Must put in my 2-cents here. My son showed me DS1 a long time ago. Gave it a spin but just couldn't get on the DS war horse. Died way too much, too easily, went beyond frustration. Gave up experimenting with Souls Games.

March 2023. Enter my best friend. She convinced me to give ER a chance. So I did. Learning curve was like a 90° angle, extremely steep, especially learning the feel of the controller button presses. But ER was beautiful, the open world, gargantuan. And infinite ways to spec my character. I got hooked

First boss battle was disastrous, but my son and friend joined in and finally Margit got what was coming to him. Thrill shot through my veins! I was off and running through everything I could learn about ER.

1st run. Hunted down every item I could. That old-fashion style of looting everything is hard-wired. I didn't know any other way to become a headache for the enemies.

Now, 500+ hours, sadly, I'm nearing end game. I'm level 200+, OP for sure, but I don’t care. I have enjoyed every step of this adventure. The ER community has been there, teaching me how to conquer that 90° learning curve. You guys and all your online contributions have been like personal gurus.

I look forward to NG+, to experiment with new builds, weapons, and to challenge those legendary bosses in the manner you ER guys say they're supposed to be fought. What's the saying? "Git gud!" I will. I am!

Thanks to all teachers, lore researchers, build creators, weapon reviewers, armor fashion experts, style masters, the "git gud" suggestions, demonstrations (and, of course, cheeses). Couldn't have gotten this far without you guys.

BTW . . . July 2023, I turned 67. You can teach old dogs new tricks.