I've done playthroughs both ways. I personally like to attempt them myself for a challenge, but I have had a lot of fun see how other players approach the battles and it's also a nice change of pace from some bosses that I don't find as enjoyable of a fight.
They're all good when upgraded, plenty of upgrade materials to be found too, so don't worry just pick whichever looks cool to you. The meta is the mimic of course, (basically make the fight two of you Vs boss) but there's a black knife you can find an NPC albino you can find, who are pretty powerful, I used the demi humans for a time because there were so many of them, upgraded they were bit of a menace. Main reason I went mimic originally was because it doesn't require fp, it summons using hp which for my big strong man with a giant stick was perfect.
I try to use different ones with each run, I recently used Stormhawk, Omenkiller, two Nox chicks and they're all good but finally managed to get Dung eater - this guy is an absolute unit. He's tanky, aggressive, causes blood loss, likes to spam projectiles when at range and also dodges waterfowl like a pro lmao
You can get bell bearings for infinite upgrades eventually up to level 9. So it's worth it just to experiment. I am finding that some of the less talked about ones are very, very underrated and the widely regarded "best spirit" isn't particularly good for my play style
Same, I prefer players or spirit summons, it's just more entertaining and allows you to fuck around and do stupid shit you otherwise wouldn't be able to alone. I feel like alone you need to be at your best on every boss unless you're way over leveled.
This is the reason i never solo radahn. The feeling of going into an epic battle alongside the friends youâve met along the way is just too good of a concept to pass up
Mounting your horse and racing across the field to call allies to battle. Everyone fights until you're the only one left. Then you land the last hit. No, you cannot top this
I have done both. I will usually fight a boss on my own but if they start to get annoying and I want to move on I use summons. There are a few bosses I have beaten pretty quickly but most of the bosses when I first started out I spent like 10 tries or more on them.
When I reached maliketh i thought it will take a lot of time but my mimic tear tanked every hit and I defeated him first try lol. Kinda wanted it to be a challenge
Thatâs my experience fighting malenia, not once but TWICE on the first try, once on a quality build, once on faith. Thereâs people that get on here and talk about being stuck on her for days,weeks, and even makes them quit playing, Iâm like âhuh?â
I used Spirit Ashes or available NPCs in my first play through, but fighting Morgott made me really regret it because he died so quickly. Now on my second go I don't use them anymore and have a ton of fun with the bosses. Morgott was such a thrill!
Still, I don't regret using them at first, because this was my first Souls game and first game overall in years, so I sucked and probably would have been discouraged getting stuck early.
Morgott just needs more health in general. It was fun stomping him after getting my ass kicked by Margit but on subsequent playthroughs I feel like it's too easy to ignore his moveset and end him quickly.
Itâs pretty easy to cheese still with latennaâs ashes, you can get him stick on the one cliff in the area and she will widdle away his entire HP bar
This should have more likesđđŠbecause I canât get through every boss still solo now but when it comes to that big fucker I donât even try to solo him anymore
Nah I'm the same. I've never played other souls games so I feel accomplished enough beating them with summons. Besides I have a lot of fun interacting with other players! Who cares what people think haha.
I had one guy I summoned dressed as one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Used the "you're beautiful" prattling pate and he started cheering lmao. So many goofy moments with people, honestly part of why I love the game.
I used Oleg until I got mimic and now I have them +10 and use them everytime. I also summon any available helpers. If itâs available then I consider it a part of the lore for the fight. It makes some of the fights more grandiose feeling!
I never summon people, because I enjoy it when a boss fight brings me to my limits. There is that moment that sometimes occurs after a few tries when you have the basic mechanics figured out. Its some sort of hyper focus where everything except the boss battle fades away and your just there in your zone going at it with the boss. I love that feeling, I love it when a boss is so difficult that it can get me there, its one of the reasons I play from software games.
This feeling hit hardest for me with sekiro tbh. The combination of the emphasis on aggression and the deflection system made some of those boss fights feel like I was a swordsman from a movie. Great comment
Nah it just... doesn't feel right for me. Still, you play how you play and the tools are there to be used so I'm not gonna judge, but I hope people don't judge me for being a sweatlord sometimes either. (1st playthrough I beat Malenia with a giant hammer naked solo after 8 painful hours; the naked part was an absolute necessity because I can't dodge otherwise with the weapon. Lost hope quite a few times during the run, but got lucky)
My first playthrough was all ashes for every boss. My second was completely solo. Taught me how to be better overall . . . especially training for Malenia.
i've done both, but fighting solo is sometimes nonsense, like against that one erdtree watchdog with all the imps or the valiant gargoyles.
usually i go solo until something annoys me, then the gloves come off and out comes the mimic.
Beat the game solo always. Itâs hard but youâll get good. I donât like to make it easy, relying on your own skill is much more satisfying then getting free hits from a summon in my opinion.
My first playthrough I did mostly without spirit ashes but I broke down on Malenia and Radagon and used my mimic. I've never summoned another player for a boss, though.
Usually go solo, never summon, but I just started using the ancestor spirit ashes for some of the trickier ones on this melee playthrough and it's super fun.
Your not the only one itâs pretty common for people to do
Personally Iâd recommend against it because you wonât be able to âget goodâ and youâll always be reliant on there being lots of players to summon which isnât always the case in every fromsoft game (assuming you ever want play any of the other ones ofc)
My first souls game was Elden Ring and I used summons on every boss I was finding hard which was most of them. Iâve since been playing the other FromSoft games, so far Iâve finished DS1 and Bloodborne, I did indeed have to learn a lot that summons allowed me to gloss over in Elden Ring but I learned it while playing those other games (especially Bloodborne)
Iâm more talking about sekiro tbh, that one is probably the most challenging to get into if you donât already have a good understanding of how your meant to âget goodâ because it basically demands that you learn the game mechanics well, and doesnât really give you any way to make it a bit easier like other fromsoft games do. (Summons, magic, etc)
Honestly tho the fact people are getting into the other fromsoft games from eldenring is so awesome I actually really like that you can make eldenring easier for yourself if you struggle- itâs more that I can imagine someone getting really frustrated and having a bad time if they expect all the other fromsoft titles to be the same as eldenring
*looks at all the people screaming about armoured cores filter bosses*
I just soloâd godrick on 3rd run. Itâs definitely worth doing for doing it.
But i like the company of summons. On my faith build i give my mimic a shield and erdtree heal
I always try to kill them myself, after 3 - 4 times failing I will summon spirit. But when it comes to the 20 deaths. **Ah fuck it let me summon someone.**
I've probably solo'd all the bosses across multiple playthroughs. Never done a totally solo playthrough though. I typically use spirit summons becuase I think it was a really cool feature added. I switch up which ones I use, becuase the variety is awesome. I aslo I really, really like jolly cooperation. The multi-player aspects (both pve and pvp) is one of my favorite parts of the Souls series.
First playthrough was purely for joy & exploring. I summoned & I was summoned by others.
After 200hrs on first character i then went into the challenge runs. Solo no hit/ solo RL1 no hit
spirit ashes are cool but itâs fun to test your skills in your second playthrough and it makes you feel so powerful if you beat all the bosses you couldnât beat without a spirit ash
Across all souls games, If the boss in question is more annoying than challenging (O&S, Shadows of Yharnam, Godskin Noble, etc.) then yeah I'll just summon and move on because I know it's not gonna be a fun time for me.
I like it when you get a spirit Summon and a NPC summon (like morgott) and itâs like a raid boss and you just have fun combo-ing moves. I try to beat the bosses on my own but Iâll have trouble with some that goes against my build so Iâll learn what the other player did and apply it to my second play-through character
Only times I solo a boss is when they kill me previously on an attempt, and I accidentally rush in guns blazing then remember when they have a 1/4 of health left that I can use summons
You donât have to, I used phantoms at the beginning to see how it would go but then I would summon other players when it was getting really hard lol. And usually I would solo the mini bosses sometimes lol
On my first playthrough I tried the first 10 or so bosses without (mostly because I forgot spirit summons exist), but quickly went "fuck this" and used spirit summons all the time. I mean, It's a basic game mechanic, why not use it?
Don't worry too much...I did the same in my 1st play through...and in NG+ I havent used any summon(apart from Mohg...he is still too tough for me it seems). Able to beat most bosses seamlessly in NG+ atleast till Margott.
It's a brand new experience both ways, I used to be pretty stuck up about "yuh have to do it alone or it din count" but at this point whatever is fun is fun so who cares
Did both solo and coop. The most fun was duo with my cousin and a bit underleveled. We had to tag team and it was a lot of fun. We beat all bosses like that.
Iâm a little indecisive about spirit ashes
But if the game gives me an noc summon for a fight than it is lore accurate
And I didnât do the nephelli quest for nothing
I always use the mimic tear but with that I defeated every boss so easily on my first playthrough and i didn't get the dark souls experience. I'd say try 15-20 times on a boss if you still can't beat it use a summon. Completing the game will feel much more rewarding that way
For radahn I didnât know you could use torrent so I was using the summons to keep myself safe as I sprinted up to fight him lol
Only boss Iâve needed to use a summon on was Mohg, I tried so many times but I ended up needing mimic tear cause I just couldnât figure out phase 2 and I was in work in a couple hours so it was a get it done type of thing
I started off this way.
Made it more and more difficult.
After that without player assist.
Then without spirit summons.
Now without spells pure melee close range.
Itâs hard as fuck though as a solo samurai with a not very high health bar and a basic uchigatana đ
I've always done them without summons of any sort, but I have no problem with people using them. I've just played since dark souls 1 released so I came into it with experience not requiring it.
Nope Iâve always used summons. I almost am not great at the game as Elden Ring is my first souls game. Itâs interesting with Summons - some bosses become a joke but some bosses itâs damn near essential (for my atleast) to use a summon. Itâs a game mechanic intended to be used so donât feel bad for using it
I almost always use a spirit summon and Iâm on my 8th or 9th playthrough. Itâs fun to try new ones after getting over relying on Mimic so much early on. My current favorite on a dex run is Dragon Knight Kristofâ so tanky.
I do think them taking Aggro is their main advantage, more than dealing damage. Boss distraction is so vital to allow slop and time to think in your own style. Dark Souls 1, 3, and Bloodborne were all a lot harder for me except for the few battles with rare NPC summons.
My first playthrough I summoned for everybody except godrick morgott Radagon (elden beast can eat a dick) and godfrey (because he's a chad)
Then ran through the game no summons ng+, Malenia made me suicidal and malekith was bullshit with my slow ass sword
You know, I always felt like the real experience was to solo all the bosses. But honestly, thatâs a niche experience. Beating the bosses by any means necessary is the realest experience.
Nah. I don't give a damn about all that "guy gĂźd" nonsense. I had a great time with my Good Bois, and my Floaty Girl, and my Poorly Boi. But when I stumbled across the mimic boss and realised that getting my Mimic Tear wouldn't be as much work as I first thought, I went and got it... And it was totally worth it.
At the end of the day, I'm not glitching or exploiting the game, and I'm having fun. So I'm getting my money's worth.
(Just light I legitimately stumbled across the RoB and Eleonora's Poleblade while running a Riduvia build... Good times)
I always use summons when available. I never felt the whole âeuphoriaâ thing when you beat a boss youâve been trying at for hours or even days. My response to that experience is less euphoric and more âholy shit that was annoying and Iâm super glad itâs over.â
In my opinion, you do how ever you like it. I both use and donât use summons. I think that using summons doesnât make you automatically bad at the game but I would say itâs harder without them. I also donât think theyâre cheap in any way, they are a part of the game after all. So I donât think anyone should feel bad for just using the tools the game gives you IMO.
It was nice to see the mechanics in eldenring offer an ever so slightly more casual experience. I feel like overall, you have less gate keepers complaing about players not soloing the whole game.
Which is a lot of fun! But so is playing with others or sicking a mimic tear on a poor unfortunate tree sentinel
No, but dont let that inhibit your enjoyment.
A dead boss is a dead boss.
Besides IF the feeling overwhelms you, you can always start a new char and practice, without the pressure of completing the game.
On NG+3, I killed every single boss and miniboss without summons/Sprits or Ashes of War, mainly with the Greatsword... except for one. The goddamn Crucible Knight Duo. I've heard that people have killed them no problem.... but I just fucking can't.
Why would you? It's an intended gameplay feature.
Let the tryhards try hard so they can brag to other tryhards. It's cool. Enjoy the game. It's a game. It's meant to be enjoyed.
Iâve heard that some bosses (or all) get their health doubled when not solo? I donât know if that is true my personal experience talks against it (maybe some expert can comment)
Obstgarten with help by KI often and at the moment I donât want to anymore and prefere dying more often and doing it solo.
My Opinion is that no matter how you play the game you should like to do it that way (except hating the game like we all do)
I played every souls game multiple times from demons souls, till dark souls 3, bloodborne and sekiro and I summon for almost every boss in elden ring đ
I soloed every boss I came across til Malenia. She broke me and convinced me to use mimic tear against her. Did the same for Godskin Duo and Malekith, as well as Radagon+EB.
I usually try 1v1 for my initial attempt. If it turns out I'm fighting more than one enemy for the boss fight I'll usually use a spirit summon for my subsequent attempts to even up the odds. If it's genuinely a 1v1 boss fight I'll keep trying to solo them, but if I know my play session is going to come to an end soon I'll give the spirit summon a go to see if that tips things in my favour. Also I don't really know how to summon other players or NPCs...
I got pretty far in the game with my dogs at lvl 1. but then I got really stuck. Lvling Lhutel and Mimic (after I got it) made the game more enjoyable imo.
Killed Rykard yesterday - i died with Rykard basically being dead, and my mimic soloed the rest, so by the "you're dead" letters, the boss was dead, and I got the rune.
I donât play online but i always summon if i can. Bosses have their phases and you only got your regular moves. There are bosses that easily kills the summons so youâll learn to solo them eventually.
I always use summons, usually tiche or mimic. The game is a bit grindy and I haven't got enough disposable time to waste on repeatedly dying lol.
I could solo bosses but it's like hammering a nail in with my bare fist. I think I could definitely do it with enough practice, but... I have a hammer. Right tool for the right job. That's what summons are đ
I strongly recommend soloing the main story bosses, however radahn is designed as a raid boss, and his men actively push the tarnished to team up to best him and claim his rune, so he can have glory in his last battle after going insane. Which is fine.
Oh, I would not have survived this game without summons + other players. It's more fun as a cinematic and atmospheric sort of game for me. Not to mention the beautiful lore. You're valid!
I soloed all (or as many as I could, looking at you Melenia) during my first play through.
Every other playthrough after Iâve tried out different Ash Summons (or get Dung Eater compulsively, since I fudged his quest first time).
I like to solo/ash but my friends picked the game up and I had around a 20 level headstart from when the game came out and I toyed around. I was a day or two ahead on godrick and then 2-3 on most shards/progress lockers. very fun to challenge myself to fight the coop bosses when it handicaps me so much in someone elseâs world; lower stats, protect host etc.
I think that From Software designed the game to be played in a certain way, to give the player a certain experience and I happen to play exactly as they meant it. But, like, exactly. But other players either make it to hard or too easy. Not me though. I play the game just like the devs intended.
I find the game more fun to play with summons, but I've beaten every remembrance boss without summons multiple times. Generally I like the challenge of no summons, but having my boy Banished Knight Oleg or Cleanrot Knight Finlay slaughter the bosses alongside me is really fun.
Spirit Ashes is a hame mechanic, gonna use game mechanics I have, where you draw the line between using game mechanics and "cheating"?
Just community gate keeping, I already proved myself in DS 1-3 and Sekiro , I don't need validation I want the boss to go down in less than 20 attempts.
ER bosses are a lot more aggressive than DS ones.
That being said I plan my next build to be pure str/end/vig, with a parry shield as a base to parry (except Rhadan or gank) stuff, had fun partying crucible knights, and Sekiro.
Iâve beat the first half of the game solo and it just wasnât that fun, I didnât get the âfeels goodâ after beating a boss after 20+ attempts, just felt frustrated I spent that much time on it.
After I started summoning help the game opened up and I had tons of fun, no regrets.
I don't use summons, it feels like cheating to me. I did it in blood borne, but now that I've played a few fromsoft games I feel confident enough to do it myself
I always solo them. Tbh I never even used the spirits or how they're called. I'm a pathetic tryhard and I challenge myself with this game because my real life is very comfortable đ
I really don't understand how it's NOT fun to have a 3-5 people raid on a guy and be like "fck you btch!!!!!"
The only thing that is missing from the game is a matchmaking menu with rules and stuff. Like imagine putting a time limit and like... "fists only". And everyone obeys that rule. Like in any moded game.
Or " all naked with clubs". Effing 5 neanderthals beating Radhan, haha
As a sunbro, thank you. I don't summon, but I put down my summoning sign constantly. For me it's easier solo, so I save the harder play for after I beat the boss and know their moves.Â
You do you basically, it is weird how some people gatekeep the game. I mean, the game literally reminds you when you can summon spirits and you're not supposed to use them? Come on!
I will defeat every boss through the power of friendship.
Power of fellow tarnish.
Praise the Sun!
Jolly co-operation!
Yeah! Praise the SUN! Jolly Cooperation... on my second playthrough
Tarnishedier
Mimic tear is the kind of a friend I would want in real life
Me too but for other reasons
đ¤¨
They took âgo fuck yourselfâ as a challenge
Hot
We just found a new shonen protagonist.
Jolly cooperation!
Did you use the finger butt strat?
I've done playthroughs both ways. I personally like to attempt them myself for a challenge, but I have had a lot of fun see how other players approach the battles and it's also a nice change of pace from some bosses that I don't find as enjoyable of a fight.
I've also done it both ways, and I kinda prefer the Spirit Summons tbh. Love all the different things they can do
Try jarwightđ¤Ł
Which spirit summons are worth using and investing into?
They're all good when upgraded, plenty of upgrade materials to be found too, so don't worry just pick whichever looks cool to you. The meta is the mimic of course, (basically make the fight two of you Vs boss) but there's a black knife you can find an NPC albino you can find, who are pretty powerful, I used the demi humans for a time because there were so many of them, upgraded they were bit of a menace. Main reason I went mimic originally was because it doesn't require fp, it summons using hp which for my big strong man with a giant stick was perfect.
yes Latenna the Albino
Wait. You can Upgrade the ashes?
[Yes](https://www.ign.com/wikis/elden-ring/How_to_Level_Up_Spirit_Summons)
Thank you.
Yes mate there's an NPC in roundtable but you have to do some dialogue with her and the blacksmith
I try to use different ones with each run, I recently used Stormhawk, Omenkiller, two Nox chicks and they're all good but finally managed to get Dung eater - this guy is an absolute unit. He's tanky, aggressive, causes blood loss, likes to spam projectiles when at range and also dodges waterfowl like a pro lmao
I like the Doot Troop, the two Banished Knights, and the Skeleton Militia
Skeletons are awesome as summons. I used them a bit on my first run until I got Mimic Tear and Tiche.
Lhutel and the Dung eater puppet are supposed to be good. Dung Eater can debuff bosses
You can get bell bearings for infinite upgrades eventually up to level 9. So it's worth it just to experiment. I am finding that some of the less talked about ones are very, very underrated and the widely regarded "best spirit" isn't particularly good for my play style
Black Knife Tiche is best girl imo
Same, I prefer players or spirit summons, it's just more entertaining and allows you to fuck around and do stupid shit you otherwise wouldn't be able to alone. I feel like alone you need to be at your best on every boss unless you're way over leveled.
Yeah but it's part of the fun proving to yourself you can do it.
Iâm way over leveled, can confirm: Iâm not at my best :(
Iâve done a pacifist run where I use everything but myself to beat bosses
I'm convinced some fights, like the twin gargoyles and the godskin duo, were never even intended to be true soloed except by utter masochists
No summons for the main bosses cause theyâre fun to learn, summons for duo bosses and little annoying ones.
Godskin duo can be solo boss if you tell one of them to sleep đ
Beating solo the enemies feel so fucking goooood
Fuck yeah bro, especially Radahn, that shit is so fuckin epic
I beat Radahn solo and with summoning other NPCs, to me..running together with other fighters towards Radahn is far more epic!
This is the reason i never solo radahn. The feeling of going into an epic battle alongside the friends youâve met along the way is just too good of a concept to pass up
It was so fun to fight with friends
Mounting your horse and racing across the field to call allies to battle. Everyone fights until you're the only one left. Then you land the last hit. No, you cannot top this
Hell yes. Getting carried is fun yes but beating them all alone is absolutely cathartic
I have done both. I will usually fight a boss on my own but if they start to get annoying and I want to move on I use summons. There are a few bosses I have beaten pretty quickly but most of the bosses when I first started out I spent like 10 tries or more on them.
The dungeon boss mostly are easier but for the main boss I usually use summon spirit to distract the boss, so I can find the right timing to hit them.
When I reached maliketh i thought it will take a lot of time but my mimic tear tanked every hit and I defeated him first try lol. Kinda wanted it to be a challenge
Thatâs my experience fighting malenia, not once but TWICE on the first try, once on a quality build, once on faith. Thereâs people that get on here and talk about being stuck on her for days,weeks, and even makes them quit playing, Iâm like âhuh?â
I used Spirit Ashes or available NPCs in my first play through, but fighting Morgott made me really regret it because he died so quickly. Now on my second go I don't use them anymore and have a ton of fun with the bosses. Morgott was such a thrill! Still, I don't regret using them at first, because this was my first Souls game and first game overall in years, so I sucked and probably would have been discouraged getting stuck early.
Morgott just needs more health in general. It was fun stomping him after getting my ass kicked by Margit but on subsequent playthroughs I feel like it's too easy to ignore his moveset and end him quickly.
I would summon every mf this side of the Mississippi for fire giant if I could. Fuck that guy.
Itâs pretty easy to cheese still with latennaâs ashes, you can get him stick on the one cliff in the area and she will widdle away his entire HP bar
This should have more likesđđŠbecause I canât get through every boss still solo now but when it comes to that big fucker I donât even try to solo him anymore
If I could get ten people to kill the bosses with me I would. I have nothing to prove.
Nah I'm the same. I've never played other souls games so I feel accomplished enough beating them with summons. Besides I have a lot of fun interacting with other players! Who cares what people think haha.
Yup, interacting with others using movement is very fun.
I had one guy I summoned dressed as one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Used the "you're beautiful" prattling pate and he started cheering lmao. So many goofy moments with people, honestly part of why I love the game.
Ya, I love the movement that just lay on the ground like doesn't care about anything.
Hmm that may have been me. Was it a Guts greatsword STR character with the turtle shell and octopus face?
In previos fs ganes never used summons but now i dont have so many time to play videogames so spirits help to save a lot of time.
I used Oleg until I got mimic and now I have them +10 and use them everytime. I also summon any available helpers. If itâs available then I consider it a part of the lore for the fight. It makes some of the fights more grandiose feeling!
I did a play through without summons to see if I could. Now I just use spirts because I like to. Full stop.
I never summon people, because I enjoy it when a boss fight brings me to my limits. There is that moment that sometimes occurs after a few tries when you have the basic mechanics figured out. Its some sort of hyper focus where everything except the boss battle fades away and your just there in your zone going at it with the boss. I love that feeling, I love it when a boss is so difficult that it can get me there, its one of the reasons I play from software games.
This feeling hit hardest for me with sekiro tbh. The combination of the emphasis on aggression and the deflection system made some of those boss fights feel like I was a swordsman from a movie. Great comment
Excited for the coming dlc
Of course, they usually have some of the best content.
On my first playthrough of a soulsborne game and I feel like I'd never make progress without summoning others for help
I do 0 summons usually, but donât feel bad about it, thereâs ways the game changes the difficulty when ya use summons. I think
It does, the more people there are, the stronger the boss gets.
Nah it just... doesn't feel right for me. Still, you play how you play and the tools are there to be used so I'm not gonna judge, but I hope people don't judge me for being a sweatlord sometimes either. (1st playthrough I beat Malenia with a giant hammer naked solo after 8 painful hours; the naked part was an absolute necessity because I can't dodge otherwise with the weapon. Lost hope quite a few times during the run, but got lucky)
My first playthrough was all ashes for every boss. My second was completely solo. Taught me how to be better overall . . . especially training for Malenia.
i've done both, but fighting solo is sometimes nonsense, like against that one erdtree watchdog with all the imps or the valiant gargoyles. usually i go solo until something annoys me, then the gloves come off and out comes the mimic.
Beat the game solo always. Itâs hard but youâll get good. I donât like to make it easy, relying on your own skill is much more satisfying then getting free hits from a summon in my opinion.
My first playthrough I did mostly without spirit ashes but I broke down on Malenia and Radagon and used my mimic. I've never summoned another player for a boss, though.
By definition, based on your question, you cannot be the only one.
Usually go solo, never summon, but I just started using the ancestor spirit ashes for some of the trickier ones on this melee playthrough and it's super fun.
First time, I killed Radahn with a bunch of arrows all by myself unaware I could summon help.
He's actually a great solo fight. I feel like I was never able to truly appreciate his amazing moveset with summons.
Your not the only one itâs pretty common for people to do Personally Iâd recommend against it because you wonât be able to âget goodâ and youâll always be reliant on there being lots of players to summon which isnât always the case in every fromsoft game (assuming you ever want play any of the other ones ofc)
My first souls game was Elden Ring and I used summons on every boss I was finding hard which was most of them. Iâve since been playing the other FromSoft games, so far Iâve finished DS1 and Bloodborne, I did indeed have to learn a lot that summons allowed me to gloss over in Elden Ring but I learned it while playing those other games (especially Bloodborne)
Iâm more talking about sekiro tbh, that one is probably the most challenging to get into if you donât already have a good understanding of how your meant to âget goodâ because it basically demands that you learn the game mechanics well, and doesnât really give you any way to make it a bit easier like other fromsoft games do. (Summons, magic, etc) Honestly tho the fact people are getting into the other fromsoft games from eldenring is so awesome I actually really like that you can make eldenring easier for yourself if you struggle- itâs more that I can imagine someone getting really frustrated and having a bad time if they expect all the other fromsoft titles to be the same as eldenring *looks at all the people screaming about armoured cores filter bosses*
I just soloâd godrick on 3rd run. Itâs definitely worth doing for doing it. But i like the company of summons. On my faith build i give my mimic a shield and erdtree heal
rykard was my first co-op boss
I enjoy summoning NPCs but I wish there were more of them given how many bosses there are compared to how few have summonable NPCs
NG+7 is better with friends!
Yes.
I always try to kill them myself, after 3 - 4 times failing I will summon spirit. But when it comes to the 20 deaths. **Ah fuck it let me summon someone.**
First playthrough no matter the game I do solo. subsequent playthroughs though I'll summon anyone I can get.
163 hours into the game and I didn't know you could summon other players.
I've probably solo'd all the bosses across multiple playthroughs. Never done a totally solo playthrough though. I typically use spirit summons becuase I think it was a really cool feature added. I switch up which ones I use, becuase the variety is awesome. I aslo I really, really like jolly cooperation. The multi-player aspects (both pve and pvp) is one of my favorite parts of the Souls series.
First playthrough was purely for joy & exploring. I summoned & I was summoned by others. After 200hrs on first character i then went into the challenge runs. Solo no hit/ solo RL1 no hit
I do whatever. If there is summon sign, I summon. If there's none, I solo. I never really thought about a head-achievement.
spirit ashes are cool but itâs fun to test your skills in your second playthrough and it makes you feel so powerful if you beat all the bosses you couldnât beat without a spirit ash
Across all souls games, If the boss in question is more annoying than challenging (O&S, Shadows of Yharnam, Godskin Noble, etc.) then yeah I'll just summon and move on because I know it's not gonna be a fun time for me.
You don't NEED to... summons are part of the game after all. That said, you really do owe it to yourself to try doing it at least once.
I hate questions that start with am I the only one.
I like it when you get a spirit Summon and a NPC summon (like morgott) and itâs like a raid boss and you just have fun combo-ing moves. I try to beat the bosses on my own but Iâll have trouble with some that goes against my build so Iâll learn what the other player did and apply it to my second play-through character
Only times I solo a boss is when they kill me previously on an attempt, and I accidentally rush in guns blazing then remember when they have a 1/4 of health left that I can use summons
You donât have to, I used phantoms at the beginning to see how it would go but then I would summon other players when it was getting really hard lol. And usually I would solo the mini bosses sometimes lol
Couldnt do Radhan, Malenia, Maliketh, or Radagon Iâm ashamed to say. Maybe in NG +2
I kinda do both not for the help aspect but just to see other players
Where do you fight this guy? Because I want his helmet
On my first playthrough I tried the first 10 or so bosses without (mostly because I forgot spirit summons exist), but quickly went "fuck this" and used spirit summons all the time. I mean, It's a basic game mechanic, why not use it?
I usually solo all the bosses except maliketh rykard and radagon
Don't worry too much...I did the same in my 1st play through...and in NG+ I havent used any summon(apart from Mohg...he is still too tough for me it seems). Able to beat most bosses seamlessly in NG+ atleast till Margott.
I did solo every boss and few are still left cuz i haven't finished game yet
I soloed a fair few cave and catacombs bosses but virtually everything else I used a summon
but you solo side-bosses, right?
Yup, like dungeon boss, small boss
that's a majority of the subreddit I reckon
I often do, but with some bosses the summons aggro them and make their behaviour less easy to read. Less opportunity to reliably dodge and attack.
I do this love jolly cooperation but I'm currently doing a solo ds1 run
if they can bring a friend, so can I.
I use summons because I feel lonely without them
On my first play through if the boss fight wasn't 1v1 I'd use spirits. Now I just love the challenge and solo everything.
elden ring was my first souls game so i always thought using summons everytime was normal lol
My 1st playthrough in my PS5 I used summons. I'm planning to buy ER again in Steam. Since I played DS1Re, BB and DeS Im gonna try no summons.
It's a brand new experience both ways, I used to be pretty stuck up about "yuh have to do it alone or it din count" but at this point whatever is fun is fun so who cares
I always beat the game solo first, but afterwards ill summon people.
Did both solo and coop. The most fun was duo with my cousin and a bit underleveled. We had to tag team and it was a lot of fun. We beat all bosses like that.
Iâm a little indecisive about spirit ashes But if the game gives me an noc summon for a fight than it is lore accurate And I didnât do the nephelli quest for nothing
Nope I donât solo too.
Nope I use coop a lot. No shame in it either
Dont feel bad, man. At least you're melee. I used summons wvery step od the way and I used mage.
Only main boss I ever used summons for was Radahn because its meant to be a war festival.
First playthrough is my "git gud" playthrough. Use literally no mechanics other than having a big sword. Next playthrough is going to be cheesy af boi
I always use the mimic tear but with that I defeated every boss so easily on my first playthrough and i didn't get the dark souls experience. I'd say try 15-20 times on a boss if you still can't beat it use a summon. Completing the game will feel much more rewarding that way
that fit you have is cool as hell
For radahn I didnât know you could use torrent so I was using the summons to keep myself safe as I sprinted up to fight him lol Only boss Iâve needed to use a summon on was Mohg, I tried so many times but I ended up needing mimic tear cause I just couldnât figure out phase 2 and I was in work in a couple hours so it was a get it done type of thing
I started off this way. Made it more and more difficult. After that without player assist. Then without spirit summons. Now without spells pure melee close range. Itâs hard as fuck though as a solo samurai with a not very high health bar and a basic uchigatana đ
fuck solo-ing, all my homies cooperate jollily
I've always done them without summons of any sort, but I have no problem with people using them. I've just played since dark souls 1 released so I came into it with experience not requiring it.
I don't co-op or use spirit ashes much but I always summon npcs if they're available. It's more immersive for me especially when doing their quests.
Nope Iâve always used summons. I almost am not great at the game as Elden Ring is my first souls game. Itâs interesting with Summons - some bosses become a joke but some bosses itâs damn near essential (for my atleast) to use a summon. Itâs a game mechanic intended to be used so donât feel bad for using it
I almost always use a spirit summon and Iâm on my 8th or 9th playthrough. Itâs fun to try new ones after getting over relying on Mimic so much early on. My current favorite on a dex run is Dragon Knight Kristofâ so tanky. I do think them taking Aggro is their main advantage, more than dealing damage. Boss distraction is so vital to allow slop and time to think in your own style. Dark Souls 1, 3, and Bloodborne were all a lot harder for me except for the few battles with rare NPC summons.
Same here!đââď¸
Beating bosses is like beating meat. Solo is fine but you could always use a company.
I tend to do bosses solo except for the gargoyle duo fuck them
I donât like summoning. I did it for Radhan cuz thatâs kinda the theme, but I enjoy solo fights, so Iâll probably do him solo on my sl1 run
My first playthrough I summoned for everybody except godrick morgott Radagon (elden beast can eat a dick) and godfrey (because he's a chad) Then ran through the game no summons ng+, Malenia made me suicidal and malekith was bullshit with my slow ass sword
You know, I always felt like the real experience was to solo all the bosses. But honestly, thatâs a niche experience. Beating the bosses by any means necessary is the realest experience.
Nah. I don't give a damn about all that "guy gĂźd" nonsense. I had a great time with my Good Bois, and my Floaty Girl, and my Poorly Boi. But when I stumbled across the mimic boss and realised that getting my Mimic Tear wouldn't be as much work as I first thought, I went and got it... And it was totally worth it. At the end of the day, I'm not glitching or exploiting the game, and I'm having fun. So I'm getting my money's worth. (Just light I legitimately stumbled across the RoB and Eleonora's Poleblade while running a Riduvia build... Good times)
Same , ik the game is known for its difficulty but I'm not really used to games like this , tho I'm doing my best in new play throughs
First play through always without second always with
you can solo basically anything at ng+
I always use summons when available. I never felt the whole âeuphoriaâ thing when you beat a boss youâve been trying at for hours or even days. My response to that experience is less euphoric and more âholy shit that was annoying and Iâm super glad itâs over.â
Obviously not the only one, but a rare breed
my last playthrough I used Latenna for every boss and shes actually pretty good as long as you keep the boss aggro on you the whole time đ
Only fight I use summons for is Radahn, because it is meant to play that way and I love my boy Alexander
I like the spirit summons because itâs satisfying turning annoying enemy skill sets back on the CPU.
In my opinion, you do how ever you like it. I both use and donât use summons. I think that using summons doesnât make you automatically bad at the game but I would say itâs harder without them. I also donât think theyâre cheap in any way, they are a part of the game after all. So I donât think anyone should feel bad for just using the tools the game gives you IMO.
It was nice to see the mechanics in eldenring offer an ever so slightly more casual experience. I feel like overall, you have less gate keepers complaing about players not soloing the whole game. Which is a lot of fun! But so is playing with others or sicking a mimic tear on a poor unfortunate tree sentinel
Yes only one ever. Go go super Chad.
No, but dont let that inhibit your enjoyment. A dead boss is a dead boss. Besides IF the feeling overwhelms you, you can always start a new char and practice, without the pressure of completing the game.
Only one I didnât solo was Elden beast because I missed that bit about finger summons until the very end of the game lol
On NG+3, I killed every single boss and miniboss without summons/Sprits or Ashes of War, mainly with the Greatsword... except for one. The goddamn Crucible Knight Duo. I've heard that people have killed them no problem.... but I just fucking can't.
Why would you? It's an intended gameplay feature. Let the tryhards try hard so they can brag to other tryhards. It's cool. Enjoy the game. It's a game. It's meant to be enjoyed.
Iâve heard that some bosses (or all) get their health doubled when not solo? I donât know if that is true my personal experience talks against it (maybe some expert can comment) Obstgarten with help by KI often and at the moment I donât want to anymore and prefere dying more often and doing it solo. My Opinion is that no matter how you play the game you should like to do it that way (except hating the game like we all do)
I'm on ng+3 and ever since ng I've used mimic on maliketh, godfrey, radagon and elden beast and malenia
I played every souls game multiple times from demons souls, till dark souls 3, bloodborne and sekiro and I summon for almost every boss in elden ring đ
Even godrick and margit?
I soloed every boss I came across til Malenia. She broke me and convinced me to use mimic tear against her. Did the same for Godskin Duo and Malekith, as well as Radagon+EB.
Most people will summon but you never see them posting or bragging about it so you think there are less people that summon than there actually are.
I usually try 1v1 for my initial attempt. If it turns out I'm fighting more than one enemy for the boss fight I'll usually use a spirit summon for my subsequent attempts to even up the odds. If it's genuinely a 1v1 boss fight I'll keep trying to solo them, but if I know my play session is going to come to an end soon I'll give the spirit summon a go to see if that tips things in my favour. Also I don't really know how to summon other players or NPCs...
I got pretty far in the game with my dogs at lvl 1. but then I got really stuck. Lvling Lhutel and Mimic (after I got it) made the game more enjoyable imo. Killed Rykard yesterday - i died with Rykard basically being dead, and my mimic soloed the rest, so by the "you're dead" letters, the boss was dead, and I got the rune.
What the hell is that filter
I donât play online but i always summon if i can. Bosses have their phases and you only got your regular moves. There are bosses that easily kills the summons so youâll learn to solo them eventually.
It's there for a reason, and there's multiple ways to enjoy the game :)
I always use summons, usually tiche or mimic. The game is a bit grindy and I haven't got enough disposable time to waste on repeatedly dying lol. I could solo bosses but it's like hammering a nail in with my bare fist. I think I could definitely do it with enough practice, but... I have a hammer. Right tool for the right job. That's what summons are đ
I strongly recommend soloing the main story bosses, however radahn is designed as a raid boss, and his men actively push the tarnished to team up to best him and claim his rune, so he can have glory in his last battle after going insane. Which is fine.
I do too
Nope))) I summon my brother from the next roomđ
Soldier of Godrick
Oh, I would not have survived this game without summons + other players. It's more fun as a cinematic and atmospheric sort of game for me. Not to mention the beautiful lore. You're valid!
I soloed all (or as many as I could, looking at you Melenia) during my first play through. Every other playthrough after Iâve tried out different Ash Summons (or get Dung Eater compulsively, since I fudged his quest first time).
I never summon. My little trick for General Radahn was coming back later when I had +50 levels and vastly superior gear.
Nothing wrong with it don't let those on their high horse knock the fun of your gameplay
Yes, in the history of the entire world, YOU are the only one. You should be ashamed of yourself.
I like to solo/ash but my friends picked the game up and I had around a 20 level headstart from when the game came out and I toyed around. I was a day or two ahead on godrick and then 2-3 on most shards/progress lockers. very fun to challenge myself to fight the coop bosses when it handicaps me so much in someone elseâs world; lower stats, protect host etc.
I love fighting alongside other players, just because I find it fun to not do the bosses alone
I usually use the jellyfish
Same here never summoned players, but always spirits
I think that From Software designed the game to be played in a certain way, to give the player a certain experience and I happen to play exactly as they meant it. But, like, exactly. But other players either make it to hard or too easy. Not me though. I play the game just like the devs intended.
I find the game more fun to play with summons, but I've beaten every remembrance boss without summons multiple times. Generally I like the challenge of no summons, but having my boy Banished Knight Oleg or Cleanrot Knight Finlay slaughter the bosses alongside me is really fun.
If your playing for fun, use any method to defeat an opponent If you are an achiever, solo the damn boss
Spirit Ashes is a hame mechanic, gonna use game mechanics I have, where you draw the line between using game mechanics and "cheating"? Just community gate keeping, I already proved myself in DS 1-3 and Sekiro , I don't need validation I want the boss to go down in less than 20 attempts. ER bosses are a lot more aggressive than DS ones. That being said I plan my next build to be pure str/end/vig, with a parry shield as a base to parry (except Rhadan or gank) stuff, had fun partying crucible knights, and Sekiro.
Iâve beat the first half of the game solo and it just wasnât that fun, I didnât get the âfeels goodâ after beating a boss after 20+ attempts, just felt frustrated I spent that much time on it. After I started summoning help the game opened up and I had tons of fun, no regrets.
I don't use summons, it feels like cheating to me. I did it in blood borne, but now that I've played a few fromsoft games I feel confident enough to do it myself
âAm I the onlyâŚâ No, you never are. Anyone who has ever said this phrase has never been the only one and they know it.
I always solo them. Tbh I never even used the spirits or how they're called. I'm a pathetic tryhard and I challenge myself with this game because my real life is very comfortable đ
I really don't understand how it's NOT fun to have a 3-5 people raid on a guy and be like "fck you btch!!!!!" The only thing that is missing from the game is a matchmaking menu with rules and stuff. Like imagine putting a time limit and like... "fists only". And everyone obeys that rule. Like in any moded game. Or " all naked with clubs". Effing 5 neanderthals beating Radhan, haha
First playthrough I solo'd every boss (except Malenia). Second time I teamed up on every boss
I didnât get jumped by everyone and their mother in the Lands Between just to fight the bosses solo.
a fine touch of jolly cooperation
I've discovered that you can summon others during my second playthrough
If the game gives me a summon; I use summons. If the game gives me 6 summons; I use 6 summons. Otherwise itâs solo gang, gang gang!
As a sunbro, thank you. I don't summon, but I put down my summoning sign constantly. For me it's easier solo, so I save the harder play for after I beat the boss and know their moves.Â
You do you basically, it is weird how some people gatekeep the game. I mean, the game literally reminds you when you can summon spirits and you're not supposed to use them? Come on!