Yeah I’ve read it’s now a little slower and does less damage.
I’m ok with nerfing generally or rebalancing rather. But not when I’m in the final third of the game and with a play style I like! In fact, I’m only about half way through the main story bosses! Got hours and hours still to go in this.
It’s like a full time job just now 
I agree, i played 150h now (which is a lot, and i have explored 60-70%) i assume. They stated that they fixed the quest line of kenneth haight, but i dont get any more progress when i talk to the npc…=? any idea?
No idea. Last I saw of him was on top of his tower and unable to make me a lord or whatever. I’ll not be able to try again until I accept the patch download. So NG+ for that one…
(I might weep if my xbox automatically updates without me realising)
Following the advice that Ranni’s quest affects the Study Hall, I had a quick look to see if I’d missed any opportunities to advance her questline. And of course no, it all takes place in a massive area I haven’t even set foot in yet.
Last night I went back to Stormveil Castle with the vague intent of trying Godrick, but decided to warp in at an earlier stage to check out something I’d forgotten about. Found a previously unexplored route and eventually wound up making my way to a huge tower which I assume I’m not supposed to visit until I’ve beaten him. But it was quite the journey, and it really helped with my boss procrastination.
FML. My Xbox did decide to allow the update! Noooooooo!
I guess this means I can go back to enjoying the exploring again and takes away the urge to rush things a little. Quick check and didn’t notice much of a nerf on the Moonveil but will see how things go from here…
Same here. I always pop in and he’s just staring out into the void saying the same thing.
Just turned on and my Xbox had updated the game - I’ve lost days of progress and at least half a dozen sites of grace, because I’d been using quick resume. A bit gutting, really - I can’t remember which dungeons I’ve completed, what I’ve done for quests, it’s a mess. I’m considering just starting over when I go back. A real setback.
Had read that happening to folk. I think I’ve managed to avoid it somehow but more paranoid and better check!!!
Took out Godrick yesterday. First try. Was a close call but my jellyfish was of great help. Now heading to the undead village that D warned me about. Incidentally his armour is a bit too much of an evolution of the ‘Fina’s embrace’ of Lautrec’s armour from Dark Souls. The head is sticking out of it! 
I’m waiting for a load of butt-hurt people on Reddit and FB to moan about Mimic’s Tear and the SoNaF nerf like From hasn’t refined its games via updates since the PS3 era. I remember people getting really pissed off that they nerfed the Moonlight Butterfly Horn in Dark Souls. Now it’s just how it is.
It’s really gutting the more I think about it. I expect the solution is to dive back in, but right now I can’t bring myself to do it. The tree sentinel is back, which means there’s tons of stuff that’s been reset, including some tough fights. But it also means I can’t rely on quick resume any more, which is a real downer…
I play on Steam and on Ps4, its actually interesting to see how much stuff i missed with my 2nd character. I also killed sellen (mage npc who trades spells, which is now forcing me more into melee range, so the 2nd run is already very different.) Maybe you explore some things , which you havent found before?
Ah, I’ll get back on the horse soon enough. I am tempted to start over with the benefit of my knowledge so far, maybe try a str or int build for a while. Exploring is pretty much all I’ve been doing, which is why it’s such a drag to have it reset. But if I was going to cry, I’d have been crying from day one.
Gutted for you, bro - I lost a couple hours re the same thing (Xbox update killing a quick resume save). Take a break and get back at it when you’re ready
I’ve not read through this thread as I’m in the middle (probably the start tbh) of Elden Ring and I’m loosely trying to avoid spoilers, so sorry if this is trodden ground, but a few thoughts on Dark Souls as a metaphor for depression and ‘the healing power of others’.
I came late to the DS1 party, got into it when I finally felt I could let myself just enjoy some of my evenings, after getting stable work after a few years of scrabbling for income. I played the old Xbox 360 version, fully offline, only letting myself look up hints after getting stuck for a good hour or more at any given section (which of course meant I still looked a lot up!) and I beat the fucker!
That was nice. Fed into a genuine sense of ability and accomplishment. I feel it’s a little silly to get those feelings from the game, but one aspect I appreciate of DS is that it’s (for the most part) fair. Brutal, sneaky, frustrating and shitty, but for the most part, if you die you know it’s cos you didn’t bother to check in that dark corner, or you got overeager to get one. last. hit. when you ought to have rolled away. And it’s a fucker to work out, and it’s dark and hidden and who the hell knows what the story is, but if you get somewhere it’s cos you worked it out (or stumbled there by sheer accident). People moan about the UX in fromsoft games, but there’s stark realism to them - you’re a stranger who’s found themselves in a mysterious dark land, and there’s no clear rulebook or purpose and you’re just kinda fuddling around. Existentialism for fantasy nerds.
(Iirc NakeJakey has a good video on the curative sense of accomplishment in relation to depression.)
So far, so obvious. It’s dark, you get punished, there’s no sense to it. The universe feels like a malevolent force interested only in your death, or not interested at all. Depression writ large.
I played that ‘rugged individualist’ mode and got through it. And, encouraged by the rhetoric of some of the scene, believed that is the true way. I kinda spurned the idea of messages, coop and the like. Even tho I used a few cheeses, I felt bad about it. Melee builds, ofc. Lern 2 roll.
Which again - depression metaphor. There’s a mode many of us enter when depressed of ‘I have to do this alone. People can’t help. They don’t know or understand. It’s a cop out to use medicine or therapy’ et-fucking-cetera.
When, actually, the game has all this stuff built in. Especially in the later games or Elden Ring, you’ve got NPC summons easily available, there are messages everywhere. Outside of the game, forums, videos. You can still play ‘hard, rugged macho mode’ if you like, but, I think more and more, that’s missing the point.
Miyazaki has said inspiration for the game came from seeing drivers help one another up an icy slope then never see one another again.
From the difficulty and the RIDICULOUS obscurity of some of the aspects of the game, we could take away ‘haha here’s a sadist making people suffer’, or we can say ‘here’s someone making a gaming experience that pushes us to assist one-another.’ Messages telling you to be wary of right. Wikis where people have figured out what stupidness you have to pursue to continue a questline. People ready to come fight the boss with you.
‘Yeah it’s dark and it makes no sense and you’ll die. So. Many. Times. And you kind of have to get through it by yourself. But you’re not entirely alone. And if you want, there are all these kinds of ways that you can make things easier on yourself, if you’ll just look to other people.’
And it’s not a copout - if I get a summons for this boss, I learn enough about the boss to beat it solo (or help others!) the next time round. If I look at the wiki, I get to the next bit, rather than giving up on the game.
There’s all sorts of other stuff I could go on about, in terms of the quality of Elden Ring and FromSoft’s vision - the ways they enable discovery and play compared to something like Horizon (and the way these differences make some people uncomfortable. Is a game that doesn’t highlight the hit points and weaknesses of a baddie obtuse and sadistic, or is it just a different ‘realist’ take on what play is for?), but this is my current big takeaway - the kindness and the humour in the midst of harshness, and this massive, incredibly skilful metaphor for life alone and with the other, and the difficulties and goodness therein.
To be fair, Mimic was OP as hell. It showed me how I should be playing my build.
Did any of you in the Eleknauts group just defeated the shardbearer? A message just popped up on my screen.
No idea who the shardbearer is but I salute you.
I only saw vids of it but looked really cool. Trying to take my time with the game so will never experience these OP toys before they are taken away. :’(
That said, I did just spend 45 minutes dying to the Magma Wyrm. Judge of my surprise when upon his death he pooped out Moonveil!
Which leads me to my next musing - while this is an excellent, engrossing game, it’s clear that FromSoft suffered from a case of quantity over quality when it came to the lore of weapon placement. Why did this creature drop Moonveil? What’s the significance of this enemy being here in Gael Tunnel, beyond the fact its kind inhabit deep caves? In a previous Souls game this beast would have been the hideously transmogrified one-prince of the land who sold his soul to a witch from the far East in exchange for a magical katana, or some other high fantasy nonsense.
Spent the night on something of a mini-boss rush trying to catch up with my lost progress. Dealt with the Tree Sentinel, Night Cavalry and Erdtree Avatar, clicked my fingers for Blaidd and cleared Forlorn Evergaol, ran up to the crystal caves to get the upgrade stone shop item, made it past the beast in the castle courtyard, reclaimed two or three sites of grace, and I think I’m pretty much back in the saddle. I have to do the stinking tower of madness again, but that can wait until tomorrow. And you can bet I quit to the title when I was finished, I’m not going through that again. If you’re playing on Xbox and have achieved anything significant in a session, don’t just rely on quick resume.
Gave this game another go. I just let myself get lost, ended up collecting a buttload of Gold Runes- when my maiden finally arrived i was able to go up like 10 levels. I think I get it, now.
However, I didn’t realize this game was so chock full of jumpscares- I was just minding my own business(killing a bunch of people digging ot whatever) and this giant beast appeared out of smoke and chased me relentlessly.
I try not to curse, but I think a couple expletives slipped from my lips.
I wasn’t expecting this game to be the scariest game I’ve played 
(outside of the intense difficulty)
and then you have 50000 runes, and then the jump scare comes … and …