Convince me to play Elden Ring

I don't mean in a competitive sense. Don't tell me how it's the best game. Tell me why it's a good game.

I've made no secret of my general disinterest (to put it lightly) of most Japanese games, and how terrible I am with the soulsborne subgenre, and yet I keep trying to like them because a lot of people (and a lot of people I respect) enjoy them.

So I recently purchased Elden Ring and gave it a go, in the spirit of "giving Japanese games another chance". I got farther than I did with other games like it, but I just don't see the magic yet.

So please, for my sake...sell me on it.

Is it the game world? Or maybe the combat? Do you like how it (from what I've read) is slightly more approachable than other games like it?

Any good resources to use to help me in my journey, given my lack of skill with these games?!

C'mon, help me out here, how often do you get a chance to change someone's mind on System Wars?! 😋😁

If you find out please let me know lol. I gave it an honest effort when it came out due to the hype and a lot of good reviews and I cannot wrap my head around how it is fun or a good game. You basically get your ass handed to you at every turn until you find the easy path to grind for a bit and come back to all the areas that you had no business being near previously.

I got Elden Ring (Xbox Series X) as a Christmas gift, but messed up and started Pokémon Violet. (My boys got Violet/Scarlet as well) I don’t see myself playing anything but Pokémon for a while…

Just waiting for Nintendo to port these on their new console. We know they will. Why not just port all of their late major games to the next-gen Switch and advertise 4K/60fps. Though it'll likely be base 1080p/900p with DLSS at 4K aka ultra/performance mode. Still should provide a much cleaner image than blurry ass 480-720p.

If you want the game to be easier than it should be, then use a weapon that applies bleeding. Its completely broken and unbalanced. Further into the game, you will find an ash summon called mimic, which spawns a clone of yourself, with the same weapon as you. You and your clone having a bleed weapon makes this game very Gaming Journalist mode, but it might be what's needed for you to get used to the "genre".

As for why you should play it? I mean, i guess the biggest praise for the game is its word and the sense of discovery that you pretty much never have in open world games nowadays. If you're having a hard time with whatever part you're in, and you're not someone who enjoys hitting your head against the wall until you beat it, simply put a marker on your map to remind you to come back later (if you want), and go do something else, there's a million options in this game.

But its really hard for me to say when i like everything about Fromsoft titles. I think that the comments section on youtube will sell you on the game better than i would because there's plenty of people that were in the same boat as you, and didn't like the Souls games or weren't even into gaming that much, but got ER because everyone kept talking about the damn game, and became addicted for 300h+, and are now playing all the soulsborne titles because of this game. Here

If you ever played a Souls game you know what you're getting into. If you've never then I say maybe test waters with something on Game Pass or PS Plus that's in that ballpark. If those still aren't options I'd simply have to ask...

Play Elden Ring! Or not. I don't care...

Difficult to say. My best friend didn't understood the point of Soulslike games until he did. Now he's obsessed.

My advice is to first make sure you're comfortable with the controls, then for a couple of hours just explore and seek the path of least resistance. If exploration is something you enjoy in games in no time you'll feel comfortable and motivated enough to push forward.

Maybe seek a spoiler free guide just pointing out which regions you should explore first.

But maybe it just isn't a game for you and that's fine. It is a shame though, as no other game I can think of deals with exploration like ER does. Regarding combat, as a melee player, it's all about discipline and pacing. Once you get into the groove it's not a very hard game. Use whatever tools the game gives you that fit your style.

For sure. Though OPs aversion to all Japanese games seems odd lol. Not like he's a troll or some shit. Just crazy to me how someone into video games can literally not like a single game from a Japanese developer.

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On topic, already done this with you regarding previous Souls games. Not much can add about ER besides the structure of the game lending itself to approachability.

If it's not clicking for you, hang it up man. It happens. Plenty of wildly popular games I can't get into either.

@hardwenzen: You need high Arcane and the Mimic Tear Ashes are fairly deep into the game. It’ll take anyone a while to get to easy mode.

There is plenty of bleed based weapons that you can find early on, and even if your arcane is low, you're still chunking bosses with every bleed proc, which ain't hard to do. Its not like you're gonna deal high damage at lower levels with a str, faith or whatever other build, anyways. In fact, because the scaling of pretty much every weapon in the game is garbage until you find higher tier upgrade materials, which are much further into the game, this makes anything that procs bleed completely broken because the damage itself doesn't scale with the weapon level. This shit is the unofficial Easy Mode that all the casuals were asking for the last 10 years.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will focus on the exploration bit.

I think the thing that frustrated me initially was I thought I was doing OK clearing trash and exploring the world, got out of the introductory cave and came out. Avoided this guy riding a horse because he looked mean. Went to explore this cave with like four wolves in it and got slaughtered because my guy got hung up on a rock and couldn't dodge and had four dogs essentially stunlocking him with repeated attacks.

With that said, it wasn't the most frustrated I've been lol.

I admit it's super weird. I feel like I haven't enjoyed Japanese games since the SNES/Gameboy days.

Don't like Final Fantasy. Don't like Metal Gear Solid. Actually got like six hours into Dragonquest 10 or 11 or whatever the lasto ne was, didn't like that. Don't like Vanquish, something I thought I would like. Couldn't be bothered to finish the Resident Evil games I got for super cheap, and the RE2 remake that came out not too long ago.

The kicker is for the most part I really love most aspects of Japanese culture. Great film, amazing cuisine, rich culture, fascinating history...just the games I don't really tend to enjoy 😋

But, as I said...I keep trying. Maybe I will learn to stop someday but Elden Ring had a modest discount and I figured "why not".

I find these thread extremely hilarious!

🤣🤣🤣🤣

@mrbojangles25:

Think the interesting part with you and Souls games is that while you can trace back many Souls elements to previous Japanese games and other media, at face value they come across as more western. Just wouldn't expect them to be yet another Japanese game you dislike lol. Whereas the other games you mentioned are distinctly Japanese in style and design.

Curious, are you into action based gaming at all? From what little I know of your preferences, you seem to like builder games, sims, strategy, etc.

Outside JRPGs, Japans strengths have always been in action games. Fighting games, "character action", beat em ups, shmups, run n gun, platformers, arcade racing, etc. Even their survival horror stuff leans on action gaming a lot.

@hardwenzen: You won’t do high damage with other builds but a bleed build takes a while to get going. And regardless of what you do, you still need to hit and dodge with a bleed build so it's not like you can just sleepwalk.

The two earliest bleed weapons are Bloodhound's Fang and Reduvia. Alternatively, you can also pick the Samurai class with the Uchigatana.

Point is, even bleed builds require the player to learn the fundamentals and be at least decent at the game. If a noob expects to just waltz through the game with bleed weapons, they're sorely mistaken.

It’s a beautifully crafted world that’s a treat to explore and I was always making very fun and interesting discoveries. I absolutely loved the background story and lore of the game. Had plenty of fun fights with cool bosses.

I can't guess at what anyone wants in a game, but I can tell you when I realized how special elden ring was.... I think, for me, it's the way that every element of the game comes together to serve this overall gameplay experience that is being held together through brilliant design and community cooperation.

The best parts of elden ring are how flexible your character can be... How many insanely unique and inventive character builds can be created and how it is very possible to go through the game several times with different builds that keep the game super fresh.... I was a faith build for a while and I knew the ins and outs of how my weapons and tactics effected so many different enemies... When I switched to a bleed build I had a completely different move set with different perks and weaknesses. It was vastly different than my other build in every fight. A game so big and detailed that allows that much flexibility is seriously well designed.

The community is another big thing about this game. I am truly impressed by the culture Souls games have cultivated throughout the years... You're not ever really alone in a tough fight. There is a massive community inside the game and outside the game waiting to help. Usually single player games are personal experiences that don't require outside imput... With elden ring you're a member of the community, jumping in to help a fight or offering tips on the floor of a boss room. For a game this huge I was always in awe that help, tips, clues, secrets were everywhere... Crowd sourced love pours out of elden ring and its part of what separates it from others.... For added context, look up "Let me Solo Her" on YouTube and you'll see what I mean.

Lastly, exploration.... When I finished botw I remember thinking that I won't be able to play another game like it until Nintendo releases botw2... I was mostly correct, but elden ring is the one stand out.... There are secrets literally everywhere.... Over that hill, under that rock.... On top of that distant peak. Elden ring, like Zelda makes the world a character and spending time in that world and all it offers is just same damned satisfying.

Elden ring isn't asking you to be intimidated by challenge.. It's presenting a world filled with danger and daring you to spend enough time there to learn how to overcome everything on your own. It's the best souls game I've played and the only game I put in the same class as botw.

@TheEroica: @Archangel3371:thanks fellas, that's exactly what I was looking to hear.

I know not every game is for everyone, but I want to give the game an honest chance and I needed some positively-framed perspectives, so in a sense I can see it how others see it before my preconceived views of the sub-genre override it.

I think for me its the loop of combat, exploration and satisfying progression in cool environments that makes it work.

The thing that turned me initially was a lack of direction about where to go/when to go there in Souls games. Purists will say, you gotta just play it and figure everything out for yourself without looking stuff up.

I find I had a better time when I used a guide to point me in the direction of which areas I should go to at roughly which level. From there, I'd explore the areas/fight bosses without looking at a guide. That way I'd still get some sense of discovery without this gnawing feeling I was in the wrong place, and also meant I wasn't missing anything major which is pretty easy to do in this game.

I imagine some people wouldn't like playing it that way, but its what helped the Souls games click for me, and given how open Elden Ring is I feel that might be helpful for someone who hasn't got far in previous games. There is lot of cryptic stuff in the game, and just looking stuff you don't understand up online will help you makes sense of everything.

Getting a feel for the combat and learning to be patient with dying/retrying tough encounters will come with time. Experiment with weapons/play styles early on until you find something that clicks. Some 'meta' builds might be better than others on paper but just try different weapons and use what feels good and fits your playstyle. I like turtling with a big shield and hard-hitting weapon, for instance. You don't need to be constantly dodging/rolling if you don't want to with many builds.

eh, play it. or not.

If you need convincing, you really won't like it. Souls-like games is an acquired taste. Either you like it or you don't. Pretty much the same for all games, honestly.

Just spam reduvia at range until you're out of FP, then use your Uchi to finish them off. Seen it being done by people that are completely clueless, and it worked, so i know its a good strategy for beginners. But yes, of course you need to learn some kind of dundamentals (like in every game). WHat i am saying is that it'd be easier to do so with a bleed build than anything else. I know spamming Moonveil and perma stagger bosses was also stupid op, but i remember reading they nerfed its ranged staggers not too long ago, so it might be less op (you still get almost insta cast ash of war and a ton of damage, tho, so i can't imagine this not being another good option).

Sure, but I still wouldn't call it easy by any means. Even with a bleed build, you can still easily get owned and plenty of mobs and bosses don't care about bleed. You're probably seasoned with the game so for you it's almost like playing with your eyes closed but for a noobie, it'll still be a nightmare.

Not saying your advice isn't true or good, just saying that if a new player reads this and actually expects the game to be easy, they're in for a rude awakening.

@mrbojangles25: yeah, what do you mean you don't like japanese games? That's s huge variety from Mario, mario kart, street fighter to RE4, etc. I think you meant jrpg games, then yes that's fair. Not everyone is into it.

Personally I'm not someone who really enjoyed souls games before either. Getting my ass wooped by skeletons for 15 hours isn't my idea of fun either.

It has some fun boss fights, varied scenery, and a good sense of getting stronger over time. It isn't an *amazing* game, but it's pretty good at what it does.

I'd also recommend ignoring all of the advice in this thread. The best way to enjoy the game is to play it blind, without building towards a particular outcome or bee-lining to the ways to make the game easy.

Yeah I've noticed in some other, build/meta-heavy games, going in with a really thorough idea of what you want kills the magic.

I like polearms when it comes to melee weapons (I don't know why, something about having three kinds of weapons on the end of a long stick appeals to me...) so I went with the Vagabond class.

That's about as much planning as I've put into it.

@mrbojangles25: Is it mainly the difficulty that is turning you away from this game? If so, I would suggest exploring the online aspect of the game; not summoning others but instead putting down your summon sign for others to summon you.

If you summon others you may get people that just ruin the experience by one-shoting the boss. If you get summoned by others you can learn the level and it's hazard with little risk to you. Just be sure to always examine the crucifix status to be summonable to that area from any location (that was a very welcomed update).

I totally disagree with this latest advice. Wandering around aimlessly in Elden Ring is just an exercise in frustration. You don't need to totally hand hold everything with guides for the whole game, but you sure as hell need to stick to areas appropriate to your level at the outset and learn the basics. Game requires grinding and almost immediately you can access areas you cannot survive. Plus the story and intro to the world is a fcuking mess. If you miss Rani right at the beginning you are screwed until you figure that out. There are certain things that you must do.

I would say follow a guide for the first bit. Get oriented. Get the things you must. Do the things you must. Learn a bunch of the mechanics that you must. Game is very large so you won't miss out on much mystery and discovery if you spend a few hours getting off on the right foot.

This is especially true for people not experienced with their games. Once you get the hang of it THEN you are better equipped to explore. Just learning inventory management and quick access to pouch items is a damn chore. This is because the game blows at explaining things and again this is especially true if you aren't familiar with their stuff.

It is a good and satisfying game, if you don't give up in the first few hours....which a whole shitload of people do. Therefore, I would suggest you follow a guide and learn the basics until level 5, or higher depending on your going in experience.

Last you don't have to stick to your build and know exactly what you want to play like because there is a lot of flexibility in allocating points. Also, you can completely re-spec later.

Im the same, I just dont like the games at all. The game seems to have some really creepy vibe going on and a very interesting characters and game world that begs to be explored and this is what made me keep trying to like them, and I guess its what other people like about them too.

I wanna play this still but I'm in the same boat. I'm thinking maybe it gets hype because it's a hard game and gamers wanna flex. I've only tried Bloodborne, and it was good, but too hard for me. Maybe after you get used to the formula it's not as bad. Don't like games that force you to die repeatedly in order to progress.

If the first 10 souls game can't convince you...

I mean, I played the first CoD MW and never wanted to play another one.

Btw. i didn't expect souls games to become the military shooters of RPGs.

Never quite got the attraction of ER either… played it for a few hours and got extremely frustrated with it, someone recommended me to try devils souks remake instead as it was a more streamlined experience! Started with a melee build and had a reasonable good time, but died a lot until I came to a hard stop with the second boss…

Started a magic build instead and absolutely mopped the floor with everything, but found the play style and the lack of waypoints extremely boring and frustrating, so gave up somewhere after the third boss… never got back into ER and doubt I will..

No good looking at me,I've never played it,I may try it when it comes to gamepass.

It just obliterated horizon forbidden West and god of war Ragnarok in most game awards game of the year for 2022,I know those games are overrated ubisoft clones but still no mean feat,

So in summary if you like the over used dark souls esq format in a last gen looking world you'll probably like this

I love Elden Ring for feeling old school. You don't get a hand to hold, you don't get a voice telling you how to solve puzzles, you don't get told what the best weapon is for the moment. You have a great deal of environments to explore, a buttload of enemy designs and many cool places to see, a vast assortment of weapons that work in very different ways. All of this in the most approachable, yet longest Souls game yet. It's an awesome game that should be a no brainer to play for everyone who aren't strangers to videogames, so if you have trouble getting into it, I wouldn't recommend it, as you should already be sold.

Some people like Souls games, others like ginger Star Wars and Assassin's Creed.

@joshrmeyer: it most certainly has nothing to do with flex... Elden ring is VERY accessible for all types of gamers. It's not linear so you can approach things at your own pace...

if youve tried and failed to get into from games numerous times but still want to, i'd just bite the bullet and use a walkthrough. i'd recommend https://www.youtube.com/FightinCowboy. watch a friendly souls veteran play and talk through the systems, mechanics, lore, where he's going, what he's doing and why he's doing it etc. you'll learn a lot about how from games in general work too. jump off at any point where you feel you've got a handle on it all, or if it still isn't clicking with you after a few episodes make your peace with it not being for you and move on.

as far as barrier to entry goes i dont think elden ring is the easy on-ramp to fromsoft games many people claim. there's some additions that go some way to help you better understand what's going on, how to use items, and what you need to do next in comparison to previous fromsoft games, but it's still a relatively opaque game, and the open world is a double edged accessibility sword. sure you can wander off and try somewhere else if you hit a wall in one area, but it's so big you might just end up wandering round aimlessly hitting walls

What kind of games do you enjoy?

I could do with maybe giving this another chance also. I've had a new OLED since.

I bought this about 7 months ago, played for about 1hr and died about 15 times. Quite honestly got frustrated about getting my arse handed to me!

I don't understand why my reasoning behind liking the game would be the catalyst for changing your mind, especially because you're experiencing it already. I'm not one of those people who say, "It gets good 100hrs in." Silly and stupid to have to wait that long. The game either clicks with you or it doesn't.

• Combat is fun, exciting, and calculated; bosses more so with this.
• Bosses are interesting, multi-phased, and test your skills by what the game taught you up to that point
• There is absolutely no hand holding, though you can get some direction if you choose to fall into the tutorial pit. You're free to go and experiment on your own.
• Leveling system allows me to fine tune my character to create my own unique build. I'm a blood build, and my other character is a strength build who dual wields two great hammers.
• NPC's, though sometimes vague, are interesting and the voice acting is always top notch
• The story is told through many means, allowing you to only flesh it out by finding NPC's or items to give you a clearer picture. If you are interested about the story you'll search it; it encourages exploration.

Brev, if you aren't already convinced to play the GOAT Elden Ring then nothing will.

I dunno if it would be your cup of tea. However, I know you dont like jRPGs with one reason being the melodrama. And there is barely any dialogue in Elden Ring. Most of its storytelling is told via environments.

Ever read Berserk? If you enjoyed that. You might enjoy Elden RIng as it is the same tone and style.

However, you didn't like previous SOuls games, so I doubt this game, which is a shameless rehash of older Souls games (recycling enemies, animations and more) will do much for you. I also don't think dungeons will do much either, since most of them are blatant asset flips, recycling entire rooms and bosses ad nauseum.

For me, I thought the game was such a piece of garbage, I actually deleted it off my steam account.

When you think about, Elden Ring is exactly what Halo 2 was in 2004. Insane hype before release. Everyone was talking about it, and even your parents knew wtf it was, even tho they've never held a controller in their lives. The game comes out, and its everything people were asking for, and it ends up selling a shitton. The same thing happened with Elden Ring, and this might be the first game since 2004 that was hyped THIS much, hasn't disappointing and even surpassed the hype of many. Truly an event we don't see in gaming these days.

With the amount of new fans they've gotten with ER, i can only imagine how insane the hype for their next Souls game is gonna be like, especially after edging everyone by releasing Armored Core6 instead of another Souls game. Its gonna be another event to remember. No idea why i am even saying this, i am just hyped af for their next title.

lol, I don't really understand why you hate it so much. It should at least be enjoyable if you've enjoyed any Souls game in the past. The recycled content, while not super awesome, wasn't that bad, and there are sooo many games that does this even worse. The crypts all looked the same? Yeah, reminded me of Breath of the Wild. There are recycled enemies? Yeah, just like Breath of the Wild, really.

I can imagine being dissapointed if you thought you were getting something else than Dark Souls 4, but I'm happy. It's a very gamey game in a sea of crap that plays itself, and I want more of it.

Elden Ring's heart is in the right place. But the game's execution was absolutely dismal. Which just amplified the disappointment.

And yes it was THAT bad. It was the worst recycling I have since since The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

I don't mind the same tileset being used to an extent, saves both space and developer time, in Elden Ring it was fine. But when we are seeing the exact same rooms copy pasted over and over. Then we have a problem. A freakin' Algorithm could have generated Elden Ring's dungeons. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if one did. Barring that crypt with the elevator trap and the lava chariot crypt. It felt like no thought was put into any dungeons that werent legacy dungeons.

That said, BotW used the same tileset for every shrine, which was tiring. Wasn't a fan of the combat shrines either. Lack of Enemy Variety was also BotW's biggest flaw. Both of those flaws is why I would rate BotW a 8-9. Excellent mechanics held back by its content. But at least, BotW, unlike Elden Ring, had the decency to give me something new in MOST shrines.

I am with you in that I wanted a gamey game. And Elden Ring delivered in that front, which is why it took 20 hours for me to hate it. Problem is, the game that it was, just wasn't very good. Souls Mechanics were impressive back in 2009 with Demons Souls. Were serviceable in 2011 with Dark Souls. But Souls combat mechanics are no longer impressive. The general boss design, with roll catches doesnt do much for me either anymore. In a world of games like Monster Hunter, FromSoft ARPG mechanics and enemy design is lacking. And combat is all Elden Ring had to offer.

@Maroxad:

Cheers man. Yeah, with Elden Ring, guess it comes down to "are you tired of Dark Souls yet or not". And I'm not. I've never found the combat in any Souls game particularly impressive, not even in 2009, but I find it fun. Like I said, I see Elden Ring as Dark Souls 4, and I'm not mad about it.

I guess I could tolerate the recycled stuff in both BotW and Elden Ring because there's lots of other shit to fall back on. Progress the main quest. Progress a sidequest. Explore new areas. Tired of doing samey dungeons? Then don't. Come back when you're not as tired of it anymore. Had to do that for both BotW and Elden Ring.

Not even close for me. I mean, I've played stuff like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. Elden Ring isn't even close to that kind of recycling. Oblivion's recycling was bad enough to make me stop playing it, but I loved the game for many hours before noticing it wanted me to do the same thing a thousand times for the remainder of the game. Didn't even have a problem with the game having like 2 voice actors. xD

I am a semi-fan of the Soulsborne subgenre and here are my thoughts: the only reason why I like Demons Souls and Bloodborne etc are the dark and gritty atmospheres that those games come with. I don’t like the insanely high difficulties at all. Not saying I want a super-easy game by any means, but a mildly easier difficulty wouldn’t hurt. Whenever the developers are questioned about adding an easier mode, make up some excuses like “but it’s about the feeling of reward when you kill the boss”.

My take is this: if you play any Soulsborne game, do it for the storyline and creepy atmosphere, don’t do it merely because the developers say it’s “rewarding” for a fully grown adult to kill a virtual demon guy. That is just silly.

Yeah, I think that is a good chunk as of why. Franchise fatigue is why I couldnt even get through Dark Souls 3. I lost interest near the end.

Demons' Souls Combat was impressive consider how contemporary Action RPGs at the time were games like Mass Effect, Kingdom Hearts, Fallout 3 and Oblivion. But you are right that compared to proper melee games it was still weak. But it was impressive to see an ARPG with somewhat serviceable combat, rather than something you wished to just get through and over with.

I will take your word for Far Cry and Asscreed, as I only played Far Cry 3 and Asscreed 2. I played htose games a lot less than I did Elden Ring. So I might have had less time to notice the copy paste assets (Elden Ring's slower pace also made these flaws more noticeable). And I am in the same boat as you were with Oblivion, but with Elden Ring instead. I liked Elden Ring quite a bit before the copy pasting got on my nerves.

After a dozen hours, my formula for Elden Ring was.

1. Go to new biome
2. find the map marker clearly located on the map
3. Grab Map
4. Look For Dungeon Entrances on Map, and mark them
5. Beeline straight to Dungeon
6. Go through the same rooms you have cleared a dozen times already
7. Fight Boss you have defeated 3 times before
8. Get loot you will never use because you are a dex build and the boss once again dropped ashes you wouldnt be caught dead using
9. Repeat Steps 5-8 until there are no more dungeons on map.
10. Enter new area and go back to step 1.

Yeah, my experience wasn't very positive. I think they should have cut out a lot of the dungeons from the game and added them as secrets in legacy dungeons.