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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree No Summon Hardcore Git Gud Club

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Good luck, gents. I’ll be over here with my summons. 💪

b8jH7YP.jpeg
 
So do we know how to get in to shadow of the erd tree yet? is it going to be hidden behind an invisible wall in some random cave?
 

Draugoth

Gold Member
With the correct build you can melt bosses without the need of summons or

But i'm not one of those people, i'm a pussy, i use Mimic Tear all the way
 

Hohenheim

Member
I'm in. Did the main game that way, and will soldier on.
Currently getting fucked by the first optional boss I encountered. It's gonna be pretty, pretty, pretty tough this DLC!
 
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Antwix

Member
Damn first legacy dungeon down (I think). Just beat Dancing Dragon and holy fuck. Fun fight but hard to tell what the hell is going on half the time haha.
 
I forget if I ended up using a spirit ash (not mimic tear) on Melania or not but I am gonna try to solo the DLC. I completely forget how to play the game though, so I'm pretty fucked.
 

Antwix

Member
How goes the battle so far, fam?
Slow but steady. Just taking in the world. One legacy dungeon down, one cave, and a couple field bosses. Btw the cave was very unique which was super refreshing compared to the base game. There's a few elite type enemies that are especially brutal. Can't wait to do more tomorrow.
 

skneogaf

Member
Playing without using spirit ashes has really shown me that I'm worse than I thought.

New game plus is really tough for my skill level.
 
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dont know how to summon unless the game puts those NPC summon ashes in front of you.
only used them on radahn.
feel like the spirit of souls games is to solo it.

offensive magic is easy mode.
 
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Antwix

Member
Going smooth so far. Dancing dragon, Rellana (hardest so far), and Hippo down. So much shit to explore. It's crazy.
 

Krathoon

Member
From what I hear, you have to touch this hand sticking out of an egg to get to the DLC. You also have to beat some bosses.
 
I will post here one day. Beat all the souls games without help, but gave in on Mohg and Elden beast the first playthrough. Completely changed how I felt about the game and myself for that reason compared to souls. Disappointed.

I'm glad this DLC gave me a reason to go back and beat them on my own. Felt great.

First run of SOTE is just me. No exceptions
 
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Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
So far:

Divine beast
Rallan or whatever her/his name was
One red bear boss
Death knight
Some asshole in a bear suit

I think those are my bosses I’ve beat. Struggled the most with death knight. Small gaps, heals, and has an over half health heal command grab move. Fuck that boss.
 
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Bernardougf

Gold Member
The game was designed around the gimmicks it has.. thats the problem .. and thats why it sucked... if use them is easy mode if you dont use them is hardcore masochist mode ... that is no balance.
 
I forgot ash summons were even a thing.

Will definitely start by summoning nothing but can see myself using ashes eventually. Not played ER since it first came out and I'm completely rusted over.

I started off ER not using them but it just seemed weird to be artificially creating difficulty for myself. I also saw them more as NPC summons. Once I realize they were really just spells and that there were tons of them and could be upgraded I started using them like everything else. It does make the game so much easier though. Which is fine ER isn't about difficulty to me it's the exploration that I really enjoy.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Part of the fun is learning enemies/bosses movesets to overcome them. If that's "hardcore masochist mode", then so be it.
Hardly matters when they go on endless combos with a fifth of a second recovery phase. You can get one hit in, and then you have to back away and disengage while they’re once again spamming 6-7 hits combos.

Not to mention that the bosses are now so fast that they can chain different moves, causing the animations to blend into one another and making learning their moves almost useless. All you gotta do now is roll spam at the right time.
 

Bernardougf

Gold Member
Part of the fun is learning enemies/bosses movesets to overcome them. If that's "hardcore masochist mode", then so be it.
I have played and finished all of souls games and know pretty well what they are about ... the balance in ER bosses just feels off for me ... and its simple to understand why ... you have to design the game to be "souls difficult" even with the gimmicks, specially the Ash summon ... so if you choose to take them all out .. you are left to deal with something it was not designed that way ... it can be done and will be done and lots of players will have fun with it .. like players already did finishing souls with "no hits" and no armor and onyl a dagger.... it is masochist but can be done .... but for me ER felt cheap, unbalanced and not fun at all when trying to play without the intended ginmicks.... But thats only my opinion and how I experienced the game.
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
I have played and finished all of souls games and know pretty well what they are about ... the balance in ER bosses just feels off for me ... and its simple to understand why ... you have to design the game to be "souls difficult" even with the gimmicks, specially the Ash summon ... so if you choose to take them all out .. you are left to deal with something it was not designed that way ... it can be done and will be done and lots of players will have fun with it .. lije players aleays did finishing souks with "no hits" and no armor and onyl a dagger.... it is masochist but can be done .... but for me ER felt cheap, unbalanced and not fun at all when trying to play without the intended ginmicks.... But thats only my opinion and how I experienced the game.
It is cheap and unbalanced solo.
 

March Climber

Gold Member
I have played and finished all of souls games and know pretty well what they are about ... the balance in ER bosses just feels off for me ... and its simple to understand why ... you have to design the game to be "souls difficult" even with the gimmicks, specially the Ash summon ... so if you choose to take them all out .. you are left to deal with something it was not designed that way ... it can be done and will be done and lots of players will have fun with it .. lije players aleays did finishing souks with "no hits" and no armor and onyl a dagger.... it is masochist but can be done .... but for me ER felt cheap, unbalanced and not fun at all when trying to play without the intended ginmicks.... But thats only my opinion and how I experienced the game.
The only Fromsoft souls game where I genuinely enjoyed 99% of the boss fights was Demon's Souls, because those bosses were almost all Zelda-like with their own weaknesses to specific gameplay mechanics. Each level also had it's own mechanics, strengths, and weaknesses.

Ever since then, everything has either been a rolldodge-fest, or parry-fest, or Elden Ring.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Took me several tries to get Messmer’s first phase down to a science. His second phase, however, is utterly insane. I got him by pure luck. There was almost no skill involved.
 

Antwix

Member
Took me several tries to get Messmer’s first phase down to a science. His second phase, however, is utterly insane. I got him by pure luck. There was almost no skill involved.
Yeah I'm learning (barely) his 2nd phase currently. Guy's a maniac. That cutscene though... epic.
 

GHG

Member
Just warming up with the dungeon/field bosses for now.

Ghostflame dragon and blackgaol knight down.

The latter was a bitch.
 

Antwix

Member
Finally got Messmer down. That took awhile lol. I think I feel the same way I do about him as I do Malenia. At first it's brutal and frustrating, but once you start to get the moveset down, it gets really enjoying. At least imo
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Finally got Messmer down. That took awhile lol. I think I feel the same way I do about him as I do Malenia. At first it's brutal and frustrating, but once you start to get the moveset down, it gets really enjoying. At least imo
There's a bit of RNG at play just like with Malenia. If she decides to spam Waterfowl, that might be enough to end your run. Likewise, Messmer has a few easily avoidable moves where he leaves a generous window to counterattack, but he also has a bunch of combos that are hard to dodge. If he does the latter over and over again, you might take a lot of hits while being unable to return any. The second phase is much more tricky because those damned serpents take so much room and do so much damage.

I also think the DLC bosses are far more complex than the ones in the base game, even Malenia. They have way more moves and mix-ups, are harder to predict and read, and are generally much faster.

To think that once upon a time, Ornstein & Smough were considered the hardest Soulsborne bosses lol. They're so damn basic compared to what we got in Elden Ring.
 
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And leave my homie Black Knight Tiche on the sidelines? Nah, we ain't on that. Otherwise I prefer to solo everything then help others take down bosses in jolly co-operation.

6 bosses down thus far, 4 of them on my first attempt, Rellana was the toughest challenge thus far, took about 10 tries, my win was sloppy but it counts lol.
 

Osthyvel

Member
I would never experienced Bloodborne and its dlc, or Elden Ring without coop, i am so happy that coop exists in these games! So, kudos to you all, but i will go my way = )
 
I have played and finished all of souls games and know pretty well what they are about ... the balance in ER bosses just feels off for me ... and its simple to understand why ... you have to design the game to be "souls difficult" even with the gimmicks, specially the Ash summon ... so if you choose to take them all out .. you are left to deal with something it was not designed that way ... it can be done and will be done and lots of players will have fun with it .. like players already did finishing souls with "no hits" and no armor and onyl a dagger.... it is masochist but can be done .... but for me ER felt cheap, unbalanced and not fun at all when trying to play without the intended ginmicks.... But thats only my opinion and how I experienced the game.
The only boss that feels as though it was designed for summons is the foreskin duo. Maybe the twin gargs, too.
 

Caio

Member
The DLC is hard, having fun trying different build and weapons to figure out which one works better from case to case. Loving it so far.
 

Bernardougf

Gold Member
The only boss that feels as though it was designed for summons is the foreskin duo. Maybe the twin gargs, too.
For me it was every "harder" boss in the game, infinity chain combos, infinity stamina, just not fun at all compared to every souls games I've played, including darks souls 2, I felt like I was always trying to cheese and/or brute force the boss instead of really learning and beating him on skill alone, but as I said thats just my experience with the game and how I felt it was designed. I still beated the game and got the platinum, but its the first souls game I didnt do multiple runs outside the platinum needs and will not pick up the expansion. Its fair that I also point out that I fucking hate open world games with a passion excluding some really few exceptions (witcher 3 for ex.)
 

skneogaf

Member
I'm out, I used one of the new NPCs on the dancing lion.

Its still a tough fight on NG+ but it was insanely difficult solo.

I'll do a full new game no summon run once I've finished everything and got everything on NG+ but I'd have been on this boss for months as I got maximum 20 percent health off of it and that was after a respec my character.

Great boss by the way!
 
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Fbh

Member
Man that divine beast is kicking my ass. Literally all his attacks take half my life.

Went exploring in another direction to see if I can find more of those power up items. I think I just found the the first smaller dungeon (lava themed).

Loving it so far
Also as a sidenote FROM continues to prove art direction >>> graphics. That view when you exit the cave where you first enter the DLC area is one of the most visually striking moments this gen IMO
 
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