EThe lden ring has a 97% Metacritic rating. If you type its name on Twitter, you will be filled with praise and stories from players who have already been immersed in its mysterious world for many hours. But what exactly is it? Why are people so obsessed with it? And should you join them – or is it too hard?
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So what is the Elden Ring?
Elden Ring is the latest game from the popular Japanese studio software, the creators of the critically acclaimed Souls series, which began with the 2009 Demons Souls and continues into the Dark Souls trilogy. It set the open-world role-playing adventure in a devastated place called Lands Between, where the destruction of a nominal masterpiece led to wars and chaos. You play the warrior who restores the ring and becomes the ruler of the new kingdom.
What can I do?
If you’ve played The Witcher or The Elder Scrolls game, you’ll get it very quickly. Most importantly, you will explore a vast realm filled with castles, caves, and terrifying dungeons and fight monster zoos ranging from tiny tombs to wood trolls and fire-breathing dragons. In doing so, you will also encounter non-player characters who make challenging discoveries and offer valuable rewards if you are lucky.
As in classic tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and War Hammer, your character has many statistics for health, strength, intelligence, etc., and can collect and customize weapons and spells to improve their fighting skills. This element of inventory management is much more complex than you’d like to see in an Assassin ‘Creed game: defining your character and how they fit into your own playing style is of prime interest to fans of software games. You also need to know about Super Armor, Stance Breaks, Broken Pots, and Critical Hits, as well as Ashes of War, which add special powers to your weapons. It’s a lot.
What’s so good about it?
The Elder Ring means the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Many have said what it would be like to hate yourself. That is a very good analysis. It is an extensive game with beautiful and varied landscapes, a zoo of scary monsters, and an amazing deep leveling up system that rewards experimentation and personalization. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki is a game-design genius who thinks deeply about games and how they work. There is always room for player interpretation and plotting is subject to interaction. There are so many things to discover in the world, you want to constantly talk about it and compare experiences. I didn’t really understand this with the Dark Souls trio but now I understand. With FromSoftware titles, you’re not just buying the game, you’re joining the community – a lot of the fun in the game takes place outside of it.
Is it too hard?
No, it’s not. It is just perfect and uncompromising. Major fights can never be won by wielding a sword while charging. Video Game Soundtrack Composer Krista Lee Made a really interesting point on Twitter: She says her fights actually work like turn-based battles from classic Japanese RPGs. You move your attack, and then you have to wait to see how the enemy responds, confront it with Parry or Dodge, and then do your part to strike again. It involves reading attack patterns, working the best distance to engage the enemy, and making sure you have the right weapons and knowledge for the job. It is so easy to panic when confronted by a 20-foot high troll who can wipe your health bar with his hammer. But once you realize how slow that swipe is, you can devise an attack plan. The difference between the Elden Ring and the Dark Souls is that if you are completely immersed in the Elden Ring, you can usually flee or ride your Phantom Horse. There is so much more space to be useless.
And the good thing is that death in the Elden Ring is not so expensive: you give up all your runes (the currency of the game), however, if you can return to the place of death without dying again, you can pick them up. At the beginning of the game, make sure you have spent everything you can on recipe books for weapons, crafting, and leveling. Do not store cash. Also, look for skulls with shining eyes – they are lying everywhere in the game world and have golden runes that you will not lose when you die. It’s like having a credit card but, you know, more secretive.
Also, as with other software games, you can call other players to help you with crucial encounters. Use the game’s crafting system to make a furl-calling finger remedy and strangers will be drawn to your place to let you do it. There is also an important starting point called Lone Wolf Ash, which gives you a pack of Spectral Wolves that can attack your opponents and save you a lot of damage. Sometimes you can get different enemies attacking each other. I was able to wipe out almost all the soldiers guarding Fort Hight By leading a pair of demi-human soldiers to their place and fighting them all. It is glorious.
However, the game is always ready to teach you a tough lesson. Margit The Fell Omen is the first major boss in the second division of Stormwheel Castle, and he’s the absolute beast with multiple destructive attack patterns. Do not think about it until your character reaches the 20th level and has a range of weapons or spells and spells.
Can I do my own thing?
Yes! Like Breath of the Wild, you’re free to explore the entire map of Limgrave and find all the systems and targets as you go, so it’s worth spending time wandering around and researching interesting things. There are no quest markers, no list of side-tasks to tick off, no pictorial menus to flip endlessly between, and no radio masts to switch on (I’m looking at you, Ubisoft). You go out and communicate with the world. I found countless moments, from finding powerful weapons in the swamps to fighting large crabs and descending into mines full of ferocious zombie dogs. For those struggling with the rigors of the Dark Souls Games, the Elden Ring is a revelation.
Any final tips?
Find weapons and armor that look good on you. Experiment with weapons such as swords, spears and clubs, and vases and find out which options work best against enemies. Range fighting is always a good strategy, so engage in magic or use a bow.
Do not forget to target enemies during fights (press the right analog stick). The only way you can hit them is with arrows and throwing knives. Learn Jumping Attack, where you can jump on the enemy and cut them down with your sword – this is great for cracking their attack patterns, making them subject to follow-up. Practice time on soft enemies.
Stay in Limgrave in the opening section for as long as you can before taking the next step into Stormwheel Castle. You can do some serious leveling up, find a lot of useful kits in the basement and be more prepared for the challenges to come.
Use the guides. Eurogamer And Games Radar Both have in-depth guidelines for the game and they will give you a clue on what you missed. If in doubt, get the Elden Ring Discard or Reddit. The main lesson I have learned so far is that you do not always have to be alone in this game.
