An insight into my thought process when invading, with a green text format because I like the way it's structured:
> invading in Elden Ring for fun (idiot)
> before I'm even in their world, I check the lobby to see how many people I'm up against
> 3 people, one of them has a japanese name, safe to assume the rest are japanese (which means the latency is going to be shit)
> Mentally shrinking my avalible arsenal for close quarters confrontation down to like 3 weapons
> 0.1 seconds after the loading screen ends I take note of the area, the spawn point gives me an idea of where they are (sometimes)
> 5 seconds after the invasion starts I look for which mobs are dead and which are alive, which ones move around and stand still, to approximate their location
> 10 seconds into the invasion I see a healthbar appear, immediately knowing how much hp one of them has, who they're fighting and where, run to that location while calculating all potential choke points and ambushes I can pull off on the way
> approach them, they don't see me yet, try to ambush from the corner
> they don't react fast enough but due to latency with Japan they are able to spam roll away from some damage even though I performed all the correct actions, they have an invulnerability button
> make some distance, take a few hits. Note their builds, how much hp and defences they have, set to prioritise people with lowest health
> they have no reason to progress through the area, and I can't attack them head on, so I deploy the Throwing Shit Tactics™
> trying to stimulate their smooth brains enough for them to think that if they don't attack, I will slowly whittle them down, which is objectively not true, they can stall forever, but I can make them believe they can't stall forever
> throw pots, shoot arrows, cast magic, apply status effects
> they bite, start pressuring me
> I retreat to mobs, giving me breathing room and maybe separating them
> one of them gets tunnel visioned on a mob and overextended for 0.8 seconds which gives me an opening to land a hit
> his buddies immediately swarm
> I calculate that if I hit him again and then throw something for a finish, I can take him out, but I need to take some damage, I decide that it's a reasonable risk, considering how few mobs there are in the area
> the plan works, he dies, but I take more damage than I anticipated because one of them is overlevelled
> I survive with little flasks left
> making the best out of the situation I stack regen buffs that I prepare beforehand on every build to save on heals
> from the gameplay I've seen so far I determine that these guys are trash at the game and are super predictable, I could maybe take a 2v1 if I soften them up
> when I engage they run away because obviously it's impossible to kill an invader with 2 flasks left when all you have is a measly level 400 phantom, triple her heals, and insane latency that allows you to be invulnerable, you obviously need more firepower to defeat that
> I weigh my chances with the remaining mobs in the area I have and determine that I might not be able to pull off the same play if they have 3 people again
> run after them hoping I'm good enough to just beat them in a 2v1 with no mobs and almost no heals
> playing aggressively is hard but I manage, I use all the moves I know to keep them busy
> unfortunately I run out of stamina before they run out of spam, I take damage and have to heal, they summon a third, I retreat
> I have no heals, there are three people at almost full health, and 3 dogs before the fogwall
> the dogs would be useful if the phantoms didn't one-shot them
> they attack me immediately as I retreat, I can't ambush
> I do what I can but I'm not good enough at the game to beat 3 people with nothing
> I take out the guy who died earlier, but the heal doesn't reach my flask in time, and they corner me
> die, reflecting on what I could've done differently to maybe win this, as they perform dishonourable actions over my corpse.
> The last thing I see before everything fades to black is the notification about a hunter being summoned into the host's world
> realise that even if I suddenly gained all of my heals back and absolutely destroyed these idiots in an epic 3v1 showdown, I would still have to fight 2 blue hunters
> gain the !Ultra Mega Depression! status effect and close the game
The same invasion from the hosts perspective:
> be me, playing elden ring for the first time after getting it on the winter sale
> summon 2 of my friends who have played this game on release
> they literally destroy everything in one hit
> guys let's just wait for the invader to fight us here
> the invader doesn't fight us in an enclosed space where we can melt her instantly
> charge the invader, mash attack buttons randomly
> thanks to our epic teamwork she can't attack any of us without taking guaranteed damage
> obviously have to resummon him again, why wouldn't I, it's free advantage for no cost
> almost died trying to resummon, thankfully my well times dodge button spam allows my friend to land guaranteed damage on the invader
> Mash buttons randomly in complete safety of my friend's hitboxes surrounding me at all times
> my friend dies again, but we defeat the invader
> a blue shows up a little too late, I wish we could have 4 people on our team
> die to the boss in one hit because I have no health and never had to learn how to build my character due to having 2 level 400 phantoms throughout the entire playthrough
