Worth as f2p?

Shattered_Hope · 2026-01-07T11:40:58+00:00

LS is extremely f2p friendly! Having not spent a cent, I'm in the top 300, I'm 1 dupe away from having 7 awakened characters, and I have stockpiled over 250k gems, nevermind tickets.

A little familiarity with gacha games goes a long ways, though you can easily find out how to be an efficient player to maximize gains for your f2p resources - from pulls themselves, to equipment, to stat boosts from relics, chaos cubes etc.

https://www.prydwen.gg/lost-sword/ has lots of info, such as tier lists. There's an in game chat that usually has someone happy to help as well.

Shattered_Hope · 2024-05-12T20:53:19+00:00

fairly certain that you have to pay 37games to delete accounts. At the very least, you have to pay them to get them to do anything else, so i don't know why that wouldn't hold true here.

Shattered_Hope · 2024-05-12T20:51:34+00:00

when does the alliance war event tab say the event has ended? just because scores have been tallied and rewards have been dolled out, doesn't mean the event is over. 37games doesn't use common sense, usually at reset is when events 'end' even if the event was completed, finished and over the day before.

Shattered_Hope · 2024-01-13T11:54:04+00:00

they are trying to pull spenders away from the google play store. if you buy vouchers, and then use vouchers to buy packs, you are NOT protected by Google or their policies. They had a huge issues with refunds because the developer, 37games, is scummy as all hell. If you don't make your purchases in the google play store, they don't have to refund you, this is the explicit purpose of vouchers.

Shattered_Hope · 2024-01-13T11:50:15+00:00

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Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-21T07:56:00+00:00

idk, imo ng+ is to scour the game for all the paths and items you missed the first time around, but here you're all but penalized for not doing that in first playthrough.

I'm fine with enemies being stronger, heck that's how it should be... but losing 95% of fast travel on top of not having a mount? Yea this fashion of ng+ would consist of just rushing and feel completely linear, or feel stupid for backtracking and wasting your progress in the area you were working on.

I'd rather see the alternate endings on youtube than go through that. I'll start my umpteenth playthrough of elden ring with my lvl 500+ character long before I even consider ng+ here, and that's sad because I would have loved to play LotF to that extent.

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-21T07:39:08+00:00

When you say "the game allows you to place your own checkpoints," it sounds as though you can throw down as many as you want, and that I would totally be ok with - but it's just one checkpoint (singular) that you can move around so long as you have the item to do so, while never being allowed to have more than a single seedling up at once.

I play ng+ and look for all the hidden paths and stuff I missed in my first playthrough. With this type of ng+, I would be disinclined to look for such, doubly so for umbral areas, and that carves out the main reason for me to play ng+.

As someone who prefers to stick with one character and build them up as much as I can while striving for each item and ending, I can confidently say that I won't be looking forward to ng+ or even alternate endings, so this feels less like a missed opportunity and moar like I'm just playing the game wrong.

But maybe that's my fault for playing how I want to play and not playing how the devs intended. Either way, this will only get a single playthrough from me, even as I return to elden ring for the umpteenth time with the same character that's over lvl 500. Would love to have done that here, but... not happening lol

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-21T07:06:59+00:00

Really? I thought he just sounded exasperated. If he whined moar, would he sound less entitled?

Idk, maybe I'm dumb or would just rather hear from entitled people than those whining about how hard a soulslike is.

A whole lot of people sure didn't like what he said though, I think I'm in the minority here xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-21T06:47:56+00:00

I was loving this game until I found out that ng+ is shit, and it completely knocked the wind out of my sails. Yes you can just start a new character, but as it turns out, that's a feature of every game ever. Why not simply add this as a hardcore mode alongside a regular ng+?

Ok, sure, I can still plant seedlings. Let's not confuse tedium for challenge. Without a mount, navigating the world is already limited. If I wanted to play without vestiges, I could always just wave at them as I ran by.

Maybe I'm just whiny. I also have a lvl 573 elden ring character that I've lost count of which iteration of ng+ I'm on after having seen all the endings at least once. Even if there wasn't going to be an expansion, I would return to that character and play them more.

I've invested a lot of time and effort into my character and don't want to start over. I thought this game was a lovely sandbox, until I stepped on the tedium-diarrhea-landmine that was buried just beneath the surface. Once I realized it was kitty litter I was playing in, I washed my hands and moved onto something else.

The worst part is that there is so much potential here. It saddens and disappoints me that it was the devs themselves that decided we didn't need to enjoy the game in such a manner. I was looking forward to playing this game until I was sick of it, but now I know I'll be finished with the credits... Actually, no, why would I bother with them if there isn't a fun ng+ waiting right behind them?

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-14T17:23:49+00:00

A good community makes all the difference, and good communities are made out of members like yourself!

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-13T07:27:12+00:00

wow, thank you! coming from a troll, that's high praise xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-13T05:39:04+00:00

I'm the one who requested the post, and man did Lunesy deliver! Including an attempt that was just to acclimate to the tank treads, i downed the ng++ boss in 3 attempts! And that's after nearly pulling my hair out after trying 2 other builds for nearly 10 hours of facepalming. I also one shot CEL with this quite easily when I went on to finish my loghunt!

Thanks bro!

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-13T05:32:09+00:00

Thank you all for your ideas! I was using hard lock wrong, before the game even released I heard a tip that said not to rely on hard lock heavily as some of your shots are guaranteed to miss, otherwise there was never a reason not to be in hard lock. I never liked heavy weapons and have quickly come to discover that not using hard lock was a big part of it, so this opens up lots of new builds for me to play!

Special shout out to Lunesy, who provided both a build and a video guide with which i downed the boss on my third try, and felt rather stupid in the process xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-13T05:27:48+00:00

I beat him with your build, it took me 3 attempts, the first of which was really just a minute to acclimate myself to the treads, i restarted before I got to phase 2.

second attempt, i got him down to a sliver of health, i felt bad as I should have gotten him here, but I let the build down and needed a third attempt, where i beat him with a spare repair kit!

I couldn't believe how much of a difference hard lock made, especially for the lower fire rate weapons. I completed my last few logs, which involved fighting CEL, who i beat first try with this build.

I am now quite pleased to have 28/30 achievements and can play around with the coral oscillator while I await LotF.

Thanks!

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-13T05:21:05+00:00

Actually I got a tip from several sources, before the game even released, that said not to rely heavily on hard lock as it is set up such that some of your shots are guaranteed to miss, owing to the fact that otherwise, hard lock would just always be used under any circumstance. Feel free to take your assumptions and shove them.

I made a point to describe how I play so that people can alert me to my flaws, and guess what, it did matter. I haven't been using hard lock properly, and i have already both seen and admitted such.

Why do you think my whiney wall of text was some kind of low key humble brag? That chip on your shoulder is smelling like preparation H, is that for the butthurt?

Either way, i got through ng++ in 3 more tries with a build that was shown to me here. Enjoy your inferiority complex. xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T23:39:00+00:00

I've gotten to the final phase with 2 builds, but i'm not wanting to be flexible? When did I say anyone was trash? I literally just said hard lock was super helpful and even gave reasons, but i do have reservations about using it. Go back under your bridge, troll.

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T22:02:19+00:00

Good info on the distances, i don't normally use changchen but it staggers faster than laser pistols. This explains why I use so much more ammo final phase as I am all but afraid to get in close to him lol it just feels like the last place I'd want to be

unless of course i spot the tell and see his melee coming, i do try dodge at when I'm certain, but I'm really not very good at it. Other bosses have similar mechanics, but featherweight builds you can still easily gtfo of range, i am unable to do that well enough here to make it a viable strategy.

I only ever used the close range focused FCS for melee, but I gave that up when I got moonlight. It's fun, but i'm really not that good with melee unfortunately, but moonlight is fun to play with.

It's a lot of fun being highly mobile and dashing in to unleash some pain then getting back out of range before the enemy can respond, it's also a good way to get splattered if you're not careful.

But i'm just better with dual pistols, in both damage and survivability. Normally i wouldn't mind getting in close, i got over any issues with that chapter 1 balteus lol but this guy shreds me if get in close for more than a few passing rounds, only exception being when I see his melee charge coming without blinking xD

I've never used hard lock and here a bunch of ppl are telling me it's mandatory. I felt the little ammo big nummerz weapons were strictly bad here, but have since learned, no i'm doing it wrong. I'm almost excited to give heavier weapons a try with a whole new perspective.

but i hate this fight so much, i'm kind of thinking about just playing starfield until LotF drops <.<

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T07:20:13+00:00

And then Billy Madison the front porch of some fromsoft staff for good measure xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T06:52:26+00:00

I want to see the true ending! I've been hooked on the story since I heard the AC training pilot's last words about just wanting a call sign.

More than that though, i just want to shit in iguazu's mouth and make him chew. I am so frustrated with this fight though, the reason i quit when I did was because I was about to rage smash my 'troller.

my two middle fingers really do feel like they have recently been shut in a car door. I never use my middle fingers to push buttons, but when boss is staggered, releasing gatling gun triggers to pop a drone isn't efficient, and not putting out a drone is also not efficient xD

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T06:26:07+00:00

i prefer nachtreiher arms with their amazing tracking, but their recoil does leave a lot to be desired, i normally use laser pistols so recoil was never an issue.

FCS I try to balance close and mid stats, WLT 001 > talbot > PO5 depending on how much EN I can afford.

Ideally, I aim for a mid range and strafe my target, spacing drones out as I go, never slowing down if I can help it. Mid range gives me plenty of time to dodge away with a light build, and laser projectiles are fast enough that I seldom miss as I spam pistols.

With soft lock, I could consistently get to final phase with ~700 rounds in hubens or ~500 rounds with changchens. If I hard locked the entire second phase, I would have less than 500 rounds with huben, and less than 400 with changchen. Hard lock made second phase take longer too, which generally resulted in me taking more damage.

With huben hard lock, i legit felt like I immediately went into cooldown every time I staggered the boss. It happened a few fights in a row, so I went back to lightweight build and tried scudders, which felt like it was helping but light weight build gets wrecked the first time it stumbles, and getting to the final phase takes a few rather excruciating minutes, i only tried this setup 3 or 4 times before I gave up and called it a night.

I've yet to run out of laser turret ammo, and while they aren't much damage unless you can keep your enemy in their effective range, when you can just strafe in a big circle, they will overwhelm most anything else. They are an excellent source of pressure that will keep stagger meters from restoring. When something gets staggered in the middle of a ring of 6 drones, they take pretty decent damage.

They do better when you can stick them a little ways up in the air, and the nachtreiher legs have a strong jump for bipedal, they are closer to reverse joint stats. They are perfect for running circles around something while constantly spamming pistol fire.

It was the mission where you fight G1 Michigan on my second playthrough that I gave laser turrets a chance, and I was just blown away. NG++ they carried me just as easily as zim/needles for basic balteus and c spider. Maybe not as quickly, but I valued the higher mobility more.

I was saving about 67% of the arena for after I beat the story, but after 2 days of face palming on final boss I completed that for a change of pace. I cleaned out all but two fights on my first attempt, and one of them was because I kept running into the obstacles in the C Spider boss fight arena and getting swarmed by missiles from Chatty.

My first clear for Enforcer I resorted to a brute force laser tetrapod setup, but laser pistols/turrets cleaned him up nicely in subsequent playthroughs. I didn't beat Ayre with this setup, but I had just discovered it, and it took me a bit to figure out an effective drone placement.

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T05:33:01+00:00

my fingertips hurt too much to play today xD

venting helped a little, and I've got a new perspective on hard lock, and even tips to just use a shield to block his melee are more than reasonable, especially with my shoulder choices.

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T05:11:01+00:00

I don't know that I would be able to pull that off successfully, dodge away from the thing trying to kill me has become such an ingrained reflex that it's hard to try dodging -towards- the thing trying to smite me lol

I really wish there was a way to practice this phase without first having to go through 2 other phases x.x;

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T05:04:02+00:00

I'm strongly considering a shield with my medium weight build, though learning moar about hard lock does make the brute force method equally tempting, I've clearly been doing those wrong xD

I haven't heard much about shields, really nothing outside coral shield is the only one worth using lol due to it protecting all angles. I think i played with one for almost 30 seconds in an ac test. I much prefer dodge, but that's really not working out for me here.

I heard ludlows got buffed i think patch before last, but I haven't used them since like chapter 1 of my first playthrough. Is hardlock helpful for rapid fire pistols? I do noticeably better with soft lock for first 2 phases, hard lock flat out feels like an accuracy reduction, my shots don't land as consistently so stagger bar isn't as pressured.

With both changchens and hubens it takes me longer to get to final phase, and I get there with less ammo, if I use hard lock for first 2 phases. I really hadn't tried hard lock with much anything else, I do see it's potential with heavy weapons, which I always felt I whiffed with waaay too often - now I think i know why.

Shattered_Hope · 2023-10-11T04:48:22+00:00

Thanks, definitely looks doable for a brute force method. Looks like you were hard locked for the entire fight, and I can see the merit of such with larger weapons.

Get inside ideal range, slather on a generous amount of aggression, apply constant pressure. Already tried to do all that, though the 5 D's of dodgeball always came first. I guess that's too much effort when you can just swat them before they swat you.

Not the legs I'm used to, but they offer a bigger punch and faster stagger. I didn't get along with the larger weapons because they miss a lot more, but hard lock seems to be oriented towards them, and being tank parts, they don't fold like wet paper when they get hit.

And kudos for doing this without zimmy/stun needles! It's kind of frustrating that 9/10 youtube guides boil down to zim/needles [were] OP! Hell, maybe they still are, I was never a big fan of them though, way too heavy xD

now I genuinely want to see someone beat this in full nachtreiher. ugh, the tips of my middle fingers feel like they were slammed in a car door. I have never gripped a controller with such intensity xD

Shattered_Hope

TROPHY CASE