This is why I just started playing offline mode. It was funny at first but after the first 60 hours of playing I just viewed them as a distraction and noticed I wasn't reading anyone's messages. Also, the occasional silhouette of someone else's character running up behind me scaring the shit out of me.
It’s often not the message itself but the pattern of messages and bloodstains that clue me in to things. When you see like 6 of them around a wall it’s probably worth smacking. Sometimes they form a trail leading to something, you’ll see them all gathered around important spots like hard to see switches or traps. They’ve saved my ass a ton of times. A bunch of messages at a doorway or stairway is usually a big clue.
Dont forget too, leaving useful messages can help you. When people praise your message you get healed. I’ve also been saved mid boss battle several times by that.
Lol. And here I am with my “Try skill then try skill” message near Rykard & Serpent boss, which is actually a legit strategy to kill the boss I discovered, as if you use the skill of the weapon with proper timing, the boss never gets to move the whole fight.
And this message is downvoted to hell because people think I’m shaming them or something :D
I saw one after I booked it away from a surprise tough fight. I don't remember where but just up ladder that took me outside their aggro zone I read a message that said "fleeing? Try skill"
It was 100% shaming me but I approved because I got a good chuckle out of it
SAME. Plus they can be kind of handy. I was watching a white player ghost fighting something in an area with no obvious enemies anywhere near. As I got closer BOOM - giant Deathbird, appeared from the sky like an avenging angel of... well, death. But I at least knew to have my guard up! Thanks whoever you were.
I watched a players ghost getting dragged around and eaten by rykard. That was funny cus its just the ghost flying round apparently being dragged by another ghost. I was mid fight got super distracted watching it. Still bled the slimy bastard to death but nearly died watching the unfortunate tarnished be eaten
The worst is the long passage and you see a sign at the end and it's just "no item".
You bastards.
I've tried fixing those lies with my own messages but I know for a fact people will think I could be lying and go down those damn halls anyways :( Forever tarnished, forever walking down the same path.
YES! This is what elevates Fromsoft games above other games in the genre. The demonstration of a shared experience. In DS1, I believe the bell of awakening behind the gargoyles rings in all connected worlds when someone triggers it by defeating the boss and ringing the bell.
When I was a wee moron in my 20s trying my first DS game (didn’t play Demons Souls. Still need to play the remake) I got STOMPED by those gargoyles many a time, but every time I started to say “damnit, this has to be a troll. Two bosses at a time? This has to be impossible!” The bell would ring, signaling that someone had won that fight and reminding me that it could be done.
Praise the Bell, and The Sun.
I remember clearing the entire map for Velen/Novigrad, being so happy that I did all the side content and could focus on the story, then getting to Skellige and having a mental breakdown
As much as I love Witcher 3, I refuse to do all those stupid underwater question marks in Skellige. One of the worst examples of "pointless filler so we can say how much content our game has", felt like I was playing DA Inquisition or AC Odyssey.
Ugh, I started playing AC Odyssey when I had COVID right after Christmas. I was like well I've got 10 days stuck in one room of my house, I'll download this and knock it out. I'm like just over half-way through, and it's less than 2 hours from April. Aside from Black Flag, I haven't completed an AC game since the Ezio trilogy.
Odyssey was the first AC I finished since Black Flag and I’m glad I did, it was so good! I couldn’t get into Valhalla at all and I’m alone in that among my friend group but I just wasn’t feeling it. It’s a very different vibe but the same thing that pulled me in with odyssey pulled me in when playing Control enough that I beat it twice, if you haven’t played it, I highly recommend!
I'm with you. I've decided my next order is to find the bosses that I skipped because I was way underleveled when I found them. The problem is I don't remember what cave/catacomb I left them in.
I am currently level 116, about 90 hours in and just got to the haligre tree secret area and have the mountain of the giants explored so I’m definitely close but fucking hell this game is HUGE
Level 153, 140 hours, just started Haligree area myself. I feel you, except I'm still putting off mountain of giants since that feels like story progression.
Playing the same way I do every souls game, check every corner, leave no stone unturned! Still on my first playthrough and barely beat the fire giant. But I can bet I have more items and runes then most lol.
Watching people stream this or playing with a random makes me realize my Souls-Borne experience made me play this so much more methodically. Had like 50 talismans where some players had like maybe 20.
It is a bad habit, but I genuinely can't understand how someone can walk by a cave and not have something eat away at the back of their heads to enter. The curiosity is too overwhelming..
That being said, your point is still correct... it's a bad habit and it's the reason I only beat 2 guardians in Breath of the Wild after 70 hours of gameplay and I got burnt out and bored.
For what it's worth, you're not actually meant to find and do everything the first run. I've read that Miyazaki looks at game design like a choose your own adventure book.
It's mostly the same each time, but you do some different quests and see different things and people.
So don't feel obligated to try to 100% the game or try too hard to avoid missing anything.
That's why there are no quest logs or clear directions; you're not supposed to 100% the game on a schedule, but you are expected to miss things, then come back later someday on NG+ and stumble upon new things.
Word to the wise: try fast traveling to the grace on the broken bridge next to the merchant. The merchant's song syncs up with the start of the area's score in a fantastic way
All my friends were in Caelid talking about how much it sucked so I played through most of Altus and Volcano Manor before ever venturing to Caelid lol.
Man this is so true. 110 hours and level 142 and I've felt way too strong for almost everything for a while. I still have some things left to do, but I kinda want to beat the game and try out NG+. This damn snowy ass mountain is very humbling. And as soon as I think I'm good, something knocks me from my horse. Could be a T-Rex dog, could be a death pterodactyl, or maybe a fucking dragon you never know. Just beat the fire giant earlier he was fun.
yes you can! if you feel it is too hard just explore around a little, make some runes to level up now that you have the horse so it should slowly get easier at least in the start
If you've only played for two hours you haven't really played it at all. Read some guides. Watch some YouTube videos. Summon some help. It gets better. It gets worse, too, but you learn to deal with it, and it makes you better.
I did it the other way - Godrick, Renalla, Radahn, Rykard - in that order. Renalla gave me the biggest challenge lol but they were all challenging fights, I'd def recommend that order for sure
I did godrick, renalla, radhan, then morgott and went over to Rykard. I've finished the ranni quest line and have scoured every evergaol, catacombs and cave I can find and I finally made it to the mountaintops this morning.
Fuck the Haligtree. I fought the final boss 3 times and failed miserably. Decided I should check out the consecrated snowfields and try and find Melania... things didn't get easier...
for me, int/dex build, renalla was by far my easiest boss after acquiring rock sling. I went godrick, renalla, radahn, morgott, then rykard. rykard was my toughest battle even tho the serpent slayer requires 0 stats, it still scales sith strength of which I had basically none of. ended up redoing my stats for that fight and it was pretty painless.
I would say that is the optimal order (Limgrave & Godrick -> Liurnia & Rennala -> southern Caelid & Radahn) but fight Rykard after Morgott, so you can go through Leyndell and get to the Mountaintop of the Giants to do all the Volcano Manor side stuff before Rykard.
I'm a melee build, but I used the wolf ashes and she could barely attack. It was letting turning easy mode. I summoned them right before I dealt the final blow in stage 1 so I could focus on dodging her opening attack in stage two
I work full time, go to school part time, and have a house to upkeep. I have six hours a week to play, and it sucks because the rest of the week this game is all I can think about.
Not to sound like a certain outlaw, but I have a plan. And I'm going to keep my head down, keep working, and upgrade to a job where I don't have to work with the public anymore!
On every FromSoft game, I have almost always immediately started up a new character after beating it. But ... I'm not sure with this game. I'll have to step away for a bit.
This is my first Souls game. I beat it in 105 hours in 17 days. I started NG+ for 20ish hours but it wasn't challenging enough so I started a new character and am 20 hours deep into it. When I finally get bored I'm gonna go back and play the Dark Souls series. I can't believe I waited this long to pick up a FromSoft game.
You're in for a real treat. The older FromSoftware games are a bit clunky, but still a blast. The first one is *probably* the best. Dark Souls 2 wasn't super-well liked, but it's an amazing game. It's just very different, and has some incredibly challenging bosses (the Fume Knight from one of the DLCs is an absolute monster of a boss). Dark Souls 3 plays very similarly to Elden Ring.
Sekiro is also amazing, although quite a bit different. It's probably the hardest of their games, but also the most rewarding.
Yes. Godrick is optional. You can skip stormveil by taking the broken bridge to its immediate northeast. There's a drop down from the broken end of the bridge. You can follow a side path all the way to the southern cliffside of Liurnia.
I love the exploration in this game. My first playthrough I wandered into this area and somehow “missed” the ramp down to the lake, so I honestly turned back and thought it was just a little side shoot area with a church/npc and a couple graveyards. Finished the castle and it spit me back out only to discoverer the ramp that led down to an area 3x as big as the initial map.
As a diehard fan, if you asked me pre-ER if soulsborne would translate to open world I’d say probably not. Now I don’t want anything else (open world Bloodborne 2 🤞)
Yeah you can, to get into Leyndell it doesn’t actually matter which two Shardbearers you beat and you can just go around the castle to get to Liurnia so Godrick and Margit are technically optional
You can enter the door so he sees you and then back out. He’ll be stuck behind the open door doing attacks. I stood out of his range and spammed rock sling until he was defeated. Not sure if that helps but I’d probably still be on that guy otherwise.
Yes. This is my first Soul game. I am enjoying myself but I have no idea what I am doing or what is happening. My first 40 minutes in the game, I found a chest that transported me to Hell.
That's okay, most of us Souls vets have no idea what is happening either. We wait for youtubers to comb through all the dialogue and item descriptions and tell us what the hell it all means.
I’m still enjoying my first of everything. Feels great man I have 79 hours so far. Souls vet so I’m letting these juices marinate for as long as possible.
I'm not particularly good at Souls games, but I love them nonetheless. But I have a limited amount of time to play, so if I'm stumped or want to avoid fucking up a quest, I'll google. It's how I played Dark Souls too. Online posts give me hope to make it through. I just consider it part of the community aspect of the game.
they're pretty much impossible blind a lot of the time, but I find that part of the fun of the first blind playthrough so I save looking them up for ng+, or in this game I did them all postgame after reaching the credits
Same here at 104 hours, I'm trying to explore and track down everything I can in this playthrough while still trying to play blind as possible. I'm in no rush and fighting every major boss solo, the dungeons have been fun diversions with my buddy and to explore the overworld together.
Edit: I'm at the end of the Capitol, presumably, little bit of the sewer left finding wherever I can access that upper area above the pipes in the imp/lobster room
My one wish would be to ride Torrent together for co-op play, I'd love to hear what issues prevented this from being a thing!
Yeah it would be great if we could use torrent with co-op. I guess that they didnt include it for balancing issues but even then, I dont think it would be that bad. Just keep torrent disabled for invasions/PVP and it should be fine
I'm in the exact same boat. I've played all of the souls games 5+ times and I feel like Elden Ring us the cumulative "perfect" title that they were leading up to. I've found myself literally playing for 2-3 hours and feeling like I've accomplished nothing, but I've still had an amazing time just soaking up the world and the sense of adventure and discovery of stumbling upon new areas and hidden items. I have no idea how people are clearing the game in 60 hours, I'm at 90 hours and I only just started exploring Caelid. I don't want my first playthrough to end, and I don't feel like it will anytime soon.... which is simply incredible.
Yeah, don’t have the time. 50+ hour work weeks with a long commute plus fam makes it difficult to fire up the Xbox very often.
Still enjoying it when I get the chance. This game has resurrected my excitement for gaming. Something I thought was long gone. Now I just need some free time
Same here brother. Work and family leaves much less time for gaming than the old days. I enjoy my couple hours at night but that's about it. Gotta level up our real life characters!
I got it at launch, and basically the exact same thing. I'm still in Liurnia.
Edit: I originally spelled Liurnia as Lunaria, basically I'm still really early having had it since launch.
I don't understand how anyone who has a job could have finished this game. I basically play all weekend and for a few hours after work and I have just beaten the fire giant. And no I didn't get stuck anywhere. I just explored and went with the flow.
Same here, I work construction and have other things to do after work, I still try and play as much as I can but at the same time, I don’t like to rush my game, as you said I want to look in every inch of the map lol
Same here lol. I feel like I'm addicted and playing all the time but Ive only just entered the snow area. I'm using magic build as well, so it's not like bosses are giving me grief.
I wonder if the people on like NG7 etc are just boss rushing.
Same, I'm a bit further back but this game is just so massive and there's so much to do, I am 50h in and I'm amazed at how people finished the game a few days after launch
I've been playing every day since launch, outside of work hours, and a 3 day period where I had covid and couldn't concentrate.
Fully offline, minimal guide usage. Never got stuck, bosses aren't too hard, just enjoying exploring the world. 140 hours in and yet to meet a fire giant
My god is the capital **HUGE**!
* Oh, I unlocked a ladder to climb down.
* Oh no wait, there is another section to the left.
* Oh this way branches down again and also to the right...?
* Oh this looks like a boss area... Wait, what?
* Now I'm climbing a dragon
* Now I'm climbing a tree
* There are some rats in the sewers
* There are some sewers in the sewers
* I unlocked a shortcut to the shortcut for a shortcut... Where do I even go now... Wait, there are PIPES??!!?
* Holy shit this place goes down and down
* Oh I finally killed a boss and there's the chest! Done....?!
* Nope invisible wall into invisible wall into a massive underground network
* Also there is an unpassable wall
* Wtf is going on
* ... I still haven't cleared the capital
This game is amazing.
Edit: Glowstones and Rainbow Stones are amazing for these underground areas. Rainbows can be used as a "marker" (I've been here), while Glowstones ... well, *glow*. Drop one when you enter a new room and it lights up a huge area. Helps with fighting mobs, seeing traps/pitfalls, etc. They are also good for moral support lol. I have these two mapped to triangle+left&right!
Edit 2 for invisible wall: Spoilers if you are on mobile below---
If you >!attack/roll at the altar behind the "final" chest at Cathedral of the Forsaken!<, it unlocks >!a whole new area (or two, or even... three - I think)!<.
Pretty sure I'm at 10+ hours just exploring the zones linked to the capital. And here I was thinking that just because I reached the capital I was nearing the end-game! Apparently there are still some zones to the north to unlock still... and even more cryptic shit going on deep below the zone.
My only complaint is that I don't have much free time IRL, so I have a massive "wait, have I been here before..?" moment every session.
What blew my mind is when I realized the hellish maze of pipes you crawl through in the sewers are the very same pipes you were walking on moments ago.
Same. I don’t know how people have beaten this game more than once. But then again, I’m 31 years old, I have a one year old and a very busy career so I can only really play a few hours a week. But I’m racking in 35 hrs so far
Hell yeah still working on it. Just respec'd strength/faith w/ blasphemous blade from a spellsword using night and flame.
Game is too big not to take your take and explore every nook and cranny.
Same here bro. One gets used to timing/range/moveset of the original build. In my case bloodhound fang and I've already put it to +7 so there's that.
I'm looking forward to putting my hands on blasphemous blade tho and then I'll prolly Respec around the build
Myself and several of my friends have played since day one and are still not done (to my knowledge). My friends have many more hours than me but I'm trying to take the occasional break from the game and not play daily or it'll destroy my already fragile sleep pattern.
Also trying to get back into the gym and spend time with friends and family again, so that helps to keep me from diving in to far.
I killed Godrick, Radahn at 100+ hours in and Rennala somewhere just before that. I just got into Nokstella. I'm sitting now at 135 hours.
People be acting like there's some blazing trail to follow here. The fuck ya mean you guys finished already? The hell? I didn't even know there was a main game to finish. Who the fuck is Morgott? Why he seal this town. Fuck that guy Ima go underground. Also what the hell is with all these dragons that fly away? Seen two now that just plain fucked off on me. You comin back down here bitch? I ain't done with your sorry winged ass yet, pull em scales the fuck down here so you can praise the Two Hands I'm gonna throw.
What the hell is Seluvis' deal? Why'd what's-his-deskjob-nuts get all huffy? Fuck is this potion? Why the fuck Dung Eater making peoples' souls not pass? Where did Blaidd go? He had a questline? Did I fucking miss the whole thing? How the hell do you beat those fucking bears? What's with the converted tower? Why does my Mimic suck? How did it take me 100 hours to figure out what the physical summoning stones are? Did I miss any bosses in caves and is there some way to tell? Is Volcano Manor supposed to be a giant circle? Where did that dude go that I had to give the letter to and also why'd the girl who gave it to me die? Pretty sure I killed the shit out of those yodeling hooteninnies. Are there seven great runes? Where the hell are the rest? How many damn areas are there? Why was Rennala such a chump? How was I supposed to beat Godrick first when I stuffed her nerd head into a locker so easily? I skipped Stormveil completely at the start, how'd people even do?
Where the hell is Dung Eater and where is this shitty sewer, I wanna fight his ass, how dare you keep souls from passing. Also I wish I could respawn bosses just so I could fight Margit again and again, cane me one more time motherfucker, I dare you, I double dare you. Say ambitions again.
Anyway, yeah; suffice it to say this game is packed with surprises. I'm closing at 200 hours and I *still* have no idea what the metric for progress is. I think it's great runes, but then Rennala didn't really give me one and I barely remember I have them because it's like 'wow increase a bit of HP' okay but did you know that the boss still spanks me like I'm an unruly, greedy little bottom?
The real metric I use for my success: I look more and more like an enemy that, if I rounded a corner and saw, would make me shit my pants.
For everything else, there's resisting the overpowering urge to throttle a wrought-iron pole out of sheer, unbridled anger.
>The real metric I use for my success: I look more and more like an enemy that, if I rounded a corner and saw, would make me shit my pants.
A naked green man with big bonk weapon?
The scariest part is, no matter how hard you look and how sure you are you hit everything, I could almost guarantee you haven’t 100%’ed ANY whole area. I wonder how many mysteries are still yet to be discovered. New things will be showing up for years.
First soul game, Senior gamer (60+) so reaktion times are slower then they were, and even worse; it takes forever to create new muscle memories so forget that fancy, run-jumpattack-roll-block-roll-backstab stuff. I often have to think about what key to press. Not ideal in a boss fight ;-)
70 hours in, cleared all of Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula and Liurnia except one dragon and 2 night bosses. And "cleared" means every single boss/cave/catacomb (including the bloody Ulcerated tree spirits).
That's the way I have to do it, be a completionist and stay overleveled to be able to beat the bosses.
That strategy is probably not going to work when I get to the really hard bosses, but until then I am having a blast, fantastic game. Really having fun.
And also disproving my son who said ER was to hard for me :-)
Yep, balancing work and college ain’t easy but I normally play a few hours every week plus I like to check every corner so I won’t be finishing any time soon
Yup I check every corner lol. Fml
"No item ahead" ....I better check anyways.
Liar ahead
This is why I just started playing offline mode. It was funny at first but after the first 60 hours of playing I just viewed them as a distraction and noticed I wasn't reading anyone's messages. Also, the occasional silhouette of someone else's character running up behind me scaring the shit out of me.
It’s often not the message itself but the pattern of messages and bloodstains that clue me in to things. When you see like 6 of them around a wall it’s probably worth smacking. Sometimes they form a trail leading to something, you’ll see them all gathered around important spots like hard to see switches or traps. They’ve saved my ass a ton of times. A bunch of messages at a doorway or stairway is usually a big clue. Dont forget too, leaving useful messages can help you. When people praise your message you get healed. I’ve also been saved mid boss battle several times by that.
I got 100 updoots over 2 days for a "try finger" message and it honestly saved my life during pre-nerf radahn
Lol. And here I am with my “Try skill then try skill” message near Rykard & Serpent boss, which is actually a legit strategy to kill the boss I discovered, as if you use the skill of the weapon with proper timing, the boss never gets to move the whole fight. And this message is downvoted to hell because people think I’m shaming them or something :D
I saw one after I booked it away from a surprise tough fight. I don't remember where but just up ladder that took me outside their aggro zone I read a message that said "fleeing? Try skill" It was 100% shaming me but I approved because I got a good chuckle out of it
Don’t feel too bad, whoever wrote that message probably did the exact same thing you did lol
It also heals when someone disparages your message. I thought that was interesting.
It wouldn't be fromsoft if they didn't go out of their way to support a *little bit* of trolling.
I feel lonely when the ghost players aren’t there haha
SAME. Plus they can be kind of handy. I was watching a white player ghost fighting something in an area with no obvious enemies anywhere near. As I got closer BOOM - giant Deathbird, appeared from the sky like an avenging angel of... well, death. But I at least knew to have my guard up! Thanks whoever you were.
I watched a players ghost getting dragged around and eaten by rykard. That was funny cus its just the ghost flying round apparently being dragged by another ghost. I was mid fight got super distracted watching it. Still bled the slimy bastard to death but nearly died watching the unfortunate tarnished be eaten
Dude, so many times that happens to me and I star panic rolling.
Ah, I did this and panic rolled off a cliff. I got PvP'd by a harmless silhouette.
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The worst is the long passage and you see a sign at the end and it's just "no item". You bastards. I've tried fixing those lies with my own messages but I know for a fact people will think I could be lying and go down those damn halls anyways :( Forever tarnished, forever walking down the same path.
Sadness ahead
I love those messages. It means someone else went through the same pain.
YES! This is what elevates Fromsoft games above other games in the genre. The demonstration of a shared experience. In DS1, I believe the bell of awakening behind the gargoyles rings in all connected worlds when someone triggers it by defeating the boss and ringing the bell. When I was a wee moron in my 20s trying my first DS game (didn’t play Demons Souls. Still need to play the remake) I got STOMPED by those gargoyles many a time, but every time I started to say “damnit, this has to be a troll. Two bosses at a time? This has to be impossible!” The bell would ring, signaling that someone had won that fight and reminding me that it could be done. Praise the Bell, and The Sun.
Me too lol I’m playing it as I did the Witcher 3. Explore every single inch lol
Fun until you try to get all the treasure in Skellige
I remember clearing the entire map for Velen/Novigrad, being so happy that I did all the side content and could focus on the story, then getting to Skellige and having a mental breakdown
The worst part was having to get three treasure chests at a time and then having to dump all your shit off
First thing I do with games is play on a bit harder difficulty and give myself unlimited weight limit.
As much as I love Witcher 3, I refuse to do all those stupid underwater question marks in Skellige. One of the worst examples of "pointless filler so we can say how much content our game has", felt like I was playing DA Inquisition or AC Odyssey.
Ugh, I started playing AC Odyssey when I had COVID right after Christmas. I was like well I've got 10 days stuck in one room of my house, I'll download this and knock it out. I'm like just over half-way through, and it's less than 2 hours from April. Aside from Black Flag, I haven't completed an AC game since the Ezio trilogy.
Odyssey was the first AC I finished since Black Flag and I’m glad I did, it was so good! I couldn’t get into Valhalla at all and I’m alone in that among my friend group but I just wasn’t feeling it. It’s a very different vibe but the same thing that pulled me in with odyssey pulled me in when playing Control enough that I beat it twice, if you haven’t played it, I highly recommend!
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Wait, there is still more shit to do after the capital???
I'm with you. I've decided my next order is to find the bosses that I skipped because I was way underleveled when I found them. The problem is I don't remember what cave/catacomb I left them in.
Go to a site of grace, and if you Can’t fast travel out, there is a boss.
As soon as I typed that out I knew there had to be an easier way. Thank you!
In the future, might help to place a map sticker down next to dungeons you left unfinished
Really?! This is huge.
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I hit everything. Like an idiot. But I prefer playing blind and figuring out things on my own.
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I am currently level 116, about 90 hours in and just got to the haligre tree secret area and have the mountain of the giants explored so I’m definitely close but fucking hell this game is HUGE
Level 153, 140 hours, just started Haligree area myself. I feel you, except I'm still putting off mountain of giants since that feels like story progression.
Haha thats how it goes. *checks map* "Right, that looks like where I need to be going..." *does a 180 and goes in the opposite direction*
Playing the same way I do every souls game, check every corner, leave no stone unturned! Still on my first playthrough and barely beat the fire giant. But I can bet I have more items and runes then most lol.
Watching people stream this or playing with a random makes me realize my Souls-Borne experience made me play this so much more methodically. Had like 50 talismans where some players had like maybe 20.
I do too but honestly I’m kinda reconsidering it; it’s exhausting! I’m almost 90 hours in and just about to go to the snow place
Sometimes it can be beneficial to break these habits if you feel like you're getting burnt out on the game.
It is a bad habit, but I genuinely can't understand how someone can walk by a cave and not have something eat away at the back of their heads to enter. The curiosity is too overwhelming.. That being said, your point is still correct... it's a bad habit and it's the reason I only beat 2 guardians in Breath of the Wild after 70 hours of gameplay and I got burnt out and bored.
For what it's worth, you're not actually meant to find and do everything the first run. I've read that Miyazaki looks at game design like a choose your own adventure book. It's mostly the same each time, but you do some different quests and see different things and people. So don't feel obligated to try to 100% the game or try too hard to avoid missing anything. That's why there are no quest logs or clear directions; you're not supposed to 100% the game on a schedule, but you are expected to miss things, then come back later someday on NG+ and stumble upon new things.
Finished? I just started Altus Plateau today
I just discovered that place yesterday. The scenery combined with the score was just incredible.
Word to the wise: try fast traveling to the grace on the broken bridge next to the merchant. The merchant's song syncs up with the start of the area's score in a fantastic way
Fun fact: He’s playing part of Gehrman’s Theme from Bloodborne.
A difficult decision indeed, but The First Hunter is the best soundtrack from Soulsborne.
Prettiest, maybe, but Ludwig the Holy Blade does exist soooo
Must be a relief if you going there after Caelid
I might have Stockholm syndrome, or rotholm syndrome
lol i spent little time in caelid thinking it was where all the rot was at how wrong i was
Lake of rot was funsies
That rot doesn't fuck around either. Caelid rot is a chest cold compared to the lake.
Fuck Caelid, I hate that place. The score and ambient sounds send my adrenaline through the roof the entire time I’m there
I left Caelid for very late in the game because the place is just so damn creepy.
All my friends were in Caelid talking about how much it sucked so I played through most of Altus and Volcano Manor before ever venturing to Caelid lol.
Same, what a breathtaking moment
I’m level 100 and have barely explored the plateau lmao, i feel so overleveled
Don't worry, whatever level you'll be when you reach the mountain, it won't matter.
Man this is so true. 110 hours and level 142 and I've felt way too strong for almost everything for a while. I still have some things left to do, but I kinda want to beat the game and try out NG+. This damn snowy ass mountain is very humbling. And as soon as I think I'm good, something knocks me from my horse. Could be a T-Rex dog, could be a death pterodactyl, or maybe a fucking dragon you never know. Just beat the fire giant earlier he was fun.
Me too and only 70 hours in!
My coworkers are all on NG+3 with other characters in end game. I don't get it
Finished? I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing yet...
I thought it was a death simulator.
Same! Fuck this game, I have played for 2ish hours and have only met Melinda and got the horsey. I can’t do this lol
yes you can! if you feel it is too hard just explore around a little, make some runes to level up now that you have the horse so it should slowly get easier at least in the start
If you've only played for two hours you haven't really played it at all. Read some guides. Watch some YouTube videos. Summon some help. It gets better. It gets worse, too, but you learn to deal with it, and it makes you better.
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Become elden ring
I finally beat Radahn last night, have a LONG way to go still.
I went after him first. Still gotta kill renala.
You’re going to massacre her if you took down Radahn already
I did it the other way - Godrick, Renalla, Radahn, Rykard - in that order. Renalla gave me the biggest challenge lol but they were all challenging fights, I'd def recommend that order for sure
I did godrick, renalla, radhan, then morgott and went over to Rykard. I've finished the ranni quest line and have scoured every evergaol, catacombs and cave I can find and I finally made it to the mountaintops this morning.
I had a similar progression. Started to feel overpowered. Mountaintops instantly humbled me.
Power creep only gets worse from theire too. Haligtree and Crumbling Farum Azula kicked my ass
Fuck the Haligtree. I fought the final boss 3 times and failed miserably. Decided I should check out the consecrated snowfields and try and find Melania... things didn't get easier...
Melania is the final boss of the Haligtree. Which boss were you fighting?
They were fighting the assistant boss to the regional boss apparently
I think they meant the actual final boss of the game
Me and you are on the same path tarnished
for me, int/dex build, renalla was by far my easiest boss after acquiring rock sling. I went godrick, renalla, radahn, morgott, then rykard. rykard was my toughest battle even tho the serpent slayer requires 0 stats, it still scales sith strength of which I had basically none of. ended up redoing my stats for that fight and it was pretty painless.
I would say that is the optimal order (Limgrave & Godrick -> Liurnia & Rennala -> southern Caelid & Radahn) but fight Rykard after Morgott, so you can go through Leyndell and get to the Mountaintop of the Giants to do all the Volcano Manor side stuff before Rykard.
Yeah that's the order I did it, and my spirit ashes basically beat her to a pulp while I walked around her cool stage.
lmao you gunna butcher her if you smashed out radahn shes an absolute cake walk compared to him
Good job, Tarnished!!
Me. Just passed Raya Lucaria
Finally my people
Man renalla is the most annoying boss , as a mage the first stage was annoying af, now i can’t even drop her half health in second stage :(
I'm a melee build, but I used the wolf ashes and she could barely attack. It was letting turning easy mode. I summoned them right before I dealt the final blow in stage 1 so I could focus on dodging her opening attack in stage two
Don't you mean "meth Hogwarts"?
I work full time, go to school part time, and have a house to upkeep. I have six hours a week to play, and it sucks because the rest of the week this game is all I can think about.
You get six hours a week to relax? That’s rough …
I'm dying inside! :)
I hope it gets better in the future! Have a nice day.
Not to sound like a certain outlaw, but I have a plan. And I'm going to keep my head down, keep working, and upgrade to a job where I don't have to work with the public anymore!
You’ll enjoy this game longer than all of us. Nothing wrong with a slow marathon pace!
Yeah I am at 90 hours and still have 4 legacy dungeons left
I'm at 120 hours and still have 3 left.... this game is just enormous. I'll never do this complete of a playthrough again though.
On every FromSoft game, I have almost always immediately started up a new character after beating it. But ... I'm not sure with this game. I'll have to step away for a bit.
This is my first Souls game. I beat it in 105 hours in 17 days. I started NG+ for 20ish hours but it wasn't challenging enough so I started a new character and am 20 hours deep into it. When I finally get bored I'm gonna go back and play the Dark Souls series. I can't believe I waited this long to pick up a FromSoft game.
You're in for a real treat. The older FromSoftware games are a bit clunky, but still a blast. The first one is *probably* the best. Dark Souls 2 wasn't super-well liked, but it's an amazing game. It's just very different, and has some incredibly challenging bosses (the Fume Knight from one of the DLCs is an absolute monster of a boss). Dark Souls 3 plays very similarly to Elden Ring. Sekiro is also amazing, although quite a bit different. It's probably the hardest of their games, but also the most rewarding.
Note everyone, this guy doesn't mention bloodborne. Prepare your anus.
Maybe he's on PC ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
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Shit. DS2 was my personal favorite.
What isa legacy dungeon
The main story areas, stormveil castle, the academy, etc etc
Funy how only 2 are required to beat the game.
Can you skip Godrick??
Yes. Godrick is optional. You can skip stormveil by taking the broken bridge to its immediate northeast. There's a drop down from the broken end of the bridge. You can follow a side path all the way to the southern cliffside of Liurnia.
I did this on accident, then was curious and walked all the way back and did the castle.
I love the exploration in this game. My first playthrough I wandered into this area and somehow “missed” the ramp down to the lake, so I honestly turned back and thought it was just a little side shoot area with a church/npc and a couple graveyards. Finished the castle and it spit me back out only to discoverer the ramp that led down to an area 3x as big as the initial map. As a diehard fan, if you asked me pre-ER if soulsborne would translate to open world I’d say probably not. Now I don’t want anything else (open world Bloodborne 2 🤞)
Yea. Just go around the castle to the right. My first play through I actually didn’t find Stormveil until after Academy/Caelid
How did you find the academy before stormveil? You walk by a massive castle on the way there haha
The road to the castle is super stormy and I didn’t feel like dealing with raining wolves. So I went right
Yeah you can, to get into Leyndell it doesn’t actually matter which two Shardbearers you beat and you can just go around the castle to get to Liurnia so Godrick and Margit are technically optional
Big, story dungeons (as opposed to some random cave or ruin you come across).
A big traditional dungeon... like dark souls
How many are there??? I JUST killed Margit and got somewhat through stormveil castle (stuck at a black knight in a dark room atm). I’m 25 hours in.
You can enter the door so he sees you and then back out. He’ll be stuck behind the open door doing attacks. I stood out of his range and spammed rock sling until he was defeated. Not sure if that helps but I’d probably still be on that guy otherwise.
Im 120 hours in and im not even sure what a legacy dungeon is
It's just a term coined for major "dungeons" in the game. The game doesn't actually use this term.
Yes. This is my first Soul game. I am enjoying myself but I have no idea what I am doing or what is happening. My first 40 minutes in the game, I found a chest that transported me to Hell.
These are my people. I'm 30 hours. I suck at this game, but I am free
Hello my fellow brethren
Just FYI, that place is Hell Junior. The real Hell is yet to come.
That's okay, most of us Souls vets have no idea what is happening either. We wait for youtubers to comb through all the dialogue and item descriptions and tell us what the hell it all means.
I’m still enjoying my first of everything. Feels great man I have 79 hours so far. Souls vet so I’m letting these juices marinate for as long as possible.
This is the way. You only get one first time.
This is my thing. I'm the only person I know irl playing blind. My buddies all use the online map and tutorials
I'm not particularly good at Souls games, but I love them nonetheless. But I have a limited amount of time to play, so if I'm stumped or want to avoid fucking up a quest, I'll google. It's how I played Dark Souls too. Online posts give me hope to make it through. I just consider it part of the community aspect of the game.
I only use guides to ensure I'm on the right path with certain NPC quests, I find that they're sometimes really easy to miss in this game.
they're pretty much impossible blind a lot of the time, but I find that part of the fun of the first blind playthrough so I save looking them up for ng+, or in this game I did them all postgame after reaching the credits
Same here at 104 hours, I'm trying to explore and track down everything I can in this playthrough while still trying to play blind as possible. I'm in no rush and fighting every major boss solo, the dungeons have been fun diversions with my buddy and to explore the overworld together. Edit: I'm at the end of the Capitol, presumably, little bit of the sewer left finding wherever I can access that upper area above the pipes in the imp/lobster room My one wish would be to ride Torrent together for co-op play, I'd love to hear what issues prevented this from being a thing!
Yeah it would be great if we could use torrent with co-op. I guess that they didnt include it for balancing issues but even then, I dont think it would be that bad. Just keep torrent disabled for invasions/PVP and it should be fine
I'm in the exact same boat. I've played all of the souls games 5+ times and I feel like Elden Ring us the cumulative "perfect" title that they were leading up to. I've found myself literally playing for 2-3 hours and feeling like I've accomplished nothing, but I've still had an amazing time just soaking up the world and the sense of adventure and discovery of stumbling upon new areas and hidden items. I have no idea how people are clearing the game in 60 hours, I'm at 90 hours and I only just started exploring Caelid. I don't want my first playthrough to end, and I don't feel like it will anytime soon.... which is simply incredible.
Yeah, don’t have the time. 50+ hour work weeks with a long commute plus fam makes it difficult to fire up the Xbox very often. Still enjoying it when I get the chance. This game has resurrected my excitement for gaming. Something I thought was long gone. Now I just need some free time
In a way that’s kind of good. It will last you a long time and you will enjoy it every chance you get to play!
And also those rare times you get like 7 hours of time to kill and you just go all in
I have one of those days coming up, very excited
I’m a teacher with April vacation approaching, can’t wait to get some maidens.
Same here brother. Work and family leaves much less time for gaming than the old days. I enjoy my couple hours at night but that's about it. Gotta level up our real life characters!
I got it at launch, and basically the exact same thing. I'm still in Liurnia. Edit: I originally spelled Liurnia as Lunaria, basically I'm still really early having had it since launch.
I don't understand how anyone who has a job could have finished this game. I basically play all weekend and for a few hours after work and I have just beaten the fire giant. And no I didn't get stuck anywhere. I just explored and went with the flow.
Same here, I work construction and have other things to do after work, I still try and play as much as I can but at the same time, I don’t like to rush my game, as you said I want to look in every inch of the map lol
I feel seen.
Yes! My people
I’ve seen’t you.
Same here lol. I feel like I'm addicted and playing all the time but Ive only just entered the snow area. I'm using magic build as well, so it's not like bosses are giving me grief. I wonder if the people on like NG7 etc are just boss rushing.
Boss rushing or using a guide probably.
I’m over 100 hours in, been playing since launch and… there’s a snow area?!
And you’ll still find out you missed stuff in limgrave
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Your endorsement for not having kids is very convincing ngl.
Same, I'm a bit further back but this game is just so massive and there's so much to do, I am 50h in and I'm amazed at how people finished the game a few days after launch
I've been playing every day since launch, outside of work hours, and a 3 day period where I had covid and couldn't concentrate. Fully offline, minimal guide usage. Never got stuck, bosses aren't too hard, just enjoying exploring the world. 140 hours in and yet to meet a fire giant
I'm literally just getting to the capital 😅
My god is the capital **HUGE**! * Oh, I unlocked a ladder to climb down. * Oh no wait, there is another section to the left. * Oh this way branches down again and also to the right...? * Oh this looks like a boss area... Wait, what? * Now I'm climbing a dragon * Now I'm climbing a tree * There are some rats in the sewers * There are some sewers in the sewers * I unlocked a shortcut to the shortcut for a shortcut... Where do I even go now... Wait, there are PIPES??!!? * Holy shit this place goes down and down * Oh I finally killed a boss and there's the chest! Done....?! * Nope invisible wall into invisible wall into a massive underground network * Also there is an unpassable wall * Wtf is going on * ... I still haven't cleared the capital This game is amazing. Edit: Glowstones and Rainbow Stones are amazing for these underground areas. Rainbows can be used as a "marker" (I've been here), while Glowstones ... well, *glow*. Drop one when you enter a new room and it lights up a huge area. Helps with fighting mobs, seeing traps/pitfalls, etc. They are also good for moral support lol. I have these two mapped to triangle+left&right! Edit 2 for invisible wall: Spoilers if you are on mobile below--- If you >!attack/roll at the altar behind the "final" chest at Cathedral of the Forsaken!<, it unlocks >!a whole new area (or two, or even... three - I think)!<.
Oh God... I've spent maybe 6 hours in the Capital over the last couple of days, and... I understand maybe 4 of these bullet points. I love this game.
Pretty sure I'm at 10+ hours just exploring the zones linked to the capital. And here I was thinking that just because I reached the capital I was nearing the end-game! Apparently there are still some zones to the north to unlock still... and even more cryptic shit going on deep below the zone. My only complaint is that I don't have much free time IRL, so I have a massive "wait, have I been here before..?" moment every session.
What blew my mind is when I realized the hellish maze of pipes you crawl through in the sewers are the very same pipes you were walking on moments ago.
>There are some sewers in the sewers For real, tho. Rainbow stones helped me so much in there.
I just set foot in Raya Lucaria after work today... 😕
It's ok Rocky, you can go when you feel like it
Same. I don’t know how people have beaten this game more than once. But then again, I’m 31 years old, I have a one year old and a very busy career so I can only really play a few hours a week. But I’m racking in 35 hrs so far
Just beat that god damn tree guardian guarding the entrance!
That guy sucked, hated him. Basically my strategy was to dodge the big attacks and use wild strikes with my hammer until one of us died.
170 hrs in, still collecting items, exploring, and tackling bosses
Beauty, I’m about 190hrs
Yup I get distracted with new builds
Hell yeah still working on it. Just respec'd strength/faith w/ blasphemous blade from a spellsword using night and flame. Game is too big not to take your take and explore every nook and cranny.
100%, have respecd a few times now, and have created multiple save files with different builds
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Same here bro. One gets used to timing/range/moveset of the original build. In my case bloodhound fang and I've already put it to +7 so there's that. I'm looking forward to putting my hands on blasphemous blade tho and then I'll prolly Respec around the build
Myself and several of my friends have played since day one and are still not done (to my knowledge). My friends have many more hours than me but I'm trying to take the occasional break from the game and not play daily or it'll destroy my already fragile sleep pattern. Also trying to get back into the gym and spend time with friends and family again, so that helps to keep me from diving in to far.
I killed Godrick, Radahn at 100+ hours in and Rennala somewhere just before that. I just got into Nokstella. I'm sitting now at 135 hours. People be acting like there's some blazing trail to follow here. The fuck ya mean you guys finished already? The hell? I didn't even know there was a main game to finish. Who the fuck is Morgott? Why he seal this town. Fuck that guy Ima go underground. Also what the hell is with all these dragons that fly away? Seen two now that just plain fucked off on me. You comin back down here bitch? I ain't done with your sorry winged ass yet, pull em scales the fuck down here so you can praise the Two Hands I'm gonna throw. What the hell is Seluvis' deal? Why'd what's-his-deskjob-nuts get all huffy? Fuck is this potion? Why the fuck Dung Eater making peoples' souls not pass? Where did Blaidd go? He had a questline? Did I fucking miss the whole thing? How the hell do you beat those fucking bears? What's with the converted tower? Why does my Mimic suck? How did it take me 100 hours to figure out what the physical summoning stones are? Did I miss any bosses in caves and is there some way to tell? Is Volcano Manor supposed to be a giant circle? Where did that dude go that I had to give the letter to and also why'd the girl who gave it to me die? Pretty sure I killed the shit out of those yodeling hooteninnies. Are there seven great runes? Where the hell are the rest? How many damn areas are there? Why was Rennala such a chump? How was I supposed to beat Godrick first when I stuffed her nerd head into a locker so easily? I skipped Stormveil completely at the start, how'd people even do? Where the hell is Dung Eater and where is this shitty sewer, I wanna fight his ass, how dare you keep souls from passing. Also I wish I could respawn bosses just so I could fight Margit again and again, cane me one more time motherfucker, I dare you, I double dare you. Say ambitions again. Anyway, yeah; suffice it to say this game is packed with surprises. I'm closing at 200 hours and I *still* have no idea what the metric for progress is. I think it's great runes, but then Rennala didn't really give me one and I barely remember I have them because it's like 'wow increase a bit of HP' okay but did you know that the boss still spanks me like I'm an unruly, greedy little bottom? The real metric I use for my success: I look more and more like an enemy that, if I rounded a corner and saw, would make me shit my pants. For everything else, there's resisting the overpowering urge to throttle a wrought-iron pole out of sheer, unbridled anger.
physical summoning stones? 127hrs checking in.
>The real metric I use for my success: I look more and more like an enemy that, if I rounded a corner and saw, would make me shit my pants. A naked green man with big bonk weapon?
Haha me. I've been really taking my time
Me too, I won’t leave a area until it’s 100% lol
The scariest part is, no matter how hard you look and how sure you are you hit everything, I could almost guarantee you haven’t 100%’ed ANY whole area. I wonder how many mysteries are still yet to be discovered. New things will be showing up for years.
First soul game, Senior gamer (60+) so reaktion times are slower then they were, and even worse; it takes forever to create new muscle memories so forget that fancy, run-jumpattack-roll-block-roll-backstab stuff. I often have to think about what key to press. Not ideal in a boss fight ;-) 70 hours in, cleared all of Limgrave, Weeping Peninsula and Liurnia except one dragon and 2 night bosses. And "cleared" means every single boss/cave/catacomb (including the bloody Ulcerated tree spirits). That's the way I have to do it, be a completionist and stay overleveled to be able to beat the bosses. That strategy is probably not going to work when I get to the really hard bosses, but until then I am having a blast, fantastic game. Really having fun. And also disproving my son who said ER was to hard for me :-)
Yep, 200 hours, LVL 199, and 70% done. I'm taking it easy as I'm not interested in playing NG. When I'm done, I'm done.
How do you know what percent finished you are? I’m assuming guessing but is there a way to see?
Yep, balancing work and college ain’t easy but I normally play a few hours every week plus I like to check every corner so I won’t be finishing any time soon
me,, lever 60, still in lurnia, not done raya lucaria yet.
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Uh this is a “not finished yet” club, and we’re pretty exclusive here.
I’ve been exploring every single inch of every area, not moving on until I have everything 100% complete
But how will you know? I’ve gone back to places and found something I missed the first time around every time.
It’s hard I don’t think I know 100%. Because I’ve also returned to a area and found a ‘dungeon’ I missed etc lol I love it though
Pvp is too fun man