Elden Ring Guide: Walkthrough, Tips and Tricks, and Boss Strategies

Not sure how much of a help this would be to any new players like myself, but apparently having a tutorial dudgeon is new for the genre. Could be easy to miss, I don't know. Spoilers I guess.

https://www.looper.com/777763/elden-ring-why-new-players-should-really-do-the-tutorial-dungeon/

@LiamCroft Please get some sleep 😬

@nessisonett Will do!

I'm tired this morning... Unpacked the game at 11:04 pm started playing 11:08... Died and died again over the next 4 hours. 3 hours sleep and off to work.. I'm to old for this!

Something tells me I am going to need this guide!
My copy is now looking at me itching to be played but I have to finish HFW first. Great time to be a gamer

@LiamCroft Where can I get some actually good arcane spells from? And an item to change a weapon to Int scaling?

@LiamCroft

You've left out the single most important tip for newcomers to From games: leave lots of messages in lots of locations, and make them helpful or humourous. Every time someone rates a comment you get a health boost. It is so effective that I have cleared boss fights without using flasks because my health has been replenished by people coincidently rating my comments.

Also a valuable tip is that you can stun and make enemies vulnerable with heavy attacks, especially a jump/R2 attack. It's as devastating as a back attack if you can stun them and then follow up with quick attacks that staggers them further.

@riceNpea good tips.

I'm I missing something simple I'm playing offline yet I keep getting invaded by players who just come in and kill me, I went offline so this wouldn't happen.

@suikoden Are you sure you're not being invaded by NPCs? Those invasions still happen despite being offline.

@Matroska to the south you go. Village of Demi-Humans has a mage boss with a better staff, most spells you find out in the wild, pebble is still the best, use a sword spell for 2nd (not the right hand buff). The trainer is at Waypoint Ruins behind a mini pumpkin head boss. 2 of her spells (Crystal shard and homing) change based on how long you hold R1.

Completed it mate

@suikoden those invaders are AI not human

@LiamCroft
Must be is a little annoying as I choose of line as I didn't want to keep getting invaded , but doesn't happen that much.

Is their a way too summon help if playing off line?

Very helpful guide Liam! I'm currently fighting myself through the mini-bosses you listed above. However find one tough guy(s) which is not on your list and it called Semi Demi Chief (actually there are two of them) boss in coastal cave in Limgrave. Was a tough fight indeed!

@suikoden You can summon NPCs for certain boss fights, but you have to find and interact with them first most of the time.

@suikoden the AI invasions are not random. They are in selected areas of the map and occur very rarely. You can tell when you have entered an area where you will be invaded because you won't be able to summon your horse, or if you were riding it already it will suddenly disappear. If you trigger the invasion by entering their space there's no running away from them unless you do something drastic like fall a great height.

i sucked at bloodborne. but liked the grafx and level design. i sucked at demons souls on ps5, but liked the grafx. this time around, the same formula of gameplay is here but in a larger area, not always tight hallways like the previous 2 games i mentioned. i picked the BANDIT class first, thinking he'd get extra stealth ability, but that... isnt the case. i then made a new game and picked the vagabond, that is, the knight. been doin better. a lot better. i learned not to just go gung-ho into a battle against 2-3 enemies just because i have a long sword! the slow wind up and pitch of that strike... gets ya in trouble as enemies with smaller, lighter weapons will wail on you faster.

still not over random crab encounters lol.

havent beat a boss yet, im leveling up. i wanna go in and 3-4 hit-kill a boss if possible. but i got the horse.. i figured out how to use the rune/money orbs i find, i figured out when i make waypoints at rest sites and how to USE them if im in a new, dangerous area im not ready for yet. i see a giant and i turn and run for now lol. but i did learn to lock-on to an enemy while on my horse and just circle him and swing away... so far few enemies land 1 blow on me when i do that.

for a new guy who sucks at these kinda games, im faring much better in elden ring. its because there's a slight element of stealth, hiding in bushes, and just open-world-ness. maybe playing this game will help me get better at demons souls on ps5 later one day.

if they make another game like this, and open world, i'd buy it in the future probably. but.. fix the kooky frame pacing issues. they're not super common or really horrible, but occasionally noticeable and this issue is present on all 3 platforms.

@Medic_Alert i just noticed the weight of my character so i put a few points in endurance to increase my weight capacity. im using a long sword now. its slow but its still a 1-hander and when i do connect it does massive damage. i need to get a light sword to swing faster as a 2nd weapon. i have a bow i've used and at distance, i can powershot crabs 4 times an end'em quickly before they can even run up on me. dunno how to call in wolves but i'll look into it and see. i can tell this is just a game of "grind and level and THEN that boss is easy" and i need to play it that way and not try to be aragorn and take on 10 enemies at once lol. im just not used to a game NOT showing me quest markers.

Best thing to do with Spirit Ashes is to set one up as a shortcut on the triangle button, it's then a quick hold triangle / D-Pad to activate

@Medic_Alert i have a lot of stuff i need to use but the descriptions are vague to me lol. i keep forgetting it's a japanese company and sometimes they are strange with their wording, to me anyway. i have flasks and tears and this and that. i think some permanently give me more health bottles to use. i need to find free time to play again and dig into it.

my favorite game in the last few years.

@Pixelated You sound a lot like me, but this is my first ever From game so besides finding it difficult I'm even more lost. I've only played 6 hours, just sightseeing.

@riceNpea I've only left a few messages b/c I'm not a fan of the system and have nothing to say but I have been liking any I came across knowing I could be helping someone out. Except the ones at 9999 which I assumed meant they wouldn't be getting any more health but I could be wrong. 🤷

Questions I have that may be in the guide:

How do we dismount from the horse? I usually just wait until someone or something whacks it away.

Can we make the horse change speeds? I feel like horse games - Witcher 3, BOTW - the horse always has speed variation. I do know how to jump, assigning jump to the jump button is the only normal thing this game does.😂

Edit: So I read the horse guide, not in there. And I mount the horse w/ triangle and Dpad up simultaneously, no messing around w/ flasks. It works quick enough to get me out of trouble, It's my " hands up I surrender " panic mode.😉

So I have all these rune coins that give me runes to level up. How do I use them? Hitting X on them in inventory just moves them to the chest. 😝

Only thing I can add that I read elsewhere - we need to go back to the starting building, I think it's a church, to talk to an old lady to get a bell to summon either NPC or spirits. The game never hints at that, so all the people saying - the game has an easy mode, just summon things to help - well not if you don't know to talk to an old lady about a bell. Oh but only at night. Anyway I read that last week, haven't looked for it uet, still spending all my time Loki g for the things that fill in the map, I've only found 1 so far to the northeast, but it has only been 6 hours.

@kyleforrester87 Yeah, I need like a pamphlet or something to come in the game case with diagrams of which buttons do which things, I wonder why nobody has ever thought of that? 😁

Thanks for the tips. I'm wondering if maybe I need to talk to a salesman or maiden first to give me the ability to use the gold runes as I didn't see a "use" option anywhere? Or I was in inventory during the game but you need to be seated at the site, or vice versa? I'll probably figure it out, or ask my kid. I wish I was playing this at 17 in high school, can you imagine? Closest I got to Elden Ring at 17 was Joust on my Atari.

Like i said earlier, only 6 hours in, first souls game, just taking it all in as I go along trying not to ask for too much help and get too many spoilers. If I can simply dash the horse by hitting circle though I am going to slap myself upside the head.🤦‍♂️ Thanks.

@rjejr you can dismount the horse using L3 or if you still have the horse selected on the SQUARE button, pressing it again will make the horse disappear.

The Gold Runes you find are used to break or sell for runes to use to level up. Press X and then either choose 'use' to use 1 or 'use selected' to use as many as you by scrolling up or down.

This game is HUGE. I've played 53 hours and I'm still only level 34 because I've been mostly exploring on horse. Found so many new weapons and other stuff. I've only seen half the entire map so far!!

@riceNpea Thanks. Need to go try out the rune menu again to see what I'm missing. Makes sense you can get off the horse w/ the same button you can get on the horse. Well not in a video game way that always seems to be a different button for some reason, but it does make sense. Think I need to keep my horse whistle where it is but if L3 works I'm golden.

@kyleforrester87 @riceNpea Got the horse dashing and getting off is easier now, thanks. Gold runes I found out my problem, trying to use them to level up at the sites but you can only smash them while you are not at the sites in game. I suppose they do this so you can use them to buy things at the merchants w/o having to find a site but it's really kind of stupid to be sitting there, wanting to level up, and then having to get out, go into inventory, smash your runes, then get back in to level up. And when you are 1 gold rune short b/c you did the math wrong, getting out, smashing another 1, then getting back in to level up. 😛

Crafting? Waiting on that. As well as the ashes. As a long time JRPG player I'm always cautious to put things on weapons I may exchange at any moment. Doesn't look like the weapon exchange is quite as frequent in here but I'm still getting my barrings. Plus my ashes are for arrows and I don't have a bow yet. If I can even use it. Or magic. I'm playing as "confessor" b/c these websites talked me into it

https://www.vg247.com/elden-ring-best-classes-origin

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/elden-ring-best-class

but reading this 1 now I may have made a big mistake. Oh well.

https://www.powerpyx.com/elden-ring-best-starting-class-guide/

@rjejr the runes you can smash anytime anywhere to release them to spend. The downside is that it doesn't tell you how many each type is worth, however they scale up in value from left to right.

If you are at a merchant or anyone who you can sell to, like the blacksmith, you can sell the runes. This will tell you what they are worth so make a note of the values so that when you smash them you know which are which.

Ashes can be added to weapons but they are not permanent and can be removed and replaced by another one without losing it, so feel free to experiment. Non-standard weapons you find come with Ashes you can't change.

I started the game as Wretched so I had no armour and only a club I've had to find all my gear. I found that the jump attack/R2 combo was very powerful, especially at getting enemies stunned when you follow it up with R1 attacks. Because I had no shield I spent a lot of time rolling looking for backstabs.

Don't worry about starting with the wrong class, you will eventually find what you need, there are bows to discover. Also it is possible to respect your character when you have the right items later in the game.

@riceNpea So after 15 hours and 22 sites of grace I finally found the merchant dressed like Santa who sells you the crafting kit and has the anvil next to him so I was able to do a bunch of stuff. All guides should start with - after leaving the tutorial dungeon go a little west and find Santa. My 23rd site of grace next to him had the pop-up about fast travel.😂

I may be done playing soon b/c I know I'm not skilled enough to make it past Magrit - or even that big giant in the walkway before him probably - but it's been fun.

@rjejr the game gets easier to play as you level up. Summoning spirt ashes really helps! They distract tough enemies and give you the opportunity to do more damage. Plus you can summon help for bosses. Its all doable, you just need to level up, along with getting at least one weapon to +5 for the early game. Counter attacks are very powerful after a shield block too.

@riceNpea I got 1 summoning ashes, "5 villagers" which I can't summons. I read something about an old lady at night giving you a bell, still need to find her. Don't tell me, I'll find her eventually. 😁 Unless that bell is to summon NPCs to fight alongside you. Fromsoftware games may have a learning curve, but when Elden Ring is your first game of theirs, that's a whole lot to learn. I also need the knife to smith. I knw whereabouts it is, first army camp, just haven't done that yet. I did anvil my starting sword to +1. It works well enough on horseback. I don't fight anyone on the ground. If I'm on the ground I'm dead, can barely call that fighting. Think I'm level 22, mostly vigor level 19 and some faith. It helps against the guys on foot and wildlife. Haven't beaten a single guy on horseback yet. Oh I did burn some rats to death, firey eyes, even the big one that didn't respawn, but runebear just ate me straight up. I killed those rats a couple more times to make up for the runes I lost forever in the bottom of that hole. Elden Rings: Bats & Rats Edition.

@kyleforrester87 My gaming instinct told me - if a game tells you to go left, go right, you'll find something there you'll need. I watched my kid play for a couple of hours before I started so I had some idea what was going on, but I have this unhealthy map addiction where I need to get it all filled in. So I went east, that was easy enough, then south. Getting past that ballista wasn't fun, only managed it b/c you told me about o for dash. Though I realized I could have gone around once I made it over and looked around. 😛 I spoke to the lady but couldn't get past the giant w/ the bow to rescue her dad. I managed to get the map piece, which was all I wanted. THOUGH, I just now remembered I went down there to get the sorcerer's staff from the castle to do more magic my kid had told me about, oh well.

This morning I couldn't sleep and at around my 25th site of grace Melia finally took me to the roundtable. I think my kid went there at their 4th site of grace. Talk about playing it differently. 😂

Oh, and if by north to the big castle you mean Stormveile w/ Margrit yeah I jumped up around that on a tornado into Stormy Hills. I hit the crock guy out of the hole and talked to the way too scary lady who read my hands and told me the northern most bridge was out. Going to try and fin d away around next time, I don't believe her.

Oh, another long time gaming obsession I have form way too many JRPG is only turning the game off at saves points, in this case sites of grace. Though the new Tomb Raider trilogy kind of drilled that into my head as well. So I'm back east to some burning church past the mariner. I haven't fast traveled yet, that's why it's 16 hours to do nothing game related. 🤷‍♂️

@kyleforrester87 I forgot I had throwing knives, could have used those today against that T-rex rat that ate my horse in 1 bite then me next. I think I'm a bit farther east than the game thinks I should be. 😂 Currently climbed some big tree over a gorge into a cave being chased by a big robot guy w/ syches for arms. Between him and the big green monster truck heads that breathe fire this game has certainly taken a turn for the peculiar. I'll head back and try out the fort, my kid said the same thing about taking out the legs on the giant. I'll try sneaking up on him again from the beach rock wall, I think I have a site of grace up there. I've done 17 hours and hadn't fast traveled yet but I couldn't find a way out of the roundtable w/o fast traveling so I technically have now. If I want to keep playing guess I need to face Magrit eventually. Or at least that big guy blocking the way. Or the army outside.

Sincerely honest w/ you though, I watched my kid lose to Magrit, and some super fast black thing, and a few dragons - flooded ruins and blocking the bridge - and while my kid, who plays 100's of hours competitively in SSB tournaments, did eventually beat them, I just don't think I'll ever be able to, regardless of my equipment or level. Maybe the first few, but I hear the bosses get crazy hard later on. My fingers don't move that fast, and they certainly don't listen to me. I got a nice shield, and I can block all the throwing knives those stupid gimps throw at me, but any spear guy thrusts at me and I'm done. I've never beaten a knight on horseback, not even those easy seeming ones near the beginning. Slash slash dead. Not that I can use a shield on horseback but even if I could.

I do appreciate all the help, just don't expect me to make any real progress in the game. I would like to try out that invader guy in the river again, supposed to have a good sword for me. First couple of tries I was too distracted about no access to my horse, so I kinda just panicked and died. Did get my runes back, that was nice.

All right, time to get serious, thanks for the pep talk. 👍

@kyleforrester87 Well since I'm legit only playing an hour a day I'm pretty sure any boss I can't beat in an hour I'm not going back to. Would be nice to be a few levels higher though and at least be able to roam the countryside and not be taken out by dogs. Or those stupid cave imps and their bloodloss, bleed whatever. If anything in any game should ever be cannon fonder, it's the guy from Trollhunters.

It only occurred to me my bearded character lets out a womanly yelp on death. So I stripped he/her down and yep …breasts?! Modern random character generators are funny like that

@SystemAddict That's funny, that kind of happened to me as well. Though after it happened - which was right quick in the tutorial - I decided maybe it happened b/c in the character creator menu there's a choice of 2 body types - slender and something else, maybe wide or large? - and I chose slender b/c I'm slender. A quick google search couldn't find it but something along the lines of body type A and body type B which you choose after sex. 🤷‍♂️

@kyleforrester87 So I beat the giant by sneaking up behind him, go me. Haven't gone down the elevator yet b/c I spent 2 hours finding all of the sites of grace on the eastern half of the map first, that's done now, along w/ 4,000 runes gone to a knight w/ a flaming sword on top of Redmane castle. I felt so good killing that poison spewing vampire bat too. I was going back to get them but got 1 hit killed by the catapult trying to cross the bridge.😂 Then killed 5 more times by the soldiers at the top of the lookout tower. So I finally fast traveled back, riding thru that Caled hellscape once was enough for me. After the castle it's back up north.

@kyleforrester87 I wouldn't have made it to Redmane w/o that dash button. Thanks again. 😉

@rjejr I tried 3x to beat that guy on the island behind the gold fog, not gonna happen, never in a million years. My kid was shocked and amazed at dinner that I had made it that far. I beat the 1st big giant on the way up to the castle - the 1 I had already been behind like a week ago, not sure why I bothered to go thru - on my 3rd try. Elden ring has an easy mode, never get off your horse. If you are forced to get off your horse, don't go there, that's after game.

My kid felt bad for me when I said I was probably done even though there was more I wanted to do and looked up the old lady and the bell and m#$%# f#$%% she only shows up if you fast travel to that very 1 particular ruin? Come on man. 😝 I almost neve fast travel - roundtable not included b/c reasons - but when I do it's too the ruin next to the tutorial dungeon b/c that's home base to me. Missed it by that><much.

Well I may keep playing awhile longer but unless I do something historic like beat Gadfrick whoever the first boss I'll leave you alone. Have fun, or not, and good luck getting far into the game.

I reached the final boss this morning after 60 hours, at level 124. Sadly I don’t think I’m going to make it over the finish line. The final boss, it’s second phase specifically, is the most frustrating and boring thing I’ve ever encountered.
I know these games are all about overcoming adversity, but this is a bit much.

@kyleforrester87 Here's my tip of the day which my kid told me last night and it feels like an absolute game changer for me, a guy just riding around who never gets off the horse.

Triangle and L1 swaps your weapons on horseback. I can now throw giant charged fire balls of death w/o getting off my horse. Oh yeah and crossbow arrows too but those are kinda pointless. But I can start from far away and charge a fire ball while riding toward a bad guy then blast him in the face with it then dash off. Sure it's not exactly a kamehameha in the face after instant transmission but it kinda feels that way.

Doesn't help in non horse areas but I've just been avoiding those anyway so...

Oh, and I wrote a post to you 2 up but replied to myself.😂 This is why Elden Ring is hard.😝

@davesmith01 Half surprised they just didn't make the final boss unbeatable w/o telling anyone for a couple of years. Congrats on getting that far that fast. I'm 30 hours in, level 30, haven't fought anything of note yet.😁

@rjejr 🤣🤣 it felt like it. I persevered and managed to beat it eventually. It speaks volumes for this game that it’s the first fromsoft game I’ve ever managed to get an ending on. It was awesome overall, but I stand by what I said about the final boss, it nearly cost me a new controller!

@davesmith01 "nearly"? Have you really even fought a final boss if you haven't broken the controller? 😉

Congratulations. 👍

The guise is useful sometimes but using a guide to complete a game like this sucks all the fun out of it. Just explore organically!

Nice guide, it was somewhat of a help and it will be once i killed my first boss called "CONTROLS" as its not really for the noobs like me. I tried the tutorial once, but could not slay the final "boss" there, so i started anew and skipped the tutorial area. Levelled up to lvl 10 by collecting fruit and getting the occasional rune from a skull, but all i could kill were a few boars and some bats. If i fight i usually end up hitting (or shooting) the wrong way, with a bow i never managed to hit something and i am mostly killed within one blow. Blocking with a shield standing with my back to the enemy also doesnt help lol. So the game may be tough, but the controls are the toughest to conquer for me. Hope to win soon, so i can really start to play the game

@riceNpea @kyleforrester87 @lolwhatno @JJ2 @Medic_Alert

Think that's all of you for the Elden Ring noob update. And I have to say, think I've come a long way in a month. Being in Covid quarantine for a week helped. I'm still not good at fighting, but I've been managing moving forward. Currently level 92 after 175 hours and my confessor starter build is pretty much just a sorcerer now: 42 intelligence, 32 vigor, 20 strength, around 10-15 for everything else. I'm still mostly just fighting from horseback - wh would anyone ever get off the horse voluntarily? - w/ Loretta's bow and dragon rot/fire/ice breath - but when forced too the ugichanta sword +16, blood loss 74, does the trick.

Story wise I finally got both halves of the elevator key and beat the magma wyrm, got through most of Volcano manor, 2nd site of rune out back, finally beat draconian sentinel to get into the capital, then went thru down down under to get to the roots. Also got Ranni's mark after turning the building upside down.

So I've figured most, if not all, of the game mechanics out at least. Haven't had a chance to summon my mimic tear yet, 5 shield guys are too good, by my kid says my level 6 mimic should be better, the game should know how to play with my build even if I don't.😂

Definitely my game of the year. To much going on and to good looking for it not to be..Still think it's too bad no easy mode to let more people enjoy it, not everyone can play 50 hours a week like I've been, but that's up to them. I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as I have w/o people joining me. For the Radahn fight all I did was continually summon warriors out of the ground while rt101 drew his agro. I only beat the twin valiant gargoyles b/c D destroyer of death got 1 of them to fall off the edge.

I have zero idea where Nepheli is to give them this potion. (Don't tell me, I'll find them or I won't) and Blaidd keeps telling me to meet him places but never shows. Took me 3 hours to find where the comet hit, and that was AFTER my kid told me it was in Limgrave.😝

Online messaging and blood stains are very helpful. I would NOT be able to play this game w/o all the "boss/group/trap ahead" messages. Look left/right and especially UP. Oh and "rune ahead" just when I need it. Not easy mode, but "playable" mode for a guy who doesn't like being startled. No Resident Evil games for me. A year from mow when there are no people leaving messages it's going to be tough for anyone just picking this up. So a HUGE THANK YOU to all the warning leavers. I try when I can.

Thinks that's it, thanks for all the help and encouragement.👍

@rjejr
Oh hi there. I was off for Easter break and first notification I see when back on Push is yours and that’s cool. I’m glad your enjoying it so much. I love the game.
I think summons (all of them) are the way it’s meant to be experienced. Radahn part is quite the comedy with them as it’s intended to be.
I first didn’t get the point of using mimic tear because I’m not too interested in having two of me but then I learned to use it by custom reworking my set up (talismans skills weapons equipped items etc) summon it and then go back to my personal. It’s cool to custom it the way you want.
Summons are great addition to a more strategy oriented Play style. Much diversity to play with.
👍🏻

@rjejr well done mate. Glad you stuck with it and are enjoying it. It really is a great game.

@JJ2 I've only had mimic tear a day or 2 and I just noticed whatever you have in your hands it what it uses. I play w/ a staff and katana in my right and shield and magic thing in my left and it's been a terrible mimic of me when my go to is dragon rot breath but it can't b/c it always has the shield out. 😂

My kid did tell me to make it different than myself but I'm not sure I feel comfortable messing around to much so I'll just have to make sure it's how I want it when summoning, sword and shield for groups, staff and dragon breath for bosses. Thanks.

@riceNpea I've actually enjoyed it a lot more but the PS computer editor made me shorten my post, consider your self spared. 😂

@rjejr phew! 😆😊👍

@lolwhatno I don't know about finishing the game and seeing some credits, my goal is just to get all of the map pieces, not beat Elden Beast. Though I'm not even sure I'll make it past Morgott or whoever in the Capital.

Yesterday almost got me to stop playing. I saw the update notes about Patch so read up on him. Went to let him surrender but my blood sword exploded him in 3 hits before I could stop myself, so my first meeting was his last. Very much a bummer as I don't like to kill people. 😢 Also ended his quest before it got started, still hurts actually. I'm the kind of person that keeps 3-5 saves active at all times playing JRPG just in case of such an emergency. My kid said I may be able to try and absolution - I have 3 or 4 vials - but didn't think I could bring someone back to life. I already gave Patch's ball bearing to the husk ladies. Not like I'm starting over after 190 hours just for Patch.

Then I went to fight the serpent godkiller, and beat him on the 8th or 9th try, then Rykarrd wasted me almost instantly. Tried again, same. Gave up. My kid told me I could level up the spear-sword, got it to 7, they literally LOL'd when they saw I had 23 somber smithing stones 1, apparently that's a lot, and told me not to go to level 8 b/c that would be overkill. So I went back and the snake demolished me in about 10 seconds. Still not sure what happened there. 2nd try I demolished the snake and Ryakarrd, leveling up did the trick.

Then, funny story, my kid had me running all over Deeproot Growth looking for some elevator to take me to the Capital. I asked it it was in the scary purple place but they said no. Of course it was. So I mowed down ghost 1 and ghost 2 but 3 ghosts at once was more than I could handle, over and over. Eventually late last night I did wipe them out but it was a long day over all. Which got me to thinking, leveling up to 100 may have got me thru the easy first half of the game, but I could tell going through the back half of Volcano Manor that even the cannon fodder weak dudes are beyond my fighting ability now.

So today the plan is to try and activate Rykarrds rune. My kid had warned me away from that place in the past, said it was beyond me, so we'll see.

Also, weather is finally getting nicer, less time to play, more time to do yardwork, get some exercise and fresh air. So if I can't get past the Capital, at least I tried and had some fun along the way.

Oh, and iron maidens/virgins suck. Only thing I can even scratch them with is Loretta's bow. Shield guys are kind of tough as well. May be be time to try a heavier weapon, blood loss is great until things don't bleed.

@lolwhatno No blog. Thought about making 1 in the forum but I don't have time for the git gud crowd, I'm petty that way. I do post about 3 or 4 pics per day on Twitter which keeps things fresh in my head. When I stop playing I may send a very long email to FromSoftware, somebody there probably reads English, about a few nit-picky things they could do to improve the game. Well maybe not improve meaning it's bad, just quality of life stuff. Like - change the color of the Evergaol spots so I know which ones I beat. There is zero reason to go back far as I can tell. Maybe something for the cave, mine and tunnel bosses as well. And a bank. Though I suppose the big fat ants w/ the numen runes are a bank, if they come back, haven't been back there to look since I killed the 5 of them. Bestiary, stats like times died, mission log that tells you when it's done. I talked to that guy today who can't knight me, I didn't kill him for his apple though I am have 4 and could have used it, read he may have come back in a patch update, we'll see. I've been playing the gaem for 2 months, can't keep track of it all. Like I JUST went back to see that samurai NPC outside of dragon ruins in Limgrave. I killed that dragon a long time ago. Not sure where to meet him next, I've killed 3 or 4 other dragons since.

But the game does so much right I would like to commend them on it. Horse in BotW2 is probably going to be a chore getting around, Torrent is so fluid now that I have the buttons and mechanics down. Sites of grace are usually well placed before and after bosses making quick travel painless. It looks great - 75" 4k tv on PS5.

I'd still like to see an easy mode in a year though, no way I'd have gotten this far w/o all of those messages - use "strike" on crystal guys, boss ahead, group ahead, look up, turn around, go back. Sure you get your trolls but my life has been saved countless times by all of the warnings and instructions. Maybe make mimic tear a starter item and leave it out all the time, like the horse? Who knows, maybe if they patch 1 in I'll be able to finish it. 😁

@lolwhatno Wanted to correct something I said the other day (someone liked the tweet which reminded me) my kid didn't laugh at me for having 21 somber smithing stone 1s, that would be fine, they laughed b/c I have 23 somber 2s, and no 1s, so I can't level up anything. 😝

I read there is a ball bearing in Celia mine in Caelid but when I went back to the entrance the way up was blocked. I did the bottom but it was all smithing stone 5s. My kid sad there s a ladder up, going to ask them to watch me later. They are usually wrong though.😂

Still doing the capital, found my 2nd site of grace inside a building so more to explore. 2 iron maidens mean I won't be going tat way again, man I hate those things. Sometimes I think they put them in there just to run arond.🤷

@lolwhatno As 1 of those people new to Fromsoftware games I just level up whatever stat I have a reason to level up b/c there is a weapon or spell I want, I don't do a set "build". So that high intelligence is for comet azur and some scepter staff, both needed 60. I stopped at 55 and equipped the talisman.

Today I beat Morgott on my 2nd try. It was really my first try though as on my 1st try I called out my mimic tear and Morogtt hit me w/ a golden spear while I was still at half health and had a chance to drink a flask. Next attempt I ran to the side before summoning. Melanie and mimic tear were still both at over half health after they destroyed him. I helped a bit but was mostly rolling out of the way. 😂

Then I went down a stairwell after beating the giant winged gargoyle and a bandit killed me. 5 times at least. Boss gods and giants no problem, but 1 of the 3 Musketeers and I'm done for. 😝

I know the point of this game is supposed to be git gud but for me it's more about survival. Like when I make it to the site of grace in the Forbidden Land by sneaking past the horse mounted sentinel w/ no magic, half health, and no flasks. I've made it to 4 or 5 sites of grace that way now, running for my life on fumes, and that's my big accomplishment b/c I didn't turn back and start over, which would be way less stressful.

So I leave the Capital hardly fighting a knight and running away from that tree dragon monster thing. I did beat the minor tree avatar, guy was too slow and big for even me to lose too. I'm supposed to find dungeaters body, I gave him the seedbed seed I'd found while I was seeing the 2 Finger Crone and buying that 55FP ghoult summon (which the stupid bandit just laughed at), but that can wait until I level up a bit more exploring the mountains. There are 2 map locations on the map, those are my next 2 stops. Oh and turning on Morgott's great rune. I can't even see a tower on the map that looks like it may be it. My kid has told me where all the other ones were, sometimes they make sense, sometimes they don't. 🤷‍♂️

@lolwhatno "I don't have the game yet"

Wow, mind blown.

I know you probably already must have told me that but there were at one time 4 or 5 people I was discussing this game w/, assumed you had played it and finished it by now.

Guess that shows how bad I am at this game, I need to get help from people who haven't even played it yet. 😂

Wow I am pleasantly surprised that they already added the Shadow of the Erdtree guides. That was fast.
Wish I wouldn't need these, but probably will come back for tips sooner rather than later