The KD Ratio!
The KD Ratio!
Elden Ring DLC: An Incredible Experience With Some Shortfalls
This episode was pulled directly from our livestream over on YouTube. Come check us out!
The following description was written by A.I.
What if the latest Sims 4 content pack isn't worth its hefty $70 price tag? Join us for a hilarious discussion on the absurdity of this new addition and the simmering anticipation for Sims 5. Transitioning to more epic realms, we dive into the much-awaited Elden Ring expansion, "Shadow of the Erdtree." We scrutinize its $40 price tag, sharing firsthand experiences with bugs and performance issues while weighing in on the overall value for money. From texture pop-ins to the temporary mishap with Black Knife Tish, we agree that despite small hiccups, "Shadow of the Erdtree" is a treasure trove of content well worth exploring.
Do you prefer a straightforward narrative or a deep, lore-heavy story? In our next segment, we dissect the storytelling styles of FromSoftware's masterpieces, comparing the clear-cut narrative of "Sekiro" with the intricate lore of "Elden Ring." We delve into how different storytelling approaches cater to diverse player experiences and expectations. We also touch on the enigmatic character of Miquella and his impact on the Elden Ring lore. Our conversation takes a thrilling turn as we share insights on the Elden Ring DLC, from its vertically designed levels to the heart-pounding challenge of facing bosses like the summons knight and Radon in his prime.
Is the "Shadow of the Erdtree" expansion a game-changer or just an extension of the base game? We debate whether it eclipses other legendary expansions like "Blood and Wine" from The Witcher 3 and "Phantom Liberty" from Cyberpunk 2077. While the new content holds up the high standards of Elden Ring, we ponder if it transforms the experience like its peers did for their games. Wrapping up, we discuss the difficulty of transitioning from the base game to the DLC, the critical role of upgraded gear, and the layered complexity of new mechanics. Plus, don't miss where to catch our content across various platforms and join our live-streamed boss battles every Tuesday at 7pm Pacific time!
If you enjoy our episode's content, come check us out on twitter @KDratiopodcast, YouTube as The KD Ratio Podcast! or on Instagram KDratiopodcast
It was great and we're live.
Speaker 1:Hello.
Speaker 2:I hope that got the first clip of Dylan. Well, gentlemen, it's been a few weeks. We've been streaming some video games, some vidya games, but now we're back in our what's a vidya game Vidya. It's the, it's the video game squared. Oh, it's like the evolved form of video games.
Speaker 3:Good to know.
Speaker 2:We're back in our normal format and we have some things to talk about Our final form. We had a major release here that a lot of people have been looking forward to. It's the follow-up to the DLC for Game of the. Year, oh God, I've been playing that, actually Sims 4 came out with another content pack release.
Speaker 1:It's $70. $70.
Speaker 2:But get this now the characters can wear green shirts and not just red. So you know, it's really.
Speaker 3:It changes the game. It's a completed vidya game. Some people really like Sims.
Speaker 1:I love Sims, but I want them to make Sims 4. They have Sims 4.
Speaker 3:Or Sims 5. I want them to just move on. You're not a dab in my face. Why, why would you milk the?
Speaker 2:If you're Star Citizen, why release? It's the same conversation. Don't hurt the cow because you're going to just split your community. I want Sims 5. That's a golden goose, Goose. But the real game we're talking about is Elden Ring, elden Ring, shadow of the Urn Tree. Yes, the two gentlemen to my left and right here or.
Speaker 3:Skadu or whatever. Yeah, skadu, skadu, skadu. It's like Shadow right.
Speaker 1:It's Shadow it's like Old English, yeah, Old English for Shadow right Like jail, ever jail and not ever gale, Ever gal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so let's just talk about our initial thoughts on the whole release as a complete, because it was priced at almost pretty much a complete game.
Speaker 3:It was $40. There's enough content in there for a complete game. It was $40.
Speaker 2:There's enough content in there for a complete game. It was $40. So, if we take an objective approach, did you feel like you got $40 worth of content? Did you feel like it was a complete game? Was there riddled bugs? Was it a typical AAA release that we experienced? Or let's start there I think it was.
Speaker 1:I think, if anything, it was undervalued. Well, okay, in other gaming companies every triple a studio is like oh my god, we could charge 100 bucks yeah well, I just mean, like other game companies would have charged more for that they would have, they would have charged full price yeah, too and made it another game look at, yeah, like if you look at um uh assassin's creed, uh, they did the um mirage.
Speaker 1:I think they charged that like a full price game, even though it was an expansion that they like spun into a full game. I don't know was.
Speaker 2:Was this game? The elden ring base game was 70 at launch or 60, I think 60, I think it was 60 yeah, that's what I remember.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, I mean, there's obviously there's different versions, I think, for me, when I compare it to the base game at 60 bucks and we didn't get nearly like the content. I mean, I know it's still very large, but like I think $40. When I first saw the price tag of $40, I was like, okay, elden Ring, but I think it absolutely delivered in terms of like how much time you could put into this.
Speaker 3:I mean I think it delivers.
Speaker 2:If you play it to the full extent, it probably delivers close to 100 hours of gameplay right.
Speaker 3:I think if you really you know, if you went through and 100%ed it at minimum, you can get $1 an hour on that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, easy, and if you could do that I think that's more than a success. Yes, I'm okay with the price point by a long shot. That didn't concern me at all. Bugs, things like that. I didn't have any problems the only one that I had had. I didn't even have problems with frame drops. I know some people were talking about that. The only thing that happened a lot for me was a lot of texture pop in, especially when you load a new area like you load into an area and the field would be completely barren and for a second you'd be like what?
Speaker 3:where the fuck am I? And then the you know the foliage would pop up and you'd be like, oh, okay, but it wasn't like anything that affected the game really. Uh, there was no performance. Uh, no real performance issues other than that for me the only.
Speaker 1:Besides the poppin. I did have another bug and I'm curious did you use t-shit all kyle? Uh, no, so black knife, t-shirtish. When they first released the expansion and after the first patch, too, black knife. You know the blood flame, you know how it makes their health great. The boss, when that wore off, would actually heal. And people were like am I crazy or is there, are they? Yeah, they were, and so that's fixed now. But I tried to use Tish and I was like Tish sucks now right. And I was like but I get it now because they would heal from her blood flame.
Speaker 3:I always thought Tish was overrated.
Speaker 2:if we're being honest, it's dependent on the boss fight for sure, like its moveset was so dominant on certain bosses. But I love your reaction, which is like you immediately don't think it's a bug, you're like damn. Miyazaki over here fucking with the— Honestly— Making it so hard.
Speaker 3:I honestly—if I saw that happen playing, I would think it was intentional. The game design I would be like he fucking nerfed these.
Speaker 1:Well, and like looking at it in the fight, it's hard to pay attention, first off because you're focused on the fight. But the other thing is like it kind of does that normally, when it wears off, their health kind of adjusts, but they keep the, the um amount that they've lost. So it's hard to tell the difference between that happening and their health going back up, because it moves regardless when that wears off. But that's the only bug I had. I did have. You didn't have any slow frames, like just a little bit like it wasn't crazy any of the fights it was.
Speaker 1:It wasn't the fights, it was mainly exploring.
Speaker 3:For me, not even during you know, oddly enough, the only time I noticed any kind of change was when I was like standing up from a gray site. Um, but I never it was so minimal like yeah, we don't I also, I just got done with the playthrough of bloodborne, where it's capped at 30 for fps, and maybe my mind just doesn't pick up things the way I should yeah, it wasn't bad frame drops.
Speaker 1:For me it was just like sometimes it'd go down to like 40 maybe, for just a few seconds.
Speaker 2:So I was on pc and, um, notably a handful of times I, I I thought I was actually going to crash in in two instances, um, they were so it was so bad, it was so chunky and I was actually even playing on my uh second monitor, which is just the standard tv, so it was.
Speaker 2:It was like really scaled down, it wasn't stretched ultra-wide or anything like that. It chugged a couple times and it only did it twice on a boss. I don't remember what was it. Rolana Rolana, I think it did it on her. I didn't die either time, but it did happen twice. You can mount up for her fight, right? You can ride a horse.
Speaker 3:I don't know, I never tried, but I didn't try.
Speaker 2:Maybe it wasn't her. Then I don't think so because you're in an arena.
Speaker 3:She's in an arena, yeah.
Speaker 2:It wasn't Gaius, maybe it was an open world boss, I don't know. But it was two boss fights where I was like oh shit.
Speaker 1:And I thought, I was going to die.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe Rolana Fire Basket. Rolana, it's a giant on fire.
Speaker 3:Aggro him into Rolana's arena and then I wonder that thing has so much health.
Speaker 2:I wonder if it could take any boss in the game.
Speaker 3:Do if it could take any boss in the game. Do you think it would take Radon?
Speaker 2:They guarantee you. They have that on YouTube like a full breakdown of like this boss versus.
Speaker 3:Fire Vest Because Radon has no self-preservation. It's very easy to dodge that thing's attacks, but Radon would just sit there and take it and just face take it yeah. Anyway, sorry, you were going on a point.
Speaker 2:But yeah, a handful of times it didn't really break my experience, but notably twice on a boss and a few times in the open world. But it was no different than like in Limgrave with the tree sentinel when the original game first came out, where I had frame rate dips. It wasn't so much that it just stopped rendering, it went from 60 to 6. It was like whoa. Two of the times I thought I was actually going to crash because it was so chuggy. Other than that it was pretty smooth from a technical standpoint. Overall, what was your guys' feelings on the boss fights?
Speaker 1:I loved all of them, except for the last one. I mean, we'll get into that later. I still think it's a great expansion and I don't think he's a BS boss, but I loved all the fights.
Speaker 3:Bale's my favorite, probably in elden ring, like the whole game I would say bale's probably my new favorite out of all the game.
Speaker 1:Yeah because he, his move sets are so cool and plus you got igon there just it's the first time I remember liking a dragon boss fight.
Speaker 2:Normally I don't really like dragon boss, it's so funny that you so that guy that is like hyping you up right is a summon yeah I, I heard a critique today that I was making me laugh because you love that fight, because it's like the, the epicness and the hype man and yeah, um, this guy and I was watching a critique of fucking hated that summon because he wouldn't shut up, he was just shouting the whole time.
Speaker 1:That's the best part.
Speaker 2:That's the best part about it, he was so upset that that guy even existed. He never summoned him again he was so annoyed To his throne.
Speaker 3:I thought it was so funny because I know how much you loved it.
Speaker 2:And this guy's direct criticism was like this guy won't shut up.
Speaker 3:I like I'm honestly I would summon a lot more if there were summons like that. It just makes it feel better. Well, and if they?
Speaker 1:approach summons in that way, just for, mechanics-wise, they have him in the boss arena, so the boss doesn't scale to him as if he was another player and I mean he doesn't do much damage anyways. Npc summons don't really, unless it's a mimic, and then the mimic even, but like the last boss, the two summons you get if you summon them, the last boss scales as if you have two other human players and then they die real fast and you're left with this huge health pool and I hate that.
Speaker 2:That's the real way you're supposed to fight them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with both of them. Yeah, okay, sure, let's see you do it, billy.
Speaker 2:Sure I will when I get there.
Speaker 1:You gotta restart over, though, because you oh did I miss out?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you missed out on the summons.
Speaker 2:So, can you play the game? One of them is from Saint Trina, right yeah, but you played the game.
Speaker 1:I did that full. Oh, you did his. You didn't do the other guys. Ansbach I don't know who that is.
Speaker 3:Ansbach's the best. He's cool. He's the best NPC for me.
Speaker 1:Besides Igon.
Speaker 3:Igon's so minimal moment was grand.
Speaker 3:I love that, okay.
Speaker 3:So for me I mean I, without a doubt um, I would say that this has some of the most challenging content that's ever been involved in a from software game, for sure, um, ironically, this is not the longest I ever spent fighting a boss, though, and the final boss I spent about four ish hours before I finally got him down, um, but I don't know if that's because, like, I'm a better player than I was back then or if, um, I think I don't know I, but on other from software games there has been times where I've spent longer trying to beat bosses than I did on this one.
Speaker 3:But I do remember thinking that, man, this is like fucking hard, um, borderline, like broken hard. And then once I figured out like the way for me to easily beat him, I kind of took that opinion back a little bit, because I was like, once I figured out a strategy, I beat him relatively quickly, and so that made me kind of go like, okay, maybe it's not broken, it's just very, very, very punishing. So I can perfectly see some of the criticism where people are like this is too much.
Speaker 2:Specific to the last boss, but specific to just the last boss the rest of the game, removing him. Specific to just the last boss, so removing him, the rest of the game removing him.
Speaker 3:There's nothing in this DLC that you couldn't do if you weren't already decent at the main game.
Speaker 1:Well, and the thing is people which you have to be to beat Mog and Renan. Right yeah, and people are so stubborn, it's like get the Shadow Tree Fragments.
Speaker 3:Play it the way they want you to play it.
Speaker 1:It's not. Shadow tree fragments are a suggestion that you it's only I don't have to do it. No, your design you're supposed to, because otherwise they whoop your butt. Those bosses like kick your ass I would say so overall.
Speaker 3:I think the story for me is very intriguing. It's probably nine out of ten. Uh, the boss design is probably 8.75. Uh out of 10. There's plenty of 10 out of 10 bosses, but there's also, for every 10 out of 10 boss, there's one that's like yeah yeah you know this wasn't a 10 out of 10 for me, um, and then like the, the amount of like, there's a quality and love that put into. I think overall this is probably like nine out of ten for me I would say going off that same um.
Speaker 1:I agree with a lot of the same thing, like the boss, um, and then overall world exploration is probably the same as Kyle's. The story for me is the worst part of it.
Speaker 3:I love the story I think it sucks.
Speaker 1:Wow. Now I have a little bit of bias because I just played Sekiro and I see what they can do with a story and how cohesive and like understandable Sekiro is versus Elden Ring I. It doesn't make sense why they decided to be so mysterious and I will read the item descriptions. You got to do all this extra shit. Sekiro, you can. Anybody can play that game. You can tell what happens in the story. Yeah, you don't have to read anything.
Speaker 3:I will give you that I appreciate the story. Yeah, you don't have to read anything.
Speaker 1:I will give you that I appreciate the story more after watching, like vati's lore, yeah and I, yeah, it's it's a great lore, I love the lore, but I just think, knowing what they can do and what they did with sekiro, I can't excuse.
Speaker 3:But that's expansion well, that's just a different approach you're you're asking for. It's a different kind of genre. It's the same company that doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:That's just a different approach.
Speaker 3:You're asking for. It's a different kind of genre. It's the same company that doesn't matter. That's the same company that made Armored Core.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:Armored Core's story is better too. Yeah, but you wouldn't go into Armored Core expecting it to be like Elden Ring.
Speaker 1:That's what a lot of people went to Armored Core for.
Speaker 3:And they were disappointed.
Speaker 3:But just because it's the same company doesn't mean they have to do the same thing I think there's enough similarities between I I get your criticism, but where what I don't like is when you say I don't accept as if it's poor, just because you didn't like the way they approach. I don't accept that, yeah, I. I think that's where I think you're wrong to say that, because I can look at something and I can say I don't know, I don't like the way that, that you know, I don't like their approach to storytelling, but then to say I don't accept that, as if it's not good enough for me, that means it's shit.
Speaker 1:That's what it sounds like, fine, I'll change it to the creative decision that they made to change from what they did with Sekiro. I don't agree with.
Speaker 3:I really don't think Sekiro's story was that good. I didn't accept it.
Speaker 1:I don't agree with I really don't think Sekiro's story was that good. Well, I think it's cohesive. I didn't accept it. It's cohesive and understandable.
Speaker 3:Okay, but I also beat Sekiro right after beating Ghost of Tsushima, which knocks that story out of the water. But it's from software.
Speaker 1:I don't go to their games, to be honest. I don't go to their games expecting a fucking amazing story. I expect hard bosses and fun and like exploration and all that stuff and the good stories, the icing on the top, but it's just. Yeah, I just that. To me that was the weakest point of the expansion and I'll. I'll retake that. I don't accept it, but I just the creative decision they made you can say whatever you want I agree with.
Speaker 3:I'm playing devil's advocate here because I really did like the story a lot as story people.
Speaker 1:We're the only two that can.
Speaker 3:That was I actually, so I felt like the story was much more understandable than Elden Ring's base game, and so that's what threw me off, because you didn't really have that criticism about the base game, but the base game is way more convolut. That's what threw me off, because you didn't really have that criticism about the base game, but the base game is way more convoluted than what was in this dlc well, and I think it's an issue I have with the main game too.
Speaker 1:I just, you just never voiced it, just never voiced it because you know, by like you get caught up in all the other stuff and all the other amazing 10 out of 10 aspects of that game and I just this one. Really, I think it's like I said, I'm biased because I just played sekiro and so I have that really fresh in my memory of of the cohesive story, and then go to this and I'm like and you know same, same formula, a type of game like boss fight hard, die repeat, and then to go to this.
Speaker 3:I was like boss fight hard, die repeat, but I when people go to sekiro after playing like a game like elden ring or dark souls, I was like they're always like it's way different it's it plays much more like um, like jedi fallen order, where it's like parry heavy and it's still just as challenging, if not more, in a lot of ways. But it's not really the same thing as like dark souls, whereas elden ring is much more comparable to dark dark souls-esque yeah, dark souls-esque.
Speaker 3:I liked the story a lot, um, to your point, I did have to kind of have it like hand fed to me after like playing it a little bit, um, but that's how I had to have elden ring story yeah uh given to me as well.
Speaker 3:Um, I really liked the uh like mickela spoiler spoiler I really liked um, I never really quite trusted mickela, and so I like that, all these things that he's been revered for this and that Mikala the Kind is kind of almost like the opposite of what he really is and he has this power of influence which, if you are a true fan of this podcast, you'll know that's what Billy wants his superpower to be.
Speaker 3:Yep Is the power of influence that's right and I love the whole lore behind like he sent um. He sent millennia to go kill radon so that radon can be, his soul can be captured, and millennia couldn't do it. And then radon's been fighting this whole time and then he dies and mogues dies and he takes radon's soul and puts it in Moog's body. And then you find out that Moog was actually like under Mikula's influence this whole time. He's not actually like you wouldn't find that out a bad guy um and Ansbach one of his.
Speaker 3:I almost wish I could have had him in that final fight with me. I know I tried to get him. I got really close to beating him with Ansbach, but it ended up actually being easier without Ansbach. But there's two reasons. One is Ansbach opens up the fight and he's like hello, old friend, and what an honor it is to see you again.
Speaker 1:That body's not yours.
Speaker 3:That body does not belong to you. Moog will have his dignity and it turns into this epic thing. And then, if he dies, he actually tells the Tarnished, he goes become an Elden Lord, not for the gods but for men, and then he slowly fades away and I'm like I wish that I could have brought him with me into that fight so he could say that to me See, I wish they were summons inside the arena, then that would have fixed it because his health wouldn't scale, because his health wouldn't scale.
Speaker 1:And you make them weaker, that's fine, like they don't need to be strong. But lore wise, that's cool, like I want to hear that. But I had to avoid it because I was like I'm not beating this boss with those guys here and my head cannon.
Speaker 3:He still said that yeah, because he's dead at the end anyway, somehow, like he wasn't even in the fight, but somehow he's dead in the arena like they really wanted you to have him in that, like um gameplay wise, they added a lot of cool, fun new things like, uh like, martial arts combat weaponry and stuff and uh things like that new weapon types like, not seven of them yeah, yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3:It's not anything groundbreaking as far as, like it doesn't evolve, elden ring um you know it's still elden ring um, so if you were expecting that, I can see why maybe you might be a little bit let down, because it's a there's new things, but it's also a lot more of the same but to me that wasn't an issue.
Speaker 1:That's what I wanted, you know, going into. You wanted more of the same yeah, my expectations were this is just going to be just more elden, more elden ring, new areas they gave it to you for sure.
Speaker 3:It's the level design I think is actually better in this dlc than it is in the, the main game it's a lot more vertical. It's a lot more. It's much more reminiscent of like Dark Souls.
Speaker 1:And I love the dungeons Like they Like dedicated legacy dungeons is what they call them. Yeah, but they have four, three, four, four Shadowkeep.
Speaker 3:Mance Manor.
Speaker 1:Mance Manoror, the first castle with rilana yeah and then ilum uh, the end area yeah the end area yeah, ilm ilner or something yeah, which is also the beginning area too.
Speaker 3:Just funny, because that's where you go to fight the dancing lion.
Speaker 2:It's just a different part of that I somehow that boss, I don't know how you can go left or right, you don't have to fight.
Speaker 3:but that's the one people stumble onto first. Is that one?
Speaker 2:The first one I went into. I fought this knight, this summons knight. He was in a catacomb Not a catacomb, but in this cathedral.
Speaker 1:In the mausoleum, yeah, mausoleum, nameless mausoleum.
Speaker 2:He was a rude awakening to the DLC.
Speaker 1:They're tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you can't summon your mimic, so it's just truly like a 1v1.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love. I mean, I'm a big like Elden Bling guy. What was it called for? Dark Souls Fashion.
Speaker 3:Souls, just Fashion Souls.
Speaker 1:But so I love the armor they added specifically. I like the bear pelt one.
Speaker 3:I like a lot of the armors the weapons are fun too.
Speaker 1:I tried two of the new ones. I tried the great katanas and I tried the martial arts. They're fun. Martial arts is really good. I felt like it just didn't click with me to where I can make it my main, but definitely against human type enemies. I didn't like how I feel like you have to be right up on yeah because it's no
Speaker 3:reach so it's literally just like you're, you know you're gonna take the damage yeah in the world being the last boss with that. Somebody's probably done it already. I guarantee you somebody's done it already, Like Lobos he just did his Rune level 1, no Shadow Tree blessing Radon fight. It took him like the fight itself was like 15 minutes long.
Speaker 2:Consort Radon, perfectly dodging everything.
Speaker 3:Wow, and on top of that to be rune level one. No, shadow tree level up that means you have to beat regular radon yeah and moge as well. So you have to fight the whole game without and then get to the dlc level. What, what area? Um, I don't know, I can't remember what weapon level one. No, I think you could up, you could level up weapons, but it still doesn't do much when you're you know the shadow tree, level one.
Speaker 1:So, speaking of spoilers, what's your thoughts on the final boss, kyle?
Speaker 3:so the final boss, we, we. It's funny because we actually talked about this, yeah, a long time ago. We were like, how cool would it be to fight radon?
Speaker 3:and we yeah we said that we're like how cool would it be to fight. Radon is prime. I don't think we're ready for that, truly, you know, um, I can see the argument. I really can't where people say he's, he's so hard, it's cheap. I can, I can see that and there was actually times where I felt like that. But I don't know if that's actually a fair assessment after I've been through it and I beat him and I mentioned it already.
Speaker 3:But the reason I think that is because once I found the strategy that works for me, it became much more manageable and much more doable, and I think that's really at the the core of what elden ring is.
Speaker 3:That's what it's always been. It's always been uh, how do you fight this boss and make it work and make it make sense for you as a player? And the reason that people never really brought this up until now is because this was that same concept, but on a much harder scale. If you didn't have the build, if you didn't approach it in the right way, then it would fucking punish you for it. And I think, maybe because I'm I am a from software stand for sure, there's no doubt about that but because I've played like pretty much every game they've ever released. I've experienced this type of thing before with them and this wasn't the the hardest punishment they've ever put. I've experienced this type of thing before with them and this wasn't the the hardest punishment they've ever put me through as a studio, and so that's why I think I'm much more forgiving of it than maybe a lot of other people would be.
Speaker 3:And I think elden ring was the first from software game that attracted a lot of casual players.
Speaker 3:It was their first like, real like a lot of souls, yeah like a lot of people played it that never had played the other ones. It's just, elder ring was huge and so when they got subjected to like a real dark souls experience in this game, um, I don't think they were ready for it and that that's the experience that I'm used to with the From Software games was what I had with that, and I never had that really with Elden Ring too much. I've always said Elden Ring had the potential to be the hardest From Software game, but also the easiest, because of how many things they give you In Dark Souls.
Speaker 1:Bloodborne games like that.
Speaker 3:You'll have at least one or two moments where you feel like you feel in that fight, and so at the end of the day, I don't have a. I can see why someone might feel that way, but I'm not in that camp.
Speaker 1:I would agree. I started off in the camp of like I almost did a Billy, but I pumped brakes a little bit.
Speaker 3:Not only, yeah, not only is this hardest boss.
Speaker 1:I don't think I'll beat him, but I was like I'm gonna. I said to myself I'm like I can say I think he's BS right now, but I'm gonna hold my final judgment until I do beat him, because I don't think it's fair for me to, you know, because that's Dark Souls and elder ring like from software. That's what happens. You get to a boss and you kind of hit a wall and you got to figure out how to break through it.
Speaker 1:I do I. I want to hear your opinion on this because I think everything you said was correct about it. You know it's the most widespread um from software game real quick.
Speaker 3:This was your. This was actually your first real challenge in elder ring. You've had challenges, but let's be real, here you haven't had any real challenges.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, um, I he's honestly my least favorite boss in Elden Ring, like design wise, and I I don't want to fight him again and I I think he's badly designed in my opinion because I think from software is really good at making difficult but fair bosses and he does not feel like that.
Speaker 3:The only reason I would say that the fair aspect comes into place, cause he I. It doesn't sound like this was your experience. You made it seem like there was rng involved and but for me I felt like he was doing the same thing every time he will.
Speaker 1:I mean, you saw, sometimes he'd be really aggressive with me, and sometimes the only difference for me was always the beginning.
Speaker 3:Either he started off really light or he started off aggressive at the beginning. In the first phase sometimes you do a lot of gravity pulls, sometimes you wouldn't do gravity pulls. But the second phase was always very much the same thing. Every time it almost got to the point where, like I was like, oh, he's gonna do this, now do that. It doesn't mean that I could fucking figure out how to dodge any of those attacks, but I knew they were coming. I was like, oh, is this attack? It got to the point where I was like, okay, I'm going to take damage on this because I don't know how to fucking the last time.
Speaker 1:The reason I won is because I finally I learned pretty much all, but probably one of his combos and how you dodge them. That's how I was able to beat him. Yeah, I never quite figured that out. Yeah, and so it. There is a tiny bit of rng, but it's not that much. I do think there is a change in his aggressiveness. Sometimes, like, it feels like he's a lot more, and I don't know if that's just how they design their bosses, like if you're aggressive, they have an aggressive meter to match it, or sometimes I don't know, I don't know how that all works I would say I fall, definitely not as far as you do.
Speaker 3:Um, he's not my favorite boss in the. He's definitely like the one that I feel the most accomplished after beating, but he's not my favorite boss. I would say that he's probably outside of the top 10, but he's definitely nowhere near my least favorite bosses in Elden Ring. There are so many bosses in Elden Ring To say that he's the worst boss in Elden Ring is, I think, a little too much for me personally.
Speaker 1:True, I meant in the expansion.
Speaker 3:In the expansion. Okay, yeah, because the base game.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of bosses and thinking about that no, I still think he he's.
Speaker 3:I like him better than uh like bosses like gaius. I think gaius was pretty plain what running around his little pig guys was tough he was tough. Um, I liked him better. I didn't really like the lord of frenzied flame I thought it was a cool fight I thought cinematically it was cool, but that guy was.
Speaker 3:I hated his area, I hated having to get to that like. I didn't like that. I like like the cinematic element of it, but the gameplay I didn't like in that that fight, um, but I would say he was. He was outside of the top five. Uh, I really like dancing lion. Just because I like that. I like that one. I like, uh, rilana, um, bail, bail was amazing bail, yeah, bail was incredible.
Speaker 3:Uh, so he's. He's probably in the middle. For me he's not the worst of the dlc, but he's he's not the best yeah, and I I mean, I thought you're talking about all the elden ring and I'm like, I'm like worse. I did say that, but I I mean the expansion, I'm thinking like, like magma water like and like all these other ones. I'm like damn, that is such a bold statement I can't wait for you to fight him.
Speaker 2:Billy, I want to hear your opinion I'll give you my opinion because I've seen the fight he's basically played it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's watched the live stream, he played it.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't say so for me, just observing it, obviously I haven't played it. Uh, that's a caveat on everything that I have to say about this game, because I haven't beat it. I played it, I haven't beat it um you got close.
Speaker 3:You're like 85 yeah. At least to the main story, like 90% of the main story. So there you go.
Speaker 2:So then I can't say I played, you can.
Speaker 3:You can say you've played through 90% of the main story, which is a lot more than a lot of people could even do to be honest, I ripped through it pretty quickly my thoughts on Since we're talking about radon, the cup, whatever the consort whatever his name is.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't think he's cheesy. Simple again, I have not played him. I'm gonna get very clear. I don't think he's cheesy because for me, what makes a boss cheesy is dragon fights or, uh, astral astell of the or whatever where they have these very Running away from you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, elden Beasts, where they have these, not only that, where the fight is just annoying. But to me that doesn't make it cheesy. What makes it cheesy is when bosses have very arbitrary hitboxes and they're rolling on you or they slide back and somehow that hits you and knocks you on your ass and you're like, well, that's not obvious, because like I didn't get hit when I was. Because, like there's times where you get hit and you're you get moved by the boss and you don't take damage, and other times it fucking blasts you back and so for me I, when I when watching it, it doesn't look cheesy to me. Um, what I think is the worst part about I? Totally agree that it's a poorly designed boss fight for one major reason Not because of his attack patterns, you want to make him aggressive. He's supposed to be the pinnacle.
Speaker 2:I mean they're not doing another DLC? This is supposed to be the pinnacle boss of this game. It's known to be hard, that's fine. Make him hard. Where you lose me is the visuals. It was so much visual noise, especially in that second phase, which is pretty much let's be honest the whole fight.
Speaker 1:You phase him so fast.
Speaker 2:You get one bleed proc and he's already in his second phase. He's got these things falling down all the stars or whatever and if your camera's lined up, you are quite literally blinded to what is going on and the fight turns into this spam dodge fight. That is not that interesting to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's kind of that's kind of sad because I think aesthetically, from like just his attack pattern and how aggressive he is with his swords and stuff like that, I think it could have been a really great fight. It's just aesthetically, there's so much noise being created, his hair getting thrown in your face with the whole. It's just there's so much noise being created, his hair getting thrown in your face with the whole. It's just. There's so much visual particle effects with the meteors falling in and crashing and then lightning coming down, and you're just like what the fuck am I looking at? I can't even.
Speaker 2:I'm not even locked on to the boss anymore. I don't even know where he's at anymore. I don't even know where he's at, and to me that's when it's like okay, this is kind of taken away from the design of the fight and diminished my experience and, um, well, that that's for me, that's your point that's like I knew which attacks were happening, but that's also why I never could figure out the dodge pattern and I ended up just having to fucking tank him because, because there is no dodge pattern when all those lights.
Speaker 2:Just having to fucking tank him because because there is no dodge pattern when all those lights are coming down, because they micro stud.
Speaker 3:Dylan figured it out after you dodging brutally punished by it for so long hours there is.
Speaker 1:It's bs but it's dodge into everything at the second phase, any, you always dodge into him and he and I had his timing down of his sweep, his five-hit combo. But yeah, it's BS and I wanted to add, but none of my complaints.
Speaker 2:The stuff coming down is random. Where it lands is what I'm saying Not on his attacks. No, no, no, I'm talking about when he floats up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the only way I was ever able to dodge that is, I had to run away from as far as I could. And I could rarely ever do that. So I ended up just getting to the point where I was like the arena's not even big enough.
Speaker 1:But I was going to say all of my complaints against it are second phase. First phase I love. I think first phase is great. And then the visual. That's a huge. That's a huge thing for me but I ended up learning it. But I think a lot of people that's big gate for them.
Speaker 3:I. It's hard, but I don't I?
Speaker 2:yeah, I don't even know if you can learn like the visual noise, though Like I hear what you're saying, Like I, like I know you figured out a way to like I guess maybe minimize it just by spam dodge rolling into him to avoid the damage, but just the amount of particle effects that are happening on screen.
Speaker 1:It's a lot, it's so much I'll give that. That part is fair. The particle effects, not his nuke.
Speaker 2:Not the big nuke. No, I new, yeah, no, I'm not even his regular attacks. They are I'm talking about the rain, the constant rain of light, of like holy beams, constantly coming down.
Speaker 1:I also think the nuke.
Speaker 2:No, that's the only time it's random. No, no, no, no. Not the nuke, not when he turns into a meteor and then comes slamming back in the, where he floats up, where he floats up and then explodes the arena and then comes back down because it's like the holy rain.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's takes up half, okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's okay I also think that there is something to be said about watching it versus playing that fight, and the reason I say that is because when you're actually in that fight and you're actually playing it and you're actually doing that. You look at it differently. It feels different, Like when I saved my footage and I looked at it, I was shocked that the whole fight was under three minutes because that felt like a 15-minute fight and it almost feels like your mind is working faster when you're the one playing versus just observing and watching and because of that, it does feel like the noise was never a problem for me.
Speaker 3:It was on the second phase, like I said, except for the hair. Like the hair was like annoying yeah, there's so much fucking hair but that was never really a problem for me. For me, I couldn't figure out the hit boxes. Um, I could see the all the stuff just fine. It was some of the things had like bigger hit boxes and others and it was actually what you were saying was a. What you would consider cheese actually happened more so in the second phase for me, um, well you and why I ended up earthquake attack.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I ended up jump it, which you should be able to.
Speaker 3:All other bosses work with you jumping it, but not him and that's um, I still don't want to call the fight cheese because of you know, yeah, because of all the reasons I already stated, but, um, but that was, that was my problem, like I didn't feel like there was too much to figure out what was going on. It's just that what was going on was so fucking hard to. It's like you see it coming. You know what you need to do, but you also know how hard it is to fucking do that. You know what the solution is, but it's impossible to do. You have to be perfect, and so that was the frustrating part. Great shield yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I was like yeah, I was like fuck, this got the great shield um, it's the best great shield in the game.
Speaker 3:It's the one you get from the more guy. Um, I leveled it up and it significantly changed that fight for me and when when I look back and I watch it, it's almost kind of sad how easy it makes the fight look, because it didn't feel like that, but it looks like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think overall like my. I know you guys rated it. Did you rate it? I know he gave it a 9 out of 10.
Speaker 3:9 is what I. And then what was it?
Speaker 2:8.75 for, so I mean ultimately 9 out of 10. 9 is what I'm giving. And then what was it 8.75 for? So I mean ultimately 9 out of 10.
Speaker 3:I gave it 10 for story. Dylan didn't like story at all, but I gave it a 10 for story and I said that boss design was like 8.75, because for every 10 out of 10 boss there was like a 7, you know, yeah, I'd say what was your overall Story was was probably I mean, I love the lore so I'm going to be forgiving it's an 8.
Speaker 1:I just think it's the weakest part of the expansion in my opinion. I still think it's interesting, but it was just weak and the rest of it I agreed with Kyle. Like you know, with the bosses, for every really good one there's also kind of like a like okay, what's this boss? Um, so, overall, probably in 8.5. Once we're done talking about I have a question for kyle and you, you maybe. I can't remember if you played it or not.
Speaker 3:I will say that if you're afraid of the criticism of, oh, this is too hard, I don't, I don't, that's, that is what brought it right now it's back into like mostly positive, but that's what brought it into like mixed was mostly the people saying it's, it's too difficult, um, I, that's the only criticism that, uh, you could say whatever you want about radon. You could say all, but like when they say like as a whole, the dlc is too hard, I think that's not fair I think that only applies to radon like that criticism only applies to the very last fight, and I'm not downplaying the other bosses, yeah, but like this.
Speaker 1:That's what elden ring and from software games is all about yeah, he's supposed to be especially dlcs, but historically, their dlcs have always been harder than the base well and like I'm not, I'm not dinging my overall score of the expansion because the concert were done even though I didn't like the fight. I know he's supposed to be hard and like that's part of the experience to me. Like I, I just I the design decisions they had with him I don't agree with. I like their other fights better but I don't think that personally lowers the score at all.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was kind of speaking on behalf of what some of the masses are saying right now. Yeah, yeah, hey. What was your question? You said you had a question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it passed. I don't know if it changed, but it passed Blood and Wine as the best expansion ever. Do you agree? Do you think?
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:Me too, no the best expansion ever.
Speaker 3:Do you agree? Do you think? No, me too. No, I don't agree with that. Um, I mean, we can have a whole conversation on the category of expansions. I love the expansion because I love the base game. It is more of the base game, but, like I mean, if we're really talking about, I would put phantom liberty as a better expansion than this, to be honest with you, because there's more. There's more to an expansion than just Okay, this is making it sound like I didn't like it because I love this expansion, but no, I would not say that this surpasses.
Speaker 2:All the stuff that you just mentioned Phantom Liberty and Blood and Wine. I would not say that this surpasses All the stuff that you just mentioned Phantom Liberty and Blood Wine, I think took the game and then expanded on it and took it in a new direction, added elements and made it more.
Speaker 2:This to me and again I have not beat it but this expansion, this DLC whatever yeah, it was like okay, they defined the cookie cutter, which was fucking world-class phenomenal with base game Elden Ring, and they were like we're just going to do more of that.
Speaker 3:And that was it. It was like, and it works for them, yeah, and that's all a lot of people wanted. It needed more than that.
Speaker 2:But in terms of when you compare it to these, these other ones, it transformed and elevated the game as a whole.
Speaker 3:Phantom Liberty literally changed the game. It was a different game after that came out. Blood and Wine was like storytelling, gameplay, like area. It was those types of things. I think that CD Projekt Red is still in the league of their own when it comes to expansions.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't say that this is you know, this is good this is really good and this is some of the best that from software is done about the fucking kings of gaming companies, right? So it's like we're not saying that from software's down here no, they're both up here, but I just saw like an article that it, like you know, somebody was like, oh, it's better, and I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 3:So if Elden Ring is up here, then the DLC is also up here. Yeah, but it's not, you know. And then you have the Witcher, which is up here, and then you have Blood and Wine. That pushes it 10 times further. Yeah, you know what I mean. It's still an amazing game, but there's levels to this. There's levels to this shit. There's levels to this game.
Speaker 2:My thoughts on the DLC are I think it was good. Not great, at least it's not great for me yet Might in the mood I just was coming home from a long vacation and that's when I picked it up. I basically put in all my play time in one day. Can't decide if I want my shirt on or off.
Speaker 3:I'm like, hot though I'm dressed.
Speaker 2:Anyways, and for me it was like it felt like another level of the Halleck tree roots. I felt like that's where I was exploring.
Speaker 2:It literally felt like, exactly like, oh, I'm still in Elden Ring. It didn't change any of the game, which, again, that's not a knock because the base game was so great. But for me that's why it just kind of makes it good, because they didn't challenge anything. They came out with a couple of new weapon types. It just kind of makes it good because they didn't challenge anything. They came out with a couple new weapon types. To be honest, I still see a lot of the stuff that I watch and the stuff that I'm experiencing. It didn't really. It's so late in the game that you kind of find your play style. By the time you get to the DLC you're locked into your weapons.
Speaker 2:Look at me Go watch my stream, you'll see I was beating my head against the wall with a new weapon, and then I go back to the one from the base game, that's when I beat him and while you can respec, you can't just go and upgrade new weapons and that's sort of like the difficult, like you have to go and go through all the collections and stuff I got. So for me, like I know, they added some new weapon types. I'm not really At this point. I actually I was nuts enough to go through and collect. I could probably max out five different weapons because I went through and collected all the stuff to be super prepared. But I haven't been challenged enough to say I'm going to try these new things. So that's more so on me.
Speaker 2:Let me just wrap up before we tangent off this, but this is sort of my thoughts on the open world. Um, I was a little disappointed and I was like by this much of like the beauty in the game because I felt like with starting in with limbgrave and going and seeing areas like Caled kind of sucked, but like when you go into, like Lernia or Altus Plateau, like I felt like a lot of these areas had like a lot of character yeah, and there was like a unique feel and it was pretty it was pretty Limgrave versus Lernia versus Caled, and each new area felt like a new experience you were in a whole new and I almost felt like that, at least the first few hours, I mean, of dlc gameplay, which it doesn't.
Speaker 2:In the grand scheme of things it's not much, but I felt like my first eight hours I was in the same color palette it didn't really change.
Speaker 3:Like I know you, you really love the cerulean uh coast because that was the only thing that felt different, and that was the only thing that felt different, right and it honestly, it was pretty much the exact same thing, it just had a lot of blue flowers that was really all when I if I really am critical about it, that's really all it did, um.
Speaker 2:So I was a little disappointed with their choice.
Speaker 2:Like it didn't feel like the grand world building that I got from the base game, like in terms of like each area really having his you know thumbprint on it yeah um, and for me, like the boss fights, I'd always I'd always played like anywhere from five to ten hours a month of elden ring so I didn't really fall off, so I hadn't I hadn't really been struggling with any of the bosses to this point. Um, I think they really did a good job of in this dlc. They did a phenomenal job of scaling the boss's health with summons to the point where I actually think you're even more disadvantaged if you have whether it's a multiplayer person come join you or an npc or something like that, because you feel that tuning, you feel how much more health they get and that boss fight gets much significantly more difficult. So I do like the tuning there because it I feel like in some cases the multiplayer like if you summon like a regular person in or or like you know, rajir on margit or whatever it kind of brought the fight down to a level where it was like, okay, this is fucking easy.
Speaker 2:Not in the DLC at all. It's like, holy fuck, I've actually summoned in some of the gold signs on the ground for some of the NPCs and I'm like you're not coming back, get the hell out of here. You just made that. I'm going to spend twice as long trying to beat this boss. And I'll bring up my final criticism, which it's fine. I wish it was done differently. So I'm not saying that this is necessarily bad, I just really I don't like how it was done.
Speaker 2:Is the scatadoo, whatever the fuck it is uh, the fragments, yeah, the the shadow fragments I hate the fact that those are open world collections because I feel like you could just I don't know how many you can get if you were to just literally explore on Torrent but you could get enough to cheese through a lot of those fights and one of the core experiences that I enjoy so much with base game, elden Ring, was going through the game with the internet at the time of launch.
Speaker 2:I remember we always reflect on that, but oh, I just beat Radon. Oh my god, look, twitter finally caught up. They, they're beating Radon, everybody's beating Radon, you know, and the streamers.
Speaker 2:You know, it was just like. It was like this kind of cultural phenomenon and when we beat Radon, whether it was you, me, guy in Japan didn't matter, we beat Radon, it was the same boss and I feel like and I know they had to do this because of the way, because power creep and something, I get it, but it with the, with the shadow fragments, it felt like people could have different experiences with certain bosses. I, we were talking just before the stream, but like by the time that you had fought gaius, just by the nature of your pathing, you had had so many, so much blessing, versus when kyle had originally came across that he had almost none, just depending on which route you took and to me that like it takes a little bit away from the game and so where it all sort of neutralizes is towards that end game.
Speaker 2:But I felt like all of these bosses in some way were some a level of end game boss. They had enough character. I mean mesmer it was like was aesthetically one of their top tier, like ace design fight was their poster boy for this whole poster boy, like he.
Speaker 2:His. Aesthetically, this was like, oh, this is a guy you know, and the fight was choreographed beautifully and um, and I and I enjoyed that fight. And so I just felt like you with how they did this. Instead of locking them behind, I'm not saying, give it a linear experience of of like, okay, you fight this boss, and then you, this is the second boss and this is the third bot, no, no, but like, locking those fragments behind. Exploring the story and the game through boss fights would be a better experience than, oh, I rode torrent and I explored this area and I found six fragments and now, my blessing's, three higher and now I face rolling on this boss.
Speaker 1:So I'm I'm gonna simp on sekiiro again. That's what they do.
Speaker 2:But that's linear, a game right.
Speaker 3:Well it's linear, but it's open world. That's not true open world. Not true, it's open world in the same way. Dark Souls is.
Speaker 1:But the thing I really like about Sekiro is you have your golden path right. You fight bosses along the way, how their leveling system works. You beat, beat a boss, you get their soul and then you upgrade your attack power by one per boss soul. Right, and the thing is is, if you fight the optional bosses that up, that that's you're basically your way of grinding for the next main game fight, or you can ignore those guys and you'll still be high enough level to where it's like it's not you can, but there's the option, there's the option to go level up more, and so I think I was hoping that's what the shadow tree fragments were gonna be.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's.
Speaker 2:I don't think you got like major fragments, and then the optional bosses gave you minor fragments that you could collect and it turned into major. I don't know what it was, but just something to give you to make that experience equal, Because I would say Gaius at blessing 18 or 16 when you fought him versus Gaius at blessing 5 are radically different fights.
Speaker 2:It's just the reality. And also also I fucking loathe this is the absolute dog shit. Knock on their UI, which has been terrible forever, always has been. I hate the system of the, of the blessing, because you you level it up no different than your flasks, but you don't know what actually that, what power that's giving your character. You just go to that menu and you give yep, blessing up, and then you go back to your status to see what your attack power is now and it's not obvious like how much you don't feel that sense of progression in power, where it's like when you level up and you see that number go from 100 to 110 now because you've leveled up this weapon or the you or you've grinded up your stat, you just are getting blessing and it's like I don't feel any stronger. But you know you are.
Speaker 2:It's just two different menus.
Speaker 3:I'm much more of a simple man. When I read that makes me stronger, I say okay.
Speaker 1:And I just do it.
Speaker 3:I think my problem I didn't have a problem too much with the, the shadow tree fragments. In fact I I liked the. The system overall I didn't have any problem with because I found them all relatively easy. I didn't really struggle. I made it to 20 without even looking up a guide, because once I found out like I hit one dude who had a ghost that had a basket on his head that gave me one, and then I realized they were like at every cross, and then there was all these like statues and so like, once I knew like the types of places they would hide, I would just go explore and it gave me an excuse to explore the world and experience it without needing to like. You could do that and you can get to like level 15 without even fighting a boss. So to your point, yeah, it could make the experience different, but I felt like it gave me an excuse to really map out and explore the world. So I could see your criticism, but that wasn't my take with it. I felt fine with it the whole time.
Speaker 1:I'd never really my devil's advocate, counterpoint Kyle, is why not, instead of a shout tree fragment, make it equipment, make it a weapon, because that's what the base game does.
Speaker 3:What do you mean? You have to equip a certain weapon to be stronger?
Speaker 1:No, why not, instead of incentivizing exploration because of a shadow tree fragment? Give you a really cool weapon, give you a really cool like the base game, doesn't tie your your progression strength to exploration. It ties it to your level, which you can get just by killing enemies I would argue, you could still get cool equipment, weapons for exploration, though but I'm saying why not just make why? Because then that means you, you get your satisfaction. You said you liked it because you, it gave you a reason to explore yeah so why didn't, why not just have it that be equipment?
Speaker 1:why did they have to make?
Speaker 3:because then you then you're stuck into using equipment that they want you to use to make you stronger, rather than what you like no, no, not necessarily, not necessarily the equipment's stronger, just like that's your incentive Interesting the equipment is interesting enough to make you want to go to get it. So then, what makes you stronger?
Speaker 1:No, just you could do the Sekiro way. You could do the way the base game, doesn't you just level up?
Speaker 3:I'm not saying that. I think they did that specifically for exploration. I said that was an added like bonus no, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying why not for them? Why wouldn't they just, instead of make it your, your power up by exploring, make it, you explore, you get cool shit you still do get cool shit, though, so I'm confused on.
Speaker 2:But I think his point is is that not enough?
Speaker 3:I think what you're really saying is you just don't want the Shadow Truth fragments which I get. That's what you're really saying, but you're trying to equate it to a point that I think is not relevant. For what? Because you're saying why not put good weapons to find and explore? And you still do that.
Speaker 1:But you, you find cool stuff and you also find the fragments through exploration well, I was, I was trying to tie on to you said that incentivized you to explore.
Speaker 3:Why did you need that incentive when, like so, ultimately, I think your argument is just falling back on. You just don't want the shadow tree fragments to be there, which I get, yeah, which is fine, but that's really what you're saying, yeah I feel like they should have, rather than shadow tree fragments.
Speaker 1:I feel like they should have done what they did in the base game, yeah, and awarded exploration with that's fine.
Speaker 3:I'm not invalidating. I'm not invalidating what you guys are saying. I'm just saying I don't agree and I think that's, it's okay.
Speaker 1:I wasn't saying you're wrong, I was just asking, I know, but you're the saying you're wrong.
Speaker 3:I was just asking a question, I know but the point you're making is why not incentivize exploration through finding cool equipment? Yeah, there is cool equipment already and you do get stuff, and you can get shadow tree fragments and cool equipment, and so I think ultimately it still just falls back on. You just don't like that system, which I think is fair. You're allowed to not like that, that's fair. But you're making it for people that haven't played. You're making it sound like you wouldn't find cool stuff by exploring.
Speaker 1:You only find fragments no, yeah you, you still find cool stuff yeah, it's just it's, I guess, to further refine it. They tied what I would deem an essential thing to progress to exploration.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I see what you're saying Like an essential item to be able to progress the story it forced you to explore, versus in the base game. You're incentivized. You don't need anything more other than there might be cool loot and that's enough. I think that's the point that you're trying to make. That's enough in the base game to make you want to do that, versus having this like oh, not only is it interesting to go and explore, but now it's strategically in my benefit to go and do this because I get this power boost. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I understand why you're upset about that, but what I'm saying now is that that actually doesn't. That's not bothersome to me, in fact, that's a plus, and so I just have a completely different perspective on that. And so what irritates you? Actually, I find enjoyment out of, because I spent hours, before I even fought the main boss, just looking around exploring cool areas and then, oh, cool fragment. And, like I said, said I got all the fragments just because I was going around collecting everything and for me you know that obviously is not your guys's cup of tea, but that was just the benefit of being in that world for me.
Speaker 3:Do I think they could have had a more refined system? Sure, obviously I think there might have been something better that they could have done, um, but I didn't think that there was anything negative about what they had. Also, you know, I think they could have changed it to where, like for the player that didn't want to have to do that, that, like you know, they could tie it to certain buffs from certain bosses, that kind of. I think that's fair, um, but yeah, I thought it was, I liked it.
Speaker 2:Did they do anything with the Great Rune system?
Speaker 3:I never used it. I never liked that system.
Speaker 2:Like Rune Arcs and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:You still have it. But there was no Great Rune boss that you would go and imbue Because, mikolaj, you find his Broken Rune.
Speaker 3:Does it do anything? I didn't even look at it.
Speaker 1:It takes away. You know when he hugs you.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It takes that away.
Speaker 3:I didn't even use it.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's what you so you had a proper rune arc to have that. No, it's just an item.
Speaker 3:You could still get hugged once. No, I know Twice. So you know how the resets it oh you can keep using it, so like you can erase that hug, even though I I got hugged at the very end of my fight.
Speaker 1:But that hug was so telegraphed it never was a worry for me the only reason I use I would get hugged is it gave me a break of like a breather I had, uh, one of my um talismans that had a health regen aspect to it.
Speaker 3:So when I would get hugged I'd actually get health.
Speaker 2:So it wasn't that big a deal. That regen lasts like three minutes, which is like the whole fight.
Speaker 3:It was almost like five, I think, but I don't know the exact breakdown on it. Yeah, so I can. I think that to enjoy this, I do think that you do have to be like a traditional fan of From Software Games.
Speaker 1:And I mean it sounds like we shit on it and I don't want that to be the impression.
Speaker 3:Well, I think I was very defensive the whole time you were. You still gave it an 8 out of 10. You gave it a 10 out of 10.
Speaker 2:Nine, nine out of 10. You gave it a 10 out of 10. 9.
Speaker 3:9 out of 10.
Speaker 2:Oh for a story. 10 out of 10. So I mean, yeah, that's phenomenal reviews.
Speaker 3:I did voice my criticisms. There were things I didn't like, but you know, ultimately I think it was a very overwhelmingly positive experience for me. Through the whole thing, I'm still going back, I'm play it three or four times to be honest with you.
Speaker 2:Are you gonna fight radon again? Yeah, I said I wasn't, but I know that I've cooled off. I probably will. I feel like I could do it much quicker next time. Let me solo.
Speaker 1:Her is uh added again I, he's been streaming, let me solo him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, his name still, let me solo her he's got a sane get up um and he's uh, he's streaming on youtube helping people beat the final boss. There was another guy called let me tank him.
Speaker 3:Yep, and he's streaming on YouTube helping people beat the final boss. There was another guy called LetMeTankHim, and he's just sitting there just getting hit.
Speaker 2:Which is like the heaviest armor, the community's fun. Well, where can people find us?
Speaker 1:They can find us on YouTube, instagram, spotify, any major podcast listening platform, as well as on YouTube. We stream every Tuesday at 7pm Pacific time. Sometimes we'll do in person, like right now, or we'll do like a video game stream, like you can go check out. Kyle most recently beat Consort Radon, and before that I did, and your whole battle with it was a live stream? Yeah, my whole battle is live stream, which is an hour and a half.
Speaker 2:Hey, I was in the chat Hour and a half, if you rewatch that clip.
Speaker 3:Two hours For just that livestream. Yeah, and then I put the pressure on.
Speaker 1:I was like we're not doing this until we're done. Livestream's not going to end until you're done until you did it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you want though? Yeah, we did. There's a short of it.
Speaker 1:There's a short of it. You can watch that, yeah. But yeah, remember guys, with a good KD you get the dub. Bye.
Speaker 2:Bye.