I mean even just the iron balls are awesome. Sorry Big Boggart...

I started a new Dark Souls 3 playthrough this week because I've never played the DLC, and have heard it is amazing.

My go to in Souls games is always a dex build with fast weapons and bleed if I can get it. My first win of DS3 was with the bandit and I used the big knife the entire playthrough.

I decided to try out a Str build and liked the idea of a greatsword. After struggling with the Claymore for my entire playthrough, up through the Catacombs, I got so freaking tired of it. I decided to try a great hammer and am having a blast with the Large Club.

I ran into this same issue in Elden Ring when trying a greatsword build. I don't see how so many out there think these are great weapons. They don't do that much more damage than a straight sword, and swing so incredibly slow. You would think that they would stagger enemies a lot because of how slow they are, but so many enemies just face tank my normal and heavy attacks, then proceed to eat me alive.

Fortunately, Greathammers don't seem to have that stupid issue. I hit something with a great hammer, and they are staggering for a half second, giving me time to readjust and prepare for dodging or a follow-up.

TLDR: I ****ing hate greatswords in these games. Give me a dagger or a great hammer.

DallasTeleAg said:

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texsn95 said:

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DLC coming soon....

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https://www.eurogamer.net/from-software-is-working-hard-on-elden-ring-dlc-but-still-doesnt-have-a-release-date-at-this-time

Curved greatswords are the way to go IMO. The Bloodhounds Fang in Elden Ring has it all. Range, decent speed, not too big a drain on stamina, hits hard, and does bleed on top of it all.

Trailer tomorrow!

The first trailer for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree will be revealed in 16 hours. Join us at 15:00 UTC.https://t.co/vdG8dJvcet pic.twitter.com/lBbKJYxW2z

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 20, 2024

Guess at some point I'm going to need to play through again before the release.

June 21st, $40.

I'm sure it'll be worth every penny

First Elden Ring play through was cheese-fest using comet azur. Replayed half the game with a greatsword. Played DS1 and DS2 playing a pure mage as well. Currently playing DS3 with the twinblade and should finish that soon.

To prepare for the DLC, thinking of playing a sword/shield build that I has never been my thing so would learn a new playstyle.

FromSoftware has a great history with DLC. In fact, I think their DLC is usually better than their original games. Looking forward to watching this.

Anyone know if the $80 bundle with the base game and DLC (ps store) allows for the base game to be played immediately? Nothing I've read is clear about this.

Looks like they are incorporating some kind of hand to hand option now? That seems like a punishing way to play.

Just respec'ed my character on my first playthrough with the colossal greatsword, going mostly strength with a marginal amount in dex and faith. I'm finding it way more fun than the katana. It's just fun to clobber people.

https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-director-says-shadow-of-the-erdtree-will-have-a-sekiro-like-leveling-system-so-you-cant-just-steamroll-it/

Quote:

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In an interview with Famitsu (translated by Reddit user theangryfurlong), Miyazaki said in addition to the normal rune-based leveling system, you'll also have a Sekiro-like "attack power" stat unique to the DLC areas. Presumably, raising it will make you do more damage on top of the stats you already have.

Miyazaki said the system was added to replicate the freedom you had in the base game to explore and level up before tackling the bosses, and he specifically says it'll allow you to "more easily experience this even in the high-level range."

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I will reiterate for anyone in this thread who has never played another Soulsborne game other than Elden Ring: From Software has an AMAZING history when it comes to DLC.

Their DLC from pasts games do not feel like something they just tacked on. They deliver jaw dropping new visuals that feel completely unique to the original game. The bosses in the DLC of their games are also usually viewed as better than the bosses in the base games.

Specifically the DLC to Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne... damn those are amazing.

Indeed. Often I think the DLC is better than the base game with Fromsoftware. The Bloodborne DLC is hands down the best DLC I've ever played… for any game. With all the buzz around the industry with games failing to meet expectations, layoffs, etc. it sure seems Fromsoftware is setting the bar for quality gameplay experience these days.

Just finished my souls journey after having played Elden Ring 2 years ago. Finished sekiro, ds1, ds2 and just now ds3. Had some sidetracks to Wo Long, Lies of P and even Remnant 2.

I wanted to start and complete a new Elden Ring character before the DLC drops but maybe I should go back to do the DLCs I've skipped?

No Bloodborne?

DallasTeleAg said:

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No Bloodborne?

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unfortunately I only game on xbox. Would have certainly played that if I could!

Which ones did you skip?

Also just want to say that Lies of P and Wo Long have been two of my favorite non-From souls-like games that have come out

Do you guys consider Jedi Survivor as a souls-like game?

bluefire579 said:

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Which ones did you skip?

Also just want to say that Lies of P and Wo Long have been two of my favorite non-From souls-like games that have come out

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I pretty much skipped all of them. Part of the reason was I wasn't sure when the Elden Ring DLC would pop up so wanted to "finish" the earlier games faster. I think I may do the DS3 one then since I had just completed it.

Wo Long was pretty decent. Lies of P was amazing. I liked Remnant 2 as well. Solo was great but you had to play it on higher difficulties to get the souls feel. But they also did a great job with multiplayer which allowed me to play with my friends who don't like soulslike.

Definitely Not A Cop said:

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Do you guys consider Jedi Survivor as a souls-like game?

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I didn't know it was souls-like at first and when I played it, I lowered the difficulty like my friends did. Didn't really care for it. But once I realized you needed to play it at the normal difficulty and learn how to truly play it, it was a very fun game. Still need to play the follow up.

flintdragon said:

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bluefire579 said:

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Which ones did you skip?

Also just want to say that Lies of P and Wo Long have been two of my favorite non-From souls-like games that have come out

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I pretty much skipped all of them. Part of the reason was I wasn't sure when the Elden Ring DLC would pop up so wanted to "finish" the earlier games faster. I think I may do the DS3 one then since I had just completed it.

Wo Long was pretty decent. Lies of P was amazing. I liked Remnant 2 as well. Solo was great but you had to play it on higher difficulties to get the souls feel. But they also did a great job with multiplayer which allowed me to play with my friends who don't like soulslike.

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Dark Souls 2 DLC is very much worth it. If you played the Scholar of the First Sin version, you should already have it available. They're all good, but I feel like DS2 adds the most to the game

bluefire579 said:

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Dark Souls 2 DLC is very much worth it. If you played the Scholar of the First Sin version, you should already have it available. They're all good, but I feel like DS2 adds the most to the game

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I do have the version but DS2 grew so long in the tooth (game is freaking long) that I decided to just jump to DS3.

The DS3 DLC is fantastic. Some of those boss fights... damn. I would do Ashes of Ariandel first.

bluefire579 said:

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Which ones did you skip?

Also just want to say that Lies of P and Wo Long have been two of my favorite non-From souls-like games that have come out

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Lies of P is the best Souls-like game, imho. Just wish it had co-op.

Sorry about your dog.

So, just completed my second full playthrough of Elden Ring to get ready for the DLC. Wanted to beat these late game bosses without any ash summons, as a challenge. Damn... those were brutal.

Was able to down Melania, Mohg, Placidusax, Maliketh, Godfrey, and Radagon/Elden Beast without ashes. There was much raging, going on here.

Anyone else going through a playthrough prior to DLC?

Yes, my first playthrough was on xbox and this time I am doing it on ps5 since that's where I want to play this expansion. I won't be deliberately making the game more difficult for myself though.

Definitely Not A Cop said:

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Do you guys consider Jedi Survivor as a souls-like game?

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I don't think I do. The sci-fi & multi world (some of which are bright and colorful) theme doesn't really fit the tone of the other games I consider souls-like.

It's also got a ton of Metroidvania and platforming stuff in the game. It's just a really great hybrid of several genres. But I am glad the combat is very souls-like... really adds a lot to the game.

I also started a 2nd playthrough to prepare for the DLC. My first time was my very first souls game ever so I cheesed it with comet azur and rune farming to get OP. You can play the game anyway you want but melee/dodge combat is where the game really shines in my opinion. Playing a katana bleed build which is still kind of cheesy but way more satisfying.

Getting closer to the end, I started following some online walkthroughs to make sure I've explored as much as 100% as possible. The size and depth of the world still amazes me.

Yeah, i'm not much a gatekeeper when it comes to souls games, but some of those early release builds were basically gamebreaking.

At the end of the day, I say play how you want to play. Where I will bristle up is when I'm having a discussion with someone about how hard Melania is, and then some guy who has only ever played Elden Ring comes up and mockingly says she wasn't that hard. Yet, this guy used some crazy build guide with the Mimic Tear.

Those are the types I find to be wildly annoying, and I will lean into the, "Yeah, when you cheese her." comments.

Example: I was fighting Maliketh on this playthrough, and died for about the 10th time. Just for ****s and giggles, I summoned my Mimic Tear to see how that changed the fight. I had to jump off the arena quickly, so I didn't wreck him in a matter of seconds. I am surprised at how "accessible" they made Elden Ring with something like the Mimic Tear. After the nerf, it's still godly.

However, the DLC will be interesting. From what I gather, there's some completely new way of power scaling in the DLC areas, and FromSoft has a history of making DLC that are much harder than the base games. The bosses are generally also MUCH harder, but also are usually the coolest bosses out of all their titles.

Just beat the base game for the first time. Was able to bonk my way through it with the greatsword, Lion's Claw, and mimic tears/Greatshield bros (sorry DTA). Looking back at the endings, the only one I could not have chose was the Golden Order (I didn't realize there was something I could do with GoldMask before burning the Erdtree).

Amazing game. I still think I put Witcher 3 and Jedi Survivor above it for the storyline, but loved the gameplay more. I've never been more satisfied in a game than beating Malenia.

For just about all FromSoft storylines, they are extremely cryptic. The meat of the "story" is usually in the world and history of each of the bosses. If you go watch some videos on the lore, you will start to realize how truly deep it is, and how tragic so many of the bosses are.

Without the online videos, you basically have to read the description of every single item in the game, and talk to every single NPC, putting together all the cryptic text to formulate who everyone is and what their motivation is.