Reminder: Interrogate Elden Ring NPCs until they break

FromSoftware plays by its own rules.

While his games are primarily known for their complexity, FromSoftware’s library requires a brain rewiring to be enjoyed and understood. The developer lives by his own common sense judgment, and it can be difficult to recognize the laws of places like the In-betweenlands. It’s not an easy process, as some of the “rules” are far from intuitive, but once you understand FromSoft’s desires and general disregard for what you consider to be normal design conventions, games become excellent.

The developer has a certain way of doing things that may not be common practice or even necessary. Okay game design options, but fit well with his dark world philosophy. My favorite f-you moment in Dark Souls is when there are two chests in the stairwell. Approach one of them and you will realize that it is a deadly mimic ready to kill you, so obviously the other chest in the room must be real, right? Right? Not right. This is FromSoftware. This means that the other chest will also be a mimic, even if in any other game it will reward you with treasures.

FromSoftware’s work is full of similar rules and thought processes.

And there’s something that Elden Ring players not familiar with Dark Souls might not understand: you have to bore each NPC’s dialogue. For some reason, FromSoftware conversations are based on your character basically interrogating NPCs. Whereas in other RPGs you might have a conversation where you choose a path or a topic to discuss, Elden Ring simply requires you to chat with NPCs over and over to get information, ideas, or even items from them. in some cases. .

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that while you may think you’ve been talking to an NPC,

You may not actually be. It will be a pain in the ass in Interterrane, but you will really need to talk to the character a few times when you first meet him. as well as talk to them again in a few hours or tell them about the events later. I know it may seem silly. It’s non-intuitive but so important that I felt the need to point it out just so you, dear reader, would know about it. Just don’t forget to talk to people many, even if they sound like you’ve had enough of them. In particular, don’t forget to visit places like the Round Table Keep after you’ve eliminated the main bosses, and revisit the Places of Grace where you met NPCs (like Varre in the First Step).

talking heads

You may think that such social advertising is not needed. But I see a few conversations on the internet here and there about people not understanding that it’s worth spending time talking to people when they have the opportunity. We can forget that the concept of Soulsborne can be completely foreign to new players. Quests can get lost or thrown away, knowledge can get lost, and NPCs can get stuck wherever they are if you don’t help them.

In other FromSoftware games this can be disastrous. For example, I’m currently playing Bloodborne and if you only talk to an NPC once out of three when you have the opportunity to meet her, she’ll hunt you down later in the game. Did I say something wrong?elden ring spirit caller bell

It should be discussed why FromSoftware is framing its conversation the way it is.

I think Elden Ring is more obvious as it implies that the Tarnished are reacting in some way. In Dark Souls, it’s more like someone just continuing a monologue, whereas in Elden Ring, it seems like your Tarnished is more receptive and responsive to the information you’ve received. On the other hand, it could just be another element meant to trick you if you’re not careful.

Elden Ring has been around for a few weeks at this point,

So I’m guessing a lot of people have figured it out by now. When the game is all about exploration, there are so many diligent explorers trying hard to uncover every secret. But I just want to make sure you know to keep pushing and poking NPCs until they get stuck in their own dialogue loop.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *