Comfy bed.

I recently got into armored combat so, knights. If we’re gonna kill each other, let’s at least be civilized!

Counterpoint, no matter the accessibility options included, there’s always going to be a disability that isn’t compatible. The only game that everyone can play is “sitting alone in your room” and some people even struggle with that. There’s always going to be some level of ability required. As much as that sucks, that some people just won’t be able to experience a thing, it sucks more to have no one experience it for fear of excluding those who can’t.

Reminds me of Jung’s theory around The Gaze, and how by ourselves we are our own subjects, capable of authoring our own paths, but as soon as another being is introduced and we’re subject to their gaze, their own aspect of being a subject necessarily forces some objectification upon us (and us on them). It’s interesting theory, and a good examination of why some people feel so incredibly uncomfortable with others around.

No problem, bud! Elden Ring is a good start for the series, imo, because it’s as open as it is. If you enjoy it, honestly, go back and give the dark souls series another shot after understanding their design philosophy a bit more.

As much as I love the world of elden ring, nothing will compare to the level of interconnected labyrinths that connect back on each other so elegantly that dark souls 1 has. Enjoy your time!

It’s less esoteric than that. There’s rhyme and reason to all of the individual steps of the quest lines, but sometimes if you aren’t thinking juuuuuust like the devs want it can be a bit of a leap.

I haven’t played it since launch, but apparently they’ve added map markers for NPCs you have already met, that’ll make it significantly easier to understand what they’re wanting you to do, I think.

You should take a gander at the YouTube account VaatiVidya. He does deep dive lore videos on most or all of the FS games, and shows the in-game sources for most or all of the lore he covers. It’s remarkable how much they tell you with so little.

Yeah, 100%. There are some much more obvious signs posts around the main quest stuffs.

Or, just make multiplayer (competitive, anyway) locked out if you’re using certain options. If you’re struggling and using accessibility options such as stat buffs/nerfs, you proooooobably don’t want to engage with invaders. And who cares if a friendly summon gets pulled into a slightly easier world? Oh no, I get easier souls, the horror. Now, everyone can play, AND we’re not interfering with anyone else’s gameplay in a meaningful capacity. Win/win.

Not the guy you replied to. I think I’ve looked up guides or tips for bosses like… 3 times in all of the from soft games. Bosses are largely puzzles to be figured out. They’re some of the most engaging moments of gameplay, and, barring gimmick bosses, reading a guide for them still doesn’t do the work of beating it for you anyway. They’ll just give you some things to look for and some general advice, then the rest is on you.

Think of it less as “at the 20% mark you’ll need a guide” and more “you’ll probably only FIND 20% of the game your first playthrough without a guide” - you’ll find the critical path, you’ll beat the game, but without a TON of tenacity, you won’t complete a lot of the side quests, and probably won’t even find some. You probably won’t really have a grasp on what conditions you need to get an ending you like, etc.

All of it CAN be found, can be done, without a guide, and you’ll probably have a blast doing it, it’s just a matter of the time and commitment you want to/are able to put in.

Yeah, a guide will say like, “okay, first go to stormveil. To do that you’ll have to kill Margit. Go more or less north from the start.”

Between the start and Margit is like, easily 5+ hours first time for a decently experienced player. There are tons of caves and miniature dungeons and other cool things to explore. The individual challenges, you’re more or less doing yourself. Unless you’re watching a video walkthrough. No comment there. Imma let people enjoy their way. Some guides include tips for certain particularly brutal areas, or build ideas of you’re struggling, but those are absolutely not required to play the game, and if anything removes some of the sense of satisfaction from overcoming.

Then, there are things like the interactive map. Elden ring is a huge open world. Really all of the souls games are open, non-linear, and thoughtfully connected worlds, but elden ring is the only one of call " open world". If you really want to see just how dense the world is, and how little using a general route guide actually ruins for you, I encourage you to take a gander at it before playing. The world is FUCKING HUGE.

I think one of the coolest things with FS games is, the level of hand holding you get is pretty much what you want to look for. You CAN watch a video walkthrough and follow it step by step, sure. You can read a general route guide to have a bit of bearing. You can just use the interactive map, to uncover things you may not otherwise. And, if you’re so inclined, you can raw dog the Panda Between, just you and your own wits.

Think of guides in FS games more like MapQuest directions. It’ll tell you to take a left at a certain exit, but not all of the traffic between here and there. You gotta navigate that bit on your own, just here’s a sign post to follow.

As far as lore goes, that’s one of the most compelling things about the games. They’re absolutely oozing more from every possible orifice. The worlds are so dense and thematic, and the lore isn’t spoon fed with excessive cutscenes and talking, it’s largely given to you environmentally. Placement of items and enemies, item descriptions that feel like they’re telling you bits of legend. Stuff like that.

Not inventory load, but equipment load. You can carry whatever you want with you, but each piece of armor, each weapon, and each ring has its own weight. You have an equipment weight value, and you can go up to a percent (different in every bloody game, it feels like, but usually around 50%) that you can “light roll”, then another threshold between the two where you can “medium roll” - a bit slower, less invulnerability, less movement. Over that you fat roll, and no one likes fat rolls.

Essentially, you can carry the whole world with you, you just have to pick what you’re actively using.

It’s not about REQUIRING a guide to do anything, it’s that if you’re trying to do one specific thing, or have a bit of assistance navigating exactly where you’re supposed to go next, they’re indispensable.

I definitely could have played elden ring without a guide. Problem is, the world is HUGE, and there are many endings with specific requirements. I don’t have hundreds of hours to pour into one game, even one I’m quite enjoying. I also want to see more of the plot, and that tends to require seeing multiple endings or other specific, exclusive, quest lines. All of which is just more approachable with a guide.

Some of the fun in from soft games comes from the exploration, but a lot of it is mechanically focused. Git gud. That, and being steeped in a fascinating, dark world, tend to be what keep me coming back. A guide helps keep me from feeling too frustrated just wondering where I should go.

Right? First thing, look for a torrent. Second, put aside some money when I have it.

Howdy for me.

Don’t tell me what I do and don’t believe. We’re seeing a clear difference between your thought process and mine. I’m willing to have the humility to admit I cannot know what someone else actually believes, and you’re over here claiming to know that it’s somehow a deflection.

Let me state this in no unclear terms. I believe in objective truths where there are objective proofs. I do not believe in objective truths when there exists subjectivity, or at least relativity. I believe, personally, that morality is both subjective and relative, therefore when it comes to matters of morality, I do not believe in absolute truths.

And we’re back to the moral absolutism and posturing. This is getting old. I’m not a vegan. I do not aim to be. If you are, then fine. That’s your call. I see the difference between an absolute hard-line stance of all meat and animal byproducts are wrong, and a stance that aims to reduce use as much as is realistically possible. And you yourself have said that there are scenarios where killing and eating an animal is ok. We’re splitting hairs here trying to figure out which it is.

We both, as far as I can tell, want better conditions for animals. This is the common ground I was speaking of. I’m just not willing to say that anyone who doesn’t share my specific views is morally bankrupt as you seem to be. There exists a bunch of nuance around the subject that you seem not to want to engage with, as much as you claim I don’t want to.

Look, you keep not eating meat. That’s great, a wonderful thing to aspire to. Personally. If you come swinging at people in just a normal thread, proclaiming your moral superiority, don’t be surprised when people think you’re a hard ass with no empathy for anything outside your rather small world view. Much like penises, though, things like that are best left in pants unless someone asks specifically.

I’m done with this, we’ve circled the bases a few times and we’ve ended up going through the same cycles like, 4 times. The thread is getting cumbersome and I am having a hard time physically reading it on my device. Good luck on your quest. If it’s one to change others, I advise a bit less harsh of a stance. And if it’s personal, maybe keep it that way.

They would fall into the “mental illness” category above. There’s a reason I used quotes on one lol. I honestly doubt anyone who doesn’t suffer from an actual mental illness believes the world is flat. It’s such a complete departure from any of the things we consistently observe.

If they do truly believe it, then that’s on them. I would not be able to argue with them in any kind of reasonable capacity because I myself wouldn’t be able to believe they believe what they do. And simultaneously, it wouldn’t matter. They’re free to believe it, that belief isn’t harming anything, and I’ll just keep shooting down their bad points time and again, not for my benefit or theirs, but for anyone who may be looking on, trying to form their own world view.