Topic: Elden Ring Hype Thread

I usually put all my points in strength, but all the fun weapons seem to be dex. So I’m basically using gear I found in the first 20 hours all the way to end game. Couldn’t even change it up if I wanted to for much benefit since I’ve used limited consumables to upgrade it.

I know there are plenty of options to try new weapons and builds, I wish it was a bit more accessible though? Or if it just came a bit more naturally through the game? Eh, maybe it’s just the way I play them. It was the same for the Souls games.

@kyleforrester87 I agree in that I wish there was an easier way to have access to upgrade most weapons, it's great you can respec your character but unless you put a mad amount of time in to it resources to upgrade weapons are limited so your stuck with what ever you choose first really, I have though used the resource sparingly and tried to upgrade a strength weapon, qaulity, magic ect to have a play about. But my main focus has been on the Bloodhound Fang.

I have beaten Rennala and Radahn now, I've got through most of Cailed and I'm now entering into Nokron I believe it's called, I'm starting to piece together the story as I'm getting more npc dialogue but my theory could still be far off!

It's just so easy to spend time in this game and honestly I do feel like it's going to leave quite a hole when I'm done, which still isn't going to be for a long time!

@MaulTsir You do get loads of upgrade materials later in the game and I seem to remember you unlock a merchant you can buy them off too.

@Thrillho I might be wrong, but I am sure you can only buy up to a certain level though - and some of the resources to improve are not unlimited??

@kyleforrester87 There are 13 Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones that can be found in the world in one playthrough, and one or two can be bought (only in limited quantities though). You only need one to upgrade from +24 to +25. I think that is plenty.

@JohnnyShoulder ah, ok

@kyleforrester87 Forgot to say, everything else before that can be bought eventually from the twin Maiden husks at Roundtable Hold.

How is the ray-tracing? I just redownloaded to try and finish this amazing since it got the update.

I am going through Ranni's Quest line, and I've currently just gone through the Lake of Rot, what a nice place that is!.

This game is massive! There's just so much to do, I've logged 60 hours now and I think there's easly another 60 to go

I am at almost exactly the same point as you. I just completed Ranni's Questline last night, after a few sessions where Astel made me rage quit.

I played Elden Ring last year for ~70 hours, but the only souls game I had played previously was Bloodborne and by the time I made it to the royal capital I was really struggling with the build I had gone for. I know you can respec, but I had upgraded specific weapons to +18/20 and couldn't figure out how to change my build to use another weapon.

Since then I've played through DS1 and DS3 multiple times each, and recently decided to start ER from scratch with a new character. I'm enjoying it more this time with a few more souls games under my belt.

I've gone for a pure strength build this time. I have played through both DS1 and DS3 with a magic or strength build - DS1 was easier with magic and DS3 was harder. I figured that the magic mechanisms in ER are similar to DS3 so went for strength. Currently using the brick hammer and a greatshield.

@woollypump I managed to beat Astel last night, he was probably the toughest fight I've come across for a melee build at the moment, alot of his AoE attacks did some serious damage but after 2 tries I managed to sus his movements.

Sounds like your making good progress, similar to you but with different games, I finished Bloodborne and Demon Soul's and I feel like it's given me an "extra edge" when playing elden ring, I just seem to understand everything a bit more.

I'm glad your enjoying it, it's really an amazing game.

After 2 tries! I reckon I was 20+ for me, also melee. I think sometimes I just bash away hoping to get lucky though, particularly if it's been a hard day and concentration is lacking.

That said, I now have Lions Claw on the Brick Hammer and I think Astel might have been easier if I'd got that first! The Dragonbarrow evergaol boss went down after a few L2's

@woollypump One of the most interesting things about this game is where different players hit stumbling blocks!
For instance, I didn't have too much grief with Malenia (who I understand is a pretty common boss to wreck you) but I lost days of my life trying to beat the Fire Giant.... which apparently most people smoke pretty easy?!

Radahn was a big problem for me also, although I played at release and understand he might now have been nerfed somewhat?

Such an awesome game though, and I have the fondest of memories playing this. My absolute GOTY 2022 without doubt.

@CJD87 Yeah Fire Giant I did on like the second try (nice pun btw), which is rare for me on most bosses in similar games.

I always find it amusing when some one thinks they have struggled when I see that have like 5 goes at a boss. They it pretty normal for me! Try multiplying that by 10, then you know a real struggle! 😂

I'm approaching where I got to on my first playthrough but having seen a lot more. Tonight I did a few things I missed on my first attempt; the divine tower of Caelid, which I just could not figure out on my first playthrough and gave up on without managing to get inside, but did fully tonight, top to bottom. Also found Goldmask, and have just started the Shaded Castle.

I'm wondering if I should stop upgrading the brick hammer (currently at +17) and switch to Great Stars, which I have just found. I don't think I have all the stones I need to get it to the same level though.

I think that's true of all the FS games - I beat both Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos in a couple of tries, but did the zero insight cheese to beat Witches of Hemwick on my first playthrough hehe

Elden Ring has clicked for me on this playthrough. More than anything it's a constant feast for the eyes. The art style/direction is just perfection for me.

I am now further along than I made it on my first attempted playthrough - I beat Godfrey (Golden Shade) in the capital.

I'm not sure how to do the spoiler formatting so I won't go into details but I was completely stumped where to go in the capital when I last played, but I figured it out last night

This is a question that has been asked in many places in many permutations, but what is the consensus on how far i should be able to progress without locking myself out of the DLC on NG? All the way to the endings but without starting Journey 2 as was the case for DS3?

I'm playing this again for the third time as my girlfriend wanted to play it again so we're both on new game plus at the same time. The original idea was that we'd play through at the same pace so we could summon each other when we needed help but it's so easy on new game plus that this hasn't happened. And this isn't one of those oh look at me I'm the heavyweight champion of gaming that's why it's easy posts. It's just really easy.

It might get silly later on - I don't know. We're both dual wielding the Bloodhound Fang (I think it's called that) and we're killing everything with spectacular ease. It actually makes for a totally different experience. The first time through was so intense in parts and now it's like I'm just on a cool adventure strolling about the world, exploring, and smashing people up. I'm not sure whether it's a case for including an easy mode in these games, or a case for new game plus being a reward for people who battled through the game.

Looking forward to getting to Malenia and Maliketh - those were the two bosses that gave me massive trouble the first time around. No idea if the difficulty is due to spike or not in the upcoming areas but so far I'm having a blast playing it again.

@johncalmc First of all — how incredibly romantic! Coordinated slaughter with your significant other. Right down to matchy-matchy twinkie weapons. A regular Don Juan in action.

Second of all — it is a fascinating longitudinal study of whether the enjoyment from the game is dependent on the challenge. Do you still get the dopamine hit when you slay a tough boss? I’m guessing it’s a different flavor of enjoyment from the first run.

Third of all — hey, weren’t you supposed to be working on platinums for every Yakuza game and a playthrough of every single Final Fantasy game this year? And yet you let your other half convince you to spend time on a third playthrough of Elden Ring… love has blinded you, my friend.