Thread: ELDEN RING |OT| One Ring To Rule Them All (Decent Internet Connection Recommended).
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Been playing a decent amount. Explored the area past Astel and there was that dragon from Ranni's Rise earlier who left mid fight. Past him was a church and in the bottom there was the great sword. Unfortunately, I don't think I can use it on this run due to my samurai build. I've been pretty much using my starter katana the whole game and then when I got the moonlight I double fisted those bad boys. I don't want to switch off the starter katana because it has bloodhound's step attached to it and it lets me wear heavy armor without worrying about my dodge rolls being slow. But next time I play through this I'm going to try to go the magic route and the base stats for strength + dex aren't really that high, so I'll use that as a melee weapon later in the game.

Went back to the land of the giants, tried to fight that giant ass dragon a couple of times but decided to just ride on past him. Wasn't really in the mood for another dragon fight to be honest and this one seems a bit more annoying than the others. Found a hero's grave, cleared the place out and got an armor set I haven't even looked at yet. After that, went further into the mountains. I like all those dead frozen giants, looks cool AF. I basically rode past everything and didn't fight anything because there were too many enemies that hit too hard, I just let them fight each other and collected some souls passively. I couldn't find anything other than a golden seed in that area so I kept riding higher into the mountains when I came upon the fire giant. Took him out on the second try then went up to the forge. I couldn't figure out what to do so I tried to ride down into it only to die like a dumbass. Then I sat down at the campfire to find a prompt to talk with the cyclops bitch who gave me my pony. Activated some cutscene, burned the Erdtree, got teleported somewhere and now shit seems kind of fucked up. Not sure if this is close to the end and if I can turn back to clean up a few things. There are a few bosses I thought I'd circle back to but when I opened my map it said I couldn't warp from that area. Hopefully I'm just temporarily locked out of warping and can go back after I'm done whatever it is I'm about to do.

Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy the updates regarding your journey.
 
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Did a lot since my last update. Picking up from where I left off, I worked my way through that dungeon and ended up fighting the Godskin Duo. They were a bit annoying but once I got my summons to focus on one, we took it down and then the rest of the fight was easy.

From there, I looked at the map and discovered I could leave the area, so I decided to go back to that Castle with Commander Niall since I had just done a boss fight with multiple enemies. Took him out pretty quick and found a medallion. Funny thing happened from there, I googled how to get an ancient somber dragon stone because I wanted to upgrade my katana and I saw that you could find one in the consecrated snowfield. That was the area I hadn't unlocked yet and I was curious how to get there. Turns out the medallion I had just got I could use with another medallion I got way earlier in the game. So I went to the lift and entered that new area. From there I unlocked a few new areas. I found the Halitree area and then I also found a teleporter to Mohgwyns Palace. I worked through the underground first because I like the underground areas. Didn't fight the shard bearer, figured I'd save that for later. Then I went to the Tree area and took out Loretta. The next area after that is apparently more for end game and has the hardest boss in the game (according to google) so I'll go back later. Tonight I'll pick up from where I left off with the Godskin Duo.
 
Did a lot since my last update. Picking up from where I left off, I worked my way through that dungeon and ended up fighting the Godskin Duo. They were a bit annoying but once I got my summons to focus on one, we took it down and then the rest of the fight was easy.

From there, I looked at the map and discovered I could leave the area, so I decided to go back to that Castle with Commander Niall since I had just done a boss fight with multiple enemies. Took him out pretty quick and found a medallion. Funny thing happened from there, I googled how to get an ancient somber dragon stone because I wanted to upgrade my katana and I saw that you could find one in the consecrated snowfield. That was the area I hadn't unlocked yet and I was curious how to get there. Turns out the medallion I had just got I could use with another medallion I got way earlier in the game. So I went to the lift and entered that new area. From there I unlocked a few new areas. I found the Halitree area and then I also found a teleporter to Mohgwyns Palace. I worked through the underground first because I like the underground areas. Didn't fight the shard bearer, figured I'd save that for later. Then I went to the Tree area and took out Loretta. The next area after that is apparently more for end game and has the hardest boss in the game (according to google) so I'll go back later. Tonight I'll pick up from where I left off with the Godskin Duo.
Warning if you want it. Not a spoiler, but letting you choose if you see:
After you finish Farum Azula it's a point of no return regarding one area, so there might be some things you're locked out of

Additional line of detail to expand on the above:
Finish exploring the city part of Leyndell if you haven't already
 
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Warning if you want it. Not a spoiler, but letting you choose if you see:
After you finish Farum Azula it's a point of no return regarding one area, so there might be some things you're locked out of

Additional line of detail to expand on the above:
Finish exploring the city part of Leyndell if you haven't already

Thanks a bunch 🙏 I was thinking about going for a platinum on this, so maybe I ought to look at the guide and figure out what needs to be done before committing further. Of course at this point in the game I'm close to 80 hours in so I'm not sure if I've locked myself out of the platinum with certain quest lines.
 
Thanks a bunch 🙏 I was thinking about going for a platinum on this, so maybe I ought to look at the guide and figure out what needs to be done before committing further. Of course at this point in the game I'm close to 80 hours in so I'm not sure if I've locked myself out of the platinum with certain quest lines.

If you're going for the plat you won't be able to do it in one run anyway, so you could always just let the game play out this first time then go for efficiency in NG+

If you do, it might be worth respeccing before you initiate NG+ so that you can play the early game with a fresh build (for variety) without having to get through Rennala again,
 
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Took out Malenia. I'll save my bitching for my overall thoughts when I finish the game.

Well I looked over the platinum requirements (specifically looking at weapons, ashes, sorceries etc...) and saw that I had over half of them, so I decided I might as well go hunt down the rest of them. Didn't take too long, maybe a 3-4 hour detour. So I've cleaned everything up and now just have to get the remaining ones as I progress towards the end of the game. I tracked down a few bosses that I was missing (Valiant Gargoyles, some other one I can't remember), did the quest with the lady who gave me hugs, and also took out Mohg again. Took me a few attempts, kept dying during his second phase. However, on one of my attempts I played super aggressive, stacked up a lot of blood loss against him and his health was at a quarter. He tried to do his rain attack or whatever but me and the mimic tear swarmed him. Killed him before he could get to the second phase.

Also had to go get the final summon ash, Black Knife Tiche I think was the name. Another really annoying boss fight but eventually I got it done.

The whole Haligtree area was pretty annoying and I found myself running through it and ignoring enemies. Cool looking area but it seemed annoying, which was fitting seeing what was waiting at the end.

I guess now I'll head back to the last area and make my way towards the end. I believe I had just killed the Godskin Duo, I'm going to guess I have another 10 hours give or take to reach the end.
 
Worked my way through Farum. After fighting Malenia the rest of the game feels like it's slow motion. I wasn't having a hard time progressing to begin with but now I'm rolling everything in my path no problem. Took out Dragonlord Placidusax after googling how to get to him. Took out Malekith shortly after. Back in Leyndell I killed some guy, can't remember who is in the story but I guess I had met him before. I'm only missing one talisman now, which the internet tells me I should be able to get soon. I think I might be able to beat this tomorrow night or maybe Tuesday? I must be a site of grace or two away from the final boss.

From there, I have a few questions. I assume after the final boss I can go respec, according to what @Soodanim told me. Next playthrough will be a few years away, but I want to do it with a magic user. New Game+ lets you carry over all your gear/weapon/spells right? Since I'll actually have some FP to play with next run, what are some of the best staffs/spells/ashes to use? I've got a few ancient somber dragon stones for legendary weapons and a few great ghosts for ashes. I should probably upgrade those things when I respec so they are good to go for my next playthrough.
 
Worked my way through Farum. After fighting Malenia the rest of the game feels like it's slow motion. I wasn't having a hard time progressing to begin with but now I'm rolling everything in my path no problem. Took out Dragonlord Placidusax after googling how to get to him. Took out Malekith shortly after. Back in Leyndell I killed some guy, can't remember who is in the story but I guess I had met him before. I'm only missing one talisman now, which the internet tells me I should be able to get soon. I think I might be able to beat this tomorrow night or maybe Tuesday? I must be a site of grace or two away from the final boss.

From there, I have a few questions. I assume after the final boss I can go respec, according to what @Soodanim told me. Next playthrough will be a few years away, but I want to do it with a magic user. New Game+ lets you carry over all your gear/weapon/spells right? Since I'll actually have some FP to play with next run, what are some of the best staffs/spells/ashes to use? I've got a few ancient somber dragon stones for legendary weapons and a few great ghosts for ashes. I should probably upgrade those things when I respec so they are good to go for my next playthrough.
The guy you killed is Sir Gideon from the round table or whatever it's called, and the last talisman is found by dropping down a now open sewer grate that is directly between the bonfire and the objective.

I can't say what the best staff is off the top, and I think it's highly stat dependent so it might be worth looking at a stat calculator. There's also passive buffs on slightly weaker ones, so casters often off-hand one of those because the buff is on the player rather than the weapon (if that makes sense).

There is a lot of fun magic to play with. Even the basic spells are worth keeping on you, they scale well and have good utility. One of the caster class's starting spells is a wide spell that is perfect for groups. As you can swap out at any bonfire you'll inevitably experiment and find ones you like, but personally I run a mix of glintstone, ice, gravity, and night spells that cover both melee and ranged. Glintstone is your standard magic, crystal is magic+, ice has status build up, gravity does physical damage (IIRC), and night spells don't let enemies have the input reading they usually have (it can be bad on some enemies/bosses). The only spells you'll likely avoid outright past an initial test are the Briars, as they are self-harming spells that do bleed build up on the enemies in the small AoE. There's also Fia's Mist, because Death is a status that only works on humans so is useless for 99% of PVE.

Ashes? Lots of fun. There are tanks, casters, healers, status inflicters, gank squads. The top tier ones:
  • Tiche (black flame is brutal)
  • Dung Eater (tank and debuffs)
  • Latenna (stuck in place, but INSANE range sniping so good when set up)
  • Mimic Tear (copies your build but with huge health and infinite FP, can solo Malenia with the right incantations)
Other fun ones:
  • Rats (5 rats at max level, no summon cost)
  • Rot dog (rot by way of dog)
  • Banished Knights (Oleg in particular is a beast, I used to have him help me farm the blood area)
  • Dolores (sleep arrows)
  • Stormhawk Deenh (player buffs)
  • Greatshield Soldiers (5 tanks)
  • Radahn Soldiers (fire swords - perfect for the annoying hand enemies in Caria Manor)
 
Okay, got the last talisman and the trophy didn't pop. I figured I must have missed something and sure enough, it was the Radagon's Soreseal. I thought I had it but I guess I had another Radagon Talisman. So a quick trip back to Fort Faroth which I forgot about. I briefly ventured in there before but the bats were annoying AF so I left it for later. Ran in there, cleared it out and got the achievement. Back to the final area. Took out Hoarah Loux on the first try with a sliver of health left and 0 potions. It was a close one. Went up the stairs to fight the final bosses. Elden Beast was insanely annoying and I basically won when RNG threw me a bone and he didn't keep teleporting back and forth across the arena. Now I'm going to go track down a few smithing stones so I can upgrade a few weapons for the next playthrough, then I'll reroll my stats, get the endings and put a bow on it. Eldone Ring.

Overall, I loved it. 10/10 game, deserves all the praise it gets. The exploration and world was incredible to explore. I did so much exploring and I know there's tons of content I still missed. After you finish Stormveil, there's a large island with a castle/building on it. I think it was to the west. I never got there, not sure if it was accessible but I think it probably was. Definitely still a ton of hidden caves that I missed. Everything that is great about this game has already been said hundreds of times, so I'll get on to my bitching.

My biggest complaint is the dropped inputs. This is the worst souls game for dropped inputs, although I've only played demons, DS1 and Bloodborne. I put down Demons Souls back in the day because it was so unbelievably janky even though I wanted to love the game. The problem seems to mostly be with flasks. I can't tell you how many times I pressed square to heal and nothing happened. This caused numerous deaths to more aggressive bosses, since you back up to heal and every second is crucial. I don't know why this hasn't been fixed. And before we do the whole "maybe it's your controller" routine, this does not happen with other games. And these bugs always occur in different ways in the different games (example, Dark Souls has this really annoying bug where you would strong attack and it wouldn't go through then when you went to raise your shield, it would trigger the strong attack). A quick google search reveals I'm not the only one who experienced this. Additionally, one time I actually replaced a controller just to play Dark Souls, thinking maybe it was the controllers fault. Nope, the series has a problem with this and it's never been addressed. I love challenging games as long as it's fair, but dying to shit like that isn't fun, nor is it challenging. Can we stop giving From Software a pass on this? Also, bloodhound's step has a lot of problems with dropped inputs, but since it's not really a main mechanic of the game I'm a bit more forgiving.

Other complaints are mostly minor. Poison swamps are still there despite them being stupid. They offer no challenge, it's simply annoying and Lake Of Rot was some of the dumbest shit they've pulled yet. What's the point of designing areas where you can't escape taking damage so the goal is to run through them as quick as possible? And then put items way out on the other end. Absolutely terrible. Next, another staple that needs to go away, platforming sections. These games aren't platformers. And while I don't often die in these areas, it's still stupid and way too clunky. No one plays these games to make challenging jumps, that's what actual platformers are for. Get rid of this nonsense, it sucks. Also, I'm a bit weary of the walkthrough nature of these games for quests/items. You get an item, have no idea what it's for, so you google it to find out what it does. Or you start a quest and have to google what to do, since it requires very precise steps. It's a bigger problem in Elden Ring because the world is larger, so it's harder to track down some NPCs or finding out where to start quests. There were a few times I unknowingly started/finished quests as well. It's weird because I respect the intrigue and not telling the player what to do, but it feels so random and sometimes it comes down to luck. A me problem, I'm aware.

Lastly, and this is mostly a me problem but I think that the game is way more fun for magic users. Grass is always greener, I know, but when watching other's play it seems like magic is a more engaging play style and I swear most of the cool weapons you find need you to have high arcane/intelligence points to use. Everytime I got a new weapon that I wanted to check out, I wasn't able to use it. Having some better melee only weapons would have been nice, but maybe I missed them and didn't look hard enough.

So we finished it up in just under 90 hours and frustrations aside, I enjoyed myself 95% of the time. It's a game I look forward to playing again in a few years with a new playstyle, maybe when the DLC is out. I doubt we'll get a new From game until 2027-28 so I figure I'll squeeze in another playthrough or two before the next game.

tl;dr, I loved it
but BotW is better
 
Did @Black Chamber ever play the game btw
Not yet😅

My gaming backlog is astounding at this point - I've got so many games to play lol!

It's like this: while I'm super-hyped to play one game, sometimes another game gets announced that consumes my hype-overload and I lose interest in the previous game I was hyped for🤷🏻‍♂️

A recent example: STARFIELD ... now Final Fantasy VII Rebirth🫡
 
Not yet😅

My gaming backlog is astounding at this point - I've got so many games to play lol!

It's like this: while I'm super-hyped to play one game, sometimes another game gets announced that consumes my hype-overload and I lose interest in the previous game I was hyped for🤷🏻‍♂️

A recent example: STARFIELD ... now Final Fantasy VII Rebirth🫡

F0m3UolWIAA03ro.jpg
 
Not yet😅

My gaming backlog is astounding at this point - I've got so many games to play lol!

It's like this: while I'm super-hyped to play one game, sometimes another game gets announced that consumes my hype-overload and I lose interest in the previous game I was hyped for🤷🏻‍♂️

A recent example: STARFIELD ... now Final Fantasy VII Rebirth🫡
You are in for something special with Elden Ring whenever you get to it. Absolutely insane game.
 
i saved my money for elden ring last as birthday gift last year. kept it as a steam credit because i'm waiting for the story dlc. then i bought the game during steam's last sale and then i'm sitting on this game right now. not being plaeyd at all until this muthefuckng dlc comes around.
 
Really bummed that there was no Elden Ring DLC trailer at the game awards. I thought for sure there would be something for that.

I'm really starting to wonder how big of an expansion this will be. Both Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne DLC, came out within a year of release. Even if there's a quick drop in the first half of next year, it will be 2 years since the game launched. I really hope that maybe there's a tech overhaul allowing for higher performance and dropping PS4/XB1 support.

I'm holding off on a replay until I can play with the DLC.
 
Really bummed that there was no Elden Ring DLC trailer at the game awards. I thought for sure there would be something for that.

I'm really starting to wonder how big of an expansion this will be. Both Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne DLC, came out within a year of release. Even if there's a quick drop in the first half of next year, it will be 2 years since the game launched. I really hope that maybe there's a tech overhaul allowing for higher performance and dropping PS4/XB1 support.

I'm holding off on a replay until I can play with the DLC.

It was a surprising omission though maybe they are keeping it under wraps for later on.
 
Really bummed that there was no Elden Ring DLC trailer at the game awards. I thought for sure there would be something for that.

I'm really starting to wonder how big of an expansion this will be. Both Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne DLC, came out within a year of release. Even if there's a quick drop in the first half of next year, it will be 2 years since the game launched. I really hope that maybe there's a tech overhaul allowing for higher performance and dropping PS4/XB1 support.

I'm holding off on a replay until I can play with the DLC.

Oddly enough, while loving all the Souls games, the DLCs never excited me much. Mostly because these games are about that feeling of a grand journey, with so many mysteries, making your way through the world till the end, a magical first playthrough. Coming back to some more levels, no matter how good they were, didn't have much impact on me.
 
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Shadow of the Erdtree is now thought to be releasing in February, with possibly more new Elden Ring content planned for 2025 as well.

If they just added more areas, preferably nearby the starting zone for diversifying your path through the game, that's all ER really needs. The game is already far more open-ended (in exploration and in build variety) compared to the other FROM games, one of the few games where I don't honestly think it needs DLC at all (not that I'm turning my nose up at it). Maybe add in boats/waterwalking an a chain of islands directly to the south?
 
I am about to give up this game after 40 hours and being around level 35 now.
I kind of liked the beginning, but holy shit, this game is so tedious and gets so boring after a while.
I noticed open world games are just probably not for me. I feel I cannot be arsed with having to walk around aimlessly to "find my own adventure".

And in Elden Ring, this is even more profound than in other games, because it just feels so empty and doesn't have any real story.

Whereas in games like Demons Souls or Bloodborne you had a rather straight level structure and great atmosphere, and a genius vertical world design in Dark Souls, Elden Ring just feels like an assortment of a few points of light in a boring (but beautiful, I give it that) wide world of nothingness.

I have wondered if I am playing this wrong, and read some stuff and watched some videos on Youtube. But still, this game feels so damn boring to me.

Probably I am also just bored of From Software games. I wanna try Sekiro, because I heard it's so radically different, yet linear. But that's it.

I don't want this to read as a hot take. Your mileage on this game obviously varies from mine.
Just my personal experience here.
 
I am about to give up this game after 40 hours and being around level 35 now.
I kind of liked the beginning, but holy shit, this game is so tedious and gets so boring after a while.
I noticed open world games are just probably not for me. I feel I cannot be arsed with having to walk around aimlessly to "find my own adventure".

And in Elden Ring, this is even more profound than in other games, because it just feels so empty and doesn't have any real story.

Whereas in games like Demons Souls or Bloodborne you had a rather straight level structure and great atmosphere, and a genius vertical world design in Dark Souls, Elden Ring just feels like an assortment of a few points of light in a boring (but beautiful, I give it that) wide world of nothingness.

I have wondered if I am playing this wrong, and read some stuff and watched some videos on Youtube. But still, this game feels so damn boring to me.

Probably I am also just bored of From Software games. I wanna try Sekiro, because I heard it's so radically different, yet linear. But that's it.

I don't want this to read as a hot take. Your mileage on this game obviously varies from mine.
Just my personal experience here.

Sekiro is the easiest to learn. It rarely feels like you're in the wrong spot, you just have to figure out how to overcome. Elden Ring let's you run away and meander which dulls the edge of getting gud and can make it hard to keep track of any narrative. Lots of freedom but always a nagging sense of "should I be fighting this? Should I be exploring here yet?"

Remember, George RR Martin assisted with the story so if it feels empty and pointless… well…

I can't recommend Sekiro enough. It's the very best of the modern FROM games (except possibly Armored Core 6, which I haven't played).
 
Sekiro is the easiest to learn. It rarely feels like you're in the wrong spot, you just have to figure out how to overcome. Elden Ring let's you run away and meander which dulls the edge of getting gud and can make it hard to keep track of any narrative. Lots of freedom but always a nagging sense of "should I be fighting this? Should I be exploring here yet?"

Remember, George RR Martin assisted with the story so if it feels empty and pointless… well…

I can't recommend Sekiro enough. It's the very best of the modern FROM games (except possibly Armored Core 6, which I haven't played).

My experience was totally the opposite. I had no clue what I was doing with Sekiro. Yes, half the game is mostly linear, but from the middle onwards I was completely lost. Even looking at wikis I was buffled as to how to reach certain areas.

With Elden Ring, on the other hand, I had a constant sense of amazement from the exploration and the many paths I could take. And the map definitely helped a lot.
 
I got the Giant's Crusher and respecc'd at Raya Lucaria to add in the missing STR, dropping off the Faith I was using with the Golden Halberd, and dropping off a bit of Stamina and Vigor to get to the full 60 Strength. I own several other heavy colossal swords and clubs like the Troll's Hammer, Grafted Greatsword, Great Club, a few others to play around with, and I still have a really nice black halberd +16 to go back to if I want to start using shield again. Shield is fun. The free block-then-counterhit is useful against a lot of small and medium enemies. However, I've been 2 handing the halberd against bosses and larger foes. Plus I've been using dodge and footwork in FROM games for so long... the shield loses its charm after awhile. I went through the first 35 hours of this playthrough exclusively using halberd and shield and had a good time with it.
 
I got the Giant's Crusher and respecc'd at Raya Lucaria to add in the missing STR, dropping off the Faith I was using with the Golden Halberd, and dropping off a bit of Stamina and Vigor to get to the full 60 Strength. I own several other heavy colossal swords and clubs like the Troll's Hammer, Grafted Greatsword, Great Club, a few others to play around with, and I still have a really nice black halberd +16 to go back to if I want to start using shield again. Shield is fun. The free block-then-counterhit is useful against a lot of small and medium enemies. However, I've been 2 handing the halberd against bosses and larger foes. Plus I've been using dodge and footwork in FROM games for so long... the shield loses its charm after awhile. I went through the first 35 hours of this playthrough exclusively using halberd and shield and had a good time with it.
Elden Ring is near perfection just lacking towns with not dead people/horrific abominations. (I think Dark Souls 2 may sort of be the one exception with its hub).

Just nitpicks on my part, besides a optional quest journal to keep track of sidequests, a ingame or readable codex for the world, setting, Lands Between, its history and characters, a beastery for various monsters and bosses, and unlimited respec to mess around try the sheer number of options the game gives you in approching stuff.

More materials to upgrade weapons, since I ran out. Maybe thats changed in the patches since I played?

And to think Shadow of the Erdtree will likely be adding a lot more to this absurdly gigantic yet incredible game, holy shit.
 
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Elden Ring is near perfection just lacking towns with not dead people/horrific abominations. (I think Dark Souls 2 may sort of be the one exception with its hub).

Just nitpicks on my part, besides a optional quest journal to keep track of sidequests, a ingame or readable codex for the world, setting, Lands Between, its history and characters, a beastery for various monsters and bosses, and unlimited respec to mess around try the sheer number of options the game gives you in approching stuff.

More materials to upgrade weapons, since I ran out. Maybe thats changed in the patches since I played?

And to think Shadow of the Erdtree will likely be adding a lot more to this absurdly gigantic yet incredible game, holy shit.

the lack of upgrading stones is definitely an issue, probably the worst grind in the game. I understand they don't want you to make a ton of overpowered weapons, but the heavy investment really dampens the ability to test out builds and try out different weapons on the same run.

A logbook or bestiary would be nice, too, as well as a crafting/location guide for certain resources once you've discovered them i.e. "where can I find more of those dang melting mushrooms?!". There are characters I've met that I forgot by the time they showed up in the story again.
 
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Decided to boot this up again for the first time in about a year and start up a fresh character. Going to try to go with a pure spell caster build this time. Haven't tried that since Dark Souls II. Only planned to start my character and mess around a bit today, but before I noticed I had already sunk three hours into the early part of the game. Man, it's still sooo damn good. I feel like nothing will ever top Elden Ring in this genre.

Also, first time playing with ray tracing on, and while it's often quite subtle, I do like what it does to the overall visual presentation.
 
Decided to boot this up again for the first time in about a year and start up a fresh character. Going to try to go with a pure spell caster build this time. Haven't tried that since Dark Souls II. Only planned to start my character and mess around a bit today, but before I noticed I had already sunk three hours into the early part of the game. Man, it's still sooo damn good. I feel like nothing will ever top Elden Ring in this genre.

Also, first time playing with ray tracing on, and while it's often quite subtle, I do like what it does to the overall visual presentation.

Weird timing! I just finished my Elden Ring playthrough a few days ago. What made you wanna go pure spellcaster? I noticed a lot of the skills and weapons are tuned for hybrid builds but for people who wanna do pure builds there's a lot missed... I went pure melee and was cut off from most spells and weapons, especially the boss Remembrance weapons/abilities.
 
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Weird timing! I just finished my Elden Ring playthrough a few days ago. What made you wanna go pure spellcaster? I noticed a lot of the skills and weapons are tuned for hybrid builds but for people who wanna do pure builds there's a lot missed... I went pure melee and was cut off from most spells and weapons, especially the boss Remembrance weapons/abilities.

I've done hybrid in some Souls games before, but I tend to prefer to focus on a single play style and "get gud" at it. I went pure melee for my NG and NG+ runs on my original character (this is only my 2nd), so I really haven't messed with much of the magic at all.
 
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I've done hybrid in some Souls games before, but I tend to prefer to focus on a single play style and "get gud" at it. I went pure melee for my NG and NG+ runs on my original character (this is only my 2nd), so I really haven't messed with much of the magic at all.

Are you going incantation or sorcery?