You can beat it in many ways. But exploring every inch of the map in one playthrough is not the intended way. Some things are best left for another replay.
I tried this when I found this out but you need to complete the gesture. So if he attacks you at the beginning of the gesture, you need to do it again. Hard to time right
The only time I ever remember people talking about not using summons was the mimic tear…bc it was actually busted….and from nerfed it themselves. Yet I always hear people saying that we shouldn’t use ANY summons ….no that was never the point .
@@Benjamin-uw5xj I love the Nightmaiden and Swordstress ashes. I get wanting to use very powerful ashes, or no ashes at all, but don’t get why people only do one or the other.
@@cyansy After finally beating the game and starting NG+, Im trying to do it without summons this time. Some people just find it more personally rewarding to fight the boss without something like an ash to pull aggro away, letting you free hit. Although I don't get why people try to force others into it.
@@saladfrog I disagree entirely with your point. From lets you summon in most boss fights in the game. I seriously doubt that they created the bosses attacks assuming that players wouldn’t use them. The fact is, this game isn’t hard. You can choose to play however you want to make the game more difficult, but by default Elden Ring isn’t a difficult game to you. The player(you) making an active choice to avoid summons is not playing how fromsoft intended. It’s not “easy mode”, the game is just easy to you by default. You are choosing to play on “Hardmode” by avoiding mechanics until it feels correct to YOU. Not everyone else feels that way. Some players will choose to use summons, because that is how the game is designed.
I remember the Nintendo guides were 50% adverts and 50% very general advice, to call Nintendo on their toll number if you got stuck. Stopped using any official guides after that. This one looks legit tho
Fromsoft: Explore the world, find the tools and weapons provided in the game and use them to overcome the challenges it poses. Community: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
Fighting tree sentinels and the dragons on horseback was so obvious to me the first time I felt absolutely insane when I saw that most people didn’t seem to do that, so seeing that fromsoft had indeed planned for that made me feel good lol
I tried horseback for the tree sentinel but found his massive AoE attacks and 2-3 hit kill combos paired with horseback having no s made it extremely difficult. Melee attacking on horseback seemed to be pretty much impossible to consistently do without getting hit and dodging with caster builds seems like a must against this enemy
@@cahan557 Yeah I get what you mean, I may have gotten lucky myself but I found a lot of success by mostly keeping my distance and running into his shield side rather than his axe side to get a charged hit in then retreat again lol. Not the most honorable fight but fairly consistant once you get the hang of it
To me it was obvious for the dragon fight. They're fire breath is really hard to avoid on foot but very easy on a horse. Also Tree sentinel is mounted so i am mounting too! Let's have a mounted duel! It just works.
It’s a testament to the incredible world design, but I was amazed at how thoroughly I had explored the world by just checking out anything that caught my eye and not concerning myself with whether or not I was missing anything. I figured that a true adventurer works with what they find. Plus, I figured it would make later play throughs exciting when I discover new things that I missed previously. I still occasionally find new stuff, but I got about 90% of the loot by just wandering wherever I wanted. This game seems like it should NEED a guide, but the devs did such a good job guiding the player without letting the player even realize they’re being guided.
Played half way through the first time, trying to explore each area fully and collect all the things, going back through again almost a year later and I'm enjoying the game 10x more and finding tons of stuff I never even knew existed first time around it's wild
I think the only thing they failed at is guiding you towards the Physick. I went like 40% through the game not knowing it even existed, and heard of many people who ended up that way. Hell, I even found Crystal Tears and I was just like "wtf is a mixed physick".
@@matchanavi agreed. Should have had npcs talk about it kinda like how Santa tells you about the crafting set and urges you to get it, it's not required but it has nice gameplay mechanics like the red tear negates Mohgs blood ritual
Very un-intrusive guiding like a detailed map with all locations and points of interests + map markers + literal guidance of grace. Though the world and I guess „level/area design“ is very navigable considering the size of the game which is impressive. You rarely got lost except for when the devs wanted you to feel lost.
3:20 if you kill Patches, give his Bell Bearing to the Twin Husks at Roundtable. You can then purchase Margit’s shackles which also work for toggling off and on those dratted dungeon fire squirter columns.
My goal is to win battles and have fun, not be frustrated. Sometimes that means baiting an enemy to a doorway they can't fit through, and cheesing them down. Sometimes that means pulling out a Moonveil and laying waste mercilessly to my foes. If Fromsoft allows a tactic, or sets up the environment in ways that you can take advantage, then it's viable. Fuck the elitism.
@@CharinVZain Sorry I don't enjoy games in the same way as you. I have a limited time to play, so I prefer not to spend hours learning a boss fight inside and out to be considered "elite". I just enjoy the game in my own way, and sometimes that means cutting a corner or two. Haven't been bored yet.
@@radioactivemorshu9493 let the game decide what you'll be using then. Why even make your own play style when the meta is so overwhelming. Of course freedom is better, not everyone wants to be forced into dual wielding.
I love the way hints are built in : big like the directional arrows from sites of grace or small like lanterns or loot showing you’re on the right path. Great game, utterly deserving of the Game of the Year award. Long live the Tarnished.
This video proved perfectly how easy the game can be. I definitely used some OP stuff in my first playthrough. We all probably did tho. Nice video man, one of your best on Elden Ring.
I tried to rock the Golden Halberd whole way through but Malenia gave me issues so I had to switch to two +25 Great Omenkiller Cleavers :( I didn't wanna bleed cheese but she made me >.
@@xeox4280 bleed weapons make it easier to beat her. I was a str build so I went and got 2 Great Omenkiller Cleavers (they have 50 bleed each) and was able to beat her when I couldn't do so with my Golden Halberd or giantcrusher hammer+brick hammer
I used the bow for range like that but tbh, for the life of me i can't "get" the timing of guard counters. Id consider myself an exceptional parrying shot hunter in bloodborne, but when it comes to elden ring idk i get stupid and i can't do it. I just build bleed instead and mash melee attacks 😂
Speaking of the Elden Beast tip, that was something I didn’t really notice but I usually ran away to the opposite direction of the beast right before the rings started to appear and the beast actually was within melee range after I avoided the rings attack. I can confirm that the thorn is facing the Beast’s 12 o’clock direction.
Bought that book a couple weeks back, it made the gameplay 10x more enjoyable. Even though I already REALLY enjoyed the game, it’s nice to know everything the game has to offer.
So glad to see your channel finally REAALLY popping off. I used to watch your terraria let's play vids way back and I'm so happy/proud your channel is doing so well and that you were able to branch out and keep a consistent following. much love man
@killbill8921 This might blow your mind, but.. you can have both in your toolkit. Some enemies are just outright immune to status effects anyway, and whether they are or not, you can counter with a bleed weapon and use the opening from poise breaking them with that to lay in even more hurt with *whatever* damage type. Some enemies are better to deal with via pure aggression, in which case shields don't do much of anything, but some normally-agile enemies are very vulnerable to shield bounces and guard counters, which feels like the intended strategy with things like Imps that have erratic and rapid movements but which bounce off shields easily for a long stagger.
Elden Rings world and guidance works so well and many other games fail at people always want to be able to go anywhere and do anything, but they get a game like that and have no idea what to do or where to go you always need to guide the player either with narrative, gameplay or world design and ER definitely hit the nail on the head, you are given your goal to become Elden Lord so now go and explore to make that journey possible
I beat ER as a sorcerer and I had to cheese the pen ultimate boss (before Elden Beast). Still proud because I am a casual gamer. Melania was killed without cheese, trust me I tried as hell ;)
You can pick up the grave scythe that inflicts bleed and infuse it with frost. It scales with strength so you can use it as a pure st melee build. She is weak to bleed and frost and you can stunlock her if you correctly manage your stamina.
@@Wakari_ discovering cheese is fun for some people. Not for me but I get the appeal. I will never get your mentality tho.. like “If you don‘t have fun my way, it’s not valid“
It's long been a bit obvious we make these games harder than they actually are intended to be. It's an Action RPG and people try to play like a 3d fighting game. If the developers give you a tool, they generally intend for it to be used. Fire Giant is the worst boss in the game. I think that guide just provides another point to that.
Elden Ring really runs counter to the elitist "you didn't actually beat the game" mentality. Sure, you can brute force enemies and bosses through sheer force of will and skill. But it rewards you for fighting smarter, not harder. Demonizing these tactics as cheese is not the intended experience. You are meant to use every tool in your tool belt. Not just a weapon and your roll.
On my second game, and I gotta say it's almost like I'm in easy mode this time. I appreciate that this game is designed to test you and encourage learning from mistakes and developing your strats
I beat fire giant first try on my first play-through. Didn't realize it was considered a hard boss, I lured him off a cliff on accident and only had to hit him a total of I think 3 times to kill him.
You can get lightning affinity at weeping peninsula- start of game- lightning ash of war near frenzied village- drop down the giant tombstones to the area below- lots of bats and lighting strikes where ash of war scarab is chilling
I also fought most field bosses on horseback. Just a bit sad I slept on all the fun status ailments on my first run. Biggest armor, biggest sword, letsago
@@eater_of_garbage_ yeah, but if you ride straight at the enemy while dragging the hunk of metal you pretend is a sword along the ground, you pretty much get one heavy hit in after another and the enemy can't do anything. Radhan was a piece of cake like that.
@@LordOfChaos.x wow didn't know that O.O, well then let me point to how Radhan obviously is a bit gimmicky like Rickard. You're supposed to throw all those summons at him 😂
@Tobias W its not really a gimmick fight As in his current state he has enough openings even UGS can land hits His moves can be dodge rolled just fine Rykard is hard to beat without the serpent hunter
Being an official product doesn't mean it has anything to do with the intentions of the developers though. I still agree cheeses, spirit ashes etc. are totally legit to beat the game with.
Sometimes it feels like From gets a degree of leniency that other games aren't afforded. Other games being as easy to break and cheese would get criticized for poor balance but From gets praise for it.
Definitely did not do it the intended way on any of my playthroughs. Only intended thing i did was level vigor and get cracked tears. Now that i know where to go I definitely don’t follow the guide at all lol Never used a shield either, but sometimes guard counter with an UGS for chonky damage
Excellent. Just bought the book and decided to get some advice on its contents. Yours is the best by far. Looking forward to the second book coming out soon. Well done and many thanks. Subbed and belled. Cheers, Harry.
Scarlet rot dragon communion incantation can be had early in the game by beating the big dragon in Caelid and going to the cathedral of dragon communion. However I don’t know if the game recommends this or if it’s “intended” 3:28
I'm not ashamed to admit that I beat ER using the Easy Mode mod. I just wanted to explore the world and progress through the story without being stuck on the same boss for weeks. That being said my next playthrough I'm gonna do legit. Wish me luck :D
I wish you good luck and hope you will like your vanilla trip. Also you're right you shouldnt be ashamed of taking on the game the way you see fit, a game is for entertainment not entitlement.
@@painhurtssometimes2185 couldn't agree more. After my subsequent playthroughs playing vanilla I realised this. However I don't regret playing on easy to get through the story and explore without the worry of dying constantly but then I realised that that's just part of the game.
@@smartfridge369 fair enough. I’m not a souls purist by any means but I do believe you should play through the game “normally” on first playthroughs as struggle is part of the experience. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve went through it I suppose. But congrats and going back it! Hope you enjoyed it just as much despite the headaches haha
This is fascinating! We have been trying to interpret various design decisions like the Tree Sentinel and Margit but now we have confirmation of what they wanted the player to take away from these encounters.
Ive been waiting for this!! I believe its two volumes. Also, ive I guess cheesed so many bosses or tough enemies like the golem in Caelid or the night cavalry with arrows, they tend to slowly walk back to their starting area if you move far enough away from them.
1:55 Yeah, after 5 playthroughs not using a shield, I tried a run with one. Turns out, there is an easy mode in Elden Ring, using a shield and guard counters.
@@dangerousfelon It's what I did my last playthrough and worked pretty well for me. Get brass shield and shield talisman asap, use summons, win the game. I stopped leveling at a point so I didn't get too bored.
@@BaldorfBreakdowns after over 30 playthroughs and easily over 10000 hours shield build is just as easy as pure strength or magic or whatever build you could possibly think of. Even a pot throwing build is easier than sheild
@@BaldorfBreakdowns just cause using a shield matches your playstyle doesn't mean it's "easy mode" , every build brings its own playstlye, you prob just play overly passive so shield = easy mode but for YOU
Completely off topic but I'm surprised that no one has called out fromsoft for not making their tree animations in game to what they are in trailer which is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. The trees BOUNCE up and down in game while in the trailer they move far more realistically.
Oh damn, I had no idea these still existed. Used to collect em back in the early 2000s era of gaming, the ones for MGS3, Fallout 3 and FFX full on saved my life
This is late, but Scarlot Rot is absolutely achievable early in game. You beat Agheel for the dragon heart, then go to the church of dragon communion in Limgrave as it's super early and you should be exploring...it's even a place you have to go for Boc's quest lol. You get "Rotten Breath" which is enough with like 15 Arcane and like any seal and you can apply Rot to Margit in Stormveil.
2:58 It sounds REALLY dumb actually. I avoided him on my first playthrough (first from soft experience ever) and as soon as i got torrent i went back to fight him with torrent. Got him on 2nd try. I actually cannot fathom how fighting him and the nights cavalry on foot would make any sense when you are weak and low level as a new player
One of the hints of cheese I found was the placement of the ulcread tree spirit in stormveil having a ladder going to a spot where one can easily snipe it with fire pots n such.
I've never used shields until recently and discovered guard counter; I'm on NG+ with a level 330 character. It's interesting. Only found out about it because I decided to equip every weapon I find along the way; makes the game fun and you get to play with weapons you never used before.
I went straight to Caelid when I had the chance. Everyone said that's what you're NOT supposed to do. The creepy red world was brutal, which was exactly why I kept pressing on. There is no wrong way to play, right?
@@Ghorda9 radagons soreseal I get that shit every playthrough takes like 8 mins the hardest part is dodging the rats in fort faroth which sometimes takes a few attempts because they 1 shot you
I used like three weapons my entire time, including swapping my ice uchigatana to fire. When I got the dark flame that helped a lot, then of course Tiche. Made the next playthroughs super easy.
My 11 year old son beat him at level 9 on foot during his first playthrough. I felt terribly inadequate after witnessing that. After a few battles with him, he's not much of a problem anymore, he telegraphs his attacks very loudly.
One play through my mage jumped on Torrent onto the Church of Elleh column and peppered the Tree Sentinel with Loretta’s Greatbow. The tin can man couldn’t do a thing, just cantered around swinging his halberd at fresh air. And his shield had a real Trash of War. 😂
@@christinebaker8754 hahaha that’s awesome! I never tried that. I remember running to the church of Elleh on my first playthrough before I picked up torrent. Mother fucker follower me in and broke part of the front off the building… so I sort of thought it could be possible for him to Knock me down. It was definitely a first to see destructible environment pieces in the game. Even if they didn’t go crazy with it.
This game pushed me past my limits in gaming, and I’ve gamed since the PlayStation 2. I’ve played a variety of games but NOTHING, and I mean nothing was like Elden Ring. To the point I have put over 400 hours on the game.
i finnished the game first time at lvl cap 130, with zero spirit summoning and co-op. now i try everything i can come up with on my new playthroughs like summoning NPC's and co-.op etc
Lol. Love your guidelines for comments 🤣 I didn't know that there was an authorized Walk-through for the game! Need me to get that despite being nearly done with the game. It'll be a good collector's item
I felt like such a tool the other night. I had 0 idea that the Marais Mask and Gown even existed. I NEVER explored that back side of Shaded Castle before until the other day.
People who think souls games are supposed to be soul-crushingly difficult through the entire game have missed the point. The stuff that makes the game easier isn't "cheese", it's literally the intended experience. You start out and you're weak and pathetic, and seemingly insurmountable challenges are put in front of you. But if you don't give up and keep trying, keep exploring, and you gain knowledge and items and then the challenge that seemed so insurmountable becomes easier. That's the whole point of the game and the story! It's really depressing that so many people think that you're supposed to beat souls games in the hardest way possible, and all the stuff that makes it easier is like, a mistake or something that the developers overlooked, because if anything, they're the ones playing the unintended challenge mode, and acting like anyone who doesn't is wrong.
It's not the intended way, it's the guided way As in, if you're struggling enough to want to buy a guidebook, it WILL tell you the optimized path Its not like this guidebook's existence is Fromsoft's way of saying you shouldn't explore
Thanks to this book, I always wanted to beat ALL the Bosses and mini-bosses. And on internet we got only the main Bosses or Bosses you aren't duplicate (like Nocturne Knights or the Zombie Cow -I'm not a native English so I don't know the English name-or the Death Pearls Hunters) and maybe if I got enough time, make all ending
LMAO EVEN THEY SAID "Nah Limgrave, Liurnia, then carry on with the rest of the game. Caelid? Oh nah, look at this location tree to see that you go to Altus and from there beat the game :) " LMAO EVEN FROMSOFT ACKNOWLEDGES CAELID FOR WHAT IT IS XDDD
The actual best way through Stormveil Castle is the front gate, and then just run your ass off to the site of grace before Godrick You can literally skip the whole dungeon if you time your roll dodges correctly You can fight beat Margitt and Godrick within 5 minutes of each other
@@randomnobody9229 it's not the intended way, it's the guided way As in, if you're struggling enough to want to buy a guidebook, it WILL tell you the optimized path Its not like this guidebook's existence is Fromsoft's way of saying you shouldn't explore
i'm a really slow learner, i never used something as vital as the wonderous physick bottle even after I found it because I was too lazy to interact with what I figured was probably just a niche way to get symbolic stat buffs (same thing with rune arcs). the replay value is insane when you're dumb like me lol
I'm sorry, the only maybe cheese I saw here was the lift one, in what world is guard countering, using ashes of war, using summons, or USING TERRAIN "cheeseing?"
Is there a right way to beat Elden Ring?
Yes
You can beat it in many ways. But exploring every inch of the map in one playthrough is not the intended way. Some things are best left for another replay.
If you kill Gostoc, you did it right
@@totem1 And miss out on _two_ Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones? Nah fam, Gostoc can have those runes.
if you didn’t beat it RL1 no armor no magic no weapons no items permadeath on your first playthrough, you are a casul
Fun fact: After learning the grovel gesture from Patches, if you attack him enough to aggro him and then use the gesture, he will forgive you.
he's a bastard but he's not a hypocrite
I tried this when I found this out but you need to complete the gesture. So if he attacks you at the beginning of the gesture, you need to do it again. Hard to time right
Best interaction with Patches is when you summon him during the fight with Radahn. 10/10 experience.
@@Junkzillabox 💀
@@Junkzillabox Bro dips
You've heard it here folks, FromSoft specifically expects you to use summons and level vigor, who knew
I mean they specifically programmed it into the game, so you can see why people are hesitant to use them.
The only time I ever remember people talking about not using summons was the mimic tear…bc it was actually busted….and from nerfed it themselves. Yet I always hear people saying that we shouldn’t use ANY summons ….no that was never the point .
@@Benjamin-uw5xj I love the Nightmaiden and Swordstress ashes. I get wanting to use very powerful ashes, or no ashes at all, but don’t get why people only do one or the other.
@@cyansy After finally beating the game and starting NG+, Im trying to do it without summons this time. Some people just find it more personally rewarding to fight the boss without something like an ash to pull aggro away, letting you free hit. Although I don't get why people try to force others into it.
@@saladfrog I disagree entirely with your point. From lets you summon in most boss fights in the game. I seriously doubt that they created the bosses attacks assuming that players wouldn’t use them. The fact is, this game isn’t hard. You can choose to play however you want to make the game more difficult, but by default Elden Ring isn’t a difficult game to you. The player(you) making an active choice to avoid summons is not playing how fromsoft intended. It’s not “easy mode”, the game is just easy to you by default. You are choosing to play on “Hardmode” by avoiding mechanics until it feels correct to YOU. Not everyone else feels that way. Some players will choose to use summons, because that is how the game is designed.
TiL the strategy guide actually gives legitimately good strategies. This seems pretty solid.
I have the guide and a lot of its weapons recs are legit pretty damn good as are the build and stats reqs.
Future Press guides are top notch. They made guides for most From games and a couple of others.
What TiL stand for?
@@tranngockha6562 today I learned. You could also google it as it’s quite common.
I remember the Nintendo guides were 50% adverts and 50% very general advice, to call Nintendo on their toll number if you got stuck. Stopped using any official guides after that. This one looks legit tho
Fromsoft: Explore the world, find the tools and weapons provided in the game and use them to overcome the challenges it poses.
Community: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
Fighting tree sentinels and the dragons on horseback was so obvious to me the first time I felt absolutely insane when I saw that most people didn’t seem to do that, so seeing that fromsoft had indeed planned for that made me feel good lol
Yeah saame! Thats How i beat it the first tile too
I tried horseback for the tree sentinel but found his massive AoE attacks and 2-3 hit kill combos paired with horseback having no s made it extremely difficult. Melee attacking on horseback seemed to be pretty much impossible to consistently do without getting hit and dodging with caster builds seems like a must against this enemy
@@cahan557 Yeah I get what you mean, I may have gotten lucky myself but I found a lot of success by mostly keeping my distance and running into his shield side rather than his axe side to get a charged hit in then retreat again lol. Not the most honorable fight but fairly consistant once you get the hang of it
To me it was obvious for the dragon fight. They're fire breath is really hard to avoid on foot but very easy on a horse. Also Tree sentinel is mounted so i am mounting too! Let's have a mounted duel! It just works.
@@Xavire1603 casul
It’s a testament to the incredible world design, but I was amazed at how thoroughly I had explored the world by just checking out anything that caught my eye and not concerning myself with whether or not I was missing anything. I figured that a true adventurer works with what they find. Plus, I figured it would make later play throughs exciting when I discover new things that I missed previously. I still occasionally find new stuff, but I got about 90% of the loot by just wandering wherever I wanted. This game seems like it should NEED a guide, but the devs did such a good job guiding the player without letting the player even realize they’re being guided.
Played half way through the first time, trying to explore each area fully and collect all the things, going back through again almost a year later and I'm enjoying the game 10x more and finding tons of stuff I never even knew existed first time around it's wild
I think the only thing they failed at is guiding you towards the Physick. I went like 40% through the game not knowing it even existed, and heard of many people who ended up that way. Hell, I even found Crystal Tears and I was just like "wtf is a mixed physick".
@@matchanavi agreed. Should have had npcs talk about it kinda like how Santa tells you about the crafting set and urges you to get it, it's not required but it has nice gameplay mechanics like the red tear negates Mohgs blood ritual
Very un-intrusive guiding like a detailed map with all locations and points of interests + map markers + literal guidance of grace.
Though the world and I guess „level/area design“ is very navigable considering the size of the game which is impressive.
You rarely got lost except for when the devs wanted you to feel lost.
@@matchanavi The first merchant sells you information about where to find the physik,
3:20 if you kill Patches, give his Bell Bearing to the Twin Husks at Roundtable. You can then purchase Margit’s shackles which also work for toggling off and on those dratted dungeon fire squirter columns.
Yes killing patches is mandatory
In theory it's more efficient to kill every single vendor and hand the bearings to the husks, but damn it feels bad to do :(
@@tinycervid7679 thats the psychopath gameplay
@@tinycervid7679 Theres a mod that lets you talk to the traders to collect there bells so you don't have to kill them.
@@Lowlightt I’m pretty sure that’s just the current update
My goal is to win battles and have fun, not be frustrated. Sometimes that means baiting an enemy to a doorway they can't fit through, and cheesing them down. Sometimes that means pulling out a Moonveil and laying waste mercilessly to my foes. If Fromsoft allows a tactic, or sets up the environment in ways that you can take advantage, then it's viable. Fuck the elitism.
How boring
@@CharinVZain Sorry I don't enjoy games in the same way as you. I have a limited time to play, so I prefer not to spend hours learning a boss fight inside and out to be considered "elite".
I just enjoy the game in my own way, and sometimes that means cutting a corner or two. Haven't been bored yet.
Amen, brother!
@@CharinVZain oh please like your way of playing is any better
@@radioactivemorshu9493 let the game decide what you'll be using then. Why even make your own play style when the meta is so overwhelming.
Of course freedom is better, not everyone wants to be forced into dual wielding.
I love the way hints are built in : big like the directional arrows from sites of grace or small like lanterns or loot showing you’re on the right path. Great game, utterly deserving of the Game of the Year award. Long live the Tarnished.
This video proved perfectly how easy the game can be. I definitely used some OP stuff in my first playthrough. We all probably did tho. Nice video man, one of your best on Elden Ring.
Not OP it’s I N T E N D E D 😂
Yeah I was messing around and found the dragon communion spells. Scarlet rot breath moment XD
I tried to rock the Golden Halberd whole way through but Malenia gave me issues so I had to switch to two +25 Great Omenkiller Cleavers :( I didn't wanna bleed cheese but she made me >.
@@xtremefps_ bleed cheese? What do you mean? Is there a cheese to beat malenia?
@@xeox4280 bleed weapons make it easier to beat her. I was a str build so I went and got 2 Great Omenkiller Cleavers (they have 50 bleed each) and was able to beat her when I couldn't do so with my Golden Halberd or giantcrusher hammer+brick hammer
That Elden Beast tip is actually super helpful.
No joke, this was my play style. Bows for the birds, guard counters etc.
And if you had fun, then you played the game how it was intended to be played.
I used the bow for range like that but tbh, for the life of me i can't "get" the timing of guard counters. Id consider myself an exceptional parrying shot hunter in bloodborne, but when it comes to elden ring idk i get stupid and i can't do it.
I just build bleed instead and mash melee attacks 😂
@@Loctorak There isnt any timing, literally just tap R2 after a block, it's 1000X easier than parrying.
"Cripes, are you dense boy?" That was great dialogue lol
Gladly and surprisingly, I played my 1st walkthrough in from software’s intended way.
Speaking of the Elden Beast tip, that was something I didn’t really notice but I usually ran away to the opposite direction of the beast right before the rings started to appear and the beast actually was within melee range after I avoided the rings attack. I can confirm that the thorn is facing the Beast’s 12 o’clock direction.
Bought that book a couple weeks back, it made the gameplay 10x more enjoyable. Even though I already REALLY enjoyed the game, it’s nice to know everything the game has to offer.
So, we’re allowed to use the things they put in the game? No more running with a club and no armor? I’m actually allowed to level…UP?!?!
You really think developers would do that? Put things in the game with the intent of players using them?
Crazy right?
So glad to see your channel finally REAALLY popping off. I used to watch your terraria let's play vids way back and I'm so happy/proud your channel is doing so well and that you were able to branch out and keep a consistent following. much love man
Apparently I played my first playthrough the "intended" way. Who knew?
I did not discover what guard counters were until I reached Malenia… that realization hurt. Thought they were something only enemies could do
@Kill Bill but guard counter is really good tho
@killbill8921 This might blow your mind, but.. you can have both in your toolkit.
Some enemies are just outright immune to status effects anyway, and whether they are or not, you can counter with a bleed weapon and use the opening from poise breaking them with that to lay in even more hurt with *whatever* damage type.
Some enemies are better to deal with via pure aggression, in which case shields don't do much of anything, but some normally-agile enemies are very vulnerable to shield bounces and guard counters, which feels like the intended strategy with things like Imps that have erratic and rapid movements but which bounce off shields easily for a long stagger.
@Kill Bill you still can. There are bleed shields. Besides, you could always guard counter an enemy and then swap to your bleed weapon/ frost weapon.
I didn't discover you can jump to avoid attacks and to deal poise damage until Maliketh.
@killbill8921 or you can guard counter
Elden Rings world and guidance works so well and many other games fail at people always want to be able to go anywhere and do anything, but they get a game like that and have no idea what to do or where to go you always need to guide the player either with narrative, gameplay or world design and ER definitely hit the nail on the head, you are given your goal to become Elden Lord so now go and explore to make that journey possible
I beat ER as a sorcerer and I had to cheese the pen ultimate boss (before Elden Beast). Still proud because I am a casual gamer.
Melania was killed without cheese, trust me I tried as hell ;)
You can pick up the grave scythe that inflicts bleed and infuse it with frost. It scales with strength so you can use it as a pure st melee build.
She is weak to bleed and frost and you can stunlock her if you correctly manage your stamina.
But isnt a sorcerer build boring? You could just use spirit ashes and bleed weapons
@@xeox4280 how is it any less boring than bleed weapons
@@egggge4752 bro likes sleeping during his playthrough, like y even play at all if you’re just gonna cheese everything, whats the point anymore lmao
@@Wakari_ discovering cheese is fun for some people. Not for me but I get the appeal. I will never get your mentality tho.. like “If you don‘t have fun my way, it’s not valid“
The intended way for tree sentinel was surely to climb onto a ruin and shoot it with arrows as it can do nothing against you XD
I thought the same as a mage... well, the reflection hurts XD
@@Verienn if you are high enough, the sentinel won't even try reflection, just runs around like a morron :D
@@GlawiousAldredMarci gotta get some joints from Patches, I wasnt high enough :)
Thats what actually did
It's long been a bit obvious we make these games harder than they actually are intended to be. It's an Action RPG and people try to play like a 3d fighting game. If the developers give you a tool, they generally intend for it to be used.
Fire Giant is the worst boss in the game. I think that guide just provides another point to that.
Elden Ring really runs counter to the elitist "you didn't actually beat the game" mentality. Sure, you can brute force enemies and bosses through sheer force of will and skill. But it rewards you for fighting smarter, not harder. Demonizing these tactics as cheese is not the intended experience. You are meant to use every tool in your tool belt. Not just a weapon and your roll.
On my second game, and I gotta say it's almost like I'm in easy mode this time. I appreciate that this game is designed to test you and encourage learning from mistakes and developing your strats
I beat fire giant first try on my first play-through. Didn't realize it was considered a hard boss, I lured him off a cliff on accident and only had to hit him a total of I think 3 times to kill him.
You can get lightning affinity at weeping peninsula- start of game- lightning ash of war near frenzied village- drop down the giant tombstones to the area below- lots of bats and lighting strikes where ash of war scarab is chilling
That is an incantation not an ash of war I had that confused as well
There are only 3 lighting ash of wars and all three are located in atlas plateu with one being in the capital.
I also fought most field bosses on horseback. Just a bit sad I slept on all the fun status ailments on my first run. Biggest armor, biggest sword, letsago
I can understand the appeal of fighting field bosses on horseback, but torrent handles like a jetski in a lake of tar
@@eater_of_garbage_ yeah, but if you ride straight at the enemy while dragging the hunk of metal you pretend is a sword along the ground, you pretty much get one heavy hit in after another and the enemy can't do anything. Radhan was a piece of cake like that.
@Tobias W Radahn before he got nerfed wasn't allowing that man 😆
@@LordOfChaos.x wow didn't know that O.O, well then let me point to how Radhan obviously is a bit gimmicky like Rickard. You're supposed to throw all those summons at him 😂
@Tobias W its not really a gimmick fight
As in his current state he has enough openings even UGS can land hits
His moves can be dodge rolled just fine
Rykard is hard to beat without the serpent hunter
You can get the scarlet rot dog in Caelid through the agheel lake trap chest. Idk why they didn't write that in.
Some guy in 2012 who was to stupid to use any weapon except a greatsword: "This is how you are supposed to beat the game!"
FromSoft: "No."
Too*
@@oniongummy8969 Thank you for doing your part in helping people learn English.
I try as well, but most respond with indignance and not gratitude :(
@@maliant16 All the more incentive
Them maybe they should have removed the stupid upgrade system that forces you to stick to one weapon
@@vazazell5967 this
I'm imagining you reading the guide like Gideon
6:04 "I kinda just... played the game" wonderful
Being an official product doesn't mean it has anything to do with the intentions of the developers though. I still agree cheeses, spirit ashes etc. are totally legit to beat the game with.
Sometimes it feels like From gets a degree of leniency that other games aren't afforded. Other games being as easy to break and cheese would get criticized for poor balance but From gets praise for it.
Difference is from soft designs with cheese in mind
@@thefutureisnowoldman7653 cult
Definitely did not do it the intended way on any of my playthroughs. Only intended thing i did was level vigor and get cracked tears. Now that i know where to go I definitely don’t follow the guide at all lol Never used a shield either, but sometimes guard counter with an UGS for chonky damage
BUT DAD, I already watched the Farum Azula video!
Glad to see someone else likes the anchordeep music. Well chosen crusader
This video was really well paced, not a single second was wasted here
Excellent. Just bought the book and decided to get some advice on its contents. Yours is the best by far. Looking forward to the second book coming out soon. Well done and many thanks. Subbed and belled. Cheers, Harry.
Scarlet rot dragon communion incantation can be had early in the game by beating the big dragon in Caelid and going to the cathedral of dragon communion. However I don’t know if the game recommends this or if it’s “intended” 3:28
I'm not ashamed to admit that I beat ER using the Easy Mode mod. I just wanted to explore the world and progress through the story without being stuck on the same boss for weeks. That being said my next playthrough I'm gonna do legit. Wish me luck :D
I wish you good luck and hope you will like your vanilla trip. Also you're right you shouldnt be ashamed of taking on the game the way you see fit, a game is for entertainment not entitlement.
I played elden ring on easy mode for my first playthrough as well. I used river's of blood lol
You did yourself a massive disservice.
@@painhurtssometimes2185 couldn't agree more. After my subsequent playthroughs playing vanilla I realised this. However I don't regret playing on easy to get through the story and explore without the worry of dying constantly but then I realised that that's just part of the game.
@@smartfridge369 fair enough. I’m not a souls purist by any means but I do believe you should play through the game “normally” on first playthroughs as struggle is part of the experience. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve went through it I suppose. But congrats and going back it! Hope you enjoyed it just as much despite the headaches haha
This is fascinating! We have been trying to interpret various design decisions like the Tree Sentinel and Margit but now we have confirmation of what they wanted the player to take away from these encounters.
Damn, really wanted to know what it said about waterfowl dance
Ive been waiting for this!! I believe its two volumes. Also, ive I guess cheesed so many bosses or tough enemies like the golem in Caelid or the night cavalry with arrows, they tend to slowly walk back to their starting area if you move far enough away from them.
1:55 Yeah, after 5 playthroughs not using a shield, I tried a run with one. Turns out, there is an easy mode in Elden Ring, using a shield and guard counters.
Not that simple. Plenty of enemies can wreck your stamina if you try blocking certain moves.
@@dangerousfelon It's what I did my last playthrough and worked pretty well for me.
Get brass shield and shield talisman asap, use summons, win the game.
I stopped leveling at a point so I didn't get too bored.
@@BaldorfBreakdowns after over 30 playthroughs and easily over 10000 hours shield build is just as easy as pure strength or magic or whatever build you could possibly think of. Even a pot throwing build is easier than sheild
@@ithurtsenpai6860 Yeah, sure, learning dodge timing is just as easy as holding the shield button.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
@@BaldorfBreakdowns just cause using a shield matches your playstyle doesn't mean it's "easy mode" , every build brings its own playstlye, you prob just play overly passive so shield = easy mode but for YOU
Edit at 6:30 is fire 🔥
Completely off topic but I'm surprised that no one has called out fromsoft for not making their tree animations in game to what they are in trailer which is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. The trees BOUNCE up and down in game while in the trailer they move far more realistically.
Oh my god this is a travesty I can't believe no one is talking about this incredibly real and valid criticism.
I know right? Completely ruined my playthrough, I just couldn't get immersed in the world with such subpar tree animations
lol the trees look like they are dancing to hardstyle
@@moosecannibal8224 He's right tho, they do look really silly. Nothing worth "calling from out" for but still you'd expect them to do better lol
Probably for better performance, and they didn't want to put 2 trillion graphic options like rdr2
Oh damn, I had no idea these still existed. Used to collect em back in the early 2000s era of gaming, the ones for MGS3, Fallout 3 and FFX full on saved my life
This is late, but Scarlot Rot is absolutely achievable early in game. You beat Agheel for the dragon heart, then go to the church of dragon communion in Limgrave as it's super early and you should be exploring...it's even a place you have to go for Boc's quest lol. You get "Rotten Breath" which is enough with like 15 Arcane and like any seal and you can apply Rot to Margit in Stormveil.
Does the book mention the alone Wolf summon is a way to straight up break the Rennala fight?
that elden beast tip is crazy
I will TRY to remember that for next time lol.
1:20 - The official Elden Ring strategy guide has a typo in it haha, unless lighting damage is a hidden star in the game?
Dude! This is incredible. Everyone needs this! Everyone who didn’t finish elden ring needs to watch this video fa sho
I just started my playthrough this week been using dual guardian spearswords
2:58 It sounds REALLY dumb actually. I avoided him on my first playthrough (first from soft experience ever) and as soon as i got torrent i went back to fight him with torrent. Got him on 2nd try. I actually cannot fathom how fighting him and the nights cavalry on foot would make any sense when you are weak and low level as a new player
One of the hints of cheese I found was the placement of the ulcread tree spirit in stormveil having a ladder going to a spot where one can easily snipe it with fire pots n such.
I've never used shields until recently and discovered guard counter; I'm on NG+ with a level 330 character.
It's interesting. Only found out about it because I decided to equip every weapon I find along the way; makes the game fun and you get to play with weapons you never used before.
I went straight to Caelid when I had the chance. Everyone said that's what you're NOT supposed to do. The creepy red world was brutal, which was exactly why I kept pressing on. There is no wrong way to play, right?
their are some good stuff in caelid that you can get without fighting anything.
@@Ghorda9 radagons soreseal I get that shit every playthrough takes like 8 mins the hardest part is dodging the rats in fort faroth which sometimes takes a few attempts because they 1 shot you
I feel like the guide book gives a fantastic guide for casual play for the average person
Wait , there’s a book
I used like three weapons my entire time, including swapping my ice uchigatana to fire. When I got the dark flame that helped a lot, then of course Tiche. Made the next playthroughs super easy.
LOL funny. Horseback was exactly how I beat the tree sentinel at a normal level during my first playthrough. Interesting video!
My 11 year old son beat him at level 9 on foot during his first playthrough. I felt terribly inadequate after witnessing that.
After a few battles with him, he's not much of a problem anymore, he telegraphs his attacks very loudly.
@@Jethu262 oof
@@Jethu262 oof
One play through my mage jumped on Torrent onto the Church of Elleh column and peppered the Tree Sentinel with Loretta’s Greatbow. The tin can man couldn’t do a thing, just cantered around swinging his halberd at fresh air. And his shield had a real Trash of War. 😂
@@christinebaker8754 hahaha that’s awesome! I never tried that. I remember running to the church of Elleh on my first playthrough before I picked up torrent. Mother fucker follower me in and broke part of the front off the building… so I sort of thought it could be possible for him to Knock me down. It was definitely a first to see destructible environment pieces in the game. Even if they didn’t go crazy with it.
This game pushed me past my limits in gaming, and I’ve gamed since the PlayStation 2. I’ve played a variety of games but NOTHING, and I mean nothing was like Elden Ring. To the point I have put over 400 hours on the game.
i finnished the game first time at lvl cap 130, with zero spirit summoning and co-op. now i try everything i can come up with on my new playthroughs like summoning NPC's and co-.op etc
I love the use of cult of the lamb's ost, especially Sozo
There's a small rot dog summon that you can get to +3 before getting to Margit and it wrecks his life lol
I’m glad someone else appreciates the cult of the lamb ost as much as I do
Now I can proudly proclaim that Cheesing the game is the INTENDED and the OFFICIAL way to play.
awesome vid mat ❤
now i want that book lol
In release 1.0, my only answer to enemies who's BS meter is high is use the laser weapon forbidden by the Geneva Convention and the clone too.
My favorite line "its not cheese, its intended" lol I'm telling my wife that everything she tells me I'm being cheesy against an enemy in the game lol
👍👍🔥🔥🔥
Fun fact, the only boss that isn't intended to be fought with summons is Malenia.
Lol. Love your guidelines for comments 🤣
I didn't know that there was an authorized Walk-through for the game! Need me to get that despite being nearly done with the game. It'll be a good collector's item
I felt like such a tool the other night. I had 0 idea that the Marais Mask and Gown even existed. I NEVER explored that back side of Shaded Castle before until the other day.
The book suggests I level up vigor and that you sub, what a great idea 😂 Love your videos man, you're hugely underrated.
People who think souls games are supposed to be soul-crushingly difficult through the entire game have missed the point. The stuff that makes the game easier isn't "cheese", it's literally the intended experience. You start out and you're weak and pathetic, and seemingly insurmountable challenges are put in front of you. But if you don't give up and keep trying, keep exploring, and you gain knowledge and items and then the challenge that seemed so insurmountable becomes easier. That's the whole point of the game and the story!
It's really depressing that so many people think that you're supposed to beat souls games in the hardest way possible, and all the stuff that makes it easier is like, a mistake or something that the developers overlooked, because if anything, they're the ones playing the unintended challenge mode, and acting like anyone who doesn't is wrong.
who'd knew actually trying shit in the game shows you the easiest way to beat the game.. Glad to find out I finished in somewhat easy way
Are you telling me that the writers of this strategy guide actually did their research and actually know what they were talking about?
Unfathomable!
it's rare these days
It's not the intended way, it's the guided way
As in, if you're struggling enough to want to buy a guidebook, it WILL tell you the optimized path
Its not like this guidebook's existence is Fromsoft's way of saying you shouldn't explore
exactly what i saw as he showed me excerpts from the book
Thanks to this book, I always wanted to beat ALL the Bosses and mini-bosses. And on internet we got only the main Bosses or Bosses you aren't duplicate (like Nocturne Knights or the Zombie Cow -I'm not a native English so I don't know the English name-or the Death Pearls Hunters) and maybe if I got enough time, make all ending
I want the guide for the sweet art!
I always struggle so hard with the tree avatars.. to me they are harder than Margit, radahn or rennalla
LMAO EVEN THEY SAID "Nah Limgrave, Liurnia, then carry on with the rest of the game. Caelid? Oh nah, look at this location tree to see that you go to Altus and from there beat the game :) "
LMAO EVEN FROMSOFT ACKNOWLEDGES CAELID FOR WHAT IT IS XDDD
Games that come w guides are always good
The actual best way through Stormveil Castle is the front gate, and then just run your ass off to the site of grace before Godrick
You can literally skip the whole dungeon if you time your roll dodges correctly
You can fight beat Margitt and Godrick within 5 minutes of each other
I think the best way to play this games is not knowing whats coming, explore and see what happens.
Fromsoft helped create a guide, so I dont think they agree with you. I don't think they believe there is a best way.
@@randomnobody9229 it's not the intended way, it's the guided way
As in, if you're struggling enough to want to buy a guidebook, it WILL tell you the optimized path
Its not like this guidebook's existence is Fromsoft's way of saying you shouldn't explore
Mounted battle is always fun! I feel like a knight charging a dragon on Torrent.
Einfach verrückt, dass du so gutes englisch sprichst, aber man trotzdem hört, dass deutsch deine Muttersprache ist :D Nices Video!
The actual way fromsoft wants you to beat the game: Beat it however you f*cking want and have fun with it
The funniest part about this is the fact that even given that knowledge the fan base will still be like "No but actually-"
i'm a really slow learner, i never used something as vital as the wonderous physick bottle even after I found it because I was too lazy to interact with what I figured was probably just a niche way to get symbolic stat buffs (same thing with rune arcs). the replay value is insane when you're dumb like me lol
5:36 wait there's a Margit clone outside the capital? I remember hearing his voice there, but I never fought or saw him 😢
Your colors/lighting looks really nice is that a mod or some kind of filter?
Before the internet this guide would have saved lives
Bro your game looks insane! Have any Mods on?
I'm sorry, the only maybe cheese I saw here was the lift one, in what world is guard countering, using ashes of war, using summons, or USING TERRAIN "cheeseing?"
why is there cult of the lamb music in the background ?
That book is only Volume 1, the second is up for preorder.
where do you purchase that book?!
Amazon