Chapter 839: Player Controversy

Many players, upon first encountering Elden Ring, essentially approached it with the mindset of playing Souls-like games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls.

Indeed, in terms of combat system, including stylistic features and other content, Elden Ring was quite similar to these Souls series games.

However, the open world characteristic gave Elden Ring countless possibilities.

Just like in the Dark Souls prequel, where players could parkour to obtain the Gravelord Sword, sever a dragon's tail for the Drake Sword, or run to farm the Black Knight Halberd, these were ways to lower the game's difficulty. Elden Ring, however, offered even greater freedom in its settings, a more expansive map, and more discoverable content.

This open-ended design ensured that Elden Ring allowed many players to find a simple and easy route to complete the game, making the entire experience not just about blood-pressure-raising suffering, but also possessing elements of exhilaration.

For instance, melee players, upon acquiring the Hoarfrost Stomp weapon art, could transform into weapon art maniacs. Combined with Hoarfrost Stomp's large-scale AOE and frost properties, they could defeat previously difficult BOSSes with greater ease. Or they could turtle everything, utilizing 100% physical defense and the temporary stamina recovery granted by certain weapon arts.

Paired with a special item obtained from the Eternal City called Mimic Tear, it could sometimes achieve an effect greater than 1+1=3. Although Chen Xu had slightly balanced the Mimic Tear in terms of damage, aggro, health, and AI, as Spirit Ashes capable of using the same weapons, magic, and weapon arts as the player, it remained extremely powerful, especially with certain playstyles.

For example, Hoarfrost Stomp, and against monsters with low Poise, dual-wielding Greatswords could even stun them into submission. As for Mages, favored by many players, there were even more diverse playstyles. They could utilize the Cerulean Hidden Tear to fully boost spell damage and Intelligence, adopting a one-shot kill playstyle, a true glass cannon.

They could also use faster-casting Glintstone magic, combined with a dagger possessing the Bloodhound's Step weapon art, to become incredibly agile Mages. For many Mages, the magic professor on the top floor of the Carian Study Hall, with his teleportation summons and great bow, his insidious combat style left a deep impression on many players. Unfortunately, teleportation magic was exclusive to BOSSes, but players weren't without alternatives.

Bloodhound's Step weapon art served as that alternative, offering greater distance than rolling, faster activation, and longer Invincibility Frames. The only cost was a small amount of mana consumption and stamina.

Furthermore, Incantation faith builds were equally potent in the game. Although the signature 'Sunlight Spear' skill from Dark Souls became somewhat weaker in Elden Ring,

the Dragon Hearts obtained after defeating dragons, when exchanged for Dragon Powers at the Dragon Communion Cathedral, offered many possibilities. Particularly, the Scarlet Rot Dragon Breath, combined with Bleed crossbow bolts, a Pulley Crossbow, and a main weapon with the Seppuku weapon art, made the entire game effortlessly easy. Two breaths of Scarlet Rot Dragon Breath would make the BOSS feel the power of Scarlet Rot, complemented by the long-range Bleed effect from crossbow bolts, allowing monsters to experience what it meant to face a despicable Tarnished.

And even if these strategies weren't enough to make the game easier, there was a very simple and crude method: grinding levels. Although unlike traditional ARPGs, where a sufficiently high stat could prevent a BOSS from breaking hyper armor, the stat increase provided by a well-rounded (stats) build could still significantly lower the margin for error in combat.

At the rotting platform Site of Grace in Caelid, there were two giant Crows nearby. If a Mage learned Rock Sling, they could earn approximately 8000 Runes per minute. And on the treetops in Deeproot Depths, the giant Stone Gargoyle could be easily defeated by both Mages and melee fighters, each yielding 4000 Runes, enough to keep players happy for a while.

By completing White-Mask Varre's questline at the Rose Church to unlock the Mohgwyn Dynasty area, the first Site of Grace there offered a giant Crow worth 10,000 Runes, and ahead, rows of 2000-experience fodder, giving players ample motivation. It was safe to say that if players wanted to, they could completely transform into Shi Li Po Sword Gods. As long as their burst damage was high enough, no BOSS could stop them.

Initially, on various platforms and videos, streamers were getting mercilessly thrashed, and players watched with great interest. However, as time progressed, players' understanding of Elden Ring deepened, and more content was unearthed.

While suffering was still suffering, for most BOSSes, if one wasn't clumsy, they could typically pass after dying ten or so times, or being stuck for half an hour to an hour. This sense of contrast even gave many players a very satisfying feeling, leading them to want to try playing it themselves.

After all, while Souls series games had always been famous enough to be considered one of Nebula Games' top three IPs, their sales didn't quite place them in the top tier. The main reason was the abundance of cloud players, as not many players were keen on intense suffering. But Elden Ring, with its accessible shortcuts that weren't exploit bugs, sparked the desire in many players to experience it firsthand.

And once these players delved into the game, they immediately felt its charm. Because with its rich gameplay, Elden Ring could arguably be the easiest Souls-like game ever made, if one desired. After a little familiarity with a BOSS's combat patterns, a few initial struggles would lead to much easier victories.

Of course, if one chose not to summon NPCs or use these playstyles, then Elden Ring would become the most difficult Souls-like game in history. These two extreme experiences also sparked significant controversy and discussion among players.

Tieba, live streaming platforms, and community forums were filled with all sorts of trend-setting posts.

'The Spirit Ashes system is truly a single bad apple that spoils the bunch. I don't know what Chen Xu was thinking, creating such a skill-less thing. Combined with the Mage's Cerulean Hidden Tear and Comet Azur, any BOSS loses its meaning in front of him.'

'Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Sekiro – if you could just summon helpers whenever you fought a BOSS, would these Souls games even be playable? It's ridiculous! And don't even try to say 'just don't use it'. If I don't use it, and pretend I don't know about it, wouldn't I just be a clown? Clearly knowing, yet pretending not to, just deceiving myself.'

'It's like telling people playing DOTA not to use their ultimate abilities, or playing Call of Duty and not being allowed to reload. Such a good game, yet they just have to annoy you.'

Clearly, these posts were mostly from players dissatisfied with the abundance of difficulty-reducing options in Elden Ring. Similarly, the glass cannon Comet Azur, Hoarfrost Stomp, poking shields, and Scarlet Rot Dragon Breath, and even the easy grinding spots, were all called out by some players.

Of course, for every opposing view, there were more in support.

'No way, no way? Can you really say that about a single-player game? You can't use Spirit Ashes, poking shields, or Scarlet Rot Dragon Breath in PVP, and they're essentially freebies. Being too high level also prevents matching with average players, and there's damage scaling. So, what are the people complaining about imbalance even thinking?'

'Honestly, isn't a single-player game meant to be played however you want? If you want a challenge, don't bring them. If you want it easier, just use these strategies, right? Can single-player games even be compared like that?'

'Holy cow, the 'bad apple' scripture has arrived!'

The direction of discussion in this post ignited widespread debate among players, with thousands of replies in just one day as players argued incessantly. However, what many players didn't expect was that at this critical moment, Chen Xu himself personally responded to this on the official Weibo account.

(End of Chapter) <>