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The "What are you playing now?" Thread

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Not sure if you’re serious or not, but they just released AC6 last August.
Lol. I've been out of that world for 3 years. Not shocked that I missed that. I'm shocked how quick the industry moves when I'm not constantly looking for news about upcoming games to sell.

It has been two years tho, lol. Time for another in other series out there.
 
Shadow of the Erdtree...so damn good.
And absolutely brutal in its difficulty, like every other FromSoft DLC before it.

That first main boss is a gatekeeper if I've ever seen one.
 
And absolutely brutal in its difficulty, like every other FromSoft DLC before it.

That first main boss is a gatekeeper if I've ever seen one.
So something I've been doing from the start is gathering as many Scadutree Fragments & Revered Spirit Ashes as quickly as possible. It seems to be making a big difference because I've been melting most major bosses in less than 5-10 attempts. In some cases even in the first attempt, including the first main boss you referenced. I'm probably 75% through the DLC at this point.

The only boss thats really given me trouble so far is an optional one that, coincidentally, is blocking a small area that contains 5 Scadutree Fragments :chuckle:

I do think this DLC favors casters even more than the main game did, though. Combat users must be going through hell with these new bosses...
 
So something I've been doing from the start is gathering as many Scadutree Fragments & Revered Spirit Ashes as quickly as possible. It seems to be making a big difference because I've been melting most major bosses in less than 5-10 attempts. In some cases even in the first attempt, including the first main boss you referenced. I'm probably 75% through the DLC at this point.

The only boss thats really given me trouble so far is an optional one that, coincidentally, is blocking a small area that contains 5 Scadutree Fragments :chuckle:

I do think this DLC favors casters even more than the main game did, though. Combat users must be going through hell with these new bosses...
To your final point... yes. Yes we are. :chuckle: They may as well have named the first boss "Motion Sickness."

I'm chalking it up to getting back into the swing of playing this game again. I finally slowed down a bit and made an effort to recognize attack patterns and cleared that boss pretty easily.

I had actually done what I thought was a good bit of exploration before attempting that first dungeon and found some of those fragments and ashes. I'll probably explore more of that initial area first before proceeding further with the main story.
 
After a few days of dying and several respecs, I finally managed to beat the final boss in Shadow of the Erdtree. IMO it wasn't as hard as the original Malenia fight, but it was pretty damn close.

What a game.
 
Ugh

OG release of Elden Ring came during WFH coupled with IT issues almost rendering it impossible to work. I played I think 112 hours that first week and then didn't actually beat the game until a couple of months ago (got to final boss then put the game down for 2 years or whatever).

Now I thought, I should start fresh cause I never replayed the game through at all. But "replaying the game through to get to the DLC" means another 100 hours lol.

So naturally I spent about three hours on the character creator, and about three hours of actually playing the game, which was really just dicking around.

What's a fun OP build? I typically just do strength builds without any range or spellcasting which turned out to be the wrong strategy for this game, in my original playthrough I re-specced to a black flame build that was nice. I also played through the game entirely without the thing that you mix things in and get a buff. That's actually what got me through the final boss lol.
 
Ugh

OG release of Elden Ring came during WFH coupled with IT issues almost rendering it impossible to work. I played I think 112 hours that first week and then didn't actually beat the game until a couple of months ago (got to final boss then put the game down for 2 years or whatever).

Now I thought, I should start fresh cause I never replayed the game through at all. But "replaying the game through to get to the DLC" means another 100 hours lol.

So naturally I spent about three hours on the character creator, and about three hours of actually playing the game, which was really just dicking around.

What's a fun OP build? I typically just do strength builds without any range or spellcasting which turned out to be the wrong strategy for this game, in my original playthrough I re-specced to a black flame build that was nice. I also played through the game entirely without the thing that you mix things in and get a buff. That's actually what got me through the final boss lol.
Generally speaking, a caster build in just about any FromSoft game (except Sekiro) is as close as you'll get to playing the game on easy mode.

Dump a ton of points into Int. Moonveil go brrrrrrrrr

Arcane is also fun, although bleed damage isn't nearly as broken as it was the first few months of the game. Still, it doesn't take a heavy investment to have Swarm of Flies at the ready, or to be able to use Rivers of Blood.

I started off as a caster-heavy build, then swapped to a Dex/Str build after my first NG, and haven't looked back. It's a completely different playstyle, but I've always gotten more satisfaction out of these games by finally nailing down the melee timings (with a few incantations mixed in)

If you want to browse some more detailed build guides, Fextralife is generally one of the main go-to sites for any FromSoft game.


ETA: Also, certain Ash Summons are just absurdly overpowered. Looking at you, Mimic Tear and Black Knife Tiche.
 
Oh I definitely cheesed some bosses with the mimic tear lol.

I was thinking of doing dex/bleed, and also thinking of getting good because historically I've always been a sword and shield guy. I think the last time I parried was Lord Gwyn lol.

I'm also all about the fashion souls but found ER to be surprisingly limited in pieces that tickle my fancy.

I figure I'm going to try to break the game to make it easy (easier) I'm going to see how deep in the game I get before Stormveil, so far just meandering around Liurnia.
 
Oh I definitely cheesed some bosses with the mimic tear lol.

I was thinking of doing dex/bleed, and also thinking of getting good because historically I've always been a sword and shield guy. I think the last time I parried was Lord Gwyn lol.

I'm also all about the fashion souls but found ER to be surprisingly limited in pieces that tickle my fancy.

I figure I'm going to try to break the game to make it easy (easier) I'm going to see how deep in the game I get before Stormveil, so far just meandering around Liurnia.
If you want a fun/moderately broken parry, look for the Golden Parry Ashes of War in the Capital Outskirts. You can put it on any small/medium shield, but there is a slight FP cost every time you use it. Still, it's got plenty of range, and the timing is very forgiving.
 
Ugh

OG release of Elden Ring came during WFH coupled with IT issues almost rendering it impossible to work. I played I think 112 hours that first week and then didn't actually beat the game until a couple of months ago (got to final boss then put the game down for 2 years or whatever).

Now I thought, I should start fresh cause I never replayed the game through at all. But "replaying the game through to get to the DLC" means another 100 hours lol.

So naturally I spent about three hours on the character creator, and about three hours of actually playing the game, which was really just dicking around.

What's a fun OP build? I typically just do strength builds without any range or spellcasting which turned out to be the wrong strategy for this game, in my original playthrough I re-specced to a black flame build that was nice. I also played through the game entirely without the thing that you mix things in and get a buff. That's actually what got me through the final boss lol.
As @Marcus mentioned, if you're looking for the path of least resistance, casting is the way to go. Especially in the DLC.

Mimic Tear and Black Knife Tiche.
And yes, these too. My entire final strategy to beat the final DLC boss revolved around the Mimic Tear. Which is funny because I exclusively used the Black Knife Tiche from the moment I acquired it during my initial playthrough.
 
Just bought the Dark Souls trilogy now that I'm done with Elden Ring. Never played them before.

Any tips/suggestions? Good/easy builds, etc? I'm looking forward to playing them but also don't really want to sink another 200+ hours into each one :chuckle:
 
Just bought the Dark Souls trilogy now that I'm done with Elden Ring. Never played them before.

Any tips/suggestions? Good/easy builds, etc? I'm looking forward to playing them but also don't really want to sink another 200+ hours into each one :chuckle:

Absolutely loved Dark Souls. Got good enough at it that I could make it through the whole thing without ever going above Soul Level 1. Didn't like the sequels quite as much but they were still great games.

Only builds that I've never liked are faith builds. Just fewer good weapons that scaled well with faith. I'd also recommend maxing out pyrotechnics (when they become available) regardless of build. And watch your weight closely - never go above half max or you'll be slow as hell.

Minor beginning hint that will save some unnecessary aggravation:

after you escape the dungeon and make it to Firelink Shrine in Lordran, your first area should be Undead Asylum, which you access by a path that slopes up. Do not take the downward path and try to make it through the cemetery yet.

Other than that...prepare to die. Obviously.
 
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I need to get back to Dark Souls 3. Got to the first boss a long time ago and never continued.
 

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