the whole joke of "sudden, rapidly passing object followed by fitting music" will never EVER get old to me. comedy GOLD

For those who didn't watch to the end, but are interested in the next episode of the Boss Designs of Elden Ring, he has a request that is very important to hear! Please, do consider watching to the end! ^v^ Long story short, he *will* finish this series, so if you worry that he abandoned the project, it is just that the game is absurdly long, and he needs to figure out how to edit this mess of Past Skyen adventuring with no real process or plan! (I think, I didn't watch when he was playing through this live XD) Take care of yourselves, and please do be kind to one another! All the love, and have a good time! 🌲🧡

"I thought he was gonna follow me." TBSkyen has taught me that this is called foreshadowing!

Heh, the editing on the chariot got me almost as good as the chariot itself did on my first time through.

Deeply deeply DEEPLY appreciate the dedication to fading that music in and out with the chariot coming and going.

I think there is wiggle room for both interpretations, honestly. The tree spirit originally being a predator of the trees fits the inspiration, but as like you said yourself, the acts of grafting and subsuming are central to the game. Much like the golden order, the Erdtrees could graft what they cannot kill, making the spirits horrifying extensions of themselves via a sacrifice or their own matter that corrupted the spirits towards the tree, turning it into a protector for it's roots with the natural inclination to guard it's "food", and punishing it in a way it has no means of comprehending now that it has changed so drastically.

8:05 Worth the wait for this alone.

And the reverb, the echo, how it changes when the chariot leaves! Your editor did even better than usual, that was wonderful! and if that was you...Great job!

Skyen spinning a shield around himself to circus music: "You waited months for this episode" Me enjoying the spectacle: "You're damn right I did"

"Skyen wants big sword." Great video, as always, Skyen. And good luck with the brain issues. 🌳🌳🌳🌳

The chariot edit made my day, especially since you committed to the bit and did it for all the chariot instances. If it's not too much trouble, I would mightily appreciate it if you continued that as a running joke. It really made me smile. EDIT: ALSO, I just wanna say - I get looking forward to a series, but it's important for people to realize that content creators aren't machines. Life happens. Just stay subscribed and go watch some other stuff, and you'll be pleasantly surprised the next time that thing you were looking forward to shows up on your feed.

Watching this specific serie always give me joy because I love how good the gameplay is edited and especially the analysis. It really shows your growth as KZfaqr. The Ulcerated Tree Spirit is a boss I never gave much thoughts because it was one of my most hated bosses to play against, especially how often it appeared. I remember that in one instance it appeared and I was like "NO! I have fought like half of dozen of these, I'm not gonna fight another one!" only to find out that I have to beat it to advance one questline. (I was not happy but I did it) I never thought about grafting in the same vein as cannibalsm but it does make sense. Especially since ina later region / major questline the topic of consumption, especially in the topic of gaining more power, will play an important role... but I'm not gonna spoiler it. Please take all the time you need and I can't wait to see the next episode whenever it comes out!

So glad it's out now! Here's my spoiler free take on the ulcerated tree spirit: they could have been pretators of the eerd tree and as it consumed the roots the tree consumed them as well. Just like the golden order the tree incorporates that it can not kill into itself. Hence why they look fleshy on the inside but are wooden on the outside and uncontrollably ooze the golden light of the 🌳 itself!

Yeah the catacombs and graves were clearly built before the Erdtree, as you can see cremation pots and actual graves, which make no sense since "Erdtree burial" is the funerary practice at the moment. They clearly repurposed the catacombs to fit their tree worship. I find it crazy that you figured that out instantaneously after seeing the grave for 1 second. Great catch!

I have to say, I started to follow your channel because of your Souls boss design series. One part of me is always sad when the breaks between episodes are extremely long. But everytime I think about these breaks I rewatch your boss design videos and make some of the themes you talk about into D&D sessions 😂 And don’t stress too much about that (easy said I know), we all want boss design episodes. But even more we want a healthy, happy and motivated skyen. Your doing an awesome job

Always nice to see more elden ring 🌳

This interaction of the Spirit becoming sickly and necrotic gives a clue to the Tarnished, and the player, that the Urd-tree may indeed be more of a parasite or a poisonous weed feeding off the life blood of the land and its people.

I loved the second interpretation of the Ulcerated 🌲 Spirit! I always interpreted it as a corrupted projection of what the Erd🌲 was/became with all the decline. But that is such a cool perspective. Loved every bit of it! Thanks a ton for the video!

Please don't feel bad about how long the series is taking! Your mental health is more important and I don't think anyone wants you to get burned out. I'm thrilled to hear you plan on finishing the series and will patiently for whenever is the right time for the next episode. Much love, Skyen.

I know what it's like living with ADHD and I just wanted to say that I (and probably many of us) understand, and will happily be patient. Take the time you need. We'll be here. I love your work so much, but your health and general well-being should always come first. I'm just happy when you *do* post, regardless of the time between episodes. Remember; You're amazing and appreciated and loved. And thank you for this wonderful episode :D🌳

Welcome back, beloved Boss Design series ❤ missed you dearly (Small edit after the outro: please don't take this the wrong way. While I and many others love and miss the series between episodes, it's obviously completely fine to take the time you need and take care of yourself first and foremost!)

Dont feel bad about how long these videos take to make. They're long, well edited and well researched. Things like that take time, especially when you have something like ADHD. Its always a highlight of my day whenever a boss designs is uploaded, not just for the editing or the analysis, but for the passion you have when you play the game, or when you talk about the designs. So take as much time as you need, and never lose that spark.

That's such an interesting reading, love the various angles too! Man I've missed this series

18:23 nice, also I did a similar thing on my first playthrough. As soon as I got my first key I went back and got my ass kicked by the chariot and tree spirit. Good times

the editing on that chariot sequence is so incredible

I've seen other comments here talking about the Chariot Deja vu, but I gotta add my 2 cents. Using Deja vu is absolutely genius, obviously any song in Initial D would be funny, but because of the sheer number of times you see the chariot makes Skyen's dedication to the bit THAT much funnier.

Hey, thank you for the sincerity and vulnerability you show in the end card. 🌳 Those are difficult themes to tackle, and do not worry about speed, we will wait as long as you need for the episodes. Also their quality really pays off the time

It’s nice to see this series getting another entry, and as someone who also suffers with adhd/executive dysfunction/whatever the hell it is my bran torments itself with, I understand the pain very well. Wish I wasn’t a uni student with no income at the moment, otherwise I would absolutely give you a dono. Stay healthy and treat yourself well, Skyen 🌲🌳🌴

I really like that your ideas come from analyzing the themes, instead of just trying to find all the "correct" lore.

Boss Analysis is what got me into your channel, so I’m always happy to see it on my feed, but it has opened me up to all your other enjoyable content. Currently I’m very much enjoying your Baldur’s Gate videos - specifically the VoDs on Twitch.

"Life happens and I do have brain problems" is something I relate to so much. It's so hard to get people to understand that. I know from personal experience that trying to adjust to treatment for severe ADHD is a journey in itself, too. I wish you the best in your own situation, too. If this is something you want to keep doing, then hearing you setting boundaries and wanting to focus on a more manageable pace is great. Because you're right, breaks are needed! They're good! Especially in a fun, long series like this. I appreciate you opening up about it. (It reminds me that sometimes I need to slow down and go a bit easier on myself to actually be able to do things.) Anyway, I was delighted to see this video pop up in my feed. Your analysis of the Soulsborne worlds is always so thoughtful (and hilarious at times with your funny edits). It helped make my day better. I hope your day goes well, too. Thank you and please do take care. 🌳

@13:16 I really appreciate the fade in, fade out, and small doppler effect applied to the unofficial musical theme assigned to the chariot as it gets closer or farther away from Skyen. It's the littel touches.

🌲Always happy to see an episode! And as Sunstone who struggles with ADHD too i completely get it, get that bag and then get back to us when you're ready! We're not going anywhere.

I adore this series. I was very invested in the Boss Designs of Bloodborne, and I like Elden Ring a lot too. I have no doubt that you'll do this game justice and show me things I never even noticed or considered about its world. I patiently wait for these episodes because I know that you put a lot of effort into making and editing these videos along with tons of other ones. Godspeed Skyen (even is said speed ends up being more like a snail's pace).

Ah the eurobeat got me good. Such a good episode so far!

Was the pronunciation of Carian as "carrion" intentional... Because thinking on it more, it is really convenient that the intended pronunciation is close to both cairn and carrion when considering the larger implications of Erdtree burial has on an ecosystem.

The last bit hits close to home. I struggle with the same thing in my life, and..."I know".

🌳Great to see you again! 🌳 The Ulcerated Tree Spirits (and the Erdtree Avatars) have always intrigued me in-game, and I enjoyed seeing your reaction and angle on them. Also, the editing continues to kick butt; the Chariot never failed to entertain me, so all that work was definitely worth it! Keep up the great work!

I am so fascinated about almost everything that you do. Initially I didn't watch these boss designs because I'm not particularly interested in Souls-like games, but I started watching some of your boss design shorts, and I got really hooked. Now I watch all of the Elden Ring videos you put out

As someone with ADHD and with friends with ADHD I want to say that medication is something that is different for everyone. For me I don't even feel like myself without them, and I have friends who feel awful on them. Whatever way you end up leaning just know that it will stabilize and I'm happy to see you taking steps towards better mental health.

dude it's all good, honestly i always come to your channel for quality analysis and it baffles me every time you do one of those video. it's so well done and Elden ring is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE game with lots and lots of bosses. take your time, don't overwork yourself, and take care of your mental health. What attracts me to your video is just who you are as a person and how passionate you are at understanding those types of games. I have played the game 3 times and i'm still discovering stuff about it because of you. I never saw the similarity of Nidhogg and the tree spirit before and thats awesome. To finish your editing is awesome and your analysis are always so fascinating to watch and take time to yourself. You earned it

Hey Skyen! You're one of my favorite content creators, but no amount of your incredible, thoughtful content is worth YOU. Please take care of yourself and your mental health. ❤

honestly... the boss designs series got me to start from soft games, and the way you look at these games really opened my eyes to a different WAY OF LOOKING AT the game. so, I realised, I could apply this myself as well. and didn't need to look to you for an in depth interpretation necessarily. so... while you're hacking away at the series, I'll get my fix on boss designs by turning on my own critical goggles, and getting a reading of my own. side note: I've been diagnosed with ADD a few months back and have recently started medication as well. The fact that you keep coming back to this and not giving up on the series is absolutely inspiring to me. I can relate to that struggle for a little bit at least. Love the content, can't wait till the next one ❤🌳

Take your time. All of us that really enjoy it we can wait for it. Anytime I see you upload an Elden Ring video I get excited and happy that you put your all in it.

There’s nothing about any of the precious videos or this one that indicated to me that you weren’t going to let this series go unfinished. Mental health and health in general is more important than anything, and I’m sure a good chunk of people will be glad you prioritized that over finishing a KZfaq series sooner rather than later. Thanks for putting so much effort into these vids 👏🎄👏

These definitely don't disappoint. I'm excited for more. 🌲

I've come back to this video so many times just to watch that entire chariot bit again. I'm sobbing, the editing is god-tier. This is the exact reason why I watch Skyen, he is genuinely hilarious

I really love this series! I started at bloodblorne and I adore how you talk about the designs and really dive into things I hadn't even noticed! I can't play Elden ring, so this is such a great series to watch it and learn about it all. Thank you for all the work you do on this, it sounds like an insane amount. As a fellow ADHDer, meds are great but they don't fix everything, take care of yourself and even if it takes years and years and years you'll still have lots of us fans celebrating your hard work. I'm quite happy to catch up on your insane backlog, it's immense and it makes me so happy! Even if this was the last ever episode (though I know it's not!), I would be so happy with what you've already given us, it's all so damn amazing. Thank you!!! 💜

12:25 I love how the music fades out, clever little touch

I’ll take Elden Ring content whenever you feel up to posting it, I cannot fathom the amount of work that goes into these things and the care really shows! You produce amazing content and congrats on everything you do. Cheers!

As a fellow ADHD haver, i sympathize greatly with the struggle of returning to things after a long time. Take all the time you need, Skyen! 🌳🎄🌲

Boss Designs is what brought me here and the means by which I got my friends into your work too. You are the reason I got into fromsoft games and the reason my friends learned more about league of legends. No matter when or how you create, it’s always an occasion to celebrate. Cheers 🌴🌴

The Elden Ring videos are always such a treat! It's not the type of video game I will ever be able to play (motion sickness issues), so I love being able to experience them through this thoughtful commentary. It doesn't matter how long it takes between videos, I will always look forward to the next one😊

Love your stuff, Skyen! And it's really clear how much care and effort you put into it, so I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to see more of this. No rush. Hope the adjustment to the medication is going well!

I won't spoil anything, but it is impressive how much youve managed to learn from boss design alone

The chariot absolutely sent me. Worth the wait.

Amazing editing as always!! LOVED the Wolverine cosplay!

The chariot bit had me howling lmfao! Pure perfection! Excellent analysis as always! You never fail to bring up valuable details I hadn't even thought to put together! And seriously, don't stress getting these videos out, I COMPLETELY understand how you feel. I've been trying to get myself to make lore videos about this game since last summer, and haven't even been able to finish any of the scripts I've started yet 😅 Just knowing that you're still into playing it at all is good enough to keep me waiting forever if need-be. And congrats on getting ADHD meds, too! Real lifesavers. 🌲🌳🌴

I honest to got love that you stay true to the bit and edit deja vu over the riding chariot, even when its far in the distance. Thats a great touch of detail

🌳 loved the editing of Initial D everytime the chariot drove by. Really hope the new medication works as intended 💜

Speaking as somebody who is doing his own Elden Ring letsplay and several other letsplays, few of which I've actually finished. I absolutely get your feelings TBSkyen. Love your stuff, tackle it at your own pace. (in the extremely hypothetical case that out of curiosity you check my stuff: DON'T, it's a 2nd playthrough and full of spoilers as I talk about theories from others and my own interpretations and such after a thorough first run. So even in the first few episodes I may reference something from later on, even though I try to not reveal everything to my single digit followers at once.)

That we will still have the boss designs of Elden Ring to look forward to years from now... what a nice thought. In all seriousness though, I hope people will cut you some slack because, as you said, life constantly happens. I for one never thought the series was canceled and im really grateful everytime you release one. You always have really interesting readings, insight and method of explaining things thats pretty unique in this community. All the best with the meds and take it wasy brother.

God. I'm so fucking excited for this series. I feel like the open ended nature of the game could allow you to be super creative in how you set up the series. This lil mini boss let you make an episode about your Erdtree root theory. I'm glad to hear you're steadfast in continuing the series. I feel like you're analysis of these games has great staying power

I haven't watched your content in a little while, I've just been busy, but I'm really glad you're still putting out videos. I find your voice and its cadence really familiar and comforting - and I really love your observations and commentary. Thank you! I think the tree spirit does speak to grafting for sure - the motif is everywhere. I kind of view this as a graft in decline and I think the tree spirit is a vestige of the rootstock, the original and material tree whose roots we find literally everywhere, ulcerated by the current weird phantom tree that we see depicted as the Erdtree. I like to think the golden Erdtree is maybe the disease and the golden order, its decrepit ideological order.

I cannot express how much I love the gag of putting Deja Vu over the chariots. It makes me smile every time

Heck yes, always love to see this series back. Also, as a fellow ADHDer, I'm sending you all the good vibes as you learn to manage it.

Hey came across your channel while back checking out bloodborne, and with a life long obsession with the elements of story, piecing together the little world details scratches something in my brain. So don't worry I'll be here waiting for another deep dive and as a fellow ADHD human I completely understand the struggles so just remember you rock and I'll see you next video

Elden Ring is so big, is very understandable this will take a long time, I love this series and your special take on this games, take your time to create this unique series.

Hey skyen. I'm one of those assholes that always saw soulslike games as games that gamer bros played, not because they enjoyed them, but because they wanted to feel superior to those of us who weren't "gud enough". Your series made me change my mind and made me realise that these games are works of art. Your thoughtful analysis made me realise that I needed to check my biases, and I want to thank you for that. Now to my actual point: take. All. The. Time. You. Need! These videos are magnificent and we can tell how much care and energy you put into them. As far as I'm concerned this series can continue for several years. Quality is worth waiting for!

This series is always such a joy to watch. I love the way it's split up, between gameplay and analysis! 🌲

Caught up on these boss designs videos. Really excited to go through this journey of insight and analysis with you as it’s something I never took the time with when I played the game. 🌳

Take your time, take care of yourself. I see the Elden Ring Series as a treat. Love your channel.

Started going through these when the DLC was announced, I always appreciate your perspective on the themes in From games. I also appreciate the uniqueness of getting your first impressions and more informed ones side by side.🌳

Always glad to see more episodes in this series. Your Boss Designs of Dark Souls II was what got me interested in playing this game and now that I've beaten my first From Software game I look forward to seeing what your interpretation of that story is. I don't mind needing to wait for more episodes. They are always worth it. 🌳

Glad to see another video on Elden Ring! Best of luck dealing with ADHD too, we’ll be here whenever you finish Elden Ring, don’t rush yourself. 🌳

Love seeing more Elden Ring content as always, and can't wait to see an eventual long coherent ramble about the world in its entirety. Also fun fact about the ulcerated spirit, it's in fact a design initially introduced in Dark Souls 3's previous iteration before the massive wave of changes into what became the final product, and even in Dark Souls 3 the themes of decay and disease perfectly align with the stagnation of the hollows place in society and the dismissive treatment by their peers.

Quality takes time I love the series and your analysis Take your time and people will be here happy to see what you put out 🎄🌲🌳🌴....🌵

🌳 Boss Designs series is what got me into the channel, something I’ve said plenty often though always in the spirit of encouraging Skyen that these videos Are worth it in a slow and steady metrics sense. Because I know KZfaq does everything it can to dissuade him from talking about anything but League of Legends. I think I’ve tried to be positive with it and hope it never added to the stress caused by comments lamenting the false death of the series. Also calling it a mere “Let’s Play” would be such a disservice to the editing and analysis, I hope the derisive though only exists in your worst moments.

🌳 That tree spirit certainly was very excited to meet you

🤣🤣 That bit with the chariot! Like it's some guy driving around with their radio blasting 😂😂

That music gag was hilarious!

Another interesting note that you'll find when you arrive in a future area is that there was a faith that was rather fond of Snakes that became the fiercest opposition to the Erdtree *ever*. I think there's a precipice strewn with ruins where you'll find the first traces of this snake-cult.

great analysis as always! also the Deja vu editing was peak comedy - great job and totally worth the time it took!

finally got time to watch the full thing🌳 i'm really happy the rest of the serie will come out, i'm so hyped to discover the world of Elden Ring through your analysis and theories and don't overwork yourself ! we're all gonna wait if necessary, take care of yourself

Love your work, and about the post scriptum i think i talk for all of us saying that you deserve to take all the time you need for the series

@TBSkyen Congrats on the diagnosis! As a self-employed person who was diagnosed with ADHD a little over a year ago, I definitely understand the internal push to finish projects for "customers". To this day, I still have some jobs in limbo, but I also now have a better grasp of my limitations and a better plan for completing those big projects. I've also been lucky in that most of my customers have been very understanding. Not all, but most, and that's okay. You can't please everybody, but when you do good work, people tend to be patient. I've watched all of your Boss Designs series' and, you sir, consistently do good work!

Take all the time you need for this series 🌲

Here's a thought. God's, spirits,the erdtrees what if in order for these beings to gain power they ethier need to consume humans, or be consumed themselves. It explains why D and golden order hate false life. It steals from the gods. Might explain why the other Demi-gods are quite obsessed with the tarnished. These themes of eat or be eaten come up alot in this game.

mr skyen i am very excited to hear that the boss designs of elden ring will be finished, there's absolutely no rush for it at all and please - as someone who struggles with the same thing - enjoy the praise that people mean to give you when they comment on a series not showing up for a while. its hard, but we all love your content and i dont think anyone means to pressure you to make them any faster :) (i personally am watching a week late because i left 5000 words of an 8000 word report until 14 hours before the deadline because i couldnt find the headspace to do it) i really love the boss design series, im very happy to see its return 🌳

Omg the sound fading in and out on the chariot is just *chiefs kiss*

Comment not about the actual in game lore, but about the development of this boss This monster showed up in the first arts of dark souls 3, it even has a model left in the files, it was just never implemented People think it was a very advanced form of the pus of man, maybe something that is completely freed from the body marked by the dark sigil, further advanced than the prologue boss It's nice to see that a rejected concept was integrated back into the game

Interesting tidbit for those who may not know; There's a VERY similar enemy type in DS3 with the Pus of Man, and early build images included an enemy that never appeared in DS3 that looks a LOT like our ulcerated friend. Potentially a discarded enemy put to new use in ER

Skyen, you are so appreciated. I love your analysis videos and I appreciate when I get them. Know that you are your biggest critic. But! As a fellow creative, I know that that doesn’t just mean feel-good times for all, because we still want to be creative. I hope advice won’t be unwelcome. Congrats on your treatment progress! I don’t have an ADHD diagnosis, but I do have CPTSD, which can manifest similarly in this regard. At the beginning of the year I got the life-changing advice from the blog of a published author that, basically, I was expecting too much of myself because I didn’t know how to set achievable goals. I never learned. As a result, I was making almost no progress and making the task more and more dreadful, constantly compounding the problem. So, I have lowered my progress goals. It’s much better to have a goal of 350 words per writing session and write almost every day, than to have a goal of 3,000 or 1,000 words and be so exhausted when we do accomplish it that it becomes something to avoid, and we only get around to it when we feel that is possible (for me, every few months). If flow is achieved we can go further than that, but not too far. This way, I’m no longer waiting for the right mood. I can easily do 350 words every day or, if I can’t, I can sit with my draft for half an hour to give myself the chance. When the mood does strike me, I don’t have to cling to it and do 5,000 words in a day, burning myself out. I have faith that I can sit down and do 350 again tomorrow, instead of being lost again for months and feeling I have to catch up when I can. This can also apply to editing, obv, which I have much sympathy for. I find my totally unskilled audio editing for my podcast so strenuous. I can’t imagine what it’s like to sit down to a long video file, with your standard of quality. I’m not capable of being eloquent, or even grammatical, in a KZfaq comment, but I hope this made sense. Be kind to yourself, set yourself goals that are easily achievable and sustainable, sit down and be present with your art every day for a set amount of time, then separate and don’t feel guilty about your progress. Have faith in your new brain chemistry to bring you back tomorrow. Build trust in yourself as you do return every day. And if you take a break, for the weekend or for health, or as you adjust to your treatment, your art will wait for you with utmost patience. And at least this member of your audience will as well. I have faith in your dedication, and there is no substitute for you in your art.

the parasite reading has surprisingly good footing looking at the broader lore and character designs, especially cuz there is another boss type that also "represents" erdtrees later on and unless the game wants to be redundant it's either one or the other

What 🌳 type 🌲 of 🌴 tree? Also, the Erdtree is Rebirth! You bury corpses in the beautiful, golden trees that grow across the land in order for them to be honored and reborn as spirits in service to it! At least, that's sorta how I see it. I'm just happy to see your videos whenever they happen.

I love these videos. Giving me thoughts that I don't have to think myself. I finally watched through your Bloodborne series, only 2 years late, which was great because I couldn't even play up to the Cleric Beast. That I didn't miss this series by a ton of time is nice. To avoid spoilers (as of watching this video, you haven't encountered what I have seen, but I also haven't finished the game) I feel the tree spirits are just that, spirits of the erd tree. They're physical manifestations of the holy tree, which would explain why they are literally bursting with holy energy. I think they're found in these tombs not to devour the flesh of the corpses, but to act as guard dogs for these holy sites.

Excellent analysis as always. Take your time and please don't burn out. 🌲

a sign of great design is that skyen is able to guess a lot of a future a boss out of this one, another one that you find inside a tree

Chariot edit was so funny! Had me chucklin something fierce! I'm more than happy to wait for these videos as your able to finish them Skyen! It's always a treat when I see them pop up on my feed 😁 The Bloodborne and Dark Souls series live on as my favorite explorations of the artistic designs of the bosses and characters and I'll be happy to see you give the same treatment to Elden Ring! So many cool things coming up in the Lands Between!!! 🌳🌳🌳

So satisfying at 17:42 ! Welcome back Skyen!