Is anyone else disappointed by the DLC's open world?

[Agoraphobic Meep]

I just think the DLC would've been better suited as something a bit more linear, with interconnecting paths for all the side areas. The actual open world is pretty empty and has a lot of the same issues base ER has, IE repeated enemies and non-unique content.

For the actual massive plains and fields you traverse, there is like, nothing. It feels like everytime the devs saw an empty area they hit the "panic" button, which tends to be either a random furnace golem, or just several clusters of already-repeated enemies ctrc c + ctrl v'ed scattered around.


All the decent content in the DLC comes from either the legacy dungeons, NPC sidequests, or catabombs. I think you can tie these together a bit more seamlessly without needing 50 miles of empty plains and repeated enemies. Just do what every souls game before this one did, and make it a linear path with branching side paths for optional content.

[Tao314zdin]

I like the landscape design a lot:) At least for the 1st exploration it is very engaging IMO.

As for repeating enemies: judging by the comments a good number of people can't even stand the idea to learn movesets of the existing enemies, so not sure if adding more is a good idea.

[Senki]

yeah very large parts of the open world are empty or pointless

I don't mind it that much because open fields like these do look beautiful but it's definitely frustrating the first time you play when you are exploring and not finding much

[Zoid13]

Originally posted by Tao314zdin:

I like the landscape design a lot:) At least for the 1st exploration it is very engaging IMO.

As for repeating enemies: judging by the comments a good number of people can't even stand the idea to learn movesets of the existing enemies, so not sure if adding more is a good idea.

i liked the maze like layered verticality to its design too. big puzzle to explore.

[ssj grumpig]

I had a lot more fun in Rauh when I tried to intentionally aggro everything but not kill it, then avoid all the attacks on Torrent

So yeah I was pretty disappointed by the intended design of the open world lmao

[drz30]

The open-world is what I like the least about Elden Ring. Too much filler content. I hope they go back to the more linear style like they did in Dark Souls.

[Agoraphobic Meep]

Originally posted by ssj grumpig:

I had a lore more fun in Rauh when I tried to intentionally aggro everything but not kill it, then avoid all the attacks on Torrent

So yeah I was pretty disappointed by the intended design of the open world lmao

That actually sounds entertaining lmfao, might try that tomorrow with some enemy grouping that has range

[Shiggieb00]

No, in fact this world is dramatically better than the original world.. I am still unable to access areas that I know are there, that I can see, but I have no clue how to reach...

Sometimes I'll run around for like 45 minutes trying to figure out where to go, then turn right down some corned, and notice theres a piece of a railing missing, which is a sure sign to drop down, which gives me access to a completely new section of the map.

So, no, I dont. I just think you dont know what youre talking about. It's an "open world" game.. If you dont like that, go play a platformer, go play an RTS, go play an FPS. It says specifically "Open World".. Now youre going to come in her and complain about that?

Have you ever made a video game before?

Youre complaining about reused enemies? Have you ever made a video game?

You dont even know.

[Agoraphobic Meep]

Originally posted by Shiggieb00:

No, in fact this world is dramatically better than the original world.. I am still unable to access areas that I know are there, that I can see, but I have no clue how to reach...

Sometimes I'll run around for like 45 minutes trying to figure out where to go, then turn right down some corned, and notice theres a piece of a railing missing, which is a sure sign to drop down, which gives me access to a completely new section of the map.

So, no, I dont. I just think you dont know what youre talking about. It's an "open world" game.. If you dont like that, go play a platformer, go play an RTS, go play an FPS. It says specifically "Open World".. Now youre going to come in her and complain about that?

Have you ever made a video game before?

Youre complaining about reused enemies? Have you ever made a video game?

You dont even know.

Imagine thinking you need to make games to enjoy or be critical of them. Our economy would be beyond ♥♥♥♥♥♥ if consumers weren't allowed to be critical of the products they bought.

In terms of your actual argument though, all you described were that you see new areas of the map often, which I'll admit, is nice. You turn a corner, you get a nice new view. I still remember seeing cerulean coast for the first time and being pretty wow'ed. But that's all it is, pretty views. After the 10 or so seconds when you get over the nice scenery and start actually exploring, you get bored quick.

Cerulean coast is perfect for this actually. It is mostly just empty with blue flowers. It's a segue area into a much better area, but it's pretty damn big for a segue area. It has a random demi-human queen, some blue worms and crabs, and a random ♥♥♥♥ off hippo you need to go through jagged peak to get to, and that is kind of it when it comes to notable featues of cerulean coast. And it's not even the worst offender of this.

I'll complain about an open world when it plays less like an RPG and more like a walking simulator, yes.

[Minastra]

Originally posted by Shiggieb00:

So, no, I dont. I just think you dont know what youre talking about. It's an "open world" game.. If you dont like that, go play a platformer, go play an RTS, go play an FPS. It says specifically "Open World".. Now youre going to come in her and complain about that?

If for you, Open world = Empty world, i'm greetly sad about your open world past's game experience.
Elden Ring's open world is beautiful to explore, but... there are too many areas that feel empty...(Not much enemy or thing to discover / to do)

[Dusty13B]

Originally posted by Senki:

yeah very large parts of the open world are empty or pointless

I didn't see it that way. There might not have been dungeons galore in the DLC but each area felt like it had something to offer. A new fragment or ash, a new over world boss, or something to look for like hidden routes to new areas.

[Zefar]

I'm disappointed in the enemy aspect of the open world in DLC.

Majority of them are just not a threat. Doesn't give good exp and don't drop valuable stuff.

Messmer knights are a minor threat but can be one shot with the exception of the horse rider and elite versions.

The Blue worms are not a threat and you most likely have a ranged weapon attack to deal with them. Not that they are a threat close up.

I think the biggest threat you can encounter is the Flame Knights but just dishing out damage on range with bow and then use weapon skill when he/she gets closer still makes them relatively easy.

[Mike]

Nope like the world design and exploration of the DLC much more then the base game. The main reason being the verticality, and them pretty much squeezing tons of interesting areas in a much smaller size area then the base game. This makes finding things not only more frequent, but stumbling upon new zone feels really good in the DLC.

The base game outside of the underground section was pretty flat, but this DLC had me wondering "how do I get there" and when I finally figured it out it was all the more rewarding.

[Agoraphobic Meep]

Originally posted by Zefar:

I'm disappointed in the enemy aspect of the open world in DLC.

Majority of them are just not a threat. Doesn't give good exp and don't drop valuable stuff.

Messmer knights are a minor threat but can be one shot with the exception of the horse rider and elite versions.

The Blue worms are not a threat and you most likely have a ranged weapon attack to deal with them. Not that they are a threat close up.

I think the biggest threat you can encounter is the Flame Knights but just dishing out damage on range with bow and then use weapon skill when he/she gets closer still makes them relatively easy.

Damn, that’s odd, I was using fire incantations and the new fire themed UGS and, for what it’s worth, the fire knights, horned knights, and shadow keep black armor greathammer guys really gave me a run for my money.


Those dual wielding circlet guys ♥♥♥♥♥♥ me up for like half my run till I learned how to parry them too

[ssj grumpig]

Originally posted by Shiggieb00:

Sometimes I'll run around for like 45 minutes trying to figure out where to go, then turn right down some corned, and notice theres a piece of a railing missing, which is a sure sign to drop down, which gives me access to a completely new section of the map.

This is a cool way to hide areas and secrets. The problem is there are areas and secrets almost no one will discover without guides or help, and they lock significant portions of the world behind them.

I'm an offline player and had to throw in the towel on one of them after 3 hours of searching. No spoilers but there is 0 chance I would have ever discovered it organically without player messages - which are largely left by other people who looked up the guides from the data miners. This is why old games did exploration secrets this way and they wouldn't be discovered for years, vs now where you have thousands of people poring over the technical side of the game files/clipping out of bounds so they can be the first ones to release the info

[BingusDingus]

It's beyond bad, they could of cut it in half and it'd actually of improved the experience. What is the point of making such a massive map if you're going to leave half of it completely empty?