Elden Ring has taken both the critics and the players by storm the last week, dis reporter Andreas Bjørnbekk clung to with a tiar in our review.
This is the first time FromSoftware is trying on an open value in the Souls series, and they have really hit the storm drum when it comes to scope and presentation.
This also applies to the degree of difficulty. Many people think this is by far the most challenging game the developer has made, and we have therefore cooked up a few quick tips for those who think the uphill is a bit steep at first.
FromSoftware’s own “call a friend” feature is back now that you can call up friends again, but it is far from the only way you can make the experience a little less frustrating.
1. Do not be afraid to jump over enemies
Elden Ring’s open value set up so that you can return to the toughest enemies when your character is more powerful. For example, Tree Sentinel, the other mini-boss you meet, is very difficult.
Here it is good to have 15-20 levels under the belt before you try yourself alone. Many of the optional campaigns give few runes, and are thus only a joke as to whether you actually want to feel the mastery of taking them early or you want the object they give away.
It is not necessary to get so angry that one throws the controller in the wall – at least not completely yet.
This applies just as much to the “ordinary” enemies on the various boards. Run or ride right past them. You do not have to kill them if you just want to move on to the next boss fight.
2. Sank in runes
There are several stadar early in Elden Ring where you can collect very many runes in a relatively short time. If you throw yourself on Torrent and ride a bit east of Gatefront Ruins and Agheel Lake North point, over the bridge, you will meet a travel party with two giants and a bunch of wandering skeletons. Here you can easily collect 3000 runes in a short time with weak weapons, and start again thanks to a Site of Grace just across the road.
A short distance east of Stormhill Shack, on the way to Stormhill Castle, you will find Warmaster’s Shack. Just south of this is a field with five giants. You get 1000 runes left for these, and with a slightly powerful weapon it is easy to mow them down. But these are a little more challenging than the first ones.
The very best place to haul runes is in Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow. You can get here by finding the Third Church of Marika in Limgrave, and walk a few meters north to a small lake. There you will find a portal to Dragonbarrow. Run away from the first mini-boss, and kill the little enemies for around 1000 runes left. They’ll probably kill you with one blow, but by either running back and forth with a large weapon on Torrent, or by sneaking around and stabbing them in the back, they’re easy to kill. With a little practice, you collect 10,000 runes in five minutes. Then all you have to do is go back to the Site of Grace down by the bridge and start again.
3. Head to Murkwater Cave
North, along the river under the bridge east of Agheel Lake North, you will find a cave worth a trip. I will not reveal what you encounter in the end, but it does give you a very powerful, upgraded weapon that makes the vast majority of enemies the first ten hours much easier to handle.
The sooner you go there, the more you get out of the weapon – see that you manage campaigns there.
4. Explore
The freedom to go online where you want opens up some possibilities. It’s easy to get past far more powerful enemies as long as you sit on Torrent, and a ride for a few minutes gives you access to items you would not get until much later in the other games.
Do not be afraid to go downhill between powerful enemies to pick up new weapons, upgrades to Flask of Crimson Tears or better armor. It can make meeting with future enemies much easier. You can easily have your bottle upgraded to 5-6 doses after half an hour on the road. Just look for the small, luminous trees for Golden Seeds, while the churches have Sacred Tears to increase how many health points each dose gives you.
5. Use “Spirit Ashes”
“Spirit Ashes” is a new feature that allows you to summon allies using Focus Points. You can upgrade the strength of these after a quarter, and it’s practically the same as summoning non-playing characters to help.
We recommend Lone Wolf early in the game, which you get from Renna in Chuch of Elleh in Limgrave – right behind the Tree Sentinel. These give your enemies three new goals, and are occasionally so effective in boss battles that you can completely avoid injury. Some of the main characters in the game will be pure baby food with an upgraded version of these.
6. Find the weapon that suits you
Any weapon in FromSoftware’s games can be effective. It’s just a matter of getting used to the style of play. The experience of the game will also be more handsome as soon as you find something that is fun to play with.
After a quarter as you get further into the game, there are many ways to upgrade weapons, so it’s okay to limit yourself to a couple at the very beginning. The vast majority of classics from the Souls universe are available within a short distance from Limgrave.
7. Use your book
With an open value, there are many cities where you can easily bring down the health level of your enemies without them seeing you at all. The book is thus an effective tool to make your campaigns easier. After a quarter of an hour, you get an enormous arsenal of different arrows, and it’s important to think a little about what type you should use.
8. Wear shields
Shields are another way you can save yourself a great deal of damage. The merchant behind Tree Sentinel has a shield that blocks 100 percent of damage, and the new counter technique means that one can damage enemies more effectively with the use of blocking than before.
It is of course smarter to master the tricks and the rolling, but the shield gives you good training.
9. Hear and see
Elden Ring, like all the other games in the series, has some special enemies that give you items and more runes. If you hear a bell, there is probably a scarab nearby with new magic or upgrades. If you see enemies with glowing, golden eyes, you have the opportunity to get extra runes.
10. Learn pairing
There are very many enemies in the Elden Ring who use weapons you can parry. The timing of mating is difficult to achieve, but when you get it into your fingers it goes by itself.
The mini-boss in Stormhill Evergaol is a good starting point for trying out the skills properly. He is a challenging opponent if you just roll and use shields, but will be very simple if you can parry evenly.
Do you have other, quick tips? Feel free to share them in the comments section.
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