Elden Ring (George RR Martin and From Software)

And they are everywhere in Shadow Keep.

E. Ve. Ry. Where.

Think I’m pretty much done with all the map. Going to try the final boss again tonight

and……done

The final 10% of his bar is pure hell

Will.... Messmer is just a delight.

Fair play! Didn't get much time to play last night but started focusing just on his first phase, trying out a few different weapons and just practicing the dodges. Still getting whomped most of the time and one mistake usually f*cks the whole thing up, but getting through more of his attacks unscathed now. The backhand blades seem to be working best for me.

The second phase, I'm not sure how the hell you're even meant to do that. Every time I've reached it it still just feels like absolute insanity.

The first phase I was able to get done with about 8-10 Estus flasks remaining. It goes downhill then

It’s very chaotic, not like the Sekiro bosses where I felt I learned all their moves and mitigated them effectively. This is very much roll 10 times and hope. Then hit with blasphemous Blade when either he is distracted by mimic or takes a break after a 10 hit combo

I hate Enir Ilim.

Went off on a tear to find other dungeons, boards, tree fragments. Fought general gaius and couldn't believe what i found in the area beyond him 🥰

Decided to cash in some remembrances and got me some new weapons, none of which were speaking to me but i had read a specific weapon skill on a boss weapon is very handy. So i decided to take a risk, out my great katana to +25, made it a bleed build and put on the skull, can't even remember the game but it's in this quick vid. Makes mince meat of enemies and the bleed damage is unreal. Feels weird one handing a great katana but it does slightly more damage than 2 handing it which makes no sense to me. Anyway, really liking this setup. Also, the red Knight hood is a bit crazy with its hp, stamina and some other buff, souls fashion be damned.

I'm sure i could use better talismans to help with this as i take quite a few hits getting in close, also there might be a much better weapon to use with it but i was sick of my spear and wanted to take a chance on something.

And final boss is defeated. I can't take all the credit, RNG seemed to help as on the try I won, he fell into a bit of a pattern of the same general combo attack for most of it (though like Unearthly said, the last 10% became chaos). I was also lucky in getting a chance to bring in the Mimic about halfway through the fight which helped pull aggro, and took a bullet in the form of the grab attack which gave me a chance to heal, buff and reapply weapon grease.

I stand by what I said previously though, this is just a bullsh*t fight. If it was all like the first phase with maybe a new thing or two added in the second phase, it'd be tough but fair. But what they add in the second phase is just pure nonsense and is artificial difficulty; just throwing so much at you to completely bombard rather than challenge you. Messmer was a tough but really well designed boss fight. Malenia too, aside from the Waterfowl Dance and the fact she heals if she hits you, the actual fight itself felt fair. This just wasn't.

But it's done now, and like I said, it doesn't ruin my opinion of the DLC. The amount of stuff they packed into this, the design, the new weapons and items.... insane.

A tactic I used and not just for the final boss as it’s quite common in the DLC to have a boss attack straight away is use the Wondrous Physick crystal tear Opaline Bubbletear. It allowed me to summon and i could afford being hit then