Well, I’m at some cemetery now, facing like two or three skeletons at the same time, each time. Sometimes, I get pretty far. Sometimes, they get me right by the first stairs. And since saving respawns enemies, there’s no going back to sort of save some of the progress. I just need to be able to pull through, to get through.
I haven’t quite figured out what I need to get good at, to get somewhere in this game. With the main character being so incredibly slow and sluggish, I get trapped in its animations when I realise I shouldn’t have attacked or whatnot and can’t do anything about it. It’s like in Ghost’n Goblins, when you jumped and realised, oh no, but you had no control over the trajectory until it finished, and while your brain and fingers reacted, the game just let you watch the animation play out and see you jump straight into that arrow.
So it doesn’t really help that I can react to an enemy move, because it seems I need to be able to read their patterns well enough to make a solid call on my own next move, since the execution of such a move takes sometimes almost two seconds, which is essentially the difference between life and death if you make the wrong move.
My Ninja Gaiden skills are of no use here, clearly.
Yeah, I was just told now, I should be at about level 15 or something before I give those a go. I’m at level 7. So considering, I guess I was doing all right
Level design in this area is very generic. Moss, brick walls and stairs. That all look the same. I’ve taken a few detours to find some stuff lying around, but nothing that obviously leads to another area. I did fight some skeletons by a bridge, they were a breeze compared to the cemetery bastards. Even the fire wielding ones.
I’ve played both Dark Souls and Sekiro and really enjoyed both of them (in the maddening way that these games allow you to enjoy them), BUT I never finished either of them. I think I got about 1/3 of the way through DS and about halfway through Sekiro. Basically, I’ll start to get decent at them and then my life gets busy and a couple of months go by without any spare time to play games and at that point I’ve completely lost my muscle memory.
Am I crazy for wanting to give Elden Ring a try even though it’s probably going to be the exact same pattern?
You don’t need to fight those yet, that path takes you to one of the four Lords. You aren’t able to fight him yet. Just follow the path up past the well and onto the Undead Burg. Though in that graveyard there is the Zweihander, an excellent ultra greatsword that you may want once you level up and depending on your build, as it will annihilate everything including bosses once taken to +15.
The cemetery itself is worth persisting with - there are a few useful items there, and the skeletons are good practice fodder. I think the biggest lesson they have to offer is to avoid attracting any more attention once you’re in a fight - it’s easy to end up with a bunch of them after you, Benny Hill style. Trigger them two at a time and you can draw them back to the watery ruin for a safe fight (or even back to the shrine). The little set of steps just after the temple is a good place to try too, as you can fall off the side and split them up easily. But yeah, identifying a “safe” zone you can lead an enemy back to is a useful tactic, especially in new areas where anything can happen.
I wouldn’t necessarily go further than the graveyard at this point, but it’s one of my favourite soul-farming areas in the early game - the skeletons pay well and the shrine is just next door. They also exhibit a number of moves you’ll benefit from getting used to.
Yep, thanks, I did notice that if I pulled back up the stairs, I could take them one by one, which made it easier. And also actually totally on point, since that’s a tactics that is like the Spartan one if you don’t have strength in numbers, just reduce their superior advantage by making that part not matter.
However, I can’t shake the fact that this game just isn’t handling these kind of action points all that smooth. They twitch, walk into each other, run in circles, bash against walls, wiggle around - from time to time, it comes across as a bit of a not-so-smooth experience, not so much because of difficulty but because it’s just not so tight. This reminds me of the Tenchu games, which were fantastic at all things but combat, where they were okay and sometimes good but never great. As much as I can appreciate the slow tactics, careful observing and knowing when to strike and when to fall back - I love that part - it feels like the implementation can’t always carry the ambition.
But I’m well aware my words are vapor - Dark Souls being named by credible sources as the best game ever, with equally strong contenders right up there, Breath of the Wild being one of them.
So I know - I don’t get it yet. I’m just sharing a personal experience, not a considered critique.
World building’s kind of random still as well - I ran across a knight, all alone in the ruins, and he was just standing there, waiting for his lady and her guards to return. There’s no context. He’s just there.
If you’re gonna be the best game ever - aren’t you gonna be the best at everything?
No, they’re all valid points - it does feel a bit janky, especially if you’re used to stuff like Ninja Gaiden, or more generally action-centred their person games. For me DS is almost akin to a rhythm action game much of the time - you’re learning to dance with the enemies, and you can’t rush ahead because if you step on their feet, they’re going to let you know about it.
I think the best approach at the start is to go with a shield & weapon combo, as this give you the required space to learn this aspect. You can progress on to parry and dodge easily enough from there, but being able to safely study each enemy is really helpful. It also helps highlight the importance of rationing and monitoring your stamina, at least with a combat class.
As for the world building, well, I’d have been lost there without the internet. It’s like a stalled car - I think you need a but of push, but once you’re off it gets easier.
More than anything, I’d say do stick with it. It took me a while for it to gel, but it’s definitely the most rewarding series I’ve played, by a long margin.
For me the world clicked once I realised that it is all built around the tree that you see right at the beginning. The map pretty much wraps around it.
Felled Margit. Jesus H. Christ. The whole thing is like one full game from a lesser developer (on Steam, are achievements game progress? Cause that took 20 hours and I’m at 4%). Still not happy with my performance (used cooperator and ashes, then just more or less hacked and dodged. But cant deny Ive gotten better.).
Still not sure FromSoft is for me: the time required and mental strain is a ton. But if it’s for you, this game is absolutely incredible. The world is just /chef’s kiss.
Btw, while there is no official difficulty mode, FromSoft has done a wonderful job allowing people to choose how hard they want to make it on themselves. Ashes of Wind, cooperator, and Weeping Peninsula are all extremely helpful for casuals like myself.
As a recent convert, I disagree. The world building is another part of what makes the games special (going from my experience with Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring, guessing the formula is about the same in other games).
The lore is deep and really cool but you have to dig, and external sources are helpful and can enrich the game experience imo. In that way it reminds me of games from decades ago, where the strategy guide was often a good idea because not much was explained to you in the game.
VaatiVidya’s youtube videos were shared with me by my friend who got me into Dark Souls, and seem to be well regarded. They helped me get more excited about what I was facing, and chatting with friends helped me understand more of what I was missing, and now I’m hooked.
These seem to largely be rhythm games. You have to get the know the timing of the animations and once familiar you can start landing more hits, as well as avoid them.
I have a lot to learn but the difficulty factor has now been replaced with fun and amazement (and determination to get better and learn more). I totally see why people love these games now.
This is one of the areas where I benefited from a little internet help, because it’s very easy to miss an opportunity or do something (or fail to do something) that will make your life a bit harder than it has to be later on (not that you’d ever know). But that’s all part of the experience, not knowing if you can trust someone (or for how long). Nobody’s appearing as a nice straightforward green dot on your radar in Dark Souls.
I’d definitely have missed quite a bit (and suffered more) if I hadn’t used a few pointers and explanations, but it’s also worth trying to maintain some degree of mystery and discovery, which is why I’m saying nothing specific here.
So far I’m finding Elden Ring far more accommodating, and I think I’m also going to find it hard to go back to a Souls game where I can’t crouch or jump freely. But the experience is there, for sure - spotting a new lost grace after an hour pushing into unknown territory is every bit as rewarding as finding a bonfire in DS.
). Still not happy with my performance (used cooperator and ashes, then just more or less hacked and dodged. But cant deny Ive gotten better.).