Elden Ring

About halfway through last week, I came to a realisation about my break. I was looking forward to dedicating some time to Elden Ring (among other games), but I have been playing on PC. By itself, this isn’t a bad thing, but I want to spend time away from my PC on my break.

So I restarted Elden Ring, but this time on PS5. I started with a Ronin class this time, as I was flipping between Ronin and Bandit when I first started playing. I was expecting pain as I was starting fresh, but to quickly make progress as I had started learning the ropes.

What I didn’t expect was to dominate compared to my first run through. I don’t know if it’s the DualSense controller, the Ronin starting class, or being more relaxed as I play. But I have managed to get further than I have on PC, and I have explored more in different areas. I think I was supposed to explore a lot of these areas the first time, as I have found a few things that have helped. This includes an ‘old friend’.

Patches is a From Software staple, and I had heard he was in Elden Ring. That cave also introduced me to a new mechanic – tripwire alarms. That was unexpected. As was Patches coming out as a boss. The fight wasn’t as epic as I expected, but now Patches is another merchant for me.

I have a feeling I found Patches the ‘wrong’ way though. I say this more because I went from the end of the river towards the lake, rather than the other way around. I found my first bloody finger invader and managed to find another cave that made my heart stop.

During the descent, I used all my health flasks, but I couldn’t find a way back up because I dropped in the dark. Then I came across the boss’s room. Not what I wanted with no health and over 6000 runes waiting to level up.

But I managed to beat it the first time! I lucked out, it was a giant with red weak points – the ankles! The fight ended up being like the huge archer fight, so I wasn’t too surprised by the mechanics. This was super helpful. Sometimes Elden Ring throws you a softball.

Emboldened, I then set out to take on Margit. I had my lone wolves, and Sorcerer Rogier was on hand to help. I had a couple of new weapons to play with as well. A couple of tries, and I thought I could get the fight sorted.

I managed to surprise myself. After the belting I got on PC, I managed to end Margit on PS5 first go! I think I am getting the hang of Elden Ring!

Some will say that using the summons is doing the fight in easy mode. I say I am using the tools the developer gave me. The important part of any game is enjoying it your way. If your way of enjoying Elden Ring is finishing the entire game without levelling up with only a club. The skill of such players is amazing. I am learning, so I am using all the tools Elden Ring gives me!

Pushing on, I have started exploring Stormviel Castle. And met my death quite a few times. I knew I was getting too tired when I tried to jump on a ledge, and completely missed and plunged to my death. Twice.

So during the week, I may switch up to days of LEGO Star Wars (because reflecting sun and dark games don’t mix), with Elden Ring at night. One thing is for sure – I am enjoying it so far, and I can’t wait to see how far in I can go.

The amount of Skywalker Saga I played during my break surprised me a lot. I thought I would play a bit at night, but then the glare from the sun on my TV made Elden Ring hard to play. So switch times – the brightly lit LEGO game in the day, Elden Ring at night. But then I kinda kept playing LEGO…

Friday night I had realised something pretty hard though. I am going back to work next week. My window for playing Elden Ring while relaxed was closing rapidly. And it was coming up to a week since I had played – I didn’t want to lose muscle memory at this stage!

So I jumped into the game, braced myself, and jumped back into Stormview Castle. I know I have to take on Godrick the Grafted to continue the next section of the story. I felt I had levelled up enough to take on the fight, so it was time.

Spoiler – Godrick smashed me. 🤫

Between Enzo playing with me during some big fights and messing up a couple of battles, I lost about 18,000 runes. That hurt, that’s a couple of levels there. But Enzo was super cute!

I have ranged out and found a couple of new things. I finally found a Sacred Tear so my life juice works a bit better, and I have defeated a few mini-bosses. So I ranged out a bit to see what was around. I remembered there was a sealed door right at the start of the game, so having some Stonesword Keys, time to explore!

What I found was a Zelda like dungeon, and at the end of it the angriest tree I have ever come across!

This boss fight took a few goes (nothing unusual in Elden Ring), but I managed to get through it. This actually started a bit of a spree of fights I have been putting off.

Not only did I take down the Tree Sentinal, but I also managed to take down the Flying Dragon Agheel. I won’t say it was an easy run of boss fights, but I was happy I did it. When you decide to start punching things as a way to end the night and keep winning – it’s an amazing feeling!

To say that I am enjoying Elden Ring would be more than fair, but I am so tempted to start looking up a guide on what to do. I am sure I am missing out on a lot of things, both basic and secret.

Secrets are a thing, and I don’t mind overlooking them if that happens, especially on my first run. Elden Ring is like any other From Software game – there are no clear directions for hunting things.

But the basics are annoying me. I am not using Ashes of War at all, and I know I should be. Sure not constantly, but against fights like Godrick I am sure would be useful!

I will see how I go next week. Hoping I can get in at least 3 hours in the week, and if I can’t, then I will look up some guides on where to go. If I can, I will enjoy bumbling my way around the Lands Between.

At least if I can get through Elden Ring, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is looking good for that backlog achievement!

I have been getting into Elden Ring in a huge way. I was worried that returning to work would interfere with my adventures in the Land Between. Well, work is all but the last thing I have done this week! I thought I had caught a bug.

After two years of staying in the house, Covid has come to visit. I did get to play some more, but this entry is being written while still feeling pretty bleah. So I may wander more than normal.

Last weekend, I wrote about getting beaten by the first ‘proper’ boss of Elden Ring, Godrick the Grafted. A lot. But I also enjoy a challenge, and I knuckled down and beat him. It took a couple of tries, but I got there, and my first Shardbearer trophy has been achieved!

I thought I was doing pretty well overall and continued exploring blindly. I ended up triggering a quest for a set of armour. I discovered this by looking up why someone attacked me in the Roundtable Hold – a supposed safe haven! Goes to show nowhere is safe in Elden Ring.

Pushing forward, I also discovered quickly Raya Lucaria and defeated the legendary Rennala. I thought I was making some progress. I finally figured out how to find map fragments as well. Looking around wandering until I find something that squashes me, then go somewhere else has worked, or so I thought.

Turns out I missed a huge area called the Weeping Peninsula! I had already gone to a large fight at the end, but I missed huge areas to the west. I finally have various crystals for my Physick Flask and found a couple of other smaller bosses as well. Elden Ring does not hold your hand navigation wise at all.

Right now, I am looking at the entranceway of Caria Manor. From the warnings of the large blacksmith I met on the way and the harder enemies en route, this might be a good spot to pause while sick.

That doesn’t mean I am not going to play some more Elden Ring. I have managed to hit level 60, but there are plenty of areas to explore in spots I have found. The only thing I need to be careful of exploring is not losing runes. It is starting to hurt a lot now losing 20-30 thousand runes!