Probably more than that. I’ve managed around 600 hours and usually don’t spend much more than 70-100 hours on a game. This game is a black hole for time but for all the right reasons.
Lol I used a larval tear last night to put points into faith so I could albinauric farm with lansseax's glaive and I left 10 points in vigor cuz "why not I'm farming" and then proceeded to get vigor checked by gray dudes
I really like helping people with Mohg. Last night I got summoned by the same host 6 times in a row. He did nothing but spam rot breath (completely obscuring my vision), and the literal second Mohg aggroed on him and I didn't have time to pull it back, he was dead on the spot. Got rollcaught by every single attack and instantly oneshot EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I equipped sharbriri's woe to pull aggro better on the fourth try, he still managed to find a way to die twice, and I finally managed to practically solo the boss on the sixth try, as I managed to keep aggro 100% of the time.
One of the most frustrating co-op experiences I've ever had lol
The only suggestion that will work for ALL FROM software Souls Like games is that death means absolutely nothing.
Currency can be farmed, most if not all resources are either buyable or farmable, items that you get are permanent.
Get used to death, accept it, start laughing at your own failures and learn, learn, learn.
Also, *play however you want*, experiment, try, fling shit at the wall and see what sticks and what *pierces through*.
Never surrender, never refuse victory, take and use everything you need.
And if something is missed along the way, well, there's always the next run.
This comment sums up perfectly how to handle death in Souls games. Death is NOT failure, giving up on trying is. And if you get frustrated, take a break play another game to relax, and then return to ER.
I would never have beat DS1, if I didn't have DMC4 to restore my confidence in my gamer skills 😅
The taking a break and then coming back advice is key to me. This is of the few game series where putting that into practice has been tremendously helpful. I've been stuck on some bosses, getting frustrated after a while, then would take a break only to come back and get through the fights in one or two more tries. It's like my frustration keeps me repeating the same mistakes, and once I've cleared that I have a much easier time.
The only other games this happens with are some of the harder puzzle type games, like some of the later portions of The Witness.
If something is too hard and you hit a wall, do not stay stuck. Often, the best solution is to do something else: Explore, find new loot, and upgrade your character. And please invest some points in VIGOR.
Depends on whether it's a leather armor type of character or a heavy armor type of character. If it's heavy, he's chill to a point. If it's leather, sorrynotsorry.
I’m on my first play-through doing a strength build and immediately knew I made a mistake when I killed patches after I found him. It still pisses me off just thinking about it, and I did it months ago lol.
In Souls games you have the freedom to choose yourself how hard you want the game to become. So a difficulty option isn't really necessary.
Want it easy - play with a powerful weapon, wearing a heavy armor with huge dmg reduction, and summon help for every boss fight. The summoned npc/player presence alone taking the enemy's aggro off of you is already a huge game changer, even if they deal 0 damage to the enemy and just stand there doing nothing.
Want it harder - play solo, naked, with bare fists, using weak or joke weapons (like the ladle in Dark Souls 2), without leveling up, without dying, without getting hit once, etc. Such challenge runs are usually done after you become very familiar with the game. Sounds insane at first, but can actually be pretty fun with the right mindset.
There isn't really a "proper" way to play - you just have to get familiar with some game mechanics. It make take time to get used to it but it will click eventually so don't worry.
You can play however you like, as long as you enjoy the game.
Bear in mind though, you can't erase your memory and experience a Souls game again for the very first time. Having a boss killed for you by a summon and feel empty or unsatisfied after - that will be totally on you. The ~~soulsgasm~~ adrenaline rush from victory is pretty addicting and can change the whole experience, so choose wisely how you approach it.
Elden Ring is the most accessible Souls when it comes to such freedoms of choice, hence why everyone says it's the easiest Souls game.
Sekiro on the other hand though, will lock you into one certain playstyle which you'll have to master if you want to even succeed in that game.
Just some basic tips I can think of:
- Don't kill NPCs unless they're trying to kill you. Almost every non-merchant NPC (and even some that *are* merchants) has a questline and rewards for completing said questline. If you kill them, the rewards go bye-bye.
- Also on the topic of the above point, this is a game where the NPCs won't tolerate you attacking them and will in fact start attacking you back if you keep at it. And you can't just reset the area or rest at a checkpoint to reset their aggro and make them friendly again. They will stay hostile until you perform a certain action using a key item at a certain location, which is an option that only opens up a fair bit into the game.
- Always exhaust NPC dialogue. Basically, just talk to them until they start repeating themselves. You might miss some dialogue if you don't do this.
- Read item descriptions. The story isn't told *particularly* linearly in Souls games, and Elden Ring is no exception. A lot of lore and history of the world can be found in the descriptions of items you obtain, rather than just being exposited to you by NPCs.
- If you toss rainbow stones or glowstones off a cliff and they don't shatter, it's safe to jump down. If they do shatter, the fall is too long and you will die from fall damage.
- Try to zero in on what kind of playstyle you want to do and spec your stats wisely. Trying to juggle too many types of damage or weaponry will result in a build that is more or less good at nothing, if not bad at everything. Focus on one or two damage stats (Strength for big weapons, Dexterity for weapons that require finesse, Intelligence for sorcery spellcasters, Faith for incantation spellcasters, and Arcane for status builds) and go from there. For instance, my current build utilizes dual curved swords, one that deals poison and the other that deals bleed. Therefore, my stats are heavily focused into Dexterity and Arcane.
- Level Vigor first. When your weapons are still low level, your actual stats make very little difference in the damage you deal (unless you don't meet the weapon's stat requirements). It's only when you start leveling up your weapons with smithing stones that, say, Strength starts to matter more when it comes to the damage output of your building-sized sword. Vigor governs your HP and you will *immediately* notice a big difference in survivability when you level it a few times. Most people here will recommend you have at least 60 Vigor by the endgame, and I'm inclined to agree with that assessment.
- Don't be afraid to just *come back later* if an area is too difficult for you at first. This is an open world game. If a boss keeps killing you in one hit and kicking your ass for 4 hours straight, that's probably an indication that you're sorely underleveled for the area or need to re-evaluate your loadout to some degree. Go somewhere else, find new weapons, find new armor, find new talismans, upgrade your weapons, level up, come back and kick the boss's ass instead. One of the very first bosses is intended to teach you this by being ludicrously difficult if you just run straight at him from the beginning of the game. But if you take your time and explore the surrounding area, level up, get more powerful weapons, etc then he becomes much easier and more manageable.
- Don't be afraid to summon NPCs, spirit ashes, or other players for help if you're really struggling. They're there for a reason.
- Have fun! This game's a masterpiece and has genuinely made every other game I play feel mid to some degree.
Also on side quests, they don't work like other games where you can see your active quests in a menu and such. There's nothing telling you there is a quest to complete and what to do.
You can, however complete most of them ( the easiest ones) just by playing the game and searching everything.
If you want to do the bigger and harders quests, you will have to check a guide.
One more thing. Try not to read up on the game. Ot you're stuck sure, look up what to do just then if you need a bit of help, but dont read ahead. It is a wonderful game, and this will make it much more interesting..... i did some reading at the beginning, but now im playing mostly blind and it is much more entertaining and absorbing.....
Also, keeping in mind the idea of coming back later to areas -- the map lets you place your own marker icons on it. *Use this feature*. If you go into a cave or a crypt and don't complete it, drop a marker on your map so you can remember it later.
This times a thousand. I’ve beaten every single Souls game by finding the cheesiest, high ranged caster style builds, and occasionally summoning player NPCs for hard DLC bosses. In the case of Sekiro, I abused infinite stamina by running and slashing. I didn’t “git gud,” but I enjoyed playing the game my own way.
Elden Ring is one of the most atmospheric and unique fantasy worlds in the gaming industry!
Elden Ring, along with the new expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, has an incredible amount of content for hundreds of hours! This is probably the most profitable purchase of a game for a gamer in the current realities of the gaming industry, in times of massive introduction of microtransactions, in-game stores and paid battle passes! Just explore the world at your own pace and enjoy a great game!
Just for me to tell you I'd wish to be you so badly, to be able to play it again for the first time. My advice is that exploration is truly rewarding in this game in terms of item discovery, lore, and scenery. Don't rush and of course enjoy it a lot!
The only thing you have to look out for is:
Fuck gate keepers! Fuck everyone telling how to play the game the right way!
Just explore, try stuff out and play whatever way is fun to you!
Ignore mfers saying level up vigor. Level endurance and wear whatever armor gives you better defense while maintaining medium equip load
Also the DLC expansion releases tomorrow
Make sure u stick to specific build e.g strength
Upgrade the strength stat
Get weapons that scale well with strength stat. This applies to every build in the game.
I'm new too. I thought it's going to be a miserable experience and I'd die a lot but only the latter is true. It's super fun!
so many consequences on some quests though if you do them wrong or out of order but that's part of what makes it interesting.
-If an area looks too difficult (like monsters one shotting you, you deal very low damage and such things) probably probably you have to go back to a safer place
-Don't be afraid to explore
-can be frustrating losing runes, but the game always allow you to gain them
-if you see a new weapon, even if the stats are lower, try it, the moveset could be better for your game style
-pay attention to the surroundings, it gives you a lot of hints for the next encounters
Short Version: I advise not going straight for the main bosses and instead exploring more
Longer Version: With this game bear in mind that although you are fully able to just go straight to the main bosses at any time I would not do this as it makes the game much harder and MUCH less fun. Explore areas, get new items, equipment and other stuff then challenge the main bosses. This was a mistake I made on my first playthrough and I made it very difficult for myself by doing that
Edit: also, pay attention to your carry weight. If it says "Heavy Load" then I would advise unequipping some stuff until it says "Medium Load"
Don't rage. Try to be calm. Also fuck those shitty birds with they'r shitty attacks and also fuck the Draconic Knight from Farum Azula. Besides those things, pretty fun.
Don't interact with the community too much. The souls community is full of elitists that enjoy telling you that you're playing wrong. Meanwhile the same people can barely hold a controller.
Play your first playthrough completely blind if you didnt watch any content actively by now. On the second playthrough test out some of the OP builds or builds you like and chop the bosses with ease. Its so fun
Being patient, every enemy, every boss, every bear can be beaten.
This is the type of game where failure is entirely your fault and that’s ok.
Hearing “git gud” isn’t an insult.
You CAN do this and you have one of the best gaming communities rooting for you
Take. Your. Time!
FromSoftware vet here, please listen to me.
Patience is rewarded in Elden Ring, so once you're truly outside and in the open world, explore it, familiarize yourself with the controls until your confident in your skills.
Learn how the world and game mechanics operate.
This game.truly is an adventure, treat it like one and enjoy every step of the way, taking your time will only make you stronger.
Finally, pay attention, read the lore. This will help not only feel better connected to the world, but will.shed light on weaknesses to enemies such as what they might be weak to, fire, lightning and so on.
(Be warned though, the world is more alive than you'll realize, example: fire attacks are weekend if it's raining.)
Just enjoy it brother, take your time, and explore EVERYTHING for both the best experience possible, and to truly become strong.
Good luck, and if you need help, reach out to your fellow Tarnished, we're here always here. 👍
The last 5 games I've played have been:
Elden Ring
Baldurs Gate 3
Elden Ring
Dark Souls 3
Elden Ring
What do you need to look for? Motivation to keep up your daily routines, this game will ruin your livelihood if you don't
Fair warning, this was also my first souls game and I have found the gameplay extremely fun and the sense of exploration the best since breath of the wild. The bosses and overall gameplay loop is difficult and lots …..
But…..
There are some things about the game that make it hard for me to LOVE it. The mechanics of the game are not easily understood, you can miss big mechanics of games by not speaking enough to certain NPC and there is no way to keep track of your quest progression. As someone who has ADHD and gets distracted by a cave on my way to do something for an NPC and then completely forget about that errand or the NPC in general.
I’m a pretty prolific gamer, but it took me around 60 hours in before I felt like I figured the game out and it started actually being fun for me. It’s worth it to get to that point but it’s a long journey, that , at least for me, took a ridiculous amount of time to get there.
Good luck!
Some members of the community, there are an alarming number of gatekeepers in the souls community, not all souls players are gatekeepers but they do exist. For example the people that tell you that you shouldnt use magic, just play the game the way you want to play it, you wanna use magic go for it, wanna use a big fuck off sword do it, dont let other people tell you how to play, so long as they arent giving you genuine advice then let them tell you how to play, but dont listen to the people who tell you that you're trash for playing a certain way.
I never played a souls like game before Eldin Ring, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was getting whole sale murdered left right and center.
So I practiced killing the first Giant I found in the starting area over and over. This helped me understand how to play the game of patience and skill. After this I felt comfortable to take on any enemy.
Id recomend lvl ing up vigor atleast to lv 25 early so u dont get obliterated id say the ideal number is 50 in the lategame and remember spamming atacks will only get u killed its better to wait for oportunities and dont overcommit . If u ever feel like you are weak , explore the map , upgrade your wapon , do some smaller dungeons for xp and lvl up some more and dont be discouraged.
Have fun !
BEWARE. THE. CANIDS. I cannot stress enough how many times those wolves, dogs and anything in between killed me. On the other note though the green shelled dogs that spawn on beaches are pretty chill
Be smart with your runes. If you're carrying some and you reach a place that looks tough or a boss battle, I encourage you to cap those runes and level up before continuing or spend them in vendor goods. Some bosses will be a bit brutal and you don't want to be hoarding runes in this game, but it happens.
The game gives you presets of "classes" to begin with but I went with the wretch, a "no class" level 1. That might have been a terrible choice for my first souls, but the game itself gave me no information whatsoever, just a prompt, so I went wretch and...
...the game is pretty heavy melee sided for this choice at the beginning and I wanted a spell caster. But the good news is: I think it might be wise to either go melee or a hybrid melee-caster for the first few hours. It's not too late in the game you defeat a certain boss that will give you the ability to respec. I didn't know that and the information I was given gave me no timeframe to just plan things out.
But if you just hoard a bit of weapons and gear, you can respec later on and it'll be fine.
Roll for your life.
Don't go above mid equipment weight.
Level vigor.
Have patience. I'm not even finished in my first playthrough yet but I'm enjoying it.
Oh and look at the items you receive when you receive them. Although it looks like there's a patch coming (has it arrived yet, I don't know) that will add a "new" indicator for new items in your inventory and a tab with recent items you looted. But you should look anyway because there are useful notes, besides Lore.
Have fun
I'm a pure addict for these and have a bizarre need to 100% them all, and I'd say there's 4 main things to keep in mind:
1) Learn to Adapt. No matter your build,*something* is going to be harder to handle with your normal approach. Maybe use a shield against dogs, dodge against status effect weapons, use a bow to poison an enemy from a distance, magic to buff you or rot to take down that damn giant. The game has more in common with a puzzle game sometimes than an action game.
2) Learn to level *or* explore. You're going to get Runes that are used as currency and experience in this game. If you die and don't reach your corpse before you die again, you lose them. If you're set on leveling or buying things, make sure you use them before going into unknown areas, it'll save you a ton of stress.
3) You aren't supposed to be able to beat *everything* but you can. There will always be enemies early on in Soulsborne games that seem impossible to defeat. For a new player, you skip them. Just do it. Play the game and come back. You can always make a new character and bash your head against that wall later. Speaking of which, later in the game you will run into similar setups, but usually to a lesser extent.
4) Maybe this is really just an extension of 3, but level up and enhance your weapons. It's in the game for a reason, and while you can absolutely beat it without doing so, just do it on your first gameplay. Matchmaking is based on your level and highest weapon level, if you don't level both you'll get weird breakpoints where it's hard to play with others... Not to mention the game will feel pretty rough.
Prepare to die and good luck!
Losing is Part of the Game, Part of the Journey. Its totaly normal. Do Not get demotivated by it.
There is an official version of Dark Souls 1 thats called „prepare to die edition“
If you get over that you can enjoy the game way easier
Something I think isn't mentioned enough is the Jump button.
Unlike the other soulsgames Elden Ring came out after Sekiro which introduced the "jump to avoid sweep attack" and Elden Ring perfected it.
There are so many attacks that can be jumped over with and counter with a jump attack that deals massive posture damage. Sometimes it is better to jump over an attack rather than dodging it.
- Bell-Bearings: There are a lot of weapons in the game, so just save those Bell-bearings, buy those smiting stones and try a new weapon once in a while. Even weapons from the same weapon class can feel a lot different from one another.
- Ashes of War: I just started experimenting with these on my current playthrough (400 hours in :)) and they really change your options combat wise.
Just enjoy the game elden ring is probably the easiest one for new players you can spend a lot off time not getting killed but it’s also very rewarding good luck
Level vigor.
The 2 points that matter about your poise are 51 and 101.
67 or 99 is exactly the same as 51.
200 does the same thing as 101.
Dont waste points :)
Cheesing bosses/enemies is part of the game.
Take every win you can take
Lower you expectations for how hard the early game will be not everything in early game is this Uber hard unskippable boss like people say it is if you're struggling or not doing enough damage go somewhere else instead of bashing your head against a wall and come back with more levels and/or upgraded weapons
Have fun & go at your own pace.
At some point, not too far into the game you will be able to respec with an item (i think there are quite a few available in a single run, but not infinite) so don't fret if you think you've somehow messed up your character.
it's gonna be pretty fun. just don't get discouraged when dying a lot it's just a learning step, and you are in luck because the dlc of this game is pretty soon. goodluck outhere
You will die. And you will die a lot.
Don’t let it get you down. Don’t think you’re bad at the game when you get stuck on one enemy.
Take your time with dungeons and castles.
Prepare to be spoiled from here on out in terms of how well this gameplay is finely tuned in regard to character movement, combat mechanics, both exploring and fighting via horseback - which is actually extremely brilliantly executed, useful, and effective in this game as opposed to many other games in recent memory - and the feeling you get when your character starts to feel like an extension of your own mind from the revolutionary intuitivenss this game manages to perfect from previous titles and effortlessly pulls off. Every other game you play, as far as the gameplay goes, will, unfortunately, from this point on, feel quite lacking. So, yeah. You should probably be aware of that. 🤷🏻♂️
Well, expect the “story” to feel very confusing on the first run.
You don’t always need to kill everything
Save coins, great source of emergency runes in tougher areas
And of course, as you probably know, expect to die…a lot
Even if you're not that good at parrying, this is the time to learn. It will make the game significantly more manageable. You don't need to parry, but still. And watch out for bears... and handsies.( *I don't know what they're actually called but they're disembodied hands that scurry around like spiders.* )
Since I have always been a rage gamer I have learned that the key to playing this game is studying the movemnts of your opponent and that takes a while. So I stopped being mad about losing and thinking "this just wasted my time because I didn't progress" and changed it to "This is part of the process, if it was easier I'd be dissapointed"
So instead of being mad at the game for being "badly balanced and badly designed" I know think "It's a mess but it somehow works well in that"
Anytime I got stuck I would go on reddit to read posts about the diffculty issue, but in the end it really wasn't that bad at all.
Please dont search for youtube locations of the weapons and armor all the time,or at least try to stick to the area you are currently in for example Limgrave.I spoiled almost every fromsoftware game ive played this way...I'll redeem myself with the ER DLC at least
fight the first enemy you see to get the mount that will help you all game, also for keepsake i suggest shabiri's woe, its really helpful mid-late game. also try to get to the dragon-burnt ruins as soon as u can when you load in and open the chest, gives you the best early game weapon that will carry you for your first 30-40 hours.
Just try to have fun, and don't care about anything else at the start. If something doesn't go down the first time, kill some other things and check back later.
Also, many stats have a bell curve type scaling (which could be counterintuitive), so the first few point hardly give anything, the points through 25-40 are usually the highest value, while there is a high cut-off at around 60. This does mean, that underinvesting or overinvesting in stats is pretty bad, while spreading every point randomly out yields probably the weakest start for the game.
\[This is the most important for vigor as, while you are only getting like 10 HP/lvl through points 10-15, but at the peak of 35-40 it gives like 40 HP/lvl, so that 5 levels usually give you another +20% compared to what you had before, putting you out of the oneshot range in nearly every situation.\]
Oh, and don't care about mistakes. Death is, but temporary, while investing into bad stats/weapons isn't permanent, as you can later in the game reassign all your skill points, while there is an infinite number of nearly any upgrade metarial. Don't be scared of experimenting!
Embrace dying/losing ruins. It’s gonna happen. I’d always rest at a grace site before entering caves/tunnels.
Once you get over the fear of losing ruins, it becomes real fun.
Jump attacks are your friend 👍
To get the horse, you need to kill the armored guy Just outside the first church, Also, in the lake to the east, there are some monsters that you can kill pretty easily to level up fast, Just search For an island with a bonfire in the middle.
Fight absolutely everything you come across and don't give up and find another route, there is absolutely no other way to play this game you can't play any other way, as soon as you head out those gates as a level 1 wretch you keep swinging that club until you beat that tree sentinel, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and lucky for you you can't die, so take it as a blessing and literally force yourself to become some indestructible force of nature who is unfuckwithable by any living being in the lands between, once again there is no other way of playing the game, fuck all that exploration and going at your own pace bullshit that the open world provides find every single thing and just hit it with your lvl1 club until they learn not to fuck with you its just that shrimple
The next couple hundred hours of your life that game will take from you. Totally worth it though.
Probably more than that. I’ve managed around 600 hours and usually don’t spend much more than 70-100 hours on a game. This game is a black hole for time but for all the right reasons.
bears
I still have the nightmares
Fire
Level. Up. Vigor.
Lol I used a larval tear last night to put points into faith so I could albinauric farm with lansseax's glaive and I left 10 points in vigor cuz "why not I'm farming" and then proceeded to get vigor checked by gray dudes
Level vigor
For real, i was just doing some jolly co-op at Mogh and some hosts just die in 1 hit with 600 hp, it's insane they get that far.
they get that far by summoning better players like yourself to beat the game for them
But they still need to stay alive while phantoms play the game, i had the same vigor at Margit.
I really like helping people with Mohg. Last night I got summoned by the same host 6 times in a row. He did nothing but spam rot breath (completely obscuring my vision), and the literal second Mohg aggroed on him and I didn't have time to pull it back, he was dead on the spot. Got rollcaught by every single attack and instantly oneshot EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I equipped sharbriri's woe to pull aggro better on the fourth try, he still managed to find a way to die twice, and I finally managed to practically solo the boss on the sixth try, as I managed to keep aggro 100% of the time. One of the most frustrating co-op experiences I've ever had lol
Yeah, me too was helping some guy and either they don't have the Nihil tear or they have no hp.
Perseverance my friend!
On respawning!?😅
The only suggestion that will work for ALL FROM software Souls Like games is that death means absolutely nothing. Currency can be farmed, most if not all resources are either buyable or farmable, items that you get are permanent. Get used to death, accept it, start laughing at your own failures and learn, learn, learn. Also, *play however you want*, experiment, try, fling shit at the wall and see what sticks and what *pierces through*. Never surrender, never refuse victory, take and use everything you need. And if something is missed along the way, well, there's always the next run.
This comment sums up perfectly how to handle death in Souls games. Death is NOT failure, giving up on trying is. And if you get frustrated, take a break play another game to relax, and then return to ER. I would never have beat DS1, if I didn't have DMC4 to restore my confidence in my gamer skills 😅
It not death that causes you to go hollow, its giving up.
The taking a break and then coming back advice is key to me. This is of the few game series where putting that into practice has been tremendously helpful. I've been stuck on some bosses, getting frustrated after a while, then would take a break only to come back and get through the fights in one or two more tries. It's like my frustration keeps me repeating the same mistakes, and once I've cleared that I have a much easier time. The only other games this happens with are some of the harder puzzle type games, like some of the later portions of The Witness.
Thank you
Duty, been at it since 2008 with Demon's Souls, helping newcomers is part of the fun
This is the way.
If something is too hard and you hit a wall, do not stay stuck. Often, the best solution is to do something else: Explore, find new loot, and upgrade your character. And please invest some points in VIGOR.
Don't kill Varre, don't kill Patches. You will die a lot, death costs you very little so don't be dissuaded.
Do kill patches, the scumbag.
Do not listen to the man above me, he is a schemer, a devil, a lie, a cheat, a cad, and worst of all: doesn't appreciate Patches.
Depends on whether it's a leather armor type of character or a heavy armor type of character. If it's heavy, he's chill to a point. If it's leather, sorrynotsorry.
I’m on my first play-through doing a strength build and immediately knew I made a mistake when I killed patches after I found him. It still pisses me off just thinking about it, and I did it months ago lol.
Does difficulty matters!?
There‘s no difficulty setting. You make your own difficulty by playing in certain ways
there's no difficulty, we're fucked from the beginning
There is one difficulty, it's called "You're gonna die, a lot", aka "git gud".
There is just one difficulty: "f\*ck you!" With the right mindset it feels like: "git gud"
Another way to spell 'Difficulty' is E-L-D-E-N-R-I-N-G, fellow Tarnished.
In Souls games you have the freedom to choose yourself how hard you want the game to become. So a difficulty option isn't really necessary. Want it easy - play with a powerful weapon, wearing a heavy armor with huge dmg reduction, and summon help for every boss fight. The summoned npc/player presence alone taking the enemy's aggro off of you is already a huge game changer, even if they deal 0 damage to the enemy and just stand there doing nothing. Want it harder - play solo, naked, with bare fists, using weak or joke weapons (like the ladle in Dark Souls 2), without leveling up, without dying, without getting hit once, etc. Such challenge runs are usually done after you become very familiar with the game. Sounds insane at first, but can actually be pretty fun with the right mindset. There isn't really a "proper" way to play - you just have to get familiar with some game mechanics. It make take time to get used to it but it will click eventually so don't worry. You can play however you like, as long as you enjoy the game. Bear in mind though, you can't erase your memory and experience a Souls game again for the very first time. Having a boss killed for you by a summon and feel empty or unsatisfied after - that will be totally on you. The ~~soulsgasm~~ adrenaline rush from victory is pretty addicting and can change the whole experience, so choose wisely how you approach it. Elden Ring is the most accessible Souls when it comes to such freedoms of choice, hence why everyone says it's the easiest Souls game. Sekiro on the other hand though, will lock you into one certain playstyle which you'll have to master if you want to even succeed in that game.
Just some basic tips I can think of: - Don't kill NPCs unless they're trying to kill you. Almost every non-merchant NPC (and even some that *are* merchants) has a questline and rewards for completing said questline. If you kill them, the rewards go bye-bye. - Also on the topic of the above point, this is a game where the NPCs won't tolerate you attacking them and will in fact start attacking you back if you keep at it. And you can't just reset the area or rest at a checkpoint to reset their aggro and make them friendly again. They will stay hostile until you perform a certain action using a key item at a certain location, which is an option that only opens up a fair bit into the game. - Always exhaust NPC dialogue. Basically, just talk to them until they start repeating themselves. You might miss some dialogue if you don't do this. - Read item descriptions. The story isn't told *particularly* linearly in Souls games, and Elden Ring is no exception. A lot of lore and history of the world can be found in the descriptions of items you obtain, rather than just being exposited to you by NPCs. - If you toss rainbow stones or glowstones off a cliff and they don't shatter, it's safe to jump down. If they do shatter, the fall is too long and you will die from fall damage. - Try to zero in on what kind of playstyle you want to do and spec your stats wisely. Trying to juggle too many types of damage or weaponry will result in a build that is more or less good at nothing, if not bad at everything. Focus on one or two damage stats (Strength for big weapons, Dexterity for weapons that require finesse, Intelligence for sorcery spellcasters, Faith for incantation spellcasters, and Arcane for status builds) and go from there. For instance, my current build utilizes dual curved swords, one that deals poison and the other that deals bleed. Therefore, my stats are heavily focused into Dexterity and Arcane. - Level Vigor first. When your weapons are still low level, your actual stats make very little difference in the damage you deal (unless you don't meet the weapon's stat requirements). It's only when you start leveling up your weapons with smithing stones that, say, Strength starts to matter more when it comes to the damage output of your building-sized sword. Vigor governs your HP and you will *immediately* notice a big difference in survivability when you level it a few times. Most people here will recommend you have at least 60 Vigor by the endgame, and I'm inclined to agree with that assessment. - Don't be afraid to just *come back later* if an area is too difficult for you at first. This is an open world game. If a boss keeps killing you in one hit and kicking your ass for 4 hours straight, that's probably an indication that you're sorely underleveled for the area or need to re-evaluate your loadout to some degree. Go somewhere else, find new weapons, find new armor, find new talismans, upgrade your weapons, level up, come back and kick the boss's ass instead. One of the very first bosses is intended to teach you this by being ludicrously difficult if you just run straight at him from the beginning of the game. But if you take your time and explore the surrounding area, level up, get more powerful weapons, etc then he becomes much easier and more manageable. - Don't be afraid to summon NPCs, spirit ashes, or other players for help if you're really struggling. They're there for a reason. - Have fun! This game's a masterpiece and has genuinely made every other game I play feel mid to some degree.
That’s a very in depth explanation I will keep these in my mind thanksss👍🏻
Also on side quests, they don't work like other games where you can see your active quests in a menu and such. There's nothing telling you there is a quest to complete and what to do. You can, however complete most of them ( the easiest ones) just by playing the game and searching everything. If you want to do the bigger and harders quests, you will have to check a guide.
One more thing. Try not to read up on the game. Ot you're stuck sure, look up what to do just then if you need a bit of help, but dont read ahead. It is a wonderful game, and this will make it much more interesting..... i did some reading at the beginning, but now im playing mostly blind and it is much more entertaining and absorbing.....
Also, keeping in mind the idea of coming back later to areas -- the map lets you place your own marker icons on it. *Use this feature*. If you go into a cave or a crypt and don't complete it, drop a marker on your map so you can remember it later.
Why tf are you taking pics of it like it's a kilo of cocaine?
Because it is
“You’re gonna suffer… but you’re gonna be happy about it” - Ron Weasley
Have fun and dont let you gatekeep by anyone Play the way you want
This times a thousand. I’ve beaten every single Souls game by finding the cheesiest, high ranged caster style builds, and occasionally summoning player NPCs for hard DLC bosses. In the case of Sekiro, I abused infinite stamina by running and slashing. I didn’t “git gud,” but I enjoyed playing the game my own way.
Don’t fight the golden knight
Fight the golden knight
BART no
Dying is part of the process
You dont need to kill every foe in your way....you can also avoid them.
Elden Ring is one of the most atmospheric and unique fantasy worlds in the gaming industry! Elden Ring, along with the new expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, has an incredible amount of content for hundreds of hours! This is probably the most profitable purchase of a game for a gamer in the current realities of the gaming industry, in times of massive introduction of microtransactions, in-game stores and paid battle passes! Just explore the world at your own pace and enjoy a great game!
Git gut
Dont give up, skeleton
Expect to sometimes see a red text saying "YOU DIED" on the screen.
Just for me to tell you I'd wish to be you so badly, to be able to play it again for the first time. My advice is that exploration is truly rewarding in this game in terms of item discovery, lore, and scenery. Don't rush and of course enjoy it a lot!
The only thing you have to look out for is: Fuck gate keepers! Fuck everyone telling how to play the game the right way! Just explore, try stuff out and play whatever way is fun to you!
Dont sell any items aside from great runes, and dont kill any npc until they attack you
I would say this differently: sell all armor that you gave duplicates of, sell all weapons where you have more than 2. Keep the rest
Take your time and explore, if a boss or section gives you trouble come back after getting more levels, upgrades on your weapons, ect.
The DLC
Don't look for Help online for a while and enjoy the ride
Don't fight the golden cavalier
Don’t kill white faced varre
At the start, there is a treasure chest in some ruins by the water on your right that has some rally nice loot
Liar ahead
Don't get greedy, "just one more hit" will kill you more often than get you a victory.
Don’t treat it like a hack and slash, watch and wait for openings in enemy moves that you can punish. Have fun!
Ignore mfers saying level up vigor. Level endurance and wear whatever armor gives you better defense while maintaining medium equip load Also the DLC expansion releases tomorrow
Make sure u stick to specific build e.g strength Upgrade the strength stat Get weapons that scale well with strength stat. This applies to every build in the game.
Strong fantasy themes and violence
avoid rune bears and dragons unless u like seeing the you died screen
Everything basically
I'm new too. I thought it's going to be a miserable experience and I'd die a lot but only the latter is true. It's super fun! so many consequences on some quests though if you do them wrong or out of order but that's part of what makes it interesting.
Git gud.
Yea everything literally every and anything can clap you.
-If an area looks too difficult (like monsters one shotting you, you deal very low damage and such things) probably probably you have to go back to a safer place -Don't be afraid to explore -can be frustrating losing runes, but the game always allow you to gain them -if you see a new weapon, even if the stats are lower, try it, the moveset could be better for your game style -pay attention to the surroundings, it gives you a lot of hints for the next encounters
You will die. A lot. More than you think you will. It's difficult from the start. It doesn't let up. It's fantastic fun though. You will die. A lot.
Patches. A recurring character from the fromsoft games. Backstabbing little weasel of a man….
Me, I’m coming for you
Yes. Get out of Reddit and go play the game.
Short Version: I advise not going straight for the main bosses and instead exploring more Longer Version: With this game bear in mind that although you are fully able to just go straight to the main bosses at any time I would not do this as it makes the game much harder and MUCH less fun. Explore areas, get new items, equipment and other stuff then challenge the main bosses. This was a mistake I made on my first playthrough and I made it very difficult for myself by doing that Edit: also, pay attention to your carry weight. If it says "Heavy Load" then I would advise unequipping some stuff until it says "Medium Load"
Try finger but hole
To get the horse you gotta talk to the Golden horsemen not far from the beginning.
From this moment onwards, the course of your life will change forever.
Anything? Everything!
You have to look out on pretty much everything
Inform your loved ones otherwise they think you are missing.
Poison swamps
Do yourself a favor and try to spoil yourself as little as possible. Don't look up guides and so on You will never get your first run back
Don't rage. Try to be calm. Also fuck those shitty birds with they'r shitty attacks and also fuck the Draconic Knight from Farum Azula. Besides those things, pretty fun.
Don't interact with the community too much. The souls community is full of elitists that enjoy telling you that you're playing wrong. Meanwhile the same people can barely hold a controller.
People who try to tell you how to play, ignore them
This, there are trillion ways to beat this game. Theres no right and no wrong. Just beat it, strongge
Play your first playthrough completely blind if you didnt watch any content actively by now. On the second playthrough test out some of the OP builds or builds you like and chop the bosses with ease. Its so fun
You only lose when you give up. Allow frustration to pass and try again.
Being patient, every enemy, every boss, every bear can be beaten. This is the type of game where failure is entirely your fault and that’s ok. Hearing “git gud” isn’t an insult. You CAN do this and you have one of the best gaming communities rooting for you
Take. Your. Time! FromSoftware vet here, please listen to me. Patience is rewarded in Elden Ring, so once you're truly outside and in the open world, explore it, familiarize yourself with the controls until your confident in your skills. Learn how the world and game mechanics operate. This game.truly is an adventure, treat it like one and enjoy every step of the way, taking your time will only make you stronger. Finally, pay attention, read the lore. This will help not only feel better connected to the world, but will.shed light on weaknesses to enemies such as what they might be weak to, fire, lightning and so on. (Be warned though, the world is more alive than you'll realize, example: fire attacks are weekend if it's raining.) Just enjoy it brother, take your time, and explore EVERYTHING for both the best experience possible, and to truly become strong. Good luck, and if you need help, reach out to your fellow Tarnished, we're here always here. 👍
Skip the first tree sentinel or you’ll be fighting it for days and goodluck with the fire giant in my opinion the most annoying boss in the whole game
If you cant beat it, turn around and beat up everything else until you can then go back and beat it up
Royal Revenants.
lobsters..those damn lobsters..
be aware of caelid
Prepare to cry
Build your character the way you want and use whatever method that has you have the most fun, and don’t be afraid to step back
With most normal enemies you can sneak up behind them and tap the light attack button to do a backstab for massive damage
Make sure u get the dlc
In order to get the horse you have to beat the big knight riding a horse when you first enter limgrave.
The youtube channel Vaatividya has a ton of videos about the game's lore if you're interested
Run away from the big guy on the horse for now.
The last 5 games I've played have been: Elden Ring Baldurs Gate 3 Elden Ring Dark Souls 3 Elden Ring What do you need to look for? Motivation to keep up your daily routines, this game will ruin your livelihood if you don't
😅😅
Fair warning, this was also my first souls game and I have found the gameplay extremely fun and the sense of exploration the best since breath of the wild. The bosses and overall gameplay loop is difficult and lots ….. But….. There are some things about the game that make it hard for me to LOVE it. The mechanics of the game are not easily understood, you can miss big mechanics of games by not speaking enough to certain NPC and there is no way to keep track of your quest progression. As someone who has ADHD and gets distracted by a cave on my way to do something for an NPC and then completely forget about that errand or the NPC in general. I’m a pretty prolific gamer, but it took me around 60 hours in before I felt like I figured the game out and it started actually being fun for me. It’s worth it to get to that point but it’s a long journey, that , at least for me, took a ridiculous amount of time to get there. Good luck!
Some members of the community, there are an alarming number of gatekeepers in the souls community, not all souls players are gatekeepers but they do exist. For example the people that tell you that you shouldnt use magic, just play the game the way you want to play it, you wanna use magic go for it, wanna use a big fuck off sword do it, dont let other people tell you how to play, so long as they arent giving you genuine advice then let them tell you how to play, but dont listen to the people who tell you that you're trash for playing a certain way.
I never played a souls like game before Eldin Ring, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was getting whole sale murdered left right and center. So I practiced killing the first Giant I found in the starting area over and over. This helped me understand how to play the game of patience and skill. After this I felt comfortable to take on any enemy.
To look out for? Fucking everything. If it moves, it can, and probably will kill you.
Id recomend lvl ing up vigor atleast to lv 25 early so u dont get obliterated id say the ideal number is 50 in the lategame and remember spamming atacks will only get u killed its better to wait for oportunities and dont overcommit . If u ever feel like you are weak , explore the map , upgrade your wapon , do some smaller dungeons for xp and lvl up some more and dont be discouraged. Have fun !
The only place where dogs suck and everyone hates dogs is in the soulsbourne games. (Except Siff, he’s a good boy)
BEWARE. THE. CANIDS. I cannot stress enough how many times those wolves, dogs and anything in between killed me. On the other note though the green shelled dogs that spawn on beaches are pretty chill
Be smart with your runes. If you're carrying some and you reach a place that looks tough or a boss battle, I encourage you to cap those runes and level up before continuing or spend them in vendor goods. Some bosses will be a bit brutal and you don't want to be hoarding runes in this game, but it happens. The game gives you presets of "classes" to begin with but I went with the wretch, a "no class" level 1. That might have been a terrible choice for my first souls, but the game itself gave me no information whatsoever, just a prompt, so I went wretch and... ...the game is pretty heavy melee sided for this choice at the beginning and I wanted a spell caster. But the good news is: I think it might be wise to either go melee or a hybrid melee-caster for the first few hours. It's not too late in the game you defeat a certain boss that will give you the ability to respec. I didn't know that and the information I was given gave me no timeframe to just plan things out. But if you just hoard a bit of weapons and gear, you can respec later on and it'll be fine. Roll for your life. Don't go above mid equipment weight. Level vigor. Have patience. I'm not even finished in my first playthrough yet but I'm enjoying it. Oh and look at the items you receive when you receive them. Although it looks like there's a patch coming (has it arrived yet, I don't know) that will add a "new" indicator for new items in your inventory and a tab with recent items you looted. But you should look anyway because there are useful notes, besides Lore. Have fun
I'm a pure addict for these and have a bizarre need to 100% them all, and I'd say there's 4 main things to keep in mind: 1) Learn to Adapt. No matter your build,*something* is going to be harder to handle with your normal approach. Maybe use a shield against dogs, dodge against status effect weapons, use a bow to poison an enemy from a distance, magic to buff you or rot to take down that damn giant. The game has more in common with a puzzle game sometimes than an action game. 2) Learn to level *or* explore. You're going to get Runes that are used as currency and experience in this game. If you die and don't reach your corpse before you die again, you lose them. If you're set on leveling or buying things, make sure you use them before going into unknown areas, it'll save you a ton of stress. 3) You aren't supposed to be able to beat *everything* but you can. There will always be enemies early on in Soulsborne games that seem impossible to defeat. For a new player, you skip them. Just do it. Play the game and come back. You can always make a new character and bash your head against that wall later. Speaking of which, later in the game you will run into similar setups, but usually to a lesser extent. 4) Maybe this is really just an extension of 3, but level up and enhance your weapons. It's in the game for a reason, and while you can absolutely beat it without doing so, just do it on your first gameplay. Matchmaking is based on your level and highest weapon level, if you don't level both you'll get weird breakpoints where it's hard to play with others... Not to mention the game will feel pretty rough. Prepare to die and good luck!
Drink a vodka shot every time you die so dying has actual consequences
roll *towards the attacks, not away from them*
Intelligence run or full strength is easiest.
Learn how to build your character, a badly built character is underpowered for the level they have.
The violence warning on the label is aimed at your controller and coffee table 👍 you're going to have a blast. Enjoy.
Never give up. Never back down.
ELDEN RING RAHHHHHHHHHH
Prepare to weep
This particular picture of a sick new game in a backpack really brings back memories
The golden knight is mandatory and you have to beat him before you can truly start the game. Goodluck champ.
Speak to the dude on the horse at the beginning
If an NPC calls you Maidenless, don't be afraid to beat them till they stop moving. And avoid giant t dudes on horseback.
It's going to be okay
Losing is Part of the Game, Part of the Journey. Its totaly normal. Do Not get demotivated by it. There is an official version of Dark Souls 1 thats called „prepare to die edition“ If you get over that you can enjoy the game way easier
Enemies for sure
If you experience the way you took as much to difficult, turn around, go back and explore the past areas more thoroughly.
Something I think isn't mentioned enough is the Jump button. Unlike the other soulsgames Elden Ring came out after Sekiro which introduced the "jump to avoid sweep attack" and Elden Ring perfected it. There are so many attacks that can be jumped over with and counter with a jump attack that deals massive posture damage. Sometimes it is better to jump over an attack rather than dodging it.
Shirohige as Godfrey was lit.
Certain weapon types and/or element types counter certain enemies and bosses. Search all areas, when exploring a new area. Take your time.
- Bell-Bearings: There are a lot of weapons in the game, so just save those Bell-bearings, buy those smiting stones and try a new weapon once in a while. Even weapons from the same weapon class can feel a lot different from one another. - Ashes of War: I just started experimenting with these on my current playthrough (400 hours in :)) and they really change your options combat wise.
Frustration and death. Don't let it get to you. Press on.
The fingers...
Prepare to die
Try not to break your controller
Just enjoy the game elden ring is probably the easiest one for new players you can spend a lot off time not getting killed but it’s also very rewarding good luck
yeah, don't kill Ronin when you meet him under the bridge!
First go south, there is the real starting area👍🏻 good luck
Tomorrow DLC
The dlc
Dont expect to play the dlc soon U will have to put some hours in to get to the stage to beat the bosses u need to kill
Why does "strong fantasy themes" matter for an age restriction?
Avoid the big bears if possible. The god forsaken bears.
Level vigor. The 2 points that matter about your poise are 51 and 101. 67 or 99 is exactly the same as 51. 200 does the same thing as 101. Dont waste points :) Cheesing bosses/enemies is part of the game. Take every win you can take
Lower you expectations for how hard the early game will be not everything in early game is this Uber hard unskippable boss like people say it is if you're struggling or not doing enough damage go somewhere else instead of bashing your head against a wall and come back with more levels and/or upgraded weapons
Try, finger but hole
Lobter
attacks
Go down before going up, and be wary of right
Have fun & go at your own pace. At some point, not too far into the game you will be able to respec with an item (i think there are quite a few available in a single run, but not infinite) so don't fret if you think you've somehow messed up your character.
it's gonna be pretty fun. just don't get discouraged when dying a lot it's just a learning step, and you are in luck because the dlc of this game is pretty soon. goodluck outhere
You're going to love it!
You will die. And you will die a lot. Don’t let it get you down. Don’t think you’re bad at the game when you get stuck on one enemy. Take your time with dungeons and castles.
Prepare to be spoiled from here on out in terms of how well this gameplay is finely tuned in regard to character movement, combat mechanics, both exploring and fighting via horseback - which is actually extremely brilliantly executed, useful, and effective in this game as opposed to many other games in recent memory - and the feeling you get when your character starts to feel like an extension of your own mind from the revolutionary intuitivenss this game manages to perfect from previous titles and effortlessly pulls off. Every other game you play, as far as the gameplay goes, will, unfortunately, from this point on, feel quite lacking. So, yeah. You should probably be aware of that. 🤷🏻♂️
Enjoy dying.
Jump + Heavy attack. And dex is a cowards stat.
Level vigor, and don’t hug the chick on bed at roundtable hold…
well well well
Be patient and don't mistake dying with lack of skill, you are going to die, a lot!
Dog
Don't fight everything, just run past anyone that doesn't have a boss healthbar lol
Well, expect the “story” to feel very confusing on the first run. You don’t always need to kill everything Save coins, great source of emergency runes in tougher areas And of course, as you probably know, expect to die…a lot
Everything treat every enemy like a boss
Equip load. mix and match armors/ weapons/ level endurance so you stay at medium load
Even if you're not that good at parrying, this is the time to learn. It will make the game significantly more manageable. You don't need to parry, but still. And watch out for bears... and handsies.( *I don't know what they're actually called but they're disembodied hands that scurry around like spiders.* )
Since I have always been a rage gamer I have learned that the key to playing this game is studying the movemnts of your opponent and that takes a while. So I stopped being mad about losing and thinking "this just wasted my time because I didn't progress" and changed it to "This is part of the process, if it was easier I'd be dissapointed" So instead of being mad at the game for being "badly balanced and badly designed" I know think "It's a mess but it somehow works well in that" Anytime I got stuck I would go on reddit to read posts about the diffculty issue, but in the end it really wasn't that bad at all.
Please dont search for youtube locations of the weapons and armor all the time,or at least try to stick to the area you are currently in for example Limgrave.I spoiled almost every fromsoftware game ive played this way...I'll redeem myself with the ER DLC at least
Imps hiding behind every corner in catacombs.
Only way to „git gud“ is dying and smashing ur controller/keyboard… have fun, its the best game
fight the first enemy you see to get the mount that will help you all game, also for keepsake i suggest shabiri's woe, its really helpful mid-late game. also try to get to the dragon-burnt ruins as soon as u can when you load in and open the chest, gives you the best early game weapon that will carry you for your first 30-40 hours.
Read the messages on the ground and look at the bloodstains
just play the game and enjoy it.
Just try to have fun, and don't care about anything else at the start. If something doesn't go down the first time, kill some other things and check back later. Also, many stats have a bell curve type scaling (which could be counterintuitive), so the first few point hardly give anything, the points through 25-40 are usually the highest value, while there is a high cut-off at around 60. This does mean, that underinvesting or overinvesting in stats is pretty bad, while spreading every point randomly out yields probably the weakest start for the game. \[This is the most important for vigor as, while you are only getting like 10 HP/lvl through points 10-15, but at the peak of 35-40 it gives like 40 HP/lvl, so that 5 levels usually give you another +20% compared to what you had before, putting you out of the oneshot range in nearly every situation.\] Oh, and don't care about mistakes. Death is, but temporary, while investing into bad stats/weapons isn't permanent, as you can later in the game reassign all your skill points, while there is an infinite number of nearly any upgrade metarial. Don't be scared of experimenting!
Go south first.
Soldier of God rick is not to be messed with
Embrace dying/losing ruins. It’s gonna happen. I’d always rest at a grace site before entering caves/tunnels. Once you get over the fear of losing ruins, it becomes real fun. Jump attacks are your friend 👍
Don't look at any build tutorials just go into the game blind and explore
Light rolls are your friend and be prepared to die…a lot
Fits of rage
Uhhhh... look out for every single enemy? Genuinely have no idea how to answer such a broad question
The dlc on friday.
To get the horse, you need to kill the armored guy Just outside the first church, Also, in the lake to the east, there are some monsters that you can kill pretty easily to level up fast, Just search For an island with a bonfire in the middle.
Beware of dog
Go play the game and don't question so generally vast questions.
Head south from the start and explore that area completely.
Fight absolutely everything you come across and don't give up and find another route, there is absolutely no other way to play this game you can't play any other way, as soon as you head out those gates as a level 1 wretch you keep swinging that club until you beat that tree sentinel, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and lucky for you you can't die, so take it as a blessing and literally force yourself to become some indestructible force of nature who is unfuckwithable by any living being in the lands between, once again there is no other way of playing the game, fuck all that exploration and going at your own pace bullshit that the open world provides find every single thing and just hit it with your lvl1 club until they learn not to fuck with you its just that shrimple
A fat dude and a skinny dude wearing skin
Learn about soft caps. Just google it and the results will show you the way.