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 ...