I think the way people talk about FromSoftware's games online has completely poisioned people's brains.
I remember first realising this while watching the youtuber Joseph Anderson's review of Bloodborne where he states that he refused to use any consumable items during his entire playthrough, he then later on complains about dying to frenzy and posion, because he refused to use the items that cure it. What on Earth possessed this man to do this? What other game genre drives players to completely ignore key mechanics because using them is 'not playing the game properly'?
People have developed this weird sense of what beating a boss 'properly' counts as in Elden Ring, mostly based off of previous FromSoft games, and I think this has given people a warped sense of how difficult this game actually is.
Whats hilarious is how inconsistent the 'proper' way of beating a boss is. Using spirit summons obviously doesn't count, but applying five different buffs so that you kill the boss five times as fast is fine. Using damaging spells obviously doesn't count, but parrying half the bosses attacks is fine. Using a shield obviously doesn't count, but powerstancing two colossal weapons so that the boss is staggered after every single attack is fine.
If you are still refusing to use spirit ashes or spells or ashes of war or craftable items and then complaining about the difficulty at this point in the game I don't know what to tell you. The game is pretty clearly balanced around using spirit summons and at least one ranged ability or spell in your build. Elden Ring is not a game where you just dodge at the right time and hit light attack twice anymore. There's nothing stopping you from doing this, and it is possible to win while using this playstyle, but I don't think they are designing bosses around it anymore.
I only found two bosses to be frustratingly difficult, Rellana and the big greatsword guy near the starting area. Both of these were entirely self imposed by me because I had barely explored the map by this point and I could have easily come back later a few levels higher and found them much easier to beat.
I don't know who is making people embarrassed to use certain mechanics in these games. Play the game however your heart desires. Just because some guy on youtube beat every boss at level 1 with his fists while using an xbox kinect doesn't mean you have to.
Anyway this DLC, much like the base game, is a flawed masterpiece. Which is a completely pointless thing to say because all masterpieces are flawed. (except for Resident Evil 4 and my dad's chilli recipe).
FromSoftware must have a direct line to my inner subconscious because everything they design scratches an aesthetic itch that nothing else can really compete with. And the level and enemy design is top tier. I almost think that calling this 'more elden ring' is underselling it, the amount of new ways of playing the game this adds is immense. And in terms of sheer size this DLC by itself can take longer to beat than a lot of other FromSoft games, depending on how much side content you engage with.
The FromSoft winning streak continues. I hope everyone working at that studio gets some incredible head this weekend.
I remember first realising this while watching the youtuber Joseph Anderson's review of Bloodborne where he states that he refused to use any consumable items during his entire playthrough, he then later on complains about dying to frenzy and posion, because he refused to use the items that cure it. What on Earth possessed this man to do this? What other game genre drives players to completely ignore key mechanics because using them is 'not playing the game properly'?
People have developed this weird sense of what beating a boss 'properly' counts as in Elden Ring, mostly based off of previous FromSoft games, and I think this has given people a warped sense of how difficult this game actually is.
Whats hilarious is how inconsistent the 'proper' way of beating a boss is. Using spirit summons obviously doesn't count, but applying five different buffs so that you kill the boss five times as fast is fine. Using damaging spells obviously doesn't count, but parrying half the bosses attacks is fine. Using a shield obviously doesn't count, but powerstancing two colossal weapons so that the boss is staggered after every single attack is fine.
If you are still refusing to use spirit ashes or spells or ashes of war or craftable items and then complaining about the difficulty at this point in the game I don't know what to tell you. The game is pretty clearly balanced around using spirit summons and at least one ranged ability or spell in your build. Elden Ring is not a game where you just dodge at the right time and hit light attack twice anymore. There's nothing stopping you from doing this, and it is possible to win while using this playstyle, but I don't think they are designing bosses around it anymore.
I only found two bosses to be frustratingly difficult, Rellana and the big greatsword guy near the starting area. Both of these were entirely self imposed by me because I had barely explored the map by this point and I could have easily come back later a few levels higher and found them much easier to beat.
I don't know who is making people embarrassed to use certain mechanics in these games. Play the game however your heart desires. Just because some guy on youtube beat every boss at level 1 with his fists while using an xbox kinect doesn't mean you have to.
Anyway this DLC, much like the base game, is a flawed masterpiece. Which is a completely pointless thing to say because all masterpieces are flawed. (except for Resident Evil 4 and my dad's chilli recipe).
FromSoftware must have a direct line to my inner subconscious because everything they design scratches an aesthetic itch that nothing else can really compete with. And the level and enemy design is top tier. I almost think that calling this 'more elden ring' is underselling it, the amount of new ways of playing the game this adds is immense. And in terms of sheer size this DLC by itself can take longer to beat than a lot of other FromSoft games, depending on how much side content you engage with.
The FromSoft winning streak continues. I hope everyone working at that studio gets some incredible head this weekend.
2 Comments
The way Fromsoft fans talk about difficulty and "boss cheesing" is so funny lol, I even saw someone on Twitter trying to say that basic ass strength builds are cheese like???? I think more builds are considered cheese than builds that aren't at this point. In general the fanbase is pretty insufferable which is really lame, I guess that's what happens when you market an entire franchise on difficulty.
nmacneil
4 days ago