I went dex on first playthrough and wished I went strength. Seems better overall

Go pure Int
Ignore Vigor, you don't need it past 30
Look up the demi queen staff and get it early, its the best staff in the game

>>736504808
>looking things up
nigger

>>736504657
strenght is more fun
weapons like great stars are god tier

dex is more honest. STR is just jump attack spamming and chainstunning the boss

>>736504657
I always go for quality so I can use more weapons.
Also you're in for the most retardedly overtuned levels of attack spam in any Fromsoft game.
You will have two choices: play one-button simon says or cheese the bosses. There is no middle ground, it's either 100% memorizing roll timings or 100% cheese.

Strength is better overall, since you get access to Greatshields, most weapons in the game, and can still use light weapons with Heavy infusions. You also get access to Fire infusions and Fire is good most of the time. You get slightly more defense and resist against bleed which is a small bonus but still good most of the time.
You also get access to Clawmark builds that let you get competitive Incantation scaling with a Str/Fai hybrid (of which there are lots of weapons that also suit this archetype). Two-handing bonus gives you way more weapon options early on.
Str/Int unfortunately lacks any real catalysts to support this but does support a sort of High-Strength and Low-Int playstyle using Meteor spells and gravity weapons.

Dex meanwhile gets basically nothing except a small amount of exclusive weapons, and a badly shoehorned Lightning theme that doesn't even make sense since there are no ways to cast Lightning spells with a Dex/Fai hybrid setup. Dex/Int is just sort of outclassed by pure Int.
If you prefer the "light weapon" approach then Arcane builds are basically the same thing but way, way better with more options that are more effective.

>>736504657
the most fun is to do a mix between a martial stat and a magic stat so you can cast a few spells sometimes. I would recomend strength / faith, or dex / faith, for a good melee/caster hybrid. int instead of faith is fine too but int is more about offensive spells and has less buffs.

>>736504657
literally the best video game ever made.

>>736504808
>Ignore Vigor, you don't need it past 30
you use summons, dont you?

>>736504657
STR.

In From Software games, STR is always better.

>>736504657
STR is more fun

>>736504657
All 5 main attacking stats have their own fun toys and work well. I tend to prefer STR to DEX simply because they're more high reward high risk minded, while Dex is more safe.

File: Elden Ring2.jpg (2.91 MB, 7219x4568)

2.91 MB JPG

STR

Don't know how people tolerate the open world part in this game. It's so fucking dull. It's pure filler between the real game (legacy dungeons)

>>736505462
Str is absolutely not high risk with the amount of stagger and stance breaks they do

>>736504657
>Which is more fun?
FTH

>>736505462
>All 5 main attacking stats have their own fun toys
do they?
STR and DEX are solid, OCC can be fun on something with bleed and with dragon incants on the side
INT and FTH are snorefests

>>736504657
40 str/dex and then pick faith/int/arc, that way you wont miss weapons and can cast some magic/buffs

>>736505720
That's the high reward though. You have to play more aggressively and your attacks are slower and more risky but doing so will open the enemy up more often. I didn't say STR wasn't actually easier, just that you have more opportunity to win big or eat shit.

>>736504657
Str Fai is the true patrician choice

>>736505634
You probably only spend like 20% of the game on the overworld. Less if you don't care for it or don't enjoy it.
I don't see the problem. I quite liked it. And it allows for lots of branching paths between the different regions of the world.

In fact. Elden Ring is barely even open world. It's surprisingly linear. It's got branching paths, sure. But the paths are rather distinct.
It's about as Open World as Silksong.

>>736505880
that's late, unless you skip vitality imo

Why are you retarded niggers replying to a hue macaque? Kys

>>736505634
if that's your mindset, it's no wonder you didn't enjoy it

>>736504657
A shit ton of padding, poor upgrade mat distribution, mostly pointless open world, pretty good major dungeons.
>Also, should i go for STR or DEX?
Start with vagabond and hard focus vig up to 40 (you want 60 by the end if the game though). Str is generally better, but there are really good weapons for most stats and resetting your stats isn't that hard. Vaga is a good starting class since its balanced stats are optimal for most weapon wielding builds outside of Arcane/Bleed focused.

>>736504808
Nice troll

>>736504657
I liked Int/Dex, spells along with the Moonveil and a magic infused Katana

>>736504657
Personally I prefer Faith but between STR and DEX I think STR is better. The easiest path to victory is usually poise-breaking your enemy over and over again, and STR weapons tend to be much better suited at that.

>>736506581
>and a magic infused Katana
absolutely disgusting

>>736504657
Pick the class that starts with nothing and go Arcane while exploring to the south. You'll pick up tons of equipment cause of your increased item discovery and find your abilities to inflict status effects super effective. Like bleed or rot or poison.

i like STR but ultimately i end up choosing DEX because i just want to get as much attacks as i can in the boss's hit windows

File: 1000002532.gif (386 KB, 128x128)

386 KB GIF

Since this is an ER thread.
Do you guys know any fun mods for a second playthrough?

only level vigor.

>>736504657
>vagabond
>str+dex
>longsword
aw yeah it's elden ring time

With 1200 hours in ER and 700 in Nightreign
Don't lock yourself into a specific weapon type
Slash and fire for flesh and fur
Pierce and lightning for armor
Blunt and magic for stone
the game is ten times easier and more engaging if you play it like pokemon and experiment with all the weapons you find.
The most fun I had was a NG level 200 build that could use every weapon and most of the incants/sorceries just switching them on the fly without having to respec

>>736504657
DEX/FAI with Godslayer's Greatsword. You've gotta beat the Godskin Apostle in Caelid at RL20 though.

>>736507020

There's basically three main mods:

- Randomiser is the most obvious one if you want a different experience but on Vanilla rules.
- Convergence is for having a slightly silly second playthrough, about buildcraft and sticking to a themed character. Probably the best option for most players.
- Reforged is for autists who want the Vanilla++++ experience. This is the one you pick if you haven't played for a few years and want something that can make the game feel fresh again. This is my personal favourite since it fleshes out every build option and adds some new stuff to keep you on your toes, but it's all about having a full exploration, i.e. no progress skips, easy soul farming tricks.

And of course there's coomer mods, stuff like the Resizer mod (you can play in Ant Mode or check a setting that makes your model bigger every time you level up), or the Dungeon Crawler mod (removes open world and puts all items into dungeons which you then access via a level select).

I think there's also some paywalled overhaul mods but
>paid mods

>>736507020
not sure if you should be modding from the second run, but I guess the game is bigger than previous installments so it can be justified
no idea, to answer your question, haven't tried any mods

>>736504657
>Fun
Faith is the only "fun" branch. Everything else is your standard shit that you already do in every other game.

Bros, anyone run any waifu builds? Is there a way to make an attractive female character in this game? I'm so fucking lonely

File: Elden_Ring_Erdtree_ Eleon(...).jpg (246 KB, 1920x1080)

246 KB JPG

>>736504657
Go STR and DEX equally balanced. It's called a Quality Build. It is an excellent choice of build for first time players. It opens up many weapon choices and play styles. Let's you experiment and try things. By the time you think you might want to specialize, you will reach a part of the game where you can respec and go with a different build.

>>736508801

The best build for new players is Str/Fai since the majority of weapons are adjacent to those stats, and you get a variety of buffs, status cures, etc,

Even if you don't plan to be slinging spells, having stuff like Flame Cleanse Me or just Great Heal on hand can make all the difference.

>>736507463
Reforged seems like exactly what im looking for.
Im gonna give it a try. Thanks.

Every time there's a thread on this game the actual screenshots and vids posted are visual-vomit like >>736508801
I can only assume you're all conditioned to pretend your character isn't incredibly ugly and unnappraling by playing nothing but these kinds of games.

>>736504657
STR builds are a complete mental illness since 3's DLCs. You literally have to memorize the exact fucking animation frames to know when attacking is safe and won't get you killed, and that's typically once every 2 minutes.

>>736504657
STR/FTH is objectively the best build

>>736508801
quality builds are a meme until you're a trillion levels in,
leveling 20/20 is enough to be able to try out most weapons, but it should not be called a 'build' of any kind because it's not optimized for anything

>>736505134
Jump attacks do work really well, but I found it more satisfying to find windows where I could charge up a big slam with big weapons to break enemy posture. I tended to mix the two. Running attacks in general are also underrated in these games.

>>736509284
Or you could just guard counter, retard.

>>736509617
Guard counters won't interrupt the 10 hit combos.

>>736509720
he's an animal that uses some kind of spear, disgusting

>>736505134
dex is just light attack spamming, somehow even less engaging

>>736509284
You're a special kind of moron who thinks that STR builds don't have access to fast weapons or hyperarmor.

>>736508801
Quality is ass in ER, it's only worth doing on very specific somber weapons like Dragon Halberd

>>736509720
>learn when the boss stops spamming attacks
>guard the last hit and guard counter
>repeat
>boss is now stance broken, rape their ass

>>736509284
have you considered ever using an attack that isn't a charged r2

>>736505134
>>736509858
imo STR becomes pretty boring when you get good enough at the game, most mobs get easily stunlocked or posture broken and you will often kill them without having to roll through their attacks
with DEX most mobs can still fight you back and you will need to roll through their attacks, which make the combat more engaging and gratifying

>>736504657
I hate stat distribution games but I love exploran and fightan. Haven’t been able to get into most soulslikes.

>>736504657
I always go STR for the big and satisfying bonks, you also have the option of going into faith later on. A str/int hybrid works too but don't expect to be casting a lot of spells.

File: rusted_anchor_greataxe_we(...).png (13 KB, 200x200)

13 KB PNG

str all the way

>>736505016
Looking up things is basically required considering 60% of optional content has no reward you want and is just annoying to do. ER doesn't respect your time so why would I do this shit blind

File: whenthebeatdrops.jpg (19 KB, 301x179)

19 KB JPG

>>736513059
Fuck yes

File: haaave youuu heaaard of f(...).png (94 KB, 527x306)

94 KB PNG

Ignore all these retards in the thread. I've got the best advice for you to follow
Try fingers, but hole

>>736505861
>Int
Moonlight GS is great, arguably the best weapon in the game to par with a parrying shield since you effectively get a weapon art without needing to L2 constantly.
>Faith
Euporia is the most fun weapon in the game.

>>736505360
there shouldnt be softcaps but otherwise yes

>>736512183
just pick the caveman class and dump all your points into stamina, health and strength

>STR based incantations and talisman

Rock chucker

>>736513876
Beware giant but hole

>>736514683
I was really disappointed by the strength spells, I expected some really cool things like transforming into a werewolf or something. nope, just throw rocks.

>>736513083
tiktok has done irreparable damage to humanity. the whole point of the game is to explore, of you beeline it to the meta shit you're just cheating yourself from the experience. might as well watch a playthrough instead of wasting money on it

>>736505261
It is such horseshit that the gravel stone seal doesn't scale off of Dex at all. As a matter of fact, none of them scale off of Dex, aside from the frenzied flame one that scales off of everything.

>>736515113
>meta
Has nothing to do with meta when I play a warrior and get items that I can't use unless I respec into something I don't wanna be. And the caves are just oblivion tier clones with copypasted enemies in them, they are not that interesting. So before I do another cave for nothing, I look up the reward.
Just admit that open world has been a terrible mistake.

>>736505134
>more honest
>in a fucking singleplayer game
Yeah I also beat the game with just a straight sword but I didn't do it because it's "honest" but because it was what I liked. Why the fuck do you care about something like that in a singleplayer game?

>Want a certain fashion
>Have to play 50000 hours to get it first
>NG+ is too easy
I hate this game

>>736507020
>seamless co-op if you have friends (works with other mods most of the time)
>item and enemy randomizer (adds replayability for multiple runs)
>elden ring boss arena for a mode that's just for fighting bosses, can also make drops from bosses randomized
>fog gate randomizer, though i've had issues with it in the past
>RNG lands if you like diablo-esque loot systems, it's incredibly buggy though and the DLC broke it for me
I'm not a big fan of overhauls but
>graceborne (probably the only overhaul i like atm)
>elden ring reforged
>elden ring convergence
>elden ring reborn
>elden ring dark moon
Wish my friends liked Elden Ring

>>736515618
If you can beat a boss at NG+1 without abilities you wouldn't have at NG+0, you could beat it in NG+0 as well. Maybe lower your vit to 45-50 as a bonus

>>736505970
>You probably only spend like 20% of the game on the overworld

That’s totally untrue unless you’re blasting through it or spending obscene amounts of time in legacy dungeons and catacombs. I’d call camps, rises, erdtrees, mausoleums and a ton of other filler content part of the overworld and all together it’s easily 40-50% of the experience. It loses even more credit for how many lesser dungeons are cut and paste jobs

>>736505634
for me my goal was simply to find the next cave, and i enjoyed the short caves for what they were, and enjoyed seeing what kind of mini boss would be in each one, i enjoyed looking to see if there were any secrets, and I enjoyed seeing which items they had and trying to think how i could make use of that item if i wanted to make a build around it.

At first i wanted to find stuff out in the world, but quickly found out that typically the best thing you can find out in an open area are smithing stones, unless its an item in a scarab which is sparkly and makes noise, so as far as open world goes the devs were too scared to make a lot of really hidden items and were intentiaonally making them easy to find. 99/100 items you see in the world not in a scarab are things you dont really need, there are so few exceptions that I stopped looking for hidden things in the open world and just focused on finding the next cave/legacy dungeon.

I think that if you dont enjoy the short caves for what they are then you dont truly like souls games and are just playing them because they are popular or you like the PvP.

File: Manly_P_Hall.png (189 KB, 400x408)

189 KB PNG

Gentleman, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine, the one called Endurance and Arcane. It is not unlike Dexterity and Faith, with an emphasis on playing well to the detriment of brother Vigor, but it's saving grace is not just the sagacity of ruinous Bleed, nor the devastation of enduring poison. It is rather that succinct fellow known only as Occult infusion.

We build our Arcane stat, starting with the austere yet noble Wretch. The uniformity of his meagre stats makes a firm support for the main challenge of the arrangement, which is known to few as the Black Whetblade. For this illustrious item we must arrive at Nokron, which means we are skipplng Brother Godrick and sister Rennala, to head straight to Altus, merely to leave it seconds after arriving via the method of Abductor Virgin, to wrestle with Brother Radahn as the first boss. It is only upon overocming Brother Radahn that he will reveal the path to an ancient way of life.

For the Endurance and Arcane neophyte, Radahn is not unlike the higher order macrocosm of the Tree sentinel of The First Step. In other words, he is our great filter, our first step to awakening our finest potential.

>>736504657
Dex is always more fun. Strength is lame and boring. You spam the same 1 move over and over. In STR's case it is endless lion's claw spam. Wow, such riveting gameplay.
t. STR way back in my DS1 launch days with club into great club into Smough's hammer. Never touched STR on a first playthrough ever again. Dex for life. Only try out STR on novelty playthroughs and every single time it is a mistake. I get bored and pivot to STR/Faith or STR/MAG or STR/anything else to offset the tedium.

>>736521645
I think dex is lame because dex weapons are small and poking a colossal creature or god with a stick looks silly

>>736504808
>>736513083
>>736515303
You need a lobotomy

>>736521645
>You spam the same 1 move over and over.
skill issue

File: 1754521440939006.jpg (509 KB, 1600x900)

509 KB JPG

>>736504657
You start with strength until you can wield a weapon you like and get a healthy amount of vigor. Then you start leveling dex and get into quality territory, so you have tons of options and variety.
After you have reached a high level and collected cool spells and magical weapons, you can respec to your chosen weapon's minimum requirement and finally embrace true enlightenment.
QUALITY INT/FAITH

File: skeleton-crashout-skeleton.gif (248 KB, 220x261)

248 KB GIF

>lock on camera target starts flying or jumping

>>736504657
STR is king in Elden Ring. Big weapons allow you to stance-break enemies, allowing you to control the flow of battle. You unironically need to gitgud to be a DEX player in Elden Ring.

File: maxresdefault.jpg (144 KB, 1280x720)

144 KB JPG

Any of you guys played this?

>>736504657
Faith dex or int strt

>>736522487
I'm not Indian, Arab, or Hispanic, so no I have not

File: 1775348739745556.jpg (544 KB, 2560x1440)

544 KB JPG

>>736521918
Loved playing the dlc on ng+ with int/faith quality, partially since I felt like it specifically acknowledges this weird stat expensive hybrid build. I always liked spells more for their utility than their spam usage for damage reliance, but I would be lying if I said that I don't love the big flashy heavy hitters. Being able to use all of them, except the arcane ones, is really something else.

File: 1759492797761912.jpg (36 KB, 771x807)

36 KB JPG

I started to enjoy ER a lot more when I embraced cheesing and exploits.

>>736515618
just install honest merchant and give yourself any gear you want
having to play through the whole game again just for some dlc weapon build you get to use for maybe couple hours is plain retarded design. Just more reasons why the series degenerated since bloodborne

>>736504657
>should i go for STR or DEX
there's literally no difference gameplay wise.

>>736524191
Unironic "you didn't beat the game" fags have always been delusional. Use any tools the game gives to you or strategies you can find, if you want to. I feel like the games always seemed like they want you to find ways to exploit difficult situations and find alternative ways to triumph. Maybe sekiro is the only one being a little different in its bossfights, since there are no classical builds, but it still gives you lots of tools to help out with encounters.

miyazaki should stop lorefagging and add respawning bosses to his games.

File: 1774990353409568.png (556 KB, 1013x1285)

556 KB PNG

r8 my build

File: salvation.jpg (828 KB, 2048x1536)

828 KB JPG

>>736525020
Nightreign is essentially a boss rush mode with gimmicks.

>>736525107
A step in the right direction, now bring back character customization, stat building, and upgrading other-zaki

>>736504657
Everything works but DEX/INT is the most natural if you just want to breeze through it.

>>736504657
>What am i in for?
a boring time waste with no story or interesting exploration. I guess the boss fights are quite challenging (if you have the reflexes and pattern recognition of an 80yr old vegetable)

>>736522487

Yep.

Greatsword of Damnation is so insanely good in this mod it's unreal.

>>736524191
>>736524820
this is only fun to me if I do it in SL1 playthroughs, otherwise its too easy and boring.

Are people still hung up on the spirit bell thingy? Even Miyazaki said he uses it at every opportunity. I personally think it's lame and takes away the feeling of overcoming the odds, but it's there and the game almost begs you to use it

File: sad-this-hasnt-released-y(...).jpg (51 KB, 640x834)

51 KB JPG

this is never coming out is it

>>736527296

If Miyazaki didn't have such an overbearing crutch then maybe the bosses wouldn't have been such dogshit.

>>736527337
Probably gonna come out around the time the movie or the first trailer for it comes out for marketing.

>>736527296
i dont want to feel like im overcoming the odds, i want to feel like a demigod and smack around giant dragons with a stick like its dark souls 1

>>736504657

just play ds3

>>736527337
>bland ass generic knight armor
i sleep

>>736527296
>I personally think it's lame and takes away the feeling of overcoming the odds,
A lot of people do and thats why the "gatekeeping" existed in the first place; in order to "get people playing in a more engaging way" but there are plenty of people who dont want any friction in their games and just want a power fantasy.
With elden ring the gatekeeping died down a lot and people were made fun of a lot less about how they chose to play the game. Then you started getting people who were like level 500 using summons to fight a mid game boss who were like "why are people saying this is a hard game, its very easy you guys all suck!" and everyone started telling them to shut up and play without summons again.

>>736527337
They didn't know how much they'd need to do to unfuck the game on Switch, as soon as that happens the other platforms should get the update and Duskbloods probably will come out too.

>>736527337
it will come out as soon as they figure out how to make it work on switch hardware!

>>736504657
You unlock respeccing pretty early on and it's fairly easy so you can respec as you see fit.
On my first playthrough I went str/fth -> dex -> int (melee) and then back to dex.

>>736504657
Fun is subjective, just close /v/ and enjoy the game. Going in blind is the best way to enjoy From's games and really most games in general. There's plenty of cool weapons that scale off each stat and you do unlock the ability to respec points so it's not a big deal if you want to alter your stat allocation later on.

>>736504657
Yes

>>736522487
This is the only way I play now. Base ER is too easy

>>736504657
This is one of the few games I am 100% certain I'll never play again. I put like 300 hours into it and I somehow have no good memories of playing it, I don't know what the fuck I was doing with my life back then. The DLC sucking broke me out of the spell.

Str is for more experienced players that understand spacing, boss timings, and keeping track of the bosses poise gauge

Dex is easier for new players since the general playstyles is just spamming light attacks to ministun them with status procs, and not being punished for it because all your moves have zero recovery frames

>>736504657
Strength-based guard counter build is peak and can be set up in the first major area.

Chainlink flail
Brass shield
curved sword talisman

This is the most fun build. Its not op enough to be boring, but guard counters are new to elden ring and really fun, and chainlink flail has a great guard counter. You want to get chainlink flail because it's the only str scaling flail, and guard counter builds will benefit from better shields as the game goes on, which need high str to equip

Semi missable warning: The earliest place to get the chainlink flail is from the big pumpkinhead guy at Fort Haight. After clearing fort haight, he doesnt respawn, but he drops it at a pretty decent rate.

>>736504657
I prefer DEX because I like to attack and doge faster. You also should try to find an use for FP, beyond just Ashes of War abilities.
INT is kinda overpowered I think, in my first time I played a magic knight and the game sorceries could pretty much trivialize almost all enemies.

>>736505634
It felt like an adventure to me. Reaching the Erdtree and watching it get close and closer until I went inside the capital and saw a giant fucking entrance carved into the three itself.