Call and Response: Stormveil Castle and Elden Ring Early Game
Added 2022-05-31 18:59:20 +0000 UTCHello! We want to hear your thoughts about Elden Ring's very early game, up through Stormveil Castle. Respond with a comment on this post by Monday, June 6.
Please keep in mind that there are certain responses that we prefer, and we may need to edit or exclude your response if they don't match. Here's the criteria:
1. Please be specific in your response, and keep it limited to what we've covered so far. So, Limgrave, Stormhill, the Weeping Peninsula, and Stormveil Castle. Please do not review Elden Ring as a whole.
2. Please be brief. People are tempted to write us essays, but those do not make for great content. They take a long time to read and they're difficult to respond to. Aim for two paragraphs, or somewhere around 300 words.
These rules are fussy, but they will make for the best audio content for everyone.
Thanks for your support! Our listener response episode will release after the Stormveil Part 2 episode, and after that we're headed to Liurnia.
Comments
I think I remember them alluding to this encounter, but it's not the same as being stalked (that's the thesis i took from that section at least)
is
2022-06-07 17:19:14 +0000 UTCI know it's past the deadline but I am ok with this not being in the episode. Two things: 1) You *can* see the most recent items in your inventory! You just need to hit the sort button and there's one for most recent. Worked wonders for my first playthrough. 2) I loooove fighting the ulcerated tree spirits. I am not great at them, but it's really satisfying dodging those wiggles and knowing when to sprint away from that aoe (and pulling it off). Also they're just really cute, so it's a treat to interact with them at all :) Ulcer gang rise up!!
is
2022-06-07 17:17:25 +0000 UTCWas very vigilant about tracking down the mariner that D mentioned, so I felt pretty clever murdering Gostoc where he stood when he said, "Heh heh heh, now I can do whatever takes my fancy, can't I... MATE?" as he stood over Godrick's body. Then I ran into my first Tibia Mariner and was like... "Well, damn, THIS pirate's gotta go too!"
Corey Hiscocks
2022-06-07 01:43:47 +0000 UTCI definitely put in a decent number of attempts with Margit as expected with just getting back into the swing of things and getting my "Souls-legs" back. It was fun figuring out how the Margit fight worked and getting used to fighting the bosses again. [insert I had to Mar-git-good joke here]. One thing that does still stand out to me about this fight every time I watch someone on YouTube run through this in say a speedrun is how much I love the voicework of Margit. The lines are great, I'll always love hearing "Well, thou art of passing skill... Tarnished", I just love the way he says Tarnished with an utter disdain. We truly are a foul tarnished. I'll always love it.
Limowreck
2022-06-06 23:05:29 +0000 UTCAs someone who has never been able to get the hang of parries in the Souls series, I absolutely adore the guard counter. The risk/reward of the parry is just too high when, no matter how much I practice, I can’t reliably pull one off more than a fraction of the time. The guard counter changes that. There’s no reason not to use it (I’m often blocking already). It works with shields or weapons. There’s still strategy involved, since trying to counter when a wolf is dodging away or in the middle of a combo is a death sentence. And it’s useable against non-human enemies, too. The counter adds a whole new verb to every single fight, making every encounter that much more interesting by giving me something to do other than circle strafe for this new guy’s butt. It’s a minor addition, but an incredibly impactful, welcome design change for those of us without action game reflexes.
Patrick Galasso
2022-06-06 22:52:20 +0000 UTCIs the strike still ongoing? I had heard it had ended
Dani Doyle
2022-06-06 13:13:50 +0000 UTCI really like the option of the gate entrance as a harder but faster way of getting through the castle for later playthroughs for speed runs my only gripe is that a lot of the loot in Stormveil Castle is actually really good so I haven't completely skipped the castle in any of my playthroughs. Overall linggrave and the weeping peninsula feel like the strongest areas in Elden ring, they feel a lot more designed than later areas and with all of the dungeons being fresh I think I enjoyed my time in the grassy plains more than any of the other zones. Plus patches is there, everyone loves patches
Dani Doyle
2022-06-06 13:00:01 +0000 UTCI know you wanted responses about limgrave and stormveil. But I can't miss the chance to talk about my 2nd favorite zone in the game, weeping peninsula. I really love this zone. After bouncing off margit, I wandered east, far enough that the sky turned red. Where I promptly got my ass chewed on by some red zombies, having bounced off there I tried to find where to go where I found a heavily guarded bridge. The enemies were normal limgrave enemies so I figured it was the place to go. And I immediately fell in love. It's not a very "important" area to the lore or overall story, but it's an elegantly designed zoned sprinkled with secrets. From the village of madness on top of the mountain, down to a secret room with a powerful sorceress locked away, it seems every square yard of this place has somthing neat to find. I found the turtle shell sheild naturally by seeing the top of the tower and thinking "Oh I can definitely make that jump" to which I was able to show my friends later on. As the thing * I* found. The zone it littered with power ups too. It has 3 sacred tears in it and a golden seed. And an powerful early summon. To me this is peak fromsoft design. Limgrave is surrounded by dangerous areas, and it pushes you to a zone jam packed with secrets. ( if this makes the show, I would love Cole to do his best Alex Jones impression. I know he is a policy wonk ;) )
ALEX JONES' VENGEFUL GHOST
2022-06-06 06:15:56 +0000 UTCAs a total From newbie, my "Margit" was the demi-human cave on Limgrave’s beach. In my single minded mission to beat the matriarchs, I explored Limgrave, Liurnia, and Caelid. After 20 hours and the Bloodhound evergaol, I was finally able to best them. Afterwards I was confident enough to start the quest proper, which was a better reward than dragon communion. From's world design worked perfectly with my need to learn the mechanics by allowing constant discovery of world and systems together at once. I never knew what ability, setting, or technique I’d find next. There is something to be said for being on board from the start, but I feel fortunate to have joined when I did. My experience could only have happened due to my complete _inexperience_ with From's earlier games. Very few games have ever given me a sense of limitless possibility like my playthrough of Elden Ring.
John Mickey
2022-06-06 05:26:27 +0000 UTCLimgrave is such a good tutorial zone in terms of introducing themes, factions and enemy types while still keeping new players in the dark in terms of their total meaning. The face at the bottom of Stormveil, the Beastman of Farum Azula, the mentions of Malenia and Godfrey - all this stuff is really interesting and foreshadows later parts of the game in a really interesting way. Limgrave feels like a place that everyone in the world has passed through at one point or another, and left their mark on. Godrick is an excellent tutorial boss for almost exactly the opposite reason. Most of his attacks are, if not directly lifted, then very similar to attacks used by other bosses in the area. His delayed swings and deceptive reach are relatively similar to margit, one of his slam attacks is almost identical to that used by the Leonine Misbegotten. Even in his second phase, the dragon and fire is something that the players have already been introduced to by enemies in Limgrave proper. This also fits really neatly with grafting as a thematic idea. Limgrave is an area that has been conquered and corrupted and affected by almost every force in the game at some point or another, and there is no better embodiment of that than Godrick. He is the Lord of Limgrave as it is, not Limgrave as Kenneth Haight wishes it could be.
Lena Harty
2022-06-06 03:49:30 +0000 UTCAfter starting the game as a Wretch and dodging the Tree Sentinel, I spent probably 5-6 hours playing Elden ring as a stealth game, slowly and methodically murdering my way through the various Soldiers of Godrick in and around the Gatefront Ruins until they'd dropped enough gear that I could trade in my club for a sword and a suit of Godrick Knight armor that I used for almost the first half of the game. Only after clearing out the Ruins several times and spending most of my runes on gear for slots I hadn't found drops for did I find the site of grace right next to the gate and meet Melina / get Torrent. The game opened up in a huge way after that, but I will confess that I really enjoyed the clarity and simplicity of that early loop of leaving the church, sneaking up on a soldier, backstabbing them, and then doing my best to finish them off without losing half my health to a single attack.
Alexander Austin
2022-06-06 00:16:39 +0000 UTCWait, you can Solid Snake around Carian Knight whossface? I had no idea. (I lured him into jumping down the elevator shaft while pursuing me after realizing he would literally parry and kill me every time if I tried to engage.)
Alexander Austin
2022-06-06 00:01:24 +0000 UTCOh shit! I just started listening to it. Thanks in advance!
Holland Hume
2022-06-05 23:59:36 +0000 UTCWe talk about it in the episode!
Duckfeed.tv
2022-06-05 23:57:52 +0000 UTCThis is my thoughts as well as a question: What the FUCK is that enormous cthuloid stone face at the bottom or Stormveil Castle?
Holland Hume
2022-06-05 23:48:04 +0000 UTCAfter brutally clawing my way to a win over Margit after many attempts, I laughed my ass off finding out while listening to you guys that there was an item I could have bought to stun the boss multiple times in the fight. That would have been very, very helpful had I known!
Erik Brown
2022-06-05 22:21:45 +0000 UTCAlright, I've got it. Check this out. Here it goes: hey godrick, how about you graft these NUTS Thanks, fellas. Keep up the great work.
Sid Menon
2022-06-05 21:49:38 +0000 UTCThis game is incredible and hearing the bonfire boys cover it themselves is so refreshing. As soon as I saw the first post in the free feed I knew I had to sub to the Patreon and it was not a mistake. An interesting thing about Gastoc, I think his quest with the ancient dragon smithing stone is part of a cut part of the nepheli and haight questline, which was to imply he might have been another choice for the king of Limgrave. I think there is a cut crown item where you were able to choose either nepheli or gastoc, which implies gastoc is not a normal commoner and maybe a son or offspring of godrick, hence why he’s so vindictive. Also, him beating godrick’s dead body to death (a great sight) might key into the smithing stone, since there is a huge fucking body of a dragon right there idk how connected that might be who knows just the ramblings of a raving lunatic.
Yoav Hayut
2022-06-05 14:36:52 +0000 UTCFor me what separates Stormveil from The Boletarian Palace and other Soul's castles is the lack of a loading screen and the distinction that brings. Boletaria exists in a bubble: its characters, lore and quests are for the most part self-contained. It is a complete story, to the extent that a Souls game ever tells one. Stormveil, on the other hand, is a seamless part of a much larger whole. Most of what you find there won't make much sense yet - you are too busy trying to divorce all the different G names to make much of the portraits and statues, let alone the giant face in the floor - but it isn't supposed to. Elden Ring doesn't offer discrete stories, it's more like the MCU model, or the way streaming shows no longer bother to have distinguishable episodes. The game is, as they say, a 100 hour movie. So it's hard to have a clear response to a single area, because it's hard to say just what stories belong to this area exclusively; nothing both starts and end here, we only get sentence fragments. The borders between levels blur and become porous to the plot. I'm glad I don't have some kind of area-by-area book club style show about it.
Luke Robinson
2022-06-05 10:22:36 +0000 UTCI have played through Limgrave 4x and never found “Highroad Cave”! What a great game!
Matthew
2022-06-04 21:14:49 +0000 UTCWhen Elden Ring came out I was initially skeptical because I had bounced hard off every previous Fromsoft game. The huge number of positive reviews and a good friends endorsement gave me reason to give Elden Ring. Almost from the start I knew I was playing a masterpiece. The game is beautiful and the gameplay challenging. I resolved to play without guides and found myself having a blast. My initial Warrior character plateaued so I restarted the game with a Vagabond then an Astrologer. All characters kinda got stale and I couldn’t make it past many of the bosses. So I gave up. I bounced to Horizon Zero Dawn and had a blast. Here was a game that made sense and I could make progress. I wound up nearly 100%ing HZD and found Gary and Kole through the Duckfeed.tv HZD podcast. Though I clearly had more fun with HZD than the hosts, I liked Duckfeed’s approach to the review and subscribed to Duckfeed where I found the Elden Ring series underway. Listening to Duckfeed I came to appreciate some new aspects of Elden Ring and the podcast gave me some ideas about how to better build my Elden Ring characters. So I decided to start a new Elden Ring play through as a Wretch. I resolved to go as far as I could without guides but once I plateaued to pull out a guide to find missing items/dungeons to build stronger characters.Yesterday I beat Godrick and I’m working my way through Liurnia Lakes. I wrote this to say thank you to Duckfeed.tv for the great podcast. You have breathed new life into Elden Ring for me. I enjoy your format and hope you continue producing new episodes so I may continue to play along. Thanks!
Matthew
2022-06-04 21:03:39 +0000 UTCHey guys just a quick thanks for all the content over the years! Stormveil is an absolute masterclass in level design. To me it feels like an onion, the deeper I get into it the more layers and depth I uncover. After 4 play throughs I still feel like I haven’t discovered everything there is. For example after listening to your last episode I did not know that Gastoc would stalk you and you can confront him! Would you guys prefer the DLC to be another legacy dungeon on the same scale as stormveil or more open world areas with small caves and forts?
Mitchell Turner
2022-06-04 10:17:52 +0000 UTCWhile Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula might not be my favourite open-world areas in Elden Ring, they do contain lots of small but memorable encounters that set the tone for the rest of the game, for the wild ride of discovery the player just embarked on. One little story from my first playthrough jumps out to me as emblematic of the early game. There’s a spiritspring jump next to the Morne ramparts site of grace in the Weeping Peninsula, which I naturally took. Upon landing on the ramparts, I found the turtle shell shield. A few minutes later, I’m riding north to Oridys’s rise, where I find the puzzle there: “Seek three wise beasts.” Turning around I see a spectral turtle wandering a few feet away and of course, I overthink this puzzle way too much coming to the conclusion that the turtle shell shield I found a few minutes earlier must have summoned this ghost turtle. With that assumption locked in, I set out, determined to complete my next goal: Find two more turtle shields to open the rise. As one might’ve guessed, I never did find those damn shells and that very first rise remained unsolved. It was a real facepalm moment when I looked up the solution much later and realized it was literally sitting right in front of me. But that initial eagerness to explore and find the rest of the non-existent shells represents so much of that early game wonder where you’re not sure how everything works or what the rest of the world will have in store for you. I can think of 10 or 15 little moments just in Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula alone that made me feel like the turtle shield incident, where I had so many questions and was eager to continue along the path to find the answers or just more questions.
Ethan Ward
2022-06-03 23:55:24 +0000 UTCAfter 120 hours and two playthroughs, Godrick remains the one Elden Ring boss that fully achieves the “classic Souls boss recipe” for me. Lore-wise, he’s got a satisfying level of buildup, with both NPCs and enemies referencing him in advance. Mechanically, the fight has a good balance of mix ups, ranged attacks and AOEs, but without feeling overtuned. And after you defeat him, there’s a tinge of sadness or maybe even pity for an exposed tyrant. Some later Elden bosses are more visually spectacular. Others have more innovative movesets or novel arenas. But none quite gave me the classic experience of Godrick.
Ben Taylor
2022-06-03 22:50:12 +0000 UTCIt's a common idea that early FROM areas in each game are some of the best in design and exploration. World 1-1, Undead Burg, Forest of Fallen Giants, Central Yharnam, Ashina Outskirts, all incredible areas that serve as fantastic introduction to their respective games' design ideologies. For Elden Ring's more unique structure, it's amazing the Limgrave and the Peninsula somehow manage to feel like they achieve this same effect over such large regions! They introduce a lot of how ER does business, how minidungeons are hidden and designed, many of the NPCs and factions that will shape the story, and support for almost every playstyle. I've restarted ER three times now since I beat it, and I've often burned out after Stormveil because the early game is just SO GOOD. This is probably going a little long, so ignore this paragraph if time is a concern, but I also appreciate how lootable materials are used to add a new dimension to the series classic environmental storytelling. In Bloodborne, you could learn about an area from the presence of Coldblood Flowers and the like - but now that's taken to a new level when you can collect Bloodroses from Fort Haight, which is occupied by a Blood wielding knight; you can find Trina's Lilies surrounding a sleeping runebear; and you can pluck Eye of Yelough from the Ailing Village, surrounded by those it corrupted. Such a strong way to reinforce FROM's design techniques with open world game vocabulary.
Nat Isnice
2022-06-03 19:59:01 +0000 UTCWhen I got to Stormveil Castle I first went the sneaky way, I picked up the key in the knight trap room and promptly got killed. After several tries I finally killed it, saw that the room had no other exit, so I assumed that the sneaky way was actually a dead end. So I went up the main entrance, killed Godfrey, and hundred or so hours later discovered that the sneaky way wasn't a dead end.
Gustavo Rivera
2022-06-02 23:47:53 +0000 UTCWhat really stands out to me about Limgrave/Weeping Peninsula/Stormveil is the sheer quantity of NPCs you can meet in these early areas, and how quickly you can meet them all. Not even counting the Roundtable Hold, you can potentially meet over a dozen NPCs in these areas, and they're all immediately accessible from when you finish the tutorial area. Even though I think the large-scale open-world nature of the game detracts from the traditional NPC quest system quite a bit in the long-term; the early game does maybe the best job in the series at introducing tons of intriguing and cool characters right off the bat, and I think it does a great job at hooking a new/unfamiliar player into the world.
Austin W Smith
2022-06-02 17:22:27 +0000 UTCLimgrave (including the Weeping Peninsula) is a well done introduction to the world of Elden Ring, with a massive variety of dungeons, bosses, quests, and challenges. On a first playthrough, when I hit a wall level wise it provided ample opportunities to explore and get levels, as well as providing some great surprises along the way. Most everything here feels well tuned for low levels, despite somewhat paltry rune drops. Stormveil is where I really got sold on Elden Ring, due to my past experience with DS3 it felt right for a FromSoft area. Margit is an excellent boss, while a bit frustrating on my first go, I’ve done that fight seven more times since and love it more and more. Stormveil is a dense legacy dungeon that offers a variety of challenges that I was familiar with, and offers exploration opportunities I entirely missed on my first go. Cap it all off with Godrick, who is a solid challenge, and you have an incredible area very reminiscent of DS dungeons. I would say it feels a bit less dense when it comes to the frequency of thoughtful difficult encounters that you are forced to deal with compared to some other entries in the series, but that first adventure through will stick with me as the moment I was hooked.
Lucas West
2022-06-02 17:18:20 +0000 UTCStormveil Castle is the introduction to one of the many benefits of the addition of a jump button to the Souls formula. Jumping creates new opportunities for hidden paths. Stormveil Castle has several ledges to jump from that lead to areas that add to the sense of scale of the dungeon. These are just as exciting as finding a secret area beyond an illusory wall, but I find it more satisfying to be able to find a hidden path simply by looking around the environment rather than mindlessly attacking or rolling through walls like some weirdo. Exploring areas via ledge jumps is another way that From gets to show off their level design chops, and prove they're still the best in the business at this.
Paul J.
2022-06-02 17:13:30 +0000 UTCEtsy, but before the strike (solidarity)
Duckfeed.tv
2022-06-02 17:13:14 +0000 UTCWhat really stands out to me about Limgrave/Weeping Peninsula/Stormveil is the sheer quantity of NPCs you can meet in these early areas, and how quickly you can meet them all. Not even counting the Roundtable Hold, you can potentially meet over a dozen NPCs in these areas, and they're all (more or less) immediately accessible from when you finish the tutorial area. Even though I think the large-scale open-world nature of the game detracts from the traditional NPC quest system quite a bit in the long-term; the early game does maybe the best job in the series at introducing tons of intriguing and cool characters right off the bat, and I think it does a great job at hooking a new/unfamiliar player into the world.
Austin W Smith
2022-06-02 09:30:23 +0000 UTCGary, where did you get your Iron Fist Alexander Merch? Also, I still hate Margit and stand by the write in I sent previously.
Bill Darrow
2022-06-02 08:34:19 +0000 UTCI started Stormveil castle elated after finally defeating Margit, only to immediately get eviscerated by the Bladed Talon Eagles. I dont know why I found killing birds so difficult but it made me want to eat chicken for dinner that night just to get back at them. I then got lost in the Wine Cellar as if I was 5 years old looking for my mother in the grocery store. When I got into the castle proper the sheer amount of enemies made me start just running past everything until I got to the boss. Speaking of the boss, it wasn't terribly tough as a fight but was a cool design, it was however where I realised that every boss fight in this game was going to have more than one phase and I audibly sighed. Overall cool area, wish i'd had the patience to actually fight all the enemies and not run past them.
Miles Prower
2022-06-02 06:38:27 +0000 UTCMy take on D’s story was that it was a way for the game to explain the big secret you find in leyndel without spoiling it. Love the episodes
Howard Quote
2022-06-02 06:19:37 +0000 UTCWhen I first started playing Elden Ring I was excited and ready to get into it. However it took me a little while to find my groove with the game. Nonetheless a few early events pulled me right in. Here I am minding my own business in a cave recovering from a samurai coming to my aid after a crazy finger man tried and succeeded in killing me. Suddenly an old friend called out to me from the darkness and down leapt in full armor and spear in hand good old firebug mom himself. I laughed for a solid minute. Possibly my favorite Patches introduction to date. I was also floored by the first teleport chest to the bloodborne mine in Caelid and the elevator into the Siofra River is a favorite all time moment. All in all a solid introduction into an open world souls experience.
Noah Groves
2022-06-02 03:00:51 +0000 UTCI just want to say they put a big ass Dragon right outside the starting area that I am sure kicked the shit out of a lot of players…..I mean the balls on these developers. Not me though I didn’t spend 2 hours trying to kill it before I even got to the site of grace that gives you Torrent on my first play through….no not me…I didn’t even know there was a Dragon there until about 15 hours in and totally kicked his ass 1st try. I guess what I’m really trying to say is one of the things that makes this game so great is that there were so many different staring experiences people could have right from the get go that really added to the sense of wonder and discovery. Some people explored a dungeon, some a cave, some a beach, some a church and a small town, some fought a guy on a horse, some fought a dragon, some fought a giant at a gate….and some people even got teleported to a shit hole cave with creepy ass centipede men in it. Discovering this stuff and talking to my friends who had completely different experiences in the first 5 hours and all in essentially the same starting area truly brought me back to the school yard rumor days of Metroid, Mario and Zelda one and two back in the mid late 80’s. In a major way this game was a blast of nostalgia from 30+ years ago for me that I was not expecting, had no idea I was missing and don’t know if anything will ever be able to repeat again.
Bobby Guano
2022-06-02 02:49:05 +0000 UTCI came to the the "souls" series fairly recently and have been playing through the games over the last couple years with you as guides (thanks!). Elden Ring is the first game in the series that I've had the opportunity to play anywhere near to its release. I pre-loaded the game on PC, clocked out early, and made a point of logging on as soon as it became available in my area (4pm CST). On materializing in the Chapel of Anticipation I was delighted to see the place rife with exuberant white spirits, many of them spinning around, waving at new arrivals, and jumping… so much jumping! In the time I took creating a character, room had already been festooned with messages like "Let there be Jumping!", "Behold, Elden Ring!", "Praise the Elden Ring!", "Jumping, O Jumping!". Today, I assume at least half the messages would be "Wish I had a giant, but hole", but this early on we hadn't even seen that joke yet, and everyone just seemed genuinely excited to finally playing. I left a message by the door "Elden Ring, ahead!" and then immediately jumped off a cliff and died after taking some bad advice.
drdogbot7
2022-06-02 00:23:19 +0000 UTCCaves tend to be my least favorite mini-dungeon type - they tend towards cramped and full of poison or rot. However, Highroad Cave in Limgrave is pretty great! I came in at fairly low level, and with a sizeable number of runes. The twisting tunnels open into a large open area with underground ruins full of bats. After taking out the bats at range and jumping down, I found the way on to the boss! A giant land octopus, which I'd avoided on the beach. No avoiding this one, though...wait, that wasn't the boss? The boss is a giant flaming golem, in a tiny (beautiful) space? Glad the golems aren't very difficult - big Last Giant energy here in this cave - but this cave is quite vertical, has lots of open vertical space, and a fun mix of enemies that you might have run from if you weren't otherwise stuck in the cave.
Timothy Post
2022-06-01 21:48:52 +0000 UTCI think the ambient music and sound design of Limgrave is amazing and probably my favorite outside of Leyndell. The music you hear as soon as you emerge from the tutorial area has its sense of wonder but also is very inviting and anticipatory to me as you begin your journey. Thanks Gary and Kole for such a great show! I look forward to Sunday every week.
JM Rallo
2022-06-01 20:27:49 +0000 UTCI had a weird experience with the early game of Elden Ring. I had delayed starting it because I was trying to get through the new Horizon game. When I finally beat it and jumped into the Lands Between, I remember thinking how it was a steep step down in terms of graphics and that surprised me, though of course it did not bother me. It's so weird to think back on my first impression though, because Elden Ring is clearly the better-looking game and I think it’s an addition by subtraction thing: Horizon blinds you with a huge gamut of colourful visuals and intricate detail in every direction adding a candy-land fantasy feel to something that’s supposed to be the “real world.” Elden Ring, on the other hand, has a deliberate focus on what’s important, with authored sightlines, touchstones and set-pieces. In the end, Elden has lower fidelity but looks more jaw-droppingly beautiful, and Elden Ring – with its balls-out, fantastical world – looks far more grounded, real and lived-in. Truly a masterwork. As for the game, I missed so much in my first trip to Limgrave: Patches, Kenneth Haight, White Mask Vare (yup, I missed the guy right in front of you as soon as you step out into the world). I also found that I needed to cheese enemies and bosses a lot, which was a delightful change from Sekiro. I have to admit, though, that I felt fatigued because I was exploring so widely (and somehow still missing tons of stuff). However, when I finally got to Stormveil this game truly snugged its way into my heart. Now I’m working through Altus Plateau and combing every inch of the world without any thoughts of fatigue. In a way, this game has undone the damage I’d been accumulating in the last 10 years of open-world games and it all started in Stormveil: Something clicked there that made me think of the entire world as an expertly designed legacy dungeon. Finally, I need to shout out the expanding map….it can’t be understated how much that adds to the adventure and mystery. Beyond the extremely considered world design, that feint is one of the best aspects of this great game.
Douglas
2022-06-01 19:20:55 +0000 UTCSo far with 20hrs of gameplay and only uncovering what map I could walk/ride to without ever going to Margit. It has been everything I loved about Dark souls but elevated. I haven't felt the need to rush to any boss, taking my time to explore and enjoy everything they built. At level 25 I am still running into new stuff and still feel no need to beat a boss.
Joseph Soit
2022-06-01 18:45:17 +0000 UTCI spent an absurd amount of time exploring Limgrave and its surrounding areas before following the guidance of grace. I was instantly hooked. Go this way, a giant dragon will swoop in. Go that way, you can find an elevator that takes you to one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen in a game. I did so much exploring that Melina invited me to the round table before I even met Margit. However, after countless hours I started to feel somewhat fatigued. I love From's take on an open world but I was afraid they would go to close to BOTW. Specifically by removing traditional dungeons entirely. Level design is my favorite thing this studio does so I was terrified. But then I made it to Stormveil and all of my worries went out the giant whole in the wall. From proved that the early game would be like nothing you've seen from them before while simultaneously introducing you to one of the greatest dungeons they have ever made.
Taylor Osbourne
2022-06-01 17:48:10 +0000 UTCI love this.
Stephen Haley
2022-06-01 17:22:47 +0000 UTCWow. Thanks for the explanation. I did not realize this.
Stephen Haley
2022-06-01 17:21:13 +0000 UTCMore than anything, this game amazes me for being so expansive and overwhelmingly open, yet manages to maintain that Dark Souls 1 feel of geographic familiarity. I started out creeping around Limgrave trying to orient myself within this new landscape. Where should I go? Where should I definitely not go? Many years ago, my first steps away from Firelink Shrine had me mistakenly stumble in over my head into The Catacombs where I clearly got the message “I shouldn’t be here.” Deciding to head off in a different direction, I painstakingly made my way, inch by inch, hour by hour through the Undead Burg until I had that place seared into my memory. I think I could navigate a character through that Burg with my eyes closed even after all these years. Eldin Ring saw me similarly stumble through the gates of Stormhill and into the crushing arms of Margit. After countless defeats, I once again received the message that “I shouldn’t be here.” So, I headed off in a different direction and sought to explore the rest of Limgrave. The caves, mines, tombs and castles of this region, with its rolling hills and sheep, have been tattooed in my brain right alongside the Undead Burg. Limgrave now feels like a place I’ve actually visited with paths I’ve actually tread. I’m reminded of a quote from Grant Morrison about how our minds have “infinite interior space contain[ing] all the divine, the alien, and the unworldly we’ll ever need.” If the apocalypse happened tomorrow and I could no longer power on a console, I could still visit the crumbling Undead Burg, walk the streets of Yharnum and gallop through the green highlands of Limgrave.
Stephen Haley
2022-06-01 17:16:39 +0000 UTCWhen I first started, I basically just made a beeline for Stormveil, only stopping to take a couple shots at the Crucible knight (you can guess how that went). I initially bounced off Margit, and went back to explore a bit, realizing just how much I missed. I came back, beat Margit, went all through stormveil, and then bounced HARD off of Godrick. It wasn’t until this point that I even discovered the weeping peninsula and Castle Morne. Oh, how I fell in love with Castle Morne. Coming up that elevator and seeing all the misbegotten cheering over a mound of bodies shook me to my core. One of my very favorite set pieces in the game.
Ben
2022-06-01 16:57:55 +0000 UTCWhen I found my first painting off of Castle Stormveil's courtyard, I had a moment of jubilation. I prepped myself to enter another painting world. Ariamis and Ariandel would surely be dwarfed by Elden Ring's painting world! Unfortunately that wasn't the case, but I can't say the game lacked awesome secret areas. Speaking to the game's difficulty, it was quite the honor to start the first couple of hours by getting dominated by the Grafted Scion, stomped by the Tree Sentinel, and having the Crucible Knight step on my crotch in stilettos. But nothing could compare to the flattening I endured at the hands of the Runebear disguised as a Wandering Noble. It was the first moment of "Wow, FromSoft is still doing weird scary shit!" in Elden Ring, and was a clear sign that I was going to love this game.
Jared Mogen
2022-06-01 15:16:15 +0000 UTCKole - Can we please give Banished Knight Bill Engvall some company on the Blue Phantom Comedy Tour? For your consideration: Jeff Noxworthy, Ron White-mask and Larry the Caelid Guy. Margit-r-done.
Rob
2022-06-01 13:07:48 +0000 UTCSomewhat overwhelmed by the open world, I started the game out mostly following the grace guidance. I got to Margit, and decided to just stick with the fight until I could beat it. This ended up being one of the only times the game threw a boss at me that I had to retry over and over again and carefully learn the moves of. It was a blast, and set me up with high hopes for the remaining bosses in the game. Then I started properly exploring Limgrave, and by the time I came back for Godrick, I managed to beat him in three or four tries with very little effort. In any other game I would have loved that feeling of being ahead of the power-curve, but here it felt like a let-down, and like I had to now choose between exploring everything and having engaging boss fights, the two things I love the most about the Soulsborne games.
Patrik
2022-06-01 08:03:58 +0000 UTCI loved Dark Souls 1 because of the fantastic level design but couldn't get into any of the other From games because their level design just felt flat. After doing some of the early Limgrave caves, I was worried that Elden Ring fell into the later category of games, but once I got to Stormveil Castle, I was like, "Oh ok, now THIS is podracing!" Still sad that I couldn't cut the tail off the Erdtree Watchdog.
Carlo Cabanilla
2022-06-01 06:09:29 +0000 UTCI bounced off Fromsoft games hard before this one. Somehow making it an open world to explore and wander made this so much more accessible than Dark Souls. I have to say the game shines at it's brightest right here in Godrick's Castle, where I really could get the taste for From's amazing level design while still being able to take a breather and go explore the fields when things got too personnal (that goddamned knight besides the church).
Charles-André Lavallée-Jean
2022-06-01 02:22:24 +0000 UTCLimgrave. I think it's as good an opening statement as any first area in any video game. It introduces you to every aspect of the game within the first 10 to 12 hours both lore wise and gameplay wise. Which is exactly what a good paper or series does. I think of the East Blue arc of One Piece ironically enough. Short and sweet and very essential. The early and easy access to Liurnia and Caelid make your early journey seem fraught with danger and flavor especially when contrasted against the simple pallet that is Limgrave. Stormveil is classic Souls Dungeoneering, full of overlapping pathways and shitty guards chucking flames at you. I'm a huge fan of how it overlaps and that making drastic roof jumps can skip chunks of it while also leading to new and secret sections; I didn't even know about the Crucible Knight here until you guys brought it up and I'm well into 2 new characters and a NG+ run. Godrick is a classic character with a lot of presence both in mass and infamy. I love and hate how craven yet self aggrandizing he is. His constant grasp for power definitely shows a complex. You guys hinted at this tragic angle of Godrick and how constantly being compared to his father, Radahn, and maybe even how he isn't as strong as the Omen in his family there must be some deep seated resentment and that's very R.R. Martin on paper.
Mateus Silva
2022-06-01 00:51:03 +0000 UTCSomething that I loved but that also threw me for a loop was that in the early game, they really want you to make a beeline for Stormveil even though you'll be underleveled and get your ass kicked. Instead you're supposed to go explore Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, which is in the opposite direction from Stormveil. It's kind of a dick move, but one that tells the player early on that rushing down the critical path is only going to lead to frustration. You're supposed to take your time and luxuriate in the densely-detailed world they built.
Zoey P.
2022-06-01 00:15:21 +0000 UTCI was pretty disappointed by the opening area, the Chapel of Anticipation. It felt like it was ticking a box labelled "unwinnable first boss fight." There aren't even any great rewards for beating it like with Vanguard in Demon's Souls. Instead you just fall to your death. And then if you chose the Stonesword Keys in your first playthrough, like I did, you get the additional present of the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. I was really afraid it was going to be like this all the way through. I'm glad I was wrong, but yikes it was a rough start.
Autumn M
2022-06-01 00:07:59 +0000 UTCI had re-played all the Souls games again in preparation for Elden Ring and came in Day 1 feeling I was ready for anything! Elden Ring soon put me in my place! Coming in from a night out at the pub, a slightly tipsy me took my first steps into a new world and died a lot. After getting through the tutorial I thought it would be good to use my Stonesword Key gift immediately and spent an hour screaming and trying to outrun those damn chariots before giving up and finally walking out into the light. I then did the same trying to beat the Tree Sentinel for over an hour, muttering "I'm a Souls player, I can beat him". Eventually I gave up and skirted around him to the right and headed for the road. Completely missed the Church of Elleh and it would be around 20 hours later before I found it when fully exploring early areas! Hard lessons but I always remembered I was in an open world with many options from then on.
Gordon Burnett
2022-05-31 23:52:35 +0000 UTCHey guys! As someone who truly looks forward to listening to the podcast as I go through a FromSoft game, I'm really enjoying the pace of these episodes. On my second playthrough now and hearing your thoughts on Limgrave, Stormveil, and the Peninsula as they're fresh in my mind just adds a whole other layer. Speaking of Limgrave, am I the only one who feels it's the best open world region in the game? Maybe because it's your introduction to the world at large (you never forget your first), but no other region had the same sense of discovery and wonder for me. Don't get me wrong, there are more interesting and better designed regions, but something about Limgrave just really stuck with me all along. What do you guys think? Keep up the great work as always! -JS
Jean-Sébastien Côté
2022-05-31 23:48:11 +0000 UTCI’m imagining an “Oops all dicks” version of the Grafted Blade Greatsword.
Abe
2022-05-31 22:45:44 +0000 UTCI’d like to throw some love behind “The Brick Hammer,” which you can find in the castle. The item description says: “Weapon made from an ordinary stone brick. Wielded by a laborer who lead a rebellion, and later become a champion himself. “Even among other bludgeons of its size, this weapon is especially weighty. The strength of a giant is required to wield it.” I’d like to thank whoever decided to put this revolutionary worker propaganda into the game. In solidarity, I took this unnamed laborer’s weapon and direct action-ed Godrick to death with it. We all come equipped with the dream of the Revolution, comrades. The strength of a giant is required to wield it. ✊ - Billiam
Billiam
2022-05-31 22:39:59 +0000 UTCP.S. (No need to read this part on the show, it's just a pronunciation note) (and feel free to ignore entirely if you're not interested in pronunciation corrections) Spirit Tuner Roderika's name is pronounced rodda-REEK-a, like femme Roderick.
MrReciprocity
2022-05-31 22:18:52 +0000 UTCHey, boys! Elden Ring is the first From game I've played to completion, and I could go on and on about all the Souls themes and tropes that I'm seeing first hand for the first time, after listening to you guys cover them so extensively for so long. But instead, I'd like to talk about a little item I picked up in Stormveil that made the game much more accessible to me: the Mimic's Veil. Beyond adding some great comedy elements to pvp (see the streams of Hughes, Will), the Mimic's Veil allowed me to skirt troublesome encounters, explore areas above my weight class, and slink around a number of pain-in-the-ass mini-bosses--in particular, a certain Carian Knight with a penchant for parrying my guard counters. I was at a total loss for that encounter until I remembered I'd picked up the Veil some ten or twenty hours earlier. So I slipped it on, turned into a box, and Solid Snaked my way around the arena until I was behind his line of sight. Then I just hopped onto the elevator and murdered his boss while he sat downstairs figuring out which food cart he was going to hit up for lunch. Godrick may be a craven bastard, but his tricks work. Viva la Mimic's Veil!
MrReciprocity
2022-05-31 22:18:23 +0000 UTCElden Ring is the first From Soft game I stuck with, and I think Limgrave had a lot for me to stick to. The environment is beautiful, the enemies are challenging enough to be engaging, but not so challenging that it was frustrating to deal with. The biggest selling point was the Fell Omen. Normally the first difficult boss marked my exit ramp from prior FromSoft games. Here, I knew of a bunch of other paths I could explore, instead of banging by my head on a wall. Gave me motivation to get stronger and come back for vengeance, while not feeling like a grind.
Tamika
2022-05-31 21:51:36 +0000 UTCI picked the Astrologer, had the great “fallout-exiting-the-vault” moment, chucked a few spells at the big golden knight and he reflected them right back at me. You Died, gg, it’s open world Dark Souls baby.
Aidan McGlennon
2022-05-31 21:43:16 +0000 UTCGodrick as a climax to Limgrave might still (for me) be the best "showpiece boss" of the game even after three playthroughs. I love a lot of other bosses and other legacy dungeons in this massive game. But everything from the music, tone, humor, pathos in the boss fight itself, and the absolute dread and treachery of the build up to his fight makes the Godrick encounter stand out for me. Stormveil is such a badass zone at making you feel like Batman when you finally clear it. Also, it’s exactly the kind of encounter I had in mind when I imagined GRRM x FromSoft.
Mystic Referee
2022-05-31 21:32:52 +0000 UTCI was listening a local public radio bit about a pear tree in my home state of Connecticut when I heard them reference using a part of a adult tree to plant a new one as "grafting", and that the new tree is considered a "scion" of the original. It made me jump in my seat and say to my partner, "That's an Elden Ring thing!!!". They were nonplussed but it made my day and I thought if you hadn't heard it, it might be interesting to you two as well.
Kay Francis
2022-05-31 21:17:19 +0000 UTCFrom Software has always taught me that anything with wings is like unto Satan, and this game is no different. Fuck those hawks. Fuck those dragonflies, not because they’re strong but because they whizz around me so fast that locking on with the camera equals instant motion sickness. Most of all, fuck those Death birds and those Death rite birds, and throw in an extra “fuck off” for good measure for making them two different things. I kinda like the bears, though.
Mark Mahler
2022-05-31 21:09:25 +0000 UTCThis was the first Souls game I was able to go into relatively blind. In doing this I feel I had a rough start with a better ending at Stomveil. The first hours of the game were a bit disappointing. Wandering around the Chapel of Anticipation gave me a good Dark Souls vibe but when I came across the Grafted Scion and realized he was a “Vanguard” style boss I was expected to die to I was fearful what direction the game was going in. I was hoping for a more Iudex Gundyr type boss. After getting to Limgrave I was happy with the general combat but for the longest time I felt like I wasn’t finding any weapons or armor for my warrior Dex build. Eventually I made it to Weeping Peninsula and hit my groove. I came across Irina and felt the seemingly fetch quest vibe common in Soulsborne game. When I went back to her after I delivered her letter to her father, I literally said “holy shit they killed her” out loud. Seeing her there with a cleaver imbedded into the ground was the first time in a long time a video game story actually shocked me. After that amazing reveal, I had higher hopes for the rest of the game. Stormveil Castle, to me was a great experience and I loved exploring every corner and rampart. I told myself that if the rest of the game is this good, I got my money’s worth. I had mixed feelings on Margit and Godrick but as always, everyone experiences bosses differently.
TriPaulyD
2022-05-31 20:56:05 +0000 UTCI didn’t have many long term thoughts about the early game up until Stormveil. I bounced off Margit and explored the other areas before returning, but those didn’t stick in my head very strongly. I think, assuming you don’t go to Caelid, that Stormveil is the first time the game starts hitting you with the design philosophy it chose for the legacy dungeons : grandiose, imposing, absurd, intricate, beautiful, and most importantly, rule of cool. Everything about stormveil, the way it sits in my mind, feels like it was designed for me to love. The presentation from a distance, the sheer volume and solidity of it, the multiple levels, gold inlays, the intricacy of the stone, wood and metal work as it perches, cradled between the sea and the storm, it’s just all made for people who love fantasy in the sword and sorcery sense. It feels like such a monument of will and effort to build something like that, and it’s even more textured by its gradual decay and overtaking of by the wild brambles and such. And it’s so full of good fights, and secrets! I think finding the secret on the bottom level was something pretty special, but I’m a dingus when it comes to lore so I’m excited to hear your thoughts. I think this is one of my favorite areas in a FromSoft game, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Reed
2022-05-31 20:41:30 +0000 UTCDid either of you notice the link between Weeping Peninsula and Dark Souls 3? There is a blind character called Irina in both. Dark Souls 3's Irina is protected by Eygon, who drops Morne's Great Hammer and wears the Morne armour set. I don't know who or what Morne is in DS3, but there must be some reason they referenced both Irina and Morne in the Weeping Peninsula. Any thoughts?
Ben Harvey
2022-05-31 20:38:36 +0000 UTCThe lighting in Limgrave is what struck me first. Everything looked yellowish, like a drought had dried out all the vegetation. Simultaneously, however, the grass and trees looked green and lush. It was a contradiction that I couldn't make sense of. The whole region felt slightly uncanny. After noticing how blue the candlelight in the catacombs is, however, I started thinking about the way the Erd Tree stretches across the sky. The real world has a sun (unlike the Lands Between -- as everyone knows). The sun casts yellowish light from a particular spot in the sky, giving the most directly-lit portions of objects a slightly yellowish tint. The vast majority of the sky, however, casts a faint blue light, filling in all the shadows with a slightly bluish tinge. In the Lands Between, however, the Erd Tree is casting distinctly yellow light from an entire half of the sky. The diffuse yellow light fills in the shadows with a yellowish tinge (in addition to yellowing all the highlights). I guess the only way for my brain to interpret this is that either (1) all the vegetation really is yellowish -- and thus paradise is dying -- or (2) that *everything* is in direct light and there is no shade at all. Either way, the effect is fascinating and unsettling. Lovecraft would be proud, I think.
Micah Tillman
2022-05-31 20:31:11 +0000 UTCHey, Tom from the Cane and Rinse crew here. Those early hours were filled with mixed emotions for me. Excitement at having a huge new chunk of FromSoftware meat to chew on. Irritation at missing Ranni and the summoning bell, not figuring out the fiddly pouch mechanics at first and growing a little tired of the Limgrave ambient music. Pleasure at experimenting with the flexibility of new (to me) Soulsborne combat options like stealth, jumping, and guard counters. Awe at the sights of the Erdtree overhead, Stormveil on the hill, and other distant landmarks. Intimidation at the reports of the game’s girth from more advanced players with significantly more free time on their hands. And deep satisfaction when it became apparent that each FromSoftware game stretching back to at least Demon’s Souls (and probably further back) would get its due, design-wide. The density and verticality of Stormveil were the star of the show over the course of those first 20 hours. The freedom to fast travel in and out of the castle’s Sites of Grace rather than be locked into the legacy dungeon was a revelation. A do-it-at-your-own-pace, big-ass Dark Souls level where you could just nip out to level up or grab loot from elsewhere — simply heavenly. As I reflect after beating the game, I do question whether Limgrave, Stormhill and the Weeping Peninsula taken together needed to be so physically big, other than to facilitate awe-inspiring views from a distance. If these starting areas had been a touch more truncated, I think players (particularly newer to FromSoftware) might be drawn in faster; and the late game fatigue reported by some, mitigated. That’s not to say I didn’t love much of what was to be found there. Keep up the great work!
Thomas Quillfeldt
2022-05-31 20:28:16 +0000 UTCI just have to call out the second grace in Castle Morne as a subtle troll on From's part. I had made it to the spot on the bridge where looking to the left you can see the path to Edgar, and looking over the edge of the wall to the right there's a point of grace. At this point I had no flasks left and I noticed the numerous enemies blocking my way on the left, so I reasoned that I would renew my flasks at the grace before heading that way. Nope. There is no way back once you jump down to the grace. The waist-high wall problem is replaced by a shoulder-high wall problem in this instance. I was forced to go the whole way through that part of the level again to find Edgar. Kind of a clever move on From's part to actually make a check point a subtle trap, but well played!
Luna
2022-05-31 20:15:32 +0000 UTCthinking back after multiple playthroughs and a platinum trophy, I have to say the first 1-2 hours in limgrave were really overwhelming, like... it feels like souls but it's so vast and you don't know where you can go or where anything is. in addition to that you don't even have torrent yet, so everything feels 5 times as big again. very seldom have I felt so small in a game world, great moment
Benjamin Beckmann
2022-05-31 20:13:57 +0000 UTCI'm on my 4th playthrough with several hundred hours behind me and I still hold Castle Morne as one of the best areas in the game. It is so cohesive and well designed in terms of enemies, layout and storytelling (environmental and otherwise). My question is: why? Why is this area, which is for the most part a tangent geographically and narratively, so well crafted and memorable compared to some of the critical path? Was it an early area in the dev cycle that just received more time and focus to develop? Is it meant as an early game teaching and showcasing ground? They chose an very interesting moment for us to show up, just as the last gasps of the castle are happening, and it works so well.
Jason Tiefel
2022-05-31 20:01:39 +0000 UTCI have a great fondness for cowardly villains and Godrick the Grafted plays this part perfectly. In a weird way he became much more interesting to me as a character as the game goes on, as his motivations are very understandable in contrast to other characters and bosses in the game. Just by the nature of his being, he is put into a position of expectations he would never ever be able to fulfill, and the shoes he is trying to fit are so huge he has to add extra feet just to try. He is pitiable and pathetic, but also ostentatious in his encounter with the Tarnished, someone he sees as someone he can push around in the same way he may have been. He's a big cowardly bully who finally picked the wrong fight.
Max Anon
2022-05-31 19:56:44 +0000 UTCSomething I find interesting is the way the game presents the very first vista of its open world. I was expecting something a bit more like the beginning of Breath of the Wild when Link runs up the cliff and sees a huge sweeping vista, and we actually do get that, but not until much later—after exiting Stormveil Castle and standing over Liurnia of the Lakes (or getting there via the semi-hidden alternate route). Instead of a broad landscape at our feet, the first glimpse of Limgrave is much more imposing—the gentle hill ahead of us gives way to cliffs, then to broken towers, and beyond that, the impossibly massive Erdtree. It's a feeling of intimidation rather than freedom and openness, not unlike the first time we see the Citadel in Half-Life 2, and I think we can all agree that's pretty appropriate.
Quinn
2022-05-31 19:52:51 +0000 UTCBeing sent to hell through a treasure chest with no horse, no way to level up, and not realising I could teleport through the map made the opening hours so unfun and frustrating that I restarted my game entirely. Looking back it's hilarious; one of those stand out horrible moments that only From can get away with. I never thought I'd long for the days of being eaten by a mimic.
Dalton Markowich
2022-05-31 19:50:04 +0000 UTC(or should I say not-so-sunset, @Gary!)
Daniel Runfola
2022-05-31 19:48:14 +0000 UTCPeople who trash talk Mimic's Veil are nerds who've clearly never walked across half of Caelid as a moving bush, singing the Metal Gear Solid theme at the top of their lungs while slooooowly creeping up on their invasion target. Sure, it never works in practical terms, and you always get caught and murdered, but that's art, baby.
William Hughes
2022-05-31 19:46:26 +0000 UTCMy best friend and I just got into this series last year and are now superfans - we started with the PS5 Demons Souls Remake and have played all the games many times over since then. I also listened to the entire backlog of BFSC in that time and always noted how exciting everything seemed at the release of From's new games, which we had not experienced yet. So when I got access to the Closed Network Test we were ecstatic - my buddy drove an hour and a half to make it for the first session at 6AM. We were delighted to find a refreshing yet familiar experience awaiting us - getting our asses kicked by the Tree Sentinel, experimenting with Ashes of War, speculating about the lore based on the Ruin Fragments item descriptions, etc. It was an all time great gaming memory for me. Limgrave will always hold a special place in my heart as the first bit of unexplored territory that my friend and I got to experience at the very beginning. When we were nearing the end of the network test we just sat our character down by the beach and watched a beautiful Limgrave sunset one last time, knowing that we would return in a few months time to a truly special game.
Daniel Runfola
2022-05-31 19:36:47 +0000 UTCI'd just like to point out the uncanny resemblance the Misbegotten have to the UK's very own misbegotten PM, Boris Johnson. Impossible to unsee.
Lewis Shaw
2022-05-31 19:26:32 +0000 UTCWhile I had been thoroughly enjoying the game up through Stormveil, discovering the secret hidden in the basement was my first moment of "This game is going to be REALLY special" Was there a similar moment for you guys?
Adam Bucceri
2022-05-31 19:25:19 +0000 UTCAs a Souls veteran, I decided before starting Elden Ring that I would beat whatever tutorial boss the game threw at me. So, 14 character restarts later, I finally took down the Grafted Scion. I’m typically a 2H strength build for my first run-through of a Souls game, but I had to stoop to a filthy Dex user so I could chip away most of its health with the bow. Reveling in my victory, I stubbornly played the next few hours with my reward - the Ornamental Straight Sword. That was until I beat the gladiator boss in Limgrave and got the Battle Hammer. I immediately fell in love, so much so that I decided to I start over yet again with a new strength-focused character to optimize my playthrough. I approached the Grafted Scion again, for the 15th time, armed with so much more confidence and comfort in the new controls… and promptly died. Thanks for the coverage - you guys are awesome.
Mike
2022-05-31 19:25:07 +0000 UTCHaving played Fromsoft games since Dark Souls, I went into Elden Ring with a great deal of trepidation, worrying that the game would have had its Fromsoft-ian flavor been diluted due to the open world. Exploring Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula after getting kicked off the doorstop by Margit showed that they have managed to keep the sense of directed experiences and rewarding unique encounters intact, providing new ways to explore their encounter design in a world where you can approach from many different directions in both build variety and on horseback. The most pleasant surprise was the variety in the bite-sized dungeons of the catacombs and caves, which were the parts I had the most fear of after putting myself through chalice dungeon hell. I’ve been binging through the BSC archive, having just gotten into the Sekiro episodes, and thank you for the long and insightful trek through the highs and lows of this developer.
Collinsbro45
2022-05-31 19:22:10 +0000 UTCI wish I had figured out how the summoning pools and the Small Golden Effigy worked* earlier, but I did figure it out by the time I had finished the Weeping Peninsula, and had an absolute blast! I'm not a great player so I rarely put my sign down to help out as I often feel like I'd be a hinderance, but being able to activate the effigy and be summoned in to help with a variety of smaller dungeons and bosses was a ton of fun. I got to help people with many a Castle Morne run, went through the Tunnels with someone, got to co-op what is likely people's first Erdtree Avatar a few times, and of course did many, many runs through the (quite difficult at the level) Impaler's Catacombs fight. I built up a stock of Rune Arcs and got to help others too. This reminds me that I've seen far fewer (ie no) signs at pools in the later areas - time to warm up that effigy again and offer some companionship at the less-climactic fights. *The Small Golden Effigy puts your sign at any 'nearby' (and it seems like, if not area-wide, a very large range) summoning pools where you've activated the statue. This way, you aren't restricted to helping with one particular (possibly small, out of the way) boss fight, and you can't be summoned for anything you haven't yet encountered.
Timothy Post
2022-05-31 19:21:38 +0000 UTCMy personal thoughts (I’m yet to finish the game though). Limgrave/Weeping Peninsula, is one amazing first area. I spent around 20 hours just exploring! Cave after cave, catacombs, guard camps and more. The Game sucked me in. And Stormveil was an amazing area to round it out! Stormveil was a great place to take everything you’ve learned from what you’ve done and put it into action, with tonnes of off the path areas and hidden treasures. 10/10 for opening areas and a first ‘Legacy Dungeon’ in my opinion.
StainsbyKingsby
2022-05-31 19:17:26 +0000 UTCHello Gary and Kole, Limgrave might be my favorite area of the game, and perhaps, my favorite starting area in any From Software game. Everything from the Dragonburned Ruins to the run up to the ever-looming Stormveil Castle. What are your favorite starting area in a From Software game so far and why? This is my first “live-listening” of your podcast and I’m excited for every sunday to come. Keep up the amazing work, Kian Heinsbæk
Kian Heinsbæk
2022-05-31 19:13:32 +0000 UTCSo Godrick went a bit mad with the grafting, yeah? Absolutely. In light of this and the fact he's riddled with insecurities, how many dicks do you think he has grafted? A ball-park figure is acceptable.
Conor Eamonn
2022-05-31 19:05:23 +0000 UTCHey guys! Just a quick correction and maybe heads up about a cool thing you missed. Gary mentioned thinking that Margit might show up as a roaming boss, but him not doing so. He actually does! In the battlefield outside Lyndel there's a random soldier by a cart who is actually Margit in disguise and will transform into an open world version of his fight if you attack him. Just thought you might wanna check it out if you hadn't seen it!
Gabriel
2022-05-31 19:02:31 +0000 UTC
