RichC2

Have you gotten the bell to summon the Spirit Ashes yet? That's pretty critical early on.

Rob V

^^ Yes, still trying to understand how those Ashes work. I know I equip them to my weapon but I am not really sure what to do next.

Noonan

Those are ashes of war. Rich was talking about the summons you get, using the summoning bell. I believe you need to be at that first church with the merchant but at night. Ranni will appear and give them to you. Or you could wait until you reach Roundtable and just buy the bell and the first (3 wolves) summon for a low amount of runes.

lopper

239hr 40min and I think I’m done with this one.

Saw credits a few days ago, and toyed with the idea of using a guide to go back and kill any bosses that I may have missed. But without a list of bosses I’ve already beaten, I don’t know how to efficiently do that without back tracking all over the map.

Still, this is without question the greatest game I’ve ever played, and I can’t even think of a close second.

K&AJones

Well Done Lopper....I do need to get back into this but need to look at just where i need to go. I'm just Level 60, tried a General Boss in the Red area and got my butt handed to me...he has like four Ahes of War himself....no doubt it's a sight to see and experience to play...great run again...

T-bone22

Got the platinum trophy for this last night. I can’t even remember the last game that I 100%’d on trophies/achievements. I’ll probably do another run after a couple months break. A true and rare 10 out of 10 game.

Why So Blu?

I rented this from GameFly and played about 3 hours this morning. Shit, this game is expansive as hell. I may end up keeping it and paying the used price, because looks like this one will take forever to finish.

Dan

^ Most folks clock in at 100+ hours, yeah. It's worth it

T-bone22

Yea, I think I had about 90 hours on it.

Why So Blu?

Well, I am a Confessor and went from level 10 to level 18. I increased my strength and faith a bit. It's a fun ass game but hard as hell. Y'all weren't lying. Whew!

T-bone22

Don't neglect your Vigor.

dom56

Yeah, try to get your Vigor to 30 and up before you tackle Radahn boss.

dom56

Just need one more different ending to get the platiumn. So here come third playthru.

T-bone22

I just started a new game plus and it’s amazing how fast you can get to the end if you know a certain shortcut, and can mow through bosses.

nickdawgy

I started a second play through, and while it was fun to mow down a few bosses that sucked in the beginning, I didn't see the point. I ended up uninstalling and selling the game shortly after I finished it awhile back. Very fun, though.

mhg83

I hope we get some news on DLC soon. Would love for expansion size DLC.

RichC2

Same. I've been contemplating a fresh replay of this despite having it platinum'd.

Why So Blu?

Killed the white dragon for the 100,000 rune hack. I added some dragon spells to my arsenal and killed Margit the Helm, with assistance from Forgier and my wolf pack. I also found that badass looking Winged Scythe but can't use it until I get my Dexterity and Faith up a few more steps, which will take a while. My upgrade fees are to 10K per level, so I need to get runes fast or at least find somewhere I can farm them out easily enough.

dom56

After getting my ass kicked about fifty times I finally got the Black Knife Tiche ashes summon. Had to do that cheese part bunch of times. Fuck that guy.

slop101

Finally started this a few weeks ago. Think I'm about half-way though (at level 75, got access to Altus Plateau, just killed General Radahn).

I'm enjoying it, and it's nowhere near as difficult as the few other From Games I've played (Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Demon Souls remake), but it is so fucking obtuse!

I mean, I don't need missions spelled out for me, but so much of what you need to do and where to go is so obscured. I get that they want you to just explore and "stumble" on things and discover it for yourself, but then the main path is also equally obscured, especially at the point I'm in. There's tons of places to still go/explore, but I don't feel like I "belong" in any of them.

Anyhoo, beautiful game, and in insanely intricate world, but I just wish it wasn't so impenetrable, and was more approachable. Like, I wanna play a video game to unwind, I don't want to put in work.

RichC2

It is pretty obtuse, it's one game I recommend people play with a guide for maximum enjoyment. At least, after a certain amount of time - it's fun discovering stuff on accident.

Noonan

If it's obtuse now (I agree, it is) what was it at launch when there were no markers on the map for NPCs?

RichC2

They added markers for NPCs?

Dan

I'm just glad I played through it in the first month or so. It's easily one of my favourite games now. I need to dive back into NG+, but I also find it intimidating to play again after being away from it for so long.

It's a little obtuse, yeah, but infinitely better than games that bombard you with checkpoints and quest logs and all that. It's exactly the kind of obtuse that I DIDN'T want, but grew to appreciate as I played it more.

There's a YouTuber who did like a four hour video on Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. I know no one here would watch that sort of thing, but the Elden Ring section was pretty good. I still haven't played Sekiro.

slop101

Yeah, like Assassin's Creed is WAY too hand-holding with what to do and mission markers.
Something in between these two extremes would be perfect!