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ELDEN RING |OT| One Ring To Rule Them All

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I just beat Vordt of the Boreal Valley. He’s manageable. To me the real challenge so far is not so much the enemies but the low amount of health/stamina and the small number of Estus flasks. Haven’t met any samurai though.

So the high wall of Lothric is quite small compared to Elden Ring dungeons but I don’t mind at all. The small number of bonfires makes them quite tough though, and add to that having to make my way to the boss without dying or using too many flasks. That’s quite challenging.

So when will I start finding Embers? From what I’ve seen online they work just like the Rune Arcs in Elden Ring. Also when can I start using weapon arts? I have a broadsword and it doesn’t seem to have any.
Keep playing and find out.
 
I just beat Vordt of the Boreal Valley. He’s manageable. To me the real challenge so far is not so much the enemies but the low amount of health/stamina and the small number of Estus flasks. Haven’t met any samurai though.

So the high wall of Lothric is quite small compared to Elden Ring dungeons but I don’t mind at all. The small number of bonfires makes them quite tough though, and add to that having to make my way to the boss without dying or using too many flasks. That’s quite challenging.

So when will I start finding Embers? From what I’ve seen online they work just like the Rune Arcs in Elden Ring. Also when can I start using weapon arts? I have a broadsword and it doesn’t seem to have any.
There are quite a few hidden secrets in this area. For example there is an imprisoned thief that becomes a merchant should you aid in his escape and an Astora Straight Sword.

If you want estus shards for Estus Flask upgrades you will need to really look for them in every area. There is one that can be found on an anvil in the same room of the High Wall as the key to free the thief.

Embers are found all around but are in limited supply and can be purchased at the Firelink Shrine. The shadow monsters that come out of the hollows are guaranteed to give you one the first time you kill them and two are hidden outside the Firelink Shrine.

Weapon Arts are not interchangeable. Every one is set. The broadsword has the Stance as its Weapon Art.
 

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Our favourite weapon expert, Matt Easton, of Schola Gladiatoria, is back on IGN to react to even more weapons! Matt is an all around sword, historic weapon and HEMA expert, and today he'll be taking a look at IGN's Game of the Year for 2022, Elden Ring.

From the rapier like Bloody Helice, to the absurd Axe of Godfrey and the deadly Nightrider Flail, Matt breaks down just how realistic these weapons are, how they're used and what they could be inspired by.

Matt Easton is a Historical European Martial Artist, Antique Arms Dealer, and owner of the fencing club Schola Gladiatoria.


00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Bloody Helice
03:23 - Nightrider Flail
06:50 - Axe of Godfrey
08:34 - Dark Moon Greatsword
10:30 - Ghiza's Wheel
11:15 - Hoslow's Petal Whip
14:16 - Closing Thoughts
 

Rex_DX

Member
So i just arrived at Leyndell capital, and holy shit, it looks a ton like Game of Thrones Kings landing.
One of the best areas in the game, only rivaled by one optional and hidden city in the late game, in my opinion.

The first time you see that cityscape has got to be a highlight for everyone.

Enjoy the city.
 

Nankatsu

Member
So I just arrived at the bottom of the elden tree appearantly. Am I near end game? I still have a decent chunk of the map unexplored.
 

Rex_DX

Member
So I just arrived at the bottom of the elden tree appearantly. Am I near end game? I still have a decent chunk of the map unexplored.
You're probably in the late mid-game. Also depends how much you need to mop up in the areas you've visited previously. There is much more.
 
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Filben

Member
Just reached the Sellia Hideaway for a quest, behind a magic wall that gave nothing away. Can someone tell me how on earth you were supposed to know that? It just looked like an ordinary cliff wall, nothing gave it away. The game can't expect to keep hitting randomyl EVERY wall I see?

I would have never found that entrance without a guide. I was looking in that Sellia town with all these sorceres because there are two magically sealed doors. After running around for half an hour I looked this shit up where to find Master Lusat.

I'm all in for no quest markers and shit, but I think they sometimes went a bit too far with their hidden entrances or where to find certain NPCs.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Just reached the Sellia Hideaway for a quest, behind a magic wall that gave nothing away. Can someone tell me how on earth you were supposed to know that? It just looked like an ordinary cliff wall, nothing gave it away. The game can't expect to keep hitting randomyl EVERY wall I see?

I would have never found that entrance without a guide. I was looking in that Sellia town with all these sorceres because there are two magically sealed doors. After running around for half an hour I looked this shit up where to find Master Lusat.

I'm all in for no quest markers and shit, but I think they sometimes went a bit too far with their hidden entrances or where to find certain NPCs.
A merchant sell a note that tells you about it.

Many things in this game that looks hard to find are in fact indicated by the game by some ways.
The game (as previous Soulsborne) rewards players who read items description, listen carefully NPCs, observes well their surroundings...
Merchant's note are always good to buy for that. They gave a lot of combats tips or secret to find.
 
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Nankatsu

Member
Damn I was focusing too much in following a bleed build I saw on YouTube.

I'm still running and using a bleed build, but I switched weapons and I am now using Morgott's cursed sword + jellyfish shield. Game feels much more fun now because I can legit block things.

Two katanas is cool and all, but the constant dodge and no parry/counter is a pain in the ass.

Guess it took me 95 hours to realize this :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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Wait until you find out that the best parry is available with Carian Retaliation on a small shield. Parries are not as effective here as in other FromSoftware games though.
 

Filben

Member
The game (as previous Soulsborne) rewards players who read items description,
I see, thanks! It took me hours to realise I could switch from stat to item description with X (on Xbox controller). Until then I only had the stat screen with a very brief item description. Then I finally noticed I could do that even on armour/clothes and learn more from them then only their stats. It's easy so miss these little things.

Oh, by the way, can I somehow show or see newly collected items in my inventory? Everytime I get a new item I never had before I want to look it up and need to sift through my whole inventory in order to find it.
 

Rex_DX

Member
I see, thanks! It took me hours to realise I could switch from stat to item description with X (on Xbox controller). Until then I only had the stat screen with a very brief item description. Then I finally noticed I could do that even on armour/clothes and learn more from them then only their stats. It's easy so miss these little things.

Oh, by the way, can I somehow show or see newly collected items in my inventory? Everytime I get a new item I never had before I want to look it up and need to sift through my whole inventory in order to find it.
Yeah you can filter your inventory buy newest/oldest. I believe its on a stick click but I haven't played in a bit.

Also, don't be like me and just hold onto every item you pick up for the entire game. You can store stuff you don't need at Sites of Grace and it should make it a little easier to sift through. Although ... I never did that.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Also, don't be like me and just hold onto every item you pick up for the entire game. You can store stuff you don't need at Sites of Grace and it should make it a little easier to sift through. Although ... I never did that.
Haha. I am like you. In any Soulsborne, I want to keep everything on me, just in case.

I never used any of the storage option xD
 
Damn I was focusing too much in following a bleed build I saw on YouTube.

I'm still running and using a bleed build, but I switched weapons and I am now using Morgott's cursed sword + jellyfish shield. Game feels much more fun now because I can legit block things.

Two katanas is cool and all, but the constant dodge and no parry/counter is a pain in the ass.

Guess it took me 95 hours to realize this :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Bleed is super boring imo. And not because of its power - the play style of a dex build in general is dull.

Morgott’s cursed sword is one of my favourite weapons.
 

Filben

Member
the play style of a dex build in general is dull.
I respeced like five times after playing 70% of my time with it with dex character. But I was having an increasingly hard time with bosses and seeing how easy people on YouTube did poise damage got me envy. Then I tried a Str build for a few hours. Didn't work out either.

Now I'm at the Godskin Duos in that dragon forum thing and it's impossible. After ten minutes into the fight in my like 8th try or so I beat one of them, only to see him revived again. Fuck me. With Str and Dex or melee in general it's like 20seconds dancing around, wait for tiny window and hit one or two times TOPS, requires PERFECT timing (I either dodge too early and delayed attacks of enemies hit me, or they hit almost instantly and I dodge too late) and is not fun anymore. If the damage of that one or two hits would at least gnaw off 10% of their health, that'd be cool!

Anyways, I'm trying to be a sorcerer now. I don't expect much because I suck at these games in general, but maybe that int build make it a little bit more easy.
 
I respeced like five times after playing 70% of my time with it with dex character. But I was having an increasingly hard time with bosses and seeing how easy people on YouTube did poise damage got me envy. Then I tried a Str build for a few hours. Didn't work out either.

Now I'm at the Godskin Duos in that dragon forum thing and it's impossible. After ten minutes into the fight in my like 8th try or so I beat one of them, only to see him revived again. Fuck me. With Str and Dex or melee in general it's like 20seconds dancing around, wait for tiny window and hit one or two times TOPS, requires PERFECT timing (I either dodge too early and delayed attacks of enemies hit me, or they hit almost instantly and I dodge too late) and is not fun anymore. If the damage of that one or two hits would at least gnaw off 10% of their health, that'd be cool!

Anyways, I'm trying to be a sorcerer now. I don't expect much because I suck at these games in general, but maybe that int build make it a little bit more easy.
Use sleep pots against the duo and then you can take them out one by one.
 

Kenpachii

Member
So never played any of the dark soul games, but as i bought a deck now i kinda wanna play it. Is it doable or just extremely hard for a new player with no experience to get anything done in this.
 
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DelireMan7

Member
So never played any of the dark soul games, but as i bought a deck now i kinda wanna play it. Is it doable or just extremely hard for a new player with no experience to get anything done in this.
Honestly the difficulty of these games are overtuned.

Games are challenging but nothing crazy hard.

You'll just probably need to adapt to the game style. Elden Ring is especially forgiving because you can always run away from a boss and go somewhere else. Don't be stubborn on trying again and again a boss that is completely obliterating you. Especially at the beginning there is a hard boss (Tree sentinel) just on your way but you should avoid it and come back later.
 

Soodanim

Member
Made a new character last night, and like all good ideas it's super easy to set up. The goal was simple: Great Axe. From the first roaming caravan. Nothing but strength and vigor. What was even better was when I came across Ground Slam and decided to run that as the L2, as I had never tried it before.

Playing this build with very little care in the world has honestly been a breath of fresh air. No challenge to set anything up, and just using a few things you find in the starting areas to take on Margit really showed me how much they lay it out for you if you decide to go strength. Great Axe freely available, Axe talisman for charged attacks in Mistwood, Ground Slam also there, Strength physick tear on the way to Stormveil. All of this stuff stacks up VERY well for the Margit fight.

Speaking of Margit, it's so weird for me to say this after 860+ hours, but I finally get Margit. All it took was medium range, and I so used to being on top of him that it kept me in the danger zone. At medium, he comes to you and leaves openings. So when you combine that with Great Axe charged R2s and Ground Slam's poise damage, it's so easy to stance break him. Really this is no surprise to me, but my first experience with this was

After Godrick I pumped dex to use his axe (another one I haven't used before), and although it's got nice flashy R2s it's not half as effective as the GA and the L2 leaves you far too open. Catches NPC enemies but that's about it. I'll respec back into full strength and go back to the GA.

So never played any of the dark soul games, but as i bought a deck now i kinda wanna play it. Is it doable or just extremely hard for a new player with no experience to get anything done in this.
The truth behind all of the memes is that the core gameplay philosophy is attack commitment with the intent of punishing but fair gameplay. If you relentlessly spam attacks, different enemies can and will punish you for it. The second core element is i-frames through dodge rolls, which goes hand in hand with the first by allowing you to roll through attacks and be in a position/range to get your own hits in.

Elden Ring is perhaps the easiest of the bunch, because it provides so many options for the player. NPC summons, the most ever customisation, freedom, etc. You start off with not much healing or health, but sticking with a shield and leveling the Vigor stat helps with that. Even using a shield, which obviously becomes unnecessary when you master a game, is more encouraged in ER. They added a fantastic new feature called Guard Counter, which is a heavy attack counter after blocking an attack. Works wonders for many otherwise annoying enemies, and I personally made great use of it all the way through my first character.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Cool demake of ER:




I got to 'that' area in Leyndell and my brain is perplexed. I still have more of the area to see so I am excited to get back in and find out more. This area in general is really fun to play through and explore.

For me, this area just solidifies that this is my GOAT game, dethroning Breath of the Wild.

Damn I was focusing too much in following a bleed build I saw on YouTube.

I'm still running and using a bleed build, but I switched weapons and I am now using Morgott's cursed sword + jellyfish shield. Game feels much more fun now because I can legit block things.

Two katanas is cool and all, but the constant dodge and no parry/counter is a pain in the ass.

Guess it took me 95 hours to realize this :messenger_tears_of_joy:
I was doing my own build for the first 80 hours. I took a break and came back. I was immediately disappointed with the play style so I respect toward the blood dancer build from Fextralife. I made a few modifications to the stats for me, as I wasn't at level 100 yet. I enjoy the fast attacks, and of course the ash of war that comes with the pole arm.

Dunno yet if I will respec again for late game but i am having a blast playing with the build for now.
 
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So never played any of the dark soul games, but as i bought a deck now i kinda wanna play it. Is it doable or just extremely hard for a new player with no experience to get anything done in this.
It’s extremely doable. It is a game designed to be finished, after all.

There are so many ways to make the game easier through tools, weapons, summons and specific builds.

Just be aware of the size of what you are taking on. Finish any shorter games hanging around first. Most people I know who play this have clocked over 400 hours, easily. If you click with it you will be consumed.
 
Made a new character last night, and like all good ideas it's super easy to set up. The goal was simple: Great Axe. From the first roaming caravan. Nothing but strength and vigor. What was even better was when I came across Ground Slam and decided to run that as the L2, as I had never tried it before.

Playing this build with very little care in the world has honestly been a breath of fresh air. No challenge to set anything up, and just using a few things you find in the starting areas to take on Margit really showed me how much they lay it out for you if you decide to go strength. Great Axe freely available, Axe talisman for charged attacks in Mistwood, Ground Slam also there, Strength physick tear on the way to Stormveil. All of this stuff stacks up VERY well for the Margit fight.

Speaking of Margit, it's so weird for me to say this after 860+ hours, but I finally get Margit. All it took was medium range, and I so used to being on top of him that it kept me in the danger zone. At medium, he comes to you and leaves openings. So when you combine that with Great Axe charged R2s and Ground Slam's poise damage, it's so easy to stance break him. Really this is no surprise to me, but my first experience with this was

After Godrick I pumped dex to use his axe (another one I haven't used before), and although it's got nice flashy R2s it's not half as effective as the GA and the L2 leaves you far too open. Catches NPC enemies but that's about it. I'll respec back into full strength and go back to the GA.


The truth behind all of the memes is that the core gameplay philosophy is attack commitment with the intent of punishing but fair gameplay. If you relentlessly spam attacks, different enemies can and will punish you for it. The second core element is i-frames through dodge rolls, which goes hand in hand with the first by allowing you to roll through attacks and be in a position/range to get your own hits in.

Elden Ring is perhaps the easiest of the bunch, because it provides so many options for the player. NPC summons, the most ever customisation, freedom, etc. You start off with not much healing or health, but sticking with a shield and leveling the Vigor stat helps with that. Even using a shield, which obviously becomes unnecessary when you master a game, is more encouraged in ER. They added a fantastic new feature called Guard Counter, which is a heavy attack counter after blocking an attack. Works wonders for many otherwise annoying enemies, and I personally made great use of it all the way through my first character.
60 VIG 40 END 80 STR is the king of builds imo. The charged attacks, the poise breaking and crits… no other game makes every action feel so epic and earth-shuddering. Every other build is fun to mess around with but I always return to the king of builds eventually.
 
I respeced like five times after playing 70% of my time with it with dex character. But I was having an increasingly hard time with bosses and seeing how easy people on YouTube did poise damage got me envy. Then I tried a Str build for a few hours. Didn't work out either.

Now I'm at the Godskin Duos in that dragon forum thing and it's impossible. After ten minutes into the fight in my like 8th try or so I beat one of them, only to see him revived again. Fuck me. With Str and Dex or melee in general it's like 20seconds dancing around, wait for tiny window and hit one or two times TOPS, requires PERFECT timing (I either dodge too early and delayed attacks of enemies hit me, or they hit almost instantly and I dodge too late) and is not fun anymore. If the damage of that one or two hits would at least gnaw off 10% of their health, that'd be cool!

Anyways, I'm trying to be a sorcerer now. I don't expect much because I suck at these games in general, but maybe that int build make it a little bit more easy.
How about using an ash spirit like Mimic Tear or Black Knife Tiche? Two vs two makes the fight a lot more manageable while still challenging.
So never played any of the dark soul games, but as i bought a deck now i kinda wanna play it. Is it doable or just extremely hard for a new player with no experience to get anything done in this.
My first Souls game was Elden Ring which I played last year. Admittedly my beginnings were rough and stressful but I got the hang of it. Elden Ring is definitely the most beginner-friendly game of the bunch. You just have to be patient with the bosses. You can always grind for a bit, use the spirit summons or summon other players to help you. And as suggested by others, you’re free to explore other areas and get stronger before returning to a boss you’re stuck against.
Incidentally I’m currently playing Dark Souls 3 and what I learned in Elden Ring carried over nicely.
 

Soodanim

Member
60 VIG 40 END 80 STR is the king of builds imo. The charged attacks, the poise breaking and crits… no other game makes every action feel so epic and earth-shuddering. Every other build is fun to mess around with but I always return to the king of builds eventually.
People gravitate towards katanas, and they're definitely fun and effective on vulnerable enemy types, but so much of the game's design favours heavier weapons. That often means str, but Bloodhound's Fang is a monstrous beast of a weapon and it is just as much dex as it is str. Some later heavy dex weapons hit very hard, too. So many enemies that gave me trouble using smaller and faster weapons barely got a look in with heavier ones because the big heavy weapons interrupt whatever they're doing. I say this as someone who prefers speed and agility in games.

If you go fast, you definitely need to make use of status effects. You need those procs to break animations and level the playing field.
My favourite weapon is still the Rotten Battle Hammer. Stick Wild Strikes on and make it Bleed type and you're racking up status and stance damage like no other. Add on the right talismans and you're destroying everything

As a player, I also find that slower weapons help me be less greedy and impatient. It's much more tempting to squeeze a 6th attack into a 5 attack window than it is to double your hits from 1 to 2.
Cool demake of ER:




I got to 'that' area in Leyndell and my brain is perplexed. I still have more of the area to see so I am excited to get back in and find out more. This area in general is really fun to play through and explore.

For me, this area just solidifies that this is my GOAT game, dethroning Breath of the Wild.


I was doing my own build for the first 80 hours. I took a break and came back. I was immediately disappointed with the play style so I respect toward the blood dancer build from Fextralife. I made a few modifications to the stats for me, as I wasn't at level 100 yet. I enjoy the fast attacks, and of course the ash of war that comes with the pole arm.

Dunno yet if I will respec again for late game but i am having a blast playing with the build for now.

That demake is really well done, I need to see what else that channel has.
 
I just think getting a proc is fundamentally unsatisfying. There is no screen shake or sound or visceral feedback of any kind. I am a very simple man in this respect.

Maybe a proc should poise break too? Proc plus crit would be fun.

I believe Miyazaki loves to tank and hit hard.
 
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They can be if you own the PC version, download the mod, and install it properly. Sadly, the title of the video is misleading.
 
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TuFaN

Member
There are quite a few hidden secrets in this area. For example there is an imprisoned thief that becomes a merchant should you aid in his escape and an Astora Straight Sword.

If you want estus shards for Estus Flask upgrades you will need to really look for them in every area. There is one that can be found on an anvil in the same room of the High Wall as the key to free the thief.

Embers are found all around but are in limited supply and can be purchased at the Firelink Shrine. The shadow monsters that come out of the hollows are guaranteed to give you one the first time you kill them and two are hidden outside the Firelink Shrine.

Weapon Arts are not interchangeable. Every one is set. The broadsword has the Stance as its Weapon Art.
I'll go freaking crazy as soon as the DLC for elden ring drops ^^
 

Rex_DX

Member
I respeced like five times after playing 70% of my time with it with dex character. But I was having an increasingly hard time with bosses and seeing how easy people on YouTube did poise damage got me envy. Then I tried a Str build for a few hours. Didn't work out either.

Now I'm at the Godskin Duos in that dragon forum thing and it's impossible. After ten minutes into the fight in my like 8th try or so I beat one of them, only to see him revived again. Fuck me. With Str and Dex or melee in general it's like 20seconds dancing around, wait for tiny window and hit one or two times TOPS, requires PERFECT timing (I either dodge too early and delayed attacks of enemies hit me, or they hit almost instantly and I dodge too late) and is not fun anymore. If the damage of that one or two hits would at least gnaw off 10% of their health, that'd be cool!

Anyways, I'm trying to be a sorcerer now. I don't expect much because I suck at these games in general, but maybe that int build make it a little bit more easy.
I beat that fight on my first try by using a sleep pot and then kiting the second one around a circular tomb or well or something in that room while smiting it with incantations. They don't deal with geometry very well.

If you have any ranged options try to get them stuck on the geometry. It's a bit cheesy but so is throwing two of those guys at you at the same time. Alls fair.

You also might be a bit under leveled for Farum Azula ...
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Beat a bunch of bosses today, including Godfrey and Morgott. The subterranean shunning grounds were actually kind of cool. The entire capital was fun to explore.

Found Shabriri, who told me to go to the bottom of the sewers. I will do that but a bit later.

Before pushing forward in the snow area, I went back and cleaned up some lingering areas. I need to do more of the underground areas still. Just found Deeproot Depths after beating the gargoyles. I only noticed the way to enter because the site of Grace had a direction to it similar to those on the main path. Pretty nice touch because there’s no actual direction indicated on the map like other main grace sites.

I love this game so much.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
A few more bosses down. Fia’s quest line is done. FotF ending secured. At Castle Sol now.
Just crossed 100 hours on my in-game save. Around level 112.
 

chixdiggit

Member
This is the first From game that I got into and I'm pretty hooked. Got to ask though, does anyone actually play this without using any guides? I typically like to figure things out on my own but this game seems impossible to do so.
For example, the entrance to the Academy is blocked by a gate needing a key. Nothing tells me where said key might be and the map is enormous. I look up a YT vid to find key. Once I have it, nothing in game tells me what the key is actually for. Meaning I could happen to find the key by luck many hours after finding the door and not remembering what or if I needed that specific key.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Interesting choice for the ending. I never would've picked that on my first run.

Have fun in castle sol.
If I understand correctly, I can still cancel that ending and go for another. I will probably back up my save and get all endings on the one playthrough.

This is the first From game that I got into and I'm pretty hooked. Got to ask though, does anyone actually play this without using any guides? I typically like to figure things out on my own but this game seems impossible to do so.
For example, the entrance to the Academy is blocked by a gate needing a key. Nothing tells me where said key might be and the map is enormous. I look up a YT vid to find key. Once I have it, nothing in game tells me what the key is actually for. Meaning I could happen to find the key by luck many hours after finding the door and not remembering what or if I needed that specific key.
I did when it came out at release. By the time I got to Ray Lucaria most of the game secrets were known. So now I explore an area, beat the boss, and then look to see which locations I missed. I haven't really been looking at guides for specific dungeons, as I prefer to explore those blind. If I get stuck I look stuff up.

I tend to take notes and track the NPC quests that way. Since the update that adds NPC locations to the map, I've been doing that less often and instead opting to revisit NPCs sporadically.
 
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DelireMan7

Member
This is the first From game that I got into and I'm pretty hooked. Got to ask though, does anyone actually play this without using any guides? I typically like to figure things out on my own but this game seems impossible to do so.
For example, the entrance to the Academy is blocked by a gate needing a key. Nothing tells me where said key might be and the map is enormous. I look up a YT vid to find key. Once I have it, nothing in game tells me what the key is actually for. Meaning I could happen to find the key by luck many hours after finding the door and not remembering what or if I needed that specific key.
Many play without a guide. I love exploring these games without any exterior guidance the first time.

As for the key, there is a NPC at the beginning of Liurnia (in the church behind Stormveil castle) that explain the whole "key for the academy" stuff.
Then once you arrived in front of the seal, you can find a clothed map on the ground that indicate the location of the key (but you have to find to where it correspond on the actual game map, love this idea personally)

FromSoftware's games are all about paying attention to your environment, NPC's dialog, item description... and bring everything together to solve it. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, except you have to find the pieces (NPC's dialog, item's description...) and then find how it fit together.
 

chixdiggit

Member
Many play without a guide. I love exploring these games without any exterior guidance the first time.

As for the key, there is a NPC at the beginning of Liurnia (in the church behind Stormveil castle) that explain the whole "key for the academy" stuff.
Then once you arrived in front of the seal, you can find a clothed map on the ground that indicate the location of the key (but you have to find to where it correspond on the actual game map, love this idea personally)

FromSoftware's games are all about paying attention to your environment, NPC's dialog, item description... and bring everything together to solve it. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, except you have to find the pieces (NPC's dialog, item's description...) and then find how it fit together.
Ah missed that part with the maps. I guess I'm just too used to having a mission marker pop up telling me where to go next.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Many play without a guide. I love exploring these games without any exterior guidance the first time.

As for the key, there is a NPC at the beginning of Liurnia (in the church behind Stormveil castle) that explain the whole "key for the academy" stuff.
Then once you arrived in front of the seal, you can find a clothed map on the ground that indicate the location of the key (but you have to find to where it correspond on the actual game map, love this idea personally)

FromSoftware's games are all about paying attention to your environment, NPC's dialog, item description... and bring everything together to solve it. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, except you have to find the pieces (NPC's dialog, item's description...) and then find how it fit together.
Shabriri straight up tells you where to go to get the FotF ending. Not necessarily the precise location, but gives enough guidance to help narrow it down.

I vastly prefer this type of quest line to any marker any day. Morrowind is still my favorite Elder Scrolls and the quest log is a big reason why.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Ah missed that part with the maps. I guess I'm just too used to having a mission marker pop up telling me where to go next.

Understandable as it's your first FromSoft game. You'll get use to it :). Listen carefully NPC's and read item description (especially the Key item for some guidance. Weapons, armor, spells... will give you more info about the lore)

Shabriri straight up tells you where to go to get the FotF ending. Not necessarily the precise location, but gives enough guidance to help narrow it down.

I vastly prefer this type of quest line to any marker any day. Morrowind is still my favorite Elder Scrolls and the quest log is a big reason why.
Exactly ! So many "hidden" secrets are in fact indicated in some way or another. Notably the location for the FotF ending is mentioned in many way (several NPC's and quest, note from a merchant and environmental hints)

Love this system too !
 
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