i want, SOOOOOOOOOOOO badly, to play an elden ring 2 prequel that shows the world pre and during the wars. live and vibrant, life everywhere, non ruined castles, non dying lands, i wanna see the world in its apex. then i wanna watch it die during the wars. then end the game with how the tree got the elden beast.
The Flame Cleanse Me effect makes sense, but it may not even be "intentional". It's just that fire damage resets the frostbite effect, no matter who causes that fire damage (Which is why pro gamers in build videos will occasionally warn you against mixing fire and frostbite weapons/spells). Possibly, they just added that self-fire damage to give the spell some trade-off in comparison to limited cure items (and/or as a bit of flavor for "burning out the poison from your body"), and having it work against frostbite was just a happy accident.
on the other hand some builds ask you to take both frost and fire for the reset so you can proc the frostbite damage again sooner. but yeah. this is very true and very cool.
true but it depends on what your running (I finished my first run with Greatstars that had a frost mod. Frostbite into bleed was a tone of fun. but frostfire builds can be a blast to!.
In regards to the red aurora, the Helphen's Steeple references a lamplight similar to grace, that leads the dead to the spirit world. The ornamental sword also has a red jewel at the top. I think it's a fair assumption that this lamplight could be red, and that's the aurora we see. Or, inversely, it's a natural phenomenon that they built a religion out of
I think the aurora is a sort of religious/supernatural phenomena. So for the golden order its obviously gold, but there is the statues that point to the tombs that is blue, the Helphen Steeple references another, etc. Different religions and spiritual practices can basically manifest their own color coded auras.
color has always been deeply rooted in the lore of soulsborn games and ER is no different. color is a representation as well as a manifestation of the powers in play.@@TheCrewExpendable
On number 6 now....cosplaying as myself. Arnold Judas Rimmer S.S.C/B.S.C.. My main source of power is my amazing ability to insult everything in the game with my razor rapier-like wit, and then flee at the first sign of trouble.
The Goldmask poses (if not a bug) is meant to indicate that he truly is a higher being that lives across all player worlds, as in one being and mind in many worlds instead of one copy per world like we(?) assume for every NPC. it could give a lore reason for his lack of movement ie. he is busy "doing stuff" in another world. it could also explain why he doesn't take care of himself if he has near infinite bodies in other worlds.
The double helix thing about the haligtree relates a lot to the Erdtree (as in the two in harmony in a helix with each other). In the dlc photo we see a tree that most people agree is the Erdtree with a twisting vine seeming to choke it (probably deathroot). For me at first I couldn't understand why people thought it was the Erdtree because I was seeing it as one tree no vine wrapped, and when you look at it like this it is very obviously the haligtree. Its probably meant to be both, Elden Ring is always using dualities (helix, Marika/radagon, malenias eternal rot/miquella's eternal abundance, outer gods/their worldly vassals, the physical lands between itself being a literal ring, you could go on and on), so its likely meant to be both the Erdtree wrapped by deathroot as well as the haligtree. The helix thing plays into this heavy for obvious reasons but as well as the fact that the section of the Haligtree that is missing (which in game looks like almost half of it) is the exact section in the dlc photo that is taken up by the Erdtree when viewed as Erdtree/deathroot. I think this is a strong indication that Miquella's goals may have involved balance with the golden order moreso than a second "better" great tree. Balance is a huge piece of Elden Ring so i think this will play a big part in dlc. Also farum azula was in caelid and I found pretty definitive proof, but that's for another time
My personal theory is that the DLC will be set beneath the Lands Between, in the "shadow of the Erdtree" an upside down, spirit world situation. There's no shadow on the surface due to it emitting light and the "tree" in the dlc image appears far more like roots to me, likely the tap root of the Erdtree, entangled with deathroot and potentially this could also be the black steeple of Helphen, "the lampwood which guides the dead of the spirit world". This all connects with the other imagery in the dlc picture & Miquella which suggests that the DLC is set in the Spirit world. People are buried in the catacombs as a means of being returned to the Erdtree's roots in hopes that they'll reach the spirit world and thus be guided by the lamplight and reborn by the Erdtree.
@@nebky i love that idea, it's totally a possibility. Would be so sick cause that would also imply a HUGE map expansion and one of my favorite parts of Elden Ring is the insane world design and breadth. Would also like up with ideas of duality and balance. Cool stuff
I thought the double helix with one part broken off was because the Double Helix is the dual powers of the two personalities St Trina and Miquella, but Miquella has been unexpectedly stunted/cut off from his life, hence the one helix being broken off
@@seamusdempster Yeah I'm pretty hopeful that I'm right tbh - I think it makes perfect thematic and lore sense. There's even precedence for upside down action with the Carian Study hall. I'm sure there's some connection here too, what with Rani's corpse being found high up on the connecting tower (in an opposite fashion to being buried deep below, near the roots) and her death breaking the golden order's immortality etc. Plus the Deathroot brought about those who live in death, so it'd make sense that the Deathroot physically connects down to the spirit world, entangling the Helphen Steeple and creating a bridge for the dead to return back up to the land of the living, against the wishes of the Greater Will which would otherwise only allow rebirth via the Erdtree.
@@HavikXIII yeah, a lot of omen attacks have a very long wind-up. They also have attacks that can be parried (like their dash attack and fist swing), that some other enemies have, so you can practice parrying a variety of attacks in one spot. It's also good for learning parry dagger timing, since you can't use certain ashes of war on daggers that add parry timing windows to shields.
@@HavikXIIIin Elden Ring the basic rule for correct timing is to start the parry animation as soon as the enemy's hand (not the weapon if they're holding one) starts moving toward your character
I think that the character depicted in the farum azula statue is actually miquella, because in the dlc image fromsoft published, we can see that the person riding the horse is (most probably) miquella, and when ranni gives us the spirit calling bell and the three lone wolves ashes she says that the ashes belonged to the precedent owner of torrent (probably miquella)
Miquella was born far after the destruction of Faram Azula. That wouldn’t be possible. Also we already have statues that directly represent him and this statue Faram doesn’t match.
@@ligmadisease Miquella is one of two children made by Marika and Radagon. In which at that time Radagon was Second Elden Lord after Godfrey. He and his twin Malenia are the youngest Demigods to all of the Marika children especially against Mogh, Godwyn and Morgott since they were born way after him. How can he be the youngest, born during Radagon’s rule with is way after both Godfrey and Placidusax’s rule. The only way that statue to be him was that he time travel at some point but that is not a concept that currently existed in ER nor would make sense how he would be able to. And if your theory requires time travel…than you might need to rethink your theory.
In 9:21 the helix looks likes it's formed by a pair of braids, and the braids are very very similar in style to the ones we see on Miquella, in the image promo for Shadow of the Erdtree and the opening for base game. It's know that Miquella embedded himself in the Haligtree to grow it even more, so maybe after Mogh kidnapped him, part of the Haligtree fell apart lacking the power of Miquella, and as Sir Gideon said "So. The Haligtree, now but a husk..." As always, more questions than answers
Ranni says that the Spirit Calling Bell was from Torent's former master, and then she gives us the three wolves Spirit Ash. So, if Miquella is Torent's former master, then the three dogs are as well, which means that the statue in Farum Alzula is of Miquella and those three dogs. I think that makes the most sense.
@@nightscout9979 While that is a fair point, it's the Bell that was from Torent's former master. I am just making the connection that Torent's former master, who is most likely Miquella, seems to also have had the wolves, considering we get both from Ranni at the same time. It could easily be that the wolves at some point passed into Miquella's hands after the Tarnished found them, or that the live wolves were found by the Tarnished and the Spirit Ashes of them, when they latter died, were held by Miquella. Above that, it's also the only time in the game where we have any other group of three wolves that could match the three wolves of the statue. At the very least, I think these Spirit Ashes are the key to understanding who the statue is of.
@@marchmelloow With how Ranni gives the ashes along with the bell, essentially giving something to make the bell not moot, the ashes and bell likely both belonged to the former master. Also, depending on when Tarnished first started appearing in the Lands Between, they might not have begun arriving until after the demi-gods reached a standstill in the Shattering. If so, then Miquella would have already been abducted by Mohg by that time, and thus could not have received the ashes after a Tarnished met the wolves.
Another secret is when you alter Alberich’s helm to remove the helm, you can see that his entire skull is made out of red glintstone that he damaged so he could put his hat on, making him the third primeval sorcerer you encounter in the game. Going near a wall to manipulate the camera helps you see it
Got a little lore-play for you; There are multiple paintings scattered across stormveil castle. But there is one in particular, that tells us a bit about the analogy in history. It is located just before the secret path to godwyns corpse, just above the bats. It depicts the stormhill and the divine tower of Limgrave...but without stormveil castle. The Erdtree is also missing, with only the moutaintops of the giants visible. This indicates, that the divine towers existed before the Erdtree or the golden order did. I'd go even as far as saying that they were there before the greater will even send the elden beast to the lands between and chose Marika to be the elden rings new vessel. As a sidenote; In the painting, the bridge to the tower already is pretty damaged, so it didn't happen during the shattering or the drifting of Farum Azula. All of this combined leads me to the conclusion, that all six of the divine towers, as well as all the monuments scattered around the lands between, have been built either by the Firegiants, which would make the most sense, or by a much older civilization. P.S.: One could also argue, that there is a giant visible in the top lefthand corner raising it's arm, but that is a little far fetched because of the low quality. It might as well be the chapel of anticipation.
The flame cleanse me works against frostbite because any fire damage does clear up frostbite too (and it worked that way in DS3 too). Because of that, I really often play a character with a cold weapon in the right hand and a torch in the left, to reset frostbite after every proc to be able to proc the ailment again for more damage.
About the double helix Haligtree: Helix and Halig also sound extremely similar, especially when you combine them with -tree. Helixtree. Haligtree. And in case you don't know, and that has nothing to do with helixes, Halig means Holy or Sacred in Old english and proto-germanic languages
I think people are overthinking the statues intent. It being Miquella makes absolutely no sense seeing that he was long after Faram’s destruction as well as having statues that ACTUALLY depicts him and they didn’t make. Neither does Marika or GeQ, all are very flimsy at best. The woman in the statue has no stand out features especially in relation to any character in the current game. It’s no one, the point of the statue is very likely to link the concept of Emypreans (in general) and beasts in relation to Faram Azula and Golden Order/Greater Will. It’s also there to hint at the connections to Faram and Greater Will. Along with the Older version of the Elden Ring and many similarities to the Dragons Culture and the Golden Order, it’s also likely the “fled” Placidusax’s God was the Greater Will. Especially since the Elden Ring is a Greater Will unique concept.
idk if you've ever covered it but I learned the other day that if you get knocked off your horse next to a pumpkin head they have a unique critical animation they can hit you with
Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Miquella is literally Griffith? Double Helix tree, androgynous appearance, Castle Sol's Eclipse, Rebirth, charismatic and manipulative.
My thoughts on the red lights between Layndell and Mountaintops was that it was remnants of the flame of ruin and the previous burning. Leyndell and this area are both grey and ashen, implying previous burnings of the Flame of Ruin. That said, the militia there do have Death on their weapons, so maybe somehow it escape here, for example if this is where the Knifeprints were used to forge the black knives.
For player centric weather, it's a good bit cheaper and a LOT easier to implement. And much smoother when having a world with parts loading in and out. Basically, there's a couple methods. 1. Fully pre baked. Everything has it's own settings given in advance, for wind, etc... and it sticks with that upon being loaded in as it's default settings. This is cheap enough to load in, barely ups the asset/level size for the extra info, and is a good option. However, dynamic effects on things or alteration mid level like changes to weather, wind, etc... aren't being included. So to have these we can't be fully pre baked. 2. Dynamic local, each object in the world that CAN interact with the environment or weather, does so on it's own. Every tme you move towards an area, all objects that load in, must also check for the local enviornmental control object and ask for it's weather, and then register themselves with it so if it changes it has a giant list of things to go through and update to the new condition. Doing this for small maps is ok, but for giant open world maps with tons of objects you might see at any point in time from a distance, or not see do to obstructing obstacles, it's pretty expensive with lots of extra calls and checks going on as you load in/out the world, and that's already a point where hitches are at risk of happening in most such games, so you really want to minimize this performance cost if you can. 3. Dymamic central. All enviornmental items still have their default state, but can be changed, and do so from a single central system. The idea is now things just need to do their own thing, until the player can see them, and they start getting rendered, or are close enough to always be loaded in even if not currently looked at (means you spin the camera around and things don't suddenly reset from starting poses or stuff). If everything just asks for it's updated weather data when it's being loaded in, from a single central player controller, than that means even as you run through the world all these different areas around you only need a single controller managing them. So that's a bit less overhead, and being tied directly to the player helps you optimize what it controls and updates based on the players location and what they'd see. In some engines LOD and occlusion systems could be used to cover for this, while for others it'd be much easier from a central player controller that can just reference the player directly. Now as the player walks around, they update as they overlap/enter a new trigger enviornmental area, however you set up your weather data locations. That one trigger on the player, tells it to update it's values, and possibly send out an update to registered environmental objects it's currently referencing to use these new ones if needed. If done poorly, it's as many calls as the dynamic local system, but if done as well, it's much fewer and more optimized compared to it. And then lastly, for the developer themself, it just might be easier. Instead of all particle systems needing to have an attached code object that finds nearby weather control system and asks it for stuff, or that they must manually link it to when placing it in the world, they can instead just have particle effects reference one global variable for "wind strength" and "Wind direction" or such. And those variables are controlled by the player. Now, drop a fire effect in anywhere, and it just works... from the players perspective. No hassle, it's quick and easy and pretty robust against bugs or oddities happening. Then just have the player modify those universal variables based on their locations supposed weather. This is... for a game developer, a lot easier and quicker to setup. And for a level artist, much faster and easier to set up all the fire and trees and other art in the world if it's just drop in and it works without any extra steps. And having extra code running objects associated with all of these that you drop in with them that might automate, would add notable overhead when loaded up and run in game otherwise. So it's just ease of use, and performant, a nice combo, that does have some limations like you show in the video of all visible fire and trees being affected by the weather the player at their own location is experiencing. But in the name of quicker development, for a big game like Elden Ring very important, and performance, also very much important, it's a decent trade most devs would argue, and most players will barely notice.
Combo Lazuli/Olivanus crowns would probably do variations of Primeval sorceries, like the Graven Masses do, given these are the crowns making up the Masses/Schools. so Carian/Star sorceries
Real quick about the weather - it's a pretty common technique in games to have the weather be tied to the player, or more specifically the camera (usually - there's clips going around of Starfield tying it to the player instead of the camera). It's a lot less processing to make it rain in a small area that the player can see as opposed to the entire world, it's a neat trick devs have been doing for a while now.
For Flow of Death: Red is not just the color for Destined Death It is also the color for the Crucible and for the Formless Mother and blood Red with orange like in the Forbidden Lands aurora, stands for the Fell God of the giants so I don't think it is a warning for death - it is the warning for you, that you are about to enter the land of the giants
i just wanna say this because I looked up the etymology, "halig" is just (an) old english way of saying "holy", in old english if the G is before/after certain vowels (including i) it's pronounced like y. So it'd probably sound somewhere between "holy" and "halley", and wouldn't end in a hard G. the more you know ;D
💯 agree. I’ve been playing again to get back into it, to be ready for the DLC…and I’m seeing new things even tho I’m over 250 hours in. Best game ever made, imo.
11:00 The weather being player centric is the benefit; the fire blowing in the wind is just an artefact. The game Warframe is switching from ambient effects to player centric ones in the next update, and they described some of the benefits: its easier to load, the lighting can become more realistic, and environmental effects become easier to mix with the lighting. You see the effects of this in coop; I‘m sure you‘ve noticed that the falling grace/sparks depend on where the host looks. My guess is they programmed flames to behave based on host location for the purpose of torches - and in most cases (i.e. any moment where you can not look from one weather zone into another) this takes away any effort necessary to edit flames to fit the weather. So the ones in the beast sanctum are just an oversight.
Soemone must have said it already, but it has been suggested that there is a spirit-tree of sorts as well. Associated with the Helphen Steeple and Ghost Flame. Mainly only suggestions of relatedness to destined death/black flame, because the Helphen Steeple is found near Castle Sol. Personally, I believe it is not related to black flame or destined death. The pre-erdtree ghost flame may just have had its own tree before the Greater Will arrived. Heck, it may even explain the two-toned color of the Erdtree or the destroyed crucible tree underground. I think the erdtree beast as a kind of parasite on what came before
All of the red aura in the mountaintop area is probably because of whatever spell was used to kill the giants those thorns (that killed the giants cause as far as I can tell we do not have access to those exact thorns, we do have access to another form of thorns, just not the one used on the giants) aren't exactly usable by the player
Apologies for posting on an old video, but I just finished watching this entire series and I just wondered if you had seen/remembered the little hidden grave site in Caelid Waypoint Ruins right near Fort Gael. Inside are stone sarcophagi overgrown with mushrooms and the room is filled with juvenile Kindred of Rot and one single poison mushroom guy. I had a small thought that maybe this showed how Kindred of Rot are created? Maybe the poison mushroom men have a hand in tending graves where the mushrooms can grow and the Kindred sprout out?
Game dev here with 13 years experience in the industry. For the weather thing, it's a resource cost issue. Creating worldwide weather is a huge resource hog and doesn't add much value to the player since they can't see the weather happening out of their line of sight. You also have added issues like making sure global weather doesn't go inside of buildings. Player centered weather effects are still a resource drain, but they're more manageable with trigger volumes turning them on and off. The old way of doing it was a screen filter, but it was pretty easy to notice that there wasn't real rain. Player centered has that problem as well if the weather radius is too small. I want to say that happened on horizon zero dawn. I was able to see the weather cone around the player and noticed it didn't affect the area past a short range.
I stopped playing for 3 months (not by choice) I have no idea where anything is and it’s amazing every now and then I remember something but it’s as close to my first playthrough as I’ll ever get
I think the statue is Miquella. He had the ability to coerce or change people to his ideals and follow him. If you look at the wolves they aren't angry and also have no teeth, which I believe means they aren't a threat, but enthralled and are looking to him in reverence. 😎🍻😎
I'm surprised no one thought of the runes being annual rings, based on everything else it seemed pretty clear. Then again, I don't tend to talk with people within the community so I never heard anyone refer to them as eyes 😅
I would love to see a lake of mud video on elden ring discoveries and secrets. They're that channel that did those videos like "183 Dark Souls 3 discoveries and secrets." Those videos are great for secrets in these games. Maybe you can even work with them on it, if they're ever gonna make one on elden ring.
2:26 the depth, don’t think this really was intentional. this property was emergent due to flame, cleanse me dealing fire damage to the player. fire cleanses frostbite there. wasn’t a thought, but it was the game obeying its own rules
If I remember correctly, the reason the weather and such is player centric is for performance. Its alot easier for the game to run the weather by having a small area around the player rather then having it completely cover the world.
To add to the Helix part the Shard Spiral(another helix) was a failed attempt to create a new comet by attempting to create a new celestial body you are trying to change fate
I was once a phantom in my friend’s world and the giant Pot boy in calid appeared to be doing the animation of the same one as when Alexander is collecting flesh after Radahn fight
When you pointed out the Helix shape probably being the true form of the Haligtree, it instantly reminded me of the Shadow of the Erdtree art. Went to check it out and, yes, this might be foreshadowing confirming that the tree in the art is in fact a complete Haligtree. Might not be the same but it's Helix shaped.
The Empryeans seem to all get guardians or familiars or what have you. Ranni has Bladed, Marika has Maliketh. Melania and Miquella are the only ones whose guardians we don't know of or hear of. They seem to be Wolves or at least Canine in nature.
The lights mirror the flower that grows all throughout the lands between, taking on different colors based on geopolitical factors. For example, most of the astrology towers we find have flowers with the deep blue shade associsted with Carian sorcery growing around them. But the 2 converted towers wjth Marika statues have golden flowers. These are by far the most common variants, but even these raise interesting questions. The carian-blue flowers are just as, if not more widespread and common than the golden variant, though im going by memory, so hard numbers might prove me wrong. But the spread of this variant well beyond the areas associated with Caria or even sorcery at all is another subtle clue as to the state of the lands between prior to the Golden Order. A surprising amount of iconography associated with the GO clearly predates its existence. The main example i can recall are the large statues of the hooded figure, and the smaller statues of the hooded woman or even young girl holding a book or tablet (unless its one of the many instances of these statues that are pristine aside from the consistant lack of hands, always cut off at the wrist. The uniformity of the damage, and lack of any pieces of stone on the ground nearby does suggest that this isnt the result of time. Theres other examples, such as the single golden branch cultivated by the bald figure lookjng almost identical to the death ritual spear (most apparent in the renditions of this statue found in Roundtable Hold) but it looks like the symbols of Gold not only predate it, but are often from cultures totally incompatible with Golden Order tenents. But wait! It gets deeper and even more mysterious. Fort Haight, taken by a Knight sworn to Mohg and granted blood powers, has a red variant of the flower growing on both sides of the fort's sturdy walls. In Dominula, the dancers dance among a pink variant. I cant confirm it at the moment as im in the middle of a move, but im pretty sure theres more of these pink flowers in the hermit village on Gelmir, further cementing the connection between the dancers and the snake worshipping pagans that once lived on mt gelmir. There are also orange variants found sparsely growing around he ruins above where we first meet Sellen (these may admittedly be a similarly designed flower and not a variant. They were the first flowers aside from gold and blue i noticed, but dismissed until seeing the undeniable variants of many other colours), a lavender variant, and a lighter shade of blue, similar to either glintstone magic, lazuli robes, or rannis robes, and I think there may still be a few other uncommon variants. I cant remember their exact locations, and for many of them i cant figure out the significance of the colour to the region they are found. It may end up being nothing, but once you notice these flowers, you cant stop noticing them. Theyre bright and almost glow, their colour is so vibrant, but to a significantly lesser degree than crafting ingredients like rowa or altus bloom. It just really seems like the kind of subtle environmental storytelling that gets From rock hard, so im hoping we will learn what or whom each of these colours represents. Possibly even piece together a story or series of stories that has been omitted from the version(s?) of events we have been presented with thus far
If I had to guess, the unobtainable glintstone crown was probably the start of what wouldve been the Sellen/Graven Witch Conspectus, as if i remember right, those same two faces are on many, of not all of the Graven Masses, suposedly created, or inspired by Sellen. The sorcerer in question also uses the Shard Spiral sorcery, and though im aware that this sorcery originates from the Karalos Conspectus, it is also only available via completing Sellen's questline, which sort of hints at the idea that Karalos and Sellen may have at some point conspired together during their time studying at the academy and also that followers of Karalos where aware of Sellen's potential as she became one of the most prominant sorcerers, if not the most prominant sorcerer in all the Lands Between, and prematurely started the foundations of creating a dedicated conspectus in her name, regardless of her reputation. Another interesting thing is that at the end of her quest, she also turns into a graven-mass. Interestingly, it seems Rennala was the one who would've done so, which means that at some point, she had studied how to do so, which also hints at Rennala having a keen interest in Sellen, despite having been expelled from the academy, which again inadvertently hints at the idea that her expellation might not have been from Rennala herself, but instead as a majority decision by the entirety of the academy's scholars, and that so few stood up for her in the end. This means thay Rennala may not really be as emotional as we have thought, if the lives of even the most intelligent minds are expendable as subject to experiements, without even having a word to say about it afterwards. Gotta say, for not having glimpsed the Primeval Current, she sure knows a hell of a lot about it. Maybe more-so than Lusat and even Azur.
6:37 that Statue with the three wolves and the girl is Torrents former mistress, Rannie gives us the 3 wolf spirit ash summon, so it must be the same person torrent and the spirit summoning bell belonged to. Alsp Shadow of the Erdtree DLC inage shows the spirit graveyard with etherial gravestones, makes sense that the spirit summoning bell would be used by Miquella/ St. Trina
You found some great little details this time! I knew about the rare Twinsage Crown, but I only ever saw the Raya Lucaria one using Spiral Shard, not one of his Sellia counterparts. I wasn't aware that "Flame, Cleanse Me" did a tiny amount of damage either -- is that also true for the other Flame body buffs? The new Goldmask animation was amazing -- where was that found exactly, and have people tested all of his appearances for secret poses? Regarding the Runes, I think they're also reminiscent of a spinal cord forming, perhaps indicative of a "trunk" for non-plant life. They might also be reminiscent of the Elden Beast's grab attack, where a golden orb forms around a dark core akin to a black hole. Perhaps it's depicting a galaxy in some way? The find with Gideon's scepter is also cool. As for the Haligtree, I think the tree is actually bifurcated and grows into two major groups of branches. As for the color of the energy in the Forbidden Lands, considering that the place leads to the Mountaintops where the Fell God resides, that likely represents Giants' Flame. Some people have theorized that it's the lampwood of the Helphen, but the Mountaintops don't seem naturally affiliated with Elden Ring's spirit world, the place is just suffering from Deathroot and the Castle Sol ritual. Finally, regarding the Farum Azula statue, I believe that represents Placidusax's god, the Marika figure of Farum Azula's civilization, when she was a child. The stonework of Farum Azula appears to be extremely old, so it's unlikely that the figure is meant to be a relatively recent figure. Additionally, we can see that the depictions of Miquella at the Haligtree differ from the Farum Azula statue regarding their hair, face, and clothing. The mural of the Elden Ring is also likely relevant, as it seems to depict the Elden Ring among a series of roots, akin to later eras depicting the Elden Ring within the grown Erdtree. If you look closely, there are still only four rings in the mural, and everything else is a root that grows from the Elden Ring and either stops or deflects whenever it comes back in contact with the Elden Ring. Thanks again for finding all of this and crediting people. I'm curious if the Goldmask pose indicates that he was trying to hold onto a cliff, or if he was climbing down or up one instead. That definitely seems like an intentional animation, not a glitch. After all, Goldmask in the distressed pose is only visible at the point of his quest where he's shocked that Radagon is Marika, suggesting that the animation is meant to show him wracking his mind at this revelation and realizing the Golden Order is dysfunctional.
I'm sure I've seen Goldmask in that pose, and now I'm wishing I took a screenshot as I didn't realize it wasn't normal at all... just n00bing along thinking it was one of his standard poses and represented his despair at learning an unknowable truth
06:38 guess thats why you get the 3x wolf summon with the summon bell. Its kinda symbolic. Albinaurics ride wolves. Maybe shes an Albinauric. Or Rannis real body
Much like how the Golden flow is holy, and the Cerulean flow is magic, I firmly believe that the Crimson flow is actually Fire. Corpses of giants, masters of flame are here, and the last living one upon the peak. With all that power, it flows like guidance and leads us to the lift of Rold, where the giant awaits us
The red glow in the forbidden outskirts might also be a residual effect of the forgotten era of when Radagon was still the Sun-King of the Sun Realm, and connected to the eyes of the fire giants.
6:53 if you actually take a look at all the runes one after another you can see that the runes represent a tree, i think you might be looking it the wrong way, the smaller the rune the higher up on the tree that you are, as you are going higher on the runes you are going down the tree. The smallest rune is just the top leaves but eventually we reach the main wood (which is the black) I always mentioned this to my friends as that i how i have always viewed the runes. But I never though of it being an eye, interesting thought...
From Software is at the top and every other developer is beneath them. Thats how good they are and why we still find new things years after release in their games.
Im a fan of fromsofts games but that doesnt mean everything else is worse. Why does it always have to be “this is good, and everything else is bad” rather than just “this is good”. I guess it doesnt matter at the end of the day
The red mist is destined death yes. The kindred at the end inflicts the death effect when hitting I.e. reduces the size of of the health bar same as Malaketh and Alecto. Both of the latter carry destined death
I wonder if Marika's "opposite" is actually Miquella. They are both a mixture of male and female, both are trapped inside a Great Tree, and both are being stalked by one of the Omen Twins.
I wish there was a better way to figure out which attacks can be parried without guessing or looking it up online. I kinda want to do a parry based playthrough but don't know when I would actually be able to do it, lol.
Random speculation on the part of the Helix Haligtree and "objects of faith": It has been suggested that the Erdtree as we see it, a giant golden tree of light, is only visible to those who are touched by grace and how it in the present time is an object of faith (Tarnished Archeologist touches upon this quite a bit). To everyone else there is only a broken stump remaining, only to be seen when within the walls of Leyndell (we too can see this, where the physical remains of the Erdtree joins the greater tree of golden light) as Boc remarks upon how dazzled he is seeing the Erdtree at the East Capital Rampart site of grace. Surely he would have seen the tree much earlier? Anyhow, maybe the broken off tree trunk of the Haligtree Helix is also an object of faith in the present time. Only visible to a select few.
The guidance of Grace is what's taken away, not the ability to see anything holy. If the Erdtree was invisible, people not in the Golden Order would have called this out several times over within the setting itself, and holy incantations might even function like Night Sorceries. Also, we can see actual bark in the Erdtree's branches from several places on Altus Plateau, and once Maliketh is defeated, the canopy and trunk clearly have visible bark when observed from and near Leyndell. This bark is also apparent on the trunk and canopy branches in the Age of Fracture ending.
As far as the runes goes, they are eyes. If you roam around the world, you'll frequently find skulls that glow, if you break them, they'll drop Golden Rune (1). This is just something I haven't heard anyone really mention.
the sword of saint trina having wolfs makes sense with the statue being michella. we see michella with torrent and ranni gives us the bell that was of torrent's previous owner together with the 2 wolfs summon
Ziostorm, take a look at some images of Beech Trees, specially heart rot, which literally hollows the center of trees. I think that's an explanation for the split haligtree and the missing center of the tree-rune cross hatch theory.
Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/ziostorm
You don't need DLC to solve Trina's sword.
Only if you beat me in a duel.
I'll do same because I done fucked up so many quest 😂
War thunder was a great game but by god the players are as bad as COD
i want, SOOOOOOOOOOOO badly, to play an elden ring 2 prequel that shows the world pre and during the wars. live and vibrant, life everywhere, non ruined castles, non dying lands, i wanna see the world in its apex. then i wanna watch it die during the wars. then end the game with how the tree got the elden beast.
Start a petition or something. Fellow Tarnished will sign it
The Flame Cleanse Me effect makes sense, but it may not even be "intentional".
It's just that fire damage resets the frostbite effect, no matter who causes that fire damage (Which is why pro gamers in build videos will occasionally warn you against mixing fire and frostbite weapons/spells). Possibly, they just added that self-fire damage to give the spell some trade-off in comparison to limited cure items (and/or as a bit of flavor for "burning out the poison from your body"), and having it work against frostbite was just a happy accident.
on the other hand some builds ask you to take both frost and fire for the reset so you can proc the frostbite damage again sooner. but yeah. this is very true and very cool.
@@scorpioneldarIt's sub optimal just use bleed, frostbite is good for the damage bonus ☝️🤓
true but it depends on what your running (I finished my first run with Greatstars that had a frost mod. Frostbite into bleed was a tone of fun. but frostfire builds can be a blast to!.
In regards to the red aurora, the Helphen's Steeple references a lamplight similar to grace, that leads the dead to the spirit world. The ornamental sword also has a red jewel at the top. I think it's a fair assumption that this lamplight could be red, and that's the aurora we see. Or, inversely, it's a natural phenomenon that they built a religion out of
I think the aurora is a sort of religious/supernatural phenomena. So for the golden order its obviously gold, but there is the statues that point to the tombs that is blue, the Helphen Steeple references another, etc. Different religions and spiritual practices can basically manifest their own color coded auras.
I saw a video once about it in which it was claimed that the red aura is basically the guidance of grace coming from the Crucible or the Haligtree.
color has always been deeply rooted in the lore of soulsborn games and ER is no different. color is a representation as well as a manifestation of the powers in play.@@TheCrewExpendable
What I discovered in Elden RIng is if I get bored of the game, just start a new playthrough.
my latest playthrough has been arcane/faith, again. its just too good...
Greatest discovery I made as well.
On number 6 now....cosplaying as myself. Arnold Judas Rimmer S.S.C/B.S.C..
My main source of power is my amazing ability to insult everything in the game with my razor rapier-like wit, and then flee at the first sign of trouble.
I have 7 characters ready for dlc. I play the game through until I get to malikeith then I start a new build. Rinse and repeat
Worked for me 😂
Just wanna mention i appreciate the Credit given to people of the community that discovers these neat little secrets, props for that
The Goldmask poses (if not a bug) is meant to indicate that he truly is a higher being that lives across all player worlds, as in one being and mind in many worlds instead of one copy per world like we(?) assume for every NPC. it could give a lore reason for his lack of movement ie. he is busy "doing stuff" in another world. it could also explain why he doesn't take care of himself if he has near infinite bodies in other worlds.
The double helix thing about the haligtree relates a lot to the Erdtree (as in the two in harmony in a helix with each other). In the dlc photo we see a tree that most people agree is the Erdtree with a twisting vine seeming to choke it (probably deathroot). For me at first I couldn't understand why people thought it was the Erdtree because I was seeing it as one tree no vine wrapped, and when you look at it like this it is very obviously the haligtree. Its probably meant to be both, Elden Ring is always using dualities (helix, Marika/radagon, malenias eternal rot/miquella's eternal abundance, outer gods/their worldly vassals, the physical lands between itself being a literal ring, you could go on and on), so its likely meant to be both the Erdtree wrapped by deathroot as well as the haligtree. The helix thing plays into this heavy for obvious reasons but as well as the fact that the section of the Haligtree that is missing (which in game looks like almost half of it) is the exact section in the dlc photo that is taken up by the Erdtree when viewed as Erdtree/deathroot. I think this is a strong indication that Miquella's goals may have involved balance with the golden order moreso than a second "better" great tree. Balance is a huge piece of Elden Ring so i think this will play a big part in dlc. Also farum azula was in caelid and I found pretty definitive proof, but that's for another time
I go pretty in depth on this idea in the Minor Erdtree Church video, I recommend checking that out. I think you’re exactly right
My personal theory is that the DLC will be set beneath the Lands Between, in the "shadow of the Erdtree" an upside down, spirit world situation. There's no shadow on the surface due to it emitting light and the "tree" in the dlc image appears far more like roots to me, likely the tap root of the Erdtree, entangled with deathroot and potentially this could also be the black steeple of Helphen, "the lampwood which guides the dead of the spirit world". This all connects with the other imagery in the dlc picture & Miquella which suggests that the DLC is set in the Spirit world.
People are buried in the catacombs as a means of being returned to the Erdtree's roots in hopes that they'll reach the spirit world and thus be guided by the lamplight and reborn by the Erdtree.
@@nebky i love that idea, it's totally a possibility. Would be so sick cause that would also imply a HUGE map expansion and one of my favorite parts of Elden Ring is the insane world design and breadth. Would also like up with ideas of duality and balance. Cool stuff
I thought the double helix with one part broken off was because the Double Helix is the dual powers of the two personalities St Trina and Miquella, but Miquella has been unexpectedly stunted/cut off from his life, hence the one helix being broken off
@@seamusdempster Yeah I'm pretty hopeful that I'm right tbh - I think it makes perfect thematic and lore sense. There's even precedence for upside down action with the Carian Study hall. I'm sure there's some connection here too, what with Rani's corpse being found high up on the connecting tower (in an opposite fashion to being buried deep below, near the roots) and her death breaking the golden order's immortality etc.
Plus the Deathroot brought about those who live in death, so it'd make sense that the Deathroot physically connects down to the spirit world, entangling the Helphen Steeple and creating a bridge for the dead to return back up to the land of the living, against the wishes of the Greater Will which would otherwise only allow rebirth via the Erdtree.
If anyone wants to master parrying in this game, the underground area with all of the Omens is perfect to start learning how to time it
Sorry if it's obvious to others, but can you elaborate on that? Do they swing slower compared to other enemies or what?
@@HavikXIII yeah, a lot of omen attacks have a very long wind-up. They also have attacks that can be parried (like their dash attack and fist swing), that some other enemies have, so you can practice parrying a variety of attacks in one spot. It's also good for learning parry dagger timing, since you can't use certain ashes of war on daggers that add parry timing windows to shields.
@@justinlefkowitz2413 I see, thank you! I've never gotten the parry down in any game, and I blame bloodborne for its riposte timing
@@HavikXIIIin Elden Ring the basic rule for correct timing is to start the parry animation as soon as the enemy's hand (not the weapon if they're holding one) starts moving toward your character
@justinlefkowitz2413 hell, that sounds super similar to bloodborne... maybe I'm just broken lmao
I think that the character depicted in the farum azula statue is actually miquella, because in the dlc image fromsoft published, we can see that the person riding the horse is (most probably) miquella, and when ranni gives us the spirit calling bell and the three lone wolves ashes she says that the ashes belonged to the precedent owner of torrent (probably miquella)
Miquella was born far after the destruction of Faram Azula. That wouldn’t be possible. Also we already have statues that directly represent him and this statue Faram doesn’t match.
Was thinking the same honestly. It's very close related. And it's in the past too, like most FS DLC's.
@@simonealcazar816 sorry the ignorance but how do you know miquella was born after the destruction of farum?
@@ligmadisease Miquella is one of two children made by Marika and Radagon. In which at that time Radagon was Second Elden Lord after Godfrey. He and his twin Malenia are the youngest Demigods to all of the Marika children especially against Mogh, Godwyn and Morgott since they were born way after him. How can he be the youngest, born during Radagon’s rule with is way after both Godfrey and Placidusax’s rule. The only way that statue to be him was that he time travel at some point but that is not a concept that currently existed in ER nor would make sense how he would be able to. And if your theory requires time travel…than you might need to rethink your theory.
@@simonealcazar816 ah i see, thx for the explanation
In 9:21 the helix looks likes it's formed by a pair of braids, and the braids are very very similar in style to the ones we see on Miquella, in the image promo for Shadow of the Erdtree and the opening for base game.
It's know that Miquella embedded himself in the Haligtree to grow it even more, so maybe after Mogh kidnapped him, part of the Haligtree fell apart lacking the power of Miquella, and as Sir Gideon said "So. The Haligtree, now but a husk..."
As always, more questions than answers
The DLC revealed that spirals represent the Crucible, not the Haligtree.
The Orb on Gideons staff also looks a bit like the "eye" of Astel or the starfall beast
Just wanted to comment this too it's very interesting, maybe he got it from one of the dark stars/something that came out of space?
Ranni says that the Spirit Calling Bell was from Torent's former master, and then she gives us the three wolves Spirit Ash. So, if Miquella is Torent's former master, then the three dogs are as well, which means that the statue in Farum Alzula is of Miquella and those three dogs. I think that makes the most sense.
The description for the Lone Wolf Spirit Ashes says that their former master was a Tarnished, so that can't be Miquella.
@@nightscout9979 While that is a fair point, it's the Bell that was from Torent's former master. I am just making the connection that Torent's former master, who is most likely Miquella, seems to also have had the wolves, considering we get both from Ranni at the same time. It could easily be that the wolves at some point passed into Miquella's hands after the Tarnished found them, or that the live wolves were found by the Tarnished and the Spirit Ashes of them, when they latter died, were held by Miquella.
Above that, it's also the only time in the game where we have any other group of three wolves that could match the three wolves of the statue. At the very least, I think these Spirit Ashes are the key to understanding who the statue is of.
Raging Wolf set's description states that "Wolves are the shadow of the Empyrean", so I'm 100% sure that Miquella is deeply tied to wolves.
@@marchmelloow With how Ranni gives the ashes along with the bell, essentially giving something to make the bell not moot, the ashes and bell likely both belonged to the former master. Also, depending on when Tarnished first started appearing in the Lands Between, they might not have begun arriving until after the demi-gods reached a standstill in the Shattering. If so, then Miquella would have already been abducted by Mohg by that time, and thus could not have received the ashes after a Tarnished met the wolves.
@@nicolobraghini1546 Miquella was never a Tarnished though.
Another secret is when you alter Alberich’s helm to remove the helm, you can see that his entire skull is made out of red glintstone that he damaged so he could put his hat on, making him the third primeval sorcerer you encounter in the game. Going near a wall to manipulate the camera helps you see it
Got a little lore-play for you; There are multiple paintings scattered across stormveil castle. But there is one in particular, that tells us a bit about the analogy in history. It is located just before the secret path to godwyns corpse, just above the bats. It depicts the stormhill and the divine tower of Limgrave...but without stormveil castle. The Erdtree is also missing, with only the moutaintops of the giants visible. This indicates, that the divine towers existed before the Erdtree or the golden order did. I'd go even as far as saying that they were there before the greater will even send the elden beast to the lands between and chose Marika to be the elden rings new vessel.
As a sidenote; In the painting, the bridge to the tower already is pretty damaged, so it didn't happen during the shattering or the drifting of Farum Azula.
All of this combined leads me to the conclusion, that all six of the divine towers, as well as all the monuments scattered around the lands between, have been built either by the Firegiants, which would make the most sense, or by a much older civilization.
P.S.: One could also argue, that there is a giant visible in the top lefthand corner raising it's arm, but that is a little far fetched because of the low quality. It might as well be the chapel of anticipation.
Speaking of unique handles, I noticed recently that the Scavengers Curved Sword has what appears to be a statuette as it’s handle.
The flame cleanse me works against frostbite because any fire damage does clear up frostbite too (and it worked that way in DS3 too). Because of that, I really often play a character with a cold weapon in the right hand and a torch in the left, to reset frostbite after every proc to be able to proc the ailment again for more damage.
About the double helix Haligtree: Helix and Halig also sound extremely similar, especially when you combine them with -tree. Helixtree. Haligtree.
And in case you don't know, and that has nothing to do with helixes, Halig means Holy or Sacred in Old english and proto-germanic languages
I think people are overthinking the statues intent. It being Miquella makes absolutely no sense seeing that he was long after Faram’s destruction as well as having statues that ACTUALLY depicts him and they didn’t make. Neither does Marika or GeQ, all are very flimsy at best. The woman in the statue has no stand out features especially in relation to any character in the current game. It’s no one, the point of the statue is very likely to link the concept of Emypreans (in general) and beasts in relation to Faram Azula and Golden Order/Greater Will. It’s also there to hint at the connections to Faram and Greater Will. Along with the Older version of the Elden Ring and many similarities to the Dragons Culture and the Golden Order, it’s also likely the “fled” Placidusax’s God was the Greater Will. Especially since the Elden Ring is a Greater Will unique concept.
idk if you've ever covered it but I learned the other day that if you get knocked off your horse next to a pumpkin head they have a unique critical animation they can hit you with
I got knocked off last night and before I could roll away he started beating me with his head over an over lol
Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Miquella is literally Griffith?
Double Helix tree, androgynous appearance, Castle Sol's Eclipse, Rebirth, charismatic and manipulative.
My thoughts on the red lights between Layndell and Mountaintops was that it was remnants of the flame of ruin and the previous burning. Leyndell and this area are both grey and ashen, implying previous burnings of the Flame of Ruin.
That said, the militia there do have Death on their weapons, so maybe somehow it escape here, for example if this is where the Knifeprints were used to forge the black knives.
Any translation of the inscription on saint trina's sword?
Yeah, i bet that could be somehow transcribed and deciphered, that's the same font also used in ds1 orange and white signs and in deS signs
For player centric weather, it's a good bit cheaper and a LOT easier to implement. And much smoother when having a world with parts loading in and out. Basically, there's a couple methods.
1. Fully pre baked. Everything has it's own settings given in advance, for wind, etc... and it sticks with that upon being loaded in as it's default settings. This is cheap enough to load in, barely ups the asset/level size for the extra info, and is a good option. However, dynamic effects on things or alteration mid level like changes to weather, wind, etc... aren't being included. So to have these we can't be fully pre baked.
2. Dynamic local, each object in the world that CAN interact with the environment or weather, does so on it's own. Every tme you move towards an area, all objects that load in, must also check for the local enviornmental control object and ask for it's weather, and then register themselves with it so if it changes it has a giant list of things to go through and update to the new condition. Doing this for small maps is ok, but for giant open world maps with tons of objects you might see at any point in time from a distance, or not see do to obstructing obstacles, it's pretty expensive with lots of extra calls and checks going on as you load in/out the world, and that's already a point where hitches are at risk of happening in most such games, so you really want to minimize this performance cost if you can.
3. Dymamic central. All enviornmental items still have their default state, but can be changed, and do so from a single central system. The idea is now things just need to do their own thing, until the player can see them, and they start getting rendered, or are close enough to always be loaded in even if not currently looked at (means you spin the camera around and things don't suddenly reset from starting poses or stuff). If everything just asks for it's updated weather data when it's being loaded in, from a single central player controller, than that means even as you run through the world all these different areas around you only need a single controller managing them. So that's a bit less overhead, and being tied directly to the player helps you optimize what it controls and updates based on the players location and what they'd see. In some engines LOD and occlusion systems could be used to cover for this, while for others it'd be much easier from a central player controller that can just reference the player directly. Now as the player walks around, they update as they overlap/enter a new trigger enviornmental area, however you set up your weather data locations. That one trigger on the player, tells it to update it's values, and possibly send out an update to registered environmental objects it's currently referencing to use these new ones if needed. If done poorly, it's as many calls as the dynamic local system, but if done as well, it's much fewer and more optimized compared to it.
And then lastly, for the developer themself, it just might be easier. Instead of all particle systems needing to have an attached code object that finds nearby weather control system and asks it for stuff, or that they must manually link it to when placing it in the world, they can instead just have particle effects reference one global variable for "wind strength" and "Wind direction" or such. And those variables are controlled by the player. Now, drop a fire effect in anywhere, and it just works... from the players perspective. No hassle, it's quick and easy and pretty robust against bugs or oddities happening. Then just have the player modify those universal variables based on their locations supposed weather. This is... for a game developer, a lot easier and quicker to setup. And for a level artist, much faster and easier to set up all the fire and trees and other art in the world if it's just drop in and it works without any extra steps. And having extra code running objects associated with all of these that you drop in with them that might automate, would add notable overhead when loaded up and run in game otherwise. So it's just ease of use, and performant, a nice combo, that does have some limations like you show in the video of all visible fire and trees being affected by the weather the player at their own location is experiencing. But in the name of quicker development, for a big game like Elden Ring very important, and performance, also very much important, it's a decent trade most devs would argue, and most players will barely notice.
Bro is getting those sponsors now, let's gooo. 💪🏻 Don't let anyone complain about it either, the real ones are gonna understand.
Combo Lazuli/Olivanus crowns would probably do variations of Primeval sorceries, like the Graven Masses do, given these are the crowns making up the Masses/Schools. so Carian/Star sorceries
fire damage unprocs proced frost bite effects even in the player. flame cleanse me's damage tick is recognized as fire damage
Real quick about the weather - it's a pretty common technique in games to have the weather be tied to the player, or more specifically the camera (usually - there's clips going around of Starfield tying it to the player instead of the camera). It's a lot less processing to make it rain in a small area that the player can see as opposed to the entire world, it's a neat trick devs have been doing for a while now.
For Flow of Death:
Red is not just the color for Destined Death
It is also the color for the Crucible and for the Formless Mother and blood
Red with orange like in the Forbidden Lands aurora, stands for the Fell God of the giants
so I don't think it is a warning for death - it is the warning for you, that you are about to enter the land of the giants
You really blew my mind with your Minor Erdtree Church video, pointed out so many interesting details I missed! 🖤
i just wanna say this because I looked up the etymology, "halig" is just (an) old english way of saying "holy", in old english if the G is before/after certain vowels (including i) it's pronounced like y. So it'd probably sound somewhere between "holy" and "halley", and wouldn't end in a hard G. the more you know ;D
💯 agree. I’ve been playing again to get back into it, to be ready for the DLC…and I’m seeing new things even tho I’m over 250 hours in. Best game ever made, imo.
Has any one ever mentioned or talked about the multiple Placidiusax corpses protruding from surrounding cliff faces in and around Farum?
11:00 The weather being player centric is the benefit; the fire blowing in the wind is just an artefact.
The game Warframe is switching from ambient effects to player centric ones in the next update, and they described some of the benefits: its easier to load, the lighting can become more realistic, and environmental effects become easier to mix with the lighting.
You see the effects of this in coop; I‘m sure you‘ve noticed that the falling grace/sparks depend on where the host looks. My guess is they programmed flames to behave based on host location for the purpose of torches - and in most cases (i.e. any moment where you can not look from one weather zone into another) this takes away any effort necessary to edit flames to fit the weather.
So the ones in the beast sanctum are just an oversight.
Soemone must have said it already, but it has been suggested that there is a spirit-tree of sorts as well. Associated with the Helphen Steeple and Ghost Flame. Mainly only suggestions of relatedness to destined death/black flame, because the Helphen Steeple is found near Castle Sol. Personally, I believe it is not related to black flame or destined death. The pre-erdtree ghost flame may just have had its own tree before the Greater Will arrived. Heck, it may even explain the two-toned color of the Erdtree or the destroyed crucible tree underground. I think the erdtree beast as a kind of parasite on what came before
All of the red aura in the mountaintop area is probably because of whatever spell was used to kill the giants those thorns (that killed the giants cause as far as I can tell we do not have access to those exact thorns, we do have access to another form of thorns, just not the one used on the giants) aren't exactly usable by the player
Apologies for posting on an old video, but I just finished watching this entire series and I just wondered if you had seen/remembered the little hidden grave site in Caelid Waypoint Ruins right near Fort Gael. Inside are stone sarcophagi overgrown with mushrooms and the room is filled with juvenile Kindred of Rot and one single poison mushroom guy. I had a small thought that maybe this showed how Kindred of Rot are created? Maybe the poison mushroom men have a hand in tending graves where the mushrooms can grow and the Kindred sprout out?
I have always assumed the red lights were that of the flames of ruin atop the mountain
Game dev here with 13 years experience in the industry. For the weather thing, it's a resource cost issue. Creating worldwide weather is a huge resource hog and doesn't add much value to the player since they can't see the weather happening out of their line of sight.
You also have added issues like making sure global weather doesn't go inside of buildings.
Player centered weather effects are still a resource drain, but they're more manageable with trigger volumes turning them on and off.
The old way of doing it was a screen filter, but it was pretty easy to notice that there wasn't real rain. Player centered has that problem as well if the weather radius is too small. I want to say that happened on horizon zero dawn. I was able to see the weather cone around the player and noticed it didn't affect the area past a short range.
The most powerful weapon I’ve discovered for use against the storm hawks are my legs. They seem to carry me far far away from them.
I'm amazed I was seemingly the only one theorizing the Haligtree, as is, was an offshoot of what it failed to become.
I came for the Elden Ring secrets, and I stayed for the Metroid Prime soundtrack. Amazing video man!
I literally watch your videos for two things. Elden Ring news and discoveries and every banger from the Metroid Prime soundtracks.
The flame cleanse me for frostbite makes perfect sense. I’ve used it forever and never tried it. You just cleared up a quick slot for me
I stopped playing for 3 months (not by choice) I have no idea where anything is and it’s amazing every now and then I remember something but it’s as close to my first playthrough as I’ll ever get
I think the statue is Miquella. He had the ability to coerce or change people to his ideals and follow him. If you look at the wolves they aren't angry and also have no teeth, which I believe means they aren't a threat, but enthralled and are looking to him in reverence.
😎🍻😎
I'm surprised no one thought of the runes being annual rings, based on everything else it seemed pretty clear. Then again, I don't tend to talk with people within the community so I never heard anyone refer to them as eyes 😅
I would love to see a lake of mud video on elden ring discoveries and secrets. They're that channel that did those videos like "183 Dark Souls 3 discoveries and secrets." Those videos are great for secrets in these games. Maybe you can even work with them on it, if they're ever gonna make one on elden ring.
The Glintstone Crowns are both at locations where you find the Imbued Stone Keys, how cool!
engagement, engagementttt. get it Zio
2:26 the depth, don’t think this really was intentional. this property was emergent due to flame, cleanse me dealing fire damage to the player. fire cleanses frostbite there.
wasn’t a thought, but it was the game obeying its own rules
If I remember correctly, the reason the weather and such is player centric is for performance. Its alot easier for the game to run the weather by having a small area around the player rather then having it completely cover the world.
To add to the Helix part
the Shard Spiral(another helix)
was a failed attempt to create a new comet
by attempting to create a new celestial body you are trying to change fate
I was once a phantom in my friend’s world and the giant Pot boy in calid appeared to be doing the animation of the same one as when Alexander is collecting flesh after Radahn fight
I thought the red aura in the mountains was Helphens Lamplight...
Great vids ZIO cheers bro
When you pointed out the Helix shape probably being the true form of the Haligtree, it instantly reminded me of the Shadow of the Erdtree art. Went to check it out and, yes, this might be foreshadowing confirming that the tree in the art is in fact a complete Haligtree. Might not be the same but it's Helix shaped.
The Empryeans seem to all get guardians or familiars or what have you. Ranni has Bladed, Marika has Maliketh. Melania and Miquella are the only ones whose guardians we don't know of or hear of. They seem to be Wolves or at least Canine in nature.
Alberich also has red glintstones in his headgear, you can see it quite clearly in the altered version.
As someone with prob well over 2500hrs I have to say there were some of these that I did not know about - great vid
Vaati has a video about what the red glow in the Forbidden Outskirts could be, or he talks about it at one point.
I swear I got that glintstone crown in 1 of my playthroughs, now I gotta go back and check all my builds lol
11:27 maybe something to do with the helphen. It does say it looks like the guidance of grace and there is a red gem on the weapon.
Goldmask is a parkour master! He can wall-hang, on air! Is that the secret of the Golden Order?
The lights mirror the flower that grows all throughout the lands between, taking on different colors based on geopolitical factors. For example, most of the astrology towers we find have flowers with the deep blue shade associsted with Carian sorcery growing around them. But the 2 converted towers wjth Marika statues have golden flowers. These are by far the most common variants, but even these raise interesting questions. The carian-blue flowers are just as, if not more widespread and common than the golden variant, though im going by memory, so hard numbers might prove me wrong. But the spread of this variant well beyond the areas associated with Caria or even sorcery at all is another subtle clue as to the state of the lands between prior to the Golden Order. A surprising amount of iconography associated with the GO clearly predates its existence. The main example i can recall are the large statues of the hooded figure, and the smaller statues of the hooded woman or even young girl holding a book or tablet (unless its one of the many instances of these statues that are pristine aside from the consistant lack of hands, always cut off at the wrist. The uniformity of the damage, and lack of any pieces of stone on the ground nearby does suggest that this isnt the result of time. Theres other examples, such as the single golden branch cultivated by the bald figure lookjng almost identical to the death ritual spear (most apparent in the renditions of this statue found in Roundtable Hold) but it looks like the symbols of Gold not only predate it, but are often from cultures totally incompatible with Golden Order tenents.
But wait! It gets deeper and even more mysterious. Fort Haight, taken by a Knight sworn to Mohg and granted blood powers, has a red variant of the flower growing on both sides of the fort's sturdy walls.
In Dominula, the dancers dance among a pink variant. I cant confirm it at the moment as im in the middle of a move, but im pretty sure theres more of these pink flowers in the hermit village on Gelmir, further cementing the connection between the dancers and the snake worshipping pagans that once lived on mt gelmir.
There are also orange variants found sparsely growing around he ruins above where we first meet Sellen (these may admittedly be a similarly designed flower and not a variant. They were the first flowers aside from gold and blue i noticed, but dismissed until seeing the undeniable variants of many other colours), a lavender variant, and a lighter shade of blue, similar to either glintstone magic, lazuli robes, or rannis robes, and I think there may still be a few other uncommon variants. I cant remember their exact locations, and for many of them i cant figure out the significance of the colour to the region they are found.
It may end up being nothing, but once you notice these flowers, you cant stop noticing them. Theyre bright and almost glow, their colour is so vibrant, but to a significantly lesser degree than crafting ingredients like rowa or altus bloom. It just really seems like the kind of subtle environmental storytelling that gets From rock hard, so im hoping we will learn what or whom each of these colours represents. Possibly even piece together a story or series of stories that has been omitted from the version(s?) of events we have been presented with thus far
Gideon's staff is a reference to Odin. He loses his eye in exchange for gaining knowledge from a well.
If I had to guess, the unobtainable glintstone crown was probably the start of what wouldve been the Sellen/Graven Witch Conspectus, as if i remember right, those same two faces are on many, of not all of the Graven Masses, suposedly created, or inspired by Sellen. The sorcerer in question also uses the Shard Spiral sorcery, and though im aware that this sorcery originates from the Karalos Conspectus, it is also only available via completing Sellen's questline, which sort of hints at the idea that Karalos and Sellen may have at some point conspired together during their time studying at the academy and also that followers of Karalos where aware of Sellen's potential as she became one of the most prominant sorcerers, if not the most prominant sorcerer in all the Lands Between, and prematurely started the foundations of creating a dedicated conspectus in her name, regardless of her reputation. Another interesting thing is that at the end of her quest, she also turns into a graven-mass. Interestingly, it seems Rennala was the one who would've done so, which means that at some point, she had studied how to do so, which also hints at Rennala having a keen interest in Sellen, despite having been expelled from the academy, which again inadvertently hints at the idea that her expellation might not have been from Rennala herself, but instead as a majority decision by the entirety of the academy's scholars, and that so few stood up for her in the end. This means thay Rennala may not really be as emotional as we have thought, if the lives of even the most intelligent minds are expendable as subject to experiements, without even having a word to say about it afterwards. Gotta say, for not having glimpsed the Primeval Current, she sure knows a hell of a lot about it. Maybe more-so than Lusat and even Azur.
6:37 that Statue with the three wolves and the girl is Torrents former mistress, Rannie gives us the 3 wolf spirit ash summon, so it must be the same person torrent and the spirit summoning bell belonged to.
Alsp Shadow of the Erdtree DLC inage shows the spirit graveyard with etherial gravestones, makes sense that the spirit summoning bell would be used by Miquella/ St. Trina
"Flame, cleanse me" works for frostbite??? Wow
You found some great little details this time! I knew about the rare Twinsage Crown, but I only ever saw the Raya Lucaria one using Spiral Shard, not one of his Sellia counterparts. I wasn't aware that "Flame, Cleanse Me" did a tiny amount of damage either -- is that also true for the other Flame body buffs? The new Goldmask animation was amazing -- where was that found exactly, and have people tested all of his appearances for secret poses?
Regarding the Runes, I think they're also reminiscent of a spinal cord forming, perhaps indicative of a "trunk" for non-plant life. They might also be reminiscent of the Elden Beast's grab attack, where a golden orb forms around a dark core akin to a black hole. Perhaps it's depicting a galaxy in some way? The find with Gideon's scepter is also cool. As for the Haligtree, I think the tree is actually bifurcated and grows into two major groups of branches. As for the color of the energy in the Forbidden Lands, considering that the place leads to the Mountaintops where the Fell God resides, that likely represents Giants' Flame. Some people have theorized that it's the lampwood of the Helphen, but the Mountaintops don't seem naturally affiliated with Elden Ring's spirit world, the place is just suffering from Deathroot and the Castle Sol ritual.
Finally, regarding the Farum Azula statue, I believe that represents Placidusax's god, the Marika figure of Farum Azula's civilization, when she was a child. The stonework of Farum Azula appears to be extremely old, so it's unlikely that the figure is meant to be a relatively recent figure. Additionally, we can see that the depictions of Miquella at the Haligtree differ from the Farum Azula statue regarding their hair, face, and clothing. The mural of the Elden Ring is also likely relevant, as it seems to depict the Elden Ring among a series of roots, akin to later eras depicting the Elden Ring within the grown Erdtree. If you look closely, there are still only four rings in the mural, and everything else is a root that grows from the Elden Ring and either stops or deflects whenever it comes back in contact with the Elden Ring.
Thanks again for finding all of this and crediting people. I'm curious if the Goldmask pose indicates that he was trying to hold onto a cliff, or if he was climbing down or up one instead. That definitely seems like an intentional animation, not a glitch. After all, Goldmask in the distressed pose is only visible at the point of his quest where he's shocked that Radagon is Marika, suggesting that the animation is meant to show him wracking his mind at this revelation and realizing the Golden Order is dysfunctional.
I'm sure I've seen Goldmask in that pose, and now I'm wishing I took a screenshot as I didn't realize it wasn't normal at all... just n00bing along thinking it was one of his standard poses and represented his despair at learning an unknowable truth
06:38 guess thats why you get the 3x wolf summon with the summon bell.
Its kinda symbolic. Albinaurics ride wolves. Maybe shes an Albinauric. Or Rannis real body
Guard counter works really well on the hawks.
That one about the soul consumables looking like cut trees is very interesting to me. It makes sense thinking about it
3:09 the gravity spell (the one that pulls enemies to you) instantly poise breaks flying enemies. Very ez to take out birds and bats
Much like how the Golden flow is holy, and the Cerulean flow is magic, I firmly believe that the Crimson flow is actually Fire. Corpses of giants, masters of flame are here, and the last living one upon the peak. With all that power, it flows like guidance and leads us to the lift of Rold, where the giant awaits us
1:59 Somewhere out there, Rusty is foaming at the mouth.
The red glow in the forbidden outskirts might also be a residual effect of the forgotten era of when Radagon was still the Sun-King of the Sun Realm, and connected to the eyes of the fire giants.
The galaxy in Gideon’s staff is a very cool find! I feel like making a new build around it just because of it haha
6:53 if you actually take a look at all the runes one after another you can see that the runes represent a tree, i think you might be looking it the wrong way, the smaller the rune the higher up on the tree that you are, as you are going higher on the runes you are going down the tree. The smallest rune is just the top leaves but eventually we reach the main wood (which is the black) I always mentioned this to my friends as that i how i have always viewed the runes. But I never though of it being an eye, interesting thought...
For me, the most interesting theory is melina being The Gloam-eyed Queen. To me, it could make sense with the frenzy ending
From Software is at the top and every other developer is beneath them. Thats how good they are and why we still find new things years after release in their games.
Wipe them off when you’re done
@@areliansandoval6716 Not sure what you mean but its the truth. No other developer comes even close to From Software.
Im a fan of fromsofts games but that doesnt mean everything else is worse. Why does it always have to be “this is good, and everything else is bad” rather than just “this is good”. I guess it doesnt matter at the end of the day
The red mist is destined death yes. The kindred at the end inflicts the death effect when hitting I.e. reduces the size of of the health bar same as Malaketh and Alecto. Both of the latter carry destined death
0:07 BANG!!!
I wonder if Marika's "opposite" is actually Miquella. They are both a mixture of male and female, both are trapped inside a Great Tree, and both are being stalked by one of the Omen Twins.
I wish there was a better way to figure out which attacks can be parried without guessing or looking it up online. I kinda want to do a parry based playthrough but don't know when I would actually be able to do it, lol.
Random speculation on the part of the Helix Haligtree and "objects of faith": It has been suggested that the Erdtree as we see it, a giant golden tree of light, is only visible to those who are touched by grace and how it in the present time is an object of faith (Tarnished Archeologist touches upon this quite a bit). To everyone else there is only a broken stump remaining, only to be seen when within the walls of Leyndell (we too can see this, where the physical remains of the Erdtree joins the greater tree of golden light) as Boc remarks upon how dazzled he is seeing the Erdtree at the East Capital Rampart site of grace. Surely he would have seen the tree much earlier? Anyhow, maybe the broken off tree trunk of the Haligtree Helix is also an object of faith in the present time. Only visible to a select few.
The guidance of Grace is what's taken away, not the ability to see anything holy. If the Erdtree was invisible, people not in the Golden Order would have called this out several times over within the setting itself, and holy incantations might even function like Night Sorceries. Also, we can see actual bark in the Erdtree's branches from several places on Altus Plateau, and once Maliketh is defeated, the canopy and trunk clearly have visible bark when observed from and near Leyndell. This bark is also apparent on the trunk and canopy branches in the Age of Fracture ending.
Love the MP music.
As far as the runes goes, they are eyes. If you roam around the world, you'll frequently find skulls that glow, if you break them, they'll drop Golden Rune (1). This is just something I haven't heard anyone really mention.
That duo of glintstone crowns is what makes up the graven mass in Lenne's Rise, could that be Lenne?
Think you might be onto something with the Runes, which got me thinking - I think they might be closer to a cross-section of a mushroom stem.
the sword of saint trina having wolfs makes sense with the statue being michella.
we see michella with torrent and ranni gives us the bell that was of torrent's previous owner together with the 2 wolfs summon
I think the red lights in the abandoned outskirts has something to do with the black gargoyle near it
@Ziostorm
Did you actually see in 11:31 it looks like there’s an image of rennala causing the blue aurora
Ziostorm, take a look at some images of Beech Trees, specially heart rot, which literally hollows the center of trees. I think that's an explanation for the split haligtree and the missing center of the tree-rune cross hatch theory.
The rune icons also look a lot like mushroom mycelium growing on agar dishes. Mushrooms eat trees and are everywhere in elden ring.
I think the red auroras seen in the forbidden outskirts could be from the frenzy magic being practiced and foreshadowing the meeting of shabriri
Vaati said that red lights are Helphen's grace
Honestly, we’ve probably only scratched the surface of smaller secrets
flame clense me deals fire dmg and fire dmg removes the frostbite debuff not them thinking oh this sould work on frostbite too