Hey guys!. In this post, I’ll be discussing a list of Top 10 Things You Need To Know About Elden Ring. Shifting their infamous, frequently imitated formula into a beautiful open world packed with mystery and discoveries, in a new setting that boasts a fresh veneer of semi-ambiguous lore, helped along by famed Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, well… you’d have to be pretty emboldened to even attempt something like Elden Ring. But make no mistake – while your character may be Tarnished, there’s plenty of shining splendour on offer here, as FromSoft matched our impossible expectations, and then some. After an intriguing teaser in 2019, we had precious little information until last summer, when Elden Ring hype picked up the momentum of a speeding Skeleton Wheel, and after last week’s Network Test, we’ve been practically spoiled for details great and small to pore over, ahead of its highly anticipated release on 25th February. So let’s get started.
10. The Open World
One of the biggest changes to the SoulsBorne playbook is the open world of Elden Ring itself. Any fears of FromSoft losing their uniquely labyrinthine levels, in place of copy-and-paste outposts and map marker checklists, can officially be laid to rest. The starting area of Limgrave featured in the Network Test was expansive, but it felt far from empty, packed with so many hand-crafted areas full of mystery, begging you to explore its secrets, and frequently rewarding a curious mind with cool new goodies – or horrifying new bosses. The open-world areas are known as ‘The Lands Between’ – legally distinct from ‘Things Betwixt’ – which are easily traversable thanks to a summonable spirit horse named ‘Torrent’ – more on him later. Dotted around the map are smaller ‘dungeons’, shades of Zelda, which contain your typical Souls-like level design, from ominous caves to trap-filled catacombs. It won’t just be mini slices of Souls-like action though, as the main paths of progression are centered around ‘Legacy Dungeons’, which for this demo, was the imposing Stormveil Castle. Day and night cycles are here, sometimes affecting the types of enemies you’ll see, like bats or nocturnal Bridge Guards, and weather effects also leave a lasting mark – for example, we saw localised thunder strikes, leaving behind valuable items. Fast travel is blocked in dungeons, but available from anywhere in the Lands Between, and will transport you to any discovered ‘Sites of Grace’, which act as your bonfires, or checkpoints seen in previous games.
9. Similarities & Differences from Previous Games
While Elden Ring seems more accessible to newcomers than any prior SoulsBorne, it is still, undoubtedly, a SoulsBorne. Any existing fans will quickly see this as a triumphant culmination of everything From Software, with clear influences from Bloodborne and Sekiro, but the Souls titles have by far the biggest impact here. It could easily pass for Dark Souls 4, had everything not been renamed. Souls are now called Runes, the currency gained from killing enemies, used to level up and purchase gear. What were ‘Bonfires’ are now ‘Sites of Grace’, the safe havens where you respawn, and can do various things like: assign Sorceries and Incantations (this game’s miracles); apply Ashes of War, which are the new Weapon Arts; redistribute your Flasks of Crimson Tears, aka your Estus Flask of healing, and Flasks of Cerulean Tears, used for magic, or ‘FP’… And crucially, you can also level up at the Sites of Grace, without the need for a magical level lady, although one is here, by the unusual name of a, err, ‘Finger Maiden’. Stats remain most akin to Dark Souls 3, minus the likes of Vitality, with carry load now dictated by Strength, and ‘Luck’ has been reworked into ‘Arcane’, which will apparently affect certain spells.
8. The Combat
Ah yes, the burning question on everyone’s mind: just how hard is Elden Ring? Well, it’s a SoulsBorne game, which OBVIOUSLY means it’s pretty challenging. But it’s rarely cruel in its difficulty, adopting the genre’s classic ‘harsh but fair’ mentality. There are a few changes to keep veterans on their toes – or in the air, as it were, as you can jump now! Like, an actual vertical leap, not just an awkward running stumble! Combined with the double jump from your horse (we’ll get to him soon, promise!), there’s added emphasis on verticality seen in level design, and combat encounters. Jump attacks are easier with this dedicated jump button, and you can fire your bow in mid-air for added style points. Guard counters are new, done with R2 right after a blocked attack, great for breaking enemy shields. Two handing is remapped to holding Triangle and pressing either hand’s light attack. The new stealth stance is excellent, very handy for whittling down large groups, although watch out for enemies with horns, that WILL alert a whole group if they spot you. Power Stances from Dark Souls 2 are back, in a shock return, giving a new moveset when duel-wielding similar weapon styles.
7. Ashes of War
These new Ashes of War can be found all over the land, providing some very exciting new moves to your boring old weapons. Activatable by pressing L2 when two-handing a weapon, or with certain left-hand items like shields, these range from downward-sweeping magic greats words, to zapping enemies from afar with targeted lightning, to adding a deadly blast of wind with your swipe. Each one has a certain style of weapon it can be assigned to, such as slashing or piercing weapons, but not all of these skills are attacks! Some will be buffs or heals, like Holy Ground for shields, replacing the old reliable parry as a trade-off. This means even melee-focused builds can make use of their magic pool, for extra avenues of attack. You can reassign existing Ashes at will, handy for serial weapon swappers, and what’s more, this system also replaces the old infusion and ascension mechanics from previous Souls games, altering and boosting the weapon’s stats. Standard weapons improvements are still done at black smithing stations, and presumably actual blacksmiths later on, but no longer do you need to faff around with numerous blacksmith stones or Twinkling Titanites to add lightning or magic damage. Simply add an Ash of War, and you’ll have the option to change the infusion, with all the altered damage and stat scaling done by default.
6. New Magic
Souls titles have had a strange love-hate relationship with magic, but in Elden Ring, the old spell-chucking build has never looked more enticing. For magic, you’ve got two primary options – Sorceries, governed by your intelligence stat, and Incantations, a combination of Miracles and Pyromancies from prior games, tied to the Faith stat. You’ll need a Staff or Sacred Seal, enough FP to cast, and the relevant spells to be assigned at a Site of Grace – so far, so familiar. But it’s the effectiveness of these spells, combined with the flexibility to have more magic-replenishing flasks equipped, that make arcane builds more viable than ever. Sorceries include the spammable Glintstone Pebble, a wider-hitting Glinstone Arc, pretty Magic Bubbles, the apocalyptic Meteorites, or even the blood magic thorns of Briars of Sin. As for Incantations, you have everything from heals and poison cures, to the savage Beast Claws, or Rejection, which is Emit Force’s edgier cousin. Pyromancies are now lumped in with Faith too, with targeted fireballs, wider area attacks, and the Combustion-esque spell, wonderfully named ‘Oh Flame!’. And hold on to your undergarments, because then we’ve got the Dragon spells. Dragonfire spews forth a devastating breath of flame, while Greyoll’s Roar causes huge damage and debuffs at close range.
5. Horseback gameplay
This might be the biggest actual gameplay change we’ve seen in a SoulsBorne game, one that could make or break the expansive world of Elden Ring… so it’s a good job your mount is easy to control and fun to use! After meeting a certain maiden early on, you’ll be given a ring to summon your trusty spectral steed, Torrent, and once you do, you’ll be bombing through the Lands Between, and discovering all new secret areas with your double jump. Torrent can be summoned anywhere in the open-world areas, though naturally, horseback is blocked in the classic Souls-esque dungeons, and also unavailable during any co-op or invasion-based multiplayer. Not only can you jump twice, but in certain places, air currents allow you to soar huge distances in the air, providing shortcuts, and access to hidden areas as you can control the direction of the jump. Combat is also possible on horseback, which is tricky, but satisfying to pull off, and often essential for larger or faster foes, using L1 and R1 to attack left or right. Don’t worry about potential Red Dead Redemption tragedies, either – while your horse can die in combat, leaving you flat on your face for several seconds, you can revive him in combat by spending a healing flask.
4. Item crafting
Well, Souls has already gone open-world, so why not add in a crafting mechanic? Early in your playthrough, the game will remind you that the Lands Between has an assortment of flora, fauna, and other funky maguffins to collect, in order to create your own items, ranging from healing consumables, to exploding pots, to ranged ammunition. You’ll need to purchase a crafting kit from an early merchant, and from there, you can acquire other recipe books to unlock more craftable items. We’re talking Fire Pots and Holy Water Pots; throwing knives made from animal bones; useful status effect arrows to inflict sleep or poison; Rainbow Stones to help find hidden paths; Fire Grease to coat your weapon with fire damage; and Rowa Raisins, to replenish your horse’s health, just to name a few. On top of the regular crafting, you may also find a Flask of Wondrous Physick, which you can use to create your own custom buffs, like restoring stamina. Or, err, suddenly explode, if that’s more your style. You could easily dismiss crafting as unnecessary busy work, but it’s yet another way for players new and old to get an extra edge in this brutal land.
3. Graphics and Performance
Despite FromSoft’s recent narratives, this isn’t the Age of Fire, or Gold, or Gothic Werewolves… we’re in the Age of New Consoles! Of 4K 60FPS! As Ray Tracing is missing from launch, but confirmed to be arriving with a later patch. Still, just how does Elden Ring look and run, from a technical perspective? They’re targeting 4K and 60 Frames Per Second on both the Xbox Series X and PS5, but 60fps will be available on Performance Modes only, where adaptative 4K resolution and load balance aim to keep frame rates stable. With our PS5 build of the game, there were still minor framerate drops in busier areas, but the network test thankfully didn’t have any BlightTown levels of slideshow performance. On the Series S, Elden Ring will cap out at 1440p and 60FPS. Xbox One and PS4 versions will be strictly 30FPS across all previous gen consoles, boasting resolutions from 1080p on base hardware, up to 1800p on the PS4 Pro, and up to 4K on the Xbox One X. Slightly controversial is the news that the PC version will be locked at 60FPS, perhaps a side effect of an engine that has traditionally struggled with glitches, when running higher framerates, but we know those modders are a resourceful bunch, so will likely unlock those excess frames before too long.
2. NPCs, Enemies and Bosses
Yes, we still have your classic FromSoft NPCs, all mysterious and vaguely sinister, and YES, we have a big selection of awe-inspiring bosses, just based on the Network Test section alone. The most notable NPCs include Finger Maiden Melina, who makes an ambiguous reference to the Erdtree, and the friendly Merchant Kalé, who briefly mentions the shattering of the Elden Ring, and subsequent influx of Tarnished like your player character. Just like any self-respecting SoulsBorne title, you WILL have to work for your lore and worldbuilding, but we’ve no doubt it’ll be worth it. Enemy design is fantastic, ranging from your traditional soldier types and giants, to massive enemy crabs, eagles with sword feet, and poison-spewing flowers. Enemy groups will be dotted throughout the map, both stationary and roaming, and should you stop one of these wandering convoys by killing one of the giants towing them, you can bag some nice rewards. Killing these groups will sometimes replenish your flasks, removing the stop-start nature of going back to heal, and keeping the exploration loop flowing for longer. Great little touches help make the world feel a bit more lived in, rather than the desolate ruins of Souls past – enemies will hesitate to see if you’re friend or foe, and wandering wildlife proves not everything is out to kill you. Be wary of the rolly-polly sheep, though. And of course, the bosses were spectacular and frequent in number. Just this demo alone included the likes of a Sphynx Cat Guardian, a Pumpkin Headed Knight, Twin Demi-Humans, and a good old fashioned Dragon, Agheel, who made quite the entrance. And we’re sure we’ll learn more nuggets of lore about the Legacy Dungeon’s relentless main boss, Margit the Fell.
1. Co-op and PvP Summons
The multiplayer is another part of Elden Ring that’ll be reassuringly familiar to Soulsveterans. Co-op summons are back, as are invasions, with the associated items familiar in all but name – anyone wanting online play better get comfortable with carrying a bunch of severed fingers around. There are fewer limits to where summons can go, too, less fog walls and more freedom to roam, although you won’t be able to summon your mount in multiplayer. Another smart addition are the summoning pools, providing a hub for all signs to appear, meaning you won’t have to traipse across the vast map hunting signs, and likewise, multiplayer passwords are back, making for easier matchups with friends. You can also leave red summon signs again, using a Duelist’s Furled Finger, perfect for hosting a tarnished Fight Club. For the single-player-oriented, fear not – you can collect summonable spirits to share your fight against larger groups! Use these spirit ashes whenever you see a Rebirth Monument symbol on the left of your UI, to call forth a wolf pack, noble mercenary, even a spirit jellyfish, to aid you in tricky areas, but you can only use these once between rests.
That is it from today’s post on Top 10 Things You Need To Know About Elden Ring. If you do not agree with the points in the post and have some of your own opinions, share them with us in the comments section down below.
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