Revisiting the Lands Between

There are spoilers for Elden Ring below.

My first character was a strength and faith build. I don’t remember why I chose faith in particular, but it was a smart choice for a first playthrough. Incantations are handy for the numerous healing spells, including some that cure nasty status ailments that are difficult to deal with otherwise.

Stubbornness saw me stick with a regular old broadsword for most of the game. It’s not a bad weapon, but I should’ve been a bit more willing to experiment with all of the different options. I didn’t engage much with Ashes of War either, another mistake. Ashes of War allow for a lot of weapon customization free of cost.

I tried to go through the most of the game without referencing a guide as much as possible. Occasionally I would take a peek if I was really stuck or wanted to know how to get more of a particular smithing stone. Once I neared the final boss fights, I looked up how to get specific endings. I completed Ranni’s quest since it opens up a lot more of the game world, including Nokron, Eternal City; the Lake of Rot; and the Moon Altar, to name just a few.

Trying to see and do everything on a first playthrough was probably a bad idea since it made the game feel like a slog. There’s just a lot of game – maybe even too much.

Upon reaching the Haligtree, which is full of tough enemies, I finally caved and looked up a guide to find some better weapons for strength and faith characters. I settled on the Blasphemous Blade and was blown away by how powerful it is. It’s so strong that one can’t help but wonder if it’ll eventually be toned down a little.

As difficult as the game is, I think that the inclusion of Spirit Ashes – NPC summons that can aid players in boss fights and other encounters – balances out the difficulty somewhat. It’s still a shame that we don’t have difficulty sliders. Sometimes it’d be nice to explore the Lands Between without fear of being crushed like an insect. Or to recommend the game to friends who don’t like or play tough-as-nails games.

For my recent second playthrough, I went for a dexterity and intelligence character. Sorceries appear to be more powerful in terms of raw damage numbers, but maybe that’s just because there are so many different damage-dealing sorceries compared to incantations. (That could also just be my poor memory: I remember using the lightning bolt incantation way too much.) I picked up the Moon Veil katana early on and have used it through most of the game. I’ve also completed Ranni’s quest again simply to get her Dark Moon Greatsword.

Some bosses that gave me a lot of trouble the first time weren’t so bad this time around. I beat both Queen Renalla and General Radahn on my first attempts despite not practicing on either for nearly two years. I don’t think I knew that you can re-summon the NPCs for Radahn’s fight, which makes him a lot more manageable. In general, I prefer a casual approach to the boss fights rather than trying to tackle them all on my own.

A memorable moment: I brazenly went into the boss room for the Sage’s Cave, forgetting that the enemy is an invisible assassin. I managed to barely survive thanks to the Raya Lucaria Soldier Ashes. The NPC helpers could see the boss and helped me aim my sword swings.

I really like Elden Ring, especially the setting and environments. There are still some parts that I wish were different. The Draconic Tree Sentinel fight is a pain, for one example. There’s also a noticeable dearth of Rune Arcs for those playing offline. I think it’d be better if they were purchasable in unlimited quantities at a high price. As it is, I avoid using any of them, too worried that I’ll die stupidly (not an unreasonable concern) and feel like I wasted an extremely rare item. Comparatively, I never felt too worried about using the occasional Ember in Dark Souls III or Human Effigy in Dark Souls II. Maybe it’s the fact that players don’t receive a free Rune Arc upon defeating a boss?

As vague as the story can be at times, I still admire this sort of story-telling. It’s just enough to get the imagination working. It reminds me of a blog post on W. F. Smith’s blog, Prismatic Wasteland, which discusses lore in the context of tabletop role-playing games. Leaving ambiguity in the story allows for discussion among the playerbase as well.

Elden Ring shines at embracing the weird. I remember wondering what the “Two Fingers” could possibly be when playing my first character. Was it an organization? The name of a creature with two fingers on each hand? I was genuinely delighted to enter the Two Fingers’ chamber in the Round Table Hold and be greeted by a giant hand with two fingers.

2024-02-11

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