Elden Ring

[Ralph-Wiggum]

In another edition of Things I Learned Last Night After 60 Hours of Play: apparently you can charge spells so that they do more damage? Considering I got through the first 40 hours of play mainly pinging dudes from far away, I have no idea how I didn't realize this before.

[Scraper]

In another edition of Things I Learned Last Night After 60 Hours of Play: apparently you can charge spells so that they do more damage? Considering I got through the first 40 hours of play mainly pinging dudes from far away, I have no idea how I didn't realize this before.

The Dragon Breath Attacks work the same way, the rotting breath one is especially effective against most bosses. I always try and hit them with a full FP bar of it at the start of a battle.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Unfortunately, I can't use incantations because my character is a faithless bastard.

Side note: I hope this Night Comet spell is good because I have dumped the last 8+ levels into INT just so I meet its requirements (38). Still have a few levels to go.

[Octavious]

In another edition of Things I Learned Last Night After 60 Hours of Play: apparently you can charge spells so that they do more damage? Considering I got through the first 40 hours of play mainly pinging dudes from far away, I have no idea how I didn't realize this before.

The Dragon Breath Attacks work the same way, the rotting breath one is especially effective against most bosses. I always try and hit them with a full FP bar of it at the start of a battle.

Rot Breath can pretty much break some of the bosses. Hit them at the beginning and they will take constant damage for most of the fight. I beat the one boss by doing that and just running around in circles. The game was super bug free for me, but man they need a lot of balancing. There as some severely OP strats that you can pull off.

[stimpy]

Rot Breath can pretty much break some of the bosses. Hit them at the beginning and they will take constant damage for most of the fight. I beat the one boss by doing that and just running around in circles. The game was super bug free for me, but man they need a lot of balancing. There as some severely OP strats that you can pull off.

Shush, you......

[malchior]

In another edition of Things I Learned Last Night After 60 Hours of Play: apparently you can charge spells so that they do more damage? Considering I got through the first 40 hours of play mainly pinging dudes from far away, I have no idea how I didn't realize this before.

The Dragon Breath Attacks work the same way, the rotting breath one is especially effective against most bosses. I always try and hit them with a full FP bar of it at the start of a battle.

Rot Breath can pretty much break some of the bosses. Hit them at the beginning and they will take constant damage for most of the fight. I beat the one boss by doing that and just running around in circles. The game was super bug free for me, but man they need a lot of balancing. There as some severely OP strats that you can pull off.

Oh like a certain summon with Rennala? I accidentally summoned something other than the Jellyfish and she became ridiculously easy.

[rittchard]

But honestly, it's almost like kicking a handicapped person when they are down and then telling them to "git gud". Or saying everyone should be able to play a game like basketball against NBA players, as long as they are patient and practice enough. The whole notion kind of grosses me out.

I think you’re being overly dramatic. It’s a game. If it frustrates you this much, play something else. Or try summoning another player to help you.

Me, I enjoy finally beating things after I figure out how. And I’m hardly a great gamer.

I’m the same way in most instances. I like strategizing or leveling up or doing whatever it takes to overcome a challenge, and I love the feeling of accomplishment when I actually do it. But I’m trying to explain that this particular game does something inherently different with combat - and I totally understand it’s hard for people to comprehend what I mean - simply because we are all… different! So it’s not that I’m frustrated by the game so much as the notion that I can tell that people, and these developers in particular, are never going to understand this perspective, and so they are going to react the way they do with the general attitude of “git gud”. But since I’m bored at work, let me give it a try to make a kind of wacky analogy…

The other night Adele was on. As it turns out, I LOVE to sing Adele songs in the shower, and I’d like to think I do a pretty good job of it some times. Not so much my voice, which I really do not like, but in holding the notes and following the patterns and nuances she does. Some of it can be really hard and I often run out of breath while trying to keep up, but I feel like I’ve definitely improved over time. I think you get the idea, maybe? What if in an alternate universe the combat in this game was based on one’s singing ability? Not only being able to memorize lyrics, but to hold notes, stay on pitch, maintain a tune, not lose breath… when you mess up, boom you DIE. Sing a bad note, you DIE. Miss a word? DIE! My guess is that in spite of general singing being something that pretty much anyone can do and get better at with practice, there are a significant amount of people that would simply never get far because they just couldn’t get the pitch right, for example.

Anyway, no big deal either way. Even with cheat mode on, I still get slapped around and chewed up and spit out (literally) by pretty much every boss. There’s plenty of challenge for me even with this much “cheating” - which just goes to show how much disparity there is in the “real” game. I’ve read people are doing speedruns through the game without ever leveling once and/or in less than an hour, which is simply mind boggling. It’s very interesting and further proves that there is a truly massive chasm between peoples’ abilities to master these games.

[hepcat]

What if in an alternate universe the combat in this game was based on one’s singing ability? Not only being able to memorize lyrics, but to hold notes, stay on pitch, maintain a tune, not lose breath… when you mess up, boom you DIE. Sing a bad note, you DIE. Miss a word? DIE! My guess is that in spite of general singing being something that pretty much anyone can do and get better at with practice, there are a significant amount of people that would simply never get far because they just couldn’t get the pitch right, for example.

So….Guitar Hero.

In any case, just put the game down and move on. Having this much anxiety over something that’s supposed to be fun can’t be healthy.

[baelthazar]

Side note: I hope this Night Comet spell is good because I have dumped the last 8+ levels into INT just so I meet its requirements (38). Still have a few levels to go.

It is not.

Re: the "git gud" mentality - I am not very good at the game, but I am good at being cheesy. I've gotten better at dodging and recognizing attack patterns (thanks Monster Hunter for the training), but I would say that I tend to brute force most encounters. In fact, a lot of what I do is stay distanced and blast things with Rising Rocks, to the point that the spell seems OP. I also tend to find exploits, like terrain that blocks so that I can use spells.

Example: Last night I bashed my head against a terrible Dragon boss. This thing is a late-game Great Enemy that kills you in one hit with pretty much every attack (and it has several). I looked online and found that it can be killed in a very cheesy way, and I took advantage of it. Sure, it took like 15 minutes instead of 5, but I won.

What cheesy method? Here:

Spoiler:

This is a giant Glintstone dragon. Behind the dragon is a ruined church. So you run into the church and cast Night Maiden's Mist from the doorway and let it tick down the dragon's life as you hid from its flames on a rock pile behind a wall. You are basically safe (although still have to be careful when you cast the spell) and the dragon just slowly drains. The only real danger is the giant Carian sword the dragon summons, which requires careful dodging as the wall does not block the sword.

Embrace the cheese. That said, I can't imagine how hard this game must be as pure melee. I have gotten to level 80 and only had 17 vigor. From research, I realized that the recommendation is to have ~40 vigor by that point to have a large enough health pool to not die. Because I pelt things with magic, I just haven't needed it.

[Scraper]

Side note: I hope this Night Comet spell is good because I have dumped the last 8+ levels into INT just so I meet its requirements (38). Still have a few levels to go.

It is not.

Re: the "git gud" mentality - I am not very good at the game, but I am good at being cheesy. I've gotten better at dodging and recognizing attack patterns (thanks Monster Hunter for the training), but I would say that I tend to brute force most encounters. In fact, a lot of what I do is stay distanced and blast things with Rising Rocks, to the point that the spell seems OP. I also tend to find exploits, like terrain that blocks so that I can use spells.

Example: Last night I bashed my head against a terrible Dragon boss. This thing is a late-game Great Enemy that kills you in one hit with pretty much every attack (and it has several). I looked online and found that it can be killed in a very cheesy way, and I took advantage of it. Sure, it took like 15 minutes instead of 5, but I won.

What cheesy method? Here:

Spoiler:

This is a giant Glintstone dragon. Behind the dragon is a ruined church. So you run into the church and cast Night Maiden's Mist from the doorway and let it tick down the dragon's life as you hid from its flames on a rock pile behind a wall. You are basically safe (although still have to be careful when you cast the spell) and the dragon just slowly drains. The only real danger is the giant Carian sword the dragon summons, which requires careful dodging as the wall does not block the sword.

Embrace the cheese. That said, I can't imagine how hard this game must be as pure melee. I have gotten to level 80 and only had 17 vigor. From research, I realized that the recommendation is to have ~40 vigor by that point to have a large enough health pool to not die. Because I pelt things with magic, I just haven't needed it.

My character is mostly melee, as I don't use spells and the only FP I use are for Dragon Breath attacks, summons, and my weapon special attacks. I'm level 123 or so and I don't think I have a single attribute over 40. I think my strength is around 35 or so. Dex is 30. Stamina is probably low 30s. And as long as you know how to dodge and parry then the game is manageable. I have cheesed 2 or 3 bosses, but they were all optional and sometimes it's just easier to get those out of the way with some cheese and move on. Really I think it comes down to how much experience you have with the Souls type games as to how hard you think Elden Ring is, because out of all of them I would say Elden Ring is the easiest.

[coopasonic]

Example: Last night I bashed my head against a terrible Dragon boss. This thing is a late-game Great Enemy that kills you in one hit with pretty much every attack (and it has several). I looked online and found that it can be killed in a very cheesy way, and I took advantage of it. Sure, it took like 15 minutes instead of 5, but I won.

I am pretty sure I didn't kill whatever dragon that was. There aren't really any mandatory dragons as far as I know, unless you want them to get the breath weapons.

[baelthazar]

Well drat. I could have just run past it!?!

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I ran up against a boss last night (Fallingstar Beast?) that completely kicked my butt multiple times. I think I only got it down to half health once. And then, when flying around the arena on my horse, I realized I could skip him entirely and still move on to the next area.

[Scraper]

I ran up against a boss last night (Fallingstar Beast?) that completely kicked my butt multiple times. I think I only got it down to half health once. And then, when flying around the arena on my horse, I realized I could skip him entirely and still move on to the next area.

That's a boss where the rotting breath attack really helps, that and having a good tank summon.

[Scuzz]

Well drat. I could have just run past it!?!

You can run past a whole lot of bosses in this game.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I ran up against a boss last night (Fallingstar Beast?) that completely kicked my butt multiple times. I think I only got it down to half health once. And then, when flying around the arena on my horse, I realized I could skip him entirely and still move on to the next area.

That's a boss where the rotting breath attack really helps, that and having a good tank summon.

Rotting Breath is an incantation, right? I'm a spell guy.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Side note: I hope this Night Comet spell is good because I have dumped the last 8+ levels into INT just so I meet its requirements (38). Still have a few levels to go.

It is not.

I got to 38 INT last night and you're right: definitely not worth it, especially at it's FP cost. At least all my spells do a good bit of damage now, though.

[baelthazar]

Side note: I hope this Night Comet spell is good because I have dumped the last 8+ levels into INT just so I meet its requirements (38). Still have a few levels to go.

It is not.

I got to 38 INT last night and you're right: definitely not worth it, especially at it's FP cost. At least all my spells do a good bit of damage now, though.

I love being a spell caster, but so far the only spells I use are Loretta's Greatbow and Rock Sling. For the first half of the game, I relied on simple Glintstone Pebble, which punches way above its class. I haven't yet gotten Comet Azur, which I hear is pretty good.

I now have 60 Int (63 with my hat) and use the Carian Regal Scepter +8, which may be the best staff in the game (arguable). Rock Sling damage is ludicrous, but it is super slow and I have to be sure to not get close to bosses when casting.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I thought I had been using Glintstone Pebble but what I actually mostly rely on is Magic Glintblade (I think). The nice thing about it is that it tracks the targets and so I can cast it while the enemy and I are running around. Also, now that I know about charging, I can charge up the first shot and then do two quick shots in succession to have all three shots hit around the same time. This is often enough to kill enemies before they can even move towards me.

[hepcat]

Spent time farming so I could update my Int to 15 and use an incantation that supposedly would take care of my undead combat encounters...only to find it would probably be more efficient to just retreat and send them a strongly worded letter.

However, I have stopped using the Bloodhound Fang sword finally. I found a +8 Halberd with the Ice Spear ash, and it is just devastating to most enemies.

[coopasonic]

I now have 60 Int (63 with my hat) and use the Carian Regal Scepter +8, which may be the best staff in the game (arguable). Rock Sling damage is ludicrous, but it is super slow and I have to be sure to not get close to bosses when casting.

I am still using the Meteorite staff, but this is on my list. I've killed the boss, but 60 int? Damn man. I stopped at 40 and was leveling mind so I can share more pain with my enemies. 60 is a long ass ways away.

[baelthazar]

I now have 60 Int (63 with my hat) and use the Carian Regal Scepter +8, which may be the best staff in the game (arguable). Rock Sling damage is ludicrous, but it is super slow and I have to be sure to not get close to bosses when casting.

I am still using the Meteorite staff, but this is on my list. I've killed the boss, but 60 int? Damn man. I stopped at 40 and was leveling mind so I can share more pain with my enemies. 60 is a long ass ways away.

The Carian Regal Staff requires 60 INT. I can't say that I am seeing a whole lot of difference from the Meteorite Staff, but the Meteorite Staff does not allow for upgrades. The upgraded Carian Regal Staff does have higher Int Scaling and Sorcery modifier.

That said, I do feel like I see a big difference in spell damage at that level. Also, to use some of the Lunar spells, you need Int around 70.

I only have 22 or so Mind, which is likely an issue. But with that high of Int, I need fewer casts to take things down. So it evens out.

I also use the Moonveil Katana, which scales with Int. So that is a double-duty stat.

[coopasonic]

The difference between Radahn on my melee character and my sorceror... Melee felt like hours of struggling to make progress, sorceror took 4 tries. The first three tries were all remembering the timing on dodging the giant arrows before actually engaging and then when I got in range I threw some rocks at him and he died.

I am starting to think having 50+ int and 20 vigor is not a great balance though. Getting hit is a problem.

[Octavious]

I did the opening sequence so many times that I found I could time the arrows by the sound it made. It had to be 100+ attempts. I just couldn't do it.

[baelthazar]

I am starting to think having 50+ int and 20 vigor is not a great balance though. Getting hit is a problem.

Then don't get hit. Oddly, at about 25 vigor, I can take about two or three good hits from most things before going down. I have decent armor (the Lapis armor from the dead archmage, complete Sellen's quest reward).

Last night I was able to FINALLY take down Alecto and get the Black Knife Tiche Ashes. I only took 4 tries to get Radahn, around 6 tries on Rennala, and can one try most other Gaol bosses. But Alecto... I might have tried that fight 50 times or more. The trick that finally worked came from the dragon I cheesed earlier - you get a sword spell called Adula's Moonblade when you beat Adula. It has now become my bread-and-butter spell - sweeping attack, shoots a frost wave for range, TONS of damage, decent casting cost and speed.

I do understand why Alecto was so hard - you get 80K ruins and I maxed the Black Knife Tiche Ashes at +10. Those Ashes are WAY powerful - the assassin you summon can nearly kill a boss on its own without your help.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

After ~70 hours, I finally took down my first major boss (Rennala) after Godrick. It's not that she was hard - in fact she was pretty easy - I just didn't know where I was supposed to go for the next main boss. Then, within a few hours, I found the next major boss (Redahn). Got him down to 1/4 health on my first try, but didn't do as well on my second and last try. But tonight he's going down.

[stimpy]

240 hours in and I just took down Rennala.
I tried Redhan first but kept coming up a little short.
Another 20-30 hours and I should be ready for him!!

[coopasonic]

46 hours into my second playthrough and finally "enjoying" the Haligtree area.

Last night I was able to FINALLY take down Alecto and get the Black Knife Tiche Ashes. I only took 4 tries to get Radahn, around 6 tries on Rennala, and can one try most other Gaol bosses. But Alecto... I might have tried that fight 50 times or more. The trick that finally worked came from the dragon I cheesed earlier - you get a sword spell called Adula's Moonblade when you beat Adula. It has now become my bread-and-butter spell - sweeping attack, shoots a frost wave for range, TONS of damage, decent casting cost and speed.

I do understand why Alecto was so hard - you get 80K ruins and I maxed the Black Knife Tiche Ashes at +10. Those Ashes are WAY powerful - the assassin you summon can nearly kill a boss on its own without your help.

He was what saved my Str/Greatsword playthrough. I gave up getting him on this playthrough, but I should probably go back now. I have another 30 or so levels and lots of new tricks to apply. To be fair though, my mimic tear has done really well so far. Two glass cannons really are better than one (and the mimic seems to be better at taking (and avoiding) hits).

[hepcat]

I'm at 80 hours and am STILL discovering places/dungeons/bosses I missed in the starting areas.

I took down Rennala at around 75 hours. By then I was level 70 so she wasn't too much trouble (after I figured out how to get to her). The follow up battle though was rough the first time.

I've started using the other knight ash summons (not the headless one) as he's even more dangerous than the headless knight. He has an AOE attack that sees him jump into the air and then smash everyone around him that I love.

[Scuzz]

I'm at 80 hours and am STILL discovering places/dungeons/bosses I missed in the starting areas.

I took down Rennala at around 75 hours. By then I was level 70 so she wasn't too much trouble (after I figured out how to get to her). The follow up battle though was rough the first time.

I've started using the other knight ash summons (not the headless one) as he's even more dangerous than the headless knight. He has an AOE attack that sees him jump into the air and then smash everyone around him that I love.

Somehow I missed the lvl3 upgrade material for those guys. I have 4-5 and 10, but no 3.

[stimpy]

I've started using the other knight ash summons (not the headless one) as he's even more dangerous than the headless knight. He has an AOE attack that sees him jump into the air and then smash everyone around him that I love.

That's my boy.
Level him up a few times and he's rock solid.

[stimpy]

I'm at 80 hours and am STILL discovering places/dungeons/bosses I missed in the starting areas.

I took down Rennala at around 75 hours. By then I was level 70 so she wasn't too much trouble (after I figured out how to get to her). The follow up battle though was rough the first time.

I've started using the other knight ash summons (not the headless one) as he's even more dangerous than the headless knight. He has an AOE attack that sees him jump into the air and then smash everyone around him that I love.

Somehow I missed the lvl3 upgrade material for those guys. I have 4-5 and 10, but no 3.

Hunting down the various stones has been a pain in my ass.
I keep trying to go get the bell that you give to the Twin Husks so you can buy them, but get sidetracked every damn time.

[baelthazar]

I've started using the other knight ash summons (not the headless one) as he's even more dangerous than the headless knight. He has an AOE attack that sees him jump into the air and then smash everyone around him that I love.

That's my boy.
Level him up a few times and he's rock solid.

I was using Banished Knight Engvall before switching to Tiche (a clear upgrade). Engvall was a great tank, however.

[coopasonic]

Summons I have used and in ascending order of awesomesauceness: Wolves, Jellyfish, Mimic, Tiche

Yeah, I found what I liked and stuck with it, pretty much how I live my entire life in most every aspect (Green Curry Fried Rice Again? Why don't you try something different?)

[hepcat]

Yellow curried fried rice is superior, heathen!

[Jag]

Black Knife Tiche has replaced the Mimic as the OP summon. Got mine at +10 and it can almost solo bosses. Rotten Breath is still amazing as well. I've been moving towards a Bleed Build at 120 which does crazy damage. With the Bleed I retired my Moonveil and moved to Rivers of Blood and just got Mohgwyns Spear. Just nuts using blood amplifying gear and talismans.

BTW, anyone looking for a quasi-walkthrough, this page is really helpful. I just kind of glance at it usually once I "think" i'm done with a zone because there are so many cool areas that I would have missed had I not seen them in here. I sometimes feel guilty looking at it, but that's offset by being able to discover place I never, ever would have found on my own.

Also quests. I wouldn't be able to follow any of the quests without this because I forget about them the second I leave the NPC.

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/G ... ress+Route

[stimpy]

Black Knife Tiche has replaced the Mimic as the OP summon. Got mine at +10 and it can almost solo bosses. Rotten Breath is still amazing as well. I've been moving towards a Bleed Build at 120 which does crazy damage. With the Bleed I retired my Moonveil and moved to Rivers of Blood and just got Mohgwyns Spear. Just nuts using blood amplifying gear and talismans.

BTW, anyone looking for a quasi-walkthrough, this page is really helpful. I just kind of glance at it usually once I "think" i'm done with a zone because there are so many cool areas that I would have missed had I not seen them in here. I sometimes feel guilty looking at it, but that's offset by being able to discover place I never, ever would have found on my own.

Also quests. I wouldn't be able to follow any of the quests without this because I forget about them the second I leave the NPC.

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/G ... ress+Route

Very nice.
Thank you!!!

[coopasonic]

Last night I was able to FINALLY take down Alecto and get the Black Knife Tiche Ashes. I only took 4 tries to get Radahn, around 6 tries on Rennala, and can one try most other Gaol bosses. But Alecto... I might have tried that fight 50 times or more. The trick that finally worked came from the dragon I cheesed earlier - you get a sword spell called Adula's Moonblade when you beat Adula. It has now become my bread-and-butter spell - sweeping attack, shoots a frost wave for range, TONS of damage, decent casting cost and speed.

I do understand why Alecto was so hard - you get 80K ruins and I maxed the Black Knife Tiche Ashes at +10. Those Ashes are WAY powerful - the assassin you summon can nearly kill a boss on its own without your help.

Just wanted to bring this back up for an update. I tried again since it has been a while and my usual (rock sling) was coming close and I probably could have done it, but I tried Adula's Moonblade and holy hell was that easy. Thanks for the tip.

[Skinypupy]

[stimpy]

That video is WAY too short. He needs to die at least a few hundred more times to get the point across.