Elden Ring (FromSoftware)

[Jeff Kelly]

Just to avoid any confusion Morgott is the boss of The Capital Leydell which is an area you probably reach after you’ve played dozens of hours. You’re most likely level 70 - 90 when you reach him and have played this game for 40+ hours.

It’s also not an easy boss.

That’s why I find it so remarkable because less then 50 of players usually finish a game or even reach late game areas .

(Don’t know why From Soft decided that most of the main bosses had to have such similar names with the same starting letter. As if they are a litter of puppies)

[Zetor]

And yes, the reason I highlighted the 20% endgame boss thing is because there is a particular boss at the end of a hidden endgame area that's accessible through another hidden endgame area, and also a lot of people think she's one of the hardest From bosses ever. Still, 21.4% steam players have the achievement. Maybe through coop, or something is fucked with achievement tracking? (I never got the red wolf achievement, even though I obv killed it)

e: and I wouldn't discount the possibility that this many people got the achievements legit (maybe via co-op, but still). Game's been out for a while, and the souls community is all about the 'git gud' xhardcorex lifestyle.

[satael]

Bloodborne numbers on PS might have something to do with the fact that it's free for PS Plus members so not everyone who has tried it has paid for it specifically.

[Trippy]

That’s why I also listed the PS5 Demon’s Souls first boss (who isn’t really a boss) numbers.

[Khaldun]

I do think some of the bosses allow a looser style than in previous Souls games, or at least it feels that way to me. And it feels easier to understand what's going on in a lot of fights. Maybe it's just that I'm overlevelling before I do any of them. So maybe that's letting more people go on where they would have just quit before, and that's leading to higher achievement numbers.

[01101010]

I will say, some of the boss fights are not as difficult to fight as it is to fight the god damn camera while in battle. I understand fighting huge bosses has a mystique to it, but really is a pain in the ass when you are under them and they leap up and send the camera spinning all over - not to mention some bosses are so big you can't really tell from any camera angle wtf they are about to do. (yes, I play melee so I am in the minority that needs to get up close and personal).

[Rasix]

I'd imagine melee is likely the most popular build overall, just not the easiest. Dragon fights are mostly trying to find the feet. And then you fight the Mountain Giant.. and hit his feet. 

Another night of wiping to a boss over and over again.  Despite how much I love this game, this sort of futility is not fun. A back to back full HP boss fight where the second boss has about a thousand different move combos is a bit too much for my old man hands.

Time to go bully some mini-bosses for a while.

[Trippy]

I will say, some of the boss fights are not as difficult to fight as it is to fight the god damn camera while in battle. I understand fighting huge bosses has a mystique to it, but really is a pain in the ass when you are under them and they leap up and send the camera spinning all over - not to mention some bosses are so big you can't really tell from any camera angle wtf they are about to do. (yes, I play melee so I am in the minority that needs to get up close and personal).

For some of the bosses it may be easier to not use the target lock. You might want to give that a try.

[01101010]

I will say, some of the boss fights are not as difficult to fight as it is to fight the god damn camera while in battle. I understand fighting huge bosses has a mystique to it, but really is a pain in the ass when you are under them and they leap up and send the camera spinning all over - not to mention some bosses are so big you can't really tell from any camera angle wtf they are about to do. (yes, I play melee so I am in the minority that needs to get up close and personal).

For some of the bosses it may be easier to not use the target lock. You might want to give that a try.

Oh I do use the lock/unlock clicks NOW... but yeah.

[Khaldun]

I stopped using the target lock for anything that wasn't 100% about using a shield, it's death for melee otherwise.

The camera is a fucking pain in the ass for mounted fights at least and especially on large things--you just have to swipe when you kind of think you're in the hitbox, you never really know for sure. I've been chewing through Great Enemies and field bosses now but Commander O'Neil took me a lot of tries because of camera issues--I'd think I was swiping on his fucking adds but who knows half the time.

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

[schild]

Less than half the people who have played Bloodborne have beaten either of the first two bosses and Margit is much harder than both of them. The percentages are broken. I suspect the true percentages at least 1/2 less if not more.

Every achievement in the game is "hidden." Is it possible it's only counting people who beat him vs the total that attempted him and not TOTAL PLAYERS.

If so, those numbers make WAY more sense.

[Zetor]

Less than half the people who have played Bloodborne have beaten either of the first two bosses and Margit is much harder than both of them. The percentages are broken. I suspect the true percentages at least 1/2 less if not more.

Every achievement in the game is "hidden." Is it possible it's only counting people who beat him vs the total that attempted him and not TOTAL PLAYERS.

If so, those numbers make WAY more sense.

How would that work mechanically? The Steam achievement doc has nothing that'd hint at such functionality (basically 'activate' an achievement independently for each user for aggregation), all achievements are active 100% of the time. The only thing hidden status seems to do is to control whether it is visible on your profile (and you see 'friend x got hidden achievement y' in your feed)...

The achievement %s don't line up with this either - if you look at the mandatory bosses in the game in order (ignoring the shardbearers since technically you can kill any 2 of them + their appropriate minibosses, though most players will kill the ones in limgrave and liurnia):
You can only attempt a boss on this list if you killed the previous ones, so by that definition if someone is stuck on boss 3, they shouldn't count for the boss 4 %. Either From has perfect 'critical path' boss balancing in that they're just getting incrementally harder, or achievement %s are absolute values...

e: I still think it's either something broken on From's end that unlocks/unlocked achievements for people early, a lot of players are cheating (why?), or (Occam's razor) Elden Ring players are just better at the game / the game is easier than other soulsbornes, especially with summons / it's easier to cheese (who knows, maybe a lot of this is pre-1.03 mimic tear + hoarfrost stomp spam or something)

[Cyrrex]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

[Trippy]

e: I still think it's either something broken on From's end that unlocks/unlocked achievements for people early, a lot of players are cheating (why?), or (Occam's razor) Elden Ring players are just better at the game / the game is easier than other soulsbornes, especially with summons / it's easier to cheese (who knows, maybe a lot of this is pre-1.03 mimic tear + hoarfrost stomp spam or something)

Steam achievements are always suspect because there are achievement unlocker hacks and the PC version of Elden Ring allows for cheats. But the other boss achievement %s you listed like Godfrey seem more reasonable. They are still higher than the roughly equivalent Bloodborne boss achievements that I have unlocked (I did 12/17 bosses before I stopped so I can't see the later Bloodborne boss %s) but not as much as the Margit one. So that one may just be weird.

[Trippy]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

[Cyrrex]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

I assume those are the same dudes I was referring to.  I hate them.  The bats are fine, but those assholes seem to cut through my shield and armor and one-shot me.

[Jeff Kelly]

Leyndell feels a lot like Anor Londo. It’s a brilliant location with a huge drop off in quality once you get to the next sections. Both forbidden lands and Mountaintops of the Giants are really underwhelming compared to what came before.

At least they still have some highlights like

[Trippy]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

I assume those are the same dudes I was referring to.  I hate them.  The bats are fine, but those assholes seem to cut through my shield and armor and one-shot me.

Yes depending on your Vigor they can easily one-shot you and some have weapons with unblockable bleed procs which will also kill you if the bleed proc triggers. But that's what the stealth mechanics are for.

[Trippy]

e: I still think it's either something broken on From's end that unlocks/unlocked achievements for people early, a lot of players are cheating (why?), or (Occam's razor) Elden Ring players are just better at the game / the game is easier than other soulsbornes, especially with summons / it's easier to cheese (who knows, maybe a lot of this is pre-1.03 mimic tear + hoarfrost stomp spam or something)

Steam achievements are always suspect because there are achievement unlocker hacks and the PC version of Elden Ring allows for cheats. But the other boss achievement %s you listed like Godfrey seem more reasonable. They are still higher than the roughly equivalent Bloodborne boss achievements that I have unlocked (I did 12/17 bosses before I stopped so I can't see the later Bloodborne boss %s) but not as much as the Margit one. So that one may just be weird.

Some actual numbers: The furthest I got in Bloodborne on the mandatory bosses was The One Reborn who is 5 out of 9 with a achievement % of 28.2%. The rough equivalent mandatory boss in Elden Ring would probably be the Fire Giant at 7 out of 13 (depending on how/who you count) who is at 30.3% in your numbers above.

[Rasix]

Finished it! This is the most I've done in a FromSoft game ever. I beat a couple bosses in Demon's Souls (too fucking hard) and Dark Souls just never clicked with me (plus hard).

I know recency bias is a thing, but this might be my top game ever. If you don't include JPRGs, it most definitely is. Just an overall amazing experience, if only slightly tarnished (hyuk) by some balance issues.

Some notes on the end boss:

[Cyrrex]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

I assume those are the same dudes I was referring to.  I hate them.  The bats are fine, but those assholes seem to cut through my shield and armor and one-shot me.

Yes depending on your Vigor they can easily one-shot you and some have weapons with unblockable bleed procs which will also kill you if the bleed proc triggers. But that's what the stealth mechanics are for.

Curious.  Last time I went up there, the stealth did nothing, two spawned right on top of me.  Do gear and stats impact stealth?

[Trippy]

The farming area I'm talking about is:
There are spells that increase you stealth. I'm not sure if there is gear that increase or decrease your base stealth.

[Cyrrex]

Gotcha.  And damn, that sword.

[schild]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

the MOMENT you can get to Raya Lucaria and get through the pvp quests, the best rune farm is that hill full of dumb sleeping dudes

[Khaldun]

I think I've found my first ragequit-level boss which is the Valiant Gargoyle fight in Nokron/Sofia if you're melee. Not going to bother with it for now--it's fucking awful. It's the only unfun thing in the game so far for me.

[schild]

I think I've found my first ragequit-level boss which is the Valiant Gargoyle fight in Nokron/Sofia if you're melee. Not going to bother with it for now--it's fucking awful. It's the only unfun thing in the game so far for me.

Gargoyle fight is always shit. Just come back later.

[Jeff Kelly]

Also the fucking bats in Fort Faroth are stronger than most bosses, fuck that shit.

On the other hand, it is a pretty good place to grind runes.  And while the bats are bad, the shit on the roof is worse.

the MOMENT you can get to Raya Lucaria and get through the pvp quests, the best rune farm is that hill full of dumb sleeping dudes

Suicide bird is also accessible then

[ezrast]

I will say, some of the boss fights are not as difficult to fight as it is to fight the god damn camera while in battle. I understand fighting huge bosses has a mystique to it, but really is a pain in the ass when you are under them and they leap up and send the camera spinning all over - not to mention some bosses are so big you can't really tell from any camera angle wtf they are about to do. (yes, I play melee so I am in the minority that needs to get up close and personal).

For some of the bosses it may be easier to not use the target lock. You might want to give that a try.

Also, remapping Dodge to Right Trigger makes it much easier to babysit the camera while you rollspam around. Heavy Attack has no need for such a privileged position, at least with the swords I've been using.

[schild]

Heavy attack does suck ass.

[Jeff Kelly]

Well, Castle Sol was a whole lot of bullshit. Those dual wielding phantom knights are harder than most bosses.

[Khaldun]

I also fucking hate Crucible Knights.

[Jeff Kelly]

Difficulty is very uneven late game. There‘s WTF bosses like Maliketh or Malenia or normal enemies like the ash crucible knights and then there’s bosses you absolutely curb stomp first try just by mashing L1 and letting your ash summons tank.

It’s Hoi from „oh a boss. This will probably take hours, WTF From Software this shit is impossible“ to „oh a boss… and he’s dead“ often directly after.

I like the ashes. They really have different personalities. Tiche for example is reliable and stoically takes even the hardest hits the mimic tear is just psycho killer jumping around and murdering the shit out of everybody. My Albiauric archer on the other hand is showing bosses why archers have always been bullshit in Souls game. It should have an ult move where she just makes bosses drop off the ledge of Anor Londo, like in a FF7 materia.

It’s so funny seeing enemies get shot, stagger, recover then get shot over and over again. Just like it happens to every player out there.

Lastly even 110 hours in I still  can’t help but laugh uncontrollably when I encounter spider hands. Something about their moveset is just absolutely hilarious to me

[Cyrrex]

Heavy attack does suck ass.

As a pure melee using big weapons, the heavy attack (with a jump attack) is often a good alpha strike.  Or sneak attack.  Or maybe I am doing it wrong, that is always a likely possibility.

[Falconeer]

Heavy attack does suck ass.

Not with very heavy weapons.

[Trippy]

It depends on the move set and whether or not you are guard countering (the counter is your heavy attack). And jumping heavies is often the best way for melee to deal with the shielded mobs. You’ll likely trade damage but that’s often better than struggling to get past their shield with your non jumping attacks. As a simple example the non-broadsword class straight swords’ heavy is a straight thrust like a rapier or spear and has very good range. That makes it the safest attack against some enemies since you can poke them down without getting hit yourself.