One of the fun things about the RKG boys doing their second season of Elden Ring (of course, just watching it is such a joy!) is that a few of us are doing a playalong playthrough. We share what we’ve done that week and how close it is to what Rory had done for that playthrough. We each have our own rules, with some adhering much more closely to what Rory is doing than others. The boys gave us the specs they used for Aunty Finchy (their protagonist) so we could recreate her if we wanted.
Me, I decided to do a character called Tee Finch who is a very distantly related cousin who admires Aunty Finchy and wants to follow in her footsteps. But, Tee is not quite up to the task, so has to adapt as best as possible. Also, my back story was that Tee would change appearence to match Aunty’s whilst accruing runes during the adventure. So, after boss fights, Tee would get cosmetic surgery to look more and more like Aunty Finchy. Tee currently looks almost exactly like Aunty, but I have decided to keep a few differences for story purposes (Tee wants to keep some things individualized and personalized).
Also, I’m just not as good as Rory at these games. That’s just facts. So I’m going to have to adapt in order to do the things he does.
Last night, I decided to hop back in and continue Tee Finch’s adventures. Here are the rules I set up for myself in the first season. One, I try to stick to the weapon he’s using. Currently, that’s the twinblades and the mind sword (Regalia of Eochaid). He likes dex weapons for the most part, which means my least-favorite category of weapons.
Two, I can use any magicks/items/etc. that Rory has in his inventory. One of the quirks of the brain of Rory is that he can’t deal with having more than three spells equipped at a time, even though they have…I want to say seven slots by now. It’s hilarious to me because that’s something I’m actually adept at–scrolling madly trhough the magicks to land on the one I want.
Anyway, I can use Rocksling because Rory has it and can use it. It’s such a powerful spell that can kill bosses throughout the game. I will get to that later.
Three. In the same vein, I can use whatever talismans and armor that I want–as long as Rory has them. And spirit summons.
I have to say that I had forgotten how, ah, whimsical the smorgasbuild is. That’s what the boys jokingly call Rory’s build. I can empathize with him because I am haphazard when it comes to my build. I try to be disciplined, but I inevitably fail.
The problem is that his whimsy and mine do not match up. I prefer strength/faith whereas he’s dex/int. Which means that we are the exact opposite when it comes to builds. I’m including the first episode of season two again just because I can.
It’s so interesting to watch him play. I marvel at what he can get away with because of his pure skills. I think it’s a boon, obviously, but it’s also detrimental because he doesn’t have to actually figure things out when they go wrong. Krupa has pointed it out that Rory will sometimes just contiuue to bulldoze his way through things rather than step back, breathe, and try something different. In fact, he’ll jokingly say, “I’m just going to do the same thing, but not die” after dying a very memorable death.
In addition, he likes to run around naked for the most part, which is amusing, but not practical. That’s why I mandated that I could wear any armor he has.
I will say that jumping back into Elden Ring has been smooth and easy. The buttons are indelibly burned into my brain, and I reverted right back to them. It’s funny because they change slightly from game to game, so it can be difficult to switch between the games. Also, Y for interact with item/person was quite the change. It had to happen because they needed A for jump but…wait. What was interact in Sekiro because they had A for jump, too? Quick Googling isn’t great, but I think it was Y. In the Souls games, though, it’s A. Those are the games I play the most and am most comfortable with. Especially Dark Souls III.
In the Souls games, Y is for two-handing your weapon. In this game, it’s Y+RB. Y+LB is for two-handing whatever is in your off hand. The tutorial for it is not clear at all, and it reads as if you should hold Y+RB AND LB to two-hand your weapon. Rory did this several time during boss fights and got so frustrated. Krupa finally asked him what he was doing and after Rory said Y + RB/LB, Krupa chastized him for not paying enough attention in the tutorial dungeon. In general, yes, Rory doesn’t listen, but I was on his side in this case.
Another reason I love watching the boys play the From games is that they point out things I never saw or thought of in my own playthroughs. Krupa is the Lore Master, and he is so meticulous about researching things. In the first episode, they find out that Blaidd is in an evergaol because Iji put him there as a precaution. I knew this was a thing from clips I’d seen, but I’d never found that part of the quest myself. Everything happens at a certain time and you have to be fiddly about following it.
Krupa thought they would let him out and prepared for it, but they chose to leave him in for now. I would like to see what happened if you let him out, but I don’t think they are going to do it.
Another thing I appreciate is that they show me how you can do things differently than the way I do them. When I play these games, I tend to play them in the same way. I will do a different kind of run now and again, but for the most part, I do things in the same way, including the same order. Even Elden Ring, I’ve reverted back to doing what I always do, using the same magicks, etc. The only thing I’ll say I’ve changed is consummables. I’ve been using more in my playalongs, specifically pots. I’ve been big into crafting pots, which have been so useful. They are very potent, and I can see how/why people get into it. There have been pots-only runs, and it seems pretty viable. The only limitation that I can see is you needs pots, the physical containers, to hold the pots, the contents.
I’m glad the boys are back in town. I don’t know if I’ll do the whole playthrough with them, but I’m enjoying it for now. I cannot wait for the DLC.