" Why do we light , Sir ? So that we can memorize to pick ourselves up . " - Alfred Pennyworth ( I ’m really stretching these now )
The discussions of the difficulty level of the DLC for Elden Ring have been quite the hot topic of late , and it ’s easy to see why .
The DLC is surd , harder than the base game by a considerable leeway , and at least to me , hard than anything else FromSoftware have ever released . But to be clear-cut , this is not some ' git gud ' piece . I am not here to tell anybody that I think the DLC is actuallysupereasy and you suck in for not being able to do it , because that ’s neither true nor just .
What I do think though , is that the difficulty in the DLC is just fine the mode it is .
Learning to walk again
In the interest group of entire transparency , I have something to take on . in brief after the DLC launch , I number up against Rellana . And I , in a consequence of biting foiling , think the one affair I depose I never would .
' This is too grueling . '
I have since stimulate this near profane thought , but the fact I ever had it at all has stuck with me during my many hour venturing through the Shadowed Lands . For the first time in a slap-up many yr , I suppose something in a FromSoftware plot wastoohard . But then I pull in … that was the same idea I had back during my first playthrough of Dark Souls . And the present moment I make that , the DLC began to click , and I stopped being frustrated and begin falling pass over hound in love with it again .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
The moment I eventually vanquish Rellana , I got the FromSoftware high . Not the high of beating Maliketh after a dozen or so attempts during my first playthrough of Elden Ring ; not the high of prevail against Pontiff Sulyvahn in Dark Souls 3 … but the senior high of finally overcome theAsylum Demonas a wee 15 year old , fresh to the world I would become engrossed in for the next decade , the high-pitched I did n’t even realize I ’d been chasing for just as long .
If I were to sum up the DLC in a exclusive Bible , it would be ' humbling ' . I knew the DLC was set to follow the trend of former DLCs FromSoftware had put out , I know it would have a new grading car-mechanic , and yet , I had the ego of someone with a new game +7 save . I really did go in thinking it would n’t be as unmanageable forme , and I was incorrect .
The trouble in the DLC is fine ; I just had to discover that it ’s ok to suck again .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
This is nothing new
Another major realization I had during my clip in Shadow of the Erdtree was that at its nucleus , the DLC was no different than any other DLC FromSoftware had put out in the past . EveryDLC for the Souls games had immense spike heel in difficulty , specifically for the same reason Shadow of the Erdtree does ; high level characters would have a lesser experience if they were only able-bodied to steamer roll through the content .
The ground I believe it ’s been such a shocking experience this time around is simply due to the fact that whilst you could finish Artorias of the Abyss in an evening or two , youcan’tdo the same with Shadow of the Erdtree . ( Unless you’reexceedinglygood of course . ) Whilst a difficulty spike with a fistful of new bosses and some small areas might be less of a cushion to the system , when you ’re confronted by a game area just as large ( and far more dense ) than one of the major floor game surface area , that increase difficultyfeelsmore punishing only because you ’re in the experience for longer , and you ’re out there getting punishedmore .
But allow ’s be real here , if Shadow of the Erdtree had just as much capacity as say , The Ringed City from Dark Souls 3 , hoi polloi would be truly angered . And speaking of The Ringed City …
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The Ringed City was consideredhardupon release , and maintain that status to this day . The frustration then surrounded the difficultness of regular mobs as counterbalance to just gaffer — something we see mull in Shadow of the Erdtree criticisms currently . There was also some strange novel additions back in The Ringed City back in ye olde years of 2017 , like the first threefold boss withmultiple phases . For Elden Ring players this is n’t all unexampled ( intend Godskin Duo ) , but once upon a metre this was a new and not entirely welcome variety .
But allow ’s compare The Ringed City to the other DLC for Dark Souls 3 with Ashes of Ariandel . ash to this very day remains at overall ' Mixed ' recapitulation on Steam , with people sound off of drabandfrustrating content capped off by only one genuinely memorable boss . And once again we see many similarity in reported result , with people often discussing the fact that the steady enemy you ’ll present are much too strong , and add up in consuming numeral .
So if both DLCs had like report issues , how is it that The Ringed City is remembered in such high regard compare to Ashes of Ariandel ? Overall it merely comes down to the calibre of the slice as a whole . The Ringed City is a noteworthy capping off point to Dark Souls as a dealership , with some haunting insights into our future should our never stop struggle against the coming of the dark continue . Bosses such as Slave Knight Gael and Darkeater Midir propose up some incredible hardened pieces and intriguing ( but fair ) fights , and some majuscule new loot open plenty of motivator to go explore . The Ringed City hasimpact , whereas Ashes of Ariandel , despite offering one of the neat boss fights in the franchise ( i.e. Sister Friede and her very peeved Dad ) did n’t have that same finish world power .
Back when I first completed The Ring City ( and was good chagrin by Gael ) , I thought to myself ' hold back , was n’t there another piece of DLC ? ' . Turns out , I ’d already done it ; I ’d crush ash of Ariandel historic period ago , I just had n’t evenrealized . Ashes of Ariandel had feel like any other gauntlet I ’d been through so far , it was an area , and there were some bosses in it . It didn’tfeellike The Ringed City in the path that it felt like anexpansion ; it felt like it was always meant to be there .
To hell with Rellana
This DLC is striking in every way , it truly is . But as no one affair can be , it ’s simply not perfect . And to be quite frank , Rellana is a prize example of this . For circumstance , Rellana is n’t consideredthehardest honcho , but I personally found Rellana to be maybe just a teeny tiny snatch … unfair .
I have since fought objectively more difficult bosses , Bayle being a quality example of a boss I spent far more time than I care to admit on , but for whatever ground , Rellana … get to me . With Bayle , I could recognize the ' me ' issue ( that payoff being I ’ve actually always sucked at every flying dragon fight in every FromSoftware game ) , but with Rellana I felt bewildered . I felt that despite my hard won triumph against the late major boss of theDivine Beastthat I ’d hit some kind of wall , that I was doing somethingwrong . I change from my main stop of Eleonora ’s Poleblade to the new Light Greatsword Milady , to a full Greatsword , to daggers , to sword and board , and yet every prison term I try something Modern I met the same problem .
It felt like no matter when , no matter how , myattemptsat attack were penalise by a compact third degree electrocution , or prompt slash with the longest Carian Greatsword attack I ’ve ever watch . ( Both of which you’re able to see at 1:27 in the footage from Shirrako below . ) I lento got better at skirt the attacks coming my way , and I regain brief moment in which I could get a swift gash in before being turned into watery-eyed atoms , but it convey me alongtime .
And just to accent this point again , I understand that it was at long last a me matter , but whilst Messmer was hard , whilst Bayle was hard , Iunderstoodthem . I understood my failings , my weaknesses , and what I could do other than to increase my chances , but I never really got that with Rellana . And whilst Rellana may be frustrating , at least to me , there ’s one matter that ’s even moreso .
Negativity rears its ugly head once more
There is presently a fair bit of strife within the Elden Ring community in gaze to the difficulty topic , with some saying it ’s merely too difficult to be enjoy . This is , to those that say it , all true . If someone has stop having sport play a video game , they should n’t have to play it .
FromSoftware games were built with the estimation of community in mind . Messages , touch , stemma pools , and process are all pecker to let you know that there are thousands , if not tens of thousand of Chosen Undead , Curse Bearers , Ashen Ones , Hunters , and Slayers of Demons out there ready to serve you , pick up you , inform you there ’s ( perhaps ) a dog nearby , or disconcert the Japanese thespian base by continually leaving ' Fort Night ' in messages wherever potential .
Pointing fingers and express joy at those who have decided the DLC is too difficult for them to savor does nothing but jade them to a player basis that at time can issue forth together to do incredible affair .
But in a similar mineral vein , those whohavedecided such have to be able to speciate between scream at a game development company simply because they did n’t enjoy a Cartesian product , and understanding the merits such a fine bit of medium holds . Critique is incredibly important , so whilst there has to be espousal of state critical review , there has to be travail to present it properly at the same time .
Basically , block up yelling at each other please ; I do n’t like it .
If you ’ve revel this piece , and you ’re looking for some more Shadow of the Erdtree content from us here at Pro Game Guides , suss out out our piece onWhy Miyazaki does n’t bear another smasher like Elden Ring , or ourCastle Ensis Walkthrough , home plate of Rellana herself .
