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[ikbalCO]

This fucking game.

This game broke me. I have such a hard time getting into other games since this asshole of a game.

I put in 120+ hours, finished it and deleted it, thought i was done with it, you know sorta felt burn out.

But since then i seem to have no patience with other games. Especially the games i never played before. I start to play a game and give up 3 or 4 hours in, failing to connect with their worlds, characters, gameplay, atmosphere etc.

I think about elden ring at least twice a week. Often find myself thinking about a boss that kicked my ass or a super hard level or just the lore of the elden ring universe.

I can play the game again, from start, do a magic run this time maybe but the 120 hours playthrough i had was so amazing and so fullfilling i am afraid a new run may diminish the satisfaction i had with my first playthrough.

Only thing i need is, a dlc. It doesnt have to be long or anything. Just give me a new map or a level, you know few bosses here and there thag i can slash with my already built character.

Come on from. I need my fix, badly.

 

[22:22:22]

Holy shit

I just did it

Melania

 

[NeverYouMind]

Congrats. I wonder how well you will fare against the second stage of the first Elden Lord.

 

[22:22:22]

Thanks! First to deal with the second stage of the dragon in Azula

 

[NanaMiku]

Elden Ring got an official comedy manga: https://comic-walker.com/contents/detail/KDCW_MF09203324020000_68
The author is Nikiichi Tobita, the author of The Whimsical Cursed Sword

 

[ikbalCO]

Congrats. I wonder how well you will fare against the second stage of the first Elden Lord.

I find melania to be much harder tbh

 

[Chittagong]

Well done man. Final boss ain’t a thing compared to Melania.

 

[22:22:22]

Well done man. Final boss ain’t a thing compared to Melania.

Thanks man! And all you fellow tarnished that gave a reaction and such.


It was weird.

I had a celebratory day and I was pretty drunk (not proud but it was vodka with coconut juice)

I just went all out with Rivers of Blood with my Mimic from the get go and somehow, someway we got her first phase down very fast. I then switched to that Fire slash sword those lizards carry and dodged her initial rot attack and a second while mimic was wacking away so I joined the party and it felt like in a couple seconds it was over.

Total disbelief

But yeah, happy that shit is over haha. I got lucky i guess or the vodka muscles kicked in haha

 

[22:22:22]

This fucking game.

This game broke me. I have such a hard time getting into other games since this asshole of a game.

I put in 120+ hours, finished it and deleted it, thought i was done with it, you know sorta felt burn out.

But since then i seem to have no patience with other games. Especially the games i never played before. I start to play a game and give up 3 or 4 hours in, failing to connect with their worlds, characters, gameplay, atmosphere etc.

I think about elden ring at least twice a week. Often find myself thinking about a boss that kicked my ass or a super hard level or just the lore of the elden ring universe.

I can play the game again, from start, do a magic run this time maybe but the 120 hours playthrough i had was so amazing and so fullfilling i am afraid a new run may diminish the satisfaction i had with my first playthrough.

Only thing i need is, a dlc. It doesnt have to be long or anything. Just give me a new map or a level, you know few bosses here and there thag i can slash with my already built character.

Come on from. I need my fix, badly.

Been there man...

Also, even though I was stuck in a rut with Melania ER was still the only game I wanted to play. Crazy.

To bad i fucked up so many story lines but it's a nice change of pace or way of approaching the game doing NG+

So now that asshole purple lighting dragon. Is it lighting magic? Asking for a friend. Regarding which talisman to.use. I just picked up that all none physical damage talisman+2 so that'll work as well. And then it's end boss time I guess

 

[22:22:22]

Geared up for the asshole dragon

TiS ROCKY | ELDEN RING | Xbox

A capture by TiS ROCKY

www.xbox.com

 

[22:22:22]

Lol ass clown dragon

Almost there... got him to 80% down couple times. To greedy

 

[22:22:22]

I know i know y'all want actions not words!

 

[ValiantTraveler]

I reached the Haligtree Roots site of grace and finally fought Malenia for the first time.

Naturally, I didn’t last long against the Waterfowl Dance. I tried again several times, 7 in total, and did manage to reach her second phase twice. But holy shit what a boss. I felt real FEAR, something I never feel in other games and all media really.

Using the runic arcs is a waste, they don’t make that much of a difference and I don’t benefit much from them when I get insta-killed early on in a fight.

So my strategy is pretty simple: use the Bloodhound’s Fang, add frost to it, use mimic tear, have the volcanic pot equipped so that the mimic tear can use, attack Malenia while she is focused on the mimic tear, hoping that bleeding, frost, and the fire damage of the pot deplete a good chunk of her health. Of course, much easier said than done.

 

[Woggleman]

I just finished the shunning grounds right after I did the Ranni questline. Did I mess up the ending or not?

 

[Fredrik]

I can play the game again, from start, do a magic run this time maybe but the 120 hours playthrough i had was so amazing and so fullfilling i am afraid a new run may diminish the satisfaction i had with my first playthrough.

I’m doing a magic run now, about 35 hours in. In short it feels like a different game. And I’m absolutely loving it! And this is after playing nearly 200 hours melee.

It’s a lot easier in general, I’ve plown through a lot of the previously super hard bosses fairly easy.
But Rennala is something else now, magic vs magic turned out to be a worthy challenge. I’ve gone out to explore (level up) for a bit now.

 

[DelireMan7]

So my strategy is pretty simple: use the Bloodhound’s Fang, add frost to it, use mimic tear, have the volcanic pot equipped so that the mimic tear can use, attack Malenia while she is focused on the mimic tear, hoping that bleeding, frost, and the fire damage of the pot deplete a good chunk of her health. Of course, much easier said than done.

Good one I'd say. If I ever go back against her, I'll probably use something like that.

I just finished the shunning grounds right after I did the Ranni questline. Did I mess up the ending or not?

Hum... What do you mean by "finished the shunning grounds" ? Did you meet something there and did something with it ?

But Rennala is something else now, magic vs magic turned out to be a worthy challenge. I’ve gone out to explore (level up) for a bit now.

My experience also with my magic build. She was so easy on my melee build but she was one of the hardest boss on my magic run.



On the side, I am currently playing Ocarina of Time for the first time. Impressive game.
I liked to see some big hands dropping on me in the Forest's temple... Cool to see some classic inspirations Fromsoft used ^^

Also to anyone saying Elden Ring (or Soulsborne) is obscure and should give more directions... You probably never play OoT... I spend most of my time finding where to go or when the game tell me where to go, what I should do there. But I love the feeling I get when I finally find out by my own. Similar satisfaction than a tense boss fight in Souls.

 

[Fredrik]

Also to anyone saying Elden Ring (or Soulsborne) is obscure and should give more directions... You probably never play OoT... I spend most of my time finding where to go or when the game tell me where to go, what I should do there. But I love the feeling I get when I finally find out by my own. Similar satisfaction than a tense boss fight in Souls.

Yeah the exploration and all the less obvious paths is what makes any game for me. I love that bit in Metroid, Zelda, Elden Ring, etc.
As for Elden Ring I found the western side path up the atlas plateau last night, side-skipping the medallions. Completely missed that in my last play-through. Even had a boss. Instantly my GOTY one more time lol

 

[22:22:22]

Also to anyone saying Elden Ring (or Soulsborne) is obscure and should give more directions... You probably never play OoT... I spend most of my time finding where to go or when the game tell me where to go, what I should do there. But I love the feeling I get when I finally find out by my own. Similar satisfaction than a tense boss fight in Souls.

Yeah. Playing Majoras Mask at 12 years old felt far more obscure then anything Soulsborne

 

[Soodanim]

Hum... What do you mean by "finished the shunning grounds" ? Did you meet something there and did something with it ?

Yes. Segmented spoilers, I recommend starting with just 1 unless you get stuck or won't do it yourself.
Mohg, then after that

The altar disappears if you mess with it and you go farther down, and

You can do some stuff I don't want to spoil even in a spoiler

 

[Woggleman]

I am lucky I had a previous save not too far back because I embraced the frenzied flame and now Melenia hated me. I heard that it locked you out of all other endings so I started over.

 

[DelireMan7]

I am lucky I had a previous save not too far back because I embraced the frenzied flame and now Melenia hated me. I heard that it locked you out of all other endings so I started over.

Ok. But there is a way (long and hard to do) to undo that in case.

Yes it locks you into one ending unless you undo it (again it's quite a commitment to remove it)

 

[R6Rider]

I finally did it. Finished my Greatshield only run after taking a break for a few months.

It was fun as hell though a few bosses were troublesome. I actually beat the final boss on my second try. Expcted that one to be much worse.

Finished at level 135 or so. 55 Vigor, Endurance at 35-40, and Strength at 80. Used the Spiked Greatshield for awhile, dabbled in the flame and cannon ones a bit, but mostly used the Fingerprint until the end. Did around 700 damage and always stuck with Shield Crash.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

So my strategy against Malenia wasn’t working wonders, so I decided to bite the bullet and respec to an Arcane build tailored for the Rivers of Blood.

So I went with 55 vigor, 20 mind, 35 endurance, 17 strength, 35 dexterity, and 45 arcane. I left faith and intelligence untouched.

Thankfully I already have the Rivers of Blood and a good bunch of somber smithing stones (up to 7). It would be nice to get the 8 and 9 somewhere other than where I already found them (used them on the Wing of Astel).

Also worthy of note is that I haven’t patched the game in months, since I lack storage space in my PS4, so there are no nerfs to hinder me.

I went to fight Malenia with the mimic tear, and let me tell you, this weapon is FUCKING BRUTAL.

I didn’t need to watch out too much for her moves except the Waterfowl Dance and the Scarlet Aeonia. I spammed the Corpse Piler along with my mimic tear, leaving Malenia almost no room to retaliate. I quickly reached her second phase and even got her down to around 45% of her health when she unleashed, I don’t remember if it was the clone no jutsu or just the Waterfowl Dance, but I died. Still, I was stoked.

Tried again and got killed by the Scarlet Aeonia. I should unlock Malenia before running away. I then tried a third time and died in the first phase. I had to stop playing but tomorrow I’ll be back with a vengeance. The Rivers of Blood is as broken as players have been saying. I’m surprised because usually weapons and builds don’t exactly live up to the hype. I’m also happy that I’l probably won’t have to spend days if not weeks trying to defeat Malenia.

However, I’m thinking about going back to my build once I’m done with her. I want to beat the game with the stats I carefully raised all the way through. Plus, Rivers of Blood doesn’t deal much damage with regular attacks.

Also, I’m considering buying Dark Souls III in the future, after taking a break from Elden Ring. Consider me a full-blown Fromsoftware fan. After conquering the Lands Between, I’m up for another journey.

 

[Rex_DX]

Also, I’m considering buying Dark Souls III in the future, after taking a break from Elden Ring. Consider me a full-blown Fromsoftware fan. After conquering the Lands Between, I’m up for another journey.

This is an age-old debate I don't really want to uncork ... but consider buying Dark Souls 1 first. One the one hand, it will be kind of brutal going from Elden Ring to DS1 (it will feel slow), on the other hand, if you're really getting into these games its iconic and a masterpiece and its hard to go from 3 and then back to 1 if you decide to go that far. On the third hand ... Dark Souls 2 is my favorite FromSoft title so take my opinion with a grain of salt because the internet has decided I'm wrong.

At the very least, do buy one of the DS titles. They are all good. Cheers mate.

 

[DelireMan7]

This is an age-old debate I don't really want to uncork ... but consider buying Dark Souls 1 first. One the one hand, it will be kind of brutal going from Elden Ring to DS1 (it will feel slow), on the other hand, if you're really getting into these games its iconic and a masterpiece and its hard to go from 3 and then back to 1 if you decide to go that far. On the third hand ... Dark Souls 2 is my favorite FromSoft title so take my opinion with a grain of salt because the internet has decided I'm wrong.

At the very least, do buy one of the DS titles. They are all good. Cheers mate.

I second all of this (except the Dark Souls 2 stuff ).

If you haven't play Dark Souls 1, you should start there. Brutal jump after Elden Ring but this is a true masterpiece yet to be topped for me.

Dark Souls 3 is also very good.
Dark Souls 2 was less my taste. (But I should revisit it)

Bloodborne is also a masterpiece to play.

 

[DelireMan7]

So my strategy against Malenia wasn’t working wonders, so I decided to bite the bullet and respec to an Arcane build tailored for the Rivers of Blood.

So I went with 55 vigor, 20 mind, 35 endurance, 17 strength, 35 dexterity, and 45 arcane. I left faith and intelligence untouched.

Thankfully I already have the Rivers of Blood and a good bunch of somber smithing stones (up to 7). It would be nice to get the 8 and 9 somewhere other than where I already found them (used them on the Wing of Astel).

Also worthy of note is that I haven’t patched the game in months, since I lack storage space in my PS4, so there are no nerfs to hinder me.

I went to fight Malenia with the mimic tear, and let me tell you, this weapon is FUCKING BRUTAL.

I didn’t need to watch out too much for her moves except the Waterfowl Dance and the Scarlet Aeonia. I spammed the Corpse Piler along with my mimic tear, leaving Malenia almost no room to retaliate. I quickly reached her second phase and even got her down to around 45% of her health when she unleashed, I don’t remember if it was the clone no jutsu or just the Waterfowl Dance, but I died. Still, I was stoked.

Tried again and got killed by the Scarlet Aeonia. I should unlock Malenia before running away. I then tried a third time and died in the first phase. I had to stop playing but tomorrow I’ll be back with a vengeance. The Rivers of Blood is as broken as players have been saying. I’m surprised because usually weapons and builds don’t exactly live up to the hype. I’m also happy that I’l probably won’t have to spend days if not weeks trying to defeat Malenia.

However, I’m thinking about going back to my build once I’m done with her. I want to beat the game with the stats I carefully raised all the way through. Plus, Rivers of Blood doesn’t deal much damage with regular attacks.

Also, I’m considering buying Dark Souls III in the future, after taking a break from Elden Ring. Consider me a full-blown Fromsoftware fan. After conquering the Lands Between, I’m up for another journey.

Hope you will beat her quick.
This fight is just pain for me now.

Nice to see you want to wander into another Souls game.
Elden Ring was your first ?

 

[NeverYouMind]

This is an age-old debate I don't really want to uncork ... but consider buying Dark Souls 1 first. One the one hand, it will be kind of brutal going from Elden Ring to DS1 (it will feel slow), on the other hand, if you're really getting into these games its iconic and a masterpiece and its hard to go from 3 and then back to 1 if you decide to go that far. On the third hand ... Dark Souls 2 is my favorite FromSoft title so take my opinion with a grain of salt because the internet has decided I'm wrong.

At the very least, do buy one of the DS titles. They are all good. Cheers mate.

Having played through Dark Souls III with DLC twice, I will take a modded Dark Souls: Remastered (with bonfire warping from start, better rolling, and backstep invincibility frames) over it any day. The third title is far too linear and throws too many obstacles at the player that require cheesing to enjoy as it otherwise becomes too tedious or overwhelming. The enemies are simply far more capable than the armor, stamina, and poise challenged player in this game. The input delay is particularly awkward.

If he has a recent PlayStation console, I cannot recommend Bloodborne with DLC enough as it is the most polished release by FromSoft. It has the perfect mix of tough but fair out of all their titles.

On a side note, I am enjoying the Seeker of Fire mod for Scholar of the First Sin (DS2) more than anything in Elden Ring at the moment.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

Hope you will beat her quick.
This fight is just pain for me now.

Nice to see you want to wander into another Souls game.
Elden Ring was your first ?

Yes, Elden Ring is my first. I only got into current/last gen games two years ago so I have a lot of catching up to do. Never had a PC strong enough to run modern games and still haven't lol.

Having played through Dark Souls III with DLC twice, I will take a modded Dark Souls: Remastered (with bonfire warping from start, better rolling, and backstep invincibility frames) over it any day. The third title is far too linear and throws too many obstacles at the player that require cheesing to enjoy as it otherwise becomes too tedious or overwhelming. The enemies are simply far more capable than the armor, stamina, and poise challenged player in this game. The input delay is particularly awkward.

If he has a recent PlayStation console, I cannot recommend Bloodborne with DLC enough as it is the most polished release by FromSoft. It has the perfect mix of tough but fair out of all their titles.

On a side note, I am enjoying the Seeker of Fire mod for Scholar of the First Sin (DS2) more than anything in Elden Ring at the moment.

This is an age-old debate I don't really want to uncork ... but consider buying Dark Souls 1 first. One the one hand, it will be kind of brutal going from Elden Ring to DS1 (it will feel slow), on the other hand, if you're really getting into these games its iconic and a masterpiece and its hard to go from 3 and then back to 1 if you decide to go that far. On the third hand ... Dark Souls 2 is my favorite FromSoft title so take my opinion with a grain of salt because the internet has decided I'm wrong.

At the very least, do buy one of the DS titles. They are all good. Cheers mate.

I second all of this (except the Dark Souls 2 stuff ).

If you haven't play Dark Souls 1, you should start there. Brutal jump after Elden Ring but this is a true masterpiece yet to be topped for me.

Dark Souls 3 is also very good.
Dark Souls 2 was less my taste. (But I should revisit it)

Bloodborne is also a masterpiece to play.

These are all great recommendations, thanks. But honestly I feel more drawn to Dark Souls III because of the improved graphics, perhaps improved gameplay, and the bosses and environments appeal to me more than DS I. I know this is petty. Still, there's always a chance I'll pick up Dark Souls Remastered at some point on the Switch, maybe after completing my backlog.

I'm interested in Bloodborne too, the combat seems better than DSIII, but I prefer the medieval/dark fantasy setting to Gothic horror. Maybe somewhere down the line.

Alright, I'm gonna fight Malenia in a bit. Wish me luck.

 

[DelireMan7]

Yes, Elden Ring is my first. I only got into current/last gen games two years ago so I have a lot of catching up to do. Never had a PC strong enough to run modern games and still haven't lol.




These are all great recommendations, thanks. But honestly I feel more drawn to Dark Souls III because of the improved graphics, perhaps improved gameplay, and the bosses and environments appeal to me more than DS I. I know this is petty. Still, there's always a chance I'll pick up Dark Souls Remastered at some point on the Switch, maybe after completing my backlog.

I'm interested in Bloodborne too, the combat seems better than DSIII, but I prefer the medieval/dark fantasy setting to Gothic horror. Maybe somewhere down the line.

Alright, I'm gonna fight Malenia in a bit. Wish me luck.

If you're into the lore, starting with DS3 is not so bad. There is a lot of reference to Dark Souls 1 (this actual a "true sequel", whereas DS2 didn't really assume this title).
If after 3 you play the first, it will be like diving in history and experienced a lot of thing that were just lore in DS3.
You'll miss some moments/reveals that "hit hard" for players of the DS1, but it's not "mandatory" to play them in order

 

[Rex_DX]

I love how many Dark Souls nerds are still in this thread. Cheers you lot.

 

[DelireMan7]

, I will take a modded Dark Souls: Remastered (with bonfire warping from start, better rolling, and backstep invincibility frames

That... is a work of heresy !

I understand why you'd want that but for me the fact you don't have the warping from the start makes the world and its exploration much more sense (especially with the master class world design this game has). Also gives more value to the warping ability you unlock later (when you really need it)

But I understand that once you know the game, you'd prefer the warping immediately.

I personally never get tired of exploring Lordran by foot.

 

[Rex_DX]

That... is a work of heresy !

Thank you.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

I DID IT! YESSS!!!

Not so unmatched now, eh?

What a thrilling fight. That mix of fear and excitement in my chest is something I never felt before in any game. I almost got caught by the Waterfowl Dance targeting the mimic tear. And later I was microseconds away from getting hit by the Scarlet Aeonia.

This was my 20th attempt. Glad I didn’t have to spend hours upon hours fighting her. Look at this carnage:



I went to the Fire Giant afterwards and defeated him in my third attempt. Honestly felt like a breeze in comparison to Malenia.

It’s time to decide if there’s anything left to do before proceeding with the main quest.

 

[Woggleman]

Some parts of this game are dark as hell and I am here for it.

 

[NeverYouMind]

That... is a work of heresy !

I understand why you'd want that but for me the fact you don't have the warping from the start makes the world and its exploration much more sense (especially with the master class world design this game has). Also gives more value to the warping ability you unlock later (when you really need it)

But I understand that once you know the game, you'd prefer the warping immediately.

I personally never get tired of exploring Lordran by foot.

No Master Key for you then. I choose The Old Witch's Ring as a gift while playing as a Thief with a Master Key so I can trade it for a Sunlight Maggot. I often out of zone parry glitch into Sen's Fortress before fighting a single enemy past the tutorial. I use Camouflage spell to walk up to the Silver Knight Archer by the balcony entrance to the castle at Anor Londo and use the Wrath of God to push him off the ledge. I usually skip Ceaseless Discharge by walking the lava with fire resistance buffs and regen then proceed into Witch of Izalith boss battle using Chaos covenant shortcut. But worst of all I use the bottomless box wih feed to Frampt glitch for as many boss souls, upgrade materials, and items as I can carry in NG. I probably eat more mushrooms in a playthrough than Mario.

But honestly I feel more drawn to Dark Souls III because of the improved graphics, perhaps improved gameplay, and the bosses and environments appeal to me more than DS I.

I have bad news. The character creation is greatly downgraded, the textures look terrible up close, and the gameplay balance is off.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Ashes of Ariendel came out right about 7 months after Dark Souls III. Anybody else find it sad and concerning that we're over six months from Elden Ring's release and there hasn't been an official statement from FROM or Bandai Namco about DLC? They'd be silly not to make some given it's success, so what's with the radio silence?

Also, remember prior to release when FROM said they were super duper 100% absolutely totally going to do a ray-tracing patch, too?

Source: https://www.vg247.com/elden-ring-ray-tracing-60-fps-hdr-pc-ps5-xbox-series-xs

 

[spons]

That dual gargoyle fight is some nasty ass shit, especially when the two are both alive and they start spewing poisonous mist all over the place. Good Lord.

 

[Rex_DX]

That dual gargoyle fight is some nasty ass shit, especially when the two are both alive and they start spewing poisonous mist all over the place. Good Lord.

Yeah I lucked out and got the first one almost dead by being hyper-aggressive before the second one joined in. Then it was just a matter of keeping my distance and chipping away the last part of the first one's health bar. Its a DPS fight at first. Once its a 1v1 its substantially easier like most of the double bosses. I was using a quick weapon with FTH buffs but if I eventually run a STR build I can already see how tough this will be with big, slow weapons.

Good luck! You've got this.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

I'm deep into Farum Azula. What a stunning and hard dungeon. I almost started running in circles trying to find the next site of grace. The big knights with dual swords are really hard! Hearing their footsteps from other rooms is very unsettling. I found that Bloodhoud's Fang is still very effective against those tanky enemies who hit hard. That includes the Crucible Knight, he is extremely hard when I have the Rivers of Blood equipped, but manageable with the Fang.

Oh and the Godskin Duo was tough, but totally manageable with the mimic tear. Fighting them solo is a fool's errand unless you are a top-rate player. Glad I didn't spend much time on them.

Now I'm going to seek Placidusax before aiming for the end of the dungeon. I saw there is a Draconic Tree Sentinel before the boss. And here I thought I was done with them... it's gonna be a real challenge without Torrent.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Honestly, the short follow distance of the Draconic Tree Sentinel on that bridge makes him easy to cheese with ranged weapons and status effects such as frost and bleed.

 

[MadPanda]

Guys, I decided to jump back in after a few months of not playing the game and I need some help.

IIRC in some patches after I stopped playing they made it so you can obtain all smithing stones from the beginning on ng+, is that right?

I'm level 191, currently at the mountaintops of the giant. I'm going for the frenzied flame ending this time. I think I'll skip all the optional areas as I have thoroughly explored everything the first time.

I wish there were a boss rush mode as I'd like to fight malenia, mogh, dragon and some others but don't want to trudge through their areas.

I'll also have to explore some high level strategies. I beat the game using rivers of blood and ng+ decided to try something else. Now I'm using two swords and have no idea what I'm supposed to do nor do I like it. I remember trying magic but I didn't like it too. Maybe I'll just obtain another ROB and proceed with it.

 

[SonicVolcano]

I'm deep into Farum Azula. What a stunning and hard dungeon. I almost started running in circles trying to find the next site of grace. The big knights with dual swords are really hard! Hearing their footsteps from other rooms is very unsettling. I found that Bloodhoud's Fang is still very effective against those tanky enemies who hit hard. That includes the Crucible Knight, he is extremely hard when I have the Rivers of Blood equipped, but manageable with the Fang.

Oh and the Godskin Duo was tough, but totally manageable with the mimic tear. Fighting them solo is a fool's errand unless you are a top-rate player. Glad I didn't spend much time on them.

Now I'm going to seek Placidusax before aiming for the end of the dungeon. I saw there is a Draconic Tree Sentinel before the boss. And here I thought I was done with them... it's gonna be a real challenge without Torrent.

I cheesed the hell out of the Draconic Tree Sentinel. It was so dirty, but after umpteen attempts the idiot deserved it.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Guys, I decided to jump back in after a few months of not playing the game and I need some help.

IIRC in some patches after I stopped playing they made it so you can obtain all smithing stones from the beginning on ng+, is that right?

I'm level 191, currently at the mountaintops of the giant. I'm going for the frenzied flame ending this time. I think I'll skip all the optional areas as I have thoroughly explored everything the first time.

I wish there were a boss rush mode as I'd like to fight malenia, mogh, dragon and some others but don't want to trudge through their areas.

I'll also have to explore some high level strategies. I beat the game using rivers of blood and ng+ decided to try something else. Now I'm using two swords and have no idea what I'm supposed to do nor do I like it. I remember trying magic but I didn't like it too. Maybe I'll just obtain another ROB and proceed with it.

There are no ball bearings carrying over to ng+ and the stones are very scattered with some locked behind bosses. Better off farming giant bird from Palace Approach Ledge-Road for runes and buying a bunch of stones to upgrade equipment before starting the second journey.

Mogh is pretty easy to get to with White Mask Varre quest. Malenia still requires a lot. One skip that helps is jumping out of bounds near the elevator on the Mountaintop of the Giants toward statue of Marika in Consecrated Snowfield. That skips getting Haligtree medal pieces from Albus the Albino and Castle Sol.

Perhaps you should not commit to a weapon build you are not enjoying in play testing. There are a few two handed dual weapon variants like Ornamental Straight Sword, Starscourge Greatsword, and claw weapons that might have better synergy for your dual wield build. Post-nerf the Rivers of Blood will undoubtedly be underwhelming.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

I cheesed the hell out of the Draconic Tree Sentinel. It was so dirty, but after umpteen attempts the idiot deserved it.

How did you do it?

 

[SonicVolcano]

There are no ball bearings carrying over to ng+ and the stones are very scattered with some locked behind bosses. Better off farming giant bird from Palace Approach Ledge-Road for runes and buying a bunch of stones to upgrade equipment before starting the second journey.

Mogh is pretty easy to get to with White Mask Varre quest. Malenia still requires a lot. One skip that helps is jumping out of bounds near the elevator on the Mountaintop of the Giants toward statue of Marika in Consecrated Snowfield. That skips getting Haligtree medal pieces from Albus the Albino and Castle Sol.

Perhaps you should not commit to a weapon build you are not enjoying in play testing. There are a few two handed dual weapon variants like Ornamental Straight Sword, Starscourge Greatsword, and claw weapons that might have better synergy for your dual wield build. Post-nerf the Rivers of Blood will undoubtedly be underwhelming.

As of patch 1.05 the Smithing Stone (including Somber) and Ghost/Grave Glovewort bell-bearings all carry over to NG+

 

[SonicVolcano]

How did you do it?

I got this method from someone else, but it works:

Reach the mist door without dying and exit to main menu. Reload and you should be behind the guy. Get close and spam Poisonous Mist. It takes a while, but he will die and won't do a thing. If you don't have enough Faith take a Rune Arc and then you can use this Incantation.

 

[Soodanim]

Right, so here's where I'm at.

I picked up my OG character again because I realised I hadn't picked up a certain weapon at all in any playthrough, and I've been clearing up everything I can with it. You watch life bars drain away.

Rotten Battle Hammer, from Consecrated Snowfield, bonfire of the same name, head NW until you hit the graves
It's a great hammer that comes with Scarlet Rot. Throw on Wild Swings with Bleed infusion.
Then you Talisman up so that repeated attacks, rot, and bleed all give attack boosts, as well as increased skill power.
Then you flask up for even more repeated attack damage and whatever else you like.
Then Malenia rune up so that you regain health from the hits you're taking whilst swinging wildly.
Then armour up to get as much defense and poise as possible (max out that medium roll).
Then equip buff spells to take it even further.
Then put a Serpent God's Curved Sword in your off hand to regain health from regular enemies. You can just blindly swing through most mobs and come out with full health.

Shit's ridiculous. I think I'm NG+4 with this level 276 character, so I've got the health and endurance to pull it off. Tried it out on big Mohg. Once he starts counting, he's fucked. No phase two, he's dead long before he gets a chance. Remember, the more you hit the more powerful the hits get, you're making them bleed, and they've got Rot eating away at them. As long as bosses don't jump out of the way or knock you down, it's an easy win. Bleed usually staggers, which makes life even easier.

For those that know the blood area's birds and how annoying they are, this set up cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. Same with pretty much anything else.

I was going to leave this character at end game and wait for the DLC, but I think I need to run through again and tackle all the bosses I've not tried this on yet.

Also, an unrelated tip that is nothing new but I underestimated:
The Briar Set. Most know that even a single piece causes damage on rolling, which is useful. You can stun enemies out of attacks and even stop skeletons from reviving. But I didn't know that it can even knock Red Albinaurics out of their roll. I'm definitely keeping at least one piece on from now on.

 

[Soodanim]

I cheesed the hell out of the Draconic Tree Sentinel. It was so dirty, but after umpteen attempts the idiot deserved it.

Double post, but I have a few things I find work well with him. The main one is when he jumps at you and swings, if you can roll to his other side he will try a shield bash instead of a followup swing. This gives you a much better opportunity to get damage in and get away unharmed. The other one is when the fireballs come. Dodge through them towards him, then when you get close enough there will be a final one directed at the ground. This also gives you an opportunity to get damage in. The 2nd phase introduces new dangers, but if you stick to the main opportunities for damage you can get through on skill alone. He's certainly a tough one though.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

I made my way to Placidusax and managed to kill him on first try. Not an easy fight though, but I feel the Fire Giant made for good practice: don’t get greedy, don’t trust the camera, run to escape incoming hits ahead of time. That cutscene before meeting him makes me wonder how it works lore-wise. The arena is just sublime with the columns and lightning bolts in the distance — I’m a sucker for ancient architecture. As with many other areas in the game, this is like a painting coming alive. The art direction of this game is incredible.

After that I went back to farming the idiot bird in Mohgwyn’s Palace and at some point got a hefty 66K runes in one kill. Talk about time-efficient lol.

The Draconic Tree Sentinel is as hard as I last fought him. The bastard killed me many, many times. Eventually I realized I can just run away until he stops chasing me so I can use a crimson and cerulean flasks before coming back to land a Corpse Piler right before he starts attacking. My muscle memory from the last fight kicked in and I was able to dodge most fireballs and lightning bolts. But it really was a close call, it was literally a matter of “if I miss my next attack, I’m dead”.

Tomorrow I’ll be facing Maliketh.

 

[NeverYouMind]

As of patch 1.05 the Smithing Stone (including Somber) and Ghost/Grave Glovewort bell-bearings all carry over to NG+

Well, shit. I got shafted. Started NG+ without doing anything except intro area right before patch and don't have any of them. Sorry for the misinformation.