it's funny because it's a complete reversal of the "asset reuse" criticism people had with the base game. before, you fought different bosses who shared the same model and animations, now it's the same boss who has a different model and animations than when he was fought before. i swear, this HAS to be some meta joke, there's no way.
It definitely felt weird at the end, I kept thinking "there must be more to this" googled it and was surprised there wasn't more secrets or endings that anyone has found.
Here's the thing for me, as someone who has great passion for characters and/or storytelling... It *doesn't matter* if the choice to make it feel empty was intentional or not. Or made by Miyazaki himself. Even if that was his vision that doesn't make it infallible or somehow above critique. We can still critique poor storytelling/animation/cooking/other forms of expression, even if we do not necessarily understand the intricacies of making them. That is why art is subjective, therefore all the opinions of the dlcs are gonna subjective, and so, in my subjective opinion: I think the ending was bad, underwhelming, and doesn't hold up when put to scrutiny. When I finished say, The Ringed City, or Old Hunters, did it affect the base game? No, not really. But it did give me a sense of closure on how this story, and world, operates. Old Hunters serves as a prequel of sorts, showing us the original sin and depravity of those who founded The Healing Church - and so it's easier to understand the events of the base game afterwards because we have truly *seen* the depths of low William, Laurence and their ilk would go to. It is the classic adage of Show don't tell. And it works because to this day the research hall has to be one of my favourite places (lore wise). The Ringed City feels like a string of hope for an otherwise dying world. The boss at the end of it isn't some grand god or mighty ruler... He's a man, just like you, once adrift in the cold, dying world. With the only thing that is keeping him going - his hope for the greater world in the painting, knowing full well that you'll have to inherit that hope for him, as its foundation inherently implies on him not seeing it. And you do, you're the one who carries that torch for him, takes the blood of the Dark Soul back to the painter so that she may make the one world that may not rot. So what did SOTET do that I found so underwhelming? It had good storybeats with Messmer and Marika, and it absolutely carried that through to greatness, as did Midra and his addition to the lore of frenzy, but no... My issue specifically lies with Miquella and Radahn. It's true that as someone who enjoyed Morgott and Mohg's design very much I kept joking about how Mohg was actually Miquellested all this time if only not to feel complete sense of despair looking at how cool he was and feeling terrible for even thinking about writing something about him. But when I said that - I didn't want Mohg's character to be pardoned at the expense of Miquella becoming what I said he would become: a Griffith clone. Yes, there were always dark undertones to Miquella's power, such is the nature of his abilities. But we have seen of him, first and foremost, a saint who genuinely cared for others and who wished for a better world and a genius who crafted a tool capable of resisting the greatest forces there be, as well as the drive to find a better way. Of all the characters in this cast, wouldn't it be Miquella who would've found an inherently better way than to shed all that he was in order to succeed Marika? And if we, as a Tarnished, really must have a boss fight against Miquella why does it feel like we have no *choice* on whether or not to kill him? It's true, he has Radahn as his consort - but after his defeat, don't you think he'd at least try to convince the Tarnished that his hope for the world is genuine? Why can't we decide whether it is or not? Imagine with me, for a second, if we could agree to Miquella's age of Compassion, that after his defeat he gave us a very good pitch. He becomes a summon spirit, which sticks to our back much like did for Radahn but with a twist - being summonable in relevant parts of the game, the Haligtreee, Mohg's palace, Marika's stone platform etc. Even outside the fight, providing unique lines of dialogue when done so and being the only spirit that carries over into NG+. As well as providing a new ending in vein to Ranni's. Image Ansbach dying in our arms, either proud of us for denying Miquella his age, or lamenting for us on his deathbed for we fell under his curse. Thiollier finally realising that the sleep he was looking for all this time is coming - death is coming, and he's scared, yet drifts away under your comfort. Wouldn't that be so much more satisfying than what we got? And I am just one person cooking on the internet. Also, what the fuck happened to Godwyn? My boy was straight up left in the fridge like a forgotten box of blueberries. 😭
All the past dlc felt like an extension, or a spinoff from the main game. SotE feels like it is designed to be experience as part of your main game's journey. Playing this "expansion" after 2 years gap did leave things feeling disconnected. Ibet a scholar of the first sin version of elden ring - defintive edition - played by a first timer would have a blast
I obviously played the DLC non-stop and had an absolute blast, but I can't say in good faith that they cooked, they undercooked, its raw, and the fries are missing. -"Remembrance bosses" that have no business being such. Gauis, scadutree avatar, putrescence knight. This isn't an issue IN A VACUM, but compared to the base game, it just feels like they were out of their depth. - Lack of cutscenes for "remembrance" bosses.. like really, THE SWORD OF MESSMER, Rellana, gets a 15min dungeon and no cutscene? -Exploration is hamstrung by the fact it's a 50+hr DLC but we're already using fully built characters. Sure you might find your new favourite weapon, but more likely not, which devalues loot and in turn exploration. In previous DLCs they were pretty short, so it wasn't an issue, in this case, they honestly should've waited a bit more and just made a sequel. -Bosses movesets are undercooked. Imagine the gap between base game/dlc in DS1, DS3, BB.. Then go ahead and tell me which boss in ER DLC has a more complex moveset than Morgott. Like seriously, if it weren't for the fact that people run into bosses with under levelled blessings (lion and rellana mainly), the larger community would realize that fromsoft peaked in base game. -The mechanic of the rune breaking so easily, cutting off so many interesting dialogues and "quests" is an insanely dumb design. I went into the camp outside the shadow keep, got overwhelmed, and in my attempt to create space got too close to the keep (I didn't intend to even enter it) and the rune was broken and I couldn't even read the text cuz I had the wickerman bullying me. -Radahn is creatively bankrupt, It has ZERO reason to be him writing wise since his story concludes PERFECTLY with the festival, it just feels like a "nostalgia-bait" and a cheap way to create hype cuz "IT'S PRIME RADAHN!!". As for malenia marching to radahn, it could've had MANY different GOOD explanations. -Mechanically, Radahn is the work of modders, not fromsoft. That's the simplest way I can put it. Look at the mod "unalloyed malenia" and try to tell me that that modder couldn't've made Radahn(mechanically). Phase one is godfrey from wish + undodge-able doubleslash into cross, and phase two is IRL flashbangs and cheap holy after-effects. -Performance issues, duh. -As for the ending.. It is BYFAR the most pathetic way for fromsoft to have ever forced a question, the question obviously is "What's radahn position? he cool with it? forced?" The memory shows miquella asking radahn to promise him, but it cuts out before we get the response. It is such a cheap cliff hanger. The ending is also REDUNDANT, we have the phase 2 cutscene, memory cutscene, radahn's armor, his swords, miquella's spell ALL HARPING ON THE VOW. Like CHILL, I get that we're meant to theorize about the vow, just give us different info already. Overall, throughout the DLC, I kept feeling like fromsoft is going "Remember that from the base game? LOOK HERE IT IS, yeah the scarlet rot is back but it's pink now.. frenzy is back..etc." But without substantive elaboration. It's just callbacks to the base game. Of course there are some original stuff like messmer and the hornset whole thing. THE WORST PART.. and i'll just give an example of it... I find miquella as a god, I kill miquella.. I go to gideon, and he just says "what's up... piss off.." Like seriously? I get that it's a DLC and as such must be separated from the base game. But you can't separate it at the cost of DESTROYING immersion and any semblance of sense. It's still a blast cuz the main gameplay loop is good. But as an ELDEN RING dlc? it's downright embarrassing. It also marks my loss in faith for Fromsoft to be able to top it's previous releases year after year. The souls formula peaked at base elden ring, and if they keep at it, it's gonna implode.
im sure the dlc is unfinishsed since most areas lack anything noteworthy in them and about 40% of the enemies are reused from the main game. its too big for the 2 years they had. they should have scrapped the dlc idea, reset your character spend 2 more years and youd have had an amazing sequel
@@DyIanGaming in the trailer, marika pulls grace threads out of some big weird creature we never really see, that was when marika ascended to godhood, and it was at the gate of divinity, so it would make sense for the body to be there
That would have been cool, a way for killing Miquella to actually matter in the grand scheme of things. I kind of hate how the two endings that feel like they are ‘true’ ending are Ranni’s and the Frenzied Flame. I really don’t like either, as I kinda dislike Ranni and I don’t want to burn the world to the ground. Shibiri was a dick. Ranni just seems like Marika in blue. It would be nice to have each ending espoused upon a little more.
@@zaphael7238 I picked Ranni’s ending in my first playthrough (about to NG+ not) but I just can’t wrap my head around a Tarnished actually feeling comfortable with making her a consort knowing that she’s not just a kin killer but also that she signed off on Iji and Blaidd’s deaths. The woman is a teamkilling fuck, what do you think is going to happen to you if you basically marry her? It’s like choosing to get involved with a girl whose last 7 boyfriends all died of mysterious circumstances. I hate how FromSoft didn’t include the Merchant quest for the Frenzied Flame. It’s so cool
I don't like how Micquella is all the sudden a Necromancer who could fuse Soul into a dead body. It's so simple, convenient and contrived for Micq to have all these powers..... What else could he do? Does he have power to control time, space, reality etc? It's extreme LAZY writing to simply explain all his powers as part of being a "GOD".
there is a real example of unfinished contents in the DLC. Abyssal Woods is one of em. it only filled with those dragonpriestess npcs, winter lanternand rats a whole lot of rats. that spot could have more than these, was hoping for some bloodborne style monsters not just winter lantern. this spot could've been the pvp covenant spot as well. the mansion only filled with shadow hornsent people and priestess. this area could have been more tbh
Lets be real ..people saying how huge the map is for a DLC ..and yea it is ..BUT ..blue and red area ..spooky frenzy woods ..jagged peak ..finger ruins ..there is close to absolutely nothing in those areas ..like ..absolutely nothing ..one leads to a god damn cave ..another leads to another location to a putresent knight ..another to bayle ..another is just a quest line "go there and blow a bell (since when people blow to bells to play them btw?) But besides those points theres nothing and its like at least 50-60% of map easily ..
@@mathewdyffryn8693 it's funny looking back at ds2 and sotfs they were packing with enemies... That fits their own areas and locations. ER DLC has been feeling like it was a modpack then an actual DLC
@@LyllianaofMirrah yeaaah..dont get me wrong I still think it was well worth my money but it was also a huge disappointment ..like ..I dont know ..I hate the fact that most of minor bosses are NPC fights ...I loved fighting crucible knights ..tree avatars tree sentinels amd this stuff ..I definitely dont need more of those enemies in DLC but god damn ..I dont know ..they had 2 years ..they couldve easily made like 3 funny neat little bosses and repeat them like 3-4 times each if they had nice movesets ..I get it they wanted to give you more armor and weapons so they decided to dress enemy NPCs to it and be like "there you go ..there is your fun boss fight enjoy"
@@mathewdyffryn8693 i was gifted by an old friend the dlc, the thing i think it's worth the money is the main bosses and dungeons weapons, spells, armor and new tears and talismans. but i sorta wish they had +3 version of erdtree favor, or +3 bull-goat talisman, even better to have +3 great jar arsenal.
The way I'd frame it is : Miquella's age ends abruptly, before it could truly begin. So of course the DLC doesn't end with much fanfare, there's nothing to celebrate in what happened because by your actions, by killing Miquella... you stop anything from happening. I can only speak for myself but the dead silence followed by the memory of Miquella's childish plea to Radahn worked pretty damn well in making me feel sad.
Honestly, the second point has some merit(just some). I see no reason why to not add gloam eyed queen lore or evidence of what miquella was doing to give godwyn a true death and the finale. Honestly it does feel basically complete, but these 2 things felt left out compared to others.
The flashback is very strange to me. The dull grey background, the lore dump we already figured out... Seems more like an unfinished cutscene than a grand fair well after beating the game. Odd.
I think the only time the DLC affected the base game was in Bloodborne, where the doll has some dialogue after you defeat Maria Edit: just remembered another one, in Dark Souls if you rescue Sif in the DLC before fighting her in the main game the cutscene is different
Despite taking 2 years to come out, there's a level of jank that makes it feel like the dlc needed some more time in the oven. A wall with no collision in one of the dungeons, that one wall in Bonny Gaol that gives you epilepsy, new weapons having outdated poise values, way too many instances of animals randomly falling off a cliff and dying when they render in and the open world zones feel really skippable on subsequent playthroughs. When you know where the skadutree fragments and the important items are you can skip 90% of the map because the loot is generally garbage, feels like the map could have used another pass to fill it with more stuff instead of worthless crafting ingredients.
I liked the ending because of the motive on why we’re fighting miquella and radahn; as the lore states, the world only ever needs one lord and one god, and we can’t become the Elden lord with Ranni/Marika/outer god of chaos as our god if there already is an Elden lord and god in the form of radahn as Elden lord and Miquella as the god of his new age.
I didn't expect it to answer every question but there is still a lot of basic stuff that people can't agree on. If FS wanted to convey that not everyone gets their conclusion, then I feel like they could have portrayed it better. Infeel like there was a lot of setups in the vase game that weren't paid off.
I think the only thing I wish they added, story-wise, is something more for Godwyn. That’s the only character I feel doesn’t have a satisfying conclusion. Other than that I was totally happy with the story and got even more than I thought they would give. I also appreciate that we fight Radahn in his prime. In the base game I felt like a bully going around beating decrepit opponents who are dying or dead already. Godfrey, Mohg, and Elden beast felt like the only fights who were in their prime. It feels really epic to actually fight two of the most feared demigods in combat while both are at their most powerful. It makes me feel like I really earn my spot as lord. Gameplay-wise the PvE was perfect. Perfect…. Except the final boss. I kinda wish he wasn’t so steeped in particle effects in the second phase. The other bosses were amazing though. Enemies were amazing. Weapons were amazing. The forest stealth to get away from horror game enemies felt so cool. The NPCs are just the coolest. Ansbach and Igon are the best ride or die companions you can ask for. As for PvE we got next to nothing which is kinda sad. I never played dark souls so idk what it was like for those games but people have mentioned Covenants which sounds like having a clan or something and that sounds really fun. I also wish we could’ve gotten a way to refight bosses for rewards like rune arcs, arteria leaves, or other rare items that are hard to come by. But at this point I think I’m being a little greedy. The DLC gave me more than enough and I was very satisfied.
Honestly, my biggest complaint is that Radahn is the final boss. If Radahn was the penultimate fight, or if he looked more unique like a mohg/radahn hybrid, I would like it a lot better. I don't particularly like Elden Beast, but at least it's unique and it looks cool, it feels like a final boss. I don't see myself replaying the dlc much now knowing that it just builds to a Radahn rematch, which is a shame because there were some fantastic moments up to that point.
Fromsoft has done base game changes after dlc. Not in DS3 though, but in Bloodborne and DS1. Maybe you haven't played them yet so, spoilers ahead. In Bloodborne after you defeat maria and the Orphan of Kos she comments on changes in herself and in Gherman. In DS1 If you slay Manus and rescue young Sif, before you face older Sif, you will get an entire new cut scene where Sif will recognize you. If Fromsoft wanted the dlc to feel empty then they accomplished it. But if they didn't want that, it was definitely a missed opportunity to not have some kind of base game connection. I sympathize with the people who played those games and were looking forward to a less isolated experience.
I loved the fight part... Lore is just aight and the ending is, well, a fromsoft ending Didn't expect anything and still was disappointed by the cutscene
9/10. Could have been a perfect DLC, fill in a few plot holes, cut scenes, some more weapons of the “new” typing, and it would have been a masterpiece. Thoroughly enjoyed it though, on my 3rd play-through atm
NGL fam, I think this twist was a bit of a slap in the face to Radhan and by extension, Godwyn. Wasn't set up very well for WHY Miquella chose him, no real evidence in the base game or most of the DLC for their relationship, just didn't feel great over all with the lack of fanfare. Esp to turn around and see my two homies dead in the corner after on top of the anti-climax, but... well that's a From NPC questline for ya, happy endings are the exception to the rule. But damn ;-; Ain't even get any final words with the bois. We as the player truly walk away as the sole survivor of this godforsaken land. Kinda mirrors the ending of the basegame with the erdtree aflame, the capital ruined, and most of the lands between probably being dead after the eons of war and our own personal warpath across the entire continent. Feels bad man. Ranni's ending is the only real consolation.
Also I respect fromsoft but everyone wants to be yes men the dlc seems very unfinished it’s about marikas background but we never learn about her and radagon and if they were always one or not especially with lore of her people having the perfect flesh for fusion kind of a missed opportunity.
There wasn't really an ending. It reminded me of the Bloodborne DLC where you think there's going to be a story but there isn't. You just kill the Orphan of Kos then you go back to the main game. My first time through I kept looking around for how to progress after killing Orphan because nothing told me it was over. Typical Fromsoft. Their games have lore but little to no plot. Usually you're too busy fighting big monsters to notice that you have no idea why you're fighting them.
I'm mostly upset it was Radahn instead of Godwyn. Isn't a fun fight for me either. Upset that in general we didn't get stuff for Godwyn and Gloam-Eyed Queen
The dlc as a whole feels half ass in my opinion. Everything from the shadow drop announcement of the dlc on Twitter to the final product screams that they really didn't want to work on this. Enemy variety sucked, reused bosses, no cutscenes/voiced dialogue for majority of the important bosses. Some new weapons were cool but still outclassed by base game weapons. If it weren't for the scadupoo fragments there wouldn't be a reason to explore. The overtuned final boss was an absolute miserable experience. The only positive things I have to say about it is that the messmer fight was exciting and dramatic and the art design of the environments were top notch. It wasn't worth the money and should have costed 15-20 dollars.
I find the ending fine, idk how are people expecting way too much over something that they don't know the standards from, the fact it gives in a cutscene to Miquella looks desperate to be a God was enough for me to be satisfied and ask myself if he's just an evil person or truly believes in kindness. It was the most bare bone expected I would get from beating fromsoft dlc.
Honestly it felt very unfinished and after such a grueling final boss, you'd think it would give some semblance of closer or a new ending, but honestly I found it quite disappointing even if it was intentional, I don't think that was a necessarily a good decision.
@@esincorporated6123 Honestly…unless you want the new items. Yes. Yes it is. They would have to make a final dlc installment for after you’ve become Elden lord and hide entry to that area in the shadow lands for it to be important for the base game.
What bugs me is that Miquella's "plan" makes no sense from the get go: turn himself into an egg and chill in Mohg's smelly basement while Malenia goes fetch Radahn, only for her to fail and a random tarnished who has nothing to do with anything comes in, or whatever your headcannon for the timeline is, since there is no official one. Kinda like Ranni's plan is nonsensical and depends on you doing stuff for her for no reason other than curiosity. Then you get invited to the shadow realm by his people, they tell you to go find Miquella, and the only reason you kill people is because they aggro at you and that's the only way to progress. I guess they were trying to imply that your "ambition" just kills everyone and etc, but I mean, the other option is simply not playing, right? It also seems odd to me that Miquella stops what he is doing to confront you. Might as well become a god and wipe you off at that point. Or why he doesn't try harder: he only gives Radahn a couple of explosions after his swings, while I was prepared to fight some unspeakable creature when he just lets go, you know how this goes. I think they intended for you to "side" with Miquella for a while, only to find out the truth about him once you explore the world. But that doesn't work. The outdated Souls "storytelling" and gameplay also doesn't help to fit that narrative if that was the case. Like, we had to find Miquella and listen to his bs propaganda at least once outside of combat for that to work.
My problem with the dlc is that nothing you do in it actually matters. You can still ascend to lordship without ever stepping foot into the realm of shadow. Miquella literally can't stop you. We’re told to kill him and stop him and a big gamk fight is just in front of the final boss in a last ditch effort to prevent you from ending Miquella and Radahn, but…does it really matter? Nothing in the dlc can stop you from achieving any of the endings in the base game. The DLC is presented as important, but can really just be treated as vacation for the Tarnished. DS 1 DLC had you time-traveling. You went back and guaranteed the time line happening, last I checked. The Old Hunters wasn't as impactful, but you still did put the Orphan to sleep, and presumably ending the nightmare. The Ringed City was more of a continuation that allowed the painter to create a new world. The dlcs gave a sense of closure once you beat it, and had an impact on the timeline in some cases. Shadow of the Erdtree has neither. Nothing that happens gets acknowledged in the base game. Malenia still thinks her brother is returning, Gideon doesn't get to find out what happened Mohg and Miquella, and you don't get to tell Ranni, “Hey, you got competition.” The biggest impact the dlc has on the base game are the trophies you keep from it. That's why people aren't satisfied, or at least that's why I'm not. I felt some measure of disappointment when it was stated there would be no changes to the base game, but I didn't realize just how much I would come to dislike that direction.
I loved the DLC but I have some complaints reguarding some questionnable choices: -Who tf is Romina? She's in the story trailer with her OST kicking during the shot with Messmer, she's the last boss before the final one but we don't know almost anything about her. And that's a shame because she's one of my 3 favorite in the DLC with Bayle and Messmer. Her and Rellana deserved better because they're insanely cool. -Why did they cut the mention of Melina being Messmers, Malenia and Miquella's sister ? During a patch ? Nonsense -Who tf is the Gloam-Eyed Queen? She was like THE character that should have been in the DLC. Or at least an explaination. -Radahn...just Radahn...Fr, he felt like ER Charizard and seeing him as the final boss pissed me of so much that I almost quit the DLC when I saw him. The fight is fun and all but c'mon, no one wanted NOR needed him to came back. Just get tf out of the way and let me fight your consort i don't care about you. Also Miquella being reduced at basically just a phase 2 power-up is the biggest disappointment for me -Mohg beating the allegations was a big mistake. The fact that he was such an openly creepy and evil character was what made him so memorable. Now he's just a lame manipulated omen with some weird blood kink. The fight still cool but the character does'nt feel the same. I know it was to make Miquella more evil but c'mon, corpse defilement was the BARE MINIMUM I was expecting from the "most fearsome Empyrean of all". -Hornsent lore is cool but I'm still asking myself wtf is the crucible. Enir Ilim? The Scadutree ? An Outer God ? Something else ? Also, Devonia should get a boss healthbar and MOST IMPORTANT THING, her name should have been Cambria. People that knows about the Paleozoic era will understand this
@@pastorofmuppets4552 oh ok fair enough. I think the french description does'nt mention her because I read the Kindling's description and she wasn't there
I didn't like everything about the DLC, but the occasional sense of emptiness wasn't one of my problems. From the get go, we shouldn't be surprised, since a shadow of a thing is defined solely by absence, it's a dark emptiness. But more importantly, the emptiness fits thematically: we find out that Miquella no longer cares about the world from the Coffin Fissure Cross, that he discarded his love. The fact that he doesn't love anything anymore creates this horrible vacuum, and makes the battle against Leda and her crew even more sadistic. And what's worse, Miquella started all of this out of a bid to replace the world left by Marika's puppeteers, and the emptiness that Marika ended up generating. Ironically, Miquella only repeated history, being a lord of a broken world that he didn't care for. All of this is to say that Shadow of the Erdtree repeats something we already know Miyazaki believes: gods are bad, only your choices mean anything, and they can only mean anything to you.
To be honest no I'm not happy with the DLC I wanted Miquella to become a god and can't.......lol, sure I can just walk away but that's not what I want I want an ending with Miquella becoming a god......😂
I don’t think it’s reasonable to just dismiss someone’s expectations as “headcannon”, whether for lore, the open world, or DLC in general. Fromsofts DLCs have been known to take aspects from the base game and refine them. While SoTE improves upon some things from the basegame such as the weapons and catacombs. Other aspects such as the empty open world, lack of cutscenes, repeating bosses, and the lack of multiplayer functions are still present. To me, given the success of Elden Ring, that is disappointing. It doesn’t matter if these choices are intentional as that does not make it any more satisfying for the player.
There has been a connection with a dlc and base game ds1 if you kill artorias before sif, you can go back to sif and he will recognize you and be more aggressive, but as far as I know I think that’s the only connection from a fromsoft dlc to a base game. Idk it would’ve been cool if this whole dlc connected. But the ending was ass, I didn’t want to see radahn again. I get that everyone is related in this game and there’s only so much to choose from but when I first played the dlc it just felt like I payed 40$ to fight a boss I just fought the only difference is the move set and I’m he’s wearing his brother as drip. A stand alone miquella fight would’ve been better. It’s make sense now since it’s canon but it’s kinda dry but the whole lore surrounding this area is fire. But I agree the ending was pretty shit. If you liked it cool. The fight was something I wasn’t looking for, it did feel like fan service a little bit.
I know there are sooooo many souls fans that worship the games, but I think they do a crap job at story telling. You have to read weapon, armor or random food descriptions to learn anything. All the best lore is from content creators. Hardly Any information about Buffs, abilities etc. again, content creators. Zero build up to bosses. You just walk into a room and there they are. The DLC felt super lame and I’ve done 15 play throughs on base with 10 characters. Miquella was talked about being the strongest and geared etc and that mf just piggybacked on radahn the goat. We did get some cool gear, especially anti-ganker weapons and stuff. Overall, even though it was dark and not a continuation of the base game and more like a side quest (another quest line that can easily be fkd up, ty Miyazaki) I thought it was alright.
I remember at release when everyone was saying this was one out of three possible endings 😂 Man, the cope. So happy I didn't pre-order this overhyped garbage. It'll be hard to admit for a lot of the glazers but we were absolutely scammed. Besides the lackluster ending, the empty map, the sheer lack of cutscenes ( none when you enter the Shadow realm ) , lack of boss dialogue and personality, reused mini bosses and mobs, reskins, reused assets, movesets, ( Twin princes, ponthiff, orphan of kos, new londo draining, demihuman queen, ulcerated tree spirit, tree sentinels, magma wyvern, fallingstar beast etc ) the lazy poorly written lore we were given and everything else left in the air ( Torrent, Gloam eyed Queen, Melina etc. ) , it is essentially an extension of Elden Ring and adds close to nothing to the base game, zero unique interactions after having journeyed to the Shadow realm from Melina, Ranni, Gideon, Malenia ( you literally kill the brother she's been waiting for and her sole reason to live ) etc. The DLC is a Marvel movie. Flashing lights and nice soundtracks, absolutely zero substance. Personally, I am incredibly disappointed in Fromsoft.
The way the dlc ended was great, extremely awesome and tragic with me honestly getting emotional when I found ansbach afterwards. I came for a fromsoftware dlc and that’s exactly what I got and more so. Less is more to be honest. I’m not here for some AAA pandering slop like what some of these people wanted, cuz we both know that would’ve been horrible and totally unlike fromsoftware to do.
Some people are just bitter and shows from their comments, like I didn't like the ending the fight was great I just didn't like it was Radahn and that's that. But in general the DLC was really good not the best, I still think the old hunters and the Ringed city are the best. But SotE is really good, the Jagged Peak is my favorite area in all FS. The Abyssal Woods is the second, Messmer and Rellana are my favorite boss fights, Belurat Tower and Enir Ilm were amazing. Yes there were some duds like the Cerulean Shore and Charo's Hidden Grave both very beautiful areas yet very empty. The Black keep was great especially the Storage area, Rauh's Ruins also were great. I'd give this DLC an 8/10 not the best but not bad in any way.
I knew it was gonna be weird when there wasn’t even a cutscene entering the DLC
@@Lilacropolis gael cutscene towards The Painting world. Dreg heap to ringed city cutscene
Radahn being the last boss was a big slap in the face to all the people who thought they reused bosses too much lol
it's funny because it's a complete reversal of the "asset reuse" criticism people had with the base game.
before, you fought different bosses who shared the same model and animations, now it's the same boss who has a different model and animations than when he was fought before.
i swear, this HAS to be some meta joke, there's no way.
I was surprised there was no unique ending, honestly. You cant even go through the gate...
It definitely felt weird at the end, I kept thinking "there must be more to this" googled it and was surprised there wasn't more secrets or endings that anyone has found.
not even a new selection of bonus ending from dlc? aka that elden lord cutscene where we use miquella's rune
Here's the thing for me, as someone who has great passion for characters and/or storytelling...
It *doesn't matter* if the choice to make it feel empty was intentional or not. Or made by Miyazaki himself. Even if that was his vision that doesn't make it infallible or somehow above critique.
We can still critique poor storytelling/animation/cooking/other forms of expression, even if we do not necessarily understand the intricacies of making them. That is why art is subjective, therefore all the opinions of the dlcs are gonna subjective, and so, in my subjective opinion: I think the ending was bad, underwhelming, and doesn't hold up when put to scrutiny.
When I finished say, The Ringed City, or Old Hunters, did it affect the base game? No, not really. But it did give me a sense of closure on how this story, and world, operates.
Old Hunters serves as a prequel of sorts, showing us the original sin and depravity of those who founded The Healing Church - and so it's easier to understand the events of the base game afterwards because we have truly *seen* the depths of low William, Laurence and their ilk would go to. It is the classic adage of Show don't tell. And it works because to this day the research hall has to be one of my favourite places (lore wise).
The Ringed City feels like a string of hope for an otherwise dying world. The boss at the end of it isn't some grand god or mighty ruler... He's a man, just like you, once adrift in the cold, dying world. With the only thing that is keeping him going - his hope for the greater world in the painting, knowing full well that you'll have to inherit that hope for him, as its foundation inherently implies on him not seeing it. And you do, you're the one who carries that torch for him, takes the blood of the Dark Soul back to the painter so that she may make the one world that may not rot.
So what did SOTET do that I found so underwhelming?
It had good storybeats with Messmer and Marika, and it absolutely carried that through to greatness, as did Midra and his addition to the lore of frenzy, but no...
My issue specifically lies with Miquella and Radahn.
It's true that as someone who enjoyed Morgott and Mohg's design very much I kept joking about how Mohg was actually Miquellested all this time if only not to feel complete sense of despair looking at how cool he was and feeling terrible for even thinking about writing something about him. But when I said that - I didn't want Mohg's character to be pardoned at the expense of Miquella becoming what I said he would become: a Griffith clone.
Yes, there were always dark undertones to Miquella's power, such is the nature of his abilities. But we have seen of him, first and foremost, a saint who genuinely cared for others and who wished for a better world and a genius who crafted a tool capable of resisting the greatest forces there be, as well as the drive to find a better way.
Of all the characters in this cast, wouldn't it be Miquella who would've found an inherently better way than to shed all that he was in order to succeed Marika?
And if we, as a Tarnished, really must have a boss fight against Miquella why does it feel like we have no *choice* on whether or not to kill him? It's true, he has Radahn as his consort - but after his defeat, don't you think he'd at least try to convince the Tarnished that his hope for the world is genuine? Why can't we decide whether it is or not?
Imagine with me, for a second, if we could agree to Miquella's age of Compassion, that after his defeat he gave us a very good pitch.
He becomes a summon spirit, which sticks to our back much like did for Radahn but with a twist - being summonable in relevant parts of the game, the Haligtreee, Mohg's palace, Marika's stone platform etc. Even outside the fight, providing unique lines of dialogue when done so and being the only spirit that carries over into NG+. As well as providing a new ending in vein to Ranni's.
Image Ansbach dying in our arms, either proud of us for denying Miquella his age, or lamenting for us on his deathbed for we fell under his curse.
Thiollier finally realising that the sleep he was looking for all this time is coming - death is coming, and he's scared, yet drifts away under your comfort.
Wouldn't that be so much more satisfying than what we got? And I am just one person cooking on the internet.
Also, what the fuck happened to Godwyn? My boy was straight up left in the fridge like a forgotten box of blueberries. 😭
Become a writer bro
@@chandley25 I practice occasionally. XD
Mostly personal characters and art. Not that I post it though. Thank you though. That means a lot. 🧡
It definitely DOES feel unfinished. A lot of stuff in the trailer is missing, many plotlines remain unexplored, but it is still very good.
To answer the title's question: No I didn't.
Now lets watch the video
All the past dlc felt like an extension, or a spinoff from the main game. SotE feels like it is designed to be experience as part of your main game's journey. Playing this "expansion" after 2 years gap did leave things feeling disconnected. Ibet a scholar of the first sin version of elden ring - defintive edition - played by a first timer would have a blast
Yes, but they could have just added more and that would be no harm to any new players or old ones
I obviously played the DLC non-stop and had an absolute blast, but I can't say in good faith that they cooked, they undercooked, its raw, and the fries are missing.
-"Remembrance bosses" that have no business being such. Gauis, scadutree avatar, putrescence knight. This isn't an issue IN A VACUM, but compared to the base game, it just feels like they were out of their depth.
- Lack of cutscenes for "remembrance" bosses.. like really, THE SWORD OF MESSMER, Rellana, gets a 15min dungeon and no cutscene?
-Exploration is hamstrung by the fact it's a 50+hr DLC but we're already using fully built characters. Sure you might find your new favourite weapon, but more likely not, which devalues loot and in turn exploration. In previous DLCs they were pretty short, so it wasn't an issue, in this case, they honestly should've waited a bit more and just made a sequel.
-Bosses movesets are undercooked. Imagine the gap between base game/dlc in DS1, DS3, BB.. Then go ahead and tell me which boss in ER DLC has a more complex moveset than Morgott. Like seriously, if it weren't for the fact that people run into bosses with under levelled blessings (lion and rellana mainly), the larger community would realize that fromsoft peaked in base game.
-The mechanic of the rune breaking so easily, cutting off so many interesting dialogues and "quests" is an insanely dumb design. I went into the camp outside the shadow keep, got overwhelmed, and in my attempt to create space got too close to the keep (I didn't intend to even enter it) and the rune was broken and I couldn't even read the text cuz I had the wickerman bullying me.
-Radahn is creatively bankrupt, It has ZERO reason to be him writing wise since his story concludes PERFECTLY with the festival, it just feels like a "nostalgia-bait" and a cheap way to create hype cuz "IT'S PRIME RADAHN!!". As for malenia marching to radahn, it could've had MANY different GOOD explanations.
-Mechanically, Radahn is the work of modders, not fromsoft. That's the simplest way I can put it. Look at the mod "unalloyed malenia" and try to tell me that that modder couldn't've made Radahn(mechanically). Phase one is godfrey from wish + undodge-able doubleslash into cross, and phase two is IRL flashbangs and cheap holy after-effects.
-Performance issues, duh.
-As for the ending.. It is BYFAR the most pathetic way for fromsoft to have ever forced a question, the question obviously is "What's radahn position? he cool with it? forced?" The memory shows miquella asking radahn to promise him, but it cuts out before we get the response. It is such a cheap cliff hanger. The ending is also REDUNDANT, we have the phase 2 cutscene, memory cutscene, radahn's armor, his swords, miquella's spell ALL HARPING ON THE VOW. Like CHILL, I get that we're meant to theorize about the vow, just give us different info already.
Overall, throughout the DLC, I kept feeling like fromsoft is going "Remember that from the base game? LOOK HERE IT IS, yeah the scarlet rot is back but it's pink now.. frenzy is back..etc." But without substantive elaboration. It's just callbacks to the base game. Of course there are some original stuff like messmer and the hornset whole thing.
THE WORST PART.. and i'll just give an example of it... I find miquella as a god, I kill miquella.. I go to gideon, and he just says "what's up... piss off.." Like seriously? I get that it's a DLC and as such must be separated from the base game. But you can't separate it at the cost of DESTROYING immersion and any semblance of sense.
It's still a blast cuz the main gameplay loop is good. But as an ELDEN RING dlc? it's downright embarrassing. It also marks my loss in faith for Fromsoft to be able to top it's previous releases year after year. The souls formula peaked at base elden ring, and if they keep at it, it's gonna implode.
Best comment on this video the Gideon comment made me laugh lol like seriously
im sure the dlc is unfinishsed since most areas lack anything noteworthy in them and about 40% of the enemies are reused from the main game.
its too big for the 2 years they had. they should have scrapped the dlc idea, reset your character spend 2 more years and youd have had an amazing sequel
40% are reused and 35% are those dark ghost enemies you see literally everywhere💀
I think there should’ve at least been some new dialogue from Gideon about miquella
My only complaint is that there is no giant dead snake in the final boss arena. Literally no reason not to add some history to that place.
Wait why would there be a giant snake? Did I miss something about the divine gate?
@@DyIanGaming in the trailer, marika pulls grace threads out of some big weird creature we never really see, that was when marika ascended to godhood, and it was at the gate of divinity, so it would make sense for the body to be there
@10hartland oh yeah I didn’t think that was a snake but yeah since you can’t even go to the gate of divinity that would be really cool
I just wanted and Age of Renewal ending with Malenia/Millicent involving the shattering of Miquella’s seal + the unalloyed needle
That would have been cool, a way for killing Miquella to actually matter in the grand scheme of things. I kind of hate how the two endings that feel like they are ‘true’ ending are Ranni’s and the Frenzied Flame. I really don’t like either, as I kinda dislike Ranni and I don’t want to burn the world to the ground. Shibiri was a dick.
Ranni just seems like Marika in blue. It would be nice to have each ending espoused upon a little more.
@@zaphael7238 I picked Ranni’s ending in my first playthrough (about to NG+ not) but I just can’t wrap my head around a Tarnished actually feeling comfortable with making her a consort knowing that she’s not just a kin killer but also that she signed off on Iji and Blaidd’s deaths. The woman is a teamkilling fuck, what do you think is going to happen to you if you basically marry her? It’s like choosing to get involved with a girl whose last 7 boyfriends all died of mysterious circumstances.
I hate how FromSoft didn’t include the Merchant quest for the Frenzied Flame. It’s so cool
I don't like how Micquella is all the sudden a Necromancer who could fuse Soul into a dead body. It's so simple, convenient and contrived for Micq to have all these powers.....
What else could he do? Does he have power to control time, space, reality etc?
It's extreme LAZY writing to simply explain all his powers as part of being a "GOD".
there is a real example of unfinished contents in the DLC. Abyssal Woods is one of em. it only filled with those dragonpriestess npcs, winter lanternand rats a whole lot of rats. that spot could have more than these, was hoping for some bloodborne style monsters not just winter lantern. this spot could've been the pvp covenant spot as well.
the mansion only filled with shadow hornsent people and priestess. this area could have been more tbh
Lets be real ..people saying how huge the map is for a DLC ..and yea it is ..BUT ..blue and red area ..spooky frenzy woods ..jagged peak ..finger ruins ..there is close to absolutely nothing in those areas ..like ..absolutely nothing ..one leads to a god damn cave ..another leads to another location to a putresent knight ..another to bayle ..another is just a quest line "go there and blow a bell (since when people blow to bells to play them btw?)
But besides those points theres nothing and its like at least 50-60% of map easily ..
@@mathewdyffryn8693 it's funny looking back at ds2 and sotfs they were packing with enemies... That fits their own areas and locations.
ER DLC has been feeling like it was a modpack then an actual DLC
@@LyllianaofMirrah yeaaah..dont get me wrong I still think it was well worth my money but it was also a huge disappointment ..like ..I dont know ..I hate the fact that most of minor bosses are NPC fights ...I loved fighting crucible knights ..tree avatars tree sentinels amd this stuff ..I definitely dont need more of those enemies in DLC but god damn ..I dont know ..they had 2 years ..they couldve easily made like 3 funny neat little bosses and repeat them like 3-4 times each if they had nice movesets ..I get it they wanted to give you more armor and weapons so they decided to dress enemy NPCs to it and be like "there you go ..there is your fun boss fight enjoy"
@@mathewdyffryn8693 i was gifted by an old friend the dlc, the thing i think it's worth the money is the main bosses and dungeons weapons, spells, armor and new tears and talismans. but i sorta wish they had +3 version of erdtree favor, or +3 bull-goat talisman, even better to have +3 great jar arsenal.
Why are most people dissapointed? GODWYN.
The way I'd frame it is : Miquella's age ends abruptly, before it could truly begin. So of course the DLC doesn't end with much fanfare, there's nothing to celebrate in what happened because by your actions, by killing Miquella... you stop anything from happening.
I can only speak for myself but the dead silence followed by the memory of Miquella's childish plea to Radahn worked pretty damn well in making me feel sad.
Honestly, the second point has some merit(just some). I see no reason why to not add gloam eyed queen lore or evidence of what miquella was doing to give godwyn a true death and the finale. Honestly it does feel basically complete, but these 2 things felt left out compared to others.
The ending sucked. The final boss was already anti-fun, and then you have no real pay off.
@@DRum886 The rewards are terrible lol.
@@Yeertski where else would foul tarnished get Smithing Stone [1], if not in the post-game DLC exploration. Truly, FS cares about players
It really was a big let down.
Ansbach was soooooooo good, him and Igon made the whole DLC lol
The flashback is very strange to me. The dull grey background, the lore dump we already figured out... Seems more like an unfinished cutscene than a grand fair well after beating the game. Odd.
I think the only time the DLC affected the base game was in Bloodborne, where the doll has some dialogue after you defeat Maria
Edit: just remembered another one, in Dark Souls if you rescue Sif in the DLC before fighting her in the main game the cutscene is different
Dark souls 2
Yuria has multiple dialogues for finding sister friede and beating her
Despite taking 2 years to come out, there's a level of jank that makes it feel like the dlc needed some more time in the oven. A wall with no collision in one of the dungeons, that one wall in Bonny Gaol that gives you epilepsy, new weapons having outdated poise values, way too many instances of animals randomly falling off a cliff and dying when they render in and the open world zones feel really skippable on subsequent playthroughs. When you know where the skadutree fragments and the important items are you can skip 90% of the map because the loot is generally garbage, feels like the map could have used another pass to fill it with more stuff instead of worthless crafting ingredients.
I liked the ending because of the motive on why we’re fighting miquella and radahn; as the lore states, the world only ever needs one lord and one god, and we can’t become the Elden lord with Ranni/Marika/outer god of chaos as our god if there already is an Elden lord and god in the form of radahn as Elden lord and Miquella as the god of his new age.
Bro, when he was saying "save for me", it is just another way of saying "except for me."
I didn't expect it to answer every question but there is still a lot of basic stuff that people can't agree on. If FS wanted to convey that not everyone gets their conclusion, then I feel like they could have portrayed it better. Infeel like there was a lot of setups in the vase game that weren't paid off.
I think the only thing I wish they added, story-wise, is something more for Godwyn. That’s the only character I feel doesn’t have a satisfying conclusion. Other than that I was totally happy with the story and got even more than I thought they would give. I also appreciate that we fight Radahn in his prime. In the base game I felt like a bully going around beating decrepit opponents who are dying or dead already. Godfrey, Mohg, and Elden beast felt like the only fights who were in their prime. It feels really epic to actually fight two of the most feared demigods in combat while both are at their most powerful. It makes me feel like I really earn my spot as lord.
Gameplay-wise the PvE was perfect. Perfect…. Except the final boss. I kinda wish he wasn’t so steeped in particle effects in the second phase. The other bosses were amazing though. Enemies were amazing. Weapons were amazing. The forest stealth to get away from horror game enemies felt so cool. The NPCs are just the coolest. Ansbach and Igon are the best ride or die companions you can ask for.
As for PvE we got next to nothing which is kinda sad. I never played dark souls so idk what it was like for those games but people have mentioned Covenants which sounds like having a clan or something and that sounds really fun.
I also wish we could’ve gotten a way to refight bosses for rewards like rune arcs, arteria leaves, or other rare items that are hard to come by. But at this point I think I’m being a little greedy. The DLC gave me more than enough and I was very satisfied.
Honestly, my biggest complaint is that Radahn is the final boss. If Radahn was the penultimate fight, or if he looked more unique like a mohg/radahn hybrid, I would like it a lot better.
I don't particularly like Elden Beast, but at least it's unique and it looks cool, it feels like a final boss. I don't see myself replaying the dlc much now knowing that it just builds to a Radahn rematch, which is a shame because there were some fantastic moments up to that point.
Fromsoft has done base game changes after dlc. Not in DS3 though, but in Bloodborne and DS1. Maybe you haven't played them yet so, spoilers ahead.
In Bloodborne after you defeat maria and the Orphan of Kos she comments on changes in herself and in Gherman.
In DS1 If you slay Manus and rescue young Sif, before you face older Sif, you will get an entire new cut scene where Sif will recognize you.
If Fromsoft wanted the dlc to feel empty then they accomplished it. But if they didn't want that, it was definitely a missed opportunity to not have some kind of base game connection. I sympathize with the people who played those games and were looking forward to a less isolated experience.
Yuria in DS3 comments on Sister Friede both after you meet her and then kill her.
Thanks, I didn’t know that. This however, just makes shadow of the erdtree feel even stranger.
I loved the fight part... Lore is just aight and the ending is, well, a fromsoft ending
Didn't expect anything and still was disappointed by the cutscene
9/10. Could have been a perfect DLC, fill in a few plot holes, cut scenes, some more weapons of the “new” typing, and it would have been a masterpiece. Thoroughly enjoyed it though, on my 3rd play-through atm
NGL fam, I think this twist was a bit of a slap in the face to Radhan and by extension, Godwyn. Wasn't set up very well for WHY Miquella chose him, no real evidence in the base game or most of the DLC for their relationship, just didn't feel great over all with the lack of fanfare. Esp to turn around and see my two homies dead in the corner after on top of the anti-climax, but... well that's a From NPC questline for ya, happy endings are the exception to the rule. But damn ;-;
Ain't even get any final words with the bois. We as the player truly walk away as the sole survivor of this godforsaken land. Kinda mirrors the ending of the basegame with the erdtree aflame, the capital ruined, and most of the lands between probably being dead after the eons of war and our own personal warpath across the entire continent.
Feels bad man. Ranni's ending is the only real consolation.
Also I respect fromsoft but everyone wants to be yes men the dlc seems very unfinished it’s about marikas background but we never learn about her and radagon and if they were always one or not especially with lore of her people having the perfect flesh for fusion kind of a missed opportunity.
There wasn't really an ending. It reminded me of the Bloodborne DLC where you think there's going to be a story but there isn't. You just kill the Orphan of Kos then you go back to the main game. My first time through I kept looking around for how to progress after killing Orphan because nothing told me it was over. Typical Fromsoft. Their games have lore but little to no plot. Usually you're too busy fighting big monsters to notice that you have no idea why you're fighting them.
Fromsoft players when they don't understand the story: "UNFINISHED and BAD DESIGN!!"
What ending?
I'm mostly upset it was Radahn instead of Godwyn. Isn't a fun fight for me either. Upset that in general we didn't get stuff for Godwyn and Gloam-Eyed Queen
That’s wrong about from doing dlc call backs because in bloodborne when you kill lady Maria the doll comments on it & gehrman for orphan.
The dlc as a whole feels half ass in my opinion. Everything from the shadow drop announcement of the dlc on Twitter to the final product screams that they really didn't want to work on this. Enemy variety sucked, reused bosses, no cutscenes/voiced dialogue for majority of the important bosses. Some new weapons were cool but still outclassed by base game weapons. If it weren't for the scadupoo fragments there wouldn't be a reason to explore. The overtuned final boss was an absolute miserable experience. The only positive things I have to say about it is that the messmer fight was exciting and dramatic and the art design of the environments were top notch. It wasn't worth the money and should have costed 15-20 dollars.
I find the ending fine, idk how are people expecting way too much over something that they don't know the standards from, the fact it gives in a cutscene to Miquella looks desperate to be a God was enough for me to be satisfied and ask myself if he's just an evil person or truly believes in kindness. It was the most bare bone expected I would get from beating fromsoft dlc.
Honestly it felt very unfinished and after such a grueling final boss, you'd think it would give some semblance of closer or a new ending, but honestly I found it quite disappointing even if it was intentional, I don't think that was a necessarily a good decision.
There was no real final cutscene - at best Marika should’ve came on and spoke to us
It’s not an ending. It’s just a extension of the main game. The ending of the main game is the actual story ending. Your not meant to feel closure.
So the DLC is pointless.
@@esincorporated6123 Honestly…unless you want the new items. Yes. Yes it is. They would have to make a final dlc installment for after you’ve become Elden lord and hide entry to that area in the shadow lands for it to be important for the base game.
@@esincorporated6123 LMFAO
What bugs me is that Miquella's "plan" makes no sense from the get go: turn himself into an egg and chill in Mohg's smelly basement while Malenia goes fetch Radahn, only for her to fail and a random tarnished who has nothing to do with anything comes in, or whatever your headcannon for the timeline is, since there is no official one. Kinda like Ranni's plan is nonsensical and depends on you doing stuff for her for no reason other than curiosity.
Then you get invited to the shadow realm by his people, they tell you to go find Miquella, and the only reason you kill people is because they aggro at you and that's the only way to progress. I guess they were trying to imply that your "ambition" just kills everyone and etc, but I mean, the other option is simply not playing, right? It also seems odd to me that Miquella stops what he is doing to confront you. Might as well become a god and wipe you off at that point. Or why he doesn't try harder: he only gives Radahn a couple of explosions after his swings, while I was prepared to fight some unspeakable creature when he just lets go, you know how this goes.
I think they intended for you to "side" with Miquella for a while, only to find out the truth about him once you explore the world. But that doesn't work. The outdated Souls "storytelling" and gameplay also doesn't help to fit that narrative if that was the case. Like, we had to find Miquella and listen to his bs propaganda at least once outside of combat for that to work.
3:55 I think bonfire vn showcased the dialog.
My problem with the dlc is that nothing you do in it actually matters. You can still ascend to lordship without ever stepping foot into the realm of shadow. Miquella literally can't stop you. We’re told to kill him and stop him and a big gamk fight is just in front of the final boss in a last ditch effort to prevent you from ending Miquella and Radahn, but…does it really matter? Nothing in the dlc can stop you from achieving any of the endings in the base game. The DLC is presented as important, but can really just be treated as vacation for the Tarnished.
DS 1 DLC had you time-traveling. You went back and guaranteed the time line happening, last I checked.
The Old Hunters wasn't as impactful, but you still did put the Orphan to sleep, and presumably ending the nightmare.
The Ringed City was more of a continuation that allowed the painter to create a new world.
The dlcs gave a sense of closure once you beat it, and had an impact on the timeline in some cases.
Shadow of the Erdtree has neither. Nothing that happens gets acknowledged in the base game. Malenia still thinks her brother is returning, Gideon doesn't get to find out what happened Mohg and Miquella, and you don't get to tell Ranni, “Hey, you got competition.”
The biggest impact the dlc has on the base game are the trophies you keep from it. That's why people aren't satisfied, or at least that's why I'm not.
I felt some measure of disappointment when it was stated there would be no changes to the base game, but I didn't realize just how much I would come to dislike that direction.
I loved the DLC but I have some complaints reguarding some questionnable choices:
-Who tf is Romina? She's in the story trailer with her OST kicking during the shot with Messmer, she's the last boss before the final one but we don't know almost anything about her. And that's a shame because she's one of my 3 favorite in the DLC with Bayle and Messmer. Her and Rellana deserved better because they're insanely cool.
-Why did they cut the mention of Melina being Messmers, Malenia and Miquella's sister ? During a patch ? Nonsense
-Who tf is the Gloam-Eyed Queen? She was like THE character that should have been in the DLC. Or at least an explaination.
-Radahn...just Radahn...Fr, he felt like ER Charizard and seeing him as the final boss pissed me of so much that I almost quit the DLC when I saw him.
The fight is fun and all but c'mon, no one wanted NOR needed him to came back. Just get tf out of the way and let me fight your consort i don't care about you. Also Miquella being reduced at basically just a phase 2 power-up is the biggest disappointment for me
-Mohg beating the allegations was a big mistake. The fact that he was such an openly creepy and evil character was what made him so memorable.
Now he's just a lame manipulated omen with some weird blood kink. The fight still cool but the character does'nt feel the same.
I know it was to make Miquella more evil but c'mon, corpse defilement was the BARE MINIMUM I was expecting from the "most fearsome Empyrean of all".
-Hornsent lore is cool but I'm still asking myself wtf is the crucible. Enir Ilim? The Scadutree ? An Outer God ? Something else ? Also, Devonia should get a boss healthbar and MOST IMPORTANT THING, her name should have been Cambria. People that knows about the Paleozoic era will understand this
They didn't cut the mention of melina being messmers sister its still in the game
@@NeloBladeOfRanni I read all Messmer's item descriptions I'didnt found it, where it is ?
messmers kindling@@andreamassari7954
@@andreamassari7954 Messmer’s Kindling. It disappears from your inventory when you burn the tree.
@@pastorofmuppets4552 oh ok fair enough. I think the french description does'nt mention her because I read the Kindling's description and she wasn't there
No. Base game have few different endings and DLC have only 1.
I didn't like everything about the DLC, but the occasional sense of emptiness wasn't one of my problems. From the get go, we shouldn't be surprised, since a shadow of a thing is defined solely by absence, it's a dark emptiness. But more importantly, the emptiness fits thematically: we find out that Miquella no longer cares about the world from the Coffin Fissure Cross, that he discarded his love. The fact that he doesn't love anything anymore creates this horrible vacuum, and makes the battle against Leda and her crew even more sadistic. And what's worse, Miquella started all of this out of a bid to replace the world left by Marika's puppeteers, and the emptiness that Marika ended up generating. Ironically, Miquella only repeated history, being a lord of a broken world that he didn't care for.
All of this is to say that Shadow of the Erdtree repeats something we already know Miyazaki believes: gods are bad, only your choices mean anything, and they can only mean anything to you.
What city did Messmer burn down?
To be honest no I'm not happy with the DLC I wanted Miquella to become a god and can't.......lol, sure I can just walk away but that's not what I want I want an ending with Miquella becoming a god......😂
Now on to elden ring 2.....I hope
I don’t think it’s reasonable to just dismiss someone’s expectations as “headcannon”, whether for lore, the open world, or DLC in general.
Fromsofts DLCs have been known to take aspects from the base game and refine them. While SoTE improves upon some things from the basegame such as the weapons and catacombs. Other aspects such as the empty open world, lack of cutscenes, repeating bosses, and the lack of multiplayer functions are still present. To me, given the success of Elden Ring, that is disappointing.
It doesn’t matter if these choices are intentional as that does not make it any more satisfying for the player.
it was ok
There has been a connection with a dlc and base game ds1 if you kill artorias before sif, you can go back to sif and he will recognize you and be more aggressive, but as far as I know I think that’s the only connection from a fromsoft dlc to a base game. Idk it would’ve been cool if this whole dlc connected. But the ending was ass, I didn’t want to see radahn again. I get that everyone is related in this game and there’s only so much to choose from but when I first played the dlc it just felt like I payed 40$ to fight a boss I just fought the only difference is the move set and I’m he’s wearing his brother as drip. A stand alone miquella fight would’ve been better. It’s make sense now since it’s canon but it’s kinda dry but the whole lore surrounding this area is fire. But I agree the ending was pretty shit. If you liked it cool. The fight was something I wasn’t looking for, it did feel like fan service a little bit.
It cant before Radagon fight.
Miquella says
"lord of thr aprising order."
Which means your order has already been established and is Aspiring.
I know there are sooooo many souls fans that worship the games, but I think they do a crap job at story telling. You have to read weapon, armor or random food descriptions to learn anything. All the best lore is from content creators. Hardly
Any information about Buffs, abilities etc. again, content creators. Zero build up to bosses. You just walk into a room and there they are. The DLC felt super lame and I’ve done 15 play throughs on base with 10 characters. Miquella was talked about being the strongest and geared etc and that mf just piggybacked on radahn the goat. We did get some cool gear, especially anti-ganker weapons and stuff. Overall, even though it was dark and not a continuation of the base game and more like a side quest (another quest line that can easily be fkd up, ty Miyazaki) I thought it was alright.
It was super underwhelming, IMO
No
Yes.
The new pvp stuff is so broken.
Players are so ungratefull in my opinion
I remember at release when everyone was saying this was one out of three possible endings 😂 Man, the cope. So happy I didn't pre-order this overhyped garbage. It'll be hard to admit for a lot of the glazers but we were absolutely scammed. Besides the lackluster ending, the empty map, the sheer lack of cutscenes ( none when you enter the Shadow realm ) , lack of boss dialogue and personality, reused mini bosses and mobs, reskins, reused assets, movesets, ( Twin princes, ponthiff, orphan of kos, new londo draining, demihuman queen, ulcerated tree spirit, tree sentinels, magma wyvern, fallingstar beast etc ) the lazy poorly written lore we were given and everything else left in the air ( Torrent, Gloam eyed Queen, Melina etc. ) , it is essentially an extension of Elden Ring and adds close to nothing to the base game, zero unique interactions after having journeyed to the Shadow realm from Melina, Ranni, Gideon, Malenia ( you literally kill the brother she's been waiting for and her sole reason to live ) etc.
The DLC is a Marvel movie. Flashing lights and nice soundtracks, absolutely zero substance. Personally, I am incredibly disappointed in Fromsoft.
The way the dlc ended was great, extremely awesome and tragic with me honestly getting emotional when I found ansbach afterwards.
I came for a fromsoftware dlc and that’s exactly what I got and more so. Less is more to be honest. I’m not here for some AAA pandering slop like what some of these people wanted, cuz we both know that would’ve been horrible and totally unlike fromsoftware to do.
No, I didnt
Some people are just bitter and shows from their comments, like I didn't like the ending the fight was great I just didn't like it was Radahn and that's that. But in general the DLC was really good not the best, I still think the old hunters and the Ringed city are the best. But SotE is really good, the Jagged Peak is my favorite area in all FS. The Abyssal Woods is the second, Messmer and Rellana are my favorite boss fights, Belurat Tower and Enir Ilm were amazing. Yes there were some duds like the Cerulean Shore and Charo's Hidden Grave both very beautiful areas yet very empty. The Black keep was great especially the Storage area, Rauh's Ruins also were great. I'd give this DLC an 8/10 not the best but not bad in any way.
No.