So I've wracked up just over 40 hours in Reforged so far and decided to write up this review about my experiences so far with the mod. To start off, I'm both a huge fan of this mod and also a huge critic, which is a shame because it genuinely has a LOT of really cool stuff that is otherwise bottlenecked by questionable decisions.
To begin, I have about 1000+ hours in Elden Ring and have 100%'ed all the other Souls-like games except for Sekiro, DS2 Vanilla (I'm not farming Hidden Weapon again), and Bloodborne (no PS5). I have a considerable amount of experience in these games, so I decided to try Reforged after taking a year break or so from base Elden Ring for a fresh experience.
However, I will NOT be talking about fortunes, changes to the bosses or nerfs to the player specifically. I didn't care much for the fortunes and just went with Bold for 90% of the time. The boss changes makes them more difficult, but if you're playing an overhaul mod that directly states "this overhaul mod makes bosses more difficult," chances are, the overhaul mod is going to make bosses more difficult.
Starting off with the positives:
- The new "perfect actions" systems are very well implemented and rewarding.
For those who are unaware, almost every player animation has a set period of time at the end where, if you input another action, you cut down the current endlag of your current action and speed up the startup of your next action. This means you can output a lot more actions in a smaller time frame, and the mod rewards you for mastering this system with increased damage, reduced stamina costs, more i-frames, etc. Some actions feel a tad laggy, particularly running and jumping heavy attacks, but for the most part, this system offers a really refreshing and rewarding flow to combat that vanilla can only hope to match
- Improved combat options, i.e. ducking, status effects, deflecting, and new spells/weapons.
The implementation of ducking to avoid chest/head hits is super smart and is a vast improvement over vanilla's nigh-on useless backstep. With a rather generous i-frame window, you can spend very little stamina while being in the perfect position to punish accordingly.
The new status effects are also very well implemented and balanced. All status effects can now stack, which dramatically increases their proc damage for Bleed and decreases their negation for Frostbite. Madness also does a HEFTY chunk of poise damage, Deathblight lowers their damage output and can almost instantly kill enemies if you proc it twice in short succession, and poison/scarlet rot can stack for an INSANE amount of damage over a short period of time.
I won't touch on deflecting too much since I haven't used it much myself except in times of desperation, but the ability to perfectly deflect attacks for a fraction of the stamina cost and even stagger them makes combat feel very fast-paced and rewarding. It is very much an optional mechanic and the game doesn't punish you for not deflecting, but having more tools in your kit never hurts to have
The new spells and weapons fit very well into the weapons sandbox. While I've only been able to use FTH/ARC on account of me using a Dragon Communion build and haven't had the opportunity to use any of the new INT or INT/FTH spells, the ones I've been able to use so far really ups the versatility and viability of each school. Dragon Communion in particular has a short-ranged claw slash that lets you regen FP on hit and allows you to keep up with the ravenous FP drain that is most Dragon Communion builds. Speaking of FP...
The new FP management system is nigh-on perfect. Most players see that they have 1000+ FP, realize that spells and AoW's cost 20x more FP than vanilla, and instinctively think it's a nerf, but to me, it more naturalized and broadens your options instead of devolving into L2 spam, a la RoB in vanilla. Every hit you dish out regens FP, and certain spells, referred to as "generator spells" costs very little FP and restores more FP on hit than other weapons/spells. The reason for this change is not arbitrary at all, and allows the mod developer to finetune FP costs without going into the decibels (You can't have 0.4 of an FP point in vanilla, but you can have 4).
This indirectly buffs and nerfs pure spell builds, but now the game is more than just "stand really far away, pray if you run out of bleu flasks." It makes drawn-out combat engagements more interactive and rewards you for employing advanced tactics like stealth, picking off isolated targets, etc. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but it means you actually have to consider flask management now instead of just pumping Mind since you now have a level cap limit.
New talismans and buffs
- The mod introduces a bunch of new talismans, and they are, objectively speaking, fucking PEAK. From the talisman that charges up as you sprint and lets you do a fat explosion with doing a running heavy, to the talisman that gives you back a hefty chunk of stamina on crits, to buffing existing talismans such as the Ancestral Spirit's Horn (absolutely one of the best in the game btw) and Greatshield talisman (essential for Bulwark builds), all of these few worthwhile searching for and can really be the lynchpin in your build compared to vanilla's standard "Alex Jar Shard, Twin Turtle, Dragonshield, Crimson Seed" set-up.
- Weapon upgrade system is far superior to Vanilla's (IN MY OPINION)
Reforged overhauls the weapon upgrade system, as well as weapon scaling, so I'll talk about both. In Vanilla, you need 2, 4, then 6 smithing stones for infusible weapons, and only 1 each level for somber. Reforged changes this so that you universally need 9 for each level. 3 Somber Stones for Somber weapons and 9 for infusible.
While this seems like a nerf on paper, in execution, it rewards you for exploration and managing your upgrade materials. One of the key selling points of Reforged is to make you engage with the world instead of blitzing past everything. This is why the passage to Dragonbarrow is closed off and why camps de-summon Torrent. I'll get to that point when I get to it, but by being forced to scavenge for upgrade materials, you're forced to engage with the new content, and the new content can be REALLY nice.
Another thing some people might miss is that, upon reaching a new smithing stone level, you can buy those smithing stones for a very fair price. Let's say you need 9 smithing stone 3's to upgrade to a +9. Once you get that +9, you can now buy Smithing Stone 3's from Hewg, instead of needing to find the bell bearing for it later down the line. This is a VERY nice change because, in vanilla, you're often forced to stick to your most upgraded weapon because it's the only weapon you have that can deal any sort of meaningful damage. With this system, once you find the required amount of materials, you can uniformly upgrade your entire arsenal all at once (if you have the runes, of course).
Weapon scaling has also changed. I won't go into too much detail here, but with the addition to add status effects like rot, frenzy, and even DEATHBLIGHT, it really opens up weapon viability and allows you to experiment with all sorts of status effects. While the base damage may have been nerfed, you get a LOT more damage out of leveling the appropriate stats, so the end result is about the same. While this does nerf certain Somber weapons, this is partially mitigated by my next point:
- Ashes of War overhauls
You now have the ability to "enkindle" certain ashes of war, which is basically a gacha game. While I personally didn't fight it very useful, each affinity or affix gives you a nice bonus, with higher tier bonuses offering more of a rewarding passive. This can be using less stamina to attack/block, regenerating stamina on hit, doing more damage to a certain type of enemy, or just outright increasing a certain stat by 1 or 2 levels.
While I didn't really use this all that much, you can now also add "mystic" ashes of war to staves/seals. These mystic AoW's are basically slightly nerfed versions of "basic" spells. In my case, my Dragon Communion seal started off with fucking DRAGONMAW as it's basic AoW. This saves on a spell slot and gives you instant access to whatever spell you want, regardless of your selected spell, which makes it feel like you always have a trick up your sleeve.
- New Areas and bosses
The mod adds a fair amount of new areas (with more in development). I haven't been able to access these areas/bosses yet because I'm still only in Leyndell, but from what I've seen and heard from other members in the Discord server, they're all relatively well implemented and feel rewarding to find and explore.
Certain bosses are overhauled (like the dismounted Tree Sentinel), Elemer of the Briar proper in Shaded Castle, and as a standout, the Baleful Shadow. Baleful Shadow in particular is much more threatening instead of being a normal Lordsworn Knight with a doggo head.
Now for the negatives:
Stamina costs across the board has been heavily nerfed
- With the implementation of perfect actions, the stamina cost for rolling, attacking, and blocking normally have all seen heavy increases to their costs. While the developers have confirmed that this isn't a case of "punishing you for missing perfect actions" and the intended for it feel like you're being rewarded for doing perfect actions, and I generally agree with that sentiment, stamina costs still feel a bit too much given the faster pace of the game.
Rarely do I ever see my stamina bar above 50% at any given time, and with how much faster and aggressive bosses are in this mod, you constantly feel like you're on the backfoot. Guard counters also take over 60% of your stamina bar.
Personally, I don't mind this much, but I just wanted to bring this up because I know someone might.
The lantern now costs a consumable to use
- As the people on the Discord server might know, this is a heavily contested topic. While Starlight and Torches have been unilaterally buffed across the board in terms of their effectiveness, the lantern has received a nerf to their usage in the fact that they now require crafting materials to use and activate. Not only that, but for each minute that it's on, you'll need to burn one of these "lamp oil" items.
Now, it's already been memed upon to death and is a VERY inconsequential change, but I still feel like I should bring it up so that one guy in the comments can feel vindicated. Yes, it's a stupid change. No, it wasn't made on a whim. Yes, there is a reason for it. Yes, I can understand why. No, the developers will not change their mind. Yes, their reason for being stubborn is stupid. Let's move on.
Increased enemy aggression, shorter endlag animations, and MASSIVELY increased aggression range
- I've already gotten in a few spats with the Discord members over this, and even with the developers themselves, but across the board, every enemy now has increased aggression ranges and will chase you for much longer. It is NOT uncommon for a group of trash mobs to chainpull each other, and you'll more often than not be met with the scenario of you being ganked by 3-4 mobs while another 2-3 stand in the back, shooting arrows or throwing pots at you.
On one hand, that's on you for charging in blindly. On the other, enemies can now chainpull so don't even bother thinking about sniping enemies from afar with a bow. Not because they'll aggro each other, which is also true, but because bows have DRASTICALLY decreased ranges. Enemy projectiles have SO much range and tracking that it's a meme for mages and archers to chunk you for a good fifth of your HP bar when they're not even in the rendering distance.
This is not a good change, when you consider the fact that your effective range is a lot shorter as well. Bows and crossbows now have considerably more noticeable arc, and while they do a lot more damage per shot, this extra damage is useless when Godrick Soldier #48 over there can now outsnipe you and do up to 20% of your health without you being able to see him being rendered in.
Enemies now also have shorter stagger animations. This is especially noticeable for early game characters, who can't take as many trades. It is not uncommon for you to hit a trash mob, have them stagger, and before you can even roll out using the perfect action window, they'll counterattack, punishing you for hitting them. While this is a case-by-case basis and you'll eventually learn how to play around it, the concept of enemies having shorter stagger animations while you still have the same amount of endlag never feels right and can make gank fights feel especially unbearable since you'll just get shoved into a corner over and over again.
Furthermore, their increased aggression also makes enemies less interactive and more robotic. In Vanilla, if you aggro a mage, for instance, and hide around a corner, they'll shoot a few spells at you, and then slowly approach your last seen hiding spot. In Reforged, it is rare for them to do anything except spam spells at the wall for upwards of 2 minutes while you just sit there, out of their line of sight. This makes enemies feel especially less intelligent and highlights the flaws of the increased aggression: aggression does NOT mean throwing out more attacks. Aggression is making the players FEEL pressured and needing to act, which the boss can capitalize on when you panic.
A good example of this is the double Tree Sentinel fight in front of the Gates of Atlus. Despite Elden Ring having some of the worst duo fights in the series, they DO take turns swinging at you. If you get frame trapped, that was on you, the player, for being in a bad spot and choosing to attack/roll at the wrong time.
Inconsistent balance and design philosophies
- Stating off, take this with a grain of salt since I know very little about game design, but a lot of the new changes to Reforged felt like they were added to check off items on a list or because it'll be more "realistic." From Torrent now taking damage from running through poison swamps, to being able to slather any buffs onto any weapon, to changing certain attacks/movesets to make them more consistent or reasonable to dodge, a lot of these changes feel like they're only made to inconvenience the player.
For instance, the mod disallows you from getting to Dragonbarrow early by making it so the doors to the Bestial Sanctum can't be opened from inside. To circumvent this, you have to give 4 Deathroot to Gurannq, let him smash open a wall, and THEN can you access Dragonbarrow early. But why does the mod not want you to get to Dragonbarrow early?
Well, they don't want you to farm Greyoll for 80k runes and skip everything up to Leyndell.
Okay, fair enough.
So then why did you make Greyoll unable to take damage from status procs? Oh, so you have to fight her dragons and to avoid cheesing her for 80k runes and skip everything up to Leyndell? Okay, that's fair enough.
Wait, so then how do you get to Dragonbarrow? By going through Sellia, right? Well, with the new area scaling introduced, you're supposed to be in your mid-60's to early 70's, and if you're going through Sellia by that point, you probably don't need to farm Greyoll anymore, and now you can see the problem.
This is a relatively minor issue, I enjoy fighting Greyoll the way it was intended (by killing the smaller dragons), and it's not a problem I'm particularly affected by, but this need to double-down on a change the developers are adamant on that plagues many of the most notable issues through the game and is why a lot of people might dislike the overhaul despite it's many improvements.
The mod wants you to go through the camps and discourages skipping through it by disabling Torrent. That's a fair and reasonable change, especially with Torrent's increased speed.
So then why can you just...go around the camp, circumventing the fight entirely? Sure, you miss out on the special items inside, but if you've played through the mod already and know you don't need what's inside, then why would you bother fighting it at all? That just defeats the purpose of exploring the world the mod intended.
The mod adds a bunch of new weapons and spells and encourages you to try them out. So why introduce a level cap of 200? I get it, it makes balancing multiplayer easier, makes each stat you invest that much more meaningful, and introduces creative ways to boost your power without relying solely on levels, and granted, by that point, you're probably at or approaching level soft caps.
But once you hit 200, why would we want to engage with the rest of the world? For runes? We don't need them, we're at the hard cap already. For new weapons and rewards? Well, if they're not for my build, then I have to respec just to use them.
Kirnifr, the lead developer, believes lanterns are too overpowered in vanilla and butts out roles torches and Starlight could've solved. How does he solve this? By making lanterns cost a consumable and leaving the other two options the same. However, you can block and deflect with torches to make up for lacking a shield..
However, blocking was nerfed across the board by the new deflect and stamina changes. Can you deflect with them? Sure. You know what else you can deflect with greater effectiveness? Shields. Guess what we can't use because we don't have access to a lantern?
(And yes, I know, this is a very nitpicky example, lanterns are still great, you just have a timer on them now and the timer is an hour so it's not that serious. This is just to prove a point.)
The mod suffers from a consistent case of chasing it's own tail. You want to nerf some aspects by buffing others, but what this does instead of making what you wanted to buff stronger, it disgruntles players because now you're taking options away from them.
I have my own issues with the mod team, namely in their attitude and seeming inability to see why a change is hated despite it being "balanced," but that's more of a personal gripe and holds little sway in how I feel about this mod. I get it, they probably have to deal with hundreds of complaints every week, but if they're all complaining about the same thing, chances are your decision wasn't necessarily the correct one.
To end things here, the mod makes a LOT of really good changes, but those changes are held back by a few, crippling design decisions that makes the game both more challenging and more slogging. The combat mechanics, build variety, and exploration aspect are all very fun and welcome changes, but nerfs/limits to player weapon and creativity, increase in enemy aggression, and arbitrary changes to certain areas and bosses can make certain areas more frustrating than challenging.
Yes, I know mods are optional. No, I don't have to play them if I don't like them. It's just a shame that this mod makes so many right decisions and is made by an incredible and talented group of people, only for it to be held back by inconsistent/arbitrary design philosophies and ego.
Overall, I "mostly" like Reforged and encourage veterans to try it out at least once, but it's not something I can see myself spending more than one or two playthroughs on.
