except the Amygdala arm

That was the weapon with which I beat my first playthrough! I love that weapon, especially its design.

Any reason you haven’t done a playthrough with it yet? Just haven’t gotten around to it yet? Or any specific dislikes of that weapon?

That’s nice :)

Okay from memory:

• Greavekeeper head and chest are in the second part after the short-cut elevator back. Left side of the path you have to jump over the ravenine with the aliens below. This is one of only two jumps in the game that are required to get an item. I don’t know from memory where the rest of the set is.
• Chunk. Also second part of the woods. After the big snake bundle, a bit further and then a sharp u-turn right in a small cave behind three enemies.
• Path to Iosefka’s clinic. First part of the forest. Before the village go left and then left again through the dog cages to a tunnel entrance.
• Tonsil Stone. Doesn’t have to be in the forest! Patches get’s triggered by you entering the forest, but you can get the tonsil stone by any window you can talk to: Cathedral Ward, Central Yarhnam, or forest doesn’t matter.

I dislike spoilers. A spoiler might pique my interest in a particular piece of media, but as soon as I have decided to consume a particular piece of media, spoiler or no, I’m not gonna look up anything related to it.

What did I know before playing Elden Ring? Souls game by Fromsoft, Open World, good game and that’s it; okay, I saw a couple of screenshoots about Margit, Malenia, and a giant hand, but other than that? Nothing. I didn’t even watch a trailer for the game before playing it or its DLC. In fact, I have yet to watch a single trailer for Elden Ring.

Some are only concerned for spoilers about the story (in a video game). But for me, especially in a Souls game, it’s all about the vibe. I want to experience that vibe in this fantastic interactive medium firsthand.

What will I be playing this weekend? I’m almost done with my race meandering journey to NG+7 in Elden Ring. I’m currently in the middle of NG+6, but I should reach NG+7 this weekend. I’m probably going to respec my character for the last game cycle from my Dragon Priestess cosplay build to a powerstance spear build - it’s what I did in my first playthrough in base game. I know now a tiny bit more about the game, so let’s see how overpowered I can make it.

The only thing that really interests me is the Tarnished Edition. I’m gonna buy some horse armor! Or maybe it’s going to be releases as a free update for the other platforms… One can only hope.

There is a Rosus’ Statue up above in Caelid which points towards this Catacomb.

As powerful as Mimic Tear can be, it has to be able to use your build.
These are my personal favorite spirit ashes. If I’m going to use spirit ashes, I’m probably using one of these:

• Greatshield Soldier Ashes: The Guys! My nigh immortal troops. These guys just stay behind their shields, throw granades (that can proc frost bite) and bash with their shields. Bosses don’t know how to deal them. Nothing is funnier than watching Gaius’ little mind melt when trying to deal with them or watching Ancient Dragon Man get bullied in a corner. They are also decently cheap to summon at 74 FP.
• Jolán and Anna: A true endgame summon. It’s worth doing Metyr’s entire questline just for this summon. These two are mobile NPCs that do a lot of bleed build up. While they aren’t tanks, they are decently tanky (They survive Miquella’s orbital laser no problem). Some enemies you can simply gank with these two. Anna is also really good at drawing aggro with her ranged attacks. They are quite expensive to summon at 144 FP; drink your blue juice.
• Stormhawk Deenh: My personal favorite summon. This gives you immediately after summoning an insane aura buff: 20% more physical damage and 20% more stance damage which is, again, insane. Otherwise this summon is rather squishy and it’s pecks don’t do a lot of damage - it has a dive which it rarely uses that does a bit of damage and stance damage. Some bosses really struggle to hit him since he’s flying and is immune to ground moves. He’s super cheap at 47 FP. That’s cheaper than the starting wolves. At RL1 you can summon him and use Cragblade two times.

Why did I write an analysis of my favorite spirit ashes under a funny meme?

• I used #moviegods on and off for years without ever registering without problem (maybe they briefly required it when I wasn’t using them?)
• You need to register now to actually download even if you use #the.source.nospam. You can interact in the channel without registering, but as soon you try to message a bot to actually download you get the following automated message “You must identify to a registered nick to private message this user”
• skullxdcc.com seems to be made by the same person.

Nice list. Some additional information:

• You don’t need to register on abjects to download in ´#moviegods´.
• To download in irc://irc.scenep2p.net/THE.SOURCE you apperently now do need to register to download. This didn’t used to be the case.
• sunxdcc.com has been superseded by skullxdcc.com. Made by the same person as sun and on sunxdcc a popup even tells you to switch.
• irc://irc.rizon.net/nibl is a channel for anime downloads; no registration required. Can be searched via nibl.co.uk/search
• irc://irc.xertion.org:6667/MK is another channel for anime; this does now seem to require registration. Can be searched via xdcc.animk.info

I’m currently at the end of NG+4 in Elden Ring and will probably beat it and NG+5 this weekend. My current Dragon Incantation build is so OP.

Homage vs. Copying?
You know what? I was going to formulate a long opinion here, but since I’m going to play Lies of P soon™ (probably after ER Ng+7), I’m going to hold off until after I beat Lies of P to go into it with a more open mindset.

I will probably get back into Nightreign eventually. The moment-to-moment gameplay was fantastic, but the gameplay loop didn’t really appeal to me. Both random and same-y, and you don’t really have a control over your build. Eventually it felt like I just had a 30 Minute runback to Tricephalos and the victory against it wasn’t very satisfying (I lucked into Siluria’s Tree). When I try it next time, I’m probably gonna watch/read a guide.

After I bullied my way all the way to NG+7 with my first save file in Elden Ring, I’ll probably give Lies of P a try, which I got here in a giveaway here (thanks). A Mage playthrough of DS2 or a third RL1 playthrough of Elden Ring also sound appealing, but I’m gonna play a totally different new game now (even though LoP is supposed to be the Souls game not by Fromsoft).

Have you gotten around to Elden Ring yet?

I first heard about Dark Souls 1 over a decade ago, years before DS3 was released, and I thought it looked neat. My nearest gameplay comparison was Monster Hunter. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a PC or Console at that time that could play it, so I forgot about it. Years later, I got third or forth hand PS4 from a family member either for free or for years of IT support. I heard that Bloodborne, a game by the same developer as Dark Souls, was a must-play for the PS4 and worth even buying the console for. The GOTY edition of Bloodborne was for sale for 20€ at that time and I thought, “Why not? Might as well buy it.” And then… I played hundreds of hours of Monster Hunter World and forgot I about my purchase. Over a year later, I had lots of time on my hand and remembered that game. I after booting it up, being slightly confused and drinking in the atmosphere I got beat up by the townsfolk. I took me half a dozen hours to just get past the pyre. But I presevered! Central Yharnam: best tutorial level of all time!
Bloodborne has IMO still the best atmosphere of any game I ever played. Gameplay wise? I still love Bloodborne and have to replay it for Xth time, but I’m currently hopelessly addicted to Elden Ring. Elden Ring has in my oppinion by far the best gameplay of any game in the Souls series.

Yay! Well, if we take Elden Ring as an example, I’m a massive fan, especially of its open world. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to simply go almost anywhere you want, which is simply not possible with a more restrictive area layout. What I particularly enjoyed is that you can go to what you see in the distance and there is much to see in the distance (Elden Ring offers great view points). Sure in previous Souls titles you saw a bit texture of familiar architecture in front of the skybox but Elden Ring you not only see Raya Lucaria in the distance but also the path you traverse to get there with ruins and towers on the side and from the academy you the see the Three Sister and from there an even better look at Ranni’s estate etc.

I find both the locations you find strewn about in the open world as well as the enemy encounters varied enough. Group enemny encounters are quite decently designed in Elden Ring: Even if you agro the whole camp, you aren’t getting mobbed by a dozen enemies like if you aggroed half the dungeon in DS2. Here you only get engaged by 3-4 enemies while the rest stand around waiting for their turn like action movie extras. The only thing that gets a bit repetitive are the standard catacombs textures and layouts (even though I quite enjoy some of them). This improves significantly in the DLC, where there are only three catacombs, each with a unique gimmick. Using minor dungeons to connect to new areas is also something I enjoy. Ruin-Strewn Precipice is one of the four (!) ways to the Altus Plateau and Darklight Catacombs is the way to the Abyssal Woods. I wish there was a different way to the Abyssal Woods, but my mind was blown the first time I exited the dungeon. Interacting with (Legacy) Dungeons from the overworld is under utilized in Elden Ring in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed the way you could access different parts of Castle Ensis from Scadu Altus. Imagine if you could access different part of Limgrave or even Liurnia from Strom Veil Castle.

The most exciting part, for me, about the open world of Elden Ring is actually not the first playthrough, but the nigh unrivaled replayability that it offers. Let me explain: On first playthrough the best thing you get from an encounter might simply be the Runes, but on a subsequent playthrough you already know where everything is and with the unparalled access that the open world provides to everything you can uniquely route each playthrough. But all of this only works because area traversal is so fast in Elden Ring. The Trarnished doesn’t get exhausted after like three steps like the Cursed One and what people don’t seem to realize is how incerdibly fast Torrent actually is. On a first playthrough where you stop for every interesting bauble and sight you don’t notice it, but incredibly long journeys like Bestial Sanctum to Redmane Castle go by incredible fast on the back of our awesome spectral steed. Another aspect are the trapped chests, sending gates, quests, and myriad other things that shortcut the world. The Routing possiblities are endless making every playthrough of Elden Ring unique.

I started with Bloodborne as my first Souls game and even today I still own most of my Soulslikes on console and so I play almost exclusively on controller.
Also, I find navigating 3D spaces, especially from the 3rd perspective, simply easier and more intuitive with a controller.

I’m going to play Elden Ring. I’m currently cosplaying as a Dragon Priestess and incinerating the higher new game cycles with Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike.

Oh, that looks cool! Definitely to high insight.

There are other really fantastic artworks in his gallery. The Mergo’s Wet Nurse painting looks amazing.

Have fun on your playthrough :)

Sorceries are very enjoyable to use in Elden Ring.

Also, you get to experience the DLC for the first time, and I’m sure you’re gonna enjoy this; it’s some of FromSoft’s best content.

Have you tried poison mist? You can set this like in this cheese video.

You could also try Pestilent Mist which does percentage based damage.

My armchair opinion is that it has to do with an online glitch. You say, that you are sure that you are offline. I would try to verify that again if I were you. Go offline in the DS3 settings and disconnect your PC temporarily from the internet.

I find a caster build always fun for a second playthrough.
Elden Ring has a fantastic selection of spells. If you want to play as a sorcerer, you could start as an Astrologer or a Prisoner and see where it takes you.

If you want more concrete or different advise about builds in Elden Ring just ask — I have an unhealthy amount of knowledge of Elden Ring and am always happy to help.

Well in this case my milage does indeed vary:

Some leaked Documents hardly prove anything in my opinion and even in your linked snopes article it says:
[assuming the above leak is true]

Such a person might be considered chromosomally male, but that does not necessarily mean they are accurately or conclusively described as biologically male.

I can’t find any concrete reporting about the IBA test in 2023 (here is the relevant section in the Wikipedia article). Only statements by the IBA itself that she has XY chromosomes (which does not,even if true, necessarily mean that she is male, female XY is possible.)

I’m currently curb stomping the higher NG cycles. Currently on Journey 3. I want to have my first character experience everything. In Journey 2, I did everything I never did in the first playthrough (seeing Melina’s sacrifice, freeing Blaidd, getting the dusk ending etc.). Now, I’m doing a vile playthrough, as I’m calling it. I did some evil actions before in other playthroughs (e.g. Chaos ending). In this one, I’m doing actions so vile thar I’m never doing them again. For example, doing all of Seluvis questline: roofieing Nepheli to turn her into a puppet, which felt truly awful; trying to give the potion to Ranni was really vile; at least if you annoy her afterwards she very deservedly kills you instantly. I also killed two Forager Broods in the DLC and had Moore invade. Killing peaceful creatures, then getting rightfully callled out and then killing Moore felt truly awful (even more so than telling him to be sad forever). I’m also doing the entire Dung-Eater quest and getting his ending (which will probably be the only time I’m ever doing that, so vile.)

Youtube Channels:

• splee5556: He has an truly intricate knowledge of Souls and espcellially Dark Souls Glitches. A fun Video of his is beating DS1 Poopwalk only (Poopwalk is a useless Glitch which halves all animations).
• Thingfishy: He does nicely edited, chill playthrough/“build guides” about mostly Elden Ring and DS3. Very nice to watch and entertaining Videos.
• OceaTwo: A helpless Elden Ring addict. He mostly does Elden Ring playthroughs with a theme (only leveling one stat, using only one weapon type etc.). Seeing him play is fascinating, since it looks like he is almost sleep walking through the game. His two videos 1,2 where he tries to hitless Elden Ring are aprticulaly entertaining.

Other more well known Youtubers:

• illusory wall: He does deep dives about Souls and especially Dark Souls games focusing on mechanics, world layout etc. His Dark Souls Dissected series is especially worth a watch.
• GinoMachino: Probably the best No Hit runner of Elden Ring. The appeal of watching is streams or edited streams is seeing someone be very good at something. His massive all 207 Bosses not hit video is truly fascinating to watch.