This shield enabled me to easily take down the final DLC boss. Highly recommend if you're struggling.
I can see that being handy.
Thiollier and Sir Ansbach quest lines done. Sooooo much imbibing.
Edit #2 - I finally beat this bastard with just Mimic Tear. It seems summoning the other two NPCs was either increasing his health bar and/or giving him a strong buff.
Summoning NPCs (or PCs) will increase the health bar of all boss fights; that's universal across all Souls games, I believe. Mimic Tear (and other Ashes) does not, which is what makes them so damn powerful in Elden Ring.
The main benefit of summoning NPCs to a boss fight is that a) they may have a skill that's particularly designed for that boss, and/or b) it's required in order to progress their quest chain. If you just want a boss dead, you're probably better off leaving the NPC/PC summons behind, and just bring out the Mimic.
I must confess, I enjoyed watching Elden ring bosses trying to do their thing whilst being repeatedly run over by three massive iron chariots.
93_confirmed wrote:Edit #2 - I finally beat this bastard with just Mimic Tear. It seems summoning the other two NPCs was either increasing his health bar and/or giving him a strong buff.
Summoning NPCs (or PCs) will increase the health bar of all boss fights; that's universal across all Souls games, I believe. Mimic Tear (and other Ashes) does not, which is what makes them so damn powerful in Elden Ring.
The main benefit of summoning NPCs to a boss fight is that a) they may have a skill that's particularly designed for that boss, and/or b) it's required in order to progress their quest chain. If you just want a boss dead, you're probably better off leaving the NPC/PC summons behind, and just bring out the Mimic.
I figured it did but also assumed the 4v1 would be enough of an advantage to off set it. It sort of did in phase 1 but in 2, they all got wrecked and them I was battling the extra HP by myself.
I'm finally done with ER. I 100%'d the base game and most likely the DLC - there's no metric though. I explored every corner of the map, defeated every mini boss and have found most, if not all, of the secrets. This entire playthrough took about 280 hours (80 for Shadow) and aside from a few minor issues, I enjoyed every minute of it. ER is a rare 10/10 for me and in my 40 years of gaming, is my undisputed GOAT.
All that's left is NG+ but my backlog screams out for attention so I'll move along... for now. I can't wait to see what From does next.
93_confirmed wrote:Edit #2 - I finally beat this bastard with just Mimic Tear. It seems summoning the other two NPCs was either increasing his health bar and/or giving him a strong buff.
Summoning NPCs (or PCs) will increase the health bar of all boss fights; that's universal across all Souls games, I believe. Mimic Tear (and other Ashes) does not, which is what makes them so damn powerful in Elden Ring.
The main benefit of summoning NPCs to a boss fight is that a) they may have a skill that's particularly designed for that boss, and/or b) it's required in order to progress their quest chain. If you just want a boss dead, you're probably better off leaving the NPC/PC summons behind, and just bring out the Mimic.
Specifically, summoning NPCs and players outside of a boss battle increases their HP when entering the arena. Summons that take place within a fight apparently do not (i.e. the gold summon sign is within the boss arena)?
merphle wrote:93_confirmed wrote:Edit #2 - I finally beat this bastard with just Mimic Tear. It seems summoning the other two NPCs was either increasing his health bar and/or giving him a strong buff.
Summoning NPCs (or PCs) will increase the health bar of all boss fights; that's universal across all Souls games, I believe. Mimic Tear (and other Ashes) does not, which is what makes them so damn powerful in Elden Ring.
The main benefit of summoning NPCs to a boss fight is that a) they may have a skill that's particularly designed for that boss, and/or b) it's required in order to progress their quest chain. If you just want a boss dead, you're probably better off leaving the NPC/PC summons behind, and just bring out the Mimic.
Specifically, summoning NPCs and players outside of a boss battle increases their HP when entering the arena. Summons that take place within a fight apparently do not (i.e. the gold summon sign is within the boss arena)?
Ah yes, I forgot about that because those are so rare. The boss max HP is determined when entering the arena, so calling in a summon during the fight won’t change it - that’s why the Ashes work the way they do.
I’m at the last boss. I’m hoping to beat him with Shymlark even thought it makes the fight tougher. If we don’t get anywhere I can always switch to mimic runs.
Finally beat the last boss. Had to respec from a dex build with bloodhound's fang to a strength build and used the Giant Crusher hammer. I swapped the ash of war for lions claw (or whatever it's called). Also used Mimic. Was still a bit tough but occasionally staggering the boss was super nice for a little breathing room.
Finally beat the last boss. Had to respec from a dex build with bloodhound's fang to a strength build and used the Giant Crusher hammer. I swapped the ash of war for lions claw (or whatever it's called). Also used Mimic. Was still a bit tough but occasionally staggering the boss was super nice for a little breathing room.
Didn't bother trying today, and I'm not sure if I care enough to keep going, honestly. The level of challenge compared to just about everything else feels way off. Granted, a lot of the boss enemies had wild and aggressive rulesets, But I just feel kind of annoyed at this particular roadblock.
I've also seen everything else in the DLC, so there's nothing more to really look forward to. I certainly wasn't going to go back and beat the rest of the game again!
Totally understandable. I've heard there are a few ways to cheese the boss with spells but what's the point, I guess? I do wonder if they are going to nerf him at all. He's wildly harder then any boss before him.
Totally understandable. I've heard there are a few ways to cheese the boss with spells but what's the point, I guess? I do wonder if they are going to nerf him at all. He's wildly harder then any boss before him.
It doesn't help that my YT feed is full of people no-hitting or almost no-hit running said boss. I watched one guy PARRY a boatload of attacks and roll through others. The pinacle of git-gud style.
Sadly, this is not me. 
Is anyone using any of the new weapon types? I'm trying to make any of them work but nothing seems to be better than, hit it with a big stick.
I’m still using the sword I took into the DLC. There is a light greatsword that scales with faith that I’m going to try out but you get it directly before the last boss.
Leda’s Sword
Is anyone using any of the new weapon types? I'm trying to make any of them work but nothing seems to be better than, hit it with a big stick.
Yes! Over the weekend I tried out the Dryleaf Arts hand-to-hand weapon. Almost right after getting them, the game handed over two other items to boost them, so I figured I'd give them a shot since it looked like From really wanted you to use them. After upgrading fully and then giving them a blood effect, they are just destroying enemies like crazy. You end up hitting people so fast that they can't react, plus it just looks cool to be doing kung fu on some baddies. That said, I haven't found them very effective at all against bosses and especially strong enemies, who can walk right through your fists and feet without much trouble. Also they are so light that you can put on really heavy armor to offset the need to get really close to make a hit.
I'm currently stuck on Messmer in one area and Bayle at the mountain. I'm at least getting close with Messmer but just can't get him lower than 1/4 health. That second phase is so brutal. I must have at least 20 attempts at this point and I'm not really sure what to do. The mimic tear for me almost always super sucks. I don't quite understand why everyone finds it so powerful - I never get much help at all from the mimic, and never have, even in the base game. Black Knife Tiche always does a far better job.
EverythingsTentative wrote:Is anyone using any of the new weapon types? I'm trying to make any of them work but nothing seems to be better than, hit it with a big stick.
That said, I haven't found them very effective at all against bosses and especially strong enemies, who can walk right through your fists and feet without much trouble.
This is where I'm at. I'm also using the monk gloves, but I put ice on them because you get an ice stomp from one boss and a talisman that boost stomp and kick attacks. I don't have much trouble dealing with dungeons but the bosses are so tanky. I'm currently on Mesemer too. It is my second playthrough though. I big sticked my way through it all the first time.
Final DLC boss down! It was a reverse Rocky. We both got knocked down at the same time but the challenger was declared the victor.
This shield enabled me to easily take down the final DLC boss. Highly recommend if you're struggling.
This plus not using the NPC summons was a huge difference maker. Reminded me of the first DLC boss fight where I came back 1 Scadutree Blessing level higher and damage taken vs damage dealt had tipped in my favor.
That reminds me, I can only pronounce Scadu as Skadoo. I'm sorry
EverythingsTentative wrote:Is anyone using any of the new weapon types? I'm trying to make any of them work but nothing seems to be better than, hit it with a big stick.
Yes! Over the weekend I tried out the Dryleaf Arts hand-to-hand weapon. Almost right after getting them, the game handed over two other items to boost them, so I figured I'd give them a shot since it looked like From really wanted you to use them. After upgrading fully and then giving them a blood effect, they are just destroying enemies like crazy.
I must give that a try.
That reminds me, I can only pronounce Scadu as Skadoo. I'm sorry
Same. I know it’s not right but they’ll always be Skadoo seeds to me.
Mimic Tear
It's obviously a direct clone off the player so ultimately itxs effectiveness comes down to which build you're using against which boss. I generally play with a bleed/melee build and so well together. What weapons/talismans/skills are you using against Messemer?
For that fight, I used the Sacred Sword obtained from Elden Beast's remembrance and spam the Wave of Gold attack from a good distance. Worked well for him in phase 1 and phase 2 not at much because there's alot of panic dodge rolling in between occasional attacks.
I figured the build was probably the issue. My build is my own, built up without any guides or anything like that just to be what I enjoyed playing the most. It's strong INT for the powerful spells like the comet and moon ones and a fully upgraded staff in the left hand, with a good amount of dexterity and some strength for the katana weapons in the right hand. I do mostly dodging instead of blocking, and I suspect the mimic isn't as nimble at it.
I can't think of exactly the talismans I'm using at the moment. I think there's the one for fire immunity +3, physical damage +2, non-physical +3, and the one that increases vitality, load, and something else +2. I seem to get the best result staying back and using Renalla's Full Moon, plus I've got Tiche and Hornsent in there to help keep aggro. It gets me through phase 1 pretty well but not phase 2. By then both summons are very low or dead and I'm just running around trying to keep my health up. For weapon when I can get close to him I've been using Rivers of Blood (the skill on that does a pretty good job). It may be I need to pull out a shield and reduce the reliance on spells.
FridgeGremlin wrote:Totally understandable. I've heard there are a few ways to cheese the boss with spells but what's the point, I guess? I do wonder if they are going to nerf him at all. He's wildly harder then any boss before him.
It doesn't help that my YT feed is full of people no-hitting or almost no-hit running said boss. I watched one guy PARRY a boatload of attacks and roll through others. The pinacle of git-gud style.
Sadly, this is not me.
Welp, I lied. Went back for one more college try (greatshield and pokey weapon combo). Took a bunch of tries, and one false end (I died due to the "Oh come on, what am I supposed to do about THAT?!" attack, but he died right afterwards due to rot... I didn't get credit), followed by a bunch more tries and a victory.
Ending is kinda... anti-climactic, honestly? Sort of torn that the events have no effect in the main / base game at all.
Still, was a pretty good package, overall. More Elden Ring. I definitely look forward to the next big reveal, whatever it might be (how about a new King's Field?! )
Yeah the ending is kind of weak because it's not really an ending I suppose. Still could have made it a bit longer and more interesting.
250+ hours later and I still have no idea what the story is about. Same is true for Bloodborne and Sekiro.
250+ hours later and I still have no idea what the story is about.
Oh, I get the story - it just felt like the end was sort of air being let out of a balloon, slowly. But it's a Fromsoft game. Most of the lore is hidden on items you may or may not have even picked up.
I just wish it was more tied into the base game somehow. But that would have meant new content there, and i guess that was beyond the scope of what they wanted to do.
I just wish it was more tied into the base game somehow. But that would have meant new content there, and i guess that was beyond the scope of what they wanted to do.
I wish at the very least Gideon would react at all to any of it. 
Poor guy barely knows anything at all as it turns out.
Tyrian wrote:I just wish it was more tied into the base game somehow. But that would have meant new content there, and i guess that was beyond the scope of what they wanted to do.
I wish at the very least Gideon would react at all to any of it.
This. A lot, this.
Yeah the ending is kind of weak because it's not really an ending I suppose. Still could have made it a bit longer and more interesting.
Very much agreed. My wife can attest, I finally beat this boss and all I had to say was "Ok, now what?"
I came across a first person mod and it's absolutely incredible. Makes me want to run out and get a gaming rig.
I came across a first person mod and it's absolutely incredible. Makes me want to run out and get a gaming rig.
That looks gorgeous and terrifying.
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