I feel the need to start this post by saying that Shadow of the Erdtree is a really solid DLC in many ways. I would say my feelings about it are more positive than negative, though I would not blame anyone for thinking that I hated it based on the last five posts. It’s just that the things that irritate me about the DLC irritate me a lot. In part beacuse many of the things I’m complaining about are the same things that have frustrated me in all the previous games. In the last post, I ended by talking about the bosses. I will talk about more about that in this post, but I want to start with the Scadutree Fragments. I’m sure I’ve talked about it before, but in my second run, I have stronger feelings about it than I did in the first.
*SPOILER WARNING*
Why? Because the Scadutree Fragments (and Revered Spirit Ashes) reward exploration. This is mostly fine in a first playthrough, but the fact that I am 19 (out of 20) and 9 (out of 10) respectively annoys the fuck out of me. Would that last one have made a difference in the last boss fight? Probably not, but it hurt my soul that I did not have them. I wanted to find them, but that meant I have to go to all fifty locations (plus, ah, twenty-five maybe for the Revered Spirit Ashes) to find the one or two I missed.
In this playthrough, I am roughly two-thirds done with the main story and half done with the extra content. I have 15 Scadutree levels and 7 or 8 revered Spirit levels. And I can’t be assed to find the others, but I know I need them. Especially the Scadutree levels. So I strongly agree with the suggestions that there be more fragments/ashes than needed in order to reach full. I also agree that more of them could have been tied to optional bosses as a reward. That way, people would actuall go to the optional areas even if they were not so inclined. I’m really resenting having to hunt for the fragmants and ashes when I know that there are several of them that are completely tucked away. It’s another reason I take issue with Miyazaki not liking that people use wikis on a first playthrough.
Another thing than annoys me. I was just getting the Sword of Light & Darkness with my strength character. I really like the concept of it. It’s a stone sheathed sword when you pick it up. When I got it with my first character, I read the item descritption, shrugged, and moved on. It wasn’t until much later (in reading forums and such) that I realized there was much more to it. There are three related altars. At the first one you come across, you get the Stone Sheathed Sword. At the second, you can turn it into the Sword of Light or Darkness (and, despite what people assume, there is a specific one for each. I just found that out). At the third, you can turn it into the other.
It’s a very cool idea. I love it, even though I don’t love the sword itself. It’s supposed to be legendary, but it’s not for my playstyle–at least for my first character. I don’t know about the second. Will try it out later. Here’s my issue. The first altar is hidden in a catacomb and the way to get it is fucking bullshit. Mad props to the person who figured out what to do because even with a guide, I had a hard time finding it the first time. Granted, that guide was trash, but still. I’m going to tell you as briefly as I can how to get it so you can see what I mean.
In this catacomb, there are spiked traps that fall from the ceiling as you traverse certain rooms. You have to run across the first spiked room and then run around until you get up to where the second spiked trap is. After it falls, you have to jump down and immediatel run in the cove behind you. Then, after it falls again, you have to run across the room and go to the left. Go down a lift, then there’s another spiked trap falling room with an asshole caster at the other end. There are cubby holes to hide in on the way (on the left side), and there is a hole in the middle one. You have to run to the caster, and he is surrounded by six or so imps. Half spew fire, and they all will hit you if they get close to you. Of course, you want to take out the caster first, but the imps make it really hard to do that.
Then, you have to wait for the trap to come down and jump into a cubby hole that is in the side of the trap. Then you can jump out in an alcove for a chest. Then, jump on the top of the trap and run to the northeast corner. There’s a ledge you can jump off on and there the altar will be.
I found it fairly easily on my second playthrough, but that was because I knew where it was, obviously. I think I would have had an easier time with it the first time through except the guide I was reading vastly truncated what you needed to do. Still. It’s many steps, and there was no way I would have found it on my own.
I think that’s part of my issue with the cleverness of FromSoft. They are starting to become too clever for their own good. I acknowledge that theer is such a joy to figure something out in the game–such as a hidden path or a puzzle like this. I mean, someone had to figure it out, right? And one of the joys in playing it real time is that the community can be leaned on for support and answers. There’s something special about piecing things out with the community or excitedly sharing tghings you’ve learned with the community. I would not to take that away.
I don’t know how to reconcile that tension, though. I tried to do Jolan’s questline correctly and still managed to fuck it up. Meaning, she did not show up in the Messmer fight, even though I thought I had done it right. I guess I had to either not blow the second horn ahead of time or fought her sister ahead of time. Both have been suggested as the trigger for being able to summon her. The latter is after you blow the second horn, so they are in direct opposition of each other. I’m guessing it’s the former, but who can say?
Right now, if I’ve done things correctly, I should have Leda, Moore, Freyja, and Dane against Ansbach, Thiollier, and me in the penultimate battle. Apparently, depending upon what I do with Hornsent, he may be in the fight against us. Let’s put it this way. I know what will happen if I do as I did in the first playthrough–his quest will be finished and he will not show up. I don’t know what will happen if I don’t kill him when he invades me. Maybe I’ll do that this time. Probably not because four-on-three is about all I can manage.
Done for now. More tomorrow.