In the last post, I ended by talking about an ongoing debate I have with a From fan who is an enthusiastic invader in the games. Which, whatever. Be a dick if you want to be a dick. The tension of summoning, blah, blah, blah, bullshit. Look, I get it. The hardbois want to continue to be hard and be able to pat themselves on the back that they are just so hard and so good. Which, whatever.
Here’s the thing. I just glanced at the forums about invahding and wow the invaders are such whiny babies. Wah wah wah FromSoft is catering to the non-hardcore fans, wah wah wah. Wah wah it’s no longer fun for those being invaded.
Newsflash: there are a bunch of us that do not like being invaded at all. I’m not going to say it’s the majority because I simply don’t know (and at least I admit that I don’t know, unlike those assholes), but there are enough of us that we deserve to be heard as well.
In Elden Ring, you can only be invaded if you do multi. And, believe me, there are still people invading. Every time I summon in the game, I get invaded as well. It’s annoying AF, but at least I can run into the boss fight and avoid the invader.
Invasion is not fun for many of us. Period. The games are already hard enough and having someone who only invades (which means they’re nails at it) does not make the game any more fun. For me, anyway. If I have to deal with the invader, I find the nearest cliff and jump off it so they don’t have the satisfaction of killing me.
I have no issue with PvP when it’s in the arenas that are designated for it. Have at it and have fun with it. Just leave me the fuck out of it. That’s all I ask.
Fortunately, in Elden Ring, the item to summon is easy to craft. You anly need two, ah, elder flowers? Erdleaf Flower. And they are all over the lands. I compulsively pick everything up as I gallop by, so I can make hundreds of them if I want.
I think we are in the crossroads for From games. The fact that Elden Ring was wildly popular with the gen pop means that they will keep in mechanics that are friendlier in general. And, I would like to point out that even with those accommodations, many newbies dropped out fairly early in the gahme. Where you need to be in order to start the DLC? Only 37% of people ww ho played it on Steam have beaten that boss. In other words, for all the lamenting about how From has made the game too easy for the lamestream players, many people have not actually finished it.
This is a mid-to-later-game boss. You can get there earlier, but the canon way of getting there means you’ll be fighting this boss around the hundred hour mark.
It’s frustrating to be watching a From game in real time with Retry. I wasn’t on the Discord for the others (well, except Demon’s Souls, but they dropped that all at once in Patreon. I think? Or maybe it was after that when I joined Discord. Anyway), and it’s been interesting to see the tension between the try-hards in the comments on the Patreon page itself and how understanding most people are in the comments of the Discord itself.
But there are still some people who stick to the ‘why doesn’t he pick a build?’/’nO sUmMons Ever!’ crowd who permeate the community. And talk about how you CANNOT HAVE LESS THAN 20 VIGOR IN CAELID!!!! I’m irritated, yes, but I’m also amused because everything these Redditers (as I call them in my mind) were wrong about, well, everything.
1. Focusing your build. Yes, it’s easier if you have a dedicated build. But here’s the thing. It’s a long game. And you can respec. Why not try a bit of this and a bit of that? Also, strength/dex-casting is a valid build, especially in this game. Well, in all the Souls games, too. The reason I say especially in this game, though, is because From made the magicks so lavish and extra in this game that even people who never used magicks in the past games tried some out for this one. There’s are starting classes that are geared more towards a hybrid class, too.
I sympathize with Rory because any build I do is going to be hybrid by default. I ended up using the Lordsworn’s Greatsword (first greatsword you find very early on) for the whole game. It only takes 16 strength, which is low for a greatsword. Then I maxed out my intelligence and faith so I could use ALL the magicks. Oh, and enough arcane to use Swarm of Flies. That’s a staple, and I love it.
With my first character, my go-to incantation was the Lightning Spear. It’s such a good journey person’s incantation. It takes 17 faith. I also really like Night Comet, which takes 38 intelligence. Frozen Lightning Spear is fantastic, too, but it takes 34 faith. Swarm of Flies takes 16 arcane and 11 faith.
I started as the Confessor. The stats are:
Vigor: 10
Mind: 13
Endurance: 10
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 9
Faith: 14
Arcane: 9
The Lordsworn’s Greatsword was perfect because I only needed to add four points of strength to use it. Then, I could leave it and not touch it again. I also had to put points into Mind because that’s Mana, basically. You can see why I left my Vigor at 18 for a hundred hours.
2. Using spirit ashes. I can’t even with this one. The toxicity with using them is an extension of the ‘must solo bosses or you’re not a true gamer’ bullshit. I am just done with that. There was someone in the Discord trumpeting the fact that enoughh negativity about it made the boys change how they used them, as if it was a good thing. They got a lot of shit for it in part because of their assumption that this was what everyone wanted.
Here’s my take on it. If Rory himself does not want to use it, that’s fine. He has said at times that he doesn’t want the spirit summons. But if he wants to use it, he should be allowed. I do get that Retry is supposed to be hard, but we’re talking about artifical hardness again. I have been watching some of their past content (when they were Prepare To Try), and they made up ridiculous rules to follow.
It was funny then, but it’s more tedious now. I tihnk it’s because they’re older and this is a different game. And I’m older and have no patience for gate-keeping. Not that I had it back then, either, but even less so now. I do wonder if Rory isn’t bridling at the bit a little at all the restrictions. I have had the feeling for the last few years that he’s not as into it as the other two. And, to be honest, I would chafe as well if I were in his shoes. He’s the one who has to actually play the games, and he gets so much shit for it from the community. I would not blame him if he wanted no part of it any longer.
In addition, the spirit ashes are such a fun addition to the game. The fact that they won’t let him use them for bosses really cuts into the game. The bosses were tuned with the spirit ashes as part of the fight. Rory can get away with it (just) for now, but later, it’ll be a big issue .Maybe. I can’t say for sure beacuse he’s so good at the games, but the last quarter of the game is off the chains hard with some of the bosses.
I’m done for now. More later.