Elden Ring journeys and experiences

[JDR13]

Please keep us informed how your run works out!
Is your home infrastructure now in a state, which allows some serious gaming? Hope so for you!

I'm still not back to gaming yet. No internet other than my phone. Hopefully soon.

 

[bkrueger]

I have now finally managed to defeat Placidusax. I tried a few tactics described in the internet, even including respeccing to another build. But in the end I came back to the build I am used to and managed it after two or three attempts. As always, after the fact you have the feeling: Ah, that wasn't that hard.. but in reality you wouldn't have made it without the training before. Also, as always, I felt very satisfied after that victory.

Afterwards I fought Malenia and the Bloodlord again. Both of them felt like a cakewalk compared to the dragon lord.

Now I "only" need to reach the "Lord of the Frenzied Flame"-ending in order to have all achievements. However, that involves fighting against Malikeh and the Elden Beast (for the third time), both of which are tedious. So I will take a break before that...

 

[danutz_plusplus]

I wonder if it's worth turning this thread into a Souls-Borne-Ring-Kiro journaling and experiences thread. Since I switched to Dark Souls, I wanted to post about it, but didn't want to spam the playing thread, and having a separated thread for all of these games feels too much. I guess only mods can change the name of a thread?

First of all to start with, I realize I'm not saying anything new. Most people likely already gushed about this game for ages now. I'm just late to the party. But it's fun having my own experience after having seen bits and pieces here and there in various youtube playthroughs. Seeing it is nothing compared to being there, and trying to keep track of it all.

Anyways, back to where I am. I managed to beat the Capra Demon, after about 5-10 tries I think. Man, was it a pain in the ass. The last time somehow I managed to both dodge out of the first attack, as you get in since it's so crammed. Then managed to kill one of the dogs. Then ran up the stairs and manage to kill the other dog. Then had the attentiveness to drop down from there, just as the demon was swinging its weapon. And then spammed it to hell. Luckily I managed to stumbled onto the weapon that apparently most guides recommend using, the Claymore.

Then I also managed to almost fully explore the Depths, without dying to those damn poison frogs. And I now have a clear path to speed back and forth to the boss in the Depths.

Feeling pretty happy with how it all went. I have a +6 Claymore. Same starting armor (as a Thief, I think). But it's ok. Seems to be going fine.

The level design keeps managing to impress. I said before, but it's genius how the levels fold onto each other. And all of this makes exploration fantastic. Plus the risk of constantly dying. It's all a tense and great experience.

The one thing which I think I both like and dislike is the fact that there is no fast-travel between the bonfires. And the fact that they individually kindle. It's a pain in the ass to move around the map, when you just want to get somewhere. But it also really forces you to visualize the whole map, and what's the shortest and safest path to get to a certain bonfire. I kind of love that it makes you really take note of the level design.

One thing that is a real pain in the ass is finding some key, and then trying to figure out where that key fits. You really have to take note of doors you couldn't open upon first contact, and try to keep them in mind. Otherwise you're gonna move around the map constantly, and with enemies always present it's a real disappointment to think you remembered a door being somewhere, but then realizing you mixed things up. But in the end I think it's a net positive. Again, it forces you to really remember how the map folds on itself. And it's a thing of beauty how it does that.

The other thing which is also a bit annoying is the fact that so much of the information you need about the game is either obfuscated or just not there. I was this close to buying a crystal sword from a random seller I found in the Depths, and it cost a bunch. But having doubled checked with a guide, apparently that sword has no repairability. So those would've been 6k souls down the drain. It's constant pressure whether you screw yourself or not. I'd love to imagine playing this game completely blind and with no help. But unfortunately, I don't think I could do that. Maybe if I were in high-school or something. And had all the time in the world.

 

[bkrueger]

@danutz_plusplus and others: I like the idea to use this thread for all FromSoftware games and am looking forward to your experiences.

In fact I have a question related to this:
Since I love Elden Ring I would like to try one of the other games. Which one would you recommend? Since I don't play on console or with controller, my requirement would be that is has a good PC-port, which is playable well with keyboard and mouse. I found Elden Ring to be playable very well with KB&M. Also I am only interested in offline play (if possible; I wouldn't mind friendly visits, if offline is impossible, but PvP would be a no-go for me). Is there an obvious candidate with these criteria?
If there are several to recommend, my next criterion would be: I love exploration, character development and itemization in Elden Ring. On the other hand I am not particularly interested in boss fights, so it would be good if the game does not (only) consist of a series of boss fights.

Back to Elden Ring: I have now finished my third run and got the last missing ending (frenzy flame), so I have all trophies now.
I love this game and will surely start another run, probably with a fresh character now, probably I will try a sourcerer (though it will be hard to play without my beloved katana and bow, but I will see...). But before I do that. I would like to try something else for a change...

 

[danutz_plusplus]

@danutz_plusplus and others: I like the idea to use this thread for all FromSoftware games and am looking forward to your experiences.

In fact I have a question related to this:
Since I love Elden Ring I would like to try one of the other games. Which one would you recommend? Since I don't play on console or with controller, my requirement would be that is has a good PC-port, which is playable well with keyboard and mouse. I found Elden Ring to be playable very well with KB&M. Also I am only interested in offline play (if possible; I wouldn't mind friendly visits, if offline is impossible, but PvP would be a no-go for me). Is there an obvious candidate with these criteria?
If there are several to recommend, my next criterion would be: I love exploration, character development and itemization in Elden Ring. On the other hand I am not particularly interested in boss fights, so it would be good if the game does not (only) consist of a series of boss fights.

Well, on PC you're pretty much stuck with all the Dark Souls games, if you've not played them. I've played very little of them, the first one I've stopped and restarted the most. So if you've not played them, I guess those are your best bet. I'm currently playing the remastered version of DS1 with m&k and it seems fine to me. As good as Elden Ring, I'd say.

Sekiro is a favorite of mine, but that is even less rpg and more action rhythm game where parrying and dealing blows in really fast fights is the name of the game. It probably has the best combat system, but that's pretty munc the focus of it. Rinse and repeat fights until you get the rhythm of each encounter and boss fight. Plus, you can't grind for character power. The progression is very tightly controlled by the designers. There is some good exploration, and the level design is pretty good. But nowhere near as convoluted as Dark Souls. It also has the best movement as far as the main character. You're whipping around using your grappling hook constantly. Even in fights.

Back to Elden Ring: I have now finished my third run and got the last missing ending (frenzy flame), so I have all trophies now.
I love this game and will surely start another run, probably with a fresh character now, probably I will try a sourcerer (though it will be hard to play without my beloved katana and bow, but I will see...). But before I do that. I would like to try something else for a change...

I'm surprised that after playing so much you still have the fire to play again. I think I'd be burned out. At least that's how I feel after each one playthrough of these games.

Back to my adventures in DS1, I very slowly killed the Gaping Dragon and started to explore Blythtown. Holy fuck, I forgot how messy this whole area is. Besides the enemies, most of which suddenly take at least 4 hits to kill, you can't see shit, there's poison everywhere, platforms move by their own accord. And I constantly have no idea where I'm supposed to go. I found the one and only bonfire that I know of, and can't really do exploring very efficiently since I constantly die. Real pain in the ass. I'm thinking of leaving the area, and trying to enter from the Fireflink entrance that I remember seeing during some playthrough on youtube.

 

[JDR13]

Just curious, but why did you stop playing Elden Ring? Burnout?

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Just curious, but why did you stop playing Elden Ring? Burnout?

It's an absolutely gigantic game, and I really cannot imagine replaying it (at least for years to come), especially with the difficulty curve. So if there's even a chance they're gonna launch some expansion I want to take it all in, in one go, and no spend 150h to then have to do it all again if they do release more.

This is especially since it's an open world game, and a lot of the exploration is gone a second playthrough, since the levels are not as convoluted as their previous games.

Plus, they just released another serious balancing patch. I also want to get the definitive experience of what they intend. Plus, the backlog of games is long enough that I'm not starving for anything right now.

 

[JDR13]

It's an absolutely gigantic game, and I really cannot imagine replaying it (at least for years to come), especially with the difficulty curve. So if there's even a chance they're gonna launch some expansion I want to take it all in, in one go, and no spend 150h to then have to do it all again if they do release more.

Why do you feel like you would have to replay it just to experience the expansion?

I hear you about the balancing though. It can be very annoying when you're in the middle of a playthrough and then they tweak a bunch of items and stats. That's one of the reasons I waited as long as I have.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Why do you feel like you would have to replay it just to experience the expansion?

I hear you about the balancing though. It can be very annoying when you're in the middle of a playthrough and then they tweak a bunch of items and stats. That's one of the reasons I waited as long as I have.

It depends on how the expansion is structured. Is it attached to the end, or is it somewhere in the middle? Is is sprinkled throughout?

Then there's the issue of when it gets out. Will it release while I'm still playing the base game, and I can just continue with it? Or will I be done with the game, shelve it and then have to go back in and reacquaint myself with all mechanics and gameplay all over again.

Just in principle, I've decided and noticed that if I can get over the initial FOMO, while everyone else is playing, I can get a much improved experience with most games if I just start them after they've truly matured and all issues are ironed out. Doesn't work with all games and for some I'm just too excited to wait, but with most it's a better experience.

And going back to the backlog, I've had the Dark Souls games on my list for ages. So I think it would be high time to try and get through them, since the more I wait the more aged they will seem in comparison to modern FromSoft games. So it felt like a great switch-around to scratch that itch with Dark Souls instead of Elden Ring.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Managed to get to the bottom of Blighttown, after I found that the path from Firelink is way way easier, than going through all the shit if you start from the Depths.

And I managed to farm myself into a +10 Claymore. And I can now freely explore the bottom of Blighttown. I found a the secret tree with the false wall. Saw it in a walkthrough. There's no way I would've found it on my own. I really wonder, the first people that found this, did they do it by accident? Or does the game hint at that fake wall? Or other fake walls? Anyway, I also tried to climb down the inside of that huge tree, down its roots. And after getting lost towards the bottom, and fighting those cursed frogs for a bit, I ended up being cursed. And needed to spend 6k souls to reverse it. Pain in the ass. But I kind of dig the mechanic. Real consequences in this game. Even beyond death and respawning. Cool stuff from a certain pov.

Anyway, I'm really glad I now have a straight-forward path to the bottom of Blighttown and back up again. The fact that the game doesn't do teleporting between the bonfires really gives the world a much more dangerous feel. You really have to plan your route, since you ideally want to avoid the grief if possible. I think it's much better to do it like this, for world-building reasons alone. It is more of a pain in the ass, but it also gives you the feeling that the world is much bigger, since you have to traverse it.

In terms of combat the biggest takeaway and lesson learned for me in Dark Souls is that the shield is king. You absolutely need it. For the longest time I'd been trying to roll and dodge out of the way of swings, but the margin for error is so small and for serious fights, like the dark knights or the fat club-wielding guys in Blighttown, I just can't handle it without the shield. With it some fights are a real cake walk. And the issue is mostly in terms of it allowing you to better manage your flasks. Without the shield I constantly need to drink to heal and I always end up empty in the middle of exploring.

Also, I cannot give enough praise to FromSoft for the absolutely fantastic world and levels they've put together. They make exploration absolutely fantastic. The world itself is amazing to explore. Just goes to show you how much personality you can put into a game with very obtuse and little story to give to the player. But you can tug at his heart strings in other ways.

 

[JDR13]

About the Capra demon, tell me about it. Terrible fight. But I managed to find a faster way to get to him for repeated attempts. It was faster for me to just run from Firelink, avoid all the low-level warriors and go through the tunnel, that you unlock a grate for, and come out directly in the Lower Under Burg. And then just run up to the Capra demon door. That fight took me 5-10 tries I believe, but had I not had that fast way back I probably would've either stopped or farmed for more souls.

Is that the boss you fight in a small room? That's about as far as I ever got in DS. I only tried him a few times before losing interest. I didn't find anything enjoyable about that encounter at all. It felt like trying to fight someone in a closet.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Is that the boss you fight in a small room? That's about as far as I ever got in DS. I only tried him a few times before losing interest. I didn't find anything enjoyable about that encounter at all. It felt like trying to fight someone in a closet.

Yeah, that’s the one. He’s ok alone but he has two dogs which makes it particularly hard.

Well, that’s pretty much the point of these whole games imo. All sorts of encounters where you have to figure it out. Extremely frustrating to attempt repeatedly, but once you manage it the reward of overcoming the troll developers is amazing.

 

[JDR13]

Well, that’s pretty much the point of these whole games imo. All sorts of encounters where you have to figure it out. Extremely frustrating to attempt repeatedly, but once you manage it the reward of overcoming the troll developers is amazing.

True, but what I don't like about DS is that you eventually get to points where you have to fight a boss in order to advance. That's where I think Elden Ring is superior since a lot of bosses are optional and you have more areas to explore vs needing to defeat a boss to open a new area.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

True, but what I don't like about DS is that you eventually get to points where you have to fight a boss in order to advance. That's where I think Elden Ring is superior since a lot of bosses are optional and you have more areas to explore vs needing to defeat a boss to open a new area.

Indeed, though you do lose some of the interconnectedness of the world. Not in that it can't still be done in an open world setting, but just that the budget and time spent working is probably allocated in more places, and I imagine some will lose.

While I did find great level design in some locations in Elden Ring, there's also a bunch of them that are very small and formulaic. Personally, I'd have rather scraped those dozen or so small and insignificant dungeons for one big one instead.

Back to Dark Souls, after having reached the bottom of Blighttown, I manage to fully explore everything else in Blighttown just by starting from the bottom up and not in the reverse, as you're first exposed to it all. And man, it's a significant difference in the ease with which you clear everything out, if you do it climbing up than going down. I cleared the suspended platforms without dying once. Took a bit of time, to do it slow and steady, but I got it done. And some of those dart shooting toxic fellows even threw themselves off and fell to their deaths.

Having cleared all of it I then moved onto the spider queen (Qeylag or something) at the bottom, and shockingly I managed to kill her on my first try. I was almost dead, and only used 5 +1flasks. But I also had my +10 Claymore. Almost died 2 times, but surprisingly I got off the last swing. I love it when I really dread an upcoming fight and I somehow manage to get over it in one try.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Well fuck me. Just when I was getting ahead in the world I went and did something stupid. I found another fire keeper after Quelaag and upgraded my flask with another level. And after that, for some unknown reason, I misclicked and attacked her and killed her in one stroke. Fuck me. And there's no way to reload. Seems I'm again stuck with waiting for the next firekeeper.

 

[Shagnak]

I think Blighttown has broken me. I'll have to do some Googling on the alternate route.

That's where I think Elden Ring is superior since a lot of bosses are optional and you have more areas to explore vs needing to defeat a boss to open a new area.

That certainly appeals to my sorry ass

 

[Shagnak]

Is that the boss you fight in a small room? That's about as far as I ever got in DS. I only tried him a few times before losing interest. I didn't find anything enjoyable about that encounter at all. It felt like trying to fight someone in a closet.

I ended up using a trainer for that fight. It made me feel a bit dirty though...

Wasn't too impressed in being jumped before I had even taken in my surroundings, and then fighting through some difficult areas over and over to get back to it every time I died. At least with the Titanite demon the spawn point was just 20 seconds away.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Dark Souls also has a bit of a janky combat system. Sometimes things don't really work as you'd expect. Or you can always just die in weird ways. For ex, I was walking around the suspended structures in Blighttown, and I walked across a certain tree root, back and forth, a couple of time. Very careful each time. And one time, for some reason I just slid off the root.

But once you identify all the places where it's kind of janky, it kind of turns into a superpower. Especially in being able to abuse some situations. The trick with spinning around certain enemies, shield up, hasn't failed since.

All in all, it's not perfect, that's for sure. But I think overall, it pretty great. But it is hard going from a smooth and polished combat system, like in Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring, to something this slow, where your character's reaction time feels really slow. I mean, I constantly have to remind myself not to spam the roll button, since it apparently queues commands that can't be done immediately, and you end up losing control of your character. You really have to be both deliberate in your commands, and not just haywire, but also fast in how your react.

Another important component in these games, that I keep forgetting, is how important your confidence levels are when going into fights. It's very much a mental game. If you cower too much, and do not act or jump at opportunities or even risk it all, you're gonna be bashed into the ground most of the time.

As I said, I certain see the genius of it all. I personally am really glad this sort of game caught on as good as it did. And am shocked Elden Ring went as mainstream as it did.

I think Blighttown has broken me. I'll have to do some Googling on the alternate route.

As I mentioned, the moment I found my path I'm not going back in going into Blighttown in any other way. Basically, I go into Blighttown via Firelink/Valley of the Dragons, kill the 3 big dudes pretty easily. And then, all the way down to the bottom you only have 2 of those fiery chaos flies, a couple of small flies which you can mostly ignore. And the big rotating wheel that you jump on and ride all the way down. Then you got 2 more chaos flies and you're at the bonfire down there.

From there you can easily clear most everything on the bottom, and the start back up on the other platforms that go up, where you can pretty much clear 80-90% of the enemies if you go slow and methodical.

There are also 1-2 encounters across everthing I mentioned, where I died a bunch, but you can ignore those for a while. And leave them till the end, when you can also guarantee that dying will not lose you too many souls.

I did it like that, and that's the way I'm gonna do it from now on, if I ever get to replay this again.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

I think I may be fucking done with Dark Souls. I almost had a nervous breakdown at one point in the game.

For some fucking reason I have huge problems in being able to maneuver the huge swinging axes in Sen's Fortress. 75% of the time, for some fucking reason, I always get caught in one of them.

This is just prelude to what happened next. So after multiple attempts of climbing the fortress, and exploring pretty much everything, where I even killed 2 of the titanite demons near the bottom. (and I was really fucking hoping for a shortcut there, but no. no fucking reward like that). But always dying to one of the 4 or 5 swinging axe sections. Anyway, I finally made it to the top of the fortress. Reached the fucking bonfire. Lit it up. I was ecstatic.

So I died, and to my fucking surprise I was back at the bonfire right at the entrace to Sen's Fortress. Guess what! I forgot to actually rest at the bonfire. I only lit it. Fuck me. All of that fucking progress for nothing. Ok, it sucked, but I said if I could do it once, surely I could do it again. I even brought plenty of arrows to clear out the lightning throwing fuckers that want to screw with me directly during the swinging axes portions. Cleared everything methodically. Reached the final pair of swinging axes. And wouldn't you know it, the last 2 somehow caught me, threw me on my back. And just as I was getting up, another one slid me off the tight bridge. Fuck me. I really lost the plot at that point.

This might be the heat of the moment, but I might be fucking done with fucking Dark Souls. I just can't deal with the pin-point precision required, but jank can still catch you off guard.

 

[JDR13]

You know a game is special when it causes a normally mild-mannered bloke to summon the F-word 13 times in one post.

Such is the power of Dark Souls.