I don't mind being a filthy Tarnished. I've been Hollow before, and an Ashen One. I've been the Chosen Undead and the Bearer of the Curse. But I've never played a game quite like this before.
I had to skip almost the whole article because I'm only ten hours in and want to stay spoiler-free, but I agree with the premise. This is a terrific game, and probably the one I'll be playing exclusively for the next few months.
I had some thoughts though about my so far brief foray that I wanted to run by someone who has dug into the game a bit more:
1. Is this game actually EASIER than the Soulsborne games? I'm getting that feeling. Stealth in particular is letting me kind of slaughter enemies.
2. What do you think of the more-open world? I've always liked this sort of open world more in theory than in practice - I generally prefer the "open world" of Dark Souls, where areas aren't gated much, but the areas themselves don't allow 360 degree exploration. But I'm digging this so far.
3. What do you think about crafting? I haven't used it much, but I'm not thrilled its there. Scarcity is part of what made the Soulsborne games so good, and I hope this doesn't turn into "craft 50 fire bombs and Boss X is a cakewalk" kind of thing.
4. Can I do it blind? I've always seen From games as games that are really build for the internet age (good luck following the plot of Dark Souls without internet help), but I want to at least try to make it through once without guides. But some of the mechanics remain pretty inscrutable even after the 10 hours I've put in. Can I swing this, or do I really need to look up what to do with the one Elden Ring shard I found (for example)?
5. So far the guy I'm playing is vaguely Dex melee. I'm starting to feel like maybe pure melee builds aren't viable like they were in the Souls' game. Do I need to start pumping up my Focus?
I'll be back to read the article in full after I've dove in a bit further. :)
Yeah, hard to write about these experiences without spoilers but I totally get it. I'll do my best to chime in on each point.
1. Yes and no. There are some things that make it easier, like Guard Counter, but that move has its own risks since it opens you up to quick follow-up attacks. Having options to skip bosses / mini-dungeons etc. means you can do more early on without hitting a wall (Margit is generally that wall when it comes to getting through the first big dungeon, Stormveil). But I've been in areas/faced bosses who are every bit as challenging as anything in the Soulsborne games and maybe even harder. Stealth is great, but still limited.
2. I am generally not a fan of open worlds and share your opinion on Dark Souls being the "right" kind of open world, but I think FromSoft took that same design and applied it to a more traditional open-world format and frankly it's some of the most brilliant game design I've ever encountered. I've never loved an open world this much and it's not even close.
3. Crafting is fine. It's totally optional, really. For players who want to craft they can make use of it to their heart's content. For people like me who aren't big crafters, you can just ignore it entirely. I've used it a little but I'll probably never use crafting much.
4. Yes. You can totally do it blind. It's really all a matter of whether or not you want to. I am a little curious what item you're talking about when you say 'Elden Ring Shard' however. Is that what it's called specifically?
5. I think this is more a matter of taste and finding the right equipment/weapons for that build and then leveling those. I'd say it's really quite comparable to the Souls games across builds, though I haven't specifically built a Dex build yet. My first build is STR/DEX/FAITH and my second is heavily focused on MIND/INT with just enough STR to get by. (And Vigor/Endurance of course!)
I haven't even tried the Guard Counter yet for some reason. I'd heard that it was a powerful move, but I haven't given it a shot.
The item is called a "Rune Arc". The flavor text calls it "A shard of the shattered Elden Ring. Grants the blessing of an equipped Great Rune upon use. Even if no Great Rune is equipped, will slightly increase max HP upon use. It is said that the lower arch of the Elden Ring receives its bounty, and this is a shard of one such arch". I have little to no idea what any of this means, so I'm afraid to use it. I'm getting a very "Fire Keeper's Soul" vibe from this item, where you could use it to do an incredibly helpful thing, or you could permanently piss it away if you don't know what you're doing. :)
You're descriptions are making me excited to dive back in. Work is done, the kids are in bed, the wife indulgent. Off to play!
Ah it's for when you get a Great Rune from one of the major bosses. They're consumables that activate the Great Runes' powers. You can get them by helping defeat bosses in co-op and elsewhere...
The Rune Arc is closer to a Archstone Shard/ Bonfire Aesthetic/Ember/humanity (Depending on the game). Using it gives you a buff that lasts until death. The basic buff is a small increase to health. Nothing amazing. But as Erik says, they come into their own when you've found and activated the power of the great rune. And these are *substantial* buffs too.
It actually improves one of the least fun aspects of the Soulsborne games, and makes the mechanic more fun. Rather than feeling like you're being penalized for dying, and losing your "human form", the powers feel like a major buff. Moreso as you've had to do without them for your whole playthrough up to that point. It also completely fits the game's theme of defeating demigods, and assuming their godlike powers,
Took time out of Forbidden West to watch my son play this. Looks amazing but I have concerns I would get overwhelmed by the open world aspect of it. I could get frustrated with trying to figure out what to do or where to go to get things accomplished. As he said I’m more familiar with Open World Adjacent
Me too, but, FUCK those Crucible Knights, all of them! It's like playing against someone with a multihack in CSGO. How did these guys got to release in this state I'll never know.
Hell yeah! I managed to play just over 30 hours last weekend, this is one of the best games I've ever played. From Software did it again!
Absolutely, one of the best games of all time hands down!
I had to skip almost the whole article because I'm only ten hours in and want to stay spoiler-free, but I agree with the premise. This is a terrific game, and probably the one I'll be playing exclusively for the next few months.
I had some thoughts though about my so far brief foray that I wanted to run by someone who has dug into the game a bit more:
1. Is this game actually EASIER than the Soulsborne games? I'm getting that feeling. Stealth in particular is letting me kind of slaughter enemies.
2. What do you think of the more-open world? I've always liked this sort of open world more in theory than in practice - I generally prefer the "open world" of Dark Souls, where areas aren't gated much, but the areas themselves don't allow 360 degree exploration. But I'm digging this so far.
3. What do you think about crafting? I haven't used it much, but I'm not thrilled its there. Scarcity is part of what made the Soulsborne games so good, and I hope this doesn't turn into "craft 50 fire bombs and Boss X is a cakewalk" kind of thing.
4. Can I do it blind? I've always seen From games as games that are really build for the internet age (good luck following the plot of Dark Souls without internet help), but I want to at least try to make it through once without guides. But some of the mechanics remain pretty inscrutable even after the 10 hours I've put in. Can I swing this, or do I really need to look up what to do with the one Elden Ring shard I found (for example)?
5. So far the guy I'm playing is vaguely Dex melee. I'm starting to feel like maybe pure melee builds aren't viable like they were in the Souls' game. Do I need to start pumping up my Focus?
I'll be back to read the article in full after I've dove in a bit further. :)
Yeah, hard to write about these experiences without spoilers but I totally get it. I'll do my best to chime in on each point.
1. Yes and no. There are some things that make it easier, like Guard Counter, but that move has its own risks since it opens you up to quick follow-up attacks. Having options to skip bosses / mini-dungeons etc. means you can do more early on without hitting a wall (Margit is generally that wall when it comes to getting through the first big dungeon, Stormveil). But I've been in areas/faced bosses who are every bit as challenging as anything in the Soulsborne games and maybe even harder. Stealth is great, but still limited.
2. I am generally not a fan of open worlds and share your opinion on Dark Souls being the "right" kind of open world, but I think FromSoft took that same design and applied it to a more traditional open-world format and frankly it's some of the most brilliant game design I've ever encountered. I've never loved an open world this much and it's not even close.
3. Crafting is fine. It's totally optional, really. For players who want to craft they can make use of it to their heart's content. For people like me who aren't big crafters, you can just ignore it entirely. I've used it a little but I'll probably never use crafting much.
4. Yes. You can totally do it blind. It's really all a matter of whether or not you want to. I am a little curious what item you're talking about when you say 'Elden Ring Shard' however. Is that what it's called specifically?
5. I think this is more a matter of taste and finding the right equipment/weapons for that build and then leveling those. I'd say it's really quite comparable to the Souls games across builds, though I haven't specifically built a Dex build yet. My first build is STR/DEX/FAITH and my second is heavily focused on MIND/INT with just enough STR to get by. (And Vigor/Endurance of course!)
Cheers!
Thanks for the response!
I haven't even tried the Guard Counter yet for some reason. I'd heard that it was a powerful move, but I haven't given it a shot.
The item is called a "Rune Arc". The flavor text calls it "A shard of the shattered Elden Ring. Grants the blessing of an equipped Great Rune upon use. Even if no Great Rune is equipped, will slightly increase max HP upon use. It is said that the lower arch of the Elden Ring receives its bounty, and this is a shard of one such arch". I have little to no idea what any of this means, so I'm afraid to use it. I'm getting a very "Fire Keeper's Soul" vibe from this item, where you could use it to do an incredibly helpful thing, or you could permanently piss it away if you don't know what you're doing. :)
You're descriptions are making me excited to dive back in. Work is done, the kids are in bed, the wife indulgent. Off to play!
Ah it's for when you get a Great Rune from one of the major bosses. They're consumables that activate the Great Runes' powers. You can get them by helping defeat bosses in co-op and elsewhere...
The Rune Arc is closer to a Archstone Shard/ Bonfire Aesthetic/Ember/humanity (Depending on the game). Using it gives you a buff that lasts until death. The basic buff is a small increase to health. Nothing amazing. But as Erik says, they come into their own when you've found and activated the power of the great rune. And these are *substantial* buffs too.
It actually improves one of the least fun aspects of the Soulsborne games, and makes the mechanic more fun. Rather than feeling like you're being penalized for dying, and losing your "human form", the powers feel like a major buff. Moreso as you've had to do without them for your whole playthrough up to that point. It also completely fits the game's theme of defeating demigods, and assuming their godlike powers,
Took time out of Forbidden West to watch my son play this. Looks amazing but I have concerns I would get overwhelmed by the open world aspect of it. I could get frustrated with trying to figure out what to do or where to go to get things accomplished. As he said I’m more familiar with Open World Adjacent
Me too, but, FUCK those Crucible Knights, all of them! It's like playing against someone with a multihack in CSGO. How did these guys got to release in this state I'll never know.
I'm having a great time with it. Thanks for the tip about that grinding spot! helped me get my strength up the soft-cap.
If anyone needs help finding it, here's a map screenshot with the location:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I3XgM8wK-LEe2pK7QzWEyl3HhJl4xM9S/view?usp=sharing