"I'm not slamming FromSoftware," says Lords of the Fallen 2 director, but CI Games' Soulslike has "more drives to experiment a bit" with your build

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Which way, Soulslike fan?

Lords of the Fallen 2 knight in thorned helmet
(Image credit: CI Games)

Members of Lords of the Fallen 2 developer CI Games make a few comparisons to Elden Ring and FromSoftware's other games in a new developer update focusing on combat in their upcoming Soulslike sequel, with special attention paid to build diversity and how those builds come together.

"With a FromSoft game, and I'm not slamming FromSoftware, once I find my build, I'm in," says game director James Lowe. "That's probably the build I'm going to use for the entire experience, and I'm not going to really mess around with it.

Lords of the Fallen II: ‘Lifting the Veil’ Ep. 8 Dev Update | All-New Combat Gameplay - YouTube Lords of the Fallen II: ‘Lifting the Veil’ Ep. 8 Dev Update | All-New Combat Gameplay - YouTube
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Even as a dev obviously talking favorably about his own game, Lowe makes a fair point. To unpack it, while there is a great range of builds available, the ability to respec your character is often backloaded or limited in FromSoftware games, and in the opening portions of games like Elden Ring, the heart of your build is often just the one best weapon or spell you've found so far.

Once you've upgraded that weapon and invested in the stats for it, you're probably going to use it, or things just like it, for a good while. Elden Ring is the broadest example; Bloodborne is more linear in its buildcrafting, and Sekiro even more so as an action game built around your one main katana.

Lords of the Fallen is a little more dynamic, and may feel more forgiving if you want to dip in and out of different styles regularly, though it's not on the level of something like Nioh 3. That's largely thanks to a combination of lighter stat requirements on weapons and spells, a respec system that I remember being pretty available, and a less costly weapon upgrade path than Elden Ring's. (The Bell Bearings in Elden Ring do help with weapon upgrade materials and they give you a floor for weapon experiments, but the bells are also pretty backloaded, and frankly there's a reason Somber-type weapons are so popular early-game.)

I'm reminded of Obsidian's stance on respeccing in The Outer Worlds 2 – rather, why you can't. I would put this decision on the scales opposite Baldur's Gate 3, where you can adjust your stats and classes all the time. Neither approach – for Soulslikes or more traditional RPGs – is strictly wrong. It really comes down to developers prioritizing consequence, permanence, and deliberation on your journey, or flexibility and moment-to-moment variety. Refining my largely unchanged spell swordsman in Elden Ring was fun, but I also enjoyed figuring out what kind of Crusader I wanted to stick to in Lords of the Fallen.

Soulslike action RPG Lords of the Fallen 2 is on the "same journey" as the Batman Arkham games, dev says: "It all came together and it felt perfect."

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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