I guess it depends on which weapons you enjoy using, but the fact that there’s such a big skill discrepancy between entire weapon categories is in itself a pretty big stain on Elden Ring’s claim to be an RPG.
They’re fundamentally different play styles. Difficult to you doesn’t mean that that’s what’s most difficult for someone else. You engage from different spacing, move differently, and pace your attacks differently. When most of the difficulty from combat is about learning what gaps you can exploit and how to protect yourself against different enemies with different attack patterns, that difficulty is going to vary heavily based on what your previous experiences are and how you intuitively understand the concepts. It’s what “git gud” actually means. FromSoft games force you to learn the mechanics of the combat, and calling strength based sword “harder” than a magic build is mostly about what style clicks better with you personally.
Gameplay wise, FromSoft games are as pure ARPG as it gets. Stats matter a lot and the combination of stats and gear fundamentally changes the optimal approach to encounters. Most RPGs have higher and lower barrier to entry classes, and most RPGs have variation in skill floor and skill ceiling of different types. The biggest difference is that most RPGs with comparable depth don’t have anywhere near the level of fidelity mechanically.
Yes, I understand. I am claiming that colossal weapon users simply have less gaps to exploit and aren’t provided with enough advantages to compensate for the lack of attack opportunities for most bosses. And after playing the other souls games, this lack of opportunity is made even more readily apparent in comparison.
My time with bloodborne (saw cleaver) and sekiro (there is only one playstyle) gave me a taste of From Software’s design when they decide to treat your playstyle as a first class citizen, and I had a wonderful time. I just didn’t get that same feeling at any point in Elden Ring is all.
They’re fundamentally different play styles. Difficult to you doesn’t mean that that’s what’s most difficult for someone else. You engage from different spacing, move differently, and pace your attacks differently. When most of the difficulty from combat is about learning what gaps you can exploit and how to protect yourself against different enemies with different attack patterns, that difficulty is going to vary heavily based on what your previous experiences are and how you intuitively understand the concepts. It’s what “git gud” actually means. FromSoft games force you to learn the mechanics of the combat, and calling strength based sword “harder” than a magic build is mostly about what style clicks better with you personally.
Gameplay wise, FromSoft games are as pure ARPG as it gets. Stats matter a lot and the combination of stats and gear fundamentally changes the optimal approach to encounters. Most RPGs have higher and lower barrier to entry classes, and most RPGs have variation in skill floor and skill ceiling of different types. The biggest difference is that most RPGs with comparable depth don’t have anywhere near the level of fidelity mechanically.
Yes, I understand. I am claiming that colossal weapon users simply have less gaps to exploit and aren’t provided with enough advantages to compensate for the lack of attack opportunities for most bosses. And after playing the other souls games, this lack of opportunity is made even more readily apparent in comparison.
My time with bloodborne (saw cleaver) and sekiro (there is only one playstyle) gave me a taste of From Software’s design when they decide to treat your playstyle as a first class citizen, and I had a wonderful time. I just didn’t get that same feeling at any point in Elden Ring is all.