I've never played any souls/from soft games before and was hesitant to pick this up just because of the reputation of the other games as being hard and bash your head against a wall until you succeed or give up.

But I'm so glad I did pick it up. I'm having so much fun with the game. While it can be frustrating and annoying at times, it's definitely fair and gives you plenty of paths to success. I'm not super far into the game but it is one of the most fun games to just explore and see what you can find. It's awesome having random bosses coming out of the woodwork and just taking a chance to see if you can beat them or getting murdered and then coming back later and walloping them.

So... I ended my night, last night, at the boss right before the final boss. Beat him in 2 tries when I started at 2pm, today. From then, i spent the next 4 hours on the final boss.

Jesus.... that took a while. Finally downed the final boss.

I'm going to go back out the the world, though, and finish exploring, before completing the game. There are still several places I want to go. I know there is still much of the subterranean world I need to explore.

Lol... that's a great channel.

I'm definitely far from a gatekeeper of From games. My only rule is no cheesing a boss or rune/souls/blood echoes. I know people find cheese points where they just stand there and collect hundreds of thousands of some form of points to level. At that point, why even play the game?

I personally do not use summons or coop on my first play throughs, but I do use the Ashes in Elden Ring. I figure, if the game gives you a tool to use, then use it.

Sq1dvm said:

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Started about a week ago. About lvl 20 with Samurai, 1st souls game. Having a hard time not getting greedy and going for that extra hit that usually gets me smoked. Have been able to beat Magrit, but no one else substantial.
Honestly getting a bit frustrated and may farm some runes for an extra 10 levels or so.

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I will say.... even over leveled, you need to still play very safe. That extra hit will always get you, in these games. Also, make sure you are varying your attack types, and not just spamming R2. The poise break mechanic in this game is extremely helpful. Also, debuffs like hemorrhage or frostbite are very powerful.

Also, @chase128: You beat Sekiro? I think that's the hardest From Software game I've played. If you can beat that, then you should be fine.

My experience with Soulsborne games is that sometimes I am just not ready to spend an hour learning a fight. When that happens, I hang it up for the evening, then come back to it the next day. Granted, with Elden Ring, I can usually go off and do something else, then come back.

Also, try this little trick out I have learned over the years: turn off your sound.

There are generally no audio clues you need to be listening for in these boss fights. I cannot tell you how much better I do on them without the loud bombastic boss fight music, and all the other sounds. Turning it off really lets me focus on my timing and doesn't get my anxiety going near as much.

I've literally struggled on a particular boss in the past, only to one shot him after turning my sound off. I can't remember who that was, but it blew my mind.

They aren't for everyone. I'm sure there are thousands of people who bought this game because of the hype, but end up walking away because of the difficulty.

It's too bad, because this game is definitely in my top 5 of all time.

I just completed the Ranni questline, today, a well as finally found my way into the Valcano Manor dungeon, which I completed.

Now, I'm just trying to find my way into the only area I don't have the map revealed. I just cannot find my way down there, and I'm getting close to just looking it up.

Open world games have been hit or miss for me. I loved Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Horizon Zero Dawn, but didn't care for a lot of others.

However, this is my favorite by far. The visuals and the game play are fantastic. I like that you don't have to earn or pay for the fast travel capability as well.