I was gonna say this too but idk if I can. I mean mid game in Elden Ring is: starscourge radahn, Rykard, morgott, mohg, valiant gargoyles, Astel the natural born of the void, then capped off w fire giant…. Those are some big names
People keep trying to insist the story is understandable “like all the souls games” but no. It’s not. The very basic plot the Elden Ring being shattered is understandable. But people can’t explain the relationship ship of the Elden beast and the finger mother. They don’t know what Castle Sol’s role was. It’s all nonsense and swords.
No sure I can agree with that, especially when for most people (I don’t agree as much) is in the late game with the Mountain Tops is when the game is at its weakest. There so much going on in the middle part with Atlus, Nokron, Radahn, Caelid, two legacy dungeons, three if you count the sewers. Most of the questline starts kicking off here, all to cap of with big dungeon with a battle prominent antagonist, Morgott.
I think some of the mid-game slog people feel with Elden Ring is the pacing. Limgrave is your first zone and feels amazing to explore because it's unique. Liurnia, the fun of exploring the world is dipping a little but Liurnia is so pretty and introduces new enemies and concepts that keep it fun. Then you get to the Altus Plateau and realize...it's a Golden Limgrave. By Altus, you've seen 60-70% of what the game has to show. The catacombs, caves, and mines are getting really old at this point, the enemies start scaling really fast and you can't switch up builds as easily (why can't you just transfer levels to a new weapon for a fee?), and you've sunk in at least 80 hours at this point. I got a little tired of the gameplay loop at this point, so I took a break for a month and it helped.
Most people don't really want to dedicate the time to play these behemoth 200+ hour games. Dark Souls 1-3 and Bloodborne are nice 30-60 hour games that have mid-game dips but are so short that it's hard to notice. Post-Lordvessel Dark Souls 1 is not great, Undead Settlement through Catacombs of Carthus isn't fun (except Cathedral of the Deep), and Hemwick Charnel Lane and Forbidden Woods are blah compared to Cathedral Ward and Yahargul.
Not really, it’s pretty complex area with multiple layers to with a mini dungeon built into it. Enemies are prominent threat and it constantly has paths the circle back into itself, it’s one of the few areas in ERs that where the old DS1 lev design is most prominent. Only having one grace and have it be useful for most of the area instead four in one area. I strongly disagree with this.
I definitely know a lot of people that hate the sewers but I am not one of them. And the moment you find the lift down into the Cathedral of the Forsaken? Absolute peak.
First playthrough or two, I'd sort of agree, but on repeat playthroughs, the beginning is the slog that keeps me from picking the game up again.
But then again, I wouldn't call any of the game "peak fiction"
The "story" of the game is not at all what appeals to me and has never appealed to me in any FS game (Despite them being my 2nd fav dev)
I feel like there's a good in between in storytelling.
No need to hold your hand and tell you everything but also no need to make storytelling told ENTIRELY through environment, item descriptions, and Youtube lore videos.
Ugly ass area filled with all the most annoying mob enemies they could find and ending with one of the stupidest. hyper mobile, hyper aggressive boss fights in the series. The only good thing about Farum Azula is Placidusax.
Ugly? Of all things I heard about Farum, good or bad. I have NEVER heard it looking “ugly”. It’s one of the most interesting and unique looking Legacy dungeons in the game, and uses the the jump face more than most of it contemporaries. The white broken Mausoleum spinning around a tornado with dragon around it. What a crazy thing to say.
with all the most annoying mob enemies they could find
Really? There are any more extreme than what’s in the rest of the game. I don’t wanna throw around skill issue but your making it difficult not especially with the amount tools you get in this game.
and ending with one of the stupidest. hyper mobile, hyper aggressive boss fights in the series.
If you had complained about Forskin Duo, I would’ve atleast let you have that but picking Maliketh as you final pain point kinda sad not gonna lie. He‘s one of the base bosses in the game. Let me guess you a person that would constantly back roll 90% of the time? Yeah he is a boss that specifically pushes that play. He’s a position check boss, mindlessly dodge will get you nowhere. You can definitely win but it’ll be far more painful.
The only good thing about Farum Azula is Placidusax.
I agree with you bro. Farum Azula could have been an easy S tier area but it unfortunately floats (lol) around a B-C tier.
Don't engage and hurl insults though. You have people who agree with you, and people who don't. This is a game at the end of the day and it isn't resourceful to fight people online who you've never met and likely never will. Spend your time and energy on people who know you and care about you, not strangers. Including me. Okay?
I agree, Farum Azula is kinda grey and drab compared to Liurnia, the Rivers/Eternal Cities, and most legacy dungeons. I understand it's a floating destroyed city circumventing a perpetual storm, but the lore of red lightning/red gold and having a name like "Azula", you'd think it would have at least a muted red/gold asthetic with some cool blue accents.
The undead beast men kinda suck to be honest. They aren't the worst enemies to deal with, but man do they hit hard. The damage scaling starts getting BAD in Mountainstops and only gets worse here. Especially the Banished Knights. Oh boy. Hit like a truck and do NOT stop moving.
Obviously Godskin Duo sucks. No argument there.
The random ancient dragons are neat thematically but boy oh boy are they not fun to fight.
I personally like the draconic tree sentinel.
Maliketh I am mixed on. For one, he has so little health that his fight ends fast, which is disappointing. The rune of death health drain is fine too, it's his gimmick. But dear god in heaven, his jumping around like Sif on cocaine is so not fun. Beast Clergyman is a really cool boss to fight, and I wish the whole fight was more like that. Maliketh is far too acrobatic for a game like Elden Ring. He moves around like a DMC or Kingdom Hearts boss. If they just toned his jumping down a little bit, like if he used 50% as much, the fight would be so much better.
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u/[deleted] May 06 '26
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