Elden Ring - From Software + George RR Martin

Grizzlebeard · Jun 19, 2023

My PS5 screen tells me I’ve played this game for 744 hours so far which seems concerning and yet I’m still finding random things I’ve missed.

Prime example, the broken bridge which leads to the tower where you activate your first great rune. I’ve done that so many times now and have just blindly used the port across the bridge. If you ignore that and drop off the ledge there’s one of those scarab helms there that boosts Ashes of War.

Rajaah · Jun 20, 2023

Grizzlebeard said:
My PS5 screen tells me I’ve played this game for 744 hours so far which seems concerning and yet I’m still finding random things I’ve missed.

Prime example, the broken bridge which leads to the tower where you activate your first great rune. I’ve done that so many times now and have just blindly used the port across the bridge. If you ignore that and drop off the ledge there’s one of those scarab helms there that boosts Ashes of War.

I've got about 250 hours on it (between two versions) and last time I played it I found two dungeons I hadn't found before. TWO. It was the two right under the Draconic Tree Sentinel's area, can jump off a nearby cliff and run under the bridge to find two different crypt dungeons.

Dandai said:
Zullie dropped his first vid in a while. It goes over some potential DLC hints, dev stuff behind Miquella’s in game model, etc.

The Miquella story might well be the best (and creepiest) story to come out of Elden Ring. This video does a good job conveying that feeling. The DLC has a ton of potential and might actually meet it.

Before I was mostly wondering what new boss fights it'd add, or how many new areas. Now I'm actually more interested in seeing the story play out than anything else.

That said, what bosses are we gonna see in this DLC?

I'd say Godwyn, St. Trina, Miquella, Eldrich Abomination Miquella and/or Butterfly Miquella, and maybe Formless Mother. Any other potential foes that might show up?

I had those divided across several DLCs in the past but we now know this is going to be the only DLC for the game. Might as well go balls to the wall.

Rajaah · Jun 20, 2023

Reading about it some more, it looks like the two Outer Gods we don't directly interact with in the base game are the God of Rot and the Formless Mother. They're also both evil, or as much as any of these things can be considered "evil" so much as just operating differently.

Miquella is linked to the FM, Malenia is linked to the GoR.

So it's possible we might also see a Kindred of Rot Malenia along with a God of Rot appear in the DLC. At first I thought nah, this is too much at this point, but then I remembered this DLC is actually two planned DLCs that they decided to combine into one. Maybe one of them is God of Rot and the other is Formless Mother?

Godwyn would also appear in the GoR part and Mohg would probably appear yet again in the FM part. So we've got Godwyn/Rot Malenia/GoR in one "half" and Mohg/Miquella/FM in the other "half". St Trina would probably be in the Miquella half if she appears at all.

Another thing fueling this speculation for me is that the only two "Exultation" talismans in the game are the Lord of Blood's Exultation and the Kindred of Rot's Exultation. They both have descriptions that indicate worship toward the two respective deities and reference Miquella and Malenia.

But yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb (so to speak) here and say we're getting a DLC with two distinct stories/branches through it. Hell, I still think the whole Haligtree/Malenia part of the game was originally supposed to be part of the DLC, so maybe Malenia is done.

Here's the only "official" hint as to the appearance of the Formless Mother that I know of. She appears as a Great Rune.

Dandai · Jun 23, 2023

I guess when your shit sells way above expectations you can tell your publisher to pound sand and let them know that 2 DLC shit is out the window and they’ll be happy with the 1 they get.

MusicForFish · Jul 4, 2023

Rajaah · Jul 4, 2023

MusicForFish said:

Between this and FF6 Tactics... just get rid of the dev companies and let fans create everything from now on with dev resources.

Somehow.

Just found out someone's making a Mega Man: The Wily Wars 2 (Sega Genesis remake of the NES classics) that includes MM4/5/6. And they're pretty far along with it. Capcom could have made that at any point and made some nice coin, but didn't. AM2R (Metroid Zero Mission 2) is another good one. Better than the actual official Metroid 2 remake.

As for Elden Ring, rumor is that the DLC is getting a November release. I expected it to be in 2024 on the two-year anniversary, but I was going off of nothing really. November would be killer. Elden Ring DLC + Super Mario RPG Remake is the stuff dreams are made of.

At this point I think 2023 might have already surpassed 2000 as the best year for game releases personally. Just an absurd quality level of game releases this year. Hogwarts Legacy, Front Mission 2 Remake, Baldur's Gate 3, Armored Core 6, new 2D Mario, Mario RPG Remake, Spider-Man 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage (if it's good), AEW Fight Forever, Final Fantasy 16, Starfield, Resident Evil 4 Remake, new Fire Emblem, Street Fighter 6, System Shock Remake, Octopath 2, Zelda TOK, and the surprisingly awesome Wo Long. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few obvious ones too, and that's just the ones I'm personally interested in. If we got Elden Ring DLC and FF7 Remake 2 before the end of the year I think my head would fall off.

Araysar · Jul 5, 2023

Rajaah said:
At this point I think 2023 might have already surpassed 2000 as the best year for game releases personally. Just an absurd quality level of game releases this year. Hogwarts Legacy, Front Mission 2 Remake, Baldur's Gate 3, Armored Core 6, new 2D Mario, Mario RPG Remake, Spider-Man 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage (if it's good), AEW Fight Forever, Final Fantasy 16, Starfield, Resident Evil 4 Remake, new Fire Emblem, Street Fighter 6, System Shock Remake, Octopath 2, Zelda TOK, and the surprisingly awesome Wo Long. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few obvious ones too, and that's just the ones I'm personally interested in. If we got Elden Ring DLC and FF7 Remake 2 before the end of the year I think my head would fall off.

Basically nothing but remakes and sequels. Pathetic.

Rajaah · Jul 5, 2023

Araysar said:
Basically nothing but remakes and sequels. Pathetic.

2000, my previous winner for total good game releases, also had a lot of sequels. Suikoden 2, Wild Arms 2, Chrono Cross (more or less Trigger 2), Final Fantasy 9, and so on.

When so much of the new stuff is so bad, breathing new life into the old stuff that actually meant something to us is actually welcome. For example: Elden Ring getting DLC.

Ambiturner · Jul 5, 2023

Araysar said:
Basically nothing but remakes and sequels. Pathetic.

Not really. These aren't movies, sequels in games are usually better than the originals

Zaide · Jul 5, 2023

Rajaah said:
Between this and FF6 Tactics... just get rid of the dev companies and let fans create everything from now on with dev resources.

Somehow.

Just found out someone's making a Mega Man: The Wily Wars 2 (Sega Genesis remake of the NES classics) that includes MM4/5/6. And they're pretty far along with it. Capcom could have made that at any point and made some nice coin, but didn't. AM2R (Metroid Zero Mission 2) is another good one. Better than the actual official Metroid 2 remake.

As for Elden Ring, rumor is that the DLC is getting a November release. I expected it to be in 2024 on the two-year anniversary, but I was going off of nothing really. November would be killer. Elden Ring DLC + Super Mario RPG Remake is the stuff dreams are made of.

At this point I think 2023 might have already surpassed 2000 as the best year for game releases personally. Just an absurd quality level of game releases this year. Hogwarts Legacy, Front Mission 2 Remake, Baldur's Gate 3, Armored Core 6, new 2D Mario, Mario RPG Remake, Spider-Man 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage (if it's good), AEW Fight Forever, Final Fantasy 16, Starfield, Resident Evil 4 Remake, new Fire Emblem, Street Fighter 6, System Shock Remake, Octopath 2, Zelda TOK, and the surprisingly awesome Wo Long. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few obvious ones too, and that's just the ones I'm personally interested in. If we got Elden Ring DLC and FF7 Remake 2 before the end of the year I think my head would fall off.

1998 is calling.

Rajaah · Jul 6, 2023

Zaide said:
1998 is calling.

Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears. What else?

I fired up Elden Ring this evening to put on a summon sign and help a few people with boss fights. Were people always this inept at the game? I keep getting summoned to Stormveil Castle to help different people who tend to run around aimlessly, fly off cliffs, explore every nook and cranny while the boss door is 20 feet away, move around really slowly like they're RPing. Just the whole gamut of annoying-ass behavior instead of just going to the boss door and fighting it.

I don't remember people in this game ever being THIS shitty at the game before. Maybe at this point only casuals who take ages to beat games are still doing anything with it?

Looks like I only have one Malenia sword despite being on NG+++ if I remember right (maybe NG++). Gonna make it a quest to get a second one and power it up so I can dual-wield them in the DLC.

Zaide · Jul 6, 2023

Rajaah said:
Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears. What else?

I fired up Elden Ring this evening to put on a summon sign and help a few people with boss fights. Were people always this inept at the game? I keep getting summoned to Stormveil Castle to help different people who tend to run around aimlessly, fly off cliffs, explore every nook and cranny while the boss door is 20 feet away, move around really slowly like they're RPing. Just the whole gamut of annoying-ass behavior instead of just going to the boss door and fighting it.

I don't remember people in this game ever being THIS shitty at the game before. Maybe at this point only casuals who take ages to beat games are still doing anything with it?

Looks like I only have one Malenia sword despite being on NG+++ if I remember right (maybe NG++). Gonna make it a quest to get a second one and power it up so I can dual-wield them in the DLC.

Half Life, StarCraft, Resident Evil 2, Fallout 2, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot 3, Panzer Dragoon, Banjo Kazooie, Parasite Eve, House of the Dead 2, Mario Party, Pokemon Yellow, Baldur’s Gate, Rainbow Six, Heart of Darkness, Thief, Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Turok 2.

Its got a banger in every genre and on every big console including PC.

Hateyou · Jul 6, 2023

Rajaah said:
Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears. What else?

I fired up Elden Ring this evening to put on a summon sign and help a few people with boss fights. Were people always this inept at the game? I keep getting summoned to Stormveil Castle to help different people who tend to run around aimlessly, fly off cliffs, explore every nook and cranny while the boss door is 20 feet away, move around really slowly like they're RPing. Just the whole gamut of annoying-ass behavior instead of just going to the boss door and fighting it.

I don't remember people in this game ever being THIS shitty at the game before. Maybe at this point only casuals who take ages to beat games are still doing anything with it?

Looks like I only have one Malenia sword despite being on NG+++ if I remember right (maybe NG++). Gonna make it a quest to get a second one and power it up so I can dual-wield them in the DLC.

I’d imagine that most really good people were playing at release or very early. Now it’s just autists and noobs.

DickTrickle · Jul 6, 2023

Rajaah said:
Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears. What else?

I fired up Elden Ring this evening to put on a summon sign and help a few people with boss fights. Were people always this inept at the game? I keep getting summoned to Stormveil Castle to help different people who tend to run around aimlessly, fly off cliffs, explore every nook and cranny while the boss door is 20 feet away, move around really slowly like they're RPing. Just the whole gamut of annoying-ass behavior instead of just going to the boss door and fighting it.

I don't remember people in this game ever being THIS shitty at the game before. Maybe at this point only casuals who take ages to beat games are still doing anything with it?

Looks like I only have one Malenia sword despite being on NG+++ if I remember right (maybe NG++). Gonna make it a quest to get a second one and power it up so I can dual-wield them in the DLC.

20+ million people bought this game. Why would you think they're all hardcore Souls tryhards? Go do some PvP if you want a sweat. Though I'm confused why you're getting all these Stormveil requests if you're on NG+++ and presumably of some equivalent level to that. Did you log in an alt?

When you first played the game, did you run straight to the boss of the game you never played before? Why wouldn't you explore? Did you run full bore into every unknown area in every Souls game and never have that be a bad idea and go slowly next time? Not everyone plays 300 games a year and devotes their life to gaming like you. It's a year and a half since release; seruous players exhausted themselves many months ago or are doing PvP.

Hateyou · Jul 6, 2023

DickTrickle said:
20+ million people bought this game. Why would you think they're all hardcore Souls tryhards? Go do some PvP if you want a sweat. Though I'm confused why you're getting all these Stormveil requests if you're on NG+++ and presumably of some equivalent level to that. Did you log in an alt?

When you first played the game, did you run straight to the boss of the game you never played before? Why wouldn't you explore? Did you run full bore into every unknown area in every Souls game and never have that be a bad idea and go slowly next time? Not everyone plays 300 games a year and devotes their life to gaming like you. It's a year and a half since release; seruous players exhausted themselves many months ago or are doing PvP.

Oof, look at this casual cope

Ambiturner · Jul 7, 2023

Rajaah said:
Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears. What else?

I fired up Elden Ring this evening to put on a summon sign and help a few people with boss fights. Were people always this inept at the game? I keep getting summoned to Stormveil Castle to help different people who tend to run around aimlessly, fly off cliffs, explore every nook and cranny while the boss door is 20 feet away, move around really slowly like they're RPing. Just the whole gamut of annoying-ass behavior instead of just going to the boss door and fighting it.

I don't remember people in this game ever being THIS shitty at the game before. Maybe at this point only casuals who take ages to beat games are still doing anything with it?

Looks like I only have one Malenia sword despite being on NG+++ if I remember right (maybe NG++). Gonna make it a quest to get a second one and power it up so I can dual-wield them in the DLC.

Nope. Everyone was completing no-hit runs last time I played

Rajaah · Jul 7, 2023

Zaide said:
Half Life, StarCraft, Resident Evil 2, Fallout 2, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot 3, Panzer Dragoon, Banjo Kazooie, Parasite Eve, House of the Dead 2, Mario Party, Pokemon Yellow, Baldur’s Gate, Rainbow Six, Heart of Darkness, Thief, Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Turok 2.

Its got a banger in every genre and on every big console including PC.

That's a pretty good lineup. So 1998 vs 2000 vs 2023, who wins objectively?

DickTrickle said:
20+ million people bought this game. Why would you think they're all hardcore Souls tryhards? Go do some PvP if you want a sweat. Though I'm confused why you're getting all these Stormveil requests if you're on NG+++ and presumably of some equivalent level to that. Did you log in an alt?

When you first played the game, did you run straight to the boss of the game you never played before? Why wouldn't you explore? Did you run full bore into every unknown area in every Souls game and never have that be a bad idea and go slowly next time? Not everyone plays 300 games a year and devotes their life to gaming like you. It's a year and a half since release; seruous players exhausted themselves many months ago or are doing PvP.

It's probably more like 30 games a year so you're off by 270, but whatever.

I don't know why I'm getting Stormveil requests. I'm at endgame / NG+ level, haven't leveled much since I first beat the game. I think it's actually NG++ but I can't remember because it's been so long (about a year) since I really played, and the Roundtable doesn't help because I'm not at the end to see which Journey is next.

I wouldn't be knocking these people if they were just playing like noobs and exploring. I've even led a few people through entire dungeons the long way. What I'm seeing though is people summoning other people in AT the boss door, then proceeding to run around the area aimlessly for five minutes before finally going to the boss door. For example, got summoned to Godrick's boss door, then the guy runs through the side hallway and fights all of the potted enemies for a minute, then runs back out away from the boss door through an empty courtyard, and back, while me and the other summoned ally just followed him around. Between that and people falling off cliffs or just plain standing around jumping up and down, I'm observing a "WoW-ification" of the people currently playing compared to a year ago. Had to use my finger-severer to leave several games because they were just wasting my time doing literally nothing. Never had to finger-sever in the past.

Zaide · Jul 7, 2023

2000 was a good year with Deus Ex, Perfect Dark, Majoras Mask, and Kunark all dropping. That said, I think 1998 takes it because the roster of HQ games is so deep and a lot of them beat their 2000 release counterparts (OoT vs MM probably, RE2 vs RE Code Veronica etc)

Rajaah · Jul 7, 2023

Zaide said:
2000 was a good year with Deus Ex, Perfect Dark, Majoras Mask, and Kunark all dropping. That said, I think 1998 takes it because the roster of HQ games is so deep and a lot of them beat their 2000 release counterparts (OoT vs MM probably, RE2 vs RE Code Veronica etc)

2000's goodness depends a lot on how much someone likes RPGs. Cause 2000 was a HUGE year for those:

-Baldur's Gate 2
-Icewind Dale
-Chrono Cross
-Final Fantasy IX
-Suikoden 2
-Legend of Dragoon
-Wild Arms 2
-Vagrant Story
-Grandia

Likely forgetting a few as well.

Khane · Jul 7, 2023

Suikoden was such a good series.

Elden Ring - From Software + George RR Martin

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