Elden Ring IS NOT Legendary, Here's Why | Asmongold Reacts

[@yimwee2401]

“For a game to be legendary, it has to be replayable for years” is one of the most bonehead takes I’ve ever heard.

[@saracchi1515]

Literally all FromSoftware games lel

[@Freshmaker420]

By his logic only games as a service that are catered for the mass can be legendary, right

[@thorveim1174]

@@Freshmaker420 and beware, only if they get that support and arent just dropped...

[@PrinceCollinXXX]

Also I literally still replay it. I’ve replayed it like 100 times

[@walls_of_skulls6061]

Here we are, a year later, with tons of replay value and mods to extend that

[@MrGeorge07]

the fact this game is only a year old and i already get nostalgia from just watching clips of people reacting to this game makes it legendary

[@Maximum7077]

legend of zelda and ff are not legendary games for me. DOS2 and Skyrim are legendary games. Games that are replayable and you can have 100s of hours in it. If a game was legendary you would replay it.

[@thomasjackson5204]

but because its only been a year ..which isn't long ..is the reason your reacting to it lol.............................lets wait 10 years its alteast 10 years maybe more.

[@savagedonut]

I dislike Reskin Ring

[@MrGeorge07]

@@Kriz-ff2qy nostalgia is feeling not logic lmfao. Doesn't take logic for people to consider which games they like the most, that's called opinion. Next time i decide on which game got me hooked and gave me nostalgia ill remember to think really hard about it because obviously it might be un logical 🤣

[@MrGeorge07]

@@Kriz-ff2qy to me it's legendary because it gives me nostalgia. This is my opinion. It doesn't take logic for people determine what they like in life 🤡

[@creeperkinght1144]

I think gameplay time is more expansive than people think. Yeah 'I played this game for X hours' is great, but what matters is asking ' how did you feel during those X hours? Did the experience during that feel good, bad, neutral, or some variation?' Hours are not the only to show dedication, but the experience itself can add so much more to putting a perspective in the game. Edit: I find it fascinating that some people have put their own perspective/ experience below as a response. It gives an open idea of what people really think about the games they play, and as a result it can make one more aware of the experience itself.

[@Gromper7878]

Very true. I loved the first 80% of my first playthrough (160+ hrs total) but that last 20% just dragged and left a sour taste for me. I just wanted it to be over and it made me really sad that I started to feel that way about the game

[@Ghorda9]

@@Gromper7878 the game never expected you to do everything on first playthrough, saving content for the future to cut the time down to 80 hours or less would help a lot with enjoyment.

[@Gromper7878]

@@Ghorda9 For sure, I just loved the game so much and burnt myself out. However my love has been resparked and I'm currently on my 4th playthrough :))))

[@BobbyJenko]

@@Gromper7878I have a tendency to go so hard on a game and get burnt out. I just wait awhile until the hunger for it comes back lol

[@bullcrab2032]

It was boring

[@joebk44]

My first playthrough I never got bored of the caves. I had fun exploring the whole times. It’s why I have 200 hours on my first character. But every play through after I skip most of them. That doesn’t mean they are bad. I just don’t need to explore it again. I got to the ones I need.

[@timmcgraw3096]

The first two playthroughs I fully explored every corner of the map, and then in randomizer mode, I did it again. After nearly 400 hours in Elden Ring, I haven't opened it anymore for 5 months. Maybe someday I'll play Elden Ring again, but probably not anytime soon. 😂

[@timmcgraw3096]

The first two playthroughs I fully explored every corner of the map and got every loot as possible as I can, and then in randomizer mode, I did it again. After nearly 400 hours in Elden Ring, I haven't opened it anymore for 5 months. Maybe someday I'll play Elden Ring again, but probably not anytime soon. 😂I'm a deep patient with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder of collection.

[@sk8legendz]

100%. not going to bother with a dungeon that at best gives me 3k runes when i can get that off a random npc or mob group. not that the dungeons werent fun, im just min maaxing my time and benefits gained

[@brandonvallier4214]

Yeah I'm at almost 300h on my first playthrew and I haven't been stuck on a boss for any real length. I just keep exploring.

[@ELDENLORD89]

same I was never bothered by the caves. On subsequent play throughs I would just avoid caves that didn’t have what I need. This idea that ER is hard to replay because the thrill of going into copy paste caves looms is utterly meaningless to me. The guy who made this video is a goof.

[@King_of_Hearts]

I think the whole weapon leveling thing is probably designed difficulty to make you feel attached to you’re weapon, and feel a sense of accomplishment or allow for again a development of attachment and risk involved with upgrading a weapon.

[@cronotriggered4314]

True, but in a game where you can find so much cool shit to use, not being able to try stuff out is a buzzkill to exploration. And even worse you have to actively invest into a weapon in order to figure out if it’s damage numbers and scaling is even remotely worthwhile, or just look it up.

[@CrzyLion]

@@cronotriggered4314 in the early game, the scaling hardly matters, its the base weapon damage that is most of the damage increase when you upgrade your weapons in the lategame you can just buy the stones, and find like 8 of each max upgrade stone last playthrough i did i changed weapons like 5-7 times, (was dual wielding so stone cost was doubled)

[@cronotriggered4314]

@@kayn9651 I’m not saying it isn’t designed with that in mind, being able to buy stones alone gives that impression. I’m just saying the way it’s incorporated ends up being cumbersome and annoying. Having to spend time grinding weapons up with excessive numbers of stones isn’t fun, and discourages me trying something else out. If I’m at a boss and want to try something else, but will need to spend 30 minutes to get it to a level where it’s functional, I’m probably just going to brute force with what I’m already using.

[@G1R2TS]

@@kayn9651good point about starting weapons. I used my Ugi long into the mountaintops and felt a feeling of loss when I benched it.

[@lawless7512]

I'm confused when people mean test or "use" test you can still test weapons you don't need kill bosses to "test something" but use is different if you wanna use a weapon then yeah you'll grind heck you can even equip weapons when you have no stats for it to"test it" but that's my view

[@beatsbymonny]

Elden Ring is legendary just based on the fact that every open world AAA game got inadvertently exposed, ER came and said “This is the minimum gamers should be getting”

[@Just_a_turtle_chad]

This video was 100% made by an AI.

[@mostneuter]

@@bhutehole beep boop

[@lebron73]

@@bhutehole big true

[@repghost9481]

comment bot reported

[@repghost9481]

@@bhutehole mustang and sally did it better

[@alchemyty]

What's sad is I cannot tell if you're kidding or not

[@fourjhin_cookies]

I havn't felt the sense of awe/mystery/exploration that Elden Ring gave me since I first played World of Warcraft back in 4th grade. And that sense of awe lasted through my entire 300 hour playthrough. That alone is enough to make me consider this game legendary. Remember going into that little stone building next to the giant bear scratching the tree? Finding an elevator in there that brought you so far down into a giant underground city whose sky looked like a galaxy cluster? (Nokron) Holy guacamole that was awesome. I only consider the first playthrough when reviewing a game like this. Of course your 2nd, 3rd, 4th playthrough isn't going to be as magical.

[@ravi-oli]

Seems like you haven’t played alot of good games then

[@fourjhin_cookies]

@@ravi-oli or maybe I just have different tastes than you

[@KhadiPlays]

@@fourjhin_cookies if you haven't try Outer Wilds (yes Wilds not Worlds), completely differente genre of a game but playing ER I kept thinking "I haven't had this much fun exploring since Outer Wilds"

[@enman009]

@@KhadiPlays and the fun part about Outer Wilds is that, even though you can still explore and move around, once you know the "clue", the exploration goes away in order to optimize your gameplay. That isn't inherently bad, since it serves feelings, themes and ideas that doesn't need 420 playthroughs. But of course some will disagree and find it as a negative.

[@xsomeNOOBx]

I'm a grown ass man and few games have really given me the sense of scale, wonder, and, exploration that Elden Ring have. Outer Wilds definitely gave me more "wonder" but despite being a literal solar system explorer felt neither as big in scale, nor as explorable (it is much more directed than ER and is more like discovery than exploration).

[@MrTmm97]

8:50 I like the idea of upgrading the anvil to upgrade all weapons to a certain level. It would absolutely allow for more experimentation, likely leading to more build diversity. However I have two points- I think that Fromsoft attempts to address this by rewarding bell bearings throughout the game that way as long as your either heavily exploring to find the bell bearings or have a guide to find them….you will eventually be able to level any weapon you want up to either somber+9 or normal+24. However this still promotes farming to afford the runes to buy the smithing stones, especially as the higher level stones become extremely expensive. However with farming areas like that in Mohgwyn palace it’s not like the farming take that long. My issue with this solution is the bell bearing for certain level smithing stones aren’t provided until 1-2 areas after the region you would normally find those levels stone and level your primary weapon. This means that even though in the extreme end-game or NG+ you have the means to experiment as much as you want with different weapons…as you are progressing through the game you are still essentially limited by the stones you find the stones your able to buy when progressing through a given region tends to be weaker than what that area is expecting you to upgrade too-evidenced by the stones that actually are found in those area. I think that really stifles experimentation until the very late game which doesn’t feel the best. However your often also limited by what you can experient with by your level by means of scaling or stat requirements. The scaling can be side stepped by respecing… but high level requirements have to be overcome by leveling up. I do think that the entire structure of offering the bell bearing for smithing stones a level or two down from the stones that drop in that region was an intentional design decision by Fromsoft. The reason being because having to find smithing stones for a given region to upgrade your weapon as high as you can in that region encourages the player to explore for loot (weapons, talismans, armor, and most importantly for this point…smithing stones.) This increases the total play time for the game which indirectly helps by the player also gaining other loot and levels while they explored for those smithing stones. This increases total playtime which bodes well for the game and also better prepares the player for upcoming challenges. My and I’m guessing most players biggest complaint with that is that the dungeons that reward the vast majority of smithing stones in each region become repetitive and tedious towards the end game. In my experience it wasn’t overly tedious though.

[@lancelottrivino2273]

outside of story, there would be absolutely no incentive to play new game plus to try different builds as u could do it all on the same run. This makes the game worse. And yes to your point, exxploring takes precedent in this particular souls game. Its the first ever open world souls game ever...of COURSE they want you exploring and getting the smithing stones that way...

[@102ndsmirnov7]

the reason to play NG+ is partly for the challenge and also so that you can get multiples of otherwise "unique" weapons, for instance boss drops.@@lancelottrivino2273

[@spartanmanti622]

Isn't mogwhyns palace only dlc?!

[@Retchet1]

​@@spartanmanti622 Mohgwyn Palace is in the base game and became the access point to the DLC. I can see where you are coming from. The Palace is a very obscure location you can only access thru a quest line with one of the most dislikable NPCs (Varré) or in a secret late game area that already has allot of other stuff (Consecrated Snowfield that needs the secret Medallion). Even the Mohg achievement on steam is still only at ~40% compared to Maliketh at ~41%.

[@Humble197]

@@lancelottrivino2273 Replayability should not be the be all end all of games its a shit argument.

[@miketike3246]

I actually loved the process of gathering smithing stones and other materials, it makes you explore the world and makes you patient and not rush the game. And I LOVED just taking my time and going through dungeons really thoroughly. I don't entirely know why, but smithing stone gathering felt really immersive and satisfying to me.

[@leoleo1035]

I think it is a retarded reason to explore and they could have easily done better. Walking around 20 hours to find fucking rocks to level a weapon I may regret and discard, is just stupid.

[@fullreinhard]

I dunno, gathering them wasn’t a highlight of the experience personally. With the game being less linear than previous Souls games, the materials you got were so spread out that there’s a chance you’d end up gathering every smithing stone but the one you might need. Also, streamlining the anvil would help build diversity by making it more feasible to try newer weapons without having to spend an hour or two gathering just to address some of the awful stat scaling.

[@miketike3246]

@@leoleo1035 Well then I think you missed the point of the game. It's not about instant gratification. Also, the game doesn't make you farm smithing stones the entire playthrough. There is a point when you get bell bearings and then you can simply buy the smithing stones at the Roundtable hold, unlimited. But you still had to explore and overcome obstacles to get the bell bearings. But once you had it you no longer had to farm a particular level of stone. Same thing for grave glovewort for upgrading spirit summons. After a while you could buy those as well. So when you say what's the point of investing in upgrades for weapons you might regret and discard....ummm...isn't that why it's INDIVIDUAL CHOICES that are up to you? In an RPG? Right? If you upgrade a weapon that you later don't use, so what? Didn't that weapon get you to a certain point in the game? If a weapon gets you 40% through a play through, it's not wasted. It sounds to me like you just don't like exploration RPGS and you want everything handed to you from the beginning.

[@miketike3246]

@@leoleo1035 If gathering materials in dungeons isn't a good reason to explore, then what is?

[@kreenbopulusmichael7205]

I hate crafting systems with specific and obscure resources. just give me one or a handful of resources to collect and let me upgrade everything with them, simply needing more as I upgrade more. having to find a bunch of some common item, and then one specific and rare item just to get a few stats increased isnt fun for me

[@reldey3900]

I think it's cool that the bell bearings exist, and that it gives you another great reason to explore the larger caves. It really isn't much trouble to upgrade items compared to previous souls games.

[@Wywern291]

This is so wrong it's not even funny. You can upgrade a weapon to max level like long before you get the bell bearings to do it with other weapons, especially somber smithing stones with which you can get +10 by the time you get to Liurnia.

[@vincey6158]

@@Wywern291 yeah, some devs decided to 'fuck it' and placed somber 9 near the Caelid tower. The fastest somber 9 in the lower region, lmao. I think you need to reach Volcano Manor and jump skip for Somber 7, but you get the idea

[@anhdunghisinh]

@@vincey6158 tbh north of Caelid was full of dragons, people would avoided there even after they beat Radahn

[@anhdunghisinh]

@@vincey6158 but still i think it was a good design, people try jump skip at Volcano Manor and people trying to get Radahn Great Runes must have to be quite mid or better at the game, they deserve to obtain high lv upgrade mats.

[@vincey6158]

@@anhdunghisinh except you can just fast travel there with portal behind marika church #2

[@thelastgamer1]

I think this was a kinda bad take…the whole point of going to unarmed tunnel 5 is so you will explore the extra parts of the game and find even more stuff. It’s definitely a fun contribution. The ball bearings definitely took care of most of the problems he was talking about.

[@Mandelorian3455]

Elden ring makes nothing new. Its all the same. But its still a good game.

[@thelastgamer1]

@@Mandelorian3455 yeah it was the dark souls formula but turned open world

[@antoniopietro6592]

​@@Mandelorian3455so does anything that a human creates.

[@lerippletoe6893]

If you don't want to struggle to upgrade, then you get the bell bearings. If you want to take even more away from it, then just play it on pc and hack it.

[@minhhieunguyen8096]

@@Mandelorian3455 there are news things, do you see any dark souls boss that do a combo for fkin 20 seconds? Stance breaking is also make R2 and jump attack viable. Ashes of war can be apply to various weapon and so much fun to use. Puzzle, dungeon,.. all that and you say nothing new? Nahh brah, just say you quit the game in the first hour

[@talonblade336]

For the weapon upgrades part I will say that I prefer the way the souls game and Elden Ring does it. There are plenty of upgrade materials just sitting out in the world to hinder you if you want to experiment, and it also gives me a sense of mastery when I take my weapon that I have chosen from the dozens available to me into the final boss room.

[@redseagaming7832]

Correct and also you noticed how all the missing stones are strategically placed throughout the world so you can't become overpowered immediately in the game that's a smart thing on from software's part fact of the matter there's some areas of the game you can't get too unless you go through a boss and if you're not ready for that boss you're not getting past it and you're not getting those upgrade materials

[@talonblade336]

@@redseagaming7832 you can in theory get to everywhere but anything past Lyndell without killing a major boss.

[@RuneKatashima]

I think you used the word "hinder" incorrectly, my friend.

[@doublelizard767]

​@@RuneKatashima Running around this entire map remembering all the smiting stone locations is definitely a hindrance

[@johnfrankster3244]

Literally nothing wrong with the way you upgrade weapons. Once you have the bell bearings its literally not a problem. The only minor irritation is the limit on sombre 10s.

[@madelen9279]

I appreciate the fact that you have to work for every thing in the souls like games. For me that’s a huge part of how it gets me so invested! Yea, it’s annoying when you find out you’re short on a type of smithing stone, but then again it always sends me on a new adventure. He can’t possibly be that familiar with the fanbase if he thinks there’s so few of us enjoying the grind lol. We enjoy the torture, sweat and tears, why else would you play it.

[@SimonRobeyns]

thats dark souls right there i think this guy is expecting the kids version of a from soft game and to some extent elden ring is a bit more user friendly but i wouldnt say its streamlined and easy id say its more fluid and solid in the sense that it's so huge of a world it wouldn't make sense to have too many roadblocks in regards to bosses and such im at malaketh black blade now; for instance and this feels like the first roadblock where i might need a couple of attemps to get through it. Last time i felt like this was in the sewer of that big city, i just felt underlevelled.

[@Ghorda9]

@@SimonRobeyns subterranean shunning grounds is set up in such a way that you could just sneak or run past the omens.

[@izmizzle]

You can max a somber weapon in a few minutes, think about how many more mushroom×5 we would be looting if there were no smithing stones

[@2lowfatmilk606]

​@@SimonRobeynsyou can have a hard game without a lot of grinding, he wasn't expecting it to be a easy kids game obviously, but you still make up claims.

[@gregs9210]

if you've played enough games you'd also know that developers use mechanics like that to water down the rest of the content in the game

[@xConflictGodzx]

That upgrade idea is good… for a casual game not for a souls game, the whole part of an upgrade system in a souls game is that it’s a reward to upgrade your weapon and if all your weapons were max level that easily then build diversity would be even worse because everyone would use everything they can do, so you’d experience less wtf moment videos etc of someone using a unique weapon they’ve made a character to revolve around it

[@monyfornow]

nah man it forces you to stick to a singular weapon for an entire playthrough it just aint it

[@Morbid_Stoner]

THATS WHAT IM SAYINGGGGG, BRO WAS LITERALLY COMPLAINING ABT HAVING TO PLAY THE GAME

[@ttv.Backpack]

@@monyfornowit really doesn’t. souls games aren’t designed to cater to the players. search and go through failure over and over to deserve a reward

[@Anima18911]

Every souls game has weapon upgrade....

[@joelbarnes6632]

I think the main reason I love Asmons reactions is because I like watching the videos he reacts to however a lot of the time I get mad at the inability to challenge some of the outlandish takes held and then find no one to have a good faith conversation about it with and always end up feeling somewhat isolated and questioning myself whereas when I watch Asmond he calls it as he sees it always leading reinforcement of my own takes or really unique perspectives that I would have missed. Edit: yeah after re reading this there were definitely better ways to convey what I was trying to say, rather than challenge which implies an open discussion I meant simply disagree, my vocabulary isn’t big enough nor my ability to articulate my thoughts clearly to fix this so fuck it, cheers to all the people that understood what I was trying to say.

[@alexpopov6661]

Good insight and self awareness

[@enman009]

It's a valid sentiment. There's a lot of very questionable points on the internet, specially videos like the one Asmon is reacting to, so it's reassuring to have people responding to wild takes. I highly recommend watching JK Leeds and LupineOs in this regards, they bring excellent points and respectful disagreements.

[@starcraftBR]

Yes whether you agree or disagree, its a good constructive criticism/discussion to take/give

[@nimmer4749]

"Asmond"

[@project-arlo]

gosh an internet intellectual

[@Conrad75]

Elden Ring is the only game since Halo 3 & Reach that really made me feel like a kid again while playing it. I enjoyed every second of it and even just a year later I feel nostalgic about it. To me that’s more than enough to be legendary, especially with the majority (not all) of games coming out today being the dogshit quality they are. Even out of the fromsoft games it’s my favorite. I played through probably 2/3rds of DS1 and 3 but just got bored with them (I know I know that’s the greatest sin imaginable) and I’ve just started playing Sekiro

[@jgriff8533]

I agree, it ruined modern gaming for me for a bit because by comparison nothing is as good right now.

[@VeuTrox]

Good luck with Sekiro, you’re gonna have a hell of a time but it’s gonna be worth it. Just remember that hesitation is defeat.

[@duysin4]

Yup, my time exploring Limgrave without a single clue or guides, yet.. it was just so magical. It brought back the joy of exploring and sense of wonder and danger that most games just don't have nowadays. Definitely a top 10 or 5 game of all time for me.

[@ryanbarry34]

Same with me, felt the same way with the first dark souls and bloodbourne. 30 now so Halo 3 is quite a vivid memory. Sekiro is great, only tip I would say is perservere, you will get better just via muscle memory as you adapt, its quite amazing. My second playthrough was a breeze in comparison even a year later.

[@shade0636]

Tip for Sekiro: Don't try to play it like dark souls or you will be frustrated.

[@johnray527]

I think the Bell Bearings for upgrade materials largely solved the problem, but I also think that defeating major story bosses (Remembrances) might have been a good time to lower prices for those stones at Roundtable Hold. Locating upgrade materials actually is fun for me, and prioritizing how to improve your build is key to the game. But there should be a way to avoid excessive runaround to try out new weapons. What ends up happening in Elden Ring is you just get people to drop an upgraded version of something.

[@stinkfinga4918]

That's been an ongoing problem in all the souls games, except bloodborne, cuz you can't 'leave' anything lol suddenly the twink builds were sparse

[@airekofvinlandslayerofthes7965]

Elden Ring is absolutely a legendary game. Hands down.

[@shamsulhaqramzi378]

agreed

[@embern3372]

Just depends how you define legendary tbh, I think that's the only gripe of this video. In any essay you have to clearly define the shit you're talking about, he didn't really give a clear definition about "legendary".

[@vazazell5967]

It's worse than all previous from games and is more derivative of itself to the point it doesn't feel like a new game

[@thesupreme8062]

​@@vazazell5967tend to agree, its less balanced, and even though it has more of everything its ultimately less replayable than older souls games because its poorly balamced in comparison

[@vazazell5967]

@@thesupreme8062 it's not even about balance, it's about amount of new content to your asshole being stretched ratio. I beat artorias wannabe on steroids no48 just to access 3 more asylum demons, 4 pus of man and 2 shitty dragons? I miss phalanx, i miss maiden astrea, i miss mist noble. I miss every single thing that was interesting and wasn't actively trying to be the hardest thing in the universe. I'm once again seeing that from had no idea of what made their games appealing and just makes random stuff and huhahhh HARD. Lords of the fallen and the surge had similar level of difficulty to Elden ring which is why people disliked them, but those games at least have new animations and enemies. I'm so disappointed, and i wasn't even waiting for this one. Assassin's creed games change more stuff between games than From at this point.

[@justpazzingby13]

Commitment is a cornerstone of all Soulsgames. You commit to a weapon, a playstyle, a stat upgrade, or an attack. Everything in a Soulsgames is a deliberate decision and thus either a success or a mistake.

[@electricant55]

Except other souls don't take 100 hours to beat

[@Aiden-iy9du]

@@electricant55 if it takes you 100 hours to beat elden ring again there's something wrong with you

[@confuscious5514]

​@Aiden it took me 101 hours to finish NG but I did it on purpose because I was exploring and completely missed the main bosses until I had to lmao

[@ryanbarry34]

Spot on, it's a refreshing design these days.

[@kadenfridley1285]

I get that but you can also respec your stats, It doesn't restrict you to one playstyle until you want to change the weapon you use.

[@thecrazygamer2853]

So one big thing I have to say to counter the leveling items, is the implementation of the bell bearings. Not only do they allow you to purchase material for weapons, but also spirit ashes. As someone who switched from a Dex katana build (why I played this build as a sole strength player in DS3 idk) a poison arcane/strength to pure strength banished knight Oleg cosplay, it was nice to be able to get the smithing stones for all the way up to level 18, which is a viable level for endgame even. And that is just with the level two bearing. I am incredibly happy they did it this way, in fact I feel like they give you the higher level smithing stones relatively quickly, since I have been clearing the underground shunning grounds I have gotten a ridiculous amount of lvl 7 smithing stones. And I know he talks about it, but I just thought I would bring my own opinion.

[@auxiliumtv]

Wasn't a huge mechanic of the game the gamble of exploration (risk vs reward)? So to gather more consumables it was a gamble because you might run into something way stronger than yourself. In order to upgrade weapons more it took risk. To become more powerful than the linear path took risk and/or exploitation of the leash free open world that is optional to you. It feels like complaining about a 3 course meal that has been painstakingly setup for you but then they also have provided you with a pro kitchen and all the ingredients that were used to make your great food so you can make yourself whatever you want. Then you complain that the food wasn't as good as the food you made or you complain that you're too full, or you complain that the food they made was better than the food you made...

[@BrianCarreraShaw]

It's always the 'climb' that makes you get attached to elements in the game or any game. Being strong enough to get through difficult content and bosses give an ample amount of payback

[@orionizaqt]

My first playthrough of Elden Ring was the best playthrough of any game I've ever played. Experiencing all of it for the first time was nothing short of spectacular. From the badass bosses, to the picturesque landscapes and beautiful scenery, to the epic music, the insanely huge map and all the super dope spells and weapons you can find. It was just a dream game really. Just so many cool things and excitement around every corner. Just purely wonderful and fantastic, truly a magical game. I'm already nostalgic for it after only a short time of it coming out and that's pretty amazing. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, it's definitely legendary.

[@chrismerrell7957]

Guides absolutely crushed the souls-born genre. It's one thing to use a weapon that is good, but it's a whole different thing to figure out a weapon that you LOVE. And I think that's where dryblindvideo fell short. Instead of trying to figure out what he liked about the game, he immediately went to google and figured out the 'optimal build'. As soon as you do that you've surrendered everything you accomplish to some blogger, KZbinr or journalist. You don't have to min-max everything, and doing so can absolutely make a game worse. I always try to figure things out for myself before I look up guides.

[@eyesfullofsky9776]

I was a MASSIVE PvP junkie back in Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne and especially Dark Souls 2. The build diversity in the last example in particular was staggering, so much so that that I had well over two thousand hours and there were still new builds I was playing around with. Sure, Ice Rapier/Sun Sword/Spear stab spam was strong and, sure, high Poise Katana builds ran rampant for a long time... But I still loved using dumb shit like Powerstance Caestus with Off-Hand Bone Fist, or Anvil-on-a-Stick with Lance in the left. My weapons and gear weren't as good as theirs, yes- but I could still put up a good fight, and I had a ton of fun doing so.

[@Shitockiful]

Yeah I agree here, it is indeed the strategy guide that killed the game from the beginning, it just wasn’t apparent until it was too late. Otherwise, somehow I’d probably see a hard copy strategy guide for Elden ring lying around an ad or something

[@dots1761]

@@eyesfullofsky9776fist weapons after a few buffs are now meta fyi, caestus is very fun and I highly reccomend it.

[@RomGomLP]

I ran half the game looking up best oonga boonga weapons, but then at some point found the cool bubble blowing trumpet, insta respecced and bubbled everything to death, it was much more enjoyable than following a guide

[@ollydavis2495]

It doesnt affect pve because i just dont look up guides, but pvp on the over hand has been ruined by sad unoriginal people spamming moonviel and ROB i just dont understand the appeal of doing thay

[@Zach014G]

My 2 cents. I think If a game has you remembering it for ages with just 1 or 2 playthroughs its Legendary to yourself. Isn't that good enough? I think so :)

[@nujevad28]

Silent Hill 2 is Legendary, but I doubt you'd enjoy playing it multiple times.

[@axrye800]

Fallout New Vegas does this for me. A unarmed/melee build is the most fun I've had in a videogame, and years later I still remember bits and pieces of me running thru the Mojave and beating the shit out of most NPCS

[@Zach014G]

@@nujevad28 I still have memories of it LOL I remember forgetting to crowbar at the hospital and getting softlocked in the Well LOL

[@migueltucabron]

I don't think that standard is really good though. I have that with some really flawed games like Risen 2 which has pretty bad graphics (even for the time of release), pretty clunky gameplay and pretty bad armour diversity. I really liked the game and still remember it fondly despite those flaws but i would never call it legendary.

[@orangeeeeeee]

Or you remember it because of how bad it was lol. Not saying that's what ER was though.

[@bl0ots]

i can’t be the only one who doesn’t get bored of the catacombs/cave. I have beaten the game 4 times and each time i enjoy going through the dungeons .

[@Thesrin]

Maybe it is

[@jockturner1547]

I agree, they’re fun. It’s weird to me that people complain about how they’re similar, while also plaything through Dark Souls like 13 times. You go through very similar areas over and over. The reason you play it is because the gameplay is fun. This doesn’t change from catacomb, cave or open world. The gameplay is just fun 🤷‍♂️

[@DatCheeseCake]

True. I just genuinely enjoy the hell out of combat. ​@@jockturner1547

[@dupsdeggerod3037]

I enjoy the dungeons but I wish they had some new architecture as you get further into the game. While the puzzles and gameplay within the catacombs is pretty diverse, every single one looks exactly the same and it makes it boring when you find another one you’ve seen a thousand times

[@arrrrrghimapirate]

Yeah only a couple are actually really tedious

[@TheUnzeal]

Elden Ring for me was like the adult version of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of time. Exploring those two games was an huge experience for me and will always be fondly remembered. But no game is perfect for everybody. But Elden Ring will always be a legendary game for me and these Tarnished eyes will always follow the glimmer of light.

[@DragonoftheDarknessFlame]

Adult OOT is Twighlight Princess

[@orangeeeeeee]

The themes that come up in OOT are pretty adult if you ask me lol

[@weskintime4177]

Just playing the game this is just the Skyrim of Darksouls.

[@Ghorda9]

@@weskintime4177 except skyrim has terrible combat.

[@brandonman1315]

I’ve said this exact thing since ER came out!

[@ultrawhitebread]

The best idea I have for the new weapon issue is being able to refund upgrades on weapons at the cost of a certain amount of runes. It would allow you to move upgrades between weapons allowing for faster build switches or just switching to a different weapon with your current build.

[@wecros3249]

would make upgrading your favorite weapon seem less like a big deal. These are important decisions to make in video games and taking that decision capability from the player would hurt the player experience imo.

[@Mikazuchireborn]

They did strike a sweet zone when it came to fully upgrading the weapons. Upgrading a weapon to +25 doesn't automatically turn it into an ultimate weapon: it's just the cherry on top for a weapon you've gotten good at using. The difference between +24 is pretty negligible. Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones may be limited, but the game gives you plenty of them in a single play through, so you haven't completely ruined your save if you accidentally used a few!

[@Heathboy420]

Naw just get bell bearings like the game design intends

[@vazazell5967]

​@@Heathboy420 bell bearings lag forever behind the actual damage you need

[@ragegaze3482]

@@vazazell5967no they don't lol what

[@SleepyRPGman]

Most people don't speed run games. Heck most people don't complete games. A game does not need speed running to be legendary.

[@readyupwait6138]

Elden ring is my first experience with a souls game and I didn’t think I was going to finish it but with all of the different weapons and armor I ended up going for the platinum trophy on this game and played through this 4 times each time around using a completely different build. Finding a new cave or hidden area on new game +’s really blew my mind. This is a hell of a game and has me wanting to play through the rest of the souls games. My only issue is that I wish it was longer or this dlc would drop already lol

[@splinterborn]

you might not like the other games, they have great level design compared to elden ring's bland empty copy and paste world.

[@PyroBlonde7777]

@@splinterborn As someone who played D1 and D3 I strongly disagree. ER has some of the best scenery and map design of any souls game. D1 and D3 were more linear so the levels reflected that. Doesn't make them better when they can't match the scale of ER.

[@JumpCatStudio102]

@@PyroBlonde7777 D1 established the vertical interconnected level design which ER reuses (lyndell / subterrean / depth root). It was praised a lot for this specific design because it makes you feel like the world is a lot bigger with different paths that you can traverse (while still preserve the linear dungeon tradition)

[@PyroBlonde7777]

@Trong Hieu Nguyen D3 had the same design to an extent. Doesn't change the fact that ER is designed to be open world. As a result, it has way more freedom of progression. You can straight up walk past many of the world bosses without pulling aggro. whereas the Souls games generally force you to face enemies. The map design reflects this. I'm not saying ER is completely different. It's just an open world Souls experience. Which gives it an edge imo.

[@fatusopp4739]

@@splinterborn levels like raya lucaria, stormveil, leydell, and volcano manor really put elden rings level design up there, with the open world being mostly scenic and filler.

[@iamthejolson]

I feel like the build/weapon criticism stems from a very narrow view of Elden Ring. The game has a lot of replay value through making a new character or New Game+ and really if anything I feel like if you like the gameplay loop (the primary reason to play the game mind you) it entices you to come back and try different things.

[@Thulgore]

EXACTLY!!!

[@mahatmaniggandhi2898]

other souls games do that better

[@Idontevenknowman779]

No it doesn’t lol

[@Childofbhaal]

@@mahatmaniggandhi2898They all do it pretty much the same to me. I have platinum in every single souls game and I still feel compelled to start them over again with new builds or trying different things

[@CheeseOfMasters]

@@Childofbhaal Elden Ring adds nothing in New Game+ though sadly, other games at least gave new items.

[@tonymorales7915]

Readings these comments is like no one has played any other from soft games came to this one game because it got so much hype and then are calling it legendary. Crazy.

[@admiralbright7308]

Elden Ring is very replayable, you just don't 100% the map everytime like the first playthrough. When you want to play new builds you can bline for the weapon itself and upgrades. I have dozens of new playthroughs this way.

[@SaltNip]

@@MonochromeMemories Honestly, while I agree on the combat styles side of things, I have to disagree with the endings argument. The Age of Stars and Lord of the Frenzied Flame endings are both cool, and the Age of Fracture ending is just the default option, but the other three are very weak in comparison. The three Mending Rune endings all have interesting lore behind them, but the actual endings are just palette swaps of the Age of Fracture cutscene with a minor dialogue difference. Generally agree on the replayability of the game though, since- to be a bit cliche- it's ultimately about the journey, not the destination.

[@nolanthedude]

@@SaltNip yea the endings have no effect on the world at all. I have a feeling they’ll impact the DLC, but it’s shocking that there is no tangible impact after the game is completed.

[@romdog1818]

Sadly, that B-Line just isnt as engaging as previous games. Most of the time you're just traveling on torrent for a couple of hours. The open world may have made making builds easier, but it also ruined the journey of making said builds.

[@entropy7705]

I cant help but feel this is due to the sheer size and not because the actual content is all worth replaying through again. If ER was a convention souls game and cut 75% of the fluff it would probably not be as interesting as ds1 and probably on par with ds3

[@ragegaze3482]

100% agree, found it odd how he complained about how it isn't fun to do x dungeon boss for the 5th time on x playthrough, like what? You literally only go to the dungeons you need and avoid teh ones you don't, maybe on the first playthrough that can be an argument but he specifically mentioned repeat playthroughs

[@oreledoria2537]

I was a fextralife daily user playing elden ring, finding every cave, dungeon, what have you and clearing them out of all the spirit summons, items, etc. on my first playthrough. Loved it. Got the 3 main endings through my first and 2 NG playthroughs alongside getting the elden ring achievement in 120 hours. Just the way I liked playing and I consider Elden Ring to be the best game I've played since The Witcher 3.

[@FairlyOddFather]

Crazy how incredibly fun it is to replay with different stats, weapons, incantations and spells. How confident you are the second time around enabling you to try new builds and explore new areas.

[@MrTeamGuy]

"Hoops" doing respec. "Not replayable" because you can't use all weapons on the same run. Smithing stones? You can buy them. What dafuk

[@MitoDrium]

Just someone having an opinion without having all the information. As is typical on the internet.

[@enman009]

And you know the funny part? Another KZbinr called Eredin complained that respect drags the game down. Someone's solution becomes another's problem, and both fail to see the impartial intention of the game rather than their personal take. That says a lot about good criticism and KZbinrs as a hole.

[@ronniegogs]

I have seen Titus one shot the fire giant as a level 1. No game allows that kind of diversity with a crazy build and buff routine to calculate that much damage. He one shot the fire giant without any phases. literal one shot.

[@ChumpyGames]

One of the problems with the OP's point about all the work that goes into changing your build is this: the game is an RPG and that's kind of the point. The whole point of an RPG is that you have to make choices about how to build your character, you have to invest time into building your character, and the consequence of those choices is partly that you lock yourself out of other builds. It's just like how rolling a barbarian or fighter in a D&D-style class system will lock you out of being a wizard or sorcerer.

[@TimothyGod]

That's kinda countered by how easy it is to re spec

[@Isosceles8818]

I think we live in an era now where novelty is spoiled by knowledge sharing and hindsight. ER is a massive game, and exploration and combat are the 2 pillars that the game is built on. After most people's 1st playthrough, they've learned most of everything they need to know to beat the game. I think our general game knowledge has outgrown how these games are meant to be experienced. We rob ourselves of hours of discovery by reading and looking up the information, and I think that's what makes ER easy to criticize. I think people beat the game, read and learn about all the different kinds of builds and generally consume all of the knowledge of the game online. Then it takes away the novel element of the game and then after that it feels more shallow because you feel like you already know where everything is. I think if a man on a desert island experienced this game without knowledge sharing, this game could be experienced for 1000+ hours.

[@enman009]

Further expanding your point: every game, even the indie darlings, use some sort of gameplay loop that becomes apparent and replace the discovery aspect. That isn't inherently good or bad since mastery of the systems, through thorough exploration, leads to a satisfying conclusion. In other words: of course people will explore as much as they want in the 1st playthrough, they don't know what they're gonna get most of the times. And subsequent playthroughs leads to multiple ways to play and explore the same map, which makes it dynamic and still mysterious.

[@DamesTC]

TRUE AND REAL, too many guide play-along andies.

[@Dertlecup]

He has the least hours on Sekiro because it's by far the hardest one. You can't get carried by op meta weapons and whatnot, it's completely skill/reflexes based.. and I remember him rage quitting it from just a mini boss lol

[@digital_nex2247]

So what? difficulty doesn’t make a game better or worse. Souls games might not have a difficulty slider, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it easier or harder for yourself. in ER you can obviously use summons and such to make it easier for you or not to make it harder for you. same with other games in the franchise.

[@SGT_Squid_Dog]

"only a few are balanced enough to work with" Moonveil and Rivers of blood immediately come to mind, but there isn't many others that you would expect to be good unless you experimented. Instead of thinking about which weapon is good out of all of them, think about the best ones from each playstyle category. "if you find a high faith requirement weapon, you can't use it without jumping through hurdles first" This is why there are larval tears as well as the importance of decision making Instead of blowing all your levels and smithing stones into whatever you have, explore as much as you can and hold off on leveling up stats that aren't Vigor, Mind, or Endurance. There has been plenty of times where someone maxes out or heavily upgrades a good weapon that they've been using for a long time, only to find a much better in the same category of their build or not far from it. By saving levels, you can quickly change your build to not just match the weapon you found, but other weapons of the same category, broadening horizons or making the build set in stone with how much you enjoy the weapon you found. for the argument with needing stones and rune to level up equipment being annoying, it isn't. It's supposed to promote adventuring out into dungeons and caves to either find the bell-bearings that give you the stones or naturally find them yourself. Miyazaki wanted this to be an Open World game, and he used every aspect of those 2 words to his advantage. Exploration is the name of the game, and most of the time I do so much exploring that I have an overabundance of smithing stones to spend on random weapons I picked up. The anvil idea at first would seem neat, until you realize that it sounds exactly how upgrading flasks work, and having another upgrade system identical to the next would seem not very creative. Additionally, they would have to lock this anvil upgrade item(s) behind bosses or large skill checks, and won't be as easily obtainable as smithing stones are. Which then brings up a paradoxical situation where you need to beat a boss to upgrade your weapons, but you need to upgrade your weapons to beat the boss. For some people, it would force them to use spirit ashes or find other work arounds for strong weapons that don't need upgrades. essentially, it would make bleed builds OP as fuck, because all they have to do is pump Arcane and watch the bleed chunk through every enemy in the game. This isn't considering the possibility of how to direct a player to these anvil upgrades without bluntly telling them where to go Elden Ring pvp is terrible past the lv.100-ish area tbh. Nothing but mages and Rivers of Blood. If you're going to do pvp, the sweet spot is around below lv.50 in either Limgrave or Liurnia. Speaking of Elden Ring pvp, there isn't really a point to it except for rune arcs, and people who use rune arcs as a crutch to get through the game are no better than Godrick the Grafted. For the diversity argument by banning certain weapons/spell/incantations, I think it is heavily needed for tournaments. If it weren't for the restrictions, it would just be Moonveil and Rivers of Blood. With those restrictions, it makes people think about using other builds or other weapons or other ashes of war. While you can make the argument that Elden Ring did or did not evolve gaming, mostly everyone agrees that it brough back what gaming should be. Before Elden Ring, open world games felt like those medicine commercials where in 5 seconds they list thousands of if's and's or but's. Elden Ring made everything feel explorable without having to hamper the size of the world. the amount of love and care put in this game puts mostly every other game at that time to shame, it was a return to form from when developers and game companies cared. Playing Elden Ring on PS5 is probably the best version of the game to a lot of people. Most people don't want to spend thousands on a high end computer just to run one game, instead of a console that definitely can run those games, and many more. Additionally, a lot of Souls players grew up playing FromSoft games with a controller in their hands looking at a tv screen.

[@Podckast]

Weapon upgrade problem was PERFECTLY fixed in DS2. You have an NPC that gives infinite upgrade materials and lvl of those materials depends on the amount of bosses you defeated (or it just counted some main once but you get the idea). You still can get a bit more lvls on a weapon by finding materials yourself but you still can try any weapon you find at a reasonable upgrade lvl thanks to that NPC having enough materials all the time. I hate how devs dislike DS2 so much they can't see a lot of neat things there. They did bring dual stance but there's much more cool stuff in DS2 they should have used in next souls games... I'm just sad. (and a little of a DS2 fun boy)

[@Podckast]

@@Thanatos2k So true!~

[@BeastGrid]

Quantum, is that you??

[@kal-sheiargonianassassinof7980]

That guy was such a joke lol

[@Tend0nin]

He was hired by Quantum.

[@babypenguinwithagun5737]

@@Hk7762Tube and he couldn't be more wrong lol the graphics are great and fromsofr has the best artstyle in the industry

[@PotatoL001]

​@@babypenguinwithagun5737 The graphics are technically mediocre, but the meshing and art direction makes the graphics look better than they really are which is incredibly impressive.

[@saturn580]

The only problem with Elden Ring's upgrade system is that the smithing stone ball bearings are acquired too late in the game to be useful. By the time you can buy stones to upgrade a new weapon to +8, your current weapon will already be +12. Making your weapons as strong as possible is very important, so most players will just use the same weapon they started upgrading forever and ignore the huge selection of alternatives.

[@Thejigholeman]

i always thought of the smithing stone bell bearings like a checkpoint system. You made it to ___ point in the game and found bell bearing 3? congrats, now you can bring any normal weapon up to level. you still have to look for the bigger ones to progress further, but this will at least make most weapons work at your level.

[@enman009]

The whole point is that the bell bearings are a checkpoint for how strong your weapons can be without breaking the difficulty and progression much more. You have to be smart to spend those early +7 smithing stones with the weapons you commit, like most RPGs with emphasis on build variety. Not only that, but leveling up and getting upgrade material is already too easy compared to previous Souls games.

[@trollinthedungeon5255]

With millions of players, they still didn’t add a store. I think that’s pretty groundbreaking.

[@MtpMuzik]

fr

[@youngrootv]

But….but..I need my Elden Ring battle pass to make it a good game 😢

[@electricant55]

You have extremely low standards then

[@Healcraft]

actually good point, think of almost any aaa game these days and every single armor set you can just find in ER would be on an in-game store lol. and many games dont have a way to get them withot paying , i kind of liked overwatch system where you can sell duplicates and eventually get a few of the 1k skins, although I have not touched overwatch 2, im sure its worse since its free

[@Downside311]

Yes, you can. You can farm runes forever. My main character has multiple weapons on different builds maxed to the highest level or 1 or 2 below max. And if I wanted to change out, use a larval tear.

[@dixelsyc]

Just collect a larval tear and all the mats to max a few weapons, then make a backup save. Boom, Infinite builds.

[@dixelsyc]

@@MeldinX2 Eh, only if you don't care about going online. I used to just use regular mules or CE, etc. in DS3 and had to have the game on 3 or 4 different steam accs to just family share a new account each week because they're pretty active with the beans.

[@Braylenc123]

man… the map design, the boss design, the abundance of weapons and ways to customize your character, the immersive wildlife, the attention to detail in such a massive game in every enemy and spot in the map, the way your player moves… this is how games should function in this day and age, i’ve seriously never seen a game like this, it will always have a special place in my heart

[@Noname304y2u2]

What I like about ER is that it reminds me 90ties games that weren't designed to be beaten but were designed to be played. To figure out how to beat a old rpg or puzzle game you had to talk to friends, read about it in magazines or just be absolutely relentless. Elden ring is still easier because there are hints in the game and the game expects you to Google things about it. The fact it's not perfect is why people like it.

[@CeraphineLuna]

I don't really see the problem with the smithing bell bearings. Finding them is obviously the hardest part, but after that they never disappear from your inventory, the cost of stones never rises, and farming runes is a minor inconvenience at most. If time is the issue, that's one thing but he's playing an open world rpg

[@swordre5805]

Playing this game for around 800 hour using the same build over and over again is fun for me, at least.

[@marwen4528]

as a 400 hours guy with plenty of builds, I respect you

[@n8doggy733]

25:35 my favorite way to play is to start as a wretch and only level vigor to 39 then wear the Crimson Hood to get it to 40. Now you have 40 vig and are only level 30 and also you cant upgrade regular weapons past +3 and uniques past +1. This is a fun way to play and rewards you the furher you get because at anytime you can still go and co-op around Limgrave and Stormveil to show off your gear

[@burythebellhop]

At beginning when he says a game ISN'T replayable because you can't use every weapon and build in the same run..... Bro is literally describing why it IS replayable. My IQ lowered just listening to this

[@Yurikan]

There is a balancing act with these games and builds, but that balancing act differs from game to game a bit based on how complicated the controls are and where the players progress is in the game. If someone was used to a fast weapon and later on found a slower weapon, but isn't too far into the game so enemy attack patterns aren't advanced, they can learn how to use that slow weapon rather easily. But if someone finds the same slower weapon later in the game when enemies have stronger attack patterns, and the game expects the player to do a lot more, it is harder to learn how to use that weapon effectively. Then there is FFXIV where it feels like someone doesn't really get to learn how to play a job until they get pretty far into the game, and then there is a huge jump in the necessity to time things properly at the top end of the game that makes learning other jobs much less attractive (let alone the gearing).

[@Carlin2810]

I had nearly 50 hours before I unistalled & didnt find a single weapon or piece of gear...No actually I found a shield in the first chest that I couldnt use.

[@_TheEnclave_]

@@Carlin2810wait, you mean you had 50 hours and you couldn’t find anything? Like you still had all the base stuff?

[@Carlin2810]

@@_TheEnclave_ Yeah..I did get a shield that was far to heavy for my character (Mage) from the chest on the cart in the starting area village but yeah I found nothing. But then I was also told in no uncertain terms that youre not supposed to be looking for better gear anyway because thats not how the game works. Was actually 43 hours

[@_TheEnclave_]

@@Carlin2810 huh, if you want I could help you through the game. I’m on my 7th play through and I’m level 237

[@Carlin2810]

@@_TheEnclave_ Been thinking about going back to it as it was my first soulslike,just dont have it installed. Currently on Remnant 2 thats alright I just finished that,bit more forgiving & the leveling up doesnt seem so obnoxious.

[@Spaceghost918]

18:46 Some legendary games are so good because there's a mystery to solve. Case in point is Outer Wilds. The indie game has so much damn charm and a mystery to solve, but once it's revealed you'll never have the same experience. The soundtrack is very repeatable though and I highly suggest it if you haven't played the game or listened to the OST.

[@eyesfullofsky9776]

I'm so glad that others are still talking about it. A fair few others mentioned the game as a counterpoint to his argument on replayability on the original video, and there are others that also apply -but none so fiercely as this title. Honestly, what a triumph of a game. Such a unique way of using the medium of videogames to tell a great story.

[@MrJueKa]

in Elden Ring I solved the problem mentioned in the video with different types of weapons and the different builds that go with them quite easily from my point of view: I now play several characters with different weapon types and build orientations almost in parallel, depending on what I feel like doing at the moment, I currently have six characters with different orientations and it offers me a lot of fun ... I can concentrate well on each individual character and learn their individual way of playing, improve their skills and compare them with each other and also push their levels independently of each other ... so I don't have any stress at all with new types of weapons that I might like, collecting runes, smithing stones and redistributing stat points ...this way I can play Elden Ring more intensely with different playstyles and never get bored or one-sided and my own skills and experiences as a player in Elden Ring benefits from it as well ... Elden Ring offers me exactly these possibilities only by starting a "new game", so why not take advantage of them, it can be so simple ... I also do that in some other games that offer different build orientations and the ability to play multiple characters at the same time

[@GitGoodGaming]

I still play ER even after having platinum trophy and 100% on steam. I'd say it's holding up very well still. Currently working on a Magma Blade chaos build with the Albenuric Mask, no chest pieces and only cloth arms and pants to make the most I can out of the blue dancer charm. The goal is to be a glass cannon and it's working splendidly

[@yungwarlocc]

Almost exact same situation just haven’t found the moon of nokstella or the magma blade. Dlc is still coming too

[@ImawandererIroamaround]

This is not what any Elden Ring player wants please don’t ask for these changes

[@Mujichael]

Homie was complaining about having to clear dungeons for the smithing stones when he’s playing the “clear dungeon” game

[@MetalMilitia83]

I would just like to add, you can get up to somber smithing stone 9 in an hour. Only barrier is a godskin noble which is easy with sleep pots

[@AtticPCGuy]

I felt a noticeable decrease in amount of optional dungeons between after Leyndell and the Fire Giant - vast big areas with comparatively less in them, compared to the first few. Probably a product of having to hurry up production towards the end, but I feel that's what makes the mid section feel a bit... emptier.

[@chuckp342]

Elden Ring is the best single-player game I've ever played. FromSoft is, in my opinion, the last great developers. Zero micro transactions, full, unbroken ganes on release... The list goes on.

[@flackenstien]

The Smithing Stone cycle is a bit much, but there needs to be some sort of choice and cost as to what you invest in. Having everything at max would mean everyone will further only use the best meta items, since they have the option to and they didn't already invest in other weapons and builds. As for PvP. The game being totally unhinged in thay regard is what makes it interesting. Maybe in a future game they could reduce scaling a bit for PvE and it would reflect 1-to-1 in PvP.. but players need to feel growth for the Souls cycle of death to be fulfilling. A game does not have to be replayable to be legendary. That's just silly. Is Bioshock not legendary? The Legend of Zelda? How is Elden Ring LESS replayable than these, anyways?

[@weskintime4177]

@@neonblack211everyone already is using the same like 8 weapons if you even touch PvP. Rivers of Blood, Moonveil (tbf that one is cool in PvE), Giant Crusher (bonking dragons funny for PvE so also understandable), Lusat’s Staff, Elenora’s Poleblade, Fingerprint Shield, Nagakiba, and (in my experience) the deal that amps dragon incantations.

[@PeachesThePenguinaut]

So Atomic Heart did one of my favorite things with solving the gear level issue. You could dismantle any item and get 100% materials back to theory craft any build you wanted. Or test out other options. I'm sure other games did it. Just this was a recent game I played that allowed it and made it a wonderful experience.

[@noop9k]

Until I disassembled the shotgun.. And, despite the good parts, I wouldn't call this buggy Russian propaganda game "a wonderful experience".

[@rathashira]

Literally the only well designed mechanic in that game

[@noop9k]

@@rathashira Well designed? How do I remove upgrades to choose a different path without disassembling the entire weapon? And what if I don't have blueprint for that weapon to re-assemble it again?

[@rathashira]

@@noop9k Seems like a skill issue to me

[@minscandboo8302]

​@@noop9k cry about it

[@leoncoben6983]

This dude's *first* point made me cringe. Dude literally complains about going for a STR build but can't use an INT weapon. Like that's the entire point of the concept of "builds." You're going to choose one path with it's own advantages and options and give up the other dedicated builds. You're not locked out of using Sorceries, you're just going to use a less effective staff and spells will be less effective in general, that's because you'd totally broken if you got both heavy damaging weapons AND access to the most overpowered spells at their peak damage. You can't have both. Except you actually can because you can have a secondary dedicated path. I normally go STR/FTH builds simply because I like to wield lightning in most games so I've adapted that building path as Faithful Knight. Sure maybe it's not that great, but roleplaying is far more important to me than optimization and I still manage. I still find weapons and incantations that are fun for the build, I may not one shotting bosses with it, but it's still valid for completing the game without extreme tenacity unlike Dark Souls 1 was where the only benefits was Divine Weapons and maybe Lightning Spear if you joined the Sun Covenant. Ironically Dark Souls 2 made STR/FTH build a lot more fun, Lightning Zwei is still my favorite thing out of DS2.

[@lachlantwycross3981]

Sucks u have to use only one type of build , then respec to do soemthing different. But then u can’t actually try other builds out because if u don’t like it u can only respect a few times

[@leoncoben6983]

@@lachlantwycross3981 This is pretty standard for most RPGs. Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Fallout, Skyrim, ect. All these games have careful thought into their level progression where you have to think about what you're leveling. Even in Skyrim where you can simultaneously level every stat as long as you use it, You can't max out every skill tree or even any skill tree, if you waste too many perk points in too many areas until you're hyper over leveled. I like games like make you think about your levels and where to put them, and to basically choose what your playstyle is going to be for the entire playthrough. And Elden Ring has a lot of respecs resources. A single playthrough has at least 15 Laval tears. Most of which are found during Ranni's Questline. So I think you do have plenty of space to try at least 3 different builds and pick which one you like the most and still switch to the other two a few times.

[@patrickkinnear8625]

The "unbalanced" parts of the game are what make it awesome. It really sells that you are in a hostile world, against the odds, and it doesn't play fair. You are fighting literal gods. You are surviving, and a more balanced game would completely ruin this feeling, and make it obvious that you are going through a curated experience.

[@johnfrankster3244]

Elden ring definately did something new to evolve gaming, it made a game that doesnt hold your hand, is open world in an absolutely enormous fashion, is incredibly hard, & gives absurd amounts of customisation. It also looks very impressive to boot.

[@gnf_swampboi3305]

Every fromsoft game does that

[@johnfrankster3244]

@@gnf_swampboi3305 Nah every fromsoft definately is not open world.

[@antigua2728]

@@johnfrankster3244 So Elden Ring evolved gaming by being open world?

[@sunnyD301]

Would be nice if you were able to zoom further out when attacking the larger bosses to be able to see more of the boss and area instead of a foot or butt for the whole battle. But a small thing for me really.

[@Dielawn69]

My biggest complaint with ER is that the exploration is way better in the early game with more too do than the later parts of the game. Like in limgrave you can find so much stuff crammed in. Then later on it becomes more sparse. I think if they shrunk the map and added more areas that are structured like the classic souls games like stormviel and the capital itd literally be an 11/10

[@merkgalifinakis1817]

Outer Wilds is legendary and absolutely not replayable. Best gaming experience ive ever had.

[@darkeather2]

Upgrading 1 item passively upgrades all your other items. This is a fine idea, but smithing stones are meant to be a reward. A way to promote exploration. Something you get excited about when you get it because it allows you to try out more stuff or upgrade what you already use. Small rewards, but alot of them. So if you were to make each stone effectively worth more per stone because one stone upgrades ALL your weapons, each stone would need to be more difficult to obtain to match their new rarity and higher reward value. Which hey, isn't a bad thing in of itself, but a large portion of the game would have to be revamp/changed to accommodate for that. Sure that could be solved by adding more dungeons.. but wait a second, we ALREADY want more dungeons, AND we're ALREADY mad at how repetitive some of them and their enemies/bosses are. So that means either more resources pushed to making more unique situations, OR we get even MORE repetitive content. But now that we've reduced the clutter that was provided by the mass amount of smithing stones we had before, we need something else to fill that void. So now we need even more content to serve as the minor rewards. What purpose do these new rewards serve? Do we need a whole new system to justify their presence? How do we NOT make this new system just as annoying as the one we are replacing? Will it even be relevant, or will the players think it's just tacked on for the sake of having it (because it is.) What is a mildly annoying mechanic that seems trivial on the surface, is sometimes filling a very important role within a game that helps tie many other systems together indirectly. You change one thing and suddenly you have to change ALOT of things. Modders don't have to worry about this because they aren't getting paid to provide a product, and they can change things to suit their needs at their own pace and desire. If someone makes a mod that ends up hurting the gaming experience.. no one cares, just don't download it if you don't like it. Gaming companies don't have such luxury or freedoms from pressure.

[@Chocobow9]

There is no chance you look at your 64 +1 smithing stones and feel rewarded. Maybe the final couple you needed to max out a weapon, yes, but if what you need is to reward people for their effort, there are so many other things you could reward them with instead that would be just as enjoyable, if not more. Either you're a person who likes to focus on a single weapon and thus everything after the first major stone(s) you get is no longer rewarding/feels like a slap in the face, or you're someone who wants to experiment and thus you feel cucked by everything you couldn't choose to upgrade with your one or two stones. Why even bother forcing people to make the choice? Just give them a new weapon instead and let everything progress consistently with you. You could even just give them the same weapons in different colours and people would feel more rewarded than yet another rock that's about as rewarding as it has been in every other Korean MMO where you had to get your new weapon to +15 for the 3rd time.

[@SwedetasticGames]

Weapon and spell balancing isn't the core issue, but that the really cool and unique ones have such high animation duration that they are functionally unusable outside of co-op/NPC summoning/Spirit Summons.

[@notan3144]

@thunderborn 32 Well a lot of those videos are overlevelled players stomping the bosses and never showing their stats lol

[@enman009]

The fun thing is that, even with the many improvements and balance changes towards every weapon/spells, people fail to realize how strong melee is or how challenging can be to build a mage and deal highly resistant bosses. People complaint for thing they don't even fully understand nor they adapt to the new rulesets. Not that Souls games are balanced games, far from it, but Elden Ring has done a better job at improving its quality and viability of weapons in a year.

[@johnmorris1009]

Would be nice to have one item in the game (called the legendary tear or something!) that would allow you to spec a certain number of your stats up to 50 instantly. It would be like a larval tear, except you can choose to level 4 stats to 50 and not beyond. This one item could be found in just one place in the game and could be used just once, to give you the chance to try more than one build at once. It could be found in a mid to late game area, so that players can't be overpowered too early.

[@SupremeGon]

Replayability is based on person's preference. Elden Ring has as much replayability as you allow. If running the same map over and over with slightly different weapons or magic is entertaining to you, then boom unlimited replayability. If that's not your cup of tea, then the replayability reverts to 0. Also the changes made months after release definitely helped give the game more of a variety but for a lot of people those came too late. All in all, replayability is solely in the eyes of the beholder no matter what game you play.

[@paulonatividad2291]

Agree! Replay value is higher on the right audience. Diablo 4, for example, is supposed to have really high replay value. I only played the story and a little bit of end game content, then I dropped it. I suppose other people did the same thing. Point is, replay value is not the end-all, be-all criteria for a game to be legendary. It's a factor, of course, but the overall packaging and level of acceptance by the gaming world is the biggest measure of it.

[@SyIis]

Except you're missing the part where there's multiple endings and side quests that you can't do in one playthrough without save scumming

[@SupremeGon]

@SyIis exactly why I said its as much as you allow. The endings dont change the base game as neither does the side quests. Its still 98% of the same old same old with a mild twist to a cutscene or two.

[@SyIis]

@@SupremeGon Hard disagree. You worded it as if the game was finite in one playthrough and that's the same experience every time with no variation in content. There's entire side quests that take you to places you may have never been to and to bosses you've never fought. That's quite literally what replaybility is at its core. Now, after you've done side quests and main story quests, then it's basically just "new weapon, new playthrough". You kind of worded it specifically as if it has no additional content outside of your first playthrough.

[@SupremeGon]

@SyIis i mean thats the case with a lot of games. Just gotta agree to disagree. Like you said a little scumming and you only gotta play it once.

[@drackan2582]

Seems like he found a bunch of really niche arguments to discredit the game because he couldn't find a bunch of stuff legitimately wrong with it.

[@GaMeRfReAkLIVE]

In regards to new weapons in the later game. It would be nice to have a display for its base stats (unleveled) and a display for the stats of that weapon at your current weapons level. Maybe have it in the comparison tab or something

[@KyleSherwoodOfficial]

Haha this guy’s arguments are very weird. “It’s not speed run friendly…there’s too much great content to get through” yeah….good….right? Like what are we talking about here lol

[@adarkwind4712]

1:55 can’t really agree there. When discussing the weapons I think any of the basic weapons are viable as they can be the most diverse in usability via buffs. If anything this inherently can hold back the legendary weapons you pick up across the game. Now you can make builds to work around its weakness but that doesn’t make it a bad weapon. You’re not meant to have a single way to do everything with any one weapon.

[@muramasa870]

People dont realise that huge chunk of Elden Ring player are PVPer...

[@thegee001ify]

Been gaming since 82. Elden ring gave me the feeling I had as a young child. Wonder. Awe. Amazement, even. The game is legendary for me.

[@tonymorales7915]

Sad

[@thegee001ify]

@@tonymorales7915 Why don't you go find joy in the things that you like? Instead of trying to cast a shadow on other people's joy and happiness.

[@tonymorales7915]

@@thegee001ify that response was even sadder.

[@thegee001ify]

@@tonymorales7915 OK.

[@tonymorales7915]

@@thegee001ify stay sad

[@yarugatyger]

Guy just sounds like he was unwilling to invest time into the game. "The game is bad because I can't do everything from level 1"

[@EvaandJavier]

Hope pvp gets better

[@XxGamer42069xX]

Than get better at pvp

[@TimothyGod]

Imagine complaining about pvp after all the patches at this point

[@memenazi7078]

Can’t you still just run away the entire time?

[@rayzhang7591]

Elden ring is alright. Definitely a good game and would for sure be talked about or even treated like a benchmark for years to come. However, I’m not going to rate it as the best game or anything like. But that’s just my personal bias as I’m mainly a crpg player and only action orientated rpg I really enjoy is the mh series due to nostalgia.

[@axelwedelin92]

My biggest problem with Elden Ring is how they're constantly trying to make bosses more interesting and difficult with these games, but the player character has basically the same tools as iun DS1. You're fighting Sekiro bosses like Malenia with DS1 dodges made to evade attacks from Taurus Demon. So what's the best approach to the more difficult bosses in ER? Reduce your interactions with the boss as much as possible. Don't try to dodge. Don't try to weave defense with offense in a beautiful dance with the opponent, looking for openings (there rarely are any anyway). The best way to beat most of ERs difficult bosses is to run away from everything they do, and use an AoW that damages the boss from a distance. For instance; Blasphemous Blade. For instance, I fought with the Ruin's Greatsword against Godskin Duo yesterday. First, I tried using only normal attacks. It was difficult, I spent maybe 10 attempts. Then my son woke up, so I used the AoW and killed them in 1 try with no hits taken, no damage taken. Was it fun to ignore all they did and only use my AoW at a safe distance? Not really. Is it vastly, vastly superior to a strict melee strategy? Yes.

[@Goblin_Magic]

I think the goal of the developers when it comes to builds and upgrades, is to direct players to commit to their build and weapon, and to manage your upgrade resourses carefully, especially early game. I appreciate that they did put things like larval tears and respecking, and miner ball bearings in the game, to allow you to change your build later in the game, but i think its pretty well indicated by when in the game they give you these, that its not something they want new characters/players to do right away. You don't get the miner bell bearing 1 until you kill the Astal clone in Yelough Anix Tunnel in the consecrated snow fields. Elden has everything you need, but it makes you work for it.

[@IndieArchivist]

Awesome take. I 100% agree

[@jeffphisher3801]

You say elden ring didn't really do anything innovative but it added a real jump button, stealth, a horse, ashes of war to scale for whatever build your doing for non boss weapons so more is usable for any build

[@sofianebessaha2351]

he meant innovative for the gaming sphere as a whoel not just the from software games

[@slippers8000]

Idk saying anvil upgrade as a pure QoL is a bit much. It's a core rpg element. Even then the bell bearing stones is arguably more interesting and does something similar. Is it a negative having to explore the world, l maybe in later playthroughs.

[@dylanbillone3183]

I am on my 5th play through over a year later on er. The only game i've ever replayed besides ds1. Both legendary games!!

[@demonsoul9848]

@@Crook3d_GT that's your opinion not facts.

[@scottbecker4367]

​@@demonsoul9848 eh, one of the biggest criticisms of ER is that the open world was too large for its own good. I think that's just a fact considering how many reused assets there are in the game, especially near the end. DS3 is pretty good about not reusing assets.

[@kimonasskourtis6486]

Sekiro doesn't have a build diversity but in no way is repetitive. The way you can approach fights counterattack i find very complex even though it doesn't seem like it

[@duewhat9815]

I like the upgrade system because it gives you a critical decision (although I understand why some people might be turned off by that) but it also gives kind of a mastery feel which I do feel is critical for any RPG...like, if you use and upgrade the same weapon throughout 20-30 percent of the game obviously you are going to do better with that weapon than a weapon you just got because you've already been mastering your original weapon.

[@ChopSueyyy]

7:50 For the normal game, no. For NG+ i would actually love it if you could start with all the ball bearings that you collected in the first run. Dont like collecting them all again, but needing to get the shards in needed for the first runthrough imo.

[@apukami3643]

It's been updated so all bell bearings that aren't from special npcs can carry over to ng+. So just that

[@ChopSueyyy]

@@apukami3643 OOOOOOOOOOOOH, I need to play again then :D

[@anthonyk9053]

They limit the number of the special smithing stones on purpose. If you want to try a new build just start new game plus. If you explored all over then you already know where you need to get them. The game was meant to be explored thoroughly. If you just want overpowered weapons handed to you then elden ring isnt for you

[@darrenmills3943]

If every weapon leveled up simultaneously, you'd only ever use the weapon with the highest stats, there'd be no reason not to

[@Battleguild]

Elden Ring is legendary on its own just by showing how much salt other developer studios had against it due to its success. However, if there was anything that I think that Elden Ring did poorly, was how they handled caster builds. (Not the spells themselves, but basically everything else that's associated with them.)

[@whiterunguard4239]

Could you elaborate on this? I don’t disagree at all, though I do have some gripes with the spells itself… or rather, the lack of true spell variety of those that are actually viable. I think this more falls into the sorcery category, but miracles have some shortcomings aswell.

[@Battleguild]

@@whiterunguard4239 *Deep Breath* Duplicate Spells are Useless Spell Merchants pointless post-NG Practically no Ash of War for Catalysts Dexterity Determines Cast Speed Damage Talisman Stacking Reliance Starlight Shards are inferior Herbs No Ambidextrous Casts No Catalyst Shields/Weapons No Passive FP Restoration Talisman No Skill doesn't function in Right Hand We STILL have the useless R2 Bonk Catalysts can't be Infused That's literally just off the top of my head at the moment with the beef I have with Elden Ring's situation with Casters. Oh, also Pure Caster builds are effectively stuck with R1 (and L1 if Dual Catalyst) to play the entire game with, since FROM absolutely does everything they can to not give Casters an actual combat update. We've been basically playing the exact same way since Demon's Souls, yet Martial builds get a new trick or mechanic with nearly every release.

[@mojic9421]

@@Battleguild One of my gripes is that there was no point in most of the caster armor, just throw on your best armor regardless of build.

[@madgoonproductions8406]

The whole “I can’t change my weapon because that would require reinvestment” is an issue for people who don’t have a grasp on how trivially easy it actually is and just assume it’s a huge hassle that isn’t worth it.

[@auxilirem9416]

5 min and the first argument falls flat. You literally just use the Wave of Gold over in Moghs place and rack up all the runes you need in a few minutes, then buy smithing stones all the way up to +24 or +9, and if you really like it then you can slap a +25 or +10 on it respectively I watch Elden ring pvp every day, but I don't play it. I love watching it

[@auxilirem9416]

@Omega8Trigun the crow is 13k every 20s. Wave of Gold is 100k every 10s. I spent quite a bit of time min maxing that time frame, being as efficient as possible, of course using Gold pickled fowl foot and gold scarab

[@yewtewbstew547]

Soul farming is for pussies anyway. The soul rewards for just playing the game, as in all of the Fromsoft souls games, are well balanced even when accounting for the player losing like half of them to deaths.

[@Dist24]

@@marcuskane1040 radahns weapon special skill is also amazing, especially since you can obtain it mid game.

[@auxilirem9416]

@Omega8Trigun the video wasn't stating it was difficult to upgrade weapons early though, and honestly the way he worded it since he didn't mention bell bearings was that he may have even forgot or didn't know you could buy them in mass quantities. And as other people in the replies have said, you could use Radahns swords or similar weapons, much faster than the bird, which doesn't always fall off

[@jonaswestman1245]

I think a middleground to the whole leveling individual weapons point would be to level weapon types. You level all colossal Swords, but find a mage and its time to start over

[@yimwee2401]

How would this work when the weapons within that type are VASTLY different? For example: guts greatsword and godslayers greatsword? It wouldn’t make sense. You use godslayers in faith incantation based builds and guts in pure macho str builds. So in order to do this, an entire reimagining of the soulsborne stat system would have to happen.

[@metrobertL7]

Nah fam, finding the stones in the world and the excitement you get from finding them is pure dopamine

[@SLUU10]

Like everyone else i personally dont have an issue with upgrading in this game. You just simply get the bell bearing and you have unlimited smithing stones.

[@Dielawn69]

The guys legitimately complaining that he has to play content to get rewards..

[@LegulasRS]

Were you able to find the bell bearings without googling where they are. And how many hrs did it take to find them? I think that’s his problem it takes too long and takes away from playing the main story.

[@SunFyyre]

The only problem i have with elden ring is that its too big, i always preferred interconnected worlds instead of massive open worlds

[@LayerZeroDesign]

I think you mean linear. Elden ring is more interconnected than any Fromsoft game before it. Is it big, sure. But it's also insanely dense. You basically can't ride torrent for more than 30seconds at most in any direction without finding something interesting to fight, explore, or talk to.

[@enman009]

Elden Ring is the most interconnected game, while the previous non DS1 games were pretty much corridors with small deviations. It is big, but not biggest open world nor it forces you to engage in most of it (which was a downside in previous games).