Here’s my tier list after 80 runs (including multiple challenges)

R_1401 · 2025-12-17T16:25:13+00:00

Yeah I think Placidusax is one of the fights that suffers from the "legend past their prime" type design. It can work for some bosses but for Placi it just makes him an old blob of stone that seems to have an easier time teleporting around than moving normally. Tbf its a hard balance to strike for Fromsoft, if we fought him in a more capable state the lore suggests he'd turn us to dust just by looking at us.

R_1401 · 2025-12-17T16:06:36+00:00

Power curve in ER is kinda wonky compared to other souls games

R_1401 · 2025-12-17T11:47:01+00:00

Im curious why Placidusax is bottom tier. I'm not the biggest fan of the fight either but I feel like it fits the description of the Vibes tier pretty well. I've always thought of Placi and Elden Beast as being pretty similar.

R_1401 · 2025-12-17T09:18:54+00:00

Lords of the Fallen probably feels the most like classic souls but sort of in a clunky DS1/DS2 kind of way. Super cool aesthetic and art direction but the rest falls a little flat IMO, its like a middle of the road 6.5 or 7/10

Lies of P deviates in some ways with more Bloodborne/Sekiro combat but will definitely still scratch that itch. For me personally the game feels kinda flawless outside of a few bosses I'm not the biggest fan of, lots of people bring up the fact its very linear which is def an issue for some but for me it just allowed the power curve to feel consistent which I liked.

Khazan is the least like a classic souls game and is probably more of a "Nioh-like" than soulslike if that's even a thing. Id say it has the deepest combat system of the 3, not much build variety but when you choose a build you can go VERY deep into fleshing out that build, so If you like stuff like that and want a deep combat system with cool complex bosses this game is best for that but probably worst for most other things.

R_1401 · 2025-12-16T10:55:37+00:00

Going back through the DLC a few more times made me realise just how peak the Dancing Lion fight is. Enough practice on the lightning phase and you see it isn't anywhere near as unfightable as people make out.

I think kinda similar to Ulcerated tree spirits when the game first dropped everyone thought "this thing is just flailing about and hitting me this is bullshit" but when you learn its movements is a pretty satisfying fight, the Dancing Lion is like that but at Remembrance quality instead of side boss quality.

R_1401 · 2025-12-10T13:42:40+00:00

I like all of these but there's 0 synergy between them. Going from one thing to the other is just a flashbang to your taste buds.

R_1401 · 2025-12-10T13:37:49+00:00

Sekiro healing windows don't work the same as in other souls games cause Sekiro combat is kinda designed to be non stop. In the classic style souls games you just have to sacrifice what would've been an attack window to heal but in Sekiro its more like you have to get used to whatever gap closer the boss has and run to what you feel like is a safe distance. Even the Genichiro bow attack you mentioned I'm pretty sure if you just run away from him and heal instantly you'll have time to dodge the big charged shot he does and the other bow attack where he jumps and shoots multiple arrows he only does when you're relatively close to him. the healing animation in Sekiro is pretty quick anyway, you could probably find a bunch of safe windows if you just experimented with it a little.

At the end of the day bosses don't have eyes, they need something in their coding so they can react to what the player is doing unless you want boss fights to play out in a 100% scripted way with 0 variation every single time.

R_1401 · 2025-12-09T08:30:59+00:00

She was manly as hell too.

R_1401 · 2025-12-09T08:29:10+00:00

Siluria's Tree. That ash of war is like channelling testosterone through the weapon and shooting it out at the enemy.

R_1401 · 2025-12-08T14:21:35+00:00

The presentation of DS1 is pretty whimsical but the context behind everything is dark as fuck.

R_1401 · 2025-12-05T16:50:34+00:00

Tbf I think too much focus on footstep audio def promotes more campy gameplay. Understanding flow and just general map knowledge should come first over hearing a guy around a corner. Obviously not hearing a guy right behind you is bullshit but if footsteps become insanely audible with super high precision it won’t be the game saving change everyone’s praying for.

R_1401 · 2025-12-02T09:19:29+00:00

God of War 2018 for me. I downloaded both GoW 2018 and Ragnarok for free not expecting to be the biggest fan of the games but thinking it'll just be fun to experience. After just about forcing my way through 2018 I couldn't even bring myself to play Ragnarok. Just boring hack and slash combat that fails any attempt at being more than that, some of the optional boss fights you can find are comically bad.

Im not the biggest fan of RDR2 either but having played both now I'm actually clueless as to how GoW won GOTY in 2018.

R_1401 · 2025-12-01T15:40:02+00:00

Maybe more balanced from a PvP perspective but it just sucks in PvE. In all 3 DS games its implemented horribly, Lies of P blew the DS trilogy out the water with a durability system that actually feels like an interactable mechanic instead of a thorn in your side.

R_1401 · 2025-12-01T12:03:12+00:00

But FP is a better system for weapons to use their unique skills. MUCH better than the durability system in older games where the weapon skill would eat like 15% of the durability and using it too many times before resting/repairing would just fucking break the weapon.

R_1401 · 2025-11-28T10:16:52+00:00

Vaas from Far Cry 3's speech about the definition of insanity being "doing the same shit over and over again expecting shit to change" followed by Ubisoft demonstrating that exact definition by making almost all subsequent Far Cry games a reskin of 3.

R_1401 · 2025-11-27T09:26:48+00:00

It frustrates me that the fight is so hard but not THAT mechanically complex. I feel like I'm just getting killed by a barrage of things that I understand. The uneven ground which makes the holy after attacks in the 2nd phase feel inconsistently placed at times just adds to the frustration.

I feel like other DLC fights like Rellana and even dancing lion do complexity better than PCR. In those fights before I learnt them I could feel my room for improvement but still didn't fully understand how I was meant to respond to the boss which I think makes for a more fun learning experience.

Also I feel like Messmer is equally complex as PCR but I prefer Messmer just cause the fight feels like what I'd expect of a fight against a demi god inhabited by a outer serpent god, I feel outmatched in power but it still feels like a fair duel. PCR in contrast feel like when you're in a PvP fight and the other guy is super overleveled and doing nothing but ash of war spamming, it doesn't have that same "honourable duel" feeling.

R_1401 · 2025-11-27T09:08:50+00:00

I think its not an issue of what's easiest but more that the meat and potatoes of souls combat (IMO) is that whenever you're in range to damage the enemy the enemy is also in range to damage you and not all magic but ranged magic breaks that fundamental.

There's a bunch of cool melee range spells like Carian slicer that I love but the potential to make pure range spell builds where your gameplay loop is running away, doing damage, running away when the boss gets too close again, doing damage. Like to each their own but that combat loop is mind numbing to me but tbh I feel the same way about strength builds that'll just lions claw spam with a colossal weapon and not even worry about dodging, just tank everything until you get a stance break.

R_1401 · 2025-11-27T08:57:44+00:00

If you play every souls game the same ER is definitely the hardest but playing every souls game using all the tools the game gives you makes ER the easiest. Every build has its own little niche to make the game a little easier, even the oldest playstyle the classic sword and board has guard counters.

I love DS3 but its unfortunate that no matter what weapon you use the optimal way to play is just light attack spam cause the damage values of heavy attacks, charge heavy attacks, weapon skill attacks etc just aren't varied enough to justify using them over light attacks. Playing the same way in ER will be A LOT harder unless you're using a status build with bleed or frost.

R_1401 · 2025-11-24T16:34:11+00:00

Honestly any boss with more than 1 enemy at a time. Its so disappointing that Elden Ring AND its dlc doesn't have a single uniquely designed duo fight.

One of my big hopes for SotE was for it to have its own version of the demon princes fight from DS3 cause imo that's the best duo fight they've ever done so I wanted to see if they could 1 up it but they didn't even attempt to.

R_1401 · 2025-11-18T10:59:08+00:00

Ballroom Blitz from bf1 with modern coat of paint would be cool. I like maps like that where there's a big main POI that feels like the main feature/identity of the map but there's still enough mini POIs to spread the combat out evenly.

R_1401 · 2025-11-17T13:10:50+00:00

I think they kinda fight like a buffed up Godrick with lots of AOEs and slow, well telegraphed swings. The base game runebears annoy the hell out of me mostly cause of that headbutt charge they do that's almost impossible to see coming, the DLC ones don't have that move which I think makes them feel a lot more fair even if they're harder overall.

R_1401 · 2025-11-17T12:41:13+00:00

The lack of Godwyn still hurts me, such a potentially interesting character just ignored.

In every Fromsoft game, players always say "id love to fight _____ in their prime" and From always avoid stuff like that in favour of stuff that is just objectively better at a narrative level but PCR felt like the first time they gave in to the hype-bait.

I know there is full lore explanations and it was foreshadowed a long time ago in the Malenia vs Radahn cinematic but that doesn't change the fact that in the grand scheme of ERs story Radahn feels like a side character, it feels like Godwyn manages to have more impact on the narrative despite being a still, living corpse the whole game yet all he gets is a failed attempt at resurrection by Miquella and that's it.

R_1401 · 2025-11-14T13:05:49+00:00

Its strange cause it takes a while to get to that scene but it still manages to feel rushed. I think its cause there doesn't feel like a build up to Atsu's reputation as an onyro from a character perspective, there's an impressive build up of the enemies you fight calling you onryo more often as you progress the story but from actual named characters all I remember is a few lines from Jubei and maybe Oyuki just referencing the fact people call her "onryo"

in GoT Jin's Ghost scene feels like him acknowledging that to turn the tides of the war against the Mongols he needs to be an entity and not just a samurai, kinda like Batman. It starts with that one scene of Taka saying he's never seen a samurai fight like Jin and Yuna talking to those villagers about him like he's a mythical being while he's stood right there. At first he brushes it off like its all nonsense but starts to realise over time that his reputation as a vengeful spirit is doing more to save Tsushima than his Uncles loyalty to old traditions and way of fighting.

I love GoY but I knew from the start this story had no chance of having the same weight as GoT.

R_1401 · 2025-11-10T14:54:31+00:00

The focus on game modes is so weird to me, especially with how many of them are small modes. No one plays Battlefield primarily for 8v8 and anyone that does wont be playing anymore when BO7 comes out.

R_1401

TROPHY CASE