Yes, it’s another post about the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer. Elden Ring. FromSoft. DLC. Here was part two. Oh, by the way, I saw there was an area in the ‘crumbly lands’ (as Rory from RKG calls Crumbling Farum Azula) that I had not seen before. One with a Crucible Knight I had not fought before. What?! How could there still be something I haven’t seen in the game? I had gotten up to a certain point, but didn’t explore thoroughly enough, apparently. I know this because there was a talisman mentioned that I did not have (you don’t need all the talismans for the plat, just the legendary ones).
I went to the new area and got the talisman, but only becuase I had the ability to sneak by all the enemies without fighting them. This area is hard as nails, and I did not enjoy it at all with my squishy caster. Yes, the character was a strengthcaster, but soft on the strength and heavy on the caster. I’m going to do the DLC with this character beacuse that’s the way I do, but it’s going to be so fucking hard. If I had any sense, which I apparently don’t, I would do the DLC with my strength character who has somtehing like 70 Vigor and 70 Strength. Yes, the soft cap is 60, but I don’t care. I was just going all out with doing a strength run.
And I will say without equivocation that running with a strength character is SO MUCH EASIER than being a caster. So much so that when I didn’t kill Mohg on the first try (got him to a sliver) as a strength character, I was pissed. When I met him on my first playthrough, I was pleasead to beat him on the tenth or so run with my caster. I crushed the game with my strength character. I was curious to see how I would do against Malenia because melee should be much harder against her. I did about the same as I did with my caster because Mimic Tear and I just completely stunned her with our fully upgraded greatswords and Hoarfrost Stomp. She did not stand a chance. I got her in roughhly the same amount of tries as I did with my caster, which was about a dozen.
Anyway. Back to the trailer. I left off in the last post just before my favorite moment. In a trailer chockful with new enemies, places, consumables, and weapons; in a trailer that was exciting from start to finish, you would be forgiven for thinking that my favorite moment was when there was a boss reveal or a new enemy design or even the new cutie, hipporcupine, who I talked about in the last post. So happy and gleeful as it spiked out its face.
But, no. My favorite moment at 2:23 (which I started the video at above) is none of that. It’s a shot of the Tarnished (Raging Wolf) walking towards Mesmer. The camera is spinning around the Tarnished–by the way, there is a Recusant named Vargram the Raging Wolf, whom you fight with Bernahl. I mean, you fight alongside Bernahl against Vargram and Errant Sorcerer Wilhelm. Wait. I thought that was Mad Tongue Alberich, the sorcerer who invades you in Roundtable Hold. Anyway, you hunt them down as a part of the Volcano Manor/Tanith’s questline.
Anyway! It’s just the Tarnished walking towards Mesmer as the camera swings around them. Nothing exciting, right? The reason I love it, though, is the drumbeat behind the walk. It’s stirring and exciting, and it makes me ready to go. It reminds me of taiko drumming, and I am here for it. It’s roughly a second, but I could watch it over and over. And the way it reveals Mesmer coiling before leaping at you is incredible.
It’s such a little detail that would be a throwaway for any other trailer, but you can tell that it was as carefully constructed as the rest of the trailer. Seriously. I can watch that second over and over again, and it thrills me every time.
Then, there’s more gameplay from the Mesmer fight. He’s attacking with his spear (that looks madness-related) and everything explodes into fire. Not madness fire, though. No yellow to be seen. His spear erupting into other spears in a circle of flame is reminiscent to Morgott’s incantation of swords hitting into the ground. I’m not saying he’s related to Morgott, obviously. Just making an observation.
Oh, wow. I thought the weapon the Tarnished was wielding was like a spear with a platter in the middle (for shielding purposes, but I think it’s more like a spear that is split into two handles in the middle. How interesting. There is nothing like it in the main game.
Then, the Tarnished sprouts Crucible wings which made people lose their minds. The Crucible Knights are this game’s version of the Black Knights, but much, much, MUCH harder. In fact, when I was running through crumbly land to get the talisman I had missed, there was a Crucible Knight fighting two beastman. I had never seen them (the knight) before, but I knew they were there from the warkthrough I had watched. Did I kill him? I think I did? But cheesed him from afar? I don’t remember. He doesn’t give you anything good, anyway.
The other ones give you different Crucible incantations, but none gave you the wings. People were upset.
Until now.
The wings gloriously unfurl as the Tarnished fights Mesmer, and people lost their shit. I don’t blame them because it’s amazing, and I can’t wait to get the incantation. I did some comparison of Mesmer’s arena with boss arenas in Volcano Manor, Farum Azula, and even Malenia’s arena. None of them match. Nor Maliketh’s. It’s the closest to the arena before the Elden Throne–where you fight Morgott and then Godfrey/Hoarah Loux.
Then, at the very end, a feminine voice says, “Come. Touch the withered arm and travel to the realm of shadow. I will not be far behind. May we meet again.”
Theories that it’s St. Trina/Miquella, but please note the ‘again’. Which to me means we have met this person before. The closest person they sound like is Melina, though this voice is richer and more resonant. Therefore, I am sticking to my theory that Mesmer is Melina. I have no basis for that, but it makes me happy.