No Spoilers Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

[Zazen]

I’m still getting my butt kicked and the buffs aren’t making a dramatic difference. It’s not as bad as I thought but I also don’t have any boss to compare it with. It would be interesting to see if anyone was struggling and now found it easier on the same boss. If this is all they do I’m okay with it. I woke up and saw the news and thought it would be worse

 

[Cantalope]

 

[KidBaize]

I'll probably regret saying this but so far it's been the easiest dlc they've put out.

 

[KidBaize]

View attachment 1049828

Just checked Steam and there's a tiny new update, like 2 MB. That seems too small so maybe there's another one coming later.

 

[Cantalope]

Just checked Steam and there's a tiny new update, like 2 MB. That seems too small so maybe there's another one coming later.

I honestly like the way they balanced it. I've spent the last couple years playing the Fromm Software catalog and I'm enjoying feeling like I'm putting everything I've learned to use.
This expansion is fucking fantastic.

 

[Zazen]

I'll probably regret saying this but so far it's been the easiest dlc they've put out.

For real? This DLC for me is by far the hardest.

What makes this game difficult is the boss fights had to be overtuned to make up for all the freedom they give players. They don't know whether you're going to use mimic tear or whether you're going to fight 10 other bosses and explore before continuing the story. They don't know if you're going to use OP magic spells. As a result they made bosses have more health, do more damage, longer combos , etc. It's no coincidence that their two most well-balanced games (Sekiro and Bloodborne) just happen to be their most linear and give fewest options to players in terms of builds. It's simply just easier to balance bosses that way.

I still think this is their best DLC they ever put out though. Going forward I do want it to be more linear again because of reasons I stated above. Sorry I know I'm in the minority with this opinion. Sekiro is still my favorite for this reason, Bloodborne a close second. After this DLC I probably put Elden Ring above Dark Souls 3 by a small margin to take the third spot.

 

[Dizzy]

Made a lot of progress today. Beat Commander Gaius, as well as the Scadutree Avatar, and then Messmer. I have to say, I was expecting a lot more from Messmer, people made it sound like he was the second coming of Melania but I strongly disagree. Was he tough? Absolutely. But he’s no Melania.

Finished off the night by doing the quest line given by Ymir or whatever his name is, the Carian sorcerer in the church thing in the north east. I have to say, THAT whole quest line and the boss were very unexpected.

Messmer was just the first jump up in difficulty people encountered. I think most bosses I’ve fought since have at least been on par.

 

[Err]

I don’t understand the “this is too hard” complaints. There are so many ways to cheese. I suck at Elden Ring and I’m in NG+ and I’m still able to slog through.

 

[Cherry Brigand]

Am doing so much mp and having a blast. Can barely take a step without being summoned. Have not explored much of the dlc on my own. Have saved up 1.9M runes. Will spend when I get to 2m. I'm crazy but not dumb!

 

[idrankyourbeer]

apparently they neutered the difficulty of the DLC. to hell with that. i'm gonna get through a couple journeys before i ever update my game.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Messmer was just the first jump up in difficulty people encountered. I think most bosses I’ve fought since have at least been on par.

Well I’ve been playing with my best friend and we honestly had more trouble with Rellana and the golden hippo than Messmer

 

[idrankyourbeer]

Well I’ve been playing with my best friend and we honestly had more trouble with Rellana and the golden hippo than Messmer

well renalla spelled backwards is analler, so my best advice is to approach the boss from behind and her give a good rear thrusting attack

 

[idrankyourbeer]

 

[Dizzy]

Well I’ve been playing with my best friend and we honestly had more trouble with Rellana and the golden hippo than Messmer

How it goes in these games. Rellana took me two attempts. I spent an hour on Messmer.

 

[Zazen]

apparently they neutered the difficulty of the DLC. to hell with that. i'm gonna get through a couple journeys before i ever update my game.

It’s not a downloadable patch, you get it by connecting to the game. I don’t think you can avoid that. I played this morning and didn’t notice any difference. Still same difficulty imo

 

[Zazen]

How it goes in these games. Rellana took me two attempts. I spent an hour on Messmer.

That’s insane , I only beat the moon knight two days ago and been on messmer for two hours and still can’t beat him. Why am I so bad at this game. People complain about Returnal, Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, etc and yet I always progressed pretty fast in them. Something about games with slow movement fuck me up. This is way harder than Sekiro imo

 

[deadshot138]

I'll probably regret saying this but so far it's been the easiest dlc they've put out.

Yeah you haven't fought anything hard yet lol

 

[KidBaize]

For real? This DLC for me is by far the hardest.

What makes this game difficult is the boss fights had to be overtuned to make up for all the freedom they give players. They don't know whether you're going to use mimic tear or whether you're going to fight 10 other bosses and explore before continuing the story. They don't know if you're going to use OP magic spells. As a result they made bosses have more health, do more damage, longer combos , etc. It's no coincidence that their two most well-balanced games (Sekiro and Bloodborne) just happen to be their most linear and give fewest options to players in terms of builds. It's simply just easier to balance bosses that way.

I still think this is their best DLC they ever put out though. Going forward I do want it to be more linear again because of reasons I stated above. Sorry I know I'm in the minority with this opinion. Sekiro is still my favorite for this reason, Bloodborne a close second. After this DLC I probably put Elden Ring above Dark Souls 3 by a small margin to take the third spot.

I agree that the existence of Torrent, mimics, coop and other aids allow Fromsoft to go overboard with their status effects and the more punishing aspects of boss fights but honestly I'm playing solo with no buffs and aside from the first two bosses I've breezed through this dlc so far.

I'd probably rank them Bloodborne, DS3, DS1 and then DS2. But even DS2 was more of a grind, especially the sections between bosses. Torrent makes exploration way easier and there seem to be less enemies in a lot of these areas than previous games. I haven't had any trouble getting to bosses so far.

I love Sekiro as well and really hope they incorporate that style of combat into future games along with dodging, jumping and regular light/heavy attacks.

And I agree with you about linear being better than open world for these games. There's almost no point in exploring most of the map in ER and that's one of the things I love doing most.

 

[KidBaize]

Yeah you haven't fought anything hard yet lol

Lion and Rellana were the only bosses that took me more than an hour or two so far.

 

[Dizzy]

That’s insane , I only beat the moon knight two days ago and been on messmer for two hours and still can’t beat him. Why am I so bad at this game. People complain about Returnal, Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, etc and yet I always progressed pretty fast in them. Something about games with slow movement fuck me up. This is way harder than Sekiro imo

Really just speaking to how some people find other bosses more difficult than others. I was getting my face smashed by another boss that I’ve barely seen mentioned which makes me think no else struggled with it.

Sekiro is one of the most brutal games you can play until you figure it out. Was relatively smooth sailing after that. I usually prefer faster paced combat as well. Slow swing times will always mess with me.