Maybe Mass Effect? The 2nd and 3rd especially for the “a” in arpg, imo.
Also, I know you said Western but since you mentioned Elden Ring I’d also recommend Dragon’s Dogma and Monster Hunter. Maybe Devil May Cry, but that’s a bit more hack n slash.
God of War 2018 is a great one too if you’re on PlayStation or PC. Probably the easiest game I listed, while also having some optional crazy difficult fights in the side/postgame content. Valkyrie Queen was harder for me than most Souls bosses lol.
I know Baldurs Gate 3 is a turn based combat game, but i’ll shamelessly plug since it’s absolutely fantastic. Difficulty is easy to switch, a great game to explore!
If you liked Witcher 3, grab Cyberpunk. Better gameplay and very similar approach (main story quests with decisions to make, side quests, tiny bit of exploring). And it’s a western game on top.
Of course this only works if you’re actually interested in the Cyberpunk Scenario and you don’t want to play mostly Fantasy games.
Would branching out into spectacle brawlers work for you?
In that case, check out Bayonetta 3 on the Switch and Armored Core VI on PC/whatever!
For something closer in combat feel to Elden Ring, Atlas Fallen maybe? But I haven’t personally played it and reviews are mixed, so can’t really say how enjoyable that would be.
Nearly all action games have some amount of RPG elements built into them these days. A few titles come to mind:
Horizon Zero Dawn and then Forbidden West.
God of War and then Ragnarok.
Spider-man, Miles Morales and upcoming Spider-man 2.
Read Dead Redemption, Read Dead Redemption 2.
Jedi Fallen Order, Jedi Survivor.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Resident Evil 2 Remake, 3 remake and 4 Remake.
Ghost of Tsushima.
Plenty more but that should keep you busy. All of these have character progression, leveling up, getting better gear to varying degrees combined with forgiving dificulty (which you can tweak).
Oh! Same order for me. Bloodborne first, which I managed to bull through after a lot of effort. Then later ER which I got quite stuck on and took a break from.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Play the game on story mode and enjoy it. That trilogy has the best characters and some of the best quest storylines in the industry in my opinion.
I feel like a cheater, but I tried my best to not cause any griefing. I’m also in my 40s and don’t have the time to git gud when I just wanna play the story.
Dark souls 2 & 3 have mods that make it easier. DS2, I had crazy defense and rolling. Poor invaders would backstab me 5 times and only take me to 50% health. Then 3 basic quick hits would kill them.
DS3, I was around level 200 thanks to a xp multiplier mod and was able to steamroll bosses. Invaders still destroyed me, but that’s fair. Frequently I let them and to my surprise, most invaders if you don’t attack, won’t attack back and will just goof off. I loved it.
I’m going to wait until Elden Ring is a bit more quieter before I play with mods. Again, not interested in griefing. Just want to adventure on my own terms.
That’s kind of the price you have to pay if you use mods. You can either not use mods and experience the full game (if you can beat it), or you can use mods, but shouldn’t go online so you don’t kill other peoples fun.
Seeing what’s been already recommended here, my suggestion sounds out of left field even to me… But somehow, “Elden Ring bug easier” makes me think first and foremost of Zelda breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom.
Huge open world with secrets everywhere, engaging aesthetics and, challenging yet less punitive combat.
The only thing would be that the combat is less emphasized, an exploration and problem solving more. But combat is still very much there and you can go quite deep in its mechanics, especially with all the time stopping and telekinetic shenanigans.
Edit: Not really a western ARPG I guess but the freedom of play is similar
Older gamer here, that has just dipped his toes in RPGs in a long time by buying Elden Ring. These days there’s no time to bash your head in the same bossfight two dozen times. Fun has to be a little less “long haul”.
You might enjoy “The Surge” 1 and 2, they’re souls-like in gameplay but in a more industrial-punk atmosphere. There’s also the “Darksiders” games, I enjoyed all 3 of them. They’re action-RPGs, but “Darksiders 3” is closest to a souls-like. “Remnant: From the Ashes” and “Remnant 2” are also very good fun.
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Man, I thought I’d have more suggestions, but they’re all either as hard as Elden Ring or not Western
The Witcher 3, maybe?
Finished it already, really enjoyed it. Probably something similar would be great.
Maybe Mass Effect? The 2nd and 3rd especially for the “a” in arpg, imo.
Also, I know you said Western but since you mentioned Elden Ring I’d also recommend Dragon’s Dogma and Monster Hunter. Maybe Devil May Cry, but that’s a bit more hack n slash.
God of War 2018 is a great one too if you’re on PlayStation or PC. Probably the easiest game I listed, while also having some optional crazy difficult fights in the side/postgame content. Valkyrie Queen was harder for me than most Souls bosses lol.
I know Baldurs Gate 3 is a turn based combat game, but i’ll shamelessly plug since it’s absolutely fantastic. Difficulty is easy to switch, a great game to explore!
If you liked Witcher 3, grab Cyberpunk. Better gameplay and very similar approach (main story quests with decisions to make, side quests, tiny bit of exploring). And it’s a western game on top.
Of course this only works if you’re actually interested in the Cyberpunk Scenario and you don’t want to play mostly Fantasy games.
Maybe Diablo II Remastered or Diablo IV?
OP might have used the term aRPG, but clearly didn’t mean isometric games (Their example was Elden Ring and they like Witcher 3).
Besides that, Diablo II Remastered is anything but easy (rough start and then pushing towards hell difficulty you get slapped with immune enemies).
I recommend Dragon Age: Origins.
Would branching out into spectacle brawlers work for you?
In that case, check out Bayonetta 3 on the Switch and Armored Core VI on PC/whatever!
For something closer in combat feel to Elden Ring, Atlas Fallen maybe? But I haven’t personally played it and reviews are mixed, so can’t really say how enjoyable that would be.
As someone who has been stuck on Balteus for the last 2 days, I’m not sure AC6 is a good recommendation. It also doesn’t really feel or play like ER.
Just a suggestion, but I’ve heard you might need to adjust your playstyle for certain missions.
You just reminded me that I haven’t finished Bayonetta 3. I am going to get on it asap.
Dragon Age: Inquisition. You also mentioned you loved Witcher 3, the game is similar in gameplay.
You may also want to start with Dragon Age: Origins, but starting with Inquisition is fine, though you’ll miss some references.
Lords of the fallen is an easier, yet fun, souls like. Not as good in terms of exploring or atmosphere but still very fun and not too difficult.
Thanks ! Haven’t heard of this one. Going to give it a try.
Nearly all action games have some amount of RPG elements built into them these days. A few titles come to mind:
Plenty more but that should keep you busy. All of these have character progression, leveling up, getting better gear to varying degrees combined with forgiving dificulty (which you can tweak).
Shadow of Mordor
And if something like 60% of Elden Ring’s difficulty is fine with you, Bloodborne.
Interesting. I found ER way easier than Bloodborne. I played Bloodborne first though and was not yet familiar with the genre as much…
Oh! Same order for me. Bloodborne first, which I managed to bull through after a lot of effort. Then later ER which I got quite stuck on and took a break from.
removed by mod
I wish bloodborne was available on pc.
Ah, oh no. I thought I played it on PC, but I have it on my PS4. Duh. Sorry.
It sounds like you should play Skyrim.
It sounds like you should play Starfield
(If you want latest title and not bound by fantasy)
I should also play Starfield.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Play the game on story mode and enjoy it. That trilogy has the best characters and some of the best quest storylines in the industry in my opinion.
I feel like a cheater, but I tried my best to not cause any griefing. I’m also in my 40s and don’t have the time to git gud when I just wanna play the story.
Dark souls 2 & 3 have mods that make it easier. DS2, I had crazy defense and rolling. Poor invaders would backstab me 5 times and only take me to 50% health. Then 3 basic quick hits would kill them.
DS3, I was around level 200 thanks to a xp multiplier mod and was able to steamroll bosses. Invaders still destroyed me, but that’s fair. Frequently I let them and to my surprise, most invaders if you don’t attack, won’t attack back and will just goof off. I loved it.
I’m going to wait until Elden Ring is a bit more quieter before I play with mods. Again, not interested in griefing. Just want to adventure on my own terms.
You shouldn’t play online with those mods. Sucks for other players to be up against someone they literally can’t beat because of unfair advantages.
The game also hides a bunch of secrets that are only meant to be found by messages from online players.
The game is both designed to be played online, and also causes serious issues in its online mode.
That’s kind of the price you have to pay if you use mods. You can either not use mods and experience the full game (if you can beat it), or you can use mods, but shouldn’t go online so you don’t kill other peoples fun.
Seeing what’s been already recommended here, my suggestion sounds out of left field even to me… But somehow, “Elden Ring bug easier” makes me think first and foremost of Zelda breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom. Huge open world with secrets everywhere, engaging aesthetics and, challenging yet less punitive combat. The only thing would be that the combat is less emphasized, an exploration and problem solving more. But combat is still very much there and you can go quite deep in its mechanics, especially with all the time stopping and telekinetic shenanigans.
Edit: Not really a western ARPG I guess but the freedom of play is similar
Older gamer here, that has just dipped his toes in RPGs in a long time by buying Elden Ring. These days there’s no time to bash your head in the same bossfight two dozen times. Fun has to be a little less “long haul”.
My suggestion: Valheim
You might enjoy “The Surge” 1 and 2, they’re souls-like in gameplay but in a more industrial-punk atmosphere. There’s also the “Darksiders” games, I enjoyed all 3 of them. They’re action-RPGs, but “Darksiders 3” is closest to a souls-like. “Remnant: From the Ashes” and “Remnant 2” are also very good fun.