Bonfireside Chat: A Dark Souls and Elden Ring Podcast

This week we speak with Jeremy Greer, of Days of Future Cast and many other shows, about his experiences with the Shadow of the Erdtree. We also read your responses to Castle Ensis and Scadu Altus! Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about Lothric Castle.Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

Jeremy Greer joins us to talk about the remainder of Immortal: Unchained, as we storm Apex Citadel, face a completely unforeseen betrayal, and finally transcend reality itself. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about Lothric Castle. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 21 July 2025

This very special episode takes a break from Dark Souls 3 to count down Gary and Jeremy Greer's bottom ten Soulsborne areas! This episode is brought to you by Gary's lovely Kickstarter backers who made Souls of Darkness a reality. Stay tuned for more specials! Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 20 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about the early Chalice Dungeons. This episode covers the basics, the Pthumerian Labyrinth, the Central Pthumerian Labyrinth, the Hintertomb, and the Lower Hintertomb.Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 19 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about the early Chalice Dungeons. This episode covers the basics, the Pthumerian Labyrinth, the Central Pthumerian Labyrinth, the Hintertomb, and the Lower Hintertomb. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 19 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about Drangleic Castle, including the Shrine of Winter and the King's Passage. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about World 3-1 of Demon's Souls.Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about World 3-1 of Demon's Souls. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer reconvene to take a more in-depth look at PVP in Dark Souls.Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer reconvene to take a more in-depth look at PVP in Dark Souls. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about the basics of PVP in Dark Souls.Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2025

Gary Butterfield, Kole Ross, and Jeremy Greer talk about the basics of PVP in Dark Souls. Reposted in remembrance of our good friend Jeremy Greer.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2025

This week is the final episode of Bonfireside Chat until we start covering Nightreign, but we think it’s a good one! We interview the AV Club’s Will Hughes to talk about how he felt about Shadow of the Erdtree, and then we read your responses to the DLC’s endgame.

Transcribed - Published: 23 February 2025

This episode is a quick announcement to let you know that the way you get Duckfeed's premium content is changing. Patreon now offers individual feeds of all of our backer-only shows. This gives you control over what your podcast player downloads, and what you ultimately listen to. Since Patreon itself has this feature, we will no longer be using the individual show feeds on Fireside for our premium content. Those feeds will no longer be updated. Here's what you need to do: You will now need to subscribe to each show you want to listen to individually through Patreon. The process is very simple, just go to the Membership tab on our Patreon page. I've also created a detailed guide for you in the pinned post on our Patreon page. The delivery of public episodes isn't changing at this time. (So to get both the public and premium episodes of Watch Out for Fireballs!, you will need to subscribe to both the feed provided on Patreon and the public feed on watchoutforfireballs.com. I apologize for this duplication, there just isn't a way to handle it better at the moment). Very little else is changing at the moment. You will still get email notifications about every episode we post, regardless of what shows you subscribe to. If you miss the combined feed of all of our shows, what we called the firehose, we're sorry that it went away. You can recreate the effect either by using an RSS feed combiner service, or using features in the podcast app you already use to group shows together into one list of episodes. This feature is called Stations in Apple Podcasts, Overcast calls it Smart Playlists, Podcast Addict calls it Playlists. Pocketcasts doesn't have an option for this as far as I know. Patreon's multi-show RSS feature is still in testing, and there may be hiccups. This is also just one of many changes Patreon is making to make podcasting on their platform better for everyone, so expect more features in the near future. If you have any feedback about the experience, please write at [email protected]. To sweeten the pot if this change makes you want to back us for the first time, or to become a patron again, use the code MULTIFEED (all one word) to get 20% off the first month of a new subscription.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2025

This week, we conclude the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC by talking about the divine tower of the Hornsent, Enir-Ilim, where the final showdowns of the game take place. First, Miquella’s followers have kind of a Civil War thing going on, and then we learn the truth about what Miquella was really after…

Transcribed - Published: 16 February 2025

This week we go tour the many parking garages of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, a beautiful area that we wish had more narrative and gameplay interest. It’s a pileup of a number of civilizations, all searching for the truth of the Crucible, but ultimately overwritten by the Scarlet Rot and its saint, Romina.

Transcribed - Published: 9 February 2025

This episode, we head up the Jagged Peak in order to do the last of the optional content in Shadow of the Erdtree. We’ve heard tell of a tyrant atop of the volcano, Bayle the Dread, a draconic betrayer so hated by Placidusax that the practice of Dragon Communion was created to bring him down.

Transcribed - Published: 2 February 2025

This week’s Roundtable Roundtable features an interview with Phobia, a YouTuber who documents glitches in games in an accessible and entertaining way. We talk about his process and how looking for glitches changes the way he plays FromSoft games. Then we read your responses to the northeastern part of the map and the Abyssal Woods.

Transcribed - Published: 26 January 2025

Though the Abyssal Woods and Midra’s Manse aren’t huge areas gameplay-wise, we adore their lore and story so much that we had to camp out for some extra time. So this episode concludes our discussion of Midra’s Manse, including the boss fight, and a long talk about what Midra and Nanaya’s deals were.

Transcribed - Published: 19 January 2025

Though the Abyssal Woods and Midra’s Manse aren’t huge areas gameplay-wise, we adore their lore and story so much that we had to camp out for some extra time. So this episode concludes our discussion of Midra’s Manse, and a long talk about what Midra and Nanaya’s deals were. Next episode we hit the big man himself and talk about the rules of Frenzy in The Lands Between.

Transcribed - Published: 12 January 2025

This week we find the very hidden entrance to a very hidden path to a very hidden area. Shadow Keep hides a way to reach the Recluse’s River, which is the warpath that the hornsent inquisition took to bring great force to bear on Midra in the Abyssal Woods. Along the way we will complete our final two mini-dungeons and descend further than ought to be possible, as we approach the coolest area in the game.

Transcribed - Published: 5 January 2025

The hands of the cosmos have many fingers, and all of their movements tell a story. But what that story means is up for interpretation. And this week we venture to the Cathedral of Manus Metyr and meet a very strange man named Count Ymir, who claims to have knowledge of the true nature of the Greater Will, the Two Fingers, and the origins of Marika’s divinity. Is he trustworthy? Who knows!? Let’s go blow whistles for him.

Transcribed - Published: 29 December 2024

This week we complete the last of Shadow Keep, exploring the rear of the Specimen Storehouse before killing Messmer’s best bud Commander Gaius, and stumbling across the location where Marika’s whole story began.

Transcribed - Published: 22 December 2024

You’d never guess it, but there’s still more Shadow Keep left to explore. Approaching from the Bonny Village side gets you into the flooded Church District, an area that calls New Londo to mind. But what lies beneath the water is stranger and more mysterious than the Darkwraiths.

Transcribed - Published: 15 December 2024

This week we head on down to Bonny Village, which doesn’t seem so bonny to us. Instead, it was the beating heart of the hornsent’s jar-making operation. This is where the shamans, Marika’s people, were butchered and put into jars in order to make them into “saints”. Eventually they wish they didn’t do that.

Transcribed - Published: 8 December 2024

This week we are joined by Sophie Pilbeam of the Sinclair Lore YouTube Channel. We talk about the world and narrative design of Shadow of the Erdtree, and how well it meshes with the base game. Afterwards, we read your responses about the Cerulean Coast and Shadow Keep areas of the game.

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024

This week’s episode concludes the Specimen Storehouse, and concerns itself mostly with the fight against Messmer and an exploration of what his whole deal was. What led to his genocide of the Hornsent, and how exactly did Marika screw him over?

Transcribed - Published: 24 November 2024

After clearing Shadow Keep proper, we find ourselves in a tower dedicated to the study and preservation of living beings touched by the Crucible. This is… unexpected in the home of someone leading a genocide against the Hornsent. But as we climb, we learn more about Messmer, and also discover the horrifying truth of Miquella’s plans.

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2024

For this entire season we’ve been walking in the wake of Messmer’s works, a fiery genocide of the Hornsent people. But now it’s time to visit the home of Messmer himself and breach the Shadow Keep which looms large over landscape. We talk about the level’s intricate design, and advance some quests related to Needle Knight Leda and her treachery about treachery.

Transcribed - Published: 10 November 2024

Charo’s Hidden Grave is a region that is true to its name, resting above, but out of reach from, the Cerulean Coast. But once you get up there, you learn a little bit more about this cosmology’s relationship with death, and find a dirty little secret that the Hornsent tried to hide away from themselves.AREAS COVERED: 

Transcribed - Published: 3 November 2024

We can't believe their cheek! Miquella threw something away which he should not have, and we’re going deep into the Stone Coffin Fissure to find it. So dress appropriately for wading through hip-deep putrescence, and let your least secure friend know where you’re headed, and come with!

Transcribed - Published: 27 October 2024

Wow, now THIS is blue. Having broken a Great Rune somewhere in the Shadow Realm, we now head south toward the Cerulean Coast, a beautiful region littered with gigantic stone coffin ships. But the path leading there is anything but obvious.  

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 2024

Having broken a Great Rune somewhere in the Shadow Realm, we now head south toward the Cerulean Coast, a beautiful region littered with gigantic stone coffin ships. But the path leading there is anything but obvious.

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 2024

This week we speak with Jeremy Greer, of Days of Future Cast and many other shows, about his experiences with the Shadow of the Erdtree. We also read your responses to Castle Ensis and Scadu Altus!

Transcribed - Published: 13 October 2024

This week we head deep into the Scorpion River valley to explore the base of the Rauh Ruins, a.k.a. that one very hidden map marker. No, not that one. The other one. We end up hitting our final forge dungeon, and exploring a catacomb with a very goofy and deadly threat. 

Transcribed - Published: 6 October 2024

This week we turn our attention to Scadu Altus, the region north of Castle Ensis which Messmer’s armies call their home. This region is less populated with notable landmarks than its non-shadow counterpart, but we end up finding something pretty important in the grisly fort where the Crusade executed those who failed it. 

Transcribed - Published: 29 September 2024

A Sword of Fire. And Ice.This week we tackle a Legacy-ish Dungeon, Castle Ensis. Don’t get us wrong, the boss fight here is very good… but the level design and lore here are both threadbare. They can’t all be winners, but the good news is that every other dungeon is better than this one.

Transcribed - Published: 22 September 2024

Before we attack Castle Ensis, there’s more ground we need to cover on the far side of the Great Ellac Bridge. This week’s episode introduces a brand new kind of mini dungeon, the Ruined Forge, full of big goofy golems with obvious weak points on their butts. We also meet sleepy, insecure Thiollier before ascending the Suppressing Tower and speculating about what exactly is going on with that thing.AREAS COVERED: 

Transcribed - Published: 15 September 2024

The Great Ellac Bridge crosses a dividing line in the Gravesite Plain, a large canyon that stands between the ground we’ve already covered and Castle Ensis. The far side is fortified and narrow, but has many mysteries to explore before we head into the castle itself. This week we tackle castle-front encampment before heading north into a misty valley to delve into the Fog Rift Catacombs, where Godwyn and his forces are working toward mysterious ends.

Transcribed - Published: 8 September 2024

This week, for the first Roundtable Roundtable of the DLC season, we invited the excellent YouTube video essayist Noah Caldwell-Gervais to join us to talk about Elden Ring, the Shadows of the Erdtree DLC, and his travelogue approach to analyzing games. Then we read your responses to the Gravesite Plain region and the Belurat, Tower Settlement legacy dungeon.

Transcribed - Published: 1 September 2024

This week's episode takes us into the highest reaches of Belurat, to fight the Divine Beast Dancing Lion and learn the sad tale of Hornsent Grandam. She just wants to make you some awful soup, as long as you catfish her enough.

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2024

It's time to tackle our first Legacy Dungeon of the DLC, the sieged settlement beneath that impossible, shadowy tower. Belurat's lower quarters are choked with the shades of its defenders, still attempting to hold the line. And there's at least one crusader still here, the annoyingly devout Messmer follower Fire Knight Queelign.

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2024

I'm not that impressed. I've seen trees bigger than that tower.

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2024

This week's episode has us cleaning up the last remnants of the Gravesite Plain, or at least the portions on the near side of the Great Bridge. We delve into our first Gaol mini-dungeon and learn a horrifying secret about the living jars, before venturing into the western mountains to meet the Formless Mother's most devoted followers outside of the Mohgwyn Dynasty.AREAS COVERED:

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2024

Our coverage of the Gravesite Plain continues as we venture between its southernmost tip and its northernmost reaches. The path along this road introduces us to the elite Black Knights of Messmer's forces, our first meeting with Miquella's followers, and a village overtaken by a curse that makes people into bugs. Also, your ol' pal Wolverine might make an appearance. Bub.AREAS COVERED: 

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2024

We need as many graves as you have. No wait, that's too many. The Gravesite Plain more than lives up to its name, being the entry point for a land that draws in all forms of death. Some of the most recent deaths, however, are the victims of Messmer the Impaler's bloody and fiery crusade. This week we talk about the DLC's first hours, including the Scorched Ruins and their attendant Furnace Golem.AREAS COVERED: 

Transcribed - Published: 28 July 2024

It's time to begin the new season of Bonfireside Chat proper! This week is a primer on what's new and different in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. We talk about the new leveling system, some minor new or changed mechanics, and wrap up with a lore primer on the big movers and shakers you need to remember before heading into the Shadow Realm. It's good to be back.

Transcribed - Published: 21 July 2024

It's been a week since Elden Ring's expasion, Shadow of the Erdtree, released to everyone. We've been hard at work finishing the game and planning out the next season of Bonfireside Chat, and we wanted to take this opportunity to give you our impressions after we both finished our first playthrough. It's good! We have a lot to talk about.This episode doesn't contain story spoilers, but please take caution if you're extremely sensitive to knowing anything about these games before you play them. We can't talk about the game without talking about the game.Additionally, this episode is free for everyone! Please consider backing our Patreon so you can get not only the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree episodes, but a huge backlog of our other work. If you already back us, please spread this around to anyone you know who might be interested!We will have news about when the season will debut soon. Thank you so much for your support!

Transcribed - Published: 28 June 2024