ELDEN RING (PART 10)

 ... so who is this Tarnished roaming in the Lands Between?

Scraps of information begin to emerge. He is often spotted at the Church of Elleh and appears to have an affinity with the nomad merchant there, Kale, who (unlike most of his peers) actually has a name. 

This Tarnished is recently sighted ... not in his usual Fire Monk outfit but his basic Prophet attire: 

-- the blindfold... "if the path leading to the future is clear, then just close your eyes, and walk"; 

-- the robe and trousers ... interesting this whole set can be bought off the hermit merchant at his shack in Leyndell Royal Capital, suggesting, perhaps, this is the area where these prophets were once based, before they were persecuted and forced into exile. The shackles around the neck "warn passerbys not to lend an ear to their [ominous] sermons".

However, what catches the eye (well, for those who dare stare at this figure of misfortune) is the weapon he wields: a metal whip that is clearly the Hoslow's Petal Whip. How this family loom from the illustrious House of Hoslow -- their tale is told in blood -- comes to be in his possession is a bit of a mystery, though it could be because The Tarnished had met one of -- if not both -- the Hoslow brothers, Juno and Diallos, while "serving" as a Rescusant (Tarnished assassin) at the Volcano Manor. 

In fact, the above scenario is extremely likely given this Tarnished has been seen also wielding the notorious Blasphemous Blade, a super powerful weapon that can only been obtained after defeating Rykard --- a demi-god; the son of Queen Rennala and Radagon and brother to Ranni and and Radahn (and later also step brother to Godwyn the Golden, Margott the Omen King and Mohg) --- at the Volcano Manor.

Also notable is that this Tarnished is skilled with Bloodhound Steps, which means he can "blink" (or teleport) between short distances, making him very hard to catch.  

But it'd be his incantations that can shed light on his identity and, perhaps, his backstory. He is skilled in both offensive and buffing spells.

Offensive

The class came with Catch Flame, which is described as "an anathema to the Erdtree... but prophets glimpse it within the faith all the same". 

Interestingly, he has also been seen casting OTHER types of fire-type incantations that could only be learnt from the Fire Monks, especially those for buffing (see below) and by slaughtering the Fire Giants, for the powerful Flame. Fall Upon Them incantation. So it is extremely probable that this Tarnished had infiltrated into the Fire Monks tribe with the sole intention to enhance his pyromancy prowess. 

What seems less likely is his devotion to any Dragon-related factions. The fact he can cast the superior Ekzykes' Decay incantation merely suggests the Tarnished is strong enough to kill the huge beast in Caelid before devouring its heart as an act of communion.  

More intriguingly, perhaps, is his ability to cast two very, very strong incantations that originated "from the maddening Three Fingers": Frenzied Burst and Unendurable Frenzy. His association with the Three Fingers, the Outer God of chaos, is yet emerge and to be played out. Perhaps this is the very fate that he foresaw long, long time ago and is simply on his path of a self fulfilling prophecy.    

Defensive  

The prophet class traditionally takes on the cleric role and this is no exception in Elden Ring. So one of the starting incantations is Heal -- "of the Two Fingers' faithful". His ability to cast this -- and the more potent Lord's Aid -- suggests this particular Tarnished was originally loyal to the Two Fingers before he turned to the Three Fingers... but why? That we don't know ... yet.

Golden Vow and Blessing of the Erdtree are two extremely good buffing spells and they seem to be "primordial" in nature. i.e. something that existed right at the beginning, like the Erdtree, and like the Aspect of the Crucible incantations. I imagine these are basic spells that a prophet in training would learn because .. well, clerics are known for their healing powers. (The primordial spells should not be confused with the Golden Order ones, despite their similarities in colours...) 

And, finally, the two buffing/debuffing incantations from the Fire Monks: Flame, Grant Strength and Flame, Cleanse Me. When dungeon crawling, with both Flame, Cleanse Me and Lord's Aid you have answers to status-build-ups including: poison, scarlet rot, blood loss and sleep. Surprisingly useful! 

A Tarnished who was once of the Two Fingers faith but renegaded to learn (heretic) incantations from the Three Fingers; one who infiltrated into the Volcano Manor as well as the Fire Monk factions to become a highly skilled caster; one who must now decide whether to sacrifice his own guiding light, Melina, or himself to rid of the Status Quo, or a future ruled by the Golden Order or Ranni and to embrace Chaos... but which one is it to be?

..to be continued...

Visual Novels

Was debating which of these two games I should install on my PSP: Steins;Gate or Zero Escape. Both of these visual novels I really enjoyed and only yesterday I finally unlocked all the endings in Steins;Gate. But I finally went with Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Dilemma because the save mechanism allows players to jump in and out of the story to revisit/reply different points/ fragments of it; a bit like how consciousness can time travel in these stories! So its "replayability value" is a lot higher. 

With Steins;Gate, though, it is quite hard to do that given it's save system doesn't facilitate that. Also, I can watch the excellent anime on YouTube! Zero Escape is, actually, a bit like Tactics Ogre in that you can jump around after having completed your initial playthrough. So now I have Zero Escape on my PSP and ... the Danganronpa trilogy on the PS Vita. It turns out I have lost the save for Trigger Happy Havoc so one day I will play that again. Excellent game and, arguably the best of the trilogy. 

ELDEN RING (PART 9)

Three big bosses -- Malenia, Fire Giant, Astel -- and many runes later, I'm now at level 150, which is where I wanna stop and have pretty much reached the point of no return in the game. However, the question is: WHO should commit the cardinal sin and burn the Erdtree?? There are two choices: either ask Melina (who's been the Tarnish's guide since the beginning of the game) to do the deed or do it myself ...

To make that decision I'd like to create my own (original) narrative for my game, yet trying to stick to the lore of Elden Ring as well. So, first of all, WHO my character should be? 

Our Tarnished began his journey as a Prophet. According to the game, this class' description is:

"A seer ostracised for inauspicious prophecies. Well versed in healing incantations..."

I guess I choice this class because I didn't want to be a mage outright (which sounds a bit boring) but at the same time can still yield some magic. So being a healer/cleric sounds like something that I'd choose in other RPG games (also, I don't think I can handle melee since I don't even know how to parry LOL). And wielding a bow is not really my thing either. 

So, despite its weird looks -- the blindfold and the shackles -- I went with the Prophet who, actually, can see the (terrible) future that will befall on the Lands Between. At this point, it is worth delving into the lore of 1) what exactly is this future as seen via Brother Corhyn and Goldmask quest in the game and 2) the fate of Hyetta who is also blindfolded (but probably for a whole different reason).  

The answers may not be straightforward as, for one, there are many theories behind who Goldmask is. The scholar is believed to be a proponent of the Golden Order, created by the first Elden Lord. But having trudge through countless reddit threads lol it appears Goldmask, and eventually Brother Corhyn, realised the Golden Order is just as perfect as they'd thought -- in fact, it is another form of dictatorship -- which left both of them disillusioned ... perhaps this is what the Prophet class foresees? 

The other side of the same coin (as it were) is that if the Golden Order is not the answer for the Lands Between (and that is why I decided to change allegiance half way through the game so our Tarnished is not a follower of the Golden Order... I scaled back his INT back to 7 and significantly boosted his FTH stats) then what is the future for this world in the prophecy?

Enter the Frenzied Flame God, which turns everyone crazy. Now, this is one scary prophecy that our Tarnished can see, channelled via Hyetta. 

Like Vyke, a fellow Tarnished who wanted to save his maiden by burning the Erdtree himself, our Tarnished also doesn't want to sacrifice his "guide" Melina (but WHO is Melina?) And also like Vyke, the Prophet class wield a spear. And him realising the horror and injustice done to the entire Nomad race, our Tarnished may also want to seek revenge for them and opt for a World of Madness. 

But, of course, our Tarnished's journey was never gonnabe plain sailing. As he is always well versed in Fire and Dragon incantations, which means there is something else that might be in the works, which makes him a puzzle in itself. Is he in any way connected to the Fire Monks (since he wears their armour set and learnt their incantations) or the Fire Giants (he also uses their incantations), and how is he connected with the Dragon Cult?     

One thing for sure though, he is NOT a believer of Ranni/ Moon Magic. Despite acquiring the Sword of  Night and Flame quite earlier on in the game, a legendary weapon that could go with both the Ranni and Age of Stars or Golden Order lores, our Tarnished abandoned that after acquiring the Blasphemous Blade from defeating Rykard (which also means he left the Volcano Manor sect after, well, betraying them ... for some very good armour sets!)

So what are these connections? To be continued ... 

ELDEN RING (Part 8)

This game is kinda addictive and before I knew it, I have already hit the soft cap for levelling, at 125.

Unlocked all the seven spell/incantation slots!

The question now is what kinda thematic build should I go for? I'm a tad tired of the Fire Monk look (even though the armour set is solid) so have been contemplating the Golden Order build (for the Golden Order ending, perhaps)... But there are very few (if any) armour sets that go with this build. The Black Knife (ninja) set looks very good but also very squishy -- even though I've found the Unseen spell that works with this build. And with the Frenzied Burst spell I can snipe from afar. 

Pausing on that thought, maybe I should look for the incantation boosting Flock's Canvas Talisman first ... 

ELDEN RING (Part 7)

Let's talk out buffs in this game, which can be quite confusing 😅😅

The most fundamental "buff" is when players level up and invest in the stats they need. So for me -- who is rocking the Sword of Night and Flame -- the min stats required to wield that weapon is 12 STR/ 12 DEX/ 24 INT / 24 FTH.

In order to make a "faith build@ stronger, I have to continue to invest runes into the FTH stats (as well as VIG, MIND and INT). 

From there, I need to then level up the weapon itself to +10 (currently my SoNaF is +9 after acquiring the +9 Somber Smithing Stone).

Then -- I think -- in order to boost the damage output of the sword further, esp in its two inherent weapon skills -- Comet Azur (INT) and a fire attack (FTH) -- I need to equip an appropriate sacred seal, and the best one is Golden Order Seal, which scales with both Intelligence & Faith. Which also means I will need to level THAT up to +10 (currently it is +5). 

After that, then I can further buff damage output by a couple of incantations/ ashes of war  -- Flame Grant Me Strength and Golden Vow -- AND equip, say, the Fire Scorpion Charm (right now I have the Faithful's Canvas Talisman, which slightly increases damages of all incantation).

How do all that translate into real damages statistically? That I will need to test out. 

To be continued ...

ELDEN RING (Part 6)

Have made some good progress in the game. Quite surprisingly, I managed to beat that horrible blob Godskin Noble last night after many attempts (probably as many as Rennala) ... each of these boss fights are like solving a puzzle. At first they look completely impossible, then you start to really think the resources you have and the answer can be found there -- somewhere. After all, my character's stats and build are not bad and it Should work (!!!)

With Rennala, it became quite apparent the only way to defeat her (what a troll!) was to keep whacking her with a sword since she was immune to spells/ incantations. She wouldn't give players enough time to spam those. Thankfully, those Demi-Humans helped too. 

With Godskin Noble, it was more tricky and it took me longer to work out the solution. He was super aggressive -- always homing in onto me from the word go even though I already have those Demi-Humans in berserk /night mode -- he kinda ignored them 😡😡and I tried different summons and none of them seem to survive long enough to see me through his second phase. 

I even tried those sleep pots (I had enough materials to craft 7 ... and I had to look for the recipe) and that recommended strategy didn't work either. I think cos my +7 sword wasn't strong enough). But through trial and error -- and tbh I think this is what Elden Ring is all about, trial and error -- I realised something: Godskin Noble's health bar would continue to deplete long after I hit him with rotten breath right from the start of the fight.

So, here is the solution: Summon (berserk) Demi-Humans to block his first attack, then hit him with a LONG bout of rotten breath behind the spirits (sometimes he is super aggressive and a full administration is not possible). Then when the Demi-Humans are still alive (and, hopefully, getting the blob's attention), spam comet azur (this is why I'm keeping the Sword of Night & Flame!) and should take us to his second phase. Now, just have enough health potion to keep self alive and run around the room -- yup, just keep going around in circles (luckily the serpent church is very big) -- and since the blob is slow, you can avoid many of his mid-range attacks -- and WATCH HIS HP BAR GOES DOWN 😈😈 when he has little health left then just hit him with one more comet azur.

VICTORY !!!

After the win, I was able to access the elusive Somber Smithing Stone 7 and it was time to upgrade my SoNaF to +10 💥💥 (the 8 and 9 stones are super easy to obtain in comparison). In the meantime, I also stumbled across a knight that drops the Golden Vow ashes of war (which I put on the Fire Monk Firemace) and together with the Flame, Grant Me Strength incantation (both very good buffs) I am now able to hit A LOT harder !!!

I have thought about respecc-ing but I still like my FTH/INT build ... simply cos my character becomes very versatile and can deal with many different situations -- the frenzied burst and slinging rocks are still great for sniping and you  need to be a hybrid build to use those. But it does mean it take a lot longer to become strong cos I am really spreading the skill points thin.

Right now, I have at least 40 VIG, which is great but I still need 60 FTH, maybe 30 INT and at least 30 MIND and 30 END to be solid (so I am looking at level 190 to be solid 😲😲 (and I am only level 86 now) ... so let's see if I will last THAT long LOL.. (but I already been on the game for a lot longer than I'd expected ...) 

Next, Volcano Manor, which seems to offer some interesting quests ...   

ELDEN RING (Part 5)

 Fire Prophet Build ...

Well, the chest piece of the Fire Monk armour set finally dropped 😍😍 but it took such a long time, and from a fire monk on the road (not in the camp) 😅😅 I'd swapped out the hood cos Roderika's red hood (found in Stormveil Castle) actually gives +1 to vigor, which is a great health boost; and it doesn't look out of place with the rest of the set. 

Have also found the amazing Frenzied Burst incantation, which has AMAZING range -- maybe even better than Rock Sling but costs more FP (24) apparently it can inflict madness status but I don't think that works with in-game enemies (only on fellow tarnished/ invaders). Was wondering if I should go through the trouble to get the Flame, Grant Me Strength spell (in Caelid, yikes) to boost fire damage but it eats up another 28 FP and too wasteful for casual enemies, so maybe not. The Scorpion Charm talisman that boosts fire attacks also quite troublesome to get (in Volcano Manor) and it also reduces defence against physical damages, so will also give it a miss (especially I already have the Radagon's Soreseal on, which also increases damage taken ... but at least the boost in vigor/strength helps compensate that). May consider the Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear though since it is a Erdtree Avator drop and that is not too hard to get. But it is just a one-use potion so ... maybe the FGMS spell might be better? 

Oh, I had another Staff of the Guilty drop but a bleed build is not viable cos it requires high Arcane stat, and I am not about to grind for that now. 

So, since last blog entry, I am tweaking the four spell/incantation "memory slots": will keep Rock Sling cos it still does decent damages and has range; Frenzied Burst also has superb range and can snipe annoying enemies (I'm looking at you, nasty prawn miners!); Heal, which actually can heal self and the summon; and one of the following: Flame of Frenzy, AoE spell for crowd control (but inflicts Madness status on self); Flame, Cleanse Me; Rotten Breath; Darkness/Rejection; Catch Flame/ Flame Sling. 

Time to upgrade the Sword of Night and Flame to +6 !     

ELDEN RING (Part 4)

The Prophet Build...

Currently farming the Fire Monk Armor set off a ... fire monk! It's a good thing the farming locations and conditions are forgiving cos the chest piece is just NOT dropping 😡😡 (I have the rest of the set ... and even the rare drop Staff of the Guilty!) 

I quite like the fire-theme cos the Prophet class comes with fire incantations from the word go and, of course, it goes very well with the Sword of Night and Flame 🔥🔥🔥 But have also started to think about a semi-bleed build too (more of which later). 

Research (Reddit!) suggests that the best fire spells are Catch Flame -- which surprisingly I haven't been using -- and Flame of Frenzy are very strong. Just like any other spells, they are a bit situational but will try to test them out in Stormveil Castle, which is quite a good training ground. I think I will spend some time there before venturing into the Academy of Raya Lucaria, which looks like a giant maze. 

So, am gonna tweak the left hand setup a bit. I think the Rock Sling spell is great for farming enemies (it has superb range!) but too hard to use in battle cos of its very slow casting time. Will switch the Meteorite Staff out for now and use the Staff of the Guilty instead ... let's see if the AOE Briars of Sin blood spell works for killing mobs (just for experimenting). In the longer run I may drop spells altogether and just rely on the "night" spell on the right hand sword. 

The other three "memory slots" will go to incantations and I will probably switch between Heal, Rejection, Darkness (for buffing) and Catch Flame, Flame of Frenzy, Flame Sling and  Rotten Breath (for damages). 

Meanwhile, since I now have quite a few bleed inducing weapons -- Bloodhound's Fang and Hookclaws -- as well as a blood spell, I may start thinking of doing a bleed build ... just for experimenting since my DEX stat is pretty low ...  

ELDEN RING (Part 3)

Part of the fun of Elden Ring, for me, is being able to play around with my character's build, which can be whatever you want it to be. Of course, you need the stats to support that (see last blog entry) but that is probably the only "limitation" (but that makes perfect sense).   

I've now made some progress in the game -- had no issues beating Godrick the Grafted -- and have his great rune as well as the interesting Rogier's Rapier +8 (YES!) Next I really need to work on the controls (always an issue for me cos my brain-hand coordination is REALLY poor) and, therefore, need to also practise on how to execute attacks correctly -- yes, even at level 71, I can still die from, like, getting mauled  by a pack of wild dogs if not careful 😵😵

SO what to put in my right and left hands???

Since the Sword of Night and Flame is indispensable I have placed that in the right hand. I have also include the Rapier cos it comes with the amazing Greatblade Phalanx spell /Art of War, which apparently can stagger enemies. Both swords require a trigger-free left hand so I took out the beast heater shield (with shield barrier AoW). On the left hand, I have the sacred seal for incantations (depending on situations I switch between fire spells, Rotten Breath, Darkness and Heal) and the Meteorite Staff for spells, including the rock sling, which also can stagger enemies (apparently). Also have the shield (on standby) for the left hand and bow for the right hand.

The next challenge is learn to switch between all these options while in a fight !!!  

ELDEN RING (Part 2)

 So is Elden Ring difficult?

Depends on who you ask really (just check out reddit!) Some find the game horribly hard while others say this is the easiest Souls title. What do I think?

At the beginning, when I didn't know what I was doing (which is normal), it was darn hard. I was killed by even the lowest life forms in Between Lands (like, wild dogs?!) Then I realised the game offers players ways to cheese their way up! So, since my last blog entry, I have been grinding runes at this spot to level up my stats (yes, I am quite a grinder) so that I can, mainly, wield this super duper Sword of Night and Flame (it is much better than the staff!!) Sure, it has been nerfed since but it is still a decent weapon for early game. And that has basically changed the way I spec my character.

And allowed me to kill bosses, one after another. 

Instead of putting points in DEX and END, I have been investing in VIG for more HP, MIND for more FP, INT for more powerful spells and FTH for stronger incantations. Being a mage was fun for awhile but with this new sword, I find incantation + melee works far better in killing enemies. Have also picked up talismans to further boost survivability. There are also some quirky incantations that are just fun to play around (like Darkness)... 

As said in my last blog entry, if you just rush into the story without investing time in building your character, you will just spend hours looking at the You Die screen. Instead, do a bit of cheesing, run around the open world and pick up high level gear/items so by the time you are better equipped (I am now at level 66) then you can take on the early game bosses with no problem. The game becomes bearably easy!

So, I am about to go into this dungeon (quite challenging but manageable to look for items to further power up the sword) ... then it is time to take on the game's second boss. Can't wait to few-hit-KO it. LOL   

ELDEN RING

Here is a video game that'd generated so much hype it was hard for me not to get it (downloaded it off PlayStation the weekend it was released). Which is also a kinda rash decision, given I have not played any of the previous "Souls" games produced by the same developer, FromSoftware. And what's so special about these Souls games? They are notoriously unforgiving and, therefore, difficult. 

Elden Ring boasts of a HUGE map (truly!!) and, like, at every turn, there is something that wants to kill you. And I really am not exaggerating. So, how to survive?

First of all, forget about following the overall story progression like you would with any other RPGs because your character will just ... die. (Oh, and there seems to be fewer missions or side quests, which I like). So I've spent a good part of the week just farming gear/weapons/items/ experience to better survivability. 

There are quite a few classes/jobs to choose from at the start of the game -- but since I quite fancy being a caster (read they are quite strong in this game) -- I went with "Prophet", which is, like, a cleric who can cast incantations as well as spells but has stats that also make a Paladin/ melee build viable. Right now my character can cast one really strong spell but I need to work on the melee attacks, especially with a spear. 

Rage-smashed console control a few times already because 1) my brain-fingers coordination is still very poor (and the slightly complicated D-Pad menu doesn't help); 2) keep hitting triangle when I should be pressing circle (stupid brain); 3) couldn't move when being attacked cos I was wearing a heavy armor (doh! read the instructions!) Honestly, there are no bad games, only bad players LOL

The Godrick Knight set isn't that great ... 

Have gotten myself a nice staff, a decent "Traveler set", a very good spear and shield, now I need to look for an enchantment that can strengthen my shield (which is crucial to enhance survivability).  

Took me awhile to get this weapon drop

Stats-wise I think I will need more Vigor, Endurance and Dexterity to make my Paladin is less squishy ... casting spells from a distance is fine and great, but when the enemies come closer ... that is when an enchanted shield  can save my character from dying yet another horrible death 🙈🙈🙈  

     

First post in 2022

I mean, do people still BLOG? 

Looking back more than a decade ago (yes!) I think I was big (and, therefore, blogged) on several subjects: Phones, Yoga and Games. Not much has changed (yes!) except, well, I am still huge on Yoga and Games but phones? 

Not so much these days. Currently I "only" own these: Google Pixel Pro 6 (yes!) for work and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G for gaming, which I use daily. Then there are the old BlackBerry Key 2 LE and LG G5, both I really love but which I retired recently because they are ... well, old. And finally I still have the Sidekick ID and Docomo Fujitsu F-06D, which are kinda collector's items (both have those fantastic LED lights 😍😍 Compared to those crazy days when I changed phones, like, every other week, this is, like, normal. 

In fact, I really love the new Google phone ... the last one I owned was the Nexus S (by Samsung circ 2010), which had a curved screen and I think I had that for quite a long time until the firmware became totally outdated. The Pixel Pro 6 (I have the Japanese edition) is just the kinda flagship phone I needed to replace my dependable BlackBerry (thumb typing on the Pixel is great!). The Z Flip is a foldable so at least it is different. 

However, while I may now have fewer phones, that doesn't mean I have fewer gadgets. In fact, my collection of electronic stuff has grown exponentially over the years that, perhaps, I need to do something about that. Like, these are machines that if I don't use or charge up regularly they might just ... die!

The ThinkPad (that I am typing this blog on) is SUPER-DUPER! I mean, I have had this for many, many years and one massive ransomware attack later, I am still using it. It has a wide screen and even a built-in DVD/CD/VCD player (that works) and you just cannot buy this amazing laptop anywhere now. And I have a Apple MacAir too ... which, to be honest, I have no idea why I bought cos I don't really need it. But it is good to learn to use the iOS (which IMHO is totally counter-intuitive). I still have a Kindle with a keyboard (yes!), three PlayStation handheld (yes!), Game Boy Advance SP (yes!) and a first gen iPad (yes!) Well, you get my drift. The thing is, I am now just using mostly my Nintendo Switch for gaming.

So just taking turns to charge up these gadgets up is kinda troublesome. But do I throw them away?

On the yoga front, I have been having issues with my right leg, specifically the outer knee and hamstrings. Will do this pose throughout the coming week (+ anti-inflammatory tablets) to see if situation will improve.