Yumcha

I will admit to trying it and part of the lack of motivation is that visually, it's a step down from the glory of ER. But, I hear your endorsement! >_<

Yumcha

Started NG++.

Doom878

How brutal? Do you go out and fight the Tree Sentinel as a test?

Yumcha

Yeah, still manageable. I did die getting plowed over twice by that annoying AF chariot in the dungeon right when you start the game -- the boss inside is an ulcerated tree spirit or something and it came down more or less easily; so this was my first 'test' before the Tree Sentinel. Did need to heal though.

Doom878

So I did the Sellen story and got the spell which triggered the trophy for the Legendary Spells. I thought I had to get ALL the spells but fuck I might be able to get platinum after all. I still have to make it to the capital to get the Bolt as mentioned and the Dark Moon Greatsword finishing Ranni's quest after going to NG+.

Yumcha

Nice. I am unsure if it is part of the trophy-getting but there are 2 secret master-mages that give you their equipment and etc. if you proceed Sellen's storyline.

Yumcha

In NG++, doing some general meandering...made my way to Caelid when I got warped there by that chest in the swamp in Limgrave. And then Caelid again when I discovered that warp behind the 3rd Church of Marika.

Died a couple times fighting that monster Gargoyle standing outside of Maliketh's temple but took care of the dragon on the bridge easily as well as the Night Cavalry near Lenne's Rise.

Doom878

Yeah that dude hits like a tank. I can't imagine the damage on NG+2

Yumcha

Yeah, part of the issue is the area: the stairs, the statues, and etc. that impact your ability to maneuver a bit...and yeah, I took a Flask to reduce the damage and while it tempers the first blow, if he connects a second time, it's a near-death blow. Had to bring in a summon to help in the fight.

So, are you in NG then?

Doom878

No, I haven't played since my last update. Might try to play tonight but I have some home projects that I need to bang out.

Yumcha

Ah okay. I can't wait for the DLC to hit.

Doom878

The fact they say it's in development...sounds like it won't be a while.

Doom878

Finally!!! Did all 3 endings with the cloud save trick. I leveled up most of the ashes to +9 also. And duh I had the Dark Moon Greatsword, but I was probably looking for the Moonlight Greatsword . So one more trophy which will take a while to get to the capital. I turned it off after I woke up in the beginning crypt.

Yumcha

Doom878

So in preparation for NG+, I bought Sekiro for $30 on sale

Yumcha

The way of the Ronin warrior, is it? You're going for a dex-Samurai in your second playthrough, sir?

Doom878

For NG+, I'll toy with some more weapons. I already had leveled up the twinblade from the Godskin Apostle. I'll see what else tickles my fancy.

Yumcha

The katanas are fun...esp. the longer ones. So, Malenia's is worth trying out...or any of the base ones which you can then apply some powers to.

Yumcha

I want to level up the whips and fists/claws to try those out.

Doom878

I tried the Crystal Sword just to try a midsize sword and was kind of meh since it takes a bunch of swipes to kill someone (granted it wasn't leveled). I ended up using the Magma Wyrm's Scalesword (I think). It's a curved fire sword and I know the Magma name is in it. Anyways, I really liked it and leveled it up so let's see. It's faster than a greatsword/greataxe plus the fire damage is a nice bonus. I used it at level 3 on Margit the Fell. Man that fucker is tough still. I burned through a shitload of flasks. I felt dirty after

Doom878

Use those boxing gloves that the dude from the lake gives you. Though I think the RL1 guys like the Star Fist.

Yumcha

I am usually dual-wielding when possible...but, sometimes, a trusty big-shield is still necessary. Double katanas appears to bring about additional animation and are meant to go together -- which is cool. I also 2 upgraded Scavenger's curved blades...I've seen a video where if you use 2 and pre-attack get Seppuku applied...but, sadly, it's been nerfed and so, not as effective.

Doom878

Yeah I should dual wield. Lord knows I have the strength. Maybe I'll play with that too. Once fire, one ice.

Yumcha

Yeah, the combos are compelling...Malenia Blade with one other laced with ice/fire/thunder/holy. Or swap Malenia's sword out and have an ice/fire on one and thunder/holy in the other. This game rocks.

Doom878

To celebrate getting the Platinum here is a fun gangbang video

Yumcha

Platinum club!

Congrats, Doomie!

Doom878

Now on to Sekiro as I've defeated all the Soulsborne games.

Yumcha

Nicely done. I am on pause as I have a few TV series to catch up on (Yerrowjackets, Night Agent)...I'll play again once the DLC is released. Maybe do some slashing in between if I have time.

Doom878

I didn't see a Sekiro thread. Did you ever pick that up? Holy shit it's hard I played over the weekend a decent amount of time and man it gets frustrating especially timing the parries.

Yumcha

No, I did not. My From Software games are the trio you know of: Bloodborne, ER, and Demon's Souls right before.

I think given how much time you've played ER, the mechanics are a bit different in Sekiro and so, it'll take you a few plays to get used to it.

Doom878

Yeah I'm getting used to it but there are some tough enemies that require a lot of practice to kill. Most areas with groups of enemies, have a strong dude that you need to save for last. Plus some of the walkbacks to the mini-bosses are tough. It is easy to skip some enemies but when you hit a roadblock, woof. This game is totally different even with experience and "souls". No retrieval, lose half of your earned gold, etc. It's pretty addicting because I want to git gud but very frustrating. Reminds me of Ninja Gaiden and Elden Ring combined and those old Ninja Gaiden games were super hard. I beat 1 and 2 of those but never did Razor's Edge except for a demo (remember those) that was tough.

Yumcha

Yeah, I loved the Team Ninja games for Ninja Gaiden...the reason I bought an Xbox (Gen 1)...

Yumcha

So...anyone playing Shadow of the Erdtree? Been playing it for a couple days now and holy mother, is it a huge map and brutally difficult.



I will press on!

Doom878

Not yet. I read that you should be pretty far along in your game to play it. I'm on NG+ so I'd have to get back to that point. Typically Fromsoft DLC is harder. The Bloodborne bosses were great but so damn hard.

Yumcha

Easy to access, sir.

If you are on NG+, just make sure you have fought Radahn and Mohg. To do both, you need to be about 30% through the main quest. You can actually access Mohg's storyline pretty easily -- just fast-track to killing Godrick the Grafted. Find Varre again in Liurnia and complete his mission which is pretty easy to do -- just book it to Altus Plateau for that invasion. You want to get to Mohg's realm anyways because that area gives pretty much the best farming location in the entire game with 'Palace Approach Ledge Road' spot.

And Radahn, well, that fight is easy to trigger to do as there's not much side-questing needed.

Doom878

I think I killed Radahn already in +. Thanks for the tips. Let's see when I have time to buy it. I haven't touched my PS5 (except for Crunchyroll) for months.

Yumcha

Yeah, I was on a break until FF7: Rebirth hit...and then, went on a small recess once I finished that and once the DLC hit, started playing again. Took a bit to get back into the swing of things and relearn the techniques needed in ER.

So, it's good that you need to kill Mohg actually as that'll help ramp you up for the DLC. I went in with everything done except to kill Radahn but it was just the fight with him and so, then SoE was like a slap in the face. Slowly getting into the swing of things and trying out the new weapons I've found but really, in a pickle, I need to revert back to some of my old habits. The Blasphemous Blade is a must for me in this new world.

I will say this: The DLC is like a sequel. The map is just immense and also, gorgeous. Even more so in some ways to the main game. Also, a bit more horror-esque. There's some stuff that made my eyes bug out. Elden Ring is truly the best game I've ever played. Hope you get to try the SoE soon. Realllly worth it -- a bit like the Godzilla flick...you'll wish you got to it sooner.

Doom878

I'm going to have to unlearn Sekiro's combat. I had booted it up the other day just to fuck around for a minute and I couldn't remember how to dual wield or even use flasks

Yumcha

Same here!

It takes a number of minutes. I forgot how to do a number of things -- playing FF7's controls messed me up.