Thanks for checking out the video! Yes, definitely nice to have extra smithing stones to try out new weapons. I already had all of the bell bearings by the time I did the DLC, so just wasn’t needed for me. Appreciate your comment!

HIS WRITING IS THIS FIRE??? 🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯

Insightful analysis! Thanks for contributing and checking out the video, I appreciate it

Therefore* so close! Thanks for the comment ✌🏼

Shadow of the nerdtree 💀

I also used the backhand blades with bleed. A deadly combination! Thanks for checking out the channel!

Thanks for checking out the video! I’ve heard mixed things so far in terms of the difficulty on NG+ but like you said the game can, in a sense, be as easy or hard as you want it to be. Boiled crab is god tier 🙌🏼

Thanks for checking out the video! I appreciate your well thought out and detailed take. I do agree as well that some of the smaller dungeons were better on average than the base game.

I think I'm in this exact boat, between the countless smaller, repetitive dungeons of the base game vs the much less in number but imo higher in quality/complexity/uniqueness I think they were a huge improvement, also found them to have more unique bosses. The thought of taking a bit more time and making a true sequel is interesting as well...I think it would have taken alot more than 1 year to do it justice and potentially it would feel too overly similar to the first one...but maybe not, will need to think about that. Everything else I think is spot on though, another great video agreed and I in no way was unsatisfied with Shadow of the Erdtree, had a blast diving back into that world and getting the rest of the story.

Catacombs =/= Legacy Dungeons. I think the catacombs are a huge improvement. The legacy dungeons on the other hand I find to be a downgrade. Besides Shadow Keep there's really nothing that compares to Stormveil, or Leyendell, or Raya Lucaria, or Farum Azula, or Volcano Manor, etc. I mean, Belurat is decent. But its like a Castle Morne/Sol level dungeon. Like its good but it doesnt compare.

Thanks, I appreciate that!

Thanks for checking out the channel!

Well put! Both of the characters I played the DLC with were on the first playthrough, so I haven’t experienced it in NG+ yet. Certainly makes sense what you’re saying though. I’m sure the final boss on NG+7 was a chill relaxing experience… 😂

Shield tank with bleed, lol. I couldn't do it without the cheese it was miserable. Really, all I want fromsoft to do for this dlc is nerf the damage on higher ng cycles because these bosses hit oppressively hard even with heavy armor max stats and damage negation talismans something that wasn't the case in ds3.

Well said! It really comes down to if you have the patience and persistence to learn the boss mechanics…and not get 1-2 shot lol. Thanks for checking out the video!

i agree with you mostly except for the fact that i don't think it's really correct to say the bosses are 'designed' around summons or co op....they're not lol, the split aggro really just makes things MORE confusing and unpredictable. bosses can even aim some attacks in a combo at one player and target switch mid combo to another player with 0 warning. obviously it makes it easier and reduces the aggression you have to deal with because you get breathing room and have a few opportunities to hit the boss without it focusing on you but like from a consistency standpoint i would argue the bosses in this game actually do not handle multiple players/ summons well especially compared to a dedicated multiplayer game like remnant 2 - that's a game where the bosses are straight up designed around multiplayer.

It might not be cheese but it feels like cheese to use spirit ashes. Especially if your first “souls” game isn’t elden ring

@@SanjeevRau I agree with what you said, but I think its incorrect to say that Elden Ring's bosses aren't designed around summons at all-I do agree that they aren't fully designed around them though. My statement was generalized, which is my bad (thank you for pointing it out), so I'll elaborate on what I meant. Most of the bosses are aggressive and fast enough to handle multiple targets at once. Plus, they've been given plenty of cleave and aoe attacks, allowing them to hit targets other than the intended one in the same attack. The only other Fromsoft game I've played that has co-op as a feature is DS3. While I never used it, its obvious, simply through movesets, that they'd get destroyed if they had to fight multiple targets at once. The bosses in Elden Ring are equipped to handle multiple targets and therefore designed with the use of summons in mind. But, as you said, boss AI's tend to freak out when there are multiple targets, causing them to unpredictability change targets mid combo. The reason Elden Ring's balance can feel so off is because the game is designed around both solo and co-op play, but since its not focusing on one specifically, both playstyles suffer from the other's design. It feels like movesets are designed with summons in mind, but AI's are strickly 1v1. This is something that Fromsoft will most likely work on improving in their next game. Elden Ring is their first game that has put a greater emphasis on co-op play. My point was that the DLC cranked up boss aggression, which may lead players who previously didn't use summons, to feel like they need to use them in order to control pacing. Meaning, the DLC's design emphasized the strategic use of summons more than the base game did.

@@thegnib1914 good point about boss attacks being able to hit multiple opponents so they're better able to handle multiple opponents than in the past. I guess I just don't agree that the boss movesets feel unmanageable solo because they're too aggressive... I just don't think they're unmanageable at all, I think people are losing the patience it takes to learn a boss moveset. I can't rationally make an argument for any of the bosses in the main game or dlc for that, I played and enjoyed every fight solo. I certainly have critiques of bosses - specific moves(radahn double slash into cross), hitboxes, or stupid shit like malenia not being able to die from a riposte but I really don't believe any fight is DESIGNED with the idea that you're supposed to summon based on the boss's moveset- the summons are there to make it easier on you and give people who don't have the patience to learn the fights a chance at completing the game. I am not good at the game, I am no sweatlord. Every single from game I've played, I've had to spend a few hours learning each boss before I succeed solo. It was the exact same for elden ring and for the dlc and I feel like voices like mine who have always genuinely enjoyed this challenge are being drowned out by entitled people who aren't interested in engaging with mechanics like the boss movesets or learning how avoiding and punishing is different in elden ring than it is in previous from games. Just makes me sad because there's very few of us left who still believe in Miyazaki's vision and trust from to curate a satisfying challenge for us.

You’re so right. Thank you for the correction, wise scholar 🙏🏼

@@sword.scroll 🖤

Oh I have, many times! Thanks for checking out the vid!

Ahh so you should not tell the restaurant your steak was nearly raw when you asked for it well done. You should just accept whatever you are given. Bootlickers like you make this world a worse place every day.

Sometimes you have to embrace the jank

From software actually acknowledged that the hitbox for the Hippo’s grab attack was broken and they’ve sense patched it out of the game. Check it out here: en.as.com/meristation/news/elden-ring-dlc-shadow-of-the-erdtree-gets-a-new-patch-full-of-nerfs-and-fixes-n/ So they disagree with you lol. But thanks for watching!

@@sword.scroll your still bad

Agreed. I don’t think the difficulty was much different than the base game as long as you’re using scadutree fragments at a reasonable pace. Thanks for checking out the channel!

…..sure did! Don’t cancel me tho! 😳 lol Thanks for watchin the whole video!

@@sword.scroll Too late. Canceled. Lol