5 Ways You Made Elden Ring More Difficult.... [COMMENTER EDITION]

[@DomsRoundtable]

I STILL can't believe you've done this..

[@party88crasher]

bewitching branch what made castle sol so easy

[@kode-man23]

Honestly the one problem with Elden Ring is that I really think it's length discourages blind play throughs, especially the further that you get into the game as you're realizing how massive that it is. I was completely fine just going through blind, not spoiling myself or looking anything up, but once I passed 100-120 hours, I started using guides. I loved every minute of this game, but man is it A LOT to comb through if you have video game OCD haha.

[@Koogz406]

Word...I have 500 plus hours and I will 100 complete the game hopefully around 600. I must do, kill, and find everything...also I only have used the sword samurai starts with on purpose I maxed it out and many other weapons but I only try the new weapons for a min then right back to katana I can't wait for ng+ so I can fully use everything and go wild with pots and perfumes!

[@ThiagoCRocha-fh6lg]

I hate the argument that I'm going to make right now but: It's just a Game. Sometimes you want to take on a challenge and be awesome but...Thats not playing the game, thats doing the challenge. If you want to play the game and have fun, Use everything you have acess to. SPECIALLY IN THIS GAME! It's fun to summon other players It's fun to use Spirit summons It's fun to stack every buff It's fun to play the game

[@thescottishaccent]

TBH, if it wasn't for Summons, I would have given up on the game from frustration a long time ago. They have been so helpful for me (as a FS/Soulsy newbie) in helping offset the almost insane AoE stuff some of the bosses have. In fact, I wish I could use them in more places (there's a teleporting Banished Knight in Castle Sol that I have NEVER managed to kill, not once, no matter how I approach it). So I'm definitely on Team Summons. I really wish Selvus' potion could have been used for more NPCs though; with the obvious caveat that you're locking yourself out of the rest of their quest when you do so. I'd have loved to get Varre as a puppet, for instance.

[@arellajardin8188]

Many colossal weapons have decent damage negation and reasonable guard boost when blocking. A lot of people never even try to block while 2 handing, but it’s a viable strategy in many encounters, and you can guard counter off of it. Sword N Board is still safer, but don’t feel exposed without a shield, if you go with big weapons.

[@ThePhysicalReaction]

Lots of colossal weapons have 80+ guard - which is typically enough given the amount of extra damage you're doing

[@techknow9237]

Quest lines are a major issue in Elden Ring! They are so abstract and at times you don't know even if you have started a quest line and even where to go if you have accidentally triggered one or not.

[@leechoonfai4316]

Just want to add a personal one. Due to Elden Ring's insane variety of builds, upgrading a tonne of different weapons for different play styles just to try them out. It means using a lot of runes to buy smithing stones instead of levelling up. I find myself grinding runes just to upgrade weapons to their full potential out of curiosity and sticking different ashes of war on them. I think I would have completed the game a long time ago if I didn't do that.

[@undefinedvariable8085]

Jump attacks are essentially charged attacks without the lengthy wind-up, and with one of the highest poise and stance damage you can dole out in a single attack. It can't be parried either.

[@ruaraidhmorrison5879]

Never used a perfume bottle ever, and played through the game 5 times now. But I am heavy on cracked pots - particularly fire, volcanic, holy and sleep pots. I see them as bonus items for boss fights when your build is maybe not designed to beat 1 particular boss. Like sleep pot very effective against godskin and I use them against those guys but not very often the rest of the game.

[@akaErma]

I thought I screwed up Edgar's questline by making a beeline to Liurnia very early on and encountering Hyetta. He will no longer be at Castle Morne if you don't help him leave before you meet Hyetta. But he does still show up later, fortunately! Still, for several hours I worried I'd bungled it.

[@EMalachi]

I had that problem as well. Didn't get to experience his questline until NG+.

[@colemacgrath25]

Safe to say I spent a good almost 25hrs with the blessing and never knew it had a debuff till a video pointed it out .

[@crapsharkify]

Finished the game without realising I had that flippin' de-buff on!!!

[@gamingcrusade3842]

@@crapsharkify Same, it never made a difference for me. Until late game I was a squishy mage anyone so getting hit was just not an option

[@okonkwojones]

An addendum to the shield point: totally discounting any shield without 100% block. I’m trying out the wooden greatshield on a lower level character, due to -it’s low weight and stat requirements- it feels pretty good, and enables makes guard counters more viable without having to dump *all* your stats into equip load and strength.

[@Svoorhout85]

I agree. I used to disregard any shield with less than 100 physical block but a little chip damage isnt so scary.

[@professor7269]

Thank you Dom for that comment. Every person should enjoy the game as they please. If they want to use spirit ashes, so be it. If they want to use player summons, so be it. Not everybody wants to do a SL1, no ashes, no skills, no magic orincantations playthrough; we must respect each others way of playing.

[@knight_flyer1199]

I agree, I even go as far as not using weapons such as Moonveil or upgrading them for a more challenging game. Just bc a game offer an op weapon does not mean you have to use it.

[@undefinedvariable8085]

As for aromatics; Uplifting Aromatic is basically the Opaline Bubble Tear in a bottle, near 100% (any) damage negation. I can't count how many Placidusax laser nukes that spared me from. It buffs nearby allies too, so your summons. Or, if you summoned your mimic with it equipped, they'll use it and, if you're nearby, you'll get buffed too (they'll also have no limit to how often they can use it, unlike you).

[@nathreetimesnineequalstwen7172]

Perfumer Tricia is: Uplifting_Aromatic.summon

[@avecbuddha576]

Bewitching branches can also be used to help exploring areas with those really agressive dudes at 6:22. Any place you get that feels crowded with strong enemies you can use it, like at 5:02. Also always test pots. By now everyone knows about the sleep pots for godskins, but a freezing pot knocks Malenia out of her waterfowl move instantly doing great damage; fire pots make it easier to deal with the giant hands. Keep shields with effects off hand for the passive, health regen shield, turtle shield for stamina recovery are a good help.

[@EMalachi]

Re: Shield. Thankfully I really came into the series by way of Bloodborne, so I was disabused of using shields from the beginning.

[@vincentjacobsmm]

Related to the pots; My biggest critique of the game is that it doesn't really pay off a lot to use different items. You find the Bloodhound Fang quite early on, which happened to be the strongest blade I found in the whole game. At that point I just don't see any use in throwing some pot or whatever at an enemy when I can just strike them and have it be more impactful. Same goes for all the buffs and effects. I'll just hit the enemy or boss an additional time and save myself the trouble

[@jettblade]

Heard that people have used the Bewitching Branch in the Commander O'Neal fight to on his summons to make him a cake-walk. Since I've just gotten the game these tips have been super helpful.

[@billcosby3231]

Commander Niall as well

[@MTG69]

Shaq is a very well hidden boss in this game.

[@sergentboucherie]

I spent about 200 in my first play through, I wanted to explore everything and because I have watched your series I know I have missed a lot of content

[@OneRealOG]

Everytime I've gone back to an area there seem to always be at least one thing I missed or didn't pick up and thought I explored everything. Areas are more vast and deep then expected

[@sergentboucherie]

@@OneRealOG I missed some caves that were very easy to spot, probably because I was distracted by how awesome everything looked or by everything that was trying to kill me or by how awesome everything that tried to kill me looked

[@rossalexander4772]

You can always two hand your sword but have the turtle shield on your back and get the stamina regen boost.

[@Koogz406]

Maybe I am doing it wrong but I only get the boost when I equip the shell it does nothing on my back.

[@Koogz406]

I am wrong thanks man I didn't even know the buff was actually active on my back but you are correct it does work and it's a nice little tip, I can use my talismans for other things and strap this on me back!

[@khandimahn9687]

I would say the 'locking out of quests' is more a failure of the game than the player. There's no journal, no way to track quests. Often you are not told what the next step is. You usually have no idea where to find someone, you just come across them randomly. Sometimes you can't even tell you have found a quest.

[@nathreetimesnineequalstwen7172]

This

[@avokovich3579]

I agree. I THANKFULLY stumbled across the video about Rannis quest line which changes the entire ending. I would have never known to do everything that was required to complete her quest line if there weren't videos about it. a simple quest journal or a note journal would definitely help

[@aperson6562]

Here before the “git gud noobs”

[@rhondastroudmccutchen9348]

This!!👆🏾My husband and I are playing through this time with more strategy and intent behind our actions. Granted we didn’t “beat the game” the first time because we realized the DEPTH of the game and really wanted to “play” the game instead of picking up on beating some of the enemies. I did notice the other day that if you equip your weapons each time before leveling up, those that scale will be impacted…but if they’re not equipped, say because you’re overweight and you unequipped them for a boss fight, they don’t scale despite being scalable. Now don’t laugh at me, because this might have been obvious to everyone but us, however I thought I’d share my 2 cents from the best game ever!! Thanks for all your videos!!❤

[@TheJarface532]

(Rush the area then go explore) For boss fights, personally I spend a lot of time letting myself to be summoned. (Before or after) Learn and people are being helped by me, only enjoyment I got from having my playthroughs get "spoiled" by being summoned. It's that excitement in majority of people just to interact with another after the lonely road. yes. you beocme stupidly leveled near end game but makes the last fight an actual fight against two Gods.

[@nataliemintz6507]

I feel like Spirit Ashes are just another weapon in my arsenal. you still have to decide which is best for the situation and strategize.

[@DOC_951]

Nah, lol mimic level 10 didn’t take much strategizing on my dual bleed katana build. Beat melania on 3rd try, beat elden beast on 2nd try… and most other bosses on my first try. And I don’t feel bad about it whatsoever lol

[@RaffaGam3r]

Building on both your point about not using summons and not using consumables: If you equip consumables and summon the mimic, it will use those items but they will not be consumed.

[@Svoorhout85]

Equip Fia's True Baldachins blessing. Its a unique 1 time use item but your mimic will use it every time for a massive poise boost. Also warming stones and the perfume that lets you absorb a hit are very useful for your mimic.

[@richardterry3270]

Good call on using pots. Freezing pots really helped me finally defeat Malenia. But fire pots and rot pots are just fun to use on many enemies

[@jonathanshaver5310]

I used holy pots a bunch in the earlier catacombs to deal with skeletons, especially when I was using a weapon that was hard to do the follow-up attack with.

[@dyingbreed5386]

3:57 Haha. That's been burned into me by DS1. The crest shield (can't remember the name) that would give you stamina regen even if you were 2 handing a weapon and it was on your back.

[@Dan_d00d]

this seems like its a nightly view , well past midnight , for several months. always entertaining

[@jaximus1366]

I like having a medium shield like the Brass Shield on my back entirely for the fashion. It goes really well together with the Banished Knight's Greatsword, for example. I barely ever use it, but I like the way it looks and I'm willing to pile on some Endurance to stay at medium load

[@BlueAsterismSolstice]

A couple more facts about Spirit Ashes. They won't cut your rune gains from fight. Fromsoft was actually passionate about this feature to being curious which people would prefer and why. That means it's a bit experimental for them and could shape games or DLC in the future. There's even a consumable that directs them and makes them more hostile proving they are indeed just a tool. Baldakin's Blessing is for making desperate trades at a calculated risk.

[@ruaraidhmorrison5879]

re summons and ashes. I’m not an expert in this game at all. There’s no chance I would defeat the last few bosses without summons. The way I see it is, if the game allows it, it was designed to be used, it’s hardly a glitch. I’m not such a huge gamer that I feel I must defeat everything myself without help for a “true” completion. But as you say, some ashes are far stronger than most summons.

[@akaErma]

I think it is fair to say using summons does alleviate some of the difficulty. Whether you enjoy that level of difficulty is subjective.

[@avokovich3579]

I feel like summons are definitely implemented well in the game AT TIMES. I feel like sometimes they are necessary for certain fights while other fights it just makes the fight a lot easier.

[@flamingmanure]

@@avokovich3579 summons are implemented well enough. fromsoft veterans opinions on the matter dont hold much value.

[@eternalsummer8409]

Ik how people feel about summons being as you say “gigachads” so if I’m summoned, I use my strong stuff on invader and mobs(so the host has a chance to get to the boss), but on the boss I just use my basic or weaker things to give the host a better feeling of accomplishment

[@TheGeekAvenger]

As someone who loves summons and does a lot of co-op, the majority of co-op does not trivialize the boss. The boss life total increase IMHO outweighs the value of most co-op folks. I will often summon 2-4 times, then give up and solo the boss first time. Every once in a while you summon the gigachad but that is truly 1 in 10 if not rarer.

[@Svoorhout85]

Its also a nice wsy to learn from others. For example, I summoned a guy at Malenia who practically stunlocked her the entire first phase with the fire giant whips ash of war. It was quite impressive!

[@small3687]

I had no idea jumping attacks had such an increase in staggering. I am going to be changing the way I play based on this. Thanks!

[@gooney0]

Maybe this is obvious... the items scale based on stats. Depending on your build some items will be much better than others. For instance the Glintstone items scale on INT.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

I did this on purpose. I wanted to beat the tree sentinel without leveling but decided to look for some loot after a handful of tries, i ended up getting teleported by a trap to the crimson swamp area, so i explored the area for good loot but didn't find much, i walked back in a quest to get good. It was an epic quest where i hit up all the dungeons i could but pretty much got destroyed by the bosses, In the end i beat the tree sentinel and continued the game as intended.

[@BluePoo52]

2:20 that’s exactly how I approach games like this lol

[@ldntbutiiwii]

The stamina regen buff from the grass crest shield does kick in even when it's on your back though.

[@NightmareSolider]

The shields thing has a few exceptions like the turtle shell and a few others that grant passive bonuses

[@jamavra]

I summon some npcs. I want to see what they do..if we fail to kill the boss I won't summon him/her again if our attacks are too weak. However. Alexander and I Vs the Fire Giant? Epic. You will see him running up the slope. And he survives fire giant better than I did.

[@yetanotherspuart3993]

I love pots and the variety of ways they can help. The only issue is getting the ingredients. So you might have to grind a little.

[@Saga.Anderson]

Thanks for all the advice this time! Greetings, a German Fia hugger.

[@Shaheen164]

Not exploring ESPECIALLY when there are whole secret REGIONS that depend on you exploring

[@kabish0603]

I have about 25hrs played in the game, first Souls game I've played. I think I've only down 1 or maybe 2 of the story bosses, but have a good number of world bosses under my belt. I've not used a single crafted item my entire play through.... Guess I should start looking at what I can craft...

[@Koogz406]

Ya man same my first souls game and I have 500 hours plus first run and still not done...I have combed this place like space balls and I love it.

[@steviesbadtv]

Using a summons helps some people learn the fight. Like me as a new player to dark souls never been in that kind of game before. I used summons until I learned how to fight and then I stopped using them. Well I do use them for fun…🤷🏻‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@thebunnybun]

They make it so hard to miss or lock yourself out of quests in elden ring. You can miss a lot of steps and still end the quest and get the item.

[@JS-qt3co]

no.7 - I echo this, Margit couldn't stand my mighty fire bombs :)

[@kurejiakuma]

Mimic tear, a deer caught in head lights at times.

[@dwirtz0116]

It'd be neat if when you put the shield on your back it would actually block your whole back. Then I could see using it that way. Maybe. 🤔🤔

[@JOSHIEPUW]

You can up the jump attack damage with the deathrite bird's cloak (I don't remember what it's called)

[@christopherf2189]

Yeah I did the skip to get to black knife tiche and somehow got locked out of ranni quest but I was able to get the sword.. never got ring and still gave it to her.. Missed getting the puppets and Blaithes armor and fias quest also can't get cursemark

[@tydr0]

I do honestly HATE how there’s SO MUCH of the map that’s only accessible by doing Rannis quest. I feel like there’s tons of ways to ruin that and miss half or more of the underground map.

[@Carl-vx9ws]

I am first Play-through. I am a victim of indecision. Initially I would to find a weapon and level stats for that weapon to see if I like move set if I was able to make progression with it. In short my stats are all over the place. I can’t seem to commit myself to a single build. It’s frustrating because I like all of it.

[@V1DE0]

I use player summons but thats because its fun to play with other players.

[@DOC_951]

You truly can’t do all the quests without a guide on a first playthrough. You would have no idea where to find each npc after each step or what is needed to advance their quest or avoid locking yourself out of certain quests. Especially when so many of them are intertwined or reliant on finding them in random places before or after doing certain things or talking to certain other NPCs.

[@shannonconnor3697]

My girlfriend has taken to playing through an area or two as fully as we can, and then looking stuff up so we don't miss important things. So we go partially blind

[@gublaman]

For number 3, just equip the turtle or regen shield

[@crazy-acid-trip9765]

Not using rune arc . I have over 100 and NG4 and I feel I barely still use them or never using pots or bombs 💣 . No idea why I never use them lol

[@montgomeryfitzpatrick473]

Black feathers armor adds 10% to jump attack damage

[@avokovich3579]

would you consider sekrio style videos?

[@akaErma]

I spam the shit out of jump attack. Combined with two-handing colossal weapons makes 1v1s (in PVE) a joke.

[@12345.......]

You can summon other players to help with bosses?

[@HALberdier17]

I don't use player summons but that is because I don't have PS+ so I can't use multiplayer.

[@benjaminrabuzin9957]

The pain of repeatedly killing patches by accident

[@omnomshibob]

I resent the accusation. There is absolutely no way I carried Baldachin's blessing for about 30 hours of gameplay * embarrassed cough *.

[@oneeyemonster3262]

I still need to summon ...for those ONESHOT wonders. It is what it is. it's still 50/50 I'll get hit..but I can survive with erntree heal. My Mimic A.I. had gotten SMARTER....she dosnt always play the fool as much anymore.. she waits until I get hit...then attack.lmao

[@akuma9901]

I pretty much killed the game for myself. I refuse to move forward with the game until I get Black Knife Tiche, but I can’t beat it (Level 180 last I remember). Maybe one day I’ll go back. I haven’t played probably since May.

[@nathreetimesnineequalstwen7172]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gH3TY2hmgdGFqJI Wing Scythe makes Alecto a cakewalk

[@michaelervin893]

What's your build? If you're using INT, I destroyed her easily by drinking the unlimited FP physic and spamming Adula's Moonblade. Nothing else worked for me. Drove me crazy...You could always respec to beat her and then spec back haha

[@TheAmazingSpiderman87]

+7 falling starbeast spam was the only way I could defeat her. In fact she gave me more trouble than Godrick, Melania, and the duo put together.

[@beefresh5648]

I put down my controller and accidentally killed Gowry in one blow.

[@ttdthreadtheneedlesports9454]

Thats terrible..

[@-_-5470]

Good thing he is one of the few NPCs who doesn't mind that

[@danielhimpli6935]

LetMeSoloHer is not a bad player but you are right

[@cloudcultdev]

Shield...wait...there are shields in this game?

[@Luix]

You can revive npcs

[@deadseveredheads]

Hey Dom. Hey gang.

[@thecrocco5572]

This wasnt really a commenter edition, I feel. Usually commenter editions show, well, comments.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

For the ppl that don't explore during any souls games, stop it, get some help.

[@asuraphreak]

I use tiche for everything. First souls game so I don't give a fuck. Only get to do a few things at a time.

[@undefinedvariable8085]

I'd always slip into my booty call's chambers before the big bout, came out fresh and loved (although a little more tender), then popped that blessing right before the fog door. Temporary 5% health debuff has got nothing on that poise buff early game.

[@potatochobit]

are you aware that you can go back to an area you already walked through? lol

[@kaworunagisa4009]

Why am I watching this when I gave Elden Ring the boot the minute Gotham Knights came out? The more content I watch/read about it, the more I dislike it, even beyond the actual playing experience which for me personally sucked butt.

[@levis6294]

Elden lord no easy task

[@aquacamel]

Wait, do you want me to have a fantastic or amazing day?

[@matrixstar2767]

Way to show end game content on a newbie video....

[@ironkrokus1536]

I had a guy who looked and was named Giga Chad helped me defeat Malenia a week ago, lol