I know right?
I only found out as somebody finished a pacifist run!
I finally went back to the boss that completes Rennas quest. Killed me a few times before I really hammered him with rot and that took him down.
Also did a deep cleaning of the sewers. Finally trekked all the way down to the bottom of them while looting everything. Some really good gear there. I killed the boss in the first attempt which was nice, I fully expected the guy to rise again after I took his health out. Of course I roll through the altar and see the next area. Died 3-4 times before I platformed my way down to the bottom. Got the pyro guy to burn the tent so I could grab the needle and then lit the bonfire. I have to say I love how Fān deep underground you are at that point. Itās like you are at the center of the world or something,. Just genius.
I know enough to not go through that door, and of course getting implored by Melina seemed like a huge hint to not do it as well. I almost wonder why its in the game. I guess the needle undoes it if you go for it, but I have not. So I have unlocked the Renna ending so far. Went back and killed the wolf man, he has some nice gear.
Also cleared out that rot area and got the scorpion sword. Man that thing looks fun. I am currently power stancing twin blades and wrecking so I think I will stay with that.
Another area I cleared out was the Caria Manor. Its real easy now for me. I found some really powerful sorcery weapons once I figured out where to jump down to.
I honestly could have probably beaten this game already but I am taking my sweet time and I took almost a week off to (gasp) work on music again.
My next spot is Mogwyn. I need to figure out how to kill those huge birds quickly so I can fight the invader easier. I want that white mask. I have a frost twinblade and a blood/fire one so I feel like there has to be something that I can fight these birds toe to toe with. They just hit so damn hard and I really want a clean area to wreck this invader in. I beat one, but he didnt drop the mask yet.
Also, any of you remember this area? Its the underground city past the river bank. You get there by going past the ants (or killing them with fire first and looting, which I did). Then you go into the river bank and hit a site of grace. Kill the Arab style guys riding ant horses until getting to the lift that takes you down to kill the NPC and then go further down to Rot land.
Well before the lift that takes you down to the NPC, if you are standing outside where the river is - right across is a castle up high with a bright tree that most likely has a Seed in it. I can not figure out how to get there. Is it accessible?
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This is one of the reasons why I think there is somehow a connection to Dark Souls. DS is all built around a huge central tree you see from the top to the roots (where the kiln of the last flame is) to plus all the references to ashes, dragons, giantsā¦
My my theory is that Elden Ring happens before Dark Souls.
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Just beat Radhan, and boy was that the toughest experience yet, by far. One of the first times I felt the game itself was working against me, though really I guess itās just a combination of everything youāve learned along the way, but all piled together.
Must have had around a dozen failures, many of them in the first few seconds due to mistiming a roll or accidentally breaking some cover with my horse. Got him to the second stage a few times, but then struggled with the balance of respawning, keeping him in sight and dodging his missiles. Numerous times Iād fumble the controller and get off my horse or go into a crouch at the worst possible time. But as always, I could see some progress being made with every failure.
Finally I realised the most successful attempts had been when I attacked on foot, so decided to focus on that. After another early failure I managed to get up close and just start laying into him, trying to stay calm with my rolls. Got a few Bloody Slashes in and soon had him down to half, but he didnāt immediately fly away, so I pressed the point home.
Soon enough he was somehow only three or four hits away from death and still fighting, but Iād managed to exhaust my stamina - Iād equipped arrow and horse talismans, and forgot to swap them for stamina and attack. Anyway, that led to a very tense period of roughly five seconds where I was letting my stamina build enough to take a shot and praying the summons would keep him from disappearing (or flattening me) - and it worked. Took him down without even triggering the second phase, and I think with only one heal. I was 100% certain that if heād flow off, even with a sliver of health, heād have wiped me out on his return.
Still a serious challenge, though - and Iāve watched people take him on solo at SL1, which would break me mentally.
Since my last update I also got the base of the tower in Caelid thatās full of platforming - enjoyed that far more than I would have imagined. My daughter was watching and we had great fun looking at all the bloodstain echoes, some great moments of slapstick in there.
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The character building around radhan is wel done. So many amazing details, like he loved his horse so much, he learned gravity magic to hold himself of the ground when his horse couldnāt support his weight anymore. Was happy to see they reversed part of his nerf in one off the last 1.03.x patches, all those character superlatives should be backed up by something 
Also finished the game today, after malenia things were a cackwalk. Got both dragonlord and Elden beast on first try
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hmm do you think it happens before Demon Souls which took place before Dark Souls?
The problem is that ER struggles to do Radhan justice as a game - the design is fantastic, the buildup and journey are superb, and ideally the fight would be an epic Avengers-style experience with all the summons playing their part - but the gameās not really build for that kind of spectacle, at least while youāre playing (or at least while Iām playing). It felt like Fromās tribute to all the videos where DS AIs battle it out, but it was only when I watched other people taking him on that I could appreciate all the details that were in there. Fighting him, I was too preoccupied with resummoning the AI and watching out for ranged attacks - on those occasions when I survived long enough to get close.
I expect you get to pay him more attention on subsequent attempts, and the serious players and analysts will have saves set up for just that, but heās not going to benefit from this in the same was as Iudex Gundyr did - by the time I get round to Radhan again, Christ knows what else Iāll have been through.
Which all sounds like a moan, but not really - the fight was a classic DS-style struggle, and as I say the journey there was really well done. I suppose itās ultimately another example of how confident FromSoft are that their craft will shine through, one way or another - certainly a lesser game would have thrown tons of signposting and exposition at the Radhan quest (if not made it the grand finale).
I would think so. Maybe?
So, I finished the game one week ago and I still havenāt started NG+ as I was dealing with some unfinished businessesā¦
Turns out that thereās things I didnāt know at all, like a new boss fight at Radahnās Castle after you defeated him, a whole Fort I had not found before and enemies that still kill me easily despite my level 160
I use the sword from Rykkard, i.e Volcano Manor End Boss, it trivializes the game as i only need to spam l2 and everything gets eaten while it also heals me, combined with a fire scirpion talisman its very good for pve. I have seen very good blood builds though. I fknd spell casting time was a bit sloe at the end. That azure comet build is also very effective, but somehow trivial aswell. if i finish, i will do a bloodbornr run. (again)
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After I finished the game I respecced to a faith/dex Str and Iām now using the Blasphemous blade too.
Read this earlier in the week and thought āmore Iāve missedā then found out a weapon needed to 100% the game comes from that fight and had a mild panic that Iād missed it again in play through 2!
Turns out most guides actually have you figuring this boss before Radahn but luckily you can still reset things after by chatting to an NPC in the area.
What was more crushing was the realisation Iām about 3 more weapons, 2 Talisman and 1 spirit away from 100%. Sake! Most from late pre Fire Giant areas. Guess Iāll be playing this one a little longer yet then. Frenzied Flame ending this time and then Joirney 3 can be a boss rush to one of the standard endings to get that 100%. PC crowd are son lucky with their save states and thingsā¦
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Iām about to make my attempts at malenia before competing the end game content. This has been a great experience but I can not wait to finish because this game has consumed me. My practice habits have suffered at the expense of becoming elden lord, but games rarely grab me like this, so it has been a welcoming experience!!
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Killed Malenia on PS4 and Steam, that vampire Sword staggers her to the ground. I tryed to help other people, but its a tough fight, if somene gets into her whirlwind attacks its over quick. I hold off to be become lord to get all possible talismans, but i dont know if its possible when leyendell is already ashen. The great rune which buff summons is a great help, but not all seem to notice that.
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Vampire sword? I donāt think Iāve found that yet?
The echo from volcano manor, from the snake god. The weapon art is also very sick. ( lots of bodys slinging around the blade)
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Blasphemous Blade.
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So I just āfinishedā the game and I must say that this was certainly the best gaming experience in my life. Iāve never been so blown away by just everything they did and Iāve played every FromSoftware game since Demonās Souls. There were so many moments, when I just stood there with my mouth wide open looking at the most amazing vistas or laughing about the genius decisions they made.
Also the fact that they worked with George R. R. Martin to help creating the story around the game and then deciding to keep it real with telling a story without telling itā¦ FromSoft style. This is just the most amazing move.
Well I could talk hours about my experience but I have to stop myself now 
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yeah. as i was playing it i was really feeling āthis could be the best game iāve ever playedā but was trying to temper my emotions
iāve beaten it, and iām going through NG+, and Iām past the honey-moon phaseā¦as far as iām concerned, it is far and away the best fromsoft game iāve played (aka all of them demonās souls and beyond) which also puts it in my top 5 games for sureā¦and maybe even number one. it really is that magical.
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One of my favourite games ever was Bloodborne (together with FFVII, VII, Persona 3 and Symphony Of The Night) but this is better than Bloodborne.
Iām 3 trophies away from Platinum, I need all weapons and 2 more endings. This is the first time ever in my gaming career that I care about trophies.
Just killed the Dragonlord, not overly difficult but what a great looking boss!
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