Elden Ring: YOU DIED on a horse

Ummm, did you finish the main game? If not, I would try and do that first...if you can get through most of the late game using whatever methods work (summons, spirits, magic) and have fun, and you want more Elden Ring, then go for it. If you're not enjoying it or it doesn't seem like your type of game, then the dlc probably won't change your mind. They're usually as hard or harder than the late game, but Elden Ring also accommodates so many different approaches and it doesn't seem like that will change in the dlc.

xp

I hit a skill wall way before that unfortunately. I'll try to pick it up again sometime when I have more free time.

Man... even two or whatever years after this game was released I can't get over what an amazing piece of work it is. It's literally my favourite thing thst isn't a living thing

Yup - still lounging through NG+2 and the game is practically a meditative and psychically restorative experience now.

More than the other games, Elden Ring’s auxiliary challenges were far, far harder, ime. Crucible Knights? Deathbirds? Runebears? Albinauric archers? Terrifying!

Also feeling this - my biggest challenge in NG+2 so far was killing that damn death bird in Caelid to get Death's Poker.

Despite covering a ton of ground in my first two playthroughs there's a bunch of stuff I missed still, either by accident or it being too challenging. I missed an entire town and NPC questline (Jarburg and Jar Bairn), multiple caves, a merchant, and an entire mini dungeon and boss (Twin Abductor Virgins after getting warped to Volcano Manor from the Abductor Virgin at the bottom of Raya Lucaria). I'm sure there's probably some more shit I'm missing too. Insanity!

I mean - I've yet to kill a single Bell Bearing Hunter too.

I really meant to do Jarburg this time, but failed again. :( I'm awful about going back and doing NPC quests. Also don't think I did any Bell Bearing Hunters. Imagine being the type of player that From seems to imagine, who goes back through the entire world every so often, at nighttime no less!

Yes! The Bell Bearing Hunters. The first one I encountered murdered me a hundred times before I gave up

Btw are y'all craftin'? I didn't craft a single thing on this playthrough.

I did not, ever, in my main play through, except to make some sleepy things to cheese a tricky Runebear. When I started duelling tho, I got kitted out with lots of everything; you don't need to, but it's nice to have the same buffing options as your opponent

I mostly craft arrows, golden pickled fowl feet, bewitching branches, sleep pots and other odds and ends. The bewitching branches and sleep pots are really handy for certain enemies and bosses.

Pro tip for rune farming, use the golden scarab talisman (you can get it in a cave in Caelid) and eat a golden pickled fowl foot before waylaying into the albinaurics near the Moghwyn Palace. They stack and bump the runes you get by at least 50% and the status effect of the foot won't clear if you sit at a site of grace, so it then becomes a race to see how many you can kill in 2 minutes (Sacred Relic Sword helps a lot here).

NG+ and above it's easily 100,000 runes each cycle, and you can probably sneak in 4-5 rounds if you're fast enough before the foot's effects end, so like almost a half million runes in a matter of minutes.

I'm really really trying not to farm on this run. I wonder how long until I cave.

So what's the consensus on what to do when you arrive on Altus? Head to Magma Mansion or go to Leyndell? I know there are a fair few tree seeds in Leyndell that might help me

I think if I wasn't in a rush I might take a turn through shaded castle first. Annoying in a couple of ways (poison, at least one long stretch between graces), but feels neat and self-contained.

Then I think I'd check where where I was skill/stats-wise by trying to get in to Leyndell - how much trouble is that tree sentinel going to give me?

Even if I can get past I might touch grace and then look at Mt. Gelmir/the manor.

I wish I were playing Elden Ring rn.

Runes come and runes go, there are always runes in the banana stand. I've only ever farmed if I'm trying to get a new set of weapons upgraded (and even then it's more fun to set a little challenge and do it with coop, bosses, or invasions).

Even if I can get past I might touch grace and then look at Mt. Gelmir/the manor.

by running past that f'ing fallingstar beast in the crater. i had to be so late game OP before i could beat that, it was embarrassing.

“Touch grace” I love that

The opposite of touching grass. “Gotta go inside and touch grace for a while”

I'm really really trying not to farm on this run. I wonder how long until I cave.

So what's the consensus on what to do when you arrive on Altus? Head to Magma Mansion or go to Leyndell? I know there are a fair few tree seeds in Leyndell that might help me

Yeah - I only farm now when I die with a lot of runes. It helps with the cope.

I think Leyndell unlocks more stuff, beating Morgott opens up the Mountaintops/Snowfield/Haligtree/Sewer areas and pushes forward some quest lines like Sellen's. Volcano manor doesn't offer a lot in NG+ and beyond if you haven't already acquired it, but for a new game it's probably the place to go first since the enemies aren't as hard and some of the weapons, like Blasphemous Blade are super helpful for Faith/Strength builds. And there's nice armor/drip to be had too

I just went and collected nearly all of the cookbooks. Was astounding how many I missed even after 2 play throughs. Now I can craft all the boluses! Yay!

And soap too! Actually quite a useful item. How many of you have actually used soap in the game?

@ octobeard yes! I think I played through the entire game twice before I realized that I was missing two (2) cookbooks. One of them was in an area I didn't even realise existed? (South of where you first meet Edgar, the cemetery on the hill, see also that interesting shaded lagoon where a giant and some wolves are fighting each other. Totally missed that area the first time. And second time.)

And soap too! Actually quite a useful item. How many of you have actually used soap in the game?

xp - yeah that cookbook is key, it houses the sleep pot recipe. That was the cookbook that started this journey, I realized I played through twice without any sleep pots, and perhaps I should try and use them this go round since I'm trying not to summon any spirit ashes this run and the godskins still exist

Been revisiting Mount Gelmir and I'm perplexed by its geography. Am I right in thinking there are at least three or four ways to get to Volcano Manor? And some of them are a lot less longwinded than others?

I'm trying to find that one sorcerer that taught Sellen and I can't find the path at all. This part of the game has always confused me

Like, I fought my way all the way to the Fallingstar Beast, beat a wormface and an ulcerated tree spirit, only to realise I've circled round back on myself to be dumped at an earlier point

Decided to respec to a build that uses the Sword Of Night And Flame in one hand, and the Prince of Death's staff in the other.
The build is predicated on using the twin battle arts from the sword, but it's a bit fiddly as you can't use this when you're on horseback

I'm trying to find that one sorcerer that taught Sellen and I can't find the path at all. This part of the game has always confused me

Yes.

There are two spurs that feel the same but are completely different. One is the descent after Fallingstar Beast (to the right of the Manor, where the map fragment is).

The other is to the left of that complicated hard-castle with the lethal perfumers and the Briar Knight fight at the end. (Shaded Castle? Or some other name? God I can’t remember).

But I remember getting to the end of one spur and thinking “where the fuck am I this is not what I wanted”

Apparently there's a chance to meet (and get tricked by) Patches if you ride up to Volcano Manor the long way before meeting him at the Manor itself, but I've never managed to do this

I have to say, there are parts in this.playthrough I'm avoiding unless I absolutely have to. Most notably catacombs. I'm sticking a skull on them on the map to remind me to come back to them if I absolutely must

I had to come back to Volcano Manor multiple times to find that path around it with the tree spirit. Also on my recent playthrough I never found the path that opens the door back to the entrance hall in the manor (but I was ignoring basically all quests). Also accidentally killed Patches because by the time I went back to they first cave, I was too powerful and basically smote him in a couple hits.

I've vowed to be more observant in the DLC and try to do everything properly, maybe even backtrack, but I always say that and always miss a bunch.

I had thought I'd "100%'d" the game with every object imaginable acquired, and then realised I'd missed an entire area and boss (the kidnapping way into Volcano Manor)

i guess it's pretty smart that there are so many routes to VM, including being able to warp there in two different ways, because otherwise it would be a little confusing as to why you'd even go there in the first place

yeah it’s an oddly important locus. i like that! the way different plot lines can get to it, in the way that, say, the original dark souls did with its geography, ER does with its storylines. it really is a marvellous game.

I only found Jarburg after playing the game 200 hours. My last playthrough I accidentally killed one, which locks up Jar Bairn's side quest (and can't be fixed at the Church of Vows iirc), so I just massacred the lot. On NG+3 now and I'm actually doing it, haven't killed a jar there yet

I've been going back to Elden Ring recently, currently trying to get my head around Mt Gelmir and all its strange interlocking paths.

Coming back after having gone and played the other Souls games, I can kiiiind of see why there are some who criticise it.

Obvs the scope of the game the size, the lore, the amount of weapons and spells and items and the fact you can jump and use torrent are all massively big factors buuuut....

There's something about it that's missing from it that makes me pine for DS2

I think it's to do with how in DS2 especially, you're compelled to work super consistently and methodically through an area. You have to move like stealthy molasses or you die, and often you have to learn to do everything the "right" way before you can move on. There's no choice, no getting around it.

You become a master of each area, so to speak

You can try running through an area but chances are it will go badly for you. Before you know it, you'll've kited a group of enemies into a corner and you can't get out

In ER very few enemies are actually mandatory. The only real reason to clear out an area is to collect runes so you can level up. Much of the time, even in catacombs and dungeons you can just run past them and they'll de-aggro. Field bosses are a bit like that too

It's not that it's necessarily easier, because it's not easy at all, and a lot of the bosses and levels are nails. Often there are a lot more enemies around the place to compensate.

But its a different playing style. There's less methodicalness, less stress placed on clearing out an area so you can move freely onto the next one or explore it for treasure in peace.

Like, I love Stormveil - every Souls game seems to have a Stormveil analogue and they're all brilliant, and it's arguably the pinnacle of that style of area. Part of the fun of those is just the sheer number of hidden paths, which you don't get so much with DSx. But even in Stormveil you can get away with a more random, flightier style of play

^ I felt this way about DeS, which extremely felt this way. Before Elden Ring came out I was thinking "how can a design so focused on micro-training translate into an open world?"

It's a concession that's made with the open world format. Where in the DSx games, enemies will be placed in more-or-less a line which you are best-off aggroing and fighting one at a time, I ER you might come across a whole wide field full of enemies largely scattered around or clustered into groups, which aren't usually too hard to fight all at once.

Something that might have worked is if FromSoft had made it so that aggro ranges changed depending on the environment. So for example in narrower, more linear areas like caves and catacombs, enemies would chase you a bit more and you might not be able to just run / dodge past them all

You're right, fgti, even in 2-2 in DeS, enemies will follow you right down that series of jumps, often to their deaths

New story trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uT8wGtB3yQ

dog latin if you're looking to up the ante I think there's a talisman you can equip that ups an enemy's aggro and keep their focus on you.

Oh no, certainly not. The difficulty isn't what I'm talking about. Elden Ring is plenty hard. It's just a different vibe, different way of playing, and now I've gone back to the earlier games I can see why that might make hardcore Souls fans feel different about ER

I enjoyed the new trailer very much. It told me nothing other than... maybe Nepheli Loux has some link to the DLC? Big if true!

Been up the last two nights till stupid o'clock trying to get my current playthrough ready for the DLC. Ugh, much as I love this game, I don't miss my addiction to it.

Great to go back and refamiliarise myself with certain areas I don't already know like the back of my hand. Also, as this is a "no-farming" playthrough, I'm having to think harder about the order I tackle it in. Still use mimic tear where I can though.

Also, now I'm pretty familiar with the lore and how to "read" Elden Ring the correct way, it's very rewarding. I'm trying to do the NPC quests "correctly" - without a guide this is almost impossible, but I've got a pretty good handle on who to speak to and when these days, and I'm even finding some fun dialogue I hadn't heard before: Jarbairn talking in his sleep about how lovely and soft Diallos's hands are made me laugh.

Shaded Castle was never my favourite area (poison swamps, royal revanants), but fighting Elemer of the Briar was a blast. In my initial playhthrough I came to him quite late-game but he's a tough dude if you're only about Level 90.

Had a good old poke around Dominula Village too. A strange area that's more about vibe than difficulty. Bit strange that it's flanked on either side by similar-looking mini villages though - not sure about that decision really.

Last night I also did the majority of Volcano Manor. It's such a good legacy dungeon, and like all the best ones in this game I still get a bit lost and confused even though I've played it through a lot of times - especially the last part after Temple of Eiglay. It's much bigger than it is in my head.

I need some sleep

Ha I saw you were online when I was playing. I saw that all the big Souls youtube people dropped their 'I got to play the DLC for 3 hours' videos, do not want to see those. Although I did strategically click on one just for the new weapon classes, which sound extremely fun. Lots of throwing weapons that are non-consumable!

I took a peek at Vaati's one and he is known for getting straight to the matter with no intro, so I immediately switched it off. I am so excited for the DLC.

Also, I've been dipping my toes into multiplayer - something I never really fucked with before, mostly because I rarely seemed to match with anyone. But I've been putting down my sign for co-op a few times and if anything it's a neat way to experience these areas in a new way while earning some extra runes.

Might even try some pvp at some point.

I'm still confused about all these different multiplayer options though: What's the difference between half of them? Does it make a difference if I'm a recusant or a bloody finger? What are all these things?

Recusant & bloody finger are the same thing, no differences once you get it, just different quest paths. The other ones are basically the difference between putting your co-op sign down in a specific place vs sending it to a summoning pool (either nearby or faraway).

There's also the duelist sign - everyone used to have duels outside of the Raya Lucaria main gate, but I think that stopped after they introduced the arenas (although I don't know how active those are right now either?). If you try pvp I definitely recommend a lot of duels before invasions, which can be very frustrating in ER compared to the other games. Invasions require a lot of caution and a lack of mercy because everyone is capable of high damage weapon arts /spells/status effects, so they can end very quickly. In Dark Souls 3 there was a lot more room for playing around and silly hijinx imo.

Man if you don't get to fight Lady Tannith Snakegod in this DLC then it's no star

Haha. I killed her in Rykard's arena in my last playthrough so that I could fight her knight.

Seriously though, I'm hoping there are a few harkbacks and loose ends tied up in this thing beyond "here's some other bullshit and a bunch of new charcaters that are only tangentially related to the rest of the story".
Like, Rykard strongly hints that he will be back after you kill him, and the fact this major (but optional) sidestory doesn't have its own ending always felt sus to me

I feel you, but I'm wondering if they won't do anything that could conflict with the main game (ie you might not have encountered Rykard yet when you play the dlc)? Or maybe Final Form Rykard would make sense regardless of whether or not you killed him in the base game.

Very true. It's hard enough getting the npc quests to work properly

I've made it to the Mountaintops, which heralds the start of the part of the game I'm least interested in.

That said, one of the reasons I rushed through Leyndell is because I've come to realise my current quest this run-through is NOT to become Elden Lord.
It's to track down and kill Juno Hoslow. Not because I want to progress Diallos's quest. Not even because I want his whip. But because I want to finish all the Recusant quests before fighting Rykard and getting that sweet Blasphemous Blade.

It's interesting that you have to wait till you're well into the Mountaintops before you can finish that whole Recusant questline. My guess is that most people will just end up fighting Rykard before then.

Leyndell continues to confuse me, layout-wise. Even on my fourth playthrough, I don't feel like I truly understand the map of the city at all. There are so many side-streets, so many crossroads and distractions. Plus the enemies are SUPER TOUGH, so in having to fight them, I'm constantly being disoriented about where I am going. I can't even find the area with the well that takes you to the Shunning Grounds. It's HUGE even when compared to the other legacy dungeons in this game.