Is ELDEN RING perfect? | KNIGHTS WATCH review

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[@OzymandiasRex]

Shad: 50 hours Oz: Gotta' pump those numbers. Those are rookie numbers. Shad: I have a wife Oz: Damn! >_

[@phoenixeye4610]

Unfortunately for Oz, he is maidenless

[@eagle_and_the_dragon]

It's an imperfect game at the perfect moment. It is straightforward, honest, and complete; all virtues which have been lost on the overwhelming majority of large projects.

[@eagle_and_the_dragon]

@Siberian merely means it's 110% rather than 100% lol.

[@insensitive919]

@Siberian At least they didn't have day one DLC 👍

[@Shamshiro]

@Siberian - Some [citations] could go nicely with that statement.

[@TheJommy34]

@@yan4013 there is definitely some unfinished stuff, like alexander guts has no use for now, some quest have lack luster ending. not to mention that the game has probably the most launch day bug I have seen in soul series. But even with all that I have already clocked in 163 hours for the game and that is saying something because I'm quite busy.

[@sirblockepicmcswaggins5248]

@Siberian A recent update fixed this.

[@ShaunRF]

The first major boss, Margit, clearly demonstrates the power of STICK. Perfection!!!

[@Automaticguns1]

@Siberian not even kidding its a walking cane

[@ShaunRF]

@Siberian no, its a stick. Even if something else is hidden inside.

[@theryeguy4716]

It's a sword later in the game with morgott

[@ShaunRF]

@@theryeguy4716 I'm well aware. Like I said above, its a stick. Even if something else is hidden inside.

[@brianng9765]

@Siberian sharp bloody stick

[@rickardspaghetti]

3:39 "Dragon age: Origins" My absolute favourite game of all time! Why must you have such good taste, Shad?

[@SuperEndiku]

The RPG debate is a very good one and that's not even the main point of the video. Plenty of people play D&D as a combat sim instead of a technically "role-playing" game. But does that mean that the term RPG also includes "combat sim with leveling" or does it mean that a lot of people play D&D incorrectly?

[@valandil7454]

You can play it however you like that's why it's a game, just play with other people if you don't like it

[@tomsawyerpiper9412]

Combat is THE core mechanic of D&D. If you go back through the history and look at first edition, D&D is born out of combat simulation games and repurposed to fit a classic fantasy setting. The role play aspect of the game system took a hard backseat to the com sim. Admittedly, the game has evolved to be a cooperative story telling experience and, especially with 5E, the combat has had less importance.

[@SuperEndiku]

@@tomsawyerpiper9412 ​ True that it was originally an adaptation to tabletop warfare strategy gaming. But there is still that question of does the initial design defines something or does its evolution when the public embraces it. The first appearances of most comic book superheroes are usually not the same as their "established" identity. I tend to agree with Shad's first definition of an RPG video game, that it needs to have a story driving the gameplay to a degree along with character depth.

[@silverswordsmith5424]

Personally, I feel like the core of Role Playing in a Role Playing Game is playing a role. (Incredible and complex, I know.) The key to this, at least to my mind, is having a character who you can define. Not just "what" they are but also "who" they are. What do they believe? What are their ethics? Do they have any hobbies? How do they approach different situations and why? That sort of thing. When you give a player these questions and the ability to answer them, you create potentially endless replayability, because each time you play the game you can decide that you want to be someone else. Not some"thing" else, but some"one" else. This can be achieved without a table of stats or levelling system, actually, and so I feel like the presence of those game mechanics is not a defining factor of an RPG. Of course, this is all my personal opinion, nothing more, nothing less. Take it as you will, feel free to give your take, etc etc. Mostly just putting that last bit so I can point to it when and if people assume I am trying to make objective statements they disagree with.

[@SuperEndiku]

@@silverswordsmith5424 That's pretty much my feeling on defining an RPG. Hence, Doom isn't an RPG but Stardew Valley is. Doom is purely about gameplay challenges and player skill. Stardew is about player choices to in-game story and in-game character progression.

[@noahloyd9176]

If I had to describe "questing", as it is, in Elden Ring, it would be "classical" or "informed" questing. The whole meaning behind the word 'quest' has become so diluted in the modern era, thanks to video game tropes, but going back to the older, more classical meaning of the word, you could say it would apply to an expedition, setting out into the unknown, preparing to face threats unknown, to discover sights and creatures unknown. Or for having a goal that you want to see achieved, but not necessarily knowing how to go about it. In a historical context, let's say a lord or noble was taken captive, and a loyal knight or retainer of his set off one day on a 'quest' to get him back; he might have no idea where his lord was taken or being held, he might not know if he was still alive, or if his treasures had been stolen, or even who had done it, but the point was, he had a goal in mind, and the 'quest' was the path of discovery toward that goal. This is precisely what Elden Ring does; in the opening cutscene, you're given your goal, to recover the shards of the Elden Ring itself, and forge with it a new lordship for yourself over the land. Then you're immediately thrust into the world against an enemy who's likely to kill you with two swings. From there, the entire world opens up to you, and you have almost no idea where to go or what to do, but with your end goal in mind, you set off into the unknown. The world is unfamiliar, the people and creatures inhabiting it diverse, and as you travel, stories running alongside your own begin to take shape. You aren't strictly required to read the flavor text on every item you pick up, yet every item in the game, every weapon, every piece of armor, every crafting material, has a little piece of its own story to share, clues along your quest. You have the option to turn aside from your path and help another poor soul in need of assistance, the option to pledge your loyalty to an outcast of society, you can even seek to plunge the entire world into a new order. The 'quest lines' for NPCs are so dynamic this time around; maybe you missed the first opportunity to speak to a character, but their story both picks up from a new progression point but actually adapts to meeting the character later on, if you've progressed past the start point. Thus, even individual NPC quest lines can play vastly different between your own playthroughs or those of others. So thus, my summary of the 'quest' of Elden Ring as a whole is that, rather than an objective, it's a journey. Your quest IS to become Elden Lord, but it is ALSO to explore the unknown world. It's also to do battle with mythical creatures and legendary warriors. It's also to help those you meet along the way, or to oppose them, should you choose. It's to invade and pillage power from your competitors for the title of Elden Lord, or to team up with them in jolly cooperation to take down demigods and work together toward that shared, final goal. These thousands of possibilities and combinations DO define your character, and his or her quest, heck, even the way you level up will define them; are they indecisive, so they level up their stats evenly in an attempt to be able to use every weapon and spell they come across, or do they pour all their power into becoming the biggest brain super wizard the world has ever seen? Do they scour every nook and cranny for thin animal bones, or do they rush past enemies without fighting just to see the highlights of the world? Are they obsessed with finding and slaying every powerful foe in the land, or do they put an emphasis on joining other Tarnished across the fields and through the forests as guide and guardian? The very lack of verbal communication or expression makes all these other things even more important to character identity. Maybe you're an invader who, come what may, always makes sure to do a Deep Bow before engaging in combat, even if there's three opponents with paired giant swords charging at you. Maybe the only thing you wear is a hat that looks like a statue and a pair of long socks. Those choices are there. Not to mention just how many endings the game has. There's like, seven endings, I believe? That's that many more times you can create not just a different story, but a different WORLD from your playthroughs. And something I think not many people have pointed out, re-rolling your game after the ending into New Game+ is even more meaningful; instead of a nameless nothing rising from the ashes in the start of the game, the one who rises is the character you've made, you've developed, the culmination of all their journeys, choices, and battles; a demigod themself, fit to stand alongside the champions summoned to the Round Table. That little aspect of it makes it all the more meaningful, even if it's just 'another playthrough' to most people. No, it's not a perfect game, but is there such a thing as perfect? There's a thousand different ways to tackle the concept, but this particular one feels like it stokes the human senses of awe, of wonder, of exhilaration, of pride and accomplishment, of being frustrated but too determined to surrender, like few other games do. It doesn't hold your hand much, at all, instead it tells you, "Go forth and seize your greatness!" It may not be perfect, but they certainly did capture that classical, honored sense of setting forth on a quest worthy of song perfectly.

[@sren5896]

You sir, are a poet worth of praise. Thank you for your thoughts on this matter. Skå l!

[@wastrelperv]

Tl;dr. But yeah, love your perspective on it.

[@zamarickz]

They can't do a height slider because it would mess with the hitboxes. Short character could be too short to get hit. Tall could be too tall to avoid getting hit. Etc.

[@sr71silver]

Yeah I don't think Shad realizes just how fine tuned the hit boxes are in this game.

[@Alex_Fahey]

That would be the case if they tie the hitboxes to the given model rather than just what the average would be. However, they don't do that. Whether you had a skinny or a fat model in previous games didn't change whether an attack would hit you. If they added a height slider, it likely wouldn't change things. If your character's model was stretched to 30 meters tall, your hitbox would still be less than 2.

[@gleipnirrr]

@@Alex_Fahey yeah, that's bullshit. sorry.

[@Alex_Fahey]

@@gleipnirrr It is fact that they have never tied the hitbox to the customization options like female vs male or fat vs skinny. The same would be true for 7 ft vs 5 ft.

[@yhormthemidget]

@CyborgJiro not really, moving close to a bigger bosss and simply hugging while moving sideways was always a core technique. Weapon swings can just pass over your head. The shorter you are, the easier it is to do, so a shorter model would be massively beneficial. Also, they would have to resize most armors if you could adjust height and build, and that is a big problem itself. Not to mention exploration. If they made small crevices with the standard model in mind, you could have clipping problems there. And we have PvP ofc. Even if we keep the hitbox and just modify the looks, if still causes problems. The headshot hitbox is not readable anymore, and a shorter/taller character will have deceptive melee ranges. It would be only minimal, but it can matter with some already bullshit phantom reach weapons.

[@WoodmanFeatherhigh]

The ability to dye armor pieces would be really awesome.

[@WJS774]

The annoying thing is that's actually pretty damn easy to implement.

[@doboi8121]

of course. if u wear women’s underwear

[@KingdomSlayer]

35:09 I agree with that, the option to have the freedom to more acutely change our body in character creation would be awesome, but I see the limitations Fromsoftware would probably have, such as the need to adjust hitboxes, the need to have armor that fits the body type and so forth.

[@JPelus]

I appreciate both arguments... RPG is primarily about CHARACTER (role), but Souls-like are mainly about "get gud bruh." So, I see both sides.

[@bellystraw]

Just finished my first playthrough and I was hyped to start a different build. Game is so good dude

[@knight_lautrec_of_carim]

Im about to finish the game and will also immediately start a new character

[@ibrokeintourhouseandstoleu5453]

What build did u do? I'm about to start it. I want to do a strenth build

[@bellystraw]

@@ibrokeintourhouseandstoleu5453 I did full str my first playthrough. If you want to try str I recommend the large club since you can get it early. I ended up using a mix of the iron greatsword, Nightrider glaive and the greatsword (the colossal one)

[@user-fl4mn5jz1v]

No,but it's darn good.

[@pinkofastora]

Even though it doesn't seem to be the whole focus of the video, I really want to talk about the whole roleplaying thing. As someone who's been playing Dark Souls 3 for about 4-ish years, I've made tons of different characters with the intent of invading other players and over the years the focus of making the character build has been less about min-maxing and having the best rings and equipment, and more about making a character that-when I invade the player-will be made in such a way that is so "lore-friendly", that it might be confused with an NPC. For example, a character that I'm most proud of, Entranced Luna, is an Unkindled who was a Vinheim sorceress who abandoned all of her studies after finding out about the Moonlight Greatsword and sought to do anything to gain its immense power. She eventually gets the Moonlight Greatsword, but by the time she has it, her mind is so frail that the sword's power drives her mad and she seeks only to use the greatsword's power to kill as many as she can. To get all of this across to a host that I invade, I made very deliberate decisions with all of my spells, equipment, and armor. So I think roleplay is 100% possible with what FromSoftware gives you. Edit: I actually think that roleplaying in Elden Ring is much, much better than in Dark Souls because of the simple inclusion of magic schools. For example, you could play a Hunter of Those Who Live in Death and only use Golden Order Fundamentalist incantations and such. Edit 2: As for character creation and characters looking ugly, I recommend you check out r/SoulsSliders. Users on there put out really nice guides to make good looking characters.

[@thatoneLerrydude]

100%, gestures also help with that.

[@thatoneLerrydude]

@Siberian It can be both; a Lore Accurate Knight of the Erdtree with weapons and armor from Altus Plain while fighting in Limgrave lol, at least you are guaranteed to have a friend with you when you get pummel'd XD

[@shawnm1902]

Well, you have some nice headcannon there. What conversations did you have with other players that would infer any of that?

[@insensitive919]

That kinda roleplaying doesn't get enough sales, according to 99.9% of the people who make video games. I think they are wrong but I don't have sex for a living or something I dunno lol 🤷‍♂️

[@kyleross3045]

Shad, you can use a longbow from Torrent's back.

[@vincentthendean7713]

I fought Agheel almost entirely on foot. I only use Torrent to dodge the flying breath attacks. I didn't use shields or spam magic missiles. I just buffed my Estoc and go for jump attacks. My last hit on it was a critical hit when I only had 17 hp with no more healing flask. Game's great.

[@Mj0Skyver]

Hell no. It still has flaws and rooms for improvement. But, my goodness, it would be dishonest for me to deny that it provides and does bloody incredible things in more than several ways, in isolation and combination.

[@WakeUpUniverse66]

Im impressed with Oz's patience while waiting for Shad to be done ranting about armor dyes for 15 minutes. 💀

[@richgoldendoor4240]

When talking about character customization in heights and sizes, you have to take into consideration hitboxes, which are very important for designing boss combos, and pvp. There could potentially be big balancing issues with varying heights and hitboxes involved especially when hitboxes on some bosses are so precise that having a taller or shorter character can make the difference between getting hit and dying, and well living. It would be nice for immersion and character creation, but you gotta take into consideration that some moves you can walk to the side of the boss to avoid because the arcing angle will go over your head, and that won't happen if you're 7', it'll just deck you in the face, which would be the unintended experience of the game because they want any one to be able to avoid the boss all the same with any character on any playthrough, and height variation to a large degree would get in the way of tightly designing souls formula bosses.

[@andrewgill3203]

Yep height sizes would make bosses harder to design as a midget would break some of them. However, i think there are mechanics that can be added to balance these issues out. Fore one, they could increase the tracking for bosses against smaller PCs

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Everyone has to be uniform size. If you could make a small or giant character it would alter the hit boxes and they'd have to adjust every fight to factor in whether you can cheese it as small or get blasted because you're too big

[@themeangene]

Yeah some RPGs like Everquest literally had broken terrains and combat because you could be a hobbit or drawf.

[@TheDarkWallChris]

I think the challenge is that RPG is an incredibly relativistic term that can apply to anything. You could also further classify it by calling it an action game with RPG elements, but given how in-depth the RPG elements are it doesn't seem right to do that. It's definitely not a story-driven RPG game. But action-rpg seems like a fair label even if it is a unique flavor of one

[@Squeeble00]

Defining something as an rpg based on story has always felt arbitrary and almost useless to me. Daggerfall is pretty much entirely focused on the gameplay, as aged as it is, but no one would say it isn't an rpg because you don't have a bioware style conversation system. And conversely no one would call something like Detroit Become Human an rpg, despite the fact that you have a fairly significant impact on the story through your choices.

[@Eymbr]

His argument of it being an action platformer was honestly a bit odd. It has platforming in it but that doesn't mean it is a platformer. That would be like saying Halo isn't a military shooter but a first person platformer because you jump around. I'm just glad he admitted that he was off on his argument.

[@themeangene]

I love this channel. You guys are so fun to watch. Please don't change.

[@natediaz1863]

It was funny to me when on the stream Oz said that it wasn't will or determination that kept Shad trying again and again, it was spite. Awhile ago I told my brother that what the Souls games really are is a revenge simulator.

[@ryanharvey5906]

I think you two nailed that review! Amazing insight.

[@beansnrice321]

Something that I think goes under noticed, is the attention From has given to castles. Castles were ways to thin out, channel and control seas of melee combat. One thing From has done for a long time is the mechanic of your attacks bouncing awkwardly off of walls. There is even acute attention to weapon handedednes. Sinister and dexter, if you will. This all adds up to certain areas preventing attacks, based on which side of the terrain you're defending and whether or not there is a wall near your swinging arm. This is true of certain towers and their spiraling staircases, for example. This is something that is even found in real life castles. This way, From makes each castle feels like a game of chess. You're heading for the king and even a pawn can kill you if you misstep.

[@jedamaral1864]

Me and the boys have been sending each other pics of our characters with arrows in crazy places in us since like day one 🤣

[@jean-pierrepolnareff9987]

Am I the only one who had the fantasy of fighting a dragon as a knight riding a horse, seriously I couldn't get away from the dragon fight even though he was the second boss I found in the game until one of us was down for good

[@AgsNfz]

About the character model, it seems like they don't care too much because you'll just cover everything with armor, I don't think there is a sinister purpose behind the lack of characterization, much like how there is no lip sync on npcs.

[@insensitive919]

It's ok to be type A. Just be happy that we let you be type A. You misogynist.

[@thatoneLerrydude]

In my perspective this is a RPG for sure, the immersive experience you get is bar none. When you create your character you really feel like it embodies what you create. For example: My character is basically a mercenary/assassin self centered that does whatever it takes to win a fight, he doesn't wear chest armor Magic and Faith stay at 10, my choices always reflect the self centered kinda character I imagined and now he's fighting with a Knight's Greatsword, a Composite Bow and uses Incantations of the beast and assassin styles (rocks and poison) that fit the sleazy feel of the character. That also fits with how I play him on PVP, dishonorable using enemies to trap and poison to add pressure to end with close quarters greatsword attack. It feels way more like my character than an archetype like Sheppard's or the Inquisitor. Now I have plans to start new games with Honorable Knight, Quirky Mage and so on. I feel like just changing the weapon gives a whole different dimension that is what I really like, and Elden Ring does this x1000. The more you advance the more attached you get, and I get Shad is feeling it already with his barbarian. Other than that the "choose your own adventure" feel in the "quest design" gives this game so much replayability.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

This is my first FROM game. It's pretty great. The thing that makes me kinda sad is while I love it, it just can't dethrone any of my top games. I think its just down to genre really, and I wouldn't have them changing Elden Ring to be more like the RPGs I typically like. Basically compared to FNV which is my favorite RPG of course the combat and boss fights are infinitely better in Elden Ring, but I just enjoy having towns and more NPCs and such for my games. So for many people this game was the best thing they've ever played, but for me it was "This is a good game. I can spend time with this" but I'm not motivated to play it with the same excitement its more that this is the new game I have right now.

[@tevildo9383]

Yeah, it's apples and oranges. I just finished my first playthrough of Elden Ring a couple days ago, and as a massive FromSoft fan, it's one of my new favorite games ever. But I can totally understand not liking it as much as a more hard core RPG. I would never compare Elden Ring to something like The Witcher games or Planescape because FromSoft is all about overcoming challenges and discovering the deep lore, whereas most other RPGs are about the characters and intricate, branching questlines.

[@TheSeth256]

FNV? It's unwise to use an acronym the first time you mention a title.

[@link12313]

24:00 Guild wars 2 does that with it's main quest. Where you can pick one of three personality types that change how the character talks during main quest scenes.

[@shredgordon3240]

21:56. Dark souls 3 was actually much more linear than dark souls 2 (and ds1). In ds3 some of the lvls are a little more open but overall they are less complex, and whereas in ds3 you have one path in ds2 there are 4 paths you can take from the beginning.

[@tzzeek]

Need some editing there buddy.

[@shredgordon3240]

@@tzzeek lol thanks, android autocorrect sucks (for example, it just tried to change sucks to socks)

[@yhormthemidget]

I love DS3 but absolutely, the game is the most linear of any souls games (if you don't count Sekiro). I think however, it more than made up for it with encounter design and overall boss quality. Still my fav FS game available on PC by far. Elden ring annoyed me far too much with its constant reused awful bosses.

[@shredgordon3240]

@@yhormthemidget I wasn't the biggest ds3 fan (mainly because dex got the short straw in that game) but it does have the best boss design. So far I'm enjoying elden ring more but I do agree that the bosses are a mixed bag

[@zsDUGGZ]

@@shredgordon3240 for the reused bosses, I wouldn't exactly call them "bosses" but mini-bosses. They don't have the health of the main bosses, and their movesets are more simplistic. The only thing bosses and the mini-bosses have in common is the red health bar

[@TylerShe1ton]

I'd love to see a detailed rundown on your Elden Ring characters. Sounds like Oz is on a magic path and Shad is on a melee path. I kept getting squashed with my Clayman's Spear and Shield so I'm starting a mage. Talking about goat mounted combat: I found a great big boat anchor that would put me at heavy load, but on the goat movement seems unaffected.

[@mim3189]

Some of the more creative Souls designs are Crystal Sage, Ornifex, Crystal Lizard, there's more, and characters like these make the Dark Souls world feel a bit more fantastic/fantasy.

[@samuelmoore6340]

I'm playing a very classic knight. I use a longsword and shield with 100% block, I have a halberd for mounted combat, and a crossbow for range.

[@dddreadex]

Hope that you do a review of all the weapon ,shields and armors

[@Joshuazx]

I think I would like to see some videos about creative writing from Shad.

[@thedmdidit9842]

I am hoping they polish the armor alteration stuff. Need that Elden Bling

[@Ozymandias_Canis]

Another satisfying game with excellent combat is Sifu. There's a steep difficulty curve in the beginning, but it's incredibly rewarding when you get a handle of things while still being punishing if you make a mistake. Being a Rougelike, it is also to the level of being able to make it to and defeat the last boss at "level 1". I'd love to see how Oz fairs in a game like that and what Shad things of the martial arts animations.

[@rhett6946]

I played through that game maybe 3+ times and oh boy, I just love the combat. So punishing but so rewarding.

[@Ozymandias_Canis]

@@rhett6946 Me too, I just managed to get the platinum and do a zero death run which is probably my most statisfying platinum to date. Highly recommend to those ready for the challenge!

[@lolbuster01]

In regards to using spells, they can be used offensively and defensively. I have a fantastic Incantation called Frozen Lightning Spear that you jump up in the air and spear it into the ground. The jump you do can dodge attacks if it's times properly. I've had a blast using it.

[@the_silent5878]

Oz show Shed VaatiVidya no promotion but it is one of the best YT channels that explains the souls stories. All the best to you guys and keep the fantastic work. ^ ^

[@kevinistoc9314]

You can do a lot of little things for characterisation. For example I got hit a lot by Rykards grab, afterwards I started wearing the bloodstained bandages even changed my name to Disfigured Lux from Crescent axe Lux. Lots of small things you can do.

[@laharlfan71]

Crazy strong bowman... yeah well i beat Radhan this weekend, you can get his greatbow plus his gravity arrows, pretty sweet stuff

[@Zlgz1]

really good review i agree on most of your points w video

[@WJS774]

The chats in Saint's Row were great, but the thing about Souls is that a big part of it is the solitude, that you are exploring through this world alone, which is a big part of why the characterisation could be thought of as lacking.

[@MinkDaddy]

When it comes to customization, I don't think it's fair to knock the game on an objective level. On a personal/opinion level, yes. However, From Software made a good choice in allocating most of their time and money into perfecting the world and combat system. That's what most of their audience wants. That said, a DLC adding more customization and a dye system would be awesome! And, from my limited knowledge of programming, I don't think that it would be too hard to implement. It would make a perfect DLC pack because, if you don't want it, you're not missing out a major change to the core gameplay experience.

[@TheSeth256]

Yeah, these are areas to expand on, not "fixes of something that's broken". I hope From developes a sequel where their experience from developing Elden Ring allows them to make an even more detailed game, not necessarily a bigger one.

[@Cwronaga216]

If only the magic goat torrent could climb sheer Cliffs like an actual goat. In fact a climbing mechanic would probably be one of the only features I would like to add to the game as it would increase the amount of content the developers could add into the game such as Cliffside caverns and caves that can only be accessed via climbing gear or spelunking or using torrent

[@stewforwords]

Milicent's questline is probably one of the best they've done. The ending was pretty hard hitting.

[@namelessking9068]

great talk i would also like to change the hight of the character, but i think you cant do it because of the pvp balancing

[@Kyl5]

It is more of a camera issue, the player would cover too much of the screen and hamper the gameplay.

[@kongilian]

Ok. Now we need an advantage/disadvantage speculation for the use of Cavalry against fantasy monsters. Like Mermaids. Or Hobbits.

[@ardendragoon]

There is tonnes of armour to find. Exploration is key. Certain characters will drop their gear, weapon and armour, you just have to farm them. Robes are available in the magic academy and at the end of a quest.

[@cookierunner3261]

Hey Knights Watch, I believe the horse is actually a bicorn, which I believe is basically a evil unicorn.

[@Cwronaga216]

On your main Channel you should do a review series of all of the different forts castles and palaces in the game

[@kylermoore9079]

Nice work

[@pbabiesinspace6112]

My character Framklin...I came up with that before you Prod...is a handsome green man with long purple hair. I chose Griffith. Dex int. Reduvia...metorite staff atm....marionette armour and imp helm. My souls fashion is top notch!

[@JohnM34404]

I think shad is missing the gold sewing kit and the Seamstr Ratman questline.... for they unlock quite a bit of armor customization.

[@thatoneLerrydude]

He's 50 hours in the game and probably barely left Limgrave or the Peninsula, so he probably only has the trash sewing kit you get from the Demi-Humans lol

[@DebasedAnon]

For character proportions yes and no. It would be cool to be able to change them but that is a lot more work to do than you'd think. From my playtime with this game hitboxes are virtually flawless (PvE obv, for online idk) and I've dodged countless attacks by jumping over or ducking under them, if you had a wide variety of proportions it would need to have tradeoffs not to mention they'd need to redo the hitboxes for each one. Its a minor point against the game but at the same time it would be a lot of work to implement and would also probably break balancing so im ok with not having them.

[@blumiu2426]

I think a lot of the cosmetic options don't make their way in as they have to be worked into the lore of the game, as nothing is just added without reason. I don't think it would be an issue, but adding it post-release is something I don't think they would do unless it came with DLC. I do wonder if it would take away from the tone if it becomes more about the aesthetic to that extent if they did.

[@windsgrace688]

RE: RPG debate. I would classify Elden Ring and other Souls-style games as "Action Role Playing Games" (aka ARPGs). Though it is technically a JRPG, it does not have the same story-centricity as other games in that genre. I feel like "action platformer" is off the mark because while it does have some platforming, platforming isn't a significant enough portion of the game to warrant a classification in that genre.

[@insensitive919]

"RPG" doesn't mean anything anymore. It just means "I follow a character and maybe make some superficial choices" and that basically describes every game from baldur's gate to halo. I like games with actual role-playing, but after Mass Effect 3 you aren't allowed to criticize "RPG's" anymore, you are just entitled.

[@saltefan5925]

This game isn't overt in the same way most traditional RPGs are. Your actions have a massive impact on the world and the people you meet, but the game never goes out of its way to show you this. If you care about these guys, you might check up on them and find out. That's honestly a more immersive RPG experience to me because it doesn't try to *force* you to experience the story and optional content.

[@sparxskywriter2589]

I thonk the best way I've heard it put, is the world does NOT care about you and will move along with or without you, so you have to go in and MAKE people care.

[@posadadelenanoposada5726]

Shad I'm agree with with you about customization. All you said happened to me, really XD.

[@bjornseine2342]

100% agreed on the "horror" point. For me it's less monster design and more tight hallways and (potential) jumpscares around every corner, but otherwise, same. I can do those catacomb dungeons in Elden Ring, but after I'm through one, I need to do open world stuff, where I can see the threats coming (and avoid them if I don't feel like fighting at that point) (Okay, some threats still appear out of nowhere. F***ing crabs...) I had been curious about Souls for a while, but that constant pressure put me of. Elden Ring, however, I'm enjoying a lot. I'd even say I have improved from complete noob to amateur!

[@user-yp6yr9te7l]

yes it's a nice balance. I personally enjoy the tenseness of the horror elements in dungeons, they are like classic rpg stuff

[@lolbuster01]

I'm doing a Faith build with heavy armor. I've just got the point where i have dropped my shield almost entirely. It's a blast so far.

[@AgsNfz]

You can modify the look of some armor sets, but you need to find the itens no enable that out in the world

[@TwiztidKlownzTX]

The 2 Crucible knight gank boss is the first real wall I've hit.

[@Victor-dm4qv]

It's hard to take what Australians say about lag and freezes when they have one of the worst internets. Hopefully that will change for them, since our Aussie friends deserve better.

[@theworstcatholic7247]

A big reason why they don't add the height slider is because the hitboxes in souls games are so hyper precise, being a foot smaller could literally have attacks from enemies go right over your head with ease. Minimizing alot of foes entirely, the same could be said about taller ones, where you would be getting bashed far more without any gain also. Honestly though I'd just be glad with a boob slider, or other shit where you could change but it wouldn't really heavily effect the hitboxes. This is the first souls game with actual long hairstyles for characters so that's nice at least, but it shows how much they are against clipping and hitboxes and such.

[@Paintedawg]

Did you guys post your full playthrough on youtube?

[@DarkInos]

I love freedom.. but at the same time... When I have too much freedom.. I get lost.. and I have no idea what to do.. I like pointers myself :-) and quests.. Idealy when big Q leads me to area with tons of bonus quests. Witcher was best in that aspects.. just.. go to village and there is ton of side quests, talks etc. This is too open.. still fun but.. on the edge for me kinda. If those "fires" did not point out next area to go..

[@rhett6946]

There is no perfect sauce, there are only perfect sauces. Elden Ring is one of those perfect sauces. As someone who enjoys these types of games, it is so to speak my perfect sauce. I will say however right now, it is not for everybody, but that being said, it's also MUCH more accessible and enjoyable than all the souls genre has ever been. I have friends now who never played Dark Souls games, finally giving Elden Ring a fair shake, and they're more addicted than me! There are still some people however that most likely will not find the experience enjoyable so to those, it definitely is not their perfect sauce.

[@RitsuCurisu]

I agree wholeheartedly on the sauce thing. Even just for myself, I can't say if I like this game more than the others in the list of games I love the most.

[@theresnothinghereatall]

Elden ring isn't more accessible, apart from bloodborne they're on every platform.

[@tylerpresutti3099]

He’s using accessible in the forms of actually playable/enjoyable for the general public. Roughly 40% of people who bought dark souls 3 actually beat it. Which means a staggering number of people spent $60 played for a few hours and never touched the game again. A far higher percentage of Elden Ring players are and will progress further and access later stages of the game at a much higher rate than previous titles.

[@titusmanlius8307]

There should be a count of how often Shad uses the word VASTLY

[@natenichols9569]

I have a problem with heights in games now it's weird. I'm not afraid of heights but I get vertigo, so my head starts spinning and it feels like someone reached through me and is pulling me down so I just can't handle heights.

[@aiseanaivalu2143]

Where do they get the intro music?

[@mister-x2]

I haven't no-lifed a game in a long while. Even though most players will admit that the game is missing some of the modern bells and whistles, at the end of the day it doesn't matter that much. Simplicity won the day

[@K40005]

Yeah it doesn't feel as polished as modern games which are missing the important things like actually good gameplay while this actually has good gameplay but is missing the polish

[@August_Mannaz]

I agree with more customization, as well as more realistic weapons but as an addition not to take away the crazy stuff

[@thatoneLerrydude]

I recommend the Knight's Greatsword, It's a insanely slept on Greatsword weapon with modified two-handed R1 made to look more realistic.

[@villi770]

3:16 He killed Patches :'c

[@ZemosMacleod]

The thing about the difficulty is not that it is too hard to win but rather too hard to enjoy playing. For some, like myself, more difficulty doesn't equal more enjoyment when I finally win. It equals less enjoyment the harder the gameplay balance is. I love Dragons Dogma but I never found it to be particularly difficult. My only deaths in DDDA were due to ailments I wasn't quite prepared for during my first time through. The margin for error is just uncomfortably small in From Software titles (at least at the beginning). If the From Software fights were more like the "Stranger" fight at the beginning of "God of War" wherein you need to adapt to what's happening but no deaths are required or necessarily likely that would be actually enjoyable to me

[@Despenso]

Have you ever played Exanima? I think you should check it out. It has one of the best and most realistic implementations of medieval weapons and armours.

[@ngVAT579]

I agree with you guys on most points. But I'm honestly torn about how they do the story and if they do the story in elden ring and other souls like games. On the one hand it's really satisfying to start piecing things together from items and bits of dialog and the cut scenes that there are on the other hand sometimes you really want a more satisfying burst of story when it comes to the story so like for dark souls 3 for example I like doing all the piecing togethers of the story but then when you finally beat the final boss and not a whole lot happens I mean the endings you do get are very deep and you can think a lot about them but it's at the same time It feels anticlimactic So if they at least did like some big cut scenes or story dumps towards the end of the game I think that might do it better for me I'm probably sitting at a solid 9 for the game overall but some of the story elementsome of the story elements keep me from going higher.

[@staceygram5555]

The game with the best customization in my opinion is APB: Reloaded. There's literally a basic MSpaint/photoshop-like tool in the game that let's you design everything from tattoos, to clothes, to paint jobs on cars and weapons. I remember I used to make in-game money by selling cars with custom paint jobs, basketball jerseys, baseball caps etc.

[@dr8576]

The sound effects could do with an over-hall. Every weapon impact sounds like two foil tins being banged together.

[@Squeeble00]

The fromsoft games have always had good music and voice acting, but sfx have never been one of their strongpoints. One of the Regal Ancestor Spirit boss' cries is literally a stock sound xD

[@barniyamum]

oz dark souls one has one of the best lvl designs ever... and u can go certain places its much better designed than 2 and 3 i would say... its like a giant hedge maze.... and shad its not that scary it has different kinds of areas too dont worry about the horror ;) u will love the game

[@GeneralTantzu]

Man, I wish we get Bloodborne style open world souls game too.

[@Gaia_Gaistar]

Shad's weapon and armortism is the best. It IS possible to make cute girls in this game, I have seen it. But man, you gotta *WORK* them sliders. Not much you can do about the body but it's possible to get some cuties. My sliderfu is a bit rusty so i'm working on it.

[@skjaldulfr]

Regarding height in character creation, it's evident from the head to body ratio that the PC is really tall.

[@corbykinslow8213]

A few episodes ago there was a comment made about the fact that Shad never wanted this show to be political and to just be about games and other related content but that it was the political content that got views. Today's episode was the reason that I subscribed to this channel. I love Shad and the guys but I have skipped most of the previous episodes because I wanted to come here to get away from the crazy things going on in the world. I really hope more episodes will be more like this, especially since Shadiversity doesn't really back down in other areas just to please people.

[@flyingsheep1539]

Personally I love both, I would say politics gets more views because its more universal whereas certain things like this only really matter to people interested in the material they are covering

[@KNIGHTSWATCH]

Well to be clear, we never started talking about politics for views. It's my preference to never talk about politics in my videos. Philosophy and ethics will always come up, but politics, no. The reason we do discuss politics is that people with agendas are trying to use the media we love to push subversive and destructive political agendas, and we will push back when they do. It is they that have politicized pop-culture, not us. They are making us be political. When there is no politics in media, then we don't even bring it up, like you saw in this very video.

[@SuperEndiku]

There is a difference between purposefully making content of a political nature and talking about hobbies that have been overtaken by people with political motives. Name any hobby and it's been infested with political activists trying to change it. So how do you avoid that unless you want to pretend it isn't happening?

[@insensitive919]

You um... might need to innoculate yourself a little. I'm fine with this channel's content and I'm a coward. At least on this channel I don't have to worry about Shad trying to cancel innocent people and mocking the deaths of children and crap, you would think that wouldn't be such a problem but there are some really popular channels that justify that crap, please give Shad and his guys some credit, at least they are honest and fair.

[@BobT36]

@@KNIGHTSWATCH Good on you, mates. Nowadays it's as if you're only allowed to have one, single stream of thought, no variety of ideas or balance. That's evil incarnate.

[@JakeMcaulay]

Not a fan of Dark souls and I'm probably never gonna play Elden Ring but I enjoyed watching you two passionately discussing it. Glad you're enjoying it boys, I'm loving me some Triangle Strategy ha.

[@pizzabear9305]

I think you can dye equipment I've been Carain Knights with red armor

[@Skarlet_Sun]

Completed it with a strength & faith build at 161 hours, immediately made a new character to try a dexterity & arcane build. I love this game!

[@natenichols9569]

I wish someone would develop Michael Crichton's Timeline into a video game. It's got boss battles and everything.

[@natenichols9569]

I would love to see a comparison between oblivion and elden ring

[@mrflurp22_m63]

OMG YOU KILLED PATCHES!

[@Demonarrows1]

Clearly it's not perfect but its the new measure for all future RPG's imo. The full world of stuff, beautiful locations, horse mechanics, exploration. There is a reason to go to a place in the distance because you'll probably find something cool. I like the crafting system which I normally HATE - pick up a load of stuff, one menu where you can make it all whenever you want. I love the customisability of the character via ashes of war or dual wielding having new animations etc. It's raised the bar in almost every aspect there is in gaming - and really puts the assassins creed genre on notice.

[@rafaelfras]

Red Sonja killing a lizard

[@AscendantStoic]

Hopefully we get some meaty DLC for Elden Ring that adds more customization options for clothing, characters and maybe even Torrent (besides of course adding more of everything else gameplay related, and a whole new zone).

[@libertyprime6932]

Honestly, the RPG debate is a very interesting one. Witcher 3 is considered a great RPG but I always felt like I was watching the story of Geralt play out. Whereas in something like Elder Scrolls you can have a full experience in the game without ever doing the main quest and have full control over who your character is.

[@Joe-cp5ud]

Yes

[@mesaprime4368]

I dont know if I've been out of the loop for months now but...where's Knight Ben?

[@zorkhan9695]

Hollowing was is dark souls 1 too it just didn't remove health and you couldn't summon help if you were hollow

[@Kyl5]

In DS1 there was also the cursed status that halved your hp, but enable you to hit ghost with any weapon.

[@cotc4x153]

Regarding your rpg discussion, I would personally call elden ring an off the rails rpg because just like Oz said decisions have consequences and those decisions are taken through exploring the world and interacting with the characters. Also the story is very much there and deep enough that you can sink hours into the lore. Every item, boss and line of dialog has meaning and lore. The way you play the game influences how it all fits together and the overall story. Which factions are successful, what kind of resolution you bring to the world, what characters die, do you doom the world or not, its all up to you. All you need to understand this is to be willing to pay some extra attention, to piece things together, at least roughley. I am definitely a lore enthusiast and that may skew my view, but I am also pretty tired of stories telling me the story and not discovering it myself and experiencing it.

[@dilen754]

Well, thats good, but what about the ROLE. Not every game that have different endings are RPG. From my point ov view, Mass effect is full rpg - you can play a role there. Are you hero, are you rogue, are you diplomat? Will you be angry at the moment, or compassionate? That what makes you play a role. You can't say Heroes II is an RPG because you have several moments in campaign, where you can choose sides or places of next mission.

[@andrewgill3203]

Its called fashion souls or elden bling because most people wear armor for the stats(and thats the sole mechanic for armor like you said there are no cosmetic options) . However, ignoring stats for the look is considered "cool" so we give it a name. It was kind of a big deal in Dark Souls cause most players wore havels or giant armor for how much those sets break the balance of the game in the players favor. Its like this newb heavy armor< fashion souls< literally naked