Elden Ring journeys and experiences

[JDR13]

Ok, good to hear that, I was never very successful with such build.

Well, I'm probably a little biased since that's how I played.

I like blocking because it usually sets you up to counterattack instantly, as opposed to dodging and then having to reposition to counterattack.

I plan on playing a very different build next time though for the sake of variety.

 

[booboo]

On my way to try Loretta...sigh. Checked and my ashes are quite weak. Guess I'll heave to head into more catacombs for upgrades 1st :/

I tried Rennala twice - I think I know what I did wrong, but they have placed the closest site of grace quite a disdtance away, so

Spoiler: spoiler

either you run past the giant ball (and if you are clumsy like me, may get crushed) or you have to fight past several enemies that waste resources (mana/FP fo rme).

Second tijme I ran past, but now I'm just moving on to something else.

 

[Redglyph]

I tried Rennala twice - I think I know what I did wrong, but they have placed the closest site of grace quite a disdtance away, so

Spoiler: spoiler

either you run past the giant ball (and if you are clumsy like me, may get crushed) or you have to fight past several enemies that waste resources (mana/FP fo rme).

Second tijme I ran past, but now I'm just moving on to something else.

Spoiler

There's a way to disable this ball. You have to find a path to the 1st floor, and if you kill what's up there, you won't have the ball any more. For that, you need to pass a first time, though.

I usually jumped on the little spot on the left side; there's enough time to do it and it's not too difficult. Get right back on the path as soon as the ball has passed and run to the top by staying on the left side to avoid the next ball.

 

[booboo]

Spoiler

There's a way to disable this ball. You have to find a path to the 1st floor, and if you kill what's up there, you won't have the ball any more. For that, you need to pass a first time, though.

I usually jumped on the little spot on the left side; there's enough time to do it and it's not too difficult. Get right back on the path as soon as the ball has passed and run to the top by staying on the left side to avoid the next ball.

ah ok - I did actually visit that room, but didn't see a lever or 'off button' so assumed it just carried on....When I get back there I'll follow that route. Still a pita that' its not just outside...

 

[Redglyph]

ah ok - I did actually visit that room, but didn't see a lever or 'off button' so assumed it just carried on....When I get back there I'll follow that route. Still a pita that' its not just outside...

It's enemies (with very big balls ), not a lever. There are actually 2 sorcerers spawning these balls, guarded by a mad pumpkin and another sorcerer. Once you kill the 2 sorcerers, they don't respawn, and the balls will stop.

To be sure we're talking about the same room: there's a ladder in the room on the left when you enter the hall under the ball source. I think the door needs to be opened from inside, the first time, so you may have to enter the courtyard, go to the left, and jump through the window (I assume you've already defeated the mini-boss in that courtyard). So all you have to do, from the Debate Parlor, is jumping on one of the arcades, jumping on the pavement, then jumping back on one of the arcade pillars when the ball rolls down, and quickly sprinting to the hallway.

PS: Regarding shields, I also remembered one that was awesome but heavy: the Erdtree Greatshield (weight = 13.5). It has a unique skill, Golden Retaliation, that throws sorceries and incantations back at its caster. You only get it a little later in the game, by defeating a specific group of enemies. Strangely, it requires STR=30 and FAI=12, so maybe you'll need a STR+5 talisman or better and a higher level, but it's worth remembering, especially since it's a 100% phy guard shield. You probably remember that shield from the first Tree Sentinel you saw, if you tried to fight him. He doesn't drop it, though; the ones dropping it are the Tree Sentinel Duo, in the Altus Plateau when you get near the capital. Perks of serving the Erdtree.

 

[booboo]

Yep - it's the same ball sorcerers + pumpkin ;-) Dispatched before the mini-boss... good, so next time I'll take that route.! I only have, I think, 13 STR :-o .... I do have a 100% (physical) guard shield - that's the carian' knights shield which also has high magic resistance. So I am thinking of buffing that with scholar's shield. Only frustration that it last 30 seconds (! or is it 1 min? still, too short) and you have to equip staff to cast then flip back to sword, if you are using that (and in heat of combat, running around flipping through things......wen hotkeys? I have died so many times because of the interface...oops). I got Rennala down quite easily in phase one with sword (after figuring out what to do), but in Phase 2 suddenly she was much tougher physically..how does that work, hm? Her and her damn laser beams And my magic was pretty weak... Anyway, I have a plan, when Ican summon teh enthuisiasm to go at it again. I actually hate boss fights in games, all games, always dread them...now I'm playing a game where they are behind every second corner Why do I do this to myself?

 

[Redglyph]

Yeah, where are those hotkeys? If I had to count the number of times I had to disentangle my fingers in the middle of a boss fight...

The laser beams are mean, so are those spirits she spawns. But there should be a few quiet moments where you can reciprocate. Good luck, and say hi from me!

It's funny you mention boss fights because I've always hated them, too. But Elden Ring was the first game where they made sense, somehow. Why do we inflict such pain to ourselves, indeed.

 

[JDR13]

Of all the major bosses, I thought Rennala was one of the easiest. Although I embarrassingly died once during that fight from a chandelier falling on my head.

The red wolf you face prior to fighting her was harder imo.

 

[bkrueger]

Of all the major bosses, I thought Rennala was one of the easiest. Although I embarrassingly died once during that fight from a chandelier falling on my head.

The red wolf you face prior to fighting her was harder imo.

Yes, but there is something special you have to realise for the Rennala fight: You should kill three of her minions first, which look a little bit different than the others.

 

[JDR13]

Yes, but there is something special you have to realise for the Rennala fight: You should kill three of her minions first, which look a little bit different than the others.

I think you have to. Iirc, isn't that what makes her drop her barrier?

 

[bkrueger]

I think you have to. Iirc, isn't that what makes her drop her barrier?

Probably yes, has been some time since my last playthrough...

 

[Redglyph]

Here's a 25' video on the depth of the worlds in FromSoftware's games. It shows a few example of how the history and myth are told through the world design.

I've sometimes wondered if the background lore written by George R. R. Martin would be published one day, but it looks like it's never going to happen.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJQfsXZ-lQ

 

[Redglyph]

I'm tempted to try a spellsword build for a little while, just to see how it goes. I started with the Prisoner class; my first temptation was Confessor, but it seems there are more sorceries that could be stance-breaking than incantations, so I figured it'd be easier to start with that.

It's fine so far, but I'm not a fan of the hat.

​

What's the story with FromSoftware, the left eyes, and the struggle for opening doors? Hmm.

Anyway, after the Cave of Knowledge, I realized that in my previous playthrough, I had missed the very first talisman the player meets in the game. I quickly fixed that with my old character, then I saw another one was missing, too. I wonder how much content I haven't discovered yet.

 

[booboo]

I stopped about a week ago @ lvl 61 (not that level means much it seems) - having to get through a boss fight that I was not interested in (again and again) , and struggling with the UI/interface that caused excessive deaths, finally broke the camels' back. if they allowed you to pick up after you had completed a phase in boss fight...but no, all the way back to nearest site of grace. I timed how long it took me to get back and get to the end do Phase 1 - just too obnerous for me. So have abandoned my playthrough. Not sure I'll bother returning - it seems so tedious..and why bother? To prove something to ...who...myself? I'm no longer enjoying it. The hours I have left in my life are precious and wasting time on stuff that I don't enjoy - when gaming is mean to be relaxing and fun - seems like a bad idea. In fact, I have completely lost all interest in playing games and can't even summon enthusiasm to return to Rogue Trader (which I stopped because of bug which has supposedly been patched...). Maybe I just have too much on my plate - also nothing on the gaming horizon looks interesting, so good time to leave it for awhile.

 

[Redglyph]

Who's the bad boss, @booboo?

You're right, though; there's no point in continuing when it's not fun any more, or when it's just time to take a break. I've almost been discouraged 2 or 3 times. I thought I had reached my limit and almost accepted it, but I really wanted to see more of the game, and I believe it's a necessary drive. Having something to prove is probably not a good motivator for a game.

When I had a very difficult encounter, the problem solved itself in one of three ways:

• More often than not with a difficult enemy, all it took was a good night's sleep after several attempts. Maybe I'm just lazy and like to solve problems in my bed.
• Adapting the strategy sometimes proved to be necessary. I tried different spirit ashes, different weapons, different tactics, and finally the fight became much easier.
• In some cases, when it was an optional boss or when there were other things to do, I just came back later with a few more levels or a better weapon.

Each time, I've been surprised by how much easier (or less difficult) it had become.

Chance helped in some fights, too.

 

[sakichop]

Builds are extremely important in Elden ring more so than the souls games imo. First things I do is get vigor to 30 Asap. ( greatly improves survivability) Upgrading weapons is more important than character levels. Infusions are very powerful especially bleed. Talismans are also important. Use which every fits you build best. Activate Godricks great rune as well for some nice stat boosts. I like radagons soreseal ( makes you take 10% more damage but the buffs more than make up for it imo.) as well pre level 60ish then switch to erdtrees favor or you could use both for a big boost but honestly the other talisman slot could be used better.

Anyway anytime the game starts to feel hard the first thing I look to do is upgrade and/or infuse weapons, change talismans, check armor for better resistances to whatever the boss is doing to me. Honestly upping your levels is the least effective way to get stronger. unless you cheese some bosses and can add 15-20 levels quickly. Even the that should only be done in addition to the other changes I mentioned.

Right now I’m running some blood venomous fang fists. With the right talismans and armor they just melt enemies and bosses. The DOT of the deadly poison along with the frequent burst damage of bleed proc’s is outrageous. Almost to easy really but having a good time with it.

 

[JDR13]

I can't recall a single time where I thought any boss was too far from a site of grace. Most of them have a Stake of Marika nearby where you can choose to respawn.

In regards to builds, I do think some are probably better for beginners than others, and I don't think a sorcerer is one of them.

 

[Redglyph]

Upgrading weapons is more important than character levels.

That's so true. My objectives, when they were not linked to a quest line, were often driven by the need to find smithing stones or bell bearings because I considered that to be a gate to the next boss fight.

To the list, I'd also add the spirit ashes and their upgrade material.

 

[sakichop]

That's so true. My objectives, when they were not linked to a quest line, were often driven by the need to find smithing stones or bell bearings because I considered that to be a gate to the next boss fight.

To the list, I'd also add the spirit ashes and their upgrade material.

True, I can’t believe I forgot to mention spirit ashes. Some of the better ones when upgraded can solo some bosses or require a little help.

I think the sheer size of elden ring makes builds extremely difficult in a first play through. Depending on the path you take you could end up missing some of the better equipment, talismans and spirit ashes and also have a hard time finding smithing stones to upgrade your weapons. All which could result in a tough, frustrating experience.

My first play through I wanted to open up as much of the map as possible so I just ran off to explore skipping dungeons, castles and such. For my first 25-30 hours I found a few weapons and only had a mismatched bit of armor I looted off enemies I killed. Fortunately one of the weapons I found was reduvia the best dagger in the game in my opinion. I powerstanced it with a poison great knife and fell in love with the poison bleed combo. I found enough somber stones to upgrade reduvia to +6 and absolutely destroyed stormviel castle when I finally went there. Almost forgot I also found the blood fang which is an extremely strong weapon too as you know but ultimately I preferred the daggers as the fit my playstyle better.

 

[Redglyph]

Agreed. It's in great part down to luck, a thorough exploration, or getting some help from guides or maps.

I found the Bloodhound's Fang by luck and it was a game changer for a noob like me. It made me realized it was much easier to rely on a keen or almost quality style rather than a pure Dex build. I'm not sure I'd have gone much further with only a katana.

I just found this funny video showing all the weapons. I don't agree with everything I saw - I haven't watched everything either because it's very long - but it has the merit of showing a few exotic weapons I wouldn't even have considered otherwise.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XixNTEqNrE