Absolutely no clue what is going on in the story

[pgkavanagh]

So I'm about 165 hours into Elden Ring and, though I've enjoyed it, I can safely say that at no time did I have any level of understanding of what's going on in the story.

I know there is lots of lore around the 1,000,000,000,000 items in the game but who seriously has the time and will to piece it all together? It's just so obscure and really does not make any sense to me. I wish it did as it would add so much to the game for me.

I'm currently in the Crumbling Farum Azula area and have come across a dragon that is so difficult I couldn't actually be bothered to beat him.

It pains me to say it but I honestly don't think I'll finish this game, and I'm so near the end! It's just too long and has overstayed it's welcome for a while now.

Anybody else agree?

[Dr.Abscondus]

The dragon is optional. All you need to do is kill Maliketh to trigger the end game boss fights. You're almost there. I didn't pay much attention to the story in NG, but when I started NG+ I went to the wiki and made sure I completed all the side quests in the right order because that's where the story is. NG+ is a lot easier too so it was much more enjoyable. Think of it as payback time.

[pgkavanagh]

Only reason I was sticking with the fight is to get the Dragon smithing stone thing so I can upgrade the Magma Wyrm Sword to the max

[Dr.Abscondus]

There are a lot of those stones in the game. Three in Farum Azula. One dropped by the swooping dragon, one dropped by the stationary dragon near where all those scum eagles are, and one on a corpse.

[Sabaithal]

Don't worry, that's normal.

The story of this game, well pretty much all FROM soulslike games, is buried a bit in metaphor and symbolism. Figuring out exactly what means what, and what specifically is happening is really like trying to assemble a really complex puzzle.

A lot of basic info is gained from item descriptions. However this isn't the only source, some of the most valuable pieces of information is that which can be observed directly.

For example, entering the Erdtree and seeing Marika hanging from something that looks like a rune arc, and also with a spear through her with a color reminiscent of a "blade of death" uses by the BKAs and Maliketh. Then, when fighting Elden beast, it has a grab attack where it suspends you from a rune arc, and attacks you with 30 or so spears of light while trapped. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what happened to Marika after you notice this.

Things like that, implications that can be observed.

[Wolf]

Originally posted by pgkavanagh:

It pains me to say it but I honestly don't think I'll finish this game, and I'm so near the end! It's just too long and has overstayed it's welcome for a while now.

Anybody else agree?

Not me on this part. I agree with everything else you said but that's how From Software make their games. I'm not into reading the lore of the game, I leave that to fanatics and people who want to piece the dots together, which makes the game even more interesting when you have a lot of people trying to figure it out what's going on.

I tried reading some items and following the quest but this game throws you many curved balls that I just got tired of it and kept playing just to explore the world and beat the bosses. You might as well finish the game since you're about 90% done. Should've left the game a long time ago if you felt that way. At least finish it to get your money's worth.

[cl656]

the main story as far as it relates to your character, and as far as i understand it, is that your character is a Tarnished, a person who lost touch with grace for one reason or another and eventually died in someway or another all depending on your RP. Then Marika's favorite son was assassinated, and Marika shattered the ring in her grief, which caused a war between her other children for the shards of the Ring. the war ended in a stalemate, and sometime later the greater will resurrected a group of tarnished, that included you and the other round table members, to mend it.

in my personal opinion, the default ending makes zero sense. The default ending is your character doing exactly what they were raised from the dead to do. But the greater will is constantly acting against your character, and everyone treats you like the bad guy.

[John Titor]

Originally posted by pgkavanagh:

Absolutely no clue what is going on in the story

Once upon a time there was a tiny little planet with even tinier monkey bugs frantically scurrying aboot...

Edit: and some dogs as well.

[zab]

must suck to have no eyes to read huh

[pgkavanagh]

Thanks for all the replies and thankfully not a single "git gud" type comment.

I've played and enjoyed all of the FromSoft games (with the exception of Bloodborne) and I don't think I've ever understood the story in any of them - maybe I'm a bit thick or maybe their style of "storytelling" isn't for me (or maybe a bit of both). When I've completed the games I've been in awe of the design and the sheer scale of the games but that's about it.

I guess the biggest gripe I have is that there is so much time and stress invested in these games but yet I don't CARE what's happening to my character or what's going on in the world.

I've ran past that Dragon from earlier and am now at the Godskin Duo fight.

I think I'm going to take a break from it for a while - I'm just not enjoying it and am only playing it to get it over with which is a shame.

[pgkavanagh]

Originally posted by zab:

must suck to have no eyes to read huh

You should use yours to read my initial post smart ass

"who seriously has the time and will to piece it all together?"

[John Titor]

Originally posted by pgkavanagh:

Originally posted by zab:

must suck to have no eyes to read huh

You should use yours to read my initial post smart ass

"who seriously has the time and will to piece it all together?"

To be fair, anyone with enough time to play a video game has the time to piece it together, should you choose that as an important element. If not, you won't.

[pgkavanagh]

That's a fair point John.

[Orion Invictus]

In my experience, From Software devs don't write "stories" as most people understand them. They write interesting plot points that are loosely connected and expect players to fill in the gaps, because they themselves did not think things through. That's why there are no real answers to so many of the questions.

[Shadow Man]

Originally posted by pgkavanagh:

Thanks for all the replies and thankfully not a single "git gud" type comment.

I've played and enjoyed all of the FromSoft games (with the exception of Bloodborne) and I don't think I've ever understood the story in any of them - maybe I'm a bit thick or maybe their style of "storytelling" isn't for me (or maybe a bit of both). When I've completed the games I've been in awe of the design and the sheer scale of the games but that's about it.

I guess the biggest gripe I have is that there is so much time and stress invested in these games but yet I don't CARE what's happening to my character or what's going on in the world.

I've ran past that Dragon from earlier and am now at the Godskin Duo fight.

I think I'm going to take a break from it for a while - I'm just not enjoying it and am only playing it to get it over with which is a shame.

I'm in the same boat. The first 50 hours were some of the best hours I've ever had in gaming. I'm 200 hours in now, I'm bored and have absolutely no incentive to keep playing.

[zab]

Originally posted by pgkavanagh:

Originally posted by zab:

must suck to have no eyes to read huh

You should use yours to read my initial post smart ass

"who seriously has the time and will to piece it all together?"

if you can play without reading I can post without reading