Elden Ring: Journey to Altus Plateau

I have levelled up my character to level 54 now, where I mostly focused on Vigour (health), Endurance (stamina), Strength and Dexterity. Each of those traits is level 20 or higher.

The world of Elden Ring is big, and it feels even bigger because every part is filled with enemies and unique drops. Sometimes you will find a nice item near a random enemy, while at other times you defeat a big and tough enemy only to get something which you will never use. That means the game kinda encourages exploration and punishes rushing towards the next object. Also, the fact that you need a lot of runes to level up and make yourself stronger before taking on bosses and such.

I was in a strange place called Uld Palace Ruins, and I saw another weird thing. A big moving structure which is made out of rocks carrying a building on top. It keeps walking and jumping, which can crush you easily.

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I tried to jump on top of it from a nearby ledge, but couldn't make it. It was a bit too far for me to jump onto.

The bears in this region were very aggressive. (Or maybe it became too aggressive after I butchered her kids in front of her? lol)

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I came across another Minor Erdtree, which was guarded by an Erdtree Avatar and some smaller enemies. It took me a few retries to take it down. Those smaller enemies were too annoying and killed me many times.

And this Erdtree Avatar has a magic attack that is hard to dodge, but I found a clever way... hiding behind the tree and going in circles around it while being patient and looking for an entry to hit.

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It dropped three Cracked Tear, Holy-Shrouding, Lightning Shrouding, and Magic Shrouding, but I am not sure how to use them as of yet.

I still require a Glintstone Key to open magic-locked gates like the following.

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I went back to the starting area to search if I missed anything, and yes, I did. In one of the ruins, there was an underground tunnel that led me to an easy boss, the Mad Pumpkin Head. I guess this was supposed to be fought in the beginning, and that's why it felt so easy right now.

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Just next to the boss's room was an important NPC, Sorceress Sellen, who taught me some spells. But my build isn't focused on it, so it was not much of a bother for me not to find her for so long. I still bought some groceries from here just in case I need them later.

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Another location that I missed is Fort Haight West, which had a Golden Seed. Going into the Fort, it wasn't too tough. This location also seemed like I should have been here before when I wasn't this strong. But this is a good thing about the game, too, once you level up enough, some sections feel fair and not too brutal like many others. This makes the job of game developers much harder, though, balancing everything must be tough in this kind of game.

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I found the second half of the Dectus Medallion in this fort. I already found the right half in another fort a couple of days ago. Now that I have it, I can access the Lift of Dectus.

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But first, it was time to fight another Evergaol boss. The Bloodhound Knight Darriwil was a tough fight.

This boss had a curved sword that gave a blood loss effect, and the movement was very quick, too. I must have died like 10 times trying to learn its moves, defend and find windows to attack it without taking damage. Dodging was much more effective than using Shield in this one.

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It dropped its Bloodhound' Fang curved sword, which I instantly upgraded because my main weapon was a curved sword so far as well. I like the staggering damage it does to the soldier enemies. This might be my new main weapon, along with the katana.

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This medallion activated the Dectus lift, and this seemed to be quite important in this story. Seeing cutscenes in the middle of the game is quite rare in this game. I was a bit lost before this, and now I know I am on the right path. This gives me good confidence.

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This huge lift took me to the Altus Plateau, which is a completely different area. This one had a golden hue, unlike the other places in the game so far.

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There are new enemies and a lot of new areas and buildings to explore now. These enemies seem to be tougher than the ones we were fighting in the Luirnia of Lakes region. This will also make me get a lot of runes quickly.

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Until next time...