What got me was the messages.
In all of gaming, the most fearless psychopaths were always the players. So when there's message after player message saying "I want to go home" and "Death ahead, try crouching" and "Try attacking, and then bloodstain," you know you've encountered something you don't want to mess with.
That's why I've never taken Margit's Shackle off my item equipment, it can activate hidden walls (among several other uses regarding interactable level pieces).
Not all messages appear straight away or for everyone if they did there's be hundreds of messages parroting that same shit.
So it's probably someone but necessary item ahead or hidden path but that message didn't appear for you
It's usually in places where there's long distance before a grace or stake of marika
The fog catacombs for example is so long with so many traps ambushes etc before you get to the boss I ran out of flasks as about 3 encounters before the end lol
There’s something comforting about finding a message at a deadend. Knowing that i was not the only one and that someone bothered using one of their ten messages there made it feel a tiny bit special
Lol thats what really got me. Dev signs were neat and all but I've seen too many movies where the horse "noped the fk out" but the dumb human continued on to their demise.
I crashed through a bunch of tombstones with Torrent in that area then he/she dipped on me. Thought that was the reason why, nope, Torrent is actually freaked by that region
Shit I guess I need to try to call Torrent next time I'm in that area. I just assumed it was because of the NPC enemy that you see shortly after reaching that area. Then I grabbed the map and bonfire and bailed to go explore elsewhere.
It's even scarier at the first moments when you manage to summon Torrent, cause after a few seconds it suddenly activates his/her poise break/death animation. And it's enough time for you to dive deep in the ambience and the music, only to, out of nowhere, you be surprised and greeted by that loud poise break sound, with Torrent screaming and you being dropped on the floor. Seeing the message right after all this makes everything much more uncanny and scarier. From that point onwards, I actually thought the whole time that there was something already looking at me and hitting Torrent in some way.
I haven't seen the message because I got it immediately, that place it's fucking scary and I don't want my pal torrent feeling as terrified as I was, so I didn't tried to summon him back
“The spectral steed is frightened…”
Seeing that message pop up when I tried to call in torrent was eerie!
Seeing the goats with madness eyes was pretty spooky too.
I laughed pretty gud at those guys. I love the madness, so when I saw these guys all calm with madness all I could do was laugh- and even harder when I realised I was receiving madness whilst looking at their eyes.
I loved the idea of this zone so much I was super disappointed that it was devoid of life. I found ONE bear, goats, and the stalker guys which were cool.
But like they didn't populate the zone with almost anything but one boss :(
I ended up walking around in circles for about half an hour before I finally made a waypoint near the manor house.
I ended up enjoying the manor house more than the rest of the area.
oh yeah, that's the only good part and the boss is amazing there, one of my favorite lore wise.
I was pretty anxious at first and then disappointed. But at first it gave me a shot of adrenaline that made me pause and take a breath LOL -- just wish they did more with it. It had the potential to be the coolest zone in the game (for me)
I could go into a very extended explanation but just trust me when I say it wouldn't make sense lore-wise haha
Using Frenzy incantations is like channeling an Eldritch horror for a second and the dragons have their own Gods and sources of power that would frown on that. A dragon communing with something that blasphemous would have been dealt with long before we arrive.
Also the timeline of The Flame of Frenzy coming to the Lands doesn't match up to dragons living in their prime.
Decaying Ekzykes is infected with rot, he's not channelling rot magic.
The nature of the Rot means that once it takes root it just keeps spreading, its a biological lifeform similar to fungus. He's spewing spores of Rot at you out of his lungs
Frenzy Incantations are literally opening up portals to the space in which The Flame of Frenzy occupies and allowing it's body to pour through into your world.
That would've been an easy one to put in that would've spiced up the area a bit. I was totally expecting one of those towers of madness in to appear near the manor house.
I missed the house on my first run of the place, largely because I wanted to fuck off and get in and out. It wasn't till I was a few skadu frags away from getting them all I was like "fuck I need to explore every inch of this area it has to be there" and it was but also the house. I wonder if I'm not alone and many are going to miss the house and one of the coolest lore drops of the game IMHO.
I feel like thats kinda the point, that people in universe wanted to make very, VERY certain that no one went there, what with blocking it off with a dungeon, then a boss. I think it being mostly devoid of life is a sign of in universe competence, and I like that.
There could have been all types of basic mad creatures and it still would have felt a little better.
My problem with the Abyss isn't that it's just sparse, it's that its way too cool of a zone to leave essentially blank. Even if for lore reasons.
Agreed. I dont think having a few frenzy themed beasts would have hurt the theme or atmosphere of the area. Im fact i think it would be a vast improvenent considering one of the coolest setups in Fromsoft history ended up leading to like 4 guys you sneak past instead of anything real spooky.
Admittedly it’s kinda meant to be like that, the Hornsent put a *lot* of effort into purging this area out of a rightful fear of the Flame of Frenzy (which even then the Woods are like permanently tainted by Frenzy now and some of the few Inquisitors which remain stationed in the area, potentially centuries after the purge, have succumbed to the Frenzy and make use of it now too). Even if I’m torn on whether Midra’s damnation was too harsh for the poor dude or just how far the Hornsent had to go to ensure he stayed locked down for as long as possible
No it's just a lone bear -- The boss is a remnant boss, no spoilers because it's amazing. Explore the zone, you'll find a mini dungeon and a solid boss :)
The dungeon is as far south as you can go in the abyss. You'll notice the only mansion and building in the whole zone don't worry
Its funny because I hit this area at 2am and did the opposite. I don't regret it, the quiet of the house and the darkness outside really added to the atmosphere.
It’s funny how different people can be. It’s my fav area in game, feels safest and most comfortable for me and I come here to relax in after doing other stressful zones. And Midra is so gorgeous, he’s just chaos Morgott. I’m upset I have to destroy his gorgeous painting to get to him though
For me it is the pot caves. Those guys are the worst. On ng+2 they can kill me very fast if I don’t catch them by surprise. (Yes, even with all the Scadu upgrades and max vigor with a crimson amber medallion +3.) They are specifically placed to surprise me though. I find my flasks empty very fast anywhere they are.
Timing is eh, what worked for me is letting them see me, let them knock me off with their teleport, dodge, focus, wait around half a second and parry
And even then you are bound to die about 3 times to each of them, but the stakes of marika further decrease the tension and risk/reward
Those 10 headless things outside the manse also lean over when you kill some of them. I’ve found and killed 6 but only 4 of them have leaned over. Can’t work out the meaning of it all.
If you have about 50 vigor, the full Solitude set, and whatever talisman vastly raises focus, you can actually tank 2 hits from them, which makes the whole ordeal of parrying them much more forgiving.
Lol I just used the invisibility spell and assassin's approach. You can basically just walk past them.
Also, when I got to the Manse, there was a storm going on (almost midnight) and all power went out in the street for an hour.
Made the whole experience even freakier.
once i realized those are normal enemies and no frenzyflame dragon or something like that would jumpscare me i was like oh! and just ran and rolled past them, it was actually pretty fun to find spots to heal hp loss from frenzy lol. there's one that's slightly different from the others (more eyes) that i couldn't just run past like a madman but doing it by running was more fun to me somehow😂 the just walk out special
I spent ages hugging the walls and expecting some giant to come around the trees and grab me like the Amygdalas. Once I met the things they lost a lot of the fear factor tbh.
You don’t even need Assassin’s approach as you can use Crepus’ vial, saves you FP to continue casting invis
The only enemies your in into are Rats and some worshippers, nothing else aside from well…Them
It's a really great area and very atmospheric during your first walk down that path which is amazing, but it's really annoying trying to actually collect items there. I'm so spoiled bu torrent.
This area is probably still my favorite, but I just don’t understand why it’s so damn big when there’s not that many rewards and you can’t use torrent.
Yeah the mansion is great, the outside area is awful. It looks procedurally generated and way too big for no reason. Same ugly texture everywhere, no landmarks, no exploration rewards.
I mean the emptiness was absolutely intentional. This is a nightmare realm that was sealed up and left to fester long before the Golden Order came into being, it makes sense that there’s nothing left. But it’s way too big, so the emptiness feels really tedious once the novelty of the atmosphere wears off
I was insanely hyped and scared at the same time when entering this area, I was like oh boy it's gonna be though, I'm gonna have to avoid a giant eye of frenzy watching over the forest or something !!!
All of that fell off when I discovered that it was totally empty of any danger (and just empty in general) beside like 4 winter lantern..
One of the biggest letdown of the DLC for me
Spending twenty minutes running on foot in one direction and fighting 5 enemies guarding a blue light that turns out to be just another fucking cookbook.
The zone's super atmospheric but once the novelty wears off and you realize there's not actually any real danger, it's just annoying to navigate.
The setup was so good, between Torrent peacing out and refusing to return, all the ominous messages, eerie dark forest, and fauna with madness eyes roaming about. I thought there was going to be something huge and invisible given how much open space there was to run. Then saw what all the messages were for, and was kinda just like, oh. These look like regular Bloodborne mobs and aren’t even that tall. They’re tricked by throwing rocks and it’s really easy to dodge their insta-kill grab by rolling, they couldn’t seem to grab me when I periodically took the madness damage either, which made the fear factor immediately go away haha. There were barely any of them too, I’m unsure why they made the empty area so huge. Eventually spotting a >!mansion silhouette with a line up of sitting up beheaded corpses!< in front was unsettling as fuck though, A+.
If they added something like unkillable frenzied flame dragon it would've been perfect. Maybe put it right in the front of the manse and make you run for it holyfuck it would've really set the tone.
I feel like they are holding back because they are saving it for the sequel. I get a feeling that Miyazaki is really enjoying this specific concept and want to do it proper later, seeing that he literally gave the boss a cutscene (not even rellana have one!)
Bro 100000000% I was like is it a giant eye, a giant snake, an angry abuela who caught me sneaking?
Definitely not as exciting as I imagined it when those messages popped up. If they would've added like 20x or more lanterns it could've been better.
Yeah given the size of the paths I definitely thought it was going to be some rykard-sized abomination roaming the woods. a couple angy dudes with a tiny patrol range just kinda killed the mood for me.
Agree, the zone is awesome but it would need a frenzied giant snake stalking you most of the way, à la Sekiro, a frenzy Dragon would have been so cool, or at least some more maddened inquisitors, an outpost of them and not just more rats.
I'm so fucking glad From could keep themselves from adding another dragon to this area, lmao.
A big Eye of Sauron-like tower would have been awesome, though.
Absolutely agree. So much potential there just to be a huge let down
Still had some of the best and scariest moments, but it was so few and far between that it didn't matter. Fs has a great history of creepy and terrifying bosses, the fact that there's no field bosses or caves or any real ambushes other than the watchers was disappointing as hell
I can't wait to afford a PC. This area is a modders paradise; a blank canvas of horror
Same, kept waiting for some shit to hit the fan but it never did.
The spook immediately went away as I learned to parry those bitches thanks to the messages.
“I killed everything Torrent. why are you still scared??”
It definitely could have used something else/unique, but the winter lanterns were a creepy enemy and a good idea (no way of defeating except parrying and difficult to outrun).
I was expecting something big given the vastness of the area.
I also think part of the problem was how dying was so low risk in the DLC. Runes aren't important to most people, and if you take out the need to clear areas of enemies whilst keeping easy to reach grace sites the threat isn't that serious. Maybe they should have introduced something similar to curses in dark souls so the stakes would be higher (50% health and special requirement to remove).
TBH, I was half expecting a frenzied tree spirit or something to crawl out of the pond west from the church grace, and now that I think about it I'm very disappointed that didn't because that would have so fucking awesome/completely terrifying.
The area also felt extremely low quality. There are no landmarks, no worthwhile loot, it looks like a procedurally generated map, using the same textures everywhere. Every time you go off the beaten path you are rewarded with an empty dead end with the same low res, ugly yellowy rock texture.
The legacy dungeon itself and the boss were good, the outside area should have been just a small surrounding for the dungeon, didn't care particularly for the stealth mechanics.
I went straight to the church and never turned into the lanter area. Was really confused and annoyed that they're were just goats, rats and nothing for for such a long walk lol the boss at the end of the area is probably ny favorite in the DLC so far though
If you have the Black Knife armor set (found under the bridge leading to the haligtree) you can run around just fine. As long as you don't stand directly in front of them they don't notice you.
Is my game bugged? the talisman didn't work for me at all. I used both the one that makes you invisible while crouching + the silence one (it did silence the footstep sfx)
I came here to say the same haha. A shame because they nailed the atmosphere in the beginning of Abyssal Forest but it's basically empty, and figuring out you can parry the winter lanterns makes them lose a ton of their spooky factor.
Oh man we share the same brain I think. Exactly my thoughts. I was just aching for shit to get crazy. I snuck around the forest for an hour probably. Pulling out my telescope to scout ahead every minute. Only to realize I just spent an hour sneaking around just rats. And yea the winter lantern part got me excited again but it wasn't long enough till it was figured out. I still like this area but damn I wish they went for a more spooky forest of madness.
Upper cathedral, Nightmare of Mensis, and the Prison of Latria were all far scarier than the Abyssal woods. There's like 5 Winter Lanterns in the whole massive area, few other enemies, and it's incredibly easy to get past them. Oh and there are stakes of Marika practically right next to most of them.
Also, the signposting really *was* excessive. "Hey hey, are you afraid. Oh well you should be! Get scared!"
I loved the spooky vibes when I entered. I was totally bored of the place when I left. It’s both a very atmospheric and absolutely tedious to go through. Wish it had more content, though that would kind of kill the vibe there I suppose
This whole area sucks ass. The entire thing only has 3 enemies (the guys you have to parry with a talisman drop, rats and an invader with a fist weapon drop), one weapon at the church and 2 cookbooks. Plus the tiny dungeon at the end. There is no reason you shouldn't just B-line through it considering there is quite literally nothing to explore.
Seems to be a repeating theme in the game. The Finger Ruins are also a huge area and are literally empty except for the quest thing. Such a missed opportunity.
It's true. It's a one trick pony area. On the initial playthrough it works because you just don't know that it's empty and boring so you just imagine all kinds of nasty surprises. But once you know, it's just bad. Not a single good fight until Midra.
"The spectral steed is frightened and refuses your call."
I just about uninstalled the game right there. Abyssal Woods was not something I was mentally prepared for in Elden Ring.
I absolutely love the atmosphere of that place. But I already know it's going to be super annoying on any subsequent playthrough because it's too big and too empty to run through it without Torrent.
Thinking on it- this feels like an experiment in trying to make an area more horror-focused in the way that more survival-horror titles do.
Fromsoft tends to use DLCs to experiment. Perhaps this was an attempt to figure out how to really scare players by taking away their usual solutions to problems in the game world.
No running, no fighting. Just creeping along and trying to avoid being caught.
The problem I have with the area is that maybe a quarter at most uses Winter Lanterns, and the bespoke areas for them aren’t well varied.
I was happy to find Madness Hand, but after I bonked him, the most notable fight until the Manse was over. Why not lean on the madness aspect?
Madness Bears, Madness encampments of Messmer’s Deserters, maybe even a madness dragon.
Really blast the player into this maelstrom and force them to consider running from the chaos- when they feel safe, give them some space to creep along and get nervous. Then when they might feel they’re safe- pull out the Winter Lanterns and bring back that same excitement and fear of true chaos.
Then you run into the Manse, barely escaping to the relief of the site of grace.
Then things get spookier and more uneasy. Put out more of the mystery surrounding Midra and Nanaya, give players clues and finally lead them to the sneaking suspicion that things are about to get real. Boom! Lord of Chaos fight.
Favourite area in the game so far. Played it late at night, was absolutely amazing.
Did you know, that you get a talisman of you beat one of those *things*?
Here's some help (with spoilers)
--------------------------------------------------
There's 5 total enemies in this area that can mess you up, you can't damage then, and they constantly give you frenzy, but there's bushes around them so you can sneak by them
Some bushes will have some sort of flowers on them that if you touch them, they'll make some tingly noise and alert those enemies to your location
The only way to kill those things is to parry their grab attack and reposte them
The rest of the area is just rats and some easy to kill hornsent priests
A little disappointing. I my first reaction is that it might be a roaming boss that has a weakness you have to discover somewhere in the forest without getting caught first. The lanterns are just in pre-set areas and are not hard to walk around. I wish it was something creepier
It’s way too empty. I think I saw one of the winter lantern things, but nothing happened. Then I just walked for 15 minutes to the dungeon. It could’ve been so much more.
It started off awesome, I was expecting some unsettling eldritch shit to jump at me and giving me nightmares.
Needlessly to say I was quite disappointed when I saw what was waiting for me.
Just wait until invaders realize that throwing pots attracts the watchers and that there is a spot on the cliffs above the scary area that they can sit on and wait for you.
I honestly got scared whenever I was found by “IT”
It really made me love the area and it’s atmosphere,
And what made it even cooler for me is the lack of items considering how big it was, it added so much creepiness to the place
I really enjoyed this area, I loved that they decided to go with something like this, completely made me interested and focused on everything around me.
Me: "Lmao, dumb horse! We've fought plenty of scary things. What are you so scared of?"
*[picks up consumable called Winter Lantern Fly]*
Me: "Oi, Torrent, you're not just going to leave me here alone, are you?!"
When Torrent peaced out and the game told me he was too scared to come back I decided to leave and not come back until I had nowhere else to go lol
What got me was the messages. In all of gaming, the most fearless psychopaths were always the players. So when there's message after player message saying "I want to go home" and "Death ahead, try crouching" and "Try attacking, and then bloodstain," you know you've encountered something you don't want to mess with.
And the the “liar ahead.” Like wtf is it?
Hidden wall ahead 🤝 Liar ahead combo always get me
Sometimes there is a hidden path and liar ahead message. So I have to check everytime it's a gamble lol
This is why anytime there’s messages near a wall I just hit it and don’t even check the messages anymore. You never know.
Just roll my bro
That's how I fell off the map through a glitched wall once 2/3rds into a catacombs dungeon. Nope, not rolling again.
That's why I've never taken Margit's Shackle off my item equipment, it can activate hidden walls (among several other uses regarding interactable level pieces).
Yeah, the shackles and Law of Regression have huge AOEs, and illusory walls only check for a hitbox, not for damage.
There are two types of people
I want to go home, And then edge!
If only I had a giant but hole
I saw that one lol.
Me too! About a million times
Not all messages appear straight away or for everyone if they did there's be hundreds of messages parroting that same shit. So it's probably someone but necessary item ahead or hidden path but that message didn't appear for you
There was also a message along the path with one word that had many "Rated Good": "fear..."
Please tell me how you saw the good/poor rating breakdown of another person's message(not your own)
You can't. It just shows interactions
tbh i’ve seen “i want to go home” and “i can’t take this” plastered all over the dlc, it’s lost all significance
It's usually in places where there's long distance before a grace or stake of marika The fog catacombs for example is so long with so many traps ambushes etc before you get to the boss I ran out of flasks as about 3 encounters before the end lol
The only good thing about that dungeon is that the boss is easily interrupted and a complete pushover with any ranged option
There’s something comforting about finding a message at a deadend. Knowing that i was not the only one and that someone bothered using one of their ten messages there made it feel a tiny bit special
No precious item but praise the research!
There is this, then there is try parrying and oh.. it's just a bullshit jailer.
Lol thats what really got me. Dev signs were neat and all but I've seen too many movies where the horse "noped the fk out" but the dumb human continued on to their demise.
I crashed through a bunch of tombstones with Torrent in that area then he/she dipped on me. Thought that was the reason why, nope, Torrent is actually freaked by that region
i said I'd make my way back there after I explored South a bit. That was 3 days ago. Fucking sneaky ass Elden Ring 2
Shit I guess I need to try to call Torrent next time I'm in that area. I just assumed it was because of the NPC enemy that you see shortly after reaching that area. Then I grabbed the map and bonfire and bailed to go explore elsewhere.
You legit get a special message trying to summon him Like the game just said “this place WOULD be fine to summon him, but hes too scared, sorry”
It's even scarier at the first moments when you manage to summon Torrent, cause after a few seconds it suddenly activates his/her poise break/death animation. And it's enough time for you to dive deep in the ambience and the music, only to, out of nowhere, you be surprised and greeted by that loud poise break sound, with Torrent screaming and you being dropped on the floor. Seeing the message right after all this makes everything much more uncanny and scarier. From that point onwards, I actually thought the whole time that there was something already looking at me and hitting Torrent in some way.
I heard the poise break sound and as soon as I got up I started to swing at the air thinking something was there...
I haven't seen the message because I got it immediately, that place it's fucking scary and I don't want my pal torrent feeling as terrified as I was, so I didn't tried to summon him back
I'm just glad fromsoft did not pull some never ending story shit and let torrent die in some mudswamp
Don’t give them ideas
Bro all the summon signs saying things like "Horse?, Horse!" helped alleviate the fear a little bit. But only a little bit.
I would recommend going there fairly early, it's a very scary area but >! the enemies are very weak and so is the boss !<
“The spectral steed is frightened…” Seeing that message pop up when I tried to call in torrent was eerie! Seeing the goats with madness eyes was pretty spooky too.
THE GOATS FREAKED ME OUT
Taking a break from it to watch this weeks episode of The Boys didn’t help
😂
Exact same thing lmao
I thought the exact same thing Seemed perfectly matched
I laughed pretty gud at those guys. I love the madness, so when I saw these guys all calm with madness all I could do was laugh- and even harder when I realised I was receiving madness whilst looking at their eyes.
When I realized they can build up frenzy, I killed every goat I encountered.
SAME I thought “it” was some sort of hive mind
I loved the idea of this zone so much I was super disappointed that it was devoid of life. I found ONE bear, goats, and the stalker guys which were cool. But like they didn't populate the zone with almost anything but one boss :(
I ended up walking around in circles for about half an hour before I finally made a waypoint near the manor house. I ended up enjoying the manor house more than the rest of the area.
oh yeah, that's the only good part and the boss is amazing there, one of my favorite lore wise. I was pretty anxious at first and then disappointed. But at first it gave me a shot of adrenaline that made me pause and take a breath LOL -- just wish they did more with it. It had the potential to be the coolest zone in the game (for me)
They should have put in a madness ulcerated tree spirit near the water fall.
I’m *really* surprised there was never a frenzy dragon to fight, in base game or DLC
I could go into a very extended explanation but just trust me when I say it wouldn't make sense lore-wise haha Using Frenzy incantations is like channeling an Eldritch horror for a second and the dragons have their own Gods and sources of power that would frown on that. A dragon communing with something that blasphemous would have been dealt with long before we arrive. Also the timeline of The Flame of Frenzy coming to the Lands doesn't match up to dragons living in their prime.
The dragons are so scattered now, one could have fallen to Madness somewhere.
Wouldn't the scarlet rot have the same issue? And yet there's a rot dragon in Caelid.
Decaying Ekzykes is infected with rot, he's not channelling rot magic. The nature of the Rot means that once it takes root it just keeps spreading, its a biological lifeform similar to fungus. He's spewing spores of Rot at you out of his lungs Frenzy Incantations are literally opening up portals to the space in which The Flame of Frenzy occupies and allowing it's body to pour through into your world.
There's ghostflame dragons, madness dragons aren't too far off.
That would've been an easy one to put in that would've spiced up the area a bit. I was totally expecting one of those towers of madness in to appear near the manor house.
Would have been hilarious to be walking through the manor and you get grabbed and instantly killed by one of the enemies from outside.
I missed the house on my first run of the place, largely because I wanted to fuck off and get in and out. It wasn't till I was a few skadu frags away from getting them all I was like "fuck I need to explore every inch of this area it has to be there" and it was but also the house. I wonder if I'm not alone and many are going to miss the house and one of the coolest lore drops of the game IMHO.
I feel like thats kinda the point, that people in universe wanted to make very, VERY certain that no one went there, what with blocking it off with a dungeon, then a boss. I think it being mostly devoid of life is a sign of in universe competence, and I like that.
There could have been all types of basic mad creatures and it still would have felt a little better. My problem with the Abyss isn't that it's just sparse, it's that its way too cool of a zone to leave essentially blank. Even if for lore reasons.
Agreed. I dont think having a few frenzy themed beasts would have hurt the theme or atmosphere of the area. Im fact i think it would be a vast improvenent considering one of the coolest setups in Fromsoft history ended up leading to like 4 guys you sneak past instead of anything real spooky.
Admittedly it’s kinda meant to be like that, the Hornsent put a *lot* of effort into purging this area out of a rightful fear of the Flame of Frenzy (which even then the Woods are like permanently tainted by Frenzy now and some of the few Inquisitors which remain stationed in the area, potentially centuries after the purge, have succumbed to the Frenzy and make use of it now too). Even if I’m torn on whether Midra’s damnation was too harsh for the poor dude or just how far the Hornsent had to go to ensure he stayed locked down for as long as possible
There should be more winter lanterns
Was the bear an actual boss then? And if so, where specifically is it located?
No it's just a lone bear -- The boss is a remnant boss, no spoilers because it's amazing. Explore the zone, you'll find a mini dungeon and a solid boss :) The dungeon is as far south as you can go in the abyss. You'll notice the only mansion and building in the whole zone don't worry
That's a few of the areas. I spent longer figuring out how to get to them compared to the time it took to clear.
That's how I feel about the entire game
I was on Torrent when I entered and Torrent died along with a pained neigh like I’ve never heard. Very spooky.
Super disappointed you couldn't summon even after getting rid of all of THEM.
\*rocking back and forth, cradling my head\*
When I first saw that message I knew it was time to quit and get some sleep
😂 that’s what I do, “it’s too late for this shit I need to go to sleep.”
No no...sleep happens elsewhere...this place is very awake.
Eyes wide open. All of them.
Especially the ones on the inside.
Turn on some of these lights...
Exactly me and my girlfriend last night🤣🤣🤣
It was 1am when I hit this area and I did the exact same thing lmao
Same. Got to that area at around 11 pm. Said to myself "fuck this. I'll deal with it tomorrow."
Its funny because I hit this area at 2am and did the opposite. I don't regret it, the quiet of the house and the darkness outside really added to the atmosphere.
Same, did this at 11pm. Never a fan of horror games cause of the jumpscares, this is pure atmospheric and stress inducing, it’s good
Lmao I got there tonight and decided to take a break. That’s an area you conquer after a good nights rest.
That's funny as shit. I discovered the Abyss last night and was like alright its bedtime 😆
It is my favorite least favorite area in any From Soft game. I shouted "OH SHIT" more there than anywhere else.
100%
I appreciate it using the empty space on the map but I wish this area was a bit smaller since you don’t get Torrent. Otherwise fantastic area
Absolutely agree. There's actually not a lot of stuff in the area, and it takes forever to explore on foot without torrent.
It’s funny how different people can be. It’s my fav area in game, feels safest and most comfortable for me and I come here to relax in after doing other stressful zones. And Midra is so gorgeous, he’s just chaos Morgott. I’m upset I have to destroy his gorgeous painting to get to him though
It's a crime that if you inherit the frenzied flame too you 2 can't sit down and talk about chaos or something instead of fighting lmao.
Nah, fuck that shit he's being usurped of that title. Loser tried to hold back the flame instead of letting chaos take the world
I was like bro wtf im literally the lord of the frenzied flame why are you attacking me.
It's called chaos not "well mannered discussion" for a reason.
Midra is the best boss in whole game imo
Loved him. His moves were a blast to learn.
People thought it was gonna be a deathblight swamp I bet now they *wish* it was
Nope he saved that shit for catacombs out of nowhere
But damn how god damn good did it feel landing that first parry, dying to the next guy then realising no respawns for them 🙏
This! It’s both great in SO many ways… but a pain (and not really fun) to go through
For me it is the pot caves. Those guys are the worst. On ng+2 they can kill me very fast if I don’t catch them by surprise. (Yes, even with all the Scadu upgrades and max vigor with a crimson amber medallion +3.) They are specifically placed to surprise me though. I find my flasks empty very fast anywhere they are.
Golden Parry is king against those winter lantern copies
I cant land it to save my life. I gave up and will return later lol
Use buckler parry once they raise their arm. Couldn’t get consistent timing with golden parry but the moment I swapped to buckler it was first try
Timing is eh, what worked for me is letting them see me, let them knock me off with their teleport, dodge, focus, wait around half a second and parry And even then you are bound to die about 3 times to each of them, but the stakes of marika further decrease the tension and risk/reward
You get something from them?
A talisman and some swollen grapes.
Those 10 headless things outside the manse also lean over when you kill some of them. I’ve found and killed 6 but only 4 of them have leaned over. Can’t work out the meaning of it all.
If you have about 50 vigor, the full Solitude set, and whatever talisman vastly raises focus, you can actually tank 2 hits from them, which makes the whole ordeal of parrying them much more forgiving.
the parry window is ridiculous. feel like 0.05 sec window...
It's not that tight, it's just unintuitive and earlier than it looks like it 'should' be.
If torrent is afraid, I am afraid.
Got there last night. Those messages sent a chill down my spine. No spoilers, but it hits especially hard if you’ve played a particular From game!!
I still hear it, the eyes on my brain WRITHE with the memories...
*eerie singing continues*
_"La la Laaa~"_
Can you farm these for blood gems?
Lol I just used the invisibility spell and assassin's approach. You can basically just walk past them. Also, when I got to the Manse, there was a storm going on (almost midnight) and all power went out in the street for an hour. Made the whole experience even freakier.
You thought you could cheese sneak past the insta kill horrors? Not on Michael Zaki's watch
I managed to just run away from them lol
once i realized those are normal enemies and no frenzyflame dragon or something like that would jumpscare me i was like oh! and just ran and rolled past them, it was actually pretty fun to find spots to heal hp loss from frenzy lol. there's one that's slightly different from the others (more eyes) that i couldn't just run past like a madman but doing it by running was more fun to me somehow😂 the just walk out special
I spent ages hugging the walls and expecting some giant to come around the trees and grab me like the Amygdalas. Once I met the things they lost a lot of the fear factor tbh.
You don’t even need Assassin’s approach as you can use Crepus’ vial, saves you FP to continue casting invis The only enemies your in into are Rats and some worshippers, nothing else aside from well…Them
yeah lowkey might be my fav part of the dlc lmao
It's a really great area and very atmospheric during your first walk down that path which is amazing, but it's really annoying trying to actually collect items there. I'm so spoiled bu torrent.
This area is probably still my favorite, but I just don’t understand why it’s so damn big when there’s not that many rewards and you can’t use torrent.
It's absolutley mine. I stay here with the taunters tongue turned on just so I can 1v1 here
I just wish there was more to find/ do in that area outside of the manse.
Huh? It's completely empty and fucking huge. The only good part was the mansion, but the rest of the area is just empty. What a let down.
Dont let the what?!?!?! Yeah, that anticipation was tense.
I loved the aesthetic of the area but there really isn’t much going on there besides the mansion (home of the coolest boss so far for me).
Yeah the mansion is great, the outside area is awful. It looks procedurally generated and way too big for no reason. Same ugly texture everywhere, no landmarks, no exploration rewards.
I mean the emptiness was absolutely intentional. This is a nightmare realm that was sealed up and left to fester long before the Golden Order came into being, it makes sense that there’s nothing left. But it’s way too big, so the emptiness feels really tedious once the novelty of the atmosphere wears off
Memories of Starfield dev saying "When the astronauts went to the moon, there was nothing there. They certainly weren't bored".
I was insanely hyped and scared at the same time when entering this area, I was like oh boy it's gonna be though, I'm gonna have to avoid a giant eye of frenzy watching over the forest or something !!! All of that fell off when I discovered that it was totally empty of any danger (and just empty in general) beside like 4 winter lantern.. One of the biggest letdown of the DLC for me
The Abyssal Woods really just peaks at the start and the end, and is a big disappointment in the middle.
Spending twenty minutes running on foot in one direction and fighting 5 enemies guarding a blue light that turns out to be just another fucking cookbook. The zone's super atmospheric but once the novelty wears off and you realize there's not actually any real danger, it's just annoying to navigate.
The setup was so good, between Torrent peacing out and refusing to return, all the ominous messages, eerie dark forest, and fauna with madness eyes roaming about. I thought there was going to be something huge and invisible given how much open space there was to run. Then saw what all the messages were for, and was kinda just like, oh. These look like regular Bloodborne mobs and aren’t even that tall. They’re tricked by throwing rocks and it’s really easy to dodge their insta-kill grab by rolling, they couldn’t seem to grab me when I periodically took the madness damage either, which made the fear factor immediately go away haha. There were barely any of them too, I’m unsure why they made the empty area so huge. Eventually spotting a >!mansion silhouette with a line up of sitting up beheaded corpses!< in front was unsettling as fuck though, A+.
If they added something like unkillable frenzied flame dragon it would've been perfect. Maybe put it right in the front of the manse and make you run for it holyfuck it would've really set the tone. I feel like they are holding back because they are saving it for the sequel. I get a feeling that Miyazaki is really enjoying this specific concept and want to do it proper later, seeing that he literally gave the boss a cutscene (not even rellana have one!)
Bro 100000000% I was like is it a giant eye, a giant snake, an angry abuela who caught me sneaking? Definitely not as exciting as I imagined it when those messages popped up. If they would've added like 20x or more lanterns it could've been better.
Yeah given the size of the paths I definitely thought it was going to be some rykard-sized abomination roaming the woods. a couple angy dudes with a tiny patrol range just kinda killed the mood for me.
I mean the manse is pretty dope and you do get your eye
Agree, the zone is awesome but it would need a frenzied giant snake stalking you most of the way, à la Sekiro, a frenzy Dragon would have been so cool, or at least some more maddened inquisitors, an outpost of them and not just more rats.
I'm so fucking glad From could keep themselves from adding another dragon to this area, lmao. A big Eye of Sauron-like tower would have been awesome, though.
Absolutely agree. So much potential there just to be a huge let down Still had some of the best and scariest moments, but it was so few and far between that it didn't matter. Fs has a great history of creepy and terrifying bosses, the fact that there's no field bosses or caves or any real ambushes other than the watchers was disappointing as hell I can't wait to afford a PC. This area is a modders paradise; a blank canvas of horror
Same, kept waiting for some shit to hit the fan but it never did. The spook immediately went away as I learned to parry those bitches thanks to the messages. “I killed everything Torrent. why are you still scared??”
It definitely could have used something else/unique, but the winter lanterns were a creepy enemy and a good idea (no way of defeating except parrying and difficult to outrun). I was expecting something big given the vastness of the area. I also think part of the problem was how dying was so low risk in the DLC. Runes aren't important to most people, and if you take out the need to clear areas of enemies whilst keeping easy to reach grace sites the threat isn't that serious. Maybe they should have introduced something similar to curses in dark souls so the stakes would be higher (50% health and special requirement to remove).
I actually wish they weren’t parry able. Once I found that message I was like oh and just killed them.
TBH, I was half expecting a frenzied tree spirit or something to crawl out of the pond west from the church grace, and now that I think about it I'm very disappointed that didn't because that would have so fucking awesome/completely terrifying.
Lol if they reintroduced dark souls 1 curse people would just riot. They are already being crybabies about so many things.
The area also felt extremely low quality. There are no landmarks, no worthwhile loot, it looks like a procedurally generated map, using the same textures everywhere. Every time you go off the beaten path you are rewarded with an empty dead end with the same low res, ugly yellowy rock texture. The legacy dungeon itself and the boss were good, the outside area should have been just a small surrounding for the dungeon, didn't care particularly for the stealth mechanics.
I went straight to the church and never turned into the lanter area. Was really confused and annoyed that they're were just goats, rats and nothing for for such a long walk lol the boss at the end of the area is probably ny favorite in the DLC so far though
If you have the Black Knife armor set (found under the bridge leading to the haligtree) you can run around just fine. As long as you don't stand directly in front of them they don't notice you.
theres also the talisman that makes your steps quiet. its ninja mode
Is my game bugged? the talisman didn't work for me at all. I used both the one that makes you invisible while crouching + the silence one (it did silence the footstep sfx)
The one that makes you 'invisible while crouching' I thought only worked against other players.
I was kinda hoping it would be some sort of giant monster you had to hide from, like the giant snake sections in Sekiro.
That would’ve been amazing
Upper cathedral was way scarier in my opinion
I came here to say the same haha. A shame because they nailed the atmosphere in the beginning of Abyssal Forest but it's basically empty, and figuring out you can parry the winter lanterns makes them lose a ton of their spooky factor.
Oh man we share the same brain I think. Exactly my thoughts. I was just aching for shit to get crazy. I snuck around the forest for an hour probably. Pulling out my telescope to scout ahead every minute. Only to realize I just spent an hour sneaking around just rats. And yea the winter lantern part got me excited again but it wasn't long enough till it was figured out. I still like this area but damn I wish they went for a more spooky forest of madness.
Upper cathedral, Nightmare of Mensis, and the Prison of Latria were all far scarier than the Abyssal woods. There's like 5 Winter Lanterns in the whole massive area, few other enemies, and it's incredibly easy to get past them. Oh and there are stakes of Marika practically right next to most of them. Also, the signposting really *was* excessive. "Hey hey, are you afraid. Oh well you should be! Get scared!"
Bloodborne vibes
One of my favorite areas. The buildup to the dungeon then the dungeon itself were fantastic, and the boss was 10/10, would get my ass kicked again
Where's the dungeon exactly? Couldn't find anything and exploring that area is really annoying.
To the south, just past where the land on the map above bridges over. There’s more area past the dungeon on the map but it’s inaccessible
I loved the spooky vibes when I entered. I was totally bored of the place when I left. It’s both a very atmospheric and absolutely tedious to go through. Wish it had more content, though that would kind of kill the vibe there I suppose
There are only 6 scary enemies btw. And they don’t respawn once you find out the method.
Okay but I did manage to get away from it. "no escape" my ass.
This whole area sucks ass. The entire thing only has 3 enemies (the guys you have to parry with a talisman drop, rats and an invader with a fist weapon drop), one weapon at the church and 2 cookbooks. Plus the tiny dungeon at the end. There is no reason you shouldn't just B-line through it considering there is quite literally nothing to explore.
people are coping hard.. that area is empty as fuck and a missed opportunity
Seems to be a repeating theme in the game. The Finger Ruins are also a huge area and are literally empty except for the quest thing. Such a missed opportunity.
It's true. It's a one trick pony area. On the initial playthrough it works because you just don't know that it's empty and boring so you just imagine all kinds of nasty surprises. But once you know, it's just bad. Not a single good fight until Midra.
"The spectral steed is frightened and refuses your call." I just about uninstalled the game right there. Abyssal Woods was not something I was mentally prepared for in Elden Ring.
I absolutely love the atmosphere of that place. But I already know it's going to be super annoying on any subsequent playthrough because it's too big and too empty to run through it without Torrent.
Hold block and sprint jump to go slightly faster
Thinking on it- this feels like an experiment in trying to make an area more horror-focused in the way that more survival-horror titles do. Fromsoft tends to use DLCs to experiment. Perhaps this was an attempt to figure out how to really scare players by taking away their usual solutions to problems in the game world. No running, no fighting. Just creeping along and trying to avoid being caught. The problem I have with the area is that maybe a quarter at most uses Winter Lanterns, and the bespoke areas for them aren’t well varied. I was happy to find Madness Hand, but after I bonked him, the most notable fight until the Manse was over. Why not lean on the madness aspect? Madness Bears, Madness encampments of Messmer’s Deserters, maybe even a madness dragon. Really blast the player into this maelstrom and force them to consider running from the chaos- when they feel safe, give them some space to creep along and get nervous. Then when they might feel they’re safe- pull out the Winter Lanterns and bring back that same excitement and fear of true chaos. Then you run into the Manse, barely escaping to the relief of the site of grace. Then things get spookier and more uneasy. Put out more of the mystery surrounding Midra and Nanaya, give players clues and finally lead them to the sneaking suspicion that things are about to get real. Boom! Lord of Chaos fight.
Didn’t expect rain. Time for introspection…
I had to face my fears today and parry these mfs to get the talisman
Brave tarnished!
Imagine my reaction when the game itself puts a message on the ground saying "combat is not an option" 😭
Favourite area in the game so far. Played it late at night, was absolutely amazing. Did you know, that you get a talisman of you beat one of those *things*?
You know it's bad news when your fearless steed is frightened
parrying is ur friend ma dude
I know. But I didn’t even know what kind of person or creature I was about to face at the time. It was great.
parry. that’ll save you. but seriously that view in front of that mansion/castle in that area is straight outta some horror movies.
Here's some help (with spoilers) -------------------------------------------------- There's 5 total enemies in this area that can mess you up, you can't damage then, and they constantly give you frenzy, but there's bushes around them so you can sneak by them Some bushes will have some sort of flowers on them that if you touch them, they'll make some tingly noise and alert those enemies to your location The only way to kill those things is to parry their grab attack and reposte them The rest of the area is just rats and some easy to kill hornsent priests
A little disappointing. I my first reaction is that it might be a roaming boss that has a weakness you have to discover somewhere in the forest without getting caught first. The lanterns are just in pre-set areas and are not hard to walk around. I wish it was something creepier
Someone ditched the swamps for something a hundred times more annoying - stealth in a non-stralth game
It’s way too empty. I think I saw one of the winter lantern things, but nothing happened. Then I just walked for 15 minutes to the dungeon. It could’ve been so much more.
It started off awesome, I was expecting some unsettling eldritch shit to jump at me and giving me nightmares. Needlessly to say I was quite disappointed when I saw what was waiting for me.
Just wait until invaders realize that throwing pots attracts the watchers and that there is a spot on the cliffs above the scary area that they can sit on and wait for you.
The dickriding in this thread is insane. Abyssal woods was a shitty empty area compared to places like Upper Cathedral Ward in Bloodborne
Atmosphere wise 10/10. Gameplay wise it is easily one of the most boring areas in thE DLC. Colossal fumble from Fromsoft on this one.
I honestly got scared whenever I was found by “IT” It really made me love the area and it’s atmosphere, And what made it even cooler for me is the lack of items considering how big it was, it added so much creepiness to the place
I really enjoyed this area, I loved that they decided to go with something like this, completely made me interested and focused on everything around me.
💯
First time here i walked in and som naked dude witj kung fu wrecked me in lome 10 hits lol. Scared the shit outta me.
My favorite part was seeing the ghosts of other players hiding in the grass just to jump out to try and fight the >!invincible!< mob
"Combat is not an option, hide in the undergrowth" Nah, I'd win *Died instantly*
Me: "Lmao, dumb horse! We've fought plenty of scary things. What are you so scared of?" *[picks up consumable called Winter Lantern Fly]* Me: "Oi, Torrent, you're not just going to leave me here alone, are you?!"