeater right away.
I had a funny realization: I've never used a rune arc and my latest char is almost done with the game.....after dying a billion times. I'm afraid of "wasting" them This is another common problem I have with any items in games that I can't craft or have an endless amount of....I packrat stuff away and don't want to fritter it away, which means I never use it.
I don't care, even if I can't "finish" the game because I missed a quest...I rarely finish open world games anyway, I usually burn out before I hit the end
That's not a negative, it means I find plenty to do without bothering with the main story...red dead 2 being an example. I explored the entire map doing hunting and other quests and left Dutch and the Gang sitting in Horseshoe Overlook basically forever There's pretty much one reason I'll bother with quests: to get some item I've looked up that my build is working toward. Or in the case of the prawn guy for example, to get some prawns and crabs!I'd agree that finding equipment can be less than exciting. To thrive (unless you are very skilled) you kind of have to know what build you are going for, which also means what weapon(s) you are going to use. That said, you can respec later obviously. The meteor staff is one of those weird examples where they must have pretty much expected people to look things up--it can't be upgraded so you probably wouldn't use it other than in the early game--but you wouldn't normally be wandering around in that area of Caelid to find it in the early game. (Yes I realize you can be teleported to that horrible cave...but I'd think most players would then, logically, be trying to flee back to Limgrave asap.)
I'm not really complaining since I'm a looker-upper in every game I play...I try to fight the urge at least on the first playthrough. I kind of ruined part of Fallout 3 for myself by looking up and beelining for the Lincoln Repeater right away.
I had a funny realization: I've never used a rune arc and my latest char is almost done with the game.....after dying a billion times. I'm afraid of "wasting" them
This is another common problem I have with any items in games that I can't craft or have an endless amount of....I packrat stuff away and don't want to fritter it away, which means I never use it.I found the Crystal Staff in the Academy Crystal Cave. I can't use it yet, Int isn't high enough, and even if I could, I don't have any "crystal" spells as the Crystalian twin bosses at the end of the cave are too difficult for me to take out. (I run out of FP after taking one of the two out.)
Conversely, killing the dragon outside to get the key for the Academy wasn't too hard.
Conversely, killing the dragon outside to get the key for the Academy wasn't too hard.
There isn't a tutorial boss in DS3. Iudex Gundyr is a tougher fight than Taurus Demon in DS1.
I'm still waiting for my knighthood
Still harder than just riding around the dragon, scooping the key, and fleeing like a
Done that. I cast a single spell and see how much health I take off. If the result is "almost nothing," I turn and run.
That was a lesson I learned from Breath of the Wild and it's respawning overworld. When in doubt, go around.
Looking for some advice on what stat to raise next. I'm almost done with Raya Lucaria Academy.
I killed Moongrum by (accidentally) luring him out to the ramp, where the ball squished him. He healed 25% back, but I killed him dead anyway.
Stats:
Equipment:
Stuff I have but can't use yet:
Increase my Str to 10 to use the crossbow/shield and eventually Azur's Glinstone Staff?
Increase my Mind since my +5 pot fills my FP right now?
Increase my Dex to use Rogier's Rapier and speed my spells up?
Increase my Int because that's my main stat and lets me use the Crystal Staff?
Increase my Vigor because HP?
Increase my Endurance for extra gear capacity?
I can make an argument for anything outside of Faith/Arcane, really.
I have the Meteorite Staff right now, but I'm not using Rock Sling all that much because it's slow and needs a lot of space to work. It's great against magic resisting enemies, though.
I killed Moongrum by (accidentally) luring him out to the ramp, where the ball squished him. He healed 25% back, but I killed him dead anyway.
Stats:
Equipment:
Stuff I have but can't use yet:
Int 48:
Crystal Staff
Int 52:
Comet
Azur Glintstone Staff
Dex 17:
Rogier's Rapier
Str 10:
Carian's Knight Shield
Full Moon Crossbow
Azur Glintstone Staff
Crystal Staff
Int 52:
Comet
Azur Glintstone Staff
Dex 17:
Rogier's Rapier
Str 10:
Carian's Knight Shield
Full Moon Crossbow
Azur Glintstone Staff
Increase my Str to 10 to use the crossbow/shield and eventually Azur's Glinstone Staff?
Increase my Mind since my +5 pot fills my FP right now?
Increase my Dex to use Rogier's Rapier and speed my spells up?
Increase my Int because that's my main stat and lets me use the Crystal Staff?
Increase my Vigor because HP?
Increase my Endurance for extra gear capacity?
I can make an argument for anything outside of Faith/Arcane, really.
I have the Meteorite Staff right now, but I'm not using Rock Sling all that much because it's slow and needs a lot of space to work. It's great against magic resisting enemies, though.
It's worth making space for it though; the fact that it can put bosses into stun mode makes it one of the best spells. If you know how many hits it takes to break their poise, you can be close enough to get the weapon riposte in time, which will save you a ton of FP.
I went mage but because my Souls-game style is basically "troll the game back" I always tend towards a balanced build so I could try everything out and discover as much cheese as possible. So that meant enough dex for blade that inflicted poison/scarlet-rot/bleed simultaneously to hit dragons with and run away, as well as enough strength to hide behind a big shield to analyze boss patterns, etc. -- by the end-end game, if you're not shy about farming some exp, you'll be able to do everything, anyway.
But it's not necessary imho to get magic to soft-cap ASAP nor to blow all your resources on an "end game" staff (especially since nobody really even agrees what even the top two you should have are) when meteorite is so powerful without any buffs.
Stats, unless you are trying to hit a number so you can use some weapon/armor/spell, are basically all about how good you are at the game. If you keep dying in very few hits, pump more into vitality and endurance, otherwise pump it into whatever gives you more DPS until you start hitting the caps. High vitality is the single most important thing to make the game easier if it's too hard.
That said, once you get past the point where the bosses you are currently fighting can't kill you in one attack sequence, there's diminishing returns for pumping more vitality at that point of the game.
That said, once you get past the point where the bosses you are currently fighting can't kill you in one attack sequence, there's diminishing returns for pumping more vitality at that point of the game.
So after banging my head against Rennala for a bit, I went out and farmed five levels and dumped it into Vigor. I also swapped out my rapier for a regular sword, which I think made a bigger difference. A rapier has high crit, but missing is trivially easy unless you lock on, and the lock on takes time and it doesn't always pick the right target. A regular sword has a sweeping attack, and it didn't matter how much damage I did as long as I hit. I also ran as close as I dared get to make sure that Rock Sling always got three hits. I got through to the second phase with all my summoned wolves up, and she went down.
One thing that does annoy me is that the lock on tends to have a longer range than some of my spells do, and I end up wasting FP that way unless I'm paying careful attention.
One thing that does annoy me is that the lock on tends to have a longer range than some of my spells do, and I end up wasting FP that way unless I'm paying careful attention.
Just in case you didn't know (never safe to assume one way or another), crit in -souls means extra damage for backstabs/ripostes. It's basically there to make weaker base damage weapons equivalent to heavier weapons in narrow situations, although by end-end game, a giant hammer will probably do more damage on a backstab than a ultra-crit dagger will anyway.
Rapiers are mostly good because of their speed, interrupting attacks, and not clanging against walls (plus the whole secondary attack letting you keep blocking with your shield while poking).
Rock Sling, as a physical attack, gets boosted by stuff that extends the flight of arrows, irrc, so you can boost the range further with certain rings, etc.
Only ever used it for that, really, and even then I stopped after a while. No point in trying for a backstab when the AI will stand around and let you murderize them one by one with a spell.
I'm attempting something I wouldn't have dreamed I'd ever do when I started--get through the game with no summons.
I may not make it all the way--double tree sentinels? two gargoyles? yikes-- but so far I'm up through Rennala. I think I'm getting better but I've also got my Bloodhound fang up to +6 pretty early in the game (no way to get a +7 somber stone after they patched the one in Volcano Manor) and that makes a difference. That weapon btw is a good fit for me--has reach, heft to break through guard a bit and enough speed so I'm not as vulnerable as swinging a huge colossal weapon or something. The AOW is a lifesaver. I've got enough faith to buff with either poison or bloodflame and bloodflame blade seems especially good.
What's weird is that I've fought all these bosses with summons and in some ways it's easier without worrying about them. It's making me pay more attention that's for sure, because I have to get up close and personal and time more attacks. With a summons like Llutel or the Mimic often I'd just wait for them to grab aggro and then I'd shwack the boss in the back. It's also helpful in that the bosses are a bit more predictable--when they swing back and forth to you and your summons you aren't sure which attack they might do.
I fully expect to have to respec for Radahn. The only way I've beaten him is with Rotten Breath. I've seen people no-hit him with fist weapons and crap like that but I have no illusions that I can melee him...and riding around trying to find the summons to whittle him down is just a long, slow death, eventually he takes me out. In fact my highest character (currently on Radagon, I haven't been back to try to beat him) is a dragon priest but it really relies on summons to tank while you melt stuff with the breaths....great for packs too....but completely solo I think you'd have to do a lot more meleeing than I did.
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Also, I may have mentioned it but I finally got my brother the game and we've been playing with the Seamless Coop mod. Works way, way better than I expected. Basically turns Elden Ring into a mini MMO and we've been having a blast. In some ways it makes it easier (you can both use summons which is hilarious with 6 wolves out!) but the bosses are also buffed up to compensate. There are a few graphical glitches sometimes--notably Torrent will disappear for the other player, which looks hilarious--but the fact that a mod lets you tool around anywhere (and you don't even have to be on the same continent) is pretty astonishing IMO. There's also weird stuff with quests and characters, I recommend for example that all players do things like talk to Melina to go to Roundtable when not in the same world...do it separately then get together afterward. We had some lockups that had to do with that, maybe because it involved transporting the main character (?)
I may not make it all the way--double tree sentinels? two gargoyles? yikes-- but so far I'm up through Rennala. I think I'm getting better but I've also got my Bloodhound fang up to +6 pretty early in the game (no way to get a +7 somber stone after they patched the one in Volcano Manor) and that makes a difference. That weapon btw is a good fit for me--has reach, heft to break through guard a bit and enough speed so I'm not as vulnerable as swinging a huge colossal weapon or something. The AOW is a lifesaver. I've got enough faith to buff with either poison or bloodflame and bloodflame blade seems especially good.
What's weird is that I've fought all these bosses with summons and in some ways it's easier without worrying about them. It's making me pay more attention that's for sure, because I have to get up close and personal and time more attacks. With a summons like Llutel or the Mimic often I'd just wait for them to grab aggro and then I'd shwack the boss in the back. It's also helpful in that the bosses are a bit more predictable--when they swing back and forth to you and your summons you aren't sure which attack they might do.
I fully expect to have to respec for Radahn. The only way I've beaten him is with Rotten Breath. I've seen people no-hit him with fist weapons and crap like that but I have no illusions that I can melee him...and riding around trying to find the summons to whittle him down is just a long, slow death, eventually he takes me out. In fact my highest character (currently on Radagon, I haven't been back to try to beat him) is a dragon priest but it really relies on summons to tank while you melt stuff with the breaths....great for packs too....but completely solo I think you'd have to do a lot more meleeing than I did.
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Also, I may have mentioned it but I finally got my brother the game and we've been playing with the Seamless Coop mod. Works way, way better than I expected. Basically turns Elden Ring into a mini MMO and we've been having a blast. In some ways it makes it easier (you can both use summons which is hilarious with 6 wolves out!) but the bosses are also buffed up to compensate. There are a few graphical glitches sometimes--notably Torrent will disappear for the other player, which looks hilarious--but the fact that a mod lets you tool around anywhere (and you don't even have to be on the same continent) is pretty astonishing IMO. There's also weird stuff with quests and characters, I recommend for example that all players do things like talk to Melina to go to Roundtable when not in the same world...do it separately then get together afterward. We had some lockups that had to do with that, maybe because it involved transporting the main character (?)
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you dont haver to fight them at all and if you do, you can fight them individually
Also optional. You can get D's brother to help. But it doesn't help. Kiss your ass goodbye YOU DIED
LOL if it's in front of me I fight it. My dragon priest died 30 times easy to that damn sentinel in front of a certain lion-esque boss, while the boss himself went down in 3 tries once I got in there. I tried every trick in the book but finally I just managed to dodge correctly and take him out with black flame or whatever it's called (the ball of black flame with a small dot).
For your first example, I actually tried to cheese them but they refused to separate, and in fact kept going back out the door. I also in the past killed them from a side raised balcony but they kept resetting back to their starting positions. I think from comments I read they may have patched it, or else I'm not doing something right. No matter, I will take them down when I get there....somehow
Those two gargoyles are tough for sure especially if you don't take the first one out before the other one appears.
The fire giant remains my least favorite enemy in the game but it's a close tie with Radahn. I haven't made it to the Haligtree it must be said.
For your first example, I actually tried to cheese them but they refused to separate, and in fact kept going back out the door. I also in the past killed them from a side raised balcony but they kept resetting back to their starting positions. I think from comments I read they may have patched it, or else I'm not doing something right. No matter, I will take them down when I get there....somehow
Those two gargoyles are tough for sure especially if you don't take the first one out before the other one appears.
The fire giant remains my least favorite enemy in the game but it's a close tie with Radahn. I haven't made it to the Haligtree it must be said.
IMO a lot of bosses are easier without summons. Summons completely screw up the patterns and make things far more random. You can't really learn how to consistently dodge attacks if the boss keeps swapping aggro back and forth.
The thing about Radahn is that he's not actually any more complicated/difficult than the other bosses, but his massive size makes it much harder to figure out what he's doing and what you can do to dodge. He's also one of those where summons make it more complicated and unpredictable. If you don't summon anyone he's way more straightforward (but you have to be able to dodge).
I mean, there are 238 boss encounters and you only have to beat about 12, but IMO if you are skipping a bunch of content what's the point of playing in the first place?
Malenia is unquestionably the hardest boss by a long way, but she's pure "fast swordsman" From style and very fair, unlike most of the oversized bosses that don't really work with their engine or camera (I despise all dragons and dragon-like bosses).
Yep, that's my biggest beef, that the camera wigs out on the big enemies. And frankly it's not that epic fighting a giant ankle. I couldn't even beat a medium boss like the lava worm at first due to the camera, I've gotten better at anticipating attacks even when I can't actually see them.
Also when I first started playing I always dodged away, and I realized there are plenty of times (maybe most) where you dodge toward the enemy, and sometimes let your lock on simply take you around the back of someone (for smaller sized enemies like knights). Or jumping over attacks. This game is SO different from almost any game I've played...take Wow and others where you and the enemy can be hitting each other while not facing each other at all LOL! (Granted I've been hit by backswings plenty o times in Elden Ring but at least that makes sense!)
Also when I first started playing I always dodged away, and I realized there are plenty of times (maybe most) where you dodge toward the enemy, and sometimes let your lock on simply take you around the back of someone (for smaller sized enemies like knights). Or jumping over attacks. This game is SO different from almost any game I've played...take Wow and others where you and the enemy can be hitting each other while not facing each other at all LOL! (Granted I've been hit by backswings plenty o times in Elden Ring but at least that makes sense!)
Optional also means you can come back later with more levels and gear; they aren't progression barriers. Not that Elden Ring really has fixed barriers until late game but your choices are usually hard boss and harder boss.
But even on a summonless run you have to grab Patches when fighting Radahn, if only for the comedy value and it won't disrupt your summonless run, he doesn't count!
Not really, your choices are generally any of like 100+ bosses and a dozen plus dungeons/caves, or one of the main dungeons. As soon as you step out into the open, all of Limgrave, the Lakes, Underground, and Caelid are accessible without fighting anyone. You can technically get into Raya Lucaria and up to the Plateau and Mt Gelmir without fighting a boss either. You have to do a few concrete things to get into the city and beyond, but the vast majority of the game is open to you the whole time. It's silly calling things optional because basically the whole game is optional, even if you are attempting to beat it.
I'm some of you have "farming spots" when you need a few levels (or cash and don't want to use up too many golden runes).
So, I figured I needed a few levels. Not sure it was the best idea, but I grabbed three more levels and put them in Faith just to use Flame grant me strength...maybe that will put me over the edge Probably more Vigor was the logical move, oh well. I'd love Golden Vow but 27 faith....oof. I've read that some people use a dagger or other light weapon and get the Golden Vow ash of war instead--fire it off, switch back to main weapon.
Last night I desperately wanted the somber stone 7 in Volcano Manor--the only one I can get at my point in the game, I'm level 57 and haven't beaten Radahn yet. I made it through most of Volcano Manor, extended the bridge and now I'm banging my head against the @#$% Godskin Noble. I realize I may be a bit under level for him. I've gotten him to 10% a couple times so it's doable. His roll SUCKS. The church itself has killed me a few times when I get stuck on something. He also can hit you through the pillars, and the worst is that I keep losing lock on him. I actually tried summons despite what I said before about no summons, they actually didn't help much--he swings back and forth from them to me wildly (plus he kills them so quickly it really only gives me one free hit).
So, I figured I needed a few levels. Not sure it was the best idea, but I grabbed three more levels and put them in Faith just to use Flame grant me strength...maybe that will put me over the edge
Probably more Vigor was the logical move, oh well. I'd love Golden Vow but 27 faith....oof. I've read that some people use a dagger or other light weapon and get the Golden Vow ash of war instead--fire it off, switch back to main weapon.You can do that, but having done a buff based playthrough where I activated like 4 things before every fight, it gets extremely tedious extremely fast. The awkward souls UI isn't really designed for that kind of thing.
First time doing a caster build...ever. Not just in Elden Ring, but in any souls game. So I'm open to suggestions for what to focus on. Right now I've decided to run on Faith, with Strength as a secondary. I'd like to be a battle-caster. I started up a Prophet and it's not bad so far, but I need to get to the more impressive spells before I form a better opinion of it. If nothing else, dropping Margit was a lot easier.
I'm a relative noob but I'll chime in on casters.
I tried a mage, hearing it was "OP" and I needed all the help I could get as a non-Souls player. I found it pretty damn difficult actually, especially in tight spots or where something was able to dodge your spells. Dogs, imps, birds...oi. I also disliked being out of mana all the time. To be fair I don't usually enjoy being a glass cannon in games, and also at that time (first playthrough) I was completely terrible at melee. Combining melee with sorcery is something I'll probably try.
Now, incantations I found easier. My highest character (parked outside Radagon right now) is a Dragon Priest with a katana for melee. I started with the Reduvia dagger, following a guide, since it scales with Arcane like the Dragon seal. An occult katana does too and it has much more range so I switched. Rotten breath apparently got nerfed (???) at some point but it's still borderline broken on many bosses--though I relied on summons to tank for me while I wound up the spell. I died plenty of times to enemies where I misjudged their ability to close the gap. But overall it's very powerful IMO. Melting packs of annoying enemies a half dozen at a time was so fun and convenient Room full of baby centipede mages? Don't even aim, fill it with fire! In addition to the dragon breaths I used lightning spear and black flame (iirc that is the name), it's the black thrown ball of fire that has a dot.
I tried a mage, hearing it was "OP" and I needed all the help I could get as a non-Souls player. I found it pretty damn difficult actually, especially in tight spots or where something was able to dodge your spells. Dogs, imps, birds...oi. I also disliked being out of mana all the time. To be fair I don't usually enjoy being a glass cannon in games, and also at that time (first playthrough) I was completely terrible at melee. Combining melee with sorcery is something I'll probably try.
Now, incantations I found easier. My highest character (parked outside Radagon right now) is a Dragon Priest with a katana for melee. I started with the Reduvia dagger, following a guide, since it scales with Arcane like the Dragon seal. An occult katana does too and it has much more range so I switched. Rotten breath apparently got nerfed (???) at some point but it's still borderline broken on many bosses--though I relied on summons to tank for me while I wound up the spell. I died plenty of times to enemies where I misjudged their ability to close the gap. But overall it's very powerful IMO. Melting packs of annoying enemies a half dozen at a time was so fun and convenient
Room full of baby centipede mages? Don't even aim, fill it with fire! In addition to the dragon breaths I used lightning spear and black flame (iirc that is the name), it's the black thrown ball of fire that has a dot.Only went to Limgrave/Caelid/Liurnia and at level 50, so barely begun.
Regarding caster, up till now, playing a Int/Dex katana wielding Sorcerer is quite fun.
You still dispatch most enemies melee-ing "learning the game basics" but since you (I mean: I, YMMV) still are "not gud" at Souls-like games, you can still rely on Magic (cue Rock sling found in Caelid) to nuke bosses while Summons aggro them (close in for a few cheap hits with the katana that can, extra bonus, proc blood letting).
This makes for an overall pleasant experience without dying too often nor being frustrated at burning too much mana.
Some would say this is OP so YMMV.
(regarding camera, yep, dragons and big bosses are not really compatible with From combat engine, getting bad memories resurfacing from Dark Souls 3 and the Nameless king first phase...)
Regarding caster, up till now, playing a Int/Dex katana wielding Sorcerer is quite fun.
You still dispatch most enemies melee-ing "learning the game basics" but since you (I mean: I, YMMV) still are "not gud" at Souls-like games, you can still rely on Magic (cue Rock sling found in Caelid) to nuke bosses while Summons aggro them (close in for a few cheap hits with the katana that can, extra bonus, proc blood letting).
This makes for an overall pleasant experience without dying too often nor being frustrated at burning too much mana.
Some would say this is OP so YMMV.
(regarding camera, yep, dragons and big bosses are not really compatible with From combat engine, getting bad memories resurfacing from Dark Souls 3 and the Nameless king first phase...)
It depends on the location.
Lots of visible enemies with plenty of room? I can murderize them one by one until I run out of FP, and they won't react.
Tight spaces? They can be on me instantly and kill me, even if I have short range spells ready.
It depends on the enemy.
I have a lot of trouble with enemies that charge in and use a lot of quick attacks in a row. I can't get away fast enough.
Big boss in an open area? Much easier, especially when Rock Sling stuns them.
I kept dying to the Fingercreepers at Caria Manor. I took the boss out in one attempt.
Where do you even find a katana that early?
An important thing is that sometimes it's better not to lock on. Big stuff that you get in under or that flies around a lot are such times.
There's an Uchigatana somewhere in Limgrave, or start with one as a Samurai.
I'm not surprised there is, and I'm not surprised I missed it. Even with a starting point, it took me like 20 minutes of running around to find the entrance.
Not that it matters, I don't have the stats to equip it yet.
I tried my mage again and I just don't fit the glass cannon playstyle. I get hit too much (I lack patience) and without decent armor I get locked too easily Then again I've never liked being a glass cannon in any game, from action rpgs to mmos.
I get the annoyance of buffing...plus those incantation buffs simply don't last all that long, and it's doubly annoying and difficult to try to reapply them once the action starts.
I'm starting to feel the pain of my no-summons attempt My Bloodhound Fang is not wrecking enemies as it used to, I haven't upgraded past +6 because I can't access a somber stone 7 until I beat either Radahn or the Godskin Noble. I fully expect to have to respec for Radahn (again, to rotten breath) but I'll try a no-summons melee attempt or 17 first. Overconfidence won't be my downfall! I saw one guy start the fight and immediately run away from him, which caused him to get on his tiny donkey and charge toward the player*... that would be nice to get right into the fight if that works, I hate the start of that fight with the arrow attacks.
*This was a streamer doing one of those "no hit beat the game" runs. I realize they are skipping most content and running past most non-boss enemies but it's still mind-boggling to NOT GET HIT AT ALL. He was using iron ball fist weapons with super short range to boot, and never leveled his character AT ALL, and had no armor (which makes sense! You aren't getting hit and now I guess you can light roll). He did level the fist weapons but JFC...
Then again I've never liked being a glass cannon in any game, from action rpgs to mmos.I get the annoyance of buffing...plus those incantation buffs simply don't last all that long, and it's doubly annoying and difficult to try to reapply them once the action starts.
I'm starting to feel the pain of my no-summons attempt
My Bloodhound Fang is not wrecking enemies as it used to, I haven't upgraded past +6 because I can't access a somber stone 7 until I beat either Radahn or the Godskin Noble. I fully expect to have to respec for Radahn (again, to rotten breath) but I'll try a no-summons melee attempt or 17 first. Overconfidence won't be my downfall! I saw one guy start the fight and immediately run away from him, which caused him to get on his tiny donkey and charge toward the player*... that would be nice to get right into the fight if that works, I hate the start of that fight with the arrow attacks.*This was a streamer doing one of those "no hit beat the game" runs. I realize they are skipping most content and running past most non-boss enemies but it's still mind-boggling to NOT GET HIT AT ALL. He was using iron ball fist weapons with super short range to boot, and never leveled his character AT ALL, and had no armor (which makes sense! You aren't getting hit and now I guess you can light roll). He did level the fist weapons but JFC...
It works, or at least it did, it's been a few months/patches since I have tried it. Definitely helps, at least to learn the fight patterns without the stupid runback under fire.
I mean, that's where the whole hard but fair thing comes in, once you learn the patterns and behavior and how your character moves you can reliably dodge basically everything and manipulate the AI to avoid most of the things you can't reliably dodge. For no hit and extreme speed runs a bunch of the fights rely on starting them in a certain way so that the first sequence of attacks is always the exact same, and if they mess up it usually falls apart quickly.
One problem for me with games like this...I think I "role play" too much "I'm a knight, here I go fighting a monster". It's all just patterns really but I don't make a real attempt to memorize them (and when I have tried I'm not good at it), I just react sorta like a human might. As mentioned, that usually means dodging or moving back, which is often the wrong move. And it doesn't help that most games I've played have no "move sets" or even meaningful positioning. Years spent playing WoW for instance, but not doing many instances where you actually do pay attention to boss moves.
I see tutorials saying things like "when he raises his hand, he's about to do X, so do Y" and I simply don't make a point of paying that much attention. Which of course makes this game pretty damn hard without a summons tanking I'm working on it though.
"I'm a knight, here I go fighting a monster". It's all just patterns really but I don't make a real attempt to memorize them (and when I have tried I'm not good at it), I just react sorta like a human might. As mentioned, that usually means dodging or moving back, which is often the wrong move. And it doesn't help that most games I've played have no "move sets" or even meaningful positioning. Years spent playing WoW for instance, but not doing many instances where you actually do pay attention to boss moves.I see tutorials saying things like "when he raises his hand, he's about to do X, so do Y" and I simply don't make a point of paying that much attention. Which of course makes this game pretty damn hard without a summons tanking
I'm working on it though.Ok, the game is getting a bit frustrating. It takes me close to 30,000 runes to level and losing 25,000 runes due to dying in a dungeon and then dying again trying to get them back is really aggrivating. I feel like the game is basically encouraging me to to just farm for levels instead, which I can do, but damn if that's not boring.
SupremeOverlord
Ars Tribunus Militum
I don't know about you but this is what I tried to use the Golden Runes for. Stack them up in the main overworld, then right at a grace before a new dungeon, use exactly the amount I need to get a new level, so the only runes I could lose in the dungeon would be the ones I earned inside it.
If you're at such a high level, then even better than the Uchigatana, you could try to get the Moonveil (in a cave in Western Caelid). It requires a little STR but since its damage scales from INT, a melee Sorcerer can then deal some serious damage in close combat if necessary.
Also, for farming those last 1000s, you can also go to Bestiary Sanctum (one of the guy at the roundable tells you how to get there once you give him a deathroot fropped by one skeleton boat mini-boss... or you can google and go there directly
, the portal is in early Limgrave), the guys there can be easily backstabbed and farmed for a 1000 each.That being said, as already written above, depending on your build, some fights/set ups can be extremly disadvantageous and better run around or come back later (case in point, in Caria Manor, I ran around most giant hands).
I save those for when I find a new vendor who has something I want to buy.
I have it, I don't have the stats to use it just yet. It'll take several levels. I'm still using the Meteorite staff as my Int (50) isn't high enough for the other staves I've found yet.
I suppose I could use the Crystal Staff (Int 48), but I have Azur's Glintstone Staff and I can trade in the remembrance for the Carian Regal Scepter (then duplicate it for the Sorcery).