Pillars of Eternity Deadfire was quite underrated in my opinion. While the companions with the exception of the returning ones were a bit weaker indeed, it was still very much a good game in my opinion. Hope Obsidian dares making a 3 again at some point.
I per-ordered BG3 (EA) and am playing and the one thing that I realized is how tiring/exhausting it is to play this type of turn based games!
Bugs/glitches aside (Patch 9), the spell slot limitations, the short rest/long rest, all that stuff just (for me) takes away from the game play, not to mention that things just slow down.
Don't get me wrong, I played Dragon Age Origins way back when and I loved it (companions had AI that I could specify and did not have to micro manage them) and yes, I played DOS and DOS II on PS4
So I say, Larian STOP making these type of games, its 2023, move to a open world "normal" type game, have companions, give them each AI that the player can tune and build a open world RPG, you have the story telling talent, heck, you even have the IP, you could use the worlds of DOS or DOS II to expend upon or create/buy a new IP, there are thousands of fantasy books written every year!
But I'm kind of tired of playing these turn based games, yes I will play BG3 but I wont be playing non stop like Cyberpunk 2077 or the Witcher 3 from years ago (on PS4)
With Starfield and other games coming out, BG3 maybe a game on my "to paly" list instead of "currently playing", yes, Larian Studios got my money but............
Oh please , there's enough mainstream rpg , i HATE these rpg they are so poor. So i'm happy there's studios like Larian or Owlcat to do great CRPG games. Skyrim or Cyberpunk are good games yeah , but they are so far from a 1999 rpg like baldur's gate in all the ways. That's like comparing a Mcdonald with a gastronic restaurant.
Oh please , there's enough mainstream rpg , i HATE these rpg they are so poor. So i'm happy there's studios like Larian or Owlcat to do great CRPG games. Skyrim or Cyberpunk are good games yeah , but they are so far from a 1999 rpg like baldur's gate in all the ways. That's like comparing a Mcdonald with a gastronic restaurant.
Hell yeah brother! You know I loved The Witcher 1,2 and 3 for the story, but there is like - zero - re-playability to those games from a story perspective outside the hair color of the girl you end up with at the end and I guess I should not have been all that shocked that Cyberpunk was the same way. "Those Oceans are a mile wide but only an inch deep" is the best description for them. Outside of creating new characters that play differently, the story really isn't mutable based on decisions.
Then you have BG3 which has so many permutations that 90% of the player base will never see more than 25% of them.
This seem to have transferred so much it reminds of what other games to play then BG3 thread that I created.
I think it is bullshit some players have said Elden Ring is not to hard. First of all if you have played through it all they have with patches made Elden Ring harder and harder with each patch kind of opposite that no other games gets nerfed easier challenge.
Well and when one celebrity player did not do optimal build up to KINGDOM COME he was called like moron or idiot.
I kind of find this (youtube maker) comments a bit ironic (he wishes Elden Ring would have no map) because I hate sincerely open worlds specially if they would have no map and I do not even like Elder Scrolls games.
You know in Elden RING there is no difficulty level you can change. Challenge is stonehard unless you do the perfect build and even then a theoretical Ironman mode that you never load if you die would be impossible in Elden Ring. Even with perfect build you will die so many times you probably loose count. Well and you played it through like 1 year ago? They have made it harder and harder with patches it is harder now. She is a DEMIGOD in Elden Ring and considered by many as hardest enemy in Elden Ring and have given nightmares to some players:
In BG3 we will have when full release more then one difficulty level available.
Better to have one difficult level than some Bullshit like Divinity 2 Armor System and CC Immunitys.
People play Elden Ring more in a way they "like" to play. But i like to hit the enemies, dodge attacks and stomp them in the ground. And when i have no idea? Abuse your Toolkit. I can Poison Bosses of Range and Run around 30mins or abuse a Mimic Tear Clone. Or god help summon other players! Elden Ring has some tools, like Divinity with Barrelmancy.
The big difference is i play Elden Ring for the fight itself. Games like Divinity more for Loot and Story progress. The Fights in Divinty / Baldurs Gate are not the Fun Level of Elden Ring so abuse your toolkit is maybe more common.
Well and of course you can brag you have played through Elden Ring.
If anyone have played through Elden Ring they would tell me I would ask them: Did you also kill Malenia? If answer is no then my answer: "Ok then you have not won the most hardest enemy that is Malenia in Elden Ring ." Of course someone could lie saying I did kill Malenia that said they know that they know in their mind that they have never won Malenia.
That is not all. If someone would have said I killed Malenia I would ask when? They have with patches made Elden Ring harder, The enemies are more hard and some weapons nerfed so they are not so good.
Well and by brother he did play Elden Ring for like 2 month+ and then did tell me he does not like Elden Ring so much and well not play it more.
Well and I do know that Sasha Grey that is EX PORN star did try Elden Ring in recent times after it was made harder with patches. Sasha Grey have on youtube showed how she did play through finish Elden Ring. Sasha Grey did show in video how she met Malenia and after a very long time gave up have never shown video she has won Malenia.
As for many others youtubers that won Malenia most of them are like 1 year ago or more before they made enemies harder and nerfed many weapons that players can use vs enemies so they are less good so making it harder then before the game Elden Ring !!!
Loved Elden Ring. I played through all bosses up to NG +3. I was hoping we would get some DLC at some point. ER deserved game of the year.
Frankly, Larian Studios and FromSoftware are the only two major AAA studios doing anything innovative and making games that are challenging. There are some great Indie studios doing good work of course, but all the other AAA;s are just recycling the same crap or trying to find new ways to exploit their players monetarily.
Loved Elden Ring. I played through all bosses up to NG +3. I was hoping we would get some DLC at some point. ER deserved game of the year.
Frankly, Larian Studios and FromSoftware are the only two major AAA studios doing anything innovative and making games that are challenging. There are some great Indie studios doing good work of course, but all the other AAA;s are just recycling the same crap or trying to find new ways to exploit their players monetarily.
Well on more neutral point. I am pretty sure Elden Ring will get DLC or expansion or whatever you want to call it sooner or later. I am happy you liked Elden Ring. That said for the record yet another player who did not kill Malenia. I do not mean to insult with that and yes know Malenia is also a bit hidden harder to find and very hard to win and considered generally strongest enemy in Elden Ring at least for now before any DLC.
It is easier than previous FromSoftware titles - or at least it is more uneven than previous titles. I had probably solidly overleveled for 30-40h of my ongoing playthrough, and only recently things started to even out once I reached the capital. I haven't fought Melania yet, though, it is the next thing on the agenda, and as I already heard about her many times, I am not looking forward to it. Elden Ring in general is easier, yes, but it also has occasional spiked of DarkSouls2 level of bullshit.
Dark Souls games always had difficulty setting. You struggle with some content? Summon a buddy. You struggle with a boss in Elden Ring? Use a summon. I also hear that magic makes things much easier - haven't used it in any for the game so can't comment.
Hardcore nature of the title is greatly exadurated - or at least what I would expect to be a hardcore game. It wants players to succeed and there are multiple ways to do so. Sure, you can try to kill Sentinel as soon as you leave the opening area... or you can not do that. But yeah, compared to major release it is hard - that game has some complexity and requires attention and execution, which is more than most big releases ask for. But, for example, I found all FromSoftware games so far easier than lets say Celeste or Kingmaker.
There was so much crying about Sekiro being hard, and I found it actually pretty breezy outside one optional boss which was just bad.
Loved Elden Ring. I played through all bosses up to NG +3. I was hoping we would get some DLC at some point. ER deserved game of the year.
Frankly, Larian Studios and FromSoftware are the only two major AAA studios doing anything innovative and making games that are challenging. There are some great Indie studios doing good work of course, but all the other AAA;s are just recycling the same crap or trying to find new ways to exploit their players monetarily.
Well on more neutral point. I am pretty sure Elden Ring will get DLC or expansion or whatever you want to call it sooner or later. I am happy you liked Elden Ring. That said for the record yet another player who did not kill Malenia. I do not mean to insult with that and yes know Malenia is also a bit hidden harder to find and very hard to win and considered generally strongest enemy in Elden Ring at least for now before any DLC.
Who said I didn't kill Malenia? I wrecked that little fungal-infected tart...all the way to Ng+3.
And just to get ahead of it, since clearly you like to invent your own narratives, it took me 30+ attempts the first time I fought her. Persistence is how you "git gud".
Pillars of Eternity Deadfire was quite underrated in my opinion. While the companions with the exception of the returning ones were a bit weaker indeed, it was still very much a good game in my opinion. Hope Obsidian dares making a 3 again at some point.
Cries in Avowed.
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
It is easier than previous FromSoftware titles - or at least it is more uneven than previous titles. I had probably solidly overleveled for 30-40h of my ongoing playthrough, and only recently things started to even out once I reached the capital. I haven't fought Melania yet, though, it is the next thing on the agenda, and as I already heard about her many times, I am not looking forward to it. Elden Ring in general is easier, yes, but it also has occasional spiked of DarkSouls2 level of bullshit.
Dark Souls games always had difficulty setting. You struggle with some content? Summon a buddy. You struggle with a boss in Elden Ring? Use a summon. I also hear that magic makes things much easier - haven't used it in any for the game so can't comment.
Hardcore nature of the title is greatly exadurated - or at least what I would expect to be a hardcore game. It wants players to succeed and there are multiple ways to do so. Sure, you can try to kill Sentinel as soon as you leave the opening area... or you can not do that. But yeah, compared to major release it is hard - that game has some complexity and requires attention and execution, which is more than most big releases ask for. But, for example, I found all FromSoftware games so far easier than lets say Celeste or Kingmaker.
There was so much crying about Sekiro being hard, and I found it actually pretty breezy outside one optional boss which was just bad.
First of all I have not played any Sekiro or Dark Souls or Elden Ring games myself. From what I have heard you might be correct about the first early one Sekiro. From the standpoint Dark Souls was more harder perhaps in the beginning, but with patches they have made Elden Ring harder so I would say today Elden Ring is not easier then Dark Souls. If you disagree you can see the first video I posted it was named "Elden Ring is disappointing".
The build/tactic in Elden ring to possible summon something is a correct viable tactic because general AI can not handle so well bosses tend to concentrate on summon and then you get opportunity to do more damage. Why we talk about Elden Ring? Why was this forum thread talk about n other games then BG3 before it and Elden Ring is fantasy RPG kind of of though being more like Action, Horror theme some of it, Open World game Elden Ring. Now Elden Ring has best graphics of their so far released games and have achieved massive popularity in amount of sales that I agree on and I have never said Elden Ring graphics are bad. I myself like the high resolution youtube video of Malenia Intro. One more thing I have never said Elden Ring is bad, but perhaps not my cup of tea since I do not like Open World games in general.
In BG3 you can explore? Yes, but I would not say BG3 is Open World game though it can have many different endings and you play good or Evil or something between them.
As for BG3. It is totally different gameplay tactical turn based possible combat DND 5 and into that some DOS 2 elements use the environment, but I am not worried that BG3 can not be enough challenging. We have not even experienced hardest challenge level in Early Alpha BG3 it is not available to change difficult settings in Early Access BG3. I would argue that with current settings it is fairly challenging, but I really hope they include option to roll stats instead of only buypoint 27 points in BG3 character creation for full release.
As for compare to Elden Ring for those who search for best builds I am that kind of player in Dungeons and Dragons. You could argue there is no best build perhaps so from the perspective of personal taste and fun, but some builds will be better then others in BG3 easier to with them win even the hardest challenge settings in BG3. Personally it is not not most important for me to have best build but enough good/powerful build to finish games on hardest difficulty settings if it is DnD.
I play Solasta DnD5 on hardest challenge level Cataclysm currently the expansion Lost Valley the only thing I have disabled is the Iron man mode so that if you die it is permanent and you can not load. Well and found main campaign to easy in Solasta unless you use the hardest challenge level Cataclysm. Well that said I have always rolled stats in Solasta and try to powerplay to KINGDOM COME in DnD as well I have played real Dungeons Dragons 5.0 outside of any computer&console games.
Even the dreaded (optional fight and I suspect many players choose not to fight) Vampire fight in Solasta main campaign we were level 5 when we arrived there with my brother he controls 2 characters and I 2 of them we won it on the very first try on Catalysm challenge level. I would not say it was very easy fight and I did feel adrenaline rise in Vampire fight Solasta main campaign finally a worthy challenge when you are level 5, but still victory on the very first try on Cataclysm challenge level and we killed all the Vampires. No load needed. Solasta is Dungeons Dragons 5 rules limited license.
First of all I have not played any Sekiro or Dark Souls or Elden Ring games myself. From what I have heard you might be correct about the first early one Sekiro. From the standpoint Dark Souls was more harder perhaps in the beginning, but with patches they have made Elden Ring harder so I would say today Elden Ring is not easier then Dark Souls. If you disagree you can see the first video I posted it was named "Elden Ring is disappointing".
I played all of those, and have seen Joseph's video before:-). From what I remember I more or less agree with him based on what i have experienced so far. I am also using a buiild that have been nerfed after launch - it is still very much playable. All FromSoftware did was reign down some of the more exploitable builds. It's called balancing, and it often happens after launch.
It's not that Elden Ring doesn't have challenging content, but as a player you are never forced into overcoming one particular challenge, and can spend doing easy content (which is most of it) until you can trivialise most of the boses - that's why it's considered to be the most accessible of FromSoftware titles. If you run into a brick wall you can just go someplace else.
Elden Ring isn't perfect though, and it is my second least favourite FromSoftware soulslike (which means I still like it a lot).
Sekiro is the hardest Game. 1. You cant level UP like Dark Souls and farm infinty Souls(Upgrades) 2. The Gameplay Rewards constant Dmg and Parry, Poke Strategies are less useful. 3. Fastet Gameplay from all DS Games
The human learn. Every DS game is easier than the game before because knowledge is Power.
Malenia The Power of Levels and Mimic Tear The Power of a Parry Master
Most people are between this Extrems. Like i said its a matter of Kill it with your Skill Level without Remorse.
I will never play BG3 the same like Elden Ring. The D20 System has a fundamental flaw aka Captain Picard: "You can makle Everything Right and still loose. Thats Life."
The Witcher3 isn't really an RPG game in my book. Its a <run and gun> Action/Adventure Tell tale game marketed as a next gen RPG. And a VERY good one at that. Nowdays even Diablo (an Hack & Slash action game) is considered an RPG . lol that would gotten a good laugh in the 90s.
I've always found it extremely odd how many people today tend to consider only a very limited definition of "RPG" (at least when it comes to CRPGs, not their tabletop relations/ancestors). These overly narrow concepts generally are restricted to very specific game mechanics, e.g. turn-based combat. Irrespective of the type of game and gameplay mechanics each player may prefer, an "RPG" is simply that - a "role-playing game". To address the quoted example, I was old enough to be around in the '90s, and the developers/marketers (and I, as a player) very much considered Diablo within the RPG genre (https://www.graybeardgames.com/download/diablo_pitch.pdf). The ever-narrowing concept of what is or is not an "RPG" seems a much more recent, and to me, somewhat bizarre, phenomenon.
The Witcher3 isn't really an RPG game in my book. Its a <run and gun> Action/Adventure Tell tale game marketed as a next gen RPG. And a VERY good one at that. Nowdays even Diablo (an Hack & Slash action game) is considered an RPG . lol that would gotten a good laugh in the 90s.
I've always found it extremely odd how many people today tend to consider only a very limited definition of "RPG" (at least when it comes to CRPGs, not their tabletop relations/ancestors). These overly narrow concepts generally are restricted to very specific game mechanics, e.g. turn-based combat. Irrespective of the type of game and gameplay mechanics each player may prefer, an "RPG" is simply that - a "role-playing game". To address the quoted example, I was old enough to be around in the '90s, and the developers/marketers (and I, as a player) very much considered Diablo within the RPG genre (https://www.graybeardgames.com/download/diablo_pitch.pdf). The ever-narrowing concept of what is or is not an "RPG" seems a much more recent, and to me, somewhat bizarre, phenomenon.
Expand your minds, internets!
People just like to argue about things. Arguing about what, exactly, an RPG is scratches that itch without forcing people to argue about something that is actually important.
Sekiro is the hardest Game. 1. You cant level UP like Dark Souls and farm infinty Souls(Upgrades)
I actually found it easier than let’s say Dark Souls3. That said, I think the challenge comes from having to play Sekiro like an action game - I also played DS like that, so I was surprised how welcoming and mostly straightforward Sekiro was (outside Demon of Hatered who is the first FromSoftware enemy I had to use guide for). It is faster, but most of the game revolves around timing block.
Yes you can get overleveled but you are also unlikely to be under levelled - which again, as I never farmed for souls I found myself in Sekiro on m right power level for often than not.
I can see why people would consider it harder, but I think it is just a different kind of a game, testing different skill set. I was terrified when I heard that Sekiro is all about counters, but they are far easier to execute in that game, and provide far better feedback, and missing a counter doesn’t result in damage like in DS.
Personally, I've found Elden Ring to be, at base direct comparison, a little more challenging than other From titles, however, in actual play and impression, it has been substantially easier.
This is because, unlike other Souls titles, Elden Ring has, indeed, got tools that allow the player to adjust the degree of challenge they'll face. The biggest one of these is your Ashes - Doing a boss fight alone versus doing it with an Ash is a large adjustment to the overall challenge of the fight. *Most* players, at least in my sphere of experience, start to feel like Ashes just make the game too easy - sometime around about halfway towards two-thirds of the way through their first playthrough. What you commonly see is them trying to use them less, or possibly swearing off them, but if they aren't an experienced souls player, leaning back onto them again as the game reaches its final stages. A lot of players often then promise themselves not to use ashes for the bosses on subsequent playthroughs.
Ashes are a difficulty toggle; they substantially make a challenge easier by providing more damage, and another target, taking a lot of the pressure off the player to reliably avoid a boss' attack patterns and giving them more space to breath, learn from their mistakes, and recover from them. This is not a bad thing - everyone will play the game in the way they find most enjoyable, and it doesn't pay to listen to snobs or elitists.
The next break in difficulty that elden Ring provides is the open nature of it, that other From games lack. Importantly, this means that skill blocks, power blocks, or other walls you run up against rarely feel like actual blocks, because there's almost always somewhere else you can go and something else you can progress, and come back later with fresh eyes, more skill, stronger equipment or simply more levels and raw power.
My personal experience ran something like this (I don't have Plus and must play offline, so always solo, no human summons):
NG: Wretch (I like even stats to start from), kept 10 vigour the entire game, and was effectively one-shottable by everything in the game after Limgrave. Every boss needed to be done no-hit perfect, because getting hit was death. This was a difficulty spike that I knowingly placed upon myself, because that's generally just how I play. I started to use Ashes once I got them - I went to Caelid early, because it seemed cool, and I picked up battle mage Hughes from the Caelid Evergaol - he was a solid ash for me for a long time, until I found Tiche. Around Morgot, fairly well advanced through the game, I was starting to feel like the Ashes I was using were taking the teeth out of the boss fights - I was left alone far too often and it was too easy to get space and burn things down. I stopped using ashes for the last few bosses, after I felt like I hadn't really 'earned' Maliketh. (All bosses, fully thorough playthrough searching under every rock and in every cave etc. Rani end ^.^)
NG+1: Swore off Ashes entirely, but continued to push levels and power up my caster build. Still no vigour, everything one-shots if I make a mistake. This was the most challenging playthrough for me. (Frenzy end.)
NG+2: Respecced to try a different style and opted for a high mobility, lightly armoured dual scythe build. I had originally intended it to be scythe and shield, but I didn't find single scythe's move set comfortable, and it only felt 'right' dual-wielding two. this playthrough was a lot of fun. I discovered what it was like to have hitpoints, and the ability to make mistakes (sometimes) without dying. Overall, this playthrough, despite being NG+2, felt much easier than my first two. (Death end)
NG+3: Respecced again, into sword and shield; this playthrough was focused heavily on using the shield counter ability, as I wanted to play around with it. Less dodging, a lot of blocking and countering; high vigour, loads of hp, loads of defence, oodles of stamina. This play through was an unimaginable cakewalk, even without ashes... it was just so... easy, and stress free and lacking in any real feel of danger. I think I died maybe three times in the entire playthrough. (Fracture end)
NG+4, +5, +6: Balanced out my stats in order to be able to switch my equipment to different things and still be effective, in whatever way I felt like approaching a fight, but keep the very high hp and stamina. I was using these playthroughs as much less through run-throughs where I was getting a particular ending and doing options or paths that I hadn't yet done - doing things in different orders, getting extra dialogues I might not have seen, and so on. These playthroughs were fast and thin, and didn't clear all the bosses, except the ones I needed to for whatever ending I was getting. (Decay and Order ends, and fracture again)
NG+7: Respecced to all-round caster build, but with enough points to afford me a little bit of extra vigour this time (turns out at NG+7, 'a little' extra vigour on a low defence caster doesn't mean much ^.^ Oh well). Used Ashes freely this time, and experimented with different ones to see what they were like. The exploding jars are funny ^.^. The game doesn't know how to handle its mimic when it is a mimic of an incredibly squishy caster who can get her arse one-shot by most things. She's not a lot of use at this NG+ level, and other Ashes are more effective (Also did they make the mimic tear ash AI really, really *dumb* in a recent patch? It feels like it...) Anyhow, I didn't feel I had anything left to prove to myself, so moving through quickly was more important; this one is a full through, do everything get everything playthrough again, set up to be able to do every ending, and stopping at, but not doing, Maliketh yet - this is the place I want to be at when the DLC comes out, before we actually change the world and ash the capital.
Overall, Elden Ring is both the most approachable From Game ever, and it has the potential to be one of the most challenging, if you want it to be, or one of the easiest, if that's what you'd prefer.
Oh! By the by - since others are posting up video links, there's a series I've watched that demonstrates how approachable the game can be; this is one from a player who had never before touched any From game, and was entirely unfamiliar with the souls-like genre, when she started. It's been a very rewarding series to watch, and I've enjoyed the journey a lot ^.^
I agree with everything Niara said, that was a good summary of the kind of play ER allows people to experience.
I also reject 100% the gatekeeping nonsense of people trying to dictate what constitutes a proper challenge in a game with no difficulty settings. There are tools that you may utilize that make encounters easier - that is a feature, not a mistake. People who go off on these kind of rants are just exposing their own insecurities.
One of the most important gaming skills is doing your research and trying different things to make a fight easier. Bad players just do the same thing over and over expecting different results, and then get frustrated and quit when it doesn't pan out, and as a final expression of their own inadequacy proceed to whine to everyone that the game is "unfair", or "too hard". That's literally a template for what constitutes a bad gamer exposed by this system.
No sense of humor about self no persistence, gives up easily (this is actually a failure of parenting but I won't get into it) uncreative Inflexible lack of self-awareness. Lack of attention to detail Impatient, won't read/think about anything.
And those are the same folks that have problems with BG3.
I can't help but feel that one of the things that elevates these games to the level of Art is that they expose our shortcomings and give us a chance to overcome them.
also having played DS1 and DS3 through - I have to say that Eldren Ring always felt like the masterwork and the earlier games a kind of "sketch".
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!!!![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/BeKOcOp.png)
