The word "Oracle" is usually used to refer to someone who receives and delivers prophetic messages, but it can also refer to the actual messages themselves. When the Claymen are described as seeking their lost oracles, it's likely they're not searching for actual people, but for these forgotten revelations. The Claymen are one of the few elements relating to the ancient dynasty that are elaborated on, although they barely get any significant detail given for them, so it's neat to consider what you can from them.
I wonder if the Golden order and the eternal cities coexisted at some point. Godwyn's corpse was buried right by a destroyed eternal city, prompting the question of whether it was destroyed at the time of Godwyn's burial. We can also see some golden order servants in Nokron like Crucible Knights and a red wolf of Radagon. There are also the wells leading down to the eternal cities and Selia containing its descendants. Despite their former treachery against the Greater Will, perhaps some attempts to mend their relationship were made.
I really enjoyed fighting these guys. They almost seem harmless, at first, like sure hitting hard, but they're so slow... Then you notice how the entire swarm is after you, one slow step at a time. Very creepy.
Yeah, fighting one, then turning around to see a dozen of them _slowly_ strolling towards you, or even slowly rolling towards you, is such a fun and eerie moment.
When I first met them with my mage build, it was quite early on. When I realised I consumed my entire mana against a single swarm, I wisely back away and returned later for Ranni's questline.
These guys are one of my fave experiences. They ooze theme in both their appearance and their group tactics. The stab and pull maneuver is incredibly frightening to witness for the first time from such feeble seeming foes.
This was my thought too. They were so slow, I started to smash them, then I realized how spongy they were, and swooped my camera around to see them rising out of the muck, and I had a genuine "Oh shit" moment when I saw I was surrounded. I escaped the first time, and approached them more cautiously, but damn id they didn't make me sweat that first encounter at the waterfall.
I always found it strange that the spells were int based, while the oracle weapons were faith based, as functionally they are the same. The idea that the claymen look to the past (using intelligence/knowledge), while the envoys look to the future (faith/belief) fits perfectly.
That is a fascinating idea! The more I think about it the more sense it makes. I wonder how we are supposed to interpret magics that use both int and faith?
@@kristopherbruns7674 Thopps barrier blocks both incantations and magic. The meaning of this is that the Golden Order's premise is a lie and the power of incantations came from outside the lands between and is likely connected to the power of glintstone as well.
@@kristopherbruns7674 looking at the Golden Order spells,they seem to use sacred power directly,while the others Faith only incantations are based on nature elements. They really give a "high level cleric spell" feel to it,like Sancta in traditional Final Fantasy. I interpreted it as the Golden Order being actually more practical and smart , copying what is useful and using their own way. Kinda like how christianity repurposed older mythical themes and elements.
Also of note is that the bubbles are blue and gold respectively, a theme repeated constantly when comparing sorceries and incantations and those who use them.
@@alexanderf8451 I remember some item mentioning that the Claymen proliferate unchecked even with their civilization long, long gone. It's very likely they're after more materials to fashion new Claymen, a design by their creators to be self sufficient. With their creators gone, the Claymen still continue to grow their numbers in order to maintain and defend the dynastic ruins.
@@sillypinkewe I've always felt water held some special significance in Elden Ring, given how it dominates spaces where otherworldly forces are most powerful like Liurnia, around Godwin's corpse and Deathroot, and in the boss zones for Elden Beast and Rennala's second phase. Water and life even in reality are deeply connected. It's very likely Elden Ring's world takes this to a supernatural extreme.
@@davidhong1934 It is why the Crystalians are defending large formations of Glintstone, in theory. It seems they don't have the ability to make more of their own like the Claymen seem to: they're waiting for the return of their creator, the Crystalians.
That's not true. It could theroriticly have an even amount of beta content as finished released content, but it could also have somewhat less, much less, double, tripple, quadruple, or even no beta content and everything planned got put in, although possible that possibility happens to not be true, as proven by the video above. The amount of cut content and final released content has no contingency on each other, and there are practically infinite amounts of ratios between beta & final content that could exist, so predicting it to be equal is like a one in a million possibility and it's bold as fuck of you to claim.
@@zachh3296 Do you always get caught up in semantic arguments, or only in youtube comments? Are you compelled by some unseen force to read things only in the most literal sense, unable to interpret beyond the words directly in front of you? It's a comment talking about how there is lots of hidden content on a video about hidden content, on a channel that makes lots of videos about hidden content. There isn't some bold claim or argument here lmao.
@@zachh3296if you are going to dispute something, at least give a few alternative understandings. You mentioned infinity, and do I am going to assume you are a mathematical person (as am I). Is infinity false, inherently? No, but it is greatly indicative of falseness. I’m going to present a theory at the end of this, and everything following is just supporting evidence. tangent, sine and cosine waves find each other in “agreement” (intersection) into infinity, and are mathematically indisputable. In other words, they are proven Truth. e^(i* Pi) = -1 This is another beautiful picture of things in agreement, even though each constant alone tends towards an impossible definition (infinity, infinitesimal, and imaginary). What *is* Truly true will always find more agreement with other Truth, and does not reach for infinity apart from other truth.
When I was playing, I thought the Claymen were simply lumps of clay animated by magic. Learning that they were once human makes them infinitely more terrifying
Whats particularly weird is that when you use crystal darts on Burial Watchdogs, along with blue lightning, bubbles like those the claymen use will come out of their head. Maybe its just particle reuse but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they and the rest of the automatons stem from ancient dynasty magic/technology. I also wonder, with how their daggers/swords look like arms, if the spike thrusting out from their chest wasn’t originally supposed to be an arm, but the idea was scrapped and never fully realized.
I think it's stated in some item description (not sure which on) that the golems were created by a person from a long-lost ancient dynasty, so it makes sense.
@@LtCdrXander Yes but those are the big fire golems not the watchdogs which use glintstone. Tarnished Archaeologist theorised that the ones who made the golems are the giants that we only see skeletons of throughout the world, mostly Caelid and Mountaintops. That's just one theory but it holds up imo. These seem like they have a connection to the underground cities. That's where claymen are found, and if I am not mistaken Oracle envoys are all white and bleed white/gray blood as well, similarly to the Numen native to Nokron and Nokstella, in addition to the bubble magic connection.
Bolas (which - sorry for being pedantic! - are a collective noun; each ball is a "bola") are usually used as thrown weapons to capture prey, and were used as hunting tools as well as weapons of war. The fact that the claymen have bolas and harpoons possibly implies that they were hunters or trackers of some kind. So glad to have you back making videos, Zullie. Everything you put out is a must-watch for me.
With their resistance to slashing and general _crunchy_ aesthetic, I wonder if they're some kind of descendant/leftover/recreation of the Crystalians. They wield bits of crystal and seem to be found around remnants of very old civilisations so perhaps they're trying to recreate some old glory...or remember it. Maybe that's why we find them interesting, they remind me of the Hollows.
I have a theory sorta inspired by this, that they're some kind of proto or "beta" Crystalians. I beleive that they may have once been a much more literal interpretation of the Golem myth and were made of a combination of mud/clay bricks and meteoric ore. However unlike the Crystalians, made of a much more durable substance, the bricks eventually slowly melted until it resembled the mudman we now see today. This could also explain why their spears, arm-swords and bolas are all made of the same meteoric ore-esque material: it's what they used to be made of, their most durable parts fashioned into weapons
@legoshark99 Oooooh I like that! As far as I know, the lore on the Crystalians is kinda loose at the moment but I like the idea that they're not _from_ the cosmos but rather shaped _by_ it. Perhaps they used to be Claymen but they were formed from the crystals instead, while their mud counterparts are left digging in the dirt, trying to find materials to become as powerful as their shiny cousins.
My theory: given their name, "Claymen" and how they dissolve into mud, I suspect that they were not ever human, but they're some sort of automaton, or golem created by the Nox. Maybe this was the Nox's attempt to create a golem like the Giant ones that roam the lands between, and/or it was the first iterations of the Nox's experiment to manufacture a lord, eventually evolving into the mimic tears... Glad you're back, Zullie!
The Claymen don't seem to be related to the Nox. They're found underground and relatively near to the Nox sites, but they're associated with the Ancient Dynasty which are a distinct group (the big classical ruins as opposed to the gothic architecture). They could still be a precursor which the Nox learned from in some way though.
"The warped remains of priests who searched for revelation in service of the ancient dynasty" They were priests seeking... something. Not sure we'll ever know what. Or why this is their fate, but it is. In fact it's very possible, and what I believe, that these weren't people- they *are* people. Irrevocably twisted, but people.
Judging by the prevalence of the claymen in the underground rivers and the use of meteorite ore suggests they were once in service to the space worshipping eternal cities, the bubbles they use have a notable blue hue of sorcery compared to the oracles golden colored ones
I'm pretty sure they predate the eternal cities, they live in Dynasty ruins. The current popular theory is that The Old Dynasty was the civilization that The Numen belonged to, The Nox are an offshoot of The Numen (The Old Dynasty) hence why The Eternal Cities are built above Old Dynasty ruins.
it seems more like they were part of the ancient dynasty that made the urd ruins and the divine towers and worship the meteorites they put in the walls of the towers but blue is more like glintstone but i think blue glintstone and golden meteorite might have been in an ancient meteor shower that made all the circular cliffs and weird land stuff why claymen have to do with that idk maybe they just get runes from clay and the only rivers in elden ring are underground since runes = life they dont die and just pass out into a puddle and get up later which would explain how they could have served an ancient dynasty and still be alive
@@flunkiebubs2002ell the claymen serving the old dynasty means they likely, at one point or another, were used by the nox who outfitted them with the meteorite weapons and the sorcery powered bubble divination before being left behind as artificial life was further refined into the first generations of albinaurics which were likely abandoned by the eternal cities once the mimic tears were created, it's also possible that rather than the eternal cities ceasing production of the albinaurics they instead switched from the claymen directly to mimic tears, either way the claymen were likely used by the eternal cities until further advancements had been made
I enjoy videos like this one so much, just being able to see the model and animations up close and notice all the details that you normally can't really see during the hectic combat. Having your speculations + presentation + moody music on top of that is simply amazing!
I bet the death pose was because they would re-animate if you didn't do something further to them. Really fits the "clay" theme. It's interesting to discover all the things they pulled out of the game, wondering how much was for balance, and then it's also really fun to fabricate lore reasons why.
The parallels between the Claymen and the Envoys is super cool, and something I never realized! Their shared attribute in bubbles - staring into the past versus the future - is very interesting. I also like how their locations are somewhat of a mirror: the Envoys are up high on the walls of Leyndell or in the vast expanse of the Haligtree's branches, while the Claymen are deep underground - almost like fossils.
They also have a badass spear. It does inate magic damage, AND you can change it's Ash. I've been putting the Spectral Lance ash on it. Spectral Lance is so overlooked. It has insane range, it has pretty decent post throw tracking, it uses barely any FP, and it does insane stagger!
@@davidhong1934 ice spear isn't even comparable. Ice spear shoots out a blast of ice that goes about 3 meters in front of you before it disappears. I use Spectral Lance to farm the bird in the Palace Ruins.
@@xaitat when you put the Spectral Lance ash on it, you don't get any good elements. So it's default of having a magic damage sets it far above other spears, but in terms of just plain spears I prefer the Cross-Naginata
The design behind the clay men give me vibes similar to the ReDeads from OoT. Seemingly clay like figures that were once people lumbering around in the underground areas
That unused corpse model makes me think that they would initially continuously reanimate, not entirely uncommon for them to have continuously spawning enemies in their games, plague babies, baby skeletons and I think there were hollows in the crypt in DS2 that also spawned infinitely until destroying the bells right?
Oh, the corpse is not unused. They actually even have a distinct corpse pose for every different death animation, including killing them while they were climbing a ladder (and I honestly can't remember if any are even near any ladders).
@@ZullietheWitch Oh haha my brain must have just assumed it was unused considering your content sorry! How odd I have never noticed that they linger in that puddle state after death!
@@jajasking9652 they reanimate continuously until slain by the Mortal Blade, either by Deathblow or Mortal Draw. You just have to Deathblow them twice like the Infested Bosses. (Guardian Ape and the True Monk)
@@jajasking9652 There are the Immortal monks in Senpou temple who can only be killed using the mortal blade, and also the test subjects in the abandoned dungeon who need to be killed twice.
If I had a nickle for every Souls enemy with an unused grab attack where they impale you on a body-spike I would have two nickles, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. (The other is the Chained Prisoner from the DS1 DLC, but who knows maybe there are even more of them?)
The way they melt on death unsettled me a lot, no other enemy in the game does something like that. It's like how redeads in Zelda games usually have special behaviors for their corpses to not despawn or take a longer time to despawn, it's such an effective way to make an enemy stick in your mind. I do wonder if the spike was from a stage in development where they were more liquid or amorphous, since it wouldn't really fit them now with how humanoid and sort of rigid they are.
So glad to see your work. You really are one of my favorite content creators. I hope you are well, and hope you continue to bring us great content like this in the future
Perhaps they are an ancient maintenance team for the rivers. In a previous theory, it's said that the underground rivers might encircle the rot, sealing it away. Perhaps they are what's left of the ancient team keeping the rivers flowing by removing debris, etc. Working far past their usefulness, unknown the rot has been unsealed.
I feel like the clay men and oracles envoys were both humans of the old dysnasty, but they searched for an oracle (some sort of belief I guess) and those who succeeded to have faith in it became Oracle Envoys, while those who failed were stuck as clay men.
Damn I love whenever you use this KF Ancient City music! Such good vibes, hits you right in the feels lol I wish they would make a modern day remake of that game
Hey it’s good to have you back! I hope you were able to chill and do the things you wanted during your break. I only started watching your stuff when Elden ring came out, but I have to say it’s among my favorite of all and I’m happy it’s never click baity bullshit, always thoughtful and interesting.
really nice to have you back Zullie, I hope all is well. Great video as always, with the claymen always appearing in such large groups I am really glad they cut the horrifying impaling grab lol
i never thought about the dichotomy between the Oracle Envoys and the Claymen, but its an interesting topic of discussion. The Envoys, representing faith, call upon the future of a new age, whereas the Claymen, representing intelligence and magic, are trying to call upon the knowledge of a bygone ancient era. Bubbles seemingly meant to represent a search for a truth locked behind time, the future or distant past, respectively. The ancient dynasty of the Uhl Palace ruins and the links to "Elden John" is a fascinating part of the lore of this game but it is shrouded in mystery due to a lack of any kind of direct information.
I was hoping for an unused grab animation where the clayman gives the tarnished a good scrub with the soap they appear to have invented, a big spike just seems a bit uninspired by comparison. Heh.
i think if i lived in Elden Ring’s world, i would be a ClayWoman. i would follow the Tarnished at a distance, waving to them. if they caught up to me i would give them some runes.
They may be an early attempt at creating life, similar to Silver Tears. In many creation myths, such as Islamic and Egyptian, clay is used to create humans. Their unused spike attack is also very reminiscent of them and they are found in close proximity, both being in the underground.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
The word "Oracle" is usually used to refer to someone who receives and delivers prophetic messages, but it can also refer to the actual messages themselves. When the Claymen are described as seeking their lost oracles, it's likely they're not searching for actual people, but for these forgotten revelations. The Claymen are one of the few elements relating to the ancient dynasty that are elaborated on, although they barely get any significant detail given for them, so it's neat to consider what you can from them.
Even more of the good shit, thank you
I wonder if the Golden order and the eternal cities coexisted at some point. Godwyn's corpse was buried right by a destroyed eternal city, prompting the question of whether it was destroyed at the time of Godwyn's burial. We can also see some golden order servants in Nokron like Crucible Knights and a red wolf of Radagon. There are also the wells leading down to the eternal cities and Selia containing its descendants. Despite their former treachery against the Greater Will, perhaps some attempts to mend their relationship were made.
Welcome back ! It's been awhile ! :)
Thank you for listing the song! I always love the music you use.
I mean couldn’t the ones sifting in the water just be gathering clay
I really enjoyed fighting these guys. They almost seem harmless, at first, like sure hitting hard, but they're so slow...
Then you notice how the entire swarm is after you, one slow step at a time. Very creepy.
Yeah, fighting one, then turning around to see a dozen of them _slowly_ strolling towards you, or even slowly rolling towards you, is such a fun and eerie moment.
makes me think of the Apathy in RWBY. slow and not very threatening alone, but very creepy as they slowly surround you
When I first met them with my mage build, it was quite early on. When I realised I consumed my entire mana against a single swarm, I wisely back away and returned later for Ranni's questline.
These guys are one of my fave experiences. They ooze theme in both their appearance and their group tactics. The stab and pull maneuver is incredibly frightening to witness for the first time from such feeble seeming foes.
This was my thought too. They were so slow, I started to smash them, then I realized how spongy they were, and swooped my camera around to see them rising out of the muck, and I had a genuine "Oh shit" moment when I saw I was surrounded. I escaped the first time, and approached them more cautiously, but damn id they didn't make me sweat that first encounter at the waterfall.
I always found it strange that the spells were int based, while the oracle weapons were faith based, as functionally they are the same. The idea that the claymen look to the past (using intelligence/knowledge), while the envoys look to the future (faith/belief) fits perfectly.
That is a fascinating idea! The more I think about it the more sense it makes. I wonder how we are supposed to interpret magics that use both int and faith?
@@kristopherbruns7674 Thopps barrier blocks both incantations and magic. The meaning of this is that the Golden Order's premise is a lie and the power of incantations came from outside the lands between and is likely connected to the power of glintstone as well.
@@kristopherbruns7674 looking at the Golden Order spells,they seem to use sacred power directly,while the others Faith only incantations are based on nature elements. They really give a "high level cleric spell" feel to it,like Sancta in traditional Final Fantasy. I interpreted it as the Golden Order being actually more practical and smart , copying what is useful and using their own way. Kinda like how christianity repurposed older mythical themes and elements.
But what are they looking for@@kristopherbruns7674
Also of note is that the bubbles are blue and gold respectively, a theme repeated constantly when comparing sorceries and incantations and those who use them.
Clay is typically harvested from riverbeds. Idk what to do with information, but it certainly seems relevant to them digging in rivers
They turn back into ordinary clay when killed. Maybe the ones digging in the riverbed are trying to retrieve lost claymen or rebuild them.
@@alexanderf8451 I remember some item mentioning that the Claymen proliferate unchecked even with their civilization long, long gone. It's very likely they're after more materials to fashion new Claymen, a design by their creators to be self sufficient. With their creators gone, the Claymen still continue to grow their numbers in order to maintain and defend the dynastic ruins.
@@sillypinkewe I've always felt water held some special significance in Elden Ring, given how it dominates spaces where otherworldly forces are most powerful like Liurnia, around Godwin's corpse and Deathroot, and in the boss zones for Elden Beast and Rennala's second phase.
Water and life even in reality are deeply connected. It's very likely Elden Ring's world takes this to a supernatural extreme.
@@Cosmic-Sorceress-17
If that's the case, then the clayman designer should share notes with the Crystalians
@@davidhong1934 It is why the Crystalians are defending large formations of Glintstone, in theory. It seems they don't have the ability to make more of their own like the Claymen seem to: they're waiting for the return of their creator, the Crystalians.
A game as massive as Elden Ring can only have an equally massive amount of hidden, unused and beta content
That's not true. It could theroriticly have an even amount of beta content as finished released content, but it could also have somewhat less, much less, double, tripple, quadruple, or even no beta content and everything planned got put in, although possible that possibility happens to not be true, as proven by the video above.
The amount of cut content and final released content has no contingency on each other, and there are practically infinite amounts of ratios between beta & final content that could exist, so predicting it to be equal is like a one in a million possibility and it's bold as fuck of you to claim.
@@zachh3296you're the guy I imagine in the "average redditor" videos by Slappable Jerk
@@zachh3296 Do you always get caught up in semantic arguments, or only in youtube comments? Are you compelled by some unseen force to read things only in the most literal sense, unable to interpret beyond the words directly in front of you?
It's a comment talking about how there is lots of hidden content on a video about hidden content, on a channel that makes lots of videos about hidden content. There isn't some bold claim or argument here lmao.
@@zachh3296if you are going to dispute something, at least give a few alternative understandings.
You mentioned infinity, and do I am going to assume you are a mathematical person (as am I).
Is infinity false, inherently? No, but it is greatly indicative of falseness.
I’m going to present a theory at the end of this, and everything following is just supporting evidence. tangent, sine and cosine waves find each other in “agreement” (intersection) into infinity, and are mathematically indisputable. In other words, they are proven Truth.
e^(i* Pi) = -1
This is another beautiful picture of things in agreement, even though each constant alone tends towards an impossible definition (infinity, infinitesimal, and imaginary).
What *is* Truly true will always find more agreement with other Truth, and does not reach for infinity apart from other truth.
@enhancehurts I was just sayin'.
When I was playing, I thought the Claymen were simply lumps of clay animated by magic. Learning that they were once human makes them infinitely more terrifying
Brother in Christ like 99% of creatures in these games were "once human" that has been used more than a dozen times
My favorite game to play with the soulsborne series, "did that use to be a person?". It's really easy because horrifically, the answer is always yes.
Are there any humanoid monsters you fight in these games which aren’t horrifically mutilated humans?
@@theblah12off the top of my head, i think the giant lobsters weren't human
-.-
Whats particularly weird is that when you use crystal darts on Burial Watchdogs, along with blue lightning, bubbles like those the claymen use will come out of their head. Maybe its just particle reuse but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they and the rest of the automatons stem from ancient dynasty magic/technology.
I also wonder, with how their daggers/swords look like arms, if the spike thrusting out from their chest wasn’t originally supposed to be an arm, but the idea was scrapped and never fully realized.
I think it's stated in some item description (not sure which on) that the golems were created by a person from a long-lost ancient dynasty, so it makes sense.
@@LtCdrXander Yes but those are the big fire golems not the watchdogs which use glintstone.
Tarnished Archaeologist theorised that the ones who made the golems are the giants that we only see skeletons of throughout the world, mostly Caelid and Mountaintops. That's just one theory but it holds up imo.
These seem like they have a connection to the underground cities. That's where claymen are found, and if I am not mistaken Oracle envoys are all white and bleed white/gray blood as well, similarly to the Numen native to Nokron and Nokstella, in addition to the bubble magic connection.
@@SaladDongsGolems and watchdogs (and imps, too) were made using similar designs; they can both be 'hacked' with crystal darts.
Bolas (which - sorry for being pedantic! - are a collective noun; each ball is a "bola") are usually used as thrown weapons to capture prey, and were used as hunting tools as well as weapons of war. The fact that the claymen have bolas and harpoons possibly implies that they were hunters or trackers of some kind.
So glad to have you back making videos, Zullie. Everything you put out is a must-watch for me.
With their resistance to slashing and general _crunchy_ aesthetic, I wonder if they're some kind of descendant/leftover/recreation of the Crystalians. They wield bits of crystal and seem to be found around remnants of very old civilisations so perhaps they're trying to recreate some old glory...or remember it.
Maybe that's why we find them interesting, they remind me of the Hollows.
I have a theory sorta inspired by this, that they're some kind of proto or "beta" Crystalians. I beleive that they may have once been a much more literal interpretation of the Golem myth and were made of a combination of mud/clay bricks and meteoric ore. However unlike the Crystalians, made of a much more durable substance, the bricks eventually slowly melted until it resembled the mudman we now see today. This could also explain why their spears, arm-swords and bolas are all made of the same meteoric ore-esque material: it's what they used to be made of, their most durable parts fashioned into weapons
@legoshark99 Oooooh I like that! As far as I know, the lore on the Crystalians is kinda loose at the moment but I like the idea that they're not _from_ the cosmos but rather shaped _by_ it. Perhaps they used to be Claymen but they were formed from the crystals instead, while their mud counterparts are left digging in the dirt, trying to find materials to become as powerful as their shiny cousins.
My theory: given their name, "Claymen" and how they dissolve into mud, I suspect that they were not ever human, but they're some sort of automaton, or golem created by the Nox. Maybe this was the Nox's attempt to create a golem like the Giant ones that roam the lands between, and/or it was the first iterations of the Nox's experiment to manufacture a lord, eventually evolving into the mimic tears...
Glad you're back, Zullie!
The Claymen don't seem to be related to the Nox. They're found underground and relatively near to the Nox sites, but they're associated with the Ancient Dynasty which are a distinct group (the big classical ruins as opposed to the gothic architecture). They could still be a precursor which the Nox learned from in some way though.
as we see with gargoyles, being a construct built from magic and having once been human are not mutually exclusive
"The warped remains of priests who searched for revelation in service of the ancient dynasty"
They were priests seeking... something. Not sure we'll ever know what. Or why this is their fate, but it is. In fact it's very possible, and what I believe, that these weren't people- they *are* people. Irrevocably twisted, but people.
Zullie you’re back?? We’ve missed you!!
She already released 3-4 videos, it’s great to have her back
@@JannahSWTgeez, so they didn't keep up with EVERY piece of new content...
You don't have to be a know-it-all, haha.
@@JannahSWT yeah for some reason this is the first noti I’m getting for her. It’s amazing. Best channel ever fr
@@metfreak101they're just letting them know there's more videos, chill.
@@metfreak101why
I just want to say I love the use of King's Field OST in your videos, they're so fucking good and fit your videos so well
Judging by the prevalence of the claymen in the underground rivers and the use of meteorite ore suggests they were once in service to the space worshipping eternal cities, the bubbles they use have a notable blue hue of sorcery compared to the oracles golden colored ones
I'm pretty sure they predate the eternal cities, they live in Dynasty ruins.
The current popular theory is that The Old Dynasty was the civilization that The Numen belonged to, The Nox are an offshoot of The Numen (The Old Dynasty) hence why The Eternal Cities are built above Old Dynasty ruins.
it seems more like they were part of the ancient dynasty that made the urd ruins and the divine towers and worship the meteorites they put in the walls of the towers but blue is more like glintstone but i think blue glintstone and golden meteorite might have been in an ancient meteor shower that made all the circular cliffs and weird land stuff why claymen have to do with that idk maybe they just get runes from clay and the only rivers in elden ring are underground since runes = life they dont die and just pass out into a puddle and get up later which would explain how they could have served an ancient dynasty and still be alive
@@flunkiebubs2002ell the claymen serving the old dynasty means they likely, at one point or another, were used by the nox who outfitted them with the meteorite weapons and the sorcery powered bubble divination before being left behind as artificial life was further refined into the first generations of albinaurics which were likely abandoned by the eternal cities once the mimic tears were created, it's also possible that rather than the eternal cities ceasing production of the albinaurics they instead switched from the claymen directly to mimic tears, either way the claymen were likely used by the eternal cities until further advancements had been made
I enjoy videos like this one so much, just being able to see the model and animations up close and notice all the details that you normally can't really see during the hectic combat. Having your speculations + presentation + moody music on top of that is simply amazing!
I bet the death pose was because they would re-animate if you didn't do something further to them. Really fits the "clay" theme.
It's interesting to discover all the things they pulled out of the game, wondering how much was for balance, and then it's also really fun to fabricate lore reasons why.
I love your videos Zullie, the vibe is like im playing Majoras mask while im dreaming. Unparalleled.
Honestly, one of my favorite enemies in Elden Ring so thanks for teaching me a bit more about them!
Love to have you back Zullie, no need to push yourself with any of these videos, happy when they come in their own time ❤
The parallels between the Claymen and the Envoys is super cool, and something I never realized!
Their shared attribute in bubbles - staring into the past versus the future - is very interesting. I also like how their locations are somewhat of a mirror: the Envoys are up high on the walls of Leyndell or in the vast expanse of the Haligtree's branches, while the Claymen are deep underground - almost like fossils.
They also have a badass spear. It does inate magic damage, AND you can change it's Ash. I've been putting the Spectral Lance ash on it. Spectral Lance is so overlooked. It has insane range, it has pretty decent post throw tracking, it uses barely any FP, and it does insane stagger!
Why not ice spear?
@@davidhong1934 ice spear isn't even comparable. Ice spear shoots out a blast of ice that goes about 3 meters in front of you before it disappears. I use Spectral Lance to farm the bird in the Palace Ruins.
That spear is garbage although good looking
@@xaitat when you put the Spectral Lance ash on it, you don't get any good elements. So it's default of having a magic damage sets it far above other spears, but in terms of just plain spears I prefer the Cross-Naginata
Great to see you back Zullie!
Glad you're back Zullie!
They're me after a month of no sunlight playing Elden Ring.
They're just happy to see you.
The return
The design behind the clay men give me vibes similar to the ReDeads from OoT. Seemingly clay like figures that were once people lumbering around in the underground areas
That unused corpse model makes me think that they would initially continuously reanimate, not entirely uncommon for them to have continuously spawning enemies in their games, plague babies, baby skeletons and I think there were hollows in the crypt in DS2 that also spawned infinitely until destroying the bells right?
Oh, the corpse is not unused. They actually even have a distinct corpse pose for every different death animation, including killing them while they were climbing a ladder (and I honestly can't remember if any are even near any ladders).
@@ZullietheWitch Oh haha my brain must have just assumed it was unused considering your content sorry! How odd I have never noticed that they linger in that puddle state after death!
@@EmmaEmblaand i do believe the zombie looking enemies in sekiro also respawn infinetly ? Unless they can be killed by mortal draw
@@jajasking9652 they reanimate continuously until slain by the Mortal Blade, either by Deathblow or Mortal Draw. You just have to Deathblow them twice like the Infested Bosses. (Guardian Ape and the True Monk)
@@jajasking9652 There are the Immortal monks in Senpou temple who can only be killed using the mortal blade, and also the test subjects in the abandoned dungeon who need to be killed twice.
"Why do they have this giant spike? They never use it."
There is a joke to be made here.
the king's field OST compliments your format the best. its so creepy but not distracting. just the right flavor.
If I had a nickle for every Souls enemy with an unused grab attack where they impale you on a body-spike I would have two nickles, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.
(The other is the Chained Prisoner from the DS1 DLC, but who knows maybe there are even more of them?)
So happy to see you back Zullie!
The way they melt on death unsettled me a lot, no other enemy in the game does something like that. It's like how redeads in Zelda games usually have special behaviors for their corpses to not despawn or take a longer time to despawn, it's such an effective way to make an enemy stick in your mind. I do wonder if the spike was from a stage in development where they were more liquid or amorphous, since it wouldn't really fit them now with how humanoid and sort of rigid they are.
So glad to have your videos to look forward to again! Thank you!
I love the format and execution of your videos. I could watch them all day.
So glad to see your work. You really are one of my favorite content creators. I hope you are well, and hope you continue to bring us great content like this in the future
I finally got around to playing and beating ds2 bc ur videos. im glad ur back !
Perhaps they are an ancient maintenance team for the rivers. In a previous theory, it's said that the underground rivers might encircle the rot, sealing it away. Perhaps they are what's left of the ancient team keeping the rivers flowing by removing debris, etc. Working far past their usefulness, unknown the rot has been unsealed.
Nice to see a new post from you. Always a reliable source of new insight
now I gotta listen to kings field music on repeat again damn you!
my youtube experience hits harder when you upload. thanks! :)
I feel like the clay men and oracles envoys were both humans of the old dysnasty, but they searched for an oracle (some sort of belief I guess) and those who succeeded to have faith in it became Oracle Envoys, while those who failed were stuck as clay men.
Damn I love whenever you use this KF Ancient City music! Such good vibes, hits you right in the feels lol I wish they would make a modern day remake of that game
Glad to be early! Always love watching the attention to detail with every entity in this massive game!
god this channel is so good, glad you came
I missed these videos!! thanks for the content!
Seriously my number 1 thing in Elden Ring that I’m burning to know more about.
Its great having you back zullie!
So happy that you're back. I missed your videos.
man i love the kings field osts you got running
It's great to see you making vids again!
Thank you for a video again zullie. This made my Day
Every time I see you post it brightens my day, thanks Zullie :)
I love all of the King's Field music you use!
good to see you back, try not to overwork yourself, we understand if you need another break. Love your work.
Glad to see you're back, Zullie! Love your content and I hope you had a restful break
So glad you're back. Love your videos :)
glad to have you back Zullie, hope you are feeling better
Glad to have you back Zullie!
I'm so glad you're back Zulllie, we love you!
Glad to see you back at it Zulie. I'll be looking forward to any coverage of the upcoming DLC.
It's good to see you back, Zullie! Always enjoyed your content.
love these guys
Hey it’s good to have you back! I hope you were able to chill and do the things you wanted during your break. I only started watching your stuff when Elden ring came out, but I have to say it’s among my favorite of all and I’m happy it’s never click baity bullshit, always thoughtful and interesting.
Good to see you back!
It’s incredible all the little details in animations, models and the world and regions that all tell a story
glad you are back big guy love to see
Amazing work as always.
really nice to have you back Zullie, I hope all is well. Great video as always, with the claymen always appearing in such large groups I am really glad they cut the horrifying impaling grab lol
I'm so happy you're back !!!!
I really missed your uploads because theres always stuff like this that I've never noticed before
i never thought about the dichotomy between the Oracle Envoys and the Claymen, but its an interesting topic of discussion. The Envoys, representing faith, call upon the future of a new age, whereas the Claymen, representing intelligence and magic, are trying to call upon the knowledge of a bygone ancient era. Bubbles seemingly meant to represent a search for a truth locked behind time, the future or distant past, respectively. The ancient dynasty of the Uhl Palace ruins and the links to "Elden John" is a fascinating part of the lore of this game but it is shrouded in mystery due to a lack of any kind of direct information.
Love your usage of the King's Field OSTs
You always use the best music for these videos💗
It is so good to have you back Zullie. Be well, take care. Thank you.
I love your slow-looking at the design of these games!! Wonderful work!
I always got a very melancholic vibe from these lads
Glad your back Zulie! :)
I'm so glad to see you're back making more vids! I love your content!❤
I was hoping for an unused grab animation where the clayman gives the tarnished a good scrub with the soap they appear to have invented, a big spike just seems a bit uninspired by comparison.
Heh.
So good to have videos from Zullie again!
Seeing a new Zullie video made me happy 😊 great to have you back
So glad you gave these overlooked shamblers a good analysis!
Omg last I saw, you were burned out and wanted to rest. So happy you've returned Zullie!!
i think if i lived in Elden Ring’s world, i would be a ClayWoman.
i would follow the Tarnished at a distance, waving to them. if they caught up to me i would give them some runes.
I love when she uses King's Field IV music ❤
It's always good to see a new video from Zullie the witch
They may be an early attempt at creating life, similar to Silver Tears. In many creation myths, such as Islamic and Egyptian, clay is used to create humans. Their unused spike attack is also very reminiscent of them and they are found in close proximity, both being in the underground.
Another great video like always!
Happy to see you back making fresh videos, Zullie! Hope all is well 🍻
lol this is the first video i see from you break, im glad to see this channel again.
Some how seeing your videos makes me think "maybe i can listen to some kings field music for a moment." and that is enough to click on it.
Thanks for this one I always wanted to know more about these guys.
Zullie I want to make something abundantly clear. It’s good to have you back.
glad you're back
Can I just say I love your music choices! I don't even play kings feild
not many do, it's the first game From Soft made as I recall so it's at least 20 years old now likely older.
Babe wake up there’s new elden ring content
Welcome back. (First new vid of yours in my notifications.)
Thank you for the video Zullie :D
In the 1.00 Disc version the bulbous oracle bubbles had the same blue effect that the claymen produce, possibly linking them even futher
Nice to see you again.