Elden Ring (DLC Announced!)

[Trustful_Whale]

Massively broken pvp exploit found, trivializes all pvp at all levels, no way this doesn't get patched.
Walking death aura.

Spoiler: Video

 

[Sutter Pain]

Massively broken pvp exploit found, trivializes all pvp at all levels, no way this doesn't get patched.
Walking death aura.

Spoiler: Video

Haha and I thought my pvp build was op this is downright dirty.

 

[Trustful_Whale]

It's like the Tranquil Walk of Peace spellswap bug from Dark Souls on roids.

 

[Sutter Pain]

Is there a reason right thumb stick will turn your character? Can you turn this off at all? It is the single most annoying thing about this game and makes pvp not fun at all.

 

[Juggs]

Been really taking my time with Elden Ring, but also haven’t had a TON of time to play it either. Actually made another character yesterday just so I have it and don’t have to go through all the beginning bits like unlocking the horse & leveling up.

Anyway, on my 1st playthrough build, still only 40 hrs in and still only beaten one of the main (great rune) bosses. Probably a bit overleveled, but it’ll even out soon (around level 65 or so).

Everyone is different, some people want to go ahead and beat the main storyline so they don’t have to worry about spoilers, and then relax and either finish exploring, or explore everything more on NG+. For me, I’ve played every FromSoft Miyazaki game + DS2, and I’ve learned that even though I put thousands of hours into the games with beating it a bunch, going to NG+ a bunch, playing a crap ton of PvP, etc etc, nothing compares to that first PvE playthrough. And I fucking love this game so I want my 1at playthrough to last as long as it can without it getting boring or whatever. Gonna progress a lot more tomorrow and over the weekend though. I already want to make like 3 other builds, lol. I DO happen to have a habit of “going to new game” in RPG’s a lot before I beat them. It’s definitely a problem lmao.

And I know with games like Elden Ring, there’s SO much replay ability that I don’t really have to worry about this, but still, I’ve been waiting for this game for longer than 3 or 4 years. I’ve been wanting a game like Elden Ring pretty much since I played my very first Souls game, Dark Souls 1. Before I started DS1, I was playing a metric fuckton of Skyrim. I had constantly heard about a game called “Dark Souls” but had no idea what it was. It went in sale on the 360 for like $5 for a couple of weeks, so decided to get it and try it out, and after a few hours of playing, I was a fan for life. ANYWAY, I remember since I was also playing thousands of hours of Skyrim at this time, one of my first thoughts was “it’d be cool if there was a game like this but with a big world like Skyrim”. Mind you, I thought this while I was still in the tutorial area, lol, had no idea what the world was even like.

Anyway, as someone who is also a fan of Dragon Age, there’s a lot of similarities with Dragon Age Inquisition as well. Another RPG I’ve put an unreasonable amount of hours into. So yeah, Elden Ring combines all of my favorite games into one. All of this to say… I just want to milk every minute of my 1st playthrough that I can, lmao.

Sorry to everyone (or anyone) that wasted their time reading all of that. Just felt compelled to tell that “story”. … carry on

 

[John Grizzly]

I got the Sword of Night and Flame and the thing is absolutely absurd. I still blow at the game but it's making it more manageable at least. I'm really in no rush to get through it. Game is incredible.

 

[Vslayer]

It is fun but honestly a bit op, I am sure it will make a lot of fights trivial which I am not a fan of.

@Trustful_Whale Very good points about the DLC, I am happy either way with the $50 i spent. Dope character also that looks like a fun build to play.

@Jynks It is about time you showed up with your highly valued consensus on the game as we were all waiting with baited breath.

@Juggs I hope your right but Trustful made a good point. If they had plans for DLC they would be shoving some lame ass season pass edition down our throat before launch.

I actually don't like it that much, I got my Nagakiba to level 22 and it's 100x better than a level 10 Rivers of Blood but maybe I'm just not spec'ing right.

Did any of y'all explore the Haligtree area and try to take on the boss?

Spoiler

I just beat her and I popped off dude. Woman's couldn't do anything against two of me using frost blades and hoarfrost stomp lmao

 

[Sutter Pain]

I actually don't like it that much, I got my Nagakiba to level 22 and it's 100x better than a level 10 Rivers of Blood but maybe I'm just not spec'ing right.

Did any of y'all explore the Haligtree area and try to take on the boss?

Spoiler

I just beat her and I popped off dude. Woman's couldn't do anything against two of me using frost blades and hoarfrost stomp lmao

I just got the nagakiba also seems like a solid weapon. Have not made it to the spot in your spoiler yet also. I will say I had to stop using hoarfrost though its way way too op to the point where it does not even make it feel like a souls game anymore. I do still use it in pvp cuz pvp is just janky in general and its funny.

 

[Dankster Morgan]

Just picked it up for PS5. Haven’t got to play it yet, I just made my character and selected the confessor. I’m excited but anxious, never played a game like this before, but I’m ready to get into a new game.

 

[Juggs]

Just picked it up for PS5. Haven’t got to play it yet, I just made my character and selected the confessor. I’m excited but anxious, never played a game like this before, but I’m ready to get into a new game.

You’re in for a treat. Just take your time, really make the most out of it. First playthroughs cannot be replicated, and first playthroughs on your very first Miyazaki FromSoft game? That DEFINITELY cannot be replicated. So enjoy every moment of it. Just know, you’re going to die… a lot. Best advice would be not to summon your friends or anyone else to help you. It severely cheapens the experience and it won’t be anywhere near as gratifying when you finally beat a hard boss or area. I also would recommend not using magic on your first playthrough, just for the fact that magic does trivialize a lot of the game. That said, some areas magic is just about useless. Anyway, yeah, treat dying like you would losing in MK or any fighting game. Make sure you learn from your mistakes. When you die, don’t just blindly rush back in without thinking about strategy, how/why you died, and what you could do better. I know it’s very tempting to rush back in due to frustration and also wanting to get your runes (souls) back you lost, but trust me, patience is absolutely a virtue in this game!

Also keep in mind that this game is massive. And it’s going to take you awhile to beat it. I’ve been playing since release. Due to life and work, only got about 50 hrs in game time into it, and I’m probably just barely halfway through the game. There’s loads of optional bosses and areas, since it’s open world, you can explore for hours without REALLY progressing at least as far as the story is concerned.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll say, don’t want to spoil anything. Good luck and have fun, an unforgettable journey awaits you ahead!

 

[Dankster Morgan]

You’re in for a treat. Just take your time, really make the most out of it. First playthroughs cannot be replicated, and first playthroughs on your very first Miyazaki FromSoft game? That DEFINITELY cannot be replicated. So enjoy every moment of it. Just know, you’re going to die… a lot. Best advice would be not to summon your friends or anyone else to help you. It severely cheapens the experience and it won’t be anywhere near as gratifying when you finally beat a hard boss or area. I also would recommend not using magic on your first playthrough, just for the fact that magic does trivialize a lot of the game. That said, some areas magic is just about useless. Anyway, yeah, treat dying like you would losing in MK or any fighting game. Make sure you learn from your mistakes. When you die, don’t just blindly rush back in without thinking about strategy, how/why you died, and what you could do better. I know it’s very tempting to rush back in due to frustration and also wanting to get your runes (souls) back you lost, but trust me, patience is absolutely a virtue in this game!

Also keep in mind that this game is massive. And it’s going to take you awhile to beat it. I’ve been playing since release. Due to life and work, only got about 50 hrs in game time into it, and I’m probably just barely halfway through the game. There’s loads of optional bosses and areas, since it’s open world, you can explore for hours without REALLY progressing at least as far as the story is concerned.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll say, don’t want to spoil anything. Good luck and have fun, an unforgettable journey awaits you ahead!

Going to try and go in with that mindset. I’m excited mostly about how big and dense the game is. Witcher 3 is my favorite game so I don’t mind dumping time into games. But the combat is pretty serviceable at best so I’m excited for deep combat in a big game

 

[Dankster Morgan]

Going to try and go in with that mindset. I’m excited mostly about how big and dense the game is. Witcher 3 is my favorite game so I don’t mind dumping time into games. But the combat is pretty serviceable at best so I’m excited for deep combat in a big game. I also am playing offline, I don’t like multiplayer in games like this.

 

[Juggs]

You don’t need to play offline. In this game, you’ll only get invaded playing solo if you want to, as you have to use an item to get invaded solo. And I’m pretty sure you have to use an item to see other peoples summon signs, because the only summon signs I’ve seen are NPC ones.

So I would HIGHLY recommend playing online, especially for the message system. You can put a message down anywhere and others can see it from time to time. And if someone reacts to it, by either liking or disliking it, it heals you, so it’s a pretty cool feature. Plus you’ll see bloodstains of people who have died as well as occasionally you’ll see ghosts of other people playing. so yeah, id recommend playing online at least in this game

 

[Dankster Morgan]

You don’t need to play offline. In this game, you’ll only get invaded playing solo if you want to, as you have to use an item to get invaded solo. And I’m pretty sure you have to use an item to see other peoples summon signs, because the only summon signs I’ve seen are NPC ones.

So I would HIGHLY recommend playing online, especially for the message system. You can put a message down anywhere and others can see it from time to time. And if someone reacts to it, by either liking or disliking it, it heals you, so it’s a pretty cool feature. Plus you’ll see bloodstains of people who have died as well as occasionally you’ll see ghosts of other people playing. so yeah, id recommend playing online at least in this game

Heard! Thanks dude

 

[Vslayer]

I just got the nagakiba also seems like a solid weapon. Have not made it to the spot in your spoiler yet also. I will say I had to stop using hoarfrost though its way way too op to the point where it does not even make it feel like a souls game anymore. I do still use it in pvp cuz pvp is just janky in general and its funny.

yeah, I started using it for some end game bosses that had a lot of unfair gimmicks.

 

[Sutter Pain]

I really do not even think this game would be considered difficult if you could actually pan the camera while locked on the enemy.

 

[Juggs]

I really do not even think this game would be considered difficult if you could actually pan the camera while locked on the enemy.

Huh?

 

[Sutter Pain]

Huh?

You can not pan the camera while locked on or even pan the camera freely while moving that to me is what makes the game difficult and random. You even breathe on the right thumbstick while locked on and it will randomly lock on a goat or another part of the boss with multiple targetable limbs.

 

[Dankster Morgan]

Still very early in the game, but I think I'm starting to understand on a very basic level. I immediately got my nutsack kicked in by the tree sentinel, then decided no thanks till I level up. I spent a lot of time fighting the godrick knights outside the ruins where you get the ashes of war thing near where you get the horse thing. Not necessarily trying to farm, but get used to fighting and managing stamina, as I've never played a game like this before. Went out exploring for a bit and just having fun. Leveling up slowly, don't really think I'm making any progress, but it's fun.

The art style and atmosphere are incredible and there is something mind blowing around mostly every corner. The graphics and performance themselves aren't up to par with 2022 imo, PS5 runs games that are more demanding much better, I feel that they could have achieved a locked 60 fps even if it's at 1440p, as other more intense games can do so. Regardless, that's my only complaint, which is ultimately a small but legitimate complaint. Still a great package overall so far.

I have no idea what to level up, or where to get better weapons early on either lol

 

[Trustful_Whale]

Tree Sentinel is a clever newbie trap that tricks people into thinking they have to fight him when they don't at all and can come back later. Really smart for them to place him there as the first enemy you see after the tutorial (assuming you don't take the swordstone keys starting gift and take the immediate imp door you see).
Of course, there's nothing wrong with fighting him early if you can kill him but he's there to pretty much show the player that avoidance is both valid and important for this game.

As for performance, yeah it's a bummer, lots of higher end PCs are getting inconsistent frames etc, and definitely really wack that even PS5 is having dips. Most people are pointing towards DX12 being the culprit (shocker).

As a quick tip for managing stamina; always make sure you have some stamina left to roll or jump after attacking. It's okay to delay rolls as well since it gives you some time to regen stamina in between, and some enemy attack timing demands it, although you still still be asked at times to spam rolls.
The buffer system for the game is also massive, so be careful with how much you press buttons as an extra roll press, for example, can make you roll at a time you didn't expect long after you thought that input was forgotten and now you're dead.
On that note if you're ever trying to switch stance, such as 2Handing a weapon after another action such as rolling, make sure you hold the Triangle button down for the entire time until you see your character switch stance, otherwise letting go will cause you to get whatever raw shoulder button you pressed instead.

Crouching R1s are faster than normal R1s, and for some weapons even reach further, since it's using a roll attack. This is an invaluably useful tool for slow weapons. Rolling while crouched doesn't cancel crouch (but jumping will), so doing this in combat can be useful for adjusting your positioning and purposefully shorting your rolls or making sprint shorter for doing attacks out of.

I have no idea what to level up, or where to get better weapons early on either lol

Typically when in doubt leveling Endurance is pretty safe and useful, since more stamina is always good, and higher equip load is also always useful.
Vigor is another pretty safe stat to level, but health is always gonna be a safe-but-boring stat. Definitely recommended for all kinds of player experience and build types though.
Mind will be required if you want to use any of the stronger Spirit Ash summons, and obviously for any magic heavy builds you want to try.

Main stats like STR/DES/INT/FTH are mainly for meeting requirements for equipping your desired weapons/spells, and you continue to pump your desired damage stat applicable to your weapon of choice from there. Your decision to invest will be based on the weapon's highest scaling stat, which also improves as you upgrade a weapon. Upgrade mats are limited at first but can be amassed easier later on, so while you shouldn't be afraid to upgrade something you like, don't spend your smithing stones too wrecklessly either. You can get away with pumping about 3/4 or so weapons on a blind playthrough so it's still pretty generous. Your equipped weapon skill will also play a big role in how you use your weapon too.

So if you're unsure of how you want to build right now, I think it's pretty comfortable to just focus on safe stats for now until you find a weapon that sounds interesting enough to grab the stat requirements for. The ability to respec your stats is available later in the game and costs a resource each time, but keep it in mind that you don't have to stress about your stats or anything.

I know of plenty of good weapon locations but will only share them with you if you want to ask me directly, for keeping the spirit of discovery intact etc.
If you have a weapon in mind that you'd like to try soon, I totally understand though since some weapon types are reeeaally spread out there.

 

[Juggs]

Ya know, there’s always a bunch of NPC storylines in Souls games that you’ll probably either completely miss, or not know how to complete without a guide. It feels like there’s a TON in Elden Ring. And you almost 100% need a guide for each questline. I really don’t understand if they think that people are supposed to figure them out on their own, or if they expect people to use a guide. Because on some of them, it’s just about IMPOSSIBLE to just “figure it out” on your own. This also adds to the replay-ability, as most people will miss most NPC questlines on their first playthrough, as most of them are optional.

Anyway, for newer players, don’t feel like you’re cheapening the experience for using some type of guide for the NPC questlines. It’s definitely a no-no to use a guide for anything else, but it’s pretty much a necessity to use one for the NPC questlines.

 

[Juggs]

Also, still far from beating the game, been doing a lot of optional stuff including optional NPC questlines. These questlines are insane, there’s no way Miyazaki & FromSoft expects people to complete these without some sort of guide.

Anyway, aside from that, getting excited for PvP. Been seeing a lot of invasions, which are cool & fun in their own right, but competitive duels is where the PvP fun is at for me. Can’t wait!

 

[Saboteur-6]

Still very early in the game, but I think I'm starting to understand on a very basic level. I immediately got my nutsack kicked in by the tree sentinel, then decided no thanks till I level up. I spent a lot of time fighting the godrick knights outside the ruins where you get the ashes of war thing near where you get the horse thing. Not necessarily trying to farm, but get used to fighting and managing stamina, as I've never played a game like this before. Went out exploring for a bit and just having fun. Leveling up slowly, don't really think I'm making any progress, but it's fun.

The art style and atmosphere are incredible and there is something mind blowing around mostly every corner. The graphics and performance themselves aren't up to par with 2022 imo, PS5 runs games that are more demanding much better, I feel that they could have achieved a locked 60 fps even if it's at 1440p, as other more intense games can do so. Regardless, that's my only complaint, which is ultimately a small but legitimate complaint. Still a great package overall so far.

I have no idea what to level up, or where to get better weapons early on either lol

One of the biggest pieces of advice I'd give about character progression is that upgrading your weapons with smithing stones is crucial. Even more so than core stats initially.
So if you've found a weapon that you enjoy moveset wise go ahead and commit to upgrading that weapon and just know that you'll be rocking with it for a while.

There's definitely ways to farm smithing stones and you eventually unlock ways to purchase infinite stones but it will NOT be an obvious thing.

This type of thing has always been why I have such a love / hate experience with From games because some of the most enjoyable moments are in exploring things organically without guides or walkthroughs. Yet, so many vital game systems are buried in obscurity that really lend themselves to looking for third-party out of game information.

 

[Juggs]

These are some of my favorite PvP YouTube channels for Elden Ring. Some of these channels have really short 1v1 duels, others have longer videos with a bunch of invasions. All entertaining and informative. In order to get better at PvP, I treat it just like a fighting game. Aside from the normal stuff like learning via experience, learning from losing, etc, I watch good players, and I’ll emulate some of the stuff they do. And I’ll test it for myself. For instance, one thing a lot of people seem to be doing is putting the quick step ash of war on their big weapons. That is SUPER good, gotta try that out. Anyway, here’s some of the channels I can think of off the top of my head:

ChaseTheBro: https://youtube.com/c/ChaseTheBro


The Depressed Hollow: https://youtube.com/channel/UCDEgoj0HGrkAU1UCd6HpOpg


xljmclscx: https://youtube.com/channel/UCT-VgOkrhKpPT1iDjOpB6rg


Oroboro: https://youtube.com/c/Oroboro


Peeve: https://youtube.com/user/PeevePeeverson

If y’all know of any good and/or high level PvP’ers who make content, please feel free to drop their links! Elden Ring PvP is looking to be super fkn good and insane, I cannot wait to dive deep into it. Probably will be a bunch of tournaments too, I’d imagine.

Oh, and there currently isn’t a consensus of the level meta cap for PvP. Most people are speculating it’ll be around 150 or so, which sounds about right to me.

 

[C-Sword]

I'm terrible at the game, I've been beating all the bosses with cheese tactics. Mimic tear, casting spells from outside the fog door, golden retaliation etc ...

I killed the Black Blade Kindred by shooting arrows from inside the sanctum.