I'm sure there's builds that semi-trivialize certain bosses, but the whole process of playing the game, for me, is a journey of discovering what's satisfying or exciting or interesting moment-to-moment, and overcoming challenges with the character I've been developing over that time. The satisfaction I get from beating a particularly hard boss comes from the fact that I steeped myself in all the ins and outs of the encounter, and I learned and overcame that challenge with my own play style, and on my terms. It isn't so much banging my head against a wall as it is getting whipped into shape, to be a better player of the game.

+ Show Spoiler +

That's what I got, in spades, from fighting Malenia. Beating her felt like a challenge to broaden how I approach fights, and to throw down the gauntlet with literally the undefeated swordswoman, and duel it out. Coming away from that fight and suddenly feeling like every other enemy in the game moved at half speed, and my shield was completely unnecessary for beating them was a supreme feeling.

ProMeTheus112

France2027 Posts

April 10 2022 00:38 GMT

#62

Having finished first playthrough recently, before that I was wondering if I would want to play beyond it or not and yeah I'm still playing, I think the game does have strong replayability with the amount of possible builds, lot of content and choices at all stages so you can do different the next time, difficulty potentially always present, NG+ potential, plus pvp and etc. Solid. It's kinda hard to give a opinion without writing a wall of text lal so I'll just say i'd give this game a 8.5 or 9/10? I'd say it's innovative and kinda pioneering in its style something that i think brings progress to gaming very nice. I could list a few negatives but I don't know if I want to list all the positives to fairly balance it lolz.

Magic Powers

Austria4478 Posts

February 21 2024 23:12 GMT

#63

DLC trailer is out.

Laurens

Belgium4557 Posts

February 22 2024 08:15 GMT

#64

10+ new bosses, and 8 new weapon types. A new map that is "bigger than Limgrave in terms of surface area". Limgrave wasn't THAT big imo but still nice I guess.
And a new swamp area. Idk why this is listed as if it's a good thing lmao. Rarely have I entered a swamp area in a FromSoft game and thought "YES! A swamp!".

Super hyped though. Played Bloodborne for the first time recently. Also completed a Sekiro replay, and currently doing a DS3 replay. The plan was to do an Elden Ring replay after that and jump in the DLC, but June is a bit too far away for that. Could always do a Demon Souls replay in between xd.

Harris1st

Germany7142 Posts

February 22 2024 11:49 GMT

#65

Not sure if I can be bothered to start a new game or dive in with my OP character. Will see as we get closer to release

Magic Powers

Austria4478 Posts

February 22 2024 12:16 GMT

#66

In terms of scope, I wonder whether "bigger than Limgrave" means bigger than just Limgrave or Limgrave + Weeping Peninsula. Technically the WP counts as South Limgrave, so my guess would be the latter.
Also, the true scope of the DLC will likely be effectively enhanced because, according to Miyazaki, they've made an effort to make the world "far more interconnected" with "a denser and richer level design."
The difficulty will also be far greater, which would not affect the size, but it would certainly make it harder to trespass various areas.
Furthermore I wonder if they'll be reusing existing terrain and connect it to the new area, which could also substantially enhance the DLC's scope. This is a possibility, but I'm only speculating.

Laurens

Belgium4557 Posts

February 22 2024 12:23 GMT

#67

The difficulty will also be far greater,

I certainly hope so. I always thought ER was a bit on the easy side. Side effect of having an open world and turning up ridiculously overlevelled to all the story bosses. Not sure how the DLC would fix that, though.

And then there's the mimic tear of course.

Magic Powers

Austria4478 Posts

February 22 2024 16:17 GMT

#68

On February 22 2024 21:23 Laurens wrote:

Show nested quote +

I think the increased difficulty is a logical consequence of an experienced player base carrying over to the DLC. Everyone's a better player now. I can make ER as difficult or as easy as I want, as that depends mainly on how many dungeons I choose to clear in a single playthrough. Fromsoft made sure to give obvious hints to players who want to get through the game faster, and this also results in greater difficulty spikes.

Magic Powers

Austria4478 Posts

February 22 2024 22:12 GMT

#69

Apparently a Sekiro mechanic will be introduced in the DLC, which would allow players to relive their experience of the base game. If a boss is too difficult, they can go elsewhere and increase their effective character power. At the same time an effort is being made that the bosses will be difficult to begin with. The Sekiro mechanic will allow for that.

The speculative part is how exactly Fromsoft is going to effectively equalize the player character's power from the base game. In the video it is theorized that the DLC would have its own power structure. That way the character level from ER will barely impact the challenge, but characters can still be powered up within the DLC.

Most people can beat ER at around RL 100-150 during a first and second playthrough. Fromsoft are not fans of grinding, so I'd guess sub RL 150 should suffice.

Laurens

Belgium4557 Posts

February 23 2024 08:16 GMT

#70

More Sekiro elements can only be a good thing! Still my personal favourite.

Adeptus_Gedeon

3 Posts

April 18 2024 18:23 GMT

#71

Funny thing - I am usually not playing soulslike games, because my reflexes are pathetic, but I love reading their lore.

Harris1st

Germany7142 Posts

April 19 2024 08:40 GMT

#72

Don't need reflexes for that one. Just go Mage beam brrrrrrrr or some other OP build

TropicalHaze

Finland60 Posts

January 02 2026 15:02 GMT

#73

Did anyone else rekindle their love with Elden Ring after Nightreign? I'm having so much fun with the base game again and it runs much smoother than back in launch. Also, beating Malenia solo is still incredibly hard for me lol

DropBear

Australia4399 Posts

January 02 2026 17:44 GMT

#74

Currently going through Shadow of the Erdtree for the first time after putting 100 hours into Nightreign.

It's really good. Enormous amount of exploration to do, heaps of hidden paths, the legacy dungeons I've found so far are great. I really like one of the new weapon classes in particular. I don't use summons but some of the new ones I've found are funny. Very much recommended so far.

It hasn't been super challenging so far compared to base game, but then I've not hit the high tier remembrance level bosses yet. Definitely still tough.