Elden Ring

[Deck Rickard]

Toughest boss I've faced so far is unquestionably - The Camera Boss.

From a melee gameplay perspective some of the enemies you face are made a lot more difficult than they really are purely because of how poorly the camera behaves at times in combination with lock-on, walls, jumping attacks etc.

Yeah, the camera and the weird target lock have been the death of me so many times. Like with the aforementioned Night’s Cavalry. I’ve taken out 4 of those guys so far but I probably would have gotten all of them if I could ever keep my target locked on them.

That’s to say nothing of those moments when I have a giant mutant beast charging at me and I try to target it for an attack but instead, the system targets a grazing deer 50 feet away…

 

[Marvolo]

I'm sorry but no. FromSoftware should never and will never copy the Ubisoft formula of open world games. Elden Ring is its own unique thing and that's what makes it stand out from the rest of the open world crowd.

I was able to finish several NPC quests without using Wiki. Some quests are more hidden than others and you can easily write your own notes like the old school days prior to wiki.

Or From could design their games better and provide basic features of the genre that have been standard for almost 20 years.


Taking notes would require actual info which the game doesn't give. A character saying "somewhere in Limgrave" or "Find this person." doesn't cut it. Whats worse is the volcano manor quests give quest markers straight to the target. So this isnt a case of From being opposed to markers. Its a case of From being unhelpful for the sake of it, and not respecting gamer's time. This is another aspect of open world gaming that they need to compromise on. When you're asking a gamer to invest $70 and 200+ hours into your massive game you respect the gamer's time and give them basic organizational features.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

I'm sorry but no. FromSoftware should never and will never copy the Ubisoft formula of open world games. Elden Ring is its own unique thing and that's what makes it stand out from the rest of the open world crowd.

I was able to finish several NPC quests without using Wiki. Some quests are more hidden than others and you can easily write your own notes like the old school days prior to wiki.

Being unique and obtuse doesn't automatically make something good lol the game stands out in a dumb way. This is almost as silly as the difficulty argument.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

I didn't mind the way they handled quests. Sure by the time I finished the game I'd missed a few, but it also made the ones I managed to complete so much more satisfying. Completing the Ranni questline without using a guide was a great feeling, and only made that secret ending more gratifying.

Side Note: I'm halfway through Dark Souls 3 right now, for my first proper playthrough (I.e. my first playthrough where I've lasted more than 2 hours). And they have the same approach for quests there, so I think that's really helped me appreciate the quest design.

I don't think it's really the intention for you to 100% EVERY quest. They way they're spaced out, it's more about discovery, happening upon quest givers, being rewarded for exploring or doubling back to old locations. And then you're encouraged to make new choices and try different quests in future NG+ playthroughs.

I think trying both games back to back has helped me appreciate that it's a very different pace of questing.

I'm the kind of gamer who normally needs to complete every single side quest, so when I realised I'd failed my first side quest in ER I was a tiny bit bummed. But then I realised failing that quest actually opened up another option to me, like 20 hrs of gameplay later.

Similarly in DS3, I'd formed a covenant with these two cool characters and had been summoning and interacting with them for most of the game. And then I formed an alliance with this weird looking creature, because why shouldn't I, right? Turns out I formed an alliance with the mortal enemy of my two companions. They parted ways and swore to kill me if they saw me again.

All that stuff felt organic and exciting to discover in a way that plenty of other open games don't quite manage.

 

[obredaan]

Being unique and obtuse doesn't automatically make something good lol the game stands out in a dumb way. This is almost as silly as the difficulty argument.

I agree complaining about the lack of a difficulty setting is silly.

Gaming studios have been making Souls like clones for over a decade now so it seems like FromSoft being unique and obtuse worked out well for them.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Regarding the quests… I do kinda wish they included a Skyrim/AC style quest log simply because it’s not always clear whether I actually completed the quests or not. I was trying to find that commander guy after beating the boss in Castle Morne to let him know I retrieved the sword, but he’s not in the castle anymore and he’s not by the bridge near his dead daughter. So is that it? Is the quest finished? Or is he somewhere else and should I find him?

 

[The Infernal]

You'll stumble upon him at Revenger's shack. You're not really meant to know with that one tbh. Though it does get confusing when you complete a step in a quest only to wonder where to go next.

However the layout of the game I think part of the point is you eventually stumble upon most of them if you explore, but you can also easily miss opportunities to start quests too.

 

[obredaan]

 

[B]

There's a happy medium to be found between what Elden Ring does & some other open world games that pollute your screen with effectively too much information about what's going on, hints & tips, minimaps that point exactly where you need to go meaning you're watching it more often than the world around you.

I'd settle for a journal, Red Dead Redemption 2 like that reads like my characters story so far & NPC's I've encountered, maybe throwing in a few hints on where I might find them next if they've randomly moved.

 

[B]

I really popped into the thread to say, with all respect, **** the fingers. Remind me of the facehuggers from Alien which were nightmare inducing growing up.

Few of them scared me in Caria Manor leaping off the side of buildings from up high, after they scared me I was on high alert though & did manage to spot some of them hiding in the ground which I was quite pleased with myself for doing because I didn't even know that was a thing.

Was about to go lift a conveniently placed item in the middle of a field & thought to myself, those don't look like crystals, they look like fingernails sticking out of the ground.

In a happy accident as well I've a fire ash of war on currently & they don't seem to like that at all.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

the Imps are cancer JFC, I can beat the **** out of most bosses but 3 imps end me in seconds.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

I'm currently up to one of the near final bosses in DS3 and honestly, my heart is still back in Elden Ring. I miss this game so much already haha. I hope they announce DLC sooner rather than later

 

[Maestro216]

Fell into a chest trap. I got spooked when I saw the castle nowhere near the first area of the game. I noped out with the grace site lol

 

[Deck Rickard]

You'll stumble upon him at Revenger's shack. You're not really meant to know with that one tbh. Though it does get confusing when you complete a step in a quest only to wonder where to go next.

However the layout of the game I think part of the point is you eventually stumble upon most of them if you explore, but you can also easily miss opportunities to start quests too.

Ah, okay. Thanks!

 

[Deck Rickard]

the Imps are cancer JFC, I can beat the **** out of most bosses but 3 imps end me in seconds.

Those little bastards are the worst. I know exactly what you mean. They’re so hard to see and if you get swarmed, you’re screwed.

 

[obredaan]

There's a happy medium to be found between what Elden Ring does & some other open world games that pollute your screen with effectively too much information about what's going on, hints & tips, minimaps that point exactly where you need to go meaning you're watching it more often than the world around you.

I'd settle for a journal, Red Dead Redemption 2 like that reads like my characters story so far & NPC's I've encountered, maybe throwing in a few hints on where I might find them next if they've randomly moved.

I can only imagine the agony that Miyazaki went through just to include a map and a tutorial in this game. The man is taking baby steps.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Just finished Elden Ring...

The way people are talking about this game being GOTY are hyping it WAY too much. It was a decent game but it wasn't FUN. The only reason I kept going was just to prove to myself that I can beat it. I'm two hours into Ghost of Tsushima now and I'm enjoying myself so much more.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Just finished Elden Ring...

The way people are talking about this game being GOTY are hyping it WAY too much. It was a decent game but it wasn't FUN. The only reason I kept going was just to prove to myself that I can beat it. I'm two hours into Ghost of Tsushima now and I'm enjoying myself so much more.

Yeah, Elden Ring is like the video game equivalent of CrossFit. When you beat a boss, you feel this overwhelming sense of accomplishment but everything up until that point is stressful as hell. As addictive as the game is, I find myself needing to step away from it for a few days at a time so I can enjoy life lol.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Yeah, Elden Ring is like the video game equivalent of CrossFit. When you beat a boss, you feel this overwhelming sense of accomplishment but everything up until that point is stressful as hell. As addictive as the game is, I find myself needing to step away from it for a few days at a time so I can enjoy life lol.

My brother's literal words were "well now I know what an abusive relationship feels like" and honestly it makes sense.

BUT Ghost of Tsushima of ****ing BEAUTIFUL and I'm having a blast playing it.

 

[obredaan]

My brother's literal words were "well now I know what an abusive relationship feels like" and honestly it makes sense.

BUT Ghost of Tsushima of ****ing BEAUTIFUL and I'm having a blast playing it.

I've got to get around to finishing Ghost at some point. I'm in the final act of the game but kind of lost interest. It's a beautiful game that ends up dragging on for way too long and really suffers from an overload of sidequests and fetch quests which pull you away from the main narrative.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

I've got to get around to finishing Ghost at some point. I'm in the final act of the game but kind of lost interest. It's a beautiful game that ends up dragging on for way too long and really suffers from an overload of sidequests and fetch quests which pull you away from the main narrative.

The opposite is Elden Ring where the quests are lame and there's nothing to do but get mad at exploring dungeons and stuff that have almost zero to do with the main game.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Every time I use the Lone Wolves, I think of this.

 

[obredaan]

 

[DeadlyWest]

What's very frustrating to me

is that Elden Ring is an objective improvement over all previous FromSoft games in all areas

except the bosses.

The bosses are an objective downgrade from DS3, BB and Sekiro. The reuse imo is fine given expecting only unique bosses for this gargantuan sized world is just borderline unrealistic. But so many bosses rely on outright just not letting you heal or just having BS moves to make them hard that it's ridiculous.

If most bosses just won't let me heal, don't give me the option. And the fact that so many bosses (

Spoiler

looking at you Malenia

) had the potential to be some of if not the best goddamn bosses in the series but are ruined by them just having mechanics that are complete bull**** is borderline infuriating to me. They got so close and messed it up at the finish line.

Also strength needs a massive overhaul. It basically still functions the same as how it did in DS1 but that heavily relied on DS1's system for poise which isn't in the games anymore. So strength has taken such a massive backseat to magic and dex builds. Even with the new buffs to colossal weapons. On the flip side to Dex, which basically got said overhaul via Bloodborne and Sekiro.

I would say this game is still probably my GOTY, but it's definitely not a perfect game or the greatest game ever made. Solid 8.5-9/10 though? Absolutely

 

[Deck Rickard]

Question for ya’ll. I’ve been trying like crazy to get the (altered) Banished Knight armor. Everyone online just recommends killing the knight at the dragon cathedral over and over again until he drops it. Well, I’ve tried that, and the A-hole just keeps dropping the same junk! I’ve gotten the greaves twice and the shield twice but I can’t get the chest plate or the helmet. I tried going back to Stormveil and killing one of the knights there and he dropped the gauntlets but the chest piece still alludes me.

I’ve heard that some items drops only happen if you kill enemies in a certain way. Anyone know if that’s the case here? Does it matter HOW I kill these guys?