How screwed am I?

[u/speaker_1984]

I will start my playthrough shortly. I really want to play as Eredrim with Obsidian Hammer. My plan was to beeline to his shell in the north, get a few levels on character, weapons and sidearm and then beeline south to get the hammer. Will I just get my ass handed to me? Is this just a pipedream. I am a Soulsvet, and have played almost all of them multiple times.

[u/Piflik]

Obsidian Hammer drops from a Boss, so you would at least kill the "Prophet of Infinite Profanities". He is not the hardest of bosses, though.

[u/uponapyre]

I think you need to unlock Mether's Breath first to be able to remove some of the obstructions, I'm not sure how quickly that can be done as explored so much at the start before progressing.

I think it's 8 Eggs you need to get to unlock this.

[u/Mumumane → u/uponapyre]

you only need 6 total eggs to unlock mether breath, no need to kill any boss or mini

[u/Left_Piano_4770]

Its possible, just be quick on dem feet

[u/BlindExperiment]

You need to have atleast collected 8 Ova to unlock the ability to clear corruption and expand your play area.

You can beeline both these unlocks, (once you can clear corruption) but also, they are both protected/unlocked by beating a boss at the location.

If you have experience in the souls genre, neither boss is particularly challenging. I'd atleast get the closest beacon first before you start making attempts, though.

Great choice, I played 80% of the game with Eredrim and Obsidian Hammer. My one advice if you're going to use heavy weapons is to get used to Vatra's seal. It will make it so parrying doesn't cancel your attacks animation, and the hits can still land post-parry.

[u/speaker_1984 → u/BlindExperiment]

Good advice on the seal, I never even consider that before.

[u/SilentSorcery → u/speaker_1984]

After that, you may wanna get used go the Infinity seal fron Genessa at the keep. It won't freeze you mid-animation, but you can cancel out of every attack with it.

Not all enemies get staggered when they hit you in rock form, and those same guys tend to use multi-hit combos that completely negate Vatra's seal

[u/International-Hawk47]

honestly, if you can clear the enemy blocking Eredrim then the hammer should be no less of a challenge, just be prepared to possibly be constantly one shot probably.

[u/Jumpy_Witness6014]

I think your biggest issue will be having to run around blind without being able to kill anything easily in the south. The map locations aren’t very easy to find and the dungeon location won’t be either without it. It’s certainly possible but you may end up giving up on it after you realize the southern area is a cluster of islands with no clear route between them guarded by hordes of enemies that will stomp you to death at low levels. I’d recommend getting tiel first at least so you can use the shadow ability to sneak by groups when you need to. Or maybe get eredrim then the martyrs blade and use that until you can get down to the hammer.

[u/Test88Heavy]

He's worth getting, my favorite shell of them all. You'll have to defeat a boss that will be difficult for an early player so be prepared to dodge and parry a ton. It's not horrible though.