Elden Ring

[Montag]

Happy to report it is running butter smooth on my I7-6700k stock, 16 GB, GTX 1080. Still in first large open area.

[Scraper]

I picked this up today and I'm getting my ass kicked. Apparently I was supposed to get Torrent and I visited the point of grace where I was supposed to get him and nothing ever happened?

My wife keeps looking at me and wondering if I'm enjoying it or not and the answer is, "I think?"

You have to fast travel back to the church site and then try and sleep I think. just walking there doesn't work.

[Scraper]

I'm at 70 hours and havent even got past Castleward Tunnel or Margit yet.
How do you upgrade the jellyfish?

How the hell is this even possible. I'm at about 35 hours in and I've beaten 2 of the main bosses and have about half of the map unlocked. What the heck are you doing to rack up 70 hours but no major boss kills?

[stimpy]

I'm at 70 hours and havent even got past Castleward Tunnel or Margit yet.
How do you upgrade the jellyfish?

How the hell is this even possible. I'm at about 35 hours in and I've beaten 2 of the main bosses and have about half of the map unlocked. What the heck are you doing to rack up 70 hours but no major boss kills?

That's a question I ask myself each time I fire the game up.
Alot of that time is due to the fact I have NO idea what the hell I'm doing.
I've been farming alot of the same areas to try and level up in order to not get destroyed by Margit.
I'm at Level 26 and get him down to half health with the jellyfish and the summoned guy, both of which seem rather helpless, before he 1 hits me.

[hepcat]

I picked this up today and I'm getting my ass kicked. Apparently I was supposed to get Torrent and I visited the point of grace where I was supposed to get him and nothing ever happened?

My wife keeps looking at me and wondering if I'm enjoying it or not and the answer is, "I think?"

You have to fast travel back to the church site and then try and sleep I think. just walking there doesn't work.

Actually, that's a different witch I think. You'll get the horsey (I call him Sparkles Von Doom) when you camp outside the gateway (Gatefront Ruins) right above the first enemy camp you come across, I believe. I can't stress enough how you should always revisit areas every now and again. There will often be new people leaning against something to talk to.

I'm at 70 hours and havent even got past Castleward Tunnel or Margit yet.
How do you upgrade the jellyfish?

How the hell is this even possible. I'm at about 35 hours in and I've beaten 2 of the main bosses and have about half of the map unlocked. What the heck are you doing to rack up 70 hours but no major boss kills?

That's a question I ask myself each time I fire the game up.
Alot of that time is due to the fact I have NO idea what the hell I'm doing.
I've been farming alot of the same areas to try and level up in order to not get destroyed by Margit.
I'm at Level 26 and get him down to half health with the jellyfish and the summoned guy, both of which seem rather helpless, before he 1 hits me.

Take out the other mini bosses first (of which there are MANY in the first area, as Coop noted). 26 is still a bit low to be taking on Margit for the average Souls player, I would say. But taking on some of the much easier mini bosses will give you better weapons, more souls, etc..

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Took out Godric on my third try yesterday. My +2 jellyfish friend did a lot of work keeping him occupied while I ran around like a fool and blasted him with magic. And, when I ran out of magic (even with 4 flasks), arrows finished him off. The other thing that helped (slight spoiler)

Spoiler:

was the physick flask which you can get the location to by buying one of the hints the dude at the first church sells.

It provided just enough constant healing and damage reduction that I could take a few hits from Godric without going down.

[Smoove_B]

There will often be new people leaning against something to talk to.

Is this a good way to determine hostiles? I made it to a chapel and had a nice conversation with nomad merchant. I didn't have any money, but I figured some was coming. I left there and wandered along a path, only to see a solider carrying a torch and looking for something. I moved closer to greet him and offer my help and the dude came at me like I stole his lunch. So now I know anyone carrying a torch is actually looking for trouble and I'll dispatch them, but I was not expecting to just get straight up assaulted like that after having such a pleasant conversation with someone else. Also, f boars.

[coopasonic]

If it's moving, it's hostile. If it's not moving, it's probably hostile. If it's singing, it will kill you. If it's not singing it will probably kill you. Stab first, ask questions later.

[Scraper]

There will often be new people leaning against something to talk to.

Is this a good way to determine hostiles? I made it to a chapel and had a nice conversation with nomad merchant. I didn't have any money, but I figured some was coming. I left there and wandered along a path, only to see a solider carrying a torch and looking for something. I moved closer to greet him and offer my help and the dude came at me like I stole his lunch. So now I know anyone carrying a torch is actually looking for trouble and I'll dispatch them, but I was not expecting to just get straight up assaulted like that after having such a pleasant conversation with someone else. Also, f boars.

Normally if you can auto target them they are hostile. This is also a really good way to find bad guys that are hiding. Hitting the auto target stick will find them even if they're concealed.

[hepcat]

What scraper said. Find your target lock button and hit that when in doubt. If you see their health bar and it locks onto them, gird your loins for battle.

[Smoove_B]

I also think it's hilarious that I played for an hour and completely missed the tutorial area....because I didn't think I should be jumping 50'+ feet down into a pit. Clearly, I have some things to learn about this universe.

[hepcat]

This game does NOT hand hold, that's for sure. But you can always go back and do it again. That area is still open.

Also, I have to disagree with Coopy. DO NOT stab first and ask questions later. You could end up killing a merchant who's selling stuff you want/more cheaply than anyone else; or someone who's a quest giver. This game WILL close off entire quest lines if you screw up and slaughter the wrong person, unlike other games like this that will just prevent you from killing important characters.

[coopasonic]

I also think it's hilarious that I played for an hour and completely missed the tutorial area....because I didn't think I should be jumping 50'+ feet down into a pit. Clearly, I have some things to learn about this universe.

If you didn't notice it earlier, I also missed it and I have played all the Souls games, up to a point. The problem there is that they put the shiny golden tree in front of you and some old corpse looking guy along the side that doesn't look like anything worth your time, except of course that every body, living or dead, is worth a moments time in this game.

[coopasonic]

Also, I have to disagree with Coopy. DO NOT stab first and ask questions later. You could end up killing a merchant who's selling stuff you want/more cheaply than anyone else; or someone who's a quest giver. This game WILL close off entire quest lines if you screw up and slaughter the wrong person, unlike other games like this that will just prevent you from killing important characters.

Yeah, that was an exaggeration. If it is moving, it's very likely to be hostile and better safe than sorry, but I actually use Scraper's method. If clicking the right thumbstick targets them, they are prey. I am pretty sure I have never encountered an NPC that isn't still. At least in this one you can't accidentally attack stuff in the hub. My son that in DS3 and ended up stuck in a permanent death loop.

[naednek]

Happy to report it is running butter smooth on my I7-6700k stock, 16 GB, GTX 1080. Still in first large open area.

wish i can say the same and I have a better system

[hepcat]

p.s. smoove, you're going to eventually encounter "invaders". They will be very animated red colored characters who suddenly appear with a warning message appearing on your screen informing you that so and so has invaded your world. These can be either computer controlled NPCs, or other players (depending on your setting).

The first time that happened in Elden Ring, I forgot to check to see if it was a game controlled NPC and went on a cursing spree against whatever godless son of a bitch just killed me for sport. Only later did I realize I was carrying around a grudge against the game itself.

The one thing I really love about the Souls games is that they can be INCREDIBLY tense, as you cautiously move around expecting an enemy around every corner. Combining that with a giant open world has created an amazing experience that captures the feeling of what I imagine real exploration of a foreign and dangerous land would be like.

[coopasonic]

You can go offline to make sure you only get NPC invaders, but you lose the often humorous and occasionally helpful notes, as well as the ability to summon human players (who are *usually* better than the NPCs) to help with bosses.

[Smoove_B]

I think I turned off the invader thing...or at least I set a password to stop randos from joining. I think the thing that confuses me the most are the player ghosts and the random messages I feel obligated to read but that have been 99% useless.

[coopasonic]

I think I turned off the invader thing...or at least I set a password to stop randos from joining. I think the thing that confuses me the most are the player ghosts and the random messages I feel obligated to read but that have been 99% useless.

Setting a password does NOT stop invaders. The password only makes it more likely you will see notes from people with the same password and makes more likely, not sure if 100% that if you request co-op help , it will be from someone else with that same password. Invaders are still going to be randos unless you go offline.

Players ghosts are just that and can be ignored for the most part, but they can lead you to something you might have overlooked, or to your death.

[hepcat]

I think I turned off the invader thing...or at least I set a password to stop randos from joining. I think the thing that confuses me the most are the player ghosts and the random messages I feel obligated to read but that have been 99% useless.

Those ghosts are other players dying. So pay attention to them. If you see people constantly dying in a spot up ahead, you know something wicked that way comes.

[coopasonic]

I think I turned off the invader thing...or at least I set a password to stop randos from joining. I think the thing that confuses me the most are the player ghosts and the random messages I feel obligated to read but that have been 99% useless.

Those ghosts are other players dying. So pay attention to them. If you see people constantly dying in a spot up ahead, you know something wicked that way comes.

Bloodstains are where other people have died (showing the death hasn't been working for me), the actual white ghosts running around are just showing other players recent actions in the same area.

[hepcat]

Ah, my mistake. I got those mixed up. I have online turned off as I haven't restarted it since the game released, just using the quick resume. I need to restart and get back online though.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Sometimes the ghosts of other players will show up unexpectedly around a corner and make me jump.

As for the bloodstains, they are 1) a great way to know if a hard fight is coming up and 2) a great way to know if you won't actually make it to that overhanging cliff you think you can jump to.

[baelthazar]

Took out Godric on my third try yesterday. My +2 jellyfish friend did a lot of work keeping him occupied while I ran around like a fool and blasted him with magic. And, when I ran out of magic (even with 4 flasks), arrows finished him off. The other thing that helped (slight spoiler)

Spoiler:

was the physick flask which you can get the location to by buying one of the hints the dude at the first church sells.

It provided just enough constant healing and damage reduction that I could take a few hits from Godric without going down.

I brute forced Godrick on Saturday night. It probably took me an hour of trying, but I managed to kill him twice. Once, I killed him just as I went down - so the game counted it as a loss and resurrected him. For some reason the Jellyfish did very little good for me, and I've been only wolf for most of the time. The NPC was indispensable.

I could have likely killed him much easier had I:

Spoiler:

Gone on the short quest to get the Meteorite Staff and Rock Sling spell. Instead, I hit him hard with Pebbles and rushed in for bouts of slashing with Carian Blade. Carian Blade is pretty effective against bosses, although the hit boxes can be a little odd and it can "miss" even when you are next to them.

Afterwards I went on the quest to activate the Great Rune. I was a little let down that the Runes effects are only temporary with the application of a consumable. I am also planning to "consume" the Remembrance of the Grafted, because those weapons are STR and Faith weapons, which do me no good. I hear you can get the Remembrance back if you regret your choice later anyway.

[Octavious]

Ya it's similar to the other games where you had to revive yourself and it goes away when you die. It was actually not super clear to me for a while that mechanic. There's a LOT of hidden mechanics in this game. Which is fine just means my second play will be a bit less confusing. I'm not as close to the end as I thought, but I've gotten pretty darn far. There's 2 bosses that I 100% can't beat no matter how much I level. It's quite frustrating.

[Smoove_B]

That was the other thing - I saw all the starting classes and just went with the one they started you on (Vagabond?), though I'm sure someone will tell me I've made a huge mistake and I should have picked the guy wearing a diaper or the Prisoner with the giant punishment helmet on instead.

I get that they all have different stats and (I guess) are set up to match a certain play style, but man...that seems like a lot of potential replays.

[hepcat]

Honestly, the starting classes are just different allocations of stats and some different starting equipment that takes advantages of those stats. You're perfectly fine with Vagabond. As a matter of fact, I think that's one of the suggested starting classes for new players. But any class can be altered to whatever you want as you play. Although higher level starting alts (like my Confessor) will have less room for customization as they start at a higher level. But considering the difference between Vagabond and Confessor is literally one level, it's not that big of a deal.

[stimpy]

I was talking with a guy at work about this game and I think I summed up the description pretty accurately.......it's exploration without explanation.

[hepcat]

That was the other thing - I saw all the starting classes and just went with the one they started you on (Vagabond?), though I'm sure someone will tell me I've made a huge mistake and I should have picked the guy wearing a diaper or the Prisoner with the giant punishment helmet on instead.

I get that they all have different stats and (I guess) are set up to match a certain play style, but man...that seems like a lot of potential replays.

Oh, one other thing to mention that probably resulted in some frustration when you were creating your character: this is one of the few games released in the last year or so that does NOT include a dong slider. So don't bother trying to find a way to alter your dong in the setup screen.

There's 2 bosses that I 100% can't beat no matter how much I level. It's quite frustrating.

Spoiler:

Bloodhound Fang if you're a dex/strength build is a game changer when it comes to damage. Get in close, hit skill button, it does a heavy hit and then jumps you back out of attack range. Rinse/repeat.

[baelthazar]

That was the other thing - I saw all the starting classes and just went with the one they started you on (Vagabond?), though I'm sure someone will tell me I've made a huge mistake and I should have picked the guy wearing a diaper or the Prisoner with the giant punishment helmet on instead.

I get that they all have different stats and (I guess) are set up to match a certain play style, but man...that seems like a lot of potential replays.

Yeah, as Hep said, it really is about playstyle. Vagabound is the standard melee, but you can pretty easily stat him up to use magic (either sorcery or inscriptions), albeit not as effectively as others.

The Prisoner is, surprisingly, pretty good as well. Despite what he looks like, he is actually the "spellsword" class.

I normally would have picked the "war cleric" style class, which is the Confessor in this case, but I decided to swerve and go "mage." So far, I am super happy with my choice of Astrologer. Next time, I'll either go with the faith class or try the Wretch, which is basically just the "create-your-own class" choice (well, if you can get past the initial stage and get some items).

[baelthazar]

Spoiler:

Bloodhound Fang if you're a dex/strength build is a game changer when it comes to damage. Get in close, hit skill button, it does a heavy hit and then jumps you back out of attack range. Rinse/repeat.

The boss... the boss... the boss is on fire. We don't need no water...

Oh wait...

[hepcat]

I got it.

[Scuzz]

I'm at 70 hours and havent even got past Castleward Tunnel or Margit yet.
How do you upgrade the jellyfish?

How the hell is this even possible. I'm at about 35 hours in and I've beaten 2 of the main bosses and have about half of the map unlocked. What the heck are you doing to rack up 70 hours but no major boss kills?

I don’t have 70 hours in yet, probably 40+, but I have avoided using the horse except in certain circumstances. I only have 1 big boss but I think I have seen most of the above ground map. But by walking everywhere I keep finding caves and castles. I could easily see having around 100 hours in when I finish.

[Scuzz]

You can go offline to make sure you only get NPC invaders, but you lose the often humorous and occasionally helpful notes, as well as the ability to summon human players (who are *usually* better than the NPCs) to help with bosses.

Unlike past DS games it appears with this one you can’t get invaded by another player without playing co-op or using an item to invite them in. So don’t worry about real players unless you are in co-op.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I brute forced Godrick on Saturday night. It probably took me an hour of trying, but I managed to kill him twice.... The NPC was indispensable.

Somehow I completely missed that there was an NPC to help with that fight. Probably would've beaten him on my first try if I hadn't (got him down to 1/4 health).

[Scuzz]

I brute forced Godrick on Saturday night. It probably took me an hour of trying, but I managed to kill him twice.... The NPC was indispensable.

Somehow I completely missed that there was an NPC to help with that fight. Probably would've beaten him on my first try if I hadn't (got him down to 1/4 health).

If it is like the DS games you probably had to talk to her first. She is down the path opposite from the boss door.

[rittchard]

I’m like Stimpy, I have a bunch of hours in (not 70 though lol) but too scared to face the big bosses. I’ve finally had the courage to take out a few side bosses but that’s it. I’m around lvl 40-ish, I think when I hit 50 I’m gonna brave the first boss lmao. I spent the first 20 levels or so killing the same 5 mobs on the initial road and selling fruit, poop and whatever else I could scavenge, and I loved every minute of it. Don’t judge me!!!

Anyway, I’m hoping to write a more detailed review of the game coming from the perspective of someone who could not make it through the first or second fight in Dark Souls. I love a lot of what ER has done, I just wish they didn’t insist on some of their DS-isms. In fact at this point I’d just be happy with a better co-op system that didn’t force you to have to bring the same person in again and again, and/or have the stupid invasion system to further aggravate you. I feel like these developers felt like they had to adhere to their “DS” rules, even though they’ve created a very different game. I’d like to tell them it’s OK to actually adapt and change.

[hepcat]

selling fruit, poop and whatever else I could scavenge

Poop? Oohhhh, you mean gold tinged excrement. Get it right, heathen. Next you’ll be calling magic grease lard!

Seriously though, whoever thought up all these item names needs a raise.

[Scuzz]

selling fruit, poop and whatever else I could scavenge

Poop? Oohhhh, you mean gold tinged excrement. Get it right, heathen. Next you’ll be calling magic grease lard!

Seriously though, whoever thought up all these item names needs a raise.

Now we know what GRRM did for the game.

[hepcat]

I remember in Game of Thrones when Jon Snow fought back against the White Walkers with only his wits and some Silver Winged Dung Beetle Juice.