Support NeoGAF

[Braag]

So I am playing this game pretty slowly and am at Godrick, and holy hell is he hard. I am a strength build and upgraded my axe to 6 so far and have been exploring. Am I on the right path? I feel a little lost and just want to make sure I am going the right way I guess lol. I finished fort Haight and didn't really get anything out of it. Also Most of my map is still foggy is there a way to know where the reveal stones are or do I just need to find them by exploring?

The southern part of Limgrave (below bridge of sacrifice) is a lot easier than Stormveil Castle, so I recommend going there first if you haven't.

 

[Orbital2060]

Hah what the hell.

I beat the wolf on my first attempt, he was a complete push over. I guess my bandit build with the focus on blood blade is too good. I offed him in around 7 hits, the last being a bleed burst. I was level 30.

Bleed is very strong in this game.

Yep

 

[Majmun]

The minic summon should’ve been an early area item. All of the “these games are too hard” - people (like myself) wouldn’t have any reason to complain anymore.

I have mimic +10 and it’s definitely easy mode now. Bosses are nothing anymore

 

[Danjin44]

FROM sure loves dual boss fights!!! Two Valiant Gargoyle and love to vomit poison that has crazy range……

 

[BadBurger]

Cheesed down a world boss dragon using the jellyfish and attacking from a mount after I lured it away from its spawn. I'll take it.

 

[TintoConCasera]

So I'm finally able to explore the Volcano Manor! Feels good to be able to do so since you have to discover how to enter it on your own, and while there are enough hints on how to do so, it's nice that the game doesn't give it away and makes you earn it.

 

[GymWolf]

That thing is actually a little easier than the version found in a dungeon. Just stay close and whack away. It's a classic case of the boss looking way worse than it actually is. The hardest part is closing the distance initially. Once you're close you're fairly safe but if you keep it at a distance it will one shot you or grab you.

I hate this type of boss fights.

Big enemy + kinda small location means lock and camera being fucked for the whole fight.

Humanoids are such better boss fights is not even funny.

 

[GymWolf]

Go STR build, EZ. You get GoT sword with Str 40.


They cause bleeding which is crazy good, since it takes a % of Total HP.

Never used a bleed weapon in my life, maybe i'm gonna try, thanks.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

I've been observing that the game does a great job at balancing the typical Soulslike difficulty and training the player so to say, but it may not be so clear on the surface. The sub bosses and big mobs early on prepare you to read attacks and successfully dodge/block them. These returning bosses gradually increase in difficulty, adding moves or switching things up a little, and to the extent you get to fight them in close quarters (without horse), so you can actually defeat the real bosses as the exams of your training. The caves & catacombs also gradually become trickier, making you become more aware of surroundings, traps, enemy placements in legacy dungeons. This process also rewards exploring, as you actively need to seek out these enemies, while you gain more runes, also by exploring; rune pick-ups and smithing stones.
That's great game design philosophy. Excellent for players like me who are a bit rusty and have not played a Souls game in a long time or at all before.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

God, AI in this game is beyond stupid. I play as a wizard and can cheese my way around almost every encounter by shooting magic energy bolts from a distance.

Other than that, game is really, really good.

 

[Fools idol]

The feeling when you realise you have reached the obligatory "FromSoftware Swamp Area™" and a new debuff Scarlet Rot appears.

 

[Orbital2060]

So I'm finally able to explore the Volcano Manor! Feels good to be able to do so since you have to discover how to enter it on your own, and while there are enough hints on how to do so, it's nice that the game doesn't give it away and makes you earn it.

Volcano Manor, and the road there

 

[GymWolf]

My Visage Shield makes all fights against humanoid bosses/NPC invaders so easy. It blocks basically everything and allows me to do a guard counter after every block. After a few of those, it opens the enemies up to a critical attack.

You can have the same effect by having the barricads skill on any medium shield.

 

[BadBurger]

What's the best way to take on a pumpkin head? Haven't bothered to try yet since they haven't aggro'd me yet.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

What's the best way to take on a pumpkin head? Haven't bothered to try yet since they haven't aggro'd me yet.

Attack when his pumpkin helm is not facing towards you.

 

[FunkMiller]

I genuinely think

Spoiler

Leyndell Royal Capital

might be my favourite Souls area of all time, and one of my favourite game locations full stop.

I love it. The massive scale, the intricacy, the danger around every corner, the enemies, the graphics, the layout…

Phenomenal. And I just got back to the bit the

Spoiler

transporter chest brought me to about

50 hours ago.

This really is the best game I’ve played in many years. Possibly ever.

 

[FunkMiller]

The minic summon should’ve been an early area item. All of the “these games are too hard” - people (like myself) wouldn’t have any reason to complain anymore.

I have mimic +10 and it’s definitely easy mode now. Bosses are nothing anymore

The two things that need nerfing in the game are this summon, and Radhan’s one shot from across the map bullshit.

 

[GymWolf]

What's the best way to take on a pumpkin head? Haven't bothered to try yet since they haven't aggro'd me yet.

Slow mofos, easier than they look, go bash his ass because the helm reflect the hits.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I was complaining about the fashion aspect when in Limgrave/Liurnia, but now that I'm on Altus/Gelmir I can't stop finding cool looking armors.

Currently rocking the scale armor set. Was using the crucible knight one but I don't really like looking just like an enemy.

Btw, 110 hours in and currently on Gelmir and still have to do the Volcano Manor and almost all of Lyndell. Thought I was nearing the end but now the fucker at the Roundtable is talking about yet another 3 or 4 demigods. What the fuck? Is this game 200 hours long or something? Not complaining of course but wow! They could have done a game, it's sequel and a buncha DLCs with all this content.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

God, AI in this game is beyond stupid. I play as a wizard and can cheese my way around almost every encounter by shooting magic energy bolts from a distance.

Other than that, game is really, really good.

For real the a.i. is pathetic in the open world especially. I don't get why Fromsoft thinks that is good design. Did any reviewers even mention this? Probably not.

 

[SkylineRKR]

In a sense, he is the easiest Boss. You can Stay far away, only activating signs. The AI will win for you. But i usually wanted to deal damage myself also and then you have to escape some shit.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Two fucking Tree Sentinels?

Lazy ass game lol

 

[Clear]

Going to post again, at certain points of the game there are npcs that ask you to serve them, does this lock you out of certain parts of the game, or can you do them all?

I asked this earlier myself, and from my experience there appears to be no downside.

Some questlines do interact, but mainly in the sense that if you progress in them beyond a certain point some sub-events relating to them will no longer happen. But at no point have I run across a major NPC refusing to talk because I chose to serve another "faction".

On the whole ER is a lot more forgiving than previous Souls' games in this respect, but that being said there are still circumstances where your choices have significant consequences. My advice would be not to worry about it and just do what feels right to you, as generally speaking the worst case scenario is that a certain NPC will not be available as a summon for a boss fight - which considering you have spirit ashes as a backup in most cases isn't that big of a problem.

 

[DonJorginho]

As someone who sucks at Soulsborne games and usually gives up halfway through, is this going to be the game that wins me over as a Miyazaki fanatic?

I have a huge level of admiration for the games and can't stop watching videos on them all, I just never have the time to dedicate to "gitting gud" is all.

Have been fighting the urge to buy this all week.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Just got to the 25 hour mark and am level 63.

 

[Madflavor]

There is easily 40 hours of stuff to do in Limgrave with out a guide.
Using guides is filter like. I always do blind run for my first playthrough.

Didn’t use a guide. Game was out for like two days when I moved on from Limgrave, people were still figuring things out.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Just got to the 25 hour mark and am level 63.

lol i was just about to post that i feel too powerful at lvl 38 and i've only played ~21 hours. I'm destroying the (mini) bosses so easily.

I still haven't gone to fight Margit yet. I'm exploring the weeping peninsula at the moment. have cleared the rest of the map (limgrave/stormhill/mistwood)) except the gaols and fringefolk heros grave.

how are you at lvl 63 ? are dumping everything into levelling up? have you been buying from merchants or upgrading stuff? i know i've lost some runes but i doubt it'd be enough to get another 20 or so levels.

 

[Orbital2060]

Just got to the 25 hour mark and am level 63.

76 hours played and SL 55.

 

[nightmare-slain]

As someone who sucks at Soulsborne games and usually gives up halfway through, is this going to be the game that wins me over as a Miyazaki fanatic?

I have a huge level of admiration for the games and can't stop watching videos on them all, I just never have the time to dedicate to "gitting gud" is all.

Have been fighting the urge to buy this all week.

Get it. I'm not going to say Elden Ring is easy but it's by far the most approachable game From Software has made. Exploring the world is such fun. When you first fight a boss or strong enemy it might piss you off but trust me...if you relax, explore, and level up then in no time you will be laughing at how easy it is to kill them. That said, as soon as you enter the open world there is a boss that will fuck you up because you're really not meant to fight it. You come back later. There is nothing stopping you heading straight to the first boss but that would be a very NOT good idea. As I said in my post above i'm 20+ hours in and still not faced them yet. There's too much shit to find and do in the map. At this point the stronger enemies and mini bosses are push overs.

I can't speak for the rest of the game but so far I think this is the definitely the easiest game to get into. Previous games I've had to google a lot of stuff but not had to do that yet. Once you buy it my advice is:

• be patient
• talk to everyone (when you think they're done talking talk to them again until they repeat their dialogue)
• read everything
• explore
• don't give up
• and have fun

 

[MidGenRefresh]

As someone who sucks at Soulsborne games and usually gives up halfway through, is this going to be the game that wins me over as a Miyazaki fanatic?

I have a huge level of admiration for the games and can't stop watching videos on them all, I just never have the time to dedicate to "gitting gud" is all.

Have been fighting the urge to buy this all week.

It's my first Souls game and I don't find it brutally difficult. You can always go back and level up if part of the game is causing you trouble. Plus AI is dumb as hell so it's easy to exploit it if everything else fails.

I've defeated 4-5 bosses with the same "tactic": spawn skeletons to distract the enemy and spam with magic floating rock attack.

 

[SJRB]

I was complaining about the fashion aspect when in Limgrave/Liurnia, but now that I'm on Altus/Gelmir I can't stop finding cool looking armors.

Currently rocking the escale armor set. Was using the crucible knight one but I don't really like looking just like an enemy.

Btw, 110 hours in and currently on Gelmir and still have to do the Volcano Manor and almost all of Lyndell. Thought I was nearing the end but now the fucker at the Roundtable is talking about yet another 3 or 4 demigods. What the fuck? Is this game 200 hours long or something? Not complaining of course but wow! They could have done a game, it's sequel and a buncha DLCs with all this content.

Fashion Souls in the first 30+ hours is absolute weaksauce, agreed.

I've changed armors a total of two times.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Fashion Souls in the first 30+ hours is absolute weaksauce, agreed.

I've changed armors a total of two times.

i'm still using my original armor (21 hours in). well i swapped my helmet for a bandana thing. the armor i've found so far is trash. i'm wanting something cool looking for a samurai/sekiro build. i should've picked samurai as my starting class

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Seriously fuck those prawns in that crystal cave spamming those homing projectiles attacks.
Lost all my runes there and on the 2nd and 3rd run the boss kicked my ass with ease. 1 tap and it's all over. Not even my spirit summons stood a chance.

Then I got my ass kicked at Redmane Castle. Just not a good night for me on this game.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Seriously fuck those prawns in that crystal cave spamming those homing projectiles attacks.
Lost all my runes there and on the 2nd and 3rd run the boss kicked my ass with ease. 1 tap and it's all over. Not even my spirit summons stood a chance.

Then I got my ass kicked at Redmane Castle. Just not a good night for me on this game.

You in Caelid next to the swamp? That cave's boss left my hands shaking, one of the hardest for me so far.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

You in Caelid next to the swamp? That cave's boss left my hands shaking, one of the hardest for me so far.

Yeah and it's fucking hard man and it's a small confined area so very little place to get breathing room. I gave up on that boss. Going to come back to it later.

 

[AV]

As someone who sucks at Soulsborne games and usually gives up halfway through, is this going to be the game that wins me over as a Miyazaki fanatic?

I have a huge level of admiration for the games and can't stop watching videos on them all, I just never have the time to dedicate to "gitting gud" is all.

Have been fighting the urge to buy this all week.

The hardest part of the game is the very beginning when you're weak as hell. As long as you have the patience to explore the map getting stronger - which is just part of the game, really - you can become stupidly overpowered without much help. Summons are an integral part of this game and some of the magic is just completely fucking busted, even if you just use the magic sword I'm using which you can get after a few bosses.

I've beaten everything Souls and Souls-adjacent Miyazaki's put out and this is his magnum opus. Easily one of the best video games ever made. It's like all those fake fan mockups of "what could Zelda look like in 20 years?!" that never come close to true.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

What's the best way to take on a pumpkin head? Haven't bothered to try yet since they haven't aggro'd me yet.

He has really slow attacks. Probably the easiest big guy to take out. Just get behind him since you won't really be able to do much if any damage from the front.
I dunno I find pumpkin head super easy.

 

[GermanZepp]

Yesterday i finally enter the Academy!!

 

[Ar¢tos]

.

The two things that need nerfing in the game are this summon, and Radhan’s one shot from across the map bullshit.

After the Mimic Tear gets nerfed, people will see how great the starting wolves are. They feel like junk at the start, but at max upgrade they are great. And the summon cost is much more reasonable.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Yeah and it's fucking hard man and it's a small confined area so very little place to get breathing room. I gave up on that boss. Going to come back to it later.

You did the correct thing, all of Caelid seem to be designed to come back much later.

 

[fart town usa]

Just wanna give a shoutout to my Wolves +3 summon. That Runebear was an aggressive SOB and I couldn't have done it without the pack at my side.

 

[mxbison]

For real the a.i. is pathetic in the open world especially. I don't get why Fromsoft thinks that is good design. Did any reviewers even mention this? Probably not.

Reviewers love hype. (Both good and bad)

RDR2 missions had the most ridiculous fail states in any open world game ever and I didn't see a single review mention it.

 

[mansoor1980]

got the dragon halberd , finally a spinning 360 degree power attack

 

[Isa]

Finally beat the Liurnia Hernia Big Bad, took a good few tries. The first time I've summoned other players, poor guys did great only to have me get blasted in the second phase. But the help was definitely appreciated. Great game, 45 hrs in here. The amount of content and enemy variety puts many other games to shame.

 

[hollams]

edit. the map also desperately needs some quality of life improvements. I can't find any option where I can delete all the blue-way points I put on the map. It is incredibly exhausting to search the whole map for those little dots.

This right here. It's not fun lining up the waypoint in the compass then going to the map and then trying to scroll through the map keeping that trajectory. I have to zoom in also which makes scrolling so much slower.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Posting this again since it made my life much easier: holding D-Pad down will equip whatever item you have in your first slot. Make it be your crimson tear flask so you can swap to it easily during a fight.

 

[kevm3]

I just feel like this game is designed for summons and I keep trying to go against the grain by avoiding summons and it's making some of these boss fights feel like a slog... Kind of annoying how these bosses have the ability to leap across the screen and hit you with endless combos. I feel like bosses are given this insane reach, and constant combo ability to compensate for the ability to bring in summons. Attempting to solo means slowly chipping away and getting a hit or two in after constantly rolling around or blocking and hoping they didn't destroy your stamina bar.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I feel like I’m the only one here using the marrionette soldier ashes. They are unbelievably good, they’ve even killed bosses for me by themselves in some areas.

 

[fart town usa]

Posting this again since it made my life much easier: holding D-Pad down will equip whatever item you have in your first slot. Make it be your crimson tear flask so you can swap to it easily during a fight.

Ditto. I saw that tip in a YouTube video, definitely helps when battles get chaotic and you're scrolling through items.

I simultaneously love and hate the item selection, there have been at least 2 instances where I'm in battle and things are getting crazy, I go to heal myself and end up opening my telescope.... I can only blame myself, lol.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I just feel like this game is designed for summons and I keep trying to go against the grain by avoiding summons and it's making some of these boss fights feel like a slog... Kind of annoying how these bosses have the ability to leap across the screen and hit you with endless combos. I feel like bosses are given this insane reach, and constant combo ability to compensate for the ability to bring in summons. Attempting to solo means slowly chipping away and getting a hit or two in after constantly rolling around or blocking and hoping they didn't destroy your stamina bar.

They are meant to be used for sure. There is one boss I can think of that for the average person probably won’t be possible without them.