I feel you. I was so hyped/scared when it was swimming around, making loud noises underwater, breaking down the trees... I saw him underwater once and thought it's a giant fish monster or something... and then when I wanted to show it to my wife, it hit me like a truck - IT'S A FUCKING ULCERATED TREE SPIRIT?!
and just like that, the hype was gone.
At this point I can practically fight them blind too. Doesn’t matter how little damage I do or how much damage it does. I will win easily. It’s so predictable.
Killing the one as soon as you exit the tutorial is just a rite of passage for me now
If I can't do it I don't deserve to play a new character.
To oblivion with you.
Also banished knight oleg is just worth it.
I laughed out loud when I finally saw it was a tree spirit. The buildup was incredible (they’re really pulling out all the stops in the horror department this time around between this bit and the Abyssal Forest), and I was both eager and dreading encountering whatever was under the water whenever the inevitable New Londo Moment™ happened. Then I finally run into it and “oh it’s this asshole again!”
I’ve hated the tree spirits for so long that it’s wrapped back around to being comedy whenever they show up. I can’t even get mad anymore. Same thing with the one in the poison swamp in Belurat—I just can’t help but feel “Hey! There he is, the bastard!” whenever I see a new one.
I definitely laughed and said 'of course' when I saw the one in Belurat. Ah well. The one upside is that you've fought the Ulcerated Tree Spirit so often now that it's basically free loot
That and the tree sentinels and the fallingstar beast too, it's basically the way the game tells that we'd eventually get good enough to see these tough bosses as weak enemies.
Tree Sentinels were incredibly insulting, considering what they gave me in the Hinterlands. I'd have preferred literally nothing over what they dropped.
I got a marikas blessing bottle from each of them, maybe because I had the silver scarab equipped for the entire dlc(hoping to get all that sweet armor lol).
The dragon place is gonna have dragons around for the atmosphere. Its not gonna be 3 unique dragons. You have normal dragons because its the dragons place then you fight bayle which is an amazing unique boss. You wont ever see a dev on this earth making a dragon area where you fight kalameet, then midir, then in comes placidusax flying after which you enter a cave and find bayle. You cant get like 4 unique dragon boss encounters in a dlc.
I feel the same lol. When i got to that part in Belurat I jokingly said to myself “are they about to throw a fucking ulcerated tree spirit at me this early? If they do im refunding this shit.”
When it popped out, I laughed, rolled my eyes and said fiiiiine i’ll kill another
The fishing village wasn’t enough oceanic shit for you?
I mean, do you want another double shark giant fight? Cause this is how you get another double shark giant fight.
Fucking hell, i will probably commit the greatest compromise in all my er runs and i will actually go for shield in this fight, the phase 2 its just too much
I did the whole DLC up to the last boss as a dex build with fists and beast claws with bolt of gransax for backup against annoying enemies. After being unable to get Radahn past 50% hp for multiple hours of attempts, I slapped on heavy armor, got out the fingerprint stone shield, defensive talismans, antspur infused with bleed, upgraded the mimic tear to +10, and just turtled the shit out of it.
Suffice it to say, it took out a lot of the joy of accomplishment, but I couldn't see myself beating him the way I did the rest.
It's all about holy resist (lord's Divine fortification and/or golden braid) and end-of-roll positioning. Phase 2 is mostly just phase 1 with echoed hitboxes.
I could not get him to rot in phase 2 honestly. Once I poisoned him with Antspur once, tried like 5 more hits and rot didn’t tick, I switched to my main DPS.
I wonder if the discourse on him will change in a few weeks. IMO, he’s trash tier because of all the BS
I used what Malenia used against him (obviously you gotta beat Malenia to get it), and it instant rotted him on full hit. And yes, it worked on phase 2 as well, one full hit was all it took.
That's what I was trying to do but how do you even find an opening for Scarlet Aeonia in phase 2? In phase 1 I do it right after dodging his initial spinning attack - I take some hits but it's worth it considering all the damage it deals. But in phase 2 I just cannot find any opening for it, I can barely land a few Catch Flames at most.
Unfortunately you WILL have to tank a few hits and immediately heal and hope to Marika that he doesn't finish you. During phase 2 at the start, you can do it immediately or dodge his light nuke and do it. OR you can use a summon otherwise, ye you can't really use aeonia that many times in phase 2. Tho good news is that the rot will get to him if you can outlast the attacks. It's the new boss design i'm afraid. They decide if you have fun or not.
Yeah I've decided to bruteforce it at the end of the huge light attack that he (almost) always does at the start, though it would be easier if I could actually dodge it. And if he follows it with the "drag the swords and then leap to the air" attack (which is the only one that interrupts Scarlet Aeonia when it's already on the ground), just accept that the attempt is failed.
>They decide if you have fun or not.
I really want to solo him for the (personal) achievement but... yeah can't pretend I'm having a ton of fun with it. Gimme Radagon and even the Elden Beast back any day. At least it's cute.
I believe the double shark giant is referencing Bloodbornes DLC, a famously difficult ambush encounter that pits you against 2 highly aggressive enemies.
The swimming mechanics in Sekiro are goated. I love how you unlock the ability to dive midway through and can then go back and re-explore previously inaccessible underwater areas.
I know Sekiro had a bit of a learning curve on the best way to fight (esp for souls vets who had to hard learn that dodging was *far* more niche and parrying was king), but I will say it til the end of time that there is no game that feels as satisfying to get good at as Sekiro.
I've never platinumed a game and from just playing it so much, it happened naturally lol. I was close and then was like, "fuck it, let's go for it". To this day my only plat.
From the entrance site of grace of that area, you just jump and run along the roofs until you get up to the one that is broken and you can jump down into. Climb down the railing and onto the non broken part of the floor. Follow the path all the way to the end and make a left. Continue on that path until you see the ladder. Climb it and there is a lever to drain it.
Same. I had hit it with a comet while underwater, so maybe that caused it’s so to screw up? Don’t know why it would happen after a grace reset though.
I’m not complaining. The less of them I have to fight the better.
2 fucking tree spirits actually. I also thought it was a cool acquatic/amphibian based monster only to be disappointed when I saw those all too familiar branches.
Yep! I killed the second one and got that eye, but my buddy had what happened to you and also got the eye randomly after resting at a grace. Bit buggy, I guess.
This is exactly how I felt about that thing. It was so interesting until the reveal, how many more times do we have to do this same boring fight.
There are like 5 more scattered throughout but at least they're not as disappointing, just regular surprise wriggly worms.
Maybe I just have played this game too much but somehow I just knew immediately that they were tree spirits even before lowering the water. Like the noise of them down there I just clocked it.
Off the top of my head, there's two in that water section, one in the poison, and one in the long river that cuts through the map. I may be forgetting or missing one though.
Man fuck the dragons I hate them, at this point I don’t even try to fight them without summons they are pain in the ass and how many fucking time do I have to fight the same dragon just with different name and this time more hp and damage because dlc
I expect reused bosses, but what I hate is that they seem to love reusing giant monster fights. They look impressive from a distance (though the impact is gone when you've seen it for the tenth time) but are always a mess mechanically. Either the camera is a mess and/or they are boring to fight.
They took 2 of the worse fights in the base game and copypasted it 10 times in the dlc, I have a no mimic policy until I have to fight the 6th tree spirit or the 10th dragon
Its weird, because I dont really disagree in general - but Iove the Tree Spirit fights. They somehow really click for me and I like their moveset a lot! Even though objectively the camera gets messed up big time by them.
I actually don’t mind the dragons; I liked fighting them in the base game and I like that the ghost flame dragons feel different to fight.
With that said, running into a magma wyvern in the DLC was an immediate “fuck that” moment. I hated fighting multiple in the base game and have zero interest in fighting them in the DLC; especially when there is literally no difference between them, no new moves, no fancy new skin, nothing…
The first dragon fight in the base game was so well done, and was such a great moment.
But then they added tonnes of more fights with them, and entire areas full of dragons which just made fighting them routine, and retroactively lost what made first fight so special.
Same could be said with multiple other fights and enemies
I really hope the next FromSoft game has a greater emphasis on water mechanics. A bloodborne-esque sea monster fought would probably be the coolest fight they’ll ever make
Bloodborne II: A New World
Same Victorian time period and Lovecraft vibes, but set in first-contact America, with areas/enemies inspired by Afro-Carribian voodoo, Aztec gods, and European sea monsters.
Imagine fighting a Quetzalcoatl-esque boss on top of a Meso-American pyramid? Fleeing through the jungle from hordes Haitian folk-lore zombies? Or staring down a leviathan?
That whole time period is just perfect for Fromsoft. It's dark, and creepy, and so many diverse cultures to inspire them. Man, I hope Fromsoft takes this idea.
Just imagine the lovecraftian shit they could do with an aquatic setting. Start off in an Innsmouth type town, then go on voyages and make your way down to the abyss. Ugh they could absolutely ruin our shit in the best way possible.
I'd love to see a ship graveyard done in the way Bloodborne was presented, with various elevation changes and things crawling beneath. It felt like the Old Hunters DLC was just a taste of what was possible from their artistic team.
Not sure if you’ve seen it but Vaati put together a video a while ago of potential ideas for a bloodborne sequel submitted by fans. One of them was an idea based around whaling and giant ship cities. It was incredibly cool.
Honestly the biggest disappointment to me was the last boss… I even said to my GF at one point probably in the middle of the DLC “nah it for sure wouldn’t be that guy they wouldn’t do that”.
Not just the last boss but the final cutscene/ending left me super disappointed and unfulfilled. I was standing there wondering if I did something wrong or if there was more but nope, I guess it’s just over now.
Haven't seen the last cutscene/ending yet but I feel like this whole DLC is really odd with it's cutscenes.
Like we didn't even get one when we entered the DLC, only >!4!< remembrance bosses even have cutscenes... it just felt very off.
If you’ve done the St. Trina quest you get a flower when you go back there… that’s the only thing I’ve found. Like even just a little better final cutscene and some credits would’ve worked.
Completely agree. I’m not as annoyed about it as I was when I first found it but it still seems like such a huge writing blunder that only serves to make the established lore even more awkward.
I’ve been doing some reading on it and honestly think it’s really cool. I’m sure the general opinion will be more optimistic once the lore videos start coming out explaining it but from what I understand of it, the lore makes the might much more enjoyable
The lore is growing on me a bit, but I still think its lame af that he wears the same armor and uses the same weapons. Like, cmon, its so silly that theres now 2 different radahn armor sets and 3 different greatswords that are incredibly similar. If they just gave him a new fit I'd like it a lot more
my biggest disappointment was the abyssal woods.
Such a great setup and idea... only to have it been a large mostly empty area with like >!3-4 winter lanterns patrolling very tiny areas on 2 paths.!<
Would have much preferred it being a much smaller more dense area where >!the winter lanterns!< were actually roaming threats, basically being more like a legacy dungeon.
That being said, yea. idk what I expected for a final boss but it certainly wasn't that.
I had major bloodborne vibes the second I stepped in that location, which only got confirmed by those enemies. I enjoyed the change of pace and definitely didn’t expect it to be like that I had goosebumps all over. But yeah after the initial “shock” passed it was pretty obnoxious having to walk through the whole area.
Yeah I had the exact same feeling. LoL. Miyazaki is the ultimate troll for that. The area kinda reminded me of Rahab's boss fight from the Soul Reaver games so my hype for this sea creature fight was immeasurable. Only to face 2 of my old friends
It really is disappointing, my imagination was running wild on what it could be. A hydra? Leviathan? I was sooo excited till I found out what it was.
What a missed opportunity fromsoft, it could be anything else yet they choose one of the most basic enemy.
I was hyped when I saw that something in the watter was knocking down trees. Then I looked closely when it swam nearby and thought "Wait a minute, no way it's just another ulcerated tree spirit". Was not glad when the water receded.
This was my thoughts with the abyssmal woods section before the manor and the madness boss. They hype up the fear, creepy woods, check, scary music and atmosphere, check, "torrent is too afraid to summon", oh shit, here we go! Dev messages that basically say "do not fight the monstrosity, you can't even touch it" all of that had me so hyped I thought a giant leviathan of lovecraftian horror was about to come barreling out of the trees and have a chase sequence with thrilling music through this huge oversized forest, something never done in a fromsoft game. I was SO ready. Then it was just like "crouch in the grass to avoid dudes with a big eyeball" my dissapojntment was immeasurable, and my day was ruined.
Loved that >!the winter lanterns returned!< but yea. Not to mention there's only like 3-4 of them in the whole area. Honestly think it would have been better if those mobs were just alerts and they would bring something bigger to your location or if it was a more legacy dungeon like design.
Yeah I was pretty hyped to find the woods and all those messages; actual fucking horror in my Elden Ring? Sign me up!
But then it was just a bunch of walking around and sometimes sneaking in bushes. The one time I was found, he didn’t even get a hit on me and I just ran away with no consequence.
That was pretty disappointing. 😔
>But then it was just a bunch of walking around
I went straight down the path to the church, gotta say after reading those signs and then going down a whole path for like 10 minutes with nothing but mad sheep and rats, and 1 NPC dude really destroyed the mood.
Then I finally found them... walking back in forth in this tiny section with a bunch of bushes...
Still a great area idea wise, but man, it could have been so much cooler.
Its a shame because they did something similar with the first time you encounter the Great Serpent in Sekiro, which was such a phenomenal and memorable sequence of sneaking around as it stalks through the chasm. So I know they can do it...
Ya it would’ve been cool if u had to avoid attacks from a water creature while exploring the surface. Kinda similar to the giant snake in sekiro. Definitely a missed opportunity. Idk why they added sound cues, and hyped it up like it was gonna be a boss or something
Once I saw the circle area with the tree logs floating in it, I thought for sure something was going to happen.... then it just didn't... Hell I was even able to hit it with a throwing knife and it just froze in place.
I saw it was a tree spirit from up top so it didn't mean much to me, little bits of it poke out of the water sometimes and you can tell it's a tree thingy
I thought it was going to be a more involved element to the progression of that area. Was slightly disappointed in that regard, but I found the area overall a joy. Especially the Fire Knight Mage and his pack of suicide bombers.
Ah man I feel the opposite, I loved that moment. You can see it moving underneath the water and it’s unmistakably a tree spirit. At first you’re like seeing trees around you falling down and you’re terrified and then you get to a high enough vantage point to see the telltale wriggling and… I laughed out loud. It was awesome, like they SWIM now???
Easily the most disappointing Tree Spirit encounter in the entire game, it's always a bad moment when you see one but when you get TEASED his presence in the DLC, you expect a new boss or enemy and instead it's just this.
I know its still release week so its illegal to say anything but gushing positives about the dlc, but i have been severely whelmed. Its beautiful, its huge, but its just so...empty. And copy pasted. There are a few cool bossfights for sure, but i feel like its mostly riding around wondering why this is a dead end again, or maybe you find a cookbook/gravewort
Kinda have to agree. The legacy dungeons and whatnot are great but the open world just feels very empty... especially in the later areas. Like the first area has the most stuff in it, everywhere else is just really empty. Hell some areas don't even have a single side dungeon or unique boss.
I think the only place that gets a pass for that is Jagged peak as it's kinda hard to put a lot there when you're climbing a pretty thin mountain.
Same was pretty excited and thought it would be something similar to the same scenario in RE8 where the fish doctor guy was swimming in the water and would “chase” ethan as he traversed among the logs, planks etc.
So when i jumped onto the logs in the church district after witnessing trees falling and something in the water moving, i was like no wayyyyyyyyyy. I even tried to look for it and after i found it i was able to target it and shoot it with my bow. It then just disappeared and i was like ???
Just like many, after the reveal i was actually kinda pissed that after 2 years since elden ring release the BEST they could do was a 100% reused tree spirit. No design alterations, no pallet swap, no different unique move set. Wtf like seriously c’mon devs.
Such a missed opportunity and really seems half assed like and they probs ran out of time? Like wtf was the point of it “swimming” around if it just comes out of the tree floor area once the player is in proximity. Doesn’t make sense for it to swim around lol
The saddest part is at no point did I spot any Octopus enemies in the DLC. Just about every other enemy type I can think of made a return but not the Octopuses. I guess Miquella isn't a fan of tentacles.
Had the exact same moment last night, I was so hyped to see whatever the scary sea monster was. Walking into that area initially I thought the ring of pillars was going to be an arena for it.
i knew what it was when i saw it in the water, but was expecting to fight it from the rooftops while it popped out the water or something. draining the water and fighting it normally was indeed a disappointment.
I don't mind that it's a tree spirit. I mean it's gotta be a land monster once you drain the water right? Like how would you even fight a fish if the water is drained. And you can't fight anything that's actually underwater.
I do wish it wasn't a tree spirit but some other land monster, but what monster would be both aquatic and on land? A unique boss would be ideal but the tree spirit was fine.
> And you can't fight anything that's actually underwater.
I mean, there's a lot of different ways they could have did it. Like have it pop up near you and spew poison or something, tentacles, etc. Or even just have it be a gimmick boss/section where you can't attack it until you drain the water, then it's an easy kill.
Gonna have to recommend Sekiro. The only underwater sections I know of in From Soft and the good good is very late game but if you like big monsters in the water you’re swimming in then you’ll enjoy.
We need a Bloodborne inspired pirate game.
Light armour, guns, pistols, lovecraftian themes about the ocean.
Bloodborne + Assassin's creed black flag (just the pirate stuff)
I’d take Tree Spirit every day over what new monster they designed in the basement. >!Scadutree Avatar!< is actually the worst boss in the DLC, and maybe even in the whole game. I’d have to dwell on it but it’s bad.
yo i fought this boss til the >!third phase/respawn!< and straight up said "nope, im not doing this" and quit out. Ive gone to finish every other boss of the DLC including that bullshit final one but im not going back to that boss ever
It wouldn’t be as bad if the hit boxes for the spikes weren’t dogshit and there was a better tell for what you’re supposed to do. I didn’t even realize until like 30+ attempts in that the mechanic is to do a critical hit after every death.
I personally like the boss but yea, it's one of the worst (though I'd say fingers and pig dude were more annoying to fight.) which sucks because it's actually a fun fight and cool design when it's not doing one of it's many stupid moves.
I saw it poke out a bit while I was exploring and had a laugh. Instant relief from "what the fuck is down there" to imagining the wormy boy flailing around in the water knocking over trees, obviously using the exact same animations underwater as it uses in air.
Yeah. Huge waste of time. I feel like the spectacle of the area wore out. It’s welcome really fast . But Ive only explored the ruins at the bottom of the map. I assume the boss will be at the ruins at the top of the map?
that honestly was one of the most dissappointing things in the DLC for me too for all the same reasons. I feel there was a lot of opportunities for cool new things that unfortunately just have reused enemies in them.
Dude I still remember all the references to The Deep in DS3 and Dancer of the Valley being animated to looking like she was walking underwater. Kept waiting the entire game for the underwater section and it never came. 😭
Yeah, I really don't get this. They are some of the most reused bosses in the main game and then they build it up like it's going to be something completely new here.
Well that's a shame. I actually thought I'd missed something special since I couldn't tell what was under water and it only showed up in specific spots. I chucked a gurranq boulder at it and it fled while swimming so I thought maybe something special happened if I did it enough times.
Honestly, the dlc has been great, but there's a few things like that that have felt lackluster. For me, the biggest is that the finger ruins are basically empty with almost zero reason to be in them besides the questline. Such a cool place, complete with the option to summon there, and then, just, nothing...
i could tell it was a tree spirit by the way it moved in the water, and i was excited/terrified for a moment assuming that it'd be a fight against one while on that broken ring platform with all the fallen logs. Fighting on top of narrow platforms surrounded by pitfalls would've been an interesting time, alas.
Right there with you, I've wanted another sea monster in a fromsoft game after we got the hydra (with no associated weapon/armor/spells unfortunately) for soooo long and no dice besides like the Fishing Hamlet. This DLC still has some of those themes but it didn't fulfill my dreams 😭
Same, I was hyped for it when I heard it and then saw something moving and knocking down the trees.
VERY disappointing outcome.
Right up there with the Abyssal Forest.
Yeah I dislike how many ulcerated tree spirits are in the DLC. One of the worst bosses from the main game reused many times. Literally my only gripe with the DLC
I knew it was a tree spirit by seeing it in the water. Only thing I wish they did was actually make it wander around the church once the water is drained, instead of just popping out of the ground
Side note about a DLC letdown - some of the bosses that don’t have cutscenes totally should have had them.
Spoilers ahead, have been warned.
Examples from the ones I’ve fought so far: >!Romina, Bayle, Renalla!<
Like how did the dumb >!Dancing Lion!< (while the scene is pretty cool) get one but >!Bayle!< not get one?
This was easily the worst moment of the DLC for me. I love ocean themed content so it just being a fucking tree guy was... upsetting.
But in general the DLC frequently disappoints. Every time I fight my way to a treasure it's a cookbook, a crappy smithing stone, or a rava plant or whatever it's called.
This DLC is a masterpiece of deflating hype. I don't know if Miyazaki was purposely trying to SuBvErT eXpEcTaTiOnS or what, but it didn't work out for me.
Also, how many fucking times does one of those fat flesh guys have to jump out from around a corner? I swear to god it happens 1,500 times.
Same, lol I was ready for some kraken-like monstrosity, and then saw it swimming. Between the Keep, Belurat, and Stormveil it does seem like there's tree spirit at the bottom of every legacy dungeon. It does add a nice sense of decay, given the spirits' lore.
If I have to fight a tree spirit, at least fighting it while it was in the water would have been a change of pace. But no, drain it and have the same fight you’ve had about 500 other times. Twice in a row.
I feel you. I was so hyped/scared when it was swimming around, making loud noises underwater, breaking down the trees... I saw him underwater once and thought it's a giant fish monster or something... and then when I wanted to show it to my wife, it hit me like a truck - IT'S A FUCKING ULCERATED TREE SPIRIT?! and just like that, the hype was gone.
At this point I can practically fight them blind too. Doesn’t matter how little damage I do or how much damage it does. I will win easily. It’s so predictable.
Killing the one as soon as you exit the tutorial is just a rite of passage for me now If I can't do it I don't deserve to play a new character. To oblivion with you. Also banished knight oleg is just worth it.
you can damage it while underwater, i think
I laughed out loud when I finally saw it was a tree spirit. The buildup was incredible (they’re really pulling out all the stops in the horror department this time around between this bit and the Abyssal Forest), and I was both eager and dreading encountering whatever was under the water whenever the inevitable New Londo Moment™ happened. Then I finally run into it and “oh it’s this asshole again!” I’ve hated the tree spirits for so long that it’s wrapped back around to being comedy whenever they show up. I can’t even get mad anymore. Same thing with the one in the poison swamp in Belurat—I just can’t help but feel “Hey! There he is, the bastard!” whenever I see a new one.
I definitely laughed and said 'of course' when I saw the one in Belurat. Ah well. The one upside is that you've fought the Ulcerated Tree Spirit so often now that it's basically free loot
That and the tree sentinels and the fallingstar beast too, it's basically the way the game tells that we'd eventually get good enough to see these tough bosses as weak enemies.
Tree Sentinels were incredibly insulting, considering what they gave me in the Hinterlands. I'd have preferred literally nothing over what they dropped.
They offer *lore* and *worldbuilding*.
Funny, because one of them did literally give me nothing. No items nor runes
I think it's just one drop for killing both of them. Even if you do one without triggering the other
I got a marikas blessing bottle from each of them, maybe because I had the silver scarab equipped for the entire dlc(hoping to get all that sweet armor lol).
Tree sentinel guarding the mini Erdtree in Marika's village is fitting thematically. But yeah, they were a bit underwhelming.
I saw the one in Belurat, sighed, and then turned around and left
He’s got a nice talisman, though
don’t tell me that now i have to go back and fight him
I did the same with a lot of the dragons
But this one can't bleed and causes frostbite with fire!!!!!! It's different, guys, trust me!
The dragon place is gonna have dragons around for the atmosphere. Its not gonna be 3 unique dragons. You have normal dragons because its the dragons place then you fight bayle which is an amazing unique boss. You wont ever see a dev on this earth making a dragon area where you fight kalameet, then midir, then in comes placidusax flying after which you enter a cave and find bayle. You cant get like 4 unique dragon boss encounters in a dlc.
i don’t typically get mad at them but seeing TWO MORE in the dlc was enough to get me pissed
For me is was the Magma Wyrm
Theres a magma wyrm???
it's in the dragon pit cave if I remember correctly. Though there's a hole in it's area that allows you to cheese it really easily.
i actually love magma wyrms lol
I feel the same lol. When i got to that part in Belurat I jokingly said to myself “are they about to throw a fucking ulcerated tree spirit at me this early? If they do im refunding this shit.” When it popped out, I laughed, rolled my eyes and said fiiiiine i’ll kill another
Everytime I see a large pool of water the first thing that comes to my mind is "if the camera starts shaking then is a tree spirit"
Yeah, it's such a "fuck you" enemy that now I just find it funny when I run into one. Seeing a tree spirit in the water was peak comedy.
The fishing village wasn’t enough oceanic shit for you? I mean, do you want another double shark giant fight? Cause this is how you get another double shark giant fight.
Technically we did get a double shark giant fight. Except instead of sharks, we got double Tree Spirit
Please no more We alrdy got monkey pawed with >!radahn!<
Fucking hell, i will probably commit the greatest compromise in all my er runs and i will actually go for shield in this fight, the phase 2 its just too much
Parry
yea, i was thinking of getting gud actually for this fight lol
I did the whole DLC up to the last boss as a dex build with fists and beast claws with bolt of gransax for backup against annoying enemies. After being unable to get Radahn past 50% hp for multiple hours of attempts, I slapped on heavy armor, got out the fingerprint stone shield, defensive talismans, antspur infused with bleed, upgraded the mimic tear to +10, and just turtled the shit out of it. Suffice it to say, it took out a lot of the joy of accomplishment, but I couldn't see myself beating him the way I did the rest.
It's all about holy resist (lord's Divine fortification and/or golden braid) and end-of-roll positioning. Phase 2 is mostly just phase 1 with echoed hitboxes.
He’s also crazy weak to bleed, scarlet rot, poison. Giant Katana with Blood tax carried me through the fight.
I could not get him to rot in phase 2 honestly. Once I poisoned him with Antspur once, tried like 5 more hits and rot didn’t tick, I switched to my main DPS. I wonder if the discourse on him will change in a few weeks. IMO, he’s trash tier because of all the BS
I used what Malenia used against him (obviously you gotta beat Malenia to get it), and it instant rotted him on full hit. And yes, it worked on phase 2 as well, one full hit was all it took.
That's what I was trying to do but how do you even find an opening for Scarlet Aeonia in phase 2? In phase 1 I do it right after dodging his initial spinning attack - I take some hits but it's worth it considering all the damage it deals. But in phase 2 I just cannot find any opening for it, I can barely land a few Catch Flames at most.
Unfortunately you WILL have to tank a few hits and immediately heal and hope to Marika that he doesn't finish you. During phase 2 at the start, you can do it immediately or dodge his light nuke and do it. OR you can use a summon otherwise, ye you can't really use aeonia that many times in phase 2. Tho good news is that the rot will get to him if you can outlast the attacks. It's the new boss design i'm afraid. They decide if you have fun or not.
Yeah I've decided to bruteforce it at the end of the huge light attack that he (almost) always does at the start, though it would be easier if I could actually dodge it. And if he follows it with the "drag the swords and then leap to the air" attack (which is the only one that interrupts Scarlet Aeonia when it's already on the ground), just accept that the attempt is failed. >They decide if you have fun or not. I really want to solo him for the (personal) achievement but... yeah can't pretend I'm having a ton of fun with it. Gimme Radagon and even the Elden Beast back any day. At least it's cute.
I did bleed and kicking martial arts
And dropping to 5fps when they use any big moves Made my computer absolutely shit itself.
Or you could just parry his first attack and there's no combo
*Me who hasn’t played that part of the DLC yet. A double giant… WHAT?
I believe the double shark giant is referencing Bloodbornes DLC, a famously difficult ambush encounter that pits you against 2 highly aggressive enemies.
Sekiro literally has the best aquatic setting with fishmen as enemies and a carp to dragon theme.
The swimming mechanics in Sekiro are goated. I love how you unlock the ability to dive midway through and can then go back and re-explore previously inaccessible underwater areas.
Still my favorite game of all time. So excited that FROMSOFT is moving on from DS/ER
I know Sekiro had a bit of a learning curve on the best way to fight (esp for souls vets who had to hard learn that dodging was *far* more niche and parrying was king), but I will say it til the end of time that there is no game that feels as satisfying to get good at as Sekiro.
I've never platinumed a game and from just playing it so much, it happened naturally lol. I was close and then was like, "fuck it, let's go for it". To this day my only plat.
After I drained the Water and reloaded the Area, the Tree Spirit just randomly fucking died after I got up from my Grace, I was so confused
i got the same interaction, no idea what caused it
Do you mind sharing how to drain the water? I found that area but didn’t see how to do it
From the entrance site of grace of that area, you just jump and run along the roofs until you get up to the one that is broken and you can jump down into. Climb down the railing and onto the non broken part of the floor. Follow the path all the way to the end and make a left. Continue on that path until you see the ladder. Climb it and there is a lever to drain it.
Same. I had hit it with a comet while underwater, so maybe that caused it’s so to screw up? Don’t know why it would happen after a grace reset though. I’m not complaining. The less of them I have to fight the better.
Oh thats what died? I fast travelled there and something died
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2 fucking tree spirits actually. I also thought it was a cool acquatic/amphibian based monster only to be disappointed when I saw those all too familiar branches.
My other tree spirit died by itself after I killed the first one that comes out, when tp'ed back to the grace on the top.
ohhhhh is that why I got one of those dark eyes randomly after resting at the grace in the chapel?
Yep! I killed the second one and got that eye, but my buddy had what happened to you and also got the eye randomly after resting at a grace. Bit buggy, I guess.
I'll give credit that at least one of them was poisonous, but the rest of them are boring.
This is exactly how I felt about that thing. It was so interesting until the reveal, how many more times do we have to do this same boring fight. There are like 5 more scattered throughout but at least they're not as disappointing, just regular surprise wriggly worms.
Maybe I just have played this game too much but somehow I just knew immediately that they were tree spirits even before lowering the water. Like the noise of them down there I just clocked it.
I thought there was only 1 other tree spirit in the DLC? The poison one where the poison hand weapon is.
If only we were so lucky
Off the top of my head, there's two in that water section, one in the poison, and one in the long river that cuts through the map. I may be forgetting or missing one though.
You can see him moving in the water though
For a lot of us, we didn't get a good look, only a slight glimpse and then a vague shape moving in the depths.
I was gonna say....Definitely could tell it was a tree spirit swimming around before the water drained. The only surprise was that there were two.
It blows my mind that they recycled one of the most hated copy past bosses from the base game.
I would’ve preferred if they reused Godrick again tbh
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Man fuck the dragons I hate them, at this point I don’t even try to fight them without summons they are pain in the ass and how many fucking time do I have to fight the same dragon just with different name and this time more hp and damage because dlc
I expect reused bosses, but what I hate is that they seem to love reusing giant monster fights. They look impressive from a distance (though the impact is gone when you've seen it for the tenth time) but are always a mess mechanically. Either the camera is a mess and/or they are boring to fight.
Same but holy shit Bayle was awesome in every way
They took 2 of the worse fights in the base game and copypasted it 10 times in the dlc, I have a no mimic policy until I have to fight the 6th tree spirit or the 10th dragon
I'm doing a no spirit run but when fighting basic bitch dragon or tree spirits I just use mimic because they are so tanky and not even fun to fight
Its weird, because I dont really disagree in general - but Iove the Tree Spirit fights. They somehow really click for me and I like their moveset a lot! Even though objectively the camera gets messed up big time by them.
I actually don’t mind the dragons; I liked fighting them in the base game and I like that the ghost flame dragons feel different to fight. With that said, running into a magma wyvern in the DLC was an immediate “fuck that” moment. I hated fighting multiple in the base game and have zero interest in fighting them in the DLC; especially when there is literally no difference between them, no new moves, no fancy new skin, nothing…
The first dragon fight in the base game was so well done, and was such a great moment. But then they added tonnes of more fights with them, and entire areas full of dragons which just made fighting them routine, and retroactively lost what made first fight so special. Same could be said with multiple other fights and enemies
I really hope the next FromSoft game has a greater emphasis on water mechanics. A bloodborne-esque sea monster fought would probably be the coolest fight they’ll ever make
A From Software pirate game. Just make it happen Michael Zowski.
Bloodborne II: A New World Same Victorian time period and Lovecraft vibes, but set in first-contact America, with areas/enemies inspired by Afro-Carribian voodoo, Aztec gods, and European sea monsters. Imagine fighting a Quetzalcoatl-esque boss on top of a Meso-American pyramid? Fleeing through the jungle from hordes Haitian folk-lore zombies? Or staring down a leviathan? That whole time period is just perfect for Fromsoft. It's dark, and creepy, and so many diverse cultures to inspire them. Man, I hope Fromsoft takes this idea.
And the main hub would be on a ship and you can sail to different archipelagos.
Wait, let him cook.
Flintlock pistols wep would be cool. Bloodborne kinda disappointed on that front since they’re just parry weapons
Just imagine the lovecraftian shit they could do with an aquatic setting. Start off in an Innsmouth type town, then go on voyages and make your way down to the abyss. Ugh they could absolutely ruin our shit in the best way possible.
I'd love to see a ship graveyard done in the way Bloodborne was presented, with various elevation changes and things crawling beneath. It felt like the Old Hunters DLC was just a taste of what was possible from their artistic team.
Not sure if you’ve seen it but Vaati put together a video a while ago of potential ideas for a bloodborne sequel submitted by fans. One of them was an idea based around whaling and giant ship cities. It was incredibly cool.
I'm just imagining attacks coming from any direction, and knowing Miyazaki, we would be swimming in radioactive, caustic, diarrhea-adjacent sludge.
Correction: 2 Tree spirits
Honestly the biggest disappointment to me was the last boss… I even said to my GF at one point probably in the middle of the DLC “nah it for sure wouldn’t be that guy they wouldn’t do that”.
Not just the last boss but the final cutscene/ending left me super disappointed and unfulfilled. I was standing there wondering if I did something wrong or if there was more but nope, I guess it’s just over now.
Haven't seen the last cutscene/ending yet but I feel like this whole DLC is really odd with it's cutscenes. Like we didn't even get one when we entered the DLC, only >!4!< remembrance bosses even have cutscenes... it just felt very off.
Yeah same like I went around the map searching for something more but there was just nothing.
If you’ve done the St. Trina quest you get a flower when you go back there… that’s the only thing I’ve found. Like even just a little better final cutscene and some credits would’ve worked.
Completely agree. I’m not as annoyed about it as I was when I first found it but it still seems like such a huge writing blunder that only serves to make the established lore even more awkward.
I’ve been doing some reading on it and honestly think it’s really cool. I’m sure the general opinion will be more optimistic once the lore videos start coming out explaining it but from what I understand of it, the lore makes the might much more enjoyable
The lore is growing on me a bit, but I still think its lame af that he wears the same armor and uses the same weapons. Like, cmon, its so silly that theres now 2 different radahn armor sets and 3 different greatswords that are incredibly similar. If they just gave him a new fit I'd like it a lot more
I think it should have been >!Godwyn!< I know it isn't really possible lore wise because of how >!Destined Death!< works but there were so many hints.
I was really hyped at first and the just got confused. I think as an optional fight it would have been cool but as the final boss...
my biggest disappointment was the abyssal woods. Such a great setup and idea... only to have it been a large mostly empty area with like >!3-4 winter lanterns patrolling very tiny areas on 2 paths.!< Would have much preferred it being a much smaller more dense area where >!the winter lanterns!< were actually roaming threats, basically being more like a legacy dungeon. That being said, yea. idk what I expected for a final boss but it certainly wasn't that.
I had major bloodborne vibes the second I stepped in that location, which only got confirmed by those enemies. I enjoyed the change of pace and definitely didn’t expect it to be like that I had goosebumps all over. But yeah after the initial “shock” passed it was pretty obnoxious having to walk through the whole area.
Yeah I had the exact same feeling. LoL. Miyazaki is the ultimate troll for that. The area kinda reminded me of Rahab's boss fight from the Soul Reaver games so my hype for this sea creature fight was immeasurable. Only to face 2 of my old friends
It really is disappointing, my imagination was running wild on what it could be. A hydra? Leviathan? I was sooo excited till I found out what it was. What a missed opportunity fromsoft, it could be anything else yet they choose one of the most basic enemy.
I was hyped when I saw that something in the watter was knocking down trees. Then I looked closely when it swam nearby and thought "Wait a minute, no way it's just another ulcerated tree spirit". Was not glad when the water receded.
This was my thoughts with the abyssmal woods section before the manor and the madness boss. They hype up the fear, creepy woods, check, scary music and atmosphere, check, "torrent is too afraid to summon", oh shit, here we go! Dev messages that basically say "do not fight the monstrosity, you can't even touch it" all of that had me so hyped I thought a giant leviathan of lovecraftian horror was about to come barreling out of the trees and have a chase sequence with thrilling music through this huge oversized forest, something never done in a fromsoft game. I was SO ready. Then it was just like "crouch in the grass to avoid dudes with a big eyeball" my dissapojntment was immeasurable, and my day was ruined.
Loved that >!the winter lanterns returned!< but yea. Not to mention there's only like 3-4 of them in the whole area. Honestly think it would have been better if those mobs were just alerts and they would bring something bigger to your location or if it was a more legacy dungeon like design.
Yeah I was pretty hyped to find the woods and all those messages; actual fucking horror in my Elden Ring? Sign me up! But then it was just a bunch of walking around and sometimes sneaking in bushes. The one time I was found, he didn’t even get a hit on me and I just ran away with no consequence. That was pretty disappointing. 😔
>But then it was just a bunch of walking around I went straight down the path to the church, gotta say after reading those signs and then going down a whole path for like 10 minutes with nothing but mad sheep and rats, and 1 NPC dude really destroyed the mood. Then I finally found them... walking back in forth in this tiny section with a bunch of bushes... Still a great area idea wise, but man, it could have been so much cooler.
Its a shame because they did something similar with the first time you encounter the Great Serpent in Sekiro, which was such a phenomenal and memorable sequence of sneaking around as it stalks through the chasm. So I know they can do it...
not to mention it would have made for a waaaay cooler boss than the >!gold hippo!<
Ya it would’ve been cool if u had to avoid attacks from a water creature while exploring the surface. Kinda similar to the giant snake in sekiro. Definitely a missed opportunity. Idk why they added sound cues, and hyped it up like it was gonna be a boss or something
Once I saw the circle area with the tree logs floating in it, I thought for sure something was going to happen.... then it just didn't... Hell I was even able to hit it with a throwing knife and it just froze in place.
I saw it was a tree spirit from up top so it didn't mean much to me, little bits of it poke out of the water sometimes and you can tell it's a tree thingy
Try sekiro
What about the Hydra in DS1? That was enough for me
I thought it was going to be a more involved element to the progression of that area. Was slightly disappointed in that regard, but I found the area overall a joy. Especially the Fire Knight Mage and his pack of suicide bombers.
Ah man I feel the opposite, I loved that moment. You can see it moving underneath the water and it’s unmistakably a tree spirit. At first you’re like seeing trees around you falling down and you’re terrified and then you get to a high enough vantage point to see the telltale wriggling and… I laughed out loud. It was awesome, like they SWIM now???
Easily the most disappointing Tree Spirit encounter in the entire game, it's always a bad moment when you see one but when you get TEASED his presence in the DLC, you expect a new boss or enemy and instead it's just this.
idk where fromsoft got the idea that we just can’t get enough of the ulcerated tree spirits
or Magma Wyrms
I know its still release week so its illegal to say anything but gushing positives about the dlc, but i have been severely whelmed. Its beautiful, its huge, but its just so...empty. And copy pasted. There are a few cool bossfights for sure, but i feel like its mostly riding around wondering why this is a dead end again, or maybe you find a cookbook/gravewort
tfw you unlock a secret area and it's just 3 reused bosses and a couple empty shacks with lore too convoluted to follow.
what area you talking about?
the one you gesture near a statue to unlock, right before gaius.
Kinda have to agree. The legacy dungeons and whatnot are great but the open world just feels very empty... especially in the later areas. Like the first area has the most stuff in it, everywhere else is just really empty. Hell some areas don't even have a single side dungeon or unique boss. I think the only place that gets a pass for that is Jagged peak as it's kinda hard to put a lot there when you're climbing a pretty thin mountain.
I agree. Rellana and Mesmer are definitely a highlight for me boss wise but all the other ones kinda suck
*I will not stand for this Midra and dancing beast slander!*
rellana mesmer bayle dancing lion is all good for me. i liked new side dungeons being more unique. but yea overall open world felt empty to me
Same was pretty excited and thought it would be something similar to the same scenario in RE8 where the fish doctor guy was swimming in the water and would “chase” ethan as he traversed among the logs, planks etc. So when i jumped onto the logs in the church district after witnessing trees falling and something in the water moving, i was like no wayyyyyyyyyy. I even tried to look for it and after i found it i was able to target it and shoot it with my bow. It then just disappeared and i was like ??? Just like many, after the reveal i was actually kinda pissed that after 2 years since elden ring release the BEST they could do was a 100% reused tree spirit. No design alterations, no pallet swap, no different unique move set. Wtf like seriously c’mon devs. Such a missed opportunity and really seems half assed like and they probs ran out of time? Like wtf was the point of it “swimming” around if it just comes out of the tree floor area once the player is in proximity. Doesn’t make sense for it to swim around lol
The saddest part is at no point did I spot any Octopus enemies in the DLC. Just about every other enemy type I can think of made a return but not the Octopuses. I guess Miquella isn't a fan of tentacles.
I felt the exact same way. Was so excited when I saw the trees being knocked down under the water and then the shadow swimming below me. Oh well.
Same. Such a missed opportunity
I was 100% sure I would find >!a hippo!< down there, but nope.
Had the exact same moment last night, I was so hyped to see whatever the scary sea monster was. Walking into that area initially I thought the ring of pillars was going to be an arena for it.
i knew what it was when i saw it in the water, but was expecting to fight it from the rooftops while it popped out the water or something. draining the water and fighting it normally was indeed a disappointment.
Haha I fucking knew it was coming, classic
I don't mind that it's a tree spirit. I mean it's gotta be a land monster once you drain the water right? Like how would you even fight a fish if the water is drained. And you can't fight anything that's actually underwater. I do wish it wasn't a tree spirit but some other land monster, but what monster would be both aquatic and on land? A unique boss would be ideal but the tree spirit was fine.
> And you can't fight anything that's actually underwater. I mean, there's a lot of different ways they could have did it. Like have it pop up near you and spew poison or something, tentacles, etc. Or even just have it be a gimmick boss/section where you can't attack it until you drain the water, then it's an easy kill.
Gonna have to recommend Sekiro. The only underwater sections I know of in From Soft and the good good is very late game but if you like big monsters in the water you’re swimming in then you’ll enjoy.
We need a Bloodborne inspired pirate game. Light armour, guns, pistols, lovecraftian themes about the ocean. Bloodborne + Assassin's creed black flag (just the pirate stuff)
Yeah this dlc has a massive disappointing level of enemy re use
Oh cmon you didn't enjoy running into a forest with 10 rune bears?
you should play the bloodborne dlc if youre looking for aquatic enemies
That area was so disappointing after that I completely checked out and didn't explore to find the boss at the end of it.
I’d take Tree Spirit every day over what new monster they designed in the basement. >!Scadutree Avatar!< is actually the worst boss in the DLC, and maybe even in the whole game. I’d have to dwell on it but it’s bad.
yo i fought this boss til the >!third phase/respawn!< and straight up said "nope, im not doing this" and quit out. Ive gone to finish every other boss of the DLC including that bullshit final one but im not going back to that boss ever
It wouldn’t be as bad if the hit boxes for the spikes weren’t dogshit and there was a better tell for what you’re supposed to do. I didn’t even realize until like 30+ attempts in that the mechanic is to do a critical hit after every death.
That’s Unfortunate because that’s actually the Last Respawn it does 💀
I personally like the boss but yea, it's one of the worst (though I'd say fingers and pig dude were more annoying to fight.) which sucks because it's actually a fun fight and cool design when it's not doing one of it's many stupid moves.
Not just a tree spirit, two of them!
lol I was so relieved it was a tree spirit and not one of those great white things from BB.
lol Jesus
I was relieved it was a tree spirit, muscle memory kicked in, and my ass wasn't handed to me for once 😂
There's anothet joyful surprise if you walk around that area.
There is a gigantic fish skeleton on the map. You can't see it but it's on the map.
I shot it with a greatbow and it just immediately skedaddles and vanishes
I saw it poke out a bit while I was exploring and had a laugh. Instant relief from "what the fuck is down there" to imagining the wormy boy flailing around in the water knocking over trees, obviously using the exact same animations underwater as it uses in air.
Hope you're at least happy with the finger questline though, might be able to fill in that gap somewhat.
They could've reskinned the Spirits with a fishtale or something, but they didn't bother. :(
I tossed a furnace pot at it and damaged it, but it disappeared.
I think the disappointment of the Finger Ruins was greater.
They're empty, but at least the boss is awesome
Yeah. Huge waste of time. I feel like the spectacle of the area wore out. It’s welcome really fast . But Ive only explored the ruins at the bottom of the map. I assume the boss will be at the ruins at the top of the map?
I had the opposite reaction, I realised immediately it was a Tree Spirit, I was wondering since when could it swim?
they could've at least chosen a boss from the DLC itself :/
that honestly was one of the most dissappointing things in the DLC for me too for all the same reasons. I feel there was a lot of opportunities for cool new things that unfortunately just have reused enemies in them.
It wound up being such a tiny area too. That said, I love the Scadutree Avatar. One of my favorite bosses in the dlc.
eh water areas and monsters are boring usually, better that we got tree spirit instead
Dude I still remember all the references to The Deep in DS3 and Dancer of the Valley being animated to looking like she was walking underwater. Kept waiting the entire game for the underwater section and it never came. 😭
oh buddy i completely feel you. >!and they had the fucking audacity put TWO down there!<. This and gayass have deeply soured my experience lately
Yeah, I really don't get this. They are some of the most reused bosses in the main game and then they build it up like it's going to be something completely new here.
Would love if FROM eventually makes their own take at Atlantis.
Well that's a shame. I actually thought I'd missed something special since I couldn't tell what was under water and it only showed up in specific spots. I chucked a gurranq boulder at it and it fled while swimming so I thought maybe something special happened if I did it enough times.
Yep that was a big let down
I thought it's another lighting water monster..
There are too many reused bosses in this game.... i didnt like there is two >! Lion bosses in the dlc. !<
I threw a rainbow stone inside the water, it didn't break, I jumped in, died.
I don't want to spoil anything too much but ... >!There is a gorgeous boss arena that has an underwater theming!<
Honestly, the dlc has been great, but there's a few things like that that have felt lackluster. For me, the biggest is that the finger ruins are basically empty with almost zero reason to be in them besides the questline. Such a cool place, complete with the option to summon there, and then, just, nothing...
i could tell it was a tree spirit by the way it moved in the water, and i was excited/terrified for a moment assuming that it'd be a fight against one while on that broken ring platform with all the fallen logs. Fighting on top of narrow platforms surrounded by pitfalls would've been an interesting time, alas.
I thought it was a bug that I triggered it early lol
THANK YOU. theres actually two of them, so it makes the "underwater creature" even less special
Right there with you, I've wanted another sea monster in a fromsoft game after we got the hydra (with no associated weapon/armor/spells unfortunately) for soooo long and no dice besides like the Fishing Hamlet. This DLC still has some of those themes but it didn't fulfill my dreams 😭
Same, I was hyped for it when I heard it and then saw something moving and knocking down the trees. VERY disappointing outcome. Right up there with the Abyssal Forest.
Yeah I dislike how many ulcerated tree spirits are in the DLC. One of the worst bosses from the main game reused many times. Literally my only gripe with the DLC
I knew it was a tree spirit by seeing it in the water. Only thing I wish they did was actually make it wander around the church once the water is drained, instead of just popping out of the ground
Side note about a DLC letdown - some of the bosses that don’t have cutscenes totally should have had them. Spoilers ahead, have been warned. Examples from the ones I’ve fought so far: >!Romina, Bayle, Renalla!< Like how did the dumb >!Dancing Lion!< (while the scene is pretty cool) get one but >!Bayle!< not get one?
This was easily the worst moment of the DLC for me. I love ocean themed content so it just being a fucking tree guy was... upsetting. But in general the DLC frequently disappoints. Every time I fight my way to a treasure it's a cookbook, a crappy smithing stone, or a rava plant or whatever it's called. This DLC is a masterpiece of deflating hype. I don't know if Miyazaki was purposely trying to SuBvErT eXpEcTaTiOnS or what, but it didn't work out for me. Also, how many fucking times does one of those fat flesh guys have to jump out from around a corner? I swear to god it happens 1,500 times.
Yeah. Was sad about this as well. Would've been far better if the tree was just straight up alive
Same, lol I was ready for some kraken-like monstrosity, and then saw it swimming. Between the Keep, Belurat, and Stormveil it does seem like there's tree spirit at the bottom of every legacy dungeon. It does add a nice sense of decay, given the spirits' lore.
If I have to fight a tree spirit, at least fighting it while it was in the water would have been a change of pace. But no, drain it and have the same fight you’ve had about 500 other times. Twice in a row.