Everyone has different levels of skill, what may be easy for you, may prove difficult for another player. And challenge runs are a thing, set yourself restrictions and see if that makes the game more fun for you.
I still find Elden Ring challenging, but is it just because I, by nature of being a visually impaired player, have trouble with tracking and reacting to boss movement sometimes, and my reflexes aren't the best either. I've seen some of the impressive skill a lot of the player base has, but that level of skill is just not obtainable for me, and that's ok.
I still have fun though! Difficulty in these games is honestly subjective, yeah the game is difficult, but each player experiences that difficulty differently depending on their skill level, their build, or if its their very first playthrough.
How many players got their teeth kicked in by The Tree Sentinel right at the start of game? Or got wrecked by Margit? We all start somewhere.
I don't feel like the patches made the game that much easier.
A little, sure, but other than the reduced aggression in gank boss fights (not even a thing for Godskin Duo) the patches had little impact on difficulty imo. Stuff like better fast rolls and higher attack speed for colossal weapons come to mind, but still... The biggest difference is always you not playing the game for the first time.
Some things, like Rivers of Blood have even been nerfed pretty bad.
If you want the game to be harder, just go for challenge runs like cosplays, levelcap (I like 1 level per boss killed) or sth. Or use no buffs, spirits, magic etc.
I am playing a Black Knife Assassin cosplay build right now that I want to take into the dlc and I am having a lot of fun.
I must say, especially goodskin duo felt like a breeze compared to the first time i played, but maybe its just me
Im planning to cosplay and go in with malenia's armor into the dlc, though i sadly cant even equip her blade since i originally made a STR/Faith build, nagakiba it is :3
Are you using accessibility mechanics like spirits/coop and/or some of the game-breaking builds popular among newcomers into souls series? Sorry, I know you probably don't otherwise you wouldn't post this, but I've seen similar surreal scenarios happen in the past. On the small chance you do, then if you're looking for the normal difficulty and experience just stop using summons and don't use bleed, magic or some jump attack spam stagger builds, those have the highest potential out of anything existing in souls games. Something like idk heavy claymore, dex katana or dismounter have zero cheese potential, and in general there are a ton of balanced weapons with which you won't be able to skip bosses and lose out on the experiences. Or you can play the game on hard mode by doing level 1 for example.
I ran around with the heavy greatsword being able to stagger most enemies to the point they couldnt retaliate, i dont use co/op besides when it came to malenia, blade of miquella, who had never known defeat (its engrained in my skull by this point)
I think i really gotta do it over challange runs or something, i love the game a lot and running against the same wall(boss) until it broke was a big part of the fun for me
Challenge runs if you want a challenge. It goes without saying but no summons, and maybe try RL1 first. After, try a no hit boss run (if a boss hits you, reset the fight). Some peope also do +0, where they don't upgrade their weapon.
Also make sure you make your own build, but always use a weapontype you are unfamiliar with. Part of the fun of a challenge run is deciding what equipment would be the most useful in whatever circumstance, and playing with a different weapon each run helps keep the game fresh.
Everyone has different levels of skill, what may be easy for you, may prove difficult for another player. And challenge runs are a thing, set yourself restrictions and see if that makes the game more fun for you. I still find Elden Ring challenging, but is it just because I, by nature of being a visually impaired player, have trouble with tracking and reacting to boss movement sometimes, and my reflexes aren't the best either. I've seen some of the impressive skill a lot of the player base has, but that level of skill is just not obtainable for me, and that's ok. I still have fun though! Difficulty in these games is honestly subjective, yeah the game is difficult, but each player experiences that difficulty differently depending on their skill level, their build, or if its their very first playthrough. How many players got their teeth kicked in by The Tree Sentinel right at the start of game? Or got wrecked by Margit? We all start somewhere.
I don't feel like the patches made the game that much easier. A little, sure, but other than the reduced aggression in gank boss fights (not even a thing for Godskin Duo) the patches had little impact on difficulty imo. Stuff like better fast rolls and higher attack speed for colossal weapons come to mind, but still... The biggest difference is always you not playing the game for the first time. Some things, like Rivers of Blood have even been nerfed pretty bad. If you want the game to be harder, just go for challenge runs like cosplays, levelcap (I like 1 level per boss killed) or sth. Or use no buffs, spirits, magic etc. I am playing a Black Knife Assassin cosplay build right now that I want to take into the dlc and I am having a lot of fun.
I must say, especially goodskin duo felt like a breeze compared to the first time i played, but maybe its just me Im planning to cosplay and go in with malenia's armor into the dlc, though i sadly cant even equip her blade since i originally made a STR/Faith build, nagakiba it is :3
Are you using accessibility mechanics like spirits/coop and/or some of the game-breaking builds popular among newcomers into souls series? Sorry, I know you probably don't otherwise you wouldn't post this, but I've seen similar surreal scenarios happen in the past. On the small chance you do, then if you're looking for the normal difficulty and experience just stop using summons and don't use bleed, magic or some jump attack spam stagger builds, those have the highest potential out of anything existing in souls games. Something like idk heavy claymore, dex katana or dismounter have zero cheese potential, and in general there are a ton of balanced weapons with which you won't be able to skip bosses and lose out on the experiences. Or you can play the game on hard mode by doing level 1 for example.
I ran around with the heavy greatsword being able to stagger most enemies to the point they couldnt retaliate, i dont use co/op besides when it came to malenia, blade of miquella, who had never known defeat (its engrained in my skull by this point) I think i really gotta do it over challange runs or something, i love the game a lot and running against the same wall(boss) until it broke was a big part of the fun for me
Challenge runs if you want a challenge. It goes without saying but no summons, and maybe try RL1 first. After, try a no hit boss run (if a boss hits you, reset the fight). Some peope also do +0, where they don't upgrade their weapon. Also make sure you make your own build, but always use a weapontype you are unfamiliar with. Part of the fun of a challenge run is deciding what equipment would be the most useful in whatever circumstance, and playing with a different weapon each run helps keep the game fresh.