For those that haven’t reached end game and/or bothered with the Crucible:
So long as you prioritize damage, lifesteal and healing.. you never have to worry about “focus gain” again.
Due to seemingly all the end game guides using the ring to speed run the crucible, the ring has become quite controversial.
Whether it’s the Subzero build like mine, the fiery “apocalypse” or plagues “splatter”.
All of those mage builds focus on exploiting the rings power.
*Seeking the ease of destruction against anything that breaths in opposition to your presence.
I’d imagine the devs left it in to let players test mechanics and player preference at end game.
In truth, prior to getting the ring. I could still steamroll the Crucible with the subzero build.
The difference is in how much time and resources you have to “waste” to get the same effect.
IE: Without the ring, I’m constantly worried about managing Focus.
Granted, not having the ring on a frost build isn’t a big deal because we can still freeze and shatter for good focus gain.
However, players that want to be a pure a mage/wizard are still limited by requiring us to "get physical’ in the first place.
Prior to the ring, we had craftable potions we could drink that gave us Focus (and made fishing somewhat worth the hassle).
That same potion is now “nerfed” to only give a “focus gain %” bonus. Which means you’re still gonna need to get your focus manually.
If the potions original effect were still in the game, the ring would lose a great deal of it’s luster. Especially considering how hard it is to get (RNG from the “final” boss in the game via the Crucible).
*It took me well over 20 successful runs to finally get it to drop.
In fact, I’d argue it is the only legendary worth grinding the Crucible for.
*Everything else seems wildly inferior to the end game “custom plague” gear required to beat it in the first place [more on that later].
I’d wager the devs nerfed the potion and hid the ring as an “end game” item due to the desire to make the combat more “souls-like” for the majority of the storied experience.
IE: Parry, dodge or die.
When it comes to Fromsoft games, I’m more of a fan of Elden Ring’s approach where you’re not absolutely forced into melee with every class/build.
*Your journey as a mage apprentice might start out rough but you’ll be moving mountains in no time!
On one hand you could say “we just need more creative encounters and enemy mechanics for players to engage with”.
IE: Paper > rock > scissors (elemental or attribute system)
Or maybe think that one of the biggest hurdles to creating more interesting encounters, is the stat system..
- Leveling STR does not affect your carry weight or make all physical weapons hit harder.
- Leveling DEX does not affect your attack/move speed or ability to use ranged weapons (bows).
- Heals are unaffected by Faith and INT does not increase spell damage.
For me it’s a combination of those and the fact that loot itself just isn’t unique or rewarding enough to justify long, drawn out and skill based encounters.
Whether it’s the disdain of getting small potions and “blue” gear.. or the fact that legenaries seem to require more work to make functional builds around.
Even the T4 C10 outbreaks offer “trinkets” compared to how much work they can be to finish (especially with a non-plague, no determination, build).
Even with my ability to steamroll the crucible, I have little desire to do so outside of testing new “broken” builds on it.
At it’s core, I don’t think the ring is the problem.. it’s the foundation of the combat and reward loops.
All that said, these are problems the devs are currently looking into..
So what do you think..
At the end of the day, is the Ring of Determination an end game exploit or a well deserved vacation from the unrewarding grind?
If the latter, what do you think they should do about it?
