I have included the launch trailer below that I haven’t actually seen because I try to stay as spoiler-free as possible going into the game/DLC. Oh, and there will be spoilers throughout the post, just FYI.
I have been consumed by Shadow of the Erdtree, the Elden Ring DLC by FromSoft. I have played it for something like 18 hours already, and I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. I’ve been skimming the Discord, only checking out spoilers from people who are not ahead of where I am (as best as I can tell). I feel as if I’ve explored thoroughly, and I’ve still missed several things.
One was simply a case of not going the third way at the three-way road (duh). I had made a mental note to get to it later, but I simply forgot. Also, I haven’t done any of the four dungeons/tombs/catacombs/gaols I’ve found so far. I hate them in the base game, so I assume I’ll hate them in the DLC.
Before I get into it, I have to say that this clash of trying to do a game for the masses and staying true to the hardcore formula is again clashing heads. The reviews for the DLC are mixed on Steam. Some of that is because of performance issues. Some of it is the fanbois crying about not being able to onebro it (because god forbid the games don’t adhere to their specific standards), and some of it is because of complaints of artificial difficulty.
Then, there’s my Discord in which everyone is raving about it. I have said that I’m keeping my mouth shut for the most part with my issues because I don’t want to yuck other people’s yum.
Here’s my radical take: I think it’s incredible; I also am frustrated by things that I was frustrated with in the main game. In other words, it’s more of the same (not in a negative way)–only bigger and even more sprawling.
Side note: It’s interesting how dumping 20 points into Vigor makes such a big difference. I mean, it’s pretty basic and it’s on me that I did not fully realize it earlier, but it’s a huge difference. With 38 Vigor, I could take one or two hits by even scrub enemies, which was not fun. This is how DLCs from previous FromSoft games have been. I was too stubborn back then to respec because I went through the main game with my trash build, damn it! I should be able to do it for the DLC.
My skills have dramatically declined since I first played one of these games–and they weren’t great in the first place. My medical crisis fucked with my depth perception, my reflexes, and my spatial recognition. Again, these were all bad to begin with so it was alarming when they got worse.
I was getting my shit pushed in over and over when I had 38 Vigor. Yes, I could have kept on bashing my head against the wall, but that way led to tears when I played the previous DLCs. I felt that I had played the games with my build, so I had to do the DLCs with the same builds. In some of the games, that was valid because you could not respec. Starting with the second Dark Souls, however, you could respec, and I refused to do it. Out of principle. Even though it’s in the game.
I did have to respec in Elden Ring to use a high level incantation for story reasons, but I think I respecced back. Even if I did not, faith was my jam and I would have reached that level, anyway.
After an hour of fighting that field boss 1-on-1 to no avail, I was done. I did not want to end up hating the DLC like I have all the rest. Yes, I grew to love them, but it’s more like Stockholm Syndrome (even though that has since been debunked) in that I just kept playing them until they no longer slapped me in the face. Although, to be honest, when the RKG Discord did Return to Lothric in February, I struggled with the DLC bosses again.
I’m amazed at how big this DLC is. It was reported to be about the size of Limgrave, but it’s much bigger. I thought maybe it was just my skewed perception, but people in the Discord agree. I said I’m about one-half to two-thirds of the way through, and it feels at least two Limgraves already. Someone else said it felt like a Limgrave, Caelid, and Liurnia in one–plus verticality.
Here’s the thing, though. I don’t think bigger is always better. I say that with caveats and qualifiers because I am of two minds as to the size of the DLC. I will say that I had a similar feeling with the main game. I thought that could have been cut by a quarter and not have been the worse for it.
This may be heretical, but I feel the same about the DLC. Caveat: I tend to gulp the game when it comes out. Many hardcore FromSoft are the same if the Discord is to be believed. People are inhaling the game and storming through it. I started earlier than everyone else save one, and I think everyone is ahead of me now. I’m really slow at playing these games, and I know that it takes me twice as long as others to finish the games.
I was complaining in the Discord about a field boss I ran into last night. I had seen it earlier, but decided to leave it for later. When I finally went to face it, it was being attacked by a camp of soldiers nearby that had the new tough knight enemy (with a giant fuck-off hammer that does lightning), but two of them, some perfumer chicks that buff their allies, and greatbow archers. They are all attacking the–oh, I did not saw what it is. It’s a dragon. It’s called the Ghostflame Dragon, which is a mechanic in the game (ghostflame), but is not used much. The flame spreads for ages and not only did it take away nearly all my health if it hit me, it stunned me because I have such low poise.
I noticed in this fight that my Mimic Tear was sticking close to me and refused to fight the boss on their own. Normally, I could rely on them to fight no matter what, but it seems for the DLC that their leash is much shorter. The Discord agreed with me on this as well. Also, the enemies were way too interested in me, considering that a big dragon breathing ghostflame was attacking them. One of the big knight guys would not leave me alone, and I was infuriated when he killed me (and not the dragon. Dragon killing me or him attcaking the dragon).
Plus, as with all the dragons, it had a shit-ton of health. I had almost none of my flasks left at the halfway point and with maybe three hits left on the dragon, I had nothing. My Mimic Tear was gone, and I had to go in and kill the dragon. I had maybe an inch of health left myself. I got the dragon, but I was not happy about it. I got 120,000 runes, a Dragon Heart, and an Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, which was the last upgrade material needed for a special weapon.
I was frankly disappointed because I did not need any dragon hearts (I’d bought all the special dragon abilities in the game), but I was grateful for the smithing material. I guess. And runes are always nice, but that’s not even half of what I need for a level.
The second time I ran into it (which should have been the first time, but I inexplicably went in a different direction), it didn’t have the bullshit enemies around it. There were anemies, but they were just scrubs. I was able to stay away from the dragon more easily and just dip in when I needed to attack it with my incantations. I got it in one, and it was a breeze. And I got 100,000 runes, another Dragon Heart, and another Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
I was really disappointed that I did not get another dragon ability for either one of these. The enemy looked cool, but it felt very half-hearted in execution. And there was certainly no need for two of them. When I mentioned this boss in the Discord, someone said they hated it and the lack of rewards because it felt as if people who had been playing the game all along were not getting as rewarded.
I agree. I have gotten two very cool incantations and three cool Ashes of War, but nothing else, really. I have gotten a few weapons and a few armors, but not ones I can use/wear or really want to.
That’s all for today. More later.