Elden Ring (DLC hype room)

[proven cloak]

its all too confusing
I'd rather think about how peak the Scadutree Avatar's fight is

tbh

[languid tiger]

i wish it was less of a pushover

but it's such a neat gimmick

[proven cloak]

I just like the vibes

its got one of my favorite arenas, and I like how the soundtrack gets more somber ||as you keep beating it up||

its just.... sad

makes you feel like it never should've ended up this way

[languid tiger]

yeah

[unreal bloom]

I think the critical aspect of it is that his eye was specifically removed by Marika out of fear, and that he's unwillingly possessed by a divine power and entity with powers that rely on Faith

The only other characters who had eyes sealed like that or became unwillingly inhabited by divine forces have been Empyreans

I'm pretty confident at this point and have a lot of evidence that the Nox were just Numen survivors from the Hornsent Gaols who didn't align with Marika and were opposed to divinity

The Nox predated the Golden Order, and the Black Knives were from the Eternal City and were Numen who knew Marika well

[proven cloak]

I could see that with Jolan and Anna, yeah

[unreal bloom]

The Nox also hated all gods, because Ymir taught them about sorcery and they followed that path instead of Marika's road of divine vengeance

[proven cloak]

If you put them that late, you think the Fingerslayer blade was used?

[unreal bloom]

It absolutely was used, it's made out of the corpse of a god

[proven cloak]

Seems late for that time period to be when Metyr was 'broken'

[unreal bloom]

Metyr was broken from the start

[proven cloak]

yeah

I know some people think the Nox did it, though

[unreal bloom]

Though it'd be interesting if she was broken by the Fingerslayer Blade

I can see it but I also don't see any concrete evidence

[proven cloak]

I think whats cited mostly is the 'wound' ( ) on her chest the Fingercreepers come from

[unreal bloom]

🤷

Something fun: The Fingerslayer Blade and the Sacred Relic Blade are both made from the corpses of gods, and are incarnations of the Elden Ring's Spiral of Life and Death that respectively predate the sealing of Destined Death or immediately follow it

[proven cloak]

I like that the Nox's version is a curved sword

like the flowing swords

[unreal bloom]

The Nox are big into curved swords

[proven cloak]

or the black knifes / blade of calling

yeah

its a fun detail

[unreal bloom]

I've got pretty solid evidence that Melina's Blade of Calling is the Marika equivalent of Numen assassin weaponry, and that Melina served the role of hidden court assassin

You can see it in several places where there was mildly divergent Numen tech

Such as the Veils, where Marika and the Black Knives both had stealth veils that took different approaches to the same concept

Marika's transformed her to blend into an environment, the Black Knives' made them invisible

[proven cloak]

What do you think about the wolf statue in Farum Azula / the female statue in Ruah as depicting numen?

[unreal bloom]

I think it depicts the first Empyrean

[proven cloak]

those might not be disconnected

[unreal bloom]

I don't know that Numen and Empyreans are universally linked

They're generally correlated and we have no non-numen examples aside from potentially the GEQ or the Fell God or the Old Gods

The reason I think it's the first Empyrean is that it depicts a figure beneath the Elden Ring, surrounded by loyal beasts, which reflects the role of beasts as vassals of the Fingers who are granted to Empyreans

[proven cloak]

the shaman at least seemed spiritually attuned, could potentially be why Empyreans are able to mantle divinity?

Lots of spirit calling around the gate of divinity

[unreal bloom]

Spirit-calling was invented by the Hornsent afaik

The only case of it not being Hornsent tech is the snails (which are crucible beings) and the Carians, who existed as Astrologers in the age before the Erdtree

[proven cloak]

thats fair

I read Marika as the spirit caller Hewg knew in his youth

(if its any specific named character)

[unreal bloom]

🤷

Marika definitely fucked with souls

[proven cloak]

and given the name 'shaman' and the possible connection to torrent seems like they were doing something of the sort in her home village

[unreal bloom]

What I gather from her home village, the culturally specific Japanese term for shamans, the Nox, and the Grandmother is that Numen were just nature worshipers

Idealizing the concept of blending with nature, specifically grafting into trees, in order to transcend humanity and exist as a sort of nature spirit

The Nox meanwhile turned to idealizing the Primeval Sorcerer concept of merging with the stars, which they revered

[proven cloak]

hmm

to the later, we dont see any Nox association with Glintstone, right?

Its all starlight draughts and metalurgy?

[unreal bloom]

No, they're sorcerers

[proven cloak]

I cant remember them casting magic

I guess Sellia does

[unreal bloom]

Sellia was their descendants

[old brook]

Also there's something sorcerous to all this Silver Tear/Albinauric business

[unreal bloom]

Radahn, as a Sellian mage who fought the stars on behalf of Sellia, used sorcery to control the stars in a way that harkens to the artificial moon of the Nox, which was similarly used to control the stars

Gowry also sells you Sellian sorceries which are stated to be from the Nox

Also the Nox just live in Sellia

They're hangin out by Lusat's Staff

[proven cloak]

Good shout with Radahn's similarity to the Black Moon

and Eternal Darkness does directly relate to the eternal cities

[unreal bloom]

(I totally missed the sword lore that talked about why Radahn fought the stars until like last week)

The Starscourge Conflict
Radahn alone holds Sellia secure
And stands tall, to shatter the stars

Gowry is pretty direct

You've been a saint, through and through. As thanks, I vow to impart to you my knowledge of the lost sorceries of the Sellians, descendants of the Eternal.

[proven cloak]

I've heard some speculation that it was Eternal Darkness that draws in the falling stars

both to Sellia and potentially what drove the Nox underground in the first place

[unreal bloom]

imo Eternal Darkness represents the destroyed Black Moon

It has the same effects as the moon spells (redirects projectiles and spells) without the moon projectile

[proven cloak]

Draws in spells most often representing stars, too

the darkness it refers to is the same sort of darkness mentioned in Comet Azur or Ymir's hat

same specific term in japanese, different from other uses of 'darkness' like Messmer's snake

[unreal bloom]

I actually know what happened with the Black Moon and Eternal Darkness actually

[unreal bloom]

ooh neat

but yeah the Eternal Darkness and Black Moon, right

[proven cloak]

(Its also the kanji the Astels have in their name + description for 'Void' and 'Darkness', and where the Fallingstar beasts hail from, directly relating all of those to the cosmic abyss)

[unreal bloom]

Eternal Darkness is said to represent the despair that caused their destruction, and is a forbidden sorcery.
Ymir introduced the Nox to the stars and the Lightless Abyss. The Nox worshiped the stars and sought to guide them, but were condemned underground by the Greater Will, the force behind the Primeval Current, in one of its only deliberate and unambiguous acts. Undaunted, the Nox made their own sky with their own stars, along with a moon that guided the stars

Using the sorceries Starlight and Eternal Darkness, and presumably a huge floating chunk of glintstone or whatever their physical moon was made out of, in their despair the Nox created a moon to guide stars underground

And they certainly did guide a star underground

[proven cloak]

mhm

I've generally thought that the Astel's referred to as a bastard / naturalborn because its not 'supposed' to be here

Its hanging out in a cave where its put fake stars all around it, as if simulating space

its not a proper child, its malformed - maybe it was called down too early?

[unreal bloom]

One of the glintstone sorceries of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. Creates a small, floating star light that illuminates surroundings. This sorcery can be cast while in motion. Granted to sorcerers who depart from the academy to embark on journeys. **Even during the blackest nights, sojourns underground, or imprisonment in gaol, **the stars are never far from a sorcerer's side.

Forbidden sorcery of Sellia, Town of Sorcery. Creates a space of darkness that draws in sorceries and incantations. This sorcery can be cast while in motion. Originally a lost sorcery of the Eternal City; the despair that brought about its ruin made manifest.

A black, lightly beguiling stone. Prized by the sorcerers who produce them. Increases memory slots. Said to be a fragment of the black moon that once hung above the Eternal City.

This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars.

A malformed star born in the flightless void far away. Once destroyed an Eternal City and took away their sky. A falling star of ill omen.

Here's the timeline near as I can tell
Ymir, long before Rennala married Radagon, before the Age of the Erdtree, was one of the greatest sorcerers of Raya Lucaria and the Carian Court, and worshiped the moon for a time, but especially the lightless abyss. He introduced the Nox, Numen who lived underground, to the stars, and taught them about how the moon could control the stars and fate itself. The Nox were enraptured by this and revered Ymir forevermore. Fiddling with the Primeval Current using the moon is to go against the Greater Will, however, and particularly the Nox's outright rejection of gods to the point of killing them led to the Greater Will's only confirmed message: "send those fuckers underground forever, never let them see or touch the stars again"

The Nox, banished underground, continued to revere the stars and hated the Greater Will, developing tech to kill it and its servants, and hide themselves from divine gaze, in rejection of the gods. In despair and rage, the Nox, hating the darkness of the underground, created their own starlit sky with their own moon to guide the stars, effectively making their own Primeval Current. Unfortunately, the moon worked too well, and guided a true star from the skies far above, which crashed into Nokstella and utterly destroyed their moon before wreaking havoc.

Most of the survivors gradually made their way aboveground, forming the town of Sellia, which continued to develop magic and implements used for hiding (though the Greater Will likely wasn't keeping an eye on them anymore anyway) and were fearful of the stars and the Primeval Current. They locked Lusat away, banned the use of the Nox sorceries that caused Astel to fall, and eventually produced the genius Radahn, who fought a war against the stars to protect his people from facing the same fate that destroyed their ancestors.

In a way it makes sense that the Nox would be the ones who managed to anger the Greater Will and devise methods to kill its servants. The Nox revere and seek to control not just the stars, but also the sky itself, with their ideal being the creation of a 'Lord of Night,' a lord reigning over the lightless abyss of space - AKA, supplanting the Greater Will entirely.

Radahn almost became such a lord, but was too loyal to the Erdtree. Ranni had no such compunctions, but she also betrayed the Nox in the end, because she stole their greatest treasure, ascended to godhood, and had no desire to rule on their behalf

(Ranni's alliance with the Nox began and ended with giving them the Rune of Death to fight against the gods, because she never intended to commit to a war with the Erdtree, and instead was just using the Black Knives as a way to free her soul. Afterwards, she imprisoned the Black Knives' ringleader, leaving the rest scattered and disorganized, and basically vanished from the scene and let the war play out, waiting for her opportunity)

It is pretty funny how Ranni caused like 90% of everything horrible in the game

[proven cloak]

90%s a little harsh

id give it to Marika instead

she did girlboss a little too hard, a little too much

[obtuse halo]

yeah I don't think I'd blame Ranni quite that hard, things were pretty clearly fundamentally fucked long before she acted. She's absolutely an instigator who kicked over some anthills though.

[languid tiger]

ranni is based and correct and only ruined things a little bit

to make everything better

[proven cloak]

True but replace ranni with radagon

it didnt work for him

[unreal bloom]

My argument is just that when you count up the fact that she caused the Shattering and the spread of Those Who Live In Death and deathroot, that actually is the source of like 90% of everything awful in the setting

Like, Marika is stated to have caused the Shattering because of Godwyn's assassination, presumably due to his horrific state of undeath being the result of the Order she established in the Elden Ring

[proven cloak]

yeah but Marika was the one who actually shattered the damn thing

deathroot 100% thats all her

[signal harness]

https://fixupx.com/wretchedthng/status/1852194601320259605?s=46&t=RjdIzh2qFuWkjovzBmgCsQ

[unreal bloom]

Oh, fun thing to note

There's several spells of the Hornsent that we don't get access to

Most of them are spells that Marika presumably stole - Crucible versions of Golden Vow, Erdtree Heal, etc

However, there is one that we don't get access to mechanically as a spell, which is the projectile Spira

The Spiral tunnel projectile

However, we do get it as a weapon art in the base game - Siluria's Vortex is a Spira launcher

In fact, every Crucible Knight weapon's weapon art uses the Spiral

Also I'm pretty sure that the devs made a mistake with the golden arc spells and that they were supposed to inflict Bleed

The Barbed Staff-Spear's version of golden arcs causes bleed build-up

[unreal bloom]

I'm so sad Watchful Spirit is so bad...

why it gotta be like that

[proven cloak]

so does the Marais sword and Eochaid Regalia, imo

specifically because the latter

is also made of primordial gold

(it's translated as Copper in English, but thats because gold is an archaic way to refer to metals in general - the kanji for 'primordial gold' and 'copper' are the same in the japanese text)

https://tenor.com/view/eochaid-dancing-blade-elden-ring-ash-of-war-gif-25478231

weeeeeee

spinning!

https://tenor.com/view/elden-ring-ordovis-greatsword-ash-of-war-gif-25458663

cause the CK weapons dont just spin, they also leave your hand

I was just about to post about how, having never played BB

I didn't realize the rune they use for Oedon is the Marika / Crucible(?) rune

they've even got a spirally dna one about see[ing] sentimentality in the warmth of blood and how Perhaps [this runes user] is a hunter who bears the echoing will of those before him.

Heir - its clearly talking about lineage here

I dont think its nessasarily ER related, but Its cool to see how the teams might've been thinking of these ideas even back then

like how the ancient dragons are clearly inspired by the... other ancient dragons

this sort of upwards arc with a line through it representing 'life itself', the way Oedon's essence is the blood that courses through living things in BB, or a dna spiral as a holy symbol of accruing power (the BB rune increasing blood echoes gained)

[unreal bloom]

The Crucible Runes that we're aware of are the Spiral and the Three Arcs

Actually, Four Arcs

Probably why you have the Golden Arcs (3 smaller arcs) and the Giant Golden Arc is the fourth, largest arc at the bottom of the Elden Ring

[unreal bloom]

yeah! super cool 🙂

[unreal bloom]

I think this one is closer

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRGdOJNW8a8

[lilac condor]

I think that Gaius + Loretta both bleeding red could imply a generation 1.5 of Albanaurics with red blood, possibly in an attempt to solve the leg issue

[frozen olive]

doesn't seem to have worked

[proven cloak]

I think over time / generations Albinaurics can just gain red blood, if the Nightfolk are any indication

they used to bleed silver - they dont anymore

My headcanon is that Loretta really isn't an albinauric, just believes in Miquella's vision of a world without oppression real strongly

but its ambigious

[frozen olive]

she does ride a horse

[proven cloak]

she does ride a horse

and use a magic bow technique

(and if anyone was secretly an albinauric, a former Carian knight would be)

[frozen olive]

all signs point to albinauric though she does bleed red from what i understand

[proven cloak]

radahn albinauric confirmed?!?!? 😱

I've seen this theory unironically in the wild

[frozen olive]

my brother/sister/other in christ he is riding a horse because he has no feet

[proven cloak]

thats just what the GO wants you to think

[frozen olive]

he also cannot possibly be an albinauric we know who his mom and his dad are and he has zero albinauric traits even then

[proven cloak]

(their arguement was the Rune of the Unborn = alinbauric, and also therefore all the Carians must be albinaurics)

it was, ah

not convincing

[frozen olive]

what the fuck does the rune of the unborn have to do with albinaurics

[frozen olive]

also we've seen several examples of Carian royalty and none of them look or act like Albinaurics

[proven cloak]

uhhh clearly they're born in a strange way and that thing rebirths you. with silver.

and Rykard got old in that one painting - like an albinauric

no other explanation

[frozen olive]

albinaurics are the only people who age, clearly

forget about Jerren he's just cosplaying Slave Knight Gael

[proven cloak]

its a good cosplay tbf

[frozen olive]

i respect the grind

[proven cloak]

actually speaking of carian-related stuff and albinaurics

[frozen olive]

he's got a neat like, Landsknecht thing going on with his armor

[proven cloak]

theres a few albinauric Sorcerers, right?

wonder if they can develop a primal glinstone in their hearts

and body hop like Sellen does

[proven cloak]

and the flamberge

beared helmet is probably one of the worst ideas though, just asking to get grabbed

[frozen olive]

the drip is unmatched tho

worth it

i regret killing him

especially after Sellen bullied moon mom

[proven cloak]

its funny I've seen so many people first time play this game

and 90% of the time people see the name "witch-hunter" and assume he must be super fanatical and biased and Sellen has clearly never done anything wrong

[frozen olive]

i didn't actually kill him for that reason

[proven cloak]

I support her crimes

[frozen olive]

i just liked Sellen more

[proven cloak]

but she did do all them!

[frozen olive]

she is horrible though

[proven cloak]

I like how unapologetic she is

[frozen olive]

i denounced her when she bullied Moon Mom

which is why i regret killing Jerren

[proven cloak]

its funny that she just walks into the library and kinda pushes Rennala behind a bookcase

coup complete

[frozen olive]

it is a bit funny

but also like, bullying a cripplingly depressed shut-in who is my in-law is not something i can just take on the chin like that

[proven cloak]

didn't you bully her too

with the whole fighting for the great rune thing

[frozen olive]

i mean yeah i guess

[dusty kraken]

Look, the Great Lakes is not what we'd call a 'functional government' right now.

[frozen olive]

i wasn't particularly like

looking around the castle to find and attack her

i was just roaming

she was not in her right mind so i had to defend myself, Ranni stood on fucking business and told me in no uncertain terms to stop, and i did after dealing with her illusion of her mom

[outer flint]

never realized how cool this sword looks, i've got to give it a try someday

[proven cloak]

immediately after my first playthrough the first new character I made was with the bigger one lol

[outer flint]

haha

wait what is the bigger one?

[proven cloak]

Marais Execution Sword

the one the Bell Bearing Hunter uses

[outer flint]

ahh

i did want to use that one eventually, but it didn’t look very knightly to match my character

then again, i did run around with the grafted blade greatsword for 80% of base game so maybe i didn’t exactly follow the normal knight aesthetic

[proven cloak]

agreed

I used it with the scale armor to make a crusty fallen knight

Looked exactly like the type of guy who’d join volcano manor

[proven cloak]

I would not trust him with the Elder Ring

[unreal bloom]

I love making my frenzy character look evil as hell

Fire and red fashion goes crazy in ER but holy and Miquellian fashion is like barely existent

I want some nice golden-white robes for my pure faith character

[outer flint]

very true

[fleet bronze]

Love having different outfits for different weapons on the same build

Especially for fucked up, evil characters. this is my Blessing of Despair Str/Arc tarnished

[frozen olive]

this ended up being my SOTE characters fit

this was how i originally ended the dlc though which i also enjoy

[fleet bronze]

I fw both of these fits, the solitude helm actually fiits really well with the fire knight set

[frozen olive]

ye it bangs for sure

i also have my KING OF BRAVES: GAOGAIGAR fit

[frozen olive]

this build is particularly fun cause it has two phases

can be both sword and sorcery and shield poke

i still think my original game ending fit for Freyja of the Cold Night, Royal Carian frost sorceress and consort eternal to Lunar Queen Ranni is the best one i've cooked

[lilac condor]

what's that spear?

[frozen olive]

Swift spear

[lilac condor]

and does it look that cool when it's not shiny?

[frozen olive]

i think it does

[lilac condor]

yeah that looks pretty cool

might need to try it

[frozen olive]

it's basically a super lightweight spear which is super fast for attacking

[outer flint]

damn wtf i gotta get my drip up

these are cool

[unreal bloom]

swift spear used to be bloodborne fast but they made it slower 😭

it was the funnest spear in the game

[obtuse halo]

yeah they nerfed the heck out of it

[proven cloak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQArPFGBtg

megastructures 😋

[unreal bloom]

big ol structures

I wonder what the next fromsoft game is going to be

Shadow Tower sequel? pls

[proven cloak]

several smaller projects, iirc

probably gonna get experimental

I want to see more sci-fi stuff from them after AC

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuDzI-4pgj4

[obtuse halo]

it's just Blood and Thunder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnwZca8z9II Bayle's base music is great but I do still think of Mastodon lol

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdODfj54eMs

[outer flint]

[median rock]

...grant us... eyes?

[languid tiger]

no, grant us snakes

[covert schooner]

EVERYBODY OUT OF THE WAY

THE SOUNDTRAXK IS ON SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/album/6ucsCXHRL0OXnAM51V8Cb9?si=JAebI5LhQ32-wj7Z8Fh1hg

[frozen olive]

YEAHHHHH

[languid tiger]

ouuughhhhh, elden ring

shattered

by someone - or something

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE6sa-4QLPw

[proven cloak]

On the flipside, the fingers also have an aquatic touch to them through Metyr’s arena

with its lava tube ceiling and… water

so I think theres something to the spirit-fingers stuff, but idk if it implies any straight up relation

Something about space as an ocean, and life returning in death to where it came from - the ‘sea’

(and in a more pure form than the rotting fish-corpse that godwyn is)

the spirit-like Elden Beast is also clearly aquatic

I think its combining real life scientific theories about how life formed on earth

Panspermia (deposited from space) or born in a chemical soup in the ocean

make space use the ocean motifs, you cover both

I wonder if Zullie’s ever going to cover Bell-Bearings, spirits being summoned by sound, and the spirit calculus

[proven cloak]

and the fact that you can only get to her weird extra-dimensional birthing grounds by ringing horns bells that the game is very insistent are bells

hmm

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_apB2Pmjc

http://puu.sh/KiL5n/c64ef5a0eb.png

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBSr_Sb9-As

[outer flint]

😔

poor sunflowers

[outer flint]

https://youtu.be/VN5qgWFM5pY

i don’t have words

[obtuse halo]

the forbidden int/arc build

but also this is hysterical

just flexing on Gaius in as many myriad ways as humanly possible

[outer flint]

for real

i haven't played since august, and this is my first time seeing rellana's cameo since the buff

it looks very fast

[obtuse halo]

yeah the buff is drastic

reduced charge time and tripled damage boost

Still doesn't work on bow skills though, which let me tell you is ROBBERY

[outer flint]

poor bows 😭

[frozen olive]

Bow users waiting for new item support(it is not coming)

[onyx trench]

Holy shit Gaius got styled

Also wow I need to backstep more

[obtuse halo]

my life

only sorta true. Ansbach's bow actually rules

[languid tiger]

it's really bad except with the crucible talisman

that buffs it into the stratosphere

[onyx trench]

the video has reminded me how much I want an LGS early in the base game 😫

[frail sky]

I would love a mod that did nothing but put the basic dlc weapons into the twin husks' shop

[warm knot]

yeah, that would rule

like, ||Milady or the Backhand Blades|| are two weapons i really would love to start a game with, but by the time you get to the DLC you've already built around the base-game equivalents, you know?

[obtuse halo]

yeah, i had this thought around martial arts myself

[real shadow]

An unfortunate problem with Fromsoft games.

Bloodborne is real bad about that. Not a single arcane weapon to start with.

[obtuse halo]

i'm fine with it not being right at the beginning, the issue is just when it's so completely backloaded

In ER you can pretty handily bumrush any item you want to grab before Leyndell if you know what you're doing, frequently without even needing to fight a boss for it

if you're willing to glitch a little you can even grab items in Leyndell (and Farum Azula)

but you're probably not accessing the DLC without first beating most of the game

[onyx trench]

rushing the dlc is pretty painful, yeah

[obtuse halo]

you can at least get to the boss room early without too much trouble, but Mogh is pretty tough to rush

[dusty kraken]

Nihil Nihil Nihil!

[median rock]

bloodborne is mostly bad for it because the DLC makes up like 50% of the list of trick weapons in the game

like technically speaking threaded cane is a perfectly good arcane weapon to start with considering ur only base-game option with better scaling is blades of mercy. if you're going arcane you're probably going cane into blade of mercy to start with anyway

though yeah it has the same problem as the ER dlc, overall, i think. you can technically hit DLC similarly-early to altus, but it requires a lot more of a skill check than collecting dectus bits does

[warm knot]

yeah altus plateau you can just get to by riding Torrent real quick

and clearing what is effectively an extended dungeon

the DLC you need to kill two shardbearers, no workarounds i know of

[obtuse halo]

It’s so funny that the minimumboss% run requires using mogh as your second great rune

[warm knot]

the minimumboss% run?

is it a speedrun or just, the minimum # of bosses to beat the game

[obtuse halo]

beat the game with a minimal number of bosses beaten, yeah.

ignoring glitches, the route looks something like Radahn -> Mogh -> Draconic Tree Sentinel -> Goldfrey -> Morgott -> Fire Giant -> Godskin Duo -> Malekith -> Final Boss Rush

you can cut a lot off with free use of glitches, obviously

[frozen olive]

gonna need to do another run of Elden Ring after i finish up with ds2

[obtuse halo]

Wait, you might need to use Radahn and Mogh for true minimum%

[frozen olive]

maybe i'll actually do a melee run this time instead of starting off with melee and immediately pivoting to half caster

[signal harness]

Maybe I'm missing something - why are Radahn and Mogh needed for that?

[obtuse halo]

They don't have a required midboss in the dungeon leading up to them

Going for Godrick and Rennala adds two extra bosses to the count because you have to beat Margit and Red Wolf

Whereas you can Trigger the Radahn festival by using the dectus lift and go directly to Radahn, then show your first great rune to the Finger Reader, then talk to Varre and start that quest to go basically straight to mogh

[signal harness]

Ahh right and you need 2 great runes to get in

[obtuse halo]

yeah

[onyx trench]

You could do Rykard, too

Oh actually just remembered the godskin, nvm

[proven cloak]

so true

[kind garden]

pretty much

[frozen olive]

SOTE was so fucking good

playing DS2 and fighting several dragons has me itching for a 1v1 with BAYLE, DREAD BAYLE

[onyx trench]

BAAAAAAAAAYLE

[outer flint]

i didn’t enjoy bayle too much since i was sick of ER dragons, but hopefully the next fight will be more fun since he’s better to fight

[median rock]

bayle at least had massive fucking legs you could easily swing at

and placidusax sits his ass down for you to hit his body

wayyy better than arguing with your camera to try to swing at the spindly legged dragons

[outer flint]

for sure

but all of the other sucky ones just soured it a bit

they made me wanna go fight midir instead

but yeah i’ll probably have more fun with bayle on ng+

[median rock]

yeah, i ran into bayle super early on my first dlc playthrough, so he was just as sucky as the rest on like 4 scadu

especially after senessax (the stupid ancient dragon in the lake)

[proven cloak]

sex dragon takes me more tries on every loop than bayle ever does ngl

the lightning splitting is so fucked up

[median rock]

i've been doing a bunch of randomizer races with a friend and it turns out senessax just sucks even outside that arena

its not even just the water

[proven cloak]

yeah first time I spent ages trying to keep them on the center island before realizing it splits even there

[median rock]

it's like lansseax if lansseax didnt have half of her moves where she stands still and lets you hit her for a while

[onyx trench]

The worst dragons are the ones with no lock-on spots except for their head

[obtuse halo]

unfortunately, bayle is in that category

[frozen olive]

yeah

he kinda sucks for that a bit

[obtuse halo]

fortunately bayle is so squat that it's relatively easy to fight unlocked

[frozen olive]

yeah you don't need to worry about it mostly

unlike say, Midir

[obtuse halo]

or to just lock onto the head and pick your angles

The ancient dragons are much worse for this

I did find Bayle's limited head-lock moderately annoying as an archer in particular but mostly it wasn't a big deal compared to some other bosses I could mention

Romina

Romina was such a pain in the ass to actually hit with a bow I resorted to using Radahn's Rain

"What if I were w-shaped and you could only target the smallest, rapidly shifting part of me while I constantly wiggle around laterally?"

[gray leaf]

currently thinking about how innacurate Godrick's understanding of Leyndell is. He talks a big game about historicity and restoration but if you look around, a lot of what he's doing just doesn't match. Like... his axe is clearly designed to homage Godfrey's, but Godfrey's was a weapon which he earned from claiming peace with Serosh and the beasts, and Godrick's is a big overdecorated hunk of ostentation.

Or how he tries to make his castle reminiscent of Leyndell, but he does it with this gold trim all over everything, which doesn't actually match what Leyndell looks like.

Heck, even when he tries to steal a dragon's majesty, he ends up taking the head of a fire-breathing drake, not a lightning-wielding ancient dragon like the ones his ancestors made pacts with and learned from. Which is a little piece of irony that only now struck me.

[proven cloak]

the last part is very intentional

he calls it a 'true-heir' even though the drakes are offshoot misfits from the 'divine' golden dragons

or, they're to Ancient Dragons what he is to the Golden Lineage

I read it as less ignorance and more cope

[gray leaf]

Fair enough. Cope is kind of willful ignorance, but regardless of how much he realizes it, he's being very revisionist.

[warm knot]

It's interesting, in contrast, that Morgott is there to try and protect Godrick from ambitious Tarnished like yourself

the actual ruler of Leyndell wants to keep this distant relation, this pathetic wannabe, in place, because he's preferable to any of the alternatives (those alternatives being 'nepheli loux' and 'whatever tarnished is strong enough to beat Godrick')

and Godrick's grip on the place is clearly weak - you don't have fortifications deployed in the courtyard of your own castle, and unpatched holes in the walls, when your hold on the place is strong!

does Godrick know Morgott is intervening on his behalf?

[spring marlin]

i suspect morgott doesn't care about godrick, only the fact he has a great rune

since he'd by far be the easiest of the demigods he's there so the next uppity tarnished doesn't check 1 of 2 off real quick

[warm knot]

that makes him care about Godrick, though. It seems the great runes are bound to the bodies of the shardbearers - you lose the great rune by dying (in most cases) or abandoning your body (in Miquella's case), so Morgott's options are either 'kill Godrick and take his great rune for safekeeping' or 'protect Godrick from his many enemies'

[proven cloak]

imo the Great Runes seem non arbitrary and lineage-related, yeah

they're mentioned a lot in ways that make them seem inherited - like siblings possessing naturally similar ones, or that a female child of Marika was 'supposed' to have the most sacred rune of all, or Morgott's proving his relationship to Godfrey

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a86mtpGnYwA

[hybrid perch]

Are backhand blades good for a dex and arcane build?

[median rock]

backhand blades are broadly just a decent weapon

if you're going dex/arcane and your goal is bleed on them, yeah, for sure, that works. they're basically the same as claws just with a slightly different moveset & a couple unique ashes of war

you want the same multihit talismans anyway

[glossy delta]

With Blind Spot you can keep the pressure up REALLY easy, which is great for status builds
You can evade most attacks by throwing it out at the right time

[hybrid perch]

What weapon should I use as a bridge till I can get my hands on some backhand blades

[median rock]

any claws probably

raptor talons are the best imo and you can get them pretty early (sage's cave on the ground, so once you can access altus, so once you have both dectus)

you can get hookclaws super early (wine cellar in stormveil) though and they're just as good for early game

either one is more than enough to get you to DLC

and plays very similarly

[hybrid perch]

Alr will do, any other weapons like certain blade weapons I can use?

[median rock]

dex/arcane works with any dex wep with occult or bleed lol

you have tons of options

scythes are fun

[obtuse halo]

yeah dex-arcane is very flexible

any infusable dex weapon will do just fine

infusable weapons with native bleed can even go occult if you want

there are some interesting arcane weapons outside of the bleed meta too - I've had a lot of fun with a poison-based snake themed invader, though I didn't bother with arcane there

it doesn't help poison as much as it does bleed

There are also interesting oddball choices like the Flowerstone Gavel (which does arcane-scaling lightning damage) and Regalia of Eochaid

I have an arcane build that runs minimum faith to use Madness Spells with the Dragon Communion Seal, which is consistently very tasty

Bear witness: the most fitting end to a mimic tear madness matchup

[glossy delta]

This is what I did in my very first playthrough
Frenzy Bursting around with dragon communion seal in one hand and bloody helice in another

My first playthrough was so crazy
I stumbled into doing Arcane and uh
Also stumbled into Frenzied Flame Proscription without knowing what it was

[old brook]

If you opened the door that's a little more involved than just finding it

[obtuse halo]

it is but I know at least one person who got frenzied by finding it and seeing a message that was like "try undressing"

without realizing what it was they signed up for

[old brook]

oh no yeah i know just like the consistancy of this happening is funny to me

'just sort of bumbled into the secret devil ritual at the bottom of the nightmare hole'

[glossy delta]

Not when there are 334684040394039403960848 messages saying 'try no armor ahead'

[old brook]

I just mean like

[glossy delta]

I did this!

[old brook]

With all the somberness and the falling and the hundreds of miserable undead

And the ominousness of said room and door

I'm not trying to be like 'this is impossible you're lying' just entertained that this keeps happening to people

I went to Leyndell super-super late so for me it was more 'where the fuck did that blind woman go' for a long time rather than seeing anything early

[obtuse halo]

I missed the sewers entirely on my first playthrough

just missed the entrypoint in leyndell

moved on

finished the game, talked about it with friends, "what do you mean the depths"

[proven cloak]

what the fuck

another Elden Ring game?

Elden Ring: Nightreign?!?!

the Nameless King was in the trailer?!?!??

[frail sky]

Huh?

[signal harness]

Im stoked

Feed more more loaaar

[frozen olive]

Nameless King boutta get foderized once more

[stone cove]

It's apparently standalone I'm hearing?

[frozen olive]

I'm actually gonna go insane

The ONE time i try to go to bed early

And a new Elden Ring game is announced

Fuuuuuuck

[proven cloak]

https://youtu.be/Djtsw5k_DNc?si=mUlKWnWdls3qgN8A

[proven cloak]

Standalone, but definitely in the same universe

?

[frozen olive]

Fuck that looks cool

So hype for more Elden Ring

[fleet bronze]

There's weird stuff going on with this, like what's up with the Nameless King and the clearly Sekiro based grappling, climbing, and parrying?

[signal harness]

The gameplay is more mobile for sure

[frozen olive]

i'm no longer going ot bed this is evil timing

[fleet bronze]

Wait a second is this going to be Elden Ring but as an extraction game essentially?

[frozen olive]

i hope not

[frail sky]

I see, interesting

Given the name and the mention of a Lord of Night, I’m guessing either we accidentally fucked everything up by going for the Ranni ending or this is how the Nox fucked everything up then got banished underground

[frozen olive]

yeah i checked the trailer and is this not literally just Nameless King

[fleet bronze]

My impression is that all of this is non-canon to anything

[frail sky]

Possibly yeah

[frozen olive]

also is the guy talking near the end of the trailer not just Morgott

i'm really interested in seeing what the hell is going on

[frail sky]

Leaning more towards the second given we hear Morgott

Yeah

[frozen olive]

there also seems to be like

BR fog wall thing

and a lot more movement and sekiro like parry mechanics which seems interesting

[fleet bronze]

Yeah it definitely is, which leads me to believe there's going to be some FromSoft mash up stuff going on and it'll probably get passingly explained a confluence of worlds or somesuch and then moved along with because this is going to be an online multiplayer thing mostly without a larger plot

[frozen olive]

we'll see

[obtuse halo]

yeah idk i'm not feeling this.

[frozen olive]

if it ends up being just like, BR shit

i'm going to be pretty sad

[obtuse halo]

this is not giving me instant hype

[frozen olive]

cause BR games are like, my least favourite genre of game ever

[obtuse halo]

but then neither did the original elden ring teasing

we'll see ig

[frozen olive]

i need to see more of this to actually know what i'm thinking with it

[old brook]

Yeah this is not the vibe I'm looking for in a Fromsoft

[frozen olive]

but if it is BR shit i'm out immediately

even if it has sick boss battle shit and cool weapons

[fleet bronze]

Honestly I can kind of see why FS would do this coming off of Elden Ring

[frozen olive]

i will generally let Fromsoft cook with pretty much anything

[fleet bronze]

Like they made an absolutely boatload of money and broke in to the main stream more than ever

[frozen olive]

but yeah idk i hate Battle royale type games

[proven cloak]

I'm excited because theres more spell sigils

🤤

mmmm visual design

look theres little golden rings and shit

[fleet bronze]

And now they're in a position where their main games now need to match that level consistently, which means more time and more money in development than ever. Especially if they're intending to move away from the safer Soulsborne direction

[proven cloak]

good enough for me!

I'll give it a try

[fleet bronze]

So they release this to exploit the main stream appeal of Elden Ring/the massive ER marquee value and to try and get a consistent income in the interim while they work on the next game

I'll probably wait and see what this is like but honestly ER is just good and the combat is good so it can't be that far off the mark unless they totally ruin it with monetization

[outer flint]

guhhh i just woke up

yeah the br storm thing is worrying i really hope that’s just a story thing

[signal harness]

What I’m hearing is that it’s more monster hunter like and not a BR

[frozen olive]

i want my RPG shit and my build progression

[outer flint]

praying it’s a fun lil pve thing with ur frens

[frozen olive]

if they give it to me i am good

[old brook]

I don't want to fight old bosses though v-v

[frozen olive]

if it ain't then i'm out

immediately

[frozen olive]

with no hesitation

[proven cloak]

its got furries in it

[outer flint]

:O

[fleet bronze]

I don't know why but my assumption is like Hunt Showdown but Elden Ring

[frozen olive]

i would not fuck with that ngl

we'll find out anyway

[proven cloak]

I want them to keep making traditional soulslikes eventually

but tbh they've been very open about wanting to do smaller other projects

so I'm not surprised we got a new fromsoft announcement, and it looks experimental

I am suprised its Elden Ring thats wild

[frozen olive]

yeah

anyway imma sit with it for a bit

let them cook

and we'll see if they make something i will enjoy or not

[stone cove]

From has always been big on asset resuse. Given the implicit turn around time on this, it'd make sense to be pulling what they can from where they can

[frozen olive]

yeah

i mean iirc PCR is just like, Body of Vengarl

i know they reuse shit constantly

[proven cloak]

re-using assets From our previous Software

[frozen olive]

i don't really have a problem with that

but that is also just entirely NK it looks like

which is interesting

[proven cloak]

it is literally NK yeah

very odd

[frozen olive]

that is different from like

[outer flint]

😭

[frozen olive]

asset flipping and reusing animations and shit like that

having an entire boss from one franchise in another is a new one for my money

[lilac condor]

It also looked like there was a sewer dragon from DS1 in there

[proven cloak]

Its interesting that if this is set in the same canon, it looks like it might be a timeskip?

the 'pre-nox' fuckup is interesting

but the Elden Ring design is the (post?) Marika one

hmmmm

[lilac condor]

I like the idea of having to kill the character from a Ranni ending

[proven cloak]

I mean it looks like theres still some sort of giant tree

[frozen olive]

classic Fromsoft moment to give us like a trillion questions off the bat though

[proven cloak]

and the wolf boss (that looked like a big deal?) is interesting given that how they're connected to Empyreans in the base game

🤷

shits wild

[lilac condor]

Ranni and the Tarnished fucking things up would fit with the themes of SotE - no escaping the cycle of violence

[frozen olive]

the triple wolf boss is in what looks like Radahns arena to me

[proven cloak]

the giant (titanic-skull sized?) shadows at the start

[frozen olive]

but with different lighting

[proven cloak]

spirits from the dead old gods?

[frozen olive]

yeah more old gods lore would go crazy

[lilac condor]

Yeah extra-giant giants seem to be confirmed

[proven cloak]

cause those are fucking massive

[frozen olive]

there are some truly enormous skulls in a few places in ER

[lilac condor]

but they may be more spirit-realm than material

[frozen olive]

namely Caelid and the mountaintops iirc

[proven cloak]

I know when SotE dropped some people thought the Sword of Light and Dark was a sort of

teaser for the next games

[frozen olive]

you know folks like Vaati and Miss chalice gonna go crazy with this

[proven cloak]

honestly thats looking more likely with these visuals

[lilac condor]

Looking at the proportions they might be re-using the giant rope man from Sekiro for the frame

[fleet bronze]

Having seen the Nameless King and the Sekiro stuff and knowing this is a standalone online game I'm reticent to get really in to the lore aspect

Because I just don't know how much there will actually be/how relevant it will be to Elden Ring as a whole

[proven cloak]

the popularity of Elden Ring actually makes me trust it a little more

in that I wonder if its Fromsoft trying to actually build it as an IP

[old brook]

this is a true fear

[proven cloak]

cause they have full control over it, unlike eg Bloodborne

[frail sky]

Wait, why are we talking about this in the dlc spoilers thread?

[proven cloak]

if they doubled down on trying to make it a cohesive world, they could use it for other projects in the future too

[frail sky]

(Also wait do we even need a dlc spoilers thread anymore?)

[old brook]

It's also so the Elden Ring didn't just obliterate game chat

[proven cloak]

I thought this was just the ER chat tbh

yeah

[frail sky]

We have a general souls game chat too 😭

#1162109930472493066

[proven cloak]

hmm

early reporting says its set in a "parallel" limgrave

weird!

[lilac condor]

Is the weird goat-man at 2:30 supposed to be an evolved basilisk?

basilisk boss?

[proven cloak]

I think there might be like

predefined classes / characters?

[kind garden]

https://fixvx.com/GermanStrands/status/1867382878490796083?s=19

[proven cloak]

yeah

8 heroes

[signal harness]

Whoa tree days

[obtuse halo]

Tree Days!

I mean that just tracks, the erdtree has supplanted the sun

[feral linden]

TREE DAYS

[outer flint]

wonder if it’s character growth in those tree days or persistent

[frail sky]

Singleplayer support
Hell yeah

Wait hold on

Does this game mean we have a soulslike roguelike?

[frozen olive]

WHY 3 PLAYERS

WHY

DO 4 PLAYERS LIKE THE GODS INTENDED

NOBODY EVER PLAYED 3 PLAYERS

[old brook]

One Player Is Correct

[glossy delta]

So is anyone getting like
Sus vibes from Nightreign
I've been doing the whole Lets Watch The Game Releases thing in another server this time

[frail sky]

Sus vibes...?

[gray leaf]

it's 3 players because previous souls games let you have 2 summons. Hence, three people. That's my guess.

[old brook]

I have little faith in it tbh, feels.. outside the scope of what I hope for from From

[frozen olive]

3 players is my least favourite thing ever

[old brook]

I'm sure it'll be fun for folks who like it

[frozen olive]

give me 4 players or give me 1 player

[glossy delta]

Like
I was super excited until I saw Literally Just The Nameless King putzing around in the trailer
And as I read more and realized it was seemingly an online-focused game with set heroes instead of an RPG I started to envision the Worst Timeline
Where Fromsoft finally goes nuts and uses its insane goodwill to push out monetized slop

But I'm being very cynical, we dont know a lot yet

[frail sky]

I mean that might happen I guess
But I don't think we have anywhere near enough information about the game to know if it even has monetization outside of the initial price

[frozen olive]

yeah not very excited for the prospect of "8 heroes"

love customization in games over most else

especially in from games

[glossy delta]

There is one silver lining for me
If dagger lady is a set hero who literally only has a dagger maybe we'll finally have soulslike dagger that doesnt suck shit

[signal harness]

I’m pretty excited for this I like ER’s gameplay but not a lot of the numbers haha

[frozen olive]

fair enough i guess

[proven cloak]

They could use the heroes to give the player characters character

[frozen olive]

yeah

[proven cloak]

like uhhhhh

[frozen olive]

prolly

[glossy delta]

But like yeah- I think I'll play it and enjoy playing it, but I worry it won't have the Juice

[proven cloak]

SotE had a bit of a focus on NPC quests and interactions

[frozen olive]

but yeah idk i want customization

[proven cloak]

so it could be an area they want to explore more in the games they make

[signal harness]

Yeah that’s a mood

[frozen olive]

it's one of the things i specifically did not like about Sekiro

[signal harness]

I like action first stuff so it’s good for me but it’s a big ymmv thing

[frozen olive]

yeah

very fair

but yeah like

i come to from for customization and rpg shit

Ds3, ER, AC6, etc etc

[glossy delta]

don't worry, each hero will have a selection of skins you can unlock on the Premium Night's Path (/j)

[frozen olive]

but yeah idk

i'm definitely going to let them cook on this

i owe it enough to Fromsoft to let them cook

but i'm skeptical

[proven cloak]

the best way to underline the negatives of Ranni's ending..... the microtransaction timeline......

[glossy delta]

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing how it shakes out
Basically where I'm at is
We have seen that it straight up Has A Dark Souls Boss
I worry that they're going to try and link Dark Souls and Elden Ring in some insane way through this game's story, and I additionally worry, a little less foundedly, that they are doing it to try and haul in people for online hero live service slop
But it's probably going to PLAY really good, fromsoft does not make games that play like shit ime

[stone cove]

https://www.ign.com/articles/elden-ring-nightreign-we-played-it

[frozen olive]

i am immediately less excited ngl

roguelike ER is not super interesting to me

ok so set builds too

sadge

with ults and everything huh

[frail sky]

Good news!

[signal harness]

Very good news

[frozen olive]

happy to hear that

[frozen olive]

not really interested in the game based on what that IGN article described

i will only get it if my friends do

[frail sky]

Okay this game sounds sick I really hope it's as good as it sounds to me when it comes out

Roguelike elden ring 🤤

[frozen olive]

set character classes instantly took me out

[glossy delta]

Okay, taking it a little easier
I can see how the set heroes will turn lots of people off and it does personally sadden me, BUT I'm in the range where its 'aw man but I'm interested in seeing this alternate approach' and not 'this is now a hard no'

[frozen olive]

i'm not on a hard no either

[outer flint]

mhm

[frozen olive]

but definitely on a "would not buy to play on my own"

[proven cloak]

I got a lot of friends who are gonna be getting this probably

they're already excited for MonHun

[frozen olive]

nothing wrong with From branching out but not my style

i in fact do not want to condense the ER gameplay loop

[glossy delta]

Yeye, I'm not vagueposting about you Freyja don't worry- just exploring my own opinion
Having a more personalized moveset could potentially be interesting, same as the earlier talk about characters maybe having more personality

[frozen olive]

i was actually quite happy with playing 200+ hours of exploration and building and shit

i'm sure a lot of people will be quite happy about this tho

[frozen olive]

i get that

it worked pretty well in Sekiro

let them polish the core mechanic of the game to a fucking mirror image

but also just like absolutely not my style

even though i ended up surprisingly liking Sekiro in the end

[glossy delta]

Mhm
Man
What an
Insane left turn for them to take
I say that like it's the studio's main focus- I imagine it isn't
Lots of stuff rechopped into a new experience, feels like a side hustle

[frozen olive]

yeah it's pretty crazy

idk i probably will get it

because my friends get it most likely

[glossy delta]

Okay there are literally hero skins..... that you buy with a currency you earn through play 😌
This is crazy

[frozen olive]

yeah

[hybrid perch]

This wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card

[frozen olive]

Same

[hybrid perch]

You guys know stuff about seamless coop?

[frozen olive]

Sure, whats up

[hybrid perch]

My friend wants me to get it but I don’t feel like getting banned also can we go to the dlc if only he has it?

[frozen olive]

What

First off you literally cannot get banned with Seamless, no idea where you got that from but that is not how it works

Secondly, no you cannot play together if only he has it installed, everyone who wants to play together on seamless needs to install it

[hybrid perch]

People on the official Elden ring server told me
A: taking about mods is not allowed (nowhere in the rules)
B: I can get banned

[frozen olive]

Well they're lying

[hybrid perch]

So either he needs to deactivate the dlc or I need to get it?

[frozen olive]

If he's on seamless and you aren't you can't play together

DLC has nothing to do with it

[hybrid perch]

Alr

[frozen olive]

Seamless and normal run on different networks essentially

[hybrid perch]

Ye, mb

[frozen olive]

So either you both install the mod or you both don't install the mod and you can play together

[hybrid perch]

I didn’t communicate properly sorry

If we both have seamless coop, can we both access the dlc area even if I don’t have it but he does?

[frozen olive]

no

i don't think so

you both need the DLC

[hybrid perch]

Fuck

[frozen olive]

i'm almost entirely certain that is the case

it's not going to stop you from playing together

but you can't access the dlc unless you have the dlc

[hybrid perch]

Alr thx then

[frozen olive]

no problem

[onyx trench]

https://twitter.com/ELDENRING/status/1867570223802659184

ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) on X

Steel your resolve, Nightfarers.

Registration for the #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN Network Test will open on January 10, 2025.

More information: https://t.co/Niz8alrWBU

Twitter · Dec 13, 2024, 2:00 PM

[vestal night]

Oh neat

[glossy delta]

Danggg, not on PS4
The network test, the full game will be

[warm knot]

Nightrein feels like the first bad omen to me

It's coming out a year, optimistically 2 years after SotE

it's obviously trying to capitalize on the demand for popular mods (the randomizers, the co-op mod)

[kind garden]

no

like, categorically incorrect

[chilly forum]

While I respect and understand peoples cynicism I'd rather get an "Upfront cash grab over an dishonest hidden cash grab"

[kind garden]

This game has been in the works for a while, it is almost certainly the game that was mentioned in a previous FromSoft shareholder meeting as a spinoff title targeting the Chinese audience

[chilly forum]

That feels correct what else was mentioned?

[kind garden]

give me a second I don't have the information up in front of me re: the CN audience spinoff title

[chilly forum]

no worries, I was just crious if the mentioned other spin offs or titles like armored core lol

[median rock]

i mean the game looks wildly different than any of the elden ring mods ive seen

[kind garden]

also, like, as an aside while I try to go get this information

[median rock]

like maybe aesthetically but it seems that the combat/exploration mechancis are just. not the same as elden ring period

[kind garden]

I think that the conspiratorial negativity mindset is basically just a way to get upset on purpose

[warm knot]

see, the combat and exploration mechanics are my favorite part of Elden Ring

[median rock]

which is fine. its just a different game set in the same universe

its explicitly not a sequel and it's not trying to be a soulslike

[chilly forum]

its like all those other spin off games like resident evil its clearly in the realm of "non seriousness"

[median rock]

if the game isnt for you that's fine but i'm not sure why people are saying "this looks bad because its not going to play like <this other game>"

[median rock]

u mean story or mechanics wise?

[chilly forum]

or Formsofts doomed to forntnight

[kind garden]

I'm mixed myself on what I'd call a sub-prestige release from From Software?

[median rock]

what part of this game looks like a battle royale or shooter game

[chilly forum]

Both it seems ? at least from my resaerch on this tile

[warm knot]

The fact that the map shrinks at night, forcing you into a confrontation with a game boss

[median rock]

ok. if that's what you're calling similarity to fortnite i think you need to take a big step back and look at every other gameplay mechanic lol

[kind garden]

what's very interesting to me though is that this isn't headed up by Miyazaki

They've got him somewhere else, doing something else, while this was in the works

[chilly forum]

Yeah the shrinking map is a big point, its definitely more rouge light/like (?), in the sense of gaining power to fight the ultimate boss than an extraction shooter or battle royal of course, but I agree with the few that find it concerning

[median rock]

yeah i think my big uncertainty is i'm not sure they're going to be able to land the borderlands/roguelite adjacent class mechanics. i just don't know if fromsoft as a studio has a ton of experience with those, and so i can easily see this flopping due to half-baked mechanics

[median rock]

my question is like - why is that concerning

[kind garden]

So the upside is that this won't necessarily slow down or kill Fromsoft prestige releases

[chilly forum]

they have at least three teams doing stuff ATM

[median rock]

what part of that implies that it will be a bad game? it sounds like you just don't like the mechanics, lol, which doesn't make it bad

[kind garden]

It does come across like trend-chasing?

Which tends to lead to underbaked games

[chilly forum]

because of the negative sort of cash grab or microtransactional nature of those types of games

[warm knot]

the mechanics are a key part of a game.

[median rock]

"i don't like them" is different from "they are bad"

[warm knot]

if the purpose of a game is to be enjoyed, there's a correlation between "i don't like the mechanics in the game" and "i think this is a bad game"

[frail sky]

It isn’t a live service game

[kind garden]

that's a really narrow mindset lmao

You can not enjoy a game and think it's good

[frail sky]

They gave explicitly stated this

[median rock]

i have a feeling, if anything, it ends up kinda like how some of ds2's new mechanics did - like ADP & soul memories

[kind garden]

I think Fortnite is a great video game, for people who like that kind of thing, it's frequently upkept, clearly delivers the content people want, etc.

[median rock]

where they try to be innovative and it comes out half-cooked and ends up missing the mark a little

[warm knot]

at the moment, I'm willing to hold out hope that it will be a good game, but i'm not buying it until multiple friends tell me "you should pay your money for this game"

[kind garden]

I don't fuck with it

[median rock]

big news: solitaire now is balls

[warm knot]

i don't have much money to throw around, yanno?

[median rock]

because i, riker, do not like solitaire

which makes it therfore a bad game :)

[warm knot]

well, it is balls

[chilly forum]

I will say what they have said has shown that this isn't some money pit, but rather a goofy side project which I am fine with, but do wish it was DLC with some content added to the main game just for added gameplay.

[median rock]

im also really struggling to figure out what game you're comparing this against

like. "those types of games" but the mentioned comparisons were ilke, battle royales

which are so wildly different that i dont think they're remotely comparable

[real shadow]

Yeah like, the reveal was less than 24 hours ago and the amount of doom and gloom over something we know very little about is exhausting.

The sky isn't falling.

[warm knot]

IGN's already played the game

we know a bunch of things about the gameplay

we don't know much solid info about the plot

[median rock]

like if you're trying to talk abuot the overall loop of "get geared for a final boss fight" it feels more like something like darkest dungeon lol

[warm knot]

https://www.ign.com/articles/elden-ring-nightreign-we-played-it

[real shadow]

Yes I know but my god people just give it time, we're who knows how many months out from release we don't need to put ourselves into a fit over it.

[warm knot]

I'm not in a fit about it

[median rock]

the description reminded me of the vermintide adventure mode personally

from the IGN articles

idr the exact name but whatever the random path mode was

[warm knot]

i'm just pessimistic, and don't want to be conned into buying it pre-release

i will probably be playing and enjoying it sometime in 2027

[chilly forum]

there are some games I call money pits each are basically not bad games but games made to try to extract as much money form the fanbase and are often styled like gatcha games or live series games. I just find those games semi morally dubious due to poor optimization and half backed mechanics.

[frail sky]

I would appreciate if the discussion about this game was a bit less "it's not a soulslike so it sucks"

[median rock]

that's great. this game is confirmed to not be live service or gacha, i believe

so why are you mentioning that here

[frail sky]

Or otherwise going out of your way to find reasons for why the game will be bad

[median rock]

While there’s no doubt that elements of it are inspired by the likes of Destiny and Diablo IV, it needs to be said that Elden Ring Nightreign is not a live service game. Once you buy it you get access to the complete package, and there are no battle passes or microtransactions to contend with.

[chilly forum]

because I was trying to state I was wrong, it just does seem like a goofy little side project which I am fine with.

[median rock]

i guess technically there's a nonzero chance its got in-game gacha with like. upgrades or loot, i guess? but i doubt it lol

[warm knot]

In between sessions you return to the Roundtable Hold hub, where you can practise your attack combos in the training yard, study up on enemy strategies and character lore in the codex, or spend the currency you earn from each run – known as ‘Murk’ – to buy character emotes and customisable skins from the merchant.

i really hope the in-game merchant is Patches

[chilly forum]

10/10 right there LOL

[frozen olive]

nah i need to crash out over this right now, i won't have time later /j

[real shadow]

"Gotta get my doomerism hot takes in 8 months early!"

[frozen olive]

i need to get it all out now so i don't have to think about it

[warm knot]

optimistically, this will be the Fallout: New Vegas of the Soulsborne games

[frozen olive]

now the real thing imma crash out over is Dark Souls bosses being in the trailer

[real shadow]

Nah cuz NV was a decent game in a series that's mid at best.

[frozen olive]

me and all the Lore Youtubers losing our minds in a bad way

[real shadow]

It would be really funny if the boss shown in the trailer isn't in the final release and they put that in there just to fuck with people.

[chilly forum]

I laugh HARD

[frozen olive]

it would be fucking hysterical if they aren't actually in the game

[median rock]

the only one in the game is NK and he's got a name now

[frozen olive]

i just about lost my fucking mind seeing godsdamn Nameless King of all fucking people in the trailer

not that i mind going for a round 2 unlike some people since i think he was an easy fight

but the lore implications are

disturbing...

[warm knot]

so are Dark Souls and Elden Ring in the same setting

[chilly forum]

Actually pc game had an another interview and its is apparently the night lords doing LOL

[frozen olive]

we simply don't know

if ER and DS are even related at all

[median rock]

i think i'll be surprised if they try to actually form a unified cosmology

[warm knot]

or are they just like. "we don't mind plagiarizing ourselves for shit, because it's fun to just stick the Darkmoon Greatsword and Patches into our games"

[median rock]

and don't take the route of "By Mysterious Cross-Dimensional Magic"

[frozen olive]

we have literally no confirmation on that being remotely a thing

until we get an explanation regarding what the fuck NK, Dukes Dear Freja, Centipede demon, etc are doing in Limgrave of all places

[real shadow]

Fromsoft reuses assets all the time so a Visually Differently-Named King™️ isn't exactly out of the realm of possibility.

[frozen olive]

we know nothing

[frozen olive]

yeah

problem is rn

there is literally no visual difference with the one in the trailer

it's straight up just NK

like asset reuse is a Fromsoft special for sure

but this is a copy paste

[median rock]

i think it would be pretty hilarious for this to be the fate: grand order of fromsoft games

[chilly forum]

I 1000 percent believe they're doing this to screw with people and despite having same move set might have a new model when game is put LOL.

[median rock]

whether its the "we have one model for blonde women so they all get to look the same" part, or whether its the "yeah theyre just getting smashed together lore is irrelevant" part

[frozen olive]

Me: i finally did it, i finished Dark Souls II, i'm FREE
Nightreign, having Dukes Dear Freja in the trailer:

https://tenor.com/view/did-you-truly-believe-you-can-run-from-me-iron-mink-cowboy-bebop-galileo-hustle-you-could-never-escape-gif-24122674

[frail sky]

ZULLIE NO
https://bsky.app/profile/zulliethewitch.bsky.social/post/3ld7l4znqlk2m

Zullie the Witch (@zulliethewitch.bsky.social)

I think probably the funniest thing they could do with Nightreign would be to bring back the Bed of Chaos.

Reposts

120

Likes

616

Bluesky · Dec 13, 2024, 7:59 PM

[frozen olive]

LMAO

i still haven't fought that boss

i'm at the beginning of my DS1 playthrough rn

[warm knot]

did I already post DEMON'S DARK BORNERING II: SHADOW of the ASHES OF THE RINGED CROWN OF THE OLD HUNTERS DIE TWICE REMASTERED

https://www.tumblr.com/gyooza/769715936941031424/elden-ring-nightreign

[spice rivet]

yeah idc if its not a strict souls like, i care that its clearly a busniess decision by bandai namco to have a fromsoft release in FY 2025. its going to rushed, and their promise of "its not a live service game" also means "don't expect post launch content"

[vestal night]

I see this as a way for their designers to get some experience, and/or try out mechanics we might see in future games

I could very much see this be a testbed of sorts for more dedicated coop options in an upcoming game

or the increased mobility most of the classes seem to have

[real shadow]

It is very likely an experiment and a testbed and a means to get experience, because "make a spinoff reusing these assets" is something the studio would very much want their workers to know a good deal about.

[spice rivet]

sure, but when the premise is "mash up the randomizer mods with seamless coop," to me it smacks of an executive move to pad out their portfolio

[modest berry]

yeah with these returning bosses theres a little part of my brain worried that its just ip milking, but, it has my critical support until its release, ill let them cook

[vestal night]

it's not like asset reuse is anything new for FROM tbh

[warm knot]

it's not something people praise Fromsoft for either

it's just their house style

[spice rivet]

They are just as beholden to the forces of capital as any other studio. I don't doubt they will bring their A game, but it doesn't change that this smells like stock manipulation on the back of existing IPs, imo.

[modest trellis]

As long as night reign isn't $60+ I'll be cool even if it's only ok

Also crossplay pls

[spice rivet]

hopefully they are smart enough to make it 40

i'd pay 40 for what its promsing

[chilly forum]

It’s 40$, they said it be priced accordingly to shadow of the erdtree

[glossy delta]

Also a fan of this
https://fixvx.com/mohfuwa/status/1867382645383905681 1

[warm knot]

hell yeah :D

[glossy delta]

Oh its a whole genre apparently https://fixvx.com/gachaphobic/status/1867449369605161354

[proven cloak]

I'd be super surprised tbh

The cosmologies are pretty distinct- its not impossible to slap them together like toys, but they definitely don't slot right in

I imagine whatever the explanation (if there is one) about the map shifting each run is the same one that'll explain the random bosses

shit is all mixed up

[spice rivet]

I think they could make it work. The themes are similar enough between dark souls and elden ring that they could slip ones cosmology into the other.

[proven cloak]

They're both kinda about the uncontrolable nature of the world & acceptance of fate, sure

but I like ER's vibes more I don't want this ashy stuff overshadowing the peak 😔

[spice rivet]

But yeah I expect this to be a loreless game thh

Tbh

[proven cloak]

yeah probably

I'm expecting some new angles on existing things

like, if that is a nox city in the trailer, and its called a nox city, there might be some nox-y stuff in it

If thats Morgott - like actual the character Morgott, and theres Omen, maybe some more Omen stuff

🤷

I think Nightreign will likely have its own story to tell

and its really just a wait and see to see how that connects to the other Elden Ring game

[spice rivet]

Ig I don't really care if it has lore or not tbh, I'll play it either way

[real shadow]

Yeah I got two people I know will be down to play it with me and that's all I kinda want, hah

If it plays well and has some sick-ass boss fights I'm gonna be pleased as punch.

[proven cloak]

I just need to have as much fun with it as ds2 and thats good enough for me

[outer flint]

do we know if 2 players is supported?

[spice rivet]

the hands on i read said no

[proven cloak]

^

its one-or-three

and it seems like three is what they're designing for

[outer flint]

☹️

i'll have to see if my 2nd fs fan friend is gonna get it, then we'll have to coordinate with my first 😭

we might play seamless coop first in any case

[frozen olive]

https://x.com/drakenrotzi/status/1867418511779541245

Dragonlord Rotzisax 🐲🍉 (@drakenrotzi) on X

Who is he
#ELDENRING #eldenringnightreign #nightreign

Twitter · Dec 13, 2024, 3:57 AM

[frozen olive]

wait really?

if that's the case that sucks so fucking hard

in fact

if there is no 2 player support that's actually genuinely a dealbreaker for me

straight up won't buy the game if that is the case

means i won't be able to play with my friends

[outer flint]

yeah i'm ... apprehensive cuz of that, i will try the network test with my one friend and maybe try to introduce him to another fromsoft fan friend I have to get a party, if it's fun enough i might consider it solo! but i really wish 2 was also supported :(

[frozen olive]

we're a 4 player group

so if there is no 2 player support we straight up cannot play together

[outer flint]

[proven cloak]

rip

[real shadow]

Bet there'll be a mod for 2-player within a week, but still. Annoying.

[old brook]

What an absolutely arbitrary choice

And not in a 'limited multiplayer' sorta way

[frozen olive]

well that's absolutely dogshit

[obtuse halo]

I wonder if it's using the same netcode base as AC6 then

[frozen olive]

not even 4 player

[obtuse halo]

which also supports one and three player teams in multiplayer but not 2

[frozen olive]

well i guess i can't play the game with my friends

that fucking blows

honestly i think i just won't play the game at all then

[obtuse halo]

it was rather inconvenient because I had three friends regularly playing AC6 for a while and 2v2s would have been great

but we couldn't really get 6 people together so we just did round robin 1v1s

[frozen olive]

that is a genuine dealbreaker for me over anything else i've seen

[obtuse halo]

https://bsky.app/profile/zulliethewitch.bsky.social/post/3ld7l4znqlk2m

Zullie the Witch (@zulliethewitch.bsky.social)

I think probably the funniest thing they could do with Nightreign would be to bring back the Bed of Chaos.

Reposts

185

Likes

936

Bluesky · Dec 13, 2024, 7:59 PM

[frozen olive]

chance of me playing the game has gone down by 100%

[real shadow]

It's a very dumb choice and I don't know why they'd do that other than yeah, maybe netcode reasons (and even then like...maybe fix it guys lmao)

[frozen olive]

yeah i do actually think this is a dealbreaker for me

[frozen olive]

Kinda crazy that we finally got a co-op From game and they made it in the only way that i cannot properly play it

[frozen olive]

https://x.com/DarkSoulsGame/status/1867384137361043506

Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) on X

In the Night, ancestral foes await - remnants of a fire that once burned bright.

#ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN launches on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC Digital in 2025.

Twitter · Dec 13, 2024, 1:40 AM

[modest berry]

https://x.com/Lia_is_shy/status/1867841934666215474

Ophelia (@Lia_is_shy) on X

HOLY SHIT IT'S WHITE GLINT

Twitter · Dec 14, 2024, 7:59 AM

[glossy delta]

Lady maria being the pc in the corner is an underappreciated touch

[feral linden]

Apollo takes aim with their dodgeball

[proven cloak]

Bed of Chaos would go hard

Izalith tbh has a lot of proto-Elden Ring in it

everybody talks about the dragons being stone in both, but not the demons being a byproduct of Too Much Life overflowing in random mash-ups of living things (also theres giant trees)

now for me? Updated Covetous Demon

I doubt you could even imagine it...

[feral linden]

do we still need to beg for DS2 scraps

[proven cloak]

lead dev said he asked for permission from Miyazaki and Tanimura to reuse bosses

and some people think the spider is freya-ish idk

[feral linden]

Green Smelter

please it would be so fucking funny

[proven cloak]

Blue Radahn

https://tenor.com/view/gunna-writing-meme-gif-6313253106607126663

Lud & Zalen & Knuckles

[feral linden]

Radahn does look kind of like Knuckles

[proven cloak]

and he can fly......

shared universe confirmed?!?! lore implications?!?!?!?

[feral linden]

which Fromsoft character would piss on the moon

[proven cloak]

Pontiff

(he's mad that Aldrich ate his wife)

speaking of

I've been wondering if part of the story-writing from this game isn't inspired by the OG ds3 plot

with Pontiff as the 'Dark King' seeking to overtake the world

[feral linden]

oh yea pontiff was final boss coded wasnt he

[feral linden]

gwyndolin deserved better

[proven cloak]

not just coded, literally intended to be one

his file name is 'BlackOldKing'

theres a lot of assets that imply he had a bigger role at first, and also that the Soul of Cinder was a bit of a last minute change

Ds3 had a funny dev cycle - both of these images were early promos

couple bosses got shifted around and swapped names

Yhorm was Iudex Gundyr, Wolnir was Yhorm, Gundyr was Oceiros

Testament to the dev team that they could swap them and still have the aesthetics mostly match lmao

[sour sable]

how did they manage to take in game shots that don't look vaseline

something is very strange with DS3 in how it looks normal in motion but screenshots come out unintelligible

[frail sky]

Oh yeah, I forgot they wanted all equipped weapons to show up on your character in ds3

[real shadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UUEkHdcnlI

[frail sky]

https://x.com/Mr__Gardener/status/1871968485439644132

Looin (@Mr__Gardener) on X

Special gift for Boxing Day #ELDENRING 🐍🎄🌟

Twitter · Dec 25, 2024, 5:17 PM

[gray leaf]

I like it.

[light bridge]

https://x.com/pan_brooke/status/1872591640231338126

Angel1802 (@pan_brooke) on X

#EldenRingFanart the first sons of Golden Dynasty, Godwyn and Messmer.
Private Commission, Please do not use.

Twitter · Dec 27, 2024, 10:33 AM

[noble acorn]

there was a whole mechanic where you would manually convert bosses into bonfires or something, right? that was in one of the trailers, i remember

soul of cinder feels like a last minute boss in that it's a bit of a narrative copout. Not that I dislike it or anything

but it is just fromsoft going 'What if the real Dark Souls was you, the player character, the whole time? (and also Gwyn)'

[proven cloak]

something about placing respawn points or something, 🤷

maybe like how Lords of the Fallen ended up doing it?

Not sure if its a fromsoft thing, or if the way they write their games just brings it to light more than other studios

but I think nearly every one of their rpgs had asset swaps and rewrites during dev lmao

like Kos (during development, now Ebrietas) and Kos (dlc design, final release)

I think the most interesting Elden Ring one is the unused Deeproot Depths map looking like it has the Stone Coffins that cropped up in the dlc

which would make sense, you get to DR by riding a coffin upstream anyway

maybe initial concepting, before they had ideas on dlc direction, involved Marika as from the nameless Eternal City & tying the Nox to these coffins more explicitly?

who knows!

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Uhl / Ancestor Followers were intended to be what eventually got developed into the Hornsent

what with the spirits and the babylonian influences and the fact that Omen / Followers / Uhl are grouped together all the time

[hybrid perch]

yo guys I feel like super bad for using the bleed dual blade

bc it's op

like, how do I get ridd of the feeling that all the bosses I kill die not bc I got better but just bc better gear

[hybrid perch]

also like i've never really used this till now out of curiosity

[kind garden]

game is hard for reason

you don't have to play nice

[hybrid perch]

Funnily enough reduvia shreds even harder

[hybrid perch]

But like I don’t even have to dodge, I feel like I took the fun out of the game

[old brook]

What bosses are dying so quickly you don't have to dodge them

Are you level 800

[hybrid perch]

106

[old brook]

Whatcha fighting

[hybrid perch]

Mohgue thingies omw to mohgue rn