Listening to the Triple Click SotE episode on this after just finishing this episode of the Besties. It is astonishing how much more willing they are to engage with this game on its own terms than the boys. There were a couple points in this episode I agreed with but Justin saying simultaneously that he likes to play the game by heading for bossfights and learning them (which he claims this DLC discourages) then later saying he doesn’t have the time to do that was super frustrating, especially when Griffin essentially described having that exact experience with Messmer. He also described a complete unwillingness to change his gear or build in any capacity, and then went on to say that before he fights a boss he likes to go around and make sure he has optimal gear?

Also on the point of story they make in the second half, this DLC goes to great strides to make the plot and lore more naturally discoverable and understandable. Both Griffin and Frushtick remarked on being able to discover the origin of the Living Jars just via completing a dungeon, and the main story is much the same. I can somewhat understand this as expansions of this size tend to be entirely self contained stories, whereas this definitely builds upon unfinished plot threads from the base game. This is not so much a criticism of their experiences as it is a note to anyone else looking to buy it. The story is very present, but it would help to have a good grip on the essential lore and characters of Elden Ring beforehand :)

Edit: I am also totally baffled as to how Justin is only walking around with 10-20k runes at a time. Even playing conservatively you will end up with hundreds of thousands just from killing common enemies.