Support NeoGAF

[Chukhopops]

I don’t understand what the expectation is, do you want to wield a gigantic hammer as an INT build? A magic sword as a STR build? Would that make any sense really?

There are tons of weapon options for each build and because the level cap is so much higher than in previous souls games you have a lot more freedom to experiment… but not being able to wield any possible weapon is NOT a flaw.

The only thing that can be criticized is the upgrade system requiring a ton of farm if you want to experiment with many weapons at a high level.

 

[zaanan]

guides (which is like cheating

I thought it was understood that you need guides for FS games? Not that different from skill tree guides for Borderlands etc. No shame in this!

 

[Bragr]

Every FromSoftware fan reply with "lol" or "it's supposed to be that way" or "lol you never played a soulsborne game". It's always the same, it's like a self-defense mechanism when they don't know how to respond.

If you really played FromSoftware games from the beginning and you can't recognize some issues that linger in an otherwise brilliant series of games from a brilliant developer, then you are a fool.

I keep saying it, this sort of bullshit is why Sekiro is a better game than Elden Ring.

 

[Hari Seldon]

An RPG where you are completely discentized to try out other weapons is shit game design full stop. Yes the other parts of this game are great but this is definitely 100% shit. The biggest problem I have always had with these games is that your experience is dogshit unless you look things up on the internet.

 

[AV]

... What was wrong with just trying the weapon BEFORE you used stones on it?

The movesets don't change whatsoever. If you're just looking for the weapon that gives you the biggest numbers then you would look online anyway, because you're never going to personally test hundreds of +25 weapons alone.

If you just wanted to try the moveset then there was no need to upgrade the weapon to +10 before you tried it.

Yes, you still need to respec to properly wield different weapons, that's why you try them in groups and there's 10+ respecs in the game which is more than generous for a Souls title.

 

[Knightime_X]

To be fair..
I use cheats on pc.

But is it really a cheat if it saves you 200 hours of chores and grinding?

If one is into that, do you.
But for me Elden Ring is just another game.

And with tons more on the way plus backlog i can't be bothered with that kind of nonsense.
Unlike From Software, I value my time.

 

[IntentionalPun]

I don’t understand what the expectation is, do you want to wield a gigantic hammer as an INT build? A magic sword as a STR build? Would that make any sense really?

There are tons of weapon options for each build and because the level cap is so much higher than in previous souls games you have a lot more freedom to experiment… but not being able to wield any possible weapon is NOT a flaw.

The only thing that can be criticized is the upgrade system requiring a ton of farm if you want to experiment with many weapons at a high level.

The cost of respec is a lot lower in many games to the point it becomes practically free late game.

 

[Antwix]

Wtf? Dude you can respec if you want to use a different "class" of weapons. If you're into STR, you'll be able to use basically every STR weapon. Same with DEX/FTH/INT. If you want to use something that's like FTH/INT mixed, either level up more or respec. There's enough respec items that you can respec I believe over a dozen times if you want to completely change your character up. Also in terms of upgrade mats, I feel like Elden Ring has the most generous iteration of this. Some NPC vendors sell, infinitely I might add, upgrade mats to get your weapon pretty high leveled. I haven't come close to beating the game yet so I'm not sure about the final upgrade mats, but if you're not feeling/liking a weapon by the time it's 75% fully upgraded, don't fully upgrade it.

 

[Nikana]

These games require time investment, curiosity and exploration, that's just how it is.

I don't understand how you can play for that amount of time and not find anything for your class? Within 10 hours I had a weapon for pretty much every class in my inventory along with a bunch of summons, spells and ashes. That's not a luck/discovery thing either because the vast majority of the meaningful loot is hand placed and single instanced per playthrough.

If I remember I'll take a screenshot of everything I found, haven't sold most of it, and a majority of it is magical weapons that serve me no purpose. Ashes and such I had found maybe 3-4 after 30 hours but a few required more FP than I had, and dumping points into it then would have thrown off the balance of the character.

I'm not alone here either. Others have fallen into the same hole.

I'm not faulting the game for requiring time to invest but respecting my time is a valid criticism in my eyes. you can fall into holes/long time periods where you make zero progress on a weapons front.

 

[lughnasadh123]

There's a lot of obtuse, "fuck you", jank-ass systems in the souls games for decades now that get ignored because some view it as a feature.

I just look at guides for builds and the weapons needed instead of wasting my time and limited resources with trial and error.

 

[Stuart360]

Every FromSoftware fan reply with "lol" or "it's supposed to be that way" or "lol you never played a soulsborne game". It's always the same, it's like a self-defense mechanism when they don't know how to respond.

If you really played FromSoftware games from the beginning and you can't recognize some issues that linger in an otherwise brilliant series of games from a brilliant developer, then you are a fool.

I keep saying it, this sort of bullshit is why Sekiro is a better game than Elden Ring.

Because a lot of the time its design choices, often to make it hard on the player. If you are used to Souls games then you realize this.

Its like playing Arsetto Corsa and expecting it to play like Ridge Racer. These are hardcore games, and made like that on purpose.

 

[ethomaz]

If you invested mainly in INT you won’t have strength to hold a sword depending of the weigh.
You can hold light sword or daggers yet.

Sorry… you need to train your muscles first.

 

[March Climber]

Everyone else has made fun of the OP, so I'll put this here to help the OP.

Bragr When you get the chance, look up these items online and where to find them:

Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing(1)
Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing(2)
Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing(3)
Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing(4)

And then look for these also

Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing(1)
Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing (2)
Etc

They will save you from a giant headache.

 

[ethomaz]

Every FromSoftware fan reply with "lol" or "it's supposed to be that way" or "lol you never played a soulsborne game". It's always the same, it's like a self-defense mechanism when they don't know how to respond.

If you really played FromSoftware games from the beginning and you can't recognize some issues that linger in an otherwise brilliant series of games from a brilliant developer, then you are a fool.

I keep saying it, this sort of bullshit is why Sekiro is a better game than Elden Ring.

Sorry… what issue?

You have weight, you have stats, and you have requirements to use some objects.

Really what issue?

 

[Fredrik]

I found an absolutely terrific sword a couple of hours into the game. A dozen hours later I still can't use the fuggin' thing!!! I'm close... just doesn't seem reasonable that I should have to level up 6 times basically because I *wisely* spent my first few level ups on vitality.

I can relate to the frustration, but I think 6 levels is doable, you’ll swing that sword in a few hours by just exploring and playing normally.

I need to level up nearly 20 levels to properly use

Spoiler: this sword

 

[Bragr]

Definitely an issue - should be able to break down the weapon for scrap upgrades or or merge it with another to at least give you a headstart. It's far from "game-breaking"

It's not game-breaking at all, I love the game. But it's a very cumbersome system that can get very annoying if you try to change weapons.

 

[TexMex]

It takes two seconds to change a weapon and you can set multiple to quick select so idk what you’re talking about.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

Get the bell bearings that let you buy smithing stones at the Roundtable Hold merchant. Problem solved.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

It's like OP never played an RPG or DnD before.

 

[Captain Toad]

There is nothing wrong with the weapon system. Your weapon choices are based around your character build and vice-versa. You're not supposed to be jumping around from daggers to great swords to maces.

 

[ethomaz]

BTW if you spend at least a minimum in each stat before to focus in the specialized stat your char can use everything in the game.

 

[zeorhymer]

Are you saying that there's consequences for switching things up and have buyers remorse? BOTW is over there.

 

[ethomaz]

There is nothing wrong with the weapon system. Your weapon choices are based around your character build and vice-versa. You're not supposed to be jumping around from daggers to great swords to maces.

Imagine a Mage that focused the entry life in wisdom trying to hold a Sword that weights over 30kgs.

Or you build a balanced char or you won’t have stats to use all weapons.

 

[MastAndo]

Once you acquire the necessary bells, you can purchase smithing stones. It's actually a pretty generous system, and as a new Souls player ignorant to the systems involved, it wasn't one I expected to see in a game known for being difficult. Just don't go upgrading to everything to +10 or +25 unless you're sure it's something you will use, and you should be able to upgrade basically everything to a very usable level.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Every FromSoftware fan reply with "lol" or "it's supposed to be that way" or "lol you never played a soulsborne game". It's always the same, it's like a self-defense mechanism when they don't know how to respond.

If you really played FromSoftware games from the beginning and you can't recognize some issues that linger in an otherwise brilliant series of games from a brilliant developer, then you are a fool.

I keep saying it, this sort of bullshit is why Sekiro is a better game than Elden Ring.

Its an RPG you numbnuts. Its not something that Dark Souls invented. Also you can alwyas test the fuckign weapon even if you cannot use it effectively. Sekiro is not an rpg, it does not use different weapons, the comparison is stupid even tho yes, Sekiro has miles better combat. There are so many things wrong with Elden Ring but your topic is just dumb as shit.

 

[Lokaum D+]

Weapon upgrading fucking sucks and discourages you from experimenting, no matter how you slice it.

Upgrading a weapon to +25 is gonna cost you like 500,000 Runes. Per weapon.

u can do 500k runes like in 10 minutes or less and u can buy with runes upgrade stones to +12 normal weapons and +3 special weapon if u find the bells.

 

[BennyBlanco]

You have to commit to a build. That’s fine with me. Also you can respec.

 

[Swift_Star]

Disagree.

This is a problem shared by many people I know playing the game that bought into the hype. We all know From games don't hold your hand, which is fine, but it creates problems like this where people can wander for a literal 30-40 hours with no real progression in their armor and weapons. Since the systems are not laid out and clear you can find yourself in a situation where you can't make any real progress.

Hell, I am someone who has a decent knowledge of From games and I didnt find anything useful for my class until around hour 30. Sure, I found some upgrade materials, but not enough to make it feel like I wasn't bleeding materials and a weapon switch or armor switch never made sense due to the lack of materials. It all depends on luck/discovery along with how you decide to tackle the game which is open ended.

Well… people can do research. Google it.

 

[Captain Toad]

Gotta love that Souls community mentality. Have anything that frustrates you about a From Software title? Welllll, you must not have played any of their previous titles if you didn't absolutely love this quality already!

"Git gud!"

It just isn't helpful for a game that has a lot going for it. I found an absolutely terrific sword a couple of hours into the game. A dozen hours later I still can't use the fuggin' thing!!! I'm close... just doesn't seem reasonable that I should have to level up 6 times basically because I *wisely* spent my first few level ups on vitality.

Gotta love that anti-Souls community mindset.

"Please, take everything you guys love about the series and change it so it's the way we want it. Don't be such snobs."

 

[Swift_Star]

I never played a game that has so many barriers for a simple weapon change. I almost feel like I have to restart the entire game just to use a new weapon.

I'm towards the end of the game. I have a weapon I have been using for around 40 hours that is upgraded to + 8 that I am sick and tired of. I want to use a sword that is fast, but any other sword of that nature needs completely different attributes to work. I had to respec all my skills toward an INT focus and use all my smithing stones on it. I did so.

But the new weapon turned out to be disappointing, so I had to respec my character back to the old stats to keep progressing in the game.

I have TONS of weapons, but almost all of them require different player stats, and now I have nowhere near the smithing stones needed to upgrade any one of them to a usable level. I know there are items I can give to the crones so I can buy smithing stones, but it's almost impossible to find them all without guides. Same with the larvae I need for respec, I only have one left.

I either have to use guides (which is like cheating for me) or restart the game so I can re-find enough resources to upgrade a new weapon. It's forcing you to replay massive parts of the game to scrounge for upgrade materials or start the game over.

FromSoftware has been doing stuff like this for a long time, intentionally designing systems in ways that require players to use the internet to find things out, it's free marketing for them if players do that, it's incredibly cheap. But this weapon system right here is complete nonsense. I'm not sure if people are too afraid to call out dumb stuff in excellent games, but this is some bullshit.

If guides are cheating to you, that’s honestly on you. These games are meant for you to do research on how to build your characters and chose weapons. That’s how it should be played. Use guides, research. Do it.

 

[Swift_Star]

u can do 500k runes like in 10 minutes or less and u can buy with runes upgrade stones to +12 normal weapons and +3 special weapon ( dont know it has more bells out there ) if u find the bells.

I think there are bells for all of the stones except the ancient ones.

 

[Hari Seldon]

They should copy the Lost Ark system where you can exchange upgrades between gear. So I could transfer my +5 from one weapon to the next, which encourages actually finding new weapons. The way the game is now I could give a flying fuck what weapons I loot, which is the exact opposite of literally every other RPG in existence.

 

[AV]

I found an absolutely terrific sword a couple of hours into the game. A dozen hours later I still can't use the fuggin' thing!!! I'm close... just doesn't seem reasonable that I should have to level up 6 times basically because I *wisely* spent my first few level ups on vitality.

This is literally "I should be able to have everything at once in an RPG".

You made the choice to pump VIG early, the consequence is it takes you longer to gain access to higher requirement weapons. Other people I know have been pumping INT/DEX to get access to different weapons, but they die easier. It's an RPG.

 

[Spaceman292]

That is why I always advice people to first start with Nioh 2 then Nioh 1 then slowly making their way to a From game.

This is probably the worst advice I've ever read

 

[Swift_Star]

I absolutely love Elden Ring, but this might be the most difficult to upgrade your weapon game in the series. If you don't tackle areas in a very specific, erratic, and unintuitive order you end up not having smithing certain smithing stones and you can't farm them from enemies like you could in Dark Souls. Plus, because of the length of the game, there are significantly more upgrade steps compared to past games.

This definitely makes changing weapons late game significantly harder than past games. They could have done this differently.

I did áreas as they would show up and have upgraded my anchor to +20 already, just rescued forbidden lands. You have to play smart. The maps you get lay out pretty much every point of interest there are in the game… it’s all there, drawn instead of an icon.

 

[Zeroing]

This is probably the worst advice I've ever read

Better than "get good" I am sure....

 

[OneShotThrill]

Name calling/personal attacks and cursing over an opinion about ONE aspect of a greatly recieved video game. Man some of yall are straight up losers.

 

[BossLackey]

I did áreas as they would show up and have upgraded my anchor to +20 already. You have to play smart. The maps you get lay out pretty much every point of interest there are in the game… it’s all there, drawn instead of an icon.

Bruh, I'm 130 hours into the game, I've explored literally everything in Limgrave, Caelid, Weeping Peninsula, Liurnia, Mt. Gelmir, The Capital, Volcano Manor and working on finishing the Mountaintop of the Giants. I have scoured every inch and done the vast majority of the side quests and secret content. I have several completely maxed out weapons both special and normal. That doesn't mean the system is perfect.

Bolstering materials are strangely relegated to specific areas of the game, which conflicts directly with the completely open nature of everything. The smithing stones have a loose order of accrual and as such, almost force you to go to certain areas in certain orders if you want to upgrade your weapons consistently.

One of my favorite games of all time, but it isn't perfect.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Wow

Some peoples play RPGs but want all play style options?

That’s not how it works.. for any RPGs worth a damn, not those fake RPG elements slapped on AAA mainstream games.

You’re lucky there’s even a respec item in this, not all soul games did. And bells to unlock upgrade stones at a shopkeeper. You have everything if you’re patient and not entitled to want everything from the get go.

 

[Graciaus]

You can change the scaling with the wets tones on some but you still need the raw stats. You can 2 hand to cut the requirements.

I don't see how the system requires you to look up anything. It says right at the bottom what you'd need to properly wield it.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Name calling/personal attacks and cursing over an opinion about ONE aspect of a greatly recieved video game. Man some of yall are straight up losers.

Hey man, gotta love how you complain about name calling/personal attacks, then proceed to call everyone a loser.

 

[GHG]

If I remember I'll take a screenshot of everything I found, haven't sold most of it, and a majority of it is magical weapons that serve me no purpose. Ashes and such I had found maybe 3-4 after 30 hours but a few required more FP than I had, and dumping points into it then would have thrown off the balance of the character.

I'm not alone here either. Others have fallen into the same hole.

I'm not faulting the game for requiring time to invest but respecting my time is a valid criticism in my eyes. you can fall into holes/long time periods where you make zero progress on a weapons front.

If you want to focus on summons you need to invest in FP, it's a magic ability.

The starting area, Limgrave, has an abundance of strength and dex weapons and less in the way of magic weapons. As a stregth/dex/quality build player you literally get rewarded for exploring the lake and the first guarded chest you come across.

I don't understand how and why you would explore far off areas as a first step instead of focusing on the starting area. In the starting area alone you can get the best quality weapon in the game (which is also arguably the best weapon in the game due to how OP the L2, R2 combo is), one of the best dex/bleed weapons in the game and one of the best greatswords.

Beyond that literally every merchant you find, including the one at the round table sells strength and dex weapons.

It's magic users that get a raw deal at the start and it's far more difficult starting out as a pure mage than it is a character that focuses on strength/dex.

Edit:

These are all the weapons you can find in limgrave that are hand placed:

Spoiler

Where are all the magic weapons you're talking about?

 

[OneShotThrill]

Hey man, gotta love how you complain about name calling/personal attacks, then proceed to call everyone a loser.

Yea because I actually have a reason to do so. I wouldn't label someone a loser because they had a diffrent opinion about a video game than me. Il call them a loser for the immature mouth breathing that goes on for very, very sucessful video game. The emotional attachment to defend everything with foam at the mouth goes too far on this board at times.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

it's perfect the way it is, go play some Ubisoft game if you don't like it

this game isn't supposed to be for everyone

 

[GermanZepp]

This is literally "I should be able to have everything at once in an RPG".

You made the choice to pump VIG early, the consequence is it takes you longer to gain access to higher requirement weapons. Other people I know have been pumping INT/DEX to get access to different weapons, but they die easier. It's an RPG.

i have 20 point in Vigor, like 600 something hp, very fragile, but also 20 in mind, inteligence 25 , etc etc. Pretty balanced build . Kinda like a pro Wretch with 20 on each stat.

That way i can try > lots of spells and incantations, all daggers, all straight swords, lots of axes, all claws, all fists, etc. You get the point. There are like 30 weapon types, i just can't use the heavy stuff. That the way it's meant to be.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Wow

Some peoples play RPGs but want all play style options?

That’s not how it works.. for any RPGs worth a damn, not those fake RPG elements slapped on AAA mainstream games.

You’re lucky there’s even a respec item in this, not all soul games did. And bells to unlock upgrade stones at a shopkeeper. You have everything if you’re patient and not entitled to want everything from the get go.

I mean...It's an RPG in a very classic sense that you are more or less pushed to be committed to your characters build/stats. You CAN play a quality build that gives you more weapons to choose from, but then you are more like a jack of all trades master of none.

People SAY they want challenge, until their challenged and then complain about bad game design.

 

[GymWolf]

This is why i'm almost 40 hours in and still walking with +3 weapons and level 1 summons.

I don't wanna commit on anything because i fear to screw up things.

People said that respec items are not rare but in 40 hours i only have one, same for summons upgrade materials, and i explore a lot.

It is the from way, many people love it, i understand why it is this way, but it is indeed a bit annoying.

 

[Topfuel]

Just look up FightinCowboy Elden Ring - Quality Build YT video if you like to dabble in different weapons.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

You are new, right ?
It's not Fortnite/APEX/[insert_random_FPS], it's a RPG: try, get used, learn and explore, this is exactly the game.
If you are confortable/confident with try, check a guide ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Bonfires Down]

Wow souls fans are so nice. They are very tolerant of reasonable criticisms and never insult anyone because he points out something he doesn’t like about the game.