I am finally writing the post on Elden Ring that I wanted to write in the first place. I got side-tracked in my two previous posts, so here we go. This is about co-op because the Eurogamer video team was complaining about it as they played in the Closed Network Test (CNT). So did the PlayStation Access video team. It was pretty constant. “Why must I keep summoning?” “Why do I need to craft the material needed to summon?” “Why can’t I ride my horse in co-op?” “I hate being invaded!”
I will admit I was getting pretty impatient with the complaining. The game is meant to be played solo so FromSoft has made it a chore to summon. It’s meant to be a treat or a perk, which means working for it. I don’t play co-op, so I was not very sympathetic to the complaints, I’ll admit.
Then, Ian and I played co-op for a few hours. Without talking to each other while playing. That was annoying, I will say. Being summoned was not that big a deal. I have a million of the erdleaf flower needed for crafting the furlcalling finger remedy, which is the item you have to use to summon someone. Oh wait. I didn’t even need that to play with Ian as he was the one summoning me. I was severely nerfed in his world, which was understandable. I was level 168 or so at that point, and he was probably around 50. We were in early Caelid, whereas I had finished the game with that character. But I did not appreciate HOW nerfed I was in his world. I still had to hit a giant rabid dog several times to kill it, whereas in my world, I could kill them with two hits of a Lightning Spear. I get why From would not want me to be able to lay waste to the enemies in Ian’s world, but I don’t agree with that.
Look. If he wants to mow through the game like a god, why shouldn’t he? In allowing summoning at all, FromSoft is already tacitly saying, “You want to be OP, ok, fine!” Yes, you can be OP as a summon, but you pretty much have to spec for that. I am not a min-maxer in any way, so I was not OP as a summon. I was stronger than Ian was, yes, but not outrageously so.
In addition, there were areas that were walled off to me. The reason for this is that you are summoned to help out in an area until that boss is killed. Then, you are de-summoned. So, in this case, there was a cave Ian was trying to get into. It had a fog wall at the entrance for me because I was not allowed in. He could have gone into the cave and then summoned me in there, but that’s such an awkward system. I get why it’s that way. They don’t want people to be able to co-op the whole game. But, it’s a weird slap-up solution that doesn’t really work for anyone. I would rather they either made it so you can’t co-op or that co-op were easier. This part of it, anyway. Gating off different areas severely cramped the open world feeling to the game.
Another solution would have been for them to only allow summoning within, say, ten feet of the boss room. I’m not sure that’s a better idea, but it would hold true to From’s ideal of summoning only for the boss fight. Which, by the way, I would not be happy if they got rid of (summoning for a boss fight). Even back when I was into the idea of soloing all the bosses, there were a few I just could not solo (in all the games, though I went back and did them eventually. Well, except for three of the five DLC bosses for Bloodborne and the gank squad bosses for the DLCs of Dark Souls II). I liked the idea that I could summon if need be.
One of the reasons I don’t play Sekiro again is because you cannot summon. I get why from a thematic point of view. You’re the lone wolf! A shinobi. You don’t rely on anyone for anything. It makes sense that you’re not allowed to summon, but it also makes the game much less replayable for me. Once I’ve beaten a boss solo, then I have no qualms about summoning. I am currently in NG+ and on Father (Owl) because if I wanted to plat the game, I would have to beat him again. It took me forever and many tears to beat him once. I do not have the patience or the grit to do it again.
Also, not being able to use Torrent in multieplayer is a kick in the ass. Again, I understand the decision, but it’s a real negative to have to trudge all over the map. And, as annoying and ineffectual as fighting on horseback is, it’s still better than fighting on foot when the enemy is on a horse.
Side Note: Horseback combat is one of the least-successful aspects of the game. It feels bad. I can’t sugarcoat it, and I’m not saying anything shocking by stating that. No one likes the horseback combat. The best people can say is that it’s functional. Which, it’s not. That’s being kind.
Here’s the thing. It sucks. It sucks a lot. For one thing, you can’t two-hand while on the horse. Off the horse, it’s Y + RB to double-hand the weapon in your right hand. If you do Y + LB, you two-hand your shield. Why you would do that, I have no idea, but there you go. On the horse, however, if you do Y + RB, it makes you double-hand your shield. You have to do it before you get on the horse. Which is, quite frankly, stupid.
In addition, one of the best things about the combat in From games is how weighty it is. Each sword swing is meaty and satisfying. You have to carefully plan them so you don’t open yourself up for a counterattack. Or, you can just be like me and press RB frantically as you attempt to escape certain death.
Swinging the sword when you’re on Torrent feels much different. It’s, for a lack of a better word, floaty. There is no heft, and it doesn’t feel as if you’re really in combat.
Being a caster on horseback is worse. You would think if you have the reticule on the enemy, then your spell would hit them. You would be wrong. You have to be facing them in order for your spell to hit them. You cannot be riding away and trying to cast over your shoulder. This is a big deal because I am constantly fleeing as I shoot my magic. Nothing about horseback combat works well.
However, Torrent is the best and I cannot imagine traversing the Lands Between without him. Walking is torturous in the game when I can just whistle for Torrent. So co-op is not fun because Torrent is not available.
In addition, both Ian and I have seriously beefy machines. I have had very little problems running Elden Ring on my machine, and neither has Ian. When we played together, however, we had severe lag. That’s an issue with playing co-op (or being invaded, or invading. I don’t invade, but you have to for a side quest in Elden Ring, but at least you don’t have to win).
The bottom line is that the game is not meant to be played co-op. It was frustrating to try and not much fun. Running around with Ian was fun, but the actual game itself was not. I would not recommend it except for summoning for bosses–that still works just fine.