@@Pontif11 I'm basically doing the same challenge as Arlo, minus the debuff though. I have a level 310, blood build, double Seppuku Godskin peelers. I use mimic anytime I can. (Though you'd be surprised there's quite a few places in this dlc you can't use summons)
I love how Arlo built a channel on family friendly Nintendo IPs like Mario and pikmin with a unique Sesame Street inspired puppet character, and then on the side goes hard for the ultra grim dark fantasy M rated cosmic horror “prepare to die” franchise. I love the breadth of topics he covers.
I like how arlo is always able to set himself up to such a nieche situation to even have this kind of bad experience like obviously the game is hard on ng +7 the scaling literally breaks at that point
wtf u mean niche? What cuz he’s a generally known as a Nintendo UA-camr when he plays a great and arguably best game in the past 3-5 years u call it a “niche situation” ??? Are u high? Everyone and I mean everyone is talking about this DLC, and for good reason. Nothing Nintendo has done this year can even hold a candle this this DLC. None of their games even compare to the quality of how good this DLC is and will be. Check yourself. U sound ridiculous.
Funny enough, play through the base game ng+ 1,2,3 and 4 was easier than playing the game through normaly. Because the in my opinion the scaling in the base game is almost not existend.
@elalcazar7374 it does get more appropriately scaled in end-game areas, but yeah the early and midgame bosses are tissue paper in a decently specced ng run. But that's always been the case with the souls games ime.
Arlo, I have a lot of respect for you going into a dlc that’s meant for end game at NEW GAME +7!! And still getting it half done and having a good time with it lmao your wild man. You should really make a new character when the dlc officially releases (or even now) and that’ll make a good half of your criticism go away.
@@Davey_Cakes Well, fair-ish, I'd say. Not really relevant to, like, 99% of people interested in the DLC for a first time playthrough, though! I think most people will be playing base NG, maybe NG+ at most.
@@Davey_Cakes Most of us know that everything scales with what game cycle you're in. So we are waiting to try the DLC at NG 0 before considering going into the DLC a second time at +1 Going in immediately at +7 takes a special kind of masochist.
nah but at the same time, the VAST majority of other reviewers are saying the exact same thing so I don't think he's wrong. It's probably not _quite_ as hard as Arlo thinks it is, but it's definitely really hard (even by Dark Souls DLC standards, which are already brutal to begin with)
@idontwantahandlethough it is of course hard but the scaling difference between the player and the bosses can be exponential. The bosses can scale infinitely, you as the player plateau at a certain point
Arlo talking about how the level design of SoTE harkens back to older From games and then drops the Majula theme at 5:15 is *chef’s kiss* DS2^2 confirmed!
I think this is definitely the point where it's actually just worth starting over on a new file to get a clean experience with the game and DLC in general. NG+7 is a steep and respectable commitment, but I feel like there's plenty of things you will like or at least re-evaluate with that kind of new perspective. And I mean, it's the new DLC release, when will be a better time for it?
I was on NG+1 on Xbox One but when the DLC was revealed I bought the game again on PS5 so that I could start again and play a fresh playthrough on better hardware in time
Arlo is the reason I got into Elden Ring (and bought a PS4 for the purpose) and I imagine that’s true for many of his Nintendo based viewers. So no surprise Bandai Namco returned the favor!
@@kieran5476 gonna be broke forever with that mentality. I might even throw my current ps5 in the garbage once the pro comes out this year. Rather that than gift it to a bozo like you, it’d be lost on you 😆
I think ng+ is definitely the reasoning my fuzzy blue friend! But I also wanted to mention that the "cheese" methods you mention are built in designs. Fromsoft made the game around the idea that you can use shields and magic and summons. Those things are just more battle mechanics! It's like the super guard in paper mario. It trivializes the entire game in terms of difficulty, but you can choose not to use it for more challenge. Honestly part of the fun of a souls game is feeling prepared enough to take on a boss, using every tactic in the book, and finally breaking through that Wall that seemed impossible a few attempts ago. I detest people saying that it's weak or cheesy to use the tools given to you. Don't feel ashamed or bad for using then, you beat a game that some people can't even beat the first boss of, and that's WITH summons
Arlo, I have now returned to watch your review. I have not finished the DLC, but I have done a number on most of it, and I have to stay, I’m still glad to hear your perspective. I initially bailed when your dropped this video two weeks ago because I wanted to experience the DLC on my own, and I am glad I did. This game is magical in how it managed to capture lightening in a bottle twice. There are areas that truly surprised me just like you said: a small dungeon that explodes into a sprawling mountain with the hardest boss ever. Some of the bosses were amazingly difficult (Rellanna) and some were so frustratingly hard it wasn’t even worth it (Black Gaol Knight and Romina). But so so so so fun. Glad I went in blind, glad I came back, and sorry for bailing when you dropped the video.
I agree with you. There seems to be a divide between the “I want this cranked up to 11” and people who enjoy the world exploration and some minor challenge. Game is downloaded and ready to run as soon as I get home from work. Also, I never go past new game because it tends to punish you in the long run.
You made it harder on yourself in several ways. 1) NG+7 is not for the inexperienced. Especially not the dlc. 2) you're currently debuffed by the dethbed companion. That hug is detrimental to your health, remove it by using the item Baldachin's blessing. 3) your shield could probably use some enhancements, theres a considerable difference between a weak shield and a strong one(take it to the blacksmith buff it to +25) 4) As cool as the Dragonclaw shield looks, it seems to have been nerfed in patch 1.09 Overall definitely worth an excuse to run a fresh save and just grab what you need to proceed.
Yeah you can't be caught lacking on NG+7, you need 60 vigor at least plus good defence stats, bull goat armour and great dragonsheild talisman is a must imo
I love when FromSoft does that "walk out into a new area" thing, and they've gotten SO good at it. I'll never forget my first time playing Dark Souls 2 and walking out into Majula for the first time. That walkout felt magical even though there wasn't even much to see. Just the way it went from cave to open area with cliffs and ocean and everything, it was just so good.
The reused enemies is what I feels for the entirety of Tears of the kingdom, outside of the first few hours where you discover new enemies that were not in BOTW. I suppose it's something difficult to avoid with big open world games, but Elden ring also has loads of unique enemies for each region, something I wish TOTK had to make each region different
New Game+7 for the DLC. Oh Arlo... oh, Arlo. The Souls community has been learning for over a decade that you never, ever start DLC on any NG+. There is ALWAYS at least one boss that gets you, and there's often up to _three._ All I can say now is good luck, and remember that discretion is the better part of valor.
Damn I’m ng+ on blood borne and just bought the dlc, should I just start a new character? I’m planning on playing it like 2 more times anyway for the endings
@@russellwestbrook462 You actually don't have to play through it multiple times to get all the endings for the platinum trophy. You can upload your save to the cloud then reload that save and do another ending. You'll still get all the trophies and get all the endings in one single go instead of doing it 3 times. Also the final boss in the DLC is very hard on new game +, but he's not unbeatable. I've beaten him on new game +3 so it more than doable. Just hard.
Arlo, aim for the head when fighting the Dragon. Keep it right in front of you, don't frantically run around in circles. Do that, and you'll learn to systematically dismiss them. Greyolls area on Caelid is great for practice.
3:25 "As always, the world is simply a joy to be in, a joy to explore. Just the ability to ride around a place like this is a blessing." - a muppet describing an eldritch Gothic horror deadly hellscape
Who cares, just summon, the game was built around summons. You could beat Mario with a usb steering wheel just bc its beatable doesn't mean the game was designed to be played like that.
Anyone who says core mechanics are a cheese is a dumbass. A cheese tactic is any tactic that allows a person to beat a challenge (typically a boss) with low or no effort. Using spirit summons absolutely doesn't qualify. There isn't a summon in the game anymore that can solo bosses assuming it's appropriately leveled, and I'd be surprised to see any spirit summon solo a boss even at +10 these days. From has balanced them well. They're SO far from cheese. They're just a core mechanic that the game was designed around. Just because some people find it too easy with summons doesn't mean the rest of us do also. That's how insane people think about things.
As someone not in NG+7, the DLC definitely emphasizes every problem with the base game's difficulty. Enemies deal your entire health bar of damage in a single hit for no reason and absorb damage for an eternity.
@@JoshuaGlock yeah Mesmer was tough, he could have been the hardest boss in the game imo if he had more health. You’ll get him eventually, good luck and have fun!
@@JoshuaGlock I got a ps5 and a copy of ER around the middle of August and I started SotE like a week ago just before the endgame and I found Miquella to be way more challenging than Messmer but that’s just me 👀
Arlo, I promise you, you being in NG+7 is probably making this dlc wayyyyyy harder than I think most will experience lol. I'm sure it'll be hard, but not "enemies leaving you with a sliver of health by coughing on you" hard.
I’ve been stuck on the Elden Beast for about a month now and really struggling with wanting to beat it before the DLC but this motivates me to take a break on the darn run away slug and do the DLC first :)
I did what you forgot to do and made a save file right before I went into NG+ so just recently in preparation for the DLC I replaced the save data with the old data so I don't have to play in NG+ or higher.
You mentioned that the giant vistas were huge, but "largely a camera trick" which is kinda funny because FromSoft has a reputation of not dumbing down anything in the distance. In all 3 Dark Souls games the breathtaking vistas were all actually modeled and to scale. The only difference is that some of them didn't have collision. I highly recommend checking the Boundary Break videos on the Dark Souls games.
Elden Ring was also my first Fromsoft game. I’ve spent 1000+ hours on it. Next highest time commitment is 400+ with BotW. I have never spent so much time with one game and I’m looking forward to spending even more when this dlc releases 😊
Don't worry arlo, I'm going into the DLC at NG+7 as well. But I'm a little more experienced with the game, since I recently finished my RL1 run with the zweihander. Thank you for your awesome review! I can't wait to play the DLC!!
I'm surprised you got this! Don't really use my switch, kinda always saw ya as the switch guy, come here for gr8 switch content. It was very epic for me today to find you reviewing the elden ring DLC.
It’s funny bc I made a post in my ER group warning new players about going into the dlc on ng7 with their max levels, and I just got called a gate keeper and told to “let people play how they want”. All I said was, I’ve been there in Ds1 and learned a valuable lesson. Always have multiple characters , different builds going. It refreshes the game and keeps it from going stale. Plus it’s good for situations like when a dlc comes out. A sure fire way of getting a tainted experience is going in it on ng7 or even 4,5 and 6. People forget that the base game on ng7 is manageable because you’re already familiar with the enemies and bosses and map. In dlc , going thru brand new learning curves and learning brand new boss battles with a ng7 difficulty spike is simply not the same beast as base game ng7. It’s like starting ER base game for the first time ever on ng7. Just no thanks.
I’m not even at the Mountaintops of the Giants in the play through I’m doing (I’m fairly close to Leyndell but I have a lot of other stuff I need to do first). I better pick up the pace because this looks awesome!
I really like the way Sekiro did difficulty. I feel like just about any enemy can kill you easily by breaking your stance, but it works both ways, you can break the stance of and kill just about any enemy, including bosses, pretty easily too. It’s super risk and reward
Heh, I actually am a multiple files kinda guy. Never seen the appeal of NG+ in Fromsoft games, the difficulty at that point is mostly numerical. I'll maybe do one on this game to use some dlc weapons and AoWs in the main game (star fists with poison flower blooms twice aow looks like fun) . I hope you persevere Arlo, and don't let no maidenless tell you summoning is cheesing, you get over that boss in any way you find fun.
I think some good response to bosses with long combo chains are to learn their parries, hyper armour through them and trade with armour and heavy weapons or use the new guard counters with heavy shields.
I will say, A+ music choices on this review, kudos. still haven't beaten the main game on any of my files yet, but I'm still looking forward to the new stuff~
My first Fromsoft title was Bloodborne. I played through to NG+6 when The Old Hunters dropped. I learned from that mistake and had a copy of a NG+1 file especially for Elden Ring's DLC. DLC at NG+7 is wild.
I found myself satisfied with the amount of mini dungeons in the end....10ish I think, which I also enjoyed greatly in the main game, as I did also in BoTW, ToTK and Immortals Fenyx Rising
So I believe you're talking about the Divine Beast. I agree that it feels entirely new and very challenging, I thought it was one of the most incredible boss fights in the game and I LOVE how much I had to adapt for it
Arlo, I just wanted you to know that imo you are a top 3 reviewer in the entire world. No, seriously, you’re that good. You have such a bright future in game reviews if you do choose to continue branching out past Nintendo! Best of luck, I’ve been watching for years now and it’s always a treat to get an Arlo video.
I just got on board about 6 months ago and I had to laugh in the first minute there when you said several times a day you’ll be like “Man. Wish i was playing ER rn.” Same bro
The ONE BOSS you are talking about was my first on the DLC, but i loved it. IMO the attacks are very readable (and dodgable) compared to other bosses, it just is a lot harder because his timings are... creative... But so far the bosses are my favourite part. Great music, stunning moveset, hard but fair. Spent literally 4 hours today on the boss that connects the first to the second map-area (Two swords, you know which one). But unlike the base game, it always felt fair and dodgable, so i did it without cheese, felt like winning a whole war when i did it. Maybe it's just that i played almost all other fromsoft-hits since the base game., but it genuinely feels so much fairer than the ER-Endgame to me.
Arlo, you were right on the money here. I was one of the few people that felt the second half of Elden Ring was entirely fair, beat pretty much every boss in under 5 tries without summons, and I was really proud of that. This DLC is FRUSTRATINGLY hard even for me. I just spent over 100 tries on a single boss, and the way I beat it was entirely unsatisfying. I’m just not at all a fan of the style of difficulty they went for, with these unending combos and 1-2 shot kill moves
Also consider there may be balance patches coming in the future as well. Unpatched Radahn was a much tougher boss than what he is now, so "that boss" and others may experience some changes in the future. That said, DLC on NG+7 is a thing only the hardcore-est of fans would do. You are absolutely playing on hard mode, so don't be discouraged!
I GUARANTEE if you create a new file and rush the game just to get to the DLC youll have a MUCH better time. Especially if you just stick to one weapon. All you gotta do is find it again then find mimic and youre set. Starting on NG+7 is lunacy
dude same here. it was my first ever souls game because of the hype i played it. literally changed my entire gaming life. i’m now a fromsoftware cult member, i did. elden ring bloodborne dark souls 3 sekiro.
I think using summons makes bosses harder. For one, it increases their total health by a lot, but also if the boss is switching where its attention is, that makes it very difficult to predict what it's doing. In the base game, the split attention mostly worked to the player's advantage, but in this DLC, I do not think it does anymore because of how fast some of them are. I don't like going into ng+, not to mention +7, so I can't speak on that, but playing a samurai using the the new mixed physick Sekiro block mechanic has been extremely satisfying and everything considered, not too tough. Basically the only thing I haven't done is fight the final boss, and none of the bosses have been harder than Malenia for me. Best of luck Arlo, the addiction is real.
This sounds great to me. I'm pretty much in the 'ER is best in the legacy dungeons, at its worst in the open world and most of the mini dungeons' camp. So having less of the random mini dungeons and more meaty dungeony areas that interconnect sounds good. For me personally, the souls style of combat just works better in the smaller worlds of DS 1/2/3 and BB, and not as good in a huge massive open world where they have to stretch things out to populate that overly massive world. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, we all have different tastes and preferences. But that's just how I feel about ER. I'd rather replay DS 3 or BB than pick up a fresh ER playthrough. But I will be checking out this DLC and dusting off my two save files to play this.
You're right about the new boss being majestic and terrifying! I got that lion man to half health and he started summoning a whole ass thunderstorm on top of me. The rest of that attempt just consisted of me spam dodging and yelling "hoooooly shit. What is that?? Holy shit wtf is it doing"
Arlo! If you mean the fire giant guy! Attack one leg over and over again. Eventually he will fall over and you can attack it's face. Also. If you stay close you can jump over his stomp aoe attacks.
I can't help but wonder which boss he's talking about around the 14 minute mark. Perhaps one that's found atop a jagged mountain? I could also see it being a stormy beast Edit: he described the elemental attacks, probably the stormy beast
I didn't find "that boss" as difficult as you suggested, though I am on a New Game file. I think the number of attacks he has may get inflated in your mind due to how quickly they can kill. A key thing is that, at least to me, it seems that the different elemental variations actually limit the boss's move pool. I find Lightning Phase very easy to fight in most cases because he only uses the attacks I'm already good at dodging. Only Ice phase gives me issues, and that's partially due to the AOE, and partially due to me using a strength build and occasionally putting myself in a bad position by trying to punish when I don't have the time.
That ONE boss you mentioned? Yeah, I agree. I thought I hadn't found enough blessings because my attacks barely scratched it. In the end I resorted to the good old "Summon Tiche and hope for the best" tactic like a huge pansy. I'll get him "legit" next time. Either way I'm loving this, but god damn does this make the main game look easy in comparison. I found an optional dungeon boss that has a grab attack that pretty much FULL HEALS him if you don't dodge it. Killing him felt SO DAMN GOOD.
Which one is it? I can't help myself and wonder "is this the one "every time I encounter a new boss... Just now I'm stuck at this one which is riding a boar. Is that the one?
@@Thiagoslaw I think he meant the Lion Dancer. Which looks cool but the fight is it flailing all over the place and at the time I had next to no shadow blessings so it hurt a lot.
@@RevolverRez Did you beat Commander Gaius? I believe it fits more his description on the video. I'm still not sure as I did not beat the game yet but I'm already at the end game. ( Dacing Lion was the first boss I deleted. I have a mage build)
Divine beast took me a few hours to take down, but it felt like a good ol' souls boss. First couple hours was a hopeless struggle until the "ok I get" mode clicked on. That being said the last 25% insano mode felt like a combination of skill and sheer luck to beat.
to me personally,I love being pushed into getting better, sadly this is harder the more you play, the more you get used to from soft style, so I'm grateful they are going more and more insane with the bosses, Malenia was one of my favorite surprises from the base game, they really need to also get better at surprising us, veterans, with new harder and harder situations to push our limits, but as you said, people still have the option to use summons and magic, the less middle ground there is the more you can enjoy and experience the side you are in at its fullest
Arlo I am muting this video and running it on another tab so you get the engagement but i dont end up actually seeing/hearing anything about this DLC before I can play it for myself.
Hey, I summon a lot of Spirit Ashes too. Not as much of a shield man, but I get what you say! I used to cower behind shields all the time in Dark Souls 3!
I got to say, watching this video without ever playing the original game just makes me want to play it more. As soon as I find the time, it is definitely on the top of my list.
I appreciate these thoughtful impressions. I'm excited to jump back into this world! I will say, I think you kinda sent this video out to die with the timing of it!
Gonna see if i can even get through it ive got all the cheese from base gaame and will use it time to summon up Archer lady and run the boss on circles again while using rot breath
I will be waiting for when I play myself to watch this since it has footage and i want absolutely NO idea about anything going in, but I do very much look forward to watching this in about two weeks 😂
Coming back to this after having finished the DLC a few times with different builds I'd say that your criticisms re: overly long enemy attack combos and varied wind-ups etc. are absolutely justified, but as many others have noted NG+7 is making these issues *exponentially* worse than they would be otherwise.
Well, on a personal level, I see THAT boss as a perfect example of how FromSoft wants you to play the game. Either make it incredibly hard on yourself by going solo, or use summons and make it relatively easier. If the bosses were easier when you go solo, then they would be too easy with summons. Besides, every boss can be read. You just have to not become overwhelmed mentally.
✨Probably not going to get involve in a ⚔crucifying game like this💀😭. A fantastic 👏"Spoiler-free review" Mr. Arlo🔵. I usually see people just finish the game, and then do it. This was my first time viewing👀 something like this. Good stuff. Take care and good luck folks. God bless.👋💙🙏
Arlo you still have the HP debuff on from getting hugged by that lady. That's what the red square with the down arrow is on your status bar. Get rid of that item and get your health back
I hope arlo’s found more dungeons/secrets. I’ve already found 7 of them and I have just gotten through castle Ensis and am now just wondering around in Scadu Altus.
I cant speak to anyone elses experience, but here's an anecdote from my own: I beat rellana last night. It took me like 4 attempts. I did this with a magic build, which rellana is highly resistant to. I had like +12 scadutree blessing though, but i still was forced to learn how to survive at least a handfull of rellanas moves. That's the thing. You can't just panic roll or spam R1 for these bosses anymore like you could in dark souls. But I would not call Rellana one of the hardest bosses I've ever faced. Reading online though, for some people she definitely was. Complaining about difficulty in a souls game is pointless for this reason. Difficulty is subjective. But From is moving in a direction that the player base clearly wants them to move in. Nobody's hoping for this huge dlc to have bosses that are easily just steamrolled, right? The majority of hype for these games is generated because of the bosees. And From has been consistently outdoing themselves
DLC at NG+7 is an insane thing to do. It is madness of the highest caliber.
Clearly, you're a Souls fan.
He is only an Elden Ring fan
True Souls fans don't use noob spirit ashes or summons
@@jcselement "fans of a game don't play the game"
@SuperSikarlo Elden is a souls
@@Timmy-mi2ef just admit you aren't good at games bro
Being New Game +7 is definitely a big factor in why the DLC feels so hard 😂
Glad I kept a single save at only NG+1
Your a mad lad, what lvl are you out of curisoity?
@@hitomikagewaki31probably max level, on PC they can use cheat engine
@@HellonearthlABBJust because you can cheat on PC that doesn't mean that everyone is a cheater
Yeah new game plus scales so much harder for dlc
I gotta say, ng+7 with this build and fia's debuff enabled... props for even attempting this dlc lol
WOW. He DOES have the debuff. What a mad lad.
@@Spider-Dude_Handle i don't use summons but Arlo's playthrough sounds like a bigger challenge than anything i've done.
@@Pontif11 I'm basically doing the same challenge as Arlo, minus the debuff though. I have a level 310, blood build, double Seppuku Godskin peelers. I use mimic anytime I can. (Though you'd be surprised there's quite a few places in this dlc you can't use summons)
Always gotta embrace Fia's debuff.
Arlo is laughably bad at video games for someone who does this for a job lmfao
I love how Arlo built a channel on family friendly Nintendo IPs like Mario and pikmin with a unique Sesame Street inspired puppet character, and then on the side goes hard for the ultra grim dark fantasy M rated cosmic horror “prepare to die” franchise. I love the breadth of topics he covers.
He is truly the gamer of all time.
Hey Jim Henson had his Dark Crystal. Creativity can be dark and still beautiful, interesting art.
He has a review for doom 2016 if i recall.
puppet character?
Ng+ 7 is definitely not the intended way to play the dlc for the first time
I'm+6 and bro I feel you.
I like how arlo is always able to set himself up to such a nieche situation to even have this kind of bad experience like obviously the game is hard on ng +7 the scaling literally breaks at that point
wtf u mean niche? What cuz he’s a generally known as a Nintendo UA-camr when he plays a great and arguably best game in the past 3-5 years u call it a “niche situation” ??? Are u high? Everyone and I mean everyone is talking about this DLC, and for good reason. Nothing Nintendo has done this year can even hold a candle this this DLC. None of their games even compare to the quality of how good this DLC is and will be. Check yourself. U sound ridiculous.
Funny enough, play through the base game ng+ 1,2,3 and 4 was easier than playing the game through normaly. Because the in my opinion the scaling in the base game is almost not existend.
@elalcazar7374 it does get more appropriately scaled in end-game areas, but yeah the early and midgame bosses are tissue paper in a decently specced ng run. But that's always been the case with the souls games ime.
Dropping this while streaming is wild
He dropped this before getting shellshocked by Mario and Luigi, an actual ZELDA Zelda game then MP4 reveal
@@nanashi7779 SPOILERS I HAVENT WATXHED THAT SHIT YET 😭
@@bazinga0420 Super Mario Party Jamboree with 7 boards and 20 player online. DQ3 remake, Marvel vs. Capcom collection
@@bazinga0420 I haven't roo, and it's nowhere available? Where can i see his direct livestream????
@Blubbpaule he deleted it sadly but he will probably make a video reaction later
A channel mostly covering Nintendo games for all a ages Raw doging DLC NG+7 makes me so happy, you are a chad arlo, a freaking legend.
Omg I was wondering why the enemies did so much damage in the vid until you mentionned you were in NG +7. You're insane man
It genuinely is insane when Arlo often discredits his own gaming abilities. He pretends to be a casual but NG+7 is an amazing accomplishment
Arlo, I have a lot of respect for you going into a dlc that’s meant for end game at NEW GAME +7!!
And still getting it half done and having a good time with it lmao your wild man.
You should really make a new character when the dlc officially releases (or even now) and that’ll make a good half of your criticism go away.
I feel like it's hard to take the difficulty criticism in for this since you're in NG+7
It’s a fair criticism since the game lets you take it that far, but I do see it as a massive asterisk on the review.
@@Davey_Cakes Well, fair-ish, I'd say.
Not really relevant to, like, 99% of people interested in the DLC for a first time playthrough, though!
I think most people will be playing base NG, maybe NG+ at most.
@@Davey_Cakes Most of us know that everything scales with what game cycle you're in. So we are waiting to try the DLC at NG 0 before considering going into the DLC a second time at +1
Going in immediately at +7 takes a special kind of masochist.
nah but at the same time, the VAST majority of other reviewers are saying the exact same thing so I don't think he's wrong. It's probably not _quite_ as hard as Arlo thinks it is, but it's definitely really hard (even by Dark Souls DLC standards, which are already brutal to begin with)
@idontwantahandlethough it is of course hard but the scaling difference between the player and the bosses can be exponential. The bosses can scale infinitely, you as the player plateau at a certain point
Arlo this is the wildest upload time
He couldn’t upload this until the nintendo direct started
Contractually obligated publish time
Arlo talking about how the level design of SoTE harkens back to older From games and then drops the Majula theme at 5:15 is *chef’s kiss* DS2^2 confirmed!
I think this is definitely the point where it's actually just worth starting over on a new file to get a clean experience with the game and DLC in general. NG+7 is a steep and respectable commitment, but I feel like there's plenty of things you will like or at least re-evaluate with that kind of new perspective.
And I mean, it's the new DLC release, when will be a better time for it?
That's what I'm doing - brand new character.
I was on NG+1 on Xbox One but when the DLC was revealed I bought the game again on PS5 so that I could start again and play a fresh playthrough on better hardware in time
Arlo is the reason I got into Elden Ring (and bought a PS4 for the purpose) and I imagine that’s true for many of his Nintendo based viewers. So no surprise Bandai Namco returned the favor!
Why wouldn’t you just get a ps5 if you waited this long 🤔 cause now you’re playing the subpar version
@@BankaiFever it's cheaper and the PS5 isn't much of a graphical jump
@@BankaiFever In caveman terms:
Ps4 cheap, Ps5 expensive.
@@kieran5476 gonna be broke forever with that mentality. I might even throw my current ps5 in the garbage once the pro comes out this year. Rather that than gift it to a bozo like you, it’d be lost on you 😆
@@BankaiFever what are you even on about bro 🤦♂️ You're spitting some straight yipyapyop 💀
I think ng+ is definitely the reasoning my fuzzy blue friend! But I also wanted to mention that the "cheese" methods you mention are built in designs. Fromsoft made the game around the idea that you can use shields and magic and summons. Those things are just more battle mechanics! It's like the super guard in paper mario. It trivializes the entire game in terms of difficulty, but you can choose not to use it for more challenge. Honestly part of the fun of a souls game is feeling prepared enough to take on a boss, using every tactic in the book, and finally breaking through that Wall that seemed impossible a few attempts ago. I detest people saying that it's weak or cheesy to use the tools given to you. Don't feel ashamed or bad for using then, you beat a game that some people can't even beat the first boss of, and that's WITH summons
Arlo, I have now returned to watch your review. I have not finished the DLC, but I have done a number on most of it, and I have to stay, I’m still glad to hear your perspective. I initially bailed when your dropped this video two weeks ago because I wanted to experience the DLC on my own, and I am glad I did. This game is magical in how it managed to capture lightening in a bottle twice. There are areas that truly surprised me just like you said: a small dungeon that explodes into a sprawling mountain with the hardest boss ever. Some of the bosses were amazingly difficult (Rellanna) and some were so frustratingly hard it wasn’t even worth it (Black Gaol Knight and Romina). But so so so so fun. Glad I went in blind, glad I came back, and sorry for bailing when you dropped the video.
I agree with you. There seems to be a divide between the “I want this cranked up to 11” and people who enjoy the world exploration and some minor challenge.
Game is downloaded and ready to run as soon as I get home from work.
Also, I never go past new game because it tends to punish you in the long run.
dropping this while prime 4 is being shown is WILD
Priorities.
Tbh as someone with limited time, I'm more excited for Shadow of the Erdtree than anything else this year from other developers.
@@markcampbell8590 Metroid Prime 4 comes out next year, so videos for it can wait.
Arlo don’t give AF!
What a time to be alive! 😊
You made it harder on yourself in several ways.
1) NG+7 is not for the inexperienced. Especially not the dlc.
2) you're currently debuffed by the dethbed companion. That hug is detrimental to your health, remove it by using the item Baldachin's blessing.
3) your shield could probably use some enhancements, theres a considerable difference between a weak shield and a strong one(take it to the blacksmith buff it to +25)
4) As cool as the Dragonclaw shield looks, it seems to have been nerfed in patch 1.09
Overall definitely worth an excuse to run a fresh save and just grab what you need to proceed.
Looks like you need to use the Baldachins blessing in your inventory.
Nice review, cant wait to play it myself!
Yeah you can't be caught lacking on NG+7, you need 60 vigor at least plus good defence stats, bull goat armour and great dragonsheild talisman is a must imo
Or just be good at the game and know what buffs to use
@@Wizard_Pikachu aww you need to use buffs to beat NG+7, how cute
@@Wizard_PikachuI do not believe in buffs.
Wouldn't make a difference, you would still die in two hits.
@@RaulBetancourtC better than dying in one hit
I love when FromSoft does that "walk out into a new area" thing, and they've gotten SO good at it. I'll never forget my first time playing Dark Souls 2 and walking out into Majula for the first time. That walkout felt magical even though there wasn't even much to see. Just the way it went from cave to open area with cliffs and ocean and everything, it was just so good.
That rant on Dragons made you sound like Hiccup, Arlo. :D
The reused enemies is what I feels for the entirety of Tears of the kingdom, outside of the first few hours where you discover new enemies that were not in BOTW. I suppose it's something difficult to avoid with big open world games, but Elden ring also has loads of unique enemies for each region, something I wish TOTK had to make each region different
Agree. Elden Ring is not perfect in that area, but it's way better than Totk.
Tldr Arlo's ng+7 experience.
Arlo: enters boss arena.
Boss: "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru"
Arlo: Nani
New Game+7 for the DLC.
Oh Arlo... oh, Arlo.
The Souls community has been learning for over a decade that you never, ever start DLC on any NG+. There is ALWAYS at least one boss that gets you, and there's often up to _three._ All I can say now is good luck, and remember that discretion is the better part of valor.
Damn I’m ng+ on blood borne and just bought the dlc, should I just start a new character? I’m planning on playing it like 2 more times anyway for the endings
@@russellwestbrook462 You actually don't have to play through it multiple times to get all the endings for the platinum trophy. You can upload your save to the cloud then reload that save and do another ending. You'll still get all the trophies and get all the endings in one single go instead of doing it 3 times. Also the final boss in the DLC is very hard on new game +, but he's not unbeatable. I've beaten him on new game +3 so it more than doable. Just hard.
Yeah when you are at new game 7+ it does significantly add alot of difficulty, especially when it comes to post game content.
Arlo, aim for the head when fighting the Dragon. Keep it right in front of you, don't frantically run around in circles. Do that, and you'll learn to systematically dismiss them. Greyolls area on Caelid is great for practice.
Out of context Arlo: I joined a cult, it consumed my entire life...
3:25 "As always, the world is simply a joy to be in, a joy to explore. Just the ability to ride around a place like this is a blessing."
- a muppet describing an eldritch Gothic horror deadly hellscape
I absolutely hate how using summons is considered cheesing the game. The fanbase of those types of games need to chill a bit on us casuals.
the game is balanced for summons. some ppl like extra pain. I say use the summons, the developers added them for a reason.
Who cares, just summon, the game was built around summons. You could beat Mario with a usb steering wheel just bc its beatable doesn't mean the game was designed to be played like that.
Anyone who says core mechanics are a cheese is a dumbass. A cheese tactic is any tactic that allows a person to beat a challenge (typically a boss) with low or no effort. Using spirit summons absolutely doesn't qualify. There isn't a summon in the game anymore that can solo bosses assuming it's appropriately leveled, and I'd be surprised to see any spirit summon solo a boss even at +10 these days. From has balanced them well. They're SO far from cheese. They're just a core mechanic that the game was designed around. Just because some people find it too easy with summons doesn't mean the rest of us do also. That's how insane people think about things.
Had to finish the live stream before hopping into this video, thanks for always giving us great content Arlo!
NG+7 makes a MASSIVE difference on how hard enemies hit and how long they take to kill.
As someone not in NG+7, the DLC definitely emphasizes every problem with the base game's difficulty. Enemies deal your entire health bar of damage in a single hit for no reason and absorb damage for an eternity.
It’s really not that bad
@@k3mori I just got to messier and he is whopping my ass. Still loving the hell out of the DLC tho
@@JoshuaGlock yeah Mesmer was tough, he could have been the hardest boss in the game imo if he had more health. You’ll get him eventually, good luck and have fun!
@@JoshuaGlock I got a ps5 and a copy of ER around the middle of August and I started SotE like a week ago just before the endgame and I found Miquella to be way more challenging than Messmer but that’s just me 👀
Arlo, I promise you, you being in NG+7 is probably making this dlc wayyyyyy harder than I think most will experience lol.
I'm sure it'll be hard, but not "enemies leaving you with a sliver of health by coughing on you" hard.
I’ve been stuck on the Elden Beast for about a month now and really struggling with wanting to beat it before the DLC but this motivates me to take a break on the darn run away slug and do the DLC first :)
It's for the best, elden beast can be really bs
black flame spells they count as physical
They just added the ability to use Torrent in the Elden Beast fight with the update. That should help.
@@Jeff_Blanton They did?? This changes everything omg
@@Archdjinn indeed it does!
lol the lion dancer got Arlo shook
Best announcement from the direct stream
This is why I started a completely new game like 3 weeks ago, my NG+5 can wait
I did what you forgot to do and made a save file right before I went into NG+ so just recently in preparation for the DLC I replaced the save data with the old data so I don't have to play in NG+ or higher.
You can revert back to before ng+?? I’m on ng+3 because I wanted to get all the endings & right now I’m getting scared about the dlc..
You mentioned that the giant vistas were huge, but "largely a camera trick"
which is kinda funny because FromSoft has a reputation of not dumbing down anything in the distance. In all 3 Dark Souls games the breathtaking vistas were all actually modeled and to scale. The only difference is that some of them didn't have collision.
I highly recommend checking the Boundary Break videos on the Dark Souls games.
Elden Ring was also my first Fromsoft game. I’ve spent 1000+ hours on it. Next highest time commitment is 400+ with BotW. I have never spent so much time with one game and I’m looking forward to spending even more when this dlc releases 😊
Damn I felt crazy for seeing I have 197 hours into it. Hope I summon someone like you in the dlc haha.
@@VagaBohn I never thought I’d ever put so much time into one game! ER is my crack 😁
Don't worry arlo, I'm going into the DLC at NG+7 as well. But I'm a little more experienced with the game, since I recently finished my RL1 run with the zweihander. Thank you for your awesome review! I can't wait to play the DLC!!
I'm surprised you got this! Don't really use my switch, kinda always saw ya as the switch guy, come here for gr8 switch content. It was very epic for me today to find you reviewing the elden ring DLC.
It’s funny bc I made a post in my ER group warning new players about going into the dlc on ng7 with their max levels, and I just got called a gate keeper and told to “let people play how they want”. All I said was, I’ve been there in Ds1 and learned a valuable lesson. Always have multiple characters , different builds going. It refreshes the game and keeps it from going stale. Plus it’s good for situations like when a dlc comes out. A sure fire way of getting a tainted experience is going in it on ng7 or even 4,5 and 6.
People forget that the base game on ng7 is manageable because you’re already familiar with the enemies and bosses and map. In dlc , going thru brand new learning curves and learning brand new boss battles with a ng7 difficulty spike is simply not the same beast as base game ng7. It’s like starting ER base game for the first time ever on ng7. Just no thanks.
I’m not even at the Mountaintops of the Giants in the play through I’m doing (I’m fairly close to Leyndell but I have a lot of other stuff I need to do first). I better pick up the pace because this looks awesome!
I really like the way Sekiro did difficulty. I feel like just about any enemy can kill you easily by breaking your stance, but it works both ways, you can break the stance of and kill just about any enemy, including bosses, pretty easily too. It’s super risk and reward
I hope the direct stream comes back up soon. It went private before I got to the best bits. I can't wait to see your reactions.
I often hear complaints about the mini dungeons in Elden but I've got to agree, I loved them and it was a big part of the joy of exploration for me.
Heh, I actually am a multiple files kinda guy. Never seen the appeal of NG+ in Fromsoft games, the difficulty at that point is mostly numerical. I'll maybe do one on this game to use some dlc weapons and AoWs in the main game (star fists with poison flower blooms twice aow looks like fun) .
I hope you persevere Arlo, and don't let no maidenless tell you summoning is cheesing, you get over that boss in any way you find fun.
I’m sorry your thinking this video isn’t doing well, just left your stream to watch it now
Greetings from Chile!! love ur content man you are my favorite youtuber
I could never finish Elden Ring, but I love it so so much. As much as I’d like to get this DLC, I can’t justify it rn😢
What kept you from finishing it?
Was it a boss or burnout?
I think some good response to bosses with long combo chains are to learn their parries, hyper armour through them and trade with armour and heavy weapons or use the new guard counters with heavy shields.
There are a ton of caves and dungeons, even in the first area. You just need search for them as they are not obvious on the map.
I will say, A+ music choices on this review, kudos.
still haven't beaten the main game on any of my files yet, but I'm still looking forward to the new stuff~
My first Fromsoft title was Bloodborne. I played through to NG+6 when The Old Hunters dropped. I learned from that mistake and had a copy of a NG+1 file especially for Elden Ring's DLC. DLC at NG+7 is wild.
Who’s here after the livestream?
I found myself satisfied with the amount of mini dungeons in the end....10ish I think, which I also enjoyed greatly in the main game, as I did also in BoTW, ToTK and Immortals Fenyx Rising
So I believe you're talking about the Divine Beast. I agree that it feels entirely new and very challenging, I thought it was one of the most incredible boss fights in the game and I LOVE how much I had to adapt for it
Arlo, I just wanted you to know that imo you are a top 3 reviewer in the entire world. No, seriously, you’re that good. You have such a bright future in game reviews if you do choose to continue branching out past Nintendo! Best of luck, I’ve been watching for years now and it’s always a treat to get an Arlo video.
I just got on board about 6 months ago and I had to laugh in the first minute there when you said several times a day you’ll be like “Man. Wish i was playing ER rn.” Same bro
The ONE BOSS you are talking about was my first on the DLC, but i loved it. IMO the attacks are very readable (and dodgable) compared to other bosses, it just is a lot harder because his timings are... creative...
But so far the bosses are my favourite part. Great music, stunning moveset, hard but fair.
Spent literally 4 hours today on the boss that connects the first to the second map-area (Two swords, you know which one).
But unlike the base game, it always felt fair and dodgable, so i did it without cheese, felt like winning a whole war when i did it.
Maybe it's just that i played almost all other fromsoft-hits since the base game., but it genuinely feels so much fairer than the ER-Endgame to me.
Arlo, you were right on the money here. I was one of the few people that felt the second half of Elden Ring was entirely fair, beat pretty much every boss in under 5 tries without summons, and I was really proud of that. This DLC is FRUSTRATINGLY hard even for me. I just spent over 100 tries on a single boss, and the way I beat it was entirely unsatisfying. I’m just not at all a fan of the style of difficulty they went for, with these unending combos and 1-2 shot kill moves
Also consider there may be balance patches coming in the future as well. Unpatched Radahn was a much tougher boss than what he is now, so "that boss" and others may experience some changes in the future.
That said, DLC on NG+7 is a thing only the hardcore-est of fans would do. You are absolutely playing on hard mode, so don't be discouraged!
I GUARANTEE if you create a new file and rush the game just to get to the DLC youll have a MUCH better time. Especially if you just stick to one weapon. All you gotta do is find it again then find mimic and youre set. Starting on NG+7 is lunacy
cant really rush it though as im sure going in under like lv 100 would be just as rough
dude same here. it was my first ever souls game because of the hype i played it. literally changed my entire gaming life. i’m now a fromsoftware cult member, i did.
elden ring
bloodborne
dark souls 3
sekiro.
I think using summons makes bosses harder. For one, it increases their total health by a lot, but also if the boss is switching where its attention is, that makes it very difficult to predict what it's doing. In the base game, the split attention mostly worked to the player's advantage, but in this DLC, I do not think it does anymore because of how fast some of them are. I don't like going into ng+, not to mention +7, so I can't speak on that, but playing a samurai using the the new mixed physick Sekiro block mechanic has been extremely satisfying and everything considered, not too tough. Basically the only thing I haven't done is fight the final boss, and none of the bosses have been harder than Malenia for me. Best of luck Arlo, the addiction is real.
This sounds great to me. I'm pretty much in the 'ER is best in the legacy dungeons, at its worst in the open world and most of the mini dungeons' camp. So having less of the random mini dungeons and more meaty dungeony areas that interconnect sounds good.
For me personally, the souls style of combat just works better in the smaller worlds of DS 1/2/3 and BB, and not as good in a huge massive open world where they have to stretch things out to populate that overly massive world. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, we all have different tastes and preferences. But that's just how I feel about ER. I'd rather replay DS 3 or BB than pick up a fresh ER playthrough.
But I will be checking out this DLC and dusting off my two save files to play this.
You're right about the new boss being majestic and terrifying! I got that lion man to half health and he started summoning a whole ass thunderstorm on top of me. The rest of that attempt just consisted of me spam dodging and yelling "hoooooly shit. What is that?? Holy shit wtf is it doing"
Arlo! If you mean the fire giant guy! Attack one leg over and over again. Eventually he will fall over and you can attack it's face. Also. If you stay close you can jump over his stomp aoe attacks.
I believe he was talking about the Divine Beast Dancing Lion
When he falls throw a fire pot into his head. Massive damage.
I completely agree with your take on the seemingly purposely frustrating boss patterns.
I can't help but wonder which boss he's talking about around the 14 minute mark. Perhaps one that's found atop a jagged mountain? I could also see it being a stormy beast
Edit: he described the elemental attacks, probably the stormy beast
11:25 Arlo describing the difficulty of the game is the highlight of my day.
I didn't find "that boss" as difficult as you suggested, though I am on a New Game file. I think the number of attacks he has may get inflated in your mind due to how quickly they can kill. A key thing is that, at least to me, it seems that the different elemental variations actually limit the boss's move pool. I find Lightning Phase very easy to fight in most cases because he only uses the attacks I'm already good at dodging. Only Ice phase gives me issues, and that's partially due to the AOE, and partially due to me using a strength build and occasionally putting myself in a bad position by trying to punish when I don't have the time.
That ONE boss you mentioned? Yeah, I agree. I thought I hadn't found enough blessings because my attacks barely scratched it. In the end I resorted to the good old "Summon Tiche and hope for the best" tactic like a huge pansy. I'll get him "legit" next time. Either way I'm loving this, but god damn does this make the main game look easy in comparison. I found an optional dungeon boss that has a grab attack that pretty much FULL HEALS him if you don't dodge it. Killing him felt SO DAMN GOOD.
Which one is it? I can't help myself and wonder "is this the one "every time I encounter a new boss... Just now I'm stuck at this one which is riding a boar. Is that the one?
@@Thiagoslaw I think he meant the Lion Dancer. Which looks cool but the fight is it flailing all over the place and at the time I had next to no shadow blessings so it hurt a lot.
@@RevolverRez Did you beat Commander Gaius? I believe it fits more his description on the video. I'm still not sure as I did not beat the game yet but I'm already at the end game. ( Dacing Lion was the first boss I deleted. I have a mage build)
6:10 I agree 100% on the joy of finding Dungeons just by exploring. I really need to get back to playing Elden Ring when my new PC arrives.
Divine beast took me a few hours to take down, but it felt like a good ol' souls boss. First couple hours was a hopeless struggle until the "ok I get" mode clicked on. That being said the last 25% insano mode felt like a combination of skill and sheer luck to beat.
to me personally,I love being pushed into getting better, sadly this is harder the more you play, the more you get used to from soft style, so I'm grateful they are going more and more insane with the bosses, Malenia was one of my favorite surprises from the base game, they really need to also get better at surprising us, veterans, with new harder and harder situations to push our limits, but as you said, people still have the option to use summons and magic, the less middle ground there is the more you can enjoy and experience the side you are in at its fullest
It's a nice touch using the music from Majula in Dark Souls 2
Arlo I am muting this video and running it on another tab so you get the engagement but i dont end up actually seeing/hearing anything about this DLC before I can play it for myself.
Hey can u add the "live" tab on your channel page, perchance? So past live streams are available? That would be cool
I liked that there are demi-humans, skeletons etc. Makes the DLC feel like it's a part of the main game.
Hey, I summon a lot of Spirit Ashes too. Not as much of a shield man, but I get what you say! I used to cower behind shields all the time in Dark Souls 3!
I got to say, watching this video without ever playing the original game just makes me want to play it more. As soon as I find the time, it is definitely on the top of my list.
I keep forgetting this is coming out so soon - I can't wait to jump back into this world!
I hope playthroughs start showing up soon, because I'll never be able to play the dlc myself at the rate I'm going.
I appreciate these thoughtful impressions. I'm excited to jump back into this world!
I will say, I think you kinda sent this video out to die with the timing of it!
Gonna see if i can even get through it ive got all the cheese from base gaame and will use it time to summon up Archer lady and run the boss on circles again while using rot breath
There is nothing casual about summoning or using mimic tear, entering DLC on NG+7 is also certainly NOT casual.
I will be waiting for when I play myself to watch this since it has footage and i want absolutely NO idea about anything going in, but I do very much look forward to watching this in about two weeks 😂
You are a complete madman going into this at such a high NG level. All respect for dedicating to it
Coming back to this after having finished the DLC a few times with different builds I'd say that your criticisms re: overly long enemy attack combos and varied wind-ups etc. are absolutely justified, but as many others have noted NG+7 is making these issues *exponentially* worse than they would be otherwise.
Well, on a personal level, I see THAT boss as a perfect example of how FromSoft wants you to play the game. Either make it incredibly hard on yourself by going solo, or use summons and make it relatively easier. If the bosses were easier when you go solo, then they would be too easy with summons. Besides, every boss can be read. You just have to not become overwhelmed mentally.
✨Probably not going to get involve in a ⚔crucifying game like this💀😭. A fantastic 👏"Spoiler-free review" Mr. Arlo🔵. I usually see people just finish the game, and then do it. This was my first time viewing👀 something like this. Good stuff. Take care and good luck folks. God bless.👋💙🙏
Arlo you still have the HP debuff on from getting hugged by that lady. That's what the red square with the down arrow is on your status bar. Get rid of that item and get your health back
I hope arlo’s found more dungeons/secrets. I’ve already found 7 of them and I have just gotten through castle Ensis and am now just wondering around in Scadu Altus.
We are already waiting for your reaction to the current Nintendo Direct, Arlo.
I cant speak to anyone elses experience, but here's an anecdote from my own:
I beat rellana last night.
It took me like 4 attempts.
I did this with a magic build, which rellana is highly resistant to.
I had like +12 scadutree blessing though, but i still was forced to learn how to survive at least a handfull of rellanas moves.
That's the thing. You can't just panic roll or spam R1 for these bosses anymore like you could in dark souls.
But I would not call Rellana one of the hardest bosses I've ever faced.
Reading online though, for some people she definitely was.
Complaining about difficulty in a souls game is pointless for this reason.
Difficulty is subjective.
But From is moving in a direction that the player base clearly wants them to move in.
Nobody's hoping for this huge dlc to have bosses that are easily just steamrolled, right?
The majority of hype for these games is generated because of the bosees. And From has been consistently outdoing themselves