Elden Ring (George RR Martin and From Software)

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668100#Comment_118668100

I would stab someone in the back just to be in your position again i.e. playing Dark Souls for the first time all over again. Is there any reason you haven't played it or you just haven't got around to it yet?

Penn

I do agree that of the FromSoftware games I've played, the start is the biggest hurdle as it's trying to teach you the basics in such a way and get used to the death mechanics in the game etc, and the game tends to get easier after that and you die much less. But there are definitely always things that pop up throughout the games that'll just f*ck you over instantly and often feel very unfair. I'm sure Elden Ring will have those same things.

walkonby

From games require a lot of patience. The difficulty is not overblown. I think people who game a lot probably downplay it.

On one level they are brilliantly designed and very satisfying to master, but equally there is a toxic side to the sadistic difficulty. Souls game make me angry and frustrated in ways that no other games manage. And it can be so deflating to lose against a boss for the umpteenth time, or be punished mercilessly for trying to run through an area instead tediously fighting every last enemy in it individually again, to an extent that I just end up tired of the game and its s*.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668176#Comment_118668176

I agree, but I think the "accessibilty" that I've heard people talking about may manifest in making these horrid, pinch-point bosses optional to the progression. I still wouldn't be too fond of this as I feel like bosses like O&S for example are a right of passage and what give the games their satisfaction factor.

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668166#Comment_118668166

Yep, it’s in the backlog! Arrived to the From Software party pretty late getting Bloodborne in a sale, so just haven’t gotten round to it.

Can’t imagine I’ll be getting to it any time soon either, February alone has just increased my backlog significantly!

DeSelby83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668200#Comment_118668200

Totally agree with this. When I get an hour or so every few days to play games I don't want to be dying the same boss over and over which happened with Bloodborne and ultimately I never went back to it.

But up to that point I really enjoyed the challenge and gameplay. I'm sure this will be similar I terms of challenge etc but hoping it's a little more forgiving in regard to bosses, however that might manifest.

Yeah, I don't have patience for this type of game any more. More power to those who like the grind.

I'm hopeful that Elden Ring will be more forgiving, but I'm going to wait and see how it's received. If it's like the other games I might not bother or wait a year or two until it's on sale.

Stone Deaf 4evr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668284#Comment_118668284

The one criticism I suppose I could level at them, is there are times where you dont know if you've gone the wrong way, or its just that you're not good enough.

DS1 for example, once you get to firelink, (and had the required key), you could easily end up taking a trip to blightown and having a horrible time, similarly if you go the catacombs in the other direction and end up battling the constantly reassembling skeletons.

Retr0gamer

I kind of feel it's up to you to recognise that if somewhere is too tough to try going someplace else. The worst that can happen is you comeback to where you were with a few more levels and items under your belt.

cavemeister

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668146#Comment_118668146

Yes, Friday, 25th. I would say Bungie are raging they have Witch Queen dropping this week (of all weeks) 😂

Markitron

I know it is almost cliche at this point, but over-levelling and summoning help are kinda the easy modes in From's games. I used a combination of these to finish all of their games as I am not particularly good at them. Well, all except Sekiro which I couldn't finish cos you could do neither of these things.

El Gato De Negocios

My gaming time is limited, I'm lucky if I can spend 5 to 8 hours a week at it so spending those hours trying to master one boss or one section has zero appeal to me. I want to be able to pick up a game, progress, put it down, rinse and repeat so getting triggered over and over by the same small area is not my idea of fun.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668442#Comment_118668442

The vast majority of bosses genuinely only take a few tries most of the time. There'll be a couple of tough bosses, usually the main 4-5, who will take a bit more, but most bosses in say Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3, I beat within maybe 3 tries. They've also gotten better at putting bonfires closer to bosses or placing shortcuts so there's much less runback to bosses.

General tip: Big monster-type boss - Attack at the side of a rear leg, and dodge in and out of AOE attacks. Small warrior-type boss - Deflect/Parry/dodge into attacks using I-frames, and attack from the front.

I like FromSoftware's boss designs, but most of the time the strategy falls into one of those two tactics, and after that just depend on your gear/abilities.

Stone Deaf 4evr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668418#Comment_118668418

I will make zero apologies for over levelling, summoning, or even cheesing. If its in the game, its in the game, and any pontificating holier than thou purists can take a running jump.

Retr0gamer

I kind of got bored of modern games so Demon's Souls was a revelation to me. It wasn't that games weren't for me anymore it was that the vast majority of them were bad and DS was everything I loved about games. Most modern games feel like taking part in a competition where everyone gets a medal for competing. It just panders to the player to try and not lose their attention. From games were games you had to put the work in for the rewards and as a result those rewards and dopamine highs were so much higher than what any modern game at the time could provide outside of a select few games. I think From software high is the videogame equivalent to runners high.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668310#Comment_118668310

There was a great game from the early 00s called Gothic that used this system of blocking off sections of the map purely by pummelling you with difficult enemies. Its great if you have the patience and resolve to get back on the horse.

I also happen to think that games where player skill is more important than character skill are not true RPGs, and it feels like this series of games leans heavily into player skill.

That's obviously just an opinion but I think RPGs should lean more into their pen and paper roots, where your characters skill is most important, not your ability to press a button combination.

Zero-Cool

One thing I love about the Souls game is the community. Whether it's a message on the ground watching of a magnificent chest or tips and advice on here, it's always great to bounce off other players when you get stuck, hint a hint, shortcut or hidden weapon. Jolly cooperation indeed.

Speaking of, Elden Bling seems to be a thing and I hope I can recreate my Sun Bro look.

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668894#Comment_118668894

Not really, I remember one play through of Bloodborne I spent so much time exploring that when it came to continuing the story(about halfway through) by going to a boss I was hilariously over levelled, took a couple of swings and they were done.

Player skill is a big factor but if you’re seriously stuck I can’t think of any boss that you can’t make significantly less troublesome by spending some time levelling.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118669111#Comment_118669111

Ok, I could swear the common consensus is you need to practice this game a lot to get through it... but I'm not familiar with the series.

Zero-Cool

I watched this vid on the classes so i don't have to spend an hour deciding on Friday but I'm still not sure what to go for. Samurai is very tempting for a Dex build but think I'll focus on Strength, maybe Hero.

Anyone know what they're gonna start with?

https://youtu.be/QKOJ2_XrKrY

Potential-Monke

Soulsborne fans saying the games aren't difficult is the same as Sonic fans saying he's better than Mario. Only the fans believe it. I'm holing out hope for making it somewhat approachable and not time/patience/BS demanding like the rest in the series, but I won't hold my breath. I can see myself giving it a go if it comes to Gamepass or Plus/Now at some point, but I can't ever see myself dropping anything above €15 to find out.

shrewdness

The first From game I played was Bloodborne, whenever that was free on PS Plus a few years ago. I didn't have a notion what was going on, and couldn't get close to getting past that big fire at the start of Yharnam with loads of enemies around it. So I quit and moved on.

Then I gave it another go mid-2020 - around the time Demons Souls remake was announced - and after a bit of persevering at the start, I made it through and it somehow just clicked. Definitely agree with the idea that the start of these games are the toughest parts. After that, I got Demons Souls remake at launch, and played through DS 1-3 last year, and finally got into Sekiro and beat that last month.

So this will be the first new From game I experience at launch, and I can't wait for Friday. Looking forward to experiencing it all at the same time as everyone else, and having no prior knowledge of what's coming ahead.

Markus Antonius

It looks like the game will officially release at 11pm Feb 24th here, which is earlier than I thought and pre-load possible 48 hours before this.

I've never preordered a game before, but for those who got the gamestop launch edition, do you think it would be available on Thursday or will we have to wait until Friday?

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668894#Comment_118668894

Nah it's probably the purest action rpg you can get. I think the most rpg you can get are games were you can build character classes and dictate how you build that character. There's an awful lot of rpgs, mostly japanese, that have far less character building than souls games. Bloodborne less so and sekiro is pure action but dark souls has an insane amount of builds and weapons you can use. Definitely a rpg, but also one with a skill base combat system.

Retr0gamer

Anyway. From Software games have me cursed. On the release day of sekiro I broke my collarbone and today I get **** Rona and as a result I have to spend the next week away from my PC.

Fuck sake.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670187#Comment_118670187

I disagree. For the reasons I already stated. 👍

Zero-Cool

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670193#Comment_118670193

**** man, feel better soon. Probably a stupid question but why chance you can get isolated with your pc?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670193#Comment_118670193

Shite, get well soon. 👍

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670296#Comment_118670296

Nope. But been meaning to catch up on switch. Honestly not too bad and just more worried of I gave it to anyone else and screwing over my drama group as we are on stage in 2 weeks 🤦