Yeah im still doing my hybrid builds idgaf

But in DS3 they were better youre right

Interesting take I always thought they were on point. Usually From Software games tend to "fall off" in the last third of their game. It makes sense because if you cut content its better to do it in parts of the game less people are gonna play through. But that gives us areas like Lost Izalith, the Nightmare realms or Mohgs palace and the Mountaintop of Giants.

The DLCs always fix that in delivering content for late game builds in high quality.

Unless you mean specifically bosses even then Midir and Gael arent what they used to be and I always enjoyed that they pushed the boundaries in the DLC bosses. People tend to forget that it was the Old Hunters Bosses where From soft really started to revolutionize their boss design.

Oh I definitely agree with you that Fromsoft has issues finishing their games and that late game always are usually underpopulated or rushed. I think that's kind of its own issue.
Separately though, in terms of quality, I think their DLCs are always top-notch - I enjoy the content and environments/conceptsideas, but imo they have issue balancing them vs the main game. This tends to be because the DLCs are usually content without clear correlation to what part of the game you should enter them at - the 3 crowns in DS2 are a good example of this, where technically they're post-game content but at the same time they aren't really, so the balancing is in a weird middle ground. Stuff like the DS3 ringed city DLC is obviously post-game/epilogue content. However more generally this kind of ambiguity leads to scenarios where the stat balancing is all over the place but they decide to make the DLC "harder" than the main game to feel like there's an earned challenge. Usually the bosses are far more difficult and environments are more punishing.
I don't think there's an issue with this in theory, but it does lead to some odd design situations. Like for example, all the DS2 DLC literally scales relative to the player, and on top of the environments being extra challenging (literally hate some of the designs in Sunken City), it creates a scenario where it's always difficult. DS3 did this better, but imo there's a reason why whenever people talk about "hardest soulslike bosses", it's almost exclusively DLC ones - even in Bloodborne the consensus hardest bosses (namely Kos) are from that.
I think usually fromsoft has a tendency to think the DLC has to be more of a challenge than the main game in order to think it's providing something of value beyond the main game's scope and it can lead to mixed decisions in design

Only thing i'll say about from dlcs is f*** the dreg heap angels now and forever!!

Old Hunters and Ashes/Ringed City was some of the best s*** I’ve ever played in a video game so it’s only hype from me

I really should do a magic run in one of these games one day. I always go full strength or full dex.

i’ve never iml thought a From Soft game fell off near the end

Elden ring is definitely the game with the best magic of all the souls games. Especially on a second playthrough since you can skip stuff and go right to find the powerful spells

How do you play it? Dex/int with a melee weapon or just full staves and spells?

you gotta have a melee weapon and switch back n forth lol there are bosses you’re not beating with spells only. they make a lot of boss fights much easier tho

Ah ok I guess that’s why I see so many magic builds using the Moonveil katana

Me

How have I accidentally broken malenia twice in a row

First with rivers with blood, now with the fire giant incantation

its not about enjoyment its about new enemies, content, the level design and density that usually starts falling off. They have to make cuts and they have to repeat content I am not critizising it just a reality of game development. They have ambitions and at one point they gotta draw the line or were never getting the games

however the DLC never do that its always everything is new, fresh and just stacked with content and that is what makes them so good because they gotta once again convince the people that theyre spending 20 bucks on completely new content. They gotta avoid recycling there

The only game with an obviously unpolished end game area is dark souls 1. But I would agree ER mountaintops is a step down, and moghwyn’s area could’ve been more fleshed out. Farum azula is an insane ending dungeon though.

Either way the DLC’s always introduce some crazy high tier content that expands on content.

Can’t imagine what content didn’t make the ER cutting floor insane enough that we got Tomoe recycled into Malenia

Yeah I dont agree with that at all (outside of DS1 like @Banana_Clip mentioned, and that was for time and budget reasons)

Dark Souls 3 has Lothric Castle/Grand Archives and Archdragon Peak
Bloodborne has the Nightmare of Mensis
Sekiro has Fountainhead Palace

All those areas are f***in awesome

Now that I think about it, str and colosal weapon builds could probably use some new sauce too. Dex and fast weapons have all the benefits with proccing effects, plus with the speed of enemies and bosses it can be hard to hit anything meaningfully with big weapons unless you’re trading hits which is just not feasible against Malenia for example

Awesome fr? I mean I get Fountainhead palace. Rest to me always more on the lowpoints in the game. Like Archdragon peak is prolly done in 10 minutes till nameless king. Nightmare of mensis just recycled shadows of yahrnam. Grand Archives is cool I guess but also just has candle guys as really new enemy and they werent really all that gameplay wise

Might be just me tho...

Anyways I realized im coming off as a big hater I just wanted to point out how I love how the DLCs always deliver in bringing imo much needed high level content

Yeah I love all those zones, but I do agree the games don't feel "complete" until the DLCs hit and they're usually the best parts

RIP the Tomoe DLC dream

Personally wouldn’t count archdragon since it’s optional, but I think lothric castle and archives hold down the end game for sure.

Nightmare is definitely top tier tho wym. The way you enter it, the nightmarish setting with this oddly built cathedral sitting on top like a demented crowning jewel, losing your f***ing mind with frenzy just trying to get in to the building, then all the f***ed up hunters in there not to mention the creepiest f***ing enemy that sings.

Yeah shadows of yarnam get recycled but I think they fit there pretty well. Reaching the peak and seeing queen yharnam >>> the god damn baby crying the whole time in the background and carriage sitting there empty when you reach it. Especially if you had hella high insight earlier in the game you could hear the baby as early as cathedral ward which is crazy.

Kiting the giant pigs into those Shadow bums

nah Mountaintops were definitely a step down compared to the rest of the game IMO.
Mohgwyn palace was cool, but def too short and not fully fleshed out. Fantastic ending arena for the boss fight tho, and Mohg is one of the coolest boss fights in the game IMO.
Haligtree was great as well, as was the Crumbling Farum Azula.

I have zero doubt the DLC will be amazing, as well.

Latter half of mountaintops, consacrated snowfield and mohgwyn palace all ass. But yes the dungeons and bosses at the end were all great so it couldve been worse. And together these are like 1/6 of the map so its not a huge deal. I hope dlc map is a slightly bigger limgrave, that area has peak level design. Put in 1/2 legacies, 3/4 remembrance bosses and a handful of unique and tightly designed minidungeons and you have the goatest dlc ever made

Want them to go all out with the spectacle in boss fights in the dlc. One true upgrade in souls bosses that imo lowkey came from sekiro is bosses having cinematic ass moves that arent just cutscenes but actual attacks you have to react to (radahn's infamous meteor crash, rykard's hell on earth i dont know how to call it the attack that summons a lot of s*** you have to dodge, placidusax lightning attack that removes sound).

If you go by aesthetic I even like Lost Izalezh ngl